Isaac shared more things about his plans on how he will implement the Rifts around the world. Listening to him closely, it is amazing how he was able to devise all of it when the Rift devices are just created recently according to him.
The more I know, the more I should probably get closer with Senior Jade. She is a gold mine for new discoveries especially for me who is a curious person. But thinking about what she can and will do to me every time I will meet her; I am reconsidering going back to her anytime at all.
The people who know about Rifts at the moment are only the groups of William, Aaron, and Rosemary. All in all, the total number of people sent out to deliver the package does not reach double digits. They might have shared it to others without consent, but that is none of my business.
Helena has somewhat accepted Isaac's proposition as a King. She is difficult to convince only because she is concern for the safety of those who are close to her.
"Using the Gates as a transportation device won't have any problems, right?"
"Yes. As long as everything is set-up properly, opening these gates will require little to not maintenance at all for a long time."
"I can't believe we're using the same thing we swore to eradicate. I'll smack senses back to those Lords who think they can just do whatever they want. We're here trying our best to have a peaceful Kingdom, but they are still not satisfied."
"Bad blood among Children and the nobles of Astrean is always there. We can't help but live with it."
"Those ungrateful bastards…"
Her opinions towards the City Lords and their respective party are getting worse. It is better to say that she is filled with hatred when it comes to them. I should watch her since there are still nobles who are on our side. Like Inca and some royal families we have saved during crisis, they will not be easily swayed to oppose us.
The seriousness in the atmosphere starts to fade away when it was almost time to have dinner. Isaac invited us to come eat with him which we accepted.
We mostly talk about what we will be doing after this during the meal. Isaac will twice as busy starting tomorrow because he will start his implementation of Rifts. He will personally visit each city with the help of the Royal Gryphon first before he can start using the Rifts to return to Opidelhm in seconds.
'So beasts like Gryphons can use the Rifts just the same…'
Him visiting the City Lords privately will really surprise them. It might be dangerous for him to go alone at the territories of possible enemies, but him out of all people should have no problem dealing with any conflicts.
I told them that I am going out of the city for a while in which Helena wanted to accompany me like I expected. But Isaac knows me well and gave her a task to accomplish and keep her busy.
Meanwhile, Jackson plans to meet the other Children spread across Astrea to notify them on what is going on. He got the permission of Isaac to do this since Jackson is on good terms with everybody and he is the best person to become the messenger on this. But he will not leave Opidelhm until Isaac finalize and got everything up and running which might take a while even with all Rifts set up.
He is also planning to go to Twilight City to help hunting the roaming Devil in that place after he finishes his business. They do not really need his help, but he is going to see for himself what the Devil is.
All three of us will not be together for quiet some time again. It will be quite lonely not going to lie, but it is for the best.
Ending with one last drink, we returned to our places to prepare for each one of our plans. However, I am not heading straight to my home instead I walked towards my sanctuary, the library. Besides the books I am going to return, I will borrow once again a collection of books which I have not read yet or I barely remembered.
Entering the ten feet door, Uncle Hank was busy arranging the books on top of one of the shelves. Even at this late night, there were people currently returning or reading inside. Although the total number of people present will not be able to fill up a table.
"Good Evening, Hank."
"hoho~ It's been a while since you last visited. You were on a trip?"
"Just some Imperial Lord stuff. Well, I'm going to a long trip once again. This time maybe will last longer, so I came to borrow some book to pass me some time.
"We have many newly acquired book just recently. No one is interested on reading them, so it has been left untouched for quite a while now even if they are new. You may find them interesting, it's just there near my desk."
"You know me, Hank. Interesting or not, I'm going to read it nonetheless."
"You're the best person for these books…"
I took his advice and went near his desk where numerous weirdly covered books were left to gather dust. I think I know the reason why no one wants to touch this because it is far from the usual. However, I already saw these kinds of book the last time I visited here, and I quite enjoy it.
Uncle Hank told me that no one will be borrowing these, so I did not bother being ashamed and took it all. Nothing was stopping me anyway. It is one of the benefits that I fully utilize as an Imperial Lord.
Browsing through the collection, a title has caught my interest. Two to be exact.
An Astrean's Life Vol. 2
An Astrean's Life Vol. 3
Two books of the same title as last time were among them. It was really weird that the previous title has no ending. I hope the story has a proper ending this time.
After putting on the records on what books I am bringing home with me, I said my goodbyes to Uncle Hank and left the place quietly. If I had nothing to do tomorrow, I have already taken one of the empty seats and start reading. But because I got no time, my meditation time will happen later.
'Time to head back and sleep.'
That is the plan but there was a knock on the door when I was about to lie down on my bed. I never have any visitors this late at night, so I have my guard up when I peek to whoever it was outside the door. Seeing it was just Helena who has still not change her attire, I opened the door.
With her here, I anticipate my lack of sleep. But when she did not do anything except stand still on front of my door, I cannot help but ask her.
"You want to come in?"
*Nods*
She appears with a very different atmosphere around here. It is a side of her I never seen before. Her arms hidden behind her back and her feet squirming like she is hesitating on what to do next, I never thought she can be bashful at all.
I let her in after making sure she left her shoes outside and gave her a sandal to use since I am the type of person who hates having to imagine my floor getting dirtied by whatever they may stepped at. This rule applies to everybody even when King Isaac somehow decided to come here and have a tea.
No matter how inconvenient her visit is, I still cannot just let her stay her feeling unwelcomed, so I served her tea which is good before sleeping. I also made my own because why not.
Having her sit there silently made me see how beautiful she can be without her constant fiery attitude and loudmouth. With only a single candle flickering and moonlight reflecting at my window to light up the room, her brown eyes along with her brown hair have their charm emphasize more.
I can smell a hint of fragrant perfume on her despite the stuffy clothes she was wearing. Another unusual thing for her to do. She has also not touched the tea yet, so I had no choice to start the conversation first.
"Why have visited me this late?"
"you're an idiot…"
"Huh? Did you come here just to diss me?"
"Yes, I totally came here to talk shit about you and nothing else. I hope you won't be able to sleep properly because no one will watch over you. I hope a dragon will smack your handsome face to oblivion. I hope you'll have your books dropped in mud that you won't be able to touch it anymore."
*Sarcastic Shocked* "I can't believe you said that…"
"So, what?! we're going to be away again."
"hahaha~ This is more comfortable. You were pretty when you went silent for a good amount of time, but this side of yours is always better."
"Wha- Are you stupid or something? Who wants to be pretty in front of you?"
Her usual demeanor was back which made me smile unconsciously. I do not know why she is doing this. But having her here makes me calm knowing that some things never change even when our whole Kingdom is about to.
"Your tea is about to get cold."
"Oh, right."
"Even after three years, you've never change Helen."
"Same to you… I hope it will still be like these when we meet all together once again."
"I have a feeling that it will happen sooner than we expected. But it's not for a good reason as we hope so."
"It's no use worrying right now. All we can do is do our best. So… Please be careful and return here safely."
"Yeah, same goes to you…"