Chapter 23.1 Open Eyes

The Mastery Exam was the culmination of my new life. Not that it meant much to me in terms of merit in the eyes of the clan members. The master himself was a great disappointment to me and the clan, and it didn't matter to me. In my own eyes, I've been sitting on the golden throne for a long time, spitting on the heads of mortals, hehe.

In fact, when you are in a real battle, on the brink so to speak, and you test yourself, you immediately come to understand the value of skills, abilities, and strength. I just know what I can do and what I can't do... although I'm sure Sugawara taught me with more dedication and that "inaccessible" had less of an effect on me. I don't care. After passing the damn exam, I was left alone for a few hours and drank another batch of Baa-san's potions, and the effects showed immediately.

It was as if the last string had been pulled again, and my head felt clearer, my breathing easier, even my eyes clearer — like looking through dirty glass. But more importantly, I realized that since my first trip to the islands, I had never once used the spiders to contact my mother! It was as if something had shut out thoughts of her!

I have less than a week until the "momentous occasion" and I'm not damn ready! Where's the escape plan? Where's the recon of the area? Where are the schedules for the guards' rounds? WHERE IS THE LETTER TO MY MOTHER?

 I could only grit my teeth and clench my fists in anger and irritation, but I used light meditation and it took me about twenty minutes to come to my senses. The magic wanted to burst out and burn everything around me. For some reason, it was fire that was taking over lately, even though my main element was water... I didn't understand.

I immediately contacted the Brothers (why didn't I give them a name???), who responded almost immediately and gave me the task of organizing a network of feathered spies to monitor the Miyazaki clan's territory! The brothers took the lead and immediately got to work.

Next, I pull another, more massive bracelet out of the Matryoshka, which I immediately snap onto my bicep. I send magic and it is activated (a cunning spell reads magic), thought-command, and a dozen fireflies-spies and a "spider-worker" settle on my outstretched arm.

The spider gets its task, along with the image of the mother from that feast, for I never saw her again. The puppet crawls into a dark corner under the ceiling, where it freezes, and the fireflies immediately scatter in different directions and leave the room. Okay, the trial is underway. Baa-san is just smiling at my actions.

— What, are your brains finally turning on? Ke-ke-ke! — For some reason, her laughter doesn't seem to irritate me this time.

— It's on. — I nod in agreement, thinking of my own. — There's so much to do and everything has to be done on time. Almost ruined everything. — I sigh heavily. — It's all her potions, isn't it? — I raise my eyes to the translucent old woman standing beside me.

— You've been under control too long. — The serious dark eyes remain fixed on mine. — Your mind and spirit have become too accustomed to this state, and it has been difficult to overcome, to break the leash. — Yes, I've even heard the leash breaking. — How does it feel?

— You know, like I've taken a huge weight off my body and a bag off my head. Breathing and feeling so much lighter. Thank you. — I bow respectfully.

— It's my part of the bargain to take care of you, boy. But I appreciate your gratitude. — The old woman smiled kindly, then pulled a bundle out of the air and handed it to me. — Here are the products, clean of all sorts of nasty things. If you don't want to waste our work, you will only eat from the bundle.

I bow again in gratitude. Once again I didn't think. I feel like an invalid with a limp! After about an hour, the spider responded, and with the eyes of a firefly I saw my mother, surrounded by three other women, sewing something. The quality of the "picture" is not the best, but it is not a three-dimensional image, and it was not difficult to make out a familiar face with violet eyes.

 After watching for a while, I ordered the spider to keep watch, but I switched to another firefly and began to look around the mansion. I don't need to explain why I didn't make a full study of it.

As I looked at the people, rooms, halls, and other things, I had a lot of thoughts in my head. I thought I was prepared, but really? That's what I think. The plans for this night are growing by the minute, it's good that I have a lot of "hands" and I know how to use them.

In the evening, I was called to the chapter, with some elders and Sugawara present. They congratulated me on my achievement, said goodbye to my teacher, and told me that in six days there would be a double celebration of my achievement and my commitment. Good thing I know the exact date now. I had to show myself the same "felt the importance and philosophy of the clan," which was not easy because I wanted to chop and burn it right there.

But I can't. If I left and there were corpses behind me, I'd probably be on the wanted list with a bounty on my head. I don't know about the Chancellery, but if there's corruption everywhere (I'm pretty sure there is, when I see it, the "pretty much" will be gone), Miyazaki won't be the only one after me. No, blood can't be allowed. But stealing an expensive apartment is a necessary and important thing. And I'm going to show it off tonight.

And so I did. The first thing I did was to have a good look through the already known pantries with various household goods. It's a good thing that, due to a strange impulse from half a year ago, I made artifact storages with a reserve. I started with my favorite storehouse — the stationery store, although I had to go there myself, but that was no problem anymore — a good mage-fighter knows how to adapt to different conditions.

Two thirds of what was in the room was a simple gold ring that looked like a wedding ring. To conceal its disappearance, he spoke a simple amulet that cast an illusion into the room and pushed it against the far wall. Next I visited the storehouse of simple clothes, work clothes, for household use, sturdy but not ugly.

I finished the ring room and returned to my place around three in the morning. An hour ago the spider signaled that the mother had been left alone and had gone to bed. The finished letter was delivered by the spider, whose eyes I watched.