Shell Out(turtle litrpg)

I ultimately decided to deny the claim.

Because I didn't plan such a thing. Not only that, but it was actually a hit to my reputation if I agreed.

After all, I had explained that this route was taken for other reasons.

Being selfish is fine, but when it comes at the expense of endangering the whole operation, naturally it becomes a huge negative.

Most importantly, I haven't decided to go. Maybe after we send Willow away, but that's more of a maybe than anything else.

Doing it now would be foolhardy.

'I have no plans to explore this inheritance currently. We're on a bit of a schedule right now.' I said seriously, which made Servante and Lenore's expression dissipate in suspicion.

Hearing this, Moray nodded, but Britannia spoke thoughtfully.

"I think you should go actually." she said carefully, and I couldn't help but ask her.

'Why do you think so?' I said politely. I disagreed of course, but the current circumstances as guest mean I should be polite.

Not only that, but if she has good reasoning, then it may be worth listening.

She didn't respond immediately, instead asking.

"Do you believe in fate?"

'Of course.' I responded. As a follower of the gods, how could I not believe in fate?

"I happen to know something about this inheritance. Our dragon clan is one of the oldest clans in the history of the Earth, and respectively, our inheritance can date back millions of years. Of course, much of it isn't available to the average dragon, but even so, there's still a lot there.

Zhulong, the candle dragon once said that "history is like the ocean's waves. When similar things appear, it is often the repetition of history, but also the accumulation of destiny. The rise of a demon king often signifies the rise of a hero, the fall of an empire and the rise of new young heroes, and the appearance of similar individuals could be said to represent the return of a greater being."

She scrutinized me and Maria for a moment.

"I didn't think much of it at first, but looking at you two reminds me of an old rumor I once read in the annals of the inheritance.

That xuanwu once had a comrade, a turtle, who also had a snake partner. But unlike xuanwu, which was one individual, these two were more akin to partners in life. That this turtle was once xuanwu's lover.

It's said that she died in the prehistoric era, before man and before writing. Only we, the dragons who have persisted as a race would know such a thing.
That such a coincidence has occurred is suspicious to say the least. I think this is a sign.

If you miss this opportunity you may regret it."

Having said her piece, the bronze dragon went silent, quietly observing me.

I had to admit; her words gave me pause.

There's no guarantee she's right. She said it as much herself that was just a rumor.

But even so, she had a point.

I still remember that when Anubis chose the form of a turtle for me, it was merely because the lifespan of a turtle outweighed that of all other living things in a low-level area.

There was no intent, yet such a connection is hard to ignore.

I decided to take a shell and divine.

Ding, ding, ding

Yet as I did so, something unexpected happened, instead of a simple yes or no, the shell revealed a pattern that I knew, yet did not seek.

Good fortune.

It seems like a great opportunity.

Yet I have a job...

At this moment, Moray spoke.

"Seems like you guys are being pursued right?" he asked calmly, yet this made Servante watch him warily, holding his staff tightly.

Seeing his expression, the dragon laughed as he waived it off. "Oh come on, if you're not being chased, then I don't know who is, with those tense ass expressions.

I was going to say, if you want to go somewhere safe, then that territory is the safest place you can be. Britannia might do a lot of inheritance browsing, but I'm more of a socialite.

A demon from the cold lands came around recently to cause trouble, only to be swatted down by a mysterious powerhouse.

Heard that demon was classified as an SS rank demon by the guild.

Whoever is pursuing you, as long as they're not stupid, they won't follow you there, not unless they're ready to duke it out with a mysterious being stronger than half of the gods. "

Hearing this, I couldn't help but think of the old man.

Could it be him?

I've always known he was strong, but how strong, I've never known. Never been qualified to judge his strength.

I decided to look at Servante and ask him. He was more responsible than Lenore at least.

Servante, seeing my look, thought for a minute.

"Earl, this person we're going to, he's in the Gamoceras estate right?"

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I nodded.

"Is this person the one Moray has just mentioned?"

'I do not know for sure.' I admitted and he thought for a moment.

"I think we should decide once we get there. Both happen to be in the Gamoceras estate. If the one we're approaching is the one he's mentioned, and this powerful being is willing to protect us, then I see no reason not to go."

I understood why he thought that way. He was being cautious, but he was able to see the benefit.

Even though I know the old man, I can't guarantee how long he'll be willing to protect us. On the other hand, an increase in my strength, someone who has shown a dedication to protecting them would be a positive.

If possible, if we can use the old man's protection to increase my own strength while increasing our own strength, it would be the best outcome.

"And remember, we're coming to protect you as well!" Maria said confidently, reminding the group that when leaving, we would be leaving with 2 s-ranks in tow, increasing our safety greatly.

I nodded in agreement, and Lenore, who had been silent up until this moment finally spoke.

"So... can we finish eating then?" she asked, with a piece of sushi hanging out of her mouth.

Her silly question broke up the tense atmosphere, and we ended up spending the rest of the feast eating and drinking.

After the meal, they were escorted out to an inconspicuous part of the river on the side of the Gamoceras estate.

It was a rather simple farewell, with Maria promising to come back some time.

Looking around and seeing no one around, Maria and the maid transformed, returning to their previous human form, albeit with some differences.

They were slight differences, merely meant to distract ordinary people who had never seen the future Marquis to be, and to assure no one who knew her would notice.

She was dead in their eyes after all. Even if someone looked similar, as long as they weren't too similar no one would blink an eye.

They were dressed in adventurer's gear, and covered in grime, camouflaging themselves even further, yet Maria looked more comfortable in this than she had ever been in noble attire.

Her skin had taken on a darker, more weathered tone in stark contrast to her once fair skin.

She was still as beautiful as ever, though now she had more of a rough, warrior appeal to her.

Before I could react, she snatched me up, cradling me in her arms, even in spite of my eyes.

"I know you can shrink. Shrink." she said demandingly.

Humoring her, I shrank down to the size of a normal turtle, returning the four trees on my back to a singular bush.

I had to admit, her embrace was quite comfortable, even if she squeezed a little too tightly.

Willow looked over, as if interested, yet hesitant to speak.

Maria pretended to be ignorant, looking purposefully away as she spoke.

"We should go reserve a room at the inn before we sneak in." she said calmly.

Servante asked curiously. "Sneak in?"

"The person my love is looking for was a former guest of the Marquis Earl. Naturally his territory is heavily guarded, especially after what happened to the former marquis. At the very least, we certainly cannot just walk in."

"I mean, we are an envoy from the elven kingdom. Couldn't we just... walk in? Officially speaking."

Hearing this, Maria gave me a curious look, as if asking me what's going on.

At the banquet, we had chosen to avoid the sensitive topics, since this mission was still of high importance.

So I didn't actually mention what we were doing. I'll have to tell her later.

Regardless, Maria spoke.

"Not necessarily. The last marquis was a man of integrity and a great warrior, great man above it all." she said, shamelessly praising me, causing me to retract my head in.

The current marquis is his cousin, the brother of the man who attempted to assassinate the former marquis and died in the attempt. Although he is known to be far less radical than either, and a more patient person than both, he's been quiet and stable since his position has been raised to marquis.

To put it bluntly, no one is sure about his nature as a noble. He might've been polite and meek back then, but that was when he had no chance to be marquis, with others in the way. Now that he's a marquis, who knows what his current stance is."

Hearing this, Servante nodded thoughtfully. That was true after all. The previous marquis had an established reputation and precedent. To put it bluntly, he could predict what the last one would do and act accordingly.

If they had time, they could simply wait longer and see how this current marquis acted.

Unfortunately, and ironically, as an elf there was no time to waste.

In this case, it was better to ask forgiveness than it was to ask permission.

So they walked in, using their adventurer ids to enter.

Surprisingly, both Lily and Maria had one as well, both ranked as B-rank adventurers.

As we entered the territory, I felt a sense of familiarity.

After all, this place had been my home.

This territory had been mine.

I had toured each and every town, each territory within, to familiarize myself both with the towns and the people.

Moreso the people than the town.

I recognized many people here. This was my main property after all, the mansion where I had spent much of my life within this town.

The baker Henry and his 6th wife.

Thomas the local tanner.

Benjamin and his crazy kite.

It was both exciting, but also sad.

I was glad to see my people again, yet I knew that meeting them would never be the same again.

I was no longer their lord. Merely a turtle passing by.

Even now, my decision to make sure everything is running smoothly is the result of my intent to cleanly sever the past off.

The inn was as comfortable as ever. Even though I, as their lord never slept here, I still came here plenty. Many soldiers would take temporary residence here when summoned from other towns in the territory.

Maria had nothing to say. It's pretty clear by now that she's been running back and forth, likely disguised as an adventurer. She's been back here, so her reaction is more of indifference, already having hung out here more than once.

once assigned to the rooms, we unpacked little. After all, the future is a bit unstable currently, with no guarantee of stability.

To get that, we'll have to see if that old man is willing to provide it.

Entering my old mansion was pretty easy. If there was anyone who knew the in and outs, it was us.

Me and Maria.

The others did not follow. To be frank, we had 3 kids in tow and taking them with us was not a good choice. If anything goes wrong, it's better they're far away to be unaffected.

There's also the fact that Willow was simply too special to be bought in, at least in the eyes of Servante and Lenore. As a high elf, she's basically a once in a millenium genius, who cannot be risked in a gamble.

It's not like I don't understand. The qing and Romana empire have been at each other's throats pretty often, and assassinations? Not uncommon.
I've only been assassinated twice, since I was more of a low-level genius rather than a true genius.

I snuck in using the elven form. Not the human form, that would cause a great deal of trouble. I'm dead after all.

From what I understand, this system business is likely some high level business, hidden from the general people

Me being alive could lead to all sorts of speculation.

And turtle form is inconvenient for sneaking.

The two of us stopped for a minute, staring at a portrait.

A portrait of us.

Staring at it for a moment, Maria asked.

"Do you think we should take it back with us?" she asked, a hint of eagerness in her voice.

"sure, but we'll have to tell my cousin first, to avoid any trouble in the morning." I agreed.

It was a nice painting that evoked nice memories. It would do nothing for the current residents, so we may as well take it with us.

We also walked by an empty weapon stand, the display in which the spear of my grandfather should've went.

Finally we arrived at the courtyard, where the same old man was still, chopping wood.

He was singing to himself, a sutra that he called the "Huanting Sutra", singing without a care in the world.

And next to him was a new guest.

A magpie, I think. It has the presence of a monster, albeit a weak one, and a weird deformed third leg.

I'm sure it's special though. Knowing the old man, anything he has is far from normal.

He stopped as he turned to stare at us, breaking into a wide grin, and grabbing the two of us in those bearish arms.

He moves so fast, that neither I nor Maria could react.

Yup, he's definitely above S-rank.

"You two are finally back! You've made me wait for so long you two silly lovebirds!

Wait let me guess, you've finally tied the knot! Keeping yourself busy haven't you? Oh you dirty turtle you!" He said, teasing me and Maria ruthlessly upon first meeting, driving Maria to blush again.

The old man loved teasing young people. It's a bad habit of his.

Yeah, it's that dirty old man for sure.

"Good to see you old man." I said happily, in spite my near-death experience of choking to death.