Chapter 77 (2 of 2) How to thwart a plot to seek attention. (Patreon)

Lucille leaned out of her living room window, watching the last noble who had come for the event leave the Headquarters. Many of them met with her afterwards for business and other matters, but it was now time for the last of them to leave. As soon as they took their first step out of the garden gates…

Lucille slammed the shutters of the window closed and whirled around. “And good riddance! I intend to avoid all nobles for the next month as best as I can!”

Vincent, who was sitting on a couch, raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself. “I’m a noble too.”

“Yes. So please vacate my living quarters and stay away from the Commission for the following month, Vincent,” she replied cheerily.

He rolled his eyes as she walked forward to sit down on the couch with a smirk. Scytale was nearby, fiddling with some strange puzzle box toy a noble had gifted her as a present. She didn’t know why he bothered. It would be a fruitless endeavour for someone of Scytale’s brain size to attempt the puzzle.

As she expected, he scowled and threw the puzzle box against the opposite side of the room. It bounced back and he ducked to dodge the flying object. “Those things are stupid. ‘Amazing treasure inside’, yeah right.” He stood up and leaned his arms on the back of Lucy’s couch. “Anyway, Annaliese coming tomorrow?”

“She should be,” Lucy said as she checked her pocket watch. “Ideally, I would’ve told her to come slightly later so I have time to discuss things with the sponsored party, but…” She sighed and snapped the watch shut. “I assumed she would find a way to visit me anyway. I’ll just have to tell her to not bother the party members.”

“Oh, right…” Scytale jumped over the couch and landed next to her. “Lucy, what are you going to do about Trisroa?”

She opened her mouth to reply but Vincent interrupted with a hand on his chin. “The elf you’re sponsoring who has dual affinities? Is there something important about…” He paused as he recalled the first conversation they had about the elven mage and stared at Lucy. “Don’t tell me that she’s another figure like Hargrave that you wanted to make a connection with?”

“She was never wanted or a criminal, if that is what you’re asking.” Lucille picked up a cup to sip some coffee she poured for herself. “But she was a highly powerful figure, yes. She became a sorceress later in life, but if she chooses to remain a mage this time, then I won’t interfere.”

“Why do you even need to ‘gather’ these sorts of people?” Vincent asked with a bemused look on his face. “You saved Raegan, organised a contract with Hargrave, and you’ve also sponsored someone who has the potential to become an amazing magic wielder?”

Lucy hummed and studied the depths of her drink “To keep them away from certain… people.”

Vincent narrowed his eyes. “People?”

“Yes, people.” She closed her eyes and took another sip. “I’m not just supporting those with amazing talent, Vincent. If I wanted to do that, then there is a whole host of individuals I could support, from successors who became the future lords of their fiefdoms, to cultivators who have hidden Physiques that only get revealed later. The people I’m supporting now, however, are those who can reach even greater heights if the events of their past pay out differently.”

Vincent crossed his arms and thought about it. “Does that include Marellen Vadel? Was he an impressive mage last time?”

“Hm? Marellen?” She looked up from her coffee and blinked. “Oh, no. I had never heard of him before I met him in this timeline. I’m almost certain he died before he could reach Rank-3.”

“I- then why are you sponsoring him?” Vincent asked with mild exasperation. It seemed like he felt her answers conflicted.

Lucille smirked and rested her chin on her hand. “Vincent, I’ve long accepted the fact that not everything I knew in the past will be the same. If I sponsor one talent, then it’s possible that someone with greater talent that I’ve been expecting won’t reach their full potential. Sometimes, people just need the right opportunities, and what I’m doing right now is changing the opportunities.”

Vincent pinched his nose bridge. “Fine. I’ll just accept that I can’t understand your mental processes as I always do.” He sighed and adjusted his tie as he stood up from the couch, then glanced at her. “I need to talk the Gilded Dome Hall curator about the clean up measures. I’ll see you in a bit.”

She nodded and raised an eyebrow at her bond, who had walked over to pick up the puzzle cube. “And what are you doing, Scytale?”

“Going to see if Sedric knows his way around this stupid thing,” he muttered sourly.

“You may end up feeling more irritated in the event he solves it,” she remarked dryly.

“Nah, I’m smarter than that.“ he pointed at his head and grinned. “See, if Sedric doesn’t get it to open, I can gloat about how he can’t do it either, but if he does open it, I get whatever is inside because I’m not going to tell him there’s something in here. Win-win, see?”

She shook her head and finished the rest of her coffee. “Suit yourself. Don’t annoy him if he’s crafting, however.”

“Yeah, yeah, later, goodbye.”

He changed into his serpent form and flew out the door with the box in his mouth, leaving Lucille in peace. She hummed and stood up to walk over to the window, looking out.

It seems our ex-mercenary friend has returned. Should I greet him?

…

Lucille walked into the side lobby that she knew Hargrave had entered, waiting for him. Then something about him caught her notice and she turned to stare down the hall he was walking.

Honestly, I should’ve expected this, but…

Hargrave appeared around the corner, scratching his head. He looked up and blinked when he saw her. “Oh, hello, Lucille.”

“…yes, welcome back Hargrave. You look…” She didn’t finished her sentence and tilted her head.

Hargrave gained a confused look. “Has something about me changed?”

Has he not seen a mirror yet?

Hargrave’s haircut, courtesy of Annaliese, was still the same, and nothing about his facial features had changed. His hair and eyes though…

Several thick sections of his formerly blood-red hair had turned to a deep blue, and fragments of the same colouration had appeared in his amber eyes like splinters of other gems were mixed in. She could detect the powerful draconic bestial presence cloaking him like a suit of armour, but she couldn’t draw her attention away from his new hair colour.

He looked like a parrot. Specifically, a macaw.

“…nothing of consequence,” she eventually replied. “Was your trip successful?”

Hargrave looked down at his hand and clenched his fist. “I feel… much more powerful. And my race has changed,” he told her. “Although, the System has kept my original race as a human on my Status. It’s tagged dragon beast onto the end of it.”

“I see,” she replied with a smile. “I already received notice from the people stationed at the outpost that they’ll be sending the bounty of the fallen draconic monster over, but I’d like to check the Source and Bloodline Containment and Purifier to see if damage has been done to its internal mana circuits.”

He nodded and opened up his dimensional skill to pass her the source container sphere and the bloodline canister. Lucille held up the canister to inspect the lingering traces of purified blood still on it, and then she glanced at him. “No complications with the purification of the bloodline and dragon heart?”

Hargrave shook his head. “I overcame the residual will of the monster.”

So, in other words, he struggled fiercely and managed to erase the will of the monster after a long trying time, because he’s not someone who would ever admit to facing difficulty.

“Very good. Once you’ve had some time to rest, I might ask to see the new draconic bloodline magic you can use.” Lucille smiled at him. “That was one of the reasons for me to form a contract with you in the first place.”

He blinked, surprised, but Lucy waved the canister as she turned around. “I’ll take these to the vault for safekeeping. We never know what might happen if word somehow managed to leak out that you have successfully gained a bloodline using this device.”

“…right.” He nodded solemnly, Eolith still gripped in his left hand.

“Ah.” Lucy paused as a thought came to mind and she turned around. “Five unique individuals will be arriving at the Commission tomorrow. I intend to allow them to stay for a while. They consist of two mercenaries and two mages that I’ve been sponsoring, as well as their manager.”

Hargrave hesitated. “…mercenaries?”

“Larena Barbosas and her brother, Garthe,” she informed him. “Larena is a member of the Black Hand’s Shadow Blade Division, known as the Raven’s Wing. She wields a longsword and has affinities for dark and water.”

He thought about it for a while and shook his head. “I don’t recall ever meeting her.”

Lucy nodded. “Good. She won’t have any reason to suspect who you are either, because you’re now a ‘magical beast’ – or at least virtually indistinguishable from one. Just avoid using any abilities you’ve learnt from Glory Pantheon and you’ll be fine.” She glanced over her shoulder and then smirked at him. “I think Scytale wants to meet up with you. He wants to know what it’s like for you to become a magical beast, and he’s been itching to fight someone for a while. Use him as your training dummy when you need to test out your bloodline magic.”

“Ha…” Hargrave wryly shook his head, making Lucy blink as she realised he seemed to be amused by that. “Sure, I’ll go help him loosen up in a few hours.”

She smiled and turned back around to walk off. “Anyway, the reason why I was informing you of those guests is just so you know not to be too awkward around them. They’re all pretty easy people to be around, even the elven mage. You can relax.”

…

Once Hargrave had stored Eolith and his armour away, he ended up heading to Lucille’s living room because that was where Scytale most likely was. Scytale had been lounging sideways on one of the couches and raised a hand with his eyes closed to point at Hargrave.

“Let me guess… judging from the footsteps and the draconic presence I feel… it’s Hargrave, right?”

“Lucille would’ve told you that,” Hargrave stated, not fooled for one second.

Scytale clicked his tongue and sat up as he opened his eyes. “Come on, you don’t believe that I might’ve guessed that on my-” He stared at Hargrave when he saw the man’s new appearance.

Hargrave frowned. “What are you doing? Lucille reacted like that too. Is there something on my face?”

Scytale stood up with wide eyes and leaned to the side to shout out the door. “Hey, Vincent! Who let the tropical bird in?!”

“…tropical bird?”

Scytale turned back to Hargrave and jabbed a finger at him. “I’m talking about you, of course! You already had this horrendously uneven haircut, to begin with, and now you look like you’re ready to sprout feathers at any second. Never did I imagine you’d end up with blue hair!”

“I- what? Blue hair? Excuse me?” Hargrave was utterly bewildered.

“Are you blind?” Scytale asked, stunned. “Did you not see yourself in a mirror or reflection in a shop or something on the way here?”

“I didn’t… wait.” The ex-mercenary turned magical beast hastily looked around. “Is there a mirror or something around here?”

“I can do better than that.” Scytale smirked and snapped his fingers. His illusion mana appeared and turned into a reflective surface for the man, just as Lucy could do. “Come take a look at your new makeover, future dragon guy.”

Hargrave frowned and bent slightly to see himself in the illusory mirror. He stared when he saw the sections of his hair that had turned solid blue, giving his hair a patchy look reminiscent of the plumage of parrots. “What in the realms…?”

“I mean, as magical beasts our appearances are strongly affected by our affinities,” Scytale said, walking around Hargrave to see the man as he looked into the mirror. “So I get why you’ve got blue hair and blue in your eyes now. It’s because of your new water affinity. But wow.” Scytale burst out laughing and doubled over, clutching his stomach. “Red and blue hair? Really? Hey Hargrave, can you make a bird noise?” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Like this – Caw Caw!”

Hargrave scowled and lifted up part of his freshly dyed hair, only to drop it again. “I- but I don’t want this!”

Scytale blinked and straightened up. “What, you actually care what you look like? I didn’t expect you to have much opinion about that, looking at how long you left your hair before Annaliese finally fixed it.”

“It’s not so much the colour, it’s just…” Hargrave squinted at the mirror and then sighed, crossing his arms.

“It’s just…?” Scytale prompted.

Hargrave scratched the back of his neck. “This… will make me… stand out more.”

Scytale gazed blankly at Hargrave. “You’re kidding me,” he stated flatly. “You’re worried about standing out more?”

Hargrave frowned. “I don’t see a problem with that. I have a bounty on my head.”

“No, it’s not the fact that you don’t want to be noticed that’s the issue, but…” Scytale continued staring at him for a moment longer and then quickly shook his head and gestured to Hargrave. “Hargrave, buddy, not standing out for you was a lost cause from the very beginning! You’re a six-foot-six built-like-a-titan mercenary with a shocking hairstyle the colour of fresh blood and you wield a spear that anyone can tell with just a glance that it’s straight from the depths of hell itself! A bit of blue in your hair is the least of your problems.”

Hargrave hesitated. “…okay, but…” He scowled as he glanced at the mirror again. “I still don’t like this.”

“Welp, time to toughen up.” Scytale patted him on the shoulder and disintegrated the mirror as he sat back down. “The more draconic bloodlines and affinities you collect, the more your appearance will change. You’re going to end up with bona fide rainbow hair by the end of this!”

Hargrave buried his head in his hands. “…dammit.”

Scytale shrugged with a cheeky grin on his face. “A small price to pay for the power you want.”

The scarlet – and now blue-haired man ran a hand down his face. “This is why Lucille was staring at me when we met today, wasn’t it? And she told me this was ‘nothing of consequence’.”

“Hargrave, I highly doubt that you would’ve chosen to abandon the power of a dragon just because you discovered that your hair colour would change,” a woman’s wry voice spoke up.

Scytale and Hargrave glanced back to see Lucy walking into the room with a smirk on her face. She sat down on the opposite end of Hargrave’s couch, and soon a silver-haired aide walked in.

Vincent paused and gained a strange expression when he saw Hargrave. “Hargrave, you look… different.”

Hargrave could only give him a resentful look and then sighed as he rested his head in his hands again.

Vincent eyed the man with bemusement as he sat down next to Scytale. He studied Hargrave. “So, you really did become a magical beast instead of a dragon-blooded?”

“It’s… complicated,” Hargrave replied slowly. “I think I’m technically still a ‘human’, but I can become a magical beast at will.”

“Hmm…” Vincent observed his new appearance for a moment longer and then shook his head. “Well, at least this is another confirmation that Lucille hasn’t gone senile in her old-” He shut his mouth when faced with Lucy’s cold smile.

“I forgot to mention this to you, Vincent, but unfortunately you’ll have to stay here overnight to finish some work for me,” she informed him sweetly. “I hope you don’t mind the late notice.”

Hargrave glanced between them both with incomprehension. “How can Lucille be going senile when she’s younger than both of us?”

Lucy narrowed her eyes at her aide as Vincent chuckled and shook his head. The silver-haired man took off his glasses to clean them with a cloth. “You still have a lot to learn about this Commission Head here. I recall hearing that you intended to break off contact when seven years were up?”

Hargrave fell silent as a strange look crossed his face. “…around then, yes. Six and a half years left now, I guess.”

“Time will go by quicker than you expect,” Lucy stated. “Don’t rush to gain more bloodlines too soon.”

Scytale snorted. “Lucy, you’re really sounding your age right now.”

She shot her bond a glare as Vincent muffled his chuckles. Lucy sighed and rested her chin on her hand. “Well, for what it’s worth, I hope you’ve been enjoying your stay here,” she said to Hargrave. “I think the new hair colour suits you. You look less like a hardened murderer out for blood at all times of the day and more like a talented warrior of Glory Pantheon.”

“I’m not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment,” Hargrave said, looking bemused.

“Sure it was.” Scytale stuck his thumbs up. “And you’ll look ten times as good when you get your rainbow hair!”

“That’s-” Hargrave glared at the snake. “I’m going to end up with rainbow hair.”

“You will.”

“I will not.”

“Hey, I’ve been a magical beast for my whole life, and you’ve been a magical beast look-a-like for what, twelve hours? As a magical beast I’m positive that you’re going to end up with rainbow hair.”

Hargrave groaned and rubbed his temples. He was saved from having to deal with anything else out of Scytale’s mouth by a fifth member walking into the room.

“I came to see what all the fuss was about, but-” Sedric took one look at Hargrave’s hair and then turned to the others. “Has Annaliese snuck in here and dyed that guy’s hair when I haven’t noticed? That or he caught some strange disease that colours people’s hair. Is that a thing?”

Hargrave seemed to give up as he rested the back of his head against the couch, to Luc, Scytale and Vincent’s amusement. Lucy smirked and stood up. “No, Annaliese will be coming tomorrow. You should hear what happened from the mouth of the man himself. But I need to take my leave for a while.”

Scytale cocked an eyebrow as he watched her walk past Sedric. “Where are you going?”

She gained a slightly evil grin. “Oh, just to meet some acquaintances of mine. I’ll introduce you to them soon.”

___________________________________________________________________________

A group of five people stood before the intimidating marble and gold mansion. Two of the individuals were feeling much more overwhelmed than the other three.

“I feel nervous,” Marellen muttered as he brought his staff closer. “I still remember that the Commission Head knew about Archmage Merkenia. What do they want from us?”

“Eh~ I don’t know. Probably just chat, catch a drink-” Garthe casually replied.

Marellen gave him an incredulous look. “The Aurelian Commission Head would want to ‘catch a drink’ with us?”

“I for one am ready to meet our mysterious sponsor,” Roa announced. “She sounds like an intriguing individual and I wish to know her plans for us.”

Marellen turned to stare at the elf. “She?”

Roa quickly looked away and began walking forward. “Please lead us to them, if you would, Efratel.”

The blonde-haired manager grinned and stepped out in front. “Of course. Right this way, everyone! We’ll all be going straight up to the fortieth floor, the living quarters of the Commission Head.”

They walked into the side lobby until they found a lift and Efratel took out a black card embedded with a purple gemstone. Access was quickly verified and the lift shot up, taking them to the highest floor. He pocketed the card as they stepped out of the lift.

“Now, while you’d be unfamiliar with them, Roa, you don’t need to worry too much about formalities,” Efratel began cheerily. “I’ve had them tell me that they prefer for their first name to be used and as at least four of us are familiar with them before they became the Aurelian Commission Head, there is no need to stand on ceremony.”

“What do you mean, ‘four of us’?” Marellen stressed.

The other four turned to stare at him, and then swiftly turned away. “Are we close yet, Efratel?” Larena asked.

“We should be right about… there we go. Here.” Efratel knocked on the door of the study. “Count Goldcroft, this is Efratel Vadel. I have brought your sponsored party.”

“Come in,” the woman’s voice replied.

Marellen gained a strange expression, but Efratel pushed open the doors. They entered and then took in the appearance of the young girl sitting behind the desk with her boots kicked up on top. In her white-gloved hands was a gold-tipped cane, and her suit pants were as violently violet as her one visible eye. Her black hair reached halfway down her back and her fringe obscured her eyebrows, while a leather-like mask covered the right side of her face.

The woman took her boots off the desk and stood up, still holding her cane. She gestured broadly to them with a wide smile on her face. “It’s been a while, Larena, Garthe, and Marellen. You too, Efratel. And…” She dipped her head in the surprised Roa’s direction. “A pleasure to meet you, Roa Winteridge.”

There was silence for a few seconds as Garthe gained a broad grin and Larena smirked, but Marellen simply raised his hand and pointed while staring at her. “You!”

“That’s right.” Lucille smirked and pointed at herself. “Me.”

~~~~~~~

Posting on Wednesday and Friday vs Monday and Friday won by a smidge. Guess that’s the schedule folks!