Chapter 292: Westfort (1/2)

”It's almost night already,” Emily huffed. ”We're so late!”

”Ibtep tells me this one is neither your progeny nor your mate,” Nonet said as it looked down at Emily with curiosity. ”What purpose does she serve? Is she a warrior slave from a vanquished hive? Zhix slaves are seldom accorded such freedom of speech.”

Emily stopped in her tracks and gaped up at Nonet, who calmly returned her gaze. Zac coughed as he shot a gaze at the teenager. It honestly was a good question. Just what was Emily to him? In a sense, he had picked up her in the spur of the moment, and he knew he had somewhat used her as a temporary replacement for Kenzie, like an emotional binky. But now he wasn't sure.

”I guess she's a mascot?” Zac hesitantly said after a bit, drawing an enraged glare from Emily.

”I'm battle support! I can make anyone stronger! I just had a late start,” she said grumpily before she turned toward the teleporter and walked away in a huff.

”The young can be capricious,” Nonet said with a nod. ”We usually send them into the deep caverns to learn survival and moderation. Is human childrearing the same?”

Zac was about to say no, but he wasn't sure if that was true any longer with Alyn in charge. They did send the students to battle beasts as soon as they were strong enough. He also remembered Abby saying that making a beginner zone was already underway.

”Well, we do something similar with our Academy here I guess. But now we have adapted to teach more about Cosmic Energy,” Zac said.

”Would it be possible to send a few of our young to this Academy of yours?” Nonet asked.

”Sure,” Zac said with a shrug, as he was sure Alyn wouldn't mind a couple of war crazy students to increase the competitiveness. ”It's getting late, let's go.”

”Wait, let me come with,” a light voice suddenly resounded, making Zac look over with a slight frown.

Alea was walking over, wearing one of her battledresses that contained defensive charges. Zac was unsure what to say when he saw her approach with Calrin in tow, as the two hadn't spoken since Zac told her off.

She had avoided him since the incident, even skipping out on meetings in favor of cultivating at the odd poison-tree in the mountains, and Zac didn't really know where he stood with her. However, the thought of bringing a slightly unstable poison mistress to the Marshall Clan made Zac's hair stand on end.

”Why do you want to go?” Zac hesitantly asked.

”To provide back-up. Adran and Calrin will likely be busy in meetings all day, but the Marshall Clan has so many people. You need someone who will be able to keep the bureaucrats at bay while you focus on the library and other more pressing matters,” Alea said. ”Ogras said I should go. Janos won't be any help and Ilvere is a meathead.”

”You should understand why I'm reluctant to bring you,” Zac said.

Alea slightly frowned for a few seconds before she suddenly looked up at Zac with a determined look. The next moment she started to change, growing into a horrifying swamp monster that was as tall as Nonet. Zac took a step back in surprise, and a knife appeared in Nonet's hand as though from nowhere. However, the large monster didn't attack anyone, and it soon started to shrink again, turning into a conspicuously naked Alea. Zac's eye widened a bit before he forced himself to look away.

”Before I arrived at this planet I tried to force a change in my constitution to one that would better suit my skills,” Alea said, as she unhurriedly dressed herself again. ”My heritage is incomplete, and some critical details were missing. It went awry and that form was the result of it. It has also caused some internal imbalances that made me... impulsive.”

Zac looked over at Alea who looked straight back at him.

”But the past month I've made tremendous progress by cultivating beneath the tree of Toxic Ascension. My body is still slightly impacted, but I have at least driven out the toxins out of my mind,” she said.

“… Fine, let’s go.”

Zac honestly wasn’t sure about his decision as he walked with the others in tow toward his teleporter, but he felt this trip could be used as an experiment. Alea was extremely powerful, and would likely be more helpful than anyone else in the upcoming battles, apart from Ogras.

If she could prove herself that she could be trusted and work in a group again it would be for the best. Then he could slowly return various responsibilities to her. And truth be told, he simply missed having her around. And he didn’t believe she would cause too many problems, especially not after what happened the last time.

“But I’ll make it clear. No poisons anything like that unless we are attacked, got it? These people are our most important allies for the upcoming battles,” Zac said.

“I know what to do,” Alea simply nodded.

Soon they arrived at the teleportation platform, and the group found Ibtep, and Adran waiting along with Emily. Zac internally sighed again as he felt this would be like a repeat of his motley crew when he went to the auction.

Only this time the ratio of Aliens to Humans was even worse.

“Eh, Alea is coming as well?” Emily gaped from her spot next to the teleporter before she gave Zac an odd glance. “You are pretty gutsy.”

“What?” Zac asked with a frown.

“Nothing,” Emily said with a giggle. “Let's go!”