《Melody of Mana》Chapter 57 Another meeting
Advertisement
The walk back to Bishop Theodore's office was silent. It seemed everyone had their hackles raised, and the priestess behind me wasn't really helping. I knew that she was waiting for me to give her a reason to drop me and just haul me off, and I was just waiting for a chance to see her jump off a cliff.
Eventually I did find my way back to the Bishop's office. The man himself wasn't there when I arrived but I found myself a seat while my erstwhile companion stood behind me. It seemed she didn't trust me for some reason; like I'd attack her or something silly like that.
After a few minutes of waiting a very tired, and again, quite cross looking Bishop arrived.
"There are literally tens of thousands of children in this city and you, I am sure, are the largest headache."
"Good day to you too Bishop."
"I understand you were at a ball that was attacked last night."
"I was."
"Where a number of people died, rather violently."
"Yes, that is correct Bishop."
"Our order was called to come and assist."
"I'm aware. I was healing people as best I could. I even saw you arrive."
"And you didn't come to say hello? I'm a bit hurt." The last bit was so dripping with sarcasm that I was actually surprised. Normally he was just a smug jerk.
"You looked busy. What exactly can I help you with today Bishop? Your... assistant? Was quite insistent that I come and meet with you." That designation got me a nice sound of grinding teeth from behind. It was probably stupid to harass her, but...
"Good, I'm happy to get to the point. You remember our last conversation yes? How I told you that if I felt the need we would be reevaluating your living situation we would? Well, based on last night's events I believe we must now consider that."
"Explain your reasoning."
"I do not need to explain myself to you Alana."
"You do if you want me to live under your nose without me setting said nose on fucking fire." The air could be cut with a knife. I knew they could, and would if needed drop me. As did they, but we all also knew that eventually I'd get back up, and when I did, I wouldn't be coming at them straight.
"Very well, you have now been at the site of an attempted assassination."
"Which I was decidedly not the target of."
"Involving extremely dangerous magic."
"Also not my fault."
"Your current guardians have even failed to keep you from such danger."
"That is a patently ludicrous accusation. No reasonable person would have expected an attack at a ball. Even if you were to tell me that you could, I wouldn't believe you. Because there was a priestess of my approximate age there as well. If the adults with me were being irresponsible you need to go bother The Order of Lovers about their foolishness too. I'm betting you won't." He was getting a little eye twitch. I knew I could win this argument if I could just keep him from coming down without explanation.
Advertisement
"Alana, I know you dislike me. Will you at least believe that I wish for your safety?"
"Dislike is a weak word Bishop, you threw some of my most private business in front of my friends in a blatant attempt to embarrass me. I believe that you think you are doing what is best, but I also believe that you are a petty little tyrant and completely wrong."
He spent several minutes staring at me, thrumming his fingers on his desk. I could tell he was thinking, going over arguments and ideas in his head. I would wait, this was a game where I needed to wait and respond to whatever he came up with.
"There are so many things which I cannot tell you right now Alana. If you but knew you might agree to work with me, but you might also go and put yourself in even more danger. When you come of age I will tell you."
"That explanation is just evasive and will not convince me."
"I'm aware. You wish to go to the academy next fall yes?"
"I don't see what that has to do with anything."
"As one of the wards of The Shield I can provide for your education. As a matter of point we do have an agreement with the academy to have our spellcasting capable wards attend, if they show enough skill and can pass the entry exams. I've no worries that you shall do so."
"Are you trying to bribe me into staying at your orphanage?"
"That would be ideal, yes, but I'm wagering that you won't."
"You're quite right." I nodded to the Bishop.
"How about this then. We'll make arrangements for you to be paid for IF you agree to stay at the dormitories there and have one of the professors appointed as your guardian while you attend. Until that point though I want someone to be able to openly keep an eye on you who I trust as a responsible adult. They would basically be acting as your guardian until you go."
Now it was my turn to think. That was not a bad deal, and would make paying for school a non-issue. I had a few questions, but I thought there might be a chance we could come to some arrangement. Even Lucien had suggested that if they came to me with some reasonable compromise I listen.
"I have some questions." When the Bishop made a gesture for me to continue I began asking. "Who would you be assigning to keep an eye on me until I attend? How would you have someone keeping an eye on me openly? How would the professor who would be appointed as my guardian be chosen?"
"Valid questions. While I would like to have a priest keep an eye on you due to your magic that is simply not feasible, so it would be one of the members of our staff. We would need to make arrangements for them to live with or near you and you would have to interact with them often. As for what professor, I believe that generally a volunteer is sought, or if none is available someone is assigned randomly."
Advertisement
I already knew at least one person I thought would jump at the idea of having me as his charge. Not sure how I felt about that, but I liked him more than I liked Theodore, that much was certain. The rest didn't seem too egregious.
"Why are you spending this much time and money on me?" He was really bending over backwards here. Even if he was supposed to keep me safe, this was just a bit insane.
"I have my reasons. Not the least of which is that you are a rather more potent than average caster with a habit of making... shall we say 'interesting' spells." He stared hard at me. "I think you have potential young lady. Will you take my deal? Or shall we see how this ends if you don't?" The threat hung there for a few moments while we stared at each other.
"I will, try to find someone with less a stick up their ass than you. It would also be nice if they could play an instrument, as I think we'll be spending quite a bit of our winter playing at The Sky."
I could see the eye twitch, but he seemed to relax a bit. "I'll see what I can do, and Alana. I really do not enjoy these meetings. So I will ask you to not cause any more problems, or get involved in any large scale disasters until you've come of age. Or at the very least are attending the academy."
"I'll do my very best." I replied in a saccharine sweet voice, while making my brightest smile.
After the irksome girl removed herself from my office and I could get back to the paperwork that needed to be done I heard a slight cough. The now full priestess seemed a bit irked at me.
"Bishop, you can't let yourself be bullied by a child."
"Oh? How did she bully me?"
"Getting you to pay for her education, all of the kindnesses you're showing letting her stay at that tavern."
"Well, first thing, I have received no less than three requests to see to it that she attends that academy from those who have both the interest in her to know that she's one of our wards and the power to push a scholarship through. I bribed her with something she could have gotten without me. I got a full report on how last night she might have influenced bardic combat magic more significantly than we've seen in decades. That alone would qualify her." I chuckled. "Secondly, I will choose who keeps an eye on her. Did you know that Eleanor plays the harp? If anyone can both whip that girl into some semblance of shape and keep her out of trouble that will be the one."
"Sir, Eleanor, that's just... a bit mean. You're right though..."
I nodded and began filling out all the needed paperwork.
When I finally made my way back to The Sky I was greeted to even more interrogation by my two teachers. First of all I had to give a full demonstration of my new flamethrower. Both of them were nearly floored, as was I, the mana cost on that was still somewhere near my absolute limit. They made a couple of tries, but got nothing nearly as effective.
Then I had to explain about my deal to Lucien. After I finished with the overview he nodded.
"So, when should we be expecting your new guardian to show up?"
"Dunno, tonight or tomorrow I guess."
"You really need to learn to ask more questions. Will they be renting a room to stay here?"
"No idea."
"..."
"Come on, don't give me that look. I got a good deal at least!"
"I'll give you that. You at least managed to keep most of what you wanted. You're not being forced to live at the orphanage, and you've gotten school paid for. Were you going to stay at their dorms anyway?"
"I don't know, would have depended on the cost. Dras is, and it will be far more convenient anyway I suppose. Do you think the professor they assign to keep an eye on me will be a problem?"
"I don't know. Some of those types can be a little single minded. They normally are safe people though, and know a lot about magic. Anyway, first thing tomorrow you need to prep a room. Won't hurt anything if we end up not needing it. One of the ones down near you will probably be best."
"Okay, I'll make sure it's ready."
Bright and early the next day I picked the room just to the left of mine and began cleaning. By time for breakfast I was well assured that it was ready with fresh sheets, no dust, and everything just in it's place.
As I was eating the mix of leftovers from dinner and warm bread she appeared. The woman was middle aged, with lines around her mouth and a rather large case for a harp. An older boy helped bring her luggage in and stood back as she marched up to me where I sat at the bar.
"I suppose you must be Alana then?"
"I am."
"Good, I'm Eleanor. Know that I've been told you're a right handful and I'll be having none of it. Now, where is our room?"
"There's one ready for you right beside mine. You'll need to talk to Lucien first though."
"That won't do at all. We'll need to stay together if I'm to keep an eye on you no?"
Advertisement
Desolada
For millennia the demon lords known as the Goetia enslaved the human race, until a group of mortals known as the Archons received divine blessings of power and overthrew them. Under their dominion mankind flourished, though the war in the shadows never ended. A thousand years later, sixteen-year-old Leones' family is executed for the crime of heresy. Burned to death for questioning whether the Archon of Flames is a divine being, and whether any of the Archons truly are. After manifesting the power to control time, Leones survives and embarks on an uncertain journey for power and revenge. But if he is to overcome a god, he may need some help. Along the way he will discover the truth behind the demon lords, time, and reality itself, as he walks along the razor path. Artwork is used with permission from the creator, @chinfongart. Updated on Tuesdays and Saturdays
8 246The Dungeon Traveler
I spent most of my life trying to get by with whatever happiness I could, that included alcohol, food, and porn.My death was unpleasant and humiliating. However, death is something we all need to go through. A bit like a proctology exam; necessary but never anything one wants to go through while it's happening.However, death was supposed to be the end of it. Either way, the pain, suffering, and failures were supposed to be over. I was supposed to wink out, or perhaps take a trip to a lovely afterlife!No, I ended up as a small stone, strapped to a table, while a pimple-faced teenager rubbed my facets and told me how 'lovely' I was. Last time I checked, birth wasn't supposed to be as embarrassing as death!Life as a dungeon core isn't all bad. I like watching lizard love triangles and snooping on militaristic dwarves; though there is that issue where I'm trying to free myself from the entanglements of the Gods....ok, yeah that last one is a bit of a problem. Completed and available on Amazon
8 89The Rise of the Winter Wolf
What would you do if your entire life was suddenly changed at the drop of a hat? The entire population of the world that you were born into suddenly transported to another planet along with the rest of the intelligent inhabitants of the Milky Way Galaxy. A strange System talking to you about abilities and levels without a care for your opinions. Thousands of monster spawning dungeons placed around the new world without a care for the new inhabitants. And if those weren't bad enough, a forced invitation for one thousand random individuals to compete in a livestreamed competition within a dungeon with the rank of Administrator as the prize. You don’t know? Well, it’s actually pretty simple. You survive. Our story follows Wolf Adler as he, along with every other human on Earth, are faced with a strange blue box filling up their vision, warning them about an upcoming reappropriation of every being of sufficient intelligence to a new planet for the initialization of some sort of System. Will he perish in this new world? Or will he thrive? Except for the first 4 chapters, Book 1 has been moved to Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Except for the first 4 chapters, Book 2 has been moved to Amazon Kindle Unlimited. If you do not have the financial means to purchase the books, then you may DM me on discord through my discord channel for a pdf version of the book. There is only one main protagonist, but the story does have more than one perspective that it is told from. It's mostly first person from the main protagonist and third person perspective for the livestreams. The beginning of the story has also been massively rewritten since most of the reviews as of 1/23/2022. The release schedule right now is dependent on my college classes and coursework, but I always try to keep it to at least one chapter every other day, if not one chapter every day. I do not write sexual content or harem stuff. I am also not very interested in writing romance, so if you think you might see some romance, then you are probably wrong unless it's only a slight hint at romance or a slow romance very far into the story. Lastly, know that I don't like long-winding antagonists that get on everyone's nerves and last throughout the entire story. And I do like plot twists, so if you are predicting something that you think is going to happen later on that you dislike, (particularly around the middle to end of book two) then it likely won't happen.
8 408Shattered Soul
Scorned by the humans of earth, the Shadow Walker and telekinetic Sarah Marie Johnson was executed as a traitor to the human race. After her death she meets the seraph Tavariel, who explains to her that since her birth her soul had been shattered. The young Moon Elf princess Linea has always been different. Never as strong as her siblings, but magically gifted, she soon had to bury her hopes to become a Void Hunter. Instead focusing on a path to become a healer, she performs a ritual to strengthen the bond to her goddess. Unexpectedly her ritual is hijacked by Tavariel, who guides her to the place, where someone awaits her. This is the story of two parts of a soul, which were never meant to be divided. This is their journey. Hello everyone, this is my first attempt for a story on my own, so if you find any mistakes feel free to point them out. I have a rough outline were my story will lead, but ultimately I have not fleshed out the whole story yet. The current release schedule is one chapter every sunday. This can subject to change and occasionally chapters can be delayed. If you got any questions regarding my story, feel free to contact me via comments or messages. WARNING: This story is mature and is only recommended to an audience older than 18. There is tragedy involved and if you can not handle certain topics like character death, suicide, rape (or any consent-based sexual activity), racism or violence, you are advised to skip this story. There will be, however, no depictions of rape . If it should happen, it will be "off-screen".
8 178HARU
Dark forces rule Japan in 1867. Things that should never have happened, changed history forever. Follow Arata Haru on his quest for revenge against the Daimyo who decimated his clan after their bones. Travel through a dangerous land where thieves plunder the mountains, soldiers become corrupt, monks pray to ancient gods, sorcerers create potions with cruel effects, legendary samurai resurface, and the dead dance again to the drums of war.
8 128From Ninja to Pirate
Life can be difficult, hard and painful. Who am I kidding? Most of you probably have already experienced first-hand, all the difficulties, hardships and pains in life that I talk of, so rather than listen to me teach the lessons on how you should stay strong and look forward to the good things, I think you'd much rather prefer me to just get on with my story, and that's exactly what I'll do.My name was Uzumaki Naruto. I was a genin of the hidden village of the leaves, and the team-mate of Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. My parents were the Fourth Hokage and the Jinchuuriki of the nine-tailed fox before me, and I was what people called, a failure.But now, the story has reversed. No more failure. No more Naruto. No more ninja.I am Akagami D. Natsuki, a girl who challenges the world, in the era of pirates!All credits go to Oda Eiichiro and Kishimoto Masashi for writing One Piece and Naruto. This is a fanfiction I wrote for my own pleasure. Please don't judge it too harshly... I have checked for spelling and grammar mistakes, but just in case there is the occasional mistake, please comment on it, rather than insult me. From personal experience, I have seen people insulting my grammar, with a comment akin to:"Cant u even spell 'mom' correctly? It's 'mom' not 'mum' you idiot!!!" So, please, don't insult me like that... It really ruins my day, which might have already been awful... Also, I apologise if they get really overpowered, or sound really arrogant... I don't mean it that way, but that's how it is read, so I'm sorry before hand. Well done for making it this far, and thank you for reading. noelicoan.
8 95