Chapter 21

"Didn't take you for a bookworm, but I guess all you magic-types are at least a little bit studious." said a voice suddenly over Rey's shoulder, making Rey nearly jump out of his skin. But when Rey smelled cigarette smoke, he recognized the speaker and calmed down.

"Geez, you scared the hell out of me! Huh? When did it get so dark?" Rey asked as he saw the darkened sky outside of the windows.

"For hours. Poor, little Dia was trying to get your attention for a while, but she was too timid to interrupt your studying, so I did it for her." Kazumi said as he went back to sit on the couch he designated as his.

"Dia? Who's that?" Rey asked, but then instinctively looked to that side and saw the Centaur girl awake and fidgeting with her hands nervously.

"Oh, so you're name is, Dia. That's a very pretty name. How are you feeling?" Rey asked as he gave her a warm smile, causing her to blush.

"I-I'm sorry to bother you, Young Master, I just wanted to know if there was anything this slave could do for you." The Centaur girl, Dia, said nervously, making Rey frown.

"Dia, I know this may be hard to accept considering the small part you told me about what you went through, but you don't have to call me, Young Master, because you aren't a slave anymore. In fact, I just learned the perfect Inscription for this occasion." Rey said as he shuffled through strips of white paper inscribed with black Runes.

Finding the 'Release' Talisman that he had just made, Rey got up and walking closer to the now shivering Dia. Rey frowned seeing how traumatized this poor girl was just from him walking towards her, and hoped that he could help her get passed it one day. Thinking that showing her what the Talisman did would be faster than explaining it, Rey simply placed the talisman on the scared girl's collar before pushing his Mana through it. With a satisfying clicking noise, the slave collar fell off and dropped to the floor.

The girl was frozen for a while before tears trailed down her dirt covered face as she felt her bare neck for the first time in while.

"There, maybe that can help you believe it. You no longer have to live being a slave to someone else. You can choose to do or be whoever you want from now on. But, I know that must be a lot to take in so suddenly. For now, let's get you a room, and I'll get you some clothes that you can wear after you get cleaned up. Does that sound okay?" Rey asked as he kneeled down to be face to face with her on the couch, so that he wasn't standing over her.

"W-why are you being so nice to me? I'm not anyone special and I have nothing to offer in return." Dia asked through tears as she buried her face in her hands.

Pulling her into a caring hug, Rey let out a heavy sigh. "It wasn't too long ago that I woke up in a forest with nothing but my underclothes and not even my memories. I was nothing and had nothing of value either. Still, 2 strangers went out of their way to show me kindness, even knowing that I had an Orc warrior after my head, they never turned me away. I would probably be in a similar situation as you, or even dead if they didn't decide to help me that day. So, I decided that I want to be helpful to those in a similar situation." Rey said as he released her from the hug and helped her stand up.

Hearing a bit of Rey's background and learning that Rey had amnesia and was apparently a nobody not that long ago left Kazumi shocked, as he had seen Rey fighting alongside him and could tell he didn't use his full power.

Kazumi wasn't sure if he could even defeat Rey unscathed if something were to happen, now he was learning this. Kazumi immediately thought of Rey being on the same levels as prodigies, and told himself that he would have to start training harder so that he didn't get left behind by Rey.

Leaving Kazumi to his own devices, Rey showed Dia to a room near the entrance of his Master Suite, in case she needed him for an emergency. After showing her how the mana-powered shower worked, Rey gave her some privacy while he headed to the barracks to get an outfit for her and Kazumi.

Rey was surprised by how well kept the barracks was after all of this time compared to everything else at Sky Keep. Along with many beds meant for all of the soldiers, Rey found weapons, different outfits, manuals, and spare uniforms and clothes. Picking out 2 Shinigami cloaks and masks for Kazumi and Dia, Rey then picked out a nice, simple yellow dress that he thought Dia would look nice in.

After dropping off a set to Kazumi who was napping on the couch, Rey headed back up to Dia's room to drop off her new clothes. Still hearing the shower going, doing his best to ignore the womanly scent drifting from the bathroom, Rey placed a meal from his ring on her desk, put the clothes on the bed and planned to leave as quickly and as quietly as possible, but when he turned around, he froze.

Standing by the bathroom door as naked as the day she were born, was Dia, still wet from the shower. Her brown, caramel skin glistened in the moonlight from the window, as her long, jet-black hair clung to her skin in tight curls. Rey, was no shy kid who would look away from a naked girl in front of him, so he admired all she had to offer.

From her small, perky breasts and reddish, light brown nipples, to her slim, petite torso. Even her shapely horse legs and the sway of her wide hips nearly sent Rey's animal instincts flaring. But with her face now clean of blood and dirt, Rey couldn't believe how cute this girl was a he looked at her full lips and striking yellow eyes.

Silence hung in the air for a while as the two did nothing but stare at each other, until Dia broke the silence.

"Is, Master Rey, displeased with me? The Slave Trainers hadn't had a chance to teach me much after that pig bought me, but they did drive home three things. Always obey my Master, men love pleasure more than anything else in this world, and that nothing in this world was free." Dia said softly as she fidgeted with her hands before her nervously.

Seeing this, Rey already knew where she was going and let out a light sigh. As he was showing her the room, Rey had learned that Dia was actually the same age as him, but being barely fed her whole life by her parents before she was sold and nearly starved in slavery made her look smaller and younger than she should be. But, though she was very alluring at the moment, and any other time Rey would've happily taken her offer, Rey couldn't do it.

Dia was still very clearly going through her trauma and was trying to rationalize Rey's rare kindness as best that she could. If anyone were to knowingly take advantage of a girl in such a situation, they'd be an even bigger pig than Tracy was.

"Dia, though you seem very sweet and look sexy as hell once you clean yourself up, I can't do that to you. I didn't save you with any ulterior motives and you don't owe me a thing. You had a long day, you should get some rest. I left you some food on your desk." Rey said he lightly patted Dia on the head, then forced his legs to walk out of the room.

Now all by herself in the lavish room that was big enough to comfortably fit the old house she used to stay at with her parents, Dia didn't know what to do with herself. Though she was still a virgin, as the slavers didn't want to "ruin their merchandise", they still made her do plenty of other things that still haunt her, so when Rey said that he freed her, she thought he would take ownership of her. The fact that Rey didn't violate her and actually made her feel warm and safe, left Dia confused on how to feel and act.

She started wondering that she might not be pretty enough for Rey, but then him calling her sexy flashed in her head, making her heart beat faster as her face blushed. It wasn't the first time someone has complimented her and called her sexy, but Rey was the first men she'd ever come in contact with that didn't feel sleazy.

Dia thought of his charming smile and him holding her in his warm embrace, making her body grow hot as her head swooned. Remembering Rey's words before he left, Dia ate the meal that he left her, which was the best food she'd had ever eaten, as even the water he left her felt unusually refreshing.

Finished with her meal, Dia nervously went to the bed, as she still felt that she wasn't good enough to stay there, and saw the 2 sets of outfits that Rey left her. One was the black and white Shinigami cloak with a featureless black mask, while the other was a simple yellow dress with a pink sash tied around the waist. The tears Dia were fighting to hold back finally broke as she held the dress in her hand.

Rey had freed her from slavery, gave her a place to stay, fed her, comforted her when she needed it the most, and even kindly denied her when she felt like she had to offer herself to him. It wasn't a stretch to say that Rey was one of the best people she had ever met in her life, and she had only known the man for a day.

She didn't know how, but Dia swore that she would do whatever she could to repay back Rey's kindness.

* * * * * * * *

In Shore's Landing, within the City Lord's castle, several people took up the throne room. To the sides of the room stood a few Elders and nobles close to the City Lord. On the throne sat none other than the City Lord, Victor Soris. He had a hard face, muscular body, and short red hair that had streaks of grey going down the sides. With his looks and position, it was clear why this man was intimidating to most people.

And kneeling before him right now with her head bowed was the Dark-Elf Guard-Captain that arrived just as Rey and the others teleported from Shore's Landing.

She was a beautiful, yet tough looking woman with short blonde hair and sharp, purple eyes. She had a very fit, yet shapely figure and well-toned arms that could even put some men to shame. She had flawless milk chocolate skin that was afforded to the ethereal beauty of all Elves. On top of it all, was an intelligent glint in her eyes that truly gave her a sense of danger.

"Vanessa Parrenas, besides my long friendship with your father, I placed you as the Captain of the City Guards for you great leadership skills and your almost scary levels of intellect. Now tell me, with you patrolling the city with your men, HOW THE FUCK DID TRACY BAELISH DIE?!" Victor shouted as he slammed his fist on his lavish gold and gem encrusted throne.

"I mean, the fat little shit even had his own personal guards, yet him and all of his men were slaughtered before the guards even showed up?! You better have some answers for me, Vanessa, and they better be damn good!" Victor growled as he clenched his fist, his thick muscles flexing against the fabric of his outfit.

"My lord, it seems as though the assailants were far stronger that the standard level typical for this area, so Lord Tracy's men were unprepared. One of the men were also said to have been not only a Mage, but a Healer as well, as he showed Master-level prowess when he instantly healed the Centaur slave that Lord Tracy was beating. I also found small fragments of rocks within Lord Tracy's skull which further proves the man killed him with a deadly spell." the Dark-Elf, Vanessa said with a strong, unwavering voice.

"He was killed by a rogue Mage? And a high level Healer at that? God's damnit! He was supposed to marry Ellie so that we can have ties to the Baelish family and make my standing stronger! What else is there? I refuse to believe that some Healer, no matter how weirdly strong they are, could kill his whole personal guard and get away by himself." Victor said as he massaged his temples.

"There was said to be a Swordsman there as well, My Lord. He seemed to have some stranger power over smoke, which I believe to be his Kin ability. He apparently used the smoke from his cigarette and made a deadly smokescreen, to were the guards couldn't see or breathe, and he cut them down at that time. When the smoke cleared less than a minute later, all of the guards he was facing were already in pieces on the floor." Vanessa added, as the scowl on Victor's face deepened.

"So your telling me, that all the way here at the ends of the kingdom, I have a rogue Mage and a Kin-User problem? And days before the festival as well! What am I to tell Magister Baelish when he gets here?! I can't afford to make an enemy of a Magister, not yet at least!" Victor exclaimed as he tapped his chin, trying to think of a way to fix this issue he had.

"My Lord, if I may be so bold as to make a suggestion?" Vanessa prompted.

"Come on, out with it then! I don't pay you to just sit there and look pretty! Give me answers!" Victor roared as he hit his throne once again.

"I suggest we pass the issue onto someone else. Make the problem not only seem too big for us to deal with, but that he was assassinated and it could've happened anywhere. I know if your hate for them, but I suggest calling in the Vanguardians. They will step in and we can push the blame onto them and free yourself of any responsibility. In fact, you could even play yourself as a wronged party as well since not only has fear spread in the city, your daughter is also left without her fiance." Vanessa suggested, earning a shocked reaction from all of those in the room.

Victor wanted to yell and immediately shoot down the idea thanks to his hate for the Vanguardians, but then his stopped. An vicious smirk grew on his face as he saw this as the perfect plan to not only shed the blame and keep his relation to Magister Baelish, but to also throw a smear on the Vanguardians name, and give them a powerful enemy at the same time.

While City Lord Victor was fantasizing about bringing ruin to the Vanguardians, he and everyone else failed to notice the slight smirk on Vanessa's full lips, as an intelligent glint went over her eyes.