Mid Afternoon (Next Day) - Late Fall : The Forgotten Islands

- Amphitrite Ouranós ~

"So, I heard you were summoned to Bahamut." My eldest daughter, Zafeíri, gave me a serious look as she walked up next to me. "What's it for?"

The window we stood in front of was built into the side of an underwater cliff that overlooked a massive, lush reef. It was a place I would go to when I was stressed since it let me watch the fish without scaring them away. "You know of Holcyon Aetos, right?"

"Is that the judge or the judge's kid?"

"The judge himself."

"Then, yeah. Why?"

I paused as I turned back to the window to watch a small buckfish swim through the reef like it owned the place. "Holcyon started a case several days ago that accused me of using or giving away one of my divine-grade artifacts without reporting it to the Elder Hall." I paused as I watched the confident buckfish swim over a small opening in the rock where it was turned to mince meat by a lurking predator. -He really doesn't realize he's only a big fish in his part of the ocean, huh...-

Interrupting my thought though, Zafeíri gave me an unconvinced look and shifted around the barrel of Piotita she had been sucking on like a piece of candy. "An artifact hoarder like you used one of your most prized possessions? Yeah right. You couldn't think of a better fake story?" She seemed confident that I was joking.

But even though I was being serious, her confidence made me smile. "Hey, first of all, I'm a collector, not a hoarder. Second of all, I did use one. His case is very legitimate."

She jolted immediately. "Huh?! Did you get possessed or something?" She immediately pressed her wing against my neck with a worried expression. "Were you blackmailed? Did you get into some life-threatening situation?"

Her childish nature was slipping out, which brought back some old memories, but now wasn't the time to reminisce. "You think someone could blackmail me? You should know better than anyone that I'm one of the strongest dragons alive."

"But if that's not the case.. w..what made you use one?" Her worry may have looked over the top to some, but it was actually well warranted.

My divine-grade artifacts were akin to family heirlooms that I would rather die than use. -But not all of them are like that...- "Let's just say I took an opportunity to improve the relationship between our family and someone much stronger than us." -It's not like we knew how to use that thing anyway.-

Zafeíri wasn't satisfied with my explanation though. "So you went behind the Elder Hall's back.. to bribe someone with one of the artifacts you treasure more than your own life?" She looked at me like I was crazy. "I guess even dragons can grow senile."

-To think her tongue would get so sharp after she became an ancient...- "Who said I valued it more than my life? That thing might as well have been a shiny rock to me. If they didn't ask for it specifically, it would have just sat in our treasury forever."

Her eyes went wide immediately. "WHAT?! What divine-grade artifact is worthless, especially to you?! You could buy entire nations with the money you've spent on some of those things!"

"The 'ghost' artifact, sweetie." -I guess I can't be too surprised that she has forgotten about it...- "It's the one we didn't even know existed until we reorganized the vault all those years ago."

She froze the moment I gave her a refresher. "Ah.. that thing? I guess that makes more sense..." There was a short pause before she straightened back up. "Was that thing really divine grade?" I thought you just told me that to keep me from messing with it..."

"According to the only record we have of it, yes, but I'm almost positive that rank was given because there was simply nothing known about it." Simply put, it was an artifact no one had ever managed to get working and was made using technology not native to this world. -I'm sure it caused all sorts of trouble when it was first found, but now, all sorts of similar, useless 'artifacts' have been found...-

Although I knew some of them weren't totally useless after using the 'ghost' artifact, it was also a fact that I had no clue what they did or how they worked. -But as long as I can strengthen my relationship with her by using them, I should try and collect more...-

But before I could finish my thought, the entire cliff vibrated slightly. *Thump* "Huh?" -Were we expecting a visitor?-

"What was that? Is someone here?" Zafeíri looked just as confused as me.

"It felt like a fairly large dragon landed up top.. but I'm not sure who it could be..." I finally stood up after a short moment of thought. "I will go check who it is. Stay here for now." Slowly making my way over to the back of the room, I changed to my humanoid form and made my way up a small spiral staircase.

Once at the top, I walked into another massive room and changed back to my dragon form to open the door. *creeeaakk*

The moment I opened the door, I was met with a cool oceanic breeze and a stunning view of a massive, 105-meter-tall dragon covered in beautiful mint-colored scales that changed shade and glistened in the sunlight.

He was someone I recognized instantly, but his identity only made things more confusing. -Leander? Of all people.. what is he doing here?- "Well, that's a face I haven't seen in a long time..."

"It has indeed been a while, Miss Ouranós. I hope you have been well." His voice was calm and soothing, like that of an old sage.

"So, what brings you here?" Although I was a bit nervous that I was about to be wrapped up in something troublesome, I figured it was unavoidable.

"I have come to ask for a favor as someone from the same generation..."

Confusion washed over my face right away. -He wants me to do him.. a favor?- Although there was a point in time when we talked fairly regularly, we never had much trust in each other. -So is it a favor with too much risk to give someone he trusts.. or...- I was already suspicious. "I am all ears..."

His green eyes stared into mine for a moment before he eased his gaze and spoke. "About the case that Holcyon Aetos opened against you. I need you to stall your presentation of evidence as long as you can."

I was taken aback before he even finished talking. "W..what?" -The head of the Intelligence Agency wants me to.. commit 'deception'?-

Leander was a prideful dragon, more so than almost anyone I had ever met, but at that moment, he was lowering his head and asking me to commit a crime punishable by execution.

Even if I was really worried about losing the case, it was a low I wouldn't stoop to. -This case isn't hard enough to win to risk getting executed...- "I hope you have a good reason..." My gaze turned hostile in an instant.

"I do. Although I cannot disclose many details currently, I have reason to believe that the Aetos family has broken multiple rules set during the reformation of Bahamut 10,000 years ago. From what I can tell, their influence and corruption run deep throughout the upper branches of our land, and because of such, I cannot risk you losing your case against him yet." He paused to look up into my eyes again. He was completely serious.

-He.. isn't exaggerating...- Just seeing the extent to which he was going to stop the Aetos family made me worried. "However, I will not lose the case. I see no reason to-"

"I will get Asimi Ragnarok to assist you in delaying it, and, should you agree, I will give you the two northernmost islands of The Forgotten Islands."

My eyes widened immediately. -The two northern islands?- They were the only islands I still needed to acquire before I could finally say I owned the entire Forgotten Island archipelago. They were islands I was ready to pay a fortune for. -What an.. enticing offer...- "How do I know I will receive both islands? As far as I know, Kalfas still owns Rematra." (The larger northern island)

"Myles still owes me quite a lot, and he doesn't care for the land, so if I tell him that giving it to you would clear a large portion of his debt, he'd give it up in a heartbeat." He spoke with too much confidence for it to be a lie.

I stood there in silence for another moment as I thought about it before finally caving into his suspicious deal. "Alright. How long do you need me to stall?"

"At least two weeks from now."

I grimaced instantly. -Oh boy...- It wasn't an impossible amount of time, but it was longer than I was hoping. "I will see what I can do."

Leander's serious expression didn't budge at all even after I agreed. "In that case, I wish you luck. Please be careful."

"Haah.. I will, don't worry." Although I said that, I couldn't deny that I was quite nervous about it all. -I guess I need to start thinking of a story...-

-

- Asimi Ragnarok ~

"Ugh..." It was the middle of the afternoon when I woke up to a feeling of discomfort in my chest.

"Is something the matter, Miss Asimi? I expected you to sleep for another day." Doris's young cheerful voice filled the room before I could even gather my thoughts.

"Haah..." I let out a sigh as I glanced toward her. "I just feel like something bothersome is about to happen..." It had only been a few days since I started my break from the Hall, and although I should have had a few more, my gut was telling me that wouldn't happen.

*Thump* I felt the ground vibrate slightly just as I started thinking about what could happen.

-That sounded heavy... Is it Myles?- "Doris, could you please go see who just landed?"

She was quick to give a cheerful nod and disappear through a door before returning a moment later with a complicated expression.

-That look...- "It was Myles, wasn't it..." I felt like my anxiety was confirmed immediately.

"Ah.. no, that's not the case."

-Huh?- "What? Then who was it?"

"Uhm..." She hesitated before bowing toward the floor. "Leander Sofos has come requesting to meet with you, Miss Asimi..."

In an instant, my face flushed with confusion. -L..Leander is here in person?!-