Chapter 623 - That’s my dad

Author note: Sorry for the lateness!

As expected, as I get closer to actually moving out of the country, more and more things come up that make my schedule a living hell. You can basically expect that chapters will keep randomly being late up until late next month when I should be fully settled in Malta. I'll try to keep up, though, and if I miss any chapter, I'll try to push it to Saturday like I did last week. I will keep you updated anyway. Happy reading :p

Sofia slowly walked through the city’s streets, pacing herself. Despite being on a lake island, the city was quite vast, for a regular human at least. What distance she could have crossed in one jump normally was now a several hours walk through the city’s winding streets.

At least I just have to follow the palace’s spires in the distance so I can’t lose my way…

I wish I could just stop a random passerby and ask all the questions I have already… But it’s too risky…

As long as I don’t know who the host of this world is and what they want, I can’t make any waves. Not more than the burglary attempt anyway.

Asking someone why everyone’s face is blurry is at best going to make me pass for a lunatic, at worst it could alert the host that an intruder is here, if they don’t already know…

That being said, I have some information already. This is probably a memory reset loop just like the regular light world, considering the people here seem to think the queen passed away recently. It’s not on the same timeline though, since the capital was supposedly devastated by some plague if we trust that other noble’s words. But things seem fine here aside from the volatile weather.

Man…

A disaster that starts with a series of violent storms…

I’m probably just paranoid but it’s hard not to draw links to what happened to Sovuln.

But if the terrible plague is the ebb… That would also explain why there’s barely any organic matter left anywhere on the moon aside from all the skin dust. Maybe it’s not human skin dust, just rotten ebb.

Would Alith’s skill mistake ebb remnants for human skin though?

Wait… The lighthouse… In the middle of nowhere a lighthouse. The ebb taking over buildings and moving around…

Sofia stopped in her tracks in the middle of the streets.

Surely not…

Surely not…

Looking up at the palace’s spire piercing the horizon, Sofia felt a shiver running down her spine. She started walking a little faster. 

Of course it’s walled off…

Sofia kept her distance with the shrine-like building protected by tall walls, the ‘Queen’s rest’.

Two fully armored knights guarding the entrance. A few more patrolling the nearby streets, and at least two more guarding the door inside, from what I can see through the gate…

This confirms that the Queen’s crystal coffin is likely in there.

I don’t think I can realistically get in there without Pestle killing everyone. And even then, a single person in ambush with a crossbow could still get me. I’ll have to see if there’s any legal way to get inside, but it’s not looking good.

Guess I’ll go to the Sorcerers’ tower for now.

Sofia made her way to the nearby tower, only to be stopped by the two guards guarding the entrance.

“Sorry, milady, the tower is closed to the public at this time,” the guard on the left said.

“When does it open?” Sofia asked. But instead of answering, the two guards looked at each other. They whispered a few words at each other, until the guard on the right finally answered in a hushed voice after making sure no one else in the street was listening.

“Can you keep a secret, milady?”

“Of course, who do you take me for?!” Sofia answered, faking her indignation.

“Well… The thing is, the Sorcerers have been in a panic for the last three days, apparently they all suddenly lost their powers.” 

“What?!” Sofia reacted, to keep her identity as a random noble realistic, despite her prior guess that the Sorcerers would probably have a hard time doing anything with this world’s complete lack of mana.

“Please keep it quiet!” the guard said, mildly panicked, “We fear the populace might go into a frenzy if the information spreads, especially with the strange weather we have been having recently. So only a handful of nobles are in the know so far. Everyone hopes it is simply a temporary matter, but as things are, it’s unlikely the Sorcerers can help you no matter what you ask of them. We hope you understand…”

“I see… The matter is, I am looking for a few people that I believe to be in the city currently. I hoped the Sorcerers could help me find them…”

The guard scratched his head, briefly looking at his coworker, “Who is it you are searching for, milady?”

“Three of my relatives. They should have arrived in the city about three days ago, but I have had no news of any of them,” Sofia explained.

“Did you already notify the city watch?” the guard asked.

“Not yet. I hoped to get a faster answer with the Sorcerers’ help…”

“Understandable. Nonetheless, I am sorry but we cannot let you pass, considering the circumstances… You can go report the missing persons at the watchpost near the palace gates, right this way,” the guard indicated, showing basically the direction Sofia was coming from, “We have a record of anyone who enters or leaves the city, so I have no doubt they will be able to help you at least that much.”

“I suppose I will do just that. Thank you both, have a nice day.”

Sofia left and started walking straight toward the palace. She felt that the other informants were likely similar dead ends. The brothel madam was unlikely to know anything, as Alith, Pareth and Bookie all wouldn’t naturally go and mingle with the city nobles, and the general of the guard would probably take too much time to be convinced to leak information.

That only leaves the queen’s chancellor.

It could be hard to get an audience…

“I request an audience with the chancellor,” Sofia repeated to a fourth person, after first asking the guards at the entrance of the palace, then two persons in the city watch’s headquarters.

The short man sitting behind a desk in front of Sofia was twirling his moustache that Sofia couldn’t see under all the blurriness of his face. “That I heard. That I heard…” he leaned forward, “And who might you be?”

Good question, that… Well…

“Sofia Aphenoreth,” Sofia confidently answered.

The mustachioed man burst out laughing at that answer. “And I’m Oviron’s hidden child! Good one, lady. But how about you start by telling the truth, huh?” he asked, laughing again.

So he knows the name, it’s not just Ormoncleth… How do I navigate this? No reason to lie, I guess.

“I am Lord Aphenoreth’s adopted daughter, yes,” Sofia answered with all the seriousness in the world.

The man stopped laughing. “Now, now. My patience has its limits. I have a city to run. Which count or baron’s bastard are you, huh, that I’ve never seen your face so far? You better not lie a third time or I’ll have you spend the night behind bars for wasting my time,” he warned.

“You can try that but don’t blame me if you die here, I am not one to lie.”

That seemed to really tick off the man, who slapped his desk, “Enough!” he said, breathing in to yell something.

“Pestle,” Sofia calmly said.

The man saw something shoot out from under Sofia’s fur mantle, and before he could say anything or even understand what was happening to him, he found himself unable to breathe, his throat compressed by two tiny clawed hands.

Although Sofia could not see his face, she could still read the utter panic of this man’s body language as he seemed frozen in fear, too much to even move a hand to try to free himself from the tiny fae.

“I warned you,” Sofia told him, “Are you ready to hear me out now?”

The man could barely shake his head up and down to answer, and he was starting to get really red.

“Be smart about what you do next or my little friend here will do more than strangle you, alright? You can let him go, Pestle.”

The man heaved as Pestle let him go, flying back to Sofia’s pockets. “I- I-” he struggled to say, “You… You tamed a corruptor?”

“Tame? No, she’s my friend, I told you. So, can I see the chancellor?”

“Friend…?” he repeated like his soul was leaving his body, “Y- I-... I can arrange it…” he quickly answered, “but… But why? Our chancellor… He’s a good man…”

“Oh don’t worry, I’m only planning to have a talk. If I planned to do anything to him, don’t you think I could just have broken into the palace by myself?”

“You can’t possi-” the man reflexively started to deny, but Sofia could almost feel his gaze looking at where Pestle was hiding, and he never finished his sentence.

Sofia just stared at him with her arms crossed, saying nothing.

“I… I will lead you there myself…” the man said with a weary sigh, “A corruptor…” he mumbled, rubbing his neck as he started walking to the door.

He put his hand on the doorknob, then he stopped and looked back, “May I at least know of your real identity?”

“I told you everything already,” Sofia answered in a slightly annoyed tone, although she was internally very happy that her improvised plan worked better than expected.

“My apologies… It’s still quite hard to believe that the Grand Inquisitor would ever appoint a successor, let alone get an adoptive daughter…”

“Oh, believe me, I was, and still am probably the most surprised of all. But he did indeed adopt me.”

“That’s… Can you tell me more?”

“If you tell me about your Queen, perhaps. Are we going?”

“Of course!”