Sworded Affair

Chapter 139: No Smoke Without Fire

Emma couldn’t be certain Noah had returned home, but she considered it the most likely destination. Teleportation magic was rare, she knew by now, both from her own limited access to the craft and her experience with the magical community. After all, if crossing vast distances were simple, inventions such as the Weave would have been unnecessary, nor would the simple delivery of a letter from Princess Astaroth require a summoned creature and weeks of travel time. More likely than not, such abilities were heavily restricted in what they could do. Emma herself opted to walk home, seeing no need to waste her own Return to save a few minutes of time.

Slipping back into her homunculus as she entered through the front door for once, Emma’s guess was proven correct as she arrived just in time to see Noah descend the staircase. His hair was still wet, and he wore only a bathrobe and fluffy slippers, making it abundantly clear where he’d just been. For good reason too, as even with the muted, simulated sense of her armoured form, Emma could still smell the faint waft of smoke on him.

“Quite a way to wake up, don’t you agree?”

The attempt at levity would have been more convincing if Noah didn’t immediately follow it with a massive yawn, showing his body’s opinion on an early morning and hours spent at ground zero.

“Go back to bed,” Emma replied flatly. “The fire is gone, and the cleanup can wait a few more hours.”

“Not yet,” Noah shook his head, stumbling more than walking towards the kitchen. “Need to write letters of condolence, the firefighters were good people, just doing their jobs.”

But they aren’t family, Emma thought to herself.

She didn’t say that though; because while she didn’t know any of the fallen, having been in Scholomance throughout most of the town’s founding, Noah did, and he’d always been the responsible sort where his employees were concerned. Noah still seemed functional despite his fatigue, slowly making himself a cup of coffee to wake up properly, so Emma let him be, heading back upstairs for a few more hours of rest herself.

[Lighter (Full) withdrawn.

Black Candle withdrawn.]

This time around, she even lit a black candle at her bedside table, going to sleep with her entire room shrouded in a bubble of darkness. She didn’t think another assassin would show up for her neck, not so soon anyway, but she was understandably feeling a bit paranoid just then.

—

Emma awoke a few hours later, rather refreshed and thankfully without any more wounds. Feeling for the heat the Black Candle emitted, she snuffed it out between thumb and forefinger, uncaring of the brief jolt of pain as her fingers made contact with hot wax. Light returned to the room, enough to see that it was daytime once more.

[Lighter (Full) stored.

Black Candle (5/6) stored.]

Heading out into the corridor, Emma could hear the faint sound of snoring coming from Noah’s bedroom; evidently, he’d decided to turn after all, once his urgent duties as mayor were concluded. Not fully, there would almost certainly be a funeral later on, but all that could be done on short notice. Heading downstairs, Emma idly wondered just how her new body worked, as a number of things didn’t make sense. For one, she’d been wearing her pink leotard for days now, and it was still in pristine condition.

[All of Crystal’s storage items come with built-in cleaning functionality, Eden’s Echo is no exception. You’ve been storing the homunculus often enough to prevent the messy reality of life from having any impact. Spend a full day or two outside, and that will change.]

“Speaking of Eden’s Echo, how does it transfer between bodies? It’s always on the same finger, whichever form I happen to be in at the time.”

[To answer that question, how much do you know about quantum field theory?]

“I don’t,” Emma deadpanned. “I’m fifteen, not a university student with a background in maths.”

[Never mind then.]

Shaking her head, Emma decided that now was as good a time as any to go looking for a priest. The Hallowed Candles had jumped several tiers higher on her priority list after the fraught events of the day thus far. Then her stomach growled, doing a good Saint impression.

After breakfast, Emma amended, heading for the kitchen.

There, she was rather disappointed with her milk and cereal; not due to the taste or anything like that, but the fact that it wasn’t sufficient to trigger her doubled EXP buff. Clearly, a higher standard was applied to qualify as a homemade meal; it didn’t apply for ready made food that just happened to be consumed at home.

[Instant noodles and snack bars don’t count either. Don’t be lazy.]

I’m a chandler, not a chef, Emma retorted, tossing her spoon and bowl into the sink on the way out. Though maybe I really should hunt down a chef to store in Epitaph. It was just an idle fancy before, but if it can guarantee a permanent buff? It might be worth the trouble.

[So your first thought is to kill and enslave a sentient being with the skill you want, rather than spend a few hours meal prepping for the week? You really are just like me as a child, I’m so proud of you!

100 EXP gained for pleasing your ancestor.]

Emma opened her mouth to give a less than flattering reply, then she saw the EXP gain, and changed her mind.

—

Why am I watering the garden? This is supposed to be for Emma’s quest, not mine.

[She’s a bit occupied at the moment; also, the eventual mythical item is for you, so a division of labour is fair.]

Saint still wasn’t entirely happy, but she didn’t pursue the matter further. It barely took a few minutes for her to conjure the miniature rain-cloud, and ensure the potted Hydra got a good allotment of water; the rest of the lawn too, while she was at it. There were plenty of rats too, where blood was required. Even so, Saint resolved to talk to Emma about division of labour, one of these days.