NOVEL NEXT 577
As their journey continued through the woodlands that separated Bahran Island in half, Robin had once again become Cotton's nest as he had called dibs on her head. With Tanuki merrily sitting within Asai's lap, adding an extra little load upon the mount's back, the half-elf couldn't believe herself, as she was feeling an emotion she hadn't felt in years, jealousy. Analysing and scrutinizing her own feelings, she ignored the whims of her heart and focused on the mission. So much so, that she sent the don away and continued the rest of her journey within the air.
..
Seeing as their mana hearts were once again taking orders and demands, Asai entertained the idea of turning around and waging war as a one man army. However, after spending moments updating both Lemon and Caronia, and refreshing his own memory of the strange ritual that restricted them, he decided it was wiser to consult and seek advice from Sakura no Par'Talucca first.
"Don't forget, your job isn't finished until you escort the prince safely to Par'Talucca's teleportation circle." The friendly neighbourhood dwarven king kindly reminded him, as he wasn't exactly keeping his thoughts to himself, but openly sharing and bouncing them off his colleagues for ideas.
"My king!"
Whilst Victor's heartbeat paused for a second, Asai's attention was taken from the clouds as he gazed upon a familiar face, surrounded by 10 other dhans who were all swiftly securing the perimeter. Seeing as the voice wasn't directed towards him, the prince returned to harsh reality as he remembered how he had failed. Running ahead of her company, the dhan was brimming with joy as she sprung forth like a rabbit would.
"Lucied. Good to see you." Although it wasn't someone like Rosemi, just seeing a friendly face who was equally glad to see him melted the remaining ice around his nerves. Leaving Tanuki upon the gon, he hopped off alone and brought the loyal dhan into his embrace, squeezing her quite tightly at that, shocking her.
To his surprise, the dhans weren't the only ones popping out of the woodlands and leaving their concealed bases. Tunnels and caves that were dug and built during the great exile and abandonment of Par'Talucca.
"Grand duke Trichia, a pleasure to see you again so soon." With her soft red hair tied into two pony tails that sat upon her collarbones, swiping her bangs away from her equally red eyes, the dark-elf respectfully curtsied to the man who had conquered her lord and queen's heart.
[Ruby Armant: Lvl 77]
The royal wizard of Ignis, hailing from one far corner of the continent to the other, proudly presented herself along with her personal company of necromancers.
Whilst his mood was lightening by the second, the duke didn't forget to ensure proper respect was equally paid to Victor, who was awkwardly sitting upon the fidgety beast dressed in an attire that was worn and torn from the long journey, looking no better than the common man. If it wasn't for his golden eyes being as clear as the purest ingots, perhaps they would've failed entirely to recognise him as his hair was dirty and greasy enough to be considered brown.
"Your Highness, Lucied greets you."
"Your Highness, Lady Ruby Armant greets you."
Although being of different kingdoms, they knew not to sour the relationship between states, prioritizing the alliance over their own pride.
Hopping off the beast, Victor warmly smiled as he accepted their pleasantries with respect. As a man who was greatly starved from human contact, if he ignored the two anomalies who were mostly indifferent and stoic, the prince was honestly pleased to be enjoying the sweetness of their voices and the allure they naturally radiated. Which, at the end of it, only made him miss Daisy even more.
As the location wasn't the best to be resting and exchanging smiles, the group soon after relocated into one of the hidden bases within the woodlands.
..
"My king~ welcome to Hermit's Hideout. This is just one of many temporary settlements the dhans built in order to hide from both the dekans and the usurper's blades."
Furnished by mostly handcrafted wooden chairs and tables, the wooden huts were built into the ground that utilized the usual foliage to camouflage them. Whilst unbefitting of a location to host two men of high prestige, the two men in questions were more than happy to finally rest upon something other than dirt and grass. Having had no access to camping equipment during their journey, they honestly had no complaints, and thus were full of smiles as they seated themselves.
Asai, closely followed by both Robin and Tanuki, was patiently awaiting the news, or report, as he wondered as to why they weren't instantly returning to Par'Talluca.
"Grand duke, everyone here is someone you deem worthy of trust, correct?"
[Asai de Trichia: Lvl 98] [Robin Sol: Lvl 95]
[Victor Del Lagos: Lvl 90] [Istvan Deuce: Lvl 76] [Ian: Lvl 71]
[Ruby Armant: Lvl 77] [Lucied: Lvl 50]
After gazing over the people within the room, and nodding in confirmation, the skin upon his fingers began to itch the instant he noticed the mana within the air converge.
"[Sound barrier]!"
Glancing around with mana imbued eyes, she ensured her skill was working as intended, without a single crack or fracture upon its dome. Plucking a golden card out from her chest pocket, she presented it with both hands, as a gift.
"Please, receive and activate it."
Already having experience with guild and identification cards before, with no hesitation at all, Asai pulled out [Yomi] and slit his index finger before imprinting it. As his blood, filled with his signature mana entered the card, its hidden glyphs illuminated for a brief moment before fading.
Having done as wanted, his black eyes returned to Ruby's who were filled with excitement that spread like a cold, making the others curious and impatient as she slowly retrieved the registered ID.
"Grand duke of Par'Talucca, Prince of Del Lagos and friends, I'm honoured to be the one to introduce to you an invention created from within the heart of Ignis, the kingdom of dark-elves~ From the combined efforts of mages and professors of the Magic Academy of Blue Flames and Her Majesty's Royal Academy, I present to you all~
The first ever identification card capable of long distance audio and vocal communication!"
With her arms spread wide open, her chest heaved up high and proud, her grin stretched across from pointy ear to pointy ear.
Victor Del Lagos, Istvan, Ian and Lucied were all shocked to the point that their applause was sporadic but sharp.
As for Asai de Trichia and Robin Sol, who was privy to the man's stories, rumblings and knowledge, the two were filled with excitement as they realized the world would no longer have to rely upon pigeon-mail and horse-messengers.
Having received her fill and tickled her ego and pride for her kingdom's best. Believing her kingdom to having one-upped the elves in Via Marea, Ruby plucked a crow's feather out from her back pocket before imbuing it with [Darkness]
Somewhat hiding the process from the others with the back of her hand, she quickly drew and inscribed two other glyphs she had painstakingly imbedded into her memory. As these glyphs were highly complicated, a lost language that took them years of studying the ancient portals to acquire, it was honestly impressive that she could even remember them to such pin-point precision.
"Please~"
Not needing any further instructions, just as he would with the old guild card when utilizing its treasury function, Asai planted two fingers upon its surface whilst channelling his mana, triggering the hidden glyphs into motion.
Like an old radio would, the card buzzed and buzzed, before anyone could look to the dark-elf for questions, wondering if it was faulty or not yet viable, the static subsided and a soft voice spoke with excitement so strong, they could visualise it.
"Asai!? Hello!?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Hehee~ Amazing isn't it? What do you think? Isn't my kingdom the best? I bet you're already thinking about moving over here and living with me aren't you? ~♡ Since our two kingdoms formed that alliance, I've been pressuring the academies to focus on everyday life over weapons, soon- soon we'll have cards capable of visual input and output! Look forward to it okay? Y-you know, since we-"
"-AHEM* Your Majesty, please. We have guests, His Highness, Prince Victor Del Lagos and his templars are also present..."
"..." For 10 seconds straight, the card just continued to quietly buzz, an indicator that the call was still connected.
From the second-hand embarrassment, Ruby maintained her professional posture, grace that was expected of a noble lady, but had cheeks flushed entirely red.
"A pleasure to speak to you again Your Majesty, Emilita Regenon." A pain struck through Robin's chest, quickly followed by confusion as she saw a warm tender smile stretch across Asai's face.
The man recalled his short memories in Ignis, the kingdom of dark-elves and the time he had spent flirting and courting Emilita. For reasons unknown even to himself, he couldn't help but want to tease, bully and flirt with her. Whilst he didn't exactly love her like he did with Robin Sol and Rosemi de Lumix, the queen was perhaps his weakness manifested, a type of woman that easily causes the heart to race. Which only caused Asai's playboy side to surface, feeling greatly tempted to further tease the woman. When he finally caught onto his hormones, that of his lower brain, he began to question himself quite sternly. "Fuck, am I a fuck boy!?"
..
Victor's heart was racing, whilst the first name and voice was different, the surname was somewhat triggering his post trauma syndrome disorder. Recalling the viciousness, the ferocity, and the beauty and sharpness of Rima Regenon's sword...
