Chapter 648: Sightseeing (2/2)

“That’s a rare one,” she mused with a smile. Ilea noted the ten fancy throwing knives and two daggers on his belt. Already have that maxed for now and I doubt this one will push me to the third tier.

“Should I inform the principal of your guest?” the man asked.

“No. I’m sure Lady Lilith can introduce herself to the students,” Kyrie said and walked ahead. “Thank you.”

The time mage and Ilea locked eyes as she ate her ice cream. She couldn’t resist using her Deviant aura for just a split second, watching the man stumble back, his eyes wide open.

Kyrie had his blades drawn, armor covering his body as he turned around, ready to face the monster he felt. “Was that… that was you, wasn’t it?” he asked, glancing behind her to see if he hadn’t missed something.

Maybe I shouldn’t do shit like this if even the Head Kingsguard of a major kingdom nearly gets a heart attack from my presence.

“Yeah, sorry it slipped out,” she said with a smile.

Kyrie looked at her before he resumed his walk, his armor vanishing again as she joined him. “A lesson is important. However I’m not sure how beneficial deep mental scars will be to the future leaders of our kingdom.”

Ilea smirked. “Getting nervous?”

“I brought you here. And to my surprise, I trust you,” Kyrie said. “But it’s easy to forget the ashen creature who slaughtered a horde of demons when you walk around with ice cream of all things.”

“Just use identify to remind yourself,” she said, nibbling on the cone.

“How can you mask it anyway? And why doesn’t it work against me?” Kyrie asked.

“Trying to get state secrets out of this date? I see where your heart lies, Kingsguard,” she said as they walked past a few large buildings, muffled magical impacts audible beyond.

Grass and trees decorated most of the complex, cared for by a few nature mages, one of them checking a nearby tree.

Kyrie smiled. “I like to be efficient. And who knows how many spies are following us. I can’t be too self serving.”

“Oh poor you,” Ilea said as they passed the closest building, a four story structure with rich decorations of marble, large windows on the ground floor suggesting an extensive hall beyond. Blue tiles covered the roof, smaller terraces built into the side.

A few groups of students had started looking their way, some of them glancing down from the windows or terraces, wondering who the woman with Lord Fiore could be. One young man suggested it was Lilith but he received a few mocking insults for the ridiculous proposal.

“Though I’m sure you can imagine the reactions nobility will have on this date, if you would call it such.” Kyrie said.

A politician after all, Ilea thought. She was starting to lose interest in the man. Too many considerations and ulterior motives seemed to be mixing in due to his position and background. She didn’t blame him for it of course, she herself wasn’t exactly just an everyday normal girl after all. If anything the situation made her appreciate her friends back in Ravenhall, Hallowfort, and the Krahen Isles even more.

Feyrair couldn’t give less of a shit about her status. To the Meadow she was barely intelligent enough to be considered awakened, and her team has known her for so long, they just thought her antics silly. She smiled, thinking of Kyrian who would surely find himself in similar situations soon enough.

“The training fields,” Kyrie introduced, gesturing to the extensive pit filled with trees, boulders, and even a small pond. The entire area seemed to be deliberately crafted, allowing for ambushes, defensible positions, and exposed elevated areas.

Ilea wasn’t terribly impressed, but she had enjoyed the ridiculous training ground of Eregar’s Haven. This felt too sterile somehow. Exactly what an academy would provide. Most of the battlegrounds she fought on were just boring caves or empty fields. Then again, her approach didn’t exactly require tactical consideration.

What’s the point of cover when both me and the monster can blow it all up in an instant?

“The faculty expects us in about half an hour but perhaps we can garner some interest already,” he said.

“Let’s see what they can do then,” Ilea said and jumped down into the training area. About a dozen students were already present, some hiding as they waited to ambush their foes, others comparing spells.

She quickly donned some leather armor on top of her clothes, her ash mantle still present near her neck due to the events of today. Ilea hardly assumed there was any danger to her here but being overconfident was usually a mistake. “What’s the deal with that druid healer who was with the king?” she asked.

“Lady Veyers? She’s been part of Kroll nobility for… a long time. And an important advisor to the King,” Kyrie said, his voice taking on a more calculated tone.

“She seemed like an experienced mage. To a notable degree,” Ilea said. She wouldn’t try to explain what she felt from the woman, she hardly understood it herself after all.

Kyrie didn’t react in a suspicious manner. “I assume her age is responsible for that. I’m sure you’re more perceptive than others. I have never thought her especially striking, though I don’t presume to compare myself to you.”

“I see,” Ilea said, looking at the two young women who had noticed the newcomers.

They bowed, their entire focus on the man next to her. “Greetings Lord Fiore. We heard you might visit this afternoon,” one of them said with a bright smile.

Popular, are we? Ilea thought, glancing at the man.

Both of them wore clean and well cut battle garments, lightly armored and lined with bronze and silver metals. It seemed the materials were chosen for harmony and style rather than defensive quality. The colors matched their respective hair.

“Greetings. Joanne, and Helia, was it?” Kyrie said with a smile.

Ilea could nearly grasp the joy lighting up in the girls’ faces as he got both their names right. Let’s see if you get the guys right too, or else you might risk plummeting my opinion.

The man gestured to Ilea, forcing their attention away from himself. “May I introduce you to Lilith.”

“Lilith?” one of them asked. “As in, the real Lilith?”

The other woman bowed lightly. “Greetings, Lady Lilith. I’m Helia Waad, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise,” Ilea said.

[Water Mage – lvl 83]

[Light Mage – lvl 112]

She wondered how absolutely the two girls would get ripped apart by a level fifty Sentinel. It made her proud and a little terrified of the monsters they had set upon the world. Maybe I shouldn’t judge them before I’ve seen them fight. Who knows, I might be surprised.

Ilea doubted it, but they’d get a chance to prove her wrong. And she would happily admit it if her judgment had been false.

Helia at least seemed nice, the other woman obviously quite annoyed that someone had taken away a fraction of her deserved attention. If looks could kill. Well, she was a light magic user, so that was likely closer to reality than it was an idiom in this case.

“Tom, Green, Valot,” Kyrie greeted the group of men joining them.

Charming after all, Ilea thought, smiling to herself which somehow seemed to annoy the light mage even more.

The three men had curious expressions, each wearing high quality light armor without a blemish on them.

Do they not fight each other here? Or did they just get out the fancy dresses for Kyrie?

“You must be Lady Lilith,” one of them said and bowed lightly, his peers barely containing their snickering.

Was I like that back when I walked onto the university grounds? They barely seem older than twenty, the same age as some of the Sentinels.

The difference was striking, not just in their attitude but in everything they were.

All of them hovered around level one hundred. She would have to be very careful not to accidentally kill them. No sudden movements, Ilea.