Chapter 418 - The Weakest Monster III

Amrinia was home to a number of high-end hotels. The beautiful, skyborn guest houses all shared the same features and architecture that pervaded the rest of the city. Their services, likewise, were similar enough that the cuisine they served became the only notable point of comparison. After a bit of heated discussion, with the Vel’khanese hoping for local dishes and Allegra in opposition, they eventually settled on an inn named Tower Seventeen. It was a well-known location specializing in meat dishes both Amrinian and not.

The party had requested a simple suite with a common area, but the inn’s staff arranged for something much more elaborate upon discovering their method of payment. Rushing to and fro, they prepared the business’ eponymous feature. All in all, the seventeenth tower was less of a suite and more of a villa. The completely detached location was one of the many floating towers that dotted the city. Configured as would a luxurious mansion, it was accessible only by ways of sky and bridge.

It was packed to the brim with high end facilities. Private heated pools, pristine gardens, and beautiful courtyards with terraformers installed. The endless luxuries were presented alongside a series of see-through balconies that overlooked Amrinia’s floating colosseum.

While it may have appeared as a courtesy at first glance, so too was it in the innkeepers’ best interest. After all, the detachment was rarely rented out in the winter despite being the most profitable part of their property. Relocating their guests was nothing if not an excuse to print money.

And it was for that same reason that the party was presented with an expensive and almost excessive spread for dinner. The tourists had decided that the dining hall was far too large for their purposes—it was built to host a party whose headcount was well into the three digits—so they settled for dinner in front of the manor’s built-in bar. The spread was lined up on the counter, buffet style, while a legion of servants stood by to handle the plating, the drinks, and any other miscellaneous chores.

Every bottle on the wall was free to be drained, regardless of how expensive or difficult it was to acquire, and the Vel’khanese readily took up the offer. The liquor flowed so freely that it took less than an hour for the whole building to fall into a stupor. There wasn’t a soul without too much to drink, especially not with Krail and Jules pouring bottles for the hired hands.

Chief among the heavy drinkers was Lana, who had drained a barrel by her lonesome. Such was the power of a pirate queen who had often spent her days drinking herself stupid.

“More.” The tiny wolf set her empty cup down on the counter.

“Would you like more brandy, or would you prefer something different?”

Lana paused for a second to scan the shelves. It was hard to make out the labels with her eyes as bleary as they were.

“Whiskey,” she said. “Top shelf.”

“Sure thing,” said the bartender. Having taken as many shots as the half-conscious clam in the room’s far corner, he was a little shaky on his feet, but he managed to grab a decent bottle and prepare a drink on the rocks.

Lana thanked him with a nod, but refrained from grabbing her cup immediately. The blazing hearth kept the room a little too warm; she would need to wait for a while before the drink was at the right temperature for tasting. In the meantime, she was left to sit with her face in her hands.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be social. In fact, she was in the middle of engaging in conversation, albeit with someone who wasn’t on site. Her twin sister was a little too far for her to relay her words directly, but their psychic link allowed them to share their senses regardless. Even so far up north, she could feel the salty sea breeze as their ship cruised its way across the sea, just as how Tessa could feel the warmth of the alcohol that coursed through her counterpart’s veins.

That very same ability allowed them to bypass the otherwise arbitrary limitations that the system imposed on their telepathy. By drawing letters in the air with their tails, they could write coherent sentences that their counterparts could easily decipher. It was a mechanism they had thought up as children, and one that they had developed into a functional code during their time on the high seas.

Their frequent exchanges ensured that Lana was never lonely enough to need to interact with anyone in her surroundings, but that wasn’t to say that she was unwilling. Case in point, she nodded at Chloe when she plopped herself down atop the neighbouring stool.

“Another drink?” Her words were slurred, but the grin on her face was easy to interpret. “How many is that now?” She picked up the wolf girl’s glass and gave it a bit of a swivel.

“Don’t know,” said Lana. “I lost count.”

“It has to have been thirty, at least.”

“I think so.” Lana beckoned for her glass to be returned before giving it a bit of a sip. The temperature was just right. Spreading through her mouth, the amber liquid flooded her senses with caramel, honey, and oak.

“That looks good.”

“It is.”

“Let me try some.”

Lana turned to the bartender, but Chloe ducked over and stole a mouthful from the wolf girl’s cup before she could voice the order.

“It’s too strong,” she said, with her lips twisted into a frown. “You made it look way better than it is.”

“I like it.” Lana looked at her cup for a few seconds before she eventually brought it to her lips again. “It’s good because it’s strong.”

“That’s only true if we’re talking about people.”

“Drinks are like people.”

“Drinks don’t have big bouncy breasts!” The maid flopped onto the table and closed her eyes.

“Neither do I.”

“I can fix that,” said Chloe. She reached inside of her dress and produced a test tube. It was filled with a fine white powder, with individual grains just a little too large to appear as would a narcotic. If anything, it looked like a vial of salt. “Take a little hit of this everyday, and they’ll grow in no time. Or all at once, but then everyone’ll notice.”

Lana shook her head. “Breasts would get in the way of fighting.”

“That’s half the appeal!” said Chloe. “They’re hot because they make life harder!”

“Weirdo.” A laugh escaped the wolf girl’s lips. The maid was one of the most incorrigible degenerates that she had ever met. And yet, that was precisely why they got along so well. Like many of the party’s members, she reminded her of her crew—of the family she had out at sea. And perhaps that was why she sometimes joined their conversations, despite preferring to keep to herself..

She really hadn’t thought that it was possible when she first joined, but having spent so much time in their presence, she was happy to say that they had become her friends.

___

Claire snuck away from the drunken celebration as the frenzy reached its peak. Though not quite thoroughly intoxicated—she had only sampled a few of the rarer wines—the lyrkress had downed enough to feel a little bit dizzy. And that, perhaps, was half the reason the midnight air felt so nice and refreshing. It cleared her mind as she soared through it, haphazardly navigating her way past the buildings and people scattered through the sky.

Her destination was already in sight. The massive property served both as the city’s centerpiece as well as the fortress that guarded the northern border. Were it to rise from its arched supports, it surely would have demonstrated that it was a capital ship, though even that descriptor would still be called into question. It dwarfed many of the others to share the title, covering nearly half of the city’s total land, for it served not only as a symbol of the lord’s hubris, but also as the safehouse to which its citizens would evacuate in times of crisis; Postumus manor was only as big as it was because it had the ability to house the entire non-combatant population.

Invading it was hardly the wisest choice—there were guards flying all around, with those closer to the northern walls on especially high alert—and yet, Claire continued to approach it regardless.

In her tiny, qiligon form, she was small enough that she was nearly impossible to spot. Her runecloak played into the occasion as well. She continued to manipulate its colour as she skirted along the lake, taking care to mimic each of the reflections she passed.

With her Sneaking skill at full blast and the god of the depths at her back, she was almost impossible to spot. And yet, the guards had shot a number of suspicious glances in her approximate direction.

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They were sharp enough that she almost wished she had kept Sylvia from drinking, though it was difficult to say if it was because she wanted a bubble or because the fox had gone on yet another drunken rampage. In the end, it hardly mattered. She was able to make it over the front gate and onto the property even without the added insurance.

Postumus Manor shared the standard Amriniam aesthetic. As far as a Cadrian fortress went, it was practically unrecognizable. The power crystal was hidden far beneath the lake, it had floating bits all around, and the courtyard was without its usual appeal. Rather than serving as a rich, floral exhibition, as it often would in the nation’s capital, it featured instead a series of liquid water veins arranged haphazardly over a series of uneven, stone tiles.

A flex of the ears informed her that her former companion was happily chatting with her husband as she worked on that night’s dinner. It was that same task which loosened the manor’s security. Half the guards were in the midst of their evening break. It wasn’t like they were being negligent. The marquis was one of the warlords assigned to watch the nation’s outermost boundaries. Assassinating him would prove a difficult task even had he not any soldiers at his beck and call.

Of far greater concern to the guards were the monsters that littered the land. They had all sorts of implements in place to detect them, chief among which was a magical spectrometer.

It was precisely to deal with said device that she had approached the property head-on. To a remote observer, she would have appeared as would a guest. Though her mana was of a similar wavelength to her father’s, she wasn’t too worried about them deducing her identity. The values output by the spectrometers were almost impossible to interpret in real time, and it was only through a later analysis that their relation could be discovered. And with how costly and time consuming such a process was sure to be, it was unlikely that they would retain, let alone analyze the records of her visit.

Nodding to herself and affirming that her logic was sound, Claire unlatched a window, snuck her way through, and slunk herself into a vase just outside the dining room. She could have easily barged in and interrupted their dinner, but revealing herself to Lord Postumus was out of the question. Especially not since the bastard had been associated with Pollux.

It was fortunate then that she knew Mariabelle’s habits like the back of her hand. For one, the silly horse was always last to abandon the dinner table. Her love for hot coffee drove her to stay for a solid few drinks at least, and it was easy to catch her on any such occasion.

Claire simply needed to wait regardless of whether the girl’s husband remained. Even in the worst case, it wouldn’t take long for Marie’s post-dinner habit to send her to the restroom, and catching her there would be no trouble at all.

Fortunately, she needed not resort to the unsanitary approach. Lord Postumus left soon after desert for an evening bout with his men. And while there were a few servants working nearby, in case the lady demanded their presence, she was disliked enough that none stood by the door.

It provided Claire with the perfect opportunity to slip through the door unnoticed. Once inside, she magically dragged a chair beneath the handle. The chair made a distinct scraping sound as it was dragged into position, but Mariabelle remained oblivious. Her self preservation instinct was so poor that she didn’t turn around even as Claire assumed her lyrkrian form and very audibly walked her way down the carpeted floor.

Fighting back the urge to sigh, Claire walked straight into the former maid’s field of vision and sat down in the chair opposite her own.

And yet, the marquis’ wife still remained oblivious. She continued to sip at a cup of coffee whilst keeping her eyes focused on the book in her hands.

“Marie.”

“Just a second.”

“Marie. Stop reading. Pay attention.”

“Hold on a second. This chapter is really exciting.”

“Mariabelle Postumus.”

“Just let me finish this one part!”

“Fine.”

Thoroughly miffed, Claire refused to simply sit around and wait. After closing the curtains, she assumed her largest form and half wrapped her body around the dining table. Her maw was placed directly behind the horse lady’s book. With how up close and personal she was—her icy breath was quite literally blown in Marie’s face every time she huffed—it was irrational to think that she hadn’t been spotted. And yet, her former servant remained completely unresponsive. She continued to flip through her novel even as she shivered uncontrollably.

“Hurry up,” said Claire.

“I’m trying!”

“Try harder.”

Similar exchanges continued for the better part of ten minutes. Only then did Marie snap her book closed with a satisfied nod and lay eyes on her interrogator. She opened her eyes wide, scrambled backwards, and nearly screamed at the top of her lungs. If not for Claire magically grabbing her vocal chords and holding them still, she surely would have alerted the guards.

“Good evening, Marie,” said Claire.

Mariabelle continued to panic. She haphazardly waved her arms around as she backpedaled, stopping only as she found her back against a massive tail. Fearfully looking up, she gulped. She whimpered and shook until she finally gathered the courage to look past the monster’s maw. Suddenly stopping in her tracks, she creased her nose and wrinkled her brow.

“Claire?” Suddenly, her voice worked again. “Is that you?” The fuzzy, disproportionate, perfectly-shaped ears were nothing short of unmistakable.

“Who?”

“You are not fooling me with just a simple transformation, Claire.”

The tension drained from Marie’s body. Making her way back to her seat, she collapsed in her chair and took a deep breath.

“You have the wrong person.”

“I most certainly do not.”

“You clearly do.” Laughing, Claire returned to her lyrkrian form and sat down in the seat opposite her maid’s. “Keep your voice down. I’m not supposed to be here.”

“Perhaps not at this moment, but you certainly were last year,” said Marie, with a huff. “I cannot believe you refused to attend my wedding.”

“I was busy,” said Claire.

“Certainly, but we were the best of friends. You were obligated to attend.”

“We were?” Claire tilted her head.

“Yes! We were!”

“This is the first time I’m hearing of it.”

“I cannot believe you.” Despite her words, the centaur was all smiles. She leaned forward in her seat and grabbed her friend’s taloned hands in her own humanoid pair. “You have changed again. An ascension, I presume?”

“My third.”

“My, you really have been busy then.”

“I told you.”

“Yes, but you lie with such ease that it is often somewhat difficult to take your words at face value.”

“H-huh? Me? Lie! I’d never lie, Marie! Especially not to you!” Claire put on her best spoiled princess pout and gave her confidant a teary gaze.

“This behaviour is certainly not aiding your case.”

“Oh, Sister Postumus, you poor grieving soul.” Twisting her lips into an almost angelic, pitying frown, Claire slowly shook her head. “You are simply failing to open your mind to the infinite possibilities of the world before you. Perhaps, were you to achieve the enlightenment so frequently discussed in the scriptures, you would come to understand.”

“I see that your repertoire has expanded even further.” Marie sighed.

Claire nodded. “I learned this a few weeks ago. While wiping out a cult.”

“I cannot begin to fathom the sheer bad luck those cultists must have had to have stumbled upon you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I suppose you would not,” said Marie, with a giggle. “So what has brought you so far north? I would certainly hope that it is to see me, but I highly doubt that to be the case.”

“Levels. I want my fourth ascension before the tournament begins.”

“I presume you intend to take part on the side of Vel’khan? I recall you were on fair terms with their queen during our last meeting.”

“I’ll be facing my father.”

“Now that is certainly a conflict that has been quite a long time coming,” said Marie. “Though, I admit I did not anticipate that it would come in the form of combat.”

“Me either,” said Claire. “But I’ll win. Just watch.”

“I will.” The retired maid squeezed her mistress’ hand. “Just as I promised, Claire, when I was first sworn into your service. I will remain as your witness.”

“I would’ve been more inclined to believe you if you didn’t hole yourself up north.”

“I will still be present for the event!” said the maid, indignantly. “No marchional house would dare miss the opportunity to watch such a historic moment unfold.”

“Because a crown will fall?”

“I’m sure you’ll try your best,” giggled the former maid.

Claire narrowed her eyes. “You don’t believe in me.”

“You know just as well as I do that your father may as well be invincible.”

“They always seem invincible before you take them down,” said Claire. “But I’ve learned first hand that even gods can fall.”

“Always the bluffs with you.”

“I wasn’t bluffing.”

“I’m sure you weren’t.” Marie shook her head and sighed. “So? When are you leaving for the Langgbjerns?”

Claire frowned. “Soon. A few days maybe.”

“And when will you return?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can you at least make the festival?”

“Maybe.”

“You missed my wedding! You can at least show up for a party or two!”

“That was one event.”

“The most important event of my life!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there for your second marriage.”

“Second marriage!? What do you mean, second marriage!?”

“Who knows?” The lyrkress smiled. “I’ll swing by around the solstice.”

“You better not forget!”

“I won’t.” Claire couldn’t stop the grin that crossed her lips.

The pair continued to chat well into the night. They caught up on their recent experiences, discussed their future plans, and dove into every random topic that happened to come to mind. For the first time in a while, Claire finally cut loose. The more she talked, the more she smiled.

Though Valencia was far away, though nothing was as it was, with her old friend, it almost felt like she had finally come home.