Capítulo 37: Precursor to the Second Great War (3) - Goodbye
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The older man walked with a slow, strange gait as they entered the Golden Crown Inn and bid good morning to the innkeeper and his wife; who were setting up the chairs and tables while their daughters cooked and cleaned-up in the kitchen.
"Good morning! I heard you leaving - early as usual. Oh, breakfast is already placed upstairs in the audience room." Sebastian gave the innkeeper a thin smile; wincing in pain as he moved; and thanked him for his services. He then walked up the stairs (slowly) to the 2nd floor where he and his companions were housed.
Then he stopped at the top of the stairs, puffed - nursing his sore ribs in pain and resisting the urge to vomit blood from internal injuries. He felt dizzy; and nearly collapsed; but steeled himself and regained his composure.
The pair then headed straight for the audience room; where the rest were seated - along with Mayor Gabriel and a short blonde-haired gentleman who looked to be in his mid to late 20s. Accompanying the blonde gentleman was an older knight, who apart from being Caucasian and decked out in plate armour, looked quite similar to Sebastian.
"Sebastian!", "Sebastian." Both Caitlyn and Principal Snow greeted him as he entered; then smiled and nodded at his tall little disciple who followed behind him.
"Please, have a seat." Mayor Gabriel stood and invited him to take a seat at the conference table setup in the middle of the audience room; a room meant for distinguished guests to host minor functions while lodging at the inn.
As Sebastian pulled out a chair to sit; Sam grabbed a plate and began to pile her plate with food.
Once he saw Sebastian seated, the Mayor spoke; "It is my pleasure to host Sir Jacques Milieu; paladin and knight of the Holy Shrine of France; along with his guardian, semi-divine Paladin Roland."
Sebastian's eyes flickered momentarily at the hero's name; which coincided with that of Principal Snow's only son.
The young man mentioned exuded an aura of confidence and dignity often inherent to high-born elites. He stood and gave the slightest nod of his head to Sebastian; ignoring Sam. From his bearing and depth of bow - and also the fact that he had a semi-divine protector - Sebastian guessed him as a scion from a noble family. His aura was unchecked - high leveled for his young age - perhaps level 18 or 19. And very proud.
"My apologies to gather you so early; and thank you, Principal, for making your way over at such short notice. Sir Jacques has an urgent missive for us from the capitol." Mayor Gabriel gestured to the young paladin to continue.
Jacques spoke; maintaining his air of indifference; "Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elisabeth, formally summons all those who were involved in the case of the planar portal. Her Royal Majesty desires to hear a personal recounting of what has occurred; to shed light on the source and perpetrator of the demon atrocity. This is in preparation for the upcoming Demon Subjugation Summit, to be held on the 31st of August."
Pausing, he looked around the room then continued: "The individuals summoned are: Her Royal Highness Princess Romilda, Her Excellency Lin Peng--" He looked at Caitlyn; "--His Excellency Shiba Tian and Principal Reynaldis Snow. These esteemed guests will also be extended invitations to participate in the Summit."
He allowed a moment for his words to sink in; then spoke in closing; "Her Royal Majesty's behest is for the esteemed group of guests to present themselves by the 22nd of August."
This drew immediate frowns from all present. The distance to Paris was roughly ~1,200km; which if the group covered around 300-400km a day, would take 4 full days of travel. This was still doable by the 22nd of August - provided that the group started their journey immediately at the beck and call of a foreign monarch!
Only Sam showed no reaction - she stuffed her mouth with food; quickly finishing half of the food; leaving only 3 people's share for the other 7.
"Ahem. Her Royal Majesty also imparted me with some last words. She said, to invite her guests to come willingly..." He gestured with his hand, at which point his guardian paladin unsheathed his sword.
"...Or in chains." A suffocating aura filled the room, easily suppressing the group who were still hampered by their niggling internal injuries.
The semi-divine paladin withdrew his aura after 2 seconds; as he realised that his point had been made. The blonde youth's gaze flitted to Roland's figure; appearing displeased that the paladin had taken independent action without waiting for his instructions.
He coughed once more, dispelling his displeasure and restoring a smarmy smile to his face.
"We leave in an hour."
The arrogant young master left; his apologetic guardian bowing to them; then following closely behind.
* * * * *
The group packed quickly, in the first place, they had been traveling light.
Especially because Caitlyn had made her journey empty handed and on her own; while Romilda and Sebastian had no baggage - all was left behind with their (now assumed deceased) contingent of 20 escort guards - unfortunately, the Principal's last-minute Mass Teleport had not included them in the area of effect.
As such, it was only Principal Snow who needed to make arrangements before leaving again - not much either - the school was closed as there were almost no students left; a stark reminder of the recent tragedy.
He went over to his admin assistant's house. Or at least that's what her job title was - in truth, he often felt like he was the assistant while she was the boss...
Gingerly, the short man knocked on her door.
Thud, thud, thud.
He waited.
No answer.
"Erm...
He raised his hand to knock again - then thought against it and lowered his hand.
He patted all around his robes and found a piece of paper; then scrounged around for a pen - but couldn't find one.
So he settled for using a sharp piece of ice to scratch a message onto the piece of paper - "Hv 2 go, b bk in 1 mth".
He slipped it under her door and zipped away; as if fearful of the female dragon who lived within.
Once he got a distance away; he slowed his pace and began to whistle a jolly jingle as he walked back to the Golden Crown Inn.
It was time to leave.
Inside the house he had just walked away from, his glasses wearing assistant walked out of her room to the door and picked up the note. After reading it, she drew a deep breath, then scrunched it up in frustration.
"Scoundrel! Rascal! Always leaving me behind to do all your dirty work! When you get back, I'll... I'll..." Her face twisted in anger.
Then she sighed; her face turning cold, distant... Lonely.
"Idiot... Why do you never bring me together everytime you leave...? After all these years, don't you know how I feel about you...? How I'll always be fighting by your side...?"
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Ierrech
Ierrech Big thank you to yaoyueyi for the amazing cover! Sam once she's an adult! Yes she's Asian. Check out yaoyueyi's book Blossoms of Red; and Cult of Chaos and Order by Afternoone!
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