Chapter 96: The Soul Part 2

Rainer entered the Baron’s mansion with no issue. The guards on duty recognized him and let him through right away. In part, Rainer wished to speak with the Baron as soon as possible not just for his Chef but to see what the altercation with Yarik led to.

“Lord Magus,” The second Aura presence within the Mansion bowed towards him. Both he and the Baron had in fact been awake

“It is a pleasure to see you once more, Lord Magus,” Charles then spoke, doing away with the familiarity due to the secondary presence.

“A pleasure. Charles, might I speak with you alone?” Rainer asked, his party waiting outside. He in part hoped to test them and see if they attacked when he lacked his guards. But seeing no hostility, he guessed that Yarik had kept his recent actions a secret. Rainer thought over if whether he should leave a message with this 2nd Tier expert of Mier before deciding to ask his party for their thoughts on the matter.

“It is good to see you again, Rainer,” Charles said standing to greet Rainer. They exchanged a few pleasantries along with Charles’ personal thanks in handling the issue in the North.

“I’m here to pick up my Chef; I’d prefer to handle it right now. I’m in a bit of a rush.”

Charles nodded and was fine with ignoring the late hour. He went with Rainer toward the Inn owned by the person teaching the young Chef.

“You know, he mentioned he was quite impressed. It is a rare thing to gain any cooking skill so quickly, especially without a talent for it. One must be quite the hard worker to accomplish such a thing.”

Rainer simply nodded, lost in thought over the prospect of Soul Magic.

Charles entered the Inn first as Rainer followed behind. The proprietor was still up tending to some later customers. Rainer noticed several of them had bandages on their ears, but he paid it little mind beyond a small curiosity.

After a short conversation, the Inn’s owner headed upstairs. The noise in the place stalled as they recognized not only the Baron but the appearance of stunning foreign Lord Magus who had been rumored to be friends with the Baron.

Following Charles to a back room, Rainer spoke up after a few minutes. The rest of his party was outside as Rainer worried just what sensory abilities someone with a Soul Affinity may have. With further knowledge from Theodore, he understood it wasn’t just a magic affinity. There were other factors involved in the Affinity.

While he’d eventually share most of his secrets with his future apprentice, it wouldn’t do for him to start yelling out about undead and fairies.

Having a goblin among his party certainly wasn’t the best idea either. Furtak, however, stayed behind in the Fae Realm for the time being. Rainer had named him an Initiate of his Order, meaning it was unlikely he’d have any issue. On top of him being Fire-Touched, a source of fear existing in many Fae of the Courts given their issues with one who was Wind-Touched.

“What’s taking so long?”

“I Imagine she is putting on a nicer attire before she is to meet her future Lord,”

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“She?” Rainer asked confused as he saw someone heading down the stairs. It was the same brown-haired green-eyed boy he had chosen from the group, barring the now longer hair tied with a ribbon.

Rainer felt a little ill at the reminder for why she looked like a boy during their first meeting before shaking away those thoughts.

She wore a simple gray and blue dress, though Rainer imagined it wasn’t simple for this level of civilization and likely was something provided by the Baron. She gave a small curtsey, that varied quite a bit from what Rainer understood of his medieval world. In the end, it accomplished the same thing of keeping the dress from getting dirty during a bow.

The mood suddenly shifted as Rainer walked forward glaring at the Inn’s owner.

“What the hell is this?” He said holding up his future apprentice’s bandaged hands.

“It-s-“ The older man who served as the Inn’s owner and a Head Chef, stumbled over his words as the presence of magic came down upon him. Charles himself could not speak either.

Rainer instantly calmed down as he recalled his previous conversation with the Baron.

“Sorry…long day,” He said as he then looked down at the girl, hoping he hadn’t just permanently damaged his relationship with her. However, her face was unchanged, not at all bothered by his anger nor presence of Magic.

Rainer sank into his thoughts for a moment. He wondered when he lost himself to such a temper. Rational thought told him any newer chef would likely end up cutting their fingers, on top of being a small kid. Yet his first reaction was anger and assumed wrongdoing on her teacher.

In the past, he could excuse it for caring for those he loved or held dear. But now, he wasn’t sure. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

How has having this much power affected me…

He wondered as he felt his Mana pool and still active [Arcane Awakening].

He shook his head as kneeled to her eye level surprising the two other adults in the room. He’d worry about his issue with temper later. At the very least he never once felt anger at those close to him in such a manner.

“So, what’s your name?”

--

Several minutes before meeting the man who would change her life a girl was sleeping only to be awoken by her door being swung open in haste. Years of living in constant fear had given her a rude awakening at this sudden intruder before the familiar presence of the Inn Owner’s Soul had calmed her.

Ever since the girl could remember, she could always tell much about the people around her. She could tell even when her father was angry and drunk that he wouldn’t hurt her, despite the fear the retired soldier would draw from the rest of the village. She knew how to hide her own presence and make people feel certain ways about her. She understood the feelings of envy and jealousy that her fellow former slaves of the Goblins felt as one whispered to her the Lord Magus just wanted someone to warm his bed.

But she knew from the first meeting that, despite the darkness and power that surrounded the Lord Magus’ Soul, he was a good person. So, she did not take this person’s words to heart. Instead, she wholeheartedly worked towards the task he had her train for. The cuts she got occasionally did not bother her too much as her hands were already covered in calluses from years working in the mine.

“Get dressed with the nicest thing the Baron provided earlier, your future Lord has arrived. Quickly.”

She looked up at the Inn Owner and nodded her head as she awoken. It took her a few moments to register what he had said before she rushed away. She felt the familiar nervousness that followed the Inn Owner whenever he was around her. It was a different life being treated so cautiously.

She did not blame him. Everyone felt that same nervousness when it came to the Lord Magus.

She went downstairs after changing and quickly tying her hair that started to grow toward its original length in a bow.

Practicing the curtsy that the Baron had personally come over to teach her, she bowed before the Mage who was to be her Lord. That was when the mood suddenly shifted. She saw the Mage’s Soul flare in anger but rather than it being aimed at her she felt as if his Soul sought to shield her.

In the end, she did not even feel the presence of Magic that had nearly sent the Inn owner and the Baron to their knees.

Soon she found her new Lord kneeling in front of her asking for her name.

And so, she told him.

“Lilia.”

--

“A lovely name,” Rainer said as he looked at the green-eyed girl, “Do you know why I picked you out from everyone else?”

She shook her head.

“Well you see, I’ve been looking for someone to pass my Magic onto and you have the Gifts for some of the Magic I use,” Rainer said before he then recalled her strange calmness when he lost his temper earlier, “And I imagine you know what I’m talking about,” He added taking a shot in the dark.

“I do,” She said quietly, wondering if he knew about her [Strong Soul Affinity]. She had felt a strange presence looking at her when she stood amongst the others to work for the Lord Magus.

Rainer stood as he ruffled her hair, “You are to the be the Apprentice of an [Archon]. Have some confidence when you speak.”

“I do?” She repeated in the same exact voice, albeit a bit more questioning tone, while not at all doubting nor affected by the recent revelation.

“We’ll work on it,” Rainer said, “I’m sorry to cut our meeting short Charles. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

“Ah…See you then…” Charles said as he wondered if he heard the…[Archon]…correctly. Finding his thoughts stuttering by the casual mention of Rainer being an [Archon] he didn’t stop him for further questions.

Neither the Inn Owner nor the Baron moved for some time after. Charles was well aware of the confrontation between Yarik and Rainer, though only the one back in the mansion, and knew from Yarik’s mood who came out ahead. The recent revelation only served to further that belief for why the Guildmaster of one of the largest Mage Guilds would back down after what had happened to the Prince he treats like a son.

They headed to pick up Maya before heading toward the Fae realm. Rainer had taken a moment before they left to check on Tiamat, as she had not asked nor accepted any [Draconic Essence] for a bit to find her slightly larger than before and happily sleeping. He noted the Dragon had also recently unlocked her Affinity, having already reached what he detected as 20 points of Mana.

He couldn’t help but be a little jealous of the Dragonling who accomplished one of the most difficult achievements of Rainer’s life by just eating and sleeping. He wondered too if this was how the rest of his party felt about his [Sleep Learning].