Chapter 10: A lead At Last
....
Shiori's pov
It's been a few weeks since the dwarves and other species moved into my spiritual space or rather ethereal city.
Things had greatly improved now that more species had come, all sharing their methods with each other. I had even kept a detailed ledger of every aspect of improvement. My least favorite being my kingdoms finances.
Most times I've been busy studying the magic manuals, when I'm not training to hone my new skills. from my understanding, I can use five elements more or less.
Water, fire, earth, dark , wind and I have the least affinity for light.
As for my elite skills, predator is the most convenient right now but apparently there's a limit on the number of skills I can learn.
" I'm not sure what's the limit but I better be careful while choosing skills to consume " I sighed as I closed the book.
"I still need to understand the kingdoms, customs and other species here, not to mention that guy who had sanemi scarf.
I guess it's time for a break. I opened a portal using dark and wind magic, casually walking through.
I sat on a tree branch staring down below. I could see Haruna snacking on some of the merchandise when no one was looking. I leapt down onto the ground as Haru squeaked in surprise.
"Lad....lady shiori! I w..was only tas.....tasting them I swear!" Haruna stuttered.
"It's alright haru, I came here to sneak some food for myself " I smiled at the flustered girl.
I took an apple before munching. "Yummy!.." I smiled blissfully
"I know, right " haru smile
"Shiori-sama, There you are!" familiar figures walked towards us.
"Oh, kuro, fang, what's up?." I smiled
"I would like to report to you the progress of the kingdom, My lady" kuro explained as he held up a clipboard.
"Go ahead" I granted him permission to speak.
"The spider clan are settling just fine, a few of them have even begun working in the group that's responsible primarily for clothing" he started.
"I see, that's good. I can't wait for the new clothes..."
We walked around the area as he kept on talking.
"The dwarves are primarily working on building construction as well as making some weaponry for you to test out later" he said pointing to the land layout for the new buildings.
"The lizardmen are working on farmlands and deforestation to make space for more construction"
"As for the komori wolves and the goblin, they've been divided into three groups. The first one is for hunting, the second is for security. outside the kingdom to report any unusual information. And the third which is the largest of the three is for this..." He stopped as We reached a Cliff, he pointed to the massive layout currently under construction.
" It's huge! What are you intending to build? A castle?!" I was dumbstrucked.
"Only the best for our queen" kuro smiled
"We're also using it as a meeting place for the counsel your suggested." Haru added
"Speaking of which, how's it going so far?" I asked
"We're having no major problems so far as we've explained the rules to everyone here. The counsel currently consist of all the species leaders" kuro replied
"By the way, Have you seen Ryu?" I asked
"He's currently looking through your recorded memories." Fang replied.
Now that I think about it, Ryu did have a building made quickly specifically for storing and viewing my memories.
We stopped in front of a modest building. Once opened, the workers stopped what they were doing and acknowledged my presence.
"WELCOME SHIORI-SAMA!" They spoke in unison.
Most of them were females goblins, female komori wolves, a few dwarves and some spider clan member.
"Hello everyone. How are the clothes coming along?" Kuro took me off Madara's back and into his arms as Madara turned into his human form.
A spider clan girl ran up to me excitedly before hugging me close
"Splendid shiori-sama, in fact we've made some dresses for you and lord kuroha" the girl squeal.
Kuro pouted before pulling me away from her grasps, The girl pouted a bit at that.
"Um, and you are?" I asked the girl, really trying to calm the atmosphere.
"I am rei..." She replied
"Well, rei, the silk your making looks beautiful" I commented.
"Thankyou, the moths we spider clan farm have exceptional silk quality. They contain mana so there also sturdy " she explained
"May I see the outfits, please" I asked.
"Why of course!" She brought out a sketch book of drawn dressesl. Then she gestured for some of them to bring out some dresses for display.
I looked over each one with an unreadable expression as everyone tensed up, anxiously waiting for my opinion.
Most of these dresses were nice however , they were too... Girly, but everyone worked so hard on them.
"Oh?" I walked over to the outfit that displayed in a corner. I put it off the maniqkine and walked into the changing room.
The outfit consisted of a long sleeved cream turtleneck sweater, with brown furry shorts, and a matching fur jacket. All I needed now we're black thigh high socks and some sneakers.
Everyone was stunned. "Shiori-sama, you look lovely" kuro complimented.
"Thanks, i really appreciate all your hard work . This is so my style..." I praised
The new clothes felt soft yet study, it was perfect.
"Last up on our reports, you're temporary residence is now ready and fully furnished " kuro spoke.
I could barely contain my excitement as we walked.
....
My jaw dropped at the sight of my new house.
"If this is my temporary residence, I wonder how my actual home would look like!..." I gasped, nearly fainted. Damn!
As we opened the double doors, some people approached us, curtsies once they were at arms length.
"Um kuro, who are these people?" I whispered in his ear.
he shivered as soon as my breath touched his skin. instead of replying, he turned away embarrassed.
What's his problem?
"Their your new maids and butlers, lady shiori" fang spoke.
"Oh ok then-..."
"Shiori-sama!" I turned to see dayama and yamada running my way, smoke trailing behind them.
"Hello dayama, what's up?" I smiled
"our spies have detected suspicious movement outside the kingdom." He reported.
"Monsters?" I queried
"No, their humans" he said
"Humans?..., I'll go check it out. Fang come..." I said leaving as fang followed close behind.
No One's Pov
Meanwhile in the forest were the goblin once resided...
"AHHHHH!" a female student screamed as her and her friends ran for their dear lives.
"You just had to pet that bear cub, didn't you!" The blonde one yelled
"How was i supposed to know that its mom would be mad! And aren't you supposed to be a leader in this situation!" She yelled back
"Don't blame this on me you b**ch!" He yelled
"I swear If I die, I'll haunt both of you!" She cried
"That not a problem because... I'll be Dead too!" He whined
"Xavier, do something!" She begged the raveneet who was silently running.
He halted in his tracks before facing the monster in question. He brought out his sword, pointing at the beasts.
{Thunder strike activated}
A large bolt of lightning struck the thunder bear as black smoke engulfed the area for a moment.
The students coughed, confused as the the smoke cleared up and they saw their savior.
"WHA?!" they looked stunned by the beauty in strange clothes as a dire wolf stood next to her
"Are you guys alright?" She asked with an curious expression.
The three of them blinked twice at her.
....
Shiori's pov
.....
I asked and yamada to deal with our new guests while I was busy planting the last of my moonlit lilies. I'd decided to make my own personal flower garden in the backyard area of the mansion, my temporary home.
Most were common flowers from my previous world, such as roses, flower lotus, dandelions, sunflowers, sakuras and others.
I had also asked the dwarves to mark somethings in particular for me from my previous world.
"all done, I better check on them" I got up, taken off and hanging my garden apron before walking over to the entrance hall but no one was there.
"Strange, um mikasu where are our guests?" I asked a maid who was passing by
"Oh, lord dayama took them over to the meal lounge." She replied before continuing to mind her business.
I walked over to the said building as dayama stood by the entrance looking bothered about something, yamada not so far from him.
"Dayama, how are our guests doing?" I asked walking over.
"Well, um..." He sweatdropped, gestured to the tent as voices could be Heard.
"Hands off that meat, I rose it first!"
"So what, ever heard of survival of the fittest!
"Ever heard of chivalry!"
"When it comes to food, I believe in gender equality!"
I sweatdropped before staring at him for an explanation.
"They said they were hungry, so I brought them heard to get some food" he admitted looking down at the floor.
"That's good thinking dayama, helping those in need is the right thing to do, but next time, inform me before doing anything."
"Yes, shiori-sama!" He stood up straight.
"Relax, grezz...". I sweatdropped at his antics.
"What's going on?" Ryu spoke as he, kuro and haru walked over.
"Shiori-sama found some humans in our scouting range and brought them here for questioning!" Fang explained.
"Huh?" The three of them stared confused.
"Shiori-sama, go on in" yamada said opening the door for me.
I entered, only to see the students turning to me as they were munching on the meal, cheeks full like chipmunks.
"Guests let me introduce to you, the queen of this magnificent kingdom, shiori-sama! And her main right hands lord Ryuchi, lord kuroha and lady haruna!" Dayama introduced boldly
Hey! Don't go exaggerating!
"What?! Your master is a girl?" The blonde one and the girl asked in unison while the other one sat there unbothered by the news.
"Got a problem with it?" I glared sharply
"No! It's just that, we knew you were strange but we never expected..." The girl mumbled
"We sorry, we never expected a monster to save us!" The blonde bowed apologetically.
"I'm a demi human not a monster. So, what brings you here?" I asked gesturing to the forest they were scouting.
"Let's reintroduce ourselves. were students from the draco Magic Academy...."
"My name is William." The blonde said
"I'm Mia!" The girl said
"And this is Xavier " William gestured to the raveneet next to him.
"I'm shiori koromi, but you may call me lady shiori or shiori-dono" I replied.
"So answer the question " I pressed on
"We're one an assignment for school" William explained.
He told me everything about how their school asked their class to go on another raid for points since phantom activities have increased.
"I see, well then you three should spend the night here." I suggested
"Thankyou so much!" They said in unison. I turned to dayama and yamada.
"Treat them well." I said
"yes my lady!" They said in unison.
.....
Before we knew it, it was night time, everyone had gone to rest for the night.
However I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried so how comfortable my bed was, it still felt empty. got out of bed and carefully walked through the corridors before stopping at a door.
The special thing I had requested from the dwarves was ready. I opened the door revealing a beautiful piano standing in the center of the room.
I had always enjoyed the soothing sounds of piano music, so much so that I learnt to play the instrument at the age of 5. It became a hobby of mine when I'm not smashing video games.
I sat on the cushion sit, me finger hovering over the keys as they glowed faintly under the moonlight. I took a deep breath and begun to play, worst
(check the piano version)
My body flowed with the melody, my heart aching as I sang softly. My hair flowed gently in the breeze.
A tear slid down my cheek as I quickly wiped it away.
"That was beautiful." I froze, getting defensive as a figure emerged from the shadows.
"Oh, it's only you Xavier ..." He ignored me as he caresses the top of the piano.
"What is this thing?" He asked
"A special instrument that allows someone to play music " I replied bluntly
"Extraordinary..." He awed
"Can you tell me what your doing here, at this hour?" I glared suspiciously.
"I heard a strange melody so I came to check it out, you seemed sad while playing. Was the song about someone dear to you?"
"That's none of your business." I said not looking at him.
"I guess not, hey lady shiori, mind listening?..." He asked, looking like he was about to monologue.
I don't want to hear your back story.
"You shouldn't really speak to strangers about your personal life" I deadpanned.
"I had a sister,..." He begun
"Didn't you hear me..." I blinked, not wanting to listen in drama.
"She was everything to me, our parents were hero candidates as well as hero descendants so they were always busy helping the kingdom. As far as I could remember, it was just sis and me. But...one day, she too was taken away from me." He frowned
"By who?" I asked getting curious
"I'm not really sure, if I recall correctly, they called me themselves the Crimson cross.❌..."
"Crimson cross?"
"Sis, told me she'd come back for me, but I knew she was just trying to give me hope, i trained instead, hoping that I could one day find her.
I trained myself to the limit, for years, just to get stronger, yet I could never find them. Soon I was scouted by the bureau of magic to join the magic academy. I might as well defend the weak, and prevent others from suffering like I did."
"Do you want revenge?" I asked
"I don't know, all I want is my sister back, even if she's no more, a piece of her to remember would be enough" he replied.
"But why tell me all this...?" I queried, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Because, I wasn't able to stop them, but maybe you and your people can. Your mana is ground breaking, I can sense it. it's just a theory though." he replied with determination in his eyes.
"Thankyou for the tip but let me be honest with you, I have no desire to walk on the path of self righteous heroic bullshit. I do what I want, you can give me ireders just because I look nice, if our interest and goals intertwine then I might just be able to assist, however, as you can see it's late and you should get some rest" I said leaving the room, not waiting for his response.
Once back in my own room, I looked out the window with determination.
"Crimson cross, huh... I've finally gotten a led. Although Ryu and others are strong, however I can't risk that bitch of a goddess finding out about them. no matter..."
it's about time I executed my life long dream plan anyway. All my life since I've known playing videogames and reading manga,I've always wanted to be the strongest. Live the life of an op character that no one can defeat. However it was all nothing but a dream. But Now in this world where magic exists, I can finally make it happen...."
"But to do that, I need more power, need more knowledge, need to up my game in every aspect...." I stared at the moon.
"Sit tight sanemi, your big sister is going to go everything it takes to find you, even if it means having an identity so vile, it will make the gods themselves tremble.
In order to save you...
I must be...
Someone who can't be stopped
A figure that watches the chaos of the world unfold, only to damage further...
As cunning as my nature represents
I must be god in human skin, beautiful as Rose, but have thrones as while....