A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 87: Call From the King

The day we were going to go home, just before we had breakfast, something highly unusual and extremely suspicious happened.

     Of course, it was only suspicious to me, not the rest of my family.

     "Honey! I'm so proud of you, getting something like this!" Mother threw herself at Father, who wasn't expecting this and almost dropped her. I was right next to him reading the invitation, so of course I used a bit of air magic so I wouldn't be accidentally crushed or kicked in the process. Father was grateful I did that as well, seeing how she would've knocked him over with her Dragon strength.

     Over telepathy he told me, "Nice save."

     "Why thank you."

     I cut the connection immediately so he wouldn't be exposed to my thoughts any longer. I was rumbling inside about how this was most likely a ploy to get me to come to the castle without much suspicion, but I wasn't going to say that. It would uselessly ruin my parents' joy with such self-centered thoughts.

     I wasn't that mean.

     And then again, these thoughts could also be very incorrect.

     The invitation read that Father was invited to a small gathering of nobles, ones that Grandmother deemed to be good people once it was read to her, and he could bring his family. It would last three days, not including the day of arrival where you were free to roam around or simply rest in your rooms, and during that time you could stay in the castle. The official reason it was being called was under the pretense of mingling with the new nobles and debuting the sons and daughters of corrupted nobles into there positions.

     Of course, you had to invite the ones like that or there would be a claim of discrimination or exclusion somehow. You know, the whole favoritism thing.

     We were sitting at breakfast now, and I was frowning grumpily as I twirled around my Tyugo slices. It was my favorite thing to eat in the capital, since it was fresher here. When it traveled all the way from the fields to Koraco, the forest region in Bytriste where we lived, it was a few weeks old already. Even though it was under preservation magic, it still tasted way better when it was only a day old.

     "Can't you imagine it, Fir?! We'll be going to a castle, a castle! I've never been in a regular human one before, so I'm looking forward to it!" Mother was all bouncy, infecting everyone around her with a smile. "I wonder what our country's castle is like? Are there lots of windows? Is it a certain color on the inside? How spacious is it? How friendly are the people? I wonder how strong their guards are..."

     I sighed forlornly. Without thinking too much, I answered one question. "Their Statuses are low, so they must be training the newbies at this time. Their defenses are weak, and almost anyone can kill the king if they walk right on in from the right place. With a little invisibility spell and [Teleport], everyone is practically a hostage at your beck and call.

     On the other hand, there are seriously way too many traps. The real question is if the king has ever been caught in one trying to reach his own office. Like, come on people. Could you have planned it any more confusing? Also, if you just float over the floor, none of them will activate. But without an X-Ray spell, it's a wonder how anyone walks around there.

     Unless, they have a specific magic cast on them? Or an identification card that registers them as friendly? That would be a neat idea, I should make one..." I stared at the ceiling while mumbling those things, planning it out already. "But wait, none of the traps tripped when I walked on the floor. And there was nothing at that place either..."