Free and Unfettered 91 This Isn't A Game

There were more patrols on the lower side, whilst those on the upper side stayed the same. Everyone who was a citizen of Cosmos City knew that something big was about to happen. Even though the Emperor did not make any announcements, the citizens were growing more nervous by the day.

Though they were nervous, they did not panic, nor blindly leave the city. From children to elderly, everyone went about their day as per usual, and did not allow anything to show on their faces, keeping up the normality of their lifestyles.

Only they knew that in the silence of their home, security was tighter, and whatever studies or training they were undergoing became harsher and stricter.

In the midst of the tense atmosphere, Nine's residence was particularly peaceful.

Nine reclined on a couch, casually swirling a wine glass filled with red liquid in her hand. She stared at it absentmindedly as her thoughts were somewhere else. The time for the Elves to act was any day now. Despite her information network, she still could not find the whereabouts of the enemy.

But it was fine. Since she was unable to locate them as of now, she would defend her city with those dear to her. Luckily, her father was a fastidious ruler that never slacked off upon security.

Everything was great… except for the fact that Emperor Destan was too weak of a magician, but she had remedied that little problem. Nine smirked to herself, remembering her father's cries. She never thought that blood worked in such wonderous ways.

His cries were particularly similar to her eldest brother's. Blood truly ran deep.

And truly, his strength had grown by leaps and bounds from the first time since she started 'tutoring' him. No matter what anyone said, all she wanted was the best for her stubborn father who wouldn't listen to her.

She definitely hadn't taken the chance to beat some sense into him when he said 'How could you possibly be able to teach me anything I don't already know'.

Just look at Nine's composed and stoic expression. Would the Crown Prince be such a person? Definitely not. Just ask his numerous fans located in the city.

Nocturne walked up to Nine and kissed her on the cheek lightly, smiling at her.

"And what is my dear husband thinking so deeply about that my presence was not noticed?" Nocturne asked teasingly, sitting down at the end of the couch.

Nine drained the rest of the glass, disposing of it. She then lay her head in Nocturne's lap, closing her eyes.

Nocturne's hands stroking her hair gently eased some part of her she didn't know had been silently stressing and worrying. She was worried that in the upcoming chaos, she wouldn't be able to protect everyone who was dear to her.

She silently worried whether all the preparations had been enough, whether she had given ample instructions, given ample training.

Nocturne's heart ached seeing Nine worry like this. Even though she showed none of it on her face, he could still sense that she had been rather stressed the past couple of days. She didn't even reply back playfully like she usually did to his teasing.

"Don't worry," Nocturne said, stroking Nine's silky-smooth hair. "All of us learnt from the best, and that's you. We definitely won't make any mistakes that we can't learn from. Why don't you just trust us, and trust yourself?"

Nine opened her eyes to stare at her lover's face. She smiled faintly. "Yes. I know that logically, but my heart can't accept it somewhat. Sometimes, I still see the Third Tier mages that were struggling to reach the Fourth Tier when I look at them."

"What else?" Nocturne questioned. Though some of the tenseness had drained out of her body, there was still more that was troubling her.

"I've been receiving some troubling reports lately. There have been people popping up in random places, and we can't find out where they come from."

Saying this, Nine got up off Nocturne's lap, handing him a report. "Here, take a look," she said, pointing various parts of the information gathered out. "See, it's like they don't exist at all before this. Many of them appeared at the same time, and they're undying."

Nocturne frowned upon reading the report. If this was true, then it was very troubling indeed. Not to mention the upcoming war with the Elves, they still had further troubles with these Undyings. Were they also part of the scheme? Or were they externals?

What Nine kept to herself was that she had a faint premonition of where these people were coming from. Various things they said, like 'levels' and 'game' caused all sorts of bells to ring in her head.

She slowly thought about it, as the Truth skill was ringing so loudly inside of her head that she could barely hear her own thoughts. She had truly hoped that she was wrong, but it seemed like this world was indeed a 'game'.

Her eyes darkened in rage. If anyone dared touch someone who belonged to her city, she would go on an all-out war with them. Unlike normal 'games', the people here were without a doubt alive, and they only lived one life. Once they died, they died just like they had back on Earth. The people she interacted with had intelligence on their own, had their own feelings, had character, judgement, and experience. They weren't just one-dimensional artificial beings that had been created for someone else's enjoyment.

For the first time since receiving it, she cursed the System. She should have known that something was strange when she received it. Not to mention, 'newly born system'?

She was different from the gamers.

The Truth confirmed that this was true.

What she had to do now was make adjustments to the general plan, and possibly factor in the gamers.

There was no hesitation when started she explained to Nocturne about what was really happening, and the unwavering trust he displayed in her warmed her heart.

"So, what you're saying is that these Undyings are possibly from your home planet? If they are truly undying as you say, then it is possible that we can use them to help out in the war with the Elves."

"Indeed," Nine said, pulling him in for a kiss.

They started to get rather heated before Nine finally pulled away, licking her lips.

"Mm. Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" Nocturne asked, smiling rather dopily at Nine. He still couldn't get used to being so happy every day.

"For your trust in me," Nine said, her eyes warm and soft.

"Of course," Nocturne said. "I'll be the one person who will never doubt you, even if the entire world is against you."

"And I you," Nine returned the promise.

The husband and wife hugged gently for a few more minutes before Nine reluctantly got up.

"Looks like it's time for me to pay my student a visit," she said, holding a hand out to Nocturne. "Let's go visit Lucien."

Chapter end