Orthos smiled at Karl. “I do like smart people. But if you already knew what I was planning, why did you go along with it so effectively? You could have given just enough to give him hope every day for a week before anyone got impatient.”
Karl smiled at the ancient Dragon. “I think it’s better to have powerful friends, don’t you? Without this skill, there was no way that our friend was going to become a Ghost Cat. It’s not a skill that can easily be learned on your own, so the chances of a Moor Cat evolving in that direction are close to zero.”
The cat rumbled in amusement that vibrated through the tail he still had slung over Karl’s shoulder.
“Perhaps you are right. It is hard to say that you are a threat to the nation when everyone here is beginning to consider you a friend. Even the Acolytes are fond of your lessons.
They say that you are a more effective teacher than the clerics are, and that is saying something.”
They walked out of the library section with the rare books, and a white haired woman with white eyes joined them.
“Oh, Prince Karl, it is good to see you back in your proper timeline. How was your journey?” She asked.
“Quite productive, actually. If you would like a detailed version, you can ask the young ones, they had me tell the story at least three times. They should have it memorized by now.” Karl replied politely.
Orthos chuckled. Three times might be an understatement.
“Bishop Misty, did you have a report for us?” The Bronze Dragon asked.
“That depends on if the Beast Master has already told you everything or if he’s still holding out. The Golden Dragon Nation has a stable Commander Rank Dungeon, and I can confirm that it is awakening at least partially complete systems, with the ability to let the recipients randomly or directly select their class.
Um, what else was there? I saw in a vision that you’ve already met Cara and Remi, so I don’t need to go into that. Did the Cerro try to hit on the Forest Dragon here or before? Don’t worry about that, his game is smooth, but not that smooth.”
Karl stared in shock. He had no idea who this woman was, but she seemed to know an awful lot about him.
“So it is confirmed to be a resurgence? Do you know what is causing it?”
The white – eyed woman shook her head. “No, they’re as random as ever. But this human has excellent luck with being sent to where they appear. Perhaps that means your temple gets the next one, as he was sent here when he returned.”
Orthos sighed. “I hope not. That’s far too much trouble. But I’m glad that you managed to find time to come and give a report, Bishop.”
The woman chuckled. “Yes, I found time. That’s a good one. Now, I have things to see, people to do. I will return later.”
Then she turned into a thick white mist and simply vanished out the window.
“Well, she’s an interesting one. Is she a form of oracle or prophet? I hear that they see the world in unique ways.” Karl asked.
“Well, I can’t say that her way of seeing the world is normal. But I wouldn’t call her an oracle or prophet in the usual sense.”
Which meant that she had other ways of finding out obscure information. Karl would have to remember that. Bishop Misty, he would remember that name.
He could hear chaos in the next room over, and Karl smiled as he realized that Lotus had met the Acolytes unsupervised. She had almost certainly gotten a lecture in advance, but that wouldn’t keep her contained for long.
As expected, she was sitting cross-legged on the floor, with a small Felian catgirl in her lap, reading a story to the youngest Acolytes of the church.
Dana came over to give Karl a hug, then blushed as she realized that Orthos was still standing on his far side.
“I will let you get reacquainted with your team. We can speak tomorrow about other matters. The Acolytes will show you all to your rooms after dinner.”
The ancient Dragon walked away, leaving Karl with his team.
Curiously, Ophelia was still in Werebear form, and wearing armour. In fact, they were all wearing armour.
“You know, they’re not going to attack, you can relax.” Karl reminded them.
“You’re too relaxed. We’re in a foreign nation with no official treaties with the Golden Dragon Nation or the Church. Armour is just common sense.
Though I see that you’re comfortable training children for them and helping their ranking beasts gain new skills.” Tessa replied.
Karl patted her on the shoulder. “It’s all under control. Well, almost all under control. But you just got here. There are a few things that I should explain.”
[Cara and Remi, can you come out and say hello?]
Remi came out first and stole the Felian child from Lotus before the little cleric could react.
Both Remi and the young acolyte laughed as Remi lifted the girl in the air and spun her as she coiled herself in the middle of the floor.
“Remi? You’re a Naga now?”
Remi handed the child to Tessa, who seemed more reliable than the others to be holding a child, and nodded happily.
Remi pointed to the crown on her head, where it was holding her veil down.
“A Naga Queen?” Lotus guessed.
Remi nodded again, and grabbed Lotus to hug her.
“When did Remi get so affectionate?” Tessa asked.
“As soon as she got arms. Now that she can hug people without them thinking she’s trying to kill them, she has been going all out. She even ran around the temple hugging children the first day.”
“When did you get here?” Tessa asked.
“Last night. You got here much more quickly than I had expected. I might have trained an army of loyal children if you gave me an extra week.”
A few of the older clerics turned suspicious glares at Karl as they realized that he was only half joking. He was doing very well at training the kids, and the young ones loved him.
“We have a lot to talk about, but I think that we can do that over dinner. How about we get these little darlings to lead us to the dining hall?” Tessa suggested.
The young Gryphon who had gotten the Holy Stone for his draw in the final round of the Thor Challenge flapped his wings and circled the room before flying out toward the food.
“Everyone, follow the Gryphon. There is one more surprise in store for you, and it might be better that you’re sitting down for this one.” Karl laughed.
Lotus smirked. “I got a sneak preview, it’s a badger. A Honey Badger.”
Cara popped out of her space and spread her wings to fly around the room before tackling the Nature Priestess and licking her face.
“Close, Cara is a winged Void Badger. And it looks like she likes you. Or at least the honey in the body lotion you use. But that isn’t the surprise that I meant. You met her on the way in, remember?
Rae, why don’t you come out and show off?”
