The meetup with Orpheus had been disturbing. Iris could not help but feel unsettled as she moved toward the settlement.
Orpheus's words still haunted her mind and made her question her knowledge.
And then there was her system - the root of all her troubled currently. It refused to tell her anything at all.
'Can you not help me out in this regard? Any information would help' Iris had decided to question the system about what she had heard from Orpheus but it was not yielding any results.
[The system regards to inform the user that they are not authorized to view their clint's information.
Any further action to do so would break clause Claus 16 under the privacy act and the user would be held accountable.
The translator had been made available in the form of Orpheus. Kindly learn the ancient text from them.]
No matter what angle Iris used, she arrived at the same answer. Begging had not worked on the system, nor had threatened it.
It was all but a dead-end for her now.
There was another problem Iris was having at the current moment. She was being followed by someone at this moment.
This new person was not skilled and was easy to spot. The small shadow was doing its best to not let Iris know of its presence but it was impossible for Iris not to be aware of the one following her.
She needed to shake the presence off before she reached the orphanage.
Iris quickly took a left as soon as she exited the main road. The ally ended right ahead of her and it would confuse the one following her.
And she did succeed but not fully.
Iris did manage to shake off her first shadow but there were two more tailings her in this new location. She felt like she was being haunted as prey by these shadows.
These shadows were closing in on her and Iris's paranoia from before was making it hard for her to relax. These shadows were not Orpheus, but they could be just as dangerous.
Iris felt something brush her side, hands reaching out to take the pouch from her waist and her body moved instinctively.
One second, the hands were on her…
…the next second, she had a few bodies dispatched on the ground.
Iris was about to follow up with another attack when she noticed her would-be attackers. They were small but agile, nothing more than children.
Children she recognized.
"What are you all trying to do?" Iris asked, keeping the bite out of her voice. But the coldness in it still made the children shiver.
"Sorry miss Iris, we were practicing our stealth. Miss Rhea said that this would be useful in the future for you and Oreta" a child explained as she picked herself up.
Most of the children did not have any injuries but not all were lucky. Iris decided to heal the injured children first before hearing them out.
"Don't try targeting me again. Now, go and practice some more" Iris dispatched the children as soon as she was done with their injuries.
The children were good but a week was not enough time for them to become masters.
Still, their progress was clear to Iris and it made her glad as well. Oreta was coming around to being the formidable city it would be in the future.
Still, the children needed to be careful while targeting their opponents. Iris had not minded the assault but some of the other nobles coming to visit might take offense with these small pranks.
She had noticed the small tinkers the children had been carrying on their persons and many had belonged to people outside of Oreta.
Iris would have the children return those tinkers.
The chase had taken Iris nearer to the second wall and the orphanage was just a few steps away.
Iris nodded to the guard who recognized her and let her through.
The school grounds were just as empty as before. Lady Hua and Sasha were already at the grounds, looking around the place.
But they were not the only ones there. There was another one there and Iris instantly felt the static in her head grow.
"Orpheus, how did you get here before me? Did we not just part ways on the other side of the town?" indeed, the androgynous female stood on Lady Hua's side.
Her hand clutched a large paper piece and she seemed to be pondering over it. Her expression changed to a small grin as soon as she saw Iris.
"Hey, welcome back. I just arrived here myself and decided to offer my help. I can see that your architect doesn't have much experience in the field so I decided to lend a hand to her" Orpheus explained as she put the paper down.
Lady Hua looked relieved, looking at Orpheus as if she had seen a savior. Even Sasha looked relieved and Iris wondered what happened.
"Help? Would it be alright? Considering what is at stake here?" Iris asked, more looking at the sultan who had also arrived on the scene.
Every major party seemed to be gravitating toward this place.
"Lady Maria is an architect, one I have known all my life. She's from the Meili court but not in the direct succession line. She's someone my master told me would help us along with you Iris." the sultan seemed confident in her words.
Iris looked at Orpheus, or rather, at Lady Maria. Maria just waved back at her, her eyes pulled up in a happy smile.
"I'm happy to help. Don't worry, I hate the council and the commission as well so I will help you piss them off even more. Besides, I always wanted to work with the head architect of Isis. They say Isis's magic was potent before they were eradicated. I might not get a chance to see it in action again" Orpheus seemed excited, her expression pulled in a smile.
Did no one else find it weird? Or problematic?
"I'm sorry, I only have these books I cannot translate them. I wish someone could" Lady Hua pulled a few tombs out of her storage and Iris could only stare at them.
They were the same symbols she had seen down in the chamber below. The same symbols no one could read.
"Ah, these! It's been a long time since I last saw them. Don't worry, I will help you all out. You as well, Iris. You wanted to learn them, right?" Iris did not get any chance to give her input.
Orpheus was in charge all the time, be it her words or her expression. She was a master at manipulation and everyone else was just getting tugged along with her on this journey.
[Side mission - assist the god's messenger.
Mission: Assist the team in restoring the orphanage and learn the god's tongue]
Even her system was pointing at Iris to help the other out. Everything seemed to be getting out of control and Iris felt like the world was spinning around her.
She had been in control and suddenly, she was no longer in control. She needed to take some time off and cool her head.
Thankfully, she had an appointment she could use to distract herself from all the mess that had been created around her.
Hopefully, Nicole would be able to help her forget this mess Iris had found herself in.