Chapter 289 Done
The general and the lieutenant heard the woman's words and both of them looked in her direction. The truth was that Leif didn't understand why the woman was always angry at him when he did not do anything wrong. He always wondered and whenever he tried to ask, the woman would not answer.
"Of course, I will," Leif answered with confidence, which did not impress the woman whatsoever. He shrugged it off and decided to just ignore the woman.
They left the study and went their separate ways without talking with each other. Nina decided to go directly to the master and ask him what their mission was. She intended to find him but was informed that he was out.
During this time, Cygnus was already on his way to the palace. With his brother's connection, he was able to set up a meeting with the king and for some reason his request was easily approved. This did not matter though because it was in favor to him.
Lunaira's palace was majestic as always. The tall structure overlooks the whole City of Lumier as if it was showing its power and dominance. They continued towards the entrance and were met with the king's secretary.
The man warmly welcomed them and personally ushered them to the king's study where a table of all kinds of treats were prepared for them. Cygnus also noticed that some of the treats were from his own bakery so he felt proud and pleased. The king was not in the study because he was in a meeting so they were ushered to the table and allowed to have some snacks first.
After about thirty minutes which the master did not even notice, the king finally arrived. Cygnus stood up and greeted the man but he was stopped and signaled to sit down. Orpheus liked the young man so he didn't mind if he was a bit informal. He then took the seat on the opposite side of the table facing Cygnus.
"I was glad to accept your request because the Magic Tower has been making our lives difficult," the king started. He sighed and shook his head in exasperation because of what happened.
"Well, I kind of understand them. They did not expect that the bandits would be able to kill many of their mages so they will surely be apprehensive and reluctant. Even without the tower's initiative I believe that none of the mages will willingly risk their lives again," Cygnus nodded. He couldn't blame the Magic Tower for doing that. They were still recovering from their loss and now they experienced another one again.
"That is also the reason why I did not press them regarding the matter and instead put out a notice of reward to those who are willing and I am very glad that you responded." Orpheus was elated because he received that kind of letter. It was somewhat a blessing in disguise.
"Well, I have friends who are willing to help and I am also doing this for Hero Arcaine, since he is also a friend. They needed mages and I have a connection so I might as well use it but I can only send three though." Cygnus looked very sincere while saying those words. If an actor would see the master now, they might get impressed by how good he was acting.
"That's more than enough. At least we will have help from mages and I believe that mages referred to by the Ginehart will be more helpful." Orpheus laughed heartily because he was confident with the young man's suggestion.
"Yes, of course. I especially asked for my brother's permission to let one of his lieutenants lend a hand." Cygnus informed them while he was observing the king's expression.
Orpheus's lips twitched because of the statement. He could see that the young man did not intend to offend him because he was looking at him with wide eyes. He was genuinely bragging about his achievement.
"I really appreciate it and don't worry because they will receive the compensation that I said," Orpheus answered. He did not want to talk about the topic any longer so he decided to change the topic. "How is the food? Is it to your liking?"
"Yes, thank you. I enjoyed them and thank you for preparing bread from my bakery," Cygnus answered with a smile.
"Yes, there's much from your bakery that I really like so I let the servants go and buy some," Orpheus answered because he needed to treat the young master well.
After staying in the palace and finishing almost half of the treats, he left and returned to the manor. Nina jumped and shamelessly hugged the master. She even made some sobbing sound as she clung to the master. Cygnus let her be for the meantime because she'll be back to herself after this.
Nina finally let go and looked at the master with her puppy eyes. "I thought you already forgot about me," she said with a trembling voice.
"How could I, when I'm the one who brought you here." Cygnus patted the woman's shoulder to show her comfort.
"Alright I'll let you go for now because you actually remembered me. So, what's this mission all about that you even need that man to join?" Nina asked as they walked the stairs up towards the second floor.
"It's an infiltration mission. If you do well, I will be able to build my image in front of that person and eventually make him trust me more," Cygnus answered without hesitation.
"Why are you even going to so much trouble when you can just hypnotize them all and tell them what you wanted to do?" Nina was not used to how the master was acting.
The Cygnus he knew would immediately use his abilities to crush his enemies. He would not go through with this kind of round about way of doing things. He would immediately destroy things that he didn't like or even destroy everything after getting bored of them.
Throughout the time that she had been with them, that's how she saw him, ruthless and without mercy. He was the most powerful being she had ever met and he was only wasting his efforts in doing things in this kind of way. A frown appeared on her face as she continued to think about it.
"You don't have to worry. I'm just playing around after I verify some things, I'll get back to that. For now, I need to keep up this façade so that I can easily hold things within the grasp of my hands. After I have them all in my palms, I can easily crush them." The atmosphere around the master suddenly changed and his eye color reverted to its original redness for a second. The grin on his face was maniacal but even that was only for a few seconds.
Nina did not think about it anymore because the master she knew was still there. She sighed because she hasn't gotten used to how they were working right now. But now that she heard the master, she still has some more things to look forward to.
"Alright, I'll do it your way then. I just hope that I can get to action once all your preparations are over," Nina reluctantly agreed and followed the master.
"That's good," Cygnus grinned. He could always count on Nina. Saving her was not a wasted effort and now he has loyal followers who won't betray him.
They entered the master's office where Cygnus told Nina the plan. She was listening intently and nodding her head in the parts where she agreed. She also helped by inputting some of her thoughts on the plan to make it more effective. After their talk, Nina couldn't help but grin because she knew that the action wasn't faraway.
"You've been so silent Mr. C, what happened?" Nina asked the butler who had been silent for a while and was only there to serve them drinks.
The butler did not speak as he stood on the side. It also appeared that he did not acknowledge the woman's question. Nina stood up and waved her hands in front of the man's face but his eyes did not even react. She looked back at Cygnus with questions written all over her face.
"He's currently undergoing a system update and is currently working with Ari for some upgrades on some of his programs," Cygnus answered.
"Oh," Nina backed away and looked at the butler before he returned to her seat. "By the way, who else aside from me and Leif would be going undercover?" She remembered to ask.
"Astrophos will go with the both of you," Cygnus answered as he leaned on the couch. "The three of you will be working together to solve the case."
Nina's eyes lit up, "That's great! I thought only the two of me would work with that Hero Arcaine." She was glad that a familiar one would be working with them.
"I will be briefing him tomorrow too. After the three of you are briefed, we will go to the Hero Association so that I can introduce you to Hero Arcaine," Cygnus chuckled because of the woman's childishness.