I pushed the large doors apart. It would seemed that the throne had been removed and was replaced with a huge round table in the middle of the room. Is a King joining the meeting? Oh, what about Merlin?
"Have a seat, Zen," said Peter as he gestured to an empty chair for me to sit.
I obliged and took a seat before glancing over the participants around the table. So these are the members of the New Order. Two out of the five guildmasters were here. John and the Elementalist represented the guildmasters due to circumstances. Wait a minute, I didn't even realised that the Elementalist had recovered from his injuries, thought he was still bedridden. The other members consisted of three elves and three reputable humans from the city. Why are elves part of the council? This is because the city is now opened to all races that wishes to stay here. Previously under the Queen's rule, only humans are allowed to live inside the city with the exception of the adventurer's guild and taverns. Now all races are welcomed to purchase property and stay here. Lizard people included.
"This person here is the sole reason as to why all of you are sitting here today. He had slain an imposter that acted as the Queen who had fooled all of us, and now we have a chance to be better. To instil unity between all races. And never again to grant a single person absolute power over a city," said Peter.
Silence engulfed the room. No one clapped or cheered after Peter was done. Is this what the sound of silence meant? It was John who stood up and embraced me with his one good hand. Only then did the others started clapping. Wow, thatwas awkward indeed.
"Zen had made it very clear that he'll not be a part of the council. This would eliminate any rumours that he was aiming to usurp the throne and becoming the ruler of this city. All of you will have equal rights and will be making decisions based on votes from each of the council members. Your terms will only be limited to two with the exception of the guildmasters as they can be swapped due to the nature of their work. Only two guildmasters are needed to attend the council meetings each time. They will have their own meetings to ensure that none of the guildmasters will be lost in context for the next one," explained Peter.
Talk about man of words. No wonder this man was the founder of the City of Heliotrope Ixia. He was able to build a city in such harsh environments, not to mention making it prosper. I really wonder what City Of Pines will end up becoming if he was the founder of this city instead. Probably even better than Marrydia perhaps.
"And with that, ladies and gentlemen. I will take my leave. Do announce to the public about your existence and how things will be managed from here on out. I will be monitoring upon this city for about a year just in case my guidance is needed," said Peter as he stood up.
All of them stood up and bowed to him to which he returned it to all of them. I escorted Peter out as I there was something I wished to speak with him. That, and he was also my sensei. What kind of pupil will I be if I don't escort and bid farewell to my teacher?
"Sensei, I have a request, if you don't mind," I asked him politely.
"Speak your mind. You are only ever so formal when you wished to ask for something unreasonable," he chuckled.
"Ouch, do you really have to put it that way? You have met with both Lily and Rose, right? What say you in taking them under your wing?" I asked while giving him a bow.
"Lily and Rose, both powerful ladies with great potentials. Are you sure though? I have a feeling are capable of being stronger than you under my tutoring. Especially Rose," he chuckled.
"I'm all for it. Please unlock their potential as you did mine," I bowed to him once more.
"Hmm, for you to be making such a request even when you turned me down when I first offered to teach you. Something must have gotten you spooked. Come, tell me," he asked as he walked out of the castle.
"You won't write me off as crazy, right?" I asked him.
"Come now, I'm way older than you. There are many things that I've experienced before. Otherwise, what kind of teacher would I be for ignoring the concern of my pupil," he explained.
I told him about my dream and how vivid it felt. Even now I can remember the entirety of the nightmare. I also told him about the strangle marks that appeared after it. The marks were still visible on my neck but at least it had dissipated a lot now.
Peter confessed that he certainly had not heard of a case where a dream becomes reality. He gave some thought as I made a joke that it might had been the Demon Queen's God taking revenge on me for killing its vessel. Peter gave me a serious look and said that it might not be too far-fetched from the truth. The power of the Gods are still widely unknown and Peter had a premonition that the end of the world is when the Gods decided to change this world entirely. I shudder to think about the possibility of such an event happening in my lifetime.
He gave his permission that he will tutor both of them on the condition that they come over to City of Heliotrope Ixia to learn. I told him that I will drag them over to the Eastern Continent even if I have to drag both of their feet.
"Right, before I forget. We will need to meet with Sladar one of these days to find out whether something happened at the Northern Continent. The City Of Lilies Dahlee was relatively safe and sound upon our inspection. Turns out the Demon Queen had activated a summoning circle north side, not too far from our east location where the army was waging war. What a brilliant way to fool me into thinking that demons were coming directly from the north," he sighed.
"Just let me know when and I'll meet up with you," I replied.
"One last thing, try not to allow your revenge consume you, Zen. I can see anger and conviction in your eyes. I do hope this won't be the last time that I'll be talking to you," he warned.
"Sorry Sensei, this is something I must do in order to find peace, and hopefully my grandfather as well. Do forgive your pupil for being foolish," I bowed in forgiveness.
"Getting revenge is a way of getting over your past. Not everyone is capable of forgiveness on their own. Even I had my fair share of revenge arc in the past," he confessed with a smile and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Farewell, Zen. I hope to see you soon," he smiled once more before boarding the caravan.
I passed him a note with the recipe on how to create the healing cream before he climbed up.
"Ho, and here I thought you wouldn't part with this without some form of royalty fees. Why the sudden change of heart?" he asked.
"There is enough suffering in this world and I caused a lot of them myself. Time for me to give back something to the world," I confessed.
Peter placed his hand on my shoulder again and smiled before boarding the caravan. His henchmen bowed to me before boarding. I trained with them before and we started off in the wrong foot. Now we respect each other. That, and the fact that they can longer defeat me in combat under Peter's teachings.
After seeing Peter off, I went straight home. I had planned to enact my revenge in exactly three days time, which would require me to make a lot of preparations. I wished to have a longer relaxing time but sadly, I cannot afford to drag it any longer. I need to ensure that Tom will still be in the area when I reached there.
Time to get started then. I had already purchased all the necessary ingredients needed to get started on my alchemy recipes. Now, I just need to immerse myself in creating them. Just when I was about to start, I heard someone knocking on my door. Bloody hell, just when I was in the mood to get started. Who the hell is it?!
I opened the door with an annoyed face. It was Rose and Lily.
"Onii-chan~ We'll be hanging out with you for a couple of days to celebrate. Is that okay?" asked Rose.
"Umm— I would really like some rest, Rose. Can you do this another day, please?" I returned the question to her.
"C'mon Zen, we fought so hard for you in this war. Can't you cut us some slack and let us enjoy your company together?" asked Lily.
I thought hard about it. I only have three days. But if I continue to push them away, they might end up getting suspicious. I had planned to do this alone. Should anything were to happened to me, at least both of them are safe here.
"Better hurry, or Rose and I might end up jumping on you before you know it," she whispered to me.
"Alright, fine, fine. You can hangout here. Just— don't disturb me, alright? I wish to get some rest for real," I caved to their request.
"Don't sweat it, Onii-chan. We'll be quiet. We'll be so quiet that you wouldn't even realise that we're staring at you while you sleep, heh heh," chuckled Rose.
"W— what did you just say?" I asked her immediately after she said that.
"Huh? I just said that we'll be quiet," answered Rose slowly.
"You said you stared at me while I sleep. When did this happened?" I asked her hastily.
"N— never. I had never done that before. The most I did was sneaked into your room and slept at your side. And that was when I was younger. I never stared at you while you sleep before. I swear," answered Rose while being surprised at my sudden urgency.
I looked away and started thinking. What did that nightmare meant? There must be some deeper meaning to that dream. Is it a warning, or some sort of premonition?
"I never thought you had such insecurities when you slept, Zen. You didn't have that issue with me before," said Lily as she tilted her head.
"T— this is different. It is not due to my insecurity. It's nothing," I sighed.
"So, Lily is allowed to stare at you while you sleep but it's a big no for me. Talk about favouritism for Lily," pouted Rose.
"I said it's nothing!— Sorry. Let me have my rest," I apologised as I headed into my room.
Rose and Lily turned to look at each other with a concerned look, but they decided to not bother me which I am thankful for. That dream really spooked me up badly over anything that is remotely related to it. But I know it meant something. Something that I just can't seemed to remember.
***
I brought Lily into my room to talk. We knew Onii-chan is planning to find Tom but we don't know when he's leaving. He didn't tell us about it and we're suspecting that he's planning to do it on his own. Is the revenge making him on edge? His sudden outburst at my joke earlier was so uncalled for. Is this how you're going to treat me after I asked you to choose Lily? Hmph!
We followed after him when he said he wanted to head to the washroom at the tavern that night. Lily was listening intently to his footsteps whether it matched the same amount of times it took for him to enter the washroom. Lily's ears perked up when she counted more and Zen's footstep were getting further, softer and eventually out the building.
We stalked him to an alleyway where he walked in alone. We peeked out from the corner to see who he was talking to but— there was no one else around. He took out some sort of paper and showed it to someone or something in front of him. I did not see anything with my eyes. I was worried that Onii-chan was losing it but Lily's elven eyes spotted a sort of silhouette that appears to be there but not entirely visible. While she could not exactly see who or what it was, she was certain that he was indeed talking to someone or something.
We were certainly concerned about him after that night. We were expecting him to bring us along for his revenge but we realised that might not be the case as he had kept quiet about it thus far. Onii-chan must be hell-bent on doing it alone for his grandfather. And here I thought that I was part of your family too. We should at least do this together.
He should be in his room planning on how to exact his revenge right about now. We certainly won't be disturbing him as we want him to be fully prepared. The best we can do is to help him in any way we can. And also to prepare ourselves to sneak after him.
***
What time is it now? I've completely lost myself in alchemy, creating the perfect potions to fight Tom. Sadly, I was never able to discover a wax that is effective against humans. Perhaps that is for the best, as I do not wished to fight with any other human beings if I can help it.
My stomach started to rumble. I guess I must had skipped lunch or something. I peeked out of the window and it was dark. Perhaps it's going to rain soon? It can't be night, right? I've just made a few potions so far and it shouldn't had taken that long.
I went out of my room to look for something to eat. Oh, Rose was removing her apron while Lily was setting the table. Just in time for lunch.
"Oh great, I was just about to call you for dinner. You skipped lunch by the way, despite me calling out to you," said Rose.
"D— dinner? It's really night now? Damn it, time really flew by quickly today," I said out loud.
The both of them chuckled at my remarks. Lily made fun at me for being a slouch, just sleeping the whole day. I just said yeah and smiled awkwardly as I did not want them to know that I was doing alchemy the whole time.
Lily sat me down while they brought out the dishes to the table. What's with the feast? There were way too many food for just the three of us. It was when the both of them sat down had me feeling puzzled. Lily sat on my right while Rose sat on my left. I was smack dab in the middle of the square dining table. This had never happened before. It was always me sitting at either of their side while one of them sat in the middle. Something sus is going on right now.
"You need to gain back your strength, Zen. That's why I bought so much food for you. And the fact that we can finally let loose and enjoy ourselves," smiled Lily.
"Oh, thanks for that. Let me repay you for the groceries later," I told her.
"I'm not broke, Zen. Come, have a taste of this freshly baked fish," said Lily as she fed me with her fork.
It's good. I can see that Rose had not lost her touch in cooking. I turned my gaze to Rose as she was always jealous of Lily feeding me. Huh? She's just smiling? Something's not right. Is this another nightmare? I pinched myself to be sure and yes, it does hurt.
"Onii-chan, I've made your favourite roast jikentette. Here, have a bite," said Rose as she fed me a small chunk of meat with her fork.
I alternated my gaze between both of them with suspicious eyes. These two are not acting normal. What is their motive for doing this?
"What's going on? You two are— acting awfully weird," I continued to stare at both of them.
"What do you mean? This is how we always act," explained Rose.
"Yeah. You're just too conscious about the little things," said Lily.
"I see what you two are doing. You're trying to make me experience the life of marrying the both of you and how normal it can be," I sighed.
"Umm— yeah," smiled Lily as Rose kept quiet.
"Look, I know you'll call me a stubborn fool, but I felt that every woman should have a husband of their own. It shouldn't be shared. Men cannot love things equally no matter how hard they try. So, it is going to be unfair to one of you if I do end up marrying both of you. I just— feel that it should be special to marry someone. I want it to mean something to not just me but to both of you as well," I explained to them.
"We understand, Onii-chan. You don't need to explain any further. Can we just enjoy the moment at least?" pleaded Rose.
"Of course, let's eat," I said.
***
Phew. Thank the above that Onii-chan was fooled. I knew if we acted suspicious, he'll start thinking differently. Now, he's gonna assume that we're here to show him what it's like to marry both of us.
Lily was in my room preparing her own equipment and materials for sneaking and combat. She's preparing something that will finally protect her stomach area. Me, on the other hand, was reading my book to see what other spells I can learn which doesn't come with a side effect. But, there were just so many spells written in strange language which I don't understand. I am gonna need to find someone to teach me should I wish to get stronger. And I know just the right person. The problem is getting him to teach me.
Just then, there was a knock on my door. I gave Lily a quick glance and she scrambled to hide her equipment and materials. I approached the door and opened a small gap to peek outside.
"Yes? Can I help you?" I asked him.
"I need to talk to you two. Is it convenient to talk now?" he asked while giving a suspicious look.
"Now— is not a right time, Onii-chan," I told him.
"What do you mean? I've got great news for the both of you that you'll be thrilled to hear," he said as he made an even more puzzled look.
"We are— kind of fooling around right now. So unless you're interested, I would suggest you to inform us about it tomorrow instead," I told him.
"W— what?" he replied with his mouth agape.
"Onii-chan, I'm— sort of— gay," I blurted out.
"Uhh— I guess.. I'll see you tomorrow then," he quickly went into his room. Will he be having his alone time while thinking about the two of us? Heh heh.
I closed the door while exhaling with a phew. Lily was sitting on the floor squinting at me with a cautious look. I explained to her that it was just a joke to shoo him away but Lily said that she recalled me saying that I loved her or something. I told her that it was not true and I will not be doing anything to her whatsoever. She jokingly said that she should sleep outside in the event that I end up assaulting her tonight which she made it very clearly that she's only interested in men.
We both chuckled and decided to call it a day. We don't even know when Onii-chan will be heading out but what we need to do is to keep a close eye on him. Anytime he sneaks out, we need to follow him. Our covert operation begins now.