The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Chapter 850 850: Two Birds, One Stone

As Noble neared the gate, one noticeable signature was absent. Praised was not in her usual spot.

The young person at the gate looked at her identification and waved her through without any commentary.

"Does Praised no longer work here?" Noble couldn't help but ask as she passed into the compound.

"I've no idea," came the response. "The last thing she said before she left was 'promotions aren't always earned, but they are often regretted.' I wish I knew if she was talking about herself or me…"

Noble nodded, walking away with a sad smile.

'Poor gatekeeper.' The professor had been on the receiving end of too many of those cryptic statements.

However, the lack of one now made Noble almost as sad as if she had gotten news of gloom and doom.

'Guess I can't be satisfied.' Noble shrugged.

The NQSC had not gotten the same storm as Ravenheart, yet he was still quite frozen. The roads had been cleared, but banks of white lined the paths that people frequented.

Once upon a time, Noble would have enjoyed the sight of a white blanket covering the ground, especially when she was little, as snow was so rare where she lived in North America.

Now she hardly noticed the frozen landscape. It was normal and unremarkable.

What was notable was the young man walking toward her. His calm eyes were the shade of the long-extinct Japanese maples. Over his uniform, a brightly colored overcoat that matched the red and orange tips of his white hair.

His elegant stride suggested that he had thrown off his noble upbringing to serve the world from a more humble position.

'He is just as Fort described.' Noble had never met the man in person before, but had corresponded with him a few times during government business.

"Master Noble?"

"Unless you have another visitor by the same name, that would be me." Noble smiled. "You must be Awakened Kazuha."

The agent bowed, his fluffy hair waving in an unseen breeze.

"It is good to make your acquaintance."

"It is nice to meet you as well." Noble lowered her chin. "I have heard a lot about you. Only good things, of course."

"Likewise. I am glad to put a face to a name," Kazuha paused, his stunning eyes glancing down at her as he straightened. "Though I must admit that I am a little confused by your visit. Is something wrong with Ambassador Fort or Agent Teddy?"

Noble held up her hands. "Do not worry, they are perfectly fine. We had a significant blizzard in Ravenheart, so getting to the palace is more difficult than usual. I've come for a dual purpose, but one of those reasons is to retrieve my husband's correspondence."

The air around them changed subtly as Kazuha raised his eyebrows.

"I see. Do you have the proper paperwork for that request?"

A box was already forming in front of Noble. She pulled out the documentation and handed it to the agent. "I believe this is what you need." Kazuha glanced over the pages, the wind drifting up and down lazily as he nodded.

"I have to put this into the system, but everything seems to be in order. Please follow me."

'Oh!' Noble was startled as the air wrapped around and gently escorted her. 'What kind of Ability is this?'

Did Kazuha even know he was doing it, or was the air a natural extension of him? Noble didn't want to be rude to the elegant young man, so her question remained unanswered.

When she passed the garden of statues, though, she no longer let the wind be her guide. Stopping in front of her father's statue, Noble heaved a heavy sigh.

'I'm sorry I don't visit more. I still miss you. I always will.'

"Is something wrong?" Kazuha could see the clouded look in the visitor's eyes.

Noble blinked and forced a smile. "This is the image of my father. He passed many years ago, but seeing the statue always brings me back to that time."

Kazuha gripped the lapels of his coat. "Director Lance is a legend even now. Because of his service, people like me can stand on his shoulders, metaphorically speaking." The young agent saluted the former director.

"Thank you." Noble wiped a stray tear from her eye before it froze in place. Blowing a kiss to her father, Noble turned to enter the nearest building.

Soon, the paperwork was all processed and approved, and a sealed envelope was prepared for Noble to deliver to her husband.

"Thank you for the help, ma'am," Kazuha told her as he passed over the package for her to place inside her storage memory.

"I am happy to be of service." Aside from the fact that the lady would do anything for her husband, Noble was always willing to help the government.

Kazuha smiled. "I guess that runs in the family."

"I get why my husband gets along with you so well," the professor nodded.

The young man shifted his weight, pleased with the compliment. "The honor is all mine, I assure you. Now, is there anything else I can do for you? I believe you said you had two reasons for coming?"

"I do," Noble's communicator buzzed. "And the second reason should be here in less than a minute."

Too curious, Kazuha followed the woman to the elevators.

They waited there until the doors opened and an amiable Awakened stepped off with a box in his arms.

"You know something, Master Noble? You ask for the strangest things. But the boss seemed to know this was coming, so he had me set some aside last week. Otherwise, I would have had to send you to the Warehouse, and we both know how excruciating that can be."

Noble accepted the box with a smile. "Thank you. I don't know what I would do without you or your boss. Please give him my warmest wishes and thanks."

"I will," Venster agreed. "But may I ask, what does one need with outdated lightbulbs?"

"Lightbulbs?" Kazuha furrowed his brow.

"Lightbulbs," Noble confirmed. "And to answer your question. One man's trash is another man's treasure. Or in this case, one world's past is the Dream Realm's future. You'll see!"

"You are taking lightbulbs to the Dream Realm?" Venster rubbed his ear, thinking he had heard incorrectly.

"That's right." Noble nodded easily.

Kazuha coughed. "Correct me if I am wrong, but I was led to believe that you ran the Dreamer Academy in Ravenheart. Do they conduct research there?"

"No, my son is the one conducting the research." Noble's smile widened. "You know how teenagers are, always wanting to learn more and change the world."

Venster opened his mouth to ask another question when Noble's communicator buzzed and made a loud ring.

Noble floated her communicator from her bag and brought it up for her to read. In addition to Venster's message about being on his way—something she had assumed because she could feel that he was coming closer—there was a second message.

Noble looked at it, blinked, and went pale.

The message from Umbei was short and direct.

"If you are in the waking world, you need to get to the infirmary. Now."