Dungeon.
I sat in the same place I'd occupied during the party, drinking my fourth cup of coffee. The Xenos, who had returned by this time and had settled around me, were staring at me in absolute silence, practically unmoving. Not all of them, of course, but only the ones that had seen my power, while the rest of them looked at me and back at their brethren in incomprehension.
At one moment I felt a presence approaching us, and after a couple of seconds, he appeared at the top of the stands. It was a cloaked figure with a hooded face and metal clawed gauntlets.
- "Lyd?" he called out to the lizardman, surveying his surroundings, "Why is it so quiet in here?"
- "Fels?" Lyd replied after a short pause as the figure came down and sat down beside me, "Well... it's... hard to explain..."
- "What about you?" I asked, looking over the figure.
- "Fels, nice to meet you, Romani. I work for Lord Ouranos and help the xenos here," the figure introduced himself, "But what's this about? I thought there was going to be a celebration or something here. Even Gros is strangely silent."
So, he's working for Ouranos? Interesting. I doubt he's simple, as Ouranos simply wouldn't waste time on some insignificant figure, unless it could be of tangible benefit. And another question, does this Fels know the ulterior motives of the god he serves?
- "We were attacked," Ray said, then gave me a grateful look, "But Romani saved us."
- "You could have contacted me if you needed help," Fels said, "And that doesn't explain what's happening here now."
- "Contact?" I raised an eyebrow, glancing at Lyd.
- "Fels means this," the lizardman pulled out a small blue pearl from a pouch on his belt, "We can communicate with him through this thing. Fels has the same one, but in a different color. And that's how we keep in touch with Ouranos."
- "I see." I said.
- "Can I have an answer, please?" Fels asked in a slightly sad tone, though his voice sounded deep and mysterious.
- "It's..." Lyd hesitated, and looked at me as if asking for permission, to which I shrugged, "Romani's power was unexpected to us."
- "Very unexpected," the arachne added with a grin, "He created chains that tore people of level three and above apart in a second."
- "But Lord Ouranos said you were level one, right?" Fels said in surprise, looking at me.
- "I'm level one. Technically," I rolled my eyes, "By the way, you give off a very strange vibe. You're not a xenos, are you?"
- "You're right. I am the remains of someone who was once called a sage." Fels nodded and removed his hood, revealing a bare human skull. I gestured for him to explain, "Once the world knew me as a great magician, the creator of the Philosopher's Stone and the sole possessor of eternal life, but... everything changed because of one mistake. I am now known as the 'fool sage', nothing more."
I raised an eyebrow.
Well, now I can see why he possesses a human soul, even though his body is composed solely of bones. The Philosopher's Stone, as far as my memory serves me, allowed me to bypass the rule of equal exchange, but to create it required a lot of "resources," human bodies to be exact. As for the local analog, I can only guess, although, most likely, there wasn't much difference.
His current existence can be regarded as 'eternal life', so it can be skipped, but the title 'wise man-fool' is more interesting. Wisdom itself indicated knowledge and following the rules of the world. A fool remained in blissful ignorance, enjoying life to the fullest, regardless of these very rules. Most likely, his current title was obtained because of the consequences of the 'immortality' he possessed.
- "I see," I said after digesting the information, and then looked around at the Xenos, "Now the village may well be exposed, because the adventurers were purposefully operating on this floor and quite close to us. What do you plan to do?"
- "Move on, as we always have," Ray replied with a measure of humility, "There are plenty of places where people don't go and monsters don't appear. We'll just have to find it."
I thought about it.
I want to take a couple of xenos with me to the surface, but what about the others? In theory, there are two options: create a relatively safe place either here or outside, since there's no way to do nothing. Although, if I recall the guild brochure, then....
- "As far as I know, the eighteenth floor is pretty safe. Everyone can live there, there's water and food, I mean, and there's even a small town on the floor, right?" I asked Fels, to which I received a nod, "Can you get them there?"
- "It'll be tricky, but yes. What's your point?"
In response, I raised my hand and created a small gold coin, which I then tossed to Lyd. With 1st True Magic, almost anything can be created, including the existing Noble Phantasm. And since I possess it, why not use it?
- "What is it?" The lizardman asked, examining the thing with interest.
- "When you are on the floor, preferably in a deserted and unattended place, gather in one group and press as tightly together as possible, and then throw the coin under your feet," I said.
- "And that?" Fels asked.
- "Sanctuary. And it's a lot better and safer than just wandering from place to place, hoping they'll never find you."
- "If that's the case..." Lyd thought and looked at Ray and Gros. Siren nodded to him rather quickly, as did Gros, who snorted unhappily and took a little longer to answer, "We accept your gift, Romani. How can we thank you?"
- "I have one idea."
-0-
Orario.
Under the bright light of the afternoon sun, I smiled contentedly at every person I met who threw an extremely stunned look in my direction as I walked towards Emiya's residence. Of course, it wasn't meant for me, but for the two individuals following me.
- "We're being watched, Romani," Ray said worriedly.
- "Are you sure we don't need to hide our appearance, Mr. Archaman?" Let asked.
- "Absolutely," I grinned, "You know my power, don't you? Besides, Tia would definitely be pleased to see you."
Of course, few people knew of our Familia's true strength, but that didn't concern our reputation, or rather Morgan's. That she had injured Freya, whose Familia was one of the strongest in the city, and yet went unpunished was known throughout Orario, judging by the gawkers' whispers and rather wary glances.
I understand that Ouranos kept his word and gave his "support", for his name was mentioned in the words he heard. To be more specific, any attack on us, unless we were the instigators of the conflict, would be considered by the Guild as a violation of the laws of the city and Ouranos' own words. And since we're just going home, we can defend ourselves in case of anything, even lethal.
At some point an idea came to my mind that I immediately wanted to implement, so I contacted Tia and Morgan, who happened to be nearby.
The purpose of my antics with the xenos on the surface was to get Ouranos to act. Because of the surprise, he would try to think of something on the fly, without going into detail. But I didn't want to act as overtly as some OP GG with an extremely inflated HQ, but in a more subtle way. And one place was perfect for that.
I sat down on a bench near some stall and waited. Let and Ray looked at each other, thought for a while, and then sat down next to me.
- "Um... What are we waiting for, Mr. Archaman?" The goblin asked.
- "My girlfriends," I smiled, "Anyway, how are your feelings on the surface?"
- "Aside from some of the stares, exciting," Ray replied, "It's like I've spread my wings wide for the first time. The air here is different, more alive and fresh, and the sun is bright and warm. The endless sky that Fels read to us about is really endless. I can't even see the end of it. It makes me want to take off and just float, but..."
She really looked like she was struggling with herself. Ever since leaving the Dungeon, her eyes hadn't left the sky, her feathers were fluttering, and the excited and anticipatory expression hadn't left her face.
- "You can do it a little later, Ray, don't worry," I assured her, "What about you, Let?"
- "I... like the clothes people wear. They're colorful and varied, and in the Dungeon you can only get them from adventurers. Do you think, Mr. Archaman, I could learn to sew one of those?" Let said excitedly.
- "I think so, if you have the right supplies. You have fingers and eyes, so I don't see a problem," I said, and then looked away, "There they are."
- "Been waiting long, husband?" Morgan grinned, and Tia immediately hugged me from the front, burying her head in my chest. Ray and Let looked surprised at that, and then showed happy expressions on their faces.
- "No, you're just in time," I smiled, "This is Morgan and Tia, a member of the Familia and the goddess herself, respectively. I've already told you about the latter."
- "Nice to meet you. My name is Ray, siren," Ray said.
- "Let, goblin. Nice to meet you, Goddess Tiamat, Ms. Archaman," Let said hello, to which he received a well pleased smile from Morgan. Tia, on the other hand, was still pawing at me like a cat.
- "Uh-oh, I like you already," the Fairy Queen said and looked at me, "Shall we go?"
-0-
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