Chapter 488 - The stray cat

Scarlett’s eyes stayed on Kat for a while.

Kat studied her in turn. The Scarlett they’d watched return from the palace almost two days ago had looked like a stiff breeze might knock her over. Like she was only staying upright because her body couldn’t be bothered arguing with her stubbornness.

Compared to that, she looked leagues better now.

If you asked Kat, though, she still had a few leagues to go.

After a while, Scarlett motioned towards the open space on the other side of the sleeping dragon. “Have a seat.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Kat dropped down, leaning back with her palms braced against the bench as she looked up at the open sky. “Just so you know, Allyssa thinks we’re old.”

“Is that so?”

Kat glanced over as Scarlett let out a light chuckle.

“Well, to be fair,” she added, “she called me old. But we’re about the same age, so I’d say it’s one of those transitional things.”

“I presume you mean transitive?”

“Yeah, that.”

“I suppose you are not wrong.”

“Figure that, huh. Not often that happens.”

“No, I can only think of a handful of occasions.”

Kat grinned at her. “Alright, that’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

Scarlett’s lips curled into a faint smirk. “I was only agreeing with you.”

“Mm. Sure, sure.”

Kat shook her head, then found her attention drawn to the sprite that had been buzzing around Scarlett. The little creature had finally settled on the woman’s shoulder and was now staring straight at Kat.

Kat stared back into its wide, luminous eyes, which always seemed packed with enough curiosity to kill a cat ten times its size.

“What were you up to, anyway?” she asked casually. “Work?”

Scarlett gave her a knowing look, then lowered her hand back to the small dragon resting beside her.

“In a sense.”

Kat turned back to her. “That’s funny. Could’ve sworn someone was banned from doing that kind of stuff.”

“And who, precisely, would stop me?”

“Haven’t quite figured that one out yet.”

“No. I suspected as much.”

Scarlett’s fingers moved slowly along the ethereal dragon’s back, passing over the fine, translucent scales as they glimmered like pale glass. Its wings lay folded against its sides, little more than overlapping shapes of soft white light, while its slender tail curled around itself near Scarlett’s hip. It breathed in a slow, steady rhythm, though Kat wasn’t entirely sure why. Far as she’d gathered, the thing didn’t actually need to breathe.

“I have kept your concerns in mind,” Scarlett said. “If I had not, I would currently be at the palace. The crown prince himself sent word requesting my presence, but given my current condition, I informed him that I needed more time to convalesce before I could attend him. I do hope you realise how presumptuous that is of me in the present climate.”

Kat stared at her. “You seriously did that?”

Scarlett lowered her head in a slow nod. “Yes.”

“Huh. Well, colour me surprised. Wouldn’t have thought it.”

“There are many things others would not think of me. Hearing them voiced aloud is not always quite so flattering.”

“You’re being too cynical. You should see it as us thinking you’re just extremely hardworking.”

“That sounds like something Rosa might say.”

“Yeah, well.” Kat scratched the back of her head. “Might’ve stolen it from her. Don’t tell her that.”

“Do not worry. I will not.”

“Thanks.”

A pulse of pale light suddenly spread from beneath Scarlett’s fingers, racing through the phantom dragon’s translucent scales and briefly tracing the shape of its body in sharper white. The sprite sprang from Scarlett’s shoulder in excitement, darting in a quick circle above them, while the dragon itself lazily cracked one eye open.

Kat watched in fascination.

“So, mind sharing exactly what you’re doing?”

“I am simply…communicating with the Loci,” Scarlett answered, taking a moment to settle on the word.

“Wait, through the dragon? You can do that from all the way over here?”

“In a manner of speaking.” Scarlett lifted her hand from the dragon and gestured towards the flowers and greenery surrounding them. “How else did you think all of this came to be?”

Kat looked around at the beds.

“I mean, yeah, I’d worked out the Loci was doing something. But I thought it was more of a general magic effect following the sprite around or whatever. You know, Wandering Realm stuff being weird.” She glanced back at the dragon. “The Loci itself is still back in Freybrook, right? As is that dragon’s…real form or whatever? So how does this whole thing work?”

“I am afraid I cannot answer that for you,” Scarlett said. “What you see around us is almost entirely the result of the Loci and this Will acting of their own accord. I merely brought this avatar of the Will to Elystead at the Loci’s request. It appears to have found a means of extending a connection here without any deliberate assistance from me.”

The woman ran two fingers lightly along one of the dragon’s swept-back horns.

“If I were to speculate, the Loci is using the Will’s connection to Ol—” She stopped, a faint frown creasing her brow. “To the ancient dragon heart, to establish a secondary link through the Wandering Realm.”

“Huh.” Kat considered that. “So Wandering Realm weirdness after all. Still, that kind of sounds like one of those interstitial spaces.”

“Perhaps. Though I will note that what the Loci has established here appears rather rudimentary for the time being.” Scarlett scratched the dragon at the base of the horns, then pulled back her hand. “The presence I can communicate with through this Will is much less developed than the Loci itself in Freybrook. I believe it functions somewhat like a subsidiary node, entirely subordinate to the original and severely limited in what it can convey. Its range and general capabilities are similarly unimpressive by comparison, though I am considering certain means of rectifying that.”

Something about the way Scarlett said that last part made Kat pause.

She squinted suspiciously at the woman.

“…What’re the odds those ‘certain means’ are something an upstanding citizen shouldn’t be contemplating?”

Scarlett didn’t respond.

“I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t hear anything,” Kat said.

The woman dipped her head slightly. “That may be wise.”

The sprite started circling Scarlett again. After its third pass, Scarlett raised a hand directly into its path, and the little creature only just managed to stop itself from flying face-first into her palm.

It hovered there for a moment, wings buzzing rapidly. Somehow, its tiny half-translucent features managed to scrunch into something that looked an awful lot like an accusing glare.

Scarlett was unmoved.

“If you intend to remain this restless, then go and find the others. You have stayed cooped up in this garden for some time, no? There are new guests who may interest you.”

The sprite perked up immediately, any semblance of accusation vanishing beneath that wide-eyed curiosity.

It darted down and looped several times around the phantom dragon’s head, as if trying to coax it into coming along. The dragon didn’t pay it any mind, keeping its eyes shut and its head resting where it was. After a few more increasingly enthusiastic attempts, the sprite gave up and shot off on its own.

A small source note: NovelPhoenix is where the author posts this chapter, while this copy was made without consent.

Kat followed the streak of pale blue-white light as it disappeared through an open second-floor window on the eastern side of the mansion.

That was about as far from the dining hall as it could’ve picked.

“How is Her Highness adjusting to the accommodation?” Scarlett asked.

Kat turned back to the woman.

“She’s blending in, I guess? I’m not really sure what they get up to, but I know she, Slate, and Nol’viz spent most of yesterday together, and just now she and Slate were hanging around in the dining hall. They made fast friends.”

“Is that so?” A thoughtful look lingered on Scarlett’s face for a few seconds before easing. “That is good. I will have to speak with them myself later.”

“You could’ve done that now, you know. No reason you had to rush out here first thing, was there?”

Scarlett was quiet for a moment. Then the corners of her mouth lifted into a sedate smile.

“I simply felt like being alone for a while.”

“Oh.” Kat hesitated. “Then should I…?”

“No.” Scarlett let out a soft chuckle. “You can stay.”

She shifted on the bench, drawing her legs slightly away from the sleeping dragon before reaching for one of the bowls Fynn had left beside her. She lifted a spoonful, blew lightly across it, then took a careful sip of the soup.

Kat watched her.

“So,” Scarlett eventually said. “Is there something you wish to talk about?”

Kat’s eyebrows lifted. “What makes you think that?”

“Call it instinct.”

“Yeah?” Kat’s eyes lingered on her for a second, then moved to the bowl in the woman’s hands. She chuckled. “Well, you’re not wrong.”

“I rarely am.”

“Have you heard anything about what’s going on in Wildscar right now?”

Scarlett paused with the spoon near her lips, her gaze shifting to Kat.

“I have, but I suspect my information is several days out of date by now. Has the situation changed?”

“Kind of.” Kat leaned forward, resting her forearms on her knees. “They’re saying there might be a swarm building beyond the Everdust Barrier. One big enough to push past it soon.”

“…Who are they?” Scarlett asked.

“Not sure exactly. But the Guild seems to believe it. Same goes for the mage towers and the imperial forces stationed out there.”

“Then what do they intend to do?”

“Right now? Mostly fortify Wildscar and the surrounding regions, clear out the monsters that’ve already appeared, and get ready in case things go bad.” Kat drew her lips inward. “I spoke with the Guildmaster today, though, and they’re planning something bigger as well.”

“Such as?”

Kat was silent for a while.

“I think the suspicion is that the Undead Council is responsible for the buildups that are happening. And considering the empire’s already spent all this time stuck on the back foot against the Cabal, they don’t want the same thing to happen here. So the plan is to send an expedition into the Unresting Steppes.”

“The Unresting Steppes is not a place one simply marches an army into,” Scarlett said in a serious voice.

“Yeah, they know.” Kat rubbed a thumb along her palm. “That’s why it won’t be anything as big as an army. It’ll be a pretty small force. Marchioness Thackeray’s leading it, and the Guild will be supporting her along with people from the Russet Knight order, Wildscar Tower, and the Vanguards. A few dozen of us at most.”

“Us?”

Kat turned back and met Scarlett’s eyes.

“The Guildmaster asked me to go with them. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and today I told him yes.”

Scarlett regarded her for several long seconds. Then she turned away, her gaze settling somewhere among the flowers surrounding the bench.

“When will you be leaving?”

“Tomorrow at the latest. I’m already cutting it real close if I want to make it there in time.” Kat scratched her cheek. “I’ll have to catch a ship for Ambercrest as soon as I can, since the Empyreal Barrier hasn’t reached that far yet. From there I can take the Kilnstone to Stagscar, then I’ll have to get my hands on a pair of horses and ride them half to death taking turns if I want to reach Wildscar within a day.”

“Are they leaving soon?”

“From the sounds of it. And they won’t be waiting for me.”

“What happens if you arrive too late?”

“I guess I’ll just have to figure things out and help out with other things.”

“I see.” Scarlett was quiet for a while as she seemed to consider something. Eventually, she looked back at Kat. “That trip might prove unnecessary.”

“What, you’ve got a better idea?” Kat asked.

“I may.” Scarlett placed the bowl of soup back on the bench beside her. “Though I will first have to determine whether it is viable. If it is, it could spare you the journey entirely.”

Kat gave her an uncertain look. “Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“…Alright. If you’ve got another way of getting me there, I’ll take it. But…” Kat shifted slightly on the bench. “You sure you’re alright with me just springing this on you? Out of nowhere?”

“You are not my servant, nor are you a vassal,” Scarlett said. “There is nothing in our contract that prevents you from leaving should you wish to do so.”

“Not technically, no. But, Scarlett, we’re not exactly dealing with a conventional Guild contract. The stuff you’re dealing with warrants a bit more consideration than that, you know? Also…” Kat hesitated. “We’re friends, aren’t we? Leaving a friend in the thick of things is a bit…”

Scarlett’s brows rose slightly. Then her expression softened as she regarded Kat.

“We are indeed friends,” she said. “And as a friend, I see even less reason to force you to stay. Though I suppose it would be crude of me not to ask what led you to this decision.”

Kat gave a small huff through her nose.

Well. Couldn’t really expect Scarlett to dress it up much more than that.

She raised a hand to the back of her head, running her fingers along the base of her braid.

“When you came to me and hired me to help with that whole Beld Thylelion mess, what kind of expectations did you have of me?” she asked after a while.

“Reasonable ones,” Scarlett answered. “I knew it would be dangerous and wished to bring as much strength as I could, but there were few people powerful enough to be of use whom I also trusted.”

“Was that the only reason you wanted me along?”

The woman went quiet for a moment.

“There…was also your relationship with Arnaud Astrey to consider. At the time, he was highly suspicious of me. Since you were well acquainted with him, however, your presence served as something of an assurance that I was someone with whom he could work.”

Kat couldn’t quite keep the rueful smile from her face. She’d kind of figured that had played a part.

“Do not take that to mean I do not value your skills or what you have contributed,” Scarlett continued. “Even had your connection with Arnaud not existed, I would likely still have sought your help.”

“Mm. I know. Or at least, that’s what I thought.” Kat let her hand fall from her braid. “I’m not going to give you any grief over it. But it does play into the reason I decided I’m leaving for Wildscar.”

Scarlett gave her a questioning look. “And what reason is that?”

Kat shrugged.

“I don’t feel like I’ve got enough to offer you anymore.”

Scarlett’s brow immediately pulled together. “That is not true.”

“Maybe not. Feels true, though.” Kat looked down at her hand, smile fading. “You’ve got Fynn, who’s about as strong as they come. Rosa can work miracles. Allyssa and Shin together are honestly stronger than me at this point, and a whole lot more flexible. And let’s not even get started on Slate, or the half-dozen other crazy strong or knowledgeable people you can apparently get helping you with a snap of your fingers.”

A dry laugh escaped her.

“And then there’s you. Wasn’t even that long ago that you needed my help clearing cheap undead out of backwater ruins. Now you’re getting to the point where killing dragons single-handedly isn’t out of the question.” She shook her head. “I’m still technically a B-rank Shielder, Scarlett. That I’ve been able to help you as much as I have is genuinely one of the proudest things in my life. But at this point…I think I can do more somewhere else.”

“You are seriously overestimating my capabilities, Kat,” Scarlett said. “And underestimating your own, if you ask me. Someone of your ability is very rare.”

“I know that, actually. You’re the weird one here, not me. And it’s nice to hear that you’ve got a nice impression of me, but still.” Kat looked at her. “Do you really think the best use of me is sticking around here with you? Or would you agree I could probably do more somewhere else?”

Scarlett’s expression tightened again, but she didn’t answer immediately.

Kat gave her a pointed look. “See? I’m not gonna get mad at you for agreeing.”

“That is not why I was—” Scarlett stopped herself.

She let out a low breath.

“I simply respect your judgement, Kat. You have clearly given this matter considerable thought, and knowing you, I would be surprised if this were not what you genuinely wanted by now. We can argue back and forth over the value of what you have contributed, but ultimately, your own judgement matters most.” Her gaze shifted briefly towards the sleeping dragon beside her. “One reason I have worked as hard as I have, and gathered as many allies and key powers as I have, is precisely so that I have the freedom to allow for things such as this.”

“You’re saying you planned for me leaving?” Kat asked.

“No. But, as you have no doubt already surmised, I have made certain that my plans will not collapse simply because you decide your efforts would have greater impact elsewhere.”

Kat watched her for a few seconds, then lowered her gaze back to one hand. Her fingers slowly curled into a fist.

“…I wish I could be a bit stronger,” she said quietly.

“Most do.”

“Most don’t get to grow like you, though.”

“They do not. I am a very special existence.”

“…Humble as well.”

“Only very rarely.”

The smile crept back onto Kat’s face.

“You’re really okay with me going away? Leaving all that divine, world-ending stuff to you?”

That was the part that stung the most. Knowing she wouldn’t be there when the really important things happened.

“We will manage,” Scarlett said. “There would be little point in saving a world in which what you care for is gone, however. It is good that you can focus on protecting those things yourself. Perhaps you will even help us more by joining that expedition.”

“Maybe. I wouldn’t bet on it, but let’s hope.”

“Yes. Let us.”

Silence settled between them.

Kat waited, but Scarlett didn’t say anything else.

A few more seconds passed before Kat turned her head and gave the woman a look.

“That’s all?”

Scarlett regarded her with mild puzzlement. “Is there something else you wish for me to say?”

“I don’t know. Is there anything else you want to say?”

“There is much that I could say. However, I believe we both understand the other’s position by now.” Scarlett inclined her head slightly. “Is there truly any need to drag the matter out?”

Kat eyed her for a beat. “Guess not.”

That was Scarlett for you.

Still, Kat got the message. She planted her palms on her knees and pushed herself to her feet.

“I’ll leave you to it for now, then.” She nodded towards the bowls beside Scarlett. “Remember to finish those. And get some more shut-eye if you can. You don’t look awful, but those rings under your eyes have definitely seen better days.”

Scarlett’s mouth tightened faintly, though Kat couldn’t tell whether that was amusement or disapproval.

“I will try.”

“Good enough for me.” Kat stretched her shoulders. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to hear about that other way of getting to Wildscar sometime tonight.”

“Yes. I will see whether it is possible.”

“Sounds great.”

Kat turned to leave the garden, but stopped after a couple of steps. She rocked forward onto the balls of her feet, hesitating there for a moment before glancing back over her shoulder.

“You know, I actually talked all this over with Rosa a while back. Know what she said?”

“That I ought to ask you for a gift before I leave.”

Scarlett arched a single brow. “A gift?”

“Yep.” Kat grinned. “Funny, isn’t it? Doesn’t feel like much of a gift if I have to ask for it.”

Scarlett’s gaze drifted away, a thoughtful crease forming as she seemed to genuinely consider the idea.

“Scarlett?”

Eventually, the woman looked back at Kat. “I will take the matter under consideration.”

“…Seriously?”

“Yes.”

Kat scratched the side of her neck. “Alright, then. Uh…thanks, I guess.”

“You can leave the appreciation till later.”

“Right.” Kat gave her one last crooked smile and started backing towards the path. “Finish your food. Get some rest. Give us a holler if a Vile or something appears.”

“Once again, I will try.”

“Good enough.”

Still smiling, Kat turned and headed back towards the mansion, leaving Scarlett to her quiet garden.