Reincarnated as a Phoenix

Chapter 148 – Time Skip

"It's funny how such a small thing can be so beautiful when you haven't seen it in so long"

"Heh, looks like I've got to compete with the sun as well now Ikarus"

"Not funny Petra. The sun could literally have the greatest body, excellent personality and a perfect arse but still would be useless compared to my lovebird"

"Heh, love you too Ikarus, but you really need to come up with some better lines"

"Hey! That one was alright, I think..."

Looking up at a barely clouded sky actually getting to witness the sunlight not opposed by anything in the way, it truly is an experience you forget about when you haven't witnessed the sun like this in such a long time. It's a shame Petra can't view it but blindness is a thing that her poor soul has been afflicted with... I'm pretty weird this morning it seems.

Three months have passed and finally, goddamn finally, the snow and ice are melting. Actually, that's not completely true, the ice melted several weeks ago but it was still cold so it counts, alright? The temperature is finally reasonable so people can start to populate the settlement once again and everything can return to normal. Maybe the word normality works better than normal, this settlement is as weird as us.

While we're walking through the still mostly empty settlement locked by hand, a very familiar face runs towards us and makes me think why she's even running.

"Aesa needs to inform Ikarus and Petra about visiting ships that are currently arriving by the docks"

Oh yeah, Aesa has been out a load more recently and seems to have just come from the docks. Her speech patterns have been slowly changing over time as well so the removal of things like target and sounding a little more human isn't that big of a surprise. No point mentioning it further because we all know what she's like with that sort of thing, I do have a tendency of making it out to be a bigger deal than it actually is.

"We'll make our way over then..."

__________

"Move it ya bastards! Get that anchor down or you'll all be strapped to the hull!"

"Aye sir!"

Two ships appear to have docked and the one we're currently at seems to have the dwarven captain we've met a few times now. He seems to be pretty pissed at his fellow shipmates right now but very quickly makes time for us while he's setting down the plank so they can get onto land.

"You were the captain who handles the silver exchange, right? I'm sorry but you're going to have to wait a while since nothing is ready yet"

"Ikarus is right, no message was sent so this is on your shoulders"

Once we get some loaded up, the dwarfs are definitely going to love us considering we've still been mining during everything that's gone on. We literally have tunnels upon tunnels filled with gold bars at this point in time now, couldn't exactly bring it to the treasury due to the cold so all operations were underground like everything else. We've actually survived this like it's nothing thinking about it, dwarfs might be the greatest species in this entire world. We'd have been clueless if it wasn't for the gnome.

It's also going to be nice to eat food not grown underground again but less recapping quickly, we are in conversation after all.

"No need queens, I'm only here to deliver a message this time around. The other ship over there isn't even with us"

(Ikarus) "Then who's on it?"

Taking a quick glance to the other docked ship unloading, two very familiar faces seem to be getting off first and my happiness levels instantly raise. It's been ages since I last saw these two!

"Is that Charlotte and... Nathan? What the hell are you two doing over here!?"

"Ikarus-sama and Petra-sama! It's been so long!"

"It's a pleasure to finally greet you two once again... Never realized your majesty had a twin sister"

Both the priestess and the knight hurry towards us and of course, succubus-sama can't help but embrace me in a hug. I'm not going to push her away since I've missed her as well, it's odd that the knight is here as well though. His armour is way fancier than I've ever seen it before but I did know about his promotion after all. Should probably mention he's noticed Aesa as well, she does follow me around like a bad smell after. Most of the time anyways...

"Heh, remember Ikarus's voice in her head? What's wrong with you knight?"

"Yeah, Petra's right, I've told you about Aesa before, that's how she looks in person. You can drop the formalities Nathan"

Petra gets round to calling him out first, the bloody knight even bowed for us during that greeting! What happened to the stuttering innocent knight I know and love... as a bro of course! You know, I reckon my mad decent into becoming full on female would've been slowed down if he was around more. It was inevitable after all but he is basically the only male party member we've had. I'm not counting Mr obnoxious for obnoxious reasons.

"Yeah, I'll cut it out then, and it's nice to speak with you again Aesa"

"Likewise. Last time Aesa spoke with Nathan and Charlotte, it was inside second completed dungeon"

"Ah, that irritating place, it was really..."

'While they're speaking, I've got to check this out real quick, status'

[Name: Nathan | Species: Human | Level: 182]

[Health 9,100/9,100]

[Stamina 9,002/9,100]

[Magicka 0/0]

----------

[Name: Charlotte | Species: Succubus | Level: 500]

[Health 12,500/12,500]

[Stamina 19,793/20,000]

[Magicka 30,000/30,000]

'Wow, he really has beefed up and not just in appearance it seems. Priestess is the exact same as well but being powered by a God does that, I suppose'

This actually reminds me about the demon worshipper Geld, his guild has had problems recently so he's been unable to follow us around despite him wanting to. So much for him needing to protect us but eh, do we really need a demon worshipping puppy around us? It sounds like I'm being rude but he seems perfectly fine with it though.

(Ikarus) "So... what brings you two old friends over anyways? It couldn't have been easy to get away from your duties Nathan"

"The emperor gave his permission as this is for something kinda important that requir-..."

"Don't mean to be rude queens but I'm standing here like an idiotic elf right now. Can I just speak to you two first?"

Can never forget about dwarven rudeness so that butting in isn't that surprising. Even if we are the unopposed leaders of this island, the majority of dwarfs are like this after all. Garry the gnome is pretty kind considering the rest of them are bullish idiots, they do know good humour and alcohol that makes up for it. Petra looks like she wants to smack him right now though.

(Ikarus) "Sorry then captain. You said something about an invitation?"

"Yes, I did. The beardless kid Jarl Denver has graciously asked for both the queens to visit as soon as possible. Don't ask for the details, it's supposed to be a secret I'm too stupid to understand... or remember"

"The dwarfs have sent an invite for you as well Ikarus-sama and Petra-sama?"

"Me and Lotte only came over here because this was on the journey... and to see you of course"

Look at the knight trying to play on our emotions, we both know that's bullshit but it's kind, so who the hell cares?

(Petra) "Why did you two get invited as well? It sounds like you may know what this is about then?"

Both the visitors look a little unsure whether to answer or not. That's actually shocking to me because Nathan at one point in time had a problem keeping secrets. I guess he really has grown up then, wonder if that dragon stutter still remains...

"I guess it should be okay to answer, I'm not sure if the captain is allowed to hear it or not though"

"Just ignore me holy priestess, I've already been told the reason but I've forgotten it twice already. This is why the kid likes me for some reason, nothing else matters other than money after all"

"Okay then. Jarl Denver said he may be able to help me get back in contact with my Lord. He's been quiet ever since the demon invasion and I've been extremely worried for him ever since"

Shit, Dionysus is still quiet? That can't be good, right? He's literally priestess's coping strategy. I know the knight would be able to help as well but it's a little different to having a literal voice in your head. Believe me, I know, Aesa may be with us in person but she's always up there somewhere.

"Have you been okay Charlotte? I know having silence can't be good for you"

"I've been okay Ikarus-sama, I guess. I'm more just worried for his sake since he was supposed to return shortly but hasn't spoken a single word ever since then"

Just by judging from the knight Nathan's face alone, I think Charlotte is putting on a brave face there. Dio is kinda like a father to her after all and suddenly losing him for this long is bound to affect her sanity.

Should we give them a hand with this? Yeah, it would be like repaying the favour for helping me cure myself way back when. I also like Charlotte so I'm down for this.

"So... after we confront Denver about the volcano, you two up for joining up again in search for him? It sounds like an impossible task rescuing a God but Denver seems to know more than he lets on after all"

I know we're supposed to be finding a way of destroying whoever's responsible for the volcano and demon invasion but rescuing Dionysus seems like the most reasonable course of action. This plan still involves heading to the dwarven kingdom anyways.

Petra's with me and knowing that the ice age seems to be over, we can finally afford to ditch the settlement behind for a while. We have been tied down here for way too long recently, the people are going to be pissed but it's not exactly like they can stop us from leaving, can they? Eh, we'll just slip away when they're not looking or something.

"Are you sure about that Ikarus-sama?"

"Yeah, this could be a long a difficult task that has no end in sight Ikarus"

I can see why both of them may be a little sceptical, it's not like we're trying to search for a regular human so this could be quite the task. But hey, we've already spoken to Gods before so it can't be that hard, right?

"Well... it depends on if my fellow lovebird wants too as well"

"Heh, never stopped stalking you Ikarus so of course I'll be coming along, can't be letting you get away that easily"

That actually gets a slight chuckle out of both of them two, that was how our first introduction happened after all. Petra started stalking me, then admitted to it and I preceded to wake up drunk in her bed! Then was a little more in-between but that's the story summed up after all. Might as well make it sound as bad as possible.

"So then everybody... it sounds like you've all decided to board my ship then? Can we get a move on?"

The rude captain is still standing around, can't say I blame his impatience. Anytime staying docked like this doing nothing does cost him money after all, it's not like we're exchanging gold today now.

"Just hang on a second captain, Zeki and Ariza wanted to come with on this expedition as well so... wait, how could I forget about that? Aesa, would that ability work if everyone was holding hands together?"

"Yes Ikarus, ability -admin privileges- does work how Ikarus is intending"

"Then there's no need to wait around captain. We'll make our own ways to the kingdom so you don't need to stay..."

__________

"Oi you two, get the bloody hell up!"

"Erk... do you really need to shout orangey?"

"*Yawnnn*... uh huh, it's not that late, right?"

Having just found Zeki and Ariza sleeping together at their inn, it turns out both these two lazy heads are still sleeping and its freaking midday!

I completely forgot how those phoenix siblings still sleep together on occasion... and no, not in that way. I'm pretty sure Ariza's gets night terrors or something like that and Zeki always says he just prefers sleeping alongside someone so that there's more chance against an assassin... yeah, right. I'm pretty sure he's chosen to sleep alongside Ariza over Ria at times and like I just said, it's really not in that way. I think these two are unable to fully grow up despite it sometimes appearing otherwise.

"Heh, you two wanted to come with us next time we leave after all. We're departing for the kingdom right now"

"Uh huh, are we going right now then? Need to get dressed first"

"Oh, it's the nun and the stutterer as well. Last time we met, I was torching the capital if I remember correctly"

Both of the phoenixes seem to wipe the sleep out of their eyes in sync, both Nathan and Zeki seem a little grumpy speaking with each other though.

"You forgetting an orphanage was nearly burnt down after you went rouge? It doesn't matter if the nobles were uprising, what you did was insane"

"Buzz off empire's lackey, I've just woken up and can't be bothered to deal with your moaning"

(Ariza) "*Sigh*... don't you two be starting again, this used to happen daily when we were helping the empire out"

Damn, I never realized those two didn't like each other but I guess I can kinda see it now, it's not like Zeki and Nathan have similar personalities at all. Nathan is extremely loyal and will do anything for anyone while Zeki is the picture of being a tsundere but only to a select group of people. Everyone else is an NPC in his eyes.

"You two get dressed real quick and we'll wait outside then..."

__________

"All done now... why are you looking at us like that orangey?"

"Uh huh, it's a little scary"

"You two... have literally taken a freaking hour! We even had chance to tell everyone we're leaving and... oh, just forget it. Are you finally ready to go then?"

I mean, it's not exactly like the goodbyes are going to be drawn out. We can literally leave in a split second and can return doing the same in twenty-four hours. Marcus always handles anything anyways so as long as he doesn't turn into a corrupt capitalist, we're okay to leave the settlement anytime. The people will be depressed than we come and go but it's not like they can do anything about it, they don't even need to know.

"All good, me and brother are now set"

"How does this even work Ikarus-sama? Is it kinda like flying?"

Priestess seems to be the most curious out of everyone about this which is fair enough, the other phoenixes have been told about my teleportation capabilities beforehand.

"All we need to do Charlotte is hold hands and I'll handle the rest, feels kinda similar to a small nap? You know, seeing that we've already wasted enough time already, I need to show you two something now"

[<Does Aesa really have to help Ikarus do this?>]

Aesa's gone back inside now, should be pretty obvious to tell when we're communicating like this but still.

'Yes Aesa, please just activate it please'

[<Confirmed, winged brethren has been activated->]

Like with other couple of times Ikarus the dragon has formed, it looks like a mess from my perspective but very quickly, I'm towering over the little mortals down below me. I'm pretty sure Petra just chuckled from my insistence at showing this off to everyone but there is kind of a reason though.

<You two, this is pretty dope, right?>

"Wow Ikarus-sama, you're so big!"

"Yeah, that's pretty impressive Ikarus"

<Hey look, your stutter is gone! Good on ya Nathan for dealing with it>

That's the main reason, I just simply wanted to see if he has developed with that as well. I wasn't trying to bully him, if anything it's more helpful since he could never contain himself around dragons after all. I'm nothing like a dragon so I was thinking this might help his brain a little, good thing to know it's not needed...

"I wouldn't really say it's gone completely Ikarus, just it's reserved for dragons who scare the shit out of me. Esmerelda's okay but both your parents still make me shiver"

Heh, that's a pretty good reaction. Anyways, I quickly morph back into the hybrid happily knowing I've wasted seconds from everyone's day, and now, it's time to go confront Jarl Denver. We're going to beat it out of him if he doesn't come clean, probably. Might be a bit cruel beating up a child but he's a fake kid so it's fine, I think? Adult mind in a child's body... nah, this seems like crossing a line. Maybe we'll have to leave the threats behind unfortunately.

"Okay... everyone grab hands with me and Petra and I'll get us over there. Don't let go unless you want to be ripped in half or something"

Everyone does as asked except Zeki has just can't help but moan.

"Do we seriously have to hold hands orangey? Can't I use my foot or something?"

(Nathan) "You really are such a child"

He's ended up alongside the knight and knowing Zeki, holding hands with a dude is probably not allowed as some part of a bro code.

"Yes kid, just shut up and think about the dwarven booze you can drink over there"

In the end, he reluctantly agrees so all of us are now joined in hands ready to go. If anyone is idiotic enough to let go, I'm going to be right pissed.

'Aesa, admin privileges please?'

[<Confirmed, teleportation will now commence...>]

__________

"What the fuck!? How the hell did you lot get in here!?!"

'Well shit, maybe I should've gone somewhere different...'