NOVEL NEXT 17. The gift.
"My King, what do you mean? I'm not a Noble..."
"You just said so yourself. I'm the King of Avalon. You are in my Kingdom." I looked at her closely, and she looked somehow different. "Are you a subject of the outside kingdom? Are you bound by oaths made to its ruler?"
"No... We were exiled from the capital." Lanka looked at the table and pursed her lips.
"Then it's decided. If not for you, Amber and Irene would be dead now. I'm in your debt, Miss Lanka. And that's why I ask you to please accept the title I wish to bestow upon you, Lady Lanka of Avalon, the Saving Grace."
I felt one thousand mana leave me, which is nothing special considering that Amber and Irene got one hundred thousand each. However, Lanka was looking at me with her eyes wide open. I glanced at her status and yeah... She was level 25 now and has 560+1000 mana.
"I... I don't know what to say... Thank you, my Lord," Lanka said, intimidated by my gift.
"There is also a new manor with servants in the Village, which technically is now a Town. It belongs to you, Lanka." I continued gently, as I really was grateful.
I couldn’t tell what would happen with me and how effective the whispers of Lord Dickhead would have been if Amber and Irene had died. I must be much more careful now. This isn’t some happy-go-lucky isekai world. Dark forces in this world might be sloppy or they may just pretend to be ridiculous, but I believed them to be much more intelligent and cunning than they initially seemed to be. Never assume your enemy is an idiot.
"Also, you will be granted an allowance to come and go as you please to the Middle Castle of Avalon." I saw the happy sparks in her eyes with an untold question. "And yes, you can take Idna with you."
Lanka was also an important person. Not like Amber and, well... Irene, but she was literally the only other healer in Avalon. I had to ask Stella if her Fairies could learn healing magic. So what else could I give my backup healer? I smirked. Right...
"You can also choose a familiar for yourself. Take a look around before and see for yourself what's in stock." I already figured out that having a rare familiar in this world was like having a Ferrari back on earth. Lanka was just sitting, too surprised to be in shock. "And lastly, you will attend Stella's lessons along with Queen Amber and Saintess Irene."
Amber nodded without hesitation, and that made Irene follow. Lanka simply stared blankly at me.
"Now Stella should be able to harness your powers and not allow anyone to blow themselves up. Come in Stella." I added with a smile.
The doors opened, and I saw all three women stand up so fast that their chairs almost hit the floor. Amber was the first to regain voice after the shock.
"Is that really, like really you, Stella?" Amber rubbed her eyes in amazement. "You look..."
The bright laughter of Stella filled the room. She was no longer a Pixie. Right now Stella was shorter than Amber and Irene, but the same height or a little taller than Lanka. Sorry, I only brought a short ruler, not a measuring tape. Wendy should have a tailor’s measuring tape...
Stella was wearing a long, shimmering dress-like backless robe that allowed for free movement of her Pixie wings, which were now upscaled to support her grown-up, elf-like body. Stella, however, was far from being an Elf, as she was a Fairy of the noblest kind. She still was covered with golden light similar to the one that she radiated when she was a Pixie.
"Fey... Stella, you are Fey!" Irene was in shock. For a thousand years, no one had seen a Fey.
"I'm... I'm Faé, your Majesty," Stella corrected her timidly and curtsied, bowing her head slightly.
"The Queen of Fey and all Fairies?" Lanka whispered.
"Indeed, Lady Lanka." Stella confirmed with another short bow of her head.
"Right now, Stella will be able to handle your training." I smiled.
I smiled, but I was already occupied with my most basic and existential problem. I needed to find a quick way to establish mana income. Right now, I only had two and a half million mana left in my vault. It's... bad.
"Amber and Irene, you must train with Stella daily until she decides you are ready. Both of you can now use power unimaginable to most people in this world, and I don't want to replay yesterday's events ever again. Is that clear?" I looked at Stella, Amber, and Irene. "As for you, Lady Lanka, your total mana is maybe just a fraction of what Amber and Irene can use. Nonetheless, it's still much more than many others can only dream to obtain. So you need to train with Stella as well."
They all nodded their heads slowly. We all sat back at the table and Sebastian entered the living room, carrying plates with wonderful desserts and snacks made by Annika. When I saw them, a spike of guilt hit my guts, so I quickly finished my apple cake and stood up. Amber looked at me, raising her eyebrow.
"Excuse me, my Ladies. I must make my apologies to Miss Annika," I said with an empty smile.
"Why?" Amber simply asked as she wiped her lips with a napkin.
"I sent Marie outside of Avalon to bring Lanka here. It was the only thing I could come up with to save you both." I pursed my lips. "I know she is strong, but she is just a kid. What's more, she ended up in the middle of a battle."
"But if not for her, everyone would have died back then." Lanka was looking with empty eyes at the table as she recalled the goblin ambush. She smiled. "Allow me to go with you, my King as I have to thank her."
•••
Annika was not angry or even worried. In the end, Marie was literally shadowed by her familiar, and the firepower they possessed when combined was worthy of the army. Annika was fully aware that every Avalon resident was much more powerful than anyone living outside. Within these blessed walls, even she, as a non-combat class, was able to fight and win duels with a level 35 Skeleton Guard and even with a level 25 Skeleton Knight. That meant her daughter, who has a combat class and is at level 60, was unimaginably strong.
But what was more important was Annika knew that only Marie could save the Queen and the Saintess back then. Annika smiled to herself with a little anxious smile as she saw the King, the Queen, and the Saintess bowing to her in apology while Lady Lanka bowed in gratitude.
"Your Majesties, there is no need for that. These were only goblins, and this mission was of utmost importance!" She didn't know what to do, and in panic, started bowing herself. "It's us who are glad to be of any service to you, my King! And I'm proud of Marie, who performed her task so diligently. I'm sure Marie will be very happy to see you in good health, my Queen."
"Nonetheless, I owe Marie as well. When they return, I wish to reward her."
•••
"This fog is strange..." Someone said from the back of a wagon.
"Ya' will be loss' in'it if Avalon don't deem ya' worthy!" Ori laughed. "But do'n worry lads. We're about to enter the Village!"
Soon enough they heard the dull thud of shoed horses as they reached the lowered, wide drawbridge. They crossed a large, wide gatehouse in which four wagons like theirs could easily ride side by side. When they exited on the other side, all the people living there were waving at them happily.
"Welcome back, Guild Master! How was your little trip?" Idna asked with a smile as she stood at the front of a small crowd.
"We managed, Miss Idna! But without Miss Marie, we would never have returned home." The big Orc yelled back while smiling, relieved. He jumped from the wagon and held the horse’s reins.
"What happened?" Asked Idna, who lost her good humour as she looked around and couldn't find her sister. "Where is Lanka?!"
"She hasn't returned for the night?" Knys asked suddenly in a scared voice as he looked towards the Palace. "Oh no..."
"What do you mean?" asked Idna.
"There was an accident in the Magic Tower of Avalon. And Miss Marie told us that the Queen and Lady Irene were badly injured. Miss Marie... Well... She basically kidnapped your sister and brought her to the King," the Guild Master explained, still holding the reins.
All the adventurers fell silent, and they looked towards the Palace. The others, who never passed Avalon trials, or even been in higher castles, had their vision obscured by the fog. They had never seen the Palace, and they wondered what the others were looking at.
"I will check if everything is alright and I'll bring you the news," said Marie, yawning.
"Wait! If everything is alright, can you ask the King for an audience?" Knys asked before she could jump into the shadows.
"Aud... What?" the confused girl asked, making big eyes.
"An audience. We wish to meet with the King officially," Knys clarified.
"Sure thing!" And she was gone.
Verni and Ragnar waved to the Guild Master, taking some chests out of wagons as their family members waited nearby. Knys approached them with a big grin.
"Well, we are back. In the end, I think it was Miss Marie who deserves the Quest reward."
"Don't mention it. If not for your Guild, we would never had made it back, and that's why we agree that your Guild accomplished the task!" All the guild members, even Idna, received quest completion notifications and gasped as they gained a full level’s worth of experience. Ragnar smiled and continued. "I think Verni and I will go and ask the King what we should do next..."
"This will not be necessary, Ragnar." They all turned toward the voice and kneeled.
In front of them stood King Theon in a majestic dark blue robe embroidered with golden threads. Next to him was Queen Amber in a similarly decorated and coloured long dress. Everyone felt greatly relieved, seeing her not only alive but also seemingly unscathed. Behind them stood Priestess Irene, but she was now wearing an absolutely stunning long white lace dress and she looked like she was shining with gold light. Next to her was standing Lanka, who appeared to be embarrassed.
"Marie told me that you, and allow me to quote, My King, Guild Master Knys asked for an au... Adi... Adieu... They wanted to meet you, but officially." The King smiled at them. "And I must admit, she intrigued us so much that we decided to hear you out as soon as possible."
•••
When Marie tried to relay Knys's request, I almost choked on the apple I was eating. It was early afternoon when she jumped out of Amber's shadow and overflooded us with her uncontrolled happiness that Amber was safe, then she hugged Irene, crying from happiness even more. She then tried to relay an audience request, but it was clear as day that this was the first time she heard that word from Knys. She did everything that was in the power of a five-year-old girl and made everyone laugh in the process. We headed to the Town to see what new problems they brought.
It was also a very good occasion to give them some exploration quests so I could earn some... OH SHIT! ... mana...
I just received a quarter of a million mana. I didn't mind, but how? I quickly looked around and saw Verni and Ragnar talking with Knys, who was standing with a dropped jaw. That could only mean they finished a Quest. There it is...
I mean... Sure! Investing in my tax skills and this epic skill that gave me mana from quests within my border was a great idea. I smirked at Amber and Irene.
"Let's see what our citizens want." I gave my hand to Lanka as Amber caught Irene. We teleported to the Town's square where I welcomed them.
Although, in my style.
•••
We were sitting in the guild hall right now on thrones I summoned from the storage. Lanka excused herself and disappeared into the crowd. Verni and Ragnar brought their families who had sworn their loyalty to me, increasing my resident count from fifteen to nineteen. There should be more of them, but life outside of Avalon is harsh.
Ragnar managed to find his sister, Opal, who happily left her pointless life in Qar behind. While most dwarf males looked like your typical Tolkien's Thorin or Balin- short, muscular little tanks with beards, their women were the total opposite. Quite gentle and slim, they looked more like down-sized elves with their pointed but human-sized ears.
Dwarves were about 150 cm tall, and we were talking about the tall dwarves now. All of my initial trio were very tall dwarves. I could only pretend I knew. Opal was maybe 140-145 centimetres tall and her black hair had a cobalt-blue shimmer to it. I looked at her, trying to process how that was possible, but gave up. Flow with the river...
Verni brought only his brother and sister. His sister, Ruby, was a widow. Her husband was killed not so long after Verni and the rest had begun their way back home. The fateful trip started from the city on the plains, during which they were captured by the slavers and ended up here. He was a miner like Vernon and died, killed by a lesser earth elemental while he was mining. Verni's parents died of old age a week ago, peacefully in their home, surrounded by the love of Ruby and Vernon.
Also, yeah, Ruby had a ruby-red hue through her surprisingly ginger hair. That boggled me more than it should. All guys had equally dark hair, with only their options being coal-black, bronze-brown or copper-red... Wait a minute...
Vernon, however, found himself a wife while Verni was away. Her name was Beryl. At this point, I start suspecting that Dwarven women receive names like gemstones in the same fashion that humans name their women after flowers.
Yes... Her hair had a beryl-green hue. Fuck it- I needed to know. This matter would be researched properly one day. How or why do dwarven ladies' hair shimmer with such strange hues?
Anyway, all the newcomers were malnourished and more than happy to join the grand fest that all my residents organised on the Town's main square. Annika and Sally barged into Alicia's kitchen and used it to create incredible food. Alicia begged on her knees to be taken as a student, and Annika agreed, amused.
However, instead of returning with four people, my brave party of adventurers and residents returned with almost sixty. Thirty-five of them were children up to the age of ten, with five or six exceptions. Children of Elves, Half-Elves, Dwarves, Catgir... Nekomi! I mean Nekomi, Orcs, Half-Orcs, Wolfkins...
Wolfkins? I looked at the three boys and one girl. Uhum. They are essentially Nekomis with wolf parts. So why Wolfkin and not Inumi... Yeh. When I said that out loud in my brain, it just sounded bad. Wolfkin they shall be. Ugh... So why not the Catkin? Aghr... Brain! Stop!
ANYWAY...
"Why have you brought these children here?" I looked at Ragnar.
"Because they would have died otherwise." That struck me hard because Ragnar's voice was emotionless.
"But... Why?" I asked, and every adult looked away. They avoided my gaze out of shame. Only Amber and Irene looked back into my eyes.
"Because we are orphans, great King, and no one needs or cares for us." A wolfkin girl, one of the oldest kids, explained to me. She was maybe sixteen or seventeen; I couldn't tell because she was so thin. Some of my skeleton soldiers look like they have more meat on them than she did.
I felt Amber's hand on my shoulder. She knew. She knew what kind of anger I felt now, but... Was I allowed to judge these people? Could I afford to take care of strangers while every single day of life was a struggle? I looked back at my memories and I knew I was not a saint in my previous life. Was I better than them? The place I came from happened to take care of orphans and the weak. I just paid taxes and did nothing more. How was I different from them?
And why do I remember this and not my family or where I worked?
"What's your name, girl?" I asked.
"My name is Lydia. And I'm no longer a girl!" she responded defiantly, making me smile.
"You said no one needs you. Tell me then, Lydia, why are you here?" I looked at her and saw her fear.
"I... I don't know. We are in the Dungeon. But..." She looked around. Outside, the Adventurers were setting up tables and chairs, while strange but pleasant music started playing. She swallowed and continued. "We are here because Miss Clementine and Lord Sigismund took us with them. They gave us food all these years. And... And... An... I'm so sorry..."
She burst into tears, looking at one of the Dwarves standing nearby and then at the older Human women standing next to him. I smiled. They were good people trying their best in this world. Lydia dropped to her knees, still crying.
"They cared for us all this time! I'm so sorry I told you that!" she begged, but they just smiled. With a short nod and a light smile, I allowed him to speak. After a deep bow to me, the Dwarf looked at Lydia.
"It's all right. We tried the best we could. But in the end, we could only feed you and give you some run-down clothes, which were only a bit better than rags. We hoped our lives would be better here. I'm happy now, Lydia, you noticed our efforts. Thank you." Then he looked at me, but I gave him a sign to wait.
"Lydia, do you help other orphans?" I asked her once more.
"Yes, my King. We had only ourselves and those who helped Lord Sigismund. Miss Clementine, Miss Opal and even Mister Verni helped before he went to Fukla on the plains. Also, the others here helped, but I don't know their names..." she was still kneeling, crushed by her own ignorance.
"So, Miss Lydia, do you still believe that no one cared about you?" I warmly smiled, and she looked at me, smiling back.
"I have never been so happy before to find out I was so wrong, my King." She stood up with a smile and bowed to me. She returned to the other orphans, but now they all were smiling.
"Lord Sigismund, I suppose?" I asked the Dwarf who wanted to talk to me before.
"Yes, King of Avalon. I'm Lord Sigismund Ironhand, the Last Dwarven Lord, my King." He kneeled on his right knee, bowing his head. Everyone who arrived in Avalon with him, even the youngest orphans, did the same. "I heard about the wonders of Avalon from Verni, the man I'm fortunate to call my friend. I begged him to allow us and the orphans to follow him here, but he did more for us! He allowed us on their wagons. After a perilous journey, we are here and I beg you, oh powerful King of wondrous Avalon, to allow us to build even a small camp under your walls. In return, I wish to gift you my family heirloom!"
Two Dwarves, who looked like seasoned warriors, brought a large chest in front of me and opened it.
My jaw dropped. It should have fucking dropped, making me look as stupid as hell... but it did not actually drop. I was saved by my poker face skill.
MYTHICAL grade Item
It is said that Valkyries roam the battlefields to collect the souls of brave warriors who have fallen in battle. This breastplate was given to Heroine Hisklet as a gift by one of the Valkyries after Hisklet defeated Umôg-jarhl, the general of the army of darkness.
This item provides the following effects:
Grants exceptional physical defence.
Grants runic skill: regeneration.
Grants +10% HP
Part of Heavenly Valkyrie Set
This item can be only gifted in good faith.
This item can be worn only by a woman.
Set part 2/8
Runic skill: regeneration is 50% cheaper.
I want this. First of all, this is part of a set and I'm a collector. Secondly, Amber was going to wear it whether she likes it or not. That runic skill, regeneration, sounded like it would have helped last time. I hope to never experience that ever again. Nonetheless, this was a gift I can't turn down.
I cleared my throat. The Truth Seeker informed me that Sigismund was telling me the truth.
"Lord Sigismund, I'm afraid in these circumstances I can not agree to the terms you offered." I started slowly.
The last thing I wanted now was these people to hear me yelling 'Fuck yeah, boi!' However, I didn't want them to feel like I was showing them the middle finger either.
"Instead, I want to welcome you and all those who followed you here, in the Town under Avalon. Town Mayor Uvar Knys will help you find a fitting accommodation. Is that acceptable?"
I knew it was, but I tried to roleplay the good King. Well... A good king who just blatantly accepted a bribe. On the other hand, the Dwarven Lord didn't have to do anything for these children and people, and yet, he offered such a treasure to me. I saw Ragnar raising an eyebrow as he slowly moved towards me.
"My King... This set is impossible to gather. The Angel Feather does not exist in this world..." He whispered that only I could hear him. "However, it is valuable, my Lord. Normally, such an item would be priceless. To think Lord Sigismund would offer it this lightly..."
"Thank you, Ragnar. Do you know where I can find other parts?" I asked in surprise, but I already knew that I wanted Amber to have this set.
"I'll investigate this matter, my King." He bowed to me and returned to his place.
I looked back at Lord Sigismund, who was looking at me, trying to remain calm. Everyone he brought with him was crying tears of true happiness. I wasn’t surprised, as I had seen the same reaction many times before.
Also, I wasn’t stupid. I knew that Sigismund gave me this armour just to gain as much as he could from me. I wasn’t sure if he was aiming for the outcome he received. I rose from the throne and touched the magnificent armour embroidered with gold and silver... I could barely hold myself from inhaling loudly through my nose... It's made of mithril, the shining, silver-like metal with a green-blue hue.
"My Queen, I think this will look excellent on you," I said with a smile.
"Thank you, my King." She accepted it with a wink, and gave me a sign that I could put it away for now. Sebastian, with other butler slime, took the chest with armour to the Palace.
"Anything else, Lord Sigismund?" I looked at the still kneeling Dwarf as I sat once again on my throne.
"Only if you would be willing to grant us another favour, my King. Could we get permission to explore the dungeon?"
"Of course. All the details are available here at the guild," I said while thinking 'Oh yes... Bring your friends and kids to the field trip. I need that sweet mana.'
When Sigismund stood up and joined his group, I heard their excited voices. To my surprise, Vernon, Ruby, Opal, and Beryl kneeled before me.
"My King! We must warn you!" Vernon looked at me and I saw fear in his eyes. "Queen Josla plans to send her army here. She will probably wait for winter to pass, but with spring, her army may be knocking at your doors."
"Thank you, Vernon. This is very important information." I answered, but I just wanted to laugh.
I had about four, maybe six months at the max until her forces came. I'm more concerned with getting mana for upkeep than Josla's army.