Chapter 699: Restarting Life With Lord Vespera [Bonus - ]

Chapter 699: Restarting Life With Lord Vespera [Bonus Chapter]

A loud grating voice bellowed from the street outside sounding thick with greasy malice.

Solenne flinched violently, her nine silver tails instantly knotting together in instinctive dread.

’The landlord...!’ her mind shrieked. ’It’s barely mid-afternoon! He wasn’t supposed to arrive until sundown!’

CREAK-SLAM!

Before Solenne could even reach for the brass key, the multi-toothed lock gave a violent groan, and the heavy iron door was kicked inward, bouncing off the brick wall with a deafening crash.

Striding into the workshop was a fat greasy middle-aged human clad in a garish mustard-yellow merchant’s coat trimmed with cheap dyed rabbit fur.

He carried a heavy iron cane, his bulbous face flushed red with exertion and a cruel leering grin plastered across his thick lips.

"Time’s up, little fox!" the fat man barked, stepping over the threshold and slamming his cane against the nearest wooden crate. "Your annual lease expired at noon! Thirty thousand Spirit Credits, cash in hand, or I’m throwing your scrap metal into the gutter and having the bailiffs drag you to the auction block!"

Solenne stepped backward with her ears pinning flat.

"M-Master Goyle! The contract stated sundown—"

"I don’t give a damn about the sun!" Goyle sneered while stepping closer, his piggy little eyes raking over her slender frame with disgusting oily hunger. "Though... like I told you last night, sweetheart... I’m a generous man. A reasonable man. If you can’t pay the coin... you can always spend three or four nights in my private quarters across the canal. Work off your debt with that pretty silver tail of yours, and maybe I’ll gratefully overlook the claus—"

...The words died in his throat.

They choked violently in the back of Goyle’s throat, turning into a strangled wet wheeze as his pig-like eyes finally drifted past the fox beastkin’s shoulder, locking squarely onto the elegant silhouette standing beside the workbench.

Standing there was a woman in an immaculate three-piece suit.

Her black hair swayed in the draft from the open door.

Her violet eyes were fixed upon him with an icy suffocating stillness that made the ambient temperature of the room drop twenty degrees in a single microsecond.

Pinned beneath her lapel, catching the dim lantern light, was a pristine silver crest... the crest of Blessed Land, radiating the crushing pressure of a Gold Core.

"L-L-Lord... V-Vespera...?!" Goyle squeaked, his voice pitching so high it cracked like breaking glass.

His knees turned to water as the heavy iron cane slipped from his greasy fingers, clattering loudly against the flagstones, but he didn’t dare bend down to retrieve it.

A torrent of cold sweat burst from every pore on his forehead, soaking his garish collar in seconds.

Kara took a single unhurried step forward.

Her polished leather boots clicked against the stone with the ominous sounds of an executioner’s drum.

"Tell me," Kara purred softly, her melodious feminine voice carrying a razor-sharp chill that sliced straight through the man’s marrow. "Is my Chief Artificer truly indebted to you...? Thirty thousand Spirit Credits for a damp, sulfur-choked cellar with a leaking exhaust flue? That sounds remarkably like an extortionate scam."

Goyle’s eyes bulged in pure terror.

He fell flat onto his rear, frantically scrambling against the floor like an overturned beetle with his hands waving in desperate denial!

"I-I-I WAS LYING! FORGIVE ME, GREAT LORD!" Goyle shrieked, tears of panic streaming down his fat jowls. "I DON’T EVEN OWN THIS BUILDING! The real landlord died three months ago in the rift wars! I was just a property squatter trying to shake down the tenants for quick coin... I DON’T OWN A SINGLE BRICK! PLEASE DON’T FLAY ME ALIVE!"

Without waiting for a response, the fat man scrambled onto all fours, scrambled out the doorway, and bolted down the soot-filled alley as fast as his stubby legs could carry him, leaving behind a trail of dropped papers and pure cowardice!

"He left his cane," Rika pointed out.

Kara nudged it out the door with the toe of her boot. "He’ll manage."

Solenne stood frozen in the center of the workshop, her jaw hanging so slack it threatened to detach.

"H-He... he wasn’t even the landlord...?" she murmured, blinking in total, dazed bewilderment. "I... I was being scammed this entire time...?"

Kara walked over, reaching out and giving the bewildered fox beastkin’s ears another fond, comforting rub.

"The world is full of parasites, Solenne," Kara smiled gently. "Fortunately for you, you won’t ever have to deal with them again. Now... let’s pack up your life."

For the next hour, the cellar was transformed into a whirlwind of activity.

Kara, Rika, and Solenne worked with furious coordinated efficiency. With Kara’s Lord Inventory acting as a bottomless vault, they didn’t leave a single scrap behind.

Every single labeled bin of brass screws, every spool of wire, every blueprint bolted to the brick walls, every runic caliper and soldering iron was swept cleanly into the void...

Even the heavy cedar workbenches, the potbelly stove, and the hulking twelve-foot form of Titan-01 resting in his iron cradle were swallowed whole into Kara’s storage.

Cogsworth went in last.

Solenne flicked a small brass switch behind his domed head, his crimson eye dimmed to a sleepy ember and Kara slid the deactivated little machine into the inventory with his copper kettle still clutched to his chest.

By the time they finished, the basement was completely empty as nothing remained but barren stone and fading soot marks.

Solenne stepped over the threshold, closing the reinforced iron door behind her for the very last time.

She stood in the narrow alleyway, looking at the rusted frame.

A deep shuddering sigh slipped past her lips, it was a mixture of final farewell to five years of suffering, and breathless terror for the unknown horizon ahead.

Kara placed a firm reassuring hand upon Solenne’s shoulder.

"You did good, Solenne," Kara said warmly. "Take a deep breath... Your new life begins now."

VUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!

Before Solenne could reply, a gentle swirling vortex of emerald wind-mana erupted beneath their boots.

"E-EEK!" Solenne shrieked, her nine silver tails violently wrapping around her own waist as gravity abruptly vanished.

"Calm yourself," Kara chuckled softly, tightening her grip on Solenne’s shoulder while Rika floated effortlessly beside them, giggling as the wind ruffled her dark hair. "I have you... Look up."

The wind surged upward, lifting them cleanly out of the dingy alleyway.

They shot past the rusted fire escapes, past the sooty foundry flues, and burst through the cloud layer into the breathtaking, sun-drenched expanse of Central City’s upper canopy.

Solenne’s breath caught in her throat.

The view was magnificent beyond comprehension.

Floating hundreds of feet above the earth, she could see the boundless, gleaming expanse of the metropolis: towering crystalline spires reflecting the golden afternoon sun, massive barges drifting along glowing mana-currents, sky-bridges crowded with laughing citizens, and distant mountain ranges rimmed with radiant auroras.

For years, her entire world had been confined to a twelve-foot basement ceiling but now, the boundless heavens stretched out before her in an endless sea of light.

Tears welled at the corners of Solenne’s eyes as her heart pounded with a wild soaring joy she had never known.

After a few minutes of gliding through the azure sky, Kara guided their descent, angling toward the opulent terraces of the Upper Commercial Promenade.

With a soft whispering sigh of dispersing wind-mana, their boots touched down upon the pristine polished marble plaza outside The Gilded Lantern, one of the most exclusive and astronomically expensive dining establishments in the entire city.

"Tell me, Solenne," Kara smiled, turning toward the dazed fox beastkin. "Are you hungry?"

Solenne’s stomach answered for her with a ferocious window-rattling growl that made her blush a furious crimson all the way to her ears.

"L-Lead the way, my Lord!" she squeaked.

They stepped through the towering crystal doors into the restaurant’s grand dining hall.

The establishment was breathtaking with floors of dark obsidian, tables draped in snow-white celestial silk, floating orchestral illusions playing soft string melodies, and patrons dressed in the finest silks of the city.

A tall impeccably dressed elven waiter glided over, holding leather-bound menus.

The moment his gaze landed on Solenne, taking in her frayed oil-stained coat, her scuffed work boots, and her messy silver hair, his sharp nose crinkled with undisguised disgust.

He opened his mouth, clearly preparing to summon the security guards to escort the filthy mechanic from the premises...

Fwip!

Kara White stepped forward, brushing her coat aside to reveal the silver crest of Blessed Land, her violet eyes flashing with a cold authority that made the elf’s spine instantly turn to mush.

The waiter’s sneer vanished in a microsecond.

"R-Right this way, Lady Vespera!" he squeaked, bowing so low his nose nearly brushed his shoes, frantically guiding them toward a secluded high-tier private terrace overlooking the city’s singing fountains.

They took their seats around the grand marble table, and the waiter nervously distributed the gilded menus.

Solenne stared down at the list of dishes, her eyes widening in absolute horror at the prices.

A single plate of roasted celestial pheasant cost more than her entire monthly grocery budget...

She timidly folded her hands in her lap, her ears drooping as she looked at Kara, terrified to even touch the silverware.

Kara caught her hesitation and let out an exasperated affectionate sigh.

"Solenne... Look at me."

The fox beastkin looked up, her golden eyes looking wide and nervous.

"Stop holding back," Kara commanded gently, her smile bright and completely indulgent. "You are an official member of Blessed Land now... My people do not starve, and they do not count credits at dinner so order whatever your heart desires and go wild."

"A-Are you sure...?" Solenne whispered hesitantly.

"Order everything," Kara laughed.

Solenne swallowed hard, turned toward the trembling waiter, and began pointing at the menu with reckless abandon.

"I want the honey-glazed roc tenderloin! And the roasted fire-boar ribs! And the truffle-infused spirit dumplings! And the garlic butter lobster tails! And five loaves of the warm celestial brioche! And three bowls of the spiced mushroom chowder!"

Rika chimed in brightly, ordering a platter of sweet berry tarts for herself, along with a massive bowl of roasted fire-seeds and sun-crickets for the fledgling phoenix, who chirped happily from her lap.

Twenty minutes later, the feast arrived.

The table was completely buried beneath a mountain of steaming aromatic perfection.

Solenne sat before the spread with her hands trembling and her throat bobbing as she looked at Kara with wide pleading eyes.

"May I... may I really eat now, Lord Vespera?"

Kara pinched the bridge of her nose, her left eye twitching in mild fond annoyance.

"Solenne, if you ask me for permission one more time, I’m going to take your dessert... Eat!"

That was all the encouragement she needed.

The starving fox beastkin descended upon the feast like a ravenous beast of the wild.

She seized a massive fire-boar rib with both hands, tearing into the tender, smoky meat with ferocious unrestrained delight.

She shoved warm celestial brioche into her mouth, slathered it with sweet butter, shoveled spirit dumplings onto her plate three at a time, and drank the rich mushroom chowder straight from the bowl.

She was eating with such desperate speed that her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel’s with grease smearing across her chin, completely oblivious to the amused chuckles coming from the surrounding tables.

"Hey, hey, slow down!" Kara laughed, leaning forward and handing her a clean linen napkin. "Breathe, Solenne! Chew your food properly! The roasted boar isn’t going to sprout wings and fly away!"

Behind Solenne’s chair, her nine magnificent silver tails were going completely berserk.

They fanned out in a glorious, shimmering arc, twirling and dancing in hypnotic synchronized figure-eights of pure ecstasy with their soft silver fur catching the sunlight like silk ribbons.

Sitting across from her, Kara’s violet eyes locked onto those dancing tails.

Within the feminine disguise, Silas Graves felt a hot dryness seize his throat.

’Holy shit...’ Silas thought, his fingers twitching against the linen tablecloth as he barely suppressed the urge to lean across the marble. ’Those tails... they’re so fluffy. They look impossibly soft...’

Silas had always harbored a massive unrepentant weakness for beastkin women with animal ears and tails, and nine magnificent shimmering silver fox tails dancing in synchronized joy?

It was a lethal critical strike against his self-control... He wanted nothing more than to bury his entire face in that silver fur, pull her into his lap, and stroke every single tail until she purred.

Solenne swallowed a massive mouthful of roast tenderloin, taking a deep satisfied breath as she pressed both hands against her pleasantly bulging stomach.

"Ahhh..." she sighed, her golden eyes fluttering with heavenly bliss. "I am so happy... I haven’t eaten high-quality food like this in years... Lord Vespera, you are truly a saint. It brings tears to my eyes to know that a fellow woman could understand my struggles so deeply!"

Kara paused with a subtle wicked smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

She leaned across the marble table, closing the distance between them.

Solenne’s breath hitched, her ears giving a sharp flustered twitch as Kara’s delicate face drew dangerously close with her warm breath brushing softly against the sensitive silver fur of Solenne’s right ear.

A deep burning blush exploded across the fox beastkin’s cheeks as Kara whispered.

"Actually... I’m a man."