Despite our late night, I still find myself waking early. This body doesn’t need much sleep to function, heh. I carefully untangle myself from my wife’s arms that unconsciously fight to keep me close and ease out of bed. Bell comes scampering into the room as I stretch, quickly opening the blinds before appearing at my feet, a glass of water in her tail. “Coo~” Good morning, Master Lou.]

“Hey, Bell.” I take the water from her. Bending down, my eyes catch sight of them invitation, the fancy paper forgotten next to the balcony door. Focusing, I craft a spell and release it. My distance variable is a little off and the updraft I summon throws them into the air at the wrong angle. “Cheh.”

Bell, the helpful little imp that she is, quickly dashes to snatch them out of the air, bringing them to me. I take them between two fingers, like one might hold a soiled rag, frowning as once again frowning at their possible implications.

I’m not sure what the baldie is planning but I refuse to believe this is as innocuous as he wants to make it seem. I’m not about to forget that the man accused me of one of the worst crimes in the kingdom, an offense that could have gotten me killed.

The question is, do I want to attend and shove whatever plan he’s cooking up down his throat? Or should I just ignore him like the pest he’s shaping up to be. That should hurt his excessive ego nearly as much as embarrassing him in his own home.

The invitation is fore Fireday. That gives me time to decide. Hopefully, the qualifiers will be over before then. I’d hate to think this is him trying to ruin my chances of becoming an acolyte.

“Put these away somewhere,” I tell Bell before shifting to my elemental form. I can feel a hungry little gaze on my but I ignore my favorite imp, changing back to my prime form before getting ready for the day.

The smell of breakfast already permeates the house as I make my way to the dining room. Earl is setting the table. He looks up after placing a plate, immediately straightening. “Good morning, my lady!” he greets with extra vigor.

“Morning, Earl.” I look him over after taking my seat. Mm, that uniform does look good. Then again, Cosmo’s colors, may he be forever glossy, look good period. “Did you have a good night?”

“Very good, thank you for asking.”

“Any interesting dreams?” Am I going to regret asking this? He is a young, teenage boy. Is this house, with influences like Geneva and my wife about, who knows what’s going on that head of his? On the other hand, the boy barely does anything but work and study.

Saints, he may be my young steward but he’s barely more than a child himself. I’m kind of hi guardian too, aren’t I? Maybe I should be helping him look for a hobby. Or some friends his own age. Salvage some of his fleeting childhood.

“I dream of serving you, my lady,” he says with an innocent smile.

It takes quite the effort not to grimace at his words. Yeah, definitely need to get this boy out of the house. “That’s great. You do a great job, by the way.” Gold is valuable but appreciation is priceless. “The house always looks great and I’m sure Geneva’s lessons can be difficult.”

“Everything she does it to make me a better servant. I am always grateful for instruction.”

Something about his responses…ah, forget it. He’s happy, he looks healthy, and he really does a great job. Whatever my succubus is doing to him, it seems to be working wonders. I shouldn’t dig deeper. After all, I’m sure if I do, I’ll find something I don’t like.

“How’s Anna?”

“Good. She’s begun helping me in my duties around the house.”

“No need to work her too hard.” She’s still a kid.

“Thank you for your concern, my lady.”

Geneva enters the room with a tray full of steaming food and a glass pitcher of water. As she sets it in front of me, Earl bows and departs. Ah, was he waiting for her to appear? I vaguely recall my father saying a good servant never leaves their master unattended. Saints, he’s becoming a true professional. Another display that convinces me that I don’t need to meddle in Geneva’s affairs.

Bell leaps onto the table and grabs one of the sausages, nibbling at the end of it adorably. I put my chin in mu hand, taking a moment to enjoy the sight. “I’ve got a job for you, my little helper.”

She looks at me. “Coo?”

“I need you to contact Cloud.” Cloudy Blood Moon, who prefers to be called Cloud, the friend I made during my ‘punishment’ for fighting Samuel. A tamer-in-training for the Temple, the group in charge of the Beast Sanctuary.

Frankly, I think the Temple is a group of crazy monster worshippers with strange naming conventions, but Cloud’s great. Unconventional, violent, shameless, and a whole host of other things, but tons of fun. If not for Alana, she’d easily be my best friend at the Hall. Still might be, if the future saint finally makes up her mind. “Invite her to accompany me to Howie’s this Restday. It’s for work but the rest of the night is free.”

During a night of fun, I got wrangled into doing a favor for the grumpy goblin. With his actually magical brewing, which may as well be alchemy, the bartender is constantly plagued by the guilds who want to pay him for his services.

Unfortunately for them, he could care less about the glory of monster slaying, preferring to put all his energy toward his art.

Unfortunately for him, hunters are stubborn bastards who don’t take ‘no’ well.

With an expedition into the Bleak Peaks being planned, the guilds once again pestering him for his cooperation. However, for once, they came with a proposal that Howie is at least considering. They want to discuss in more detail. The goblin is nervous having a group of hunters with an agenda in his bar and had the brilliant idea of hiring someone to protect him.

Someone being me.

Squaring off against a handful of the strongest fighters in Quest doesn’t sound like my idea of a good time, but I have my reasons. Chief of which being I can’t have any harm coming to the stingy goblin. He’s the best brewer in the city, maybe the kingdom. I’m certainly not going to stock my cabinets with common swill. Everything else Harvest may as well be piss in a bottle.

Mushrooms. Who’d have thought?

Then of course is the expedition itself. The Bleak Peaks. Since the founding of the kingdom, Fort Victory has stood against the horrors beyond the mountain range. A military outpost so large it became its own city.

Victory has always been involved with anything related to the Peaks, either leading the charge into the land of snow or serving as a staging ground for expeditions led by other parties.

The James family has controlled Fort Victory and the surrounding territory for as long as anyone can remember. Their land is expansive and prosperous, thanks to its many mines, but no has ever tried to contest their control. With their wealth and authority comes the duty to fend off the most dangerous monsters on the continent.

If one day, saints forbid, the Lords of Winter descend from their lofty thrones and decide to quash humanity, Fort Victory will serve as the first line of defense, the Victory duchy as the battlefield.

The James are famous, known for their heavy knights, the strongest foot soldiers in the kingdom, and their legendary stubbornness. After countless failures, they have never given up on their dream of conquering the peaks.

Not for any conventional reason that spurs most conquests. The land is inhospitable, so they don’t want to expand their territory. I’m sure there’s plenty of natural resources in the mountains, but not enough to justify the loss of life. It’s a grudge, pure and simple. They’ve been getting their asses handed to them for centuries and they won’t rest until they achieve victory.

Those insane knights are also Alana’s family, though from her account they’ve hardly treated her as such. The woes of being the unwanted daughter of a mistress. Despite that, she’s inherited their grudge. She wants to be the one to conquer the Bleak Peaks one day, going as far as asking me to go with her. Which, being the complete softy I am in the face of my ‘girls’, I quickly agreed to.

As an initiate, she has no business getting anywhere near this expedition. She’s got a sensible head on her shoulders. Really, I have no reason to be concerned. No one in their right mind would let her attend that expedition but my life is a series of unfathomable events.

I’m keeping an eye on the situation. Just in case.