“That far...” Her Holiness breathed.
“Yeah. We want to travel all over the world,” Sharon said, which drew nods of agreement from the rest of her party. L’lyeh looked particularly eager to go there—perhaps out of a Chef’s professional curiosity about the seafood of a famous fishing district.
“What did you have to do in the dungeons of Laureldite?” Her Holiness asked—a natural question.
Sharon didn’t answer, though, instead glancing at the guard and attendant standing behind Her Holiness’s armchair. “Can we have some privacy?”
I could sense the two Paladins in the room tensing. This was the kind of request that guards were trained to be wary of. The fact that Sharon was making such a request suggested that the gift she’d brought was something world-shaking. I felt a headache coming on just trying to imagine the possibilities.
Her Holiness looked puzzled for a moment before schooling her features into those of a Pope. “Leave us, please,” she commanded the guards and priestess.
“If something were to happen—” one of the guards began to protest.
“I will be safe,” Her Holiness said firmly. “No one in this world is stronger than Sharon’s party. Trust me.”
“As you wish, Your Holiness.”
How could the Paladins argue any further when Her Holiness declared her safety with such a confident smile? Besides, they knew full well that even the whole roster of Paladins in the cathedral would not stand a chance against Sharon’s party.
This instance is definitely an exception, but I may need to discuss with the Paladins about standing their ground at times when I am not in the room. An unexpected need to train the Paladins had come up.
Once we were alone in the room, Tarte was the one who broached the topic. “We brought you a purresent, Ti. We all worked together to get it, and we think it will help protect you. We’d like you to have it.”
That was a fantastic gift as far as I was concerned—we could not possibly have too many items that protected Her Holiness. With curiosity, I watched Tarte produce an item from her Bag—a red rock in the shape of a flame. There was no shine to it, but it had a certain presence. Is it some sort of material that can be crafted into an accessory? I guessed.
“This is an item called Wanderlust,” Tarte explained. “When you use it, you and your party members will be transported to the main Transportation Gate of the city you last visited. Well, the entire party is transported to the city last visited by the person who uses it.”
Her Holiness and I were rendered speechless by the unbelievable effect. And I had thought it a mere accessory...
“Where did you get a thing like that...? No, I don’t think I want to know,” I said. Nothing like this had ever been on the market, as far as I knew. Even if it had, I was sure that royalty around the world had managed to keep it to themselves as a national treasure or the like.
Her Holiness carefully took the item and stared at it.
Giving her a concerned look, Tarte began to explain why they’d brought it to us. “We thought about what you went through before, Ti. If something like that ever happens again, you can use this to turn tail and run.”
They wanted Her Holiness to have a means of emergency evacuation. In the past, I had been powerless to protect Her Holiness from grave danger. Never again.
“And...if you use this in a dungeon, it will still bring you back to the city immediately. It’s very useful,” Tarte added.
“To return home, you mean...? Using it like that seems like a terrible waste,” Her Holiness said, and I couldn’t agree more. Not even the greatest fools in this world would waste this item just to quickly return from a dungeon. Something like this had to be reserved for a true life-and-death emergency. That was how valuable an effect like this was.
“You can use it as many times as you want,” Sharon said then. “It’s not consumable.”
“What...?” I found myself speechless again. It isn’t a consumable item...?! That meant the item was far more valuable than any national treasure. There was no other way to describe it than as a precious gift from above.
“I can really reuse it over and over?” Her Holiness whispered.
“You can. We’ve been using it every time we leave a dungeon,” Tarte said.
“Really? I am sorry. It is such an impressive effect that I was a little surprised...” Her Holiness said.
“I know, right? I was very surprised when we first used it,” Tarte laughed.
Surprised? That shouldn’t begin to cover the significance of this item...and that was precisely why I wanted Her Holiness to have one. It would be invaluable if Her Holiness could escape from danger, even on her own. At any cost, we could not lose the Pope.
“Thank you...but I have no idea what I can give you in return,” Her Holiness said.
“We don’t need anything. We’re furiends! That’s why we did this,” Tarte chirped with a smile.
Hearing Tarte’s reason for the gift, Her Holiness smiled and accepted it, tears shimmering in her eyes. I could see how happy it made her that, even when we weren’t in their party, they still considered her a friend. Considering how often Her Holiness is cooped up in Tithia Cathedral, perhaps I could recommend that she go adventure with Sharon every once in a while. That would certainly be a nice change of pace...even if Sharon’s adventures were concerningly brutal.
“I will use it the next time I go out,” Her Holiness promised.
“Purrfect! Oh, you might not want to tell other people about this...” Tarte said, her ears drooping as she explained how it might be difficult for Her Holiness to use Wanderlust casually.
Her Holiness did not have to be told to understand the implications of an item like this.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Of course. Other than myself and Leroy—and perhaps a few of my Paladin guards—no one will ever know about this,” Her Holiness assured them.
“Thank you,” Tarte said.
In the worst-case scenario, if knowledge of an item like this were to leak to another country, it could start a war. I silently vowed to ensure this would stay a tightly sealed secret.
“Tarte, Sharon, Lulu, Cocoa, Kent, thank you for such a wonderful gift.” Her Holiness beamed at her friends.
We enjoyed our tea for a while longer after that, until Sharon’s party eventually left. What a day this has been... “You must be tired, Your Holiness. I shall have your bath drawn early today.”
“Thank you, Leroy.” Her Holiness smiled. “I have a favor to ask.”
I didn’t even need to hear what it was—she wanted to use the Wanderlust. With a chuckle, I said, “Just once. It is not an item to be used recklessly, but we can’t know how exactly it operates if we never use it.”
“Of course! Here we go.” Her Holiness must have been bursting with curiosity because she immediately activated the Wanderlust.
A circle of flame whirled around us. When the fire faded, we found ourselves standing before the Transportation Gate in Zille’s central plaza. It had all happened so quickly that I hadn’t even blinked. I could barely comprehend what had happened. Apparently, Wanderlust was an even more exceptional item than I had expected.
“Your Holiness.” I quickly pulled out a coat I kept in my Bag for this very purpose and helped Her Holiness put it on, pulling the hood down over her head. Now no one would recognize her as the Pope. I always carried anything Her Holiness might require in the event of an impromptu outing or emergency, including this coat.
“That was a bit reckless, wasn’t it? Thank you, Leroy.”
“No, no,” I reassured her. Curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she hadn’t thought of what to do once we’d been transported here. That was my job, though—Her Holiness was free to do as she pleased. I reached out a hand to her. “Shall we go home?”
“Yes.”
As we walked back to Tithia Cathedral, I listened to Her Holiness passionately tell me how much she would like to go on another adventure.