Capítulo 288: Chapter 286: Agnès Claudel
Posting schedule change:
A Gamer Into Trails:
Sunday/Monday/Tuesday/Off/Off/Friday/Saturday.
A Reincarnated Tale: Pokemon
I am going to revisit my current chapters, starting from chapter 1, to fix any inconsistencies. I did have a large time skip in this story as well, and I may potentially add story to this, or later on as its own volume. When a chapter has been edited, I will leave [Edited] in the case title.
For my other fanfics, they are currently on pause. My main focus is A Gamer Into Trails and my Pokemon fanfic. Thank you for understanding.
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DAYBREAK SPOILERS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW, SKIP THIS CHAPTER.
As always Giliath demands your power stones!
*****
January 1st.
Edith, Calvard.
Raval District.
Gramheart Residence.
Night-time.
A large residential district could be seen on the outskirts of Calvard's capital city, Edith. Most of it was on a hillside, making it appear lush and green. A main road could be seen paved with tan brick-tiling stretching across multiple streets.
If continued toward the end of the hilly area, one would come across a large, two-story white-tiled mansion with a dark brown roof. It was gated behind a brick wall and iron fence, unlike other houses in this area. Due to the size of this building, one could easily see that an influential figure stayed here. This mansion had no garage, instead it liked to use the section placed just before the house as a parking area. The mansion had its own parking, so the people who lived here didn't have to worry about parking out in the street.
In fact, a sleek, black orbal car pulled up to the front gate. A single buzz echoed in the surrounding air, and before long, the gate started to open on its own. Once it was open, the orbal car drove through, and parked in the closest spot to the building. After that, an aged man wearing a butler's tuxedo with white hair stepped out of the driver's seat. He immediately went to the passenger's seat and opened the door.
"Welcome home, Sir.", The butler said, bowing as he did. After the butler bowed, a man in his mid-thirties stepped out of the car. He could currently be seen wearing a high-end brown leather jacket, with a simple white shirt underneath it. He wore dark gray dress pants held together by a black belt. A fancy orbal watch could be seen on his right arm. A stern look remained in his eyes as he pushed aside a bang of his short, brown hair.
"Good work as always. Thank you for making it a smooth ride for my daughter. It's never easy coming out of the capital like this.", The middle-aged man said.
"All in a day's work, Sir. Shall I get your luggage?", The butler asked.
"Please do.", The middle-aged man said, nodding his head. Receiving his next task, the butler went to the trunk and popped it open. A cold breath of air escaped from the brown-haired man's lips as he heard a second voice call out to him from further inside the orbal car.
"Brrr! It really is cold out, Daddy. Thankfully we're back home.", A voice of a girl said, reaching his ears. His gaze remained stern, not giving a smile to the new figure that stepped out of the car after him. This figure was a girl, sporting blonde hair that easily went past her shoulders. She had every right to be cold, as she presently wore a skirt that connected to her blouse. A stylish red beret could be seen on her head as a cold breath of air escaped from her lips the moment she said that. This girl was quite young, only a few feet tall in height. She will be turning eight years old this year.
"Indeed. Do you think you can go in first and heat up some coffee for me?", The stern man asked. He appeared to be the father of this girl. The moment the father asked that, the girl frowned.
"Again? You know drinking too much coffee is bad for your health, Daddy. I don't want you to consume too much of it.", The girl retorted with a cute frown over her lips. She even puffed her cheeks out a bit. The middle-aged man gently shook his head.
"I fear tonight is going to be another long night, unfortunately. Especially since we've received that bombshell of a news story last night. I need some time to think on how to progress things back at the senate in the coming days. The other senators were going all loopy on me back at the office today.", The middle-aged man said, tucking his shirt inside of his belt.
"The news from last night huh? You mean the one that made the headliner about our two neighbors' crown prince and crown princess getting engaged? That's so dreamy, isn't it?", The young girl said, clapping her two black mitts together. She was currently wearing them to keep herself warm. On top of that, she had a light green scarf currently draped over her neck. Despite wearing warm clothing, cold breaths of air still escaped from her lips.
"Haha, sure it might be considered 'dreamy' from your perspective, Agnès, but against a politician's perspective like mine, it is anything but. President Rocksmith already has enough pressure coming from the east with the growing immigration. Now we get tossed this curve-ball from the west. I do hope he can keep his head level with all this pressure coming from both sides now. No doubt it's a signal of our two western neighbors saying that they have formed an alliance. I know we currently have that trifecta treaty currently in its drafting stage, but I can't help but worry. I mean, why now?", The middle-aged man asked. His eyes remained calm, but a hint of worry appeared in them. A worry of what was to come in the future.
"So what you're saying, Daddy, is the implications caused by this sudden marriage isn't going to have a good outcome for us living in Calvard?", The girl asked, revealing a frown. The middle-aged man cracked a smile hearing his daughter ask that, proceeding to rub her head.
"You catch on quick. That's what I like about you, Agnès. I like that wit of yours. It's very possible President Rocksmith's head might turn more bald than it is already, haha!", The man said, letting out a rare bellow.
"I take it you need this time to recollect your thoughts then.", The girl wondered after hearing her father laugh for a good moment.
"Exactly. Make sure that coffee is extra black, no sugar. I need that bitterness tonight.", The man said.
"Okay! I'll go get it ready lickety-split!", The girl happily responded. She hoisted her small backpack over her shoulder, and proceeded to run inside. The butler chased after her and managed to open the door in time after carrying a large leather briefcase. Yet just as the girl was about to dash inside, the man called out to her. His eyes landed on the unique pocket-watch like device currently worn over her neck. It looked very ancient, and in its center was mostly blue. It had a plus pattern embedded in its center.
"Oh and make sure you don't lose that what's around your neck, Agnès, alright?", The man said, seeing the pocket watch-like device around the girl's neck wave back and forth as she darted away. The girl halted in place and looked back at her father.
"Okay!", She said, nodding her head, seeing the seriousness in her father's eyes. The girl named Agnès reached her hand upward, and secured the ancient pocket-watch device currently draped over her neck. Yet the moment she clasped onto the device, her eyes watched on as it began to light up. A blue glow began to encompass its center, specifically where the plus symbol was. Agnès suddenly paused her running, and came to a complete halt seeing her device start glowing.
"Huh?", Agnès tried to ask, blinking her eyes at the device, appearing to have activated. Or at least in a partial state. She was under the impression this device lost all of its orbal energy to even power on.
"Is something wrong, Young Miss?", The butler asked, catching up to Agnès. He too saw the device over Agnès's neck currently glowing, causing him to raise his eyebrows.
"Daddy, the weird device mother left me after her passing just started to glow!", Agnès yelled out, causing the middle-aged man's gaze to turn serious.
"What?", The middle-aged man asked, seeing his daughter turn around. He too saw the bluish glow now around her neck. "Do you feel any discomfort, Agnès?", The man continued to ask. His demeanor remained calm. Despite that, Agnès still became surprised hearing her father react like this.
Agnès tilted her head to the side to ponder for a moment, checking herself to see if she felt any discomfort from the device's glow. She quickly shook her head, denying the man's worry.
"I don't feel anything weird. How strange.", Agnès responded, which only sparked more confusion in her eyes. Hearing that, the middle-aged man soon turned silent, calmly observing the ongoing phenomenon.
'It's just like Claudel mentioned. I was originally planning to pawn this off to cut all of our remaining ties with the Foundation, but perhaps there's another play in store now...', The middle-aged man questioned to himself. 'What did those notes that were left behind call these things, the 'Oct-Geneses'?', The middle-aged man continued to ponder.
'It's just as described in those notes too. Claudel mentioned most of these devices were already lost. So why is the First Genesis activating? Does that mean there is now another one in play?', The middle-aged man continued. As he thought that, the bluish glow continued, and he looked back at Agnès again.
"Are you sure you aren't feeling anything right now, Agnès?", The middle-aged man asked again, wanting to see if his daughter had any reaction.
Agnès pondered to herself a second time after hearing her father reiterate his question. This time, the feeling she soon felt became indescribable. It acted as if this strange device was starting to pull Agnès's body in a particular direction. With this new sensation, Agnès began to turn her body around.
"Strange. Now I'm feeling as if this thing is wanting me to go somewhere. Would you happen to know where, Daddy?', Agnès questioned.
"Which direction do you think this device is tugging you at, Agnès?", The middle-aged man asked with a serious look.
Agnès turned silent again for a moment, and shifted her current stature toward a particular direction. Her back now stood against the mansion, which was also pointed toward Edith. With her boy now aligned, Agnès raised her finger, only to point directly opposite to where her back was currently positioned. Her finger pointed toward the endless roaming lands before her.
"Hmm. I think it's telling me to go this way! I have no idea how far though.", Agnès said, pointing toward a certain location, beyond the hillside they were currently standing on.
The middle-aged turned silent, tracing his daughter's finger. He could see a couple cities in the distance, with one being very large toward the horizon, off to the side. This particularly large city was Crossbell city, which was smushed in-between Erebonia and Calvard. Yet Agnès's finger seemed to be pointing beyond that city though, it wasn't pointing at Crossbell City. It seemed to be pointing toward the giant country that surrounded it, Erebonia.
'Agnès is pointing toward Erebonia...', The middle-aged man mused to himself. 'Is this device suggesting where another one of these so-called Oct-Geneses presently is? I recall seeing that mentioned in the notes too...How did that go again? When two Oct-Geneses came into play, they would slowly start to react to one another, making the other side aware?', The man continued to think.
'If that really is the case, I probably shouldn't pawn this off. Just what in Aidios's name were you keeping to yourself, Claudel?', The man continued.
The man then looked toward his daughter again. He knew she was becoming more distant with him as time went on. That was for good reason. After all, the man couldn't even raise his family as he focused mostly on work. Knowing that, he gave his own daughter up for adoption. After being guided by the protective services program, his daughter found a caretaker, whose last name went by the name Claudel. With his daughter now under the care of that family, he solely focused on governmental work with Calvard's republican office, being a senator.
Yet to his wildest dreams, this man had no idea the time that the wife of the Claudel family, was in-fact the Granddaughter of the leading figure of the entire Orbal Revolution, Professor C Epstein himself. The Claudel family knew of the existence of the Oct-Geneses devices, they were the very first prototype orbments created by Professor Epstein. Their sole purpose was to observe the state of the world. Through the efforts of these devices, most Arts that are known today were successfully created.
Sadly, Agnès's adoptive mother recently passed away, and the man began to focus his efforts on bringing his daughter back. He knew he was still a very busy man, so hopefully the maids and butlers he had presently hired could be enough to look after raising her, but he knew his distance between his daughter and himself was stretched.
Yet the man felt grateful, even after these seven or so years of absence, Agnès still acknowledged the man as her father. Her adoptive mother left behind the First Genesis to Agnès, which originally was supposed to be lost along with the others, but now, the man knew there is now a second Oct-Genesis device now in play.
The man could only ponder how to proceed with this newfound knowledge. Should he start trying to raise his daughter correctly, despite having clear signs of a wide bridge placed between the two?
The middle-aged man shook his head, clearing those thoughts away for now. He knew the device around Agnès's neck was the First Genesis, and the fact that there were a total of eight of them. The only question remaining was, which other of the eight was now in play?
He proceeded to look at Agnès again, who still had confusion in their eyes, observing the device that was now in a deactivated state again. He proceeded to yell something out at her, drawing Agnès's gaze back at him.
"Looks like there's nothing we can do for now, Agnès, so why don't you go inside and prepare that coffee for me?", The man yelled out, causing his daughter to nod her head.
"Okay!", Agnès happily replied. She then had one last look at the device around her neck. Seeing it unresponsive, she darted inside the large mansion. The butler looked at the man and bowed at him, before heading inside after Agnès vanished from sight.
The man was now left alone. Dark-gray clouds began to gather around the skies. Before long, one snowflake after another began to fall, and it started to snow. A calm, observant look remained in his eyes, yet at the same time, contained a hint of worry in them, as to what was to come in the future.
As to who this man was, he went by the name Roy Gramheart.
If there was any one person Naoto would have to worry about in the future, it would be this man standing here next to the orbal car. Presently, it was President Rocksmith who was Calvard's President. He would be in office for the next few years until Western Zemurian Trade Conference kicked off in Crossbell during Trails to Azure.
Roy would soon become discontent with President Rocksmith's half-hearted actions for Calvard during this period of time. In response to that, Roy would run for President, against Rocksmith's re-election.
That was how it went in the original Trailsverse, anyways. With things now progressing into a new stage, Roy was unsure how the future will come into play now. Should he try to build the lost relationship he had with his daughter now that he had a more secure grasp of what these prototype orbments were?
What Roy didn't know at the time was that his daughter, who went by the name Agnès Claudel, would eventually become entwined with Daybreak's leading character, Van Arkride. The two shared different last names, but that was because Agnès kept her adoptive other's name, both serving as a memento of her late mother, and to respect her mother's family. After all, Agnès would be considered the great-granddaughter of Professor Epstein, albeit not directly linked by blood.
And as the saying went, only time would tell if it would answer Roy's current doubt.
Taking a moment to himself, Roy collected himself, and headed on inside, closing the car door. The gate to their mansion began to automatically close, letting the family inside for the evening.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Aht
Aht Giliath demands your power stones!
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