TBATE - Not Bound By Fate

Part 29

As I approached the Xyrus Academy Library, Seele came into view next to the entrance wearing similar white robes to my own. Once I was close enough she greeted me.

"You're here. I knew white would look good on you. Ready to go?" She said a bit more serious than usual, making me wonder even more who I would be meeting tonight. From the little I knew about the dragon standing in front of me, only someone like a clan head held enough authority to make her move.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Is the person we are meeting inside?" I replied to her.

"No, this place is just to cover our tracks. No one can see if we fly away and there are enough devices using mana making it hard for anyone to follow." She answered me seriously, no sign of her usual antics to be found. "Let's go then." Seele picked me up and slung me over her shoulder before flying upwards at a considerable speed.

"The hell!?" I let out feeling surprised and a little angry.

"Wouldn't have to do this if you were a white core already." She said back in the playful tone I had to become used to if I was to work with her for an entire year.

"Was carrying me like a sack of potatoes the best you could've thought of?"

"Well, my first idea was a princess cary, but I had a feeling that wouldn't end well for me, so sack of potatoes it is." I could feel her smile even if I couldn't see it. Not really feeling like arguing with an Indrath I kept quiet until we reached our destination, which didn't take long.

After ten minutes of flight, we had arrived at an abandoned warehouse at the edge of Xyrus. Although it was abandoned it looked to be in relatively good shape. Once Seele had landed she gently put me on the ground and motioned for me to follow her.

The closer I came to the building the warrier I was as my ability to sense mana and aether became duller. Seele opened the door and went inside with me following shortly after.

It was extremely dark inside, even after enhancing my eyes with mana I couldn't see well. Combining that with whatever was restricting my sensory abilities made me more nervous by the second, leading me to ask Sylvie and Regis to come as close as they could to the warehouse.

As I followed Seele by the sound of her footsteps, she suddenly turned on a lighting device, finally allowing me to see. We were standing in front of what I assumed was the entrance to some sort of office or break room for the people who used to work here.

"The person who called you is waiting inside. Remember to show proper respect." Seele said as she opened the door and motioned for me to enter.

When I stepped inside the room, the lights slowly turned on revealing none other than the queen of Epheotus, Myre Indrath, sitting comfortably on a blue wingback chair at the center of the room. looking around I noticed that there were no windows or any sort of furniture other than the chair Myre was sitting on and the much simpler one in front of her.

"So we finally met Arthur Leywin. My apologies for all the secrecy but if word gets out that I am here, things could become very problematic for this continent." She spoke first, in a gentle and sincerely apologetic tone.

Lady Myre was not wearing the facade of a friendly grandmother like in our first meeting. She was looking youthful and carried herself with the elegance and majesty that one would come to expect from someone in her position.

"There is no need to apologize, I expected some confidentiality from a Asura. So what do I owe the pleasure of meeting the queen of Epheotus?" I spoke calmly and saw her eyes widen a bit at my question before returning to normal.

"You already know who I am, did little Seele tell you?"

"No, it was your daughter. She told me a great deal of things about her homeland."

"I see. But even still, it would be improper to not introduce myself. I am Myre Indrath, Sylvia's mother and as you mentioned, the queen of Epheotus. Now why don't you take a seat? There is much I would like to talk about." She gestured for the chair in front of her.

I nodded and sat down in front of her. "Let's talk then."

____________________________________________________

"Things are changing fast." Sylvie commented as we walked up the stairs to my room. Thankfully it was already pretty late so no one was awake to overhear us speaking, but we still kept our conversation at a low volume.

"Yes, they are. But we still have an advantage, neither Kezess or Agrona know how strong we are and what we are preparing for this war." I responded to her comment.

"At least the gecko king has a somewhat favorable view of you. That should count for something." Regis added his opinion on the matter.

"We'll see about that." I said as I opened the door and Regis audibly gasped. Sitting on the couch was none other than Caera calmly sipping some tea with Tess.

"My horned goddess has blessed us with her presence." He said softly and barely audible.

Sylvie and I looked at each other before entering the room.

"Welcome back Art, just in time as well." Tess said to me as she got up to hug Sylvie and then me.

"What do you mean?" I asked her, genuinely confused about what was going on.

"I'm sorry captain Leywin, but I really needed to talk to you." Caera answered my question.

"Just Arthur is fine. What do you need?"

"Scythe Seris asked me to deliver this letter to you." She pulled out an envelope from her dimensional ring and handed it to me. "And said you would be able to explain what she refers to as the steamy wolf incident."

I glared at Regis as he was trying to sneak away and used Conditional Domain to make sure he wouldn't be able to leave this room. At least I now have confirmation on who between Seris and Caera is a regressor.

"You knew this was coming the moment you tried to hide in that basket. It's time you finally deal with the consequences." I said to Regis and only got a whimper as a response from him, who was now laying down in the corner waiting for his inevitable fate.

For a brief moment Sylvie felt bad for him, but I let her see my memories of the day the incident took place and that feeling of pity quickly changed to disgust.

"Regis will tell you all about it later. And don't worry, you're free to do whatever you want to him after, just don't kill him." I told her with a smile and she nodded awkwardly, probably wondering what Regis did.

After the quick exchange I opened the envelope Caera had given me and read the contents of the letter with Tess reading over my shoulder.

"That will certainly be a problem for us." Tess commented once she finished reading.

"At least we are aware of it. And now we have a source of information from within Teagrin Caelum." I paused for a moment as I digested the news. "We should go see gramps tomorrow. Would you be willing to accompany us tomorrow Caera? That way we can coordinate our next move with Seris."

"I'll go, Scythe Seris gave me a communication device just for this kind of situation actually."

"Perfect, I'll talk to grandpa first thing in the morning. Where should we meet him?"

"There is a restaurant with private rooms near the Helstea Auction House. We can talk there over lunch." I suggested.

"Is the food there good?" Both Caera and Tess asked at the same time, freaking me out a bit.

"It should be, that's where Vincent and dad usually eat."

"Then let's go there tomorrow." Tess decided.

"I'll meet you two at the school gates tomorrow. It's pretty late so I won't be taking any more of your time." Caera said before getting up and Tess accompanied her to the door and they hugged before wishing each other a good night. I didn't expect for the two of them to get so close in just a day, and I certainly won't complain about it. Considering what Caera told me about her childhood, I'm glad she has found a friend in Tess.

After talking a bit with just the three of us, Sylvie went back to her room and Tess and I went to sleep.