Chapter 411 411 Grok's Lament
Grok was noticeably pouting while the rest of the team packed up to get ready to move on to the next village that morning, and it was clear that he blamed Wolfe for his predicament.
It might have been partially Wolfe's fault for forgetting to put up a sound barrier, but the Goblin was taking it much harder than usual since he had certainly heard more than one or two makeout sessions at the Academy and likely even a few of them involving his Witch. She was quite popular with the Guardians before the draft, but Wolfe wasn't sure how much of that Grok really remembered at this point.
His mind had advanced a lot with his evolution to a Goblin Paladin, and he was much more simple-minded when he was first summoned.
One of the Mayor's assistants greeted them as Wolfe led the group downstairs. "Don't run away without breakfast. It's a simple fare, but we've got plenty of eggs, plus biscuits and gravy ready down in the staff kitchen."
"Thanks. I think we will. As soon as everyone is awake and stops pouting, that is." Wolfe agreed.
The kitchen seemed to have the entire staff of the building in it this morning, possibly to gossip, but they seemed comfortable enough there that it might just be a daily routine, and they always ate breakfast at the office.
"Good Morning, Lady Ella and Mister Wolfe. Please, find a seat anywhere with your travelling companions." The staff member standing by the door greeted them.
Christa, being a Council Member's daughter, looked more than a little annoyed to be reduced to Wolfe's travelling companion, but at this point in her life, there wasn't much she could do about it but wait and hope that one day she too would make the Second Rank and get all that sweet flattery from everyone that she met.
Wolfe picked a seat, and a man in military uniform brought over the meal for them with a smirk on his face.
"Now I fully and truly understand what it means to earn the title of a Lord." The man greeted Wolfe.
"Oh, and what is that?"
The soldier smiled back at Wolfe and gave him a wink.
"I'm the overnight door guard. I was on duty outside the building from sundown last night, and your window was open." The soldier replied, making Ella blush bright red.
Christa shook her head. "I need to learn the soundproofing spell before we make it to the next village. It can't be that hard to cast."
Ella just shrugged and tossed her an amulet from a pouch at her waist. "Take that one and study it. I've got more of them."
Christa started to look it over, memorizing how to cast the spell, and then it dawned on her. Ella had a full bag of amulets and charms premade when she first arrived at the Academy. She had this spell the whole time, and she didn't even think to put a bit of mana into it to activate it last night.
"You know what, I will hold onto this for safekeeping. I think that I'll need it for my own peace of mind." She muttered.
Wolfe smiled at her and then wrapped an arm around Ella. "Maybe we should have made you continue studying at the Academy. You didn't have time to learn the most important spells of all."
The night guard and most of the witches on staff chuckled quietly as the group bantered over breakfast, but everything fell silent when the Mayor, the Colonel and the head Elder all came in at the same time.
"Oh good, we caught you before you left. We got the strangest report today, and we were hoping that you could shed some light on it. There is an eyewitness statement here that during your time in the Frozen Wastes, you rescued a group of Witches and healed the damage from the Nerve Gas. But this witness said that wasn't all you did. She insists that you can help awaken witches who never had magic and increase the powers of the others with a touch." The Elder announced.
Wolfe nodded carefully.
"Both statements are true, though they don't come without a price. Awakening a Witch who never got magic on her own or clearing the pathways of an existing Witch to increase her potential both come with a debt to be paid." Wolfe reminded the old Witch.
The Mayor, a dark-haired, middle-aged witch, smiled at Wolfe. "I think that we can come up with something that we can trade. That lovely informant mentioned that you had helped them in exchange for an interesting token. I happen to have one such item that I think you might be interested in."
She took out a crystal from her robes, and Wolfe returned her smile with one of her own. What she had was a Magi knowledge crystal, and it looked to be both full and undamaged, going by the inscriptions that he could see by using [Detect Hidden].
"Oh, I think that we can work something out. What did you have in mind? A few fresh young faces need a bit of a confidence boost to get them going? Perhaps a rising star among the youths could use a helping hand?" Wolfe suggested.
The Mayor gave him a suspicious look. "I get the feeling that your reference to the youth of the target isn't because of some particular tendency of yours. I've seen your travelling companions and the outfit you made yesterday. Neither suggests you're a lolicon. So that must mean that there is some advantage to doing the process when the Witch is still newly awakened, or perhaps just before they awaken."
Ella gave the Mayor an impressed look, then turned to Wolfe. "I'm actually shocked that she caught on so quickly. How much are you willing to make her guess before we tell her?"
"Not too much longer, but she's enjoying working it out on her own, and she is almost there. Now she just needs to formulate the request that she had in mind in a way that will best suit the information that she gleaned from our conversation." He replied quietly but loud enough that those around him could still hear.
The Mayor fell silent for a while, then schooled her features into what she thought was an excellent poker face. It was far too late for that, but Wolfe did appreciate the effort.
"Alright, let's hear what you are offering." He demanded with a smile.
