Chapter 257 Cleaver Kingdom's Pinch
"Ember, this...!"
I was at a loss for words; my hands were trembling as I touched the familiar device. However, it was heavier than I thought. About ten kilograms, despite its small size. How dense is this object?
"I tried creating it based on Master's stories. However, I can't create the [Apps] that you were talking about."
Ember held another similar, if not completely identical, device in her hands. With a tap on the screen, a call was initiated, prompting the one in my hand to vibrate.
"This is the only function I managed to place, which enables the devices to call each other with a press of a button."
Yeah... It's pretty primitive, with only a single function for now, but Ember will surely improve this in the future. Honestly, just adding the call function was already worth her effort.
"You have no idea how useful this can be... Thanks."
I smiled as I patted Ember's head lightly. She smiled sweetly, even snuggling her head against my palm, thoroughly enjoying it.
After a slight break, Ember finally explained the concept behind the "phone". Apparently, she had two space-element cores embedded in each one, with a small portal that would activate upon pressing a button and receiving energy from the user.
The portal would then transfer the voice directly to the other party, church, where Blanc was already waiting for us.
so there's no noise added from an electric discharge or something. It was completely a fantasy-style phone!
After testing it with Ember, increasing the distance between us while maintaining the call, an hour had already passed. I quickly called the other girls and gathered everyone at the entrance of the church, where Blanc was already waiting for us.
Ember and Fang were together, talking in a quiet voice. Igni and Fina were standing aloft, with Judy and Yorm running around their feet. Confirming that everyone was ready, I turned to Blanc and nodded.
"We're all set."
"Alright, then I'll open up the portal now."
As she spoke, she waved her hand and opened a blue portal, as tall as the door was, before her. Ahead was a dark space, so we had no idea where it led. Blanc entered without hesitation, leaving us behind, so I and the girls quickly followed behind her.
"... This place again..."
The place where we landed was the same dome-shaped location in the capital where the teleportation array leading to the Royal Castle was located. I was half-expecting for her to teleport us straight into the castle, but it seemed like that was a tall order even for her.
"Follow closely behind me."
She said this as she led the way forward. The guard, just seeing her figure, quickly opened the path and stood in attention, saluting in her direction. God-tamers really do get special treatment. Look at her, passing through checkpoints like they were nonexistent.
Soon, we reached the inside of the dome and stepped into the teleportation array. After a brief flash of light, we were already at the top of the cliff overlooking the Royal Castle and the forest that spread before it.
"Are we walking down? Can we just jump down?"
I quickly asked since, unlike Yu Na, Blanc was definitely easier to talk to. She smiled sweetly, as if hearing a funny joke.
"Don't worry, we won't walk. I'll just open a portal to the gate."
As she said, another blue portal appeared before us. Without even waiting for our reply, Blanc had already gone inside. As before, we rushed into the portal and were immediately sent straight to the front gate. Unlike before, the gates opened just after seeing Blanc's figure, so it was easier to go inside.
Soldiers were standing in line on both edges of the path leading to the castle, wielding their swords in a knightly salute. It was the same, but the nuance seemed different than when we first came here.
"..."
I was expecting some idiot to come running and mess with Blanc, but fortunately, the brain-dead prince doesn't seem to be here. Without much interference, we reached the same waiting room inside the castle, with maids attending to us and giving us food and beverages.
"So, when are we meeting with the king?"
I asked after a few minutes of sitting down and sipping on warm tea. Blanc was doing the same and lifted her head at my prompting.
"We will be called in later, but there wasn't a time stated specifically. It could be a few minutes from now or an hour. However, since I am with you, it shouldn't take that long."
Holding back a God tamer to wait for an audience with the king does sound implausible. The damages that could occur during their short absence from the frontline were immeasurable.
As if an embodiment of the sentiment, the head maid came into the room and bowed. With her strict but fluent voice and the soft sound of a flowing river, she announced.
"The King is now ready to meet Goddess Blanc and her entourage. Please follow me."
Blanc and I stood up from our seats while the girls stopped whatever they were doing and stood behind me in attention. The head maid glanced at us, her eyes flashing with a weird glint, before turning away.
Walking down the long hallway, the head maid led us deeper into the castle. However, it wasn't a new sight for me since I had already passed here before, albeit in a rush, with God Zeshion. The repetitive design of the castle was a little boring. In the end, I just stared at the waving black hair of the head maid and her perky bottom, which shook lightly with every step. It was a pretty nice sight, not gonna lie.
Soon, we reached a large double door with intricate carving. The head maid just touched the door, and it swung open by itself. Ahead of us, King Leonard was already sitting atop his throne, a hand supporting his chin as if bored, with a faint frown morphing his lips downward.
"Great work, Goddess Blanc. Thank you for bringing Will into my presence."
King Leonard muttered with appreciation. His words were a little awkward, though, as they were a mix of being haughty and respectful. I guess he can't straight up say his appreciation to her due to his needing to maintain the "Dignity of a King".
"It's my pleasure, your highness."
Goddess Blanc smiled as she curtsied a little. However, she didn't kneel like the rest of us. As expected, she was just like Zeshion, displaying her respect for the king as little as possible. The dignity of the king against the height of a god-tamer's name was a hard thing to balance.
"So, Will, I suppose you know why I called you?"
King Leonard, as if wanting to end the awkward air between him and Blanc, turned the topic to me. The gazes of everyone else in the throne room turned to me as if blaming me for something.
"Yes, King Leonard. It's regarding the support for Cleaver Kingdom, isn't it?"
I tried acting as respectfully as I could since there were other people's eyes in this place. However, since I wasn't the type to do so regularly, I don't know if I was doing it correctly. Well, as long as I don't say anything that's a bit too much, it should be fine.
"I see that Goddess Blanc has already briefed you. This makes this talk faster."
He nodded his head as if in understanding.
"Will, as the King, I order you to go with the delegates I selected and provide military support to the Cleaver Kingdom!"
His voice echoed majestically. After hearing his command, I bowed my head and assented.
"As you wish, your majesty."
If I were to say my true thoughts, then I definitely don't want to go. However, now that the King had ordered me, there was no way I could skip this.
After a few more words, we were finally allowed to leave the audience room. Apparently, around noontime, all the delegates that the king appointed would gather at the teleportation array before heading for the Cleaver Kingdom together.
As we left, Goddess Blanc lost her reason to stay and was about to return to the church. I stopped her for a little to give her something.
"Blanc, please take this."
I passed a metallic-looking object that could fit in one's palm. It was none other than the phone that Ember made.
"In case of emergency, we will use this to contact you. Keep in mind that we would try and handle all troubles by ourselves, so calling you would mean..."
Even without continuing my words, she already nodded her head in understanding.
"... That a problem you couldn't handle has appeared, right? I got it."
She stared at the device with a face full of curiosity before keeping it in a storage space. Ember passed a strip of paper to her too, which contained the basic explanation and usage of the phone.
After saying our goodbyes, she vanished through a portal and left. Now, the only thing we could do was wait.
"Hey, did you hear? Apparently, there's a device in the Cleaver delegation that the king mentioned, a fascinating topic entered my ears. I turned to them, curiosity brimming, and asked with a clear Kingdom that could turn back time! I wonder how much it could fetch if sold."
Just as we were passing by a group of tamers, probably a part of the delegation that the king mentioned, a fascinating topic entered my ears. I turned to them, curiosity brimming, and asked with a clear voice.
"Where is this device located?"
The two tamers were surprised by my sudden question, butting into their conversation, but soon answered. It was pretty vague, though, as all he knew was that it was in the southern part of the kingdom. Still, it's better than having no clue.
"..."
A time travel device... It looks like I at least have one item on my itinerary while in the Cleaver Kingdom now.
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