C6: Hide your wings

At the heart of the castle, the emperor sat in the throne room. The Lord kneeled in front of him.

"I heard you took in a stray."

The Lord stayed silent as he talked.

"That's quite rare for you." The emperor rest his head on his hand. "Is she a beauty?"

Still not a word from the Lord's mouth.

The emperor let out a sigh. "You're no fun. If you don't want to say fine. Just invite her here then. I want to meet her."

Even though he bowed his head, the knot in his brows didn't escape from the emperor's eyes.

"It's almost hunting season. I want to see how capable your new recruit is." He smirked.

"You can go."

The Lord stood up, saluted and left.

"If you're reacting like that, I can't help but get curious."

The Lord headed back to the soldier's quarters. Walking back, he saw Yulia and Fran walking towards the cafeteria. His gaze turning to the creature in Fran's hands.

Surprise flashed his eyes for a moment and he let out a soft sigh. "This is really troublesome." And left.

*****

After their meal, Yulia was summoned to deliver a letter at the front gate and Fran was left on her own. It wasn't long though until she was summoned by the Lord.

"Sit." Fran sat with Juno jumping from her arms to sit next to her.

The Lord sat in front of her. He just watched her for awhile making Fran uneasy.

"Your Spirit Beast?"

"Yes."

"Skvaders are known to be messengers of the moon goddess. They're considered rare and sacred by a lot of people. Be careful."

"Thank you." she said. "For the warning." Fran reached for Juno protectively. It was from her so she didn't want any danger to befall him.

"Can you hide your wings?" His eyes met with the beast in her arms.

As an answer, light glowed from Juno's forehead and his wings began to recede in his body. He looked just like an ordinary hare without his wings.

Fran tried touching his back and found they really weren't there. Fran was a bit sad as she liked those delicate feathers.

"A distress signal has been sent from a village five days away. We are to go there tomorrow." The Lord said. "You may go."

Fran saluted and left. She headed for their room and laid Juno on bed.

"Does he know you're a Null?" Juno asked.

"He was the one who tested me."

"Does anyone else know?" Fran shook her head.

"Good." Juno sighed. "That guy's level is too high. Even with the protection from the goddess, it will be hard to fool."

"Are you talking about this?" Fran pulled her collar and exposed her shoulder. The mark left by the goddess shone brightly.

"Yes. You should be honored the goddess has taken such lengths. Even sent this Lord to protect you."

She passed his boasting and went to the next thing she was curious about. "How many levels are there?"

"There are six known with three sub-levels. You're basically immortal if you reached seventh."

"What level are you?"

"This Lord is about to breakthrough the 5th level." Juno said baring his chest proudly.

"Where am I at?"

"You're at mid-stage of the first level." Juno snorted. "Don't worry though. With this Lord's help, it won't be long before you reach the second level."

"Don't be too rash in leveling up. You'll end up in smithereens if you just continuously absorb mana and not strengthen your body."

Fran sat in silence as she took all the information. In order to adapt to this world, she needs to know these information by heart.

The way things are, strength is highly regarded. She would need to improve her level in order to live comfortably.

They heard steps coming closer and met with Yulia at the door.

"There's another expedition!" Yulia said, clearly excited. "They said you only experience one expedition in the six month apprentice period but who would have thought we're so lucky!" She could leap in joy with the news.

"I need to buy a few things in town. Wanna come with me?"

"S-sure." Fran still gets overwhelmed with her energy.

They went outside with Juno tucked in her arms.

In town, Fran felt the stares of numerous people. Particularly, in Juno's direction.

"What are they staring at?"

"It must be your spirit beast. Skvanders are very rare so—" Yulia's eyes landed on Juno and was in for a shock. "Where are your wings?!"

"I plucked them out." Fran said in a rare display of humor.

"That's impossible! He should be wrapped in bandages if that was the case. And there's not even like a bone sticking out!" Yulia wanted to check beneath his fur but was slapped away by Juno.

Fran meanwhile was shocked and amused with Yulia's retort. Who would have thought this energetic girl would have such a sharp mind in her head.

"I'm kidding. He hid them, that's all." Fran said to appease her.

"But how—"

"It's getting late. We should hurry to buy what you need." She pushed Yulia along the busy streets and divert the subject.

They explored the busy streets. It was filled with merchants selling food and random items.

"The guild is nearby so you can see different shops selling weapons and armor." Yulia said, her mind completely forgetting the incident earlier. "My dad's shop sells some pretty good weapons. I'll make sure he gives you a discount." Yulia said

They turned into a busy street and stopped in front of a.... restaurant? Customers walked in and out, most of them burly and hairy. They walked in and saw quite a few people dining.

"Welc— Yulie!" A big buff man welcomed Yulia in a tight embrace. He was a head taller than her and had Yulia wrapped in like a kid.

"Dad let go! It's embarrassing." She went a shade redder and Fran's heart warmed at the scene.

The man finally noticed another girl with his daughter and cleared his throat. "Welcome to Dragon's Breath! I am Bart. Nice to meet you..." he stretched his hand.

"Fran." She took his hand which was twice as big as hers.

"Nice to meet you, Fran."

"Where's Mom?" Yulia asked.

"At the back with some orders. Come! I'll take you to the shop." He led them to the stairs at the side. Even before they reached the second floor, the smell of metal and leather was already prevalent.

Both floors basked in a lot of light. The ground floor had big wide windows while the second floor only had windows near the ceiling, maximizing the wall to display the weapons. Vertical stones adorned the place and provided additional light.

"There's an expedition and I need a new light armor." Yulia tapped on the table.

"Just in time. I just got a Flame Wolf 4 days ago and just finished processing it. With a few alterations it'll fit you perfectly."

"Then, " Yulia inched closer to her father and slipped her arms around him. "The price...."

"You're my daughter." He looked at her straight in the eye. "Of course you get the full price."

"Dad!"