Chapter 250 – Seniors and juniors of the same teacher

“Holy shit.” Said Rei, his voice sounding too loud through the silent hotel room.

“Hey.” Said the muffled voice of a woman from behind Fumi who sat across from him.

“Sorry…. No disrespect was intended. I just could not help it.” Rei said apologetically. “I mean, you got a real hero here. It’s like…a once in a thousand year occurrence. Wow. And we met her.”

“Once in a few hundred years occurrence, but yeah, you’re right. Cool right?” Said Fumi with a grin.

“Well we are not as rare…But…we are also a heroic class you know…” Said the girl sitting on Fumi’s left side as she swirled a lock of her hair around her finger and threw quick glances at Jake before turning away shyly.

“Alright, I get it. So you guys are the legendary hero party, so what do you want from our sleeping beauty here?” Jake asked, noticing the girl's glances but not paying any attention to it, concentrating only on the hero and the woman clad in black behind her, looking like a shadow.

The legendary shadow squad of the Central Cathedral, under the direct command of the Saintess herself. Not many were lucky or unlucky to actually meet them. Most who did, did not live to speak about it. This woman’s presence was the best confirmation of the girl's words, who claimed to be The Hero.

Fumi explained her trouble, and that they were looking for Sage. How they received a cryptic message from a Seer and how they were at a dead end, finding no clues at all until Bobby overheard them and said something that only they knew.

“Rei.” said Jake calmly after hearing Fumi’s story.

“On it.” Said Rei simply standing up and taking the basin for washing beside the door and carrying it to the bed.

Kail immediately chanted a spell and water formed in the air pouring into the basin.

Jake grabbed the sleeping Bobby by the scruff lifting him up and pressed his head into the water.

“Ughgaha!” Shouted the man into the water scrambling on the floor with his head in the basin.

Jake pulled Bobby out of the water and looked at him

“Awake?”

“What in the goddamn fu…” Started to swear Bobby but was pressed back into water once again.

“Cold! Fucking cold! It’s freezing you bastards.” Screamed Bobby as his head was pulled out of water once again. “What the fuck?”

“I think he is awake.” Said Jake turning to Fumi and her friends who were holding their laughter. “You can ask.”

“Where did you hear about Mr.SmartySmarty?”

“Who? What? The fuck is this?” Asked Bobby looking around.

“Excuse me.” Said Jake pressing Bobby’s head into freezing water once again.

“No! Umghfbb!” Screamed the man into the water.

“Better? Now?” Asked Jake pulling his friend out of the water once again.

Bobby silently raised his hand and pulled away from Jake, taking a towel from Rei’s hand and drying his face.

“What was the question?” Said Bobby.

“Mr.SmartSmarty the dream rabbit. You were talking about it in the bar. Where did you hear about it?”

“Seriously, man? This was so important to force awake me? A fucking kid fairy tale. Do I need to sing a lullaby to them or what?” Said Bobby angrily.

“Just answer their question, man.” Said Jake no trace of joking on his face.

“I heard it from kids in town, ok? Enough? Can I get some sleep to wake up with a normal hangover tomorrow?” Said Bobby.

“What kids? Where? Which town?” Asked Fumi.

Bobby looked at the girl then at the people beside her and his eyes stopped at the woman covered in black as if the shadows were coating her.

He opened his mouth to say something then closed it as his eyebrows creased. Fumi noticed that some wariness crossed the man’s eyes. He seemed to be ready to protect someone.

“We do not want to bring any harm to anyone. We just need to hear the story and where they heard about it.”

“First I need to know who you are and why you ask.”

Fumi once again explained her situation, patiently retelling what she already explained once, but this time she saw fear. The more she spoke the more fear she saw in Bobby's eyes. He definitely knew something.

“This…this is some stupid shit... This can’t be seriou….” Said Bobby before going silent mid sentence.

Fumi did not press him, but simply watched him in silence, waiting for him to gather himself.

The entire time Jake silently followed her with his gaze as if measuring what kind of woman she was and whether he should stop this conversation.

“What…what is Saintesses name?” Asked Bobby quietly after a whole minute of silence.

Rei, Jake and Kail looked at him in surprise.

People, at least normal people, did not know the real name of the Saintess. Jake, Kail, Rei or even their friend Margaret whose husband was a cleric, the close person to the Church they knew. No one knew her name. For the entire world she was just a Saintess. Only the select few could know her given name. And asking it was not just rude. It may have been considered an outright blasphemy in certain circumstances, earning them a death sentence or another meeting with a shadow death squad.

Fumi turned to look at the woman behind her, seeing her nod slightly and turned back to Bobby.

“Lyra.” She said softly, turning back to Bobby. “But you know that already. You said her name in the bar.”

“Angel Lyra…” muttered Bobby.

“What?” Asked Fumi.

“I heard about Mr.SmartySmary from my sister.” Bobby said, his voice creaking, sitting with his head down.

“Your sister?” Asked Fumi, then as if an understanding came to her, her eyes went wide. “What’s your sister’s name?” She asked.

“Alice. Her name is Alice.” Said Bobby holding his head with his hands as he shook his head seeming to be in disbelief.

“Your sister is the Seer?” Asked the woman in black.

“My sister is…my sister is special. When she was young, something terrible happened. It broke her… Broke her mind. She lives as if frozen in her happiest times. As if stuck in the age before the horrible things. She may have grown with body, but her mind stays that of a child. A happy child that plays dolls, childish games and does and says silly things. Make up all kinds of stories. Childish stories. No one ever took it seriously, what she said…just child's fantasies.”

“We need to meet her to make sure…” Said the woman but was interrupted as Fumi raised her hand, asking her to wait.

“She is right. We need to meet her, to make sure, but you seem to be sure that we will be right. That your sister really is The Seer. Did she say something to you? Something about us?” Asked Fumi.

Jake, Rei and Kail looked at their friend surprised.

“My sister…The last time I was home she asked me something strange. She asked me if I would miss her if she went to live with her new friend Lyra. I told her to never go with anyone without my permission. I am sorry Miss Hero. The Sage is not here. Alice did not send you here for that. She sent you here to ask for my permission to take her away from me. That’s what you would do right? That’s what you will do once you make sure.” Said Bobby his voice cracking

“The Seer is too important of an asset to leave unprotected. If word comes out, the whole world would be after her. The safest place for her to be would be the White Tower, at the Saintess side. Only there her life would not be in danger.” Said the woman in black.

“My sister is not an asset! She is no tool!” Shouted Bobby.

“I promise you that we will treat her as a friend. Both me and Lyra.” Said Fumi.

“How can I trust you…” Said Bobby.

“If we lied, do you think your sister would allow this meeting? After all we are here by her will.”

Bobby looked at her with wide eyes before drooping his head once more.

“I see. That’s what she decided for herself. Guys, sorry, I need to get back to speak with my sister.” Said Bobby.

“No problem man.” Said Jake.

“Where is your home?” Asked Fumi

“Greenville town. It’s at the frontier of the Moonstar kingdom.” Said Bobby.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?” Shouted Fumi in shock. “Why the fuck are you even here then?”

“We were sent here by the guild to help the local branch after the disaster with boobs sap. Most of the local adventurers are now out of commission. The Guild is sending teams from other regions to aid the local branch, so that that new other guild that we suspect is being used by dark association would not take root here.

“Dude, tell me it’s a joke.” Said the man in Hero’s party

“We went all the way here to…” said Taya.

The woman in black simply smacked her face with a palm.

“What?” Asked Bobby, confused by their reaction.

“Well, at least we can go see Paula. As we know she is still held in prison at the frontier.” Said Fumi sitting back down.

“Wait, what was that about Paula?” Asked Jake.

“You know granny Paula?” Asked Fumi.

“Yeah, she’s Bobby’s and my mentor.” Said Jake.

“She’s our mentor too.” Said Fumi. “Wait so that makes us your juniors?"

“Wait, you’re from Greenville Town?” Said Bobby.

“No, we were there just to be mentored by granny, but were there just two weeks ago.”

“Huh? We left two weeks ago too and just came here. Why didn’t we meet you on the road?” Asked Bobby

“We were given the fastest flying ship in the Central Cathedral as our ride. It took us two and half days to get here. So we are here for a long time.” Said Fumi apologetically.

“But if we all were still in Greenville town two weeks ago, we could have met there. Then what was the point of this trip? We did all this for nothing. Why would your sister make us do this useless trip? ” Said Taya.

Bobby opened his mouth but could not answer it as he had no idea what his sister was thinking.

“Sorry about that. But what was that you said about Granny Paula in prison?” Asked Jake.

“You guys did not hear what happened to her?” Said the man on Fumi’s side.

“Two weeks on the road. Just got here. Thought of having some last fun before getting to job. So we haven’t been to the local guild branch yet.” Said Jake.

“Well the story is that Granny Paula went nuts and killed a bunch of high nobles and got arrested.”

Jake, Rei, Kail and Bobby looked at each other nodding silently.

“She did it again huh?” Said Bobby.

“Wait, again?” Taya asked “Told you old lady is nuts” She whispered to Fumi.

“She did it a few years back. But story short she had all the right to do it. Because if not her, me and Bobby would have done it.” Said Jake looking at Bobby.

Bobby sat silently clenching his fists.

“What happened back then?” Asked Fumi looking at Bobby's strange behaviour before turning back to Jake.

“Alice. That’s when horrible things happened to her. Back then, it was Granny who saved my sister.” Said Bobby.

“I see. So she isn’t crazy, she definitely must have had a reason to do it.” Said Taya with a sigh of relief.

Kail looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Did not think you’d say that. After all, you, yourself look like a noble lady.” Said Kail.

“I am. But…after the corruption and nonsense of people drunk on power that we witnessed here…I believe there are nobles that truly deserve death.” Said Taya, drooping her head.

“What were you doing here?” Asked Kail looking at Fumi.

Fumi opened her mouth but closed it after throwing a glance at her companion.

“Helping with investigation of the recent event with the Bullmen clan.” Said Taya. “The degree of atrocities that we saw the people do for money when they were supposed to protect people… I never understood why people hate nobles so much. But now I know. So I don’t blame you for that outburst, Fumi. I had the same thoughts. I feel disgusted just being the same noble as them. So your words back then did not hurt me.”

“That’s not it. I know there are good nobles too. Because you are one as well, Taya. I am sorry for my words back then.” Said Fumi.

Kail looked at the hero team thoughtfully. They merely assembled a few months ago, so clearly there were still some sharp corners in their relationship. Seems like they were still stepping on each other's feet and arguing a lot.

Typical for a newbie team. It was believed in the guild that the first few years are deciding to see whether the team would be solid or not. Most of the teams broke up in this period, leaving only those who were really suitable as a team. That’s why Kail himself decided to stay in Greenville town. It was hard to find teammates that he got along well with. He wasted quite a lot of years finding good teams in other towns just to be disappointed after a lot of wasted time.

Now Greenville town was a true home for him, just because people there were dear to his companions.

And with all her shortcomings, so was the crazy old lady Paula, who Bobby and Jake considered their mentor, even though she just wiped the floor with them from time to time when they asked her for a spar.

Speaking of her she seems to have done a good job of uniting them as a team. She was rude and violent but knew the weaknesses of people and how to overcome them. It was rare to see the team members so understanding of each other in their first year of interaction. Granny knew exactly what this team needed the most. Most likely throwing at them all kinds of difficulties that needed a team effort to be solved.

“Granny. Where is she now?” Asked Jake. “Was she taken to the capital?”

“They say the trial will be in the capital but the investigation is still ongoing so she has not been moved to the capital yet, and still held in the prison at the frontier. If we hurry we may still see her to hear from her what’s going on and maybe figure out how to help her.” Said Fumi.

“We all would like to come with you.” Said Jake.

“Alright.” Said Fumi turning to the woman in black.

“I already sent an order to the ship crew. The boiler is already heating. We are ready to move out as soon as you get ready.” Answered the shadow woman.

“Two and a half days. Let’s hope granny will not be moved before that.” Said Fumi.