Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1793.12.25]
The next, short vibration, coming from the vicinity of his solar plexus, sounded like bowels that finally accepted the bad food he had forced down his throat an hour ago, promising revenge later on.
Zeph ignored Gru’s comment, keeping a straight face. He might have forgotten to ask Gru about his hunches earlier, but it was no place for a discussion.
“Ummm… Should I prepare something to eat during the travel?” the coachwoman walking beside him asked, scratching her cheek. “Or maybe… something to alleviate a stomachache?” The woman was clearly lost, if eager. After taking the position of Department Head, Kwan’s people started to be more respectful towards him for some reason.
“No need,” Zeph answered stoically.
“Ugh… Are you sure? The trip will take a few hours…”
He sighed. Yea, there is no restroom in the carriage… That’s what we get for your grumbling in inappropriate places, Gru! “I am on a diet,” Zeph grumbled, opening the carriage door and looking back at the woman. “Can we go already?”
She shrugged dejectedly. “Sure, if you wish.”
Traveling alone was a minor security concern, but direct attacks weren’t going to happen—at least according to Ghrughah, and Zeph trusted his expertise—so he decided to leave his new spear behind. There was no sense in provoking a theft, as it wasn’t exactly rare or prohibited between the Dueling rivals.
Strange customs, Zeph concluded, sitting down on a soft bench and throwing his backpack to the side. Wasn’t theft one of the most dishonoring acts for warriors in Earth’s fantasy? ‘Warrior culture’ my ass… Or are they thinking more like barbarians? That you don’t deserve a weapon if you can’t keep it safe? Nah, that bullshit doesn’t fit people like Kwan. It’s politics, again, isn’t it? He sighed. The worst part was, his weapon was easily recognizable, so no one would dare to use it openly and risk Ghrughah’s ire. It was one of the giant’s most precious creations, and he was now a part of their Guild. He would probably place a bounty on anyone involved… Right, I still didn’t ask him if he knows anything about Gibbons, Zeph thought, looking down at his backpack that was filled with leaflets he prepared for the Library Goddess. Well… maybe that’s for the best.
All he did until now should be enough of a clue about his true origins for the Blacksmith and the rest of their group. Asking directly about the Gibbons would just draw unwanted attention and reveal even more. It would be best to deal with that problem discreetly.
Before leaving for the orphanage, with a planned detour for the Library Temple, he managed to sort out a few affairs. Besides getting a detailed report on the partnership contract with the twins and the issues related, he managed to instruct the Blacksmith’s people on how to develop the arcade version of the plane prototype – they needed to simplify the controls, add mechanical parts, and tune down the realism. It was to be a toy, not a clone of their prototype. He also suggested a few other easy-to-make machines that could be produced before the New Year, like Pinball, Skee-Ball, and a few more marble-dropping types of games. Sadly, he would have to share fifty-fifty with Kwan, as it wasn’t a part of their earlier deal. On the other hand, they already knew of similar games, so this split of profits wasn’t the worst outcome. He suspected that games like billiards or bowling would take too much time to perfect and plan for, taking into account people’s strength, so he left them for later. Besides, those weren’t games for kids, thus the demand was small in comparison.
As for the leaflets, he managed to convince one guy with appropriate Skills to copy them. With enough gold, of course. The process was quite mesmerizing – the man just took impregnated sheets of paper and used his Skills to make the ink sink in under the protective, wax-like layer. The speed of the work was a sight to behold because the process was happening all over the page at once. The guy wasn’t Kwan’s scribe for nothing, it seemed. After an hour, Zeph was a proud owner of around 180 leaflets. All were in black-and-white, sadly, but making them in color would not only cost extra, but it would also take much more time. They had to modify his design a little to make it work, but it wasn’t a masterpiece anyway, so Zeph didn’t have any hard feelings. Especially because after seeing the contents, which advertised the hotel and its theater-like stage, the man declared, with uncanny passion, that he would design a version in color and make Kwan invest in the idea.
Zeph felt a little bad for introducing the leaflet business to this world. They would need much more public bins in the near future, he was sure.
The last thing he did was apply for a maid for their laboratory. It would take some time for Kwan to organize it because the person would technically become a part of his Department. They had to be trusted and willing. He expected it wouldn’t be resolved before the council meeting.
Safe as he felt inside the carriage, he didn’t believe that all security enchantments were active without the giant riding with him. Instead of trying to talk with his, quite literally, internal companion, he finally started to read the Notebook manual.
He would prefer to learn more about the explosives and the two materials created by Ghrughah, but security protocols were strict – the documents had to be kept safe in the headquarters.
The manual consisted of two parts. The first was in plain text and described mundane things like text formatting, methods of input, and similar matters. The second one was a Soul memory, the only one accessible in the Notebook. The Library Goddess cared only for written text – records left behind for the sake of the future. Soul memory, a complete information record of beings’ thought processes and experiences, was the domain of the System. The one present in Notebook’s manual was there only because certain actions couldn’t be easily explained in text – like how to quickly transcribe a book from memory or how to copy the book by skimming it. And while it was possible to include images in the Notebook, the act was an art in itself. Making graphs, using unknown symbols, and drawing simple shapes was one thing, but redrawing a complex picture could be done only by the best – the reason people often visited the Library when selling their creations.
Zeph was eager to learn, though. If he could just copy all important documentation, he wouldn’t have to stay in the headquarters all day to read them. An ability to copy complicated schematics was a must. That’s why he started from reading the Soul memory. It was similar to reading from a General Skill, and thankfully took only one Mana per second – he could easily sustain it indefinitely.
His concentration was broken when someone knocked on the carriage door. It was another porter in familiar, heavy winter clothing. The Library worker.
Zeph was so engrossed that he didn’t even notice when they arrived.
The visit was short. After explaining the situation, he was quickly directed into a service room. The workers were all informed about the deal with the leaflets, so he just deposited his cargo and the woman manning the lobby took care of the rest. He was back on his way in no time, wondering idly whether he should call the Library personnel ‘workers’ or ‘clerics’. Both didn’t sound right to him, for some reason.
After purging the random thoughts, he returned to reading from the manual. He didn’t have much time left before arriving at the orphanage. Aisha promised to be there today to take care of the kids, so he hoped to have a word with her.
As much as he would like to visit the System’s Shrine, he wasn’t ready, and it was getting late. It was almost the fifth day-cycle already – around 4 PM by Earth’s standards.
After another two hours, he and his coachwoman left Ghrughah’s carriage at a secure station and took one of the local ‘taxi’ carriages to take them to the orphanage.
Be it his Willforce Morphon enchantment, or just experience with presenting his thoughts to Gru, Zeph was getting the hang of drawing simple graphs in his Notebook by the time they stopped before the gates of the establishment.
Zeph paid the man to take them back the next day and followed his coachwoman outside. A shame he never asked for her name, it was a little too late to ask without being awkward.
Aisha was already standing by the gate with a wide grin on her face. She was wearing light clothing even in the freezing weather, evidently coming out as soon as she spotted their wagon in the distance. The snow around her leather slippers had melted, uncovering the yellowish rock of the pavement below. Her trusted warhaxammer was resting on her shoulder, straining her red, sleeveless shirt a little.
“Long time no see. Welcome back!” She waved lazily at them with her free hand. “I have some good news…”—she paused suddenly, making a confused face, then looked to the side – in the direction of the orchards. She tilted her head, scanning the snow-covered fields, only to shrug a moment later. She turned back to them, her smile returning.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“What was that?” Zeph asked skeptically, walking slowly in her direction. The snow was almost knee-deep on this side of the gate.
“Some stealthy tracing, I think... It’s gone now. Anyway, come inside,” she said, sending them a mischievous smile and turning around. “It’s such a good day already! Ohohoho…” she laughed loudly in her aggressive imitation of a lady’s mannerism.
Zeph rolled his eyes, but was too weary to comment. The lack of nourishment started to kick in, it seemed.
========Theron Nalani PoV========
Cold sweat covered his face as he cowered behind a big tree, trying desperately to prevent the Ambient Mana around him from spiraling out of control, strained as it was by all of his masking Skills.
Were the reports fake?! If I knew she was here, I would have never used that Skill… Noticing there was no pursuit, he relaxed a little. At least now I know that the Generalist guy doesn’t have much in terms of Soul perception… he thought to himself, slowly backing off, still under the camouflaging effects of his Skills. That is an opening I can use… He was reserved in using that Skill on the guy himself – with the presence of the old Blacksmith and the Temple, who knew what items he was geared with.
Forcibly releasing the pseudo-bond that he had formed with the driver woman was straining, but he had enough mental strength to directly control all of his Skills for another hour or so. He would take no chances with the Warrior Priestess nearby. They were like the stalker reptilians, but much more ferocious after finding their prey.
But… It’s not the end of the hunt, mister Einar…
================================
They left the coachwoman—Zeph promised himself to ask somebody about her name—to play with kids in their stead. She was quite happy with that arrangement. Probably because being in the presence of two Department Heads was quite stressful.
He could relate somehow, but was surprised by how seriously Kwan’s people treated internal hierarchy. He felt that they accepted him as one of the leaders but, at the same time, the change in their attitude was a little too much. From ignorance to almost fear. Well, it wasn’t fear per se, but they were visibly unnerved in his presence. Not exactly like low-ladder people in the presence of their corporation chairman—which was actually his own experience—but close enough to bring unpleasant memories.
He was sure they would Duel him if he made a blatant mistake, though, so it was quite refreshing in that regard. He wasn’t sure about other organizations, but Kwan’s gang didn’t tolerate incompetence.
Aisha took him to her secured room on the third floor, where they started the long ritual of securing the place. In the silence that ensued, Zeph wondered why every ‘secure room’ had to be on the third floor at least. It was the same in North Tarak and his laboratory building, although Ciriyal’s place and the Library communication room were placed much higher.
Vibrations. It has to be it, he came to the conclusion after a few minutes of waiting for Aisha as she continued looking around while sipping from her green bottle. It wouldn’t be strange; I already have Spells like that, and sounds travel much easier through solid matter. I am more surprised they never invented sound-dampening materials… Maybe I can earn some money from it?
His idle thoughts continued to spiral around the strange technology he saw until now, trying to find a reason behind the poor application of their resources. There were many places he could insert modern Earth's technology. It was a shame he didn’t secure much data on material science besides certain, potentially useful inventions. He still didn’t find any practical application for non-flammable materials, for example, but now he would pay in gold for Styrofoam production schematics.
“All clear,” Aisha declared at that moment.
“GRRRAAAH!” his chest vibrated loudly with relief. “Grraauuu!” Gru stated strongly, continuing to vibrate even after he finished speaking.
“Huh, that’s new…” Zeph said, surprised.
“Nothing strange really,” Aisha said, relaxing in her chair and drinking some more from her green bottle. “It’s quite normal for animals that purr to have a physiological function for doing so.” Zeph almost facepalmed hearing that. It almost sounded like Gru was a cat but, nonetheless, made sense. “I guess it’s one of the reasons Gru wasn’t quite… disciplined lately?” she asked.
“Gra!” it confirmed in fake indignation; as if Zeph should have known that all along.
He sighed heavily. “So, you heard about that?” Indeed, the number of times Gru misbehaved was raising by the day. That’s one of the reasons his little guy learned to imitate stomach sounds… among other things, things that Zeph did not want to remember. He was still embarrassed by the memory. “You should have told me earlier,” he said to his abdomen.
“Gre…”
“If you didn’t know, then how the hell should I? It’s your body, for Gods’ sake!” he sighed again, massaging his eyes. “Whatever. What are the good news?” he asked, looking up at Aisha.
“I am taking my position in the Information Department quite seriously, you know?” she said sternly, answering his first question. “Rather, it would be strange if I didn’t know about the happenings in the headquarters. But let’s go back to business,” she smiled widely. “Taking into account the schedule at the aerostation, Makani should be here a day after tomorrow. Also, our preparations in the Roaming Onsen Village are almost complete. A small temple is being finished as we speak, so we can have a nice group chat with Leilucia in a day, or so. I won’t bore you with information we have gathered, but know that it’s more than I have expected,” she finished dramatically.
Riiiight… As if she could speak here about what she found out, he thought skeptically. But he had high hopes anyway, as Ciriyal should be quite good at information gathering.
“Also, I think I know who is trailing you,” she teased with a big smile, surprising him with the information.
“Grummm!”
“You told me nothing,” Zeph rejected Gru’s comment immediately, hitting his solar plexus playfully. “Hunches aren’t an information, no matter how strong th—”
“You should have known better than that,” Aisha interjected, pointing at him with her bottle. “Knowing Gru’s capabilities, I wouldn’t be surprised if he developed stronger auguring abilities than you.”
“Sure, sure,” he nodded, crossing his arms. “And my auguring is soooo developed that I can see the faces of all my enemies and predict attacks! Yes, yes, it all makes sense, now that you mentioned it.” The sarcasm was strong within him today.
Aisha rolled her eyes. “Just stop being an idiot and talk more with your bond. Knowing you have an enemy is the first step to counter them.”
“Gra!” Gru vibrated wisely in affirmation, stroking his non-existent beard.
“Did we not know that we have enemies from the start, tho?” A hiccup in vibrations was all the answer he needed.
“There is a difference between guessing and having a proof, no matter how insignificant. Anyway, I think I saw a trace of Soul interference on your Hannyajin companion,” Aisha started to get serious. “Whoever has done this, they were able to break the connection before I could get a good read. Not many people in this city are able to do that. Taking into account Kwan’s land neighborhood, I think you had a spy specialist of the Kanochi Guild trailing you. They are contracted to a certain Lesser Landlord that’s trying to fight us, and had some connections to the Temple of Souls in the past, before the mass assassinations happened in the city, so a few of them should be proficient in Soul arts. At least that’s what I have heard.”
“That doesn’t sound good at all. Even Gru didn’t notice a thing…”
“Gre!” it vibrated in defense.
“Distracted or not, it still happened.”
“I will pay a visit to their Guild as a warning – no matter how much they are paid, it would be unreasonable to take all the blame for the Landlord if we catch the spy. There is a chance they won’t stop directly trailing our people, but that will be a huge risk for them.”
“I am not so sure... If the spy can disguise themselves and is sure they can escape, that won’t stop them… Not to mention, they can even try to kill the target when caught or have means to destroy their own body in a suicide attack, leaving us with no evidence whatsoever…” It would be tricky, he knew, because of possible Soul reactions to the act. Still, it wasn’t impossible to execute with just one kill or so, and he knew what humans on Earth were capable of. It made him a little paranoid.
“Then, just be ready for a fight,” she shrugged, like it was his problem and the most obvious thing in the world. Zeph could only facepalm after hearing that. “I am more concerned about the information they can potentially gain… Make sure to not speak outside of our safe rooms. I will prepare some equipment for Makani for your little trip, but you will have to wait for a few days.”
“It’s not a problem. It will take another three days before my armor is ready, so we won’t be leaving before the new year.”
“Oh, perfect!” she exclaimed, hitting the table lightly with her free hand. “We have a lot to discuss with Makani. Now, there is no escape!” She laughed jovially.
Zeph already pitied the man. Aisha and Kwan were probably going to leave him with all of the paperwork related to the twins, burying him alive under a pile of documents.
She took another sip from her bottle before continuing.
“Anyway, we have managed to acquire some unofficial information about the Duel tournament. And yes, our fight has raised in popularity enough to be planned as an attraction in one of the stadiums, thus becoming a full-fledged tournament. We will have a share from the tickets,” she smiled greedily for a moment before catching herself and forcing a more serious expression on her face. “Supposedly, we will have to measure against three groups. We would have to fight all of the leaders opposing us, but because of the difference in numbers, the city bureau grouped them up. It seems that they plan for each one of our Heads to fight three opponents,” she explained, massaging her temple with one hand. “At least it’s just one opponent per day. That doesn’t change the fact that our situation is far worse than it should be.”
“Are organizations in those groups connected in any way?” he asked curiously.
“Not really. Each individual entity will fight for its own agendas, but there is an instituted universal ‘reward’ if the group wins. You can say it’s a part of their common interest. The first is the merchant group that wants the rights to set up their shops in our area. The second is the industrial group which wants to own some buildings, mostly warehouses, and have exclusive rights to import necessary materials. The third is the political group. They oppose the very idea of Kwan gaining the Lesser Landlord title and, as a result, reject her ownership over the entirety of the valley. They demand the ‘surplus’ regions to be officially included in their domains.”
He grimaced. Even the first two groups evidently wanted to control them in some ways, but the third one was painfully straightforward. It was a political struggle for control and resources, the latter represented by their very own group and people. And here I thought politicians in this world would treat people as more than simple resources…
“How reliable is this information?” he asked, starting a long discussion.
They talked long into the night. When Zeph was finally free, a room full of sleeping kids awaited him. Sighing with resignation, he accepted his fate. He was still oversensitive to the movements in his Veil, so it was inevitable he will be woken up in the dead of the night with so many people around. Their Veils weren’t stationary, and too small to be stable, after all.