"Thanks... I heard about that crime." The teen fumbled for a response as he received the ring.
He was somewhat baffled. If he could acquire such a ring he wouldn't have to wait until he could control his spirit power to use a Spatial Ring.
'You can only empty it once. Not refill it." Magnus reminded him with a snicker. 'Not every store you enter will be a huge conglomerate like Lord's Paradise. Not only will there not necessarily be a Sorcerer capable of handling a Spatial Ring, but it would also be the height of stupidity to lend it, even for a short time to a stranger. The only reason the courier agreed to entrust this ring to Ramiro is because House Morgunis has a reputation to uphold. For the highborn, abstract concepts like reputation and honor are far more tangible chains than any handcuffs.'
While the old Vampire was educating Ikaris, Ramiro continued to speak more sternly this time,
"If you know about the death of this new Lord then you must know why I'm here, right?"
Ikaris snapped back to reality and alternately looked at the two Tartarus Enforcers standing motionless behind Ramiro, their huge stature and black plate armor covering their entire bodies rendering them as scary as ever. They were somewhat different from his own bodyguard.
They were half a meter taller and their cold breath made his skin crawl. Although he had not yet awakened any extra sensory perception abilities, he could barely make out the presence of the dense Death and Dark Mana suppressing the life around them.
"I have a slight idea."
"Then, let's not waste time." Ramiro clapped his hands. "These two Tartarus Enforcers will join Last Saint to enhance your security and that of your territory. We can't dissuade you from recruiting people from outside your territory, but in case you didn't know, this priest of Jessup, Abram, is a Master Sorcerer. Of the staff accompanying him, four are Class 1 and Class 2 Lord Sorcerers. As long as they are around, these Elite Tartarus Enforcers must follow you like your shadow in all circumstances. If you leave Last Saint, they will be responsible for protecting your Stele, and only the Stele at all times. Do you have an issue with that?"
Ikaris gave Abram a blaming look, then complied, "No problem."
He didn't want House Morgunis to be able to watch his every move, but he'd rather deal with two more Tartarus Enforcers than die in his sleep unaware after trusting the wrong person. Until proven otherwise, he and House Morgunis were indeed on the same boat.
Abram had nothing to say about this either and bowed to Ramiro one last time before using the Transportation Portal with Ikaris' approval. The two Tartarus Enforcers entered first with Malia and Ellie, Ikaris extending his authority over the two monsters to the two young women so that they could give them orders in the unlikely event of an incident.
His other companions and Abram's staff entered the Portal in turn, and soon only Ikaris and the manager of House Morgunis were left. Bringing his face close to the boy's ear, he said in a low voice,
"This is no special treatment. The other Lords who had recently recruited foreigners also received Tartarus Enforcers as reinforcements to match their situation. However, Anaphiel insisted that you receive these two elite Enforcers. She seems to have high expectations of you so don't disappoint her."
Ikaris' eyes narrowed as he heard the thinly veiled threat, but his expression did not change.
"I don't know why she holds me in such high regard, but I'm here to stay and I have no intention of dying."
"That's what I wanted to hear." Ramino smiled as he took a step back. He then pulled out a sheaf of parchments from the inside pocket of his black velvet tailcoat and handed it to the teenager.
"What's this?" Ikaris raised an eyebrow as he saw a list of names and a lengthy description paired under each.
"All Lords and their important vassals, descendants and underlings enrolled in the Magic Academy or not." The salt-and-pepper haired man reported dryly. "Before the first official day of class, you must memorize each of these names. Anaphiel may have already filled you in, but among House Morgunis you can only really trust her younger brother Micah. You can't trust me either. There are spies among us and I could very well be one of those traitors."
"If you are a traitor, what about Anaphiel in that case?" Ikaris retorted sarcastically. "She may well be the only traitor in this House, and by asking me to be suspicious of everyone else, you are isolating me, making me unduly suspicious.
Ramiro laughed outright, taking the boy aback. Patting his shoulders forcefully, he looked him straight in the eyes and said,
"At least you're not completely stupid. You're right. Beware of Anaphiel too, if you feel up to it. Still, without her it would be hard to conceal how special you are. You probably didn't notice it, but she immediately cast a spell on you when she saw you today to hide your new auras. If she wanted to harm you, all she would have to do is tell her father and you'd be in trouble. By the way, she also made me put a little something in the Lord's Paradise courier ring. You'll understand when you empty it."
Ikaris shuddered in alarm as he realized that despite his best efforts, the changes that had taken place inside him had still been exposed by the mysterious beauty in black. Maybe she had understood as soon as her mesmerizing emerald eyes had landed on him.
"I'll remember that." He replied stiffly as he bid farewell to the well-regarded manager.
In a hurry to get out of here, he entered the Transportation Portal before he had a chance to ask all the questions that were bothering him. For example, he would have loved to know where his gold coins went every time he opened the Portal. There was no one to collect the gold, but one of them disappeared from his purse every time he activated it.
A moment later, he emerged on the other side, returning to the more peaceful, rural atmosphere of his own land. Last Saint Village may have possessed only a sliver of Tartarus Shade's magnificence, but at least he felt at home here. A day away and he felt like he had been gone for months.
When he arrived, he found that Malia and Ellie had already shown the location of the Stele and both Elite Enforcers had already taken up their positions in front and behind the Lord's House accordingly. As a result, his original Tartarus Enforcer was freed from his former assignment, which Ikaris intended to replace with the protection of the village itself.
Ikaris then spotted Abram, Poppy and the two twins a little further on, inspecting with mixed expressions the " stunning " architecture of their new Lord's fiefdom.
Abram could be considered relaxed, he was used to opening branches of the Jessup cult in the territory of new Lords. On the other hand, the future priest of Elsisn had already collapsed on the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Walking towards them, Ikaris chuckled,
" So? How do you like my Last Saint Village?"
"Last Saint?" Abram curled his lips. "I wasn't wrong. You're ambitious."
"This village is more miserable than I thought it would be," Mira commented, crossing her arms, "but it looks like it's running well for now. We can work with it if we guide these villagers for a bit."
Her twin sister then began to run in a certain direction and as Ikaris turned his head he noticed that she was heading towards the Elsisn and Faulch temples. Abram and the others were not stupid and immediately realized that this was their future workplace.
Recognizing the statue of Elsisn at the front of the temple roof and overlooking the entrance, Poppy forgot all about his depression and rushed into the holy place with an excited look on his face.
'He's easier to coax than I thought.' Ikaris made a mental note as he watched the young priest disappear into his new home.
Mira and her sister went to study the Kinah Prayer Hall and as Ikaris saw the forlorn Faulch Temple, he realized that he had forgotten to tell Ramiro about his urgent need of a priest for it.
"I took the liberty of putting in a good word earlier to that manager from House Morgunis." Abram revealed as he followed his gaze. "He said he would take care of it as soon as possible."
Ikaris immediately relaxed. If Ramiro had said he would take care of it then it was already done. Now the question was what kind of priest he would send them. Depending on who was sent, he might have trouble keeping his identity as Angel of Faulch a secret.
Comments