Not (Just) A Mage Lord Isekai
Chapter 108 - Overstepping

With Inertia helping to fit Fang's Forgeheart back in place, I made my way to Keeper with Tamrie in tow, as she caught me up on what I'd missed.

Not much, thankfully. We'd been gone for most of the daylight hours, but nothing had gone wrong while we'd dealt with Conflict and its minions.

When we reached the room where Keeper was kept, Tamrie hesitated.

"What is it?"

"There is… one other matter," Tamrie said, pulling at the edge of her dress.

"What matter?"

"Ah, back home, it were customary for the Magus to have an escort during the festival. I was… I thought, as I'm your assistant and all, I thought we could attend together," Tamrie said, blowing the loose strand of her hair upward. "Then you wouldn't have to fend off all the other offers you've been receiving."

"Other… offers…" I repeated. Then I shook my head. "You know what, that's a good idea. But… uh…"

"Aye, Perry?" Tamrie asked distractedly, smiling as she pulled out her pencil and started aggressively crossing out entire pages of notes.

"Uh… what are… you know what, doesn't matter. And tell me if this is over the line, but if you're going to be my escort, shouldn't you have a better dress for the occasion?" I asked, gesturing to the rather threadbare dress she was wearing.

Tamrie suddenly stopped, turning away as she tugged at the edge of her dress. "Uh, I’ve been meaning to… that is to say… I've been saving, but I-"

Realizing what was probably bugging her, I cut her off. "Oh, I'm not expecting you to pay. It can come out of my clothing budget. Don't know why Calbern wanted to put so much towards it in the first place. We should’ve already allocated some to you. Get yourself something nice," I said, tapping my chin. "Preferably something that matches my colors. You'd look good in blue, I think."

"You're gonna give a girl the wrong idea," Tamrie said with a huff, glaring up at me as she pushed the errant lock of hair out of her eyes.

"That I appreciate her hard work and think she deserves to look nice?" I asked, confused. Honestly, everyone deserved to look nice. I wondered if we could get something like that done without having to assign a budget.

She sighed, a long drawn out sound. Then she started scribbling with her pencil once more. "Least here I can get it made to fit. Having so many skilled weavers around is right welcome."

"Good. Was there anything else? I'd like to talk to Keeper before Bevel's lessons. I mean, I know she's been busy, but just in case…" I trailed off with a shrug.

"Ah. Speaking of the little one, she was asking for you this morning. She told me not to bother you, and didn't have a message, but she did come by," Tamrie said, tucking that strand of loose hair back, only for it to slip free again immediately.

"Really?" I asked, almost forgetting about the reason I'd come, about to set off back down the stairs. Then I collected myself, clearing my throat. "Well, I'll make sure to check on her when we're done here."

Tamrie kindly didn't say anything, though I did catch the twitch of her lips. "I'm sure the little one would appreciate it."

I turned back towards Keeper's room as Tamrie prepared to descend. It was surprising how much I'd come to rely on her already. It was a little weird to keep her from Keeper at this point. Before I realized I was speaking, I called out, "Actually, Tamrie."

She paused turning back towards me, "Perry?"

"You wanna come in with me? To visit Keeper?"

"The knowledge demon?" Tamrie asked, her face going pale.

"Sorry. You don't have to, I just…" I honestly didn't know why I'd asked her. It had just felt like if she was going to be my assistant… well, I trusted her, and having her around when I talked to Keeper felt like it might be a good idea for…

It felt an awful lot like I was making up reasons when I didn’t need to.

"No, it's… aye, I'll join you," Tamrie said, marching up beside me, her back nearly as straight as Calbern's. "Well, let's get it drowned already."

"Right," I said, smiling as I triggered the door, revealing Keeper.

Tamrie gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. But before I could reassure her, she stepped forward, taking several long strides directly towards where it sat against the back wall.

"Ah, young omnivore, you return," Keeper said as it broke away. Then it tilted its head to the side, its tongue flicking out to taste the air. "And you have met one of my brothers. An ill fit match to the flame."

Then his gaze shifted to Tamrie. It was surprising, since Keeper hadn't acknowledged most people who'd come in before I'd sealed it off. "Ah, I see you bring another young omnivore to feast."

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"Ain't no eating me today, demon," Tamrie said, holding her pencil towards it like it was a sword.

A grating rumble emerged from Keeper's throat as it took a step forward, its twisted laughter filling the room as it cracked free from its nook. "Young omnivore, you are here to partake in the feast, not to become part of it."

Tamrie took a half-step back in the face of Keeper's laughing advance, but then marshaled herself, glaring at it, hands on her hips.

Fighting down my own smile, I stepped up next to her. "That's exactly what I had in mind," I said, drawing Keeper's violet eyes back to me. "There are a lot of things we need to talk about. Your brother Conflict for example. What can you tell me about his trials?"

"Ah, much and little, for his is a feast that one must face themselves," Keeper said, shifting in place. "Yet I have suped from records of those who have faced his trials in the past."

"And how much for those records?"

"A single shard from my debt shall suffice," Keeper replied.

"Ha," Tamrie snorted, crossing her arms.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Just how many of those records just say the same thing over and over?"

"Most, young omnivore," Keeper admitted without shame. "Though the flavors are quite diverse."

"Can I just get three of the best? There's lots of other stuff I wanted to ask about anyway," I said, glancing towards Tamrie. While she'd been a bit hesitant at first, now that she was here, she didn't seem much more intimidated by Keeper than she was by Calbern. Then again, she was clutching her pencil tight enough I was afraid she might snap it.

Moving on, I requested the designs for a filter for both hydrogen and helium, though not by those names. I didn't need a full spell, which lowered the cost by a significant amount. Even after asking Keeper all my questions, we only spent a single shard.

Tamrie had grabbed the stack of books before I could store them, and was already flipping through the first about the trials. I grabbed the second. It seemed Conflict’s trials consisted of two parts.

This is not what I was promised, when we came here. We were supposed to forge our mettle, it said. Not actual metal. What use do I have for a Rifting sword of all things? A properly assembled Depths rod is far more deadly, and an appropriate weapon for a Magus besides.

And then it expected me to wield it. Against one of its Rifting machines. Without using my magic.

What sort of test was that?

I’ll be giving the headmaster an earful, you can count on that.

"Nice to have new books," Tamrie said, sniffing at the freshly bound guide before placing it back on the pile while Keeper shifted back into its dormant state. “Hard to get out here.”

"Did you want more to read? I have a lot tucked away. Probably enough to keep you busy for years. Hundreds of books on demand," I said, tapping at my forehead as I moved to the door. "Can just print them out as you need them. You just let me… Tamrie?"

Tamrie had stopped a few steps behind me, still inside the chamber. She was staring at me, a giant grin slowly crawling its way across her face.

"Knew I landed the right job," Tamrie said as she walked up next to me, then hooked her arm in mine while managing to balance the stack of books in her other. "Come on, Perry."

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. A love of books was something I could understand.

After reminding me to take some actual time off, Tamrie took her own advice, requisitioning one of the books I'd offered her. I chose one of Perth's old favorites for her, an adventure story that also had a fun romance subplot. At least, Perth had thought it had been fun. Wasn't like I’d ever read that sort of thing but it seemed like something Tamrie might enjoy.

Once she was on the way, I checked the galleon, to make sure Bevel wasn't waiting for me there. With no sign of her I would've normally just thought she was busy. But since Tamrie said she'd asked for me, I got directions from one of the Tethered to her and Keria's new home.

He was surprisingly excited to escort me to the wooden platform. Was also excited to tell me how great a job I was doing. And excited to tell me how much he was looking forward to having little ones swinging around the nets again.

As he left, I turned back to inspect the platform. Couldn't help but notice it didn't share a walkway with any of the other homes on the upper level. And unlike most of the front facing parts of each building, that were clearly made from repurposed ships, this one looked to be assembled from stone and driftwood. Very ancient and bleached driftwood. Specially selected driftwood too, since, despite the chaotic nature of each piece, even the door fit so well that I couldn't spot any gaps. That was with Eagle Eyes active.

Which, I supposed, I didn't really need at the moment.

Chuckling, I raised my hand and knocked at the door.

A crash from the other side caused me to wince. Nearly instantly, a voice called out, "Coming, I'm coming."

Seconds later, a stone faced Keria greeted me. The neutral expression melted into a smile when she saw me. "Magus Dominus, welcome. What can I do for you?"

"Was actually wondering if Bevel was home?" I replied, unable to help myself as my eyes flicked inwards. The room extended back two dozen feet before reaching the back wall. All about the room, furniture and clothes were scattered. Not too different to the sort of mess Bevel made when she'd been staying with us.

"She is," Keria said, her smile fading somewhat as she pulled at the Tethered frock she was wearing. A reminder that I wanted to see if we could improve everyone’s clothing situation.

"Don't suppose I could come in and see her? We haven't had lessons is several days," I said, giving her my best smile.

Keria stared blankly at me for several seconds.

"Keria?" I asked.

"I… of course, Magus, one moment," Keria said. Then she slammed the door in my face.

Not how I'd pictured my visit going. Not that I'd had a solid image when I'd come up in the first place. Turning back to look over Tetherfall, I wondered if I should've even stopped by. Yeah, should've sent a messenger. It was clear Keria took my position seriously. More seriously than any other Tethered, at least.

Just as I was about to set out, and try to talk to Bevel in the morning, Keria pulled the door open once more. She'd changed out of the smock into a short skirt and a light blouse of cotton. It was a startling change. It wasn't the only thing that'd changed. The scattered clothing I'd spotted had been put away, and the furniture had been righted.

Ah. She'd been embarrassed.

"Please, come in," Keria said, curtsying as she pulled the door wide.

"Thank you," I said, still not spotting Bevel. "Where is…"

"Perry!" Bevel called, dropping on me, her arms wrapped around my neck as she ambushed me from above.

"Bevel!" Keria screamed, her voice rattling the entrance with its volume.

She was reaching to pull Bevel away, but I didn't notice as I spun the kid in my arms, turning her ambush into a hug. "Hey kid," I said, returning the affection. "Missed you."

More than I'd realized too. Even as she squealed, I practically squeezed the life out of her. Was possible I'd come to think of her as more than just an apprentice. I cleared my throat as I set her down, unable to ignore the feeling of Keria's eyes boring into me.

Guess I'd overstepped a bit.

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