Lucky Prodigy

9: Invasion

^^ Death Knight ^^

— James —

I examined the list of requests that Waylon handed me, and raised an eyebrow slowly. "You managed to convince them that easily?" I asked, curious.

He grinned. "Indeed. I bought one of the potions, and then healed a man with it in front of them, right before the Auction, to prove their authenticity."

"I see... it was supposed to be a gift." I frowned.

"It was; I gifted them to the Council, who sent them to their Auction House for sale." He explained easily.

"Ahh, that is better... alright, and so these requests come from the council, or actual individuals? Or should I take them to the auction house and be done with the matter, so that I am removed from the rest of the process? No, then only the highest bidder would receive any... I'll send half to the auction house, and then use half to fill these orders." I nodded, and handed the list to Mika. "Make sure Ameran gets that list, and that she begins to fill it out immediately; the Knight is on a Schedule, I'm sure."

"Right away, master!" She bowed and rushed off, into the shrine.

"Still, people put a lot of trust in you... no one thought it was fake?" I asked the ex-Templar.

He shook his head. "My title, Grigori, do you know what that means? It's-"

"An Ancient Christian Legend of the Peaceful Angels who refused a side in the Great War of Heaven out of a disgust for conflict, Yes, I'm aware of it. The angels who didn't side with Lucifer, and didn't fight with Michael, they were deemed cowards by their fellows, instead of Wise Ones, and thus Fell from heaven, their wings ripped from their bodies, just like the Fallen Angels, though they were not turned into Demons, only The Banished Ones." I recounted the basics from memory.

He blinked slowly, staring at me. "Huh... I suppose I shouldn't be surprised when a Sage knows things, but that was a very obscure legend... anyway, yes; my title of Grigori refers to my refusal to side with the Templar's or the Demon King; instead, I simply protected the Monsters who both sides were trying to get rid of, such as the Dryads and Ogres and Orcs. I had a part in the creation of this Town." He gestured around.

"That would make you 300+ years old, as a human?"

He shrugged. "Once you evolve, as a human, your life-span lengthens. I've been around for about as long as Ken, actually; we both studied under the Sword Saint Aihara, some 350 years ago."

I hummed and looked up at the mountain, thinking about what to do next. "Well, if the Monsters Trust you, I suppose that's good. The money from these deals, however, I'd like you or someone you trust to handle using that money in the Holy City to better their defenses, their armaments... if a War is coming, I'd like the Kin of my Clan to survive it by way of preparation. Of course, half of it will come here in the form of some nice stones; rough and uncut boulders of various rare stone or pretty stone will do."

"And you'll do... what with them?" He asked suspiciously.

"Mika is something of an artist, and an Earth Spirit Mage. She'll use them to build new buildings, and raise a wall around the Lake, to keep the monsters of the Elysian Fields out." I shrugged.

He gazed up the mountain at where Mika was standing, talking to Ameran animatedly. "She recently evolved, hmm? And to such a Rare Species... I hope no one tries to take her away."

I chuckled. "I would pay to watch as she beat them to death. She's the weakest of my students, but even she is powerful enough to kill a level 200 Bandit."