Yaaaawn
Today, I woke up with the first morning bell, feeling refreshed and full of vigor.
Practicing magic and letting my body rest yesterday was a good idea. Well, I almost missed dinner, but thankfully, the nurse - or however one would call the woman responsible for looking after the regular patients downstairs - was tasked with checking on the visitors, offering food to those who were unable to walk to the dining hall.
Of course, it wasn't that I was unable to move, but rather, I was fully focused on finishing that cantrip.
The only unfortunate thing was that the young woman happened to walk in just as I finally succeeded.
I had to beg her to keep this secret, even going as far as making her promise it upon the Shining Lady's name.
Thankfully, the shy girl agreed in the end.
It wasn't like what I was doing was suspicions, after all. In this particular temple, basically every apprentice priest and paladin gained the [Light Orb] minor miracle - which was similar to my cantrip, in essence - at the very start of their journey, which was the Minor Blessing, granted prior to the full Path.
Getting the Minor Blessing was also what made one a ‘junior apprentice’, just like gaining the first 1st tier miracle made them a regular apprentice, and being granted the Path made them a senior apprentice.
Anyway, even if the girl didn't tell directly, merely alluding to this fact could contribute to the rumors that I was secretly being converted to a Solar Paladin, but that was better than having my real secret exposed.
Most importantly, I could finally send a message to Ms. Silver – soon, I would get a chance to learn some proper magic.
‘I can also go to the Guild now. Might as well try to find John, and look at the MIS requests there, too.’
With my goals for the day set, I quickly did some light exercises, before putting on my full gear, and making my way to the dining hall.
“Sebastian.”
“Joshua!”
I was genuinely happy to see the paladin, sitting at his usual spot at the apprentice paladin table. While his arm and leg were still encased in a wooden splint, he seemed to be able to move the injured arm without too much strain. There was also a cane beside him, suggesting he was capable of walking unassisted.
Without waiting for an invitation, I made my way to the empty seat beside him, facing no objections from the surrounding men.
“How are you holding up?”
“Better. I might not be able to train until the end of next week, but I should be able to take off the splint in a few days.”
His voice was still slightly weak, but unlike that night two days ago, it seemed his internal injuries were on their way to recovery.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
I didn’t really have anything to add, but he could likely hear the genuine relief in my voice.
The food came in. This time, it was actually bread and eggs with a few vegetables, which was, allegedly, a rare and joyous occasion when it came to breakfast in the temple.
“Do you know… whether they’ll do anything?”
I asked my question in a hushed, cautious tone, but judging by the expressions of a few surrounding men, whose faces stiffened up ever so slightly, I got a feeling as for the answer.
“They are… still discussing it. The temple needs to decide on an appropriate response.”
“Appropriate response, huh?..”
I tried very hard to hide the disappointment in my voice, with perhaps a hint of disdain, but it seemed my expression gave it away, prompting one of the nearby paladins to speak.
“What do you expect, child? For the whole order to rush into the deep sewers, chasing the shadows of a syndicate that survived for over four years?”
“I-”
I wanted to argue, but couldn’t find the words. No, perhaps there were no words to be found at all in this line of thought.
“Don’t be harsh on him, Sven. He, too, went through a lot-”
“No, he’s right.”
Joshua gave me a surprised look upon my interruption.
“What happened to you… It was because of me. My enemies. My weakness.”
I had no intention of expecting others to solve my problems.
“Don’t bring up that foolish dribble again, about using yourself as bait!”
Joshua’s voice rose, not to a shout, but definitely loud enough to earn a glance from the nearby table.
However, I only shook my head.
“No, you are right. I’m probably far too weak to serve as bait. I’d just be giving them my head on a silver platter."
Considering how much I struggled against a lv3 Assassin, who was a great match for me, including his tools and consumables, I held no delusions – facing a 2nd Realm Path-bearer, likely equipped with armor, weapons, tools and consumables worth multiple thousands - at the very least - was completely and utterly hopeless with my current strength. Perhaps I wouldn’t even survive the first exchange.
“Then what else is there to do? You even killed the one who came for me, as well as one of their henchmen.”
“But those ‘Undercity Hounds’... most of them remain, do they not?”
Joshua’s eyes opened wide.
“What are you saying?!”
“Did you not tell me yesterday – that justice is different from revenge?”
Upon my words, the paladin pressed his lips tightly, narrowing his eyes.
“From what I heard, those things they keep as pets are considered an anathema to the very spirit of this kingdom. To many faiths, too, including yours. There must be bounties on their heads, as well as the beasts.”
The injured man did not respond. However, his eyes still shone with stubborn disapproval.
“Would you call it justice? To just let them roam free? To simply let them go?”
“Haaa…”
The paladin sighed. There was no annoyance in that sigh, nor was there exhaustion. If anything, it seemed to be acceptance. And maybe a certain degree of pity.
“You are right. Going after them would indeed be just. This city would be a brighter place without their kind, and putting down their beasts would be an act of mercy.”
“Then why-”
“But you are not going after them for the sake of justice, are you?”
Under his stern gaze, I tried to raise an objection, only to realize such words would be nothing but a lie. A deception, not of him, but of myself.
“Still…”
For some reason, letting this go felt incredibly hard. So much so that it must have reflected upon my sinking expression.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“If you intend to do it, I won’t stop you. I don’t even have the right to – after all, it was you who was targeted.”
I forced myself to raise my eyes and meet his blue pupils, radiating compassion.
“However, remember this – even if you survive such an attempt; No, even if you reach your goal, it won’t feel nearly as satisfying as it does in your mind right now.”
“...”
He slowly removed his healthy hand, returning to his meal.
“Haaa…”
There was no point in arguing – I was completely beaten. So much so that I even began to consider this the better outcome.
“Aren’t you going to deliver the final line?”
The paladin turned his head towards me once more, raising a questioning eyebrow.
“I thought you clergymen were supposed to deliver some.. profound saying from the scriptures after imparting your wisdom.”
Joshua chuckled, noticing the weak, defeated smile on my face.
“I’m a paladin. I leave this kind of thing to the priests.”
***
With the celebration imminent, even the giant plaza in front of the Sun Temple - as well as the other temples - had a few leaves scattered here and there, likely flying over from the neighbouring streets.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
‘Where do all those leaves even come from?’
Unless they were imported, the only explanation I could muster was that the parks were packed with the trees that produce them.
‘Oh, wait. Actually, it could be something like the red pine trees, only that those were bioengineered to produce lots of.. leaves?’
On second thought, this was probably just a type of tree native to this world.
‘Isn’t it a bit early for leaves to change color, though? Well, maybe they just shed their leaves early. No, now that I think about it, it’s unusually cold for this early in the fall.’
Of course, my ‘usual’ expectations for temperature came from Earth, so maybe this world was colder in general?..
I discarded those thoughts upon reaching the stables, which stood just a little bit farther down the street across the Sun Temple.
Dropping 3 more silver for Storm's stay, I went to the 2nd floor, to find my horse safe and sound.
“Neigh!”
“Hello there, buddy.”
I scratched his neck, receiving a soft bite in return.
“Let’s go. We have a long day ahead of us.”
***
“What is the reason for your visit?”
‘Strange… did they ask this before?’
Perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me, but I could swear the guards at the MIS HQ didn't ask me this last time.
‘Is this because they were expecting me back then, or am I simply too heavily armed today?’
“If you won’t speak, move aside.”
‘Or maybe today the guards are just assholes.’
“I didn't come to visit today. I need to pass a message to the logistics Wizard, Anne Silver.”
“Oh. And she's expecting you?..”
The guard's voice was laced with skepticism.
“If she was, why would I have to pass her a message?”
The guard didn't like my annoyed tone, and even less-so the words, but the second guard chuckled, earning an equally annoyed glance from his colleague.
“Look, if you want, one of you can bring me a pen and a piece of paper from inside, and I'll scribble it for you to deliver… unless you are willing to take responsibility for her getting it late.”
The last part did wonders in removing the traces of reluctance from the 1st guard's eyes, replacing them with begrudging acceptance.
A moment later, one of them did as I suggested.
This was much simpler than trying to get a foreign envelope, or even scrap of paper, inside. I was certain that a place like this considered the possibility of poisoned ink, and perhaps even more exotic dangers, like curses.
“
Your request has been fulfilled.
Your books are ready to be returned.
Sebastian
”
Of course, I could still make use of the books to a certain degree, but I've already read everything outlined by Anne at least once, and anything more would be for the sake of repetition.
One of the guards went in, only to return a minute later, likely passing my note to one of the ‘escorting’ guards, and prompted me to wait there.
Five minutes later, I got my answer in the form of another note.
‘Return the books to the 7th Silver estate, at 19:00? Wait, with this signed note…’
Come to think of it, the invitation to her estate in Central wasn't that surprising. After all, it was her home, and it's not like I could practice magic in the ministry.
‘Hope she thought of a cover story for the visit. Or rather, for my stay, if it ends up being an actual full-length lesson.’
Then again, as a High Wizard, she must have been quite smart, so she probably thought things through.
‘Now, onto the next destination.’
It felt like a strange thing to say, but I was already starting to miss the feeling of swinging my sword.
***
“You are in luck. Unless he booked a new appointment today, Sir Black should be free after lunch.”
This was good news, as I was planning to go grab lunch myself. Although I've finished less than half of my physical training for today, I planned on staying here until I had to leave for Central. Of course, I didn't know exactly which of the Silver estates was the 7th, but all of them were concentrated in a single zone, not far from the ruling family estate. And of course I actually took the books back when I left the temple in the morning.
However, I intentionally came to reception half an hour early, to do the thing I forgot to do two days ago.
“I also wanted to ask – how do I access MIS requests?”
The receptionist gave me a suspicious look.
“I have permission, of course! Here, you can check.”
I waved my hand defensively, extending my token with the other, but she simply shook her head.
“It won't be me who checks it. But just keep in mind, if you go there without actually having any type of clearance, you’ll be facing a 10 gold fine.”
“Sure.”
I didn’t exactly get what ‘going there’ meant, but I was certain the answer would soon reveal itself.
The receptionist stood up, motioning me to follow. Rather than leading me upstairs, she instead walked farther into the building, before turning left, and using her token to open a large door. Beyond the door was a spiral staircase. However, the entrance was blocked by yet another set of bars, and yet another arcane device was embedded into the doorway, right in front of those bars.
“Go on.”
Taking out my token, I pressed it against the glass, only to have the faint white shimmer turn yellow.
“Your finger.”
By the time she uttered the first word, I'd already pressed my finger onto a familiar looking button, with a tiny needle tip in the middle. I didn’t even feel the drop of blood which evidently escaped into the device, as the light turned light-blue.
crrrrr
Suddenly, rather than the bars, the spiral stairway itself started moving upwards with a creaking sound. I could even hear the faint sound of grinding gears, somewhere in the depth of this contraption.
After a dozen seconds, the stone spiral came to an abrupt halt, and the bars receded into the floor with a grating metallic screech.
“Please, proceed downwards to the end of the stairs.”
The woman’s tone held significantly less suspicion - and more respect - than 20 seconds earlier.
Paying it no mind, I stepped onto the stairs, and began my descent. A distinct smell of alcohol from behind me suggested that button was being sterilized, to my subtle relief.
The stairway - at least its lower part - wasn’t that long. Considering the fact that the wall rotated together with the stairway, it probably had just this one exit, conveniently leading to the relevant room.
Yes, room – a two-by-three room, with but a… screen?
The slightly convex glass pane embedded into the wall was reminiscent of old square TV screens, only that it had no controller or knobs, and was much larger, occupying nearly half of the wall’s length. Instead, at the sides of the screen were two arrows, inside circles, and at the bottom was something that looked like a ‘page number’, which was currently at 1 / 6.
Beside it was my name, as well as a string of characters beside it.
‘CC2-L1(+1)-P2 (Aw)’
I didn’t even try to discern it, instead raising my eyes to look at the translucent images of mission requests, 3 pages fitting into this view.
The last page was cut off at the bottom – to confirm my suspicion, I pressed my finger against it, and…
‘Whoa.’
It actually ‘opened’, occupying the left side of the screen, with the rest of the (unusually long) page appearing as a separate image below it.
On the right side there were a few rounded ‘buttons’, which were quite descriptive. I pressed the “go back” button, returning to the previous screen.
‘This is actually crazy.’
While this was by no means equivalent to a modern computer, rather more akin to an ancient state machine, it was still a cut above anything I’ve seen so far in this world.
Closing my eyes for a moment, and focusing on my arcane sense, I saw the screen ‘separated’ from the outside via a solid film of repelling light-blue.
‘Hmm.. I suppose trying to mess with it would be the worst idea imaginable.’
Suppressing my curiosity, I instead focused on the available jobs.
“Hmm…”
Any job that required traveling outside of Northern was out. Well, Central was probably safer, but I greatly doubted there would be many jobs located there, if at all.
‘Oh, there actually is a job related to those guys.’
It would seem that, at least, the latest attack earned the Undercity Hounds enough notoriety to end up on this list. Although, judging by the description and objectives, the main focus would be eliminating their ‘pets’.
Also, as was the case with most jobs here, I would join a small squad made up of an MIS investigator, and some soldiers under his command.
‘Unfortunately, this is a really bad idea right now.’
Not only would I have to go into both Southern and likely the deep sewers, which were the most dangerous places in the city for me right now, but if, somehow, the parent syndicate got wind of me investigating the Hounds, there was a decent chance they would be used as bait, or even sacrificial pawns, to take me out.
Of course, I couldn’t be 100% certain, but they seemed like the petty, bloodthirsty mob types who would go to that length to send a message.
‘Hmm… investigating potential cults does sound interesting, but alas…’
There were a few requests related to other investigations, but the same limitation applied – I couldn’t afford to leave my ‘safe zone’ right now.
‘This really only leaves two options.’
Both of those were patrol missions. Both didn’t seem too exciting, if I was being honest.
‘Oh well… beggars can’t be choosers.’
The first mission was to reinforce patrols in Central, and, as per the description, the starting date would likely be within 1 to 5 weeks, and the duration would be indefinite with a 1 month minimum guarantee.
‘Hmm.. I wonder if this could be related to what I heard earlier, about the Lord being in bad health.’
It almost seemed like they were planning to reinforce patrols following the imminent death of the city’s (and the whole province’s) ruler.
‘The pay looks great… 3 gold per day is a very high amount for this world. But...’
To be fair, apart from the pay, the mission was not very appealing.
I would get access to the barracks at Central, or whatever other lodgings they’d assign me there, but I’d also be on-call 24/7.
What’s more, I could potentially get entangled with nobles. And if any of the two minor noble brats saw me, that, by itself, could cost me more than the reward.
And finally, they wouldn’t pay 3 gold per day just to walk around the district – I had no doubt the potential danger would match the reward.
‘This only leaves one option.’
[Day Of Fallen Leaves - Northern District Patrol (Afternoon Shift)]
Location
: Northern District, Silverveil.
Objective
: Patrol
Summary
:
Standard ‘major celebration patrol reinforcement’ procedure.
The independent party shall team up with an MIS member, and patrol the northern district under their command, between 12:00 and 18:15.
A horse shall be provided by the MIS.
Requirements
: Iron Rank (Combat oriented), intermediate riding skill, 2nd Awareness Realm or higher.
Reward
: 5 gold upfront, additional reward in case of life threatening engagements.
‘Well, 5 gold for half a day’s work is great. It’s noncommittal, and I seem to be a perfect fit when it comes to the requirements. And I’ll also get to see the festival, even if my vantage point would be a bit unusual.’
After a moment of hesitation, I pressed the button that said “Accept Request”.
Still not making a single sound, the screen shone light-blue, before flashing a message telling me to visit reception.
‘There’s my allowance for the week. Now, gotta hurry! I absolutely can’t miss lunch.’