Imperial Appointment (1/2)

Several months later...

Prella Vanteri walks up the long stairway up to the imperial palace gates, which is set atop a large hill.

The whole way up, the guards professionally ignore them, but the traffic of nobles trickling in and out of the palace all turn their heads and stare at the pair.

"…Are you that ugly?" Haalfrin asks.

"No!" Prella blurts out. She looks down and adds in a softer voice. "I look good for a middle-aged woman."

"Yeah, for a middle-aged woman," he jibes back.

After all this time spent around Haalfrin's Aura, she's at least learned to talk back to him.

"Anyway... then why are they staring?" Haalfrin asks, "Neither of us are dressed like commoners now."

Indeed, Haalfrin is wearing a fine black suit with a silver buckle. He's not wearing any Noble House emblem on his chest, but in its place is the symbol of a 2nd Soul Gate, as well as his Name written underneath.

This is the mage's identity license he got from the arena more than 20 years ago now, and he's never bothered to have it upgraded into a 5th Gate mage's badge.

Still, anyone who looks at his badge for more than two seconds SHOULD recognize who he is. He's still quite famous in the capitol, despite being gone for several years now.

"I'm from the Vanteri Family," Prella explains. "No doubt, everyone is wondering what gave me the courage to come here uninvited."

Having a bad feeling about their visit to the emperor, Prella falls a little behind and makes sure to stay behind Haalfrin; he's the only man here who could possibly offer some measure of protection – not that she thinks the Demon would offer it to her.

Once they reach the entrance to the palace, the guards up from bar their entry – only letting them pass once Lady Prella flashes her identification token.

Upon entering the palace, she's greeted by some servants. Upon stating her intention to see the emperor with Haalfrin, the head servant asks, "For what business?"

Even Prella is surprised by this question. No servant has ever dared as for her business before; the affairs between a duke and the emperor are supposed to be private! Now matter how far her family has fallen, that doesn't mean that commoners are allowed to be privy to her business!

Feeling more unsettled, Prella tells the servant, "I'm here to recommend a recruit for the Threshold. It's of utmost importance that the emperor meet this man."

"Very well," the elderly maid says as she bows and takes her leave.

Since Haalfrin and Prella weren't even given directions on where to wait or how long this was going to take, Prella stands awkwardly in the entrance hall with Haalfrin.

"…What're we waiting for?" Haalfrin asks when he notices Prella's strange mood.

"... Nothing."

She then walks stiffly to another maid and asks, "I just asked for an appointment with the emperor. Your head maid just went off to tell the chamberlain. Where do I wait until then?"

The maid appears startled at this question, then confused. "There is nowhere to wait in the palace," the maid says as she points to the exit. "If you're on the waiting list, then you'll be summoned to the palace when the time comes."

"Huh?" Haalfrin shrugs and says aloud, "What poor management this palace has."

The maid in front of them doesn't quite know what this strange man is complaining about; she assumes he's belittling her, so she goes red in the face and steps forward, "Now you listen h-" Her voice squeaks and trails off into silence when a wave of Fear washes over her heart.

Suddenly, this tall man seems like a tiger ready to tear her in pieces if she makes the wrong move. Her words choke in her mouth, and she backs off before shuffling away from them while trying to look undisturbed in her gait.

"Isn't it a little much to use Death Aura on a magicless person?" Prella chides.

'It was only a little,' Haalfrin thinks. 'Anyway...'

Haalfrin turns to Prella and says, "Let's just go book an inn. When it's time to see the emperor, they'll certainly know where we are."

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The two of them go into the capital city and book an inn to stay at. Of course, the inn is much more wealthy and well put together than any place Haalfrin has rented out on his own before.

After 3 days pass uneventfully, Haalfrin takes Prella back to the palace to get more information. This time, the guards up front were told to notify them that they're on the waiting list, and they should expect to be seen tomorrow.

The next day, they show up and the front guard apologizes for the inconvenience, and that their visit has been delayed by 4 days.

After visiting 4 days later, they receive the same message. 'Your meeting has been delayed. Come back in 5 days.'

By now, Haalfrin and Prella know very well something's up, and they leave for their inn in a huff.

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"How long is this going to take?" Haalfrin asks Prella as he slams their room door shut. "Is there at least a reliable time frame? Are delays really so common?"

Prella nervously looks around, "I… I don't know. I've never had to wait on the emperor before. I think something's wrong."

Haalfrin huffs uncomfortably, "I know something's wrong. That's why I'm agitated." He paces back and forth in the room. "I have a feeling the emperor doesn't want to see you. I thought it would be different if I came with you... since he clearly knows about my existence..."

She looks up and stares uncomfortably at him. "What are you going to do if that's the case?"

"…" Haalfrin doesn't answer. Instead, he sits down on a chair and stares out the window expressionlessly. Feeling annoyed, Prella plops herself on a bed on the other side and stares at the ceiling – thinking about nothing.

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Just when she thought the two of them were done talking, Haalfrin abruptly asks, "Is the Threshold on this side of the World Gate, or in the Otherworld?"

"Why do you ask?" Prella answers.

"Well, I was just thinking, what's stopping people from coming through the gate? Is the World gate even something that can be turned on and off?"

"…Huh?" Now Prella is really confused. Just what IS this man thinking about while he's staring out the window?

Seeing his temporary companion has no clue what he's talking about, Haalfrin explains, "During one of my many conversations with the Death gods, one of them talked about the World Tree and how all worlds are fruits hanging from the tree. If two fruits are touching each other on the tree, then there's a point on each of their surfaces where a portal is."

"Oh?" Prella appears interested, "I never knew why the World Gate existed."

"My point in bringing this up," Haalfrin continues, "is that since the World Gate is a natural phenomenon resulting from all worlds being connected to the same entity… So, is the Gate always open? Or, do you people have a way of closing it in case the Threshold is overrun?"

Prella shrugs, "During my short time there, we were taught that if the Threshold is overtaken, then we'll seal off the Gate with Time-locking enchantments."

"Why not just use the Time-locking enchantments to seal it closed and only open it when a permitted person is passing through – kind of like a doorway?" Haalfrin suggests, "The security would be a lot tighter, and creatures like Dakka never would've been able to make it through the Gate if the default state for the Gate is closed."

Prella sighs. "Listen, Time-locking is meant to be permanent. That enchantment makes an object completely unable to move in time. If it can't move in time, then no force can affect it. That's why the Threshold walls are completely indestructible; they can't move or change at all…"

"Ah," Haalfrin realizes, "So if they brick off the World Gate and Time-lock it, then that barrier can never be removed. The seal would be permanent, and Brancotte would no longer be able use the Gate themselves."

Prella expected Haalfrin to sit back in his chair with his curiosity abated. Instead, Haalfrin starts laughing aloud. Startled, she blurts out, "W-what?"

"If the gate is always open, then I don't necessarily NEED the emperor's permission to go through the Gate."

"… No… Don't do it…," Prella says under her breath.

"What's stopping me?" Haalfrin sneers while glancing in the direction of the palace. "If your emperor doesn't want to cooperate with me, then I won't cooperate with him! I was ok working by his rules - even doing favor or two in exchange for passing through..., but that's not strictly necessary!"

'I primarily want to be in the Otherworld anyway because the people of this world are too weak to offer a relevant challenge…,' he thinks.

With that said, Haalfrin leaps to his feet and starts packing his belongings - all while Prella has mustered up all her courage to protest, "Please! Haalfrin! I'll go check by the palace one more time…"

"No, you're not," Haalfrin orders. "You still need to show me where the World Gate is. Once I'm there, you're free to go."

Prella stares down at her cup of water, and she notices the water shaking in her hands. Even after all this time, she's still a little scared of this man, despite knowing he doesn't intend on harming her.

Now, hearing that he'd be willing to make the entire Threshold his enemy, her mind wanders off, thinking about her ruined Pit.

Frankly… if the Threshold is visited with the same level of destruction, then there will be nothing protecting this world from the Otherworldly tribes. She's seen what's on the other side of the World Gate, and she knows that humanity would likely be wiped out.

Of course, she knows Haalfrin can be selfish enough to wreck whatever he wants to wreck without paying attention to the consequences, so he might just destroy humanity indirectly if he's provoked far enough.

'Still,' she thinks, 'the Threshold is many, many times more advanced and impregnable than the Pit. Could Haalfrin even destroy the place?' She looks up at Haalfrin. 'Probably not. Still… he's surprised me before.'

Prella is shaken awake from her stupor when Haalfrin barks an order. "Get packing, Madame Vanteri! It's early in the morning, and that's plenty of time to set out."