I Thought I Was Collecting Systems, Not Overpowered Wives

Chapter 59: Saga 59: Preparing for the Storm

A/N: I just wanted to take this moment to thank any of those you have read this far . The journey has been rocky but I am glad that some you still stocked around. I will try my very best to continue this novel to the best of my abilities

The cathedral transformed over the following two days into something resembling a fortress under siege, guards doubling at every entrance, Claire’s hastily transcribed ward reinforcement notes—sent via urgent courier from Renodin—being implemented by Church mages who eyed the foreign hunter’s methods with a mixture of skepticism and grudging respect.

"Your friend’s ward theory is considerably more advanced than anything our own archives contain," one of the senior Church mages admitted to Kael, studying the diagrams Claire had scrawled in the margins of her notes. "Where did she learn techniques like this?"

"Trial and error, mostly. And an unfortunate amount of experience fighting things that really wanted her dead." Kael watched as the mage carefully began weaving the reinforced lattice pattern into the cathedral’s outer walls, the same defensive structure Claire had used to buy them precious minutes against the Sleeping Ruin.

Sylvia, meanwhile, had taken charge of coordinating patrol routes with the temple guard captains, her natural talent for logistics proving just as valuable here as it had during the Harvest Festival preparations months earlier.

"Your blind spots are concentrated around the eastern archive wing," she told the assembled captains, pointing to a hastily drawn map.

"Anyone attempting infiltration would likely target that section first. I’d recommend doubling patrols there specifically, along with motion-sensitive ward triggers if your mages can manage it."

"Understood," the lead captain said, clearly impressed despite himself. "You’ve done this before."

"More times than I’d like to count."

Ari, for her part, had been confined largely to her private quarters per the Cardinal’s strict security protocol, though she’d made it abundantly clear to Kael during a brief visit that the confinement chafed at her considerably.

"I feel like a prisoner in my own home," she said, pacing restlessly across her chamber while Kael reviewed the latest security reports. "Four days of this, minimum, assuming the threat doesn’t materialize sooner."

"Better a temporary prisoner than an actual target," Kael said, though he understood her frustration.

"I know. Doesn’t make it less maddening." She dropped onto her cushioned chair with a huff, some of her earlier composure slipping in the privacy of her own quarters. "At least you’re here. If I have to be trapped, I’d rather be trapped with interesting company."

"High praise."

"Don’t let it go to your head." But she was smiling, faintly, despite the tension hanging over everything. "Tell me something distracting. Anything. I’ve read through my entire monster anatomy collection twice already out of sheer boredom."

Kael considered for a moment, then found himself recounting, in considerably more embarrassing detail than strictly necessary, the story of Adian’s disastrous magic tricks at the Harvest Festival, the explosion, Claire’s exasperated commentary, the whole ridiculous spectacle of it.

Ari laughed, genuinely, the sound bright and unguarded in a way that made the looming threat outside her window feel, for just a moment, considerably further away than four days.

[Enjoy the moment while it lasts,] the system offered quietly. [Threat level assessment suggests Umbra Black’s deadline is not merely symbolic. Something’s coming, and soon.]

’I know,’ Kael thought, watching Ari’s laughter fade into a small, grateful smile. ’Which is exactly why moments like this matter more than ever right now.’

Later that evening, once the security briefings had finally concluded and most of the cathedral had settled into an uneasy quiet, Kael found Sylvia on the guest quarters’ small balcony, staring out at the city lights scattered below like earthbound stars.

"You’ve been quiet today," he said, joining her at the railing.

"Just thinking. This whole situation feels heavier than a simple detour should." She glanced at him sideways. "You’ve been spending a lot of time with Ari."

"Someone has to keep her from going stir crazy in that room."

"That’s not what I meant, and you know it."

Kael considered denying it, then thought better of insulting her intelligence. "I like her. Genuinely. Not the same way I feel about you, if that’s what you’re worried about."

Sylvia was quiet for a moment, processing that. "I’m not worried, exactly. Just observing. She’s clearly drawn to you too, in her own chaotic way."

"Is that a problem?"

"Not necessarily." Sylvia’s expression softened, something thoughtful replacing the earlier tension. "I’ve never been the jealous type, Kael. If she matters to you, I’d rather understand that honestly than pretend otherwise."

"That’s remarkably mature of you."

"I contain multitudes," she said, echoing Adian’s favorite line with a faint smirk, and for a moment, despite everything looming over Songrel, the two of them simply stood together, watching the city below settle into an uneasy, waiting silence.

"Three days left," Kael said eventually, breaking the comfortable quiet. "Whatever’s coming on the third moon, I want us ready for it. All of us, together."

"We will be." Sylvia’s hand found his on the railing, fingers lacing together with familiar ease. "We’ve survived worse odds than this, Kael. An ancient horror beneath the palace, a mythical heart-eating cultist, an entire bandit camp before either of us really knew what we were capable of. Whatever Umbra Black throws at us, we’ll meet it the same way we’ve met everything else."

"Together."

"Always together." She leaned into him, watching the distant cathedral spires catch the last light of the setting sun. "Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow, the real preparations begin in earnest, and I have a feeling we’ll need every ounce of strength we can muster before the third moon actually arrives."

They lingered on the balcony a while longer, neither quite ready to retreat indoors and end the fragile peace of the evening, until the chill finally drove them back inside to whatever rest they could manage before the true work began.

Somewhere below, in the quiet of her own chambers, Ari lay awake despite her best efforts at sleep, staring at the ceiling while her mind replayed every warning, every threat, every fragile hope she’d allowed herself since Azure Blake’s unexpected arrival. Whatever came with the third moon, she found herself, for the first time in years, not entirely alone in facing it.

—

End of Chapter—