ACT IV
RESTLESS HOLIDAYS

CHAPTER 97
THE BROKEN PRIVILEGE

  As Hans mentioned Delimira's taste, Hodges smiled and nodded, which caused him to feel uneasy. But ignoring him, he sat on the soft sofa seats, feeling happiness in his rear. After spending several days on hard bedding and wooden floors, he welcomed the comfort of the sofa. Now that he could only wait, he turned his attention to the Command Centre and began exploring it, hoping to uncover more about this so-called onion, which every layered peeled surprised him more and more.

He uttered,
COMMAND CENTRE

And like it was waiting to respond, the light slab appeared right before his eyes, with the familiar things written on it.

  According to the interim administrator perk, the time to summon the next Ingress was now only twenty days. Hans pondered over various strategies that might help him unlock more privileges. He recalled that he had activated SCAN by unknowingly activating an artefact, and INGRESS had been activated when he passed through the SpaceDoor.

  There were many things he could try, but his thoughts were interrupted like everyone else as Delimira descended the stairs in human clothes. The butler cleared his throat again, reminding everyone to return to reality, staring at his Young Lord to do the formal deed. Hans looked at him in annoyance and commented,

"Your throat must be hurting Mr Hodges, you should see the healer."

"I can't just leave this mansion in your hands, seeing you are still ignoring the manners, Young Lord"

"Aagh," Hans grunted, "for fu-"

Hodges interrupted, stopping him in the middle,
"You are at the mansion, Young Lord, please hold down your bad habits inherited from Count a bit"

Hans sighed and formally introduced her to the household, saying,
"She is Delimira, heir to the Winters company and Lady Sierra’s only disciple, take care of her with that in mind."

  All the present servants greeted her warmly, and as someone who never shied away from attention, Delimira confidently descended and requested that everyone treat her well in return. Until now, she had ample opportunities to wear human clothing but had always preferred the traditional Elven dress, which was close-fitting to the skin with metal work on the edges. Her current attire, an evening gown, was simple yet elegant enough to captivate people's attention, especially with its perfect fit for a young noble lady of human society.

"What's stopping you?"

Hans glanced at Hodges and replied,
"I suppose it's my mother-in-law."

  Delimira let out a brief chuckle but quickly suppressed it as the reality of the situation dawned on her. Despite the comfortable atmosphere, this place was vulnerable to assassins since it was only protected by a Dominion Knight. She couldn't help but worry that the good people around her might become collateral damage if an attack were to occur.

  Meanwhile, Hans, oblivious to her concerns, struggled to eat with elegance under Hodges' scrutinizing gaze. He seemed to pay little attention to his guest's worried expression and Hodges sighed seeing his lack of interest in his guest and asked her,

"Is something troubling you, young lady?"

Hans finally paid attention to her and said to her,
"Don’t worry, no one is insane enough to barge in here... Xandor is an exception though but I don't think he would come."

  Despite his attempt to calm her down, it seemed that his own words had made him uneasy. Various thoughts were swirling in his mind, and the fact that his grandfather was not responding to the orb was particularly vexing. To prevent himself from developing any anxiety-induced indigestion, he decided to ask Hodges a question.

"Are you still unable to contact Count or Lady?" he asked, both to comfort Delimira and to put his own mind at ease.

Hodges answered, declaring,
"We won't be hearing from him sooner, young Lord."

Hans asked him jokingly,
"What? Did he get arrested or something - "

"Yes," Hodges confirmed, nodding his head

  "Hey! Hey! I was just joking," Hans said dumbfoundedly, he jested to lighten the mood but it became true. He asked the head butler what happened and the butler sighed, " People were just forgetting him as the so-called Bewitched knight and he just had to refresh that memory." He looked at the two kids who were staring at him for more information. So he relayed what he received after Aldrich went to pick them up. "Our maniac Sir Count attacked Reinhart's duchy and trashed a building with an attack dangerous enough to decimate a city. Do you think the king will take it lightly so right now, Count Rudolf is on house arrest at the capital."

This was worrisome news, Rudolf was strong but not enough to take on several higher-grade warlords under the Grimgar nation. As Hans was thinking this, Hodges said in assurance,

"Oh don’t worry, he would be receiving royal treatment there. The king just took him because the aristocrats were not shutting up. Lady Sierra and Vanessa almost collected all the evidence, he would be home soon."

Hans took a breath in relief but he did not know why that happened so he asked the head butler what Delimira was also thinking,
"Why? Why did he do that?"

"From what I heard from the official statement, someone commissioned assassins for his dear wife’s disciple. Seeing his wife in anxiousness, the Bewitched knight turned mad and wrecked the assassin guild, only a single one survived his wrath to tell the tale."

  Hans and Delimira were agape from bafflement because it was not just exaggerated but it crossed the line of commonsense for them, but it was the only thing people were talking about “The Return of Bewitched Knight” and it was all thanks to a madman named Dijkstra.

  Hans burst into laughter, clenching his stomach hard, thinking of what a weird way the story has escalated. Meanwhile, Delimira’s anxious feeling disappeared because she knew with a story like this no one in their right mind would try something, at least not for a while. She finally got relaxed and asked Hodges to contact her mother, Hodges handed her the communication orb and she went to her room.

  As Hans saw her leaving, he finally attacked the snacks in front of him. Ignoring Hodges every plight to the boot, since most of the day was already spent, so soon the night came and both came to the dinner table. The mishap in Frozen Tooth might have erased some awkwardness between Hans and Delimira but there was not much to talk about between them without Chris so they only ate silently and went early to sleep.

AT CONCORDIA

The night had just begun and Sierra was working on some documents with Vanessa. Suddenly the communication orb lit and she heard a familiar voice from that side answering it.
"Greetings, Lady Sierra."

"Are the kids sleeping, Hodges?"

"Yes, they were tired."

"Did something else happen?"

Hodges thought for a bit and replied,
"Young Lord came back with Parvian attire and with their way of travelling too."

"Was Arat with them?"

"No, according to Aldrich, the young lord called the space shift on his own. He is regaining his father’s authority."

Sierra massaged her temples and asked,
"Is he alright?"

"Yes, for now, but I am sure everyone had seen that flashy way of transportation, soon the words will travel - "

"Well, I hope Rudolf’s blunder will cover this up."

Hodges added,
"Yes, it is my first time feeling that he turned mad at the perfect time. Can I ask, when you are coming back?"

"Tomorrow morning. I have handled things here and sent the evidence to Grimgar too. Rudolf will be released shortly."

"Mind me asking," he hesitated a bit and said, "I don't think the official statement is legitimate, what really happened?"

She sighed and said,
"I will tell you with the children tomorrow, good night Hodges."

AT FROZEN TOOTH

  After spending two days fighting and eliminating every last Evil monkey in the village, the Parvian Entourage rediscovered the fact that even with these natives being a handful, why they survived to date. They had formidable warlords and warlock-level entities, hidden away for ambushes.

A knight finally beheaded the largest evil monkey with the Battleaxe and asked Arat in loud voice,
"Hmph..hmph… did you know where the prince is hiding?"

  Arat had a hunch but he did not have the chance to confirm it till now because Evil monkeys were not giving them any breathing room. He realised Hans’s plan when he caused the dogfight between Parvians and evil monkeys but now his suspicions were realised. He started laughing madly and said,

"It looks like we are robbed of our artefact"

"So did he run away?" the knight asked, cleaning the blood from his axe.

"Yes, he managed to get away, this put the rest of our plans to hold." Arat said, chuckling in frustration "Damn it, this was a golden chance to entice him."

The twelve people beside him were exhausted and the scenery of the native’s corpses was not idle to discuss things, but Arat pulled something else from his robes and said,
"This would have been perfect to help him in making his decision."

  All members of the party were fixated on a large golden crystal that Arat held in his palm, its size so immense that it could not fit into a single hand. This crystal was a sunstone, an object of such immense wealth that it could buy a small city. However, for Hans, the value of the sunstone lay not in its wealth but in the power it possessed and the special connection he had with it.

The female mage who had helped Hans and Delimira in the cave asked,
"What now, Prime Minister? A chance like this won’t come again."

Arat was rubbing his temples and declared with a grim voice,
"It looks like we need to go to Concordia next year."

***

NEXT : ANOTHER INHERITOR

ACT IVRESTLESS HOLIDAYS CHAPTER 97THE BROKEN PRIVILEGE As Hans mentioned Delimira's taste, Hodges smiled and nodded, which caused him to feel uneasy. But ignoring him, he sat on the soft sofa seats, feeling happiness in his rear. After spending several days on hard bedding and wooden floors, he welcomed the comfort of the sofa. Now that he could only wait, he turned his attention to the Command Centre and began exploring it, hoping to uncover more about this so-called onion, which every layered peeled surprised him more and more. He uttered,COMMAND CENTRE And like it was waiting to respond, the light slab appeared right before his eyes, with the familiar things written on it. COMMAND CENTRE Status : Connected Terminal : 05IRIS Name : LittleSun Health: 100% Clearance level : Interim Administrator PRIVILEGES SOLAR BODY : INCOMPLETE SCAN : it allows you to scan various things even a person and give the relev INGRESS : it allows you to call the space shift beam and transport you to the locations under the area covered by the terminal. It also allows you to take over a SpaceDoor and manipulate the destination. Usage : Once a month Interim Administrator perk reduced the Usage to 20 days You have used your chance, time remaining for the next Call is 19:23:51 LOCKED. According to the interim administrator perk, the time to summon the next Ingress was now only twenty days. Hans pondered over various strategies that might help him unlock more privileges. He recalled that he had activated SCAN by unknowingly activating an artefact, and INGRESS had been activated when he passed through the SpaceDoor. There were many things he could try, but his thoughts were interrupted like everyone else as Delimira descended the stairs in human clothes. The butler cleared his throat again, reminding everyone to return to reality, staring at his Young Lord to do the formal deed. Hans looked at him in annoyance and commented, "Your throat must be hurting Mr Hodges, you should see the healer." "I can't just leave this mansion in your hands, seeing you are still ignoring the manners, Young Lord" "Aagh," Hans grunted, "for fu-" Hodges interrupted, stopping him in the middle, "You are at the mansion, Young Lord, please hold down your bad habits inherited from Count a bit" Hans sighed and formally introduced her to the household, saying,"She is Delimira, heir to the Winters company and Lady Sierra's only disciple, take care of her with that in mind." All the present servants greeted her warmly, and as someone who never shied away from attention, Delimira confidently descended and requested that everyone treat her well in return. Until now, she had ample opportunities to wear human clothing but had always preferred the traditional Elven dress, which was close-fitting to the skin with metal work on the edges. Her current attire, an evening gown, was simple yet elegant enough to captivate people's attention, especially with its perfect fit for a young noble lady of human society. As Hodges led her to the seating area, he silently commended his own excellent taste, a mumbling voice that was clear to Hans's ears. Shortly after, the evening snacks arrived, and Hans was eager to rush to the table and devour everything in sight, but Hodges' unrelenting gaze prevented him from doing so. And noticing Hans's restraint, Delimira asked him curiously. "What's stopping you?" Hans glanced at Hodges and replied, "I suppose it's my mother-in-law." Delimira let out a brief chuckle but quickly suppressed it as the reality of the situation dawned on her. Despite the comfortable atmosphere, this place was vulnerable to assassins since it was only protected by a Dominion Knight. She couldn't help but worry that the good people around her might become collateral damage if an attack were to occur. Meanwhile, Hans, oblivious to her concerns, struggled to eat with elegance under Hodges' scrutinizing gaze. He seemed to pay little attention to his guest's worried expression and Hodges sighed seeing his lack of interest in his guest and asked her, "Is something troubling you, young lady?" Hans finally paid attention to her and said to her,"Don't worry, no one is insane enough to barge in here... Xandor is an exception though but I don't think he would come." Despite his attempt to calm her down, it seemed that his own words had made him uneasy. Various thoughts were swirling in his mind, and the fact that his grandfather was not responding to the orb was particularly vexing. To prevent himself from developing any anxiety-induced indigestion, he decided to ask Hodges a question. "Are you still unable to contact Count or Lady?" he asked, both to comfort Delimira and to put his own mind at ease. Hodges answered, declaring,"We won't be hearing from him sooner, young Lord." Hans asked him jokingly,"What? Did he get arrested or something - " "Yes," Hodges confirmed, nodding his head "Hey! Hey! I was just joking," Hans said dumbfoundedly, he jested to lighten the mood but it became true. He asked the head butler what happened and the butler sighed, " People were just forgetting him as the so-called Bewitched knight and he just had to refresh that memory." He looked at the two kids who were staring at him for more information. So he relayed what he received after Aldrich went to pick them up. "Our maniac Sir Count attacked Reinhart's duchy and trashed a building with an attack dangerous enough to decimate a city. Do you think the king will take it lightly so right now, Count Rudolf is on house arrest at the capital." This was worrisome news, Rudolf was strong but not enough to take on several higher-grade warlords under the Grimgar nation. As Hans was thinking this, Hodges said in assurance, "Oh don't worry, he would be receiving royal treatment there. The king just took him because the aristocrats were not shutting up. Lady Sierra and Vanessa almost collected all the evidence, he would be home soon." Hans took a breath in relief but he did not know why that happened so he asked the head butler what Delimira was also thinking,"Why? Why did he do that?" "From what I heard from the official statement, someone commissioned assassins for his dear wife's disciple. Seeing his wife in anxiousness, the Bewitched knight turned mad and wrecked the assassin guild, only a single one survived his wrath to tell the tale." Hans and Delimira were agape from bafflement because it was not just exaggerated but it crossed the line of commonsense for them, but it was the only thing people were talking about The Return of Bewitched Knight and it was all thanks to a madman named Dijkstra. Hans burst into laughter, clenching his stomach hard, thinking of what a weird way the story has escalated. Meanwhile, Delimira's anxious feeling disappeared because she knew with a story like this no one in their right mind would try something, at least not for a while. She finally got relaxed and asked Hodges to contact her mother, Hodges handed her the communication orb and she went to her room. As Hans saw her leaving, he finally attacked the snacks in front of him. Ignoring Hodges every plight to the boot, since most of the day was already spent, so soon the night came and both came to the dinner table. The mishap in Frozen Tooth might have erased some awkwardness between Hans and Delimira but there was not much to talk about between them without Chris so they only ate silently and went early to sleep. AT CONCORDIA The night had just begun and Sierra was working on some documents with Vanessa. Suddenly the communication orb lit and she heard a familiar voice from that side answering it."Greetings, Lady Sierra." "Are the kids sleeping, Hodges?" "Yes, they were tired." "Did something else happen?" Hodges thought for a bit and replied,"Young Lord came back with Parvian attire and with their way of travelling too." "Was Arat with them?" "No, according to Aldrich, the young lord called the space shift on his own. He is regaining his father's authority." Sierra massaged her temples and asked,"Is he alright?" "Yes, for now, but I am sure everyone had seen that flashy way of transportation, soon the words will travel - " "Well, I hope Rudolf's blunder will cover this up." Hodges added,"Yes, it is my first time feeling that he turned mad at the perfect time. Can I ask, when you are coming back?" "Tomorrow morning. I have handled things here and sent the evidence to Grimgar too. Rudolf will be released shortly." "Mind me asking," he hesitated a bit and said, "I don't think the official statement is legitimate, what really happened?" She sighed and said,"I will tell you with the children tomorrow, good night Hodges." AT FROZEN TOOTH After spending two days fighting and eliminating every last Evil monkey in the village, the Parvian Entourage rediscovered the fact that even with these natives being a handful, why they survived to date. They had formidable warlords and warlock-level entities, hidden away for ambushes. A knight finally beheaded the largest evil monkey with the Battleaxe and asked Arat in loud voice,"Hmph..hmph did you know where the prince is hiding?" Arat had a hunch but he did not have the chance to confirm it till now because Evil monkeys were not giving them any breathing room. He realised Hans's plan when he caused the dogfight between Parvians and evil monkeys but now his suspicions were realised. He started laughing madly and said, "It looks like we are robbed of our artefact" "So did he run away?" the knight asked, cleaning the blood from his axe. "Yes, he managed to get away, this put the rest of our plans to hold." Arat said, chuckling in frustration "Damn it, this was a golden chance to entice him." The twelve people beside him were exhausted and the scenery of the native's corpses was not idle to discuss things, but Arat pulled something else from his robes and said,"This would have been perfect to help him in making his decision." All members of the party were fixated on a large golden crystal that Arat held in his palm, its size so immense that it could not fit into a single hand. This crystal was a sunstone, an object of such immense wealth that it could buy a small city. However, for Hans, the value of the sunstone lay not in its wealth but in the power it possessed and the special connection he had with it. The female mage who had helped Hans and Delimira in the cave asked,"What now, Prime Minister? A chance like this won't come again." Arat was rubbing his temples and declared with a grim voice,"It looks like we need to go to Concordia next year." *** Announcement NEXT : ANOTHER INHERITOR