Once the bubbles were in the bath, Cara hopped in the metre square tub with a small splash. That was Karl's signal that it was safe to enter, and he settled in slowly, enjoying the scented bubbles.
"Oh, I forgot the washcloth." He muttered, annoyed.
Karl turned left and saw that Cara was floating belly up, splashing water on her belly fur and making happy noises that were making the maid laugh quietly.
"She really does love the bubbles. I almost feel bad about limiting the amount that I put in now." The maid commented.
Cara waved her front paw dismissively. She wasn't going to be in the bath long enough to run out of these ones, she just wanted to smell like the soap.
"I'm sure she will be fine. If the scent fades, I'll just have another bath run for her."
[Pure Luxury.] Cara agreed.
Of course, the tub in their apartment was a one touch operation, and it would fill with the preset temperature of water and selected bath products just by turning the tap on, but somehow it was more luxurious to order someone to press the button for you.
Before they got out, Karl scrubbed Cara down, and gently lathered her wings, soaking the smell of bubble bath into the Void Badger, who then ran off to the main room the moment that a towel touched her fur.
Karl accepted the bath robe from the maid with a bit of confusion, then realized that it was intended to be used as a towel, and they would pat you dry through it.
Very wholesome. Not at all likely to get him strangled in his sleep by Dana.
Once he was dry, he changed to one of Rae's branded polo shirts and silk house pants with slippers.
The maid stared at him in shock.
"You have a set of system linked and bonded casual wear? How does that even happen?" She muttered, mostly to herself.
"They're made by a Bloodbath Spider with her own silk. They naturally equip when they're worn for the first time. Tell me, have you been tested for system compatibility?" Karl replied.
The maid nodded. "Just last week they came around with system linked rings, to ensure that none of us would advance and become an internal security threat."
Which implied that those who did gain a class were sent somewhere else. Probably not fired, as they wouldn't want hard feelings or potential Elites running loose. But they were likely in the Academy or with the army instead.
There was a soft knock at the door, which was opened by one of the other maids to reveal a Palace Guard in full armour with his visor down.
"Monarch, you have a ... personal guest." The guard announced.
He was clearly unhappy about the situation, but there was resignation in his voice that said he had already tried and failed to stop it from happening.
"Please send them in."
An unassuming older man walked in behind the guard, and Karl instantly noticed the hint of blue scales on his pointed ears. Transformed Dragons and stronger Dragon Priests always had some sign of their nature.
Come to think of it, he wondered what had changed on Tessa and Lotus. It wasn't on their face or hands, so he hadn't noticed it, but they definitely had scales by now.
The man's face was unfamiliar, but his aura was not. "Librarian Gareth, I wasn't expecting to see you here." Karl greeted the Royal Rank blue dragon.
The visage of an aging man shifted back to the middle-aged librarian that Karl had seen last time, but dressed in a sharp blue business suit, and Gareth smiled at him.
"Finally, I found you. You wouldn't believe the route that these guards wanted to take me on. The exploration of the anomaly in Newbon was quite successful, by the way. I have the documents in my inventory if you would like to go over them tonight."
Karl shook his head. "Not tonight. But you're just in time for dinner. Guardsman, thank you for delivering the Librarian to me."
The guard nodded and closed the door as he left.
"What brings you here today? Surely, you didn't go to all this effort just to bring me a copy of the investigation records when I was at the Capital until today." Karl asked Gareth once the door was secure.
The dragon shook his head.
"No, I heard that you have a way of awakening a previously unknown System Function, and I wanted to know what the method was. But that's not the important part. I have assistants for you. Acolytes that don't have a trade skill yet, so you can teach them Runecrafting, and they will assist you during your endeavours here.
Can you believe that they wouldn't tell me what it is? I'm here to bring you assistants, and they wouldn't tell me what the project was on national security grounds."
The dragon was clearly pouting now, upset that he was so obviously being denied knowledge.
Karl gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "You will find out soon enough. Think of it like the anticipation before a holiday present."
From the hallway, Lotus began to laugh.
"Blue Dragons never wait to open their presents."
Gareth rolled his eyes at her. "We do so. We don't touch our solstice presents until precisely dusk on the evening of the solstice."
Karl nodded. That sounded about right. The tradition was dawn the morning after.
"You said you have Acolytes. I don't suppose you know where they might be right now?" He asked.
Gareth shrugged. "They were left at the University dorms. The building closest to the Library. That's where we came into the city. The Dean of the University promised he would ensure that they made it to work on time, but he wouldn't tell me anything either, so I came to see you."
"You know, if I tell you now, you're stuck here until the project is over so that the details don't get leaked. They won't even let me leave the city freely." He reminded the dragon.
Gareth sighed. "What a wasted day."
"It doesn't have to be."
{Pack Master Karl Offers Knowledge} Skill [Lightning Zone] will be transferred to the curious whelp Gareth.