Chương 290: As happy as they will be frequent

Translocation gateway!" Looking at the circular hole in the world that appeared in the middle of the room, Grain of Summer nodded in satisfaction before turning around to the others present.

"Well, Senior Brother Kite, will you do the honors of being the first silver-ranker to cross the portal?"

"It would indeed be an honor, Grain. This is proof that you and yours have worked very hard during the surge," Kite praised, making a show of inspecting the opening and nodding approvingly.

"From the feel of the auras of all three of you, you've climbed through most of bronze rank by now. To think that it was just over two and a half years since you first joined us…. Time surely does fly."

"It feels like I used the portal as soon as it came available no matter the time of the day…" Grain replied, both pride and lingering weariness in his voice.

"Probaby why this power was the first to reach silver."

"Not to mention that you used it at almost every opportunity even before the surge too," Scythe jibed, with Fawn nodding along somberly.

"W-well, Senior Brother Kite did recruit me for this very purpose," Grain defended himself, if a bit embarrassedly.

"I had to work hard to prove worthy of the gifts invested in me, and if I wasn't fast enough then Senior Brother Kite might reach gold before I could give him the opportunity to actually try one of my portals himself within the foreseeable future."

"Peace, Grain. You have done very well," Kite said in an attempt to calm the now peak bronze-ranker.

"But as for me reaching gold before you could get here… Well, let us just say that it is quite unlikely. You three will be well into silver before I have a chance, and that is only if fate smiles upon me. Many never reach gold rank no matter their efforts."

"What? Why?" Grain blurted out, his confusion leading to him forgetting the honorifics that were otherwise ever present in his interactions with Kite.

"It is yet much too early to discuss such things. Focus on consolidating your paths after the surge for now and leave gold rank for the far future," Kite said, unable to help a slight exaggerated mysticism leaking into his tone. Grain clearly wanted to ask more, but a tiny aura nudge from his brother had him remain silent while Kite noted that Scythe had indeed kept up his practice in that regard.

"As for now, I will indeed want to try out this portal of yours. Where does it lead?" he continued, gesturing to the aperture.

"Just outside this time, Senior Brother. Given that the silver-ranked power won't be able to transport more than one person of your power before closing at the moment, I didn't want to strand you too far away for an hour."

"How thoughtful. Well, then here we go." Making another show of assuming a dignified, somber pose, Kite then stepped into the portal and felt the world shift around him in a way that was now rather familiar after having worked contracts for task group Gauntlet for several years.

The portal collapsed shortly after he exited onto one of the open spaces between the different buildings of the guild's compound, and Kite soon looked up towards a nearby window where Grain, Scythe and Fawn looked down towards him and gave them a clear nod of approval.

"Thus, you have reached an important milestone for both the guild and yourself, Grain," he called while he began walking up through the air towards them upon small conjured barriers and entering through the window that was opened for him.

"With this, I assume that your range is much greater. Once you have the locations memorized, you should be able to deploy yourselves or other guild members to most of the northern kingdom - and even the heartlands - in a matter of hours."

"That… Should indeed be the case," Grain agreed after doing some mental calculations.

"Then I don't see too much reason for us to not go on a bit of a trip together. Glint should be able to ferry us far and wide for a few days, and after that I'll make sure that a few of the other guild silvers help escort you. It'll be good to see how the kingdom has fared before my departure."

"You're leaving again, Senior Brother? For the capital?" Scythe asked, not sounding too surprised at Kite's words given his propensity to make such trips.

"No, I'm afraid that the capital remains too… hazardous… for the time being," Kite sighed.

"This will be a lot further, albeit I won't be allowed - or able - to disclose the exact locations for you. Only that I'll be gone for quite a while. Longer than ever before. Perhaps even a few years." Sensing that Grain was about to ask anyway, Kite smiled as he held up a hand to forestall him.

"I repeat that I probably wouldn't be allowed to tell you more, Grain. It is not a journey I shall undertake too lightly, but you know of the conflict in which we are embroiled. While it might sound counterproductive to leave Hua-Xi for a time, the intent is rather the opposite."

"So, you mean to seek strength and tempering, more than can be found here," Scythe stated, nodding.

"Then may the heavens keep you safe, Senior Brother. We'll make sure that there'll be a new trio of silver-rankers greeting you when you return, won't we?" The assured statement was accompanied by Fawn nodding, with only Grain seeming troubled as more imaginary weight was loaded upon his shoulders. Kite couldn't help his smile widening at the conscientious young man who kept striving so hard while yet to ask for his own time to explore the world which the paralyzed him from before had so dearly wished for.

"Then may the heavens keep all of you as well," he said, giving them each a nod.

"When you reach silver rank, things might truly get interesting for you if you want to join the guild in the grander conflict. Things will only pick up from here. For all of us."

"Big Brother, Big Brother!"

"What is it, little Raven? I could hear your haste from halfway across the compound," Kite remarked as he and Dragonfly stopped their respective meditative katas in which the pair had been - decked out in full arms and armor - moving with excruciating slowness to further practice their forms.

"Auntie Evergreen wants to speak with you, she said," Raven panted from her enthusiastic sprint.

"When you have time."

"Thank you for acting as the messenger then, little Raven," Kite said, patting her atop the head after making sure to have his armor disappear in a flash of light.

"Big Brother Kite! You keep calling me little, but I'm not anymore! I'm soon turning eight!" the girl protested even while seeming to enjoy the head pats.

"Uncle Walker still calls me 'little Kite', my dear sister. So I expect that you will have to put up with it for some time yet," he replied with a fond smile.

"But back to the matter at hand; if Verdant Evergreen wishes to speak to me, I better be off and see what it is about. It is not often that she requests to speak to me. Or, well, - anyone. Assuming…" he trailed off, shooting Dragonfly a glance.

"Go, love. You may be leaving tomorrow, but I'll be getting enough of you to myself before then," his wife replied to the unspoken question, shooting him a wink filled with implications that went straight over Raven's head.

"Come then, little Raven," Kite then said after shooting his wife a look of his own that made Dragonfly flush slightly.

"Let's go to the honored dryad so that you may complete your mission." The trip across the compound was filled with a steady stream of Raven's musings, Kite making sure to listen extra attentively as - given his upcoming plans - it would be a while before he would hear them again. Fortunately, as a silver-ranker it was at least rather easy to really imprint something in one's memory.

As they drew closer to the aperture to the astral space, Raven ran ahead of him and crossed the dimensional boundary without a care in the world. Once, the gates had constantly been closed and the girl had not been allowed inside without close supervision, but ever since Verdant Evergreen had really got settled inside, the need had well and truly vanished.

"Auntie Evergreen! He's here!" Raven called happily as soon as she crossed the boundary into what had once been a purple desert. Given the lush forest of hardy trees and bushes now sprouting everywhere in sight, with the enormous blue canopy of the grand one in its center dominating the sky, Kite suspected that a new visitor would have trouble believing its previous state.

The girl didn't hesitate to run up to one of the nearby trees and climb its branches while continuing to call out her greetings until the dryad in question soon emerged from a nearby bough.

"I heard your footsteps the moment you entered, child. There is no need to keep calling," the dryad said with her dry voice as her hair of prickly pine leaves settled behind her. Verdant Evergreen made for a severe looking creature with her thin body and distended proportions, but Kite noted a distinct sense of fondness in her aura as she regarded Raven.

"I know, Auntie Evergreen, but I just like talking. So I do it anyway," Raven noted honestly while dangling from a branch.

"Greetings, honored dryad," Kite said with the customary bow, receiving one in turn.

"Greetings to you too, Kite. Please dispense with the formalities for the time being. I know your mothers well enough now for them to be unnecessary, at least if my current grasp of these things is to be believed," the dryad replied. While she had lived in the astral space for a few years now, the earlier part of that stay had been one of mostly solitude, and it was only in the more recent years that the dryad had become more sociable with Kite's adopted mothers.

This had, in turn, increased her awareness of social norms and manners in leaps and bounds.

"It would be my pleasure," Kite agreed.

"So, what did you want to discuss with me? It isn't often that you have called upon me, as I don't have much to offer in regards to cultivating this space."

"Indeed, and normally I would have been content with letting time pass as you would have stopped by sooner or later. The seasons fly by so quickly. But as I heard that you were soon to make an extended journey away from this place, it would be inconvenient to wait with either of the two topics."

"Oh?"

"For the first one, we shall head up into the grand tree. Come." The dryad then stepped back into the nearby bough, and Kite could feel her aura shift to somewhere up among the azure leaves. But given that he was bound by slightly more conventional ways of travel, at least when compared to teleportation, he could do little else but to scoop up Raven and make a running trek through the air to join Verdant Evergreen among the foliage.

"See here? The tree is soon about to bear fruit again," she noted, not seeming bothered by the brief wait in the slightest as she pointed out a few radiant flowers hidden high up in the tree.

"Praise the heavens, then," Kite said.

"Any idea of how long it will be?"

"At least two or three years, at least from what the tree itself seems to believe," the dryad replied, her words indicating that she had quite a different view of what the word 'soon' meant. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"What? That's not soon!" Raven protested, putting Kite's thoughts into words.

"Not to you perhaps, and not entirely to me either. But remember that dryads like Auntie Evergreen here live for a looooong time. And perspective changes how much time feels like a lot," Kite lectured gently, Raven's expression eerily similar to Auntie Crow as she listened. While she had become quite energetic in the last few years, that had not dampened her thirst for knowledge in the slightest, and such tidbits were one of the few things that could make Raven stop in her tracks for any extended amount of time.

"Still," Kite continued as he turned back to the dryad.

"This is great news. Do you have any idea whether honored Gaia will want to partake of this batch again, as per our agreement?"

"Of course. The primeval mother will not go back on such a deal. Not after a trifling few years," Verdant Evergreen replied as she waved away Kite's concern.

"Given what we have discovered of the fruit's capabilities, I suspect she will want to buy what additional fruits you are willing to spare for her. Plenty among our collective have expressed a keen interest in having some of their descendants try the fruits and see what potential it might bring. But I have another, more personal matter of which I wanted to ask as well."

"Oh?" Kite asked, unable to hide his curiosity and surprise.

"I would like to bond with this tree." Verdant Evergreen made the statement with such a severe air of gravitas that Kite was sure that it was indeed a very important matter to the dryad, one that he was severely underinformed about to properly deduce its full meaning.

"I… see," he began, buying time to gather his thoughts.

"You might have to explain this matter a bit more thoroughly though, as I do not completely understand. Bond like I have with Glint? Because you already have a tree that is also 'you', no?"

"No, and yes," the dryad replied before seeming to consider how much to tell Kite of something that he got the distinct feeling was deeply personal to her. Knowing her for a being that valued patience, Kite tried to channel that very virtue, and even Raven kept silent as they waited for Verdant Evergreen to speak again. Which she eventually did.

"To keep growing in power, my kind need to nurture our trees," she said, weighing her words carefully.

"It is a matter of… I don't know how to best translate it. It is simply important. To the core of our being. This nurturing is sometimes done through moving about, seeking different things for our tree to consume. Sometimes we have such fertile grounds that it might be a simple matter of time and survival. And sometimes, it is done through merging our tree with another specimen that we deem special. Important. Bonding to it, much like we did with the tree of our birth."

"Oh," Kite said, as understanding dawned upon him as he took in the dryad's words.

"So you want to make this–" he said, gesturing to the azure foliage around them," - into your tree? Or make your tree part of it?"

"Yes. It should help me reach gold rank. The act alone may even be enough."

"But… Wouldn't that mean that you would also be stuck here, in a sense?" Kite asked, eyeing the gargantuan tree and looking meaningfully towards the comparatively tiny aperture in the distance.

"Yes."

"And you would still want that? Is this tree that remarkable?"

"Yes," the dryad simply responded, but continued as she apparently sensed that Kite wanted a bit more in way of explanation.

"It is, as you say; remarkable. Great Gaia has heard of no other like it in this world or its astral spaces. I have come to know it closely during the years since our agreement, and I would like to keep watch over it and preserve it. A bond would give me that possibility."

"What would that even mean then? For you? And the tree? Would it still…?"

"Do not fret, Kite. Your precious fruits would be safe, and I would not seek to keep them from you. Bonded to the tree, I might even be able to benefit their growth, as well as protect it from when the gold-ranked manifestations begin inside this space."

"I… see," Kite said, thoughtful more than worried. Auntie Crow had already told him of the continued rising mana density inside the space, and they had already been forced to consider sealing the space for some time if gold-ranked monsters started manifesting in there. Even though that should be very rare, just one of the long-lived creatures would be enough to spell disaster. But if there was already a gold-ranked guardian present, one most apt at defending the territory of its tree…

"We should speak of it together with my aunties and Dragonfly as well, as this land is not just my home but also theirs, but for what it's worth I find myself inclined to agree to your request, Verdant Evergreen," he answered, leaving his aura open for the dryad to sense his honesty.

"We both know that your family has started deferring to you in these kinds of matters, but I am not beyond speaking with them," Verdant Evergreen remarked, and Kite felt the dryad's rather alien aura shift as it too laid itself bare to his spiritual senses as she continued.

"And as a show of my intent, l repeat again that I do not request this to subvert, deceive or otherwise seek to take what you lay claim to." Kite nodded in confirmation at that, and only when the important matter seemed somewhat settled for the moment did Raven's self-control finally falter.

"Wait, Auntie Evergreen, you're going to become this tree instead? How? And wouldn't that make your hair blue instead? And therefore I should call you Auntie Everblue instead? That sounds weird though…" As they headed back down, Kite let the dryad fend for herself beneath the incessant barrage of questions which she - to her credit - handled with an impressive patience. If things proceeded as expected, things might have changed even more once he returned. Fortune be willing.

"I'm going to miss you."

"And I you, my ardent Dragonfly."

"I know why you're going and I support you. But I'm still going to miss you. Terribly."

"You know, if you kept holding onto me like this, I'm not sure I could actually manage to dislodge you. Your strength is just that much more potent than mine these days," Kite noted, letting a bit of levity leak into his voice as he looked down at his wife. The pair was currently seated in their bed at the pre-dawn light, Dragonfly sitting in Kite's lap with both her legs and arms wrapped around him like a vice as she pressed her cheek to his collarbone.

While he could sense Dragonfly's most genuine distress at his relatively imminent departure, he also knew that his wife would find it hard to ignore a setup like that. And much as expected, Dragonfly took the bait, hook, line and sinker.

"Well, I could just remain, you know. With my regeneration, I would make for great armor.

""Hah," Kite snorted in return, his laugh causing both him and his tightly clinging wife to shake.

"I wonder what the task group would say to that.

'Sorry, the portals will be a bit more complex these days. My armor is just that potent that it takes up a space of its own."

"If it works for Will and Laevyeth, it could work for us."

"And you don't think that you being… well, naked, would be in any way problematic."

"Nah. Have you seen my butt? It would make for an awesome distraction."

"Ah. So, an… asset?" This time it was Dragonfly's turn to shake with giggles, snuggling closer into Kite's chest while giving it a light thump with one fist that would have knocked the wind from most of lower rank.

"That was horrible, dear. I love it," she said, eventually leaning back to look at him properly.

"Dear?" Kite asked, as her gaze lingered.

"Sorry, just committing you to memory again, just in case you strut back to us having reached gold rank or something like that."

"Hah, wouldn't that be something," Kite chuckled, keeping down the lingering worry at the back of his mind he always felt when talking about that particular matter and the timeframe he worked under.

"I don't think you need to worry about that, dear."

"Well, you never know. A girl needs to be sure to remember her husband in all his forms. And besides, one of us needs to push properly. Carry the honor of the household and all that."

"Dear…"

"Don't give me that again, Kite. I haven't given up, but I have at least been forced to consider the possibility that I might not reach gold in time, if at all."

"Dr–" Kite began again, but was shushed by a finger placed on his lips.

"I have too much keeping me here to seek my own version of the opportunities you have, dear. Sprite, most of all. She may be an iron-ranker now, but she still needs me. We always knew that our long lives might pull us apart when the need arose - and with that I'm fine - but she's not a silver-ranker. Barely a proper iron before the surge. So let me… Let me stay here and help hold the fort now, alright? I'll make sure to keep the others in line and help Walker with issues in the guild.

From the way things sound, Obsidian Crow will be helping out a lot too. You go and seek these perspectives that you need, and show me what has come of that tempering when you return." As Dragonfly spoke, her somber words were also bolstered by the glint of passion in her eyes. Dragonfly felt this, not just believed it.

And it was a look on her that Kite was quite certain was what had meant that he had never been able to go astray from her ever since they met, like a moth drawn to flame even before either of them had known what their tentative fumbling would lead to. That was why he couldn't help pulling Dragonfly close again, holding her tight as he replied.

"My– no, apologies. Our home will be in your care then, dear wife. May Fortune favor us and everyone we hold dear. And may Unity bless us so that our reunions will be as happy as they will be frequent." Having pulsed his aura as a sign to enter, Sir Ilmaril Thenston was already looking up at Kite when he entered his office in the Port Singhni branch of the Adventure Society.

As expected of a gold-ranker, the elf had not changed much since they last saw one another except that he had apparently started braiding his long golden hair as it had grown. But unlike Kite's first meeting with the man many years ago, Kite did not find any traces of skepticism in the solid azure orbs that the man's perception power had bestowed upon him, only welcome approval.

"Kite, good to see you! I trust that you've been well?"

"As much as one can, given all that's occurring back home," Kite replied, taking a seat at the gesture from the other man.

"So your letters said. It seems like you and the locals have stumbled onto something quite sizable. I've been doing what I can from my end to make sure that Branch Director Temren receives additional support, but as you might have heard, administration on a global scale doesn't always make for quick progress."

"Thank you, Sir. Your efforts do mean a lot. Overall we are doing better than expected in curtailing the efforts of Discord and their followers, but our cause lacks for gold rankers. A lack we will have to shore up if we are to have any hope of intervening in the upcoming years."

"Ah, yes. the simple matter of bringing out more golds. If you do manage to find a neat solution, the Adventure Society will probably make a statue of you big enough that it could be seen from half across the world," Sir Ilmaril chuckled.

"Still, I believe you have chosen quite wisely in approaching us on the matter. I was a bit surprised though - albeit pleasantly so - as I would have expected you to be even more keen on staying close to your kingdom in these times."

"Honestly, I am;" Kite confessed.

"Leaving now felt terrible in many ways, but fact is fact. In Hua-Xi I will always be constrained by the lower magic levels as well as much more scrutiny from all the powers involved. A few years ago that would not have been a problem, but since the Proving… Things have grown complicated. Then there is the matter of perspective. I shall once again be honest with you, Sir. I find myself lacking. My barrier essence and resolute essence are coming along quite well. But void and negation are another matter.

Under most other circumstances, I would have plenty of time to figure it out but now, with how things are… But the fates and heavens have carried us to this point, and I shall simply have to trust in those I care about to excel in my absence."

"Oh, you would be surprised how many adventurers find that trying to reach the next rank isn't something that they can just do at their leisure. Especially when you're part of the task groups. There are always troubles in this wide world of ours; always some plot or another that just can't wait. You, at least, seem to have the dubious luxury of having an actual time frame. And that is something which we, Gauntlet, can work with."

"Thank you once more, Sir. I was honestly afraid that my request might be considered rude or inappropriate, but if I needed perspective - a lot of perspective - I didn't know where else to go. Some kind of sojourn on my own might prove too slow or a waste of time."

"Well, we wouldn't go out of our way to help just anyone, Kite. But you have been serving with us for several years now, and while your power set is a bit of an odd one, you have kept maintaining excellent results while also being available for enough of our contract requests to make you reliable. Having you on our roster as a gold-ranker would be a true asset, if you can manage to get there.

Even if things do not go well in your homeland, you also know that there will always be a place for you and yours among the Adventure Society. And besides, what we can offer you to help you progress and gain that perspective you so feel that you lack is work. And quite a lot of it too. Given everything that's going on in the world, we'll drown you in perspective until your poor mind and spirit can't handle any more. And that's when we take it a bit further.

You know how the contracts with Gauntlet are after all, and as part of an inner circle team, you'll be doing longer tours of service rather than being called in for specific contracts. So while we are investing a bit of logistical resources into you specifically, I'm sure you will earn that back and more in pure results."

"I'm glad to hear that, Sir. And Amica..?"

"Miss Steiner was quite elated to hear of your request, at least if my niece is to be believed. She and her team of inner circle members have been deployed for a few months, and they have all agreed to take you on as a temporary member for the foreseeable future. While they are out on contract as we speak, I see little reason for you not to join them as soon as possible.

It's one of those deployments where unexpected reinforcements never hurt, and with adventures of your caliber, what better way to get to know each other than to get the right into the thick of things?"