Chapter 603 Prelude To The Journey
[The Next Day]
Rey and Esme stepped out of the hall of the Royal Council, both with satisfied looks on their faces.
They glanced at each other and even let out slight giggled—almost as if they were little children. The outfit Esme wore was akin to her preferred form of dressing for a long journey. A long white cloak, lined with minimal shades of blue but more of gold this time. The long robe flowed behind her, and while it looked a little big, its comfort was unmatched.
In her right hand was a staff that slightly resembled gnarled wood. It was dark brown, growing closer to the color black. It was a gift, courtesy of Ater, who called it a prototype Mage Tool that he and the Reaper Group had been working on for some time.
Apparently, she was meant to use it for a test run during her journey with Rey. Plus, it would also serve as a form of advertisement to the Elves if they ever saw her use the staff and marveled at the power.
As for Rey, who stood right beside her, he currently wore the Symbiote Slime who was pretty much his entire outfit.
His dark cloak was lined with red and purple lines, and they matched his black hair and eyepatch. The breeze of the late morning air was splendid, and the two felt it as they finally made it to the open field of the Royal Estate.
A group of people were waiting for them; most likely to see them off.
"Seems like your meeting with the Royal Council went well. I reckon it wasn't only the details of your journey that you discussed with them." Ater was the first to speak as he watched them approach.
He was standing among Justin, Belle, and Clark, but his initiative shone through even them.
"Yeah! Well… I just had to confirm some things first. And, well… I guess you'll be told all about it later." Rey smiled, glancing at the rest of the Otherworlders with a hint of concern.
The truth was that he wasn't sure revealing the fact that there were other Nations outside the United Human Alliance to them—especially when someone like Clark was on the team. Even though he had managed to find out, and even understand, the details of the Nations and why they were left on their own after the Alliance was formed, he wasn't sure the others would take it the same way.
Rey's initial thoughts were correct, after all.
'The other Nations, due to political and multiple other reasons, were the ones who refused to be a part of the Alliance. And to be honest, the Royal Council holds a bit of spite towards them since they do not assist, in the slightest, in the war against the Dragons.'
As for why they didn't make these Nations known to the Otherworlders, or even public knowledge, Rey found out it was for cohesiveness—among other things.
While ethically debatable, humanity within the walls of the Alliance would fare better by believing they were the last bastion of mankind. They would strive to keep things that way, hence the resilience shown by them.
Plus, they didn't want the Otherworlders splitting to also protect those other Nations who didn't share resources at all with the United Human Alliance despite the severity of the war. If the Alliance summoned saviors, it was only fair that they kept them.
Everything was a large mix of black and white, creating a gray mess. Rey couldn't fault them for making the decision—especially since it was done by majority vote, with Conrad being the only one who wanted to reveal the truth to the Otherworlders.
Politics, mixed with a bit of selfish interest, was rife in the decisions that led up to the current moment, but in the end they meant well.
Rey understood that.
'I'll just wait until the Royal Council decides to keep their word and launch another outreach attempt. Everyone will be brought to the loop at that point.'
The first thing they had to sort out before then, though, was the conspiracy with the Nobles as well as Felicia and her friends. 'I still don't know what's up with them, and I'm leaving before uncovering all of that. But…' He stared at Ater, who smiled broadly and nodded his head.
'... Ater says he'll take care of it.'
Over the time they had spent together, he had learned to trust his Familiar. 'He's been very competent all this time. I doubt he'll fail me now…' Rey thought to himself, silencing the last vestiges of his worries.
'Besides, I promised him a reward if he wraps everything nicely before I return.'
With that in mind, Rey stepped forward and hugged his classmates who wished him a safe journey.
"I don't know the details, but the Land of the Elves, eh? I'm so jealous!" Justin let out with a loud sigh as he grumbled.
"Elves are such hot babes… or so I hear, ahem…" After saying this, he glanced slightly at Esme, who stared at him with slight confusion. Upon staring straight at her, he launched himself at Rey with visible tears in his eyes.
"You bastard! How did you end up bagging such a beauty!" Of course, his attempts to pounce at Rey did not work, as the latter simply shifted Zones and caused Justin to fall on the ground with mock sobs.
"I wish you good fortune. I hear we'll get all the details from the Royal Council later, but… I hope you achieve what you set out to do." Clark's response was smooth and mature as one would expect from him.
"Thanks man."
After Rey's response, and their handshake, the heroic boy stared at Esme and stretched out his hand to her while wearing the same courteous smile.
"I wish you good fortune as well. It seems we got off on the wrong foot the other night. I had no idea you were Rey's… well… friend?"
"Yeah. Friend." Esme sweetly smiled as she took Clark's hand and shook it. "And… well, I'm sorry for just barging in like that. It was rude."
Esme never attacked anyone, and was instead the one who was assaulted by everyone else. Still, she recognized how abrupt her appearance was—especially in such a setting.
"W-well… yeah… it was f-fine…" Suddenly, Clark began blushing hard as soon as Esme took his hand and shook it.
He trembled slightly, up to the moment he was let go by her.
While this was happening, Belle hugged Rey and wished him good fortune. Other than the fact that her melons pressed hard on his chest, it was a pretty normal greeting.
Then, there was Ater's farewell.
"I really wish I could come with you…" He mumbled, his face slightly downcast.
"You already gave me an Item that'll allow us to talk for a long distance. There's also our bond, so there's no need to be so concerned."
"Still…"
Rey was somewhat reminded of Lucielle and her several failed attempts at trying to make Rey allow her to come with. She seemed to go insane when he announced it to the Royal Council and she was present.
She begged and begged, saying words like; "I'll do anything! Pleaseeee!"
"I'll be quiet throughout! I promise!"
"Just tell me what you want! Anything! Just let me come with!"
Of course, he refused her constant begging attempts. As long as he could control his emotions, his actions could be devoid of any sentimental influence.
No matter how hard she cried, he wasn't going to cave in.
'Though it seemed she would have shed actual tears. What a baby…' Rey nearly grinned as he thought of her.
It was while thinking about Lucielle and how Brutus eventually had to restrain her while he and Esme made their exit made him remember something else.
"Ah, Ater… what about the person who'll be accompanying us?" The moment Rey asked this, a bead of sweat formed on his face as he sighed a little. The words seemed a little hard for him to form with his own lips, but he finally gave in since his Master required an explanation.
"It seems she's a little la—"
"I'M HEEEREEEE!" A voice erupted from a distance as the most bizarre thing greeted everyone's sight as they turned to look at the location of the approaching voice.
A short, pink-haired girl was currently running at full speed, and seated on her back was another girl. She had dark green hair, with glasses that looked like they would fall off in just a second. Her blue eyes glowed and were moist with tears due to the intense speed that the person she rode was operating in.
Still, her mouth was wide open as she approached the group from the massive gate in the distance.
"SO SORRY I'M LATE!" Everyone simply stared at the piggyback ride, as well as the tons of other luggages that the pink-haired girl had on both hands as she still managed to keep a steady pace with the girl behind her.
As Rey saw all of this, he grew pale and stared unforgivingly at Ater.
'No way…'