Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 116

Jayden’s reply was satisfactory. He didn’t give too much information, nor did he give too little and make them suspicious. It was just enough. And his status as an assassin would also explain his desire to avoid a large conflict during his last visit.

He still needed to be on guard around Alissa though. If she was similar to Jayden she was probably drawing her own conclusions from small details. From what he could tell though, the two were vastly different.

“I see,” Diana turned back to Jayden. “I still think that you should reconsider. It goes without saying that I don’t expect you to help me for free. Once we complete a small task I will give you the tools you need to get five high-grade monster crystals.”

Diana’s words had an obvious effect, and it was clear that Jayden was interested. “Miss Diana, out of curiosity, how small of a task?”

“I want to conquer the entirety of the noble’s territory,” she said casually.

Dante took a very subtle step away from her. It was bad enough when she just reeked of blood, now she was crazy too.

Jayden’s head tilted to the side, pondering this new challenge. “I assume that you have more mercenaries than are stationed in this valley?”

“I can get a little over two million in total,” she said. “But it will take me a few weeks to gather them. Also, once I stabilize my position in the noble’s territory I can add another million combatants to our rank and secure any supplies that we might need.”

Jayden looked at Dante awkwardly, clearing his throat. “Dear brother, I’ve heard that the noble’s territory can be quite relaxing due to the lack of combat Classifications. Why don’t we take a small vacation with miss Diana?”

Dante crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”

Jayden looked back to Diana. “I am afraid that I must decline.”

Diana took note of Dante for a second time, and there was no longer any interest in her gaze. Now she looked at him like he was an obstacle. After a moment she returned her attention back to Alissa. “Your brother said that you have other siblings, do they share your Strategist Classification?”

Alissa’s smile slipped. “They do, but we don’t keep in touch.”

Diana crossed her arms over her chest and let out a sigh. Obviously experiencing a setback.

Her behavior made him curious. “Is it that hard to find a Strategist?”

Diana looked at him incredulously. “Yes. They are practically nonexistent in the outer regions. If I hadn’t heard news of Alissa’s Classification I wouldn’t have travelled such a distance to come to this valley.”

That only made him more curious, but Dante held off his questions in favor of asking either Jayden or Victoria in private. Instead of speaking he tapped Jayden’s leg with his foot and looked meaningfully at Addison, who had for the most part remained silent since they entered the room. Which was likely a wise move on her part.

Jayden took the hint. “Dear sister, a friend of ours happens to be down on her luck and is relocating to your magnificent city. Do you think that you could accommodate her?”

“Of course,” Alissa said as she looked toward Addison. “Just speak to Henry. He should be waiting for me in the in the hallway behind us. He’ll find you an available room and help you acquire any supplies that you might need.”

“Thank you,” Addison replied. “I’ll get out of your way then.”

Without looking back, Addison walked to the hallway Alissa pointed out and left the room.

Dante looked between the three people he had been left with. Jayden was bad enough on his own. And he still didn’t know what to make of the other two. “I should probably go with her, I haven’t see Henry in quite a while…”

Jayden protested, but Dante ignored him as he walked out of the room.

Addison was waiting for him in the connecting hallway. Henry was also there but the two had yet to interact. And the other old man was gone, likely seeing to something else.

She was rubbing her eyes and taking deep breaths as she stood with her back against the stone wall. “I can’t stay here.”

Dante glanced at Henry, the seneschal seemed content to mind his own business. “Why not?”

Addison ceased rubbing her eyes to look up at him. They were red, as though she was holding back tears. “I just can’t.”

This wasn’t something he was prepared for, Addison was on the verge of a breakdown.

After standing silent for a brief moment Dante took a deep breath and walked over, standing beside her on the wall in a manner that he hoped was reassuring. “It’s not that bad.”

“It’s not that bad?” she laughed dryly. “My father is dead, I have no family, no friends, and now I’m relying on the sister of someone I hate. How is that not bad?”

That did seem quite bad.

“You don’t really hate him.” Probably. “And Alissa seems nice, I’m sure that the two of you could be friends.”

Addison took a deep breath, glaring at him as she did so. “I’m not going anywhere near her. She’s the same as Jayden.”

That was a sentiment he approved of.

Dante paused, unsure of what to say. “This city is full of refugees that are in the same situation as you, and all of them seem happy. I would just give it a chance.”

Not getting a reply, Dante then walked over to Henry, nodding in greeting. “We are going to be staying in Sloria and need accommodations.” He was careful to use ‘we’ so Addison couldn’t outright refuse. Once she calmed down he could worry about getting her settled.

After watching everything that had taken place, and discovering that they were friends with the First Lady’s brother, Henry knew what to do.

“Certainly,” he said, shifting his attention toward Addison. “Please follow me miss.”

Dante followed Henry, furtively glancing at Addison as they walked. It was hard not to be surprised by how much she had changed. Sure, she had always been something of a pushover. But she never seemed so weak.

They were escorted out of the large stone building and led to a mansion-like estate nearby. The estate was gated, with guards patrolling the perimeter. By the looks of things the area was specifically for housing, likely either Alissa’s residence or a space that was set aside specifically for guest.

The housing area itself was entirely made from wood, which was an extravagance in Sloria. It wasn’t a really a single large building, but several smaller ones of varying sizes that were jointly connected. Each of which had a courtyard as their main feature.

Dante and Addison were both given their own ‘residences’ within the estate. He didn’t check Addison’s room, but his was fully furnished, which was convenient.

After making it there, Dante had no intention of leaving. He did consider looking for Leah and Candice, who he had a decent relationship with, but thought better of it in favor of waiting for Jayden to finish. They needed to talk. Also, he didn’t want to accidentally run into Addison for the moment.

So, he made use of his time by crawling into the provided bed. Two days of straight flying was tedious. He also recalled Shade, who he had ordered to hide after the guards apprehended Jayden.

After the fox’s stealth ability developed, it was useful, but not in a fight.

Well, moderately useful. The ability was similar to Kayla’s. Turning Shade into something that resembled a shadow. Good for hiding at night or in shaded areas but almost useless in broad daylight.

Dante awoke to Shade’s mental warning. The fox was now curled up beside him, it’s head perked up and ears straining out. Someone had entered his courtyard, and a quick glance told him it was Jayden.

Jayden entered the small room, looking rather perky. It made Dante want to pummel him, especially after what he had been put through earlier. But he thought better of it. From past experience he knew that it wouldn’t change Jayden’s personality. If anything, he would just whine about it for several days.

As Jayden entered Dante sat up. “Seriously?”

“My apologies, dear brother. I didn’t mean to exclude you in the discussion earlier.”

Deep breaths… “That wasn’t what I was talking about. I meant that you didn’t warn me we were visiting your sister.”

Jayden waved his hand dismissively. “Had I told you, you wouldn’t have come.”

After a brief moment of introspection, he realized that Jayden was likely right. At least in the short term. He would have at least finished with Jace first. He was filled with far more trepidation when it came to the First Lady and Sloria in general now.

“By the way,” Jayden said. “You should watch yourself around Diana. From what I know of her, her skills are a direct counter to yours.”

Dante’s brows knitted. “Really? In what way?”

“One of her skills can pull mana out of her surroundings to help form a weapon. It should disrupt your teleportation skill. She has been using it to sweep across the Wastelands for the last year and a half.”

Jayden didn’t sound too impressed by the skill, but he thought it was pretty interesting. If it disrupted his skill it would disrupt others, which made it an excellent counter to a variety of Classifications.

“Is it rare?”

Jayden shrugged. “Moderately. She is from the noble’s territory and one of the noble Houses there passes down a Sapper Classification that steals mana in a similar way. Though she is from House Ailloss, so I imagine that she inherited the Classification from someone who married in.”

Dante groaned, slumping back into the bed. “As soon as Victoria gets back, we are leaving.”