43 Dinner Plans

Our journey took us about a week in total. Added to the two weeks we had spent in the Heaven's Punishment Dungeon, we were away from the capital for almost a full month. I could only hope that things were going well in my absence.

The city itself didn't look like it was changed much. The damage from the coup was now all but forgotten. Pristine shining brick buildings were erected in the place of old and damaged ones. People were out and about, selling and buying wares from shops, and armored adventures were training in the city squares.

I had the Heaven's Demon Garb take a classic city-girl outfit. It became a rather simple beige dress with white lace and black buckled leather shoes. The dress itself didn't show any cleavage, either, because RED continually complained about it. It was weird. He was acting more like my father than my friend.

It was late in the afternoon, but we made our way towards the castle anyways. RED used his location finding skill and told me that Lily was currently being escorted to her room by a maid while her brother Alec was in the throne room discussing policy with delegates.

It seems the younger brother Gin managed to win the competition. I felt a bit bad for the older brother, but it was probably for the best that he ended up being the one to take the throne. It was always supposed to be the oldest son in succession stories, after all. Even if he was only the eldest by a few minutes.

RED and I made our way to the castle gate. RED himself was just fast enough to elude the guard shifts, so we didn't have to bother dallying with formalities. The last thing I wanted was to be made to wait in some guest room for hours on end while the new 'king' finishes his talk.

It didn't take long to make it to Lily's room. I gave the door a light knock, being absolutely careful not to damage it. A small slit at eye level opened up and I met the gaze of a maid.

"Oh! It's Calliope, mistress!" Called the maid.

"Let her in, quickly," said Lily from the distance. The door opened and I walked in. RED followed closely behind.

Lily was currently sitting in a chair with wheels on the bottom. I was a bit impressed by how advanced this world was at times. They even had wheelchairs here. Though I'm certain it had more to do with the fact that Lily was royalty more than anything.

"Calliope! You're back! Where did you go? And who's this with you?" Asked Lily all at once as a second maid rolled her to us.

"Ah, Lily. Sorry for leaving without giving you any warning… But some very important things came up. This is RED, he's my companion," I said with a forced smile, "Listen, is it possible we can go somewhere we can talk in private?"

Lily's eyes narrowed and she seemed to understand that what I was going to talk about was important. She quickly waved her hands.

"Maids, please leave us and fetch some tea. All of you. Bring back some sweets as well," commanded the princess. Her entourage obeyed immediately.

"Ah, now that we're alone why don't you wheel me over towards the bed so we can all sit down and talk."

I had RED wheel Lily over and we helped her onto the bed. I pulled a stool over and sat on it myself. Then, with a heavy heart, I started telling Lily the entire story.

"It all started when I was in my previous world…"

I didn't hold back anything. I gave her the entire story, right down to me building RED's new body. She didn't interrupt me once. She just listened. RED, on the other hand, wandered around the room inspecting the various training tools and weight sets.

"... I don't know what to say, Calliope. Is… Is everything you've just said true?" Asked Lily.

"Yes. I haven't held anything back from you," I replied.

"So these Gods, the Fae, are going to try and kill you?"

"Yes," I said.

"This… This all seems so absurd, but I believe you."

"That's all I could ever ask for. Lily," I said with a smile, "The first thing I'm going to do is take you to a healer. After that, you can make your own decision. You can join me in my fight if you want, but I won't force you… I'm also going to offer this to James too."

"Calliope," Lily said as she put her hand on top of mine, "There's nothing I'd rather do more than help you fight this battle. Count me in… But there's something you need to know. James ran away. He went off to the Forgotten Lands, saying things like he was 'too weak' among other things. He thought you abandoned him because he was too weak…" Lily paused for a moment, and I could feel the dread in her voice, "Calliope, James died."

It felt like a bullet passed through my heart. He died trying to get strong enough to stand alongside me… I refused to let myself cry. He was just an acquaintance. That's all. Nothing more…

"That is incorrect," interrupted RED.

"What?" Questioned Lily.

"My tracking skill tells me James Evergreen is still alive," said RED.

"That's impossible. The team I sent to bring him back said he died…"

"James Evergreen is currently level 32. His level has increased dramatically in the last week. He is, at this moment, fighting in the seventh floor of the Fogged Swamp Dungeon. He seems to be doing well."

"RED," I interjected, "How can you possibly know all this?"

"When Nox modified me, he gave me a skill… A deity ranked skill called -Map-. It lets me track and see the status of any person within a specific radius as well as navigate areas and other things with ease," replied RED.

"How can you possibly have the mana to use a Deity rank skill?" I asked.

"-Map- is special in that it's invocation absorbs mana from the environment rather than the user in order to be used. The mana taken in is analyzed by the skill to produce the desired results."

It sounded too good to be true. Such a thing had to come with a drawback. As if he was reading my mind, RED said, "There are a few weaknesses to -Map-, though. The first one is that if the environment has either too much mana or too little it can't be used. The second is that it cannot be used in conjunction with any other abilities. I must focus solely on using it and nothing else. It's how I 'guided' you, Calliope."

It made sense. It also answered the question on how RED knew so much about the world. I had thought it was strange he seemed to know when people or enemies were approaching. I hadn't given it too much thought before, but that skill seemed absolutely broken. It was fitting to call it Deity ranked.

A knock came at the door to Lily's room, stopping our conversation.

"It is the current King, Alec Gransus," said RED as he helped me get Lily back into her chair.

"You can come in!" Called Lily once she settled down.

The door opened and a man walked in. I had met the prince before, but the man in front of me was vastly different. He didn't have a mustache. It was amazing just how big of a difference it made.

"One of the maids told me you came back, Calliope… Who's this?" Asked Alec as he stared daggers at RED. For some reason, RED challenged his gaze and even offered a smug grin.

"This is my companion RED. He's currently level 144, and I'm training him in my spare time," I said, deciding to interrupt the strange staring contest. Alec looked like he was visibly hurt by my words, for some reason. He stumbled backwards and held his chest as if he'd been stabbed.

"Y-your companion!? Uhhg, n-nice to meet you, Mr RED. Calliope, did you say his level was 144? Did I hear that right?"

"Uhhg, why are you here Alec!?" Asked Lily after losing her patience.

"Oh," said the king, recovering from earlier, "I came to find out if you two are still heading to Barbory to find a healer."

"Yes, we are. We are leaving in two days, brother," replied Lily.

"Ah, well, I just wanted to ask if you could stop by Fort Clyfton and bring Gin with you. I want him to see our closest neighbor and their culture. It might be important in future negotiations with them," said Alec.

"That's fine with me," I said. For some reason both Lily and RED looked unhappy with my declaration.

"I also, uh, wanted to invite you to dinner tonight, Calliope. We're going to be having a feast with some of the Dragon Meat that I brought from Fort Clyfton," said the King with red cheeks. It was weird. He seemed so much more confident back when he was with his brother. Could it be without his sibling he wasn't half as brave?

"That sounds lovely. RED, are you find with eating at the castle tonight?" I asked.

"That is fine with me, Calliope," he replied.

"Then it's decided. I'll see you tonight, Alec," I said with a smile.

"Oh but, uh, nevermind. I'll see you tonight, then," said the King as he slipped out the door, closing it behind him.

I sighed. Lily started laughing. RED's eyes looked amused too.

"RED," I said, interrupting their merrymaking, "Is James in any danger?"

"No. He seems to be perfectly fine. I suggest we let him keep leveling up on his own for now. Every level he gains on his own now makes your job easier later."

"Alright. I feel a bit bad for him, but for now my first priority is to get Lily fixed," I said.

"Ah, Calliope… I've been meaning to ask. You said you built RED's body. If you can do that, why can't you heal me?" Asked Lily.

"Well, I don't really know how to explain it," I said rubbing the back of my head, "But creating a husk without a soul in it and repairing one bonded to a soul are very different things. The way Mana interacts with objects changes entirely when a soul is put into the equation… I'm sorry."

"Oh, no! Don't be sorry. I was just curious. I assume you'd fix me if you could… Thank you, really. I don't know what I would do without a friend like you, Calliope," said Lily with a smile that melted my heart like butter.