Tale of Discovery

Chapter 152: Thoughts ; Surprise

I reckon that I should get this done as soon as possible.

And so, I reach my arm out and place my hand on Henrietta's head.

"I must go," I state.

In response to my words, Henrietta raises her arm and places her hand on mine before saying,

"You've been busy recently."

Letting out a sigh, I explain,

"That's because of the recent events that occurred in Albion."

However, my words seem to confuse her as she asks,

"What are you talking about?"

Right, she wouldn't know what's going on as it has happened quite recently for the news to reach her.

That's not all, as the fact that Albion is a giant floating kingdom pretty much explains why the information would arrive at other locations later than usual.

And so, I briefly recount the battle and my fight against the machine, while making sure to omit anything that's not necessary.

Once I'm done, Henrietta places her hand against her forehead and says doubtfully,

"So, you're telling me that you managed to take out the rebellion that brought the kingdom down in a day?

Well, I'm pretty sure that it took way less than a day, but that's not her point, I suppose.

"Yes," I directly reply.

"Unbelievable," Louise who has been silent this whole time comments.

"Thank you for the compliment," I say with a smile on my face.

"So, what are you going to be doing, now that you've done all this?" Henrietta questions curiously.

Finding her question interesting, I take a few moments to think before replying,

"Honestly, I would much rather take a good rest and enjoy my days than dealing with these idiots. However, things tend to not go the way you want them."

"Couldn't you just take rest and delay all the matters for a later time? It's not like the people can't wait for the coronation, you know?" Henrietta suggests.

She has a point, I know, but the consequences that may come with it are too much for me to handle.

First, there is some Code in this Platform that I have yet to identify. Not only are they powerful, but they seem to be able to use their power for pretty long ranges.

I can tell that by the fact that they were near me, yet, AI wasn't able to identify their Code waves.

Well, that's that, I suppose. After that, comes another one of my issues, which is time.

Simply put, I can't just rest, as, at any given moment, a creature with infinite powers could pop out of nowhere.

The fact that this has happened before further enforces the notion.

For some reason, I feel like I'm finding an excuse to not rest Strange

Irene?

{Yes, Father?}

Why can't I find the idea of taking a rest over other things plausible?

{According to the available information, Father's mentality is being affected by the memories that Father unsealed recently.}

That's what I suspected to be the case. Simply put, ever since I woke up from the last vision, something had changed in me.

While it may not seem obvious, but deep down, I'm aware of it.

As for the effects that come with the change, I suppose that my recent unusual actions can be taken as examples.

This is not good. I can't let it influence me any longer. A slight change of heart could change everything,

"Wales?" a worried voice brings a halt to my thoughts.

Looking over at Henrietta, I say,

"What is it?"

"I don't know You were acting a little strange just now. Almost as if something was gnawing at your conscience."

That's one way to describe someone thinking of their troubles.

I shake my head slowly and say in a calm tone,

"Don't think about it much. I just thought of all the trouble that may arise if I were to rest."

Henrietta opens her mouth, most likely to rebuke me, but before she can utter a word, I place a finger against her lips and say,

"I know that I shouldn't be thinking in such a manner, but there isn't much I can do about it. So, how about you try to clear my mind off by taking me somewhere, just the two of us?"

Hearing the first part of what I had to say, Henrietta's brows continued to frown, until she got surprised by the suggestion in the end.

She doesn't take a single moment to think as she directly replies,

"Sure!"

I beam her a smile before moving closer and swiftly hugging her.

Not expecting this, Henrietta's body stiffens as her breathing gets faster.

She's not the only one who found my actions unexpected, as Louise who is near us points her finger at my face and asks in a slightly loud and shaky voice,

"Wh-what are you doing?!"

Seeing the finger so close to my face, I grin before lifting one arm and grabbing her hand.

Before Louise can realize what I'm about to do, I pull her finger close to my mouth and lightly nibble on it.

Louise's already-flushed face gets even redder as she lets out a strangely cute yelp.

Not letting it end here, I grab her arm and pull her closer before repositioning myself so that I can hug both of the girls.

After a short while, I let go of them and move back a little before saying,

"We will have plenty of time to hang out in the future."

Well, it's about time that I left for the Grimoires.

Hugging the two girls once more, I proceed to give each one of them a quick peck on the forehead, earning me two completely different reactions.

Louise immediately freezes up, while Henrietta has a melancholic expression on her face.

Did my actions remind of her of someone dear to her? Perhaps, that's the case. From what I can tell, they're most likely deceased or somewhere far away.

So, it's only natural that I will provide her the comfort she needs, for no other reason than being a gentleman.

As such, I use my right hand to lift her chin before leaning closer to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek that lasted for a dozen or so seconds.

Moving back, I find her expression has improved, but tears are now welling up in the corner of her eyes.

Letting out a sigh, I place my hand on her head and gently ruffle her hair for a few seconds before saying,

"Take care, Henrietta. You can always call for my help if things go wrong."

Then, without waiting for a response, I get off the bed and make my way to the door.

Placing my hand on the door handle, I turn back to look at the two girls who have such contrasting expressions once more.

Shaking my head, I open the door and head out of the room before closing the door behind me.

Now then, I wonder which Grimoire should I go for first? Deciding that I will simply go with whichever one is the closest, I use Clairvoyance to check the building.

Unsurprisingly, I'm not able to locate the retard that had challenged Siesta to a duel.

Coincidentally, Osmond isn't present in the academy. Definitely doesn't seem suspicious.

Setting such thoughts aside, I make my way to Guiche's dorm room, where he and a certain blonde-haired girl are.

On the way there, I run into someone I had seen earlier using Clairvoyance - Kirche.

"You're back," she says the first thing upon seeing me.

"Well, no. You see, this is just my ghost," I before using Permeation to pass my hand through the wall close to us.

"Nice trick, I've seen that before when you barged in on me while I was changing," she comments while rolling her eyes.

Shrugging my shoulders, I say,

"But have you seen this?"

Having gotten her attention, I use Creation to produce a bouquet of colorful flowers and offer it to her.

"How nice of you," she says before taking the bouquet from my hands.

"Do I get a reward?" I jokingly say.

"I suppose that I should give one, shouldn't I?" she says before moving closer and giving me a short kiss on the lips.

Unsatisfied, I stop her from going away by holding her arm and pull her closer to myself before going in for a much deeper kiss.

In a span of seconds, she presses her soft body against me as she passionately returns the kiss.

After a while, I break the kiss and move back a little before saying while licking my lips,

"How sweet."

Kirche doesn't say anything and just looks at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Chuckling, I move my head forward to kiss her once before and squeeze her butt while at it before backing away and saying,

"Get going now. I have a business to settle."

As I watch Kirche walk away, I sense a gaze on my back.

Turning around, I look at Tabitha, who is hiding half of her body behind the corner of the wall, and say,

"Enjoyed the show?"

Upon hearing my words, the usually expressionless girl frowns before leaving her 'cover' and walking over to where I am.

Then, she punches me as hard as she can in the chest, but due to the gap in our parameters, it feels like nothing more than a light tap.

To my pleasant surprise, she immediately hugs me for a few seconds before hastily walking away.

It seems like she can't express her emotions very well...

Whatever, I should get going now.

And so, I finally arrive in front of Guiche's dorm room.

Using Clairvoyance, I find the two silently looking at each other in the eyes.

Soon, the Montmorency closes her eyes and moves her head closer. Guiche does the same.

However, just before their lips meet, I abruptly open the door and say in a loud voice,

"Hey, Guiche! How have you been doing?"