Wizards of the Otherworldly Court: Five, Twenty-three, and Twenty-nine Years

Chapter 1 Owen's Collection: After Five Years, a Lead

And I'm not really fine after that, Owen looked back. Glancing at the downcast Alicia, because it made Alicia...

"Hm," Ronald sighed. Turning to the operator, "then, has Aqua said anything about this?" he inquired. "It's her territory. There is no way she could not notice this."

"We have received no updates from her either, even though sufficient time has passed since we detected Joshua for Aqua to inform us of her findings," the operator shrugged.

"Was she on a meeting with the other greater spirits?" Ronald questioned.

That's kind of what happened before, Owen noted. According to Ronald's story, Aqua was away when the burning of the Illyer mansion occurred. Whether that was anticipated by the former and current Kirash kings remained to be seen. If Aqua hadn't gone out, then it would have... He banished the thought, knowing the obvious if the other way had happened. But for this situation, however...

"Not that I know of," the operator shook his head.

"Hm," Ronald hummed in deep thought, looking down at the desk. "Have you sent any [Drones] there?" he asked, looking at the operator.

"Not yet," the operator shook his head. "We thought to tell you this first." Not to mention getting visuals from another world took lots of resources.

"Is there any news from Arnald, Kirash's Bell Branch manager?" Ronald then asked.

"Let me check," the operator said, checking through the database. Finding the answer, he reported, "as far as the Branch manager was concerned, it was business as usual in Kirash," with a shrug.

"And yet the death of many people in Kirash does not happen so suddenly," Ronald retorted. "Are there any rebellions forming recently? Or maybe a plague?"

Checking again, the operator replied, "No, not at all. Just the ones at the beginning of king Van's reign and there are no epidemics."

"And Aqua would have told us anything strange happening in her territory," Ronald rubbed his chin. "In other words, there is nothing that would warrant all of those deaths short of a natural disaster..." he trailed off.

"None of that either," the operator shook his head, knowing what Ronald was going to ask.

"Well! Ain't that just suspicious as heck!?"

The pixie has a point. The signature of his father's Orders in tandem with lots of people dying on the greater water spirit's territory with said spirit in her territory not telling the Court anything about it and even the Bell Branch manager's not noticing anything either? That seemed like foul play.

"Hm," Ronald sighed in defeat, supporting himself on the desk. "I suppose we'll have to go down there ourselves."

"Oh?" Alicia raised her eyebrow. "So we are going to Spiri Raia?"

"Of course!" Ronald turned back and nodded. "Joshua's finally found after all these years and I'm not going to sit out as you two go find him. Also, it'll be a good excuse to finally bring you two to Spiri Raia."

Come to think, I never did go to Spiri Raia, Owen thought, recalling all the worlds he had went through for the past five years.

"Do you hear that, Owen?" Alicia turned to Owen excitedly. "We are going to find your father!"

"Yep! Yep!"

I could've found dad earlier if I had just went there, then he... But what's done was done, so Owen gave a little smile and murmured, "Yeah..."

---

Of course, they didn't transfer to Spiri Raia immediately - preparations were needed. And given that Aqua's in the target world, Alicia and Owen conventionally ended up in Alice Es, the young Ice Guardian's chamber. Alicia's father went back to Kaomagi Earth to tell the rest of the Bell family of the news.