Chapter 26
The instance had been a bust. Even with the key out and taking control of the instance, there was nothing that so much as reacted to the key or a small hole for it. Though I did end up sticking the key in more than a few cracks that didn’t work.
At the very least, Circe had helped me stay… entertained through it all.
I flipped the key end over end in the air as I lay in a bed in Circe's palace. I ran through one question in my head: ‘If I were a paranoid old leech, where would I put my treasure?’ I spun through different ideas, unsure which might lead me closer to the answer.
The key itself thrummed with dozens of enchantments.
As I picked them apart, there were parts I had identified that worked in my favor.
One, the key had an enchantment that helped it sense blood, and being of the Heros Clan gave me access to use it.
The leech had put some of his own blood into the clan.
It was what gave the Heros Clan their varied bloodlines.
Second, the key was protected in dozens of ways someone might try to find it.
I wondered if, after Sun Wukong collected it, the leech had regretted making it so hard to locate.
And finally, no one was going to destroy this key.
It might be one of the most durable items I had ever seen.
However, all that information did very little to pinpoint exactly where he would have put his vault. Our scan inside the instance hadn't revealed anything, besides Circe becoming nostalgic, and the two of us spending some time that was at least guaranteed to be private.
"Need to go back into the instance and check again?" Circe asked, peeking her head around my shoulder as her sheet fell to tempt me yet again.
"Where do you think he would hide a vault?" I asked.
Circe rolled her eyes, grabbed a rockie-talkie, and squeezed it. "Bring in the books."
The three golden maids, wearing togas the same color as their namesake, strolled in with an armload of books each, setting them down on the table next to Circe.
"These are all the records we have with any reference to our ancestor," Circe said, pointing at them. Several bookmarked tabs stuck out in every direction. "They tabbed them so you wouldn't have to spend too much time going through them."
The way Circe smiled told me she was expecting to be rewarded for her work.
I rubbed the top of her head and kissed it before turning to the three women, doing my best to act like I hadn't forgotten them. "And thank you. She certainly doesn't get to take all the credit," I said, smirking, making Circe pout in response.
"What if I wanted all the credit?" she demanded.
"Then you should have at least pretended you got the books yourself," I teased her.
Circe wasn't really upset, but she was being a little more competitive for my attention.
"Is there anything else you need, Lord Bran?" the golden maids asked, doing their best to look enticing.
I paused and shook my head. "No, thank you for the books. Is there any place you'd recommend I start from what you read?"
"There are two references to the ancestor being a hoarder," one said, shuffling the books and putting two on top. "Contextually, it's hard to know exactly where he was in that period." She gave a small smile, as if she wished she had better news.
"Well, something is certainly better than nothing. I'm sure Circe will love reading through these to find the answer," I replied.
Circe gasped and put a hand to her chest. "Me?"
I tried and failed to hide my smirk at her predictable reaction.
"Funny," she said with a pout. "I'll remember that for later."
"Oh, please do," I said quickly. "Can I take these books with me?" I asked the sisters, and they gave each other a look before shrugging.
"You weren't expressly forbidden from having them," Myra said.
There was something in the way she said the statement that seemed like she might even be working within her limits to help me.
But I was more interested in moving forward than arguing semantics, especially with the Heros Clan already subdued.
I just needed to avoid upsetting Zeus for a little longer. Though I didn’t think I needed to take these out of the clan. Because they and Circe would most likely be the ones to do most of the reading.
"Well, I should get back to the Amazon, lest Eve think I've forgotten about her," I said, unable to hide my smirk.
The three women frowned. "You won't be staying longer?" Kyra asked, the question slipping out with a small hint of disappointment, only for one of the others to nudge her sharply in the ribs. "I mean, of course, you're a busy man, Lord Bran, and we'd never presume to take up more of your time."
I paused, staring at the three of them. "If you can help Circe dig into this, it would be an enormous help," I said, knowing that giving them something to do would satisfy them, at least if I understood them half as well as I thought I did.
"Of course, Lord Bran," Myra said and grabbed Kyra by the head, forcing her to bow as well. "Yes, of course."
Fyra, who'd been quiet through most of the discussion, dipped her head, too. "We are here to serve, Lord Bran. If you have need of us, please call."
"Right now, the most important thing you can do for me is find that vault.
I genuinely have no idea what's in it. However, if it belonged to the ancestor of the Heros Clan, there's a good chance there are things valuable enough to affect the state of the world.
" They took my words with a grave expression, undoubtedly understanding that things were far from peaceful, and we all had a duty to deal with the Demon Lord and his armies.
"And are you going back?" Circe asked, her brows pinching down with an unasked question.
"Merlin's going to come and get me," I confirmed, and her brows pinched further.
"Of course she is," Circe said, sounding disappointed and like it had been the obvious answer.
"Later today," I added quickly. "And besides, you've had me all to yourself for a while." I narrowed my eyes towards her.
"No jealousy. I would never consider having any." Circe crossed her arms and refused to meet my gaze. I gave a knowing look to the other three women in the room.
"If you'll excuse me, I believe I have some making up to do before I get a chance to look through the books. Come back later. I'm sure Circe would welcome the company," I told them.
The woman looked incredibly disappointed with me, but I'd have to solve that very slowly and firmly over the next few hours.
***
"Are we really bringing all of them?" Merlin asked, looking around at the party of Mul Branova I had prepared to bring with us to the Amazon.
Circe had helped me clear my head, and with that clarity, I understood a few things that needed to be done.
After the damage we'd done in the city, I was feeling like it would probably be best to put a stabilizing force there, at least for the time being.
But even if it was for the best, I wasn't entirely sure how well bringing a small army in would be received.
That would be a problem for Amanda and Jenny to work out.
They were adept at handling whatever we threw their way.
About fifty Mul Branova, decked out in their robes, stood ready to join us on our next trip.
Simone wouldn't be coming, much to her own disappointment.
We all knew she was simply too important, with what she worked on here, to go gallivanting off to the other side of the world.
I was sure she'd do her best to make me regret not bringing her, but I was also going to enjoy that process in my own way.
"Are you certain this is wise?" Merlin asked one more time, with a pair of pleading eyes, as if asking me not to do this to her.
"It is. If it makes you feel better, you can have Venthra be the one to introduce them to the nuns. I need to go get some facetime with Eve."
Merlin smiled, and shadows engulfed me and spat me out in the First Garden before she could say anything more.
***
Venthra narrowed her eyes at the small army of women dressed like nuns—although the dress was closer to what would be worn at a scandalous college party rather than an actual convent.
"You realize they're going to think this is a mockery," Venthra groaned.
Merlin held her hands up helplessly, gesturing to Jenny for help.
"It's Lord Bran's request," Jenny said, dipping herself low enough that Venthra could see right down the barely-there dress.
Venthra pressed two fingers to the bridge of her nose. "Fine. Just don't do that." She waved at her. "You're not here to get Bran all hot and bothered. For Simone's sake, you're here to kill demons."
"With sex appeal," one of the other Mul Branova added, and Venthra turned to Merlin, hoping she would also be exasperated.
But Merlin looked completely unperturbed, as if there was no reason she should look otherwise.
Then again, these women had all drunk the Kool-Aid at this point.
It drove Venthra insane, because somehow watching all these followers being so sure in Bran made her want to feel the same.
Yet, she’d blindly trusted her father in the past, and that didn’t turn out well.
No, she fought at the desire to fall in with the Mul Branova and the rest of Bran’s harem.
There had to be something wrong with it all.
Venthra groaned internally. The longer she stayed with everyone, the more certain she became that she was slowly but surely going insane.
"Right," she said flatly. "Well then, I hope we can do this without upsetting them too much."
"Sure." One of the Mul Branova shrugged. "As long as we don't run into any demons, we'll get along with everyone."
"And if there is a demon?" Venthra asked.