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“Now then,” the divine blade broke the ice, “-we have matters to discuss. Please relate any questions after I’ve spoken, as a favor – I don’t want to be interrupted,” casual and stern, uncommon at best, tis was how the man spoke or rather, commanded.

Unimpressed, no reaction nor emotions – Staxius sat as an immovable boulder.

“First of all, the matter concerning the Qaisar, the amount collected had me shaking in my boots. Not only did you slay over tens of thousands but the majority weren’t small fry either – tow to tow with tier-seven and above, I must say, I’m proud to have placed my trust in thee. Thou art the pride of the central guild. Overturning the hierarchy and chain of command in that military outpost isn’t a feat I could have done – not to mention, nothing bad came out of it. A passive take-over,” he paused and glanced Staxius from head to the hips for the rest was hidden under the table. The sight of Adete resting didn’t bother in the least. “You sure are scary,” he resumed. “Needless to say, this meeting isn’t about that. It’s about the reward, from monster slaying along and with all the Qaisar collected after taken the processing fee, the total reaches,” he took out a tablet and scrolled through details relating to the conversation. “The precise amount is, 175,000 Gold pieces,” almost thunderstruck, Raulf couldn’t believe it. So much cash obtained from slaying monsters, disbelief couldn’t describe the shock. The reason why it took so long to process was that the people in charge were sure an error must have happened. Rechecking after rechecking, the conclusion was as so, the adventurer known as Xenos did claim 175,000 Gold pieces from monster slaying alone.

“So, you see, that’s the reason why I had to come to meet thy personally. In addition to that, the queen seeks an audience. As known by the public, the adventuring association is governed by me alone. Though there are a lot more at play, first and foremost, The Order paired with the Royal family has a major deal of influence. Attaining Gold or Platinum rank can’t be given by me, that authority comes from either the Queen or one of the Sages in the Order. As figured, you know where this is going. Separate from the gold you earnt; the Queen has decided to award thee with the Tier-two gold ranking. To top it off, a cash price of 10,000 Gold has been set aside, this is the actual reward for completing an actual Platinum Quest,” the news now delivered, he stopped to check on Staxius’s reaction.

“I see,” the stance relaxed, “-to summarize, I’m promoted to Tier-two gold with an enormous reward,” he nodded, “-sounds good,” a smile to dispel Raulf’s guard later, “-when’s the ceremony?”

“Not an actual ceremony, but a private event hosted away from prying eyes. You see, this whole thing must be kept under wraps,” the tone changed into a whisper.

.....

“No need to say anything further,” Staxius stood, “-if it’s private, I’m guessing we can attend now. Let’s be honest, the guild master would not have come all this way to relay just a message,” he figured out the purpose of the visit.

“Nothing escapes thee, does it,” Raulf stood with a face of defeat, he had been found out so easily.

“If it’s not much trouble, I’d like to drive there personally,” the hand reached for the doorknob, “-want a lift?” he offered as a friendly gesture.

“Sure, why not,” with a nod, Raulf accepted. The walk downstairs occurred without anyone noticing their presence. Most were busy trying to register quests.

The scenery changed from crowded to empty after a few minutes of driving, the area when approaching the noble district was empty and quiet. Not many people had access to said place. This wasn’t the first visit for he had come when Axius requested help.

“Guild Master,” as the drive reached its end, Staxius called.

“Yes, is anything the matter?”

“I’m thinking of the possibility of purchasing a mansion,” he spoke calmly.

“Is that so, what brought about this idea?” Raulf asked.

“Nothing major, I wish to have a place where my companions and I can call home. A small house would not be suitable. You see, I’ve got many people to take care of,”

“Why not ask with the bank or the estate companies that specialize in dealing with property,” a good proposition in fairness.

“Not acceptable, they allow places only in the residential district. What I seek is a place in the noble district,” the tone lessened into a shady whisper.

“I see,” he rubbed his chin, “-buying a property in the noble district isn’t possible. Those are given by our ruler’s discretion – she decides who stays and who leaves,” he sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t do much in the ways of helping. The Queen is the only one who can decide such matters,” the car arrived at the castle entrance.

“Worry not,” they stepped out, “we’re meeting with her majesty, I’m sure we can strike a deal,” determined, the duo entered. The castle door closed, footsteps echoed around the hall till they reached a private room, more like an office, one next to the throne room after a few twists and turns.

“Majesty,” politely, Staxius bowed. The lady in question had her sights outside, on a lovely garden. The room, one heavy and filled with antiques. A portrait of herself stood behind the massive dark-desk. The windows were long and thin with its top as a semi-circle.

“Greetings, King Staxius,” the queen bowed in turn, mutual respect for one another. “-If it isn’t much trouble, I’d like to have this meet alone,” she spoke in a way that signaled the attending maids as well as Raulf to leave. The door closed, no other presence was sensed to which she took a seat and offered the same to her guest.

“With all due respect, before we begin, can I ask a personal question?” the tone courteous and gentle, the guard she had up lowered.

“Formalities are good and all,” she spoke, “-though it would please if you’d care to be a little more open and direct.”

“As you wish, majesty,” he replied with a smile.

“What’s this so-called personal question you speak of?”

“Remember when we fought out in Dorchester around seventeen years ago?” memories suddenly rushed her mind, “-I’d like to know what happened to thy right eye. As I recall, a sacrifice to Emes was made so that I’d lose my boon of immortality.”

“Oh...” her stance slumped, “-I almost forgot we were enemies till a few months ago,” she lifted her hair that always rested over the right eye. “As you see,” she tapped the eyeball, “-it’s fake. I had it made for it would be unsightly to have a one-eyed princess at that time.”

“I see,” he paused, “-what about the magic used,” the question hit home, “the summoning element, Hydra,” matters of one and a half-decade old were brought to the table.

“You remembered,” she shook her head in disappointment. “As you know already, the summoning element was artificially made. In the following months after our fight, it grew too hard to control, this in turn corrupted and almost destroyed my Ice-element,” she held out her palm and conjured an ice-ball. “At most, I can only use a few spells,” regret shone in her face, “-my actions in the past were less than honorable,” her head lowered, “-I apologize for all the unnecessary trouble I caused.”

“No need to lower thy head, majesty, I didn’t bring the past seeking an apology. It was done so we could both move on from that past. I commend thy for changing and trying to make Hidros a better place. I respect your actions more than the words, you’re worthy to be named Queen,” a pause later, the voice changed into one sterner, “-I’d like to know what happened to the book Tempest Haggard wrote. The knowledge of artificial elements was something only my father knew about.” For the entire duration after getting released from that curse, Staxius had been gathering information about the book, it might not have been apparent. With the addition of so many new occurrences, the initial goal of finding out about that book was placed into the farthest corner of his mind. The whole audience with Queen laid the necessary groundwork for the possibility to turn over a new page.

“Tempest Haggard,” she held her breath, “-did you say that he was your father?” it lit deep in her eyes; amazement.

“Wasn’t it obvious?” he asked with narrowed eyes, “-I’m Staxius Haggard, the family name should have been a dead giveaway. I thought that you knew about that already, thus the reason for wanting to have my head so many years ago,” the situation grew overwhelming.

“No, no,” she adamantly refused, “-I did so because mother told me that you had the potential to overturn the continent. After which...” her mouth stopped, “-I don’t remember,” she met his gaze, pure and innocent, what was said was the truth. “Do give me a second,” she stood and rushed outside.

‘Is her majesty an idiot. How did she not know that Tempest and I were related? The family name Haggard is obvious. This is beyond foolishness, I’d think a mind-control spell is a reason for her behavior, sadly, there’s no trace of anything related to that. In any case, this is perfect. She must have my father’s book, and after all this time, I can close that chapter.’

“I apologize,” she came back with sweat all over her face, “-here’s the book in question.” Upon closer inspection, the title and author name were lost, only Tempest remained. The interior seemed intact for the most part. As predicted, it had information about how one could create an artificial element. Sadly, the part about how one could put it into action was burnt.

“Since we’re bringing up the past, care to tell me where you got this from?” he asked, intrigued.

“It was a gift from uncle Tempest,” she replied with confidence.

“Excuse me,” the pitch raised, “-what do you mean by uncle?”

“...” A few moments of silence, questions about whether they were related rushed through their minds. Each gave glances to one another, “-I refuse, this isn’t possible,” Staxius voiced firmly.

“Yes, I agree, it’s not possible,” she shook her head in turn. In an attempt to resolve the quandary at hand, a phone call was given to the queen’s mother.

“Mother,” Gallienne stood, the lady in question arrived without wasting time, “-could you kindly resolve this issue?” to which they explained the whole situation.

“First and foremost, you aren’t related in any way,” now sat where Gallienne previously was, Sely spoke, “-the reason why you called Tempest uncle was simple, that man was the bodyguard to our king. Most of the history surrounding those two died with them both. Even as queen, I was kept in the dark – all I knew that was Tempest and your father were close friends. As a close friend of your father, Gallienne, you’d often refer to Tempest as an uncle. That’s the extent of the issue at hand,” her gaze changed to Staxius, “-the reason why he was alienated and deemed as the cursed mage was to protect us. At the time, the empire fought against the foreign countries over who’d have the right to rule. This happened long before the king was named king, at the time he was but a mage. Long story short, after that war, an incident happened where Blaine lost control and killed members from the imperial family. In hopes of calming the brewing animosity, Tempest took the blame and went into hiding. This was at the time where Blaine and I had been the ruling monarch of Hidros. You were around six – before that incident, Tempest was in charge of protecting us. That’s the extent of what I remember – anything else is now long lost. The past should not be brought up any longer, what is done is done. It does come as a shock to know that he who spared my husband’s life had a son all along. Also, you should know that I’m the king’s second wife,” with a smile, she left.