I had to ask myself a question that I wasn't sure what the answer was.
Why am I doing this?
Partially because I'm bored. Maybe a little bit because I'm curious. Mostly because I wanted to get away from Lauren, at least that's what I'm going to tell myself.
It's not that I disliked talking to the Princess or anything. On the contrary, if anything, our little talk was nice, and I enjoyed it immensely. It's just that she can just be a little… overbearing… at times.
Speaking of Princesses, I wondered what Ren was doing this late at night. How was it that she even got out without her guards knowing? The royal escape route in Sylvia's room led to the sewers, not the front of the dormitories. Perhaps there is a second exit in Sylvia's room that neither of us knew about? After all, there was a good chance that room used to be Ren's.
Ren used side gates along the city walls and slowly made her way into the city. It's been a long time since I've had to track somebody like this. Usually, this wasn't my specialty, but there were the occasional missions where we had to hunt down fleeing combatants. Most of them were combatants anyways…
However, following Ren was not a difficult task. The Princess was moving methodically through the streets of Vinovia, and her bright red cape made her stand out amongst the darkness of the city. Combined with my hearing and skills, I'm not sure if she could have lost me if she had tried. But I couldn't help but feel confused.
Ren isn't stupid, so why is she trying to hide like this?
Surely if she was trying to blend in at night wearing a red cape that was clearly made out of fabric fit for nobility made for a poor nighttime disguise, her attire clearly marked her as a person of importance. The cloak had a hood that was pulled tightly over her head but even then it wasn't enough. Perhaps she just didn't have a choice? Or maybe she doesn't own any regular clothing?
As she made it to gate guards, she was quickly allowed through with little to no issues. I, on the other hand, had to be checked, but it never took longer than a minute as there was nobody else waiting at these places. The city was asleep at this time of night, and only a few select groups of people would be moving through the city like this.
This little red tag around my neck has more than paid for itself.
I was also somewhat disappointed that Ren hadn't noticed me. At first, I purposely tried to hide from her, but I wasn't doing that anymore. There were a few times that if she just turned around, she would have noticed me, but I don't think the Guardian Princess was trained in the arts of clandestine operations.
At least Ren often avoided main thoroughfares while keeping to the darkness well enough. She was also taking back streets, so that was something. While wondering about these things, I felt a bit uncomfortable about all of this.
I probably shouldn't be doing this but… why is Ren going toward this part of the city?
The capital of Luminar, Vinovia, was a relatively "new" city in the sense that it had been rebuilt over the last three decades. Unfortunately, the rebelling War God's forces ended up fighting in the capital once they were allowed in and reduced a lot of it to rubble, which meant there has been a ton of public works projects going on.
Despite all this… every city has a population center for those who are less fortunate.
Ren was heading deep into the slums of Vinovia, a place I would never expect to find her. From what I could tell, the third princess of Luminar wasn't involved very much in politics. I've been speaking with her on good terms for some time now and she never struck me as the type of person that would be caught in this part of the city. Only negative thoughts circled around in my head as I wondered why she was doing this.
Could there be more than meets the eye to this princess? Is she perhaps a part of some underground syndicate? No… it's more likely she is on orders from Lauren, and that's why she had to sneak out because of the increase in guards.
But why would the gate guards let her pass so easily? What is going on here…
I had never been to this part of the city, but it seemed this wasn't Ren's first time as she expertly navigated the back streets of the slums. Although she was careful, she wasn't hesitating and seemed to be following a predetermined route or at least a familiar one. After about an hour of trailing Ren, she started slowing down gradually.
Figuring she had arrived in the area of her choice, I decided to get a higher vantage point to watch her. If she snuck into a building, I wouldn't follow her in. I honestly wasn't sure why I cared either way. Maybe I've grown to see Ren as a friend somewhat…
I flipped my gravity and winced as the mana left my body in droves. Despite practicing gravity magic nearly every other day, the general cost of this school of magic has not decreased. However, by using all my other schools of magic, I've gradually become more and more comfortable with them, and the cost of spells has shot down drastically.
I need a mentor or maybe I need to ask someone… I'm going to make an appointment with Bowen…
Once I reached the roof, I cut the mana off to my spell core, and my stomach lurched as my gravity normalized. I nearly slid off the building since the city's roofs were slanted at extreme angles due to snowfall. Perching on top of them was difficult, and I had to wonder if they did this not only for the snow but on purpose as well. Running across the roofs with a mana-enhanced body would be possible, but these roofs would make them an obstacle.
The cool spring breeze whipped my hair as I ran my hands through my scalp. It's been a while since I got a haircut… perhaps I'll just let it grow out from now on. I've already done enough hiding, and I haven't exactly been very thorough in keeping my identity a secret.
I wonder if it's because I feel safe? I am safer than I have been in years but… the threat is still very real. I've grown too lax here, it seems. Or maybe I'll just come to terms with these conflicting emotions. Hopefully.
I peered into the darkness and watched as Ren slowly made her way across the dirt street. The young princess kept eyeing a rather large decrepit building. Soft yellow light from candles leaked out from the cracks in the timber building. Most, if not all, of the torches that were supposed to be lighting the area had been extinguished long ago.
I could hear Ren let out a deep breath as she bolted across the street with her mana enhanced legs. She easily vaulted the shoulder-high stone wall and made her way through the dead courtyard. Once upon a time, I imagine it was probably beautiful and well maintained, but now dead shrubs and cold dirt are the only things left resembling a garden.
From my vantage point, I could see Ren perfectly, but my attention was drawn away for a second. I heard someone behind me slip while scaling the building. I hadn't noticed them at all until this point. My ears listened to the person behind me while my eyes focused on a figure against a building far off in the distance.
The cloud cover had moved, and this world's four moons blasted their pale light against the area. The shadows crept away as if being burned by the light, only to reveal a figure clad in all black, hiding in a back alley.
They didn't appear to be an Elf or Beastmen as I saw no defining traits. They weren't very big nor small, which meant if I had to guess, they were probably Human. I couldn't discern a gender from this distance let alone even see skin color. The all-black figure was most definitely watching Ren as well, and they had disappeared back into the cover of darkness as quickly as I saw them.
Did they sense me? I couldn't make out any discernible features from this distance, sadly. So why were they following Ren, and were they friend or foe?
I let out a small sigh and let the person behind me get closer. I realized they weren't a threat as the sound of their footfalls gave away their lack of skill. I could hear the jingle of a loose handguard on a knife as the person walked toward me slowly. Their arms were shaking from nervousness.
Once they were close enough, I forced mana into my muscles and flicked around with a burst of speed. I quickly scanned the young Beastmen's face as his nearly black eyes went wide with surprise. I ignored that part and looked straight at the knife he was holding in a limp hand.
It was dull and practically falling apart. That knife would be lucky to scratch the layer of dead skin on my arm. Since the blade wasn't double-sided, I quickly wrapped my hand around it and yanked it out from his hands.
The boy let out a surprised yelp of pain as he tried to hold onto the knife, only for it to bend his wrist out of place. He instinctively started falling backward, but I grabbed him by the lapels of his ragged shirt and stopped him from falling.
I let out a sigh and stood tall over the child. "If you are going to point this at someone, you had better be prepared to use it," I said evenly.
The boy was a bear Beastmen with brown eyes so dark they were almost black. The pair of fuzzy bear ears atop his head was the same white and gray color as his hair. If I had to guess, he was probably around eleven or twelve. He was looking at me with a mix of fear and anger but it seemed anger won over as he snarled at me.
"Let go of me!" he squealed.
I did as the boy asked and released him, only for him to stumble backward and fall on his behind. He crawled away from me a few paces and shot up off the roof, glaring at me all the way.
"What are you doing out this late?" I asked curiously.
The boy's anger only seemed to grow as he bore his fangs at me. "More like what are you doing! Why are you following Princess Lauren!"
Huh? Just how long has he been following me? And how does he know Lauren, and why does he think Ren is Lauren? Is he a lookout or something? No… this boy seems genuinely angry with me.
I ignored his question and turned back to Ren, who had made it to the front door of the building. I was worried that this boy's shouts might have attracted her attention, but she hadn't seemed to notice. Suddenly the entrance to the building burst open, and a flood of small people came rolling out.
Ren was mobbed by a tidal wave of children of different races as they ran up to her. Their giggles carried across the wind as Ren was forced to the ground laughing. I couldn't help but smile.
So it wasn't Lauren but Ren, huh?
When Melori, the excommunicated priestess in Curia running the orphanage, mentioned the Princess's aid, I imagined it was Lauren's project. The second princess of Luminar has been working hard to gain the love and admiration of the common people, while her brother, Xander, the first prince, was more intertwined with the military.
So I was surprised to see Ren laughing so hard while she hugged the children back and patted them on their heads. It was truly a sight to behold, well it was till I was interrupted by a frustrated grunt.
I turned back to the Beastmen boy and nodded my head towards the building. "Are you with them?"
I took his silence and angry glare as a yes. I let out a small sigh and started walking over to the boy, only for him to take a few steps back. He was about to crest the roof, and I didn't want him to trip and stumble off, so I flicked the knife around in my hand and extended it towards him, handle first.
"Don't go pointing this around at people if you aren't ready to use it, kid. If you had run into the other person and not me, this knife might be sticking out of your stomach instead," I said with a low voice.
The boy winced slightly, but he snatched the knife from my hand and let it fall into his ruined leather sheath. The Beastmen child looked tired and almost as worn down as his knife.
Black smudges caked his pale face and painted the pink skin underneath his fingernails a dark black. The two bear Beastmen I've met were relatively large compared to other Beastmen. Even Sorn, who was the slave that helped me in Ostela, still had muscles despite living off a similar diet to me. And this child was tiny for his age…
He's either being worked to death somewhere or fighting for his life in these streets. He looks older than most of the children down there with Ren, so he is probably doing this to help. At least I understand why he is so angry with me.
I tried doing my usual magic routine of suddenly making coins appear in my hand, but he didn't look the least bit entertained as his scowl only grew. So, figuring he probably thought I was mocking him, I just extended the two large silver marks towards the boy.
"You can have this on one condition," I said. The boy tried snatching the coins from my hands but I just simply brought them out of his reach. "You can have these as long as you don't mention my presence to Ren, got it?"
He snarled at me slightly in response. "Fine," he spat.
"You understand that I know where you live now and what you look like. You wouldn't want me to come to find you, would you?" I said quietly.
His eyes went wide as his snarl faded into a look of fear. I was threatening the boy, but I had no intentions of following up on it. But he didn't know that.
I felt terrible for threatening some kid, but I'd rather not have Ren know about this. The last thing I wanted was for her to think I was some kind of stalker.
He gave me a curt nod, and I let him take the coins from my hand. That was probably enough money to get him by for a few months, even if he shared it with the other children. Part of me wanted to give him more, but I could hardly go around giving every poor child I met money. Besides, if Ren was here, that means this place was getting some kind of assistance.
The boy bolted off down the roof, and I watched him make his way towards the building. Ren and the others had long since moved into the building and there was a noticeable increase in the amount of light seeping through the cracks. I looked back over to where I had seen the other figure, but it was long gone.
I wonder…
—
I stepped out of the dorms the following morning and yawned. I was still somewhat tired from last night's little escapade, but waking up before the sun does has been engraved into my mind. I usually have to force myself to sleep more on the days I sleep in, which isn't always the best idea I imagine.
Sylvia had a meeting with Bowen in an hour, so there was no point in waking her up. When I returned to the dorm, Sylvia had already retreated to her room for the night, either asleep or waiting for Ren's return. I didn't end up staying awake to find out if Ren came back as I saw no reason for it.
The princess was also absent today. Typically she would be waiting for Sylvia and me outside, and together the three of us would have a warm-up run towards the school's forest. So it appeared that I was alone today.
I stretched my arms above my head and let out an involuntary groan of pleasure as I stretched my back muscles, and with that, I jogged off towards my destination. The sun's light was barely leaking into the world at this time of day, and the school grounds were utterly silent. Not even the birds in the trees had woken up, and the only people I saw were the occasional teacher on a morning run. It seemed most students weren't fans of waking up this early either.
Arriving at the gate that fenced off the artificial forest, I brought the key out from my dimensional ring to unlock it only to find that somebody had left it open. I suppose some of the groundskeepers must have left the gate unlocked or something. I closed and locked it behind me and continued my run.
This forest… there has to be something I can do to get rid of this awkward feeling, right?
Maybe plant some different trees or something? I'm sure that having only one type of tree doesn't help, and the shrubs on the ground floor aren't varied much either. What if the school just brought in some regular animals to graze this place as well? Maybe that would help?
Birds nested in the trees, but that was about it as far as I could tell. I had run into a few stray rodents from time to time but nothing larger than that. Deer, elk, rabbits, and such all exist in this world, so filling the forest with their kind shouldn't be impossible.
Hopefully, Sylvia finds my note and gets an appointment for me. I should also write a list of things… I sort of forgot about those letters I need to write as well. I'll get on that ASAP.
While finishing my run, I could hear someone walking around up ahead. I was tempted just to sneak around, but they were pacing back and forth in the clearing that I used as an outdoor gym which meant it could only be one person.
Since this forest was man-made, there were no animal trails or even paths that were well traversed. The groundskeepers had covered over even the general route I took. I wasn't trying to make myself silent, but I found Ren mumbling to herself with an ever-changing face of frustration and embarrassment.
I stopped just outside the tree line and watched as Ren stopped dead in her tracks. The Princess looked over her shoulder in surprise. First, she scowled at me, then she blushed, and finally, she settled on just staring at me blankly with a tired expression.
Maybe I should find that kid and get my money back.
"Good morning, Ren," I said while slowly walking towards her.
She had shuffled the dirt on the ground into piles using her feet, so she must have been here for some time. Ren looked dead tired, and heavy bags sat underneath her sky blue eyes.
She let out a deep tired sigh. "Voker…" she mumbled.
"Looking a bit tired this morning. Perhaps you should get some rest today?" I suggested warmly.
Ren frowned at me, and I could see the worry in her fatigued eyes. "About that… what… no just… why were you following me? What did you see, and who did you tell?"
Man… she even sounds tired.
I tossed my hands up playfully. "Looks like my cover's been blown."
Apparently, Ren didn't find that funny.
I shrugged at her cold glare. "I just happened to have seen you making your way out of campus, so I decided to follow you on a whim. I haven't told anyone what I saw, and I don't plan on it either. You and your sister dodging your guards to do whatever it is you're doing is your business."
"So you really did see me…" Ren mumbled in muted frustration.
"I did. I also saw what you were doing for those kids," I said. Ren's face twisted into fear as she nervously parted her short strawberry-colored hair from her face. "I'm not sure why you are afraid of me knowing this information, but I promise I won't tell anyone that you don't want me to. If anything, I'm relieved to see what you are doing, and I support you fully."
Ren stared at me for a long time. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep which made her blink a few times in obvious discomfort. "Really?" she asked weakly.
"Really," I reassured her. I could see the relief spread through Ren's body as she let out a tired breath and her shoulders slumped. She had her eyes closed, but she flashed me a bright smile.
I sent a spell core out, and a grouping of pillars erupted from the ground. I motioned for her to take a seat as I had some questions I would like answered.
"Why do you want to hide this information? Isn't it beneficial for the people to know that their princesses care? Even more so since you were using your sister's name and not yours?"
Ren fidgeted slightly in her chair, but she gave me a wry smile. "So you heard that too? It's just better for them to think that I'm Lauren."
Ren seemed… sad at that comment.
"Can I ask why you believe that?"
Ren just shrugged weakly. "I don't want people to think I'm making an attempt at the throne or anything. This way, I can do what I want, and it helps Lauren out."
Huh… could it be?
"Do you want to be the next queen, Ren?" I asked.
Ren's eyes went wide, and she quickly waved her hands at me. "No! Absolutely not! I have no desire to be queen."
"Relax, Ren. If you say that, then I believe you. I just assumed it was something that you wanted to do on your own since you seemed so happy last night," I commented.
Ren gave me a hurt look, but it quickly faded into a tired smile. "That is something I want to do… helping those kids…anyways," she said meekly.
"Is that so? What made you want to do that?" I asked.
"I just… never really wanted to do anything in life until I saw those kids one day. At that moment I was certain I had to do something, so I asked Lauren and my mother to help me. It took months, but we drafted a program to give aid to orphanages in desperate need," Ren said with a faint smile.
"But you gave your sister the credit?"
"It's really not like that, Voker, I promise. I wanted her name to be on it from the beginning. I want to help my sister become queen, honestly," Ren said defensively.
Are you trying to convince yourself or me, Ren? I really can't tell.
"If you say so. But could I possibly ask a favor from you?"
Ren looked at me in surprise and tilted her head. "You? Asking me for a favor? I mean… sure, of course! After all, you've been training me without complaint and if you don't plan on telling anyone then I owe you even more."
I wouldn't say I didn't complain at first. You hardly gave me a choice… who can refuse a princess in their own kingdom after all?
"There is a clause in your project that states children who are not citizens don't gain access to your support. However, there is a run-down church in Curia run by a lone excommunicated priestess housing children of adventurers who have either been abandoned or their parents have died. Would you please take a look and see if you can include those types of children in your aid? I imagine many kids are being left out. After all, adventurers are an important part of any kingdom, so I don't see a reason why these children are being forgotten," I said.
Ren brought her hand close to her chest and gave me a worried look. "I… I had no idea. I'm so sorry, I—"
I waved my hand at her. "I'm not blaming you, Ren. I wouldn't expect a noble, let alone a princess, to care about a bunch of kids in a run-down church in the corner of a city you have probably only visited a handful of times."
"Isn't that a problem… shouldn't I be aware of those kids?" Ren asked me weakly.
"That's up to you to decide," I told her.
Ren stood up and stumbled slightly but she caught herself and gave me a serious look. "I promise that I'll look into your request. If nothing can be done with the project then I'll see to it personally that I help that place out, okay?"
"Thank you, Ren. Also, there is one more thing you should know about last night," I said.
"What's that?" she asked me curiously.
"You were being followed. And not just by that boy or me. Last night, there was a third person, but I didn't get a good look at them," I told her.
Ren's tired face morphed into confusion as she went into deep thought for a few moments. "Okay… I'll have to look into it then. I think I might know who it was, but I'll have to ask my father… anyways, let's get this workout started!" Ren shouted with almost zero energy behind her voice.
"That's not happening. You need to go to sleep."
—
After sending Ren home and finishing my workout alone, I returned back in time to find Sylvia awake and sitting on the couch. She was just staring listlessly into the cold fireplace and only turned to me once I sat down with my plate of food from the cafeteria.
"That was a fast meeting. How did it go?" I asked.
"It was just for formalities. Oh, and the Headmaster said he would see you in one week around this time. He is going to send you a letter," Sylvia told me.
"That's good. Say, what did you and Ren talk about last night?" I questioned while taking a bite out of some eggs.
Sylvia eyed me suspiciously but turned her head back to the fire. "Well, I learned there was a second secret entrance in my room. Turns out you can remove a stone by the window and open it like a door. But judging by the fact that you came home late last night, that must mean you already know everything… unless you were doing something else." Sylvia turned her head back to me at the last part and glared at me.
"Not sure what you mean, but I did end up following Ren. It seems not even the Headmaster knew about the second exit," I added.
Slyvia grunted and flattened out her skirt somewhat. I could tell she was still waking up as she didn't seem all that happy that morning. Then again, she didn't drink any of my blood last night, so maybe that's putting her in a sour mood.
The Vampire only had to drink as much blood as she used. If she stayed cooped up in her bed for days on end, she would need a minimal amount of blood and could go days, maybe even weeks without feeding.
But since Sylvia is active all day and we train rather hard together she has to drink about one to two "meals" worth of blood depending on how intense things are. Of course, Sylvia won't die or anything if she doesn't get the blood as she has some sort of stockpile in her body. But everyone feels terrible if they don't get enough food in them.
You know… where do Vampires keep all that blood?
Does it just… circulate around their body infinitely? I know for a fact that Sylvia can drink and store more blood than an average person has in their body. I shook my head free of these kinds of thoughts and finished off my plate of eggs faster than I intended.
Bad habits die hard, it seems.
"So uh… are you ready for school today?" I asked, trying to brighten up the mood just a little.
Sylvia glared at me with her crimson eyes and put her hand up to her face making her mask appear out of thin air. She gave me another noncommittal grunt and sank deeper into the plush couch.
Well, today is going to be a long day.