Chapter 604: A Day in Tolgue I
Noble Baron Hotel
Tolgue City
Githal Region
August 2nd
531st Divine Year
Arthur sat by the window of the Noble Baron Hotel, his eyes filled with spatial power as he zoomed his gaze over thousands of kilometres, gazing at the distant coastline.
The Gozonians were gathering their forces for the attack, planning to hit the Waregough Archipelago before the Aramisians there could finish cloning Ger’s Disciple’s brain and move the clones to separate locations.
Until they were done, he found himself with time to spare.
Just then, his communication device buzzed and he glanced in its direction. His vision returned to normal and the device floated into his palm. Opening it, he saw a message from Rachel.
[Rachel: "I’m back in Gledea. You around?"]
Arthur blinked at the message, then typed a response.
[Arthur: "At the Noble Baron Hotel. Come over, I’ll have them send you up."]
It didn’t take long for Rachel to respond, confirming she’d be there shortly. Arthur leaned back in his chair, letting out a soft sigh.
Considering he had wrecked whatever secret operation the Aramisians had on Plomux, he wasn’t surprised to hear she was back.
They had likely recalled all the soldiers from Gledea, since with more troops around, the chances of getting caught significantly increased.
Arthur extended his hand and tapped the buzzer on the desk to send a message to the front desk.
"Hey, I’m expecting someone. Send her up when she arrives."
The receptionist confirmed, and Arthur turned his attention back to the portable console in his hand.
Evan, who was sitting not too far from him, was tapping furiously at his own console.
"I’m joining in. Don’t think you’re winning this time."
Arthur spoke as he booted up the game, while Evan responded without taking his eyes off the screen, his fingers moving at literal lightning speed.
"You’ve got no chance, bruh."
Beatrix who was lounging on the couch nearby looked up at the two boys and shook her head before returning her gaze to the magazine in her hands.
Time passed and soon, there was a knock on the suite door. Beatrix was the first to react, standing up and opening the suite door.
The newcomer was a brown-haired young woman she’d never seen before, but knowing Arthur was expecting someone, she asked.
"Rachel?"
"Uh, yeah."
Rachel replied, slightly taken aback. She hadn’t expected to see someone else in Arthur’s suite while Beatrix just turned around and spoke.
"Come on in. Arthur’s... occupied."
As Rachel followed Beatrix into the suite, her eyes immediately fell on Arthur and Evan, both of them engrossed in their game. The two of them were sitting on opposite sides of the coffee table, consoles in hand, their fingers tapping away frantically at the screens.
Now, she understood what Beatrix meant by him being ’occupied’.
Before she could call out to Arthur, Evan suddenly let out a triumphant shout.
"I win!"
Arthur’s reaction was the exact opposite. He cursed under his breath, slamming his console down on the table.
"Damn it."
He turned around, finally noticing Rachel standing there and smiled as if nothing unusual was happening.
"Oh, hey there."
"What’s going on?"
Rachel asked with a confused expression and Arthur responded with a light shrug.
"Nothing serious, we’re just playing a game."
The young woman glanced at the images on the console, very surprised at the clarity and high-level resolution.
’Such high-level magic-tech...’
Arthur was from a place far more advanced than Aramis would ever be, so it made sense that the technology he used was far higher than what Rachel knew.
While Arthur did notice her staring at the console, he didn’t pay it too much mind and spoke up.
"Anyway, you’re back earlier than I expected. Thought you’d be busy for a while."
Rachel turned back to him, her expression shifting slightly.
"You haven’t heard?"
"Heard what?"
Arthur raised a brow in curiosity and leaned forward, and Rachel gave a short explanation.
"Well, we were sent back early. There was no need to complete the mission again."
Though she said that, her tone suggested there was more to the story and Arthur didn’t miss this.
"Hmm, and why’s that?"
Again, Rachel was surprised. Her surprise stemmed from Arthur’s obvious ignorance about what she was alluding to.
"Just how early did you leave Plomux that you missed it?"
"Missed what?
I left not long after we met. I finished what I had to do in a couple of minutes."
There were no lies in his words. Arthur finished what he came for in a couple of minutes and the whole fight with Duskhand also didn’t take more than a few minutes.
The total time span between Artur meeting Rachel and leaving Plomux was barely 20 minutes.
Hearing his words, Rachel understood that he’d left shortly after their meeting, but she still didn’t understand how Arthur hadn’t sensed the clash of Transcendent Magic powers.
"Right... Well, don’t worry about it. Just know that I’m free for a while."
"That so?"
Arthur said, standing up and stretching, before brushing off his clothes.
"Then let’s go out."
Rachel blinked in mild surprise at his casual suggestion and asked just to be sure.
"Right now?"
"Why not?
In fact, let’s go every day this week until... oh wait, no, not on the 6th. I’m kind of busy that day."
Arthur wondered what sort of reaction Rachel would have if she found out what was keeping him ’busy’ on the sixth, but his rational side pushed his mischievous side down before he said anything crazy.
Turning to Evan and Beatrix, he spoke.
"I’m leaving you guys here. Going out with my dear friend."
He walked over to Rachel, casually placing his arm around hers and giving her a playful tug toward the door.
Rachel blinked in surprise but didn’t resist as Arthur dragged her out of the room, closing the door behind them.
As she was led down the hallway by Arthur, Rachel finally inquired about where exactly they were going but Arthur’s reply was a simple ’anywhere’.
Clearly, he had no particular destinations in mind. Not that Rachel minded since she was currently free.
In such a manner, they stepped out into the bright streets of Tolgue City which was so vibrant and full of life that you wouldn’t believe it was on a planet fighting war against alien invaders.
The streets buzzed with activity, and people went about their daily lives, somehow insulated from the conflict raging on Gledea.
Arthur first pulled Rachel over to a marketplace he noticed earlier in the day and was curious about.
The marketplace was alive with sounds—vendors calling out to customers, children laughing, and street performers strumming on instruments or pulling off small tricks for passing crowds.
Rachel’s curiosity got the better of her as she glanced around at the various stalls, selling everything from exotic fruits to beautifully crafted trinkets.
"I didn’t think you’d want to do something so... ordinary."
She spoke with a light laugh, nudging Arthur as they passed a vendor selling handcrafted jewellery. Hearing her, Arthur placed a hand over his mouth with a feigned expression of sadness.
"Are you insinuating I’m unordinary? I’m offended!"
Rachel just rolled her eyes at Arthur’s acting, but she did not deny him being unordinary.
"Ordinary’s underrated.
Sometimes you’ve got to enjoy the simple stuff. Besides, what better way to unwind before things get crazy?"
The young woman was momentarily curious about what he meant by things ’getting crazy’ but her attention was quickly stolen as she spotted a vendor selling what looked like tiny mechanical birds, crafted out of metal and a delicate crystalline material.
The vendor sent one soaring into the air, its wings fluttering in perfect synchronization, casting rainbow reflections as the light hit it.
Rachel’s eyes lit up at the sight and she approached the vendor with a question.
"That’s incredible. How do they work?"
The vendor launched into an enthusiastic explanation about Aramisian magitech, detailing the intricate process of fusing magic with mechanics.
Arthur, not exactly interested in the mechanics, just watched Rachel’s curiosity with a fond smile.
"You want one?"
He asked, tilting his head toward the vendor but Rachel shook her head.
"Nah, it’s beautiful, but I don’t think I’d have much use for it."
"Who needs a reason to buy something fun? You’re overthinking it."
Arthur laughed at her response and she smiled wryly as she spoke.
"Maybe."
As they moved on, the scent of sizzling food caught their attention, leading them to a nearby food stall where a cook was tossing vegetables and skewered meats onto a smoking grill.
The steam billowed upward, and the aromas of sweet, spicy, and savoury foods mingled in the air, reminding Arthur he hadn’t eaten anything this morning.
