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An Otherworldly Scholar - 146
🕑 Added 2024-07-26 17:22:12 +0000 UTCSitting in the dark alley, the sound of water dripping from the gutter banged on my hyper-sensitive ears. A distant cart rattling against the cobblestone, horse hooves hitting the ground, townsmen chatting and yelling. No sign of armed guards. I took a deep breath but [Awareness] came back to life with every small sound near me, searching for the slightest sign of trouble to the point even the scratch of a rat’s paws against a dilapidated crate across the alley was enough to startle me.
It wasn’t time to stay put. I needed to meet Janus and prepare the last details for Kellaren’s entrapment. We were working against time. With each passing second the chances of retribution increased and the threatening letter hung menacing over the orphanage.
[Awareness] caught the sound of armor approaching, so I left the alley and headed to the Northern District, always hiding my presence. Whether it was a Guardsman or Kellaren’s sellsword, I wasn’t staying to find out. The lack of a quicker reaction from Kellaren’s forces was proof of the confusion Loki had created.
“Calm down, Rob. They have no leads,” I muttered to myself.
Kellaren mercenaries had no leads other than the fact Lord Osgiria left the manor on foot. They will eventually realize about the missing records, but they have no clues to tie the incident to the orphanage. I grinned and silently thanked the Changeling for saving my life yet again.
I left the embrace of the alleys and headed to the Dizzy Wolf. No one turned to see me walk through the dilapidated streets other than a few street vendors trying to get rid of their overpriced junk. I reached the tavern and entered. Most of the usuals must’ve been in the arena, because the place was almost empty. The old owner glanced at me from behind the battered counter, cleaning an already spotless glass.
“My companion rented a private room, he must be waiting for me,” I greeted him, my voice coming out more confident than I expected. My hands still trembled in the aftermath of the adrenaline rush.
The innkeeper gave me a quick glance and I felt his scrutinizing eyes over me. I held my breath. After a moment, he concluded I was good enough for his establishment despite my dark, shabby clothes, and gave me a courteous nod.
“You should be a Mister…” he left the question floating.
“Underhill,” I replied.
He raised an eyebrow.
“Of course, Mister Underhill. This way, please. Lunch is already served. If you need something else to drink, ring the bell and one of my boys will come shortly,” the old man walked around the counter and guided me through a door in the back of the tavern.
The door led to a short dark corridor with five doors. He pointed at the first on the left and returned to the main room. As soon as I entered the corridor, the muffled voices inside the room stopped. I opened the door and found Janus sitting at a small table with a middle-aged man. Janus contact, I guessed. Three plates of soup steamed before them, filling the room with the soothing smell of homemade stew.
Janus signaled me to close the door. Then, he opened his hand, and his companion, a slender man with thick glasses and dressed in a plain tunic, deposited a silver coin in it. It seemed Captain Kiln wasn’t the only compulsive gambler in the city.
I closed the door behind me.
“Told you,” Janus said, examining the silver coin.
Nothing in his demeanor revealed the fact he had abandoned me behind enemy lines not an hour earlier.
“How much does he know?” I asked as I sat at the table.
“He’s trustworthy. Hates foreign nobles, loves Farcrest, and I’ve been working with him for more than a decade. I also know his not-so-legal affairs with the Alchemists Guild accounting,” Janus said, putting his plate aside without even touching it. “No need for introductions. The less you know about each other, the better.”
Glasses gave me a quick nod and focused on his meal. When Janus told me about his contact during the planning phase, I expected it to be someone more shady. The man before me looked like a plain and boring middle-aged accountant with a perfectly forgettable face.
I grabbed the spoon. As the excitement of the escape faded, annoyance started winning over me. It wasn’t anger yet, but it was very damn close. I glanced at Janus across the table, expecting an apologetic gesture but the only thing I got was a wall of indifference.
“You could’ve taken two seconds to grab me before blinking away. I barely got out of the manor alive,” I said with an accusatory tone.
“And I told you I would prioritize the mission over your safety,” he replied, pulling his left glove and showing his hand.
The tip of his pinky was gone and tender scar tissue covered most of his ring finger. Elincia’s high-rank potion must have saved him from losing that one as well. Even after the restoration, the signs of the original damage remained there. Janus put his glove back. Luckily for us, Ebros’ forensics weren’t advanced enough to use the blood left in the crime scene to tie Janus to the heist.
“Pain hinders the ability to cast skills, and I couldn’t risk us getting caught,” Janus said, putting the stack of documents over the table.
I raised my hands in surrender. For Firana’s sake, completing the mission had priority and deep inside I knew I would’ve done the same. I looked at the thick bundle of documents and a smile appeared on my face. We had the upper hand now.
Glasses put his plate away, grabbed his suitcase and pulled out a pile of clean paper among other writing tools I didn’t recognize. From a different pocket, he pulled ink and quill. Janus helped drag one of the lateral tables so Glasses had more space to work. Then, he pulled a glass cup from his cloak and put it upside down over the table. Suddenly, I felt as if my ears were clogged, like I was underwater and all sounds came muffled and distorted.
Prince Adrien had used a similar gadget during our conversation in the VIP box.
“You never know who’s listening,” Janus said despite the fact nothing tied us to the crime scene. “Shall we start?”
Glasses nodded, his face trapped in a permanent public-servant bored expression. “How many copies do you need?”
“Hopefully, just one,” Janus replied.
Glasses rubbed his nose bridge, where his heavy glasses set on his nose, suspecting what Janus was going to do with the copies. Then, he dipped the quill on the small ink container, channeled mana into the paper. With machine-like precision, he started copying Kellaren’s ledger.
“Any Scribe or mid-level Merchant will be able to tell it is a perfect copy of the original. Kellaren will know we have the real deal and we can distribute it,” Janus said, noticing my curious glance.
The creator of the System must’ve been a huge nerd if he had considered notarized copies when he designed the Classes.
“But we aren’t going to share the copies, right?” I resumed the conversation we had the day prior.
I was of the opinion that the copies should be shared with the people investigating Kellaren’s crimes but Janus had other ideas.
“The teacher loves slow and unreliable bureaucracy. Who would've guessed?” Janus said with a mocking grin. “Listen and learn. We send a copy to Kellaren and threaten him with sending copies to Prince Adrien, the ducal faction, and everyone in between. Izabeka will tell the Marquis she had a breakthrough in the investigation, so he will cut ties with Kellaren too. Then, the rat will find itself cornered and will leave Farcrest to save his skin. Before the end of the day he will be gone. As easy as it gets.”
Glasses continued working in silence.
“That’s your plan? Let Kellaren leave without a punishment? He soiled the Aias name, and unless he’s found guilty through legal means, Firana’s reputation will be permanently tarnished,” I said.
Cleaning Firana’s name meant eliminating any hostilities against her from royal soldiers, and I wanted her to start her adult life in the best standing possible.
“I told you this already, Caretaker. Legal battles can get long and ugly and my plan is safer. Kellaren will lose everything he had been working on for the past decade. It doesn’t get better than that,” Janus shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll keep an eye on him. If he tries anything reckless I’ll intervene, but mark my words; he will be gone by the end of the day to never set foot near Farcrest again.”
I nodded, knowing I had little to hold onto. Janus was right. Kellaren had no winning hand anymore, and our connection to the robbery was nonexistent so I doubted he would seek retaliation against us. The pile of documents over the table was the dagger that severed the connection between Kellaren and the Osgirians. Lord Osgiria wouldn’t risk employing a known criminal who stole from the royal family itself and angering Prince Adrien. Without Kellaren in the picture, the Osgirian influence in the area would decrease, the Aias Mercenaries would disband and the Marquis would have no use for Firana anymore.
“How did you get out, anyway? There were at least fifty guards around the perimeter,” Janus asked after a long silence.
“Vedras’ Invisibility Potion and a bit of luck,” I lied. As much as Janus had helped the orphanage, there were things it was better to keep under curtains.
“Luck is a strange skill,” Janus pondered, scratching his hirsute beard.
Glasses finished the first copy. Other than the color of the paper and the worn out edges, there was no difference with the original. A faint mana signature glowed in between the paper fibers, and I assumed it was the seal of authenticity Janus had talked about before. Glasses reassured me the mana signature couldn’t be traced back to him and Janus put the copy inside an envelope. An evil smile appeared on his face.
“Will it work?” I asked.
“Kellaren will be gone before nightfall,” Janus replied. “Trust me.”
_________
There was nothing left to do but weather the storm, Kellaren had played his cards and we played ours and now we had to wait for the outcome. Whether he fulfilled his threats or fled the city was to be seen. I changed my clothes at the Dizzy Wolf for a more casual set and returned to the orphanage. Captain Garibal was sitting on a stool, guarding the front door. By his side there was a small table with a steaming kettle and a wooden cup. The sun was still high in the sky but a chilling wind fell from the mountains.
“How did the negotiations go?” Captain Garibal greeted me as I opened the battered iron gate.
“It was a hard nut to crack, but I managed to secure a good potion distribution deal for the spring season,” I replied with a smile. My alibi was simple. I was at Nasiah’s shop negotiating an anti-vermin potion deal.
Captain Garibal gave me a confused look. He wasn’t used to my sayings.
“Nuts aren’t that hard to crack,” he said, sipping from the teacup.
“They are for us Scholars. Minimal strength growth, you know?” I replied, opening the front door.
The one-armed Fortifier shrugged his shoulders and entered the orphanage. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I felt a wave of relief. Risha’s involvement with the heist seemed to remain unknown. There wasn’t a sign of Odrac-Aias mercenaries around the orphanage. I entered the sleeping quarters and stumbled against Risha’s muscular body. I rubbed my nose and took a step back.
“Dude, don’t block the doorways. People are in a hurry,” I grunted as my eyes teared up. I felt as if I had hit a wall.
“You madman. You walked out through the front door!” Risha patted my shoulder and I felt my skeleton rattling under my skin. A moment later, however, his cheerful demeanor suddenly changed. “Why didn’t you blink away with Janus?”
“There were complications,” I replied, walking around him and heading to my bedroom.
Inside, I dug into my wardrobe and pulled out my fencing uniform. Even if the fight against the Osgirians had finished, I wanted to be there with the kids in case Kellaren tried to retaliate. I tried to convince myself that Kellaren had no way of knowing we were the ones responsible for the robbery, but [Awareness] didn’t stop feeding me potential flaws to our plans.
Risha followed me into my bedroom.
“Janus ditched you!” he said, a deep growl emerging from the depths of his throat.
“He told me the risks beforehand. The chest was trapped and he had to flee with the documents,” I replied.
“So, we won?” Risha sat on the bed, making the planks creak.
I put on the fencing jacket and grabbed an old rapier with the hilt ‘embellished’ by Ginz.
“We have the documents. We’ll see what we can achieve with them,” I replied, walking back to the doorway. “Watch after the orphanage. I will go to the Great Hall to check on Elincia and the kids.”
Risha winked and I left the orphanage knowing I was leaving the little ones in capable hands. The streets of the Northern District were empty but I followed the same path as the carriage in case Elincia and the kids were already on their way back. I didn’t bump into them. The market was as crowded as ever but the mass of people walked up the street towards the Great Hall instead of stopping at the stores.
Behind the black hulk of rock that was the Great Hall, a swarm of fireworks lit the cloudy sky and I knew the fights had already ended. The guards recognized me and guided me through the inner wall, across the front yard, and up the stairs. Stationed by the gardens, our skeeth-drawn carriage awaited. Elincia and the kids were still inside. I quickened my pace.
Captain Kiln was waiting in the vestibule. Our eyes met and she let out a sigh of relief.
“I figured you would arrive soon,” she greeted me and dismissed both the guards and the tournament aides that approached me. Then, she leaned over my ear and whispered. “Everything is in motion. I already informed Tauron about a breakthrough in the investigation, so he must drop Kellaren sooner than later.”
I nodded.
“Where are the kids?” I asked.
“Safe. In a post-match gathering, invited by Prince Adrien,” Izabeka gave me an impish glance. “If everything goes well, your greatest concern will be Glopfinger trying to marry Firana. I mean, he’s probably making his moves right now.”
A shiver ran down my spine and any trace of fatigue disappeared from my body.
“What are you waiting for! Get me to the party!” I said.
Izabeka put her heavy arm over my shoulders and dragged me across the vestibule, up the stairs, and into a wide balcony of white guardrails and vigorous vines climbing over the walls. It was the same balcony where I saw Janus fight Lord Tirno at my arrival at Farcrest, but the city’s nobility had been replaced with the jet set of the kingdom and the Great Hall’s gardens with the tournament arena. I couldn’t help but feel underdressed for the occasion despite several nobles dressed in practical military garments.
My eyes fell on Firana. She wore a sleeveless lemon-green dress with silver embroidery and long white gloves to the elbow. Surprisingly enough, the color fitted her. Where did she get it from? It wasn’t Captain Kiln’s. Firana was talking with a little kid, not much older than Shu, but as soon as she saw me, her face lit up, crossed the room in a swirl, and leaped over me.
“I won! I mean, we won! But I won!” Firana said, squeezing me.
A warm feeling filled my chest.
“Doesn’t surprise me, to be honest,” I hugged her back for a brief moment before pulling her away. After achieving her last title, Firana’s mana pool had drastically increased. As happy as I was, I couldn’t help being a bit concerned about her powers.
“Am I your favorite student now?” Firana grinned with a winning smile.
Of course she was going to ask.
“I don’t have a favorite student, Firana. My job is to make all of you learn as much as you can, whether it is difficult or not,” I said with my best teacher’s voice and she seemed to deflate. “That said, I have enjoyed being your teacher very much.”
Firana gave me a quick hug, ignoring the glances of the nobles. The little boy she had been talking to before my arrival examined me. For some reason, his eyes were filled with anger, or so [Awareness] informed me. A moment later, the little boy’s butler guided him towards a small group of nobles dressed in bright outfits.
“Who's your friend?” I asked.
“Lord Glopfinger. He’s serious about the marriage stuff,” Firana sighed. “I already told him I would be going to the Imperial Academy for the next three years. He said he would wait for me. I hope he doesn’t.”
“Want me to scare him away?” I asked.
Before Firana could reply, Ilya approached us. She wore a simple pastel pink dress with a cloak in the same tone over her head, and golden stoles on her shoulders. Despite her height, she didn’t look childish but like a petite lady. I noticed she seemed a bit uncomfortable in the strange outfit.
I channeled years of fatherly advice in a single sentence.
“That dress suits you,” I greeted her.
Firana jumped between us.
“What about mine!?”
“You also look very cute,” I sighed.
“I know,” Firana replied, full of herself.
Ilya massaged her temples but the shadow of a smile appeared on her face.
“Any suitors I have to drive off?” I asked, the results of the tournament getting buried in the back of my mind as I focused on the girls. I wondered if that’s how it was to be a father of a teenage girl.
Ilya rolled her eyes. “Thankfully, no one wants to marry me. Half of the lords of the frontier invited me to join their ranger brigades, though.”
“Any offer that tempted you?” I said. Ilya had demonstrated she was too valuable to be drafted into the army, which was a supreme victory for the orphanage.
“I would rather protect the frontier here in Farcrest. I can keep things safe while Firana goes to the Imperial Academy,” Ilya shrugged.
“Oh, come on! We are going together,” Firana replied.
“Who says I want to go to the Imperial Academy?” Ilya said defiantly.
My teacher’s senses tingled and I knew something had happened during the match.
“You are dumb if you rather be a Sentinel over an Imperial Knight,” Firana countered. “You’ll be as famous as Sir Janus, and you will not have to obey any nobleman other than the King itself.”
I was about to interrupt them when the glass door opened and a messenger dressed with the Aias Crest entered the room. Nobody seemed to pay the messenger any attention, but my heart skipped a beat. Among the Osgirian nobles, Kellaren emerged to meet the man who handed him an envelope. Ilya’s rant died in my ears as my whole attention fell upon the scene. Kellaren seemed mad with the messenger interrupting the party but as soon as he opened the envelope and read the first pages, his face turned into a pale mask of fear. Kellaren put the papers back into the envelope, without caring to maintain them straight, and without bidding farewell, he abandoned the balcony in a rush.
I exchanged a knowing look with Captain Kiln. That was the face of a man running for his life. We had the winning hand.
I looked back at my girls and the urge to squeeze them in a hug almost got me.
“We will discuss your future later. But I think we have enough room to choose freely,” I said, patting Ilya’s shoulder. “The Imperial Academy will be lucky to have you.”
“I’m just a gnome,” she replied.
Zaon and Wolf were chatting with the other noble kids, but unlike Firana and Ilya in their exquisite attire, they were dressed in their fencing uniforms. I recognized Lord Herran’s sons and daughters among the group. Kaeli Herran elbowed Zaon’s shoulder while Belya Nara showed her geodes to anyone with a slight interest in geology. Occasionally, a low rank noble approached the kids to exchange pleasantries and, probably, a job offer.
I made a mental note to keep the kids away from politics until they reached level twenty, at least. What they had in potential, they lacked in experience. Just as I said to Lyra, proficiency was important but experience was king, and I didn’t want the kids to burn down so early in their lives. For now, I let them rub shoulders with the kids their age so I sent Ilya and Firana to watch over Zaon and Wolf.
Things were going so well I felt scared.
“Kellaren got the documents,” Izabeka whispered as the girls left me alone. “Did you tell Elincia? She’s over there.”
Near the corner, Elincia talked with Lord Vedras and his companion, the blonde elf called Halessia, his Master of Assassins. Both Lord Vedras and Halessia were dressed in matching green and silver attires, and their closeness made me think there was something else between them. My brain wasn’t in a position to start making assumptions because my attention was quickly drawn to Elincia. Despite having seen her in the morning, I didn’t realize how much I missed her.
It had been a long day.
Captain Kiln and I crossed the balcony but when I met Elincia’s eyes, her face turned a deep red hue noticeable even under her blue veil. A stream of the scandalous memories of the night before filled my brain and I felt my blood rushing to my ears. We looked away, too embarrassed to maintain eye contact, a detail Captain Kiln’s [Awareness] didn’t overlook.
“No way you took so long,” Izabeka sighed, her voice painfully disappointed. She put her arm around my neck and squeezed. “...usual Scholar behavior”
Comments
Trevayne
Thanks for the chapter.
I Dare Korval
You have "You are dumb if you rather be a Sentinel over an Imperial Knight," but since she was talking to Ilya that should be Hunter, shouldn't it? Also shouldn't it be "if you'd rather" or "if you would rather" instead of "if you rather"? Here's hoping some soldier's catch Kellaren as he tries to sneek away, only to never be seen again. Loving the story, keep up the good work! Imperial Cadets next!
Mohamed
Thanks for the chapter
David Ellis
Izabeka, in brief: "NEEEEEEEEEERD!"
