am-books Mistral.
Mistral.
I'll leave a note here since I think some people don't read what I write at the end of the chapter.
Well, as some of you may have noticed, lately the chapters have been taking longer to come out, and the reason is this: I'm sick.
My immune system has always been pretty lousy; I catch a cold every 1-2 months, and any change in the weather just makes it worse. What happened last week? A temperature drop from 28 degrees Celsius (82,4 F) to 4 Co (41 F). That kind of messed me up.
It's horrible writing with a cold, not that it hurts or anything, but my brain feels slow, like the whole world is running at 15 FPS. My thoughts are still sluggish; it's frankly suffocating.
I'm much better now; the fever of 39 stopped rising, and I didn't have to go to the hospital. I'll be writing more in the coming days.
That said, please read my note at the end of the chapter; I've left some explanations there.
Finally, if anyone wants to support me or simply read 3 to 7 chapters ahead of my stories, this is possible on my (P)(A)(T). If not, I still appreciate you reading my stories.
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
Lastly, for real this time, have a good night and happy reading!
[...]---[...]
Mistral was a curious place. It was like a junction of all the Eastern countries I knew on Earth.
I was most familiar with Japanese culture, for obvious reasons, but still knew a bit about the culture of other countries like China and Korea.
Mistral was like a fusion of these three and much more. The houses had the appearance and traits of old houses, like in Kimetsu, others newer and modern, but still maintaining a rural aesthetic.
Not only that, but I could see places, shops with characters resembling Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The language I heard was also like a fusion of these three, varying in accent from person to person.
The city was noisy too, like Vale, something I didn't expect. Vale was hosting the Vytal Festival, and the tourists there were countless, even with the city on alert after the Grimm invasion, the number of people in the streets was enormous.
Mistral didn't lag behind in this regard. I quickly realized why when we arrived at what seemed to be a central square, with a huge tower rising in the middle. At the top of the tower, four large televisions were off.@@@@
"I presume these screens are for when the festival starts. Will they broadcast everything?" I commented to Ozpin.
The man nodded and looked at the large tower.
"Traveling between the kingdoms is something expensive and often dangerous too. Not everyone has that luxury." The man explained. "Even with the Vytal Festival being hosted in Vale this year, all the other kingdoms celebrate a 'Mini-Festival'." Ozpin looked around and resumed walking as he spoke.
"So, everyone, even those who couldn't make it to the hosting kingdom, would be able to see the festival."
"That's why the stalls." I remarked.
There were thousands of open shops, but not just shops, there were also stalls on the streets selling various items, foods, and even other services like palm reading, cards of what I think is this world's tarot, and divination.
The whole place had a cheerful air, even though the official start of the festival was two weeks away, it was as if the kingdom was already in celebration.
"We're being followed." Ozpin commented in a calm voice, as if talking about the weather. The man didn't even turn when he said these words, avoiding drawing attention to us.
Well, at least more attention than we already drew. Ozpin and I were clearly 'tourists', not to mention the man was the headmaster of Beacon; his face must be known.
"I noticed. They don't seem friendly, but they're not 'red'." Everyone who looked at us and followed 'secretly' was represented by yellow dots. "Some have the same spider tattoo."
I noticed in passing and commented to Ozpin. The man didn't seem surprised.
"They're Lil' Miss Malachite's men and women. Spiders. That's what they're called, one of, if not the largest crime syndicate in Mistral."
"A crime syndicate?..." I hummed before wondering. "Are they going to be a problem?"
"No, or at least not usually. Miss Malachite isn't someone who makes enemies for no reason."
"They're just here to watch us and report back then." I nodded. That is, if they weren't with Salem. Lionheart was a possible traitor, where there was one traitor, there were two, three, and many more.
I turned my head and looked in the direction where I knew these Spiders were. One by one, I looked in the direction of each slowly. It was difficult to feel their feelings with me surrounded by people, the crowd was large, but I noticed a sharp spike of fear coming from each of them when my gaze met theirs.
Ozpin didn't miss my actions, but didn't comment anything. He himself was also doing almost the same, just more subtly, even though the meaning was the same: 'Don't mess with us.'
The yellow dots representing the Spiders moving away meant they had understood the signal.
We didn't take long to reach the place where Ozpin said they sold good ramen.
"Traveling Restaurant." I read the place's name.
"Do you know how to read Mistrali?" Ozpin asked before his eyes lit up with recognition. "The stream."
"Yes, a streamer needs to communicate with their viewers, how would I do that if I didn't know their language?" I replied amused.
That was also why my ability to read and understand various languages didn't extend to Runes and Mystical Symbols, not even Weiss's Glyphs. None of these three were a 'spoken' language.
The stream was still a stream, and I was The Streamer. Talking to viewers was one thing, understanding Runes, Mystical Symbols, Glyphs was another.
Would I like the latter? Definitely, but the stream wasn't a gaming system or anything like that, for better or for worse.
"Why that name?" I asked as we entered the establishment, pushing aside the 'curtains' at the entrance to pass through.
The 'Traveling Restaurant' was a cozy place, almost entirely made of wood and with quaint decoration, with flower vases on the round tables where customers ate.
"The founder was a traveling cook. He had a caravan that passed selling and donating food throughout the continent, but every journey has an end, his was in Mistral, where he decided to retire, the name must have stuck." Ozpin explained with a certain nostalgia in his voice.
We sat on the chairs in front of the counter. We wouldn't take long, there was no need for us to take a whole table for ourselves.
"The guy seems like a good person. Strong too, or brave. Traveling across the continent selling food requires a certain mindset," I commented. "I imagine the Grimm back then were as aggressive as they are nowadays."
I noticed a woman behind the counter listening to our conversation. She appeared to be around my age, maybe a few years older. She had black hair and dark brown eyes and wore an apron over her clothes.
"Isamu was both. A man who wouldn't hesitate to fight to protect his people and tried his best to put a smile on the face of every person who tasted his food, whether that person could afford it or not."
"A good person," I affirmed this time, and Ozpin nodded in agreement.
"Excuse me. I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. How do you know those stories about my great-great-grandfather?" the woman behind the counter approached and asked before seeming embarrassed.
"My apologies for my lack of manners. My name is Isami Sato," the woman introduced herself with a slight stutter.
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Sato. I'm Ozpin, and my friend here is Devas," Ozpin took the lead and introduced us, his voice changing slightly as he spoke in Mistralian rather than Valean.
I could still understand him perfectly, as well as I understood the woman, Isami, but I could tell it was another language.
I nodded my head in greeting. Isami nodded back, but didn't pay much attention to me, focusing on Ozpin, who had continued speaking.
"I met a man who claimed to be related to someone who knew your great-great-grandfather, Isamu. He liked to tell these stories, said he was proud of his ancestor having known and walked side by side with such a heroic figure, I guess I ended up storing them in memory," Ozpin explained to Isami.
Isami seemed to believe this lie Ozpin had invented and nodded with a smile on her face.
"The same with me. I mean, not the part about an acquaintance telling the stories, my mother told me, who heard it from her mother. It's kind of a family thing, you know?" Isami rambled quickly in a cheerful tone. "I always found the stories very cool and heroic! My great-great-grandfather fought alongside the King of Vale, like, how could I not think that's awesome?!..."
The woman continued talking for a few more seconds before blushing and appearing embarrassed again.
"Sorry. I got carried away," Isami stuttered again. "I just... really like these stories... What can I get for you?" she asked, still red-faced.
I glanced at the menu quickly before responding.
"I'll have two Shrimp Ramen, one of them without salt, please," I ordered, choosing a variation written in both Mistralian and Valean. A shrimp ramen with vegetables.
Ozpin didn't even need to look at the menu to order.
"I'll have a Miso Ramen. With extra broth, please, and no corn," the man ordered. I could see recognition in Isami's eyes before she noted down the orders and practically rushed to the kitchen behind the counter.
"She reminds me of Isamu," Ozpin commented when the woman disappeared behind the curtains of the kitchen door. "He also used to get lost many times when he started talking about something he liked."
"The name is similar too. Inspired, perhaps?" I commented. Isami also wasn't a color, as seemed to be the norm.
"Probably. But great-great-granddaughter?... Time always passes faster than I can perceive," Ozpin sighed. He had said that the one running the place was Isamu's great-granddaughter, right? Isami had said she was the great-great-granddaughter.
"You know. I was reading on the way here, it was a book about Dust, but it ended up mentioning a name," I tapped my fingers lightly on the counter. "The name of a king actually, King Oz, of Vale."
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence," Ozpin replied with a slight smile.
"I'm sure it is..." I responded without believing a word of his. Ozpin being a king didn't surprise me.
A few minutes later, Isami returned with three bowls and placed two in front of me and one in front of Ozpin.
"Here, enjoy your meal," the woman spoke quickly before returning to work, casting glances here and there at Ozpin.
"Looks like you've got an admirer," I commented jokingly.
"I'm sure her looks are just out of curiosity to meet someone who knew Isamu," Ozpin replied casually, picking up the chopsticks.
I waited for him to put the ramen in his mouth before responding.
"Maybe. Or maybe she likes older men, the great-great-grandfather talk and all." I laughed and patted Ozpin on the back as he choked on the ramen.
"I don't seem that old," he replied after managing to stop coughing.
"No, but your white hair is something more commonly found in the elderly. The 'wise old man' aura must be one of the reasons," I pointed out. That's not to mention his actual age, he probably had about a hundred 'greats' before 'grandfather,' in Ozpin's case.
"Isami recognized something when you ordered your Miso Ramen without corn. Something to do with Isamu?" I asked, starting to eat my own ramen, the one with salt.
I can only say it was good. I wasn't an expert, but I knew good food when I tasted it.
"Isamu didn't like corn. Whenever he made ramen for himself, he didn't add it. I ended up remembering and ordering the same," Ozpin replied.
It was out of nostalgia then.
"And you, why two bowls?" Ozpin pointed to the second ramen that I hadn't touched yet. "Very hungry?"
"No, it's for someone else," I tapped the pocket of my shirt. "Millia, are you still sleeping? If you don't wake up, I'll eat everything."
The green blob practically flew out of the pocket and landed on the counter.
"I'M AWAKE!" Millia quickly wrote. "WHERE'S THE FOOD?!"
We didn't take long to reach Lionheart's office; all the while, I kept an eye on the Minimap and kept my senses alert, expecting an attack that fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, didn't happen.
Sure, I could sense the Grimm inside Lionheart's office miles away even without the Minimap, but it was just one, and from the way it seemed to be inside a closet, a small one at that.
An observing Grimm? Or was it something used for communication?
As Lionheart went to the drinks cabinet, I nudged Ozpin and pointed to the cabinet where the Grimm was, simultaneously showing the text on my phone: "Grimm there, small, should I kill it?"
Ozpin just shook his head, denying, and made quick hand gestures.
"No. Perhaps this will alert Leonardo; leave it there for now."
If Ozpin told me he learned sign language out of boredom, I'd believe it.
I nodded silently and sat down when Lionheart placed the drinks on the table with three glasses. I looked around for a moment, noticing the dozens of bookshelves before turning to face him.
"Good news deserves a drink." The man exclaimed and poured the three glasses. "Here, don't deny me this. It's been a while since I had company for drinking, you know, Ozpin, if I knew being a headmaster would be so tiresome, I would have declined the job."
When the title 'Headmaster' was mentioned, Lionheart's emotions were bitter and angry for some reason. I said nothing and took the glass Lionheart offered; Ozpin did the same.
My instincts told me something was wrong; the Item Analysis confirmed it. There was poison in the glass, nothing fatal, at least not for Huntsmen and Huntresses; a normal person would probably die since I was sure this poison would paralyze anything that wasn't a whale for a few hours.
Aura could help; even a Huntsman would be out of the game for two or three hours if they drank this stuff. A paralyzing and odorless poison; even the taste was weak, hidden by the alcohol.
I discreetly pulled out a Purification Powder pill into Ozpin's lap, away from Lionheart's eyes. Ozpin didn't need an explanation to know why.
At the same time, I downed the entire glass in one go and drank all the alcohol. Ozpin took advantage of the attention and surprise of Lionheart to toss the pill into his mouth and then drink.
"Easy there, young man. A drink like this is meant to be enjoyed, not gulped down all at once." Lionheart advised before drinking his own glass, sipping the drink lightly.
"My apologies, here, get me a refill?" I extended my arm holding the glass. Lionheart hesitated before pouring me another dose, this time I drank just a little and slowly, as he had advised.
My tongue barely tingled with the poison; my natural poison resistance was high thanks to the Bezoar, my adaptation and regeneration also helped here. It didn't take five seconds for the tingling to stop, and even when I drank more from the glass, the poison did nothing but make the alcohol spicier.
Would it be a bad example if I started using poisons as seasoning?...
No one said anything for a few seconds, Ozpin having placed the half-drunk glass on the table, and Lionheart looking at us surprised and with growing fear.
As for me, I continued drinking calmly, even grabbing the bottle from the table and draining it, which only made Lionheart sweat more.
"Good alcohol, the poison gave it a spicy taste too. I'd give it an eight out of ten; I've had better." I sighed and tossed the bottle into the Voidbag.
"Why, old friend, why?" Ozpin sighed and asked.
Lionheart quickly realized what had happened but didn't try to fight or flee. His emotions were turbulent, a fusion of fear, anger, resentment, sadness, shame, and many other negative emotions.
I felt the Grimm in the closet react to Lionheart's emotions and become restless before calming down out of nowhere. If I had doubts that there was something controlling that thing, I didn't anymore.
I stood up and opened the closet, coming face to face with the Grimm. It was unlike any I was accustomed to; it looked more like a blood-filled balloon on top of a black stand than a Grimm.
"Apologies, but this conversation is private." I ignored the tentacles trying to strangle me and grabbed the 'head' of the Grimm, the blood-red ball, with my hand.
I felt something trying to 'connect' with the Grimm in a way more solid than the connection that existed at the moment. I didn't let that happen and squeezed the Grimm, causing it to burst into black blood and dispersed malice.
"You shouldn't have done that. 'She' knows your face and will hold a grudge." Lionheart said with pity and fear. I scoffed in disdain.
"Perhaps, but Salem is not something you should worry about at the moment." Just saying the name made Lionheart shrink, his fear reaching a ridiculously high peak.
"Why, my old friend? Why betray everyone? Why betray me?" Ozpin asked again, even more bitter and sad after seeing the strange Grimm.
"I didn't betray everyone, Ozpin, much less you, at least not before you betrayed me first." Lionheart replied before taking another sip of his drink. He must have taken the poison antidote before we met.
His emotions were more focused on anger and bitterness rather than fear at the moment. His face was also twisted into something ugly and enraged.
"You abandoned me, Ozpin." Lionheart said in an irritated, sad tone. "You said you would support me, that you would help me when you put me as Headmaster, and what did you do when the Minions appeared at my door? Where were you?"
Lionheart growled, something I would describe as a sick, tired, and weak lion.
"Nothing, Ozpin, you did nothing, you weren't here. What could I do besides accept their 'deal'?" Lionheart laughed weakly, sadly. "Nothing, again, nothing... I didn't want to die..."
"You could have fought, fled, asked for my help, I would have come as fast as possible..." Ozpin replied with a low, tired voice.
"I know, you would have run the fastest, flown with the Bull-Head the fastest, but that wouldn't have been enough. Before you even crossed half the distance, my corpse would be cold." Lionheart replied.
"So you chose to jump to the other side." I sang, I was the least affected here, the calmest. "Who scared you so much? Cinder, Tyrian, or was it someone else, perhaps Salem herself?"
Lionheart recoiled at the last name as before; he really was terrified of the woman.
As for who had come here, I had my guesses. Tyrian told me that someone named 'Hazel' had been sent on an important mission in Mistral some time ago, but I didn't know what it was about or why his 'Goddess' hadn't given him this mission.
I knew why now, almost certain that the psychopath would have killed Lionheart, something Salem also knew.
I had no idea who Hazel was, and when I mentioned it to Ozpin, the man said it was someone who should be dead, who had been declared dead years ago, a child who fled after his sister's death.
There was something there, perhaps revenge; Ozpin thought the same, saying it was his fault Hazel's sister, Gretchen Rainart, died, as he was the one who sent her on the mission where she and her team died.
But even if I knew, or at least thought it was Hazel who had come to Lionheart, I wanted his confession. After all, everything was being recorded by the stream.
"No, Cinder came to me afterward, it was another man, Hazel." Lionheart replied almost automatically. "He wants to kill you, Ozpin. Just uttering your name in front of him makes him lose his mind."
"I am aware of that fact. I will face my mistakes, as I have always tried to do." Ozpin was not surprised by the information; it was what we had expected.
"What's the price, Lionheart? What did you have to pay? What was your part in the deal?" I asked in succession, not letting the man think straight. His emotions were more tumultuous than ever at the moment.
Lionheart didn't seem to think much before responding. Frankly, the man seemed broken; of all the emotions emanating from him, shame was only smaller than fear.
"People, they wanted me to send Huntresses and Huntsmen on armed missions for Hazel and someone else I didn't know." That was the response I received.
The peak of anger that emanated from me was minuscule compared to Ozpin, who struck Lionheart in the chest with his cane, sending the man flying almost to the wall.
I prevented the impact by holding the man with my black hands, the Bone Helm appearing quickly on my face. It was better to avoid too much noise; a commotion would be something to be avoided here.
"How... How could you?!" Ozpin snarled. Anger and sadness combined in his emotions. "... How many? How many died because of you?" Ozpin asked with deceptively calm voice.
"Not... You're going to kill me..." Lionheart coughed, trying to break free in vain. I tightened my grip on the hands holding his body.
"How many?" I asked, my voice echoing with nightmare energy.
"How many, Leo, answer the question." Ozpin asked again.
Lionheart didn't respond, writhing with a furrowed brow.
"The whispers will stop if you answer." My voice echoed. "Tell me, how many died because of your actions?"
The fear of death moved the man, Lionheart remained silent even as I bathed his side of the room with nightmare energy, energy that I pulled back when Ozpin's Scroll rang.
"It's Qrow." He spoke when I looked in his direction. "I'll put it on speaker."
"Ozpin, it's everyone!" Qrow shouted and growled angrily at the same time. "Winter told me what's going on, I tried to contact some of my acquaintances in Mistral, none of them answered!"
"How many contacts do you have?" Ozpin closed his eyes and sighed.
"Fourteen, Glynda tried some contacts too, five more. At least nineteen, probably many more... DAMN! HOW DID WE NOT NOTICE THIS SHIT?!"
Nineteen didn't seem like a big number to me, but these were not students, but rather trained Huntresses and Huntsmen, the cream of the crop, all killed by a traitor.
And that's not even taking into account that it was only Qrow and Glynda's contacts; how many more did they not know? How many more had died because of the cowardice of one man?
"Being afraid is not a sin..." My voice echoed with anger.
"Not wanting to die is not a sin..." The shadows writhed, I contained my eyes on them.
My eyes glowed orange beneath the Bone Helm; I could see the reflection in Lionheart's fearful, shrunken pupils.
"But sending men and women into traps... To death, is a sin..." My voice echoed with whispers; Lionheart barely seemed able to stay awake as I withdrew my aggression.
"But your punishment is not for me to decide." I closed my eyes and sighed. It was not my place to judge or give punishment. I was a stranger, whether in Mistral or Remnant.
The right thing here would be to take Lionheart to be judged, with a judge, a jury, and then when his punishment was pronounced, to an executioner.
Killing Lionheart here would also bring unnecessary problems, even with the evidence we had in hand; it would cause waves, the death of a headmaster, for treason on top of it? The problem would be colossal...
"What is the punishment for such crimes?" I asked.
... But neither I nor Ozpin cared about that at the moment.
Let the stream be the jury, I will be the executioner; we had someone greater than a judge in the room.
"What is the punishment for Lionheart's crimes... King Oz?"
A king would always be a king. Ozpin looked tired, old, but when he straightened his back, the aura around him was regal.
"For the crimes of treason, murder, accessory to murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and many more crimes against the great kingdom of Mistral and its citizens, I, King Oz of Vale, sentence you, Leonardo Lionheart..."
Ozpin's voice did not tremble, his emotions did. Sadness, melancholy, and anguish.
"... To death."
[...]---[...]
Well, regarding the chapter, I delved a bit deeper into some things about Ozpin, some thoughts from Devas, and how he behaves, as well as Mystia.
I liked her character, I should bring her back in the future, probably in an Omake in the next chapters, where I'll describe what she 'saw' when she uses her Semblance, whether in Ozpin or in Devas.
Well, as for Jinn. She was supposed to appear in this chapter, but I had to push that back due to Lionheart and everything else, crimes, punishments, and all that will happen.
As for Devas. His Semblance will show up soon, it's something you'll probably like, or maybe not, I liked it and it's not something overpowered and idiotic, at least not at first...
Finally, have a good night and happy reading!