The next morning, I was up at 0630 as usual, and Ophelia lay naked in my bed. She had come in through the walls of my room late last night to fuck as per previously signaled in the hourglass—the key word being babe.
As usual, she had stayed until morning.
"Good morning, Greedy," she said groggily, her eyes still closed, sleeping comfortably as I sat at the edge of the bed getting dressed.
I didn't reply until I was done getting ready and almost out the door of my quarters.
As I went for the door and reached for the doorknob, I looked back at her and said, "I need you here tonight," as she still lay in my bed, facing the other way toward the windows and balcony.
The sunlight dripping in and over her nicely shaped curves, she responded sleepily and amused, "Ooo, for round two?"
"I mean, it will be Star's night, but you're welcome to join if you want..." I said, getting off topic, "But no, I meant just present at the Den. Just in case. So, whatever plans you have, cancel them. I might be home late and Code's out,"—finally opening the door—"Oh and Ophelia. You know I wasn't talking to you, right?" I added, finally turning my eyes away from her smooth porcelain back as she positioned herself to lay on her side, breasts exposed and facing me.
"I know, Greedy… She heard you."
My only acknowledgement to her were my dead calm eyes over my shoulder tracing her nude canvas one last time. And then I walked out, shutting the door behind me.
I walked down the hallway and down the grand staircase, where it connected at a landing with another flight of stairs that was going up the opposite way. The flight of stairs I usually saw Code ready around the same time. Just as I thought, he didn't come back home last night.
It didn't matter to me, though. I knew the drill.
Thing was... I just didn't know when it was going to happen.
I had made plans with Ryo today to see if I could fill him in. I tried to contact Snow too, but it seems he went off on a mission last night. That's fine. Ryo alone is enough in most cases.
I started off with a jog outside with Havoc and Brand, and then I worked out at the home gym until 0900
We had breakfast at the usual time, and then we each split off to do some of our daily chores and routines afterward. I did some gardening and home maintenance today. The Den was an "antique" and was always falling apart. I swear, we were in desperate need for some maids. But maybe that was just the inner lazy in me speaking.
While in the garden behind the Den, I noticed a faint shadow in the sky in the far distance. It looked almost like a serpent as it continued to fly up into the clouds. When it disappeared within them, I turned away from it, and a muffled boom sounded in that same direction. When I looked back, the sky had opened where the "serpent" had flown. I observed it for the next minute or two but went back to my duties shortly after. Whatever had been going on there was too far for our concern. It was probably as far as the Desert Kingdom if my geography was correct.
I was finally done with everything, and it was time to meet with Ryo in the evening for dinner at the Kingdom. We met at an old noodle bar that had been in the city for decades, one of my favorites. It was located in a back alley in the southeast part of the Valley. And this was often the place to meet to enjoy some good food and company.
I was almost there when I got a message notification from Ryo on the comm. ETA? I'm at the bar. I already got our order going.
Around the corner. See you in 2. (˶˃ᆺ˂˶) I typed back with one hand, the other in my pocket. It was only after I sent the message that I noticed… Fucking Keeper, Star.
Ryo messaged back a little too quickly… Hahaha what is that? A face? Didn't know you messaged like that…
Shut up, Ryo. Star had my comm last. Leave it alone. (˶˃ᆺ˂˶)
Damn it. How do you get rid of this thing… (˶˃ᆺ˂˶)
(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Don't even start with me man… (˶˃ᆺ˂˶)
I gave up. I had already arrived anyway.
The place was mildly packed and had seating both inside and outside. I opened the noren curtains and was met with low-leveled tables with pillow seats, giving off a homey vibe that I was so very much attracted to. As previously agreed upon, Ryo and I met at the bar.
The the place was always tidy, and the aroma of the place was incredibly aromatic. We could hear and see the chefs cooking right in front of us. The delicious smell traveled all throughout the alleyways and onto the main streets. Which acted as its own and best form of advertisement.
Ryo waved at me as I entered, holding a big smile to me the entire time. Instead of his fancy cloak that he often wore, he was wearing a white bomber jacket with a red dragon logo in the back—his Guild's logo. The sleeves had embroidered flames all around and were up to the forearms. The collar was colored red, and he only wore a plain white shirt underneath. And beige pants and belted boots to go with it.
"There's Mr. Emoticon!" he said with two fingers in a peace sign to his face.
He only dressed casually like this when he met with friends, but personally, this should have been the Crimson Dragon's uniform from the start.
"Can it," I replied swiftly, sitting down next to him at the bar. "Ark finally let you wear a cool outfit for once?" I poked as we both received our orders, just in time.
He chuckled and said, "I've actually been thinking about it for a while now... You see outfits are a lot like interior design, except the interior is the body." He tried ending in a way that made him sound profound.
"You mean exterior? Cause' the body is exterior, you know? You're not dressing up the inside of your body," I jabbed.
"You know what I meant! It's cause' I have a passion for both, you see! I even had this jacket custom made." He said, showing me the tag that unashamedly had his name on it. I burst out laughing after I saw it.
We bantered a bit and shared some laughs over drinks and food before catching him up on the hourglass incident we had just yesterday. Ryo was shocked.
"What the hell… I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. Why didn't you report the occurrence to the Kingdom patrols once you got back?" He asked worriedly.
"Because that info would have gone to all the Guilds. And we suspect one of the Guilds was behind it. We don't want them making a move before our case is built," I said in a lower tone, even though the place was already loud and was fairly busy.
"I suspected as much…" Ryo pondered. "I was given, by Sirus, a secret task when he had called me into the main castle the other day. My duty, along with keeping the peace"—he nudged me—"was to keep watch over a certain Guild in the meeting that had finally taken part in the Kingdom's Guild meeting."
"Who, us?" I said incredulously. Though it would make sense after the stunt we pulled, I suppose.
"No." Ryo gulped down his soup. "I was tasked to watch the Blue Phoenix Knights."
"So, our suspicions on them were not just our own," I added, "I currently have Code looking into it as we speak."
I proceeded to tell Ryo what we had deduced so far, what the hourglass was, and the fake Black Wolves that we encountered after breaking free, and Henza's strange appearance afterward.
"Ah, that part's connecting now." He assessed, "During your and Captain Tubult's quarrel, I noticed Captain Syemore of the Blue Phoenix Knights dismiss Vice Captain Henza, only for him to be instantly replaced by another masked Blue Phoenix member that I did not see prior to everyone else who had entered that meeting room."
"Interesting," I replied as I gulped down the rest of my soup and gestured for seconds to the chef. "But who was that other Blue Phoenix member?"
"I don't know. I was watching the whole time, and his movements seemed… stiff. For lack of a better word. It almost seemed like he wasn't real… but he was also wearing a hood along with that mask, so it was a bit hard to tell," Ryo recalled.
"Isn't the second Vice Captain's magic Puppet magic?" I asked him, wanting to confirm Code's speculations.
"Yes, it is. Vice Captain Terek. I don't know too much about him personally, but are you suggesting that 'fill in' for Henza was a puppet?" he asked, trying to clarify.
"I mean, it would make sense if you take into consideration the mech that kidnapped us. And I also think that puppet somehow got Syemore's magic infused with it. I just don't know how though." I replied, pondering at the same time.
"Well, Henza's magic also has different properties to it,"—gesturing to the chef for seconds as well—"His magic is Bonding magic. Not only does it grant him the ability to bond things and people in place, but he can also bond magic abilities to non-living things. It's a trained skill, only a few mages with his same typing can manage. That's the only explanation I can think of with the situation you experienced."
Everything was starting to piece together finally. The mech that kidnapped us, Syemore's Compression ability trapping us in that hourglass, and Henza's appearance at the abandoned church… It was too closely tied to be a coincidence.
The only thing now was the relation to the fake Black Wolves at the church.
But before I could get a word out to talk about it, a young girl's scream pierced through the restaurant, silencing the once bustling area.
"What was that?" Ryo asked, concerned.
"I don't know, but we have to go!" I hurried him.
We both bolted out of the restaurant, Ryo throwing down a good chunk of eterna at the bar before we left.
When we stepped out, it was dusk, and the people outside were frightened and in a state of confusion. We heard the screams continue and we followed the sound until we were deep in the alleyways of the southeast. The screams seemed like they were getting farther and farther away the closer we got.
When we turned the final corner, we saw it. A big mechanical figure, six arms, floating, humanoid head, and monster face for a chest. And in one of its huge fiddling hands, a young blonde girl, probably in her teens, being held captive.