The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 175 - Eclipse Escapades

Chapter 175: Chapter 175 - Eclipse Escapades

The train sat motionless on the tracks after the conductor announced the stop well in advance. The railway stations had adjusted all the schedules to account for the bit of downtime during the eclipse. Even still, most riders wouldn’t bother to wait at the station for a later trip as long as they could get part of the way to their destination.

Many of the passengers filed out onto the grassy embankment to watch the approaching celestial event. Few remained in their seats - those either too elderly to bother or too engrossed in their reading to care. The private cars had lantern lighting for overnight trips and would be simple to engage when the darkness hit.

Qatrand rested her back against the train car, leaning against the frame beside the door. Her black hair shifted in the warm breeze as she observed the sky that so many people must be watching. Her hand unconsciously moved to her chest where the fragment of Elua’s spirit resided, knowing it wouldn’t detect anything but still enjoying the attempt.

The past week had been... educational. Three times her wife ’wasted’ the travel time to show up in the city late at night and sneak into the Yecine estate to sleep - instead of just staying at the competition grounds she would have to go back to. The swordswoman finally told her that she would start requesting assignments at the Ironclad Order.

And not to expect her to be available to ’snuggle’.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her El. In fact, the sleep she got with her nearby was much more peaceful... and she was sure it was the same for the reincarnator. The morning flirtations were also enjoyable.

The reason she decided to seek more work in the time left was almost the opposite.

Qat felt she needed to set an example of dedication. Her sense of duty had felt a bit of a crisis over ’waiting around’ for her wife. Particularly when the cute girl was doing her ’best’ at tasks she was overqualified for. The need to be out doing something made her understand the heiress and her ’distractions’ a little better.

’Her ideas are good. I think everyone will be impressed with her, like I am. Though...’

The sun’s light began to dim noticeably just as she started to worry about Elua showing off her knowledge *too* much. A young boy pointed excitedly at the sky while his mother tried to keep him from staring directly up at the damaging light. Whispers rippled through the crowd as the early darkness swept across the land.

Her pigeon-blue eyes stared at the hazy shadow bands while her thoughts drifted. Elua had told her about this part... even showed her an illusion of it. A cultivator that had lived as long as she had in her last life would have seen plenty of these. It made her wonder if the girl was even bothering to pay attention to the event this time.

---

In the Yecine estate, their private meeting spot was crowded with the people seeking updates on the moving parts of their scheme. There were a few points of concern for some of them.

"The ’boy’ is showing more initiative lately. Do you think the girl put ’him’ up to it?"

Anper barely glanced up from the letter in his hands as one of the elders spoke.

"Our heir requested additional missions. A few are several days’ travel from the city."

Both of their tones carried a note of suspicion that made Anper’s jaw clench. He understood that they might be getting worried as the time grew closer, but they had enough problems without questioning every decision their tool made.

Their most senior faction member sat by the window and watched the dimming sky with obvious unease. It felt like a portent.

"Yes, the Goltbred girl’s influence, no doubt."

"We were supposed to have heard from our merchant by now."

The room fell silent. The person they’d trusted with delivering the essential artifact was a day overdue for his report. It wasn’t a long time, but this contact often sent information *early*. If he’d been caught, or worse, if the item had been discovered...

Then years of scheming would have been for nothing. One of the youngest of the group of elders cleared his throat.

"Perhaps the eclipse delayed him? Many see such events as ill omens for travel."

"Superstitious nonsense."

Anper’s voice said what half of them were thinking. Still, his fingers tightened on the letter and crumpled its edges. He wasn’t sure why Lirades was trying to convince him to have tea, but it seemed to be a more concrete ’omen’ than any celestial shadows.

---

The Talcres couple had chosen an open hillside for their afternoon lesson, though Meyran kept glancing at the sky rather than his notes. Around them, other groups of cultivators and mortals alike had gathered to witness the event. Zyris continued with her lecture despite her husband’s distraction.

"Different Aspects can respond uniquely to phenomena. For example, when it comes to a Physique like Anti-Fire... some cultivators seem to be more resistant to natural fire versus that controlled by someone’s Element."

Nohre nodded attentively while Fusand sketched a few quick diagrams. The girl’s spirit felt unusually sensitive today around so many people. It was like picking up traces of... something. Like ripples in a still pond.

"It’s starting. Fascinating, isn’t it?"

Meyran pulled their attention and quickly put on his set of goggles. The lenses were made of a rare dark indigo crystal that reflected most light. He’d had them delivered for the four of them from his private collection. It was the first time using one during a total eclipse and he was quite excited.

"The ancient records say that people once thought of eclipses as having a profound effect on cultivation. Some believe the celestial alignments create unique opportunities for breakthrough. Personally, I think they were right in their own way."

His enthusiasm drew a fond smile from his wife. She was sure the man would have been a historian even if he had been mortal. She picked up where he left off to explain what he meant to them.

"Yes. After all, doesn’t seeing something like this just stir your heart? I’m sure that all knowledge and experience helps us advance."

Fusand’s hand stilled on his paper. It sounded a lot like something his master would say. He placed the goggles on and joined the man in watching the edge of the moon move across the sun.

"Is that why you asked us to come today for this lesson?"

Neither of them answered Nohre. Whether there was an advantage in it or not, it was ultimately up to the young ones to decide. But no matter what... it was a nice memory to share with the younger generations.

---

Elua pranced confidently through the competition grounds while others stumbled or lit lanterns. The Skydancer joined her in its lack of care, its dusky feathers making it nearly invisible in the sky darkened by the eclipse’s shadow. Almost everyone had taken to the fields or other private areas to watch the event.

’Mortals see ill omens. A scheming cultivator sees fewer witnesses~’

She spread her fingers out into the air as she danced about from working on important sigil hubs. The ancient cultivator had experienced many eclipses and many traditions related to them, but the little dance that a desert clan performed had long been her favorite.

She twisted patterns of essence in the air as she moved, weaving swirls of air into rings that were meant to mimic the ring of light that would form in the air above. She was tempted to light them aflame to be more like the tradition, but held herself back. Despite dancing, she was being *inconspicuous*!

She’d seen enough eclipses to know how people reacted. How they clustered together with their eyes turned skyward. It left the spaces between ’unguarded’ for thieves, assassins, kidnappers, and all sorts of others with ill intentions. The cultivators at the guard posts were just as distracted - and their spiritual senses weren’t fine enough to notice her.

She wasn’t silly enough to dance around the area without wrapping herself in an illusion after all. A small ’sweet’ smile touched her lips as she buried another hidden connection in her web of improvements. Some of them weren’t the small adjustments she could just show off.

The darkness didn’t last that long, but she made every minute count. She made her way back to a space she could reasonably be seen before people started coming back. Her small hand brushed against a thick wooden post before she started chiseling a final sigil to one of her ’cooling’ zones.

’A sweet girl obviously must make things that show her care for everyone

Above, the sun was coming back to prominence in the sky and she didn’t bother to admire it. She hadn’t actually looked up but the single time during its totality. It was beautiful, of course, but she’d seen better shows in the cosmos.

Usually involving very energetic bursts.

---

A man picked his way through underbrush to the retrieval location. The approaching dark made navigation trickier, but he couldn’t wait for it to pass. It had taken too long to convince his sister that it would all be fine. The potential payment was too substantial to delay another day and risk them hiring someone else.

There wasn’t exactly anything policing secret contracts other than the word of those engaging in them. So Tarem set out as soon as he could. The contaminated area felt just as Sevra had described. He wasn’t the best cultivator, but even he could tell it was less like a disaster zone and more like a carefully maintained boundary.

His spiritual sense detected the mass of energy at the center and drawing closer made his skin crawl. He reached the epicenter just as totality hit and he struck a flint and steel spark a handful of times to produce a flame. Fire was a pretty common Element, though his control was garbage even by his own standards.

In the darkness, with the dance of light and shadows produced by the gout of Fire... he could make out the twisted form his sister had drawn. The sketch and description didn’t do it any justice - and his professionalism took a moment to settle back in.

’That’s not ominous at all...’