Chapter 374: Interlude 27
Jinn POV
"Why are you in my bed?" I felt some hair tickle my nose.
"Silly girl, you climbed into my bed."
"Doesn't matter, don't get up yet." I grumbled, wrapping my arms around her.
"I am not used to sleeping beyond the early hours." Scáthach said gently. "And I have duties I must uphold. You can sleep in your own bed if my schedule discomforts you."
"Mmm....don't like to sleep alone."
"Is it a wonder that our shared lover dotes on you?" I felt her hand run down my hair. "Very well, I will stay for a little while longer. I have been through this with you on numerous occasions at this point. If you desire companionship during the night, you may come find me whenever you want."
"You don't mind?" I asked quietly. "You've kicked Wilhelm out a few times."
She chuckled. "My student is an insatiable man who will not allow me proper rest. You, my sweet girl, are merely seeking for someone to accompany you unto your dreams."
"Thanks, sister." I closed my eyes again.
"There is no need to thank me." She cooed. "I am more than happy to help you. I understand the loneliness you must have felt for all those years. I can say that I too enjoy sleeping next to someone after living by myself for all those centuries. Who do you stay with when I am away?"
"Raikou lets me sleep with her too." I yawned.
Atleast went I'm not with Wilhelm.
"Of course, she adores you just as all of us do." Scáthach giggled again.
"All my sisters are good to me." I snuggled closer.
"Silly girl." She sighed. "I will wait an hour or two. Rest well." She gently pat my head.
[***]
"Hmm, hmm, hmm." I looked in the mirror and decided to wear my normal dress.
Shoes?
I'll wear my favorite heels, I'm in a good mood!
Jewelry? Maybe just some earrings. Maybe just the studs I got recently? Wilhelm likes to play with my ears, so I don't really want to put too many on.
That should be everything important. Got my Bracelet that Wilhelm made me, so I pretty much have anything I could need. Really, the only last important thing to note is my lamp, and well.....It's still safe.
Snug and not going anywhere.
At this point, I think it'd be more weird to take it out and try to walk around without it in my butt.
Jeez, I still can't believe that man did something so ridiculous with my Lamp. A Relic created by the Gods and he.....turned it into a means of stimulating me sexually.
I can't deny that it's.... convenient for carrying around. I can't really get far from it due to how tied I am to it. And I don't think anyone would look for it there.
.....admittedly, I've grown to like it quite a bit.
It's not like I'm using my butt for anything else. My body belongs completely to Wilhelm, if he wants my lamp in my butt, it's staying there until he decides otherwise.
The real surprise was finding out how quickly my heart followed. I joke about it early on when I first joined with him. But... it's strange, this feeling. I couldn't even have fathomed these thoughts I was having merely a year before. The lengths I would go in order to protect what I now have.
It would have made my younger self shocked.
"Jinn?"
I walked down the stairs, seeing a couple of familiar faces. "Artoria!" He smiled, rushing right at her and quickly hugged her. "I missed you!"
"I missed you as well, Jinn." Artoria giggled. "Even if it has only been a few days."
"And Rin." I shifted to the younger girl, giving her a big hug too.
"J-Jinn." She squeaked by my surprise hug.
"I missed Rin too."
"We just met at the College two days ago." She responded, unable to escape.
"But that was at the College, not at our home." Hugs are nice. They all need more hugs. "What're you both up to today?" I refused to let go of Rin. I think she realized, because she just stopped fidgeting, accepting her new position.
"We are visiting the Clock Tower." Artoria replied.
"Something happen?"
"No, I just need to grab some things from over there. May as well stay for a little while since we haven't been home in a few weeks." Rin spoke.
"Then I will be coming back to inspect the Knights from the Pendragon Family that have been training with Yasaka's forces. I imagine I will be assisting Scáthach with whatever training she had devised." Artoria added on. "What about you, Jinn? Would you like to accompany me?"
It's sweet that she's trying to include me.
I think my favorite thing about Artoria is how she is so blunt with her intentions.
"I actually need to go see Grandfather. I was going to go to Remnant and I wanted him to give me a 'lift'."
"Huh, you really call the old man that?" Rin blinked in surprise.
"Of course. I'm Wilhelm's woman, that means he's my Grandfather too!"
"...I am envious of your forwardness." Artoria said quietly.
"Really? I think I'm the one who should say that, missy." I finally released Rin and stole Artoria again. "I heard what happened from Scáthach~"
"Ah...." Artoria blushed a little. "I was surprised that it happened and still find it hard to believe."
Aww, she's so cute.
"I'm happy for you." I reassured her.
She did have some self esteem issues, so I wanted her to know she was doing good.
Though I am a little jealous.
Maybe I'll work up the courage soon too.
She quickly recovered. "What do you desire back from your home? I believe you were against returning for the time being?"
"I can't put it off forever." I was scared of going back. I just had to remind myself that Wilhelm wouldn't abandon me back to that same existence I was before. "Besides, there's something I need to take care of there that's been weighing on me."
"Is there trouble? Do you require assistance?"
"It shouldn't be dangerous. But I will be going to pay someone a visit. I think you know who I'm talking about."
"....are you sure?" Artoria hesitantly asked. "I have felt similarly, perhaps I should go with you?"
"No." I shook my head. "It's my home world, let me handle it."
"If you are positive, I will not interfere. But I expect you to reach out for aid if you find yourself in trouble."
"Of course!" I pushed my cheek against hers. "My sister will be here to help me if I get in trouble."
It's nice having people that care about me.
"When are you heading out?" I asked.
"We can go now if you want." Rin suggested.
And I was all for it.
[***]
"Grandfather!" I ran towards him too, giving him a nice big hug.
"If it isn't my darling Granddaughter." He chuckled, happily accepting. "What mischief are you getting up to today? Or are you coming to complain about my Grandson? Has he been mistreating you? Do I need to have words with him."
"Nu huh, Wilhelm treats me good." I quickly shook my head.
"Good." He nodded proudly. "But tell me if he does anything you don't like. I don't mind giving him a little kick in the behind to set him straight." He winked.
"I'll be sure to tell you." I grinned.
Family was nice.
"Wizard Marshal." Artoria greeted politely.
"One of these days, I'm going to get you to address me with more familiarity." Zelretch chuckled again. "Look at Jinn, you should take notes from her."
Artoria smiled amusedly. She was polite, but it wasn't anywhere near stiff or formal.
"Teacher." Rin also was polite with her greeting.
"Rin." Zelretch smiled warmly. "How have your studies been coming along?
"I'm doing well. I study the Kaleidoscope nearly every day. And I'm also learning a lot at the College."
"Good, good." He nodded again. "But don't just coop yourself up behind a book or in your workshop all the time. Go make some friends, go on an adventure, explore a little. Real world experience is just as important as theoretical knowledge and studies."
"Don't worry, Wizard Marshal. Rin and I have been venturing far and wide within the land of Skyrim. We have uncovered tombs and old ruins. We have also taken quests to slay dangerous monsters and earned many valuable resources in the process." Artoria was quick to support Rin. "I will not allow Rin to fall to one side or the other."
"Very good, I know I can count on you, Saber." Zelretch smiled.
"Where's Lucretia?" I asked, looking around.
She's usually out by now when I come to visit. She's nice and I like spending time with her. She treats me like her actual Granddaughter...
"She's finishing up some matters back at her home world so she can move in permanently." Zelretch coughed a little.
"Wonderful! We should celebrate."
"Haha, we will when it's done." He laughed. "We'll make sure to get everyone to come and celebrate. But enough about that, what brings you lovely ladies back here?"
"I'm just picking up a few things. Saber's following along." Rin jerked her thumb at me. "She's the one who needs you."
"Oh?" Zelretch quirked an eyebrow. "What do you need my help with?"
"Well..." I watched Rin and Saber walk off. Saber gave me a smile of encouragement before she disappeared. "Can you drop me off somewhere if I give you the coordinates?"
"I am capable, yes. But...I would like to know the specifics. I can't in good conscience allow you to venture somewhere dangerous without knowing the details."
"I want to go back to Remnant." I said simply.
"Oh." He rubbed his chin. "Very well, I don't think I need to tell you to be careful. I can see how motivated you are. But even so, I do hope you take care of yourself properly." He said warmly, before shuffling around his pockets. "Let's see.....ah, this will work." He pulled out a... Talisman? "I admit I wasted some time playing around with this stuff after seeing Wilhelm devote time and effort to it. I had some inspiration after thinking about the idea of one-time-use Mystic Codes, and well, I made this on a whim. Simply Tear it and I'll immediately know, and I'll open a portal at your location."
"Thank you, Grandfather!" I cheered happily. "And here you go." I handed him a piece of paper with the coordinates I needed.
"It's my pleasure." He waved his hand, his weird jeweled sword was already there. A simple motion with it and a portal all too similar to Wilhelm's opened up. "Take care now."
"I'll be careful." I reassured him before stepping through.
[***]
It was odd being back after so long.
I felt myself being....pulled towards my old role. It wasn't something I couldn't shake off, but I didn't like the feeling.
I didn't want to stay here any longer than I needed.
Especially in this place, so close to the Grimm Pools left behind by the God of Darkness.
I had no idea what he was thinking when he made these. They created me without me understanding anything about them beyond what was already widely known. I would almost call it childish in practice despite how horrible it sounded.
Despite that, this was something I had to do.
This was far from the extremes I would go to protect what I now have.
And this was certainly a matter of protecting something precious to me. I don't know why Wilhelm feels the way he does about Salem. While his tastes are rather obvious, he also doesn't chase every single woman who matches them.
I guess it doesn't really matter. The only important thing is that Wilhelm has feelings for Salem, the Grimm Queen.
And I absolutely would not allow her to hurt him because of that. I know him all too well at this point. As intelligent he is, he opens himself up easily to those he has affection for. I could easily see Salem abusing that for her personal gain.
The thought of Wilhelm getting toyed with and heartbroken because of her made me feel emotions I didn't know I was capable of.
He's said good things about her so far, but...I feel anxious about it.
And that feeling persisted as I stared at her Castle ahead.
Zelretch dropped me off right in front of it.
It's exactly as I recall. I knew everything about it, its construction, its design, its history. I knew how many bricks were used to create it. I knew where every room was, where every secret passage was, and everything that was hidden within.
And more importantly, I knew everything about that woman.
I even knew her three sizes, if Wilhelm ever thought to ask me.
Though, while I was looking at it, something grabbed my attention. The snarling and growling that appeared all around me.
Grimm, many of them.
However, they weren't immediately attacking me.
I suppose my existence was strange to them. I was neither Human nor Faunus. I had emotions, but I didn't quite register with their preprogramming. I was close enough that they were hostile, but not enough to blindly rush me.
Something like this.... I had no qualms about killing. They weren't truly alive, so I didn't hold back.
A single step forward, and I created a Magic Circle under my foot.
What a wonderful discovery upon entering Wilhelm's birth world. The ability to preprogram a spell into a viable storage unit, or a Spell Circle. The calculations and everything necessary to cast the spell were all stored within the Spell Circle and once you memorized it, you merely needed to reproduce it once again. The minute variables such as terrain could easily be added with additional clauses in the calculations that took it into account on each cast rather than needed to individually add each time.
It's no wonder that something like this was never created here. The Gift of Magic from the God of Darkness was always leaning towards destruction via the natural elements. Most Magic Users in the old era only used Elemental Manipulation. Few sought to forge their Magical Energy into other effects.
The Spell I actualized was simple and leaned into what I was predisposed to.
A simple method of manipulating the Earth.
A single Spike shot up from the ground, impaling a rather large Ursa that was looking at me menacingly.
I took another step forward, and created another Magical Circle.
To the side, a Beowulf suffered the same fate.
Though, this would take too long, so I slightly altered the spell sequence between steps.
As I continued walking towards the castle, my next step created a chain. I altered the spell and added a location trigger. It sent out a minor shockwave through the earth, noted every being around me, then simultaneously cast the spell in a chain reaction.
The dozens of Grimm that were around me all stopped moving, stopped making sounds. Only a loud thump was heard as their large bodies hit the dirt before dissipating and I continued onwards, my heels tapping against the stone bridge that led into Salem's castle.
The Gate was shut tight, but I was under no delusion that Salem wasn't aware of my presence and waiting in preparation.
I knew her all too well.
If I really wanted to, I could probably predict what words she would say once I walked inside.
But I was in no mood to play.
I held up my hand, and flicked my finger.
I gathered and compressed the air in front of me and fired it off.
It collided with the Gate with a land 'bang', blowing them open as I strolled inside.
"Who dares!?" I looked at the source of the sound.
Cinder Fall is it? I could recall her with but a thought.
Her hands lit up with the familiar feeling of magic. Her hands ignited in fire that came from the most obvious source.
It seems she managed to steal the powers of a Maiden while I was away. However....it doesn't look complete.
Casting Alteration to the composition of the stone floor. Observing the new chemical makeup of the stone. Casting an Illusion to overlay a blueprint then filling it in with the stone below. Calculating the required material ratios, then reforming into the desired shape.
Synthesize and repeat.
It was as if the stone warped and came alive, turning into chains and launching at Cinder. She was taken off guard and quickly disabled as they wrapped around her tightly.
The top most layer of stone was basically shaved away and reformed in that same movement to create the chains. It was as if the stone warped and came alive, turning into chains and launching at Cinder. She was taken off guard and quickly disabled as they wrapped around her tightly.
A little trick I learned with Illusionary Magic in Skyrim. You can create the 'mold' for the spell through illusionary means, cutting off several steps needed in the calculations. It can be quite useful in certain situations.
"Cinder!?" Another one shouted, forgoing any subtly and charging at me.
Emerald Sustrai. Her reaction isn't surprising considering how the young girl turned Cinder into her only form of emotional support. Practically putting her up on a pedestal as her idol. It might have been mistaken with love if you looked at it from the outside. But that girl only had Cinder in her life give her any kind of positive reinforcement, so she latched onto it and refused to let go.
I held my hand up and picked a version of the Paralysis spell I learned in Skyrim. I thought it was interesting how it was created. To lock a flesh and blood body regardless of the differences between living creatures, it worked similarly.
So, I took that and created my own version.
I call it Space Paralysis.
Emerald who jumped at me was now stuck, midair.
It was annoying at first. But once I practiced it a little bit, it only became a matter of calculating the specific vectors each time I used it. I still need to create a proper Spell Circle for it later for ease of use.
My gaze turned towards the last of this little trio.
"Mercury Black, are you going to fight me now?" I looked at the son of a notorious Assassin.
"Uh...."
Well, I'll be merciful in this case.
I snapped my fingers and the ground beneath him sunk downwards. It was even easier than what I did to Cinder, basically turning the stone into a miniature version of quick sand until his feet were subsumed, then I changed it back, locking him in place.
He uses his legs to attack via metal prosthetics, so he is effectively sealed away.
It was a mercy because I didn't know what she would do if he decided not to fight me.
I looked at her.
She stared down at me upon her throne.
"Who are you?" Salem, the Queen of the Grimm, addressed me from above. She didn't even look the slightest perturbed that I disabled her minions.
"Me? Well, I am Jinn, Spirit of Knowledge who resided within the Relic of Knowledge." I introduced myself, earning a visible reaction from her. "But I'm here under a different one. I am Jinn, Wilhelm's Woman." I declared.
I gave her a moment to let that sink her. The flurry of emotions that crossed her face were...amusing, but I didn't allow myself to lose my composure.
"And I believe we need to have a talk, Salem."
[***]
A/N
Sorry for the late chapter, had a death in the family.
As for the second interlude in a row, last week or so when I wrote this, I only had time to finish part of the chapter, which was Jinn's POV, so I just turned it into an interlude since it got this big.
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