Chapter 561 – Final Gift

The blanket of night had stretched across the horizon by the time Kanae handed out the remaining invitations. Clear skies tonight offered a glimpse to countless twinkling stars in the cosmos above. Kanae paused on the roof of a townhouse to take in the view. Few places on Earth would have had something like this. Definitely not in Tokyo where she once lived, where the sky was always obscured by tall buildings and pollution.

Beneath her, a family enjoyed dinner together and talked up a storm about their day. Unbeknownst to them, Kanae listened in to a child boasting about acing their exam at school. Praise and compliments followed from the parents.

Kanae sighed. Master Marwin had moved on, but his legacy endured in a world where ravenous succubi didn't enslave its inhabitants. Now, it was up to her to keep it that way. She stood up, stretched her wings, and flew for Amethyst Hall.

It was all quiet, save for the distant rumble of the forge and hammering of steel from Rog and Lina's workshop. Kanae ascended the stairs when a light tap on her shoulder turned her around.

"Boo!" Alicia appeared right in front of her.

"Alicia?!" Kanae jumped into the air, hand to her pounding chest. "Please, you know I scare easily…"

"That's exactly why it's so fun." The succubus giggled.

Kanae spared a few seconds looking Alicia over.

"Where's Dawn?" Kanae asked.

"My sisters are looking after her in Hilde's room. Dawn needs to be socialized with my kin more. Your girls, Suvee and Kanade, have been hogging her all week. I'm glad though. It seems Dawn will have her own sisters to bond with. And you? You've been gone all night." Alicia leaned against the bannister.

"My master, Marwin Fransk, finally passed away. I was just… taking time to myself to think. Did you, Claudia, and Hilde get a chance to talk to him?"

Alicia cautiously looked left and right, and even behind. She grabbed Kanae's hand and pulled her down the hall into the Knight-Commander's bedchamber.

"I couldn't convince my sisters in the end. They were steadfast in their hate for him, so I went alone. It was difficult to find an opportunity to speak with Marwin. He almost always had an attendant or cleric by his side. I slipped in through the window when a servant departed to relieve himself. A stomach ache, it seemed," Alicia explained.

"If I remember correctly, they were assigned to him by the archbishop. She really didn't want anyone to know he was dying. Did you two… talk much?" Kanae asked.

"No. Well, your master didn't seem to be all there anymore. Not often at least. He mistook me for you and attempted to feel me up."

"I, uh… I'm sorry for that, on his behalf…"

Alicia waved dismissively. "It didn't bother me. But Marwin gave me something I believe was intended for you." She pulled out an ornate silver key, the make of which screamed to Kanae it was enchanted.

"Did you see what it opened?"

"No." She shook her head. "Marwin's caretaker returned before I could look around the room. Perhaps we can take a peek for ourselves?"

But what could Marwin possibly leave behind to her? Kanae agreed. Alicia casted Magical Stealth over them, and they set off for her former master's tower. The towers of other renowned faculty stuck out from Aidenhall palace, but his was the only one dark now, no longer lit up with a life inside much like its master. At the very least, Marwin's place wouldn't be left uninhabited for too long. The thought of Mikki taking over one day swelled her chest with pride.

Alicia led Kanae to Master Marwin's bedchamber, entering through the window that gave way with a little push. When they entered, memories from the past began rushing back. They weren't exactly all fond memories. They were certainly filled with sex though. The last time Kanae had come, Marwin was lying in his bed, a meek man. He didn't lie there anymore.

"Now the real search begins. What exactly does this open?" Kanae asked, inspecting the key for any hidden clues.

"I wish I could tell you more. Marwin fell back to sleep after handing it to me. But there can only be so many locks in one room," Alicia said.

They searched up and down the bedroom, trying to slot the key into any lock available. It didn't fit anywhere. Normally, the teeth on them corresponded to a specific lock. This key had no teeth and was much larger than any keyhole. Kanae thought it opened the magically-locked cabinet she once broke into before, but that enchantment has since been dispelled. And the contents inside were all taken away. Likely by Archbishop Patrice's clerics. In fact, now that Kanae's memories were becoming clearer, the room seemed a lot more empty than before.

"Maybe whatever we're looking for has already been taken," Kanae wondered aloud.

"Hmm. Could we be searching in the wrong room instead?" Alicia clicked her tongue.

That could be it. There was one place Kanae thought of immediately. She beckoned Alicia to follow. They left Marwin's bedchamber and into the short corridor of the tower's seventh floor. The glow of torchlights grew brighter from the stairs. Alicia lifted a finger up to her lips, motioning for Kanae to press their backs against the wall.

The middle-aged Saint Priest, Sheena Darrow, climbed onto the floor. Four palace knights followed her, as well as a levitating cart. Sheena's distinct orange hair flowed freely rather than in the braid she normally kept it in. Weariness tugged at her eyelids, too.

"This is the last trip, right? I'm so tired." One the knights sulked.

"Roll those shoulders. We're nearly finished. Archbishop Patrice plans to pass Marwin's tower to one of her students. We don't want anything she shouldn't tamper with to be left around." Sheena stopped in front of the door and stared hard at the knob.

"Uh… Saint Priest?"

The others gawked.

Sheena produced a knife with a gem-encrusted pommel. She muttered a spell over the door, revealing handprints on it.

"Someone's been here," Sheena said.

"We've been here, my lady. So has Archbishop Patrice, Master Marwin's caretakers, and others. Handprints are hardly suspicious," a knight reasoned.

"No, you're quite right. The archbishop has me running errands to the point of paranoia. Supreme One, preserve me. I'm beginning to miss Gretchen Redbaron as Archbishop. Alright, start loading things. This is our last run until tomorrow morning." She patted them hard on the back going inside.

Kanae couldn't see, but judging by the sound, they were packing anything from tomes, trinkets, to even clothes. Eventually, they finished and left without much of a fuss. Alicia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sending a Saint Priest to supervise clean-up? Your system of governance is still new to me, but even I can see how excess that is," Alicia said.

"Yeah… I'm with Sheena. Come on." Kanae descended to the sixth floor, where her room and Marwin's private study was situated.

Well, study wasn't quite the right word. More like his smut library. Kanae couldn't be sure, but she strongly suspected his key was meant for something in the study. She opened the door into the small octagonal room surrounded by bookcases and a single seat in the center.

"Cozy," Alicia remarked on the way in, then walked up to a bookcase to peruse.

"It's all erotica," Kanae said.

"Pollinating a Dryad. Mm. Quite the tastes, he had." She rolled her eyes.

The key began to warm up in Kanae's pocket. She pulled it out. The red gem on the pommel had lit up. This was it. They were close. Kanae and Alicia searched all over the place, but couldn't find where to put the key into— until Alicia grabbed a book that wouldn't come all the way out.

Instead, the bookcase sank into the wall and rolled to the side, giving way to a short passage with a simple door at the other end. As soon as the two entered, the torches ignited with magical fire.

Kanae entered first, opening the door into a featureless, unassuming square room furnished with only a pedestal in the middle. Light from a crystal on the ceiling shined down on it. Lying on the cushion atop the pedestal was… a wand.

"What is it?" Alicia asked.

"I'm not sure. It's just a wand." Kanae picked it up. Light-weight and of wooden make. Not much to it other than that.

"Well, charge it. See what it does," she insisted.

Kanae transferred some mana into the wand, only for it to cast something into the wall. A small swirling portal the size of a plate opened open. It was only big enough to reach into.

"If you are hearing this," Master Marwin's disembodied voice began softly, "then my time in this world has come to an end."

"This seems to be an illusion spell?" Alicia gasped.

"I think he recorded it into an enchantment." Kanae nodded.

The spell continued, "I was prepared to let this collect dust until the tower one day crumbled, without anyone ever finding this. Ever since the Succubus Wars, I have led my life full of guilt. I put on a facade of joviality to mask the pain conceived from what I perpetrated. You, who are seeing this, could only do so because my future self found peace and passed you the key as thanks. I sure hope that comes to fruition. In gratitude, I leave behind a gift. Simply reach inside the portal. It won't bite. I recovered it from a Rift many years ago. Radevic would want it vaulted if I showed them. It is yours now. So… From an old man, thank you. You must have been very special. OR a very very very sexy succubus! Haha!"

Kanae put a hand to her face as the illusionary laughter faded into silence.

"Yes, you are." Alicia laughed into her palm.

"I don't know why I didn't see that coming. I definitely should have." Kanae chuckled.

They approached the portal in the wall. Alicia offered an encouraging smile. Kanae took a deep breath and reached in. It was cool inside, like putting a hand in a fridge. Her hand found purchase on what felt like the spine of a book. She pulled out a grimoire of dark brown leather and pages that tingled with incredible magic. The portal vanished soon after. Opening the book to the first page revealed nothing. No words. No ink.

"What is this? An empty book?" Kanae asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but that looks similar to what Ambrosia possesses. You know, a spell book. There's got to be more to this if Marwin hid it away," Alicia said.

They returned to the study, closed the secret passage, and quietly headed back to Amethyst Hall. For the rest of the night, Kanae tried to figure out how Master Marwin's gift worked. Hours passed well into the late hours, and she uncovered nothing about it. From page one all the way to the end, it was completely empty. Much like The Blade of the First Temptress, the grimoire contained a pool of magic that could be expended.

Kanae brought the textless book to her desk and tried writing in it. The ink simply vanished as if absorbed into the void. She spoke aloud spells like Turn Horny, but caught Alicia checking up on her. The succubus shuddered, then recomposed herself.

"If you want to turn me on, Kanae, there's not much you need to do to achieve it." Alicia grinned.

"Sorry. I'm just completely baffled by this thing. I feel like the easiest thing to do would be to ask Elizabeth Bedlam. But I don't want to risk letting it get out that this came from Master Marwin," Kanae explained.

"Because they might take it away?" she asked.

Kanae nodded.

"If this past month has taught me anything, it's that Radevic will always have their own agenda. Archbishop Patrice especially. I thought we were on the same page since the whole Savir ordeal. Her thirst for driving history the direction she wants has been a little… frustrating," Kanae said.

"Surely, you're acquainted with others who could be of help. What about Thored and Archmage Donnu?" Alicia suggested.

"Of course! Alicia, you're the best!" She pulled her in for a kiss.

"Hehe. Well… I am your Vice-Captain." The succubus twirled a lock of her hair.

As far as Thored and Donnu were concerned, Kanae would just be bringing them a magical item to identify. That was an issue for after the tournament. Tomorrow, the powers that be were going to see who, between Edina and Petyr, was going to be crowned champion of Knights' Tournament.