CHAPTER 17: A BIG MISTAKE, P1
~17.1~
*****
Kye tapped her finger with crossed arms while standing in front of the door that led to Arslade. It was mid-morning, so she wasn’t due to teach for a while, but she was having a mental argument with herself about resuming her duties in person rather than continue remotely and force Alethea to continue assisting.
Why is it such a hard choice? She doesn’t need to attend afternoon classes, but I also shouldn’t force her to be my assistant every day. It’s only been a few days, so is it really that big of a deal? If Rei hadn’t been brought here to convince me, this wouldn’t even be on my mind! Adele, I’m gonna get you for this!
As she went back and forth in her mind, the door suddenly opened. “Oh, Shi-chan!”
Kye reacted with an annoyed expression. “Think of the devil and she shall appear.”
“You were thinking of me? I love you too, Shi-chan!”
Kye slapped both of her cheeks to clear her mind. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Huh?”
“Adele and Michelle got Kaede to bring Rei here earlier. They used our daughter’s overwhelming cuteness against me.”
Alethea grinned. “Aww. Shi-chan!”
Kye sighed and stepped toward the door, only to plant her face on an invisible barrier. She couldn’t get through. “Huh?”
*****
One month later, the blonde was sitting at a dinner table with the church executives wearing a very annoyed expression. The food was fine, the company was fine, and even the man that was originally an annoyance had come around and lightened up, but what bothered Kye was the fact that she could not go through the door to Arslade. Aliana set up doors in Kye’s residences in New Tokyo, Drachen City, and Atlantis, but none of them were functional for Kye. Everyone else could use them, so why not her?
“Kye?” Luma said.
The blonde was tapping a finger on the table, a habit she had only picked up a month prior. She propped up her head on her right hand and was making a drum out of the table with her left ring finger. Luma smirked and slowly reached for the piece of barbeque on Kye’s plate. Luma almost snagged a piece before all the barbeque suddenly disappeared.
“Pfft.” Olivia held back a laugh as she watched what happened. Quicker than the average eye could see, Kye snatched up every piece of barbeque on her plate and shoved them into her mouth.
“I was worried the food wasn’t to your liking, Lady Kye,” Carys said, also holding back a laugh.
“I like the food just fine. Well enough that I got some seconds.” She reacted and responded without averting her gaze from the proverbial hole she was staring into the wall. Luma raised an eyebrow while Carys and Olivia continued struggling to hold back laughs.
Stolen story; please report.
“What?” Luma glanced between the two, but shrugged and went back to her own meal. “Oh.” Her plate was devoid of barbecue. “I see.”
Kye pointed her chopsticks at Luma, again without looking away from the ‘hole’ in the wall. “This is a learning opportunity, Cadet Lumen.”
“Hey! I died a General!”
“You have reverted to a mere cadet. Not only did you fail to take any of my barbeque, but you did not even consider that I would take yours. Reflect on your shortcoming.”
“Aye, aye, Commander,” Luma replied halfheartedly. After fetching another plate, she asked, “What are you doing next? Demihuman bounties are gone in the Adventure Guilds across the planet, and the campaign to improve demihuman relations is well underway. Your help isn’t needed in those spaces now. Since you’re still stuck here, what’s your next move?”
“I have a few places to visit, but my next destination is the Slayer Academy.”
“Why there? You, of all people, have nothing to learn there, and you’re already an instructor in your own school.”
“Demihuman relations. My first stop is the Akaishi Clan. After talking with the vampires, I’ll see if there are any other vampire clans that might be interested in my idea. After that, the various beast peoples, and then the oni. I’ll be looking for students for the Slayer Academy. This whole demihuman reform plan needs to encompass proper instruction for combating monsters. Some beast peoples were already a part of that long before I showed up here, but I’d also like to include the ones that humans aren’t typically friendly with.”
“Shouldn’t we move a little slower?” Aderyn asked. The Cardinal was initially very opposed to the idea of including vampires and some other demihuman races, but even he came around after a few discussions with Kye.
“I’m not suggesting we up and shove a bunch of them into the academy right away. I’ll find some candidates, then organize an entry for them in the fall semester. That’ll give society some time to adapt to the changes. Too little time will cause a revolt, but we shouldn’t take too long, either.”
“Agreed,” Olivia said with stars in her green eyes. “The sooner the children of Elysium learn to accept each other, the better!”
Carys chuckled. “Were you not against vampires only a month ago?”
Olivia froze, not wanting to meet Carys’s eyes. “I... don’t know what you mean, Carys.”
Kye stood up. “Thank you for the food. I’m returning to the Void Palace for a while. I want to see my children. Luma, would you mind setting me up with a guide for my visits later?”
Luma shook her head. “I’ll do that myself, if that’s okay with you.” Kye nodded and vanished.
*****
“Momma!” Rei jumped into Kye’s arms as soon as she walked through the door to the Void.
“Hi, sweetie.” Kye held the young girl tightly, a tear in each eye. “I’m sorry I can’t come home yet. I want to come with you so badly.”
“Nuh uh!” Rei shook her head. “It’s okay. This place can be home for now!”
Kye nodded tearfully as she continued to embrace the girl. Watching across the room, Layla and Zen smiled. Seeing Kye care for her own children so dearly made the couple very happy. And then, a certain pink-haired individual appeared next to them and turned the tearful embrace to one of merry laughter. Kaede and Joey stood next to Layla and Zen, giggling at the sight.
While the family was busy enjoying each other’s company, Aliana was hard at work expanding the island. She had already increased the size of the island and transformed the mansion into a palace, but she wasn’t satisfied with that. There were more things she wanted to build, so she needed more land to work with. Perhaps because of the dense mana she could manipulate so freely or because of the vast solitude the Void provided, Aliana had said, “I will create a headquarters for Princess!”
*****
Revision: 2024-5-31