Chapter 40 – Realization

"Hehehehe"

"You really seem happy Ikarus"

"You have no idea knight"

We've all just left that dungeon and I can't help but keep giggling to myself, the rewards for that place were dope. Notice how I say rewards as well, I received two rewards from that place.

The first of the rewards was an enchanted blade, well, it's more the size of a bowie knife but it's pretty epic. Imagine a red and black zombie knife that is sharp as fuck and can cut through most things, I think that might be what the enchantment on it is, extra sharpness!

That was the generic reward for completing the place that anyone could've gotten, the vampire confirmed as much when giving it to me. This knife should in theory go to the empire since it's enchanted but there's no chance I'm giving up this little beauty.

The second was an ability both me and Petra received that the vampire had no idea on which Aesa went through with me, this reward was just as good as the first.

The ability in question is called undead fiend, sounds pretty shit right? You'd be mistaken, undead fiend allows me to turn completely invisible just like that, it probably has something to do with the fact we encountered ghosts down there.

It's not perfect since it has a twenty-four-hour cooldown when being deactivated and certain actions like using attacks switches it off but when it's being used for something like spying, it will not switch off till I want it to.

Petra doesn't seem to be all that excited about what we've gained, I guess she already had loads of powerful abilities hidden away so this type of thing is probably meaningless to her.

I can probably find some use for this down the line. If I was perverted, I could use it for spying on people but I'm not though, no point looking at other naked people if you're alread- no, I'm just turning into a narcissist again so I'm trying to cut that out now.

We're currently walking through a short cave that connects to a secret back entrance to that dungeon, I still can't help but keep giggling, I finally have an actual useable ability and it doesn't seem shit as well. I'm just happier it isn't another stat, resistance or EXP thing really.

"Hehe"

"You know, you look cute when you giggle"

…

Okay, where did that come from, if she's going to say dumb shit like that, I'm not laughing anymore. Why are both my other party members looking a little unsure as well?

Wait, she just called me cute? Nah, I'm not dealing with her teasing right now, she's blind, how the hell could she even tell? I know I am but still.

We've also just arrived at the entrance to the cave as well.

(Ikarus) "Fresh air… tis bout time"

(Nathan) "You can never really appreciate the little things till you've spent a month underground"

"Thank the Lord for getting us through that"

(Petra) "…"

All of us take in the fresh air, spending that long down there really makes you value just how good the outside really is.

I feel like Petra is upset at something but I'm not sure why though, she'll speak if she wants to share, I guess.

Need to change form and then it's time to head off, there's something close to the next dungeon I want to pay a visit to beforehand though. This is gonna be fun!

__________

(Ikarus) "Ahhhhhh…"

(Nathan) "I love this place"

(Petra) "…"

Me, Petra and Nathan are all currently sitting in a hot spring relaxing our arses off right now, this place is way too comforting.

The reason for this weird turn of events is quite simple. Located on one of three islands north of my parents' mountain range close to the coast is a small settlement in the middle of one of those islands, that settlement is famous for having a hot spring. The dungeon is on one of the other islands really close to where we are so it made sense stopping here for a night or two.

I purposely double timed it getting over here as I really wanted to have a bath, not bathing in a month due to the dungeon is more than a fair reason to very quickly want to go somewhere like this.

As I'm sitting here stewing in this brilliant place, I can't help but look around, this place looks really cool.

Just imagine the Asian style hot springs that are up in the mountains that have a wooden style building and that's basically how this place looks, obviously without the mountain part.

I can't help but notice how stereotypical this place is as well, it literally looks like it's pulled right out of an anime or manga. Hey, it's not a complaint, just a nice observation.

In the end, the three of us in the springs really didn't care all that much about sharing one together, it's not like anything perverted or rude is happening, it's just like the public bathhouses in this world. Actually, they are separate so it's not like those, I just wanted to rent one of these out myself so I didn't have to deal with strangers, that's why it's only us three in here.

Oh, I forget about priestess as well, she's off praying right now and, in all honesty, I think she's a little embarrassed about sharing a bath with a man, a man she clearly has a thing for.

I think she was even shouting at herself at one point before going off to pray, I think her God was trying to encourage her to enter with us but she really isn't having none of it. Is it weird me and Petra don't really care about nudity that much? It's not like Nathan saw anything since everyone uses towels to enter.

My slight problem is still seeing myself naked, I'm fine right now seeing that I have a lovely warm water in the way blocking anything from view, who cares all that much about a bit of nudity anyway?

We've already been in here for a good hour or so now, we've been talking about a load of random things and another thing has come to mind.

"Hey Nathan, how did you become a flying knight anyway?"

I never asked this since I really didn't care all that much but seeing that there's nothing else to discuss, might as well.

"Honestly Ikarus, even I'm a little unsure. The reasoning his highness gave me was that the empire was lacking in flying knights and that he had taken a liking to me. I didn't really question all that much"

Well that's annoying, it could have been interesting to know that.

"I know the reason for that if you two are interested"

Hang on, why would Petra know? I get that she knows a lot but still, she isn't secretly working for the empire as well, is she? No that's a dumb thought.

(Ikarus) "What's the reason?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"After the incident with the city, the empire lost too many high-ranking soldiers, the numbers had to be made up very quickly even with young and inexperienced guards, it's just down to how many people were killed"

Petra knows about the destroyed city? We never told her about that, somethings not right here. She seemed a little off when saying that as well.

"Petra, how do you know about that? It's supposed to be a secret not known to people who aren't associated with the empire"

Nathan asks before I have the chance to question as well, just cause she knows a lot doesn't mean she should have confidential information as well.

"Everyone has their secrets knight; your empire just so happens to leak like a sieve if you know where to look"

Oh great, this is another one of those secrets you're not ready to know clichés again, I hate writers. No idea what's that got to do with this situation but still, my dislike stands.

The knight doesn't end up questioning her and we end up spending another few minutes relaxing before he decides he's had enough.

"I've probably spent enough time in here for now, I'll see you two in the morning"

Nathan grabs a towel and leaves me and Petra alone in the hot spring, it's probably a good time for me to leave as well thinking about it, my skin is going to look like a prune if I stay in here for too long, what a waste of this beautiful body that will be. It's getting late as well.

"I'm going to hea-"

"Before you head off Ikarus, I can tell you the real reason why I know that if you want but you might not want to hear it though"

Petra cuts me off and has now made me curious.

"Why would I not want to hear it?"

"Because it's one of those things that might change your entire view on who you are actually working with, don't want to make you feel uncomfortable moving forward"

Oh come on, you can't be doing that! This is like the red or blue pill thing; of fucking course I'm taking the red pill. If there's information to be known even if it's bad, I still want to know.

"Just tell me, I can take it"

"Are you really sure Ikarus? It's only because once you know, you may find it hard to stomach the empire"

She seems really serious right now, what's this dumb stupid reveal that she doesn't think I can handle?

"Just tell me already"

"Fine then, it would be better to show you something beforehand though"

Petra does something, I have no idea what and her body slowly starts to morph into someone else. Once the gross looking change finishes, a horrible looking face appears in the hot spring with me.

"Wait a second, you're that bitch mage!?"

Petra immediately facepalms from my stupid comment, even I know how dumb that was now.

"No Ikarus, this is just an example of how easy mimic is so I used one of the most recognizable faces in the empire. Apologies, didn't realize how much trauma she causes you"

I guess I haven't said out loud how much I hate Leone to Petra yet so I guess that's why she didn't realize my hatred of her, just looking at her makes me feel uncomfortable right now, switch already!

Petra quickly changes face and body once again to someone else, this time, an obnoxious mirror stares me down.

"D-Damn it, change b-back to normal!"

"Why're you flustered Ikarus?"

Looking at myself naked in a hot spring is literally too much stimulation. I'm having to deal with one naked me, now there's two!? I know I can't actually see the other naked part of Petra's body but still, this might be harder to deal with than the first form she changed to.

"It's b-because I'm a stupid n-narcissist, alright?"

"Heh, I'll switch back then"

She switches her form back into good original Petra. Thinking about it, that mimic ability is great but not in a good way, that looks nearly identical to the original person, even her eyes gain the colour back in them, I doubt she can still see though. Her eyesight basically plays no problem to her so that wouldn't matter anyway.

It's a really good thing we're in here alone otherwise we'd be getting some looks right now, I guess Petra wouldn't show me if we had company, I guess. That was a stupid thought by me.

"Phew… what was your point with all that anyway? Was it just to wind me up?"

"Sorry, that wasn't my intention, should've picked a different face. My point was, by showing you my mimic ability, was trying to show you how I'm able to obtain bits and pieces of information on the empire. By putting on a face and being careful, there isn't anything the empire can really keep secret"

So, she uses mimic to find her information on the empire by sneaking in like a spy? I'm honestly a little jealous she has such a cool ability but it's not the time for that, what was her point again?

"Will you just get on with it then? The way you're building this up, this reveal is only going to lead to my disappointment"

She gives another little chuckle and smile but then goes quickly serious after.

"Heh, fair enough. That knight Nathan getting promoted isn't just a rare occurrence, many soldiers or guards had to be promoted because of the sheer number of lives that got lost in the city, the empire had a massive imbalance of power because of it"

I can't help but get a little annoyed, she kinda just already said all that.

"You basically already said that, just in lesser words"

"Yes, I know, the reason why the empire had so many stationed there is the issue, why they felt the need to keep so many high-ranking soldiers in a place far away from any battlefield and any enemy. That city had no need for such manpower"

"So what's the reason then?"

It's clear that there's a secret reason for the empire's activities in the city, I think that's what's she's getting at.

"The relationship between lord Blake and prince Alistair is the reason. Lord Blake was basically the empires right hand man out there handling issues in the city, that wasn't the main goal though. The main goal behind the twins was to capture a live dragon by any means to use for the empire's goals"

Wait a second, they're twin brothers and they were purposely hunting for dragons in the first place? The prince was actually the reason for all that shit that went down?

"That literally goes against what I've been told"

"The empire isn't exactly going to come out and tell you that they've been hunting and trying to enslave dragons for hundreds of years, are they Ikarus? That's the reason for them being there, they would've succeeded if it wasn't for two things…"

Damn it, I'm getting pissed off now. I'll let her keep speaking for a second.

"… Both reasons being you. First off, your parents would've destroyed most of the world if something had gone wrong, the empire didn't realize they had come across the two strongest dragons on the four continents, they could've dealt with your father but your mother would've proved impossible…"

She even knows about my parents, who the fuck is she? I've told her a lot but not everything, I definitely didn't say anything about my parents, she must have gotten that from the empire itself.

"… Second, you're an RP user Ikarus, same as me, we cannot be enslaved by any means. That empire slave crest is actually one of Leone's specialties for use against troublesome opposition, she would've tried to apply it to you during your capture but it obviously failed"

The empire tried to enslave me? The fuck is going on? Am I seriously this naïve or does Petra have a hidden agenda?

"When I woke up though, that Blake guy said that it would've made me into a brainless husk"

"He was lying Ikarus, that's not even how it works. It doesn't destroy the person, just makes it impossibly difficult to have or even think bad thoughts about the empire. It's a perfect crest for controlling any problematic people or getting someone with power onside"

Maybe it didn't work great on that panther woman because she wasn't intelligent enough to begin with, she was an animal beforehand though. Why am I just assuming Petra is telling me the truth when I've been lied to by the empire? She could be bullshitting me right now as well.

"By that logic, how can I tell you're telling the truth?"

She actually looks happy with me questioning her, I can't understand why though.

"Don't want you believe everything I say Ikarus, it's a good opportunity for you to think more heavily about things and look at if someone is playing you for a fool or not, could be doing the exact same type of thing to you right now"

Damn it, her response actually makes me her believe her, I'm way to naïve for my own good. Urghhhhh…

"So, let me try and get my head around all this… the empire has been trying to enslave dragons for ages, they nearly succeed but failed because they messed with the wrong dragon, I would've been enslaved but luckily was resistant to the crest, that lord Blake is actually prince Alistair's twin and Leone is responsible for the slave crest that is secretly being used around the empire… have I missed anything else?"

This stupid info dump has given me a headache now, this is way too much for my stupid bird brain to handle.

"That's pretty much everything"

At least that's it, why has this just come up now though?

"Look… why reveal this to me this now then?"

I'm slightly pissed at her now. Sure, I did just take the red pill but for fucks sake, it was clear I wasn't going to turn down the offer.

"Apologies, this was something I've wanted to tell you for a while, planned to tell you once the cure search was over but couldn't help myself. Sorry Ikarus"

She actually looks a little sad while apologizing, I can't stay mad at her, she's not the one who's caused all this shit. She's just bringing it to my attention, if she's telling the truth at the very least.

"*Sigh*… well doesn't that wrap everything up in a neat little bow? Damn it, the only two things I don't know the reason for now is why the empire is at war and the reward my father promised the prince"

"I can answer those both as well if you want"

Okay, I'm physically holding my head now, my headache is getting even worse.

"Fuck it, let's add some more shit to the cesspit"

Even she looks like this conversation is taking its toll on her as well, I guess she doesn't like seeing me overly stressed out.

"If it's related to the rebels in the southeast, then that's directly caused by the empire, they'll have more justification for mandatory drafts and can control the general population with fear slightly easier with an ongoing war, that's only speculation though. What isn't speculation is that they could just easily end the war in a week if they really wanted to, they have more than enough power to do so…"

The war in the southeast is purposely being drawn out by the empire for controlling reasons? Sighhhhh…

"… As for your father offering a reward, the only thing I can think of is that he might've offered them servitude but I really cannot be sure though, sorry"

I instantly respond in a nasty way to that.

"Fuck no, there is no way father offered to work under humans… wait, he basically already does wyvern killing for them and has been in contact with other people from the empire, does that mean he could be under their control?"

My anger goes very quickly when I realized he might be under their control, this fucking empire is now doing my head in.

"Strongly doubt it, dragons are extremely tough creatures to apply slave crests on, they could do it but they would need to capture him properly first and that would be difficult in its own right. If he's offered to serve them, then there wouldn't be any point in trying to force a crest on. Well, right now at the very least"

Let's just recap everything, the people in power in the empire are a bunch of lying dickheads. What the hell am I supposed to do with this info dump? Seriously though, should I just fly in to the palace and try and burn it to the ground or get my parents involved? I clearly need to get them involved if this is matter that involves capturing dragons but still, I don't want them to just burn down the city in the blink of an eye. Thousands of people shouldn't die just because of a few bad people, it is tempting though.

"Seriously Petra, what the hell am I supposed to do with all this information? I feel like I'm going to pass out from all this"

She looks a little down as well now, I'm really unsure what's going through her brain but I think she at least gets how I'm feeling right now.

"I'm sorry Ikarus but it isn't my place to say, I hold a dislike for the empire but this isn't something I can decide for you, whatever you want to do is only a decision you can make. If it's that hard to deal with, just pretend I never said anything and imagine this as a passing thought"

"How the fuck am I supposed to do this now? Can you please just give me anything, even just something tiny?"

She takes a second to answer, I think she regrets telling me all this now as well.

"Look, if you really want my advice Ikarus, do nothing. Right now, you still are allied with the empire, use it for your advantage. They are providing you locations for dungeons, use them for your own benefit and gain. Once you're cured, then the decision is yours, I'll follow you whatever route you take if you'll allow me to"

She's happy to keep following me? At least I don't have to gain another worry to my ongoing bag of crap.

I can't just assume everything she said is true but if it is, then I want nothing to do with the people in control of this empire. So much so in fact, I'd be happy to burn the capital to the ground, I'm NOT taking that route though. As attractive as it sounds, I really only want to kill two people, the prince and the mage, maybe the rest of royal family as well might help.

Urgh, this isn't something to think about right now, I still need to play nice for the time being.

Then another thought came to mind.

"Crap, what about the knight and priestess? Have they both got the crest?"

Are both my party members under their control? If they are, will I have to kill them as well?

"Both are clean, already checked when we first started travelling together"

Phew, the only reason I can think of why they might be clean is that priestess is too powerful to enslave and for the knight, there's probably no point in doing it. From the royal's perspective, he isn't exactly someone who could threaten their rulership, I'm clearly just guessing though.

"They're both going to be problems though, aren't they?"

"Maybe, but this still isn't something to worry about just yet, both have no idea what's going on behind the scenes. It might be better to keep this hidden from them as well, at least for now"

We've basically got a priestess and knight who serves under the empire constantly by our sides. Charlotte might be able to be convinced if she was to see the prince as a heathen but that doesn't sound like an easy task. Nathan, he is surprisingly open minded for a knight but even then, could you convince him to turn against someone he's vowed to serve under? This is going to be difficult, if not impossible to do.

"*Sigh*… I'm going to the inn now, night Petra"

"Night Ikarus"