Chương 33: Gardening

"Thank you again for your hospitality, mistress Laurel. I will keep your offer under consideration, but must reiterate my plans to remain unmarried for the foreseeable future, although through no fault of your lovely daughter. Or son. They truly are both blossoms of spring." Kite said as he was bowing to a finely dressed middle-aged woman while carefully backing down the outer stairs which led up to the rich townhouse in one of Gilded's finer neighborhoods.

He gave yet another formal bow, hands cupped, at the bottom of the stairs to forestall what he expected might be another attempt to make further appointments.

"I will have to ask to be excused now, mistress Laurel, as I have a contract which I will need to get to. The duty to protect fine people like your family is one most important." He finished before turning to leave. After walking at a brisk pace for a few streets, he slowed down and released an exasperated sigh. Glint took the opportunity to come floating up from her flask, making concerned circles around his head as she sensed his weariness.

"Do not worry, Glint. I am just a bit mentally worn out." he consoled the worried carp as he carefully stroked her flowing fins. Said mental exhaustion came from the surprising number of formal invitations which, true to the predictions of the branch director, had begun being extended to Kite during the three weeks since his return. Like his last visit, most had been from prominent merchant families and others like them who occupied the lower ranges of Gilded's upper echelons.

While he thanked Fortune that he was not deemed important enough to be of interest to the absolute top of society, it had still been a kind of low-intensity tribulation again and again as Kite found himself navigating unfamiliar social waters. Most such meetings were rather obvious attempts to make a connection with the low-ranking adventurer who had suddenly gained a bit of local renown as rumors of him completing the jade-sky gate's trial, as well as the happenings afterwards, had spread.

The Victorious Sunset sect closing their gates to the outside world had only fanned the rumor mills even more. Kite had been to almost a dozen different lunches, dinners and tea ceremonies. A few had merely seemed curious about him and wanted to pry as much information from him as possible while others, like the Laurel family, had wanted to make a more permanent connection through arranged marriage with one of their eligible young ones.

One more circumspect arrangement had seen Kite being offered a contract to escort a young woman of means to inspect family holdings, only to realize that it had merely been a thinly veiled date. Kite had lamented his lack of experience in these kinds of formal settings many a time as he felt out of his depth.

He had embraced the strategy of overly polite non-commitment, which seemed to be an effective means to his short-term end, but only seemed to incite further attempts by the more ambitious seekers of his commitment. He felt a bit like a fish who had been dropped into the wrong pool, only to find the predators circling, his safety hinging on not making any sudden movements. One of the meetings had stood out, as he had been called to attend a small soirée at the mansion belonging to the Providence family.

It was the very family that had enabled his trial as they had sent him the jade-sky token, thinking it to be a thinly veiled insult of a gift as most deemed the gates too dangerous to attempt for any gifted, cultivated scion. Compared to that particular social gathering, the rest seemed almost pleasant. Everything done by those present seemed to be part of some elaborate play, with hidden meanings beyond Kite's ability to comprehend.

His saving grace had been that the Providence family was prestigious enough to invite the silver-ranked mistress Dew as well. She had quickly taken the beleaguered young man under her wing, her cool demeanor like a shield of ice to poor Kite. If not for her, he did not know how a particular conversation would have ended when a member of the Providence family's main branch had started making obvious hints that Kite now owed them as they had graciously given him the opportunity of the jade-sky gate.

"Oh, I see! You had sponsored young Kite all along then? Pray tell, what resources did you provide him? Equipment? Training? What, beyond young master Kite's own path, did he use to conquer a trial which had remained in this region for over a hundred years?" had been her cool response, disdain obvious. While it had ended the conversation, Kite suspected that it was only her silver rank which had protected them from more social reprisal at that moment.

The Providence family had many iron- and bronze-rankers in attendance, but none of silver. Kite had kept a lookout for the young master he had already met, but whom seemed to be absent from the gathering Kite had attended. Since that one time, he had heard nothing else from that particular family and Kite was happy for it to remain as such.

"I don't know, Kite, I could totally see you as a doting husband; all serious and earnest about protecting the family which took you in even though your beginnings were humble." Dragonfly giggled before she swatted another gyrmling which approached her, conjured axe easily shearing through the monster's bark armor.

"You really can't let this go, can you?" Kite retorted, voice flat as his staff appeared in hand, covered in dispelling ripples as it struck the gyrmling brute in the chest. The strike, its force increased by the enchantment of the staff, made the huge monster stagger as the dispelling effect dissolved bark armor. As opposed to when he began his training just after awakening his abilities, the now peak iron-ranked special attack had a much greater effect in both damage and scope.

Just an instant after he struck, those nearby could feel a slight but deep reverberation as the monster's armor shattered even more as if struck again. That repeat was one of the most valuable effects of the legendary weapon. While any damage dealt by the echo was reduced by half of the original, it still fully applied any other effects once more.

This was most valuable for Kite's dispelling and mana-draining attacks, as their frequency increased when the echoing enchantment wasn't recharging, but it wouldn't hurt to increase the damage of his more direct attack either. But what really hinted at its potential was the fact that the echo used the original attack in its delivered state as its baseline, meaning that any increases in damage and effect was taken into account.

An example of this was the increased effect of the first strike after it had been brought forth from Kite's void sheath, as well as Spiritual reprisal increasing the effects against enemies who had struck his barriers. Before the gyrmling brute had recovered, the staff and its chiming ring had disappeared, replaced by the wicked bone spear which he plunged into the now exposed, gooey body of the monster. It was over quickly, as was Dragonfly's mopping up of the smaller, more numerous gyrmlings.

"It is such a shame that we have to stay close to the city due to the upcoming… thing." Dragonfly stated sourly as she let her burning axe disappear.

"The competition for the bronze-rank monsters is too high. It was much nicer when we could just travel as far as we needed."

"At least there are plenty of contracts to go around, even if they are simple. It is gyrmling-season, after all." chimed Serene as she joined them, continuing as they checked the area once more before beginning their walk back to the city.

"But you have heard the rumors too, right? That the concentrated manifestations of higher-ranked monsters seems to be increasing?"

"I have, yeah." Dragonfly answered from where she walked beside them.

"That it feels abnormal even with the upcoming surge. Apparently, some think that the monsters remain for longer than normal, which means longer berserking stages and territorial monsters becoming a problem for longer." Kite thought back to Verdant Steps and their encounter with the effigy erected there.

"Is someone or something orchestrating this?" he pondered aloud, clueing in the others to his line of thought.

"If it is, more competent people have probably made the connection way before us." Dragonfly stated.

"I guess that is the dubious luxury of not being at the top." Both her companions nodded in acknowledgement, but Kite still felt uneasy and resolved to ask the branch director about it if he got the chance to speak with him again. As it was the height of summer, the autumnal foliage looking like a verdant sea of flames in the sunlight, there was only about a month left until it might be time for the venture.

The trio would have to try their best to be as ready as possible before then, unaware that a complication was heading their way.

"I thank you for your assistance in tempering my path." Kite said a bit tiredly, bowing to the young woman wearing the silver and blue robes of the Descending Star sect who was currently sprawled on the ground before him, still conscious but mind severely muddled from loss of mana. He turned to bow to the officiator as well, in this case being Adelaide. The young woman had been the fifth to approach Kite in challenge during the weeks of his return, doing so while Kite was finishing turning in a contract.

Adelaide, ever keen on escaping desk duty, offered to officiate the clash, therefore joining them in one of the practice yards. Judging from the sour murmuring of fellow sect students who had been watching the clash, Kite suspected that the frequency of such challenges would increase as more sought to test the new name that had risen to modest prominence.

Two challengers, one being this particular disciple, had been treating him more like some no-name upstart who should know his place while the other three had been more pleasant, or at least polite. All five duels had so far been convincing wins for Kite, who felt the increasing suspicion that his different mentors had been right in them deeming his path most effective against other essence-users at low rank.

This last bout did leave him more spent, as his opponent had been quite skilled at employing an acrobatic fighting style with unpredictable movements, further increased by her weapon being a short blade attached to a lengthy chain. Kite had so far tried holding back some of his more spectacular skills when using them in such a public venue, but had needed to use the mana-draining power of Chakra implosion empowered by Potential of Stolen Power to close this one before his opponents ramping speed had gone too far.

"That had to have been cheating!" accused a young man from the sect group, gaze turned to Adelaide.

"The code of the clash of paths is clear. Adventurer Kite used nothing more than the equipment he fought with and his own powers. Would you deem the use of powers unfair?" she asked, her tone strict and neutral, but Kite who knew her a bit better recognized a hint of exasperation to her stance.

"If they are that dishonorable, they should be." grumbled the student, but did not raise the issue again. While some sect students demanded a lot from the society, at least this one wasn't foolish enough to press such an issue with one of its functionaries acting in official capacity.

"Disciple Din, you may leave the agreed upon prize with any functionary in the administrations hall. The Adventure Society will make sure that your opponent receives it." Adelaide stated as she turned to the young human woman who had risen to a seated position, receiving a bleary-eyes nod in response. As the group left, some still casting some ugly looks at Kite, Adelaide turned to him.

"You could probably ask for a lot more for victory. They sure did." she stated with displeasure as she watched them leave. As the challenges had begun, Kite had decided to keep his requests rather modest from defeated opponents. While most of them asked for an awakening stone, either for themselves or for further bartering, he was usually content with credit to use in the trade pavilion. Bronze rank was looming on the horizon, and Kite wanted at least some basic equipment ready.

But a new rank meant a new realm of prizing, so he tried accumulating what he could. He had already ordered two commissions as the Victorious Sunset sect had delivered in full. However, his choice of prize was more a concern of attention. Being bested by what some viewed as a lucky upstart was enough of a blow to some people's pride in and of itself. If they were almost ruined resource-wise by it, Kite expected he would find a lot of trouble down the line.

He had to admit that he found the duels exciting and a good way to practice, but the prospect of being ambushed out in the wilds again did put a lid on it.

"Better to get something I actually need rather than another nasty surprise when I am traveling on my own." he answered with a shake of his head.

"On that note, did anything come of the investigation as to how the students of the Victorious Sunset sect knew about my intentions? They were not widely spread, after all." Adelaide answered as they started walking back.

"Nothing that I can share with you, I'm afraid. But I will say that your little adventure did give the society somewhere to start looking. I would kindly ask you to leave it at that for now though. We don't want to keep you in the dark as you have done good work for us, Kite. But in a war of secrets, the more control over the players, the better. Or so deputy director Versis said at least."

"I understand." Kite sighed, and was about to continue when he was interrupted by a young woman dressed in fine clothes. He stifled a groan as he recognized the colors when she bowed before him.

"Pardon me, young master. I come bearing a message from mistress Laurel. As she and the young mistress so enjoyed your company last time, they would be delighted to arrange for another chance to enjoy your company." she said in a polite, soft tone but at a pace which left Kite no room to interject.

"If it would please you, we could start discussing your schedule-" she continued, Kite shooting a pleading look at Adelaide who had simply retreated with a friendly wave as she had callously left him dangling above the sharks. What followed was a conversation where Kite's desperation kept rising as the woman, clearly excellent at her job, kept talking circles around his attempts at dodging further commitment, especially since he did not want to stoop to rudeness while doing so.

Just as the verbal trap was about to close around him, salvation came from an unexpected place.

"Kite! My friend! It has been too long!" came the jubilant exclamation of a young blonde elven man who was making a straight line for him.

"Will?" Kite asked, almost sobbing with relief at the young man's intervention. They had not seen each other since that first day when he sold Will the awakening stones, but the noble scion acted as if it were but yesterday. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The woman from house Laurel immediately fell to her knees at Will's arrival.

"Young master Indomitable!"

"I regret to inform the Laurel family that I will be monopolizing Kite's social schedule for quite a while. I hope they will not be too displeased with me, and would like to extend an invitation for the family to the upcoming summer soirée which will be held at the first peak. As a thanks for their forbearance." Will said, keeping his gaze at Kite the whole time.

"Young master is most gracious. I will, of course, relay the message to the mistress of the family." she said, bowing repeatedly as she backed away from them. When reaching a polite distance, she turned and all but ran back toward the elevating platforms.

"Grim, please update the guest list accordingly." Will said to the dark-haired manservant who had followed in his wake.

"Already done, young master." the man stated with his usual formal dignity before giving Kite a small nod.

"Adventurer Kite."

"Grim. Good to see you again." Kite said, returning the nod.

"Will, I could kiss you for getting me out of that situation. But that would probably leave me exiled or assassinated." he finished, Will waving off the comment while Grim just nodded ever so slightly.

"I could not leave a friend dangling like that. You looked quite beleaguered, so I decided to intervene. And besides, I was not lying. I do plan on monopolizing your time for a while. Better that they all know that they are hunting well out of their depth." Will said cheerfully.

"You… are?" Kite asked, suddenly hesitant.

"I am! It's going to be so exciting! But not here. I would kindly extend an invitation to join me at a more private location. Grim, if you would." Will said, turning to his servant at the end.

"Very good, young master." said the man, and just a moment later a familiar glass archway formed in the square outside the administrations building. Kite had long felt the gazes of most people on them, and now there was definitely none who had missed the exchange.

"Follow me, Kite. I promise that you will not be disappointed." Will said cheerfully as he entered the portal. This left Kite and Grim giving each other a long look.

"My advice would be to just go along, adventurer Kite. As you may have surmised, there are few who can change the young master's mind once it is set." the manservant stated, and Kite thought that he could once more detect a note of suffering in his voice. Kite nodded in thanks to the man before entering the portal after Will.

"-which might be the extent of the operation we have gotten a hint of so far. Our captive didn't know much though, but it gave enough for the deputy director to move out personally." Adelaide finished her report to the branch director LanCaire. While her rank as a functionary wasn't high in and of itself, she had still been recruited to coordinate and gather the information from the Adventure Society's investigations into the local sale of information.

While Kite's incident hadn't been the first, it had been a recent enough lead to actually get some results. She hadn't been lying to him when she said that the society was already investigating.

"If Rupert thinks it was worth moving out to investigate personally, it is best to prepare. His instincts are keen in this regard."

"Should we start preparing assets for a strike?" The director thought for a while, before answering.

"Yes. Bring some of the usual bronze-rankers. Rupert should be enough as he is, but backup is never bad." He had almost turned to other matters as an idea struck him.

"Oh, and bring in Kite and his companions as well to manage any rats escaping the sinking ship. It will be a good chance to evaluate them some more, and give them a feel for this kind of work."

"As I suspected then. You are thinking about recruiting them?"

"I did say that the boy could expect some exciting opportunities if he played his cards right, did I not? It will be a loose affair though, as with most. Wouldn't want to reduce his freedom and growth. But he could be an asset to the local branches, even if he was to become a roaming one.

""Then I shall contact him as soon as we get confirmation." Adelaide finished with a short bow before leaving. After the expected bout of nausea, fortunately not enough to make him lose his lunch, Kite got a proper look at his surroundings. He had arrived in a luxurious hallway partially open to an inner yard. The yard housed a pleasant garden in addition to a training space similar to those on the Adventure Society campus.

The building which ringed it was built of wood on a polished stone foundation, and everywhere Kite looked he could see expensive types of wood, art and furniture of exquisite craftsmanship. Will had just taken two glasses of some kind of rose-colored liquid from a servant's tray, handing one to Kite where he stood gawking.

"Welcome to my abode, Kite. It is rather fine, if I may say so myself." Will smiled at his friend's amazement.

"Come, sit! I have an offer and an opportunity for you." Still stunned at finding himself in what he assumed to be a palace, Kite let himself be led to a comfortable group of couches around a low table out in the garden. His magical perception saw clear signs of extensive enchantments, such as a rain screen to protect the garden decor and other systems to keep the plants nourished and healthy. There was probably more, but too well concealed and complex for him to properly get a look at.

The beverage was both delicious and refreshing as he took a sip, and Kite made sure to make it last to thoroughly enjoy the experience.

"First of all, I can assure you that this compound is well protected from prying eyes and ears we do not wish for, so we may speak freely." Will began as he gestured around himself.

"What I wanted to talk about was the upcoming expedition which I know that you will be a part of as well. I do have my sources." he finished with a wink to forestall Kite's question as to how.

"Jokes aside, we had it confirmed by the branch director during my family's coordination with the Adventure Society. The local leadership are otherwise quite adept at keeping their cards close to their chest. I believe that the deputy director is to thank for that. Are you aware of the structure of said expedition?"

"Not in detail." Kite admitted.

"I expected to be further informed soon as the venture draws near."

"I know some of the broader strokes. From what we got to know, they do not expect this to be just a short sortie, at least not the Adventure Society. Early estimates of the number of bandits and fallen sect members are enough to turn this into a small war. As our foes are scattered, so must we spread out if we want to catch as many of them as we can to prevent them from going to ground and start growing their numbers again.

This means we will be required to form squads and groups, and I would very much like to join yours, my friend!" Kite blinked as he was torn from his line of thought.

"Mine? But… why? I'd expect you to have either plenty of family members or household guard to pick from. Or the sects?" Will seemed to have anticipated the question.

"There, my friend, one of my father's core philosophies comes into play; that one's strength must become one's own. And on that matter at least, we are in agreement. My path shall not be allowed to become a greenhouse flower, and neither will my siblings' as two more will be participating. The old man even had the nerve to direct us to form different groups and make a bit of competition out of it. It wouldn't be entirely unsupervised either.

Grim would be attached to me either way, as there will probably be a bronze to each handful of iron-rankers in the group." His explanation had left Kite thoughtful, as he weighed his opinion regarding Will and what he was suggesting. He had found the young scion to be a pleasant - if a bit intense - companion so far in their dealing. While he was forward, a bit domineering and slightly vain, none of those quirks seemed to have any malice to them.

He seemed genuinely friendly, quick to laugh while not easily taking offense. And he was competent, as Kite knew from their sparring session the day they met.

"I believe that it would be a beneficial solution for both of us, but-" he said, holding up a hand to forestall Will leaping from his chair in excitement.

"- I will have to ask Dragonfly and Serene as well. The group isn't mine to lead. We are friends."

"Ah, of course! I forgot that the hierarchies aren't as formalized among you commoners. Please consult them. I had already planned to extend a boon to each of you if you'd accept me joining. While I have no doubts about my abilities, my presence might risk undue attention from the politically minded. Thus, we can keep our karma balanced." The young scion answered cheerfully, his tone hinting that in his mind, it was already a done deal.

Kite was mulling it over, but decided against making his own verdict before speaking with his friends. It might just have been his curiosity of this strange young master, but he had a good feeling about the deal.

"That is most kind of you, Will. As I said, I will speak to Dragonfly and Serene about it." he said with a smile.

"But you didn't answer part of my question; why us? Even if you couldn't use your household staff, I could still see most skilled disciples and inner disciples of the sects having no qualms in forming their group with you. Wouldn't you want companions with more backing and training?" Will made a sour face.

"Sure, there are some truly skilled students of the sects, but to get where they are you need both skill and connections. I prefer those focusing more on the former than the latter. There are reasons that neither me nor most of my siblings have joined any of the sects. And besides, you are my friend. Friends stay together in times of trouble, after all!" He finished, as if it was the most obvious and reasonable explanation.

Kite did get the feeling that there was more to this reasoning beneath the surface, but did not press for more at the time. His good feeling still held, and he did enjoy the young man's company as their conversation drifted to lighter topics. Will did his best to tease some stories from Kite's time inside the trial, but from what Kite could tell it was purely based on curiosity and a fondness for tales of battle.

He asked nothing regarding the complications before or after, either, his interest purely focused on the trial itself. Kite wasn't entirely surprised, as the young scion seemed even more battle-crazed than Dragonfly, albeit in his own fashion.

"Wait, you mean that the wood guardian just went over the edge? Just like that?" Will asked, incredulous. Kite chuckled.

"The officiator wasn't happy that I happened to circumvent its carefully crafted challenge like that. I wish I could say that I planned it, but it was a mere target of opportunity."

"It just seems so… anticlimactic. I'm not sure I could have brought myself to such a choice, beneficial or not. A challenge such as that deserves a proper story!"

"Then I believe you and the officiator would have gotten along splendidly." Kite said, a bit wistful. It hadn't been too many weeks ago now, but the relative safety of the outside world felt so removed from the intense gauntlet that was the trial of the jade-sky gate. As he finished his story with his duel against the ruler of the metal domain, Will seemed more satisfied.

"Then what happened? What rewards awaited you?" asked the young elf, almost tipping from his seat as he leaned toward Kite in anticipation.

"Oh, most wonderful things. But a man needs to keep some secrets for himself, no? I have already shared more than I should." Kite replied with theatrical mysteriousness. Will almost seemed on the verge of collapsing, and looked just about ready to fall to his knees pleading as Grim cleared his throat.

"Young master, I believe that you have other appointments soon. With your leave, I shall return adventurer Kite to the city." Still giving Kite a flat, almost wounded look implying that this conversation wasn't over, Will replied.

"Please do so, Grim. We will see each other soon again, after all." Smiling, Kite bowed with cupped hands towards the young noble.

"If the heavens will it, it shall be so." he said sagely, before waving farewell and stepping towards the open portal. He stopped just before it, looking around.

"Sage, I know that the flowers are very pretty, but we need to go back. Come along." Kite's familiar had gotten to roam around the gardens while they talked, the living symbol seeming engrossed in the surroundings and spending most of its time regarding its own reflection in the polished wooden floor. Kite felt it project a vague reluctance through the symbol as he called it back into his body, before stepping through the portal.

"My lord, the meeting seemed to have gone well. The young master comported himself… adequate, at least." Grim stated, standing in the personal office of city lord Indomitable.

"Grim. I am right here." Will muttered sourly where he sat before his father's desk, watching the old man's smug smile.

"Please forgive Grim, my son. He is merely carrying out my commands. You have, after all, taken quite a few liberties in the past." said the city lord, still smiling.

"I must admit, father, that I was surprised by your approval of my request. I would have thought you might prefer what Kite asked about; to seek out companions among the more prestigious sect students." Will asked, eyes narrowing.

"What's your game, old man?"

"In this regard, I would more like to call it… gardening. You have said it yourself, son. Kite seems competent enough, probably more since you last met him. He did pass the trial of the jade-sky gate, after all. And has been personally trained by two silver-rankers of different skill-sets along with the best tracker in the lands north of Bastion. As you will hopefully learn along your life, some goals are worth investment early on to see what comes of it.

From the little I have been able to gather from the Adventure Society, he seems to have caught the eye of the branch director as well. Jarvan is no fool, and likes cultivating free agents to have more arrows to call upon as needed. If we can add a bit of our own to this particular sapling, he might be more inclined to help us in the future should the need arise for outside intervention in a matter. Besides, he is able to provide protection to you as well.

That is not as common in these lands as it would be in much of the wider world."

"It sounds suspiciously like you are using him." Will said, voice lowering slightly in concern.

"In the end, son, all social interaction is about using one another, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is vile or unkind. Using the company of a friend for comfort while providing the same in return, for example. As long as you keep your karma in balance, you can be both his friend, benefactor and beneficiary at the same time, should you like." Will seemed to mull it over.

"I'm not entirely sure I agree, father, but I shall think upon it. I take it that we may move forward with the arrangements then? When Kite accepts?"

"Indeed, you may. The instructor should arrive tomorrow." city lord Indomitable chuckled.

"Should things go as you wish, you will be quite busy the upcoming month. As Kite finished telling his two companions about his meeting, Dragonfly looked excited while Serene looked thoughtful.

"You mean we get to fight alongside a famous guy and get paid for it? If he's not too bad, then count me in. As long as he's not a jerk, that is." Dragonfly said as she leaned back against the roof where the trio had met to watch the sunset while they talked surrounded by Serene's minor sound ward.

"But I guess that the final word is yours, Serene. You're the one who actually tries to keep us alive." she added, feigning guilt.

"I do agree that the offer sounds almost too good to be true." Serene mused.

"It would have been more expected that they would just tell us to go along and feel privileged to do so. They have both the rank and the resources. Why do it like this?"

"That was the part that left me wondering as well." Kite admitted.

"From the feeling I got, Will seemed genuinely eager. On the other hand, I don't think I've seen him be otherwise. You would get a competitor for passion, Dragonfly, that's for sure."

"Oh, a challenge, eh?" she said thoughtfully, the hint of a wicked grin on her lips.

"Do you think he will want to get in your pants as well?" She laughed at Kite's flustered expression, as Serene chimed in again.

"From what it sounds like, we would have been grouped up with more people either way. Why not go with the beneficial, at least partially known quantity? I think we should go for it. It would not be too outlandish to think that they would have researched us already, anyway. This way, we might avoid unpleasantness about my 'weak' path as well."

"It sounds like it is settled then." Kite said, raising his cup of tea.

"To new adventures, and maybe even new friends."

"And to getting into Kite's pants!" Dragonfly cheered.