Chương 130: Book 3 Chapter 8 - Preparing To Leave

Zoey blushed.

"Ugor is a… was a tier 4 mage that attacked us here in Portish. I had to defend myself, I really didn't have a choice." He raised an eyebrow.

"You killed a tier 4?"

"It was self defense, I swear! He even killed one of our servants first." Victor shook his head.

"I wasn't trying to charge you with anything or assign guilt, I was just… surprised I guess. It is quite unusual to fight up a tier and win." Dustin nodded, looking at Zoey with admiration.

"It was quite incredible. She was quite incredible." He turned back to Victor.

"We filed a report of the attack at the Portish city offices the same day it happened, so the count and likely the duke both know about that as well." Kiara cast Zoey a curious glance.

"Did you, by chance, receive any kind of… reward for beating someone a tier above you?" Zoey looked at her curiously.

"A reward?" She glanced at Dustin.

"No reward is needed, I assure you. I was just doing my duty."

"Ah, I see," Kiara said, nodding sagely. Come to think of it, she probably should give Zoey some kind of reward. That experience had been quite traumatic for the poor girl, and had no doubt taken a lot out of her. That wasn't the kind of reward she had been referring to, though. The World Engine had given Kiara a special reward for beating someone a tier above her in combat, and she'd been curious if Zoey had received anything similar. Maybe she had, but just didn't know about it?

Kiara's stats had received a boost, plus [Soul Space 2], which had upgraded from [Soul Space] after beating Vance and his cronies, had also received a boost in size. Then again, those were just the rewards for beating a tier 4 in general. Doing it as a tier 3 was what had earned her the warp gates. Everyone was staring at her now, so she pulled a ruby coin out of her soul space and handed it to Zoey. Zoey accepted it, more out of shock than anything, and Kiara patted her awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Good job. I know it's not much, but I really appreciate you protecting yourself and Dustin." Now everyone was really looking at her strangely. Victor nodded to himself, as if her actions had confirmed something he'd already suspected. Yeager's mouth was hanging so far open that Kiara was pretty sure she could fit an entire roll in there without even squishing it first. She actually had a roll in her soul space, and nearly went for it, just to see.

She'd started carrying more food around in her soul space ever since rescuing those poor starving people from the Benson district in Easton. It had a time-stasis enchantment on it now, and the food she put in there came back out in the exact same state it went in. Zoey's mouth opened and closed a few times as she stared at the coin. Dustin just rolled his eyes, and a small smile formed on his lips. He held out his hand to Kiara expectantly.

"Hey, I was there too, don't I get some kind of reward? It was really quite a harrowing experience." He winked at her. She glared at him in mock appall, but secretly she was grateful for him breaking the uncomfortable tension in the room. She couldn't help it as her glare slowly morphed into a smile. She pulled out another ruby coin and handed it to him. He chuckled with glee and the coin disappeared into his storage ring. Kiara moved the conversation along.

"Well, how far away is Lakeshire? I've never been."

"If we're travelling with the duke's caravan, I suspect the trip will take us about a month in each direction," Dustin replied. Kiara ran her hand through her hair.

"Who comes and who stays?" Dustin pursed his lips.

"As much as I don't wish to be away right now, I think it's best that I accompany you on such an important trip." Kiara nodded.

"Thanks, I was thinking the same thing."

"I'm coming, too," Zoey chimed in. Yeager glanced around, unsure what to say.

"You should stay here, then, Yeager," Kiara supplied helpfully. His face flushed with relief.

"As you wish, my la… uh, Shian." She smiled at him, grateful that he had used her name. They all looked at Victor, who simply looked back at them in confusion.

"I'll be staying here, obviously," he said. Oh, right. He's not technically part of House Yountal. Kiara had already grown accustomed to having him here, having been around him for the past few hours. She felt like they got along incredibly, considering they'd only had a few interactions in the past. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. She turned to Dustin.

"Will the estate here in Portish be okay if we're both gone for a few months?"

"It isn't ideal," he replied with a frown.

"I supposed it's necessary, though. I will admit to being somewhat apprehensive for the safety of our staff and employees with you being gone though, Shian. The Silver Serpent Clan has already shown repeated aggression towards us. I don't know if Kane's being gone will make that better or worse." She pulled her mouth to the side in a half-grimace.

"Probably worse. He confided in me that his boss, Elsa Undril, initiated the first attack on us here in Portish. I doubt she'll take his death well." A thoughtful silence hung in the room momentarily. Kiara turned to Victor.

"Victor, how comfortable would you be intervening for us if she tries something while I'm away." He looked decidedly uncomfortable with the idea, but after glancing nervously at Kiara, he nodded.

"If you need me to, my lady, then I would of course oblige." What was he on about? She looked at him strangely.

"I don't need you to do anything, Victor, you're my friend, not my employee. If you don't feel comfortable getting involved, I completely understand." His face flooded with relief, and he bowed slightly.

"Thank you for your understanding, my lady." She sighed. Why did he get so uncomfortable around her sometimes?

"Well," she said, addressing the group.

"I suppose there's nothing we can do about it now." She thought about the warp gates.

"I supposed I could…" Dustin cut her off with a stern gaze, glancing from Victor to Yeager. His message was clear. Not here. She nodded.

"Okay, that's enough for now. Thanks for the insight, everyone." She faced Victor directly again, bowing in gratitude.

"Victor, thank you so much, both for the soul oath rituals, as well as for the guidance you provided Zoey and Yeager. Your time and expertise are incredibly valuable, and much appreciated." He bowed in response, the tension from earlier fading away, replaced by an easy smile.

"The pleasure was mine, Shian." * Kiara and Dustin had informed Ron, Gentry, and Jaden about the warp gates a few days after getting them set up at both Estates, and Kiara had keys made for both Ron and Gentry, in case of an emergency. They had been having a weekly meeting with them, where Dustin and Kiara both warped to Easton to see how things were going and for Dustin to answer questions and provide guidance in their new roles. Kiara mostly went to enjoy spending time with her family.

This week when they had the meeting, they let them know they'd be going away for a few months. They seemed a bit nervous at the news, but Dustin expressed his utmost confidence in their ability to manage things without him. Honestly, they were filling the roles quite nicely by this point, and rarely needed guidance. They managed not only the estate in Easton, but also all of the businesses in Easton and the surrounding cities.

Dustin had supplied them with a working budget, and they'd had a safe installed at the estate to house the money. So far, there had been no issues with any of it. Baron Norshod had really stepped up recently, and had successfully mediated the three-way feud that had ravished Easton for so long. The nobles in Easton had seemed eager and ready for him to step in, which Kiara knew was Kane's plan all along.

She tried not to let that knowledge sour the fact that peace had been restored, and things were running smoothly in the city again. The temporary residents at the Easton estate had all returned to their homes, and the tents and spare cots had been put into storage in the cellar in case they were ever needed again in the future. Zoey came along to Easton this time too, and had a session with Jaden where she filled him in on all of Victor's advice about advancing to tier 4.

Kiara promised Jaden that once they were back, she would set up another meeting with Victor if he needed it, but the advice Zoey passed along seemed to have sparked something in him. They left him in good spirits. Next, she sat down with her parents, Ava, and Gabe. Gentry seemed to have plateaued at tier 1, but both Ron and Ava had advanced to tier 2. Belliston was sure that Ava had the potential to go much further.

Ron also didn't seem to have plateaued yet, and Belliston had been offering him additional mentoring as well. Belliston continued to sing Ava's praises though, and had petitioned Kiara to sponsor her enrollment at the magical academy in The Capital. The academy in The Capital was a multi-year program, offering guidance up through the tier 4 advancement, with adequate instructions for how to proceed toward tier 5 afterward.

The cost was outrageous, which prevented most people from sending their children there unless they were already showing extraordinary promise, which Ava was. Belliston assured Kiara that the cost would be worth it, and she would receive a much more thorough education there than he could provide. He was already worried that once she reached tier 3, she would outgrow his instruction, and he didn't want to see her growth stunted because of his own inadequacies.

So Kiara sat down with her family and explained the situation to them, offering for Ava to accompany Dustin, Zoey, and herself to Lakeshire to get enrolled at the nearby academy in The Capital. Her parents, seeing the opportunity for what it was, were both quite excited by the prospect, but ultimately left the decision up to Ava. Kiara had seen a remarkable, although gradual, change in Ava's attitude toward her over the months her family had lived in Easton.

Even before moving to Easton, Ava's vehemence toward Kiara had been dying down, but now her attitude toward Kiara was mostly positive. Seeing the chance to travel to the central island and see the capital city of The Central Kingdom, Ava's eyes lit up with the thrill of adventure. She agreed to come along, but Kiara could tell that her excitement was only half for the opportunity of attending the academy, and half for the journey itself.

Gabe, who was four now, was quite affectionate toward Kiara during the entire visit, insisting that he sit on her lap. He still occasionally called her 'Kiara', rather than 'Shian' or 'Auntie Shian'. Kiara wasn't sure if he somehow recognized her, or if maybe her mannerisms reminded him of his sister Kiara enough to confuse him. Either way, the others had long given up on trying to correct him when he did it, and Kiara secretly loved that he did it.

Being there, with her family around her, and Gabe calling her Kiara, was the happiest she'd been in a long time. As much as Kiara loved Ava, sharing the details of the warp gate with a fifteen year old didn't seem the wisest course of action, especially since Ava would soon be surrounded by a bunch of other fifteen year olds at the academy in Lakeshire. To that end, she, Ava, and Zoey ran back to Portish.

Zoey showed Ava how to form a mana shield to keep the bugs off of her while she ran, which Ava picked up quite quickly. The trip took about three hours, which wasn't too bad, all things considered. Kiara carried Ava's bag with her clothes and the other things she was bringing along for the trip. Back in Portish, Dustin got things organized for their absence. Dustin had appointed one of the more seasoned tier 2 guards as the guard captain for their forces in Portish, a woman named Janice.

She would also serve as the interim estate manager in Portish while they were absent. She would fill the same roles in Portish that Ron and Gentry filled in Easton, in addition to her duties as guard captain. They informed her that should the need arise, she would report to Ron and Gentry at the House Yountal estate, and not the other way around. Since House Yountal had started in Easton, and everyone at the Portish estate was still so new, Janice took that news in stride, having expected as much.