On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Five Hundred And Twenty-Three

“I still haven’t agreed to anything! Are you listening to me? Shit, I’m not a child!” Adelheid was fuming next to me in the back seat of the rather luxurious four-wheel drive car we were in. On my other side sat Karl, who was accompanying us as Adelheid’s chaperone, in a way, and I was amused by his genuine respect and affection towards the fiery girl.

Towards the front sat the siblings, while the driver and the vehicle was one Sir Arthur had arranged for us, as he had connections all throughout Europe, and we didn’t want to discuss anything secret in an ordinary taxi, but time was precious, so even the journey to the embassy could be used productively.

“Really? You asked for a fight, I gave you one. I thought it was all settled?” I said, feigning surprise. It was impossible not to tease her, as her reactions were so explosive, and with her adorable appearance, the gap was intense.

“Settled? Shit. Crap.” She swore again, and I now knew why everyone always joked German was the best language to swear in, as the curses were guttural and intense.

“Okay, enough joking.” I promised. “Look, what do you have to lose? You’ll be safer working with us, and you’ll also benefit.”

“I don’t want to move abroad!” she complained. “I don’t even speak the language.”

“That’s easily rectified, as you told me when I mentioned my German. Learn English at least, Adelheid.” I didn’t call her Tanya this time was the topic was serious. “I don’t mind tutoring you.” She rolled her eyes at that, and as I was about to continue, Karl spoke up.

“While we will miss you, our Geist, we also pray for your safety. Us Godless, wretched men and women, who drift through life here on the bitter streets of Luisenstadt, found new faith in the Furies you serve. Anger at our weakness, jealousy over our lives, and avenging our sins. You were never meant to remain in such a small place. You have been chosen.”

Adelheid made a sour face, and I cajoled her. “It’s not a permanent move. Once matters are secure, I’ll need a representative for Germany, just like I have for Britain and South Korea. And if we can find an area with suitable elements, we can set up a Ring Gate, and I can travel between easily then.” South Korea comes first though. But each additional Gate in the Hub uses up more of the earth element around Shirohebizumi. We can certainly handle a few more, especially with Shiro’s buffs on the Tree, but… I still like to be sparing. There’s the security risk until we upgrade the Territory to Rank four and get the Anchor Spire that allows us to modify the barriers as well…

“Stop treating me as a child, or else…” Her expression changed to a childish, adorable one. “…I’ll start talking like this, mister, and everyone will think you’re a pervert kidnapping me!” Her singsong, teasing tone made me laugh.

“Yeah, please don’t do that, my reputation is bad enough.” I shook my head. “You know, I don’t think I’m offering a bad deal. And like I said, I’m prepared to listen to reasonable conditions.”

Seeing I was earnest, she gnawed on her lip again, falling silent, and I turned to Karl. “So, I’m curious, You say you were a businessman before. What industry?”

“Pharmaceuticals. In fact, I was the President and major shareholder in a company renowned worldwide, that I daresay even you have heard of. It was… quite the scandal.” Karl seemed downheartened and guilty, yet his smile never faded. “Greed is a terrible poison. When one has wealth and power, only the desire for more remains. And cutting corners, making poor choices…” He looked at me seriously then, and Adelheid was listening closely too. “…I hope you understand the wisdom of knowing your limits.”

I nodded. “Yeah. As long as my family and friends have a good life, that’s enough for me. Though sadly we do need to gather wealth for a legitimate reason, to benefit everyone. Anyway… pharmaceuticals, huh?” That was an area Ixitt had a passing interest in, after all, Alchemy lent itself to such as one of its facets, but was hardly a focus. Yeah, there’s an idea…

Back in the Boundary in Japan, Hyacinth was serving us some cold drinks. I was sweating profusely, the pain from the Berserk Blessing I was taking from Asha’s Tree shockingly intense, though every so often my Resilience increased, which helped my motivation. That and the extra ether, of course. Daiyu was also here, alongside her Korean disciple Kim Eui, and they were Qi Refining steadily due to the higher ether density. Suk-ja was here as well, and she was squeezing out every last Winged Diamond, breaking them down as she had been taught, and feeding the crystal element into bluesteel batteries.

“Hyacinth, a question? Oh, I guess this is to you as well, Daiyu.” At my words Daiyu opened her onyx eyes from where she was sitting under the shade of Asha’s Tree and looked at me seriously.

“Gooo on. Ask away.” Hyacinth said eagerly, and I mentioned the Faerie Dew that Selensha had been drinking to replenish herself during the Trial of Three where we first met. Hyacinth made a face at that, and nodded, pursing her lips.

“Yes, Faerie Dew. It can restooore one’s strength. But Hyacinth hates it. Tastes nasty, nooot fit to serve you or the mistresses.”

Daiyu was clever, so immediately understood my angle. “I see. You mean concoctions and restoratives rich in Qi, or aether, I suppose. Perhaps elemental energies?” At my nod, she continued. “Rare herbs such as ancient ginseng are flush with strengthening Qi. If Refined into potions, pills or even food, then it is greatly nourishing.” She paused for a moment, thinking more deeply. “I believe there are tales of rare jewels and minerals, or even crystallised lightning, which serves the same purpose, though in the modern age, such have almost entirely vanished. If the Incorruptible Jade carried out any from Kunlun, they have long been used up. After all, only a few rare pills and talismans remained to us…”

“I dooo not wish to serve unfitting beverages, but… Hyacinth can make ooone.” she declared, and at my nod, she hustled off to grab the ingredients.

Back in the Material, still in the car, I addressed Karl. “So, pharmaceuticals. That might be a suitable business to start up. It doesn’t conflict with my current plans…”

“If you are seeking my assistance, I have knowledge, but…” Karl’s expression was self-mocking. “…I am no longer allowed to hold high position in any company, nor be involved in any medicinal market. The outcome of the case attracted widespread interest, after all. I was fortunate to escape longer imprisonment.”

Adelheid looked interested at that. Seeing her curiosity, Karl laughed rustily. “I too am a sinner to be judged. But the criminal justice system is not as pure as the judgement of the Furies.”

“You’re not an evil man, Karl.” Adelheid protested. “Not like those perverts and bastards… you helped me, helped others.”

“Of course. I am a repentant man.” Karl agreed.

I’ll need to look into the scandal of course, but… “Expertise would be appreciated, but who knows. It might well be we can make an exception for you. But that’s not up to me. Though I’d like you to meet my fiancée at some point. She handles my business empire. Not now though, we’re on a tight schedule this trip.”

“Which one?” Adelheid said snidely, but her blue eyes were strangely gentle. She’s prickly, but she does seem to care for Karl, I think.

“Hinata. She’s not been on any of my high-profile appearances.” I said self-deprecatingly. “But she’s managing a lot, despite her age. Her family has always been big in business. She’s the granddaughter of the owner of Nichibotsu.”

Adelheid’s eyes widened at that, though she then tried to pretend she wasn’t surprised, which was as a childish an action as her appearance. “At home, our television was Nichibotsu brand…” she admitted, though with the sour twist of her mouth it seemed like she didn’t relish talking about her past.

“The East Asian sphere has a near monopoly on many electronic products.” Karl agreed. “Nichibotsu. I see. You are a man with connections.”

“I have my own sources of income.” I pointed out, not wanting to be seen as a kept man. Not that I should really let things like that embarrass me now. Hinata would say I’d be a fool not to use every tool at my disposal. But as a man, I have my pride. I need to provide for my family, massive as it now is… and certainly some sort of pharmaceutical deal could help. People always need medicine…

“That’s not the point!” Adelheid complained. “Stop distracting me! I said I haven’t agreed, this is kidnapping!”

Karl spoke up for me, his tone gentle. “Now, our Geist, stop being so noisy. You may struggle to trust, but you came willingly. Besides… he asked for your conditions, and you haven’t stated them yet. If you wish, I can propose some that are fair? I am well-versed in contract law.”

Adelheid looked at Karl, surprised, her eyes flashing sullenly. “Fine. I admit I lost. I can’t beat you in a fight. If you came to kill me, I’d be dead… but…” Her tone was defensive. “…I’m no pushover.”

“Don’t act like the offended liver sausage.” Karl chided her, and Adelheid flushed. I cocked my head, understanding all the words but not the meaning, wondering if the German I had learned was insufficient. On seeing my puzzlement, Karl chuckled and spoke in English. “You would say don’t be a sore loser, I believe. It is an idiom.”

“I’m not! I just…” Adelheid scowled, and as the car pulled to a stop outside the Japanese embassy, she swung her legs angrily, almost kicking me. “Fine! We’ll go in and talk!”

Meanwhile, in the Boundary, Hyacinth bustled back, smiling to herself, holding a small glass of vivid orange liquid. My Eye identified it as Faerie Dew, and the description was interesting.

Faerie Dew is a restorative elixir made from a combination of Fae fruits and nectars, with the addition of certain herbs. It can restore a certain amount of Aether to anyone who consumes it, and this variety is also rich in Water Elemental energies. Over time the brew matures, the ingredients releasing more of their true essence, and it absorbs more ambient energies, but the taste becomes correspondingly more vile.

“I dooo not think you should drink it, Akio. It tastes…” Hyacinth pursed her lips. “…most bitter, like brackish salt water ooor mossy mud. But it doooes work.” Her expression went distant, perhaps remembering something. We all waited patiently, and she snapped back into the present, before handing me the vial.

“I see. Well…” I passed it to Daiyu, who let her Qi flow into it, perceiving it. While Qi Perception was for finding other Cultivators and living beings in general, it was also sensitive to aether and other similar energies, and so while it wasn’t exhaustive, she could gather some information. Kim Eui looked on, a little curious, and after a while, Daiyu explained in her rudimentary yet improving English.

“It is… resembles… yes, resembles a refined potion. I think… maybe I could make it. If I had… herbs.”

Damn, language barriers are really a pain. Fae and Yōkai seem to work around it, but if we could make translator rings life would be so much easier… huh, wait a minute. I seemed surprised, so everyone turned to look at me, and I raised a point I hadn’t considered.

“You know how Haru and Tsukiko both now speak fluent Korean, because I can? I’d imagine they suddenly find themselves able to understand German too. It’s obviously because we have a connection via the Throne. After all, how else could I restrict them?” Not that I had, unlike Chen Na, who was bound under the tightest rules by Haru, instead I basically just gave them privileges.

“You are saying that because you are joined in mind and spirit…” Daiyu was back in Chinese now, as she needed to express her thoughts cleanly. “…you need to have an understanding of each other to be so bound? It is often said that without understanding, a dragon has no greater wisdom than a snake. Therefore language is part of this bond?”

“Yeah, I also think it’s how the Fae communicate here in the Boundary.” I remembered one odd event, where Ulfuric was able to talk easily with the Oni Blue, despite them not sharing a common language. At the time I had dismissed it as unimportant, after all, Ulfuric was an important Fae, he might have learned Japanese, which the Hyakki Yagyō spoke… “So… if I could somehow replicate the smallest part of the Throne’s connection, and replicate it in some sort of device, like a small ring or earring…”

“Then you will have to learn many, many languages.” Daiyu suddenly giggled, looking oddly charming. “And to think your time is already so precious. Alas, an Emperor may live in luxury, but the poor man lives more freely.”

I groaned, realising she was right. Unless I could replicate how spiritual beings on the Boundary did it, which I had no clues on, then the translation devices would be linked to me and my understanding of language, so would only work between those languages I knew myself.

Seeing that, Hyacinth patted me on the shoulder gently. “Dooo not worry. Hyacinth is here to console yooou! But befooore that, we were talking about medicines?”

I nodded. Yeah, I’m definitely going to study the Throne after this, but right now we’re thinking about a new business, and also a way to be stronger. “Yes, we were. My biggest weakness is sustain in battle. Now, I have far more aether, elements and other trump cards than I used to, so in ordinary fights I can endure, but against powerful foes, despite having more to call upon, I still run out as I’m burning through resources rapidly. Mana potions are classic, though I suppose I should call them aether potions here. And healing potions would be great too… imagine having portable Ether Healing at high level, even if it wasn’t targeted. But to do so…”

“I see.” Daiyu suddenly had an idea. “Asha, she can enhance and create many strange plants. It is quite beautiful, at times. It reminds me of home…” Daiyu sighed wistfully. Indeed, Asha had created numerous beautiful landscapes around the heart of our Territory. Cherry and other flowering trees grew in groves, and roses and other flowers bloomed, to say nothing of the trees heavy with fruits that all could eat from as they wished. I knew Asha had also replicated the style of Daiyu’s mountainous home in one small corner, and she liked to meditate there when I wasn’t around.

“…she can also use her Inspire Growth.” Daiyu continued. “She never misses a day to minister to her Tree, and the other Rhyming Trees. It is slow, but they grow. Perhaps one day they shall mature.” I nodded at her words, knowing it would be great if the Trees could Rank up, though the effort was a slow and steady process. “Plants with powerful natures are not easy to bring into being or change, else this land would be full of Rhyming Trees. Yet perhaps things such as ginseng and other Cultivation resources could be seeded?”

Yeah, while we have the lands around the Spring too, that Shaeula’s managing, if we wanted to make significant quantities of products, enough to sell, we’d need a huge amount of raw materials. “I’d thought of that too.” I admitted. “I’m loathe to ask her to work so hard while pregnant, but…”

“Asha will looove to do so. The Daughters of reckless Oriooon are ooone with nature. Plants, flowers, trees, herbs, grasses… they looove all such things. Besides… as we all dooo, she wishes to help.” Hyacinth promised. “I will too. Hyacinth is gooooood with nature. You showed me that, that I do nooot only have the power to hurt, to harm.” Reckless? Seeing her gentle, sad smile, I pulled her into a hug, before patting her head. I then did the same to Daiyu, while Suk-ja, still working on her task, looked on with some amusement, and Kim Eui glanced away, snorting.

“In that case, things are fairly calm on the Material right now, at least until tomorrow, so I can dedicate more of my Split Thoughts to here. We might as well do some experimentation. Asha’s taking it easy atop her Tree, so if someone could fetch her?” A maid ran off at my words, and Daiyu spoke up.

“Speaking of tomorrow, your sister is extremely excited. She says she will not be able to sleep until the concert.”

“Yeah, I know she loves idols. But she’s got to go back to Nishimorioka first and pick up Yae and Rika-san, right? She’s got a whole day to go yet. If anyone’s excited, it’s Suzu-san. I know she’s been practising here in the Boundary almost non-stop…”

We chatted until Asha arrived, a warm smile on her face, and we soon put our heads together, trying to come up with what plants Asha should bloom into existence. Back in the Material, other than the wrathful pain I was feeling, as it would soon be time to get Shiro to drop and reapply her Berserk Blessing, and the awkwardness of the difference in time dilation, which I was largely used to, my mind was calm. Though I do admit to some great amusement. If Shiro, or Hayato-kun and the gang were here, they’d be dying with ironic laughter now…

“Marvellous, little Fräulein, you look adorable!” The staffer at the embassy obviously spoke German as well, no embassy would employ staff that didn’t speak the local language. Right now we were taking a picture of Adelheid for her passport documents, and her Ministry registration would be processed as well. There were certainly some issues regarding whether the German government would be happy to see us give dual nationality to a Chosen from their country, but in terms of diplomacy, we could handle it, I was confident.

“Fräulein is offensive!” Adelheid protested, fuming. Regardless, with her hair combed properly, and her face lightly made up, she at least looked a little closer to her actual age. “This isn’t last century! Shit, crap, I hate this!” She turned to Karl for support, only to see his amused smile and curse even louder.

“You should be pleased, our Geist. After all, matters are settled, are they not?”

“Yes, but…” Adelheid squirmed as the picture was taken, her cheeks red. “Look, piss off then! I don’t care. You abandoned me… do whatever the hell you want!”

“Now you don’t mean that.” I pointed out, and she hissed at me like a feral cat. It was too late though, as her photograph had been captured and was displayed on the monitor on the wall, which was also Nichibotsu brand, an irony not lost on her. Soon her documents were being printed, and as the staffer left to deal with the final bits of bureaucracy, Adelheid stalked over and sat down on a seat, crossing her legs, clearly infuriated, but also happy, if I wasn’t mistaken.

“Anyway, you’ll have a substantial salary, accommodation provided, opportunities to train and progress, and you’ll be in charge of the Territory we’ll establish around Luisenstadt at a later stage. And I’ll compensate you with the required ether, and you’ll have support from my forces.” Adelheid’s Territory was only Rank 2, and she had dismantled it, breaking her connection to it now everything was settled, but honestly, if she wasn’t alone and constantly running into trouble, she easily could have been Rank 3 by now. It was as I expected. Rank 3’s were very viable now, it had been over a year in Boundary time since the start of all this, but due to the dangers of upgrading, most would work on bolstering their Rank 2’s as much as they could, rather that chance it, unless they either had a solid alliance, or were in an isolated area. Likely only those with great fortune such as me, or those sponsored by a state are able to push for Rank four though. I’d be surprised if there will be more than two or three a year from now…

“I know all that! I’m not as stupid as you are!” She puffed out her cheeks as she insulted me. “I… okay, fine. It’s not a bad deal, and you don’t seem a bad guy, I suppose I can concede that, but… you’re just so annoying!”

“I’m hurt.” I chuckled. “But anyway, I’ll start teaching you English. With your stats you should be fine.” Now we were at the embassy, I’d given her a brief explanation of how I measured things, and had a glance at her Favour. I couldn’t glean all her details, as she wasn’t bonded to me or one of my Chosen Heroes, but her Divine Favour, the Erinyes’ Triad Of Judgement, was fascinating. Basically, her Jealous Judgement, of Megaera, worked on Karma, and the more sins one had committed, the more the target would be ensnared and slowed down in both movements and thoughts. Unluckily for Adelheid, I was largely immune to it due to my Spiritually Pure Physique, and while my hands were far from clean, even when I was being hard on myself I didn’t think I was an evil man.

Then there was Furious Judge of Alecto, which increased her Might, Fortitude, Alacrity and Precision the more angry she became. That made up for the fact that her Favour didn’t give her a huge Status boost, but was more balanced towards her Aether. Lastly, Tisiphone’s Avenging Judgement was a rebounding effect as I was already aware of thanks to asking Yasaka-san before my visit. It had limits, of course, and didn’t stop Adelheid getting hurt, but when you combined all three aspects of the Favour, it had incredible potential.

“Stop looking at me. I’m not on display!” Adelheid grumbled, and I realised I was lost in thought for a moment, likely due to most of my attention being in the Boundary, where Asha was trying to grow some ginseng to Daiyu’s standards. In addition, Daiyu was also remembering details of various mushrooms and fungus she had seen in her Sect’s scrolls and plates, such as the reishi mushroom. Obviously, ordinary ginseng and mushrooms had no spiritual properties, so a lot of trial and error would be required, but Hyacinth was eager to find mushrooms that did, so she could use her own spores to replicate them as she did the Ring Gates.

“Sorry, you were just surprisingly adorable.” I smiled, amused. The brash girl definitely brought out my urge to tease her, and I’d only known her for a few hours, but I already felt a little protective towards her. Aiko will be annoyed, looks like I’m picking up another little sister. But again, Eri will just laugh and say turnabout is fair…

“Oh shut up. If that’s all you want, I can totally be all cute and polite…” She started elongating her vowels and speaking in a sickly-sweet tone, like a young child. “…but then it’s abuse making me fight, isn’t it?” She tilted her head, and again the comparisons to the famous Tanya were undeniable.

“Honestly, while I do feel very bad about it, we do have one elementary schoolgirl who has fought. Though it’s conducted with extreme safety margins, and only to Level her up, against mindless beasts.” Marika-chan was going home tomorrow. No, due to the time difference, it’s after midnight in Japan now, right? So I guess it’s today. Speaking of…

“Bah.” Adelheid looked like she was going to spit again, but looking at the clean, polished floor, she merely made a sour expression. “It’s a shitty world, where even young girls have to fight. But has it ever been any different? The weak can only blame themselves when they get no justice.”

“True. But I do believe those of us who are strong can and should aid the weak. But better, we can help the weak to be strong.” I agreed.

“Fine. You win this time.” Adelheid snorted. “So, Karl, what are you going to do?”

“Simple.” The man explained. “I will return and we of these streets shall meet and discuss whether we are prepared to work for him.” He nodded at me. “I think the majority will not decline. Then… I shall wait until the time is right.”

“I’ve already started working on plans.” I said, surprising them, which made sense as they didn’t know about my ability to be both Material and Astral at the same time. “But yeah. Hinata will either see you herself or arrange a representative.”

I then turned to the siblings. They were looking far more relaxed now that their main tasks were done. “As for you two…” I switched to English. “…good job. We secured the Favour and our little Tanya here…” Though she didn’t speak English, Adelheid recognised the name, and scowled. “…so you can take some time off for a few days. Then we have more work for you.”

“It’ll be good to take a break and not be bothered by my brother’s idiocy.” Sophia muttered. “I just want to relax and go shopping…”

Constantine took offense to that, complaining that it was ‘his idiocy’ that got them this job, which would pay more than Sophia’s work, and as they bickered, the staffer at the embassy returned with Adelheid’s documents, a set of passports, as well as her Ministry identification card, and a Japanese bank card linked to an account with the ability to make international withdrawals. Adelheid looked at that, oddly amused.

Seeing me looking at her, she flushed again, putting it away in her faded purse, which was a cute design. She glowered at me, blue eyes hard. “What? I don’t have the money to buy anything better.”

“Actually you do.” I chuckled, checking my watch. “We have a few hours before Hinata’s flight arrives, so you need a lot of things for the trip.”

“Trip?” Adelheid asked, and I nodded.

“Yeah, since we have you now, you’ll be an asset at our next destination. After all, nobody expects a cute young girl to be capable of combat, right?” As she protested she wasn’t a young girl I turned to Karl. “I know most German shops aren’t open that late, so do you have any recommendations? Somewhere Adelheid can get some suitable outfits, as well as necessities?”

“I see. What sort of clothes?” Karl asked, with a knowing smile, and I found myself smiling as well.

“Ordinary clothes obviously. But we’ll also need some party dresses too, something suitable for a very distinguished affair.”

As Adelheid gave me a death stare, Karl chuckled. “I see, I see. Our Geist is moving out of the shadows. It just so happens that not everyone has forgotten me, I know some people. Let me make a call.” As he pulled out his phone to make arrangements, he fixed me with a stern glare of his own. “Our meeting has been interesting, Herr Oshiro, and I am extending you the benefit of your reputation and words. Just remember… the Geist is of Luisenstadt now. No matter where she goes, we shall send her our prayers and well-wishes. And while we may be the forgotten, the lost and the reviled, we are also those with little to lose. Do not betray our trust and disappoint us.”

As Adelheid looked away, clearly embarrassed by Karl’s words, I nodded seriously. “Don’t worry, I’m a man of my word. Besides, I’ve already been judged, right?” As I said that to her, the little blonde woman looked away, unwilling to answer, and Karl’s hearty laughter filled the room…