"Shouldn't he be back by now? It's been almost four hours!" Runa groaned as she was seated in the lounging area, her zoned in on the bookcase across from her as she had her legs up on the sofa.
Kokei was sifting through a book he had taken from the said bookshelf, patiently looking through the thick parchment pages. Delayed, his eyes lifted and took her upon his gaze. "Hm?"
"Can you even read that language?"
"I have deciphering magic… I am a mage, you know."
"Ah? Really?" She tsk'ed with her mouth before resting her head on the arm of the sofa. Her eyes staring at the wood tiled ceiling, shifting them with the light movement of the chandelier.
Kokei shook his head, looking at his sharp fingers before glancing over towards Vivian who peered into the room, only to walk away after not seeing Jack. "It seems she has the motivation to look for him now."
"He did save her. We would've been none the wiser if he wasn't there, and left her there incidentally. Now we have a key that will put an end to a war before it starts." Runa stretched her arms slightly, before turning onto her side as she laid on the sofa now. "It's weird that this couch is softer than the beds in this place."
The skeleton rolled his beady fiery eyes. "It's likely Jack won't use her to end the war, not right away."
"What do you mean?" Runa looked over to him with a curious pursing of her lips.
"Why do you think he helped people like us in the Sphere of the World?" Kokei pointed out that Jack was pretty much paid to do this, or at least tried to hint towards it. "It benefitted him. It paid for his lifestyle."
Runa nodded figuring that Jack didn't help others out of the kindness of his heart. He was one of those types of people who takes on a job and sees it as their responsibility to go through with it.
It was the same with helping beginners, starting quests, completing them. She let out a light sigh as she shook her head slightly. She was remembering how he was hugging onto her at the Inn.
He did feel warm when she was being hugged by him, even if it was practically against her will. He still wanted to just cling to her, even though it meant nothing. Perhaps he had been without human contact a long while? Did he want affection? Or did he want something else? Either way, he had fallen asleep with her in his arms. That was the most awkward part of what she remembered.
"What do you think he's doing on the wall now?" Runa verbally prodded the skeleton.
Kokei didn't even look at her when she was trying to get his attention. "Touring with the Lord's Daughter?" He didn't really have to guess.
Runa sucked on her cheek slightly, "What does he gain from that exactly?"
"He gets seen beside the girl who is the ultimate heiress of the Fortress City. Flaunting his influence to the people just as improvements are being made to their daily lives." Kokei glanced over at her finally as he closed the book with a light clap, dust rising from the item as he did so, showing how long the book had been sitting there unread.
"What were you reading anyways?" Runa changed the subject after hearing this little bit of information.
"It was a botanist's journal. There are quite a few academic journals in here..." His eyes shifted around the bookcases which surrounded them. It was similar to the Study that Jack had been in. "I feel like I'm gaining skills by just reading them… Seems like the Game World mechanics are still in place for us."
Blinking a few times, Runa nodded hearing him. "So, are you able to cast that deciphering spell on me?"
"It's not a support spell, its a passive one." Kokei sniggered at this before turning his head to gaze at the door. The two sisters had gone off to the Castle Gardens, and Vivian had only been seen once.
Lord Carmichael came walking into the room, glanced up from his feet and froze the moment his eyes locked with the Lich. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before shaking his head, opening his eyes and sharing a smile.
It was clear he wasn't used to the presence of an undead, especially when turning into a room for relaxation. "Hello Sir Kokei," his eyes wondered on over to Runa, "Lady Runa."
"Greetings Lord Carmichael," Runa and Kokei said almost in unison, though Kokei's voice was telepathic message delivered slightly faster.
"It's good to see you two," Carmichael glanced around the room, not seeing Jack here. Assuming he was still on the wall, the Lord confidentially shrugged to himself and made his way over to a shelf.
"What book are you looking to read?" Kokei asked as he placed the botanist's journal back on the shelf. His skeletal fingers gliding along the spines of the books, reading each of the titles.
The Lord looked to him for a few moments, tilting his head to the side slightly. His eyes rested on those fingers which so delicately touched those books of his. "Hm… There's a story book I've been trying to find for ages, but it hasn't been found in my study… It might be here."
"Oh?" The two of them looked at him curiously.
Ivan chuckled lightly when the two of them were interested in a mere story. "How long have you two known Lord Graham?" He'd ask since he had their attention.
The two raised a brow at the question, or at least one of them did as Kokei didn't exactly have a brow to raise.
"About Three… Four days." The two responded with a mildly casual tone.
Blinking a few times, he nodded. Jack had no sentimental value of these two, Ivan could quickly deduce this. Yet he seemed to be responsible for them. Placing a hand on his chin, he caressed it in thought. "How'd you meet him exactly?"
The two looked at one another, then back towards the man. "He's a leader of a group of Heavenly Beings known as the Solvents." Runa would've responded, Kokei remaining silent on this. Though she didn't say the true name of the Guild, but it was still a reference in her book.
The way she worded it make it seem like Jack came from a group of angels, which he technically did, but enabling the idea of them being present in this world might appear to have some merit.
His eyes widened slightly at the idea of there being more Angels just like Jack in this world.
They could conquer the entire realm in a short period of time if that was true. Humanity could rule the entire plain of existence! However that thought suddenly dropped, broke like an egg.
Jack wasn't human. He didn't seem at all for racial superiority, subjugation of another race.
The Lord grew curious of Jack's actual intentions, bettering the city, readying it for war. Was it for war with the Elves, or was it a War with the World? Something in the back of his mind was telling him, he'd back this being up either way. Whether or not he agreed, his faith believed Jack would prevail and that his holiness would bring Chaos to Order.
Runa tilted her head slightly to see the Lord in such intense thought. Her eyes wondered over the spines which were all facing towards her. The books were like an almost endless ocean.
Before long both of their thoughts were interrupted as Kokei pulled a book out from the shelf. Opened it and cleansed the item of dust. An Alchemist's Journal on how to create a Homunculus, something that usually level fifty players would acquire was right in the Undead beings hand.
As his fingers coursed over the words, the Skeleton Mage would silently watch over the words, absorbing them like a sponge.
Even though the skeleton had a permanent smile on his face, Runa could imaging a fleshy face smiling in bliss and wonder. The creature was enjoying himself, and for some reason, she couldn't help but enjoy watching him as he expanded his skills.
Her eyes then shifted over towards the Lord who was now frantically searching for the book. She was still curious of why he was looking for a storybook and what the book was about.
An anxious Vivian came walking into the room after coming back around from the direction she had gone in before. Her mouth was agape, as if annoyed, with audible breath leaving her open lips.
"Haven't found Jack yet?" Kokei glanced up with chuckle.
"Nyu..." Vivian groaned as she jerked her head back before flopping onto the sofa parallel to the one Runa was seated upon. "Where is Jack? The servants won't talk to me!"
"He's taking a tour on the wall along with the Lord's Daughter, Cassandra." Runa blinked a few times seeing the Princess laying there, staring up at the ceiling.
"Ah… Really?" Vivian's anxieties seemed to calm down, evidenced by the soft drop in her voice. "It's been over a month… It's likely my homeland is going to use me as a casus belli."
"A casus belli?" The Lord looked towards her.
The Princess just looked at him, "An excuse, or event, that is used to provoke a war."
They pretty much already knew this, just the word was unfamiliar to the only human in the room.
"That's still a sickening idea..." Muttered the Lord, knowing since Jack's enlightenment that the Princess was being used for such a thing by her own family, and their High-Elf run religious sect. "The King of Greyhorn would never sacrifice his own kin order to start a war..."
"That King of yours has a dozen children," The Princess spat, "I'm sure he'd use the most expendable one as a sacrifice to end a war."
The Lord Carmichael just rested his gaze on her with a blank expression on his face. She was no longer the weakling she was when she first entered the Greyhorn Kingdom's territory. She was much stronger now. "I see..." Was the only thing the Lord would say before going back to his search for the book.
Runa raised a brow at the attitude that Vivian was showing. She clearly didn't really like the Greyhorn Kingdom, and no one could really blame her. Especially after what they had done.
Plus the fact that Carmichael had known of what had been done to her, and did nothing to stop it, also kind of sickened Runa herself. So she didn't blame Vivian for that either, this Lord was definitely dislikable...
Was Jack planning on keeping him around, or was he just using him for now?