Mid Afternoon - Mid Spring : Kingdom of Kaelallan

- Michael Cotorel ~

*clang* *clank*

“Uwwahh.. Hm?" With a yawn and a stretch, I woke up to the muffled noises of hammering metal. -Oh, it's a silencing artifact..- Finally coming to my senses, I reached over and turned off the artifact.

*Clang* *Clang*

"Oh, you're up!” Udall noticed the artifact turning off immediately. “How'd you sleep?"

-He seems to be in a decent mood..- "I slept pretty well actually, I feel a little better."

"That's good to hear." Although he was slightly turned away from me, I could still see his warm smile.

"So what time is it?"

"Some time in the afternoon. You’ve been out for quite a while.."

-Damn.. I guess I really needed some sleep..- "Did anything happen while I was knocked out?"

There was a bit of hesitation in his response. "Nothing worth worrying about."

"You know you can't hide a lie from me, we've known each other for too long."

There was another short pause, likely from Udall thinking about what to say before he just let out a deep sigh. "Haah, well.. they sent an assassin to clean you up." Although subtle, there was a hint of a smile that had crept onto his face.

"Considering your expression, I'll take a wild guess and say they weren't strong enough to do anything?"

His smile slowly became more pronounced as he turned back to look at me. "The dumbass didn't even make it through the door!"

His bright smile wasted no time in cheering me back up. "Haha, it's good to see your blade is as sharp as ever."

"Well of course, how could I let myself fall behind you? Just because I've settled down doesn't mean I grew old and weak!" As he pulled up his arm and flexed, I was instantly reminded of the good old days of our adventures together.

“Haha..” A thankful smile quickly came to my face. -It's good to see that time hasn't gotten a hold of him yet..-

We continued to chat and mess around like that for quite a while after that, but once sunset rolled around, I remembered the mountain of things I needed to take care of.

"Alright, well, I need to go by the guild to give an update to Ellen. Thanks for cheering me up."

"Haha, of course! That's what I'm here for!" Udall’s youthful smile radiated a contagious joy.

I simply couldn't help but smile as I finally left for the guild, but once I got outside, that joy slowly turned to worry.

"Did you hear about what happened?"

"Yeah, I heard some Nation rank got into a fight in the prison."

"I heard most of the prison was left unrecognizable!"

“Yeah, a lot of people are saying it's a sign from God, just like what happened in Sinder’s capital!”

-What are they talking about?- Hearing the worrying chatter of those around me, I hastened my walk to the guild.

Finally arriving, I noticed the abnormally large number of adventurers inside as if they were gathered for a quest. -But isn't it too late for a quest this big? Just what happened?!-

As I quickly walked up to the receptionist's desk, Ellen noticed me and showed a beaming smile. "Welcome Michael!"

"It's good to see you in high spirits, but what happened?" I couldn't help but speak nervously.

Ellen didn't notice it in the slightest though. "Hm? What do you mean?"

"Like whatever happened to the prison. I kept overhearing people talking about it."

Ellen, seemingly caught off guard, spoke with some hesitancy. "Uhm.. I can't say what it really was right now, but the common theories going around are that it was a fight between two nation ranks or something about a descended god.."

-Excuse me?!- Although the theory regarding a god sounded simply outlandish, a fight between two Nation ranks was entirely possible. "Who were the nation ranks?"

Nervously looking around the room, Ellen quickly noticed the adventurers' looks. "Here, come to the meeting room with me, I can give you a little information since it involves you directly."

Her statement, although spoken quietly, still caught the attention of everyone in the guild.

The silence that filled the guild was deafening and their gazes were sharp, but thankfully none of them did anything rash.

Finally making it into the meeting room, Ellen securely locked the door and went to sit on the couch. "Haah.. Alright, I'll get straight to the point. This whole situation is related to you. We received a letter from a royal messenger this morning giving some explanation of the situation but it just left us more confused. Thankfully though, they believe you aren’t involved, but they did mention that your eligibility for the promotion would be reconsidered."

Although my heart ached to hear the news, it was also a much better situation than I expected. -Getting away with only a ‘reconsideration’ as punishment is already generous enough..- "So what happened at the prison."

"There was a fight that broke out between a group of assassins and someone who the king is hiding the identity of. I thought it was you, but.. based on your reaction.." She looked both disappointed and worried at that reality.

"Yeah.. I wasn't involved in that, but I do think I know it was.. I feel bad for the assassins honestly.."

"What?! Why?"

"Well, considering that.. 'being'.. could squash me like a bug, I'd be surprised if someone on this half of the continent could put up a fight.." I shivered slightly as I thought back to the moment I was pressured by ‘his’ presence. (aura)

Ellen's face was simply blank as if she didn't believe it. "Who could possibly.."

-I probably should say anything since the king is hiding his identity but..- "I can't say much besides the fact that ‘it’ looks like a demihuman kid."

"It?"

"I refuse to believe that that.. thing.. is actually a demihuman." Without knowing it, my face had lost a bit of color.

Ellen gave a nervous response. "Was it a black-haired wolf demihuman that looked 12 or so?"

I gave a subtle nod without questioning how she knew. "Please keep this under wraps."

"O..of course.."

There was a short and awkward silence that quickly filled the room before she changed subjects.

"So have you gotten any additional information on your promotion?"

"No, nothing yet. They will probably send the messenger to you though. I don't think they know where I'm staying currently."

"What? Where are you staying?"

"With some old friends in the slum market."

"Oh…” Without me noticing, a rosy color had come to her cheeks. “You know, I've got a few extra rooms if you need one.."

Although a tempting offer, something felt morally wrong about it. "No, I'm alright, thank you for the offer though.." I ended up giving a somewhat awkward rejection.

Looking a little dejected, Ellen held her head low and tucked in her shoulders. "Well if you ever need a place to stay, just let me know."

Trying to escape the awkward atmosphere, we ended up chatting in that room for quite a while. She went and updated me on all of the happenings in the kingdom and I tried my best to sort things out and understand them.

-No matter how I think about it though.. something about this whole situation just feels wrong..- A deep sense of foreboding filled my stomach the more I thought about it.