“In any case, I must thank you and Leyla for your effort. Without you, I fear that Agripin would have fallen. Already they wouldn’t have been able to cross the Vipin Forest on their own. And while I agree that avoiding the area is wise considering that we can’t secure it, monsters will keep growing in it. In the end, they will overflow and Gobéliard will have to deal with them. When that time comes Leyla’s improvement of the city defenses will be crucial.” Cornelius explained his view of the situation.

“One more thing, the council has finally been established while you were away. I kept my post as the mayor of Gobéliard, but I won’t be able to take big decisions on my own without discussing them with the council first. It may bring a little more delay in important decisions but I believe it is what you wanted.” Cornelius added.

Edward nodded. “Yes, I agree that speed of action is important, but how would we be any different from the nobles’ abusive ruling if we forced our decisions on people? The population has to be included in the decisions process one way or the other. Otherwise, it will backfire further down the line. Better to lose a bit of time and make others understand why we are doing something, than having to quell a rebellion in the future.”

Cornelius let out a smile. “You are wise beyond your years.”

“Actually, while I’m here. Have the scholars found anything about the surge?” Edward asked, hoping that maybe they would be able to predict how long the surge would last.

Cornelius shook his head. “No, they indeed confirm the link between a planet alignment and the normal surge that we experienced every forty-two years. However, they are not able to understand why this surge is different from the others. I’m afraid we are still blind.”

Edward sighed. “All right, then we will have to adapt on the fly. I had hoped that they would have at least an idea about what we had to expect but I guess it can’t be helped.”

*****

After his talk with Cornelius, Edward went into his room, one that Cornelius had given him in the city hall. He needed some rest, he had to stay focused for the four-day trip through the Vipin Forest, and he had skipped two nights of sleep. He was at the predator stage but he wouldn’t say no to a few hours of sleep.

After his sleep Edward woke up refreshed, his tiredness gone, it was only a few hours of sleep but it was equivalent to a full night of rest for him. It was already evening, and it was time to go out to the adventurer guild if he wanted to have a drink with Charles’ group of adventurers. He had only worked with them for one contract, but being the first friends he had made in Gobéliard, they had grown on him.

Edward came to Leyla’s room and the two of them walked toward the adventurer’s guild while doing small talk. Edward wasn’t wearing his armor, he was less intimidating but that didn’t prevent people from keeping their distance. Gobéliard’s citizens had learned to be careful towards nobles, Edward was no noble but he was at the predator level and he had upturned the political scene. He had upturned it for the better but people were still careful, waiting to see if it had been just a trick or if he really was someone who care about the city and its inhabitants.

Far fewer persons recognized Leyla, she had arrived recently compared to Edward, and her main contribution had been the renovation of the wall’s defenses. While the defenses hadn’t been used yet, they didn’t understand just how much of an improvement it was.

That didn’t bother either of them. Edward was content spending time with Leyla, and Leyla didn’t really care what others thought about her. What was important was her projects and work, and the fact she was satisfied with them. And lately, thanks to the Damkinan’s runes she was delighted with her work. There were so many new ideas and innovations to put in place. She knew what she was accomplishing and she didn’t need other people’s validation.

They soon reached the adventurer’s guild, Charles, Norte, Brian, and Aquamarine were all there gathered around a table at their usual spot. Edward and Leyla waved before joining them.

“You are back” Aquamarine spoke first. “We heard about Agripin’s village coming to settle here.”

“How was your travel? Were you also attacked by wolves?” Charles inquired.

Edward smiled, appreciating being surrounded by friends, and retold his adventures once more. At the end of his tale, his friends had different reactions. Aquamarine seemed simply happy that he had come back and that Agripin’s population was safe. Charles was in deep thought, concerned by the rapid evolution of the local monsters. Brian was appalled by Edward’s rapid progress and gain in power. His animosity towards Edward had decreased a lot ever since the latter had managed to beat the nobles’ families. Norte looked a bit jealous of his capacity to travel freely while there was a monster surge ongoing. Leyla was resting against Edward’s shoulder, she had already heard the story, but she wasn’t bored, she was proud of what he had accomplished.

“It’s your turn now. What have you been up to in my absence?” Edward asked enthusiastically.

The group glared at him unanimously in an unexpected way. “Wh-What?” Edward stammered.

“It turns out, that due to a drastic decrease in local monsters, there are a lot fewer quests than usual. Do you have any idea why it could have happened?” Brian asked ironically and playfully.

Edward shut up before protesting. “It’s not like I had much of a choice. And somebody had to take care of them.”

“We know. Brian was only jesting”, Charles answered. “But he is not wrong. Since monster activities have decreased a lot in the nearby area, we had to accept quests for material gathering instead. We must thank you for that Leyla.”

She smiled. “I should thank you instead. We were able to complete the rune design for the walls with all the Harpies eggshells that you brought back.”

“You went to the Harpies nest?” Edward exclaimed surprised.

“Yes, but it was severely lacking in Harpies. We only encountered a few, which was probably for the better since we had to climb down the cliff to reach their nest and gather the egg pieces.” Brian admitted.

“Near the nest, we saw a cemetery of Harpies with the landscape battered by deep cuts and cracks. It was quite the display.” Norte added.

Edward laughed awkwardly. “Yes, they caught me by surprise. At first, I thought a cloud was behaving weirdly until I realized it was made of Harpies.”

“Seeing all the Harpies skeletons over there and how you are standing perfectly fine in front of us, I would say they are the ones who got surprised.” Charles corrected. “But honestly, I’m glad you are fine. It must have been a hell of a fight.”

“Oh, it was.” Edward agreed. He retold them his fight and the group of friends continued to chat.

At one point in the discussion, Edward remembered the peculiar crystals he had encountered throughout his mission to exterminate Murlocs.

“While we are on the topics of quests and materials. I did find some strange crystal on Egregius’ folly while we were hunting for Murlocs. I think you could be interested.” He told Leyla. “They can store mana somehow. They may act as a mana reserve for more powerful runes.”

Leyla nodded. “Sounds good to me. I want to see them.”

“I will talk about it to Cornelius. He will have to submit the idea to the council, but I doubt they will oppose it. Let me offer you this contract to all of you as a way to amend for killing all the local monsters.” Edward laughed.

The group chatted and joked together until late in the night. When it was time to go to sleep, they dispersed, Charles’ group leaving one way and Edward and Leyla in another direction. With the fall of the night, the weather was quite chill and Leyla was huddled against Edward to get his warmth. They walked slowly up to the council hall, admiring the clear night sky. It’s amazing. Since there is no light pollution, I can see the stars even while staying in a city. Edward squeezed Leyla against him enjoying the physical contact.

They reached Leyla’s room and they both entered, Leyla holding Edward’s hand and drawing him inside. There was a moment of silence before Leyla walked closer and embraced Edward passionately.

Everything happened in a blur, actions linking together naturally.

When he woke up in the middle of the night, Edward was resting against Leyla, both snuggled cozily under a thick blanket. Edward felt rested and didn’t want to try to fall back asleep. He caressed Leyla’s hair while she was still sound asleep. He watched her as she slept, enjoying her presence, her warmth, and her scent.

After some time, he got up, careful not to wake her up, dressed, and teleported to his room still inside the city hall. He spent the rest of the night in meditation, slowly but steadily increasing his mana. Somehow, he felt as if it was easier to get into the right state of mind. He let go of his self, becoming one with his surroundings, and drawing the ambient mana to his body, making it his. He stopped his meditation as the sun rose and felt people waking up. Edward wasn’t sure he had ever felt so relaxed in his life before.

He teleported back into Leyla’s room and waited for her to wake up. While waiting he thought about his future prospects.

There are no emergencies anymore. Gobéliard is safe for now with no nearby monsters to threaten it. I have to tell Cornelius about our idea to pick the magic crystals on Egregius’ folly. It will at least take a few days before an expedition is ready. I’m free in the meantime. I can’t neglect my training, both for aura practice and meditation for my mana. The monster surge is still ongoing. But even with that, I’ll have a lot of free time. I can spend some time with Leyla.

We both haven’t been that long in Gobéliard. I can make her visit the city. I wonder if my teleportation will work for her. I never tried to teleport someone else with me. When I teleport, my clothes and weapons are following me, but it’s not like I can control or choose what I am teleporting. I don’t know the limit of this power.

He paused. Maybe I shouldn’t test it on my girlfriend first. It could be dangerous. He shrugged. It doesn’t matter I guess, even without teleportation, I can make aura steps now. She can walk in the air with me. It’s no teleportation, but it’s still pretty awesome.

He smiled as he watched Leyla turning on her side and slowly waking up.