Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

Chapter 316 The moment of truth (2)

"Fay, dearest, I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to step into the starlight plain. Not when it was designed to keep your kind away."

This was the one topic that I feared tackling ever since I realized a time would come when it would surface.

But there was absolutely no way for me to let Fay step anywhere close to the starlight plain. Not after I myself deduced that it was designed to keep her kind away, striking at the very core weakness of it.

Looking at Fay's face, I could see how it went from shock, turned into a milder surprise only to then explode in anger as she came to the exact same conclusion as I did.

Yet, while I knew there was no way for me to let Fay come with me… Fay couldn't even imagine a scenario where she would allow me to go there without her.

"No."

Rather than coming up with long, logical, or even purely emotional arguments, Fay simply took a step back and crossed her hands over her chest, looking at me while openly denying my decision.

"Fay…"

"No," Fay repeated herself while shaking her head. "There's no way I'm going to let you go to that plain alone. And while it might be true I cannot cross the plain… But doesn't it also mean I'm more than suitable to cross the misty valley instead?"

By now, Makary was already pricking his ears to ensure he would commit every single name and location he heard to his memory so that he could later find out its meaning or coordinates.

His officers didn't seem to mind the exchange all that much, taking it for what it really was - a god-sent break for their minds exhausted from all the thinking and working they did in the last few hours.

But when it came to me and Fay…

"First, I've already asked around. The lands that the princess wants us to open a trading route to lay to the north rather than the south. All on its own, it wouldn't be enough for me to pick the path, though. Fay, listen…"

I took a deep breath, calculating what and exactly how I was supposed to say to her, not to reveal too much to the others in the area.

"Do you remember how I've got my ability to open the first stable gate?"

"Yeah," Fay nodded her head while already squinting her eyes. "You…" she opened up her mouth again, only to cut her words short as she glanced to the side before turning her eyes back to me and nodding her head again, "Yeah."

I took a deep breath to artificially slow down the train of my thoughts.

"It's pretty much the same right now.

And while I already figured out that both the misty valley and the starlight plain are pretty much the same with the sole difference of the mist acting as the conductor for whatever force reins all the invaders in… It's the starlight plain that I need to explore if I want to get any further benefits the likes of that stable gate," I breathed out, "not the misty valley."

In theory, whether it was the plain or the valley, my system both recognized them as just parts of the greater whole. To a degree, I even started to believe that if someone were to cut this entire forest down, then the two parts of the starlight plain would reunite, with the forest area turning into yet another part of land infested by this torturous light.

"I don't care," Fay simply shook her shoulders. "On this point, I'm with Makary," she then stated, sparing the man just a quick glance. "I won't let you go to such a dangerous place without someone to keep you safe."

Fay breathed in… and then breathed out, with her entire body slumping down as if whatever force she used to hold it up had just vanished.

"Dear, please… Even your actual safety aside, are you really going to make me spend so much time… all alone?"

Fay's voice in combination with the state of her soul both made me realize that it wasn't a threat… but a desperate plead.

She wasn't telling me that "I will see what happens if she gets lonely without me by her side". She was pleading with me to realize "how she's going to feel when deprived of my presence."

This realization was one of extreme contrast. Because from one side, that only made me realize just how hard it would be to push this point through… But at the same time, it served to once again reinforce my own perception of just how much Fay valued me.

'Damn, it's hard to deny her when she's making me feel needed like that.'

I gathered all the mental strength and resolve that I could muster, getting myself ready for yet another push with tiny hopes of changing Fay's mind.

"I…"

"If you can't go, we can send Loraz with him," Madam spoke as suddenly as she appeared on the scene, simply walking out from between the trees only to then casually sit down at one of the free seats surrounding the huge, planner's table. Read exclusive chapters at empire

"Wasn't he crippled?" I asked without even thinking about it, perfectly aware that I was arguing against a potential solution with some actual hopes of pacifying Fay's doubts. "I mean, I know how it sounds for me to bring it up, but…"

I turned my eyes over to Fay.

If we were looking for some solutions to the current problem, I wasn't going to vote for it unless I actually agreed with it. Doing otherwise would only serve to betray the faith Fay had in me, as it would be no different from me cheating to get my way.

"He's crippled, that's for sure," Madam nodded her head before putting on a small smirk on her mouth. "This also connects to the topic that I failed to bring up during our earlier talk," she mentioned with her smile only growing wider and wider. "And it's how the forest folk advance through the ranks. And from what I can tell, it's a different process to how humans advance."

All of a sudden, my conflict of opinions with Fay moved to the second plan, with Madam's revelation instantly taking over everyone's attention. Even Makary who had no direct relation to aura and matters related to it appeared to be quite interested in the topic Madam brought up.

"You see, every celestial and every divine is born with a set of seemingly random conditions. And the reason why I had a falling out with Loraz… Was exactly because of his promoted ascender condition. In short, he had to both be recognized and recognize himself as the strongest in the clan for his true power to activate.

And while he advanced to the promoted ascender level when he first fulfilled it, ever since I revealed my full strength…"

Madam didn't really need to explain any further. Just a quick trip down memory lane was enough for quite a lot of things that the two of them said during their bloody encounter to finally click.

'So he banished her to remain the most powerful when she reached a level close to threatening his position. And judging by how pressed he was to defend this forest, there's a chance he did it out of a sense of duty rather than a greedy desire for more strength and higher position…' I thought, trying to take all the possibilities into account.

"Okay, I get it," I spoke out before Madam could get even further into the details of the situation, details I wasn't sure I wanted Makary to know yet. "But doesn't that mean that he's not only physically crippled but also lost access to his greatest source of power?" I asked, inferring my deduction from what Madam said thus far.

"Sir, a second," right as Madam was about to answer, one of Makary's men snuck through the back of the area and approached the man while already showing a sealed letter into the man's hand.

"That's true. His balls are as crushed as they were when I stomped down on them," Madam lowered her head in a nod, paying only a single glance of attention to the small commotion to the side of the table. "But you appear to miss the one, extremely important detail in this specific situation."

Madam smiled before leaning back in her chair and crossing her hands over her chest with a confident look in her eyes.

"He has to be the strongest in the whole area. And unless you reveal your true strength, something I'm led to believe you would rather avoid, then he should regain a lion's share of his greatest power the very moment you guys step into the starlight plain."

I squinted my eyes, taking a moment to process what Madam said.

'Wasn't his requirement about being the strongest in the clan? If so, what does location…'

My face froze when the realization struck me.

'The strongest of his clan… in the entire region. And this forest is so damn different from the starlight plain, even my system recognizes it as a separate area!'

Now, everything clicked.

The potential reasons why Madam could want to have her ex-husband take part in our harsh expedition ranged from how he was perfectly suited for traversing the starlight plain all the way to how she could want him to score up some accomplishment.

With enough merits, his name could be cleared of the sin of his betrayal, opening up a way for him to reunite with Madam, someone who was bound by fate never to have a different lover.

Then came the aspect of Loraz's power which, after experiencing it with my own two eyes, I could easily vouch for. Ultimately, as a figure Fay was aware of, he would be much easier for her to accept as my protector than any random divine we could find in the forest!

"I'm sorry, but I will have to stop you all right here," Makary suddenly joined the discussion, forcing his way into it while raising his eyes from the letter that he already opened and scanned the content of. "Whatever we will do with the princess's request will have to wait.

For now, though, I need you to take a look at this," he stated, only to push the opened letter across the table, throwing it so perfectly it lost all its momentum and stopped a mere inch away from my hands.

Looking down, I glanced at the letter's content, quickly realizing it was a relatively usual report of how the affairs were going back on the other side of the gate. And from the looks of things…

"The city hall decided to open an investigation into the group. The magistrate's decision comes into effect starting tomorrow."

From the looks of things, the matter of Etaria's request was merely half of our problems, with the other half already putting a huge wrench into our plans back on earth!