Boundless Evolution: The Summoning Beast
Chapter 77: Mission From The King

Chapter 77: Mission From The King

Within the polished quiet of his office, Bennet sat upright in his chair, the faint colour of life restored to his face. His right hand rested on the armrest, fingers twitching idly as if testing their strength.

The heavy doors opened with a soft creak, and Seraphina stepped inside, her expression unreadable- caught between relief and restraint at the sight of Bennet.

"I’ve brought the Sovereign," she said quietly, turning aside.

Behind her walked the Sovereign, regal yet grounded. Upon entry, his eyes swept the room before settling on Bennet.

For a moment, no one spoke as Bennet stood up from his chair and walked in front of his table and made a small bow of respect.

"You’re far from your usual courts, Sovereign," said Bennet as he offered a faint smile.

The man inclined his head back as the same faint smile also appeared on his face, "And you are far from your bed."

Seraphina moved to Bennet’s side, standing with quiet pride, "He woke hours ago. Asked for ink and reports before water."

The Sovereign chuckled softly, "Then he is truly a Valen."

"Haha," Bennet chuckled lightly, "I must thank you Sir Sovereign. Without your appearance, stabilising the situation in the city and the arena would’ve been a lot more difficult and time-consuming."

The Sovereign nodded lightly, acknowledging Bennet’s thanks as he stepped forward and offered a respectful nod before his tone turned serious.

"Sovereign Edward of Whitehold," he introduced himself, his voice steady and clear.

Bennet arched an eyebrow, "Sovereign Edward... What brings you here? It is not everyday that Westreach gets visited by someone from the Royal Army."

Without a word, the Sovereign reached into his robe and retrieved a sealed envelope, stamped with the royal sigil.

He placed it gently on the desk between them.

"The King sends his regards," he spoke, "And a summons. You are being called for a mission- not as Bennet Valen but as one as the most talented infiltrator in his generation. We would normally escort you to Whitehold to receive the briefing but since time is of the essence, you have been told to immediately set off from here."

Hearing this, a sense of seriousness covered Bennet’s face. A mission from the King and even a call to immediately set off from Westreach told him all that he needed to know about the urgency of this mission.

Without pause, he picked up the envelope and opened it.

"There is a spy- Kieran Stark. He has been operating within Zavareth’s territory. He’s managed to maintain his cover for years, conducting espionage and information gathering. But a few days ago, his summon appeared in Whitehold with a letter from Kieran requesting extraction."

Hearing that name, Bennet leaned forward, his brows furrowing, and Seraphina couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows too as she began to pay closer attention to the conversation.

"Kieran..." he muttered, a flicker of recognition lighting behind his eyes.

"You are to retrieve him at the village of Razi in Zavareth, near the border," Edward continued, "He will be waiting there for your help to cross the border and report back. We have not heard from him since as per protocol to keep his whereabouts unknown. The king believes that you are the best person for this."

Bennet exhaled through his nose, his expression not looking anymore pleased or relaxed at all. He looked up and asked, "And what of Westreach? With what just happened, the city needs me more than ever right now. I have responsibilities here."

Edward nodded once, "I understand. That has already been accounted for. I will remain in Westreach and manage affairs in your stead while you are away. The King trusts me to keep the order- and your people will not be left untended. I swear this on the name of the royal family."

At that, Bennet’s gaze softened, if only slightly but he fell into deep consideration. They shared a quiet moment before he answered, "Then I will go. When am I required to leave?"

"Ideally, it should’ve been on the moment you read this," Edward replied plainly, "But considering what happened here, I would say it would be best for you to leave as soon as you feel you are bodily able enough."

Having said this, he then turned to leave but paused at the door, "I’ll be walking the city- getting a feel for its rhythm, its soul. I got some people to meet too. We’ll speak again before you depart."

As the door closed behind the Sovereign, Bennet looked toward Seraphina, who had remained silent through the exchange. Her eyes held both pride and concern.

She spoke first, "You’ll be safe, won’t you?"

"Don’t worry, my dear. I’ll get home safe," Bennet gave her a small smile before deciding to joke, "You’ll have to tell the maids to prepare an extra seat on the table for Kieran too."

Seraphina’s lips softened into the faintest of smiles, her shoulders relaxing slightly at her husband’s antics, "Kieran... it’s been a long time huh? I remember when he rewrote an entire logistics report just to see if the instructors were actually reading them. They gave him an award instead of catching him."

Bennet chuckled under his breath, "That stubborn daredevil. Always five steps ahead of everyone else at the academy. Sweet memories, those times..."

Seraphina smiled more genuinely now, tension easing from her brow, "I didn’t think he would be deployed for that long..."

"Yeah..." he muttered, a flicker of recognition lighting behind his eyes, "He always had a knack for slipping past places he shouldn’t be. I still remember the exams where he disappeared for three days and came back with the headmaster’s keys and a smile."

He gave a small, fond shake of his head. "If he’s calling for help, then things must be worse than they’re letting on."

"Yeah..." she murmured, her voice softer now.

Bennet then flexed his fingers slightly, wanting to change the subject, "The physician said my recovery’s ahead of schedule. I’ll leave this evening."

"Oh, speaking of leaving, where is Ash? I saw that he wasn’t here when I woke up."

Seraphina’s eyes lowered a fraction, "I told him to wait. To stay until you awakened. But he just looked at me and said that we are free to summon him whenever but that he is going to be training in Aegaryn at every possible chance for now. Then he left."

Bennet let out a short laugh, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "A regular Shadow Hyena would be curled up in a corner still recovering from its wounds and trying to recover, not immediately starting a training journey."

His thoughts then caused him to grow quiet as he shook his head silently in calm disbelief, "To think... he managed to decipher the cultists’ runic mechanisms mid-combat."

Seraphina nodded, "He was brilliant. Without him, I don’t think we would have come out of today alive."

Then she tilted her head slightly as she remembered something, "Oh yeah. He left you a message. Said the Valtairs may have had something to do with the arena incident. That he felt killing intent from their booth."

Bennet leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing with a smirk cutting across his face, "Then let him train. Let’s get the estate set up for Edward’s leadership while I am gone as fast as possible. I want to spend the rest of the time before evening with my family."

Then, without another word, he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Seraphina’s lips.

Just as they parted, the door to the office burst open with a creak, and a small blur of movement darted inside.

"Dad!"

Lucas, eyes gleaming with joy, sprinted across the room and leapt into Bennet’s arms.

Bennet caught him effortlessly, letting out a soft grunt as the weight of his son crashed into his chest.

"Careful there," he laughed, hugging him tightly, "You trying to knock me back into bed?"

Lucas only giggled, burying his face into his father’s shoulder, his voice muffled, "You’re awake..."

Bennet gasped, dramatically pulling back, "Three hours! I’ve been awake for three hours and my own son didn’t know?"

Lucas blinked, startled, "W-What? No! I told the maids you’d wake up today when I was watching them take care of my feline!"

Bennet raised an eyebrow, "So you were watching your summon get pampered while I lay unconscious, hmm?"

Lucas’s lips quivered into a pout, "I was right! You did wake up today!"

"And you still chose your furry friend over your father," Bennet teased, feigning a wounded expression.

Seraphina chuckled, shaking her head, "You’re going to traumatise the poor boy."

Lucas grumbled under his breath and folded his arms, "You’re mean."

Bennet finally laughed and leaned in to press a kiss to Lucas’s forehead, "I missed you too, pup."

Bennet glanced at his son’s grumpy expression and chuckled.

"Tell you what," he said, nudging Lucas gently, "Why don’t we go play in the garden? Finish that rock fort you were so proud of?"

Lucas’s eyes lit up immediately, his pout vanishing in a flash.

"Really?" he gasped.

Bennet nodded with a grin, "Really. Just give me a moment to wrap up something quickly, and I’m all yours."

Lucas pouted but gave a small nod, muttering, "Okay... but don’t take too long."

He turned to Seraphina and offered his hand, then looked down at Lucas.

"Take your mother with you to the garden," he said warmly, "I’ll finish up here and be right behind you."

Lucas beamed and immediately grabbed Seraphina’s hand, tugging at her excitedly, "Come on, Mama! Let’s go! I’m going to show you the new rocks I found!"

Bennet watched them with a soft smile, the warmth in his eyes lingering even as they stepped out.