[Brian POV]1Because of a POV change between chapters.
Come morning, well it was actually over 11 am, so calling this morning might not be correct, Alice, Lua and I joined our two guests for breakfast.
I had Tinkhec and Bistro Butcher prepare it for us, so we had quite the lineup of monster meats available, alongside some other not so protein heavy options like bread and fruits. We even had some donuts for dessert. For drinks, we had tea or freshly squeezed fruit juice. And blood for Lua, but our guests probably won’t be having that.
Spoiler“So, how did you sleep?” I asked the two as we ate.
“The beds you offered us were very fine, thank you.” Nel offered a quite formal response.
“... I … I slept well.” Unika answered. “... I also really enjoyed the bath. … and I’d like to thank miss Nudy… for washing my clothes. … as well as… the black haired lady… for her help.”
“ … they did that for her?” I heard Nel muttering.
Did she not take advantage of my extra services? Well, that’s on her for not doing so. But I’m happy to hear that Unika took advantage of them. Hopefully it at least partially makes up for the bullshit mission Nel gave to her.
“I see. I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed your stay. And Unika, I’ll make sure you get a chance to thank my maids before I return you to the surface.”
“... surface? What do you mean by that?” Nel asked.
“Nothing you need to know. But speaking of returning you, I did have a question about it. Well, mainly for you, Nel. You went from the capital to Green Town inside Unika’s Tamer’s Paradise, didn’t you?”
“And what if I did?” Nel asked.
“Nothing. As I said, some rulebraking is fine with me, as I do it myself. I was just wondering, do you want me to drop you off in the Green town, or would you prefer I take you directly to the capital?”
“... you could do that?”
“It is quite simple. So, which do you prefer?”
“... I’ll go to the capital then.” Nel answered.
“Alright. Make sure you pay Unika before you leave, as if you don’t, I’ll chase you down and make sure you pay her for the trouble you put her in.” I said, while making my voice a bit more intimidating.
“I… I will.” Nel quickly responded.
“... umm. What about me?” Unika then asked.
“Well, you are quite a bit easier.” I told her. “I will be returning you to the Green town. From there, you can go wherever you want. And if you want a ride back to the capital, I do have space in my carriage, so you can ride back with us.
“... Yes. I’d like that. … the ride to the capital, I mean.” Unika said carefully.
“Well, that was a lot more simple than I thought. I assumed at least one of you would reject my plan.” I admitted to the duo.
“Do we even have the power to do so?” Nel asked. “We are in your domain. What can we do, except listen to you?”
“A lot of things, but I don’t want to tell you my weaknesses.”
“And when you are ready to pay for the monsters I let you absorb, you can contact me via the Sawyer family. If you don’t, I will find you. So I’ll be waiting.” I warned Nel, before our group left HomeBase. We were still above Green town, not the capital, so we were going to be dropping to the ground first. Then HomeBase would move back to float above the capital, so that Endy and Magie could find a good spot in the capital to lower Nel into. And Eline would escort her to the ground before herself returning to HomeBase. Then from there, Endy and Magie should be able to follow Nel with the HomeBase sensors, so we can track where she goes. If she heads to a noble’s home, we should find out whose escaped child she is. Actually, considering her age, calling her a child is just wrong. In theory, she could even be the head of her house if she was the only heir. But if that was the case, I’d question her actions even more. What was she trying to do in that dungeon?
Perhaps we can make an educated guess after we figure out who she is.
But yeah, that will have to wait. Because the six of us will have to get to the ground so we can officially leave the Green town and head back to the capital. Also a report to the GM about what happened. Well, other than the stuff with Nel and Unika. That is none of my business. … well, maybe I could probe Unika for a bit of info.
I picked a quiet looking spot in the town and beamed us all there. Unika was a bit more … cognizant this time, so she was definitely a bit surprised. But I guess after all she saw at HomeBase, a bit of teleportation isn’t that bad, as she didn’t raise her voice, and barely asked any questions about it. Have to say, that is a good thing. Even if her not asking questions might have been why she got in trouble in the dungeon.
We then headed to the streets so I could bring out my carriage. The town isn’t too busy, but it still is difficult to find a spot on the road where I can just bring out something that big without someone noticing, so I decided to just ignore everyone else and bring my carriage out anyway. Not like me having Storage is a secret, so while we will get some looks, we shouldn’t get anything more than that.
“... will we all fit? Should I… go on my own?” Unika asked, as she saw the carriage.
“Don’t underestimate Brian.” Alice told her. “Stuff he makes is not normal, like that medbed you were on yesterday.”
“That one is actually Lua’s handiwork.” I corrected.
“I used your skill for it, so it is more of a collaboration.” Lua added.
“... how does..?”
“Magic, duh.” I answered Unika’s almost question.
“No. Don’t lie to her. That has nothing to do with magic. Don’t spread misinformation.” Alice corrected. “It can be done because Brian is Brian.”
“... I’m not sure I get it, but I won’t ask.” Unika quickly gave in.
I then opened the door so we could head inside. I let Alice and Lua in first, and Unika was going in third. Ria was going to be driving today, as Agunan was the one that drove us here. Technically this carriage doesn’t need a driver, but it would look strange if it didn't have one. Maybe I should make an illusion spell that makes an illusion driver. Or I could bring a monster in an avatar doll from HomeBase to drive. Or I can summon one. Many options are available. Avatar dolls are probably the best, as I could leave them to watch after the carriage. They do work independently after all. And I can just take out the card, put it into the Collection, and put the doll itself into Storage, if I want to put away everything.
Anyway. That is enough of those thoughts. Let’s get on board and get a move on.
“So Unika, still think we won’t fit?” Alice asked the fox-girl.
“... how is this..?”
“This time the answer is magic, duh.” Alice mimicked my earlier response. “It is similar to the magic magic bags use, but this one can let living things inside.” Alice explained.
“I… I didn’t know.”
“Well that much is understandable. I studied magic for years and I didn’t think this would be possible.” Alice admitted. “But leave it to Brian to make it possible. And he did it in an afternoon.”
“Actually, it took me a bit over two days.” I corrected Alice. “Well, the expansion magic itself was only about 5 hours across 2 days of my time, but the carriage took a bit over 2 days of design work. And then there is the time my Spellcasters spent developing the spell, so plenty of man-hours went into designing this carriage. But please, do take a seat. We will be taking off.” I told everyone.
After Agunan had also entered and we were all seated, I told Ria we were ready and she could drive off when she wanted.
Before we made it out of the town, we were stopped at the town gate. They just confirmed who were leaving, and while he didn’t check my group's guild cards, the guard did ask to see Unika’s card, and she showed it to them.
Other than that check, and Unika freaking out just a bit when she realized we are entering the capital via a noble’s only entrance, our trip back to the capital was peaceful.
I was able to obtain some info from Unika about Nel. Nel had apparently seen Unika practice her Tamer’s Paradise skill, and she had noticed that Unika could take a person inside. Nel then promised to pay Unika a good sum of money, if Unika would help her get into the Green dungeon. And because Unika’s family wasn’t in the greatest financial situation, Unika agreed on the job and that is how she ended up where we met up with her.
Her family consisted of her, her mother and her younger brother. Her father was an adventurer like her, but he died on a quest some time ago. Her mother worked as a waitress in a small restaurant, but that barely paid for their house, so both Unika and her brother needed to work for food money. Her brother worked some odd jobs around the city, while also going to a cheap magic school on the side, as apparently her brother had a decent affinity towards light magic, and both Unika and her mother wanted him to realize that potential. And while the magic school was on the cheap side, it did still cost some money, so Unika was working hard for both food money, as well as her brother’s education, so a well paying easy job was definitely something Unika wanted to take on. Even if it was a bit shady.
“... So Brian… What are you going to do about that?” Alice teasingly asked.
“Umm… nothing?”
“Really? You aren’t going to offer her a job? Or maybe offer to teach her younger brother?”
“I mean, I could, but… what do you think, Unika? Do you want a job working for me?” I just asked her.
“Eh? I … no. I mean yes. I mean… what kind of job would this be? I would like to know more.”
“Nothing much. I will move you to live on HomeBase, and from there, you will be an adventurer I can call for when I need you. Actually, I would like you to teach Einar, a tamer that already works for me, how to use that Tamer’s Paradise skill. Also, I can hire your mother as a maid, and I have access to great magicians who can teach your brother. But in return, you will work for me whenever I need extra hands with jobs. Oh and outside of those times, you will be free to keep working as an adventurer, if you want. Or you can pick up some tasks on HomeBase.”
“... is this… is this a joke?” Unika asked.
“I wouldn’t joke about this. The offer is true. Sure you will be basically a test subject for some plans I have for HomeBase, but it isn’t like I’ll poke or probe you. … well, Lua might.”
“Hey!”
“Sorry. Should I have said bite and suck blood?” I kept the joke going, earning myself a slap on the head.
“Come on. You know you will do it. It is part of the medical check-up that you came up with.” I pointed out.
“Using Blood Magic and sucking blood are two completely different things.” Lua argued.
“... is … is this normal?” Unika asked.
“Almost a daily occurrence between either Master and Miss Lucia or Master and Miss Alice.” Agunan answered.
“... is your Master someone… I should work for?” Unika then asked.
“That is a question only you can answer. I dedicated my life to him, as he is stronger than I am. That is how a dragon lives.” Agunan told her. “I cannot tell you how to live, but I can tell you this. In my 900 years of life, I have never experienced as many things as quickly, or grown more powerful faster, than during the time I’ve spent with my Master. So if you wish to gain experience and grow stronger, I believe working for him is what you should do. … and rest assured. My Master does take care of those that are close to him. If you work for him, anything you may need, he will get. That is just who he is.”
“... I see. Thank you, Lord Dragon.”
“Agunan.”
“... yes?”
“My name. Please do call me Agunan.”
“Yes, Lord Agunan. My name is Unika.”
“If you do end up working for my Master, make sure to drop the ‘lord’. He doesn’t like that sort of thing.”
[Brian POV]1Because of a POV change between chapters.
Come morning, well it was actually over 11 am, so calling this morning might not be correct, Alice, Lua and I joined our two guests for breakfast.
I had Tinkhec and Bistro Butcher prepare it for us, so we had quite the lineup of monster meats available, alongside some other not so protein heavy options like bread and fruits. We even had some donuts for dessert. For drinks, we had tea or freshly squeezed fruit juice. And blood for Lua, but our guests probably won’t be having that.
Spoiler“So, how did you sleep?” I asked the two as we ate.
“The beds you offered us were very fine, thank you.” Nel offered a quite formal response.
“... I … I slept well.” Unika answered. “... I also really enjoyed the bath. … and I’d like to thank miss Nudy… for washing my clothes. … as well as… the black haired lady… for her help.”
“ … they did that for her?” I heard Nel muttering.
Did she not take advantage of my extra services? Well, that’s on her for not doing so. But I’m happy to hear that Unika took advantage of them. Hopefully it at least partially makes up for the bullshit mission Nel gave to her.
“I see. I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed your stay. And Unika, I’ll make sure you get a chance to thank my maids before I return you to the surface.”
“... surface? What do you mean by that?” Nel asked.
“Nothing you need to know. But speaking of returning you, I did have a question about it. Well, mainly for you, Nel. You went from the capital to Green Town inside Unika’s Tamer’s Paradise, didn’t you?”
“And what if I did?” Nel asked.
“Nothing. As I said, some rulebraking is fine with me, as I do it myself. I was just wondering, do you want me to drop you off in the Green town, or would you prefer I take you directly to the capital?”
“... you could do that?”
“It is quite simple. So, which do you prefer?”
“... I’ll go to the capital then.” Nel answered.
“Alright. Make sure you pay Unika before you leave, as if you don’t, I’ll chase you down and make sure you pay her for the trouble you put her in.” I said, while making my voice a bit more intimidating.
“I… I will.” Nel quickly responded.
“... umm. What about me?” Unika then asked.
“Well, you are quite a bit easier.” I told her. “I will be returning you to the Green town. From there, you can go wherever you want. And if you want a ride back to the capital, I do have space in my carriage, so you can ride back with us.
“... Yes. I’d like that. … the ride to the capital, I mean.” Unika said carefully.
“Well, that was a lot more simple than I thought. I assumed at least one of you would reject my plan.” I admitted to the duo.
“Do we even have the power to do so?” Nel asked. “We are in your domain. What can we do, except listen to you?”
“A lot of things, but I don’t want to tell you my weaknesses.”
“And when you are ready to pay for the monsters I let you absorb, you can contact me via the Sawyer family. If you don’t, I will find you. So I’ll be waiting.” I warned Nel, before our group left HomeBase. We were still above Green town, not the capital, so we were going to be dropping to the ground first. Then HomeBase would move back to float above the capital, so that Endy and Magie could find a good spot in the capital to lower Nel into. And Eline would escort her to the ground before herself returning to HomeBase. Then from there, Endy and Magie should be able to follow Nel with the HomeBase sensors, so we can track where she goes. If she heads to a noble’s home, we should find out whose escaped child she is. Actually, considering her age, calling her a child is just wrong. In theory, she could even be the head of her house if she was the only heir. But if that was the case, I’d question her actions even more. What was she trying to do in that dungeon?
Perhaps we can make an educated guess after we figure out who she is.
But yeah, that will have to wait. Because the six of us will have to get to the ground so we can officially leave the Green town and head back to the capital. Also a report to the GM about what happened. Well, other than the stuff with Nel and Unika. That is none of my business. … well, maybe I could probe Unika for a bit of info.
I picked a quiet looking spot in the town and beamed us all there. Unika was a bit more … cognizant this time, so she was definitely a bit surprised. But I guess after all she saw at HomeBase, a bit of teleportation isn’t that bad, as she didn’t raise her voice, and barely asked any questions about it. Have to say, that is a good thing. Even if her not asking questions might have been why she got in trouble in the dungeon.
We then headed to the streets so I could bring out my carriage. The town isn’t too busy, but it still is difficult to find a spot on the road where I can just bring out something that big without someone noticing, so I decided to just ignore everyone else and bring my carriage out anyway. Not like me having Storage is a secret, so while we will get some looks, we shouldn’t get anything more than that.
“... will we all fit? Should I… go on my own?” Unika asked, as she saw the carriage.
“Don’t underestimate Brian.” Alice told her. “Stuff he makes is not normal, like that medbed you were on yesterday.”
“That one is actually Lua’s handiwork.” I corrected.
“I used your skill for it, so it is more of a collaboration.” Lua added.
“... how does..?”
“Magic, duh.” I answered Unika’s almost question.
“No. Don’t lie to her. That has nothing to do with magic. Don’t spread misinformation.” Alice corrected. “It can be done because Brian is Brian.”
“... I’m not sure I get it, but I won’t ask.” Unika quickly gave in.
I then opened the door so we could head inside. I let Alice and Lua in first, and Unika was going in third. Ria was going to be driving today, as Agunan was the one that drove us here. Technically this carriage doesn’t need a driver, but it would look strange if it didn't have one. Maybe I should make an illusion spell that makes an illusion driver. Or I could bring a monster in an avatar doll from HomeBase to drive. Or I can summon one. Many options are available. Avatar dolls are probably the best, as I could leave them to watch after the carriage. They do work independently after all. And I can just take out the card, put it into the Collection, and put the doll itself into Storage, if I want to put away everything.
Anyway. That is enough of those thoughts. Let’s get on board and get a move on.
“So Unika, still think we won’t fit?” Alice asked the fox-girl.
“... how is this..?”
“This time the answer is magic, duh.” Alice mimicked my earlier response. “It is similar to the magic magic bags use, but this one can let living things inside.” Alice explained.
“I… I didn’t know.”
“Well that much is understandable. I studied magic for years and I didn’t think this would be possible.” Alice admitted. “But leave it to Brian to make it possible. And he did it in an afternoon.”
“Actually, it took me a bit over two days.” I corrected Alice. “Well, the expansion magic itself was only about 5 hours across 2 days of my time, but the carriage took a bit over 2 days of design work. And then there is the time my Spellcasters spent developing the spell, so plenty of man-hours went into designing this carriage. But please, do take a seat. We will be taking off.” I told everyone.
After Agunan had also entered and we were all seated, I told Ria we were ready and she could drive off when she wanted.
Before we made it out of the town, we were stopped at the town gate. They just confirmed who were leaving, and while he didn’t check my group's guild cards, the guard did ask to see Unika’s card, and she showed it to them.
Other than that check, and Unika freaking out just a bit when she realized we are entering the capital via a noble’s only entrance, our trip back to the capital was peaceful.
I was able to obtain some info from Unika about Nel. Nel had apparently seen Unika practice her Tamer’s Paradise skill, and she had noticed that Unika could take a person inside. Nel then promised to pay Unika a good sum of money, if Unika would help her get into the Green dungeon. And because Unika’s family wasn’t in the greatest financial situation, Unika agreed on the job and that is how she ended up where we met up with her.
Her family consisted of her, her mother and her younger brother. Her father was an adventurer like her, but he died on a quest some time ago. Her mother worked as a waitress in a small restaurant, but that barely paid for their house, so both Unika and her brother needed to work for food money. Her brother worked some odd jobs around the city, while also going to a cheap magic school on the side, as apparently her brother had a decent affinity towards light magic, and both Unika and her mother wanted him to realize that potential. And while the magic school was on the cheap side, it did still cost some money, so Unika was working hard for both food money, as well as her brother’s education, so a well paying easy job was definitely something Unika wanted to take on. Even if it was a bit shady.
“... So Brian… What are you going to do about that?” Alice teasingly asked.
“Umm… nothing?”
“Really? You aren’t going to offer her a job? Or maybe offer to teach her younger brother?”
“I mean, I could, but… what do you think, Unika? Do you want a job working for me?” I just asked her.
“Eh? I … no. I mean yes. I mean… what kind of job would this be? I would like to know more.”
“Nothing much. I will move you to live on HomeBase, and from there, you will be an adventurer I can call for when I need you. Actually, I would like you to teach Einar, a tamer that already works for me, how to use that Tamer’s Paradise skill. Also, I can hire your mother as a maid, and I have access to great magicians who can teach your brother. But in return, you will work for me whenever I need extra hands with jobs. Oh and outside of those times, you will be free to keep working as an adventurer, if you want. Or you can pick up some tasks on HomeBase.”
“... is this… is this a joke?” Unika asked.
“I wouldn’t joke about this. The offer is true. Sure you will be basically a test subject for some plans I have for HomeBase, but it isn’t like I’ll poke or probe you. … well, Lua might.”
“Hey!”
“Sorry. Should I have said bite and suck blood?” I kept the joke going, earning myself a slap on the head.
“Come on. You know you will do it. It is part of the medical check-up that you came up with.” I pointed out.
“Using Blood Magic and sucking blood are two completely different things.” Lua argued.
“... is … is this normal?” Unika asked.
“Almost a daily occurrence between either Master and Miss Lucia or Master and Miss Alice.” Agunan answered.
“... is your Master someone… I should work for?” Unika then asked.
“That is a question only you can answer. I dedicated my life to him, as he is stronger than I am. That is how a dragon lives.” Agunan told her. “I cannot tell you how to live, but I can tell you this. In my 900 years of life, I have never experienced as many things as quickly, or grown more powerful faster, than during the time I’ve spent with my Master. So if you wish to gain experience and grow stronger, I believe working for him is what you should do. … and rest assured. My Master does take care of those that are close to him. If you work for him, anything you may need, he will get. That is just who he is.”
“... I see. Thank you, Lord Dragon.”
“Agunan.”
“... yes?”
“My name. Please do call me Agunan.”
“Yes, Lord Agunan. My name is Unika.”
“If you do end up working for my Master, make sure to drop the ‘lord’. He doesn’t like that sort of thing.”
