Book 2 - Chapter 88

"We will need to break one of it's legs," I said out loud.

It's been a couple of days since we officially defended the city against the monsters attack. The city is still in the state of recovering from the damages caused mostly by the Chaplain Beast. There were minimal casualties but something unfortunate happened that brought down our moods.

Peter was caught in the rubbles trying to protect Mr Wick and Daisy during the initial laser attack by the Chaplain Beast. It was our fault to push him to care for Daisy but he denied and said that his age and his carelessness was the reason that he couldn't avoid it in time. It was just a leg injury so his life is not at stake but he'll be bedridden for a couple of days to a week depending on his healing capabilities.

He shooed us to begin our tracking mission after we had explained to him that we had successfully captured one of the beast. It was being held captive in one of the most secured prison available here as we cannot afford to allow it to escape.

Which brings us to where we are now, in the operations chamber to do an anatomy inspection on the beast and to sew the elven bell underneath it's skin. This suggestion was given by Lily as this would minimise the chance of it being caught by something or removed by other beasts. She assured us that she can still hear it at a distance despite being underneath the beast's skin. And this is where I made the suggestion of breaking one of it's legs.

There were quite a few people around the room studying the beast. From high ranking officers to doctors and scientists that may shed some light on their weak-spots to their dietary preferences and their reproductive organs. But all of them turned to look at me when I made that suggestion.

"W.. why do we need to break it's leg for?" asked one of the scientists.

"Because we need to slow down the beast in order for us to be able to keep tracking it by sound. The hind leg would be more preferable," I answered.

"I don't think that would be appropriate seeing that we are still studying the beast," answered another one of the eggheads in the room.

"I'm not saying right now but eventually we will have to. You don't have the luxury of inspecting this beast for long. You have plenty of time with the other dead specimens to inspect. We need this one for tracking purposes," I answered firmly.

"There will be no violence or cruelty in this room," one of the more senior scientists came to warned.

"I'm sorry... cruel? You do realised that there are hundreds of dead soldiers and adventurers out there who gave their lives because these beasts decided to attack the city just a few days ago. Families that had their lives and homes ruined from the attack. This city.... Your city, is now in ruins, disrepair and will probably take months just to get back in shape. And you call this cruelty? You better pray to the lords above that another attack doesn't take place anytime soon or you won't have a city to live in," I warned all of them.

Rose confronted me and pushed me away from the operating table. She placed her hand on my chest and stared into my eyes. She probably thought that I was losing my temper but I was not. I just stated the truth and she realised it soon after. She breathe a sigh of relief and petted me on the head, just because she is taller than me doesn't mean she can treat me like her little pet.

SMASH!

A loud smash followed by a sick crunching sound erupted from somewhere within the room. All of us were stunned by the sudden event except for the one who made the noise. It would appear that Lily had broken the hind leg of the beast with her fist. To be able to break such thick bones without her gauntlet at that, yikes. Just how thick are her bones to be able to break the hind leg of the beast?

The beast awoke from the sudden pain, roaring and struggling to free itself from the restraints. Doctors and officers rushed in to hold down the beast while one of them rushed to inject sedatives into it's bloodstream for quicker effects.

"I believe you were trying to test the healing factor of the beast earlier. Feel free to do so. You have until tomorrow where we will begin our mission," spat Lily.

"Y.. you can't be serious? This is an important research for us to discover more about the beast attacking us. We need this information to help us, all of us," explained one of the doctors.

"I am afraid Mister Zen have the blessings of our founder and have every right to do so. And I do agree that there is no cruelty in this when our opponent is slaughtering us without mercy," said one of the high ranking officers.

"Gentlemen, might I remind you that time, is of the essence," said a familiar voice through a microphone.

The doctors coveted at the sound of his voice and proceeded to do whatever they needed to research on the beast. The three of us headed out to meet with the speaker. We knocked on the door and he allowed us to head in.

Mr Wick was there, overseeing the operations that these people are doing through a glass window. His voice is basically the order of Peter himself. And here I thought that Mr Wick was just a simple commander when I first met him the first time.

"I trust that you will be giving us an update on whatever information they are able to find? We will begin our quest at dawn tomorrow," I informed him.

"And you shall have it. I swear these people will never come to terms that you are one of his greatest students not to mention a member of the great powers. It would appear that their discipline with rankings are.. questionable as of late," he said as he gripped on a pencil tightly.

"Woah woah.. like they said, no need for violence in that room. That pencil have done you no harm, so you should put it down," I tried to calm him down.

"You can be assured that everything will be in place at dawn tomorrow. East gate. Your room had been extended and thankfully it was not destroyed by the so called Chaplain Beast. Rest well, ladies and gentleman. We are all counting on you," he bowed to us.

***

"Are we heading straight back to our tavern? I feel like we should go for a walk as it's still pretty early," asked Lily.

It was still midday and there was nothing else for us to do for the rest of the day. I told both of them that there was something I wanted to see and both of them told me to lead the way.

We reached the site in question and it was a magnificently beautiful scene. The Chaplain Beast was still completely frozen with no sign of thawing, and it is breathtaking when the sunlight bounces off around it.

"Wow.. a little overkill, isn't it, Lily?" chuckled Rose.

"I might had. I needed to make sure that it stays dead. Who knew what else is this beast going to do. Good thing ice works on it as much as fire does," she scratched her head with her tongue out trying to act cute.

"About that new power of yours, Lily. Does it uses charges? What's the name of your legendary gauntlets?" I asked her curiously.

"Heh heh, trying to figure out my weakness? I don't have charges if that's what you're asking. It mostly uses cooldown though. It's called "Breath of Kuraokami" and I ain't telling what other spells I have. Fu fu," she smirked.

"Well.. let's see. So far you're able to freeze time, summon an ice dome to reduce people's speed, toss ice spikes, deliver punches that spreads frozen lightning on impact and toss a giant frozen lightning spear that you call from the sky. Did I miss anything out?" I grinned evilly at her.

"Y.. you.. memorised all of my spells?! Why would you do that?!" she started hitting me softly.

"Of course I need to! We'll be travelling together and I need to know what your new capabilities are. I've known Rose's strength since we often trained together. We rarely keep any secrets from each other so we can support each other properly," I explained to her.

"Well… I don't know about that," Rose started whistling and moved her eyes away.

"What do you mean by that?" I squinted at her.

She continued whistling trying to avoid answering me. I sighed and changed the topic as I know I am not getting anything out of her.

"Right, let's move to the next thing. Who's going to be the team leader for the upcoming mission?" I asked both of them.

In the exact same time and motion, both of them pointed at me. I thought of raising concerns but quickly gave up on it. These two share the same brain cells one way or another. It's the reason why the both of them get along so well in the first place.

"I wonder if Peter will keep this frozen beast somewhere. It's beautiful and certainly a marvel to look at," said Rose.

"Why would anyone want to keep this thing for? We should smash it apart and be done with it," sighed Lily.

"It's your trophy, Lily. I believe Peter would be delighted to keep this in his museum. 'Chaplain Beast, frozen in time, by Lily Moonshine'. Haha, seems cool, doesn't it?" I smiled with affection.

"Well.. if you put it that way. I guess it's fine if he chooses to keep it," she shrugged.

"One question, your frozen lightning is not affected by heat? There's no signs that it is melting even with direct sunlight," I asked her.

"No.. my spells are quite special. No ordinary sunlight is going to ever melt this thing, nor will it melt ever again," she stared at it her trophy with passion.

"Alright, what's next? Is this all you wanted to see, onii-chan?" asked Rose.

"There's one more location I wish to visit. Got to keep my promise to a certain someone," I chuckled as I headed towards a direction.

Both of them looked at each other confused. They are probably wondering what promise that I was referring to. Well, they just have to follow along to figure it out.

***

I knocked on the door of the location I wanted to visit. There was barely any signboard stating the name for this store aside from a logo of a diamond square shaped with a long haired mermaid on top of the door frame.

Upon opening, there was nothing but barrels all over the reception area. The only thing out of place was a table in the middle of the room with an old candle, a box of matches and a bell.

I walked up to the table and rang the bell. First impression, I am about to do something illegal from Rose and Lily's perspectives. Truth be told, I am sort of doing something illegal. But hey, that's what connections are for. I waited for the person in question to appear from the backroom before I proceed to do anything else.

"Who are we waiting for, onii-chan?" whispered Rose.

"Oh, you'll see," I smiled to both of them.

Someone hunched back hiding behind a cloak appeared and took a peek from behind the door. Even without showing himself, I knew he was grinning after he saw me. He was practically giggling as he approached the table.

"Greetings, Master Zen. To what do I owe the pleasure? Heh heh," he giggled.

"A pleasure to see you again, Quasimortuus. How have you been?" I asked him as I lit the candle.

I placed it in the middle of the table, lifted it up once more and blew it directly at him.

"How did you beat the mold?" I smirked at him.

"Heh hehe.. I'm glad you still remember, follow me right this way," he gestured us to follow him to the backroom.

I gestured both Rose and Lily to follow after me but keep close. We headed downstairs to what looked like a creepy empty room with couches. It wasn't brightly lit but there was another door where no one can ever peek into. Pretty sure that is where he keeps all his merchandise but no one is allowed to see what is inside.

"Juice or wine?" he giggled.

"Wine for the silver lady and juice for the rest," I said.

"Just juice for all of us, please," Lily overwrote my words quickly.

"What are you looking for this time, Master Zen? Please tell me it has something to do with both of them," he licked his lips as he passed us a cup of juice.

Both of them were grossed by his demeanour but I gave him a straight answer to ease tension in the room.

"I'm looking for the finest elven wine, do you happened to have one?" I asked him straight.

"Heh heh.. as a matter of fact, I do. And what do you have to offer?" he giggled.

I reached into hip pouch and pulled out a potion and recipe. He seems intrigued by it.

"My offer, the all stats potion including the recipe. And you, my friend, will be the only one in the world that will have access to this recipe," I smirked as I lifted it up for him to see.

"My my.. what generous offer you made. Are you sure an elven wine is all that you need?" he giggled.

"Finest elven wine, mind you. And what else are you willing to trade for this one of a kind potion recipe?" I asked curiously.

"Heh heh heh.. wait right here," he proceeded into his secret door.

"Zen.. who the hell is this? I don't really like his.. demeanour. And why are you trading your prized possession for just a wine? Why would you do that?" flustered Lily.

"What do you mean? That wine was your prized possession and I used it as a molotov. Who am I to not provide you with the best wine available as a replacement?" I smiled at her.

"No... not by giving up your own. This was not what I wanted, Zen," she explained.

"Oh, calm down. I never said it was my most prized possession. I never told him how much stats it added in the first place," I shrugged.

"H.. huh?" she grew confused.

Quasimortuus opened the door and brought a few items along with him. He placed them inside his cloak but placed the wine bottle on one side of the large rectangle table. That.. is a fine looking wine bottle. It's like it's carved and decorated by the elves for sure. I thought he wanted to offer something else along with it.

"I have a couple of other things with me that I am willing to… complement along with this wine. But only one additional item is allowed. Here are three items for your consideration," he placed them at the opposite side of the table.

There was a pair of rings, a weird looking book that I do not recognise and lastly, what looked like a pocket watch. Damn it, Quasimortuus. Where did you get that watch from? How is it possible you already have one this quickly?

"Heh heh.. which one tickle your fancies?" he grinned.

"You can remove the watch. I already have one of my own. What am I interested in is that book in the middle that I don't recognise," I said.

"Colour me intrigued, I thought the watch would had been your main choice. Heh heh. Well, this thing over here? This… is a prayerbook, traded by a stranger that passed by here a couple of days ago. Inside, it contains a seal, and spells that belonged to what seems to be.. fingers related," he opened the front page along with the seal inside and lifted it up to show us.

"In short, you have no idea the value of that book. I'm surprised you're willing to trade with something that you have no knowledge of," I replied boldly.

"Oh no, Master Zen. I know the value of this. The reason I am willing to sell this to you... well, I know what your wife can do," he snickered.

"And the rings? Because my silver-haired friend is not wearing one?" I asked bluntly.

"Come now, Master Zen. Anyone who is anyone knows about you and Lily Moonshine's unrequited love. This is no ordinary ring mind you, it belonged to an elven couple that had pushed through time and realms in order to be reunited. This ring is imbued with their undying love. This... is the ring of eternal love," he showed us.

I stopped both of them from approaching the other side of the table. None of us are allowed to approach close to him. Rose was getting giddy wanting to inspect the book but I had to stop her by grabbing her shirt. Should any of us approached him while the transaction is taking place, we will be instantly sent out of his shop without making a deal. This little hunchback is no joke.

Damn, two interesting items he offered because he knew both of their values. What if I turned down the wine instead? No, that will not work. He will never agree to it because that was what I was requested for in the first place. Alright then. Let's negotiate then, you cunning lad.

"What if.. I take everything you're offering instead? And offer you something new?" I asked him.

"Oh? Ho ho.. I knew you would take the bait. What else are you willing to offer?" he giggled.

I opened my backpack and searched for something. Hmm.. what am I willing to trade that is unique enough? The lighter? Nah, that is too valuable and it is really handy in the field for me. My other potions? I don't think he would be that interested in single stats potion though. Hmm...

"I offer this for the book," said Rose as she raised a gold coin and placed it on the table.

Somehow that coin got him all giddy and he started approaching us quickly. I warned him with a glare and he stopped in his tracks. He raised his hands and walked back to the other end of the table. Both sides have to follow the rules. I took the coin and inspected it. On one side, it looked like an angel was stabbing a dragon while on the other, a ship with a rose. What's so special about this gold coin?

I lifted it up for him to see again and along with the opposite side. Then I slammed it on the table.

"Careful Master Zen! That thing is worth more than your life!" he shouted angrily.

"Well.. you seems to be really interested in this coin. Mind telling me it's worth?" I grinned at him.

"That.... is the Angel coin. The one and only coin of it's kind. How interesting that your wife was the owner of this coin, but fitting I might say. I would be willing to trade that coin with the book and the watch. Two items for four. A fair trade, one might say," he chuckled.

I turned to Rose and whispered to her. We do not know the value of that book yet she was willing to trade this precious coin that even Quasimortuus is getting all giddy to obtain. She said it's fine as she never understood the value of that coin in the first place. Her guildmaster passed her the coin and told her to do what she wanted with it. However, she knew the value of that book. She can feel it in her guts. I asked her whether she was firmed with her decision and she answered with a firm "Yes". Such unwavering conviction.

"Alright, it's a deal. All items on the table then. Rose and Lily, would each of you stand on one side of the corner?" I pointed to them.

Both of them responded and stood at the corners of the room. Quasimortuus and I had placed all our items on the table and proceeded to walk to the other side. He took the left side while I walked on the right with the same pace. Everything must be at the same pace without showing any hints of eagerness or any attempts at stealing the items. Anything out of place and he will cancel the deal with a snap of his fingers. What's fair is that even though the deal is off and you get kicked out, he still gives you back your items without taking it for himself.

We reached the other end of the table and I stared at him. "Inspection time," he said.

I checked the four items and they seems to be in excellent condition. Even the watch looked better than what I have. The wine was sealed and showed no signs of it being opened but it certainly looked fancy. Only Lily can understand the value of it. I couldn't understand the book but it definitely have informational value in it. The so called "seal" looks weird. It was V shaped but circular at the end. I wonder if Rose can make sense on what this is.

"Are we in agreement? Everything checks out," he grinned.

"Yes, deal is complete. We will be on our way," I bowed lightly.

"Perfect, this way," he gestured us to head back up to where we came from.

The deal is never over until we leave his premise. I still need to be careful until I make it out of his shop.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Master Zen. I look forward to the fruits of your exploration," he grinned.

"Likewise, see you next time, Quasimortuus," I bowed lightly once more and headed out the door.

***

"Phew! Glad that's over," I breath a sigh of relief as I stretched my body.

"What would had happened if things went south?" asked Rose curiously.

"We would had been kicked out with a snap. I've tried to be an asshole once and… let's just say I needed to do favours to gain back his trust," I chuckled.

"Is that all for your errands?" asked Lily.

"Yep. Any of you got anything else to do for the day?" I asked both of them.

"Hmm.. let's go on a double date. Who knows what's going to happen after this mission. Let's spend time together while we still can," said Rose.

Her idea of a 'double date' is inaccurate but we knew what she was asking for. As we headed towards a place for a meal, I deliberately slowed my pace and pulled Rose to slowly match mine.

"Rose.. last chance to change your mind. You sure you want me to get along with Lily in a romantic way? Give me your word and promise me that you won't get jealous. Don't say that I'm a cheater or being unfaithful," I warned her.

She pushed me into an alleyway. She rested her head on my chest, bending her knees just to do so. I am sorry that your husband is such a shorty. Sob sob.

"Onii-chan, this is why I love you so much. Any other guys would had leapt at the opportunity without even asking their loved ones in the first place. But you.. are just so different. I love you, Zen onii-chan, and will always do. But this… is because Lily resurrected you. Without her, I wouldn't had gotten to experienced this. We owe her that, onii-chan. She deserves your love as much as I do. Just.. promise me that you'll treat us equally? I will eventually grow old, and you'll be fed-up with me. Just.. promise me that you won't abandon me or Daisy?" she asked with a soft tone.

"This is why I insist that having only one partner is the best as it breeds insecurity. I promise you, Rose. You are and will always be my first and most important wife," I hugged her.

Lily's head poked out into the alleyway squinting at us.

"If you two wanted to be left alone, you could had just told me instead of leaving me to walk ahead," she pouted.

"Oh no, we were just clearing something up. Let's go, Lily onee-chan," she started pushing Lily from her shoulder to walk together.

I smirked at their interactions. Perhaps things might work out after all. Or Rose might finally get to experience the threesome that she is secretly plotting and I'll end up all alone.

"Now, hang on there you two. Let's see here, right, this here is for you, Lily. And.. keep this as well. A reason for you to not forget or avoid me any longer," I passed her the wine bottle and the rings.

"W.. what? Zen. I'll take the bottle but you should give this rings to Rose. This is meant for your wife, not me. C'mon, you have to give this to her," she tried to pass back the rings.

"Nope, we already have a ring of our own. No reason to overwrite it with something else. Just think of it as.. hope," I smirked when I pushed the rings back to her.

"W.. what are you trying to say? You want to marry me?" she asked while tilting her head.

"Hmmm... I wonder, we shall see," I chuckled.

"Why won't you tell me instead of leaving me with a cliffhanger? You can't do this, Zen" she pouted.

"Sorry but we have a mission to complete. Got to focus on that first," I whistled.

She inspected the wine bottle and gave a loud gasp. She told us that this wine is one of the oldest and rarest out there. There is no way she is going to drink any of this as it costs a fortune if sold to the right noble elf. I teased her that she is that noble elf and she should enjoy her life but she retaliated that she is not one of them and will never live like kings.

Rose approached her and passed her the watch. As expected she tried to reject it but gave in when we told her that both of us have one of our own. How speechless she became when we suddenly showered her with gifts. I thought she would be crying tears of joy now.

As both of them walked ahead, I turned back to gaze at the frozen Chaplain Beast once more. Whoever is pulling the strings is definitely going to stronger than that beast. The three of us will be plunging ourselves into danger and possibly get outnumbered by the beasts. But we don't have a choice. We are this city's only hope of stopping the attacks. I should make sure to enjoy this last few remaining hours with both of them while I still can. The calm before the storm.