A New Star Chapter 93 (Patreon)

“My lady, you have a guest,” the butler said, though he hesitated just a little.

“Of course. I was expecting more than one,” I said. “Show them in.”

“Ah, yes,” he said, bowing very professionally and disappearing.

Who appeared next in the doorway after he had reappeared and gesture into the room was not who I was expecting, however, as I had been prepared for Cain. Instead, the princess of the western empire strode into the room, necessitating we all stand and bow, or salute in Lester’s case, her two guardsmen following in behind her. Lester, sadly, took a minute to realize just what was happening, but he knelt on one knee as soon as he realized and the princess didn’t really seem to notice. She strode in and took a seat across from me, her two guards taking up position behind her chair and scanning the room with those kinds of slight, permanent frowns all excessively serious security personnel everywhere constantly wore. After the princess sat, the first person she addressed was the butler.

“Can you see to it he is informed?” she asked.

“I assure, the Count will be here momentarily,” the butler, a consummate professional, said, bowing as maids entered and began serving tea.

“My thanks,” the princess said, tone a bit imperious but still nodding to the butler.

She settled back after a moment and examined the rest of the room’s occupants, not recognizing us at very first, which was not surprising. I had not gone out of my way to speak with the princess, so it would be rather surprising if she remembered even myself from briefly seeing me last night. I could see the moment she had some recognition of myself, followed by Francesca, who was really looking like a deer caught in the headlights, though I suppose that phrase didn’t translate all that well to this world.

“You were at the banquet last night,” she said, acknowledging me while saying what might have been a question with an authoritative air that made it a statement.

“That’s correct,” I replied calmly, seeing Lester wince a bit out of the corner of my eye.

“I do not believe we have been properly introduced,” the princess said, expectation hanging in her words.

“That’s correct,” I replied, waiting a moment. One of her guards shifted and the princess herself frowned, her smooth forehead furrowing just a little bit. Just as one, or both, of them was about to rebuke me, I quickly said, “Where are my manners? I am Alexandra Tabitha Mirriam D'Crough, though I have no fancy titles to claim beyond that.”

“D’Crough? As in the grand duke and duchess?” asked the princess with some surprise.

“The last time I checked, yes, I was their daughter,” I replied mildly.

Just as the princess was about to respond to that with some kind of retort, the Count strode in. It was funny to see, but the princess’s guards were clearly strong enough that, though the Count did a good job of hiding his power and presence, they twigged to him a moment before he actually appeared in the doorway. The man gave Lester and Francesca a nod and the princess a formal, smooth bow, while at the same time waving his cane in my vague direction.

“Your Highness! What a pleasure it is to host you within my humble abode. I do hope this one hasn’t been giving you any undue trouble,” the Count quickly fired out while bowing, stepping over to the last unclaimed chair in the sitting room.

“We were just handling introductions,” the princess said with a bit of diplomatic aplomb.

“Good, then I haven’t missed the start of an international incident,” the Count said with a relieved sigh.

“Surely, it couldn’t be that bad?” the princess asked, looking at me.

“No, you’re right,” the Count said, easing himself into the chair he had stepped over to. “It would likely be dramatically worse.”

“I resent the implication that I am a walking diplomatic incident,” I said tersely, giving the Count a look.

“Yes, well, be that as it may,” Emmanuel said, clearing his throat. “What can I do for you today, Your Highness?”

“I’ve come on a matter of some import to our security,” she said, glancing at the others in the room.

“Despite the Count’s insistence, I understand what a hint is,” I said, giving Emmanuel a bit of a glare as I signaled my people to stand. They did so, bowing hastily to the princess before leaving the room. “Try not to get into too much trouble, old man.”

I also gave a quick, but very proper, bow before exiting the room, and just in time, as the butler informed me I had another guest that had just arrived. The house staff was hurrying back and forth, but there was nary a sign of panic or discomfit among them; they had all served the Count a long time, and having a slew of minor nobles drop in mostly unannounced at the same time that a princess also stopped by without any forewarning was just another day in Emmanuel’s household. I would have loved to have listened in to what was brewing in the sitting room, but I also very much had the thought that it was not my circus, and those were not my monkeys.

“Let us retire to the dining room,” I said.

The Count’s little manor had, of course, more than one room for eating, as of course it would. There was a breakfast room, a tea study on the second floor, and the dining room, all of which could be used for anything from a place to lay out some notes with a cup of tea to a room to host a formal within. I led my little group over to the dining room, asking the staff to provide us with a pot of tea, and asking the butler to show my next guest in. It was Cain this time, and not some random princess or dragon queen come to plot something secretive with the Count, and the man seemed quite nervous. Whether that was from the multiple sets of eyes on him, or from knowing whose house this was, or from bumping into a princess on the way, it was hard to tell.

“Cain. Sit,” was my greeting, which had Lester sitting again, but this was one case where my short and sharp attitude wasn’t going to cause trouble. Cain was a very minor noble and someone who really needed a group or organization to support him and had limited options. He wasn’t going to get offended at my attitude of getting straight down to business; if anything, the giant youth would appreciate having things laid out quickly and simply.

“Good morning,” Cain said to the group as he sat at the table. He accepted a cup from the servant still in the room, though he put two spoons of sugar in it himself. That distracted me for a second, as they had at least a type of refined sugar in the Settled Lands; I knew that without much external magic, the standard way of refining sugar was rather laborious and time intensive. Maybe I could start a little business venture with the bit of chemistry I knew and make a bit of profit. I wasn’t some kind of scientist, but I knew far more than likely anyone in the Settled Lands of the subject, even just from what I retained after so many years of focus on battle and tactics.

“Good morning, Cain,” I said. I went right into introductions after that, pointing the others out, saying, “This is Knight Errant Lester to my left. He’s the second-in-command of my group and handles most of the affairs as I find myself constantly swamped with other work these days. On the other side of the table is our other new recruit, Francesca, whom you shall be working rather closely with, assuming you do decide to sign up. For the two of you, this is Cain, a minor noble’s son from the south. He has several different interesting affinities, and his concentration on building up his body affinity and physical prowess has caught my eye.”

“Of course,” said Lester, rolling his eyes slightly when I glared at him. “You’ve preached the doctrine of body affinity and physical long enough; should we be surprised?”

“Ahem, moving on,” I said, ignoring the glance Francesca and Cain exchanged. “If you decide to sign up, you and Francesca will undergo at least a bit of training, and then we shall see what tasks we have before us.”

“I assumed we’d be rather busy,” Cain said in a bit of a leading tone with a slight frown.

“Oh, I am absolutely swamped, I’ll tell you that,” I replied, eliciting a snort from Lester. “What you two will be doing, however, is a bit less clear right now. Assuming that neither of you have an interest in alchemy?” and as I paused, both of them shook their heads, “Then it will first be training and then I think I’ll take a moment to introduce you to the Wilds, unless you have some objection to that?”

“I think going right to the Wilds is a bit…” Francesca said, trailing off as she looked at the others for a little support. Cain didn’t seem all that bothered, and Lester was well-used to my ideals and antics at this point, so the morale support she was craving might have been a bit lacking.

“Do not worry, we shall not be going far,” I said, though that didn’t really seem to abate her nerves. “There are two others that Lester has hired-“

“Three,” he interrupted me.

“-Three others that Lester has hired,” I continued, not missing a beat. “You should also meet them quickly before we proceed any further. I should also like to meet whoever else it is Lester has decided to employ before we go any further.”

“I’ll go get them,” Lester said, rising and leaving the room, only giving a quick nod to the other two. Even if much lower down the hierarchy, they were nobles, after all.

“What is your eventual goal?” I asked, turning to Francesca as a servant came in and laid a plate of rolls on the table. I gave the woman a nod and she retreated silently; I wasn’t bothered by the Count’s servants listening in, which they were certainly doing. We weren’t up to anything truly nefarious, not yet, and the Count and his people knew a lot already. They also had impeccable discretion and weren’t going to go spreading things around, as I had already found out over the last few years. I didn’t trust them with any great secrets, but if they were the kind of people to spy and double-deal, they wouldn’t have lasted long in the Count’s employ, and most people were smart enough to not mess with a Y-ranker that had several Z-ranker friends. The stupid ones were all gone by this point.

“Well, I’d like to, uh, move up in the ranks…” Francesca began hesitantly.

“No reason to be so nervous,” I said calmly.

“That was the second princess earlier!” she exclaimed, her calm finally cracking. “And she was here to talk to a Y-ranker! How am I supposed to remain calm?!”

“It’s quite easy, really,” I said with a slight roll of my eyes. “Just think of the fact that we’re all people, and if that doesn’t do it, think of the fact that, under my employ, becoming a Z-ranker yourself won’t be an impossibility.”

“I can’t even dream of something that high,” Francesca denied immediately. “It’s something that kids talk about, right? Like, ‘we’ll all be Z-rankers and conquer the Wilds when we grow up!’ and stuff like that, but it’s a way different thing to actually get there. If nothing else, the academy does a very good job of grounding people and teaching them just what the gaps in the ranks are and how hard it is to climb up them. After four years there, four years of getting a lot of lectures about setting realistic goals and the power that one needs to do certain things, I think we’re a little more…realistic about our futures.”

“Hmm, I understand what you’re saying, but I think that attitude has shifted a bit too far the other way,” I said, immediately holding up a hand to cut off her retort. “I think that it’s possible to climb very high through effort and willpower, talent aside. There’s also so much that’s left unexplored that has the potential to change everything. My own work with alchemy, for instance, is opening possibilities that others didn’t even realize existed. Sure, dreaming of every person becoming a Z-ranker is rather far-fetched, but don’t be so beaten down that you start to mentally limit yourself. It’s more than possible for you to achieve all your dreams, especially now that you have my backing.”

“I take your point,” Francesca conceded, though it was the manner of speech of someone who had had this argument plenty of times and didn’t want to keep belaboring the point.

“And you, Cain?” I asked, turning to the massive man. I had had a concern when he entered that he would have to sit in two chairs in the dining room, but the Count’s chairs were a little bigger and more robust than I had given them credit for.

“I’m almost the opposite,” he said, glancing at Francesca quickly before looking back at me. “I don’t really care about noble titles or the politics, no offense meant. I only really care about my own climb, about getting as strong as I can and using that strength to push as far as I can. I guess…maybe my biggest dream is to cross the ocean. Either that, or discover what’s lost in the heart of the Wilds.”

“And either of those requires you to be at least Z-rank,” I added, stating it much more than asking it.

“That’s right,” he answered anyway, and I let him continue. “I want to have that kind of power, both because I love pushing myself, and I want to discover at least one lost mystery. All the other stuff is secondary to help me get to that goal. And, if I can eventually break through Z-rank, that would be the best of what I would want, the peak, the pinnacle, or however you want to say it.”

“I understand exactly what you mean, though don’t expect there to be any shortcuts to power, even here,” I said, looking seriously at both of them. “You’re going to have to put in the work, a lot of it, and it won’t be easy. Just be prepared for that.”

Anything else I might have said was interrupted as Lester returned. I don’t know what he used to contact out other agents, but he had three people with him. The twins I recognized right away, as I had worked with them plenty at this point, and they were still just as calm and slippery as always. The third person he had returned with was unfamiliar, however, and a bit of a surprise. They were a tall woman, clearly of leviat ancestry, given their dark gray skin, black sclera, and slight webbing on their hands and feet. There were other signs, but those were the most obvious identifiers of the distant descendants of the ancient leviathans. It was interesting to see one of them so far from the coast, their much preferred living area, but it wasn’t impossible or unheard of.

Previous

Next