—Next Day, Afternoon—
“Name and reason for your visit to the capital..?”, an exhausted guard asked, turning the page on his pad of paper.
“Cole Bolt, we are on an Escort Request from the Greyrat Family.”, I replied, knowing full well that hiding Hilda and Ghislaine here was a fool’s errand.
Both of them were too well-known around the capital to disguise themselves, and using Illusion Magic would have only delayed the inevitable. For this specific situation, it was better to face this head-on before letting things fester. At this point the confirmed death toll was unknown so Hilda’s best chance to convince people the Greyrats were innocent was right now. Once the dead began to pile up, the public opinion would ensure the Greyrats paid dearly for this.
“Escort for the Greyrats?”, he remarked, as his interest was piqued, “Which one are you escorting?”
“Hilda Boreas Greyrat.”, I stated, as Hilda nervously held the back of my coat, “Is there a problem, sir?”
“Is there a fucking problem…where the hell have you been!?”, he spat, throwing the notepad on the ground, “The whole fucking capital is in an uproar because of that bloody family! All of Roa and the surrounding countryside is gone, every single man, woman, and child for hundreds of miles are gone.”
Hearing the scale of the incident, Hilda’s grip on my coat tightened as guilt began welling inside her. Even though she was aware that the Teleportation Event was not caused by the Greyrat Family, her heart went out to those families that had missing children. She understood their suffering and pain all too well, and she was likely wondering if there was anything she could have done to prevent this from happening.
“If you would use your fucking eyes, the majority of those leaving the capital at the moment are carrying missing person requests.”, the guard berated us, pointing at the long queue lining for those leaving the capital, “Adventurers, soldiers, and civilians who could not afford to hire Adventurers are all racing to find as many souls as we can. Every damn moment that passes decreases our chances of finding them alive…or finding them at all. I have a sister and several nieces and nephews who are missing right now because of the Greyrats, so yes there is a problem!”
“While I sympathize with your suffering, the Greyrats are not responsible for what happened.”, I corrected him, “Are you insinuating that they are all idiots, and decided to wipe their territory off the map? You realize that the Head of the Family and most of the direct descendants were in Roa when that happened, right? I ask you, does that sound like something an esteemed noble family would do?”
Blinded by his anger my words fell on deaf ears and only served to further anger him. Stepping forward to chew me out further the guard caught sight of Hilda who flinched in fear. Seeing her, the guard immediately lunged forward to seize her by the hair. Stepping forward to smack his hand away, Ghislaine stopped when she realized I already had him by the wrist.
“My tolerance is beginning to wear thin.”, I growled, as lightning began to arc around us, “If you do not have any further cause to hold us here, we are leaving.”
Hearing the bones in his wrist begin to creak, the guard reached for his blade with his free hand and prepared to draw it on me. Before he got it a quarter of the way out, his commanding officer ran over to de-escalate the situation.
“Magus, let them pass!”, his commanding officer ordered him, “Look around you, he already has a spell ready to fry you the moment the blade is unsheathed. I know you are worried about Agnus and her children, do not let your anger get you killed. If you die here no one is going to go look for them out there.”
“But…but I…”, Magus argued, wanting to just let it all out.
“We can inform the Royal Guard of Hilda’s arrival, there is only one place in the capital she could stay right now so we know where she will be. Just let them go for now and finish out your shift for the day.”, the commander said, calmly placing a hand on Magus’ shoulder, “You can rest up tonight, and head out first thing to start looking for your missing family members.”
Sheathing his sword, Magus picked his notebook up and told us to get out of his sight immediately. Happily agreeing to it, the four of us promptly left the gate and headed down the main road toward the Noble District. As we made our way through the crowd I noticed several suspicious individuals watching us from either side of the road. Ducking into nearby buildings and alleyways as I made eye contact with them, I motioned for the women to pick up the pace.
“We are being watched closely from either side.”, I told them, lowering myself down so Hilda could jump on, “I am going to take Hilda ahead, both of you bring up the rear. Be careful, they could be assassins or agents working for the Crown.”
“Understood, we will catch up soon.”, Ghislaine acknowledged, pushing Hilda onto me, “Now is not the time to be shy, just move.”
“Easy for you to say, you are not the one in a dress!”, Hilda complained, as leaned into my back, “I may die of embarrassment before an assassin’s blade takes me.”
Standing back up again, she wrapped her arms around my neck as I reached down and held her up by placing my hands under her thighs. Even though there were several layers of fabric between her and my hands, it was very easy to tell that she had a nice pair of legs. Letting out a cute shriek of surprise as she felt my hands on her thighs, she turned bright red as those around us turned to see what was happening.
“That is my queue to get moving.”, I said with a smirk, “Hold on tight!”
Using Ice Launch to quickly gain altitude, I touched down on a nearby rooftop and promptly took off running at a brisk pace. Jumping from roof to roof, my attention was focused on looking for any pursuers. Spotting several of the stalkers leap out of the crowd to give chase, Ciri and Ghislaine swiftly intercepted most of them and began engaging them in a fight. The few who managed to slip by using innocent bystanders as shields were promptly dealt with by me. Using Precision Lightning to blast them in the head, all of them crumpled to the ground just a few feet behind the two women.
“Go, we will handle this!”, Ciri shouted, wearing a stupid smirk on her face, “This is shaping up to be one of the best adventurers I have been on in a while!”
“How about a bet?”, Ghislaine suggested, wearing an equally stupid grin, “Loser pays for the winner’s drink tab tonight?”
“Oh, you are on!”, Ciri agreed, leveraging her magic to increase her speed.
Watching her blitz Ghislaine for a moment, Ciri managed to decapitate four of the assailants before Ghislaine could respond. Turning my attention back to the matter at hand, I continued pressing forward toward the Noble District.
—Several Minutes Later—
“Is this the place?”, I asked, standing on the rooftop across the road, “I expected something nearly twice this size…”
“We are wealthy because we are smart with our money.”, Hilda said, fixing her dress beside me, “The manor has enough room for the main family, our servants, guards, and maybe a few guests at most. As we only use this manor during brief visits to the capital, this is more than sufficient for our needs. Can you tell if anyone is inside?”
Sending out a Radar Pulse, I received several responses from three of the rooms on the second floor. Counting seven people currently residing in the home, none of them were red which meant they were at least neutral to us. Relaying this information to Hilda, she stated that they were likely extended family who were hiding out there for protection.
“If that is all, we have completely lost all our servants and guards now.”, Hilda sighed, “I can deal with that in a while, right now I want to see who is here.”
Taking my hand, I teleported us down to the front door. Unlocking the door with magic, Hilda rushed inside and began calling out to those upstairs. Giving them a moment to respond, a boisterous voice echoed throughout the home in response to her call.
“Hilda, is that you!?”, Sauros shouted, running out of his room, “Thank the Gods, I thought I had lost all of you!!”
Running down the stairs in a hurry, the old man ran up to us with a relief expression. Taking a second to process everything, his relief turned to worry as he released Hilda and I were the only ones standing there.
“My son Philip…my granddaughter Eris…Rudeus…where are they..?”, he inquired.
“Father…I am sorry…”, Hilda said, pulling her husband’s destroyed ring out of her pocket, “Ghislaine was too late to save him. If not for this man here, I would have joined Philip in death as well.”
“What of Eris and Rudeus!?”, he shouted, almost pleading with her to tell him, “Please…please tell me they are alive!”
“Sir, both of them are currently traveling by wagon on the western coast of the Demon Continent.”, I told him.
A wave of relief crashed over him hearing his beloved Eris and Rudeus were alive. Motioning for us to follow him, Sauros wanted to hear everything that had occurred in detail. Suggesting that we wait for Ghislaine and Ciri to reach us first, he agreed and offered me a drink while we waited.
—Next Day, Afternoon—
“Name and reason for your visit to the capital..?”, an exhausted guard asked, turning the page on his pad of paper.
“Cole Bolt, we are on an Escort Request from the Greyrat Family.”, I replied, knowing full well that hiding Hilda and Ghislaine here was a fool’s errand.
Both of them were too well-known around the capital to disguise themselves, and using Illusion Magic would have only delayed the inevitable. For this specific situation, it was better to face this head-on before letting things fester. At this point the confirmed death toll was unknown so Hilda’s best chance to convince people the Greyrats were innocent was right now. Once the dead began to pile up, the public opinion would ensure the Greyrats paid dearly for this.
“Escort for the Greyrats?”, he remarked, as his interest was piqued, “Which one are you escorting?”
“Hilda Boreas Greyrat.”, I stated, as Hilda nervously held the back of my coat, “Is there a problem, sir?”
“Is there a fucking problem…where the hell have you been!?”, he spat, throwing the notepad on the ground, “The whole fucking capital is in an uproar because of that bloody family! All of Roa and the surrounding countryside is gone, every single man, woman, and child for hundreds of miles are gone.”
Hearing the scale of the incident, Hilda’s grip on my coat tightened as guilt began welling inside her. Even though she was aware that the Teleportation Event was not caused by the Greyrat Family, her heart went out to those families that had missing children. She understood their suffering and pain all too well, and she was likely wondering if there was anything she could have done to prevent this from happening.
“If you would use your fucking eyes, the majority of those leaving the capital at the moment are carrying missing person requests.”, the guard berated us, pointing at the long queue lining for those leaving the capital, “Adventurers, soldiers, and civilians who could not afford to hire Adventurers are all racing to find as many souls as we can. Every damn moment that passes decreases our chances of finding them alive…or finding them at all. I have a sister and several nieces and nephews who are missing right now because of the Greyrats, so yes there is a problem!”
“While I sympathize with your suffering, the Greyrats are not responsible for what happened.”, I corrected him, “Are you insinuating that they are all idiots, and decided to wipe their territory off the map? You realize that the Head of the Family and most of the direct descendants were in Roa when that happened, right? I ask you, does that sound like something an esteemed noble family would do?”
Blinded by his anger my words fell on deaf ears and only served to further anger him. Stepping forward to chew me out further the guard caught sight of Hilda who flinched in fear. Seeing her, the guard immediately lunged forward to seize her by the hair. Stepping forward to smack his hand away, Ghislaine stopped when she realized I already had him by the wrist.
“My tolerance is beginning to wear thin.”, I growled, as lightning began to arc around us, “If you do not have any further cause to hold us here, we are leaving.”
Hearing the bones in his wrist begin to creak, the guard reached for his blade with his free hand and prepared to draw it on me. Before he got it a quarter of the way out, his commanding officer ran over to de-escalate the situation.
“Magus, let them pass!”, his commanding officer ordered him, “Look around you, he already has a spell ready to fry you the moment the blade is unsheathed. I know you are worried about Agnus and her children, do not let your anger get you killed. If you die here no one is going to go look for them out there.”
“But…but I…”, Magus argued, wanting to just let it all out.
“We can inform the Royal Guard of Hilda’s arrival, there is only one place in the capital she could stay right now so we know where she will be. Just let them go for now and finish out your shift for the day.”, the commander said, calmly placing a hand on Magus’ shoulder, “You can rest up tonight, and head out first thing to start looking for your missing family members.”
Sheathing his sword, Magus picked his notebook up and told us to get out of his sight immediately. Happily agreeing to it, the four of us promptly left the gate and headed down the main road toward the Noble District. As we made our way through the crowd I noticed several suspicious individuals watching us from either side of the road. Ducking into nearby buildings and alleyways as I made eye contact with them, I motioned for the women to pick up the pace.
“We are being watched closely from either side.”, I told them, lowering myself down so Hilda could jump on, “I am going to take Hilda ahead, both of you bring up the rear. Be careful, they could be assassins or agents working for the Crown.”
“Understood, we will catch up soon.”, Ghislaine acknowledged, pushing Hilda onto me, “Now is not the time to be shy, just move.”
“Easy for you to say, you are not the one in a dress!”, Hilda complained, as leaned into my back, “I may die of embarrassment before an assassin’s blade takes me.”
Standing back up again, she wrapped her arms around my neck as I reached down and held her up by placing my hands under her thighs. Even though there were several layers of fabric between her and my hands, it was very easy to tell that she had a nice pair of legs. Letting out a cute shriek of surprise as she felt my hands on her thighs, she turned bright red as those around us turned to see what was happening.
“That is my queue to get moving.”, I said with a smirk, “Hold on tight!”
Using Ice Launch to quickly gain altitude, I touched down on a nearby rooftop and promptly took off running at a brisk pace. Jumping from roof to roof, my attention was focused on looking for any pursuers. Spotting several of the stalkers leap out of the crowd to give chase, Ciri and Ghislaine swiftly intercepted most of them and began engaging them in a fight. The few who managed to slip by using innocent bystanders as shields were promptly dealt with by me. Using Precision Lightning to blast them in the head, all of them crumpled to the ground just a few feet behind the two women.
“Go, we will handle this!”, Ciri shouted, wearing a stupid smirk on her face, “This is shaping up to be one of the best adventurers I have been on in a while!”
“How about a bet?”, Ghislaine suggested, wearing an equally stupid grin, “Loser pays for the winner’s drink tab tonight?”
“Oh, you are on!”, Ciri agreed, leveraging her magic to increase her speed.
Watching her blitz Ghislaine for a moment, Ciri managed to decapitate four of the assailants before Ghislaine could respond. Turning my attention back to the matter at hand, I continued pressing forward toward the Noble District.
—Several Minutes Later—
“Is this the place?”, I asked, standing on the rooftop across the road, “I expected something nearly twice this size…”
“We are wealthy because we are smart with our money.”, Hilda said, fixing her dress beside me, “The manor has enough room for the main family, our servants, guards, and maybe a few guests at most. As we only use this manor during brief visits to the capital, this is more than sufficient for our needs. Can you tell if anyone is inside?”
Sending out a Radar Pulse, I received several responses from three of the rooms on the second floor. Counting seven people currently residing in the home, none of them were red which meant they were at least neutral to us. Relaying this information to Hilda, she stated that they were likely extended family who were hiding out there for protection.
“If that is all, we have completely lost all our servants and guards now.”, Hilda sighed, “I can deal with that in a while, right now I want to see who is here.”
Taking my hand, I teleported us down to the front door. Unlocking the door with magic, Hilda rushed inside and began calling out to those upstairs. Giving them a moment to respond, a boisterous voice echoed throughout the home in response to her call.
“Hilda, is that you!?”, Sauros shouted, running out of his room, “Thank the Gods, I thought I had lost all of you!!”
Running down the stairs in a hurry, the old man ran up to us with a relief expression. Taking a second to process everything, his relief turned to worry as he released Hilda and I were the only ones standing there.
“My son Philip…my granddaughter Eris…Rudeus…where are they..?”, he inquired.
“Father…I am sorry…”, Hilda said, pulling her husband’s destroyed ring out of her pocket, “Ghislaine was too late to save him. If not for this man here, I would have joined Philip in death as well.”
“What of Eris and Rudeus!?”, he shouted, almost pleading with her to tell him, “Please…please tell me they are alive!”
“Sir, both of them are currently traveling by wagon on the western coast of the Demon Continent.”, I told him.
A wave of relief crashed over him hearing his beloved Eris and Rudeus were alive. Motioning for us to follow him, Sauros wanted to hear everything that had occurred in detail. Suggesting that we wait for Ghislaine and Ciri to reach us first, he agreed and offered me a drink while we waited.
