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“All… all complaints should be directed to the central office!” the woman at the barren desk stammered as she stood up. “As we’ve posted on… the entrance you just destroyed… the local crystal is functioning within normal parameters!”
“But what does that mean?” I asked, holding my arm out to block the miniature mob behind me. “What are the parameters?”
The woman took a few steps back, her eyes darting about wildly. “It passed visual inspection, and its rotating at an acceptable rate.”
“It's flashing too much,” the old man called from behind me. “I can’t get a lick of sleep!”
A chorus of angry affirmations soon followed.
“Do the parameters include anything about flashing?” I asked, straining to recall the conversation I had heard from the monitoring team on my way into the Holy City.
The woman hesitated, unable to secure herself an escape route. “Well… no… but I’ve added the observation to my reports. If it was a problem, I’m sure Central would have addressed it!”
“Your reports?” I inquired. “You mean, you’re part of the inspection team?”
“My goodness, no. I’m the director here. I’m much too busy to check them myself anymore since we centralized, what with having to compile the daily inspection reports. I’m also forever requesting increases to budget….” She gestured to the nearly empty room. “I simply don’t have the staff to run the office in my absence.”
Nora, Vernie, and I exchanged a knowing glance.
“Director, I think you should take this opportunity to go to the gemba,” Nora advised sagely. “I bet your reports would carry more weight if they had your observations in them.”
“What in the world is the gemba?” she asked, her confusion crystal clear.
Sorry about that one; I couldn’t help it.
Nora smiled. “The actual place of value. The local crystal itself!”
“We’ll be happy to escort you,” I offered. “Your expertise on the matter would help me understand how a demon got into Chairo in the first place.”
“Then, it’s true? There really was a demon?” The woman looked back and forth between us and the old man’s minions nervously for a bit before sighing. “Let me just find my spectacles and rotational cystometer…” She rummaged around in her desk drawers, pulling out an armless set of dark lenses and something that looked like a cross between a giant compass and a pocket watch.
“They sound important,” I agreed, looking over her equipment curiously. “Wait. Spectacles.” I turned to Nora. “The team we saw last week… didn’t they say they didn’t have any?”
Nora nodded. “They were bitter about it, for sure.”
“Then how could they visually inspect the crystal if they didn’t have the right tool? There’s no way you make out anything with a naked eye…”
The director frowned and picked up a piece of paper. “They wrote, ‘no abnormalities noted’ under visual inspection.”
Vernie shook her head. “It doesn’t mean they did it. It just means they didn’t see anything.”
The director’s eyes flashed, her hesitation replaced with fiery indignation. “I’ll lead the way. Warren, you come too. I want witnesses—as many as I can!”
The older man cackled. “You heard Director Saira, everyone. Let’s move out!”
“You two are on a first-name basis?” I murmured as we headed for the open entrance.
“We both live right around here,” she said with a sheepish shrug. “After you scream back and forth for a while, you get to know your adversaries.”
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“Well?” Nora asked expectantly as she looked at the cytometer in Saira’s hands. “What does it say?”
“It’s spinning within parameters…” she answered slowly, pointing at the main gauge. “But only barely. I don’t have the actual readouts from previous measurements, but… it’s concerning for other reasons.”
“Such as?” I asked.
“Well, for one thing, the parameters haven’t been updated in a long time,” she explained. “The dark mage tower used to adjust them based on general ambient animus levels, but…”
That was probably years ago!
“They’re rising,” I declared. “There’s no way they’re not. And that could be affecting the crystal somehow, right? They might not even be functioning as intended...”
I mean, it wasn't like we had a demon around to test the barrier with... at least that we knew about.
Saira nodded slowly, putting on her lenses. “I’m not sure they’re taking into account our new normal. As for the visual inspection, I—” She froze in place for a moment, then began to tremble. “Chosen One… I’m going to need your help on this!”
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, knowing I knew nothing about the crystals that would be helpful.
“Hairline fractures throughout its structure—that’s why it’s flashing so much; they’re refracting the rays everywhere. They’re tiny, but that’s not the point. This crystal could shatter at any moment!”
I groaned inwardly, responsibility threatening to curtail my plans for the day. “Like, in-a-few-days any moment, or like, right now…”
“Any moment,” she reiterated with full emphasis.
As if to accentuate her critical observation, a bell rang out in an angry fervor from the High Temple, urgently announcing that they were aware of my absence. After about ten shrill clangs, the sound of soldiers began to fill the Periphery.
I closed my eyes and confirmed the situation, noting a bright blaze of silver headed towards us. “Captain Corwin’s on his way to intercept me,” I murmured. “Let’s go greet him out in an open space. It’s a little hard to see clearly in this alley, and I don’t want any misunderstandings.”
Vernie and Nora nodded once and followed, but to my surprise, so did Director Saira, Warren, and the rest of the locals with him.
“You should probably remain here. I promise to find the right people to escalate the problem to as soon as possible.”
“I respectfully decline, Captain Lightbringer,” Saira objected. “I appreciate your timely heralding, but I’ll also need to explain my findings to the General Assembly to make sure they understand the full scope of the problem.”
Warren also nodded. “This is important, and I ain’t got much else going on. They can’t ignore us all!”
Hmm. I hope you’re right.
We headed out into what I would call a main drag, where the road was wide and lined with market stalls filled with food and various sundries. Luckily, the buildings here weren’t too tall, and it was easy to see the Order of Silver’s approach. I positioned myself in the middle of the road, with Vernie and Nora flanking me as people gathered along the edges to stop and stare. As soon as Captain Corwin caught sight of me, he commanded his mounted knights to secure the sides of the road.
“Joyous blessings on this fine day, Captain Corwin,” I addressed him calmly.
Captain Corwin dismounted from his horse and walked toward me with a deliberately tense slowness. “His Holiness is quite distressed by your absence, Captain Lightbringer.”
I nodded. “Something important came up,” I lied easily. “It’s a good thing you’re here to help.”
He paused, glancing suspiciously at those gathered around me. “We can discuss it once I escort you three back to the High Temple.”
“That’s fine,” I agreed. “But you’ll have to bring us all. It’s very, very important.”
“Captain Corwin,” Director Saira called. “I have urgent news regarding one of the crystals. I must petition the General Assembly for an emergency intervention.”
Those watching from the sidelines, although held back by the knights that had accompanied him, began to murmur and shout.
“It’s about the flashes, isn’t it?”
“They’re finally going to look into it!”
Captain Corwin stood motionless, his eyes narrowing as he sensed a setup. However, I knew there was no way he would deny us aid in front of so many civilians. I waited patiently, confident that he would reach the same conclusion: his reputation was as much at stake as mine was. He eventually nodded curtly and turned away as his soldiers formed around the group of us.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get any farther on our day out,” I mumbled to Nora as we started our walk of shame. I really did want to hit the shops if it was possible… I know you’re keen on getting a new staff.”
“It’s fine,” Nora replied somewhat dejectedly.
“No, it’s not,” I sighed. “I keep saying I’m going to do fun things with you, but instead, I just seem to find trouble for the both of us.”
“Well, usually the trouble you find is fun, but in this case…” She looked around. “For all the consequences you’re going to face for sneaking out, I feel like you should have gotten more for your efforts. You need a win, you know?”
“Mm… I guess it’s good we followed up on the crystals.” I tried to sound as positive as possible. “I’ll take that as a win.”
“No, that doesn’t count. That’s for the good of everybody. You need something just for you.”
I smiled. “You’re a good friend, Nora.”
“The very best,” she agreed with a grin.
I was about to make a wry comment on her exaggerated humility when a young boy burst through the line of soldiers flanking the road, sprinting directly toward us.
“Wait!” I cried as the knights surrounding us drew their swords. Vernie, however, had already darted forward, grabbing the child before anyone could harm him.
“Just what do you think you’re doing, little whelp?” She held him under one arm tightly as she patted him down. “You’re lucky you’re clean.”
“I just wanted to get a good look!” the freckled boy yelped, squirming in Vernie’s vice-like grip. “I never saw the Chosen One before!”
“Oh yeah?” Vernie asked as she lifted him over her head with both hands. “One quick peek, then you get out of here, understand? And never do something so foolish again!”
“Woah… her hair really is bright pink!” the boy marveled, his gapped teeth on display as he grinned.
“Strawberry blonde at the most!” I retorted.
The boy laughed loudly, and I couldn’t help but sense that he was making fun of me.
Vernie lowered him a little and tightened her arms around him. “Well? When I put you down, you better run and find your guardian. You’re probably in a whole world of trouble!”
“Yes, ma’am! I promise!”
Vernie set the boy on his feet, and true to his word, he dashed off into the crowd, where several other children made him an instant hero for defying the soldiers.
“Thanks,” I sighed in relief as Vernie joined us again. “I’m glad you got to him first.”
Vernie winked and walked alongside us in silence for a few minutes. As we were led onto the local translocating pad for departure back to the High Temple, she took the opportunity to slip two rings and a note into my hands surreptitiously.
“From your young admirer,” she murmured by way of explanation. “Though I doubt it’s a love confession.”
After a startled moment, I glanced at the soldiers, relieved they were busy working out the details of optimally transferring all those accompanying us as if it were all one giant math problem. Carefully and covertly, I unrolled the note.
“Light shines brightest in darkness” - Celestial Reliquary.
“What the…”
Vernie’s eyes widened. “It’s a passcode for… So that’s where your funds are…!”
I flipped the note over.
We kept it out of their hands as promised. May the Goddess Bless You, Chosen One.
The rings were both signets, one bearing Vetus Sagax's initials and the other inscribed with a single letter 'I.'
“Inutilis?” I asked breathlessly.
“Seems so,” Vernie murmured as if she couldn't believe it.
“Now, this is exactly what I was expecting!” Nora whispered excitedly. “A little drama, followed by some intrigue and a reward to boot!”
I glanced at her, and a strange tingling passed through my shoulders. “It seems like you got exactly what you wanted…”
It wouldn’t be the last time I wondered if she somehow really could visualize to actualize.
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Post-Chapter Omake:
Rae: Cheesecake.
Nora: What about it?
Rae: Just think about it's ideal form.
Nora: But I don't really care for cheesecake?
Rae: Day 3 of Experiment #13: Nora continues to fail at spontaneously producing cheesecake. But I won't give up. Someday...