5-9 Feast and thereafter

5-9 Feast and thereafter

“I suppose congratulations are in order, Lady Erynthea,” said Rigetta, the Guild Master of the Sephrodia Valley’s branch.

Erin, who was sitting on a florid armchair across from Rigetta, scoffed wordlessly as she slightly tipped the half-filled glass in her hand to her lips.

“Oh? Tired of all compliments already?” Rigetta asked with a faint smile as she took a swig from her brimming mug. She let out a loud gasp of delight as she swallowed the mead down her throat.

“You have already congratulated me at the sacrament yesterday and I have a dozen more people congratulating me after that. And there were dozens more just now.”

“What can I say?” Rigetta shrugged as she looked towards the celebratory feast just beside her from the wooden platform she was atop.

The open square in front of the Adventurer’s Guild building was usually empty and barren around this hour of the night but not tonight. It was currently filled with the presence of adventurers and all sorts of dishes that would be fitting for a celebratory feast.

The cause for this feast was none other than to celebrate the preservation of the city and their apparent victory against the Demons’ sudden assault. If it wasn’t for the dire state of the city after the devastation, the feast would have happened sooner.

Just a day before the feast, there was the sacrament, or so that was what the adventurers called it. It was a small off-hand ceremony where the guild would award the adventurers their rightfully earned star of achievements. Erin and her companions were already conferred their stars. The ceremony yesterday was just purely for the sake of vaunting the guild’s integrity.

Erin and her companions were invited to this feast, naturally. Aedan was invited too but he was busy with something. The ones attending the feast were Erin, Nivia, Lyra, Siv, Aera, Lilian, and Amyra.

At present, Erin was having a conversation with Rigetta. Lyra and Siv were participating in a drinking competition with other fellow adventurers. Amyra was arm-wrestling with her peers. Lilian was telling stories to young adventurers in a corner of the feast. As for Aera and Nivia, they stood at the sidelines and nibbled on their food and sipped on their drinks little by little. Unlike the others, the two were not very sociable.

Erin could see all of her companions’ state and whereabouts with just a single glance from where she was sitting, making her smile wryly.

“You know, the rate of your achievements is unprecedented.” Rigetta chuckled at that mention while taking another swig of her mead. “How long has it been since you became an adventurer? A month?”

“Two months and more,” Erin corrected her and took a sip of her own drink. She was not drinking liquor but mere fruit water. She had learned her lesson with Iris. Though she didn’t consider Rigetta within the range of her preference, who knows how quickly that would change once she was drunk.

“Still, that’s an impressive speed,” Rigetta said.

“Is this why you invited me to your table, Guild Master?” Erin questioned. “To shower me with compliments, is that it?”

“Straight to business as always…” Rigetta sighed. “What’s wrong with some frivolous preface? You’re too stringent, Erin. You should let loose some time.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I’m only stringent when I’m dealing with serious affairs. I know when to let loose.” Erin smirked inwardly as she recalled the events a few days before, where she was having rough and passionate sex in the bathroom with Aedan and Nivia until they were caught by the maids.

“Hmm… Why do I get the feeling that you are smiling widely under this impassive facade of yours?” Rigetta asked, squinting her eyes.

“I’m sure it’s just your imagination,” Erin retorted with a dry smile.

Rigetta stared dubiously at Erin some more before moving on to the main purpose of her invitation. “Are you aware of the nobles’ movements?”

“...I am.”

“Of course you do.” It was Rigetta’s turn to smile wryly. “Word of your intimate acquaintance with the High Lady of Valdrun has travelled throughout the whole city.”

“I’m in no way intimate with her,” Erin said with an unamused expression.

“I don’t mean it in the way you think, Erin. Intimate doesn’t just mean— Well, you get my meaning. Anyway, where was I?”

“The movements of the nobles.”

“Ah, yes. That. Are you aware of the ball that will be held in a week’s time?”

“I am.”

“Are you aware of why the nobles held the ball?”

Erin glanced around the feast she was currently participating in before turning her gaze back to Rigetta. “Same as this, I assume.”

Rigetta snickered. “Surely you’re not that naive, are you?”

“I’m well aware of the nobles’ true intentions since I have received a lot of invitations from them regarding the ball. Of course, I have no intention of playing right into their hands.”

“As sophisticated and elegant as the nobles loved to pretend, their greed and desperation are second to none. If you attend the ball, they will do whatever means necessary to get you on their side.”

“Shouldn’t they know better than to solicit a Fae?”

“Yes, but you are not just any Fae now, are you?” Rigetta said with a knowing smile as her eyes fell on the tail waving gently behind Erin. Yes, there was only one tail now. “Is that Twilight Shroud you’re using on your tails?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it too late to be hiding the ever-increasing number of tails you have?”

“I’m not trying to hide it. It’s just… more convenient for me to have only a single tail to worry about while I’m moving around in public.”

“Are you sure you’re not just trying to hide the fact that you have grown more tails since the last time we met?”

Erin narrowed her gaze.

“I did not have you followed or stalked if that’s what you’re wondering. It was merely a guess.”

“A guess?”

“A speculation, if you will, based on how fast you were rising through the ranks so far.”

“I wasn’t aware there were ranks.”

“There isn’t. It’s proverbial.”

Erin rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, how do you plan on dealing with the pesky nobles?”

“I don’t.”

Rigetta frowned. “That’s unwise, Lady Erin.”

“Because I’m not planning on attending the ball.”

“Oh, you’re not?” Rigetta put down her mug. “Don’t you think the nobles will treat that as a slight?”

“I don’t care. I’m a Fae, a Fox-kin with… seven tails at that. They can see my decision in whatever way they wish. Moreover, I’m departing in a few days. Three at most.”

“Ah… so, you’re finally leaving,” Rigetta said with a saddened expression. “Pity. Things will get hectic once you’re gone. Your presence is a deterrence for a lot of evil-doers.”

“I’m not the warden of this city.”

“I understand and I’m not guilt-tripping you for leaving. I’m just… dreading the day after your departure. There will be a lot of work to do. The nobles will certainly swarm me with questions regarding the destination.”

“I was thinking—”

“No, don’t.” Rigetta quickly stopped the words from leaving Erin’s lips. “Tell me nothing. Ask no questions, tell no lies. And I won’t be lying either when the nobles come asking me.”

Erin nodded with a knowing smile.

“However, if you intend to pursue the Covenant, that will be foolish.”

Erin leaned forward in her chair. “I know. I was planning to but… not anymore. I will only be throwing myself into an early grave if I keep pursuing them with my current strength. I thought I could… somehow preserve through my will alone but I know how naive I had been after I fought one of them.”

“So I heard.” Rigetta tittered. “And you won. It was a blind swordsman, I believe. Ruyo, was it?”

Erin nodded. “It’s not just his level. It’s also his very own skills. He doesn’t rely on levels. If there are more people like him in the Covenant, I don’t think I will ever be their opponent.”

“Ruyo is certainly special.”

Erin raised an eyebrow. “You know him?”

“Not personally. Only by reputation. He’s quite well-known among the seasoned few. He’s blind but… he sees better than most people I know. And his swordplay was simply… magnificent. The things he could do with just a sword alone… not even I could imagine. And you defeated him.”

“I only won because he made a blunder which he failed to perceive.”

“Which is?”

“...He was losing the battle against me. And so, he began seeking after a power that was different than the one he had,” Erin let out her true thoughts. “But this power wasn’t necessarily stronger.”

Ruyo became stronger and faster after he assimilated with his Demoid powers. However, it came at a huge cost to his swordsmanship and wits, which the two were his biggest strength. In other words, he did not become stronger when became a Demoid, nor did he get weaker.

The core reason for his defeat lay in the delusion that he became stronger after his demonic assimilation and he threw away the precautions he usually had due to his misguided notion.

“I reckon he might have won if he kept his sword and wits, the strength he was familiar with and accustomed to, but he discarded those two in favour of a power he knew little about. That is why he lost.”

“Sounds like you were not happy with your victory.”

“I am glad that I won but… I was admittedly quite disappointed in the final moments before his defeat. It was… ungraceful and rash, unbefitting of a supposed seasoned swordsman.”

“...Can’t say I understand how you feel, Erin. My apologies. A win is a win for me.”

“It’s alright.” Erin sighed. “What’s done is done. Nothing to be done about that.”

“It’s still a significant feat, you know? I have heard of the many duel challenges you received and you will only be receiving more in the future.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll just beat these simple fools up like I have been doing.”

“Not all of them will be fools. Not all of them will be simple. Especially a certain bunch.” Rigetta’s voice turned solemn at her last sentence.

The shift in Rigetta’s tone did not go over Erin’s notice. “Pray tell, who is this certain bunch?”

“There’s been a gathering lately. Not in the city but in the outskirts and the borders. Zealots, the bunch of them. They await the day a certain Fox-kin leaves the confines of the city. Are you aware of this?”

Erin nodded after a brief contemplation.

Rigetta sighed and took a large gulp of her mead. “Just how did you get yourself involved with these fanatical faith fiends?” she asked after swallowing the gulp of refreshing mead.

“I didn’t get myself involved with them. It’s the other way around. Is their presence a problem to the city?”

“For now, no. But I can’t say for the future. My informants have told me a few of these zealots have been getting sort of restless recently. They might even try something foolish soon.”

“Are you kicking me out now, Guild Master?”

“I am not, Erin. Rest assured. I’m just letting you know. I have no reason to force you out of the city. You have done no wrong as far as I know. If anything, those zealots are to be blamed here. They are the threat to the peace here, not you.”

“Regardless, my presence here does put the city at risk.”

Rigetta furrowed her brows but she did not stop taking swigs from her mug. “You underestimated this city too much, Erin.”

“I know what they’re capable of, Rigetta. They are Apostles and Acolytes. If they so wish, they could do more damage to this city than the Demons could.”

“They wouldn’t dare, not if they wished to make an enemy out of the entire nation or the entire race of the Faerie-kin.”

Erin leaned back on her chair and perched her right leg on top of her left leg. “I hope you’re right, Rigetta.” She tipped her glass to her lips, taking more than just a sip this time. “I really do, because otherwise…”