Elias opened the door carefully and slowly. No reaction from inside.
Prepare for a fight, he told Elias internally.
Understood.
He widened the door fast, stepped in, and saw nothing. Their hostage was also missing.
Does that mean he escaped?
The food you left for him is untouched, Elias observed.
Yeah, it seemed that way. The hostage knew Aero mana, so he could have escaped anytime he wanted. Honestly, it was better this way. Joshey didn't think he could willingly let the guy go, nor did he want to carry him all the way to Oakhaven. If the hostage showed up again, he would handle it then.
You know you have a severe head injury, right? Elias reminded him.
Oh, right. His fight against Gorvan had left him with injuries. But didn't Vale say...
She said you're still recovering. She only accelerated the healing process a bit.
Right, right. Well, let's just check around before we leave, in case we forgot something.
Joshey looked around the room. Then he went inside the bathroom.
When he saw what was there, he was completely petrified.
Damn. Talking about crucifixion.
Their hostage was nailed to the wall, his body completely gutted. There was also blood writing on the wall saying:
"YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED"
What the fuck... Was this the work of someone else? If not, then they had murdered their own man.
It's possible they did this because he was disposable, Elias said. According to that Michael guy, that seems to be the case.
Possible information leak. That might have led to this.
Joshey moved closer to investigate. Flies were already gathering. The man must have been dead for days. The blood on the wall was very dry.
What a shame. He lived a very short life.
I'm not even sure he was living.
It was better to leave soon, just in case. Should they report this?
Yeah, Elias agreed. But this place looks like a lawless city anyway. I'm not sure they care. We'll report it to Sylvaine when we get back.
Yeah, that sounded better.
Elias went to pick up Minna.
"Alright, it's time we go."
"Yay! Going to Elias's house!"
Joshey thought to himself: People would have put me on a suspicious list if this was the world I came from. But apparently, carrying children around in this world isn't wrong. They can even be traded. I'll probably just hand Minna over to Sylvaine when we get back.
(Back at Oakhaven)
Anya asked the others, "When do you all think the proprietor will return? It's been a while since we saw him."
Sera shrugged. "Well, he doesn't have to be present, you know? I'm pretty sure he's busy."
Melan cut in. "Or just lazy."
"Melan."
"What? He's just a child, averaging around sixteen or seventeen. What could he even possibly achieve at such a young age?" Melan crossed his arms. "His only leverage is the Mana Codex, which happens to be his adoptive mother."
Melan was harsh, but the others didn't really agree. Elias had always appeared to be such a nice person. In this line of work, seeing a teenager open a business wasn't rare. Many imperial lords' sons opened infirmaries and shoe making businesses under their father's or mother's name. Mostly fathers'. But Elias had signed his under his own name. He wondered why he was allowed to do that, but it didn't matter now.
(Back at Tasty Tavern)
Sylvaine was at the diner's back, calculating the tavern's expenses, when another telelink reached her.
"Your Grace, we have safely deployed soldiers around the whole area. We are proceeding to capture everything in the Granary. Your permission is needed."
Sylvaine sighed. "Oh, that sounds bad. I'll advise against involving everyone. Maybe go around questioning them, but actually trying to take everyone in would violate lots of rules and protocols. I know this situation involves the daughter of His Grace, but indulging in this case recklessly could cause a war between nations."
"Although I understand," Aldric said, "how can we necessarily keep this a secret from them?"
He was trying to find a way to sweep this under the rug, but they would need a big broom to handle this kind of situation. Sylvaine was the only one who could get it.
"I understand," Sylvaine replied. "We will get back to the situation at hand. For now, just put the whole place under surveillance. Vale will know what to do, and I will send her a telelink. If she doesn't do this work... Elder Vynthor, is that alright?"
"This will work, alright. Till next time, Your Graceship," Aldric said as he cut the telelink.
Sylvaine was left in a bind.
"So if not for Elias's involvement in this, a lot more would have happened, huh?"
She was rather happy to know that Minna was safe and sound and doing alright, and that she wasn't hurt. Maybe she would have to mess with her memories just in case she had a terrible experience there. But until then, the situation didn't seem to be too much to handle.
(Back to Elias)
It had been more than three hours already, and Minna was asleep.
Damn. I hope I can give her a good meal when we get back, Joshey thought.it's been 8 days since Joshey reincarnated into Elias.
(Sylvaine's Perspective)
During the buzzing hours at Tasty Tavern, Sylvaine's diner, Sylvaine was observing the place and watching what her workers were serving when she heard a loud boom.
But no one else in the tavern seemed to have noticed. She wasn't shocked, given that her senses were far greater than most. She quickly walked out and told her assistant to look over the place.
She looked around and tried to figure out where the sound had come from. To her shock, it was from Elias's hut.
She ran quickly. She was fast, but if she was careless, she could run into someone and kill them. So she ran fast but efficient.
She reached Elias's hut, which was relatively two blocks away.
She came inside. Elias was already on the ground, collapsed.
For the first time in a century, Sylvaine felt fear. She was worried that someone had come into this place and killed Elias. She bent down and started calling out his name vigorously before he opened his eyes and answered.
She felt intense relief. Even more relief when she found out that it was his doing. He was now capable of mana engineering. Something he couldn't do since the day she adopted him from that slave house.
Sylvaine opened her eyes. She then sent a telelink to Vale, but Vale didn't respond.
"I haven't even built a connection with Elias yet, have I? I've only taught him basics, which he learned quickly, but nothing beyond that. This unnecessarily dangerous thing he went on to do... I should probably scold him too... No, no. What if he reacts wrongly to it?"
Sylvaine worriedly kept talking to herself.
Then X sent her a telelink.
"Master, it's been a long time. How are you doing?"
Huh? Who?
"It's me, Master. I am [censored]."
"Ohhh, color me surprised. How have you been?"
"I've been fine. Being a hero isn't as easy as you can see."
"Yeah, I bet. Are you currently taking on a task?"
"No, I'm at a hotel in Aldoria. Pretty peak performance they have here."
"Wasting money on that won't really help your case, [censored]."
"I take on dangerous, chaotic missions most times as a hero, so I deserve to spoil myself."
"Understandable."
"Hey, you sound pretty stressed out. Is anything the matter, Master?"
"Yeah, well... it's my... the boy I told you about."
"Oh, Elias? How's the kid now? I hope he's fine."
"He is. But recently, he was able to grasp the basics of mana engineering and can now use it. And his first call was to go on a mission to rescue God knows who and what. And I'm hearing things about someone planning to steal the Power Reactor of the planet's grid," Sylvaine said.
"Holy shit. Sorry, Master. It's tough raising a kid nowadays. They get power, and they want to use it to show off. Haha."
"He isn't showing off exactly, but his whole demeanor changed a bit. He was a lot more self preserved and, well, kept to himself. Well, I'm glad he is more open and more bold, but when it comes to one's life, you can't be too careful, you know."
"Yes, I will find any means to support you from over here. If possible, I'll come visit the little guy. I haven't ever seen him before."
"Haha, alright. Take care, [censored]. It was nice talking to you."
"You too, Master. And don't stress out. It's normal for kids to be rebellious at some point. Just make sure that he is safe from time to time, okay?"
"Alright."
(Hours later)
Wow, Joshey thought. It's only been days, but it feels like I have been away for over a year now.
Joshey came down and carried Minna on his shoulders.
Due to leaving his things behind at the Granary, he came back empty handed. He paid and went on his way. The first person to greet him was Lena, who usually took the night shift often.
"Hmm, was she expecting me?"
"Welcome back, Lord Elias. I was sent to escort you over to the Tasty Tavern. May I have your things?"
Ah... they were expecting me after all.
It's possible they sensed you arrive, Elias said in his mind. Because at this point, I don't think anything is impossible for her.
True, Joshey thought back.
They took a horse carriage this time, one horse. For traveling big distances, it was usually two horse carriages. The massive ones that went from continent to continent used three or four sometimes. He wondered why.
They both entered the carriage. The inside looked so fancy.
"Perhaps is this...?" Joshey started.
Before he could finish, Lena responded. "Lord Sylvaine wanted a great entrance. Or a celebration to prepare for you."
Ah... doesn't she know I don't do well with these things, though?
That's why she's doing it, Elias said.
Right. The ultimate sly.
Joshey came down and carried Minna on his shoulders. He'd left his things behind at the Granary, so he came back empty-handed. He paid and went on his way.
The first person to greet him was Lena, who usually took the night shift.
"Hmm, was she expecting me?"
"Welcome back, Lord Elias. I was sent to escort you over to the Tasty Tavern. May I have your things?"
Ah, they were expecting me after all.
It's possible they sensed you arrive, Elias said. At this point, I don't think anything is impossible for her.
True, Joshey thought back.
They took a horse carriage this time, just one horse. For traveling long distances, it was usually two horses. The massive ones that went from continent to continent used three or four sometimes. He wondered why.
They entered the carriage and it looked so fancy inside.
"Perhaps this is...?" Joshey started.
Before he could finish, Lena responded. "Lord Sylvaine wanted a great entrance. Or a celebration to prepare for you."
Ah, doesn't she know I don't do well with these things?
That's why she's doing it, Elias said.
Right. The ultimate sly.
We were welcomed to Sylvaine's Tasty Tavern, where all the workers had gathered to celebrate my return. I'd call this a stroke of luck that I'm alive, to be honest. But I felt a warmth in my heart. Back in my old life, I never received this kind of love from anyone.
Because of this unfamiliar feeling of being loved, Joshey unconsciously let out tears.
"Ah, are you crying?"
He touched his face, and to his own surprise, he was.
Elias was silent. He didn't want to ruin the moment with his jokes, so he allowed Joshey to cry.
Ahaha, come here kiddo. You know most people would've abandoned the others there. I'm glad you are still who you are: someone who refuses to leave others behind."
Joshey wiped his face with one hand and said, "Thank you."
Sylvaine turned to Minna and spoke in the Elven tongue. "Elias, did these people hurt you?"
"Ah, no, I'm fine—"
"Lady Minna, can you stay with us for some time? Your mother will arrive soon enough."
"Mama is coming?" Minna's eyes lit up.
"Yes."
Minna beamed at Elias. "Elias san, mama is coming. When she does, I'll tell her to buy me lots of chocolates."
Hehe, that's good for you kiddo, he thought.
As he set Minna down, Sylvaine carried her instead.
"You can go and rest and freshen up. Have a bottle of wine for your return. Also, you and I have a lot to talk about."
It seems you guys are going to have "the talk," Elias said internally.
That's fair. Joshey grabbed a bottle and headed back to his place. It wasn't too far from here, but he liked taking peaceful walks. Back at the Granary, you wouldn't get the leisure of a peaceful walk.
Are you already missing the chaos? Elias asked.
What? No bloody way. I only did this so Lucia can owe me.
But you always found yourself in situations like this back in your old world, right?
This guy keeps digging into my memories. That's a violation of someone's privacy. Memories are sacred. They reveal who the person is.
Come on, Elias said. I need to know more about you if I want to help.