[LitF] 43. Unstoppable Progress (Patreon)

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[A/N: We're back!]

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Arthur let his mind work at full speed, and the world seemed to move slowly as the Bello ominously approached the League's awakener.

The middle-aged guard had short black air and brow eyes. His handsomeness was a testament to the stat points he had invested into his body. From what Arthur felt with his life authority, the guy was a purist; he hadn't unlocked his mana at all, and his mind stats were nothing to be proud of. Furthermore, he had recently significantly invested in vitality and was having trouble controlling his cravings.

Someone like him shouldn't be working on anything that dealt with the public. His presence here was a statement by the League, but it could mean anything, from not having enough scholars to spare at Avaria's borders to considering level 15 warriors as a show of force, thus not caring about offending anyone.

The prince used his metal domain to disable the turrets. He scrambled its inner wires, and the machines became useless. He couldn't do anything similar to the tunnel's enchantments, but he was prepared to erect a metal dome around his people at the shortest notice.

Then, the unexpected happened: the guard checked Sophie's level.

Arthur guessed it because the man's eyes widened in worry. He then looked at the other passengers, and his concern became fear. When he rechecked Sophie, there was recognition in his eyes. He knew who she was and might even have seen a recording showing her easily putting armored awakeners like him down.

The man stepped back in dread and gulped.

Sophie parked her car in the yellow-marked rectangle on the floor. The League awakener stood to the left, and three unawakened stood to the right, wearing white uniforms with the League's symbol. One had an ID checker, while the other two held notepads. A notepad holder started writing on it while inspecting the vehicle. The remaining unawakened looked confused at the guard, who stayed silent and didn't hide his panic.

Arthur hoped the man was behaving like this because he either feared the four or had been told not to do anything stupid, not because he had been told he would eventually fight them but found himself alone.

The prince decided to expedite things to avoid issues and took his LID out. He offered it to the unawakened with an ID checker. The guy looked uncertain at the still-silent awakener before grabbing the LID, slotting it into the rectangular thin metal tool, and asking Arthur to touch the embedded crystal pad with his finger. The prince did as told, and a moment later, a crystal stone shone green, confirming the LID was his.

The unawakened with the second notepad grabbed the LID and copied some information before returning it to Arthur. "Thank you, sir," he said. He glanced at the League awakener. Still nothing. "Next, please."

Less than a minute later, Sophie and the others were also verified.

"Uh... Purpose of visit?" the notepad guy asked.

Tamara replied, "We're here to destroy—" but was interrupted.

"Business," the awakener interjected, speaking for the first time. "They're here for business."

Arthur had let the League know why he was coming, but these unawakened weren't aware of his goal. Their inability to recognize the four also suggested that they were purposefully kept in the dark about some events in the world at large.

At long last, the prince witnessed the League doing something right.

Human Commander Terrell was part of the Free Fate Movement, so those who would rather not see the dungeon gone would've gotten word about Arthur's intent. That was no reason to make it easier for the entire FFM to get word of it. The fewer people in the know, the less likely anyone was to have time to interfere.

"Notify the Border Commander at once about these esteemed guests!" the awakener added, then bowed his head respectfully—albeit stiffly—to each of the four before telling Tamara, "Lady Lauquenbur, Joint Command invites Lord Boria for a meeting at his earliest convenience. They await in Vallesh. It's the closest city from here, twenty kilometers ahead." He paused, then stuttered, "If it's n– not imposing of me, I was also ordered to ask f– for an answer."

Ah. So that's what was going on. The League was scared.

This guy had been placed here not because he was dumb or to offend the prince. He was here because he was disposable. Sending elites to meet Arthur was a show of respect, but wasting efficient elites would be foolish. These level 15 people were the highest leveled awakeners the League could do without.

This certainly also doubled as a test to the arrogant guard, which he had passed. He hadn't cared about flexing his power over everyone, which was bad but not the main factor being assessed. Even with his vitality-fueled urges, he controlled himself when needed. That was crucial when fighting monsters.

"You were trained in basic manners," Tamara pointed out, her voice chilly. "There are mistakes, but my master appreciates the effort. Yet, the League didn't deign to contact us these past days. Why?"

The guy paled. "I– I wasn't told, L– Lady Lauquenbur."

"Make a guess."

He gulped, glanced at Graham, grew even whiter, and replied, "L– L– Lord Graham is a l– level s– s– sixty-eight g– grand knight. No one wants to d– disrespect him."

Arthur had revealed Graham's level in North Lake. The prince hadn't ordered the knight to make his level visible to the other awakeners there, but it was only polite of him to do it to confirm his liege's words. Yet, no one had acted this afraid back there.

"So?" Tamara demanded as if reading Arthur's thoughts.

"S– Some..." The guy took a deep breath to control himself. "We... Level sixty-eight is high, but most see it as just three times as powerful as level twenty. Even knowing you came from the past... Most of us didn't understand what that meant. What being a grand knight meant. Joint Command briefed some of us."

"What did Joint Command say?" Tamara inquired.

"Lord Graham had access to top-notch training, exceptional combat skills, and enough crystals to push some of them to C-tier or higher. He even... He might even have enough achievements to improve his stats by twenty percent of what his level says. And his grand knight armor is comparable to the best we have. Reportedly, he might be able to defeat hundreds of untrained level forty-nine awakeners in direct combat."

Tamara grasped the opportunity to get information that the guy so gullibly gave her to ask. "You're making him look unbeatable. Certainly, with enough numbers and the right tools, you could kill a single awakener, no matter how strong."

The awakener paled again. "I would never assume to attack Lord Graham!"

Tamara opened her mouth to keep talking, but Arthur raised his hand to stop her. This was enough. The guard had likely shared information that Joint Command would rather not share with Arthur for now. Further questioning might make the guy outright betray the League out of fear. It would be in poor taste on Arthur's part.

The prince said, "Inform Joint Command that we accept the invitation. We'll head to Vallesh now. We expect to meet with them within the hour."

The guard looked a little confused at Arthur's words at first. Despite whatever rushed training on manners he had received, he looked at Graham as if asking if the grand knight agreed with the boy's words. It took the guy a few seconds to situate himself and remember Arthur was the group's official leader.

"Yes! Of course. Thank you, Lord Boria."

That should be it, but Tamara couldn't resist her maid instincts and stated, "My master should be addressed as High Lord Boria or Prince Boria. Even Mister Boria, while not proper, would be better than 'Lord Boria.' Addressing him as a mere Lord is an underhanded offense to his High House."

The guard paled again. Arthur was starting to pity him despite his earlier bad intentions.

Tamara continued, "My master has chosen not to take your impoliteness as an offense, but it's not as easy for me to let go of it. Grand Knight Graham certainly feels the same—and that's how he is to be addressed while acting as my master's knight, not Lord Graham. Likewise, I would be Head Maid Lauquenbur. And it would be High Lady Brimstone for my master's suitress. As a matter of fact, I recommend Joint Command to spit on my master's face before they dare to offend High Lady Brimstone's High House as you offended my master. He is very protective of his suitress. I cannot stress this enough."

The prince guessed Tamara was revealing that bit of crucial information to test the League. The four awakeners would soon learn whether this guard had forwarded the word, it got to Joint Command, and they chose to heed the warning.

"I'm sorry, Lady– Head Maid Lauquenbur," the guy replied.

"I'm sure you are."

Sophie started the engine and drove the Bello forward. The unawakened workers had been staring in disbelief since the League awakener started speaking. Arthur pressed the button to close the Bello's roof and repaired the tunnel's turrets as they left.

"Relax for now," the prince ordered, "but beware of traps." He turned to Tamara. "Not even a high elf would be offended if they were called Lord or Lady without the 'High.' I even recall you addressing Sophie as Lady Brimstone."

"I did it because she personally asked it of me, master, but excessive familiarity among strangers has always bothered me. The rules of propriety were written as such for good reason. I couldn't fix the world's culture in the past, but maybe I can do something about it now."

The Treatise on Manners had been written by the four remaining Fated Races long before the Great War. It explained the cultural intricacies of every race in times past.

After the League was created, the treatise had been replaced with general and more fluid rules that merely prevented anyone from using propriety as an excuse to escalate a misunderstanding into an armed conflict. The elves had been very against it but understood the need. While a high elf might kill another for the slightest perceived slight, they were significantly more lenient to other races.

The prince changed the subject. "What do you think about having Joint Command wait for us? Or rather, for Graham."

Graham reacted to it for the first time. He scoffed. "To say I can kill mere hundreds of untrained level forty-nine awakeners. You should've told that guy not to offend me like that, Head Maid Lauquenbur."

"But his reaction when I mentioned attacking you was interesting, Grand Knight Graham. He believes the League could kill you. So, the League does have a way to kill someone as strong as they believe you to be. That they haven't tried yet suggests they would rather not use it if they can help it."

The knight sighed and nodded. "The most likely reasons for not making a show of force against me is that killing me requires expandable resources, takes longer to prepare than we gave them time to, or they aren't entirely sure it would work."

The prince nodded. "The world's current state of affairs lies between Howard's account and the books I read. The balance of power is close to tilting in the unawakened's favor, but the League would still win a war today, albeit tightly. They are this polite to Graham because while he isn't an unbeatable threat, they can see the trends and are desperate for help."

"Maybe not," Sophie interjected. "In North Lake, you claimed to be able to destroy the level ninety-five dungeon, but the Head of Operations was too nonchalant about it. He probably didn't believe you. But Joint Command might be wondering if you're hiding an absurdly powerful weapon, like that atomic bomb you mentioned—the one they stopped the unawakened from researching. That might be the reason they haven't attacked yet."

Arthur shook his head. "If they were that afraid, they wouldn't risk us getting close to Joint Command. No, they act respectfully regardless of their perceived superior strength because they are desperate for help. What you said also fits my theory. The help they want might be the secret to destroying the dungeon or laying their hands on a secret weapon. But they know we have mind-manipulation expertise and can erase our memories if they attack. They're trying to ask nicely first.

"That even explains why they didn't contact us before we got here. They are more powerful in this place but feared they might've said the wrong thing. We were already coming anyway. Now, they don't care much about how they approach, though they are trying not to overly antagonize us; Tamara pointed out how poorly trained the guard was. He should at least know not to address her as Lady Lauquenbur. Even if the League might've done it to test our reactions, it's telling that they are still willing to test us."

Other signs pointed at the League not caring too much about Arthur, like an awakener with trouble controlling his urges being stationed at the checkpoint's awakener lane, while those on the other lanes weren't suffering from a similar condition. However, the prince saw no reason to explain everything. It sufficed that he was confident in his conclusion.

At least the League wasn't attacking or outright offending Arthur. They had taken a step back and even showed some respect with small things. It meant a lot in an organization as big as this, with plenty of factions and people wanting to go in different directions.

Arthur was satisfied enough with it for now.

Time would tell if that would persist.

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* - * - *

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A hill range awaited on the other side of the border. Graham and Tamara had been growing increasingly emotive as they approached Avaria, and seeing the hills made their emotions a chaotic mess.

Sophie and Arthur had also been slightly anxious, but not as much. Sophie had never visited this far Southeast. Arthur had lived too little in the Golden Kingdom and never took in the views. He was always in carriages and mansions, dreaming about becoming a knight, uncaring of anything else.

Still, the prince was hit with melancholy. This was it. He was kind of home.

This land would've belonged to him. Every mountain, nook, and crock in sight should be part of his realm. It had been his birthright. He had never wanted it, but he had grown used to the idea and been prepared to fight for it—to the death if needed.

Then, his father gave it away.

Arthur would be feeling worse without his recent self-reflection episodes. He had cried after his first time with Sophie and during the concert. The emotional moments and realizations made him feel more centered than ever before.

So, he just went back to his books. He had one hour before the meeting, and who knows? That might be just enough to get that final comprehension percentage and find out what trait awaited him at the wisdom cap.

However, his reading was cut short. The broad highway to Vallesh was too well-maintained and empty. There were also no speed limits for awakeners in that place. The road didn't have a single curve, with heavily enchanted tunnels cutting straight through the hills, letting Sophie tests her Bello's limits.

She laughed happily as she finally found the carefree fun she had sought back in Luvy, and they reached the city's outskirts in less than five minutes.

"Lady Brimstone, that forest wasn't here in the past," Tamara said. "It looks like a frame of Lan'sh Qÿllil."

Sophie immediately slowed down. Arthur looked up, confirmed the massive forest just before Vallesh was a frame of Lan'sh Qÿllil, sighed, and closed his book. He could have kept reading, but it would've been disrespectful to his high-elven ancestry.

Respecting it turned out to be one of the best decisions of his life.

Avaria was surrounded by human nations, but it belonged to the League, and the League was a multiracial entity. That forest was the first elven touch Arthur saw. Its light-barked trees were tall and had been grown in angles and curves that made them shaped as symbols. Every symbol superimposed on another and created a unique aesthetic. It felt like stepping into a natural painting.

Lan'sh Qÿllil, the Elevation of Nature, had been a form of art in the past, but Arthur had never heard of any place like this.

Elves used different sets of symbols for different things. While only magic runes could do magic, elves insisted the High Runes whispered of the secrets of life itself. Here, aesthetically pleasing runes framed the High Runes, and depending on the observer's position, even aesthetic runes became High Runes. Magic runes were also here and there, creating an enchantment he didn't understand, but mostly present etched onto the trees themselves.

Arthur drank from it as he had drunk from the orchestra's music. It was similar but also different. The images didn't push him inwards to touch his emotions but pulled him outwards to connect with the entire world.

There was a mystical harmony in the cacophony of images that shifted as you kept going. They spoke of progress, the good and bad that came with it, and how it reflected life itself. The forest surrounded a road, and that natural canvas was meant to be appreciated on the move. Even the way some leaves had grown in places the artist had clearly not intended them to seemed to speak of life and its continuous march forward.

The smell of nature and the sheer amount of small lives Arthur felt in his domain added to the experience, mixing together to unveil mysteries hidden from those who couldn't see—truly see—the marvels around them.

And then, something unlocked in his brain.

His sense of self blurred as his mind expanded to take in all life and everything it meant. Not as a concept, but as part of him—and he as part of something so much grander.

Arthur was the tiny individual of the great weave and the weave itself.

Arthur was life.

The Higher Runes shared secrets of every form of life in the cosmos. They whispered intricacies and explained the connection between the broad strokes. He simultaneously understood the yearnings of worms, the hunger of birds, and the playful cruelty of cats. No, not cruelty. There was no judgment; it was just life in its purest form. Different expressions of a greater truth he had briefly grasped during his ascension.

This wasn't something as impressive or powerful as what he experienced back then, but the fact that it reminded him of it showed how wonderful it was.

In the back of his mind, the prince noticed he had improved his life comprehension by another percent. He swiftly added fifty points to wisdom—

His mind started working over three times as fast as a second ago, and he completely lost his sense of self.

Arthur connected every revelation with each other, everything he knew with what was new, everything with everything. Knowledge flowed into and was born from him in a feedback circle maintained by his blazing-fast mind. He matched the High Runes' assertions and his hypothesis against what he felt in his life domain, proving or discarding theories in real time. He became the perfect processor like no artificial chip could ever hope to be. His improvements in the concert also helped here, as he was building upon more solid foundations.

At first, he wasn't sure if the trees started glowing or if he was just perceiving them under a new light.

When they all shone so bright that he was blinded, he knew he hadn't imagined it.

Mana suddenly exploded all around him, and an instant-lived magical flame consumed every non-sapient life form in the forest. Mr. Mustache would've suffered the same fate if the road itself wasn't heavily enchanted and protected him.

Soot and ashes started falling from the previously tall trees. Tamara acted to stop it from getting in the car. Arthur couldn't have cared less.

The instantaneous change overloaded what remained of his mind. Due to his life authority, he had been every living entity in his domain. Due to the elven art, he had been the entire forest, albeit to a smaller degree. So, in a way, he had felt himself die.

Unlike in the ascension, he hadn't been only one thing dying at a time. Because of the ascension, he understood every individual death much better and could truly appreciate the implications of being a collective when he died this time.

Death had come unbidden, suddenly, and absolutely. That was true death. The ultimate death. The natural and uncaring face of the element he had the most trouble understanding.

Life had ceased in that place. All of the seemingly endless possibilities he had been glimpsing before were no more. If any of the beings now dead had been the last of their species, history itself had just changed fundamentally and irreversibly. The countless ages of evolution to turn a bacteria into a specific lifeform could've ended in ultimate failure in a single instant.

Life was an eternity of momentary struggles; Death was an instant of eternal oblivion. Life was an infinite expression of singularities; Death was the unique final equalizer.

Kalavor Shävyr; All are Equal in Death.

Yet, the remainings of all the surrounding Death were perfect for nurturing new Life. All Life had the same humble origin, the same need for something to fuel its existence.

From dust to dust, the eternal circle of Life and Death.

Arthur felt like his own mind was exploding. Everything he had sensed kept swirling in his mind. If anyone attacked now, he would be unable to defend himself. The sudden enlightenment consumed him. Life and Death spun in a never-ending cycle in his thoughts while he individually analyzed every bit of each experience—what he had felt before and after the forest was gone. Even where he had once focused too much on Life, like in a bird's hunger, he saw the underlying requirement of Death to sustain Life. That basic concept was no novelty to him, but now he could connect to it and feel and be it like never before.

Eventually, he hit an unforeseen obstacle: his memory.

He was learning so many new things that he simply didn't have space to store it all. A tiny part of his brain realized he had free stat points to spare and dumped it all on intelligence.

The prince's eyes were wide open, but he didn't see the car and those around him.

He was looking much deeper than that.

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* - * - *

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Arthur's senses returned to him after what felt like an eternity. He had a throbbing headache and was sweating profusely. Yet, a sheer sense of accomplishment overwhelmed any concern.

Fate's windows and notifications showed how far he had gone.

Arthur took a few instants to check on his gains—and maybe losses?—before anything else because knowing himself and his power was always a priority. He couldn't protect himself or those he loved otherwise. He inspected his body while going through Fate's messages.

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| Life: +1% → 50%

| +100 free stat points → 100 total

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「Achievement: Unstoppable Ascension

Tier: EX

Reward: +384 stat points

You reached 50% comprehension of your second element!

The mysteries of existence entice you, and you move forth with certainty. Nothing shall stop you from uncovering the truth of your elements. Where smaller minds fail, you succeed. Where weak minds stumble, you stride confidently. Where the indecisive hesitate to pay the price of greatness, you do what is needed to grasp it all. More and more, you understand what it means to be the master of your own fate. You see what others can only imagine, do what others can only theorize, and is what others can only dream of. You get ever closer to the grander fate awaiting you at the end of the road.」

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The achievement's description perfectly fitted his experience. Indeed, he understood that whatever price he paid to get his elemental comprehensions to 100% would be worth it. Even instinctively, he had pushed stat points into his intelligence to hold more information.

Well, whatever price he paid in stat points; he wouldn't sacrifice Sophie or even this shitty word for personal power.

The following windows and notifications were from after he used 50 points to reach max wisdom.

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「 Achievement: Boundless Wisdom VI

Tier: S

Reward: +192 stat points

You reached ten thousand points in wisdom!

History might be formed by countless causational facts progressively piling on each other—or be a lie that came to be the instant you also did. You might be experiencing real physical and metaphysical external stimuli—or merely the self-imposed illusion of a dreaming god-mind. You might be limited to interpreting the world from the shadows you see on the walls—or you might be casting shadows on your every waking moment. Philosophers question the legitimacy of the fabric of existence, but whatever the truth is, it matters not. You think; therefore, you are.」

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That was uncharacteristically eerie, not at all what Arthur expected from the last wisdom achievement. The philosophical questions suited the stat, though.

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「 Trait: Sage's Eyes

Stat: Wisdom

Grade: 3

Level: 1 — MAX

You can see through any movement.」

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Arthur would have to check what that meant later. However, he already knew what the Wise Inspection trait did at 3-1. The prince could tell the names of any object in a single glance; there was no need to wait any longer. He could also learn their composition in a much smaller period, though he would have to wait to see how long it would take to uncover an object's secrets.

After investing those 50 stat points, he had improved his life comprehension a little more.

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| Life: +4% → 54%

| +400 free stat points → 1,026 total

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The stated total included the 50 points remaining from the previous percentage and the points he had gotten from his achievements. Arthur had then used those points on intelligence and kept doing it for every extra point he got, so the following notifications' total was always only the extra points he received.

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| Life: +6% → 60%

| +600 free stat points → 600 total

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| Death: +14% → 42%

| +1,400 free stat points → 1,400 total

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That also netted him two new traits, Strength Beyond Self and Afterimage. Strength Beyond Self was effectively a short-range telekinesis based on his strength stat; at 2-1, he could apply 90% of his strength as a surface area as big as his hand anywhere within 3 yards. Afterimage let him create a ghost image indistinguishable from the real thing as he moved; at 2-1, he could form one ghost image at a time within 1 inch of his original position.

Arthur had improved himself to the point he unlocked new traits—with his domain alone. His life authority could improve any stat to precisely 1,116 points.

That was incredible.

Well, probably any stat. Even consumed by Life and Death, he had known better than to touch his intelligence. No messing with mind stats before he was absolutely sure he knew what he was doing.

He was confident he could push his stats further if he invested mana to compensate for his lack of understanding. However, using mana would've required more focus than he had had available during his enlightenment, so he hadn't used prehension magic.

His Knowledge is Power trait reached level 6. Now, any information he knew had to be at least four months old before the trait used it to determine whether a hypothesis he raised to himself was true or false. That wasn't enough to make use of what he had experienced during his ascension a little less than three months ago, but it was getting closer. The prince felt it would let him take another leap in comprehension.

Arthur found nothing wrong with him, felt confident he could fight if needed, and finally took in the world around him.

Night had fallen, but the light of the three moons was dimmed by the floating light orbs that had appeared beside the road. The air was dry and felt stale. The prince was still in the Bello, which had stopped in the middle of the road. A few feet of ashes covered all the ground in sight except the road, which was also enchanted not to get dirtied.

Traffic cones that shone bright and with rotating red lights blocked the road a few hundred yards away from the Bello on both sides. A few dozen awakeners in standard plate armor stood between the cones, all between levels 10 and 15. They were relaxing, unhelmet, talking to each other and not looking anywhere in particular. They were there only to give credence to the blockade.

Sophie had put her battle maid armor on and stood on top of her car's hood, daggers at hand, ready to fight. Graham was also back in his armor, standing behind the vehicle, guarding that direction. Tamara had a hand on Arthur's wrist and was the image of a worried healer but was, in fact, ready to grab the prince and flee if anything happened.

His people felt different, but why?

"Master?" Tamara asked, full of worry and wonder.

Then Arthur realized it. Their stats. None of them had a single stat below 1,116 points any longer, except for their mind stats.

Sophie's strength and three magic stats had improved from around 600 points. Tamara's magic stats had been at 500 points. And Graham's vitality had been at 401 points, while his magic stats had been only at 100 points.

That's why Graham felt younger yet not. He had gained over two hundred years of lifespan. He would slowly rejuvenate in the following days, though he would never look as young as if he had increased his vitality before aging.

Arthur hadn't disconnected any of Tamara's stats before this. In the dungeon, Arthur had tested things on Graham and then focused on improving Sophie. Now, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Arthur could do magic without intent strings. She had felt his authority in action within herself. That explained the awe in her eyes.

The maid saw something in his eyes and said in High Elvish, "Your gratitude is misplaced on me, master. Grand Knight Graham and I had no choice but to acquiesce to your desire to prehend us." She misnamed the magic he had used to give any eavesdropper less information. "You were insistent and forceful about it despite the visibly painful rebound you got when we repeatedly refused." So, getting refused when disconnecting a stat eventually did harm to him. "We had to accept or risk you injuring yourself."

Shame filled the prince. "I'm sorry," he said but didn't dwell on it. Instead, he sighed and sat straighter. "We'll discuss matters in depth later. Status report?"

"You got into a trance when the forest burned, master. We engaged in high-alert mode. The League arrived within minutes and blockaded the area. Neither party said anything, but there were a few stare contests at first."

Arthur nodded. "But why am I still here?" For all purposes, he had been rendered unconscious. He should've been moved to safety; this place was too open and easy to access.

Tamara smiled sadly. "The Lifeflux, master." It was the first time she used that word. "It pertains to personal matters linked to ancient high-elven secrets. I'd appreciate it if you let me explain it privately. But I assure you I would've gone against the Lifeflux if you seemed endangered by external elements."

The prince nodded. He was confident she wasn't lying—and that she was worried he might doubt her. "Alright. Are you okay?"

"Yes, master."

"Sophie? Graham?" The two had calmed a little when they first heard his voice.

"Yes."

"Yes, sir."

"Good," Arthur said as he stepped out of the car. The League seemed to have surrounded the Bello for the prince's convenience, but he wouldn't talk to potentially hostile awakeners while sitting in a vehicle. It was safer to be on his feet. "Tamara, it seems every House Head's most dreaded time has come."

She smiled, almost chuckling. Most of her remaining tension left her body. "It looks like it, master."

"What are you talking about?" Sophie demanded.

She was the most nervous of the three. She had no experience dealing with unexpected situations like this, much less when he didn't understand what was happening.

Arthur smiled. "Don't you remember Tamara's lesson, Soph? Every House Head dreads the most to apologize to people likely to take advantage of it. And it looks like we are late for our appointment with Joint Command."

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