29 「Benefactiary」 (2/2)

Charging forward, he believed the man wouldn't harm him. So he believed he was safe from the slaughter. So as he entered the mansion, his eyes rested on the dead Butler by the stairs. Decapitated in the same fashion as the Madame.

As he crept into the common room, his eyes laid upon the Sir Furts. His hands, and his head were cut from his body. Rested on the windowsill facing away from the city at large. Yet the young man he had believed entered, was no where to be seen.

”Ci-Cipher?” Fluder knew the man's name from his intelligence gathering through the use of divination magic and other surveillance techniques. On top of that there was a mole in the Kingdom that fed their Empire information and his name came from Gazef.

Hearing a squeak from upstairs followed by bouts of giggling, he looked to the ceiling and rushed to the stairs. Moving around the butler, he moved to a room which was cracked just partially open.

He came up to the door and peered in, the light from the window shining in on his eye. Yet he was able to see clearly in the room. Two identical little girls were singing and dancing around the tall six foot figure. They didn't appear to have any idea what had happened downstairs.

That and it didn't seem like Jack was at all covered in blood from his recently killed.

”Are you really a friend of Dear Sister?” The girls were obviously excited as he squatted down to their level. They both moved to be in front of him, to get a good look at his face.

”Oooo, pretty eyes...” They were quick to observe and admire his unusual, but tasteful, features.

Placing his hands on the top of their heads, he ruffled their short blond hair, causing them to giggle wildly. His hands were soft, as if he had never laid a hand on a weapon before.

”Hehe~ Dear Sister Dear Sister~”

Fluder pursed his lips observing his behavior. He killed the parents and it looked like he was taking the children? Wait... He identified himself as a friend of Arche's? Didn't he take her hostage?

The old mage thought to himself in silence as he watched the interactions.

”Yes, yes I am.” He continued to pet the tops of their heads. Luring them closer within the spans of his arms. ”She wants you to come live with her in a village, where she can take care of you.”

Fluder's eyes widened hearing a bit of this until he noticed Jack was looking over his shoulder with a grin of his own. Instinctively he took a step back from the door, temporarily losing sight of the room before peering back in and he was gone. There was no life in that room. The girls, they were gone. So were all their things, leaving no proof of them ever being there.

The only thing in the room however seemed to be a small box.

Wandering in, he glanced around the room. He had even taken the beds, toys, personal belongings and several of the luxuries that had been on display in the room.

Kneeling down to the box though, he reached out and picked it up. Observing it before popping the top off and peering inside. ”Exquisite...” He stared at the contents which were in the box. It was a single Resurrection Wand and a jar of Cherry Preserves labelled in English rather than the native tongue of this world.

A single note accompanied these two items, which stated, ”Burn the house would you? Make it look like the entire family perished. I have a shitty corrupt Kingdom to conquer. Have fun! Bye now!”

”Doesn't seem to be friends with the government of the Re-Estize Kingdom, now does he...” The old man found himself laughing to himself. He was going to conquer their rival? Did that mean he was an ally or was that claim of coming to visit a threat? Or was he asking for the approval of the Baharuth Empire should he take over the Kingdom? There were many ways this could go, but either way, if he could get his hands on the knowledge this man possessed... It would make him even more powerful, as he had opened his eyes to an entirely new level of magic.

…

It had only been a half hour or so, maybe forty five minutes since he had left. That's when Jack would reappear in the house he had once left Arche after declaring he was going to take the Kingdom.

Suddenly the house was filled with the mad giggles of two little girls climbing up onto the bed and pouncing their dumbfounded older sibling.

”Dear Sister! Dear Sister!” They seemed to chant, climbing on her, burying themselves into her robes and sturdy clothes she had been wearing for several days straight now.

Arche just stared at him bewildered with what he had done. ”You... Actually... Went off to save my sisters?” She had her arms absently wrapping around the two little blond girls known as Kuuderika and Ureirika. ”What about my parents?”

Kuuderika wore a blue dress, while her sister Ureirika wore a reddish pink dress. They were too busy holding onto their sister who had been gone for a while now, to really pay attention to what the two were talking about. Though it also appeared that they didn't really care as long as they were here with their older sibling.

”They won't be looking for them and they won't be needing your money, for as much as anyone knows, the entire immediate family died in a fire. Should Fluder do his job...”

Arche blinked a few times when he mentioned the name of her Magic Teacher from the Imperial Academy of Magic. ”You know Fluder?”

”He was in the house when I stopped by, he even asked about you, though I surmise he was trying to learn more about me than he actually wanted to about you...” His head lulled to the side slightly as he was feeling a bit lax for the time being, as he knew that Fluder was as thirsty for knowledge as the most conniving Lich. He could be easily used for his own purposes.