Dire Wolf

Chapter 15

"I still can't believe we are staying in our very own dorm, just the six of us," I said in amazement as I meet my new classmates outside the building we are staying in.

"It's normally for twelve students, but now, it's just the six of us, so it really is a bit roomy compared to other students who have to stay together in a dorm with the others from different classes," Sita said happily as she looked at my backpack, "Are you sure that that is all of the things that you need for our trip?"

I nodded and smiled happily, "Yes. I am rather good at packing things and only taking what is really needed."

"Wow, I hope Surt can learn from you," Sothea said worriedly as she glanced at my boyfriend, trudging behind me with his massive camping bag behind him.

Her own boyfriend pointed at Sita's burgeoning backpack as well, "Well, you better teach Sita to pack things efficiently too. Man, did you also brought your bed inside that?"

"Funny you should ask, Bliz. I did stuff inside my futon and pillow," the daughter of the goddess of agriculture answered; happily, that shook my head in disbelief, "It is better that you have what you don't need than needing what you don't have."

"Besides, I have to bring underwear at least. I already used up most of my reserves way before the immersion starts," Surt said sadly that made me raise an eyebrow.

"So that is why I am missing almost a dozen of my own, you disgusting thief, "I said under my breath that made our friends laugh out loud around us, "How can you even wear someone else's undergarments is way beyond me."

Rex just heaved a sigh and shrugged his shoulders as we began walking, "Well, thankfully, he didn't rummage our closets yet, and I doubt he will. We have different sizes, unlike you two."

"What he said, Keenan," Surt said happily that made me just sigh in exasperation.

"Now, now, don't be like that. We must be positive and optimistic in this particular field study of ours," Bliz said as he clapped my back playfully, "They really sent us to the other side of the island, eh, Sita?"

Our Class President nodded, "Yep, we have a hydra as our main target for this one."

"Wow, a hydra? We never faced one before! Can we even do it?" Sothea exclaimed that made Surt glance at me as if checking if I am shocked or what, "And we have a Keenan this year who just arrived. They could have given us an easier mark for starters, don't you think, Rex?"

The son of the goddess of force just cracked his knuckled and shook his head, "Nah, I overheard from the other teachers gossiping at the cafeteria that we are running out of time or something. The island must be cleared of monster infestations before the end of our three months stay here."

"I think it is connected, but the Ploutos, the god of wealth, appeared on my dreams again last night. He said that the Gates of Olympus will soon be wrenched open by someone or something and that he, together with the rest of the deities, will finally regain their physical forms if a beacon is found as well."

They all stopped walking and gaze at me in shock and awe, "Again? You mean you have been talking to Ploutos for a long time now, Keenan?"

"No, Surt. Just twice. The last time was last year, and back then, I didn't even know that he is a god at all."

Sothea clapped her hands excitedly, "Wow, so we finally know that you are a demigod!"

"Well, nope. He is not my father. That much he made clear. He is just the patron of my house since the age of immortals, is all," I answered simply that made Sita raise an eyebrow.

"Patron of your house, eh. Must be a significant one to have a god looking out for a single-family, don't you think, Bliz?"

"Indeed, Sita. But really, just who are you, Keenan? You are clearly not raised in a commoner's family the way you move and talk, that much I can be sure of. My father works as a liaison for the Imperial Family and the other Tsars and Tsarinas for a long time now, so I have an idea how people of high social standing behave, and you clearly belong to them."

Our class president nodded in agreement, "Of course. Now that you said it, he does remind me of Crown Princess Louise and how she presents herself. Well, the only thing I can say for sure is that you are way more than what Bliz and I are."

"If I am not mistaken, Ms. Peregrine mentioned something about a tsarevich being seen by the workers from the dig site here in Elysian?" Rex asked, which made me groan a little as Surt snickered beside me, "Wait, did I just hit the jackpot?"

Sothea nodded quickly and stepped in front of me to get a better look, "Yes, he doesn't really look like a regular "commoner" to me, eh, Bliz."

But her boyfriend didn't reply and just look at me in awe and disbelief, "Tsarevich. Damn, I knew it!"

"Fes up, Keenan. The jig is up."

I nodded at what Surt said and finally introduced myself to my new friends, "Kynan the Second, Tsarevich of Democratic Empire of Scania's House of Rosenbaum."

"Rosenbaum? Wait, isn't that the name of the imperial family that..."

Sita elbowed the ribs of Rex to stop him from finishing his sentence, "Believe me, you don't want to say that at all, Rex."

"No, it's fine. Really. Yes, I am the sole survivor of my house. I can't imagine life in my home without them all, so I ran away," I said casually that made them look at me in surprise, "I transferred all the assets of my family back to the House Faulken and moved to the Ogawara Province where I met Surt there studying at the specialization school I enrolled in, and the rest is, as Ms. Peregrine says, is history."

The son of Chione just looked at me from head to foot and shook his head in sheer disbelief, "My father, together with other auxiliary workers of the empire, has spent more than a year trying to find where in Gearth you are."

"Well, the House Rosenbaum wasn't called the Empire's Spectre for nothing, Bliz. We know how to make ourselves unknown, untraceable, and discreet. I am taught how to make myself disappear from everything should the need arises," I said proudly that made him shook his head while smiling a little.

"Yeah, right. Disappeared from all tracking devices, travel papers, and spies. My father spent a lot of time talking about you, and you know what's odd? He said that they don't know what you look like at all, yet the whole nobilities of the empire are searching the earth and heaven for you."

I chuckled and sigh as I scratch the back of my head, "I will not just chalk it to my family's ability to just disappear. I feel Ploutos himself has a hand in helping me escape. I thought they will find me where I am and what name I am using if I access my trust fund, but for some reason, they didn't."

"If I remember correctly, there's a massive server crash on the wealth fund banks around that time where it was reported that a certain unknown but a very important young nobleman is missing and the empire, even with the help of other nations, can't find him at all. With the repeated server crashes on the banks happening at the same time, I am inclined to agree that the god of wealth himself is helping you all along," Demeter's daughter said pensively that made me nod in agreement.

"I am inclined to agree, Sita. Now that I think about it, he really did help me escape from it all even if he is just a minor god of wealth."

Rex shook his head as if he finds my words laughable, "Minor god of wealth? Well, yeah, he might not be an Olympian or a primordial deity, but heck, he is one of those immortals who have a lot of sway in the lives of a mortal. If you make it or break, it depends on whether he will arrive early and leave late. Often than not, it's the reverse that happens."

"All mortals are under his sphere of influence as long as they are living in this world of ours. Who doesn't want to be a very wealthy person? As the god of wealth, he controls the money, and the boy do money makes the world go round, I tell you," Bliz followed as he looked at me in awe, "No wonder my dad once said that even if for some reason the empire was bankrupted, we will still have a reset option. House Rosenbaum is that reset option, right?"

I grinned and winked at him before chuckling a little when they are taken aback by my out of character reaction that made Surt sigh at me lovingly and blushes a little, "It may not be as legendary as House Hausen's vault, but the money that my house has saved for countless years is more than enough to sustain the empire for a century on its own, I can say that much, Bliz."

"Heck, that is impressive in its own right!" Rex said in surprise as I shrugged my shoulders, "So, what, are you the richest person in the world now if you have access to that kind of money, Keenan?"

Sita chuckled and answered for me, "He isn't Rex. You see, all the money they save up through the years is under their management doesn't technically belong to their house. They cannot use it for their own personal spendings, and it belongs to the state, not to House Rosenbaum nor House Rosenbaum."

"But if they don't have any income from that, then how did they support their cost of living?" Sothea asked curiously as we continued walking towards the outskirt of the town and back to the wilderness littered with ruins and excavation sites, "They have no territories like the tsars or tsarinas to levy taxes from nor the taxes the tsardoms pay to the imperial family."

It is Bliz who answered in my stead, "They might not be able to dip their hands on that sweet honey of financial reserves, they can certainly make money from the interests it generates from the banks it is deposited and the profits it made from investing those interests in the stocks markets, real estates and other businesses. I heard from my father that the Empress Mother herself willingly allowed her governmental powers to be reduced to almost nothing to keep that corrupt chancellor happy and well away from the House Rosenbaum's coffers."

"She is quite shrewd about that political maneuver. I can give her that much," Surt said matter-of-factly as he stretched his arms the moment we entered the forest because it made him feel very much at home, "As long as the House Rosenbaum remained unscathed, she can always just wait for the chancellor out no matter how much he busted the economy many times over and by the time he is gone, she can easily dip her hands to the savings and fix it quite easily with the extra funds the empire has for the rainy days."

I looked at Surt in amazement, "Wow, I never thought you are interested in the political nuances and such."

"Well, I am the de facto heir to the Ogawa Dynasty. I must be updated and knowledgeable, at least on how the other nobilities deal with each other. I can't be the ignorant heir forever," he said thoughtfully. That made me pinch his cheek because he is just adorable.

"Unlike the rest of the heirs and heiresses, you didn't enroll at the Gareth Military Academy, Surt. Why?" asked the son of the goddess of force.

"I was only made Uncle Ren's "heir" just recently. That, and I doubt someone who transforms at the slightest provocation back then will do well inside a military school full of students," he said nonchalantly that made us understand his reasoning quickly, "Though I envy some of the children of the nobilities who are demigods that are stable enough to study there."

I gasped when I heard the last sentence from him, "There are a lot of the scions who are demigods?"

"Well, not a lot. No one from the main ruling families is demigods, but as they are descended from the eldest houses of our nations, they are very proficient with the elemental manipulations to the point that they can rival us demigods in sheer force alone," Sothea said as she conjured a ball of red flame on her hands, "But even among us Riksentians, the flames our grand duchess and crown count wields is different."

Surt and I look at each other and nodded knowingly, "Yeah, we saw it personally, and Surt himself is on the receiving end of those majestic flames."

"Too true, Keenan. Man, it's not like any normal flames. It's not burning or anything like that. It is warm but not hot. More of an expelling force than a burning one. Mostly used for defense if I can make an educated guess."

Bliz nodded and sighed as he tried to invoke some ice element but failed to make anything more than a heap of snow in front of him, "I think I am better of using my mother's powers instead. Chione: Snow Flurry!"

A gentle downfall of snowflakes from the skies rained down upon us, "Welp, nothing to it. We just have to make do with what we have right now and try to wing it. Geez, a hydra of all monsters. Why?" Rex asked as he looked at Sita and Sothea, who exchanged meaningful looks.

"Honestly, Ms. Peregrine said that the headmaster is confident that we are strong enough to handle it on our own. After all, most of us here have been training for several years now, right? Surely we can handle a single hydra. I think?" the daughter of the goddess of agriculture said in a slightly unsure tone that made Soteria's child giggled a little.

"Well, I do think we have a good chance in defeating that legendary monster. If not, we can always call in for reinforcements."

But Surt shook his head at the idea, "No way! We must prove that we outcasts can deliver the same results as a class with a hundred and more students. Remember, the previous Auxiliary Class lead the world to the Second Golden Age? Wouldn't it be great if we can at least not look like pathetic successors to them at the very least?"

We all looked at each other and smiled a little.

That is an idea we can all agree upon to without any need for arguments.