So this is a member of the Weiss family? ...As expected from renowned merchants; that snowy white hair and blue eyes are probably unique only to that family.
"The pleasure is mine. ...Are you alright?" I asked.
"I am fine. ...And thank you for saving mine and sir Edward's lives. ...Is there anything I can do to repay your kindness?" she asked.
Here it is...! All I need to do is convince her to get me inside the capital city!
"No, no. I couldn't possibly ask for anything after saving someone else's life. ...It wouldn't feel right." I said.
"Oh, no! I insist! Please! What is it...?" she asked.
"It isn't anything too difficult. You see, on my way here, I seemed to have misplaced my only entry into the capital. ...Ahaha!" I said.
"If it's only that, then it shouldn't be a problem... here, take this," said Kassandra.
"What is it?" I asked.
"This is an entry permit given to benefactors of the Weiss family. Just show it to the guards and you should be allowed entry into the city," said Kassandra.
"I see. Well then..." I said preparing to leave.
"Ah, but before you go, I have a proposition for you...!" said Kassandra.
What a pain... Oh, I see! Those wolves were way too coordinated for it to be a coincidence. ...Somebody wanted the daughter of the Weiss family dead.
"I-I know this is rather embarrassing as a member of the Weiss family to ask of their savior, but... can you accompany us back to the city? Of course, you can keep the permit and we can give you something else on top of that! ...If you are willing, that is!" said Kassandra.
'If you are willing' is rather hard to believe considering when you're looking at me with those puppy eyes...
I suppose it couldn't hurt since I'm only gaining from this exchange. There's also something I'm curious about...
"Alright, I will do it. I'll make sure you two make it safely into the city. And in exchange..." I said.
"Y-yes?" Kassandra said, nervously.
"...I would like a letter of recommendation to teach at the Institute of Magic," I said.
Although it was Celestia's idea to become a student, there are some hindrances that come with it that plan.
...First, becoming a student would only tie me down to the school. I would like to visit other nations to see how things are doing over there.
Becoming an instructor means that I can quit whenever I want after my business has concluded. And two, a student doesn't have the authority to move around freely.
I want information on everything that I missed while I was away. That's what I thought about when creating this body.
"The Institute of Magic!? Ah, what a wonderful coincidence! I am currently a student at. the Insitute myself. I'm sure that with my family's recommendation, you should be given an advantage ahead of the other applicants!" said Kassandra, enthusiastically.
"Thank you. Well then, I suppose we should get going." I said.
"Of course. ...Sir Edward, if you would..." said Kassandra.
[Some time later]
Location: Solace main roads [Midnight]
"Mr. Lucius... Is there anything in particular that you will be teaching at the institution?" asked Kassandra.
Now that I think about it, I haven't thought that far ahead yet. ...I got it!
"During my years at the church, I've read about the countless wars humanity has fought. ...Some have been against outside forces, while others have been fought against one another. ...As someone who has witnessed first hand the harsh reality of war, I have come to the realization that the church could do more than preach salvation. ...That's why I am currently on a pilgrimage to spread light elemental magic, as well as healing magic." I explained.
"I see... May I ask which church you belong to? ...My family currently serves the goddess of luck, Fortลซna." said Kassandra.
From what I remember, Fortลซna increases the luck of individuals she finds intriguing. Very few have the privilege to become direct followers because what she requires for offerings is monetary items. ...Essentially, they're gambling just for a chance to get picked! That brat of a goddess is anything if not greedy and simple-minded.
"The goddess of luck, you say? She seems like a rather, uh, interesting character. ...As for myself, I serve the goddess of creating, Celestia." I said.
"*leans forward* C-Celestia!? ...As in the church where only a selected few are taught high-level magic! That Celestia!" said Kassandra, enthusiastically.
She's rather close. Is the current church all that special...? I suppose back then, there were may followers of the main church. ...It is possible that the church would want as little people knowing about those techniques from all those years ago.
"L-lady Kassandra... you're a bit too close," I said.
"O-oh, I'm sorry! I get rather excited talking about magic," said Kassandra.
"I can see that," I replied, trying to put some distance.
...Even for a person like her, keeping up appearances for a long time is rather difficult, huh. I'll have to keep that in mind for future reference. After all, knowing another's personality can help you better approach them on a different occasion.
Well then, I suppose I should take this opportunity to ask her about the incident...
"Ms. Kassandra... There's something that I've been wondering about ever since I saved your life..." I said.
"Y-yes..." she responded nervously.
Her response alone gives me a reason to believe that she does know something, and I intend to find out what it is.
"I noticed that the behavior of those wolves was rather strange... In the wild, reaper wolves wouldn't go out of their way to chase someone when they already caught easier prey. ...You did come with other escorts, correct?" I asked.
"Yes. I was being escorted by five other knights, excluding sir Edward... B-but I have no idea who would do such a thing! Everything happened so fast. By the time we noticed... it was... already too late," said Kassandra with a pained expression.
"Do you know of anyone with a grudge against your family?" I asked.
"My family has many competitors across the continent. I don't know where to even begin speculating if that's the case..," said Kassandra.
There's still something she's hiding, but I'll let it slide for now. I don't sense anyone else following us... Whoever sent those wolves probably thought Kassandra Weiss would never leave the forest alive.
"Young miss, Mr. Lucius, we made it past the front gate!" yelled Edward.
"*opens carriage door* Looks like this is my stop," I said.
"On behalf of the Weiss family, thank you," she said sincerely.
"*Nods* No problem. I hope that by the next time we meet, it would be in a classroom. But for now, may the goddess be in your favor," I said.
Good. Now that that's settled, it is time to move on to the next phase of our plan.
"๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ธ๐ฆ'๐ญ๐ญ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐บ. ๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง," I said.
"๐๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ?" she asked.
"๐๐ฆ'๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต. ๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ," I said.
Everything seems to be going well so far. Things will start to get even more interesting from now on...