The woman lying on my bed was the same one from my dream, her skin very pale, she did not move.
"What is that woman doing in your bed?" Jasly was furious.
"I don't know, I just dreamed about her and she showed up here."
"You dream about naked women?" Jasly got even angrier.
The woman woke up, but she still stayed motionless.
"Who are you?" Jasly asked.
The woman turned and looked at her.
"Tsukuyomi," a gentle voice said. "Do you want me to kill this girl?" she asked, looking at me.
"No, wait, what are you asking?"
"I just want to know if this annoying girl should be killed, or if I can just beat her up."
"Don't do anything... wait, did you say your name is Tsukuyomi?"
"Yes."
Jasly wasn't very happy to see me talking to the naked woman.
"Are you the sword?"
"Yes, or almost that. I don't know."
"She is your sword?"
"Yes," the woman replied.
"How did you suspect that?" Jasly asked me.
"I just thought so, since she said the same name Hector said."
"You know you've heard that name before, don't you, Celdri?"
"My name is Lian, just call me Lian," I said firmly, I didn't want Jasly to know about my other life. Could the woman read my mind?
"All right, I'll call you that."
"This is very strange, at least put some clothes on," Jasly said.
The woman stood up, her body had no hair at all, which made me curious. She snapped her fingers and an outfit appeared, similar to the one in my dream, but the clothing wasn't moving.
"I want to eat something, please feed me, master."
"Master?"
"Yes, he is my master, since he summoned me."
"How did you summon me?" Everything was a little, actually very, confusing.
"You killed some monsters, they served as food for the summoning ritual, something like that, I don't know the details. Now we're connected and you will be able to use my power."
"And what is your power?"
"Give me your hand."
She gripped my right hand tightly, I began to receive all the information she was sending me, I understood a little, but at the same time there were some loose and disconnected pieces of information. Then I began to feel a heat in my chest, it burned like fire, I couldn't stand it anymore, but I couldn't move or complain about the pain. My eyes closed and the pain disappeared.
"Done, you received some of my power, I can't give you more, since you are still very weak. Now give me food."
She was insistent, we went to the inn's restaurant, there I paid for her breakfast. The place was still empty. But before that, Jasly handed her some clothes to wear.
"Explain to me what you are."
"I am a goddess, but not like the ones you hear about in stories, I am real."
"You are a goddess and serve a human?" Jasly teased.
"It's more complicated than it seems, I had no choice, I was trapped and was freed by Lian, so I have to serve him and help with whatever he asks, that is until he dies and I really become free."
"So you can kill me?"
"No, if I do that, I will return to the prison, or something similar."
"So you don't even know?"
"Yes, I don't know many things, I just know."
It was hard to talk to her, I tried and got irritated, Jasly didn't like her, but she could believe the story the woman told.
We managed to talk after several attempts, we asked her not to say she was a goddess or anything similar. We also asked that she always stay on our side, that was to keep her from getting involved in any problem or doing something stupid or dangerous.
For now it seemed she had understood.
In the castle the King was entering a room, there was a table where the following were seated: Silas, Thalya, Bedelia, Kalil, three SS-rank adventurers and the other two generals, Harold Lyon, the man with a lion's head, and Philip, the First Prince, who was the other man in golden armor.
Then two more court mages entered, they were mages who personally handled the King's protection.
The King sat down and the mages stood behind him.
"What do you know?"
"We don't have much information..."
"So you don't know anything?!" He interrupted the First Prince.
"It's not that, we just don't have much information," Kalil said. "What we know is that the attack happened only in the Capital, no other city reported the same attack. What we know is that there was a decrease in the number of monsters, the guilds reported fewer hunting missions, so we assume the monsters are migrating to attack."
"Has this ever happened before?"
"No, there is no record at the guild about this."
"What else do you know?"
Kalil looked at Duke Lyon, both wanted to speak. Kalil made a movement with his right hand, he gave permission to the duke.
"I suspect the attack is just a distraction, or a way to wear out our troops. In total we had eleven casualties, a very low number considering the number of monsters."
"You suppose that just from a death count?"
"Yes, it's a sad thing to say, but few people died. I know I should be celebrating, but it's a little hard to believe. There were two attacks and only eleven dead, even with full force and with strong people, I don't consider that they were attacking with everything."
"You're assuming they know what they're doing?" Silas asked.
"No, I don't think they had any consciousness about what they did, but someone is controlling these monsters."
"You suppose that based on what?"
"The group your sons reported, they said they saw the monsters when they were on an escort mission. They saw the monsters standing still and then they heard a horn, the monsters began to move, it was a little before the first attack. I only found out when they returned," Kalil replied.
"So someone is controlling them with a horn?"
"That's what we know, we have no other information about that control," Kalil said while taking a handkerchief from his pocket. "What I know is that these crystals are related to the monsters, at least in some way," he put them on the table.
"What is that?"
"The Wolf's Fangs group slaughtered some orcs, they killed an orc king and he had this crystal. I killed some hobgoblins and found these other crystals. All green and all broke when removed from the bodies, the flesh rotted as soon as the crystals went inert. Another useful piece of information, the monsters could heal themselves, it was different from healing magic, they simply cured any wound. The most likely hypothesis is that these crystals were doing that."
One of the mages approached and touched one of the crystals.
"They still have mana, but they are radiating, not in the normal way, it's as if an amateur had made these crystals."
"Or they came from some dungeon and the monsters absorbed them," Kalil added.
"Yes, but it's more likely they were artificially created, that's because of the color. Normally natural crystals of this type aren't green. But we can't rule out any hypothesis, since many strange events are happening."
"What do you intend to do?" the King asked.
"For now we are just increasing our forces, we need to recruit more soldiers and we need to pay the adventurers, they need to receive appropriate payment, or we won't be able to count on their help anymore," Duke Lyon was right.
The King approved the payment and the increase in troops, as well as the purchase of weapons.
"What happened to Count Mistborn?"
"He sent some troops, but did not participate directly in the defense."
"Was Yzi Ster in combat?"
"No, she was not participating. What we know is that she left the city."
"I understand, they always run away when we need them the most."
"You shouldn't speak of them like that, Philip, they are great supporters and donors for the army."
I still didn't know what to do with Tsukuyomi, there was nowhere to hide. The sword remained in her form, she was like a spirit that was inside the sword.
"Who is she?" Elys asked, Jasly looked at me, it was as if she expected me to fail to answer.
"She's a friend from the village, she came to spend some time in the Capital," I didn't know if the answer had been good, but it was the first thing I thought. "Tsukuyomi, say 'hi' to her."
"Hi, it's a pleasure to meet someone who loves my master."
Elys blushed.
"Wait, master?"
"Yes, he is my master."
"She's only saying that we trained together and that I've been around longer than her. She likes to joke."
Elys didn't say much, she just sat down and asked for something to eat.
"We need to talk about the house," I said, I really wanted to change the subject.
"Did you manage to buy the baron's house?"
"Yes, do you want to live with me?"
Elys blushed again, I really am awful with words.
"I mean, you and the others."
She stayed blushing, it was as if she hadn't heard the last thing I said.
"In your room?"
"What?!"