Book 1: Chapter 69: When The Bottle Bursts and Consequences
"Two well-dressed men and an adventurer woman?" Lone asked in confusion as he held the door to his and Soph's room open while he looked down at Grella.
Nodding her head, the young woman replied, "Yup! They're probably nobles, so I wouldn't keep them waiting for too long. Bye!"
With that said, Grella scamped down the hall and then out of sight, presumably using the stairs to head to the ground floor of the inn.
Lone sighed. "As energetic as ever, that one. Still, nobles?"
He frowned before he closed the door and looked at Soph who was relaxing on the bed. "Sounds like we might have trouble. I'll need you to change into Sophie, please. It seems like her noble act is required."
Soph nodded. "Mmm. Um, be careful..."
Her countenance turned frosty as a sharp look entered the short woman's eyes. "Do we act mute and blind, or just blind?"
"For now, act both. I won't say that you're mute though. It depends if they're related to the Malik household. The duke's daughter is the only one that thinks that you can't speak, after all," Lone suggested.
Sophie was silent for moment before she said, "The mana signatures do not match. Although of them has mana that we do recognise. We know not of where, however. Our memory is not perfect.
Lone winced. Small world. Fingers crossed this goes well. Ha-ah, well, lets get this over with. Weve acted our way through a noble run-in once before, we can do it again.
10 minutes later, both Lone and Sophie were ready. Once they had come down to the entry-hall of the inn, an unfamiliar woman with short blonde hair and a pointed expression on her face called out to them.
Follow me, please, she said stoically.
Lone guessed this woman was the adventurer who had accompanied the two presumed nobles though he couldnt see a visible adventurer plate on her. Call it intuition. She did carry herself like an adventurer, after all. He followed her into the inn's backroom when prompted.
Waiting for his and Sophies arrival were two young boys no older than 15 or 16, of which, Lone recognised one of them while the other was a stranger to him.
The one he knew was the very same teenager that had stopped to speak to him when Sophie had gone shopping for silks and the like.
Immediately, Lone bowed his head. "I offer my and my master's greetings to Young Lord Leston." He then looked at the other boy and smiled apologetically. "Forgive me, young lord. I know not of whom you are."
"You remember me?" George said in surprise while Bastion simply snorted arrogantly.
"I could never forget such a prestigious man as yourself," Lone replied. I still think fondly on the kindness you offered me on our first meeting.
George Leston blushed slightly upon receiving the praise while the other boy was looking at Lone with a judgemental eye.
"I am Bastion Griffset, son of Margrave Griffset: the lord and ruler of Ros. You would do well to remember my name, slave," Bastion said as his eyes landed on Sophie. "Well, at least you look the part. What on Altros is such a beautiful and wealthy noble doing in such a run-down shack of an establishment? That dress alone is likely worth a countryside estate."
Sophie ignored him and elegantly sat down without showing any care nor consideration for Bastion and George.
Neither spoke up since, while a short woman, she was still clearly older than two and neither knew her actual noble rank nor which kingdom or empire she and Lone hailed from. Just how Lone liked it.
George didn't seem to mind her rudeness at all really, but Bastions silence soon broken when a few moments passed without Sophie offering her greetings.
"I am the son of a margrave. Did you not hear me? Foreign noble you may be but respect me you shall!" the petulant boy demanded.
Lone smiled wryly. "I speak on my lady's behalf. Please forgive her actions. If possible, would it be okay for your esteemed selves to explain what it is you wish to discuss with her? I shall answer in her place."
"A slave talking for his master?" Bastion snorted. "What fanciful nonsense."
George slowly nodded. "No, I've heard of such things before in foreign kingdoms. The Principality of Raod is known for such customs. Its a sign of wealth and prestige if a servant or slave can eloquently speak their masters mind for them."
"Is that so?" Bastion seemed sceptical and unwilling to talk to a demi, but if that was what the customs of the noble girl in front of himself demanded, then so be it. "We are here to purchase you, slave. I do not see your slave collar, however."
"I wear it on my ankle," Lone interrupted coldly. 'I'm sick of these jackasses. If they aren't picking on me, they're picking on Soph, if they aren't picking on Soph, they're lusting after Sophie, if they aren't lusting after Sophie, they're lusting after me. I. Am. Fucking. Sick. Of. It.'
The orb in his pocket responded to his feelings and happily throbbed in response.
"I see," Bastion said before he looked at Sophie. "Five golden coins. That's quite a fair price, no?"
George Leston seemed shocked at the offer and Lone noticed that the adventurer woman had scowled for a split-second before retaining her stoic expression.
Lone didn't even give Sophie the chance to shake or nod her head. "Five gold coins?" he asked before reaching into his pocket and he then grabbed exactly five golden coins. He rudely and roughly threw them on Bastion, resulting in them tumbling to the floor. "Yes, it's a very fair price to be given the pleasure of never seeing your face ever again."
Lone honestly didnt intend to treat the arrogant young lord like a wishing well, but something had just snapped in him. It was very satisfying chucking his coins at the boy, but he also immediately started bricking it.
Bastion seemed stunned. Stunned, then very quickly enraged. "Ceela! Cut his hand off and sever his tongue! How dare a worthless animal look down on me like I'm some simple commoner!"
Lone had no idea how powerful the adventurer woman was nor how loyal she was to Bastion, so without any hesitation, he willed his tails to snake through the air until they were pointing at Ceela, Bastion, and George, three each, of course. He was a man of equality, after all.
"If you even try to hurt me, I'll kill you all." There was an eeriness to Lone's voice as the orb in his pocket was practically vibrating in glee. "I'm sure you've heard the rumours about my kind, yes? Tails tougher than steel."
The adventurer who Lone now knew was called Ceela very quickly assessed the situation as best as she could. She seemed hesitant and a bit scared by Lones reckoning.
"What a mess," an unamused voice called.
Its owner was Guildmaster Gilbert who had entered the room with Lefakern at his side. The Lesher sighed softly and wore a disheartened look.
Lone snapped out of his sudden thirst for blood and smiled a bit wryly. "Uh, I know this looks bad, like, really bad, but I swear, there's a good reason."
"I know you, Demi," Bastion spat out. "Guildmaster Gilbert, correct? Execute this beast! He is one of your adventurers, is he not? If you shan't do it, then by the Primals, someone else will."
Gilbert's expression hardened. "Is that so? On my authority as the guildmaster of Milindo's head branch of The Adventurer's Guild, I hereby grant protective sanction to the adventurers Lone Immortus and Sophie Vladimirovich. Pack your things, you live in the guild's residential floor now."
Bastions face was painted with fury. Seeing that, George quickly stood in front of him and said, "Bastion, don't. He's a double-S-ranker. Not even my father can beat him in a one-on-one fight for sure. Let's just back off, okay?"
Running his fingers through his hair, the young lord of Ros nodded. "You're right. I expect a public apology by the end of the week as well as some sort of tribute. Farewell."
George smiled apologetically and awkwardly at Lone, Sophie, Gilbert, and Lefakern, before he followed Bastion who'd marched out of the room. Ceela avoided making eye-contact with Gilbert as she trailed after the two teens.
Gilbert gave Lone a look that made him feel more ashamed than he'd ever felt in his entire life. "Come with me, both of you."
"Mister Lefakern's inn now has to be placed under the direct protection of the guild just in case those noble children try to use their influence to ruin it. We've also been forced to compensate Mister Lefakern for this with cold hard coin. Not only that, but when Margrave Griffset learns about this through the skewed account of his son's retelling, no doubt, special and racial tensions will only further spiral out of control. It may even affect the elves and dwarves living somewhat peaceful lives here, not to mention the rarer species like our mutual Lesher friend," Gilbert said in a tone bereft of any amusement. "Thank the Primals I had adventurers keeping tabs on your inn in case something like this ever happened, otherwise, I don't like to think about what would have happened had I not been notified of those boys approaching you two."
"I, uh, I can pay for any damages..." Lone offered.
Gilbert shook his head. "I don't want your money, Lone, I want an explanation. Why did you threaten the life of a fellow adventurer as well as the lives of two noble children? I thought you were smarter than that."
Sophie nodded her head. "We also wish for an explanation. Had you not acted so rash, we would have sent them off after a firm refusal. We are a princess, so no doubt, they would have backed off. We only need to buy enough time for the tournament to come and go. All else after that shan't matter as we will leave this country. What brought on this sudden spell of hasty impulse?"
Gilbert wore a surprised expression after hearing and no doubt getting confirmation from his racial skill that Sophie was, indeed, of royal descent.
"I... I don't know..." Lone hung his head. "I guess the stress of being looked at like an animal every time we walk down the street was bottled up so much that it exploded? The same thing almost happened with the hero when we met him, so maybe I was just at a tipping point? I don't really know..."
Gilbert nodded. "That makes sense, even if it's still unreasonable. I understand that being treated like a trade good rather than as a person is very insulting for a proud Golden Foxkin, and no doubt, had you wished to, you could have killed all three of them even though that adventurer was a C-ranker, however, doing so would have been beyond foolish."
"I understand that now. My mouth and my body moved on their own," Lone said.
Gilbert sighed. "It's okay. What's done is done. As I said, you'll be living here in the guild until the tournament. George Leston is a very reasonable young man despite being a duke's son, but Bastion is the culmination of everything that is wrong with a nobility-supporting governmental system. If you need anything, just find a member of staff. You can use one of the guild's training grounds free of cost, but you're banned from taking quests."
Sophie frowned. "Why?"
"I can't have you both dying to some hired assassins. While very illegal almost continent-wide, assassin guilds are still very, very real," Gilbert answered. "Not only is Lone a Golden Foxkin but now I'm learning that you're a princess. I'd rather not deal with the fallout of a foreign princess dying, thank you very much."
Sophies face wore a regretful expression. She clearly hadnt meant to let that slip since while it was technically true that she was the daughter of the mighty Grand Prince of Kiev, Kievan Rus ruler Vladimir I Sviatoslavich, Kievan Rus didnt exist anymore.
Lone frowned. "I realise and understand the seriousness of my mistake, but please, allow us to take on quests. At least ones that are based outside of Ranton. I dont doubt trouble will be made for us within the capitals walls, but without? Surely wed be fine, right?"
"No. Never with a day come that I stop regretting the death of a Golden Foxkin should such a thing happen due to my actions. If I allow you two to leave this building, then you will almost certainly be either arrested and executed before I can arrange for the Grand Guildmaster to do something, or you will be assassinated. End of story," Gilbert said in a no-nonsense manner.
Sophie lowered her gaze to floor before she sighed deeply and then stared up at the guildmaster. "We can teleport freely and instantaneously. Lone also has an ability that allows him to kill anything in less than a moment. Should he so desire, he could end your life right now."
"Sophie!" Lone was very against revealing anything to do with their unique skills or the fact that they were technically heroes and he had made that very clear to both Soph and Sophie, which was why he felt so betrayed right now by her revealing this to a man who could passively detect lies.
They didn't even know if Lone's Mental Destruction could kill someone as strong as Gilbert. It could instantly end the life of anyone that was up to three ranks stronger than Lone, yes, but above that?
It also didnt work on those with strong soul or magical defences. Given Gilbert was a renowned gravity mage, it was likely he could resist the skill to some degree.
Their current running theory was that if he spammed the skill he could kill stronger entities, sure, but that was a theory, nothing more. Lone had hardly had to change to use all daily attempts of the skill on one being.
"Shut up. If we can trust anyone, it is Gilbert. You got us into this mess, and we only have two ways to fix it. One would cripple us for a whole month, which we will not allow unless there is no other choice. You will close your mouth and let us reveal what needs to be revealed. Either do that, or we shall agree with Gilbert, and we shall personally work around the clock to enforce your house arrest." She turned and sharply looked at Lone's face with those dead eyes of hers. "Do you understand?"
Lone flinched. 'That... that would be an issue. I can still probably sneak out of here to work on fixing her eyes, but not if she's watching me with her Mana Sensing like a hawk...' he thought. "Uh... Yeah, sorry."
Gilbert chuckled. "It must be nice to have a strong-willed woman to help ground you, hmm? You are very frightening when you wish to be, now aren't you, Sophie?"
The girl just smiled sweetly in response.
"Well, unfortunately, I know that you're not lying, which either means that you're insane or that you are both a far bigger deal than I first imagined. Very well, I'll make some exceptions, but I shall choose what quests you go on personally and I am coming with you when you take them. It'll eat into my paperwork and result in some backlog building up, but that doesn't matter since it'll only be for a month," Gilbert said.
Sophie nodded. "We agree, don't we, Lone?"
"Yeah, uh, thanks. Really, I know I fucked up, and you didn't have to help us, but here you are, offering us an olive branch. I don't know how I could ever repay you," Lone said with sincerity.
Gilbert grinned. "I'll ask for the same thing I asked of you when I gave you that communication orb. Live," he said. "Now, is there anyone you need to be informed of your new living arrangements?
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