Chương 338: B5—Chapter 58: Home Sweet Chaotic Home

I could feel the core in the keep and guessed Mahya was the "carrier" since I felt her in the same area. Al was there too, but further away from her. However, before meeting with them, I wanted to see Sanctuary and learn about what had happened there. It had changed. The two outer rings of the palisade were gone, stripped away along with the fields, leaving only bare earth where crops once grew.

The cattle remained, though—not in the safety of a palisade, but in a fenced enclosure under the watchful eyes of a few guards. Most of the warehouses had vanished, and the last few stood half-dismantled. Even the residential area had shrunk. Not by much—most of the houses still stood—but the ones closest to the inner palisade had been removed. My clinic was among them. As I hovered above the settlement, taking it all in, I felt Rue approaching.

He flew toward me, also invisible, but that didn't stop him from slamming into me and delivering a full-tongue, slobber-laden greeting. Unerringly, he licked me from chin to forehead, his body practically humming with excitement. A surge of joy flooded through our bond, so strong it was almost dizzying. His telepathic voice boomed, louder than usual—borderline shouting, like back when he hadn't yet learned to control his volume.

"John missing too long! Rue miss John very very a lot! John no go away so long again!" I reached out by feel, scratching behind his ears.

"I won't, I promise." Another wet swipe of affection landed across my face, but at least his voice dropped to a more reasonable level.

"Good. Remember John promise." I laughed, wiping my cheek with my sleeve.

"I'll remember. Now, I felt Mahya and Al in the keep, but what about Rima?"

"Also in keep. Mahya come soon to take more people on balloon."

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Rue's ear perked under my hand.

"Yes, lots of interesting. Group of bad men come to make trouble, but Rue protect everybody. One bad man shoot Rue, but Rima help take out bullet and heal Rue. John heal better, more fast. Mahya go at night to Almadris and make trouble to bad men. Rue—" The moment he mentioned being shot, I immediately diagnosed him. Nothing serious—no lingering damage. Still, hearing Mahya's name in the same breath as "making trouble" set off alarms.

"Why Mahya alone?" I cut in. Rue huffed, a bit put out at being interrupted.

"Sword no can take two people. Mahya and Al try. Rue need stay in city to protect. So Mahya go alone and make trouble. Mahya wait for John to come back to take castle of Almadris for wall and more building. Mahya grumpy John not come back more fast." That made me laugh. She'd sent me on an endless errand and still had the audacity to be grumpy that it was taking too long. I just shook my head. Yeah, classic Mahya.

She had either forgotten—or, more likely, ignored—the time skip between Lumis and Zindor and probably expected me back in a week or two. With her patience problem—or, more precisely, her severe lack of it—I knew it had to be driving her crazy. Good. Next time, she could run the errands. I felt Travelers—Al was approaching fast, Mahya following at a more measured pace. Both were heading straight for me.

"Let's fly to the city. I don't want to become visible here." We glided through the air and landed inside a deserted building on the outskirts. Dust stirred around our feet as we touched down. The place smelled stale, having been abandoned for so long that the scent of old wood and stone had permeated everything. I leaned against a crumbling wall, watching the entrance while we waited for the rest of the team. Al arrived within a minute, shimmering into view as he stepped inside, sword in hand.

He clapped a firm hand on my shoulder, his grip solid and reassuring.

"It is good to have you back. A week or two more and Mahya would have exploded." I barked out a laugh, shaking my head.

"She's the one who sent me!"

"I believe she is impatient to get the cart." I fidgeted, suddenly less amused.

"Umm… well. She is going to explode. I didn't get one." Al's eyebrows shot up so high they nearly vanished into his hairline.

"You are living a dangerous life, my friend." I sighed, running a hand down my face.

"It felt wrong to artificially create a conflict just so I could snag a cart. Yeah, I stole some stuff—alone and with you—but that was different. It didn't make me feel like a thief. Creating a problem to justify taking one? That does." Al hummed, tilting his head in consideration before nodding.

"I can understand your viewpoint. I hope, for your safety, Mahya would as well." I threw up my hands.

"If she doesn't, she can go and get her own damn cart." Exhaling sharply, I pushed down the irritation.

"Look, I got everything else on the list. And then some. Also, all your herbs and stuff." Al inclined his head in thanks.

"Thank you. I do not need them urgently. You can give them to me in the evening. Mahya is going to be here soon." He gestured toward the gap between two buildings, and I followed his gaze. In the distance, just beyond the rooftops, the curve of a balloon came into view, dipping lower as it approached.

"She is landing."

"Oh, I have something for you." I reached into my storage and pulled out the sap collection box, handing it over to Al. Al took it with a furrowed brow, turning it over in his hands.

"Is this from the dungeon with the gorilla? It looks similar, and the description follows the same vein."

"Yeah, I stopped there on the way. The nuts and honey are great in food supplements for healing." Al nodded, thoughtful.

"Of course. They contain a lot of mana." A sudden jolt of excitement hit me through the bond a second before Rue perked up beside me, his tail thudding against the floor like a drumbeat.

"John bring big yummy eggs?" Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I smirked.

"I did." His tail went into overdrive, stirring up a cloud of dust.

"Rue eat bad food so long! Rue need extra yummy food with yummy eggs!" His telepathic voice whined with exaggerated suffering. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help chuckling.

"Don't worry, I've got you covered."

"Do not let him fool you," Al said, his tone dry with amusement.

"All the workers he guards, and their families, spoil him at every opportunity. After he deterred the second attack, the rest of the city joined in the effort. He was not hungry for even one second." I turned to Rue, arching a brow.

"Is that so?" Rue immediately went rigid; his tail slowed, and he looked away.

"Rue still need yummy eggs," he insisted, voice edging toward sulky.

"Food not bad… but not extra yummy. Rue deserve extra yummy." Al sighed, shaking his head.

"You have created a monster." I just laughed.

"Yeah, but he's our monster." A blur of movement—and Mahya barreled into me, arms locking tight around my ribs.

"Finally!" she shouted, squeezing hard enough to knock the breath out of me.

"What took you so long?" I barely had time to exhale before answering.

"You forgot about the time skip?" She pulled back just enough to glare at me, her expression full of indignant offense.

"Of course not!" I arched a brow.

"Then how is it long? I did everything in a week." That stopped her cold. She blinked, mouth opening—then closing again.

"A week?" I grinned.

"Yep! You totally forgot about the skip."

"Fine!" she whined, throwing her hands up.

"I might have overlooked it." She waved a hand dismissively, as if that minor detail was irrelevant.

"Never mind that. You're back, and that's what matters." Then her eyes narrowed, zeroing in like a predator locking onto prey.

"Did you get a cart for me?" I gave her a cheeky grin. Time to give her a taste of her own medicine.

"Nope!" She froze, mouth hanging open as if I'd just told her the world was ending. Her eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering behind them, but sheer disbelief ultimately won out. Finally, she squeezed out, half choking on the words, "Why not?"

"Because I'm a provider of just punishment, not a thief." Mahya blinked, processing that for a second. Then her expression twisted, a mix of outrage and begrudging amusement.

"Are you calling me a thief?" I smirked.

"I'm just saying, if you want a cart so badly, you can go get one." Her eyes narrowed.

"You're enjoying this way too much."

"Oh, absolutely." She threw her hands up, exasperation all over her face.

"I hate you!" Then, with a dramatic sigh, she crossed her arms and jabbed a finger at me.

"Fine! I'll get my own cart. But you, mister, are now officially the new aviation company. You're flying people to New Sanctuary." I sighed, already knowing there was no arguing with her.

"And what do I get out of this?" Her grin turned all too smug.

"The satisfaction that comes with a job well done. Additionally, there will be significantly less nagging from me." I smiled evilly.

"I want that in writing." She blew me a raspberry.

"Not a chance." She gave me back my core, I opened the house deeper in the city and got to work on a big dinner. Rue danced around me the entire time, tail wagging, paws tapping, and offering an endless stream of commentary. Despite having already expanded my kitchen multiple times, it still felt way too small when a horse-sized dog waltzed through it. At one point, I accidentally stepped on his paw— completely by accident—but Rue didn't believe me.

He yanked his paw back with an offended huff and sulked, radiating betrayal for a full minute. Then, just as dramatically as he'd started, he forgot all about it and went right back to prancing around me, this time demanding bigger portions. Or, at the very least, his portion needed to be significantly larger. I made very sure not to step on him again, but with him twirling around my legs like an overgrown puppy, it wasn't easy.

During dinner, I told the gang about my shopping trip and handed Mahya all the single-use spells. She barely glanced at them before groaning and facepalming.

"I can't believe I forgot to add them to the list!" At least that put me back in her good graces. With a dramatic sigh, she waved a hand and declared, "Okay, you're off the hook for nagging—at least a couple of months more." The rest of us just laughed. None of us believed her for a second. Al, meanwhile, was practically glowing over his herbs and supplies. But the moment I mentioned the tiftaf plant, his entire posture shifted—back straight, eyes sharp.

"Can I see it, please?" I handed him a fistful of the fibrous strands. He rubbed them between his fingers, eyes intent.

"Do you have a fresh plant?"

"No. But with the Flourish spell, that's not a problem," I said, handing him a cup with seeds. Without another word, he stood, abandoning his half-eaten dinner, and strode off toward his greenhouse. Mahya and I exchanged a glance and shrugged in unison.

"I heard about the trouble. What happened?" She exhaled, leaning back.

"A group came from Almadris. They have three dungeons in the ruined city they run for materials, and the final reward is gold. Roda told me this specific group had come a few times, demanding the gold. They weren't like the assholes from Almatai who shot at people for sport—these just wanted the gold. Since nobody had any real use for it, they didn't mind handing it over." Her expression darkened.

"Rue disagreed." Rue huffed, shifting beside me.

"He growled at them when he realized they were trying to rob the city. They tried to shoot him, so he attacked. One lost an arm, and Rue killed another before they managed to shoot him. Even wounded, he still fought them off and went to Rima for treatment. I gave her a Telepathy scroll so they could communicate." I frowned.

"He can talk out loud. The wolves taught him—you heard it too." Rue interjected before she could respond.

"Rue can talk like friend wolf, but Rue need spend a lot of mana. After Rue talk like wolf, Rue head hurt. Rue like Telepathy more." Mahya laughed.

"That's exactly what he told me. Anyway, six of them managed to escape. Al was at the keep, and I arrived with the balloon an hour later, so we couldn't chase them right away. By night, I flew to Almadris and did some sleuthing. The leader sent them. I found them raising drinks to their dead friend." Her lips curled into a vicious smirk.

"I shot the lot of them and emptied about half the mansion. Now that you're back, we need the mansion. We want to add a couple of meters to the wall, and the rest of the stone to reinforce some structures in the keep." She leaned back with a satisfied smirk, clearly pleased with herself.

"Anything else interesting that happened while I was gone?" She told me about other things, including how they had progressed so quickly—the spells I had given them were more useful than I had imagined—and what the team had been up to. When I mentioned the platforms, she practically preened.

"See? I told you I'm a genius."

"Uh-huh, and I bet you haven't stopped bragging about it either." She grinned, completely unrepentant.

"Absolutely not." An hour later, Al returned, holding a stalk of the umbrella plant, practically glowing with happiness.

"You look pleased," Mahya noted, eyeing him with curiosity.

"I am." Al carefully adjusted his grip on the plant.

"Based on John's description, I recognized it as something similar to a plant I am familiar with from Muslar. While it is not precisely the same, it is close enough that it may have the same effect I know of."

"Which effect?" I asked, already intrigued. Al's eyes gleamed.

"That is what we are going to test." He held up a small vial, barely containing three drops of oil.

"I have already removed the seeds and extracted the oil. Please heal my hand after the experiment." Before I could say anything, he pulled out a knife and cut the back of his hand. Blood welled up instantly, but before it could trickle down, he dipped a fingertip into the vial and spread the oil over the wound. The effect was immediate. The bleeding stopped as if sealed shut, though the cut itself remained open—neither healing nor scabbing, just covered by a thin, invisible layer. He extended his hand toward me.

"Feel it." I reached out, my fingers brushing against the cut. It was smooth and flexible, like a thin layer of cling film covering the injury. I frowned in astonishment.

"How?"

"It reacts with blood. It remains in an oil form if you apply it to a dry cut. But when it mixes with blood, this is the result." He flexed his fingers, utterly unbothered by the injury.

"This specific variety is even better than the one I am familiar with. The strain in Muslar is slower acting. This... this is a great resource." I pretended to throw my hair back with a dramatic flick of my hand.

"I'm a genius." Mahya shot me a stink eye. I winked at her. She escalated to a full-on death glare. I stuck my tongue out. She made a show of cracking her knuckles and mimed wringing my neck. Al cleared his throat, unimpressed.

"Healing, please." It was good to be home.