Chapter 1238 Audrey's Arrival In The Thousand Beast Domain [Part 1]
"Welcome to the Floor of Asgard," William greeted Audrey, as well as the ten Inquisitors that had come along with her to check on the condition of Melody and Shana.
"Thank you for accepting our request, Sir William," Audrey replied with a smile.
"Just call me William," William returned Audrey's smile with a smile of his own. "We're already acquainted, so don't sound too distant."
"Very well, William, I hope my sisters aren't causing trouble for you?"
"Melody and Shana may be strong willed, but they are not troublemakers. I think among your sisters, the troublemaker is Lira. If possible, don't let her come here. She always gives me a headache."
Audrey chuckled. "What a coincidence. Lira insisted that she come and become our representative instead."
"Fortunately her request got rejected, or else I might have been forced to reject your offer as well," William replied with a troubled look on his face.
"You don't like her, do you?"
"Well, let's just say that she can be quite problematic in her own right. Now, before I bring you inside my Domain, there are a few things that I would like to remind you, and your escorts, of.
"First of all, there are Demons that live inside my Domain. They are the Demon Clans that have sworn loyalty to me. If any of you hurt them, I will punish you severely for it. Also, all of you are required to leave your weapons with me. Don't worry, I have no interest in them. I only want to prevent any unnecessary conflicts from arising."
One of the Inquisitors stepped forward and shook her head.
"We came here to ensure that none of the Virtues get hurt," the Inquisitor stated. "We can't leave our weapons behind."
William nodded his head in understanding. "No problem. You can stay here then. I don't intend to bring rulebreakers inside my Domain."
The other Inquisitors, who were about to support their comrade, held back the words they were about to say and kept their silence. If they were not allowed to enter William's Domain then they wouldn't be able to complete the mission that the Pope had assigned to them.
"Sorry, I was being rude. I will abide by your rules and surrender my weapon to you," the Inquisitor said as she bit down her pride and immediately backed down.
"Good," William commented. "In behalf of our temporary alliance, I will be merciful and allow you to enter my Domain. Who knows? You might even be able to bring home a souvenir when it is time for you to go back to the Palace of Light."
The Inquisitor nodded her head and passed the sword in her possession to Chloee who was standing beside William.
The other Inquisitors did the same to ensure that they would no longer offend the Half-Elf whom the Pope had once ordered to be either killed or captured by the Templars who accompanied Audrey, Lira, and Ephemera.
The Half-Elf knew that the Inquisitors still had hidden weapons in their possessions, but he turned a blind eye to it.
A portal opened in front of Audrey, and the Half-Elf made a gesture for her to come inside. The Inquisitors were about to propose that they check it out first, but Audrey raised her hand to stop them in their tracks.
"We were the ones that proposed to enter his Domain," Audrey stated. "Since that was the case, it would be counterproductive if we always doubt William's move. I trust him, and anyone who doesn't trust me can stay here. I can go alone if I have to."
Audrey gave William a brief nod before entering the portal with steady steps. The Inquisitors no longer argued and hurriedly followed her inside the portal to ensure that she would be safe from harm.
When the last Inquisitor entered the portal, Chloee chuckled as she rested her hand on William's shoulders.
"They came with bad intentions," Chloee stated. "Are you sure about this?"
William nodded. "I am also very curious about what the Pope has in mind. Let's observe them first, and if they do anything fishy then it will not be too late to act in a decisive manner."
"Well, you're the boss," Chloee replied. "I'm going ahead first. I'll keep an eye on them for you."
"Thank you."
"Ah. Don't accept any guests tonight in your room. Charmaine, Haleth, Aina, and I also need some attention. Let the Virtues have some time alone together."
William chuckled before giving Chloee's backside a light pinch. "You've become naughty as of late. Very well, I'll keep my schedule and bed open for the four of you."
Chloee smiled and gave William a quick kiss on his right cheek before entering the portal to look after the envoy from the Palace of Light.
'Optimus, did you manage to place a tracker on all of them?"
William nodded before teleporting inside the Thousand Beast Domain. He had already made arrangements, and all he needed to do was to observe his guests from afar.
—--
"W-Where are we?" one of the Inquisitors asked as they found themselves surrounded by Demonic Children who were happily riding the attractions of the Theme Park.
"This is called K-City Theme Park," a blue-haired beauty said with a sweet smile on her face. "Good to see you, Audrey. Did you miss us?"
Shana walked side by side with Melody who also had a bright smile on her face.
"Lady Melody, Lady Shana, are both of you alright?" One of the Inquisitors hurriedly went to the two Virtuous Ladies whom they had come to meet. "Did the Dark Prince do anything bad to the two of you? Have you been harmed anywhere?"
Melody glanced at the Inquisitor with an understanding look on her face. "Don't worry, the two of us are fine. William has been a good host and enured that the two of us have been very comfortable throughout our stay."
Shana had reverted to wearing her plain robe because she knew that if she showed off the dresses that she had acquired inside William's Domain, the Pope would immediately order her to burn all of them.
The Virtuous Lady of Prudence knew that the Pope had no sense of fashion, so she didn't want to give her any reason to destroy her prized collection.
"I know that all of you have a lot of questions, but we can talk about it somewhere else," Melody said. "Come with us. I know a good cafe that you will definitely like, Audrey."
Melody didn't even give Audrey a chance to decline her offer and simply took her hand and pulled her along as she headed to one of the cafes that she and Shana always visited.
Shana chuckled as she walked behind her sisters, leaving the Inquisitors behind, who were exchanging glances with each other.
"I will inspect this place first to ensure that no harm comes to our esteemed Ladies," One of the Inquisitors declared before immediately heading in the opposite direction of where the three Virtues were going.
The other Inquisitors followed behind Shana, leaving one of their comrades to roam free inside the Theme Park.
Chloee, who had been given partial authority over the Thousand Beast Domain, followed the Inquisitor that had gone off on her own.
William was also monitoring the suspicious individual, alongside Optimus.
"How obvious."
The black-haired teenager, and his System, found the act of the Inquisitors so silly. Clearly, they weren't trained for such a task, and it was plain to see that they were up to no good.
When the Inquisitors found a place without too many people, she subtly pressed an emblem over one of the stalls that was currently unmanned.
After doing her job, she immediately left the scene and headed straight to the cafe where her comrades were located.
"Hoh… it seems that the Pope is getting a little impatient."
"Don't do anything, and simply monitor it for now. We will make our move once they've left the Thousand Beast Domain."
William smiled because he didn't find the Pope's actions to be out of place. In fact, he thought that she was brilliant for thinking of such a thing.
Unfortunately for her, William had the System, so no matter how hard she tried, her plans were doomed to fail from the very start.
What the Pope didn't know was that William had a more effective way of tracking people and things. Right now, all the members of the Holy Order's entourage, including Audrey. had trackers placed on their bodies that monitored more than just what was around them.
It also monitored things inside them like their heartbeat, brainwaves, body temperature, as well as other miscellaneous things that only Optimus knew about.
In short, the Pope had already lost the information warfare before she even decided to place tracking artifacts inside William's Domain.
He already had eyes and ears within the inner circle of the Holy Order of Light namely, Lira, Ephemera, and Cherry.
Melody had also joined William's side, and she was more than happy to share any news with him, especially plans that were meant to harm him in any way.
"Now, let's see what other tricks you have under your sleeves, People," William muttered as his eyes glowed briefly in anticipation. "Show me your worst."