WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 27

Since I didn’t want anyone stumbling upon me while I interrogated this man, I found a secluded alley far from the main hustle and bustle of the city. Here, the night was quiet. Not a sound could be heard, save for my own breathing and those of the still unconscious would-be assassin.

The assassin was currently tied up. He was leaning against the wall, his head lolling against his chest. Of course, I made sure the bindings were a little loose so I could easily grab a body part to break, but even though it was loose, this man would not be able to escape from me.

Deciding that now was the perfect time, I placed a finger against this man’s head and send a jolt of lightning straight into his brain. It was just a mild shock. Certainly, it would not be enough to kill someone, but the man’s entire body jolted upright so quickly that he smacked the back of his head against the wall.

“Ow…”

I was still crouched right in front of him, waiting to be noticed. The man blinked several times. He seemed disoriented at first. His eyes were slightly glazed over. However, as the seconds passed, he began trying to move around, only to realize that he was completely bound in rope.

“W-what in the nine realms?! What happened to me?”

“Can you not guess?” I asked, finally speaking up.

“You!” the man shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as his face became increasingly pale. “What are you doing?! Unhand me this instant! Do you not know who I am?! I am a guard in the service of the great Ammon! If you do not wish to earn yourself a miserable death, then release me at once!”

The smile on my face grew increasingly wide. This man was shouting and spouting information like it was water. I didn’t even have to interrogate him to get the most important information I wanted.

“So the man who asked you to capture me was Ammon, is it?” As soon as those words left my mouth, the man clammed up, but I didn’t mind. “I’m rather new here, so I don’t actually know where this Ammon resides. Perhaps you could tell me?”

I made sure to keep my voice light and easygoing, but I think that just frightened the man I was interrogating even more. His face paled to the point where his skin was no longer dark but nearly ghost white. I didn’t know that was possible.

“I-I’m not going to tell you anything,” the man said, though he no longer sounded as confident. “I’ll never betray my master!”

“Really? That’s too bad.”

Since the man didn’t want to tell me anything, I decided to begin the actual interrogation.

“AAAAAHHH! AH HA! AHHHHH!!!”

The first thing I did was begin removing his toenails. Since I didn’t have pliers or anything, I created a knife made of water and used that instead.

It was awfully gory. I had no idea there was so much blood underneath a person’s toenails. It gushed out as I removed each toenail at a pace that was so excruciatingly slow I was sure the man was regretting his decision not to speak. Skin split. Blood burst forth. Muscles were torn. For a full fifteen minutes, the man I was interrogating released shrill screams and agonized cries before he finally ran out of energy.

I stopped removing his toenails. Fortunately, I had only removed three, so there were still seven left in case he still decided to resist.

“Are you going to talk?” I asked. The man shook his head. “Well, that’s unfortunate. I guess I should begin removing the rest.”

“P-please don’t!” The man cried. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk! I do! I do! But Ammon will kill me if I say anything!”

I could feel the muscles in my face becoming strained as I listened to this man. He obviously didn’t realize what kind of situation he was in.

“If you do not tell me what I want to know, then I will kill you.” The smile I wore widened, which I think made the man even more afraid of me. “So, either way, you are dead. Now tell me what I want to know.”

The man whimpered and cried, but I merely stared at him until he finally gave in.

“Okay… okay… I’ll tell you,” he said, his body slumping. “Ammon belongs to one of the four most powerful families in the Endless Desert. He’s the eldest son and a powerful Spiritualist who’s received the best training since childhood. They say he’s only a few steps away from reaching the Second State of Spiritualism.”

My frown grew larger as I listened to this man as he blathered on about things I couldn’t have cared less about. I placed my finger against his chest. Then I sent a massive jolt of lightning through his body. The man tried to scream, but he could not even move his mouth, or any of his muscles for that matter. They had all locked up when my lightning surged through him. However, anyone with eyes could tell from the way his body shook and his eyes rolled into the back of his head that he was experiencing a great deal of pain.

Finally letting up, I used the water element to heal his seized muscles, but I didn’t heal the pain.

“That isn’t what I want to know. Where can I find him?” I asked again.

I was also a little curious about why this man had tried to kidnap me, but I could already take a guess. I was exotic. There was no one in this Endless Desert who had pale skin, green hair, and blue eyes. My green hair was actually one of a kind even in the Northern Plains. I was sure this Ammon or whatever had seen me in the market or something and decided that he wanted to have such a rare and exotic looking person as his slave.

Me and Kari had to deal with people like this back when we were wandering the Endless Desert too.

“Hi… his mansion is… it’s located in the very heart of Muqadas…” the man said. “If you keep traveling into the city, you’ll find a large pavillion with four massive palaces. These palaces belong to the four most powerful families of the city. The one located on the north side of the pavillion belongs to the Malik Family, which is the family Ammon belongs to.”

I stood to my feet and stroked my jaw, nodding several times as I committed this information to memory. Of course, I had known about the four families. They were sort of like the Three Heavenly Families back in Neveria. They controlled much of the wealth here in the Endless Desert. From what I understood, each of them had control over a very specific type of trade.

“If I’m not mistaken, the Malik Family controls the marketplace, don’t they?” I asked.

“That… yes, that is correct,” the man said.

“I see. Yes, I understand now. Thank you for this information.”

The man looked up at me with hope in his eyes. “Does that mean you are going to let me go?”

I smiled at the man. “Of course not.”

Before the would-be kidnapper had time to do more than widen his eyes, I swung out my hand and a blade of water jettisoned from it, slicing through the man’s neck with impunity. It was a clean, surgical cut. I doubt this man even felt pain as his head slowly slid off his shoulder blades. As the man’s body slumped to the ground, I turned around and began walking toward the center of this city.

I had a very important person to meet.

***

The morning after we apprehended Herleif, Kari’s grandfather and the peeper, our group hopped aboard the carriage that had taken us to Whiterun Hot Spring Resort and left. Lady Sassa had seen us off. She told us that if we ever wished to return, she would grant us a free room as thanks for apprehending the peeper for her.

Herleif was not invited.

Speaking of, Kari’s grandfather sat on the bench opposite of me. He was staring at me with a very strange look, like he was torn between feeling jealous and wanting to shed manly tears. I wasn’t sure what that look was for. However, I would not deny that it disturbed me a great deal.

Despite how much room was on the other bench, Kari, Fay, and Lin were sitting with me. Kari was on my right and Lin on my left. Being the more affectionate of the two—perhaps the one most willing to show affection would be more accurate—Kari had her arms wrapped around mine as she used my shoulder as a pillow. Fay was sitting close enough that our thighs touched, but she wasn’t holding me like Kari. I think she was self-conscious of Herleif’s presence.

Of course, the most affectionate of the entire bunch was Lin. She had seated herself on my lap, her cute bottom pressing into me as her snake tail slithered around my legs. She was using my other shoulder as a pillow. Her slightly cool body honestly felt kinda nice against me. It presented a lovely contrast to Kari’s and Fay’s warmth.

The scent of the three girls was a little intoxicating. It was a strange mixture of their natural scent, which was light and somehow feminine, but it was mixed in with the shampoo and soap they had used in the baths. Lavender tickled my nose. The scent of strawberries made my mouth water. There was also a hint of vanilla, which I believed came from Fay. I would admit, it made keeping my calm more difficult than normal.

“You are quite the lucky man, aren’t you?” Herleif said. “You must be the envy of all Nevaria.”

I shrugged. “I suppose I am? I’ve never really thought about it.”

“You never thought about it?” Herleif looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You’re in a relationship with two gorgeous human women and an exotic Lamia, a creature who hasn’t been seen in Nevaria for thousands of years. I’m sure men everywhere glare at you with envy, and you haven’t even thought about it?”

“I don’t really care about what other people think,” I said.

Herleif chuckled. “You’re quite the interesting young man.”

“Darling is the best,” Lin muttered in a belligerent tongue before she stuck her tongue out at Herleif. Fay snorted with laughter while Kari tried to hide her giggles behind her hand.

As the carriage continued down the mountain path it took to reach the resort, I spoke with Kari, Fay, and Lin. Our discussion centered mostly on what we would be doing once we returned home.

The scent of the leather upholstery that made up the bench mixed with our own and created an oddly pleasant aroma. I was pretty sure the driver had used some kind of potpourri to create this delicate scent, which reminded me of blooming flower blossoms.

“I want to begin studying Runes in even more depth,” Kari told us. “Thanks to you, I’ve managed to gain an even greater understanding of Runes and how they work, but I would like to begin coming up with practical use for the knowledge I’ve gained. Also, I want to begin studying the Runes that have been discovered in the various city ruins located throughout the Demon Beast Mountain Range.”

Kari looked extremely excited as she spoke about her desire. Her eyes were sparkling like a pair of stars, and the smile that lit up her face was the kind I only saw on a few occasions. She had even clasped her hands in front of her large chest as if just thinking about Runes was enough to make her shaky with anticipation.

“I haven’t decided what I want to do yet,” Fay admitted with a sigh. “I know I want to learn something new, something that will make me more useful to you and the sect, but I just don’t know what yet.”

“There’s no rush,” I said. “We have plenty of time for you decide. For now, focus on getting stronger, and when you finally know what it is you want to do, tell me and I’ll help make it happen.”

“Thank you, Eryk.” Fay smiled at me, causing me to smile back.

“Well, this princess knows what she wants to do,” Lin declared. “She’s going to begin learning more about how to administrate and manage a business. This princess will help you run the sect while Big Sister and Fay are at the academy.”

Lin had puffed out her modest chest as she looked at him with a brilliant gleam in her golden eyes. She had placed a hand on his chest. Meanwhile, her tail was thumping excitedly against the ground and her long ears were wiggling happily. The look on her face was practically screaming, “Praise me! Praise me!”

Warmth blossomed in my chest as I rubbed Lin’s head. “I’ll be relying on you, Lin.”

Lin’s smile widened until it was so large her eyes were forced closed. “Mm! This princess won’t let you down!”

The journey continued. During this time, we discussed many topics, and not all of them were related to work, Spiritualism, and school. They covered a broad range from simple witty dialogue to conversations about what was happening around Nevaria.

As we talked, Herleif listened and watched us with interest. I couldn’t figure out what the old man was thinking, but he seemed invested in what we were saying.

“By the way, Grandfather,” Kari suddenly addressed the oldest person in the carriage. “Where have you been all this time? It’s been years since I last saw you.”

“I’ve been exploring the Demon Beast Mountain Range,” Herleif answered honestly. “My journey took me past Mount Himmellyn. I ended up traveling into the Morkdypt Ravine and got lost for several months.”

Hearing that name sent a jolt through my spine. Mount Himmellyn was the mountain that I had trained on to reach the Fourth State of Spiritualism with the lightning element in my previous life. I planned on journeying there in this life since one of the key ingredients to the Yin-Yang Spiritual Enhancement Pill was at the top of that mountain.

“I can’t believe you went that far!” Kari exclaimed in shock. “What could have possibly incited you to journey into one of the deepest and most dangerous places of the Demon Beast Mountain Range?”

Herleif shook his head. “Sorry, Little Kari. While I would like to tell you, the information I have is something her majesty requested of me. It’s confidential, so unless your mother gives you permission to know of it, I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”

“Mother asked you to do this…?”

The befuddled expression on Kari’s face said what she was thinking perfectly, and I could understand why she’d be so shocked. In my previous life, even I had not dared travel into the Morkdypt Ravine. Even just staying along the edge of the ravine was dangerous. A-rank Demon Beasts were as numerous as pebbles in that area. Not only were A-rank Demon Beasts numerous, but there were even several S-ranked ones.

I remember fighting against the S-rank Demon Beast Asura when I journeyed that far. Only my battle against the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain and the six enslaved Elemental Birds—which were all SS-ranked—had been a more arduous battle.

The fact that Herleif had been asked to travel that far into the Demon Beast Mountain Range told me there was probably something down there, and that something likely had to do with the Sekbeists. I had never traveled into the Morkdypt Ravine myself, though. All I could do was wonder about what Herleif had discovered.

The journey from Whiterun Hot Spring Resort to Nevaria took most of the day. By the time we had arrived, the girls all wanted to go off an enjoy the remainder of the evening with me. We said our goodbyes to Herleif and left to grab a bite to eat and enjoy the nightlife.

***

Herleif stood before the Imperial Royal Palace as nostalgia swept through him. The massive structure was one that he could never forget, having lived there for several decades. Much like Empress Hilda, he had been just a regular person who proved his strength by battling and defeating the emperor before him. He married the emperor's daughter and was blessed with a wonderful son. Unfortunately, his wife had died during labor.

Shaking away the memories, Herleif walked up to the entrance, where a pair of guards stood. They must have been new because they didn’t recognize him. That, or maybe he’d just been away from too long.

“Halt!” one of them shouted as they barred entrance into the palace. He glanced at the spears being used to block his way, and then at the guard on his right. “I do not know how you managed to get here, but only members of the Astralia Royal Family and those with permission may enter!”

Herleif pondered what to do about these two. He didn’t think pulling the “previous emperor” card would work. The mere fact that they didn’t recognize him on sight meant they’d probably assume he was senile if he told them. And, of course, he no longer had any form of identification, having lost his royal seal while he was exploring the Morkdypt Ravine.

Just as it was looking like he might have to sneak in through the back, someone came to his rescue.

“Lord Herleif! You are back!”

The man who had appeared was an old man with a handlebar mustache and a pronounced widows peak. He had darker than normal eyes. However, his hair was so gray it bordered on silver. Unlike Herleif who didn’t look a day over 40, this man truly did appear to be his age.

His black and white tunic rustled as he walked toward Herleif and the two guards, his expression lively as he recognized Herleif.

“Garret, it has been some time since we last saw each other,” Herleif greeted with a smile. “Are you tending to your garden?”

“Yes. I’ve recently added some new flowers and wanted to make sure they were taking to their environment.” Garret paused long enough to collect his thoughts. “If you have returned, then that means your mission for Empress Hilda was a success.”

“Well, yes and no,” Herleif said with a mysterious wave of his hand. “Some stuff happened that made accomplishing all my objectives hard, but I wouldn’t say it was fruitless either. Anyway, I need to speak with my daughter. Sadly, these two guards don’t seem to recognize me.”

The two guards in question were watching the back and forth with completely pale faces. By this point, they must have either guessed his identity or at least understood that he was an important person. The one who had spoken to him was shaking in his greaves.

“You refused this man entrance?” Garret narrowed his eyes at the guards. “Do you not know who this man is? He is the previous emperor! Lord Herleif Astralia!”

“The former emperor?!” The two man gaped as they withdrew their spears from the door and knelt on the ground. “O-our apologies, Lord Herleif! We had no idea it was you!”

Herleif could have used this moment to berate these two, and indeed, he even contemplated punishing them for a second, but he eventually decided not to. He was in a hurry. Also, it was kind of his fault these two didn’t recognize him. They were new and had clearly never seen his face before.

“It’s fine. Just let me in and we’ll pretend this issue never happened.”

“T-thank you, My Lord!”

The two guards expressed their gratitude with tears as they opened the door and allowed Herleif inside. Garret joined him as he walked down the hall.

“You haven’t aged a single day,” the man remarked with a wistful smile. “I guess this is the benefit of being a powerful Spiritualist.”

“I’ve recently received a couple of breakthroughs in my cultivation as well.” Herleif gave his old friend a mysterious smile. “That is probably why I don’t appear to have aged much despite the number of years that have passed.”

Garret accepted the words at face value and didn’t ask any questions. That was something Herleif liked about this man. He understood that discretion was often the better part of valor.

It did not take more than a few minutes to reach the empress’ office, where she did most of her work. Where most people would have knocked before entering, Herleif did no such thing, opening the door and walking in as if he owned the place.

He gazed around the large chamber and smiled. There were a few new additions to the decoration such as the tea table and chairs, but aside from that, it looked just as he remembered. He even found Hilda sitting behind her desk with a stack of papers. She was reading through various reports and sometimes signing off on something. Behind and to her left was Valence, her ever faithful first husband, bodyguard, and Herleif’s own son.

“Hilda, it’s been a long time,” Herleif greeted as he walked in. Garret did not follow him but instead shut the door and informed the guards that they weren’t to be disturbed.

“Father.” Hilda’s eyes grew wide as she looked up from her work, but then she smiled and set her papers down. “It has indeed been some time since we last saw each other. I am pleased to see you have returned in good health. If I didn’t know any better, I would say you look younger now than you did before leaving.”

Herleif gave Hilda the same mysterious smile he gave Garret, but then he shifted his gaze to Valence. His only son remained stone-faced even after seeing who had entered. Well, it was time to change that.

“Valence, do you have nothing to say to your father?” Herleif asked.

While Valence did not become flustered, he did bow his head. “It is good to see you, Lord Father. You look well.”

“Tch. I never could get a fun reaction out of you.”

Herleif wanted to try and tease his son some more, but Empress Hilda had one of her maidservants grab a chair for him to sit on, and then ushered everyone but her, Valence, and Herleif out of the room. Now alone, the blonde woman activated a Rune Array on her desk. Herleif sat straighter when a soft surge of Spiritual Power spread across the room.

“I see you’re making great use of the Array of Silence,” he observed with an amused smile.

Hilda shrugged. “The information I requested you to discover for me is not something I want just anyone hearing. If it gets into the wrong hands, it could very easily spell disaster for Nevaria.” The woman set her elbows on the table and steepled her fingers together. “I’d like to know what you discovered during your travels into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Have you discovered any trace of the Sekbeists?”

Knowing that now was not the time to keep trying to tease Valence, Herleif nodded and began informing Hilda of what he had discovered during his travels. The woman remained silent as she listened. However, her eyes were slowly growing wider the longer he talked. Even Valence was not immune to surprise. By the time Herleif had finished explaining everything, the other two looked like they had seen an S-rank Demon Beast.

“To think there would be something so dangerous in the Morkdypt Ravine…” Hilda muttered. “I’m sure they have also been there for many centuries, biding their time and building their forces. Meanwhile, our own forces have diminished greatly—likely because of them.” She placed a hand on her forehead. “This is a rather serious threat indeed.”

“What do you plan on doing now?” asked Herleif.

“Nothing yet.” Hilda released a deep gust of breath as she leaned back in her chair, which squeaked. “There is currently nothing we can do about them since we do not have the strength to defeat them. For now, I will simply work on strengthening our forces. Fortunately, we have many alchemy pills that can help us achieve the results we desire.”

Herleif was surprised to hear that someone had brought back alchemy, but he did not comment on it. There were more important matters to discuss.

“What about using Eryk Veiger?” he asked. “I’m sure that man could possibly do something about this threat.”

Speaking honestly, Herleif didn’t think there was anything Eryk could do, but he wanted to know what Hilda thought of the young man. Her response would tell him a lot. Of course, he was sure she knew what he was up to.

“So you know Eryk, then?” asked Hilda.

“We met just recently.” Herleif shrugged, not going into detail. There was no need to let his daughter-in-law know about his peeping.

“I see.” Long locks of blonde hair jostled around as Hilda shook her head. “I’m sure he could do something given enough time, but I do not believe he is strong enough to deal with a threat of this magnitude yet. However… maybe it would be a good idea to let him know about it. He might have an idea about what we can do.”

It sounded like she thought quite highly of the young man. He played with the upholstery of his seat. The leather was soft, obviously a kind made from a very powerful Demon Beast, though he couldn’t tell which. That said, there were only a few Demon Beasts with white/silver hide, so that did narrow down his prospects quite a bit.

“Is this made from Silverback hide?” he asked suddenly.

“It is,” Hilda confirmed.

“Hmm…”

He continued to play with the hide, letting his thoughts roam. Hilda did not interrupt him. While she had defeated him in combat, that was back then, when she had miraculously reached the Third State of Spiritualism and he was still stuck in the Second State of Spiritualism. If they were to fight now, there was no telling who would win.

He was also her father-in-law, and Hilda was nothing if not respectful to those who had seniority over her.

“You seem to trust this Eryk Veiger a great deal,” Herleif said after a moment of thought. “Not only are you considering telling him about the information I have, but you have let Kari travel outside of Nevaria with him.”

“I have indeed,” Hilda confirmed. “I have even let Kari travel into the Demon Beast Mountain Range with Eryk several times.”

Herleif felt like someone had shocked him with a Spiritual Lightning Technique. Hilda had always been overprotective of her daughter ever since she was attacked by Demon Beasts when she was younger. To learn that she was now allowing Kari into the Demon Beast Mountain Range told him that Hilda implicitly trusted Eryk to protect Kari.

“I would like to know more about Eryk Veiger,” Herleif said at last.

Hilda nodded as she slowly stood up and gestured toward him. “In that case, let us speak over dinner. I have not had a chance to eat since breakfast and am rather famished.”

Standing up, Herleif followed Hilda and Valence to an informal dining room, where his daughter-in-law told him everything she could about the mysterious man who would become his grandson-in-law.