Lilia's Tale: Freyja's Endeavor

Chapter 21: Deal

The ride itself was monotonous. No further talking took place as I let my mind wander about, hoping to not arrive overly stressed. I knew the situation at the academy couldn't be simple, after all, and I would have to explain Jor's situation as well. Jor himself just walked besides the carriage.

We arrived before dawn at the gates. They halted us and quickly required identification of the monster besides us.

"That is Jormungandr, and he's my familiar now."

"Your...familiar? The Eldest Hydra?" the guard questioned.

"Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but it's true."

"I can confirm," he himself added.

"So can I," the general furthered.

"...Alright, then. I'll have to ask you to accompany him directly, however, as per familiar regulations."

"Oh, sure. Didn't know that was a thing."

As I went to get off the carriage, the general interrupted me.

"Lilia, you're coming to the barracks with us."

"Oh, yes sir."

I went down, stayed next to Jor and we were allowed in. I was kind of glad it was night so nobody would react yet. We walked through the street directly to the palace, the guards similarly questioned us but we were let in.

Jor was made to stay outside the building in the courtyard, primarily because he couldn't enter, while we all did. The general dismissed all the soldiers except the colonels and me, as we headed to his quarters.

"Now, how do we explain this to his Majesty," he asked.

There seemed to almost only be two different schools of thought, let either the general or me do the report. When they asked me, however, I disagreed with either:

"Why not have Jor himself explain? He's not a nobody, after all."

"We cannot allow a monster within the audience chamber. Not only can he not fit, but it is too dangerous."

"...Right. And I guess offering to have the emperor go outside is preposterous."

"It is. As such, your idea is invalid."

"But then, more so than the report itself, I'm worried on how to prove that what we say is the truth? Unless he has utmost trust in you, I am unsure if he will believe the story, especially if it comes from me."

"...Good point. Then, how about I do the report, and you and Jor are to be on standby until further notice so his Majesty can verify for himself whenever he requires?"

"I do have a question. I'm supposed to work on having Jor go into the space specifically for familiars, so I don't have him roam around everywhere all the time, especially at the academy. Is it possible for me to work on it, or would there be difficulties due to the possibility of having him disappear from this plane of existence temporarily?"

They started talking between them on whether or not to allow it. They ended up allowing it on the condition that, if I were to succeed, he comes back out as soon as possible. This was a perfectly reasonable condition to me, so I agreed in a heartbeat.

"Jor, did you hear that?" I asked him in my head.

"I have. I shall start working on it alongside Alice without further ado."

"I'll teach him well, Master!"

"Thanks, you two," I replied.

"You can go rest like others, Lilia. We do not have any empty quarters, however, so is are the medical facility's beds good enough?"