Saki

  I was pretty sure I messed that up badly. What was wrong with me!? I took a deep breath as the head economics advisor brought an application form.

  He apparently had a document ring that literally only held documents neatly, allowing him to pull them out on demand. Amazing for bureaucracy, though not very helpful for adventuring or combat.

  Lyran looked at the form and bowed deeply to Tama before moving to a nearby table to fill it out. There was a high chance he’d be traveling with us.

  I might be biased, but logically, his inventions could be a huge boon to the kingdom. Though having him so close… every day… Well, that was another matter.

  I shook my head and looked at Tama. “Alright, the good news is we’re mostly packed. You don’t have much that your ring can’t hold, and my bag is always ready.”

  Tama nodded. “We’re going to Trissiale now?”

  I turned to Matriarch Talia. “Tama and I will go ahead and meet everyone in Trissiale. I want to get her somewhat acclimated to city life before we crown her.”

  Talia frowned. “Drestor is a city, Saki.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Are we really doing this right now?”

  After a long silence, she sighed. “Fine. Just make sure she’s at the royal castle and in the throne room in two weeks.” Her wolf tail lashed angrily, and her eye twitched.

  She wasn’t thrilled about me calling it a town, but she wasn’t going to argue with me while we finally had Tama under control… for now.

  I turned to Tama and grabbed her wrist, surprised when she didn’t blink away. Instead, she looked at me and sighed. “Tama is worried, Saki.”

  I paused. “I am too, Tama. But with the two of us, anything is possible.”

  Tama glanced at the people around her and took my hand. She looked me in the eyes and nodded. I pursed my lips and nodded back.

  Looking at the map, I realized this could be straightforward. Tama tended to get us off course, but I had no doubt she could get us there quickly. No, the real challenge was handling a childish, overpowered princess in a massive city.

  I pulled Tama to the door, surprised to see Tera and Lyran joining us.

  “Look, I am just taking Tama to–” I started, but Tera cut me off.

  “Like fire you will! I am her head royal guard. Anywhere she goes, I follow!” Her voice was defiant and fiery. Lyran said nothing but gently grabbed Tama’s other hand.

  “Wait for me!” A call came from down the street. Tristy materialized in front of us as if by teleportation. Tama claimed it was “removing air resistance,” but to me, it was basically teleportation.

  “Nya! Perfect for training!” Tama said giddily. My blood drained—I didn’t even really have blood.

  A small fox jumped into Tama, and she caught her. Usaki licked Tama’s face, and my eye twitched. “You can’t all go!” I snapped. “Tama cannot carry everyone!”

  “Um… we could use my new teleportation run system?” Lyran said shyly, pulling out the jagged blue orb he had earlier. It had intricate rune symbols, different from normal rune magic but similar in style. I leaned in, mesmerized by the lines.

  “What exactly does it do? How does it work?” I asked, then quickly hid my face in my hair. A slight trickle of blood ran from my nose. I really wish I could use my illusions—Usaki would definitely comment otherwise.

  “Well, it’s simple! I overloaded a mana cortex under an inhibitor. The inhibitor caused an explosive result, but the cortex didn’t explode. Instead, it relocated instantly.

  If fed a certain amount of mana—not enough to cause an explosion, but enough to reach breaking point—it can be used to move objects long distances.”

  I looked up at him, excited. “So you reverse-engineered it and realized it essentially teleports!”

  Lyran jumped up and down. “Precisely! Attaching reading devices caused them to teleport too, creating a teleportation matrix!”

  I paced, exhilarated. “So pushing the correct amount of mana while connected could transport us all?”

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  “Yes! But you’d need an emitter placed at the destination first.” He nodded shyly. “Which is why I wanted to go. If this works, we’ll have easy two-way teleportation between Drestor and Trissiale!”

  I asked about the rock he had, and he blushed but handed it over.

  “Nya, what’s this?” Tama asked, picking it up.

  Her voice echoed back through the rock, mimicking her excitement. “Tama is great!” “Tama is great!”

  I smiled faintly, took the rock back, and studied its runes. Perfect—it should reach us even if weakly in Trissiale. I grabbed Tama’s hand, tapping her ring, and another similar stone appeared.

  “Tama had one of these!?” she exclaimed.

  “Yes, Tama. He was using it to track you.” I said flatly.

  A sudden crash made me look up. Lyran was no longer standing where he had been.

  “Why the void did you do that!?” I snapped.

  “He was stalking Tama! Tama is a predator!” she hissed venomously.

  “Tama, he wasn’t stalking you. He was using the stone to make sure you were safe and keep track of you because you’re chaotic and destructive,” I said firmly.

  Tama glared, then sighed and disappeared, reappearing with Lyran a moment later. “Heal him, Tama!” I demanded.

  “No! Saki is smart, but Tama is not dumb! She doesn’t like being followed and all her thoughts heard!” Tama shouted.

  It was the first time she’d ever said no to me. She looked really upset. I paused, realizing she was right—there was no excuse for stalking her. Still, her reaction was extreme. Lyran had clearly met a wall. I grabbed him. “Fine, Tama, do what you want. I’ll take him to a healer.”

  As we walked, Tristy squealed behind us. “Don’t worry, mistress Tama! He dared spy on your perfection! Understandable punishment!”

  I turned to Tama. She looked hurt and uncertain, holding Usaki.

  By the fountain in the square, Lyran was barely able to stand. I knew he wouldn’t make it to the church. I sighed, knowing Tama had finally paused—she realized she was wrong for once.

  The healers arrived, tending to him. I had no gold, but Tama had paid generously.

  Tera came up, livid but standing guard over us. “Why are you here and not protecting Tama?” I asked.

  “As per Queen Tamaneko’s royal orders, I must make sure Lyran recovers fully and follow Royal Advisor Saki’s instructions,” she ground out, repressed rage in her voice.

  I pursed my lips and turned to Lyran. “Let’s go.”

  The healers had almost fully recovered him. I pulled out the map. A purple dot glimmered on a nearby roof. Tama needed this lesson—she wouldn’t escape this time.

  I led Lyran to an alley, carefully considering our route. Stairs would take too long; Tama would just jump away. My tails lengthened, wrapping around Lyran to keep him quiet while three lifted us onto the rooftop. I gently set him down, retracting my tails.

  “You… you’re a Kitsune?!” Lyran whispered.

  “How did you not know? I’ve used my powers all over town. The illusions, shape-shifting—Usaki is literally my clone.” I smirked.

  He stuttered, blushing. I shook my head and gestured to an alcove. Steps closer, and Tama tried to flee. Predictably, I blocked a dagger aimed at Lyran.

  “I tracked you, Tama, not him,” I said calmly.

  She appeared before me, Serenity at my neck, glaring. “How!?”

  “Because I care, Tama. I want to know you’re safe. Because we’re best friends, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  Her hand trembled. Tears welled. I took her hand and pulled her into a hug. “You know why, Tama.”

  She stiffened, then slowly lowered Serenity. Arms wrapped around me, she sobbed.

  “Tama does not like being tracked. Tama is a ninja!”

  “It’s okay, Tama. Sometimes friends need to find each other. But if you truly don’t like it, we won’t do it again. Just promise me you won’t run away anymore.”

  “I’m sorry, Tama was just worried,” Lyran said softly. “She’s strong and fast, but she tends to go off on her own. I was scared she’d bite off more than she could chew.”

  Tama looked away, tears in her eyes, unconvinced—but it was a start.

  I stood there for a while as Tama dried her eyes and looked over at Lyran. “Why?” She asked him. Lyran looked at her puzzled. It made sense, Tama didn’t always explain the best way. I turned to Lyran and translated. “She means why not tell her, why keep it a secret?”

  Lyran looked at me even more puzzled. “How do you know that’s what she meant?!” He asked incredulously.

  I smirked knowingly. “Let’s just say Muosil was a very deep learning experience for us both.” Even as I said that my tail stiffened slightly and ears perked up on alert for a few seconds.

  Lyran considered her words before asking “The underground city you guys escaped?”

  I simply nodded and stated “Now stop stalling and answer the question before Tama decides to push you off a building this time. Actually, knowing her, that would be the kindest option..” I said the last part under my breath.

  Chapter 114: An Adult Conversation