《My Yandere Succubus Daughter is Mommy-Warrior's Natural Enemy》


 Chapter Volume 1 prologue

    The stench of blood.


    Everything before my eyes was pitch-ck. I thought I was blind. I twisted my neck and looked at the me to the side. That''s when I realised I was lying on the ground face-down.


    I slowly started to feel my limbs again as my vision got restored. I tried to curl my fingers. I could feel strength coursing through my stiff-fingers once again. My hands cracked as I curled my fingers up to form a fist like a robot that wasn''t lubricated.


    Great, my arms and legs are still attached to my body. I touched my face. My facial features are still there. I don''t feel any pain anywhere other than some pain at my spine due to the odd position I was in. It looks like the stench of blood I could smell didn''t belong to me.


    I tried to push myself up from the ground to stand up. While my body felt somewhat weak, I could still stand up by using the wall as support. Where am I? I remember I got into a car ident and flew out while I was out with the leaders. I thought I was dead for sure, but it looks like I still have my senses and I''m still alive. That said, where on Earth am I? I was surrounded by walls with fire-torches sitting on them. Below my feet was a luxurious red-wool carpet which gave me a strange feeling. The air in particr gave me a strange feeling since it carried a strong stench of blood.


    It looks like I''m inside a corridor right now. But why would I be in a corridor when I just got into a car ident? Further, these ornaments don''t look like they belong to the modern-era. Surely there aren''t people still using fire-torches as lighting. I touched my body. I was still dressed in my formal-suit. There were a few tears in my white shirt, but otherwise I had no injuries. I don''t have any of my belongings with me. My bag, wallet and mobile phone probably flew out with me. I''ve lost any chance to call for help now too.


    What, I dimensional travelled?


    No, no, no. No way. Come on, as if. As if I could just dimensional travel out of the blue¡­¡­ But¡­¡­ But if I really have dimensional travelled, does that mean I''ll have two big-boobed momse and fight for me?


    But then I don''t have anyone around me¡­¡­


    I checked out my left and right. As aforementioned, I''m in a corridor right now. I can either go forwards or backwards. But it''s the same either way for someone with no sense of direction like me. I''m not panicked. I''ve gone through lots of turbulence as a secretary. The most important thing in times like this is to not get scared. I must think of a way to get away safely. Otherwise I''d be devoured by the strange people around me as a secretary like a shark.


    I heard footsteps. Though walking bare feet on a carpet makes on subtle sounds, it sounded rtively loud to me due to the silent surroundings. I felt a slight rush of adrenaline and ran towards the sound of the footsteps. I need to find someone who can tell me where I am. I really want to see someone right now, anyone will do.


    There was a turn ahead in the corridor. I continued listening to the erratic footsteps while running. If I''m correct, we should run into each other at the turn.


    "Do you know where this is?!"


    "Aah!!"


    I rushed over to the turn and shouted. However, the other person got knocked flying away upon colliding with me. I looked shocked at the little girl that fell down because she collided with me. However, before I could show my shock, I heard a fierce whistling wind. I subconsciously ducked my head and felt a heavy metal object swing pass my head. The sh of light was covered. The sound of the heavy metal object crashing into the wall rank out in my ears. Before I could react, I saw the sword that just swung past my head get drawn.


    A sword?! Is this a real sword?


    That was the first time I felt myself nip the boundary of life and death. It was a different feeling to when I got into the car ident. I didn''t feel anything when I had the car ident. But this time, I could clearly see a sword thrusting towards my head. The strong gust of wind and the cold emitted from the metal told every cell in my body that I was in danger of dying.


    I''ll die!!


    But it looks like the individual didn''t intend to kill me. After the sword was drawn, the wielder didn''t follow up by thrusting toward me. Instead, I saw it being raised up high and aimed at the young girl. The thin-young girl in front of me fell on the ground. She cried as she desperately backed off. However, the ice-cold wall behind her blocked off her retreat. Her eyes were filled with shock and terror. The sword was reflected in her red eyes.


    "May god forgive my sin."


    A cold voice came from the sword. The sword moved upwards silently and was aimed at the girl. The girl had nowhere to escape to. The wall had blocked her off. She cried loudly and the tears that ran down her red eyes were like pearls of blood. There was no way she could stand up with the way her legs were quaking.


    "Don''t¡­ No¡­ Please¡­ Please¡­¡­ Don''t kill me, don''t kill me!! It has nothing to do with me¡­ My¡­ my¡­ my father never gave me any attention¡­¡­ I just live here¡­¡­ I have nothing to do with them! None!! None!!"


    She was pleading. However, her voice was that of a child and powerless. It was hopelessly feeblepared to the heavy metal. There was no way it could stop the sword cutting down on her.


    She''ll die.


    She really will die.


    What can I do? I don''t have anything on me. Can I push this person with metal armour away? I reckon I''ll get cut in half. How do I save this child? What can I do?


    "Don''t¡­ No!! I don''t want to die! I don''t want to die!! No!! No!! Save me!! Please, save me! No! No¡­ I don''t want to die! I really don''t want to die!!"


    The young girl''s cries were apanied by her tears and the swording down. Thest thing she did was shift her gaze to me and cry loudly.


    What can I do?


    Do I¡­ save her?


    What else can I do?


    But am I just going to watch this young girl get killed before my eyes? She''s just a girl at the end of the day. What has she done to deserve getting hacked to death?!


    I couldn''t think of any idea, but my body had already moved.


    I don''t know where I am, but it looks like I have indeed dimensional travelled. I don''t know where I''vee to, but nowhere on the globe would there be people who would sh at someone with a sword, right? Since I''ve dimensional travelled, it looks like I''m already dead.


    I don''t know how I''m going to continue living, or maybe I should say, I don''t feel any need to live. I have a surreal feeling like this was just a dream to me, a hallucination of mine.


    I want to be a hero then since that''s the case. Every guy has a dream to be a hero like this, right? My dream of being a hero back in the other world got dashed long ago. So please let me at least leave as a hero for this girl in this world.


    I leapt over and hugged the child tightly. I held the young girl tightly in my arms. As I held her tightly in my arms a nice fragrance hit me. The fragrance was mixed with a prominent stench of blood. So the stench of blood came from her? But no matter, blood and kids don''t go together.


    The heavy sword and strong gust of wind came from overhead. My body tensed up due to fear. They say that your life shes before your eyes right before your death. However, my mind waspletely nk right now. I couldn''t think of anything. The only sight before my eyes was the girl''s terrified expression.


    I''ve never seen such a pretty girl. I reckon she must be a national-level beauty when she grows up. It''s a pity I didn''t get to interact with many beauties in the past. Usually, it was me helping beauties meet my boss. Whatever happened after that was none of my business. This was the first time I held such a pretty girl in my arms. It doesn''t matter if it''s just for a few seconds.


    "It''s alright."


    Those must be myst two words I leave behind.


    The fierce wind of death brought toward me by the death whistled loudly next to my ear. I closed my eyes and waited for my final moment. How embarrassing. I was given a good opportunity and yet I''m wasting this second chance at life. But it''s fine I guess. At least I did something I wanted to do for once.


    This girl will be able to remember me for this, right?


    *ng!*


    The sound of the sword grinding against the wall rang out right next to my ear. The sound of it almost made me grind my teeth. I hugged the child tightly. I could still feel the threat of the sword at my neck even though my eyes were closed. I waited for it to cut down on me. However, it didn''t move in the end.


    After a good while of silence, I cautiously opened my eyes and looked up overhead.


    A head of silver hair swayed gently in the air. A pair of blue eyes stared at me. She wore a metal breast-te and scars were visible under the lights provided by the mes. She didn''t wear any other protective gear and I didn''t have the time to see any more protective gear because my eyes were captivated by her face. I said that I had never seen a girl prettier than the girl in my arms right now, but I now want to say that this girl was so beautiful she could make one forget to breathe. Underneath her cold-sharp eyes was a straight nose. Her slightly pale lips looked ample and she had a tender beauty-mole. She looked at me, but her expression wasn''t gentle.


    Her sword stopped on my neck. She didn''t swing through. Well, it was close enough to cut into my skin. If I were to budge a little, it would cut into my neck.


    We looked at each other without saying a word. We just silently looked at each other.


    Her sword was still on my neck, and the child was still in my arms.


    I don''t know how long the silencested, but then her cold-ample lips then uttered a word: "Move."


    "No."


    Yup, that was the conversation we had in our first meeting.

 Chapter Volume 1 1

    Behind the extravagant red screen in the massive camp was a luxurious woollen carpet. In the centre of it was a huge wooden tub. Actually, it would be more urate to describe it as a wooden bathtub. However, it was odd. Why would there be such a luxurious bathtub in the middle of such a marching-army''s camp?


    I don''t think the woman in the tub right now felt it was out of ce though. The water in the tub wasn''tpletely transparent, so I imagine some sort of famous and expensive scents or bath-salt had been added. Red flower petals gently floated on top of the water. The woman sat in the water looking veryfortable. She rested her long and slender calf on the edge of the bath-wall. Her lotus-root-looking toes looked like congealed fat and were also white. Her toe-nails which were like the crescent moon didn''t have a single mark on them. If she wasn''t moving her toes non-stop, anyone would''ve thought they were perfect statues made from marble. The parts of her body above her slender well-proportioned calves were in the water. They attracted one''s eyes as they shed following the water''s movement.


    Her slender fingers yed with a flower still covered with dew and she kept her exquisite face hidden behind the flower. She stroked the flower petals with her slender fingers. Her vixen-like eyes contained a strange smile as they stared at the flower before them. She had very-rarely seen heterochromia eyes. However, as a ruler, she had to be somehow different to others anyway.


    She silently soaked in the water and enjoyed her hot-water bath. However, she seemed to be pondering something, waiting for something.


    The door to the camp got aggressively pulled open. She sat up from the water and her perfect breasts jiggled, bringing along a creamy liquid, making it look slightly erotic. But she didn''t mind herself. Instead, she watched the warrior in armoure over bringing along a stench of blood as well as the things she was dragging along behind her.


    The queen chuckled softly and theny back down. She looked at the warrior with white hair in front of her, giggled softly and said: "My warrior has returned, hmm? It looks like my warrior has brought me wonderful news too."


    "Spoils of war."


    The warrior gave the queen before her a very simple response and then tossed the two things she was dragging along behind her to the queen''s side. The stuff she tossed over included two corpses, two heads, a young girl and me.


    I became the warrior''s spoil of war.


    I felt the feeling of being tossed face-down once again. Wait, no, it''s the first time. But my face crashed into a soft carpet this time. My hands and feet were tied behind me like a pig tied up to a rod on New Year. I had no way of raising my head in that position so I could only chew on the woollen carpet.


    The sound of water in the tub could be heard, and immediately after, the sound of bare-feet stepping onto the carpet. Honestly, I really wanted to see what the beauty who stepped out of the bath looked like. I was shocked when I got tossed so I didn''t get to see what she looked like. However, I couldn''t budge at all. I could only look at the water trickle down her perfect feet as she walked in front of me and to the back of the screen.


    A secondter, virtually immediately after, that woman walked over this way again. She walked up to the warrior''s side and asked with a smile: "Is this the demon king''s head?"


    "Yes, your majesty. That is the demon king''s head and this is his wife''s head. Their corpses are here too. I personally beheaded them."


    It sounds like the warrior who almost decapitated me was reporting the results of her battle to her phenomenally-beautiful queen. Though I''m not acquainted with the demon king, I still feel it''s quite pitiful to be decapitated by this young girl, not to mention having your wife killed too.


    "Amazing. That''s amazing. You make me proud my warrior. Can you guarantee it? Can you guarantee that you personally beheaded the demon king without anyone else''s assistance?"


    "Yes. The elves and gnomes were upied outside. I alone killed the demon king before you."


    The queen''s voice carried extreme excitement. However, the warrior''s voice was as calm as usual. Her voice never changed when she almost decapitated me and again now. It must be a glorious feat for a human to y a demon king I presume. But the warrior was calm as if it was a chicken she killed.


    "Amazing!! Amazing!! Veirya, fantastic work!! Ah! Humanity has never done anything to make me as proud as this. Veirya. My dear. You truly are my greatest treasure. Do you know what you did?! You saved the entire world! The entire world should apud you! You saved this entire world, and I can uplift humanity to the position of leader in the alliance thanks to your bravery. After all, your bravery as a human was what allowed you to y the demon king. This is great news. My beloved Veirya, I have never been so happy. Oh, my Veirya!!"


    "Your majesty¡­ my armour is dirty¡­¡­"


    "It''s alright, it''s alright."


    If I were to look in their direction right now, I would probably see a lesbian scene, right? But I still can''t raise my head. I can only see her tippy-toe up on her bare-feet twisting side-to-side before the armour.


    "What about the remaining two then?"


    After checking out the two spoils of war over there, the queen finally turned her attention our way. The little girl and I got tossed onto the ground. The queen walked up to us. I looked at the bare-feet before me stop before me. Immediately after, I felt a tender feeling on my head. The queen pressed her foot on my head and into the carpet. She didn''t seem to be abusing me, but purely doing so because it was fun.


    The queen''s foot was extremely soft. While it didn''t make much contact with my head, it was still enough to make me exhrated. Since she just came out of her bath, her body carried a very nice scent. The cheeky flower scent toyed with my nose. Water from her body which she had yet to wipe dry dripped trickled down her slender leg and onto my head¡­¡­


    Her seductive mannerisms didn''t make me feel humiliated in any way. Or rather, I shamelessly got a boner¡­¡­ The queen yed with my head while looking at the warrior and asking with a giggle: "This man is a human no matter how I look at him. Why did a human be your spoil of war, Veirya? Could it be that humans helped the demon king?"


    "I apologise, your majesty. I too do not know who this is. I cannot identify where he is from ording to his clothing and he has no proof of identity either. However, he appeared inside of the demon king''s pce and protected the demon king''s daughter. Therefore, I felt that he should be considered an enemy and as such brought him back."


    The warrior stood next to me and exined it to the queen. The queen snorted and then took her foot off my head. I surprisingly felt a random feeling of disappointment. The queen crouched down and looked at me. The warrior who was behind me pulled my head up without any pity. My body was like a frozen salt-fish. I had no choice but to lift my body. I felt a pain in my spine like it was being ripped. I was scanned by the pair of heterochromia eyes. She wore a pampering smile on her beautiful face. She looked at me like I was a cute puppy she took an interest in. She reached her hand out and pinched my face even though my face was scrunched up due to the pain. But I also noticed that I could see a pink shape peeping out of her bath towel where her breasts were even clearer now since she crouched down.


    "I sure am curious. Who exactly are you? Why did you, a human appear on the demon race''s side? Why are you dressed in such odd clothing? Why did you protect the demon king''s daughter? Can you exin yourself to me?"


    "I¡­ I¡­ I don''t know either. I¡­ I just appeared there¡­. I saw¡­ someone¡­ try to kill a young girl¡­¡­"


    I honestly don''t know man! And it''s really ufortable talking in this position! I feel like my body is suffering the pain of being torn in two. It''s tough enough as is trying to speak.


    "Did the demon king capture him? When I went to deal the finishing sh, the demon king used a magic spell to summon someone over and use them as a meat-shield. However, it appeared his spell failed him though someone was still summoned over. But then I have never seen this person before. It does not look like he possesses any magical skills or fighting skills either. He has no special characteristics. He is just an ordinary person."


    The warrior''sst words erased my only hope. I thought I would have been granted some superpower after dimensional travelling. But it turns out I''m just an ordinary person¡­¡­


    "Is that right?"


    It didn''t look like the queen could ept such an answer though. She looked at me somewhat disinterested then sighed and said, "I thought he was somehow different and got curious. But it sounds like he''s but just an ordinary person. He probably came from the north. Am I right? Don''t be nervous. I am the leader of the human alliance. I am the queen of all of humanity, Sisi Novak Traynor. I myself really like this name. What do you think? Stranger, do you think that this name is really cute?"


    She pinched my chin with her slender fingers. Her heterochromia eyes were like two searchlights scanning me. I felt like she was looking through my body. I stared nkly at her eyes, not daring to utter a word.


    "I do¡­¡­"


    I should probably behave myself in reality, huh?


    "Good boy. Good boy~"


    Queen Sisiughed with joy. She stroked my head cheerfully like she was stroking a dog. She then put my body down, looked at the warrior in front of her and said with a smile: "Alright, alright. I don''t have any ns for the demon king''s daughter there. I wouldn''t do something to a little girl. My most beloved Veirya, since you dered these your spoils of war, I shall keep theses heads and these corpses. As for the child, you can have her. As the child of the demon king, she could be considered an excellent spoil of war, right?"


    Queen Sisi walked up to the girl. The girl didn''t say a word since she got thrown in. In fact, she didn''t even cry. I was slightly worried she was dead. However, Queen Sisi seemed to have picked her up behind me. Sheughed loudly and remarked: "This child looks quite cute, huh? If she wasn''t the daughter of the demon king, I would really want to hug her. But now¡­¡­ Uhm, forget it. I am not interested in a girl."


    "L-Let go of me!!"


    "Sure."


    Sisi held the girl who was in mid-air and just reacted. She then walked up to the bath and tossed her into it. The girl let out a muffled shriek and then made intense gurgling sounds in the water. Queen Sisi then immediately pulled her out of the water, but before the girl could catch her breath, she once again, dunked her into the water.


    I was powerless to do anything. I was tied up on the ground. I couldn''t do anything but shout. Queen Sisi heard me so she turned her head around and smiled at me with an odd look. She then pped her hands and said: "Pull her out. Don''t die in my bathtub. Otherwise, I''ll end up in a scandal over this."


    "Roger."


    The warrior nodded. The queen pped her hands. She then giggled cheerfully and said: "This deserves a celebration. This deserves a celebration. The problem humans have been fretting over for centuries has finally been resolved by me. I am very happy, you know? Hurry up and take a shower, Veirya. You are the star of tonight''s banquet. As for this gentleman¡­¡­"


    The queen raised her foot up and kicked forwards aggressively. She didn''t step on my head this time. Instead, she used her toes to tease my face in a rough manner. Her ice-cold toes carried her gentle skin. I shut my eyes and did my best to dodge. However, I couldn''t dodge in my position. As a matter of fact, her toes even stabbed into my mouth.


    "Mister, how about you apany me by my side at the banquet tonight? I can tell that you are someone who has received excellent education. I tested you with four differentnguages just now and you managed to understand them all. To be honest, I''m interested in you again. Hehehe¡­¡­ Mister, make me more interested in you. I really look forward to it~¡­¡­"


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 2

    The queen took me to another huge tent.


    I''ve never dressed up like this. You could say that I''ve changed clothes. I changed into a robe that can''t really be considered a formal robe. It slightly resembled a tuxedo, but I had a cor around my neck while Queen Sisi held the rope in her hand. The queen wore a narrow-purple formal dress, but the cut looks a little high. The cut showed off the entirety of her white and ample thighs that she arrogantly unted as she walked. Her small ivory-like round shoulders, perfect vicles and the top of her breasts underneath her shoulders were also revealed. One of her breasts had a mesmerising mole.


    Queen Sisi is probably as beautiful as Veirya I reckon. However, the queen unted her beauty a lot more arrogantly. She had absolute confidence in her beauty which added to her beauty. She unted her perfect body and face to the world with absolute confidence which also indicated that she could indeed captivate and mesmerise everyone.


    It must be a very beautiful thing to be able to stay by her side as a normal person I imagine. But I''m being treated as nothing but a dog and led around right now. The queen led me in a pleased fashion. The soldiers by the side looked at me with a strange gaze, but they weren''t all shocked. Some of them were sympathetic. It looks like I''m not the first person the queen treated like this.


    From first impressions, it looks like this queen is an extreme sadist, possessing sadistic tendencies towards anyone. And I just happened to be unfortunate enough to get tossed to her by Veirya, thus bing this queen''s dog.


    But this isn''t a bad thing entirely. I did manage to live after seeing Veiry''a de drawn on me after all. She didn''t cut me down after I refused. Instead, she tied me up and then dragged me along, making me her spoil of war. Though this is humiliating, I do get to continue living in this world. Honestly, this situation feels foreign to me like it''s not real, despite me heading toward this army-tent right now, despite me being having a cor around my neck and being dragged along, and feeling that this isn''t real.


    If I can live on in this world, how am I going to live on? I''d die if I was alone in this world, won''t I? I definitely need someone to lead me in this world so that I can live on. As for whether that person is the warrior Veirya or this sadistic queen, I don''t care either way. I just want to live.


    While I won''t be scared to die when the time calls for it, I want to live if I can live. And if possible, I want to live with dignity. Now that''s not the most urgent matter at hand. Right now, I just need to get through this banquet. Will I be able to live an ordinary life if I can make the queen happy at this banquet? I initially worked as a secretary so I believe I can make the queen happy¡­


    I think¡­¡­


    But I need to get through this banquet first, right?


    Veirya should be the star of this banquet, or maybe the queen in front, or maybe the entire human race. I presume that since based on the conversation before, the human warrior personally yed the demon king without assistance from the elves. Consequently, they should be able to take the leader position in the alliance since a human personally took the demon king''s head.


    I believe that even if Veirya''s team-members were to ignore the different bloody battles the races fought, the people in the rear are definitely nning things. The elves and gnomes are definitely thinking the same thing, and that is to im that their warrior took the demon king''s head. In the eyes of the warrior and her small team, the members of the team arerades while the demon king''s was the enemy. However, in the eyes of the people in the rear, they see one another as enemies and the demon king as just a trophy to prove their victory.


    Maybe these people have already decided how to divide the world after the demon-king died. That''s what the people in the rear are like. Before the frontlines even dere victory, the rear has already begun to discuss "afterwards". But to be fair, that is their job so I can''tin.


    I followed the queen''s footsteps behind her without daring to say anything until we arrived at the banquet location. This was a huge tent. In the centre of the tent was a long table. On the two sides and inner-most area of this square tent was three tables. There was a huge open space in the centre. The tables on the two sides were now full with people. I looked over. On one side were human-looking creatures who were very short. They were about as tall as human-children. On the other side were people dressed in extremely extravagant clothing and maybe a little taller than humans. However, they looked evidently thin. I guess these are the so-called elves and dwarfs?


    As soon as the queen entered, the seated people on both sides stood up and apuded. They apuded loudly to wee this world''s hero. The queen revealed a very pleased smile. She raised her hands up high to receive the respect and blessings of her allies. Opposite of us right now was Veirya who was standing at humanity''s table. She faced the queen and saluted her as you do in the army¡­ uhh¡­ it is the army salute, right¡­¡­?


    Immediately after, the queen dragged me over to that side. She then stroked my head and pointed to a spot on the ground. I looked at her feeling somewhat awkward. The queen smiled and then indicated for me to sit on the ground next to her. I''m being treated exactly like a dog! Is it a good idea to be doing this in front of the elves and dwarfs?


    But I know that the queen isn''t patient so I simply closed my eyes and sat my ass down on the carpet next to the queen. She smiled and then reached her hand out to stroke my head. She then grabbed a piece of meat from the table and put it into my mouth. She then immediately picked up a red-wine in front of her that looked like blood and stood up. She scanned her allies next to her with a strange gaze like that of a fox. Sheughed and said: "Now then. As you are all here, I shall have the first drink. This is for all of us. We all suffered harassment at the hands of the demon race. Countless brothers and sisters of ours were preyed on by the demonic creatures, wounded, killed. But from today onwards, there will be no demonic creatures who will harm us. We yed the demon king together and scorched theirnd. We skewered their demon king''s head on our g and dered our victory! This wine is for our efforts and for us winning the glory of victory as well as all those who were sacrificed in this battle. Those who have left us have left us for good, but we need to continue to forge forth! Come! A toast to the victors and a toast to those who are gone!"


    "A toast to the victors and a toast to those who are gone!"


    Everyone - of course other than me, since I was just a dog now - on both sides stood up and raised their cup up high. when the queen raised hers. The two races definitely aren''t speaking humanity''snguage, but strangely, I can understand them.


    After offering the first drink as the leader of humanity, the banquet officially started. The queen didn''t offer Veirya who was next to her a drink. But that''s normal. Even if Veirya is a war-heroine, the queen is still her queen, and hence won''t take the initiative to offer her a drink. Veirya was dressed in a white and blue army uniform. She sat up straight next to the queen in a most well-mannered fashion. Her gaze was calmly trained forward. She waspletely serious like a statue. Though a war had ended, or we could even say an era had ended, Veirya didn''t rx. She was still iparably serious as she looked forwards even though nothing was in front. She didn''t even eat. She just sat in ce like that.


    Honestly, she has a really nice body. Her boobs looked like they were going to burst out of her clothes, and her face was really pretty despite her not wearing any expression.


    A fair few elves and dwarfs approached her to offer her a drink. She didn''t reject any of them and drank cup after cup. Once she was done drinking, she would return her cup to the table and sit there to wait for the next person.


    The queenughed while speaking to people while putting food into my mouth once in a while. She didn''t stop stroking my head. She was basically treating me like a pet. That said, I don''t think that''d make the queen happy. I feel that there''s something wrong with the way she looks at me.


    The next dish was served up and it was a huge steak. The queen looked at the steak. She then quickly snatched it up and tossed it into the centre of the tent, in other words, in the middle of the three tables. The tent fell intoplete silence as everyone turned to look at where itnded. I suddenly had an ominous feeling.


    The queen scrubbed my head, pointed at the steak andmanded with a smile: "Go doggy."


    You want me to go and pick up a piece of steak in front of the three races?


    I looked at her astonished. Her smile was so naive and pure like she was passing down an extremely normal order like my user interface was designed for me to do that.


    Veirya looked at me but didn''t say anything, instead, turning her head away. I looked at the queen with despair, not willing to go towards it. Was I going to have to eat the steak the queen threw like a dog in front of the most esteemed individuals of the three races? The queen stroked my face. She leaned in toward my ear, giggled softly and said: "Go my dear doggy. Or are you telling me you can''t even be a dog? If you can''t even be a dog, what am I going to need to keep you around for? Go. Go and be a good doggy. Hurry¡­¡­ But remember, dogs don''t stand up and they don''t have arms. Be a good dog and entertain me."


    She reached her hand out and patted me on my neck again. She sealed off myst retreat-route. I looked in the direction of the steak hopelessly. I looked at the people on both sides. The gnomes and elves didn''t say a word, instead, waited in silence. They waited for me to crawl over there like a dog and pick the steak up with my mouth. I looked at my surroundings in despair. Not one person was willing to step out and speak out for me. Not one person cared about me even though I threw my life away to save a young girl just before. Now that my dignity was shattered, everybody wanted to kick me while I was down.


    "Go doggy. Otherwise¡­ I''ll be put in an awkward spot¡­¡­"


    I quivered as I extended my hand out and crawled like a dog. They burst out inughter and I could feel all of my blood rush to my head. The humiliation and torment made me wish I could just die. That piece of steak wasn''t even five steps away from me but it felt like it was at the ends of the world.


    I don''t know if I have the courage to take a second step. My rationality told me to stop. If we were to continue breaking down my dignity, I really will be a dog, won''t I?


    A dinner knife then flew over and stabbed into that piece of meat. All theughter immediately halted. Stunned, I looked up at the elves. A young girl stood there. She looked at Queen Sisi whose smile was slowly fading without any fear. She sternly asked: "Toying with arade is not what a queen should do. On one hand, you offer a toast to those who lost their lives, while you toy with yourrade on the other. What has this man done to deserve such humiliation? Veirya, can you just sit there and watch this as a soldier and a heroine?!"


    "Sorry, I''m a soldier."


    Veirya looked at her nonchntly and sternly added, "I follow the queen''s orders."


    "You¡­¡­"


    The elf ced her cup of wine down. She then looked at herrades by her side who were feeling awkward and then Queen Sisi. She sternly said: "If I must watch such an unfair scene at this celebration, then I cannot ept it. Please allow me to leave first."


    Queen Sisi watched the elf in front of her who turned around to leave, giggled softly and said: "Don''t do that. I was just joking. You''re the elves'' heroine too. You apanied Veirya here. It''s just that¡­ this man protected the demon king''s daughter, you know? Do you think he is ourrade when he, a human threw his life away to protect a daughter from the demon race?"


    "Throwing yourself at a de to save a young girl, in my eyes, he is no different to a hero."


    I''m guessing this elf is a team-member of the warrior''s team? She wasn''t afraid of Queen Sisi in the least. She nonchntly continued with her response, "Veirya, can you stand that? Can you stand your queen being so tyrannical, rude and boorish?"


    "I''m a soldier."


    "You''re a human too!"


    "Alright, alright."


    Someone from the elven side stepped forth and said something in the ear of the enraged elf. However, the elf angrily knocked away their hand and then turned around and went to leave nheless. Queen Sisi then stood up. She looked at Veirya and the elves who stood up with a smile. She smiled and passed the rope in her hand to Veirya. She then said: "Alright, alright, I admit that I shouldn''t have done this sort of thing that indeed nobody can ept in the presence of Miss Lucia who has always hated evil as one does one''s enemy. Since that is how it is, I will not make such over-the-top jokes in future. So, I shall return this dog, I mean, this person back to Veirya who owns his rights. Henceforth, this man''s fate shall be in the hands of Veirya. Miss Lucia is a very important individual in this celebration, so I hope that you will not ruin the atmosphere."


    The elf watched on and Veirya stood up. She then took the ropes tied to my cor which Queen Sisi handed her. She then looked at the elf and the elf sighed hopelessly. Given what Queen Sisi said as well as herrades, she sat back down in her seat.


    I sat on the carpet next to Veirya until the banquet ended. Queen Sisi actually didn''t do anything to me again. However, Veirya didn''t spare me a single nce despite me looking at her more than once¡­¡­ If this continues¡­ will that girl and I¡­ be Veirya''s spoils of war and ves?


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 3

    Queen Sisi didn''t look angry after the banquet. She left with her arrogant smile as she came, but I didn''t get to walk next to the queen like a powerful figure. Instead, I was pulled around by Veirya who killed the demon king.


    Veirya didn''t kindly remove my dog-cor like I thought she would. She loyally carried out the queen''s thoughts, and that was to treat me like a dog or a ve. Therefore, my predicament didn''t change for the better. She was different to the impression I had of a warrior or hero. Aren''t warriors in legends meant to stand up like Lucia and save everyone like a hero? Why is the warrior in front of me someone who could cut a young girl down without any hesitation and someone who could treat someone as a dog or ve? Veirya also didn''t let down her guard around a prisoner of war which I imagine can be attributed to hering from excellent army traditions. She ensured that I couldn''t escape and even tied my hands up.


    Are you¡­ really a hero?


    Veirya led me up to a tent on one side and pulled the curtain-entrance open. She pointed inside then looked at me and said: "You look after her."


    "What¡­¡­?"


    I didn''t get an answer. I was tossed into the tent just like that. I''ve face-nted three times today! This time was different to thest two times too. I at leastnded on a carpet thest two times. This time, I got totally intimate with the floor. I felt the pain of sand graze my face hard. My hands and feet were restrained so I could only struggle on the ground like an insect. I turned my head around to see Veirya heartlessly close the door. It looks like this tent isn''t a tent with a curtain, but a prison!


    It was totally pitch-ck inside. The thick tent kept the cold and moonpletely blocked out outside. I crawled on the ground and desperately twisted my body to try and sit up. Such a simple mane our felt excruciatingly difficult with my hands and feet restrained. I blinked my eyes as much as I could to try and see in the dark. Veirya did tell me to take care of the young girl, but I don''t even hear a sound in here.


    My eyes adjusted and could eventually see the things inside the dark. This ce really was like a prison room. There was an iron cage inside, and there appeared to be a tiny silhouette lying inside of it.


    I slowly wiggled my body to desperately crawl over. The young girl should be locked inside that iron cage. As a young girl, she must have broken down after being dragged back by Veirya and then abused by the queen. I don''t know what wrongs she did, but she''s just a young girl. Even if she is the demon king''s daughter, so what? She wasn''t the one who hurt humans. How is humanity any different to the demon king by doing this? I don''t know what the demon king did, but at least I know that the things humanity does are absolutely appalling.


    Honestly, I could just leave the girl up to her own device now since she''s I''m in the same position as her. By that I mean, we''re just praying for our own behinds at this stage. How am I going to take care of her now? But I really wanted to be with her right now. I don''t know why I feel that way, but perhaps it''s because she was the first one to show me kindness sinceing to this world.


    The demon king is no more now, but humanity is doing the same things demons would do.


    I gave it my best to crawl over. Her small body was quivering gently inside. She was curled up in the corner like a wounded dog. The young girl raised her head up a little and looked in my direction. She finally cried out. I don''t think she could see where I was. She just sobbed gently toward me.


    "I''m over here."


    I shifted to the side of the cage and pressed myself up against the iron rails. I could feel the cold of the iron and the vengeance from insidee at me. However, I didn''t care. The girl inside had her hands and feet restrained just like me. She desperately wiggled her body toe over to me. I could see her tears brimming in her eyes as they coursed down her face right in front of me in the dark. We could touch our cheeks with each other. We rubbed our cheeks against each other without uttering a word, but we could feel a strange sense of peace and bliss.


    I could feel her fear and despair, and to be honest, I was in the same boat. I don''t know what I''m waiting for nor do I know what Veirya will do to us. I really am a disgrace to dimensional travellers. Other people who dimensional travel get big-boobed moms who fight for them, while I got treated like a dog and tossed in here as soon as I arrived, I''ve only got the demon king''s daughter by my side.


    "Hungry¡­¡­" The young girl muttered a single word while sobbing in front of me. I looked around and spotted a te. On it were a few slices of rye bread. I recognise that type of rye bread. It''s the type modern-day people treat as the so-called healthy rye bread. But I bet the rye bread here is worse than the rye bread I know of.


    I crawled over to it and picked it up with my mouth. Have I picked up the wrong thing? Why does this bread feel as hard as a te? I picked up the rye bread with the posture the queen wanted me to fetch the steak with before but didn''t, except this time, I didn''t feel humiliated.


    I ced the bread in front of the girl. She eagerly bit into it but then quickly spat it out and coughed. I realised that asking her to chew on this rye bread was the equivalent of asking her to break the iron bars by biting them and swallowing them. There was water ced to one side, but who''s the damn retard who put the water outside of the bars?!


    How were you expecting the girl inside to drink it, lick like a dog? I''ll bet the genius behind this was Queen Sisi. I''ll bet that those around that shameless tyrant lead lives more miserable than death even when they win wars outside! I''ll make you pay in the future!!


    I grabbed the bread back up with my mouth and ripped off a peace. This bread is made of porcin, isn''t it?! I then immediately moved over to the bowl of water, grabbed a mouthful of water, mixed it in with the rye bread in my bread and chewed on it with everything I had. I felt like my teeth were going to break. Chew and chew, and my entire jaw turned numb real soon. However, I continued to chew with all my might. I then leaned over to reach the girl''s mouth and kissed her on her lips.


    The young girl''s lips were soft, fragrant and sweet. She was still just a kid, but her lips were so soft and ample. She should be a very pretty girl in future. With our lips tightly glued together, I tried my best to pass the bread in my mouth into hers using my tongue. She too did her best to suck it over into her mouth. The tips of our tongues were tangled with each other. Our saliva mixed in with the bread and ran down our mouths where they made contact.


    "Mm¡­ mm¡­ oom¡­¡­"


    The young girls body gently twisted. She closed her eyes like she was enjoying it. Not only was the tip of her tongue eating, she seemed to start taking the initiative to wrap her tongue around mine and my lips. She''s just a child and yet she''s so good at kissing.


    But this is no time to be enjoying yourself!! I''m saving your life right now!


    In the end, a string of saliva hung between us as we pulled away from each other. If I wasn''t aware of what I was doing I''d get sent straight to prison for ten years for that. The young girl''s face waspletely red due to shyness as well as shortness of breath. I on the other hand was spinning due the ecstatic feeling of getting my first kiss.


    "I¡­ I want more¡­¡­"


    The young girl seemed to be a little fazed. She leaned in toward my mouth and kissed me on my lips again. Her tongue gently teased the tip of my tongue. She went left, right, and did circles. I initially wanted to back off but she bit down on my lips gently leaving me with no way of breaking away. Not only was she teasing my tongue, she was also sucking the air in my mouth and my saliva into hers. I felt myself weakening. The slight shortness-of-breath sensation made my brain go nk, so I subconsciously went along with her movements.


    This first kiss of ours was just a pure kiss. I don''t know if she wants to kiss or if she wants food. But whatever the case, I ended up kissing a kid!!


    But this girl has got to be too skilled man. Why does it feel like there are papie on her tongue like a cat''s tongue? When she wraps her tongue around mine, I feel like my entire mouth is being teased. The ticklish feeling is hard to resist. It gives me the urge to want to be wrapped up by her forever and kiss her forever.


    She finally let go of my mouth and we sat backpletely exhausted. Her body lifelessly smashed onto the iron bars in front and the door of the cage creaked. It slowly opened as we watched utterly stunned¡­¡­


    What the hell?! They didn''t lock the door!!


    Current time in Queen Sisi''s military camp.


    "Veirya, can you guarantee that the demon king''s daughter won''t leave?"


    Veirya gently pinched her hand. She then looked at the queen and answered in a serious tone: "She has been locked up."


    Queen Sisi smiled and then said: "I''ll leave the girl in your hands. Veirya, if you want her to die, you must make sure she suffers from torture before letting her die."


    "Understood."


    Veirya nodded. Queen Sisi nodded with satisfaction. She then turned her head around to look at the map on the table and said: "I need to give my warrior a reward now. Veirya, this is the current map of humanity. You can have any region that''s drawn here. Of course, leave my imperial city for me. I''m someone who keeps old friendship in mind. So choose. Where are you going to choose to go next?"


    Veirya looked up at the map. Just a kind gesture from Queen Sisi was enough to give Veirya a region to rule. That was better than any reward. Money wouldn''t be a concern if she chose the richestnd. Due to the nature of being the lord of region, Veirya''s descendants could continue inheriting that ce forever.


    For a hero who ended an era, she certainly was worthy of unparalleled glory and honour.


    However, Veirya reached her hand out and pointed at the most northern spot, the region furthest away.


    "You want that ce?!"


    Clearly Queen Sisi was caught with surprise. She looked at Veirya with shock and exined, "That''s not a rich ce, Veirya. That ce is a small vige we just got the rights of ownership too. The people there are all heretics. It''s on the border. It was the demon race''s territory before. What do you want to go there for?"


    "Did you not tell me to choose the most appropriate ce? I am a soldier, so naturally I must choose the border to protect you."


    Veirya looked at the queen before her nonchntly and earnestly continued, "Wealth is not something we need. We only need honour."


    Queen Sisi scanned Veirya seriously while Veirya looked back at her with a serious look. A momentter, Queen Sisi let out a hopeless sigh, smiled helplessly and said: "I give up on you, Veirya. I feel very proud whenever I see you, but as your friend, I feel that you''re too bright. Being too perfect sometimes will bring you trouble. But since you''ve made your decision, I shall agree. However, Veirya, you must understand that I won''t be looking to see you manage a camp, but to looking to see you develop a region. That is a lord of a region''s job. You must remember, you are now not a warrior or a knight, but a lord."


    "I will not let you down, your majesty."


    "Good then. This is the gold jewellery the elves gave you. This is the strong-wine the elves gave you. Honestly, I don''t know which gift suits your tastes more. Take yourrades presents with you to your domain. Oh, right. Don''t forget to bring your ve and prisoner of war. I''m eagerly looking forward to seeing what happens between you three! Hehehe¡­¡­"


    Queen Sisi revealed a happy smile. Veirya nodded gently before saluting Queen Sisi and leaving the tent.


    "Your majesty."


    "What is it?"


    Quen Sisi looked at the man behind her as she giggled softly and went on, "It looks like Veirya isn''t a threat."


    "Yes. At present, it does not look like Veirya has any ideas. You know, I heard this from a friend: discharge a worthy person when he has served his purpose."


    Queen Sisi looked at the map in front of her, chuckled softly and continued, "What use does Veirya serve now? One who has the power to kill the demon king also has the power to ughter their way into the imperial pce and take my head. The demon king is dead. The warrior has lost her purpose too. The era of the warriors is over. I shall eliminate these useless powers one by one. It is your time that hase. My merchants, hurry and fill up my national treasury that was emptied to due to warfare to the brim!"


    "As youmand! I shall not disappoint you, your majesty!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 4

    "Although I''m the demon king''s daughter, father actually has countless other kids. I''m just a daughter born from him and a subus. Among demons, subi have very low intelligence¡­ so nobody paid us any attention. After that, my mother passed away and I was locked in the pce. I didn''t dare to leave¡­.. My brothers and sisters killed each other without any hesitation for the throne. I was no exception. I don''t have anybat power so I was very scared¡­ no one looked after me and no one protected me¡­¡­ I was all alone until father was killed¡­¡­"


    The curtain that could block out the light couldn''t block out the cold that was emitted from the ground. At the coldest point at night, the floor that had stored up coldness for so long slowly seeped out and made our little prison room indescribably cold. We didn''t have any warm clothes let alone nkets. My only option was to hug her tightly and keep her warm with my body-heat.


    I was so cold I shivered, but the warmth of the young girl kept my chest warm. This young girl from the demon race seems to have a higher body temperature than normal people. They say that a daughter is her father''s wadded-jacket. I see that it''s true now. However, I''m not her father, but close enough right now.


    The two of us snuggled up tightly. The girl softly recounted her past for me in my arms. I was surprised to discover that the demon king''s daughter didn''t receive much love from the demon king. She was basically an abandoned pawn. Her life in the demon king''s city and here is virtually the same. She''s still being discriminated against and abused.


    I looked at the young girl curled up in my arms. I couldn''t help but hold her tighter. She sobbed gently and then hugged me around my waist tighter, "No one has ever protected me like this before¡­¡­ No one has ever cared about me¡­¡­ As a matter of fact, nobody has ever been willing to speak to me¡­¡­ I used to watch the flying birds from inside the pce and hoped that there would finallye a day I could leave¡­¡­" The young girl leaned her head gently on my chest and sighed a breath of relief like she was atplete peace of mind. She struggled to wrap her arms around my back and clung to me tightly. She closed her eyes in peace and gently murmured, "You¡­ are just like my father¡­ just like the father in my dreams¡­ protecting me, looking after me, and letting me depend on you¡­¡­ Your chest is very, very warm. I don''t feel as if I have to worry no matter how scary the world outside is as long as I''m here¡­¡­ If possible¡­. can I call you, dad?"


    I hugged the girl in front of me and my throat felt like something was stuck in it. I knew the girl was being serious but as a single man, I don''t know how to respond to this way of addressing me that''s been suggested all of a sudden. I''ve never even had a girlfriend, so suddenly having a daughter is a little¡­ over the top, wouldn''t you agree¡­¡­?


    Before I could reply, the girl in my arms suddenly wriggled upwards and came right up to my lips. Before I knew it, she kissed my lips again. I lingered for a moment and my tongue was wrapped up by hers once again. However, the pleasure didn''tst long as she quickly let go of me. She then smiled and kissed me on my forehead and softly said: "I''m a subus¡­ so¡­ I can''t help it¡­ father¡­¡­ No matter what you think, I can''t turn back now. Please allow me to stay by your side¡­ dad¡­ My name is Leah. Please¡­ allow me to call you ''dad'' from now¡­¡­"


    I didn''t give her a direct answer. Instead, I stroked her head and she understood my intent behind it. Our lips interlocked again. She gently gripped my clothes at my chest with her hands and then slowly shut her eyes. I stroked her head and then next to her ear softly said: "Sleep, Leah."


    "Uhm."


    Leah responded like a cat meowing and I stroked her head. What she went through today is honestly too cruel for a girl. She still had bruises on her. I don''t get it. Why must both Queen Sisi and Veirya treat her so cruelly when she''s just a young girl that''s not a threat? She clearly didn''t do anything wrong. Does she have to face such cruel punishment just because of her origins?


    It doesn''t matter what one''s race is. They should be punished for the things they did and not because of their race. That''s my personal stance. Humanity is now doing what they resented most.


    Both Leah in my arms and myself have endured all sorts of hardships today. I got dragged around as a spoil of war as soon as I got here, then face-nted three times, and then I had to y a dog. I almost lost my dignity as a human too. Then I got tossed into here. I never expected I''d be able to bear through it all as a modern person. Now I feel that I can get through anything in the future now.


    I can''t get sick. I really will die if I get sick and no one looks after me. Plus, I need to take care of the daughter I just got myself. We need to support each other from now on because we''re now a family.


    I''ve never been a father, and I don''t know if I can do a good job, but I want to give it a try.


    In a state of haziness, I slowly fell into a dream. Honestly, I didn''t enter deep sleep. I woke up every now and then from fright and would then fall asleep again. I don''t know how much time had passed. My body felt heavy and really hot. Logically speaking, how could it be so warm in this prison that''s cold as a freezer? Moreover, even if I had Leah in my arms, she''s just a little kid. There''s no way she could be this heavy.


    I feel like I''m suffocating too. Something seems to be blocking my nose. Every time I tried to breath, my breath got stuck. What is this?


    I felt something at the corner of my mouth. It was iparably warm and soft. Wait. There seems to be something a little hard too. But not like hard-hard. I could feel the soft object rubbing against my mouth distinctively. I couldn''t resist extending my tongue out and having a lick. It felt warm and luscious.


    What is this?


    I opened my eyes but it was pitch-ck. That''s not right. It wasn''t dark but something was in front of my eyes. Some soft thing was squashing my face. It was vague but I seemed to see an outline¡­¡­ My heart stopped. No way. No way. How could this happen to me? I''m hugging my daughter, right? My daughter is only nine years old based on humanity''s age standards. There''s no way she could develop. Who''s this on my face?!


    I reached my hand out and pressed it on the ball on my face. It was just as I thought. Is this the ssic novel-booby face-wash?! I touched the very sensitive tip. My body reacted to the soft and somewhat hard tip. I couldn''t stop myself from reaching my hand out and continuing to feel it. This was my first time I touched the real thing!!


    "Ahh¡­¡­ Mm¡­¡­"


    A very seductive moan from my head moaned. The seductive moan came from my ear. My body went limp and I realised something was wrong. No. No. Not even a virgin would have such an intense reaction, right? I got a boner so fast¡­¡­


    I could feel two ample legs wrapped clinging to my lower back like a spider and I could feel them gently rubbing against my back. All my blood went to my head. I felt a strong urge to press myself down on top of the person on top of me. My hands grabbed those heavy meat-balls tightly and pinched and rubbed them in all sorts of ways.


    "Dad¡­¡­ Dad¡­¡­ what are you doing? ¡­¡­ Dad¡­¡­ don''t rub me¡­¡­ I don''t like this feeling¡­¡­"


    A coquettish voice spoke out to me again and my body froze. I looked at the beauty in front of me nkly. My lust vanished in an instant. I grabbed her shoulders tightly and sat up. The woman in front of me rubbed her eyes with puzzlement and looked at me hazily. She had short-silver hair with a few strands stuck to her face. She was nude but her buxom body emitted a faint light. Her boobs which were a size I''d never seen before jiggled intensely as she rubbed her eyes. My hand-prints were still left on them. She didn''t have belly button. Instead, she had a ck heart-shaped tattoo-like ck mark there which stretched all the way down¡­¡­


    The big-boobed woman in front of me rubbed her eyes and asked me in a tired voice: "Dad¡­¡­ what''s wrong?"


    I looked at her nkly, shocked and lost for words. She tilted her head and reached her arms out tozily hug my head again. She smashed her body into mine again and my head was buried in her breasts once again. She closed her eyes and clicked her mouth with satisfaction. She murmured: "If nothing''s the matter, I want to sleep some more¡­¡­ Your body is so warm and smells so nice, dad¡­ I want to sleep some more¡­¡­ But can you not rub me like that, dad¡­? Leah feels a little hot¡­¡­"


    Yeah¡­¡­


    Leah¡­¡­


    Is¡­¡­


    She''s a subus¡­¡­


    Based on what I know about the settings in this world, subi usually seduce human males and then extract something from then, right? But Leah seems fine. Leah didn''t leap at me and do anything. Is there a reason? Is it because she knows I''m her father? Or has she not fully awakened to her subus nature? Her current actions are just instinctive. But she doesn''t know what''s she''s doing, right¡­¡­?


    But do subi transform at night?


    However, I felt like I lost all sense of rationality when I was suffocating from her booby face wash. There was a stunner right in front of me but I can''t do anything. Of course I won''t do anything. This is a girl that calls me her dad. She''s just a child. A child that''s only around nine years old! I can''t vite a girl, especially one that calls me her dad!!!


    That''s the bottom line!


    I closed my eyes tightly but the feeling of our body contact won''t disappear for sure. I clenched my fist and hammered the ground to tell myself to "control yourself" with the pain. However, every breath I took brought Leah''s seductive scent into my nose. Every time she breathed, those tips that could drive a man crazy would swing past my face. That realistic feeling wanted to make me die. I really, really wanted to do that, but I really can''t!!


    I sat up once again and shook Leah who was in front of me. Leah looked at me somewhat angry this time. I looked at her face and seriously said: "Listen to me, Leah. I don''t know if you''ve realised but for your sake and mine, I don''t think we can sleep in this position. Let''s do this. We''ll split up. You sleep here, and I''ll sleep there."


    "Dad¡­ did Leah do something wrong?"


    Leah pouted and grabbed my chest as she sobbed. Her body quivered as she said, "Dad¡­ please don''t abandon Leah¡­ please¡­ don''t abandon Leah¡­ Leah¡­ Leah¡­ Leah won''t annoy you¡­¡­ Please¡­¡­ Please don''t drive Leah away¡­¡­"


    "Ah¡­¡­ That''s not what I meant¡­ erm¡­ hmm¡­ mm¡­ L-let''s change positions¡­¡­"


    I really couldn''t handle my daughter''s tears. I''m not sure if I was powerless against my daughter''s tears because I was now overflowing with fatherly-love or if it was because of the seductive power of her subus nature. Iy back down and reached my hand out to pull her down. I ced her head on my chest and then draped my arm around her. Now I won''t have a booby face wash¡­¡­


    Alright, I give up. Leah wrapped me up tightly with her arms and legs very naturally like it was habit. Leah was very happy in this position. She giggled and then snuggled up in my arms. She softly said: "Why is it so warm in your arms, dad? We only met for the first time, yet I feelpletely at peace by your side¡­¡­ I feel like I won''t be afraid of anything¡­¡­"


    "Maybe it''s because we were fated to be father and daughter¡­¡­"


    I stroked her head and my excited emotions calmed down a little. Stroking her head was a lot more calming than touching her boobs. I can''t do that sort of thing. No way in hell. This girl has called me her dad so I definitely can''t do that sort of thing!


    Things started to be hazy and I fell asleep once again. Perhaps I slept particrly well this time because it was warm in my arms¡­¡­


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 5

    I woke up really early the next day. It was dark all around so I couldn''t tell what time it was. However, I could hear the sound of metal armour moving on the ground so it looks like some of the soldiers have woken up. My limbs felt cold. The warmth fromst night hadpletely vanished, but the girl in my arms did keep some warmth with her. I looked down at the tiny head in my arms that was snoring gently. She had reverted back into the cute and petite Leah I was familiar with.


    Does Leah transform into that seductive form at night? It seems that she retains the mentality of a child though. Maybe subi enter a mode where they need to feast at night, which caused her to transform into that form. However, Leah who was always in the pce didn''t seem to know what she was doing. She just kisses me out of instinct like yesterday once that instinct kicks in.


    Whatever the case, Leah is now my daughter. I absolutely won''t do anything to Leah even though she''s a subus. Feeling sorry for her, I stroked her head. Leah quickly opened her eye and looked left and right like someone frightened. She gripped my chest tightly with her two hands, seemingly having calmed down after confirming that there were no enemies around. The sequence of things she justpleted made me pity her. She''s just a young girl, yet she can''t experience all the goodness this world has to offer. She has always been getting hurt no matter where she was. That must be why she wakes up scared no matter where she is I guess.


    She rubbed her eyes while looking at me and softly greeted me: "Good morning, dad."


    Before I could reply though, she suddenly revealed a slightly tense expression and softly said: "Dad¡­ someone''sing."


    "Don''t be scared."


    I pulled her into my arms and looked toward the entrance. Soon enough, not only could the subus hear footsteps, but even I could hear footsteps. They stopped at the entrance. The set of keys nging against each other gave off the vibe ofughter. The key went into the keyhole. However, the visitor didn''t pull the door open right away. Instead, they let the light slowly seep into the room where light didn''t reach. In the blink of an eye, we were blinded by the sunlight. I held Leah tightly in my arms and looked at the door in front with full alertness. I don''t know who on Earth came in or what they wanted. We were now the warrior Veirya''s spoils of war. Nobody knows what people might do.


    Regardless of what the case is, there are only a few things a man could do. He could either kill me or humiliate me. However, there are plenty of things he could do to a girl. I won''t let them get close to Leah. I''ve always been protecting Leah and I will continue to protect her in the future.


    The door opened and a head of silver hair came in first. Right after was a body dressed in shiny army as well as a long sword attached to the belt. The leggings and boots sang the melody of war as they apanied their owner''s footsteps. Perhaps she didn''t wear her helmet because she didn''t need it right now. The war is already over and she''s just here to visit her prisoner of war. Does she need toe fully geared up like that?


    Veirya carried a pile of thick and heavy piece of cloths in her hand. It looks like clothing. She looked at us and wasn''t surprised to see that Leah hade out from her cage as though she left the door unlocked on purpose. I watched her vigntly. She may be the heroine who ended the war to humans, but she''s no heroine to me, and even less of a warrior. Despite us both being humans, she never treated me kindly.


    She didn''t bother with the way I looked at her. She instead took the pile of clothes over to us and then ced it before us. She then took out a dagger from her belt and cut the ropes restraining our hands and feet. She then looked at us expressionlessly, pointed at the clothes on the ground and said: "Get changed. Get ready to head out."


    While still holding Leah in my arms, I looked at her and queried: "Where to?"


    "North."


    Her answer was extremely simple. She then turned around and went to head out. Without even turning around to look at us, she said, "It''s cold there, so, wear clothes."


    I lowered my head. I finally realised that maybe Leah''s clothes disappeared because she transformed. My face suddenly went red. What does Leah see me as¡­¡­? I thought I looked like a righteous man, but Veirya just sees me as a perverted freak hugging a naked young girl¡­¡­


    Veirya didn''t care thought and just left the prison. I looked at Leah and couldn''t quiteprehend what just happened. I don''t think it would be too shabby if Veirya were to exile us to the north. Though the north here definitely isn''t like the north in myst world, I reckon we''ll be free if we can get away from Veirya and that Queen Sisi.


    As for our life in the future, I can still take care of Leah as an adult. I''m confident in my abilities. I did manage to trick modern-day people after all, so tricking the ancient humans here in this world who aren''t studied will be a breeze.


    We''ll be good as long as we can get away from this group of creeps. That''s good enough!


    I picked up the clothes on the ground and checked them out. The clothes can be considered normal. They were very normal overcoats and cloaks. The cloaks were very thick so we can use them as a nket at night I reckon. There was also that strange type of glove where it only has one slot for all your fingers as well as a weird fur scarf. To the side of them were two pairs of boots, a small and arge one. I must say that we''re well prepared.


    Plus, I noticed that the clothes weren''t the same sizes. If Veirya just took clothes from the army-quarters, the clothes should be the same ce since they don''t make clothes specifically for children. However, one of the set of clothes brought to us was made specifically for Leah. It fit her perfectly.


    There was even underwear specifically prepared in the clothes. It was fine even though it was just a simple undershirt. I picked up the clothes and helped Leah into them gently. Leah looked at the clothes on her with surprise and softly muttered: "So warm¡­¡­"


    "Yeah. It looks like someone adjusted your clothes."


    I pinched her clothes. The stitching waspletely different to therge size clothes. It was tougher and more well-done. It looks like this set of clothes was prepared for a grown-up man previously. Somebody just adjusted the size. Further, that person was very familiar with Leah''s measurements since they fit her perfectly.


    I stretched my hand out and fastened Leah''s belt. I fixed her cape on her shoulder by adjusting the strings at the front. I made sure that her scarf was set so that the wind couldn''t get through her cor. Wool was used as lining for the interior of the boots. Actually, it might not be wool in this world. But it was very soft and warm nheless.


    Leah stretched her arms out cheerfully and spun around. With a smile she asked: "Dad, do I look good like this?"


    Honestly, no.


    While the clothes were very practical, theycked any resemnce of aesthetics. The colour was gloomy and the ash-grey hadn''t been dyed. They were also fumigated so that it would keep insects away so it stank. That said, Leah''s innocent smile added infinite cuteness to the simple and unadorned clothes.


    It''s true that the world judges based on looks no matter where you go.


    I looked at the girl before me, nodded and replied: "Very cute."


    "Hehe¡­¡­"


    Leahughed cheerfully and then threw herself into my embrace. I massaged her head then loosened her scarf a little and took off her hat designed to keep her head warm. I did that since we didn''t need to stay that warm in here. I quickly got changed and then exited with her.


    As soon as we exited, we heard the sound of metal armour moving. Veirya didn''t leave. She was leaning on the wall waiting for us the entire time. As soon as Leah heard her, her entire body jolted She held me tightly and buried her head behind me like an ostrich that got frightened. I quickly held Leah behind me and looked at Veirya in front of us. Veirya was still emotionless as usual. She reached her hand out, pulled Leah and grabbed my arm. Without saying anything, she then tripped me over¡­¡­


    I can''t beat her in a strength contest¡­¡­


    Leah froze up like a piece of nk as she looked at Veirya terrified. Veirya didn''t care that Leah was terrified. She reached her hand out, pinched Leah''s arm and leg, and finally her shoes. She then stood up as if she was satisfied and said: "Alright, it fits. There''s no need to make any more adjustments."


    "You adjusted the clothing?"


    I looked at Veirya slightly surprised. I looked at her shining metal armour and long-sword. I can''t imagine how she could do such fine work. This sort of female handiwork and warriors aren''t usually rted, right? Even Hua Mn doing all that was also fabricated.


    "Uhm."


    Veirya''s reaction was normal as normal gets like I asked a stupid question. She stood up in front of Leah while Leah was still looking at her terrified. Tears of terror formed in her eyes. I looked at Veirya confused. Wasn''t it the case that Veirya didn''t have any positive feelings for us? Why did she adjust Leah''s clothes then? And she must''ve spent all night adjusting it. It doesn''t seem to make sense for a soldier who raised a sword against a child to forsake her own sleep to adjust clothing for a young girl.


    "Why¡­¡­?"


    "Because you two are now mine."


    Veirya looked at us calmly and borated: "Because you two are now mine, and so I don''t want to let you two die."


    She then walked up to my side, pointed at the tent with smokeing from it and said: "There''s breakfast over there. Once you''re done eating, head over to the camp entrance. Hurry. I won''t wait for too long."


    "Uhm¡­¡­"


    "You must answer ''roger''."


    "Roger¡­¡­"


    "Louder."


    "Roger!"


    Veirya turned away and walked off. I walked up to Leah''s side and gently took her hand. Leah threw herself into my arms like she''d been separated from the world for ages, and sobbed softly: "Dad¡­ I''m so scared¡­ Does¡­ does¡­ does that woman want to kill me¡­¡­?"


    "I don''t know¡­ but dad will protect you no matter what¡­¡­ But it looks like maybe¡­ maybe Veirya isn''t a bad person?"


    I don''t get it myself. What sort of person is Veirya exactly? How does she¡­ actually feel about us? Is she¡­ the same as Queen Sisi?


    Leah and I aren''t the only two heading north alone. The three of us will be going to that ce I don''t know of.


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 6

    The soldiers didn''t have any opinion of us. I initially thought they''d discriminate against us or something, but they didn''t say anything when we went to grab food and sat down to eat. To the contrary, they seemed to not care about us. They all looked as rxed as can be like school kids having casual chats afterpleting their final exams. They wore happy and rxed expressions because they were done and could now return home and rx. These soldiers who were part of the crusades against the demons were very fortunate to live through it. They were now thinking about returning home and what to do next with their life. While Queen Sisi was very cruel to me, she rewarded the soldiers very handsomely. All the survivors received a fair amount of reward money so they could return home and live in peace now.


    Consequently, they were in a very good mood and didn''t have any ns to bother with us. They all had their own lives to live.


    It''s the same for us. We''ll have our own lives to live in the future as well. We''re going to be heading to the north. I don''t even have a grasp of this army camp, nor do I understand it let alone this so-called north. I don''t know what''s awaiting us butpared tost night, I think that our lives can''t be any worse. At least Veirya doesn''t look evil. Strictly speaking, she can be considered a kind individual.


    I ripped the bread to tiny pieces, put it into the bowl of soup in front of me and stirred it for a while. I don''t know what this soup is either. It looks like lots of things were tossed into it. Perhaps it was mainly some sort of milk. I looked more like oats in milk but it tasted very sour like some sort of yoghurt.


    Leah who hadn''t had anything to eat loved it though. She scooped spoonful after spoonful causing a mess on her face. I stretched my hand out to gently wipe the food off her face. I watched her scoop the bottom of the wooden bowl to get everything she could and chuckled helplessly. I pushed my bowl in front of me to her.


    "Are you not eating, papa?"


    Leah looked up at me with puzzlement. I shook my head. I looked at her with a smile and replied: "It''s alright. You have it. I''m not hungry yet. I''ll have some when I''m hungry."


    Leah was still looking at me with puzzlement. She then lowered her head and thought to herself for a moment. She trembled as she picked up the bowl in front of me, poured half into her bowl and then pushed the bowl with half of it left back to me. She smiled as she picked her spoon up and cheerfully said: "Papa, let''s have half each!"


    I looked at the soup before me and picked up my spoon with a grin. I rubbed Leah''s small head which was in front of me. Why does my daughter seem so cute? Leah and I lowered our heads at the same time, looked at the food in our bowls and gulped it down. I must say, this sort of yoghurt-tasting milk tastes pretty good when you have it when it''s hot.


    Unfortunately, because we divided it half-half between us, we finished it in really quickly. Honestly, it still tasted sour when it hit my gut. Not only was I not full, my appetite was greater now. I looked at the bowl in front of me and honestly felt hopeless. The soldiers had one bowl each as well so I couldn''t go and grab another bowl now. It looks like I''ll have to deal with this hunger pang. I''m a little hungry but I did eat something. I must remind myself that I had something to eat so that I feel satiated


    This isn''t bad.


    "I don''t think you two are full, hey?"


    Two long pieces of meat suddenly got tossed over whichnded in front of us. A crisp voice came from overhead and I looked up with surprise. I saw a face shining with cheerfulness and confidence. She looked a little small but her arrogance was nothing like that of a child''s. She wore in leather armour, but her chest was too t? I thought her chest was around the Leah''s size in her current form. Leah''s form at night is more mature than her by many folds.


    Her long ears twitched and then she sat down on the bench as lightly as you could. She supported her body by cing her hands on the chair and looked at Leah and I while smiling cheerfully. She said: "That''s a gift for you two. This is our first time meeting, but I really like you two. Or rather, I really admire and respect you, human. I really admire and respect the courage you showed for protecting a young girl. I''ve seen the brave Veirya but her bravery feels odd like she''s just not afraid of death. You however, are different. From what I saw yesterday, you''re afraid of death. But despite that, you still protected this young girl. I really want to know what you''re thinking."


    I looked at the elf in front of me and sincerely answered her: "Nothing. I just couldn''t stand watching a young girl in front of me get killed is all."


    I honestly didn''t think about it. That''s just what I thought at the time. I just couldn''t bear seeing the young girl get killed like that, especially when she''s this cute.


    Leah got a little scared when that was mentioned so she grabbed onto my arm and lowered her head. The elf was as gleeful as can be as she twitched her long ears, mmed her hand onto the table hard and shouted: "That''s it! That''s it! This is sort of heroic deed, this sort of selfless courage is what an adventurer should have! I wouldn''t be bored if I could meet more adventurers like you when I''m out adventuring. Unfortunately, I rarely meet anyone with your courage. Most of them flee from every city and I''ve seen armies scattering after their defeat. I rarely see adventurers like you which are the type I want to meet. I''ve always wanted to go on adventures, but the things I see on my adventures aren''t things I want to see. Seeing you humans fight among yourselves when there''s an enemy you should be fighting and seeing your chapel cause chaos makes me feel that adventuringcks something. My adventure has ended. The demon king is dead. I havepleted my oath to my people as well. I can''t help but not want to resign myself to it. But when I saw you, I felt that there are noble and brave people like you among humanity. You can have these things. She may be the demon king''s daughter, but she never killed my people so I don''t hate her. As a matter of fact, I really like this cute girl. Take good care of her. I need to return to the elves now, so let''s meet again in the future!"


    The elf in front of me said all of that without a single pause. But I did detect a sense of admiration from her. She jumped up from in an iparably nimble fashion from the chair and cheerfully stroked Leah''s head. Her long ears twitched with joy and then she tossed the things in her pocket down in front of me. She then left the eating area like a green whirlwind. The soldiers around revealed looks of hopelessness as though they were already used to the elf. I looked at the things she left for me. Two strips of meat and then a few strange coins. I don''t know what their value is, but the gold one among them should be the one worth the most.


    Leah watched the elf''s back as she left with what seemed like envy. She asked me with puzzlement: "Papa¡­ do you know her?"


    I nodded gently and replied: "I guess you could say that. She helped me out a lot that night."


    To be fair, she did more than help me out a lot. She saved my pitiful dignity.


    I put the strips of meat away on me. These two strips of meat might be able to save my life on the road. I can''t eat them for a moment of pleasure. While the elf was rash and hasty, I was very grateful for her kind gesture. After putting them away properly, I grabbed hold of Leah''s hand and stood up.


    We then went to the ce we agreed on. When we arrived, there were already a number of horse-carriages there waiting. Veirya now wore an extra white cloak on her. She led a horse and looked in our direction. Leah''s body trembled and then she hid behind me. She grabbed the corner of my clothes while trembling as she looked at Veirya over there. I took in a deep breath and then walked up to Veirya.


    She scanned us with her blue eyes and then spoke in a monotone voice: "You two eat too slow."


    "Sorry."


    I decided to behave and apologise. I thought that it would better to be direct with Veirya.


    Veirya looked at us and then pointed at the horse-carriage in the centre. She then said: "You two sit in the horse-carriage over there. You take care of this girl."


    I nodded. Veirya turned around and never paid us any attention again. I looked at Veirya who was in front of me and seriously said: "Veirya¡­¡­"


    "Hmm?"


    I initially thought Veirya would get mad if I addressed her by her name directly, but she didn''t get angry. Instead, she turned her head around to look at me sincerely. I looked at her and my gaze slowly swept down to look at the long-sword at her belt. I was a little afraid since it rested on my neckst time and nearly separated my head from my body. I was really worried since I didn''t know what sort of things would provoke her. However, I had something of utmost importance I had to say.


    "I would like to ask that no one disturbs us at night. Do not approach our horse-carriage. We will sleep in the horse-carriage. I ask that no one approaches our horse-carriage and that no one opens our horse-carriage."


    Veirya looked at me and asked: "Does that include me?"


    I looked back at her and nodded as serious as a judge. I replied: "Yes."


    Veirya didn''t get angry or scold me. Instead, she looked at me very calmly and asked: "Reason?"


    "Because she''s a demon¡­¡­ I would assume humans would usually have ill-will toward her. As such, if someone tries to do something violent at night, I can''t protect her."


    "Didn''t you have the courage to stand in front and take the attack from my sword?"


    "Having the courage and having the ability are two different things."


    I looked at Veirya. She never wore any expression. It''s very important to pay attention to someone''s facial expressions when you negotiate with them. But strictly speaking, this isn''t a negotiation since I don''t have a bargaining chip. All I''m doing right now is pleading.


    I was honestly worried because Leah was different to her daytime form at night. Leah is a very cute girl during the day as everyone has seen, but people would recognise that she''s a subus through and through at night, won''t they? Plus, from Veirya''s perspective, she would probably see her as the "demon king''s daughter" that hase of age.


    A demon king''s daughter that hase of age and one that hasn''t are two separate things. From the way Veirya carries herself as a straightced soldier, she''d probably kill Leah without hesitation if she saw her form at night.


    Therefore, I couldn''t let Veirya see Leah in her form at night. Moreover, Leah''s form at night¡­¡­ Frankly, I don''t want to let anyone see her in that form either since¡­ that belongs to me¡­¡­ It''s impossible to not be happy when my daughter hugs me like that¡­¡­ You could even say¡­ it makes me very happy¡­¡­


    Veirya pulled a rope and then looked at me. She nodded and replied: "Understood. As you wish, no one shall disturb you two."


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 7

    It sounds like the demon king''s city isn''t too far from humanity''s so-called north.


    Put another way, maybe humanity''s north was the demon king''s city. The demons had been eradicated so theirnd must now belong to humanity. Why does Veirya want to take us to the north? The demon king is dead so the warrior doesn''t need to go to the border to fight anymore. So for what reason does she want to go to a deste ce like the north? We didn''t see a soul through the slot from the horse carriage from morning to night. There were no fields on the way either. It was just a deste block ofnd. Even birds were far and few. It certainly was freezing outside. It wasn''t snowing but I felt like the ground waspletely white.


    The horse carriage I was in was the one carrying the weapons. Inside were the weapons of the guards outside. Long swords were ced neatly inside a chest. After ensuring that the chest wouldn''t bounce, I took my cape off and used it as a mat on the ground so that Leah couldfortably lean against the chest. The curtains on the left and right of the horse-carriage were very thick so they were enough to keep us warm. So other than having a bumpy ride in the horse-carriage, everything was fine.


    It sounds like we''ll be arriving at the town tomorrow ording to the conversation between the soldiers outside. I don''t really get why Veirya chose toe here. Did shee here on orders? But then the demon race is no more. Who would she be attacking? Could that territory be a reward? But why would anyone reward that sort ofnd? It''s far too barren. It''s not a good location in any way. Could it be that she''s been banished here?


    Such barrennd would be perfect for sending exiled people to. Veirya is a warrior, a warrior who was specially used to fight against the demon king. Now that he''s dead, what use does the warrior have to offer? Discharge a worthy person when he has served his purpose. Veirya who has theplete support of the people as well as strength is now the ruler''s enemy. Thus, making it exinable as to why Veirya was sent here.


    However, based on my observations of Veirya, she doesn''t seem to be aware of that. I don''t intend to inform her. It''s not a bad thing if Veirya and that Queen Sisi turn against each other. No eggs stay intact under an overturned nest. I need to depend on Veirya right now to survive, not to mention there''s Leah to consider too.


    Knowing that we were just one day away was good news to me. The demon form Leah transforms into at night might be a subus. I think Veirya would probably kill her without hesitation if she saw her. The longer we stay in the horse carriage, the more likely it is she''s discovered, so the sooner we arrive at our destination, the safer it is.


    Leah didn''t lean on the chest to sleep. Instead, she sat on myp and leaned against me as she cheerfully told me about all sorts of things. I sat with my cross-legged inside the carriage. Leah rubbed her small bottom against my groin since she sat on myp and told me stories in the demon city. Unfortunately, my attention wasn''t focused on her story, but her warm body''s contact with mine. The thought of Leah''s positionst night, makes me feel¡­¡­


    "Eh? Dad, there seems to be something poking me."


    Leah gently twisted her body around and looked at me innocently.


    "I''m sorry¡­¡­"


    I looked at Leah''s innocent and cute gaze. A strong sense of shame and guilty tormented me to death, but I managed to swiftly grab Leah''s hand that was trying to touch to see what was poking her.


    Darkness was going to fall soon so the two oilmps slotted in on the side of the carriage was lit up. The me swayed as the horse walked. However, we didn''t travel far in the dark as we soon stopped. I looked outside the curtain. Peopleing and going unloaded the things on the other carriages and there was soon a fire on the barrennd. A soldier came over to our carriage and quietly said: "Come on out and have a rest."


    I looked at Leah and she looked back at me confused. Leah hadn''t transformed yet, so maybe it happens at night? Honestly, I have no concept of time here. But whatever, let''s eat first and then return to the carriage early to be safe.


    I hopped off the horse-carriage and then carried Leah off. I also saw Veirya dismount from her horse. Leah wrapped her arms around my neck tightly and curled up on my shoulder. Veirya scanned me from head to toe. She didn''t say anything and walked up to the fire, removed the canteen on her belt and gulped a few mouthfuls.


    I too walked up to the fire and sat down. I sat far away from Veirya to take care of Leah, but then Veirya came up to my side. Leah trembled in my arms and didn''t dare to utter a word. I looked at Veirya with puzzlement. She handed me her canteen and in aposed manner said: "Have some water."


    I looked at the canteen in front of me and spaced out. If my memory serves me justice, this canteen was on her lips just moments ago. Her lip-prints were still on the canteen¡­¡­


    What''s this¡­¡­?


    An indirect kiss¡­¡­?


    But we haven''t had any water this entire trip. I couldn''t help it since i didn''t have a canteen¡­¡­


    I took the canteen. I gently raised it to Leah''s mouth but she pped it aside and adamantly refused to drink from it. It looks like Leah won''t ept anything from Veirya. I sighed and then handed it back to Veirya feeling a little guilty as I looked at her. I can have a sip, right¡­¡­?


    Veirya didn''t seem to mind. She didn''t look at me. Her eyes were fixed on Leah. That caused me to jerk my body. Veirya doesn''t intend to do something to Leah out of anger right¡­¡­? Veirya is a serious person. If that''s the case then Leah may very likely be in trouble¡­¡­


    I lifted the canteen up to my mouth. I couldn''t help myself from licking the water on the edge of the mouthpiece¡­¡­ To be honest, it didn''t feel like water when I drank it. There seemed to be a taste but it might''ve just been my imagination¡­¡­


    I returned the canteen back to Veirya and she took it. She drank from it without any hesitation which left me stunned. It looks like Veirya thinks nothing of such things. She didn''t care in the least. She then stood up and walked over to another spot to sit.


    The guards ced two wooden bowls in our hands. A pot was hung above the fire. It gurgled as it heated up the stuff we ate in the morning. The rye bread in the army got tossed in and slowly boiled. I guess that''s the only way it''ll be edible.


    Everyone then soon used arge spoon to take a scoop and pour the soup onto therge piece of bread. Then the spoon would get passed to the next person for them to get their scoop. Leah sat in myp and looked at the pot in front of us with infinite happiness as she eagerly waited for the spoon to get passed over here. I picked up the spoon and gave us one spoon each. I think I can eat this time. The spoon had been passed around once but there was half left in the pot still.


    The soldiers began to engage in idle chatter. However, Veirya didn''t enter any conversation, instead eating mouthful after mouthful while keeping her eyes on the food in front of her. She ate extremely quickly like it didn''t wasn''t hot at all. Veirya picked up the spoon and gave herself two more serves by the time I had eaten just half.


    "Papa, I want some more¡­¡­"


    Leah who was next to me wasn''t any less. She raised her empty bowl up to me. I reached out and filled it up fully for her. Just as I put the bowl down, Veirya picked the spoon up and gave herself another bowl.


    "Papa, I want some more¡­¡­"


    I was wrong.


    There was half left if we had one spoon each, but that wasn''t anywhere near enough for Leah and Veirya. There was just onest spoon left. I went to reach out to get another serve for Leah since I''m biased here, but as soon as I touched the handle, someone pressed their hand firmly on mine. I raised my head up with surprise and saw Veirya''s clear-blue eyes.


    She looked at me sternly and spoke with her usual monotone voice: "Give it to me."


    "¡­¡­"


    I let go. When Veirya said that, I felt that she was serious. Stealing Veirya''s food gave me the exact same feeling as stopping her from killing Leahst time. I felt that if I were to fight her for it, my head would be in the pot in the next second¡­¡­


    "Papa¡­¡­"


    Leah retracted her bowl with the utmost fear. She tugged on my arm and pulled me back¡­¡­


    Veirya filled up her bowl with the food in the spoon with great satisfaction. She then looked at the scared Leah, hesitated for a moment and then walked up to us. She extended her hand out to pick up Leah''s bowl and then poured the food from her bowl into Leah''s bowl. She then put it back in front of Leah.


    She''s making it very clear she''s trying to be friendly, isn''t she?! I almost lost my head to Veirya fighting for the food just now, but then she went and divided half of her food with Leah. That''s a very clear sign she''s trying to be friendly, isn''t it?


    "Waahh!!"


    However, Leah didn''t ept the kind gesture. She shrieked and then swung her hand aggressively. Veirya got shocked as Leah smacked her bowl away, sshing all of the piping-hot soup on Veirya''s face.


    My heart stopped¡­..


    My body automatically pulled Leah behind me. I stood up and looked at Veirya. The wooden b owl dropped onto the ground, making a mellow sound. Veirya stood in ce but was still expressionless. The piping-hot soup slowly coursed down her face. The entire vicinity went silent as everyone looked over in our direction with astonishment. Leah realised what she had done too so she grabbed my thigh and trembled.


    Alright, let me have a think now.


    "Sorry¡­¡­"


    What I need to do now is reduce her anger. It''s now time for me to negotiate with Vierya who''s standing in front of me. I need to do my best to calm her down so that she doesn''t get violent. I don''t know how many chances I have. The best course of action is to apologise directly.


    "¡­¡­"


    Veirya didn''t say anything. She just continued looking at Leah behind me. I seemed to understand what Veirya wanted.


    Now that I know what she wants, I''ll do everything I can to satisfy her.


    "Leah,e and apologise."


    I brought Leah forward to the front but my hands were still on her shoulder. If Veirya strikes, I''ll immediately pull her behind me. Veirya was looking at Leah. Leah was so scared she couldn''t hold back her tears. Her body desperately wanted to run behind me. It was clear that Veirya didn''t want my apology but Leah''s. Leah sobbed softly and desperately squirmed with her body. She was almost ready to start rolling around. She didn''t want to see Veirya. The memory of being hunted down by Veirya for so long and almost being decapitated had be an eternal nightmare for her.


    "¡­¡­ Forget it."


    Vierya seemed to give up after watching Leah struggle. She reached her hand up to wipe her face and then turned around and left. The soldiers around let out a big sigh of relief and chuckled with agony before resuming their conversations. Leah dropped to her knees. I crouched down and she threw herself into my arms and cried loudly.


    "It''s okay now, it''s okay now, Leah. I will help you."


    I extended my hand out to gently stroked Leah''s head and back. Leah gripped my chest tightly like a wounded animal and didn''t want to take a step away.


    It looks like that was essentially breaking off the bridge between them. In a normal negotiation, this is basically the equivalent of Leah not giving Veirya what she wanted, and Veirya consequently refusing to continue with negotiations. As Leah''s guardian, I need to mend their rtionship so that they may continue to interact in the future.


    We''re dead for sure without Veirya''s care. We have no friends or family here.


    I must mend their rtionship.


    "Leah, you wait in the horse-carriage. Don''t go anywhere and don''te out, understood?" I carried her back into the horse-carriage. After I ced her inside, I told her, "Papa is going to go out for a bit and will be back soon, understood?"


    Leah immediately leapt at me and hugged my arm tightly as she pleaded: "Papa¡­ don''t leave me¡­ papa¡­¡­"


    I looked at Leah and then thought about it. Leah isn''t going to separate from me at a time like this. I''ll stay with her for now then. Once I get her to sleep, I''ll go find Veirya. I hopped up onto the horse-carriage and held her tightly in my arms. Leah sobbed softly and shut her eyes in my arms. It gradually got quiet in here¡­¡­


    <strong>*Leah artwork inments*</strong>


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 8

    Leah quickly fell asleep and she didn''t transform into her night-form. It looks like it only happens in the middle of the night I guess. However, I''m d she hasn''t transformed. I need to head out now. If a guard was to sneak over and try something and discover Leah''s transformation, something might happen.


    It was a real struggle to escape Leah''s embrace. Frankly, I want a booby face-wash from transformed-Leah more than little-Leah''s hug¡­¡­ Wait, stop. I don''t have those sorts of feelings for my daughter. Absolutely not. I can''t have them either. I don''t think Leah would say no, but my conscience won''t let me.


    After I left the horse-carriage, I checked my surroundings. Some of the guards were spread out around the perimeters of the camp as sentries. The others were sitting around the fire chatting away. No one cared about us. That gave me a good opportunity. I pulled a guard over to ask him for Veirya''s location and he pointed in a direction.


    I went over toward the direction he pointed in. I''ve never wandered the wilderness in darkness before. Despite the moon shining brightly overhead, the area in front of me was still pitch-ck. I almost tripped over things multiple times. I began to regret not bringing a fire-torch over.


    It was colder than eptable at night. I used my cape as a mat inside the horse-carriage so I was only wearing an army overcoat. The cold winds felt like they were cutting my skin. It was freezing to death. I now understand why it was necessary to wear a cape here. It was to protect you from the wind.


    But I soon heard the sound of water. I never thought that the river would still be flowing on such a cold day. I continued forward and a ribbon-shape ray of light shined gorgeously like the Milky Way in the sky. Perhaps it was because the moon was overly bright which made the flowing river appear particrly nice. But where''s Veirya?


    I walked up to the river and checked the surroundings. I don''t have some sort of visual prowess that allows me to see red footprints or something. If I can''t see Veirya, then there''s nothing I can do. I continued to walk along the river until I suddenly saw something standing upright by the edge of the river. It didn''t seem to be a rock or something. It looked more like boots?


    Curious, I walked over and squat down next to them which was when I realised that there were other things there including an under-shirt, an overcoat, a belt, a long-sword and a thick white cape. I even heard the sound of something hitting the ground¡­¡­ It looks like the individual in question has just removed theirst piece of clothing, and it was a in white underwear that got ced on top of the clothes¡­¡­


    I¡­¡­.


    It looks like¡­¡­.


    I''ve found Veirya¡­¡­


    Just as I was taken by surprise, I heard a loud ssh from the river. I looked over in the direction of the sound nkly. Her pretty body emerged from the water and her long silver hair whipped through the air, disying her face-shape. Silver trails of water that were like pearls coursed down her body. Her curvaceous and firm body shined with glory under the moonlight, revealing every detail on her body. She faced me and then reached her hands behind her back to whip her silver hair which basically put her glorious breasts on full disy. It was different to those situations in Manhuas where they force fan-service by covering sensitive spots with the character''s hair. Veirya didn''t even consider it. Water trickled down her body as she appeared before me. Veirya sure is a soldier. Her lower abdomen didn''t appear smooth because of the way she leaned backwards, which also made the outlines of her muscles visible. However, her small waist made her hips look a lot more pronounced. Her silver hair gently stuck to her body below her navel.


    A trail of water ran across her smooth thighs and down to her knees. I wonder if her body never changes like her expression. It was white enough to be considered transparent. However, the silver light reflecting off her body made her look considerably alluring like a seductive evil female spirit in the river. The atmosphere in the surroundings virtually got shattered by her beauty. I looked at her and spaced out like time had slowed down. I could see every trail of water coursing down her body¡­..


    For instance¡­¡­


    The trail of water that ran down her inner-thighs¡­¡­


    Veirya dangled her headband in her mouth. She tied up her hair that waspletely wet as she walked over to me. She walked up to me and I heard the sound of her body leaving the water. The water coursed down her thighs, her calves with perfect lines and down to her feet before stopping where she left cute footprints in the mud. She looked at me with her head tilted and asked: "You want to wash too?"


    "S-Sorry!!!!!"


    Her question made me scream so loudly my voice changed. I tripped over and then fumbled to crawl back onto my feet and pathetically stepped aside with my eyes covered as I shouted my apology. However, Veirya didn''t say anything else. She ignored me, picked up her underwear and wore it back on, She then shook her body, picked up her undershirt, put it on and then sat down.


    I crouched down and looked at her as I trembled. I was worried she''d chop my head off to protect her reputation. To be fair though, you can''t me me. I didn''t look at her lecherously. I was honestly so blown away by her beauty that I lost any sexual desire I might''ve felt for her. If you saw the goddess of beauty Venus, wouldn''t your first reaction be surprise? You wouldn''t throw yourself at her and lick her now, would you?


    A moment after, she asked: "I want to ask you a question."


    She turned her head around to look at me and then patted the spot next to her. I quivered as I walked over and sat down next to her. She looked at me. It seemed like she didn''t care how i looked at her. She sat with an upright posture that couldn''t be more upright. She looked at the water flowing in front of her and asked: "I want to know how to form a good rtionship with that girl."


    "Are you talking about Leah?"


    Come to think of it, I think I can understand what Veirya means since she''s been trying to be friendly towards her. However, Leah never epted her friendly gestures due to the traumatic experience she left on her during their first encounter. Veirya nodded gently and exined: "I don''t know how to make friends with people¡­¡­ Though she was indeed the demon king''s daughter and I unarguably wanted to kill her, after her majesty gave her to me, I wanted to be on friendly terms with her too. Lucia was right. She was just a cute child. But it doesn''t look like she wants to be friendly with me."


    "¡­¡­ Leah <em>was</em> shocked after all."


    I''m fine with talking with you, but could you please get dressed properly? That scene back there was enough for someone to have a blood-nose, but with you wearing your clothes whilst still wet, I can see through it and it''s even more seductive. I tried to shorten my response as much as possible because I really didn''t know where to look. I''ll feel worse if I look at her while speaking. But then I feel it''s impolite not to look at her while speaking.


    She nodded gently. I looked under my feet and said: "I''m very sorry about what Leah did today. You did it out of good will yet she reacted like that. She didn''t dare to apologise but I must apologise. I''m very grateful that you spent all night modifying her clothes."


    She looked at me and then stood up. She picked up her clothes and while slowly getting dressed said: "I want to be friendly with her. I too want to live like an ordinary person now that the demon race is no more. I really like that cute girl. Oh yeah, aren''t you my ve? I shall now give you your firstmand as your master. You must get make us friends."


    I looked at Veirya stunned. She didn''t look like she was joking. Alright, let''s say that she was joking. I can''t tell if she is because she''s expressionless. Honestly, I almost forgot that I was her spoil of war, or rather, her spoil of war due to the way she treated Leah and I. Veirya who had a military background didn''t seem the least bit interested in me. If I was Queen Sisi''s ve I''d be a dog by now I bet.


    She looked at me with puzzlement. I presume her frown was due to her displeasure when she repeated herself: "You must."


    Only then did I return to my senses. I nodded and replied: "I''ll try my best."


    "You can''t reply like that. You must reply ''understood''."


    Here I was thinking I could answer "no". It looks like I don''t even get the chance to. I looked at Veirya and said: "In that case, I hope you continue being nice to Leah. Leah most likely won''t change her opinion of you in a short time-frame. However, she''s a reasonable girl so she''lle to understand."


    "Uhm."


    Veirya nodded and then turned around to walk toward the camp. She walked very quickly. I was wrestling with whether to chase her or not, but in the end, I didn''t have the guts to walk next to her, so I followed behind her to the camp. I looked at Veirya in front of me. I can''t look straight at her after seeing her iparably mesmerising body back there¡­¡­


    She didn''t seem to care at all¡­..


    When we reached the camp, I stood at the edge of the horse carriage and climbed in. Veirya slowly walked off. My body was currently being locked tightly by something. I felt a very imposing feelinging from overhead and I felt like I was seriously going to suffocate. Something got stuffed into my mouth so I couldn''t make a sound¡­¡­ I panicked as I struggled to break free with my limbs but I saw Leah''s enraged eyes immediately afterwards.


    "Papa! Why did you leave me to go find that woman?!"


    That''s when I realised I was being hugged by Leah in her night-form. Leah sat in the W-sitting position in the horse carriage. She locked my head in between her legs and pressed her breasts down on my face. She sniffed me gently and angrily eximed: "You have that woman''s scent on you!! What did you two do?! What did you two do?!! Papa!! Give me an exnation!!"


    "Hey!!"


    Veirya''s voice came from outside. I was so frightened I quickly sat up. From outside she asked: "Did something happen in there? Why can I hear you kicking around?"


    I sat up, faced outside with a helpless smile and answered: "No, nothing."


    Leah then pressed herself against me from behind. With her body pressed against mine, Leah''s hands gently wrapped themselves around my low back. She reached her hand under my under-shirt and gently pinched my rod. With the stimtion on my back and at my front, I almost moaned.


    "Your voice is really strange. Are you sure you''re alright?"


    ''Yes¡­¡­ Hnng¡­¡­ Mm¡­¡­. Really¡­¡­ I''m fine¡­¡­"


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *W-sitting position. You''ll be able to imagine this for sure if you watch moe stuff. It''s where you sit on your bottom with your knees out in front of you but flexed, so that your feet is behind you. From an birds-eye view, imagine the two top left and right corners of the letter "W" as feet, the two bottom points as the knees, the middle point at the top being the head with your glutes right under.

 Chapter Volume 1 9

    My daughter sat opposite me, wrapped her arms around mine, looked at me enraged and shouted: "Papa, you already have me yet you keep going off to look for that woman! That woman wanted to kill us! Did you forget that she nearly hurt you?!"


    She apanied her words of anger with intense body gestures. Her boobs were jiggling like mad because her clothes vanished when she transformed into herrge size. So she waspletely nude right now. She had anger written all over her face right now, so she wasn''t as alluring asst night.


    Leah looked very angry¡­¡­ I quickly extended my hand out and covered her mouth. I then cautiously checked outside. Veirya had just left so she probably won''te back again now, right¡­? But Veirya has excellent listening. If she returns and we get discovered, things won''t be pretty.


    "It was because you weren''t willing to apologise so I had to go and apologise¡­¡­"


    My mind was filled with nothing but boobs and tits right now. I just saw Veirya''s voluptuous boobs with water running down them leave, then I saw Leah''s even bigger melons immediately upon arriving back here. Leah really is a subus. Her body is different to the warrior Veirya''s body. Her body looked more seductive and tender. The touch of her flesh gave one an intense urge to take a bite of it, while her flushed skin taunted me. Although she was angry right now, I couldn''t get serious no matter what I tried as I looked at her body¡­¡­


    I think I should look at something else. Otherwise, something is going to happen if I keep looking at Leah like this¡­¡­


    "Papa! Look at Leah!"


    Leah clearly was very displeased with me not looking at her though. She extended her hand out and tapped me on my face with displeasure, to force my face back her way to look at her. Then she leaned right in so I could see her white skin jiggling right before me. I almost couldn''t stop myself from reaching my hand out and pushing her down in the horse-carriage.


    But she''s my daughter!! Though looking at her mature form almost deleted some of the familial feelings in my heart, I still had a sense of awareness in my heart. I will notmit such a despicable deed!


    Leah sped my face and frowned very grumpily. She said: "Papa, don''t get so close to that woman! Not even if we''re following her now! That woman almost killed us, and she treats you so poorly, papa! She''s a very cruel woman no matter how you look at her, papa! You never know when she might kill you, so don''t go to her! If you want a girl, Leah can be your girl! Papa! Stay only by Leah''s side, okay?"


    Leah extended her arms out and then pulled my head into her breasts. My head was once again buried in that very gentle and very warm haven. I once again felt Leah''s scent which made my mind go ck and can''t help but get aroused. Her scent had an odd function. Perhaps it was an innate feature subi had?


    I extended my arms out, pressed them on Leah''s small shoulders and pressed her down onto the horse-carriage. Leah looked at me who was pressing down on her with shock. She softlyined: "Papa, it hurts!"


    "! I¡­ I''m sorry¡­¡­"


    I let go and panicked a little as I looked at Leah. Just what I was trying to do just now¡­? Did I just try and do something to Leah¡­¡­? I can''t. I can''t¡­¡­ I can''t¡­¡­ I can''t do something like that to Leah¡­¡­ But¡­ but¡­ Leah''s body and her scent are seriously too alluring inside the horse carriage¡­¡­ Leah is a subus and I''m someone who got seduced by her. If I continue letting Leah stay with me like this, I might end up doing something to Leah. But the Leah doesn''t seem like she would take the initiative to hunt men at present, but if Leahes to realise after her first time that¡­¡­


    Then my rtionship¡­¡­


    With Leah¡­¡­


    Would we be able to maintain our father-daughter rtionship?


    Though it wouldn''t be a big deal for me to marry Leah or be together with her, I can''t quite ept it. I need to calm myself down.


    "So can you promise me, papa¡­? Don''t be so close to that woman. She''s dangerous¡­¡­. Papa¡­ that woman¡­ that woman¡­ killed my father in front of me¡­¡­ I''m really scared¡­. I''m scared that you too will¡­¡­"


    Leah''s voice showed she felt wrong and was hoarse. She looked at me cautiously and gently grabbed my hand. It looks like she thought I pushed her down because I was mad. Fear and panic shed in her eyes. I didn''t anything wrong but seeing her like this makes my heart ache. I reached out and pulled her into my embrace. I gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead and replied: "All right. I won''t leave you, Leah, I promise. I won''t leave you in the future."


    Leah hugged me tightly and leaned her head on my shoulder gently. Next to my ear she softly said: "So you won''t get close to that woman again, right? ¡­¡­ Papa, please always stay by Leah''s side in the future¡­¡­ You will be Leah''s papa from now on, Leah''s papa alone, right¡­¡­?"


    "Uhm. I''ll be your papa, always."


    I nodded and then kissed her on her forehead. She hugged me tightly and tenderly rubbed her face against mine. While still hugging me, we fell over to one side and then I pulled the thick cape over to wrap us up. Leah glued herself closely to my body. She smiled happily and said: "Let''s sleep now papa. Goodnight papa¡­¡­"


    "Do you honestly think this is a good position?!"


    Leah looked at me like she was wronged and responded: "But the nket is only so big¡­¡­ Papa, why are you not willing to be close to Leah at night? Did Leah do something wrong? Why don''t you want to be close to Leah at night, papa? ¡­¡­ You won''t look at Leah¡­ and you won''t hug Leah¡­.. You''re not like that during the day¡­¡­"


    Leah looked at me like she was wronged. She had the puppy-eyes look. I sighed hopelessly and exined: "I don''t hate you Leah and you didn''t do anything wrong. It''s just¡­ it''s just¡­ Leah¡­ never let anyone see your current look¡­ other than papa. Never let anyone see this look of yours at night, understand?"


    Leah nodded as if she understood something. She then used her hands to push her huge melons upwards and curiously asked: "Is it because of these? Leah bes big at night¡­¡­"


    "Yes! Yes! Yes! Because of them!"


    "What about you then, papa? Are people not to see you at night too?"


    "Me? Why me?"


    "Because don''t you have something that gets big at night too? Hmm¡­ like right now¡­ mm¡­ it always pokes Leah''s tummy¡­¡­ Papa¡­ what exactly is this?"


    "Don''t touch!! Don''t touch it!! Leah! Don''t touch it!"


    Leah removed her hand from south of my lower abdomen resignedly but she was a lot happier after hearing that I didn''t hate her. She hugged my head happily as she stered herself to me. She kissed my forehead and then said: "All right papa, goodnight again. Leah wants to sleep with you until daytime this time. If you try to sneak out again, Leah wille out and look for you!"


    "Okay, okay, papa won''t go this time."


    Of course, that night was so harsh for me¡­¡­ Leah''s sleeping posture was no good. Before she slept, she wrapped the both of us with the nket so we were basically glued together. Leah rubbed her leg up and down my leg and waist. I had a little reaction. I don''t know if it was just my imagination or not¡­ but I felt like my skin got a little wet¡­¡­


    I resisted my urges and didn''t cross the line with Leah. However, after I went through that arduous mental battle, the sun soon came up and Leah reverted back into her child-form. Sounds from outside started up again. The sun had just started toe up and the army was already preparing to continue the journey. I gently shook Leah awake and then helped her get dressed in a not-so-proficient fashion. I then shook my cape out and got off the horse carriage. I must say that the mornings in the north are so cold I could die.


    The fire was lit up again and the familiar scent ascended into the air once again. Leah happily sniffled with her small nose and looked in that direction with excitement. A familiar footstep sound then came our way. Leah paused for a moment and then hid behind me.


    Veirya walked past us. She still had her wooden bowl and towel in hand. She looked at us and gave a small nod. Then she shifted her gaze to Leah behind me. It was different this time however, as Leah wasn''t hiding behind me and trembling out of fear. She instead looked at Veirya and bit down tightly on her lip with "I''m angry" written all over her face.


    I''m surprised she dares to give Veirya that attitude.


    Veirya seemed to linger herself. She then looked at me before continuing toward the fire. She threw her towel she had in her hand into the boiling water and then ignored the boiling water. She then reached out to take it out and wring it out before wiping her pretty face. I really question if Veirya is human. She took a bath in the freezing riverst night and now she wiped her face with a towel she dipped in boiling water. Can she not feel temperatures?


    Veirya looked over to us and then reached her hand out to hand me the towel. I looked at the towel with steaming out of it. I really didn''t have the courage to take it¡­¡­ But Veirya suddenly pulled me over and pasted it to my face¡­¡­


    I had prepared myself to wail but it wasn''t as hot as I thought it was. Rather, it was warm and very soothing. I could suddenly smell Veirya''s faint scent. Veirya wiped my face roughly. It virtually felt like she was going to twist my nose off.


    "Done."


    Veirya than nodded with satisfaction. I caught the towel that was falling down and then turned my head around to look at Leah. Leah angrily huffed and puffed as she looked at the two of us. I smiled helplessly and reached my hand out to wipe intending to wipe her face with the towel. However, Leah instinctively pped my hand away. With my quick hands and eyes, I managed to catch her hand though and I wiped her face.


    Girls have to pay attention to their appearance whatever the case.


    "Papa!"


    Leah looked at me angrily. I smiled helplessly and stroked her head. I softly said: "It''s better to keep your pretty face clean, Leah. Papa doesn''t have a towel yet. There won''t be a next time."


    "¡­¡­ Hmph!"


    Leah reluctantly epted it and didn''t say anything. We then sat by the fire and everyone ate the same food. This time however, Veirya and I hade to an agreement. We shared thest portion evenly. It was divided between Leah and Veirya. Veirya doesn''t seem to get full no matter what¡­¡­ I really don''t get this woman.


    "We''ll arrive at noon today." Veirya then stood up to look at the people around. She then expressed her gratitude: "Thank you for guarding us on the way here. I wish you a safe return."


    The soldiers stood up, pressed their left hand to their chest and respectfully responded: "It is our honour."


    Veirya looked at the soldiers and said: "We''ll be fine by ourselves for the remainder of the trip. You can all return to report in to her majesty now."


    The soldiers exchanged looks with each other. Maybe they felt that Veirya wouldn''t be in any danger so they nodded¡­¡­


    Wait!! Have you asked for my opinion?! The three of us are continuing alone now?! What are we going to do about Leah?! What is Veirya trying to do?!


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 10

    This must be the most awkward trip ever.


    It was the first time I felt what "can''t sit at peace" meant.


    We were in the horse-carriage the entire time because of those soldiers'' weapons, but they had now taken it back so we didn''t have a horse-carriage to stay in any longer. We can''t stay in the horse-carriage rations that was the only one left behind after all. Veirya''s escorts were horrible and stingy. Veirya sent all the guards away one horse-carriage and two horses. All that was left we herself, Leah and I. There was also a coach too, but he was an old man. He was basically the same as a corpse.


    I rode on the other horse. Fortunately for me, I learnt to ride a horse in the past. I once had a superior who enjoyed horse-riding so I invested in it. Leah sat in front of me. Veirya who was to our left sat up straight as she rode forward, but she kept looking at us and then away. If you were to describe Leah as being scared before, she must hate her even more after tonight.


    I feel like it''s be more troublesome than it was before.


    Last night, Veirya asked me to help her get friendly with Leah but I don''t know how to do that. I don''t think the severe trauma Veirya gave Leah is something that can be solved with love or peace. I don''t think any child could ept seeing her parents killed in front of her eyes and then being hunted down. I don''t think a kid can ept "to each his own master" as a reason. Thinking about it now, I don''t have the foggiest idea as to how Veirya can earn Leah''s forgiveness.


    There''s definitely a way to resolve conflict between adults, but it''s rtively troublesome with children. I have confidence in my negotiation skills to get an adult to give up their resentment since they''d be able to shake hands and get along even if it was a three-generation feud as long as gains are to be made. The key is how to get them to ept the potential gains they can make.


    But what was there for Veirya and Leah to gain? None to speak of. If these two want to make peace then it''s an emotional problem, isn''t it? Unfortunately, I''ve never been good with emotional problems, otherwise I wouldn''t have been single all my life¡­¡­


    I can provide them with an opportunity to be together, but I think I may very well have a murder case on my hands if I leave the two of them alone together¡­¡­ Veirya did express her desire to get along with Leah, but it wasn''t as though she wasn''t angry. As for what Veirya could do when she gets angry¡­ I don''t even need to tell you¡­¡­


    Therefore I need to control the two of them¡­¡­


    Though Veirya wants to get friend with Leah, she hasn''t said anything to Leah. Leah also watches Veirya vigntly from my arms as though she was afraid that Veirya would run over and stab me. Veirya didn''t put any stiptions in ce for me. Although I was a spoil of war for Veirya, she didn''t seem to remember that or something as she allowed me to ride on a horse next to her.


    She wants to be friendly with Leah and yet neither of them speak to each other¡­¡­ How are you going to make friends with her like this¡­¡­?


    We went straight forward and we finally saw traces of buildings constructed by humans in a obviously warmer climate area. Both sides were no longer wastnds. The blocks ofnd we passed had been opened up for farming. The houses on both sides must''ve been for those watching over thend. The surroundings of the road became more visible too. No longer was it two wheel-tracks from a horse carriage in between wastnds on both sides of the tracks. We were now travelling on a simple paved-stone road. We followed the road forward and soon saw simple stone city walls. The stone walls were honestly extremely simple. They were basically square stones stacked up. They were fixed into ce by y in between the stones. Since it was winter now, they supposedly used ice to fortify them as well. However, it still looked visibly askew, weak and wobbly like it would copse with a push despite that. At the end of the road were two folding timber gates that were shut tightly. But I could see what the city looked like behind the damaged, rotting gates.


    I don''t think it can be called a city in the shape that it is. At best it''s a town. The town didn''t even have a que with its name. I don''t know what on Earth this town is called either. It looks like it was under the kingdom''s jurisdiction previously. Otherwise, it wouldn''t be without even a que.


    But even if it wasn''t in the past, if Veirya was able to choose toe here then it means that this town has already been integrated into the kingdom''s territories. Why isn''t Veirya getting a single wee uponing here? Even if this town was more run down, if a new secretary or town-chief came then there must be someone whoes to receive them.


    We stood at the entrance of the town. Veirya frowned and shouted toward the interior of the city: "I am the new lord sent here by Queen Sisi of the Tarahinur Kingdom. Open the town gates and let me in now!"


    As soon as she finished speaking, two heads popped out from the top of the city walls. They wore the helmets of the army so I let out a sigh of relief. I thought this town was displeased with the whatever kingdom and nned to rule autonomously, but it looks like I was wrong. Maybe they just didn''t receive news because of poormunication¡­¡­


    But before I could finish my sigh, the two of them raised their bows up, and fired their arrows at us. I got pushed off my horse before I realised it and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Inded on my back and found everything in front of me dark as well as feeling like I was going to vomit blood. Leah being in front of mended on top of me using me as a flesh-cushion so she looked fine. I struggled to hold Leah and sat up. I saw Veirya draw her sword and re at the soldiers at the top coldly. Their arrows hit my horse''s head causing it to drop to the ground with arge volume of blooding out from it.


    The two soldiers quickly went to arm themselves with their swords but Veirya didn''t give them the chance to. She drew two small daggers from her belt and threw them at the soldiers. I heard their wails before they died and the sound of their corpse hit the ground. One corpsended right in front of us.


    "A revolt?"


    Veirya kicked the corpse away. She then looked at the timber gate in front before looking at me and telling me: "You two hide up. I''m going to kill the people inside."


    I hugged Leah whose soul was shocked out of her body. I quickly got up, looked at Veirya in front of me and asked: "Even the citizens?"


    This isn''t some army-camp. This is a town.


    If a battle broke out here, the innocent citizens inside the town would get caught up in it. ording to Veirya, an armed rebellion has broken out here. The citizens inside are either supporters of the rebellion or are being held hostage. If Veirya goes in, I don''t think she''ll kill just the rebel-soldiers. Veirya calmly replied: "Of course. Those who support the rebellion will be killed with no mercy. Everyone in this town must die."


    "But they can''t help it! The rebellion has nothing to do with them, right?!"


    Veirya looked at me and sternly answered: "Everyone has a chance to choose. They chose not to resist. They could choose to fight back. They could choose to give up everything for her majesty, but they didn''t choose to do that because they are weak. They don''t believe that her majesty will protect them or rescue them so I have no need to protect them as her majesty''s knight. They didn''t exhibit the loyalty a citizen of her majesty''s should, so they deserve to die too."


    I suddenly realised that Veirya was right too¡­¡­


    Get outta here! If the citizens could do be so fearless of death and follow such a just course of action, there wouldn''t be these rebelling soldiers. Of course the citizens who don''t have the power to protect themselves require the protection of the army. What else would the army exist for?! The people only need to protect themselves in times of chaos. It''s the army''s job to handle the fighting! The citizens don''t have to fight a life-and-death battle with the enemies if they upy the area. They just need the army toe and assist.


    Put another way, what would we need knights like Veirya for if the people could solve all these problems?!!


    But it''s not time to be debating this with Veirya at the moment. Veirya had already headed over. She kicked the wooden gate open. I don''t have a clue how she''s so strong. Or maybe the town''s gates were already breaking down. She booted the gate open and then after a loud bang plus dust blown behind, over a dozen armed soldiers came into sight. They watched Veirya before them. Unexpectedly, the soldiers didn''t show a very strong will to fight. Rather, they were afraid of Veirya who yed the demon king.


    Their armour and clothes were in poor condition. Their uniform that carried honour was already torn and tattered. Their army-badge had been removed. Their gazes were void of a will to fight. As a matter of fact, their eyes were filled with terror as they looked at Veirya. You could even say they had the despairing look as if they knew they were going to die in their eyes.


    Killing them wasn''t hard for Veirya. Veirya was a knight capable of ughtering her way into the demon king''s city and then ying both the demon king and his wife. Further, she was evidently more eager to fight. I wouldn''t be surprised if they fled after Veirya killed one. I think it''s better to describe them as deserters than rebels.


    "Don''te here!! Listen up, we have men who locked up all the citizens in a building. If something happens to us, we''ll kill all of them! Stay back!!"


    "Well thank you then. I was nning to kill everyone here anyhow."


    Veirya''s footsteps didn''t slow down. She instead walked to them more resolutely. Veirya was serious. She didn''t care about the townsfolk''s lives. In fact, she couldn''t ask for anything more than to let them apany these soldiers to the other world.


    What meaning would there be to this? Are we three just going to starve here?!


    I called out loudly to Veirya was advancing: "Veirya!!"


    She turned around to look at me surprised. It was the first time she wore a slightly angry expression. She pointed toward the exterior of the city and shouted: "Didn''t I tell you two to hide outside?! What right does a servant have to speak?!!"


    Alright, so now I have to figure out how to get Veirya to back down.


    Veirya won''t say much to me and the enemies won''t wait forever. I only have about the time of a sentence. I need to convince Veirya to forego her idea in one sentence.


    Analysis, start.


    Veirya''s <em>proposal</em> is to kill the rebels and townsfolk here.


    My proposal is to not kill the townsfolk.


    So our contradiction is whether or not to kill the townsfolk.


    What condition must I use to convince Veirya to give up her proposal? Or otherwise, what sort of threat must I use to force Veirya to give up her proposal? I don''t have any condition I can mention as I indeed don''t have anything on hand that could make Veirya interested. So the only way I can make her give up her proposal is to threaten her then.


    What could make Veirya scared?


    I know.


    Veirya is someone who''s always loyal as can be. Queen Sisi''s order is everything to her. Did Queen Sisi order her toe her to kill people? I can guarantee not. Queen Sisi had here here to manage the ce. Without people, what will she rely on to manage this ce?


    Let''s give it a try!


    "Do you still remember the order Queen Sisi gave you?!"


    "She wanted me to manage this region so I must kill these rebels!"


    "How are you going to manage this ce if you kill all the townsfolk?!"


    Veirya shuddered and I knew that I had seeded. Winning a so-called negotiation against Veirya is easy. She looked at me stunned and then looked at the soldiers before her without knowing what to do. I looked at her and then gently ced Leah down. Leah panicked and looked at me. I looked at her and gave her a kiss on her cheek. I then turned to walk toward the group of soldiers. I said to Veirya: "Leave it to me if you can trust me."


    Rebel armies are very tough to deal with. However, deserters are easy to deal with.


    Deserters are afraid of death in the first ce. They just don''t want to get arrested and brought back to be executed. I don''t need to prepare any conditions for this negotiation. I just need to promise they get to keep their lives.


    So the question is: who can provide them with a way out?


    Answer: the lord of the region.


    Who''s the lord of the region then?


    Answer: The woman behind me is the lord of the region.


    "Wh-What do you want¡­¡­?"


    The deserter in front of me looked at me fearfully and at a loss for what to do. They were armed with sabres and swords, but I wasn''t scared of them at all this time. Their hands holding their des quivered. Even their des themself were shaking. I''ve had Veirya rest a long-sword on my neck. I managed to get through that even with her absurdly heavy killing intent that time. I have confidence that I won''t be scared no matter who rests another sword on my neck.


    "I came to talk to you."


    I looked at the deserter in front of me with a smile and raised my hands up.


    They were armed, but I knew that I was the one with the upper-hand this time! I wasn''t doing this purely for the sake of protecting the townsfolk. More importantly, I didn''t want Veirya to kill all the townsfolk and then for the three of us to starve to death here!

 Chapter Volume 1 11

    Some things certainly are easy to resolve with violence such as dealing with the demon king. The small team of warriors doesn''t have to think about anything nor is there any conflict of interest. There are no chances to discuss a business deal with the demons either. All Veirya had to do was swing her sword to eliminate all of her enemies and then take the demon king''s head.


    It was a simple mission and a simple era. Veirya didn''t have to think about anything. Her world only consisted of herrades and the only one they were facing was the demon king. She''s been to many ces. She travelled all the way from humanity''s territories to the end of them. She''s seen the snow in the north and the flowers in the south. But those people''s joy and sadness wasn''t part of her world. The confrontations and games in the pce had nothing to do with her. Queen Sisi, the elves and the gnomespeted to see who could get the glory of being the first to kill the demon king, which was the direction the alliance took. However, that wasn''t something the warriors had to concern themselves with.


    Now though, the demon king is dead and Veirya is not needed anywhere. Veirya''sbat skills can''t resolve problems now. She could ughter the entire vige but what purpose would that serve? She''s no longer the warrior Veirya, and she wasn''t facing demons, but living humans. And she had a responsibility to watch over her people as the lord of the region.


    Shedding blood here will only cause losses for both parties. They won''t get what they want and neither will we. Veirya can''t offer anything here now. It''s time for me to put my skills to use now.


    With their guidance, I arrived at what looked like the tallest and most luxurious building in this town.


    It looks like this group of deserters was eager to talk with me instead of getting violent as well, because they were very courteous toward me. Not only did they not restrain my hands, they didn''t hold a de up against my neck either. They treated me much friendlier than Veirya which was quite ironic.


    This must be where the new town-leader is residing. The buildings here really do give off the North''s vibe. The walls were high and thick. The windows weren''trge. All of the buildings faced in one direction. The homes of themoners were small homes with t roofs. They looked somewhat cute.


    I entered the tall building. I looked at the deserters to my left and right and remarked: "This must be your leader''s residence, right? It doesn''t look like you''ve done anything besides looking after the town."


    "We just wanted to find somewhere to settle down. We don''t have a choice either. The people here detest demons way too much, and hate us too for deserting and fleeing from the demon they hated."


    The troop next to me looked very young. He was probably just a kid. He was excessively thin because his young body couldn''t handle the heavy armour and responsibilities. Dressed in his armour, he was wobbling like a scarecrow in the wind. It''s just that he didn''t look like he could drive away demons looking to kill humans. He touched his nose due to his fear. He kept sniffling due to the cold weather. He quietly said: "We didn''t want this to happen either¡­¡­ We¡­ we¡­ we want to return home too¡­ but¡­ but¡­ we¡­ we never wanted to fight¡­¡­ But we can''t return home now. The people here said they would report us which means that we''ll all be locked up¡­¡­"


    Another troop violently poked him in the back to stop him from saying anymore. I walked up the stairs and looked at therge door painted red. I chuckled and said: "The true lord has arrived so you don''t need to continue guarding this ce anymore. I know what you''re thinking. Let''s discuss how to settle this matter properly."


    After I entered, I found myself in the main hall. It was very cold. It felt like I walked into the cold storage. It was indoors and yet it was colder than it was outside. There was nothing in the firece at the end of the hall. The ck charcoal had virtually be a pile of frost. The people next to the pirs holding up the wall wore in clothing and wrapped themselves up in what looked like bup. There were men, women, elderly and children. It looks like these people are the people the troops locked up. Next to them were a few armed soldiers standing there rubbing their hands together. There was a table ced in the centre of the hall. A man dressed clearly differently with a red cape sat behind the chair and looked at me sternly.


    I''m guessing he''s themander of this toon and also the person I''m going to be talking with now.


    In my world, there are no such things as enemies. I''m not Veirya who must distinguish everything as ck or white. Anybody might sit opposite me and we might end up being a team. Do your best not to view them as an enemy. Give each other a way out so that you may discuss things again in future.


    I sat on the seat opposite him and looked at him with a smile. He looked like an extremely rough old man. I''d say he''s past middle-age. His face was buried in his big red beard. The hair on his temples was connected to his beard. His finger looked like it was rougher than two of minebined. He moved his hand back and forth on the timber table like a rock was moving. His face showed he had lived a long life and had wounds. His small ck eyes looked extremely steady.


    He wore a metal helmet on his head and he was dressed in his filthy metal armour. His red cape wasn''t the thick type used to fend off the cold but more like for identification purposes.


    He looked at me and then reached his hand out to pick up a dirty pot to the side. He poured me a cup of something and gave it to me. I''ve seen Veirya''s soldiers have this sort of standard horse-hooves-shaped cup. I took it and had a look. The strong smell of wine hit my nose.


    It appears to be some sort of strong wine¡­¡­


    I waved my hand with a helpless smile and said; "Sorry, but I can''t handle this sort of strong wine. But let''s talk business first since the lord of this region is waiting at the entrance of the town. I basically understand your situation."


    "In what way are you rted to the lord?"


    He cut me off before I could finish. He daggered me and in his deep-masculine voice asked: "Is what you say your own ideas or is it the lords?"


    "Hmm¡­¡­"


    Truthfully, I''m just a ve¡­ though Veirya did let mee here without explicitly saying it aloud. She didn''t provide me with anything I needed either. In other words, his concern was legitimate. I could talk to him on friendly terms here and sign a deal, but that''s just me expressing my agreement. It doesn''t mean that Veirya agrees because Veirya and I never came to an agreement. Put another way, she just considers me a ve, not an assistant.


    The conditions I name need to fulfil two conditions: one, that the man before me can ept them, and two, that Veirya can ept them.


    "Let''s put it this way. The lord initially wanted to kill all of you. I was the one who stopped her beforeing here to talk with you."


    I can''t lie.


    One very important key in negotiations is to avoid lying. Sitting opposite you isn''t an ignorant child. Think of them as having better and more terrifying intel than you. Oftentimes, the lie you tell will be a weapon for the other party.


    But not lying doesn''t mean you can''t hide information.


    I told the truth.


    My answer was sufficient for his question. " I was the one who stopped her " means that what I say to the lord holds weight, and "The lord initially wanted to kill all of you" reads as "if you don''t trust me, you''ll have to die."


    So I didn''t lie. I told the truth. But I was no longer some nobody they could do with or without.


    And as I expected, he nodded. He then looked at me, waved his hand and said: "These people are the townsfolk of this town. We didn''t hurt them. We only brought them here. We had guessed there would be someone who''de to subdue us, but isn''t it a little overboard to have the heroine who yed the demon kinge to kill us?"


    "Lord Veira came here as the lord of the region. The rights to this ce and the right to rule it belongs to Lord Veirya. However, you''re now upying her territory, and you insulted the people under her jurisdiction. It''s not unreasonable if Lord Veirya hurts you."


    Don''t give the other party a retreat path. Don''t sympathise and don''t concern yourself with their feelings. There are some things you can''t be tolerant of. The bottom line in a negotiation is of utmost importance. You must have tolerance in a negotiation, but you must never selfishly give way when it pertains to the most important thing, particrly when ites to your superior''s matters.


    They are pitiable, but that''s not a reason for them to upy Veirya''s territory.


    I looked at him. While I can''t give way here, I can''t let the negotiation run into a dead-end either. Now you need a resolution. But what can I give them with my current status?


    "We want a reasonable reason to return home. Nobody will mention what we did. We just want Lord Veirya to provide a testimony that we fought on the battlefield. It''s best if we could get some fees to return home as well."


    He gave his conditions while looking at me.


    Honestly, he''s asking for a little too much. I take that back. It''s ridiculous.


    You''re deserters. You''re upying someone else''s territory and yet you want Veirya to give you money and ask you to leave? Veirya could rightfully hack you to pieces and you''re asking for money?


    That''s an unreasonable request.


    Any unreasonable request will lower the chances of a negotiation. The other party might even mock you. And such conditions will cause confusion as to who''s the one to gain in the negotiation. The party with the advantage is the one who has the right to suggest conditions. The disadvantaged party just needs to reject any unreasonable requests and protect their own bottom line.


    But clearly, the disadvantaged party here doesn''t realise they''re at the disadvantage which is all the more reason we need to discuss this, for the disadvantaged party''s only hope is to reduce their losses via the negotiation. That''s precisely why the disadvantaged party must be as cautious as they possibly can or else there may be no more negotiations.


    "I know that you want to return home. But you don''t have a legitimate reason to reason to return home." I looked at him and continued seriously, "You''re not going to be happy with the consequences you face when you get arrested as a deserter. Plus, not only are you guys deserters, you could even be considered rebels. It''s as simple as the click of a finger to establish your crimes. You''ll all be sent to the guillotine. It''s impossible for Lord Veirya to give you a testimony. The ones you betrayed were Lord Veirya, the brave warriors who fought with their lives and her majesty. There''s no way you''re getting the travel expenses you want either. This territory is Lord Veirya''s to begin with. She only needs to give her majesty money and no one else."


    The man opposite me clearly got hit where it hurt. He mmed his hand on the table hard and then roared at me: "Then what have youe to us to talk about?! You''re sending us to the guillotine right now! We''re doomed either way. Are you here just to ridicule us?!"


    That''s a mistake you are never to make.


    You must remain calm at all times. When you get worked up, your thinking won''t be optimal. In this sort of situation, you''re basically all ready to be killed whenever the other party pleases, just like the man before me.


    I looked at him and calmly responded: "What we''re discussing here is how let you all return home in peace instead of being killed by Lord Veirya or getting sent to the guillotine. And we need to guarantee the safety of the townsfolk. Let me put it this way. Lord Veirya frankly really wants to kill you to deter others. If I didn''t think that it wasn''t a good decision since you two were forced, and I wasn''t considering the safety of the townsfolk, you''d all be dead already. Now, what other requests do you have?"


    The man in front of me pressed his hands firmly on the table. His small eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. After a moment, he panted heavily. He sat in his chair with anger all over his face but he spoke to me in an unepting manner: "What idea do you have?"


    "The question isn''t what idea I have, but how much sincerity you have. You should be d you didn''t harm the people here. That''s why you still have a chance to make up for your mistakes. How should I put it¡­? Lord Veirya is a generous person. Take the initiative to go and see Lord Veira then Madam Veirya will be able to make proper arrangements. This is Lord Veirya''s territory after all. So if she doesn''t say anything, I don''t say anything and you don''t say anything, then no one will know. You can follow Lord Veirya''s escort who left which counts as an excuse to leave, right?"


    Now it was my turn to stand up this time because I had won.


    "You''re all from the same vige, right? You came from this vige too, right? Be considerate of your younger fellows then. I learnt from the young man outside that he wants to live. The war is over already. Can you face your conscience if your vige loses a young man or has another widow because of you?"


    This is also a threat which is derived from their internal affairs.


    Sometimes your enemies'' words are the sharpest weapon because their internal conflicts can prove what they desire.


    That boy just made a casualint, but that became my weapon to break down their leader''sst psychological line of defence.


    I know what they''re thinking. I rejected their request, but then I gave them a bottom line that could satisfy their conditions.


    Deep down, their greatest desire was to leave here alive and not get sent to the guillotine.


    That''s the only path they can take.


    "I''ve said about all I have to say. Do I need to remind you of what you need to do next?"


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 12

    Current time at humanity''s army camp.


    "An envoy from the elves? Hasn''t your warrior left already? That Lucia really is a boring elf."


    Queen Sisiy on her bed and used her left arm to support her head. She looked at the elf envoy before her with a strange smile. She only had a thin bath-towel on her. The elf with a long-white cape looked at the queen before him somewhat awkwardly. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn''t be polite to see a ruler like this. However, in this situation, it would be the queen who''s impolite toward the elf, or would it be impolite for the elf to see the queen like this?


    But he was already here so he had to look at the queen like this. He lowered his head and respectfully answered: "This is a letter from us elves. I hope that you can provide me with a response I can report back with once you have read it."


    The elf handed up the letter with two hands. Queen Sisi smiled as she waved her hand. Her servant quickly took the letter and opened it, checked it to ensure there weren''t any issues with it and then handed it to Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi looked at the letter before her and then she looked at the elf in front of her as though she was smiling. She raised the letter in her hand up and asked: "I have a question. Was the one who sent this letter your queen or someone else?"


    The elf envoy looked at the queen in front of him and twitched his mouth before replying: "That¡­ naturally was¡­¡­"


    "This isn''t from your queen, is it? This must be from the strange person among you elves, huh? You must share my thoughts there. Though you''re all elves, your position as an elf is particrly important as well, just like your current position isn''t at the elf-queen''s side, am I right?"


    "It isplicated since it is our internal affairs. Our internal affairs are veryplex and we do not wish for any humans to get involved¡­¡­"


    "Hahahahaha!!!"


    Before the envoy could finish, Queen Sisi burst out inughter rudely. Shey back on her bed on her back and held her belly while bursting intoughter. Sheughed cheerfully while rolling around. The elf-envoy looked at the queen in front of him awkwardly. Queen Sisi rolled around without any reserve, revealing her alluring thighs over and over. Her thin bath-towel couldn''t cover up her generous bosom and legs.


    The elf therefore had no idea where to look. The queen didn''t care either. Sheughed until she could barely breathe before resting her head and rolling over to look at the elf before her. She wiped her tears and said with a smile: "What are you saying, elf? Are you telling a joke to make meugh? That''s the first time I''ve heard something so hrious. Did you know there''s nothing more entertaining than watching a wounded clown deliberately put on acts? You elves are already in that state and yet you still want to act high and mighty. You clearly need my help yet you say that you don''t want humanity to get involved. Your pitiful pride matches your dreary state. How hrious. Why can''t you be a little more candid? Elf, when will you be able to drop the high and mighty act, and act humble like someone who needs help?"


    The envoy clenched his teeth tightly and lowered his head without replying. Although it was considered an insult toward the elves, the elf was just as Queen Sisi mentioned. Usually the elves wouldn''t let anyone insult them, but they had a request for Queen Sisi right now so they had to put up with it this time.


    "All right. Don''t you need my response to report back?"


    Queen Sisi sat up from her bed after she smiled. She put one leg over the other more gracefully than any other and then extended her leg out toward the elf. He paused and looked at Queen Sisi confused. She smiled and said: "You don''t get it? Didn''t I tell you that you elves have to drop your pitiful pride and high and mighty act? Since you are the ones begging, you need to have self-awareness. Kneel and lick my foot. Let me show you what courtesy is. Let me feel good and I shall agree to your request."


    The elves'' envoy startled and took a step back. He looked at Queen Sisi and shouted without formalities: "What sort of request is this?!! Your request is far too rude! This is an insult toward me! I refuse!"


    Elves are usually graceful and calm, but he forewent grace andposure in that moment. He looked stunned at Queen Sisi''s long-slender legs and her perfect toes as well as her white foot. Her toes were like pearls attracting him. His eyes looked toward the end of her long legs, that dark ce that everyone looks too. His face went red causing his refusal to sound stuttered.


    "What''s wrong? Don''t want to?"


    Queen Sisi giggled softly and then rested her face on her hands before continuing, "Since you''re unwilling to show your sincerity, what makes you think we must help you? You have a request for us humans yet are unwilling to bend over. I don''t know who your leader is but she wasn''t even willing toe and personally see me. Instead, she sent you. You want our support with just one letter? Don''t you think you''re being excessively confident there? Now, let me tell you how to plead someone. Lick my foot. Make me feel good and I shall give you money, weapons and medicine. What do you think?"


    "That¡­ that¡­¡­"


    "Come on. Isn''t that what you need? I''m talking to you about them right now. Do you consider your pride important or your cause important? Now let''s hear which you consider to be of more importance."


    Queen Sisi watched the elf slowly get down on his knees. The corner of her mouth crept up into a cold smile. The elves have always been the proudest race on this continent. This was the first time an elf knelt down to Queen Sisi. He was even holding her foot in his hand. The elf trembled as he looked at her small and beautiful foot. He held her foot gently with his two hands as if he was holding the most valuable treasure in the world.


    The elf looked at the queen with despair, but her expression didn''t change. To the contrary, she looked at him with encouragement and took the initiative to reach her foot to the edge of his mouth. He trembled as she extended his tongue out somewhat looking forward to it and yet reluctance to taste that pearl-like toe¡­¡­


    Queen Sisi looked at the elf before her. Her mouth curled up into a more heartless and cold smile. She suddenly extended her leg to stomp him in his face. She then sneered and said: "Tell me, elf, do you know how many people are willing to lick my foot? Please tell me then, how are you any different to them? If I had to agree to every request when someone licked my foot, wouldn''t that make me frivolous?"


    "But¡­ but¡­¡­"


    "Rise, elf. Unfortunately, I''m not interested in you so I don''t want to ept your request. As you yourselves say, we humans don''t intend to involve ourselves in your business so I won''t ept your request either. Consider that my response."


    "Wait!! Did you not say that as long as I¡­ as long as I licked your foot then¡­¡­"


    "Yes, but my goal never was for you to lick my foot."


    The queen turned away gently and left just her cold voice behind. She indifferently said: "If I need to have my foot licked, I will never choose an elf. My goal was for you elves to drop your boring dignified and pitiful pride. You can drop it now, right? You were willing to lick my foot even when you''re an elf after all, right? What does it mean for an elf to be robbed of his pride? That was my goal. You should now know how to plead someone, right? Let me also tell you then that you are fated to be refused. Get it now? Now that you get it, you can leave now, right? I need to rest now."


    The elf looked at the queen''s silhouette from the rear and spaced out. The regret and shame in his heart made him want to just smash his head into a tree to die. The most important characteristics for elves, pride andposure were heartlessly toyed with by the queen. Queen Sisi didn''t show him any respect. Instead, she tried everything to shatter everything the elves valued. She shattered it with her small and cute foot. He didn''t know why, why everything he valued was crushed just like that.


    The elf-envoy was found dead by hanging next to a tree near the army camp that night.


    No one knew why.


    In the north¡­¡­


    "Papa!!!"


    As soon as I got to the entrance of the town, a tiny body leapt at me and hugged me around my waist tightly. Leah sobbed as she hammer-fisted my chest. She then hugged me tightly and wailed: "Why, why are you always like this, papa? You left Leah behind and went to such a dangerous ce. If something happens to you, what is Leah going to do?! Papa, don''t you care about Leah''s feelings?!! I''m so scared. Leah is so scared, dad!! And you left me alone with that woman! That''s unforgivable!!"


    "I''m sorry, Leah."


    I smiled as I stroked Leah''s head. I then heard the sound of armour approaching. I looked up to see Veirya walk over. She frowned. It looks like they didn''t get along just now. She looked at me and reprimanded me: "So what did you do? If you didn''t get involved, then this would''ve been resolved already."


    "Frankly, it''s been resolved."


    I turned around and the deserters came out as I expected. They didn''t look like they suffered the pain of defeat or looked panicked and at a lost for what to do. They actually looked rxed and happy. Veirya looked at them and drew her sword. I immediately extended my hand out and pressed it on her shoulder. I exined: "They came to surrender."


    "Surrender?"


    Veirya didn''t seem to really understand what I meant. She minced on it for a while and looked at the troops in front of her.


    They didn''t have any other choice.


    I knew that when we reached the end of our negotiation. All of their conditions, or rather, my capital for our negotiation was the citizens in front of me.


    But I also told them straight up that Veirya didn''t actually care for these people.


    These troops were just deserters. Deserters have neither power nor glory. They just wanted to return home alive. They weren''t particrly willing to kill these innocent folks, so I gave them the simplest way out. Veirya would let them leave, but they wouldn''t gain anything.


    Their bottom line was to keep their lives.


    I satisfied their bottom line.


    So they will do as I say, which is to acknowledge their mistake to Veirya.


    I get Veirya. She''s a knight. She won''t kill a prisoner of war. Therefore she could take their heads without any hesitation but not enemies who had surrendered.


    And that was the status quo.


    "Lord Veirya¡­ please¡­ please spare us¡­¡­ We just want to return home¡­¡­ We really want to return home. My wife is waiting at home for me. I have a newborn waiting as well. Please let us return home¡­¡­"


    The troops knelt down and looked at Veirya while crying painfully. There was a troop who cried out to his unfortunate family members. Veirya looked at them nkly and then some audacious townsfolk came over from behind to take a look. She looked at me and then finally raised her long sword up.


    "What are you doing?!!!!"


    I rushed to reach my hand out and press my hand on her arm. Veirya looked at me indifferently and eximed: "Deserters must die!"


    "But I made a promise to them! You don''t need to do anything! Just let them leave!! Just let them leave! They didn''t hurt the townsfolk nor do they need to die!!"


    Veirya didn''t seem to care about what I said. She aggressively shoved me aside and then rushed at them with her sword raised high. They knelt on the ground and cried as they looked hopelessly at the sword swing down toward them. They had nowhere to run to. If they didn''te before Veirya, then they might''ve been able to escape. But now that they were all before Veirya, they were going to be massacred by this individual who would rip a butterfly''s wings off.


    "No! Don''t!!! We don''t need to give them anything! Just let them live!!!"


    I quickly pushed Leah aside and blocked Veirya off. I wasn''t feeling sorry for them. Their lives had nothing to do with me. However, things are different now. I promised them they would live. That was the conclusion we came to through our negotiation so both parties must uphold their promises. Trust is very important. All of the townsfolk were watching. If you kill them as the lord of the town when they''ve surrendered themselves, no political actions to appease the people will work if they''ve acknowledged their crimes. Moreover, her credibility will drop. That is the one thing leaders never want to happen. It doesn''t matter how you choose to settle scores after, but how you settle them now in the moment matters.


    "Move!!"


    Veirya pressed her sword up against my neck again. It was the first time there were emotions in her eyes. It was the first time I saw anger and regret in her blue eyes. I don''t know about her past or what ignited the me in her eyes right now, but I do know that she won''t hesitate to behead me if I continue to stand here.


    She was serious.


    I need to convince her to stop.


    I need to convince her to stop when I don''t know her past because it was her past that was triggering her.


    This situation again? One sentence to determine my life. I genuinely felt that my life or otherwise death depended on one sentence. If I can''t make her hesitate with it, I think I''ll have to die with them. I''ve never seen Veirya angry before. If a calm Veirya could kill people, then needless to say, an angry Veirya will kill for sure.


    "Deserters must die!"


    "Do you want Leah to witness this again?!!!"


    I looked at Veirya who was in front of me and belted, "You killed her parents in front of her. You killed two people in front of a child. Are you still not aware that you made a child watch you make a mess of blood and flesh?! Leah is scared of exactly that! You said you wanted to improve your rtionship with Leah, yet you''re doing something that would make her hate you more?! Consider Leah''s feelings!!"


    Veirya''s de stiffened up on my neck. I looked at a startled Veirya in front of me and sighed a breath of relief gently. But I didn''t rx. I kept my eyes on her and persuaded her in a soft voice: "You don''t have to kill. Don''t kill people in front of a child. The war is over. They''re no longer considered deserts. They''re just a group of pitiful people with nowhere to return to. Veirya, the war has ended. It has ended. You''re not a knight or a warrior anymore. You''re this region''s lord now!"


    "¡­¡­"


    Veirya looked at me silently. Her sword was still up against my neck but the me of anger and resentment in her eyes slowly dissipated. Leah who was standing to the side gripped her chest tightly while her tears coursed down her face on their own. She was so frightened she was lost for words. I looked at Veirya and didn''t budge.


    *Bang¡­¡­*


    Veirya''s de slid down my neck after a moment. I felt her cold de open a small cut on my neck, but she had put her sword back.


    It was the first time she wore such a powerless expression. She reached her hand up to grab my shoulder gently. The troops behind me were so terrified they couldn''t make a sound. I turned my head around to look at them and waved my hand. They shuffled their hands and feet and quickly crawled away.


    I looked at Veirya who was virtually leaning her entire body on me and softly apologised: "Sorry¡­¡­"


    I don''t know why I''m apologising either¡­¡­


    But I felt that I was partly responsible for Veirya''s current weak state¡­¡­

 Chapter Volume 1 13

    "Let go!!!"


    Leah forced her way in between us, and then pushed Veirya away with all her might. She then threw herself into my arms again and hugged me tightly. She then raised her head up and looked at me angrily with her small face. She punched me in my gut with her small fist. I smiled helplessly as I stroked her head. I looked at Veirya slightly concerned. She stood opposite me and flicked her head before sheathing her sword. When she looked up again, her face had returned to its original emotionless look. She looked at us, but focused on Leah in particr before checking herself out.


    I couldn''t make sense of what she was thinking.


    But then she walked up to our side and continued on without sparing any attention for the townsfolk who were trembling. I followed behind her and asked: "Do you know where to go?"


    "I don''t."


    Veirya turned her head around and gave me a serious nod that couldn''t be any more serious.


    Where are you even going off to then¡­¡­?


    I looked at her hopelessly, scratched my head and then asked: "I know where to go, but aren''t you nning to say something to these townsfolk? You are the mayor of the town now, aren''t you? Wait, you''re the lord of this region. Don''t you intend to appease the people after what just happened?"


    "No."


    Her response was specially quick and simple. I get it. She''s not a good talker. I might as well give a speech instead of asking her to appease the people with a speech. However, I don''t intend to take up the post of her adjutant. I''m just her ve.


    I figured that out from what just happened. Veirya and I aren''t a team like we were before. I had some independence before. My superior wasn''t in an ideal position to object to my decision when I made decisions within certain parameters. However, the Veirya here ispletely different. I''m Veirya''s ve so she can easily nullify my decisions, and I won''t be able to object to her decisions.


    If she had killed the group back there, what would I have been able to say? I can''t do anything, so I would''ve only been able to watch her ughter them and watch my efforts go to waste. I didn''t agree on it with Veirya first, but will she listen to my opinions?


    I led Veirya to that building. Though Veirya had arrived at her workce as the lord of the region, nobody cared. The people who were captured and brought here barely managed to escape so they wanted to head home. Nobody cared for the new lord who arrived here.


    Veirya wasn''t bothered by that. It looks like she still doesn''t really know how to be a lord. In her eyes, ruling this town was a meaningless endeavour. It was just a new home to her since she considered herself a soldier. But there doesn''t appear to be an appropriate office here.


    After sorting those people out and the time it took for us to walk around, it was gradually beginning to get dark. It''s probably around five or six in the evening now, right? But it gets dark early because we''re in the north.


    We were hit with a st of incredibly cold air as soon as we entered and it was littered with debris. There''s bound to be all sorts of garbage if they locked up a group of people here and didn''t let anyone leave. It looks like the deserters didn''t care either. But the entire manor was now stinking to the high heavens and littered with garbage. Somewhat disgusted, Leah hid behind me. I didn''t want to take another step inside either. When I saw so many people present the first time I entered, I didn''t feel it was so messy and dirty, but now that it was empty, the disgusting air was distinctly evident.


    It didn''t look like Veirya minded the environment so much though as she walked into the hall with big strides. She ignored the environment directly around her and checked the surroundings before looking back at us and asked: "Are we going to be living here from now on?"


    "No, I think this is just a gathering spot¡­¡­ The lord''s office and living quarters should be to the rear."


    My guess is that thisrge hall must be where the lord holds conferences and banquets. Let''s ignore this ce for now. Of course, we can''t justpletely neglect it. However, Veirya didn''t bring any helpers with her so if it needs to be dealt with, we''ll need to ask the townsfolk to maintain it then. But I don''t think we can get it done today.


    I covered Leah''s nose gently. The stench here was indeed very problematic. We then walked toward a dark path at the rear. When we reached the door, Veirya pushed it open. Behind it was a corridor and at the end of it was a house positioned horizontally. Both sides of the long corridor were ventted. The corridor was supported on pirs. Looking at it now, the house is a square-shape. There was arge flower garden and fountain in the centre. Unfortunately, the fountain was broken and water no longer came out from it while there was only loess left in the flower garden.


    It doesn''t seem like this ce was luxurious in the past either¡­¡­


    I crossed the long corridor. Leah scanned the empty space in the centre curiously. She looked at me with envy and asked: "Papa, can we grow flowers here?"


    "Flowers? Sure. But you won''t be able to during this season and in this temperature."


    I looked at Leah who was in front of me and rubbed her head. Leah looked slightly disappointed, but she knew that it couldn''t be helped as well. She gently grabbed the corner of my shirt gently and softly asked: "When I was there, I couldn''t see any flowers. I''ve always wanted to see them. I heard that flowerse in many colours and types. Is that true?"


    She looked upward and into my eyes. She was the most beautiful flower in this entire winter. I felt sorry for her and pinched her face. I answered her question in a serious tone: "Yes. Papa promises to grow flowers here when the weather allows for it. Papa will nt all sorts of flowers with different colours for you."


    "Really?!!"


    Leah looked at me and then hugged my arm cheerfully as she shouted with excitement. I nodded and then held her against my body. I didn''t listen into her past in detail nor do I intend to go learn about it. Her dark past is in the past to her now. I won''t let Leah go through anything like that again. Leah is very lucky. Her childhood is only starting now. I will let Leah experience some bliss from now. We walked up to the entrance. Veirya touched the door then looked back at us and stated: "It''s locked."


    "Ah¡­ indeed¡­¡­"


    Uhm, it''s quite understandable. The question is who has the key now. So what do we do about the door now? Don''t tell me we have to go back to that stinky ce to sleep¡­¡­ Hell no. I''d rather sleep outside than sleep in that stinky ce. It''s just cold outside and I''ll probably get sick.


    Before I could think of where to sleep outside, Veirya booted the door, breaking the lock and opening the door.


    I looked at her nkly. Welp, I''ve seen that before. She could kick the big gate of the town this small door like it''s nothing.


    But then I froze up after it opened. It was a living quarter. There was a corridor at the forefront but it was packed full of bup bags. And it looks like the bup bags were filled to the brim. I opened a bag with curiosity and checked inside. Veirya didn''t seem to care and just walked into the house.


    Hey, hey, hey, aren''t you going to check out the house before entering?


    I opened the bag in front of me and was shocked by what I found. Inside was paddy. Yes, it was paddy. But it looks like it was still hadn''t been submerged. It looked like it had been harvested not too long ago.


    I saw fur and dried meat in the bags. Some of the meat wasn''tpletely dry so as soon as I opened it, the smell of rotten meat hit me.


    I looked further and noticed that there was a huge pile of cloth-bags in the corridor. Isn''t there a little too much food here? I would agree that it''s normal to have this much food present if this was the supply warehouse, but this is the lord''s residence. Why would food be piled up here? Could it be that the troops brought them here? That would be reasonable since they were intending to fight a war of attrition here anyway. I''m guessing the food here was collected from the townsfolk. If that''s the case then the townsfolk shouldn''t have any food right now. Those troops definitely didn''t leave behind any ns to nt crops which means that most of the townsfolk were now empty-handed.


    If that''s the case then we wouldn''t starve to death, but what of the townsfolk? Without food in winter, they''ll die for sure. It looks like the food here must be distributed. As aforementioned, no people means that there''s no lord. Veirya must have these troops.


    Leah looked at the bags in front of her startled and in a surprised tone asked: "Papa!! Isn''t this our food? Did those people give it to us?!"


    I shook my head and replied: "This is their food, not ours."


    "But nobody would know if we had some, would they?"


    Leah looked at the marinated meat cutlets with the desire to gobble them in her eyes. I looked at her and Veirya. My gut feeling tells me that if these two were to eat then they would eat a fair bit. But if we don''t eat now, we won''t have anything to eat. Veirya didn''t bring food. I thought there would be food here for certain, but it looks like we have a lot of food reserved here.


    Charging some taxes as a lord is perfectly normal. So it should be fine if we had a bit now.


    But I need to ask Veirya for her thoughts first. I looked at her and she looked back at me. She then said: "I can''t cook."


    "¡­¡­ You mean we can eat this stuff?"


    "Why not? Isn''t it ours?"


    Veirya looked nonchnt. I looked at her. Yeah, nonchnt for sure. Veirya is the same as Leah. Or rather, Veirya is just a bigger Leah other than being strong. I sighed and then exined: "If I''m right, this food was snatched from the townsfolk."


    "Isn''t it normal for the people to support the army?"


    "First, the people do their best to support the army. Second, we aren''t an army right now. You''re the lord of this region. A lord can only levy so much. Killing hens for their eggs is a mistake."


    "Killing hens? We get to eat chicken?!"


    "¡­.. No, Leah, I was just making an analogy¡­¡­"


    "Let''s find a chicken and kill it then."


    "Stop! Stop! Stop!! You''re a lord, not a bandit!! Don''t just draw your sword for everything!"


    You know what? I feel like these two are two kids.


    But since they can''t cook, it looks like I''m the only one who can cook then. I actually can cook quite well since I''d starve if I couldn''t cook when I was alone. Other thancking condiments here, it''s fine otherwise. I can adjust the taste even without spices. Salt is the only thing I can use. I''ve got lots of meat and something simr to tofu, so I guess I''ll cook up some stew then.


    Though there''s no rice here, I found something simr to substitute it with. It''s white and fluffy but not long strips. It should be edible though, I guess.


    "Just help me light up the fire in the kitchen."


    I don''t know what the kitchen is like. I just carried a big pile of ingredients over. I never expected the stoves here to be simr to what I was familiar with. The fire ce was the type where you stack up a mound. The stove was on top and there was a saucepan. But honestly, I think dishes made in a wok taste better. Well, I can''t be picky in this situation. Veirya crouched down to the side and lit the fire up. I stood at the chopping board, picked up the kitchen knife and thought to myself over and over before putting it back down.


    The knife couldn''t be used anymore. It waspletely rusty.


    I looked at Veirya''s long sword and asked: "Veriya, can you help me cut these vegetables and the meat here into pieces?"


    She looked over my way and nodded before walking up to me.


    The kitchen wasn''trge so we were squished up in the tiny kitchen. I did my best to be careful not to touch Veirya, but she needed to swing her long-sword after all so I had nowhere to hide myself, thereby being forced to stand to her left. But then that meant that we were glued together.


    I tried my best to tilt my body but her face was right next to mine. Her scent was literally on me. She focused on cutting up the meat. Her left elbow was pressed against my chest gently causing me to not know what I was saying.


    It gave off the vibe we were flirting with each other but at the same time, tantly awkward.


    That''s when a tiny body squeezed its way in between us. Veirya and I both froze up and then looked toward it. Leah hugged my belly. She looked at Veirya vigntly. Veirya looked lowered her head to look down at her and then she shifted her eyes back to me. After a short interim, she ced her long-sword down and then exited the kitchen. My body instinctively grabbed hold of her but then Leah''s swift eyes caught me and she grabbed my arm with an angry expression. I smiled helplessly, lowered my head to kiss her on her forehead and exin: "Go on somewhere. Papa has to cook now."


    "Don''t wanna¡­¡­ I want to watch you here papa¡­¡­"


    Leah pouted and her frown formed a "W" shape. She sat down on the kitchen floor. It looks like she''s not leaving.


    I hopelessly chuckled. I''ll just have to cook under Leah''s watch then.


    Not long after, I ced the finished dishes on the table. Beef stew can be considered the most basic dish. If apanied with piping hot rice, I bet it would taste pretty good. I prepared three spoons for us since there were no chopsticks here.


    I ced the kettle of water on the stove that was still burning to heat the water up while we sat at the table. Leah and I sat on one side with just the mes from the firece behind us as lighting. In front of us however, was a table of incredibly alluring fragrances and heat. That''s when Leah picked up her spoon with anticipation, scooped up a big-full spoon of meat and stew, and poured it onto her te.


    "Papa!!! This¡­ is so delicious!!"


    Leah covered her mouth and wore a look of utter disbelief after her first bite.


    "That''s good. Eat plenty. There''s still a lot."


    I scrubbed her head with a smile. The feeling of aplishment from cookinges from the praise your family gives and the bliss they feel from it, which is exactly what I have aplished here. Seeing Leah smile so cheerfully filled me with satisfaction.


    On the other side, Veirya curiously took a bite while I looked at her nervously. However, it looks like she didn''t chew her food at all. She just started to knock back mouthful after mouthful.


    I cooked a lot.


    Usually it would be enough for five or six people.


    But it looks like we won''t have any left-overs with the effort Leah and Veirya are putting into eating it.


    After our meal, I looked at Leah whoy on my thigh like a kitten with satisfaction as she giggled softly, Opposite me was Veirya who had wiped her mouth and stood up. She said: "You will be responsible for our three meals every day in future."


    And thus, I went from a ve to a chef.


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 14

    Since Leah is a kid, she was soon exhausted. I know I should find her a room, but this house has been vacated for a long time. It would take ages to clean up a room once I found one. This is a horizontal house with just two floors. I went up the stairs carefully with just a candle in one hand. It was pitch-ck on the second floor. The steps below my feet creaked. I felt like they were going to snap at any moment. It looks like we''ll need to get someone to repair the floor and stairs in the future. Otherwise it''ll be dangerous.


    Let''s just bear with it for today.


    I led Leah up to the second floor. There was a candle on the wall in a corner of the second floor. I lit up the candle and then looked around. There were a fair few rooms on the second floor. I can''t inspect the rooms tonight. I have plenty of time to repair this houseter. But for now, I just need to provide Leah with a clean room so she can sleep. Leah needs a room to sleep, because if Veirya sees her, we''ll probably have a homicide case on our hands.


    I found a room toward the inner area and tried to pull the door open. Fortunately, the door wasn''t locked, for if it was, I''d have to destroy the door to get in. After I opened the door, I found a very standard room. There was one bed, a folding window where you could see the flower garden outside and a very standard desk in front of the window. There was a firece in the room as well. Looks like I''ve got a knack for picking rooms. I entered the room and checked it out. Luckily, there wasn''t a lot of dust on the ground. However, it appears that the previous owner of the room was decently rich as the furniture was quite sturdy and pretty. It''ll be a decent room once I''ve cleaned it.


    I pulled the bed-sheet off so that Leah wouldn''t have to lie on a bed of dust. The mattress was thick, but it was filled with soft fillings inside. I pressed on it. It seems prettyfortable. I pped my hands and then flipped the nket on the bed over. I then looked over to the firece and said: "Papa is going to go call Veirya to get her to light a fire."


    "Don''t¡­¡­"


    Leah hugged my arm tightly. She looked at me slightly angrily and said, "I told you not to get so close to that woman already, but you keep spending time alone with her and even took the initiative to block her sword with your body. Papa, you don''t care about Leah''s feelings, so Leah wants you to always stay by Leah''s side at least for tonight¡­¡­"


    Leah hugged me very tightly, afraid that I would leave her. I looked over to the firece, smiled helplessly and replied: "But papa can''t light a fire. If Veirya doesn''t light up a fire, it''ll be cold in the room."


    Leah fastened her arms around me, buried her head in my chest and softly said: "It won''t be cold with you, papa. It''s warm enough with your embrace¡­¡­ We don''t need that woman¡­¡­ We will never need that woman¡­¡­ Leah just wants you, papa¡­¡­ Leah is fine as long as you''re with Leah¡­¡­ Leah doesn''t need anything¡­¡­"


    "But we still need Veirya to take care of us right now, because otherwise, we''ll die without just you and me alone."


    "What about afterward then? Will you leave with Leah after?"


    Leah looked up. She looked at me more seriously and impatiently than ever. Her hands trembled slightly while her gaze was filled with hope. I know that she''s afraid of Veirya and desperately wanted to leave Veirya even now. We must stay with Veirya right now. Leah however, was already looking forward to leaving Veirya. She wanted to leave Veirya and start a new life with me. This is already her new life to her, but it''s still not the happiest life she could have.


    I looked at Leah unsure how to answer her because I haven''t thought about our life afterwards. I''m not someone who thinks about the future. For me personally, I don''t have that much energy to spare on thinking about the future. My attention is focused on the present. I need to think about the other party''s attitude, them as a person and what they''re gossiping about. I don''t have the energy to think about the future because if I can''t handle the present well, I won''t have a future.


    Therefore, I focus more on the present. I just want to get through the present peacefully. As for the future, as long as I can live every day in peace, the future will be the present that I ce a heavy emphasis on.


    But maybe I need to think about the future now.


    How am I going to live with Leah in the future? Are we going to stay here forever? Frankly, staying with Veirya here isn''t a feasible long-term n. Though Veirya can be considered a kind person, Leah doesn''t like her. As a matter of fact, she hates her, so she wants to leave Veirya. If their rtionship doesn''t improve, it''d be better to depart with Leah.


    Moreover, I don''t want to let Leah be stuck here in the deserted north. The north isn''t a ce that makes Leah happy, It''s cold and shabby. Leah won''t be able to be receive a good education here. If possible, I want to return to the imperial capital in future. I want for Leah to live in peace in the most prosperous and safe city, not here. I want to show her the most beautiful flowers in this world. Consequently, I need to do my best to return to the imperial capital. Returning to the imperial capital means I need enough money or I need to earn the acknowledgement of that scary queen. I want to live there with dignity, not as a dog.


    No damn way.


    That means I need to learn what it takes to live in the imperial capital.


    It would be best if I could get a decent job so that I could provide Leah with a decent life. Now that I think of it, I realise that I have many things to consider. I need to do lots of things in order to realise that goal. I reckon I''ll need to prepare for a long time too. It''s not something I can rush. I need to earn enough money here first.


    "Uhm."


    I nodded then squatted down and held Leah''s hand. I nodded again with absolute seriousness and then said: "Papa will take you away from here. Papa won''t let you live here forever. Papa will definitely take you to a warm ce and let you see colourful flowers. Papa will let you see a colourful world instead of staying here forever."


    Leah looked at my face and then reached her tiny arms out to hug my head. She tippy-toed up and hugged my head tightly. I didn''t say another word and instead kissed her head. I then carried her up to the bed. I took off my cloak and gently covered her with it.


    "Papa¡­¡­ Papa¡­¡­"


    Leah looked at me with anticipation written all over her face. However, I didn''t lie down. Instead, I bent over and kissed her forehead then softly said: "Papa needs to look into the food matter. That food is very important. We can cook, but those people can''t cook without this food. They will starve. There''s nothing to eat in winter. I don''t think they even have firewood. They''ll freeze to death in this winter, so papa needs to investigate the matter."


    Leah looked at me with confusion and softly asked: "Papa, why do you want to help them? If we keep the food, we will be able to eat such delicious food all the time, won''t we?"


    I stroked her small head. I chuckled softly and exined: "Then why did papa protect you back then? It''s what we should do."


    Leah looked at me and asked, "Papa, humans are different, huh? If it were us, we wouldn''t give it to them. Are all humans like this papa, protecting other people?"


    I hesitated for a moment before replying: "Not really, Leah. There are humans that think like you. It''s just that humans view it as immoral, something wrong. However, there are still lots of people who do that. Lots of humans think the same way as your demon race. But there are humans like me too. There are also those who will help others without regards for their life. Humanity hase to where it has today thanks to those people and not the selfish ones."


    "What do I have to do to be like a human then, papa? What do I have to do?"


    "Just be considerate of other''s feelings."


    I looked at my daughter and kissed her forehead again. I chuckled softly and added: "I would say that the difference between humans and other living creatures is that we''re capable of showing empathy. Leah, you just have to be considerate of others to be considered a human."


    Leah reached her hand out to grab my shirt and seriously said: "Really¡­? Then¡­ you muste back here to Leah after you''re done with business. Don''t go looking for that woman."


    I looked at my daughter and nodded my head with a helpless smile. I then put her small arms into the cloak and then turned around and left the room.


    When I got downstairs, I saw Veirya who was sitting upright at the dinner table we were just seated at. She had the water-kettle ced in front of her. She faced the firece while sittingpletely still like a statue. I walked over gently and sat down next to her. Veirya didn''t move or speak. Her eyes were focused on the me.


    I sat next to her and picked up the kettle that was now boiled. I picked up a wooden cup and poured a cup of water. I said to her: "We need to inform the townsfolk about the food so that they cane and collect what''s theirs. The troops didn''t keep any records so we''ll have to just divide it equally among them."


    "Thank you."


    "What?"


    I had no idea how to react to her thanks. I had no idea what she was saying. I looked at her puzzled. She turned her head toward me. I could see the mes in her sapphire eyes. She sincerely said: "You stopped me today, preventing Leah from hating me even more, so thank you for that.


    I looked at her and softly responded: "No, I honestly didn''t do it just for Leah. I stopped you for your own sake too. If youck credibility here, there would be no point in ruling."


    "I don''t like deserters."


    "Me neither. But as a lord, you sometimes need to interact with people. Further, deserters are easier to deal with than a rebel army."


    She looked at me and softly said: "I don''t know how to fulfil the shoes of a lord."


    "Neither do I. But what I do know is that a lord''s job isn''t just to simply kill."


    Veirya nodded. She then looked at me and asked: "Can you turn me into an excellent lord?"


    I looked at her and asked: "Do I have that right?"


    "As long as you are able to."


    "Well then, first, we need to sort this food out appropriately, don''t we?"


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 15

    Once upon a time, there was a knight who had just joined the army.


    She was still young at the time and passionate. She saw her seniors charge at demons, return with glory and blood to drink away.


    That was her goal, her everything. She wished to be able to be a strong knight like that one day to protect those she wanted to protect. She devoted her loyalty to her queen, earning her eternal glory and dignity just like the heroes that people admired in stories.


    Her chance soon came.


    While escorting a group of peasants, her small team was attacked.


    Their attacker wasn''t a powerful demon or the demon king. It was just a small group of goblins. They attacked the small escort team, killing herpanions in front of her. She fell off her horse. She looked at herpanions as she shrieked and struggled. The green creatures she usually didn''t even give time of the day to were riding on herpanions'' bodies with hideous smiles. They used their daggers to cut herpanions up until they were just an immobile flesh mess. Their blood coursed down their metal armour. Herpanions'' gaze of terror and despair froze in that moment in front of her eyes.


    The people panicked and fled in every direction. The cries of women and the shrieks of children filled her eyes. The group of green demons pulled a woman to the ground, tore her clothes off and raped her, making her wriggle like a worm on the ground as she cried and begged for mercy. They raped her in every disgusting imaginable way.


    She was a knight, a knight who was supposed to protect everyone.


    But at the time, she felt a warm-moist feeling at her lower body. She sat on the ground and nked out. She couldn''t control her terror. She clenched her teeth so hard her teeth could virtually shatter. She didn''t pick up a sword. Instead, she crawled her way away to escape while leaving a trail behind as she wet herself. She ran in the direction where it was silent. She ran to the forest and finally rolled down the back of a slope. She wrapped herself up with her arms tightly there and covered her head while sobbing silently, afraid her sobs could be heard. She smelt the smell of her urine as she curled up and bit down on her lips tightly to silent her sobs. She kept that up until she passed out and finally, she escaped like that.


    When she came too, half of the peasants she was escorting had been killed.


    She wasn''t responsible for anything since she passed out. In fact, people were relieved to see her.


    Nobody med her, but her conscience med her.


    Whenever she closed her eyes, herpanions'' gazes, the cries of pain in her surroundings at the time and the stinky stench would return to cling to her.


    After that event, she lost all her feelings and didn''t want to say anything unnecessary. When she stood on the battlefield again, she no longer knew fear because she wanted to atone. She wanted to appease her conscience. She fought for the souls that were lost because of her own weakness.


    Hence why she hates deserters and weakness.


    She knew that deserting meant the death of countless others. She knew that one person''s weakness would cause the death of countless courageous people.


    Hence why deserters had to die.


    I looked at the me silently. I didn''t say anything to Veirya who was next to me. Veirya recounted the story in aposed manner. Her tone didn''t change at all. Not even the fire inside the burner flickered because of her breaths. She looked at the fire quietly as she softly told me that story, her story.


    I finally understood why Veirya wanted to kill those troops so badly today. It must''ve felt like she was killing her past self, her weak self, and heart that didn''t want to remember herself.


    I was overwhelmed by this unexpected event. I never thought she would tell me her past like this. We''ve only been around each other for a short time. Is this not something Veirya doesn''t want to reveal? Or did she want to get it off her chest more than holding it in?


    I looked at Veirya. She still maintained a proper posture. Her eyes were empty. She was retelling her past, yet she was less emotionally attached to it than to her lunch today. Normally, wouldn''t speaker lean on my shoulder and then I wouldfort her loneliness and pain? When I looked at Veirya though, her expression showed no weakness. I felt that she would reject my offer tofort her.


    Veirya didn''t need anybody tofort her.


    She was a warrior who protected others.


    I couldn''t find a topic to talk about either. I could usually speak to someone at the table for days, but I couldn''t put together even one sentence to say to Veirya right now. I don''t understand Veirya. Everything about her was nk to me. I don''t have any idea what her past is like or what she''s like. I have no idea.


    I didn''t know what to do. I instead stood up and softly said: "I''ll head back first then. I''ll discuss tomorrow''s business with you tomorrow."


    "Uhm."


    Veirya gave me a gentle nod but still sat in her chair while looking the me without budging like a stature. I don''t know what she was thinking. Maybe she wasn''t thinking about anything at all. She just looked at the me while spaced out. Well, her life has nothing to do with me. I need to go back and see Leah now.


    When I got to the stairs, a hand suddenly pulled me down the stairs. I got pressed up against the wall and my mouth got sealed. Something started fiddling inside my mouth causing me to be dumbfounded. However, I soon realised what it was. The breasts which could suffocate me, the warmth from the wrist and the intoxicating touch of the tongue told me who it was. And that''s precisely why I couldn''t continue enjoying it. Night Leah pressed me up against the wall and forcefully kissed me while Veirya was behind the thin wall!!!


    I looked at the pair of eyes in front of me terrified and at a loss for what to say. However, Leah hadpletely wrapped her tongue around mine. Her eyes contained her anger but also contained a hint of mockery. She sucked out my oxygen from my lungs and sucked out my saliva, virtually causing me to suffocate.


    She stuck her leg between my two legs and rubbed her leg against my inner-thighs, causing my body to go limp bit by bit. I pleaded for mercy with my eyes. I plead her to not to do this here. Though she is more proactive when she transforms into herrger form; please don''t reveal yourself here. Veirya is sitting behind us!!


    "Fuu¡­¡­"


    Leah finally released me. My tongue was basically numb and I couldn''t close my mouth. A string of saliva dripped down. Leah narrowed her eyes and extended a finger. She ran it up her body seductively then put it in her finger like she was enjoying a delicacy. I looked at her sort of scared. The small Leah is really cute, but the current Leah is evilly sexy. She hugged me gently and next to my ear remarked: "Papa, did I not say¡­ not to go to that woman?"


    "N-Not here¡­¡­"


    I listened to her voice carefully as I was afraid that Veirya would notice us. I didn''t dare to speak. I could feel my daughter''s rage. My daughter was seriously angry right now. I have to admit that I did lie to her, but I never thought she''d chase me out here!


    Since when did she start watching us?


    "What''s wrong, papa? Are you worried that she will notice us? Are you worried about her getting jealous, or are you worried about me getting in your way?"


    Leah bit my ear-lobe gently and then breathed into my ear where I was most sensitive. I could feel my lust rise up inside me but I can''t resist here, since Veirya would probably notice if I resisted even a little¡­¡­


    If Veirya notices us, Leah will most likely be doomed¡­¡­


    I looked at Leah with despair. She wore an eerie smile on her face. She then bent over and bit my neck hard.


    I almost shouted since she didn''t just bite my neck, but she started sucking on it after. She sucked hard enough for me to feel that my blood was going to get sucked out of me. I realised what Leah was trying to do. This was the hickey I had always envied. But it wasn''t anything I could proudly brag about right now because how am I supposed to exin myself tomorrow if Veirya sees it?!


    Leah finally released me while I felt like I got sucked dry. I think all my blood got sucked out of me. Leah touched my neck with absolute satisfaction. She then giggled softly and hugged me around my neck. Next to my ear, she said: "Papa, don''t do that again, okay? Leah can understand you, but if you seduce other women while I''m sleeping again, Leah will leave a permanent mark on you, Papa."


    Leah let go and then grabbed my arm cheerfully and said: "Okay now papa, let''s go back and sleep now. Don''t sneak out this time though."


    I couldn''t quitee back to my senses. I looked up at Leah who had started to ascend the stairs a little scared. Her mature ample boobs jiggled as she moved. Her full thighs jiggled gently while her ankles made me rxed and happy. Her voluptuous boobs stood out more than her smooth back. As a matter of fact, I could see the front contour of her boobs from the rear.


    She grabbed my arm and turned around. With her head tilted, she giggled and asked: "Papa, aren''t you going to sleep with me?"


    I obediently followed her upstairs. Leah was all smiles as she led me upstairs. When we got into the room, she turned around to look behind her and then shut the door gently¡­¡­


    When I woke up the next day, I massaged my dizzy and heavy head. It''s tough to sleep with Leah when she''s in herrge form. I only managed to get a bit of sleep after she reverted back to her smaller form. Though she''s very proactive when she''s in herrger form, she still doesn''t know how to do that sort of stuff. She just really likes licking me. It seems that Leah is more proactive when she transforms into herrger form, but she won''t do anything that would incur the wrath of the popce.


    I''m definitely not going to tell Leah what to do or else she really will do it. Leah is a subus after all. A subus.


    Leah was still snoring quietly with her arms around mine. Small Leah looks cuter than anything in the world. I stroked her small face and then gently pulled my arm out. I pulled the nket over her properly and then looked outside the window. I didn''t see the sunrise I wanted to see. It was basically all white outside.


    It looks like it''s a slightly cloudy day today.


    I carefully descended the stairs and saw Veiryaing out of the guest room. I lingered for a moment. Don''t tell me Veirya sat here the entire night. She didn''t look tired at all though judging from her face. She looked at me and gave me a nod. She then greeted me in a serious tone: "Good morning."


    "Uhm, good morning."


    "Your neck, what happened? It looks like it got sucked on. Was there a vampire?"


    "No, no, no¡­ It was¡­ it was¡­ uhm¡­ It was a pinch. A pinch¡­¡­"


    "Prove it was and pinch yourself for me to see¡­¡­"


    "Huh?!"


    I then had my most creative moment in my life. I pinched myself in a way that made a simr mark. I had to or else Veirya would probably haveunched an investigation to see if there were vampires here I bet.


    Soon enough, Leah came over while she yawning. When she saw me seated at the dining table, she froze up and then angrily eximed: "Papa!! What''s that mark?! You and that woman¡­¡­"


    "No! No! No! I pinched myself!"


    "I don''t believe you!! Pinch yourself again for me to see!!!"


    "Please. Spare me¡­¡­"

 Chapter Volume 1 16

    Breakfast was actually really simple. I didn''t choose the yoghurt we used to always eat. Instead, I made some congee and apanied it with salty-meat and two strange eggs. The surface of the eggs looked smooth like candy. However, it tasted quite good and considerably simr to chicken eggs.


    I served up breakfast to the table. Not even Leah could resist the seduction of the food, therefore sitting opposite to Veirya. I didn''t sit right down at the table. Instead, I walked to the window and took a look outside. I couldn''t see the city outside from here, but I could see the sky outside.


    Leah ran up to me with a bowl in her hands. She looked out the window with curiosity like me and asked, "What are you looking at? Papa."


    From Leah''s perspective, the outside was but just a deste flower garden. However, it wasn''t a deste block ofnd to me. What''s truly deste isn''t thend, but the sky. The sky was empty right now.


    I crouched down, pointed at the sky and softly exined, "I''m looking at smoke, Leah. At this time, people should be beginning their preparations for the day of work. In other words, there should be smoke in the sky right now. But look, other than us, there''s no smokeing from any home. What does that prove? It proves that the people no longer have food to cook, and possibly not even firewood to light a fire. That means that without our food, they might not make it through this winter."


    Sitting behind the table, Veirya ced her bowl down on the table and calmly said, "Distribute it then. Distribute it equally. We''ll keep our share and distribute the rest."


    I shook my head and said, "Distributing it equally is not the best solution because the people aren''t equal to begin with. Some families get more food than others and gain more from their hunts, while others may not. Some households have more family members, some less. Consequently, equal does not equal fair to them."


    While it would indeed be a very normal method to distribute it evenly, that would incurints from people as their harvest volumes are different without question. Some never had food to begin with. If they get food because of this then it would be somewhat unfair on those who worked diligently. Although they would be very happy to receive food, once full and warm, they''ll begin toin. Sharing evenly like that is only a temporary solution at a specific moment. For a lord, the people''s evaluation of them afterwards is what is most important.


    It would be nice if I had a record book. I don''t think the group of deserters would have a record book or something of the sort prepared. As a result, we don''t know how many people received things. So we need to share it in a way that everybody can ept it and won''tin.


    Furthermore, I want to get some people to repair this ce. Even if we ignore every other ce, we at least need to clean up the main hall, right? There''s also the room on the second floor that needs to be tidied up. Then we need to fix the stairs and floor. It looks like nobody has been here in a long time. Though it''s very unlikely we''d be able topletely overhaul it in winter, we need to repair it a bit to survive this winter.


    "¡­¡­ Youe up with an idea then."


    Veirya gave up thinking without any hesitation and passed all the work onto me. I sighed. I don''t have any way of resisting since I''m just a ve after all.


    Somebody then suddenly knocked on the door. Veirya stood up and pressed her hand on her sword handle instinctively. I walked over and pulled the door open. Outside was a thin man dressed in a grey-long robe with a thin-red scarf. He had a few holes in his pants while his shoes were badly damaged. His nose was red due to the cold and he sniffled every now and then. His grey eyes looked lifeless. He saw me when I opened the door. He bowed and said, "Greetings, my lord. Greetings. I am in charge of keeping records here."


    I shook my head then turned my head around and pointed at Veirya, "No, no, no, I''m not the lord. This is the lord, Veirya, who''s also the heroine who yed the demon king. She is also the lord of this town and the viges around."


    Veirya watched him vigntly. She scanned him until she was sure he wasn''t a threat before rxing. However, she kept her hand pressed on her sword handle. The man before me looked at her astonished. He rubbed his hands together. He revealed an awkward smile and stuttered, "H-H-Heroine, I mean, my lord, umm, I am the record-keeper of this town¡­¡­"


    "Speak with him."


    Veirya didn''t want to bother with him at all. She instead sat back down and continued to have her congee. Despite it being boiled from in water, she had a great appetite. I smiled helplessly before looking at the record keeper and asked, "Speak with me then. Oh right, you said you kept records of the town, correct? So do you know about this food?"


    "Ah, I do." He sniffled then looked at the bups over there with envy and said, "Those soldiers snatched all the food away. That is this town''s harvest for the entire year. Fortunately, we still have lots of berries and beans as well as some food which wasn''t snatched off us. We can make it through this winter."


    "No, no, no, no, I wasn''t asking whether you could make it through this winter or not."


    I looked at him a little bewildered. His choice of words was really odd. His food was snatched off him, so why did he say he could weather through this winter? Shouldn''t he be asking me for the food back? But he didn''t seem to think the food belong to the townsfolk. He had no intention of asking for it back.


    "What did you mean then?"


    I exined it to him bluntly, "Shouldn''t this food be redistributed? The soldiers snatched this food from you. We''re not bandits. We''re yourndlord."


    I then followed up by saying, "Do you have some sort of record book? Aren''t you a record keeper? You don''t have an ie record book, but don''t you keep records of ie or harvests? I was going to redistribute this based approximately on your harvests."


    He looked at me awkwardly then smiled bitterly and said, "You are so nice¡­¡­ However it will not be a problem if we do not get this food back. Perhaps more correctly, we do not want to take it back¡­ because if we take it back and finish it. We might as well use it to pay taxes instead¡­¡­ This food should be enough to repay ten years'' worth of debt, right¡­¡­?"


    "Huh?"


    I paused for a moment. I then pointed at the bags and raged, "You''re telling me the townsfolk owe ten years of tax?! Tell me how a town could drag out their tax debt for ten years!! Ten years! This town would be finished if they had an outstanding tax debt for ten years!!"


    "No, it is a twenty-year debt. Everyone in the town has owed a twenty-year tax debt¡­¡­ Although we still pay taxes every year, it is insignificant in the face of interest and principal¡­¡­ We will be alright if you are willing to give up the twenty years of tax debt¡­ because if you continue then our debts will only increase with each year¡­¡­"


    "Bring me the books."


    I was a little befuddled. I''m getting more and more confused by the situation in this vige. The weather could certainly impact a year''s harvest, but there''s a massive problem if a town owes taxes for twenty years and can''t repay it. How did they end up twenty years behind in tax payments? If you owe taxes one year, you just need to pay more next year. How do you end up with twenty years of debt?!


    He fumbled through his shirt pockets and took out a ragged book. I took it and flipped through it. I froze up when I saw that taxes were up to forty-percent per annum. If we''re talking about a scam loan-sharkpany then this number would be believable, but what can the town council levy when they''ve their tax rate set as high as forty-percent? Even if you''re trying to pocket money, there''s a problem going about it in this way, isn''t there? Only a moronic lord would suck his people dry like this. How rich could the townsfolk people be? How rich would you get ripping them off for their spare change?


    "These ounts have be useless."


    I tossed the records into the firece far away. I then scratched my head hopelessly and asked, "Do you really not want this food back, even if I just destroyed the records and don''t intend to continue collect taxes that way?"


    "Wh-What do we do about the taxes this year then¡­? How much do we pay? What do we do about the previous taxes? Also, I do not have any ie records¡­ how¡­ how do we redistribute this?"


    He looked at what I didpletely astonished and then mumbled something he probably didn''t even understand himself.


    I scratched my head and then responded, "What''s the financial situation of the vige like? Where''s the money?''


    "There¡­ has been no money for a long time now¡­¡­"


    "Who are you trying to fool? You owe twenty years of tax and taxes are collected every year, so where is the money collected? Did you pay your taxes with food or wood or something?"


    "It¡­ it got taken away. We did not pay taxes this year¡­¡­"


    "¡­¡­ Who was the previous lord?"


    "I-I-It was the army¡­ the army¡­¡­"


    I get it now. It looks like this was once the frontier. The army was stationed far away from the ruler and so they took all the money from here. In other words, the issue the town is facing right now is a money problem. The people have no money. The entire town is like a pool of stagnant water. Forget investments, being able to trade is a challenge in itself.


    But without money, trade is impossible. Without money, are we supposed to just exchange food? That wouldn''t make us any different to primitive people.


    I need toe up with a way to acquire some money and it needs to have value for sure since money itself is just metal and paper. What''s truly worth money is the power of the nation behind it as well as the price of goods. Now then, what do I need topensate for this situation where money iscking?


    I know.


    We have a food shortage right now. The most solid product is food. All of the food is in the lord''s residence right now. That means that food is the true most valuable good right now. Money is just carrying the economy of these goods right now. In other words, they''re just the foods'' carriers.


    I suddenly had an idea. Well, I should''ve thought of it as a Chinese person.


    "Food supply¡­¡­" I suddenly reached my hand out and grabbed the shoulders'' of the man in front. In a loud voice I asked, "Tell me, tell, how much flour is required to make a loaf of bread? How much bread does one person need to satisfy their minimal requirements?"


    "That¡­. umm¡­ about¡­ about¡­ one person¡­ five-hundred grams. One person will be fine with five-hundred grams¡­¡­"


    I pped my hands and replied, "Good then. Come over for theing days then. Right, call everyone¡­ erm¡­ actually, forget it. Tell everyone to head over to the vacant space by the town entrance. I have something to say to everyone, understood?"


    "Yes¡­¡­ I understand¡­¡­ Tell everyone?"


    "Of course. This has to do with all of your lives in the future."


    The man nodded with puzzlement and then left the building. I went and searched the entire residence but I couldn''t find what I was looking for so I just pulled a bed sheet off.


    Veirya and Leah watched me with confusion. I cleared the table and theny the bed-sheet onto the table. I looked at them and exined, "Come over you two. Unfortunately, I need your help. Help me cut this bed sheet into simr-sized strips of cloth, then write the numbers fifty and one-hundred on them. Then use that thing Veirya has to mark them."


    Veirya looked at me puzzled and asked, "What is this¡­?"


    I looked at her. I chuckled a little and answered, "This is food, you know."


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 17

    "Alright, this should be good enough."


    I sorted out the small strips of cloth with fifty and one-hundred written on them until I was satisfied. Veirya took out medal she kept on her. The medal was made from pure gold. An exquisite sword and letters were carved on it. She looked at me then dabbed the back of it in dye before pressing it onto the numbers. I looked at her and asked, "That medal, what is it? Is it a one-and-only object?"


    "Yes."


    She nodded and then ran her hand on it gently. She then exined in an absolutely serious tone, "This was a medal my friends made for me after I yed the Demon King. It was made from the gnomes'' ore and the elves'' techniques. It''s not particrly valuable, but it''s my most treasured item. We warriors can only feel each other''s warmth through this thing. I guess you could consider it my treasure during the happiest period of time in my past."


    I nodded. That means that that thing is the only one of its kind in this world. So I guess it can be considered a lord''s stamp for now. If it''s just a simple white strip of cloth, people will make counterfeits for sure. Now only strips of cloth with this stamp on it will be considered legitimate currency.


    This is the currency now. This idea came from deliberating the eras of our world.


    I looked at Veirya and Leah who was really happy because she got to do handiwork, smiled and said, Do you want two want toe with me too? Veirya, if you stand behind me as the lord, I will be at ease. Leah, I would be very happy to have youe with me."


    Veirya nodded and then stood up. Leah looked at the strips of cloth with numbers on them in front of her curiously and asked, "Papa, what''s this for? What are these numbers for?''


    "These are to allow everyone to be satisfied and not starve to death."


    I then stroked Leah''s head with a smile.


    Veirya picked up a strip and sniffed it like a dog. She even put it into her mouth and tried to chew it. She said, "This isn''t edible."


    "Of course I know that it''s not edible because I don''t intend to pass this to everyone to eat¡­¡­"


    Leah wrapped her arm around mine and shook it anxiously. She excitedly said, "Papa, hurry and tell me! Tell me what exactly these are for! Leah really wants to know! Come on, tell Leah!!"


    "Alright."


    I grabbed hold of Leah''s hand and noticed Veirya''s envious gaze in our direction. But I could only smile to myself and nothing more. I helped Leah wear her clothes on properly and then walked outside. Iughed softly and then exined, "Leah, papa isn''t lying. To these people, these things are indeed food."


    "Why, papa? You can''t even eat them¡­¡­"


    "Alright then, Leah. If you were hungry, what would you do?"


    I looked at Leah. She pulled her small eyebrows together as though she was thinking intensely. After she heard my question, she rubbed her belly with a hint of fear. She then softly replied, "I¡­ I can''t do anything¡­ If I''m hungry¡­ I can only bear with being hungry¡­¡­"


    "Sorry¡­¡­"


    Mm¡­¡­ I forgot about Leah''s life in the past. Hunger must be the enemy that keeps herpany. She had a natural big appetite. She definitely never had enough to eat in the past. I stroked her head feeling heartbroken for her. I then looked ahead and at the mist from our breath. I quietly exined, "Humans use money to purchase food. Humans have what is known as taxes, but they don''t take food. Therefore, farmers sell their harvested crops to merchants which then be money for taxes."


    "Why won''t they take food?"


    "Paying with food is a big problem for humanity. For example, if they had to pay a bag of food each year but Iined that the food in the bag wasn''t good and can only be considered half of what they needed to pay, wouldn''t it be corruption for me to take another half? If it were money on the other hand, this sort of corruption could be avoided. Further, various expenses are paid with money. You can''t give them cloth or food as substitutes for their sry."


    Leah nodded as though she understood. I don''t know if she understood it or not, but I didn''t need to exin it to her. I just need to give her a rough overview. I paused for a moment and then continued, "Actually, Leah, no matter who it is, if you give me the gold used to made gold coins, I wouldn''t be happy to ask for it either. Why? Because gold is just an ore. It''s only worth money because humans endow it with value behind the scenes, hence making it valuable. Like gold coins, gold coins are just like gold itself. It''s because of the economy of themodities of the representative behind the scenes that it bes worth money. Farmers turn their harvested crops into money, which then gets spent on buying wool by merchants. The wool-merchant would then use that money to buy the farmer''s crops, which is basically simr to an item having been circted once. Gold bes valuable precisely because of this sort of trade. Right now though, we don''t have money on us. However, we have food. Subsequently, we need something equivalent to money to get this food into cirction. I guess you can call the things we made ''food tickets''¡­¡­ The townsfolk can performbour to receive these food tickets, and then use the food tickets to exchange it for food. In this way, they will get as much as they work, so it''s an absolutely fair system."


    "So in other words, these strips of cloth¡­ are the equivalent of food?"


    Leah blinked her eyes. It appeared as though thinking is a torturous activity for her. She held the strips of cloth somewhat curiously and softly asked, "So can I also write a strip like this and thereby have an unlimited supply of food to eat?"


    I shook my head with a smile and replied, "Of course not. It''s just like gold coins. It requires an ultimate national power here for it to have any value. At the very least, you need an influential organisation to distribute these things for them to be credible, and for everyone to be willing to trade goods for it. Money will forever only be a token that carries the economy."


    Leah titled her hair like it was hurting, scratched her head and said; "Hmm¡­ Leah doesn''t really understand what you said¡­ something money and something food¡­¡­ Humanity is so troublesome¡­¡­"


    "It''s thanks to these troublesome things that humanity is able to benefit within a set of rules. Leah, humanity has countless rules. But many rules are put in ce to allow humans to make money. The biggest difference between human society and other societies is that though humans have a short lifespan, they are the race that is most fixated on money. The standard for whether a human is outstanding or not depends on their ability to make use of the rules to earn money while staying within the parameters of the rules.


    In a tone of admiration, Leah asked, "Like you, papa?"


    I scratched my head then smiled helplessly and replied, "Not really¡­¡­ Papa is honestly not that good at making money¡­.. But whatever. Everyone has arrived."


    When Leah and I were speaking, Veirya walked alongside us. She never looked at us once, instead, looking straight ahead. She didn''t say a word. The only sound that came from her was the sound her clothes made. She just walked alongside us like that without looking at us. However, that gave us an oddly harmonious moment. It didn''t feel awkward at all.


    When we reached the entrance to the town, all of the townsfolk were already there waiting for us. I looked around. All of them wore worried expressions, some even fear. Some of them even held bags that were filled with something. They don''t think that we came to take food from them too now, do they?


    I walked into the crowd. I held Leah''s hand with my left hand and then pulled Veirya along. Leah groaned with despair, but I can''t be concerning myself with all the trivial details. We walked out in front of everyone. The record taker dressed in a grey overcoat then shouted out loudly, asking for everyone to quieten down. He then walked up to us with a smile and said, "Ladies and gentlemen,dies and gentlemen, this is our newly appointed lord, and also the heroine who personally yed the Demon King, Lord Veirya¡­¡­"


    Before he could finish, the crowd exploded into cheers. Everyone looked at Veirya with borderline-insane admiration. They pped loudly and there were a few males who called out loudly, "Awesome! Awesome!! That''s how you should deal with demons!! All demons should go to hell!! Kill all the demons!! Don''t spare a single one of them!!"


    "Yeah! Exactly!! The Demon King is finally dead! The Demon King is finally dead! We''ll go kill demons this winter! We''ll kill them no matter what sort of demon they are!! We won''t allow there to be any demons nearby this town! We''re going to kill all of the demons nearby! Show mercy to none!"


    "Yeah!! Kill all the demons!!"


    Leah looked at the virtually insane crowd. She grabbed my arm fearfully and hid behind me. I couldn''t stand it either so I extended my hand out to protect her behind me. There''s something wrong with the people of this town. Their hatred for demons borders on insanity while Leah behind me is a subus. They can''t tell now, but if she''s discovered, these crazy townsfolk will alle and kill Leah I bet.


    I must be careful. I must be careful to not let anyone discover she''s a demon.


    Veirya looked at her crazy worshippers before her emotionlessly. She didn''t show pride or pleasure with herself in her gaze. In fact, she didn''t care that Leah was a demon. She seemed to bepletely indifferent to all these things.


    The record keeper shouted loudly to get the townsfolk to quieten down. He then continued, "Our lord has something she would like to say to us all. Those deserters snatched all our food away. Our lord is here to talk to us about that right now."


    Everyone went quiet and looked at Veirya solemnly. Veirya just stood there without uttering a word¡­¡­


    After exchanging eye-contact for a long time and everyone felt awkward, Veirya looked at me confused¡­¡­


    You want me to speak?!


    I cleared my throat awkwardly and then asked, "It''s like this. First, we need to know what you all think. I heard that you were using this collection of food to pay off your previous debts, is that correct?"


    "Yes, yes. Take it. Take it. Please don''t ask us to pay you back like that again. Our ie for every year will be taken so we can''t pay. We would rather pay off more at once like this. Please don''t take our money next year¡­¡­"


    An older man shouted from below and soon they all started shouting. I get what the previous lord did now. He used taxes to force the townsfolk to stay here. They virtually had to use all of their annual ie to pay their debts. However, due to the high interest rate, their debt continued to umte.


    These townsfolk were tied down here and were unable to leave due to their debts. They were going to have to work to pay off their debts for their entire lifetime, and the debts would continue to umte and burden their children too. It was an eternal nightmare for these people.


    I nodded and then said, "Since you''ve said that, your new lord, Lord Veirya decided to erase your debts with this food."


    "Really¡­? Really? That''s enough? Thank you, Lord Veirya!!!"


    It was their food and the lord''s mistake. We just rectified the mistake and we''ve surprisingly already earned their gratitude.


    There''s something wrong with the manners and morals of this era.


    Looking at them I continued, "I understand what you''re thinking. However, how do you intend to get through this winter? Without food, it will be tough, won''t it?"


    "We basically got through previous winters like this."


    That''s a heartbreaking-teary story then¡­¡­.


    I sighed and then said, "Here''s the deal. Lord Veirya has a suggestion. We are going to implement a system this winter. Can you see what I''m holding in my hand? This is a type of currency that Lord Veirya will distribute to be circted in the town. You can call them food tickets. These numbers on them are their worth. Collect five-hundred and you will be able to exchange it for a normal size bread. You can bring your food tickets over every day in the evening or in the afternoon to have them exchanged. You need to either performbour for them or exchange goods at the heart of the city just like the current currency system. You can trade freely. It''s now fair and square for you. The more you work, the more you earn. You don''t work, you don''t earn. And now, I have a job for you all, and that is to clean and tidy our lord''s manor. Additionally, our lord needs to buy some things. If you have stock, sell it to the record keeper. He will give you your tickets as well. That''s all. Dismissed!"


    Though the record keeper wore a stunned expression, the result was quite good. After we went for a walk and came back, the cold and stinky main hall had beenpletely renewed. The wooden nks, nails and ropes we needed to repair the rear were also delivered to the main hall. It looks like I''ll be able to repair the flower garden this winter too with the allure of food.

 Chapter Volume 1 18

    After sorting all the food out and categorising them, we then transported to the supply warehouse. Despite the people having already prepared themselves to survive this winter, everybody rushed into our residence when they heard that they could get bread and even strings of meat if they cleaned our residence, sold us nks, nails, ropes and helped us repair the floor. They cleaned up the lord''s residence, repaired the floor and stairs within a single day. They even repaired the roof.


    After the lord''s residence was repaired, I noticed that they yearned for more. I quickly informed them that besides this job, selling precious goods and defeating monsters nearby could earn them food. If they didn''t work every day, they could still get three-hundred grams of food to get through winter.


    I''ve done the calctions. If we continue distributing food like this, we would still have a fair bit in the supply warehouse left over when springes. Most importantly though, was that order had been restored to the market. Those who obtained extra food tickets could use their food tickets to purchase the things they want like clothes or hand-made items they needed. Thanks to that, goods in the market started circting. Despite it being just firewood and some unattractive items, I knew that getting a town to start trading was like getting someone''s blood to circte. This was proof that the city wasing alive. The town finally had a chance of survival.


    However, the volume of business deals was too few and the prices were too low for this town. This level of trade was just child''s y in a small town. This definitely isn''t what I''m after.


    When night came, Leah looked at the new and refresh hall with glee. She hugged my arm cheerfully and eximed, "Papa, papa, it''s clean now! That was so fast! The aunties and uncles were so fast!"


    I nodded. I smiled and rubbed Leah''s head gently. While smiling I said, "Of course. It''s their job. If they didn''t clean properly, they wouldn''t get to eat. They''re aware of that, that''s why they worked so fast. We won''t have to worry about firewood and food in the future now. Plus, the room has been cleaned so you can live here with peace of mind now, Leah."


    "Uhm!" Leah nodded cheerfully. That''s when Veirya pushed the door open and entered the residence. She then turned her head around to look at us. With an emotionless expression she said, "I''m hungry. Come back and cook."


    "Huh¡­? Oh¡­¡­ Okay¡­¡­ Aah!!"


    As soon as I said "okay", my daughter standing beside me gave me a hard pinch on my back causing me to shriek out in pain. When I looked at Leah, I discovered she was looked at Veirya with a furious expression. It was evident Veirya noticed Leah''s gaze on her. She looked at Leah and surprise crept into her eyes, since not only did Leah not talk to her, she didn''t even look her way previously. Now, however, she was surprisingly looking at her. Even though she was looking at her with nothing but rage, Veirya perceived it as Leah finally paying her attention.


    But then Veirya looked at me. I wasn''t sure what she wanted to do but I walked passed her. Suddenly, Veirya grabbed my hand.


    "Ah!"


    Aaahh!!"


    Leah and I eximed at the same time, but I was dumbfounded while Leah was shocked. Veirya looked at me and then Leah. Leah looked at me and Veirya with panic, and then anger. Actually, she looked at Veirya with what you could consider resentment. She then immediately looked at me and shouted, "Papa!! Let go!!"


    "No¡­ Leah¡­ it''s not me¡­¡­"


    I wanted to speak my mind, but couldn''t. I knew why Leah was angry but I honestly couldn''t help it. I didn''t grab hold of Veirya''s hand, she grabbed hold of mine. Veirya held my hand tightly. Veirya then pulled me out toward her front view and scanned my hand. She then looked back at Leah. She then pressed my hands on her face out of the blue.


    "Aaaaaahhh!!!"


    Leah shrieked with despair like a dog wailing after its tail got stepped on. I was so frightened my entire body quaked. I wasn''t afraid of Veirya doing something to me. I was afraid Leah would do something to me at night. I''ve still got hickey marks on my neck here!!


    Veirya looked at me without any emotion on her face. My hand was ced gently on her face. I could feel the cold temperature on Veirya''s face as well as her supple flesh. She had my hand in her sp. However, I didn''t feel the gentleness and warmth of a female. I could only feel the determination of a warrior. Veirya''s palms aren''t soft. Her hands had calluses from fighting and training.


    Her grip on my hand was particrly firm so I couldn''t take my hand out. I wanted to pull my hand out but it was impossible


    Veirya looked at Leah seriously but she didn''t say a word. Leah looked at me with puppy-eyes like a pitiable small animal that got wounded. But I couldn''t help it. I wanted to pull my hand out but Veirya is too strong. She didn''t have any intention of releasing my hand either. She just continued looking at Leah. She even stepped in closer to me and leaned on me.


    Leah wailed and looked at us with despair. She then looked at Veirya fearfully while Veirya looked at her with a serious look without budging. Leah clenched her fists as she looked at Veirya. She lowered her head out of fear as her entire body shook. She looked like she was virtually about to run away.


    "Veirya, what exactly do you want¡­¡­?"


    "You shut up."


    Veirya demanded I shut up before I could finish. She kept her eyes on Leah silently. I didn''t have the foggiest idea as to what the two of them were doing, and even less of an idea as to what Veirya was getting at. Leah then raised her head up and looked at Veirya. Her tears of fear brimmed in her eyes. She looked at Veirya before her fearfully. She took two light steps forward and looked at Veirya again. She quivered as she opened her mouth. The first time she opened her mouth, she didn''t make a sound. She then murmured a few vague things. Veirya didn''t lose patience, instead, continuing to look at Leah and wait.


    "Pl-¡­ pl-¡­ pl-¡­¡­"


    Leah shifted her line of sight and looked down at her feet. She then softly continued, "Please¡­ let¡­ let¡­ let go¡­ of papa¡­¡­"


    "Hmm?"


    Veirya didn''t seem satisfied. I noticed that her face twitched like she was going to smile but she kept her eyes on Leah and waited.


    "I beg you¡­ I beg you¡­ please¡­ please¡­ let go of papa¡­¡­"


    Perhaps her speech was smoother this time since she spoke before that. Leah looked up at Veirya with a pitiable expression. Veirya looked at Leah. This was the first time Leah took the initiative to speak to Veirya. Veirya looked at Leah. The corner of her mouth twitched but she didn''t smile in the end. She let go and then pushed me over to Leah. She then turned and walked into the residence behind her. She closed the door loudly, leaving me who was looking at her nkly and Leah who sat on her bottom on the ground.


    I ran over to Leah and pulled her into my arms. Leah wailed as she leaned onto my shoulder and hammered my shoulder hard. She cried and eximed, "Idiot! Idiot! Papa, you''re an idiot! Why do you have to do this?! What did you make Leah do this?!! Leah already told you not to get close to that woman, but why do you keep letting yourself get caught by her?! Leah doesn''t want¡­ Leah doesn''t want to see papa and that woman together¡­ Leah is very scared¡­¡­. Leah¡­¡­ Leah¡­¡­"


    I hugged Leah tightly and gently stroked her back. I then softly said, "It''s fine, it''s fine, Leah. Don''t be scared, don''t be scared. Papa will take you aware from here in the future. Did you forget? Papa made the promise with you yesterday. Papa will take you away from here. Don''t be scared."


    "I just want you papa¡­ I just want you papa¡­¡­ I don''t have anything left. I don''t have anything left. That woman took everything from me. I only have you daddy¡­¡­"


    Leah crawled up onto my shoulder and held me tightly as she cried loudly next to my ear.


    I held Leah in my arms and next to her ears gently said, "It''s alright, Leah. Your past isn''t worth dwelling on anyway. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that Veirya was the one who helped you break out of your old prison. You are living your new life now. Leah, enjoy your life now. Although Veirya is here too, I promise to take care of you forever and ever."


    "Uhm¡­ Uhm¡­¡­."


    At the same time on the other side of the door, Veirya was looking at her hand. Envy and curiosity surfaced in her eyes. She then gently formed a fist as if she wanted to keep the warmth for a moment longer. She then touched her face and turned around to look at the shut door. She hesitated for a moment before pressing her hand on the door.


    The knight never shook hands with anyone.


    A knight''s hands are forever reserved for their de and reins. They would hold each other''s hands in their small team, but that definitely was in order to climb together. Other than that, knights never touched anyone else.


    When they saw her covered in a demon''s body liquid on the battlefield as she walked up to them with a weapon she snatched from somewhere, the soldiers would tremble with fear and not dare to approach her, despite her wearing armour which indicated she was on their side.


    The warrior reversed the tide of the battle, but she wasn''t as suave as warriors in stories afterwards. She knew that the demons'' flesh and blood were disgusting to eat, and she knew how stinky their blood which covered her was. Her eyes would be covered by their blood, causing her vision to be hazy. She would return to camp like a zombie, shower, sleep and then return to the battle to advance on the enemy again.


    Everyone admired the warrior from afar, yet nobody was willing to shake her hand which she wielded her long-sword with.


    The warrior was slightly surprised since it was the first time she''d touched another.


    Turns out humans and demons aren''t the same. Humans'' hands are surprisingly warm.


    And Leah would approach her and speak to her if she approached that man.


    Veirya then realised how to go about forming a good rtionship with Leah¡­¡­


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 19

    It was really awkward when we had dinner.


    As the chef, I was bound to be thest one to the table. Leah and Veirya looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes as per usual. I walked over to Leah''s side and went to sit down, but before I could, Veirya suddenly grabbed me by my arm. She looked at me with an extremely serious look in her eyes to tell me to sit down next to her. She pressed her left hand on me and reached for her sword handle with her right hand. That wasn''t hard to understand. Either sit next to her or she was going to hack me to death.


    I looked at her with shock, not able to figure out what she was trying to do. Leah looked at her hand terrified and looked at me fearfully.


    "Veirya, what do you want¡­? Veirya¡­ what do you want¡­?"


    I looked at Veirya at a lost for what to do. She looked back at me and in a serious tone demanded, "Sit here."


    "Wait¡­ why¡­. why all of a sudden¡­?"


    I looked at Veirya nkly. I couldn''t figure out what she was after for the life of me. Veirya, however, looked at me absolutely serious and forcefully pulled me down next to her. Leah was stunned. She stood up and didn''t know what to do. She picked up her te and ced it next to Veirya before sitting down. She looked at Veirya and quivered as she said, "Papa¡­ papa¡­ papa can''t sit like this¡­ so¡­ so¡­ let go of dad¡­"


    That allowed me to instantly understand what Veirya''s intention was. Satisfied, Veirya let go of me and didn''t hassle me over where I sat again. What Veirya was after was very simple. She wanted to use me to get Leah to sit next to her. Now that Leah moved over to sit next to her, I no longer served any purpose.


    That makes me kind of sad¡­


    I smiled helplessly and sat down opposite Leah. Leah wore a bitter look as she sat next to Veirya. She carefully picked up her spoon and ate her food. I could feel for her. The food tasted the same as always, but it must''ve tasted different to Leah.


    Surely it was an extremely delicious meal for Veirya, though. She doesn''t wear her emotions on her face though so I couldn''t tell how happy she was. I do believe however, that she would be very happy and pleased even if she was forced to eat as long as Leah was sitting next to her.


    I suddenly felt pain from my foot so I looked up shocked. I saw Leah''s angry expression. She was stepping on my foot with her small foot wearing a white-cotton sock. However, because of her height, she couldn''t reach. And so she slouched down in her chair to step on my foot causing her strength to be minimal. As opposed to saying she was very angry, I''d say she was being coquettish.


    Seeing Leah''s small grumpy face and the feeling of her socks on my foot, I had an impulse¡­ Could it be that I''ve a genius at being a masochist after the queen treated me that way?


    "Papa, feed me."


    After testing me, she realised I didn''t mind her stepping on my foot so she sat back up properly. She opened her mouth and shut her eyes unhappily. I smiled helplessly and nodded. I then grabbed a scoop with my spoon and gently blew on it to cool it, but when I looked back up, I was terrified to see that Veirya had already fed Leah a spoon.


    I was so frightened my body stiffened up and couldn''t even call out. Leah who had her eyes shut enjoyed it and chewed it with pleasure. She then opened her mouth once again and said, "Papa, I want some more."


    I didn''t move. I just went "Uhm, uhm". Veirya looked at Leah with shock since Leah was pleased, so she scooped another spoon and fed Leah. Leah didn''t hesitate to eat from the spoon but then she noticed something was wrong with the direction the spoon came from. I sat opposite her while the spoon came across her face. That made Leah realise something was wrong. She opened her eyes quickly and looked stunned at me who was holding his spoon in his hand nkly. At first, confusion appeared in her eyes, and then she turned her head to the side with the spoon in her mouth.


    That''s when she exchanged eye contact with Veirya''s affectionate blue eyes.


    "Aaaahhh!!!!!"


    Her high-pitched shriek rang through the air, virtually shattering the roof we spent much effort on repairing today¡­ I closed my eyes hopelessly. It looks like this dinner really is a nightmare of despair for Leah. I think it''s the first time Veirya and Leah kissed¡­ If it couldn''t even count as one that is¡­


    Veirya was evidently pleased and had a particrly good appetite this time while Leah was sobbing. That said, she still had a shocking big appetite as per usual. It looks like Leah is alright. At least she hasn''tpletely lost the courage to live¡­


    I tidied up the utensils with a helpless smile after dinner. Unfortunately, Veirya doesn''t bother with anything. She''s only responsible for eating. She doesn''t care about anything else. Leah jumped out of her chair like she had been waiting for the moment and then ran to the kitchen. She looked at me and asked, "Papa, can I help with anything?''


    "Oh? You can wash the eating utensils then. Clean them like this. Use water to scrub off the food residue and then wipe it dry with the cloth."


    Leah stood on a wooden barrel and scrubbed the spoons with diligence next to me. She looked at the water before her and softly said, "Papa¡­ what exactly does that woman want¡­? Why does she keep clinging to me¡­? I¡­ I¡­ I''m not the demon king''s daughter anymore¡­"


    I shook my head with a smile and replied, "She doesn''t want to kill you now. Veirya wants to be friendly with you now. It''s just that she doesn''t know how to interact with others, so that''s her only way of showing her friendliness. But Leah, papa guarantees that Veirya has no ill will toward you, so you don''t need to be so worried about her."


    "R-Really¡­?" Leah lowered her head and put her hand into the water. She then softly followed up by saying, "I¡­ I can sense that¡­ but¡­ but I''m still scared¡­. I recall the way she looked when she chased me down whenever I see her. I''m just always scared of her¡­ and¡­ and her expression doesn''t change¡­ She always looks like she wants to kill me. Even now she has that expression¡­. I''m just really scared¡­"


    I stroked Leah''s head with a smile and told her, "It''s alright. Veirya is that sort of person, that''s for sure. She is expressionless, but you can sense that she holds no ill will, right?''


    "Y-Yes¡­ but¡­ but¡­ I¡­"


    Leah''s expression frankly looked like she was suffering a bit. I sighed and kissed her gently on her forehead. I reached my hand into the water and grabbed her hand that had turned cold in the water. I said to her, "You don''t need to force yourself, Leah. If that''s how Veirya always is, you can slowly get used to her, right? Maybe you won''t be so scared of her in future. If you''re still scared of, you don''t have to force yourself to get along with her. Wait until you''re no longer scared."


    "Uhm¡­ Papa¡­ do you want me to be friendly with her?" Leah looked at me with a hint of suspicion and then said, "Papa, don''t tell me you like that woman and therefore want me to ept her¡­."


    "No, no, no. That''spletely false. That''s not how it is for sure!! I definitely don''t have that sort of idea. It''s just¡­ just¡­ you''ll be unhappy if you are always with someone you don''t like, right? That''s why I want you two to be friendly, especially since Veirya gave us a shelter, right¡­?"


    I desperately tried to exin to Leah as I looked at her. Leah''s small eyes had suspicion written all over them. It seemed like the reasonable exnation didn''t convince her. I really did provide a reasonable exnation in my wonderful and affectionate voice. I really don''t have those sorts of ideas. Yes, I was breath taken by Veirya when she emerged from the waterst time and I still can''t forget her body, but I don''t like Veirya in that way.


    At least I won''t at the moment.


    As for in future¡­


    I looked at Leah next to me. I didn''t feel like I would develop a romantic rtionship with Veirya in the future.


    I then heard a knocked at the door. I looked outside with surprise. Veirya stood straight up, ced her hand on her sword handle and became alert. I wiped my hands and walked over to the door to pull it open gently. Underneath the candle hanging on the wall outside the door was a small face. It was the fearful face of a girl I would consider pretty.


    A tinge of fear showed in her eyes when she looked at me when I opened the door. She was just a kid around fifteen or sixteen. Her clothes were in and it had a few holes, but it was clean nevertheless. She looked at me and I noticed her lips twitch. She then said, "Umm¡­ umm¡­ a-are you Lord Veirya?"


    "No I''m not, but you can tell me what you have to say and I can make a decision."


    "Ah, I do have something to say¡­ mm¡­ mm¡­ umm¡­ sir, I¡­ I¡­ hope you can ept¡­"


    The young girl stepped up to me and took out a tiny cloth-bag from her pocket. When she opened it, I saw shiny peals inside. Though I have no idea what this thing is, looking at its colour, it was quality stuff. It must be something valuable.


    But I didn''t take it. Instead, I took a step back and looked at her vigntly. I asked, "What is the meaning of this?"


    "Umm¡­ our¡­ our family¡­ operates a hotel¡­ we need¡­ we need food¡­ or else¡­ or else¡­ we cannot run the business¡­"


    She shuddered when I didn''t take it. She looked at me with hopelessness and tried to put it into my hand. She continued, "Nobody¡­ nobody wanted it¡­ so¡­ so¡­ I hope¡­ we can exchange it for some food¡­ If not, some tickets would do¡­"


    I looked at her, reached my hand out and put it into her pocket. I then led her into the building. She trembled as she looked at the things on both sides of the building. Veirya stood up from her table and looked at her vigntly. Leah poked her head out from one side to scan the girl.


    "How much food do you want to loan?"


    "About¡­ About¡­ this much¡­ two bags of this size¡­"


    Perhaps she didn''t know how to put it into words so she used her hand gestures to demonstrate. It sounded like she wanted two bags of food. That''s a fair bit.


    She looked at me and Veirya slightly scared. She softly said, "Umm¡­ we don''t want to just take it¡­ we¡­ will b-buy¡­"


    "This sort of luxury item is useless at this point in time."


    I shook my head. I didn''t ept the item she offered. It was indeed useless. We''re in the lord''s residence right now. This isn''t a trade office. More importantly, the food isn''t ours. It belongs to the town. Handing it out on whims will cause us to lose credibility.


    Put another way, Veirya shouldn''t have enough money to purchase that item. Veirya didn''t ept any money. She came here alone despite being the one who yed the demon king.


    I took a sheet a paper and grabbed a pipette pen. This thing is very simr to the pen we know in the modern day, except it doesn''t have that much ink. It can only suck up a bit of ink to write. Once I finished writing a line, I said, "You owe the town two bags of food. The weight will be written here once weighed. Write the amount of money here after calcting it based on the market-value. The interest rate will be an annual two-percent. You can pay the interest first before the loan next year. You have five years to repay the loan. There are two copies of this IOU. Go to the supply warehouse tomorrow and look for the record keeper. Once you''ve filled out the IOU, just bring one copy back here."


    "What about the food¡­? The food¡­?"


    "Just send over the order for the food and you''ll be sorted."


    I dabbed Veirya''s medal in ink and stamped the two IOU''s before handing it to her. I then wrote one more copy for record keeping and had her stamp it with her fingerprint. She looked at me shocked. In a voice of disbelief, she asked, "That''s it¡­? That''s all I need to do?"


    "You have to pay it back within five years. Otherwise, I will go to your ce and take something of the equal value to cover the debt."


    I then smiled and exined, "Work hard on your business. We will only have visitors from outside if we have you. Only by bringing in visitors from outside, will we have moneying into the town. The food tickets are just a temporary solution at the end of the day. What I''m after is real cash."


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *The reason people are unaware Veirya is a female is because the titles "warrior", "hero" and "heroine" do not have gender differences. "Warrior" shares the same spelling whether the subject is female or male like in English, but "Hero" and "Heroine" share the same spelling irrespective of sex in Chinese. So while we say "The heroine who yed the demon king", in Chinese it''s just "The Ó¢ÐÛ who yed the demon king" and you don''t know if the Ó¢ÐÛ is male or female.

 Chapter Volume 1 20

    "Your Majesty, due to the famine in the north, the number of wandering bandits and refugees has increased a fair bit this winter. They are trying to enter the south and cities nearby. As theye, disputes between them and cities have started. Your Majesty, in my opinion, I think it is time tomence disaster relief activities."


    "Oh?"


    Queen Sisi stretched her hand out and tossed the steak in front of her to a side of the carpet. Two individuals crawled over and desperately used their mouth to snatch it. She then looked at the messenger before her, giggled as she gestured for the person next to her toe over with her finger and bring water with fragrance added to it for her to wash her slender fingers. She then wiped her hand and with a smile asked, "Do I have to handle so many things? Is disaster relief my job? If I have to personally deal with such matters, what am I keeping all those lords for?"


    "The lords do not have much food to distribute as this situation was caused primarily due to the army collecting too much food during the war. In some territories, the people have even robbed the lord''s residence and supply warehouse. Therefore, you must personally step up and take control, Your Majesty."


    "Queen Sisi giggled and then replied, "No, no, no, I don''t want to do that. I''ve just returned to my own home and haven''t enjoyed myself yet. I don''t want to deal with these things. Don''t we happen to have some armies there which have yet to retreat? If that''s how things are, just kill the violent citizens. Kill them and there will be no more refugees. Oh right, as for the other ces, yes, yes, Achilles. Achilles."


    "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"


    A male came in from outside and went down on one knee in front of Queen Sisi. The young man was very young, around just twenty. He had short light-blonde hair that was slicked back neatly. His young face was clean and clear. His ck eyes were particrly firm. He pursed his lips that were like a de into a graceful smile. He looked at Queen Sisi before him with a serious look.


    "Aren''t you from the chamber ofmerce? Since you are, you should have sufficient supplies on hand, right? I trust you all so you can take care of the disaster relief. Of course, I know that you''ll all benefit from this in your own ways so I won''t have to worry about anything, then. However, the nation is in a tight situation so don''t you merchants take too much."


    "You need not worry. I am the representative of your chamber ofmerce so I will serve you. We will not do unscrupulous things for money."


    Queen Sisi looked at the gentleman before her with a curious look. She thenughed and kicked the "dog" by the side. Sheughed as she said, "Interesting. Very interesting. Very, very interesting. I don''t believe you. You don''t pursue money when you''re a merchant? How very interesting. All right, all right, I don''t believe that nonsense so you don''t need to say anymore and just go help out for me. Oh right, I suddenly thought of her. Is Veirya also in a stricken region?"


    The messenger by the side nodded and then replied, "Yes. However, I have not received any reports from Lord Veirya''s territory saying they are suffering from a famine. It seems that the food issue there has been solved. But¡­ mmm¡­ I am honestly really perplexed too. Lord Veirya''s territory had been levied once already, so logically¡­ there should be no spare finances there¡­ Yet Lord Veirya''s territory is the only territory in the north with no reports of a famine¡­"


    "Veirya is a talent at administration now? She distributed the food on hand perfectly?"


    Queen Sisi revealed an astonished look. She thenughed with excitement and curiosity in her gaze. She licked the corner of her mouth as though she was enjoying a magnificent wine. She smiled as she said, "I am very curious as to what sort of change Veirya underwent. She was just a murderer who killed without hesitation. How did she suddenly be an expert in administration? I am very curious¡­ Oh right, speaking of the warrior, what are the heroes who performed excellently during the hunt for the demon king doing? It''s time we eliminate them. Also, make sure you have a reason for the people to hate them. I think using the famine this time as a reason is a good idea."


    "What about Lord Veirya then?''


    "Isn''t Veirya doing a good job? Spare her this time. And honestly, I really like her. Keep surveince on Veirya. It''s not toote to kill her when she changes and bes a threat.


    ==========================


    I looked at the two women sitting in front of the table nkly. Her long elven ears twitched a little as she continued to pick up the beans in front of her and put them in her mouth. Veirya kept aposed look. She sat straight up in her chair and looked forwards quietly. I found some odd leaves I used to imitate tea for them to drink. It looked like the two of them quite liked this sort of drink.


    I never imaged someone woulde and look for Veirya today and the visitor was someone I was familiar with. She can be considered I''m someone familiar with, right? She was the scout and archer for the warrior''s small team, the elven warrior Lucia. Lucia seemed be nning to return to the elves from here so she came here to visit herrade. But they seemed really bored together. Veirya didn''t take the initiative to speak while the elf didn''t say anymore after she said all she wanted, instead, beginning to drink tea and eat the beans.


    I stood next to the two of them but didn''t sit down. Lucia looked at me. Her long ears twitched and she said, "Long-time no see."


    "Long-time no see, Lucia."


    Lucia then burst out inughter then looked at me and said, "Don''t call me Lucia from now on. My actual name is Lucilia in the elvennguage. They shortened my name to Lucia because they felt it was too long. But to be honest, that was the name of an extraordinary elf in ancient times. She was an excellent assassin who was called the ''Elf of the winds'' I am very honoured to be able to use her name.


    "Mm¡­ Hello, Lucilia."


    I politely called her by her proper name and she nodded cheerfully. She then looked at Leah who was next to me, revealed a cheerful smile and said, "Long-time no see missy. It looks like you''re doing quite well, huh?! Veirya doesn''t know how to look after people but you look much healthier!"


    Leah isn''t particrly afraid of Lucia as she didn''t do anything offensive to us. Actually, she helped us out a lot. Leah shyly held my hand and with a shy smile replied, "Uhm¡­ It''s all thanks to dad¡­"


    "Ooohh, it looks like you''re a meticulous and gentle man. If I was a human I would probably really like you. Unfortunately, you''re with Veirya right now."


    Lucia leaned over toward me happily and scanned me. Her long ears twitched with joy. I noticed Leah''s aura bing a little off and quickly cleared my throat to change the topic, "Are you here for any other business?"


    She turned her head to look at Veirya and answered; "I actually came here to speak to Veirya about something. Veirya, you''re a lord now. I want to purchase some food to take back. May I ask how much you can sell to me now? Ah, don''t worry, I''ll pay with cash. I just got my reward so I''m really rich now. I just really want to buy some food to take back."


    "How much do you want?"


    Veirya spoke out before I could. It looks she cares for herpanion despite being expressionless. That would exin why Veirya nned to help her as soon as Lucia made the request.


    Lucia touched her ear and then replied, "I want about twenty bags of food. Twenty of those woven bags you humans use. Twenty full bags of food, paddy. You don''t need to grind it. Twenty bags isn''t much for you humans, is it? I want to buy some to take back to eat. I''ve gotten used to eating humanity''s food so I want to eat a staple food now too."


    Veirya nodded. I looked at Veirya shocked and softly asked, "Veirya, we don''t have much food in the town. That''s like our total. If we sell all of it to Lucia, what are we going to do?"


    Veirya didn''t think it through properly. Our food was scarce to begin with. If we sell it to Lucia, we''ll be doomed. This is the food the town needs to get through this winter. I urgently want to turn this stuff into money that can be used for normal trading, but definitely not through this way. You can''t eat money.


    The economy shouldn''t be prioritised in this difficult situation.


    "We''ll just go and buy food from elsewhere. Don''t we have money now?"


    Veirya wore a look like it was a matter of course. I paused for a second before asking, "Why didn''t Lucia go and buy food from somewhere else?"


    "That''s because this ce is the elven border. It''s natural for me to choose to buy food from a ce nearby to take back. Moreover, I was Veirya''srade so of course I want to do business with someone I''m familiar with. Your human merchants might con me otherwise."


    Leah wore the same look as Veirya did. Veirya nodded then looked at me and said, "I''ll leave it with you then. Heading south, it takes about a day to reach a town. Buy some from there to bring it back and it will be sorted."


    "¡­ But¡­"


    "Just go. You can''t refuse me. The city south will have food. I saw people selling food there when I was stationed there. You go and buy it."


    "The problem right now isn''t whether there is food or not, but whether we sell it or not!! Our town needs this food to get through winter. If you sell it to Lucia and the others don''t sell food to us, what are we going to do?"


    "You go and prepare then."


    Veirya cut me right off. I was speechless too since I was just her spoil of war. I was just a mere ve after all. I couldn''t refuse hermands¡­.. So I had no choice but to follow hermands. It looks like Veirya''s rtionship with Lucia is really good which is why Veirya agreed. I really should exin to Veirya that not everything can be bought. The cost of food increases a lot in winter. Plus, even if we go into the city, there''s a chance that the food merchant would not be willing to sell so much, isn''t there?


    They''re different to other merchants after all. The only way they make money is hoarding for times of food scarcity because the price of food is rtively fixed for most of the time. Lots of people purchase food too. Lots of people get their food from other sellers once sellers raise their prices so the only way food merchants can make money is by hoarding food for times when food is scarce. That way, they''ll get to set the price as they please. To ensure a steady supply, they won''t make the price too oundish either.


    But as long as they''ve hoarded food, they''ll get to choose how much they sell it for. They raise the prices a lot during winter where food isn''t produced. Further, as hoarding is the only way to make money, the sellers won''t easily sellrge volumes of food privately. If you do want to buy food that way, it''d cost you even more.


    But it''s pointless for me to argue, since Veirya has already agreed. Veirya sold food to Lucia without my permission.


    Lucia soon got her food. The food was all of the town''s food, but she left us with sufficient money. ording to the record keeper, this was about what it costed to buy food in winter.


    Lucia cheerfully loaded up the food and left the small town without pausing for a moment. I watched her leave. I''m more concerned about Lucia''s aim this time than the empty food warehouse. I just didn''t have any proof or a conclusion yet.


    I looked at the bag of money before me and gently fumbled through it. I then looked at the remaining food and sighed hopelessly. I said, "It can''t be helped. Since Lord Veirya has given the order, I have to carry it out no matter what. But this amount of money is about right, yeah?"


    "Uhm. She just handed us this money and then we delivered the food to her in batches as per your orders."


    "The point of delivering the food partially in batches is to avoid leading to a panic. This should do. But Lucia prepared the exact amount so we didn''t even have to give her change, and that perturbs me."


    I knocked on a gold coin. I then carefully put the gold coins into the bag and put it away. I said, "I''m going to that city now to purchase food."


    "I do not think you will be able to purchase any."


    The record keeper sniffled then exined, "A famine outbreak has just started so lots of starving people are fleeing. The cost of food is very expensive right now. Many sellers are not willing to sell at this point in time¡­ I do not think you can buy the amount of food we previously had with this much money¡­"


    "So there''s a famine in the nearby territories? Does Lucia know the reason?"


    "Yes, there is a famine outbreak in the north because the soldiers took too much food. As for whether or not that elf knew¡­ I am not sure¡­"


    "Why didn''t you tell me?!"


    "I thought you knew¡­"


    "How would I know about the things nearby¡­?"


    I nodded and then told him, "I''ll find a way to deal with it. Although I''m very displeased with this order, what can I do? Lucia might''ve nned this¡­ She might be nning to leverage the situation to make a good deal of money¡­ Veirya¡­ far out, she¡­ sigh¡­¡­"


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 21

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    At dinner, I looked at Veirya opposite me and told her, "That sale was a poor decision."


    Although Veirya very decisively sold the food to Lucia, and I couldn''t even stop her, I needed to exin to her that we cannot do business based on emotions.


    <em>''The entire north is suffering a famine right now, and everybody is struggling to survive. Selling food now is just in retarded. I think that only Veirya would make such a weird deal. This town won''t be able to trade if she continues like this.''</em>


    "When we adventured together, we shared the food." Veirya lowered her head with a nonchnt expression to have a mouthful of meat stew. She then added, "Food, just buy more."


    "The problem is, where are we going to buy it from¡­?"


    Veirya titled her head with puzzlement while looking at me and said, "You don''t know the way? I''ll lead the way when you go."


    I face-palmed myself since I had no way of speaking to Veirya like this.


    <em>''Veirya doesn''t get it at all.''</em>


    I took in a deep breath and exined, "The entire north is suffering a famine, right now. Even if we were to go to that city, they might not be willing to sell to us. Moreover, the transporting processes with great risk. Who can say for sure what the people will do? Our town had enough food, but now, in the blink of an eye, all of the townsfolk have be victims as well¡­ if there''s no food that is."


    Veirya looked at me calmly and after a moment of silence asked, "Did I do something wrong?"


    "¡­ All right, as long as you understand¡­"


    "But I don''t feel that I did anything wrong. Helping yourrades is an honourable thing to do. Lucilia is my closestrade as well. I can''t just sit and watch."


    "The problem is that Lucia is no longer the Lucia of the past anymore¡­"


    "Has Lucia changed?"


    "No¡­ I''m talking about her standpoint¡­ Lucia is an elf now."


    "Wasn''t she an elf back then, too?"


    Okay, it doesn''t look like Veirya has spotted Lucia''s problem.


    Leah, who was seated to the side looked at her with a horrified expression. Although Lucia treats Leah very well, and Leah doesn''t view her hostilely, she gets scared as soon as their warrior team was mentioned.


    I ced my hand gently on Leah''s hand and curled it up to calm her down.


    I then followed up by asking, "Veirya, do you not sense that there''s a problem with Lucia?"


    "What problem does she have?"


    It didn''t seem like Veirya even considered Lucia''s problem. She dipped her bread in the meat-stew, then picked up a string of meat on the table and put it in her mouth. While chewing she continued, "Lucilia is a very upright warrior. She''s a very skilled archer. I can trust her with the rear. Lucilia is really cute, too. If possible, I''d like to continue living with her as well."


    "¡­ I don''t really get why you want to continue living with cute girls, but that''s not the point here. Veirya, there''s a very obvious, veryrge problem with Lucia buying food this time, because the money she prepared was spot on. That indicates that she had researched the market price before bringing enough money here. Further, she, alone, doesn''t need that much food. Why would she transport this food back home? It''s clear that she''s buying it to take back to the elvennds, but we don''t know why she did that."


    <em>''I can say with absolute confidence that there''s certainly something happening there, in the elvennds. Otherwise, she wouldn''t buy food to take back. Unfortunately, I didn''t notice that initially, until I saw how she left the perfect amount of money behind. That''s when I realised that there''s definitely more to it than what meets the eye.''</em>


    <em>''But what''s Lucia up to now?''</em>


    "In any case, you were too rash this time. For you, as the lord, it is basically a disaster. You, personally, sent all of the townsfolk into the abyss of starvation!"


    I started to get a little angry. Maybe it was because I had no way ofmunicating with her, leaving me with nowhere to vent. It was all stuck in my throat and I couldn''t settle down.


    "I should help my friend. That''s my decision." Veirya then ced down her sixth serving and said, "We''re heading out early tomorrow morning."


    What I wanted to say got stuck in my throat.


    <em>''It looks like Veirya is totally uninterested in Lucia''s business. Or rather, she''s not interested in anything. Up until now, she''s only been interested in Leah, but Leah isn''t interested in her. Arguing with Veirya is pointless. The way we think ispletely different.''</em>


    <em>''Veirya isn''t an individual who knows how to live. She''s like a nk sheet of paper. She can easily lop off someone''s head or dig their heart out, but she has no way of understanding someone''s feelings.''</em>


    I remember Veirya told me that she wants to experience a true life. She''d always been in the army previously, fighting as a knight and as a warrior. After the fighting ended, she still couldn''t leave the battlefield. She''s sitting here now, but her heart is still on the battlefield of blood and corpses.


    She couldn''t escape from it.


    It wasn''t that she didn''t want to, but that no one helped her.


    She had worked hard to find her direction on the battlefield, but it had been littered with corpses, mes, and smoke. She had lost her direction. She doesn''t know where she should go or how to leave.


    She wanted to try and let Leah lead her away. Perhaps it was because she felt that living together with Leah would inform her on what a normal life is. Perhaps she felt that a bright and lively girl like Lucia was what it meant to be a normal girl.


    Her thinking was that she should do everything in her power to help Lucia, who she viewed as herrade, when Lucia made a request of her. She had never managed food or whatnot. That''s why she was so generous.


    I watched Veirya stand up and eximed, "Veirya, you keep saying that you want a normal life, but you still adopt your old way of thinking. Are you working toward it?"


    "The war has ended, Veirya, it is over. Lucia is not yourrade andpanion, anymore. Lucia is just an elf, now. You can''t show her sympathy because of your past. If you still think that way, then, aren''t you just a murderous monster?!!"


    I had raised my voice a lot. My voice carried my rage and frustration. I don''t know why I was so angry, either. Put another way, maybe I was just angry with Veirya.


    She doesn''t know anything, yet she made a decision with her minute experience and is unwilling to realise her mistake.


    My voice became the loudest voice in the room. Veirya stood in ce, motionless.


    Leah looked at me, panicked and unsure what to do. In her soft voice, she said, "Papa¡­ Papa¡­ don''t you think you''ve gone a little overboard? Calling her a monster¡­ Although she is one¡­ you can''t tell it straight to her face like that¡­"


    Honestly, I regretted it right after I had said it. I did indeed go overboard.


    When I was going to apologise, Veirya turned around to face me and seriously said, "What is a normal person''s life? I''ve never experienced it. I don''t know what is considered a normal life, and I don''t know what sort of girl is a normal girl. Do you know? I''ve always been viewed as a monster, but I want to live as a human being. I want a family and what everyone else wants, too, but do you know how to obtain that which I don''t have?" Veirya looked at me, absolutely serious.


    If it was somebody else who was looking at me like this and saying this sort of stuff, I would surely interpret it as sarcasm. But, I know that Veirya asked those questions sincerely.


    "I don''t understand why the current Lucia is no longer Lucia, why the things we did before are now wrong, and why you disagree with my previous beliefs. What happened to this world? Why has the world not be a better ce after the Demon King died? Why is everyone still starving? Why? Why? Clearly, it''s all over, but why don''t I detect any difference?"


    Maybe what I had said right at the start had lost Veiryapletely. Which is why she asked all the questions she has had, up until now, in one breath.


    She looked at me. Though she kept asking questions, her expression didn''t change at all. In fact, her tone didn''t change either. She looked at Leah and me.


    Leah looked back nkly, as though she was surprised. She looked as if she were wondering why Veirya had be like this and why she suddenly ask so many questions.


    I looked nkly at Veirya in silence for a moment. I then stood up and said, "Veirya, I don''t understand you. But, you could say that I know what''s considered an ordinary life and what''s considered a normal girl. If you can trust me, I''ll be very happy to¡­"


    I didn''t know what I was supposed to do now. My anger for Veirya had been erased by Veirya''s calm demeanour.


    "I want to see them as well. Those flowers."


    Veirya suddenly spoke out, and Leah''s entire body shuddered from fright. She looked at her with astonishment, but Veirya didn''t care.


    Instead, she kept her eyes on me and continued word by word, sincerely, without any embarrassment or excitement, "The flowers you promised to show Leah. I want to see them, too. Will it count as having my own family if I can be friendly with Leah? I did say I wanted the life of an ordinary person, and I want an ordinary family."


    I looked at Veirya in front of me, somewhat lost for how to react. I never thought she heard the things I said to Leah.


    <em>''Doesn''t that mean Veirya knows of our n to leave in the future, too? But she doesn''t care about those things. Instead, she wanted to being able to leave with us. How should I evaluate Veirya exactly? Veirya is a very easy to understand girl, yet very hard to understand. I just can''tprehend Veirya''s train of thought. But Veirya''s thoughts always stun me.''</em>


    "All right."


    But I nodded.


    "Papaaaaa!!!!"


    Leah unleashed a cry of despair. She looked at me with her gaze filled with despair.


    I knew what she was thinking. It was supposed to be the ce we were going to go to in the future. A ce with just us two. Only now I went and made the promise to a third person, and it was Veirya, who was thest person she would ept. That made it more impossible for Leah to agree.


    "Leah, it''s all right. Can you not ept Veirya as an ordinary person, either?" I looked at Leah and took hold of her hand. I then looked at Veirya and said, "After this matter, you need to discuss your decisions with us, first, before carrying them out, Veirya. Further, in the future, I will tell you what a girl and lord should be like."


    Veirya solemnly nodded while looking at me.

 Chapter Volume 1 22

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    At night, Leah made a sudden request, "Papa, I want to take a bath."


    I lingered for a moment and then nodded. I ced the wooden te in front down and said, "Wait for a bit then, Papa will go and boil some water."


    Leah certainly was due for a proper bath.


    Honestly, I was due for a bath as well; I had not had a chance to take one since arriving here. I can''t wash in a freezingke like Veirya.


    Getting hot water for a bath is quite the hassle here. There is a specific bathtub in the lord''s residence. You can throw firewood underneath of it and pour water inside, simr to a hot-pot. However, I''ve never used it before and was going to use it for the first time to give Leah a bath.


    It was strenuous to move therge tub out of storage and drag it over to the stove.


    Normally, Veirya would be sitting here until the next morning, but she was off somewhere today.


    Speaking of which, I basically had an argument with Veirya tonight, or maybe it was just me alone venting, for once.


    Veirya had no intention of arguing with me. I somewhat regretted calling Veirya a monster. I felt that she must mind that even if it didn''t show on the surface. It didn''t sit right with my conscience.


    Veirya isn''t a monster.


    She''s trying hard to lead the life of a normal person, but I went and called her a monster in the end.


    I need to apologise.


    "Papa¡­ is the water ready?"


    I then heard footstepsing over.


    I turned my head around and saw Leah, who had already stripped down, run over.


    I extended my arms out and pulled her into my embrace. I chuckled softly and told her, "Leah, aren''t you cold? Don''t run around naked. Come,e, Papa has tested the water temperature, and it feels about right." I picked Leah up and put her in the tub.


    The water in the tubes up higher than Leah''s height. However, she easily paddled over to the edge of the tub and let out a cheerful, soothing sigh.


    She revealed a bright smile and said, "Papa, hot baths are so nice. This is the first time Leah is having a bath. Leah has never used this tub before. Leah only went out in the rain to wipe my body down. This is seriously so soothing."


    I scrubbed Leah''s hair. Leah cheerfully closed her eyes and kicked her feet in the water.


    I didn''t say anything and sure wouldn''t do anything. Leah is just a kid right now. I don''t have lustful feelings for a child''s body, especially when she''s my daughter. I''m not Yaichi Kuzuryu. Only sick creeps would like children''s bodies. In my opinion, those paedophiles should just be dragged off and take a bullet to the head. You can skip all interrogation stuff with them.


    Leah cheerfully scrubbed her body. She then handed me a towel and with a smile said, "Papa, help me scrub my back."


    I nodded and had Leah turn around.


    Her smooth back was revealed right before me. Leah''s body is the same as a human''s. Though Leah is still a kid now, she''s already looking like she has the physique to be a female high-jumper.


    You can tell from Leah''s night form. Leah, who has the size of a poached egg will be like her transformed night form for sure, right¡­?


    That''s a little scary too¡­


    I stretched my hand out and touched Leah''s back lightly. I moved her hair to the front of her neck, then picked up the towel and wiped Leah''s back. Leah''s spine looked shiny like a bright and precious gem.


    My fingers couldn''t help but slide along her back, causing her to giggle.


    "Papa, you''re in a bad mood."


    I gently scrubbed Leah''s waist, and she giggled cheerfully, due to feeling ticklish.


    She spun around quickly and revealed her front-view to me. She then looked at my face and asked with concern, "Papa, you look really unhappy¡­ Is it because¡­ of that woman¡­?"


    I gently touched Leah''s small tummy and then softly exined, "Papa made a mistake. Papa shouldn''t have called Veirya a monster. I think that anyone who''s called a monster will be very upset. Papa called her a monster when he knew that. That must''ve hurt Veirya''s feelings, so Papa is regretting it a bit, now."


    As soon as Leah heard about Veirya, she pouted grumpily. She then muttered, "Leah is right in front of you and yet you''re thinking of another woman¡­ Leah is very unhappy!"


    I smiled helplessly and then poked Leah on her forehead, however; Leah grabbed my finger aggressively and stuck it in her mouth to suck it and bite it. I let her suck my finger as she pleased.


    I looked at Leah and said, "Veirya¡­ Leah, you can tell, right? Veirya isn''t a bad person. It''s just that she doesn''t know how to be a normal person. She wants a normal family and a normal life, just like you."


    "But Leah still doesn''t like her¡­ Leah doesn''t like any woman who has a rtionship with you, Papa¡­ It''s supposed to be just Leah and Papa¡­ There was only two of us¡­" Leah spat my finger out.


    I chuckled and pinched her face. I then exined, "Even if there is Veirya, there is still the two of us, Leah. Papa will be by your side for sure. Papa will always be your Papa. You don''t have to worry about Papa abandoning you or something like that."


    "That''s not it¡­ Whatever the case, Papa, you''re an idiot!"


    Leah got mad randomly, then turned around and ignored me.


    I stroked her head and said, "Papa is going to go and apologise to Veirya at night. Leah, if possible, I hope that you won''t be hostile toward Veirya in the future."


    Leah loudly and angrily replied, "Fine, fine, fine."


    She then smacked my hand away. I had no idea why she was angry. I stroked her head gently. She stood up, reached for me with her arms and loudly said, "Papa, carry me! I want to go sleep!"


    I nodded and lifted her out of the water carefully.


    Leah leaned on my shoulder and bit my ear. I don''t know if it has to do with her being a subus or not, but Leah likes to bite people whenever she expresses her mood.


    I wiped her body and hair dry and helped her get dressed.


    Honestly, she''s worn these clothes for a long time already. Leah needs to buy new clothes. Wearing this same set over and over isn''t good.


    But the prerequisite is that we need to have money¡­ I''ll see if I can squeeze some money out of the budget for some new clothes when we go to buy food.


    Leah wrapped her arms around my back and unhappily demanded, "Papa, carry me onto the bed¡­"


    I nodded and carried Leah upstairs.


    When we got into the room, I ced her on the bed and pulled the nket over her.


    She grabbed the nket then looked at me grumpily and asked, "Papa, you''re going to go look for that woman, now, aren''t you?"


    "It can''t be helped. As Papa mentioned, Papa needs to apologise to her since Papa went overboard."


    "That woman doesn''t even care, though¡­ That monster only knows how to kill people. She wouldn''t care about that, would she¡­?"


    I shook my head and replied while looking at Leah, "Sometimes the key isn''t if the other person cares or not, but if you care. Papa was in the wrong, so Papa must go and apologise. But Papa will be back soon, so don''t worry about a thing and sleep. You don''t need to follow Papa¡­"


    "You don''t like me following you, Papa?"


    "¡­ Mm¡­ I don''t particrly hate it, either¡­"


    "Goodnight then, Papa."


    Leah seemed to be assured. I don''t know where Veirya is, but when I gave Leah a bath just now, I didn''t pack up after. I should go and tidy it up first. I bet there are countless sick freaks out there who''d be dying to drink that tub of water. I do admittedly want to sell it to them, but it doesn''t look like they''ll have that chance.


    But when I descended the stairs, I heard the sound of water for some odd reason¡­


    I shuddered¡­


    I poked my head out cautiously and spotted Veirya standing at the edge of the bathtub. She pulled her underpants down and tossed it aside then stepped into the tub¡­


    Aaahh!!


    That''s the water Leah had a bath in!!!


    "Ah, good timing. Come and add firewood for me."


    Perhaps her senses were sensitive due to her battles. Veirya instantly noticed me peeping. And just likest time, she didn''t mind being seen nude by me.


    She gestured for me toe over with her hand. I gulped my saliva and softly replied, "I don''t think that''s a good idea¡­"


    "Hmm? You want to bathe together?"


    Veirya seemed to understand what I meant. She drew her limbs in closer to make room and then followed up with, "Come on in, then."


    "That''s not what I meant!!!"


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    * Yaichi Kuzuryu is the main protagonist of Ryuo no Oshigoto. You probably know better than me.


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 23

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    I didn''t have anywhere to go after refusing to bath with her, so I just sat to one side.


    Veirya soaked herself in the water and didn''t say anything else to me or try to cover herself up. This is the second time Veirya and I havee into this situation now, and she''s never been shy because of it.


    I''m guessing Veirya doesn''t know what she''s doing, like Leah.


    Sitting there, I watched Veirya, who was cleaning her arm. Veirya didn''t care about her jiggling breasts, but because of that, I couldn''t look straight at them.


    I looked at her and started to speak. I looked at the me to the side and softly apologised, "Sorry. I didn''t mean to call you a monster in the evening¡­ Sorry¡­ I''m sorry."


    "Never mind it." Veirya''s answer was the same as usual. She looked at me totally calm and added, "I don''t mind."


    "You do care, don''t you? You wouldn''t have asked all those questions afterwards, otherwise. We converse very little. We spoke a little more than usual this evening."


    "Sorry for making things troublesome for you."


    "Hm?"


    "You don''t like to talk to me."


    "No, no, no, I didn''tin about talking to you¡­ It''s just that¡­ I was surprised when you said so much this evening."


    I sometimes felt like I had no way of conversing with Veirya, or rather, I had to forego using my brain when Imunicated with her. Only that way could Imunicate normally with Veirya.


    She looked at me and then said, "I really envy you."


    "What are envious of me over? Is it because of Leah?"


    "No. It''s because you can protect someone."


    "Didn''t you protect all of humanity as a warrior? Or rather, an entire continent?"


    "I didn''t protect anyone. The Demon King is dead but the world hasn''t changed." Veirya gently poured some water onto her breasts and then wiped it off.


    Veirya''s body was as intoxicating as I remember it. However, she didn''t understand how alluring her body was.


    She looked up at me and continued, "I''m very confused. People used to say that there were so many disasters because of the demons. But why is that still the same, despite the Demon King being dead now? How am I going to protect everyone, once I''m no longer a warrior? I''m very envious of you. You could shield Leah with your own body. But I don''t know how to protect others. They say that I protected everyone, but I don''t feel anything. I want to see the people I supposedly saved leading normal lives after I saved them."


    "Is that why you chose to protect Leah?"


    "No. With Leah, it''s because one thing happened after another. I really do like Leah, which is why I want to protect her. But the one I truly want to protect is you."


    Veirya looked at me with a serious look.


    Such a joke of a statement was perfectly normal right now. That was Veirya''s genuine thoughts. I looked at Veirya, a little panicked. But what I was faced with wasn''t her face but her breasts. Veirya was leaning on the edge of the tub with her generous bosom ced right on the edge, which was right in front of my face.


    I was shocked. I went to reach my hands out toward them and grabbed them in an attempt to push away¡­ Where the heck did this thoughte from?! It''s all Leah''s fault!!


    I''ve gotten used to seeing Leah''s breasts sway back and forth in front of me, but these aren''t Leah''s breasts!! I wanted to push them away, but in the instant I hesitated, my hands went and grabbed them¡­


    "¡­"


    Veirya''s expression didn''t change at all. However, she seemed just slightly confused as to why I was doing this.


    I lost my judgement skillspletely in this ultimately awkward situation. My hands were still pressed on Veirya''s breasts. I fact, I could feel the intoxicating tips on my palms¡­


    A momentter, Veirya looked at me and asked with puzzlement, "You like breasts?"


    "I do¡­ No! No!! That wasn''t on purpose!" I pulled my hands back like I got electrocuted.


    Veirya puffed her boobs up with confusion and then said, "I don''t like them. They keep swinging back and forth when I swing my sword. If you like them, feel them some more."


    "No¡­ that''s not what I meant¡­"


    "Forget it then."


    I suddenly felt like I suffered a big loss¡­ But my goal ining here this time wasn''t to be blessed. I came to apologise to Veirya.


    Veirya turned around in the bathtub then handed me the towel and said, "Help me scrub my back."


    "Ah?"


    "Scrub my back." Veirya was in position with her back facing me.


    I was holding a towel I just used to scrub Leah''s back with.


    I looked at Veirya''s back and spaced out. Veirya''s back in the water looked mesmerising. Her perfect lines and voluptuous boobs, which you could see part of from behind¡­


    I carefully extended my hand out and ced it on her back. Veirya wasn''t bothered. I had nowhere to put my left hand, so I ced it on her back. I could feel her warmth.


    This¡­ this¡­ isn''t¡­ good for your body¡­


    "I don''t want to be a monster."


    Veirya had her back to me. I assume what she said was what she wanted to say most.


    My hand ced gently on her back gently ran across her back. I softly responded, "You''re not a monster."


    "Will you always remain by my side, then?" Veirya shook her back causing the hand-towel to drop. She turned around to look at me and sincerely asked, "I want to be a person with a family and to be someone who can protect someone. I want to see the flowers you promised to show Leah, together. I want to see them. Can you, show me them?"


    I raised my head up and looked at Veirya nkly. I don''t know if it was my imagination, but I felt like Veirya was smiling slightly. When I focused, however, she didn''t wear any expression. I then felt Veirya was really beautiful and my heart beat sped up a lot, though.


    Even though I had to go to a city I''d never seen before tomorrow, I was strangely confident right now.


    Veirya looked at me but I didn''t reply. She then asked again, "Can you, show me them?"


    "I can." I nodded.


    Veirya didn''t reveal a gleeful smile. She was as calm as when I called her over to eat. Actually, she cared more for the food when I called her.


    She raised her leg up and water ran down in front of me. I looked at her thigh nkly. I barely caught a glimpse of a passing beauty¡­


    Veirya is honestly so amazing¡­


    She picked up the hand-towel by the side and wiped herself.


    I stood up and left hesitantly. As soon as I turned the corner and saw Leah standing there leaning on the wall, my body jolted. Leah looked at me. She licked the corner of her lips with rage and seduction.


    She smiled and then leaned over and softly said, "Papa, since that happened between you two, you should know what''s going to happen next, right¡­?"


    I surrender¡­


    "Leah¡­ We seriously can''t do that. Serious¡­ We''re father and daughter¡­"


    "Don''t care. Papa, don''t you like breasts? You can touch mine. Leah''s breasts are bigger and softer than that woman''s, right? Just keep your hands on them, then. Grab them until your hands only remember the shape of Leah''s breasts! You said you were going to apologise, so why did it turn into a bath?! Papa, you''re too much!! Grab them!"


    "Wait¡­ it''s honestly not a good idea¡­"


    "Is that because you hate Leah''s breasts?"


    "No¡­ it''s just¡­ erm¡­ this¡­"


    "Grab them then!"


    "Okay, okay¡­"

 Chapter Volume 1 24

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    My hands could feel the warmth of Leah''s breasts all night.


    Leah had forced me to grab her breasts.


    After that night, I could remember her exact breast size clearly. My hands could even remember how the tip felt. My palms could remember clearly how the curves were.


    That was the enraged Leah''s only request.


    She even took my face and buried it in there, so I had several nightmares of suffocation by breasts¡­


    Leah''s scent seemed to have a sort of special mana which froze me in ce so I was in pain all night.


    Leah had reverted to her smaller form when the sun came up. Small Leah hammered herself boldly on my face and then slept on top of me.


    I couldn''t sleep wellst night, so I woke early to make breakfast.


    When I got downstairs, I saw Veirya already sitting at the table.


    Veirya sat there with her eyes closed, like she was meditating. But she opened her eyes when she heard my footsteps.


    She was already dressed in a big thick overcoat and cape to guard against the cold. She wore a leather belt and her high, thick boots. She also had her gloves ced on the table.


    Even with the fire behind her still burning, she was expressionless while dressed like that.


    <em>''Can''t she feel the temperature?''</em>


    She looked at me and said, "I want to have meat stew."


    "What, first thing in the morning?"


    "Uhm." Veirya nodded with a very serious expression.


    Honestly, I felt very hopeless, as Veirya still doesn''t seem to have grasped the problem this town is facing.


    <em>''She just sold all the food off. The entire town is facing the risk of starvation, yet our Lord Veirya here wants meat stew for breakfast. It is as though she doesn''t care about the food issue.''</em>


    I sighed and went into the kitchen to grab a few strings of dried meat. This meat was dried by simply airing it out. It was marinated with salt and then just left to dry. It doesn''t taste bad, but there was nothing else to apany it.


    The only thing I could use was salt. As a result, the dishes looked very in and it didn''t taste all that great. If possible, I want to use some herbs and spices. However, I doubt those things exist in a cold ce where there''s a shortage of food. Spices and herbs are always saleable and purchasable.


    But let''s put that aside for now.


    A meat-stew that''s just salty isn''t that tasty. To Veirya and Leah however, it was a delicacy that they treated as a rarity.


    I took the bread that I''d rolled into mantous yesterday and put them into the crate for steaming, which was simr to the ones I was familiar with back then. They''re round, wooden containers you use for steaming.


    By the time I had served breakfast up, Leah wasing down with a yawn. She looked at Veirya seated at the table and then looked toward the kitchen, somewhat scared.


    I smiled and wiped Leah''s face with a towel I had prepared.


    Leah sniffed the smell in the air and cheerfully eximed, "Is that meat stew?! Wow, I''m so d to be able to have meat stew for breakfast!"


    "I really don''t get how you two can have such a big appetite first thing in the morning." I smiled helplessly as I pinched Leah''s cheek.


    Leah turned her head around to look at Veirya seated at the dining table. This time, she went over to sit next to Veirya, who was already having her sixth bowl, herself. Although she was petty, Leah hade to ept the reality which she had to ept and sat next to Veirya to eat while I sat next to her.


    Leah looked at the mantou on the table with curiosity and then asked, "Papa, what''s this?"


    "This is bread where dad lived."


    <em>''Where I came from, these mantou would cost a dor for six. But here, where even white flour is a rarity, it didn''t cost one dor for six. I''d estimate it would cost one gold coin for six.''</em>


    <em>''Put it this way; Lucia had bought twenty bags of food from us, at one and a half times more than the normal price. She gave us a total of six gold coins and ten silver coins.''</em>


    <em>''One gold coin is about sixty silver coins.''</em>


    <em>''That means she paid roughly twenty-one silver coins for one bag of food. The usual price is, therefore, fourteen silvers per bag. Under normal conditions, it should be ten. In a ce where food is produced, it should be cheaper. Just three silver coins, maybe?''</em>


    <em>''If I could buy the goods at the usual price of ten silver coins then the profit I make will be eighty silver coins, or otherwise, a bit over one silver coin.''</em>


    <em>''But I''m not after only that tiny amount; I want to go and live in the Royal Capital.''</em>


    <em>''I will need at least several thousand gold coins to get my necessities, I reckon. I need to buy a house first. Then there are living expenses. It''s not easy to make a living in big cities, just like in Chang''an, back then. Of course, these are all my guesses. Who knows, I might need even more¡­''</em>


    <em>''In short, I should be able to secretly embezzle some of the money that remains without Veirya knowing.''</em>


    <em>''Veirya seems to want to leave with us, but I still don''t know if Leah will be able to ept her. I still n to leave with Leah in the event that she can''t.''</em>


    <em>''Veirya is the hero of humanity. People will look after her, even without me around. That''s not the case for Leah. Without me, Leah will die, in a human society. It is the equivalent of the desert to her.''</em>


    We soon finished breakfast and, needless to say, there were no leftovers. The two of them finished the majority of the meal.


    I should indeed prepare some food. Otherwise, these two might eat me when they''re hungry. I strongly believe that possibility exists. The two of them seriously could eat me.


    We mounted our horses, however; before we set out, I used my scarf to cover Leah''s face a little then softly told her, "Leah, sit in my arms diagonally and let me hold you. Don''t look around. Close your eyes and don''t speak."


    "Papa, you can hug me?" Leah sat on the horse diagonally cheerfully and leaned onto my chestfortably, as she giggled.


    I stroked her head with my hand and then called the Record Keeper to the side.


    While he''s a Record Keeper, he tends to get used as a freebourer by me. He looked at me slightly oddly and asked, "Is something the matter?"


    "Go and spread the news that Leah is sick, and so we''re going to the city to have a doctor see her. Also, reduce the volume of food distributed a little. You must maintain the situation until we return, understood? Oh right, you can distribute some of the meat in the warehouse as well. That will calm everyone down a little. You must not let the townsfolk panic while we''re gone."


    "I understand." The Record Keeper nodded.


    The Record Keeper understood my intent. The entire north was experiencing a famine, right now, so the townsfolk were frightened and very sensitive about our lord. If they saw the three of us leave, there''s a good chance that they''ll think we were nning to flee. Once that rumour spreads, the entire town might get robbed until it''s empty.


    But with this news announced, everyone will know that we''re going to take Leah to the doctor. So, they know that we''ll be back and thus won''t panic. This way, nothing major will ur while we''re away.


    Veirya walked next to me. She wore her usual attire, with the military uniform and a long sword.


    Leah leaned against my chestfortably and rested her head on my arm. She grabbed my chest with her hands and smiled cheerfully.


    <em>''I''m assuming it is envy.''</em> I''m talking about how I could feel like Veirya would look at me every now and then.


    There are two routes to the closest city from here.


    That location was the furthest ce Queen Sisi controlled. It was once a small city at the border, for humanity. Due to the frequent battles with the demon race, lots of armies came here, bringing along countless family members and merchants. Many cksmiths also moved here to repair weapons and armour for the soldiers. The quick influx of money allowed the city to develop and be the biggest city here.


    Veirya imed that she didn''t have many memories of this city, known as Pearl City, which sat at the border.


    I expected as much.


    Veirya never cares about these things so I couldn''t find out much from her.


    To be frank, I''m not too sure how serious the famine around here is. However, it appears that harvests are still eptable.


    The only problem is that the army that came here took far too much and didn''t leave the food behind when leaving. This caused the people here to have no way of getting through winter.


    This ce wasn''t under Queen Sisi''s jurisdiction in the past, and the army didn''t have any sentiments for these humans. They took the food without caring if the people here would be able to survive after or not.


    It''s not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster and they''re always more terrifying than natural disasters. A natural disaster wouldn''t be so bad that the people can''t grow crops. Man-made disasters, on the other hand, really could cut off the source of life.


    On our way to the city, I hugged Leah tightly the entire time, to avoid letting Veirya find out Leah can transform. Leah could only curl up in my arms, even if she did transform.


    Leah didn''t seem to hate the way I treated her. Actually, she really liked me hugging her tightly. She would even sneakily lick my chest and neck.


    I didn''t dare to make a sound since I was afraid Veirya, who was next to me, would hear.


    Leah had no idea how dangerous her actions were. If not for me, Leah would be in danger.


    <em>''Wait, let me rectify that. The person in trouble will be that person¡­ At the end of the day, Leah is a subus.''</em>


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Mantou is a type of cloud-like steamed bread or bun. Imagine a meat-bun but without any fillings.


    **Chang''an was the capital for ten dynasties in Chinese history


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 25

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    The sky in the north isn''t really the same. I don''t know if it''s because of the cold weather or not, but even the sky had frozen. The blue sky looked pale-white. The dead tree stood lonely beneath the pale sky. The vast destend was empty. A gentle breeze blew over but there wouldn''t even be a billow like the wind wasn''t willing to stay in this lifeless ce for long, swiftly leaving this ce.


    The white winds in the distance seemed to have merged with the pale-white sky. You couldn''t tell which was which. The white mist we breathed out floated into the air, merging with the deste white world. Perhaps this was a unique characteristic of the environment up north. All living organisms were dead with just the sound of the wind whistling, as well as the sound of our horse''s stepping.


    "This road sure is barren."


    Leah fell asleep on my chest again. Though I originally had her sit here to avoid causing the townsfolk to panic, Leah was willing to sit there afterwards. I looked at the weather. I couldn''t quite stand this odd oppressive silence. If you don''t speak here, an individual in this spacious area would break down from loneliness.


    Veirya doesn''t qualify as a travellingpanion.


    "This ce once wasn''t open and spacious." Having heard me speak, Veirya then continued, "Lots of demons."


    I think she meant that there were lots of demons here. That means it was real tough for the people here having to face a mass of demons. Before this ce was cleared, humans must''ve suffered due to the demons attacks.


    No wonder why the people of that town hate demons so much.


    "What exactly does it feel like to fight demons?"


    I looked at Veirya with curiosity. I wasn''t sure if Veirya was willing to speak of her battles. What was Veirya''s past like? Her battles with the demons must''ve been intense I imagine. I want to have a chat with Veirya and I''m slightly interested.


    "Normal."


    Veirya''s answer caused me to freeze up.


    "Normal?"


    "Not hard to kill."


    Yeah, Veirya really isn''t a good travellingpanion. It''s a rare asion for me to take the initiative to strike up a conversation, but Veirya''s thinking is like tunnel vision. I reckon her responses are too hard to provide a response to¡­


    "Do you have any memorable stories? The trip is fairly boring, so how about a chat?"


    I might as welle out with it. Asking Veirya questions straight up like this is probably the only way you''ll get a response from her.


    Veirya tilted her head to think and then replied, "None."


    "Mm¡­ really?"


    "Boring."


    Veirya''s answer was simple and impossible to respond to again. I smiled helplessly and then looked away at a loss for what to do.


    <em>''I sort of want to wake Leah up now¡­'' </em>


    Veirya looked at me. She frowned a little then suddenly told me, "That city, was once sieged. Lots of people died on the city walls. The city walls were very slippery. They were covered with brains and blood. Corpsesy all over the ground. You slipped if you stepped on them. The demons smashed the door and killed all the soldiers by the city doors."


    "What¡­?"


    I was caught off guard by her sudden story. Veirya looked at me and asked with puzzlement, "Didn''t you want to chat with me? I¡­ I had a long think. This was all I could think of."


    "What happened after?"


    Such a bloody story isn''t suited for Leah, but Veirya suddenly spoke, giving me a sense of ttery as I looked forward for her continuation. It is a warrior''s story after all, so it must be interesting, right?


    "After that, I led my small team to charge over there. There was a particrly massive demon who led them. I charged over and killed it."


    Veirya looked ahead again and stopped speaking.


    I waited for five seconds then tilted my head and asked, "That''s it?"


    "That''s it."


    "How did you kill that massive demon?"


    "I just went up, shed it once and it died."


    "That simple?!"


    "Uhm."


    <em>''It was that simple for you? You killed a demon-leader who brought down a city with a single sh?! What sort of story is that? There were ups and downs to it. Your battle with the demon was lopsided. What are you, One-sh Girl Veirya?!'' </em>


    Sounds like One-sh Girl Veirya''s battle stories are really boring¡­ And she clearly didn''t want to say much, not because she was traumatised, though. If you ask me, I''d say the demons that fought were the ones who were traumatised. She just didn''t want to talk, that''s all.


    Although Veiryapletely fails at conversations, we still managed to see the white city walls. The city walls looked brand new. However, ording to what Veirya said, this city suffered an attack from the demons and almost fell. But another group had it surrounded right now. The group surrounded the exterior of the city but were kept outside by wooden fences. Actually, the wooden fences formed a huge paddock with those people trapped inside as captives.


    But there was no food in the paddock. There were only damaged tents. The guards on top of the city walls watched them vigntly. They had their bows loaded and could shoot down at the people below at any moment. While there was smoke twirling up into the sky, no pot was on the fire. The group lined up waiting to enter were in the two aisles between the two "paddocks". The group were lying down like zombies behind the wooden fence as they watched the group entering the city with anticipation.


    Thought they were looking forward to it, I think it would be more urate to say that they were in despair. Their faces all looked excessively gaunt like their skin was glued onto their bones. Their eyeballs had virtually disappeared. There was no light in them. Their clothing was torn and tattered. I wonder if they could even keep warm with those clothes. They''ve only got a small amount of firewood when the north is a freezing ce, not to mention their fire might be be ashes.


    Leah looked at the people on both sides with confusion and then asked me, "Papa, what are these people doing¡­?"


    I softly answered, "They''re refugees."


    "Refugees?"


    "In other words, people with nothing to eat, nowhere to stay and no money. They''re forced to roam around either because their homes were destroyed or they have no food."


    Leah looked left and right. She then asked with confusion, "Why? Hasn''t the fighting ended already?"


    "For humanity, having a foreign enemy tobat is a good thing. Once they don''t have to deal with any more foreign enemies, humans themselves will be very scary."


    "Like how my brothers and sisters wanted to kill me?"


    "Simr. Yeah, killing one another basically."


    I nodded and then checked both sides. One of the kids among them was roughly the same age as Leah. She only had half of her clothing left. The other half was no longer there. To fight the cold, all she could do was wrap several bits of torn cloth around her. Her face was dirty and covered in frostbite. However, her eyes still had some life in them. Her hands were covered in scars which made them look like an olddy''s hands. She gently grabbed a wooden nk and slotted herself inside. She looked at Leah with envy. Leah noticed her gaze and therefore looked back at her with surprise.


    Leah turned around to ask me, "Papa¡­ she¡­ do we have food?"


    "We can''t share with her, Leah. We can''t."


    I gently twisted Leah''s head back and covered her eyes, but I couldn''t exin the reason for it in time. Veirya who was next to me took out a strip of dried meat and handed it to her through the wooden fence. The crowd rushed over, crushing her tiny body underneath them. A crowd that looked like it took lots of effort to move exploded withbat power. They were willing to beat a child to death for a strip of meat.


    "Break up!! Break up!!"


    The guards shouted loudly because the chaos that ensued frightened the group of people lined up. The soldiers in full gear rushed into the fence with their spears and forcefully beat the people up to get them to break apart. After the group broke apart, the young girl''s bodyy there quietly on the ground. Her lifeless eyes looked up toward the barren sky. Her limbs were all twisted and bent in weird ways as though her tiny body had been squashed t like a single sheet of paper.


    Basically, she went from 3D to 2D.


    She didn''t bleed much, but.. She had left this world.


    The guards picked her corpse up like they were picking up a dead chicken and then tossed it into a ditch far away.


    Veirya looked over in the direction of the ditch nkly. I covered Leah''s eyes so that she wouldn''t see the young girl''s corpse. However, Leah shook with fear. She gripped my chest tightly and sobbed. I looked at Veirya. Veirya''s expression didn''t change at all, but she asked, "Why?"


    "I told you already not to give it to her. Giving her food was the same as killing her. That group of people will do anything to live, so of course they''ll fight over that one and only piece of dry meat. They have abandoned their human nature."


    I sighed before looking at Veirya and borating, "You could even say that you killed her with your own hands. Giving wealth to a person who can''t protect themself is the same as harming them. You caused her death."


    Veirya didn''t say anything. She just lowered her head a little and didn''t express anything further. Veirya didn''t care that she killed someone. Perhaps she was puzzled as to how she could kill someone without a de. She was trying to help someone, so why did they still die?


    "You can''t save everyone here nor can you save any single person here. You can''t save them. Only Queen Sisi can deal with this. We shouldn''t be involving ourselves with it. We''re not the lord of this ce. Don''t try to save them. We should leave as soon as possible once we''ve purchased our food. Do not bring trouble onto us that has nothing to do with us. Veirya, refugees are an intense me. If you don''t deal with it appropriately, we''ll get burnt to death."

 Chapter Volume 1 26

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    It took a long time to enter the city. Perhaps the guards were very strict with their inspections for fear of refugees entering the city. It took us a long time to stand before the guards.


    When we reached them, they reacted with shock when they Veirya. They quickly saluted her and respectfully greeted her, "Greetings, Lord Veirya!"


    "Uhm." Veirya returned the greeting in a very stern manner.


    The guards quickly made way and helped her enter. They didn''t check our identities, or Leah''s.


    <em>''I was initially worried about Leah''s identity being exposed, but it looks like nobody will check her as long as she''s with Veirya. If we look at it this way, Veirya''s very useful then.''</em>


    We walked into the city. Inside therge stone city wall was a simple blue-stone street. Some of the bricks on the ground no longer had rough surfaces, due to the friction umted over the years. The soil between the bricks had been filled.


    On both sides were buildings that were obviously different from the colour of the buildings behind the street. They were slightly newer.


    <em>''It looks like this is where the demons first broke through and this must be where Veirya killed that massive demon in one sh. I might be stepping on a brick with the demon''s blood on it for all we know.''</em>


    <em>''This city was a lot more in than I expected it to be.'' </em>I had thought that this so-called border-town would be prospering, but the buildings inside are very ordinary.


    The colours of the stone are old and simple, as well. It''s a deep mellow blue colour. Not only were the edges of the city like that, but the entire city''s colour looked dull.


    The tallest building seemed to be the chapel''s clock tower. And you guessed it; it was built using blue-stone as well.


    However, the massive clock shined with gold as though it was made from gold. Otherwise, there were no pretty structures.


    All the people on the streets were draped in navy or ck robes with their hoods up as they moved about quickly. Nobody was willing to stop.


    <em>''I guess they''re patrol guards. I feel that even if those refugees got here, it would appear too luxurious.''</em>


    There were people on both sides of the streets loudly recounting things that happened recently.


    They wore dark-red robes and stood on boxes as they recounted events in cadences, like poetry or music. But they seemed to be telling the news of happenings close by.


    I was originally very curious and listened in, but I soon realised something was wrong.


    When they mentioned the refugees nearby, they imed them to be heretics who, by right, should be subjected to punishment by starvation. Then they talked about how heeding God''s advice, and converting to their religion, was the only way to wash off their sins and be fed. They imed that the heretics shouldn''t be fed until they were converted.


    I suddenly felt something was wrong, as they didn''t have the appearance of preachers on the street.


    They seemed to be people connected to religion. As opposed to saying that they were informing everybody of recent urrences, they were preaching religion. If you preached religion using this sort of vile method back in the world I came from, you would be treated as a cult and arrested by the police.


    I looked at the people around us.


    Everybody was dressed basically the same. They were essentially dressed the same way as these people in red robes. Even ordinary people had to wear robes that were almost white outside. Further, all of them looked like they were in a rush, having imposing expressions.


    As a matter of fact, none of them stopped to speak.


    The shops around us seemed to be some sort of inn or diner. You would find the most diners and hotels next to a train station, while normal businessmen would try and open a tavern here by the city entrance, right? Even that town of ours has a tavern. Here, however, there was none.


    The officer didn''t tell us anything when we entered the city, but I noticed the sheet of paper in his hand was a list of things that people should be careful of. One of them was that werweree'' not permitted to be outside at night, nor were we permitted to drink.


    With regards to the first part, it''s understandable, since it could be exined as being in ce to keep the people safe while there are refugees around. However, the no drinking order is a little weird.


    I initially thought that it was because of the food problem that people were forbidden from taking food to go drinking. Now I think that it might have to do with this religion.


    This religion, which I don''t know about, is the true administrator of this city and they aren''t just controlling the city. They''re controlling the people''s thinking as well. The creed of this religion has everybody lead lives like that of ascetics.


    "Veirya, do you know this religion?"


    "No."


    <em>''Well, I guess that answer was a given¡­''</em>


    But Veirya didn''t stop there. She continued, "But it''s a state religion that Queen Sisi personally established."


    "Ah¡­" I nodded and then asked, "We won''t run into any trouble then, will we?"


    "Trouble?"


    "¡­ Sorry."


    <em>''I get it. Trouble</em><em>isn''t a thing for Miss One-sh Veirya here.''</em>


    We continued deeper into the city.


    Veirya was like a celebrity. Wherever she went, people respectfully called her name, and she would give them a very formal salute. The people made way with their faces showing that they held her in awe.


    When she walked past, the religious people in the red robes would stop preaching and loudly exim, "Comrades, turn around and look at humanity''s heroine, our heroine. She is the heroine, Veirya who slew the Demon King! Please give her our most sincere bow!"


    I was flustered, since there were people bowing and pping. I felt like I was basking in her glory.


    Well, lucky nobody noticed my true identity. Leah was a little afraid, but she watched the crowd of people somewhat cheerfully and sat up shyly in my arms. I looked at Leah''s small head as she sat in front of me and then at Veirya who sat straight up. The scene gave me an odd feeling.


    <em>''Doesn''t this feel like we''re a family of three? Well, except that Veirya and my roles were reversed¡­''</em>


    I looked at Veirya. She was expressionless. It looks like she doesn''t share the sentiment¡­


    We walked down the street and reached a path with a dark alley. There was a wooden que hung in the middle of the tiny street.


    Veirya led us in.


    There was a courtyard but wasn''trge. We dismounted and as two people came over to lead our horses over to the small stable.


    I looked over in the direction of the stables. The horses in the stables were rtively short and small, and they were covered in thick fur. Standard horses for cold areas.


    Veirya confidently walked into the door opposite the stables.


    Leah and I followed her.


    Leah scanned the empty ces around curiously. In the middle was a well with two wooden barrels tossed to one side. The shape of the rope looked like it could snap any moment. We walked into a small ordinary two-story building.


    I thought I had gone blind as soon as we entered.


    <em>''Why is it so dark inside?''</em>


    I heard footsteps approaching, and, a momentter, a candle was lit.


    Veirya stood at the counter and behind it was the face of an old man. He looked so old I virtually couldn''t see his face. All I could see were his wrinkles. He grabbed a key from underneath and then said, "Upstairs. Middle."


    "Ah, no, please give us two rooms." I quickly spoke out.


    Though it was disappointing to not be able to share a room with Veirya, I couldn''t let Leah and Veirya share a room, or else I wouldn''t be able to cover for Leah tonight. If she''s exposed, there will most likely be a murder case. Therefore, it was better for us to be separated for the sake of our lives.


    The old man looked at us grumpily and eximed, "What does a family of three need two rooms for?!"


    Veirya cut him off very resolutely and bluntly¡­ She looked at the elder in front of her and said, "No. I''m not rted to them. Please give them a room."


    "Eh¡­"


    He just got two sales instead of one and yet he red at me like I took advantage of him or something¡­


    He picked up another key and then said, "To her left."


    "Thank you." Veirya handed me the other key.


    She then looked at Leah, so I immediately grabbed Leah''s hand and shook my head.


    Veirya looked slightly disappointed, but I wasn''t going to give in on this. I can''t let Leah share a room with Veirya. Otherwise, something really will happen!


    We went upstairs to see the rooms. It was a standard two-bed room. Though things looked old downstairs, the rooms were quite good.


    I tested out the bed. It wasn''t a mattress like in the modern-day.


    <em>''Looks like beds are wooden nks here.''</em>


    Leah, on the other hand, cheerfully looked around. Her curiosity as a child made her particrly happy about this foreign environment.


    "Papa, are we staying here tonight?"


    I stroked Leah''s head then with a smile replied, "Leah, you must stay here in the afternoon as Papa has to go work."


    Leah pouted unhappily and then asked, "Don''t wanna. Leah wants to follow you, Papa! Leah will be a good girl and not cause trouble. Leah will be a good girl, so bring Leah along, okay, Papa? Okay?"


    "Mm¡­"


    I looked at her puppy-eye look. I really can''t reject Leah.


    I thought about it. <em>''Leaving Leah alone in the room here doesn''t seem too safe. It''s not too dangerous for her to take a look around in the market at noon, I don''t think.''</em>


    "Alright then. But you must be a good girl, Leah."


    "Uhm! Leah will definitely be a very good girl!!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 27

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    Veirya followed us after she found out that we were leaving.


    Despite Leah being very displeased about it, Veirya insisted oning. It was something we couldn''t refuse.


    I wrapped Leah''s small face up with her scarf. It''s best not to let people find out Leah is a subus. That is especially true in a city where the presence of this religion is so prominent. This way, we won''t attract attention. Fortunately, we don''t particrly stand out in our military uniform.


    I held Leah''s hand with my right hand. Leah cheerfully scanned both sides of the streets. However, there really was nothing to see along this route.


    Veirya walked with her right hand on her sword handle in a very heroic manner.


    This street, which wasn''t decorated, was so nd that even Leah quickly lost interest. These blue-stones and buildings couldn''t attract a child''s attention after their interest had expired.


    Besides the fact that it couldn''t attract a child''s gaze, not even I wanted to stay in this city any longer. This sort ofborious life doesn''t suit me. I looked at Veirya.


    She blends in with this city, since her emotionless, stern nature was like this dead and boring city. Theyplement each other.


    Leah turned her head to look at me, poked her tongue and said, "Papa, this city is so boring¡­ there''s nothing new¡­"


    I nodded and replied, "It''s all right, Leah. If you see something new and novel, Papa will buy it for you."


    While I said that, I honestly don''t have money. If I want to buy something, I''ll have to ask Veirya for money. But I looked at Veirya and knew that she didn''t have money, either.


    <em>''I''d bet that Veirya, who is not interested in money, is poorer than I am. I still do have the gold coin Lucia gave me, after all.''</em>


    <em>''If we get the chance, I want to buy some new clothes for Leah. Leah doesn''t even have underwear right now.''</em>


    The market is next to the square we walked past. This market doesn''t look like it''s prospering in any capacity, though. It was essentially an alley with all sorts of shops, none of which had ques.


    They simply wrote what they sold on a wooden piece of nk. However, there was currently a long line from inside the alley that stretched to the square. Soldiers were patrolling the area since there were so many people.


    I was slightly surprised.


    <em>''What motivated everybody to line up in this city at this time? Were they lined up to go to the chapel to make a donation or pray?''</em>


    We walked past the line. I wanted to see what exactly is happening here.


    When I had almost reached the front of the line, a kid wearing an apron walked out of a store holding a wooden board. The kid shouted to the people, "We have sold out today. Everyone, we have sold out and have no more food. We should have some more tomorrow. Please return home, everyone. Today''s food has been sold out!"


    The crowd shouted with dissatisfaction. But what could they do?


    I watched the long line disperse, feeling absolutely stunned.


    <em>''So they were lining up to buy food?! Is this how people have to buy food in this city or is there only enough food to sell a little every day? Are they in the same situation as our food ticket system?''</em>


    "Did you hear that? The food for today has all been sold¡­ Ah, no¡­ It''s Lord Veirya!!" The young man looked at us with displeasure, since we didn''t leave. Once he saw Veirya, though, he trembled with fear and quickly went to bow, nearly smashing his head on the ground.


    Veirya nodded while looking at him and said, "We want to buy food."


    "Umm¡­ That¡­ but we have already run out of food for today¡­ how abouting early tom-¡­"


    "Let us see your boss." I grabbed Veirya''s shoulder after she had nodded and intended to leave.


    It''s not time to be heading back now.


    <em>''He did say that they had no more food, but a food store requires food to make money. Everyone is panicking right now because there''s no food. By selling just a bit every day, they can maintain a stable price. It might be a tactic they''re using to make money. We can''t leave now.''</em>


    "Our¡­ our boss is not present¡­"


    "We''ll wait, then."


    "He has gone to another ce to coordinate things to procure food¡­"


    I looked at the young man with my eyes narrowed and threatened, "I''ll speak to whoever is in charge currently. What? Can''t Lord Veirya, who slew the Demon King, see your boss? Is your boss a bigger figure than Her Majesty, now? Shall I inform Her Majesty about this?"


    The young man was clearly frightened as he looked to Veirya''s longsword fearfully and gulped his saliva. He then stuttered, "N-No¡­ No¡­ We umm¡­ It''s just¡­ really is not¡­"


    "My, my¡­ It truly is an honour for you to visit our modest store, Lord Veirya. Please, tell us what you need. We may not have much food, but we will do our best to fulfil your request, Lord Veirya."


    A fat man quickly stepped out of the store. He didn''t wear a hat. He touched his head and looked at us with his eyes narrow and a smile. He wore thicker clothing. Though it wasn''t colourful, a silver scaleshaped,piece of jewellery gently swayed in front of his chest.


    Maybe that was like a logo for merchants, but it''s a little ironic. Merchants rely on manipting the scales to gain more so they wouldn''t be trying to keep the scales even. Or perhaps what the scale symbolised was whoever gave them more money would be the one they leaned toward.


    I looked at him. I chuckled and asked, "Aren''t you supposed to be out procuring food?"


    "Ah, that is what we say to avoid being harassed by people. You must understand our reasons, right, sir? We, merchants who sell food, are in the most danger at times like this." The food merchant before usughed.


    I didn''t n to step on his tail for it right now, either. It''s just a trivial matter. Furthermore, this can be a condition I use when we negotiate. The boss must be panicking to havee out now, after all.


    I looked at the boss in front of me and said, "Let''s be upfront then. We want to purchase food."


    "Come in first,e in first." The boss smiled and let us into the building.


    There was only one long table in the store. On the side were a few chairs. A candle was lit up and ced on the table along with an ount book, pen, and ink.


    I made sure to inspect the interior of the food store. There are a few empty bags on the ground. I couldn''t see any other foods.


    ''<em>Well, it''s only reasonable. Food wouldn''t usually be ced here. It must be in the warehouse.''</em>


    "We want to purchase food."


    We sat around the table and came right out with it. The boss sniffled and then smiled helplessly before replying, "To be frank, we do not have much food ourselves. As you, too, saw; due to fear, everybody ising to purchase food. The previous war also meant that we forcefully sold a good amount. Therefore, we do not have much food ourselves. If we run out of food as well, this city will fall into panic."


    "How much can you sell now?"


    "Five bags. That is the maximum."


    He looked at me and turned his palms up.


    I frowned and replied, "That''s not enough. We need twenty bags."


    "Sir, it is not that we do not want to sell the food. If we were back inst year, I would load up two-hundred bags by the afternoon for you if you asked, let alone twenty bags. But things are different, now. All the food in the north was taken by the army, tobat the Demon King, this year. We do not have much food on hand. Did you see the refugees outside? If we were heretics, we would not have any food ourselves. These five bags are out of consideration for Lord Veirya. That truly is our best."


    "For how much?"


    "One gold coin per beg. I am doing that at a cheaper price for you."


    "You''re scamming us!!"


    <em>''I can''t ept that price! One gold coin for one bag of food? Why don''t you go rob a wealthy mansion or something? What would only cost over a dozen silver coins costs six times more here with you?! You sure we aren''t trading weapons, here?''</em>


    "It is not a scam. It truly is difficult to procure food at the moment." The boss looked at me with a pitiful face and then said, "Food is now controlled by the people in the south. We have to pay whatever they ask for, would you not agree? It currently costs thirty silver coins for one bag of food outside, then another forty-fifty silver coins for transporting them here.,Ss,o if I do not charge you one gold coin per bag, I will basically make nothing."


    "Mm¡­"


    I slowly sat back in my chair and looked at the merchant in front of me. <em>''The issue now is that the merchant is insistent on his im that he has no food and needs to procure them from outside, while the prices are inted. Honestly, I regret it a little, now. I sold the food to Lucia for far too cheap. I feel like Lucia chose to buy from us because Veirya isn''t aware of the cost of food and food everywhere else is too expensive. Guess we can consider it as being tricked by Lucia.</em>


    <em>''The bigger problem, however, isn''t Lucia, but where we''re going to purchase the twenty bags of food we require. If this boss refuses to admit that he has more food on hand, then we''ll be at a dead end. The only way we can prove he has food stored up is by going to his warehouse. But, I don''t think he''ll ever let us see his warehouse.''</em>


    <em>''Not even Veirya can barge in now, can she? Plus, if Veirya enters the storage during a sensitive time, like this, and takes food from it¡­ It wouldn''t be good, in more than one way. Firstly, we can''t make everyone in this city panic, and we can''t tarnish Veirya''s reputation. If we barge into other merchants'' food warehouses under Veirya''s name and forcibly take food from there, then nobody will be willing to do business with her, once news of it spreads.''</em>


    <em>''We can''t kill the goose thatys the golden egg.''</em>


    I looked around and then said, "Alright, we''ll think of something else then."


    It''s pointless to discuss this any further at the moment. I stood up and so did the merchant. With a helpless smile, he said, "The times are tough. We cannot help it, either. Hopefully, God will show you the way."


    I shook my head and replied, "If God could show the way, man and dog would be the same. I will only ever believe in myself."

 Chapter Volume 1 28

    "Papa, papa, are we not going to buy food?"


    Leah looked at me with surprise. I shook my head and exined, "We can''t afford it and the price he asked for is honestly too expensive. He''s too much. Furthermore, I think there''s a problem with the food. If they have food to sell daily then they must have food remaining. But if they refuse to admit it then we can''t help it. Consequently, I need toe up with a way to find out if they do have food in their warehouse of not."


    Veirya nodded and then said, "Where''s their warehouse? We can just go straight there."


    "Don''t, don''t, don''t. Veirya, you''re no longer a warrior. Even if you were, you can''t just go and barge into a legitimate merchant''s warehouse."


    This isn''t the 21st century''s Chinese Pdin where you can take your girl to other people''s ces and take things from their ces while NPCs don''t care. Do that here in front of the guards and they''ll hack you to death. Veirya might not be some viin, but if she kicks the door to someone''s warehouse open and takes their stuff, she might not get killed by the guards, but as a consequence, she''ll be on every merchant''s cklist. Merchants are tightly connected with each other. This scenario is simr to the one with that young girl. The merchants possess everything people want in this world, and that is money. If the merchants don''t have the power to protect themselves, then they''ll be robbed.


    That''s why merchants usually have their organisation and news will travel extremely fast. In a world ruled by money, merchants could influence an entire nation, even.


    Without merchants, there will never be money and Veirya''s territory would never develop.


    We definitely can''t kill the goose thatys the golden egg and you can''t force the other party to the edge of the cliff in a negotiation. A dead man never needs a negotiation. It will only make sense to negotiate with a man before he dies. At that point in time, the other party still wants to plead for their life, which is why I don''t need to open the warehouse directly. I just need to prove that there is indeed food stored within.


    But I need to know where the warehouse is located, first. I can''t just go there now.


    "Where can food be found?"


    Veirya frowned and pondered it. She looked at me and then asked "Is there nowhere else we can buy from?"


    "Most likely not because this city isn''t exporting food. Finding a merchant will be unlikely too. Our only choice is to procure food from elsewhere."


    I bit down on my lips and softly continued, "In this city, only the army has food now. The only ce we can procure food from is the military. Of course, I feel that the chapel must have food. However, there''s a big problem with trying to get good from the chapel in this city."


    "Chapel¡­."


    I looked at Veirya with a strange look after she quietly muttered that, but then she didn''t continue. I think that we shouldn''t find trouble with the chapel of this city.


    <em>''But then can we just take army rations¡­? Moreover, in the event that we could procure army rations through some means, would the current chief officer let us take some? If I was going to give him a "gift", would the money I currently have suffice?''</em>


    <em>''But even if that''s the case, do we have a way out? If I return now, the entire town will starve to death. Or shall I buy give bags of food that are borderline scams and take them back?''</em>


    Let''s say I did take five bags back. That still wouldn''t be close to enough. As such, I have no path to back down to. I must bring food back from this town. Now, that means that I have to go to the army camp to try and procure enough food.


    Since the army took all the food, they must have sufficient food.


    I haven''t got any information on the army. I don''t know the name of their leader and I haven''t got the slightest hint as to what the army needs. But I need to go and do something which could take me to guillotine, and that is to buy army rations. Normally, I would need to spend lots of time preparing supposed needed gifts and money as well as a way out. Unfortunately, I don''t have anything on me now.


    <em>''No intel and no news. No money, no presents and no n. Just how am I going to bring food out from there?'' </em>


    "Veirya, where''s the military camp?"


    Veirya pointed in their direction and added, "If they haven''t moved, they''re over there."


    "Do you know who the chief is?"


    "I did know the one in the past, but not the current one."


    I nodded. I guess we do have one piece of good news. What the previous chief liked will influence the current chief. And I can approach the people who used to be with the previous chief.


    "How was the previous chief?"


    "He got chopped in half by a demon in thest battle, and then his intestines were dragged half way down the street."


    Veirya was expressionless. If it wasn''t Veirya who was telling me that, I''d suspect the speaker to be deliberately messing with me¡­ Buting from Veirya, it was a legitimate answer to my question¡­ I sighed hopelessly. I thought there''d be some information, but it doesn''t look like it now.


    "Papa¡­"


    Leah tucked herself in at my side a little frightened. It''s best if I don''t let Leah listen to such a bloody story. Veirya looked at me and then asked, "You want to go to the army camp?"


    "Uhm."


    "Let''s go then."


    Veirya nodded and then walked its direction. I nodded and followed after. Under normal circumstances, an army camp wouldn''t be situated within a city. In this sort of ancient city however, army camps were situated inside the city. That made it convenient for the army to defend the city as well. This city was once attacked by demons so there must be arge army defending this ce. The refugees outside have all gathered here. It''s like the city has been surrounded. Therefore, the army is fully geared up to protect the city.


    The further we went in this direction, the more soldiers we came across. All of them worepletely different uniforms to us. Veirya practically couldn''t recognise any of them, while little Leah attracted the attention of lots of people. We soon arrived at the entrance to a massive courtyard. A few soldiers armed with long spears went up to us when they saw us. They salute firmly and called, "Lord Veirya!"


    "Uhm."


    Veirya saluted them and then led us into the camp. The soldiers didn''t mind us. They did look at us, however, they didn''t say anything, since we were with Veirya. Leah got a little scared when she saw the sharp tips of the spears and the swords at their belt so she leaned on my back. I held her hand tightly. These soldiers exist to fight demons and Leah happens to be a subus. If they discover that, we''re in the army camp¡­


    Fortunately, it isn''t easy to identify a subus in reality. Subi are virtually the same as humans. The only difference being that they don''t have belly buttons.


    I don''t think anybody would strip Leah down here to check her, right¡­?


    The entrance of the camp appeared to be a rest station. It was just a small room. Inside, however, were seated and standing countless soldiers. Swords and spears were ced on the weaponry shelf outside. The soldiers were talking about something on the grounds with rxed smiles. Leah got scared when we passed by, since the soldiers gathered around and looked at us with shock. As she was scared, Leah hid herself behind me.


    Wherever Veirya went, all of the soldiers would straighten up and salute her. I suddenly realised that while this wasn''t within the range of what I could interfere with, Veirya was the boss here. I might not know anything here, but Veirya is alike a fish to water here. I''m no expert at living here, but Veirya is the ruler of the military world.


    "All right."


    I grabbed hold of Veirya who was about to walk into arge magnificent building. Veirya turned her head to look at me and tilted her head with confusion. I shook my head and then exined, "Here will do. Veirya, it''s pointless even if we do see the chief here. We just need to know this location."


    "Uhm."


    While Veirya didn''t quite understand, she nodded, nevertheless, and left the camp with me. The atmosphere in the camp didn''t quite suit Leah. Leah was very tense the entire time. While we were standing outside the camp, Veirya looked at me and asked, "Where to next?"


    "To where we''re staying." I gave a simple response before telling her, "Veirya,e here with me at night."


    "Uhm."


    "Why?! Why?! Why do you want to go out with her at night, Papa?!! Leah wants toe, too! Leah wants toe too!!"


    "Leah¡­ it''s better if you don''te out at night¡­"


    "No! No!! I want toe too! I want toe too!! I want to go with you, papa! I want to do with you, papa!!"


    Leah grabbed my arm and shouted. I sighed hopelessly. I squat down to look at Leah''s eyes and seriously exin, "Leah, papa isn''t worried about you causing trouble. It''s just that what we''re doing at night will be very dangerous. Papa won''t have time to look after you, but papa promises that papa will be back soon after midnight. So Leah, stay in your room and wait for papa to return without a worry, okay? Papa will be back soon."


    Leah looked at my face. She pouted and then responded unhappily, "Papa¡­ Can Leah really note with¡­? No¡­? Leah¡­ wants to go with you, papa¡­"


    "No, Leah. I''m very sorry, but not this time."


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Chinese Pdin is a Chinese PC game series in the 21st century


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 29

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    When we left the hotel that night, Leah wore a very distressed expression.


    I gently picked up my cape and draped it over my shoulder. I heard footsteps behind me, and someone hugged me from behind. I turned to look and saw Leah''s small head mmed on my lower back, with her arms wrapped around my abdomen, refusing to let go.


    She didn''t say anything. She just held me with her head sideways.


    I chuckled softly as I crouched down to scrub her head. I softly exined, "Leah, Papa is very sorry, but Papa really can''t bring you along this time. Papa is going to the military camp. If you transform there, we''ll be in trouble. So, stay here and wait for Papa. Papa will definitely be back once Papa is done with work."


    "Papa¡­ scared¡­" Leah looked at my face.


    I think I saw tears well up in her eyes. I touched her face apologetically and kissed her forehead. I then said, "It''s alright, Leah. Don''t be scared. Papa promised you that Papa would never leave you. It''s just one night. Go sleep in bed and when you wake up, Papa will be back."


    Leah gently sped my face, frowned, and asked, "Really? You''re not lying to me, right, Papa? You''lle back for sure, right?"


    "Yes." I firmly nodded, then kissed her head gently. I stroked her face then stood up and said, "Papa will be back soon with good news, for sure."


    "Can you promise me then, Papa?" Leah blinked her eyes, then hugged my arms and looked at me with a distrustful gaze. She continued, "Papa, can you guarantee that you will always be thinking of Leah when you go out with that woman? That nothing will happen between you and that woman in the future and that you won''t end up forgetting about Leah when you''re with that woman?! Papa and that woman always do weird things every night! Will something happen without Leah around this time?"


    I smiled helplessly as I scratched my head and replied, "You might not believe it, but every time I''m with her, it''s for legitimate reasons. Nothing will happen, Papa promises to always think of Leah. Papa will definitelye right back as soon as Papa is done with business!"


    "Really¡­?"


    Leah still didn''t quite believe me, but she did sit back on the bed and pull the nket over herself.


    On the table by the side were the strips of dry meat and remaining bread we brought along. The kettle to the side also still had water. Leah won''t have to starve in the room.


    I gently pulled the door open and took onest look at Leah.


    Leah''s gaze was still on me, as I predicted. She wore a veryplex expression and bit down on her lip tightly like she was fighting her urge to run to me.


    I softly shut the door. It was such a simple action, yet I felt as though the door was so heavy.


    When I left the room, Veirya was already outside waiting. She frowned and said, "Why are you so slow? You''reter than the time we agreed on by ten minutes already."


    I sincerely apologised, "Sorry."


    Veirya just looked at me without saying anything else as we went down the stairs together.


    There was nobody inside the hotel. It was only around five or six in the afternoon, but the city was already dead silent. The doors to the hotel had been shut as well. The apprentice that saw use down looked at us a little strange.


    He picked up the bar holding the door closed and said, "If you''re going out now, be sure to be back early, because if you don''t, we can''t go to sleep."


    "All right."


    I nodded and then led Veirya out. From beside me, she asked, "Where are we going?"


    I simply replied, "Outside of the army camp."


    Veirya nodded.


    She didn''t say any more or ask anything else. She just followed alongside me. Veirya wasn''t a good travellingpanion, but she <em>was</em> a brilliant warrior. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have been able to y the Demon King.


    We headed there in the darkness. Despite having a destination, trying to navigate through a strange ce in darkness was tough, so Veirya led me.


    There doesn''t seem to be any so-called nightlife in this city. As soon as the sun goes down, the city basically dies.


    The people still walking the streets were difficult to spot since they wore ck robes. They pulled their robes tightly around themselves and walked at a fast pace like rats swiftly disappearing in the night.


    Soon, lots of patrol teams holding fire torches appeared on the streets. There were about ten people to a team. The metal armour of the troops reflected the light from the fire. Their long swords and spears looked frightening under the light of the fires.


    The troops walked along the streets with expressionless looks, shooing people who had yet to return home to go home.


    We were dressed in the military uniform, except without armour. However, the troops seemed to consider us the same as them so they didn''t drive us off.


    The two of us soon arrived at the entrance of the military camp. It was evident that the camp was managed more strictly at night. There were twice as many door guards, but they let us through as soon as they saw Veirya.


    Veirya is the warrior who had in the Demon King. She wasn''t going to harm them, so it was absolutely safe for her to be allowed passage.


    I didn''t try to do anything since it was night time.


    We went to the break room. There weren''t as many people there as there was during the day.


    I pulled my hood up.


    Veirya looked at me, and then pulled up hers up, too.


    The fire in the break room was lit up, right now, with a few long tables set up.


    The two of us entered and then sat at a long table in one of the corners. Nobody noticed us. They conversed about something as they drank from their cups.


    I looked at the table to the side and waited silently.


    "Did you find out anything, like when we can leave?"


    "No. I don''t know either. There hasn''t been any information from our superiors. Thest time I went to check, there was still plenty of food. I don''t think we''ll be able to leave anytime soon."


    "Don''t you reckon we''re unlucky? Everybody else has gone back yet we''re stuck staying back here. I''d be fine with going elsewhere. It''s annoying as hell to watch starving heretics in this rotten city and we have to go on strict patrols."


    "My wife, back home, sent me another letter asking when I could return. The Demon King is dead already, so what are we even here for? My wife thought I ran off after getting the reward money!"


    "We can''t help it. We can''t help it, either. Let''s just wait here. At least we don''t have to worry about the city being conquered and then us dying in battle. It''s good to be alive."


    The two soldiers next to me said something. Veirya, who was opposite me didn''t care about what they said. She picked up a cup. She had a drink then nodded and said, "It doesn''t taste bad."


    I picked up a cup and had a drink then spat it out.


    Veirya looked at me nkly with the liquid I just spat out coursing down her face slowly. She licked it and then calmly remarked, "Wine."


    "Sorry, sorry, cough, cough, it''s hot¡­" I coughed loudly.


    I really never thought it would be wine, and strong wine for that matter! I could drink a little, but it''s the first time I''d drunk such a strong wine.


    Two of the soldiers next to me noticed Veirya and me. They panicked as they stood up and saluted her.


    Veirya wiped her face with her sleeve and then returned the salute.


    I stood up and dragged Veirya out of the break room.


    "What''s wrong?" Veirya looked at me confused. She seemed like she wanted some more of the wine there.


    The military camp was something else. Despite the city prohibiting drinking, they still had wine to drink.


    Veirya seemed to really like the taste of wine. She drank lotsst time, at the banquet, too.


    I nodded and replied, "It''s all right now. Let''s return now."


    I had gotten what I was after.

 Chapter Volume 1 30

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    I didn''t tell Veirya what I had obtained, but Veirya didn''t ask, either. The two of us just went straight back to the hotel.


    Since we didn''t look strange in any way, except for Veirya having the scent of wine on her, the guy at the entrance didn''t say anything. He just quietly asked us where we drank and if we could bring some back for him.


    I didn''t answer. I pretended I didn''t hear him.


    <em>''It looks like the drinking prohibition in this city is extremely strict. It is indeed a little distressing to not be able to drink any wine in the cold north.''</em>


    Veirya wiped her sleeve and then looked at him and replied, "Inside the army camp th-, oop!"


    I quickly covered her mouth with my hand and forcefully dragged her upstairs.


    Veirya was puzzled, but she went along. When we got to the door to her room, she asked with puzzlement, "What are you doing?"


    "Don''t tell anyone there''s wine in the army camp. There''s a drinking ban in this city. Not even the army is permitted to drink heavily. If you tell others about this and they go report it to the chapel, a conflict will arise between the army and the chapel. When that happens, our n will go down the drain! So don''t tell anyone."


    "Alright." Veirya nodded then looked at me and added, "Come to my room."


    "Hmm?"


    I looked at Veirya nkly. She looked at me with a serious look and responded, "Must discuss, together, every night."


    "Discuss? Discuss what?"


    "Discuss whether I did something wrong that day or not." Veirya looked and me and went on, "When we were travelling, every night we would discuss whether there was any problem with our strategy for the day and how we were going to fight tomorrow. So, we have to do the same now."


    I understand what Veirya means.


    What Veirya must be saying is like the quote "I examine myself on three points every day". What happened during the day must be weighing on Veirya''s mind. Veirya tried to help a young girl during the day but had, instead, caused her death.


    I thought Veirya was the type to not care about others. I think she took the initiative to offer food to prove that she had changed, but unfortunately, her kind gesture didn''t bring about a positive result.


    <em>''Or could it be that Veirya is a pure lolicon? First, it was Leah and then a little girl. Lucia. I''m guessing Lucia is considered a girl by Veirya since she''s t-chested.''</em>


    I gave Veirya a nod.


    <em>''I can''t refuse her in this situation, can I? If I do, she might storm into my room. I can''t let Leah be exposed.''</em> I felt that there was no other choice, after deliberation.


    Veirya opened the door.


    I looked inside curiously but had also prepared myself mentally.


    Although this was a girl''s room, I wasn''t surprised because it was like nobody had lived in there before. The furniture was still ced there and the nket hadn''t been used. It didn''t look like even the water kettle had been touched.


    Only Veirya''s water kettle or whatever was ced on the table. Nothing else had changed.


    ''<em>This is a woman''s room, yet had no traces of any woman upying it.''</em>


    <em>''Wait, let me correct myself there. There were no traces of anyone upying it.''</em>


    Every room in this hotel has its own firece, but only one central pipeline. Luckily for us, our rooms were on both sides of the pipeline. The room opposite Veirya''s was much colder, though.


    Veirya pulled a chair over and gestured for me to sit on it. She then removed her outer coat in front of me and ced it aside, leaving only her undershirt and underpants on¡­


    I looked at her white thighs that could reflect the mes and then looked her. I felt awkward. She tilted her head and asked, "Do you wear your outer coat in your room?"


    "No¡­ But¡­ Mm¡­"


    "You''ve seen it, so you''re used to it, I presume." Veirya didn''t mind me looking at her. She continued by asking, "Today, what did I do wrong?"


    "You did lots of wrong things. First of all, you shouldn''t have given that young girl food. Secondly, you shouldn''t have said anything." I gently touched my head, with my eyes on her, and exined, "Before you help someone, you must consider the consequences that will follow. You''re not giving a beggar by the side of the road food or something here, but basically throwing food into a streak of tigers."


    "When you see a group of people that require help, don''t bother with any of them, unless you can help all of them."


    "Now onto the second point. We might see lots of people do illegal things, in the future. But you cannot be the one to enforce thew if it doesn''t ur in your territory, Veirya. Hence, we must not try to be representatives of justice. Conversely, keeping silent about it would be considered a threat. Therefore, if you see someone do something, you must remain calm and not interfere directly. Once we do get involved, don''t tell anybody about it."


    That''s about it really. Veirya''s experience with handling worldly affairs is about the equivalent of Leah''s, so telling Veirya these things is simr to teaching Leah.


    Veirya looked at me seriously and listened intently. She then nodded and replied, "Understood. I will bear it in mind."


    I nodded then stood up and said, "That''s it for today. That''s it, right? There are many things you have to be aware of, as a lord of a territory, which arepletely different to being a warrior. A warrior only needs to fight demons. A lord, however, must interact with humans, and interacting with humans is the toughest thing to do in the world."


    "Uhm."


    Veirya nodded then asked, "What are you doing now? Can you tell me?"


    "I just went to find out a little today. I''m not after taking food from the military camp, as re-selling army rations is not a good idea. Veirya, I want to see the current highest-ranking chief at the camp tomorrow. Can you help me get an audience?"


    Veirya looked at me and replied, "I don''t know the current chief."


    "You just need to use your name. I don''t think there is even a single soldier who isn''t willing to see you. You''re the warrior who has in the Demon King, after all. If you are with me, I would be respected by everyone in the camp, too, wouldn''t I? Without you though I can''t get an audience with the person in charge."


    Veirya seemed to think about it for a while. I didn''t know what she was thinking, but after a moment, she nodded and answered, "We''ll go tomorrow."


    "All right." I nodded and then turned around to pull the door shut.


    Veirya didn''t keep me. It looks like she really did just want to discuss things with me and nothing more¡­


    That made me feel slightly disappointed.


    I reached my room and then gently pushed the door open.


    Leah had transformed and was lying on the bed nude, softly snoring. She didn''t wake up, though. She remainedying on the bed, snoring, in a curled up position.


    I carefully removed my outer coat and then crawled into bed quietly. I turned my back to Leah and closed my eyes.


    Leah always hugged me to sleep every night.


    Leah''s body is seriously too seductive for a grown man. I have to use all of my willpower to control myself or else I really might do something. I can''t do something that is worse than a beast.


    Consequently, I got very little rest every night.


    But I can finally have a good sleep now¡­


    "Papa¡­ you didn''t think I had fallen asleep, did you¡­?" A sexy body gently hugged me from behind around my hips tightly.


    My body shuddered. My ears were already being licked.


    Leah''s soft and skilled tongue gently teased the sensitive nerves in my ears.


    My ears were filled with Leah''s sucking and licking sound. It was as though she was licking from inside to outside.


    "I can smell wine, Papa. But you don''t have that woman''s scent."


    Leah pulled her tongue back and leaned on me gently from behind.


    She smiled and said, "You pass, Papa. Leah is very happy. Papa finally came back. Papa, let''s sleep together. Goodnight Papa. Leah will always be a good girl like this. Leah was a good girl and waited for you here, Papa. Leah didn''t feel lonely! Leah is always a good girl like this!"


    "Sorry for making you feel lonely, Leah. Papa will keep youpany tomorrow."


    I grabbed hold of Leah''s hands, and she nodded with glee. She then pressed herself firmer onto me¡­


    Uhm¡­


    Her body is even plumper than Veirya''s¡­


    <em>''All right. I guess I won''t be able to get a good night of sleep, again.''</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 31

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    I felt cold when I woke up the next day.


    I don''t know what the owner was thinking, not lighting a fire in the morning, causing the entire room to feel cold. Not to mention the cold wind blowing in from the gaps in the damaged window. The entire room was particrly cold.


    I rubbed my eyes and looked down at Leah on my chest. Leah was curled up like a ball with a smile on her face. I had pulled Leah into my embrace without being aware, and Leah pulled the nket over herself, also unaware, thereby exposing my back.


    It''s no wonder why it felt so cold.


    I saw Leah''s small face on my chest as she snored quietly. While she still had some baby fat, her potential to be a beauty and her perfect features had taken shape.


    Her small vicle made her neck appear perfectly long and slender. Her pure white, gentle and warm shoulders were akin to precious elephant trunks. Her small shoulders were shaking slowly, along with her body.


    She''s just a kid, but her breasts were already taking shape, like poached eggs. Her thick yet smooth legs were curled up to her chest. Her plump hands gripped my chest gently. She rested her head on my chest, as though she was relishing the warmth of my body.


    I stroked her head softly as I looked at my young daughter, whom I haven''t known for long but love deeply. I''ve never had a child, but I felt valued and found warm love through herughter. It was the first time I had such a strong and clear desire to protect and love, as though she was my biological daughter.


    <em>''But can I provide her with what''s necessary for her to grow up happily?''</em> I don''t know how to be a father because I''ve never been one before. However, the sense of bliss and tension in my heart tormented me as I watched Leah sleep in my arms right now.


    Leah is so cute and pretty, but she''s just a child right now. Moreover, she''s not a human, but a demon. Demons are humanity''s nemesis. Her situation was more perilous since she happened to be the Demon King''s daughter, as well.


    <em>''Can she live here with humanity? No. A better question would be, how am I going to allow Leah to live happily in human society? Not only does Leah need food, she needs to receive a proper education, and adopt the correct world outlook, and views on life and values.''</em>


    ''<em>Most importantly, when will humanity stop hunting down demons?''</em>


    <em>''But what can I provide Leah? I can''t provide her with anything. Everything Leah needs is at Veirya''s side. Only Veirya has the connections and resources to provide Leah with everything she needs. An education, resources, status and respects are things I can''t provide Leah with.''</em>


    <em>''But despite Veirya being able to provide her with those things, Veirya, being oblivious to the world, doesn''t know how to make use of her connections and resources. Veirya would only be able to watch Leah grow up in the deste north. So in the end, Leah would be relegated to growing up here in the north and never getting to see those flowers.''</em>


    <em>''Veirya is a soldier. She knows how to achieve victory, but not how to </em>use<em> that victory.''</em>


    <em>''I can''t watch all of that happen.''</em>


    These big concerns and anxious matters made me feel really irritated because I felt really ashamed.


    I had never felt like this before. This was the first time I had felt so tired.


    I protected Leah, yet I can''t provide her with what she needs. The clearer this became, the more her smile made my heart ache.


    <em>''I must find a way to provide Leah with everything she needs.''</em>


    I sat up.


    Despite understanding that I couldn''t realise this dream even if I didn''t sleep today, I was still motivated to get out of bed by the tension and urgency I felt.


    After sitting up quietly, I gently covered Leah, who was curled up, and then quickly got out of the nket.


    The cold made me shiver.


    I quickly picked up my clothes and shivered as I wore them, but I couldn''t get rid of the cold on my body. My entire body was freezing.


    I looked at the kettle to the side. I didn''t even want to touch the cold water now.


    <em>''Let''s head downstairs to see if we can find some hot water¡­''</em>


    I opened the door gently and went out, shivering as I went down the stairs. I felt like it was colder with the main door open.


    The only warmth was the fire torches by the door, which were slowly going out.


    I leaned over and shivered next to a fire torch.


    There was nobody around, including the boss and waiter.


    While there were tables at the diner, like other hotels, nobody dared to offer breakfast when the area was threatened by a famine.


    I wrapped my arms around myself and looked outside. I quickly spotted Veirya standing next to the well.


    Veirya wasn''t wearing the clothing she wore out. She was in just her thin undershirt and briefs, exposing her limbs to the freezing air.


    Veirya''s skin looked somewhat unnaturally white. Her round peach created the perfect curvaceous body. Even though it waspletely covered by her briefs, she still looked inexplicably sexy. Underneath the gully created by the material of her briefs were her thighs. Further down were her knees sockets. Her joints and muscles created a charming gully. Her calves looked firm, despite her not wearing high heels.


    Perhaps Veirya''s ankles weren''t slender, because she was a soldier. That said, they were still charming.


    Veirya whipped her long silver hair. She then picked up a wooden bucket filled with water from the well and poured it down on herself from overhead.


    I looked at Veirya, who had poured a bucket of cold water onto herself, feeling absolutely stunned. I felt like she was pouring ice, and not water, down on herself.


    If I was in her position, I bet I''d have shrieked non-stop and then fell to the ground. Veirya, however, didn''t look like she could feel the temperature, allowing the ice cold water to slowly run down her body.


    She then whipped her long silver hair and she reached toward her undershirt, seemingly to remove it.


    "Aaahh!!!"


    <em>''Stop! Stop! Stop!! Veirya can''t strip here!'' </em>I rushed over before I could remove my cloak. I whipped my cloak to the front, rushed over to Veirya and then pulled her into my arms to wrap her up with my cloak.


    Veirya mmed into my chest. I was a little too slow. Veirya had undressed so her cold breasts were pressed against my chest firmly. Veirya''s body was freezing.


    My body started to shiver again due to Veirya''s cold body.


    Veirya''s breasts felt particrly real. Her sexy body was up close, right in front of me. It was the first time her blue eyes had been so close to mine.


    I looked at Veirya.


    Our heights are about the same. Her blue eyes blinked before my eyes. Her beautiful face radiated the cold before my eyes.


    I looked at her pretty face and forgot what I wanted to say.


    A moment after, she asked, "What''s the matter?"


    Veirya didn''t mind being so close to me. Her voice still sounded like it came from afar, despite us being so close.


    She had her hands pressed on my chest gently, though not tenderly, like Leah. She just had them there, because there was nowhere else to ce them.


    I looked at her and trembled as I eximed, "D-Don''t undress in front of people!!"


    "Hmm? Why? Don''t I normally undress in front of you? You''re just seeing my body. I don''t care."


    Veirya looked at me with puzzlement. Shame doesn''t seem to exist in Veirya''s dictionary. Veirya has never avoided me, so it makes sense for her not to mind others, and therefore undress in front of others without hesitation.


    Although Veirya and I aren''t rted, or rather, we have no romantic feelings for each other, I couldn''t help but feel angry at the thought of others looking at Veirya''s body.


    <em>''Just when did I start considering Veirya''s body as my possession?''</em>


    "That''s¡­ different¡­"


    <em>''I admit. I don''t have any excuses. Veirya is right this time. If Veirya can ept it, I''m in no ce to speak.''</em>


    Veirya looked at me and straight up asked, "You can''t ept it?"


    "Ah¡­ I¡­ I¡­"


    The sudden question made me feel slightly ashamed.


    I know that I don''t have any right to say anything. Veirya and I don''t have any sort of rtionship. I''m just her spoil of war. My jealousy and anger are just my own selfish thoughts. I have them just because I don''t want to let anyone see the precious Veirya by my side, even though she doesn''t belong to me.


    Veirya didn''t take her eyes off of me. She asked again, "You can''t ept it?"


    "I-It is your body after all¡­ I can''t tell you what to do¡­"


    "Why did you rush over, then?"


    "I¡­ umm¡­ well, a normal girl wouldn''t just reveal her body in front of others carelessly!"


    I simply gave up. Veirya had me up against the wall. I can''t ever hide anything in front of Veirya. I metaphorically broke the ss, closed my eyes and added, "And there''s also the fact that I personally can''t ept it!"


    Veirya didn''t respond.


    The awkward silence made me feel so ashamed of myself. I honestly wished she''d say something. I''d be fine if she pped me, too, as long as we could break the silence. This is torture, though.


    "All right." A moment after, Veirya nodded gently and then wrapped her arms around my neck. The scent of Veirya enveloped me, causing me to freeze up from shock.


    Veirya, however, wasn''t hugging me, but undoing my cloak. She removed my cloak to wrap herself with it, then looked at me seriously with her blue eyes.


    "Since it is abnormal to do so, I won''t do it again." She said.


    Veirya then went into the hotel, leaving me standing there watching her back nkly as I savoured the feeling of our bodies making contact before, as well as the cold temperature¡­


    The reason Veirya didn''t undress wasn''t for my sake, but I was still oddly slightly happy¡­

 Chapter Volume 1 32

    "Papa, what are you drinking?" Leah looked at me with puzzlement. I had a cup in my hand and blew on the water inside. I replied, "Boiled water. Do you want some?"


    "Boiled water?" Leah looked at the water in my cup with curiosity and then asked, "Wouldn''t it burn if you drank hot water?"


    "You''ll be fine once you''re used to it. Drinking it like this makes you feel warm."


    It''s tough to be able to have this cup of boiled water in a ce like this, that doesn''t offer breakfast. If you take the cold water from the well and boil it over a fire then use it to wipe your face and neck, it''ll feel like your frozen blood vessels have dted again, bringing warmth back to your body. After having a cup of hot water, my frozen fingers also came back to life and made me feel warm from the inside out.


    However, it looks like I''m the only one who has this idea of drinking hot water. Veirya and Leah didn''t seem to shiver as I did in the morning. Veirya was emotionless, while Leah was lively as usual. It looks like I''m the only one who''s afraid of the cold. Veirya is a human, so why isn''t she afraid of the cold?


    "Cloak."


    Veirya descended the stairs and then ced my cloak that had been folded neatly in front of me. Leah jumped up and looked at us with suspicion. I quickly looked to Veirya, not knowing what to do and afraid that she would say something she shouldn''t. I hoped that Veirya would maintain her unique silence and not say anything she shouldn''t.


    Veirya was, indeed, very good. She didn''t say anything pointless, instead, sitting down to one side. Leah then snatched my cloak up and raised it up to her nose to sniff it. She then angrily eximed, "It''s covered in her scent!"


    "Because I just wrapped myself in it."


    Veirya responded before I could. She looked at Leah then shook out her cloak and asked, "Do you want to wrap yourself in one too?"


    "Why¡­ Why was your cloak with her, Papa?!"


    Leah jolted and then turned her gaze to me to vent at me. I smiled helplessly. I honestly didn''t have an answer for her question.


    <em>''</em><em>What am I going to tell Leah? What, "</em><em>Veirya took a bath and I didn''t want others to see her naked body so I covered her with my cloak"</em><em>?''</em>


    I bet Leah would explode if I said that. I must provide an appropriate response in this situation.


    "Because a normal girl wouldn''t carelessly reveal her body."


    Veirya responded on my behalf and I was just about ready to kill myself with my cup. Leah immediately understood what happened. She aggressively tossed me my cloak and then raged, "Papa, you! Hmph!! You don''t care about Leah''s feelings at all!"


    "Leah! I do! That''s not¡­!"


    Veirya watched me who was struggling to find the words and Leah who was angry. She felt it was interesting or something. I looked at Leah who was angry, like a kitten with all its hairs standing up. It wasn''t a good time to go touching her with my hands. I bet she would bite my hand hard. I stood up and asked, "It''s not early anymore. We have to go to work now. Veirya, take me to see the Chief. Leah, do you want toe along?"


    "Uhm!"


    Leah nodded firmly then quickly grabbed my arm and stood up. Veirya saw us and stood up as well. She walked over to my side and grabbed hold of my hand.


    "Heeeeyyy!!!!"


    Leah looked at me shocked and screamed. Veirya looked at her. She extended her hand out to Leah and asked, "Do you want to hold hands too?"


    "No!!"


    Leah grouchily pped her hand away. Anger can sometimes overwhelm fear. Also, Leah is no longer so afraid of Veirya, after living together. Both of them don''t say much when we eat together every day, after all, so Leah wouldn''t run away because of her now.


    When Leah pped Veirya''s hand, Veirya quickly grabbed hold of her hand. Leah shrieked and then Veirya pulled her over. Leah cried as she reached her hand out and I quickly grabbed her other hand. In the end, Veirya and I ended up on both sides of Leah, with her holding our hands.


    When we got to the door, the boss at the door snickered and asked, "My gosh, you''re obviously a family of three, so what are you hiding the fact for? What, a heroine can''t get married or something?"


    Veirya turned her head to look at him, looked at him seriously and said, "I haven''t married, and we aren''t a family."


    "Fine, fine, fine."


    The boss didn''t seem to be willing to say any more to Veirya. Indeed, those who interacted with Veirya were never willing to go back-and-forth over anything with her because she wasn''t someone who could hold a conversation.


    Leah was very upset. Though she held my hand tightly, she was desperately trying to wriggle her other hand out of Veirya''s grasp, as if she was using a sulking technique. However, I told her that today''s business was important, so the sensible Leah won''t cause any big ruckus. It''s just that Leah, who was very displeased, asionally kicked me. I, however, could only chuckle hopelessly. Veirya insists on making sure what she does is sessful.


    Hence, Veirya and I both held Leah''s hands. Leah kept shifting toward me, but she couldn''t escape from Veirya''s strength. As a result, Veirya led Leah and Leah led me as we headed to the military camp.


    The city was very boring in the morning. Maybe dead was a better description. I didn''t see a single hawker along the streets. They may be just a hawker, but they are, indeed, an important part of the liveliness of a city. They can be considered a part of the city''s merchants.


    ''Just how dead is this city? Outside is the refugees'' cemetery while this ce is the cemetery of the citizens here. Life here is the same as death. There wasn''t a single soul or the sound of armour moving. Surely there are residents in the buildings on both sides.''


    I couldn''t see any signs of people living there, though.


    We reached the entrance of the military camp. The guards looked at us somewhat shocked this time. They looked at Veirya with confusion, "Lord Veirya, what business do you have here today? Our Chief is currently in the room on the third floor. You just need to head up and you will see him. You are making it hard for us bying and going from the camp here."


    "Uhm." Veirya nodded and then indicated for me to respond. I looked at the guards and asked, "Is your Chief free right now?"


    The guard looked at me with curiosity and asked, "Are you the one who wants to see him or Lord Veirya?"


    I nodded and then replied, "Lord Veirya has put me in charge of discussing a matter with the Chief."


    That''s a perfect response. I think that the guards won''t let me see him, if I say that I''m the one who wants to see him, since I''m a stranger to them. Veirya on the other hand is a warrior. Once these sorts of guards get suspicious, they won''t let me enter. If I say it''s for Veirya''s business, then they''ll be even more adamant about denying me passage. Veirya doesn''t have what it takes to discuss this with him.


    My response made it clear that Veirya was the one who wanted to see him, but she couldn''t discuss what she wanted to discuss, so they had to let me through with her.


    They cleared their throats after hearing my response and looked at me with distrust. One guard cleared his throat gently and replied, "You do not have any weapons on you, do you? You must disarmpletely, before you see the Chief."


    I raised up both hands and opened my cloak to show I wasn''t armed. Veirya obeyed and passed the guard her sword. It looks like seeing the Chief unarmed is an order in the military. That must be why Veirya obeyed and disarmed.


    When the guard took the sword, he almost dropped to his knees. He looked at the long sword in front of himpletely stunned. There''s nothing unique about Veirya''s sword. The guard muttered, "Is this¡­ the sword that was used to y the Demon King?"


    Veirya nonchntly replied, "No. My previous sword snapped long ago. I used the Demon King''s sword to kill him. His sword is currently with Her Majesty."


    "You snatched the Demon King''s sword from him empty-handed and then killed him?!"


    "It wasn''t hard."


    Okay, okay. One-sh Girl Veirya''s concepts are different to ours.


    The guard hugged the sword to his body and then made way. Moved, he trembled, "I¡­ I¡­ I will definitely protect¡­ I will use my life¡­ to protect this sword¡­ I¡­ I¡­¡­"


    "All right." Veirya nodded earnestly and then added, "Protect it well!"


    "Roger!"


    <em>''It''s just a normal sword and there''s no need for you to do that now, is there¡­?''</em>


    But that was, indeed, how Veirya was as a person¡­ I''ll just not mind this sort of stuff.


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 33

    This army numbers about one thousand.


    A Chief that canmand a thousand men should be highly-experienced, I presume. He should be someone who''s reputable, but when Veirya appeared at the entrance, the Chief with a red cape immediately stood up to salute her. ording to my observation, it appears that ordinary soldiers wear white capes, some Chiefs wear green capes while the one before me wore a red one. However, Veirya wore a white cape.


    Veirya is an ordinary soldier. An ordinary soldier than can y the Demon King.


    The Chief maintained his salutation posture. Veirya then saluted him back, before he finally sat back down. Veirya seems to hold the highest rank in the military. After all, being able to y the Demon King is the greatest glory and honour attainable for a soldier. Although money and power are still useful in the military, the most valuable thing is still military aplishment.


    We sat down opposite the Chief. Veirya looked at me and indicated I could speak. I scanned the Chief in front of me. My prediction was correct. The Chief in front of me was past middle-age. The colour of his hair on his temple had started to fade. The skin on his face was no longer smooth. In fact, he had lots of wrinkles. I struggled to read his gaze, though. Perhaps I''m still a little young.


    I looked at his desk. His desk was very ordinary. There was a notebook, pen and ink as well as a picture frame. I looked at the picture, which was a picture of a Chief holding a child gently, with a woman seated next to them with an elegant smile. Though it was a drawing and not a photo, it was very well drawn.


    I pointed at the photo and with a smile, asked, "Is that your wife and kid?"


    "Yes. My wife gave birth to our child three years ago. I''ve been eager to return home to see them while on the battlefield. Thanks to Lord Veirya sessfully ying the Demon King, I can now return home to see my daughter. My daughter is very cute. She''ll, definitely, be a pretty girl in the future."


    Whenever this topic is mentioned, even tough soldiers will reveal a gentle smile. He looked at the drawing and touched the frame. I noticed that the colour of the frame had changed a little.


    I smiled and said, "We didn''t reallye for anything too major. We just heard about the famine and refugees. Lord Veirya is concerned about the safety of her territory, so she came here to ask around and find out more about the situation."


    The Chief chuckled then waved his hand and responded, "Lord Veirya, you are worrying needlessly. Our citizens can still hang in there. Those outside are just pagans. They have nothing and won''t be able to cause any big issues. They''ve been locked down here by us. They''ll be fine as long as we give them food on time. They won''t run to your territory."


    Veirya nodded and replied, "Good."


    I noticed the Chief let out a sigh of relief. It seems like these Chiefs don''t just purely worship her, but are actually somewhat afraid of her. The soldiers outside felt the same way. They half admired and respected her and half feared her. Veirya isn''t just arade up a weapon in battle to them.


    She''s, essentially, a drawn de. Though it can take enemies off their horses, you could hurt yourself with it as well.


    I kept my eyes on the Chief. I then followed up by asking, "But what about inside the city? Aren''t you worried about the people inside the city? You do have all of your forces focused on the walls after all. Can you guarantee that you''ll be able to maintain safety within the city if the people riot due to tension? Can you bring a map here?"


    After hearing my question, he looked at Veirya with an odd look, as though it wasn''t her intention to ask the question. He was somewhat baffled as to why we''d inquire about this. Veirya is a soldier, not a Chief, so why did she care about this stuff? I believe the Chief in front of me was very baffled. But Veirya just nodded. The Chief then looked at me and said, "Really? You want to see the map of the city¡­? But that''s¡­ a secret."


    "Are you worried that Lord Veirya is hiding ulterior motives rted to your city? This city exists today, thanks to Lord Veirya. If it wasn''t for her, this city would''ve been overrun by the demons in thest war, yet you''re suspecting that the saviour of this city is trying to do something to the city?"


    "No, no. That is not what I meant¡­ It''s just that Lord Veirya is no longer military personnel, so¡­ so¡­ ording to the military rules and regtions, I cannot show you the map."


    "Who sad Veirya isn''t military personnel now? Veirya still considers herself military personnel! Veirya is a sessful soldier. What, are sessful soldiers not military personnel?!"


    "I want to see it."


    Five words from her ended my argument with the Chief. The Chief looked at Vierya, dumbfounded. He was at aplete loss for words. Veirya looked at him sternly and repeated herself, "I want to see it."


    "See¡­ the map of the city?"


    "That''s right."


    Veirya nodded. Leah who was next to he looked at her slightly surprised. It seems that this is the first time Veirya has spoken up during a discussion. Well, it actually is. Normally, it''s me who talks to the other party, while they stand to the side silently.


    This time however, Veirya spoke up.


    The Chief looked at her. He rubbed his head like he was a little irritated. He then sighed and agreed, "All right."


    I looked at Veirya with a hint of excitement, but she didn''t look at me. She maintained her upright posture as she looked at the Chief.


    The map was soon brought over. The Chief sighed and spread it open before us. Leah leaned her head in to look at the map, due to curiosity. She then eximed with surprise, "Papa, don''t we live there?!"


    It looks like Leah instantly located the hotel we''re staying at. I looked at the map. I then noticed that the location seemed to have some connection to the ce that was assaulted. What was there in the past wasn''t a hotel, but an army camp. No wonder why Veirya went straight there. But that wasn''t what I paid attention to. What I paid attention to were the ces with red marks.


    "These ces are where our army is designated. We have prepared supplies to defend the city. Said supplies is the food the city has umted. It''s safe for sure. There''s a food merchant''s warehouse next to this ce, but we don''t know how much food a private warehouse has."


    I looked at the map and responded quietly, "Got it."


    Veirya looked at the map in silence. She then listened to the Chief exin the deployments before nodding and sitting down.


    The Chief looked at us with a slightly fearful expression and asked, "Do you have any other business then?"


    It looks like he really doesn''t want to get involved with us. He''s eager for us to leave right now and never return.


    But, whatever. I''ve already gotten what I''m after.


    I stood up and replied, "Since that''s the case, we''re reassured. I hope you can fulfil your duty and protect our Queen''snds."


    "Yes."


    The Chief tried to hide hisughter when he responded. I know that it''s a littleical when that sort of stuffes from me. I,monly, go red in the face. I just wanted to make our departure look normal, though it looks like my goodbye doesn''t suit military personnel. Veirya stood up and saluted him. She then held Leah''s hand and turned around to leave before Leah could put up a resistance.


    Just as I went to turn to leave as well, the Chief behind me suddenly asked me, "May I ask, how are you rted to Veirya? Are you her husband?"


    I tuned my head around and shook my head gently. I then replied, "No, not her husband. I guess you can consider me someone who serves Lord Veirya for her benefit."


    He then asked me in a very confused tone, "So what does examining our map have to do with Lord Veirya''s benefits?"


    "It has lots to do with her benefits. It has to do with Lord Veirya, it has to do with Lord Veirya''s territory, it has to do with the food merchants, it has to do with this city and even has to do with you, Chief." I chuckled softly as I shook my head and continued, "However, I do not need to tell you any more. Chief, you do not need to worry, we are not thieves. We will not snatch your supplies, so you need not worry. But perhaps, I''m saying perhaps. Perhaps you will be able to go home to see your family."

 Chapter Volume 1 34

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    Veirya looked at me and asked, "Where are we heading to now?"


    "The warehouse." I gave a simple response and then walked in its direction.


    Leah staggered a bit as we led her by her hands. She had to jog to catch up to us, andined because she couldn''t quite keep up with our pace.


    I, however, was excited and really wanted to get to the warehouse quickly. I quickly crouched down to pick Leah up.


    Leah eximed in surprise.


    Veirya seemed slightly reluctant to let go of Leah''s hand.


    Leah was surprised at first, but then she cheerfully hugged my neck and giggled. She then pulled a funny face at Veirya.


    Veirya looked at us, but didn''t say anything. She just continued to walk by my side.


    The warehouse was located on the other side of the city. We went through the middle. Life inside the city seemed to be more rxed in this section. At least, I saw some kids in short clothing running around andughing cheerfully. They didn''t wear a robe. Their faces were somewhat dirty, but they wore bright smiles. Their short clothing stopped at their waist. They didn''t wear thick winter clothing due to the weather, as we did, so they had frostbitten hands.


    Leah looked at them, intrigued.


    They, too, stopped to look at Leah in surprise. They had a tinge of envy in their eyes. After all, not everyone has the fortune of wearing such thick and warm clothing.


    Leah scanned them, feeling very interested.


    I looked at them as well, then asked, "Leah, do you really want to y with them?"


    "With human kids?" Leah pondered the question for a bit, then nodded and replied, "I want a human friend¡­ But aren''t you busy right now, Papa? You don''t need to mind Leah."


    "Wait until we get back then. Once we get back, I''ll go and see if there are any kids who can y with you. However, you must remember to not strip in front of others Leah, understood?"


    "I know, Papa!!"


    I wasn''t worried that she''d strip in front of people without a care as Veirya does. I was worried that people would notice that she doesn''t have a belly-button. Humans have belly-buttons but demons don''t.


    The fact that Leah is a subus must be kept secret.


    The town we live in was joyous when they heard Veirya, who had in the demon king, wasing. Based on the attitude of that group of people, the people of this town genuinely hate demons.


    If Leah''s identity as a demon is exposed, everybody in the town will probably rip my daughter apart with their hands.


    I can''t forbid Leah from interacting with others, but she has to look after herself.


    After making a turn, we saw a team of soldiers pass by us. The buildings in front of us were no longer houses, but rectangr buildings.


    <em>''This must be the supplies warehouse. One of the warehouses here belongs to the city. These are this city''s remaining supplies after it was attacked.''</em>


    Part of it had been taken by the military. I looked at the heavily guarded area. I didn''t intend to find trouble.


    I looked in another direction.


    <em>''The slightly smaller warehouse must belong to the food merchants, I assume. But usually, there is only one food merchant per city, because food merchants in this sort of ancient era made up prices as they liked. If there were two people selling food, there would be an intensepetition, with one side deliberately lowering their prices a little. If they did that, there''d be no guarantee there''d be food.''</em>


    <em>''That means this warehouse belongs to the store we visited. Yes, the one that imed to have no food. I''ve waited the entire day and prepared for a long time. This is the ce that was marked as the most important ce to defend on the chief''s map.''</em>


    I don''t believe the boss''s im that he had no food. I believe that there''s food here for sure. If they didn''t even have food, this city would be basically history. The merchant is, definitely, trying to raise his prices as a result of the food scarcity. I need to find evidence to prove that there is food inside.


    However, I can''t just stroll in.


    I circled around the warehouse before me and scanned it in detail.


    This isn''t a ce that''s prospering. There''s no such thing as public hygiene here. There was sewage water collected on the paths in between buildings, and you could see garbage floating in the water. The smell in the dark ces truly stank. It was as if time itself had rotted here and carried the filthy stench of despair.


    Where the sun shone, a few cats crawled along the walls of the fence around the outside of the warehouse to bathe in the winter sun. They looked indifferent to fame, or gain, and had azy expression, as though humanity'' famine had nothing to do with them.


    Honestly, I never thought I''d see cats here, and the exact same cats for that matter. Both worezy expressions. This group of cats must be strays. However, they made it clear that they were the master of this ce.


    They showed no fear of us when we walked toward them. As a matter of fact, they looked slightly unhappy, as though we had trespassed on their property.


    There were lots of cats here, so it resembled a smallmunity. They spread themselves out on two sides. They licked their fur and meowed. Some of them returned from outside and then leapt up onto the wall to bathe in the sun.


    "Papa! Papa! What are they?! They''re so cute!" Leah ran over to them cheerfully.


    Arge plump yellow cat saw Leah run over, but didn''t budge. Maybe it waszy to move because it was fat and therefore didn''t run around. The other cats, however, all ran over to Leah and meowed when they saw her.


    Leah cheerfully picked up therge yellow cat.


    The cat looked at me like it had nothing left to live for; as though it wanted me to shoo Leah off.


    <em>''Dream on. Isn''t itfortable to be hugged by a loli?''</em>


    "They''re cats." I chuckled.


    Just as I went to touch the cat in Leah''s arms, the big yellow cat immediately prepared to attack me. The other cats also swiftly stood up and looked at me aggressively.


    I looked at them startled.


    <em>''Could it be that Leah can attract all living organisms due to her subus nature?!''</em>


    Leah happily stroked the cat and yed with them very cheerfully. I really wanted to hug Leah tightly and give her a kiss when I saw her innocent smile.


    I looked at the cats then cleared my throat softly and said, "All right, we can head back now."


    "Do we not need to go in to take a look?"


    Veirya moved her neck around and then in a serious tone said, "I can go in."


    "Veirya, we won''t gain anything from you doing that. But I have found the answer I was after. For merchants, being considerate of each other''s feelings is what''s most important.


    I stood up. Leah looked at me with glee and eximed, "Papa, you''re smiling!"


    "Yeah, Papa is very happy." I picked Leah up and ced her on my shoulders.


    Leah eximed with surprise, thenughed with delight. She grabbed my hair gently with her small hands. She then cheerfully eximed, "If Papa is happy, Leah is very happy, too! Leah doesn''t know what Papa came to understand, but Papa is the best!! Papa will definitely be able to bring food back!"


    Though I didn''t know why Leah was so confident, I should be capable of doing everything as a father. I''m just an ordinary man. However, Leah must see me as a strong father, I guess.


    Veirya looked at me with envy.


    My body shuddered violently.


    Veirya wasn''t envious of being able to carry Leah, but because she wanted to ride on top!! I don''t know why Veirya suddenly felt the childish urge.


    <em>''I can carry a kid on my shoulder, but there''s no way I can carry One-sh Maiden Veirya!''</em>


    "Papa, where are we going now?"


    "We''re heading back now, to go and see that food merchant. While I''m not absolutely certain, I believe my guess is right, now that I understand a lot. At least I know that they''re lying. They have food in their warehouse. We just need to go back and talk to them, now. If we''re lucky, we''ll be able to go home tomorrow."


    "Papa, can we help the people outside once we get the food?"


    Leah tightened her grip on my hair. She sounded a little tense as she asked, "They''re very pitiful. They''re humans, too, so why don''t they have food to eat? Papa, if possible can we help them?"


    "That''s not something we need to think about." I softly exined, "Leah, those people are very pitiful, but we can''t do anything about it. Her Majesty was the one who caused the famine this time, so she must be the one to solve it. We''re just the lord of one area. We just need to ensure the safety of our territory. Kindness may be a unique trait of humans, but we shouldn''t test the limits of our kindness, or else it will be venom that will get those people killed."

 Chapter Volume 1 35

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    "Normally speaking, we don''t conduct deals at night. The me of candles cannot pour the Goddess'' fairness onto the scale. Night is the easiest time to fabricate things, so we don''t deal at night, as legitimate merchants. Especially when ites to business that involves a scale. As such, if you want to buy something, it is best that you wait until tomorrow morning." The boss sat across from us, looking tired.


    We went to look for the food merchant at night. We got to see him, directly thanks to our identity.


    I didn''t intend to buy anything. I just wanted to say something.


    Leah held the water in front of her in her hands and took small sips.


    Veirya maintained an erect posture throughout, even now. She wouldn''t touch the food the person opposite her served up.


    I was hoping she''d have some so that I''d have less work.


    I looked at the boss opposite me and softly said, "It''s all right. I didn''te here to buy anything, this time. I just wanted to say something to you."


    "Oh?" The boss smiled and then asked, "What do you have to say?"


    "The cats outside of your warehouse are quite plump." I smiled and leaned forward. I then whispered in a slow and soft tone, "Leah really liked those cats. They were very furry and warm."


    "Yeah! Yeah! There really were so many cats there! And they were all very cute! Papa, I want to raise one."


    "When we get back, Papa will get you one." I sat back and gently rubbed Leah''s head.


    Leah didn''t know what happened, but the boss was scared silly in his chair. His face looked visibly pale and shocked under the me of the candle. Beads of sweat revealed themselves on his forehead.


    I smiled while looking at him. I then quietly said, "But you do not need to worry. I have not told anyone about this. However, you should know what I am after, right? Not even gods can see what we do at night. Nobody will know if you sell food to us."


    The boss trembled, as he picked up his handkerchief to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. He then picked up the cup of water at the side and had several gulps before regaining hisposure.


    He then pursed his lips into a hopeless smile and said, "Did you find out¡­? But you can understand, right? We only make a very little bit of money at this time and there is no famine in the city, right? So, so we have not done anything wrong, have we?"


    I made an open hand gesture like I didn''t care, and with a smile said, "Calm down. I am not an officer here to investigate you. I''m just a customer here to buy food. What you do has nothing to do with me. But I should be able to purchase food from you without any hitches, right? Ten silver coins for one bag. I went twenty bags. I want to load them onto the carriage tomorrow."


    In all fairness, the merchant wasn''t wrong to do that. After all, storing food like this was a way for food merchants to make money. Further, there''s no rule saying he can''t raise his prices, so under normal circumstances, I wouldn''t resort to threatening him like this.


    Things are different now, though. There''s now to watch over him now, either. All I had to do was spread the news that he wasn''t selling food. It would incite the angry people toe and rob him, the same way as what happened to the young girl.


    That''s why he had to guard his warehouse well. He wasn''t concerned about having his food robbed, but having his food discovered.


    "All right."


    He stood up, and I noticed blood slowly circted to his face again. He looked at me and continued, "Since you have discovered it, I have no need to lie to you anymore. Please follow me."


    I stood up with suspicion, while Veirya went on alert and pressed her hand on her sword handle.


    The boss didn''t seem to mind, however. We descended the stairs together. The boss took out a book and handed it to us.


    With a helpless smile, he exined, "This is our book. Our imported and exported food is recorded here clearly. Take a look for yourself."


    I took the book and opened it. While some food has been imported recently, they''ve basically sold all their food. In other words, they can''t hoard food during this period.


    However, based on the increase in prices, it doesn''t appear as though the boss is lying. The price is, indeed, steep.


    It looks like the so-called people in the south, who have food, are hoarding it and refusing to sell, as well. This truly infuriates the people subjected to its impact and makes them suffer. But you can''t attack them for it.


    One thing that I did notice, though, was that all of their food was imported from one store called Visete. It looks like this store may be a branch of Visete Company.


    I continued flipping through. I then pressed the book onto the table aggressively and eximed, "You only had fifty bags of food in your warehouse before?!"


    "That''s right. Because the city was once attacked, and the chance of Lord Veirya ying the Demon King being an uncertainty, the business moved all of the assets out of this city as an insurance policy. I, therefore, only have fifty bags of food."


    "We did not have an opportunity to restock afterwards, either."


    "As such, I cannot sell you the amount you have requested, even if you know about our warehouse situation, as I only have so much food on hand."


    The boss shrugged with an open hand gesture. He looked at me as if to say, ''I don''t care, we can all die together.''


    I looked at him and clenched my teeth. It looks like he nned for what to do if I uncovered his lie.


    <em>''You conniving snake.'' </em>


    While it was dangerous to be exposed, he knew that I couldn''t threaten him with it, because he only has so much food on his hands.


    "I can sell you ten bags. That is the most I can sell you."


    He shook his head hopelessly. He exined, "The mostcking good in the north, right now, is food. However, the food from the south is a long way away from reaching here. Her Majesty left it with us to carry out disaster relief, but what can we do? I think we will have to wring ourselves out for a batch first, and then use rotten food, thereafter, to deal with it."


    "She''s relying on merchants for disaster relief?! That''s impossible. The goal of a merchant is to make money, while disaster relief costs money. It''s impossible for merchants to be willing to spend money to selflessly help out. She''s relying on merchants when she should be relying on the nation''s strength?!"


    "There is no helping it, though. The only people that can be depended on, right now, are us. I, honestly, cannot help you with your food issue. Please return. If you want, I can sell you ten bags."


    The merchant shook his head.


    Leah looked at me a little fearfully and grabbed hold of my hand tightly.


    I stood in ce and clenched my fist tightly.


    The merchant turned around to leave. Indeed, he was no longer needed now. I found out everything here, but this knowledge is meaningless. The food in the town should almost be out by now. I must bring food back tomorrow, or else the town will be like this ce.


    <em>''What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?''</em>


    <em>''I know how severe the current situation is now. I know how hopeless the situation is now. But what other options do I have? Think! Think! Think! What can I do?! Hurry up and think!''</em>


    <em>''What else can I do? Even the warehouse is out now, so forget the city''s warehouse. The food in the city''s warehouse is for the citizens here. Without food, the people in the city will be the same as the people outside the city. No, what''s scarier is that without food, Veirya and Leah will be like them, too. The townsfolk might even do something.''</em>


    <em>''Leah''s current only home is no more, now.''</em>


    <em>''So who still has food on hand right now?'' </em>I thought to myself silently for a moment.<em> ''It''s pointless to stand here spacing out.''</em>


    "Let''s go, Veirya, Leah. Come with me to the military camp, again."


    I wiped my sweat on my forehead.


    The merchant had wiped his head previously, and now it was my turn.


    <em>''I''m out of ways to back out. Even if my chance of sess is unknown, I must try. Wait, no. This is no longer a test. I must seed. Otherwise, forget providing Leah with a future; Leah won''t even have a tomorrow. I must win this time for Leah''s sake!</em>

 Chapter Volume 1 36

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    We went to the military camp again.


    The Chief came out in just his shirt.


    The guards initially refused to let us see him, but Veirya drew her sword leading to all the guards backing off fearfully.


    As soon as he heard Veirya wanted to see him, the Chief got up in the middle of his sleep toe out and see her.


    To be honest, I initially had not nned on having Veirya draw her sword. Though, in our situation, if she hadn''t, we wouldn''t be allowed to enter. Therefore, I had to let Veirya forcefully barge in.


    I''m very lucky to have Veirya with me now. If Veirya wasn''t here, I would have absolutely no way to get an audience with the Chief tonight.


    If we dragged it out until tomorrow, the entire town would enter a state of famine.


    Although a single day of starvation isn''t worth anything, under the current circumstances, a single day is more than enough to cause a panic. In order to keep the condition under control, I must send food out as soon as possible. It would be best if we could load the carts and dispatch them tomorrow, during the day.


    "May I ask what it is that you have all asked to see me for so urgently? Is it an enemy attack, or have you run into some trouble and need us to escort you? I think you would not need our protection, Lord Veirya." The Chief looked at us with a helpless smile.


    Veirya looked at me and then asked, "Do I need to draw my sword?"


    "No. If you draw your sword in this situation, it''ll go from a discussion to forcing him." I pressed my hand on Veirya''s sword handle.


    Veirya seemed to be full of pride after being allowed to draw her sword. It was as though she found her purpose in life back there.


    The Chief looked at us with astonishment. He quickly stood up and said, "Don''t, don''t, don''t. If you have something to say, let us talk it out. Do not do this. Lord Veirya, if I have done something wrong, I hope you can forgive me and tell me what exactly I did wrong¡­"


    "No, no, no, you''re reading too much into it."


    I sped my hand on his shoulder and then pressed him down back onto his chair. I sat opposite him and with a smile said, "You didn''t do anything wrong. Rather, we''re very grateful that you showed us the defence blueprint on the map. You helped us a lot. However, I need to discuss something with you. It''s about your family and your soldiers."


    The Chief looked at me with suspicion. He then looked at Veirya, who was seated with an erect posture to the side, nervously.


    Leah looked at us with a confused expression, but maybe she didn''t say anything because she was afraid of our current, serious temperament. She obediently sat to one side and sucked on a spherical lolly.


    It seemed to have been saved by the Chief for his child, but he had given it to Leah.


    I told him not to be tense and then exined, "You should already be aware that the war has ended. You made it to the end of the war, as a victor and survivor, but you''re forced to stay here at this cold ce with heretics. You are wasting away time you could spend celebrating your victory, due to the famine. You''ve already achieved victory, but why can''t you return to see your child?"


    "What exactly do you want to say?" The Chief finally cut me off.


    He looked at me with a frown and said, "Sir, you are correct when you say that I have not reunited with my wife and child, but this is a mission Her Majesty tasked us with. I am a soldier, so I must fulfil my duty. Therefore, it is impossible for me to leave my post, if you want me to leave it, for whatever reason."


    "No, no, no, what are you saying? Lord Veirya is also a dutiful soldier. How could she ask her ownrade to abandon a post of his own ord? What I meant was, do you want to return home via normal means?"


    I looked at the man before me and took in a deep breath. I had already tried mentioning what this man wanted most at this moment. What he wanted most was our condition. However, the question was whether or not this condition could motivate him.


    I didn''t have any confidence, as I had far too little information. The less information you have, the faster you need to show your cards. The more you drag it out, the more your goal bes obvious to the other party.


    I looked at the Chief in front of me nervously. After he had heard my question, he only needed a few seconds to respond. Those few seconds, however, felt as long as a lifetime to me.


    The biggest challenge, though, was for me not to reveal that I was very tense. I maintained my faint smile, but in reality, I knew that my hand was gripping a corner of my cloak tightly.


    Victory and defeat will be determined now. The entire town, Leah''s entire future, and my own entire future was dependent on the reaction of the man opposite me, right now. There are no more chances. The army in the city is the only entity left with food. If I can''t obtain it from them, we will basically lose the chance to find food.


    With that said, it''s not that easy to obtain food from the military. Consequently, all of our chances lie with the man opposite me at this moment. The only way we were going to be able to touch the food was if the Chief before me gave his approval.


    We''re not robbers. Veirya is also no longer a warrior who can legally obtain that food, anymore.


    We must rely on our wits to obtain food now.


    I then suddenly felt a warm sensation on the back of my hand, giving me a fright. I nearly jolted from the fright. I panicked as I lowered my head to see Leah''s smile.


    Leah looked at me with a bright smile. She didn''t say anything. She just looked at me with a cheerful look and encouragement.


    I looked at her smile and couldn''t help myself from revealing a smile. I gently stroked her head.


    I then looked towards the Chief and spotted him looking at me and Leah with his gaze full of envy. It was as if he saw his future life with his daughter. After a short moment, he shifted his gaze to me and softly asked, "What n do you have?"


    "Your soldiers in your camp currently have a very low morale, because everybody wants to go home. These soldiers have already experienced war. All they want now is to return home and have freedom. Therefore, as an outstanding Chief, you need to be considerate of your soldiers, as well. You and your soldiers¡­ Should. All. Go. Home."


    I looked at the Chief in front of me and softly went on, "However, due to your duty, you and your soldiers cannot return. But I have also heard that no more provisions will be delivered. In other words; if you have run out of provisions here, you can return."


    "There is no famine here, yet. In order to ensure that there is a food supply, I am absolutely positive that no more provisions will be delivered here. Hence, they will only swap out a new toon to take your ce. Subsequently, you just need to prove that you have run out of provisions and you can switch with another toon."


    "W-Will that really work? Will I¡­ really be able to return?" The Chief in front of me looked at me with disbelief.


    I looked at him and nodded solemnly. I replied, "As long as you have no provisions, you will soon be able to leave this ce. And we, coincidentally, need food. If you can give me your provisions, we will both be able to have what we want."


    "Re-selling army provisions is illegal! I would receive capital punishment for that!!"


    "What is robbing the people of their food considered, then?" I looked at the angry Chief and in a serious tone exined, "Only you and I know. It doesn''t matter how much food you consume fighting, anyway. You just need to pull some strings. Plus, the war is over already. Do you think there is still anybody who''d be willing to be meticulous about war provisions?"


    "Let''s say you don''t give them to me. What use would your pile of provisions serve? There are no enemies left for you to fight, so what''s the point of your existence? What''s the point in you hoarding food?"


    My exnation gradually calmed the angry Chief. A momentter, he turned sluggish. He looked at me, opening and closing his mouth, but he didn''t know what to say.


    After another moment, he picked up a picture from the side and softly asked, "What do we do if somebody investigates it?"


    "You have a batch of gold coins here. If somebody persists, drag him down with us. Worstes to worst, just kill him."


    I clenched my teeth and went on in a quiet voice, "Nobody cares if one or two people die in this sort of ce. Think about your future. The war is over, and your duty has been fulfilled. All you need to do now is fulfil your duties as a husband and a father. Think about your future."


    "¡­ Can you let me think about it for a bit?"


    He took in a deep breath and removed his hat in an irritated manner. He looked at the military emblem on it and spaced out.


    I stood up and mmed the table hard. I then looked at him and earnestly said, "People will always have to make choices. If the thought of it is in your mind now, you won''t change in the future, either. Make your decision now. Sometimes, you have to do some things for the people around you, and for yourself. Do what you think is right. Now is an opportunity for you to do that. Now, load up a cart with food and you may just be able to return home in a horse carriage after two to three days."


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 37

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    "We have a report from the army defending B City. They have requested to switch with another team due to running out of provisions, as well as fatigue."


    Queen Sisi gently poured the honey into her milk and stirred it gently. In an irritated voice, she responded, "Don''t bring this sort of boring news to me each morning. I''m uninterested in this sort of trivial business. If they want to switch, let the military in the North work it out. You don''t need to notify me."


    The envoy looked at the queen and carefully asked for her input, "Your Majesty, Bryn City is currently filled with starving heretics. If we switch the defence team at this time, it might cause disastrous consequences. That is why the military seeks your input. Do you suggest providing provisions or switching teams? The military suggests providing provisions, instead of switching teams."


    "Do as you all suggest, then." Queen Sisi looked nonchnt about the matter. She couldn''t see how a city far off on the border held any value to her. Her time and energy would be better spent on thinking about how much tastier herbination of milk and honey was.


    The military envoy nodded after receiving her answer. Just as he went to turn around, an elder individual dressed in a ck robe next to the queen whispered something in her ear.


    After some thinking, Queen Sisi then said, "Wait, I''ve changed my mind. Don''t send provisions. Just switch the teams."


    "Your Majesty?" The envoy hesitated for a moment as he looked at Queen Sisi with surprise.


    The queen nodded gently and then said, "It is, indeed, very dangerous since the chapel and merchants refuse to send supplies. If the people discover that food has been delivered, yet not distributed, then the mobs will be even more dangerous. How about we just lead them on for now and raise them like animals. They''ll go back in spring on their own ord. It''s time for the military defending Bryn City to return, too."


    "But there are no other armies close by that can swap with them¡­"


    "Let the chapel''s cavalry unit go there. They''re close by. Plus, they can deal with the heretics while they''re at it."


    Queen Sisi took a drink of her self-concocted honey and milk drink. She then savoured it before pouring it onto the carpet.


    The two servants standing at the side quickly came up to clean it and refill her cup with the honey and milk drink the queen herself concocted again, in an attempt to find the taste that suited her pte. It seemed thest cup wasn''t to her liking.


    The expensive fresh milk and honey were worth as much as water to Queen Sisi.


    The military envoy clenched his teeth. He was reluctant to ept the oue.


    The chapel, the militaryprised of nobles in the north, and the merchants from noble families in the south,peted for Queen Sisi''s favour in the pce.


    Before all this, Queen Sisi favoured the military in the north, due to their war decorations. Now that the war had ended, however, the chapel and merchants in the south had begun to gain ground. They were, thereby, putting serious pressure on the military in the north.


    The matter he had reported was a military affair, yet, to his surprise, the queen followed the suggestions of the merchants and the chapel. They were beginning to encroach on the territory of the military, which no longer held value.


    That wasn''t good news for the military. The nobles of the northern military had to maintain favour with the queen, but how would they do that? What can soldiers do, when there are no more wars? Her Majesty was now changing things in the military, under the influence of the chapel and the merchants.


    ===============


    Two days ago in Bryn City.


    I was stunned when the military''s supply warehouse door was opened.


    This warehouse was slightlyrger than the food merchant''s. However, it was filled with food inside.


    <em>''There''s enough food tost a thousand people maybe two to three months in here. If they were to consume this modestly, they''d probably have enough for half a year. It wouldn''t even matter if we stole twenty bags of food.''</em>


    Hence, when I saw so much food, what I wanted was no longer twenty bags, but fifty bags.


    <em>''The army is definitely leaving anyway, so they won''t be taking this stash of food. That being the case, I might as well take it.''</em>


    Transporting food from the north back down south costs more than the food itself; therefore, they were most probably going to sell the food to the local food merchant if they didn''t give it to me. I don''t want that bloke to make an easy profit, so I might as well take it. It''s not like you can make a lot from selling food right now, anyway.


    "Will we be discovered if too much is taken?"


    "Don''t forget that you''re reporting that you''ve run out of provisions, so, of course, you need to get rid of the majority of the provisions before returning. Moreover, if they inspect you, it makes no difference if you''ve got twenty bags or fifty less."


    I looked at the chief next to me.


    I''m not certain if it was the cute Leah who broke down his mental defences, but he finally gave us the nod in the end.


    There was a lot of good that came from bringing Leah and Veirya along. The two of them reminded the chief of his family, which helped him make his final decision.


    Honestly speaking, I wasn''t certain that they could return for sure, but whatever happens afterwards has nothing to do with me.


    Reflecting back on it, I made two mistakes today. First, I wouldn''t lie. Second, I wouldn''t do anything illegal.


    But I went and did both because I have no way back.


    <em>''I have Leah with me. I want to protect Leah''s smile. I''m not afraid of lying to the entire world, as long as it''s for Leah''s present and future. Aftering here, Leah became everything to me. She trusts me and depends on me unconditionally, so I, too, am her everything. She''s my cute daughter. I could do anything for her.''</em>


    <em>''I''m just an ordinary man, but I can do anything in Leah''s presence.''</em>


    "All right then. Fifty bags it is, then."


    Since we were betting our lives, the chief in front of me went a little bit crazier than me. However, that let me feel relieved.


    When the soldiers found out that they were going to get to go home, they cheered loudly with absolute joy. By the looks of things, they won''t have anyints if we take the food. They were even more eager to go home than to eat.


    "Load the food up tomorrow, but don''t use a food cart. Use a weaponry cart. Send it out during the day. There''s no need to wait until night time. We don''t need many escorts, either. We won''t ride our hoses tomorrow. We''ll sit inside. Just deliver it as fast as possible. You must get it there in one trip. Prepare sufficient horse carts, understood?"


    I looked at the chief in front of me and spoke to him with all seriousness.


    <em>''We''re going to have to get past countless refugees when we leave this city. The refugees are all looking for food. If they find out that we''re transporting it, they''ll throw themselves at us to steal the food.''</em>


    <em>''I sympathise with them, but that doesn''t mean I''ll do something for them. Their predicament is Queen Sisi''s business. One lord, alone, can''t resolve the famine throughout the entire north. If they don''t handle it well, they''ll end up burning themselves. I''m never going to do something hypocritical.''</em>


    "Understood." The chief nodded.


    I reached my hand out to pass him a few gold coins. I then leaned closer and in a quiet voice said, "If you think that this is too little, let me tell you a way to make some big money. After we leave, deliberately leak this news. All that you need is for the news to reach the food merchants. The guy from the food merchant goes to get bread from the bread store every day. Arrange for someone to go and tell him that you''re leaving and will be distributing the remaining food to the people for free¡­"


    "I won''t distribute it¡­"


    "I never told you to!" I looked at the chief with higher expectations of him.


    I sighed and then said, "Don''t you get what I mean? Food merchants rely on hoarding food to raise their prices. Once they catch wind that food will be distributed for free, they are guaranteed toe and buy it off you. When he doese to you, you can sell one bag at eighty silver coins. Do not give discounts. They''ll buy it off you for certain. As for everything else, that will be up to you and your conscience.


    While I said that, I''m not one who ''follows his heart''. I only think with my brain, calcting my gains and losses. But I really do like making others think with their ''heart'', because they''re bound to make irrational choices like that. His choice this time won''t affect me, in any capacity, but I''m really curious as to what he''ll do.


    The soldiers merrily loaded the carts with food, as per instructions. As it waste at night now, nobody would pay attention.


    Despite the soldiers sending their food away, they did so with smiles, while cracking jokes with each other.


    Veirya nkly watched them go back and forth in front of her, but with a somewhatplex gaze.


    Leah cheerfully watched them load up the carts with food. She hugged my arm with joy and excitedly eximed, "Papa! Papa! You''re so amazing!! H-How did you do it?! L-Leah admires you, Papa! You''re amazing, Papa!"


    "Leah, if you think about it carefully, you''ll realise that it''s actually very simple. Honestly, it''s sort of exceeded Papa''s expectations. Papa is celebrating now, as well, to be honest."


    I chuckled softly and scrubbed Leah''s head.


    The chief then came up to us. He looked at Leah nervously. He slowly squatted down in front of Leah then handed her a bag of candy with a smile.


    He said, "Have these candies. I prepared them for my daughter, but I can go home to her and buy her new ones, now, so¡­ you can have these."


    "Papa¡­" Leah looked at me slightly nervously.


    I gave her a small nod.


    Only then did she grab the bag of candy. She took out a handful of lollies from the bag and ced it into the chief''srge hand. She smiled and said, "She can have these. It is a very happy privilege to be able to receive candies from our Papa."


    "Yeah¡­?" The chief nodded with a hint of embarrassment.


    He then looked up at me. He chuckled softly and said, "I want to return home even more now, after seeing you two. You and your daughter must be very happy."


    Leah nodded firmly and cheerfully replied, "Uhm! Leah and Papa are very happy."


    The chief looked at me with envy. He chuckled and added, "I''ll be able to experience the happiness you''re experiencing, too, won''t I?"


    <em>''If I''m being honest, I don''t know what orders his superior will give him. They might not get to return.''</em>


    I revealed a smile as I looked at the chief, who was excited. I then responded, "I shall congratte you in advance, then."


    I can''t show any other expression, because I must do this.


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 38

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    As soon as the sun started toe up the city doors were opened, specifically for us, and our extravagant escort set out. The three of us didn''t leave on horses. We, instead, hid inside the horse-drawn carriage to guarantee our safety, as well.


    We came here empty-handed, so if we leave with an escort and a bunch of carts the people are bound to think that there might be food inside. Therefore, we had to hide to make it appear as though we had nothing to do with the escort and carts.


    Leah and I sat on one side, while Veirya sat opposite us. Veirya ced her sword on her thigh and looked straight at us, causing me to feel a bit numb.


    Leah snored softly as shey quietly on my thigh. We were busyst night and had to wake up early today, so Leah was still slightly sleepy.


    I, therefore, let her have a good sleep.


    It wasn''tfortable in the carriage, especially since it was stuffed full, without much space to sit. Leah was sleeping, while Veirya wasn''t a good travellingpanion. Despite looking at me, she didn''t utter a word.


    The carriage didn''t have any windows, so I couldn''t see what it was like outside. All I knew was that the cold outside would seep through the thin wooden structure of the carriage, causing me to shiver.


    I breathed quietly as I watched Leah breathe mist.


    Veirya suddenly spoke out while still looking at me, "Exin to me what exactly happened. What exactly did you do? How did you know all of this?"


    "Honestly speaking, you might think it was all very simple when I tell you." I chuckled a little.


    For Veirya to speak out to me like this isparable to the freezing atmosphere in the north shattering, thereby breaking the silence in the carriage.


    I, too, finally spoke. This way of starting a conversation made me a lot more rxed, as well. I looked at Veirya. Truthfully, I wanted to say some more, so that I wouldn''t feel so lonely.


    I then exined, "First, my intention right at the start was to buy food, but then the merchant said he didn''t have any. I suspected that he, in fact, did have food. How does a food merchant not have food? Furthermore, if he didn''t have food, how could he possibly have been selling food every day? He must''ve had it and was probably trying to raise his prices. If that was how it was, we just needed to prove that he did, indeed, have food and we''d be able to procure it at a very low price."


    "In reality, food isn''t worth that much money. It''s expensive due to the environment. All of his prices were high. They weren''t the true price of the food. As such, demanding a lower price isn''t hard. However, I knew that he wasn''t going to tell us where his warehouse was, so I went to the military under your name. The military''s blueprint for the defence of the city told me where his warehouse was located."


    "How did you know there was food in there? You didn''t enter it." Veirya interjected to ask a question. It appeared that this was what she wanted to ask.


    I looked at her and then chuckled quietly. I replied, "The cats. Do you remember them? There was a big group of cats living outside that warehouse. Such wild animals live in ces where there is food. Cats don''t eat provisions, though, so why were they there?"


    "That''s because there were rodents there. Rodents would eat them. If there was no food in the warehouse, rodents wouldn''t be in there. The cats were all plump, which meant that the rodents inside were just as plump. That meant that there was food inside."


    "The boss knew what I meant when I mentioned that to him but, unfortunately, there wasn''t enough food in there."


    Veirya continued to look at me quietly as though she didn''t believe me. She then asked, "Just because of a few cats?"


    "That''s right. Sometimes the environment can provide you with a lot of information. Whenever I''m thinking about something, I take into ount everything around, as well. The group of fat cats proved my theory."


    I snickered and then went on, "Unfortunately, there wasn''t enough food, so I had no choice, but to eye the military''s provisions, for they were the only entity left in this city that had food. Hence, I had to go and see if I could procure food from the military."


    "I did consider them initially, which is why I went to go and see what the soldiers truly thought. It''smon for the soldiers'' thoughts to reflect their chief''s thoughts. Furthermore, thest time we went there I also saw his family picture, so I learned that he actually wanted to return home, as well. In addition and most importantly, I knew thepany''s problem."


    I looked at Veirya and started to speak seriously, "With apany involved, it was evident that there was a monopoly on food trade here. Subsequently, they weren''t going to allow food to get in when they''re trying to raise the prices. They would have ways to stop even military provisions from getting in. That''s why the troops here should be retreating from here, not having their provisions restocked."


    "Is that right¡­?"


    Veirya looked at her sword and paused for a moment. She then continued, "I''ve never seen this sort of situation. Why do these soldiers desire to return? They''re soldiers, yet they''re unwilling to stay at the border, instead wanting to return. They have the glory of being a soldier, but why were they so happy when they found out that they could return? Why has the thinking of soldiers changed like this?"


    "Simple. Because the war has ended." I looked at Veirya and continued with my exnation solemnly, "The war has ended. You existed for the sake of defeating the Demon King. However, you slew him, Veirya, so you''ve lost your purpose. You no longer have anything to work toward. With no enemy, an army is no longer an army. They''re no longer soldiers, but just an ordinary group of men who want to return to their homes. That''s also exactly why there''s the famine going on right now, in addition to the starving refugees."


    Veirya froze up for a moment. She stroked her sword gently, lowered her head and asked, "So it was wrong for me to kill the Demon King?"


    "How could you have been wrong? If the demons were still around, the threat of death would loom, before even having to worry about a famine. It''s always good to be less an enemy."


    "It''s just that it''s now a different era. It''s no longer the military''s era. From now on, it''ll be your past, or rather the end of the military''s era. You ended it when you wielded your sword. However, eras will continue to change."


    "You''ve fulfilled your duty as a soldier, so of course you did the right thing. Even if you didn''t close the curtain with your swing, somebody else would''ve made the swingter down the road."


    "It''s¡­ over already? I mean, soldiers and whatnot. In the past, we could have food or whatever it was.


    "Previously, your target was the demons, so you didn''t need to think about anything, but if you draw your sword now, you''ll need to carry the consequences of a human. You can''t resolve things just by drawing your sword anymore. Violence is the simplest method, but it''s the most troublesome method, at the same time."


    Veirya seemed to feel slightly nostalgic. She stroked her scabbard gently and didn''t say anything else.


    Although this sudden silence made me feel somewhat awkward, it wasn''t feasible for me to say anything further.


    Veirya seemed to be immersed in her past and unwilling to say any more.


    <em>''She had essentiallypletely cut her past off when she dealt the fatal blow to the Demon King, after all. She can''t be a warrior anymore since there''s no need for one when there''s no more Demon King. If Veirya didn''t have this territory, what would she do, when she doesn''t understand anything?''</em>


    <em>''This girl of steel is inferior to even Violet Evergarden. Violet has udia to guide her, but Veirya doesn''t. If Veirya didn''t have this territory, she probably wouldn''t have anywhere to go, right now. She''d have to spend the rest of her life in the military camp. She would end up stranded, even if she wanted to change herself, because there wouldn''t be anyone to help her.''</em>


    <em>''Veirya wouldn''t take the initiative to ask for help. She would just silently try to resolve it herself, and if she couldn''t, she''d give up.''</em>


    <em>''If I look at it this way, I seem to be the one guiding her.''</em>


    Not only do I need to take care of Leah, I need to guide Veirya, too. Veirya and Leah are very simr, in that they both need me to take care of them.


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Violet Everdargen and udia are characters from the anime/novel (is there manga?) Violet Evergarden. Don''t ask me about it, because I haven''t seen it and never will.


    Editor: ^Um¡­ Okay. It''s just that¡­ What I mean to say is¡­ WHO!?

 Chapter Volume 1 39

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    "You''re truly an interesting one. All of the food here is with you, yet not only did you not profit but instead lost money. You''re a true failure of a merchant."


    "Sir, Sir, we, we didn''t think that the military would distribute food, either¡­ If we didn''t buy it, we would be forced to buy it, or else the price of food wouldn''t be worth a dime."


    "Oh?" The man in front looked at the fatty and chuckled. He took his tobo pipe out of his mouth and knocked it against the table.


    With a chuckle, he said, "An ordinary military chief understands this sort of stuff? He knew how to make himself a big paycheck when he left? So the military has started extorting us, have they? That hurts. How could one not worry when the military is like this?"


    "Yes, yes¡­ Sir Achilles, this group have learnt how to utilise extortion." The fatty quickly nodded to respond to the man in front of him, albeit in a flustered fashion.


    The man gentlybed his short light-blonde hair, which wasn''t actually messy and then stood up. His vest and shirt didn''t have a speck of dust on them, which didn''t match the run-down city at all.


    His servant behind him quickly draped his coat on for him. His tall physique matched his long overcoat, giving him a particrly tall appearance. He wore his leather gloves and then scanned the freezing cold air in a manner simr to a cat.


    He chuckled and then said, "However, this isn''t the military''s ce, anymore. Soon, our forces and the chapel''s will upy this ce. Thanks to this swap, we''ve managed to gain the authority to manage this ce. Although the act of extortion by the military was appalling, their request to switch helped us get our way. Oh, right, did anyone elsee before all of this? Everybody is watching over the food. Did any other merchante to try to dip their hands in our food?"


    "No, but¡­ umm¡­ there was a man with Lord Veirya. He was a really strange one. He''s not Lord Veirya''s husband, but he brought a girl along with him. The girl was really cute, though. He managed to discern that we had food in our warehouse. He had distinct goals he pursued and was extremely calm. I would say that he is on par with you¡­"


    "In what way?"


    "Clever, sharp, and calm¡­ just like you. He was aggressive and yet decisive at the negotiation table, like yourself. If you get to know him, I think you will understand¡­ He is also connected to the military. I surmise that he was the one who gave the military the idea, as a way of getting back at us."


    The man pursed his lips into a smile, and responded, "Interesting. Truly interesting. I think this is very interesting that there''s someone out here, where there''s barely a soul in sight, that you''d be full of praise for. If possible, I want to see this Lord Veirya, who started this era of ours, and that man, while I''m at it. After Veirya is eliminated, I really want to bring that man under my wing to get him to run this ce. I think he''d be superior to you."


    The fatty didn''t say anything else.


    The man put on his hat after he exited the store. He then looked up at the sky.


    Nightes sooner in the cold north. It should only be around noon right now, but the sky was covered with dark clouds already. Meanwhile ck smoke outside of the city ascended into the air, the same way smoke spiralled upward from kitchens chimneys.


    The man breathed in through his nose, as though he was somewhat unhappy with the smell of the ck smoke. He turned to face the soldier in metal armour next to him and ordered, "Remember to inform your Chief to light the fire farther away from here when you deal with those heretics outside the city. This smell is sickening. It reeks of heretics."


    "Yes."


    Underneath the helmet was a cold female voice. Perhaps it was because of the air in the north that her voice sounded colder. She turned around to leave with her red cape pping gently in the wind.


    The man turned his head to check her out from the rear. When he saw her erect posture and especially cool aura, he giggled and remarked, "She''s so captivating."


    "Sir, do you have ns for tonight?"


    "No, no, no, a flower is most beautiful when it is budding. A book is most alluring when it is yet to be opened. Without her armour, how is she any different to any other ordinary woman?"


    The man shook his head and then looked at the dark sky again. It looked as if catkins were falling from the sky. However, these weren''t snowkes in the north.


    It actually came from the heretics outside. It was their bodies and hopes that were falling down in the form of snow in the north.


    For the merchants, this was the best oue. Without the heretics, they didn''t need to resolve any famine. That was the goal the chapel and merchants had in mind with their coboration this time.


    The chapel helped the merchants resolve this matter and then they had more important business to handle afterwards.


    But Veirya and I had returned to the town now, so we had no idea what happened inside the city. Twelve hours after we left, all of the problems had been solved¡­


    We returned to the town. Though the town still looked worn out from the outside, the outer walls and main doors were still dangerous. But despite that, I still felt particrly rxed and at peace when I entered the town.


    We really did pull ast-ditch effort for the food. We ended up gambling in the end. If our negotiations with the army failed, we''d have no way of returning here.


    Once the escort arrived, the record keeper sniffled and looked at the escort, carriage, and carts before us, filled with food, in disbelief.


    We got off and Leah hopped down. She cheerfully stretched her back out and remarked, "I''m so tired, Papa. Sitting in a horse carriage is more tiring than riding a horse."


    I nodded and replied, "Yeah, this carriage doesn''t have anything to reduce the rocking and bumpiness."


    Veirya stepped out from the carriage and then walked to her residence without paying attention to anything else. I havepleted my task, and the crisis this town was faced with had ended. However, there was still one more thing I had to do. I was hoping to see Lucia.


    Lucia had lied to us. She tricked us out of our food by buying it at an extremely low price. I don''t know what exactly she''s trying to do, but I can get some clues from that elf.


    <em>''Although I''ve resolved the crisis here, why is it that I have a random anxious feeling, as though this has be moreplex after I interfered? I don''t have any evidence to support my anxious feeling, and even less of a reason to feel this way. This is irritating me.''</em>


    "Oh, right, Lord, something happened when you were absent. A subus came to the town to try and steal food, but the townsfolk captured her."


    Leah shuddered intensely.


    I looked at the man in front of me with surprise. I grabbed him by his cor and shouted, "What happened after? What did you do after?!"


    "After that, after that, the townsfolk beheaded her and put her head at the centre of the za¡­ Her corpse got chopped to pieces and thrown out¡­ This town was attacked by demons in the past, so the townsfolk hate demons."


    Leah hugged me around my thigh and cried as she shouted, "Papa!!"


    It was as though Leah returned to that corner of the dark pce. The stench of blood, the feel of the carpet, and the shadow chasing after Leah appeared in her eyes again. I thought Leah had forgotten about it and was no longer afraid. But, after hearing of how the subus died, the image of Veirya almost killing her reappeared in her eyes.


    I quickly hugged Leah anxiously, while she grabbed my chest and wept.


    The record keeper in front of me froze up and then scratched his chin awkwardly. He apologised, "Sorry, I shouldn''t have mentioned this sort of stuff in a kid''s presence¡­"


    "Cremate or bury the corpse! Don''t do that!"


    "Understood."


    I had no patience to say anything to him. I merely gave him amand and then turned to pick Leah up and hug her tightly.


    In a soft voice, I told her, "It''s okay, it''s okay. Leah, it''s all over. It''s all over. I''m here with you. I''ll always be there to protect you. Don''t be scared. Don''t be scared."


    "Papa¡­ Papa¡­ don''t leave me¡­ Papa¡­ Papa¡­"


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 40

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    Leah sat next to me, again, at dinner time, after a long period of not sitting next to me.


    Veirya looked at her, somewhat surprised. She had tried to sit next to Leah, but Leah would run away every time. Veirya looked at me. It seemed that she was saying ''what a pity.''


    I shook my head with a helpless smile.


    Veirya didn''t do anything wrong this time.


    Leah didn''t react that way because of Veirya, but because there was a beheaded subus corpse in front of her.


    Leah was very scared, at the moment. She remembered her parents had been in by Veirya when she heard that one of her own kind had died such a brutal death. She also recalled Veirya''s pursuit, where Veirya rested her de on her neck, at the end. She had forgotten it; no, she deliberately avoided recalling the memory, but she couldn''t stop herself from recalling it today.


    <em>''I need tofort Leah. Leah clings to me without letting go, now. I still need to mention it to Veirya at night, though. I don''t think Veirya is too happy right now, either.'' </em>


    The two of them ate in silence. Although we had just resolved an issue, the atmosphere was still heavy.


    Leah ran upstairs after dinner, instead of lingering around in the dining hall. Veirya, who finally reacted, followed Leah upstairs. I was so frightened that I stopped washing the dishes and sprinted upstairs. I was truly scared that something might happen between the two of them.


    I heard a loud crashing sound and Leah''s high-pitched scream from upstairs as soon as I had reached the stairs.


    Leah''s voice then disappeared.


    My heart stopped beating for a moment.


    <em>''What''s going on? What happened between them?!''</em>


    I rushed upstairs. Once I got upstairs, I saw Veirya''s white cape.


    In front of it was Leah, who was kicking the air. Leah tried to scream out in a painful voice.


    I thought Veirya was strangling Leah, but I noticed that Veirya was actually hugging Leah, tightly.


    I looked at Vierya, stunned.


    Vierya hugged little Leah very tightly. She picked Leah up from the ground and pressed her up on her chest.


    Normally I wouldn''t see it, but I could clearly see Leah''s face buried deep within her gully right now.


    Leah struggled desperately, but Veirya didn''t care for her small hammer fists. She hugged Leah and shoved her head in between her valleys with an expressionless look.


    I remember that whenever female characters have those scenes in Manhuas where their breasts bounciness is emphasised, they''d say, "These breasts are as big as a person''s head."


    I now finally saw breasts roughly the size of a human head.


    Leah''s head looked the same size as Veirya''s breasts, now that I saw her head in between them¡­


    <em>''I''ll be honest. I want to switch with Leah.''</em>


    It looked as if Leah was in a lot of pain, though. I believe this is the crux of the problem with booby face washes.


    Leah couldn''t breathe.


    It felt the same as being strangled by Veirya, except that a booby face wash felt better. But that only applies to me. It''s probably despair-inducing for Leah.


    I quickly pressed my hand down on Veirya''s shoulder.


    Frankly, I don''t have any idea what Veirya''s trying to do. An expressionless hug like that wouldn''t make me feel warm. If Veirya wanted tofort Leah, this would only cause Leah to suffocate until despair filled her, wouldn''t it¡­?


    "Veirya, what are you doing?" I tapped Veirya on her arm, and she let go.


    Leah gasped for air and fell to the ground, powerlessly. She rolled on the ground and then ran over behind me, before turning back to fearfully look at Veirya.


    Veirya looked at me and sincerely replied, "Comforting Leah."


    "Hmm? Comforting Leah?"


    Veirya looked at me solemnly and calmly replied, "She¡­ is not in a good mood. You do this every time."


    "Erm¡­ I don''t think my hugs are like that¡­"


    "Do I have to crouch down?" Veirya crouched down in front of me.


    She looked at Leah with eagerness, but Leah hid further behind me, as she felt terrified, instead. She was afraid Veirya would use a Chest Burial Fatality again.


    After seeing Leah''s reaction, Veirya resentfully stood up. She looked at me and asked, "Did I do something wrong?"


    "No, it has nothing to do with you."


    I shook my head and then turned around to pick Leah up in my arms. She immediately leaned onto my chest and sobbed, softly. I stroked her back while looking at Veirya and in a quiet voice, exined, "The townsfolk brutally killed a subus, when we were absent, so Leah is a little scared, right now."


    Veirya didn''t say anything. She walked up to me, but I didn''t step back. I couldn''t, even if I had wanted to, since I was carrying Leah. Veirya tried to wrap her arms around my neck.


    I didn''t step back, though, because I knew that Veirya wasn''t hostile. More precisely, I was very happy to hear that Veirya had tried tofort Leah.


    <em>''Veirya is someone who stronglycks emotions, so for her to take the initiative tofort Leah, can I presume that she has started to develop some emotions?''</em>


    Veirya pressed her hand gently on Leah''s shoulder, causing her to shudder.


    She was so frightened she didn''t even dare to budge.


    Veirya, who was now looking at Leah, went silent for a moment before finally saying, "I will protect you." Veirya still had her expressionless look. However, her expressionless look was very reassuring at this moment.


    I don''t know why she did this or said this today. Perhaps it''s because she doesn''t want to revert back to the way she was.


    Veirya isn''t emotionless. She just doesn''t know how to express her feelings. Sometimes, you just need to express a single sentence, though.


    Leah stopped shaking so intensely and then turned her head to look at Veirya.


    However, Veirya didn''t add anything. Instead, she let go after Leah turned her head to look at her and then went back downstairs.


    Leah didn''t look away. She kept her eyes in Veirya''s direction.


    Veirya''s back view looked the same as always.


    However, Leah''s gaze showed her immense surprise. She seemed very surprised as to why Veirya did what she did. Maybe she was asking herself why she was different from her usual self.


    <em>''Would she feel less panicked, after learning that Veirya would protect her? Nobody protected her in the past, but she now had Veirya and me to protect her.''</em>


    I softly said, "She really will protect you. Papa will also always stay by your side. Papa won''t let you be in danger again. Papa promises."


    After a moment of silence, I kissed Leah on the side of her face and said, "Let''s head back, Leah. Want to go back to the dining table?"


    "¡­ Uhm." Leah grabbed my cor.


    I wiped her tears with my hand.


    She no longer had tears on her small face, and her eyes didn''t show the fear of a rodent anymore. This was the first time she calmed down. She grabbed my cor, as though she was embarrassed, as she snuggled up on my shoulder.


    I ced her down, gently.


    She looked at the steps and then back at me.


    I looked at her and revealed an encouraging smile. Once she takes this step, I guess we can consider it a step forward for her.


    Veirya went tofort Leah for the first time and hugged her for the first time today. The result wasn''t too good, but she took that step, nevertheless.


    Now it was Leah''s turn.


    Leah took the initiative to return to Veirya''s side for the first time.


    Leah looked at the dark coloured floor in front of her and bit down on her lip. Her gaze contained some nervousness and determination. She sincerely took this step¡­

 Chapter Volume 1 41

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    I believe that Veirya was very happy to see Leahe downstairs on her own ord, but, despite that, she was still expressionless.


    Leah didn''t say anything to her. She sat opposite her, slightly fearfully.


    I walked over to one side to boil water and clean therge bathtub.


    Honestly, it''s a bit of a waste to have Leah and Veirya bathe separately¡­ I''m not talking just about the waste of water and firewood. The most important thing was that if three people were to bathe alone, it would mean changing the water three times¡­


    This sort of bath tub has no cork, so I need to move it to the entrance to pour it out, and then refill it. It''s seriously annoying, but then I can''t get Veirya and Leah to bathe together¡­


    <em>''Can I bathe with Veirya? Let''s not.''</em>


    <em>''Veirya wouldn''t object, but Leah would¡­ Bathing with Leah¡­ She''s my daughter, but she''s no longer at the age to be bathing with her father, now, is she? Yeah, I''ll stick to cleaning myself at night with a tub of warm water¡­''</em>


    "It''s been a tiring journey, so take a bath." I moved the tub out and looked at the two of them in front of me.


    Veirya ced the cup in her hand down and then nodded. She immediately stood up and began to strip.


    I was so shocked I quickly shouted, "Not yet! I haven''t cleaned up yet! Wait for a bit longer!!"


    "Uhm." Veirya nodded.


    Leah was next to her. She looked at the bathtub with anticipation.


    Leah really likes having baths, but it seems that Veirya will go first. Whatever the case, Veirya is the person who has control over our lives.


    She then looked at Leah and asked, "Want to bathe together?"


    "Ah!!" Leah got so frightened she nearly ran off. She looked at Veirya with terror.


    Veirya looked at her earnestly.


    She asked again, "Do you want to bathe together?"


    "I¡­ I¡­"


    Leah''s lips trembled. She looked at Veirya, dumbfounded. She then turned her head to look at me.


    I had shuddered when I heard her ask the question, too. I looked at the both of them.


    Veirya neither cared for what I thought nor did she look at me. She kept her gaze on Leah. She removed her sword and ced it on the table. She then said, "Bathe together."


    Her tone sounded as if she wasmanding Leah this time. I wasn''t sure if Veirya was somewhat frustrated or had to sound like she was giving amand since Leah was very hesitant, while Veirya had no idea how to convince someone to agree.


    Leah looked at me fearfully, as though she was begging me to get Veirya to give up, but I didn''t think it was a bad idea. I trust that Veirya won''t hurt Leah, so I think it''d be best if I didn''t go against Veirya, right now. I looked at Leah and gave her a slight nod.


    Leah was powerless before Veirya''s serious expression, as well. She had no choice but to close her eyes. I then checked the water temperature with my hand and said, "It''s ready."


    "Papa¡­ help me¡­" Leah ran over to my side and extended her arms out to get me to help her undress.


    Veirya, who was standing on the other side, had already stripped and tossed her undershirt aside. Her jugs jiggled simrly to water in the air. She then looked at us, feeling satisfied.


    <em>''I did tell her not to undress wherever and whenever she pleased before, but she didn''t seem to care about stripping in front of me. That made me feel a little happy inside.''</em>


    I undressed Leah.


    Leah hugged me around my neck tightly and coquettishly said, "Let''s bath together, Papa. This bathtub is veryrge. Leah wants to bath with you, Papa¡­ If Leah baths with just that woman¡­ Leah will be scared¡­"


    "No! No! No!!" I refused without any hesitation and shook my head subconsciously.


    <em>''That looks wrong no matter how you look at it, right?! There''s a problem with Leah bathing with me at her age, isn''t there?! Veirya and I aren''t in a rtionship of any sort, either so there''s a big problem there, too, isn''t there?! The bathtub looksrge to Leah, but not to a grown man like me!! Veirya and I would have to glue ourselves to each other, even if we went back to back in there!''</em>


    <em>''Not happening. Absolutely no way.''</em>


    Veirya stripped downpletely. She tested the temperature of the water with her foot, but Leah still clung to my arm, unwilling to let go.


    I felt a little guilty while I looked at Veirya. She looked back at me and then Leah. She then took onest look at me and simply said, "Strip."


    "What¡­?"


    "Bathe together."


    "No."


    "Strip."


    Veirya reached her hand behind her. She appeared eager to get into the water, so she reached for the sword behind her.


    I swiftly raised my hands up to indicate my surrender.


    Leah cheerfully jumped up and down. She then grabbed my leather belt and pulled it¡­


    Veirya nodded, then entered the water with satisfaction and sat in the water.


    I felt humiliated stripping in front of Veirya¡­ I carefully undressed, while Leah watched me with joy. She then got surprised at the end and asked, "Papa, you''re different to us, huh¡­? What''s this? Is this the thing that pokes me every night?"


    "Don''t touch!!! Leah! Don''t touch!!!"


    I desperately shouted, while covering myself. There wasn''t as much as a crooked trace in Leah''s innocent gaze, but that''s why I felt indescribably awkward. Veirya turned her head to nce at my body. She then looked back without any expression or word.


    <em>''I don''t think she looked this way, did she¡­?''</em>


    <em>''No, no, no, no way. If I get a boner now, something bad will happen, won''t it¡­?''</em>


    I picked Leah up and ce her into the water gently. She tugged on my arm hard.


    I looked at Veirya''s long hair next to her white neck, as well as her crystal clear shoulders and voluptuous breasts.


    Veirya sat in the water with her knees bent. The water on her knees sparkled. Her white feet created small ripples in the water.


    From opposite her, I carefully stretched my leg out, trying my best not to touch her. However, after I had entered the water, our two legs were tightly stuck together.


    "Hmm!!" Despite being separated by water, Veirya''s soft and warm skin still made my groin twitch.


    Leah cheerfully sat on myp and yed with the water.


    <em>''If I get a hardon now, Leah would sit on it, wouldn''t she¡­? ''</em>


    <em>''Stop! Stop! Don''t let it happen!!''</em>


    I kept reciting the value of pi in my head so that I could keep myself distracted, instead of focusing on Veirya in front of me. While I was at it, I shifted my gaze away from Veirya, but she seemed to feel as though she couldn''t stretch her legs out.


    She kicked my right leg away and stretched her legs out between mine. She rxed her body and sat up somewhat straight¡­


    However, her smooth calf was now gently rubbing against my most sensitive spot. My legs went deep into the deepest parts of the canyon. I don''t think I touched that spot, but I can''t shake off this odd feeling.


    <em>''This must be a psychological reaction, right? Tell me it''s a psychological reaction!!''</em>


    Veirya didn''t care, though. She scrubbed her body with a sponge on the side. She looked at Leah''s smooth back. She appeared to want to help Leah scrub her back.


    Leah stuck to my chest. That sensation and the one from below came up to my head.


    <em>''I''m seriously going to lose it. I really can''t take it anymore. I really want to push Veirya down¡­''</em>


    <em>''But I suddenly realised that if I did that¡­'' </em>


    <em>''If Veirya suddenly got pushed down, she would perceive that asbat, right? I''d probably get cut down right after¡­ Forget it, forget it. I should just stick to reciting pi¡­''</em>


    <em>''I must not get a boner.''</em>


    <em>''I must not get a boner.''</em>


    <em>''If I get a boner, I''ll die for sure. I''ll die for sure!''</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 42

    <strong>Editor:</strong> Areth Kyntaul


    The bath at night gave me urges I had to fight all night, so I went to the bathroom before going to bed. That was how I could prevent myself from doing anything to Leah when we slept together. However, Veirya didn''t react in any way, despite being so close in proximity to a person of the opposite gender.


    Veirya was very satisfied after getting to try scrubbing Leah''s back.


    After recollecting my mind and body, I opened the door with absolute satisfaction.


    Leah was already snoring in the nket when I arrived. Little Leah snored quietly curled up on her side. She must be tired, after not getting any proper sleep for thest two or three days. She can get some good rest now. Though she was shocked a fair bit, I still need to thank Veirya for allowing Leah to calm down.


    Although she was the one who almost killed Leah, she made us feel very reassured when she said, ''I will protect you.''


    After all, it dide from One-sh Veirya.


    "Uhm."


    I heard Veirya''s voice as soon as I entered. I turned my head to see Veirya.


    She came up from the side and grabbed my cloak. She said, "Don''t forget about it. Every night."


    "I didn''t forget." I smiled helplessly, as I got dragged off.


    <em>''To be honest, I''m not too willing to spend time alone with Veirya at night, particrly after we just bathed together. I''m afraid I''m might do something no different from suicide.''</em>


    Veirya didn''t look concerned, though.


    I really suspect if Veirya is clueless about the things between men and women, and hence, doesn''t care. She doesn''t need to know these things as a warrior, after all.


    We arrived at her room.


    Her room was lifeless, as always. She sat on a chair, looked at me and asked, "Did I do anything wrong today?"


    "No, nothing today. Actually, I''m very grateful that you were able to say you would protect Leah. That calmed her down a lot when she was scared. I know that you will protect her, but I was somewhat surprised to hear you actually say it. I thought you were the type that couldn''t express yourself."


    In aposed manner, Veirya said, "I just said what I would do. I will indeed protect her, which is why I said that. But it looks like I don''t know how to hug people. I''ve never hugged anyone. My hug made Leah ufortable."


    I nodded and replied, "While Leah did feel very ufortable, you managed to get your thoughts across to Leah. She wouldn''t havee down the stairs on her own ord, otherwise. You must protect her well because I know that I sometimes can''t; just like this time. If those people got so angry that they lost their rationality and wanted to capture her to kill her, I wouldn''t be able to stop them. I''vee to realise that I can''t stop them alone if they truly wanted to kill her. I need you to protect her."


    Veirya nodded and replied, "I will. You''re right. The war is over. I''ve been thinking about what I could do, but nothinges to mind."


    "You can do lots of things. Please protect Leah at the very least. I''ll entrust you with Leah when I can''t help her."


    We both stood up. She got ready to strip to go to bed without a word¡­


    <em>''I feel as if I''ve entered a period where I can let go of the mundane world for a goal, but when I thought of Veirya''s body, feelings surface in me¡­ So, I should hurry back to my room.''</em>


    After I had returned to my room, I hugged Leah. Leah wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself in, instinctively. I stroked her cheek and then looked at the wall. I silently pondered what I had to do next.


    <em>''We have food, now, so no matter what happens outside, this city won''t experience a famine. However, I wanted to get the merchant we metst time, and hispany, toe to our town and sell something. That way we could trade with the outside world. As for food, I don''t want to offer any for sale, as we get nothing out of selling it to the homeless refugees.''</em>


    <em>''So what do I need to do next? I don''t know what I can do during this winter. I need to get the townsfolk to reduce their hatred for demons.''</em>


    I stroked Leah''s belly, which had no belly button.


    <em>''This is the biggest difference between Leah and humans. Normally, subi are hard to detect, but that subus did get busted, which means that Leah isn''t safe, either.''</em>


    <em>''I need to get the townsfolk to understand that the war is over and demons are no longer a threat, first. That way, they won''t go to the mountains and wilderness to pick fights with demons. Then I''ll get them to focus on developing the town, so that they won''t be thinking of killing demons all day long. I need to change that thinking of theirs as fast as possible, or else danger will continue to loom over Leah.''</em>


    I didn''t have a good dream that night. Although I spoke to Veirya about protecting Leah, this was about my daughter''s safety, so I couldn''t feel at ease. My dream was particrly chaotic. I even saw Leah get beheaded in front of me. That was so frightening, I sat up.


    <em>''I must protect Leah. I can''t let anything happen to her.''</em>


    <em>''Leah is my cute daughter. She''s so cute and pitiful. I must give her a proper life. I must provide her with a stable future. I promised her that I would show her the flowers in the south. I made a promise to her! I won''t leave her no matter what! Never!! I''m Leah''s father, so I must protect her!''</em>


    "Papa, did you have a nightmare?"


    I wiped my sweat off my forehead.


    Leah suddenly hugged me around my waist. I could smell her familiar scent. I lowered my head and saw her tired look.


    She had one arm around my waist, while she rubbed her eyes with her other.


    Leah looks so seductive when she''s in her erged form. However, I had no lust this time. I pulled her tightly into my embrace.


    "Papa?"


    Leah hugged me back, but she looked at me, very puzzled. She didn''t understand why I hugged her this way.


    I hugged her tightly. Next to her ear, I exined in a shaky voice, "Leah, Papa will protect you. Papa will definitely protect you¡­ Papa will always be by your side to protect you¡­"


    She didn''tprehend what I was trying to do, but she leaned onto my chest with bliss, nheless. She replied softly, "Uhm, Leah knows, Papa. Leah always believes you, Papa."


    My mind and heart were totally at peace when I felt her warmth and her real touch. I shut my eyes andy back down with her on the bed. She hugged me tightly and began to snore softly.


    <em>''I won''t let the warmth at my chest disappear. I will make damn sure that Leah sees the warm flowers that belong to Leah, who is as bright as flowers.''</em>


    <em>''I definitely will.''</em>

 Chapter Volume 1 43

    I started making breakfast after I woke up in the morning. While we have food now, vouringmodities such as salt are stillcking. I need to think of something to find these things, but they should be quite expensive. The price of salt is higher in regions where it is colder. That applies to the ce it is manufactured and transported from. Therefore, the salt in the north should be very expensive.


    Being expensive, however, isn''t a problem. The important thing was that merchants didn''te here.


    I need to think of something to get merchants toe. However, the north is basically considered destend. Add the refugees left after the war that just ended, and there shouldn''t be any merchant who''d take the initiative toe here. But, the fact that a branch of apany was at that city means merchants did go there.


    Therefore, I need to do everything I can to get merchants toe here. The biggest challenge right now, though, is what can this town produce?


    "My, my, I apologise¡­ Hehe¡­ Hehe¡­"


    I specially called someone over this time for breakfast, and that''s the record keeper of the town. He sat in his chair nervously. He looked at the pile of good and eating utensils on the table in front of him with a dry smile. Leah sat next to Veirya and looked at him somewhat fearfully. The man sniffled. He didn''t dare to dig in.


    After tidying up the kitchen, I sat down next to him and then said, "Dig in. I didn''t call you here for any business today. Firstly, I wanted to thank you for looking after and maintaining the town in our absence."


    "It is my job. It is my job."


    The military''s cheese tastes simr to tofu, except that that it''s not as tough as tofu. Take out a bowl, ce it in the pot, add some boiling water, and you have yourself a delicious breakfast. I ripped up bread and tossed it in beforehand. While I was at it, I threw in a few pieces of meat. I let it boil and the resulting congee was our breakfast today. Veirya and Leah already had one bowl each, but it seemed that the man didn''t dare to have any. He looked at the bowl in front of him, but didn''t dare to dig in.


    I picked up a piece of bread in front and put it in his hand. I pat him on his shoulder then said, "This was Lord Veirya''s idea, as well, so you don''t have to worry. Just eat. We brought back a fair bit of food this time, enough for the entire town to eat for a long time, so you don''t need to hold back. Consider this my thank you, too."


    "All right. All right. Thank you, Lord Veirya. Thank you very much."


    The man gave Veirya a firm nod before carefully having a mouthful of the boiled congee. I then looked at him and asked, "Of course, there''s a second important matter. I wanted to ask whatmodities this town produces. Are they things that can be sold, such as agriculture stuff or cheese or something worth money?"


    "We do. We used to produce fur. We could be considered a ce that produced high-quality fur. A fair number of people came here to purchase fur in the past; however, nobody came here to buy fur afterwards, due to the war. Too many soldiers came, as well, and they damaged the interior of the forest, causing us to gain very little from our hunts for thest two years. After that, the hunters went to hunt demons. They actually captured the child of that subus from two days ago, too. Her child was thrown to its death."


    A sh of light appeared before I could speak, and next thing I realise is that Veirya''s sword was up against the man''s neck. The fright nearly caused me to throw my bowl away. The man couldn''t even react before he realised what happened. When he realised what happened, he nked out from fear and almost fell down.


    "D-Don''t¡­ I won''t eat¡­ I won''t eat¡­"


    The man looked at the sword before him with a dumbfounded look. He was so scared that he couldn''t utter a concise sentence. Veirya pressed her sword up against his neck, while still holding her bowl of congee in her left hand. Her gaze was cold and emotionless. Nobody would perceive it as her threatening someone, but genuinely wanting to behead someone.


    "Veirya! Veirya!!"


    I grabbed her sword. She shifted her gaze onto me and sternly said, "They killed a kid."


    "It was a subus!! A subus, not a child! It wasn''t human!!"


    The man fearfully quaked as he screamed. He desperately tried to exin himself while looking into Veirya''s eyes.


    "It''s all right. It''s all right."


    I pressed my hand down on her sword and then said, "Veirya, calm down¡­"


    Veirya looked at me with her somewhat puzzled gaze. She withdrew her sword, nheless. Veirya withdrew her sword as fast as she drew it.


    It would appear that she held no resentment towards him, and drew her de solely because she said she would protect Leah, and hence, was particrly sensitive about the topic now.


    Veirya and I looked at Leah by the side. I then looked at the man next to me and said, "I have a kid here, so don''t talk about such a bloody topic."


    "Understood, understood."


    The man nodded like a madman, Veirya raised her bowl up to finish her congee, after she sat back down. She then got up and gave herself another serve. I looked at Leah. Despite being a little shocked by the news that the daughter of the subus was thrown to her death, Leah was now evidently calmer. She wasn''t as shocked as she was yesterday. It appears Veirya''s sword draw from before calmed Leah down a fair bit.


    I pat the man on his shoulder and said, "Third, are there any festivals in this town during winter? There is a famine and refugees outside at the moment, so it would be good for the town to rx a little. We''ve also got a decent amount of food this time, so we can use some of it to hold a celebration or festival event, right?"


    "Ah¡­ no, no. We do not. We dare not. We dare not¡­"


    "Just speak normally. She didn''t intend to kill you just now. It was just that you scared Leah."


    I filled up a bowl for him. Honestly, that was my portion. Otherwise, the remainder wouldn''t be enough to be split between Veirya and Leah. The man finally gradually calmed down. He then looked at me. His eyes were still somewhat akin to a rat that was discovered. He looked like one to begin with, and now he was virtually one.


    "We¡­ do¡­ We originally had a Fire Torch Festival, which is held on the first snowfall each year in winter."


    "Let''s hold it this year then."


    I nodded then continued, "Have the townsfolk tidy up and prepare for this year''s Fire Torch Festival. The timing might be off, but just ignore it. Let''s go with that."


    "All right. I shall go and inform them now. I shall go now."


    "Wait. One more thing. Veirya won''t kill you, so why do you want to run so badly¡­?"


    Okay, that''s not fair of me to say, because she really might have killed him back there. Veirya doesn''t know how to threaten someone. When she draws her de, she''ll kill for sure. If I didn''t stop her before, the next thing she would''ve done was slit his neck.


    "Reorganise the hunters. Have them enter the mountain and forests to check them out. Focus on acquiring primarily fur. Put the demons aside, as the war has ended and the Demon King is dead. The demons, therefore, no longer have a leader. If there are demons that harass us, then Lord Veirya will deal with it, so it''s no longer your business."


    "Understood. Understood."


    The man gave firm nods, and then quickly got up to leave as if he was praying to get outside the entire time. I sighd and then hopelessly said, "Take your time. It is not as though the townsfolk here have only resented demons for a day or two, so it''ll take time for them to get over it too. Distract them with something else. Let them focus on earning money, so that they don''t think about killing demons anymore."


    "Uhm."


    Veirya nodded her head gently. Leah looked at me. I scrubbed Leah''s head then with a smile said, "Leah, don''t be scared. Papa will protect you. Papa will protect you."


    Leah gave a firm nod, "Uhm, Leah trusts Papa!!"


    Just when I wanted to say something, the sound of horse hooves came from outside. It''s forbidden to ride horses inside the town up to here, so it must be an outsider. Just as I went to stand up, Veirya quickly pressed me down onto my seat and pressed her left hand onto her sword handle. She coldly said, "The person outside is wearing military gear. It''s a soldier. Hide up."


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 44

    Honestly, fear hit me when I heard it was a soldier. My first thought was that they found out about me buying food from the army and were hear to arrest me. I wasn''t worried about being arrested, since I had Veirya to protect me, so I didn''t think the army would do anything apprehensive to me in Veirya''s presence. I had an idea to hide the food, and the best way was to distribute it to the people. They can''t exactly get the food that the people have eaten already.


    However, Veirya opened the door before I could move. The armour was a very familiar armour. It was the standard armour worn in the army. The armour Veirya wore was that exact same one. It consisted of a tight breastte, skirt armour below the belly and then leg armour that was tied on to the wearer''s thighs and calves. That was apanied by metal boots. The section between the breastte and skirt armour was a leather belt where the wearer could hang all sorts of things from. The person at the entrance made me think she was a mirror. The woman standing at the entrance with her helmet in her arm exchanged eye contact with Veirya, who had her hand on her sword. They both had blue eyes and the exact same silver hair, so I couldn''t tell what the difference between them was.


    Veirya looked at the woman opposite her. The woman looked back at her. The two seeminglypletely identical women looked at each other without a word. However, they looked at each other very vigntly. They just looked at each other without budging as if they were statues.


    They seemed not only very simr in appearance, but also in personality. If I continued hiding behind Veirya, they might just stare at each other for an entire day. I think they''ll only break the awkward silence once they draw their swords. I looked at them and then made a hand gesture to tell Leah not to speak. I then stood up and walked to the entrance.


    The woman opposite Veirya''s gaze finally shifted to me. Veirya turned her head around. I noted her gaze continued a hint of anger. She extended her hand out to stop me. She said, "Go back."


    "This is the man that bought the food, correct?"


    Their voices sounded virtually the exact same. I actually couldn''t tell who spoke for a moment¡­ The woman opposite Veirya looked at me seriously then continued, "Northern Branch President of Visete Company, Norael Gerald seeks an audience."


    "Company President?!"


    "No, Branch President."


    The woman opposite Veirya corrected me. I looked at her and chuckled hopelessly. I then said, "All right, all right, Branch President. Pleasee in then. Please."


    "I wanted to go in a while ago, but this woman just had to get in the way."


    The woman narrowed her eyes a little as she looked at Veirya. Her gaze was filled with dislike. Although the two of them looked the exact same, I could tell that the woman had more emotions than Veirya. Veirya has never worn any expression on her face, and the same goes for her gaze. There would only be the asional sign of desire in her gaze when she wanted something, such as a kid.


    "I won''t allow anyone toe into my home armed."


    Veirya kept her hand pressed on her sword handle without budging. She coldly looked at the woman in front of her, while the woman hand her left hand on her sword, as well, despite holding her helmet. If one of them drew their sword, the other would immediately draw their sword and retaliate.


    Neither of them had drawn their sword, but the atmosphere between them was particrly tense.


    <em>''Did the two of them have some sort of enmity between them in the past, for the two of them to be cautious of the other and want to kill the other?''</em>


    "I don''t want to go in, but our Branch President wants to see this man."


    "He belongs to me. I don''t want to let him see anyone today."


    Veirya didn''t rx her tone at all. She didn''t pull her arm blocking me off, either. It was the first time she demonstrated such an unwavering attitude. It was the first time I sensed emotions from Veirya, but her emotions were disgust and vignce this time. It was the first time she disyed hatred for someone.


    "What''s wrong? Angelina, why aren''t you going in?"


    A man''sughter came from behind the woman. I looked over. Angelina turned to make a small bow. I looked at the man in front. He wore a huge ck fur on him. It must be the fur of a bear or some otherrge animal that was skinned. I could tell that it was very expensive, because there was no excessive string of fur and it was smooth. It shined as though it was a mirror.


    I could tell that he was very wealthy.


    Normally, you would wear expensive clothing at a business negotiation; In fact, you would wear clothing that told people that it was premium clothing with a single nce. It was a way of expressing your importance to the other party. Everybody knows not to judge a book by its cover, but can people see your internal thoughts upon first meeting? Consequently, people judge you based on your clothing upon first sight. If you''re dressed well and disy your wealth, the other party will also be more serious. Money is the strongest weapon at a business negotiation table. You must get the other party to take you serious right from the get go.


    Hence, I don''t think this man is an ordinary man either.


    His skin colour was very light. Light enough that I could virtually see his veins. He smiled and looked at me over the two women. He lightly took of his hat, revealing his head of light-blonde hair that wasbed to perfection. He smiled at me and after a deep bow said, "Mister, I heard of your reputation in the city. I heard that you were a man that could turn a city''s food market on its head once you spoke."


    I softly chuckled as I shook my head. I made a small bow before replying, "All I did was buy a bit of food. I am but Lord Veirya''s spoil of war. I act on Lord Veirya''s orders. She needed food, so I acquired food, that is all. As for turning the food market on its head or whatever you said, I have never thought about doing so."


    "He chuckled as he walked up to me. With a smile he asked, "How do I address you?"


    Veirya didn''t move. She continued to stand at the front, prohibiting him from entering, so I had to speak to him with Veirya in the middle.


    I looked at him and announced my name for the first time, "My name is Lin Dongqing."


    Nobody has asked for my name aftering here for so long. Queen Sisi treated me as a dog, Veirya saw me as a spoil of war and Leah treated me as her father, always only addressing me as "Papa". I haven''t mentioned my name in a long time. This was the first time I announced my name, sinceing here. Veirya turned her head around to look at me. She looked at me somewhat surprised, and asked, "You actually have a name?"


    "Of course I do!"


    "Lin¡­ Lin what¡­? Your first name is Lin and your surname is Dongqing?"


    "No, my surname is Lin, and my first name is Dongqing. Consider it¡­ hmm¡­ a custom in the north."


    "All right. So, Mr. Lin, would you happen to have some time to discuss some matters with me? I would also like to see your skills that could turn a city''s food market on its head once you spoke."


    He smiled and extended his hand out toward me. The woman in front pressed her hand on Veirya''s arm as she looked at her coldly. She said, "I must carry out the orders of the Branch Leader. Do you insist on resisting?"


    Vierya turned her head around to look at me. She showed hope in her gaze. It was the first time I spotted Veirya''s thoughts in her gaze. She was hoping I would decline the woman in front of her. I don''t know what their personal issue is, but I felt that Veirya had but a very simple thought, and that was for me to not get along with the woman in front.


    However, my choice was simple this time.


    I pressed my hand on Veirya''s arm. I smiled as I said, "Veirya, let me go."


    "You¡­"


    "Sorry."


    I apologised softly next to her ear. Veirya looked at me and then slowly put her arm down.


    The way she put her arm down slowly was totally different to how she withdrew her sword before. It was as though it wasn''t an arm.


    The woman revealed a delighted smile. She then made way and I walked out. The man walked up to me side with joy and tightly grabbed hold of my hand. I felt his leather gloves on my hands¡­


    <em>''Umm¡­ Just speak if you have something to say. What the heck are you holding my hand out of nowhere for¡­? Don''t tell me you''re a gay¡­''</em>

 Chapter Volume 1 45

    "Normally, we would be talking in my warm andfortable office, but we don''t have that luxury here, so let''s just talk here for now."


    We went into the only hotel in the town and sat down at a table. This hotel is the one that previously loaned food from us. The hotel has reopened now, but there are few customers. I sat down at the table. The girl came up to us with a smile and asked, "May I ask what you two would like?"


    "Ah, I know this hotel. I came to this town a few years ago when I was about your age. I ate here before. I remember that you had that dish with ears as an ingredient. That was tasty, so let''s go with that."


    The man answered before I could ask for a menu. He looked at the girl and took out a gold coin. With a smile, he said, "Bring a bottle of wine as well. Keep the change."


    "Ah¡­ All right, all right. The dish with ears as an ingredient has always been our main dish. However, we have not made it in thest two years. Do not worry, though, as my father is still around, and he will, therefore, be able to make it exactly as back then."


    The girl revealed a nostalgic smile as she put the coin away in her front breast pocket very carefully. She then went to the back of the kitchen.


    The man watched the young girl leave then nostalgically looked around. He then turned back to face me with a smile. He said, "I really miss those days. I was just a starting merchant, who just entered the business world back then. I didn''t know anything. That''s why I came here to collect fur. Back in the day, this ce wasn''t a town. It was actually a ce for people from nearby viges and wandering people to gather to sell fur. Back then, there was only a small canopy set up, which acted as a store. It was freezing here. At night, I''d eat their ear dish here and drink wine. This ce has now be a town after so long, and the small canopy has be a hotel now."


    I just nodded gently.


    <em>''I''m not interested in this town''s past. I''m only interested in its present and future.'' </em>


    The girl returned. She ced two cups and a bottle of wine down in front of us. The wine was very transparent. The smell of it rushed to my nose as soon as the lid was opened. The girl poured us each a cup and then went back. She then brought to the table two strange piping-hot dishes and a small dish with piping-hot rye bread on it.


    I looked at the strange meat stew. The meat inside took on the shape of ears. I''ve only ever hadrge pork ears simr to this. These clearly weren''t pork ears, though. The man in front of me cheerfully picked up the spoon from the side to scoop up a spoon of stew. He shut his eyes and pursed his lips as though he was carefully savouring the taste. Time can never be turned back, but taste and smell can make one recall their deep memories. Once your taste buds taste the vour again, the smell of the fair and the cold of the snowy night will appear in front of your eyes again. They say that one''s five senses are connected. In this moment, the taste did indeed help the man pass through time.


    I curiously picked up the spoon and had a taste. The taste made me feel as though the previous half of my life was lived for nothing. The strong smell and texture swished in my mouth. Not even the most premium beef could have this taste if grilled. It was light and easy to eat, yet you could still taste the beauty of the fat. The ears were stewed until they were tender, so once I put it in my mouth, the meat would spread all around, and it tasted magnificent.


    "These ears are from a rodent in the forest that can jump. The rodent uses theserge ears to jump from tree to tree."


    The man then ced his spoon down. He looked at me with a smile while I was happily enjoying the delicacy. With a smile, he continued, "You haven''t tasted it when you live in this town? You''re slow with information, then. I always missed this delicious taste after having it, but unfortunately, never had the chance to taste it again."


    I somewhat embarrassingly ced the spoon down. I assumed we came here to talk about something important, yet I ended up almost forgetting about it.


    <em>''It''d seem that I''m not quite yet mature. I have to avoid eating when discussing business in the future.''</em>


    The man picked up his cup of wine. I shook my head to indicate I don''t drink alcohol. He dawdled for a moment before smiling awkwardly and drinking it himself.


    I then looked at him and said, "I am certain that you did note to see me this time solely to try out these ears, correct? Did you not say you had something to discuss with me? I coincidentally have something I want to discuss, too."


    "You go first."


    He then ced his spoon down while maintaining his smile. He then went on, "But make it quick. Otherwise, my ears dish will go cold."


    "You are the person in charge of thepany, so I hope that you can have a few merchantse here to organise a small market as done in the past, so that we can circte our goods here. I will do my utmost to try and make it possible for everyone to sell fur next winter. Isn''t the fur here really good?"


    "Can do. Once springes, we will choose a location to build a trading station."


    He gave an immediate response without any signs of hesitation. He then looked at me and added, "You can set the import and export taxes, as well as the volume of goods circted. I''ll sign as long as it isn''t ridiculous."


    "Are you certain that you want to be that decisive?"


    I looked at him with surprise. I do want for things to progress smoothly and quickly, but this speed is baffling.


    <em>''Normally, this would make me feel that I''ve been tricked, but¡­ now that I think about it, there doesn''t seem to be a problem¡­'' </em>


    The man looked at me and nodded. He said, "The fact that you were able to procure food from there is a testament to your intelligence, and a smart man would not dig his own grave; hence, I trust that the tax rates you designate will be eptable."


    He nodded before having another sip of his soup. He went on, "In addition, the newly appointed military chief for the North is a very serious man. I suspect that the chief you swapped him out for will be investigated. If I were you, I would prepare to deal with the food."


    "Don''t worry, food that''s been eaten can''t be investigated."


    I''ll distribute the extra food. The remaining twenty bags is the food that originally belonged to the town, so the army has no right to take it from us. As for the twenty bags sold to the elves, we just have to rip up the invoice and nobody will know what happened.


    "Great then. My trip here this time was to discuss business. Since you''ve brought it up, let''s deal with it."


    After we finished the meal, the man stood up and with a smile. He said, "Let''s get along well in the future then. I''m very happy to do business with a smart man. Select a location and we''lle to work on setting up once springes in."


    "All right!"


    I nodded and subconsciously extended my hand out. The man looked at me with surprise. A moment after, he took my hands with both of his hands with a gleeful look. The touch of his hand truly disgusted me¡­


    <em>''Please tell me you''re not gay¡­''</em>


    "Ah, one more thing."


    I suddenly thought of something just as we were about to leave. I turned to face the kid and said, "Make me two more serves¡­ No, make that four serves of that ears dish. Here''s the payment."


    "That''s a big appetite."


    "No¡­ I''m honestly full¡­ but there are still two more people at home¡­ Oh, speaking of Veirya reminds me of something. Your bodyguard, Angelina and Veirya are rted, right? Are they sisters? They''re so alike that I''m not convinced that they''re not sisters. It''s also evident that the two of them have some disagreement. What''s their rtionship?"


    I pulled him gently. Angelina was outside. I don''t know if she heard me or not, but I was hoping she didn''t. I want to know more about Veirya.


    The man looked at me with smile that indicated he was pleased with himself. It appeared as if he was waiting for me to ask that question. He softly chuckled and replied, "Their rtionship¡­ is that of mother and daughter!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 46

    Honestly, that one sentence took away all of consciousness in an instant. If I didn''t have those four serves of that ear ingredient, I wouldn''t have reacted. The, "mother and daughter," response echoed in my mind. It left my entire brain dumbfounded, so I couldn''t think of anything. Countless family dramas appeared in my mind, such as Angelina and Veirya actually being sisters, with Angelina being or younger sister or elder sister, but Veirya was too skilled, and therefore ended up burying her young sister''s talents. Then her younger sister resented her elder sister, but Veirya couldn''t exin herself, and maybe even because Veirya was too conceited, so the two of them were awkward with each other. Then I''d help them make up, and I might end up with one of them¡­


    But never did I imagine that Angelina was actually Veirya''s mother.


    The cold wind hit me in the face when I exited, shocking me. Angelina who was to my side immediately bowed and said, "Are we heading back now, Sir?"


    "Our business is done, but are you not going to go and see your daughter, Angelina?"


    I looked at Angelina with disbelief as I did before. Angelina didn''t have any fine lines on her face to show her age. Rather, she looked the exact same as Veirya. It feels as though I''m looking at Veirya when I look at Angelina now. Her expressionless look ispletely identical to Veirya''s, except that Angelina''s gaze had more life in itpared to Veirya''s.


    Angelina gently shook her head. She then looked at me, "No, Veirya doesn''t like me, so I won''t go and upset her."


    I looked at Angelina and carefully asked, "May I ask, are you really Veirya''s mother?"


    Angelina looked at the man next to her. He made a small nod and then she looked back at me. This time, she looked at me with a strange smile and a teasing gaze. I thought I''d been stunned by enough things today, only to be so stunned by Angelina''s smile that I was lost for words. I''d never seen Veirya smile that way before. Veirya is very pretty, so this sudden smile made her face radiate. I couldn''t help myself from wondering how pretty Veirya would look if she could smile that way in the future as well¡­


    Angelina suddenly giggled. She replied, "Of course, Veirya is my beloved daughter I am proud of. It''s just that my daughter doesn''t like me too much. Perhaps it was due to how I raised her. I do want to care for her, though. She''s my only daughter, after all. However, as her mother, the first thing I want to ask is that although Veirya stated you were her spoil of a war, a ve, your rtionship with her doesn''t look ordinary. Veirya didn''t want for you to see me, which is a sign she cares a lot about you. Your rtionship isn''t all that simple, is it?"


    Excitement showed itself in Angelina''s eyes, simr to the way you look at an amusing toy you found for the first time. She grabbed my cor with a smile. That frightened me, so I quickly pulled myself back, but her eyes were focused intently on me without shifting away. Her teasing expression remained. With her mischievous smile on her face, she said, "Interesting. Interesting. I just wanted to see Veirya this time, but it looks like I''ve found out more about her. Though you''re not a good match for her, due to your background, if she likes you, I don''t mind. How about you? How about you? Do you like Veirya? Do you like Veirya? Veirya has a bad temper and speaks without any expression, but she is pretty."


    "No, no, no¡­ umm¡­ Miss¡­ I mean¡­ Auntie¡­ I¡­ I¡­ do not have any ideas for Veirya¡­ Think about it, Auntie, who would have such thoughts for her¡­?"


    I was scared to death of this Auntie. She looks the same as Veirya, but I should address her as Auntie, given her age¡­ Angelina giggled. She thought to herself then said, "True. She''s not likeable. She''s been like that ever since that time."


    "All right, if you n to see her, then let''s do that."


    The man gave Angelina a pat on her shoulder. She then instantly removed her grip on my cor and immediately went back to stand next to him. Her yful smile instantly turned colder than snow in winter and she became expressionless. She looked at the man next to her and nodded, "All right, please return to the city interior then, Sir."


    "Is it safe at night?"


    "I will protect you."


    I couldn''t adapt to the sudden transformation. The man turned around and grabbed my hand with a smile. I immediately got goose bumps again. He looked at me with a smile. He said, "All right now. I will send somebody to contact you about the follow up matters. I still have business inside the city tonight. I need to move some money around, because of you. Goodbye."


    "Goodbye."


    I didn''t know what to say, so I just watched the two of them mount their horses and leave. Angelina grabbed my cor before and smiled yfully, but she was now silent as she left on her horse with an expressionless look.


    Snowy days in the north are dark and gloomy. There were no lights on the streets, so their two horses soon vanished. The two of them vanished in the snow, but the wound my heart suffered isn''t a trail left behind by horse hooves in the snow. I was surprised Veirya had a mother, yet she said she wanted a family. I couldn''t believe I met her mother today.


    <em>''What''s this considered¡­? Veirya never mentioned her mother to me, either¡­ What exactly happened between them? There could be lots of reasons for why sisters are quarrelling with each other, but¡­ But, what problems could a mother and daughter have¡­?''</em>


    Looking at it from Angelina''s perspective, she misses her daughter, but it seems she''s expressionless and impartial when ites to work. That said, Veirya has that look all the time¡­


    I continued pondering their issue with each other until I looked up to discover that I had reached the entrance. When I pushed the door open and entered, I saw Leah standing there in the corridor with eyes filled with anticipation. She leapt at me and hugged my thigh as soon as I entered. She shouted, "Papa, I''m hungry! Why are you back sote?! Why are you back sote?!! I thought you wouldn''te back!"


    "Leah, Papa had to go and discuss some business."


    I stroked Leah''s head with a smile. Lots of ridiculous things happened today, but Leah was cute as always. Looking at Leah now really relieves me. Nevertheless, I still want to see Veirya. I want to ask her about Angelina.


    Veirya walked up to the end of the corridor. I looked up at Veirya. She looked at me with an expressionless look as usual, so I couldn''t tell what she was thinking. Before I could speak, she suddenly, coldly said, "Traitor."


    "Huh?"


    "Traitor."


    Veirya turned around, went up to the table and sat down. She didn''t say anything afterwards. Leah looked over to me and grabbed my hand. She softly said, "That woman has been sitting like that all day today¡­ That woman has been in a very foul mood ever since you left to speak with that man until now, especially because you didn''te back to make lunch, either when she was hungry¡­ Of course, I''m in a very bad mood, too! I''m very hungry, too!!"


    Indeed, we didn''t head straight to the hotel; instead, we went around in the town for a bit, spoke about the food for a bit and I told him about what I did before we headed to the hotel. Currently, it should be a bit after four in the afternoon. Nightfalles particrly early in the north due to the cold weather.


    I pinched the bag in my hand. Inside were a few small dishes of the ear dish. I smiled and massaged Leah''s head. I then said, "Sorry, Leah, but I didn''t forget about you. I brought back something very delicious for you. Wait for a bit. Papa will go and heat it up now. You go and sit at the table first."


    Leah leaned in toward the paper bag and sniffed it. In a very excited tone, she asked, "Papa, what is this? It smells so nice."


    I smiled and replied, "You''ll know soon. This is an ear dish. It tastes very good."


    "Leah wants to eat it then!"


    "Sure. Just go to the table and wait for Papa to go reheat it."


    Leah cheerfully ran to the table and sat down. I went to the kitchen to reheat the dishes, divided up the serves and then brought them over to the two.


    Leah cheerfully picked up her spoon, while Veirya aggressively pushed it. She then looked at me and eximed, "Traitor!"


    "What, why? What exactly did I do wrong¡­?"


    I smile helplessly as I shook my head. I then asked, "Veirya, are you talking about Angelina?"


    "¡­"


    Veirya didn''t answer me. Instead, she continued to coldly look at me. I, however, noticed the steam caused her hand to shake gently.


    Leah stopped paying any heed to us long before. She ditched her spoon and picked up the bowl to gulp it down.


    I looked at Veirya and lingered for a moment before saying, "Sorry, Veirya, I didn''t know about Angelina at the start. Nothing happened between us, though. I just had a talk with the man, so that we could improve the financial situation of this town. We had something really nice to eat, as well, so I brought back some for you."


    I pointed at the ear dish in front and with a smile, said, "It''s really delicious."


    Veirya looked at me, and coldly asked, "What about Angelina?"


    I immediately understood what she was thinking, "Oh, she didn''t get to eat any."


    Veirya looked at me again then picked up her spoon and had a taste test. She then ced her spoon down and dawdled for a moment. While still wearing a cold expression, she then picked up her bowl and gulped mouthfuls of it.


    <em>''I think I ordered too little.''</em>


    Four serves was nowhere near enough for the two of them. Afterwards, Leah clung to my thigh and pestered me for more. Veirya didn''t do that, but I knew what she was after, when she was trying to scoop out everyst pit from the pot¡­


    And so one man had to make another trip in the heavy snowfall¡­

 Chapter Volume 1 47

    At night, Leah returned to the bedroom first. Nights were long and freezing in the North. While it may be very warm in the room, the boring night always made one feel hopeless and lonely.


    Veirya and I sat at opposite ends of the table facing each other, but she didn''t say a word. Instead, she stared nkly at me. Though she was expressionless, I could sense that she had something she wanted to say to me. However, Veirya, who was never a goodmunicator and didn''t know how to start. That said, I did indeed have something I wanted to ask her.


    I looked at Veirya and tested the waters, "Umm, Veirya, I wanted to ask about Angelina¡­"


    I then said, "I heard that Angelina ¡­ is your mother?"


    Veirya isn''t the type who gets worked up because their dark past was revealed. As a matter of fact, she didn''t even give a reaction. It was as though the dark history was merely a family introduction. She made a small nod before replying, "Yes, but I don''t like her. I don''t want you to interact with her. Henceforth, I forbid you from interacting with anybody in private if I am absent. If I say you can''t see them, then you can''t see them; else, I''ll kill you, you traitor."


    "Why am I a traitor for going to see your mom¡­?"


    "Because she''s a traitor."


    Veirya''s answer was very simple. She then stood up and seriously added, "My mother is a very outstanding warrior and a very brave soldier. I respect and greatly admire her, but I also hate her. Don''t praise her in my presence, but you are not to nder her either. Don''t let me see her and you are not to meet her in private either. That''s it."


    "Hmm???"


    <em>''That''s a pretty tall order, don''t you think? No ndering, no praising, no meting her in private and no letting her see Angelina. By the sounds of that, I only have one choice, and that is to not see Angelina and treat her as if she doesn''t exist. I guess that''s it¡­''</em>


    Somebody then knocked on the door. I was slightly bewildered as to who would be here to look for me at this hour. The people of this ce don''t run around at night. Perhaps the roads are particrly cold at night because demons once attacked this ce. For someone to knock at this hour, I''m assuming they aren''t a local.


    Veirya swiftly drew her de and coldly stared at the entrance. She walked up to my side and then pushed me behind her before pulling the door open.


    Frankly, I knew who was outside the instant Veirya drew her sword. As soon as the door opened, silver hair that was captivating even on a night without the moonlight, gently swayed in the wind and a pair of blue eyes hidden in the snow came into sight. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that those eyes were colder than the snow. Usually, there''s just Veirya, herself, but there were now two pairs of eyes like that.


    Angelina looked at Veirya from the entrance. Veirya swiftly aimed her sword at her and coldly said, "No visitors are epted at night. Please return if you have no business."


    "Not here to pay a visit."


    Angelina didn''t draw her sword. I noticed that she didn''t even have her sword at her waist. She looked at Veirya and extended her right hand out. In her hand was a paper bag I was more familiar with than anyone else. The paper bag came from the hotel. I was certain that the ear dish was inside and I''m sure there were two serves.


    Angelina ced it in front of Veirya. She wasn''t afraid in the slightest, despite having a sword at her neck. In fact, she didn''t even budge. She looked at Verrya expressionlessly and said, "This, for you. Said to be tasty. You two. One each."


    Veirya looked at the paper bag before her coldly. She grabbed the bag with her left hand then pulled her sword back and "bang!" the door shut. She took the bag to the table and opened it. The familiar smell of the ear dish burst into the air. It was piping hot, so it must''ve juste out of the pot not too long ago. Angelina definitely rushed here in the night. It appears that Angelina didn''t return straight to the city, instead,ing back and buying this for her daughter, not to mention, she delivered it immediately. As a matter of fact, she carried it here in her arms.


    Veirya grabbed a spoon. I was a little hungry now, too, so I sat down at the table and grabbed a spoon, intending to have a share, only for Veirya to stand up and make a grinding sound that numbed my ears when I went to take a scoop. A cold bit of metal was on my neck before I could react. Veirya''s gaze was particrly violent. It was the first time she revealed such a violent gaze, which waspletely different the first time. The first time, she wore an expressionless look and business-only attitude. This time, however, she genuinely wanted to kill. Fortunately, my spoon hadn''t touched it yet, because if it did, my head would probably be removed from my shoulders.


    <em>''Unlike the first time, I was genuinely afraid this time.''</em>


    "Mine. No touching."


    Veirya took in a deep breath, seemingly to calm herself down. I immediately tossed my spoon away. My brain that was quivering with fear now realised what I should do. Veirya wanted for me not to touch this. Veirya sheathed her sword. She picked up the bowl and vigntly sat to one side, refusing to let me touch it. That was the first time I''d seen her so stubborn. Veirya was a glutton before, as well; but, she didn''t show such a violent gaze when she fought over food with Leah. She wasn''t angry this time because she was hungry, but just because she didn''t wanted to give the food to anybody else. It''s not that Veirya is unwilling to share with others, but it was this in particr, that she refused to share. It wasn''t because it''s tasty, but solely because it was brought over by Angelina.


    Thus, Veirya didn''t want anybody to touch it.


    Veirya gulped big mouthfuls of thest serve, but she sat at the table and used the small spoon for eating soup to carefully put this serve in her mouth.


    I don''t know if my eyes were dysfunctional due to the fright just before or what - maybe even my brain there - but I felt that Veirya''s gaze was iparably tender right now.


    However, upon closer inspection, her gaze was ice cold as usual.


    Veirya earnestly ate the food bit by bit. She then stood up and walked to the kitchen to wash the dishes. After she finished washing them, she ced them on the table and said, "Return it tomorrow."


    "If you like Angelina, just say you like her; there''s no need to hide it. You''re mother and daughter, after all. You should''ve just let her in before."


    Veirya turned her head around to look at me and coldly said, "No speaking on her behalf."


    "All right¡­"


    I nodded hopelessly.


    <em>''Honestly speaking, I really don''t understand what their deal is. Angelina acts indifferent to her daughter on one hand, but then she delivers foodte at night. She didn''t even have any for herself. I surmise she wanted to get it for her daughter since daytime.''</em>


    <em>''Veirya looks cold on the surface, but then she refuses to let anybody touch the food her mom delivered to her.''</em>


    <em>''What''s their deal? Something major must''ve happened. If possible, I really want to investigate it. It''s just that my rtionship with Veirya still isn''t considered good. Rashly sticking my nose into their family business isn''t good. ''</em>


    <em>''Let''s put Angelina aside for now. What I need to worry about now is the newly appointed military chief. If he looks into this batch of food, I neede up with a way to do away with it before he finds out.''</em>


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Vierya and Angelina speak to each other in such a fragmented manner; it''s not my inability topose aplete sentence.


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 48

    Current time.


    "Reselling military provisions. You resold fifty bags of military provisions? There''s nothing left to say. Kill him."


    The man in front with a pale face knelt on the ground. The man opposite at the table gave his dark purple cape a strong brush and then sat down. He looked at the man on the ground with a cold look. The man with the purple cloak was very young. He looked just twenty. However, judging by the decorations of the room and his dark purple cape, the twenty year old man was of higher rank than the thirty-plus man.


    It''s actually very simple to get promoted in the military. The death count has always remained high, particrly for teams on the frontline. Battles against the demons were especially intense. The demons showed no mercy nor did they have any concept of fear. They fought to the death even if they were thest one standing, so the death toll on the frontlines was very high. You could easily get promoted if you could survive.


    That said, the twenty year old man didn''t attain his rank through pure luck. He was also incrediblypetent.


    After all, the dark purple cape was the cape Imperial Guards wore, and it was also the symbol of an outstanding individual in the military. There were no more than ten people in the entire nation who were allowed to wear the dark purple cape. Most soldiers are soldiers from the North, because this nation originated from the North. As such, leaders in the military were basically people from the North, and therefore became a powerful military force in the North. As opposed to saying that the entire military obeys the Queen, it would be more urate to say that it belongs to the nobles in the North. Nevertheless, all of said nobles are absolutely loyal to the Queen, for loyalty is the greatest honour for soldiers of the North.


    As a result, the Queen''s subordinates could lead the most powerful military on this continent.


    The aforementioned man was an outstanding individual in the Northern military and was the leader of the military in the North.


    "Don''t do this, don''t do this! Sir! Sir! I was tricked! I was tricked! Umm¡­ I got greedy for just a moment¡­ And, and I did it for my wife and child. I honestly miss home too much. I really, really miss home¡­"


    The man raised his head up. His face was covered in tears and snot. He was an adult, yet he was crying in front of a kid. The young man with the purple cape stood up and ced his pen down. He calmly said, "You can miss your family. You just need to put in a request for a vacation. I won''t be heartless. However, reselling military provisions incurs capital punishment. If I spare you this time, everybody will do the same thing in the future. It can''t be helped. Your family will receive a normal subsidy allowance, so you can die in peace now."


    "What? No, don''t do this!"


    "Die."


    The young man stood up and two guards entered the room. They grabbed the chief in front and dragged him straight out. He was still shouting just moments ago, but right after the sound of a de was drawn from its sheath, it went silent at the za below. The officer at the top pulled the thick curtain open and looked down at the za. The soldiers below were in the middle of slowly dragging a headless corpse to the side. The soldiersing and going were used to that sort of scene, so they didn''t even care to spare a nce.


    He just watched the bloody corpse get dragged off and blood disappear. He was young, but pain and sadness could be seen in his gaze. He was just a kid, yet he had experienced struggles and torment others would never experience for an entire lifetime.


    "Why did brothers who went through life and death before be like this? They didn''t have selfish or crooked thoughts in the past, so why did he resell military provisions for money as soon as the war ended? He''s a soldier, yet instead of dying on the battlefield, he died after the war. Is the honour and traditions we were proud of worthless in the face of money?"


    He leaned on the wall lightly as though the person just killed was his special friend and family. He wore a painful expression. His eyebrows were pulled together tightly into a frown. He clenched his fists tightly and turned his head swiftly to look at arge drawing on the wall. He knelt down in front of it with despair.


    The person in the drawing wore armour and held a long sword. Her eyes were fixated on a spot on the battlefield. Corpses were on the left and right of the drawing. Soldiers on one side fled in the opposite direction. Only the person with long silver hair with her armour covered in blood and blood running down her face possessed an absolutely determined look in her blue eyes. She looked in the opposite direction.


    "Lord Veirya¡­ What must I do¡­? What must I do to be able to do it how you did it¡­? Leading the soldiers in the correct direction¡­ Lord Veirya¡­ I beg you¡­ Please¡­ Can you teach me again¡­? I¡­ I am truly¡­ so lost¡­"


    ===================


    I looked at the pile of food in front of me in the warehouse. I lightly pinched my chin and said, "This food needs to be dealt with. We do indeed have too much."


    "We have <em>too much</em> food?"


    "Too much from the perspective of the inspectors. We have only twenty bags recorded in the books, so having fifty bags now is obviously too many."


    "But this batch of food has already been recorded¡­"


    "Who told you to record it?!"


    I looked at the man, hoping he''d learn. I scrubbed my hair and sighed, "I''m partly to me. The origins of this batch of food aren''t ideal. It''s food from the military resold to us. I haven''tundered the food yet, and you recorded it? Give me the book. I''ll burn it and then record it again. There wasn''t much to record in the first ce anyhow. Oh, right, don''t record the transaction with the elf. We had twenty bags, but we went through some. We never got any more or exported any, understood?"


    The man in front of me sniffled and reluctantly asked, "I have to record it again¡­?"


    I pulled him over by his scarf and fumed, "You have another idea? Would you have to record it again if you didn''t record it while beingpletely ignorant?! Don''t record things with questionable origins. Only things acquired from legit origins are to be recorded. Otherwise, hide it. Hand out twenty bags of food for the townsfolk to prepare unique foods, so that they can sell them at this uing Fire Torch Festival. Then distribute the remaining ten bags. Don''t record them. Just distribute them. Understood? We just need to leave fifteen or sixteen bags, understood?"


    "I understand."


    "Also, have you arranged the fur job I told you to?"


    "I have. However, the hunters said that they were not too sure. They said that they would only be able to provide goods at the end of autumn¡­ They asked if it was okay to use demons, since goblin intestines can be used to make very sturdy water bags."


    I cut him off, "No, no, no. I already said to put the demons aside. They aren''t attacking us. I''ll punish whoever dares to go and hunt them down. Moreover, would merchants want those low quality items of yours? Low quality items don''t fetch a good price and not many people are willing to take them, so stick with fur. Oh, right, organise a ce to have a goods warehouse built. Merchants wille to collect goods next year."


    "Understood. But, sir, it is strange. I am talking about the famine. We were told that a famine broke out nearby, but it seems to have been settled. Nobody is crying about a famine anymore, either. I heard that there is nobody below the city. Disaster relief did not yet show results when you returned. Can Her Majesty settle it that quick?"


    "A little too fast that it''s ridiculous¡­"


    <em>''Of course, I''m aware that there are two ways to deal with a problem. One, is to resolve the problem, and the other is to resolve the people causing the problem.''</em>


    <em>''However, no matter how sinister she may be she couldn''t have killed so many people with a single word, could she? You would be crueller than a demon to massacre a group of pitiful, unarmed people.''</em>

 Chapter Volume 1 49

    "Ladies and gentlemen, we have not held the Fire Torch Festival in many years. This is also Lord Veirya''s first winter here this year. As the lord, Lord Veirya will ensure you obtain your once enriched life and peaceful environment. I hope that you can all prepare well, spreading joy throughout the entire town. I have prepared food for you. Everybody will receive some. Just head to the barn and collect your share. Try to collect your food as fast as possible."


    The assembly hall of the town finally served a purpose after it was tidied up. Veirya and I sat at the forefront. Veirya clearly didn''t care for this sort of festival and took no part in designing it, so I talked about it on her behalf.


    The people below, on the other hand, were very happy. Though Veirya didn''t say a word, who would say "no" to free food? Next, I n to have them ascend the mountain and chop trees down, freeze them and then send them back. We need to repair the town''s walls and city door. The North is under the Queen''s jurisdiction, after all. Demons and mobs created by the famine are still here. Safety is forever the number one priority.


    After the meeting ended, Leah grabbed my arm and asked me with eagerness, "Papa, what is the Fire Torch Festival like?"


    I stopped to think for a bit and then answered, "First, everyone needs toe to the za carrying a fire torch, and then they will light up therge wooden person and wolf. They will then drink wine and hold a banquet next to the huge bonfire. There will also be some small stalls. Finally, we will be able to dance at night. It''s said that men and women who dance on at the Fire Torch Festival will definitely find bliss."


    Leah looked at me with a face full of excitement and eximed, "Let''s dance on the night then, Papa!! I want to dance too, Papa! I want to find bliss with you, Papa!"


    "No¡­ Leah, this bliss between a man and a woman might be slightly different to how you understand it¡­" I smiled awkwardly then continued, "And Leah, aren''t you already very blissful being with Papa? We don''t need that bliss. How about giving that bliss to somebody else?"


    Leah thought about then nodded, "True. Leah is already very blissful. Being able to be by Papa''s side is, indeed, very blissful. But Papa, will you dance with somebody else then?"


    I considered her question for a moment. My gaze shifted to Veirya. Veirya didn''t leave. She stayed seated in her chair as she slowly drank water. She didn''t care about our conversation.


    <em>''It appears that she doesn''t care for this so-called event. She might not even show up at the festival.''</em>


    <em>''To be honest, I do somewhat want to ask Veirya to dance, but after seeing Veirya''s uninterested gaze and Leah''s threatening gaze, I think it''s better to toss the idea out.''</em>


    "Let''s go, Leah. Come with Papa into the city before the Fire Torch Festival."


    Leah looked at me slightly surprised and asked, "Papa, why do we have to go into the city? Nothing hase up recently. Do we still need to buy food?"


    "No, we''re going to buy clothes this time. You can always wear this sort of clothes, even at the festival. This is a grand ceremony at the end of the day. You need a new set of clothes. Consider it Papa''s present for you."


    "Papa, do you have money?"


    "I think I can afford it as long as it''s not ridiculously expensive."


    Leah revealed an excited smile after she heard I had money. Leah''s current clothes are still the modified military uniform Veirya modified. Leah only has that one set of clothes. She doesn''t have clothes to change into once we wash it. I need a set of clothes, too. I don''t know if Veirya needs new clothes or not, though.


    I looked at Veirya.


    <em>''Veirya should have plenty of clothes, shouldn''t she - even if they''re the same model¡­?''</em>


    I looked at her and cautiously asked, "Veirya, do you want toe with us into the city to buy clothes?"


    Leah wore a slightly awkward expression. It seemed that she didn''t intend to let Veiryae along. There''s not much point in Veiryaing, in reality¡­ Veirya doesn''t have money. I don''t know why she doesn''t have any money saved, despite being in the army for so long. It might be because she was part of the small Warrior team as opposed to serving in the army, and therefore doesn''t have money.


    Veirya looked at us and then at just Leah. She nodded and then stood up. Leah unhappily pouted. I scrubbed her head and with a smile said, "What''s wrong? Veirya made you a set of clothes as well. Leah, Papa should thank Veirya too, so she shoulde with us, right?"


    "But¡­ you don''t have much money, right, Papa¡­? Do you have enough?"


    I stroked Leah''s head and replied, "I have a way. Papa didn''t give all our money to that chief. We also have a portion of the money Miss Leah gave us, so that should be enough, I reckon."


    Although I have a very valuable gold coin on hand, I don''t know how much clothes cost. But a gold coin is enough for amon family to live off for almost a month. If a piece of clothing cost that much, then it would be too expensive. I''m not after any resplendent clothes. Ordinary clothes will do just fine. I should be able to afford it.


    We prepared to leave really quickly, as we didn''t need to prepare anything. This was a one-day trip. We left at noon and arrived on the second day after spending a night out in the wild. I slept holding Leah tightly at night again. I did my best to have her curl up, so as to cover up her transformation. Veirya slept as serious as she is during the day. You couldn''t tell that she was alive if her chest wasn''t shaking a little. She didn''t care what Leah and I did. We were fine as long as we didn''t approach her.


    I was mind-blown when we arrived at the city the next day. I never thought the livestock fence and refugees hadpletely vanished without a trace. There was now trace below the city wall. There were no traces of bonfires or erected camps. There wasn''t even a trace of human life previously existing here. There wasn''t so much as a footprint on the ground. The city doors werezily opened. The former team long team was no longer present either.


    If that merchant was in charge of disaster relief then this has got to be <em>too</em> perfect. Surely he''s too incredible if he could get rid of all them, which numbered at least ten thousand in such a short time span, and erasing every trace.


    That man ispetent, all right.


    We entered the city. It was clear that there were more people on the streetspared to before. Although the majority was still missionaries, the people weren''t as tense as before.


    <em>''It appears that the famine has passed.''</em>


    <em>''But why are there so many people dressed in a white robe? There was basically one of them every dozen steps. The things they were saying were slightly problematic, as well. By that I mean the problem with their judgement of heretics. They were going on about burning the entire continent and burning all heretics and whatever. Is such a vengeful opinion a good thing?''</em>


    I tugged Leah''s hat. The soldiers passed by us, but they didn''t care about Veirya. They didn''t salute her or speak to her, as though they didn''t see her. The soldiers seemed as if they didn''t recognise Veirya. We were respected by enough people thest time we were here, while nobody paid us any heed this time.


    <em>''This is problematic, isn''t it¡­?''</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 50

    It''s highly unlikely you''ll be able to purchase pretty clothes here, since the city focuses on inness, and ck and grey robes. There cannot be goods if there is ack of demand for them. The people here don''t wear extravagant clothing, so they won''t have that sort of material. However, I never intended to buy extravagant clothing for Leah and Veirya. We just need clean clothes.


    Veirya didn''t mind the impolite manners of the soldiers next to her, and continued to walk to the store.


    This store didn''t have any sort of sign up at the entrance, other than hanging a piece of cloth. It seems they sell clothes here. They shouldn''t have lots of clothes at this time, since they can''t produce as much as a factory could. The clothes are made after taking measurements and then are delivered to homes. However, some clothes are clothes others cancelled. We''ll buy them if the size is a good fit.


    We entered the store. Nobody came up to loudly wee us with a smile when we entered as I thought they would. I can''t me them, since this isn''t the same world, after all. The size of the store wasn''trge. The materials inside were rolled up and ce in the cupboard on the wall. There weren''t many types. Some garments were hung up on the walls on two sides. I took a look. I first saw a blue cape that was the same as quilt. It had short fur on all sides with an olecranon hat on it. There were no unnecessary ornaments on it. It had a cross on the back, which was the exact same as the one on the shields of the soldiers in the city.


    The cloak was definitely very precious, and I wanted to buy it, but I was fairly certain it was outside of my budget.


    <em>''Let''s forget it for now and check out something else.''</em>


    "What are you after?"


    A face appeared from behind the counter. A small girl stood up and looked at us with a smile. She rubbed her hands together with a smile and said, "What colour material are you after? Did you want to check out our garments? Come over and have a look. They are all great quality. All of the chapel''s knightse here to buy clothes and have their clothes repaired."


    "They''re the chapel''s knights''?"


    "Yes. Did you not know? This city is now managed by the chapel. The chapel''s knights are now responsible for protecting the city, instead of the military''s soldiers. Honestly speaking, the chapel''s knights sure are amazing. All of the heretics were gone not long after they arrived. Without the heretics begging for food and money, I feel that it has be a lot safer here. I was truly very scared that the heretics would barge their way into the city."


    "Yeah¡­? They''re that amazing?"


    <em>There''s a bit of a problem if they''re that amazing¡­''</em>


    My attention wasn''t focused on that right now, however. I pointed at the garment hanging on the wall. It was a very ordinary garment with a prominent colour. It is the most ordinary robe here. I pointed at the garment and asked, "How much is that?"


    "That one? A child about your size ordered that, but then the child died and never picked it up. It''s been smoked, so you won''t attract snakes."


    "All right. How much is it?"


    "It will cost you two silver coins if you want it."


    "Two silver coins¡­?"


    I looked other clothes. I then looked at the girl in front of a smile and continued, "We have juste to the North. This is Lord Veirya of one of the Northern areas. I think we''ll have toe to this city if we need to buy things again."


    "Oh? Lord Veirya?! That''s great. That''s great. We have you to thank for protecting this city, so that we can live safe and stable lives here. Let''s do this, let''s do this. This scarf is a scarf made with authentic white fox fur. If you want it, I will give it to Lord Veirya as a thank you gift for the two silver coins."


    The girl in front took out a clean white scarf from under the counter. The scarf was as if it was the fur skinned off a white fox. It would resemble a white fox was strangling you if you wore it around your neck. I gave it a touch. It was indeed good. I nodded.


    <em>''It seems that this girl is good at business.''</em>


    It was now Leah''s turn. But there were no children''s clothes here, so we had to take Leah''s measurements for a hat, gloves, a thick cloak and clothes. This set of clothes was different to the military uniform. I requested she sew a skirt onto the ck belt so that it looked good.


    "Just eight silver coins for this set will do."


    "Include the cloak behind as well, then."


    "If the cloak behind is included, then that wille to a total of fifty silver coins. That cloak is a premium good. That was ordered by the militarymander, but then he died, so he never picked it up. If you want it, I must charge a high price. You can take all these clothes for a total of fifty silver coins."


    Of course, I don''t have that much money, but I really wanted that cloak. The cloak was definitely worth the price, but I must bargain to bring the price down.


    "Oh, right, I heard that the person in charge of apany came to this town."


    The girl smiled helplessly and replied, "Ah, yes. We are actually apany as well, except that we are not famous. The people from the Chamber of Commerce look down on us¡­ However, as a merchant, we need to have an association, or else we would always be bulled. All the various fees can''t hold a candle to thendlords trying toe up with ways to pocket money."


    "Coincidentally, we came this time to see the person in charge, Achilles. We were going to discuss trading business, so we came to get some appropriate clothing."


    I looked at her. I pretended to flip through some clothes while I scanned the girl. I clearly noticed her freeze up. I smiled and said, "Please hand me the cloak. Lord Veirya, please try it on."


    Veirya looked at me and then the cloak. She shook her head and replied, "I won''t wear it."


    "Ah?"


    I lingered.


    Veirya looked at me with an odd look. She then pointed at the cloak and said, "This is the chapel''s logo. I am a soldier."


    "Oh¡­"


    I had no idea what that was about, but the girl suddenly understand what that meant, so she grabbed the cloak with a smile, "Okay, okay, I understand, I understand. Lord, I shall get rid of the logo. However, this cloak is honestly very bing of you. I shall give it to you for a cheaper price. Just forty silver coins will do."


    I looked at Veirya and softly said, "You should at least try it, right? It''ll be a good chance to get your measurements to modify it, too."


    Veirya looked at it and shook her head. She responded indifferently, "I am a soldier of the military; I don''t serve the chapel. I won''t wear that cloak."


    I looked at the pile of clothes in front and chuckled, "Forget about it then. I won''t take that that set then. Make it thirty five silver coins."


    "It''s fine, it''s fine. Lord Veirya is the lord of the North and she also protected this city before; plus, you are discussing business with our Chamber of Commerce. You are our esteemed guests, no matter how you put it. If we fuss over this small profit then God won''t pay any attention to us insignificant people. How about this, thirty five silver coins and it''s all yours."


    "Deal."


    "All right, I will have someone send it to you once the clothes are made."


    I ced thirty five silver coins onto the counter then led Leah and Veirya out.


    I hesitated as I held the white fox scarf in my hand. I wasn''t sure if I should give it to Leah or Veirya, but it wasn''t appropriate to give it to either of them right now.


    <em>''What would Veirya say if I gave it to Leah? I am merely just Veirya''s spoil of war at the end of the day. Veirya isn''t totally ignorant. If I gave it to Veirya, then Leah might make an issue at night.''</em>


    I looked at Leah in front of me. I felt guilty. She looked back at me and somewhat fearfully said, "Papa¡­ Are¡­ Are these two expensive¡­?


    I smiled and replied, "I actually won. See, putting all else for now, that cloak is worth at least thirty silver coins, isn''t it? The thicker a piece of clothing is, the more expensive it is. Based on the initial price of the robe, clothing that is about as thick as carpet costs at least two silver coins, so such a thick and tight cloak should cost roughly thirty silver coins. I spent thirty five silver coins to buy clothes for three people. All of the other clothesbined is fifteen silver coins, so I essentially bought something worth thirty silver coins for twenty five silver coins, so you can say I won. If you first tell them you''re just an ordinary customer then talk about doing business before talking about the smaller parts within that, then you''re unlikely to be rejected."


    "Leah doesn''t quite understand¡­ what you said¡­ But since you said that¡­ Can Leah¡­ wear new clothes? Thank you, Papa! Leah likes Papa best!!"


    Leah looked at me with excitement and finally revealed a cheerful smile.


    <em>''Leah is a good girl. She was worried about the price, something Veirya wasn''t concerned about at any point¡­''</em>


    <em>''Sometimes, Leah makes me feel more relieved¡­''</em>

 Chapter Volume 1 51

    Veirya has no interest in clothing. She had no opinion on the cape. She only minded that it had the chapel''s symbol on it. Veirya wouldn''t be grateful if I bought it, but she wouldn''t have minded if I didn''t buy it, either.


    <em>''It''s not a good idea for her to always be in military uniform, though, right?''</em>


    I looked at the scarf in my hand. Though I wanted to give it to Leah, I gave it Veirya on second though. Veirya looked at me without saying anything. She just took the scarf and touched the white fox fur. She then looked at Leah and pulled her over. Leah got a fright and froze, but Veirya then gently ced it on her neck and wrapped it around. She then stood up to look at me, and asked, "Anything else?"


    "No."


    "Didn''t you say you had to speak to that man?"


    "I could¡­ but, would you be willing to see Angelina?"


    Veirya immediately went silent once she heard her name. She then looked straight in the direction of the city door, and said, "Let''s head back then. We''ll travel through the night."


    "That''s not safe, is it¡­?"


    "I''ll protect you."


    <em>''I think I''ve heard the same dialogue between Angelina and that man¡­ But, whatever. Our clothes are ready. Why didn''t I buy Veirya clothes, again? I''m actually worried that Veirya will strip in front of everyone¡­ Plus, I don''t have enough money, so just getting Leah a set was good enough. However, that cape for Veirya was the most expensive piece. After all, it was worth the price.''</em>


    Leah grabbed the scarf around her neck gently. She looked at Veirya, who was next to her, with a bit of surprise. Leah really wanted the scarf right from the start, but she was shy to mention it, as she already got a set of clothes. However, she kept her gaze on the white fox fur scarf. Young girls must think it''s very cute. She didn''t get it from me, though. Instead, Veirya gave it to her.


    <em>''I actually wanted to get on Veirya''s good side. I felt that Veirya might give it to Leah, but didn''t expect her to actually give it to her.'' </em>


    It put Leah in dilemma. I held Leah''s hand and she lowered her head. She swept her gaze over to Veirya, who was walking next to her, every now and then. She showed her dilemma with her gaze. Her lips twitched as though she wanted to say something, but after wrestling with herself, couldn''t bring herself to say it. I knew what Leah was thinking, but didn''t say it. It''s more appropriate for Leah to personally speak about these things. I tightly held Leah''s hand. She looked up at me feeling somewhat surprised. I looked at her. I gave her a smile and a nod. She panicked a little while still looking at me. I then stroked her head and gently said, "Go, Leah. You should know what a good girl should do."


    "Ugh¡­ Papa¡­"


    Leah''s expression showed that she was extremely torn, so she looked at me slightly scared. But nheless, she finally managed to bring herself to look at Veirya.


    I walked up to the horse. Just as I was about to mount the horse, Leah finally raised her head up to look at Veirya, who was in front of her. She cautiously thanked her, "Umm¡­ Umm¡­ Thanks."


    Thest word seemed to consume all of Leah''s strength. You could even say that Leah felt iparably ashamed, as though she was just executed in public. Saying "thanks" isn''t something that makes us feel very distressed and the same applies for Leah, except it depends on who the person you''re thanking is. Leah was trying to thank Veirya, who she was always afraid of and hated. She had no choice but to thank her this time, but it did indeed make her feel very distressed.


    Leah immediately leapt at me after giving her thanks. She hit my belly, as she felt tremendously ashamed and could almost scream. She desperately tried to do something, so that she wouldn''t feel so awkward. I smiled as I stroked her head.


    <em>''I shouldn''t agitate her when she''s already worked up.''</em>


    Veirya stood in front of the horse and didn''t mount it. Instead, she looked at Leah with a nk look. Despite her gaze still being void of emotion, she had begun to move. She yanked Leah out of my arms. I didn''t have my arms wrapped around Leah, so she ended up being pulled into Veirya''s tight embrace from behind. Being picked up from the ground, Leah panicked and didn''t know what to do, so she screeched and kicked her legs in the air while extending her hand out to me to plead for help. But, Veirya didn''t release Leah. She, instead, tightly hugged Leah the way she did that time. Seeing Veirya tightly hug Leah with an expressionless look made me both afraid and yet reassured.


    "Let go of me!! Let go of me!! Leah is going to be eaten¡­ I¡­ Papa, help me!!"


    Leah distressfully cried as she struggled with all her might to escape Veirya''s evil grasp; but, Veirya didn''t let go. She, instead, lowered her head down and buried it in Leah''s hair, causing Leah to scream even louder. Veirya even ced her hand on Leah''s chest. It looked as though the two of them were going to do something¡­


    <em>''What does this make me¡­? A third wheel¡­?''</em>


    A moment after, Veirya put Leah back down. Leah cried as she ran over to me. I picked her up and stroked her head with a smile to cate her. Veirya still looked expressionless, but I could tell that she was now in a very good mood from her dexterous movements.


    "Papa, Papa¡­ Leah¡­ Leah got vited!"


    "How does that count as being vited¡­?"


    I carried Leah who was crying up onto the horse with a smile. She gripped my shirt at my chest tightly and sobbed. I could sense that Veirya did what she did out of good will, but I do wish she''d express it with normal means. It doesn''t seem as though Veirya feels her method was overboard, though. Actually, she''d consider it very normal.


    The three of us set off again, back to our small home that wasn''t rich, but was very warm.


    ==================


    Current time¡­


    "They bought clothes?"


    The man chuckled and nodded. He then looked at Angelina, who was to the side, and asked, "I think you should make a set of clothes, as well. It looks like they''ve got some purpose in mind. Also, do you not intend to see your daughter?"


    "No."


    Angelina shook her head. She then wore on a cold expression and extended a hand out. The man dawdled for a moment. Angelina then said, "Money to make clothes."


    The man revealed a smile and ced a small pouch into her hand, "She is your daughter, regardless of the circumstances, right? But I can''t figure out Vierya''s rtionship with that man. It appears somewhat strange."


    "¡­"


    Angelina didn''t reply. It seemed as if she didn''t care about Veirya''s business. The man, however, knew what his bodyguard was thinking. He stood up and next to her ear whispered, "Could Veirya have found somebody she likes?"


    "Impossible."


    Angelina gave a short and concise response before exining, "That child doesn''t understand anything¡­ She doesn''t know what she wants, even now."


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 52

    After returning to the inside of the town, life was calm for several days. I also opened the brewery to get rid of the excess food. Brewing wine consumes rtively more food, so that would return the food warehouse back to its normal count.


    The festive atmosphere in the town has grown in thest few days. Smoke came from everywhere in the town. Some people had taken their stuff out from home to sell. Firewood became used to warm up consumables. The air carried the aroma of food, piquing Leah''s interest and making her look forward to the Fire Torch Festival tomorrow.


    The days before the festival could be considered ceremonious days, too. The wooden people and wild beasts in the za were already prepared. These wooden figures were to be burnt tomorrow. The ashes left over will be poured into the ground. The huge human puppet was taller than our residence. It stood alone in the empty za as though it was a lonely giant looking into the deste wild in the distance.


    The music band in charge of performing rehearsed on two sides of the road. All of them wore long robes with olecranon hoods. The instruments they held resembled violins, but they sounded different. They soundedparable to an erhu. There were also wind instruments. The band continued to rehearse over and over, seemingly trying to adjust their performance abilities. Arge wooden wine barrel had been ced at the entrance of the hotel. Judging from the fact that the men were red in the face and their foreheads were sweaty, the wine barrel should be full.


    The people on the second floors of the buildings on both sides of the road opened their windows and hung outside colourful ribbons with colours representing the festival. The scene of colourful ribbons outside at the top on both sides of the road blowing was particrly pretty.


    I looked at Leah. She looked excited as puppy eating its meal. If she had a tail, she''d be wagging it with great excitement right now. She squirmed around in my arms. She wished to see the scene of the entire streetpletely changed. However, it didn''t look possible for her. She looked at me with great excitement and asked, "Papa, what exactly will happen tomorrow?"


    "There will be lots of things to do tomorrow. Well, there''s nothing to do during the day, but people will have begun drinking and dancing. In the afternoon, there will be the festivalmencement ceremony, which will be very ceremonious. At night, people will begin to dance around the bonfire, which is the very ceremonious moment."


    "Uhm! Uhm! Papa, I have to see the entire event tomorrow in my new clothes!!"


    <em>''It doesn''t take long to make new clothes, so the clothes should arrive in time, right? Our agreement was to have the clothes delivered tonight.'' </em>


    I stroked Leah''s head, and then rode toward home. Veirya doesn''t leave the house. At most, she''ll sharpen her sword and swing it around in the courtyard of the residence when there''s nothing to do. She won''t go randomly walking around. I take Leah for a patrol walk every day by myself.


    When we got to the entrance of the town, we suddenly found a few more horses in the stable. I dallied for a moment before quickly jogging over to the door and pushing it open. There were guests here, but Veirya was the only one in here. Veirya doesn''t have guests visiting, so there might be trouble inside.


    One thing I did notice, though, was that the four horses were slightly odd, in that they were virtually the exact same. The horses'' fur was clean without a blemish, making them white as snow, while their hooves were also particrly clean.


    <em>''I think that only the military would be able to have four horses that are virtually identical like this. The military must be here for Veirya. Wait, no. They should be here for me, and most likely to find the food.''</em>


    <em>''I don''t care, though. I haven''t been sitting around doing nothing for thest few days. I''ve done away with the food already. Food that has been eaten won''t be in the books, so I don''t care.''</em>


    <em>''All of the food has been eaten. What, can you kill all the townsfolk or something?''</em>


    I pushed the door open to find all sitting spaces at the table upied. Veirya sat on one side in silence. The man next to her wasn''t old. He looked as if he just came of age. However, his light purple cape caught my attention. Sitting opposite him were soldiers with blue capes who also kept silent. The four of them just sat there. There was also one standing against the wall with his right hand on his sword handle and chest up proudly. He watched the four in front of him in silence.


    <em>''This is no guest visit. This was essentially shutting yourself in to reflect on yourself¡­''</em>


    I gently touched Leah''s head. The sight of the soldiers led to her feeling slightly fearful. They didn''t wear armour, but their neat clothing intimidated Leah, nevertheless. I crouched down and next to her ear said, "Leah, you head on upstairs. Don''te out, understood?"


    "Papa¡­"


    "Don''t worry. It''s nothing serious. Papa will be able to deal with it quickly."


    "Leah is worried about Papa¡­"


    "Don''t worry, Leah. Papa has never disappointed you, right?"


    I stroked Leah''s head with a smile. She looked at me and then went up on her toes to touch my face. With a smile she replied, "Okay, Papa. Leah will be a good girl."


    "All right."


    I watched Leah walk upstairs before walking over to the table. The five people at the table didn''t bother to spare me a nce. They maintained their erect sitting posture. I was somewhat puzzled. It was as if I walked into a painting, as nobody but me was moving.


    I swept my gaze over everybody and then asked, "Gentlemen, who are you to Lord V-¡­"


    The man with the light purple cape raised his head up to look at me. He replied in a serious tone, "I was one of Lord Veirya''s soldiers. I came to specifically visit Lord Veirya and inquire about the food matter while I was at it. You''re the person who went around scamming people in Lord Veirya''s name, right? Take him away for interrogation."


    The three of them then swiftly stood up. I heard the sound of sharp metal that makes one grind their teeth, as soon as I heard the person behind draw his sword.


    I looked to my side while feeling stupefied. I had no idea what just happened next to me until I turned my head around, where I found two swords in contact with each other right at my neck. The soldier behind me drew his sword and tried to hold it up to my throat. Veirya, who was in front of me, stood up and drew her sword to intercept the de that swung at me. I looked up at Veirya, who was opposite me, with surprise; but, she didn''t look at me, for her focus was on the soldier behind me, "This is my spoil of war. Are you trying steal it?"


    "Lord Veirya!"


    The kid in front of me panicked as he stood up and looked at Veirya, who was standing next to him. Veirya swept her ice-cold gaze over to him and said, "Mine. Don''t touch."


    "Don''t do it! Don''t do it!! Veirya!"


    I knew that Veirya was serious about retaliating, so I quickly shouted out. The young man on the other side backed off two steps. He felt at a loss for what to do. He shouted, "Move! Stop! Don''t make Lord Veirya angry! Stop!!"


    The two swords moved away. The three soldiers behind me moved away from my back. Veirya swept her ice-cold gaze over them. When her gaze stopped at the boy in front of her, he intensely shuddered. He looked as if he was about to cry. He looked at Veirya and sobbed, "Lord Veirya, I did not do that on purpose¡­ I honestly did not do that on purpose¡­ Do not be angry¡­ Lord Veirya¡­. Do not hate me¡­"


    Veirya didn''t utter a word. Instead, she sat back down as though nothing happened. That, instead, caused the boy to lookpletely baffled, unsure of what to do.


    <em>''Why does it seem that this boy''s IQ is¡­ about the same as Leah''s¡­? I bet that would react how Leah reacted if I scolded her¡­''</em>


    "I¡­ I did note for anything else¡­ Food¡­ I will¡­ Forget it¡­ Forget it¡­ Lord Veirya, you just need to say the word¡­ We will definitely have food delivered¡­ We will¡­ Umm¡­ Umm¡­ Do not be angry. Do not be angry¡­ I was in the wrong¡­ Umm, umm, I shall take my leave. I shall take my leave now."


    The boy in front seemed to feel that he offended Veirya. He continued to retreat and led the three to the door. They swiftly exited upon reaching the door. The next thing I heard was the sound of horse hooves, which wasn''t much longer after they left.


    "They left?"


    Veirya lingered. She then looked up at me with puzzlement, "Did I do something wrong?"


    "No. I don''t think you did anything wrong this time. However, he¡­ Mm¡­ That soldier of yours that delivered themands ¡­ I feel that there''s something wrong with him¡­"


    "Who is he?"


    "¡­ You don''t remember him?!"


    "No."


    <em>''All right; I think we shouldn''t let the kid know this. I feel that he worships Veirya on a borderline insane level. If he finds out Veirya never cared about him¡­ God knows how much pain he''d be in¡­''</em>


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Erhu - A two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a Southern Fiddle. It''s also sometimes called a Chinese two-stringed fiddle.

 Chapter Volume 1 53

    <em>''The clothes arrived in the evening. I must say that Leah looks very cute in the female shirt and small skirt. However, she wore thick pants underneath the skirt to stay warm. She can wear the skirt and connected shirt as a standalone in summer, though. This set of clothes is the same as a sukumizu thates down to her thighs. That will also keep Leah''s stomach covered as best as possible, and she would look real cute when she''s soaked in water. If possible, I''d like to see if we can get a pair of thigh-high socks for her. She''d look perfectly cute with that look.''</em>


    Leah sat on the chair and looked around cheerfully. I went down on one knee in front of her to help her put her boots on. Music was already ying outside. Leah was now particrly excited. She looked as though she was ready to sprint outside without even getting dressed. I gently finished up by tying up theces at the back of the boots.


    Leah cheerfully hopped off the chair, and then grabbed hold of my hand and cheerfully shouted, "Papa, Papa! Let''s hurry and go see it! Leah is looking forward to it! Leah wants to go!"


    "Don''t rush, Leah, don''t rush."


    I stood up with a smile and turned around. Veirya had finished putting her boots on and was now on her feet. I randomly felt it was a pity I didn''t get to help Veirya wear her boots on. However, she didn''t need me, anyway. Veirya''s new cape had been repaired. There was now a military emblem on the back of the cape, which was a picture of a shield and the head of a wild beast. After draping her cape over her shoulders, she looked at me and said, "We can go now."


    "All right."


    Veirya didn''t change, or rather, all her clothes are the same. She seemed more mindful today, however, as she wore a rtively formal military robe. Thus, it appears that she does consider this festival important, or maybe this is just the clothes she wears to festivals as a soldier.


    I nodded and then took hold of Leah''s hand. She gleefully ran to the door, pulling me along in tow. The instant she opened the door was as though she opened the door to a new world. The cheerfulughter of the people outsid,e as well as the mix of indistinctive shouting and music could also be heard. The aroma in the air was fragrant. Stalls set up with cloth and wooden nks had been set up. The owners were calling and shouting to promote their items. Many people were sat at wooden tables drinking beer and munching on simple snacks. The streets were bustling with people, making it appear as though there was nowhere to walk. The za was even noisier. There were already some couples holding hands there as they cheerfully danced to the music around the giant.


    "Wow!!"


    Leah was absolutely blown away with surprise. She looked at the bustling crowd in front of her nkly and in a surprised tone asked, "Papa, Papa, are there this many people in the town?!"


    "No¡­ We don''t have this many people in the town¡­ I''m sure that there aren''t just people from the town here. I''d venture a guess that even people from the city and viges nearby havee."


    The crowd squeezing in and out started to frustrate and tire me a little. I had no choice but to hold Leah''s hand tightly to prevent us getting separated. Leah''s small body literally got knocked and spun around by the crowds, so she could''ve ended up being separate from me at any given moment. I pulled her to my side and held her hand tightly, "Leah, do not separate from Papa. You must hold Papa''s hand, okay?! Veirya! Veirya!!"


    From my side, Veirya looked at me with confusion. She asked, "What?"


    I extended my right hand out and hastily said, "Can we hold hands? It''s going to be bad if we get separated in this crowd."


    Veirya looked at me, and then my hand, "No need. I won''t separate from you two. And, it''s fairly pointless to hold hands."


    I looked at her and responded awkwardly, "No¡­ We should still hold hands, nevertheless¡­ Or how about holding Leah''s hand? Otherwise, she''ll get separated from us by the people."


    Veirya didn''t show any hesitation at all this time. She went right up to Leah''s side and took hold of her hand. That hurt my feelings.


    <em>''I''ve helped her many times before, yet she doesn''t care about me. She awe-inspiringly said I was her object that she wouldn''t let anybody touchst time. She doesn''t even care for my feelings now, though. She won''t even hold hands with me¡­''</em>


    What surprised me, though, was that Leah didn''t give much of a reaction. While she did look at Veirya and pout unhappily, she didn''t show disgust or contempt.


    <em>''Has Leah started to fear Veirya less now? They have been living together for a long time, so I guess Veirya''s good will has reached Leah.''</em>


    <em>''I do think that the good will would''ve been understood a lot sooner if it was somebody else, right¡­? Veirya''s tried her best, though.''</em>


    The three of us held hands. Leah cheerfully walked between the stalls on both sides of the street. I''ve never seen these sorts of foods before, but the small colourful snacks were bound to attract kids like Leah. I even saw a snack where they brewed sugar and used the resulting syrup to write words. That gave me a nostalgic feeling.


    There was a crowd of very eager children in front of the sugar syrup. Sweets must be the equivalent of a luxurious enjoyment to kids. I was stupefied when I saw the price board to the side. The sugar I know of wasn''t worth money, yet it was now an amazing one silver coin for one small tube. One tube was only enough to write one letter.


    ''That''s very expensive. I barely have a penny on me after buying the clothes, so I can''t afford such an expensive food. It didn''t look as though the owner cared what kids thought, either, because his attention was on the women dressed in clean, pretty clothing that gave the impression that they were wealthy.''


    ''It appears that even candy is a luxurious item here.''


    Leah is a very sensible kid. She wanted some badly, but after looking at me, she just tugged on my shirt and said, "Papa, let''s go."


    "Leah¡­"


    "It''s all right¡­"


    Leah shook her head with a smile. She turned around and grabbed out hands to leave. I looked at her small head. I felt so ashamed of myself. I felt so ashamed I could rob the stall.


    <em>''Leah is, indeed, a very sensible daughter, but that makes me feel so ashamed as her father. This powerless feeling is basically the most humiliating feeling a man could experience. It''s a humiliating feeling that nobody can put up with!''</em>


    Veirya looked at the owner and Leah. She reached for her sword at her waist with her right hand. I quickly pressed my hand on her shoulder. He didn''t do anything wrong. He''s just doing business. Robbing would put us in the wrong. We can''t do it here.


    "My, how coincidental."


    I suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind. I turned my head around with surprise. A man dressed in a ck robe passed by me. He took thergest sugar te on the stand, and then threw down a few gold coins. I looked at him feeling astonished. The man reached his hand out and passed the candy to Leah with a smile. He then said, "I, naturally, need to rx at such a ceremonious festival. A child''s smile can make me a lot happier than money can. Here, cute girl. This candy is to bribe your father. I believe that your father will understand what I mean."


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Sukumizu is short for "school mizugi", which is themon swimsuit seen in Anime/Manga.


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 54

    Leah didn''t dare to ept the candy. I looked at the man. He kept his hand out in front of Leah. He smiled, and then looked at me, "I was just joking. It''s not likely possible to win you over by with a candy. I, honestly, really like children, and Leah is so cute. No man wouldn''t want to put a smile on such a cute girl''s face, right? Here, take it, Leah.


    I looked at him. He certainly didn''t have any noticeable ulterior motives on his face, and a candy wouldn''t be considered a condition at the negotiation table. The price is too low. Further, I didn''t feel that he intended to talk to me about anything, so I nodded, "Leah, thank him and then take it."


    "Thank you, Uncle!"


    Leah happily smiled. Her bright smile makes the sun and candy pale inparison. Her innocent smile on her cute face was the most beautiful scene in the world. The man''s expression that looked awkward. He hopelessly said, "U-Uncle¡­"


    "Ah, call him Big Brother!"


    "¡­" Leah looked at the man in front of her with surprise. She then looked at me feeling awkward and softly replied, "Papa, he doesn''t look like a ''big brother''¡­"


    "Forget it. Forget it. I''m fine. I don''t mind it."


    The man shook his head with a smile, and then stood up. We squeezed out of the store together. The kids on both sides of the store looked at Leah with envious gazes. Leah vigntly watched them and quickly licked her board of candy.


    I looked at the man and asked, "You came here this time to see the Fire Torch Festival?"


    "How did you know there are two of us?"


    He chuckled softly, while I pursed my lips. I then said, "I don''t think your bodyguard would let youe to such a rowdy ce alone. You didn''t let Angelinae along when you came to see us, because of her rtionship with Veirya, am I right?"


    "Yes. After all, I want to see you three, so I can''t let here. However, I don''t actually have any business. I just noticed that the person who organised this Fire Torch Festival was somebody I knew, so I felt that I shoulde and greet you."


    I chuckled, and then turned around to look at him. He then lowered his head and leaned into my ear. His behaviour disgusted me out, so I almost pushed him away. My gut feeling telling me he was gay got stronger and stronger. Next to my ear, he softly said, "You sure are bold to organise such a grand festival that belongs to heretics in an area the Chapel manages. They won''t just watch with their arms folded. I hope that you will be a little cautious."


    "The Chapel?"


    I remembered the simple life in the city that resembled the life of a suffering monk. Then I looked at how prospering and lively the town was. The Fire Torch Festival is considered a festival for heretics. The humans residing here aren''t believers of the Chapel and Veirya seems to have a grudge with them, or else she wouldn''t have refused to wear a cape with their emblem on it.


    "Yes. The Chapel is in the city at the moment. If you are not careful, and the Chapel extends their ws here, then that will make Angelina and Veirya very upset."


    "Angelina is a knight serving the Chapel, right?"


    "Yes."


    The man nodded, and then moved away from my ear. He chuckled and continued, "But you do not need to worry too much. I believe that the Chapel will not do anything today. However, their power is now very significant, so I hope you be attentive. After all, I do not want for our coboration to end prematurely. That is all from me. I must go and look for my bodyguard. Goodbye, and I hope you enjoy today."


    "You too."


    I nodded and watched him gradually go into the crowd. Leah then suddenly ced the board of candy in front of me. She asked with a smile, "Papa, do you want some? It truly is very sweet."


    I looked nkly at the board with sugar stuck to it.


    <em>''This is the candy Leah just sucked. On it is Leah''s¡­ No, no, no. Leah is my daughter. I can''t have any thoughts that cross the boundary. This doesn''t count as a kiss, either. It''s just¡­ No, no. No! Leah is a subus. Her body fluids might affect me in some way as a man.''</em>


    "Papa doesn''t want any. Enjoy yourself."


    Leah looked at me a little bewildered. She then looked at the board as though she was somewhat sick of it. Perhaps she was a little sick of it, because it was too sweet. However, it''d be a waste to throw it away now. Leah looked at the candy in her hand, and then she looked at Veirya next to her. Veirya didn''t care about candies, so she didn''t say anything. Leah frowned, and then pursed her lips. After a moment of hesitation, she held the candy up to Veirya.


    Veirya froze up and then looked down at Leah. Leah shuddered and then pulled her hand back as if nothing happened. However, Veirya certainly didn''t see it as if nothing happened. She extended her hand out and snatched the board of candy from Leah''s hand. She then poured it down her mouth and bit down onto it, crushing the candy in her mouth.


    "Ah!!"


    At first, I thought Veirya stole the candy from Leah, but on second thought, Veirya is that sort of person who does pointless things. Leah looked at Veirya feeling a little intimidated, but Veirya didn''t care about the way Leah looked at her. She chewed the candy and then tossed the wooden board away with an indifferent expression as though nothing happened.


    <em>''Was that¡­ a kiss between Leah and Veirya?''</em>


    The crowd suddenly cheered loudly. Both sides of the street suddenly got congested. I held Leah''s hand as tight as I could. The crowd bumped Leah silly, leaving her at a loss for what to do. The three of us got swamped by the crowd so suddenly. Veirya, who was eating just a moment ago, couldn''t grab Leah''s hand in time. Leah hugged my thigh and shouted, "Papa! Papa! That woman has gone missing¡­ That woman has gone missing¡­"


    "It''s all right. It''s all right. Leah, hang onto me tightly. Don''t get lost!"


    It doesn''t matter if Veirya gets separated from us. An adult would know where they are if they get separated, not to mention that Veirya will stand in ce without budging, so we''ll be able to locate her once the crowd disperses. I picked Leah up to avoid letting her get lost, as well as to avoid leaving her blind, since she can''t see the centre of the street.


    Arge burner was then carried over by over ten people. Arge wooden puppet sat on top of it. Behind therge burner was a musical band that followed along and blew their instruments as they walked. Everybody behind the crowd was holding a jug of wine, walking while pouring wine onto the people on both sides of the street. The air quickly smelt like wine. Everybody cheerfully watched the red wine spray through the air. Some even opened their mouths to try and catch it. They didn''t care that their clothes got stained with red wine. Leah curiously licked the wine on her hand, only to then immediately scrunch her cute face up and spit.


    They walked to the centre of the za and ced therge burner on the ground. Everybody stood around the burner. They then raised their pots of wine up and poured it onto the crowd on both sides. The music band gathered underneath the burner then began their ying. The crowds on both sides cheered loud as ocean waves. Plenty of couples eagerly rushed over underneath the burner and began dancing. Leah then pointed in a direction and eximed, "Papa! Papa! That woman is over there!!"


    I squeezed through the crowd in the direction Leah pointed. I saw the corner of a blue cape. I quickly reached out to grab her arm. Veirya turned her head around and looked at me with surprise. I was thrown off a little by her surprised gaze. I asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "¡­"


    She simply nodded without a word, and then grabbed hold of my hand. I was somewhat surprised. I looked at her. Her gaze was lifeless once again.


    <em>''Could she have gotten a fright when she got separated from us just now? But, whatever.'' </em>


    Veirya''s hand was indeed very warm. Her hand wasn''t smooth, but it put me atplete ease. I looked at the side of her face feeling a little surprised. The side of her face is so beautiful, except that she''s expressionless. However, I cherish this warm sensation from her hands.

 Chapter Volume 1 55

    I reached my hand out gently and pulled up Leah, who was on my back. She may be a subus, but she seems to possess the stamina of a child. After ying around in the wild crowd and dancing with me, she fell asleep on my back. I carried her back toward our home. I didn''t think it was a very good idea to wake her, so I decided to head back first.


    <em>''I don''t feel safe leaving Leah home alone. It appears that my journey for today ends here.'' </em>


    I knelt down in front of Leah''s bed and gave her a kiss on her small face before leaving the room. When I descended the stairs, I noticed Veirya wasn''t sitting at the table. I was slightly surprised, as normally, she always sat at the table. I pulled the door open to see her standing in the courtyard. I didn''t tidy up the courtyard. The broken water fountain and flower garden with yellow soil were evidently somewhat barren. I heard livelyughter and shouts from the street. The sound that came to me through the damaged courtyard and cold moon appeared particrly far away. It was as though we were separated by an immeasurable distance and time as if the noise outside had nothing to do with us. What we had was this damaged courtyard and the building without a single me for light.


    When youpare the two circumstances, this ce truly seems barren and lonely, as well as freezing cold at night.


    A bright light and me suddenly came from inside. What immediately followed resembled a whistle that could cause the air to tremble. This was the moment where the Fire Torch Festival reached its peak. All of the puppets had been lit up. Next was the cheerful dance between couples around the fire, expressing love and friendship for each other. After holding their loved one''s hands and dancing around the warm fire was an iparable warm embrace and food.


    <em>''However, I have nothing now.''</em>


    I stood next to Veirya.


    <em>''If you don''t do anything in this cold winter air, it won''t be long before you can''t feel your hands and feet. Further, I didn''t eat lunch or dinner; consequently, my hands and feet are now genuinely frozen numb.'' </em>


    Veirya didn''t give any reaction. She was cold as the snow and moon. Her demeanour deterred me from approaching her. But then she walked up to my side, looked at the me and asked, "What are they doing over there?"


    "Everybody will burn the puppets with a fire torch in their hand, and then dance around the bonfire, praying for god''s blessings, so that they can be together forever in the future. Additionally, they can get god to heed their prayers, which is a wish to have a good harvest the next year. You can consider it their hope for the future as the yeares to an end."


    "Is that right¡­?"


    Veirya responded with a gentle nod. Standing next to me, she extended her hand out to me. She looked at me with her clear blue eyes. I was caught with surprise. I looked at her. She titled her head with puzzlement, and then asked, "Didn''t you say we have to dance? You said couples could be together forever if they danced. Do we have to dance next to the fire for it to work?"


    "No¡­ I''m just confused as to why you''d want to dance with me."


    I looked Veirya with surprise. Her delicate face looked radiant under the moon light. Despite having no life in her expression, her blue eyes contrasted with the me representing bliss and happiness in the distance. However, the me was cold as ice. She extended her hand toward me while keeping her eyes fixed on me. Her face was void of any emotion. She just wanted to dance with me. I couldn''t see what she was thinking in her heart beneath her military uniform and cape, despite her being right in front of me.


    "Why can''t I dance with you?"


    Veirya''s expression didn''t change at all. However, her voice contained uncertainty when she asked me the question I had no means of answering. I hesitated for a moment then grabbed hold of her hand. I softly replied, "Let''s dance, then. But, I don''t know how to dance."


    "I can''t dance, either."


    "Hmm? What are we dancing then?"


    "I don''t know."


    The two of us started to move our feet around, drawing a squiggly circle on the ground. I held Veirya''s hands, but I couldn''t feel any warmth, and I didn''t have the courage to hook an arm around her waist. She was the same. She followed my footsteps as we turned. Her gaze was intently focused on my face. I looked at her diffidently. My eyes couldn''t focus. I''d look at her face for two or three seconds, and then look away.


    Veirya''s gaze on my face plucked at my heartstrings, and I wanted to say something, but never did.


    I then felt as though I kicked something. Coincidentally, we were switching steps. I took a wrong step and tripped toward Veirya. She lingered, but didn''t move away. Instead, she puffed her chest out, causing me to bump into the breasts that once made contact with Leah.


    Her faint scent enveloped me in that instant. It stimted my nerves and mind, making my brain go nk.


    Veirya didn''t let go. She kept a hold of my hand. I just sniffed in and relished her warmth.


    Veirya didn''t stop dancing. She looked at me from overhead for a moment then asked, "Can you stand?"


    "Sorry!! Sorry!! Sorry!!"


    I quickly lifted my head and away instinctively pushed her. She didn''t show any anger or emotion in her gaze. She just looked at me. She didn''t think I did anything wrong. She just thought I tripped.


    She looked at me feeling confused. Then she titled her head and asked, "Do you want to continue, then?"


    <em>''I don''t know if it''s because I just breathed in her most warm and fragrant scent, but Ipletely can''t meet with her eyes now. As see as I saw her, my heartbeat would rapidly speed up. This is the first time I felt Veirya was too pretty.''</em>


    "No¡­ No¡­ Umm¡­ I''m a little tired¡­"


    I quickly waved my hands and backed off. I had never lost myposure to this degree before.


    <em>''What''s wrong with me? I was just hit with a breast burial technique. Could I have fallen for Veirya? No way. No way. Could my route be conquered so easily?!''</em>


    <em>''No way. No way. I''m a rational man. It''s just my hormones acting up. I''ll be fine once I calm down. I''ll be calm once I calm down.''</em>


    "Are you sure you''re all right?"


    Veirya walked up to me and inquired with confusion. She looked at me and as if she understood something, she asked, "Is it because of this?"


    "Aaaahhh!!!"


    Veirya went right up to my lips and murmured her question.


    I didn''t feel any joy. What I felt was fright that nearly instantly killed me. Veirya looked at me even more puzzled. She leaned her face in toward me. The tip of her nose gently touched mine. Her ice-cold skin was on the tip of my nose. I felt her ice-cold lips slowly approaching. I felt her breaths tease my lips, making them go numb¡­


    "You want¡­ this, right¡­?"


    I froze in ce. My mind waspletely nk. I opened my trembling lips. I didn''t resist. I just waited for that kiss.


    <em>''Perhaps¡­ This was what I wanted.''</em>


    Veirya''s cold lips made contact with my lips¡­


    Just as I was about to shout out, I suddenly heard the door swing open. I turned my head to look in the direction of the sound. A girl with silver hair whipped her hair and came in. I looked at the individualing in. She looked the exact same as the one right next to me. I lingered for a moment, and then asked, "Angelina, right? D-Do¡­ you have business here?"


    "What are you saying?!! I''m Veirya!!"


    The woman at the door revealed an angry look for the first time. She pointed at the woman next to me and shouted, "What are you trying to do?!!"


    "Oh, boy. Have I been exposed?"


    The woman next to me revealed a proud smile. She pushed me away with a smile and let go of my hand in a fashion simr to a young girl that just sessfully pulled a prank. She looked at me with a smile, "What do you think? Have you developed feelings? Veirya is a pretty woman. If you like her, court her. Oh, right, if you have feelings for me, I won''t rule out the possibility as her mother. What would''ve happened if I we kissed just now?"


    "Get away from my property!! Traitor!!"


    Veirya drew her sword and charged over. Angelina shoved me away, and then drew her sword to block Veirya''s attack. She then hopped away andughed as she ran out of the door.


    Veirya huffed and puffed with anger, but didn''t chase her. Instead, she turned to face me and grabbed my cor with one hand. She kicked me into the building without a word prior, and then loudly shut the door.


    "You are not to run around!! You''re my property! I forbid you from talking to that woman!!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 56

    Veirya threw me straight up to the wall in the corridor. My back hurt, but she grabbed me by my cor and mmed me hard against the wall again before I could shout. She then grabbed me again and pulled me up to her. She then shoved her knee between my legs and in a suppressed voice roared, "I told you that I forbid you from talking to her!! I told you not to see her when I''m not around! I told you already! I told you already!!"


    "I¡­ I¡­ I can''t distinguish between you two¡­"


    My back hurt. I clenched my teeth and hissed as I looked at Veirya''s angry face in front of me.


    <em>''It was the first time I saw Veirya so mad. She was so mad I wouldn''t say it was oundish for her to rip me with her bare hands. Though she gets angry whenever Angelina is involved, I genuinely can''t distinguish between the two of them. Their appearances are the exact same. You can''t tell who is who by their appearance and they wear the same cape.''</em>


    <em>''I suddenly realised that Veirya''s cape she was wearing previously had the chapel''s symbol on it, so their cape was the cape worn by the chapel. That meant their cape was the exact same!''</em>


    <em>''I didn''t check the back of their capes! Veirya has the military''s emblem on her cape, while Angelina has the chapel''s cross. I never paid attention to it, nheless. I thought that she must''ve been Veirya, since she wore a blue cape. In all honesty, I didn''t pay attention to the design on their cape!''</em>


    "You can''t distinguish, right? You can differentiate between us, right? All right, then. I''ll show you our difference right now!!"


    Veirya looked at me with anger. She ripped her clothes with all her might, leaving me looking awkward.


    <em>''Why does Veirya need to tear her clothes off to show me how to distinguish between them¡­? Is there something to be fastidious about?'' </em>


    Veirya continued to remove her coat and shirt. She then pointed at her naked with one hand while directing my head with her other hand. She roared, "See now?! See now?! I have a birthmark on me. See it?! Remember it! Remembered it yet?! You are not to meet that woman too much in the future, got it?!! You''re my property, so have some awareness! Look closely! Look!!"


    Veirya was literally on the verge of insanity. She didn''t care about the fact that she had her body on disy. Honestly, I couldn''t bring myself to look at her birthmark.


    This is the real Veirya''s scent. Her scent was the same as Angelina''s. However, perhaps it was her anger caused it to surge up and spread boldly. The intoxicating scent left me at a loss.


    Soon after, she grabbed my hair and made me lift my head. She looked at me and angrily eximed, "I don''t care what you like, but you are not to go searching for that woman! You''re my property, understood?! If you go find that woman, I''ll personally behead you, understood?!"


    "I got it! I got!! But let go! Let go!!"


    Veirya didn''t give me a reaction. She let go. My heart that I thought couldn''t go anymore out of control was now dramatically beating again. I looked at Veirya''s face and felt a strong urge to hug her. Nevertheless, I knew that I''d die if I hugged her in this situation.


    <em>''That''s my biggest wish, though. ''</em>


    <em>''Why would I have such a desire? What''s wrong with me? Could I really have fallen for Veirya? But it''s obvious that she doesn''t care for me. I have no reason to fall for Veirya! Why would I have this thought? Do I just like her body? Wh-What''s wrong with me?''</em>


    Veirya released my hand, and then coldly looked at me. Her expression reverted back to her usual emotionless and ice-cold look. She coldly looked at me and asked, "What did she say to you?"


    "Nothing¡­"


    "What did she mean by ''court''?"


    Veirya looked at me with absolute seriousness and asked me a question that left me feeling very awkward. She pressed on, "What exactly did she mean with thest part about courting?"


    "Erm¡­ She meant¡­ Erm¡­"


    "Answer me!"


    Veirya was particrly serious.


    <em>''It seems she genuinely doesn''t understand the meaning of the word; but nevertheless, she seriously wanted to know what it meant, as Angelina said it to me.''</em>


    "It means¡­ Erm¡­ She wants me to pursue you¡­ Erm¡­ So that I can be with you."


    I could''ve made up something to trick Veirya with, but her question that was void of affection made my ears red, and I don''t even know why. I could feel my ears and tongue burn up. I didn''t dare to look at her straight in the face. I felt as though I''d die from embarrassment if I did.


    <em>''This is how a girl reacts. Why am I so shy in front of Veirya?'' </em>


    My mind waspletely nk. I had no idea what to say. I stuttered a bunch of random incoherent words. I wasn''t sure if she understood me or not.


    She looked at me with a nk look then titled her head, "Aren''t you always by my side?"


    "Yes¡­ But, I''m a spoil of war¡­ So¡­, mm¡­"


    "Does that matter?"


    It looks as though she really doesn''t understand anything. She just looked at me and shook her head with confusion, "I don''t mind if you don''t like it. You promised me that you would show me everything you''d show Leah. You said you''d stay by my side, so you don''t need to court me."


    "No¡­?"


    I smiled helplessly and awkwardly.


    <em>''I feel so foolish all of a sudden. I got shy and worried in front of Veirya for no reason, when Veirya had no idea what happened.'' </em>


    <em>''Why do my emotions sway so much in Veirya''s presence? Why do I feel as though I''m the female in front of her, while she''s the man that''s cool and slightly obtuse? I''m so perturbed. I''m a guy, yet I have no dignity in front of her.''</em>


    "You two danced, so I want to dance, too."


    Veirya extended her hand toward me. This time, it was the real Veirya''s hand. It was soft and warm.


    <em>''Being touched by her hand feels as though I''m standing next to a fire, which envelops me with a warm sensation.''</em>


    "Can you dance?"


    "No."


    "Me neither."


    "Forget it then."


    "¡­"


    <em>''A fleeting moment of warmth¡­''</em>


    <em>''Typical of Veirya¡­''</em>


    "Also, why were your lips touching before? You did that, so I want to try it, too."


    Verya pulled me over by my hand again. She threw me up against the wall and sealed my lips with a kiss, Our teeth made contact. My entire body went limp, but she backed offpletely satisfied. I was left with a shocked look and felt dumbstruck, while she returned to her seat.

 Chapter Volume 1 57

    <em>''They say that the Fire Torch Festival is a festival to pray for an abundant harvest. Some also say that it''s a festival for couples. I don''t know if it''ll ensure an abundant harvest, but I know that it sure is a festival that represents passion for love. I have no idea what''s the matter with me. My heartbeat just gets erratic when Veirya is next to me. I don''t know why I''m in this state. I don''t get anything from being around her.''</em>


    <em>''When was it that I started paying attention to Veirya?''</em>


    <em>''I don''t know. Was it from the moment she emerged from the water? Was it when she was taking a bath? Was it when she revealed her inner thoughts? Or was it when she drew her de to protect me?''</em>


    <em>''Now that I think about it, we''ve gone through a fair number of things between us, despite me thinking the contrary.''</em>


    <em>''But does that mean I''ve fallen for Veirya?''</em>


    Veirya had gone to sit down at the dinner table. She didn''t n to say anything else. I stood at the stairs and looked over. I truly felt a little awkward. I didn''t know what to say. I adjusted my mood, regaining myposure. Not even I understood what happened.


    <em>''Why would I suddenly have the thought?''</em>


    I went upstairs and gave the door to our room a light push. Leah wasn''t sleeping. The bed was empty, and the window was open. The night breeze brought a weird smell that contained the smell of burnt wood into the room. I think there was the smell of ashes, as well. It was now midnight. Leah had transformed into her adult form. She stood at the window with the front side of her body leaning onto the window, and her arms resting on the wood. The moonlight gently shined onto her scap that truly resembled the beautiful wings of a butterfly. The moonlight continued shining down along her back down to her hips and below, all the way down to the ground, bringing the young girl''s scent and beauty onto the ground. As a result, the moonlight itself was fragrant.


    Leah looked at the mes outside with a smile. I thought it was best that I not approach her at the moment. Leah had her back facing me. Her beauty was highlighted by the moonlight. I trembled as I walked up behind her. Leah paid no heed to me as though she was unaware of what she was revealing. She turned her head sideways to look at me. She cheerfully smiled and called out to me, "Papa!"


    She looked at me with puzzlement and asked, "What''s wrong, Papa?"


    "No, no, no¡­ Nothing¡­ Nothing¡­"


    I cut my thought off once she called me "Papa." A shameless feeling and guilt stopped me from daring to raise my head. Leah, however, didn''t mind. She stood up and wrapped her arm around me with a smile. She''s different to Veirya. Her scent smells a little nicer and gives one a strong urge to breathe it in and find out more. Perhaps it''s in her subus nature, causing one to have an urge to approach her and let themselves fall, and then finally, die.


    <em>''But Leah definitely won''t do that.''</em>


    Leah tightly clung to my arm. She giggled while looking at the mes. In a soft voice, she questioned, "Papa, do you think we''ll be blessed with bliss if we dance under the light of the mes?"


    I nodded gently, "Yes."


    <em>''That was how it went in the legend. They said that god would bless couples to be together forever if they danced under the light of the mes.''</em>


    Leah looked at the mes. Her eyes were filled with eagerness. She gently leaned onto me and looked over to the side of the mes. She softly said, "Sorry, Papa. I fell asleep¡­ It waste by the time I woke up. We''re not over there and¡­ we said that we wouldn''t dance.''


    Leah gently turned her head to look at my face. She gently stroked my face with her hand, and then lightly leaned onto my chest. Right next to my heart, she softly murmured, "But, Papa, Leah still wants to dance¡­ Although you that the bliss they speak of is different to the feelings between us, Leah still wants to dance with Papa. I greedily want to possess your bliss for myself alone¡­ Papa¡­ Leah only haves you here¡­ Leah wants to be with Papa forever¡­ Leah wants to have Papa''s bliss all for Leah alone. Can I have it all, Papa?"


    Leah looked at me with her red eyes. Her gaze was filled with the wish and fantasy of a young girl. She gripped my cor in a slightly nervous fashion simrly to a child asking for candy. She gently slid her hand on my palm and grabbed a light hold of it. She then smiled and looked at me, "Papa, so warm¡­ Papa''s hands¡­ are so big. It makes me feel reassured¡­ Leah¡­ Leah wants to hold Papa''s hands forever. Can Leah do that?"


    I gave her a gentle nod for a response, "Uhm."


    Leah grabbed hold of my hand and finally revealed a happy smile, "Papa, we aren''t underneath the fire, so will Leah still receive bliss? Will Leah be able to be together with Papa forever?"


    I firmly held her hand without speaking. I swept my feet, and Leahughed with joy. Her long and slender legs began to dance under the moonlight. Her delicate legs gave off a charming feeling simr to pearlsnding on the ground one after another. Her clear and bright skin gently moved underneath the moonlight. While her gentle and smooth steps were messy, every step was exquisite andparable to a piece of art.


    <em>''Leah is a subus, all right. She''s a beautiful female in the eyes of males.''</em>


    "Phew!!"


    Leah cheerfully danced randomly. I moved around correspondingly. I watched Leah generously disy her beauty in front of me. She soon got tired then shifted closer to me. She pulled me over by my arm and firmly thumped her head on my chest. She then tightly gripped my chest andughed. Leah is so pure and beautiful that even the moonlight pales inparison.


    My heartbeat sped up. Leah didn''t know what I was doing, but she continued to cling to me. I looked at Leah, my dear daughter. I didn''t know her in the past, but serenity and tenderness akin to that of the moonlight flowed in my heart.


    "Papa¡­ Papa¡­"


    Leah slowly shifted her hands upwards to gently sp my face. She raised her head up. I noticed ayer of tears in her eyes¡­


    Leah leaned in. Her lips trembled as they approached mine. I slowly shut my eyes as I waited for that soft and moist sensation toe¡­


    A cold and gentle breeze from outside blew, brushing my hand and face. I seemed to catch a glimpse of a few strands of silver hair in front of me again. Those thin lips that were cold as the moon came closer and closer to me. They were right at my lips.


    "You want¡­ this, right¡­?"


    I suddenly opened my eyes and pushed Leah away. She retreated a step with shock and almost tripped. I quickly grabbed hold of her. Leah looked at me feeling terrified. She trembled as she asked, "Papa¡­ Papa¡­ Did¡­ did Leah do something wrong¡­? Papa¡­"


    "No¡­ No¡­ Sorry. Sorry¡­"


    I massaged her forehead, and then gave her a gentle hug as I calmed her down by stroking her head. The sudden change I felt gave me a bit of a headache. I hugged Leah as I sat on the bed. She took gentle breaths in my arms and didn''t say anything. I looked in that direction and spaced out.


    <em>''Though I was still hugging Leah, my mind was thinking of Veirya''s emotionless face.''</em>


    <em>''No, I meant, Angelina''s face.''</em>


    <em>''No. That''s not it. I was flustered because Angelina and Veirya''s faces are too simr.''</em>


    <em>''No, that''s not it. ''</em>


    <em>''What''s the matter with me¡­?''</em>


    <em>''Did I push Leah away because of Veirya or did I push her away because of Angelina? Do¡­ Do¡­ Do I like Veirya or Angelina?''</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 58

    Though I slept holding Leah that night, I wasn''t thinking of her. I, instead, thought of Veirya.


    <em>''Thanks to that mother and daughter pair, my mind was an utter mess. I don''t know which of these feelings of mine are directed at. It felt as though an electric current ran to my heart, causing it to race rapidly the instant Angelina''s lips touched mine. I couldn''t look her straight in the eye; however, I didn''t know who she was at the time. I thought she was Veirya. But then, Veirya, herself, kissed me and our teeth touched, yet my heart didn''t race. My heart, indeed, didn''t race as a result of touching Veirya, but she wasn''t Veirya.''</em>


    <em>''If my rtionship with Angelina became good and if we even went as far as to be together, what would my rtionship with Veirya turn out to be? What am I to do about Leah? Angelina and Veirya aren''t on the same team, but the both of them are humans who fight against demons. They''re on the same team whenbatting external threats. Furthermore, am I supposed to have Veirya call me "dad?" I don''t consider itical for Veirya to call me "dad" with her ice-cold expression. To the contrary, I find it terrifying and frustrating.''</em>


    <em>''Veirya might not allow me to, either¡­ If it was a battle for me, I''d say my life wasplete. However, Veirya is only behaving that way because it''s Angelina. She''s not angry about me, but Angelina.''</em>


    <em>''Sometimes, I can casually go between corporations and find the best way to solve problems. That isn''t just my work, but also a process that I enjoy. Now, though, I''mpletely flustered when ites to my emotional problems. The very thought of Veirya''s lifeless, yet clear blue eyes causes my heart to beat so rapidly that it feels as though it''ll pop out of my chest. As a result of that, my body temperature rose. The fire at my chest sent my nerves aze. I couldn''t sleep in peace, despite holding Leah, due to this random feeling. I couldn''t find a hint of peace or bliss, either.''</em>


    <em>''What''s this considered? I''m suffering internal turmoil after other things have settled down. Is this considered worrying about problems I conjured up in my own mind?''</em>


    The me in the room burnt until the sun came up. The town only became quiet after the sun appeared.


    <em>''I''m sure that this is that tavern''s best period of business. The food and drinks must be coins in their pockets now. I never actually thought that people from the nearby vige and even the city woulde to the town. There were even lots of merchants who came. I think the merchants'' visits must''ve been that man''s idea. I wouldn''t consider it a gain, but merely a normal event. Deals with money involved will bring profits. The merchants will also make a profit from the firewood in winter after this.''</em>


    <em>''However, this brought life to the town. People and intellect will always follow money. A town where money isn''t being circted is essentially a cemetery. There''s nobody who doesn''t need money. The only ones who don''t need money are the dead.''</em>


    After a sleepless night, I got out of bed on a peaceful day - which is rare - to prepare breakfast for my daughter and Veirya. Veirya probably didn''t eat anything yesterday. Actually, she must''ve eaten a fair bit when she was with me, Angelina and the man. Otherwise, she would''ve had me go and cook for herst night. I don''t know who came up with the idea of swapping the mother and daughter, maybe they came up with it in the spur of the moment. Whatever the case is, this prank is frustrating me to no end.


    Unsurprisingly, I saw Veirya when I went downstairs. She was sitting at the table as always. I don''t know if she sleptst night, but I see her sitting here every day. She doesn''t drink or eat anything, speak or move. She just sits there in silence as if she was a statue. Normally, I wouldn''t care, but when I see Veirya''s face now, I can''t help but feel nervous all over. As a matter of fact, I don''t dare to look her in the eyes. I stood at the stairs and hesitated. I wasn''t sure what the best way to enter was.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Veirya noticed me standing at the entrance. She looked at me, and before I figured it out, she asked with puzzlement, "What''s wrong? Did something happen?"


    "Ah¡­ No¡­ No."


    "Go and cook, then. I''m hungry."


    <em>''Veirya sure didn''t hold back. That was all she had to say. It was as if nothing happenedst night. The kiss from yesterday didn''t hold any meaning to her. She only did because Angelina did it. I, honestly, feel stupid after seeing how Veirya is right now. I couldn''t sleep, because of it, while she never cared in the slightest. I would even go as far to say that her care factor would be a negative numerical value if such a thing existed. Veirya genuinely considers me a spoil of war and not a human being.''</em>


    <em>''Or maybe she had no idea what happened - in the sense that she doesn''t know about the things between a male and female, let alone the feelings between them. I''m sure that she''s never been in love before. Courting her must be the same as courting a stone statue. Try as you may, you won''t ever get a response. Actually, Veirya would probably give you a thrashing if you went overboard with your courtship. My odd romance should end here. Veirya won''t understand it. After all, she''s Veirya.''</em>


    I adjusted my mood and feelings.


    <em>''I''ll need to start earning money once spring starts. I don''t have a penny at the moment, but I''ll have a ce to earn money from, as I can make money off the merchants who areing and going. Once I''ve made enough, I can take Leah to the Imperial Capital to live a life of luxury. Before that, though, I need to repair the water fountain here.''</em>


    ==================


    Current time inside the city.


    "The heretics conducted their festival so conceitedly. The kingdom is now ruled by God. Only our god is protecting them now! Conducting such an evil and vulgar festival is the equivalent of questioning our god''s authority!! Our chapel hase here, so we have the responsibility to purify ournds. If those heretics sincerely correct their wrongs by offering money and respect to our god, then we are brothers and sisters. However, if they refuse to realise their wrongs, then we shall purify ournds with the sword in our god''s hand!!"


    "Your Excellency, Veirya is there, though. She is the exemr of the military, and the hero that yed the Demon King. If we stick our noses into her territory that she manages, I am afraid that we wille into conflict. I am afraid that would put us in a passive position."


    "What''s there to be afraid of? She only managed to y the Demon King thanks to our god''s blessings. Our knight isn''t inferior to her. Those who oppose God must pay the price no matter who they are!!"


    The man looked at the boastful bishop. He didn''t say another word. The bishop smiled then said, "But, Mr. Alex, have you prepared the military funds and provisions you were supposed to provide us with?"


    The man looked at the bishop''s bald head and nodded gently. He said, "Yes."


    "Good, then. Send them over as soon as possible. Then, we can begin our purge of the heretics! For our faith! For our god!"


    The man didn''t go along with the bishop''s act of foolery. Instead, he saluted him and left the chapel. He turned his head to look at Angelina, "The chapel won''t get anywhere¡­"


    "Do you n to help Veirya, I mean, Mr. Dongqing then?"


    "You''re already addressing him by his name, huh? It looks like you really like him."


    "I really like pure men. It gives me the thrill of hunting."


    "Do you know twisted that sounds when you say it with that cold look¡­? I don''t n to, though. I don''t trust him very much yet. Let''s watch for now. Let''s see how he deals with the chapel. Angelina, I know that it''s inconvenient for you to show yourself when dealing with this, since their enemy is Veirya, while you''re the chapel''s knight, so I won''t go over."


    "Thank you. However, I really want to go and see that child."


    "Veirya will kill you. She really will."


    "She would''ve anyway."

 Chapter Volume 1 59

    It was close to spring after the Fire Torch Festival ended. Perhaps the mes of that daypletely melted the ice-cold winter air in the North. The first rain came three or four days after the festival. Though it was so freezing that Leah and I shivered in the nket when it rained, Leah''s body was very warm. It seems as though her body temperature is higher than a human''s due to her subus nature. And so, it was very warm when I hugged her.


    However, Leah was no longerrge enough to cover my body when morning came. Therefore, I''d miss her form she took on in the middle of the night. She could hug my entire body when she was in her adult form. Her warm and soft skin is the wife of every man''s dream, except, she''s not my wife, but my daughter.


    After the ice-cold rain, it seemed as though the frozennd was woken up. The mes buried deep in the ground lit up, and the air started to be warm. The town became a lot livelier, because of the alcohol and feeling of gold coins from the Fire Torch Festival. When we first came to the town, the streets were virtually empty. Once spring came in, however, people began to sell small goods on the streets. They sold things you might need for farming in spring. cksmiths began to light up their mes. Clothing stores opened their doors. People started drinking at the tavern and eating that ear dish. Hunters began to hunt the rodents that came out to search for food after winter, because of the ear dish. Green grass had also begun to grow on the white snowy mountain in the distance.


    Spring had walked in. People say that spring is the season of seed nting and hope. Seeing the life in the town, as well as the green grass gradually covering the mountain oddly filled me with confidence. I don''t know where the confidence wasing from, but I felt that I could realise my dream in theing year.


    <em>''I think I could make history by making enough to move to the Imperial Capital in a single year.''</em>


    While I don''t know where I got the confidence from, I was confident.


    Leah seemed a little excited when spring came. She slept less and less at night. She looked at the children outside with eagerness. Though the children didn''t have clothes as nice as her, they had their own friends and could y around inside the town. There''s a running river outside the town. It was frozen in winter, but was flowing once again in spring, so a good number of children went there to y in the water.


    <em>''Leah didn''t mention it to me, but we watched the children ying in the water without regard for the cold, I noticed Leah''s envy in her eyes. Leah needs a friend. Though I''m by her side, Leah is still a kid. She needs friends. I also think she needs mother.''</em>


    <em>''Of course, I''m not sure if it''s because I''ve had some ideas about romance recently. My stance that Leah needs a mom has grown stronger and stronger¡­''</em>


    <em>''I haven''t deliberated it yet, though. I wouldn''t be thinking about it in front of Veirya, after all¡­'' </em>


    Veirya hasn''t tried to deepen her rtionship with me, during this time, but the three of us don''t feel as awkward as we did when we first cohabitated. Leah''s rtionship with Veirya isn''t so rough anymore, either. At least, Veirya hasn''t shown any aggression again, while Leah isn''t so fearful of Veirya anymore, either. She can live with Veirya now and isn''t so vignt of her. Trust requires time to be established, after all. Leah has graduallye to ept Veirya after living with her for so long. Nheless, Leah still doesn''t take the initiative to talk to Veirya. They don''t say a word or spare each other a look when they''re with each other. It''s as if the two of them have reached a very subtle bnce.


    They only have very minor fights when they fight for food, but Leah let go in the end literally every time. Veirya can ept anything, but not letting somebody else have her food.


    After that time, Veirya hasn''t interacted with me unless necessary. She hasn''t said anything to me, either, after Angelina returned to the city. That crazy night was fated to be a memory. Veirya didn''t kiss me again ore into contact with me. She says no more than ten sentences to me a day and never asked a thing about the situation in the town. Once the warmth of spring came in, Veirya had an extra activity, which was to go horse riding in the ins outside beforeing back for dinner.


    In the evening, Veirya would allow me to take care of her when she took a bath. Wait. That''s not right. She needed me to be by her side whenever she took a bath. She generously disyed her body to me. I''ve now seen it so many times that I''ve remembered the mole on her breast.


    <em>''Honestly, I hope for Angelina to make a trip here, since Veirya is a bit livelier when she''s around. Otherwise, I have nothing to talk to Veirya about. It feels horrible for the three of us to be at home, yet not talking to each other.''</em>


    I had things to attend to once spring came. I had to select a location for the man''spany toe and construct an exchange of foods station. The vigers here will send the fur to the station, and the merchants will sell it and deliver it into the city. The station doesn''t need to berge, but it needs to be convenient for traffic. Lighting also needs to be good. With those conditions in mind, the centre of the vige and town would be the most appropriate location. Building it next to the za will also make it easy for horse carriages to u-turn.


    After I finished checking out the location for the station with the record keeper, he looked at Leah next to me, who looked lifeless. He smiled and said, "My Lord, the mountain forest is now warm. The ice has pretty muchpletely melted, as well. We have a ce that you can y around in, which is located on the mountain at the rear. Would you like to go there with your family to have some fun? The former lord loved to go there in the past. There should be a small home there. You can go there to have some fun."


    "Such a ce exists?"


    I was caught by surprise.


    <em>''I''ve never been into the mountain forest. I don''t think it''s particrly warm in the forest yet, is it? Is it really a good idea to go into the forest?''</em>


    "Yes, there is. Nothing will happen in the town in theing days. Everybody will soon go off to nt crops, so nobody has anything in particr to do. You, therefore, do not to stay in the city. Everybody is very happy with the Fire Torch Festival this time. You have not been able to fully enjoy yourself, either. How about enjoying a few days'' vacation before spring kicks off? Go have fun on the mountain."


    "You can <em>actually</em> y around on the mountain in this season?"


    "Yes. Yes. Further, though there are demons on the mountain, you would not need to worry with Lord Veirya present, right?"


    "Papa!! I want to go!! I want to go!!"


    Leah, who was next to me, grabbed my arm and called out to me with excitement. I looked at her gaze. It was clear that she didn''t want to go there to y. What she was looking forward to even more was seeing demons. Demons are our enemies, but they''re Leah''s brethren.


    I stroked her head and met with her anxious eyes. I gave her a gentle nod and replied, "All right. Papa will take you there to look around, then."


    l

 Chapter Volume 1 60

    "Going out?"


    I finally managed to speak to Veirya at dinner. She looked at me while eating bread. She continued, "I don''t mind if you''re going out, but if you''re going onto the mountain, you must prepare well. Lots of demons, here."


    "Yeah?"


    "Uhm, I notice, demons, every day when I go out."


    Perhaps Veirya had been there in the past. Otherwise, she must''ve gone out these two days to look for demons as she did in the past, not because she was bored. The demons fled helter-skelter after the Demon King died, so it would seem that they didn''t respect him, but merely feared him. They all fled helter-skelter without any dignity after the Demon King died. This, therefore, became the hiding spot for many demons. The demons could capture cities and camps if they banded together, but these fallen demons were mere stragglers, so they weren''t a real threat. They wouldn''t attack human viges and towns unless they ran into the woods in the mountains on their own ord.


    Although Veirya agreed toe with us to the woods together, I don''t feel happy at all. Rather, I''m a little depressed, since Veirya didn''t care about it. I didn''t invite Veirya to join us just to use her to protect Leah. My other reason was genuinely to let Veirya have some fun. Veirya hasn''t mentioned or done anything since then, but I can''t stop missing her blue eyes.


    <strong>*Knock. Knock. Knock¡­*</strong>


    Somebody knocked on our door. I stood up and looked at Veirya. Veirya didn''t move this time. She stayed seated in her chair and continued to enjoy her soup in peace. I, therefore, concluded that the person outside wasn''t armed and was just an ordinary individual. I walked up to the door and pulled it open. Behind the door was a young girl with short hair. It appeared as if her hair hadn''t been tidied up in a long time. Her haired swayed in wind as if it was a collection of dead branches. She had frostbite and snot on her face. I wouldn''t have been able to identify her gender if not for her modest breasts. Her clothes were torn and tattered. It''s still very cold at night in spite of it being spring. There''s no way you could shield yourself from the cold with a singleyer of clothing and a thin cloak. She looked at me with arms folded and body quivering. She was so cold that her lips were purple, "Hello¡­ Hello¡­ Is¡­ Is this Lord Veirya''s home?"


    "Yes."


    I nodded, and then made way, "Since you are here to see Lord Veirya,e on in."


    "Thank you! Thank you!"


    She gratefully nodded, and then entered the house with small steps. That''s when I noticed that while her shoes were tattered; there was still half of the military emblem remaining. She must be a warrior like Veirya.


    Leah was frightened when she saw her. After all, she doesn''t look as though she''s a human from her appearance. To put it into perspective, Leah probably reacted the same way we humans do when we see demons. Veirya looked at her for a moment then looked away.


    "Lord Veirya, she is here for you."


    "I don''t know her."


    I froze up, because of her response. Veirya didn''t seem as though she intended to say much to this girl.


    <em>''I wonder why Veirya doesn''t know anybody¡­ ''</em>


    The girl obviously froze up. I walked up to Veirya and whispered, "She appears to be a warrior, doesn''t she? Didn''t you fight together in the past?"


    "The people are fought alongside with are basically all dead."


    After saying that in a most calm fashion, she added, "I might know her, but I don''t remember faces."


    "I beg you, Lord Veirya!! I beg you, please let me work here¡­ I have not had money to buy food in days. I cannot find work, so I have resorted to seeking you out. I beg you¡­ Do you still remember the small team that assisted you at the Battle of Somme? I was part of that small team. Please, please help me out of consideration of that time."


    "I didn''t ask for your help. Also, you were the ones that insisted on following me that time when I told you that I''d be fine alone."


    The girl seemed to lose all of her energy. She prostrated herself on the ground and cried, giving Leah a fright, which nearly led to her jumping off her chair and running away. I pulled Leah behind m,e and then looked at Veirya.


    Veirya didn''t deny what the girl did. Actually, it seemed that she somewhat disliked this clingy girl. She stood up, "I don''t care whether you keep her or not. You be responsible."


    She figuratively threw me the girl without any hesitation, which caused me to freeze. Leah hid behind me and ate her food in her bowl, as she was afraid that her food would be stolen from her. The only person who''d be protecting their food in this kind of situation would be Leah. She looked at the girl and softly said, "Papa, is she a famine victim, too? We might not be able to help a group, but can we not help her alone, either? Can''t we treat her to a meal?"


    I shook my head, and then whispered in her ear, "One meal won''t solve the problem. After one meal, there are still all the meals afterwards. We aren''t royalty. If we feed somebody for free, that will only lead to more peopleing here to eat for free."


    I stood next to the dinner table and looked at the girl in front. I pulled her up, "We aren''t a housing department. We aren''t responsible for taking in wanderers. However, if you can work for us, I can provide you with a job."


    She wiped her face rather aggressively. She looked at me with her face still covered in ck marks, snot and tears. In a loud voice, she replied, "Sure. Sure. I can. I can work. I used to be a Gold Level adventurer. I can fight!"


    I lowered my head to ask Veirya, "What sort of standard is a Gold Level adventurer?"


    Veirya thought about it for a moment before replying, "Roughly¡­ Mm¡­ Mm¡­"


    Veirya, who was an individual of few words, seemed to struggle to exin it to me. That''s when Leah softly said, "Papa, a Gold Level adventurer is very skilled. One of my elder sisters was killed by a Gold Level adventurer¡­"


    "Really?''


    I looked at the girl with doubt.


    <em>''If she''s a Gold Level adventurer, how did she end up in this state? If she was somebody who was strong enough to kill one of the Demon King''s heirs, she can''t be an ordinary soldier no matter how you look at it.''</em>


    She bitterly pursed her lips when she looked at me. She exined, "I¡­ I''m illiterate¡­ and I don''t know anything¡­ After the war came to an end¡­ I couldn''t find work¡­ I sold my armour¡­ my weapons, and then had no choice but to head north, in hopes of finding Lord Veirya¡­ There are lots of other unemployed adventurers like myself¡­ Girls prostituted themselves¡­ Many¡­ didn''t make it through winter¡­ We¡­ We had won the war¡­ We had already one¡­"


    "Didn''t Her Majesty have any arrangements for you adventurers?"


    I looked at the woman in front of me feeling considerably puzzled. Usually, the adventurers should receive appropriatepensation and whatnot. They''re all soldiers that can kill. They''re strong and brave soldiers when theybatted the demon race, but once the demon race was through, theirbat prowess will be a malignant tumour for this society due to the nature of the society, unless somebody helps them settle down.


    <em>''Why? Why did Her Majesty neglect this? Veirya was the only warrior that you could say had arrangements to help her settle down. ''</em>


    "No¡­ Her Majesty did not bother with us¡­ Some¡­ were arrested by the military and killed¡­"


    "Ah¡­"


    By the sounds of it, the Queen has begun to deal with them. She ns to let them die themselves while eliminating those who can''t restrain themselves.


    <em>''This way of dealing with them surely has to be a little too vicious¡­'' </em>


    The warriors couldn''t find work and are killed if they appear discontent in the slightest. Soon enough, there will only be adventurers who aren''t willing to mention the things of that era anymore, as well as dead adventurers.


    "But nheless, we have Veirya here; therefore, we don''t need your protection. Let''s do this. If you''re willing to stay, you''ll be in charge of some chores. Can you clean rooms, firewood, food, wash clothes and the such?"


    "Me¡­ do those jobs?"


    She had fallen to this state, but she didn''t look to willing when she heard my response. I frowned, "Take it or leave it. We don''t run a refugee camp. If we take you in, other wanderers wille here. What, are we going to turn into a refugee camp?! You still think you''re a Gold Level adventurer? The war is over, understand? The Demon King is already dead. You''re no longer adventurers. You''re now just wandering unemployed people! I''m providing you with work, and yet you''reining about it?"


    She speedily nodded in a flustered manner, "No, no, no¡­ I''ll do it. I''ll do it¡­ I''ll start tomorrow¡­"


    I nodded, "Go to the kitchen and heat up some water to clean yourself up. I will tell you what ces you will need to clean and tidy tomorrow onwards."


    "Sure. Sure."


    "Go to the kitchen and have some of the food there."


    Veirya immediately stood up and eximed, "No touching the food!"


    "My share, okay¡­?"


    "I don''t mind, then."


    <em>''That hurt¡­''</em>

 Chapter Volume 2 1

    "Out of consideration of the fact that you once contributed to the war against the demon race, Her Majesty is generously showing you mercy. Instead of death by hanging, you shall be beheaded. Your execution shall be held tomorrow!"


    Queen Sisi nodded to indicate to the official next to her that he could pass the order down. She then let out a breath of relief. She stretched her hand she just wrote with and examined it. With a slight frown, she remarked, "How annoying. It''s just a few people, yet I have to, personally, write a letter. I had just cleaned my nails and skin. What a waste. Bring those materials over for me again. I need to take care of my hand."


    "Your Majesty, in my opinion, you need to reconsider the issue with the adventurers."


    A young man wearing a purple cape and standing behind the Queen spoke up, "I can get you everything you need. However, you should think about the matter concerning the adventurers carefully. Although the adventurers have be useless after the death of the Demon King, they are your pieces for war. We, alone, are not enough to face the chapel and merchants. If you kill all of the adventurers that believed in you, the chapel and merchants will consider it good news if they plot against you. If I am not wrong, this idea must have been given to you by the chapel and merchants, right? After all, the adventurers are not military personnel, so they can do as they please with their assets."


    Queen Sisi proudly shook her head and replied in a casual manner, "That won''t happen. The demon race is no more. I was the one that led us to defeat that powerful foe, and I also trust the chapel and merchants. The chapel and merchants wish to profit and make gains from me, which I can provide them with. So is there a need for me to worry? I know that you military personnel are slightly unhappy that you don''t have a chance to act at the moment. That''s why I am having you pursue those adventurers. You should be grateful to me."


    "Your Subject is very grateful to you, Your Majesty¡­ It is just¡­ Just¡­ Your Majesty, you must be wary of those groups. They are absolutely a threat to you!"


    Queen Sisi nodded, "I know, I know." She then turned her head around to look at the young man with a smile, "I''m aware of it all. The chapel and merchants said the same thing to me previously. They warned me to be wary of you soldiers. They said that you may revolt against me due to not having anything to do."


    "Your Subject would never dare to do that!! Your Subject treads the path of honour left behind by ancestors. Our honour and glory is being absolutely loyal and dutiful. It is impossible for us to have ulterior motives towards you!!"


    Right? So can I trust them?"


    ''Queen Sisi made an open hand gesture. Then she touched the young man''s face andughed, "Has anybody ever told you that your eyes are very pretty? I really like you, for the fact that you managed to be a leader in the military at such a young age. I believe that people with such pretty eyes are very trustworthy. The same goes their side, though. I know what you three parties are thinking. You all have your own agendas. I do bear in mind everything you''ve all said. The war has ended, so let''s put your military aside for now. I''m more concerned about filling up the national treasury, than those so-called military contributions."


    "Your Subject¡­ Understands."


    The young man knew that Queen Sisi would deny whatever he said, since she had said that. He was genuinely loyal. Killing the adventurers would only enrage them. The chapel most certainly has ulterior motives, not to mention the fact that they have their own independent military force. Their forces are encroaching upon the border, step by step, yet Queen Sisi hasn''t realised anything. The military, however, knew what they were scheming. The military had to make preparations, since Queen Sisi wasn''t budging. They had to act, not only for Her Majesty, but also for Lord Veirya!


    ===============


    Current time in the North.


    I looked at the woman, who had tied herself up and was now standing before me. I was somewhat surprised. I never thought such a dirty looking woman could look quite pretty after tidying herself up a bit. Her light-blonde hair was now soft and smooth after washing off the dirt. She did her hair into a ponytail, thereby revealing her white neck. Both her neck and the side of her face looked very pretty. Her face was thin, and her ck eyes were very energetic. While she was wearing Veirya''s military uniform, she gave off a noble aura. She sat at the table properly. In a sincere tone, she said, "Thank you very much for taking me in. I was once the daughter of a military officer. However, my father didn''t let me learn any literacy. I was raised as a soldier ever since I was a kid. After that, I assisted Lord Veirya as an adventurer¡­ Though she doesn''t remember it¡­"


    I looked at her and nodded, "It looks as thoughyour life as adventurers was very poor."


    "It was tough. Only Lord Veirya led a decent life as one. We¡­ The military pressured us a lot. The chapel, too¡­ The chapel never trusted us. None of us expected to wake up to find our lives in this state after the war ended after drinking all night that night¡­ In fact, it was worse than before¡­"


    "That''s because your roles have been abandon by the era. Without the Demon King, you have be liabilities for the society. A long sword can kill demons, and it can hurt even more people, so the Queen abandoned all of you, which means that the entire world has abandoned all of you. You should all put your past behind you now and lead proper lives."


    I stood up and continued, "It seems that you''ve never done these jobs, but you need to patiently learn the skills to perform them."


    "I know. I will definitely do my best."


    I nced at Veirya as I spoke. Veirya said that she wanted to be an ordinary girl, but nheless, highly values her past glory. She''s cherished all of the medals people gave her.


    <em>''I wonder if what I just said would aggravate her.''</em>


    Veirya didn''t seem to mind, though. She sat there in silence. Leah sat next to her. She looked at the woman in front of her feeling somewhat fearful. She''s considered a former enemy to Leah, after all. I don''t intend to have her stay here for long unless she can ept Leah. I''ll tell her what she needs to do tonight. Then I''ll leave with Leah and Veirya tomorrow. There''s nothing worth money at home, anyhow unless she intends on stealing furniture. Moreover, everybody in the town would notice her.


    I didn''t know if the warmth of the spring weather and scent in the air caused my mind to go a little numb or if I was preupied with Veirya and couldn''t think of anything else. Whatever the case was, I never thought that it''d be risky that day. I didn''t think about what that man said to me. Had I thought of it, I wouldn''t have had to go through so much that year.


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 2

    Leah is a child at the end of the day. Though we have another former adventurer around, she didn''t care in the least. Instead, she was so excited about being able to go to the mountain that she couldn''t sleep at night. She clung to me all night and kept trying to y with my rocket, so I had poor sleep, too. She finally fell asleep in my arms when it was almost daybreak. However, I didn''t get any sleep. I raised my head up to check the weather. There were no clouds outside. The weather appeared to be great for going out.


    I went downstairs and saw Veirya sitting properly in her chair as I expected. The other woman''s room was upstairs. She had yet toe down. She wasn''tzy. I just couldn''t sleep.


    Veirya turned her head and looked at me, "Have you packed?"


    "Hmm?" I paused, and then asked "Do we need to prepare anything?"


    Veirya calmly replied, "Tent, eating utensils, food, water, medication, weapons, fire torches, change of clothes, masks, stone for sharpening swords."


    I noticed that Veirya had a simple cloth bag next to her. It looked as though it was made from a cloth that was rain resistant.


    <em>''I guess that''s Veirya'' luggage. We''re just making a trip to the mountain for some fun, not entering a mountain bandit''s den. What''s the point of all those things¡­?'' </em>


    Veirya didn''t seem to really understand the goal of this trip. She prepared as they would in the military.


    "You don''t need to take those things. Just take food and water. We''re just going to go y, not fight."


    "That''s too ck."


    "The war is over¡­"


    Veirya didn''t respond. Instead, she opened her back with some reluctance and took the things she neatly arranged, back out. She only kept food and a water kettle. She looked at her long sword on the table and hesitated. In a serious tone, she questioned, "Sword, need?"


    "Bring it along."


    Veirya made a small nod, "Uhm."


    <em> ''It looks like that''s it for our conversation.''</em>


    Just when I went to go to the kitchen, I suddenly heard a knock at the door. Lots of people now came looking for Veirya, but this was the first time we had a visitor first thing in the morning. I wasn''t sure if it was a group or what.


    However, I heard the sound of friction generated by metal behind me almost immediately. Judging from Veirya''s reaction, I presumed that the person on the other side of the door must''ve been armed. I turned my head back to look at Veirya. I noticed that her expression had changed slightly. If it was just an ordinary armed visitor, she''d have an expressionless look. This time, though, she gritted her teeth and seemed outraged. Her reaction told me who our visitor was.


    I pushed the door open. It was Angelina at the door just as I thought. I looked at her face that was identical to Veirya''s. I immediately recalled that night with the clear moon and the smell of mes. I recalled those eyes that slowly approached and those cold thin lips. The memories that flooded into my mindpletely upied my thoughts. My heart rate began to speed up. I looked at Angelina and found myself unable to utter a word despite my heart having lots to say.


    Angelina looked into my eyes with her gaze that was identical to Veirya''s; but, I couldn''t read her thoughts, nheless.


    Veirya''s sword then scabbard then swung down in between us where our gaze met. She forcefully cut off exchange of feelings. She grabbed my cor and dragged me away without mercy. She then looked at Angelina with a cold look, "Speak if you have business. Otherwise, get lost."


    Angelina looked at Veirya with a serious look, "Veirya, this doesn''t involve you. I only came for him."


    "He''s my property. Not giving."


    Angelina looked at Veirya, who was in front of her, coldly, "This is about the chapel. You want to involve yourself? With regards to this town, the chapel hopes to have a word with this gentleman. I hope you that won''t involve yourself in this matter, Veirya."


    Veirya looked at Angelina with anger and shoved me aside with one arm. She then coldly responded, "You people from the chapel again, right? You n to destroy this ce again? This is my territory. I won''t allow your chapel to run amok here! Either get lost, or I''ll throw your corpses out!"


    "Nothing good wille out of going against the church. And also, do you think you can beat me, Veirya? The chapel now runs the entire North, and that includes you people here."


    Angelina wasn''t afraid of Veirya. Rather, she was slightly excited. Neither looked as though they''d pull punches; actually, they''d love to have a fight, and the type where someone has to die. I quickly pressed my hand on Veirya and hurriedly asked, "Chapel? Is it because of the festivalst time?"


    "It''s rted, but not the point of my trip here. I came here for something else."


    Angelina looked at me, but didn''t sheath her sword because of what I said. I looked at Veirya, who was behind me. She pulled me behind her with one arm, and then looked at Angelina with an indifferent look, "This is my property. There''s no chance I''m loaning him out. I won''t agree to anything your chapeles to me with!"


    "Is that your answer? Veirya, grow up. You''re no longer an ordinary soldier. You''re the lord of this town. You must be responsible for them with your words. Veirya, I''m reminding you as your mother that everybody in this vige is a heretic. Your attitude right now is the equivalent of sending them to hell!"


    "I can protect them!"


    Angelina''s gaze contained a hint of ridicule, "You can''t always be by their side! Look, aren''t you nning to leave? What, you want to go out to go on a trip with him and that child like a family? By the time you return, this ce might already be scorched."


    "If you dare touch anybody in this town, I''ll murder your pope!"


    "You think that the chapel is as weak as the demon race?"


    Angelina seemed to give up talking to Veirya. She then looked toward me and seriously said, "Mister, regardless of the circumstances, I believe that you understand if not Veirya. If I were you, I''d go and figure out what happened. The chapel is not easy picking. If this town and the chapele into conflict, I won''t help my daughter."


    I nodded, "I know."


    I then turned to look at Veirya. In a soft voice, I said, "Veirya, whatever the case may be, it''s better to go and take a look. I won''t interact with her when there''s just the two of us, soe with me. Guess you could consider it protecting me. Some things are best solved without getting physical. After all, the war is over already. You''re now a lord. Violence is always thest resort."


    Veirya looked at me. Her expression showed she was slightly ufortable. However, she looked at my gaze and Angelina, who was behind me. A secondter, she gently nodded, but then pulled me into her arms by my arms. She tightly wrapped her left arm around me and pressed my head onto her chest. She gripped her sword tightly in her right hand as she looked at Angelina. In a cold tone, she eximed, "This is my property, understood?!"


    "I know."


    "¡­ Hmph!"

 Chapter Volume 2 3

    <em>''It appears that we''ll have to drop tonight''s n for now.''</em>


    We skipped breakfast and went straight to the tavern with Angelina. The sun appeared much earlierpared to before, but the warmer temperature didn''te earlier. The air was still moist and wet. I was still shivering despite wearing clothes for winter. Angelina and Veirya, whom were on my left and right, however, didn''t mention anything about it. The two of them maintained cold expressions. Their faces were totally identical, so I couldn''t tell who was on my right and who was on my left. Veirya told me how to distinguish between them¡­ But it''s basically impossible to use that differentiation method she taught me¡­ I wouldn''t have been able to identify who was who if Veirya wasn''t clinging to my arm the entire time¡­


    Veirya only cared about me this way when Angelina was around.


    However, once we reached the vicinity of the tavern, I realised that something was wrong at the tavern. A group of townsfolk were gathered at the entrance of the tavern, loudly shouting something. Some had even armed themselves with des and farming tools. They seemed to be ready to riot. After lingering for a moment, Angelina swiftly drew her sword. Veriya swiftly smashed her sword onto Angelina''s de. In a cold tone, she asked, "What are you nning to do to my townsfolk?"


    "Don''t do this, yet. I need to know what exactly happened."


    I pressed my hands down on the two who were confronting each other with their swords. The people in this town haven''t started fighting with the people from the tavern, yet these two seemed to be ready to spill blood before the people did. Veirya looked at me with extreme displeasure. She seemed to be suspecting which side I was on¡­ The thing is, we will be the ones who suffer, if we attack without clearing things up beforehand. We''re now facing the chapel. Judging from what the man and Angelina said, the chapel is a very powerful force in this nation. They''re able to have their own military force, after all. Based on the information that I have, it would seem that they could rival the military.


    I walked into the crowd and saw the entrance of the tavern. Fully-equipped soldiers armed with weapons vigntly watched the townsfolk on both sides. The townsfolk all looked at the soldiers before them with looks of outrage. If the soldiers weren''t armed, the townsfolk would''ve ripped them apart.


    There was a risky wooden board in the vacant space where the two sides faced off against each other. From the shape of it, it resembled a shield.


    I looked up at the townsfolk on both sides and asked, "What exactly happened?"


    The townsfolk shouted with infuriation, "They insulted our beliefs! They burnt our Wolf God shield that represents an abundant harvest!! We soon have to nt our groups, yet these people just snatched our Wolf God shield from our store without a word and burnt it. This shield is our town''s treasure, yet they burnt it, just like that!! Your Lordship, Lord Veirya! Are you not going to do something about these barbarians?!"


    The knights looked at the townsfolk before them. In loud voices, they dered, "We are knights of the chapel. This is Her Majesty''s territory. You have no right to believe in a heretic god! You must believe in the true god! You must share our belief!! You heretics are to immediately abandon your belief. We promise to protect you. If you refuse toe to your senses, our chapel has the right to exterminate all heretics! If you don''t believe in our god, you will be abandoned by our god!!"


    "It''s always been the Wolf God that''s protected us! You people never came to our rescue when the demons attacked us! You want us to believe in your god now? Never happening! You burnt our Wolf God shield, so you must pay the price! You must apologise to our god!"


    "Get lost, heretics! Don''t be unreasonable! We are showing you the way! We defeated the Demon King, under the guidance of our god! That is the miracle of God!! What you''re now doing is an insult to our belief! Either you believe us or you pay the price for stubbornly being unreasonable!!"


    A knight, who seemed to be a small team captain, looked at my face. He aggressively aimed his long sword at me and shouted, "Who are you? Since you don''t believe in our religion, you are a heretic, too!"


    Veirya coldly looked at the soldiers. From behind, she shoved me away and before the small team captain could react, I heard the heavy, dull sound of metal. When I turned to look in the direction of the sound, I saw the body of the captain, who was ordering people around, quiver and slowly drop to his knees. Blood violently poured out. I looked up at the fountain of spraying blood. It took me a while to realise what happened. His corpse dropped to the ground while his head that was rolling on ground still kept its owner''s aggressive gaze. It appeared that, like me, he didn''t react in time, either.


    The people around us had yet to react, as well. Veirya whipped the blood off her sword, and then coldly looked at the knights., "He''s my property. You are not to be rude to him."


    "Veirya!!!"


    Angelina and I shouted at virtually the same time.


    I truly didn''t think Veirya would kill. She had killed someone from their side, before our discussion begun.


    <em>''What she did has shaken the foundations of our talk!! If we begin discussions, Veirya''s impulse will put me in a passive position!''</em>


    Angelina quickly drew her sword. Veirya coldly looked at her. I quickly stepped in between the two, but it didn''t look as though either of them cared about me, nevertheless. They stared each other down with cold gazes. Angelina had taken on a fighting stance, "You started first this time, Veirya."


    Veirya didn''t back down. It was the first time she revealed such a tant desire for a fight. It was obvious that she wanted to fight with Angelina. I couldn''t let that happen, though. Putting aside what the chapel wants to do for now, we''re already in a position where we have to begin bowing our head, because she killed without thinking. It''s best to avoid violence. Once you''ve used it, either they explode or you explode.


    If Veirya and Angelina fight now, we''ll have to agree to any request made by the chapel. After all, we were the ones who were unreasonable in the first ce. If it''s determined that we started and were unreasonable, then it''ll be impossible for us to exin ourselves to the Queen, too.


    <em>''I have to stop Veirya, now.''</em>


    I pressed my hand on Veirya''s shoulder and shouted at her, "Veirya! Stop! Stop! Don''t fight! Don''t fight! We need to find out what exactly the chapel wants from us! Don''t fight yet! We''ll be the loser if you fight!"


    Veirya looked at me with surprise, "Who''s side are you on?!"


    I shook my head and exined, "I''m telling you not to fight, as I''m on your side! I''m not worried that you''ll kill Angelina, but it''ll be hard to tidy up no matter who you kill!! It''s no longer time for fighting, Veirya! Leave whates next to me, Veirya!"


    "He''s right, Veirya. It''s no longer an era where you can solve things with your sword."


    Angelina watched Veirya. She seemed to have calmed herself down. She gently sighed and got out of her stance.


    Veirya looked at me with a somewhat lost gaze, but also a hint of rage. She slowly sheathed her sword back at her waist. The doors to the tavern finally happened. A fatty looking surprised came out. He looked at the corpse and head. His eyebrows twitched a few times. In a loud voice, he eximed, "What''s this?! What¡­ What did the boy do wrong?! Why did you heretics kill him?! We can talk things over. I''ve shown you the utmost respect possible, so why did you kill our children?!! He''s just a kid! A kid!"


    <em>''Here we go. Making a scene and being unreasonable.''</em>


    I took in a deep breath and massaged my temples.


    <em>''I''ve seen countless of these unreasonable folk. I have a rough idea for how to sort this out, but it might be easier to sort out without Veirya.''</em>


    "Veriya, go back and take care of Leah. We won''t be able to go out today. Let''s go together next time when we have time."


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 4

    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    Her Papa didn''t make this breakfast and while it tasted eptable, Leah was slightly unhappy. The women next to her didn''t have any ill-will, but Leah was very mindful, since a stranger appeared in her territory. Veirya, who was opposite her, was expressionless as she ate her meal. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but did Veirya not notice that she had blood stuck in her hair?


    Leah was slightly scared. Veirya had blood on her, yet she sat there and ate dinner with a cold expression while her Papa had yet to return.


    <em>''Could Papa have been killed by this woman¡­? Where exactly is Papa? Why was Papa gone when I woke up?!''</em>


    Despite her worries, Leah was still afraid of moving, though, since it was Veirya, who was opposite her, while her Papa wasn''t by her side. She suspected something would happen if she cried and made a scene¡­ Leah was afraid, too. Leah didn''t want to die. She didn''t want to die no matter what. She wanted to see this world, but her favourite Papa was no longer here while the violent woman in front of her still had blood in her hair. It was too scary for Leah.


    <em>''I should go and find Papa.''</em>


    Leah made up her mind. She secretively snuck a nce at Veirya from the side of her te. She slowly slid down and out of her chair. She wanted to run as soon as she hit the ground; unfortunately, somebody suddenly grabbed hold of her hand, which gave her a fright, causing her to let out a high-pitched scream. Veirya coldly turned her head to look at Leah, "You. Haven''t Finished. Where you doing?"


    "Ugh¡­ Ugh¡­ Ugh¡­"


    Veirya tightly gripped Leah''s hand, causing Leah to shudder from fear. Veirya stared intently at her face with her blue eyes. Leah felt as though she was a rabbit that had been caught. Thest time Veirya grabbed her this way, she nearly lost her head. Therefore, Leah shook with fear and didn''t dare to budge. She gradually lowered her head as she sat in her chair. She really wished to curl herself up into a ball.


    Veirya lowered her head and sincerely looked at Leah, who was softly sobbing. She was somewhat puzzled as to why Leah was so upset, when she asked a normal question.


    <em>''What should I do at a time like this? If he was in my position, what would he do?''</em>


    Veirya released her grip, and then gently titled Leah''s chin up using her left hand. She looked at Leah''s red eyes that were continuously shedding tears. She then wiped Leah''s tears with her right hand. Leah was so frightened that she didn''t dare to move. Nevertheless, she couldn''t stop her tears; thus, she just looked at Veirya''s blue eyes while shedding tears of her own. Veirya, on the other hand, maintained her patience as she wiped the tears on Leah''s face over and over.


    The neer watched Veirya and Leah. She couldn''t help but softly giggle, "I never thought that you would have this side to you, Lord Veirya. Your husband was always the one taking care of the girl, so it is quite the new and novel scene to see. I never thought that you would have such a gentle side."


    "Husband?"


    Puzzled, Vierya turned her head to look at the woman. She asked, "Husband¡­ Are you talking about Lin Dongqing? Husband. What''s that?"


    Veirya''s question caught her by surprise. She didn''t even know how to exin it. She smiled awkwardly and replied, "A husband¡­ Is a man simr to the man with you, living together¡­ Mm¡­ And a child¡­ Loving each other and whatnot¡­ As an adventurer, marriage is a major problem for us¡­ There is no man who would be willing a woman who could cut down a huge demon with a swing of her sword¡­ There are very few men fit for adventurers. Lord Veirya, you are truly blessed. That man suits you in every aspect."


    "Yeah¡­? Love. What''s love¡­? But¡­ Mama¡­ That way of addressing is¡­"


    Veirya fell into a short silence, as though she wanted to be the person called Mama. She didn''t know the meaning of ''husband'', but she did know what ''mama'' meant. She did almost fight her own mother, after all. But nheless, she didn''t have the violent look for her mother in her gaze at the moment; rather, a form of sadness filled her gaze.


    "She''s not my Mama!!"


    Leah raised her voice and interjected before Veirya could finish. She honestly couldn''t hold it in. She smacked Veirya''s hand away then wiped her tears. She eximed, "I have to find my Papa!! What did you do to Papa?!!"


    Veirya looked at her and asked, "You want to go find him?"


    "Ah?"


    Leah froze. She imagined countless sorts of tragic deaths her Papa could''ve met with, but she never considered that her father would be safe. She looked at Veirya and nodded with confusion.


    Veirya looked at her with absolute seriousness. She replied, "Call me your Mama, and I''ll take you to go find him."


    "Ah?!"


    Leah jolted. She looked at Veirya feelingpletely surprised. Veirya repeated herself with an expressionless look. It seemed that the ostensibly realistic remark from Veirya was too much for Leah''s mind to ept. She froze in a daze on her chair for five seconds. She then vigorously shook her head and eximed, "Impossible! There''s no way I''ll ept you as my Mama! No way!"


    "Lord Veirya, you need to be patient at times like this."


    The neer appeared as if a light bulb just switched on her for.


    <em>''I get it now. So Lord Veirya married a man with a daughter, but his daughter struggled to ept her new mother. But it''s understandable. She''s just a kid, after all.''</em>


    Veirya looked at Leah. She picked up her knife and viciously stabbed it into the table, thereby frightening Leah, causing her to shudder. Veirya looked at Leah with a serious look, "If you don''t call me Mama, you will sit here forever. I won''t. Let you see him."


    "I¡­ I¡­ I¡­"


    Leah looked at Veirya with despair. She knew that she couldn''t escape from Veirya, and she was ware that Veirya might just seriously kill her if she did. She wanted to go and see her Papa now, though.


    <em>''Is Papa truly all right¡­? I¡­ I really want to see Papa¡­ It seems that I only have one choice, then¡­ But I really don''t want to do this!!! I really don''t want to! This woman¡­ this woman tried to kill me before. She wanted to kill me Papa, too. What right does she have to be my Mama?! Although¡­ although she did protect me before, Papa¡­ Papa¡­ Papa is mine!! Mama or whatnot¡­ No way! I can''t give my Papa to somebody else! But¡­ but if I don''t call her Mama¡­ My Papa¡­ my Papa¡­ I want to see¡­ I want to know that Papa is safe. Is my Papa¡­ truly safe¡­?''</em>


    Leah''s lips squirmed. It was just one word, yet she couldn''t utter it. Veirya''s blue eyes were intently focused on her. Veirya wasn''t rushed, either. She just waited for Leah to call her ''Mama''.


    Leah cast her feelings aside and shut her eyes. In a soft and shaky voice, she murmured, "M-¡­ Mama¡­"


    "All right."


    Veirya didn''t continue teasing Leah; instead, she stood up and grabbed hold of Leah''s hand. She said, "I''ll take you to go find him."


    "Ah¡­ Oh¡­ Uhm¡­"


    Leah felt as though she might not be able to keep up with Veirya''s train of thought.

 Chapter Volume 2 5

    I''m currently sitting at a table that still had traces of oil on it. I looked at the so-called Bishop in front of me. Despite being bald and not reflecting light or shining, my eyes were still spinning. I reconfigured my thoughts, while looking at him. But to be honest, I didn''t really have any thoughts to reconfigure. I''mpletely oblivious to the power struggle in this kingdom. After all, I''m a neer here. I''m clueless as to what''s urring between the chapel, the military and the merchants. I''m uninformed as to what this chapel has done and wants. It''s impossible to negotiate in this negotiation scenario, so I intend to express deep sympathy and apologies, and then I''m powerless thereafter.


    That''s all I can do. Making promises when I''mpletely oblivious might offend the two factions. The only thing I know at the moment is that the military should be fine. It appears that the leader of the military is Veirya''s little fanboy. He doesn''t dare to say anything in her presence. With regards to the merchants, that man has expressed friendliness, but he hasn''t made anything apparent. Veirya haspletely offended the chapel; or rather, the conclusion derived from the rtionship between Angelina and Veirya is that the military and chapel aren''t on friendly terms.


    As for adventurers, I know even less about them. It seems that they belong to the Queen, and she seems to be trying to eliminate them, at the moment. However, I don''t know why the Queen chose that method.


    <em>''Was it the military''s idea or the chapel''s idea? What''s the significance of the military and chapel then? What are they thinking?''</em>


    I don''t know the answers to any of those questions; neither do I know what the significance of this is in the North.


    <em>''What''s their aim behindpeting for this ce? There are no famous rich people here, and there''s certainly no terrain advantage to be found. If the chapel wants to run this ce, what is it that they see?''</em>


    Whatever the case may be, our stance has been established based off Veirya''s decision, which is to not join hands with the chapel. By the looks of things, Veirya has a deep grudge with the chapel. Well, not exactly, but perhaps it would be better to describe it as her not approving of their behaviour. That''s why she''s extremely dissatisfied with her mother, who serves the chapel. Putting that together, there''s absolutely no way Veirya will ept any deal with the chapel.


    Subsequently, all I can do is do my best to avoid the requests made by the chapel. The issue is that Veirya has killed someone from their side, so I''m at a disadvantage due to being in the wrong.


    The Bishop spoke up. He wiped his eyes. His eyes were so small that I, virtually, couldn''t see them, but I guessed he was wiping away his tears. He sighed, "I never thought our beloved child would die an untimely death after the war already ended. Sir, God will resent us. We will be excoriated by God."


    "I don''t know about God''s criticisms, but my conscience is, indeed, feeling condemned. It''s a fact that he didn''t do anything wrong. However, we''re both responsible. My fault lies in failing to stop Veirya, but as a knight, they failed to manage themselves appropriately, leading to conflict between themselves and the townsfolk, so they''re to me, too."


    The fault lies entirely with Veirya¡­ But I can''t acknowledge that. I must get rid of their advantage so that they can''t leverage the incident to suggest unreasonable demands.


    The Bishop frowned. I knew that he definitely didn''t want to acknowledge it, but I don''t care. After all, there''s no chance I''d acknowledge it was entirely our fault, regardless of what he says. Additionally, your people butted heads with our townsfolk. That''s the root of the incident. Moreover, as the Lord of this ce, I naturally have to speak up on behalf of my people.


    "You can see how violent heretics are. We didn''t start threatening them, but they barbarically killed our child. However, you need not worry, Sir, as we do not intend to pursue the matter, for we aren''t heretics. God''s message to us was for us to change these heretics through education. We want to disy God''s generosity to them, so we don''t intend to pursue anything. Nheless, we need to express our intentions this time. Our intention is to construct a missionary here so that our followers can convey God''s generosity here. What do you think?"


    I gave a small nod. They must be intending to do what they did at that city, with somebody on the street speaking of it or whatever. I don''t support that sort of preaching stuff, but this is probably their bottom line. If we refuse their bottom line, we''re bound toe into conflict.


    I looked at him and responded in a serious tone, "I can ept that, but I have several things I must make clear. The people here aren''t under your protection. The people here have their own beliefs. I can''t ept you using forceful means to harm the townsfolk, and you cannot insult their belief. You said that you were trying to change them via education and not force, so I hope you can do just that. Secondly, you''re only a chapel. The lives of the people here are not to be disturbed, and you are not to interfere with Lord Veirya''smands. Those are my only two conditions. Can you ept them?"


    Truthfully, I reckon that the chapel can''t ept those two conditions. If they can, I don''t think what previously happened would''ve happened in the first ce. Therefore, the two conditions I mentioned were to actually make clear our stance. If the chapel agreed, we wouldn''t have anything to lose. If they didn''t agree, either we find a way to drive them away, or we continue talkster.


    Nothing bades out of it for us if we drag it out.


    "We can." The Bishop nodded then went on, "As we said, our aim is to convert them through education. We would not use force on our own people no matter what the case is. Since you have agreed, let us now find a location to construct a chapel. After that, I shall report to you."


    "Ah¡­ Uhm, All right."


    The fact that they epted it so easily surprised me, and I found it impossible to trust them. The Bishop seemed to know what I was thinking. With a smile, he suggested, "As that is the case, let us sign a document, then. Otherwise, you would not be able to exin the situation to Lord Veirya, either, right?"


    "Uhm, that''s a good idea."


    I nodded. I felt that was a good idea. It''s always good to have something on hand. However, you must be careful whenever the other party takes the initiative to ask you to sign something.


    But then, the Bishop brought over a nk sheet of paper. With a smile, he said, "In that case, let us have you write down the conditions, liabilities and obligations of our two parties. That way, you will not have to feel so suspicious, right?"


    "Uhm¡­"


    <em>''This¡­ should be fine¡­ right?''</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 6

    I was surprised, as the chapel didn''t say anything after signing the document. I added vital points to the agreement. If the chapel insults or senselessly offends our people, the offender will be sent directly to us for us to judge. Further, they are prohibited from doing anything to our people''s beliefs. I, genuinely, didn''t expect them to be able to ept the conditions. I was slightly perplexed when I watched him sign the triplicate document. The bishop generously signed the agreements, but that made it more concerning for me. If they could ept the agreement, then that proves that the chapel wasn''t after the authority to rule this region or some religious matter.


    <em>''What exactly is the chapel after then?''</em>


    <em>''Is it rted to Veirya? This agreement would only serve to restrict them, if they want to harm Veirya, wouldn''t it? Could it be that the chapel wanted to use their doctrine to forcefully stir up conflicts here in order to force their way into our town and eliminate Veirya? But then, since the agreement has been signed, they don''t need to restrict Veirya with their doctrine. Based off these logic flows, they don''t intend to harm Veirya, either. However, that then leaves the question standing. What exactly is the chapel after?''</em>


    "So then, Mr. Lin Dongqing, our agreement has been established. Please do not forget that you signed this agreement in the presence of God. Do not forget our previous contract."


    "I won''t, but I''m very worried that you will."


    "Hah, you do not need to worry about that. We are believers in God. Lying is a shameful act to our God, so we would never do anything that vites an agreement. I shall wish you and the Demon King yer, Warrior Veirya good luck, then. It is a pity that Lord Veirya was not here this time."


    "Not at all. She would only cause trouble if she was here."


    I smiled helplessly. We walked to the entrance of the tavern. The townsfolk around gathered around. It appeared that a few townsfolk were still insistent on having us avenge their so-called Wolf God shield. Although the followers called others heretics for the sake of their beliefs and were very aggressive towards the people, the townsfolk were very aggressive to them, as well. The Bishop didn''t care about the soldier that died. In fact, the lives of these soldiers were nothing to them.


    <em>''I''m now slightly concerned. I don''t have the foggiest idea as to what the Bishop is after. He didn''t make use of the trap he initially set up.''</em>


    I picked up the shield on the ground and gently ced it in the hand of the tavern owner''s daughter. I then reassured her in a soft voice, "Don''t worry. There won''t be a second time. I''ve spoken to them."


    "Really¡­? Thank you, Sir!"


    I looked at the townsfolk around and loudly exined, "I have discussed it with this Bishop. In the future, they will not disturb your lives, but they will promote their religion here. Those of you who are interested can go and see for yourself when the timees. If they disrupt your everyday lives,e and see me. I will most certainly ensure a just adjudication!"


    The townsfolk chattered among themselves. They didn''t seem to trust these people too much. The Bishop stepped forth. In a solemn tone, he said, "We signed an agreement in the presence of God. We will most certainly abide by the agreement. I apologise on behalf of the children for the initial rude behaviour. We will be delivering our God''s teachings here in the future. Should you be interested, you cane and have a listen to the true god''s teachings. Our God protected our soldiers that yed the Demon King¡­"


    "It wasn''t your God."


    Suddenly, an ice-cold voice came from the crowd. I swiftly turned to look in the direction of the voice after a short pause. Veirya and Leah crossed over from the crowd. Angelina immediately shed out before me and stood before the Bishop with her right hand ced on her sword handle. Veirya gave Angelina a cold look, "I was the one who yed the Demon King. I never believed in your God. Your God never protected those soldiers. Your soldiers never appeared on the frontlines. I was the one who yed the Demon King, not you!"


    "Papa!!"


    Leah vigorously broke free of Veirya''s hold and tightly hugged my leg. In an excited voice that was akin to finding something that she''d lost, yet admonishing tone, she shouted, "Papa, why did you leave without a word?! Why?! Why didn''t you tell Leah?! Why?!"


    "Sorry, Leah, Papa honestly didn''t think it would take so long. Papa thought Papa would be done soon, but unexpectedly took so long."


    I rubbed Leah''s head with a helpless smile. Leah hammered my belly with her small fists in a very grumpy manner. She then angrily eximed, "It was all because of Papa! Leah wouldn''t have been subjected to that embarrassment, if it wasn''t for Papa! It was all Papa''s fault! It was all Papa''s fault!"


    "Huh? What''s the matter?"


    "Hmph!!"


    I had no idea what happened between her and Veirya, but it appeared that Leah didn''t want to even mention the part about being shamed one more time. On the other side, Angelina watched Veirya. In a serious tone, she said, "Veirya, you don''t actually think that you, alone, killed the Demon King, did you? Had we not intercepted him a day before, and I wounded him a day earlier, do you think you could''ve defeated the Demon King without a weapon?"


    "I yed the Demon King! You people never showed up when we were isted and without reinforcements. Your so-called knights never assisted us. You people were nowhere to be seen in dangerous zones! You were always at the rear, killing the wounded soldiers!!"


    "They had already been infected. They would''ve transformed into demons if we didn''t kill them!"


    "You never even considered saving them!"


    It was the first time I heard Veirya mention the past; but nheless, seeing how infuriated she was at the mention of it, I could tell that she was, indeed, furious with the chapel. Angelina''s gaze didn''t show the same anger as Veirya''s; rather, Angelina''s eyes were filled with pain and regret. She looked at Veirya and softly responded, "Veirya, you look very courageous when you wield your sword, but why do you forever sound the same as a kid when you speak?"


    "You shut up, you traitor!!"


    Veirya roared at Angelina. I hurried over to stop Veirya from continuing to approach Angelina by hugging her tightly around her waist. She would''ve charged at Angelina had I been one secondte.


    I looked at Veirya and shouted, "What are you doing?! Veirya! Stop! Stop!! Now is not the time for you to be thoughtlessly killing people!"


    "Move!!"


    Veirya grabbed my clothes and threw me aside without any mercy. I don''t have a chance against Veirya in a contest of strength. Leah then rushed over to stand in front of Angelina, and she spread her arms out to her sides.


    "Leah¡­ Leah doesn''t know what happened¡­ but, Leah knows that Papa is right!"


    Leah''s legs violently quivered as she looked at the sword in Veirya''s hand. Her voice was totally shaky. Angelina swiftly pulled Leah into her embrace and vigntly watched Veirya. Stunned, Veirya looked at Leah and then me. Her gaze showed that she was very disappointed and hurt. I thought that she was going to cry in that moment.


    "You both¡­ aren''t¡­ taking my side¡­ am I right?"


    Veirya meekly put her sword down. She had never ced her sword down in such a tired manner before. She looked at Leah and I onest time, then turned around and left with fast strides. She didn''t turn back or lower her head. As a matter of fact, she maintained her usual walking posture. Thus, it looked as though nothing happened.


    "Veirya!"


    I quickly called out to her, but Angelina nced at me, and then gently pulled Leah over before giving me a shove on my shoulder. She softly said, "There are some things I can''t talk about, but you might be able to. Go on. I''ll take care of Leah."


    Although I knew that I couldn''t thoughtlessly leave Leah with another person, I had no way of suspecting her judging from her facial expression. Leah, too, nervously watched Veirya. I gently stroked Leah''s face, and then gave chase.

 Chapter Volume 2 7

    Veirya was very fast. It wasn''t easy to catch up to her. I kept calling out her name as I chased after her, but she never turned around. If she was spiting me, she had piqued my interest, as I never thought she''d spite somebody.


    Veirya didn''t walk about randomly. She went to the house we stayed at. I chased her back into the house.


    <em>''What am I going to do if she quickly shuts the door on me if she enters, though¡­?''</em>


    "Veirya! Veirya! Wait for me! Let me exin! You need to understand me!"


    She spun around, grabbed me by my cor, and then dragged me into the house. She then aggressively hooked her left arm on the door and threw me up against the wall again. She aggressively grabbed my throat, causing my chin to lift up in reaction. She looked at me with eyes filled with rage. She shouted, "Why did you betray me, too?! Aren''t you my spoil of war?! Why did you speak up for that woman?! I did everything she did with you! What else did that woman do to you?! What do you want?! What more do you want?!!"


    Veirya aggressively leaned in and kissed my lips without a hint of hesitation. Wait, no. It wasn''t a kiss. It was a teeth crash. I heard the distinct sound of our teeth colliding and a mind-numbing sensation as a result of my head being shook. However, Veirya didn''t care, and instead, tightly stered her lips to mine. She then grabbed my hands and pressed them onto her breasts. Then, she removed her lips a short moment after, and shouted, "And now? Will you now stand on my side?! I forbid you from speaking to that woman! Remember that!!"


    Veirya smashed me up against the wall again. It waqs as if she went mad. I felt my spinal column violently collide with the wall. My voice became indistinct, but I loudly eximed, "I''ve always been on your side!!"


    "Traitor!!"


    "I never did!!"


    Veirya mmed me up against the wall again then firmly pressed her knee onto my chest. She grabbed my shoulder and yelled.


    I looked back at her and thundered, "Veirya! You''re no longer a soldier! You''re no longer a soldier in the military! You''re now merely the Lord of the North! You can''t kill people whenever you please!! Veirya! You could kill the demons to your heart''s content withplete disregard for the consequences, because you had the Queen''s orders and the trust of the people during the conflict between the races; however, when you swing your sword at a human, you must consider who or what''s behind them and what or who is behind you. The Queen might not take your side this time! I''m being so cautious for your sake! I''m doing all of this for your sake! I''ve always been on your side!!"


    "I''ll never forget¡­ I''ll never forget what happened in the past. What about the times they betrayed me in the past?! Is all of that just going to be swept under the rug?!"


    I looked at Veirya and shouted in a serious tone, "It''s all in the past, Veirya! The Demon King is dead! The history of the battle with the demon race is all in the past! All of that history is in the past now! Humanity''s current era isn''t time to be calcting the things that happened in the past! The identities of those involved back then are no longer the same. Veirya, you must put aside your past for now! What you must focus your attention on now is this territory!! You''re a human. Humans fighting humans is forever wrong! Veirya! Regardless of what happened in the past, you''re all humans! You''re now the lord of a territory, so you must concentrate on the present and not the past! I''ve always been on your side! I don''t like the chapel in the slightest. I will help you. I''ll always be on your side! If you want the chapel to suffer, then I''ll definitely give you a hand!"


    Veirya''s blue eyes were intently trained on me. I virtually couldn''t breathe, because of her knee pressed on my chest. I was practically out of breath by the time I finished speaking. I coughed intensely. My vision turned dark. Veirya looked at me and slowly shifted her knee away. She then grabbed me up again and threw me into a chair by the side.


    I grabbed my chest and gasped for air. Veirya stood in front of me with a serious look, "You''re on my side?"


    "That''s right. I''ve always been on your side."


    I looked at Veirya. I then raised my head to meet her blue eyes, before continuing, "I''ve always been on your side. Everything I''ve done is for you and Leah. Veirya, you need to believe me. Although I don''t know what happened between you and Angelina, I hope that you can trust me. I''ll definitely ensure that this is sorted out adequately. I''ll do my best to mend your rtionship with Angelina, bel-¡­"


    "I don''t want to make up with her."


    Veirya took in a deep breath then pinched her chin. Next, she shut her eyes; when she opened them again, her gaze was once again void of emotion. She looked at me, "You''re on my side, correct?"


    "I''ve always been on your side." I looked at her and paused. I then went on, "In any case, you saved us. We made an agreement, too, didn''t we? I promised to teach you how an ordinary girl lives, while you''ll always protect us. I''m a man of my word, Veirya, always."


    "I can''t kill Angelina?"


    "She''s your mom!"


    "Traitor!"


    Veirya cut me off without hesitation. I shook my head with a helpless smile. Their enmity truly ran deep. However, I felt that it was a one-sided hatred on Veirya''s part, alone. Angelina was right; Veirya is ignorant and clueless more often than not.


    "What about Leah? Are you getting along happily with her?"


    Veirya looked at me and replied, "Leah, called me, Mama."


    "What?"


    I froze. I didn''t quite understand what Veirya said¡­


    <em>''Leah called Veirya ''Mama''? It sounds close to impossible no matter how you think about, doesn''t it? Veirya and Leah''s rtionship may have slightly improved, but there''s no way she would call Veirya ''Mama'' now, is there? Leah and Veirya''s rtionship is merely you stay in your line, while I stay in myne. It''s a long way away from calling her ''Mama'', isn''t it?''</em>


    "She. Called me. Mama."


    I wasn''t sure if it was just my imagination or what, but I felt as though I detected a hint of boasting from Veirya. She looked at me and continued, "Leah. Called me. Mama. I''m definitely more of a mom than that woman. I won''t. Betray her."


    "No, no, no. Putting aside the matter with you and Angelina, why did Leah call you, Mama? That¡­ that¡­ that¡­"


    "Hmph!"


    Veirya didn''t answer my question.


    <em>''I''m absolutely positive that there''s a problem somewhere in there! I''m absolutely certain! What sort of trick did Veirya use to get Leah to call her ''Mama''?! And who told her to get Leah to call her ''Mama''?! Also, if Veirya was Leah''s mama, and I was her Papa¡­ then¡­ then¡­''</em>


    <em>''I''m Veirya''s husband?!"</em>


    <em>''While the reason why Leah called Veirya ''Mama'' is somewhat important to me, the main reason that I was disturbed was because it made my mind restless¡­''</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 8

    When I went to pick up Leah, I looked at Angelina and called her, "Angelina."


    Leah looked as though she really liked Angelina. She looked at Angelina with reluctance to part. She waved goodbye with a smile. Angelina gave her head a scrub, and then looked at me. Her face was full of concern, which was the same as Veirya''s. Consequently, my curiosity was piqued. Veirya never showed such a variety of expressions before.


    Angelina asked, "How''s. Veirya?"


    The mother was evidently more proactive than her daughter. I gave her a gentle nod, "She''s all right. She''s calmed down, and this probably won''t happen again anytime soon."


    "Is that right?"


    Angelina didn''t reveal a look of relief. Instead, she sighed, "She used to say that a lot in the past, too; nheless, she still couldn''t let it go in the end, and she''d bring it upter on. She''s calmer and sharper than anyone with a sword, but in reality, she''s just a kid. It''s impossible for her toprehend what happened in the past. I thought she''de to understand it after growing up, but it appears that she can''tprehend it."


    "I think Veirya is actually very understanding. Perhaps it''s because of you that she''s somewhat reluctant to ept it. Additionally, maybe what happened in the past is, indeed, very important to her."


    "Is that so¡­?"


    Angelina gently sighed. She then lowered her head feeling slightly sadly. She touched her face and in a soft voice said, "I''ve never been a qualified mother. I was always in the military camp. I was never able to take care of Veirya by her side as a mother should. That''s why my rtionship with her has always been distant. I think that''s why she doesn''t like me."


    "Actually, Veirya has always liked you very much. However, she is unwilling to express that, since you are the chapel''s knight. Whatever the case may be, you are Veirya''s mother."


    "<strong>*Sigh¡­*</strong> That child still doesn''t understand¡­"


    Angelina raised her head after she sighed. Her gaze showed pity, since she hoped for better from Veirya. She looked at me, and then took hold of my hand. I froze. She pulled me into her embrace before I could react. In an instant, my head found itself in Angelina''s warm valleys of gentleness. Angelina rubbed my head then suddenly chuckled, "Fortunately, I can feel reassured with such a cute boy staying by Veirya''s side. You two look very good together. Veirya is insensible, but you''re very sensible. How about it? Want Mom to give you a hand? That child is easy to trick. I reckon you should just drug her andplete the deed. I really like you, to be honest. Plus, I can asionally have fun if you''re by her side. What do you think?"


    "No, no, no, no!!! I can understand the previous things you said, but what''s with thatst one? Why exactly do you want Veirya and I to get married? What do you want to do to me?!"


    "It appears that you want to marry Veirya, too. You like my daughter? My daughter is extremely unfeminine, you know? She''s not a good choice for a wife. If you don''t mind a married woman, I can marry you, too. I honestly really like you, you know?"


    Angelina licked her lips. She looked akin to a wild beast hunting its prey no matter how I looked at it.


    <em>''I feel that this woman is going to eat me¡­''</em>


    She gently stroked my head and even dipped her hand into my clothes to pinch my spine¡­ Angelina''s scent was very mellow, consequently causing me to struggle to breathe¡­ Although Angelina was Veirya''s mother, she didn''t look as though she was a mother that had given birth.


    <em>''Come to think of it, I honestly don''t think anybody could tell if I could be together with her.''</em>


    Leah suddenly grabbed my cloak from behind and eximed, "Papa!"


    Angelina smiled and then released me. She looked at me, whose face waspletely red, with an amorous smile. She said, "I''m amazed that there''s a man who''d blush, because a woman hugged him. How interesting. Seeing your reaction makes me realise what my charm as a female is. You''re too cute! If you want, I can ept you at any time!"


    Leah cautiously looked at Angelina, who was in front of her. She hugged onto my thigh and shakily eximed, "Papa is mine!"


    Her gaze was overflowing with fear and jealousy. Angelina looked at her. With a smile, she reached out to rub her head, "Leah, having a father alone isn''t enough, you know? You must have a mother."


    Leah looked as though she recalled something that was worth regurgitating. She shut her eyes tightly, shivered and frowned. She loudly shouted, "Leah¡­ Leah¡­ Leah just wants Papa! It''s Papa that Leah needs, not a Mama! Leah doesn''t like that woman! Leah doesn''t want to call that woman, Mama!!"


    I smiled. It appeared that Leah recalled calling Veirya, Mama. I scrubbed her head, but didn''t say anything. Instead, I looked at Angelina and said, "Although this isn''t very appropriate for an outsider like me to say, I hope that you and Veirya can make up. If possible, I would like to help."


    "You''re actually not an outsider."


    Angelina softly giggled, while I froze.


    "Wouldn''t that be solved if you married Veirya or me?"


    "If I married you, Veirya would definitely kill us, would she not?"


    "That''s true, huh? She can''t kill me right now, though, so I don''t care."


    "I don''t want to die, though!"


    <em>''I want to talk to Angelina when she''s in her work mode, now. At least I can have a proper conversation with her when she''s in her work mode. The current Angelina is just teasing me about everything. More importantly, I wasn''t sure if Angelina was being serious or not. If Angelina made me feel unsettled, only to tell me she was just joking in the end, I''d be left feeling incredibly awkward. Most importantly, there''s no man who wouldn''t want her if they saw Veirya''s face suggesting romantic things to them.''</em>


    <em>''I must be careful in the future.''</em>


    I went home with Leah after. Leah didn''t seem touchy about the marriage topic, probably because she wasn''t aware of what it meant. However, she wore a distressed look on the way back. It appeared that she wasn''t too willing to face Veirya again. After all, calling Veirya ''Mama'' was a dark history for her.


    "Leah, if Veirya really became your Mama, would you be happy?"


    I hesitated for a moment; then I looked at Leah''s expression and considered asking that question, but didn''t in the end, since I thought that there''d only be one possible answer from her. After all, her rtionship with Veirya still wasn''t too good. But nheless,pared to a family dispute, I was currently more eager to know what exactly the chapel wanted.

 Chapter Volume 2 9

    "Your. Agreement?"


    I ced a document on the dining table after returning to the house. I then took out a new white sheet of paper and pen to make a copy. Veirya stood next to me and looked at it with a frown. She then said, "I. Don''t like the chapel. Don''t want to live where they are."


    "It can''t be helped. You killed one of their people. If we refuse the chapel''s people entry, they will bring Her Majesty into this. Once she''s brought into the equation, it means that the military will get involved, and then we will be in a passive position. Then, the opposition will be able to get what they want, and even more that we can''t give. Therefore, instead of stubbornly resisting, why not take a step back to save the entire game?"


    Veirya looked at me and hesitantly asked, "Was it wrong¡­ for me to kill?"


    I nodded, "Uhm. If you didn''t kill, we might''ve had a better resolution. We might have been able to avoid letting the chapel build a chapel here. However, you killed, so I had no choice but to ept that request of theirs and do my best to stop them from behaving rudely."


    "They were rude to you."


    Veirya seemed to sound slightly unhappy. I wasn''t sure if I misheard or not. I raised my head and looked at her, feeling somewhat surprised. Nheless, Veirya''s gaze didn''t seem to contain any emotion. She didn''t seem to have anything on her mind. I looked at her with hesitation, and then followed up, "Of course, I am very grateful that you killed for my sake, but it''s better to be more friendly when sticking up for me. This sort of situation will put us in a passive position."


    Veirya nodded as a promise, "All right."


    I looked at her again. She just looked me, causing me to feel slightly awkward. I gently cleared my throat, "One nce and you can tell that there''s a problem with this matter. Although I don''t know where the problem lies, I believe that there''s definitely some conspiracy lurking. By the looks of things, the chapel doesn''t n to do anything to the people or religion of this town, though. Perhaps they have some other ulterior motive in mind. It''s just that I still don''t know what it is¡­ But, I don''t think there will be a big problem if I sign this, nevertheless."


    "Why are you making a copy of it now, then?"


    "I''m worried that there''s a problem with the pen and paper that they gave me, so I''m making a copy, and then I''ll go and have the chapel sign it. I don''t know if this will do any good, but better safe than sorry."


    After I copied the document, I carefully checked out the sheet of paper and proofread it. The terms were very simple. We provide them with a building; they won''t interfere with the lives of our townsfolk or their religious activities and one more thing, which is that our townsfolk can''t unreasonably disturb the members of the chapel.


    It appears to be an agreement that benefits both of us and can''t be considered some form of profit agreement. It''s more of an agreement to stay in our ownnes. There''s no shoring to signing it. From this perspective, they''re just acquiring a block ofnd.


    <em>''What will this block ofnd they exchanged a life for bring them? I honestly can''tprehend it.''</em>


    <em>''What''s the point of the block ofnd? I don''t know myself. What can a chapel location achieve? At most they just want to expand their reach, but they don''t intend to control religion or their influence, so what are they after? What can one branch do?'' </em>


    <em>''I don''t know how religions too well, but if the chapel doesn''t get involved with religion, then I don''t think there will be any impact. The reason that the chapel holds supreme power is because of their right to preach. However, they''ve given up their right to preach here, so how do they benefit from this?''</em>


    "If the chapel tries has any ulterior motives, I honestly can''t be certain. I still can''t figure out what they''re after. I can''t do anything at the moment, except wait and react."


    From overhead, Veirya responded in a very usual tone of hers, "No matter what the chapel tries to do, I will protect you this time."


    I looked up and met with her blue eyes. There were no ulterior motives or doubt in Veirya''s eyes. Though theycked all emotion, her overwhelming strength in her eyes was convincing. I looked at her, feeling somewhat surprised. She looked back at me for a while. She then titled her head, "What''s the matter? You don''t trust me?"


    I looked back at her and smiled, "No, I''ve always trusted you. I wholeheartedly believe that you will protect us. Without you, I wouldn''t dare to attempt anything dangerous. I dare to get involved with these matters, precisely because you''re with me."


    Veirya made a small nod. I put the lid on the pen and ced it aside with a smile. Veirya reached out to pick up the document the same time as I did. My head made contact with hers, with mine being on top.


    My head instantly felt a cold touch, but also smooth skin. The back of Veirya''s hand wasn''t coarse. However, her joints were very prominent. Perhaps it was due her being a soldier. With that said, her hand was genuinely cold. The touch of her hand transferred to my heart and brain. The cold and smooth sensation took over all my thinking space. My heart began to nervously race once again. I raised my head in a dumbfounded manner and looked at Veirya without knowing what to do.


    She looked at me with puzzlement and asked, "You taking it over?"


    "Ah¡­ No¡­ I¡­"


    I jerked my hand back. Veirya then asked, "Why are you so tense whenever you''re with me? Didn''t I tell you that I don''t hold any animosity towards you?"


    "No¡­ No¡­ I''m not nervous because I''m scared¡­ I¡­ It''s because¡­ Mm¡­ I don''t know how to put it¡­ Umm¡­ umm¡­ it''s probably because¡­ you''re a woman, I guess¡­"


    "But with Leah you don''t¡­"


    "Leah is my daughter. It''s not the same. It''s not the same."


    Veirya was even more confused now. She seemed to be unable to grasp my reasoning. She then frowned and seeminglyprehended something. She looked at me and asked, "Husband?"


    "What husband?"


    I couldn''t immediately catch on to her train of thought.


    "If you be my husband, will you stop feeling nervous? Leah, your daughter. You, my husband. Therefore. Solved."


    Veirya seemed to be very proud of her intelligence. She smugly picked up the document and added, "I''ll have. Someone send."


    "Wait! Don''t send it yourself!! If you, personally, send it, something might happen!"


    "Then, I''ll go with you."


    "Ah¡­ All right¡­ all right¡­"


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 10

    The Bishop didn''t mind that we made another copy of the document and signed it once again without hesitation, before returning it to us.


    I was bewildered by what would happen, but it didn''t seem as though something would happen soon. We headed home after getting it signed. My gaze would drift over to Veirya every now and then, but she never paid any attention to me while we walked together. She maintained an upright torso and trained her eyes ahead. She never shifted her line of sight.


    I wasn''t too happy about her not paying me any attention.


    <em>''Don''t people say that if a guy and girl walk together, then they''ll sneak nces at each other? Why am I the only one ncing at Veirya, while she pays me no heed? I''m a little bit upset about this.''</em>


    I didn''t notice a horse carriage pass by our side when I was slowly walking along the path, thinking about a bunch of things. As the carriage passed by, Veirya grabbed me and pulled me into her embrace, so the mud that was flung up by the carriage zipped past me. I looked at the mud that flew up with surprise. Veirya looked at me, "Pay attention to your surroundings. Don''t just keep looking at me."


    I was so embarrassed in the moment that I couldn''t utter a word. I didn''t know she was looking at me! Also, if I look at it that way¡­ Veirya was paying attention to me, too.


    <em>''If that''s the case¡­ Veriya¡­ does care a lot for me, too¡­ In other words¡­ Doesn''t that mean¡­''</em>


    The carriage then stopped in front of us all of a sudden. The door opened, and out came Achilles. He certainly was tall. His physique was slightly surprising to me. I started to wonder how he managed to squeeze into the carriage. He stepped into the mud with his clean shoes, yet seemed indifferent to it. He then straightened out his hat and looked at us with a smile, "How coincidental to run into you on the road. I was nning to go see you directly."


    I suddenly realised something when I looked at him.


    <em>''Angelina is on the chapel''s side, but she usually follows this man in front of me. The chapel will personally act this time. Angelina is on their side, which means this man is colluding with them. Otherwise, Angelina must have some sort of rtionship with this man.''</em>


    <em>''I don''t think Angelina and him would have some sort of rtionship, would they? That must mean it''s a rtionship between the chapel and merchants. Subsequently, the chapel and merchants actually have a deal going on. In turn, that means that their goal ining here this time also has to do with this business.''</em>


    <em>''Why did I forget about Angelina''s connection¡­? Angelina is with the chapel, but I didn''t consider why she was with this man.''</em>


    He walked up to us and with a smile, "This is perfect timing. I came to ask how the preparations of my deal with you areing along."


    I gave him a small nod, "I told you the addressst time. It''s around there."


    If this was just about the chapel, then fine. But if this man is involved then I think that this is going to getplex. My reasoning for saying that is I don''t know how what the chapel is doing is directly rted to this business, even now, and I''m even more clueless as to who the mastermind behind the scenes is.


    "I heard that the chapel hase here, too, though. Are they nning to build a chapel?"


    "Yes. However, I don''t think you need to put on this act, do you? For Angelina to be protecting you, I think I can safely assume that you''re linked to the chapel."


    I nodded, and then looked at the man. He smiled then nodded, "My, my, this is bad, this is bad. You noticed it, after all. You can rest assured, however, as neither I nor the chapel have any ulterior motives. We aren''t affiliated or colluding. You could even say that we''repletely unrted. Angelina is just helping me, since we have a decent rtionship under the table. Further, we want to make money, so we must maintain good rtions with the chapel. That''s all there is to it."


    I made a small nod, "So you purpose ining here this time is to discuss the business deal fromst time?"


    "Correct. I am very pleased with the location you provided me with, so let us go with it. We will be able tomence work in spring, then. I have also contacted merchants. We will be able to have a good deal go through at the end of the year. Additionally, the fur from this area has always been of premium quality. You would be aware of the price of this sort of luxury item."


    I nodded, "I am."


    I then tried to confirm it with him again, "Are you and the chapel really unrted? Are you sure that your trip here this time is unrted to the chapel?"


    "Nothing goodes out of merchants and the chapel getting tangled together. They will only have merchants pay them infinite taxes, financial tributes for God''s blessings or whatever they prattle about."


    The man sighed, and then looked at me, "I don''t want to be involved with the chapel myself. We require the chapel''s protection for us to conduct business. Without them¡­ you should know how they treat heretics. We are trading our fur this time, though. Oh, right, if the chapel gets involved with our business, just send them off with some business. I cannot help but feel that they want to impose their religion upon the people here¡­"


    "I''m not actually worried about that. What I''m truly worried about is whether they will interfere with our business or not."


    "I would think not. If they do disturb our business, just settle it with some money."


    I gave a small nod, "Uhm¡­"


    The man looked at me as though he was pleading me, but the truth was that neither of us trusted each other.


    I don''t believe his im that he was uninvolved with the chapel, while he doesn''t believe that I was so easily convinced. But nheless, this won''t impact what we discussed previously. I only have some clues and assumptions right now, but I won''t be able to figure out anything if they don''t do anything, either. I want to know what they''re plotting, so that I can benefit from it.


    I''m not some sort ofw enforcer, so I don''t intend to judge him with thew. Whatever the chapel does to the heretics is none of my business, unless the fire burns me, too. Otherwise, I won''t stick my nose in anything not to do with me. I just want to know what the chapel and this merchant is plotting. If I can figure out what they''re up to, I''ll be able to leverage the secret to multiply my profits. That''s my true goal.


    When it was just the chapel, they were incapable of doing anything that''d interest me. Now that this merchant is involved, however, I''ve understood why the chapel didn''t have the slightest interest in religion. With money in their hands, they''ll be able to depend on God, regardless of heretics, followers, Bishops or whatnot. After all, God only helps those who offer him sufficient tributes.

 Chapter Volume 2 11

    "Ugh¡­"


    At noon, Leah sat next to Veirya, albeit very unhappily. She stabbed her fork into her meat pie with a gloomy attitude. She looked at Veirya, who was next to her, with an extremely unhappy look. She seemed to be filled with reluctance, even now, after calling Veirya ''mama.'' I sat opposite Leah and silently pondered the connection between the chapel and the merchant, so I didn''t pay attention to what was happening here at the table. Leah''s gaze was fixed on me the entire time. She seemed to be hoping for me to say something, but then she shifted her gaze away with even more anger, since I didn''t pay attention to her.


    Meanwhile, Veirya ate her steak. These steak pies are a delicacy of this ce, so I''ve learned how to make a new dish. It''s simr to mincemeat inside a pie. It''s soft and it tastes delicious. Soon, we won''t be eating much meat, since hunters won''t go hunting in spring.


    However, this spring didn''t appear to be too peaceful.


    <strong>*m!*</strong>


    Leah finally couldn''t contain her anger any longer. She mmed her fork onto the table, and then shouted, "I''m not eating anymore! Hmph! Stupid Papa!"


    "Ah?"


    I looked up with puzzlement. I looked at Leah, who had jumped to her feet, feeling totally bewildered as to what was going on. She got even angrier upon seeing my look of bewilderment. She angrily stomped her foot and eximed, "Papa, you big idiot! You don''t care about Leah at all! I''m not eating anymore!!"


    Veirya stood up before I could get up to stop Leah. Veirya grabbed Leah''s cor with one hand. She then stood up and grabbed Leah around her waist to pick her up. As Leah screamed, she put Leah back in her chair. Leah fearfully looked at Veirya, but Veirya remained expressionless. She didn''t show an angry look, either. Instead, she looked at Leah as per usual and asked, "Is the meat pie not good?"


    "¡­ That''s not it¡­"


    I could tell that Leah couldn''t be any less reluctant to care for Veirya, but she had to respond, since she was afraid. Leah looked at me as if she was also afraid that I''d be sad if she said that the meat pie wasn''t nice. However, my meat pie tastes quite good in my opinion. I''m very confident it tastes good.


    Veirya then looked at Leah with an absolutely serious look, "Why, then? Eating is very important; you can''t fight if you''re hungry, so I must know why you don''t want to eat. Is it because you aren''t feeling well? If you''re not feeling well¡­"


    "I''m just in a bad mood!"


    Leah irritably cut Veirya off. Although it was impolite, I was no longer as nervous as I once was, because I knew that Veirya, in actual fact, doted on Leah. Normally, she wouldn''t get angry over this. Additionally, their rtionship must''ve improved by a lot, for Leah to dare to cut Veirya off that way.


    "That is not an eptable reason, for it is not good if your mood impacts your appetite."


    Veirya looked at Leah with a firm look. She cared nothing for Leah''s feelings. She ced the meat pie in front of Leah again. Leah smiled helplessly as she looked at the te. She then looked up at me. However, Veirya did, indeed, look very firm in her stance. She looked at Leah particrly seriously, "You must have a full meal no matter what."


    "Papa!"


    Leah raised her head.


    "Finish it, Leah. Tell Papa why you''re not in a good mood. Just tell Papa what Papa didn''t do well."


    I looked at Leah and rubbed her head with a smile. She unhappily pouted, and then told me, "Papa, you were with that woman all day. You never cared for Leah. You didn''t pay attention when Leah spoke to you, either. Papa, do you not like Leah anymore?"


    "No, that''s not it, Leah. It was just that Papa had work to take care of."


    "What work¡­? Why do you have to be so intimate with that woman?" Leah looked at me very unhappily. She muttered under her breath, "You left Leah and chased after that woman. Papa, Leah was very lonely and very scared."


    I looked at her and sincerely replied, "Sorry. Sorry, Leah. What happened today happened somewhat abruptly. I was a bit worried about your safety, so I didn''t bring you with me. Moreover, if the chapel finds out that you''re a subus, you will be in danger. As for me chasing after Veriya, that was because it would be too dangerous for me to leave her to her own device. I was quite reassured, as Angelina was with you. You don''t hate Angelina, right?''


    "Uhm¡­ Sister Angelina¡­ I don''t hate¡­"


    "Pff!"


    I nearly spat the contents in my mouth out.


    <em>''Angelina already has a daughter, and she had Leah call her ''sister?'' Angelina is a woman at the end of the day. If she''s able to call herself ''sister'' without any hesitation, I think I better not call her old in her presence. She''ll probably snap my spine. I''ll just consider her eighteen. An eighteen year olddy with silver hair.''</em>


    "You can''t!"


    Veirya''s reaction was intense just as I predicted. She grabbed Leah by her shoulders and forced her to look at her. She sternly said, "You can''t call her sister! Don''t go near her!"


    "Why?!"


    Leah looked at Veirya with a very unhappy look. Displeased, she said, "Sister Angelina is gentle and considerate. She smiles, too! I like Sister Angelina very much."


    "Smile¡­"


    Veirya paused. She then looked at Leah and tilted her head. She asked, "If I smile, as well, you won''t like Angelina anymore?"


    Veirya''s weird question led to Leah freezing up. Leah looked at me with a hint of fear. I, on the other hand, looked at Veirya with curiosity. She had never smiled in my presence before. I actually suspected that she can''t smile. I really wanted to see her smile. Leah noticed that I didn''t respond in any way. Veirya then looked at Leah even more seriously. She said, "I shall smile for you, as well, then."


    "What do you want?!"


    Leah shuddered with fear. She looked at Veirya with shock. She seemed to never imagine that Veirya would smile. Veirya smiling is as terrifying as the end of the world. Nevertheless, Veirya didn''t mind. Instead, she rubbed her own face, and then used her fingers to make a smile, well, force her mouth into the shape of a smile.


    Leah sat in her chair with a dumbfounded look. She appeared to be startled by the man-made smile. It was the first time that I''d seen a smile that didn''t contain a smile, as well. Veirya looked at Leah. In a barely discernable voice, she asked, "Like this?"


    "Ah¡­ Uhm¡­ Okay¡­"


    Leah was so startled that she couldn''t make out a sentence. Veirya''s behaviours were beyond what Leah couldprehend. Very satisfied now, Veirya let go then returned to her usual expressionless look. She looked at Leah and said, "You need to call me something, too, then. You call that woman sister, so call me Mama."


    "Wait! There''s something amiss, isn''t there?! Angelina is your Mom! How can you have Leah call you Mama?!!"


    "Don''t wanna! I don''t wanna call you Mama!!"


    Veirya looked at me, feeling baffled. She asked, "¡­ Why can she use Sister, but not Mama?"


    "There are¡­ lots of reasons¡­"


    I feel that there is a need to exin these terms for addressing people¡­ Leah adamantly refused to call her Mama. In the end, Veirya had to give up. However, I don''t think Leah is going to get off so easily judging from Veirya''s look, which showed that she was reluctant to give up.


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 12

    Veirya sat in the bathtub and scrubbed her knee with a sponge. She asked me, who was behind her, "What must be done to get Leah to call me Mama?"


    I picked up a towel then lingered. I smiled helplessly, "Some things can''t be forced. How shall I put it? While your rtionship with Leah has be a lot more harmonious, it''s going to take a long time to get Leah to call you Mama."


    "I''m a better Mama¡­ than that woman."


    Veirya''s remark came out of left field. I chuckled. I could figure out what she was thinking. She was jealous of Angelina. She wanted to prove that she was superior to Angelina in all aspects, so she wanted to be Leah''s mother. I don''t know who caused her to wake up one day and have an interest in being a mother. She seemed to persist with it after Leah called her ''Mama'' oncest time.


    "Teach me. What to do."


    Veirya turned her head around, causing her boobs to sway, thereby sshing her warm bath water on my face. I instinctively licked it off my face¡­ then realised how damn creepy that was¡­ Veirya didn''t mind it, however. She then turned her body around, as well, and rested her breasts on the edge of the tub. She looked at me and seriously said, "Teach me. What to do. Why. Does she call you Papa, but call me Mama? What must I do to convince her to call me Mama?"


    "Well, initially, it was because I took care of Leah, leading to her feeling warmth and hope. Hence, she called me Papa from then. Additionally, you threw her into the tent back then, so she''s always resented you. That''s why she''s unwilling to call you Mama¡­ In addition, she seems to have some wilfulness mixed in there. Come to think of it, I don''t really understand how young girls think. Leah is a good girl, though. If you take care of her and keep herpany, she''lle to understand you.


    "Take care of her¡­ Keep herpany?"


    Veirya pondered to herself for a short moment, and then added, "So I should sleep with her at night? I don''t sleep at night, but I can stay next to her and watch her."


    "Don''t do that. If you watch her, she won''t get any sleep all night."


    I resolutely cut her incredibly dangerous idea¡­ There''s absolutely no way she can sleep together with Leah. If the two of them sleep together at night, something is bound to happen. Leah also bes a full subus at night. When she does transform, she won''t be the kid that Veirya speaks of, but a demon through and through, not to mention that she''s the Demon King''s daughter.


    Veirya looked at me with a very serious look, "Then, what other chances do I have?"


    Indeed, she doesn''t have many opportunities. After all, Leah basically follows me around all the time during the day. I keep my eyes on Leah wherever we go to avoid her identity being exposed. However, if I don''t give Veirya an opportunity and she ends uping up with some crooked idea to sneak in at night, we''ll have a problem.


    After some deliberation, I replied, "I''m usually the one who takes Leah out daily. You can take over now. Spring is here, while the chapel and the two from thepany havee to the town, as well. If possible, I want to spend more time keeping an eye on things over there, so I''ll entrust Leah to you."


    I initially wanted to add, "Be careful with letting her change in front of outsiders," but then on second thought, if I told her that now, it''d be the equivalent of telling Veirya about Leah''s body. Veirya will then inspect Leah''s body, herself, and then we''ll have a problem, so I decided it was best not to mention it.


    <em>''I don''t think there''d be a reason to strip just to go out and buy some stuff, right? I don''t think I need to mention it.''</em>


    Veirya looked at me and nodded, "All right."


    Veirya then stood up from the water. I listlessly looked at the droplets of water slowly course down her perfect body. Veirya held her hair together. Her long silver hair swung in an arc as a faint silver light. Her buttocks were perfect. Her leg muscles didn''t appear creepy; rather, they made her long slender legs look firmer. The water ran down along her silver hair and dripped down, drop by drop. The water droplets made her body appear very enchanting underneath the moonlight. Veirya had no excess fat on her stomach; instead, she had the Adonis belt that countless women dreamt of, which further emphasised her proud breasts underneath the quiet moonlight. She tied her hair, thereby generously revealing her entire body to me. I had seen her body many times already, but I could really feel myself slipping¡­


    Immediately after, she turned around and picked up the towel. The maid then knocked on the door and entered. Veirya''s reaction was extremely swift. She picked up her long sword from the side, drew it and immediately threw it. The sword stabbed the door and firmly rooted itself in it. However, the maid lived up to her rank as a Gold-ranked adventurer. The look in her eyes didn''t change once. Instead, she pulled the sword out and apologised, "Sorry for disturbing you, Lord Veirya."


    "Don''te near me when I''m bathing." Veirya gave a simple response. She wiped her body in front of me then continued, "He brings me. My clothes."


    "Understood."


    The maid gave a small nod, and then ced the clothes down. I looked at Veirya. I was slightly surprised. I asked, "So, you don''t allow others to approach you when you''re bathing?"


    "No armour. It''s dangerous."


    Veirya''s response was very simple. I looked at her as if I was fantasising.


    <em>''Could it be that Veirya lets me help her bath, because she likes me? Then¡­ will there be a day¡­ where after Veirya has a bath¡­ with her body carrying a seductive fragrance¡­ under the moonlight¡­ with me¡­''</em>


    "You can''t fight. It''s very safe."


    Veirya picked up her clothes and answered me in a very calm tone.


    <em>''Okay, I expected as much. I won''t need to tease myself every day, too. Veirya is most likely ignorant about male and female rtionships, so I don''t need to think about these unrealistic scenarios again.''</em>


    Veirya went to sit at the dinner table after her bath. I ced down a blended drink. This is a very simple drink. All I did was fry some cereal, dry it, and then throw it in water. It tastes decent. Veirya nodded. She maintained her sitting posture. She ced her sword where she could pick it up right away. I never knew why she rested this way at night. Perhaps it was a habit she adopted from her military days.


    I tossed a few bits of firewood into the fire to increase the intensity. Originally, I had no idea how to start a fire. I learnt how to from the maid.


    I told the maid about the schedule for tomorrow, and then headed upstairs to my room. Leah was curled up on the bed softly snoring. I gently got into bed and caressed her face before pulling her into my embrace.


    The moon outside wasn''t so cold anymore. There''s no hope left for this city. Merchants havee here to sell goods. The townsfolk have their own lives to live, while I have a fight with the chapel and merchant. Honestly speaking, I''m very emotionally aroused right now. I really want to know what exactly this group is after.

 Chapter Volume 2 13

    I ced the food on the table. Breakfast was slightly simple this time. We just have somethingparable to potatoes that I boiled, and then apanied with some sauce I prepared. There''s not much food variety in spring, so we don''t have that much to choose from, either.


    Veirya didn''t mind, since she wasn''t after taste when it came to food. However, she''ll like it more if it is tasty. She''ll definitely eat a lot even if the taste is ordinary. Leah rubbed her eyes as she came downstairs. I took out a towel to wipe her face. I then rubbed her head and said, "Have breakfast, Leah."


    Leah nodded, "Okay!"


    She fearfully looked at Veirya. It wasn''t that sort of fear this time, but the look given when concerned for a mental patient. After all, the smile she made yesterday startled Leah. Also, her peculiar thinking was iprehensible to Leah. Therefore, she started to develop a stronger fear for her unsettling intelligence as opposed to her pure might.


    Leah sat down next to Veirya and looked at the food in front of her. A lot more disappointment surfaced on her face. Leah looked at me. She didn''t sound too happy when she whined, "Papa, is there nothing else for breakfast? This stuff tastes absolutely in. We''re eating this every day. Papa, I miss the meat stew."


    "Sorry, Leah, there''s not much fresh food in this town during this season, but Papa will try Papa''s best to bring some back."


    I don''t have any solution, either. After all, there''s ack of variety in spring. After winter, people have just begun nting their hope, so the things we''re left with to eat are leftovers from winter. Humanitycks any food variety in spring and animals aren''t fat, either. Furthermore, there will be lots of them in reproduction periods. As a subsequence, humanity won''t disrupt them too much. That, in turn, means that the food produced by the town itself will also becking.


    Leah looked at me. There was a tinge of concern in her gaze, "Papa¡­ If it''s troublesome¡­ don''t worry about Leah¡­ Leah¡­ is fine with not eating them. Leah just needs Papa to always be with Leah."


    I shook my head with a smile, and then looked at her. I solemnly responded, "If Papa can''t get what his daughter wants, what sort of Papa am I? Leah, Papa has to make a trip outside today to discuss some things with that man. Papa, therefore, can''t bring you this time. Leah, go for a stroll with Veirya today."


    "Never!"


    <em>''I thought Leah would react that way.''</em>


    She leapt to her feet and looked at me to shout. Veirya looked at her with a serious look then me, "Sure."


    Leah sat back down in her chair, sprawled her torso onto the table and mmed it as she shouted, "No! No! I don''t want to go out with this woman!! I don''t want to go out with her!! I want to go with Papa! Papa!"


    She was adamant in her refusal to go out together with Veirya. I looked at her. I was worried about what Veirya would do if she got upset. Veirya didn''t give a reaction, though. She just sat there in ce and looked at us without any expression. I looked at Leah and hesitated for a moment. I decided that it was still best to let Veirya take Leah out. Veirya really wants to improve her rtionship with Leah right now. She seemed to be infatuated after being called ''Mama'',st time. She was zealous to prove that she was a better mother than Angelina.


    I shook my head, and then looked at Leah, "Leah, Papa is going out for work. Papa can''t take a child with Papa. Leah, just go with Veirya for now. Haven''t you two started to get along well?"


    "That''s because you''re there, Papa¡­ Who would have the foggiest clue as to what this woman is thinking about all day¡­? Leah is really scared that she''ll kill Leah¡­"


    "I won''t." Veirya nodded with absolute seriousness, and then ced her long sword on the table. She looked at Leah and continued, "I won''t take my sword this time."


    "You¡­"


    Leah looked at Veirya, feeling stunned. Veirya looked at Leah with a haughty look as though she was saying, "You can''t make anyints now, can you?" However, the sword wasn''t what concerned Leah, but Veirya, herself¡­ She''s afraid of being strangled by Veirya even when they bath together, not the fact that she carried a sword on her.


    For the record, though, Veirya has never removed her long sword, so for her to remove it now, goes to show that she won''t hurt Leah.


    "Leah, be a good girl. Veirya won''t harm you. Papa wille for you once Papa is done. Don''t fret. Papa will be safe. It''ll be fine."


    I caressed Leah''s face. She sped my face in her hands, and then nced at Veirya. She frowned. It appeared that the current Veirya still didn''t satisfy her. After some deliberation, she said, "You have to remove your armour, as well, then."


    Leah looked back at me. I didn''t express anything. Veirya always wore some armour on her torso whenever she went out. I guess it''s her habit as a soldier. Veirya nodded, and then removed her breast armour, then ced it to one side. I watched Veirya''s breasts gently jiggle for a moment.


    Leah then scanned her clothes. She added, "You have to change your clothes, too¡­ I''m scared of soldiers."


    Veirya obediently nodded, "Uhm."


    Veirya then began to undo her buttons and remove her shirt, revealing her generous bosom. Leah let out a high-pitched scream as she covered her eyes, because she saw Veirya''s breasts. She eximed, "What are you stripping for?!"


    "You told me to remove it. I don''t have anything else to wear besides this."


    Veirya then contemted to herself. Once done, she looked at me and said, "Lend me your clothes."


    "I only have this one set¡­"


    I didn''t buy clothes for myself thest time we shopped for clothes¡­ Veirya looked at me then at Leah before looking back at me again. Without any expression on her face, she asked, "Can I go out like this, or do I need to wear my armour?"


    "Without your bloody armour?!Of course not! Umm¡­ Umm¡­ Umm¡­ What was her name again¡­?"


    "Miss Anna?"


    "Yeah, Anna."


    The maid poked her head out from the kitchen. She looked at us with curiosity and asked, "Is something the matter, Lord Veirya?"


    Veirya looked at her then me. She looked back at Anna and said "Lend clothes."


    "Ah, sure. I do not have much clothing, but I can lend you some as long as you do not mind them."


    "I won''t."


    "All right, then. Come with me after you finish eating."


    "I want it now."


    "Now?! All right, then¡­"


    Veirya stood up and followed the somewhat surprised maid to go to her room. Leah turned back to me with a very unhappy look and snorted. She eximed, "Papa does nothing but push Leah away. Papa doesn''t care about Leah. Papa must be sick of Leah!"


    "No, Leah, Papa really can''t always be with you due to work. Plus, isn''t it the same if Veirya is with you?"


    "It''s not! It''s not a teeny weeny bit the same!"


    Leah shouted at me, and then vigorously turned her head away, "Papa, you big idiot! I''ll show you tonight!!"


    "Don''t! Don''t! Leah! Papa was wrong! Papa was wrong!! Papa wille back early today, okay?!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 14

    Recently, the town has been very lively.


    Merchants'' keen senses for money don''t pale inparison to a wild dog''s keen sense for corpses. Merchants will gather at a particr spot as long as there''s any profit to be made. Once money circtes, a ce cane to life. Only the dead don''t need money; the living need money. Therefore, countless people came here in hopes of being able to get even a small portion of the money in cirction for themselves. Next, the ce in question will be a city the same way this ce I''m at has.


    The leader of the merchants came here, thereby turning this ce into a ce where lots of merchants gathered. However, because there are no empty homes here, I needed to build a bigger living quarter, as well as a business area. The issue was that there were empty houses, most of which had been abandoned, yet never torn down or renovated. Further, privately erected buildings disorderly located upied lots of space. My n for today is to go for an inspection with that man. We''ll tear down destroyed homes and make room so that foreign merchants have somewhere to run their business. We''ll also repair the main door. While we''re at it, we''ll work with Bryne City to repair the road leading here.


    All of this costs an exorbitant amount. Needless to say, I can''t afford it. We can only officially enact the n once business takes off.


    "I have seen your agreement, and I can see your incredible sincerity. A two percent tax rate is indeed not high, and I can ept it. We can also ept the costs of stores. A usage and residence rate of five percent per annum is not too much, either. We are also very happy with the priority to receive goods and lower prices. We have no reason to refuse."


    The man in front of me picked up his pen and signed his name on the agreement. He then stood up and handed it to me with a smile. I took it, and then said, "I am d you can ept it. We will soon begin work on thend here. I really hope that we can have your opinion. I hope you cane with me to the high grounds of the town to check out the location for the warehouse, trading and living quarters your merchants need to allow us to choose a location you are satisfied with."


    "Sure."


    He nodded, and then headed outside with me. He looked at me thenughed, "Did you not bring your daughter and Lord Veirya this time? I was honestly slightly surprised to see nobody with you."


    I looked at him with a smile and responded, "And is Angelina not with you, either? Do you not feel lonely without her?"


    "I am all right. I was always alone before I met her, so I am ustomed to it."


    The man rubbed his hands together, and then left the warm room. The cold breeze outside woke me up. Despite being spring, it still wasn''t warm enough to feelfortable. Achilles looked at me. With a smile, he said, "However, I, too, can tell that you were alone before meeting Leah and Veirya, right?"


    "Oh? How could you tell?"


    "Because you strongly care about the two of them. There are also their shadows in your gaze." He smiled and continued, "Truthfully, a lot of times, it does not require one to lose to learn to cherish. Sometimes one will value something more when they first get it just as with you. You have always been alone, and therefore cherish Veirya and Leah so much when you finally had them."


    I touched my face. I wondered if there was so much emotion in my eyes. Normally speaking, I never want to have my emotions in my eyes, as it''ll easily be leveraged as a weak point.


    ''But, do I have feelings for Leah and Veirya in my gaze?''


    Noticing me linger, Achilles softlyughed, and then gently grabbed hold of my hand. I felt the feeling of leather and an ice-cold sensation on the back of my hand. It was totally different to having Leah and Veirya hold it. I didn''t feel a shred of warmth. To the contrary, I got goose bumps. My suspicion that this guy is gay grew stronger and stronger.


    <em>''What does he want, always getting touchy every time?!''</em>


    I yanked my hand out and he smiled. He then walked with me shoulder to shoulder, to the watchtowers around the walls by the side of the town. We could see the damaged barrennds outside the town from here, in addition to theyout of buildings inside. The buildings in the town were arranged in a very messy fashion. Nobody had nned their locations previously. It was essentially a mess of alleys between buildings.


    "Have the warehouse at the town entrance. That will make it convenient to unload. It will be fine to have the stables and residences here. We think that the area nearby the area that you loaned us for trading to be decent. People can go and shop once they collect their money here. We can turn this ce into a store. Fortunately, there are not many buildings around it, so we can set up a temporary store."


    I nodded. That area is the area surrounding the za. Indeed, there are no residents there. I replied, "I can make arrangements, then. As for the wood and stones for construction, we will need yourpany to provide us with it."


    He nodded, "Easily done. We will just cover the costs with the ie of the first year; what do you think?"


    I nodded, "All right."


    This is the equivalent of a credit loan. Although credit loans are nothing new in the era I came from, it''s a very bold manoeuvre in this world. We haven''t known each other for long, yet he''s attempting to collect a amount I<em> might</em> have in the future. That''s a strong sign of trust for me. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn''t take this route.


    I looked at the town before me and swept my gaze across the people going back and forth. While I didn''t mention what I saw and it looked as though I was just taking a casual look, I knew that I was actually searching for specific individuals.


    <em>''Are Veirya and Leah getting along right now?''</em>


    The man next to me suddenly remarked, "I wonder what location the chapel will select."


    He stood next to me and looked outside with an eerie smile. He continued in a quiet voice, "What is the chapel nning here this time? I cannot shake of the feeling that they are up to no good."


    I smiled then turned my head to look at the tavern. The people from the chapel were residing there for the meantime. Thanks to them, the tavern practically gets no customers now. Their wolf god shield has been fixed, but everybody''s hatred for the chapel is yet to dissipate. Nheless, because of us, they''ve stayed out of each other''s hairs.


    I looked at the man next to me. With a chuckle, I rhetorically asked, "Are you telling me that you do not have a clue as to what the chapel is up to?"


    He didn''t deny it, but neither did he confirm it. Instead, he responded with a smile, "If I do know, how much money would you buy it from me for? You managed to find out that we had food through stray cats, so you would be able to figure out what the chapel is nning from the details you have, no? I am sure you could have gotten close to it back then. Let me put it this way. The chapel is not nning something small. If you can get involved with it, you will certainly be able to get a big cut."


    "So you''re saying you''re involved?"


    "I am a merchant, after all."


    I looked at him. He gave me a smile and a nod. He then shook out his cloak and leaned in close to my ear. I resisted the goose bumps all over my body and silently waited for him to speak. Next to my ear, he went on, "After all, everything the chapel does involve gold. Those bits of gold that are as light as a shell."


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Lin Dongqing does go from formal to informal speech. That is not a mistake.

 Chapter Volume 2 15

    "Leah." Veirya stood in the centre of the street and looked at the street ahead. She looked at Leah, who was next to her. Veirya was holding her hand tightly. She continued, "Leah, what do. Normal girls. Like?"


    Because Veirya gripped her left hand tightly, she would have to amputate her left arm or there was no way she was going to escape. Consequently, Leah''s expression looked no different to that of a dead person. To put it into perspective, it was the same expression Veirya had. If one were to look closely, they''d think that the two look the same as mother and daughter.


    Leah looked up at Veirya with despair. Veirya very patiently awaited Leah''s answer. If Leah didn''t answer, they''d stay standing there for an entire day, so Leah had no choice but to give an answer. She sighed, "Normal girls¡­ clothes and food, I guess."


    Honestly, Leah doesn''t quite know what girls would be fond of. Leah considered herself an ordinary girlpared to Veirya, though. As such, she answered in ordance to her personal preferences. Veirya nodded then checked both sides of the streets. While merchants relying on warehouses and stores have yet to arrive here, lots of merchants had already set up tents on the sides of the streets to sell simple goods. Although there were no clothes, there was a fair amount of food. The delicious food attracted a good number of townsfolk to pull out their wallets for some.


    Verya led Leah along the street by the hand while looking at the small tents on both sides of the street with a variety of foods collected together, which made Leah, who hadn''t much today, start to feel hungry. Veirya looked back and forth between the food stalls, and then stopped in front of a small tent. The specific tent sold grilled fish. The owner was also a chef, himself. He looked at Veirya and with a smile, "Lord Veirya, it is rare to see you here. Did you want to check out my grilled fish here? These fish were caught right after the ice melted this spring."


    Leah stood to one side. She struggled to get up on her toes to check out the grilled fish on wooden skewers. She looked at the fish meat exploding out of the crispy skin. The scent of the grilled meat rushed into Leah''s nose in waves, causing her to gulp her saliva every now and then. She looked at the grilled meat with her puppy eyes. Veirya stood in front. She, too, looked at the grilled fish. She then nced at Leah next to her before looking back at the owner. She nodded, "All right. Give me one serve."


    "Sure."


    The owner nodded. He then nimbly wrapped up a grilled fish he had just finished and handed it to Veirya. Veirya nodded, and then looked at Leah, who was looking at her with her puppy eyes. She hesitated for a second then handed it to Leah. Leah looked at Veirya with a tinge of surprise. Under normal circumstances, Veirya wouldn''t share her food. Veirya could share other stuff with Leah, but was very unlikely to share food food. Veirya had never made apromise for Leah when fighting for food, yet she handed Leah good on her own ord this time. That caught Leah with surprise.


    Leah also noticed that Veirya''s eyes had been on the grilled fish the entire time, so she could discern that Veirya very much so wanted to eat the fish. It was obvious from how her hand trembled when she passed Leah the fish. Perhaps Veirya was wrestling with herself inside at the moment. As a result, Leah didn''t dare to take it. She might stay safe if she doesn''t eat it, but Veirya regrets it after she ate it, Leah had no means of chucking it back up.


    Leah was now faced with a big life choice.


    <em>''Should I choose the food in front of me or my hope for survival¡­?'' </em>


    However, after some hesitation, she reached out to take the grilled fish in the end. She carefully blew it, and then turned it to its side in a hasty manner. She then carefully took a bit of its side.


    Veirya stared intensely at Leah. Leah''s face lit up when she tasted the deliciousness. Leah, who had been craving meat all this time, finally felt the greatness of good meat. The tasty grilled fish washed away all of the grumpiness from this morning. Leah chewed and chewed. The crispy fish made Leah''s entire body disperse brightness akin to a flower. Seeing Leah''s amazingly cheerful expression led to Veirya gradually gulping her saliva, too.


    She stood up and looked at the grilled fish in front of her. She said, "Give me one more serve."


    "Sure."


    Veira epted the fish; then she turned to leave. The owner, now behind her, hesitated to call out to her. He wanted to, but then stopped himself after a moment of hesitation. He sighed under his breath then continued working on his fish. Someone then approached his stall again. With a smile, she said, "Sorry, I''ll pay for those two. Give me one serve, as well, while you''re at it."


    "Ah, sure. Thank you, thank you! Thank you. I-It''s not a good idea to ask our lord for money, after all, is it?"


    The owner reacted as if given amnesty. He swiftly looked up to be surprised and widened his eyes. His customer wasn''t a human. She had long ears that were twitching next to her pretty face. She looked at the owner with her lively, green eyes. She wore a very standard tight suit for hunting. She was an elf. She tossed a few coins down then nimbly picked up a skewer before giving chase.


    Leah actually noticed that Veirya apparently didn''t pay. She looked at Veirya, albeit hesitantly. Veirya didn''t seem to realise it. She just leisurely ate her grilled fish. While she maintained expressionless, she was likely very happy. Nevertheless, the thought of paying money never crossed her mind. It was as if she hadn''t had to pay for anything up until now in life. The conjecture makes sense, since she''s never needed to buy anything when she grew up in the military. Veirya''s life was as simple as that of a monk. She had no need to think about money.


    Leah didn''t dare to exin it to Veirya.


    <em>''Maybe I''ll just tell Papa tonight and have him send the owner the money¡­ ''</em>


    Initially, Leah had never bought anything herself. However, after going out with her father, she came to understand the concept of paying for things. She sympathetically turned around to look at the owner, only to see a familiar silhouette agilely running toward them.


    Surprised, she widened her eyes and eximed, "Miss Lucia?!"


    "Oh! Leah, we meet again!"


    Lucia dexterously jumped in between them. She looked at the two with a smile. Veirya coldly looked at Lucia, "Lucilia."


    Lucia looked at Veirya with a smile and responded, "Veirya, long-time no see. You still buying things without paying?"


    "¡­ So we have to pay money? I don''t have money, though."


    Veirya stopped in her tracks then turned around to look in the direction of the stall. She went through her pockets. She went through her pockets for a long time before taking out a glistening gold coin. She asked, "Is this, money?"


    "You''ll be beaten to death by an owner one day if you do this. Who pays for grilled fish with gold coins? I''ve paid for you, so you don''t have to worry."


    Lucia cheerfully looked at her good friend. Veirya nodded, "Do you have business?"


    "Not this time. I just came to see my good friend. I wonder how everybody we fought alongside is doing."


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 16

    <em>''Honestly, I never thought that Lucia woulde again. I thought that she''d be done after tricking us once. It''s not easy to muster up the courage toe again. However, I don''t intend to bring the deed up again. I can tell that Veirya doesn''t n to pursue the matter. Moreover, Veirya treats Lucia very well. She did immediately agree to Lucia''s requestst time, after all. Consequently, I''m not in any position to talk.''</em>


    I returned home in the evening. Honestly, I really admire Lucia. I feel awkward sitting opposite Veirya for just ten minutes, but I saw Leah sitting next to Lucia cheerfully kicking her feet, so I think Leah and Lucia get along rtively happily.


    I nced at Lucia. I was very astonished.


    <em>''Are elves just that way? Lucia had a very t chest. She has very slender hips and a very cute face, but her chest is too t, isn''t it¡­? It''s genuinely out of sight. As a matter of fact, Leah''s look bigger; Leah''s have already started to pop a little.</em>


    "Hello, Lucia."


    I put my cloak down when I entered the house. I greeted Lucia and she looked up at me with an incredibly happy smile. She responded, "Hello, hello. I''m very happy to see you again. Veirya must really like you for you to have survived next to her until now."


    Veirya had a drink of tea. She then said something that shocked Lucia enough to give her goose bumps, "I want him to be my husband, but he refused."


    Lucia gasped. She looked at me, absolutely stunned. She covered her mouth as she widened it with surprise. She trembled as she asked, "Wh-What did you say¡­? Y-You''re getting married?!"


    "Married?"


    Veirya looked at Lucia with confusion. I smiled helplessly, and then exined, "That''s not it. It''s just that Veirya wants Leah to call her Mama. Previously, Anna said that Leah would have to call her Mama if we got married; hence why she suggested I be her husband, thereby making Leah call her Mama."


    "As if I''m calling her Mama!!"


    Leah loudly objected. Lucia hopelesslyughed, "Now that you mention it, I do indeed feel that it''s something Veirya would do¡­ But, why is Veirya so persistent? Why does Veirya care so much about Leah?"


    "Very cute." Veirya gave a very simple answer. She nced at Leah and after a pause, went on, "I''m a better mother than that woman."


    "Are you still stuck on that¡­? I guess it''s fair, though¡­ Mm¡­ How shall I put it? It''s not really our ce toment on your personal business, but Leah, you don''t have to be afraid of Veirya. Veirya is very good at fighting, but if she considers you her friend, you''re a very cute kid."


    Lucia rubbed Leah''s head with a smile. Leah just snorted. Veirya turned to face me and with an expressionless look said, "I''m hungry."


    "All right."


    I nodded, and then went to the kitchen. Not long after I entered the kitchen and rolled my sleeves up, Lucia nimbly snuck into the kitchen. She curiously watched me from behind. The kitchen isn''t spacious, so when Veirya and I are both in the kitchen together, we can''t turn around. However, the kitchen didn''t feel squishy in the slightest when Lucia was in here with me. Lucia is very agile. Every time that we were about to collide, she nimbly dodged out of the way. She curiously and intently watched my every step. When I put vegetables into the stew, she rushed up behind me and gently pinched my face. With a smile, she said, "I never thought that you''d be able to cook, as you''re a man. Frankly speaking, nobody in our adventurer team could cook. We just bought rations then boiled them in water. I never knew that you could cook. Let me try; let me try; let me see how it tastes."


    Although Lucia was tightly glued to my back, my heart didn''t race, and my body didn''t react. I scooped up a spoon of the meat stew and held it up to her mouth. She cheerfully had the serve then nodded with delight, "This is great! This is great, but I think it''s a bit nd. Yeah, a little nd."


    She took out a small bag from her pocket and opened it. She happily asked, "This is a vouring that we produce in the elvennds. It''s very easy to use. You just need a few pieces and it''ll give your meat soup a very rich vour. How about it? Want to give it a try?"


    I lingered for a moment, and then checked out the few small granules that resembled pepper. They were green, however. Also, they seemed to be solid. Lucia''s ears twitched with joy. She wasn''t nning to ask for my opinion again. She grabbed a few and tossed them in.


    The green granules exploded in the soup. An odd fragrance aggressively dispersed and sealed my mouth before I could shout to stop her. I scooped up a spoon. The soup that originally only had the taste of meat instantly had the taste of a spice. The in vour was immediately enriched and refreshing.


    Seeing my stunned reaction, Lucia proudly puffed her t chest, ""Hum, hum! This is our unique elven vouring. It''s amazing, isn''t it? Out of consideration of our friendship, I''ll give these vours to you. However, I want to try this, too."


    Lucia snatched the spoon in my hand and had a taste. She then abruptly grabbed my hand, tossed the spoon into the pot, and then excitedly dragged me along as she ran out of the kitchen. Leah and Veirya spun around at the same time to look at the two of us. When Leah saw Luciae running holding onto my arm with excitement, she panicked and shrieked. As for Veirya, she maintained her emotionless expression.


    Lucia clung tightly to my arm. She looked at Veirya with an iparably bright smile and eximed, "Excellent!! Veirya! This man is excellent! I want him. Veirya, what do you want? I''ll swap with you. I want him!!"


    "Noooo!!!!"


    Leah screamed before Veirya could speak. Leah sprinted over to my side and tightly hugged my other arm before desperately trying to pull me toward her with all of her might. She yelled, "No! No! No! Papa is Leah''s Papa! Leah won''t give Papa to anyone!!"


    "Leah, if you want, you cane live in the elvennds, you know? The four seasons in the elven forests are just like spring. There won''t be anywhere so cold. Plus, there''s lots of tasty food to eat there. Come live with your Papa."


    "Really¡­?"


    Leah seemed to instantly defect¡­


    "No deal." Veirya stood up at that moment. She looked at Lucia with an absolutely serious look and repeated herself, "No deal."


    "Veirya¡­"


    I looked at Veirya, feeling somewhat moved. But nheless, Veirya looked at Lucia and added, "If he''s not with me, I''ll starve."

 Chapter Volume 2 17

    Lucia has a better memory than Veirya. She immediately recognised Anna when she saw her at dinner. She cheerfully took hold of Anna''s hands and had her sit down. The two of them shared one chair. Lucia cheerfully asked, "Anna, I''m so happy to see you. We have you to thank for helping us lure the demons'' main force in thest battle. Also, you guys stuck with us during the battle to defend the farm from the demons cavalry''s sudden attack. We''re very grateful to you. How are your other teammates doing?''


    Anna wore a nostalgic and happy smile. She looked at Lucia with excitement. Anna''s eyes lit up when they talked about the past. Those days of the past must''ve been very cherished days to Anna. She''s now working as a maid for a lord''s home. She''s in charge of cleaning rooms, washing clothes and taking care of Leah every day. There''s no way that her current lifestyle, that doesn''t earn her a sry, canpare to her previous lifestyle. In the past, she was a Gold Rank adventurer, who was able to fight alongside powerful warriors, such as Veirya and Lucia, who were capable of killing the Demon King. She was respected no matter when and where.


    Now, however, she was a mere maid who doesn''t even have freedom. Hence, the past was very much worth reminiscing for Anna. Thinking about it could be said to be her alcohol that allows her to escape from reality. Recalling the nice things of the past made the present more bearable. Of course, there''s one other possibility, and that is that she hates her current life. In other words, seeing Lucia was the same as seeing her past.


    Nheless, the mention of herrades was akin to a cup of bitter wine, one that came from the present. The slight smile Anna had gradually vanished. She looked at Lucia and in a soft voice, replied, "There were very few of us that made it through this winter. This winter was too cold to us. Her Majesty didn''t give us anything after the victory. We weren''t given any rewards or honours. We returned to our viges, only to discover that they had been totally destroyed, and that we weren''t going to bepensated. Others had moved into our homes. We went from adventurers to wanderers with nothing in the blink of an eye. The majority of us, who went to the capital, were executed for breaking thew. The remainder of us dragged out an ignoble life. However, we aren''t very educated, and ourbat skills weren''t required. Lots of us either died from starvation or froze to death¡­ I had nowhere to go, so I came here to the North to find Lord Veirya. Initially, three of us journeyed here, but in the end, only I survived."


    Lucia looked at Anna, feeling somewhat surprised. Anna began to softly sob. She wiped her tears. I awkwardly looked at the two of them, but Veirya didn''t react. She didn''t have any thoughts on the adventurers'' tragic lives. She was interested in how many more bowls of meat stew she could have. Leah looked at therge pot with even more eagerness. She tried her absolute best to bring the pot over to herself.


    Lucia sighed, "You should all be humanity''s heroes, yet were treated with injustice¡­ You should clearly have freedom and honour, yet you were in¡­ We saw Queen Sisi; I must say, she''s an excellent Queen, but she''s a terrible person. I''m sure you''re aware of what she does."


    Lucia looked at me. I gave her a nod. Queen Sisi has done outrageous things to me, as well. She made me entertain the most outstanding individuals of the three races. If it wasn''t for Lucia, I''d be dead, or I''d have actually picked up that steak in front of everybody with my mouth.


    I didn''t voice my opinion for Queen Sisi, for I could see that Veirya started to be unhappy. She looked up from her bowl of meat stew and unhappily looked at Leah, "You''re elves. I won''t allow you to attack our Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi led us to defeat the Demon King. She''s the noblest Queen in this world. Lucilia. I can''t ept you attacking Queen Sisi. Even if you''re my good friend."


    "Okay, okay, okay, my mistake."


    Lucia was cognizant of the fact that trying to exin herself to Veirya was just utter stupidity. Veirya refuses to listen to what others say, which is why Lucia chose to go along with Veirya. Nevertheless, it was noticeable from her gaze that she wasn''t willing to change her stance. Lucia still viewed Queen Sisi as an antagonist.


    "But I guess this gives me the opportunity to feel honoured and a sense of justice for what I did."


    Anna finally calmed down. She sniffled and gave me a somewhat awkward smile. Lucia watched her then looked at me, "Thank you for taking care of her. Veirya, and¡­ Uhh¡­"


    "Lin Dongqing."


    "That''s a weird name¡­ It was, Lin? No, Dongqing? That''s no good, either. No good, no good. Your name is too hard for us to pronounce."


    Lucia folded her arms and looked at me with a frown as if it was my fault that my name was hard to pronounce. I looked back at her and sighed, "I only have one name. Plus, nobody else besides you thinks my name is hard to pronounce."


    "Veirya doesn''t even address you by your name, though, does she?"


    "¡­ That''s true."


    "I''ll give you an elven name, then. Our elven names are very nice. Mm¡­ Let me have a think¡­ Travor. That means ''owl'' in the elvennguage. I think your eyes resemble an owl''s eyes. I can''t help but feel that there are secrets hiding behind them."


    Lucia looked at me while feeling proud of herself. She seemed very pleased with her naming skills. She puffed out her t chest and appeared to be waiting for my praise.


    "¡­ It''s long and hard to pronounce. It''s worse than my previous name."


    Yes, the name was meaningless to me. I don''t live in the elvennds, and I don''t speak the elvennguage. It was long and a tongue twister. It was worse than my name.


    "You can shorten it to, "Trav."


    Since I didn''t praise her, Lucia angrily turned to look at Veirya and asked, "What do you think of the name?"


    Veirya ced her spoon down, and then looked at me with a serious look, "It doesn''t matter. No matter what his name is. He''ll be by my side when I need him. I don''t need to know his name. All I need is for him to be with me."


    "Wow! What''s with this old husband and wife sort of trust?!! You don''t trust me to that degree despite us having gone through life and death together for so long, do you?!"


    "No, Lucia. I absolutely trust you; else, I wouldn''t be eating with you without my sword."


    "Okay, okay, thank you so much for your trust, then! I''m so touched!!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 18

    Lucia didn''t n to stay here. She told us she had to head back after dinner. Though it was already dark outside, Lucia didn''t mind.


    Lucia and I left the house together. Lucia looked at me standing at the door and waved, "I''m off. I came to see my good friends, but it appears that I won''t get to see my human friends here."


    "The war is over."


    I don''t know how to evaluate this, either; or rather, I shouldn''t give my opinion on it. Veirya doesn''t want to hear others criticising Queen Sisi, and I, myself, don''t want to touch poison. Lucia looked at me and then nodded, "Yeah, it''s over already, so our mission as adventurers is over. I always wanted to go on adventures. I wanted to go on adventures as the heroes in our elven stories did, where they travelled the entire continent, helped the weak, upheld justice and then suavely left. However, I went through so many things after beginning my life as an adventurer. Adventurers aren''t as suave as I thought. The adventure I craved wasn''t one steeped in mud and blood; but nevertheless, I''m enjoying running about and travelling across the entire continent. I think that this is what an adventure is. I see exquisite scenes that I''ve never seen before and countless ruins. I think I''m truly feeling a little happy now."


    "Do you regret it?"


    "No."


    Lucia initially wore a slightly gloomy expression, but she shook her head without any hesitation after hearing my question. She looked at me with an absolutely serious look and exined, "I avenged my own kin. I avenged myrades who died to the demons. I killed the Demon King, so I don''t regret it. While the adventuring process, in and of itself, wasn''t what I imagined, I was very happy with the conclusion. Further, I''m now considered a hero of the elven race. I can do anything and go anywhere for my race."


    Lucia may be petite and have a very t chest, but her eyes were firm as steel when she said that. I believed that Lucia truly wanted to sacrifice everything for the elves as their hero.


    "The war is over, but I believe that there are still other things that I can do for my people, so I will do that."


    Lucia was probably the adventurer whose thinking adapts the fastest. Lucia has already moved on from the war phase and begun her retirement attitude. Perhaps travelling the continent now is considered true adventuring. From the looks of things, though, the elves seem to have begun a life of peace and harmony. Actually, they''re most likely facing a new crisis. Otherwise, Lucia wouldn''t state that she''ll continue to work hard for her race.


    I looked at Lucia and asked, "Did something happen in the elvennds?"


    Lucia didn''t hide it from me; instead, she gently nodded, "Uhm."


    But nheless, she didn''t borate. She began to walk again, and then waved her hand with her usual smile, "Veirya looks a little odd, but she''s a very good person, and she cares for others. She just doesn''t know how to express her feelings. I''ve always worried about how she''d live among humans, but I feel reassured, since she has you. I hope you take good care of her."


    "I know. I''m her spoil of war. Hence, whatever the case may be, I have to take proper care of her."


    Lucia gave a small nod then looked at me. Her gaze was slightlyplex. She sighed, "If I was the one who charged in back then as opposed to Veirya, you''d be with me now, and I could be a lot more rxed. With that said, it doesn''t appear as though Veirya intends to lend you to me."


    "What''s the matter?"


    "Never mind. It''s nothing major. Moreover, it''s our elven affairs."


    Lucia turned around and quickly vanished off into the darkness. She didn''t inform me of what happened with the elves, but I could faintly sense it. It seemed that what''s happening with them was affecting humanity to a certain degree. Lucia didn''te here on a whim.


    I think that what''s happening with the elves is very interesting.


    <em>''Could it have something to do with humanity''s merchants? If the two are connected, what''s going on between them? What sort of connection do they have to each other? Has what happened with the elves got to do with humanity? If some mishap happened with the elves that requires humanity''s assistance, they should be seeking Queen Sisi. It''s pointless to seek Veirya, isn''t it?''</em>


    "Papa."


    Leah came up behind me as I thought about it. She brought me my thick cloak. She came up to me and looked at me with a pitiful look. She raised up my cloak, "Papa, it''s cold; you should wear your cloak."


    "It''s all right, Leah. Let''s head back."


    I joyously caressed Leah''s head. It was certainly cold outside, but I felt so warm inside to see Leah bring me my cloak. I couldn''t resist giving cute Leah a hug. She giggled as she hugged me around my neck and hung my cloak off my head.


    It was supposed to be a cosy scene, but Leah then bit my ear and sensually whispered, "Papa, you''ve been so close with Veirya thest two days, and then you were all intimate with this elf behind Leah''s back. Have you forgotten about Leah¡­? You better be prepared tonight¡­ Papa¡­ Leah will make sure to kiss you until you are covered in Leah''s marks¡­ Papa, you previously said that Leah could have all of your affection, didn''t you¡­? It seems that you''ve betrayed Leah, though¡­"


    "Leah?!"


    Surprised, I tried to turn my head, but Leah snorted, and then leaned onto my shoulder to whisper her warning. I smiled helplessly as I carried her back into the house. Veirya sat in her chair and watched use back. I looked at her and came out with it, "Something might''ve happened in the elvennds."


    "Uhm."


    Veirya only gave a slight nod. Then she turned back to continue looking at the table in silence. Although she cares a lot about Lucia, she didn''t seem to be emotionally attached to the elves. I was nning to say something else, but Leah covered my mouth and shouted, "Papa, I want to take a bath!"


    "A bath? Sure."


    I nodded then put Leah down. However, Leah didn''t release her arms around my neck in spite of standing on the ground. Instead, she turned her head to look at Veirya. Veirya looked in our direction, "I want a bath, too."


    Leah wasn''t bothered with Veirya this time. She, instead, turned back to look at me and whispered, "Let''s bath together, then, Papa."


    "That''s not a very good idea¡­"


    Before Leah could respond, Veirya spoke up, "You have to join us."


    "Really¡­?"


    "Uhm."


    Veirya began to remove her clothes without the slightest hesitation. Leah released me, and then looked at me grumpily. Next to my ear, she added, "Papa, I''m serious. Leah is going to make sure you''re covered in head to toe with Leah''s scent tonight¡­ That elf is seriously too much! And you are too, Papa!"

 Chapter Volume 2 19

    The process for the bath was pretty much the same as usual, except that Leah clung to me more. I gently held her in my arms and did my best to not look at Veirya, who was in front of me with her perfect and sensual body right in sight; else, Leah would definitely feel something in this direction.


    Leah was currently standing on my thighs. Despite there being a thinyer of water between us, I could still feel her small feet on my thighs. Her smooth and supple skin on my skin caused me to be numb.


    Leah had her hands ced on my shoulders as she cheerfully treaded in the water, thereby stepping on my thigh. Besides the ticklish sensationing from my thigh, I could also feel the water sshing into my leg.


    <em>''I seriously wish Leah would stop treading in water¡­''</em>


    Veirya''s ankle rubbed against my adductors. She didn''t signal anything or notice anything. She was probably ignorant about this sort of thing, which was why I didn''t feel that I was in a position to mention anything.


    That was when Veirya, who was scrubbing herself with a sponge, suddenly spoke up, "What do you think about what I previously said?"


    At first, I couldn''t discern who she was speaking to right away. I looked at her, feeling somewhat surprised. Veirya looked at me and seriously borated, "I''m talking about. What I previously mentioned. The matter about being a husband."


    Veirya wore a very serious expression. She wasn''t joking.


    <em>''If it was somebody else he said that, I''d consider it their joke, but I know that Veirya is absolutely serious. The issue is that this serious joke is impossible to y along with.''</em>


    I nkly looked at her. I was slightly stupefied.


    <em>''What''s this supposed to be considered? Is this Veirya''a proposal or what¡­? It doesn''t seem to be a proposal; neither does it seem to be a discussion of some sort, so what is it¡­? How am I supposed to answer? What does she hope my answer to be? What does Leah want my answer to be?''</em>


    "Wait, wait, wait. Veirya, do you understand what that means?" I gulped my saliva. I looked at Veirya while feeling slightly panicked. I did my best to calm my mind down to allow myself to think of what to say next. I looked at her and exined, "A marriage isn''t something you just casually speak of. It affects your entire life. Veirya, marriage isn''t a joke."


    Veriya looked at me with a serious look. She replied, "It doesn''t matter to me."


    "I¡­ I still can''t ept it."


    I looked at Veirya.


    <em>Though she initiated the proposal, and it should be something very exciting for me, she doesn''t know what the significance of marriage is. Furthermore, once she does find out what it means, she probably won''tment. She''ll probably just continue living in peace, I''d assume.</em>


    <em>''But that counts as being tricked, right? Taking advantage of another''s ignorance is a form of trickery. Though I lie and take advantage of incorrect information et cetera to obtain what I want, I have never cheated anybody. What''s more, when I look into Veirya''s eyes, I can''t bring myself to trick her. I don''t want to trick her into marrying me. What''s this sort of thinking considered? Do I not bear to lie to her, or can''t I get over my conscience''s hurdle?''</em>


    <em>''Perhaps it''s because I''m unaware of my own feelings. I''m not sure if I truly love Veirya or not. I''ve never been in love, so I don''t know what my true feelings are. Is it really a good idea for Veirya and I to get together this way? Moreover, can Leah ept it?''</em>


    Veirya shook her head, "I don''t mind. There''s no difference to me."


    Leah looked at me. She nervously grabbed my hair, and then eximed, "Papa, what are you two talking about?! What are you two discussing?!"


    "No, Veirya. If the marriage can''t bring about a blissful change to somebody''s life through marrying them, it''s a fraud." I solemnly shook my head. I looked at Veirya and continued, "Marriage is a very important matter. If we don''t sincerely love each other, then that makes it a lie fraught with ill-will."


    Veirya ced down the sponge in her hand and suddenly raised her leg to step onto my chest, thereby preventing me from running. She seriously asked, "What. Is love? What exactly. Is love? Queen Sisi once said that what she wanted was love, but I couldn''tprehend it. What exactly is. This thing called love? Why was my father unwilling to leave when he was on the brink of death? Because he loved that woman? What exactly is love? Are my feelings for Leah considered love?"


    Leah looked at Veirya; Leah was flustered and at a loss. She appeared to perceive that Veirya''s love was too burdensome for her to bear. Veirya firmly pressed her foot to my chest, thereby firmly nting me to the bathtub. She stared at me with an absolutely serious look. She seemed to really want to know the answer to her question.


    I replied honestly, "I don''t know, either. Everybody has a different way of interpreting it. Humans are capable ofprehending what love is. Veirya, love is a human instinct. Nobody can understand what love is defined as, but you will learn what it is with time."


    Veirya looked at me with a hint of slight disbelief, but she didn''t voice it. Instead, she silently moved her foot off my chest. Panicked, Leah looked at the spot Veirya just had her foot on. She quickly rubbed it with her small hand.


    Needless to say, I felt it was quite soothing¡­


    "So, you refuse, then."


    Veirya stood up from the water and picked up the towel by the side. I looked at her perfect body. I honestly started to regret my decision, since there was no man who could resist against that sexy body of hers. She looked at me and stepped out of the tub without any expression as per usual. She then went to one side to get dressed.


    With Leah in my arms, I scrubbed her body. Leah stood in front of me and generously allowed me to scrub her body. At the same time, she looked at Veirya with a tinge of displeasure. Veirya stopped speaking after talking about that stuff. She went to sit at the dining table after she got dressed.


    Veirya probably just wanted to get Leah to call her ''Mom''.


    Leah grabbed my arm. She looked at me and coquettishly said, "Papa, I''m a little tired now. How about we head up to sleep?"


    Usually, I''d take Leah up to sleep now, but this time, I had a random feeling of reluctance and sympathy for Veirya when I looked at her sitting at the table. Veirya''s expression remained the same; her gaze was void of emotion. She just sat there looking at the lines on the table in silence. She didn''t make a single sound. As a matter of fact, not even her breathing could be heard. She just silently sat there and listened to the slowly crackling me behind her.


    I wasn''t sure if it was because the me was too loud or what, but I felt that the view of Veirya''s back made her look particrly lonely and empty. Her emotionless eyes looked evidently deep to the point that no light could be seen in them.


    <em>''What¡­ am I thinking about? Why do I¡­ feel that Veirya is lonely?''</em>


    <em>''But does Veirya truly feel that she''s very lonely?"</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 20

    "Leah¡­"


    <strong>*Slide¡­ Slide¡­ Slide¡­* </strong>


    "Papa¡­ Leah¡­ Leah¡­ won''t stop¡­ Leah told you¡­ Leah will make sure Papa is covered in Leah''s scent!"


    Leah aggressively stripped me, and theny sprawled out on my chest.


    She crawled upward on me step by step. She then went back to my chest and bit the location where my heart sat. I felt the pain from her teeth digging into me. She bit my chest hard. I could even feel myself bleeding.


    Leah didn''t end it there. She even began to suck my blood. Her breasts slid around on my body; her body also randomly emitted a faint glow. It wasn''t the moonlight, so it must''ve been her own body that was glowing. Leah''s body appeared so bright in the moment as if she was the bright moonlight.


    "Now Papa is my Papa¡­ Leah wants to be with Papa forever¡­ Leah also wants to possess all of Papa''s gentleness and Kindness for myself¡­ Leah doesn''t want Papa to have another woman¡­ Although¡­ although Leah doesn''t know why, either¡­, thinking about Papa giving Papa''s gentleness and arms to other women¡­ makes Leah feel so sad¡­ It feels frustrating¡­ Therefore¡­ therefore¡­ Leah doesn''t want Papa to be too intimate with other women¡­ Papa¡­ If you''re too close to other women, aren''t you¡­, Leah¡­ Leah will be very strange¡­"


    I didn''t speak. Leah gently stroked my chest. She leaned in to the spot closest to where my heart was located and bit it. She then gently stroked the teeth marks. With a soft giggle, she said, "This is the magic Leah has set on Papa. In the future, no matter where Leah is, wherever Papa is and wherever we are, if Leah misses Papa or Papa forgets Leah even a teeny bit, your chest will hurt. Papa will forever remember the mark Leah left. Papa will forever remember this night¡­"


    "Leah¡­"


    I gently pulled Leah into my embrace. She seemed to be very eager to be hugged by me. She leaned onto my chest with the ultimate happiness and then gently sniffed my body. With a content smile, she said, "That elf''s smell is gone. You''re now covered in Leah''s scent, Papa¡­ Uhm, this is the best¡­ Papa¡­ Papa¡­ You will forever be Leah''s Papa¡­ Don''t leave Leah. Don''t go to other women¡­ Oh, right, Papa, that marriage thing that woman mentioned, what exactly is it?"


    I looked at Leah. While I caressed her head with a smile, I exined, "Oh, that¡­ That''s¡­ Mm¡­ When a man and woman love each other then live together until death."


    "So, so does Papa love Leah?"


    Leah nervously looked at me. She appeared to be eager to know my answer. I looked at her and seriously nodded, "Of course. Of course, Papa loves Leah. However, the love Papa has for Leah is different to the love in marriage."


    "But, Papa wants to live together with Leah, right? Leah wants to live together with Papa! Therefore, it''s okay, Papa! Leah understands. You told that woman, yourself, didn''t you? Leah will eventually understand what love is! Leah doesn''t understand what love is at the moment, but Leah will be able to understand it once Leah grows up! And so, Papa, after Leah grows up, can you love Leah? Can Papa and Leah get married?"


    Leah looked at me with eyes brimming with anticipation. While she was transformed into her adult size, her behaviour remained considerably normal. She looked at me with anticipation. Her body was most certainly alluring, but I didn''t have any impure thoughts due to her pure eyes.


    <em>''Veirya''s breasts are among the most voluptuous I''ve seen, but Leah''s breasts in her adult form are evenrger. Should I say, she doesn''t disappoint as a subus, or should I say, Veirya is but a mere human? If Leah calls Veirya ''Mama'' when her daughter has bigger breasts than her, wouldn''t she feel awkward as her mother?''</em>


    I looked at Leah while she looked at me with immense anticipation. There was nervousness and anticipation in her gaze that she looked at me with.


    <em>''She must be eager to hear my answer.''</em>


    I looked at her and pulled her into my arms. In a tender voice, I replied, "Leah, while love is a human instinct, it doesn''t necessarily mean that you will have a target. Leah, you''re still young. It''s still too early to speak about love with you. In saying that, Papa understands your feelings. If you still consider it when you grow up, Papa will wholeheartedly consider it, as well."


    "Uhm! Papa! Leah will forever love only Papa, alone! Leah promises that! Nevertheless, Leah hopes Papa can love Leah, alone! Else¡­ Leah¡­ Leah will truly be very mad¡­"


    Leah''s gaze then suddenly changed. I didn''t bother with her, though. It was the fast time that I wasn''t erect in transformed Leah''s presence, because my attention wasn''t on her. I wasn''t thinking about her, Lucia, or even what that man discussed with me. No, not the chapel, either.


    What I kept thinking about was solely Veirya. All I thought about was her dark gaze and expressionless look underneath the me.


    I didn''t understand Veirya. I didn''t know anything about her past, and I couldn''t read her mind. I didn''t understand my thoughts, either. I didn''t know what I was thinking about.


    <em>''What exactly do I want to do with Veirya? I refused Veirya when she didn''t understand what marriage is, but I clearly could''ve leveraged that to get with her, yet I knew deep down that if Iplied and possessed her, my conscience would torment me to death.''</em>


    <em>''If I genuinely like Veirya, I should be together with her.''</em>


    <em>''But nheless, if I don''t love her, I don''t need to consider her feelings. I have everything to gain and nothing to lose by marrying her.''</em>


    <em>''So the question is: how exactly do I feel?''</em>

 Chapter Volume 2 21

    When I ced breakfast on the table, Veirya looked at my face and out of the blue, remarked, "You didn''t sleep wellst night."


    I lingered before replying, "Indeed, I couldn''t sleepst night. I kept on thinking about some things."


    "Did you. Reach a conclusion, then?"


    "No."


    Veirya blurted, "Thinking about a problem. That you can''t find a solution to. Is a waste of time."


    I smiled helplessly.


    Perhaps that was how it worked for Veirya. None of it was considered an emotional issue. She didn''t think about the problem from an emotional perspective, yet I continued to drift between my feelings. Veirya was so slow that she couldn''t feel it. I fe;t that Veirya resembles the man, while I yed the woman of our rtionship¡­


    Veirya looked up at me again. She asked, "Did you pinch yourself again?"


    "Uhm¡­ Uhm¡­"


    Veirya looked at me with puzzlement, "How weird. Why do you always pinch yourself? Is there some significant meaning to it? Deliberately hurting yourself isn''t a good habit."


    "No¡­ I don''t do it on purpose¡­ Whatever the case¡­ You don''t need to concern yourself with me. Let''s have breakfast."


    Somebody suddenly knocked at the door. Veirya''s expression immediately turned very terrifying. She drew her long sword and prepared herself to meet with hostility, thereby giving away who was at the door.


    <em>''I really want to have a word with Angelina, though. Will I be able to find an appropriate moment next time? Angelina alwayses for me so early in the morning. I''ve just woken up. I haven''t even had breakfast yet. Going over there to go back and forth with so many people before I even have breakfast kills me.''</em>


    I went to the door and pulled it open. Angelina spoke with a cold tone, "Mr. Lin, the bishop wishes to see you. He wishes to discuss the construction of the chapel."


    "The chapel has selected a location?"


    "Yes."


    I didn''t expect them to be so fast. I nodded, "Is it urgent?"


    Angelina shook her head, "No. I merely came to notify you. You cane anytime, as long as it''s within the day. You cane find us at the hotel after you are done with your own business."


    "Come have breakfast, then."


    I looked at Angelina and made way.


    We didn''t have much, but I didn''t think that she''d wolf down a lot just as Veirya does. Plus, Angelina might not have been a big eater¡­


    Angelina looked at Veirya. Veirya grumpily looked at me. She stood up and came over to me. She pulled me back into the house, and then coldly looked at Angelina. Angelina reciprocated the cold look. The two of them confronting each other is colder than a snowy, windy day in winter. Leah came down stairs while yawning. She looked at the empty table with bewilderment. She then went to the door. When she saw Angelina outside the door, she revealed a happy smile. She eximed, "Sister Angelina!"


    <em>''Sister¡­''</em>


    I noticed the corner of my mouth twitch. Angelina''s cold eyes immediately shifted to my face. She seemed to notice that I almost smiled.


    <em>''If I really did smile, Sister Angelina will probably finish me off with one sword thrust, won''t she¡­?''</em>


    Leah cheerfully ran over and squeezed past us to get in front of Angelina. Veirya revealed a panicked gaze for the first time. She immediately went to grab Leah by her arm; but nheless, Angelina had already picked her up. Angelina''s ice-cold expression immediately melted. What reced it was a very bright smile. I knew that Veirya''s pretty face would look more beautiful than anything if she wore a bright smile, so beautiful that you practically wouldn''t dare to look at her. Angelina pinched Leah''s face after picking her up, "How are you now, Leah? Has that woman been mean to you?"


    "No."


    Leah may not be too fond of Veirya, but she nced at Veirya and didn''t say anything unfavourable to her. Instead, she responded honestly. Veirya grabbed one of Leah''s arms and looked at Angelina''s face. She coldly said, "Let go. She''s not yours."


    Angelina didn''t wipe off her smile. Instead, she continued holding Leah. She looked Veirya and replied, "And she''s yours? You''re not Leah''s mother. Mr. Lin hasn''t spoken up, so what right do you have to tell me to let go?"


    "If you don''t let go. I''ll make it so you have no hands!!"


    Veirya reached for her long sword withplete disregard for everything. I quickly pressed my hand on hers and seriously eximed, "Don''t, don''t, don''t, Veirya, don''t be rash. You may very well end up hurting Leah if you attack now!! And don''t just draw your sword for everything! That won''t solve problems!"


    Veirya coldly looked at me, "Get Leah to leave Angelina. Ande to me!"


    "I can''t control that¡­ But let''s do this. Angelina,e in and join us for breakfast."


    Angelina gave a small nod, and then put Leah down. Leah ran over to me and cheerfully took my hand. While Veirya was filled with displeasure and very reluctant to let Angelina inside, she had to make way when she looked at Leah. When Angelina entered, though, I realised a big problem, and that is how we were going to allocate the seating. There was no way that Veirya would sit next to Angelina. Sitting opposite to her and seeing her face would probably irritate her even more. Thus, Leah would have to sit with Veirya, while I sat with Angelina.


    Once we sat down at the table, Veirya coldly shot a re at Angelina. She picked up her bowl of stew and knocked it back in a very displeased manner. Angelina looked at the bowl of meat stew in front of her, and then had a taste.


    I was very confident with my meat stew. After Lucia gave me that miraculous vouring, I had been able to create a wider variety of dishes.


    I looked forward to Angelina''s praise after she had a taste. However, Angelina''s face didn''t show praise. To the contrary, she was surprised. She looked at me, "You have the vours the elves produce, as well?"


    "As well?"


    I looked at Angelina, feeling slightly surprised. Angelina''s expression instantly turned awkward. She pursed her lips then shifted her line of sight back to the meat stew. After a moment of silence, she replied, "I''m just very surprised. This vouring is very expensive. One grain is the equivalent of a grain of gold of the same weight¡­ I''ve only ever had dishes with this vour when at the chapel¡­ That''s why I''m somewhat surprised. How do you have this?"


    "This was given to us by Veirya''srade, Lucilia. There''s not much, but is it really that expensive?"


    "It''d only be even more expensive in the Imperial Capital."


    I responded with a small nod. Leah and Veirya didn''t mind our conversation. Veirya actually cared, but she didn''t seem to understand what we were conversing about. I could understand, though. In saying that, those few sentences from Angelina made me look at the green spice floating on top of the stew and space out until I finished my meal.


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 22

    After finishing breakfast, I went into the tavern. Angelina came with me. Angelina is unlike Veirya, in that she doesn''t always wear an expressionless look. When she''s on duty, though, she''ll keep a cold expression on. Perhaps she remained focused.


    The interior of the tavern wasn''t what it once was. After the Fire Torch Festival, there were always people somebody in the tavern drinking regardless of time of the day. While there few people during the day, they had a continuous influx of customers. Now, however, there wasn''t a single resident of the town in there. All of the people drinking and resting in the tavern were the soldiers of the chapel. The chapel''s cross symbol could be seen at every corner of the tavern now. They showed off their prestige with their items on the tables, shields and even the back of their capes. It would seem that this tavern was the chapel''s most different region.


    The tavern''s people weren''t averse to them, since they all paid. Moreover, after thest incident, the chapel really had abided by the agreement we sighed. They didn''t interfere with the beliefs of the people at the tavern nor did they gotten physical with anyone in the town. As a matter of fact, they rarely left the tavern.


    When we entered, lots of soldiers didn''t show much dislike for us, either. Some didn''t even look up.


    I looked at Angelina and said, "I won''t go up for now."


    "Why?"


    "I want to take a look at the vicinity of the tavern."


    I paused then looked at Angelina. She didn''t appear to know what I wanted to do, but precisely because she couldn''tprehend it, she revealed a look of slight discontent. She dawdled for a moment before responding, "I don''t hope to see you running around randomly near the tavern. Since you''re already here, why won''t you see our Bishop? If youe here, yet don''t see our bishop, that would be very rude."


    "All right, all right, I''ll see your bishop first."


    I sighed then hopelessly went upstairs. As soon as I reached the second floor, a soldier with his arms folded gave a nod, "Our bishop is already waiting for you, Mister. Follow me."


    I nodded, "All right."


    I followed the soldier and Angelina to a room. Inside the room was rtively dark. The curtains weren''t open. The only light was from a candle to the side. The bishop sat behind the table with a strange tobo pipe dangling from his mouth. Angelina extended out her hand to stop me. She entered the room and said, "Your Excellency, Mr. Lin has arrived."


    "Okay, okay, okay, hurry and let him in."


    The bishop nodded, and then turned around to look at me. He revealed a small smile behind his beard.


    I didn''t know if it was my overthinking that gave me the vibe that he was up to no good.


    I gave a small nod and spoke up, "Good morning."


    "Good morning, Mister. I called you here this time, as we have settled on a location for our chapel. If you think it is feasible, we shall prepare to start construction. One thing I need to inform you of is, please allow us to conduct the construction. We do not really want for others to know of our chapel''s design. What do you think?"


    I gave a small nod. Better to be less one trouble than more one. I replied, "We shall not provide you with materials andbour in that case. We will not interfere with your construction period, either. With that said, your construction activities cannot affect our townsfolk''s daily lives."


    "Sure."


    The bishop nodded, and then he spread out a map. I was slightly surprised, as not even I had a map of the town. I had to climb to higher ground to get a view of the town, yet the Bishop had a map that was very detailed. Virtually all of the buildings were marked on said map. In fact, even empty buildings were marked.


    <em>''I''ve never seen the people here leave the tavern; how did they draw this map?''</em>


    "This is the location we have chosen. It is a block ofnd that is close to the entrance of the town. This location is rtively more suitable for us. We need to promote here. Additionally, if we were at the centre, we would disturb the lives of you heretics, right? Moreover, we will be able to smoothly leave should something happen."


    I had a look.


    I didn''t have any problem with the location they chose. It wasn''t at the centre of the town or close to our residential ces. It was close to the town''s entrance. There was nothing inappropriate about that. There weren''t many people there either. As opposed to saying they were here to preach, you might as well say that it was a ce for ascetic practice.


    "But this is the ce those merchants chose. We would construct a building for you nearby, but whether or not your location of choice disturbs the merchants or not, you''ll have to speak to the merchants."


    "That is fine. As long as we can construct a chapel here, then it is fine. Nevertheless, I hope that you can abide by our agreement, in that we will not interfere with each other. We have always abided by that agreement. We will not interfere with your lives; so simrly, we hope that you will not interfere with ours."


    I nodded, "That is fine."


    Although the agreement of ours was incredibly peculiar - since it didn''t serve any purpose or have any meaning ¨C the two of us have stuck to the terms of the worthless agreement. Perhaps we respected it, as it meant that we wouldn''t influence each other.


    The discussion was very quick. After I gave my nod, I got up and bid him goodbye. The bishop didn''t keep me. After exiting the tavern, I didn''t leave straight away. Instead, I went ap around the tavern. Garbage was very orderly dealt with in this town. Everybody throws their garbage into a barrel, and then ces it at the door. In the early morning, a horse carriage picks it up. The horse carriage dumps the garbage into arge hole nearby and buries it. I was looked at the tavern''s garbage barrel.


    I really wanted to get my hands on the vour that Angelina mentioned. She recognised the taste of the vour, which proved that the chapel should have something to do with the vouring.


    Owing to the climate, the food in the rubbish barrel didn''t spoil. With that said, I still didn''t exactly want to go close to it, but I ended up going over anyway. I took out a small piece of bread from inside. I took in a deep breath then pinched my nose with the resolve to die. I then had a light lick.


    That, alone, was enough to sicken me enough to give me goose bumps and gag over and over. The disgust caused me to lean over and puke next to the barrel. I saw my breakfast a second time, in addition to my bile. The more I puked, the sicker I felt. I continued puking until my mouth was filled with the bitterness of bile, and I couldn''t puke any more. I then stepped back and weakly sat onto the ground, panting for air.


    "Ah! It is you, Mister! What is the matter?!"


    I suddenly heard a surprised exmation from behind. I swiftly turned my head around to see the daughter of the tavern owner run back inside toe back out with a big cup. She nervously looked at me and handed me the cup. I took it and knocked it back without caring about what it was. It was wine, probably a fruit wine. The taste wasn''t that intense.


    She nervously looked at me and asked, "Mister, what is the matter?"


    "No¡­ I''m good. I''m fine¡­ It''s just¡­ just¡­ have you added something extra to your foods recently?"


    "Mm¡­ The chapel''s people gave us some elven vouring¡­ Could there poison in it?!"


    "No, it''s not poisoned, but¡­, but¡­, I think that the origin of this is very questionable. In fact, where it''s being used is very odd¡­ I think that I understand what the man meant now¡­"


    I took in a deep breath.


    I finally realised what was in it, and I finally figured what the chapel''s aim was.

 Chapter Volume 2 23

    "Are you looking me for something?"


    The man who resembled a rodent looked at me and sniffled. Though he came whenever I called for him in winter, he now showed a look of irritation whenever I called for him. It seemed that he had work to attend to. He most probably had his ownnd to nt crops in, and was therefore unhappy that I called for him now.


    I thought his main upation was a record keeper¡­ It appeared that he was just one erudite among the townsfolk ¡­


    "Something very important."


    I looked at the man in front of me. One nce and you''d feel that he strongly resembled a rodent. One nce and you''d feel that he was perfectly suited to being active at night. Now, though, he was the talent that I need. I need somebody to perform a stakeout and watch over the tavern. I now had some ideas, but I didn''t have solid proof yet. Everything and everyone had gathered there, which meant that they had to be nning something. The thing is that I needed evidence.


    "What is it? Do you need me to do something? Can we dy it? I do not have much time to work for you from now all the way until summer. I have to nt crops, too; therefore, I am unlikely to have time to work for you this spring."


    "I know. I won''t take up too much of your time, either. I don''t mind what you want to do during the day, but I need you to be awake at night for me. Of course, I don''t need you to help me find anything. You can arrange for somebody else to take over, but you must keep watch on the tavern for me. Nobody in the town now approaches the tavern, which means that anybody who approaches it is definitely connected to the chapel. You just need to tell me if there''s anybody who approaches the tavern every night."


    "Why would they approach it in the middle of the night? Also, the people going in and out of the tavern at night these days are all people from the chapel. The chapel''s soldiers will go in and out of the chapel. They appear to be on patrol, so if you are asking, then there is, indeed, people going in and out. May I ask who it is that you want to know? None of us like those people, which is why we, too, want to catch their dirty deeds. We notice peopleing and going at night, but we cannot spot any problems."


    I lingered.


    <em>''That''s surprising. I never thought that they already took that into consideration. There are people going in and out every night, and the chapel''s people are dressed all the same, so it''s impossible to notice any differences, not to mention the fact that it''s at night. If they''ve all got the chapel''s hood pulled over, you won''t be able to differentiate individuals.''</em>


    <em>''So the chapel does have something in mind as I thought, and they''ve begun to take action. To avoid letting people know that there are peopleing and going at night, they have the soldiers go in and out. By doing that, nobody can tell who''sing out or going in, which means that nobody will know who they''re speaking and about what.''</em>


    <em>''On second thought, however, why must theye to the chapel dressed in the exact same clothes as the chapel? If it was somebody I don''t recognise or somebody without a special trait, there''d be no need to go in dressed the same way. Even if they didn''t wear a cloak, they wouldn''t be noticed if they were a stranger. They need to hide their face, as they''re somebody we recognise, or they''re someone with a special trait that can be used to identify them.''</em>


    <em>''The question is, therefore, who in this town fits either of those two traits?''</em>


    <em>''First, that man, in other words, Achilles. Lots of townsfolk now recognise Achilles. Additionally, he and Angelina can work or order the chapel around, which proves that he has a very good rtionship with the chapel. If that''s the case, it may very well be him whoes here to speak to the chapel at night; the question is what it''s about. It must be for the so-called gold. But in my opinion, a merchant has nothing to gain by trading gold with the chapel, because their profits would be substantially reduced, unless these merchants must rely on the church to be able to do business this time.''</em>


    <em>''The second possibility is very likely to be Lucia. She''s the only one with a unique trait. She has a distinct unique trait. If she doesn''t wear a cloak, she''d be recognisable from her long ears. The question is why the elves would be in contact with the chapel. Nevertheless, the chapel has the elven vouring in their food every day. Does the chapel always bring it with them? Are they that rich? Or is the chapel trading with Lucia?''</em>


    <em>''Angelina''s suspicion definitely has to do with the vourings. Someone with an abundance of vouring wouldn''t mind losing some vouring. Alternatively, they could be testing the goods to ensure it''s of premium quality.''</em>


    <em>''Is Lucia trading with the chapel for the elves? Why are the elves trading with the chapel? Are they short on funds? If they were, why do they need Lucia to conduct the trade? In addition, elves could just trade with Queen Sisi. There''s no need for them to trade with the chapel, since Queen Sisi is richer than the chapel.''</em>


    <em>''The biggest question here is, "What exactly are they trying to do?"''</em>


    <em>''It could be either Achilles or Lucia. They''re both equally likely to be part of it, and they''re both fatal problems. In saying that, if the two went to the chapel, I think everything can be exined. The elves might need money, which is why Lucia is exporting vouring now, trading vouring for money. But nheless, the chapelcks the ability to trade; hence, they need a merchant. A food merchant would definitely want this vouring stuff. Profits for trading vouring to the Imperial Capital would be enormous. Once the deal is done, they can just split it with the chapel.''</em>


    <em>''One partycks the pathway. One partycks the pathway to acquire the goods. One partycks the pathway to purchase the goods. However, if the three parties were to get together, they''d make the perfect team.''</em>


    <em>''The problem is that I currentlyck evidence.''</em>


    "Understood."


    I nodded. The man in front of me let out a breath of relief and as though he was released, repeated, "I shall head back, then. I had too much work recently, so I can finally go home and focus on nting crops now."


    "Live your life well. I don''t need your help with this any longer. I need to find a break through on my own now."


    I took in a deep breath.


    <em>''I basically have an understanding of the truth behind this. It was just a grain of vouring, but I''ve got a rough idea of what the chapel is after now. I get it now; what the chapel is after isn''t preaching or whatnot. They''re meeting with the elves here where the conditions to conduct this deal are favourable. The church isn''t after any preaching rights, but money.''</em>


    <em>''Since three parties have gathered, it''s excusable for there to be a fourth party, right?''</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 24

    I had a n for how to proceed, but my ns hinged on my predictions being correct. Strictly speaking, my predictions were a guess. Icked any solid evidence. A guess without evidence was useless. It''s useless in a negotiation, which meant that the most pressing matter at hand was to decide how I was going to collect the evidence. I needed information pertaining to the chapel and evidence that pertained to the merchant, Achilles.


    Neither of them were pushovers. Achilles was an excellent merchant. Nothing good woulde out of trying to pry the words out of his mouth. Moreover, a merchant would never do something that they wouldn''t profit from. The cake is only so big. The bigger their slice, the better. Achilles was more likely to side with the chapel in this circumstance, which in turn meant that he wouldn''t want me to get involved.


    As for the chapel, it was self-exnatory. Because of Veirya''s impulsive actions at the start, our rtionship with them had already been damaged. They weren''t willing to bother with us now, as they had something more important to do, which allowed us to maintain the basic level of harmony. If I was to get involved with the deal now, I''d definitely be ostracised by the chapel. They wouldn''t be willing to let me get a slice of the cake. They may very well, in fact, eliminate us.


    If I considered it that way, the only way I could get involved with it was through Lucia. The lively and open-minded elf didn''t look to be very sly. I take that back. I hadn''t settled the score from when she tricked us over the foodst time, but that was Veriya''s fault for being too foolish. Truthfully, Lucia wasn''t that bright. I think that the only breakthrough I''d find is through the elves. The merchant was too prudent, while the chapel was too wary. Further, my involvement would affect their profit distribution, but it should be on more peaceful terms if I went through Lucia, since I wouldn''t affect the profits she was after by too much.


    The biggest question at the moment was, therefore, how to find Lucia. I believed Lucia was the one who entered the chapel at night, but Icked evidence. I didn''t know where she was during the day, either. She was always the one who took the initiative toe to us. We had never gone and searched for her on our own ord.


    Lucia wasn''t easy to find; but nheless, I assumed that I''d be able to get Veirya''s assistance. Since they were both adventurers, it wasn''t hard for them to find each other. Once I found Lucia, my n could officiallymence.


    I wasn''t certain if the vouring trade was legal or not. If it was illegal, I''d have a better weapon to negotiate with.


    I needed to find out more; however, I didn''t know if the townsfolk could tell me. I couldn''t go see that man now. I really hoped that Lucia could fill me in. Lack of life experience here made it hard for me to even take a step. Thest time I was conned was due to myck of knowledge on the price of food, but I wasn''t going to let it happen a second time.


    I didn''t go straight back this time. Instead, I walked onto the street. Beginner merchants could be found on this street. They were merchants without their own stores, so they couldn''t be considered sessful merchants. From the perspective of that man, they''d be the hyena behind the pride of lions that were waiting to pick up the leftovers of the lions'' meal.


    I went up to a stall. The was a stall that specifically sold grilled fish. The scent was very rich, but I wasn''t keen at the moment. I looked at the owner and with a smile, asked, "Roughly how much is it for a grilled fish?"


    "One silver coin for three fish. What, you want one? These are fish that have just been caught after the ice melted. This is when they''re tastiest. You want one? If you do, four coppers will do."


    "I''ll have one, then."


    I nodded then handed him four copper coins. I took the grilled fish and had a bite. I nodded, "Not bad; but, Boss, it''d be better with vouring. Approximately how much does vouring from the Imperial Capital cost nowadays?"


    The owner lingered. He looked at me with a very baffled gaze, "You sure sound confident. It sounds as though you n to get into the vouring business. That industry is not easy. While it is true that the price of vouring is very high, the taxes for the industry are particrly high, as well. It is roughly around fifty percent. Then there is also the risk of transportation to be ounted for, which is why it is a very challenging industry. Are you not the one that is with Lord Veirya? I would not suggest making such risky investments when you already have territory. It is better to just sit back and take taxes."


    I looked at him.


    Despite saying that, there is no businessman who thought thinks their business was too big. Everybody is greedy. It''s just that merchants are greedier than anyone else when ites to money. They''d swarm to it even at the risk of their lives. Maybe he had considered pursuing a business in vouring, which would exin how he knew it so well.


    "So what''s the price now?"


    "That, I am not sure about. I just know that it is very expensive. That said, where would you go to acquire those vourings? The elves are unwilling to interact with us to begin with. However, I have heard that the elves are holding a meeting between elders. Who knows, they might start exporting it. I can''t say for sure, though. After all, the elves who value tradition make up the majority of them. Everybody has heard of that news, which is why I wanted toe here. I might be able to do business with them when the timees."


    <em>''Oh, really? The elves internal issue is this conflict? So the so-called elders'' meeting is a discussion of whether or not to open their doors.''</em>


    I wasn''t aware of that. Merchants have a wide and very active newswork, while I hadn''t even heard news of that in spite of living at the elves'' border.


    <em>''Merchants sure are frightening.''</em>


    "Understood. If possible, I will do my best to find out about the elves'' situation, and I''ll report it to everyone."


    I looked at the owner and gave him a nod. He looked at me then picked up another two and handed them to me, "Two days ago, Lord Veirya and your child came here to my stall. They looked as though they really liked my grilled fish, so here are two for you to take back to them."


    I looked at the owner with a stunned look. In a flustered manner, I asked, "Wait¡­, the two of them came here? They don''t have money on them. How did they pay?! Don''t tell me they didn''t pay."


    The owner smiled helplessly, "They did not, but then an elf paid for them. I cannot ask Lord Veirya for money, right¡­?"


    "So it was Lucia¡­ All right, give me three, then. Give me back the copper coins I gave you before, and I''ll give you a silver coin, which covers the cost for three grilled fish. We''re all doing business at the end of the day. I''ll only have ie if you have ie."


    I didn''t pay attention to the owner''s thanks, for I was preupied with my own thinking.


    <em>''It seems that I need to give Veirya and Leah some pocket money. I have far too little cash on me at the moment, though. Once I''ve sessfully gotten my hands into this vouring business, we''ll have our first pot of gold.''</em>

 Chapter Volume 2 25

    "Papa, grilled fish!!"


    Leah, who was a child, was very happy to see that I brought back food as I expected. Needless to say, a kid as mature as Leah would naturally snatch the grilled fish I was holding. I sighed. I touched her head, "Leah, you must remember to pay next time you buy things. We may be the lord of the town, but the goods don''t belong to us. We''ll only be able to lead a normal life if those merchants have money."


    Feeling slightly ashamed, Leah lowered her head and pitifully replied, "Leah understands¡­ Papa¡­"


    I rubbed her head with a smile then looked at Veirya, who happened to just look toward me, too. Before I could speak, she said, "I don''t have money."


    "And isn''t that because you refused all the money Queen Sisi offered you? If you took the money, you wouldn''t be short on money. As the warrior who yed the Demon King and saved the entire world, you have the right to ept that money."


    "I''m not a mercenary," retorted Veirya, who appeared to be very unhappy. She slightly frowned as if I just insulted her. She grumpily turned her head away. Voice serious, she stated, "I''m a soldier. I pursue loyalty and honour. I don''t need money."


    "But did you ever consider the fact that you wouldn''t be a soldier once it was over? As a soldier, you don''t need money; however, as a lord, you need money."


    Veirya expressed her absolute loyalty, "I''m still. Her Majesty''s soldier. If she needs me. I shall return to the battlefield. With a single word from her."


    I scrubbed my hair. Indeed, trying to reason with Veirya was a struggle. I still had to say it, though, "Didn''t you want to be an ordinary girl? Ordinary girls usually aren''t soldiers who people. Additionally, there won''t be any war anytime soon, will there? Just lead a peaceful life from now. You can''t have the honour and war merit you want now anyway. Without money these days, you''ll die from starvation. The military is in charge of food, but henceforth, nobody will give you food."


    I think the mention of food was the heavier blow to her.


    She froze up when she heard she''d starve to death. She then turned to face me with a serious look, "So. How do I get money?"


    I nodded before standing up, "Veirya, can you still contact Lucia? You are former teammates, after all. You must have a method of contacting each other, right?"


    Veirya nodded, but then she looked at me with a very bewildered look. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "What¡­ do you want to do?"


    "What do you mean what do I want to do? You''ll know when the timees. Just know that it''s a littleplicated to exin."


    It certainly might be a little difficult for Veirya to understand; therefore, I didn''t n to waste my time trying to exin it to her. After all, she never cared about what I did anyway. All I needed to do was let her help out. I was, therefore, surprised that she suddenly asked me what I wanted to do. In saying that, it was difficult to exin, so I didn''t want to go there.


    Veirya looked at me, but then turned her head away after a while. She seemed to be very disappointed. She looked at the grilled fish in front of her and aggressively gnawed a big piece off. She almost gnawed the fish''s waist off. She didn''t respond to me. Instead, she continued eating her grilled fish. I dawdled in ce. I never expected her to respond this way.


    <em>''What sort of response is that? This is the same as a kid throwing a tantrum no matter how you look at it. I bet Leah would react the same way if she was angry. Did I do something wrong? Didn''t I ask for her help the same way as usual? Also, I did it for her sake. The two of them didn''t bring home any grilled fish for me when they went out. If somebody should be angry, shouldn''t it be me?!''</em>


    Understanding that it was pointless for me go head to head with Veirya, since she could just snap my back, I took in a deep breath and walked up to her. I revealed a very gentle smile, "What''s the matter, Veirya? I want to see Lucia. Can you help me get in contact with her?"


    "No seeing Lucia."


    Veirya''s tone was cold and emotionless. Due to her eating the grilled fish, I could smell the grilled fish from her breath, and her speech was unclear. Her reply left me in a dead end. I lingered and lingered. Confused, I asked, "Why?"


    Veirya turned her head to look at me with a serious look, "Because she wants you. Lucilia wants to exchange. Something for you. I don''t want. To exchange you for money. So you can''t meet her in private. You''re my property. So no."


    "What?! What sort of reason is that?!!! I''m not going to see her to exchange money. A man exchanging his body for money?! What?! How could I possibly do that? I''d never do that, don''t worry."


    I looked at Veirya. Her peculiar reason left me dumbfounded.


    <em>''I literally can''t exin it. No normal person would have this sort of problem!''</em>


    Veirya looked at me and asked, "Really?"


    "Of course. I don''t have any special thoughts for that elf. Moreover, if I wanted to run away, I would''ve done so long ago. Would there be a need to look for Lucia? I''m looking for Lucia for your sake and Leah''s. Lucia has a way to make money, which is why I need to talk to her."


    Veirya continued keeping her eyes on me with her expressionless look. After hearing my exnation, she dallied for a moment before replying, "You''re not. Allowed to run away."


    "Just what do you consider the point here¡­? I won''t leave for as long as there''s Leah. Plus, I am your property, aren''t I?"


    Veirya seemed very pleased with my response. She passed me the remaining half of the grilled fish she had. I lingered. She calmly said, "For you. Your reward."


    "I''m not a dog¡­"


    I smiled helplessly as I looked at the grilled fish she passed me. It was a rather strange way of expressing things, but it was a rare moment where Veirya made a friendly gesture. Further, she made the biggestpromise by sharing food when she never shared food.


    Nheless, the moment I went to take it from her, Leah dash over, snatched Veirya''s fish from her and bit it. She angrily looked at Veirya. Veirya froze for a moment, "You want some, too?"


    "I¡­ I¡­ Yes!"


    Leah angrily looked at Veirya. Her chest rose and sunk as she huffed and puff due to anger. She furiously shot me a re then chomped down Veirya''s grilled fish.


    I looked at the two of them with a helpless smile.


    It looked as though their rtionship was no longer was bad as it once was. At the very least, Leah now dared to snatch food from Veirya.


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 26

    When Veirya went to contact Lucia, I spun around and crouched down to look at Leah. I softly whispered in her ear, "Leah, Papa needs your help. Go to the chapel and bring Angelina here."


    "Sister Angelina?"


    As soon as I heard her refer to Angelina as ''Sister Angelina'', my mouth twitched. However, I resisted the urge to smile. I looked at my daughter and touched her head, "Be careful, Leah. It''s already dark outside. Papa can''t call Angelina over, so Papa needs to entrust it to you."


    "Uhm! Got it, Papa!! I''ll make sure to bring her!!"


    Leah seemed very excited. She was very excited about running an errand for the first time. She gave me a firm nod. I touched her head with a smile then grabbed her clothes and helped her wear it on. Leah than wrapped her scarf around her neck. She looked at me with her excited red eyes and happily said, "Got it, Papa! I''ll definitelyplete my mission! I promise!"


    "Okay, okay, okay, Leah, I trust you."


    I stroked Leah''s head with a smile. She opened the door and went out. It was dangerous to let Leah go out alone at night, but it was a fact that I couldn''t go look for Angelina. If Verya knew that I went to call Angelina over for dinner, Veirya would very likely punish me.


    Lucia was all right, but Angelina was a big no. Her rtionship with Vierya had always been beyond poor. Veirya didn''t want to have anything to do with Angelina; but nheless, the biggest issue right now was that I needed Angelina. I needed her to meet with Veirya without them knowing. Both of them might have the same brain, but they weren''t very skilled at dealing with abrupt situations. All I needed was for them to indistinctly slip me some news.


    "I''ve contacted her."


    Veirya came over with a medal in her hand. I lingered for a moment before responding, "I thought you left to go find Lucia."


    Veirya shook her head, "Lucilia¡­ can''t be found. I can contact. Her with this medal. She''ll be here soon."


    "Your medal has that function?!"


    "Yes. Magic."


    Veirya''s reply was very simple. By the sounds of it, magic existed in this world, but it didn''t look as though humans could use it, unfortunately. It must''ve been an innate ability for elves. The medal was made with thebined efforts of dwarves, elves and humans. It allowed adventurers to contact each other.


    "All right."


    Veirya didn''t say anything else. I went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. There were going to be a lot of people at dinner for the first time, so I needed to prepare properly. I went through the cupboards to grab some food. When I was about to prepare it, I felt something warm behind me. Startled, I turned my head around to see Veirya standing behind me with an expressionless face. Her body was firmly pressed up against mine due to the kitchen being squishy. She silently looked at me. I waft her scent. My heard began to race at the sight of her pretty face. I nkly looked at me, and she looked back at me.


    I gulped my saliva. I tried to suppress my racing heart and bring my emotions under control. I looked at Veirya and softly asked, "Wh-What''s the matter?"


    "Teach me."


    Another very simple response from Veirya. She was very calm as she looked at me. She then pointed to the vegetables and bread next to me, "Teach me to cook."


    "Why do you want to learn to cook all of a sudden¡­?"


    I looked at her with an astonished look.


    <em>''Why does Veirya want to learn to cook out of the blue? The thought never crossed her mind before.''</em>


    As I pondered to myself, Anna came downstairs. She wiped her hands that she just tidied the house with as she came to the kitchen. As she walked, she said, "If guests areing tonight, I shall h-, ah¡­"


    Veirya and I turned our heads to look at her at the same time. When she saw the two of us pressed up against each other, she gave us a stunned look then swiftly turned her head around. She awkwardlyughed, "Sorry, sorry, I didn''t think you were there. It seems that you don''t need my help with preparing dinner. Give it your best! I shall take my leave now!"


    Seeing swiftly Anna run off in the immediate path that came to mind, Veirya looked at me with bafflement, "What''s wrong with her?"


    I dryly chuckled then helplessly smiled, "Probably¡­ misunderstood something¡­."


    Still baffled, Veirya pressed on, "What did she misunderstand?"


    "She probably thought we were having an affair, wait, no. What affair? What am I even talking about¡­?"


    I made a careless slip of the tongue.


    I, too, thought that we looked as though we were having an affair from the position we were in¡­


    My response sounded so shameless that my face started to burn up. Veirya was even more baffled after my answer. She tilted her head and looked at me, "Your face is so red. What''s it got. To do with having an affair? Also, what''s an affair?"


    "No, no, no, don''t ask, don''t ask. Don''t worry about it¡­ Mm¡­ If you want to learn, I''ll teach youter on. For now, I need to prepare dinner. We have quite a few people this time, so I need to hurry."


    Veirya''s straight pitch left me at a lost for what to say. I virtually couldn''t speak. I quickly had Veirya leave. She obediently nodded, and then left the kitchen to return to her territory, also known as the dining table. I took in a deep breath to calm myself down.


    It had be harder and harder for me to look Veirya straight in the face. I was okay in the past, but whenever she came near me now, my heart would race at the sight of her blue eyes.


    I looked at my hands that were slightly shaking. I couldn''t calm down. Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. Veirya went over and opened the door. Lucia cheerfully came in. She looked at Veirya with joy, "I heard there was dinner?"


    "Uhm."


    Veirya simply nodded then made way and went back to the dining hall. Lucia entered with light steps and dashed into the kitchen. She looked at me. She doubtfully asked, "Your face is very red. Did something just happen? Also, I don''t see Anna. Is Anna not here?"


    "She is."


    I nodded and dodged the first question.


    "Anna left. After she saw us having an affair."


    "Pffft!!!!!"


    The fright almost led to me throwing the pot in my hand away. Veirya turned her head to look at us with an innocent look. She very calmly put the word she just learnt to use. Lucia''s expression stiffened up; then she looked at the two of us before smiling in a very mischievous way.


    "No!! No! Lucia! That''s not what it was!! It wasn''t! That''s a misunderstanding! It really is a misunderstanding!"

 Chapter Volume 2 27

    Lucia was very weed by Veirya¡­ Of course, Veirya was expressionless and didn''t go the extra mile by any means. It even took me a long time to exin to Lucia what had just happened. In saying that, I was certain that it was futile¡­ But, to not be met with Veirya''s sword drawn upon entering was a grand weing in itself.


    Very soon, another knock came from the door. Veirya jumped to her feet and drew her sword, consequently frightening Lucia, which almost led to her spitting her wine out. She frantically looked at Veirya and drew her dagger, "What''s wrong, Veirya? Did you offend somebody to react as if a powerful enemy has arrived? Could the Demon King have resurrected toe for revenge?"


    "The Demon King would be easy for her to deal with."


    I smiled helplessly. I went to the door and pulled it open. On the other side of the door was Angelina, who was wearing a smile and Leah in her arms, who looked at me with a cheerful expression. With a smile, Leah eximed, "Papa, Papa! Leah did it!! Leah wasn''t afraid. Leah asked a soldier to call Sister Angelina! Leah did it! Leah didn''t get scared!! Papa, isn''t Leah amazing?!!"


    I caressed Leah''s head with a smile. I took Leah from Angelina''s arms, and then put her on the ground. I then looked back at Angelina, "This is a bit sudden. I couldn''t personally go and invite you, because of Veirya, but I hope that you can join us for dinner."


    "I understand. I was happier that it was Leah who came for me, nevertheless. Having a handsome and cool fellowe for me would make me so excited that I''d want to eat him. Leah, however, gives me the opportunity to experience being a mother."


    Angelina then quietlyughed and nced over. With a smile, she said, "You seem to have another guest, too."


    "Pleasee in. I''m not sure if you know each other."


    I made way. Lucia turned her head to look toward Angelina, who was at the door. Angelina shifted her gaze from her daughter, who was teeming with murderous intent, to Lucia''s face. I carefully watched the two''s expression. Lucia''s smile turned a little dull before she revealed a rxed smile, "Ah, Angelina. What a coincidence. I, honestly, never expected that you''d be invited."


    "Lucia¡­"


    Angelina''s expression was a little mysterious. It seemed as though she wasining, as she expected better of Lucia. Lucia looked at Veirya and me with puzzlement, "Angelina is Veirya''s mom, right? This must be a family reunion, then, so why was I invited?"


    "Without you, I don''t have the confidence to get the two to calm down by myself if they start fighting."


    I walked over to the table with a smile.


    I was truly in a fantastic mood. While the two merely greeted each other, I acquired what I wanted from the way they looked at each other. Lucia may have known Angelina in the past, but she wasn''t surprised by Angelina''s appearance at our ce. Normally speaking, Lucia shouldn''t have met Angelina at the town yet, so the fact that they didn''t mind each other whatsoever went to show that they had met before. Angelina was with Achilles and the chapel, which proved that the chapel, Achilles and Lucia had met before. The question was, "what did the three parties discuss with each other?"


    After sitting down, Leah sat down next to Angelina and cheerfully enjoyed her dinner. It was a delicious dinner to Leah. Leah had her head down and happily ate the ear dish from the tavern, the meat stew, mashed potatoes and sausage. She had no interest in the people around her.


    Veirya was the same as Leah. She didn''t seem to have any ns to butt heads with Angelina for the meantime. She cared more about trying to eat more. Angelina would be the only one who took the initiative to fight with Veirya for food, which might result in a fight, I assumed.


    Lucia ate with a smile; she didn''t seem to realise what had happened. However, Angelina watched me the entire time, but then she''d look away the moment I looked at her. Perhaps Angelina knew what I was thinking.


    I looked at Lucia and out of the blue, said, "Elven vouring is amazing."


    Lucia proudly puffed out her t chest, "Hmm? Oh, yeah, that''s right. Of course they''re good. Although we can find it in our elven forest whenever we want, it''s very expensive for you humans, it seems."


    I nodded, and then smiled, "It''s just that you didn''t give us much. We''ve basically finished it. It seems that Veirya and Leah are addicted to it now, though. Days without it won''t be easy henceforward. You sure have a lot a lot of variety. You''re very astute to have collected these things."


    Lucia had always felt that elves were superior, which was precisely why she was willing to go to any lengths and abandon anything for them, which gave her the strange sense of superiority. Thus, hearingpliments for elves would cause her to react the same way as ostentatious people do. If you said that something cheap in her house was delicious, she''d generously gift you a lot of it - provided that you''re on friendly terms. Subsequently, it was that sense of achievement and superiority that led to her getting carried away, and hence, forgetting some things.


    "It''s fine, it''s fine, if you want more, I can arrange for someone to deliver some more to you. We send plenty of vouring over monthly anyway. I''ll deliver you some."


    "Lucia!"


    Angelina suddenly yelled at Lucia, causing Lucia to freeze. Her ears twitched a few times. Puzzled, she asked, "What''s the matter? Veirya is myrade, and I absolutely trust them. Moreover, since you''ve chosen to trade here, would Veirya not know?"


    "That¡­"


    Angelina was left speechless by the honest and upright Lucia. She looked up at me with hopelessness.


    Lucia was a straightforward girl who also liked Veirya very much. I knew that I''d be able to acquire the information I wanted if I pried. And I had seeded.


    I shook my head with a smile. I looked at Lucia and Angelina, "No, no, don''t misunderstand. Angelina, Lucia, the truth is I basically have a good idea of what you''re doing already. You''re trading vouring here, correct?"


    Lucia looked at Angelina with surprise, "They don''t know?"


    Angelina palmed her face with despair. She let out a long sigh, then set her fork and knife down. She nced over to Veirya, who was next to her, and then hopelessly said, "Mister, you truly have good eyes. I must admit that you caught us. I never thought Lucia would be so unreliable. Nevertheless, we won''t give up on this. We made an agreement that we wouldn''t interfere with each other''s lives. I believe that you still remember that."


    I shook my head then stood up.


    <em>''It''s time to bring out the terms and conditions.''</em>


    I looked into Angelina''s eyes and resolutely responded, "I won''t stop you. I''m not a tax officer orw enforcer. I''m just a lord''s assistant or, perhaps, a spoil of war. I just want to tell you that I want in."


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 28

    Angelina looked at me and in a somewhat irritated manner, reminded me, "Remember, this was Lucia''s fault, not mine. I hope that you understand that. This has nothing to do with me. I can let you in, but how you negotiate it has nothing to do with me. Furthermore, I won''t get involved with this. I am not your side. Are we clear? Do not say that this had to do with me, understood?"


    Angelina repeated the same thing over and over again. Iprehended how important it was to Angelina. It must be very important for the chapel. I guess that the chapel was facing major finance issues, and therefore had to find a way to resolve it. The huge asset had be an integral part of their ie. Plus, they must have a way to evade high city taxes, as that would increase their earnings.


    The chapel didn''t want their deal to be exposed, hence why they didn''te to the town for religious matters, but solely to acquire the elven vouring. Subsequently, they didn''t care about the heretics. Perhaps I should say that the chapel was safer at the town, since the ce was home to heretics. They should be where heretics were. As long as heretics didn''t leave, the chapel was safe at the town. Furthermore, the chapel signed an agreement with me to not interfere with each other''s lives. We wouldn''t get involved in their affairs. As such, it was hard for us to find out anything.


    The chapel had been making preparations for a long time for the trade, which proved that they were definitely short on finances. If they were short on finances, they couldn''t lose a single penny. Consequently, they definitely didn''t want to split their earnings with me. That was why Angelina was so reluctant to let the chapel know that I used her to get myself into the deal. The chapel will definitely mete out punishment to her, otherwise.


    The agreement was useless to me, but it was a very important agreement for the chapel. It was because we signed such an agreement and what initially transpired that nobody in the town was willing to get involved with the chapel now and in the future.


    I even suspect that the chapel deliberately provoked us right from the outset to provoke me into signing the agreement, since they could use it to stop me even if we noticed their vour trade. I must admit that if that was the case, then it proved that the chapel was nning it from the start.


    I thought I resolved the problemst time, but in reality, I had fallen for their trap. I was dancing to their tune from the very start. If I didn''t notice the problem with Lucia, I might never have noticed the vouring, not even when they began to trade it.


    Even if I hypothetically did notice it, I couldn''t get involved, as the agreement was in effect. By then, the chapel would get the merchant to export the vouring, while I''d only get twenty percent of their earnings in taxes, by that I mean twenty percent after taxes. In any case, it wouldn''t have been much for me, and that wasn''t what I wanted. I wanted an even cut of the money. I wanted at least twenty five percent.


    <em>''You want to have the meat and give us the stew? Get real. If you don''t want to give me what you ought to give me, do you think that you can export your stuff with Veirya here?''</em>


    The three of us got dressed. We didn''t fully finish dinner, but I wasn''t willing to wait any longer. I could see that Lucia didn''t seem to realise what she did. She still looked at us happily, while Angelina wore a gloomy look.


    We wore on the same clothes. The back of our cloaks had different emblems on them; but nheless, people probably wouldn''t notice at night. I pulled my hood over, then turned to look at Leah. Leah looked at us, feeling confused. I gave her a smile, "Leah, Papa will be back very soon. Once you''re finished eating, leave it to Anna to pack up."


    "Mm, Papa, where are you going sote at night?"


    Leah looked at us, feeling bewildered. I looked back at her and smiled, "Papa is going to get something you want to eat. Papa promises that your life will be much better than it is from now on."


    Leah looked at me with glee and gave me a firm nod, "Leah will be a good girl, then! But Papa, you muste back soon."


    "Don''t worry, it shouldn''t take long."


    I had an overwhelming advantage this time. They were conducting business on ournd. Veirya was the lord of this ce; we determined the taxes here. As long as we didn''t permit it, the chapel and merchant could forget about leaving. I had every means of doing that this time. The gold in their hands at the moment was as thin as cicada wings. I just needed to settle this, and I''d be able to do business with Lucia, alone, henceforth. I''d have ie even if the taxes were high. I could gradually lower the taxester on.


    I had an unfair advantage. Since I discovered their dealings, they had to let me join them. The chapel would have to pay an exorbitant amount of taxes even if I did let them leave, because it''d just take a letter from me to Queen Sisi. It was Queen Sisi''s taxes; there was no way she wouldn''t want money that was supposed to belong to her. They, therefore, had to agree to my request.


    "All right, let''s get going. Remember what I said, all right? This has nothing to do with me. As for whether or not you can get what you want, that''ll depend on you," reminded Angelina, onest time before pulling her hood down.


    I revealed a faint smile, "I know. Don''t worry about me."


    "Let''s go."


    The three of us exited the house and arrived outside. The cold wind in the darkness gently brushed my face. It wasn''t cold; to the contrary, I felt as though it was spurring me on. I headed to the tavern with confident strides.


    <em>''The moment I step inside, the future willpletely change. I never considered the future, but I''m thinking about it this time.''</em>


    <em>''We might get to live in a warm house in the South, where I''ll get to see Leah''s smile that''s brighter than the sun, in the future.''</em>


    <em>''This thin-as-a-cicada''s wings'' gold is my insurance. I must obtain the vouring. My future lies with them. Money may not be able to purchase time, but I can buy time that''s different to what others have. I can buy a future that''s different to the one prepared for me in the past. And now, it''s time for me to go and grab the key to open the door to that future. I must get it no matter what.''</em>

 Chapter Volume 2 29

    The soldiers inside the tavern were essentially the same as they were during the day. However, it was now very dark. Lots of soldiers were sitting at the table, ying a strange card game underneath the candle light. They didn''t concern themselves with me. In fact, they just casually questioned me, then let me upstairs.


    "His Excellency is still discussing things with Mr. Achilles on the second floor at the moment. I can only lead you here. I don''t think I need to tell you what''s next."


    Angelina softly sighed. The look she looked at me with told me that she had given up. She went to the door and gently knocked. Footsteps could be heard approaching from within. Achilles voice came from within. He sounded somewhat irritated, "I said not to disturb us. Who is it?"


    "Angelina. Miss Lucia is outside."


    "Miss Lucia? We don''t have a meeting scheduled today. Normally speaking, she shouldn''t be here."


    Achilles pulled the door open. I immediately stuck my foot into the opening, and then aggressively grabbed Achilles by his shirt at the chest. With a smile, I said, "Long-time no see, Mr. Achilles. I never thought I''d see you here¡­ Okay, I won''t lie to you anymore. The truth is I already knew I''d find you here. To be precise, the bishop should also be here right now, right? Uhm, I see he''s present as I expected."


    Achilles was stunned. He looked at me without knowing what to do. The bishop, who was behind him, immediately got up in a panic and shouted, "Who let you in?!! Guards! Guards!!"


    "Don''t do that, now. It won''t be in anyone''s favour if this esctes."


    I went inside. Angelina didn''t follow me in. I spun around and shut the door. Angelina stood outside on the stairs to stop the guards. I shoved Achilles away and sat down at the table as the two watched me with astonishment in their gaze. Lucia sat next to me. I looked at the bishop, who was opposite me, and softly chuckled, "Do I need to exin my reason foring here?"


    "You¡­"


    "It''s quite simple, really. There''s no need to think about it. You used every means to cover up what you were doing behind the scenes, but that, instead, revealed what you were doing. Lucia gave us some vouring. You have vouring in your food every day. So, what could a merchant and the chapel be getting together to do? I made a mistake. Mr. Achilles didn''t take the initiative toe here to trade fur, and you didn''te here for your so-called religion. The two of you had nned out your convergence here. You came here to trade the elven vouring. To add to that, you''re not trading with the elves, but with Lucia, alone, aren''t you? It appears that it''s a highly-profitable deal, too."


    I looked at them. Achilles came over from the door and sat down at the table. He sighed and supinated his hands with a shrug. He revealed the smile from back before and helplessly said, "Nothing we can do. We have to own up now. Indeed, we are trading vouring. However, it''s a normal business. We''re just borrowing this ce. Additionally, the reason we hid it from you was because we didn''t want to pay high taxes. We could earn big sums if we smuggled it."


    I looked at the two of them and asked, "How much can you split with Lucia?"


    It would be irrational to bring up how much will be split right at the beginning, for nobody will be honest about it. They''d definitely reduce what the actual number is in order to reduce my cut. As such, I had to ask how much Lucia''s cut would be. Under normal circumstances, Lucia, who was the supplier, should get at least half. I was fine with half of what she got.


    "They said they''d give me five hundred gold coins. I think that''s an appropriate sum. I need about that much."


    Lucia was forthright with me. Achilles let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples with a hopeless expression, whereas I smiled. I then said, "What I''m after is joining you. You want to retail vouring here, so I want in. I don''t want much. Lucia can get half, I want half of what she gets. That makes it two-hundred and fifty gold coins; what do you think?"


    Achilles and the bishop exchanged nces. Achilles then turned back to face me. With a smile, he said, "¡­ Can you not take any less? Outright asking for two-hundred and fifty gold coins makes it hard on us, as well. You are just one individual, I mean, three, while we have all merchants in the North, as well as the chapel. Asking for two-hundred and fifty for you, alone, is too much."


    I resolutely shook my head, "No. Two-hundred and fifty gold coins. Mr. Achilles, you should be aware that you don''t charge people based on overhead in business. Having more mouths to feed doesn''t equate to us having to give you a bigger share, as we have fewer. It doesn''t work that way. Your earnings depend on how you do business. I provided you with the grounds to trade and, at the same time, I promise not to leak the information. In addition, I have allowed elves to trade goods with you. It''s not too much to ask for one quarter of the earnings as the lord of thisnd, is it?"


    You can''t show sympathy in business. Money doesn''t have emotions. If you bring emotions into it, you''ll suffer both emotionally and financially. My demand was very reasonable. I couldn''t surrender a part of my earnings due to personal rtions. That was my bottom-line price. I refused to budge.


    Achilles let out a long sigh, "Is there no room for discussion?"


    Achilles was already aware that I wasn''t being thoughtless. I''m not a simple man to deal with. You won''t be able to convince me with sympathy. Moreover, he should already be aware that I wouldn''t budge. He had no chance of persuading me.


    Firstly, I could make it impossible for him to export the vouring. Secondly, I could make it impossible for him to import it. Thirdly, I could report the deal directly to Queen Sisi. It was one-hundred percent ckmail. I had the initiative. I was joining in, and that was final. They were just trying to reduce my cut as much as possible at this stage.


    "No. Two hundred and fifty. That''s as low as I''ll go. If you don''t ept it, I''ll just have to sit here and talk until you can ept it."


    The bishop had a particrly sullen expression. Achilles shrugged and hopelessly said, "We are friends at the end of the day. Two hundred is a no? Two hundred gold coins."


    "So you think that our friendship is only worth fifty gold coins?"


    Achilles shook his head with a helpless smile. He held a hand out in a supinated position, "Nothing I can do. Nothing I can do. Okay, okay, okay. You actually discovered us. I must say, your observation skills are ridiculously incredible, and your ability to find the chance was perfect. I have nothing to say. I know that you are ckmailing us, but there is nothing that I can say. Two-hundred and fifty gold coins it is, then."


    "A verbal statementcks evidence. I need a signed agreement."


    "All right, bring pen and paper."


    The bishop didn''t say a thing. Nevertheless, Achilles seemed to have given up resistance.


    Iughed with satisfaction. I snatched the ss of wine in front of Achilles and raised it. I wore what I consider to be the brightest smile as I looked at everyone present. Iughed, "So then, everyone, we are nowrades. I will help you earn money, but please make sure to remember that a share of it belongs to me, Lin Dongqing!"


    "Travor!" eximed Lucia. While Lucia didn''t seem to understand what happened, she seemed to have found the ecstasy of adventuring upon hearing that I was herrade. She clinked cups with me. "Since we''rerades, let''s adventure together, then!!"


    "Sure!!"


    Lucia wore a look of excitement, but didn''t notice Achilles bitter smile and the bishop''s furious look.


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 30

    Lucia happily gave me a pat on the back, and then looked at me with excitement. She loudly remarked, "You''re amazing, Travor!"


    She didn''t seem to realise what just happened. To the contrary, she felt as though I did something good that allowed us to do something us friends andrades, "Travor, you''re truly amazing. How did you figure out so much? I didn''t say anything, so how did you know?"


    I looked at Lucia. As I headed back, I replied, "Simple. Although I may seem amazing to you, the truth is, you might think it was nothing special once I exined it to you."


    Because I was in a good mood, I was eager to talk more. At the same time, seeing the way Lucia looked at me satisfied my vanity. I looked into the darkness with glee and smiled, "First of all, Achilles, which is the merchant, came here. When he first arrived, I didn''t think about this. Then the chapel arrived. They signed apletely pointless agreement with me, which made me suspicious. Why would they sign an agreement that has nothing to support them? As a matter of fact, it could negatively impact them. Normally speaking, signing an agreement should allow you to gain something, not suffer losses; therefore, I considered the possibility of the chapel having something else in mind. In order to proceed with ns, one must have a stable environment to do so. That''s when I thought about Angelina running between the chapel and the merchant.


    I suspected that there was an issue between the merchant and chapel. Then, you came to me and shared your vouring. In turn, my suspicion grew. Who goes around carrying vouring with them wherever they go? All of my queries made sense once I associated you three. You provide the goods. The chapel provides the channel. Meanwhile, the merchant conducts the trade. That makes for a perfect chain of operations. By that point, I understood what was going on, butcked evidence.


    That was when Angelina came to our ce. She lingered when she noticed the vouring. That, to me, was a sign that she knew about the vouring and didn''t expect us to also have some. That pieced everything together for me. The next thing I did was have you two meet, which gave me the chance to enact my n to set up an appropriate meeting."


    "That''s it?" asked Lucia. By the time I finished long exnation, I had arrived at the door. Lucia looked at me with great astonishment, "You didn''t do anything, but stay home, yet were able to deduce everything? You didn''t infiltrate or interrogate anyone? It was that simple?"


    "I''m no soldier¡­ How am I supposed to infiltrate or interrogate¡­ Moreover, the war has ended. I can''t use those means¡­ I''m just an ordinary man. Secrets are in people''s minds; however, minds are worn on one''s face. My job is to discern the secrets hiding behind one''s expressions. There are no idiots in this world. Everybody acts for their own gains. There will never be anyone who gives up his own profits unless they''re abandoning smaller profits for bigger ones. Hence, I also took into consideration what the bigger profit the merchant and chapel stood to gain was."


    Lucia looked slightly disappointed. I smiled, "I told you, didn''t I? It looked as though I could see through everything, but in reality, I just deliberated what everyone was doing and would do. Providing a reasonable exnation for actions will usually lead to the correct answer."


    I pressed my hand onto the door handle. I looked at Lucia and smiled, "If it''s all right with you, do you want toe back for some tea?"


    "Travor, you truly are the same as an owl, surveying the entire dark forest as if it was daytime. You know of everything that happens inside the forest."


    With her eyes on me, Lucia suddenly grabbed hold of my hand, consequently giving me a fright. Because of her excitement, her eyes looked particrly excited in the night. She looked at me an eximed, "Travor! Travor! You really are so amazing! You didn''t do anything, yet had everything in the palm of your hands! You really are the smartest person I''ve ever met! You''re totally worthy of the name!! With this, I think we elves will need your help! If it''s possible, I hope that you can help us attain the freedom we have always desired!"


    I looked at Lucia with surprise. She, on the other hand, looked at me absolutely seriously. She loudly eximed, "I need you!! Travor!! I need you toe to me! I want you to help me! We elves need you!"


    Before I could respond, an ice-cold de was violently thrust through the wooden door and straight through the gap between our faces. I dawdled for a moment. I saw my dumbfounded reflection on the metal de. It took me a few seconds before I realised what happened. Once I did, I leapt away with a shriek. Lucia, too, dallied for a moment. Before I could regain my bnce, the door violently swung open. Veirya came out from inside, grabbed my cor with one hand and pulled me over into her tight embrace. She held me up against her body with her right hand while holding her sword in her left. She coldly looked at Lucia, "This is my property, Lucilia. We are friends, aren''t we?"


    Lucia looked at Veriya with astonishment. She took a step back and drew her dagger by her side, "Veirya! What are you doing?! Of course, we''re friends!"


    "Then, you can''t steal from your friend, Lucilia. This is my property. The day you want to steal him. Will be the day we fight to the death."


    Veirya coldly looked at Lucia. While the two were closerades, Veirya wasn''t willing to back down a single step when it came to me. She had no ns of letting me out. Lucia looked a Veirya and took another step back. She replied, "Fine, fine, fine, I won''t steal him; I won''t steal him. With that said, Veirya, as withst time, I truly need Travor this time. The elves need him right now! We elves need freedom! We need better future! Veirya! I promise to return him to you in one piece, so lend him to me!"


    Veriya looked at me. Then, she hugged me even tighter. She showed no signs of releasing me. I wasn''t averse to going to Lucia''s ce for a while. Plus, it might be quite nice there. Leah would probably like it. Veirya, however, didn''t let me speak. She resolutely shook her head, "He is. Very Important to me. So, no lending."


    "Veirya!! We really need him!"


    "No."


    Veirya resolutely shook her head. Then, she yanked me inside before loudly shutting the door. Next, she turned her head around to look at me. She pressed me up against the wall, and then leaned her face in close. Voice cold, she, "You''re not allowed. To go anywhere. I don''t allow you. To leave with anyone, understood?"


    "I get it. I get it."


    "Good."


    Veirya suddenly leaned her face in closer, and our teeth touched again. The impact rendered my brain numb again.


    I don''t know what happened.


    <em>''Is this some sort of praise from Veirya?''</em>

 Chapter Volume 2 31

    "Papa, you''re back!!"


    As soon as I got inside, Leah, who was ying the strange card game with Anna at the table, jumped out of her chair and cheerfully ran up to me to give me a big hug around my waist. I picked her up and spun a circle with her in the air. She gleefully grabbed my hair and cheered. I then hugged her and kissed her on her face.


    "Papa, Papa, what''s wrong, Papa? Haha¡­ haha¡­ Papa, you look very happy," asked Leah. Leah tightly hugged me around my neck with a bright smile. She looked at my face with joy and smiled. "Papa, howe you are so happy after leaving for just one night? Did something good happen? Papa, what exactly happened? Did something happen to make you so happy?"


    I looked at Leah and gave her another kiss on her forehead. With a smile, I replied, "Guess what Papa went and got? Papa managed to make lots of gold coins. Gold coins, Leah. Papa has done the calctions.


    I mmed a sheet of paper onto the table with a smile. Leah snatched up the sheet of paper; however, she couldn''t read the text on it. She flipped it over and over, but couldn''t figure out what it was. After dawdling for a moment, she handed it back to me. Somewhat disappointed, she said, "You are tricking me again, Papa. This is just a sheet of paper, not gold coins."


    "No, Leah, this is gold coins." I replied. I picked Leah up and sat down in the chair. I then pointed to the text on the sheet of paper. "This, here, says Achilles Company owes me two-hundred and fifty gold coins. It may be just a sheet of paper, but the ink and seal on this gives it a value of two-hundred and fifty gold coins. As long as we have this, we can buy anything that you want."


    "Really?! Papa, doesn''t that mean that we can write however much we want?!"


    "No, Leah, this sheet of paper is backed by Achilles Company''s wealth and credibility. There''s no point to us writing whatever we want, because we don''t have any wealth or credibility. This is just a substitute for two-hundred and fifty gold coins. Behind it are two-hundred and fifty gold coins."


    Leah frowned. She deliberated it, but soon gave up. She cheerfully smiled, "But we have two-hundred and fifty gold coins? Let''s buy a house, then, Papa. Let''s go live in the house! Papa! Papa, I want to live in the city. I want to buy things!"


    "We can''t, Leah. We only have two-hundred and fifty gold coins. If we buy a house, we won''t have money to buy living necessities. We''ll be very short on money if we live in the city. That''s not what I want; it''s far from what I want. I want more money. I''m not after a house in the city, either. I want a house in the imperial capital!"


    Anna smiled, "You would need, at least, one-thousand gold coins to buy a house in the Imperial capital. You have only made two-hundred and fifty gold coins. It appears that you are very ambitious."


    "Needless to say, this two-hundred and fifty is just my starting point. I want to use this to obtain some other stuff.


    I never thought of the future. Now, however, I envisioned the future. I imagined living in the warm South, living in the prospering imperial capital, looking at Leah''s bright smile, the night sky and the sunlight every day. The more I envisioned that future, the more I looked forward to that day. Looking at Leah''s smile reinforced my belief that the bleak North wasn''t fit for Leah''s smile.


    "Papa, Papa, I want to do it again. Up high, up high, I want you to lift me up high again!"


    "Sure!" I replied. I swiftly picked Leah up and happily spun a circle. Leahughed as she grabbed my hair. I gently ced her back on the chair. "Anna, take Leah up to sleep. I''ll be there soon."


    "Uhm, understood."


    Anna scrubbed Leah''s head with a smile. I gave Leah a kiss on her forehead.


    With a smile I said, "Have Veirya take you out to buy some stuff tomorrow. This time, you just need to show shops this, and you''ll be able to buy what you want."


    "Papa, I want you to apany me!!!" pouted Leah with a grumpy expression.


    I pinched her face, "Leah, Papa still has work tomorrow, so let Veirya take you. You two got along all right, didn''t you¡­? Be a good girl, Leah. Papa will definitely take you at next time, promise."


    "Hmph¡­"


    Leah grumpily hopped off the chair and ran upstairs. She poked her tongue at me before disappearing upstairs. Anna nced at me, and then drylyughed before following Leah upstairs. I then sat down in the chair. I looked at Veirya with a hint of eagerness. I asked, "Is there anything that you want? We have money now. Is there anything in particr that you want to buy or do?"


    "I want. To do what Leah just did."


    I froze. I looked at her with astonishment. Veirya stood up. She stood before me and raised her arms up parallel to the floor. With an expressionless look, she seriously said, "I, too, want up high."


    "Mmmmmm???? You want what?''


    "Up high."


    Veirya wore an expressionless look. There wasn''t a hint of emotion in her eyes. She just stood in front of me with her arms raised. In a serious tone, she said, "I, too, want up high."


    "Say what? What?! Say what?! Up high?!"


    Ten minutester¡­


    As soon as I lied down on the bed, Leah vigorously flipped over tond on top of me. This time, though, she didn''t do anything, yet I groaned in pain, thereby frightening Leah, so she rolled off. She looked at me with panic and asked, "Papa, is Leah too heavy?"


    "No¡­ no¡­ it''s just that Papa¡­ Papa''s back¡­ just¡­ just got injured¡­ ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch¡­"


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 32

    "He went too far!!"


    Achilles turned around with a smile to look at the bishop, who aggressively threw his teacup onto the ground. He leaned onto the wall with his hands in his pocket. With a smile, he said, "There''s no need to get angry, Your Excellency. That''s just how things turned out; there''s nothing we can do about it. We did so much, yet he still found out, didn''t he? However, we still failed. It''s not our fault. It''s our subordinates who were too stupid and revealed too many clues. Plus, the man is honestly very smart. Smuggling goods as we are doing here cannot be exposed. If somebody discovers what we are doing, we either kill him or let him join us. Actually, I''m very happy that he took the initiative to join us."


    "But he asked for too much. He just walked off with a quarter of our earnings. That''s far too much, isn''t it?! We aren''t making a lot in the first ce, yet he asked for that sum without any regard for us, not to mention that he wouldn''t make anypromise. We''re losing a lot with him joining us!"


    "What can we do about that? He has the initiative. We have to give him as much as he wants; otherwise, we won''t be able to walk away with it regardless of how much we make. Indeed, two-hundred and fifty gold coins is bit big of a sum, but we can''t do anything about it. In saying that, given the scenario, we''ll have to write off that part of the profit as an expenditure. If we split the remainder ording to our original agreement, you will earn three-hundred gold coins. Meanwhile, I earn two-hundred gold coins."


    "Just three hundred?! That''s not enough!"


    "That''s not my problem."


    "You never thought about doing proper business in this deal, did you?!! I gave you such a good opportunity to make money, only for you to speak up for that man. Did you two join hands to steal the vouring to pocket it for yourself?!"


    Achilles shook his head. He then looked at the bishop, who went from ashamed to angry. With a smile, he exined, "Bishop, Your Excellency, you just reminded me that that is another possibility. You have to bear in mind that I am a merchant that is motivated by money. You gave me a chance, and I did as you said. However, the current problem does not lie with me. I do not have any reason to put up with your reproaching and suspicion for no reason. If you suspect me, we can break off now. I, instead, will go and work with that man. I am sure that I would earn close to the same amount from it even if we have to pay taxes, since we would not need to split anything with you."


    The bishop froze for a moment. He took in a deep breath and rubbed his face. A short moment afterwards, he meekly said, "Is there really no way around it? Three-hundred gold coins aren''t enough."


    "You can go and conduct some other trades, then. As for this trade, we''re stuck with this cut. Trying to make all the money in one swoop is unrealistic to begin with. Three-hundred gold coins from this isn''t bad. This is how business is. Whether you earn lots of little is secondary. What''s most important is not making a loss."


    The bishop sighed again. He looked at Achilles and despairingly asked, "Is there really no other way?"


    "No. It is not that I am unwilling to think of one, but that our smuggling n has been discovered, which means that we either kill him or let him in. If he did not serve Lord Veirya, I would consider the first option, as well; however, Lord Veirya is with him. She is a warrior who was capable of ying the Demon King. Are your troops a match for her? Did you see thest soldier? Did you see him beheaded with one sh? If we use the first option, I am afraid that we will die an even worse death."


    Achilles stood up and gave the bishop a small bow, "So, then, I have other business, so I shall take my leave now. This is the only option we have in this matter. I hope that you can bear with it, and proceed with our vouring trade with the elves. This time, you are making three-hundred gold coins. In future, you will have more gold."


    The bishop didn''t speak. He just covered his face in silence. Achilles left the tavern. He looked at the only home with a courtyard. He gently pursed his lips and chuckled quietly. He said to himself, "How interesting¡­ What did Lucia call him, Travor? An owl? He really is akin to an owl. He''s always on the branch, but he watches the entire forest. Once he takes flight, he''ll definitely be able to capture his prey."


    ========


    Current time at the Imperial Pce located in the imperial capital.


    "Queen Sisi, I hope you can ept my sincere love. My love for you is akin to the starry sky, bright and always shining. I can promise that I will always passionately love you and respect you. I hope that I can leave my mark on your beautiful and bright smiling face."


    Queen Sisiy on her side on the bed and silently listened to her servant read aloud the love letter that would make one blush. Thedy-in-waiting next to her couldn''t help but cover up her face that was burning up a little. The love letter from the elf was passionate and straightforward. The suave Elven Prince also had the unique clear and incredibly handsome face that elves had. His passionate love was irresistible.


    Queen Sisi, however, didn''t have the slightest interest in the Elven Prince''s love letter. Shey on her bed and carefully scanned her fingers. She gently stroked her smooth fingernails that didn''t have a single blemish. She looked up with just her eyes whilst wearing a ridiculing smile.


    "That is the end, Your Majesty."


    The passionate love letter made even the servant, who read it, feel touched, yet Queen Sisi didn''t show any reaction. As a result, the servant felt very awkward.


    "Uhm, you may leave now."


    Queen Sisi''s reaction to the Elven Prince''s love confession was very nd. After she finished checking out her fingernails, she flicked her hair out to her front side. She earnestly checked every strand of her hair. She considered a single strand of hers to be significantly more important than the handsome Elven Prince''s love letter.


    "But¡­ Your Majesty, how do we reply to this love letter? You are humanity''s Queen, after all. It would be a little rude to not respond to elven royalty''s marriage proposal."


    "Do I need to explicate it? Reject him, obviously," replied Queen Sisi. She irritably swung her hair behind her then took off her long stocks and threw them aside. She gently stroked her smooth thighs, and then her pretty feet to ensure that neither had any blemishes. She then reached for her skin lotion. She rubbed her legs. "I have no use for a body of skin. If I want, I would have more than plenty of stronger and more handsome men than him. An Elven Prince who has never appeared before soldiers, dedicates hispetence to writing pointless words in the forest and a man whocks courage wants to be my husband?"


    "Your Majesty, that is your reply?!"


    "Don''t miss a word. Write just that. Since he proposed, he should be ready for rejection. If a man doesn''t even have the courage to be rejected, he has no business professing his love."


    Queen Sisi grumpily looked at the servant, causing him to shudder. The servant immediately bowed and left. Upon hearing the door shut, Queen Sisi let out a heavy sigh, "Why are all the men who like me this sort of trash? Love is very important. The husband that I''m looking for must be a fearless, gentle and meticulous knight, not a walking body of male flesh. I want love, not a trade. How strange. Love is the only thing I want right now, yet why can nobody give me it?"

 Chapter Volume 2 33

    Veirya seemed to be very pleased with ying ''fly high'', but Veirya wasn''t light. I didn''t know who said that carrying girls was veryfortable, but it''s a lie. Veirya was very heavy. It took everything out of me just to lift her up with two arms and spin one circle. I nearly pulled my back. Nheless, Veirya was evidently in much higher spirits afterwards.


    I didn''t know why Veirya wanted me to lift her up¡­ Perhaps she saw how happy Leah was when I picked her up and, therefore, wanted to experience the joy for once¡­ That made me the one who suffered, though¡­


    <em>''If Veirya wants me to pick her up again, what I do? I''m physically incapable of ying ''fly high'' with her every day¡­'' </em>


    I won''t lie about getting to touch her blessings when I pick her up, but psychological problems couldn''t be resolved via physical pain.


    Veirya didn''t say anything when I woke up the next day. Thanks to my back hurting, Leah didn''t give me grief on top of mest night as she usually did, thereby granting me a good sleep for a change. I''d have to go to the toilet to blow one every morning, otherwise¡­ because if I didn''t, I really might push Leah down¡­


    Veirya ced her bowl down and emotionlessly said, "So, I shall take Leah out today."


    Leah looked very unhappy. She nced at me; I responded with a small nod then touched her hand, "All right. Buy something you like this time. Oh, right, you must make sure to pay this time. A lord is a lord, not the owner of the goods."


    I had to remind Veirya. Veirya may be an adult, but I still needed to remind her that you have to pay for things¡­


    Vierya nodded, "What. Can be bought with this? How. Is this sheet used?"


    "Just show the worker, and they''ll give you your stuff."


    In truth, the sheet of paper was simr to a five hundred pound cheque. There was no store that could process the two-hundred and fifty agreement; however, they knew that we without question could afford it. That''s what''s called credibility, or you can call it a credit card. You just need to sh it, and the merchant will know that you have the ability to pay. Thus, they''d happily let Veirya take the goods and put it on her tab. They just needed to go to Achilles''pany to collect their payment.


    As such, Veirya could do as she pleased as long as she had the agreement on end. I, too, wasn''t worried that she''d spend money. The ability to spend was very limited here in the small town. I couldn''t go bankrupt merely buying food and clothes. Plus, Veirya wouldn''t know what to buy despite me having given it to her.


    I needed to teach Veirya how to manage her finances; else, once she had a lot of money and moved to the city, Veirya might waste an enormous sum of money after somebody deceived her into spending money when she got used to a luxurious lifestyle. Being thrifty and budgeting are necessary. Although enjoying life is well and all, it''s not synonymous with spending exorbitant amounts of money. That was to be addressed in the future, nheless.


    "All right. Leah, don''t be sad. Papa will go out with you in the future, but not today, as Papa has some work to attend to. Once it''s done, Papa will be able to get some rest and take you out for some fun. Additionally, if Papa can earn enough, we''ll be able to move into the imperial capital. There are countless delicacies to enjoy and things to y there. When we get there, you''ll learn what true fun is."


    Leah looked at me with joy and excitedly asked, "Papa, can we really move there, I mean, to the imperial capital?!"


    "Of course. Papa has never lied to you; Papa will definitely work hard to allow you to live in the imperial capital."


    I scrubbed Leah''s head then stood up. I suddenly felt a sore sensation from my lower back that almost made me groan in pain. The after effects of ying ''fly high'' with Veirya yesterday still lingered. Veirya looked at me and without any expression, said, "What''s the matter? It looks as though. Your back hurts."


    Spend long enough being sick and you''ll be a good doctor; simrly, Veirya, who spent all her life on the battlefield, was very attentive of abnormal changes in someone''s body. She could tell that I wasn''t feeling one-hundred percent with one glimpse. I nodded, "Uhm¡­ I couldn''t handle what I did yesterday¡­ so my back is in a bit of pain¡­ It hurts¡­"


    Veirya nodded, "Take your shirt off and lie down on the bed."


    "What are you going to do to, Papa?!!"


    Leah vigntly looked at Veirya simrly to an rmed cat. She ran over to me to stand in front and extended her hands out to block Veirya off from approaching me. Veirya looked at me and repeated, "Take your shit off and lie down on the bed. Anna, bring hot water. To the room. Leah. Wait for a while. I''ll. Take you out after. Now. I take care of him."


    "No touching my Papa!!"


    "I. Won''t hurt. Him."


    Veirya looked at me with a serious look and pointed upstairs. I looked at her. She was expressionless, and her gaze was emotionless, but I strangely felt in good hands. I gently nodded, and then scrubbed Leah''s head, "It''s all right, Leah. Veirya won''t hurt me."


    "Papa!! You trust this woman too much!"


    "Leah, Veirya won''t hurt us. Haven''t you noticed that she hasn''t hurt us after living together for so long? You cane upstairs, as well, Leah."


    Leah nodded. I went upstairs. I took my shirt off andy on the bed. Leah sat down next to the bed and scanned my back with curiosity. She gently stroked it with her hand. I could feel her fingers moving about on my back. With a smile, Leah remarked, "Papa, you don''t have any muscles, huh."


    "Papa is not good at physical endeavours."


    Veirya came in and scanned the room we lived in. Veirya upheld the agreement all this time. She never interfered with our life and never came to our room. Veirya never slept in her room. She''d just sit on the chair until the next day.


    Anna set down a basin of hot water next to the bed. Veirya shooed Leah aside and sat down next to me. She dipped her hand into the hot water. As always, she seemingly couldn''t feel the temperature. She wet her hand with hot water then lightly pressed it onto my back before beginning to give it firm rubs. A sensation that made me go limp came from my lower back. Veirya''s hands were warm and firm. I could feel waves of heat start from my lower back and spread to my entire body. I couldn''t help letting outforting moans.


    "Healing methods in army. Very useful."


    Veirya rubbed and squeezed my lower back with her firm fingers. I felt a ticklish and warm sensation.


    Leah, who was watching by the side, wore a very grumpy expression. She grumpily looked at me with her lips pouted and arms folded. Her sour feelings seeped into her tone, "Papa, does it feel good?"


    "Uhm, it does¡­"


    I instinctively nodded, but that enraged Leah. She swiftly took off her shoes and socks then stomped her feet into the hot water. The heat caused her to shriek and jump out. Nheless, she ignored the burning sensation. She jumped onto the bed and onto my back then began to stamp around on my back.


    "Argh!!"


    Leah wasn''t heavy, but neither was she light. I suddenly felt weight on my lower back, but it was as soothing and rxing as Veirya''s massage. Leah grumpily stamped one foot at a time on my back. She may have done it with a whinge and anger, but feeling the young girl''s warm tiny feet stomping on my lower back oddly made me feel rxed, as well as feeling aroused for some reason. Leah''s tiny soft feet gently stimted the sensitive nerves on my lower back.


    <em>''I thinl¡­ I''ve be to develop some weird fetishes sinceing to this world¡­''</em>


    Veirya moved her hand and looked at me, "Does it feel good?"


    "Uhm¡­"


    "So, if I did that, as well¡­"


    "Don''t! Don''t! Don''t!!!! Veirya! Don''t! Just use your hands! You can''t step on me! Not you!!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 34

    With thebination of Veirya and Leah''s massage, the soreness in my lower back was alleviated by a fair lot. I could walk normally again. Truthfully, I went out to see Lucia. While Veirya didn''t want to let me see Lucia, I was very interested in her invitation to go to the elvennds.


    The elves had things that were worth lots of money to humans, which was why the turbulent situation over there was beneficial to humanity. As opposed to being interested in the elves'' freedom, future or whatever, I was only concerned with how much I could make as a human. Given that the elves were experience turbulence, they''d definitely have requests for humans just as when Lucia came this time. Humans and elves shouldn''t be trading goods in the first ce; otherwise, the elven vouring wouldn''t fetch such an exorbitant price. Perfumes from Europe are expensive, because theye from far away. Elves and humans didn''t live far from each other, though. Further, owing to the internal strife between the elves, the elves came to humans on their own ord to trade for money.


    That was a good sign. As I was situated at the border of humans and elves, I had the most favourable positionpared to all other businessmen. I just needed to get a grasp on what the situation in the elvennds was to monopolise the elves'' vouring import route. Consequently, I could make it rich just collecting taxes. We''re talking gold!


    Although it might not be much to elves, rarity and price go hand in hand. If I monopolised it and exported some at an annual rate to stabilise the price, it''d be the fundamentalponent of being prosperous in the North. Furthermore, I believed that the elves had even more interesting goods over there. I didn''t care what it was, but I was dead set on monopolising it and forcing them to trade here.


    In saying that, while the idea was nice, I still hadn''t seen Lucia. I seemed to have no tricks to talk to her. I always had to rely on Veirya to get in touch with her. The problem was that it was guaranteed that I wouldn''t be able to ask Veirya, which meant that I''d just have to count on my luck. That said, I didn''t need to take the initiative to find Lucia. I was sure that she''d watch our home if she needed me. That meant that she could contact me as long as I left the house. Thus, I could avoid seeing her in private with Veirya around.


    "Travor! Travor!!"


    <em>''It appears that my luck isn''t too shabby.''</em>


    As soon as I walked onto the street, Lucia loudly called my name out from behind and ran over. I turned my head and looked at her feeling surprised. She wasn''t dressed in hunting attire this time, but very fresh looking attire for summer, except that it wasn''t summer¡­ Nheless, she didn''t seem to be bothered by the fact that the winds were quite chilly.


    All she wore on her torso was a thin dark green bib. Her slender arms were revealed, and her button at the very bottom was undone, thereby revealing her belly button. Her small money pouch hanging from her belt swayed from side to side. On her lower body. She wore shorts and high ck stockings. I must admit that while her chest was t, her pretty face and long and slender legs were traits that made her attractive. The moment she ran onto the street, it was as though she lit up the entire street.


    She leapt onto my back. With a cheerful smile, she pinched my face, "I''m so d that I get to see you again. I thought that Veirya would lock you up at home and not let you out."


    I smiled helplessly, "I''m not a dog."


    Lucia slid off my back, and then pinched her chin with self-contentment, "I can see that you seem to be searching for something today. You do n to help us elves, after all, huh? We''re friends! Friendss should assist each other! Didn''t we elves join you when you humans took on the demons?"


    "I didn''t say otherwise."


    I looked at Lucia. Her expression quickly turned grim. She grumpily pouted, and then hugged my arm. She coquettishly said, "I look cute, don''t I? Will you refuse the request of such a cute elf? Everyone agreed to my requests whenever I pleaded them this way."


    <em>''I agree, you''re a very cute elf and even so by human standards, but nowadays, I have a subus and Veirya, who''s considerably beautiful for a human. Plus, not only do I get to look at them, but also have baths with them. Therefore, I have no interest whatsoever in t chests. You have a t chest, yet want to talk to me about being cute?! You''re currently hugging my arm, but I don''t feel anything soft. Cute?!''</em>


    "I wanted to ask you what exactly you elves are doing. If you elves weren''t in a pickle, you wouldn''te here to find humans to conduct a vouring trade, would you? Moreover, even if you were to trade vouring, you should''ve gone to see Queen Sisi, not do it in private, which goes to show that you aren''t conducting the trade as a representative of elves, but as a private deal. So, what exactly is going on with you elves?"


    Lucia looked at me and got a little serious. She softly replied, "Do you really want to know? Well, it''s nothing major. It''s just that we don''t want to continue being ruled by Queen Sisi. That''s all. The Queen has always wanted to open paths with humans, but elves and humans have never had true friendship. I don''t deny that I respect Veirya and some humans, but the majority of humanity isn''t friendly to us. We are not on good terms with any other race; therefore, it''s best for us to not get involved with each other. But nheless, the current Queen wants to lead elves into the abyss, which I refuse to allow. I am the elves'' hero and, thus, must stop that from happening!"


    "So, what''s your n?"


    "Violence, obviously," replied Lucia, who proudly thumped her chest. "I am the eldest daughter of one of the most venerated elven ns, Harlotte n, after all. My archery skill is ranked second best if not the best. We can win this battle as long as we have soldiers. Hence, we need money and food. How about it, Travor? I''ve told you our secret, soe help us. I''m sure that we won''t have any supply issues if you''re helping us in the rear."


    "Sorry, Lucia."


    I didn''t suspect Lucia after what she said. I doubted Lucia would lie to me. She was candid with me so that it made it easier for me to help her. With that said, the vision she had for elves wasn''t the vision that I had in mind. If she seeded, the future that I was after will also go with the wind. As such, I had to refuse her.


    To add, I wasn''t going to let myself be the first person to get involved with military fights. It''s very risky to put all your bets on one side, because if the other side reverses the situation, the consequence will tend to be bankruptcy. Subsequently, I had to be careful with regards to the matter.


    "I belong to Veirya. If you really need my help, you should go see Veirya. I can''t call the shots on this, so don''t waste any more time on me. Give up. In addition, I need to have a good think about what you said."


    Lucia looked at me feeling displeased. She yelled, "I won''t give up! I won''t allow elves to be destroyed even if you don''t help me!!"


    "Mm, mm, do your best; break a leg. I''m sure that you can do it as the elves'' hero. However, there''s one more thing."


    I turned around to touch Lucia''s head. She looked at me feeling astonished as though she didn''t understand the reason for me touching her. I looked at her with a smile, "Next time, never thoughtlessly tell him what you told me if you haven''t known him for long. It is your secret, you know?"


    Lucia angrily stomped her foot and hugged me tightly from behind again. She loudly shouted, "I''m not an elf who senselessly says anything!! I would never have mentioned it if it wasn''t you!! Listen!! Think about it again!"

 Chapter Volume 2 35

    It seemed that it wasn''t too peaceful in the elvennds. After the war, the elves'' Queen wanted to put in ce open-minded policies, but wasn''t epted by all elves. Most of them wanted chose to be conservative. The conservative elves wanted to live in peace in the forest. They had no intention of interacting with humanity in any shape or form. They may have just joined hands in an alliance, but elves still didn''t like humans. Lucia, an elf who fought alongside humanity, wasn''t willing to open up and get along with humans, either. By the looks of things, the conservative faction had decided to overthrow the Queen. Subsequently, it appeared that elves would continue closing themselves off and avoiding interaction with humans.


    It wasn''t my ce to interfere with the elves'' circumstance; however, I figured that if Lucia seeded, then her conservative faction would gain the most power among elves. In that scenario, though, they wouldn''t interact with humans, Lucia and Veirya would still be on good terms. In that case, Lucia would be able to guarantee that elven goods were only transported to Veirya''s ce, but wouldn''t trade with others. That, in turn, would create a monopoly.


    Nheless, I stand by my word: I couldn''t guarantee that Lucia would seed. If she failed, I would''ve dug Veirya a hole by helping Lucia. I was still broke; I couldn''t take on such a risky trade. I didn''t want to help Lucia, but I wanted the fat return on investment from the elves.


    That wasn''t a secure investment, sadly. When I don''t have money, I''d be happy to make a gamble, but when I do have money, I''d choose a secure investment, especially now that I was in a situation where I couldn''t afford to suffer a loss. The vouring trade was a more secure investment this time.


    ======


    Current time on the streets¡­


    Veirya lowered her head. She looked at Leah, who Veirya tightly held the hand of, "Leah, you said. A child. Likes food and pretty clothes."


    Leah sighed then nodded. In truth, Leah didn''t know what a girl was supposed to buy on the streets. With that said, she knew more about girls than Veirya did. From Leah''s standpoint, she''d be very happy just to be able to eat tasty food and wear clothes with nice colours.


    "Let''s go buy clothes, then."


    Veirya sternly nodded. She then tightened her grip on Leah''s hand and continued forward. She didn''t know if there was clothing for purchase on the specific street; she only knew that you could buy things on the street. Additionally, her only experience with shopping for clothes wasst time when she went to shop for clothes with Lin Dongqing. Also, when they bought the clothes, he said a whole bunch of stuff that she didn''t quite understand.


    "Do we have to say those things when we shop for clothes?" wondered Veirya.


    The two of them walked along the street for a while. Leah, who had sharp eyes, noticed a store with a sign hung out with one nce. Though she didn''t exactly understand humanity''s text, judging from the cloth hung outside, she presumed that they sold clothes. Veirya paused; then, she took Leah in.


    It wasn''t arge store, but the store depth was quite impressive. The lined up wooden stands were set out around the shop in lines. There was cloth and material to prevent the goods getting wet that had yet to be removed. The store wasn''t decorated. Judging from its appearance, the owner must have simply set up shop for the meantime and lined up their goods. There was no clothing hanging on the walls. The clothes were probably in the wooden chests that had yet to be open. Presumably, the store had yet to bepletely up and running.


    Hearing the sounds at the entrance, a man came out from the back of the shop. He smiled at Veirya, "Ah, Lord Veirya, hello. Our store is not in business, yet. Come back in a few days'' time."


    Veirya calmly looked at him, "Buy clothes."


    The owner looked at Veirya whilst feeling awkward, "Ah¡­ yes¡­ but, we are not in business, yet¡­ our goods have nopl-"


    Veirya tilted her head. In a very puzzled tone, she responded, "Buy clothes. Don''t you have stuff here? Why not sell?"


    "No¡­ we have not yet¡­"


    Veirya''s patience had run dry. She looked at the man and coldly demanded, "Sell to us."


    The man was scared stiff by Veirya''s gaze. He fearfully took two steps back then paused for a moment before responding, "H-H-How about we make you some¡­? Umm¡­ see what sort of material you like¡­ you¡­"


    Veirya released Leah''s hand and said to her, "Leah, choose. What material."


    Leah looked at the owner with sympathy. However, she was soon distracted by the allure of the stuff around. The owner pulled off the material used to prevent the clothes from getting wet, thereby revealing the beautiful and colourful variety of materials underneath the sunlight. This ce didn''t have the strong atmosphere of ascetic monks as it did with the chapel. The materials at the store came in lots of colours. It was Leah''s first time seeing so many colours. She found herself at a loss for how to choose. Veirya didn''t rush her. She, instead, silently stood in ce and watched Leah run around.


    The owner wasn''t worried about Leah damaging the materials. Instead, he went up to Veirya. With a smile, he remarked, "Your daughter is truly very pretty. She will grow up to be like you. She is our most captivating flower."


    "Daughter?" repeated Veirya, who then lingered. She looked at Leah''s back. "I am her, mom?"


    The man lowered his voice, "Are you not? I always see her father taking her around. This is the first time I have seen you take her shopping. However, Lord Veirya, please do not reprimand me for being nosy. I saw that man with an elf just before. They looked as though they were very close."


    Veirya nodded and gave a cold response, "All right. I will deal with it."


    "I want this colour! I want this colour!! This colour is so pretty! This colour is the same as a morning glory. I want this! I want this colour!"


    Leah suddenly came running back with joy. With a bit of cloth that looked to be a blend of light purple and white. She ran up to Veirya with a bright smile and instinctively went to grab hold of Veirya''s hand. But nheless, she realised it before she did and nkly looked at Veirya, instead. The smile on her face gradually disappeared. Her smile was reced with an angry look, a result of feeling ashamed. Thus, she retreated two steps. Veirya continued looking at her with an expressionless look. Nevertheless, she looked at Leah very seriously. Veirya''s gaze began to frighten Leah, so she continued retreating.


    "That colour, then."


    "What did you want? I can make formal wear, normal clothes for winter and summer and sleepwear. I can make two per type. Which type were you after?"


    "I want every type. Two. Of every type. Other colours, too. White and ck."


    That might arguably be the most Veirya had ever said in one go. The owner looked at Veirya with a stunned expression, "Th-That is too much, no¡­?"


    "No. Make them."


    "All right, then¡­ all right. Miss, please follow me to the rear so that I can take your measurements."


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 36

    "Please¡­ Travor, please. Please help me. Please reconsider¡­ We''re still a little short on money¡­ Please consider it again¡­.I can give you anything; just please help us think of how to get more provisions, weapons and money. You''re capable of obtaining money and food with just a few words. Please help me. If you help us this time, our chance of victory will increase."


    I underestimated Lucia''s persistence. She had no intention of giving up. She persistently clung to me. She''d rather cling to my leg than release me. I had countless things in mind for the day, but I couldn''t shake Lucia off. I really wanted to go home. As long as I was with Veirya, Lucia would definitely leave me alone.


    "Okay, okay, okay. Let''s do this: you won''t more provisions and money, right? I''m not going to get involved with your fight. Additionally, I hope that you won''t mention that you received assistance from humanity whether you seed or are defeated. You will pretend that I was oblivious to your business and never assisted you."


    I really didn''t want to continue wrestling with Lucia. Plus, judging from Lucia''s behaviour, I genuinely did want to make a bet. However, I didn''t intend to directly help Lucia. If the elves failed in their attempt, I wouldn''t be able to escape a simr fate. In addition, I had a rather bold idea.


    "That''s fine. It sounds as though you don''t think that we''ll win, but we will. We''ll definitely win. Elves will never be destroyed. We, elves, won''t be let ourselves end due to the foolish order of a foolish Queen. We must have our stable and rich lives from the past again."


    Lucia looked obviously ted. She immediately smiled as soon as she heard that I could help her. She very excitedly said, "Since you''re willing to help us, elves, everyone will remember you, even if you don''t let your name be known. We will definitely send you some gifts. Once we seed, we''ll send you and Veirya some gifts. We need some provisions and money."


    I looked at Lucia, "I see. I''m not after the gift you have for me. I''m just a businessman after money. Your gift for me may not be worth money. Though Veirya considers your gratitude to be priceless, it''s meaningless to me, which is why I''m mindful of your agreement with me. Let''s do this: I know that you elves most certainly don''t want to trade with humans; nevertheless, are you willing to trade with Veirya and I?"


    "That''s fine, perfectly fine. If we can work it out, I''m perfectly fine with it. As long as we can work it out, of course I''ll choose to trade with you. Nobody would mind having more money. We will only ept trading with you, though. I''m saying this out of friendship. It won''t be a veryrge volume; I can have our tribee here to sell things to you. What do you need?"


    I looked at Lucia and replied, "vouring. Just vouring will suffice. As for the provisions, we have quite a bit avable in our warehouse. You can take some; however, thenes the money problem. Unfortunately, I have no means of creating gold. In saying that, I can use your vouring to trade it for gold."


    "vouring?" queried Lucia. "That was all of the vouring that I brought over. While selling vouring is, indeed, the best way for us to make money, I only have so much on me. I''m already out and can''t make any more."


    "No, no, no, I meant that you can go back to the elvennds and bring back more. You don''t need to bring much. You just need two, three hundred gold coins'' worth of vouring. I know that the chapel and merchant''s people are keeping surveince on you right now, because they don''t want your vouring to be in anyone else''s hands. Furthermore, they don''t want you to trade vouring in private. They''re trying to monopolise it. In turn, they''ll be able to earn more. However, if we sneak out another batch of vouring without going through the chapel, we''ll be able to earn more. Actually, I don''t want a very high return on investment. Therefore, if you split it with the merchant, you''ll make more."


    "No wonder why I always felt as though someone was following me recently¡­ I didn''t know what it was about. Ah, I truly don''t get what this monopoly is, money or whatnot, but you''re right." remarked Lucia. She pinched her chin. "I can bring back some vouring, and I can easily leave and enter this ce. It''s impossible for humans to keep surveince on me. With that said, what do we need to do now?"


    I looked at Lucia and earnestly exined, "We have to go to thepany. Achilles is the most vital key to our operation. There''s a very convenient condition, which is Achilles won''t ept the chapel''s surveince. We''ll go discuss the prices and trade medium with him; then, we''ll be able to receive the payment for goods. There shouldn''t be any major hups. The question is whether or not you can bring the vouring over without any hups"


    Lucia nodded in a rxed manner, "Isn''t that simple? The vouring isn''t a valuable good to us, after all."


    I touched my head, "Bear in mind, though, don''t bring too much, or it''ll be suspicious, thereby making it difficult to proceed. Commissions will then be calcted based on proportions. I don''t want much. Consider it a gift to you elves. When the timees, you just need to unconditionally trade the vouring with us at the agreed times. Further, we''ll have the right to decide on the price; what do you think?"


    Lucia folded her arms and nodded. She casually responded, "The vouring is made from ingredients in the forest, so we can have as much as we desire. I really don''t know why you humans are so hung up over it. But, Travor, I''m sincerely very grateful to you. You''re the only person who''s truly helping us. Though you weren''t too willing to help us, you helped us a lot when we elves were in a pinch. You help us with the food and now money; therefore¡­ please ept my personal gratitude."


    Before I could react, Lucia nimbly leaned into my side. Before I could budge, she hugged my arm with her small body. I then smelt her breath that carried the strong scent of flowers and grass in the forest next to my face. Next, I felt a warm sensation on my cheek that felt simr to a small bird''s peck.


    "Cherish it. I, Lucilia, rarely give anyone this highest-honour reward!"


    Lucia hopped aside after releasing my arm. I couldn''t get my body to move. It felt as though I was electrocuted. I just extended my hand in a daze and gently touched the spot that Lucia kissed. She had a red flush on her face from shyness, but she poked her tongue at me. She looked at me with a mischievous demeanour as though she found my reaction to be amusing.


    "What¡­ did you two do?"


    Before I could savour the kiss, an ice-cold voice broke the amorous atmosphere between the two of us. Lucia and my smiles froze on our faces. We resembled broken robots. Lost for what to do, we slowly turned our heads in a clunky manner to meet with Veirya''s ice-cold blue eyes¡­

 Chapter Volume 2 37

    "Umm¡­ uhh¡­"


    Lucia and I took a step back each, albeit in a very flustered fashion. We were faced with Veirya, who wore an ice-cold expression, thereby making the two of us feel as though our lives were in peril. The two of us quaked as if we were caught red handed having an illicit rtionship. We truly believed that Veirya would kill us. However, her expression was the same as usual¡­ I felt that she might''ve looked particrly terrifying, because we felt guilty¡­


    <em>''Calm down. Calm down. Veirya doesn''t know what we were doing. Calm down. Exin it properly. There''s still hope.''</em>


    <strong>*Slide!!*</strong>


    Veirya coldly looked at us as she drew her sword from its sheath.


    <em>''It would seem that we don''t have much time left.''</em>


    Leah, who was next to Veirya, looked at the two of us with a furious look on her face, "Papa, you liar!! You said that you had work when, in reality, you went to look for a woman!! You''re a meanie, Papa!!!"


    "Lucilia, what are you two doing?"


    Veirya coldly looked at Lucia. For now, her anger had yet to reach me. Lucia''s lips twitched. She cautiously replied, "Do you really not know, or are you trying to ask for the reason?"


    "Why did you. Kiss him?"


    Veirya''s question was simple, yet lethal. Lucia wore a very awkward expression. She nced at me, "I was just thanking Travor¡­ Haven''t I always thanked people with a kiss? Did you forget? Didn''t I kiss you before?"


    "That time, you told me that. You wouldn''t thoughtlessly kiss someone else. I thought you''d. Only kiss me."


    I suddenly had an epiphany. I figured it out.


    <em>''This isn''t an iconic painting or love triangle. Veirya didn''t feel that I betrayed her, because Lucia kissed me; to the contrary, she feels that Lucia betrayed her!! What''s this considered, me ruining their lesbian romance? So I''m the third party now?!''</em>


    "Papa!! What''s your rtionship with this elf?!!"


    Leah was the only grumpy one who was looking at me with her lips pouted. She was very angry with me, and I was aware that I didn''t handle the matter well. Having said that, realising that I could make someone jealous randomly made me feel a little touched¡­ Perhaps it was because I was heartbroken too many times when I was around Veirya¡­


    I never thought that Veirya wouldn''t get jealous for my sake¡­ But on second thought, Lucia was indeed slightly more important than I was. I had only been with Veirya more recently, while Lucia was herrade who went through life and death with her. Veirya, a warrior who had tunnel vision, would naturally consider Lucia a little more important.


    Lucia took another step back and dryly chuckled, "Because that''s the highest level of gratitude. Travor promised to help us, which is why¡­ I''m very grateful to him."


    Veirya finally nced at me. With an indifferent expression, she asked "What did you promise Lucilia?"


    I looked at Veirya. I hesitated for a moment as I stopped to think to myself. I couldn''t think of any way of tactfully exining it. Further, judging from Veirya''s way of thinking, if I tried to be subtle about it, she wouldn''t understand. Hence, it was better to be straightforward with her.


    I took in a deep breath, "Veirya, I promised Lucia that I''d help her with the elves'' business."


    I was ready for Veirya''s rage and for her to swing her sword at me, for she reacted very violently thest time Lucia mentioned helping. This time, I was sure that Veirya would have the same stance.


    "Really? How do you n to help?"


    Unexpectedly, Veirya didn''t express much anger; her expression didn''t change, either. She wore an indifferent look as always. It was as if I just told her tonight''s dinner menu. I kept my eyes on her, "I gave them food and came up with a new trick to trade with them¡­"


    "That''s it?"


    Veirya didn''t seem to quite believe me. However, her question wasn''t directed at me, but Lucia. Lucia lingered for a moment, possibly because she didn''t expect the question to be directed at her. She then quickly nodded, "Uhm, that''s it. That''s it. I don''t n to take him away. He just needs to help mee up with ideas and provide me with stuff. There''s no need to worry, Veirya, there''s no need to."


    I had a sudden realisation. Veirya didn''t care whether or not I help Lucia. She only minded it back then when Lucia asked me to permanently move to the elvennds. At the time, Lucia wanted to take me with her, which was something that Veirya couldn''t ept. Veirya didn''t care if I helped the elves or not as long as I was with her. I suddenly felt a warm sensation of love when I realised that.


    <em>''Veirya does care about me, after all. She wouldn''t swap me for anything, after all. That''s quite heart-warming to know.''</em>


    "S-So you''re okay with that?" asked the surprised Lucia.


    Veirya nodded, "He''s mine, anyway. As long as. It doesn''t affect me. Then it''s fine. As for what you two do. It doesn''t matter to me. You can''t take him to the elvennds, though. That''s all."


    "Sure! Sure! As long as you''re okay with it!"


    Lucia was happier after she received Veirya''s approval. She cheerfully hugged my arm. Nevertheless, before she could say anything, Leah squeezed in between us and shoved Lucia away. She then looked up at Lucia with a shaky and pitiful expression. In her shaky voice, she said, "Sister Lucia¡­ umm¡­ he''s Leah''s papa¡­ don''t steal Leah''s papa¡­"


    Lucia looked at Leah with astonishment. She suddenly looked at her with a strange expression. She crouched down and gently caressed Leah''s face. Seeing how afraid Leah was, she pulled Leah into her embrace. With a strange smile, she shouted, "Wow! Wow! I''ve never seen you so cute, Leah!! You''re so adorable!! You''re so cute and pretty!! Sister likes you so much. Sure, sure, sure, Sister won''t take your papa, but do you want toe and live in the elvennds with me? It''s much warmer andfortable therepared to this ce. Do you want toe over?!!!"


    Leah had hugged countless times before, but I think that was one of the worst hugs that she ever had, because she''d never been pressed up against someone with a t chest¡­ it didn''t feel nice, I tell you¡­ Plus, what she said triggered Veirya¡­


    In the end, had Lucia not been rtively quick and I had not tightly grabbed Veirya''s arm, I probably wouldn''t ever get to see the t-chested elf again.


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 38

    "You took Leah shopping for clothes?"


    Lucia probably left, since she felt that it wasn''t safe for her to hang around. Nevertheless, she maintained her gaze on Leah. Though she didn''t dislike Leah in the past, Lucia''s lolicon tendencies were fully awakened by Leah''s pitiful look. It seemed as though she was very eager to take Leah to the elvennds. As for Leah, she tightly hugged me, but her gaze reserved for me was terrifying.


    <em>''I feel that I''m going to be in trouble tonight.''</em>


    However, that wasn''t my main concern at present. Veirya said that she just took Leah shopping for clothes, a statement, which caused me to freeze. Leah couldn''t just buy any clothes. Leah needed to buy tailored clothing wherever possible or send measurements we took to the tailor. We couldn''t just buy clothes. Leah was a subus; that meant that she didn''t have a belly button. Her hip measurement had to be taken when making her clothes, thought. Subsequently, we had to be careful not to reveal the fact that she didn''t have a belly button.


    Not everybody may be aware that subi were missing belly buttons, but there was always "what if" to consider. Humanity and the demon race had been at war for so long that humans should be aware of some facts on demons. Surely they knew something. Moreover, the post-effects of the war had yet to end, especially the hatred for demons in the town. If something misfortunate happened, it''d be very hard for Leah to live in this city."


    "Uhm," Veirya didn''t feel as though she did anything wrong. Instead, she replied in a proud tone. "We bought, lots. Leah chose them. Colour. She liked."


    "Yeah¡­?"


    I looked at Veirya. Although she didn''t explicate it, I could tell that she was in a very good mood. She rarely showed her joy in my presence, so I felt quite ttered for once. I contemted what she told me in detail.


    <em>''She''s bought the clothes; the seller didn''tin, either; therefore, he might not have noticed. Veirya is so happy now. If I mention the potential risk now, I''ll be sshing cold water in her face. I won''t tell her, then.''</em>


    I lingered for a moment then asked, "Isn''t that good, Veirya? Did you buy some for yourself?"


    Veirya also dawdled before looking at me with confusion, "Buy¡­ clothes? I have clothes. So. No need."


    I seriously said, "I don''t think a military uniform can be considered clothes. Further, though you do change and wash your clothes, it''s a bit too much for you have your wardrobe packed with the same set, right? At the end of the day, you are the lord of the North. I think that you need some more normal - forck of better word - clothes. Let''s go. As we all have time right now, let''s go buy you some new clothes."


    Veirya looked back at me. She was silent for a moment before responding, "Should a girl like to eat delicious foods and clothes?"


    "Not necessarily. People are different so, naturally, what they like is also different. In saying that, all girls should like pretty clothing. Don''t all girls like pretty things?"


    I felt that my answer ssified me as a male chauvinist, but Veirya didn''t seem to fit that description. She stopped to ponder it, "I don''t quite. Understand. What''s pretty? Show me."


    "All right."


    To be honest, when we arrived at the store, I was shocked by Veirya and Leah. Frankly, I couldn''t figure out how they did it.


    <em>''The owner has yet to open shop, yet the two bought clothes?''</em>


    When the owner saw Veirya and Leah, he revealed a hopeless smile again. He looked at me, "Hello, Sir, did youe here for something this time?"


    I scanned the man before me. His expression didn''t budge. His gaze wasn''t on Leah; he merely had a glimpse at her. He focused his attention on Veirya and I. I was somewhat suspicious, as he really might''ve noticed Leah''s belly or noticed it, but didn''t know why she was missing a belly button. Additionally, Leah''s current clothing was akin to a schoolgirl swimsuit you see in Anime, so it was likely that she never took it off.


    I said to the owner, "Please take Lord Veirya''s measurements and make her a set of clothes. We want normal clothes, formal clothing and clothing for winter. Make it a bit pricey. After all, she is the lord of the North. We want three styles for each category and two of each style, can you do that? Add gloves, socks, headbands and other essories to the bill, too."


    "Sure, sure, I have yet to open business, yet have already received such arge order. Rest assured, though. Our store''s headquarters is located in the imperial capital. Our designs are guaranteed to satisfy you. We will have the clothes sent to you as soon as possible when the clothes are ready. Now, however, let Lord Veirya choose her favourite colours."


    As soon as I turned around, Veirya had already chosen her materials and wasing over with them. I hopelesslyughed.


    <em>''That''s Veirya for you.''</em>


    She chose ck fabric. Pure ck. She could head straight to a funeral with that. That couldn''t possibly be the best choice.


    I hopelessly looked at Veirya, "You like that colour, Veirya?"


    Veirya nodded, "I chose. I think. It''s a pretty colour."


    "You think ck is pretty? You can''t have only ck clothes, though, right¡­? Are there any colours that you like? Also, why do you think that ck is pretty?"


    "Because it''s the same. As your eye colour."


    Veirya didn''t answer with any hesitation. In fact, her voice waspletely monotone. But nheless, her response broke through my heart''s defence. She looked at me and added, "You told me to choose pretty things. I think. Your eyes. Very pretty. So. I chose ck."


    Veirya''s eyes didn''t change. She had her usual calm look; however, I felt my face gradually heating up. I didn''t dare to look her in the eye. I averted my gaze in a flustered fashion, and then awkwardly touched my hot face. I went to speak, but nothing came out. My mind was nk. There was nothing in my mind except for thest thing that she said. Veirya shined so bright before my eyes. I wanted to look, yet didn''t dare to. At the same time, having said that, I was eager to see those blue eyes on me.


    <em>''She likes me? Veirya likes me?''</em>


    <em>''Was that a confession? How do I respond? How do I face Veirya from now? What should I say to her? Umm¡­ uhh¡­ H-Has Veirya always had a crush on me? Else¡­ else¡­ why would she say that she likes my eyes? Stop, stop. I still haven''t helped Leah and Veirya develop a friendly rtionship. If I suddenly tell Leah that she now has a mother, she''ll be devastated, won''t she¡­?''</em>


    <em>''In addition, we''ve yet to settle down, so we can''t get married now, right? If we do have children afterwards, it''ll get in the way of my work for sure¡­ No, I can''t ept her confession, yet, for her sake and our child''s sake¡­''</em>


    "I like your eyes. So. I chose this material."


    Veirya looked at my flustered expression. Unable toprehend what I was thinking, she gave up and passed the fabric to the owner. He smiled as he looked at us. He softlyughed, "Your rtionship sure is good, Lord Veirya, you must love him."


    Veirya looked at me, "Love? What''s love?"


    <em>''Okay, I read too much into it. Veirya still doesn''t know what love is. Heck, she doesn''t even know what feelings are. Therefore, she probably never had any feelings for me¡­ That''d make this a terrifying story, then!! She likes me eyes? Is she going to dig them out while I''m still alive or something?!''</em>

 Chapter Volume 2 39

    "Here''s your money. The record in the books has been erased," said Achilles.


    The businessman took the cash with and helplessly chuckled. "It really is not easy. I was shocked when I saw so much money. I really did not think that the lord would ce such arge order with us."


    Achilles coolly smiled. "I did say that he was no ordinary man. Actually, I''m quite surprised by how things turned out this time. I never thought that he''d see through the chapel when they were that cautious. To be frank, his senses are too keen. You can''t make a single mistake in his presence or even show any hints of being out of the norm. A single slight mistake will be enough for him to tear down our defence."


    The businessman looked at Achilles. He gently leaned onto the table and leaned over. He quietly said, "With that say, Mr. Achilles, I noticed something important when they bought clothes from us this time. It is about the girl. The girl named Leah."


    Achilles lingered for a moment then smiled. "Leah? The cute girl? What''s the matter with her? I like her. She''s very cute."


    "Yes, her. Did you not realise that she is not Mr. Lin''s biological daughter?"


    "Everybody can see that. It''s obvious that Leah isn''t his biological daughter, but that doesn''t have any bearing on anything. He loves her and takes care of her as his biological daughter. Plus, Lord Veirya appears to be very fond of her. You could consider them a family."


    The businessman looked at Achilles. In a quiet, but solemn voice, he exined, "No, that is the problem. The issue is that Leah is not a human. Leah does not have a belly button. Sir, I can guarantee it, as I could not feel her belly button when I took her measurements. If she is a human, she must have a belly button, you know? Why do you think that she is very adorable? Or rather, why does everybody consider her to be adorable? That is because she is actually a subus! I think that Mr. Lin found her from somewhere and adopted her¡­ though I am sure that he is not someone who is raising a subus to satisfy his sexual desires, as Veirya would be more appropriate than Leah if he wanted to, right? That is why we can infer that Mr. Lin is most likely nning to raise her into an adult."


    Achilles chuckled in a soft voice. "Your point being? It''s not our ce to be interfering with his life, is it? The war is over. There''s no issue with him raising a subus."


    "Yes, but do you not think that we can leverage that fact? The war has ended, but everyone''s hatred for the demon race still lingers. You do not live in this town, so you may be unaware, but I have investigated the town. Lots of townsfolk of this town were killed by demons; therefore, they must absolutely hate demons. I am sure that they would not allow a demon to live here, even if she is their lord''s daughter."


    "Mm¡­" Achilles responded with a subtle nod. He then pulled his eyebrows together and contemted the matter. "You''re right. That said, do not tell anyone else, particrly the chapel, understood?"


    "I know."


    The businessman solemnly nodded then turned to leave the room. Achilles took out two silver coins from his pocket and gently set them on the table. "This is yourpensation. You must remember not to thoughtlessly mention that to anyone."


    "Understood."


    ========


    Lucia and I, who were at the door, stood up, but I paused when I saw the owner of the storeing out from Achilles room. He smiled when he saw me. "Hello, Sir. Do you have an appointment with Mr. Achilles?"


    "Yes. I came to talk to him. What about you? Did you have an appointment with him, as well?"


    I felt a tad unsettled when I saw him.


    <em>''There''s something wrong if a businessman goes to Achilles without any business. What could he be seeing Achilles for?'' </em>


    He was the tailor making Leah clothes. He may very well have noticed her missing belly button. In fact, he may have realised that she was a subus. That would mean that it was very likely that he came here to report the fact.


    The businessman looked at Lin Dongqing. Lin Dongqing''s eyes remained firm. He didn''t look panicked; rather, he lookedpletely rxed as if he was inquiring about dinner.


    "To be frank, his senses are too keen. You can''t make a single mistake in front of him or even show any hints of being out of the norm. A single slight mistake will be enough for him to tear down our defence," recalled the businessman.


    It was a simple answer, yet it was a game of wits every time he spoke. His throat budged. He desperately searched for an answer to reply with, ensuring that each word counted. "I came here to collect the money you gave me."


    He smiled, and then shook his bag. The coins in the bag nged. I nodded. With a smile, he went on, "Because we do not have cash flow at the moment, we arecking funds for after we open shop. Therefore, it is best for us to trade with cash."


    I nodded. He was right. Cash flow is very important when you first open shop. I, additionally, noticed that there was quite a bit of cash.


    <em>''He must be here to collect his payment. There shouldn''t be any problems.''</em>


    I could detect any issues from his expression. There were no odd gestures or reactions.


    <em>''Maybe he hasn''t reacted.''</em>


    "I shall not get in the way of your meeting with Mr. Achilles. I shall head on back. As for the clothes, I will have them sent to your estate as soon as possible."


    I nodded. "Thanks."


    I then made way. Lucia watched us withoutmenting.


    I went to see Achilles about Lucia bringing some more vouring to trade. Honestly speaking, I was sure that the deal would seed. There''s no businessman who would mind making more money. At the moment, how the vouring was exported was not of importance to him. He was thinking about how to get his hands on more vouring. Thus, this negotiation''s results would be simple.


    We didn''t need to think about how to get him to agree, but to get Lucia as much in return as possible. While I was at it, I wanted toe up with an agreement with Achilles. I couldn''t just have the goods, yet no channel, while Achilles happened to be the channel that I needed.


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 40

    "Understood. You and this maiden want to discuss the price of the vouring with me, correct?"


    Achilles rested his chin in both hands and looked at us with a smile. That was his usual expression. Lucia looked at him with a smile. She quickly nodded. "Yes. We want to earn some extra money. We, therefore, want to export some vouring, which I will bring over. vouring isn''t anything rare to us elves."


    "Uhm, understood. However, this won''t impact your obligation to transport vouring over monthly afterwards, will it?"


    Lucia didn''t hesitate to respond. "No. I have already decided to hand that to Travor."


    Achilles lingered for a moment then looked at me. With a helpless smile, he said, "You came over and immediately turned our future ns to dust. I do not have any means ofmenting, though. In regards to the vouring from the elves in the future, we have not signed any agreements. It is just something that we have considered. I can see that Miss Lucilia is very fond of you. In saying that, Mr. Lin, I want to speak to you about the future of the vouring."


    "We can discuss that in the future when we have time. That''s not what I''m here to discuss this time. My aim this time is merely to talk about how much extra vouring Miss Lucia should bring over."


    I cut Achilles off without hesitation. I definitely needed to prepare myself before discussing the monthly shipments in the future; however, Achilles already knew that I needed him, as I needed a channel to sell the goods. It was merely a question of shares and prices. There was also one more thing. If Achilles wanted to sell the vouring at exorbitant prices, he''d need to monopolise it, which meant that I couldn''t sell it to anyone else or sell it myself. As such, I had to discuss the price with him. I couldn''t pocket half of the earnings, but once the ball got rolling, thirty percent was enough for me to make a down payment in a year.


    Achilles looked at Lucia and said, "To be frank, I did not bring much cash with me this time. If you need it, I will have to transport a shipment from the city. Based on the current market price, how much can you bring over approximately speaking? I''ll see how much cash I need to prepare."


    Lucia proudly responded, "vouring isn''t worth much to elves. I can get my hands on as much as I want."


    I piggy backed off what she said. "Lucia should be able to bring over enough. Therefore, Achilles, you should name the volume you can handle with your current finances. To err on the safe side, don''t transport money. How much do you still have on you now? Just tell us."


    The vouring wasn''t an issue for Lucia, because it was easy to transport. It didn''t spoil during transportation, after all. The elves had plenty of vouring in their forest. We weren''t discussing an over-the-counter job, but being opportunistic as fast as we can. In other words, we didn''t want to prepare. We had the goods, so it was just a question of how much Achilles had.


    Achilles replied, "Five hundred gold coins. I have five hundred gold coins. I will buy the vouring you have based on the price we previously agreed on; afterwards, our business will take two thousand of the three thousand in earnings, while you get the remaining one thousand. What do you think?"


    "Too high. We want one thousand five hundred."


    "Since the chapel is not involved this time, it is not easy for me to conduct this deal. We want one-thousand eight hundred gold coins. The remaining one-thousand two hundred coins are yours to split. Bear in mind, though, the price that I have offered is very appropriate. In regards to the monthly vouring deals in the future, I hope that you can take care of me. At the very least, I hope that we can maintain a low cost for procurement."


    I could tell that the price was without doubt his bottom line. Bottom lines rarely change. Forcing the other party to go below their bottom line will usually lead to negotiations going down the drain. Nheless, I nced at Lucia. She wore a look of astonishment. She looked at Achilles and stuttered, "One thousand two hundred gold coins¡­? That much¡­? One thousand two hundred gold coins?!"


    "No. That sum is yours and Mr. Lin''s earningbined. There is another five hundred gold coins deposit beforehand. How you split it afterwards is between you two. In saying that, the chapel will not be involved this time. They happen to be short on funds at the moment. If they find out that we are secretly selling vouring, the crazy chapel will definitely seek revenge on us. Therefore, we must not leave any clues, understood?"


    Achilles wore a very stern expression this time. He lightly knocked on the table as he looked at Lucia and I. "None of us can mention a word about this deal, not even to Angelina. Angelina is with the chapel, after all. She will act for their benefit, so we must be secretive. Remember, Miss Lucilia, Mr. Lin, do not let anyone know of the deal. Once anyone finds out, it will not be just me that is in trouble, but both of you, as well."


    I nodded. "I know."


    Lucia, on the other hand, unhappily pouted and whined, "Geez, do you see me as someone unable to keep secrets? I''m very tight-lipped. We elves are an absolutely loyal race. I would never thoughtlessly say it!"


    "We do believe that you are loyal and cautious; it is just that, sometimes, you drop your guard around your friends."


    Achilles helplessly smiled. He felt that Lucia''s straightforward personality contributed to his miserable predicament, which was due to me forcing my way into their deal. Lucia really was too honest and upright. She''d consider anyone who gave her a good impression to be a friend, and she considered friends to be people that she could share everything and anything with. Thus, it was reassuring to use that trait in our favour, but we needed to ensure that she didn''t spill the beans¡­


    "Then, let us proceed with that, Miss Lucilia. You must obtain the vouring before anyone finds out, and then immediately return. I need you to join us this time, though, Mr. Lin," suddenly said Achilles, hust when I thought I''d seeded. "This is no ordinary deal, while Miss Lucilia clearly is not familiar with humanity. Moreover, I do not have much time to go and check the goods. As such, I need you to personally follow her to the elvennds to procure the vouring, ensure that the vouring is fine, and then transport it back. We will ensure that there are five hundred gold coins ready. As long as you can bring back the vouring from the elvennds, we will immediately give you both the five hundred gold coins. Future payments will be sent to you as cheques. You can exchange it at our bank in the city."


    "Understood."


    "In addition, in order to ensure safety, Miss Lucilia, I hope that you can reside at his ce until you receive the vouring. Three days is the deadline. If you cannot obtain the vouring within three days'' tie, our deal is off."

 Chapter Volume 2 41

    "That much¡­? That much¡­? Why do I have to bring more vouring this time, yet don''t make a proportionate amount? A split five hundred gold coins plus the payment for it would only be one thousand one hundred gold coins¡­"


    "That''s because the chapel is getting a cut. This time, the chapel and merchant definitely spent a hefty sum to make sure things go through the pipeline smoothly. There''s bound to be a fair price to pay to cover the cost of provisions and the transportation. Hence, you can''t earn much after the increase in capital and having to split with the chapel. This time, you don''t need to drop an extra sum for capital. You just need to bring it back. Furthermore, you''ve cut the chapel out of the equation, which means that you''ll get a bigger cut. Additionally, to be fair, you''ll be earning close to what you earnedst time despite only receiving a five hundred payment, as well as a cut of six hundred gold coins."


    Lucia looked at her slender fingers and frowned. She was presumably trying to calcte her ie. She looked up at me and smiled. "But Travor, you will give me an extra share, am I right? Because you came to me this time! Travor is a nice guy, so you''ll definitely help us."


    "I don''t know where you got the confidence from¡­ Plus, I''m not a nice guy. You''re correct, though. I only want two hundred gold coins. The remaining one thousand is yours to take. Nheless, I have to remind you again not to reveal that you were helped by humans. We don''t know what you elves are doing. If you seed, then remember to proceed with our vouring trade afterwards. We don''t need anyone else to be involved. Just sell it to us."


    "That''s a given. We elves may not like to interact with you humans too much, but we''re very happy to trade with friends. Moreover, I''ll get toe over to visit Veirya more often. Oh, and Leah. Such an adorable child is a gift to the world. She''s worth our diligent efforts. I love cute children the most. Veirya may always look indifferent, but in truth, she''s a very adorable girl."


    "Yeah? I agree to be honest."


    Needless to say, Veirya wasn''t cute. She was just insensible. However, her insensible mannerisms did sometimes make her appear to resemble a naughty kid. For example, from the terrifying fly high experience fromst time, you could tell that she was curious about all sorts of things.


    The two of us went to the door. I took in a deep breath. I consciously put some distance between us to avoid the chances of Veirya''s sharp sword appearing. I was concerned about Veirya''s stance on Achilles suggestion. Veirya''s bottom line was extremely frightening, because I never had any idea what it was. Lucia would move in with us; then, I''d go with her to the elvennds. While Lucia and Veirya were quite good friends and I could understand Achilles being concerned about the goods, I was very worried that Veirya wouldn''t approve. If Veirya didn''t approve, there was no way that I could go with Lucia.


    "Lucia, I need to make this clear with you. The most important factor in this operation is Veirya. I''m not certain that she can ept our n. If she objects to it, I won''t be able to go to the elvennds with you, which means that Achilles and I will need to ren it to send somebody else with you. To be honest, though, I think that Veirya is very likely to not give me permission. We must convince Veirya to let me go. As such, we must do our best to avoid letting her mistake that I want to leave with you."


    Lucia nodded then looked at me. She folded her arms. "It''s so strange that Veirya likes you so much. In the past, she never cared about someone so much. You also seem very loyal to her. You''re just a prisoner of war; how did you get her to like you so much?"


    "Like? I''d say that she feels that I''m her possession. The one that Veirya likes is Leah, but Leah is very afraid of her, which is why she wants to get Leah to ept her via me."


    Talking about it made me feel bitter. Perhaps Lucia was able to read my feelings thanks to her keen senses. She softly sighed then my shoulder. In a somewhat sympathetic tone, she stated, "It''s tough on you, huh? I know what you''re thinking right now, and I truly feel sorry for you. In saying that, it''s not your fault. It''s just that Veiryacks emotion. She''s never understood what feelings are. You didn''t see her the first time that I met her. At the time, she really was nothing but a sword for killing people."


    "Let''s put all that aside for the meantime. We just need to focus on one thing now, which is to make sure that we convince Veirya to approve."


    I took in a deep breath to calm myself down.


    <em>''It''s not time to be thinking about romance. I should focus on the matter at hand.''</em>


    I knocked on the door then pulled it open to find Leah and Veirya sitting at opposite ends of the table facing each other. They both looked at each other with serous looks. In their hands were paper cards. I don''t recall Anna and Leah looking that serious when they yed cardsst time. The scene in front of me, however, resembled the gods of gambling facing off in a final showdown. In one corner was the expressionless Veirya. In the other corner was, Leah, who bit down firmly on her lip. She intently stared at the card in her hand as though she was mustering up every ounce of energy she had to figure out what card Veirya had.


    "Add two infantries!!" dered Leah. She finally made up her mind and yed her final card down on the table.


    After examining the card before her, Veirya folded her card, "I lost."


    "Wooo!!!" Leah immediately smiled with joy. She hopped off her chair and ran over to me.


    Anna came out with a hot pot. Seeing me return, she smiled. "You are back, Sir."


    Veirya turned her head to give me a subtle nod. She then looked over to Lucia. "Good evening, Lucilia."


    "Good evening, Veirya."


    "You came backte. So. Anna cooked."


    Veirya looked back at me, but it seemed as though she was reproaching me. I smiled helplessly. Indeed, I went out at night to discuss business. Since Anna cooked already, I figured it should be fine. Leah came up to me and gave me a warm hug. Every time I came back, I''d receive a warm hug from Leah.


    "Papa! Sister Lucia¡­"


    I picked Leah up. She touched my face with a smile. She vigntly watched Lucia. Lucia smiled, and then touched Leah''s face. She then went up to the table and casually sat down. She picked up the cards. However, Veirya didn''t pick up her cards. Instead, she sternly looked at Lucia and asked, "What. Did you two do?"


    "That, we need to discuss with you. He has something to tell you."


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 42

    Although Lucia threw the entire speech into myp, thereby leaving me quite feeling quite hopeless, I did have to speak up about it in the end, anyway. Consequently, there wasn''t much of an issue.


    Anna''s dishes seemed to be dishes served in the military. Nevertheless, they didn''t taste special in any form. In essence, she chopped up vegetables and meat, tossed them into a pot, added some seasoning and then let it boil. I''d say that the taste was slightly odd. Leah and Veirya looked as though they greatly enjoyed it, though. Lucia, too, cheerfully gave herself another bowl. "How nostalgic. This is the random taste from randomly boiled that we found as well as the seasoning and vours we carried on us. We ate this sort of stuff at lots of ces, including forests, onwns, in caves on snowy mountains and even underneath the Demon King''s city."


    "The food at the Demon King''s city. Was the worst." said Veirya. She paused for a moment. She appeared to have recalled the taste from back then, which disgusted her. "There was nothing but moss and the taste of rotten meat."


    "Who doesn''t know that demon meat isn''t edible? That was all we had."


    Leah cautiously peered at Lucia. "Umm¡­ actually, all of the nts outside of the Demon King''s city were inedible¡­ They''re poisonous¡­ In the past, Mama told me not to eat the grass outside¡­"


    "What may be poisonous for you demons may be ineffective on us elves and humans. There are no side-effects for us besides tasting disgusting," casually responded Lucia.


    I frowned in response, "Leah, did you consider eating grass before?"


    "At the time, we didn''t have any food. I was very hungry so¡­ I ate lots of stuff," stated Leah. She paused for a second, then tightly gripped her bowl and went on in quiet voice. "So, at the time, I cherished everything that I could eat. It may not have tasted nice, but it was much better than eating moss."


    Veirya nodded. She seriously looked at Leah, who had her had down to eat. Veirya was expressionless as always, but I sensed a type of sympathy from her. She poured half of her bowl''s contents into Leah''s. In response, Leah looked at Veirya with surprise. "But now I have food."


    "I know. The feeling of starvation. It''s distressing. Worse. Than getting injured" simply replied Veirya.


    I gently held Leah''s hand and solemnly told her, "Leah, trust Papa. Papa won''t let you starve again, promise."


    Leah firmly nodded with a bright smile for me."Uhm! Leah trusts Papa! Leah gets full meals now no matter what. Leah trusts Papa!"


    I softly chuckled. Suddenly, Lucia softly coughed. "I don''t want to get involved with your family affairs, but I do need to discuss with our elven matters. If we don''t talk it over, we might not have lunch and dinner anymore."


    Veirya looked at me and sternly said, "So. What''s this about? Do not. Lie. To a chief."


    "I''m not a soldier¡­ It''s actually very simple. Lucia and I discussed it with each other. We want to carry out a very important deal, but we need to make a trip to the elvennds for it."


    Leah looked at me with surprise. Then, she excitedly said, "Papa, are you going to the elvennds? I''ve always wanted to go there. Papa, hasn''t Miss Lucia always said that it''s a great ce? I want to go there. I heard that it''s very warm there, which means that there are definitely flowers. I really want to see the elvennds, Papa."


    "Sorry, Leah, but I can''t take you this time. This is a very urgent matter. It''s not dangerous, but I don''t have time to take care of you or y with you. We must be quick this time and try to get back within a day. Therefore, I can''t take you this time. However, Papa promises that Papa will take you there in the future."


    "Papa has already promised too many things. Leah no longer knows when Papa can fulfil the promises. In fact, Leah is almost about to forget all the things that you promised Leah. That said, it is what it is, so you must hurry back as soon as possible, Papa. You muste back within a day."


    Leah unhappily lowered her head to eat. While she was in a poor mood after being rejected, she was sensible enough to not stubbornly make a scene over it.


    Lucia nodded and seriously replied, "We can make it in less than one day. If we set out at night, we''ll be able to return here at noon the next day."


    "What. Do you n to do?"


    Veirya looked at us and ced down the spoon in her hand. She looked incredibly serious. I exined, "We''re going to the elvennds to bring back some vouring to sell. That''s it. It''s that simple. I just need to buy some vouring. I''ll be back very soon."


    Veirya asked, "You won''t. Leave. And note back. Right?"


    I sincerely responded, "No."


    "You won''t. Go to the elves. Correct?"


    "No."


    "You won''t. Belong to Lucia henceforth. Correct?"


    "No."


    Veirya looked at my eyes. There was no expression in her eyes. It resembled a calm and tranquilke of water. For some reason, though, I felt that she was on edge despite the way her gaze looked. She seemed to be eager to hear that I wouldn''t leave.


    "Good. I feel. You''re not lying. Angelina. Betrayed me. Left me. Now belongs to the chapel. My mom. Went to the chapel. I. Don''t want to experience betrayal. Again."


    After exchanging eye contact with me for a while, she looked away and picked up her spoon again. She just mentioned what she hated most and least wanted to recall, yet she didn''t show any disturbance. Her tone and voice didn''t change. Not even her gaze changed. Nheless, I felt uneasy due to it.


    The experience - her mother''s betrayal - must''ve been the most frustrating and painful thing to her. The issue still weighed on her mind. Therefore, she had misgivings that history would repeat itself with me. I guess Veirya couldn''t ept being betrayed a second time.


    With my eyes on her, I seriously said, "Don''t worry Veirya. I''ll be back before the day ends."


    "I want to go with you, then."


    "There''s no need to, Veirya, it''s not dangerous this time. We just need to pick up some vouring. Also, there''s one more thing: in order to avoid our operation being discovered, Lucia may need to live here for some time."


    "Sure."


    Before I could fully exin the situation, Veirya nodded. Leah looked at Lucia, surprised, while Veirya contently said, "So, we can spend tonight together. We can bath together. Add Leah and him. Tonight. Will be lively."


    "Mm?!"


    "Mm?!"


    The two who had warped views on the three fundamental views didn''t react as though anything strange was said. Lucia and I, on the other hand, were totally stunned! I looked at Lucia.


    <em>''With that body of hers¡­ I can''t seem to find a reason to feel happy¡­''</em>

 Chapter Volume 2 43

    "Have you always been bathing together?!"


    Lucia looked at Veirya with astonishment. Baffled, Veirya tilted her head, "Is there a problem with that, Lucilia? Didn''t we use to bath together?"


    "No, no, no, no, there''s a massive problem, okay?! He''s a man. You''re a girl. Especially¡­ especially¡­."


    Lucia looked at Veirya''s voluptuous breasts and gulped her saliva. I didn''t quite understand what that reaction was supposed to mean, as in, was she jealous or was she eager to grope them? Veirya looked down at her own breasts. She jiggled them with her hands. "What''s the matter? Is there a problem? He is different to me, though. I think that. He''s quite simr to you, however. Especially his chest. I''m so envious of you both. You don''t have to deal with it. Getting in the way when you wield a sword."


    "Hearing you say that makes me feel that you just insulted me. I''m a girl, as well. You''re saying that I resemble a man?! You''re mean!!"


    Lucia, who never felt discontent about her t chest, but Veirya''s straight cross brought her attention to her chest. Lucia angrily looked at me. I was dumbfounded.


    <em>''What does it have to do with me? I''ve always considered you t-chested, but I''ve never explicated it! It''s not my fault!! Moreover, the one who should be hurt is me, shouldn''t it? I''m a man, not to mention the fact that I''ve bathed with Veirya, yet she didn''t notice our differences¡­ Wait, could she feel that the difference is of no significance?! I view her as a goddess, while she views me as a brother?!''</em>


    Lucia grabbed Veirya''s arms and shouted, "Did he ever do anything to you?!! Did you ever do anything that crossed the line, such as groping your breasts or somewhere else?!"


    The scene gave off the vibe of a strange police officer asking an ignorant young girl if she vited the girl.


    <em>''Why do I suddenly feel as though I''ve be a paedophiliac suspect? The heavens can prove that I never vited Veirya. It''s always been her who''s done all sorts of things to me! She''s the one who''s always been initiating! I''ve never even had a chance.''</em>


    "No," answered Veirya, shaking her head. Lucia appeared to be relieved. However, Veirya then added, "I told him. To do so. Is there a problem with that?"


    "Erm¡­"


    Veirya left Lucia speechless. Lucia turned to look at me again but with a considerably sympathetic gaze. "I did think that Veirya might not have awareness with regards to this sort of stuff, but I''ve now realised that she''s totally ignorant of it. My mistake. I''m now very worried about whether or not Veirya will cross the line with you."


    "I didn''t! I didn''t cross the line!"


    I never expected to hear that from Veirya, not to mention the hint of anger in her tone. Lucia immediately raised her hands; she turned and headed to the door. "As a female elf, I won''t bath with a human male before I''m married, so you can take your time with your bath. I''m going to bath in theke outside!"


    I gave Lucia a friendly reminder, "It''s very cold. If you don''t want to bath with me, I can draw some extra hot water for you. That''s fine by me."


    "I don''t want to let a male see my body before marriage, either. We elves are very sensitive about this sort of stuff!"


    It wasn''t as though I was interested in her washboard. Veirya didn''t stop her, either. We watched Lucia leave the building. Veirya didn''tment. I checked the time. Anna and Leah were currently in the kitchen. Leah stood on a wooden barrel. Her naked feet radiated an alluring aura. Her small figure filled one with anticipation. Her small buttocks looked curvaceous thanks to her one-piece suit. She was just a child, but she already had the gics to make her a beauty. She lived up to her reputation as a subus.


    <em>''She won''t be inferior to Veirya when she grows up.''</em>


    Veirya silently sat in front of me. She didn''t do anything. I didn''t n to invite her to y cards. We weren''t in the Witcher, and I couldn''t just invite her to a game of Witcher the Card Game. However, I looked at her with a tinge of anticipation. Honestly speaking, I thought that she''d fly off the handle over the operation I nned just asst time, when she just took me away. I never thought that she''d approve without any qualms. That waspletely different to her past self.


    I broke the silence, "Veirya, do you really approve of it?"


    Veirya looked up at me with her lifeless gaze. "Which ''it''?"


    "Everything that I said; you refused Lucia when she suggested having me go over to help her, yet you approved this time."


    Veirya tilted her head. She reacted as though I was asking the obvious, "Last time, Lucilia mentioned it. She wanted you to go. This time. You asked to go. I think. You. Can''t leave me. So. I agreed."


    "You approved solely because I mentioned it?"


    "If Lucilia wants you to go, you might not be able to return, because she''ll steal you. However, if you want to go, you will return. I, too, won''t interrupt your work."


    Colour me astonished. Veirya''s way of deciding things seemed incredibly simple. Her thought process was that if somebody wanted to borrow me, then she''d never agree, whereas if I took the initiative to suggest it, then she won''t interrupt my work. She''d give permission and wouldn''t get in my way.


    <em>''What the heck? Is she too virtuous or what? She doesn''t get in her man''s way, but won''t allow other women to invite her man. She''s also very confident. She did say that I wouldn''t betray her if I was the one who said I''d go."</em>


    "Is that so¡­?"


    "You want betray me, right?" asked Veirya once again, "Leah. Is also here. So, you wouldn''t. Betray us. I believe. That you are going out for us. Therefore. I won''t interrupt you. Or get in your way. However. I won''t lend you. You''re mine. My spoil of war. I. Won''t let go. You are my spoil of war that Her Majesty gave me. I won''t let anyone snatch you for her sake. You''re my spoil of war. And my honour."


    After Veirya said that, she stood up. "Now. Let''s take a bath. Tidy up a room tonight. For Lucilia."


    "Oh, right, Veirya, do you need a room? Your body won''t hold up if you don''t sleep."


    "I. Don''t need a room. If I''m not downstairs. And dangeres. I can''t. Protect you."


    Veirya''s answer was simple yet decisive. She set her sword on the table then walked away. She undid her shirt buttons.


    What she said wasn''t a confession. In fact, it somewhat hurt my feelings. Veirya didn''t value me, because I was me, but merely because Her Majesty gave me to her.


    <em>''What are the feelings I had for her, then? Can she feel the same way about everyone else as she feels about me?''</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 44

    "Are you done bathing? Oho."


    After the bath, I had to get rid of the water and wipe the floor dry. While I was at it, I had to tidy up the clothes that Leah and Veirya threw before I could turn in, which was why I was dressed in just a thin white shirt in when Lucia returned to the guest room.


    Lucia brushed her short hear and eximed. She gave me a fright, causing me to look up: "What''s wrong?"


    "I thought you already turned in, only to find you still awake¡­ and dressed, like that¡­ "


    Lucia was somewhat surprised, but also somewhat curious as she came up to me. She curiously scanned my body that was adorned in just a thin white shirt. Lucia scanned my body with a mischievous gaze. I felt shy and vignt with her scanning me. I quickly covered my clothes and vigntly looked at her. "What do you want?"


    "Nothing. I''m just very curious, since your body seems different to other humans," answered Lucia .


    Lucia gently pinched my shoulder. All I had was a thin and unadorned shirt, so the cold sensation on her hands instantly prated through to my shoulder. She then leaned into me and gently sniffed my shoulder. With a smile, she remarked, "Indeed, you''re different. You''re different to the human soldiers I met in the past. They had much more muscr bodies than you. During winter, they''ll go shirtless, revealing their hairy chests. They smelt awful; they''re nightmares for us elves. You''re different, however¡­."


    "So what you''re saying is that I don''t have a strange smell?"


    That was a given. I still paid special attention to personal hygiene aftering to this world. We didn''t have shower gels or fragrances, but I, at least, wiped myself down every night with a towel. Leah had a unique scent on her, which I was smothered in the next day after I slept with her in my arms at night. I wasn''t certain if it''s due to Leah''s subus nature that her scent was seductive. Ever since I had that scent on me, thedy that sold vegetables always gave me discounts.


    "That''s one thing. Besides that, though, you don''t carry much muscle, nor do you look sturdy. Nevertheless, you don''t carry excess fat, either."


    Lucia suddenly pinched my waist, thereby nearly causing me tough, as my waist was my most sensitive body part. Lucia, however, didn''t remove her hand. Instead, she roughly felt my waist then undid my buttons. She swiftly touched my chest before I could even react. It was as if she had mastered the manoeuvre¡­


    I shrieked: "Ah!!"


    Lucia caused me to get goose bumps with her cold fingers. She pulled her hand out with a mischievous smile then quickly hopped back. "I knew it. No muscle, but a decent body, nheless. No muscle, but no excess fat, either. Your body is quite proportionate. From that, I can tell that you weren''t a soldier or civil servant. What exactly did you do in the past? Additionally, with a nce, I can tell that your body is different to the humans that I know if. Do you have elven gics in you? Only we elves would be blessed with slender and eloquent physiques."


    "No, I don''t carry elven gics. My previous job wasn''t a civil servant or soldier, either. However, I did need to run around, and I didn''t get to eat a regimented diet. That''s why I''m quite thin."


    I vigntly watched Lucia. She said that she wouldn''t allow anyone of the opposite sex to see her body before married, yet she didn''t seem to have any qualms about touching other people''s bodies¡­ especially my body¡­


    <em>''I bet Lucia felt up Veirya when they bathed together during their days as adventurers¡­ Man, I''m envious of Lucia¡­ I want to feel up Veirya, too¡­''</em>


    I did get to bath with Veirya, but all that I got to do was watch her breasts jiggle in front of me. I got to look, but not being able to touch drove me nuts.


    Content, Lucia hopped to the side then pointed upstairs. "Is my room upstairs? I''ll only stay for one day, as we''ll be leaving tomorrow night and arrive at noon the next day. I''ve had a pigeon send a letter back. I''m sure that our tribe has already prepared the vouring. We''ll leave at night out of consideration for safety."


    I nodded: "All right. Let''s do that, then. You''re the infiltration expert, so I''ll follow yourmand."


    "My n is to be ahead of you. Wait for me at the border of the forest when we arrive, and I''lle fetch you after. If we split up, the chances of us being discovered will be drastically reduced."


    "All right, we''ll do that, then."


    Lucia nodded, "We won''t be pulling over for any stops on the way, so make sure to follow me closely. If you can''t keep up, sound out. The forest is veryrge, so if you get lost, you''re basically never going to make it out. Move as fast as you can to keep up with me. We won''t be taking many breaks, so manage your stamina."


    I nodded: "Got it."


    Lucia responded with another nod then turned and headed upstairs. I had to admit that Lucia was without a doubt a fantastic infiltration adventurer. While we never repaired our stairs, it still creaked when you step on it. Lucia, however, went up with light steps akin to a cat. In other words, her footsteps were silent as if a ghost went up the stairs.


    "By the way, Lucia, I have another question to ask you."


    I suddenly remembered what I promised Leah when I saw the stairs. Lucia turned around: "What is it?"


    "There are lots of flowers in the elvennds, correct?"


    "Of course. All four seasons are akin to spring in ournds. We always have pretty flowers in bloom at all times. Some ces are valleys of bright and beautiful flowers. They look particrly amazing when the wind blows."


    As expected, Lucia was very proud and honoured of her elven lineage. As soon as elves were brought up, she sprang to life. She puffed her t chest out and proudly boasted.


    I solemnly replied, "I wanted to ask if there are any flowers that would be able to handle the weather here. It would be best if it could withstand the cold and bloom in winter. If not, a type that could bloom here in summer would also be fine. I want to y around with the flower beds here for Leah to see the most beautiful flower in the world."


    Lucia froze for a second when she heard Leah''s name. She then frowned: "Flowers that bloom in winter¡­ there really aren''t many. They aren''t pretty even they do. In saying that, I do have a very beautiful flower. Its petalse in seven colours just as a rainbow. If you want it, I can make it so that you have rainbows in your flower garden in summer!"

 Chapter Volume 2 45

    "Papa!"


    As soon as I shut the door, Leah leapt up from the bed. She looked at me while wrapped up in her nket. She frowned: "Papa, you have the scent of an elf on you!! I am not mistaken after smelling the scent of an elf since I first smelt one!!"


    I awkwardly touched her head and dryly chuckled: "It''s just that I ran into Lucia after and had a short chat with her. We didn''t do anything else¡­ honest. We really didn''t do anything¡­"


    "If you just had a chat, would that elf''s scent be on you, Papa?!"


    Leah''s body gradually grew underneath the nket. It was my first time witnessing her transform into her adult form in real time. Leah threw her nket onto the ground in a frustrated manner then angrily hopped off the bed. She came over with her breasts that were jiggling as if they were shaking with anger.


    <em>''I feel that I should grab a barrel.''</em>


    Leah rushed up to me, and then grabbed my chest.


    Leah stabbed her fingernails into my skin. Her nails were very sharp. I felt a sharp pain and the warmth of my own blood spilling out. Her ice-cold gaze made her feel akin to a stranger to me. Leah intently stared at me. Her red eyes brimmed with anger and admonishment. She dug her hands into my flesh. It was so painful that I nearly groaned. However, she immediately leaned into my lip and bit it. Then, she drooled into my mouth!!


    Usually, I fed Leah. This time, though, she gave it everything she had to pass her saliva into my mouth. I could taste her saliva on the tip of my tongue. In the instance the tip of my tongue touched it, my mind instantly went nk. The pain I felt turned into a numb feeling. After my mind went nk, the only sensation that I could feel was the odd numbness. I didn''t want to say or think of anything. I just wanted to hug Leah and pressed her down firmly onto the bed¡­


    "Papa, you''re so mean. You do it over and over and over. First, it was Veirya, now it''s that elf. How many women swarm around you, Papa? You have never considered Leah''s feelings. You said that you would give Leah your gentleness; you said that you would let Leah, alone, enjoy your gentleness, but you''ve never done so, Papa. Whenever you''re with Leah, you always have the scent of another woman on you. Leah no longer ns to put up with it any longer. From now on, if Papa doesn''t keep the promise, Leah will use Papa''s blood to wash off the scent of those other women!"


    "Leah¡­"


    My entire body felt weak. I couldn''t see anything in front of me. The entire room was spinning. I had felt that way before in the past, but never did I feel so dizzy. My body lightly leaned onto Leah''s. I couldn''t do a thing. My body was so weak that I could budge. The only thing that was lively was the one body part that shouldn''t have been in that situation. It was waiting for its moment to shine. I began to lean more of my weight onto Leah. I took in deep breaths of Leah''s scent.


    I only had onest ounce of rationality and shame that prevented me frompletely turning into a sinner. Using my will to control my lust for physical contact was incredibly painful, nheless. The thought of just giving in came to mind countless times; however, it seemed to eat away at too much of my mental energy. As a consequence, my mind turned foggy.


    Leah gave me a light hug and whispered in my ear, "Papa, I''m a subus, you know? My body liquid can cause men to conjure up fantasies. Though the effect doesn''tst long, at the very least, Papa will dream of Leah all night tonight¡­"


    Afterwards, Leah blew in my ear. Her breath went into my ear and took down myst line of mental defence. My vision went dark, and then I passed out on Leah''s body. She was a subus, no doubts there. Despite being a subus who wasn''t sure what she should do, the price I paid as a human was too big.


    I slept particrly deep that night. As Leah said, I had lots and lots of dreams, all of which had to do with Leah. I got to try every single position with her, and we switched positions many times. Hence, I felt tired just dreaming. I finally managed to open my eyes after much struggling.


    When I opened my eyes, the bright sun made me feel dizzy. The wind had blown open the curtain at some point. The warmth of the spring sunlight shone onto my face. I covered my face with my hand then pulled the curtain shot to block the sun out.


    <em>''Judging from the sunlight, I think it''s, at least, noon now.''</em>


    Despite having slept for so long, I was still tired all over. I didn''t want to get up.


    I let out a breath of relief then rolled over. I suddenly felt something very strange in the nket. I had the feeling when I first started middle school¡­


    <em>''This stickiness¡­ wait, it''s dry already¡­ It feels strange as congee poured on your bed¡­''</em>


    <em>''I seemed to have forgotten¡­ what I did¡­st night¡­ and I had so many strange dreamsst night¡­ so, it couldn''t be any more normal for me to react that way¡­</em><em>Nevertheless, when did this happenedst night¡­? What was Leah doing at the time¡­ wait¡­ she could''ve¡­''</em>


    My heart sunk. When I sat up, someone suddenly pushed the door open. Leah struggled to carry a tray of food in. She looked at me and revealed a smile: "Good morning, Papa; or rather, good afternoon. Miss Lucia said that you have to head out tonight; therefore, she said to let you get some extra sleep. Papa, do you want to continue sleeping after you eat?"


    "No¡­ Leah¡­"


    Leah ced the tray on a small desk to the side. She then stood akimbo with a proud look. She looked at me and said, "Oh, yeah, you wet the bedst night, Papa. Do you wet the bed, too, Papa? That was my first time seeing you wet the bed. It''s all right, though, Papa, Leah understands. Leah used to often wet the bed when Leah was young. Don''t worry about it, Papa. Leah won''t tell anyone."


    "No¡­ that''s¡­ Papa didn''t wet the bed¡­ mm¡­ It''s best if you don''t understand." I let out a breath of relief: "Leah, go to Veirya and Anna, first. Papa has clean up the room¡­ after all, it''s quite embarrassing. That''s why I don''t want you to seen."


    "Uhm! If you need help, call Leah! Leah will definitely help!"


    <em>''This isn''t wetting the bed¡­! Moreover, you''re the cause of it!! </em>


    Leah shared her memories with her mature form, so she knew well and truly what she didst night!! She didn''t know what it was¡­


    <em>''That''s fine, that''s fine. Otherwise, I might awaken Leah¡­''</em>


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 46

    Current time at the Imperial Pce.


    The envoy gently ced the chest down in front of Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi crossed one leg over the other. As she enjoyed her ss of wine, she gently made a gesture with her finger for the envoy toe over. The envoy went over and opened up the chest. Inside was an entire chest of gold coins. The total sum was unknown, but it certainly wasn''t a small sum.


    Queen Sisi subtly nodded: "That''ll do. It appears that Achilles didn''t do too shabby this time and earned quite a fair bit at the border."


    "With regards to the one thousand gold coins originally promised you, Mr. Achilles falsely reported it. This is the portion that we promised you. The chapel does not know about this portion, either. The chapel will soon go bankrupt, which will remove the point of having them when they do. However, we will still need to split the earnings from this time with another individual. Mr. Achilles stated that he would send it over ording to the earnings."


    "You still have to split with another individual?" Queen Sisi paused then asked, "Is there really that much of the elven vouring? How is he able to sell another batch?"


    "Yes. Someone has joined us and suggested conducting another deal. We agreed to it. This time, the chapel is not in the loop, which is why we can get a bigger share¡­ With that said, if the chapel finds out, they will most likely overeat. At present, the chapel is going crazy over their financial circumstances. They are so desperate now that they could run a brothel in their chapels."


    Queen Sisi gently pursed her lips: "I don''t care about your business or the chapels. Nevertheless, they dared to levy taxes, when it''s my money. Since they had the audacity to touch my money, I have no choice but to brush them aside. All I have to be responsible for is taking money from you behind the scenes. Frankly, seeing as how you have so many gold coins, I suspect that you didn''t try that hard when the war was waged."


    "Your Majesty, we swear that we provided you with our utmost support for the war!"


    "I know. You don''t need to overreact."


    Queen Sisi shut the chest. She pouted her lips to indicate for a servant to carry the chest away. She then looked at the merchant and softly chuckled: "I heard that there are even better fabrics and more loyal servants in the Eastern nation. Can you get them for me?"


    "Silk and eunuchs? We will do our best to procure them for you."


    "Good."


    Queen Sisi stood up and ced her ss of wine down. She vigorously pulled open the world map on the table. She loudly eximed, "I don''t want a barren piece ofnd. I want the elves'' forest, the dwarves'' valley and the rich nation in the East! My army is invincible. Next, it will depend on whether or not you can provide me with enough money. As long as you can make enough money, I will do everything in my power to fulfil your wishes."


    "Yes, Your Majesty. Mr. Achilles will definitelyplete his task."


    "Good. That said, have you found incriminating evidence against the chapel yet? Additionally, you need a suitable candidate to take down the chapel."


    "We will do our best."


    =========


    Current time at Lord Veirya''s residence.


    "Good afternoon. I never thought you would be able to sleep until now."


    I ate my food.


    It was quite nice to have an Anna. At the very least, Leah and Veirya won''t starve when I''m busy. However, Anna only knew how to prepare quick and simple dishes, which I presume she learned in the military. Fortunately, they weren''t bad.


    When I took the tes, Lucia and Veirya sat at the table and drank tea. Lucia gave me a smile with her eyes narrowed. She greeted me.


    After deliberating it for a long time, I decided to throw the bed sheet and nket out and get new ones. Although there were very few things that were worth much in the house, we did have a fair number of bed sheets, curtains and simr stuff made from fabric. By the looks of it, they didn''t n to take heavy stuff that wasn''t worth money.


    "Since we''re leaving tonight, I n to sleep more to avoid feeling sleepy at night."


    "That''s quite the meticulous thinking!" Lucia nodded. Her long ears twitched just slightly.


    Leah came out of the kitchen with Anna. She grabbed Anna''s hand and cheerfully said something. Leah seemed to be very fond of Anna after spending some time with her, probably because Anna was the only woman who wasn''t close to me¡­ Anna and I lived under the same roof; however, she always thought Veirya and I were a family. As such, she always avoided interacting with me in private. If I was covered in Veirya and Lucia''s scent, I probably didn''t have Anna''s scent on me.


    "Papa!" Leah cheerfully ran over and hugged my thigh when she saw meing down the stars. She sniffed me then giddily giggled. She leapt onto my belly and happily eximed, "This time, you only have Leah''s scent on you! Papa, you must remember not toe back with Lucia''s scent on you, okay?!"


    "I know, I know! You can''t do that to Papa again, though!"


    "Uhm¡­" Leah appeared a little reluctant, but didn''t want to anger me, and thus, involuntarily promised me.


    I caressed Leah''s head then looked over to Lucia: "Lucia, are you ready?"


    "I don''t need to prepare anything. Nobody can detect me at night, not even demons. Moreover, humans have poor senses at night."


    Lucia was very proud of herself. Her confidence worried me. From my perspective, all the confidence in the world was unnecessary. I wanted guarantees. Anyway, Veirya nodded: "Lucia. Very skilled."


    Lucia proudly responded, "Right?! Right?!"


    I looked at Lucia and said, "One more thing, Lucia. If we''re unfortunate and end up being discovered, don''t hurt anyone, understood? We''re no longer in a war with demons. If you, an elf, kill humans, that''ll be a diplomatic issue. It might even instigate a war between elves and humans."


    Lucia nonchntly waved it off: "Don''t worry; don''t worry. Nobody will notice me. Plus, would the townsfolk here even notice anything? The townsfolk don''t know about our business, and nobody will jump us, right? I won''t hurt them. Rest assured."


    "True that¡­"


    She was right about that¡­ The townsfolk didn''t seem to be aware of what we were trying to do. Plus, the chapel was probably still in the dark¡­


    ========


    Current time at a store interior.


    "I''ll talk!! I''ll tell you everything!!"


    The man''s woeful cries echoed in between the fabric. Angelina indifferently threw the child, who she grabbed the throat of, onto the ground. The child virtually couldn''t breathe. The child curled up on the ground but couldn''t even cry. Angelina walked up to the man simrly to a hunter stalking its prey. She coldly asked, "So, what do you know?"


    "Leah, that girl Leah is a subus!! She''s a subus!! Also, also, they''re nning to sell vouring behind your backs! I''ve told you everything!! I''ve told you everything!"


    "I see."


    Angelina''s expression didn''t change. She turned around and walked over to the child on the ground as well as the woman who was knocked out. Angelina was a woman of her word. She didn''t harm his family, as he confessed.


    I, however, didn''t know about what happened, yet.

 Chapter Volume 2 47

    Veirya and Lucia didn''t have a habit of taking afternoon maps. I, too, had a short nap just a while ago.


    Lucia sat at the table. Leah sat next to her and looked at the odd letters that Lucia wrote with curiosity. Lucia was in the middle of earnestly teaching Leah the elvennguage. Leah could verballymunicate, but she was illiterate. Perhaps her ability tomunicate with all races was credited to her subus nature. Still, she was illiterate.


    The demon race should''ve had their own literacy system as well as culture; however, Leah knew neither of them. Being someone who transmigrated here, the reason I could read was because it all appeared as Chinese to me. What I wrote can be understood, but I had no idea how to exin what it meant. Veirya seemed to be an amateur with humanity''s literacy, while Lucia seemed to be an erudite. Besides teaching Leah how to read and write, she even gave simple lessons on music construction and history.


    Leah curiously checked out the words. She enthusiastically studied. I didn''t think there was an issue with letting Leah learn elven culture, as she might have to live at the border of the elvennds and humanity''snds for a long time.


    I ced a cup of tea in front of Lucia and smiled: "I see that you''re very well educated, Lucia."


    Lucia looked up at me feeling proud:That''s a given. I''m a child of the most ancient tribe among elves. As the most outstanding elven descendent, I obviously have to acquire adequate knowledge. We''re not just a race that only values archery and swordy, but also hold intellect and knowledge in high regard."


    Leah looked up with a smile: "Papa, the elven letters are so interesting. I''ve never learnt this sort of stuff before, but I really want to learn more now. Once I learn more, I''ll be able to read those books, right? I''ll be able to learn about lots of interesting things, right?! Papa, I want to learn to read humanity''s texts, too! I want to read humanity''s stories and understand them!"


    "I see¡­ Veirya?"


    I nced over to Veirya to call for help.


    <em>''Seriously, I don''t recognise humanity''s texts. What I see and what my brain processes are two totally different things. I can read and write, but I can''t teach you.''</em>


    Veirya nced at Leah and picked up where I left: "I, too, am not very good at this. However, I can also. Teach you to read."


    No¡­ Truth be told, I didn''t want Leah to merely learn to read. I wanted her to learn more. At the very least, I wanted her to learn everything that she should be taught. I didn''t want her to grow up to be an ordinary woman in society who only knew how to read.


    "Oh, right, what about Angelina? Veirya, who taught you to read? It wasn''t the military, was it?"


    "Mm¡­"


    Veirya refused to admit it, but from her reaction, it seems that Angelina <em>was </em>the one who taught her to read. In addition, if my conjecture was correct, the chapel that Angelina sided with should''ve provided the highest level of education. In the old days, so-called schools were chapels. Subsequently, I''d assume that Angelina was very educated.


    Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Lucia''s ears twitched, while Veirya directly told me who was outside. Veirya drew her sword without any hesitation, freezing Lucia stiff in ce with fright. I helplessly smiled. I opened the door. Angelina was outside just as Veirya said. She looked at us with an emotionless look; I, therefore, assumed that she had business to talk about.


    I asked, "What''s the matter Angelina?"


    I looked at Angelina. While seeing her now wasn''t a bad thing, she did side with the chapel when it came down to it; therefore, it might not have been a good thing for her to suddenly visit us before we were about to do something behind the chapel''s back.


    Angelina asked, "Leah here?"


    Leah ran over and cheerfully looked at her: "Sister Angelina!"


    Angelina picked Leah up without a word, and then spun around to leave. Both Leah and I were stunned in ce by Angelina''s sudden action. Nevertheless, Veirya immediately reacted. She grabbed me by my cor and yanked me back inside. Then, she charged over to Angelina. Angelina swiftly spun around and used her sword handle to block Veirya''s horizontal sh.


    Veirya looked incredibly aggressive. She looked at Angelina and coldly demanded, "Put Leah down!"


    Angelina looked at her and in a somewhat anxious tone, replied, "You don''t get it. Leah isn''t safe here with you."


    Veirya narrowed her eyes then leapt over and swung down again. Angelina didn''t draw her sword. She blocked Veirya''s sh with her sword handle again. Veirya was very cautious when she attacked, doing her absolute best to refrain from hurting Leah. Nheless, Angelina didn''t draw her sword, which made it evident that she didn''t want to hurt Veirya.


    "What now?" asked Lucia.


    Lucia drew her dagger at her waist, but nkly stood in ce without knowing what she should do. She didn''t know who to help. On one side, there was Angelina. On the other side, there was Veirya. It was a mother and daughter fight. Lucia didn''t know who to help.


    Scared, Leah shrieked and leaned onto Angelina''s shoulder. I sprinted over to grab Veirya''s cape. She turned back to shoot me a furious look. She shouted, "Can''t you see that she''s trying to snatch Leah?!"


    "Calm down, first, Veirya. I''m sure that Angelina has her reasons. She shouldn''t snatch Leah for no rhyme or reason."


    I quickly grabbed Veirya''s arm. She furiously shook me off, while Angelina looked at me as though she was grabbing onto straws. She solemnly said, "I can''t tell you the reason, for I''m the chapel''s soldier. I can''t reveal the chapel''s ns. That being said, I can tell you that Leah will be in danger if she''s with you. I''ll protect her. I won''t stop you, but I''ll protect her."


    I was startled: "You mean¡­ the chapel is taking action?"


    Tension gripped my nerves and heart. Angelina didn''t respond.


    Apparently, Angelina really didn''t want to speak about the chapel''s affairs. She was guarding their secret. I, however, already knew what was about to happen. By the sounds of things, the chapel must''ve already been informed of our n. I didn''t know how they found out, but it was a fact that they knew.


    I wouldn''t be around at night, which meant that it was possible that they might kidnap Leah to force us to give them a share. Angelina happened to be the only one capable of defeating Veirya. Hence, once Angelina found out, she came to protect Leah. I wouldn''t rule that possibility out.


    Veirya thundered, "You''re the chapel''spdog!! If the chapel wants to harm Leah. Aren''t you doing exactly that. By taking Leah away?!"


    Truthfully, our thinking aligned. If the chapel wanted to kidnap Leah, Angelina couldn''t be trusted, because she was still with them. If they nned to kidnap Leah at night, Angelina taking her away now was the same oue.


    Angelina wasn''t foolish as Veirya. She had brains. If she could kidnap Leah without shedding any blood, that was perfect.


    Angelina yelled, "Trust me! I can''t tell you what the chapel wants, but¡­ but, I really don''t want to hurt Leah. I genuinely want to protect her. Trust me!"


    Veirya, who was next to me, resembled a huge dog ready to gnaw Angelina''s head off.


    Angelina was with the chapel. While I had a good impression of her from the previous ordeal, I let the chapel''s knight, who was unwilling to reveal the chapel''s ns, take Leah away.


    I demanded, "Angelina, put Leah down."


    I tightly grabbed Leah''s hand; Leah wrapped her arms around my neck and loudly cried. I gently stroked her back. I looked at Angelina and seriously said, "I''m grateful for your kind gesture, but we can protect Leah. I can''t trust you. Leah is my most precious treasure. I can''t thoughtlessly entrust her to someone."


    "You¡­"


    Angelina wore a distressed look. She blinked several times. Frustrated, she gripped her clothes. She looked back at us and went to speak. She seemed to have something to say to Veirya. Her lips continued to tremble. She looked at her daughter in a tense manner. She genuinely wanted to say something, but Veirya didn''t give her the opportunity. She aimed her sword at Angelina''s throat and looked into her eyes. She coldly enunciated two words: "Get. Lost."


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 48

    Thest glimpse I had of Angelina''s gaze made me feel bad. Her gaze was filled with despair and pain, yet she had no means of expressing herself. However, Veirya was akin to an Easter Ind state. She totally ignored the deep feelings Angelina held for her.


    That was a mother''s desire to protect her child and her guilt toward her. Her gaze looked just as full of despair when she looked at me. I felt as though Angelina was right. Perhaps she genuinely wanted to help Leah. After all, the chapel wouldn''t search Angelina''s room if they couldn''t find Leah at our ce. In saying that, I wouldn''t be able to do anything once Angelina decided to capture Leah. In fact, I might end up revealing that Leah was a subus.


    Once the chapel took drastic measures and strangled Leah, what would I do? If I didn''t trust Angelina, Leah might''ve been safe. If I blindly trusted Angelina, I wouldn''t be able to save Leah once something unfortunate happened. I believed that Veirya was more capable of protecting Leah than Angelina was.


    "Papa¡­"


    Leah wept on my shoulder. I tightly hugged her around her neck then I gently stroked her back to calm her. Voice soft, I said, "It''s all right. It''s all right, Leah. Papa will protect you. Papa won''t let anything happen to you. Papa promises not to let anything happen to you."


    Leah tightly hugged me and buried her head in my neck: "Papa¡­ I''m so scared¡­ I''m so scared¡­ I''m so scared¡­ Please don''t go¡­ Papa¡­. please¡­ don''t go¡­ please¡­ don''t go at night¡­ please, Papa¡­ please protect me¡­ Don''t leave me¡­"


    I gently stroked Leah''s head and back to try to calm her down. s, she continued to sob next to my ear. I could understand her sentiment. A child would want to be with an adult they trusted and could rely on when discussing their safety.


    She wanted me to protect her. I did want to protect her. I really wanted to protect her. Leah was my precious treasure, my most precious treasure. A few thousand gold coins couldn''t hold a candle to Leah. I just wanted to protect my Leah and stay by her side forever. Unfortunately, I couldn''t.


    I made a promise to Lucia. In my eyes, credibility was the more important than anything. I wouldn''t face any repercussion for backing out then, but I wouldn''t be able to do business with Achilles again for Leah''s sake. I wouldn''t be able to be a voice of reason with the elf, Lucia, either. While Leah was more important than anything, by protecting Leah instead of going, I''d have ended her future.


    I wanted the opportunity. I wanted to change Leah''s future. Additionally, if the chapel really did want to kidnap Leah for their agenda, I couldn''t stop them even if I stayed with her. Leah would only have a future if Ipleted the job.


    It wasn''t a simple trade. Only by building a friendly rtionship with elves and Achilles, would the town''s economye to life. Only then could I start making money for Leah.


    "Veirya, I beg you," I said. I turned to face Veirya: "Veirya, please make sure to protect Leah during my absence. Please, you must protect Leah."


    "Papa!!" Leah shrieked and tightly hugged me. She refused to let go at all costs.


    I didn''t bother with her screams again. I clenched my teeth and sternly looked at Veirya. Veirya looked back lifelessly. There was no emotion in her eyes. But nheless, that indifferent Veirya reassured me


    "Veirya, this is a sincere plead, a very, very sincere plead. I hope that you can protect Leah as you protect Her Majesty. She''s very important to me. I hope that you can protect Leah. I can''t protect her by her side this time, so I hope I can trust you, and I hope you can protect her."


    After a moment of silence, Veirya handed me her sword: "Here."


    I dawdled for a moment, for I didn''t know what to do. Veirya didn''t hesitate. She held the handle up to Leah''s face. Leah fearfully leaned onto my shoulder. She didn''t dare to raise her head to look at the ice-cold metal. Veirya seriously said, "I''m giving my sword. To you. I''ll fulfil your wish. I''ll definitely protect Leah."


    "Uhm¡­"


    Although Veirya was expressionless, her gaze was the same as usual. Nevertheless, I felt settled and reassured when Veirya handed me her sword. I also felt as though I had a reliable strength. Veirya held her sword up to me and calmly looked at me: "I will. Protect Leah."


    "Uhm. Remember, though, Veirya, don''t start killing anyone. If you kill someone, the nature of the problem will change."


    Puzzled, Veirya tilted her head: "How do I protect Leah. If I don''t kill, though?"


    I answered, "Protecting someone doesn''t mean that you have to kill! Veirya, you just need to protect Leah. I''ll be back at noon tomorrow. You just need to ensure the chapel doesn''t get their hands on Leah tonight."


    Veirya nodded: "Uhm."


    Leah still had her arms tightly wrapped around my neck and refused to let go. I gently stroked her head. I softly sad, "Leah, Papa can''t change Papa''s ns for tonight. Stay home with Veirya. Veirya will protect you."


    "No!! I don''t want that woman! That woman tried to kill me before!! I don''t want to stay with her!!I Don''t want to stay with her!! I want Papa to protect me! I want Papa to stay with me! I don''t want that woman!!"


    Leah loudly protested with her arms still tight around me. Veirya came up to us and gently grabbed Leah''s body. Unfortunately for her, Leah spun around and punched Veirya in the face with her tiny hand.


    "Go away!! Go away, damn woman! Don''te near my Papa!! And don''te near me, either!!"


    Leah cried as she yelled at Veirya. Veirya paused for a moment. She didn''t care about the punch that Leah gave her. Instead, she looked at Leah even more seriously. She sincerely said, "Leah, I really. Want to protect you."


    "Go away!"


    "Leah, be a good girl."


    I forcibly pulled Leah''s arms off my neck. Leah wailed and struggled. I crouched down to put her down. I solemnly looked into her eyes. I pressed my hands down on her shoulders to stop her from diving into my chest again. I said, "Leah, Leah, calm down, first, calm down. Papa promises to protect you, but Papa must go tonight. This is for your future, for you to study what you want and see those flowers. Papa has to go tonight to ensure that you can see those things. This is for you. Leah, trust Veirya. Papa has always trusted Veirya."


    "Papa¡­ Papa¡­ I don''t want a future¡­ I just want to be with Papa now¡­"


    "Leah, you can think that way, but Papa can''t, because only that way, can Papa be your Papa."


    I mustered up everything I had to make a ruthless decision. I pushed Leah over to Veirya. Leah struggled by kicking and punching Veirya, but Veirya didn''t release her. Then, Lucia came up from my side: "It seems that we can''t go tonight. Let''s take this opportunity to hurry and leave."


    I nodded: "Uhm."


    If the chapel knew about our n, we might be stopped while we were on the mission. Therefore, it was better to take the initiative considering the situation. We had to seed. This was about Leah''s future. I couldn''t focus solely on the present. I had to take Leah''s future into consideration. My goal was to allow Leah to live in the imperial capital, receive an exemry education and be epted by everyone. I was her father. All of those things were my responsibility!!

 Chapter Volume 2 49

    <em>Before the Storm</em>


    Lucia turned around and shouted at me, "Do you think you were too heartless?"


    The loud winds by her ears impacted her hearing. I covered my mouth and didn''t say anything. My horse was rocking a bit, which made me feel somewhat nauseous, since I wasn''t used to it. I didn''t n to engage in a discussion on the topic, because I somewhat regretted my decision. The further and further I went away from Leah, the more and more worried and regretful I felt. I didn''t want to talk about it. I was truly afraid. If I spoke about it, I really would just run straight back to Leah.


    Lucia and I sped out of the town on horseback. I knew that the chapel definitely saw us leave; but nheless, I didn''t n to hide our ns any longer. Angelina already knew what we were nning. As such, there was no point in being concerned about them discovering us. All we needed to worry about was being attacked. However, I was certain that the chapel wouldn''t dare to attack Lucia, for if humans attacked elves, it would create a huge political debacle. Furthermore, the Queen wouldn''t help them when trouble came knocking. She wouldn''t hesitate to throw the chapel, a pawn, to the elves to appease their anger.


    I was worried about Leah, though. I didn''t know how much the chapel knew. Nevertheless, they should''ve known that Leah was a subus. Nobody knew her true identity, after all. Even if the merchant did, I surmised he wouldn''t tell the chapel given that he was a merchant.


    Logically speaking, the chapel would want to use Leah as a bargaining chip in negotiations in order to force me to hand over my shares in exchange for Leah. That was why I wasn''t worried about her safety if she was captured. The chapel wouldn''t hurt Leah. Damaging your own goods is as stupid as stupid gets.


    In saying that, if it was Leah''s subus nature that was revealed, the chapel and townsfolk would mercilessly kill her on the spot. The townsfolk would even side with the chapel. In fact, they''d join hands to drive us out. We might not even be able to take Leah back, even if we paid them at that point. They might even force us to hand over the rights to long-term trade between the merchant and elves.


    While I knew it was unlikely the chapel knows about Leah''s subus identity, humans were prone to making very bold assumptions when they weren''t informed. That was what worried me most. I was still scared out of my wits despite knowing that Veirya was protecting Leah. I did my absolute best to maintain myposure so that I couldplete the transaction. Sadly, Leah''s image remained in my mind.


    Veirya was a soldier who could y the Demon King. I also witnessed her strength. Logically speaking, I shouldn''t have needed to be too worried about Leah''s safety. Stubborn Veirya promised to protect Leah, so she''d definitely bravely and determinedly protect Leah as a knight would. I felt that I didn''t need to worry, yet couldn''t help myself. After all, the chapel had Angelina.


    If there''s only one person in this world who could be a threat to Veirya, it''d be Angelina. Angelina was able to guard against Veirya''s attacks without drawing her sword. Veirya was worried about Leah, true, but I could tell that they were closely matched.


    Angelina is a very dutiful knight. If she truly wanted to help us protect Leah and we rejected her, then she''d fight for Leah for the chapel''s sake when the timees. As a matter of fact, she wouldn''t hold back. She''de with everything she had to capture Leah.


    <em>''Can Veirya and Anna really protect Leah together?'' It''s hard to say. I must finish this as soon as I can and rush back. The chapel won''t be able to do anything once I return with money. I''ll bring thepany with me, and the chapel won''t be able toy their hands on Leah. I, on the other hand, can extort them under false usations. However, that''s all for the future. Right now, I just hope that Leah is safe and sound¡­''</em>


    Lucia didn''t speak again, since she noticed that I didn''t. The two of us raced through the forest. Fortunately, our battles steeds were able to discern trees as obstacles and circle around them. If I was driving a car, I wouldn''t be able to weave between so many trees. The forest was densely packed. Not even the sun was visible - courtesy of the tree leaves. It only was <em>almost </em>night time, yet it was already night time in the forest.


    The sound of the horse hooves were stifled by the leaves that had been on the ground for ages. We weren''t entering the night from this side of the elvennds. I was probably going to see what a truly pitch ck forest meant. My elven name might''ve meant Owl, but I couldn''t see all the schemes in the dark.


    ========


    Current time inside the chapel at the Imperial Capital.


    <strong>*Cough!! Cough!*</strong>


    "Miss! Miss!! Calm down. Calm down."


    The young girl weakly leaned on the edge of the bed. She coughed up mouthfuls of blood with every cough. She scowled because of the pain. She loudly coughed up more mouthfuls of blood, but it appeared that her coughing frequency couldn''t keep up with the rapid rate that her body wanted to eliminate blood from her body. As a matter of fact, she began to bleed a little from her nose. The bed sheet and tablecloth to the side was, therefore, stained with red blood.


    The maid ran up to her in a flustered manner, but she couldn''t do anything to help the young girl. All she could do was shakily hand her a silver cup. She softly said, "Miss, this is for you. This is holy water that your father, personally, blessed. It can definitely defeat the demon inside you¡­ Miss, stay strong¡­ His Excellency will definitely find a way to expel the demon from you when he returns from the North. You must believe in him."


    The young girl gently grabbed the silver cup with her pale fingers. It seemed that the cup as too heavy for the girl, and therefore required the maid to gently help her lift it to her bloody mouth. The girl coughed up red blood again. Her tears coursed down her pretty face. She looked at her maid and in a voice of despair, asked, "Am¡­ am¡­ am I¡­ going to die?"


    "You will not! You definitely not die! Your father is the bishop everyone loves. God will definitely remember the sacrifices your family has made. He will not let you die. As long as your father can make enough money this time, he will definitely be able to purchase the best medication. He definitely will be able to, Miss. You must stay strong until your father returns!"


    "I don''t want to die¡­ Marian¡­ I don''t want to die¡­"


    "Miss!! You will not die! You will not die!! His Excellency will definitely expel the demon from you at all costs! You must stay strong! Please take this cross and earnestly pray. God will not give up on any of his citizens. Please remember that!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 50

    <em>First Meeting with the Elves</em>


    "How much longer?"


    Perhaps it was alreadyte at night. I made the assumption, for I couldn''t see anything. All I could see was the bright decoration on Lucia''s waist dancing around. Of course, if the bright triangle green mark was moving on my waist, I''d feel a bit morefortable. However, the result might be very frightening. I was felt a little poor, though, due to the rocking. The wind induced a headache.


    Lucia, who was in front, turned her had around and yelled, "We''ve arrived."


    It was still pitch ck in front of me. Lucia tugged her horse reins. I couldn''t react in time; fortunately, Lucia was quick enough to grab my cloak, thereby pulling me off my horse. Hence, it continued running forward. I heard something sharp stab into flesh. The next thing that I heard was the horse falling to the ground heavily and itsst groan.


    Lucia threw me onto the ground. I almost yelled as a result. To be fair, though, Lucia, being as small in stature as she was, couldn''t hold up a grown man with one arm. She massaged her arm then yelled out inint toward to the darkness, "Can''t you be a little nicer to your own kind and guests?"


    Someone in the darkness replied, "Our own kind would know of our existence, while guests would see the sign ''Do not enter, Strangers'', on the threes up ahead."


    I heard rustling from both sides of the bushes. I rubbed my eyes. I didn''tck vitamin A, but I still couldn''t see how the elves, who appeared in the darkness, looked. Perhaps it was too dark. Suddenly, a few sparks appeared followed by a lit up torch. I saw a group of elves dressed in uniform armour with identical triangr sailor caps. They all had long swords hanging at their waists and a timber bow in their hand. Their long ears were the same as Lucia''s, except that they didn''t wear expressions simr to the elves I imagined. Their gazes didn''t contain a tinge of friendliness, and neither were their actions.


    <em>''What happened to the stories of elves being friendly and peaceful? I''ve never seen a friendly race shoot down someone''s horse and them before they even met.''</em>


    "Human, you should be aware that we elves don''t wee any humans in our forest."


    The male elf drew his long sword as he approached me. I quickly raised my hands to indicate that I wasn''t hostile as I slowly backed down. I lingered for a moment before speaking: "I wasn''t aware. I don''t know much about you elves¡­ I''ve only just arrived here¡­"


    "Hah!" The male elf broke out into hystericalughter. He aimed his sword up to my neck and coldly said, "We don''t like you humans and your glib tongues. You humans'' have been proven yourselves to be liars with elven blood too many times. Either you get lost now, or you can join your horse."


    <strong>*ng!*</strong>


    Lucia knocked the sword away and dashed out in front of me. She coldly looked at the elf in front and sternly eximed, "I wrote a letter to you already. This human is my friend; he''s our friend who''s here to help us. We don''t wee humans, but we''ve always trusted our friends andrades. Is this how you treat my friend!"


    The elf immediately bowed his head as a sign of apology, "I am very sorry, Madam Lucia. I am very sorry."


    The other elves behind also immediately bowed and loudly apologised to me: "We are very sorry, esteemed friend. Please forgive our rudeness."


    "No, it''s nothing¡­ I don''t mind it. More important, have you prepared the vouring?"


    "Yes."


    The elf in front of me immediately handed me a small bag. I took it. I was truly grateful for the gold that was light as a feather. The product was worth thousands of gold coins, yet was just this small bag in front of me. I opened it. The elf passed me a torch. I took out a few grains of the vouring and held it up to the me to take a look. The sad part was that I couldn''t get a clear visual of the vouring underneath the me. Plus, I didn''t have a scale to measure the weight.


    "Rest assured. We elves are honest andpetent. We provided the right volume. We can stake our integrity on it. As for the quality, you will be satisfied."


    Lucia leaned over to me and took a look at the vouring. I could tell that Lucia nned to rush back. Indeed, a long night meant more chances of nightmares; therefore, it was best for us to hurry back. I was sure that the elves wouldn''t reduce the volume. If there hypothetically was less, it didn''t matter as long as I was paid. It was that simple.


    I said, "All right. We''ve obtained your vouring and shall return now."


    I fastened the bag up. As an insurance measure, I tied it to my belt with two loops. The elves nodded, and Lucia reciprocated it. She stretched her hand out: "Hand me your sword, bow and arrows. We might run into trouble on the way back."


    "We shall fight by your sides, then!"


    I immediately protested to end the elves desire: "You mustn''t do that!"


    The elves were totally different to how I imagined them. They were ecstatic as soon as they heard there''d be fighting. They seemed incredibly keen to rip the enemies up. I sternly said to the elf in front, "The people chasing us are humans. If you kill humans, humanity and elves may be faced with a hostile standoff. You''re allies that fought the demon race together. Do you really want to ignite another war over this after the war ended?"


    "If your humans attack our hero, then that is a deration of war against us, as well. We elves are not afraid ofbat. If you humans want another war, we will not hesitate to ept your challenge!"


    "Stop. I know that you''re all brave, but war is never a good thing."


    <em>''No shit, Sherlock!'' </em>


    The first one to cop the bullet if a war broke out was Veirya. Our territory was on the border of humanity and elves'' territories, so she''d be the first one to be attacked. That was why I couldn''t allow the war to happen.


    Lucia strapped on a bow, arrows and her long sword: "I''m fine either way, but let''s put aside a war with humanity for now. We have another war, one that belongs to us. Pretend as though you knew nothing about this. I will deal with this. I won''t let anyone hurt me; however, I don''t want for this to lead to a bigger conflict."


    "We shall follow yourmand, Madam Lucilia."


    The elf in front bowed to her. Lucia dismounted: "I can''t ride with somebody on one horse anyway. Walking at night is pretty much the same as riding a horse. We''re heading back now. Go back and inform my brother. Tell him to prepare to fight. This time, we must save our forest!!"

 Chapter Volume 2 51

    <em>Surrounded By Danger</em>


    With her bow in her hand, Lucia turned around to tell me, "Here, grab my belt. It''ll be troublesome if you get lost in the forest. Grab onto my belt, and don''t let go. I don''t know what will happen at night, but I believe that humans won''t show any mercy when they strike. The chapel''s knights may have already been sent out. I''ve seen their knights before; they''re excellent soldiers."


    "Is it really a wise idea to travel without a horse? We need to hurry, you know?"


    I grabbed Lucia''s belt, so I felt the warmth of her waist. Lucia had a very slender waist; or rather, her body as a whole was slender. Maybe it was a trait elves had. The male elf didn''t look tough, either. He looked a good dealnkier than humans. Hence, Lucia wouldn''t like muscr humans. After all, they were different from the previous men that she knew.


    Lucia began to walk. I had no idea how she was able to see the path in the dark, because all I saw was a ck wall. Due to the densely packed leaves, the moonlight couldn''t shine through. The tree trunks that looked dark brown during the day now looked as though they came out of a horror flick. I felt as though I was a man who was locked inside a dark green cage without any oxygen. The forest didn''t feel so spooky during the day, but it made me feel tense and gloomy simrly to being in a prison at night.


    Lucia was very fast. I felt a somewhat slicing sensation despite holding onto her belt. Lucia, however, was very considerate; she filled me in on where trees and ditches were, thereby preventing me from tripping. Besides our footsteps and rustling leaves, nothing else was audible. We headed toward the city. It felt as though we''d travelled a long distance, yet I couldn''t hear anything.


    Lucia stopped in her tracks when we reached a huge tree. She turned around and suggesed, "Let''s take a break. We have to maintain our stamina advantage, after all."


    Her long ears twitched as though they were capable of picking up sounds: "There are no other footsteps or horse hooves. Going by the status quo, it''s still safe. We''re already about half-way there."


    "Already?"


    "You can take some shortcuts in the forest if you''re not riding a horse. That''s why we''re able to go even faster than on horseback. Besides, horses can''t go too fast in forests, anyway. Our stamina, though, is extremely important. We must ensure that our stamina is at its peak at all times; that way, we''ll be ready for attacks at any moment."


    I softly panted. I said, "I''m all right. My stamina can keep up. Let''s continue. We can continue walking. We''re already half-way there; let''s hurry."


    "I know that you''re in a hurry. It''s fine to go back to protect Leah. That said, now is not the time to be acting tough. Walking in the forest is extremely taxing. There''ll be people targeting us soon orter. We were in elven territory before, so they could''ve aided us if we were in a pinch. However, in human territory, nobody will be able to support us if the chapel chooses then to attack us. That''s why we must ensure that we have enough stamina to fight and run."


    "¡­"


    I didn''t reply. I sat down and leaned on the tree trunk. I looked in the direction of my home. I was seriously anxious. I couldn''t ask for anything more than to go home. We obtained the vouring. We just need to get back, hand it to Achilles, and missionplete. Leah would also be safe, while the chapel wouldn''t be able to interfere with our lives again or harm Leah. As of current, I had no idea what happened with the chapel or what exactly they wanted to do with Leah.


    <em>''Is Leah safe right now?''</em>


    I desperately wanted to head back immediately. I''d be able to put an end to it all once we were back. That said, I knew that I should heed Lucia''s advice in our situation. I couldn''t be idiotic and blindly run back. Lucia was an expert at operating in the forest, so I should follow hermand in the forest. If I blindly charged as chuunibyou main male protagonists do in our situation, I really might be ughtered by the chapel hiding in ambush.


    The chapel wouldn''t spare me. They''d either kidnap Leah topletely rob me, or just kill me and snatch the goods. It wasn''t as if there''d be witnesses in the forest to incriminate them. They could just pass it off as some wild beast killing me. Therefore, the more panicked I was, the more I needed to stress keeping calm.


    Lucia didn''t say anything else. She grabbed her quiver of arrows from her back. She took out an arrow, scanned the tip and the adjusted the degree of tension on her bowstring. She didn''t wear her previous rxed expression; instead, she looked very stern. She looked ready for a fight to the death.


    Lucia''s long ears continued to twitch non-stop. She surveyed the forest the entire time with her ears. Unfortunately, I couldn''t hear anything. All I could hear was the sound of the wind and rustling leaves. The two of us didn''t speak. I tightly clenched my fists and waited. A momentter, Lucia stood up: "All right, we can continue now. However, I might speed through the rest of the journey. You must hang on tightly to my belt. Don''t let go, don''t be scared, don''t scream and don''t go weak in the legs."


    "Did you hear something?"


    "Yes, I heard a lot. I heard horse hooves and armour. It sounds as though they''reing from your side. There are about thirty people. They should be the chapel''s knights. I''ll try my best to avoid confrontations, but once a fight breaks out, you must stick to me."


    I always knew very well that the chapel would definitely spring into action and try something when they found out about our deal. It was totally possible for them to kill us to then rob the foods from us. Previously, I was very nervous about that, but when they took actual action, I was a lot calmer, because, at the very least, things were ying out how I predicted. Veirya protected Leah back home. If they sent people to search for us, it meant that we weren''t far from the town.


    Lucia quickly sped through the forest. I didn''t know how to stifle the sound of my footsteps. I was honestly worried that the sounds of my footsteps would give us away. Lucia wasn''t worried, nevertheless. She loaded up her bow as she swiftly moved. Eventually, I could hear weapons and metal grinding.


    If they were only humans, I wouldn''t be worried, since I could see fires between leaves. Not even the chapel''s knights could possess the enhanced senses of elves. Lucia knew the forest as well as the back of her hand. It was unlikely the soldiers would discover us unless Lucia gave off our location.


    And as I surmised, Lucia avoided confronting the humans. We advanced by going around anywhere with fire. We maintained a safe distance from the mes even if they approached us just ever so slightly. Just when I felt reassured, Lucia suddenly halted in her tracks. Just as I was about to ask why she stopped, I found out why she was shocked.


    "Woof!!!"


    Dogs began to bark¡­


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 52

    <em>Wound Inflicted by a Combat Mastiff''s</em>


    "They''ve unleashed dogs!!" eximed Lucia.


    Lucia then grabbed me by my cor and ran forward. I staggered behind as I tried to keep up with her. She wore a very tense expression. She turned her head around and shouted, "Can you climb trees?"


    "No."


    Sorry, I could climb trees and drive cars, but, unfortunately, to a man living in the city jungle of the modern day, climbing trees was an unnecessary skill. I didn''t need to climb trees to find my managers or grab strange things, either.


    "We''ve got a problem, then. Even children can climb trees, so why are there so few of you humans who can climb them? If you could climb trees and leap from them, we''d be able to escape. Now, though, we''ve got a much more troublesome situation¡­"


    Lucia suddenly halted, and then yanked me aside. I pathetically retreated two steps, only to crash into a tough tree trunk behind me. I lost my bnce and cried out as I tripped into the pile of rotten leaves. Finally, I banged my head on the tree branch, thereby almost passing out.


    Lucia deftly set up her bow. She fired off an arrow with a crisp "twang", and the arrow whistled through the air. A few short bodies were sent flying as they attempted to charge over. They didn''t even get a chance to cry out. However, there was a hunting dog that approached. It barked as it leapt toward Lucia. Lucia swiftly sidestepped; she dexterously grabbed it by its ears then used moment to leap up. While she was in the air, she drew an arrow and ran it through the dog''s neck.


    "Lucia, there''s another!!"


    Uponnding, another hunting dog from another shrub leapt toward Lucia before she could regain her footing. I quickly got to my feet. Using my hands and feet, I sprang over to Lucia to pull her down to the ground so that she could dodge the attack. But nheless, the dog spun around as soon as itnded and bit my foot.


    "Aarggh!!"


    I wasn''t wearing any armour, while my boots couldn''t shield me from its sharp teeth. I was certain that the mastiff''s teeth had been reinforced with steel. It bit into my ankle. I couldn''t help groaning in pain due to the sharp pain. My ankle was virtually bitten off. I couldn''t tell if my ankle was attached or not due to the pain. As a matter of fact, I felt the mastiff had snapped my bone.


    "Die!" brayed Lucia.


    Lucia got out from underneath me then leapt at the mastiff. Furious, Lucia jumped onto its back and snapped its neck that was still biting onto my leg instead of using her dagger or arrows. She then sliced its top lip off to pull my leg out from its mouth.


    "Aah!! Argh!!"


    The sharp pain in my foot didn''t stop throbbing. It felt as though it was ripping apart all of my nerves. I looked at my foot in terror. I felt that my foot could''ve been amputated. The shock and terror of losing a body part and death wiped my mind nked. I shakily grabbed my calf and tried to stop the bleeding.


    Lucia looked at my leg that bled profusely and eximed, "You''ll be fine! You''ll be fine!! You''ll be fine!"


    Lucia crouched down to me and scrambled to pull out a paper back. She scattered a green powder onto my foot. Then, she pulled my cloak off me and tightly bound my foot. She took out a pill and shoved it into my mouth. She looked into my eyes and yelled, "Listen. Listen to me, Travor! You''ll be fine! You''ll be fine! Your foot is still attached! Your foot will be fine, but you have to calm down! Calm down! Stay calm! Don''t move! Swallow the pill! Swallow it! Swallow it!!"


    My mind was racing to the point that it seemed as though I forgot how to swallow. My tongue seemed as though it was stuck. I desperately wanted to swallow it, but the pill was stuck at my tongue, and I couldn''t swallow it. Lucia then tightly sped my face and anxiously shouted, "Swallow it, Travor! Swallow it!"


    "W-Water¡­"


    My tongue was stuck; I could only make out stiff words. Lucia dawdled for a moment then reached for her belt. However, she suddenly realised that we never brought water. She came up with an idea. She sped my face with one hand and kissed me on my lips. Lucia stuck her tongue out without any hesitation. She tried to reach for the pill stuck on my tongue and move it down into my throat. She pulled her face away; then, she sternly looked at me and loudly said, "Swallow it!"


    If we were in past, I would feel that the kiss was one incredible one. In that moment, nheless, I could only feel Lucia''s deep desire to help.


    I swallowed the pill in my mouth, which then led to me feeling dizzy. The pain from my foot drastically decreased. It only felt somewhat numb. Lucia let out a breath of relief; she quietly said, "Can you stand up from now? I''ll help you. We''re not far from the exit now. Judging from the density of the trees, we''re five minutes away at most. In just five minutes, we''ll be out of the forest. Let''s hurry."


    "Shit, I can''t¡­"


    It took a lot out of Lucia for her to lift me. My legs were immobilised due to the fear and pain. As a matter of fact, I couldn''t support myself, while I was too heavier for small Lucia. Lucia weakly advanced while advancing.


    Suddenly, the mes and the sound of horse hooves approached from behind. The sounds were apanied by humans shouting loudly and mastiffs barking. They were right on our tails. The mastiffs could guide the humans to us. With me bleeding at that rate, it was impossible for us to escape the forest.


    "It''ll be fine. It''ll be fine. I''ll get you out. You saved my life, so I''ll definitely save yours! We elves never owe anyone! I''ll definitely get you out of here!!!''


    Lucia supported my weight with all of her might and forged forward with determination. Unfortunately, I could tell what our ending would be with the rate of the mes approaching. If we continued at that pace, they''d catch up to us in less than a minute. The mastiffs might''ve ripped us apart.


    The tenser the situation bes, the calmer one bes. I don''t know if that applies for others, but I was calm. I grabbed the small bag at my waist to ensure that the vouring was there. The small bag that could be exchanged for money that I had been after the entire time was safe and sound. I''d rather lose a leg than lose the bag.


    I removed the bag and loudly said to Lucia, "Lucia, Lucia, listen to me!! You''ll never escape if you bring me along. Take this bag and get out of right away. Just hand it to Achilles. Afterwards, I hope that you can give Veirya and Leah the share that they deserve. If possible, I hope you can help them, and allow them to continue on with life¡­"


    Lucia thundered, "What nonsense is that?! You''re mypanion! How can I ditch you here after you saved my life?! They''re just a bunch of humans. I can kill every single one of them! We have to leave together!! I won''t let you die! Trust me!"


    Then, Lucia grabbed my arm tighter and struggled toward the town.


    "This is not the time to be ying hero, Lucia!! Isn''t this money important for you elves?! Then, take this bag and go!!"


    "You''re also very important to me!! I promised Veirya that I''d bring you back safe and sound!! I won''t go back on my word!"


    "I never said that I''d return safe and sound! I''m a businessman! Money is everything to me!! Lucia, listen to me and hurry back! Take this vouring and go!! Victory isn''t about how much you lose, but how much you earned!"


    I ostensibly recovered myst ounce of energy with my shouting. I pushed Lucia away. She shrieked as she stumbled a few steps. I strapped the bag of vouring to her belt then fell on the ground. I faced her fuzzy silhouette and belted, "Lucia! You made me a promise! Take the vouring back, and give Veirya the money! Teach her how to leave and protect Leah!!"


    "I¡­ I¡­ You¡­ Hang in there! I''lle back to rescue you!! I promise! Hang on this! Make sure you survive! I''lle back for you!!"


    Lucia hurled something shiny over. We were already close to the end of the forest. The mes in the town were faintly visible from here. The sky was no longer covered by leaves. The moonlight shined onto the shiny object. I reached out and took it. It was the emblem Veirya and Lucia both had. It was a memorial for the adventurers that slew the Demon King. It was the exact same as Veirya''s.


    I helplessly smiled. I tightly clenched the emblem. I didn''t know what Lucia was suggesting by leaving it with me. She couldn''t possibly make it back in time. It''d take her, at least, half an hour to go ande back. By that time, she wouldn''t even be able to find all the pieces of my corpse.


    <em>''Is this my final mission? To die holding the same thing as Veirya is a weird, yet pitiful feeling. I feel as though I''ve been treated quite well¡­ I''ve died once before, so I don''t mind dying a second time.''</em>

 Chapter Volume 2 53

    <em>White Lightning Bolt</em>


    "Mr. Lin, is it? It sure is strange to see you here. You are always showing up in all sorts of odd ces, no?" jeered a knight.


    The chapel''s soldiers had me totally surrounded. The soldiers led dogs on leashes. The mastiffs that were half the height of human being were eager to leap at me and shred me. Every troop was holding a torch. They had the area around me lit up as bright as daytime. The weapons dangling their waist reflected the mes. The sounds of horse hooves in the forest were audible all around me.


    By the looks of it, they were afraid I''d flee.


    I looked at the chief, who wore a smirk and spoke in a chiding tone, and responded, "Or rather, you''re the ones who keep showing up in all sorts of odd ces. Lord Veirya is the lord of this region. I can be wherever I please. I''m on a night jog; does thew forbid me or something?"


    "Yeah, yeah, see your foot? It looks as though something bit you while you were on your run, huh? You have anything else that you would like to say? Hand over the vouring, and we will pretend nothing ever happened; what do you think? I think it is a decent suggestion."


    I grinned: "Are you even speaking mynguage? I can''t make any sense of what you''re saying? A what vour what vouring? I don''t get it. I told you that I came here to exercise. I have no idea what you''re talking about."


    "So you n to continue ying the fool even when your family is in danger? Shall we remind you that if I was raising a subus, then I would do my best to prevent others from finding out? If the townsfolk found out that there was a subus amongst them, how would they react, I wonder?"


    "What do you n to do to a child?! Don''t bring children into this!! I''m warning you! I''m warning you! If anything happens to Leah, I''ll fuck your chapel up!!"


    When one is alone and powerless, even all of their rage will appear weak and harmless. I did my best to yell in his face, but it was pitifulpared to the sound of their des and the dogs'' barking. I desperately stayed on my feet and belted in his face. I was genuinely scared. It was the first time I felt so scared. I wasn''t afraid of dying; I was scared, because the secret I wanted to protect was revealed.


    I couldn''t believe the chapel knew Leah was a subus. Logically, nobody should''ve knowm the secret. Nobody should.


    "How does the chapel know that Leah is a subus? Have they captured her? There''s only one possibility, which is that Leah has been captured," I reasoned.


    "Hahahaha!!" The chief in front of me condescendinglyughed. He aggressively grabbed me by my cor and lifted me up. He then looked at my face with an arrogant look. He spoke in an emotionless and cold tone: "Do you think that you will live to see another day?"


    Before I could reply, I suddenly heard a string of screams in the forest. The chief and I simultaneously looked in the direction of the fiasco. The wandering cavalry in the forest were screaming one after the other as they hit the ground. The initially haughty mastiffs dropped to the ground and quaked in fear. Regardless of how hard their masters tried to pull them to their feet, they couldn''t stand.


    I surveyed in the forest feeling startled. A sh of white light sped through the forestparably to a lightning bolt. Wherever the lightning bolt went, blood spilt. My nose was soon stifled by the scent of blood that filled the air. Droplets of blood dripped off the emerald green grass. Some of the blood belonged to humans, while others belonged to their horses.


    And then, I, personally, witnessed the man in front of me, who was acting arrogant and lifted me up, fly out of view. Yes, he flew straight out of view. The white lightning bolt smashed straight into the man before me without any prior warnings. Veirya packed a massive punch. With one kick, she catapulted him up into the air. He flew through the air in a weird posture. If you ask me, he looked as if he was bent backwards. His spinal column was probably crushed. He was sent up into a tree. Then, he gradually slid down and never budged again.


    Blood dripped off Veirya''s white cape. Her face was stained with blood. She didn''t turn around to look at me; instead, she gave me her back, which looked strong and awe-inspiring. She didn''t speak. She chased down the troops who fled with their tails between their legs. Veirya moved extremely quickly. She didn''t give them any chances. When she struck, a corpse was added to the collection.


    Torches dropped to the ground one after another. The holders were reduced to piles of blood. The rowdy forest soon fell quiet. Veirya stood alone among the blood. Dismembered corpses and body parts were scattered all over the ce with blood pouring, flowing, dripping and spitting down the dark brown tree trunks. The air was essentially wet blood, making it seem as if I was breathing in thick blood. It was as though all of humanity''s blood had been condensed in the air.


    Veirya stood in ce. She seemed to be relishing the feeling of killing the sons of bitches. She certainly lived up to her title as the human who slew the Demon King. Nobody could survive against her might. Those humans didn''t even have the chance to retaliate against her. They were butchered without even having the chance to react.


    Sticky blood ran down ran Veirya''s clothes. The white lightning bolt turned into a blood-red demon. Her beautiful face had blood coursing down it. I finally learnt why others feared her. Even allies would be terrified to see a demon covered in blood walking over to them. I didn''t have the opportunity to be scared, though. I desperately crawled over to Veirya.


    Veirya grabbed my arm and seriously looked at me with her blue eyes: "Hurt?"


    I thundered, "Leah¡­ Leah¡­ Veirya, what will Leah do if you''re here?!"


    She hesitated for a moment then looked at me feeling bbergasted: "You''re. In more danger, aren''t you? Leah is fine at home. She''s safe."


    "H-How does the chapel know that she''s a demon, then? If Leah hasn''t been captured by the chapel, then how did they find out that she''s a subus?!"


    "I don''t know."


    Veirya calmly shook her head. She had no intention of saying anything else. She pulled me by my arm, and then scooped me up. She carried me in an eloquent and mesmerising princess carry position. Veirya held her sword in her left hand and held me with her right hand. She seriously said, "Hold my neck. I''ll. Take you back."


    "Mm, thank you, Veirya. Thank you¡­"


    I curled up in Veirya''s arms. I was supposed to be the one in her position, yet she was carrying me. I could see the side of her pretty face if I looked up, which made me feel shy and flustered. My foot still hurt, but my heart was racing due to pain¡­


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 54

    <em>Fierce mes</em>


    "Here''s the vouring you want!"


    Achilles looked at Lucia. Lucia panted heavily. He pped and said, "The elves'' hero lives up to her title. The chapel''s knights are downstairs, yet you still managed to break through and meet with me. Congrattions, congrattions."


    Lucia thundered, "Cut the rubbish!! Hurry and give me my money!"


    Achilles lingered for a moment then dryly chuckled as he put a small chest onto the table: "There is no need to rush now. After all, we have seeded. We have emerged victorious, so do not ruin our rtionship. We should be celebrating."


    "What sort of sess is this?!! I abandoned mypanion!! I exchanged that man''s life for this!! What sess are you spouting about?!!" Lucia picked up the chest and roared at Achilles.


    Lucia turned to leave, but Achilles immediately grabbed her by her arm. Lucia angrily spun around and smacked his hand away. Achilles quietly chuckled: "I wonder if he told you the earnings have never been predicated on expenditure. We do not ce importance on how much we spend on such transactions that are akin to a bet. Instead, we look at how much we earned. We consider it a sess as long as we obtain what we wanted to obtain. We have obtained everything that we wanted this time. As such, we have already seeded. He would consider it worth it even if he sacrificed his life."


    Lucia brayed, "It''s not worth it to me!! He''s an outstanding man. He shouldn''t die for this job!! He doesn''t deserve to die for five hundred gold coins!! He''s worth more! He should live! I couldn''t care less what you think; I''m going to his rescue now!! I''ll save him even if there''s only a tiny bit of hope!!"


    "Lucia, think about this carefully. If he is dead, his share will be split between the two of us. Are you not short on money? As you are short on money, consider him dead. Then, we will evenly split his share. Actually, if you want, I can give you the bigger share¡­"


    Before Achilles finished, Lucia grabbed him by his cor and firmly pressed him onto the table, forcing his body into an unnatural position. Lucia coldly looked at him and aimed the sharp tip of an arrow to his throat. She clearly enunciated every word: "Don''t ever mention that to me again. Veirya is my friend, and so is Travor. He even saved my life just now. I will never do such a thing!! You''re insulting me and elves. I''ll save him. I swear I''ll save him!"


    Lucia pulled back the arrow. She jumped out of a window. Achilles straightened back up. He rubbed his sore spine while looking outside the window where there were lit torches and a gentle breeze blew. Hopeless, he helplessly smiled and remarked, "What a pity. I wonder what Leah''s fate will be."


    ========


    I wondered, "Leah wasn''t kidnapped by the chapel, so how did they figure out that she''s a subus? It''s impossible for them to have made such a pointless guess. If the chapel managed to figure out that Leah is a subus, they must''ve had evidence. How did they find out?! What gave it away? What evidence do they have?''


    I had no clue what happened, but I knew Leah was in danger. The chapel didn''t even need to get directly involved; all they had to do was spread the news. The entire town resented demons. They killed the subus that entered the townst time. If they found out Leah was a subus, the townsfolk would kill Leah on the spot despite her having done nothing harmful¡­


    ========


    Anna stood out at the door. She panicked as she looked at the gathered townsfolk. She asked, "Everyone, everyone, what are you trying to do?!"


    The townsfolk, who rarely appeared at night, made an appearance at night. A big group of men gathered at the door to the lord''s house with torches lit up. All of their shadows were visible on the ground. The men held wooden rods as weapons. They looked at Anna; the leader coldly demanded, "Hand over that subus!!"


    "What subus? Sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about. The demon race has been defeated. What subus are you talking about?"


    Anna was mind-boggled. She tried to appease the crowd. She genuinely didn''t know what happened. In a stern tone, she said, "Everyone, everyone, I don''t know what you''reint is about. I''m just a maid who''s responsible for taking care of Lord Veirya and Sir Lin Dongqing. How about waiting for them toe back to address yourint? I''m sure that they''ll provide you with a reasonable exnation."


    "Don''t feign innocence!! You''ve always lived with them; how could you not know?! You definitely know!! Leah, that little girl, isn''t Lord Veirya''s child! She''s a subus!! She''s a filthy subus!! Hand her over!! We don''t need any demons in our town!"


    The man''s speech riled up the rest of the townsfolk; they roared which, in turn, further fuelled the man''s courage to advance. At first, they didn''t dare to advance, because they were worried about how Veirya would react. However, upon hearing that Veirya was absent, they courage spiked. They wanted nothing more than to break in and capture Leah.


    "Stop!!! This is Lord Veirya''s home! What is with your unruly behaviour?! Lord Veirya is the warrior who slew the Demon King! How could she be hiding a subus! You''re attempting to barge into Lord Veirya''s home! Is this insurrection?!"


    "We''ll find out once we capture the child!! She doesn''t have a belly button, so she''s a subus!! She''s a subus!! Subi are the best at confusing humans! Lord Veirya has been fooled!"


    Anna somewhat believed their im. She trusted Veirya, but she wasn''t fond of subi, either. Furthermore, subi were demons. Adventurers weren''t fond of demons. She didn''t know if Veirya was aware that Leah was a demon or not; therefore, she was slightly hesitant.


    "Should I take a look? If Leah really is a subus, how would Veirya react? Does Veirya know about Leah''s identity? If she doesn''t, I might be credited with a merit if I tell her that Leah is actually a subus," reasoned Anna.


    "In that case¡­ Leah! Leah!!"

 Chapter Volume 2 55

    <em>No Guardian</em>


    A chest with five hundred gold coins was too heavy for a small and lean elf. With the chest in her arms, Lucia ran as fast as she could through the dark alley. She ignored her steps. However, what surprised her was that there was nobody in the houses. It was as if the town was empty. Perhaps they were where it was brightly lit up with mes. Lucia found the bright mes suspicions., Lucia suddenly heard horse hooves on the street.


    Lucia quickly hid her chest of gold coins by a corner of the wall, and then climbed onto a roof. She looked in the direction of the horse hooves. A group of people rode horses over to the direction of the bright zone. Lucia saw the leader, who was a fat man adorning red clothes. He was the bishop. Lucia disliked him right from the beginning. One, they worshipped different gods. Two, she hated fat people.


    Behind the bishop was Angelina. She held her sword in her right hand and carried a triangr shield in her left hand as she walked up to the left hand side of the bishop. Angelina was one of the chapel''s knights as well as the bishop''s bodyguard. Lucia couldn''t understand Angelina. She was Vierya''s mother, yet she did many things inpletely unlike Veirya. She was powerful as Veirya was, yet she rarely took to the field. She was usually in the rear. Lucia had never seen Angelina do anything.


    Lucia frowned. She looked over in the direction of the forest, and then nced back at the brightly lit area. She hesitated for a second then turned and headed toward the lord''s abode. Her initial n was to circle around from the rear, but she stopped in her tracks. She plopped herself down on the roof and silently watched the group of horses. She peered at Angelina. She silently pondered to herself then decided to slowly stop.


    "Sorry¡­ sorry¡­ I''m truly sorry¡­ I might not be able to save you¡­" apologised Lucia, in her mind.


    She had my best, but if she returned to him in that situation, she might only find his cold corpse. She was overwhelmed with despair and guilt; in fact, she wanted to cry, because he helped her and saved her, yet all she collected was his corpse. Nevertheless, Lucia knew she needed to continue forward even if she was filled with sorrow over the death of a human.


    Lucia recalled the past; she recalled thest words Lin Dongqing said to her. He told her to protect Veirya and Leah and to hand the money to Veirya. Subsequently, Lucia was sure the bishop and Angelina were definitely up to something when they headed toward the bright area. From the time she began life as an adventurer, the chapel and Angelina always opposed Veirya. It was safe to assume the chapel was plotting something again.


    Lucia''s analysis went as so: "Those people definitely have something to do with Veirya. I must protect Veirya and Lucia. I''m not sure if there''s an issue with the crowd, though. They might just be passing by."


    Lucia wasn''t sure if the group of people opposed Veirya. She calmed down and decided against attacking. Furthermore, she was aware of how fast and dangerous Angelina was in battle. If she failed tond a fatal blow in one shot, she might have no means of escaping.


    Lucia took the bow off her back and loaded a few arrows onto the bowstring. She silently set up her bow then aimed at the bishop and Angelina''s head. Angelina suddenly spun around and raised her shield. She pulled the bishop into the cover provided by the shield, thereby giving him a fright and almost causing him to fall off his horse as a result. He ignored the warmth and softness on the back of his head. Shocked, yelled, "What''s wrong?!! What''s wrong?!! What happened?!"


    Angelina subtly narrowed her eyes and gazed in the direction of the rooftop, but there was nothing to be seen. Finally, she lowered her shield. She turned around and calmly responded, "¡­ No, nothing."


    Luciay down on the roof. She didn''t even dare to breathe. She did her absolute best to blend in with the roof by resembling something misceneous on the roof and lying still.


    "Angelina lives up to her reputation. There''s probably only one person on the entire continent that has such supreme senses. I merely aimed at her head, yet she immediately realised there was somebody trying to shoot her down. She even managed to judge the direction perfectly. If I thoughtless shoot at her, I won''t achieve anything,


    I have to find a good opportunity and fire when Angelina''s not prepared. I might not have to kill her, though, as Veirya, in truth, still cares a lot about her mother. I, therefore, shouldn''t kill Angelina. I just need to kill that bishop," reasoned Lucia.


    Lucia pledged a solemn oath to herself: "Don''t worry, Travor. Trust me; I swear to protect Veirya and Leah for you. Regardless of when ande what may, I''ll fulfil my promise to you forever. I''ll protect your daughter, who you care so much about, in addition to Veirya. I swear it. As an elf, I will never forget the debt of gratitude."


    Lucia quietly moved around on the rooftop and stalked the escort. Angelina kept her eyes on the rooftop through the corner of her eye the entire time. She couldn''t shake off the feeling that something or someone was following her up there; s, as if she was looking at a crow, she couldn''t see anything in the darkness. Angelina didn''t feel anxious. She knew she wasn''t the one, but the assassin hiding in the darkness, who should''ve been anxious. The assassin was bound to eventually appear, and when they did, she wouldn''t need to search.


    Both of them considered themselves the hunter and their target to be their prey.


    ========


    "Let go of me!! Let go of me! Help! Help! Sister Anna!! Sister Anna!" desperately cried Leah.


    Leah struggled to try and break free of the grasp of the two men. She didn''t attempt to hide, for she never expected the people outside to capture her. She was yanked off her bed while she was in her dreams, and then dragged out to the courtyard.


    She screamed and struggled. She looked at the townsfolk outside as well as Anna. She screamed as though she saw her saviour. She looked to Anna and prayed Anna woulde to her rescue, and take her away from the men who showed up out of nowhere.


    Anna spun around and looked at Leah. The men threw Leah into Anna''s arms. Frightened, Leah tightly hugged Anna. Anna quietly looked at Leah''s scared silly pretty face. She sighed and softly said, "Leah¡­"


    "Sister Anna!! Who are these people?! Why do they want to capture Leah¡­? Papa¡­ Why is Papa still not back..? Leah¡­ Leah is so scared¡­" Leah buried her head in Anna''s chest and loudly wailed.


    The men stomped and thundered: "Strip her! Let''s see if she''s a subus or a human!! Show us, right now!"


    "No! No! What are you doing?!! Sister Anna! Sister Anna!!"


    "Sorry, Leah, but please prove yourself. If you are a human, take off your clothes, and let us see your belly button. If you''re not human but a subus, then I''m very sorry, but I was once an adventurer; therefore, I won''t protect a demon!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 56

    <em>The Arrow is on the Bowstring</em>


    "See?! See?! He was right."


    A man among the townsfolk pressed down on Leah''s legs and stripped her. Leah''s smooth belly was different to humans. Shecked the unique part that breastfed humans did; she didn''t have a belly button. There were no shadows on her smooth belly underneath the me.


    "What are you doing?!! Let go of me!! Leah is a subus, but Leah has never done anything bad! Leah didn''t get to have full meals! Leah is the same as you! Leah never did anything bad in this town! Please¡­ Leah just wants to live together with Papa! Please, spare Leah!"


    Leah struggled with all of her might. She cried as she looked at Anna and the men around her. Anna didn''t speak. However, the leader of the pack pped Leah across the face and belted, "Shut up, you demon filth! You''ve finally learnt to beg, have you?! When you demons killed our families and stole our food, did you spare us when we pleaded you?! You never cared about our lives!! I, personally, witnessed my sister be killed by a demon! Did you listen to our pleas?! I''ll never forgive your kind, you bitches! Our town doesn''t wee a demon! We''re killing you here today!!"


    The man, who was yelling, strangled Leah''s small neck with his hands. Leah grimaced and squealed; she couldn''t even struggle. Anna just stood there. She believed Veirya and Lin Dongqing weren''t aware Leah was a subus. She believed Leah disguised herself as a harmless child to rely on the two. Leah was a subus, so she didn''t think Veirya, who killed more than plenty of demons, wouldin.


    "Stop!"


    A white hawk-shaped shield smashed into the man''s back, knocking him off Leah. Leah gasped for air and violently coughed. She saw a vague silhouette in front of her. The owner of the silhouette looked brave and trustworthy. Leah cried and vaguely muttered, "Veirya¡­ Veirya.."


    "Leah¡­"


    Angelina raised her shield and looked down at Leah. She swung her sword to get the people around Leah to back off. She faced the crowd and thundered, "What are you doing?!! She''s Lord Veirya and Sir Lin Dongqing''s child! What are you trying to do in their absence?! God is watching from above! You should all be sent to the cross so that your souls forever burn in the fire for this barbaric act!"


    "Sister Angelina¡­ I beg you¡­ please¡­"


    Leah finally realised it was Angelina. Although Angelina was gentler in Leah''s mind, she felt that Angelina was less trustworthy than Veirya for some odd reason when she realised it wasn''t Veirya. Angelina stood in front of Leah and yelled at the crowd. Unfortunately, the crowd worshipped a different god. They were already angry about the previous incident. The chapel''s interference this time was the oil on their fire. As such, they charged at Angelina.


    Angelina didn''t lose herposure, but she didn''t allow the crowd to assault them. She didn''t hesitate to raise her shield and smack the men away with it. A mere shield it may have been, it was made from metal, while Angelina didn''t pull any punches. Being mmed with a metal shield didn''t feel the same as being hit with a cotton pillow. Angelina broke lips and noses, thereby littering the ce with blood.


    Everybody encircled her, yet not one person dared to close in on Leah and her. Angelina stopped all of them with just one hand and shield. Everybody was awkwardly gathered around Angelina. From behind her shield, Angelina revealed a mocking smile. She looked at the townsfolk and stated, "Try as you please, but there''s no chance of you ever breaking through. This is the difference betweenmoners and solders."


    Leah watched Angelina. The crowd put a temporary pause on their attacks. They finally calmed down and stopped with their fearless efforts. Angelina lowered her shield. All of a sudden, the bishop began yelling from the outside: "What are you all doing?! Are you heretics not even going to spare a child?! What are you trying to do to such an adorable child?!! Angelina! Bring the child over here!!"


    "Yes, Your Excellency!!"


    Angelina swiftly picked up Leah; unfortunately, the crowd raised their wooden rods again and protested, "Put her down!! She''s a subus! Don''t even think of protecting a subus! Don''t you even dream of protecting a demon! This demon trespassed into our town! We must personally kill her!!"


    "Get out of the way! All of you! Otherwise, don''t me me for getting physical!" Angelina raised her shield up in front of her.


    Leah leaned on Angelina''s left shoulder. Despite Angelina''s deft movements, Leah didn''t seem bothered. She just calmly observed crowd and tightly gripped Angelina''s chest. She was so afraid that she didn''t dare to look up.


    Lucia lied prone on the rooftop. She was worried about the bow in her hand. She didn''t dare to aim directly at the bishop and Angelina. Although Lucia was incredibly confident in her archery skills, her opponent was Angelina. To add to that, Leah was behind Angelina''s shield. If she identally hit Leah, she would''ve let down Travor, who died for her.


    Lucia controlled her emotions with self-talk: "I can''t be nervous. I must ensure all the preparations are adequate. I can''t fire without one hundred percent confidence. I must wait for the crowd to disperse."


    "Look! She''s a subus! Is your chapel going to shelter demons?! Look at her belly button! What are you going to do to a demon?! Protect her?! That makes you traitors to humanity! You''re the demon race''s aplices! Don''t even think of leaving this town with your lives!


    "Even if Leah is a subus, our chapel should be the ones to deal with her. Not you people, who are just trying to vent!! We''re taking Leah back to question her. If you don''t move, we''re going to get physical!"


    The knights surrounded the crowd. The used their swords and shields to blocked off the townsfolk with wooden rods. However, the knights were the minority here; thus, if a battle truly broke out, then there was no guarantee they could subdue the enraged townsfolk.


    Lucia breathed gently. She slowly drew back the bowstring. The sounds she made were masked by the rowdy crowd. Not even Angelina could clearly hear her over the ruckus. The crowd upied thetter''s attention. Lucia aimed at Angelina''s arm. The shot wouldn''t hurt Leah and would provide Leah with a chance to run.


    It wasn''t hard for Lucia to hit the shot. She told herself, "It''s not a hard shot. Angelina''s attention isn''t on me at the moment, while the townsfolk are there. I just need to take advantage of the ruckus, and fire this shot. Not even Angelina will detect it; the tip of my arrow is concealed. I''m in a good spot. All that''s left is to wait for the right moment."

 Chapter Volume 2 57

    <em>Mama Veirya</em>


    "Out of the way!! Whatever the case is, Leah should be left with us to deal with! You heretics have no right to judge demons!!"


    "What right do you have?! We''re the ones who suffered most due to the demons! Our families were killed by demons! Our homes were burnt and destroyed! The demons robbed us of our assets! We''re the ones who suffered the most at the hands of the demons!! Where were you all when that happened?! Where were you?! Now, all of a sudden, you can im that you have the right to judge?! You''re nothing but deserters!! We won''t let you take this subus away! Her blood must be spilt here!!"


    The crowd began to shout. The continuously attacked the knights that surrounded them. Angelina was squashed in the crowd. She used all her might to hold them back so that Leah wouldn''t be snatched away. The knights didn''t retaliate. The townsfolk were Her Majesty''s assets, after all. The chapel wanted to avoid damaging the Queen''s assets. The dead couldn''t pay taxes, which was why the Queen would definitely look into the case.


    Lucia spotted a group of townsfolk charging over from within the tavern. She didn''t know where they came from or who started it. She didn''t know if somebody stopped them, causing them to go to the tavern first or if there was always people lying in wait inside the tavern, waiting to provide reinforcements when necessary. The group was armed with wine barrels and barrels of oil. It wasn''t oil for cooking inmmable ck oil. Once mixed, it would be a highly-mmable weapon. The group learnt how to use the frightening inmmable bottles after umting all of their experience in their battles against the demons, leading to the development of the superb tactic. The ck oil went special processing. The oil could be used to light upmps, so they were perfect as inmmables.


    The alcoholic percentage in alcoholic beverages in the North was always particrly high. Just a tiny bit was enough to generate a big me. By the looks of things, the group must''ve been preparing for the battle.


    They lit up the cloth stuffed in the bottles in their hands, and then hurled them at the knights. The knights used their shields to fend off the flung bottles, but when the bottles broke and the alcohol ran down the shield, they''d suddenly burn up. Metal shields could defend against metal arrows and des, but they couldn''t defend against inmmable oil. The knights were forced to throw their shields away and retreat. Their surrounding formation fell apart. The surrounded townsfolk unleashed their battle cries and leapt at the knights. Despite being unarmed, they were able to pull the knights off their horses and violently pummel them.


    Everyone went wild along with the mes, shouting and battle cries. The knights'' defence line was broken down as if a horde of zombies stormed them. The people outside of the encirclement continued to hurl Molotov cocktails at the knights, thereby setting the ground on fire.


    Angelina also raised her shield to block the Molotov cocktails hurled at her, but she quickly realised that it was a mistake to do so, for the oil could get through the gaps in the shield and burn Leah!


    Lucia jumped to her feet. She raised her arm and fired an arrow. The arrow pierced through the air and whistled as it flew toward its target. Nobody could hear the arrow over the shouting and nging of metal. It pierced the side of Angelina''s arm with absolute precision. Angelina grunted in a stifled voice. Lucia''s arrow went into Angelina''s joints; as a result, Angelina couldn''t control her forearm, thereby leading to her shield gradually slipping off it.


    "Damn it!!!"


    Lucia finally realised how foolish her shot was. Leah was stuck in the encirclement with Angelina. There were Molotov cocktails being hurled all over the ce. Who was to say when one might hurt Leah? Worse, in front of Angelina was a sea of fire. With her arm injured, Angelina couldn''t possibly pick up Leah.


    Leah shrieked. She tightly clung to Angelina''s arm so that she wouldn''t fall down.


    Lucia decided to be done with it. She leapt from rooftops in an attempt to make up for her error. She loaded up her bow and, "twang!" another arrow flew through the air to pierce the hand of a man armed with a Molotov cocktail. Lucia leapt back and forth while firing arrows. As a consequence, nobody dared to approach the Molotov cocktails.


    <em>''Five left!''</em>


    Lucia hopped off a roof. Whilst in mid-air, she fired another arrow, piercing the hand of another man that had just lit a Molotov cocktail. He screamed and dropped the bottle. He ignored his wound and fled helter skelter while screaming to avoid the mes that were spreading.


    <em>''Four left!''</em>


    Lucia pierced a Molotov cocktail that was just thrown, shattering it and consequently causing the mes to drop down and burn a citizen. The unlucky fellow screamed in terror as he ran. Unfortunately for him, it wasn''t something that was easy to put out.


    <em>''Three!</em>


    <em>''Two!''</em>


    Lucia''s uracy was without equal. She, alone, was able to subdue all the people that attempted to fling Molotov cocktails.


    <em>''Last one! I can do it! I can do it! I can protect Leah! I got my friend killed, so the only tribute that I can give him is Leah''s smile! I can protect her! I can do it! It''s not far! He''s still lighting it up! I can make it in time! I got this! I got this!!''</em>


    Lucia instinctively reached behind her, but there was nothing there. She looked at thest man who hurled a Molotov cocktail. She panicked; she was lost for what to do. She didn''t have anything in her hand. Lucia had the precision to hit anyone, but she didn''t have any more arrows. What could Lucia do without arrows?


    "Leah¡­ No! No!!!"


    Lucia was dozens of metres away from the Molotov cocktail. Unless she could teleport, there was no way she could make it in time. Angelina was stuck in the crowd. All she could do was wield her sword to keep the crowd at bay. Leah weakly sat down to one side. Her fear had overwhelmed her to the point she could no longer even cry. She nkly looked at everything around her. She didn''t notice the Molotov cocktailing down from overhead.


    "Leah!!" screamed Angelina at the top of her lungs.


    Unfortunately, she was held down by the crowd in front of her. She wasn''t their match with just one hand. A clear liquid slowly seeped out from between Leah''s legs. She couldn''t stand. She just looked at the furious adult in before her with her nk look. She couldn''t cry; her mind was nk. She fearfully looked left and right. Her lips trembled as she mumbled, "Papa¡­ Veirya¡­ anyone¡­ please¡­ save me¡­"


    "Leah!!"


    Lucia''s lung-shattering scream resonated through the night sky as the Molotov cocktail slowly headed south. Suddenly, a red lightning bolt zipped through the crowd. She crashed everyone out of the way to open a path. She shoved Angelina aside. She bent over and shielded Leah with her body.


    The Molotov cocktail didn''t hesitate to smash into her back. The Molotov cocktail instantly set her back aze with a raging me. Despite that, Veirya tightly hugged Leah and didn''t budge. She protected her in spite of her own injury.


    After the bottle violently smashed into her back, the fire boldly spread. The Molotov cocktail burnt her clothes, her long silver hair and her perfect body. Her back released smoke. It looked as if her entire body was aze. Still, she tightly hugged the girl and didn''t budge regardless.


    "Veirya!! Are you crazy?!!" Angelina belted at Veirya.


    Angelina swiftly ran over and sliced off Veirya''s burning cloak. However, she was toote. Veirya clothes and back were burnt; her skin was red. Angelina quickly used the back of her sword to put out the mes on Veirya''s clothing. Angelina could no longer contain her anger. She swung her sword at the crowd. In an instant, a batch of blood sttered onto Veirya''s back.


    "Ah!!"


    The best thing for silencing a rioting crowd when words didn''t work was blood. Anybody be afraid after seeing theirpanion''s head in the sky from behind.


    The aggressive crowd was frightened off by Angelina; they fled helter skelter. The bishop vanished off somewhere ages ago. The knights, who survived, were also gone. Angelina huffed and puffed. She pulled out the arrow stuck in her left arm. Then, she snapped it and threw it aside. She wrapped it up in a simple fashion. She turned around feeling concerned. Nheless, Veirya looked emotionless.


    Veirya gently sped Leah''s face and, with her emotionless expression, looked at her. She sincerely apologised: "Sorry."


    Leah was dumbfounded. She didn''t even speak. Veirya went on in a sincere tone: "I failed to protect you. Sorry, Leah. It was my fault. I''m d. You''re okay. From now on. I''ll make sure to protect your properly."


    "No!!" Leah couldn''t control her emotions any longer. She went up on her toes and tightly hugged Veirya around her neck. She leaned on Veirya''s shoulder and wailed. Veirya froze in ce. She didn''t know what to do with her two hands. She just crouched there. Leah cried by her ear, yet Veirya didn''t dare to do anything, for the reason that she was afraid she''d scare Leah. Leah apologised in a loud voice: "Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ Veirya¡­ Veirya¡­ Sorry¡­ Thank you¡­ Thank you¡­Veirya¡­ Veirya¡­Sorry!"


    "I hope. You can call me. Mama."


    Veirya raised her head. The rancid smell of burnt flesh and her burnt clothing were mixed together. The heat on her back had yet to disperse.


    Leah looked into Veirya''s blue eyes. Her body stiffened up for a moment. Behind Veirya were bright mes. The me on Veirya''s back burnt her flesh, but she didn''t back down or hide. She tightly hugged Leah in her embrace. Veirya''s embrace was very warm. It was the first time someone hugged Leah so resolutely on the night of anarchy. Despite being burnt, Veirya resolutely covered her.


    "When Papa wasn''t by my side, when the entire world was against me, the woman, who once tried to kill me, I hurt and resisted against countless times, fearlessly protect me. For the first time tonight, I found safety in Veirya''s embrace," thought Leah.


    Leah felt an urge to cry. Soon enough, droplets of tears coursed down her face. She tightly hugged Veirya''s arm and whimpered: "Sorry¡­ Mama Veirya¡­"


    When "Mama" came out of Leah''s mouth, Veirya''s final defence copsed. After a moment of hesitation, Vierya gently ced her fingers on her own lips. She used her fingers to form a smile on her face. Leah responded with a spurt ofughter, and then revealed a teary smile. Then, she tightly hugged Veirya.


    "Thank you¡­ Mama Veirya¡­ I¡­ I¡­ I won''t be wilful again¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­"


    "You. Never did anything wrong." Veirya paused for a moment then lightly stood up. She grabbed hold of Leah''s hand and added, "Go home. I have. To go find him."


    "Papa?!"


    "Mm."


    l

 Chapter Volume 2 58

    <em>You¡¯re More Important Than Anything</em>


    "Wh-What happened to you?!"


    Veirya''s appearance shocked me. She returned to me after she went to protect Leah, yet she looked as if she came out of a fire. Her entire body had steaming out of it. Her cloak was somewhere, but not on her. Her back was burnt. Blood was still seeping out from her burnt ck skin. Because of the damage to the rear of her clothes, the front of her clothes was missing a chunk, as well. There were only parts that resolutely clung to her body - forck of better word. Parts of her beautiful silver hair were burnt; it was essentially messy, burnt hair.


    I grabbed Veirya''s arm with one arm and eximed, "What happened to you?!"


    Veirya shook her head. She replied, "Leah. Is safe."


    I looked at the blood seeping out of Veirya''s wound and shouted, "Put Leah aside for now! What happened to you?! What happened to you?!"


    It was heart wrenching to see Veirya maintain an expressionless look when she was clearly hurt. I tightly grabbed her arm. My tears were on the verge of escaping.


    "I''m fine." Veirya shook her head. She grabbed my arm and seriously said, "I''ll take you. Back. Leah. Is looking for you."


    "Veirya¡­"


    I kept my eyes on Veirya. She tilted her head. She looked slightly perplexed: "I protected you. And Leah. I did what we said. You don''t. Look happy."


    "Of course not!! Of course I''m not happy to see you wounded so severely!! I''m very worried about you."


    Veirya looked at me and my hand that was holding hers feeling surprised. She paused for a moment before asking, "You. Not scared of me?"


    "Why would I be? You protected us! You got hurt for our sakes!"


    I wiped away the filth on Veirya''s face. My heart felt as if it was being wrenched around as she bled. Veirya bled the entire way here. She didn''t voice anyints. In fact, she didn''t even disy her pain on her face. She didn''t cry and run into my arms as a child would. To the contrary, she came up to me and gently supported me up to walk back to the house.


    Veirya paid no attention to her wound. She continued to carry out her work simrly to an obliged robot. She was only concerned about my safety and Leah''s in spite of her own state. She ignored the shouting in the town and the mes that had yet to be put out. There was nothing in her eyes. She just continued to put one foot in front of the other, bleeding as she headed back to the house we lived in with my weight on her.


    As we walked, Veiryamented, "You''re. Very strange." The side of Veirya''s face was right next to mine. I could smell her burnt skin. The smell stung my heart. She didn''t look straight at me. Instead, she looked straight ahead and, in an absolutely calm tone, exined, "You''re. Different to others. In the past. After battles. They''d. Avoid me. Her Majesty. Would ask me. If Ipleted the mission. You''re the only one. Whose first reaction. Was to ask me what happened."


    I froze for a moment and turned to face her. Coincidentally, she turned to look at me at the same time. Our eyes met. To my surprise, I didn''t know what to say. She didn''t give me time to put my thoughts into words. She added, "I want to know. Why. You are different."


    "Because you''re more important to anything to me."


    I found myself behaving strangely. I was a very careful individual. I always did my best to be careful, and then more careful whenever I spoke to others. I knew how powerful words were. I knew how many faced tragic fates as a consequence of saying the wrong things. As a matter of fact, some even lost their life. That was why I never explicated my true thoughts. I erased everything that could be used against me in my mind before I spoke. That was my first time; actually, it was the first time in a long time that I spoke my mind.


    As soon as I blurted those words, my brain immediately told me what I just said. My entire face felt as if it was being burnt with a bright me. I quickly lowered my head. Even my ears started to turn red. Meanwhile, my hands began to feel numb. Perhaps it was because all of my blood was screaming at me to run due to shyness. Perhaps it was all in my head as it reproached me for being impulsive. I couldn''t say a word. The heat led to my brain malfunctioning. I didn''t dare to look Veirya in the face, let alone find out what Veirya would say next. I think I was looking forward to finding out, but also somewhat scared.


    "I see." And thus, Veirya put an end to it with that simple response. She didn''t even blush, let alone bat an eye. She paused for a moment then asked, "So, to you. Leah is not as important as me?"


    "No, no¡­ umm¡­ mm¡­ mm¡­ you''re equally important, equally important."


    "So, you''ll protect Leah. And me?"


    I finally looked back at Veirya, albeit feeling surprised. I checked out her blue eyes, burnt silver hair and blood still dripping off her back. She supported me as she awaited my answer. Veirya saved me and Leah. She slew the Demon King. She was the strongest warrior on the continent, yet she asked if I''d protect her.


    I didn''t have anything in this world. I didn''t have power orworks. I almost lost my life in the forest during the simple transaction.


    I wanted to protect Veirya, which meant I''d have to oppose the chapel, the elves, the Queen, the businessmen of the empire and even the military. Veirya was too overpowered, which was why those who threatened her safety were even more terrifying. I was aware of that. The best skill one has is self-awareness, in other words, knowing who you can''t defeat. I, alone, couldn''t oppose every ruling power on the continent. I was just an ordinary man; I wasn''t the Gary Stu of some novel who had everything go his way after transmigrating.


    "I will."


    Damn, did I want to p myself for that response. That said, that was a sincere response.


    When I looked at Veirya''s burnt hair and back, I knew what to do. Although one should indeed consider their own abilities in some scenarios, sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and do it, and make damn sure that you seed. Aftering here, I realised for the first time there were some things I had to protect.


    I took in a deep breath. I gently touched Veirya''s hair. She looked at me with a confused look: "My hair. Is burnt."


    "I know. Does you back hurt?"


    "I''m used to it."


    "¡­ I''ll help you."


    "With what?"


    I spun around. We had arrived home. I didn''t know what the group did in front of our house or threw, but there was an intense fire burning at the front of the door. The stench of ck smoke stuffed my nose. I felt as though I was in the mes, because my enter body was burning due to Veirya.


    Perhaps the attack was the chapel''s scheme. Perhaps it was the merchant''s scheme. Perhaps it was somebody who wanted to burn down our house. Regardless, I nned to use myself as a trigger to start the fire. I wanted topletely destroy the lives of those who hurt Veirya. I wanted to deliver a message: "Mark my words. I''ll make sure to utterly obliterate those who dare to hurt Veirya and Leah. "


    I answered, "Making all those who hurt you pay."

 Chapter Volume 2.5 1

    <em>Waking from a Slumber</em>


    She opened her eyes and fell into a daze as she looked at the grey tent overhead. The noises made by the soldiers outside as well as the shouting sounded as though it came from an extremely faraway ce. Veirya sat up. She reached out and grabbed a pot on a wooden barrel. She licked her dry lips. She then removed the cork and gulped mouthfuls of the liquor in the pot.


    After having a drink, she gently sat straight up. She wore the military''s unlined garment, but her clothing was so filthy that nobody wanted to look at it. It was either stained with ck or ckish green blood. As a matter of fact, the buckle on her belt had the shattered organ of some species.


    She turned her head to see a new uniform by the side of her bed. She slowly stripped down and tossed it aside. Her naked body had wounds and bloodstains. She checked out her body then hesitated for a moment before picking up her dirty uniform again and wearing it on.


    Someone suddenly pulled open the curtain to the tent. The individual checked inside. He paused when he saw Veirya. He asked, "Sorry, Madam Veirya. Have I disturbed you?"


    Veirya shook her head. The man was very young. In fact, he looked as though he had yet to mature. He looked immature and na?ve. He sported very clean and tidy short blonde hair. He wore the same uniform as Veirya. His green eyes looked lively. He held a helmet underneath his underarm.


    "I am d I did not disturb you. Do you n to head to <em>that</em> camp now?"


    The young man nodded. He was nervous yet eager. Since he had his helmet under his underarm and his long sword strapped to his belt, he looked as though he was prepared forbat. Judging from that, the battle must''ve been his first one. Men viewed their first battle as a stimting adventure. It was an important turning point for a young man to transform into a man.


    "Bath."


    Veirya picked up her clothes. She headed out of the tent and shoved him aside without any hesitation. The young man carried his helmet and followed after her in an awkward fashion.


    Veirya didn''t reside in the military camp; therefore, the noise and shouting must''vee from a long distance away. Veirya carried her clothes with her as she headed into a tent. She spared no thought for the soldiers around. The two soldiers wore astonished and frightened expressions upon seeing Veirya pass by them. They wore the same uniforms, indicating they were from the same camp, yet they looked very vignt of Veirya.


    Noticing the frightened and disgusted gazes around them, the young man awkwardly lowered his head. After they looked at Veirya, they''d shift their gazes over to the young man. To him, it felt simr to being in a precarious situation of having countless crossbows aimed at him. He lowered his head as though he wanted to bury his head in the ground. While he greatly respected and admired Veirya, he didn''t enjoy being looked at with those gazes.


    Veirya went to thebathroom. As opposed to defining it as a bathroom, it''d be more appropriate to describe it was a segregated section simr to a toilet that was segmented by a wooden board. She poured hot water into the wooden tub then pulled the string off and poured the water in. However, because there aren''t many females in the army, men and women didn''t bath separately. At the current time, there were a few other soldiers bathing in wooden cubicles separated by wooden boards. Veirya didn''t mind bathing with a group of men. As a matter of fact, she didn''t care that they saw her body. Standing there in an empty cubicle, she began to strip.


    "Umm, Madam Veirya, you should not strip here!!!"


    "Hmm?" Veirya reacted surprised.


    He quickly turned his head away so as to avoid seeing Veirya''s body. Veirya''s body was a little too stimting for the young man. Nheless, he quickly noticed that he didn''t need to worry. Next, he heard the sound of swishing water. The sound of water all around him stopped. The soldiers, who were bathing, quickly picked up their clothing and immediately fled without getting dressed. They didn''t dare to look at Veirya. She looked at the young man with her head tilted: "What''s the matter?"


    "No¡­ nothing¡­"


    The young man''s response showed his dilemma. Veirya appeared to be used to it. Nobody wanted to bath next to her despite her absolutely sensational body. Veirya was a soldier and warrior Her Majesty was very proud of. Nevertheless, the soldiers viewed her as a de without a sheath, one, which not only could kill enemies, but also her allies. Nobody dared to have any thoughts that crossed the line for Veirya. Anger her just a little, and they might just die.


    "Help me. Pour water."


    Veirya gently lifted up her hair behind her, revealing her pure white neck and back. She waited for the young man to pour water on her back. The young man didn''t catch sight of a critical spot, but Veirya''s back and neck alone were enough to make his face and ears red. He quickly shut his eyes to kill any ideas he had for his venerated Madam Veirya. He then picked up a water bucket¡­


    "Wait!! Wait!! You mean that you asked a guy to help you take a bath?!"


    I looked at Veirya, feeling stunned. She responded with a subtle nod. She pinched her chin and asked, "Is. There a problem with that? There were only men. After all."


    Somewhat unhappy, I pouted. I didn''t reply. Although Veirya merely recounted the past - not to mention that she now bathed together with me - hearing another man bathing her before left me with a somewhat bitter taste. Veirya didn''t continue recounting her past; instead, she titled her head and looked at me in silence.


    "Hmm?"


    I noticed a touch on my thigh, surprising me. I saw Veirya looking at me with a serious expression. She seemed to notice my discontent. She touched my thigh with her toes. Seeing me look up, she asked, "Are you angry?"


    "I¡­ I¡­ Mm¡­ I''m not angry! Why would I be angry?! As if I''m angry!"


    "Mm¡­"


    I defiantly denied it, but I knew that I was jealous. I knew that fellow was god-knows where, but I was still angry.


    After a short silence, Veirya sped my face. I was surprised. Expressionless, she stated, "I won''t. Do it again."


    "What?"


    "I won''t. Let others see. And won''t. Bath outside. I''ll. Be with you. Also. Sorry. For the past."


    l

 Chapter Volume 2.5 2

    <em>Dense Forest</em>


    After the bath, Veirya wore on new clothes, while the young man finally let out a breath of relief. The tense atmosphere was almost erased by Veirya. After getting dressed, her silver hair was still dripping with water. Nevertheless, Veirya already went to the cksmith, which was located at the centre of the camp.


    The cksmiths that followed the army were the lifeline of the soldiers. They were responsible for mending soldiers'' armour and weapons. Their armour merely served as a cebo effect when they were up against demons, but it was enough to help them feel reassured. To Veirya, however, she viewed her armour as an important tool that determined the difference between life and death.


    Veirya picked up her armour. It was a quality half-body armour and helmet. Veirya wore on her breastte and fastened the straps on both sides. The heavy weight of the breastte provided psychological insurance. She always wore this set; she''d always ask for it to be adjusted and repaired every time she returned from a battle. Her armour had been tidied up, but it was still damaged, which demonstrated how brave its wearer was on the battlefield.


    Veirya then drew her long sword and scanned it carefully. She swung it a few times. There were several more swords that were virtually the exact same on the table, but Veirya chose three long swords after going back and forth for a long time. She strapped it to her belt then picked up two daggers and strapped them to the rear of her belt.


    The young man quickly lifted up the backpack on his back and opened it: "Madam Veirya, I have prepared your backpack as per your request. There are ropes, medications, hooks, grind stones, flint,mp oil and an axe."


    Veirya checked the items inside. She took the items out and earnestly checked every single one of them before nodding. The young man didn''t receive the praise he desired, sadly for him. Veirya didn''t say anything. She, instead, shoved the backpack back to him. Then, she ced the swords she selected on his back: "Carry them properly. Don''t lose them."


    "Madam Veirya, A-Am I supposed to carry things?"


    The young man was quite astonished. He genuinely didn''t think Veirya would use him as a courier. When he was first assigned to the legendary Veirya, he thought that he was finally considered a valuable asset to the military; he thought he''d get to be a hero alongside Veirya. s, he finally realised that she saw him as nothing more than a courier.


    "Mm."


    Veirya didn''t hesitate to throw her backpack to him. She didn''t provide an exnation, either. The young man was wearing the armour and cloak that his ancestors passed down to him. Additionally, he also had to carry his own backpack and weapons. Now, he also had to carry Veirya''s spare weapons. He was the descendent of a reputable family, yet was oppressed. Veirya walked outside without paying the young man any attention.


    It was supposed to be the start of his legend, yet he was in no mood for it. There was no tension and no stimtion. There was nothing but a heavy weight on his back and disappointment. His initial fear and concerns disappeared. As for whether or not that was a good thing, it was a question mark.


    Veirya''s mission for current mission was to exterminate the demon den. The demons had upied a military camp that originally belonged to the elves. The elves had set up a military camp between the trees that was easy to defend but difficult to capture. Even though it was old and worn down, it wasn''t the easiest ce for an army to attack due to it being located in the forest. To ensure that money could be safely transported during their uing advance, they had to clear the area. Initially, adventurers formed teams to attack the camp, but no team ever returned after entering. Hence, Veirya''s mission was to personally eradicate the demons there.


    At first nce, the mission was practically a suicide mission. But nheless, if he was sessful, he''d be revered as a hero on par with his father, and he''d be granted an audience with the Queen. As a result, the young man spent ages preparing for the operation. He had gathered countless bits of information pertaining to the camp. He even went to the elves to ask for a map, whereas Veirya didn''t do a thing. When theyst went into the forest, she fell asleep after staining herself with demon blood. Having to carry Veirya''s luggage, left him with nothing but hopelessness and disappointment.


    Veirya wore her usual emotionless expression. She didn''t know there were lots of demons present and that it was a camp that was hard to capture. Nevertheless, she didn''t show any emotion and didn''t prepare anything. She entered the forest with her attendant as she always did.


    The forest was under the elves'' jurisdiction. Humans weren''t family with the area. The map the scouts provided contained some mistakes. The densely packed trees were practically all glued together. There were literally no spaces between the trees. To make aparison, they were essentially a wall that prohibited anyone from passing through. Therefore, it appeared as though there was no traversable path in sight.


    Veirya stopped in her tracks, and the young man quickly halted. He nced over to Veirya. He thought that she might''ve gotten lost and didn''t know where to head. He assumed that it was a chance for him to demonstrate hispetence. Thus, he rushed to say, "Madam Veirya, I have a map that the elves gave me. I believe that I can lead us there."


    "Axe."


    Veirya didn''t pay any heed to what the young man instead. He lingered for a moment then reached for the backpack but suddenly froze. Initially, he grabbed the map, only for Veirya to not ask for it. She threw him out of rhythm. He looked at Veirya and tried to feel out what she was thinking: "Madam Veirya, do you really not need the map?"


    "Axe."


    Veirya spun around. She looked at the young man with a seemingly displeased gaze. She extended forth her hand and waited. The young man had no choice but to give up on his map and hand her the axe. The axe wasn''t one specifically designed to chop trees. Frankly, it was just a small axe. Chopping branches with it wouldn''t be an issue, but chopping trees multiple times the size of a human being? That was impossible. Strictly speaking, if one had the patience to spend an entire day chopping away, they could chop down one in one day. But nheless, chopping down one tree would be useless for their purpose¡­ There were more trees to cut than they could count. No matter how he looked at it, creating a path by chopping down trees was impossible!


    Veirya didn''t seem bothered. She didn''t waste a moment; she grabbed the small axe and horizontally swung at a tree without a word. The axe got stuck in the tree. Admittedly, Veirya was strong. If the young man was the one who swung the axe, it probably wouldn''t have gotten stuck in the tree.


    "You will not be able to chop it down with that¡­"


    Before he finished his sentence, Veirya sprang into action, literally. She leapt up and kicked the tree branch. The old tree cracked and copsed loudly as an avnche with just a small dent and a fly kick. The dent made by the axe slowly widened until the tree slowly nted before totally copsing.


    "Aaaahhh!!!"


    The young man was frightened by the loud rumble. At the same time, he couldn''t believe that it took one kick to bring down such a tree. It was supposed to be impossible.


    "This can''t be real!! How can a human possess such strength?!" silently eximed the young man.


    "Hollow trees. It''s just a little trick used by elves."


    Veirya kicked the hollow tree on the ground. It was a huge tree; however, it was hollow as she said. It looked sturdy, but, in actual fact, was merely a thinyer of timber. It was empty inside. The young man looked at the tree branch feeling astonished. He then looked at Veirya in disbelief.


    Veirya calmly picked up her axe and said, "Normal trees. Wouldn''t be so close together. Don''t fall behind. Continue advancing."

 Chapter Volume 2.5 3

    <em>Burden</em>


    Veirya climbed up a hill. She looked back at the young man, who was still over half a metre away and slowly hauling himself: "You can''t go anymore?"


    The young man struggled to raise his head. He wiped his sweat on his face. His legs were quivering. He gripped the backpack more tightly than he was aware, thereby virtually sinking his fingers into the backpack. To be frank, it was pointless for him to grip it so tightly. Nheless, when someone pushed themselves to their limits when they were out of strength, they naturally put more strength into their hands. It was an instinctive action despite serving no purpose. The young man licked his pale lips. He mustered up all of his might to loudly reply, "No, Madam Veirya. I can continue."


    Veirya sat down where she was standing: "You don''t need to climb up. Stay there; take a break and drink some water. Then, we''ll continue."


    The young man forced himself to raise his head and look at Veirya. He eximed, "I do not need rest, Madam Veirya! I can hang in there! I can hang in there until we arrive! I am fine!"


    It was clear he was physically worn out. He almost tripped just raising his head, since he was already wobbly. Veirya repeated, "Stay down there. Rest. Drink some water. Then, we''ll continue. Now. Don''t act tough. If you run into them in that shape. You''ll definitely die. I don''t want. To carry my own backpack."


    The young man was surprised. Veirya said something that could be considered a joke, yet her expression remained the same as usual. He didn''t see his reflection in her eyes. She then sat down. Veirya never made suggestions; she gavemands. As Veirya had told him to rest, he followed her order and rested. He didn''t n to continue trying to argue.


    The young man felt somewhat upset, though. He slumped onto a rock in a dejected manner. He felt the soggy moss and cold rock from behind. The birds chirping overhead couldn''t cheer him up. He sat there and dejectedly looked at his initially shiny boots covered in mud. His cloak, which was handed down by his honourable ancestors, was also vilified with moss. He wasn''t covered in his blood or his enemies''. He was initially ready to die and fight for glory, yet there he was carrying Veirya''s luggage instead. Not to mention he even failed to do that much and ended up a burden instead.


    "I thought that I''m already an exemry warrior. I thought that I could fight with Veirya, only to find out that my physical attributes are so poor. Madam Veirya has been chopping trees the entire time, yet isn''t even panting¡­ I''m so useless. I''m probably the biggest embarrassment in my household. My ancestors bled for the imperial family. My household''s blood has been spilt on every inch of thisnd. What about me, though? I don''t even have the honour of sacrificing myself for the Queen. I thought I was extraordinary; only now have I realised that I''m just a failure of a soldier," thought the young man.


    Suddenly, he saw a canteen in front of him. He dawdled for a second then looked up surprised. Veirya stood in front of him and handed him a canteen. Noticing his gaze, she said, "Have some. Otherwise, you might not be able to fight. This isn''t. Time. To be acting tough. If you don''t rest up properly. You''ll definitely die."


    "Mm¡­"


    The young man met with Veirya''s gaze. Her gaze was emotionless. She didn''t show sympathy, give him encouragement or scorn him. It was void of any emotion. She didn''t suggesting anything or think about anything. Surprised, he said, "But¡­ but¡­ Madam Veirya, am¡­ am I a burden to you¡­?"


    "No. You''re doing. Very well. If I didn''t like you. I wouldn''t. Have let youe."


    Veirya''s emotionless eyes were reassuring. Veirya wasn''t being courteous or giving him encouragement. She was just telling the truth. The young man wasn''t a burden or dead weight. In fact, she was very pleased with him. Although doubtful, he didn''t ask if she was serious or not. Instead, he lowered his head and opened the canteen to quietly drink.


    To relieve the fatigue, some alcohol was added to the water, except the alcohol taste was very faint. Maybe it was due to the strong alcohol or maybe it wasn''t, but after having a drink, the young man''s the heat that entered his body revitalised him.


    He handed the canteen back to Veirya: "Thank you, Madam Veirya."


    "It''s fine."


    Veirya took the canteen, and then sat down without a word. By the looks of things, however, she believed his expression of gratitude was for her passing him the canteen. The young man revealed a smile. He lowered his head and thanked her again, "Thank you, Madam Veirya."


    For the young man, hearing that from Veirya was enough for him.


    Thought of the young man: "I''m not weak. I''m not a burden, and I''m not dead weight. Madam Veirya isn''t giving me encouragement or taking care of me. There are no emotions in her eyes. She''s just telling it as it is. In her eyes, I''m truly useful; I''m not a burden."


    ========


    <strong>*Bang!!*</strong>


    "Veirya, please, can you not just crash into my teeth next time?"


    When I went toin to Veirya for the umpteenth time, Veirya sped my face: "Don''t. You. Do it this way. With Leah? Though I don''t understand its significance. Do you know. What the significance of touching teeth is? I just. Didn''t want. To let you be angry. Anymore."


    I sighed.


    How could I be angry when Veirya''s blue eyes look so innocent? I shook my head: "I''m not angry. It''s all in the past, so I won''t be so angry. Plus, people don''t touch teeth. We''re not supposed to touch teeth. It hurts. It''s called kissing."


    "Can you teach me. To kiss¡­ As Last time. I''ll entrust you. With teaching me. This time."


    Veirya stood in front of me. My heart raced faster when I looked at her blue eyes. Veirya was a tad taller than me. It usually wasn''t obvious. When we stood up close, though, it was evident that she was too tall. It should be the female went up on her toes, yet it was I, who had to go up on his toes. My heart raced as I approached her soft lips¡­


    I admit the bashful feeling akin to an electric shock didn''t feel too bad, nevertheless.


    l

 Chapter Volume 2.5 4

    <strong>IMPORTANT:</strong> Read release note in featuredment.<em>Elf</em>


    "See? There are sentries."


    Veirya dropped down to the ground and examined at therge tree hanging horizontally in the air. On the top of it were two small individuals dressed in green and carrying simple weapons as they listlessly scanned the surroundings. They were very ordinary goblins. Goblins were the mostmon wild creatures and very weak creatures. A goblin had the equivalent strength of a child. However, their numbers were overwhelming. If there was a goblin in the camp, then there would be roughly over a hundred of them at the camp. As a matter of fact, there might even be a greater demon acting as their leader. For example, their leader could be a troll or a necromancer.


    "How are we going to off them?"


    The young man tightly gripped his simple crossbow. The crossbow was a weapon all soldiers possessed. It was made following a very simple procedure. While it was simple, there was no questioning its effectiveness. Once it was loaded with unique arrows, the wielder could shoot down the forefront fodder not in armour before engaging in melee. When employed for retreats, it could be used to stall pursuers.


    There''d be no issue shooting the two goblin sentries; the problem lied with the quality of the crossbow. As aforementioned, the particr crossbow was made quite shabbily. It was a weapon used by the military. The military didn''t supply crossbows. The crossbow was manufactured using the materials businessmen and cksmiths had on hand at the time. To add, they even used the cheapest material to cut costs. Only the arrows were supplied by the military. As a consequence, this sort of crossbow had very poor precision.


    The goblins were within thirty metres, but the young man was extremely concerned. He assumed that Veirya would harshly scold him if he missed. Not to mention the fact that he''d draw out a big group of demons from within. Therefore, he didn''t dare to shoot. Instead, he awaited Veirya''s orders.


    Veirya didn''t pay any attention to what he said. Instead, she drew two swords on the young man''s back. She jumped to her feet and hurled one at the goblins without any hesitation. The long sword flew along a curved trajectory, pierced the goblin on the right andunched him through the air. Before the left goblin could respond, an arrow flew over the heads of Veirya and the young man and pierced his mouth, therefore killing him before he could yell.


    Surprised, the young man turned around and vigntly drew his sword. A girl in green made a few jumps from atop the tree behind them toe up to the duo. He looked at the young female elf with surprise written on his face. The young girl held a bow in her right hand and an arrow in her left. She frigidly looked at the two humans:"It must''ve been quite the struggle for you two humans to get here, huh?''


    "Elf."


    Veirya looked at the elf with the same gaze. The elf initially nned to stare her down for a while only to discover that their heights were totally different. She had lost half the battle when she stared at Veirya at her height, so she gave up and ignored Veirya. She, instead, went to where the two were lying on the ground. She crouched down and scanned the interior: "I can see the situation inside. There are about fifty-plus green men, a minotaur and that''s all of them. The goblins are wearing armour, though. I can tell that it''s what you dead humans gifted them. Can you humans stop causing us trouble?"


    "Are you going to just disrespect our fallen soldiers?!''


    The young man was furious. While it was a fact that the adventurers didn''t y the demons, they did sacrifice themselves for the continent. Elves and humans were currently in an alliance, so they should demonstrate respect for the dead adventurers, yet the elf didn''t show a single tinge of respect. She insouciantly shrugged: "What respect does the dead need? Moreover, they went in there without preparations; they thoughtlessly charged in head first. Isn''t that gifting the enemy equipment? Not everyone is worthy of being called a warrior. If dying meant that one was granted the treatment of a warrior, then it''s too easy to be a warrior."


    "You¡­"


    The elf shut the young man down. Veirya, on the other hand, wasn''t bothered by what the elf said. She asked, "Youe alone?''


    "Mm."


    "You. Could''ve chosen not toe."


    "This is our elven territory to begin with. We can''t brush off the responsibility now that a group of demons have invaded into our grounds to set up camp. It''s obvious I need to y them all as the representative of elves. Of course, if it might''ve been easier if humans didn''t go and offer them equipment."


    The elf stood up. She leapt off the tall tform. Before the young man could tell her to watch out, a rope with a small axe tied to it swung up and hooked onto a tree branch. The elf used momentum to deftly vault through the air andnd on the tall tform that the two goblins were standing on before. She ripped out her bow and arrow. From the tform, she began her assault on the goblins. She didn''t stay in one spot. She leapt back and forth between the tform and tree branches, shooting as she moved. The goblins inside cried out one after another. The Minotaur thundered furiously.


    "What do we do?"


    The young man watched the elf dance between the trees feeling astonished. The elf looked extremely light. To put it into perspective, she resembled a small bird flying in the forest. The goblins slung rocks and fired arrows at her, but it was impossible for them to hit an elf given their wits. The elf wasn''t overconfident. As long as she had sufficient arrows, she could truly kill all of the demons within.


    The young man didn''t get a response. He was shocked when he looked next to him. Veirya vanished a while ago. He looked around in a flustered manner. Suddenly, he spotted a white robe leap down from a hill and rush into the front door. Veirya clearly did n any feints or strategies. Her n - if you could call it that - was to walk through the front door and cut everyone down.


    "Madam Veirya?! Madam Veirya?!"


    Exasperated, the young man checked his surroundings. He then looked up high and felt quite surprised. He hesitated for a long time but chose a less steep hill to descend. He wasn''t Veirya or the elf, after all. If he thoughtlessly jumped, he might break his legs and incapacitate himself; hence, he decided to prioritise safety.


    "I can finally draw my sword I can finally fight side by side with Madam Veirya. I can finally kill the demons," excitedly thought the young man.


    The young man threw his backpack to the ground, drew his sword and then rushed down the hill. Goblin corpses filled the interior. Some were missing their heads. Others were pinned to the ground with arrows in them. Veirya ran through the goblins as if she was a ghost. The goblins didn''t even have a chance toy a hand on her.


    There was no longer any way of telling which goblin had her sword in him. She picked up whatever weapons the goblins had on hand, which were either snapped spears or in wooden staffs. She smashed their brains out one after the other. She kicked some metres away. She even grabbed them and bit their necks, snapped them in half with her bare hands or just ripped their heads straight off.


    The goblins began to fear her. Veirya was more alike a demon than they were. She truly moved as though she was invisible.


    "A group of goblins would be my nightmare, but evidently not Veirya," realised the young man.


    Clearly, the elf and Veirya were capable of soloing all of the demons present.

 Chapter Volume 3 1

    <em>Going Home</em>


    "Papa!!"


    As soon as I entered the house, Leah leapt over and tightly hugged me. My foot had yet to heal, so I fell straight to the ground. Leah didn''t mind it, though. She loudly cried and hit my chest with her small fists. As she wept, she shouted, "Papa, Papa, you''re finally back¡­ Leah was so scared, Papa¡­. Why weren''t you by Leah''s side, Papa? Lea was so scared. Leah was really, really scared, Papa¡­ Papa¡­. Papa¡­ Don''t leave Leah¡­ Please, Papa¡­"


    "Leah¡­ He''s injured. His foot."


    Veirya gently tugged on Leah, who was crying. Leah finally noticed my foot was injured. She looked down at my foot and panicked as she got to her feet: "Papa! You''re hurt!! Papa! Papa, are you all right?!"


    "Papa is fine. Papa is fine. It''s just a small external wound."


    I rubbed Leah''s head with a smile. While my foot began to hurt again, I didn''t want to worry Leah any more than she already was after the shock. I used the wall for support. Veirya pulled me up. Lucia came out carrying hot water. She grumbled, "Don''t act tough. Your foot was almost bitten off. Hurry up and lie down. I only gave you some first aid. You need hurry up and lie down if you want to keep your foot."


    Leah screamed, "Papa!!"


    I unhappily looked at Lucia then rubbed Leah''s head. With a smile, I said, "It''s all right; it''s all right, Leah. Papa failed to protect you. Papa is sorry. Papa is fine. It won''t hurt as long as Leah is well."


    "Papa, Leah is all right. Leah isn''t scared. Leah isn''t scared with Mama Veirya protecting Leah."


    Leah quickly went to support my waist. She showed me a smile to reassure me. I lingered for a moment then ooked behind at Veirya. She gave me a small nod. Sounding quite content, she said, "Leah. Has started. To call me. Mama, too. From now on. I will definitely keep Leah safe."


    "Veirya, you shouldn''t speak too much, either. Your wound on your back needs to be treated, too. You might be able to bear the pain, but the wound will get infected if not treated adequately."


    Lucia sighed. Anna set up two beds on the ground. Troubled, she apologised, "Sir¡­ I¡­ I honestly did not know that you were both aware that Leah was a subus. I thought¡­ I thought Veirya would be angry if she found out Leah is a subus¡­"


    "It''s all right. It''s a fact that I didn''t inform you. Henceforward, however, you must protect Leah."


    "I won''t leave Leah again."


    Veirya removed her clothes before Lucia could tell her to stop. Lots of fragments of Veirya''s clothes were stuck to her skin, but she was indifferent about it. She pulled the clothes straight off, spraying her blood all over the ce. I had no desire to check out her body in that situation. To the contrary, it wrenched my heart.


    Veirya might''ve been impervious to pain, but I wasn''t. It hurt me even more to know that the pain was on Veirya''s body, for she wouldn''t mention how painful it was. She always avoided giving me trouble.


    "Veirya, whatever happens, you have to look after yourself. If you always neglect yourself, you''ll lose your life sooner orter."


    Lucia picked up a bowl from the table. Inside was a strange green ointment. She looked at it then shifted her scornful look onto Anna. She passed the bowl to Leah: "Here, Leah, spread some ointment on Veirya."


    Veirya sprawled herself on the table. She turned her face to the side and said, "I won''t. Again. In the future. I have to protect. Leah. Else. Leah. Will be in danger."


    Lucia pouted: "Not just Leah, right?"


    Lucia crouched down in front of me. She gently removed the fabric from my wound. I nearly grunted out of pain. She took out another bag of medicinal powder from her belt and gently poured it onto my wound. She then took a bit of fabric that was the equivalent of a bandage and put a medicinal pill in my hand. With a slightly red face, she said, "Have it, and you won''t contract rabies. It''ll also help relieve the pain. Eat it yourself this time¡­ I''m not feeding you¡­"


    Upon recalling what happened in the forest, my face also heated up. I felt shameful more than anything. I was so scared at the time that I couldn''t even move my tongue. I had to rely on Lucia to feed me with her tongue. I guess that was our first kiss.


    Lucia carefully bandaged me and quietly thanked me: "I need to thank you. You saved me back there and chose to die, entrusting me with the vouring. You''ve help us elves a lot. On behalf of the elves and also myself, thank you very much."


    "It''s nothing. I just made the best choice in the situation. If you died, I wouldn''t have been able to leave. If I gave the vouring to you, though, you could continue and go sell it; otherwise, it''d be stolen. Oh, right, here."


    I gently ced the insignia in Lucia''s hand and smiled: "You used this to call for Veirya, didn''t you? You wouldn''t have given it to me, otherwise. Thank you very much, Lucia. Were it not for you, I might not have survived. I figured this must''ve been incredibly important to you, so I brought it back."


    Lucia dawdled for a moment then revealed a nostalgic smile. She tightly gripped the insignia in her head and softly chuckled: "I''m amazed you brought it back. Thank you¡­ This is, indeed, very important. Thank you; thank you."


    I responded with nod. I gently touched Lucia''s head. She didn''t say anything. She just gently held the insignia and subtly smiled.


    The insignia was a sign that they went on adventures and a symbol of their past and glory. I, therefore, presumed it to be very important.


    I gently touched my foot. I watched Leah carefully apply the green ointment to Veirya''s back and asked, "Lucia, how long will my foot need to heal?"


    "About one week. It''s best that you rest it for an entire month. Your foot is severely injured. If you don''t rest well, you might suffer a sequ. Additionally, I applied the best exterior wound medicine we elves use¡­ but, frankly, the results aren''t the same for humans. It might take a week to heal, but it''s best for you to rest so that you can recover faster."


    "One week is enough. I have things to do, so I need to travel."


    I carefully touched my foot only to gasp. I didn''t have any means of running around. I wanted to get going that instant, but my injury had other ns.


    "Where do you want to go? I''ll go with you. You saved my life, so I have to pay you back for the favour."


    "No need, Lucia. I need to<em> personally</em> do this. I have to make the one who did this pay the price for Veirya and Leah''s sake! Since he dared to hurt my daughter, I''ll make sure his daughter lives in more misery than death!!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 2

    <em>Gambler</em>


    Lucia supported me over to Veirya. I looked at her back that was covered in ointment. Worried, I asked, "How''s Veirya''s condition?"


    Lucia subtly nodded: "It''s nothing major. While it looks nasty, it''s just an exterior skin wound. This is an ointment we elves formted for burn wounds. She''ll heal as long as she applies it on time. Plus, Vieyra has a sturdy body in the first ce; therefore, it''ll be even easier for her to recover. Her wound is fine."


    I nodded back. Veirya gave me the same response: "I''m fine. I''m fine."


    I nodded with a heavy heart. Lucia softly sighed: "Seriously, Travor, do you really have to get revenge? Honestly, I don''t know who exactly was behind this. Everybody seemed to be after Leah, because they all knew about her subus nature. As for the chapel, I think they''re also victims in this¡­ I think I wronged Angelina. If I didn''t hurt her with the arrow¡­ Angelina would''ve been able to protect Leah."


    "That''s true, Papa. Sister Angelina was the only one who tried to protect me," interjected Leah, grabbing my hand. She hopped over to my side, leaned on my shoulder and anxiously said, "I feel that Sister Angelina genuinely wants to protect me, Papa."


    I clenched my teeth and fumed, "Did you forget who attacked us in the forest? The chapel attacked us in the forest. My foot is in this state now thanks to them. Do you think they''d be so kind to protect Leah? I don''t know what happened, but they knew what we were up to, which was why they wanted to snatch our money and vouring¡­ By the way, Lucia, where''s the money?"


    "I buried it somewhere safe, and then went to Leah''s aid."


    "Retrieve it as soon as you can," I said, pausing before turning my attention to Leah. "Angelina might''ve tried to protect you during the day, but she definitely wasn''t nning to protect you at night. If the townsfolk didn''t riot, I''m certain her goal was to kidnap you so that the chapel could use you as a hostage to bargain with me."


    Leah grouchily eximed, "Sister Angelina is not that sort of person!!"


    Veirya turned around and solemnly stated, "That is the sort of person. Angelina is. She. Won''t side with you. Just because of you. She''s a qualified knight."


    "During the day, she genuinely nned to protect you, but we objected. Therefore, she was the chapel''s knight, who was carrying out their orders. Fortunately, due to the townsfolk staging such an intense riot, she ended up protecting Leah." I caressed Leah''s head and borated, "Leah, don''t ever think that everybody is a good person in the future. I''m not denying that Angelina is usually very nice to you; however, you must bear in mind that she''s not someone who can unconditionally love you."


    "What about Papa?"


    "Papa can give up everything for you."


    I gently hugged Leah and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Lucia felt envious watching us. She looked as if she also wanted to give Leah a kiss on her forehead. I turned to Lucia and exined, "By the looks of things, this was all the chapel''s work. I think they were the ones who spread the news to try and incite the townsfolk into taking Leah out from the house; then, their knights would swoop and snatch her away on justified grounds. Their n went awry when they underestimated the townsfolk''s fury, which led to the situation spiralling out of control. They prepared two ns. One n was to kill us in the forest and take the vouring. On the other hand, they wanted to take Leah hostage as an insurance policy. If their first n was a sess, they could''ve leveraged Leah to ask for more. You could say their n was so sickening that I''m disgusted."


    Lucia, puzzled, stuttered, "Really¡­? How did they know about our deal, though¡­? I¡­ I never mentioned it to anyone. Plus, I never did anything that would have given it away, right?"


    I asked, "How many people know about this?"


    "You, me and Achilles. Just the three of us. How else did they see through our ns? We didn''t do anything, didn''t we?"


    "Don''t you already have your answer? I didn''t tell anyone. Neither did you. To add, we never did anything. Doesn''t that tell you that the only one who could''ve leaked it was Achilles?" I peered outside with a cold gaze and went on: "Businessmen don''t take sides. Those who do won''t make money. My guess is that Achilles and the chapel nned to get rid of us. I''m positive the chapel promised them a bigger share. Achilles never promised to keep the secret, which is why he tattled on us to the chapel."


    Lucia deliberated it for a moment. Her ears then stood up. She shot me a furious re and raged, "That''s betrayal! How lowly!! I knew humans were trash! We all agreed to it then he went and betrayed us! That''s what you humans are always doing!!"


    Judging from Lucia''s reaction, she also abhorred betrayal. She snatched up her bow and arrows. She coldly dered, "I''m going to go kill them, damn traitorous scums! I thought it was all an ident, but after your exnation, I now realise it was all a despicable scheme and act of betrayal!"


    I grouchily grabbed Lucia''s arm. I exined, "If you, an elf, kill humans, the head of apany and a bishop, we''ll have a big issue on our hands. It might lead to a war between elves and humans."


    Lucia lowered her head to look at me and thundered, "What do we do, then?! I can''t ept this sort of act! Their schemes and betrayal hurt my friend. They even jeopardised Leah''s safety! Look at the state you and Veirya are in as a consequence. How can I just walk away?!"


    "You have to. This has nothing to do with you elves. Furthermore, you have an internal struggle of your own, don''t you? Sort your own problems out first. I''ll deal with the chapel andpany here. They hurt someone important to me and my daughter. If I need somebody to help me with this, I lived all these years for nothing."


    Lucia wanted to speak, but held back. Eventually, she said, "If you think youck the strength to aplish it, let me know. I''m very willing to help you."


    "I got this." I caressed Leah''s hand: "I can do it on my own. I know how powerful words are. They had to seed with their ns; sadly for them, they failed. While we did end up hurt, we''re still alive, and we know what they did¡­ Lucia, go get the money, and then find me a cane. I''ll go now."


    "Now? Your foot¡­"


    "I must seize the chance for what I might gain. It''s just one foot. I can handle it. Didn''t I tell you that if I''ve started betting, then I won''t care about how much I lose but how much I can gain?"


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 3

    <em>Bursting dder</em>


    "Lucia, I need you to help me with something. Go and shut all of the town''s doors. Don''t let anyone leave. The sooner you get it done, the better."


    Lucia nodded to indicate she understood mymand then immediately left. I slowly stood up. Leah suddenly grabbed my hand. Expression tense, she quietly said, "Papa¡­ I¡­ I can''t control myself¡­ I¡­ I need¡­"


    I suddenly recalled that Leah transformed at midnight. Although Vierya didn''t mind Leah was a subus, I thought it was best not to let Veirya see how Leah looked when she slept. Veirya wouldn''t kill a child, but as for an adult subus¡­ Veirya had yet to let go of her hatred for demons. She could only ept Leah when thetter was young. She''d probably kill a mature Leah as she did with others. It, therefore, was best not to take that risk.


    Unfortunately, my foot was injured. Thus, I couldn''t take Leah upstairs for her to transform. All I could do was do my best to pull her into the kitchen. The dark kitchen was safe. Veirya was stuck resting on the table for the meantime. She didn''t concern herself with what we were doing. Anna was still taking care of Veirya, so she didn''tment, either.


    As soon as I brought Leah into the kitchen, she painfully whimpered, and then quickly stripped. Her body gradually grew underneath the moonlight. Her hair gradually grew longer, and her face shape began to change. Her body grew simrly to an expanding balloon. She quickly grew taller and transformed into mature Leah. Afterwards, she gently hugged me except her breasts wererger than Veirya''s, thereby suffocating me.


    I lightly sped Leah''s face: "Leah, you probably won''t be able to go out for some time¡­ Unless Veiryva can¡­ Nevertheless, it doesn''t look as though she''ll leave¡­ You need to wait until tomorrow night. The town has yet to calm down, so don''t leave the house, understand, Leah?"


    Leah nodded, but she looked as though she was in pain. Her legs wiggled back and forth: "Papa¡­ I know¡­ but¡­ but¡­ Leah¡­ Leah wants to go to the toilet¡­"


    "Say what?!"


    I was startled. Leah had her long and ample legs tightly squeezed together. Her pretty face was reced with a look of suffering. She firmly pressed her hand to her dder and added, "Leah needed to use the toilet from the time Leah was helping Mama Veirya¡­ except¡­ except Leah never went¡­ Leah can''t hold it in¡­ Papa¡­"


    "You can''t go now!! Not now!!"


    If she went out, Veirya would see her for sure, and she''d be naked. Veirya couldn''t ept there being a subus she hadn''t seen before in her house¡­ Not to mention that she was a mature subus and the Demon King''s daughter. I couldn''t ward Veirya off in my current shape. Veirya wasn''t immobilised; she just didn''t want to move.


    "What does Leah do, then, Papa? Leah¡­ Leah really needs to use the toilet¡­ Seriously¡­ Papa¡­ Leah can''t hold it¡­"


    Leah looked as though she was going to cry. Given the urgent situation, I had spark of inspiration. I grabbed a bowl for soup and helped Leah onto the top of the kitchen table. I then separated her legs. However, I didn''t pay attention to her sensitive spot. Besides, it was jet ck in the kitchen. I held the bowl below her and told her, "Go ahead. I''ll just pour it away after."


    "No¡­ no¡­ I-It''s so embarrassing in front of Papa¡­"


    Leah went red in the face. I did say that it was dark, so you could imagine how red she was. She pressed her hands firmly to her face. She virtually couldn''t speak. I said, "I''m your father, so there''s nothing to be embarrassed about, Leah. Papa will turn around. Papa will turn around."


    It was mind boggling to me that she was embarrassed when we bathed together, and she''d gone much further when we slept together.


    I turned around. Leah pressed her hand onto my back, seemingly to ensure that I had turned around. I then heard Leah speak in a shaky voice: "Papa, you''ve turned around, right? Don''t turn back. You can''t look at Leah in this situation¡­"


    I nodded: "I won''t."


    As soon as my voice vanished, I heard the sound of water. Leah truly must''ve been at her limit. I heard the sound of water pouring into the bowl. I couldn''t resist the urge to imagine what was happening, but as soon as I started to have the thought, my little brother began to rise¡­


    Leah pressed her hand firmly on my back; it was apparent she didn''t want for me to turn around¡­ The sound gradually ceased. Leah carefully tugged my sleeve from behind and quietly said, "Papa¡­ Leah is done¡­ Leah is done¡­"


    "Mm¡­"


    I instinctively turned my head, but a warm and soft body stered itself to mine from behind. Leah slid her hands up my back to my chest. She pressed the side of her face to my back and muttered, "Papa, please¡­ please¡­. Come back to Leah''s side this time¡­ please¡­ Leah¡­ Leah was truly so scared¡­ Leah isn''t afraid of dying¡­ this time¡­ Leah was scared¡­ scared that Leah wouldn''t ever see Papa again¡­ Leah was truly so scared¡­ Therefore¡­ therefore¡­ Papa¡­ please¡­ no matter what you go and do¡­ please¡­ return to Leah¡­."


    "Mm¡­" I didn''t know how tofort Leah. I gently pressed my hand to Leah''s hand on my chest. In a soft voice, I continued, "Leah, trust Papa. Papa will definitelye back to you even if Papa is ripped apart. Papa will love you forever. Papa will always stay by your side."


    "Mm¡­ Papa¡­ Papa, don''t lie to Leah¡­"


    "Papa has never lied to you."


    Leah released me. I picked up the bowl. The bowl was hot, but I had no sick and twisted ideas. I turned around, gently touched her face and exined, "It''s precisely because I''m your father that I''ll never sit and watch someone hurt you. I failed to protect you, so I must make them pay the price."


    "Papa¡­"


    I gave Leah a kiss on her forehead and left the kitchen under her watch. When I arrived at the door, Veirya suddenly spoke out from behind: "Are. You leaving?"


    I turned my head to see her looking over by stretching her head. She looked at me with an expressionless look.


    I nodded while using the wall as supported: "Mm."


    "I''ll go with you." Veirya used her hand to support herself up. Anna swiftly pressed her hand down on Veirya''s shoulder. Veirya looked at Anna and I with a baffled expression: "He. Can''t walk."


    I dered, "I can. I can walk, Veirya. Just focus on recuperating. I have some business that I, alone, have to go deal with."


    "¡­ Mm."


    Veirya didn''t seem to quite understand; but nevertheless, she turned her head back andy back down on the table. Concerned, Anna asked, "Can you really handle it in your shape?"


    "Of course."


    I pulled the door open. Just as I went to say something, I met with a blue pair of eyes.


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 4

    <em>Mother and Daughter Pair that Adamantly Refuses to Admit It</em>


    "Angelina!"


    I first shut the door to avoid Veirya jumping up to kill Angelina. Angelina stood at our door. She looked at us with quite the anxious look, as she was eager to say something. In her hand was a paper bag. I realised what she was after when I saw her anxious blue eyes. Before she could speak, I said, "Don''t worry. Veirya is all right."


    "I see¡­"


    Angelina appeared relieved after hearing that. Despite the struggle to say the words, she said, "Please¡­ give this to her¡­ This can heal burns¡­ It''s very good¡­ it should be."


    "Mm."


    Indeed, it would be best to let Angelina, personally, hand it over to Veirya, but I knew they shouldn''t meet. After all, they still had animosity between them. I was sure Veirya''s wilfulness and pride meant she would shrug off Angelina in spite of her protecting her just before. Simrly, Angelina may be worried about Veirya, but she wouldn''t be able to get through to the incredibly stubborn Veirya. If I let Angelina give it to Veirya, she probably wouldn''t see her off.


    I knew that the mother and daughter pair cared a lot about each other. Veirya didn''t forget to push Angelina out of the danger when she leapt in to save Leah. Angelina waited to give Veirya some medication despite one of her arms still dangling down.


    I inquired, "Is your arm all right?"


    "It''s fine," answered Angelina, shaking her hanging arm. "I''m fine. I''m very concerned about Veirya, though."


    "If you''re truly worried about her, tell me the truth now."


    I grabbed Angelina''s arm so that she couldn''t run. She jolted in response. She stuttered in silence before finally speaking: "I¡­ I¡­ Is there any point in me telling you? I told you that I wanted to protect Leah during the day, yet you all refused to believe me. Is there a point in me telling you anything now?"


    "There is; obviously there is. I''m not trying to get back at you. You''re right, in that talking about the past is pointless. There''s a point with regards to the future, nheless. I can''t just sit and watch people hurt my daughter in silence. You feel the same way, don''t you, Angelina? You like seeing your daughter in that shape and not doing anything?!"


    Angelina furiously belted, "What else could I have done?! I never thought the chapel would do such a thing! I didn''t consider the consequences!! What can you do?!"


    She thundered the same way Veirya did. If Veirya was the one shouting at me, I''d feel a little better. Veirya didn''t care about her body, which hurt me more.


    "I can get revenge," I replied. I tightened my grip on her arm. Voice stern, I emphasised every word I enunciated, "I can help Veirya and Leah. I admit I failed to protect them before, but I''ll make them pay. Angelina, if you still love Veiirya and if you still have any semnce of a conscience, then tell me what you did! How?! How did the chapel know that Leah is a subus?! How?!"


    I gripped Angelina''s arm with a vice-like. She didn''t dare to break free using might, as her other arm was injured and couldn''t shove me away. I could see that she was at a loss for what to do when she looked at me. However, I intently looked into her eyes. Though she had the same eyes as Veirya, I dared to look straight into Angelina''s eyes this time whereas she didn''t dare to look at me. I gave her no chances of running.


    "Because¡­ because¡­ because¡­ because¡­ I¡­ found¡­ that merchant." Angelina''s lips slowly moved as she muttered fragmented bits and pieces.


    I instantly understand what happened. I never expected the chapel to know about the merchant. By the sounds of it, they must''ve ckmailed him into confessing what he knew about Leah. If that held true, thepany was aware of Leah''s subus nature.


    "What else does the chapel know?"


    "I don''t know anything else."


    I released my hold on Angelina. She hopped back a step and nervously looked at me. Then, she loudly said, "Can you really do it? I¡­ I''m the chapel''s knight. I won''t help you. I''ll protect the chapel. I''m¡­"


    I eximed, "Even though their mistake has left your daughter in this state?!"


    Angelina averted her gaze. She spun around to leave, but I caught her cape. She didn''t turn around. Nevertheless, I spoke to her with her back facing me: "I can understand how you feel. The truth is, you''re very eager to be with your daughter, correct? As long as you''re not the chapel''s knight, you can be with her, right? As long as you''re no longer their knight, you can return to Veirya''s side. Am I right? You, too, should be able to recognise that Veirya actually cares about you. There''s no reason for the two of you to be hostile to each other. I guarantee I''ll be able to let you two be reunited."


    "¡­ That''s some big talk right there."


    Angelina spun back around. She pinched my face and pulled it up close to hers. As a result, I staggered and almost fell onto her chest. There was a hint of ridicule due to despair in her blue eyes. Because it was impossible for her, she decided that the idea was preposterous. She quietlyughed: "Do you understand the two of us? Do you know what happened between us? Do you know how long we''ve been in this situation? You don''t know a thing. How are you going to resolve the problem between us?"


    I met with Angelina''s eyes: "I may not know, but that doesn''t stop me from helping you resolve your issue. All that matters is that you two care for each other. With that said, I''m not doing this for myself. I merely want to help Veirya."


    Angelina released my face but kept her eyes on me. She chuckled: "But not help me? Veirya is my only child. Obviously I care about her. I don''t know what you have in mind, but I hope you seed. In saying that, don''t forget that I''m still serving as the chapel''s knight. Take it too far, and I''ll show up."


    I nodded: "I''m aware of the boundary lines. Now, if possible, I hope you can help me find a walking stick or cane."


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 5

    <em>Instigation</em>


    "Are you packing up to flee first?"


    As soon as I arrived downstairs at the building where Achilles stayed, I saw him about to get into the horse carriage. Achilles instantly looked as if he saw a ghost when he saw me. As a matter of fact, he nearly screamed. Hisplexion was pale, a result of having the living daylights scared out of him. I aggressively raised the cane in my hand to block him off from the door he was about to pull open. I grinned: "What''s the matter? Is my sudden visit that much of a shock? That''s quite unlike you. Also, I think you can erase any delusions of escaping. I already have the town on lockdown. It''s impossible for you to leave. Now, let''s discuss what''s toe next."


    Achilles was thrown into disarray when he saw me. He grabbed my shoulders and looked into my eye. In disbelief, he stammered, "H-how¡­ how are you st-still alive¡­?"


    I kept my grin on: "Of course I''m still alive. Isn''t it a beautiful night? It''s the same as the night where we held the Fire Torch Festival. It was just a bonfire party, big deal. Also, you got your hands on the vouring, right? Don''t forget our payment. I''m not here to discuss that with you now, though. I''m here in regards to the chapel."


    "Y-You¡­"


    "Simply put, I won''t waste time talking about your matter with the chapel, as it''s pointless to talk about it any further. After all, your n failed; I''m still alive, which means that you have to pay me now," I interjected.


    I grabbed Achilles by his cor, looked him straight in the eye and went on in a stern tone: "I know your kind, businessman. I guarantee you agreed on a new price with the chapel, didn''t you? Well, it''s all in the past now, so I don''t n to pursue the matter with you. With that out of the way, I want to know about the chapel. If you can''t provide me with what I want right now, you can forget about leaving this ce. You''ve already earned my hostility by attacking me. Don''t forget: while this ce may be run down and small, it''s Lord Veirya''s turf. I don''t think anybody will find out if I do something to you."


    Although threatening somebody with their life was an extremely low-grade approach, the most ordinary and simple conditions were best for these sorts of situation where we already turned on each other. The chapel wanted to kill me, while Achilles was ready to split the money with the chapel after I was killed. To add, he nned to leave tonight to avoid any vengeances, only to find out that I wasn''t dead. Put simply, if he didn''t pay the chapel, then he''d offend the chapel. Achilles was faced with a decision he had to make. He either offended the chapel or me.


    He''d be fine if he offends the chapel. Offend me, on the other hand, and I could prevent him from leaving the town. Subsequently, a death threat was the most effective way to threaten Achilles. Businessmen valued their life most. They could put their lives on the line for money, but once they pocketed the money, they''d do everything in their power to survive. The dead couldn''t enjoy the merry and prestige that money could buy them. As such, he''d definitely protect himself so that he could take the vouring and sell it.


    Achilles sighed. He pinched his forehead between his eyebrows and hopelessly replied, "To be honest, I didn''t want to do it. The thing is, you asked for too much money. Frankly speaking, I have an even bigger backer for this deal, and she''s none other than Queen Sisi. Like you, I am serving the Queen. She takes the majority of the cut. Combine the two transactions, and neither the chapel nor we earn much."


    "I didn''t ask for your reasons. If you had a problem, you could''ve mentioned it beforehand. You want to y the pitiful card with me now? It has nothing to do with me even if Queen Sisi wants me, as long as I get my share. Additionally, you discussed the deal with the chapel, which proves that they''re also facing a financial shortage. I don''t intend to direct my revenge at you; I intend to get revenge on the chapel. Tell me everything you know about their circumstance. Now, what is the chapel''s current issue?"


    Achilles heavily sighed again: "Before I tell you that, may I ask you a question?''


    "Go ahead."


    "Are you getting revenge for what you went through or?''


    "They hurt my daughter and Veirya. I couldn''t care less what happened to me. I knew there was a high risk involved with the deal; it was a gamble. It had nothing to do with my daughter and Veirya, however. I can''t forgive the chapel for hurting them. Not only will I not forgive them, but I''m going to destroy them." I answered. I clenched my teeth and red at Achilles with a frigid gaze: "Now do you understand my reason? It''s in your best interest for me to burn the chapel with my rage. Don''t wait until it burns you."


    "¡­ All right. Coincidentally, Her Majesty has the same goal. Let''s do this: make a trip to the imperial capital with me, and I''ll tell you everything on the way there."


    Achilles made an invitational hand gesture. I dallied for a moment before asking, "Is it that important? Why do I have to go to the imperial capital? Can''t we just talk about it here? Besides, don''t you think this is too abrupt?"


    "Not at all. Since you want to be involved with this, I think you shoulde to the imperial capital and speak to Her Majesty. What you want to do is something that Her Majesty minds, after all. I know what you''re thinking. You can bring your daughter along. Once you reach the imperial capital and speak with Her Majesty, you''ll be able to get more of what you want."


    Doubtful, I scanned Achilles. He sighed: "I know, I know. I won''t run. Since you said that you n to oppose the chapel, though, Her Majesty would most likely be willing to see you."


    "My question is why Her Majesty wants to attack the chapel."


    "As you already understand, I don''t need to exin too much. Although the chapel formerly had a decent rtionship with Her Majesty, the taxes that they''re taking is eating into the taxes Her Majesty receives; it''s causing issues for Her Majesty. In addition, the war is already over; therefore, Her Majesty requested they reduce their military power, yet they struck up a rtionship with the adventurers Her Majesty wanted to eliminate. Thus, she now wants to take action against them. That''s why I think you''d be very willing to discuss this matter."


    "An enemy''s enemy is a friend¡­?"


    Come to think of it, my body still remembered the feeling of Queen Sisi''s foot¡­ Truthfully, it made me shiver. She was proud and dignified, yet just as cruel and vicious. I really didn''t want to go near here. She was akin to venom. You might be temporarily have your thirst quenched, but it''d definitely take your life. If it was a necessary part in getting my revenge, nevertheless, I was willing to go and see Queen Sisi. I wouldn''t back down. I''d rather let Queen Sisi abuse me than see Veirya and Leah get hurt.


    "All right. I''ll go grab Leah. I''ll bring Leah along to the imperial capital with you."


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 6

    <em>Veirya¡¯s Teeth to Teeth</em>


    "Have you already. Obtained what you wanted?" asked Veirya.


    When I returned home, Lucia gently ced a full bag of gold coins in front of us which, presumably, was the two hundred and fifty gold coins ie. The entire bag was filled with heavy gold coins. I''d never forget the beautiful side view of the face on the coins. I was absolutely positive it was the side of Queen Sisi''s face. The carving magnificently brought her to life. Despite being just a side view, it perfectly exhibited her beauty. I had to admit it was the most splendid art design I''d ever witnessed.


    Queen Sisi must''ve liked that sort of gold coin; she was the type who loved to unt her beauty, after all. Veirya was different. Queen Sisi put great effort into her appearance. Thus, Queen Sisi was worthy of being called the empire''s most beautiful woman.


    I sat down on a chair and answered, "Basically. However, I must now bring Leah with me on a trip to the imperial capital."


    Veirya wasn''t dressed. She merely had a cloak draped over her front side. Needless to say, I was sure she would''ve been stark naked if Anna didn''t suggest she cover herself. Veirya tilted her head: "Why do you have to go to the imperial capital."


    "The Queen might have a usible idea for dealing with the chapel. At the same time, the chapel happens to be in the imperial capital. I, therefore, need to make a trip there. Leveraging this incident alone to deal with the chapel is insufficient. The Queen won''t fight with the chapel just because they made an attempt on my life. We must find an excuse that would provoke her."


    Veirya nodded: "All right, then. I''ll go with you."


    "Your back injury hasn''t healed yet. Stay home and recuperate. Leave it to me."


    Veirya calmly replied, "Your foot injury hasn''t healed, either."


    "I''m fine. By the time we reach the Imperial Capital, my foot would''ve practically healed. I''m going to see the Queen this time; I should be fine. The chapel wouldn''t start in the imperial capital even if they were crazier, would they?"


    "Take good care of Leah, then," said Veirya, with a nod. She paused before adding, "I''ll go. To the imperial capital to find you. When I have healed."


    "Mm, take good care of yourself, then."


    Truth be told, I didn''t n to let Veiryae to the imperial capital, as what I had in mind might''ve crossed Veirya''s bottom line. With that said, it wasn''t totally uneptable to her; rather, Veirya could ept anything. This time, however, I had no energy to spare on looking after Veirya and Leah whilst trying to deal with the Queen, Achilles and the chapel. If I wasn''t worried about Leah''s identity being discovered, I wouldn''t have wanted to bring her along, either.


    I was taking on the chapel, an organisation that had been established for some time, I didn''t know how long. I didn''t have the foggiest idea as to how many believers they had. I had to do my best to eradicate them. That being the case, I needed to focus all of my energy on work. Judging from the chapel''s previous performance, they weren''t fools. I was certain it won''t be easy to get my hands on something I could leverage against the chapel. Furthermore, I didn''t have any clues at the moment. I needed to find out more while on the way there.


    Lucia looked at Veirya then me. She sped my face and seriously said, "I need to return to the elvennds. I''lle back to pick up the remaining moneyter. Travor helped me a lot this time. You''re our most valued friend. In the future, if youe to our elvennds¡­ I''ll definitely do whatever I can to help you. Travor¡­ thank you very much for your help¡­"


    Lucia suddenly went up on her toes and gently kissed me on my face. Anna nearly shrieked, but quickly covered her mouth with her hands. Veirya silently watched us. Lucia moved away and looked at me with hot flushes on her face. She softly giggled, and then dexterously hopped back. With a smile, she said, "So, then, I''ll definitely give you an invaluable present the next time we meet. Goodbye, Travor."


    Because Lucia kissed me before, I quickly calmed down this time. In saying that, before I could say goodbye, Veirya suddenly grabbed my hair from behind and turned my head around. All of a sudden, I was looking up at Veirya''s descending breasts.


    "Wait, Lucilia¡­"


    Veirya looked at Lucia then lowered her head in a swift motion. Before I could say anything, it sounded as if a meteor smashed into my teeth. Veirya''s teeth smashed into mine, rattling my brain. She then looked up at Lucia. Lucia wore a stunned expression. Lucia shuddered, and then eximed, "Wh-Wh-What are you doing? Teeth to teeth? Is that some sort of new greeting you humans do?!"


    Veirya sped my face with both hands. She looked at Lucia and, in a tone that left no room for questioning, replied, "This. Is humanity''s action. For showing intimacy."


    I had a strong urge to argue otherwise but my brain was jumbled. Lucia was rendered speechless. She hesitated for a moment then said, "D-Do I have to smash my teeth with him, as well? It looks painful¡­"


    "No," replied Veirya, quickly pressing a hand to my mouth and vigntly watching Lucia. "No. Only I can do. Lucil. No."


    "I-I see¡­"


    Gaze on Veirya, Lucia slowly walked backwards. She didn''t quite understand why Veirya was angry or humanity''s odd greeting. She retreated another step: "I-I''ll be on my way, then¡­ mm¡­ See you next time¡­ See you next time."


    Veirya nodded: "Mm."


    Lucia went to the door. Then, she turned her head to look at me: "By the way, remember, your foot''s nerves have yet to recover. If you run fast during your recovery phase, you may very well sprain it again. If you hurt it again, that foot will be permanently damaged. It won''t break and can recover, but you won''t be able to perform any high-difficulty movements again. If you don''t want to end up crippled, you must rest up properly until you''re fully recovered, understood?''


    I nodded: "Of course."


    I''d protect my foot, obviously. There''d be lots of inconveniences in the future if I lost a leg.


    Suddenly, Veirya spoke up: "After you go to the Imperial Capital. Remember. To bring stuff back for me. Her Majesty. Should. Still be thinking about me."


    No guarantees there¡­ If Her Majesty was still thinking about Veirya, we were in danger¡­ For all we know, Her Majesty might''ve wanted to eliminate Veirya¡­ Veirya was a warrior capable of ying the Demon King. Consequently, it was inevitable for her to consider Veirya a Demon King to a certain degree. I needed to probe around and find out what her attitude toward Veirya was. Queen Sisi was a fearsome murderer. Her adventurer kill record spoke for itself. Thest one might very well be Veirya.


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 7

    <em>Concern</em>


    "Tonight won¡¯t to be a peaceful night."


    I stood at the door and looked at the torches in the town that were lit up once again. I knew what the townsfolk were thinking. They returned for the meantime during the chaos, but they''d definitelye back in droves. Moreover, they looked as though they intended to dial up the intensity, because they carried a corpse with them.


    Standing at the door, I looked at the mass of torches and angry faces. However, I also saw fear in them. Their rage was no longer as its peak as it was during the first round. After a massive failure, nobody dared to be as audacious. That said, they didn''t want their friends to die in vain.


    Somewhat tired at looking at townsfolk, I pinched the corner of my eye: "What else do you want?"


    "Hand over the subus¡­"


    "I know what you''re getting at. I understand it. Next, you''re going to tell me about your deep-seated hatred for the demon race, correct?"


    The man in front of me was the leader of the pack, yet he didn''t suffer any injuries during the previous scuffle, so it was evident how sly he was. He was the instigator type of person. He''d never be present when the situation erupted. He was the most sickening type you coulde across. That being said, they were also the simplest to deal with. While the townsfolk were gathered at our door again, they probably weren''t as tough as before. I was confident I could settle Leah''s issue with some pep talk.


    "Let me ask you all a few questions. One, you said the demons killed your brothers and sisters, brothers, father, children, husbands, but was Leah the one who killed them? I understand you want revenge, but revenge isn''t venting your anger on an innocent child. Don''t assume I don''t know who ordered you. The war is over; regardless of what happened, problems that arose during the war shouldn''t be shouldered by innocent children. Just as you can take revenge for your family, I, too, can."


    I looked at the crowd with a cold gaze: "The demon race''s soldiers killed your family, which is why you now don''t care about hanging a child. By the same token, I''m in the same boat. From my perspective, your current behaviour and actions are no different to what the demon race did. The demon race''s soldiers killed your children, so you want to strangle Leah. Leah is my child. Should you dare to hurt her, I''ll do what you do, and strangle your children. Oh, and you''ll be first."


    I pointed at the man at the forefront. He shuddered: "You¡­"


    He lowered his head after an attempt to speak. Then, a young girl in the crowd spoke out. She gently tugged on a man''s arm and softly said, "Dad, we shouldn''t get involved with this. Leah hasn''t done anything bad during her time here. Had those people not said anything, I don''t think there would''ve been any issue."


    I looked over in the direction of the voice. It was the daughter of the tavern. I gave her a nod: "Be it demons or humans, I don''t care either way. I think humans and demons are sometimes the same. What you''re doing now is something that only demons would do. Therefore, you''re the most detestable demons from my perspective. You''re doing the exact same things they did!"


    "We¡­"


    The crowd was swayed. As I previously said, they already began questioning themselves. They were no longer audacious enough to riot in front of me again after Lucia and Angelina drove them back. Furthermore, most of them had some sort of odd sense of justice. It was undeniable that the demon race ran the town down before; however, the townsfolk didn''t truly believe killing a little girl was justice, either. Leah hadn''t done anything wrong during her time in the town; reasoning wasn''t required. I just needed to be able keep them on a leash.


    The young girl in the crowd tested the waters: "Everyone, Leah hasn''t done anything wrong. She''s just a child. She has never hurt us. To the contrary, we were the ones who hurt her. Our lord is correct. Leah didn''t do anything wrong. We¡­ we don''t hate Leah. The war has ended. Lord Veirya has in the Demon King. If she can adopt Leah as her daughter, we shouldn''t be trying to argue otherwise."


    Reasoning is for those who can fathom it in the first ce. The townsfolk didn''t need it. They just need to be ruled. They were merely an enraged group of rioters that want to blow off some steam. Besides, they no longer even had the right to be violent citizens. I pulled open the door to the house: "I''ll be asking the record keeper for the records of all those hurt and dead in the scuffle to provide you withpensation. This ends here. I won''t pursue any responsibilities."


    "¡­"


    The crowd didn''tment. Instead, they all looked at me with mixed emotions. I looked back at them with my own serious gaze but didn''t take any action. The crowd gradually began to disperse one after another. Nobody wanted to continue with the fiasco. The chapel had basically packed up and were ready to leave as soon as possible. Consequently, the townsfolkcked a backer. However, they were going to be ruled by Veirya and me in the future. We could kill them if they started, so nobody wanted to continue with it.


    "Tch!"


    The man I specifically went after before awkwardly looked at me onest time then spun around and left. He left very quickly, which I presumed was because he was afraid I''d change my mind and kill him to deter the others. I had no such intent, though. I wasn''t interested in minor characters. What was on my mind was my meeting with the Queen when I arrived in the Imperial City, what the Queen wanted to say and what exactly the chapel needed.


    The young girl watched the crowd disperse then gave me a shy smile and bowed before departing with her father. I didn''tment. Nheless, I erased their debt at that moment. The debt I referred to was their food loan from us a while back. It was fine with me to erase the debt. Not everyone has the courage to take a stand. The courage to do so is much more valuable than money.


    I let out a breath of relief. Nights in spring were no longer so long. I wasn''t sure if it was my delusion or not, but I could seemingly see the suning up already. The sky was no longer so dark. I peered into the distance but didn''t spot the sun. In saying that, I think it was a sign the sun wasing up.


    So much happened that night. I felt as though lots of things around me changed in the one night. Veirya, Angelina and Leah''s rtionship probablypletely changed on that night. I didn''t know if my decision was correct or not. When faced with my enemy, I chose to ally with an even more frightening opponent. While I could drive off the chapel, Queen Sisi held my reins. Thus, I was in a situation that was risky as the chapel was except that the Queen was likely to be even more dangerous than the chapel.


    "Will this alliance be the beginning of annihtion? What I do know, though, is that I''m scared," I admitted to myself.


    I gently pressed my hand on the door handle. My hand and legs shook. I knew I was scared, genuinely scared. I was afraid I''d fail. I was afraid Queen Sisi would drag me into something more troublesome. I was worried about Veirya and Leah. I was afraid I''d lose everything I currently had.


    I asked myself, "I was never scared in the past. Why am I so afraid now?"


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 8

    <em>Before Departing</em>


    I gently shut the door and hung my cloak up again. The house was a lot quieter. Anna had probably turned in. Veirya sat at the table by herself again. She maintained her usual demeanour and quiet behaviour. She set her long sword by her side. Leah was still standing silently in the kitchen. I wasn''t entirely sure if it''s her talent as a subus or what, but not even Lucia noticed her presence.


    When Leah saw me return, she looked at me with a befuddled look. She gestured for me toe over with her hand. I smiled, and then went into the kitchen. I quietly said, "Leah, did you hear about it, yet? Papa is going to take you to the imperial capital."


    Leah solemnly caressed my face with her hand and softly replied, "Leah doesn''t mind where Leah goes as long as Papaes with me. Papa, don''t leave Leah again this time. You must stay by Leah''s side this time, Papa."


    I responded with a firm nod: "I''ll protect you properly this time, Leah. Papa promises Papa won''t let you be in danger this time."


    Leah tightly hugged my arm and leaned onto my chest. She had yet to revert to her child form. I could tell she didn''t sleep all night. She couldn''t sleep in such a squishy and cold kitchen, after all. I was quite aroused, as she was in her adult form and leaning on me. However, the more gently she leaned on me, the more scared and worried I was.


    I didn''t know how big and widespread the issue with Queen Sisi was. Thus, I couldn''t determine if getting involved with her was a good or bad thing. The first impression she left me was still frightened me. She saw everyone as people she can do with or without. They were mere prey she could hunt as she pleased. Queen Sisi wielded more power than the chapel and had the ultimate military.


    I began to think: "Was it really a wise decision to get such a powerful person involved? If I don''t rely on her, though, who can I rely on? Seeing as she''s the main financial backer behind Achilles and the chapel can''t hurt her subordinates without her tacit consent, I should ally with her to get at the chapel.'' In saying that, I know what she''s done. If she''s not pleased with me and wants to eliminate us, what can I do? Do I have another choice at the moment, though?


    If I want to take on an enemy that''s more powerful than me, I must work together with another powerful party. I must work with Queen Sisi and ensure she''s interested in us. The best oue would be for us to be able to associate ourselves with her. At the same time, I need to ensure Queen Sisi doesn''t step on Veyra''s dignity and her dignity as a lord.


    So, what do I need to prepare? What do I need to do? What are the possible scenarios that I may have to face? I have no answers to any of these questions. I need to infer what the chapel''s scheme is and the reason for their financial struggle using the information provided the merchant provided.


    By the sounds of things, Queen Sisi and the chapel are having a conflict over a tax issue. The chapel has no reason to oppose Queen Sisi''s decision. If they''re going to collect money in spite of knowing full well she''ll have misgivings about them, what are they nning to do with the money?


    Logically speaking, the war is already over, so there should be no reason for the chapel to collect money. What are they using the money for? Their purpose is integral to the equation. Only by figuring out what their aim is, can I figuree in between and obstruct them. Damn, I can''t figure it out. I need to find out more."


    "Papa."


    Leah apparently noticed that I was absentminded. She gently touched my face, and I gave her a small nod: "Leah, wait here. Papa will head up and pack."


    Leah wondered what I was up to. Nevertheless, she let go in the end, albeit grudgingly. I left the kitchen. Just as I went to head upstairs, Veirya suddenly spoke out from behind in an absolutely serious, yet calm, tone: "You. Scared?"


    Startled, I turned and coincidentally met with Veirya''s eyes. She repeated herself, "You. Scared?"


    "Yeah¡­"


    I believed it was best to be honest with Veirya. She didn''t need lies. I didn''t know how she could tell that I was afraid. There seemed to be neither loathing nor ridicule in her gaze; her gaze was emotionless as usual. She gave me a small nod: "There''s no need to be ashamed. Of feeling scared. Fear. Is a kind of strength. But. What are you. Scared about?"


    "I''m afraid we''ll lose everything we currently have if I fail," I answered. I sat down opposite Veirya and tightly clenched my fists. In a soft voice, I exined, "I know I must avenge you, which is why I have to go to the imperial capital. I don''t understand Queen Sisi or the chapel, however. If I fail, I won''t be faced with just the chapel''s vengeance, but also Queen Sis''s fury. If I f-"


    "Didn''t you say. That you might seed?"


    I paused for a second before answering, "Y-Yes¡­"


    Veirya: "Isn''t it fine, then? I''ve always believed. I could win. That''s why. I''ve won until now. I believe in you. So, you can seed. Besides. If you fail. I will. Go save you. I will go find you. Don''t be scared."


    I softly chuckled: "I''ll do my best."


    Veirya gently pinched my face. With a hint of envy, she said, "You will. Seed. I. Like your smile. So, smile more. In my presence."


    "Huh?"


    I was startled when Veirya said that she liked my smile. Her hand on my face was as cold as ice. Maybe it was because my face was burning up from shyness.


    Veirya gently and delicately ran her hand across my face. My heart sped up again upon feeling the supple sensation of her fingers and palm. I looked down, as I couldn''t bring myself to look her in the eye. I felt as though her eyes set me aze. My entire mind was filled with images of her. Every nerve on my heart expressed its love for her. I really wanted to grab her hand on my face, but I didn''t dare to. My entire mind went nk.


    "I will. Go find you. So, do what you want."


    Veirya gently pulled her hand back. I muttered under my breath with my head down. I wasn''t trying to entertain her. I just knew my face would look as red as if I had a fever if I looked up at her.


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 9

    <em>Goodbye Kiss</em>


    "Breakfast is ready."


    Leah finally came out from the kitchen in the morning. I went upstairs to grab clothes for her to change into before she came out. We didn''t have much luggage; we only had two sets of clothes. Most importantly, we had two hundred and fifty gold coins from Lucia. Nobody opposes money. I wanted to use money as my stepping stone. Money was the only way I could obtain what I wanted and to secure Leah''s future. Queen Sisi will take care of our living needs - at least, I believed so.


    I ced breakfast on the table. Leah leaned over onto the table and yawned. Veirya looked at Leah''s head underneath the sunlight. She seemed to have a desire, but also minded Veirya''s reaction. I knew she must''ve wanted to rub her head, but she was afraid she''d disturb Leah.


    I rubbed Leah''s head. She moaned in response. She grabbed my hand with her right hand and ced it on her face. Veirya took in a deep breath. She attempted to touch Leah''s head. Leah grabbed Veirya''s hand with her left hand, and then ced it on her face. Veirya''s expression went stiff. Veirya softly remarked, "She''s. Truly adorable."


    I smiled quietly stated, "You should''ve been aware of that from the start."


    Veirya didn''t nod; instead, she said, "She''s the Demon King''s daughter. I had a duty to kill her. Now, however, it''s different. I will. Protect her."


    "Mm." I nodded: "I''ll also protect her. Leah, Leah."


    I raised my voiced. I lightly pinched Leah''s face. She moaned, and then looked up at us in a hazy state of mind. The tips of our fingers were touching, as Leah was holding our hands. Leah pouted. She then pushed Veirya''s hand aside and interlocked her fingers with mine. However, she then realised something and froze. Surprised and ashamed, she lowered her head and muttered, "Sorry¡­ Mama Verya."


    "Don''t mind it," responded Veirya, satisfied. She had noints for Leah. Instead, she turned back to grab her spoon and enjoy her broth.


    Anna came up to us, emotions swirling inside. She gently ced a small wooden horse on the table, surprising Leah. The horse was carved by hand but was very detailed. You could, therefore, tell the carver was very skilled. Anna softly said to Leah, "I am very sorry aboutst night, Miss Leah¡­ I thought Lord Veirya and Sir Lin were unaware of your identity, which is why I did not protect you¡­ I am sincerely very sorry. I know I hurt you¡­ This is my way of apologising. I hope that it can cheer you up a little¡­"


    As soon as Anna finished speaking, Leah immediately hugged Anna around her waist with a warm hug. Leah gave surprised Anna a bright smile" "It''s all right, Sister Anna. I don''t me you, because it''s a fact that Papa didn''t tell you. I can understand¡­ I''ve seen the people who lost their homes due to my own kin¡­ So, I won''t me you."


    "Leah¡­" Anna hugged Leah and gently rubbed her head.


    I looked at Anna, who was so touched that she was on the brink of tears, and said, "Anna, I''ll be leaving Veirya in your care during my absence. Veirya is still injured; before she heals, don''t let her run around."


    "I know. I know, Sir. I will definitely take good care of Veirya."


    Anna responded with a firm nod. Veirya lowered her head and continued eating breakfast. Then, she said, "I don''t need. To be taken care of."


    "Of course you do. How are you going to put ointment on your back injury without someone helping you?"


    "All right." Veirya stopped to think for a moment, but in the end, just continued eating.


    Leah turned to Veirya. She hesitated for a moment then tested the waters with her: "Mama Veirya¡­ umm¡­ did you want anything? We can bring you back something."


    "Nothing," answered Veirya, not having any desires as always. "I''ll go. To see Her Majesty. Later."


    "All right," replied Leah, nodding and watching me put my bowl down.


    A horse carriage rolled up outside. To my surprise, Veirya ced her bowl down and stood up. Due to her still having her back injury, she was virtually undressed. However, she still picked up our stuff and went to the door. I quickly stopped her: "You''re still hurt. I''ll carry it."


    "It''s all right," nonchntly replied Veirya.


    I hesitated for a moment before responding. "You''re not dressed. Go back. Don''t let others see you."


    "¡­ Mm."


    I was surprised Veirya docilely nodded. She ced my stuff down then suddenly sped my face. As fast as lightning, she leaned her face in and smashed her teeth into mine again. I gave up. I think I needed to tell her, "Humans'' kisses aren''t teeth to teeth collisions!!"


    Leah quickly rushed in between us and pushed Veirya away. Veirya didn''t bother with Leah; instead, she said, "You can''t. Let others. Do this, either, then."


    "Don''t you worry. Nobody besides you will do it¡­"


    I sighed. Leah grumpily looked at the two of us then pulled on my arm. I looked down at her. She forcibly pulled me down by my cor. Because my leg had yet to heal, I almost fell down. Leah kissed me on my lips.


    Satisfied, Leah let go of my cor then cheerfully hugged my arm. She turned around to look at Veirya and gleefully bid her farewell: "So, then, Mama Veirya, we''ll be leaving now! Take care of yourself!"


    Veirya seemed confused as to why Leah kissed me.. I, too, was stunned by Leah''s surprise attack. It took a moment before we returned to our senses, with Veirya being first. Veirya nodded: "All right. Give it. Your Best."


    "Mm¡­"


    I didn''t quite understand what happened. I supposed Leah''s saliva was an effective aphrodisiac that would rob me of my ability to think for a while. Veirya and I were left speechless as Leah cheerfully pulled me outside.


    A simple-looking ck horse carriage was prepared outside. Achilles stood next to the door. He attentively opened the door upon seeing use up. Leah tightly clung to me. She knew my left leg was still wounded, so she supported my body. The two of us sat down inside. I was quite surprised to find the inside was so extravagant. Achilles also got in and shut the door. He then knocked for the coach to take off.


    I looked back at the house. Veirya wasn''t standing at the door. Perhaps it was because I told her not toe out. I never thought my first time separating with her would be so ordinary. Nothing emotional happened. I was fascinated with the fact that I wasn''t emotionally upset. I wondered why I felt that way.


    "As you have now gotten into the carriage, you have officially joined us on our path. Therefore, it will not be easy for you to get away now. It is true that Her Majesty wants to eliminate the chapel. Now, I shall tell fill you in on the current situation."


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 10

    <em>Behind the Shrine for Ancestral Tablets</em>


    "Your Majesty, we have received a report from Achilles. Regarding the matter with the chapel, someone wants to join."


    Queen Sisi looked up. She picked up a napkin to the side to wipe her mouth. In an absentminded manner, she inquired, "Is that right? Who is it? Are they reliable? Are they loyal?"


    "It is the man with Lord Veirya. A few nights ago, the chapel almost hurt his family; therefore, he is most definitely reliable. Achilles is also confident in his abilities. I believe he can be helpful to us."


    "Someone with Veirya? The man with Veirya?" asked Queen Sisi. Initially puzzled, she revealed a delighted smile. She excitedly said, "Oh, right, right, I remember now. Little Doggy. I remember now. I thought I wouldn''t see Little Doggy again; I never thought I''d get to see Little Doggy again. I''m looking forward to it. Little Doggy''s appearance is a pleasant surprise. I wonder what pleasant surprises he has in store for me this time. I''m really looking forward to it."


    "Your Majesty, do you truly n to go after the chapel this time? They do have influence at the end of the day. If we suddenly create a big wave and eliminate them, it would not be wise, would it?"


    "Didn''t you businessmen want me to subdue the chapel before? Why are you changing your stance now?" asked Queen Sisi, ring at the businessman out of the corner of her eyes. She softly chuckled: "I, of course, want to eliminate the chapel. I''ve said it countless times before; the war has ended. The chapel can''t continue collecting taxes or keeping their knights, yet they adamantly refuse to oblige. There''s nothing left to talk about. I''ve never been one to have much patience. Subsequently, there''s no need for the chapel to exist anymore. I must do this. You just need to provide me with support."


    "Yes, Your Majesty." Cognizant of the fact that, the businessman Queen Sisi wouldn''t listen to what he had to say, he didn''t say any more.


    Content, Queen Sisi ced her knife and fork down. She happily gently wiped her pink lips. She looked toward the window and rubbed her hands. She smiled: "Little Doggy, Little Doggy, will you bring me a pleasant surprise this time? I''m looking forward to it¡­ hehe¡­."


    ========


    Current time inside the horse carriage in the North.


    "Simply put, the chapel''s financial struggle is not too severe. I don''t know what recent ns they have with their financial struggle they didn''t build a new chapel or renovate an existing one, but it''s a fact that they''re desperately trying to make money, which they''ve pressed even harder for this year. They''re asking all of their believers to make a tribute of one tenth of their ie; meanwhile, Her Majesty is asking for one eighth of their ie as taxes. The people refused to pay their taxes when they were asked to pay so much. In addition, the chapel''s knights have stopped merchants in their tracks to extort money from them, yet they never spent the money. ording to our investigations, the bishop''s daughter is apparently sick¡­"


    "Are you suggesting the money is being allocated to helping him cure his daughter''s illness?"


    "Mm, it''s possible, very possible, in fact. The problem is that we don''t have any evidence. Still, that''s not the most important part. The most important part lies with the chapel''s knights. With the chapel''s knights'' numbers, they''re no match for the imperial guards in the imperial capital. Since the war ended, weapons have been strictly regted in the imperial capital. It''s pretty much impossible for them to buy their knights weapons in the imperial capital. The problem is that the chapel has always been dealing business with the dwarfs."


    "The dwarfs?"


    "Correct. The dwarfs have always been experts at forging weapons."


    "That''s not enough to ascertain the chapel is purchasing weapons from the dwarfs, though, is it? Didn''t you say they''ve always been doing business with the dwarfs?"


    "Yes. The chapel has always been doing business with them. The main thing they trade is statues of God. The dwarfs possess splendid art skills and materials, thereby making them appropriate candidates to make statues of God. Recently, discussions between Her Majesty and the chapel have fallen apart. They object to her suggestions, while she has also strictly inspected their god statues. No weapons were found. In saying that, the chapel is connected with adventurers. To equip the adventurers, they require weapons."


    "Has the rtionship between Her Majesty and the chapel reached the point where they''re aggressively confronting each other?"


    What I heart was surprising. The war had just ended. There was no need to start fighting amongst each other so soon, was there? Fights between humans should be left to the end. I wondered if their rtionship has already fallen apart.


    Achilles gave a very simple, yet convincing reason: "The chapel refused to oblige with Her Majesty''s request to stop collecting taxes and to stop arming themselves. Topound issues, Her Majesty has never been a patient individual."


    Indeed, Queen Sisi did look to be the type that was impatient. She was haughty and a control freak. As the victor of a massive century-long war, she required everyone to submit to her to stroke her ego. The chapel happened to be the first to oppose her. It was no wonder, then, she killed people to deter others.


    "In other words, if we''re to take on the chapel, then there are two things to bear in mind: one, the chapel''s financial issue. Two, their trades. The chapel is also affiliated with adventurers and, therefore, will certainly purchase weapons."


    "Their financial issue isn''t your concern, "interjected Achilles. He looked into my eyes and seriously borated, "You''re in charge of investigating their goods. The dwarves once fought alongside us. They know me and how we distribute our power. If they choose to help the chapel, they won''t allow us to find out what we want to know, and they''ll oppose us. It''s different for you, though. The dwarves have never seen you. Plus, you''re with Veirya. They should be friendly to you. To be honest, we can''t topple the chapel with their financial issue. However, if you find them preparing weapons and n to take action, Her Majesty can destroy them in the name of quelling a rebellion."


    "I feel as though you people are using me?"


    "It''s not that sinister. Aren''t you angry with the chapel? Luckily for you, you''re getting the chance to destroy them," said Achilles, looking at my left leg thenughing: "Her Majesty should be very pleased after this matter is dealt with. In turn, our vouring trade should run a lot more smoothly after. In saying that, we only have half the profits, as the other half goes to Her Majesty. Queen Sisi is a very unreasonable Queen. Sadly, what can we do? Queen Sisi knows how to rule and is incredibly ambitious. It''s just that she feels too young."


    "¡­ Mm, she''s horrifying¡­ I always felt as though she has this odd charm to her, one that attracts people to her with an unstoppable urge despite knowing that she''s very dangerous."


    Surprised Achilles queried, "Why do you think that?"


    "Are you telling me that none of you do?!"


    "¡­"


    My immediate thoughts: "What, is it just me, alone?! Am I a masochist?!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 11

    <strong>IMPORTANT:</strong> Release schedule and early chapters in ¡°Featured Comment¡± below<em>A Pawn Will Always be a Pawn</em>


    "You and your child should sleep in the carriage. We shall set up tents outside. This is a very long trip, so do your best to make yourselffortable."


    The interior of the carriage wasn''t spacious, but the seat was very soft, and lying down on it was akin to a veryfortable bed. I turned onto my side to hug Leah; however, it might not be sofortable at night, as adult Leah might just boot me off.


    Leah didn''t fall asleep right away. She slept during the day, since there was nothing to do in the carriage during the day. Alternatively, she could crawl around inside. We had just passed the city that we were familiar with. Angelina andpany left the city that night. I didn''t know if the chapel was in the city.


    Perhaps the chapel seized the initiative and were already headed to the imperial capital. I didn''t know what was going on nor did I want to strut up to the chapel and confront them head on. If I engaged the chapel beforehand, I might cause the entire game board to change. It''s not time toe into the light, yet; I should still be moving about in the darkness. Before I collected incriminating evidence against them, confronting them could result in them capturing me. I had a burning desire to get revenge; however, it was at those sorts of times that I had to stay calm. If you can''t kill your opponent in one strike, don''t strike.


    It was very quiet in the carriage. I kept on contemting what Achilles said. Owing to the fact that I was mulling on the weapons issue, I didn''t speak. Leah rolled back and forth in my arms and asionally touched my face. She seemed to be very eager to talk to me. However, noticing that I was so quiet the entire time, she couldn''t resist the urge to finally speak up: "Papa¡­"


    I looked down at Leah and rubbed her head. I absentmindedly asked, "What''s the matter, Leah? Did you want to use the toilet?"


    "No!!" Leah went totally red in the face when she recalled the event in the kitchenst night. She unhappily pouted and hit me on my chest. She sulked, "Papa, you''re always absentminded when you talk to me now, yet you''re so earnest when you converse with Mama Veirya. Papa, do you no longer like Leah? Leah now knows that Mama Veirya is very nice to Leah, but Leah still doesn''t like for you and Mama Veirya to be so close."


    "Papa did no such thing¡­"


    "You did! Papa is so smart around everyone, but stutters in front of Mama Veirya! Leah can tell with one nce there''s something going on!" eximed Leah, wearing a serious gaze. She pinched my face and, in a puzzled tone, inquired, "Why do you act that way, Papa? Mama Veirya doesn''t appear to be as smart as you."


    "The truth is Papa isn''t that smart."


    I pinched Leah''s face with a helpless smile. She firmly shook her head: "Says who?! Lots of people say that Papa is smart!!"


    "If Papa was actually smart, you wouldn''t have gone through thatst night."


    I apologetically caressed Leah''s face. The pain and despair that Leah sufferedst night was more than I could imagine. It was heart wrenching just imagining the fear and despair Leah was subjected to when she, a kid, was surrounded by a violent group of bloodthirsty adults, while she quivered alone in the crowd. The more I thought about it, the stronger my desire to seek revenge burnt. My thought process was simple: the pain you make my daughter suffer will be the suffering I put your family through. As for the bishop''s daughter, I was keen on paying her a visit.


    "It wasn''t your fault, Papa¡­" said Leah, shaking her head after she brushed her face on me. Her eyes met with mine. She hesitated for a moment before hopelessly saying, "Papa, to be honest¡­ Leah now¡­ somewhat misses Mama Veirya¡­ It''s the first time Mama Veirya isn''t with us. There''s only the two of us tonight¡­"


    I nodded and rubbed Leah''s head: "Yeah."


    Honestly, though I was embarrassed to admit it, besides thinking about the chapel''s ns, I thought about Veirya. We hadn''t known each other for long, and she wasn''t a flirtatious woman, yet, to my surprise, I found I really enjoyed my time at her side. I wondered if she was missing me.


    I gently rubbed Leah''s head; she began to gradually take slow breaths on my chest. We were out in a barren area, yet it was incredibly quiet outside. Spring in the North was just as quiet. It gave off the vibe that there was never been any life. The horse carriage didn''t move. Outside the window was a candle that swayed. There shouldn''t be any bandits around the deste area, because the poption was small. I quietly looked outside while stroking Leah''s head and thinking.


    I pondered, "Why is the chapel teaming up with adventurers? Does the chapel really intend to oppose Queen Sisi to the bitter end? Are they actually nning to oppose the entire empire''s military with their knights and a group of adventurers?


    That''s preposterous. At most, the chapel might attempt to usurp her rule in the imperial capital, but transporting weapons and armed adventurers into the imperial city? You think the Queen wouldn''t call back her troops? Also, can a mere group of adventurers really break through, and get into the imperial pce?


    Wait, wait. Achilles information was wrong. The chapel would never distribute weapons to the adventurers, and then oppose Queen Sisi. There¡¯s no way they''d do that. Anyone with a brain cell would know it¡¯s impossible. Moreover, ording to what Achilles said, the chapel needs money. They need money to distribute weapons. What, they asked adventurers to rob the national treasury? That''s impossible, absolutely impossible. Either Achilles is lying to me or he was lied to. That''s definitely not what the chapel is truly thinking.


    All right, let''s evaluate this carefully. What other methods could they use to make money while relying on the adventurers to distribute weapons while keeping their knights intact, yet not angering the Queen?


    What methods would they be? I can''t connect the dots. I can''t shake off the feeling that there''s a missing condition. I feel the keyponent is missing. What is thatponent, though? The weapons and knights are two separate things, but neither of them are the most important factor. What''s the most important factor? What is it? What in the world is it?"


    My mind went nk. I couldn''t find the answer. I had no inspiration whatsoever. I didn''t know much about the chapel. I didn''t have a wild guess for what their n was. My only choice was to deal with whatever Ie across. What I did know was Achilles couldn''t be trusted. The financial issue the chapel is facing, which Achilles told me about, was the most important part of the whole equation. Once I figured out how they were going to earn the money, I''d be able to figure out what the missingponent was.


    ========


    Current time in the city.


    "Have they already left?"


    The bishop responded with a small nod. In a soft voice, he replied, "That man may be very brave, very calm and verypetent at dealing with situations, but he is too young. We just made some small moves, yet we have already managed to ensnare them in our trap. I no longer need to y the retard anymore. However, I think I managed to trick the crafty Achilles with my act. He thinks I''m totally ipetent. All the pieces are in position now. Now then, let''s continue with our n. Be it Achilles or that man, they''re now just our pawns. Angelina, we''ll do our best to bring Veirya to our side. Actually, she will definitely take the initiative to side with us this time. I guarantee it. Additionally, she''ll be the one who takes the initiative to side with us."


    "Yes."


    Initially, the bishop had empty, listless eyes. Then, though, his eyes contained a profoundyer to them. There was a darkness that couldn''t be seen through. Nevertheless, Angelina nodded: "I am looking forward to it."


    "Look forward to it, Angelina. God will give them a choice. This time, with God assisting us, Achilles, Queen Sisi and <em>he</em> are all our pawns, and they''re all still oblivious."

 Chapter Volume 3 12

    <em>Outer Perimeter of the Imperial Capital</em>


    We arrived at the imperial capital without a hitch. There was nothing worth paying attention to. We just slowly headed southeast. We crossed more and more towns and viges as we went. The people dressed more extravagantly, corresponding to the distance we were away from the imperial capital. We saw more and more smiles. There were also more and more goods as we got closer. Simrly, the quality also increased correspondingly, indicating the ce we were heading to richer and richer ces. The conditions of our resting ces at night also gradually improved. Achilles didn''t mind the price tags. We always enjoyed the best taverns and food. In fact, I even bought a very nice looking set of clothes girls residing in the city wore. It was another connected set of clothing with a small skirt. In addition, it was paired with ck socks and high boots.


    Everything we experienced was a new experience. The food we ate was magnificent. The service offered continued to improve. The streets were cleaner and cleaner. The facilities were more and moreplete. Every city allowed Leah to feast her eyes with pleasant surprises.


    Leah enjoyed life in the city more and more. In fact, she enjoyed it so much that she was reluctant to leave. She cherished every day and every chance in the cities, where she was able to enjoy a different lifestyle. She ate different things and bought peculiar toys. Achilles didn''t mind the money spent, allowing Leah to enjoy everything she wanted, especially delicacies. Leah was a food fanatic.


    We were treated to another sumptuous meal. Wepletely devoured the half roast pork. The voured meat was delicious; Leah loved it. Leah sat in her chair with satisfaction written all over her face; or rather, went limp in her chair, also known as a fooda. Achilles ced his ss of wine down: "We will reach the exterior of the imperial capital at noon tomorrow. We can see the imperial capital from the hill. The imperial capital is a veryrge ce; you must be mentally prepared."


    I nodded. Truthfully, I was pretty sick of sitting in a horse carriage. I was d to hear we would soon arrive.


    "We''ve seen many exciting things, so I doubt I''ll overeat."


    "The brilliance of the imperial capital is one thing. The other thing is that you will be meeting Her Majesty. A messenger delivered a letterst night. The letter said Her Majesty was ready to see everyone, in particr, you, Sir Lin Dongqing. Her Majesty will have a private meeting with you. There is not much time left; you best prepare yourself. I am not just talking about your questions, but also your attire. Her Majesty is a monarch who emphasises appearances. You cannot see her dressed in that clothing," said Achilles.


    I replied, "All right, then. What sort of formal clothing shall I wear, then? The same stuff you wear?"


    "I thought you would object to it."


    "Why would I? If I''m going to be working with the Queen, I have to please her. Changing clothes is easy."


    I didn''t have any ns to resist or be stubborn. I should change when I had to and do whatever else I had to. The most important thing when working together was ensuring everyone was happy.


    "I have a ck formal set of clothes. We''re simr sizes, so you can borrow it. Come over, and try it on. All that''s left will be to perform well in front of Her Majesty. There''s no need for too many formalities in a private meeting. Her Majesty is actually quite approachable in private meetings."


    "I don''t believe you. I think you''re lying to me."


    "At the very least, everyone who met her in private kept their lives."


    "Do you think you''d be willing to see someone''s blood on her carpet?"


    "¡­" Achilles hopelessly smiled: "In any case, Her Majesty is quite easy to talk to. With that said, I hope you can have a good talk with her. You need to discuss the chapel''s matter with her. It''s already been a few days. I think you have brainstormed some ideas by now, right? Would you happen to have evidence proving the chapel is nning a revolt?"


    "As if. I have no proof, and I haven''t begun any investigations. I''d have to be a genius toe up with a way to deal with the chapel with just your words alone."


    I helplessly smiled. I didn''t name all of the problems to Achilles. Achilles and I didn''t trust each other despite cooperating. There was definitely something wrong with what Achilles told me. The chapel definitely wasn''t collecting weapons to prepare to revolt against the Queen. Although it was true the chapel opposed Queen Sisi, they weren''t equipping themselves to revolt; I was certain about that much. They had other ns. The Queen nned to find out what they were collecting weapons for. In other words, she believed they collected weapons to revolt against her but required evidence. Once she had the evidence, she''d be able to justify eradicating the entire chapel.


    Queen Sisi and Achilles believed the chapel was nning an insurgence for money. Our goal was to find evidence of their nned mutiny before it urred. At the very least, we needed to locate the weapons. The problem was the chapel''s goal wasn''t too oppose the Queen. Nevertheless, I was sure we wouldn''t find any evidence of that, for they wouldn''t possibly use those weapons to stage an uprising. They, as a matter of fact, might not even have any weapons prepared.


    I didn''t know what I''d find. Perhaps the chapel had prepared weapons, but their goal wasn''t to oppose the Queen. In saying that, privately preparing weapons was a crime. I might just be able to use the evidence to impeach the chapel and have them destroyed. However, I needed to locate the weapons before they could enact their n. If they already carried out their n, I already failed, because it''d be pointless even if I did find the weapons.


    The chapel was unquestionably prepared. They nned it so that they''d obtain or achieve what they wanted as soon as the n was set in motion, meaning I had to dismantle their n before it was enacted.


    First and foremost, I needed to locate their weapons. I didn''t know what the chapel''s aim was. I had to find the answer to the following questions before they could carry out their n: what did they want? Where were the weapons? What did they n to do with the weapons? What method did they n to utilise to get money?'' I didn''t have the foggiest idea on where to start.


    "That doesn''t matter. You can start once we reach the imperial capital. I don''t know how much time we have, however. We don''t know when the chapel will strike, either. After this recent incident, we may not see the bishop for a long time. The people in the imperial capital are yet toe into conflict with people from the chapel. You need to maintain a low profile in the imperial capital. We don''t want a fight to break out before Her Majesty makes her move. It''ll be extremely difficult for us to exin ourselves if that ensues. Remember, you''re working under Her Majesty''s watch. Maintain a low profile."


    "I''ve always kept a low profile."


    "Judging from the vouring trade, I beg to differ."


    "That wasn''t my fault!!"

 Chapter Volume 3 13

    <em>Queen Who Won¡¯t Surrender</em>


    "Oh!!" eximed Leah.


    Leah was blown away when she saw mee out in formal clothing. Honestly speaking, it wasn''t difficult to wear on. I wore a white undershirt with a standing cor. I added a ck fitted vest over. Then, there was an incredibly weird nted outer garment. The buttons started at the right breast and followed a curved pattern to the left. The buttons then ran from the chest down to the left hip where you could attach a chest pin or insignia. However, I didn''t have anything to attach for the meantime, leaving it empty. On the shoulder was a thing to set a cape or cloak in ce.


    The cape was a very ordinary white cape. I heard the colour of ones'' cape represents their rank. As I was only amoner, I had to wear a white one. Those of the highest rank wore purple capes. I doubt I''d have the right to wear a purple one. Being granted an audience with the Queen was unprecedented privilege as it was, and I doubted I''d meet her many times again.


    Leah sprinted over to me. She tugged on my clothes and eximed, "You look awesome, Papa!"


    I smiled helplessly. The clothes were very tight, but I did feel as though it boosted my confidence. Achilles checked me out and nodded, satisfied: "Not bad, not bad. I must say that you have quite the decent physique. The Queen likes suave looking men. You should earn a few bonus points with this."


    "It does feel quite tight, though."


    I adjusted the belt. Leah ran circles around me and cheerfully said, "Papa, can you continue wearing this in the future? Leah thinks you look really cool in it. Leah wants to see you looking, like this, in the future, Papa."


    "This isn''t suited for every day wear; it''s notfortable whatsoever, either."


    I tugged on the cor. Achilles nodded: "Change out of it now. Just wear it when you see Her Majesty, which will probably be tomorrow night. It''s best for Leah not to attend the evening banquet; it is not time for you to be taking care of your child at the banquet, after all. Leah can stay at a tavern we will arrange for her. By the way, Leah, be careful not to run around at night. The imperial city is the heart of the chapel. They''re not weak. Mr. Lin will return every night, so don''t go running around."


    "Leah can''t go to the Imperial Pce?" asked Leah, lowering her head out of disappointment.


    I gently hugged Leah and looked over to Achilles: "She can still take a look around in the imperial pce even if she can''t attend the banquet, right? Leah is a sensible girl; she won''t damage anything. Achilles, can you arrange for someone to give her a tour of the Imperial Pce?"


    "Mm¡­" Achilles pinched his chin and contemted. He replied, "All right. I''ll ask my younger sister to give Leah a tour of the Imperial Pce."


    "Your sister?''


    Achilles nodded: "Yes. She''s a very cute girl; she has a job of establishingws and regtions at thew department. She''s very reliable."


    Grateful, I responded, "I''d like to trouble your sister to give Leah a tour, then. Once I''m done with my business, I''ll, personally, take Leah around. I just don''t know if I''ll have the time to."


    Leah was still slightly unhappy, presumably because I couldn''t personally take her. I, sadly, didn''t have the luxury of time. Once I arrived at the imperial pce, I''d have to put my nose to the grindstone and get to work. I rubbed Leah''s head then said to Achiles, "Remember to teach me some table manners tonight."


    Achilles nodded: "Sure. So, Leah, while I have to take up some of your father''s time, it is all for work."


    Leah released my cape and let out a soft breath of relief. I scrubbed her head and smiled: "It''s all right, Leah. Papa wille back as soon as possible."


    "Mm. Give it your best, Papa!"


    Leah hugged me around my neck with a smile to bring my head down for a kiss on the cheek. I pinched her shoulder and sent her back to the bedroom.


    We were scheduled to arrive at the imperial capital tomorrow. It wa my second time interacting with Queen Sisi tomorrow night. This situation was so odd that I felt uneasy and couldn''t calm my racing mind.


    ========


    Current time inside the imperial pce.


    While adjusting her hair, Queen Sisi excitedly said to herdy-in-waiting, "I''ll get to see Little Doggy tomorrow. I''m really looking forward to it. I wonder how Little Doggy looks in formal attire. I''m so eager to see him, so, so eager!!"


    Thedy-in-waiting revealed a helpless smile: "Your Majesty, he is not someone important. He is just a ve of the Demon King that you managed to take in, no? You need not give him so much attention, do you?"


    "No, no, no. Think about it. Someone I''ve never seen before, who was only worthy of being my pet dog, pulled stunts that led to my three most important departments filingints about him to me one after another. Little Doggy is a surprise. Look around: ever since the Demon King died, I haven''t found anything interesting in my imperial pce. I see the same type of people every day and deal with trivial matters all day. I am the Queen who could conquer the Demon King. I defeated a King who reigned supreme on the battlefield for a hundred years. Why, then, is the only thing that I''ve gotten out of it a mere chapel''s opposition?! I''m bored out of my skin. I''m so hopeless. I want to deal with something stimting!! Little Doggy is different. He''s always a mystery, so I look forward to meeting him. I want the mysterious little doggy to bring me a mysterious story. I am sooooo eager to see him!!"


    Queen Sisi, gleeful, stood up proudly flicked her hair. She leaned over to the window, ignoring the fact she was nude after her bath and peered toward the North. She narrowed her eyes and, under her breath, added, "How nice. I''m really looking forward to seeing him. I wonder what pleasant surprise Little Doggy will have for me. I''ve grown sick of this lifeparable to mud long ago. I eagerly look forward to our meeting. I really look forward to what Little Doggy has in store."


    "Who knows? Perhaps he can bring you what you want. In saying that, I am not too eager for him to. Statistically speaking, things you like always jeopardise the nation."


    "What are you saying? What are you saying? Everything I do is for the sake of making this a happier and stronger nation, isn¡¯t it? Ruling a nation is a bet; I happen to be the best at betting. I¡¯ve never lost before, and I certainly won¡¯t lose in the future, either!!¡±

 Chapter Volume 3 14

    <em>Queen Who Won¡¯t Surrender</em>


    Leah gently touched my foot. In a concerned voice, she asked, "Papa, has your foot healed? We will arrive at the imperial pce tomorrow afternoon. Can you work with your foot, Papa?"


    "It should almost be good. The elves'' medicine is quite effective. I''ve recovered for the most part. I can work. I just can''t run fast. I should be fine."


    "Mm¡­ You shouldn''t push yourself if you can''t take it, Papa. Work is important, but you''re the most important to me. If something happens to Papa for the sake of avenging Leah, Leah will never forgive Leah."


    Leah''s embrace was particrly warm after she transformed into her adult form. She wasn''t curled up in my arms; to the contrary, she buried my head in her chest. I admit her subus beauty was superior to Veirya''s. Veirya would probably feel awkward if she found out Leah was bigger than her when she grew up. That said, Veirya probably didn''t care about sizes.


    "I''ll take care of myself. But, Leah, you must keep yourself safe this time. Papa will bring you along for work this time. There may be some situations where you can''t show yourself at night, so you''ll have to wait in the room. Things will be very dangerous this time; you must stay alert."


    Leah responded with a firm nod: "I know, Papa. Leah won''t give you grief."


    Leah gently kissed my cheek, and then cheerfully hugged me with joy. She whispered, "Goodnight, Papa."


    "Mm, goodnight¡­ Leah."


    I gently shut my eyes. I didn''t know if I felt particrly calm because I was hugging Leah''s warm body instead of the thin air. I didn''t think about the chapel''s schemes or think about Veirya back home. I quickly fell asleep with Leah in my arms..


    ========


    Current time in the North.


    "Lord Veirya, do you want to go upstairs to sleep?" asked Anna.


    Veirya gently nodded and ced her cup of wine down. Ever since Lin Dongqing left, Veirya was liberated, forck of better word. She didn''t live a rigid lifestyle while he was still around, but she would sleep in the chair at the dinner table at night. After he left, Veirya started sleeping upstairs and would even have a cup of strong alcohol at night. However, she never reacted to the alcohol with her facial expressions, so it looked as if she was drinking water.


    "You have begun sleeping in a bed now, huh?" Anna picked up the cup and looked at Veirya with a smile.


    Veirya lingered for a moment before turning her head around to reply, "Because. Don''t need. To protect Leah now."


    Anna nodded: "I see. Do you miss them, Lord Veirya? They have left for several days, yet we have not heard from them. I wonder how they are doing."


    Veirya never showed any special emotions for the two who left, but Anna was very curious as to whether or not Veirya actually had strong emotions.


    "Mm."


    Veirya''s response had the vibe of a young girl responding, but she still wore her indifferent expression, and her body didn''t respond out of the ordinary. She wasposed and void of emotion as always. It was a very girlish response. Seeing Veirya''s expression, Anna lost any interest in gossip that she just had¡­


    Veirya went upstairs; she gently pushed the door open and surveyed theyout of the room. It was the same as before the two left. She calmly climbed into the bed and rested her head on the pillow that man used. Veirya didn''t say a word. She waited to fall asleep.


    Veirya didn''t lie; Leah and Lin Dongqing were two people became herpanions, something which she rarely had. After having a taste of loneliness, one will cherish the time they have with someone. That applied for Veirya, as well.


    ========


    At noon, we stopped at the top of a cloudy and misty mountain. Although it was early spring in the North, and people needed to wear winter clothing, flowers were in bloom, and the grass was lush. A breeze carried the scent of flowers. The sunlight was warm. Birds soared across the clear blue sky. Leah and I hopped off the carriage. Just as I was about to ask why we stopped, Leah, who had sharp eyes, eximed, "Papa, look! Look! Wow! It''s so beautiful here!!"


    Leah ran and pulled me along, forgetting that my foot was injured¡­ She was just a kid at the end of the day.


    I smiled helplessly as I staggered over. I smiled. Leah was overwhelmed with surprise. I followed her line of sight. Therge in below wasn''t a natural in, but humanity''s developed civilisation. Humans divided agricultural fields into orderly segments. In the centre of the fields was a blue city enclosed inside blue walls. The city was in the shape of a six-corner star. Inside the city were neatly arranged red and orange houses. At the very centre of the city was arge gothic style structure resembling a long sword piercing the sky. The huge golden lion head statue was ced at the top of the structure. We could see it clearly from our location. I assumed I was looking at the imperial pce. It, indeed, was a stately edifice.


    "That is the imperial capital, Karterya. The namees from our ancientnguage, which means ''the city the monarch resides at''. Simple, huh? It is where the Queen now lives, though. Her Majesty has been very vocal in trying to push for a n to rename the city. She wants to change it to Water Fairy Flower''s City, but the bill has not passed. She is very angry about that. If the demon race did not distract her from it, the city definitely would have had its name changed."


    Achilles came up from behind and put a hand on my shoulder. Leah gave him a frown, and then squeezed in between and hugged my thigh, thereby separating Achilles and I. Nheless, Achilles ced his hand on Leah''s head. Leah looked as though she shouldn''t have; I almostughed. Achilles continued, "That city, Her Majesty''s city, is the battlefield this time. Her eyes and fangs are scattered all throughout the city, and the chapel has done the same. The militarymander, the elves'' diplomats, the dwarves'' businessmen and individuals from all over the continent gather there. It is the most extravagant and prosperous ce, but is also the most terrifying ce. Are you ready for this? You may never be able to leave the six-corner star city."


    "I can see that," I replied with a nod. Then, I turned around and headed to the carriage: "It''s time to get going. Her Majesty is waiting. Veirya is also waiting. I must return. I can''t stay. I came here with a mission. I didn''te here for Her Majesty or you but my daughter, Veirya and myself. I came to decimate the chapel."

 Chapter Volume 3 15

    <em>New Subus</em>


    "Wow!" Leah looked up and eximed. It seemed that it took a bit of effort for her to look at the tall blue stone walls.


    Without a doubt, the imperial capital was the richest and most resplendent city I''d seen up until that point. I didn''t notice it from higher ground; when I was below the city walls, though, I could see how tall the blue stone walls were. There was practically no visible gap between the walls. Imagine a single meteoric-sized blue stone; that was how I would describe the city''s appearance. It was tough to look up at the tall city walls. Surely it''d be extremely difficult to attack the city. As for the six corner structure, it was even sturdier. By logical deduction, it was easy to defend the city but very hard to capture.


    The guards at the entrance to the city weren''t strict with their inspections. In fact, they even greeted Achilles when they saw him. By the looks of things, the atmosphere in the South wasn''t tense in the slightest unlike in the North. As soon as we entered the imperial city, we were met with bustling crowds. The citizens were dressed in the best clothing and wore top-of-the-line essories. Lots of people wore the same formal robe Achilles lent me. I noticed there were elves among the crowds, since I saw their ears.


    The horse carriage was forced to slow down to a crawl upon entering. Achilles hopelessly said, "Wee to the imperial capital. This is how daily life in the imperial city looks. Consequently, we usually don''t ride a horse carriage here."


    I nodded: "It''s understandable."


    The same problem gues every ce. By that, I meant traffic problems.


    There were stores, selling all sorts of strange things, set up on the street. There were also performance teams along the street. Musicians yed strange instruments. There was an assortment of food smells mixed together, yet was oddly alluring.


    Leah excitedly peered outside. She turned back to excitedly exim, "Papa, can we get off the carriage?! Leah wants to walk on the street!"


    "We can''t. While I can understand what Leah''s thinking, we do not have time right now. Go to the tavern and settle down first; then, we have to head to the imperial pce. Didn''t I tell you Her Majesty wasn''t a patient individual? The consequences will be serious if we''rete."


    "Mm¡­"


    Disappointed, Leah lowered her head, and then leaned onto the window to look outside. I apologetically stroked her head and hopelessly smiled: "It''ll be all right, Leah. Papa promises to let you have some fun around the imperial capital just as we did during the Fire Torch Festival. Promise."


    "Mm" Leah nodded then turned around to give me a smile as a means of reassuring me.


    Leah''s sensibility and understanding induced a vexing feeling due to me being aware I let her down. I pulled Leah over onto my thigh. She hugged me around my neck and happily snuggled her head up next to mine. Achilles watched us wearing a helpless smile but didn''tment.


    The carriage came to a stop after turning into a six-corner star shaped area. Two people ran out and opened the door in a flustered manner. They looked inside the carriage and saluted us: "Sir Achilles, Sir Lin, Madam Leah, wee to Karterya."


    Achilles softly chuckled: "Let''s get off. We''ve arrived."


    Leah was dumbstruck for a moment, as it was the first time she was referred to as ''Madam''. I gently pulled her off the carriage by her hand. The people considerately provided me with a cane with a ck gem on it. While I was surprised, they gave me a smile: "We have heard about you. This is ourpany headquarters. Please do not stand on ceremony here."


    I took the heavy cane. My left foot''s wound had healed, but I still couldn''t put all of my weight on the foot. I felt uncoordinated; therefore, having the cane made things a lot more convenient.


    I looked up at the rectangr building. It was a very long house. Rows of windows were neatly arranged. The outer perimeter of the property was used to keep horses. The stables must''ve been behind the building. There were guards at the door. There was a shiny golden que hung on the wall between the first and second floor, with the name of thepany written on the que.


    The orderly structure was surprisingly stately and robust. Achilles pointed to an identical building opposite hispany: "That''s the tavern we specifically use. Everything inside is free to use, so help yourself. Put your luggage in the room on the side of the street on the third floor, and then we''ll head to the imperial pce. Remember to change. Don''t forget what I told youst night."


    "I know."


    Night fell rather early. It, therefore, was about time for us to head to the imperial pce. When we entered the tavern, workers led us to our room. The room was very spacious, the temperature was perfect, and the decorations were magnificent. The room did the ''premium'' im justice.


    "Wow!!" eximed Leah, after leaping onto the bed, only to sink into it. Leah rolled around several times then rolled off in flustered fashion. She was shocked: "Wow¡­ this bed¡­ Leah¡­ Leah felt it devoured Leah¡­ It''s so soft."


    I pinched Leah''s face and smiled: "Leah, you can experience it firsthand tonight. Let''s head to the imperial pce now. You might get to see Her Majesty."


    "That woman¡­?"


    As soon as Leah heard the mention of Queen Sisi, she shuddered. She was scared and rightfully so, since Queen Sisi threw her into a tub of bathwater and nearly left her to die in there. I guess that was the closest brush to death she had. Leah feared Queen Sisi, really feared her. That was why it would''ve been best not to let them meet.


    "It''s all right. It''s all right. Papa will be with you this time. It''ll be all right."


    I rubbed Leah''s head. She obediently hugged my arm. I changed into thepulsory attire then picked up my cane and went downstairs with Leah. Leah hugged my arm and looked up at me, eyes gleaming with excitement. She seemed to really like me in the attire that Achilles gave me.


    ========


    Current time¡­ imperial city Interior¡­


    Now, let us turn our attention to a room filled with flowers. Even in the city, there was only this one red building that waspletely surrounded flowers. On both sides were curved staircases that led to the second floor. The main door on the first floor was open. The ss door with a carved naked female was open. Inside was a disy of naked females. Theyughed and mucked around with men. Every single man wore ted expressions. It was daytime, true, but business was boomed.


    "Pleasee again next time. The girls miss you."


    A woman, who wasn''t dressed in a revealing manner, but was very eloquent, stood at the door with a luxurious metal tobo pipe. She watched the men leave with a smile on her face. The men who left looked as if they were on the brink of death from exhaustion, yet they looked eager. The woman giggled as she looked onto the street, gently smoking from her pipe. With a subtle smile, she said to herself, "Another new subus hase? Is she hiding? Why is she hiding? I look forward to seeing her. We''re a minority now; it''s not bad if I can enjoy these humans'' money and food with my own kind."


    "What''s the matter, Mommy? Did you sense a neer of the same kind?"


    The woman narrowed her eyes and puffed it out. With a soft giggle, she replied, "Mm, that''s right. She''s a noble subus. She arrived this afternoon.

 Chapter Volume 3 16

    <em>Underneath the Queen¡¯s Dress</em>


    The imperial pce was situated at the centre of the six-corner shaped city. It looked incredibly resplendent from above, but it appeared even more grandeur from below with the blue sky and clouds as its background. Thebination made me wonder if it was some ultimate-level CG effects in a video game. Guards dressed in armour with short swords at their waists and a single-shoulder purple cape patrolled the main entrance to the imperial pce. Every soldier was tall, buff and awe-inspiring. The Queen must''ve chosen the very best soldiers to defend her nest.


    The citizens were permitted to tour the imperial pce. There were a fair number of people casually walking into the imperial pce arm in arm. They took strolls at the humongous neat and tidy flower garden behind the main doors. There were also people lying on thewn to enjoy the warm sunlight and fragrance of the flowers. In the centre of the flower garden was a huge water fountain in the form of a statue of a goddess. The water flowed out from her hand at a nted angle. I narrowed my eyes to look at the goddess'' elegant posture. The image looked oddly familiar¡­


    I eximed in my mind, "Did Queen Sisi have a statue of herself erected in the centre of the Imperial Pce?!"


    We went up to the guards. They politely asked what the matter was. Achilles handed them an invitation card. The guard nodded and bowed: "Mr. Lin, Mr. Achilles, Her Majesty awaits you. Please head to the guest hall. Her Majesty is waiting there."


    Achilles nodded: "All right."


    Achilles turned around and gave his sister a nod. Achilles sister was actually a very ordinary kid. She didn''t look amazingly attractive; she looked very stern. I guess she was a perfect fit for thew department. She looked as frigid and emotionless as ice. Leah nervously looked at her, but I felt very reassured. As Leah was a subus, it was natural for her to have the ability to attract others, meaning Achilles sister would definitely like her.


    I released my hold on Leah''s hand. She sensibly walked over to Achilles'' sister, but she nced at me. She gestured for me to lower my head. When I lowered my head, she hugged me around my neck and kissed me on my lips. Then, she gently caressed my face. She went up on her toes and touched my cor. She softly said, "Papa, you need to pay attention to your cor, okay?"


    "Mm, thank you, Leah." I gently rubbed Leah''s head then stood up. I tugged on my cape and took in a deep breath: "Let''s go, Achilles."


    Achilles nodded, "All right."


    The two of us entered the imperial pce. We passed through a huge flower garden and went to the first pce. The pces in the rear weren''t asrge, but they did look more resplendent. As soon as we went into a vacant space at a concave-shaped structure, I saw Queen Sisi watching us from the balcony on the second floor.


    Queen Sisi was dressed in a tight, low-cut purple robe. The premium purple fabric lifted up her perfect globesparable to pearls. She ced her arms on the balcony with her left hand supporting her delicate cheek. The breeze gently blew her high-cut dress. There wasn''t a blemish to be found on her long and slender thighs that were faintly visible underneath the purple dress. In fact, I could see her buttocks. I think only the Queen would dare to watch such a high-cut dress revealing her buttocks. She had her long hair behind her. I could see her amethyst crystal earrings and ne on her.


    Queen Sisi was very proud and haughty. It was as if she was pointing at your nose and disying her beauty. Admittedly, Queen Sisi was stunningly beautiful. She knew she looked beautiful and didn''t hesitate to show it off and conquer everyone with it. She was sessful with it, too. She noticed my eyes on her. She looked in my direction. When she saw me, she cheerfully waved and yelled, "Little Doggy! Little Doggy!! Little Doggy!!!"


    My expression froze stiff on my face. Achilles looked at me astonished. He didn''t quite understand what the way of addressing me was all about, but I knew. When I first met Queen Sisi, she treated me as a pet and almost humiliated me in front of three races. Had Lucia not helped me that time, I most likely would''ve crawled over to stay alive. I really didn''t want to recall that event, and I prayed Queen Sisi would never bring up again, but she didn''t disappoint. The first thing she did upon seeing me was calling me a little doggy.


    I knew that it was pointless to resist. I looked at Queen Sisi''s proud and bright smile. I stepped my right foot back and bent over. I pressed my hand to my chest and bowed my head. I loudly thanked her: "Thank you for your wee, Your Majesty."


    In response, Queen Sisi bowed and looked at me with a casual smile that carried a tinge of satisfaction: "Good boy, good boy, Little Doggy. It''s been a long time; you''ve pulled a number of stunts out there. Lots of people have filedints about you, but I see you are still obedient as always. I''m a little disappointed. All right now. Achilles, bring Little Doggy in. I can''t wait to touch him."


    I took in a deep breath to try and wear a normal expression. Achilles entered the pce with me. I heard hasty footstepsing from the second floor.


    Queen Sisi ran down the stairs with a smile. She ran quite fast despite her footwear not being created to amodate running. She ran up to me and hugged my arm, thereby instantly bursting her perfume in my face. It wasn''t a suffocating scent. I mentally panicked as a result of her soft and warm body making contact with mine. She scrubbed my hair in a jovial manner and revealed very sympathetic smile: "You got hurt, Little Doggy. That''s so heartbreaking. I strongly dislike those people who hit you, Little Doggy. Are you here for vengeance this time? I can provide you with support; I, too, don''t like those people. Little Doggy, what sorts of joyous things can you bring to me?"


    "Your Majesty, let us discuss that in a bit."


    Achilles intervened. It was extremely awkward to discuss the topic there. Who discusses such a plot right at the door? Queen Sisi stepped back feeling disappointed; but nheless, she soon revealed a calm smile and touched my body. Her hand gently slithered across my chest, while her heterchromia eyes swept across my entire body. Content, she nodded: "Mm, mm, I like this. You look very handsome in this robe, Little Doggy! Does this set of clothes belong to you?"


    "No. Mr. Achilles lent it to me."


    "I see. I see. I shall gift you a set, then. Come here to see me tomorrow, and I''ll have the tailor take your measurements. You have a decent physique, Little Doggy. I must dress up Little Doggy properly. However, since Achilles has brought it up, let''s go and have dinner first. I will listen to what you have to say at dinner, Little Doggy."


    Satisfied with herself, Queen Sisi teased my chin. Her soft fingers caused me to shudder. She revealed a sensual look in her eyes whilst smiling. She looked mesmerising, but she definitely wasn''t seducing me. Queen Sisi was always able to give off the aura of someone able to aplish tasks with finesse and ease while looking enchanting. I truly felt she drove people crazy.

 Chapter Volume 3 17

    <em>Ambition</em>


    The banquet was a little sumptuous if I was honest. The table was long enough to amodate twenty people eating together, yet there were only three us at the table. Not to mention the entire table was filled with dishes. Queen Sisi stood behind the master seat and proudly extended her arms out. She happily stated, "Come, I am ready. There is no need to stand on ceremony. Eat to your heart''s content."


    We sat on either side of the Queen. She sat down and had the servant next to her prepare her napkin. She proudly picked up the silver eating utensils and began to eat. I couldn''t deny she was eloquent regardless of what she did; it was formality that the imperial family members exhibit. While I did learn Western dining manners in the past, I had to be coconsciously mindful to be able to maintain those mannerisms. Queen Sisi didn''t disy such mannerisms exclusively in formal settings. She had developed the manners into habits over an extensive period of time. She maintained an erect posture and raised her hands without letting them shake. She smiled so calmly no one would believe she was tired even if she was.


    We all abstained from talking after wemenced eating. I wasn''t in a rush to speak; Her Majesty should''ve initiated the discussion, not me, for it should be considered me seeking her approval and assistance as opposed to the contrary. My mind was upied with what to say the entire time, so I didn''t savour the taste of the food.


    After the Queen ate the dish she loved most, she dipped her hand into a small basin, which a servant brought over, to wash her hands. Then, she smiled: "Little Doggy, what news do you bring me this time? Achilles vouring business deal with you was quite decent. Unfortunately, the chapel seems to have gone after you. Are you here to find a way to get revenge?"


    I set down my eating utensils and looked at the Queen: "Your Majesty, my aim ining here this time was to rify your stance."


    Achilles didn''tment. Though the Queen was still holding her utensils, she peered at me with a yful gaze. That was how I could tell that she was earnestly listening. I made a short pause before asking, "Your Majesty, what is your stance in rtion to the chapel?"


    Queen Sisi raised her eyebrow and smiled: "Is that important?"


    We were going after one of Her Majesty''s organisations. Regardless of the present situation, it was a fact that the chapel assisted her for a long time, and she once trusted them. She might want to attack them now, but we had to take her stance into consideration. All I needed to know was how far she wanted to take it, as in, does she want to exterminate them or just teach them a lesson? Given that we were working for her this time, we had to ensure she was satisfied.


    "Mm¡­"


    Queen Sisi pinched her chin to contemte how to answer the question. She hesitated for a moment then stood up and walked up to me. She hugged me from behind and ced her hands on my chest. She gently pinched my button. She pressed her breasts up against the back of my head. I juddered upon feeling the soft and warm globes. She gently leaned in next to my ear. I could feel her long hair lightly teasing every inch of my face. She whispered, "Little Doggy, do you think I am pretty?"


    "Mm¡­ you are¡­ you are¡­"


    Queen Sisi suddenly blew in my bear, tickling me. She gently touched my throat and spoke in a teasing, yet gentle, voice: "Humans defeated demons under my leadership. The demons that gave humanity grief for centuries was defeated under my rule. So, does that make me an excellent monarch?"


    If we were being fair, she was a viin and cruel, but her decisions in major matters, boldness, resolution and charming personality¡­ Okay, she was very qualified. As a Queen, she was worth being remembered in history for being able to defeat the demons that troubled humanity for centuries. Thus, I earnestly nodded: "Yes."


    "Good boy, good boy. I can tell you''re not lying."


    Queen Sisi cheerfully brushed her face against mine, and even gave me a light kiss on my face. She then continued further up. She gently pressed her index finger on my lips and quietly asked, "So, do I have the qualifications to be a Deity Monarch? Am I worthy of being remembered? Should everybody submit to me? Should everything in this empire belong to me? Should the nation that I rule feel proud and honoured by my rule, then?"


    "Yes¡­"


    "See? See? I knew it!! Hear that?! I knew it!! Little Doggy agrees with me!"


    The Queen suddenly licked me my cheek before hopping away. She then spun a circle as if she was dancing. She revealed an unbelievably delighted expression and loudlyughed: "I''m so beautiful, so wise and so brave. I''m the greatest monarch in this world, aren''t I? I single-handedly formed this empire. I''m sensational and shine so brightly. I''m worthy of everyone''s respect, aren''t I? I should ascend to the level of a goddess, shouldn''t I? Should this entire empire obey mymand?"


    Queen Sisi leaned onto my back again: "But there are people who believe otherwise. They disagree with you. Do you understand now, my Little Doggy? The chapel believes in God and have their believers worship God instead of me. They believe God to be the ruler, not me. It''s not fair. It''s very unfair, isn''t it, Little Doggy? I was the one who single-handedly created this nation. I gave them their lives. Their god never saved them or appeared. Why, then, do they still believe in God as opposed to me? Why? It''s unreasonable, isn''t it? It''s very, very unreasonable, isn''t it? I should have the chapel promote me, shouldn''t I? I should be their pope and promote myself, shouldn''t I?"


    I replied, "I understand now."


    I finally understood what Queen Sisi was after. She wants the chapel''s right to preach. At present, the contents religions preached didn''t promote the idea the nation was most important. Imperial power was divine, but Queen Sisi was just an ordinary being. It wasn''t enough for the believers to respect the nation. They were mere believers. They weren''t the empire''s vassals and people. That wasn''t enough for her. She desired absolute imperial power, the absolute authority. In other words, she didn''t want a religious nation; she wanted an empire, one where she was the rule. She didn''t want to totally annihte the chapel; she wanted their right to preach. She wanted everyone to see her as God. She didn''t want imperial power to be the divine entity but her, herself.


    "Little Doggy, as you understand what I want, you canmence work now, right? Good boy. Good boy, Little Doggy. Try to make it as exciting as you can. I''m looking forward to it; I''m looking forward to your performance, Little Doggy. Don''t make me fail¡­ Let me have a taste of you."


    Out of the blue, Queen Sisi licked my ear and stuck her tongue inside, causing my brain to instantly malfunction. Not even Leah had done that. Queen Sisi proudly touched my face and softly giggled: "I taste vignce. I don''t dislike vignt Little Doggy, though."

 Chapter Volume 3 18

    <em>Underneath the Queen¡¯s Dress</em>


    After dinner, Achilles stood up with an invigorated gaze when he saw Queen Sisi finish her dessert. He bowed and bid farewell: "Night time is your private time with Mr. Lin, so I shall not disturb you."


    Queen Sisi chuckled in a soft voice and stood up" "Achilles, don''t go yet. Wait for me at my door. I don''t think Little Doggy would dare to, but I am a single woman, nevertheless. Scandals will start if I meet in private with a man in my room.


    Achilles appeared surprise. He asked for confirmation: "You n to speak with Mr. Lin in your room?"


    "Of course. My Little Doggy obviously has the right to enter my room. I have some private things that I need to say to him. He''s a smart one, so he''ll understand."


    Queen Sisi gently touched my face then left my side as if she was a passing breeze. Achilles signalled for me to follow after her. I stood up: "Your Majesty, may I take some of the leftovers?"


    Queen Sisi paused. She looked back at me. In a surprised tone, she asked, "Why?"


    "My daughter didn''te tonight, which is why I want to take some back for her."


    Queen Sisi responded with a subtle nod then smiled: "That little girl? The Demon King''s daughter, huh? I remember her; she''s a cute child. I was a little rough with her when we first met, but, in truth, I''m very fond of children. You don''t need to take leftovers. I shall have them make fresh dishes for you."


    Queen Sisi waved her hand. The two servants by the side understood what to do; they bowed and left the dining hall. Queen Sisi turned and left. Achilles and I followed along, crossing through the very long corridor. The deeper we went into the rear, the more the rooms'' styles changed. Behind this pce was Queen Sisi''s bedroom. The three of us went upstairs to the third floor. There was only one room on the third floor, and it was a bedroom. The two corridors on the side were visible from a nce; there was nowhere to hide. The humongous room was akin to two small city doors. A servant ran over to open the door.


    Inside were an extravagant red carpet and a short table. There were small armchairs on either side of the table. There was an exquisite pot and cups on the table. Everything was decorated. Every piece could fetch exorbitant prices. That said, Queen Sisi seemed indifferent to them.


    Queen Sisi extended out her arm to stop Achilles: "Stay here. Little Doggy and I shall go inside. Don''t eavesdrop, understood?"


    Achilles nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty."


    Queen Sisi took hold of my hand and cheerfully kicked off her footwear. Then, she pulled me along as she took off running to a secret door. She opened it, revealing an even bigger room inside. A resplendent bathtub was situated in the corner. Dead centre was a huge bed currently covered with bed curtains. The makeup table was stationed below the window. On top of the table were lots and lots of bottles. The air in the room was very pleasing; it was the same scent Queen Sisi had on her. I spected it was her bedroom.


    "Okay, now, Little Doggy. This is my bedroom. Ever since my father passed away, you''re the first man, or rather? Either way, you''re the first male to enter since him." Queen Sisi let go of my head and spun around in front of me with joy. With her back facing me, she then continued, "Help me take off this clothing. Let me warn you I''m not wearing anything underneath. I specifically went to wee you without wearing any underwear. I thought you''d like it."


    "Your Majesty¡­ that¡­"


    "It''s all right. I don''t hate your hand, Little Doggy, so it''s fine."


    Queen Sisi''s prominent and captivating curves on her naked back appeared in front of me. I gulped. My hand shook as I reached out to unto the ribbon on her back. Her clothes slid down her body swiftly. It was as if magic removed her clothes. I could see her pure white and perfect body. She didn''t lie. She really didn''t wear anything underneath!


    Queen Sisi''s voluptuous breasts were in front of me. They jiggled as she moved. She went up to the bed with her back facing me. She then pulled open the curtains and climbed in. I then hear rustling sounds from within. Believing it''d be awkward no matter what I did, all I could do was stand dumbstruck. After a while, she suddenly asked, "You''re doing this on purpose, aren''t you, Little Doggy?"


    I lingered for a moment before asking, "What are you talking about?"


    I didn''t dare to move, since Queen Sisi didn''t ask me to go somewhere specific. She seemed to have lied down. In azy voice you''d typically here when someone couldn''t be bothered moving, she said, "Come to me."


    I stopped to think about it. I didn''t think she meant for me to go to her bed but to join her in the imperial capital.


    The Queen calmly said, "If you truly wanted revenge, you wouldn''t even spare Achilles; he''s the one who informed the chapel Leah is a subus, a fact I''m sure you''re aware of. However, you have no interest in Achilles but, instead, the chapel. The chapel wasn''t the one who directly harmed Leah, though. The reason you appear as though you''re raging and hungry for revenge is merely to persuade Achilles into bringing you to me. In reality, you''re not a little doggy that''s considering revenge; you just want to approach me. It''d be simple for you to get revenge. You have Veirya with you. You could just ask her to kill massacre thepany and chapel. There''s no need for you to approach me."


    Queen Sisi was calm, but what she said caught me by surprise. I knew she was astute, but I didn''t think she''d read me like a book. She wasn''t wrong. My main purpose wasn''t to exact a vengeance. I knew vengeance was a meaningless endeavour that only provided a moment of exhration. Once it was exacted, there was nothing left to be derived from it. Revenge was just a bonus for me. My main goal was to see Queen Sisi. Destroying the chapel wasn''t my goal; it was my process.


    I wanted to provide Leah with a life in the Imperial Capital. Not the days in the North. Once I exacted my vengeance, Leah would still be stuck in the North, living listless days. I hadn''t mentioned anything about the winter thatsted half a year. Nheless, if I seeded, Leah would be able to move to the imperial capital in a month''s time.


    Needless to say, I was furious at first. I even wanted to just kill Achilles. Nevertheless, when I knew the Queen also had her sights set on the chapel, I changed my mind. I deliberately gave Achilles the impression I was out for revenge. In reality, I wasn''t after mindless destruction. Even a moron would find a chance to kill the pope. I wanted to bag something more valuable.


    Queen Sisi calmly spoke again: "I know you came to ingratiate yourself with me. You found out I want to go after the chapel, which is why you wanted to stoke the mes. I don''t dislike that, though. Rather, I''m relieved you did so, Little Doggy. Now, let me ask you: what exactly do you want from helping me eliminate the chapel?"


    There was no emotion in Queen Sisi''s voice. That was different to her usual self. I understood what she meant; she saw through me right from the beginning. Therefore, I didn''t intend to hide anything any longer. Serious, I answered, "A house and money."


    The Queen poked her head out to look at me. Apparently, she was quite puzzled" "What? That''s it?"


    "That is it."


    "You n to move to the imperial capital?"


    I nodded: "Yes."


    "All right," replied Queen Sisi, nodding without any hesitation. She then scuttled back inside andzily added, "I shall see that it''s done. As long as you can reasonably eliminate the chapel, I shall provide you with a dog kennel in the most valuable area, and I''ll provide you with a job so that you can stay in the imperial capital. As a matter of fact, I can give you a purple cape. In saying that, I''m very curious about something. Does Veirya know that you''re doing this?"


    "¡­ No."


    "Do you think that she''ll approve?"


    "She should, I think."


    "Hehe¡­" Queen Sisi suddenly giggled. "Little Doggy, you''ve been with Veirya for so long, yet don''t know her? Forget it. Forget it. I won''t explicate it. Prepare yourself to witness Veirya''s decision. In addition, Little Doggy, don''t hide things from me in the future. I''m not stupid. If you have a request, voice it. As long as you can please me with the results, I won''t hold back. Come, Little Doggy. Come down here and kiss my instep to swear fealty, and then smash the enemy to smithereens."

 Chapter Volume 3 19

    <em>Subus Brothel</em>


    When I left the imperial pce, I sniffed myself. Unsurprisingly, I had Queen Sisi''s fragrance on me. I didn''t hate the smell, but Leah would definitely teach me a lesson if I went back with Queen Sisi''s smell on me¡­ Leah wouldy her hands on me after she transformed, which could lead to undesirable consequences¡­ I decided I needed to minimise the scent before returning to Leah.


    Achilles, who was next to me with a strange smile, questioned, "Mr. Lin, there is no rush to go back, so how about going somewhere to rx?"


    I looked to my side: "Where?"


    "Where else can single men gote at night? Oh, wait, you have Lord Veirya. She is not here at the moment, though. Leah should be asleep by now. How about the two of us go for some fun? Of course, we will be going to find ourselves two women. It would be waste to not enjoy yourself in the Imperial Capital?"


    "Are you talking about a brothel?!"


    Achilles softlyughed and nodded.


    Is that somewhere a man, who loves and cares about his family, should be going?! Could I go there when I was a man with a family?! Moreover, I was educated with the healthiest education since I was a kid. I raised my nose at those sorts of ces. Those ces were where you find all the filth! There was a high risk of contracting diseases at those sorts of ces. My daughter was in her room! How could I go to a brothel given those point?!


    "Let''s go! Let''s go!!" I immediately nodded.


    Achilles and I turned a corner, and off we went. Admittedly, I had never been to brothels. I was incredibly curious as to how a brothel functioned.


    "What sort of ce is the brothel? Hurry and let me see if there are any beautiful elder sister types. Heck, there might even an elf with big boobies¡­" was what I thought.


    With a tacit understanding between us, the two of us picked up the pace. The imperial capital was different to the world I came from. The imperial capital actually qualified as a city that never slept. It was the middle of the night, yet the city was still as crowded as during the day. The stores didn''t show any signs of closing up. The bars'' businesses boomed. People were stilling and going from clothing stores. There were luxurious stores and ordinary stores, but crowds flocked to them regardless of which they were.


    We stopped below a bizarre red light. Achilles pulled me over, and we looked up. I was surprised to see a massive, luxurious building with red flowers enveloping it. The me from inside shone through the rose wine outside and illuminated a strange red light. I saw countless mening and going from the building. Every single one who exited looked as if he had his life sucked out of him, yet wore very satisfied expressions.


    I thought, "This ce¡­ must be an authentic brothel¡­"


    "This is the imperial capital, I meant, the empire''s number one brothel. Every man in the entire empire dreams ofing here. Enjoy yourself here. I''ll foot the bill."


    Judging from the way he looks so used to it, he must''ve be a regr! I guess I was wrong when I assumed he was gay.


    Achilles dragged me into the brothel. As soon as I arrived inside, a strong fragrance hit me. Seriously, I almost puked. After getting used to Queen Sisi''s faint fragrance, the stench of smoke and powder was nauseating. Nevertheless, I noticed the girl dressed in sexy sleepwear and running about looked pretty. At the very least, they were beautiespared to others I''d seen before."


    "My, my, if it isn''t Achilles. You haven''t visited recently. I heard you went somewhere."


    When I was looking around, a mature woman, who was carrying a tobo pipe, came up to us. Her golden wavy hair apanied the charming face of a mature woman. She was dressed in a robe simr to qipaos. She had a white shawl draped over her shoulders. She had her green eyes narrowed. She didn''t wait for Achilles to reply; she asked, "Is this our new customer?"


    Achilles nodded with a smile: "Ah, yes, Sophia. He is my new friend. Please take good care of him."


    Sophia stuck her pipe in her mouth and scanned me. She then swiftly leaned in to me and sniffed me. With a somewhat amorous smile, she said, "You a virgin? If I stopped serving customers, I''d definitely serve you. Actually, I wouldn''t have served you even if it was in the past. You may be Achilles friend, but none of the girls here will serve you."


    "Why?!" I eximed, feeling somewhat irate. I thought, "That''s a massive insult!! I''m a man, too. Why won''t you serve me?!! Why am I not worthy of your service?! I¡­ So what if I''m a virgin?! Name me a brothel that doesn''t serve virgins!!"


    "It''s not that I refuse to serve you but because a subus has already left her scent on you," exined Sophia, smiling. "Yes, all of the girls here are subi. We strictly adhere to the rules. We don''ty our hands on prey that our own kind has marked. You definitely have a subus with you, don''t you? Also, you''re in love with each other. The scent on you is very strong; from that, it would seem that the subus considers you to be very important to her."


    "Uh, I do have an adopted subus daughter, but I don''t think that we''re in love¡­ Plus, I don''t detect any changes from Leah. She''s still ignorant of these things."


    Sophia nodded: "If emotions aren''t stirred, subi won''t awaken and can continue relying on normal food to lead normal lives. It''s an ability we require to hide among humans. However, Mister, a father isn''t very important to a subus. If she truly loves you, she won''t hesitate toy her hands on you even if you''re her father. Furthermore, a subus in love won''t hesitate to be ruthless with even her family. I can smell the scent of another woman on you. If I were you, I''d respect the subus who''s with you; else, you''ll regret it."


    "Wait, wait, wait, wait¡­ I don''t think Leah feels that way, does she¡­?"


    Sophia softlyughed and shook her head. She put her lips on her pipe again and responded, "It appears you don''t understand us subi. Bring your subus daughter along next time. To be honest, I can sense her bloodline is very pure. She holds a very high status among us. I cannot wait to see her. There are no longer many of us subi after the war. I cherish every single one of us."


    "Is it a good idea to bring a kid here¡­?"


    I awkwardly looked around at the subi leaning on men''s chests or running around in the nude. I didn''t judge it to be an appropriate ce for Leah to be.


    "It''ll be all right. She can just stand at the door. She left her scent on you, so we wouldn''t keep her. What''s very important, though, is that you have to treat her well. Remember that well. A subus, who has fallen in love, will stop at nothing and be incredibly cruel. If you incur her wrath, then all that you can do is pray God is on your side."

 Chapter Volume 3 20

    <em>Terrifying Subus</em>


    Because the subi couldn''t serve me, I had to leave. With that said, they seemed to be quite fond of me. Lots of them came over to touch or grope me. They ran their curious gaze over me. In saying that, they didn''t appear to be interested in me but Leah.


    After leaving the brothel, I was sad to discover that, not only did I not reduce the prominence of a females'' scent, I made it stand out more. I couldn''t go back with their scents on me, but I had nowhere to go. In the end, I arrived at our door and gently pushed it open.


    Leah was nude as always after she transformed. All she had covering her was a thin nket. She had her back facing me. The clear moonlight gently shone onto her. The scene was akin to gentle ripples in a pond, gentle, yet exquisite. Leah took quiet breaths. Apparently, she didn''t notice meing back. I, therefore, felt relieved. I assumed asleep. I figured I''d be able to have a peaceful night¡­


    I turned around to gently shut the door, undid my buttons and hung my cape up on the hanger. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I almost screamed. Leah licked my face before I could yell.


    "Papa, why are you back sote¡­? You have the smell of another woman on you, too¡­ mm¡­ mm¡­ what aplex smell. You have the smell of other subi on you, too¡­ Papa¡­ do you need to exin yourself?" Leah locked her arms around my back and pressed them on my chest. My body froze stiff in ce. I was so panicked that I didn''t know to say. In a barely discernable voice, Leah muttered, "You''re too mean, Papa¡­ far too mean¡­ Leah was waiting for you toe back, while you were out having fun with another woman and other subi¡­"


    "Leah¡­ listen to Papa¡­"


    Leah stabbed her fingers into my chest and bit me on my neck. I almost cried. How was I supposed to walk around tomorrow with bite marks on my neck¡­?


    "Leah, listen¡­ Papa didn''t go to other women¡­ Papa just¡­ just saw other subi. Because Papa doesn''t know if you want to live with other subi, so Papa went to see them. Leah, Leah, listen to me!"


    Leah aggressively sped my face and leaned into my ear. She whispered, "Papa, Leah doesn''t care about other subi or whatever; Leah only cares about Papa. Papa should have Leah''s scent, so other subi shouldn''ty their hands on you. That being said, Leah still doesn''t want other subi going near you. Leah also can detect the scent of a human. The scent is very strong. It must be that Queen, right? You said you were going to discuss business; why do you have her scent on you? Since you came back with the scent of so many women, you must''ve already prepared yourself, right, Papa? Papa did say that Leah couldn''t do <em>that </em>again, but Leah has to do it again this time."


    Leah swiftly leaned her face in. Had my left foot not been so weak, I wouldn''t be weak enough for a kid to drag me around. She pulled me over, and then firmly sped my face. She then sent her saliva into my mouth simr to a snake transferring poison. I couldn''t resist it. I swallowed it. In an instant, my brain lost conscious functioning and functioned on the most instinctive level.


    "What''s this considered¡­ subus venom? Do subi have venom?" I questioned


    "Mister, a father isn''t very important to a subus. If she truly loves you, she won''t hesitate toy her hand son you even if you''re her father. Furthermore, a subus who''s in love won''t hesitate to be ruthless with even her family," was what Sophia told me.


    Leah had yet to awaken, but¡­ but¡­ she''d awaken after this time, presumably. When she did, she''d be a true subus. If Sophia wasn''t lying, I''d already be Leah''s prey, which meant I''d never be able to leave her. Too add to that if we lived together with Veirya in the future, Leah wouldn''t stop at anything to get rid of Veirya.


    "Yes¡­ yes¡­ Veirya¡­"


    I suddenly stopped my movements. Veirya''s blue eyes appeared before my eyes. I managed to regain myposure. I looked at Leah feeling dumbfounded. Leah continued to look at me with bafflement. I slowly shifted my body away from her and took in a deep breath. I smiled helplessly" "Leah, Papa is going to take a bath. Papa brought back some food. If you''re hungry, have some."


    "Oh! There''s food?! There''s food?!"


    The food distracted Leah, thereby allowing me to enter the bathroom. I grabbed some ice-cold water from a barrel and sshed it on my face. Then, I opened the door to allow the air outside to rush in and wash off Leah''s pheromones on me so that I could calm down.


    Leah cheerfully opened the paper bag I brought back. She reacted as a child would. Food was more her cup of tea. Perhaps she didn''t have enough to eat at night. She didn''t think about grabbing eating utensils; she picked up the food with her bare hands and ate it. Seeing those manners, it felt as though what just happened was an illusion.


    I sluggishly watched Leah. Although she dined cheerfully, I remembered what she just did and Sophia''s warning. The cheerful Leah and the crazy Leah from before were both Leah. I couldn''t deny Leah could cross the line.


    Queen Sisi prepared lots of food for Leah. The thought of table manners didn''t even cross Leah''s mind. She grabbed a big piece of meat and shoved it into her mouth. When she bit into the meat with her sharp teeth, the meat juices ran down the corner of her mouth as if it was blood, which was also simr to when she nned to eat me before.


    That was far too frightening. I couldn''t let it continue. If I allowed her to continue down that path, I''d eventually awaken Leah''s subus instincts. Subi were a very terrifying demon to men¡­ They could devour a human male without leaving any traces.

 Chapter Volume 3 21

    <em>Underneath the Church¡¯s Facade</em>


    The next day, Leah woke me up. Being a tumultuous night, I barely had any sleep. I yawned and felt sleepy. Leah, on the other hand, brimmed with energy. She was naughty beyond words every night, yet was full of energy during the day. It was as if she didn''t need sleep or something. With a jolly smile, Leah asked, "Papa, Papa, do you have any work today? Can you take Leah on a tour in the imperial city today, Papa?!"


    "Umm, Sorry, Leah. There''s somewhere Papa has to go today, but you cane along if you want. I''m just walking around this time, after all. I guess you could say we''re having fun."


    I rubbed Leah''s head with a smile. Concerned, she asked, "Papa, will Leah get in the way of your work if Leah follows you?"


    "No," I replied with a shake of my head. "Papa doesn''t n to work today; Papa ns to just take a stroll, not work. It''s fine for you toe with Papa."


    "Thank you, Papa!!"


    Leah cheerfully jumped up and tightly hugged me. I caressed her head with a smile. Then, I pulled the door open and left with her. We saw Achilles approach when we left. He smiled when he saw me: "Up already? I thought that you would sleep in."


    "I can never get much sleep when there''s something I have to dedicate my attention to. It''s probably because I feel unsettled."


    I smiled and began to walk. Achilles nodded with a smile: "Terrific. Let us go have breakfast to start. I do not have any ns today. How about you? Is there anything that you wish to investigate? While we are tight on time, we do need to proceed in an orderly fashion."


    "I don''t have any ns to do anything today. I''m just going to go and take a look at the chapel nearby. Is the pope at the chapel at the moment?"


    "He is. The chapel arrived before us. However, they did not notify Her Majesty or go see her. Instead, they came to me to ask for their share of our deal. I will not be apanying you for today, as I need to see to the vouring business. The elf, Lucilia, is not a patient elf, after all. If you go to the chapel today, I hope you stay calm and will not cause any trouble."


    "Her Majesty, on the other hand, wants me to cause trouble."


    "Of course she does. She has never been one who could sit still; she wants there to be things to resolve in order to prove herself. In reality, however, it is us who resolves the problems. She is always sending us out to clean up messes. We have tomunicate with the elves; we have no spare energy to fight with the chapel. Moreover, they have a team of knights. Veirya isn''t here, so who is going to stop Angelina?"


    "This man is speaking facts¡­" I thought,ughing. I said "Rest assured. I''m always very low-key. There won''t be any trouble."


    Achilles nodded: "d to hear that."


    Leah and I arrived at the dining hall downstairs. Breakfast was ordinary. The cheese seemed to be a national food; it was ubiquitous in the city. Further, they added all sorts of stuff that tasted delicious. Leah loved it, so she ate a fair bit.


    After finishing breakfast, we left the ce. Time seemed frozen in the city. When we arrived outside, we saw bustling crowds and people going back and forth just as when we sleptst night. The scenery of a city at night tells you how prosperous it is. Back then, you could say that Shanghai flourished at night. If the people of the imperial city could go twenty four hours a day with no breaks, it proved that the city was, indeed, prosperous.


    Leah excitedly looked around. Pretty and adorable Leah attracted lots of attention. Lots of people looked at me with envious gazes. I was proud to have such a pretty daughter. I tightly hugged her against my body, while she hugged my arm and followed me.


    There was no need to inquire where the chapel was, for you could probably see the tall white pointy tip in the city from anywhere. It, by all ounts, resembled a chapel. Furthermore, it was very simr to Christianity. This world appeared to form very simr religions to the ones I knew.


    Lots of people travelled in the same direction as us. Some wore in robes. I presumed them to be believers. Leah curiously scanned her surroundings. I didn''t pay particr attention to those people. The two of went along the white stone path to arrive before the white chapel. The za in front of the chapel was packed full of people sitting there on long benches. The clergies dressed in red robes went back and forth to quietly converse with people off to the side. I unyieldingly stood to one side with Leah instead of sitting. I wasn''t religious. I only trusted myself.


    The loud bell sounded. The hundreds of people at the za immediately fell silent. Everyone lowered their heads and shut their eyes to earnestly pray. After a while, someone began to sing long notes, and the hundreds of people followed along. The voice sounded quite dignified. The crowd piqued Leah''s interest; she had no idea what they were doing.


    "Are you interested?"


    I heard a familiar voice. Startled, I looked over my shoulder to see Veirya''s face. I lingered for a moment; I nearly called out Veirya''s name. Angelina looked at me with a solemn look. My racing heart stopped racing due to disappointment.


    "If you are interested, His Excellency would be very keen to see you."


    Leah was d to see Angelina. She grabbed hold of Angelina''s hand, but Angelina just gave her a rub on the head. Angelina continued to look at me with a serious gaze.


    I pondered, "Is that an invitation of some sort? Is this¡­ the feast at Hong Gate?"


    "His Excellency is inside right now. He hopes to see you. He wants to apologise. What happenedst time was undeniably our mistake."


    I shook my head and touched Leah''s head. In an absolutely serious tone, I answered, "Forget the apology. I won''t forgive you. If an apology could erase the wound on Veirya''s back, I''d consider it, but that''s impossible. Angelina, I don''t want to see your pope. Please pass that on."


    "Do you really not want to see him? It really was an ident."


    "I don''t have any desire to see him. You and I both know it wasn''t an ident. Even if it was an ident, you people were responsible. I won''t ever forgive you. We all know what happened."


    Angelina didn''t say another word. She calmly nodded, and then turned to leave.


    I knew that it was irrational to express my absolute reluctance to speak to him. In reality, you should always leave the chance to talk things out. But nheless, I had Her Majesty behind me. Queen Sisi didn''t want a peace negotiation, so I couldn''t be selfish. Otherwise, I''d be the one who copped Queen Sisi''s rage, and I couldn''t defy her. Since I had to rely on Queen Sisi, I had to faithfully obey her will. I did kiss her instep that night, after all.


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Feast at Hong Gate - Sometimes referred to as Banquet at Hong Gate, was a historical event during the Chu-Han contention. It tends to be referenced as a figurative way of suggesting a situation where a treacherous plot awaits is disguised as a friendly one.


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 22

    <em>Dark Lane</em>


    Veirya leaned her head over, startling Anna, who then looked over her shoulder. Veirya looked at the letter in Anna''s hand and asked, "A¡­ letter?"


    Anna felt slightly awkward with the letter in hand. She dryly chuckled then nodded: "I-It was from home¡­ They are probably asking how I am doing."


    Veirya didn''t appear interested in the letter. Anna thought Veirya would ask her about the contents of the letter, but Veirya didn''t n to. Veirya was more interested in the letter itself. Couriers delivered letters to the North in a single batch.


    Veirya suddenly said, "If I remember correctly, your home. Is in the imperial capital."


    Anna froze for a moment then quickly nodded. Honestly, she was slightly touched. She never thought Veirya, who had no interest in anything, would remember where she came from. Anna was the descendent of imperial guards. However, she was unable to join the ranks and became an adventurer instead.


    With her eyes on the letter and, in an absolutely serious tone, Veirya asked, "So, we only received that one letter?"


    Anna didn''t quite dare to admit that to be the case, but Veirya gave her an ordinary nod without any expression or changes. Veirya then turned and went back into the house. Anna watched Veirya leave. Feeling somewhat worried, she wanted to call out to Veirya, but Veirya looked lonely, yet strong, as always. Anna nkly looked at Veirya''s back.


    Anna contemted, "Is Veirya somewhat disappointed? After all, there was once someone with the surname Wei; however, that woman sent someone else a letter after her man died, while Veirya''s man ran off to the imperial capital, and they haven''t heard from him since. I can''t tell which one is more tragic."


    Anna looked down at her letter. She showed mixed feelings on her face. She gripped the letter, putting a bit more force into her fingers, thereby nearly stabbing her fingers into the letter within. She took in a deep breath, and then bit down on her lip. She chased after Veirya to call out to her, but when she went to call out, Veirya suddenly spun around, startling her. Anna nearly tossed the letter out.


    "Pack up."


    Veirya''s words were simple and resolute. She picked up her coat from the table. Anna dawdled for a moment; she looked around at the dining room then felt confused: "I have. Is it not clean?"


    "I meant. Your luggage."


    While Anna shrieked, Veirya draped on her white undershirt, which immediately glued itself to her back due to the medicine on her back. Veirya flicked her short hair. She only just realised she no longer needed to take care of her hair anymore. She ignored the fact that her undershirt was stuck to her back, which had yet to heal, and picked up her coat to wear on properly. She then picked up her cape and draped it on her back. Anna eximed, "What are you doing, Lord Veirya?! Your make has not healed, yet!! If you do that¡­ then¡­"


    Veirya didn''t seem keen on listening to Anna''s shouted. She subtly frowned: "We''re going to the imperial capital."


    Anna wore a stunned look. She pondered, "When the day started, Veirya applied medication to her wound, ate breakfast and didn''t have any ns. Just half an hourter, however, she suddenly wants to go to the imperial capital?! It takes a week to reach the imperial capital from ere. Is she heading there without any preparations?"


    "But your wound has not healed yet¡­"


    "It''s fine," replied Veirya, shaking her head and strapping her sword to her belt. "We will travel through the night. Going as fast as we can. To get to the imperial capital. Go and prepare."


    "Are you in that much of a rush?!"


    "Mm."


    Veirya left Anna speechless. As such, Anna had no choice but to obediently go and pack her luggage. Veirya wasn''t rushed. She sat on her chair and waited for Anna. As she was also an adventurer, Anna packed very quickly except she could cry bitter tears due to Veirya''s sudden decision.


    "Who does that? She was fine half an hour ago; all of a sudden, she wants to travel through the night to reach the imperial capital. Seriously, you don''t have to go that far even if you miss your man, do you? Moreover, what would you do if you do meet him? Veirya isn''t the sort of woman who''d throw herself into her man''s arms after seeing him. She''d just eat and drink with a poker face. Is my cooking bad or something?" pondered Anna.


    My presumption was wrong. Veirya wasn''t the sort of woman to arduously wait at home in loneliness. If she truly felt lonely or frustrated, she wouldn''t wait, she''d go straight to you.


    ========


    Current time inside the Imperial Capital.


    Because I turned down the pope, I noticed the chapel''s knights didn''t wee me. They stuck to us whether that was on purpose or not. They didn''t interrupt us, but I didn''t want to have them watching me. I didn''t go closer to the chapel. However, I always knew it was impossible to find out anything from their main doors. I merely came here to take a look.


    I left with Leah. Leah was slightly upset, as Angelina was somewhat cold to her. Nevertheless, I made it up to her with a peculiar candy. The candy was simr to the cotton candy found in the world I came from except that it was scary sticky. Leah cautiously licked the white candy, thereby leaving a trail of saliva on it. The people around all felt somewhat awkward when they saw Leah lick it. I quickly grabbed Leah by her hand" "Leah, Leah, can you not lick it?"


    "Eh?!" Leah was shocked. She then looked at the candy and tried to bite it. It looked as if her face was glued to the candy. Startled, she said, "Papa¡­ biting doesn''t work¡­"


    I pulled the candy off her face. Leah sadly looked at me. It was awkward¡­ There was nothing wrong with licking it¡­ but¡­ but¡­ seeing Leah carefully stick her tongue out to lick a white candy felt¡­ felt¡­ really sexual¡­


    I did ap around the chapel with Leah. At the back of the chapel, which was where a dark shadow was cast down on the structure, was a smallne. Not many people came out from there. On both sides were tramps lying on the ground with bup draped over themselves. They seemed to be waiting for something. The ce was nowhere near as bright as the surrounding area. The ce seemed to be the dark side of the imperial capital. Nobody paid any attention to the area, and nobody went there. They immediately turned at left, pretending as if the ce didn''t exist even when they saw people there.


    I peered into the smallne. Then, I looked over to the chapel. I tightly held Leah''s hand and quietly said, "Leah, don''t speak from now. Hold tight onto Papa and don''t run around."


    Leah immediately tightly clung to my arm and pressed herself against my body: "Mm, got it, Papa!!"


    I went over to the individual lying on the ground in the smallne.


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *The Surname Wei is the same character in Veirya''s name in Chinese.

 Chapter Volume 3 23

    <em>Abandoned Adventurer</em>


    Sometimes, lots of secrets are hidden in the shadows, and those secrets are oftentimes shocking. Further, nobody drills down into them..


    I led Leah inside thene. The ce was somewhat dark, cold and moist. I guess the chapel considered it their rubbish dump. I saw lots ofrge barrels which, presumably, were rubbish bin equivalents. The people gathered in thene were most likely waiting to see if there was any food in the rubbish bins.


    The people showed no intention of getting up despite hearing my footsteps. They, in fact, didn''t even budge. They acted as though they were dead. Only one individual sat up and looked at us out of his peripherals. Afraid when she saw him, Leah clung to my arm.


    The man wore torn and tattered clothing. He even used torn paper for some parts. His beard was messy and filthy. I could smell the stench on him despite the considerable distance between us. I couldn''t be too picky and whingey in my predicament, however. Rubbish could be useful. I found out about the chapel''s deal in rtion to the vouring tradest time thanks to rubbish. Although not all rubbish was meaningful, there was nothing wrong with inspecting it. They might reveal odd facts.


    I walked up to the man and ced a silver coin in his hand. He looked at the coin, eyes squinted. He looked up at me and smiled. He rubbed his hands together and asked, "You want to know something? Nobody would ever give away a silver coin so generously. You must want to know something, correct?"


    "Yes."


    "Haha, about the chapel? The only active entity at present is the chapel. Since you only came here for business, I believe you must havee here for something to do with the chapel. Further, are we not behind the chapel?" said the man, nodding. "You havee to the right ce. As you might have guessed, they throw out food every day now; they throw out more than they did in the past. Not to mention it is all voured. See those people? In the past, I was the only one here. Thest few days, though, they came here, too, because there is better food here."


    "Starting from a few days ago, correct? So, when the pope came back?"


    The man nodded: "That is right. I imagine you already understand why the chapel would throw away so much food, right?''


    "I know. They''re treating a guest."


    "For several days consecutively?"


    "That means a fair number of people havee to reside in the chapel recently. Put another way, the chapel may be raising some new pets."


    The man responded with a content nod: "Then, do you know who their guest is?"


    "You even know their identity?!"


    I could understand him possessing the knowledge for the initial points and being able to reason that the chapel had increased their activities based on the volume of food thrown out. I believed the intelligence he provided. Nevertheless, if the chapel truly brought so many people over, the people might be the secret weapon they had in store to oppose the Queen. They should be the chapel''s knights; however, judging from the beggar''s demeanour, they weren''t knights, and they were people he knew.


    The chapel wouldn''t mindlessly let someone into their chapel. By the same token, the people inside wouldn''t senselesslye out. The Queen was definitely keeping surveince on the chapel. Subsequently, if she found out the chapel had more men, armed men for that matter, she''d definitely obstruct them. That begged the question: "Was the beggar lying to me?"


    The beggar used a hand gesture to signal for me to give him another silver coin for more information. I could be giving money away for nothing, but I didn''t n to waste an opportunity. Should he be telling the truth, one silver coin was absolutely worth it.


    I ced another silver coin in his hand. Satisfied, he nodded: "Young man, you are nning something, huh? I believe lots of others would refuse to give me a second silver coin. I shall share the truth with you, then. The people getting free meals in the chapel are actually erstwhile adventurers who once fought on the battlefields. There are not many adventurers nowadays, though. The remainder of them have sided with the chapel, for the reason that the Queen''s attitude toward them has disappointed them."


    "How do you know that?"


    "Because I, too, am an adventurer. I was once a gold rank adventurer; I also received a letter from the chapel. The chapel used a variety of mediums to contact those who could still be contacted and used the contacts each adventurer had to recruit them one by one. Lots of homeless adventurers were willing toe here."


    "How about you, then? Why are you still here? You just need to turn around, and you''ll be able to go inside to eat, as well. Why must you stay here and eat rubbish?"


    The man scrubbed the two silver coins. He looked at Queen Sisi''s face on the coins andughed in a quiet voice: "You are a businessman, correct? I can tell you are a businessman from your gaze. Your gaze is aloof and serious. I presume you understand capital and profit. If I spent a hundred dors and earned ten, I would be happy. If, however, I picked up a copper for free, I''d be happy for the entire day. That is my reason. I am now a beggar. With these two silver coins, I would be happy for one week, which is why I think that I am happiest without anything."


    I pursed my lips into a smile. He wasn''t wrong. In saying that, it was twisted logic. I was different to him, after all. If I was empty handed, how was I supposed to take care of Leah? I didn''tment, though. Instead, I asked, "Do you know what the chapel asked the adventurers to do in the letters?"


    "They imed that they would take care of us by allowing us to lead lives that would earn the respect of others as we did in the past."


    "Are they going to feed you or something? If you think about it, you would realise that it''s impossible. The chapel is currently struggling financially. How would they feed you all?"


    I pinched my chin and thought to myself, but I kept my eyes on the former adventurer: "What do adventurers do? Anna? She''s a maid, while this man is a beggar. What about the others? Lots of them aren''t educated. Even if the church wanted educated ones, they''d still be meaningless existences. Are they after their might, then? The chapel needs adventurers, but not their own knights? Adventurers should be pointless existences nowadays. The times have abandoned them. Adventurers only exist if the Demon King does. Without him, who needs adventurers? Without him, not even Veirya is worth anything, let alone your ordinary adventurers.''


    "Who knows? They certainly will not be feeding us,"mented the man, extending his hand out again.


    I gave the man another silver coin. He collected the three coins together. In a solemn voice, he borated, "The chapel will not feed us; only Her Majesty will feed us. She is the only one who would let us fight, and let us die. We will only lead good lives and be respected when there is a need to fight. So, the question is, when will we be needed?"


    "That era is over, though," I responded.


    "Yeah, that era is over," repeated the man.

 Chapter Volume 3 24

    <em>Leah¡¯s Question</em>


    The following was my analysis:


    What exactly did the chapel want to do? At present, the chapel only recruited unemployed adventurers. The recruited adventurers could be considered unemployed drifters. Actually, perhaps unemployed violent drifters would be more appropriate. By the looks of things, they intended to oppose Queen Sisi to the bitter end even if it meant resorting to violence. No matter how I thought about it, though, even if the chapel took in the adventurers, they''d still be no match for Queen Sisi.


    Queen Sisi had the power of the entire empire behind her. The entire empire''s military was at hermand. A mere chapel had no chance of putting up any significant resistance against an army. Even if the chapel took in the adventurers, that wouldn''t change the oue of the fight. In saying that, the chapel wasn''t some sort of vassal state or something simr to the Spring and Autumn period during Eastern Zhou''s era. Thus, they could feed arge number of people. The chapel was facing a financial crisis. They tried to feed the group of adventurers in spite of their predicament, but they couldn''t be feeding them out of good will. They definitely had a goal.


    Now, what purpose do the adventurers serve? Adventurers only serve a purpose when the Demon King exists. Without the Demon King, the adventurers were meremoners, ordinary soldiers and young and hot-headed vigers. However, they became respected saviours in the eyes of those living in areas demons invaded owing to the existence of the Demon King. Without the Demon King, they''ll go back to being who they were.


    Adventurers weren''t legitimate military personnel. Queen Sisi even massacred them, which meant that, frankly speaking, they were just fodder. Although the Demon King is dead, Veirya was bestowed with the glory of the war, not the adventurers in question. Their might meant and means nothing. They don''t serve to threaten other powers on a diplomatic level, and they can''t provide fame. Regardless of how I wracked my brains, I just can''t figure out what purpose those adventurers serve unless the Demon King was revived.


    Veirya already slew the Demon King. After she slew him, we rarely ever heard any mentions of demons again. The demons had to bear with humanity''s attitude as they lived their lives. They were poverty-stricken to the point they have to steal food from humanity. The mountains and forests were ruled by humans; hence, the originally proud and powerful demons turned into rodents. The North, the demons'' formerly most prosperous location, became hunting grounds, where they were the prey.


    The demons no longer had any hope of making aeback. Even if a Demon King were to appear, nothing would change unless they could summon some sort of demon that would be sufficiently threatening to humans. I imagine they''d have to summon the previous Demon King to achieve that. He was dead, though. I, personally, saw his head roll over to Queen Sisi''s foot. It was sitting on her wall as a trophy. So, what exactly did the chapel want and why were they feeding adventurers?


    All that came to mind was the chapel wanted to spread a im that the demons would be revived so as to turn the world back to its former state. But nheless, it looked impossible no matter how I looked at it. No human would believe demons would be revived. No demon could intimidate humans as they once did. Further, the chapel wouldn''t be able to find anyone to rece the Demon King. The idea was fated to exist only theoretically. The chapel would never seed with that n; there were just too many missing factors for it to seed. Consequently, the chapel could only have one usible aim.


    Coincidentally, the adventurers were unhappy with the Queen. The chapel wanted to recruit everyone displeased with the Queen. Their purpose wasn''t significant, but the chapel only needed them on their side. Additionally, the chapel might choose a time, a good time to assassinate the Queen and be done with it.


    The n seemed beyond foolish, but it was the only feasible n I could conjure with the variables on hand. I really wondered if the chapel was actually foolish. It took just one brain cell to realise it was futile to try and oppose the Queen. You couldn''t even call it n; it was straight up suicide. The chapel was an organisation that had existed for a long time. Would they really opt for such a foolish n? I didn''t buy it. I seriously didn''t buy it. I couldn''t help but feel something wrong. I was inclined to think there was more to their conspiracy; s, I couldn''t figure out what possible ns they were cooking.


    Out of all of the things they''d done thus far, taking in adventurers was the most iprehensible one yet. If I could figure out what their goal in doing so was, I''d be able to determine their goal. Unfortunately, I couldn''t figure out what purpose the adventurers served. I needed more evidence.


    There was one more thing to do, which was to find out if the chapel did buy weapons or not and where the weapons were if they did. It didn''t appear to be much of a challenge to transport weapons in the capital, since the guards at the doors weren''t strict with their inspections. When we arrived, the guards just skimmed over our gear in the rear, and then let us through. In saying that, I couldn''t say for certain if it was due to Achilles apanying us.


    "Papa, what is that?" asked Leah, suddenly tugging on my arm. I was surprised when I reacted. Noticing my reaction, Leah unhappily pouted: "Papa is thinking about something again when you''re still having lunch with Leah!! Papa, look over there; look over there!!!"


    I looked in the direction Leah pointed. There was a man on one knee, gently holding a female''s hand. The woman was clearly stunned and oblivious to what just happened. She couldn''t withhold her smile. People passing by apuded to cheer on the man while cheering and shouting. The people at the eatery nearby raised their ss of wine to offer them a toast. Everybody looked over in their direction. The people gave them their blessings underneath the warm sunlight and wind.


    "Papa, what are they doing?"


    Curious, Leah supported her face in her hands and watched them. The smiles on the crowds face brought a bright smile to hers, as well. She was still holding her fork and a small grilled fish. I contemted the question then smiled: "He''s proposing. The man is expressing his sincere love for the woman. After he expresses his love, if the woman loves the man, the two of them can build a family."


    "Love?" Leah repeated the word then turned to look at me: "Papa, what does love mean?"


    "Umm¡­"


    I dawdled when I looked at Leah''s eyes. I remember Veirya asked me the same question. I had no answer for Veirya back then, and I still didn''t have an answer. What is love? I didn''t really understand it myself. I knew everybody would eventuallye to understand it but exining it? I didn''t know how to.


    "Papa isn''t sure how to exin it, as everyone defines it differently. See, that man loves that woman, but Papa doesn''t love her. Leah, in the future, you''ll understand love. Nobody can really exin it until they meet the one who can set their heart aflutter."

 Chapter Volume 3 25

    <em>Cursed Girl</em>


    "Sir, where do you n to go?"


    The carriage we sat in could be considered an asset thepany provided us. The coach was an old man; his skills at the reins were fantastic, nheless.


    I rubbed my foot. After my left foot lost a degree of mobility, walking a few steps would induce immense pain. I hadn''t habituated to using a cane, but I could tell it alleviated some of the physical stress. Peering out the window, I replied, "Do you know where the pope lives?"


    The old man dallied before turning his head to look at me. Hesitant at first, he answered, "Sorry, Sir, I think that you should not make things hard for a woman and a child regardless of what happened."


    "I''m not nning to harm them. I just want to see his house," I answered with a chuckle. "I wouldn''t ever harm them. I wouldn''t do it even if someone else did. I''m aware how shameless such actions are. I merely want to take a look."


    "Mm¡­" The elder subtly nodded then said, "I can see you are quite fond of children seeing as you brought your child with you."


    "Not entirely," I corrected him, shaking my head. I chuckled under my breath: "I remember someone said it looks very lonely for someone to sit in a carriage alone, and I agree. I once lived a lonely life for a very long time. Now that I have my beloved daughter, it''s only natural for me to cherish her and be considerate of her."


    The elderughed and nodded. He didn''t respond. Instead, he whipped the horse, and the horse began to trot.


    I shut the window. Leah rubbed her full belly and happily hugged my arm while humming a weird tune. I lowered my head to sniff her hair. Neither of us uttered a word. We just cosily rested there with each other.


    Honestly, I considered whether or not to write Veirya a letter. It was always on my mind, but when I earnestly thought about it, I didn''t know what to write. What was I supposed to say to Veirya? I didn''t know what she was doing. I didn''t know if she wanted to tell us what she was doing. Would she reply to the letter? I didn''t know what to tell her, either.


    It was best for me not to inform Veirya what I had in mind. If someone read the contents of the letter, our activities would be exposed. If I didn''t tell her about work, was I supposed to tell her I missed her and really wanted to return to her? My face and ears would turn red before I could even write that. I''d probably die from embarrassment if I wrote it. Moreover, no matter how romantic I made it sound, Veirya would look nonchnt as always; it was pointless. Consequently, I didn''t write a letter in the end. It wasn''t as if she''d say anything. I, therefore, didn''t pay too much attention to it. Her wound is unlikely to have healed, so she should still be at home.


    Our carriage arrived at a corner in the east of the imperial city. Most of the people residing in the eastern side of the imperial city were the wealthy. Commoners lived on the West side. The coach knocked on the door to notify us we had arrived. I opened the door and got off. I gently tugged my cape. The houses in the area were all orange. There was nothing unique or out of ce about them.


    The pope didn''t use his influence to protect his daughter and wife in the area. No wonder why the elder was concerned about me harming them.


    The sunlight outside was a tad tough on the eyes, since it was just past afternoon. That said, the warmth was nice. There weren''t many people on the street. As a matter of fact, it was quite barren. I discovered there were lots of houses with nobody inhabiting them.


    "They''re great houses. Why did the people leave?" I wondered.


    I looked around to find there was only one inhabited house. I presumed it to be where the young girl lived. Suddenly, a gentle, yet cool, breeze blew over. The coach screamed. I dallied for a moment before turning around to have something hit me in the face. I felt ice-cold water and smooth silk on my face, startling me. I pulled it off my face to discover it was be a small piece of clothing¡­


    My mind raced randomly: "Wait a second!! Could this be the event often seen in Anime? Is this someone''s panties?!! Is this some young beautiful girl''s panties?! Are lots of things going to happen between us, and then are we going to confess, and then Leah or Veirya will separate us? Sounds romantic."


    I pulled it off to learn it wasn''t a pair of panties; it wasn''t even a piece of clothing but a square-shaped handkerchief. It was evidently meticulously made. There was a capital letter meticulously sewn on in one corner, which, presumably, was an initial for a name. It was probably the young girl''s handkerchief and had just been washed. However, I noticed a trace of blood on it.


    "Hurry and throw that away!! Hurry!! Hurry!" eximed the coach The elderly coach leapt over from behind, albeit looking as though it was a movement he wasn''t capable of performing.


    He startled me. I instinctively tightened my grip on the handkerchief. I eximed, "What are you doing?! What are you doing?!! Didn''t this fly out from that house? We should return it to them. How can we just toss it away?!"


    "No! You misunderstand! The handkerchief belongs to the pope''s daughter!! It''s cursed! An evil spirit has cursed it! An evil spirit has cursed her! Whoever is infected with it will be cursed!! You''ll die! You really will die!"


    The coach looked as if a menace approached. I looked at the handkerchief, thinking, "Isn''t this just an ordinary handkerchief? Who cares if there''s some blood on it? Also, this handkerchief belongs to the pope''s daughter, doesn''t it? If she''s the daughter of the god-believing pope, how could she possibly have evil spirits possessing her? Evil spirits don''t exist."


    Evil spirits couldn''t possibly exist, but a chance certainly existed, and it presented itself to me. I wanted to see the pope''s daughter and wife in the first ce. The perfect opportunity to see themnded in myp. I had an easy-entry pass into the house without doing it in criminal fashion.


    I nonchntlyughed. I walked over to the door with the handkerchief in hand and gently knocked. The coach, who was behind me, screamed as if he had gone mad; but nheless, I ignored him. Evil spirits don''t exist; therefore, I wasn''t afraid of some curse.

 Chapter Volume 3 26

    <em>Spirit Girl</em>


    I gently knocked on the door. Leah caught up to me with light steps. Someone came running up to the door from the other side and vigorously opened it. I was surprised to see a maid dressed in a ck and white uniform. She was so startled that she didn''t know what to do. She was literally going to prostate herself. She loudly apologised, "Umm, umm, umm, I am sincerely sorry about the handkerchief!! I am sincerely sorry! If you do not mind¡­ just burn the handkerchief, umm, umm, umm¡­ sorry!!"


    I quickly grabbed the maid''s arm to stop her: "What are you talking about? As it belongs to a maiden, I should return it to her. I do not mind. Would it not be a pity to burn such a beautiful handkerchief?"


    "Y-Y-You¡­"


    The maid nearly leapt up upon hearing my response. Surprised, she shoved me back. I noticed panic and terror from her reaction. Her reaction made it seem as though I mentioned something considered treason; I even begun to suspect if I said something I shouldn''t have. But nheless, after carefully mulling on it, I couldn''t figure out what I said that was out of ce. Wasn''t it normal for me to return it?


    "Ar-Ar-Are you not afraid?! H-Have you not heard¡­ the¡­ the¡­ evil spirit¡­"


    "I have. I don''t mind, though. I don''t believe in evil spirits. This is the maiden''s handkerchief, so I should return it to her."


    I handed the maid the handkerchief, but she continued to back down. She didn''t dare to approach me. She turned around and yelled, "An evil spirit hase! The evil spirit itself hase! Th-The evil spirit hase!!! Save me!!!"


    I watched the maid pathetically flee helter skelter. I lingered in ce before looking down at Leah. Confused, I asked, "Leah, did Papa just say something rude?"


    "Leah doesn''t know, either¡­ Mm¡­ Leah doesn''t think there was anything wrong with what you said, Papa¡­ Has Leah misunderstood something?"


    "No¡­ I don''t think there was anything wrong with what I said."


    I peered inside the house. I didn''t know if I should enter or not¡­ The interior was, well, in. There were no unnecessary decorations or expensive items. There was only ordinary furniture. It didn''t look as though the pope was particrly wealthy. In other words, he must''ve spent his money on treating his daughter.


    I heard footsteps approaching from within. I looked over in the direction of the footsteps to see a calm, mature and graciousdy walk over. Next to her was the maid, cautiously following after her with her head down. The respectabledy came up to us with a refined smile and bowed: "Thank you very much, kind and just Sir. It has been a very long time since someone has said something so nice about my daughter. Ever since she fell ill, people believed she an evil spirit cursed her, therefore keeping their distance from us."


    I nodded and replied with a smile: "This is the young miss'' handkerchief."


    "Thank you so much. Would you like toe in for some tea? It would give my daughter the chance to see you. Everyone avoids her, so I am sure she would be very happy to have a guest over to share some tea with her."


    Judging from the look in her eyes, she appeared to hope for me to ept her offer. She must''ve really hoped to bring some happiness to her daughter''s lonely life.


    ording to my inference, the pope''s daughter must''ve contracted some sort of contagious disease. I was putting myself at risk; however, I also knew contagious diseases didn''t just inevitably infect everyone it came into contact with. Business meant making gambles. The same went for this job with Queen Sisi. If I won the gamble, I''d obtain everything I wanted. My life was the most worthless thing to me. Even if I did contract it, I could ask cute Lucia for help. I was certain the elves could treat me with their medicines¡­


    "Leah, go and wait for me in the carriage," I said, caressing Leah''s head. "This is adults'' business. Children should not be present. With that said, Papa will definitely tell you what exactly happened, so there''s no need to be scared."


    "Mm¡­" Leah instantly looked displeased and wanted to shout something; fortunately, upon seeing my absolutely serious expression, she obediently nodded, albeit with a tinge of loneliness. I rubbed her head then watched her return to the carriage.


    I followed the graciousdy into the house and shut the door. She walked ahead of me and led me to a room. It was a type of room that was rarely seen. There were three huge folding windows that extended down to the ground. Although ss already existed in this era, it seemed as though it was very dear. A ss window that extended down to the ground must''ve been very expensive. Outside of the window was a field of flowers currently in bloom, so I presumed it the space was a flower garden.


    "After my daughter fell ill, several maids contracted the same disease and passed away. That is why lots of people believe her illness is a demon spirit''s curse that will curse others, as well. Consequently, people around us and friends all left. Nobody ever visited us again. I am certain my daughter will be very happy to see you."


    We sat down at the table below the window. The maid ced cups for us onto the table then bowed and went off to prepare tea. Thedy sat opposite me and finished her story with a smile. She then turned to a staircase and called out. I heard the sound of clothing rustling after she called out. Curious, I shifted my line of sight over in the direction of the sound.


    I saw a white robe appear at the corner of the staircase. A thin pair of hands appeared on the rails. I looked over to see a face as white as a sheet, a result of being subjected to the torment of her disease. She wore a face veil, but I could still see her pale face and lifeless eyes. She looked as though she was weightless and was drifting over simrly to a spirit. She looked frail enough to bid the world farewell the next instant.


    When she saw me, surprise surfaced in her eyes. She tipped sideways as she idently stepped onto thin air, thereby falling down. Thedy was startled, but I had already leapt over, ignoring the sharp shot of pain from my left ankle and rushing to the stairs to catch the girl who fell.


    The girl was very light. Her entire body crashed into mine, I didn''t feel any pushback. She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. Her fragrance wasn''t very strong. In fact, the scent was more akin to the ordinary smell of washing detergent. Normally, all girls had the scent on them. Those who are about to die wouldn''t have the scent, though.


    "This girl in front of me may be tightly hugging me, still feel warm, still have her touch sensations and still be breathing and panting, but she''s going to die soon, isn''t she? She really will be a wandering spirit soon, won''t she?" I thought.


    "Sorry¡­"


    I heard a soft voice next to my ear. I didn''t reply; instead, I tightened my arms around her¡­

 Chapter Volume 3 27

    <em>Disease and Deceit</em>


    "Mister!"


    Even her mother cried out. I gently hugged the girl. Because she stood on the stairs, we were face to face. She possessed a very pretty pair of eyes resembling amethyst gems. There was a shimmering light in her eyes. She looked pale as a sheet; her trembling lips were so pale that they looked as though they were camouged. My reflection appeared in her originally lifeless and empty eyes. She had hot flushes on her face for the first time due to shyness and surprise. She didn''t remove her hands from around my neck. She looked into my eyes. Though scared and surprised, she eventually muttered, "Thank you¡­"


    I shook my head: "It''s all right."


    I took a small step back and let go of her. She wasn''t much older than Leah. She was probably around fourteen or fifteen. She had an immature sense of maturity. Her mother looked in our direction, and let out a breath of relief. She smiled and apologised, "Sorry, Mister. My daughter is not very healthy."


    "It is all right. Miss, please sit."


    I took a step back. The girl embarrassingly nced at me then took small steps over to the table and sat down. As soon as she sat down, she immediately picked up the handkerchief on the table to cover her mouth. She looked as though she was in excruciating pain when she coughed. Her small body looked as though it''d crumble due to her coughing. She coughed blood and panted. It was as if her lungs were damaged wind encasement, and she was coughing out the rest of her organs.


    The girl gasped for air onest time. She almost passed out fromck of oxygen. She let go of her handkerchief, which then glided to the ground. Her lips appeared redder, not because she had recovered but because of the blood. There were traces of blood resembling plum flowers on her handkerchief. Concerned, her mother went up to her side. She gently stroked her back and softly asked, "Ascilia, Ascilia, are you all right? Can you manage?"


    I stated, "It''s all right; I don''t mind. Miss, if you''re not feeling well, head on back and rest."


    "¡­ No."


    Ascilia pressed her hand to her chest and desperately tried to regain the oxygen she lost. I could clearly hear her lungs gasping for air. She was so frail I thought she''d fall over. Nevertheless, she extended her arm out to stop her mom from lifting her up by her arm. Her mother froze in ce. Ascilia tightly grabbed onto her mom''s body. After panting, she slowly sat back down. A task as simple as sitting seemingly cost the girl all of her energy.


    The girl straightened up her posture and carefully touched her teacup. She was only capable of picking up a teacup that was half full, and it took her both hands to ensure it wouldn''t drop even with two hands. She gently pursed her lips into a smile. In a quiet voice, she said, "This gentleman returned my handkerchief to me. If I leave without expressing my gratitude, it would be rude of me."


    Ascilia''s mother looked at her daughter with disbelief. Ascilia wore a sorrowful smile. Voice soft, she said, "Thank you very much¡­ for returning my handkerchief¡­ It has been a very long time¡­ since somebody showed me such a gentlemanly gesture¡­ You are not afraid of me, correct?"


    I shook my head: "I am not. I am only shy in front of such a pretty girl. I am not afraid."


    "R-Really¡­? I have been ill¡­ for a very long time. Nobody says I am pretty anymore." Ascilia pursed her lips then gave into her urge and softly giggled.


    Thus, she covered her shy face with her teacup. Any girl, Ascilia in particr, would like beingplimented as looking pretty. It had been a long time since shest spoke to someone outside of her home. For a girl at her age, she probably had a severe inferiorityplex, as her friends and neighbours all left. That probably torments her more than her pain.


    I responded, "I am not trying to just make you feel good. I am being sincere. I, too, have a daughter; I hope she will grow up to be as pretty as you."


    Although I don''t deny I was trying to make her feel and ingratiate myself with her, I was right. If Ascilia''s condition didn''t torment her, she''d most likely be a gorgeous girl. At the moment, I just wanted to get in their good books. They were both the pope''s family members. Therefore, I reasoned they might know some of his secrets. There were no secrets to speak of between family members, especially when the pope deeply loved his family. If I could pry some information out of them, I''d be able to figure out what the chapel was after.


    Ascilia''s mother looked at me with a smile and, in a somewhat nostalgic tone, said, "It has been a very long time since someone came to our ce. Usually, all of Ascilia''s friends would be here."


    "I am very happy to have Mister here, as well," said Ascilias, shooting her mother a reproaching gaze. She then quickly turned to me. She seemed to be afraid I''d misunderstand. She pointed at herself and exined, "Ever since I fell ill, everyone believed I was cursed. They did not want to approach me. I, too, do not want for them toe close to me¡­ as somebody really did die, because of me¡­ That said, that said, I really did feel quite lonely. I am truly very happy you are not afraid of me and are willing to chat with me."


    It took a lot out of Ascilia to speak. Perhaps her condition was the reason it took a lot out of her to speak. She almost passed out after saying so much in one go. Her mother asked, "I have never seen you before, Mister. You are from¡­?"


    "I am from the North. I am with Lord Veirya. I, mm¡­ am a businessman, I guess."


    "The¡­ North?" asked Ascilia''s mother, reacting slightly awkwardly. She then struggled to say, "So, you are¡­ a heretic, right?"


    "Mom!" Before I could reply, Ascilia reprimanded her mom. She added, "Mom, what are you saying? He¡­ is with the warrior, Lord Veirya. How could he be a heretic? He¡­ should¡­ be another adventurer who defeated the Demon King."


    "You''re right¡­ You''re right¡­ Please forgive my rudeness. Nheless, since you are from the North, you¡­ you must be connecting with the elves?''


    I could tell Ascilia''s mother was emotional. She was supposed to apologise to me, but it didn''t concern her in the moment. She cared more about what rtionship I had with the elves.


    Based off thedy''s tone, the elves could treat her daughter, apparently. The elves possessed highly-advanced medical skills. My foot and Veirya''s back were easily treated thanks to them, which meant that the girl''s lung disease should''ve been curable. The bigger problem was that Lucia wouldn''te over. Lucia was currently taking part in a revolution in the elvennds. I knew Lucia wouldn''te, but thedy didn''t¡­ Lying to the ill was immoral, but since when did I ever care?

 Chapter Volume 3 28

    <em>Afternoon Appointment</em>


    I asked thedy, "Indeed, I do have a decent rtionship with the elves, and we are doing business together. What was it that you would like to inquire about?"


    There was no point in hiding my connection. As a matter of fact, I was eager to find out what they wanted. I was confident she wanted the elves'' medicine to treat her daughter. Though I was aware the elves wouldn''t concern themselves with humans at that point in time, let alone conduct business with them, humans weren''t informed in regards to what was happening in the elvennds. I could give the two of them a little bit of hope in exchange for what I wanted.


    My method was immoral; I agree, because I knew they were putting all of their hopes on the elves'' medicine. In order to obtain what I wanted, I had to promise they''d receive the medicine. In reality, I didn''t know if I''d be able to obtain the medicine or not, as I had no idea when there would be closure to Lucia''s internal strife. She couldn''te to humanity''snds while the internal war was raging on. Just as importantly, there was no guarantee Ascilia wouldst until the end of the war.


    I knew I gave them false hope, toyed with withering a life and I shouldn''t do it, but if I continued clinging to stupid morals and a sense of obligation, I''d probably be stuck living in shounen Mangas for eternity. As long as I obtained what I wanted, whates after could be dealt with afterwards.


    I felt sorry for Ascilia. If possible, I''d genuinely be willing to take care of her. In saying that, if I could get what I wanted through her, I wouldn''t hesitate, either. Sympathy and work should never be mixed together.


    "Umm¡­ as you can see, my daughter''s condition¡­ umm¡­ umm¡­ We do not believe an evil spirit has cursed our daughter, either. I trust my daughter. She is just sick. A doctor said only elven medicine could heal her. We have sought out those iming to have connections with elves, but we discovered they were frauds. They were not able to bring us elven medicine¡­ It has been a very long time. We have spent so much money, yet our efforts to treat our daughter have been in vain¡­"


    As she recounted the past, Ascilia''s mother lost control of her tears. Her voice turned to whimpers. Ascilia didn''t feel too well; therefore, she ced her teacup down. She pursed her lips firmly together and clenched her fists. There was a fire in her gaze that she couldn''t suppress. She wasn''t angry at anyone. She wasn''t angry with the scammers. She was angry with herself. I knew what she was thinking. It wasmon for ill people to believe they were a burden to their family, especially those who had suffered illnesses for long periods of time. They believed they shouldn''t be alive.


    I said, "It''s all right, Ascilia."


    Ascilia looked up at me with surprise in her purple eyes. From the bottom of my heart, I said, "You cannot measure your value to others with money. It''s precisely because everyone loves you that they do everything they can to protect you and try to save you. You''re not a burden. Such a pretty and sensible burden doesn''t exist. You''re just everyone''s most beloved girl."


    I gave Ascilia''s mother a nod: "I understand what you mean. You can to go through me to acquire the elves'' medicine to treat the youngdy, correct? Understood. I will obtain it for you."


    "Really?!!" The mother and daughter pair eximed at the same time.


    They had been conned countless times. They still had hope, nevertheless. They appeared to share the exact same sentiments. Ascilia''s mother loved her; she didn''t give up even if there was only a minute amount of hope left. She made sure to seize the hope even if she was destined to be disappointed.


    "I will not ask for money. The reality is that elves do not care about money. They do not value money. I doubt you will be able buy it from them. So ordingly, I will not ask for your money. I will obtain the medication for the youngdy. It should not be difficult for the elves. I hope you two can wait for me."


    The two exchanged nces. I could see the mother started to grow slightly suspicious, for good news came out of nowhere. Ascilia, to the contrary, teemed with excitement: "C-Can you really help me¡­? Y-You did not know me before¡­ You¡­"


    "Aren''t we acquainted now? We have <em>that</em> to thank," I said as I pointed to the handkerchief on the table. I then stood up and smiled: "Sorry, but my daughter is waiting for me in the carriage. I cannot stay for too long; else, she will be angry. It is a pleasure to have met you both. When I return, I will speak to the elves. You just need to wait for my good news."


    Ascilia''s mother stood up. Grateful, she said, "Uhm! I shall wait for your good news, then¡­ Your news is our family''s hope."


    Ascilia used the table as support to slowly stand up. The maid, who was standing to the side, quickly approached to help Ascilia, but Ascilia gently pushed the maid away: "I¡­ want to see him to the door."


    "There is no need to. You are not well, so do not worry about it. You should j-"


    "No, I have to."


    Sick Ascilia was shockingly stubborn. Therefore, I had no choice but to allow her to. Her legs belonged to her, after all. Ascilia didn''t allow anyone to support her. She took step by step, using the wall and other things as support to slowly apany me to the door. It was short walk, yet she coughed so violently that she nearly dropped to her knees when we arrived at the door.


    I used my hand to support Ascilia. She ced her hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes with absolute seriousness. I lingered for a moment before speaking: "Goodbye, then, Miss. It was a pleasure to meet you."


    Ascilia asked, "Will you¡­e back tomorrow?"


    I dawdled. Honestly, I only wanted to visit once. I only wanted to interact with them. My im I found the medicine was an excuse toe back again. I didn''t want to waste my afternoons visiting every day. I didn''t have the luxury of time. But s, I couldn''t refuse her when I saw her purple eyes.


    I said that sympathy and work couldn''t go together; however, I had to ask myself if it was actually work. I reasoned, "Coming here every afternoon should¡­ count as work, right? This is the pope''s house. I should be able to get what I want here. I might even be able to get something even more valuable."


    In the end, I nodded: "Sure."

 Chapter Volume 3 29

    <em>Hope</em>


    "You must not value your life!! That house is cursed!! Everyone in the house has been cursed! That girl is cursed, and she''s still continuing to curse others!! You must not know that even a doctor was cursed. All those who try to undo her curse are cursed to death!!"


    Standing at the carriage, I replied, "I don''t believe that''s true. It''s just a contagious disease."


    Leah didn''t panic or react scared despite hearing me mention a contagious disease. She leaned in and sniffed me: "Papa, you don''t have the scent of disease on you, and Leah can''t smell the scent of the living. Papa, who exactly did you see inside?"


    "Leah, can you smell the scent of a contagious disease?!"


    Leah looked nonchnt. Her look that screamed that her ability was a matter of course suggested she was bewildered that I couldn''t smell it. Leah proudly exined, "Ill people have a different smell on them. In addition, I can sense weak people. I don''t know why, either, but I can sense them. You do not exude the aura of a weak person, but you don''t have the smell of another woman on you, either. That''s unlike you, Papa."


    "Why do you always think that I''m making contact with women?! Papa only interacts with women for work! Otherwise, Papa would never interact with them!"


    "Oh?"


    Leah looked at me with look of surprise and disdain for the first time. Usually, she unconditionally believed what I sad. She didn''t believe me this time¡­ That hurt my feelings.


    "What have I ever done wrong to be treated this way? I''m not a man who''s obsessed with women. Everything happened for a reason. There was always a reason¡­" I wanted to exim.


    I climbed onto the carriage and knocked on the door. The sun was setting, and I had yet to decide on my ns for the night. Nevertheless, I nned to head back. I learnt a lot of things while out and about for the day. If I continued to move about at night, the chapel might find a chance to leverage something against me. The risk was particrly high, as I wasn''t familiar with the imperial capital. There was nothing worse than the fact I visited the pope''s home during the day. Once he found out I put a green hat on his head, he might really drown me in some nearbyke. I decided to think about what to do after we returned to our lodging.


    The horse carriage travelled along the stone path. The sound of the horse hooves making contact with the ground was clear. I hugged Leah and quietly thought to myself in the carriage. Suddenly, I realised something.


    ========


    After Lin Dongqing just left the pope''s house.


    "Ascilia, head back. It''s cold. Don''t expose yourself to the cold."


    Ascilia''s mother went up to her side and gently ced her hands on Ascilia''s shoulders. She looked in the direction her daughter was gazing to see the back of the ck horse carriage slowly departing. Ascilia had her hands gently ced on the window. She had her lips gently pursed together, eager and disappointed.


    "My daughter met him for the first time today, but, for some reason, he must''ve be very important to her. It''s simr to romance stories where the male and female lead fall in love with each other upon their first meeting. I don''t know what to say to my daughter," Ascilia''s mother thought.


    Ascilia''s mother gently hugged her. A bitter feeling almost brought her to tears. She didn''t want to destroy her daughter''s pure feelings despite not knowing what Lin Dongqing was after. She, however, didn''t know how much longer her daughter had to live. She didn''t know how much longer she could feel love. If she destroyed a love her daughter found after so many ordeals, she truly would be unworthy of being a mother.


    "Allowing my daughter to experience the beauty of love is a good thing. At the very least, he promised toe every afternoon," rationalised Ascilia''s mother.


    The evening breeze gently grazed the side of the young girl''s face. The sunset shined a gentle pink light down on the girl''s pale face. Ever since she fell ill, Ascilia never felt the evening breeze or saw sunset again. That day, when she watched Lin Dongqing leave, her eyes radiated with life. She wore a subtle smile. In spite of still being sick, she was energetic just as the flowers outside were in bloom again in spring. She admired the sight of the sun shining its final rays. She looked in the direction that the carriage left in and quietly murmured, "He¡­ agreed."


    "I don''t know where he came from, but he gave Ascilia the best medicine: hope. Perhaps this is what they call fate. Perhaps this is God''s will. I always revered and respected God, and God has finally decided to gaze upon me. That man isparable to an angel. He came out of nowhere and brought hope to the one who I love most," Ascilia''s mother said to herself.


    Ascilia''s mother gently rubbed her head: "Mm, he did, too."


    Ascilia gently nodded then softly said, "Then, Mom, can you help me find the clothes I used to wear tomorrow? Also¡­ I need to do my make-up¡­ I want to wait for him¡­ looking the same as I did in the past."


    "''Kay, ''kay, Mom will help you prepare, okay?"


    "It''s not easy to live on, but the desire to live is very important. No one can treat someone who has given up hope. Although I don''t have the confidence to drive out the demon spirit, I can alleviate her pain. In saying that, having the hope to live on is always a positive," Ascilia''s mother told herself.


    ========


    I froze for a moment when I saw Achilles, who was already sitting in the bar drinking. I asked, "Has the vouring deal finished?"


    Achilles raised his ss upon seeing me with a jolly smile: "Of course. No merchant would require a scale for a deal at night. I sold the vouring for a good price during the day. Are you in a rush to get your share?"


    "No, I''m not. I''ll leave my share with yourpany. Give me a cheque as you didst time."


    I didn''t want to be running around with hundreds of gold coins. It wasn''t a meagre several hundred coins. Achilles grin told me he earned arge sum. I always suspected he might''ve falsified the price of the vouring, but I didn''t have the spare energy to get to the bottom of it.


    We made a toast. Achilles remarked, "How about you? Did you learn anything during the day? The chapel''s people probably do not like you, right? I heard that you went to the pope''s ce. You sure are brave."


    "I have to go where I have to go even if it''s dangerous. Furthermore, if they senselessly killed someone who met with Queen Sisi, that''d be a perfect motive for her to deploy military might. The chapel wouldn''t conspicuously offend her."


    "Did you get anything, then, or did you need to find out something?"


    "An elf. Achilles, I''m certain you have connections to an elf; otherwise, you couldn''t possibly have managed to contact Lucilia. I need to see an elf."

 Chapter Volume 3 30

    <em>Lucilia and Veirya</em>


    It wasn''t difficult to find an elf in the imperial capital; there were a fair number of them residing in the imperial capital. Extrapting from the elves'' sense of superiority, derived from their attachment to race and loyalty, the elves residing in the imperial capital had to be in touch with the elves in the forest. Put another way, Lucilia should''ve been in contact with them.


    After listening to what I said, Achilles didn''t hesitate or question me about my reasons. Instead, he stood straight up and led me out. We headed toward the imperial pce. I thought he was taking me to see Queen Sisi. Instead, we went to a house neighbouring the imperial pce that wasn''t very eye-catching. I noticed the guards were elves despite them wearing armour simr to humanity''s. Their long ears were a giveaway. I looked around.


    With his keen senses, it was no wonder Achilles was able to be Queen Sisi''s personal vassal. He was able to discern what others needed with a single nce. Simrly, he was able to immediately pick up on what I needed. Achilles turned around and exined, "This is where elves and humans connect. It is also where the money I give Lucilia goes through. If you want to find an elf, you must be trying to reach Lucilia, correct?"


    I nodded: "Correct."


    We went into the building. The elves inside noticed us but didn''tment. Achilles led me to the fourth floor. The ratio of elves to rooms in the building was significantly fewer. We arrived at a room at the very top. Achilles knocked on the door. In a clear voice, the individual inside said, "Pleasee in."


    The two of us entered. I saw a refined looking male elf sitting behind a table, earnestly examining a crystal ball as if it was a divine item. From where I was standing, though, I couldn''t see a thing. He looked up at us then focused his gaze on me. His ears twitched subtly then he cheerfullyughed: "You must be Travor, right? That is a very nice name. Madam Lucilia mentioned you. She asked us to do our best to help you. Did you want something this time?"


    "Should Lucia not be in the elvennds at the moment?"


    "Mm, we do not need to meet tomunicate. We canmunicate via magic," exined the elf pointing to the crystal ball. "Madam Lucilia is currently in the imperial pce forcing the former Queen to abdicate the throne. Thank you very much for your assistance."


    I shook my head: "It''s no big deal. I didn''t help you for free. I assisted as I believed Lucia would win. I came to ask if you knew about the disease the pope''s daughter, Ascilia, contracted. She seems to have a serious lung disease."


    "Ah, we have heard about. We also heard lots of humans posed as our friends to scam them of money, which has given us a very bad reputation." The elf frowned. Elves highly cherish their reputation, so they probably wanted to rip those humans up.


    "Do you not n to help her?"


    "Does she have anything to do with us?" rhetorically asked the elf, shaking his head. He nonchntly borated, "Humanity''s diseases have nothing to do with us elves. We did not cause her illness. If we were obligated to help all sick humans, we would be pushovers, no? Do I need to mention what the chapel previously did to Madam Lucil? It is impossible for us to help the chapel. To the contrary, if you want revenge against the chapel, we would be happy to lead the charge at the forefront."


    Clearly, Lucia held a very high status among elves. The elves, no matter where they were, did their utmost for her. Lucia was a hero to elves; all of them revered her. Because the chapel impacted Lucia, the elves wouldn''t harbour any positive impressions of the chapel.


    I suddenly had a realisation: "Since Veirya slew the Demon King, wouldn''t Queen Sisi consider her the same type of existence? Lucia led a military coup to force her Queen to abdicate the thrown, as she wasn''t happy with her Queen''s policies. All of the people believed and revered the hero who slew the Demon King. If the elves could do that, Veirya, too, could do the same. To add to that, the most frightening part is that Lucia wasn''t even the warrior who killed the Demon King. Veirya was.


    Once Queen Sisi learns of what happened in the elvennds, would she want to kill Veirya, too? Fortunately, Veirya is an ignorant idiot. She''s absolutely loyal to Queen Sisi; logically, Queen Sisi shouldn''t be eager to kill Vierya, yet. In saying that, given the Queen''s character, I''m sure she won''t leave Veirya unrestrained forever. It''s just that she currently has the pope to deal with. What would happen if the pope fell? Once he falls, who will Queen Sisi''s next target be?"


    I took in a deep breath and erased the frightening thought from mind for the meantime.


    If Queen Sisi tried to harm Veirya, the best course of action would be to not eliminate the chapel entirely. Why was stability maintained during the Three Kingdoms period? It was because the three kept each other in check. The saying that a triangr situation provided the most stability was true. Once one was missing from the picture, another will soon fall. The chapel, Queen Sisi and Veirya made up three forces. If Queen Sisi forcibly went after Veirya, I could ask the chapel for help. Subsequently, I needed to have a good talk with the pope¡­


    Revenge was one thing. If I was going to die after exacting my vengeance, I''d rather not have revenge. At the very least, I couldn''t cripple the chapel this time around. I needed toe up with a way to resuscitate the chapel at any given moment. That way, they''d be able to keep Queen Sisi at bay so that she wouldn''t go after Veirya.


    The elf questioned, "So, what exactly did you need this time?"


    I answered, "Do you know how to treat the girl''s condition?"


    The elf responded, "It is not hard. However, that is for us elves. We just need to use three types of medications, live in the forest for some time after and we will fully recover. Do you n to help the pope''s daughter? So, you want our medicine?"


    I avoided the question: "I am trying to protect Madam Lucilia''s friend, Veirya. The medicine is very important to Veirya."


    The elves definitely didn''t want to help the chapel. Though they might help me, they were bound to be disgruntled about it to a degree. I didn''t want to offend any elf. So ordingly, I had to use another reason. I didn''t think elves who were familiar with Lucilia would refuse me under that context.


    "Is Lord Veirya ill? If she is, we can allow her toe to ournds to recuperate."


    The elf emotionally invested himself as I expected. His long ears twitched a few times. I smiled: "Veirya is not the one who is sick. The individual in question happens to be very important to her."


    "All right, then. I will contact Madam Lucilia, and ask her to bring the medicine over as soon as possible. We are only doing this for you. I hope you will not drag us into any trouble."


    "I understand. I will keep a lid on it."

 Chapter Volume 3 31

    <em>Leah¡¯s Prey</em>


    I led Leah to the entrance of the brothel. Leah looked up at the red structure and pulled her eyebrows together. She sniffed the air and asked, "Papa¡­ Leah doesn''t think this is a good ce. Papa, there are lots of subi inside. Did you bring me here for something, Papa?"


    Before replying, I gently cleared my throat: "Umm¡­ Papa thought you might want to see your fellow subi."


    I honestly didn''t have any corrupt ideas. I didn''t want to try and see if I could convince the subi to serve me. I merely wanted to let Leah meet her fellow subi. Nobody would be against seeing their own kind, right?


    Leah didn''t say anything but didn''t resist, either. She followed me by my side into the brothel. The morous building filled with an amorous scent was as hot as if it was summer. The subi inside were d in nothing but very thin and sexual clothing as they shook their hips with cheerful smiles. They crossed the rugs and floor with their long, slender legs and beautiful feet, holding hands with men as they cheerfully headed back to their nest.


    The men thought they were the hunters. In reality they were the prey being drained. The subi found themselves a very befitting job. They were able to bring joy to humans and attain what subi needed to sustain life at the same time.


    Leah curiously scanned the subi. She wasn''t the only one who was curious; the other subi also noticed us. All of the subi without work approached us with curious minds. Nevertheless, their gazes were on Leah. We then heard steady footsteps approach from the side. I looked to the smoke to hear footsteps.


    Sophia looked at me with her eyes narrowed then shifted her gaze to Leah. Her gaze immediately froze on Leah. She then quickly turned her focus back to me: "This is the subus who marked you? Mm, indeed, her bloodline is impressive. I never expected a subus of her calibre would still be alive."


    Leah surveyed Sophia but didn''tment. Instead, she leaned over to me and vigntly observed the subi approaching us. She touched Leah on her head then crouched down and gently kissed Leah on her lips. Before I could cry out, Leah began to slowly strip off her clothes she wore while in her child form. Then, she gradually transformed into her adult form.


    "Fuu¡­"


    Leah seemed to feel very rxed. She flicked her hair. Once she transformed into her adult form, her gaze no longer contained the fear and concern she showed when she was a child. To the contrary, she stood proudly and wore a condescending smile as she looked at the subi around. They were subi, who were very alluring to humans, but the subi around seemed to lose their glow the moment Leah appeared. Subi were beautiful beings. Leah happened to be the most beautiful among them. She hugged my arm and looked around without uttering a word.


    Sophia scanned Leah then subtly nodded: "Miss Leah, wee home."


    "This isn''t my home," said Leah, in an ice-cold tone I never heard her use before. I even mistook her for Veirya. Leah swept her cold, red eyes over the subi in front of her: "I smelt your scents on Papa. You didn''ty your hands on him, did you?"


    "No, he is your pr-, I meant, father. We will noty our hands on him. That said, do you really not n to return? All of us subi are gathered here."


    "No."


    Leah''s answer was simple, yet resolute. Clinging to my arm, she took in a deep breath and shut her eyes. I soon realised what she was trying to do. Leah transformed back to her child form. She picked up her clothes and got dressed. Next, she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the building.


    I was surprised. Leah didn''t show nostalgia or anger on her face; she looked the same as usual. Voice soft, she expressed, "Leah doesn''t want Papa to have the scent of other subi. Where Leah used to live, no subi ever bothered with Leah. Nowadays, all that they see in Leah is Leah''s lineage. They''re not Leah''s family. Leah''s only family is Papa, mm¡­ and Mama Veirya."


    I didn''t reply. I, instead, hugged Leah. She looked up at me: "Papa, do you need to go out at night?"


    I nodded: "Mm."


    I did have a n for the night, but it didn''t necessarily guarantee I''d reap any reward. Nothing could go wrong with checking in, though. Every race on the continent was gathered in the imperial capital. If elves were present, surely there were dwarves around.


    I didn''t know if calling them dwarves was the correct term. I saw a furry species at the celebratory banquetst time, but they looked very aggressive. By my estimation, they must''ve been the weapon creators of legend. If they were conducting business with the chapel, they had to have members present in the imperial capital. I could potentially gain something I wanted if I connected with them.


    "I shall head back and wait for you, then, Papa."


    Leah nodded. She then suddenly pulled me down by my cor. She went up on her toes and bit my lip. While there, she wrapped her arms around my neck and began to earnestly suck on my tongue. As a result, I froze.


    "We''re not at home; we''re out on the streets!! What would people think if they saw us?!! A nine year old girl kissing a grown man?! This isn''t a polite kiss, either!! Back in my world, I''d be handcuffed by now¡­ Officer, let me exin!! It really wasn''t me who initiated it! It was her! Not me! I didn''t initiate it!!" I cried in my mind.


    The people didn''t mind us. Instead, they cheered and apuded.


    "Oi, oi, oi, your three values and views are messed up!! Shouldn''t you be reporting me to the police?!" I silently eximed.


    Leah gently removed her lips. She released her arms around my neck and gently thumped her head on my chest. In a soft voice, she said, "Leah will always be by your side, Papa¡­"


    "I know. I know, Leah." I gently hugged Leah.


    Leah leaned onto me and added, "Those subi aren''t my family. They don''t have any family, either. Leah doesn''t want to be another one of them¡­ Leah¡­ wants to be with Papa forever. Forever and ever¡­ Nobody can separate Leah from Papa¡­. Leah¡­ will never let go of Papa¡­"


    Leah mumbled where my heart was. I tightened my arms around her. As a father, I should''ve been very happy to hear my daughter say that to me. But nheless, I didn''t feel too happy or relieved, for I recalled what Sophia told me. I was Leah''s prey.

 Chapter Volume 3 32

    <em>Dwaves¡¯ Bar</em>


    "This is the ce. Emerald Hotel. This is the dwarves¡¯ favourite bar, although we do not considered it to be a nice ce."


    We arrived at a very strange ce. The tavern looked quite shabby. In essence, it was a cube. To add, it was small and covered in filth. Achilles and I entered. One look at the door, and you could tell the door wasn''t designed for us. We had to bend over to get in. The tavern''s main area appeared to be the underground area. Fire torches and candles acted as light for the underground area. Opposite the counter were rows of huge wine barrels. Behind the counter was a furry female anthropoid with impressive cleavage. The fur on the female anthropoid''s triangr ears resembling a cat''s shook. Her knockers sat on the counter.


    The dwarves left the counter one after another. There were a fair number of female anthropoids carrying food and wine through the crowds to serve the dwarves.


    The dwarves were roughly only as tall as Leah. Some mature men were chubby, thereby giving them an appearance resembling bears. Dwarves thought having an abundance of hair on them was best. They sported beards and body hair. They looked quite adorable.


    I scanned the surroundings. The dwarves quickly noticed Achilles and I. One of them stood up. With his cup of wine in his hand, he grumpily made a hush sound that you''dmonly hear when trying to drive animals off. He then raised his voice: "Leave, leave, tall blokes. Get lost. You tall people aren''t wee here. This is our bar. You don''t even drink when youe here. Get lost."


    "Yeah, exactly! Tall and ipetent drinkers, get lost! You''re not our friends. Get out! Get out!"


    I was surprised the dwarf managed to garner resounding support. Besides the sound of chairs sliding out, I could smell the alcohol in the air. Lots of dwarves jumped to their feet. They waved their cups around as they shouted. I truly didn''t know what to say. I had yet to utter a word, yet they already started to try and kick me out. There was nothing worse than the fact they were intoxicated. Who knows what those under the influence would do?!


    At the same time that the dwarves were pushing me out, Achilles took a stand and shouted, "Everyone, everyone, please calm down. Please calm down, everyone. This man is with Lord Veirya. She''s the man Lord Veirya trusts and loves, so please calm down!"


    Upon hearing Veirya''s name, the dwarves instantly stopped. The leader, who was a dwarf covered in red hair, walked up to me. He folded his arms and looked at my face; or rather, he scanned my body. Following ordingly with his gaze, lots of others also leaned over toward me, thereby surrounding me. I felt as if I was a teacher being surrounded by children in a kindergarten, they were dwarves¡­ No, they weren''t na?ve and cute kids, no!


    "That woman, Veirya, likes this sort of man? He doesn''t look as if he can fight. Does Veirya really like him?" questioned the dwarf, doubtful. He stood with his arms folded: "Are you really Veirya''s lover? How long is her hair?"


    "About <em>this</em> long. She had her hair burnt not long ago, though, so she has short hair now."


    I watched the dwarf try to measure the length of Veirya''s hair. Initially, she had long hair. After having it burntst time, she cut it short. While we weren''t in a romantic rtionship, we had bathed together. Her hair would cling to her back after she bathed every time, which was why I knew the length of her hair.


    The dwarf was stunned. He then jumped up and thumped me on my chest. I felt as though my ribs cracked. He wore an incredibly proud and brash smile. Heughed: "It appears that he really is that woman''s lover. Nice, nice, tall fe. Since you''re that woman''s lover, you have the right to be here. Come,e,e, sit and have a drink with us. My name is Francis. I was her ram. I attacked the Demon King''s city with her. Here, here, here, let''s have a drink!!"


    The dwarves burst into cheers. Countless dwarves dragged me into the bar. The anthropoid woman rested her face in her hand and curiously scrutinised me. The dwarves forced me down to the table. They handed me a cup of wine that resembled a me. I could ept it if it was a small wine cup, but¡­ but¡­ it was a monstrous cup of beer!! It held a lethal amount of liquor.


    The dwarves cheered. They began to recount Francis'' story with Veirya when they were exploring. Unfortunately, because Veirya never considered her stories as an adventurer something to be proud of, she never shared them with me. As such, I couldn''tment on the topic¡­


    I wanted to ask what I was curious about; however, as soon as I opened my mouth, I had a strong alcoholic drink go down my throat. Seriously, it was akin to drinking a me. My head spun after I drank it. I soon started feeling dizzy. Forget asking questions, thinking was practically impossible. The ignorant might think I was a chicken pecking at something, because I was genuinely dizzy.


    "Serious, you could never imagine how frightening that woman, Veirya, is. She just chopped the gigantic demon straight down the middle. Do you know what I mean by that?! It was one swing and sh! That gigantic demon''s body was severed. Also, she poured oil into a goblin den and set the entire thing alight. She''s extremely skilled as abatant. She rarely speaks, too, so she''s a greatpanion. Mister, how do we address you?"


    I heard the dwarf''s voice in my daze. At the same time, he gave me hard pats on my shoulder that nearly whacked my head down onto the table. I looked at him in a panic-stricken state. He anticipated an answer. I lingered for a moment before replying, "Lin¡­ Lin Dongqing."


    "What? What qing?" Lin what qing? Whatever, whatever. Human''s names are too difficult to pronounce. I need to give you a new name. You look quite smart. How about, mm¡­ Tarak? In ournguage, Tarak means Earth dragon. Earth dragons are a deft creature that can go back and forth in the ground."


    "Please, for crying out loud, I don''t mind you giving me a name, but can you give me a normal one? One means owl, and the other means earth dragon, while the Queen calls me Little Doggy. Am I an animal to you people?! And can we stick to one animal?!!" I raged in my mind.


    "So, Tarak, did youe here to see us for something?"


    The dwarf''s question helped me sober up to a degree. I grabbed a block of ice and shoved it into my mouth. The cold sting was a wake-up call. I took in a deep breath. The dwarves had done business with the chapel before, so they could''ve held more information for me.

 Chapter Volume 3 33

    <em>Forbidden Statues of God</em>


    "After the war, I didn''t have anywhere to go, so I came here to work as a bodyguard for apany. I just started a small business. Therefore, I do know about the chapel in rtion to your question. We''re transporting statues of God this time. Rest assured, though. They''re one hundred percent statues of God. There are no weapons fitted inside," exined Francis.


    After learning what I was thinking, Francis led me elsewhere. Though he was met with the dwarves boos, Francis seemed to highly respect Veirya. As soon as he heard of my predicament and I was with Veirya, he prioritised work. He led us to an unfamiliar street. The smell on the street was somewhat odd. I was feeling drowsy, so the smell induced a headache¡­ I could smell sulphur in the air. I spected there was a chemical nt.


    The three of us arrived at the huge door to the warehouse. Francis took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the heavy iron door. He pushed the door open. I thought I saw the terracotta army in Xi''an''s museum when I first looked inside. There were statues the height of a human being made from earth. All of them were in different poses. I never expected there to be so many statues of god there. I presumed the chapel had lots of gods in their religion. Tonnes of statues were lined up inside.


    We walked down the middle. I examined the statues and touched them. They were definitely earth statues and were crafted meticulously. They looked as though they were living gods. Francis stood at the door with his arms folded. He proudly exined, "It''s as simple as a click of a finger to make these statues for you humans. Don''t worry, though, as there are no weapons fitted in them. After all, it takes quite a bit of effort to break them. Products that we carve aren''t something you can easily break."


    "I see," I remarked.


    I touched a stone statue. I carefully clenched my fist and nced over to Francis. He nodded: "Help yourself. If you can break it with your hand, I''ll cover the cost. The only woman who could break our statues with her bare hands probably moans beneath you. Wait, I''m very curious. Does Veirya actually moan?"


    "Of course not."


    I wasn''t Veirya''s husband, but I could tell I needed to put on the act. Francis stroked his beard: "Thought so. How in the world did you make her fall for you and marry you? I really want to know the answer to that. If I could learn how you did it, I bet I could win the heart of any woman in the world."


    "I used my daughter." Owing to the fact that I was in my own thoughts, I blurted my response without thinking about it. I only realised what I said three seconds after I blurted it. I quickly spun around to the dwarf who seemed to be thinking of something, yet not, and eximed, "Wait!! Wait! It''s not what you think! I didn''t do anything to Veirya before marriage!! Use your sincerity. Use your sincerity. You can conquer any woman with sincerity!"


    "Yeah¡­?"


    Francis didn''t seem to believe a thing I said. I hopelessly sighed then quickly added, "Why are all of the statues holding something in their hands? Should they be holding something?"


    "Oh, yes," responded Francis, leading me to a corner of the warehouse. Inside were several sealed chests: "Are you talking about this? They''re here. They should be holding weapons, torches and whatnot, but as it''s not easy to transport if we sculpt them on, we sculpt them separately, then we can attach them once we stand them up."


    Judging from their length, long swords were probably stored inside. I asked, "Can we open them to take a look?"


    "Sorry, I can''t let you do that. These are for the chapel. If you open them and a problem arises after, we will have to assume the responsibility. Rest assured, however, as these stone swords are quite heavy and difficult to pick up. You can try to see if you can drag the chest."


    I tried to drag it; as he said, it was very heavy. I couldn''t even drag it, let alone lift it. It was highly unlikely a human could wield the stone swords inside the chest. Arms folded, Francis borated, "Don''t worry about it. I haven''t heard of the chapel purchasing weapons from us. I''d surmise that it''s just a baseless im."


    "They didn''t?"


    Francis seriously shook his head: "I have never heard of any cases. At the very least, this batch I am transporting doesn''t contain any weapons. With that said, after me, we don''t transport any new goods afterwards, either. We''re also waiting for the chapel to pay us. Nevertheless, they haven''t asked us toe collect our recent payment, yet."


    I nodded, albeit not buying his im, as I knew I wouldn''t find out anything even if I continued questioning him. Francis denied the weapons'' existence. He was watching me, so I couldn''t investigate any further.


    I looked around and coincidentally spotted a wooden chest with a sign on top. They had four stone swords, the location the statues were to go written on the sign and the price for one unit. One statue was worth eighty gold coins. I doubted anymon man could''ve afforded the statues. Unfortunately, that was all the information avable.


    "That''s all I know. I don''t know what problem there is with the chapel; neverrtheless, if Veirya needs something, I''ll do my best to assist you. Thatss, how do I put it? She''s not fond of speaking, but she did save my life multiple times. I have to pay her back for those times."


    I understood Francis'' stance with his statement. I didn''t learn much from the warehouse. I still couldn''t make sense of what the chapel''s aim was afterpiling all of the information on hand. Actually, I was even more perplexed than I was before. Previously, there was supposedly evidence the chapel purchased weapons. I didn''t find any. Nheless, I was positive the chapel bought weapons, as they''d never be able to achieve anything if they didn''t have any.


    I began to think, "Could the chapel be nning a revolution without bloodshed? Who am I kidding? That''s impossible. Queen Sisi has misgivings precisely because the chapel possesses weapons. Moreover, if the chapel doesn''t have any advantages, the Queen wouldn''t have any qualms."


    I asked Achilles, "You saw that, right? We didn''t find any of the chapel''s weapons."


    Achilles gave me a smile: "In other words, the chapel did not actually purchase weapons?"


    I yed dumb: "Who knows¡­"


    In truth, we both tacitly understood what was going on except wecked evidence to provide it. We couldn''t find any.


    Achilles said, "We do not have much time. You have to report to Her Majesty tomorrow. The military is ready. If we do not find solid evidence, Her Majesty will resort to the simplest method."


    "In other words, a killing spree?"


    "Exactly."


    "Wait it out for now. I think I should be able to find out something. Investigating the weapons is one thing, but what exactly the chapel wants to do is what I want to know most."


    "So, does that mean that the warehouse is no longer a threat?''


    "We can''t be absolutely certain."


    "It is unlikely that there will be anyone who can destroy the stone statues. Veirya is not with them. How would they hide weapons inside?"


    "That''s true¡­"


    If I was being honest, I did have some idea in my mind, but I didn''t n to inform Achilles. He forgot about someone who was by his side, and he happened to be most familiar with her. Veirya wasn''t in the imperial capital but Angelina was. Veirya could smash it with her bare hands, which meant Angelina could, too.

 Chapter Volume 3 34

    <strong>Notice:</strong> Important notice inments, please make sure to read. If you read on aggregate sites, suffer.<i>Veirya¡¯s Arrival</i>


    It waste at night by the time I returned to the inn I lodged at. It was already around three in the morning. Francis cheerfully went back to drink. Achilles frowned as if something was on his mind. I didn''t know if he realised Angelina''s involvement. I had no idea where Angelina was. She never appeared again after my visit to the chapel.


    I wasn''t sure if there were actual weapons inside the stone swords or not. Either way, I couldn''t break them with my hands. Without proof, rashly acting would only provide the chapel with excuses to leverage. If they didn''t have weapons, the one treated to a face p wouldn''t be me but Her Majesty. I was only suspicious they hid weapons inside. I was missing the most importantponent, unfortunately: evidence. I had no means of obtaining evidence for it, though.


    The best evidence would be for the chapel to open it themselves; however, they had yet to receive the goods. The rights to the goods belonged to the dwarves until they collected it. If we smashed open the goods under Queen Sisi''s name and didn''t find any swords, the consequences would be even more serious. The internal strife would be a foreign diplomatic issue. Actually, that sounded as though it could be the chapel''s n.


    I must say, the chapel yed it very cunningly. They didn''t ept the goods, thereby forcing the dwarves to hang onto them. As the goods were with the dwarves, I couldn''t touch it. If something identally went awry, the goods wouldn''t be the chapel''s, thereby allowing them to easily absolve their involvement.


    The chapel wasn''t stupid; they were incredibly shrewd. They managed to obstruct me and cut off my paths every single time. I was relegated to reacting to their actions. Every time I acted, they''d hamper me.


    I thought, "I have to find a breakthrough. Is there any evidence? Are there any paths that can allow me to escape the chapel''s hands? They knew the ces I''d look into, as well as my choices, well before I tried pursuing any leads. I''ll never find the evidence I''m after if I continue thinking based on normal logic."


    But nevertheless, there was one possibility, and that was they didn''t have any weapons. The chapel might not have ordered any weapons. I didn''t want to believe that, but the possibility couldn''t be ruled out. If they didn''t purchase weapons, all of my investigations thus far would''ve been running around for nothing, useless, pointless.


    Queen Sisi wanted to hear my report tomorrow. My opinion was she was too hasty. It had only been one day. What could I find out in one day? Given how long the chapel had been in operation for so long, if I could find evidence to destroy them in one swoop in one day''s time, I''d have to be a badass or the main protagonist of some overpowered main protagonist story. I didn''t have the cheat skills of those sorts of main protagonists, while the enemy wasn''t fodder who literally gave the main protagonists experience and kill counts. For me to obtain what I wanted, I had to rack my brains and rely on that teeny ounce of luck. I needed to have some sort of report prepared for when I met Queen Sisi tomorrow. I doubted I''d find what I wanted if I continued clinging to the chapel.


    The biggest unknown factor was Ascilia. As the pope''s most beloved daughter, I should''ve been able to acquire some insider information from her end. My visit should''ve already been brought to his attention. He might''ve been waiting for me alone at noon tomorrow. Not that I cared, though. Actually, I''d like to see the pope. Perhaps what came next would involve Veirya. I couldn''t figure out what Queen SIsi was thinking. After she was done with the chapel, her next target might be Veirya. That was why I had to ensure Queen Sisi was happy, and the chapel survived. That being the goal, I had to make contact with the chapel.


    I massaged my neck. Things looked simpler before the day. The previous narrative was the chapel was trying to oppose Queen Sisi for their own power or money, therefore preparing weapons and manpower to stage an uprising at any moment. As I began to investigate the case, however, things became moreplicated. Even whether or not the chapel possessed weapons became a pending question. I suspected something was wrong with Achilles information; I couldn''t take his word for it. I needed to make my own judgement with my own eyes¡­


    I sighed then knocked on the door. Footsteps came from the other side of the door. The owner yawned as he opened the door. Heined, "Next time, it would be best if you coulde back sooner if you n toe back. If you do note back, I cannot close up. Also, your wife arrived today, yet you still went out?"


    "My wife?"


    "Lord Veirya."


    I froze. I left a simple apology and rushed upstairs. I staggered as I went up. When I arrived at the door to the room, it suddenly swung open. I couldn''t brake in time, thereby crashing into the individual. The warm and soft chest was so nostalgic that I wanted to cry. However, I wasn''t granted a tight hug. Instead, she stood there with a dumbstruck look and allowed my head to smash into her chest.


    "What. Is the matter? Also, where is Leah?"


    I heard a familiar voice overhead. I looked up to see Veirya''s familiar face. She looked at me with puzzlement then looked around: "I. Didn''t see Leah. I only found a sheet of paper. She said. She was heading out. And not. To worry."


    "Leah¡­?" I repeated, smiling helplessly.


    Leah must''ve hastily run off after catching Veirya''s scent¡­ I did tell Leah not to run around at night; it wasn''t safe in the imperial capital. Who could predict what the chapel would do? Nheless, I had a hunch as to where she went. I doubted the chapel''s knights would want to go near there.


    "In that case, there''s no need to worry. Veirya, why are you here?!"


    I grabbed Veirya''s shoulders. She was Veirya. No doubts there. She had short silver hair, blue eyes and her expressionless look no matter what happened. She sternly demanded, "I want. To. See Leah."


    "And you don''t want to see me¡­?"


    "You can''t see Leah in her current state¡­" I said in my mind.


    Baffled, Veirya tilted her head: "Have I. Not. Already. Seen you?"


    "¡­ Okay, you win. What I meant was¡­ was¡­ is that it? Uh¡­"


    "Mm."


    Veirya suddenly stepped forward and gently bit me on my lip. I froze stiff in ce. She gently licked my teeth than slowly moved her head, thereby teasing my tongue. She then sped my face so that I couldn''t move. She sucked my tongue. A numbing sensation simr to electrocution spread from my tongue to my entire body. I was left speechless and incapable of thinking. Even my legs were jelly.


    "That. Is enough, right?" asked Veirya, releasing her lips and taking a step back. She said, "So, let''s go. Find Leah."


    "No¡­ mm¡­ Leah is fine¡­ uh¡­ I''m tired tonight¡­ you¡­ not sleeping?"


    My entire brain shut down as a result of Veirya''s passionate kiss, so I struggled to put my thoughts into words. Actually, I was struggling to think, as well. I was thinking about what to say to Queen Sisi tomorrow. Only to have my brain shut down in an instant. My gaze was set on the only bed. I looked at Veirya in a fervent manner.


    Veirya shook her head: "No. Have to. Look for Leah."


    I scratched my head. Hopeless, I responded, "All right, all right. Since you insist, let''s go find Leah. It might take some time, nevertheless."


    "It doesn''t matter. I want. To see Leah."


    "All right, then. Let''s go."

 Chapter Volume 3 35

    <i>Veirya? Veirya?</i>


    "Fuu¡­"


    The woman checked her face in the mirror. She gently touched the side of her face. The woman with silver hair and blues eyes gently ran her finger across her face. She adjusted her cor and fixed her white cape to her back, which erected the shield representing the military on the cape. Her cape gently swayed along with her movements. She then touched her hair. She earnestly contemted to herself. She gently picked up the back portion of her hair. Then, she grabbed a dagger by the side and cut it.


    A bunch of beautiful silver hair fell into her hand as if it was grass. She looked at her long hair in her hand. She sighed in a soft tone. She couldn''t bear to part with her hair. She nostalgically remarked, "Geez, that girl has always been the one posing as me. This is my first time posing as her¡­"


    The checked herself in the mirror again. She deliberately created a messy hairstyle with her short hair. She deliberately cut her hair short to make it appear as though her hair was burnt. Then, she grabbed a small nket and tightly wrapped herself with it. She took in a gentle breath and said, "I have to prevent Leah from smelling our difference. Subi''s keen noses are troublesome¡­"


    ========


    Current time at some location.


    "What. Are you writing?" asked Veirya.


    Veirya lowered her head and leaned over Anna''s side, startling her. As a consequence, Anna nearly swabbed away the entire heat stamp. Anna answered, "I was just writing a letter to Mr. Lin to let him know we have almost arrived. Notifying him beforehand will give him time to prepare."


    "No need," stated Veirya, pressing a hand onto the letter. In an absolutely serious tone, she exined, "He didn''t send a letter. So, no need to write a letter to him. No need."


    "Lord Veirya, are you having a wilful fit?" asked Anna, smiling helplessly. "Even if you are angry, it is better to write a letter. After all, Mr. Lin would definitely want to know that we are arriving first. That would be for the best; otherwise, we might not be able to locate him. Since he did not write back, I have no choice but to write to Mr. Achilles. I do not know if it can be delivered to him."


    Veirya hesitated for a moment but nodded in the end: "Mm."


    Anna genuinely didn''t know what to do. Veirya sat on the bed with her arms folded.


    Veirya was moody and acting wilful, for Mr. Lin didn''t send her a letter. Anna didn''t dare to voice it, though¡­ After all, Veirya was too serious. She didn''t appear to be joking¡­ Anna believed she needed to send the letter¡­


    ========


    Veirya kept calling and searching for Leah all night. She found Leah at the brothel when the sun came up; she wasn''t all that excited, nevertheless. She merely led Leah back to the ce we stayed. Leah was so frightened when she saw Veirya that she ran through the night. She, too, didn''t think Veirya would travel through the night to rush to the imperial capital.


    Leah looked up at Veirya, who was leading her by her hand. Her eyes seemed slightly hazy. As a matter of fact, there was a trace of doubt in her gaze. Leah was very bewildered. She then looked over to me. I nced up to Veirya. Veirya looked a tad strange. I thought it might''ve been because the two of us hadn''t seen her in a while. I, too, felt there was something different¡­ but¡­ but I had an issue. I couldn''t look at her in the face for too long. Whenever I looked at Veirya''s face for too long, my thinking would malfunction. Thus, I did my best to <em>not</em> look at her face¡­ I couldn''t shake off the feeling that something was weird, but I couldn''t put my finger on what it was¡­


    The three of us went along the street to head back. Even the city that never slept was having a short, temporary respite at the time. There was no one left on the streets. The nightlife was at an end. Those who had things to do during the day rushed home to catch a few hours of shut eye, while those who were rested had yet to wake up. So ordingly, the city was at its most peaceful hours. I had to go and report to Queen Sisi at daytime, but I didn''t have time to marinate on the information I collected during the day.


    "What exactly should I say to the Queen? What will she ask me?" I pondered. I then said, "A bitter on, I''ll be going to see Her Majesty. Do you want toe, Veirya? I think that she''d be very happy to see you."


    I thought Veirya should go and see Queen Sisi. From Queen Sisi''s perspective, Veirya was essentially outside of her jurisdiction, as she was far off at the border. While the ce was deste and free of any threats, Veirya was a highly valuable asset for gathering and uniting the people. The top priority for Veirya upon returning to the imperial capital was to hurry and see Queen Sisi to express her loyalty.


    "All right," responded Veirya, not opposing my suggestion as per usual and nodding. "Then, what do you want. To do next?"


    "I have some stuff that requires my attention in the afternoon. I''ll probably go out at night, too. Veirya, I''m entrusting Leah to you in my absence. Recently, I''ve been worried mishap may befall her. With you by my side, I feel much more relieved."


    Veirya responded with a subtle nod but didn''t reply. Our conversation ended there, and we headed back to our lodging. I went into the room. Tired, Leah climbed onto the bed. It was understandable, since she couldn''t sleepst night.


    "Leah, sleep here in your room. Veirya and I will make a trip to the imperial pce first."


    From the bed, Leah responded in a baby voice: "Mm, bye, Papa."


    Veirya froze stiff all of a sudden. Judging from her reaction, she probably wanted to tightly hug Leah. I smiled and went to grab the clothes I had to wear to see Queen Sisi.


    Honestly, I felt a little excited. Leah loved seeing me in the particr set of clothing. She imed I looked cool and handsome in it. Queen Sisi said the same thing, as well. For that reason, I looked forward to hearing Veirya''s opinion.


    After changing my clothes, I opened the door to see Veirya sitting on the edge of the bed, carefully stroking Leah''s head. Seeing the way she stroked Leah''s head, I was sure she was Veirya. Veirya looked over in my direction when she heard the door open but didn''t say anything. Instead, she got to her feet: "Let''s. Get going."


    "Mm¡­ we''re definitely going¡­ mm¡­ it''s just that I want to know¡­ mm¡­ Veirya, how do you think I look in this?"


    Veirya''s way of responding as if she was a cold rock was definitely an indication she was Veirya. She looked at me until I spoke. Then, she scanned me from head to toe: "Seeing Her Majesty in that will be fine."


    "No, I meant, what do you think? How do you think I look in it?"


    "It''s bing of you."


    "That''s it?"


    "Mm?"


    Veirya was astonished. She probably couldn''t understand why the opinion of another was required¡­ Awkward, I sighed and hopelessly smiled. I thought, "All right, all right, she''s Veirya. Only Veirya would respond that way¡­"


    l

 Chapter Volume 3 36

    <i>Queen and Veirya</i>


    I went downstairs. They had just begun preparing breakfast at the inn. The scent of wood could still be smelt from the stove. I noticed Achilles, who was also dressed in formal attire, was already sitting in his chair drinking a ck drink. I was equally as surprised to see him as he was surprised to see Veirya. He cautiously asked, "Lord Veirya? Umm, umm¡­ when did you arrive?"


    "Last night."


    After calmly replying, Veirya sat down. Achilles reached his hand out to greet her. He handed us a pot of milk, bread and jam. Veirya silently looked at the stuff on the table and began to dig in. That was Veirya for you, always ensuring she was full first and foremost. I doubted Angelina starved Veirya in the past.


    I picked up a peculiar smelling cup of milk and had a drink: "You''re here early today. Do we need to see Her Majesty that early?"


    Achilles answered: "No, we do not need to see her so early, but she has a lot of work today. The only time she can see you today is in the morning. After all, you know Her Majesty ns to strike now."


    I responded with a small nod.


    If Her Majesty nned to strike, then she''d be seeing the military personnel during the day. I needed toe up with something to convince her to grant me one more day''s tie. While thrashing the chapel had nothing to do with me, I needed to ensure the chapel could maintain some of their strength. I hoped I could investigate the chapel, too. Queen Sisi would only reward me if I could provide her with incriminating evidence against the chapel. Otherwise, I never did anything for her. Once she was disappointed, my chances of migrating to the imperial city would diminish.


    Achilles suddenly questioned, "Do you truly think that the chapel didn''t purchase weapons?"


    I ced my cup down and touched my chin: "I, myself, am not sure. Up until now, there''s no proof, so we only have baseless ims. I can''t just smash the statues to see if there''s anything inside. Veirya''s here with me now, but I still can''t do that. The goods belong to the dwarves, after all."


    "Mm¡­" Achilles nodded but didn''tment.


    Veirya continued to eat in silence. I don''t need to have any qualms as long as Veirya could assure I was safe. Veirya didn''t care about anything. After all, none of it had anything to do with her.


    "In any case, we need evidence. I''ll have someone keep surveince on the warehouse and leave the rest to you. That said, I hope you can provide Queen Sisi with what she wants to hear this time. What did you find out yesterday?"


    "Unfortunately, nothing. I just went to take a look at the chapel. Now I''m not even certain if the chapel purchased weapons."


    Achilles and I stood up. Veirya ced her bread down and followed suit. Achilles frowned: "Lord Veirya, do you not need a formal robe?"


    Veirya shook her head and tugged her clothes: "No. This. Is good. I always. Saw Her Majesty. Dressed this way."


    "I see. Let us be on our way, then."


    Achilles didn''tment again. Indeed, Veirya definitely saw Her Majesty dressed in that fashion, since she didn''t have any other clothes, anyway. Moreover, Queen Sisi was supposed to be very fond of Veirya. She did hug Veirya tightly when Veirya was covered in filthst time. That might''ve been an exceptional case of Queen Sisi just being happy Veirya carried the Demon King''s head in her hand, however.


    The three of us headed toward the imperial pce. The sun was up, and people gradually filled the streets. The closer and closer we were to the centre of the city, the more people there were. There were lots of people heading to the chapel. I was positive Queen Sisi believed the people should''ve worshipped her, instead. Everyone wore smiles. The people had no idea the imperial capital might be engulfed in a bloody war tomorrow or the day after.


    Guards were shocked when they saw Veirya with us approaching the imperial pce. They let us through without asking any questions. In other words, Queen Sisi had notified them beforehand. One of the leaders of the guards then led us to the pce where she resided. This visit, however, she wasn''t waiting for us at the balcony.


    When we entered the pce, we ran into the young chief by chance. He had his purple cape on. A few men followed behind him. They were whispering amongst each other. As I thought, Her Majesty had entered discussions with the military. The chapel probably didn''t know about it yet but should''ve been tuning in to an extent.


    The chief shuddered when he looked up and saw Veirya. He excitedly eximed, "Lord Veirya! Lord Veirya! I never thought that I would see you here! It truly is an honour to see you hear. Umm, umm, please allow me to apologise for what happenedst time¡­ umm¡­ umm¡­ Are you still short on food? If there is a need, we can send some to your abode anytime!"


    Veirya shook her head: "No need. You, too, have worked hard."


    "No, no, no!! Not at all, not at all. Whatever it is you need, just say the word, and I shall do my utmost to help you!" The chief sounded as if he was touched enough to cry.


    I called bullshit in my mind several times but didn''t show my disdain for him on my face¡­ Achilles tugged my arm to signal for us to hurry inside. I said, "It is an honour to have met you all here. I would love to let you chat with Lord Veirya, but Her Majesty awaits us. Therefore, I apologise."


    "Waiting for you?" asked the chief, eyes on Achilles, apparently feeling perplexed. He pinched his eyebrows together: "This should have nothing to do with you businessmen. What can you do here?"


    Achilles calmly replied, "We can do lots of things you can''t."


    The chief snorted with a mocking smile then turned around and left. Achilles watched him leave without a word then continued leading us further in.


    Queen Sisi wasn''t in her bedroom; she was in the dining hall. When we entered, she had just put a rosy berry into her mouth with her fork. The sunlight shone through the window, onto the long table and her, thereby allowing her beautiful hair to shine lustrously. Queen Sisi nced over to us. Suddenly, she stood up and ran over to us. While shouting "Veirya" over and over, she tightly hugged Veirya around her neck.


    "Veirya, Veirya, my good friend, I missed you. Let me take a look at you. My adorable Veirya, I''m truly so happy to be able to see you this time. Sit, Veirya. Sit down and join me for breakfast. This is nice. This is nice. You have just lit up my day with your appearance. Little Doggy, did you take good care of Veirya?" asked Queen Sisi, as she smiled brightly and affectionately pinched Veirya''s face.


    Veirya maintained her calm demeanour and tone: "Everything is well, Your Majesty."


    "Sit. Let''s have a nice chat. Little Doggy, put our business aside for a moment. I want to have a chat with my friend!"

 Chapter Volume 3 37

    <i>Request for the Queen</i>


    "Veirya, what do you think of the North, the furthest region that I rule and the region with the most demons and heretics? It sounds as though you can''t even obtain food there. If you''re hungry, you cane back anytime you like. The imperial capital isn''t in the state that I want. At the very least, you can eat whatever you like, however. You can find whatever you like to eat here."


    Queen Sisi rested her face on her palm as she watched Veirya wolf down big mouthfuls of honey on bread. Veirya didn''t reply; she just calmly looked at her breakfast in front of her. The Queen finished breakfast a while ago, while Veirya enjoyed breakfast number two. Veirya already ate, but she didn''t hesitate to eat again. One truly must wonder what her gut was made of. As she ate, Veirya responded, "The North. Quite Nice. Actually. Did not. Starve."


    Queen Sisi wore a proud grin. The way she grinned was akin to her looking at her favourite puppy. She still liked Veirya except I wasn''t sure how she thought of Veirya¡­ Actually, I''d say she considered Veirya , whocked brains and schemes, to be a dog.


    It was precisely because Veirya didn''t have much for brains and didn''t scheme that she was easy to trick. That was why Her Majesty was extremely vignt of her. Veirya wouldn''t betray her or start trouble; however, for those who have a semnce of a brain, Veirya was just a tool for reputation purposes. In other words, they could hold Queen Sisi hostage and act in her name, thereby usurping her rule. If Veirya was tricked, it was unlikely that anyone could tell. Veirya was a sharp de, one that could allow Her Majesty to easily y the Demon King, but the de didn''t serve any master. Once it was dropped, it would bring a catastrophe onto the enemy.


    When the Demon King was alive, said figurative sword was Queen Sisi''s best weapon forbatting him. With him gone, however, the safest bet was to get rid of the dangerous sword. Nheless, it was a sharp de that could protect her for the moment. I, therefore, had to protect the sword.


    Queen Sisi never spared me time of the day, and I didn''t speak. She didn''t look as if she wanted to speak to me. I presumed I''d be asking for it if I spoke out. Veirya eventually put her food down. She questioned, "You. Him. Have business?"


    "Mm. However, I like watching you eat more than Little Doggy. I enjoy watching you eat. Now then, Little Doggy,e with me to my bedroom. It''s best to not let anyone else hear what I have to say to you."


    Queen Sisi stood up. Vierya looked at the Queen then me, feeling somewhat surprised. She titled her head: "Bedroom? What is it about?"


    "Mm, it''s nothing that I can''t tell you. Actually, it''s very simple. I really want to know if Little Doggy sessfullypleted what I tasked him with. Do you happen to care about Little Doggy? You don''t want him to be in my bedroom with me?"


    "No." Veirya''s response literally froze my heart. She calmly sat back down and said, "I shall do asmand, Your Majesty."


    I almost sighed. Queen Sisi looked at Veirya with her eyes narrowed. On her face was an odd smile. She then turned around and grabbed my cor. She dragged me off to her bedroom as if she was taking her dog for a walk. Then, she turned around and checked on Veirya with a strange smile. She snorted, and then gently shut the door.


    When I entered the room, Queen Sisi sat down on her bed and crossed her legs. She looked at me then narrowed her eyes: "Don''t you notice there''s something odd about Veirya? The real Veirya would unlikely have allowed me to bring you in. Think about it carefully. Is that really characteristic of Veirya? It doesn''t matter, though. I don''t care about her right now, for that''s between you two. What I want to know is what you have learnt. What is the deal with the chapel."


    I calmly answered, "Sorry, but I do not know anything."


    Queen Sisi gestured for me toe closer with her hand. I approached her. Suddenly, she kicked my dder, thereby almost causing me to fall down. She then rubbed her foot around my crotch, sporting a spooky smile: "I''m amazed you have the gall to say that, Little Doggy. You don''t know anything? What in the world did you do all day, then? You don''t know what the chapel is scheming? What about the other stuff? What about their weapons?"


    "I do not even know if they purchased weapons anymore. Whatever they are nning, it is not so apparent. After I investigated them yesterday, I found myself even more baffled. I do not have an inkling as to what they are scheming, and neither could I locate their weapons. I, in fact, have to question if the chapel truly does possess weapons now."


    "Oh?" Queen Sisi put more force into her foot. She smiled and, in an indifferent tone, stated, "So what are you reporting today? Regardless of whether or not you found anything, I will strike tomorrow. You''ve let me down, though. I may even choose to off you while I''m at it."


    "I want one more day. Your Majesty, you, too, are excited, right? You, too, are looking forward to finding out what exactly the chapel''s scheme is, right? The chapel is not nning just an assassination. Their scheme is very strange. It is definitely not something that they came up with in the moment; it is a meticulous plot."


    "¡­ Is it?"


    Queen Sisi stopped. She gestured with her finger for me toe closer then grabbed my cor and indicated for me to kneel. I did as I was told. She pointed to her shoe. I helped her take off her shoes. Then, she pinched my face with her foot. She began to vigorously rub my face, wearing an incredibly gleeful smile. I felt sweat and heat on my face as soon as she took her feet off. With a smile, she said, "How nice, how nice, Little Doggy. You truly can please me!! I like this you very much. I am not interested in that which is easy to solve. Nevertheless, I''m now immensely interested after what you said. All right, sure, I''ll give you one more day. What else? What else do you need?"


    "I hope you can invite the pope to the imperial pce today. As for what to have him partake in, anything will suffice. Please lure him out."


    "All right. I shall do so. In saying that, I hope you can provide me with a desirable conclusion."

 Chapter Volume 3 38

    <i>Calm Before the Storm</i>


    "Where''s Veirya?" I asked Achilles.


    I properly put away the handkerchief I used to wipe my face. Achilles was bored to death with waiting. He replied, "Veirya went back to Leah. She has left. It is time for the two of us to discuss work."


    "There''s something very problematic about what you just said. It can''t possibly a matter concerning the two of us. You go keep watch on the warehouse to see if the chapel takes any statues from there. Meanwhile, I need to pay the elves a visit. In the afternoon, I''ll drop by the pope''s ce. I only received a one day extension from Her Majesty. If I waste it, it''s not going to be pretty."


    "You managed to ask for one more day from Her Majesty? You have my admiration. Nobody has ever been able to ask her for a one day extension before. She has never changed her mind. I think you''re the first to have made her change her mind."


    "I only came to learn more about what Her Majesty desired," I exined, patting Achilles on his shoulder. "Go and do what you should; leave the chapel''s ns to me, though I''m not confident¡­ Nevertheless, if you can confirm where the chapel is hiding their weapons, we just need to ensure they remain there."


    "Mm¡­ what exactly is the chapel trying to do, an assassination? If they want to assassinate Her Majesty, we need to prepare to retaliate, do we not? At the very least, we must find what the weapons intend to be used for. Actually, we need to locate the weapons first."


    "No, that''s just one part; there''s something more important. The chapel couldn''t possibly be nning to assassinate Her Majesty. There''s absolutely no way the chapel would attempt to assassinate her in the imperial capital. That''s such a retarded n. What do you call that? Shortcut to failure? No matter how you think about it; the chance of its sess is slim, isn''t it? The chapel wouldn''t do that. No, no, I mean the chapel is definitely nning something more realistic."


    "And what would that be?"


    "What do you think I''m going to be doing today?"


    Achilles and I left the pce, with him leading the way. I went to the elves'' building. The building was still in the same state as yesterday. The elves didn''t stop me, as they remembered my appearance. I went upstairs to meet with the elf again. He looked somewhat happier today. He turned around and, while pinching his chin, cheerfully said, "Hello, Mr. Lin. I am very happy to see you this time. Did you have business with me this time? Please speak your mind."


    "No, I wanted to ask about the medicine that I mentionedst time. Do you happen to be capable of any incredible magic spells that could deliver it here now?"


    "After I sent news from herest time, Consul General immediately organised it with an elven merchant here. Fortunately, the merchant happened to have some, and just had it delivered to me. This is the medication she needs. Consume it after boiling it into a liquid. Send her to the elvennds afterwards so that she can rest up, and she will be fine. Consul General has organised a room and servants to help take care of her. You just need to send her there."


    "Wait, wait, I''m very grateful for your excellent efficiency, but I''m very curious as to who your Consul General is."


    "Ah, I did not tell you, did I? Madam Lucilia is now the elven consul general. She is in charge ofmanding the entire military. It is a very important post. She specialises inbat and possesses superb leadership skills. Moreover, she is the heroine who saved elves and twice for that matter. Madam Lucilia is a perfect fit for the post."


    I took the bag handed to me. My visit''s oue was unpredicted. I merely came to ask about the medicine''s effects. That way, I could deceive the family. But nheless, since I got my hands on it, I had no ns to hide it. I couldn''t see what harm there was in saving a life. When I don''t have a choice, I don''t have a choice. If I could help it, yet chose to hide the medicine, I practicallymitted murder. Deceiving and hiding are two different things.


    "Thank you very much for your help. Please pass on my gratitude to Lucia. If possible, I''d like to see her again."


    I only said that out of courtesy. I thought it was best to not meet the elf again¡­ The more we meet in the future when conducting the vouring trade, the higher the likelihood of running into problems. Business associates should stick to pure business conversations. You should do your best to minimise interaction with each other.


    "All right. You, too, are a very important friend to us elves. If you have any requests, please do not hesitate to ask. We may not like humans, but we will certainly help friends."


    The elf bowed. I answered with a small nod. After I turned around, he said, "Oh, right, right, I almost forgot. Consul General specifically prepared a big present for you. You will receive it when you return to the North. Actually, perhaps present is not the best term for it, as it is troublesome to us elves. However, we believe that you would consider it a present."


    "What is it? You sound awfully mysterious"


    "You shall find out when the timees. All right now, I must busy myself with work. If there is nothing else, please pardon me."


    The elf bowed and showed me to the door. I knew I couldn''t stay for too long. With that said, I obtained what I wanted. Hence, I left the building.


    I didn''t expect the elves to give me a riddle. I pondered, "What''s the so-called present? Lucia has just taken part in a revolution; what present could she give me? Gold? More vouring? I can''t think of anything else besides those things. Let''s put it aside for now"


    I needed to wait until noon to see Ascilia, the pope''s daughter. I was d I obtained the medicine, because I could save a child''s life. Still, I needed to get what I wanted through Ascilia. At the very least, I needed to know what the chapel was striving to achieve.


    The entire matter involving the chapel was extremely baffling to me. I had no idea if they purchased weapons or not. There was no doubt they were nning something; they wouldn''t feed the adventurers for nothing. The questions were, what did they want, and did they need weapons? If they needed weapons, what was their goal? If they didn''t need weapons, what was their goal? I didn''t have the foggiest idea. The chapel utterly lost. They hadn''t taken the statues. The statues, therefore, were just decoys. It begged the question: did they actually get their hands on weapons from the statues?


    "Are you Mr. Lin?"


    While I was walking on the road, I suddenly ran into two individuals. I was surprised to see them, especially since they wore the chapel''s symbol. The two armoured and armed knights blocked my path.


    I frowned, wondering, "What does the chapel want? Are they going to kidnap me? What, under Queen Sisi''s watch? I just met with Queen Sisi. Is this actually wise?"


    "Yes, I am. Do you have business with me?"


    "His Excellency wishes to see you. The matter is somewhat urgent, so we hope you cane along. Please rest assured. I have no intention of forcing you toe. If you are busy, His Excellency will pay you a visit."


    The knights didn''t hold their weapons and spoke in a very harmonious tone.


    They didn''t n to let anything in the imperial capital threaten them. I knew I had to see the pope after what they said. I, indeed, am willing to see the pope to talk with him. If we could reach a consensus, that would be for the best. If otherwise, I could try and pry for information.


    "All right. However, I need to make a trip back beforehand, as these clothes are not veryfortable."


    I couldn''t take the medicine with me, for it was my final bargaining chip. If the pope took it from me, then I was done for.


    "All right, we will wait for you downstairs at your ce."


    The two made way and an invitational hand gesture. With a smile, they said, "Please lead the way."

 Chapter Volume 3 39

    <i>Father¡¯s Conscience</i>


    "Ready."


    After hiding the medicine in Leah''s cupboard, I immediately went downstairs to avoid the knights finding out that I went to put something away. Leah''s cupboard was a safe location. I doubted anyone would fumble through a child''s clothes. However, the ce belongs to a businessman, so I doubted anyone would force their way in to search through my belongings. If the chapel barged in, that''d create a conflict, after all.


    The knight in front of me spoke in a somewhat mocking tone: "Let us go now, then. Please follow us. Do you need anything? If you do not feel safe, you can ask Lord Veirya to apany you."


    They were under the impression I needed to rely on Veirya. They weren''t wrong. I didn''t have anybat abilities. The two of them could easily rip me apart with their hands. To add, my left foot had yet to heal, so I fleeing wasn''t an option. If I brought Veirya, however, I would''ve already lost the mental game. Also, I had no clue where she was!


    "Wait a second. Something''s not right. Veirya only arrivedst night, and she only went to the brothelst night. Logically, the chapel is unlikely to have noticed her. She went with me to the imperial pce during the day, too. How does the chapel know Veirya has arrived in the imperial city? Could their surveince be that air tight?" I pondered.


    "How¡­ did you know that Veirya has arrived?"


    "Um¡­"


    The two knights froze. They exchanged eye contact. One shot the other aint. After hesitating for a long time, one of them answered, "We noticed. In regards to those around you¡­ sorry, but we have been keeping an eye on you. However, we are sure you understand. After all, that is the status quo of our rtionship."


    "I don''t care if you want to keep tabs on me; however, if you dare to harm my family, I won''t forgive you!"


    They gave me small nods. I knew my threat looked pitifullyughable, but I let them know I wasn''t ying with them.


    One led at the front, while the other followed behind me as the three of us headed to the chapel together. It was the first time I stepped onto the chapel''s marble steps. I turned around to look. I wondered if I could still see the street from there. I wondered what the chapel''s significance to me was.


    I entered the chapel. The curious members in their robes and the armoured knights scanned me. Their gazes showed their bewilderment. Though somewhat nervous, I had to disy aposed demeanour. The big door behind me shut. There was no light inside. There were only fires on either side, which gave the building a murky vibe. Nobody spoke. The knights and believers didn''t speak. Our footsteps resonated, as it was the only sound. It was a weird scene to be part of.


    "His Excellency is waiting for you in the literature room. Please enter."


    I ascended the spiralling stairs to reach the second floor and came to a dark door. The knight gently knocked then immediately left leaving me standing at the door. The individual inside said, "Pleasee in, Mr. Lin. There is no need to stand on ceremony here. You did take care of us in the North."


    I breathed out to rx myself then opened the door and entered. The so-called literature room was enormous as I expected. There were plenty of bookshelves inside with a plethora of literature works on the shelves. Paper production methods probably hadn''te into existence in this world yet. The paper was very tough. We probably used ordinary paper made from papyrus or something simr, while they probably used expensive parchments here.


    The pope sat behind a table. In front of him was a big ck book. On the other side of the table was a stack of books. He examined the letters and illustrations underneath the me. Without raising his head, he said, "God said money cannot erase one''s sins."


    "I''ve never believed humans live bearing sins. Living is great."


    "So, may I ask, you must know that life has a time limit. What exactly did you work so hard to earn money and gain power through the elves,pany and us for? What is the point in having the money and power?"


    "There''s obviously meaning to it. I can''t enjoy those things when I''m dead; however, I can enjoy what money and power grant me when I''m alive."


    "What about after you have passed away?"


    "What happens after I die has nothing to do with me. I don''t believe in souls or the afterlife. I live in the present. I think that''s why I don''t get along with you."


    I sat down opposite to the pope. He gently shut his book then looked at me with his eyes narrowed. With aposed smile, he replied, "That is how this world is. There are believers, and then there are those who do not pray, such as you. I guess it is due to the money and pollution that has inhibited you from noticing God''s gaze. Nevertheless, I did not ask you toe here to discuss God. I merely wanted discuss what we are currently facing."


    "About what you want to do?"


    "Correct. Before that, though, I hope I can talk to you about my daughter. I am very grateful you can visit my daughter. She appears to have fallen for you; unfortunately, it is a pitiful romance. After all, we are in opposition with each other. That said, I am genuinely grateful you could grant her hope to live. That has nothing to do with the matter between us, however."


    I expressed, "What I want is very simple. The Queen ns to eliminate you. Even if I do not figure out your ns or find your weapons, she will kill you. I''m powerless to stop the turmoil."


    The pope got to his feet and went around to my back with light steps. He pressed down on my shoulders and responded, "I am fully aware of that. When I baptised her in the past, I knew she would be one to bring bloodshed. Queen Sisi possesses unbelievably amazing luck. When she was fifteen, she decisively quelled the rebellion in the South, thereby winning the support of the military. At seventeen years old, she won the support of businesses. Now, at twenty years old, she ended humanity that gued them for centuries. She was also the one who slew the Demon King. In saying that, all of that, everything that happened went too smoothly for Sisi. Thus, she became excessively arrogant. She is arrogant to the point she is convinced there is nothing she cannot do. She is arrogant enough to believe she can rule the entire empire. She shines too brightly and is excessively arrogant. Her father''s first teaching to her was to be modest, yet shecks that most fundamentally important trait a monarch requires."


    I was quite surprised. I never expected those words toe out the pope''s mouth. Is there not something wrong about him as an antagonist character? Is there not something very wrong?


    "You can rest assured; I harbour no sinful thoughts for Sisi. I knew long ago she woulde for us, but I could not help it. I have to save my daughter. I must ensure I have enough ie to save my daughter, which is why I will not change what I intend to do. Just as you would do anything for your daughter, I believe you understand my sentiments as a father. A father can do anything for his daughter. Nevertheless, I do care very much about Sisi. Queen Sisi must learn things that happen in this world are not ying out as per her wishes. Let her fail for once. Let her be embarrassed for once, and she will learn to be humble."


    I asked, "What if you fail, though?"


    "Then, use my blood to consolidate Sisi''s rule. She can consolidate her rule after she learns to be humble, while our elimination can be used to demonstrate to others the consequence of betraying her, I guess. I have always viewed Sisi as my biological daughter. I would be happy to help her. In saying that, I do not believe I will fail."


    "Bear in mind I never said I''m siding with you. I couldn''t possibly side with you even though you sound as though you have very justified reasons and are loyal to Queen Sisi. I won''t upset her for your sake. I, too, have to put up with her to live. I also want to obtain what I want."


    "There is no need. I did not ask you toe here to reach a consensus. All I ask is that, if I seed, I promise not to hurt your family. If you seed, I hope you can protect my family and stay by Queen Sisi''s. Queen Sisi''s arrogance will only grow after she eliminates us. By then, nobody can control her, which means the arrogant monarch will forever be arrogant. She needs someone by her side to guide her. If she is arrogant, so be it; however, the next person who wants to oppose her will not be me. The next person to target her will definitelye for her life. I hope you can protect her."


    I stood up and pushed my chair away: "You put me in a dilemma with your fatherly act. Can I consider this conversation to have been meaningless? I will still stop you, but I can''t promise to uphold the promise. I won''t obey the request of the dead. I only take orders from Queen Sisi. I will do what she asks me to do, including in regards to your family."


    "I trust you. While you say that, your conscience does not concur."


    "Interesting. This is our first meeting, yet you''re talking to me about consciences."


    I went to the door. I grabbed the door handle. The pope suddenly chuckled: "A man who can adopt the Demon King''s daughter and help an ill individual he helped for the first time must have a conscience."

 Chapter Volume 3 40

    <i>So-Called Insanity</i>


    A knight came in with a letter: "Ah, Your Excellency, Mr. Lin. I am very sorry for disturbing you two.it is just that Her Majesty has an invitation I must immediately deliver to you."


    The pope froze for a second then took the letter and examined it. It was in a very pretty envelope with refined skills. The envelope gave off the resplendent aura of a noble. Queen Sisi had her unique double "s" initials on the heat stamp.


    While it looked as though it was a trap disguised as a celebration, the pope didn''tment. He opened the envelope and read the letter: "Her Majesty''s invitation? Tonight? Understood. I will be there."


    The pope looked at me with a strange look and smiled: "Mr. Lin, you are Her Majesty''s esteemed guest. Did you receive an invitation?"


    I froze for a moment. I suddenly realised I made a tragic mistake I.


    I forgot to tell Queen Sisi to invite me. If the pope found out I didn''t receive an invitation, he''d immediately realise nned to lure him away. I already came up with the best n. Only to overlook the simplest part!!


    "Oh, it appears that she has invited you."


    Before I coulde up with an appropriate response, the pope muttered a part on the letter. Curious, I took a look. He handed me the invitation with a smile. I was surprised to see the name written on the invitation; my name was also written on there.


    "Beautiful, Your Majesty!!" I said to myself.


    The Queen wasn''t an idiot. She, in fact, was very astute. She had aplete grasp of my n. She easily figured it out and covered my mistake. I like working with smart people. If Her Majesty and I joined hands, we could definitely resolve any problems.


    Relieved, I quietlyughed: "Let''s put aside our business for now, then. I''ll see you at Her Majesty''s ce again tonight. I dare not bete. It is Her Majesty we''re seeing, after all."


    I assumed the pope didn''t expect the invite. He nodded: "Indeed. I would not dare bete, either. See you then."


    I yed ignorant. I guess it was a fluke. Nevertheless, thanks to Queen Sisi being sharp, we avoided exposing the n.


    I felt somewhat confused when I stepped out of the chapel and looked up at the hot sun. I observed the people going back and forth on the street. I hadn''t make the switch aftering out from the dark chapel to seeing the bright sun and happy crowds. I took a couple of steps with a hazy mind. When I reached the street I looked around to figure out where I was.


    Fortunately, I figured out the pope''s thinking. How shall I put it? He didn''t appear to be a diabolic individual. He was a very earnest and loyal individual. As opposed to saying he was trying to pull a stunt, it''d be better to say smug Queen Sisi, who just ended the tumultuous war, nned to eliminate all those who could challenge her on a political level. The chapel hadn''t done anything that crossed the line; they just need money. Meanwhile, the Queentched onto the chapel''s need for money to turn it into a reason for her to destroy them. That was the entire gist of their feud.


    The Queen could, by all means, give the pope a sum of money for him to treat his daughter but she didn''t. Instead, she decided to kick the downed man. Queen Sisi''s approach was simple. She wanted one thing: she wanted the pope to die. Despite that, the pope didn''t do anything that crossed the line. I believe what the pope said. He didn''t n to hurt the Queen. In fact, he was ready to die.


    The one thing the pope couldn''t abandon was his daughter. From his perspective, his death would inevitably lead to the death of his daughter. He wasn''t trying to save himself; he merely tried to extend his daughter''s life.


    The reason the pope asked to meet me was probably purely to plead me to take care of his daughter if he fails. If their n seeded, his daughter would be safe. Put another way, the situation would demand Queen Sisi to spare them. If I seeded, the chapel would be an execution ground.


    The pope was the victim. As opposed to calling me a guard stopping an assassination that might cause a revolt, I was merely a tyrant''s helper. I might not be able to protect his family, let alone him. If Queen Sisi wanted him dead, he was bound to die.


    I couldn''t oppose Queen Sisi. She wasn''t wrong per se, but her actions were that of a tyrant''. I, however, was nobody. If I senselessly opposed her, she''d easily squash me. While she was a tyrant, the one positive aspect was that she was a rational tyrant. She didn''t mindlessly kill people, but if she wanted to kill someone, there was no escaping death.


    "Where am I right now?" I wondered. I turned around and peered in the direction I lodged before heading over.


    There was nothing else to do for the meantime, so I needed to visit Ascilia. I nned to see her at noon. I nned to think of a way to take Ascilia away at night. I couldn''t destroy the pope''s entire family. It would be very meaningful if Ascilia lived.


    I rubbed my sore calf while sitting in the carriage. I tried to connect the dots: "What do I need to ensure Ascilia lives? Additionally, what can I get from the chapel? I can protect Ascilia, but I''m not obligated to. She''s my bargaining chip. What should I get from the chapel? What''s in the chapel''s literature room?


    What exactly does the chapel want? If they don''t intend to harm the Queen, they wouldn''t possibly assassinate her. I knew the chapel wouldn''t do something so foolish. What will they do, then? The chapel wants the chapel to recognise her mistake and serve her humble pie. They want to crush her arrogance. What would have to be done to humble her, then?"


    I made sense of a lot of information, but the pieces didn''t connect. "The chapel took in the adventurers who fought in the war against the demon race. The chapel might have weapons; the chapel won''t kill the Queen, but will crush her pride. What exactly does the chapel want to do? What connects those four dots? What in the world is it?"


    The carriage suddenly came to a halt. From the other side of the window, the elder coach remarked, "You did not bring your daughter with you today,"


    I dawdled for a moment then responded, "Ah, yes. My wife has arrived. The two of them are going out to y today."


    "I see. Thus is the fate of men. After all, we have to work to feed our families. Without the cute missy next to you, I cannot help but feel something missing."


    The carriage began to move again, taking me closer to my goal. Apparently, the carriage almost hit someone passing by. I looked over and found myself surprised.


    It was a subus prostitute. She kept looking around, scanning every carriage, though I didn''t know what for. It wasn''t time for a subus prostitute to be out.


    I wondered, "What in the world is she doing? I have enough to think about already. It''s none of my business. Wait¡­ Did the coach just say that there''s something missing without Leah by my side? Wait¡­ Wait¡­"


    My brain went into overdrive: "What''s missing¡­? What''s missing from the chapel''s n¡­?"


    I froze stiff. A sickening cold sensation gripped my left foot. A chill ran up my spine.


    My brain continued firing on all cylinders: "If I''m correct, if this crazy idea of mine is correct¡­ then¡­ then¡­ I know what the chapel wants to do now!! Those bloody madmen!"


    Its chances of sess were next to zero, because they were missing the key to the entire n!! I, however, brought the key to the imperial capital!


    "Turn back!!! Hurry! Turn back!!" I went wild, hammering the carriage and shouting to the coach.


    The coach froze for a moment. After the coach came to an abrupt halt, he began to turn it around. I poked my head out from the window and belted, "Hurry back!! Hurry back!! I need to go back to the inn I''m staying at!! Hurry!!"


    "Ah, r-right away!!"

 Chapter Volume 3 41

    <i>Despair</i>


    The horse carriage rushed back at top speed, resulting in it crashing into things as it bolted back to the inn. As a consequence of travelling so fast, the journey was extremely rocky. I was thrown around so violently that I felt nauseous. My head hurt from hitting the carriage, but I never had so much mental rity. I kept on thinking what the chapel was after, as there was something missing no matter how I thought about it. The missingponent was the finishing blow. I kept trying to discern what they were after until I thought of Leah.


    Leah was missing from their n. The chapel needed Leah. The chapel needed the adventurers who fought against the demons and weapons. They didn''t need to harm Queen Sisi, but they did need to teach her what modesty meant. Queen Sisi considered her heroic war aplishments to be her subjugation of demons, and every one believed that their Queen was the Queen who subdued the demons. If they told everyone the demons weren''t exterminated and a new Demon King emerged, everyone would chide the Queen. They wouldin she didn''t end the war. Subsequently, the Queen, who subdued the demons, would instantly be a Queen no different to the previous monarchs. That would be a massive blow to Queen Sisi. I had considered that, but I felt that the chapel wouldn''t do that, as it sounded oundish and impossible.


    The chapel didn''t have a suitable candidate, but I finally figured it out. Their best option was Leah!! Leah is the Demon King''s daughter. I didn''t know how long the chapel was aware of that, but they knew it long ago. In fact, theirst attempt to kidnap Leah might not have been for money or vouring. They wanted just Leah!! I fell for it!!


    My rage got the better of me. I took it for granted. The chapel''s n was downright menacing. They didn''t just want vouring or money. The pope demonstrated excellent wits. He wasn''t after either of those things. His n was grandiose and unrealistic; however, the n proceeded forward the entire time without me realising.


    I yed right into their hands. I brought Leah, who they wanted, to the imperial capital. The pope already realised I''d definitelye to the imperial capital after thest incident. Whether I was out for revenge or needed to ally with the Queen was of no importance. They read my mind. If a light bulb didn''t just light up for me, I''d still be in the dark, believing the pope wanted to assassinate Queen Sisi. The pope''s invitation had the same intent as mine. It was to lure me away!!!''


    The chapel was about to act!! The pope wouldn''t wait until tomorrow. Tonight was the night he struck. They nned to take Leah to an appropriate location at night, and then have her fake a fight with the adventurers. Finally, they''d bring back the head of the new Demon King. The chapel''s knights and adventurers would have in the Demon King. Everyone thought Queen Sisi slew the Demon King. If they brought the new Demon King''s head back, though, the chapel being the one who saved everyone from a crisis.


    Everyone still remembered the terror, deaths and pain the demon race imposed on humanity even though humanity already won. Humanity would fear the return of demons even more at this point, as they''d enjoyed victory, peace, bliss and happiness. The soldiers had removed their armours, while Queen Sisi prepared for an internal war. If demons returned, humanity might fear defeat even more.


    What about Veirya? Instead of viewing her as the Queen''s puppet or puppy, she should be considered a soldier. She was a soldier through and through. She was ready for battle at any given moment. As soon as the Demon King was revived, Veirya would join the demon subjugation in spite of knowing that Angelina sided with the chapel. She''d return to being the warrior who slew the Demon King.


    Once the n seeded, it''d be absolutely perfect. Everyone would believe the chapel. The chapel would be the ones who stopped the revival of the demons, making them heroes. The Queen would also have no means of attacking the chapel due to the masses support. The war would breed credibility. Credibility bred dependence. Dependence brought money. Everyone might spend all of their money to fund the chapel''s crusade to stop a new Demon King''s birth.


    I finally pieced it together. The chapel''s true n was to create a new Demon King!! That was their true n! Leah was the key to their n, and stupid me brought her to them! I was actually stupid! The chapelpletely read my mind, while I ran circles, chasing after things that didn''t matter just as the pope wanted me to do!


    I was relieved to know Veirya was with Leah. Nobody could defeat Veirya and kidnap Leah¡­


    I stopped myself: "Wait, one person can. I haven''t seen Angelina since thest time I met her at the chapel. She might really have gone looking for Veirya. That''s still safe, however. Angelina wouldn''t fight in Queen Sisi''s territory. Moreover, Leah and Veirya might already be back.


    The carriage came to rough stop. I staggered out of the carriage and rushed to the inn. However, there was nothing inside. The owner was surprised to see me. Before the owner spoke, someone by my side grabbed arm. I looked at him with astonishment. Achilles panted. He had a letter in his hand. I shouted, "Achilles! Listen!! I''ve figured out the chapel''s n!!"


    "No! No! No! No!!! You listen to me, first! Listen to me! I received Veirya''s letter!!" Achilles covered my mouth with his hand and pped my face with the letter.


    Irritated, I smacked his hand away, and then threw the letter on the table: "That doesn''t matter!! Veirya''s letter isn''t important!! The most important problem right now isn''t Veirya, but the chapel''s n!! Listen to me¡­"


    "Shut up!!" brayed Achilles. He suddenly pped me silly, thereby angering me. I spun around to swing at him, but he grabbed my face before I could and belted, "Calm down!! Put your thinking hat on! Think!! If Veirya was in the city, why would she need to write a letter?! The woman who met Her Majesty with us today and took Leah wasn''t Veirya!! I suddenly realised it!! Sh-She''s Angelina!! We were both fooled, because she looks identical Veirya!! Think! Use your brain!! Is that woman Veirya?!"


    I body and face froze in ce. I suddenly realised I missed the lethal blow, because I let my lust get the better of me¡­ Veirya didn''t kiss with her tongue. She just crashed teeth.


    "That woman¡­ that woman¡­ she¡­ she''s not Veirya¡­ She''s Angelina¡­ The chapel wanted Leah most. I went and handed her to their knight, Angelina. I''m a bloody idiot!! I''m the biggest idiot in the universe! I can stay astute at all times. Why am I so stupid when ites to woman?! I''m an authentic idiot!! I be an idiot when I see Veirya. I''ve only just realised it when it''s so obvious!!!" I raged in my mind.


    "Listen, Achilles, go inform Queen Sisi. Tell her to strike tonight. I have something I need to do now. Go tell the Queen that the chapel ns to revive the Demon King; they''re going to create a new Demon King!! Have Queen Sisi strike tonight! I have to go look for my daughter, understood?!"


    "Got it, got it."


    I spun around and ran off. Remembering my ace, I ran back to my room on the way to the carriage


    As I ran, I told myself, "I still have an ace in the hole. Since the pope wants my daughter''s life, I''ll exchange Ascilia''s life for Leah''s! Although I''m now the party that''s at a disadvantage in a negotiation, I still have time. I still have these final moments; that''s enough for me. I might be able to reverse the situation. I just need to get back Leah. I can get her back. I need to go and take Ascilia hostage now!"

 Chapter Volume 3 42

    <i>Love Confession</i>


    "Ah¡­"


    When I arrived downstairs at the pope''s house, Ascilia looked at me with a surprise countenance. She shyly touched her face and softly said, "Mister, you came a little too early¡­ I¡­ I have not had the chance to put on my make-up yet¡­"


    "It is my honour to see you sooner. I was really eager to see you. After ourst meeting, I always looked forward to this afternoon."


    I adjusted my hasty tone and expression so that Ascilia couldn''t read my true thoughts. I was dying inside from anxiety, but I couldn''t show that when dealing with Ascilia. You can''t allow others to notice you''re anxious if you''re trying to deceive them. Ascilia shouldn''t be aware of what happened, which meant I need to maintain a normal demeanour.


    Ascilia dawdled for a moment. She covered her mouth and softly giggled. She made way and said, "Truth be told¡­ I, too, felt the same way¡­ I looked forward to your arrival¡­ It is so embarrassing to say¡­"


    I went inside with a smile. The medicine, my ace to defy fate, was in my pocket. If I wanted to take Ascilia away, the pope would unmistakably do something for his daughter, as he loved her. I doubt he was aware I had figured out his entire n. He thought I was searching for Leah.


    I had no idea where to start searching for Leah from. Nheless, someone had a clue for me. I assumed the subus watching the carriages had some clues for me. Subi had a strong connection to each other. They could also smell each other. I didn''t take Leah to the brothel, yet the owner noticed Leah was in the imperial capital. In other words, the subus, who appeared to be searching for something, might''ve noticed Leah''s troublesome predicament. I decided go take a look at the brothelter; I was sure I''d find something.


    "Ah, Sir, you are here."


    When I entered the house, Ascilia''s mother got up from her armchair. I detected her unsettled emotions. I presumed that found out my true identity. The pope, who loved his family, might not have told his daughter, but he''d tell his wife to be wary of me. I could easily harm Ascilia, after all.


    I knew that nothing I said to Ascilia''s mom would mean much. Knowing I was a man who opposed the chapel, she''d definitely stop me from getting closer to Ascilia. I, consequently, had to win her trust again.


    "I came to bring you good news. I have found the medicine you asked me to find."


    I took out the medicine the elves gave me from my pocket. Thedy covered her mouth; she nearly let out a high-pitched shriek. Meanwhile, Ascilia, who was next to me, actually shrieked. She hugged my arm and looked at me with a thrilled gaze. It was the first time hot flushes appeared on her face. She then wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on my cheek. She loudly said, "Fantastic!! Fantastic¡­ You¡­ you¡­ <strong>*cough*</strong>. You¡­ helped me, <strong>*cough, cough, cough*</strong>, thank you!!"


    Ascilia loudly coughed again. The pain seemed enough to bring her to her knees. I gently supported her body while looking up at her mom. With a mocking smile, I said, "I obtained it. Additionally, I have contacted the elves in the elvennds. Besides taking medicines, your daughter needs to go to the elvennds and reside there for some time. I have arranged everything for you; we can leave tonight."


    "Really¡­?"


    Thedy was literally ready to get on her knees to thank me. She held her handkerchief up to her eyes. I could see she was emotional from the fact that she nearly pierced her gloves. Feeling weak, she used the wall for support. She couldn''t hold back her tears.


    "Thank you¡­ thank you¡­ Esteemed Sir¡­ Thank you¡­ Thank you¡­ H-How¡­ how can we thank you¡­? While I know about the conflict between you and my husband, you were able to selflessly help us. How can we thank you¡­? How¡­ can we¡­?"


    "Please stand up, Madam. You have mistaken one thing; the pope and I are not shing. We are strangers who have never crossed paths. At most, you can only say that the pope and the Queen are shing, which puts us in different positions. However, please believe I genuinely truly like Miss Ascilia. That has nothing to do with my stance in the matter. I will not let Miss Ascilia die."


    "Is that¡­ your love confession?" asked Ascilia, face red - though I wasn''t sure if it was due to her coughing just before or if she was shy.


    Ascilia looked serious. Eager and nervous, she gripped my arm. I looked into her purple eyes that resembled shining amethyst gems. I quietly said, "No. Ascilia, you are still a child. It''s still too early for you to be talking about love. Further, we''ve met only twice. It would be somewhat rude to be in love with a youngdy."


    Anxious, Ascilia eximed, "I believe in love at first sight, though. I am already sixteen. It is not too early for me to be in love. You do not have a wife yet, do you? If you do not mind¡­ you saved my life, so I am willing to be with you forever!!"


    I never expected the young girl to be so hasty to confess to me. She thought I''d confess, but I surprised her with my response. I must say,pared to the world I came from, the females here were more assertive¡­


    Ascilia was very pretty, and being sick wasn''t an issue. She would recover after going to the elvennds, anyway. She''d be a beautiful flower if she spent some time taking care of herself. It didn''t matter even if she was the pope''s daughter. As I initially said, the pope and I didn''t have any deep-seated enmity for each other. The conflict was between him and Queen Sisi. I admired the pope. He bore with it in silence, yet remained determined to aplish a big feat. I understood my own desires, though. I liked Veirya. Although she never confessed to me, I was happy to stay with her.


    "Sorry, Ascilia. I can take you to the elvennds first. Sixteen is a little too young for me. Wait until you grow up. If you still feel the same way after you grow up, I will sincerely consider it. At the very least, wait until you''re eighteen. I should be in the North by then. If you still feel the same way,e and visit me."


    I touched Ascilia''s long hair. She tightly clung to my arm and gently bit her lip. She lowered her head with a broken heart. Voice soft, I said to her mother, "Please take Ascilia''s to the elvennds tonight. I will arrange for a carriage toe and pick you up. It will be a tumultuous capital tonight. I do not know what will happen, but I hope that you and Ascilia can leave."


    "You and my husband¡­?" Thedy tightly gripped her clothes and softly confessed, "Umm¡­ umm¡­ to tell the truth¡­ previously¡­ previously¡­ I lied to you¡­ when¡­ I said the elves¡­"


    "I already know. I figured it out long ago," I replied before leaving.


    When the elf gave me the medicine, I figured it out. Ascilia''s mother lied to mest time; the chapel lied to everyone. The medicine that could heal the girl was with the elves in the imperial capital. Why did she still give those swindlers money to have them ask them to try and buy the medicine from the elves? It was all fabricated. The chapel bought legitimate statues from the dwarves. That was all a smokescreen, however. Everybody thought dwarves were the best with weapons. In reality, it made no difference whether they purchased the dwarves¡¯ weapons or elves¡¯ weapons, as they never had any intention of waging a real war. The people they gave money to weren''t tasked with buying medicine but weapons!! The real weapons weren''t with the dwarves. The chapel was already in possession of them. Achilles wasted time keeping an eye on the dwarves'' warehouse, for the chapel never intended to pick them up!!


    "I wonder if Achilles has figured that out," I remarked to myself.


    ========


    Current time at the imperial pce.


    "Your Majesty, are striking tonight?"


    The sudden change in ns perplexed the officer, so he decided to confirm it with Queen Sisi one more time. Queen Sisi responded with a small nod. She then examined her fingernails and absentmindedly replied, "Correct. Tonight. Oh, right, remember to search the warehouse that the chapel uses to store goods purchased from elves. At the very least, lock it down, and forbid anyone from going near it, understood?"


    "Think about it carefully. Would someone looking to purchase weapons tantly loiter by the entrance of the best store? No matter how good they may be good at hiding it, it''s inevitable someone would cordon it. So, what would be the safest ce to purchase them from? If you came out of a candy store that sold swords, people would think you came out after purchasing weapons," exined Queen Sisi. She gently dabbed her finger into a bit of blood-red nail paint, which was ced by the side. Then she gently spread it on her nail. She didn''t look at the officer when she continued, "Therefore, I suspected the chapel purchased from the elves a while ago. Didn''t they buy medicine from the elves? I bet they didn''t purchase medicine. Or perhaps the pope''s psychological medicines were swords. Little Doggy went to the dwarves warehouse once, and then never went there again. Further, he also stated there might not be weapons there. That proves the weapons are definitely with the elves. Little Doggy sure is very astute. Achilles may be loyal, but hecks the same sagacity."


    After examining her hand, Queen Sisi gently shook it, and then narrowed her eyes. She giggled in a soft voice then carried on, "Create a new Demon King? Now that''s a surprise. Little Doggy didn''t disappoint. He turned a mere ordinary scheme into something so interesting. I am very pleased."


    "Why? Why do we need to check the elves? Would the chapel not purchase weapons from the dwarves?!"


    "So?"


    "Correct. I shall proceed as per what Little Doggy said. There may be heavy rainfall tonight¡­"

 Chapter Volume 3 43

    <i>Queen¡¯s mes</i>


    I got back in the carriage. I gently rubbed my left leg. I ran about as if I was in normal condition. As a result, the pain was excruciating. It felt as if my bones were crunched together; I don''t even dare to let it budge. I didn''t know what the state of my leg was, but I felt at risk. My body told me that, if I ran again, I''d lose my left leg forever. However, protecting my daughter was more important.


    I needed to get Leah back. There were less than two hours before nightfall. I had to find her within that timeframe. The moment Queen Sisi struck should was also when the chapel''s nmenced. Nobody could be certain of what would happen at night. The chapel might even be informed of subi''s unique traits and opt to kill Leah when she transformed into her mature form. In her child form, she was just a kid, so people would be reluctant. If she wass in her mature form, however, she''d be a threatening subus.


    The carriage stopped again. I felt an intense pain sensation shoot up my left leg as soon as I stepped onto the ground, nearly bringing me to my knees. I desperately supported myself with my cane. I carefully continued walking. Every time my left foot made contact with the ground, I''d experience the pain. My body was at its limit. I took in a deep breath to withstand the pain. I then looked over my shoulder: "Go and find the elves. Have them prepare a carriage to take the mother and daughter to the elven forest tonight. You don''t need toe back after; I''m certain your carriage is being watched. Call three carriages over for me and have them line up here with their doors open."


    "Understood."


    The coach didn''t ask any questions, which was great. I had no patience for exnations with my leg hurting and the frustration. If somebody were to ask me what I was doing, I''d definitely fly off the handle.


    The carriage departed. I turned back to look at the brothel. I knew the ignorant would think I was perverted and sick. They''d be thinking that I was already rotten, yet continued to visit the brothel. I saw lots of disdainful and ridiculing gazes on me, but I didn''t concern myself with them. Two subi lingered for a moment when they saw me then spun around and ran inside. I stood at the door. Soon, a strange smell came to me.


    "So you came looking for me in the end. Smart move," said Sophia, smiling. "Judging from your appearance, I know I cannot say silly things to you; else, you probably will smash my head with your cane. I will be forthright with you. We noticed Leah heading toward the city door and finally stopped at an abandoned ruin. There is nobody guarding the ce. I suppose they are worried leaving to many people there will attract attention."


    I grabbed Sophia by the arm and irritably shouted, "Where? Take me there!"


    I startled Sophia. She giggled in a soft voice: "Suddenly grabbing a woman by her arm and dragging her away is not what a gentleman would do. You can rest assured; I will definitely help you, as Leah is our most venerated subus. However, I want to ask you what your rtionship with the woman with Leah is."


    "She has nothing to do with me! Don''t worry about her!"


    "Yeah?" remarked Sophia, with a squint. She had a smoke: "As you wish, then. Are we heading straight there now? To be frank, you do not look as though you can fight. The same applies for us subi. I doubt there will be any fruitful result if the two of us try to force our way through. In my opinion, we should go and ask Her Majesty for men."


    "No, if we ask Her Majesty, they''ll know we know. I don''t have any more time to wait, either. Come with me now. I have to rescue my daughter!!"


    <strong>========</strong>


    Current time at an abandoned ruin outside the Imperial City located not far away.


    <strong>*p!!*</strong>


    Angelina pped a man''s hand, and then coldly red at him: "No touching the child, understood? Nobody besides me is allowed to approach her."


    "Tch, what does it matter¡­? She''s going to die tonight, anyway. What''s there to be concerned about?"


    The man grouchily sat down to the side. He scanned Leah, who was curled up to one side, with his eyes narrowed. Leah hugged her knees as she trembled on the ground. She didn''t dare to look up at the group of men. There was only one lit up oilmp on the table in the ruins. There was beer and strong grape wine on table. Long swords were lined up on the table. A group of people, either sitting or standing, had their arms folded as they waited.


    Angelina softly sighed. She stood in front of Leah with her arms folded and forbade the men from speaking to Leah again. Leah was a kid, but the men, who were uncultured and no concept ofw, saw her as a mere toy.


    Angelina felt somewhat sympathetic towards Leah, but she beat herself up inside. She was fully aware of what she was doing. She, personally, led Leah there, and she would kill Leah at night. She knew Leah would transform into an adult at night due to her subus nature. She was experienced, because she fought with demons in the past. That was what they waited for. Killing Leah meant killing the new Demon King. While they were at it, they would kill demons they captured from a number of ces, thereby fabricating a fight scene. Subsequently, the chapel would be the organisation that slew the Demon King.


    Veirya rationalised, "Once this is a sess, my daughter wille to my side. Veirya is only a warrior to kill the Demon King. Since the Demon King still exists, Veirya will be on the frontlines tobat the Demon King. She''ll definitely appear when the chapel forms a group to prepare for subjugation. That''ll be my opportunity to reconcile with my daughter.


    Leah is an adorable girl, has never done anything wrong and I don''t want to hurt, as a knight would never be willing to do so, I have no choice. My husband dedicated his entire life to the chapel. I must protect the chapel for my husband''s sake. The chapel stores all of the traces of my husband''s life. I don''t want to lose the chapel. However, what I want even more is to live together with my only daughter. If the chapel''s n seeds, I''ll be able to obtain everything that I want."


    Despite her reluctance, Angelina would give up everything for her daughter and husband.


    "The only thing that I can do topensate for the torment my conscience suffers is to protect the current Leah," Angelina told herself. She gently pressed her hand to her heard and quietly muttered, "May God forgive me."


    ========


    Current time in the imperial pce.


    "Remember, your mission this time is very simple. Use the chapel''s handprint to trick them into opening the doors. Then, storm the chapel. As long as they''re affiliated with the chapel, kill them all regardless of who they may be. Do your best to apprehend those wearing dark red robes. As for the knights, kill them all. You''re the elites in the military. Do your best,"manded the officer.


    The officer whipped his purple cape on his shoulders. He had a short sword attached at his waist. For insurance purposes, the soldiers also wore soft armour, covered their short swords with their capes and wore robes covering their armour. Hence, nobody could spot anything unusual about them under the dim light. Queen Sisi stood on her balcony and silently watched the soldiers with a smile on her face. She stretched her hand out and softly giggled, "Pass me my hand instrument, red wine and delicacies. Tonight will be a very joyous night for me! Let my mes of fury burn to their hearts content! I want to see the chapel in mes from here!

 Chapter Volume 3 44

    <i>Death Arrives</i>


    Veirya dismounted and headed into the imperial pce. The soldiers on either side were surprised to see her. They quickly approached her and attempted to stop her. However, she ignored the two and forged forward. The two desperately chased after her and, in a distressed tone, one of them said, "Umm, umm, sorry, Lord Vierya, but you cannot see Her Majesty right now. Umm¡­ umm¡­ Her Majesty is currently with guests at a banquet, so she cannot see guests."


    "Move."


    Veirya''s reply was simple and cold. She shoved the two guards aside, even sending one of them into a shrub. The other one panicked. She headed to the pce Queen Sisi resided and ran into Achilles by chance.


    Achilles was just below the imperial pce pacing back and forth simrly to a madman. He was stunned for a moment when he saw Veirya. She had a quick glimpse of him but didn''t n to speak to him. Achilles, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment upon seeing her before asking, "Umm¡­ umm¡­ you are Veirya this time, right?"


    "Mm."


    Veirya questioned Achilles'' intelligence. She didn''t understand the point of the question. She didn''t intend to continue speaking with him; therefore, she continued on her way. Nevertheless, Achilles extended his arm out to stop her: "Her Majesty really is in a meeting at the moment. This time, the matter is very important. Her Majesty will not allow anyone to interrupt the meeting, so you best not barge in. Rather, there is something more important for you to do right now."


    "I don''t take orders from you," said Veirya, clutching Achilles'' shoulder. Seemingly hearing his bones popping, he almost grunted aloud. Veirya sternly said, "My business. Has nothing to do with you, either. Move. If you don''t want to die."


    Achilles resisted the sharp pain from his shoulder, shut his eyes and thundered, "You need to go protect Leah and Mr. Lin!!! The two of them are in danger!! The chapel has taken Leah, while there is no chance Mr. Lin can rescue her on his own!! If you don''t go to their aid, they really will die!! Hurry and go save them!"


    Achilles didn''t bear the pain for long, as Veirya immediately let go. She asked, "Where are they. Now?"


    "They should be at the ruin outside the city. Thest time our merchants saw them at the city doors, they saw their carriage headed toward the abandoned mill. As for what happened, I will tell youter. Right now, however, they are in danger! Go and help them first!"


    Veirya spun around and departed straight away. Achilles was initially worried about how to exin things if she asked; however, she didn''t ask in the end, instead immediately leaving.


    "Lord Veirya?"


    Anna stood next to a horse. The horses that had run for days could finally rest. They chewed grass as they prepared to rest. Anna also nned to go and rest, only to see Veiryae back with big strides.


    Veirya grabbed her horse reins and led it out without any regard for the horse''s feelings. She mounted the horse. Without even turning her head around, she said, "Anna, let''s go. To the abandoned mill in the East outside of the city. Bring your weapons. We''ll be fighting."


    "Lord Veirya, what exactly happened?!"


    Anna didn''t receive a response, because Veirya had taken off by the time Anna asked her question. Hopeless, Anna mounted her horse and looked at the letter in her pocket. She muttered to herself, "I need to find Mr. Lin and hand him this letter¡­ Where is he now, though? Is¡­ Lord Veirya going to protect them¡­? Leah¡­?"


    Anna shook her head to stop herself from imagining a terrifying scene. She mounted her hose and adjusted her long sword then chased after Veirya.


    ========


    Present time at the mill.


    "We have arrived. This should be the ce. As I said, there is no one guarding the ce. Everyone should be inside. Sir, how do you n to save the girl inside?"


    Sophia and I arrived at the bottom of the mill. The mill had been abandoned ages ago. The windmill already snapped. The sun was no longer in sight. Only a few rays of light faintly remained on the horizon. I looked at the dark and shabby door. I kicked the door open without a word.


    "I don''t have any n. I''m going straight in!"


    I thought, "Is there any time to be discussing ns?! My daughter and I are separated by just one stupid door. A group of wretched men are holding my daughter hostage. What do I even need to think about? Plus, what can I even do? I''m betting everything on Angelina."


    I thought I understood Angelina. At the very least, she had a conscience. I didn''t think Angelina would harm a child. She was myst bet. I put all possibilities on Angelina.


    The shabby wooden door couldn''t withstand my kick, but the bang didn''t go unheard. I put all of my body weight on my injured foot. I heard a clear crack from my left foot, but to my surprise, it didn''t hurt so much. Nheless, I couldn''t feel my foot at all. Regardless, I charged inside.


    The people inside jumped to their feet in a panic and looked at me with surprise. I got up from the ground. I had no time to mind my foot. I aggressively shoved away the two in front and leapt over to a corner of the wall where Leah was curled up. I basically bear crawled over to her and tightly hugged her.


    "Papa!!" Leah looked up at me with surprise. She tightly hugged my head and wailed.


    "What''s up with this guy?! How did he know we were here?!"


    "Hurry and kill him! We''ve been discovered!! Let''s enact the n sooner than scheduled!!!"


    I heard a sequence of screeches from metal. I heard approaching footsteps and saw sharp metal. I hugged Leah and looked up at the group that had me surrounded with swords. I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Your era is already history! It''s no longer your era! You''ve crossed the line!!"


    I tightly hugged Leah; she buried her head in my chest. I looked at the crowd and oilmp that was swaying back and forth, thereby shape shifting their shadows. Their shadows were seemingly a symbol of souls from the old era that were trying to cling to this era. Their des reflected the mes. If one listened in carefully, they could hear the sound of an army rising. Unfortunately, their era was done. This era no longer required the use of swords. This era belonged to me!


    I faced the men armed with metal des and roared, "I don''t care what you want! I don''t care what you have to do to survive, but if you dare to hurt my daughter, I''ll make sure you won''t live to see another die!!"


    I swept my eyes over all of them, and then finally looked over to the woman at the table who hadn''t moved the entire time. Angelina leaned against the table with her arms folded. She didn''t draw her weapon. She didn''t help us; neither did she stop me. I yelled, "Angelina! Angelina! You understand, right?!! You know what it means to harm a child, right?!! Do you remember that night?! Are you willing to watch Leah die?! Think about it! You''re a woman with a daughter, too. Think about it!!"


    Angelina nced up at me. The adventurers had uspletely surrounded. I had several long swords up to my neck. My left foot no longer hurt; it was something more frightening than pain. I couldn''t feel my left foot at all. If I couldn''t see it, I wouldn''t even know it was there.


    I was at an impasse. A door wasn''t just going to magically appear behind me. Meanwhile, the adventurers blocked me off from the front and had swords up to my neck. I had nowhere to run to. I pinned all of my hope on Angelina. If Angelina could spare us, we''d make it out alive. Otherwise¡­


    I tried to persuade myself: "I trust Angelina! I trust her!!"


    Angelina stood straight with a serious gaze. I nkly looked at her. I didn''t hide my desire. Angelina was myst card andst bet. Angelina wasn''t the type to kill a child. I believed she wouldn''t. I firmly believed so!


    Angelina shifted her gaze from us to Leah specifically and softly sighed. She covered her face with her hand and softly uttered, "Kill them. They found us, so there''s no point in keeping them any longer."


    "Angelina!!!! Angelina!!" I cried. I questioned myself, "Was my guess wrong?! Was my bet wrong?!"


    I tightened my arms around Leah. Swords came from both sides. I shut my eyes and listened to the sound of them swiping the air. I had nowhere to run to. All I could do was hug Leah tighter, albeit knowing that it was futile.


    "How simr. This scene is the same as when I first arrived here. I wonder if the saying people on the verge of death will recall their past is true. All I''m recalling is that one time, the first time Veirya and I met," I thought.


    My first meeting with Veirya was the same as this one. I tightly hugged Leah while the sound of her sword came down toward me, whistling through the air. I was just as hopeless back then.


    I silently questioned, "Is there any hope left for me? Do I have any regrets?"


    "Veirya!!!!!" I subconsciously cried, apanying the cold des reflecting light and the whistling wind.

 Chapter Volume 3 45

    <i>With the Daughter and Mother Pair in the Mill</i>


    How can I illustrate Veirya''s beauty? I don''t know how to. Put another way, I was so shocked at the time that my brain was just nk. I couldn''t think of anything. All I remember was a sudden eruption of cries when the des swung toward me.


    The group went into frenzy as they screamed. Next, I heard a sequence of metal shing with metal, people crying out in panic and frantic footsteps that sounded as if their owners were fleeing helter skelter. I opened my eyes and panicked.


    Veirya''s stood in front of me, keeping me safe behind her tall physique. Her short silver hair gently danced in the air. She held her sword in her right hand and coldly observed all of the adventurers. There were approximately a dozen adventurers in the room. In the past, they were all warriors who armed themselves to kill the Demon King. This time, however, they all threw their weapons down and quaked in their boots when Veirya was their opponent. Their legs wanted to do nothing other than flee.


    Angelina was the only one who remained in control of her emotions. She seriously looked at her biological daughter, but neither budged nor revealed any particr expression. With her sword in hand, Angelina straightened up: "You sure are early. I thought you wouldn''t have set out for another one or two days. What, your patience ran dry, and so you came looking for your man?"


    "Mm." Veirya was not shy, and definitely not proud. She calmly nodded but continued to watch the adventurers and Angelina. Without turning around to look at me, she asked, "Can I. Kill them?"


    "Huh?"


    I froze for a moment. I never expected to hear that question from Veirya at that moment. She kept her eyes on the quivering crowd and her mother. In a calm tone, she exined, "In the past. You didn''t let me thoughtlessly kill. So, I''m asking you. Can I. kill all of these people?"


    "Ah!!!"


    Veirya wasn''t making an empty threat. Unlike me, she wasn''t just threatening them. Her tone was calm and indifferent as if she was asking me what was for dinner. However, her murderous and cold undertone instantly dispersed in the room. Veirya wasn''t joking. Her sword, which she slew the Demon King with, could knock all of the swords in the room away within mere seconds, which meant she could kill everyone present in mere seconds. The so-called adventurers instantly dropped their weapons and ignored the fact Angelina was still present. They shrieked as they tried to squeeze out of the broken door. They ran out and into the wild as fast as their legs could take them. This ce was no longer their den but a ughter venue.


    I gulped then used the wall as support to get to my feet. I quietly said, "Don''t kill Angelina. I was wrong, Angelina. The reason you protected Leah that night was to kidnap her, wasn''t it? From the very start, you and the chapel chased Leah to the North, didn''t you? You were never there for some vouring trade. You merely did that to trick Achilles and Her Majesty, am I right? Your true goal was to create a new Demon King, wasn''t it? Frankly, you never cared about Leah, did you?!"


    Angelina shrugged with a smile: "Obviously. As you said, I don''t care about Leah. She''s not my daughter; I have no obligation to care for her. I''m merely serving the chapel. Your guess, deduction and methods are all correct. We''ve failed¡­"


    A strong gust of wind in front of me rose from the ground. The floor creaked due to the enormous impact. Before I realised it, Veirya was already in front of Angelina. Angelina raised her sword; their swords shed, thereby emitting explosive soundsparable to gun shots. From behind her de, Veirya shot Angelina a savage expression and thundered, "I won''t allow you to touch my daughter!!! Leah is mine! Nobody is allowed to touch her! You killed my father! What else do you want to rob me of?!"


    "Leah is not your daughter!!"


    "She called me ''Mama''!"


    Angelina amplified her output, pushing Veirya back. I quickly grabbed Veirya''s cape. She turned around and furiously red at me. Leah jolted and almost cried when she saw Veirya''s violent expression. Veirya froze. She gradually rxed her expression back to her usual expressionless one. She carefully pinched Leah''s face then turned back around to look at Angelina. Without a word, she charged back at Angelina.


    Angelina coldly looked at her daughter. She continued with her argument: "So, her calling you ''Mama'' is enough for you to attack your own mother?! You called me ''Mom'' for over ten years. Of course I have to give up everything for you even if it means I have to betray my beliefs and conscience. I want you toe back to my side, Veirya. I''m your mom, your biological mom!! I would never harm your father! Your father''s death was not my fault! It was your father''s decision!"


    "Shut up, coward!!"


    Angelina''s statements provoked Veirya. Thus, another gust of wind whirled up. This time, Veirya blocked Angelina''s attack. The intense sh between the two seemingly split the floor. Angelina looked into her daughter''s eyes that were identical to her own. She raged, "I will not allow you to call me a coward!!"


    "You couldn''t even protect your family. You <em>are </em>a coward!" Veirya bumped Angelina with her shoulder. She then added, "I''m different. To you. I''m going to be. A qualified mother!"


    I grabbed Veirya''s shoulder. With Veirya between Angelina me, I shouted, "Wait! Wait! Stop, you two!"


    Angelina dawdled for a moment before looking at me with a cold smile: "What''s the matter, Queen''spdog? You have anything else you want to say? This is our family business; it has nothing to do with you. If you don''t want to die, get lost."


    "Listen to me, you two! I know what you two are thinking; I know that you both actually care for each other. What happened between you two is in the past now. Exin it properly, and Veirya will be able to understand. Angelina, you did this to bring your daughter back to your side, didn''t you?!"


    Veirya thundered, "I will not. ept her. When she used such sinister means!!"


    Angelina folded her arms and indifferently looked at her daughter. In a serious tone, she eximed, "Whether you admit it or not, I''m still your mother! See? These are the breasts that fed you. I raised you in these arms!!"


    Angelina ripped open her clothes, leaving me feeling incredibly awkward. Was I supposed to look or not? Veirya also froze. She probably didn''t expect Angelina to do that. She stood in ce and hesitated before arguing, "That''s still not a reason for me to let you harm my family!!"


    Angelina calmly exined, "I''m dead after this, either way. Veirya, whatever happens, Queen Sisi will try and kill me. I won''t be able to wash my hands off this after the n fails. That''s why I don''t care if my death will allow you to forget the past. Veirya, can you still fight? Let''s have one hearty fight. The result will depend on what you''re made of."


    Me: "I''ll resolve it. Veirya, you and Angelina put your fight aside for now. Don''t hurt each other. I swear I''ll resolve this issue. There''s still time; I can still change all of this."


    Angelina looked over and snickered: "How? You can''t change it! We''ve failed; the Queen will definitely kill everyone involved! How are you going to change it?!"


    Tone solemn, I answered, "I have my own way. I have a chance. As long as there''s still time, I''ll have a chance. I know how much you love your daughter. I hate everything you did to my daughter, but you''re Veirya''s mother. I''ll help Veirya. I will."

 Chapter Volume 3 46

    <i>Travelling Through the Night</i>


    I slowly took two steps while using the wall for support. The most terrifying oue happened. I couldn''t feel my left foot and had no control over it. People walked with an alternating gait. My left foot, unfortunately, waspletely incapable of performing that. All I could do was lift my leg and move it forward.


    "Papa, what''s wrong with your foot?!" The first one to notice my abnormal condition was Leah.


    While Leah was still in shock, she quickly shifted over to my arm to support me. I shook my head andughed in a soft voice: "It''s all right, Leah. Papa''s foot just hurts a little. It''s nothing major¡­"


    Leah tightly clung to my arm. She looked down at my foot. Anxious, she eximed, "You''re lying, Papa! You never walked this way before! Papa, what exactly happened to your foot?!"


    I just shook my head with a helpless smile. I turned around to look the mother and daughter pair, who were fiercely eyeing each other:, "Veirya, Angelina, I''m begging you two. If you trust me, stop fighting. Veirya, I promise to give you an eptable answer. I promise you! Angelina, listen to me: you lied to us and hurt my daughter, but I know merely exacting a vengeance is meaningless. You don''t need to die. If you believe me, put your weapon down!"


    Angelina was aware of her predicament. She wasn''t stupid. She knew she was already on death row. Her part of the n failed, which meant the chapel would never be able to rise from the ashes again. Once Queen Sisi took down the chapel, she would never spare their strongest knight. Queen Sisi ruled everything in the capital. The empire would pursue even those who fled. Furthermore, she had to face her own daughter. There was no certainty she could escape from her daughter.


    Angelina knew her death was inevitable. She was sorrowful; everything she pursued and worked for her entire life was reduced to nothing overnight. Her husband was a skeleton at this point. Queen Sisi would destroy the chapel she devoted herself to. Her only daughter aimed her sword at her. She had lost everything.


    "I still have my daughter. I always wanted her to understand me and return to my side. I, too, am cognizant of my mistakes. I also know what the consequences of my actions, but I had no choice. It was the only way I could get my daughter to return to my side. I''ve failed. Nevertheless, Lin Dongqing said he''d help me and resolve the issue between my daughter and I. I don''t trust him; however, what other choice, besides death, do I have now? I, at the very least, want to try one more time," Angelina told rationalised.


    Angelina looked at me then Veirya. Angelina exchanged eye contact with her daughter. She suddenly sighed and dropped her sword onto the ground. She reached her hand out: "You don''t need to wait anymore. Restrain me. Let''s see what this man can do if you believe in him, Veirya."


    Veirya returned her sword to its scabbard and went up to Angelina''s side. She tore off a length of her cape and restrained Angelina''s hands with it. She then tied a rope around her waist. She kicked Angelina¡¯s calf then stomped onto Angelina''s ankle.


    "Aaahh!!!"


    The sound of Angelina''s bones breaking startled me. Veirya mercilessly broke Angelina''s ankles then dragged her up to me and crouched down. She faced her back to me and calmly said, "I''ll. Carry you."


    "Has your back wound¡­ healed?"


    I carefully touched Veirya''s neck. The traces of her burn were still there. It was still slightly red, but it should''ve healed already.


    "Basically," answered Veirya.


    I gently leaned onto Veiya''s back. She gently grabbed onto my thighs and picked me up. I was a grown man, yet it was a walk in the park for Veirya to carry me and drag Angelina along at the same time. I felt a tad nervous when I looked at Veirya''s short hair and neck. I didn''t know if I should''ve leaned on it. Veirya said to Leah, "Leah, follow me."


    Leah gently nodded. Worried, she nced down to my foot then followed alongside Veirya. Veirya carried me toward the door. Angelina crawled along the ground as her daughter dragged her. She couldn''t stand up, let alone escape.


    "Ah¡­ I thought something happened inside." I didn''t think that Sophia was still waiting at the door. She had her eyes narrowed. Her tone hinted her surprise: "Did you get hurt or¡­ And¡­ is this Lord Veirya? Mm¡­ What exactly happened? Thank heavens you are all right, though, Miss Leah."


    "Ah, Sophia, take Leah away from here first. I need to go elsewhere for now."


    Although I was quite embarrassed on Veirya''s back, I still had to keep Leah''s transformation in mind. It was night time; who could say for sure what something would happen next. Sophia responded with a small nod. Leah questioned, "Papa, is your foot¡­ really okay¡­? Really, really¡­?"


    "I''m okay, Leah. Don''t worry about Papa for now. Papa is still busy. Go with Sophia for now."


    I touched Leah on her head. Veirya hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Leah. I am d. You are all right."


    Leah gently touched Veirya''s hand: "Mm, thank you¡­ Mama Veirya¡­ You¡­. saved me again."


    "Mm¡­"


    Veirya seemed to absolutely enjoy it, but she didn''t have a hand to touch Leah with. Sophia left with Leah via another route. Veirya began to walk again, taking me to the imperial capital. I gently leaned onto her shoulder in silence. Her back was morefortable than anything. The fatigue, tension and fear umted over the entire day almost put me to sleep. Veirya didn''t speak and neither did I. The moonlight, however, made our two shadows appear very long. Very long."


    All of a sudden, Veirya spoke, startling me. She didn''t turn around and spoke in her usual voice: "I thought. You''d have me kill her."


    I shook my head. In a soft voice, I exined, "I wouldn''t tell a daughter to kill her mother. I am very angry, but I wouldn''t ask you to kill your own mother. She''s your only family. Veirya, I know you care for Angelina very much. Additionally, I have never thought that revenge was purposeful. Angelina is much more useful alive than dead. Also, could you really kill her? Could you really <em>personally</em> kill your mother?"


    Veirya didn''t reply. She, apparently, didn''t hear what I said. I looked at her short hair and added, "She''s your mother, Veirya. I can''t possibly hurt her, because of you¡­ She may have deceived me and Leah, but I couldn''t bring myself to kill her when I saw you and her standing together¡­"

 Chapter Volume 3 47

    <i>Annihtion</i>


    "Veirya, you and Angelina find a horse carriage to hide in for now. Don''t move. I''ll operate on my own here on out."


    There was a strong stench of blood in the air. The city that never slept was dead silent. Queen Sisi''s rage figuratively razed it to the ground. Nobody dared to have their doors open. Everyone out for fun was at risk of being killed by soldiers. At this point, the situation wasparable to a cat barging into rodents'' banquet, and then all of the rodents fled back to their den. The massive chapel''s main doors were open. Corpses were littered at the door. An inferno devoured the inside. Soldiers went in and out, carrying those unconscious people or those who had been restrained and tossed them into the wagons waiting outside. The wagons were used to transport them away. In some cases, they threw corpses on the ground without a second thought.


    I also noticed a chair ced by the door of the chapel. The chair and the atmosphere at the chapel werepletely different. I recognised the resplendent and stunning; it came from the imperial pce. Specifically, it came from Queen Sisi''s dining table. I, in fact, sat in one just yesterday.


    I presumed it to be another one of Queen Sisi''s bad-tasting ideas. She wanted to have the pope watch his believers and friends murdered or taken away in addition to watching the chapel he gave his entire life for burning to the ground. Queen Sisi didn''t want to just kill but to also mentally destroy him. She wanted to enjoy the process of having her enemy''s lungs ripped apart, and she''d rub their blood on her rosy lips.


    The blood pouring down the street could almost cover the entire bottom of my shoe. I helped Veirya settle down. Perplexed, she asked, "Your foot?"


    "It''s all right. I can let you see what I have to do next; rather, you can''t be seen. I doubt we can find a carriage now, so just stay at a corner of the street. I should be able to finish up soon."


    "Mm."


    Veirya was reliable and of few words as before. She continued dragging Angelina along to a dark street and didn''t appear again. I couldn''t allow anyone to see Angelina. Plus, she was someone Queen wanted dead. If someone spotted her, I wouldn''t be able to protect her. As long as Queen Sisi had yet to see her, I could still turn it around. I still had an ace to deal with Angelina. I was cognizant of the fact Queen Sisi wouldn''t spare her, but what if Angelina didn''t exist? What if Angelina never served as the chapel''s knight?


    I leaned on my cane and went up to the chapel''s doors. The soldiers were quite surprised to see me, but they immediately lowered their heads and minded their business after ncing at me. I, too, didn''t bother with them. We were allies at the time. As a matter of fact, I was their leader. I, personally, met Queen Sisi, and specifically instated me.


    I crossed over the corpses littering the ground. Honestly, it was quite difficult for me to walk over all the corpses in my current condition. I stepped on a fair number of corpses, causing them to roll over. Empty gazes of pain, despair and desire for mercy were fixed on me. I could see their misery the moment before they died in the chaos. I didn''t dare to look them in the eye nor did I care to, because they had nothing to do with me.


    They were innocent people. They didn''t do anything wrong. Strictly speaking, not even the pope or chapel did. The only possible wrong was not acknowledging Queen Sisi''s might, and not having their believers worship Queen Sisi as a goddess. That was it.


    They weren''t a chapel that exploited others as written in other novels. They were just ordinary fathers, husbands and children, who died for nothing more than to satisfy Queen Sisi''s pride. As for me, I happened to be one of her des. Furthermore, I took the initiative to have everyone I the chapel killed. If people faced retribution after death, I was definitely going to hell when I died. Actually, maybe not even hell would ept me.


    I climbed the steps. I almost slipped over due to the slippery surface the blood left. The pope was restrained in the chair. He had his head down in silence. I quietly approached him from behind. I ced a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "I''ve sent your wife and daughter to the elvennds. You don''t need to worry."


    The pope gently moved around, but he didn''t look thrilled. He softly chuckled and muttered, "Is there any point in telling a man about to die that? I''m going to die. If you''re here, it means Angelina failed. I have to admit I failed. I don''t know how you saw through it, but there''s nothing to be ashamed of when I lost to someone smarter than myself."


    I didn''t mince my words: "I want Angelina''s file now. Listen. Listen to me. I have no way of saving you, but I didn''t defeat you, either. Nevertheless, if you want your daughter and wife to live, give me Angelina''s file. I promise to protect them. I''ll protect them even from Queen Sisi!"


    "What you do want?"


    "I need to do something for my master."


    The pope gently shook his head: "Every knight''s file is stored in the literature room. They''re ced on the third row of the bookshelf against the window. Go. I have no hope and no longer have any secret that I need to hide."


    "Rest in peace. I will tell your daughter the truth."


    I patted the pope on his shoulder then straightened up. There was a fire out the front of the chapel''s main door. Soldiers were in the process of moving things from inside the chapel that could be burnt, including artwork, gs and robes into the fire. The ze devoured everything the chapel was once proud of and protected. There were a number of books by the side that had yet to be burnt, which must''ve been things that Queen Sisi needed.


    Queen Sis needed the chapel''s right to preach, the original copy of their doctrine and the names of some of their members. The list of names would tell her who to kill. If I burnt Angelina''s file, everything proving her connection to the chapel and everyone rted was killed, then Angelina never existed in this world.


    I went to the literature room. There were soldiers looking through the documents up above, recording as they moved them. I looked over to the bookshelf I was after. The soldiers had yet to get to it. I said, "Sorry, you two, I am here on Her Majesty''s orders to search for some documents. Please leave for a moment. I will be quick."


    The two turned around to silently nodded and left. I mmed the door shut then grabbed a chair to lock the door in ce before going over to the bookshelf. There were numbers on the shelf, which I presumed to be the numbers assigned to the members'' files. Every book''s spine had a name on it, as well. I presumed the leader should be the chapel''s knights.


    I ran my finger along the names, going from one end to the other and finally located Angelina''s name. I opened her file. The first page contained her picture and name. The following pages recorded her aplishments and deeds. I didn''t have time to examine the contents, so I stuffed it into my shirt then turned around to see a me in the firece. Perhaps the soldiers didn''t put the me out for lighting.


    I walked over to the fire and threw the file for knight number one hundred and twenty seven. into the fire. I silently stood in ce as I watched the expensive parchment slowly burn and ink disappear before bing ck fragments that then flew off. Everything containing Angelina''s information as a knight was in the record I threw into the fire.


    They''d find knights number one hundred and twenty-six and one hundred and twenty-eight, but they wouldn''t know who one hundred and twenty-seven was. Queen Sisi would know who it was, but she would aware what I implied. I could pass on a reward, so I hoped she could turn a blind eye to it. Nobody would know she spared Angelina.


    I went back to the bookshelf and looked through the names and numbers. I grabbed the file for knight number three. While I was at it, I took some files rted to the chapel before opening the door.


    When the two soldiers saw me, they asked, "Did you find it?"


    I smiled as I waved the books in my hand: "I did."


    The two looked at the cover but didn''tment. I walked past them, across the corridor and fire. I didn''t say a word as I walked past the chapel in ruins. I had no need to waste my breath on those about to die, show sympathy or admit to my wrongs. This ending was inevitable the moment I sided with Queen Sisi. If she wasn''t there, I wouldn''t be there.


    As I walked, I contemted, "I wonder what the Queen is currently doing. She might be standing at the balcony in the Imperial Pce, softly giggling as she watches this ce burn. ording to her personality, she wouldn''t be happy unless she saw these mes. Her favourite scene is seeing her enemy slowly die in despair in front of her''


    What do I do if Veirya is next on her list? Can I stop the Queen? I''m on her side right now. Will this burn also devour the North? I don''t know. I need to settle Angelina''s matter first. Next, I''ll probably need to speak to Queen Sisi. I''m absolutely sure she''s aware I pulled some strings. I''m sure she knows who I spared. "


    It was obvious who spared Angelina and the pope''s family once you think about it. I needed to ensure that Queen Sisi wasn''t angry, I guess.


    Oh, right, why did I need the file for knight number three? Simple. His surname was the same as Veirya and Angelina''s.

 Chapter Volume 3 48

    <i>Substitute</i>


    I returned to Veirya. Angelina sat up. I admit I was very impressed with Angelina. She could still move despite Veirya having broken her ankles. Angelina chuckled in a ridiculing tone: "So, Mr. Hero, what good news to do you have?"


    "Knight number one hundred and twenty-seven, correct?" I asked. "I''ve burnt all documents rted to knight number one hundred and twenty-seven. Henceforth, Angelina, you never lived with the chapel or fought for them. You never existed before. You''re just a mother; end of story. You don''t exist in the chapel''s records."


    Angelina shut her eyes, seemingly disappointed with me. In a quiet voice, she argued, "You can''t erase everything. If they want to know, they''ll definitely have a way of finding out who is knight number one hundred and twenty-seven. That was pointless."


    "You misunderstood. I''m not trying to stop anyone from investigating; I''m signalling to Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi will know what I did and what I''m thinking when she sees knight number one hundred and twenty-seven missing. She''ll understand¡­ I think. She''s in a very good mood at the moment. I need to go and talk to her as well as clean up. Veirya, take Angelina back to the inn. It''s just over there; see that building? Go there and someone will guide you."


    "Mm¡­" Veirya kept her usual tone, but she looked slightly angry. She frowned, which was extremely rare, since she rarely shows any expressions. "I came to find you. Yet you keep telling me to leave time and time again. Do you. Not want to see me?"


    "No, no, absolutely not!! It''s not that I don''t want to see you¡­ but¡­ but¡­ it''s best if I meet Queen Sisi by myself for this. After all, you have to keep an eye on Angelina, don''t you?"


    "Veirya''s angry, because I''m not with her? Is this for real?!" I wondered.


    Veirya frigidly responded, "After you came here. You didn''t write any letters, either. I didn''t know. How you were doing. So I. Came here. Once I arrived. You kept. Avoiding me. I want to know. Why."


    "No, no!! I''m not avoiding you¡­ I''m very eager to see you, as well. I''ve always been thinking of you¡­"


    "Then, why. Did you not write a letter? When fighting in a war. You must report to the chief. But. You didn''t say anything. That''s why I rushed here."


    "It was¡­ was¡­ I just didn''t know what to say¡­"


    "Why? Why. Do you not know what to say¡­?"


    "I¡­ I¡­"


    I thought that I had the gift of the gab. At the very least, I was able to feel what love was when I first met Ascilia.


    I tried to make sense of everything in my mind: "Why am I speechless in front of Veirya¡­? Am I really in the wrong¡­? Should I have written to Veirya? What''s she getting at, though? Is she jealous, because I gave her to cold shoulder?! "No way. No way¡­ What should I do now? How do I get a jealous girl to not be jealous?'' I remember hearing I should hug her in this situation? Do I kiss her after? Veirya usually bashes her teeth against mine anyway. It shouldn''t be a major issue, right¡­?"


    Veirya watched me approach with a puzzled expression. I vigorously pulled her into my embrace. She didn''t resist, but she was confused as to what exactly happened. I pushed her back slightly to look into her eyes. I wasn''t looking at Angelina''s eyes this time. Before me was the authentic Veirya¡­


    "Hug the girl, then kiss her, then tell her that you truly love her¡­" I told myself.


    My heart raced as I looked at Veirya''s face. My mind was totally nk. Every centimetre taken in her direction was an arduous challenge. I couldn''t do anything¡­ Veirya had no idea what I wanted to do. Truth be told, I didn''t know what I wanted to do, either¡­


    "Hug Veirya. Kiss her¡­ I¡­ I¡­ I can''t possibly do that!!!" I tried to convince myself. I covered my face and spun around. My heart felt as though it''d burst. The immense embarrassment and shame tore me apart. I pondered, <em>"It''s no big deal; she wouldn''t know what I want to do, right?"</em>


    "He wants you to kiss him." That was Angelina who said that out of nowhere. She supported her arm and looked at us with a weird smile.


    I wanted to blurt, "So out of all times, you choose now to have self-awareness as a mother?!! You''re going to watch your daughter in love with a mischievous smile? It''s easier said than done!!"


    "Is that right?" asked Veirya. She was finallyposed. She suddenly grabbed me. I couldn''t match her strength. Therefore, all I could do was watch her face swiftly lean in and feel the familiar crash and dizzy sensation that resulted from the collision. Pleased, she leaned back: "Lead the way. To the ce you said. As for seeing Queen Sisi. Bring it upter."


    "All right¡­"


    My head spun due to the physical trauma from the collision as well as the sensation on my lip. The familiar feeling nearly brought me to tears. Angelina''s kiss from before felt amazing, but Veirya''s teeth bash was what I missed most¡­ albeit being quite painful¡­


    I genuinely thought I''d lose my teeth at some point if she continued bashing my teeth.


    Angelina was astonished. After a short moment of hesitation, she questioned, "Is that how you two always kissed¡­? Does it not hurt?"


    "Isn''t that. How it''s supposed to be?" asked Verya, looking back at me with a bemused look.


    Angelina quietlyughed: "Next time, I''ll teach you how to kiss; otherwise, you and him are going to lose your teeth sooner orter. I''ve got nowhere to go now, so I''ll be sticking to you from now, Veirya. You still have a house, don''t you?"


    There was a tinge of a plea in Angelina''s tone tone. I didn''t know what she was pleading for.


    "Is she pleading her daughter for forgiveness or to take her in?" I wondered.


    Veirya turned her head to look at Angelina. Her eyes were void of emotion as usual.She didn''t respond, nevertheless. Instead, she then turned back to face me and timidly asked, "What do you think? Can you ept. What was done to Leah?"


    "Mm." I faced Angelina. While there was a hint of distrust in her eyes, she didn''tment. She silently waited for me to speak. I solemnly said, "Angelina, you should be aware of your mistake this time. I''m not taking you in this time out of kindness. Needless to say, I definitely am not the type to carry out meaningless vengeances. That said, what I most want you to fill in for is the role of a substitute."


    "A substitute?" asked Angelina, apanying her question with a softugh. "What do you want me to substitute Veirya for? You want me to be your wife, or did you want to seek romance with me seeing as Veirya is clueless?"


    "I never even thought about that! I''m thinking that, if there everes a day, and I''m saying if that day everyes when Her Majesty wants to harm Veirya and I can''t save her, Angelina, I hope that you''ll be able to take Veirya''s ce. That''s when you''ll repay me."

 Chapter Volume 3 49

    <i>Queen Sisi¡¯s Idea</i>


    "Veirya, you two wait for me here; I need to go to the imperial pce. I''ll take you in to see Her Majesty tomorrow."


    After I grabbed the door handle, I turned around to check on Veirya and Angelina. Angelina lied on the bed with her hands tied to the metal bed rails overhead. Nevertheless, it didn''t appear as though that negatively affected her in any capacity. Or rather, she looked as if she was rxed. Veirya sat to one side and watched her mother, albeit void of sadness. She was merely concerned Angelina would escape.


    Veirya asked me, "Where is Leah? Who exactly. Was the woman?"


    "Mm¡­ in essence, she''s a demon just as Leah is¡­ I trust her, and Leah is currently at the safest ce possible, so rest assured."


    "I don''t believe you. I want to see Leah. Leah. Is in great peril."


    "Um¡­ I promise to bring Leah back in the morning, all right? Veirya, don''t worry too much. I''m going to see Her Majesty now. You should go and see her tomorrow morning, too."


    Veirya nodded.


    Suddenly remembering the document I took from the chapel, I went up to Veirya and took out the thick document that I hid in my shirt. Veirya froze. She was quite surprised. I quietly exined, "These should be your father''s documents¡­ Veirya, I thought that you might''ve wanted this, which is why I brought it back for you."


    Veirya looked at the name on the spine and solemnly ran her hands over the letters, but she didn''t say a word, feel grateful or touched. She didn''t even give a reaction, as a matter of fact. I stood next to her with a nk look. I soon realised that I wouldn''t be getting any affectionate gestures that I was hoping for. I, therefore, left the room.


    Once Angelina heard the door shut, she opened her eyes to look at her daughter: "Veirya, for what reason do you listen to him? You don''t know him. You never interacted with him in the past, either. You didn''t easily trust people in the past. Why do you care about and are willing to listen to him exclusively?"


    Veirya gently pressed the file to her chest. She answered, "Because. Everything that he says. Is correct. To add. He isn''t scared of me. He takes care of me. He promised me. He''d help me be a normal woman. I really. Like him."


    "Because he''s not scared of you?"


    "Mm."


    Angelina spotted the key point. She felt somewhat sad for her daughter. She thought, "I can''t believe my daughter wanted something so pitiful. Veirya considers those who don''t fear her to be a rare treasure. In the past, when she was in the military, what sort of life did she lead? Everyone must''ve been afraid of her after she put her life on the line to fight."


    Veirya paused before carrying on with her exnation: "Also, he always. Understands me. That''s why. I really care about him. And I worry. Something. Will happen to him and Leah. I care about the,. Right now. I only have them. Mm¡­ And you, too. In the future."


    Though Veirya sounded slightly proud with what she said, her expression and tone never changed. Angelina softly chuckled. Her daughter was the same as always. She had feelings but didn''t know how to express them.


    "If she tells him that she likes him, he''ll probably die from cardiac arrest on the spot. He''s no ordinary man. He did many things I can''t believe and sessfully pulled off many reversals. He saw through the chapel''s n, convinced Queen Sisi and reunited me with my daughter. He looks thin, weak and unable to take a hit, yet his power is unimaginable," Angelina said to herself. She mumbled to herself, "Am I going to be living in the North henceforward?"


    Veirya: "You don''t like going to the North?"


    "No. I''m fine with anywhere as long as you''re with me."


    ========


    Current time at the Imperial Pce.


    "Little Doggy!! Little Doggy! Hahaha, my Little Doggy!!"


    As soon as I entered the imperial pce, Queen Sisi hugged me around my neck andughed as she borrowed my momentum to spin out of nowhere. Then, she stered herself to my back, allowing me to feel her globes against my back. She tightly wrapped her arm around to my chest and situated her pretty face next to mine. Sheughed as she gave me a gentle peck on the cheek. With a smile, she said, "You''ve truly done me proud, Little Doggy. Nobody around me managed to figure out the chapel''s n. Achilles kept on watching the warehouse as an idiot would. Only you figured out the chapel''s n and brought back Leah. Also, had you not remarked that there might not be weapons in the warehouse, I wouldn''t have suspected the elves. Little Doggy, Little Doggy, how did you decipher there were no weapons in the dwarves¡¯ warehouse?''


    Feeling embarrassed, I tried to avoid Queen Sisi''s hair that was teasing me. However, she had no intention of releasing me. She was so happy she didn''t n to waste her attention on anything besides being happy. Awkward, I shifted my gaze away so as to avoid the alluring Queen. I exined, "The volume. I saw neatly lined up rows ofrge stone statues in the warehouse. If there were no weapons in the stone statues, the weapons would have to be in the swords. For insurance, the volume of swords should match the number of statues; else, anyone would notice there is a problem if there are too few swords. However, they had too many.


    There were, at least, close to one hundred stone statues. It is impossible for the chapel to house one hundred people inside their chapel. The only possible exnation for it would be the chapel randomly hid that many swords there. In addition, they would not be able to mark the weapons; otherwise, it would be easy to identify them. Do they smash open all of them when they need weapons? That is obviously imusible. As such, after seeing so many stone statues, I believed there were no weapons inside. I concluded those ces were merely smokescreens designed to mislead us."


    "Mm, impressive, Little Doggy. Very perceptive. So, how did you figure out the chapel''s n? Initially, I, too, spected they nned to assassinate me. I never expected them to hatch such a bizarre n; it was an absurd n. If they seeded, I genuinely would be at my wits end. Consider me enlightened. It wasn''t a boring assassination but such a grand scheme. I''m very pleased. I''m very happy right now, Little Doggy. You lived up to my expectations; you''re always able to bring me pleasant surprises."


    Queen Sisi gently hopped off my back. To my surprise, I was oddly disappointed when I couldn''t feel her blessings. She circled around to the front and tugged on my cor then pulled my hand down. She leaned in next to my air and seductively smiled. She whispered, "With that said, I noticed a horse carriage and a missing person. Little Doggy, do you have something you want to say to me? Come, Little Doggy,e to my bedroom. I hope you won''t spoil my pleasant mood."


    Queen Sisi licked my ear then pulled on my cor as if she was leading a dog. Finally, she jogged to her bedroom with me in tow¡­

 Chapter Volume 3 50

    <i>Conversation with the Queen at Night</i>


    "Little Doggy, knight number one hundred and twenty-seven''s profile is missing from the records we collected."


    As withst time, I gently undid the ribbon on Queen Sisi''s back, and shepletely stripped down, leaving just her ck stockings on. She then climbed onto her bed and shook out her syed hair before lying down on her side. She tossed me two sheets of paper and pinched her chin. She softly chuckled: "Good Little Doggy, who do you think knight number one hundred and twenty-seven is? What do you think is the deal with that particr knight? Why is only knight number one hundred and twenty-seven''s file missing? Your observation and deduction skills are both superb. Now, can you help me decipher who knight number one hundred and twenty-seven is?"


    Queen Sisi wore a gentle smile on her face. I couldn''t read her thoughts behind her smile. She was very skilled at concealing her thoughts. I genuinely didn''t know if the missing profile was something she really cared about or not. Nheless, if she was merely after the right to preach religion to turn herself into a goddess, subsequently having everyone worship her, she had no reason to kill Angelina, who was remotely rted to her goal. Angelina was merely the chapel''s muscle. She wouldn''t impact Queen Sisi''s ns even if she lived.


    "I don''t think that Angelina''s status is that important, is it¡­?" I pondered. Once done, I answered, "Knight number one hundred and twenty-seven? Sorry, Your Majesty, but I do not have enough information to analyse it. I need more information to do so."


    "Is that right?" Queen Sisi turned over, paying no heed to her jiggling breasts. She giggled in a soft voice as she gave her breasts a rub: "Little Doggy, what do you want to know? I don''t know much myself. What do you want to ask?"


    I questioned, "Is knight number one hundred and twenty-seven very important to you?"


    Queen Sisi raised an eyebrow. She then stretched her hand out and examined her finger nails. She absentmindedly replied, "Important or not? Mm¡­ I need to think about that. Mm¡­ how shall I put it? Knight number one hundred and twenty-seven is rted to the chapel, correct? Additionally, where knight number one hundred and twenty-seven happens to be is important, correct? If your question is important or not, I would say those two factors are of more importance, wouldn''t you agree, Little Doggy?"


    "Mm¡­ Are you more concerned about knight number one hundred and twenty-seven''s rank? So, how much intelligence do you have on knight number one hundred and twenty-seven? Have you seen knight number one hundred and twenty-seven? Do you know knight number one hundred and twenty-seven?"


    "If I did know knight number one hundred and twenty-seven, I wouldn''t have asked you, would I?" rhetorically asked Queen Sisi. She turned her head and subtly frowned: "I do know knight number one hundred and twenty-seven is seemingly very famous and should be very important to the chapel; otherwise, nobody would''ve taken the risk to protect them. Say, Little Doggy, in your opinion, who is knight number one hundred and twenty-seven?"


    Queen Sisi still didn''t reveal her thoughts. However, I knew she was sending me hints. She should''ve been aware I was the one who spared the pope''s wife and daughter in addition to Angelina. The two of us were just probing each other. I sought an opportunity to mention it.


    "Is Queen Sisi hoping I''d say they were with me? If I were to look at this from her perspective, I wouldn''t care if Angelina is dead or alive. It doesn''t matter to her if Angelina is alive. She merely wants to ensure Angelina won''t impact her even if she is alive. If Angelina is alive and hides in the imperial capital, she would be a threat to her. Normal soldiers wouldn''t be able to stop Angelina if she ughtered her way into the pce, after all. It makes sense for her to have qualms about a woman who could fight Veirya face to face and defeat her," I analysed. I then replied, "Mm, Your Majesty, I have a guess, but I am not sure if I should mention it or not."


    "Go ahead and say it. I''m not someone who ignores what people say." Queen Sisi smiled then awaited my response.


    I stopped tot the before responding, presuming she would understand where I was taking it: "Your Majesty, ording to you said, I do have someone in mind. The knight may be Veirya. ording to what you said, the knight is very famous and important to the chapel. To add, the knight is a formidablebatant. Therefore, I think said knight is Veirya. Nevertheless, Veirya would likely be in the North. Moreover, she would never think about betraying you. I think it does not matter."


    Queen Sisi responded as I expected. She froze for a moment then held her belly and burst intoughter. I didn''t interject. I stood there and waited for herughing session to end. She boldlyughed aloud for a long time before stopping. She then wiped her tears and gasped for air: "What are you saying, Little Doggy? It is wrong to make up random things, you know? Are you not worried Veirya will kill you for senselessly ndering her? I trust Veirya, and she''s still in the North. She won''t cause any trouble, either. Knight number one hundred and twenty-seven is not Veirya. It doesn''t sound as though you know who knight number one hundred and twenty-seven is, either. That being the case, I shall consider knight number one hundred and twenty-seven dead. Is there any problem with that, Little Doggy?"


    I understood what Queen Sisi meant. Indeed, she spared Angelina. As I initially said, she had no reason to kill Angelina. I implied Angelina was with Veirya and wouldn''t cause any trouble in the North thereafter. Queen Sisi generously decided to not pursue the matter; all she wanted was the right to preach religion to turn herself into a goddess. The entire event wasn''t a massacre. She didn''t care where Angelina went as long as she achieved her goal, and it was guaranteed that Angelina wouldn''t cause her grief in the future.


    "Then, there''s also the pope''s family. They''ve gone missing. Someone spotted them getting in a carriage at noon and leaving the imperial capital. That should have something to do with you, correct, Little Doggy? You arranged for my enemies to leave, which means you betrayed me. Bear in mind that I really, really, really, really hate traitors. Additionally, I can''t tell what I''ll do when I''m angry."


    Queen Sisi''s warning would render one ghastly pale, yet she didn''t reveal a threatening expression. She looked as rxed as though she was smiling, in fact. I froze before I replied, "Your Majesty, dead people will not be your enemy. Is your enemy not just the pope? He is already dead. What enemy do you speak of?"


    "How about his family?"


    "Given that his daughter contracted the disease, I do not think she has much longer to live, does she? Furthermore, even if she did survive it, would the believers follow her? The pope post isn''t passed down in the family. Is a child and a woman your enemy?"


    I refused to admit their departure had anything to do with me. Queen Sisi looked at me with her eyes narrowed but didn''t answer right away. I was quite tense. I had no way of determining whether the two who departed would be Queen Sisi''s enemy or not, though. If the believers were to find out that she was the former pope''s daughter, they''d show her a degree of respect one way or another. However, I doubted the girl had thepetence or physical health to fill the shoes. What if she wanted to avenge her father, however? Being beyond her grasp, Queen Sisi was truly concerned.


    Angelina''s situation was a little better off, since Queen Sisi would have to respect Veirya even if she didn''t care for my agenda. After all, Veirya was her capable warrior, while Angelina was Veirya''s biological mother.


    Whatever the case, I was going to refuse my involvement with all of them at all costs. There are no witnesses, after all. With that said, Queen Sisi wasn''t reasonable; if she wanted to kill me, she didn''t necessarily need evidence against me.


    All I could do was stand there in silence and await Queen Sisi''s judgement. She didn''t utter a word. She either scrutinised her hand orbed her hair. She then rolled over twice. It was as if we never said anything. We fell into an incredibly awkward silence. I knew I couldn''t speak up, as speaking up would prove me guilty.


    I had to act natural. Although Queen Sisi appeared absentminded on the surface, I could feel her gaze on me the entire time. I didn''t know what Queen Sisi was thinking. At the very least, though, I had to remain silent. If I panicked, she''d seize the initiative. Once a powerful enemy seizes the initiative, you''re basically doomed. So ordingly, I had to bring the situation under control. Queen Sisi didn''t have the initiative. I had to remainposed and maintain that their departure had nothing to do with me even though it did.


    We maintained the strange silence for a very long time. Needless to say, the prolonged length might''ve just been my perception¡­ After all, it was torture to me. Queen Sisi finally gave up something and let out a long sigh: "Forget it. I don''t want to think about it. Lots of things happened today, and I''m somewhat tired now. Little Doggy, I will fulfil my initial promise to you. I will provide you with a house nearby the imperial pce. Go take a look during the day tomorrow. If you think it''s all right, move in tomorrow. All of the furniture has been prepared as well as servants. You can move right in. In saying that, I have a condition for you. As you will be living in the imperial capital, you will need to work for me from now on."


    "Just as Achilles is?"


    "Just as Achilles is," Queen Sisi emphasised her response. She turned around and supported her head on her arm: "I really like you, Little Doggy. Come to me, and I can fulfil all of your requests as long as you loyally serve me. If you like, you can even have my body. You just need to give me the love I want, and I can give you everything in return. What do you think, Little Doggy? Come to me. This time, I will provide you with courteous hospitality."


    "Sorry, Your Majesty," I answered, shaking my head. I solemnly exined, "Your Majesty, I am Veirya''s spoil of war; I am her belonging. If you want me to serve you, you need to ask Veirya."


    I saw the ending of thest person who served Queen Sisi. Staying by her side was a nightmare. There was no way that I wanted to be by her side for too long; it was no different to carrying a ticking time bomb. Veirya might be One sh Girl, but I actually felt safer with her.

 Chapter Volume 3 51

    <i>Guard Officer</i>


    After I declined Queen Sisi''s offer, she didn''t sayment or flip out on me. Instead, she went silent as if she was asleep. I watched her cover herself on her bed and hesitated for a while before leaving. The day finally ended, and I really hoped it was the end of the entire affair.


    Though I didn''t n to work for Queen Sisi, I did intend to reside at the imperial capital. The ce was best suited for Leah to grow up in, since it was where power was gathered. Everyone there could potentially help her in the future. It was also where the most opportunities would be found and the best treatment was provided. Leah could connect with the entire world there unlike the North, where not even a flower could be found.


    Queen Sisi provided me with a house; therefore, I nned to live there. I had a bit of money. Veirya was still in the North. The vouring trade could also continue. Hence, money concerns were covered. I just needed a home in the imperial capital. Although I was absolutely certain Queen Sisi would trouble me again, I intended live there for Leah''s sake. I just didn''t know if Veirya could ept my migration.


    It was fine for Leah and me to live in the imperial capital; it was an undeniable fact Queen Sisi had misgivings about Angelina. She did imply she didn''t want Angelina in the imperial capital. She could ept sparing Angelina but not allow her to reside in the imperial capital, which meant Veirya and Angelina had best not be in the imperial capital together. Queen Sisi would feel threatened, otherwise. In other words, Veirya and Angelina could be together but not together in the imperial capital. Only Leah and I could reside in the imperial capital.


    We''d be split up and only get to see each other when we were free. It''d take us approximately three to four days to meet up. We didn''t have ns in the imperial capital. Since we wouldn''t see each other for a long period of time, I reckoned Veirya and my feelings would disappear. Veirya might fall for another man in the future. She might teeth bash with another man. Another man might embrace her, teeth bash with her¡­


    I abruptly cut myself off; "No! No! No!!!! I can''t ept that! Just thinking about it makes me want to kill the non-existent man! I will not allow that to happen!! Never! But¡­ but¡­ but if we return to the North, what will be of Leah? Will she return to the North and continue living the same life?


    I admit it. I like Veirya; however, would I be too selfish if I deprived Leah of all the opportunities in front of her just for my own feelings? They say parents should make sacrifice for their children, but¡­ but if I prioritised Leah, then I''d lose Veirya. I genuinely didn''t want to lose Veirya¡­


    What would Leah say? Would Leah be willing to part with Veirya? She has saved Leah twice now. Twice. Leah should''ve developed feelings for Veirya. I''ve been focused on setting things up to allow Leah to live here but haven''t considered her feelings. Would Leah truly be all right with that? Does Leah truly want to live here?"


    I needed to ask Leah and Veirya. I can''t decide this on my own; I need to ask them for their opinion. If everyone chooses the North, I''ll be happy to return to the North. If they decide to separate or reside in the imperial capital, we''ll move to the imperial capital. My life from here on out rides on the decision made this time. As for whether I develop in the North or run a business here will depend on Leah and Veirya''s decisions."


    As I left the imperial pce, I happened to see a group of soldiers returning to the imperial pce after carrying out their missions. I wasn''t sure if they were back to report in or what. They still had bloodstains on them. An intense night had just ended, yet they looked rxed and cheerful. I noticed they wore purple or red capes, thereby suggesting they were the Queen''s best soldiers. One of the leading officers chuckled upon seeing me. He came up to me: "Hello, Mister."


    "Ah, hello." I was quite perplexed as to why the officer would take the initiative to greet me. I was just an ordinary looking man.


    His purple cape slightly fluttered behind him. He chuckled: "Hello. I am the officer of guards guarding the imperial capital and am in charge of safety in the imperial capital. You appear to be Her Majesty''s favoured vassal. I feel there is a need for me to get to know you. My name is Zero, Zero Warren. My rtionship with the kid is not the best despite both of us being soldiers¡­ I hope he did not speak ill of me to you."


    "He has never mentioned you to me."


    "I am a guard, while he is a field officer, after all. I think I will see you often from now. If you are all right with it, would you like toe over to my ce for dinner with me? I will send you an invitation."


    The officer didn''t look young; he must''ve been older than me by a bit. Nheless, his eyes exuded the aura of a young man. I could tell he was ambitious. For him to be in such a rush to invite me over upon our first meeting, I could only conclude he wanted to get friendly with me. He already considered me Her Majesty''s favoured vassal. He, therefore, wanted to win more power as well as curry favour with Queen Sisi. I didn''t have a political promotion agenda. I didn''t intend to work with Queen Sisi down the road, so there was no need for me to ept his "kind" gesture. I shook my head: "Sorry. Thank you for your kind offer, but I will probably have to return to the North tomorrow, so cannot make it to your dinner. Nevertheless, thank you very much for the invite."


    "I see. I see. Before you go, though, if you need anything, just let me know, and I will be sure to bring it to you."


    "Thank you. If I need anything, I will have to trouble you."


    The two of us said meaningless drivel that was intended for socialisation, and then went our own ways. I returned to the inn, ignoring the eyes still on me.


    The officer entered the imperial pce. He faced the tightly shut door and respectfully reported, "Your Majesty, we have returned with our mission aplished. We have done everything you wanted. Do you have any other orders?"


    In azy voice, Queen Sisi responded, "Mm, well done. I''m very pleased."


    Queen Sisi didn''t tell him to open the door. Very few men had the privilege of entering her bedroom. Lin Dongqing, however, had Queen Sisi''s scent on him, which meant he had entered her room and was there for a long time. As a matter of fact, she might''ve recognised him as a prince.


    "I shall take my leave, then."


    "I still have something for you to do. Your next job is to keep surveince on the man you just met. Watch Little Doggy carefully. Watch him no matter if he works for me or not. If he sees strangers or meets in private with anyone, report to me."


    "Surveince¡­?"


    "Correct. Little Doggy is ambitious," stated Queen Sisi. It sounded as if she rolled over on her bed. Intrigued, she exined, "Had Little Doggy killed Angelina in a fit of anger, I would feel reassured. However, he was able to control his anger and win over peoples'' hearts. Such capable people are always ambitious. Little Doggy is ambitious. At the moment, Veirya and Angelina are with him. An ambitious man with two of the strongest warriors on the continent by his side is too dangerous, which is why I''m sending you to keep tabs on him."


    "Do I need to¡­"


    "You can''t kill him. It''s impossible to kill someone with Veirya and Angelina around him. Furthermore, once you fail, who knows if Little Doggy will turn around and bite me? Just watch over him. Little Doggy is smart. After witnessing the chapel''s fate, he should be cognizant of what he should and shouldn''t do. As long as Little Doggy is by my side, I''ll have many things to do. A dog that can make his master happy is the most outstanding dog."


    "Yes, Your Majesty."

 Chapter Volume 3 52

    <i>Morning</i>


    By the time I arrived at the inn, the sun had alreadye up. If Queen Sisi was going to sleep, I probably wouldn''t be able to see her until after noon. Though Veirya didn''t n to stay in the imperial capital for long, to ensure Queen Sisi wouldn''t have misgivings about Veirya, there were steps that we had to take. Veirya was Her Majesty''s loyal soldier. Naturally, she had to go and see Queen Sisi when she came to the imperial capital.


    When I arrived at the elves'' building, lots of elves had yet to arrive. It, presumably, wasn''t time for them to work yet. I left an elf downstairs with a memo and told him to hand it to the elf who I spoke with. Angelina''s legs were also injured. While she was Veirya''s mother, Veirya didn''t show any mercy back there. Angelina''s legs, therefore, needed to be treated.


    Honestly, I was surprised my left foot didn''t hurt; it just felt tired. With that said, I couldn''t feel it. I wasn''t sure if it had healed or what. I didn''t think it mattered as long as it didn''t affect my movement.


    When I arrived upstairs, I saw Leah sleeping on Veirya''s shoulder. Because Angelina was lying on the bed, Leah had no choice but to sleep on Veirya''s shoulder. Veirya seemed to enjoy it. She sat on the chair and shut her eyes to sleep, apparently. Perhaps she was just enjoying the blissful moment.


    The morning sunrays from behind shone into the room, thereby illuminating Veirya. Her messy and short hair gently grazed her neck. One-sh Girl''s violence and murderous intent was hidden, so she looked particrly gentle. I couldn''t resist a look at her face. I wasn''t sure if she was asleep or not. She had her eyes tightly shut. Her breaths were incredibly gentle, so gentle they were virtually unnoticeable. I had never saw her sleeping appearance, as she never slept in my presence.


    The sight of Veirya''s short hair and the scars on her neck wrenched my heart. Veirya was burnt whilepletely awake, yet I couldn''t do anything for her. In fact, I still hadn''t applied medicine for her once. I used vengeance for Veirya and Leah as an excuse to destroy the chapel, but nothing I did made up for the mistakes I made. I didn''t erase the wound on Veirya''s back, and I had yet to ensure Leah''s safety. All I did was help Queen Sisi eliminate her political enemy and strike up a rtionship with her.


    Veirya''s wound and the two times that Leah was kidnapped were my fault. It was my fault for not seeing through the chapel''s n earlier. Had I not left with Lucia that night, the incident could''ve been avoided.


    "Why did I have to be greedy and put my daughter and loved one in the abyss of suffering? Why did I pursue money as if I was a madman back there? Everything would''ve been fine if I had just stayed that night. If I stayed, Veirya wouldn''t have been hurt, and Leah wouldn''t have been kidnapped. None of that would''ve happened. Veirya''s hair would still be long, and she wouldn''t have wounds on her back. Leah''s face wouldn''t have been smothered with tears, either," I scolded myself, biting down on my lip.


    I attempted to touch Veirya''s short hair. She didn''t budge or open her eyes. My heartbeat sped up more and more, and I felt more and more nervous as my fingers got closer and closer to her hair. I gently touched her clear skin with my finger. I gently brushed her messy hair and gently ran my finger over her scar. The scar that resulted from the burn would stick with her for her entire life. Queen Sisi could happily wear evening gowns that revealed her back and beauty, but Veirya couldn''t. I promised Veirya I''d help her live the life of a normal girl, but she lost lots of opportunities because of the scar. I guess it was a form of betrayal.


    "Sorry, Veirya," I silently apologised.


    I gently ran my hand over Veirya''s scar. Suddenly, someone gently pushed the door open. Anna poked her head in and looked at us. Startled, I jerked my hand back with a red face. However, Anna justughed in an understanding way then entered with light steps and shut the door. She came up to me and whispered, "Lord Veirya is asleep, huh? It is reasonable, I guess. She travelled through the night to get here as soon as possible and after what happenedst night, she must be exhausted. She is only able to sleep with you by her side. Otherwise, she cannot fall asleep and will retaliate if you touch her."


    For some odd reason, I had a blissful feeling. Veirya trusted me. At the very least, she allowed me to apany her and could sleep soundly when I was with her.


    "Oh, right, Mr. Lin, this letter is for you. I lied to Lord Veirya. The chapel sent this letter, actually."


    Anna handed me the letter, which looked tattered to the point I presumed the letters had been erased. I quietlyughed: "Does the letter say they want to invite you to the chapel? Did they promise you that you''d be able to return to those beautiful days and live a nice life?"


    "You knew?"


    "Mm, it''s over. The chapel failed. If you handed me this letter two days earlier, I might''ve been able to settle it quicker somewhat," I replied. I smiled as I ced the letter down on the table: "Perhaps Queen Sisi will be interested in the letter but I''m not. It wasn''t your fault, Anna. Even if you did immediately send it to me after you received it, I estimate it would''ve taken several days to reach me anyhow."


    "What exactly did the chapel want to do? The war has already ended. We can no longer return to the past. I came toprehend that after what happened to Miss Leahst time. The fight against demons is now the past. Henceforward, we can only ept reality. Sir, I havee to understand that. I now just want to lead an ordinary life."


    Anna gripped the bottom of her skirt and looked at me with a hint of tension. Iughed: "You''re talking about reality, but lots of people are unwilling to believe that reality. The chapel took advantage of that emotion. It''s all over, though. You adventurers may be the era''s tears and tributes for time, but your deeds won''t go unremembered. In the future, there are bound to be people who will dig up your stories and deeds. You''ll never be forgotten."


    Anna gently nodded: "Yes Sir."


    Veirya vigorously opened her eyes. Her gaze startled me. Just as I was about to exin the reason I just touched her neck, she spoke without minding it: "Someone ising upstairs."


    Someone politely knocked after Veirya''s statement. The person on the other side of the door said, "Travor, we came to check on your friend''s foot injury. Can you open up now?"


    "Ah, sure."


    This time, Angelina vigorously opened her eyes. I signalled for them to undo Angelina''s hand restraints then stood up and went to the door to open it. The elf looked at me with a polite smile, "Hello, Travor. I heard your friend''s foot was hurtst night. We will do our best to treat it. Oh, by the way, Madam Lucilia also wanted to ask you how your foot was doing."


    "Uh¡­ Take a look at hers first. As for me, mm¡­ we can talk about it after."


    "By the looks of things, your foot must not have healed yet. I hope you are all right; else, we might have to suicide to repent for failing to cure our esteemed friend."


    "Don''t! Don''t! Don''t!!! You don''t have to go there! You don''t have to!! Also, even if something did happen, it''d be due to me not listening to your advice; it''s not your fault!!"

 Chapter Volume 3 53

    <i>Life From Now</i>


    "Mm¡­ sorry." The elf gently put my left foot down and, in a soft voice, exined, "Sorry, your left foot¡­ is beyond treatment now¡­ Did you know humans should have small things connecting to their muscles? Your brain sends signals to your brain, which said small things deliver. Our medicine is supposed to be able to repair damage to thoseponents, but you appear to have engaged in intense physical activity during the repair process. As a result, the messengers have snapped. You have recovered on the surface. Inside, though, you will never be able to sense medications again. That is why your foot will never regain normal functioning again¡­. Your left foot is forever¡­ broken¡­"


    I looked at my left foot. Elves had thoroughly researched humans'' bodies; they already figured out the connection between the brain and nerves. My foot was crippled henceforth. Try as I may, I couldn''t move my left foot. I had to use my hands to find the perfect angle to slip my shoes on my left foot. The good news was my foot was still attached. I, at least, didn''t need a wheelchair or crutches.


    "Papa!! Sorry!!" cried Leah, leaping over to tightly hug me as she wailed. She looked up at me with her face smothered with tears and sobbed, "It was all because of me. It was all because of me¡­ Sorry¡­ sorry¡­ I''m truly sorry¡­ Papa¡­ Papa''s foot¡­ sorry¡­"


    Iughed in a quiet tone. I pulled Leah into my arms and softly stroked her back: "It''s all right. It''s all right, Leah. It doesn''t hurt, so it''s all right. Between my foot, you and Veirya, I''ll always choose you two. Papa doesn''t think it''s a pity to sacrifice a foot for your safety. Papa thinks it''s worth it."


    "But Papa, from now¡­ from now¡­"


    "Papa is used to using a cane now. It''s just one foot. It''s not that serious."


    I picked up my cane from the side. I started to get the hang of using the cane to support my weight while allowing my left foot to rx. Veirya dered, "Leah, don''t worry. It''s just. One foot. In the future. I can. Support him."


    "It''s not that serious," I remarked.


    The elf stood up with a helpless smile: "Well, this is bad news. If Consul General finds out about this, I am sure she will be furious. s, we have done our very best. Mr. Travor, we did not want for your foot to end up in this state. If you did not move about so rigorously, thereby overstressing your left foot, it would be all right."


    "It''s fine. I''ll tell Lucilia I didn''t heed your advice. Thank you for everything you did; you helped me out a lot. Without your assistance, my n wouldn''t have failed. Please send Lucilia my thanks."


    "You should thank her yourself. She will be back to the North very soon."


    The elf bowed, particrly to Veirya, with a smile. I didn''t have a single clue as to how Leah and the elf differentiated between Angelina and Veirya. However, Leah''s method seemed to have a w that was easily countered. The proof was in the fact that she wasn''t able to identify Angelina during her recent kidnapping.


    The elf left. Angelina had medication applied to her foot. Compared to my injury, hers was a minor one. She was probably going to bepletely healed in two to three days. Leah tightly hugged me: "Papa, from now on, Leah will be Papa''s foot. No matter where Papa goes or does, Leah will always stay by Papa''s side!!"


    I replied, "That sounds a little heavy¡­ It''s all right, Leah. Papa isn''t that sad."


    Frankly, I was absolutely calm when the elf dered my left foot dead. It was as if I just heard something I could nonchntly brush off. All I thought to myself was, "Ah, so I''ve lost a foot." I probably felt indifferent, since I might''ve known to myself that my left foot was done for and was used to it.


    I used my cane to stand up: "All right now. Veirya, let''s go. We still have work today; we need to see Her Majesty."


    "All right," responded Veirya, before walking up to me. I wondered what she was doing. She grabbed my arm from below and supported me with her hands: "This will do? Let''s go."


    Angelina, who was lying on the bed, watched us with a mischievous smile: "That''s not too smart, is it? Veirya, you can''t meet Queen Sisi standing, like that. If I were you, I''d choose another pose. For example, loop your arm inside his arm and support him."


    In my mind: "Hey, hey, hey, you talk too much, don''t you think?! Don''t you think that you''re going too far as a mother?! I know you''re suggesting that out of good will, and I agree it would be more polite and aesthetic for us to see the Queen in that pose, but the smirk on your face reveals your desire to entertain yourself! You just want tough at me, don''t you?!!"


    "Oh? Like this?" Veirya wrapped her right arm around my left arm.


    I instantly smelt Veirya''s scent and her warmth on me. My heart instinctively began to race. My body tensed up. All of my attention was on Veirya; I couldn''t think of anything else.


    "You''re too far apart. You can''t even disy any intimacy. Veirya, get closer to him; your body needs to cling to his."


    "Like this?" asked Veirya, stering herself to me.


    In my mind: "Aaaahhh!!!! This is too much to bear! You''re about to unchain the beast down South!!"


    Not only did Veirya have her arm around mine, she even grabbed my arm with her other arm. I could feel her breasts firmly pressed her arm up against me. I was left speechless.


    "Papa!!"


    Leah jumped over from the chair and onto my back. She wrapped her legs around my waist and pressed her chest to my head. However, she was in her child form; hence, it didn''t feel as stimting as at night time. I, in fact, didn''t feel aroused whatsoever. All I felt was weight on my back and a painful sensation.


    "I''m going, too!! Papa, I want to go with you! I''m going with you no matter what! I want to hug Papa''s other side! I won''t let Mama have all of Papa for herself!!"


    Leah suddenly hugged my left arm then gave Veirya a mocking grin. Veirya looked down to Leah. Veirya didn''t seem toprehend what happened. Meanwhile, Angelina mischievous and bold look went from bold to bolder. She said, "You have a spot behind you now. Leave that one to me."


    "Don''t!! My foot is injured, and you still refuse to spare me?"


    "I don''t have any other motive. I''m being absolutely serious. Veirya isn''t thinking about it anyway, so how about leaving it to me? I''ve been married before, but I know exactly how to please a man. Plus, I still have some love. I guarantee I can let you experience a different feeling at night¡­ one that you would never feel with Veirya!!"


    I grumpily warned Angelina, "What are you on about? Quit with the jokes."


    Angelina looked identical to Veirya, but I absolutely couldn''t mix them up. I loved Veirya, not Angelina. I liked Veirya''s character, not her body. Even though Angelina was, for a fact, different, I would never do anything to her!


    "Yeah? I''m being serious. We''ll be cohabiting in the future. It''s time to put your feelings for Veirya to the test. If you can''t distinguish between us, even Veirya would definitely be angry.


    "Huh?!!!" I looked at Angelina with an astonished expression. Then, I looked at Veirya, feeling relieved. I didn''t think Veirya was that sort of person. Her emotions weren''tplete, after all. Veirya shouldn''t know what jealousy even was. I pondered, "While she was angry at me for not writing a letter, she wouldn''t be angry if I couldn''t tell them apart, would she¡­?"


    Veirya turned to look at me with an absolutely serious look and nodded: "She''s right. I will. Be very angry. I already. Told you. How to tell us apart."


    "How am I supposed to normally see your breasts to tell you apart?!!!"


    Gleeful, Angelinaughed: "That''s why you need to be careful. Veirya and I have other differences, too. Even Leah can tell us apart. Therefore, you must be able to. Plus, I believe Veirya can ept showing you our breasts. It''s just a sh; she won''t say no."


    "As if! I already told Veirya not to thoughtlessly let others see her body. How could she thoughtlessly let me see her breasts?!"


    I snorted then turned back to tell Veirya that we were going to get going, only for her to have already undone her shirt''s button. She had even opened her shirt already. She revealed her perfect cleavage to me, and then, in a serious tone, said, "Look."


    "Please¡­ Veirya¡­ please, spare me¡­"

 Chapter Volume 3 54

    <i>Exchange</i>


    The three of us arrived at the imperial pce. I was concerned about Leah, but she didn''t n to allow Veirya to run around arm in arm with me, which was why she joined us despite having to face Queen Sisi. The imperial pce had restored its lively atmosphere with peopleing and going from the pce again. It returned to its typical state; the people on the streets were rowdy and bustling. There were no signs any turmoil took cest night. But nevertheless, upon closer inspection, the believers, who should''ve been heading to the chapel in their robes early in the morning, were missing.


    There was nobody in the robe on the street. The white chapel had been reduced to remnants of a fire. It was probably going to be torn down soon. Nobody dared toment on it. Usually, the believers would be quite fervent, but not even one person was crying.


    I couldn''t tell you if they were truly believers or not. Of course, lots of them felt their beliefs weren''t even worth a mentionpared to their lives, I''d presume. After all, those who were willing to die for their beliefs diedst night.


    Queen Sisi stopped the chapel from getting their hands on their weaponsst night. The knights gave the adventurers'' their weapons. That was precisely why the soldiers were able to march in and begin an onught as if there was nobody there. Not even highly-trained knights would be able to take on fully-equipped soldiers without their weapons. With Queen Sisi and mybined efforts, the chapel practically had no means of fighting back. The weapons were withheld, and we saw through their ns. They didn''t save anything. Had I not protected the pope''s daughter and Angelina, Queen Sisi would''vepletely eradicated the chapel.


    Once a guard saw us, he froze for a moment before smiling: "Her Majesty said you might be back today, so she had us stationed here to wait for you. Her Majesty is currently having lunch. We shall lead you inside."


    "Queen Sisi knew I''de again? I guess that means I was right toe this time. I thought Queen Sisi was very mindful of Veirya''s existence," I thought to myself.


    Veirya was very loyal to Queen Sisi, but who could say for sure if anyone was actually loyal. Ambitions and loyalty are hidden inside, which is why they can''t be seen. Loyalty on the surface is easily seen and easily falsified. I brought Angelina to my side, which meant I had to convince Queen Sisi I didn''t pose a threat to her. I would share the chapel''s fate, otherwise.


    We entered the imperial pce. Queen Sisi sat in the dining hall. There were lots of dishes on the table, but the only thing on her te was fruit, some vegetables and a tiny bit of meat. She went to great lengths to maintain her appearance. She never lowered her expectations for herself.


    "Ah, Veirya, my Veirya. I''m talking to the real Veirya this time, right?"


    Queen Sisi wore a simple V-neck white dress that highlighted her skin. She stood up with a joyous smile. She ran up to Veirya on her bare feet. She giggled as she tightly hugged Veirya around her neck and kissed Veirya on the cheek. Veirya, aloof as always, went down on one knee to salute her: "Your Majesty."


    "Mm, mm, my Veirya, there''s no need to salute me. I''m in a fantastic mood right now, and you''re my good friend. There''s no need for you to salute me. We''re in private at the moment. If you want, I can be your friend."


    Veirya shook her head: "I dare not."


    Queen Sisi hopelessly smiled. She pinched Veirya''s face; I let out a breath of relief. Queen Sisi was just being courteous. If you actually believed you were qualified to be her friend, she''d turn on you. Veirya''s response was the response she wanted to hear. Queen Sisi''s question was to remind Veirya of her ce. This was her speech deciphered: "You''re just my soldier; do you honestly believe you''re my friend?"


    By the looks of it, Veirya was truly loyal from the bottom of her heart. Veirya didn''t understand what Queen Sisi was implying, but she sincerely viewed Queen Sisi as her Queen.


    Queen Sisi had us sit down and said, "Veirya, eat up. I thought you''d all be back, so I had some nice dishes prepared for you. You just arrived at the imperial capital, right? I''m very happy to see you."


    Veirya nodded and picked up the food to begin eating without any reservation. Once she began eating, she lost interest in the conversation, while Queen Sisi didn''t n to say anything else to Veirya. She heard the answer she wanted from Veirya, after all. I had prepared myself for when Queen Sisi looked at me but she didn''t. She watched Veirya and softly giggled: "Veirya, I have something to tell you."


    "What are you orders?"


    "Don''t leave yet tomorrow. Tomorrow is my birthday. I n to invite you to attend the ball where the army parade is held. It''ll be during the day but will be a grand event; nheless. I''ve already organised it."


    Veirya nodded without even thinking: "Yes, Your Majesty."


    I had my doubts. I didn''t believe it was Queen Sisi''s birthday tomorrow. A monarch''s birthday would never be so peaceful.


    Queen Sisi then quickly looked over to me and softly chuckled: "Do you not believe me?"


    "Your birthday is not tomorrow, is it?"


    Queen Sisi shook out her hair, wearing a smug smile. Then, she suddenly gazed over to Veirya and smiled: "My enemies are dead. The death of my enemies is my moment of birth. Therefore, it is my birthday."


    Queen Sisi took a light hold of Veirya''s hand: "Little Doggy, you truly do continue to give me pleasant surprise after pleasant surprise. You''re different to those around me. I''m very interested in you. How about this: Veirya, you can choose anything you like. I''ll exchange it with you. Do you want richernd or money? Anything will do. As long as you name it, I shall give it to you. You just need to give Little Doggy to me."


    Veirya silently looked at Queen Sisi for a while. Veirya was Queen Siss'' loyalest soldier, her most trusted individual. She had never let Queen Sisi down. Veirya could give Queen Sisi anything she wanted, whether it was victory, dignity or even the Demon King''s head. This time, however, Veirya gently shook her head: "Sorry, Your Majesty, but I do not ept the exchange."


    Queen Sisi raised an eyebrow. She still wore a calm look, but she was in a foul mood: "Really? Veirya, I can give you anything that you want. I just want Little Doggy. Little Doggy is but a spoil of war to you, isn''t he?"


    Veirya solemnly replied, "He is. Very Important to me. I. Do not want anything. Sorry, Your Majesty. I. Will not exchange him."


    "Really?" asked Queen Sisi


    Veirya didn''t avert her gaze. She sincerely nodded then pushed her te of food away and nodded.


    Queen Sisi hopelessly smiled and touched Veirya''s head: "Eat, eat, Veirya. I wouldn''t take Little Doggy as payment for a meal. We won''t make a trade, then. I have mixed feelings knowing that you finally have something that you want, Veirya. With that said, Little Doggy will probably love tomorrow''s banquet."

 Chapter Volume 3 55

    <i>Bright Sunlight and Veirya</i>


    "Speaking of which, Veirya, you should return to the imperial capital. You can transfer back to my side, too, if you like. Veirya, I''ll feel at ease with you by my side."


    Veirya looked up at Queen Sisi, who rested her face on her hand, feeling puzzled: "Sorry, I do not know what you are talking about. I have no ns. To move to the imperial capital."


    "Oh? Little Doggy''s request was not at your behest? That means you made the request on your own ord?" asked Queen Sisi, softly giggling as she nced over to me. "Making a request without one''s master''s permission is not what a loyal servant would do."


    Before I could answer, "I do not think I even qualify as a servant, do I¡­?"


    Veirya nced at me and said, "His ns. Are fine. I. Trust him."


    "Do you¡­?" asked Queen Sisi, chuckling.


    Queen Sisi looked to Leah, who was next to me and didn''t dare to raise her head. She scanned Leah with her eyes narrowed. Queen Sisi''s gaze was instantly filled with questions as if she had forgotten who Leah was. But nevertheless, she recalled Leah in the end. She smiled: "She is the Demon King''s daughter, right? Mm, now that I look at her, she is a cute one. ording to the chapel''s n, you were the true main starst night. I must say, you and I should both feel lucky. You have a very smart father protecting you, while I have a very cute little doggy helping me fend off enemies."


    "Mm¡­" mumbled Leah.


    Leah didn''t raise her head. She was still afraid of Queen Sisi. After all, Queen Sisi did dunk her in the tub. Not even Veirya did anything as cruel as what Queen Sisi did to her that night. It was the most horrific memory to little Leah.


    I caressed Leah''s head; Queen Sisi also realised the reason Leah kept her head down. She didn''t continue speaking to Leah, because she didn''t consider herself to have ever done anything wrong, neither did she n to apologise for what she did that night. Queen Sisi believed she did the right thing. As such, she didn''t change her attitude due to Leah''s reaction.


    Queen Sisi then looked back at Veirya and asked, "Then, you do not n to return to my side? I''ve prepared a house; as long as you agree, you can move in tomorrow. Veirya, if you''re in the imperial capital, I''ll feel safe. Rather, the war has ended, so you are no longer a soldier, either. I have always treated you as my friend. Everything is over now; therefore, I hope you can live a good life instead of suffering from the cold and starving between the heretics and demons. Veirya,e back."


    Veirya ced her food down. She still looked perplexed; she didn''t know how to respond. She gave me a baffled look. I gave her a small nod to indicate she could reply however she pleased. I gently hugged Leah and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead as I awaited Veirya''s reply.


    I didn''t mind it. Regardless of what Veirya''s decision was, I decided to stay by her side, and it didn''t matter where we went. I didn''t have much in the North I could cherish. I just liked Veirya. Whether I stayed in the North or the capital would depend on Veirya''s decision. There were no schemes or the sorts involved in the decision, so Veirya could go with her preference. If she chose the North, we''d leave the heart of the political battles and the dangerous Queen. However, we''d have to bear the cold. If she chose the imperial capital, I''d be Queen Sisi''s attendant in the future. In exchange, we''d receive the best treatment, and enjoy the best food, the best living conditions, the most opportunities and the best education.


    "What''s most important to Veirya? What does she want?" I pondered.


    Veirya nced over to Leah, who had her head down. She subtly shut her eyes, seemingly to earnestly contemte her options. She didn''t think for too long. It was basically a mere instant before she opened her eyes: "Thank you very much, Your Majesty."


    "Prepare to move in, then."


    Queen Sisi appeared to be very pleased. She instantly revealed a smile. I let out a soft breath of relief. As I initially said, it didn''t matter what Veirya''s decision was.


    Veirya chose to stay with Queen Sisi. I was fine with that. Moving to the imperial capital wasn''t the worst decision. We had the most opportunities and resources there, therefore equipping me with what I needed to feed Leah and Veirya. Furthermore, I might''ve even obtained what was required to change politics if I got close enough to Queen Sisi. Next, I needed to think about how to establish my own footing in the imperial capital. I wasn''t informed about the current political situation. I might even have to choose sides in the future.


    "Sorry, Your Majesty, I was not finished," said Veirya. "Your Majesty, what I meant was. I am very grateful for. Your kind gesture. However, we choose the North. The war has ended. But I am still a soldier. I need to protect the border."


    Queen Sisi''s smile instantly froze on her face. She didn''t believe her ears. She hesitated for a moment before questioning, "Are you sure? Veirya, think about it carefully. Is it not good for you to return to me? Were you not always with me in the past?"


    "Yes. Now, though. I think. The border. Needs me."


    "The war has ended, Veirya; it has ended."


    Veirya answered in aposed tone: "Nheless, the border. Is still. In great danger."


    Queen Sisi wore a very grim expression. It was the first time someone rejected her. Not to mention the fact that she was rendered speechless. Veirya was right. Although the war was over, it still wasn''t safe at the border. There were still demons alive. Elves were right at the border. Additionally, the elves were undergoing a political change at present. Who could say for sure how they would treat humanity''s empire thereafter? As a soldier, Veirya should, indeed, be at the border. Not at Queen Sisi''s side.


    I was confused. I had no idea if Veirya was genuinely brainless or what. I couldn''t do anything about it. I gave the power to choose to Veirya, so I had to let her choose.


    I wondered, "Why did she decline such good conditions and choose the North? Is it because she''s truly loyal, or is it because she craves battle?"


    Veirya should be aware there was nothing worth having lingering feelings for in the North. I hadn''t cleaned up our house there. The garden was still basically a ruin. The townsfolk were stupid and ignorant. They attacked Leah before, which was I wanted to kill them to let off steam. Escaping them wasn''t a bad choice, yet Veirya chose the North.


    Queen Sisi didn''t say anther word to Veirya. Instead, she waved her hand to signal that we could leave. Veirya stood up, bowed then led us out. She maintained her usual calm expression. She never uttered a word until we left the Imperial Pce.


    "Veirya, can I ask why you chose the North?" Only after leaving the imperial pce for quite some distance did I ask Veirya what she thought. I was genuinely incredibly curious as to why she chose the North.


    Veirya gently looped her arm around mine and looked ahead. In a calm tone, she exined, "Because, I don''t want. To hand you to Her Majesty. Her Majesty. Definitely wants. To have by her side. That''s why. I want to leave. Also. Leah. Looks scared. Of Her Majesty. That''s why. I hope. To go to the North."


    I froze for a moment. Noticing my gaze, Veirya turned to look at me. Befuddled, she queried, "What''s the matter?"


    "Nothing¡­"


    I wasn''t sure if it was due to the sun stinging my eyes or what, but my vision was slightly hazy. I vigorously rubbed my eyes then looked up at the sun. The sun would eventually shine as bright in the North; it wasn''t long away.

 Chapter Volume 4 1

    <i>First Summer¡¯s Ice-Cream</i>


    After seeing Queen Sisi, all jobs for the day were done. Leah clung to my arm and worriedly looked at me: "Papa, are you tired? If you are tired from walking, let''s take a break."


    Leah''s gaze was on my left foot the entire time. She still felt guilty about my left foot. She still felt0 it was her fault that I lost my left foot despite having told her right from the beginning that it wasn''t her fault. I didn''t care about the loss, but Leah was very sad about it.


    I got off a lot luckier than other people. At the very least, my foot was still attached and no longer hurt. While I could no longer walk fast and need to rely on a cane, it was better than losing the entire leg. As it was almost noon, the sun was particrly bright and warm. The heat had yet to peak. Although the sun was bright, there was still a nice, cool breeze blowing.


    I looked left and right then went up to a long bench to gently sit down. Veirya and Leah sat down next to me. Leah gently rubbed my left leg with a very stern expression. I reacted surprised . In a serious tone, she said, "Papa, I''ll give your leg a massage. Otherwise, it must be very tiring."


    In the heat of the moment, I pulled Leah into my embrace and kissed her forehead. In a soft voice, I replied, "It''s fine. It''s fine, Leah. Papa isn''t in pain. Don''t me yourself, Leah. It''s a father''s responsibility to protect his daughter. You don''t need to me yourself."


    Leah gripped my chest and gently hit her head on it. She softly murmured, "But, Papa, your foot¡­"


    I stroked Leah''s head: "It doesn''t matter; Papa doesn''t care. It''s not affecting Papa. Leah, we can''t continue to be hung up over our past and losses. We need to look at how much we''ve gained. I just lost one foot, but Papa safely brought you back to Papa''s side. Therefore, from Papa''s perspective, Papa won the bet."


    Leah didn''t speak again. Instead, she tightly hugged me around my waist. Veirya tugged on my arm then look at a small cart opposite to us. Curious, she asked, "What are they selling? I noticed lots of people going there. To buy a white small ball."


    I looked over to the ce Veirya referenced. The small cart was doing quite well business-wise. A fair number of people went over to it and left with a small wooden ball. Inside of the ball was a small ball that I was very familiar with. It wasn''t a toy, but a very ssic snack, one that many people loved to eat. It was ice-cream.


    While not even the world was the same, the ice-cream in this world was the same as the ice-cream I was familiar with. It appeared to be made from milk, and I''d venture a guess that it wasn''t cheap. Those who bought ice-cream from the cart were those dressed in extravagant clothing, and it made sense. Freezers and foods made from milk weren''t as cheap as it was in the world I came from.


    I took out three gold coins and handed them to Veirya: "Veirya, go and buy some. We didn''t have any dessert at Queen Sisi''s ce, so consider this your dessert."


    Veirya responded, "Uhm."


    Veirya took the gold coins. She walked over while, excitement exuding. I presumed she was very eager to try it. Leah, too, wanted to try it. After all, ice-cream was quite attracting to females. Leah would really like it. Leah didn''t had a chance to y around in the Imperial Capital after arriving ; at the very least, I wanted to let her have fun today and tomorrow. I was sure the banquet Her Majesty organised would be splendid.


    I didn''t bother with Veirya again, since she knew how to make a purchase. Plus, I gave her several gold coins, so there was definitely enough. If it cost one gold coin for one ball, that''d be oundishly expensive. I looked at over to the bustling crowd that came over. I stroked Leah''s soft head as I looked up at the blue sky, drifting white clouds and flying birds. Everything going on at once gave me an odd sense of rxation and idleness.


    Thinking back on it carefully, I really did run around all day yesterday. I was as tense as could be both physically and mentally. My mind worked around the clock thest few days. It was simr to a bowstring that had been drawn during that time but finally got to fire the arrow and uratelynd a fatal blow on my target. However, I almost copsed under the pressure. I could stop thinking at longst. The crises and schemes were over. There was just my daughter and the woman I like by my side. I was happy even if all I can do was look at the blue sky overhead.


    "Here."


    I heard Veirya''s voice. I realised she was likely back with ice-cream. I reached out to grab a serve, only to find her hand me a massive metal bucket. The weight nearly caused my arm to flop. I thought , what in the world? Veirya ced another one aside then sat down next to me. She took out a wooden spoon from the bucket, dug up a spoonful and had a bite.


    I looked at the ice-cream bucket in front of me feeling astonished. There was still half-a-bucket worth of ice-cream inside. In this era, they maintained the temperature of the ice-cream by stuffing lots of ice inside. Basically every ice-cream was wrapped in a block of ice with more crushed ice shoved in. I had never eaten ice-cream in that format. It was as if I had arrived at H?agen-Dazs, and then told their waiter to bring me a bucket of ice-cream.


    "Who eats ice-cream this way?!!!!" I thought.


    "Veirya, why¡­ did you go and buy so much?"


    Veirya looked at me with a casual expression: "You gave me three gold coins. He said. I could buy this much."


    "I didn''t give you three gold coins to spend it all on ice-cream!!!"


    "Then, are we buying something else, as well?"


    Veirya was confused. She didn''t think she was wrong¡­ Strictly speaking, she wasn''t¡­ I was. I didn''t make it clear to her that I didn''t give her three gold coins to spend all on ice-cream!!


    I helplessly smiled as I looked at the bucket of ice-cream in front of me. The seller pushed his cart off after Veirya purchased from him. I bet he was on cloud nine. One gold coin was enough for a family to live off for half a month, so three gold coins was an enormous sum.


    I finally realised how tough the path ahead would be for me. Until Veirya gained an understanding of expenditure and money, I had to ensure I earned enough money. Else, Veirya might get used to splurging on pointless things, while I couldn''t say no. Well, I decided to give it to Leah, since Veirya already bought it.


    Leah curiously scanned the ice-cream inside the metal bucket. She grabbed the wooden spoon. She curiously grazed a small amount of ice-cream that resembled cheese and carefully had a bite. She then widened her eyes out of surprise. Whilst swallowing her ice-cream, she eximed, "Papa, Papa, this is seriously so good. It''s so cold and sweet."


    I scrubbed Leah''s head with a smile: "It''s ice-cream. It''s very tasty in summer."


    Leah responded with a firm nodded then scooped up another serve and carefully held it up to my mouth. She gave me a smile: "Papa, have some, too. Aahh."


    Seeing Leah''s smile, I shyly opened my mouth. She kindly fed me. Leah cheerfully asked, "Papa, is it nice?!"


    Honestly, no. However, seeing Leah''s joyous smile was enough for me. Her smile made me happier than any ice-cream I ever had.


    Veirya tugged on my clothes from behind. I lingered for a moment before turning around. Unfortunately, the moment I turned around, Veirya''s spoon caught my face, therefore sttering my face with ice-cream. She didn''t care, though. She used even more force to shove it into my mouth. I desperately swallowed the ice-cream she fed me. Veirya didn''t know how to feed people. She essentially shoved food into my mouth. Therefore, it was eat or freeze to death. Nheless, I was very happy. It was harsh, because I had to eat until my brain froze, but I was happy to have Veirya feed me.


    Leah suddenly turned my head back. She pressed her hands down on my shoulder and kissed me without any warning. Colour me stunned. Leah paid no attention to the shocked gazes of onlookers. She kissed me, and sent the final serve of ice-cold melted ice-cream into my mouth.


    "Hum, hum, Leah has surpassed Mama now, right?" Leah questioned.


    Leah released me. The white string between us snapped underneath the sunlight. She licked her lips . I didn''t know what to say. Was that a challenge to Veirya or was that Leah''s feelings, I wondered.


    ========


    Current time in the Imperial Pce.


    A young man stood up. He looked at Queen Sisi, who was sitting on her throne. In a fearless and loud voice, he eximed, "Your Majesty, we object to your next n. We have meticulously considered and looked into your request and n. Sadly, we cannot support the war. Outright starting a war on the elves is not a rational decision. We have just ended this war. Our military currentlycks the power to fight an all-out war against the elves!"


    Queen Sisi narrowed her eyes; she didn''t immediately reply. Instead, she looked to the other side. She looked at the man there and asked, "What about you all? Zero, what do you guards think?"


    "Your Majesty, we alone are enough. The field military mayck the strength to do so, but we absolutely can. The elves are but a motley crew of stragglers and disbanded soldiers. There is no need to be so concerned. I believe we alone are enough. We will follow you to war and conquer the elves!"


    "Impossible!" The young man loudly refuted the guard, "War is not a game. The elves, who were capable of resisting against the demons for so long, are definitely not stragglers and disbanded soldiers. If we enter their forests withoutplete preparation, we will be bound to face total annihtion. We do not approve of this attack, Your Majesty! Now is not the time to be waging a war!"


    "Please give us a chance, Your Majesty! We will follow you to war to conquer those elves!!"


    Queen Sisi giggled in a soft voice as she touched the gem on her throne. She didn''t respond. Instead, she spoke to herself: "I wonder what Little Doggy would say in this situation."

 Chapter Volume 4 2

    <i>Invitation</i>


    Veirya was very considerate. She didn''t finish her tub. Instead, she left some to take back for Angelina. While she did fight with Angelina before and they tried to kill each other with no mercy shown, after all was said and done, Veirya still cared about her mother. The mother and daughter pair were the exact same. When it was time for business, they were impartial. Though the two sh in private, they did love each other.


    We didn''t do anything all afternoon, but I was still so touched that I wanted to cry. That sort of life was perfect. Too many things were dragged into the vouring trade. I just wanted to peacefully run a small business to make money for a house. How did it end up soplex, I wondered. They kidnapped my daughter, and the chapel got themselves killed.


    Truth be told, I couldn''t get the pope''sst words out of my mind. What he said made perfect sense. Queen Sisi''s status had reached an unprecedented height. She kept a tight grasp on military authority. After subduing the demons, her reputation reached its peak with the people. There was nobody left in the entire kingdom who could restrain her anymore. Nobody could stop her from what she wanted. Nevertheless, the pope was on the money: she was excessively conceited.


    After the sessful campaign against the chapel, Queen Sisi was even prouder and more conceited. Those two emotions would inte one''s ego, leading to them making more and more egotistical decisions. Eventually, they''d lose sight of their direction. Sooner orter, that imperious attitude would lead to her and the kingdom''s demise.


    Queen Sisi''s arrogance led to her believing she was almighty. However, the nation had just ended a national war. On the surface, she had earned the prestige of a victor. In reality, though, she was empty within. Even wild beasts had to lick their wounds after they triumphed. Queen Sisi was far too arrogant for her own good. She probably perceived her nation to be invincible. She had settled down with regards to the situation immediately around her. Thus, she wanted to pursue international fame. She might''ve very well started to consider attacking the elves or dwarves. If she waged another war, humanity''s kingdom would inevitably run into problems.


    The pope told me to have Queen Sisi remain calm, but that was asking for the impossible. I didn''t want to be around her. If I stuck around her when she was so conceited, I''d find myself in jeopardy. There were only two people around her. The first type was the living. The second type was the dead.


    I was bound to want to leave given the circumstances. Queen Sisi''s decisions had nothing to do with me, but humanity''s demise would inevitably impact the North, which wasn''t a good thing. With that said, Achilles wasn''t an idiot. A war would impact him, as well. He''d stop Queen Sisi from going awry, I assumed.


    We returned to the inn. Angelina sat on the bed and silently read the file that I stole. Her Majesty didn''t mention it. I didn''t know if she missed it or if she didn''t intend to mention it. Thest sunray shone on Angelina. She wore a nostalgic, yet sad, smile. She slowly ran her finger along the parchment. I emotionally sighed when I looked at her smile. I thought, "How nice would it be if Veirya could smile the same way in the future¡­"


    On second thought, I deemed it a terrible idea. After all, it would be Veirya, who''d be sitting on the bed, looking at my portrait with a nostalgic and sad smile after I died¡­


    Angelina looked up when she heard our voices. At first, she was shocked at the sight of the buckets. Then, she felt bewildered: "What are those two buckets? Didn''t you go to see Her Majesty? Why does it look as though you went to go buy a whole bunch of stuff?!"


    "Mm¡­ it''s ice-cream that Veirya bought."


    I helplessly smiled, and then set the bucket aside. Angelina looked at her daughter with a look of astonishment: "Why did you buy so much?! Isn''t one per person enough? Why did you buy two buckets?"


    "He. Gave me. Three gold coins. So. I bought this much ice-cream."


    "He didn''t give you three gold coins for you to bring back three-gold-coins worth of stuff!! You can ask for change¡­ Sorry, sorry, it was my fault. I didn''t educate my daughter on how to shop. As a mother, I must apologise for how my daughter turned out¡­"


    "No, no, no¡­ I''m partly to me¡­ I never told her about it¡­ I need to teach her about money¡­"


    Veirya looked at Angelina and me. She grumbled, "I just. Did what you told me to. Why. Did I go wrong?"


    "No, you weren''t wrong. You weren''t wrong¡­"


    I looked at Veirya and shook my head. Angelina grumpily folded her ups and grumbled, "You need to stop pampering her all the time. You can''t get her to understand these things the way you''re doing it. You need to be more ruthless with her. You''re pampering her more than I do."


    Unhappy, Veirya frowned. She seemed to be unhappy about the way we criticised her. Leah had a moment of realisation: "So you never meant to buy so much ice-cream, Papa."


    "Leah, you must bear in mind that you must consider how much you can afford when shopping. When you normally buy stuff, you can ask for change. Don''t just buy as much as you''re given¡­"


    All right, I guess I did need to educate Leah on shopping. I had to work during the way, which meant it''d be on Veirya to be with my daughter, Leah, during the day. If she was around Veirya all day, she''d definitely turn out the same way. Therefore, I had to have Leah teach Veirya about money.


    Somebody suddenly knocked on the door. Anna, who was standing by the door, pulled it open. An officer with a purple cape appeared before us. He handed us four invitations with a smile, and then politely said, "Hello, Mr. Lin, Lord Veirya. Her Majesty has invited you to attend a banquet at sunset tomorrow at the soldiers'' gathering grounds."


    I looked at the officer and replied, "Oh, oh, sure. Please tell her Majesty that I will definitely be there."


    The officer saluted us, and then turned to leave. I looked at the invitation in my hand. The invitations were extravagant. Queen Sisi personally wrote the invitations. Her hand writing was neat and pretty. It consisted of lots of dragging her pen. Of course, it also exuded her proud nature. I threw the four invitations onto the table: "I knew it. Her Majesty is fully aware."


    "What?"


    I smiled: "She knows Angelina is here. She sent four invitations. If she didn''t know about Angelina, she would''ve sent three invitations, yet she sent four, which means that one was for Angelina. Unfortunately, Angelina is injured. Hence, let Anna go this time."


    "All right."


    Angelina eximed, "Why?! I want to go, as well!"


    I was taken aback when I saw Angelina, who had the same appearance as Veirya, rolling around on the bed: "Forget it. I''ve got an injured left foot. If I take you along, are we going to the Special Banquet? Drop the idea. Moreover, it won''t be a happy banquet."


    "How do you know?"


    "Because I have a premonition¡­"

 Chapter Volume 4 3

    <i>Traitorous Monarch</i>


    Interior of the Imperial Pce.


    A young man stood before Queen Sisi. He was in an anxious state of mind. In a loud voice, he said, "Your Majesty, I havee to see you in private in hopes of convincing you to abandon your initial n. Your n is truly too dangerous. Right now, we do not have what it takes to wage a war. The elves are not weak. Your Majesty, you must keep that in mind. We can wait for another three or four years before we wage war on the elves. If we start it now, we will inevitably bear consequences.


    I can understand where you areing from. In saying that, we definitely cannot carry it out at present. Our soldiers do not have a desire to fight at the moment. Having just returned to their homes, they still need time to readjust. At the same time, military preparations will require time. After that, we will need to retrain summoned soldiers. We also need to prepare different weaponry and gear for different battlegrounds. In addition, we need to train a military unit and squad that will need to be experts inbat in the forest. To add, our spies need to infiltrate the forest and familiarise themselves with the terrain. What we know about the elves'' forest is fatallycking. If we thoughtlessly enter the forest, we will be totally wiped out. At present, our nation truly cannot handle a defeat in war."


    Queen Sisi didn''t bother hiding her yawn. She twiddled with her hair using her finger and acted tired. She hopelessly replied, "I thought you had something important to say, only to hear you talk about this? Didn''t I already say we''re putting that aside for the meantime?"


    "I know what you are thinking, though. Usually, whenever you say that, it means you are not giving up on the idea. You are waiting for a good opportunity to act upon your idea. In fact, you are nning whether or not to object to it on the surface while suddenly carrying it out. Your Majesty, we will do as you say when ites to other things; however, you are gambling with the entire empire''s fate this time, when it is not a gamble that we will inevitably lose this time. You cannot hand over the empire you have been entrusted with."


    Queen Sisi froze for a moment then softlyughed. She got to her feet and walked up to the young man. She gently hooked her finger on his young face andughed: "Yeah? I''m gambling with the entire nation? I''m throwing the nation into an abyss with no return? I''ve heard that before. Several years ago, when I first ascended the throne, there were three rebellions in the South. When I wanted to call them to the Imperial Pce for negotiations, lots of people imed I was humiliating the nation and forfeiting its sovereignty. Afterwards, I used a few words to get the three parties to kill each other, thereby quelling the rebellions. Afterwards, I met the representative of businesses for the first time. At the time, lots of people felt I was an embarrassment and humiliating the throne. Now, however, those businessmen are providing me with massive amounts of money. Then, when I nned to wage an all-out war against the demon race topletely eradicate them, lots of people called me crazy. Lots of people doubted I could win the war, but I did. There have always been people who tried to stop me when I choose to do something. If it wasn''t for my determination, what state would this nation be in now?"


    "You are not always correct, Your Majesty!"


    "I''ve proven that I''m correct! Administrating a nation is a gamble, and I''ve yet to lose!"


    Sisi released the young man and shoved him. She went back to her throne with big strides and vigorously sat down. Her perfect beauty dressed in ck sleepwear blended in with her golden throne. A long time ago, when the girl first sat on the throne, nobody thought she''d amount to anything. Her small figure just didn''t appear proportionate to the throne''s symbolism she resembled an unworthy child. Over time, Queen Sisi proved she perfectly matched the throne. Nobody questioned her anymore, and nobody suggested she was an unworthy Queen. Queen Sisi didn''t lie. Whenever she made decisions in the past, people considered the ideas to be absurd and totally wrong, but the present proves that she was correct.


    Despite Queen Sisi''s sess, it didn''t prove everything she decided on was correct. Queens err. She was making a mistake as she spoke. She grew far too conceited. The reason she believed she had an opportunity to attack the elves was attributed to them going through a period where their internal politics were fragile. The problem was humanity was practically clueless in regards to the elven forest. Launching an attack on the elves all of a sudden wasn''t rational.


    The young man couldn''t contain his anger. He took a step forward and, voice booming, argued, "Your Majesty, a correct decision in the past does not imply that this decision is correct! The decision to wage a war this time is truly wrong!! Our chance of winning the gamble is far too low and the price we have to pay is excessive. If we fail this time, we really might run into trouble!! Furthermore, it is far too dangerous for you to station the guards scattered around in the Imperial Pce to the camp outside!! You must know the reason the guards are scattered is precisely because we fear they might use their military might to usurp your rule. What are you thinking, sending them out of the imperial pce?! Those guards, their current leader, Zero, in particr, is truly ambitious. What you are doing is incredibly dangerous! Our field soldiers are stationed outside; what are we going to do if those guards n to revolt?! Additionally, you have strengthened the guards'' power again. You are warming a snake in your bosom!!"


    The young man tightly clenched his fists. His green veins surfaced. He wanted tosh out. Queen Sisi was destroying the traditions of the history and past that he was familiar with. She felt there was no one who could shake her rule. One individual once put in preventive measures to protect his sovereignty, only for her to reject him. Queen Sisi was no longer exhibiting arrogance but insanity.


    "So what? Little Doggy is also ambitious, but he obediently destroyed the chapel for me, didn''t he? Everyone has alreadye to understand the consequences of betraying me; I''m not worried about the guards. Instead, I''m very suspicious of you. If you attack the elves, would you genuinely give it your all?"


    "Your Majesty!! If I am not loyal to you, I would not mention this to you!!! You truly are making a very risky decision. You need to correct your mistakes now!!"


    "Do not tell me how to run a nation; I don''t need guidance. I have enough experience managing this nation. Now, I am this nation''s ruler; nobody will question me. Next, I''m going to aplish feats that will make me be remembered for and be beautifully passed down. Nevertheless, I must ensure that none of my sessors will achieve the height I reached. I must create a sufficiently grand empire for my loved ones toe!


    I''m tired now. I have a banquet to worry about tomorrow. I''m not talking with you any longer tonight. As for the conquest against the elves, I will muse on it. Don''t annoy me with it again. I have my own brain; I can make appropriate decisions."


    Anxious, the young man wanted to speak up again, but Queen Sisi aggressively waved her hand; she grabbed the ss of red wine and poured it. She stood up and left without looking back, vanishing behind the throne. The young man was left to stand alone in therge hall in silence. The dark red wine coursed down his hair, his cheeks and the back of his hand to drip onto the smooth floor. He tightly gritted his teeth and stared intently at the ground that was gradually turning red, drip by drip¡­


    The former King left behind teachings. His first teaching was that one must be humble. Queen Sisi achieved excellence but didn''t abide by that teaching. Therefore, the question was, was she worthy of being a monarch?

 Chapter Volume 4 4

    <i>Night that a Man is Most Reluctant to Recall</i>


    That night, the inn gave us two more rooms. Anna was in charge of taking care of Angelina. Veirya had a room to herself, while Leah and I shared a room. Angelina seemed to be very surprised when she found out Veirya and I didn''t share a room. I couldn''t exin that it was due to Leah. At the very least, I needed to find a better opportunity to tell Veirya. Once she forgot her past and became a normal woman, I figuredl she''d be able to ept Leah. In addition, I assumed Leah would be able to control her transformation in the future. Once Leah grew up, she''d be able to maintain her adult form forever. I probably wouldn''t be able to sleep with her anymore at that point. It seemed to be a bit of a pity¡­


    Did I get to enjoy Leah all to myself at night? What was the point in that? I couldn''t do anything. I wouldn''t touch my daughter in a perverted way, would I? Hence, I prepared for the night, because I couldn''t predict what I''d do.


    The room didn''t have a toilet. The toilet was on one side of the building, which was why I had to make a trip before turning in. I deliberately waited for Leah to almost fall asleep before giving her a tap to let her know that I was going to the toilet. Leah rolled over and shut her eyes to continue sleeping.


    When I left the room, it was dead silent. Angelina had foot injuries, while Veirya didn''t make noises or wander around at night, so it was safe.


    I sneaked into the toilet. Toilet paper had yet toe into existence in this era. To my chagrin , this world had yet to figure the methodology for creating paper. Meanwhile, parchment was too expensive. Papyrus wasn''t suitable for this purpose, either. Thus, to avoid awkward situations, I cut off bits of fabric simr to that used for bed sheets for one time uses. It wasn''t as good as toilet paper, but it was better than papyrus¡­


    Once I stood properly, I took in a deep breath. I didn''t need any feelings forey, because Veirya tightly hugged me, thereby squishing my arm in between her breasts during the day. Then, I saw the top of Queen Sisi''s magnificent mountains under her deep v-neck dress. Right after that, there was adult Leah at night. Subsequently, I didn''t need to conjure up any images. I just needed to recall the feelings. While I felt I was super sad, since I just needed to take the right steps to escape virginity, I couldn''t allow myself to do that¡­


    Once I got started, though, those feelings would vanish. I thought of lots of different women when I just got going, but in the end, Veirya was the only one I imagined. I saw a scene of Veirya tightly hugging me. She looked so mesmerising even though she was bashing her teeth against mine¡­


    "Veirya!!"


    I couldn''t resist the urge to softly call her name in the end as I let out a soothing finish. However, in that instant, someone yanked the door open. Veirya looked at me with an expressionless look. My brain went totally nk. Whenever you''re done with the deed, you''ll be left looking temporarily stupid. This time, I looked even stupider. The first thought that came to mind was, "Just what have I just done in front of the woman I like?"


    Veirya wasn''t flustered or surprised. Apparently, she didn''t know what I did¡­ I knew what I did, however¡­


    Even after thest bit exited me as I finished, I still maintained my most awkward and ugly posture as I looked at Veirya, the woman who I liked most. A white stain got on her white clothes. I had unloaded on her countless times in my fantasies, but I never wanted to do it in reality even once¡­ Not to mention the fact that we were in such an awkward situation and at such an awkward time¡­ When I was mentally going down on her, Veirya happened to catch me, and I happened to shoot Veirya with it¡­


    I think calling myself a pervert would be an insult to the word in that situation¡­ I really wanted to just bury my head¡­


    Veirya took the initiative to end the awkward silence. She didn''t react in any way. She just calmly asked, "You called me?"


    "Ah¡­"


    I felt ridiculously ashamed. I didn''t think Veirya would hear me¡­ She was probably there to use the toilet, too, I guess¡­ I didn''t think she''d coincidentally be there at the same time as me, nheless. Plus, she didn''t knock or check with me beforehand; she just pulled the door open¡­


    "What. Are you doing?"


    Since I was stumped and didn''t look as though anything was wrong with me, she didn''t continue asking. Instead, she went to touch the white liquid with her finger out of curiosity. She gently picked up a bit of the liquid then, to my surprise, held it up to her nose for a whiff. She then licked it and frowned, "What. Is this? Are you. Unwell?"


    "Sorry!! Sorry!!!"


    I quickly used a piece of cloth to wipe it. s, the reality was, the more you wipe it, the more you spread it. A tiny bit, therefore, began to spread. I had my living daylights scared out of me. I doubted Veirya brought a change of clothes. We had to see Her Majesty tomorrow. What,wais Veirya supposed to see Queen Sisi in her stained clothes?! Shit! We''d die!! We''d seriously die!


    "It''s nothing. Don''t worry about it."


    Veirya seemed indifferent. As I was fine, she turned around and left, while I stood in ce and watched her leave from behind with a nk look. I didn''t know if she should''ve called out to her or not¡­


    My mind began to race with thoughts: "How am I going to exin it to her if I call her back? I, however, feel as if something is missing if I don''t¡­ What in the world should I do¡­?


    Ah, forget it¡­ I think that''ll do¡­ I think this is the best way to hide it¡­ I think Veirya can cover it if she wipes it tomorrow. Nobody will be able to see itte at night, anyway¡­ This must all be a dream. It must just be a dream¡­ I''m so ashamed¡­ truly so ashamed¡­ How could I do that? That was so embarrassing¡­ Using Veirya as masturbation material is bad enough, and now she even caught me in the act¡­ My god, I''m so ashamed of myself¡­ How is Veirya going to perceive me from now¡­? Fortunately, she didn''t know what happened. I don''t think she realised what happened. Thank god for that¡­


    ========


    Current time upstairs.


    "Mm?"


    Veirya lingered. She looked at Angelina. Angelina''s feet should''ve taken three days to heal, yet she had already gotten off the bed to walk around. She looked at her daughter and smiled. Her instinctsmanded her hand to attempt to caress her daughter''s head. However, Veirya didn''t lean in for her; instead, she vigntly looked at Angelina. Angelina responded with a quiet chuckle and pulled her hand back. She then looked at Veirya, "Did you go to the toilet?"


    "Mm."


    Veirya''s response was given in the same tone as her confusion before. She walked up to her mother and gently looped her arm around her mother''s. Angelina froze. Angelina fearfully pulled her arm back just slightly. Yes, Veirya was her biological daughter, and she had always dreamt of reuniting with her daughter, but she was afraid and not used to her daughtering up to her on her own ord in spite of having reconciled after so much turbulence. Angelina helplessly smiled. She felt slightly envious of Veirya''s ability to remain expressionless no matter when.


    <em>''If I could be asposed as her, I wouldn''t be distressed to the point of embarrassing myself in front of my daughter, would I?''</em>


    Veirya didn''t utter a word. She earnestly supported her mother down the stairs the same way she dragged that man around during the day. Angelina didn''t speak, either. The two made body contact that wasn''t a consequence of fighting each other for once. It was meant to be a blissful moment, but neither of them spoke.


    Despite the silence, Angelina noticed the different stain on her daughter. As a soldier, she would have a strong sense of awareness, and therefore notice the small change. She noticed the stain was no ordinary stain and was most definitely not the ice-cream during the day. Angelina knew what the stain was. She knew very well what it was¡­ Furthermore, there was only one man with her.


    Angelina hesitated to say something. She chose to word her question tactfully: "Do you two not n to have children?"


    Veirya turned her face to the side to look at Angelina. Surprised, she replied, "We have Leah."


    "No, I meant your own biological daughter. Veirya, you''re a woman. Now that the war has ended, you should lead the life of an ordinary woman. So ordingly, having a romance and having children is a must. You seem to like that man, and he went so far for you. If you two get married, you should have a child."


    "I never. Thought about it."


    Veirya was bewildered beyond words: "What. Is love? Lots of people talk about it. Her Majesty is also pursuing it. But, I can''t give it to Her Majesty. No matter how hard I try. What exactly. Is love? Why do so many people, you included, say that him and I are in love? I can''t distinguish what is different. What exactly. Is love?"


    "Do you really not know?" Angelina was quite surprised. She reworded her response in her mind before adding, "Do you not have any feelings for him? Do you not have any feelings for a man who lost a foot, brought me on for your sake, forgave me after what I did and even brought back your father''s file for you? If you don''t, I''m going for him. I''m still young; I think I can still have another romance. Also, you should have a father in spite of him possibly being a tad younger than you."


    "I won''t ept." Veirya resolutely refused. "He''s mine. I. Have no other ns. I just want him to stay by my side. I want. Him to always stay by my side."

 Chapter Volume 4 5

    <i>Botched Scheme</i>


    When I woke up the next day, seeing Veirya made me feel absolutely awkward. Veirya, however, didn''t say anything. I noticed the stain on her had vanished, so I presumed she had cleaned it off. I suppose Veirya did care about her appearance when meeting with Queen Sisi, after all.


    It was the first time we had so many people around the table at breakfast, and I had a rare opportunity to actually savour the food. Achilles must''ve specifically informed the kitchen. We had lots of dishes, and they were all delicious. Leah was fond of the atmosphere. She sat there and fed everyone. I sat opposite Veirya. I felt so nervous whenever I looked at her that I lost my appetite.


    "Ah, Mr. Lin, Lord Veirya, it is my honour to meet you. Lord Veirya¡­ especially Lord Veirya¡­ Umm¡­ sorry for interrupting your breakfast¡­ umm¡­ umm¡­ how about¡­ how about¡­ wee a bitter. We wille aroundter¡­"


    The young man jolted so hard that he nearly dropped to his knees when he entered and saw Veirya. I didn''t understand why he was so scared of her; actually, he must''ve revered Veirya. Veirya was, without question, a hero to the soldiers, but there was no need to actually worship her, was there? If Queen Sisi saw him worshipping her, she''d definitely be jealous of Veirya. Queen Sisi wanted to be a god everyone worshipped, after all.


    Veirya shook her head: "No need."


    The young man looked at Angelina with a look of surprise then shifted his gaze over to Veirya''s face. Apparently, he didn''t distinguish between them. I said to him, "This is Veirya. That is Veirya''s mother. Have youe to see Veirya for something?"


    "No, I am here for you¡­ Mr. Lin." The young man looked over to me. He vigntly looked at the people around and said, "It is better for no one else to hear this. If you are free, I hope I can discuss with you want I want to say. It is very important."


    "Okay," I responded.


    The look on the young man''s face was very serious. You could even say he looked imposing, as a matter of fact. I thought it was safe to assume he had something very important to say.


    I stroked Leah''s head then gave Veirya a small nod. She didn''t care what I was about to do or what I wanted to say. I stood up and looked back at the young man. Then, I pointed to the room. He nodded: "All right."


    We entered the room and shut the door. He expressed, "Are you certain there will not be any eavesdroppers? What I would like to discuss with you is of utmost importance. I trust you. Of course, it is also because I do not have anyone else to discuss it with. Achilles is a useless and spineless coward, while Zero is just an oversized wild dog that is not worthy of consulting. What I am about to talk about has to do with the nation; it is very important. This pertains to the survival of the nation and Her Majesty. I hope you earnestly listen to me and not tell anyone else."


    I folded my arms: "This has nothing to do with me, does it? I think you''vee to the wrong person. My loyalty belongs to Lord Veirya, not Her Majesty. This nation and Her Majesty have nothing to do with me. Her Majesty and I merely cooperated, because we had our own agendas that aligned. We have no other associations with each other. Don''t misunderstand I have devoted myself to her."


    "I trust you; however, this time, my goal is not to talk to you about how to serve Her Majesty. I am not here to recruit anyone for her."


    The young man was particrly serious; no na?ve young man would sport that look. He tightly clenched his teeth. He had arrived before me, yet still wrestled with whether or not he should go forward with the thought. I paused for a moment as I scanned him.


    I had the feeling what he wanted to say was something troubling. I assumed he was Queen Sisi''s most loyal soldiers'' representative. Given that he was wearing a purple cape, she must''ve really trust him, but it seemed as if what he came to talk about with me was¡­ about wanting to revolt¡­


    I thought, "Can you please all stop with that?!! This nation is Queen Sisi''s business, and she''s not even a tyrant. I won''t argue that she''s quite arrogant, but, at the very least, the things she does are, for the most part, correct. It''s just that she goes a little too far with her means. Did you not see what happened to the chapel? If she finds out you''re nning to revolt, you''ll face the same ending. Moreover, she doesn''t mistreat you military personnel; why do you want to revolt?"


    I sure as anything wasn''t going to revolt; I''d die. Revolting when Queen Sisi''s reputation and power were at the apex is called seeking death. Normally, people do it when the nation is being toppled. Try it in that situation, and you''d just be cut down on the spot. No two ways about it.


    There was no way I''d do something only someone brainless would. To add, he might''ve loved the nation, but I didn''t have a speck of emotional attachment. I just had some qualms about Queen Sisi. Even if I respected her and was loyal to her, I still wouldn''t share the same sentiments for the nation.


    I wasn''t going to give up everything I had for something unrealistic. Furthermore, they were too simple-minded. Who would be the next monarch if they killed Queen Sisi? A kid, who''s only capable of leading an army, is bound to never be a qualified King. He''d forever be the toy for the ambitious. In fact, I reckoned the fellow might''ve been misled and hypnotised by nationalism, because he wielded power.


    "You mean?" I asked.


    "Are you willing to offer your intellect and determination for thisnd, thisnd that Lord Veirya fought on, was wounded on, made sacrifices on and bled on?" The boy walked up to me. He wasn''t as tall as I was, but the look of determination in his eyes was firmer than I ever imagined possible. He tightly clenched his fists and quietly continued, "We defend thisnd. Through every inch ofnd here runs our predecessors'' blood. Our blood has stained every flower here. We cannot allow Her Majesty''s pride to ruin all of this. If she betrays the nation, then we can only repair it all. I hope you can help us. The overlord trusts you at the moment. If you agree, I believe Lord Veirya will also help us."


    "Not happening." I cut him off. I slowly walked to the door and opened it, which showed that I didn''t n to consider his suggestion. I pivoted around and seriously added, "You don''t understand a thing. If you want to change everything, a simple revolution can''t end it. All you''re doing is seeking death. Without a Queen who can rece Queen Sisi, removing her from power is what would truly bring the most suffering for this nation."

 Chapter Volume 4 6

    <i>Family Harmony and National Affairs</i>


    Obviously, I wasn''t going to agree to join such a crazy campaign. Challenging Queen Sisi as she stood at the time was a one-way ticket to hell. Not only did I not agree to join him, I wouldn''t even speak to him again. He hastily approached me and emotionally said, "You may have misunderstood something. I did not say that I would kill Queen Sisi or force her to abdicate her throne. Of course, if ites down to it, I will do so. Nevertheless, if possible, I would prefer it if you could save Queen Sisi from her current self. She no longer listens to us, but she extremely trusts you. I believe she will sincerely take what you say to heart. That is why I would like to ask you to give her a reminder. She must not attack the elves. I hope you can stop her from killing herself!! We have no way of waging the war! Unfortunately, Her Majesty has be too haughty; this really will lead to the demise of this nation!!"


    "Her Majesty wants to attack the elves?!"


    I paused for a second then shut the door again. I didn''t think Queen Sisi would open fire on the elves in that manner. I knew she couldn''t sit still and that some things would certainly be conducted, since the nation just settled down. With that said, I didn''t think Queen Sisi would choose to attack the elves out of all things. The elves had just ended their internal turmoil. While it did appear to be a great opportunity to attack them, a foreign attack would encourage the elves to unite.


    Was it really a wise idea to fight the elves in the forest? Thest Empress to fight a war against the elves fought for her biological son, but even with guns and canons in their arsenal, the fight turned out fifty-fifty. Humanity wasn''t that far aheadpared to elves this time, however. Still, was it really a wise idea to be attacking your former allies as soon as the war against the demons was over?


    I think it was a very irrational decision. Moreover, the war would have a direct impact on me. I just negotiated a deal to trade elven vouring with the elves; if a war broke out, the deal will be called off. As a matter of fact, if the elves'' shame turned to rage and they retaliated, we''d be the first to bear the brunt of their attack, since we were their neighbours. If Queen Sisi was going to fight, then she''d fight without a care. She essentially cut off me off from my lifeline and money!!!


    There was no way I''d allow Queen Sisi to go through with the idea. It was just¡­ would I actually be able to convince her otherwise? Would I be able to walk away with a favourable result if it was me? It was dangerous for me, but I had to try and stop her from enacting her n. If she attacked the elves, my source of ie would be cut off. If I failed to stop her, I''d need to notify the elves that humanity might attack them. At the end of the day, I had no loyalty devoted to humanity''s nation to speak of.


    I didn''t care what happened to the kingdom, but I sure as anything couldn''t cut off my ie supply. Since Veirya chose to return to the North with me, the North had to develop. For the North to develop, money was a must. The only way the North could make money was through exporting vouring. If we couldn''t trade vouring, was I supposed to export wooden bowls for people to beg for money?!


    After mulling over it for a while, I replied, "I won''t oppose Queen Sisi. Regardless of what the case may be, she hasn''t done anything wrong during her reign. To add, suppose you do sessfully remove her, can you find someone better to rece her? In saying that, I will bring it up with her. I don''t think waging war on the elves is wise, either."


    At the same time, I pulled open the door again to indicate I didn''t want to talk anymore. In other words, I wouldn''t change my opinion. That was my bottom line. The look on his face gave me the impression he still had something to say; nevertheless, I didn''t want to talk anymore. Instead, I smiled: "I haven''t finished breakfast yet. If you like, you can join Lord Veirya at the table for breakfast. What do you think?"


    "N-No, thank you¡­ I-I am not worthy¡­ How can I share a table with Lord Veirya? I cannot do that! I cannot do that! I absolutely cannot do that!" The young man froze for a moment then vigorously shook his head and waved his hands.


    The young man went down the stairs fast as if he was fleeing. I chuckled to myself as I watched him run. When he reached the entrance, he quickly gave Veirya a deep bow before leaving. Unfortunately, Veirya never spared him any attention. As a matter of fact, when I returned to the table, she asked me who he was.


    "You met him before," I said to myself.


    "Did. He. Say something?"


    I didn''t lie. I picked up a piece of bread and dipped it into the milk in the bowl. I answered, "No, nothing. It was just something he wanted me to tell Her Majesty."


    Veirya nodded and didn''t pursue it any further. She wasn''t interested in the matter between us in the least. Well, I wouldn''t need to exin anything, then.


    Angelina nced at me, and then softly giggled: "Something happened between you twost night, right? I don''t think that you two need to hide it, though. I mean, just strip down. Plus, you two should have a child. Just unload inside; why do you need to spray it on her clothes?"


    "Pfft!!"


    I spat a mouthful of milk out on Angelina. She froze in response but didn''t get angry. Instead, a mischievous smile crept up onto her face. She tightly hugged my arm and gently pinched my face. She then gave me a kiss on my cheek then smiled: "Are you hinting something to me? You also got liquid on me, huh? Do you want to get the authentic stuff on me at night? I''m done with that. I like you very much. I really like you. I''m a little old, but I don''t mind. Additionally, I''m much better than my disappointing daughter. See, thest time I kissed you, I made you go crazy, didn''t I? Also, my body will be more seductive at night¡­ You can y with it however you please. I guarantee I''ll give you an enjoyable experience like no other."


    "Don''t do this; you''re Veirya''s mother¡­"


    "Let go." Veirya''s reaction was more serious and calmer than me. She went straight for the dining knife and aimed it at her mother: "Don''t. Agree. She''s. Very mischievous. You''re mine. So. I won''t allow you to go to her."


    "Meanie. Veirya, it''s wrong for you to do that. If you''re not going to take the initiative, you can''t just lead him on¡­"


    "Papa¡­ why is his happening between you and Sister Angelina, too? Why is there are always traces of other women around Papa? Also, didn''t you sleep together with Leahst night? Why did something happen with you and Mama Veirya? Did you go and have a tryst with Mama Veirya while Leah was asleepst night?"


    The voice that I heard from behind me was ice cold. I shuddered. Anna couldn''t hold back herughter. She covered her mouth and didn''t say anything. Our spat was very amusing to Anna¡­

 Chapter Volume 4 7

    <i>Joke</i>


    Owing to the fact that the banquet was held at sunset, I had the morning and afternoon to rest. After fending off Leah''s pursuit, I finally had a short moment of peace. However, before I could even finish a single cup of tea, Achilles came through the door. He softly chuckled when he saw me then sat down next to me. He ced down a bag; inside the bag were some snacks such as biscuits purchased from street vendors. He gave me a smile: "You must be happy now, right? It''s finally time for you to enjoy life in the imperial capital. Have a think; are there any ces that you''d like to go see?"


    "No, that''s not on my agenda yet. Two people havee to see me before I could even finish a cup of tea. I reckon there will be another person whoes to see me. You know, I don''t n to stay in the imperial capital or stay with Queen Sisi, so it''s pointless for you people toe to me."


    "Oh? Other people havee to see you?" Achilles slightly raised an eyebrow then chuckled: "Let me guess, it was either Zero or the child from the army? Or was it Her Majesty''s messenger?''


    "You''re right, but I won''t tell you who it was. Our discussion is my privacy, after all."


    I had a sip of tea then ced my cup back down. The strong alcohol Achilles ordered was served up. I didn''t understand why he drank alcohol first thing in the morning. He looked at me with his eyes narrowed and chuckled: "Is there no chance you can reveal the details?"


    I replied, "It''s fine. What do you want to say? Just say it. Or did you n to have a catch up with me? I don''t believe there''s anything for us to catch up on. I don''t think you''re here to catch up, are you?"


    "Indeed, that is not what I am here for. I just have a feeling that Her Majesty wants to do something. After all, the money she obtained this time wasn''t stored in the bank. I suspect she ns to do something with the money. In addition, she has been recruiting guards as well as recalling the guards stationed in six different ces back to the imperial pce. The guards stationed in the six different locations have not united in centuries. Also, they are managed by six officers. The point in doing that is to circumvent them from getting involved with politics. The drawback to the approach is that the guards are unable to aplish anything major. They essentially exchange working in the capital for the chance to aplish merits. Now that Queen Sisi has united them, she must be using her strongest force to do something. I surmise her next target will be the military."


    "Isn''t the military loyal to her? Why would she want to eliminate them? They aren''t the chapel. If something happens, they''ll be insurgents. The consequences of a military revolt are significantly more serious than a chapel''s revolt. If it''s not dealt with appropriately, it''ll be the downfall of this kingdom."


    When I added what Achilles just said to what the young man said, I had a rough idea as to what exactly happened. My conclusion was Queen Sisi should''ve been the one to suggest attacking the elves. Nevertheless, the military didn''t n to fight the war. In the military''s opinion, they deemed unwise and difficult to win. The military was right; unfortunately, Queen Sisi was under the impression that the military was not obeying orders. So ordingly, she nned to form an army subservient to only her. As such, the guards, who never had any aplishments to their name, gained more influence than even the military in the imperial capital.


    If the guards were to revolt, there wouldn''t be anyone who could stop them. They could even take it as far as forcing every monarch that came after to seek their approval if they wanted the throne. That meant arge sum of money was required. It was simple to put together but very hard to split. Queen Sisi had a nice image in her mind. I doubt it ever crossed her mind the guards could seize control over her rule. If I were to venture a guess, she must''ve believed that she could already perfectly control everyone. She was abandoning even the military.


    Queen Sisi¡¯s outgrew her capabilities. If her next target was the military, then next in line would be businesses. I didn''t know why she hadn''tid her hands on us, but if I had to guess, I suppose it was because Veirya and Angelina swore loyalty. I assume she somewhat feared me, too. I never agreed to help her or serve her kingdom. I didn''t think she''lle for us.


    "Therefore, I think you can understand how nervous I am at the moment. After all, if she is trying to eliminate even the military, would we not be after them? Queen Sisi wants to hold all the power in her hands; she wants control over the military and religion, so I would say that she wants to take money from us next. Furthermore, when it''s our turn, we''ll have to face a Queen who controls both the military and people''s beliefs. When she wields that much power, I would have no chance of opposing her. That is why I need to make ns before ites to that."


    "What? You n to revolt? I''d suggest you rethink that. You''re a businessman; what are you going to revolt with? Rebelling against Queen Sisi now would, unquestionably, be the stupidest thing you could possibly do. She''s now at her peak, and you choose to oppose her now?"


    "Oh, no, no, opposing Queen Sisi is unwise. That said, we can advise her. I''m certain she wants to do something to her neighbours next. She might target the elves or maybe the dwarves. In fact, it might even be us. Regardless of who it is, once she seeds with her next step, her ego will grow even more, and it''ll be toote to steer the course of things anywhere else. We have to stop her no matter what. At the very least, we need to prevent her from assembling the guards."


    "Do you think we could do that?" I ced my cup down after another sip: "I''m going to be returning straight to the North soon; I''m not staying here. Plus, your Queen''s affairs have no impact on my gains or losses. Why do I have to risk my life to protect a Queen who has nothing to do with me? I''m not her subject. If I now go and tell her something that she''d be unhappy to hear, I''d be the one who suffers. I know what you mean; the both of you want me to go and tell Queen Sisi to stop, right? All of you are telling me to go, because you''re cowards. Why do I have to shield you from bullets?"


    "No, no, that is not what we mean. The key is that Her Majesty only listens to you now. After all, you are the only one she wants, yet could not have. I''m sure she is interested in you now. She''s been sick of us for a while now. She only ever likes that which she is interested in. Right now, she''s interested in you. That''s why Queen Sisi will only consider what you say."


    "Cut the jokes out."


    I vigorously stood up. I picked up the ss of alcohol in front of Achilles and knocked it back in one shot, which was basically my way of telling him to get lost. I shouldn''t have acted tough, because the alcohol numbed half of my body on the spot. I almost puked from it. I began to violently cough. Achilles stood up and looked at me feeling surprised. He didn''t seem to quite understand what I was implying¡­


    I panted for air. Then, I picked up my cup of tea for a drink before saying, "What I was trying to say was, get out. I don''t n to help you. In regards to Queen Sisi''s business, I have my own considerations. If I tell that to her face, you lot will definitely betray me. If you don''t want to speak up, I won''t, either. If you''re still loyal to Queen Sisi in any capacity, it''s best you go and tell her yourself. She''s right; she''s not someone who lets what you say fall on deaf ears. She may be arrogant, but she''s still rational."


    "I was afraid you have yet to see the current Queen. You will understand what I mean when you see her at sunset. I understand you are not very loyal to Her Majesty; still, you must understand that if this empire is in danger, then it will definitely affect the North. It is useless to run elsewhere. As you said, at current, Queen Sisi is akin to the sun at its peak in the sky. What would be affected if a Queen at the apex was make an error? I am sure you can imagine the consequences."


    "I told you, I''ll resolve it with my own means. But nheless, what I need to do is for myself, alone. I won''t protect you, are we clear?"


    "I hope your gains align with ours¡­ How do I put it? Okay¡­ Your thinking¡­ uh, we are never able to tell what you are thinking," Achilles stood up with a helpless smile: "That sort of istion policy is not a good thing. You have arrived at the imperial capital and demonstrated your abilities to everyone. Do you think you can still iste yourself? Your attitude and abilities will allow you to rule over a region, which is why you will take action for greater gains. Why not be upfront? Instead of letting the strong pull you into the mix to change the world, how about destroying the seeds that will destroy the world before it can do so?"


    "There are only two things I care about: Veirya and Leah. If you truly want me to do something for this empire, it''s simple. Crown one of them; then, I''ll definitely earnestly protect this world, understood? It''s very simple."


    I was partially jesting. Achilles went to the door then turned his head around to seriously say, "I believe you are aware of the saying: do not thoughtlessly make jokes, especially when it concerns your life and mine. As you have mentioned that you would agree to get involved if Veirya or Leah were to be crowned, let us do that."


    "What sort of joke is that?!!!"


    "I am serious."


    "But I''m joking!!!!!"

 Chapter Volume 4 8

    <i>Soldiers¡¯ Assembly Grounds</i>


    We were packed and ready to head out at sunset. The horse carriage Her Majesty organised for us was already waiting downstairs. I wanted to bring Angelina along, but she didn''t intend to follow us. I straightened up and gently rubbed Leah''s head. I had just fixed up Leah''s tie. Veirya looped her arm around mine while she was at it. Leah then copied Veirya and looped her arm around my other arm. I looked at the two with a helpless smile: "I''ve lost only one foot; I can still move. You don''t need to act as though some formidable enemy came, do you¡­? Is it even a good idea to see Queen Sisi looking, like this?"


    "Didn''t we do the same thingst time? Papa, if you don''t like this, tell Mama Veirya to let go first, then! It''s fine for a daughter to have her arm around her papa''s, isn''t it?! Sophia also said the same thing. Mama Veirya and Papa don''t have a rtionship, either. Therefore, if Leah likes, Leah can get in between!"


    "What did that woman teach you?!"


    I couldn''t let Leah meet Sophia again. It was my fault for being stupid, too. If I let Leah hang around with a group of mature subi in that field of work, they''d influence her sooner orter!! Who knows what else Leah would learn from them!! Geez, Leah already knew Veirya and I weren''t in a rtionship, and Sophia told Leah she could get in between us!


    Veirya, bewildered, asked me, "Get in between us? Is she. Trying to say something? Isn''t. Leah. Always in our hearts?"


    "Hng, hng! By the sounds of it, Mama Veirya still doesn''t understand, huh?!!" Leah looked at me with a smug expression then grabbed her fingers and smugly counted, "Mm, one, two, three, four, five, in five more years, Leah will have grown up. Once Leah has grown up, Leah can legitimately be together with Papa, right? What''s it called again? Love! That''s the word! Leah understands it! Love! Leah loves Papa!"


    "Love¡­" Veirya muttered the word before I could say anything. She looked at me in silence for a moment.


    Feeling awkward, I wanted toment, but Anna led the officer downstairs to us. The officer politely smiled: "Hello, Mr. Lin, Lord Veirya. It is almost time for you to meet Her Majesty. I hope you are ready to leave. Please do not make things hard for us."


    "Her Majesty specified a time now?" I asked.


    He smiled in response: "Of course. You are now Her Majesty''s favourite person in the imperial capital. She has been looking forward to meeting you. She even specifically prepared makeup and clothing. You are now Her Majesty''s favourite vassal, a fact everyone in the imperial pce knows."


    "Really¡­?"


    I felt an odd sense of nobility and somewhat proud. After all, I hadn''t done anything, yet the proud Queen paid so much attention to me. There''s no man out there who wouldn''t feel proud about such an aplishment, would there? Despite the feeling, my rationality told me Queen Sisi''s fondness for me wasn''t good news. I''d dare say she liked the chapel and military a lot in the past, as well¡­


    "Uhm¡­" responded Veirya.


    What surprised me was that Veirya randomly pursed her lips; she looked as though she wasn''t too happy. Is Veirya jealous, I wondered. No way; no way. Veirya wasn''t a woman who''d get jealous. She shouldn''t have had enough variety of emotions to feel jealous. I assumed she was nervous, as Queen Sisi did mention wanting to recruit me. I couldn''t read Queen Sisi''s mind. I couldn''t recall doing anything noteworthy. Why was Queen Sisi so fixated on me, I questioned.


    If the entire imperial capital was aware of my existence and presence, I would say that this group came faster than bees that smelt honey. I was probably going to have to deal with a horde of people who wanted to gain something from me as Her Majesty''s favourite vassal at the banquet. I wouldn''t give them squat, though. I was returning to the North soon, after all.


    I didn''t n to enjoy Queen Sisi''s favour and gifts. If I stayed with her, she''d probably quickly grow sick of me. Perhaps she was the type who grew more and more interested in that which she couldn''t get her hands on.


    We got into the carriage. Leah swiftly took the seat next to me then smugly looked at Veirya, who sat opposite me. In spite of sitting opposite to me, Veirya didn''t look at me. She didn''t bring a weapon for the trip; only Anna brought a weapon, because she was in charge of our safety. If Veirya brought a weapon, Queen Sisi would have misgivings about her.


    When we set out I noticed there was something different about the streets. The usual bustling crowd at the hour wasn''t there. The majority of the poption on the street were soldiers and carriages travelling back and forth. The soldiers had sealed off the nearby streets, presumably for Her Majesty''s safety.


    Our carriage didn''t stop once. It swiftly turned and went along the road lit up by the setting sun toward the legendary za. Veirya peered outside. She grabbed a light hold of Leah''s hand then looked back outside. Suddenly, she said, "This ce. Was where I set out from."


    Unable to keep up, I asked, "What?"


    Anna nostalgically nodded: "Yeah, we set out from here at the beginning. Back then, we never imagined Her Majesty would wage an all-out war against the demons. This was the soldiers'' gathering zone, where Her Majesty inspected the teams. She then personally came every single time soldiers were about to set out for a job far away."


    Veirya sincerely responded, "I can still remember. When it was time for war. Her Majesty stood in front of everyone. I truly feel. She. Is a very brave Queen. Her Majesty was very fond of baths back then. She had several baths. Every day. However. There was that one time. Her Majesty wore armour I wore before. Stood before everyone and said. That as long as the castle stood. She would not remove the armour."


    With a softughed, Anna added, "Yeah. While Her Majesty was young at the time, she was able to lead the entire army thanks to that courage of hers. However, the war has ended now. The za is now used as grounds for banquets. That might be a good thing, though."


    Veirya didn''t deny it; instead, she gently nodded. The two of them had put the past behind them.


    Veirya looked to me, but I didn''t react. I just gazed at the setting sun outside and spaced out in silence. I didn''t even pay attention to their conversation, for the reason that I suddenly realised why Queen Sisi chose the za for the banquet.


    The za''s purpose never changed. It had always been and still was prepared for a military gathering at any moment¡­ Actually, it was prepared for a brutal war.

 Chapter Volume 4 9

    <i>Queen¡¯s Kiss</i>


    "Ah!! Little Doggy, Little Doggy!! Good, good, my Little Doggy, my Little Doggy! I felt a little hesitant after thest ray of sunlight vanished, but I''m happy again now that I''ve seen you. I''m not in a fantastic mood. Come, Little Doggy."


    When we got off the carriage, we found Queen Sisi already there waiting for us. She wore a bright smile; she was dressed in a white formal gown that was almost transparent. The shade of white looked as though the sunlight illuminated it. She pulled me over with one arm and gave me a tight hug. Shepletely disregarded Veirya and Leah, both of whom were behind me, and hugged me cheerfully. She kissed my cheek without any misgivings then took hold of my hand. She cheerfully said, "Come,e, Little Doggy. Come with me for a stroll first. I shall give you the honour of apanying me on a stroll. Tonight, you shall join me in meeting all those who serve me. Oh, right, you people, make sure to take good care of Veirya and Leah. Veirya is my good friend. Should she even slightly frown tonight, I''ll be very mad. Veirya is here with me, so rest assured. Little Doggy, I will take good care of her on your behalf."


    I didn''t have a chance to a say a word before Queen Sisi dragged me off by my hand. I turned around to look at Veirya with a look of dilemma. Veirya froze in ce she watched me but didn''t say anything. Leah, on the other hand, grumpily folded her arms. Sadly, there was nothing she could do. I really wanted Veirya to step up and take me away. I was positive Queen Sisi had something in mind to drag me off immediately. The question was what she wanted.


    The military gathering ground adopted a carnival atmosphere. The banquet wasn''t prepared for officials or nobles. Queen Sisi even generously allowed anyone else to enter. However, the circr gathering ground was split into threerge circles.


    The outeryer didn''t have anything. There were only lots of long tables and dispersed empty areas. Everyone who passed by the area could pick up a ss of their choice and food. They could also dance along with the band''s music.


    In the centreyer, offerings were slightly more luxurious. Thatyer was probably reserved for the nobles.


    In the innermostyer was a huge statue with a massive bonfire below it. Thatyer was presumably reserved for those close to Queen Sisi. Next to the statue was a huge temporarily set up structure made from wooden boards. A throne was ced on top. The soldiers were busy going back and forth at the top. That was probably where Queen Sisi would be.


    I looked up to the top of the huge bonfire. A strange structure was set up there. It resembled a test tube rack. That said, there were no test tubes up there. I couldn''t figure out what purpose the rack served. Is it going to be used to grill something, I pondered.


    Queen Sisi excitedly held my hand with her beautiful and slender hand. Nheless, I didn''t have neither the time nor chance to enjoy the beauty and sweetness she shared with me. I was nervously trying to decipher what she wanted me to do.


    "Your Majesty."


    Queen Sisi personally led me to the centre of the za. Everyone there wore resplendent and elegant clothing. They respectfully saluted Queen Sisi upon seeing her. I looked at the faces; among them, I noticed a number of familiar faces. Achilles gave me a grin and raised his ss as a toast. I didn''t have the chance to respond, though, for Queen Sisi hooked her arm around mine with a bright smile. She gave me a kiss on my cheek without any regard for the eyes on us. She gleefully dered, "Did you all see that? Nice, nice. It is very rare for me to have the chance to see you all. Let me introduce you: this is Little Doggy, who I currently really like. Mm, Little Doggy, your introduction this time is much better thanst time, isn''t it?"


    Indeed,pared to my first introduction, it was much kinder and gentler. The nobles standing together were the entire empire''s foundation. If I chose to stay in the imperial capital, I had to remember every single one of them, and I had to convince all of them to support me. Nevertheless, as I chose to go to the North, I could do with or without them.


    A young man, one younger than Achilles, dressed in formal robe came over. He chuckled in a quiet voice and questioned, "Your Majesty, how shall we treat the gentleman? What significance does he hold to you?"


    Queen Sisi looked at me and slightly tilted her head. She earnestly pondered the question before answering, "Mm, the one I care most about, I guess. He''s different to you all. Little Doggy is loyal and smart. In thest incident ¨C which is also the one that has led to us gathering here ¨C my loyal Little Doggy protected me. He fought in the pack of wolves, which greatly pleased me."


    "So, can we consider him your favoured vassal?" The man softly chuckled and raised his cup to offer me a toast with a smile: "It seems I need to salute you, then. Her Majesty has been crowned for so long, yet has never been so intimate with an outsider. Since you are Her Majesty''s favoured vassal, we hope you can be a nicer to us henceforward."


    Queen Sisi looked at the people down below and spoke with a smile: "That''s your business; but nheless, I didn''t bring Little Doggy here this time for you to ingratiate yourselves with him. I have something to say to him."


    Everyone understood what Queen Sisi meant. They set down their sses, which was a sign of them expressing their respect to her then turned around and left, leaving me and her with private space. She softly giggled as she took out a long white glove from her chest region. She then picked up a cup of wine from the table and handed it to me with a smile: "So, Little Doggy, are you not going to offer your Queen a toast?"


    Queen Sisi had her back to thest sunrays of the setting sun. The sun enveloped her face in darkness, so I couldn''t see her bright heterochromia eyes and expression. I didn''t know what woulde after I took the ss with wine as red as blood. However, I knew what the consequences of not taking the cup were. I, therefore, took the cup and raised it. I took in a deep breath: "This is a toast to you, my Queen."


    "So, is this ss for your loyalty?" Queen Sisi picked up another ss and smiled: "My Little Doggy, I, the ruler of all of humanity and the empire, hereby solemnly dere that I''d like you toe to my side and assist. I always encounter situations where I need someone smart enough to guide me and think in my steed."


    I knew well and truly what Queen Sisi meant. If I clinked her ss, that meant I agreed to her request. I understood what she was implying She had everyone get to know me to turn the belief that I was her favoured vassal into a reality. Subsequently, nobody would believe I served Veirya. Veirya, including those in the North, would believe that I was Queen Sisi''s favoured servant. By then, there''d be nothing I could say to change their belief. Veirya wouldn''t speak up; she wouldn''t tell the truth, while I''d be forced to side with Queen Sisi. When that happens, Queen Sisi would force me to join her, and I''d be helpless to change that reality. She wanted to turn me into her vassal via social pressure.


    Queen Sisi was absolutely serious this time. Regardless, I still only had one answer for her. I didn''t clink her cup; instead, I raised my head and knocked back the ss of red wine in mind. Sadly, I couldn''t tell if it tasted good or not. All I felt was a burning liquid running down to my gut. The hot liquid almost made me throw it back up, which was the exact same feeling she gave me. She.was the red wine that I drank, hot and stimting. Everybody liked it, everybody except me. When someone drinks something they shouldn''t have, it feels bad.


    "A toast to your health and rule, Your Majesty. However, please forgive me, but I decline. I am neither the brain that you need nor the virtue that you need. I am merely a small thief, who is hungry for money. That is all. Protecting a nation is beyond what I am capable of. Therefore, Your Majesty, I am very sorry."


    Thest ray of sunlight vanished. Queen Sisi''s entire face was covered in darkness. In an instant, the red wine lost its colour, turning into ck mud. A me was thrown into the bonfire. The huge bonfire produced a light brighter than the sun. The people below erupted into loud shouts and cheers, while the music began to y again. Everyone entered a carnival state of mind.


    Neither Queen Sisi nor I spoke. She silently looked at me. She flung her ss. She sped my face with one hand and seriously looked at me. I didn''t know what to say when I looked at her heterochromia eyes. She leaned in to the tip of my nose and asked, "Why¡­ can''t¡­ I¡­ have you?"


    As Queen Sisi was too close, she appeared slightly blurry to me. I softly responded, "Because Veirya came first."


    Queen Sisi quietly asked, "Even after seeing this?"


    A few things dropped down from above the test tube rack. I nced over with my peripheral vision. If I wasn''t mistaken, they were people who were tied up. There wererge and small, fat and thin people who were restrained. They were dropped into the bonfire. They were the firewood for the night¡¯s bonfire.


    That was a clear demonstration of Queen Sisi ''s power. She defeated the adventurers and chapel with ease. There was not a single power that could threaten her. She became the strongest ruler of the nation. She could have anything she wanted. The music and flying ashes masked the painful cries, but I could hear them loud and clear.


    Queen Sisi gently pressed her hand onto my chest. In a tender voice, she said, "I can throw you, Veirya and everyone you care about down there, but I want you. I now want to do something. I don''t need someone who will stop me, but someone who can make the impossible possible. I don''t need vassals expostting me, but an outstanding individual who can realise everything that I want. What do you think, Little Doggy? I can give you everything that you want even my body. What do you think? Am I not gentlerpared to Veirya, who knows nothing?"


    Queen Sisi gently picked up my hand and ced it on her voluptuous breast. She leaned in and kissed my cheek. With her whispering in my ear with gentle pants, Ipared her to a venomous snake.


    "Sorry, Your Majesty." I took in a deep breath and gently took my hand off. I took half a step back. She froze in ce. I borated, "If I want something, I will try my best whether that is power, money or you. I promised Veirya I would stay by her side. I am not the chapel. I will stop you from throwing me, Veirya and Leah down. Your Majesty, we can work together, but I am fated to never be here."


    "Yeah?"


    Queen Sisi sped my face. Before I could react, I suddenly felt a soft and warm sensation in my mouth¡­ Nheless, the sensation instantly vanished.


    "Ah, Little Doggy, Little Doggy¡­ you truly are different to other people¡­ I can¡­ sense your ambition. Your ambition is wider than the sky and firmer than a mountain. I don''t hate that, though. An ambitious man is a true man. I need a knight such as yourself, not a ve. As you said, I am the same. I will stop at nothing to bring you to my side, so after this kiss, you must remain alert at all times. Careful not to let me take you away¡­"


    =========


    <strong>Important announcement, please read:</strong>

 Chapter Volume 4 10

    <strong>If you did not read this post about more chapters yesterday, please make sure you¡¯ve read it (unless you don¡¯t like more chapters). Only half of the total readers have read it: </strong>


    <i>Homeward Journey</i>


    Unfortunately, I didn''t have a chance to tell Queen Sisi what Achilles and the young man told me. She didn''t give me the chance; she left right after. I didn''t see her again that night. I did outright turn her down, but I was even more worried about her state of mind, as I didn''t inform her. She expressed she mighty her hands on Veirya, and she was serious.


    Queen Sisi was the type who had to get what she wanted. I, unfortunately, became what she wanted. Bearing the pain of leaving Veirya to be by Queen Sisi''s side while iming that I did so in order to protect Veirya, thereby hurting Veirya as you''d see in Korean dramas, wasn''t what I wanted. Staying by Veirya''s side was protecting her. It was precisely because I was by Veirya''s side that I could keep her safe. The moment I left Veirya, she''d truly be useless, and Queen Sisi wouldn''t hesitate to off her.


    I spected Queen Sisi would go looking for Veirya. Veirya was her sharpest de. If Queen Sisi nned to attack another race, Veirya would be her most formidablebatant. Queen Sisi was just somewhat arrogant; she was still rational. At the very least, she''d do her best to put pressure on the other with herbat force.


    I refused to let Veirya go regardless of whom Queen Sisi fought or what she did. I couldn''t see Queen Sisi winning with what she had. In thest war against the demons, everyone united to subdue the demons. Every soldier was fearless. Businesses donated their money that they considered treasures, and adventurers didn''t fear the ruthless demons. At this point, the military had other ideas in mind. The businessmen were afraid, and the people had yet to recover after the previous war. Queen Sisi didn''t understand that. Sure, she was proud and satisfied, but the nation wasn''t.


    The carriage was already on the road. We could already see the outer perimeter of the imperial pce. We left the imperial capital first thing in the morning as if we were fleeing for dear life. Leah couldn''t forget the imperial capital. The weather was the same as usual. The temperature in the South wasfortably warm. The sky wasn''t very cloudy. The birds'' chirps attracted other birds. The gentle breeze carried along the smell of flowers and grass. I looked behind. There were no areas that rose up on the ins of the six-corner star city, but I knew the imperial capital was being turned upside down. Everything around looked beautiful, but the power spurting forth from within the city might destroy everything, everything that I knew, in the end.


    While I was deep in thought, Veirya suddenly remarked, "You. Don''t seem. To be in a good mood."


    I looked at Veirya with a lost look. She then held my hand: "What. Is the matter? Did You. Not have fun. Last night? We. Had lots of fun."


    I softly sighed: "Many things might happen."


    "What things? Did you. Not already. Resolve them?"


    "Things are always getting more and moreplicated, more and more uneptable, though, especially now. Veirya, you might not be aware, but the interior of the imperial capital is extremely chaotic at the moment, particrly around Queen Sisi. She wants to do something; I''m sure she ns to do something. She might be nning to attack the elves."


    "Really?" Veirya had no opinion of the possibility of another war. She lookedpletely rxed: "In that case. I might. Go to war. Lucilia. Is very tough to fight. I might. Not be able to defeat her."


    "No, no, no, no!! What are you thinking? Veirya, this war has nothing to do with us. You''re no longer Her Majesty''s soldier. I told you about this to tell you not to get involved with it. Do not get involved even if Her Majesty <em>personally </emes knocking." I pressed my hands on Veirya''s shoulders and carried on, "The war is most likely to fail, because nobody is helping Her Majesty. I''m just trying to figure out who stands to gain from this war, and what will happen once the war breaks out, because I only have a general understanding of the empire, I can''t figure anything out. With that said, because this war is doomed to end in failure, you can''t go, Veirya."


    "I can''t put Her Majesty in danger. Just because of fear of losing."


    Veirya moved my hands off her shoulders. That proved shewas different to what I thought. Somewhat in a dilemma, I rubbed my head. Honestly, I had no way of telling Veirya about it. Veirya said the war was over, but she was still loyal to Queen Sisi. If Queen Sisiunched the attack, Veirya might join her. I needed to stop Veirya.


    "Veirya, this war is different to the previous war. You can''t be at the forefront this time. You need to guard the second line for Her Majesty, as I don''t know what will happen after sheunches the war. There may very likely be all sorts of schemes that will pop up behind the frontlines. The main thing to be concerned about this war isn''t the war itself, but the schemes behind the frontlines."


    Veirya deliberated what I said for a while and didn''t respond. She silently sat in the carriage. She hesitated for a bit before speaking: "Then, what exactly do I do? What can I. Do? I feel. That the things. You two are involved with. Have left me. At a loss for what to do."


    I exined, "You don''t need to be worried about anything; just sit back and watch. I just don''t know what might happen to Queen Sisi. Whatever happens, there''s bound to be a way to resolve it. It''s just¡­ mm¡­ that''s one matter¡­ There''s one more thing that''s irritating me¡­"


    I didn''t think it was a good idea to mention what that other matter bothering me was¡­ Queen Sisi''s kiss continued to linger on my lips. I tried to forget it, but try as I may, I couldn''t forget it.


    Queen Sisi wasn''t joking; she genuinely wanted me to join her, and she truly might harm Veirya. I wouldn''t rule out the possibility of conflict. If she called Veirya to battle, but Veirya refused, that would mean Veirya betrayed her. That would be an excuse for her to take the initiative to eliminate Veirya. Veirya and Angelina were different. She knew full well what Veirya''s situation was, and everyone knew Veirya.


    I needed toe up with an excuse that Queen Sisi couldn''t call into question to protect Veirya. At the same time, I needed to prevent Veirya from joining the war, but what would be a usible excuse? Additionally, the missing crucial piece of information was that I didn''t know what means she would use to recruit Veirya. There was no certainty whatsoever. I wouldn''t have any clue until Queen Sisi made her move. But nevertheless, the pointless thinking tortured me. I knew it was useless to think about, but I panicked if I didn''t contemte it.


    I thought I''d be putting an end to something when I went to the imperial capital. Instead, it was only the beginning of everything.


    The first thing I needed to do when we got back was to inform the elves of humanity''s nned attack so that they could prepare. While I was at it, I needed to rify my position in the war with them, ensuring that the North would be safe after the fighting and the vouring trade continued. Regardless of what took ce, the North needed to continue to develop as per normal.


    Lucilia purportedly gave me a present of some sort. I didn''t know what it was. It might be something very troublesome. Nevertheless, it was something to worry about it when we returned.


    ========


    Current time in the imperial pce.


    Achilles cautiously expressed, "Your Majesty, Mr. Lin has left the imperial capital. He should be heading to the North by now. I am not too sure what your intentions are. I want to know if Mr. Lin said something to youst night, at the very least."


    Queen Sisi poured honey onto her thin cake while eagerly picking up her fork to prepare to split the cake. She narrowed her eyes but didn''t raise her head; instead, shezily replied, "Ah, I know Little Doggy has gone back. There''s nothing I can do. My confessionst night fell through. It was the first time I experienced disappointment in love."


    Queen Sisi then licked the honey on her lip: "I haveid out the thoughts in my mind already. I believe we must attack the elves this time. I want all of the fame and reputation in the world. The elves have just gone through insurrection. The elf who has taken to the tform is not an elf who belongs in politics. Furthermore, the elves, who oppose the current ruling elven faction, will assist us in this war. By the way, purchase a batch of weapons from the dwarves using the money I earned this time. Equip the guards."


    "Your Majesty, even if you want to attack the elves, we suggest using your field military; they have always been fighting in wars, while the guards have only been guarding the imperial capital. When ites to authenticbat, they are inferior to the field military."


    "No. Can''t you see the field military is questioning my decision this time? An army questioningmands cannot be employed. All they will end up doing on the frontlines is embarrassing me. The guards are adequate to defeat a bunch of sloppy elves. The military still doesn''t understand what it is that I need. I don''t need vassals who oppose me; you''re my vassals, so you should dedicate your heart and soul to aplishing what I want to aplish. Little Doggy does that better than all of you. He has never asked for reasons, yet perfectly aplished what I asked of him. I like Little Doggy very much; he is the type of vassal I need, understood? You don''t exist to stop me from making errors; you exist to make my errors correct."

 Chapter Volume 4 11

    <i>Elven Queen</i>


    After several long days and arduous nights where even breathing was tough, as Leah and I were in each other''s tight embrace, we finally arrived at our territory in the North. Compared to the imperial capital, where the status quo wasplex, the North was a simple realm outside of it all. Our carriage stopped in front of our estate that we suddenly felt was a tad foreign. Leah cheerfully ran inside and followed the shabby corridor to the house at the rear. I looked at the estate andughed in a soft tone: "We''re home, huh?"


    "Yes, we are home." Anna, who was next to me, gentlyughed: "The clothes have arrived. Sir, you have good taste. Lord Veirya looks very pretty in the clothes. If you like, you can ask her to wear it every day to feast your eyes."


    Veirya came up to us from behind and adeptly looped her arm around mine. Without any expression on her face, she remarked, "If you want to see. I can wear it. From now on. I will. Wear those clothes."


    I stated, "That''d be fantastic."


    I, too, looked forward to seeing Veirya in normal clothing. The clothing purchased was ordinary clothing, but it was considered rare to Veirya. I was d as long as Veirya liked them.


    We entered the house. Therge hall at the front was pointless. The townsfolk didn''t need our help; green seeds sprouted from the fields. Food needed for the town in winter had already been prepared. Although they terrorised Leahst time, I couldn''t do anything to them. I won''t deny they truly sickened me. They were stupid, ignorant and didn''t even understand servitude.


    Because she didn''t have the key, Leah could only y around in the yard. Nevertheless, there was still nothing in the yard besides soil and a shabby fountain. Life gleamed in the fields outside, but our yard was still deste. Leah squatted down and drew something on the ground with a branch.


    I took out the key and unlocked the door. Just as I went to enter, I noticed a letter on the ground. I had never seen the envelope style before. It wasn''t a letter from Achilles or Queen Sisi. Curious, I picked it up. There was no fire stamp on there. It actually resembled nt juice more. Veirya poked her head over: "Elves'' letter."


    "An elf''s letter?"


    I froze; I didn''t understand why an elf would send me a letter at first, but then I soon recalled the elf told me Lucia would send me some sort of present. Hence, I figured it might''ve been a letter from Lucia. As for what the present itself was, well, I wasn''t too sure. Nheless, I didn''t think that it''d be something good.


    "Dear friend, Travor.


    Long-time no see. How is your footing along? If you still have any problems, please let me know. I will help you. With your assistance, we elves have sessfully created real change. We have realised our goal and forced the traitorous Elven Queen off her throne. We elves have now returned to the right path; however, we are grateful for the support you provided. I will begin preparing what I promised you before. If you see this letter, write back to me and have it delivered to the spot on the ground by the ancient tree that we came across ¨C the one we saw when we entered the forest togetherst time and I will receive it.


    Best regards.


    P.S. Send Veirya my greetings while you''re at it."


    Lucia''s handwriting looked vigorous and energetic. She, presumably, wrote it while jolly. At the time, she didn''t know that my left foot had been crippled. ordingly, it should''ve been two or three days ago that she penned it. I didn''t know if I could still reply in time. Nheless, the elf in the imperial capital should''ve notified her already. Knowing her, I predicted she''d personallye over.


    Just as I finished pondering to myself, Anna came in from outside and reported, "Sir, a horse carriage has arrived outside the town. It must be the elves. How amazing; we have just arrived home, and they have arrived. They must have perfectly calcted our journey."


    Veirya, puzzled, looked to me. I said, "Veirya, take Leah home first. Anna, help me take care of Angelina. I''ll go and see what the elf wants."


    Veirya nodded: "All right."


    Veirya then took hold of Leah''s hand and headed back. Anna went up to Angelina''s side. She wanted to support Angelina, but Angelina gave Anna and me a helpless smile: "I''m fine; I''m fine. I''ve already recovered. My feet have healed already. There''s no need to worry."


    "Do not push yourself if you have not fully recovered."


    Anna helped Angelina into the house. I scrubbed my hair and silently questioned, "Since it''s an escort team, there must be quite the number of presents or it must berge. What would the elves give me, a few carts of vouring? I don''t think that''s likely. The elves would give off the impression that they''re excessively shabby, wouldn''t they?"


    I went outside. The elves'' escort team had already stopped on the street outside of our entrance. To be honest, though, there were only four, five horse carriages. A few of them were to transport soldiers. Fully-equipped elven soldiers hopped out from inside the carriages. I thought they were utilising the Trojan horse strategy, taking the initiative to strike first and upy our North.


    Lucia cheerfully hopped off her horse and hugged me around my neck with one arm. She pointed to a carriage in the back and excitedly eximed, "Ah Travor. This is our gift for you!! We seeded, so ordingly, this is our gift for our friend!"


    I lingered for a moment then reacted surprised: "What? That much? We didn''t want that many presents."


    "It''s not much; it''s not much. Mm, there are only four, I think? Erm, one doesn''t count. No matter, you can do as you please with them. You can use them to death if you like, you know?"


    "So, what in the world have you sent to us?!"


    "A present from us elves, obviously."


    Lucia smiled in an incredibly mysterious manner. She looped her arm around mine and led me up to the carriage in the rear. It was a goods carriage; it was covered with a thick bit of cloth. I had no clue what was inside, but Lucia didn''t put down the piece of nk for unloading. Instead, she tapped the carriage.


    I heard rustling sounds inside the carriage. Before I could think about what it was, someone was thrown onto the ground. I saw a surprised female elf with nothing but silk socks on. Before I could call out, several more elves were literally hurled off. All of the elves thrown off were females.


    After thest female elf was thrown out, Lucia apparently noticed something. She pulled up thest elf; the elf was as soft as a doll. She didn''t wear any sort of expression, while her body was covered in bruises and traces of blood. Lucia touched her neck and dryly chuckled: "Sorry, Travor, she''s dead. If you mind, we can send you another."


    Then, Lucia casually threw aside the corpse as if she was throwing garbage away. I watched the five elves, who had their mouths stuffed, wriggle on their ground with all their might in an attempt to get up. A soldier used the length of their long spears to knock over the elves as if they were turning things over in a pot. I then looked up at Lucia: "Wh-What is this?''


    Lucia gleefully smiled: "Oh, she is our Queen. I mean, previous Queen. She''s very pretty. Also, these are the vassals who served her. We killed all of her male vassals. As for these elves¡­ as we don''t kill monarchs, we brought them over to you. Don''t you humans like female elves? We don''t want them, so we''re giving them to you. Travor, you can y with them to your heart''s content! It doesn''t matter even if you toy with them to death¡­"

 Chapter Volume 4 12

    <i>The Real Lucilia</i>


    "Lucia! What is the meaning of this¡­? What are you trying to get at, sending me elves¡­? You should be aware of my rtionship with Veirya, right? How do you expect me to take several female elves back¡­?"


    When I saw the elves, my first reaction was, "bloody troublesome," because I could tell Lucia thought about how to please me. I was sure the elves werepletely naked before. They all wore rtively sexy clothing when they were introduced to me. For example, silk socks and tight clothing that could barely cover their bodies. I didn''t know what she was trying to suggest, but no grown man would be able to resist their allure, would they? Nevertheless, I managed to resist any sexual urges.


    I believed it was a scheme, actually, trouble, a massively troublesome matter. Queen Sisi was still fiercely watching me. If I was to shelter the former Elven Queen when Queen Sisi was nning to attack the elves, who knows what Queen Sisi would do. The elves were inarguably gorgeous; however, they were covered in wounds. In fact, they had bruises on their body that looked repulsive. Lucia was right; they were trash in the eyes of the elves.


    "Ah, it''s fine, it''s fine. Veirya will understand." Lucia said as she casually waved her hand. "After all, they''re not considered people. At most, they''re, mm¡­ ves, I guess. If you don''t like them, I''ll just have them killed. We elves have traditions; we can''t kill a monarch, which is why I can''t kill her."


    Lucia grabbed an elf. She tore off the elf''s clothes and pushed her over to me. She excitedly eximed, "See? See? She has the extremely alluring big breasts that you humans love. Also, look, look!"


    Although Lucia was small in stature, she toyed with an elf, who was taller andrger than her, simrly to a girl ying with her stuffed teddy bear. She picked up the elf upside down. She ignored the elf when the elf let out a muffled moan as a result of having her head hit the ground. She pulled off the ropes on the elf''s ankle then pulled her legs apart. She shoved her hand into the elf''s most private spot and widened it. Then, she cheerfully said, "It''s her first time, Travor. All of the elves here are virgins. You can do whatever you like. You don''t have maids at home; let them fill the role. If you need a brothel, you can use these elves, too! Imagine it, Travor. You even have the Elven Queen amongst them. You feel aplished or what?"


    "Lucia, why are you in such a rush to sell these elves?"


    Lucia stopped to think. She then thoughtlessly threw aside the elf. She took out her bow and arrow to pin the elf''s ankle to the ground. She totally disregarded the muffled groans of the elf, who was in pain and bleeding. With a tinge of sorrow, she replied, "Because this is all I can give you. We elves¡­ how do I say it¡­.? We have nothing to give you¡­ I was very sad after hearing that your foot was crippled. I contemted what to give you; money isn''t enough to express my feelings, while I can''t represent elves to confer yound. Handmade items are too cheap; plus, I can''t make them, either¡­ You don''tck prey, either. After much contemtion, this was all that I could think of. You don''t seem to like it too much, though¡­ If you don''t ept them, I''ll be tormented. Had I managed to convince you into staying that night or had I killed those dogs sooner, you wouldn''t be in this state¡­ I almost got Leah killed, too¡­ That''s why¡­ I¡­ please allow me to make up for this mistake¡­ Travor, you can y with these elves as you please. If you think that there aren''t enough, I can bring more for you!"


    Seeing Lucia''s emotional response, I helplessly smiled due to feeling hopeless. Lucia said that from the bottom of her heart. She genuinely wanted to make it up to me whether it was my foot or Veirya''s injury. I never med her for any of it. She had her head down and quivered as a nervous young girl would. I thought, "Normally, she wouldn''t do such a thing, would she¡­?


    That seemed to be the nature of elves. They were very loyal and passionate to their friends, but cruel and heartless to their enemies. I felt honoured to be friends with an elf.


    "All right, then. I''ll ept them."


    Though I knew that it was a big problem and troublesome, it looked unbing to dump a carriage of elves in the middle of the road. Further, if I didn''t ept them, they''d probably be punching bags for Lucia to vent. The lives of the elves had nothing to do with me; but nheless, the mess has turned it into a situation where Lucia killed them because of me. Thus, it pricked my conscience. As for what use the elves would serve, they might be useful in the future. If the Elven Queen''s loyal vassals turn around and kill Luciater on, they''d be nice to us if their Queen was restored to the throne. The decision to take them in shouldn''t have been wrong. It was just a few more mouths to feed.


    "Hmm¡­ let''s see¡­ I won''t give you the ones who are too weak. They''ll probably die before you can treat them, after all. This one¡­"


    As soon as she heard that I''d ept them, Lucia immediately revealed a pure and happy smile. She hopped over stand among the elves with glee. She then drew her dagger and thrust it into the throat of one of the elves. The elf jolted a few times then stopped moving as her blood spilt.


    "She''s too weak; I can''t give her to you¡­ Mm, this one is the Queen''s bodyguard. It took us a lot of effort to capture her."


    Lucia grabbed the elf''s hair and lifted her head. The elf''s ck eyes brimmed with fury and insanity. She struggled with all of her might; she couldn''t be any more eager to bite Lucia''s neck off. Lucia picked her up and hurled the bodyguard over to me. Her pretty face slid along the ground. Consequently, the stones on the ground left trails of blood on her face.


    "This one was originally a diplomatic elf; she was in charge ofmunications with you humans. We won''t need her anymore, so she''s yours."


    The next elf Lucia threw over next had eyes filled with fear and terror. She was down at me feet as a dog. I quickly took a step back.


    "Mm¡­ this is our former Elven Queen. Sorry, but her eyes have been dug out. If you want, I can give her eyes to you, except, they''re rotten now."


    Lucia made a shocking revtion, yet wore a bright smile. She grabbed the head of the elf right at the bottom and picked her up by her xen hair. The elf¡¯s slender and charming body was covered in bruises and blood. Having her head pulled around, she instinctively opened her eyes. Unfortunately as her eyes were missing; all that was visible were two frightening bloody holes. I couldn''t believe Lucia dug out the elf¡¯s eyes with her own hands. Naturally, Lucia didn''t treat or disinfect her wounds. There were still white maggots wriggling at the corner of her eyes. Her lips were ghastly pale. The Queen seemed to utter something. She was very pretty. She was different to petite Lucia. She had entuated curves and skin as pure as the moon. Her face was so beautiful that it appeared surreal. s, she had lost her eyes, leaving her with just two terrifying bloody holes.


    "Former Elven Queen, Geruolinna, or Linna for short. Come, my esteemed Queen, Now, swear fealty to your new master."


    Lucia wore a cruel smile on her face. She dragged Linna over to me. Then, she violently threw her head first to the ground. I couldn''t pull my leg back in time. Hence, Lucia stepped on her hand, subsequently mming her face onto my foot and pinned her there.


    Lucia thundered, "Swear it, my Queen. Do you have any dignity to speak of anymore? Swear fealty to your new master. Kneel! Grab his foot and lick it!"


    Two soldiers by the side approached to pull up the Queen, who was weak, and forced her into a kneeling posture. Lucia cranked her neck up by yanking her hair then aggressively pressed her face down to my shoe. I swiftly pressed a hand on Lucia''s shoulder: "Enough, Lucia. They belong to me now, so there''s no need to do that."


    "Really? Don''t you think that it lets you experience the feeling of being a master?"


    Lucia didn''t quite understand my reaction, but she obediently released her. I didn''t help the elf up; I took a step back instead: "Thank you very much for your gifts and everything that you did for me, Lucia. Thank you very much. Also, be wary of humanity in theing days; Queen Sisi appears to want to attack you. You elves must be more careful."


    "Uhm, got it. Thank you, Travor. No matter what happens between elves and humans, as long as I''m still alive, you''ll always be my friend!"


    Lucia reacted totally differently to her attitude toward her Queen. She lightly hugged me around my neck and gave me a polite kiss on my cheek. Then, she retreated a step and quietly giggled: "Send Leah and Veirya my greetings. Oh, that''s right. On more thing: if elves and humans fight a war against each other, and Veirya chooses to help humanity attack us, her head will be the prey that I want most. I''ll make sure to take her head and hang it in my guest room. Therefore, watch over Veirya, Travor."


    "This war has nothing to do with me or Veirya; we''re not taking part."


    "That''s fantastic, then. Travor, you''re the most astute person I''ve ever met. Your decisions are always the best no matter what the subject is. These three elves are yours. By the way, if you need an actual elven maid, I''ll arrange for one of the girls from a noble family toe over. See you again, Travor. I wish you the best of luck in everything!"

 Chapter Volume 4 13

    <i>Jealous Veirya</i>


    Veirya ced down her cup. Confused, she asked, "They are?"


    "Whatever the case, can you help me?"


    It took me a lot of effort to finally get the three elves inside the house. We only crossed one corridor from the main hall, yet I felt as though my life would soon end. Fortunately, the guard was able to walk using the wall as support. The diplomat and Queen were too weak to walk on their own legs, so I carried them. With the two of them on me, straightening my torso was impossible.


    Anna ran over to take the elves off my back and set them on the ground. When she saw the Elven Queen''s empty eye sockets, even Anna, who was used to see dead people, was frightened. Leah happened to being downstairs; therefore, Anna swiftly covered the Elven Queen''s eyes with her hand. Curious, Leah scanned the three elves but felt slightly fearful at the same time. She bolted behind Veirya and asked, "Wh-Wh-What are these elves doing here¡­?"


    "Mm¡­ It''s a long story¡­"


    "That''s fine. We. Have lots of time."


    Veirya stood up and walked over to the elves. The three elves had yet to enter the property, so the three pitiful elves had to lie on the floor simrly to corpses. Veirya came up to me. Leah vigntly watched the elves, because their wounds frightened her. I was silent while I chose my words. I exined, "Simply put, they''re Lucia''spensation for us. That''s why she gave us a few elves. They will work as our maids."


    "If they''re going to be maids, they wouldn''t be treated this cruelly, would they?" Angelina, who was off to one side, gently touched the Elven Queen''s leg: "This elf''s leg is actually broken already, and it''s been broken for a long time. Having been broken for so long, yet not treated, her leg is mm¡­ she also has a fever. Her wound must be infected. It''s tough to say if she''ll make it. Furthermore, we don''t have the medical skills that elves do. I guess we''ll have to try what we can."


    "I. Recognise her," stated Veirya, covering Leah''s face with her hand; she ignored Leah''s shriek and touched the Elven Queen''s face. She calmly exined, "This is the Elven Queen. I''ve met her once. Why. Is she in this state? Did demons attack the elves? So, how is Lucil?"


    I nodded: "Mm¡­ she''s actually the former Elven Queen. However, the elves weren''t attacked by demons. The elves were just unhappy with the Elven Queen''s rule, thus got rid of her then sent her to us. This is the diplomat, who was formerly in charge ofmunications with humanity. This is the Elven Queen''s bodyguard."


    Angelina folded her arms and frowned: "It must''ve been harsh for them to leave the elvennds alive. I know the elves are crueller to war prisoners than demons are. Demons will just kill you, but elves will ruthlessly toy with you. I''d specte that the elves have such advanced medical knowledge, because they learnt about the human body through fiddling with corpses. In saying that, they do have a rtively good quality. If elves consider you an ally, they''d rather die starving than let you die from starvation. Elves don''t like war prisoners. From their perspective, one who has surrendered has abandoned their dignity. As such, the elves will use every means of torturing them for entertainment. That''s just how elves are; it runs deep in their bones. I guess elves consider dying in battle and triumph to be glory and honour, while torturing prisoners of war and people who surrender with every means possible."


    Imented, "I can see that."


    I looked at the elves and sighed. Indeed, Lucia did everything in her power for me, yet was exceptionally cruel to the elves. Further, she was the type of young girl who pursued justice with a vengeance. Given how she treated the elves, though, it proved cruelty was just tradition to them.


    Lucia believed in knights'' sense of justice, but she was an elf. We couldn''t ept that kind of brutality, but it couldn''t be any more normal to her. She wouldn''t hurt a child, but if Leah were to kneel before Lucia and surrender, Lucia wouldn''t hesitate to torture her.


    Elves once fended off the demons all alone. If they weren''t a race that was fond of battle, ruthless and simr to how they were portrayed in Manhuas, they''d probably have been annihted. I never saw Lucia on the battlefield before. She''d speak up for me if I was treated unjustly and would protect Leah, but her idea of justice and her elven nature didn''t contradict each other.


    Anna said to me, "What purpose will these elves serve us? Are we really going to have the three of them work as maids? I think one is enough. Are we¡­ supposed to feed three elves, not to mention their statuses? Neither the queen nor elves would think well of it, would they¡­? To add, I doubt the three will survive. Every single one of them is too weak at the moment; the Queen''s wound is infected. I am not certain she will make it if we provide her with emergency treatment."


    "In any case, let''s do our best. I struggle to ept seeing three people dying in front of me. We''ll discuss what to do with them after. Right now, I want to save the three of them first. Anna, head to the city and bring a few doctors. If you think they''re unreliable, go to the army to ask for their army doctor. Go through the night. I know you''ve juste home and haven''t had a chance to rest, but their lives are important, so please make haste."


    Anna nodded: "All right."


    Angelina: "What do you n to do with the three elves? They''re definitely not going to be able to go back to the elvennds after they recover. They''ll have to stay here. If they were ordinary elves, then whatever. However, the Elven Queen is the most troublesome one, isn''t she? Who knows what she ns to do. Plus, if Her Majesty finds out that we took in the Elven Queen, who was exiled, who knows what she''ll do."


    I shook my head: "I don''t know myself. Let''s save them, and then discuss that after. It''s a fact that these three didn''t do anything wrong. They could be maids. Angelina,e and help me clear up a few rooms upstairs. We need to give them some to stay for the meantime. Veirya, see if you can do something."


    "I''ll see."


    Veirya walked up to the three elves. She carefully touched the elf''s body. Angelina also helped out. While the two weren''t doctors, they did learn some medical skills due to their own experiences. The two of them were well-versed with handling external injuries. Angelina took out the medicine the elves gave her for her leg injuryst time. She gently cut open a wound on the Elven Queen''s leg. She then poured the powder medication into the wound and tied it up with bandage.


    Angelina exined, "This should be affective. The area outside the broken bone is fine. I have to do this to make the medicine effective."


    Veirya took out a shaving de. She gently put it into the Queen''s eye and dug out the rotten flesh. Then, she earnestly picked out the maggots. She then leaned into the Elven Queen''s eye and licked her wound.


    "What are you doing?!!" I quickly stopped Veirya.


    I looked at Veirya with a stupefied look, while Veirya looked at me with puzzlement. She answered, "Disinfecting the wound. Saliva. Can disinfect wounds. All animals. Disinfect wounds this way."


    "You can''t do that even if it''s the case!! It''s too dangerous¡­"


    Baffled, Veira queried , "What do you suggest, then? What, should I use. To disinfect the wound?"


    "Let me do it."


    I gently helped the Queen up. She meekly leaned on my chest. Apparently, she couldn''t feel any warmth or life. I went to lick her ck and bloody wound.


    "Hmm¡­?"


    Just as I was about to make contact, Veirya suddenly grabbed me to stop me, puzzling me. She gave me a stern look then quickly shifted her gaze to the Queen. She then looked back at me, and then raised the Queen''s head with her hand. Veirya set her aside. Her face muscle''s twitched: "Seeing you do that. Makes me. A bit unhappy. So. Don''t hold her. So. Forget it. Let''s. Think. Of something else."


    "Huh¡­?"


    A mischievous smile immediately surfaced on Angelina''s face. She pulled the Queen''s head into her embrace and licked the wound then spat out the contents. I fearfully looked at Veirya. She expressed, "I really. Don''t like it. Although. I don''t know why. I don''t. Allow you. To hug others that way."


    "I want it, then!" Leah jumped over from behind and ran into my arms.


    Veirya didn''t say anything, surprising me.


    "Did Veirya just get jealous? She doesn''t want me to hug others? What if I hug her, then? If I hugged her¡­" I wondered.


    I reached out to try and hug Veirya. She didn''t refuse. Instead, she looked at me in a strange fashion. I gently hugged her and tried to rest her head on my chest¡­


    That was myst memory. After that, I received a blow to the head; Inded on the ground with a thud and passed out¡­ When I came to, I found myself lying on Veirya''s thigh. I felt a painful sensation on my forehead and mouth. When I saw her unable to resist the urge to smile, I realised that she was Angelina.


    "Angelina¡­" Angelina resisted the urge tough. She smiled and said, "I know what you were thinking, but that was a very dangerous manoeuvre. You can''t try to touch Veirya''s head and hold it. Inbat, having your head held is risky. Veirya didn''t intend to hurt you; it was just instinct."


    "Yeah¡­?"


    "Veirya,e here."


    Veirya came over. Angelina and Veirya switched ces. Veirya provided me with a pillow. She leaned down and a cold but soft thing covered my forehead.


    "Saliva. Can disinfect wounds." I suddenly recalled that line¡­ Lying on a woman''s thigh while she licks your forehead¡­ somebody tell me what fetish that is¡­

 Chapter Volume 4 14

    <i>Flower</i>


    When we sat at the dining table the next morning, Angelina looked upstairs and said, "She should be able to make it back tonight from the city. Until then, we can only wait here. If the three elves die before she returns, we can''t help it. We''ve done what we can."


    I gently raised Leah''s head up. She was still yawning. I replied, "Yeah, we can only do so much. I really want to go to the elvennds and see how exactly they''re doing now if possible. There''s a situation in both the elven and humannds, while we''re stuck in the middle of it all, so I feel frustrated."


    Puzzled, Veirya titled her head. She then picked up a big piece of bread: "Does it. Have to do. With us? The elves matter. Have nothing to do with us. You didn''t. Let me. Get involved. With the imperial capital. Didn''t you?"


    "Yes, but it''s worrisome. We''re at the intersection of humanity and elves. Regardless of what happens on either side, we''re relegated to a passive position."


    Leah looked at me and, curious, inquired, "Papa, Papa, will the three elves be staying? Papa, they''re different to Sister Lucia. Leah thought all elves would be the same as Sister Lucia. Howe the three elves are hurt?"


    I didn''t think it was wise to tell Leah the elf she liked, Lucia, did that¡­ I just nodded and tried to provide an appropriate answer. I suddenly realised something, so I asked Leah, "Leah, how do you see the three elves'' condition? You can sense a person''s condition, can''t you?"


    "Leah can tell when it''s demons or humans, but Leah doesn''t quite understand what the scent of a normal elf is¡­ In saying that, mm¡­ those three elves are alive, except they are very weak. Leah almost can''t sense anything."


    Leah shook her head then fed herself a piece of bread. Veirya finished the milk in her bowl then poured herself another bowl. I didn''t have any appetite. I truly envied the two. I wanted to have a good appetite and not have to think about anything.


    Veirya asked Angelina, "What. Next?"


    Angelina chuckled: "What, you feeling annoyed already? All right. Want to give it a crack in the courtyard?"


    "Sure."


    Veirya appeared to be in high spirits. Returning to the North was her own decision, but it was rtively boring in the North for her, as there was nothing to do. Normally, she just sat in the house. With Angelina around, she could y with Angelina. I didn''t know what they were ying, but as long as they weren''t bored, then I was fine with it.


    "Leah, do you. Want to join us?" Veirya looked over to Leah.


    Leah froze; she looked at Veirya with a vignt gaze. Angelina nced over to Leah and softlyughed: "How about it, Leah? Come with us. We n to work on some swordy. How about it. Are you interested in swordy? A girl should be able to protect herself to some degree, right?"


    Leah didn''t give an immediate reply; instead, she turned to seek my opinion. She appeared very keen to go. She wanted to be able to defend herself after what happenedst time. She was totally helpless the two times she was kidnapped. She must''ve wanted to be able to defend herself so that she wouldn''t be kidnapped. Of course, I, personally, agreed with her thinking. Since my foot was gone, I was bound to never be able to learn swordy. Without Veirya around, Leah would have to protect herself.


    I caressed Leah''s small head: "All right. Papa thinks you can also go and practice. With that said, Veirya, Leah isn''t a soldier. Just teach her some skills; there''s no need to be particrly strict, and don''t let her get hurt. Angelina, watch over Veirya."


    Veirya didn''t sound too happy with what I said. She turned to me and said, "I know. What to do. I don''t need. Anyone to tell me."


    "Veirya¡­ I genuinely don''t trust y-"


    "I will. Prove it."


    Veirya turned away and didn''t look at me again as if to gesture she was grumbling. Iughed. I looked to Angelina: "Angelina, you still need to watch out for them. We''re not trying to transform Leah into a soldier as formidable as you two. She just needs to know how to defend herself. Try not to let her get hurt."


    "Uhm, I know where to draw the line."


    "I do, too!"


    "Papa, are you noting?" Leah looked up at me.


    I lingered for a second before I responded, "I''ll go take a look, as well, if there''s no other work. I think the elves wille today. After all, there''s the vouring trade down the road, and the flower I entrusted to Lucia. I need to find someone to fix the flower garden here. I promised Leah to fix it up. The weather is warming up, so we can get to work on it now."


    Breakfast soon ended; I cleared the table. Someone knocked on the door. Angelina went over to open it. Outside was an elf who froze upon seeing Angelina. He respectfully said, "Hello, Lord Veirya. I am here to send seeds under orders from Madam Lucilia."


    "Mm, I''m not Veirya; Veirya is back there."


    Angelinaughed as she pointed behind her. Veirya, who was sitting on a chair, pointed to me, "Talk to him. I''m not. Involved with it."


    "Wow!! Flowers? Papa, Papa! What sort of flowers are they?! What sort of flowers they?! Are they pretty? Leah has never seen many flowers. Can Leah have a look?!" Leah cheerfully ran up to me and hugged me around my waist as soon as she heard there were flowers.


    I gently pinched Leah''s face and smiled: "Wait until Papa nts them for you. They''ll be pretty flowers. They are flowers from the elvennds, after all. Wait for Papa to nt them, Leah; there''s no rush."


    "Mm!! Thank you, Papa!"


    Leah cheerfully pulled me down by my cor and kissed me on my cheek. I stood back up and went to the door. The male elf smiled: "I have someone who wants to discuss the vouring export with you. He wants to discuss how many times we export annually, how much and prices. You need to talk to him. If you have time, please tell me where to nt the flowers for now. Rainbow flowers are not a particrly strong flower. It will be able to grow as long as the environment is not too harsh."


    "Mm, pleasee with me, then."


    Veirya stood up and grabbed her long sword to her left. Angelina took hold of Leah''s hand. The three were about to leave. I was only going to remain in the courtyard. We fundamentally couldn''t do anything for the three elves. To put it simply, their survival depended on their willpower. The earliest a doctor would arrive to help them would be in the evening. Until then, I couldn''t do anything for them.

 Chapter Volume 4 15

    <i>Warmth</i>


    I spent the day watching the elf n the flower garden. The quality of the soil in the garden was decent. We could nt the flowers once we stir it around for a bit. Before that, we needed to repair the fountain due to the water source issue. It wasn''t the type of fountain we were familiar with in the world I came from. It relied on a machine that ushered water up and was responsible for watering both sides of the garden. We just needed to turn it on for a while daily; otherwise, we''d drown the flowers.


    The elf was also going to repair the fountain. ording to him, elves constructed the fountain in the first ce. Apparently, it wasn''t easy to fix. For a certain period of time, we couldn''t nt flowers, so it wasn''t a one-day job. If we didn''t have the Elven Queen residing at our ce, I would''ve happily invited him to stay the night at our ce. Nevertheless, he didn''t n to ept the offer.


    The elf left on horseback when the sun began to gradually set. He only brought seeds instead of saplings. He was busy examining the quality of the soil and how to fix the fountain. However, he needed stone, apparently. A team of elves was going toe and help us deal with the soil tomorrow.


    I discussed the vouring trade with the elf in charge of it. We discussed its price, volume and transportation means. Compared to negotiating with humans, it was very simple to discuss terms and conditions with the elves who resided in the forest. The simplest way was to switch between ying pitiful and talking about how it was just to get by. I led the elf by the nose with my lies just as I expected. I literally bought gold for a dirt cheap price. We were going to receive shipments once per month, and each shipment was to be two horse carriages'' worth. Needless to say, I wouldn''t sell all of each shipment off in one go. You need to be able to withhold such goods to sell them for adequate price.


    Queen Sisi and I had an agreement. It was just that I was no longer certain as to whether or not the agreement woulde to fruition anymore. I nned to go to the city to purchase a property and pretend it was a ce where goods exchanged hands. The n was to smuggle the vouring into the imperial capital via different means. It was best if we could avoid Queen Sisi catching us.


    I was sure that Queen Sisi would find out, not that I cared if I could make money off her. Having said that, I needed to be careful. If I tantly strutted through, was arrested and Queen Sisi wouldn''t bother with me, I''d likely be executed for smuggling vouring. Clearly, I was going to be busy for a while.


    I had signed the documents, and that was all that could be done with the garden. That was all that I could do for the day. I stood up and took the water pot upstairs. I gently pushed the door open and went into the room. As I thought, the elves were just weakly lying on the bed. I went up to the diplomat and wiped the corner of her mouth with a damp towel. Then, I gently poured half-a-cup of water into her mouth. She had yet to fully regain her conscious, so she only had an instinct to swallow. Additionally, I mixed the milk and bread and breakfast to pour into her mouth. Angelina said that we still couldn''t feed her too much.


    Next was the bodyguard. She was in better shape, albeit barely. She opened her eyes and was carefully rolling over. She kept her gaze on the Elven Queen the entire time. When she saw me enter, she tried to get up, but she couldn''t. She wasn''t even able to make a peep. I walked up to her and crouched down. I pressed her down despite her desperate attempt to get up: "Don''t get worked up. You''re still hurt and very badly for that matter. Your exterior wounds aren''t too bad, but your internal injuries are very dangerous."


    The elf still didn''t make a sound. She desperately looked at her Queen, seemingly wanted to go over to her. I pressed her down on the bed then went up to the Queen.


    Compared to the other two, the Queen was in the most critical condition. Lucilia and her allies must''ve hated the Queen to her core. Not only did they break her legs and organs, they even dug her eyes out. To avoid frightening Leah with her empty eyes, I covered her eyes with a ck bandage. Nothing that Veirya and I did was helpful. I thought of using strong alcohol to disinfect her wound¡­ I gave her eyes a simple wipe then bandaged her eyes. I took the fabric off and switched it for a new length of fabric before feeding her food and water. That was all that I could do.


    From my perspective, the Queen was dead. Her breaths were so weak that I couldn''t feel them even when I leaned in to her nose. Her body temperature was very low. If she couldn''t hang on until nightfall, she probably was a goner. The elves wouldn''t provide her with treatment. As for me, I wasn''t sure human doctors could treat an elf.


    The sun was already slowly going down. I covered the Queen with a nket again and checked out the fire. To maintain warmth in the specific room, I had to have the fire extra intense. I picked up two lengths of wood and tossed them into the fire before I left. That was when I heard horse hooves from outside, which was quite surprising to me, as I thought the three of them were just going to run around outside, not ride off somewhere.


    I went downstairs to open the door. Leah weakly dropped into my arms and let out a long sigh: "Papa¡­ so tired¡­ so tired¡­ Papa¡­ Leah is truly so tired¡­ fooooo¡­. Leah¡­ Leah truly can''t physically keep up¡­"


    "I promised you I wouldn''t let Leah get hurt. I just let her get some exercise. I must say, though, she''s quite physically fit for a child." Angelina gave Leah''s head a scrub from behind, and then came inside with a smile.


    Angelina didn''t mind that I just gave the three elves a drink with the water on the table; she picked up a tub and poured it on her head without any reservation. I looked at the water quickly spreading on the ground and eximed, "Oi, oi, oi! Go outside if you want to rinse yourself!"


    "Ah? Go outside?" coyly asked Angelina.


    Angelina walked up to me with a yful smile. She shook her short silver hair, thereby getting water everywhere. Then, she tossed aside her coat and undid the top two buttons on her shirt. She revealed the top of her cleavage to me. She pressed my head onto her blessings with one hand and mischievously grinned: "How are you supposed to enjoy this blessing if I go outside? Moreover, I''m identical to Veirya; you can''t y favourites. You could happily have hot baths with Veirya, yet you''re making me go outside in the cold? We''re the same, so how we bath together tonight? While we''re at it, I''ll give you a massage?"


    Before I had the chance to respond, Veirya smacked her mother over the head. She ignored Angelina''s, "Ow!" and dragged her away by her hair. Veirya then turned to me: "Go. Fetch water. I want to bath. I''m very sweaty. It''s ufortable. Where are the flowers?"


    "Sure. The flowers haven''t been nted yet; we need to repair the garden. The elves wille again tomorrow."


    Veirya''s speech was always fragmented, which made it difficult to understand. Nheless, after spending so much time together, I was used to it. I picked up the water bucket and went to fetch water.


    Leah was too exhausted to even make a scene. She struggled upstairs with her shoulders slouched and weakly said, "Leah is going upstairs for a nap first. Papa, call Leah when it''s time to eat."


    "Sure."


    Veirya and Angelina sat down at the table. Neither of them uttered a word, but it was evident that it was a lot incredibly lively. When I first came to the North, Veirya didn''t speak, while Leah was afraid of Veirya, therefore minimising her speech. The house was cold and murky, whereas that day, the setting sun was still bright and the house was warm. There was life downstairs and upstairs, which just made everyone happy.


    It would be so nice if life could continue that way forever. It was an ordinary life. At the very least, though, we were all together.

 Chapter Volume 4 16

    <i>Angelina¡¯s Night</i>


    "What¡­ do you mean¡­?" I asked.


    After I poured hot water into the tub, added wood and went to leave, the two women, who had gotten into the war, grabbed my shoulder at the same time. I shuddered. I looked behind me feeling terrified. I happened to see Angelina''s mischievous smile and Veirya''s expressionless look. Angelina giggled: "What''s the matter? Did I say that I was very keen to bath together with you? Now is a perfect opportunity."


    "Bath. Together," stated Veirya.


    Veirya suddenly increased her grip strength on my shoulder. The mother and daughter pair didn''t give me any chance to protest: they gripped my shoulder harder, and then flipped me into the water¡­ No, before my head could make contact with the water, itnded on their thighs.


    The bathtub wasn''t very big. It was squishy with just Veirya and me in it to begin with, so with three of us squeezing in, it wasn''t even possible to move. As a matter of fact, I felt as though the three of us would bust the tub open¡­ Veirya straightened me up as if she was pulling a radish out of the ground, and then hugged me.


    I was a grown man, yet Veriya hugged me simr to when I hugged Leah. It was shameful¡­ Angelina kept on getting touchy with me while I couldn''t move. Veirya was behind me, and I couldn''t tell her that her mother was teasing me <em>there</em> with her foot.


    While I didn''t know how much Veirya''s father once enjoyed it, it was hell, not heaven for me. The bottom of Angelina''s foot was soft, white and skilled. She didn''t reveal anything on the surface. From Veirya''s perspective, Angelina was acting totally normal; she wore her usual mischievous smile.


    Next to my ear, Veirya abruptly remarked, "Your heart. Beating very fast."


    Startled, I almost lost control. I jolted and stuttered, "N-No¡­ I''m just¡­"


    Angelina smugly folded her arms with a mischievous grin: "It''s probably because he''s having the time of his life right now."


    "You like. Bathing?" Veirya looked at me puzzled. She then tilted her head to ponder. She continued, "Truth be told. I, too, like bathing. It''s just. I don''t have much time to bath. Most of the time. I only get. To rinse. Otherwise. I''ll smell bad."


    "Actually¡­ it''s not¡­ that¡­"


    I clenched my teeth to resist. Angelina suddenly pulled her foot back. It was akin to losing your rope right as you reach the peak of the mountain. I was initially very ashamed and reluctant, only to feel that it was a pity when she pulled back. In fact, I was strongly reluctant for her to stop.


    Angelina gently touched my face with an urge to smile. She then lightly leaned her body on my shoulder and bit my ear. She whispered, "What''s the matter? Not arousing enough for you. You''re in my daughter''s arms right now, you know? Don''t you really like my daughter? Why are you getting off with me, then? You want it now, do you? I''m okay, with it. I''m not rejecting you. I''m Veirya''s mother; I won''t tell her. You don''t need to me yourself, either. If you want to continue,e to my room at night."


    "What. Are you talking about?" Unhappy, Veirya shoved Angelina''s face back.


    Angelina used her foot to touch me onest time after I calmed down, and then she giggled: "Nothing. I just wanted to ask what was for dinner. Veirya is there something that you want to eat?"


    Veirya shook her head: "I''m. Fine with anything. I like. Everything he cooks. Very much."


    "Do you? To be honest, I also really like them. I genuinely didn''t think a man could cook so well. From memory, not many men could cook. Speaking of which, I''m ashamed to admit it, but Veirya never got to eat any nice foods when she was young. She was always eating together in the army."


    Angelina didn''t touch me again. She didn''t even look at me again, in fact. Previously, she couldn''t stop teasing me, yet she suddenly gave me the cold shoulder. I was left feeling awkward and speechless. It was then that Angelina stood up. I was surprised when I looked below her abdomen. It was different to Veirya''s; I had no idea why Angelina chose to shave¡­ She scrubbed my head with augh: "Now I''m feeling somewhat hungry, so I''m done bathing. Veirya, if you''re hungry, too,e out. Go and cook."


    Veirya nodded; she didn''t protest. I, therefore, presumed Veirya was also hungry. The two of us stood up. When I looked at Veirya''s hair, I noticed she didn''t care for it. She merely cut off the burnt parts from thest incident. She sported messy short hair since. Veirya might not care, but it was a waste of her beautiful hair. I needed to find a good hairdresser to, at the very least, cut her hair neatly.


    The two of us got out of the tub. We wiped ourselves down, and then got dressed. I headed into the kitchen, but went out of my way to peer outside. It was getting dark, yet I couldn''t hear any horsesing. Hence, I presumed Anna wasn''t going to make it. I wondered if Anna would make it back tomorrow morning. The elves, the Queen in particr, might not make it past the night. I hoped Anna could make it in time.


    Veirya came into the kitchen. She wasn''t there out of a short moment of interest; she earnestly watched me prepare the dishes from the side. Nevertheless, she didn''t seem to have any talent for it. Besides being very rigid with a knife, she couldn''t even crack an egg without causing trouble. She''d crush the egg in her hand then try to pick the shell fragments out.


    Once I finished cooking dinner, I had Angelina go and call Leah. I specifically prepared a porridge that was rtively easy to swallow for the three elves. I minced the meat and added it to the porridge. Leah wanted to sleep for a little longer. Despite seeing food, Leah continued soul searching.


    Leah sat next to Veirya for a change, while Angelina sat next to me. I just needed to turn my head a tad to catch sight of Angelina''s head. Every time I looked at her, I''d spot her with a mocking and seductive smile. Honestly speaking, my crotch was very eager to stand up after that bath. It was impossible to control it whenever I looked at Angelina, while she''d continuously touch my leg with hers. Whether or not that was intentional escaped me. She''d also use her bare feet to step on mine.


    "Don''t you think you''re going too far¡­?" I thought.


    I kept on fighting my urge. Sadly, the more I tried to resist, the more aggressive Angelina would get with her teasing, thereby driving me absolutely insane. I kept on having naughty thoughts all the way untilte at night. When I tucked Leah in, she passed out almost instantly, presumably due to the exhaustion from the day. I watched Leah sleep. I couldn''t sleep, as the loneliness at night and that demonic fire in me tormented me all night, consequently keeping me up. As a matter of fact, seeing Leah''s innocent sleeping face almost resulted in me losing control of my hand that wanted to get inside her clothes. I told myself, "Stop, stop! You mustn''t let yourself fall and be scum, Lin Dongqing."


    I could forgive myself if it was Angelina, but if Iid my hands on Leah, I''d be scum through and through.


    I got up and went to the corridor to cool down. But nheless, my eyes immediately turned their attention to Angelina''s door. Angelina didn''t shut her door; she left a small opening as if she deliberately left it open for me. I cautiously approached her room, using the wall as support. I instinctively peeked inside. I knew it was wrong to peak. I reminded myself, "I like Veirya, not Angelina. Angelina is definitely just teasing me¡­"


    Unfortunately, I seemingly couldn''t control my feet. I kept edging closer and closer to Angelina''s room¡­ When I just arrived at the door, it swung open. Angelina grabbed and yanked me inside. The momentum shut the door behind me.


    Angelina grabbed my cor with a naughty smile. She wore nothing but a thin piece of clothing that couldn''t cover anything. She dipped her left hand inside. The warm sensation felt sensational. That was when I realised just how much I desired that gentle touch. Angelina stered her body to mine and giggled in my ear: "It must be tough holding it in, huh?"


    Ashamed, I lowered my head and didn''t utter a word. Angelina stroked my face with a smile and lowered her voice: "If you don''t admit it, I''ll stop right now. So, what''s it going to be¡­?"


    My body cried out; the moment Angelina stopped her hand, my body burnt. I instinctively grabbed her hand and despairingly murmured, "¡­ Don''t¡­"


    "Hehe, very good."


    Angelina passionately kissed me the grabbed my cor and threw me onto the bed. I didn''t shut my eyes; instead, I kept them open, as Angelina was far too simr to Veirya. I really wanted to do the same thing with Veirya. Even if I couldn''t then, I wanted to fantasise it. I didn''t know why, but I didn''t feel guilty at all in the heat of the moment.


    "What exactly is my rtionship with Angelina? Why exactly are we doing this? Is it for Veirya?" I asked myself.

 Chapter Volume 4 17

    <i>Elves¡¯ Tradition</i>


    It was my first time¡­ Yes, I experienced everything for the first time. Whether it was her warmth, the softness of her lips, the feeling of breasts in my hands, and then¡­ and then¡­ the sensation of her most sensitive spot¡­


    Angelina narrowed her eyes and tenderly looked at me. She stopped at the very moment we met. Our bodies remained in an odd position. She giggled as she stroked my chest and affectionately said, "Want me¡­ to sit down?"


    I was too shy to answer; however, my body was screaming, pleading Angelina to sit down. I hadn''t had a girlfriend in almost twenty years, because, due to my former job, I couldn''t ept a girl who cried and pleaded. The supreme beauty with a well-endowed body was teasing me. I was just one second away from losing my virginity¡­


    "You shy, huh? In the past, I lied there on the bed as you are right now and pleaded Veirya''s dad. I know all about this thanks to him. What? Don''t be jealous; he''s already passed away. The one underneath me right now is you, and the rod that I''m holding is yours, you know?" Angelina looked at me with a yful smile.


    I shut my eyes and decided I wasn''t going to mind appearances. My entire body virtually felt as though it was engulfed in mes. I had no other though other than a desire for Angelina to slide down on me so that she couldn''t wear that mischievous smile of hers anymore. I wanted to roughly thrust my weapon into her, make her cry and make her never dare to smile that way again after she tightly hugged me.


    I softly murmured, "Please¡­"


    Angelina quietly chuckled. Suddenly, I heard two loud and ted voices from outside, "Sir!! Lord Veirya! I brought a doctor back! Lord Veirya!!"


    If it was just Anna who screamed, I might not care so much. Elves, doctors, whatever, I didn''t care at that point. They could do whatever they pleased. But nevertheless, the door to Veirya''s room swung open. I didn''t care about anyone else, but I definitely couldn''t disregard Veirya. I heard Veirya''s footsteps zip past our room door. She didn''t know what was going on inside, but I vigorously sat up.


    To put it into perspective, it was akin to having a basin of cold water sshed on my brain. I seemed to realise what I was doing. I shuddered then pushed Angelina off me. She eximed then looked at me with an admonishing gaze. She grabbed her breasts and thundered, "How can you be so heartless?!! You were begging me just before, and now you just push me away?! We''ve already done all that, so what are you still acting innocent for?! Let''s continue!! What are you worried about?!!"


    I sat up and viciously pinched myself in the face. I faintly apologised, "Sorry¡­"


    Immediately after, I stormed out of Angelina''s room as if I was fleeing. Despite my left foot being crippled, I still ran full pelt. As a consequence, I nearly rolled out. I loudly shut the door behind me and gasped for air. I weakly leaned onto the wall and gradually slid down. However, because of my panting, I started to feel dizzy, and my vision turned dark. I gripped my chest. A sickening feeling gave me an urge to vomit. I didn''t know what was wrong with me, either, but I genuinely felt nauseous.


    I wasn''t sick due to Angelina; I was sick with myself. Myck of determination in every endeavour sickened me. I decided to love Veirya, yet was seduced by Angelina all the way to her bed. I was about to do it with Angelina, yet fled, because of Veirya. I really didn''t have an ounce of determination.


    I didn''t stand for anything; I didn''t understand what love was. I didn''t understand what exactly I wanted. I wasn''t worthy of being loved. I was scum, scum that continued to provoke women around him, yet didn''t ever take a side. Instead, I hesitated until I ended up hurting them. I was sick of myself. I was always prattling about love, yetcked any degree of self-awareness.


    "What''s wrong?" Veirya came up to me with light steps. The sight of my pale face bewildered her. In response, she tilted her head: "Are. You sick? Doctors. Coincidentally just arrived. You need them to take a look?"


    I nervously gulped, swallowing with it the food that hade back up. I struggled to reply, "No, nothing¡­"


    Veirya gently helped me up to my feet and down the stairs. Anna was waiting in the dining hall with two doctors. There were a few alight candles on the table. While I felt slightly weak, I did notice that one of the doctors had long ears, so I presumed him to be an elf.


    "Sir, are you sick?" Anna asked.


    I shook my head: "I''m fine; I''m just feeling a little weak. Don''t mind me. Doctors, please head upstairs and take a look at the three elves. Anna, you can go rest now. There is still some food in the kitchen. You''ve travelled for a long time, so have a good rest."


    Anna nodded: "All right."


    The elven doctor gave me a subtle nod: "May I ask what sorts of injuries the three elves received? How did they get hurt?"


    "Head upstairs and take a look."


    I gradually regained my energy as Veirya helped me. I turned around and made way. The two doctors nodded then made their way upstairs. We followed them to the room. I lit up the candle on the wall, thereby revealing the three elves with a timid me. The elven doctor walked up to the diplomat. I picked up a candle and held it overhead. He gently caressed the elf''s body, and then softly said, "She is all right. They are just minor wounds, and she has not suffered any severe internal injuries. She will be fine once she consumes some medicine."


    "All right."


    Next up was the bodyguard. Her wounds were more severe; she suffered internal injuries. That was why the elf took a while longer to think and prepare medicines. Nevertheless, the bodyguard and the diplomat weren''t in the worse condition. The Queen was in the worst shape.


    I didn''t know if the elf was aware of the internal turmoil of the elves or not, but since he resided in humanity''snds, I didn''t think he''d know much. Moreover, he didn''tment on the diplomat or bodyguard. I, therefore, assumed he didn''t know what happened.


    Thest patient was the Queen. Before I addressed her, the elven doctor saw her eye wounds. He immediately stood up and solemnly said to me, "Sorry, I cannot treat her even though she is our former Queen. This is our elven tradition. We elves treat traitors this way. The reason we dig out the eyes of elves is so that they cannot see the way home. I cannot treat a traitorous elf."


    I responded "No chance at all? Regardless of what happened in the past with the Queen, she''s now merely an ordinary injured elf, and you''re not in the elvennds, either. Nobody would know even if you did treat her."


    "My conscience knows. My conscience as an elf knows."


    The doctor touched his chest, where his heart was. He ced two gold coins on the table then turned and left without any hesitation. Veirya grabbed her sword handle and looked at me, but I shook my head. She reluctantly watched the elf leave. I have to admit the elven race was confident, and their respect for traditions was firmly rooted just as Lucia''s was. Even an elf with a sense of justice wouldmit such cruel acts.


    I sighed. I turned around to look at the lost human doctor: "Try your best. While I don''t know if humans and elves are the same, just give it your best. I won''t me you."


    "Understood¡­"


    There was nothing we could do. Whether or not the Elven Queen survived depended on her.

 Chapter Volume 4 18

    <i>Weak But Determined</i>


    The human looked as though he couldn''t help the elf. All he could do was use humanity''s medicines to temporarily treat the elf. We weren''t sure if humanity''s medicines would be helpful for elves. Nevertheless, since elven medications worked for us humans, I assumed it would work the other way around, as well.


    Angelina''s previous method was somewhat unorthodox, but it appeared effective. After the doctor checked the Queen, her broken leg had recovered; at least her bones were slowlying together. We had changed the medicine for her eyes. We also gave her medication for her fever. Though we had yet to see any results from those attempts, it was better than leaving it all up to chance. Regardless of what the case was, I had done everything in my power. I administered the medications already; if the Queen couldn''t make it, I wouldn''t need to me myself. In saying that, what I needed to feel guilty about wasn''t the Elven Queen but myself.


    I took in a deep breath then gently knocked on the door. I didn''t wait for Angelina to respond before pushing the door open. As I thought, she didn''t lock her door or sleep. She was still dressed in thin sleepwear. She was sitting on her bed. She turned her head to face me when she heard the door open. She wore a crafty smile on her face: "What, you done with things over there, so you''vee back tofort me, is that it?"


    I didn''t know what to say. As a matter of fact, I didn''t even know what to say for my apology. That said, I just instinctively apologised, "Sorry."


    I sat down to one side. It was the same bed; the Angelina I knew was still the same Angelina, and the air carried the same scent as before, but I was absolutely calm this time.


    Angelina folded her arms. She didn''t leap over to tease me this time. From behind me, she coldly asked, "What are you here for, then? Are you here, because you want to apologise? Why are you apologising? Why did you push me?"


    "No." I shook my head then stopped to think. I hesitated before I exined, "I meant, I shouldn''t havee here. I shouldn''t havee here tonight¡­ Now that I''m thinking with a level head, if I wasn''t stopped, we would''ve done something. If we did something, I wouldn''t know how to face Veirya, and how would you face her¡­? I don''t know. I hurt you; and I ran away half-way through, so I hurt your feelings. I''m sorry."


    Angelina listened to me, and then gently pursed her lips: "The most upsetting thing is yourst reason. As for my rtionship with Veirya, you don''t need to concern yourself with that. What happens between us is our business, not yours. The two of us are just messing around; you don''t need to mind it so much. Have you forgotten? I''m a much older woman than you are. It doesn''t matter if we mess around a bit."


    I shook my head, and then stood up: "No, I consider us messing around to be betraying Veirya. If I''m thinking of Veirya when I''m with you, I''d be tormenting you. I''m very sorry, Angelina. I won''t do that again. I won''t be so immature again. I won''t do it again."


    "Hehe." Angelina giggled as she came up behind me and gave me a light hug. Next, she whispered in my ear, "That''s how love is, kiddo. You''re still too young. It''s precisely because you''re so young that you keep talking about love. Look, you reacted to me before, didn''t you? If Anna came back just one secondter, you know well and truly what would''ve happened, don''t you? Kiddo, you''re fine with anyone. It''s not betrayal orck of determination. It''s human nature. Humans have desires; there is no love in the face of desires. You can love Veirya; however, what you do with me isn''t crossing the line."


    I shook my head. In a soft, yet firm, voice, I responded, "No, I think there''s a difference."


    Angelina''s hands began to travel south. This time, I caught her hand that began to head south to stop her from doing something. Neither of us spoke, not that I needed to. I had explicated my stance, and Angelina had proven what was on her mind. Given that we both proved our stances, there was no need for any more words. It wasn''t a negotiation. There was no room for discussion. That was it. The two of us were at our bottom lines.


    Angelina murmured next to my ear, "Do you know what I like most about you? You''re very weak; you don''t have anybat skills, nor do you have a strong body. You wouldn''tst for one second on a battlefield. When I first saw you, I immediately knew how weak you were. However, you''re resolute and fearless. You don''t care about any danger. Despite being weak, you still stood before Veirya and me. You''re weak, but the way you unwaveringly advance gives people confidence just as my husband once did. A mere soldier, who was inferior to me, stood in front of all of us. What''s most important for a man isn''t how much strength he possesses, but whether or not he possesses that determination."


    I solemnly responded, "Right now, I''m very determined."


    "Yes," Angelina responded with a smile then released me and took two steps back. "You know, that''s what hurts people most about you. I like your determination most, but unfortunately, it''s not for me. You¡¯re going to break a lot of women''s hearts in the future."


    "No, I won''t let that happen to other women; Veirya''s my only one, after all."


    "You have three elves upstairs; what are you on about? Leave. It won''t be good if Veirya or Leah see you. You strongly resemble Veirya''s father. No, not your appearance or identity, but your weakness and determination."


    "I want to have some strength, too."


    "Your determination and your intellect is your strength. Veirya is happy with you. I won''t say too much, but remember, I won''t give up. If you do that again to me, I''ll have my way even if I have to knock you out."


    Angelina said something shocking with a smile, thereby almost bringing me to my knees. However, Angelina then pushed me out of the room and shut the door.

 Chapter Volume 4 19

    ¨C Ignore if you are a patron already


    <i>Big Clean Up</i>


    The next morning, instead of waking up due to sunlight or Leah suffocating me again, a loud sound woke me up. I nearly threw Leah, who had reverted to her child form and grumbled, onto the ground. Leah rolled over to a side of the bed and continued sleeping. I scrubbed my hair. The sun had yet to rise all the way up; it still wasn''t time to wake up yet. I covered Leah with the nket then grabbed my cane and left the room. When I arrived outside, I saw Veirya also standing in the corridor with her long sword in hand.


    "What''s the matter?"


    Veirya shook her head: "I don''t. Know, either. The sound. Came from the elves. Maybe something. Happened inside."


    I pushed the door open to see the elven bodyguard crawling on the ground, trying to reach her Queen. I sped over to her side and helped her up. She was weak, but she put up a desperate struggle, nheless. I put my back into it to put her on the bed. I seriously said, "Calm down. What are you doing? Don''t worry. Don''t worry. She''ll be fine. She''ll be fine."


    She continued to desperately struggle. She wouldn''t stop jumping up and down in my arms. She tried to push me away, but she was too weak: there was no way she could muscle me off in spite of her best efforts.


    "Let¡­ let¡­ let me go to her¡­ Human¡­ Human¡­ let me¡­ go¡­ go¡­ to my Queen."


    She barely uttered a few words, not to mention that it was as if she was coughing blood with each word.


    "Don''t rush; don''t rush. Your Queen will be fine. She''ll be fine. We''ll take care of her; we''ll take care of her."


    I pushed the elf down on the bed. She wouldn''t quit struggling and loudly coughing. Veirya came up to her and gently pressed a hand on her chest. Veirya said, "I know. What you''re thinking. But right now. You''re hurt. You can''t protect her. So. Rest up for now."


    "You¡­ you¡­"


    The elven bodyguard was surprised to see Veirya. She must''ve recognised Veirya, not that it should''ve been surprising, as Veirya was humanity and elves'' hero, the one who slew the Demon King. Veirya ced her long sword on the bodyguard''s chest: "You''re an. Excellent bodyguard. So, don''t worry. Your Queen. Will be fine. This. Is for you. After you recover. Protect her."


    I didn''t understand what the sword represented in her situation, but the bodyguard nced at Veirya. A smile slowly surfaced on the bodyguard''s face. She tightly clutched the long sword. The sword was far more important than what she could handle at the moment. She still continued to desperately grab the sword, as it was the symbol of a guard''s dignity.


    Unsure of what Veirya would use instead: "Your sw-."


    Veirya shook her head without concern, "I. Don''t have a specific sword. That I use. The sword. That Her Majesty. Gave me. Has snapped. I lost it. I don''t use. A specific sword. That''s why. It doesn''t matter."


    "I see¡­"


    While Veirya said that, I had a feeling that Veirya wasn''t too happy. After all, a bodyguard must''ve felt very honoured to have their own sword. Though Veirya wasn''t a bodyguard by definition, she probably hoped to have a sword that another gifted her, as well.


    I didn''t think I''d be able to get my hands on a sword, but I should be able to purchase one for Veirya. I needed to ask the dwarves for one, though. Supposedly, dwarves were experts in creating such weapons. I nned to contact them to buy the best sword they had for her.


    The bodyguard appeared as though she had recovered, judging from the fact she could speak and move. The medicine the elf prescribed was very effective as I thought. In just mere hours, the elf had recovered a lot. I looked over to the diplomat. She silently lied on the bed. Tears silently coursed down the corner of her shut eyes. In my opinion, she was the most pitiful among them, for the issue most likely had nothing to do with her. She was only a diplomat, yet she was exiled from her homnd. She didn''t do anything wrong, yet had to go through all of that suffering.


    I went over to the diplomat with light steps and gently took hold of her hand. In a gentle voice, I told her, "It''s fine; it''s fine. Don''t be heartbroken. It''s all in the past now. It''s safe here with us. This may not be your homnd, but homes are always changing."


    Veirya, curious, asked, "Is your home. Always changing?"


    I gently nodded: "Uhm. I don''t have a homnd so as to speak. I have no idea where my homnd is. From a young age, I continuously migrated from one ce to the next. I met different people in different cities, and travelled different paths. I never had a home I could settle down in."


    Veirya replied, "You do. Now. Where family is. Is home. Now. You have Leah. So, you have a home."


    I smiled helplessly. I was very happy to have Leah, true, but the answer that I wanted to hear was Veirya to tell me that she was my family. She didn''t seem as though she understood what I was thinking, sadly. The elf opened her eyes to look at me with a heartbroken gaze. She gently grabbed my clothes. Her lips gently trembled as tears coursed down. After a while, she gradually made out two heartbreaking words: "It hurts¡­"


    I was speechless. All I could do was hold her hand. She tightly shut her eyes as her tears of sorrow rolled down her face. I wasn''t sure if the pain she referred to was physically or mentally. She suffered too much for a girl. I had nothing I could say, and no words offort to share. I could only touch her head as a sign of sympathy.


    Finally, I looked over to the Elven Queen. Compared to the two I just checked on, the Queen hadn''t made a sound or given any reaction. In fact, she hadn''t changed her posture. I was quite worried. While the two elves had recovered, the Queen had yet to make a peep. She was as silent as the dead. I walked over and touched her arm. Fortunately, her arm was still soft; it wasn''t stiff. Furthermore, I could feel the warmth of life on my finger tip, albeit faintly.


    I gently ced my hand on her cheek. I guess the Queen was feeling rtively blissful. After all, she had yet to realise that she couldn''t see anymore. Everything was dark to her. When she regained her conscious, she''d realise her predicament. She''d feel blissful if didn''t realise that she''d be living in darkness forever. If she did realise it, though, she''d be drowned in infinite suffering. Eyes were important for any race.


    ========


    Current time in the elven forest.


    <em>Whoosh!</em>


    The handsome young man set down his bow. He then squinted as his eyes chased the end of his arrow, which shot through the air and curved before piercing the throat of an elf tied to a timber pir. The elf struggled with pain as enormous amounts of blood spilt from his throat.


    "Geez, Brother!"


    Lucia, who was off to the side, jumped to her feet and fired an arrow. Her arrow pierced the fruit that rolled off the previously shot elf''s head and pinned the berry to his throat. Lucia put her bow down and grumpily folded her arms. She said to her older brother, "The arrow should''ve pierced the fruit, not the elf''s throat, Brother. It''s such an embarrassment for our n''s sessor to have such poor archery skills."


    "My dear sister, how can you be sure that my target was the fruit and not the elf''s throat?" Lucia''s brotherughed as he picked up a fruit from a te by the side. When he bit into it, the juice resembling blood covered his teeth. He looked at the elf''s corpse that eventually stopped budging. Satisfied, he said, "That traitorous Elven Queen has been exiled, but by the looks of things, there are lots of traitors among us elves. Elves can live perfectly well in our own forest. Before humans were around, elves were free. Since humans set foot in our forests, however, they''ve only in our kindness with des. We did our best in thest war for our homnd, not them. Now that it''s settled, humanity hasid their ambitious gazes on our forest. That''s why we can''t interact with humans. That woman is dragging elves to hell."


    "Absolutely. Besides our <em>friend</em>, humans can''t be trusted."


    Lucia emphasised the word "friend." Her brother nodded, and then wrapped his arm around her shoulder: "Dear Sister, the elves'' internal structure has yet to settle down. It''s pointless for us to shoot the fruits on their tes. The turmoil brought on by political changes is very difficult to settle. There are bound to be lots of elves secretly plotting against us, but if we aim straight for their throats as I did just now. If we <em>twang </em>one arrow straight through their throat, then elves will find peace and stability."


    Lucia earnestly nodded: "I understand. I can give up everything for elves even in spite of my reluctance to kill fellow elves."


    "No, my dear Lucia; you are wrong." Lucia''s brother shook his head then bent down to kiss his sister on her lips, transferring the strong scent of blood to his sister''s lips. He softly chuckled: "Those elves, who betrayed us, are no longer elves but beasts. My sister, there''s no need to be concerned or hurt. You''re not killing elves; you''re merely killing wild beasts that want to kill us. From the moment they chose to turn their backs on us, they were no longer our friends. My dear sister, it''s time for a big clean up. There is too much trash among us elves at current."

 Chapter Volume 4 20

    <i>Queen¡¯s Carriage</i>


    Current time at humanity''s Imperial Capital.


    "Your Majesty, these are the elves that came from the elvennds."


    Queen Sisi crossed one leg over the other and giggled. The two elves were fearful of her. They sincerely performed humanity''s salute. While Queen Sisi smiled with disdain, she returned the salute with a casual one of her own. She didn''t insult the two elves. She looked at the young man and Achilles, both of whom were beside her, and then looked back at the elf: "Is there something important you two have suddenly paid me a visit for this time?"


    The leader of the two elves replied, "Yes, my esteemed Queen. We elves require your help."


    While the man was definitely was reproaching the elf for revealing their ns and emotions too soon to himself, the elf couldn''t do anything about it. He couldn''t hold back his tears. He sincerely exined, "Your Majesty, I beg you. I am begging you as your most esteemed servant. Please avenge my mother. I have no one else who I can make this request to. You are the only one. You are the only one who can save my mother. Please¡­"


    "Oooohh!!!" The elf despairingly told Queen Sisi of his tragic story with a miserable tone, but Queen Sisi reacted surprised. She looked around with excitement and surprise, leaving Achilles feeling awkward to say the least. She grabbed Achilles shoulder with one hand thenughed hysterically: "I get it; I get it now. Achilles, do you remember the elf who wrote me a cheesy love letter? I think I''ve found the writer!!"


    "Yes¡­" Achilles instantly realised who Queen Sisi was referring to. He silently prayed to himself, "His mother has just met with a tragedy; if you''re still worrying about the letter, that''s just inappropriate. I seriously hope this woman doesn¡¯t choose to talk about that of all things. Insulting his love confession when his nation and family have just been destroyed has got to be a big blow for the elf. Last time, she talked an elf to death. I''m not sure that insulting another elf to death is the right thing to do."


    To be frank, everyone knew what the elf came to see Queen Sisi for. Achilles also knew what Queen Sisi''s response would be. A rebellion just took ce in the elvennds, forcing the Elven Queen to abdicate her throne. The elf crying to Queen Sisi was the Elven Queen''s adopted son. The elf, who was a former Prince just days ago, came to plead humanity for help.


    Achilles knew Queen Sisi wouldn''t help the former Prince. The reason she granted the two elves an audience with her was merely to see their miserable looks. She looked forward to seeing just how miserable the two elves could look for her own entertainment. After seeing their distraught looks she was satisfied. In saying that, she still looked as though she wasn''t too satisfied. She wanted to see them more miserable. Not even Achilles could watch her continue ridiculing them forughs after they lost their nation and homes.


    When Queen Sisi saw the Elven Prince reach breaking point, she finally stoppedughed and said, "Okay, okay, okay, I would be too mean if I just ignored you after your love letter."


    After finally hearing something that made him feel a little better, the elf quickly and emotionally asked, "Really¡­? Really?! Y-You will protect us? You will help us?"


    "Of course. I know Elven Queen Geruolinna. In thest war, she demonstrated courage and determination, which I admired. Moreover, she''s one of the very few who couldpare to me in terms of beauty, isn''t she? I like her very much. If possible, I''d, by all means, help her. With that said, I''m very curious as to where your adopted mother, who''s also the Elven Queen, is."


    Thrilled, the elf loudly responded, "She is in the North; she is in humanity''snds in the North. Lucilia sent my adopted mother and a few elves there. As you are here, I hope you can help me pick up my mother and save her. I can give you anything, including the future of elves."


    The elf''s cogs in his head turned very fast, but all he thought of was what to offer Queen Sisi. He had already given everything to her, including the elves. He had abandoned everything, and he could do so as long as it was for his mother.


    "Oh?" Queen Sisi grinned.


    The elf thought he hit the nail on the head, thereby putting a smile on Queen Sisi''s face. Achilles, however, sighed to himself. Queen Sisi''s grin was a patronising grin. If she was interested in what he said before, then she had lost interest. The elf''s inexperienced showed; he offered Queen Sisi something that he obviously couldn''t give her. That being the case, how could Queen Sisi possibly agree to help?


    Queen Sisi switched her legs. She stretched her fingers out to examine them. She softly chuckled: "Really? You can give me the elves'' future? So, you want me to rule elves in the future? I can have everything that elves have to offer?"


    "Yes! Yes!"


    "Well then, I''m very curious¡­" Queen Sisi lowered her hand. Her ridiculing smile became more obvious: "If your Queen Linna was crowned again, would your words hold weight or would hers? I saved your Queen in return for your promise; the question is, can you guarantee that you''ll fulfil the promise?"


    "That¡­ I¡­ I will do my best."


    "In other words, you''re not keeping your word. You better bring someone else, then. Bring someone who can make good on their word."


    Queen Sisi stood up, which indicated that she hadpletely lost interest in the matter; or rather, she was satisfied after seeing the elf''s reaction after she personally destroyed all of his hope. She left without ever looking back, leaving the elf with a look of absolute bewilderment.


    Achilles walked up to the stunned elf. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Leave. Next time, keep this in mind: if you can''t keep your word, don''t thoughtlessly make promises. That''s a taboo in negotiations. Compared to worrying about your Queen Linna, I suggest you go to the North and learn what negotiation means from the man in the North."


    Achilles gave the final blow, and then caught up to his Queen. Queen Sisi undid her hair then swung it around. She then nonchntly inquired, "How boring; Little Doggy is interesting, after all. Talking with Little Doggy is intriguing. These people are so boring. Oh, right, did he just say that their Queen was in the North, where Little Doggy is?"


    "Yes." Achilles immediately began to panic to himself¡­


    "Excellent. Prepare a horse carriage, then. I''m heading to the North."

 Chapter Volume 4 21

    <i>Please Take Responsibility</i>


    At the dining table, Angelina nced at me and Veirya: "The Elven Queen has yet toe to. I think she''s a goner."


    "Yeah. The main reason is the doctor who camest time refused to check up on her. I don''t know if humanity''s medications work for elves. With such severe injuries and no response for three days, she''d most likely have been thrown out if she was in the military." Anna was beginning to worry. She said to me, "Sir, if you genuinely care about her, I think it would be for the best to send the Queen back. Can you ask Lucia to see if she can be sent back? I think we would be put on the spot if the Elven Queen was to die here, right¡­?"


    "I''m fully aware of what you mentioned. It doesn''t matter if the monarch is elven or human; if a monarch dies here, either side wille running here with it as an excuse. Now, however, I can''t do anything." I shook my head then let out a hopeless sigh. I borated, "Lucia sent the Queen here precisely because we''re on friendly terms. We''ve already done what we can. As for what happens to the Elven Queen after our efforts, there''s nothing I can do about it. We can only worry about it when the time to cross the bridgees. Veirya, what do you think?"


    I looked over to Veirya. She hesitated for a moment before looking up at us. However, she then lowered her head without ament. Judging from her reaction, she probably didn''t think it had anything to do with her and was fine with whatever the result was. Leah, who was sitting next to Veirya, ced her spoon down and licked the fruit spread at the corner of her mouth: "Papa, I think that Elven Queen has actually already woken up. Just before, I sensed a change from her. She might already be awake. For some reason, though, she doesn''t want to admit it."


    I nodded. I could understand how the Queen felt. She wasn''t willing to acknowledge her people betrayed her; she wasn''t willing to acknowledge she wouldn''t see again and would never be able to return to the elven forest. Hence, she didn''t want to wake up. Despite having regained conscious, she didn''t want to move. She wanted to be immersed in her own dark world forever. That, however, wouldn''t work.


    The Elven Queen would inevitably have to ept what must be epted. Furthermore, it was a problem for me if she refused to wake up. I had things I want to get from her, too. If she refused to wake up, we''d never be able to speak. I contemted, "I need toe up with a way to get her to wake up. What method shall I use, though?"


    Hearing that, Veirya nodded, which was very rare, then said, "It''s good. That she cane to. She''s a. Very good monarch. I. Really like her. It''s fantastic. That she survived."


    I nodded. I then set down my dining utensils: "Let''s do this: you continue on going about your own business today. Leah, how do you feel? If you''re too tired, don''t work too hard today."


    Leah shook her head. She steadfastly responded, "No, Papa. While Leah is a little bit tired, Leah never wants to end up in the same predicament in the future again. So, don''t worry about Leah. Mama Veirya and Sister Angelina take good care of Leah. On the other hand, Papa, are you still not going toe with Leah today?"


    Leah gave me the puppy-eyes look. I lingered for a moment. Honestly, I wanted tough, as her way of addressing Veirya and Angelina¡­ Veirya was her mama, yet Angelina was her sister. I wondered what Angelina was thinking. The way Leah addressed them was ludicrous.


    "Mm, Papa has to watch over the elves today. Since she''s awake, Papa needs to stay home and see what else can be done."


    I apologetically touched Leah''s small head again. She grumpily lowered her head and continued eating in silence. Veirya looked over to me, and then didn''t speak again. However, she left me bewildered with her gaze. Angelina giggled about something but didn''t say anything. Anna hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sir, would it not be too appropriate for you¡­ to be alone with three female elves?"


    Confused, I asked, "Aren''t you going to be with me?"


    Anna helplessly smiled: "That is not it, Sir. The problem is not whether or not I will be present. You need to seek Lord Veirya''s opinion, do you not¡­?"


    Veirya shook her head: "I. Don''t care."


    Veirya''s response sounded grouchy, but since she was expressionless, she didn''t appear to be. It seemed as though she was just speaking her mind. Indeed, that may very well be true for her, since she never cared in the past. That said, what Anna said¡­ concerned me somewhat. I warily watched Veirya. Only after confirming her reaction didn''t change did I feel that I had ensured my own safety.


    After breakfast, the three left the house. I went upstairs. Neither the bodyguard nor diplomat had woken up. Actually, they just fell asleep again. I walked over to the Elven Queen and sat down. ording to Leah, she had actually already regained her conscious and was merely unwilling to ept the reality of the situation.


    I touched her head and, in a soft voice, said, "I''m aware that this isn''t easy for you to ept; unfortunately, time forces you to ept it. Regardless of what we''re going through right now, we''ll have to face everything this world throws at us in the future. It does hurt to no longer have eyes, but besides your eyes, this world still exists."


    She didn''t reply. I felt as though I was an idiot saying a whole bunch of things to a wooden dummy.


    I gently cleared my throat. I then lowered my head and gently lifted her head. I raised my voice this time: "I won''t waste my breath on pointless drivel anymore. Lucia gave me to you; if you''re unwilling to ept the reality, I''ll do as I please! You''re no longer the Elven Queen, anyway; you''re my property now. If you don''t resist, I''m going to do as I please with you!"


    I grabbed the Elven Queen''s soft mounds. The bounce and softness surprised me. I never expected them to feel so good. Anna eximed, but I didn''t give the elf a chance to do the same. I swiftly lowered my head and kissed her lips. But nevertheless, because I had touched her already, I was bolder. I kissed her lips, but she didn''t react. I slowly removed my lips and looked at her feeling somewhat disappointed. I thought she was actually dead. To my surprise, I discovered trails of tears slowly coursing down from underneath her bandage.


    The Queen gently opened her mouth. In a dry and sorrowful voice, she sobbed, "Please¡­ take responsibility¡­"

 Chapter Volume 4 22

    <i>Queen and Her Elves</i>


    It was for the best to not let Veirya find out about what I just did. I only wanted to aggravate the Elven Queen so that she''d respond. I never expected her give me that response. The three of them just left, and that just had to happen. If Veirya found out about it, I''d probably be put on a chopping board.


    Anna, who was behind me, wore a shocked expression. I gently clear my throat and said, "Umm, Anna, don''t tell Veirya and Leah about this. You understand, right? It wasn''t my intention to do that. I just¡­ right? I only did it to wake the Queen, right? I wasn''t thinking about that. You understand, right?"


    "Yes. Yes, I understand." Anna immediately discerned the situation and figured out what she should do and say. She firmly nodded, and then began to take care of the other two elves.


    I turned my head. I gently rested the Queen''s head on my thigh. She could speak but was still very weak. Laying your hands on a weak woman, who couldn''t move, andying your hands on an unconscious women are two different things. I could pretend the former never happened, but I genuinely felt I was a bully¡­ Seeing the Queen made me feel awkward. I carefully wiped her tears with my hand and softly said, "Don''t cry. Your eyes and wound¡­ don''t cry. The more you cry, the more it''ll hurt, so don''t cry."


    "¡­ Mm." The Queen carefully sniffled. She began to gently cough.


    Feeling hopeless, I stated, "Umm, with regards to your eyes¡­ I''m very sorry, but I can''t do anything about them¡­ I can heal your wound, but there really isn''t anything we can do about your eyes. Don''t be too upset about it, though. Not everything in the world requires you to see it. Further, you''ll never have your vision restored. Live with us from now. I''ll take care of you appropriately."


    The Queen did her best to turn in my direction. In a soft voice, she asked, "You people are¡­"


    I took the cup of water from Anna''s hand and held it up to the Queen''s mouth. She struggled to lift her hands; she was too weak to grab the cup. I used my hand to support her head so that she could have a drink. I answered, "We are in humanity''snds. I''m with Veirya; Lucia sent you here to me. With regards for what happened back at home for you¡­ I''m very s-."


    "I want to go home¡­" The Queen whimpered before I could finish. She lightly ced her hand on my leg and sobbed: "I want to go home; I can sense it. I can sense our forest. I want to go home. I know I''ll be executed when I go back, but I still want to die at home. That''s my homnd; my family and friends are all there. I want to go home¡­ Please¡­ please¡­ let me go home."


    I caressed her hand. I solemnly exined, "Sorry. I''ve done a lot of questionable things and lied to lots of people, but I''ve never sent someone to their death. If I take you to the elves, there''s no doubt they''ll kill you. You''ll be content if you die there. How do you expect my conscience to feel, though? I''ve never killed before, and you''re no longer the Elven Queen, either. The elves no longer acknowledged you a long time ago. Do you still think the forest is your homnd?"


    "That¡­ that is my forest¡­ Why¡­? I never did anything wrong, so why did they do this to me¡­? Why¡­? Why¡­?"


    The Elven Queen didn''t say much. Every sentence she uttered was akin to vomiting blood. She sobbed. Her tears brought blood along with them. She tightly clenched her teeth and uttered the words that shattered her heart.


    I had no way of exining it to her. No exnation or words offort would''ve been helpful in that situation. She had to walk out of that tornado herself. I gently wiped her tears and replied, "You''re right; nevertheless, you should''ve been prepared for it from the moment you decided to ascend the throne. You might not think you did anything wrong, but those around you may not have felt the same way. It''s pointless for you to contemte the past anymore. You no longer are the Queen of elves. You''re fortunate as is to have kept your life. Don''t think about going back anymore. You can''t see your forest anymore anyway. Just live here."


    "I¡­ I¡­ I can''t ept it¡­ I¡­ really¡­ can''t ept it¡­ The fate of elves¡­ shouldn''t be this way¡­"


    "You can no longer do anything about the fate of elves. Their fate is now their business." I reached my hand out and kept my eyes on her: "How about you consider the fate of your two friends here with you? The forest is no longer your concern."


    "¡­ Uhm."


    The Queen still looked miserable. I understood it was difficult for her to bear with the pain. It was bound to be a painful experience for her. Her vassal, who was also her hero, betrayed her. Her elven hero blinded her, and she could no longer return home or see her green homnd anymore. I had no means offorting her; all I could do was to help her forget it.


    I stood up: "Rest up. As you have recovered, stop living in denial. Why not think of happier things. For instance, we won''t betray you. Spend the next few days resting here. Once you''ve recovered, though, we''ll need to discuss your rent. I''ll take care of you until you recover, for Veirya respects you. Nevertheless, we have to clear things up afterwards."


    "I can¡­" The bodyguard, who was behind me, grabbed Anna''s clothes and struggled to try to stand up. She panted for air and raised her voice to get my attention. I turned my head to look at her. She desperately tried to lift her body up to look at me. She earnestly carried on, "I can¡­ I can be your bodyguard. I can earn money; however, I hope¡­ you can¡­ take care of Her Majesty! Please¡­ take good care of Her Majesty!!"


    "I don''t need you to be my bodyguard. I have Veirya protecting me; why would I need a bodyguard? Plus, even if I didn''t have Veirya, I still have Angelina. I don''t need a bodyguard."


    "Then¡­ then¡­ no matter what it is¡­ I will be able to do it!! Trust me¡­ I can do anything¡­ All I ask is¡­ that you can take care of Her Majesty!"


    "Ciara¡­ don''t¡­ don''t¡­ there''s no need¡­ to ditch your elven dignity¡­ for my sake¡­ we¡­ we have no need¡­ to plead a human¡­"


    "Is earning money a shameful act to you elves?" I shook my head. Then, I looked to Ciara, the bodyguard, and told her, "Be honest with me; what can you do? I have a maid. Anna, here, is my maid. Veirya is my bodyguard. I don''t need an assistant for my work, either. Have a good think; what else can you do? Actually, I need to find my Leah a good teacher. I need a teacher, who is well-versed with elven and human knowledge."


    "Umm¡­ I could have filled that role¡­ but now¡­ my eyes¡­" replied the Elven Queen.


    "I¡­" The bodyguard gritted her teeth. I, therefore, assumed that it was beyond her.


    I was quite disappointed. On the surface, I was trying to offer them jobs so that they could pay me back. In reality, however, I wasn''t reallycking money. After the few recent jobs that I took on, I had enough gold coins to spend for a long time. I wanted to find Leah an excellent tutor at home. After all, Leah had to study at some point. She was my daughter; as such, she needed to possess enough knowledge to be an outstanding individual when she ventured to the imperial capital in the future.


    "I can." The weak diplomat mustered up all of her might to raise her hand. She turned her head. She looked at her with her fearful maroon eyes. She gulped before borating in a shaky voice, "i¡­ I once worked as a diplomat in humanity''snds¡­ so¡­ I¡­ I am familiar with humanity''snguage¡­ and elvennguage¡­ Our n specialised in elven culture¡­ I am confident¡­ I¡­ I should be able to teach your daughter¡­"


    "All right."


    I instantly found the best candidate for the role.


    "How did I forget the diplomat?" I reprimanded myself. For her to have been able to work as a diplomat in humanity''snds and work for the Elven Queen, she must be very educated. I pped my hands and said, "Let''s go with that, then. As a tutor, your sry will be enough to cover your Queen, her bodyguard and your living expenses here. Leah is a good girl; I''m sure you''ll like her. There''s yet to be anyone who doesn''t like her. I also hope you can educate her."


    While the diplomat was very weak, she looked at me with a very serious look as she made her request: "I can teach her; however, I need you to provide me with sufficient material. Without materials, I cannot teach her. Some of these books were bought from the elvennds. As for humanity''s books, buy as many as you can."


    I nodded: "That won''t be a problem. I''ll do my best to procure the books. I''ll be entrusting Leah to you, then."


    The diplomat nodded: "Mm."


    The diplomat then turned to her Queen. The Queen''s expression couldn''t be seen, as she had her eyes bandaged. Nheless, she seemed to be very displeased with the fact that the other two elves agreed to my terms so quickly. With her eyes on the Queen, the diplomat softly said, "Your Majesty, we truly cannot go back anymore¡­ Your Majesty¡­ Your Majesty¡­ we really cannot go back anymore¡­"


    "I must go back¡­ I must¡­ go back¡­ Even if I die there¡­ I still¡­ must go back¡­"

 Chapter Volume 4 23

    <i>Kiss</i>


    After convcing the three elves to rest, I started to pace around in a somewhat irritated manner. I had rinsed my mouth several times but still felt on edge. Watching me pace back and forth, Anna reminded me, "Sir, why do I feel as though you are flustered?"


    I stopped in my tracks. I grabbed my hair; I nearly wanted to yell. While I was setting up things with the elves and Leah''s education, I couldn''t show how flustered I was. I was dying from shame once I was done, and my mind was free to run wild.


    I brooded, "What the hell was that?! Sleeping beauty fetish?! Why did she wake up right after I kissed her?!! Man, now I feel awkward as can be. Take responsibility for what? What''s that supposed to mean¡­? If Leah and Veirya find out about it, I really will be turned into a corpse.


    How do I exin it to them when it happened not long after they left? Mm¡­ I wanted to kiss her, since the Queen didn''t wake up, only for her to really have woken up¡­? If I had that power, doctors would be unemployed. I don''t think Veirya will buy it. Leah¡­ I need to tell her the story of sleeping beauty before I tell her about it¡­''


    What responsibility was she talking about? Does the Elven Queen want to go back to the elvennds¡­? I sure won''t let her go back there; the elves stopped epting her ages ago. There''s only one possible oue when she goes there, and that is death. When responsibility and the situation at the time arebined, it''s not good news. Does she want me to take responsibility for sending her home? That''s eptable, but if she''s asking me to take responsibility romantically¡­ Then, I¡­ I¡­ will probably be buried alive, won''t I¡­?"


    ========


    Current time in the elves'' room.


    The diplomat turned to look at the Queen: "Your Majesty¡­ I suggest you settle down here. The elves no longer ept us. Furthermore, those nutcases do notprehend your intellect. They betrayed you; you have no reason to return. They are bound to destroy our forest, which is why there is no need for us to return! Moreover, that man kissed you, which means he has resolved to stay with you for eternity. It would not be bad to be by his side. At the very least, you would not have to deal with the pestilential elves again. Although you have lost your eyes, you have obtained a new pair of eyes. He will look after you; otherwise, he would not have kissed you. Moreover, you would not be against marrying a human, would you?"


    "Her Majesty cannot marry." The Queen''s bodyguard grumpily looked at the diplomat. It was clear that she considered it an insult for an Elven Queen to like a man and want to marry him.


    "But she is no longer the Queen¡­"


    "Says who?!! Once our people understand, once those vile creatures show their true nature, I believe our people will allow Her Majesty to return!! Our Queen is the greatest Queen. How can she marry a human and never return after such a minor blow? Her Majesty must not marry. An Elven Queen cannot marry. An Elven Queen must give her everything to elves. Have you forgotten that all sessors were the offspring of the best and valiant soldiers who died in battle?"


    "No, I haven''t¡­ However, Her Majesty has nowhere else to go but here¡­ Instead of waiting for that unrealistic future, how about thinking about how to get through today? Without today, you''ll never have the chance to wait until the day the elves need us. More importantly, Her Majesty can no longer deal with national affairs. That''s why it''s better to live a decent life here instead. He isn''t a bad man; he kissed Her Majesty; he confessed to her. It is important to marry a man you love."


    "But why did he kiss Her Majesty upon their first meeting?"


    "Probably because he loves her?"


    The two women started to feel excited for some random reason. Perhaps it was because even elves enjoyed gossip. Nevertheless, the Elven Queen, who was the main star of the story, silently lied on her bed. She gently touched her lips. As the Queen of elves, she was ready to give everything for elves when she was raised by her predecessor. She did that all the time. She earnestly thought elves would flourish more if they interacted with humans. She always gave everything she had for elves. She never desired a love for herself, but she felt a different feeling when their lips touched; she felt an electric current jolt her heart. The darkness before her eyes was seemingly lit up. Elves saw thest step, the confession, as a kiss in a romance. In other words, that man proposed to her.


    The Elven Queen silently contemted: "I''ve never seen the man before, but that was the first time that a man proposed to me. Should I agree to marry him? I want to return, but I know that will mean inevitable death. I just want to go back, because I''m frustrated. Do I really want to die now, though?


    I felt love for the first time. If I die now, wouldn''t that mean that I wouldn''t get to experience love? This feeling is far too rare toe by. It''s such a beautiful feeling. I thought I would never see the light. When he kissed me, however, my entire world seemingly lit up. I just can''t see his face."


    ========


    Current time in the elven forest.


    <strong>*Bang!!!*</strong>


    "This truly is an interesting weapon."


    Lucia''s brother put down the gun. He looked at the tree branch, which he snapped with a shot, and softly chuckled as he looked at the dwarf. The dwarf smiled with contentment: "That is our newest invention. It does not have a very long range, but once you have mastered it, it works simpler than bows and arrows. Using guns to perform salvo is very effective."


    "Uhm, even children can kill now. It truly is an effective weapon. Very nice, very nice. I want to buy some. Lucia, Lucia!"


    From the perspective of elves, the more effective a weapon was for killing, the better it was to them. They may have always used bows and arrows, but they never glorified them. They always believed more lethal weapons to be superior, subsequently continuously updating their weapons. Lucia was currently sitting to one side, seemingly pondering something. It took her brother several attempts to get her attention?"


    "What''s the matter?"


    He rubbed her head with a smile" "Are you thinking of that human again? Although you two did kissst time, that was unexpected kiss, so it shouldn''t count. Plus, doesn''t he love Veirya? Investing yourself in a fruitless romance will hurt yourself."


    "I''m not!" Lucia''s face suddenly turned red. She looked at her brother with a grumpy expression: "Brother, what exactly is it that you need me to do?"


    "Head to humanity''snds and see if you can get some money from that man. See what else we can sell. We''ve sold vouring, so what else is there? Go see him first. See if there''s anything that he needs. It''s best if you can bring more money back. We need money to buy these weapons. Then we''ll train the elven children to wield them. Oh, right, Lucia, you can practice with them, too. I think that weapons will develop based off these in the future."


    "All right."


    In spite of adamantly refuting her brother''s teasing, as soon as she heard that she could go to that particr town, Lucia couldn''t supress her excitement and smile. Her brother chuckled as he turned around. He hated humans, but he didn''t hate the man his sister liked. She was his only sister, after all.

 Chapter Volume 4 24

    <strong><em>300 views on each video this week and I¡¯ll release an extra chapter at the end of the week. </em></strong>


    <i>Queen¡¯s Ride</i>


    At noon, Veirya and Angelina brought Leah back. Leah looked much better thanst time. She very cheerfully ran over to tightly hug me when she saw me. When she touched me, though, her expression stiffened; she looked puzzled. My entire body jolted.


    "It''s been so long; why is Leah still able to smell the elf''s smell?" I wondered.


    "Mm¡­ What a strange smell¡­ Actually, no¡­ Why has Leah never smelt this scent?" Leah vigntly took a step back. She then paced back and forth in the house while fanning her nose. She mumbled to herself, "I can''t smell the same smell in the house. Papa shouldn''t have gone out; why does he have that strange smell on him¡­? Papa, did you meet someone?"


    Awkward, I touched my face and looked at my daughter. I vaguely answered, "Papa went to see the elves during the day, right¡­? Maybe their smell got on me¡­ It''s all right, Leah. Don''t worry."


    I gave Leah''s head a rub. She responded with a small nod. She was still slightly vignt, but she epted my exnation. She folded her arms and followed up: "Papa, why do you have an elf''s scent on you, then? You were just checking on them, so how?"


    "Mm¡­" I stopped to think before replying, "Mm¡­ the bodyguard elf upstairs fell off the bed, so I helped her back onto the bed. Honest. Nothing more happened, Leah; rest assured."


    Veirya came up from behind. She hugged Leah and seriously looked at me: "Have the three elves. Come to?"


    I nodded: "Yes, the Queen has woken up, as well. By the looks of things, their conditions shouldn''t be too severe. I doubt they''ll die. Also, I talked to them this morning and decided that, henceforth, the diplomat will be acting as Leah''s private tutor. My n is to have Leah study during the day, join you two in the afternoon, thene back and read in the evening."


    Veirya didn''t argue otherwise. Not sure what I meant, Leah inquired, "Papa, what''s a tutor?"


    I smiled: "Remember when Lucia taught you to write? Tutors are simr to that. From now on, the elf will teach you humanity''s literacy andnguage. If you''re interested in anything, just let us know. She should teach you it. Leah, you won''t be able to survive here in humanity''snds if you don''t learn anything. If you can, I hope you can study more."


    "Uhm! Since it''s Papa''s request, Leah will definitely do Leah''s best!" Leah earnestly nodded.


    Judging from her responsest time, Leah isn''t averse to studying and is actually quite keen to. I felt bad when I realised that. Nevertheless, Leah then grabbed my hand and asked, "So, so when Leah is studying, will Papa stay by Leah''s side?"


    I hesitated then told the truth: "Uh, probably not."


    I shouldn''t be loitering around when Leah''s tutor was teaching her, should I? After all, I''d get in her tutor''s way. I probably had other work to attend to during the day. I had ns to see what other business I can do in the North. I didn''t want to stay at home all day. Leah looked upset. She tightly clung to my arm and almost cried: "Papa, do you hate Leah now? Has Leah done something wrong¡­? Why¡­ why¡­ why has Papa not wanted to be with Leah recently¡­?"


    "No! No!" I tightly hugged Leah.


    Veirya shot over a displeased gaze. Sounding unhappy, she questioned, "Why. Did you. Make her cry?"


    "I didn''t! Don''t make things up!" I quickly denied the allegation, and then hugged Leah.


    Leah cried in my arms. She gripped my clothes tightly and cried. Veirya came over to us. She crouched down and caressed Leah''s head. Leah pushed me away and ran over to cry loudly in Veirya''s arms. As she cried, she eximed, "Mama Veirya, Papa doesn''t want me anymore!! He doesn''t like me anymore!! Mama Veirya!! Papa doesn''t want me anymore! He doesn''t want to be with Leah anymore! He wasn''t this way before!!"


    "It''s all right. It''s all right, Leah. I''m here for you." Veirya stroked Leah''s head in a particrly gentle manner. She then shot me an extremely cold gaze, sending chills up my spine. She coldly asked, "If. You like her. From now on. Do things. Together with us. No. Saying no. Loud and clear?"


    "No¡­ Listen to me, Veirya; that''s not what I was saying!"


    "I asked: loud and clear?"


    I really wanted to say, "Come on! That''s not what I meant! I want to keep Leahpany, as well. I can''t stay with her when ss is in session, though!! Who goes to ss with their child?!"


    "What''s wrong? Why am I seeing your family''s catastrophe as soon as Ie back?" asked Angelina, who was standing at the door, looking stunned. She then immediately trained her gaze on me: "How did you upset the two of them this time?"


    "I didn''t! Don''t make things up! I just don''t have time to keep Leahpany¡­"


    "Waaahh!!!" Leah cried louder. Veirya''s gaze changed in an instant.


    I thought, "I think Veirya will actually hack me to death if this continues¡­"


    Baffled, Angelina queried, "You don''t have any work anyway. Aren''t you at home all day and night? How do you not have time for Leah? Maybe you couldn''t help it today, but what about in the future?"


    "Wow!! Calling me unemployed makes me feel horrible!" It was a fact that I didn''t have a legitimate counterargument, however. I was unemployed, after all¡­ I let out a heavy sigh: "The main reason is that the elf will be tutoring Leah. I can''t stay by Leah''s side all the time, can I? That''d make her tutor feel incredibly awkward, wouldn''t it?"


    "Make some time to spend with her and problem solved?" Angelina looked as if it was a given. She borated, "Leah is a good girl, but you can''t use that as a reason to not concern yourself with her; that''s not what a father is supposed to do. You can do things with her in the evening and make time for everyone to go out together this week."


    "Right, right, right." I nodded as if I caught the life-saving straw. I then grabbed hold of Leah''s hand and sincerely told her, "Leah, Leah, Papa will read with you at night, and Papa will go out to y with you every three days as a holiday of sorts and not work that day, okay? Papa doesn''t hate you; Papa wants to be by your side, too. Don''t be scared. Papa will never want to abandon you."


    Leah raised her head from Veirya''s embrace. She looked at me while her tears coursed down her face. I looked at her with sincerity. Leah finally moved back to my arms and tightly gripped my chest. Angelina giggled in a soft voice: "How nice. It''s so joyful to have such an attached daughter. Veirya was very important at a young age."


    Veirya appeared unwilling to listen to Angelina recount the pass. Angelina, consequently, just smiled helplessly and cut off her speech. Veirya stood up and gazed upstairs: "I should go. See the Elven Queen. In the past. When I was in the elvennds. The Elven Queen. Was very nice to me."


    I nodded: "She''s awake, so you can go on up."


    "All right," replied Veirya.


    As soon as Veirya went to head upstairs, we heard horse hooves at the door. Anna froze. She looked at everyone in the guest room. She asked, "Everyone hase back, so who would it be, a messenger?"


    "Go and have a look," I said.


    "All right," Anna responded.


    I watched Anna go out. I went to the chair, while Leah clung to me and refused to let go. Leah ced her head on my thigh simrly to a kitten and refused to move. Anna bolted back, looking white as a sheet. As she ran, she shouted, "Bad news!! Bad news!!"


    "What''s the matter? What''s the matter?" I asked.


    I scanned Anna. She didn''t look any different, except for having a letter with her. As soon as I saw the letter, I understood why she was so worked up. The envelope, the blue envelope told me who it was. It was from Queen Sisi. After what happenedst time, I knew that receiving a letter from the Queen wouldn''t be good news. In saying that, Anna didn''t know what happened, so why is she so worked up, I pondered.


    "Queen Sisi¡­ Queen¡­"


    Anna pressed the letter onto the table. She was so worked up that she couldn''t speak. Confused, I picked up the letter: "What are you so worked up for? It''s just a letter from Queen Sisi, isn''t it? Don''t panic; don''t panic no matter what happens. She isn''t here, anyway. She won''t know what happens here; what''s the big deal?"


    Always keep calm. Queen Sisi''s letter wouldn''t contain good news, but you need to calm down to think properly about how to reply to her to not worry her. You can''t think when you''re flustered. You need to learn from me. The tenser you feel, the calmer you need to be. That''s the only way you''ll be able toe up with a good idea.


    "Her Majesty will arrive in the North in three more days!! The letter told us to tidy up to wee Her Majesty!!"


    "Aaaaahhh!!!! Crap! Crap!! What do I do?!! That woman ising! Why is she suddenlying?!!!!" I eximed.


    "Sir, calm down!! Calm down!"

 Chapter Volume 4 25

    <strong><em>300 views on each video this week and I¡¯ll release an extra chapter at the end of the week. </em></strong>


    <i>What¡¯s Done Cannot Be Undone</i>


    Hearing Queen Sisiing, I contemted, "Why is Queen Sisiing here? Did she catch wind of something?"


    Normally, Achilles wasn''t in the North, which would mean that I should''ve been an umbra. She didn''t have spies in the North; everyone in the North was a heretic. They were free from her ruling style ages ago. Under normal circumstances, the townsfolk wouldn''t rat on us. Furthermore, few people should''ve known about the Elven Queen''s appearance in the North. From their perspective, we lived orderly lives without any issues.


    My questions were: What exactly did Queen Sisi want? Was sheing here to investigate something? Did she already know about the Elven Queen and n take the Elven Queen away, or did she think the Elven Queen fled on her own ord and wanted to send her back as a show of kindness?


    Queen Sisi could be using her visit as an excuse to prepare an attack on the elves. She might im that, because the Elven Queen pleaded her, she had to help the Elven Queen take her throne back. As such, the Elven Queen would have to provide Queen Sisi with a map of the elves'' interior and all sorts of other secret information. The Elven Queen wanted to go home, which meant she had to return to a forest that epted her. Subsequently, she had to rely on Queen Sisi. In doing so, though, she essentially ced the fate of elves in humanity''s hands. In that scenario, the Elven Queen would be able to go home, but she''d have to step on countless of her fellow elves¡¯ corpses to return home to regain her freedom and home she was born with the right to.


    Betraying her entire race to achieve her own selfish desire would make the Elven Queen a true traitorous elf. At this point, she was only a Queen who was exiled due to political changes. Down the road, people would conjure their own evaluations of her. If she led humanity''s army into the forest, however, she''d bebelled a traitor to the race.


    A monarch shouldn''t turn against their people. A monarch shoulders an entire race''s rise and fall. They can''t drag their entire race into the abyss just to fulfil their own personal desires. Queen Sisi''s risky n to attack the elves only endangered herself, not humanity as a whole. Worsees to worse, they''d just enthrone a new monarch, and humanity would still be humanity. On the other hand, if Queen Sisi seeded thanks to the Elven Queen, Queen Sisi would be the most decorated monarch in all of human history. She''d be humanity¡¯s most worshipped individual. She''d be the god of this world. Humans who could conquer the elves were without equal. By then, the dwarves wouldn''t be a match for humanity. Soon enough, humanity''s conquest would go from a march to a bulldozer mowing down autumn wheat.


    I didn''t care what humanity wanted, but I did care about my money. The elves were the only route I had to import goods at a low price, where I could then sell for a high price. If Lucilia was ousted from power, what was I going to do? If humanity ruled elves, my area, which was considered the border, would be the epicentre. Queen Sisi was bound to send her people to the town. When they arrived, they''d catch me if I ever tampered with the ball. There was no way I wanted that to happen. Hence, I needed to help the elves. I wasn''t nning to betray Queen Sisi or hold a military remonstration, as that would make me humanity''s traitor. Do that and nobody would buy from me; plus, Veirya would turn on me. All I could do was try my best to ruin Queen Sisi''s n. I needed to prevent Queen Sisi from initiating an attack on the elves so that she dropped the n in the end.


    The Elven Queen still hadn''t recovered; she still couldn''t move. The Elven Queen would likely meet Queen Sisi. Additionally, since Queen Sisi decided to make an appearance, she must''ve received confirmation. As such, hiding the Elven Queen was unnecessary. As a matter of fact, it would only serve to pique Queen Sisi''s interest even more. Hence, it''d be better to leave the Elven Queen there.


    I needed to have a good think as to what exactly Queen Sisi was after. Should I go upstairs to tell the Elven Queen to never put elves in that terrible predicament, I considered. I didn''t know if it really was a wise idea to be directing the elves, though. I wasn''t an elf. Even if I did tell the Elven Queen, if she steeled her heart and asked Queen Sisi for help, I''d have revealed my weakness to Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi was a very dangerous character in the game. I couldn''t allow her to seize anything that she could leverage against me. I never thought about it before. I needed to do everything in my power to redirect the topic as a means of preventing Queen Sisi from bringing up the matter. My stance on the matter didn''t hold weight. The decisive factor was whether or not the Elven Queen maintained her rationality.


    I didn''t eat lunch. I just sat in my chair in silence. Nheless, ideas popped into my head simrly to fireworks going off with one after another. Suddenly, Veirya, who sat opposite to me, grabbed my hand and asked, "What. Is wrong? I am very happy. That Her Majesty ising."


    Before I could reply, Angelina interjected, "Queen Sisi''s visit isn''t good news for us¡­ Didn''t we tell you already? She is eager to attack the elves; I think she might be here to ask you to join the battle."


    "Is that it? Then, I won''t go." Veirya lost interest. She lowered her head and continued cutting the sausage: "He. Told me not to go. So, I won''t go. You don''t need to worry. I won''t. Go."


    "That''s not the only problem," I said.


    While Veirya''s answer warmed my heart, it didn''t resolve the most worrisome part. I didn''t care about things with Veirya for the meantime; I was more concerned about the Elven Queen. Angelina, however, thought I was worried about Veirya. Hence, she pondered to herself then said, "Yes, but you are Queen Sisi''s soldier at the end of the day, aren''t you? If she, personally,es to call you to join the battle, would you have the right to refuse? You''re not an adventurer, veirya."


    "Mm¡­" Veirya apparently didn''t know what to do.


    Angelina nodded. In a more confident tone, she said, "See? He doesn''t know what to do, either? After all, Queen Sisi wields too much power; plus, she can''t be offended. That''s why I came up with a great n. When she arrives, take two of these pills, Veirya."


    Angelina took out two small white pills from her pocket. Just as Veirya reached out to grab them, I covered them with my hands. I warily asked Angelina, "What is this? What does it do? Why are you carrying it on you at all times?"


    "Don''t be so tense. I''m Veirya''s mom. I wouldn¡¯t mindlessly drug my daughter, would I? This can give one a temporary upset stomach; the effects will wear off after two or three days. It was my weapon when I proposed. I used this drug to trick your father into thinking I was pregnant to force him to quickly marry me. That''s why I''ve always had it prepared for Veirya. It''s finally going to fulfil its duty today."


    "What in the world are you preparing for your daughter?!"


    Angelina smiled mischievously: "This is the only method, though, isn''t it? Think about it. Aside from this method, do you have any other idea to convince Queen Sisi to give up? What, are you going to tell her that Veirya is sick or that Veirya doesn''t want to go? You need a method without ws that Queen Sisi can¡¯t leverage against you. Needless to say, that would be none other than that Veirya is pregnant. Regardless of how capable Veirya is as a fighter, she''s still a woman; she has nothing to offer in battle as a pregnant woman. Queen Sisi, therefore, will have to give up. That''s why this pill is useful."


    I sighed: "It really is a good idea. Actually, no, it''s a genius idea!"


    After my shock settled down, I realised that Angelina''s idea was actually a magnificent one. As she said, I needed to choose a method Queen Sisi couldn''t refute and force Veirya to go to battle. Surely Queen Sisi hade up with counters for other methods. Feigning illness definitely wouldn''t work. Queen Sisi would just force her to go; Queen Sisi never thought I''d use pregnancy as an excuse, I presumed. Moreover, who would be able to even expect Veirya to be pregnant? Thest time Veirya met Queen Sisi, she had yet to show any signs of pregnancy. This time, though, she''d show signs. Veirya couldn''t fight when she was pregnant; it''d make things worse, for she''d be a burden on the battlefield. Unable to determine if Veirya is genuinely pregnant or not, Queen Sisi would have to let Veirya stay put.


    "Right? Right? It''s a clever idea, isn''t it? I originally nned to use the tactic on you after that night to seal the deal, but unfortunately, I was useless that night. As a result, I can only let Veirya use it now. A woman must almost have this sort of stuff on her. Love maye out of the blue, after all."


    Angelina mentioned something very, extremely frightening without any qualms. My body shuddered on instinct. She was seriously frightening. Luckily, I managed to resist that night. Otherwise, I''d be a happy dad in two months'' time¡­


    Veirya took the pill and then froze. She questioned. "So, when the Queen arrives. I. Take this pill. And done?"


    "Mm, have it one day beforehand. Queen Sisi should arrive in approximately three days. Hence, you should have one on day two. Then, you need to say you''re pregnant, understood? If Queen Sisi asks for details¡­ mm¡­e see me at night. Then, you just need to say what I teach you, got it?"


    Angelina seemed to still be somewhat worried Veirya would reveal her ignorance when she was questioned and, thus, nned to give her daughter a science ss.


    Will they be all right, I worried. I genuinely wondered if I should¡­ be happy or terrified¡­ after Angelina teaches her daughter to be another Angelina¡­

 Chapter Volume 4 26

    <strong><em>300 views on each video this week and I¡¯ll release an extra chapter at the end of the week. </em></strong>


    ¡­


    The curtain on Veirya''s issue was closed for the meantime. At the very least, she had that strange drug. While I was afraid that it was yet to be resolved, with one annoying matter crossed of the list, I was already relieved as it was. In saying that, I still needed to think about whether or not I could do something about the Elven Queen and Queen Sisi.


    "Should I tell the Elven Queen to not be the sinner of elves?" I asked myself.


    The issue was that I couldn''t get involved with the matter. Rather, once I get involved and failed to get on the good sides of both parties, I''d be in trouble with them regardless if the Elven Queen returned, or Queen Sisi captured the elvennds. ording to the most fundamental principle of being the wise one who protects himself, I shouldn''t dip my hands in the matter. What if the Elven Queen really had been possessed, though¡­?


    I needed some who looked harmless and the Elven Queen wouldn''t remember or fear to beat around the push with her. Who should I send? Veirya? Yeah right. She wouldn''t do. Queen Sisi wanted Veirya to get involved. I, therefore, couldn''t allow Veirya to get involved. Angelina certainly couldn''t get involved. Among those around me could talk¡­


    I looked at the head on my thigh. She lied on the chair simrly to a kitten. Leah peacefully basked the sunlight. Leah was a child; Adults wouldn''t be too mindful of her when she spoke. I doubted the Elven Queen would tell Queen Sisi a child stopped me because, if she did, Queen Sisi would likely mock her until shemitted suicide. If Leah went, Queen Sisi would instantly figure out what I was nning, but the Elven Queen wouldn''t. The strategy, then, was to tell Leah, and then have her go and send the Elven Queen some subtle directions. At the very least, I couldn''t allow the Elven Queen to be an elven spy. Obviously, whether or not she became a spy was none of my business; I merely wanted to prevent my only method of making money being gutted.


    Thinking I had figured out everything that needed to be done after Queen Sisi arrived, I decided I could have a bit of a rest. I still didn''t understand what exactly Queen Sisi wasing for, nevertheless. There was no way she was visiting for a stroll. I surmised it might have to do with the Elven Queen. Those were all my own assumptions, though. How was I supposed to know? She might''ve beening to kidnap me for all I knew. Was there anything Queen Sisi wouldn''t do?


    I gently scrubbed Leah''s ear and softly sighed. I had just returned to the North; I yet to enjoy anyidback days, and I had to get busy again. I thought I had finally escaped Queen Sisi''s grasp, only for her toe to the North. Lucia gave me three problems, too.


    Initially, I had ns to build a friendly rtionship with Queen Sisi when I went to the Imperial Capital, but I certainly wasn''t nning for it to be what it did. Our current rtionship made things incredibly troublesome. It wasn''t wise to stay with Queen Sisi; that much was for sure. It was nowhere near as rxing as being with Veirya.


    Circumstances already escted enough to be extremelyplex. The North should''ve been the most peaceful ce in the entire empire, yet it became the location Queen Sisi focused on most just as she previously did with the imperial capital. I thought I had left the imperial capital. Only to realise I actually hadn''t.


    "Can things get any moreplex? I feel as though things here have developed into something undesirably convoluted," Iined to myself.


    "Travor!!!"


    Okay, I take that back.


    When I heard the sudden loud and cheerful voice outside, I just wanted to smash my head on the table. Veirya, who sat opposite me, ced down her cup of water, finding my reaction unusual: "Lucilia has arrived. Are you. Not Happy? Isn''t she. Our friend?"


    "She is, but she came at a bad time¡­"


    I didn''t want to say another word. The situation between humanity and elves was sitting on the fence. On one hand, there was the passionate and energetic elf heroine. On the other hand, there was the human Queen, who was brimming with ambition and wanted to conquer the elves.


    I sat there thinking, "Did the two of them make an appointment? Why are they here at the same time? We''ll have one interesting situation if all three of them gather. An exiled Elven Queen, the elven heroine who exiled her and a human Queen unable to contain her ambition. Surely this is the most terrifying moment!! The two Queens made things hard enough to deal with as is; if a Lucia I can''t control joins the fray, I''m doomed! This is the worst situation possible! I reckon the wisest and safest decision now is to just leg it. It might be easier toe back and deal with them once they''re done fighting¡­"


    ========


    Current time on the path leading to the North.


    "How deste. Nothing here has changed after thest major war."


    Queen Sisi lowered the curtain then lied down on the big, soft bed in her carriage. She grabbed two pieces of fruit from a te and ate them. Her carriage was majestic and massive. From the perspective of a normal individual, they might not consider it a horse carriage but a house. It took six horses to her pull carriage. Around her horse carriage, she stationed fully-equipped soldiers. The gs representing her fluttered in the wind. It was definitely a sight to behold.


    Thest time Queen Sisi was in the North, she wore the soldiers'' armour and rode an ordinary horse. Then she only had a measly number of bodyguards apanying her. Queen Sisi gave her everything for the war, putting even humanity''s fate on the line. Perhaps that was the reason humanity was able to triumph in the war.


    Queen Sisi was different to her past self. She had ns for the uing war against elves, but she didn''t take it to heart. She had seen the elves'' military; she had been to their forest once in the past. The residence of even the Elven Queen was onlyparable to a town in humanity''snds. The elves small poption numbered fewer than humanity''s guard unit. Queen Sisi presumed humanity wouldn''t even require strategy to conquer the elves. She believed they could mow the elves down with sheer brute force. In fact, Queen Sisi had a certain idea, which was to procure the miraculous weapons that could spray fire from the dwarves andpletely burn down the elves'' forest. The forest wasn''t that important to humanity anyway. Queen Sisi didn''t care about the elves; neither was she one who understood warfare.


    Queen Sisi neglected something. Numbers certainly were important in war; but nevertheless, it wasn''t the most crucial factor in war. To top it off, Queen Sisi didn''t research the elves.


    Queen Sisi looked at her hands with her eyes narrowed. She softly chuckled and said to herself, "Little Doggy, we''re about to meet again¡­ What will you use to provide me with a reception this time, Little Doggy? I truly look forward to it. How many interesting things will you be able to bring up with regards to the Elven Queen? I''m very eager to find out. You''re the only one who can make me look forward to something so much. Entertain me, Little Doggy, before I conquer the elves."

 Chapter Volume 4 27

    <strong><em>300 views on each video this week and I¡¯ll release an extra chapter at the end of the week (Only a few dozens short at the moment). </em></strong>


    <em>Elves¡¯ Books</em>


    Lucilia cheerfully sat next to Veirya. In her hand was a cup of strong wine that Angelina poured her. Veirya seemed to want the drink. Nevertheless, she didn''t take the initiative to ask for it, as she seemed to mind my opinion. I didn''t know if it was a habit she picked up after I left or if she was fond of strong wine but just didn''t dare to drink it due to my presence. I didn''t dislike drinking by any means; I just couldn''t drink.


    Lucia had a drink then narrowed her eyes due to the burn. However, she seemed to enjoy it. She passed the cup to Veirya: "Veirya, you want a drink?"


    "Uhm." Veirya took the cup, but then looked at me with a tinge of concern.


    I nodded. Only then did Veirya have a drink, and then ce it down on the table. Lucia narrowed her eyes as she scanned Veirya and me. She then softly chuckled: "How rare. To tame this beast is an impressive feat. Veirya has never obeyed anyone other than her Queen. You''re not that strong, yet you''re able to make her care about you, which is very rare. In the past, Veirya never listened to any ns or tactics I suggested. She just went off and did as she pleased, leaving us in a miserable state every time."


    "I. Did not." Veirya gave a seemingly shy response. She was expressionless as per usual, so I couldn''t see any difference.


    Lucia giggled. She must''ve started to feel tipsy. Elves didn''t seem to be able to hold their liquor when they drank humanity''s alcohol. She picked up the cup for another drink. Her body jolted, and then she let out a soothing sigh: "The reason for my visit this time is to get some more money from you. We elves may have to fight a war soon, which is why we need to purchase weapons. Hence, I came to discuss it with Travor. I want to see if we can sell some new stuff."


    "That''ll depend on what it is. Also, Achilles'' goods are on their way now, aren''t they?"


    "That money is being used for something else."


    To be honest, I was rich. I had the money from thest time Achilles smuggled vouring. While Queen Sisi never rewarded me with anything, I did bring back nearly a thousand gold coins from the imperial capital. I could afford to privately purchase the goods from Lucia if she offered to sell me some elven treasure - provided the volume wasn''t oundish. Though the money should''ve been considered the North''s, it was fine for me to spend it as everything here in the North belonged to Veirya.


    "So, what do you n to sell me?" I asked


    Since Lucia was drunk, it was a good opportunity for me. A tipsy individual wouldn''t have the rationality to discuss a business deal with me. Lucia squinted. She pinched her chin and answered, "Do you need a few elves? Females. You can open a brothel or something. I may not have anything else, but I have plenty of female elves."


    "No, no, no, I don''t want to run a brothel. Moreover, that sort of business is useless in the North. Hardly anyone has the money to spend at one."


    "What do you want to buy, then?"


    It was clear that Lucia was very candid. She waited for me to reply; however, the problem was that I didn''t know what the elves had. How, then, was I supposed to ask for something? Nheless, I did have something that I wanted to buy. I went silent for a short moment then replied, "Lucia, I want your books. It''d be best if you could get me more. There should be lots of books at the diplomat''s ce. Sell me those books."


    "Books¡­?" Although the elves showed no signs of cherishing their vouring or gold, when I mentioned books, Lucia''s expression changed for the worst. She pinched her chin and dryly chuckled: "How about something else? That''s not too appropriate. We don''t like to give our books to others. We value knowledge; we won''t give our elven books to other races."


    I froze. I never expected elves to treasure knowledge on top of loving battle. Their values equipped them with the knowledge and skills to be a threat on and off the battlefield. A race that loved battle, fought ruthlessly and respected knowledge was one you didn''t make to make an enemy out of.


    As Lucia didn''tpletely reject me, it meant that there was a chance. The elves were currently in dire need of money. I needed to convince the elves to give me the books, the more the better.


    "Oh, right, Queen Sisi will soon arrive here. Lucia, due to the current situation between humans and elves, should you not avoid meeting her?" I threw something totally unrted to our topic of conversation at hand to see Lucia''s reaction.


    Lucia''s reaction was confusion: "Queen Sisi? What''s sheing here for?"


    "Didn''t I tell you already? Queen Sisi has an agenda for elves. She might be here this time for that. She probably wants to call Veirya to join her campaign. That said, I''ve alreadye up with a n to have Veirya turn down Queen Sisi. But, Lucia, are you ready?"


    Lucia clenched her teeth: "Despicable witch! We made such big sacrifices in the war; we gave our very best for the so-called alliance, but that human wants to betray us?!! I can''t possibly ept her betrayal! If she has the guts toe here, I''ll ambush her, and pierce her with an arrow!"


    "Don''t." I quickly stopped Lucia. I exined, "If you shoot Queen Sisi down when she attacks you, it''s not an issue. Queen Sisi has yet to attack you, however. For now, she''s merely visiting her territory; there''s nothing wrong with doing so. If you kill humanity''s Queen in humanity''snds, it''ll be you elves who betrayed the alliance."


    Despite being slightly muddle-headed, Lucia could still hear me speak. After hearing what I said, she furiously ced her cup down on the table. She grabbed hair with an infuriated expression. the time to be ripe, I said, "Now, let''s talk about what I''m going to buy from you. What can you sell me?"


    "Mm¡­ what books do you want? I''ll get you some. Remember, though, Travor, I''m selling you the books, as I consider you a friend. Under normal circumstances, we would never sell our books to other races. All that said, I want the same thing; I want gold coins."


    Lucia picked up her cup of wine and finished it in one drink as if she was trying to drink her woes away. I touched her long ears and softlyughed: "That''s great, then. You do your best to get me those books; I won''t give them to anyone else. They''re all for Leah. I might even have Leah go to yournd to study abroad in the future."


    "That''d be fantastic. If she does¡­ then, I''ll take care of her¡­"


    Lucia''s eyelids slowly started to fall. She fell onto Veirya with a heavy thud. Veirya hugged Lucia. Veirya softly remarked, "She''s. The same as in the past. She. Likes to drink. But. Can''t drink much."


    "Was she always so naive?"


    I couldn''t really say that Lucia was actually somewhat stupid.

 Chapter Volume 4 28

    <strong><em>300 views on each video this week and I¡¯ll release an extra chapter at the end of the week (Only a few dozens short at the moment). </em></strong>


    <em>One Who Kissed Me</em>


    Lucia didn''t look as though she''d be able to wake up in the afternoon. Veirya carried Lucia to her own room. Lucia came to see me for business, yet got herself drunk.


    I wondered if it was her trust in me as a friend or if everything had been going smoothly for her recently that led to her losing her most fundamental level of vignce as a result. The elves must''ve been prepared. They must''ve been purchasing weapons to prepare for humanity''s attack. I wondered if they''d be able to defend against humanity.


    "I wonder if the Elven Queen heard Lucia¡­ If the Elven Queen heard the one who sent her here is now drunk and asleep in the room opposite to her, what would she think?" I pondered.


    I went upstairs to see Veiryaing out from her room. She held Lucia''s clothes in her hands. She hesitantly looked at me then handed me Lucia''s clothes: "What to do¡­ with these clothes¡­?"


    "She''s just having an afternoon nap; there''s no need to strip herpletely naked, is there¡­?"


    I looked at the clothes in Veirya''s hand with a helpless smile. While I did tell Veirya to remove some of Lucia''s clothes so that she could sleep morefortably, I wasn''t implying that she was supposed topletely strip Lucia!


    "Put it back for her, Veirya; just ce it next to the bed."


    Suddenly, someone pushed open the door behind me. Before I could spin around, Veirya swiftly pulled me into her arms and pressed me up against the other wall. Before I could say anything, Veirya raised a leg. I heard a muffled sound and then metalnding on the ground.


    "What are you trying to do?"


    Veirya released me then looked over her shoulder. I quickly looked over to see Ciara and the elven bodyguard leaning on the other wall. She was almost kicked onto the wall. Despite being weak, Ciara wore her rage on her face. She intently looked at the door to Veirya''s room and thundered, "It was her! It was her!! She''s the traitorous elf! Lucilia! Lucilia! I''m going to kill her! I''m going to kill her!"


    I stated, "You can''t kill her."


    Ciara froze. Veirya stated, "This is. My home. I won''t allow. You to hurt. My friend here. You elves'' business. Is not mine. But. I must be responsible. For my friend."


    "I¡­ I¡­" stammered Ciara.


    Ciara was still furious, but her reluctance to yield was stronger. She wouldn''t be a match for Veirya in peak condition, let alone while injured. She wouldn''t be a match for Lucia, either. She only decided that it was an opportunity, since Lucia was drunk.


    The diplomat used the wall as support to slowly walk to the door. She weakly said, "Stop! Ciara¡­ if¡­ if you harm her, how are you going to exin yourself¡­? We¡­ we have a chance to go back¡­ but if you kill Lucilia¡­ we really¡­ will die¡­ we really will die¡­ it''s now¡­ no longer our time¡­"


    The diplomat maintained her rationality. The door behind me opened. Lucia came out holding her head: "What''s wrong? Why is it so noisy? Also, I thought something happened. Did someone attack?"


    Lucia didn''t need a response, though. Lucia saw the two elves and snickered: "Oh, so there were three miserable dogs that wanted to harm me. It''s useless; my instincts remain intact even when I''m drunk. I could easily kill the two of you in your current states."


    "You¡­ you''re shameless! Have you no dignity left as a noble elf?! You traitor! Her Majesty trusted you, yet you betrayed Her Majesty and the race you served. You betrayed all of us. You hurt Her Majesty, who always treated you with kindness! You''re not worthy of being an elf!!"


    Lucia indifferently replied, "At least, I can answer to myself. A Queen must give up everything for the race, but it''s tantly obvious that she didn''t fulfil her duty. She''s not worthy of being Queen, and she was bound to drive our race to destruction. What I did was for the sake of the entire elven race. I am loyal to elves not that Queen. Don''t miscontrue the facts."


    "Shameless traitor! Don''t go thinking that putting on a rightful front will exin your betrayal!! I don''t care if you betrayed the elves or not; I serve Her Majesty. You betrayed my Queen; you''re the reason that she''s in her current condition. I must kill you!"


    Ciara could only make threats. At most, she''d be able to scare Lucia. Unfortunately, Lucia didn''t feel intimidated. Having witnessed many deaths and murders, Lucia knew full well that Ciara was just making pointless, empty threats. She snickered: "I''m looking forward to it. I''m looking forward to when you can kill me. Humans happen to be looking to attack us elves now. I''ll soon prove to you that we''re the best candidates to rule elves. The humans, who you trusted, are going to attack us, but the ones who will protect all elves will be us."


    Ciara had no response. She just continued angrily ring at Lucia, instead. Lucia snickered then picked up her clothes and coldly said, "I have to get going now. Travor, I''ll soon have what you want delivered to you. I''ve received your money, as well. Thank you very much for your help. Well then, goodbye, miserable dogs."


    Lucia coldly turned around and descended the stairs. Veirya watched Lucia from behind then turned back to Ciara. She picked up the long sword, which she kicked away before, and handed it to Ciara: "Here. For you. Don''t. Worry. I won''t. Hurt you. In your current state."


    Ciara responded with silence. She solemnly sheathed her sword back to its scabbard at her waist. She then wobbly stood up.


    The diplomat suddenly eximed. She looked at the spot next to her in surprise. I, too, froze. I looked over to the corner of the wall on the opposite side. The elven used the wall as support to walk up to me. I questioned, "Wh-What are you doing¡­? H-Have you recovered?!"


    The Elven Queen wobbled up to us. She couldn''t see with her eye bandage. Not that it would''ve made a difference without it. It took her a lot of effort and probably lots of falls to reach us. However, I couldn''t call out to her in time, as she spoke first, "Humanity wants to attack us?"


    "Mm¡­ it''s possible. I''m just guessing. Queen Sisi is in a rush to have the entire world acknowledge her. To that end, she needs another war, and it may very well be waged against you elves this time. The reason for her visit here this time may very well be to prepare for the attack."


    "Is that right¡­?" responded the Elven Queen. Surprisingly, the Elven Queen didn''t appear tense. She just calmly nodded: "I did consider the possibility of it happening. I met Queen Sisi once; I must say, there are very few Queens who would be willing to gamble with everything they have. Queen Sisi was able to win every gamble, though. She wasn''t just lucky; she possesses a formidable will and intellect. I''m fond of her, but her ambition frightens me. It seems the mes of her ambition have spread to my side."


    "So, what ns do you have? She''sing to the North this time, and I''m sure she''ll look for you. She''s hoping to find an excuse to justify her attack, and you happen to be her excuse. You were exiled as the Elven Queen. For you to rely on humans to take back your throne is a very reasonable excuse. Queen Sisi will definitely ughter all elves for your friendship."


    The Queen solemnly nodded: "I believe that. However, I will not see her. I know what she''s thinking, but I won''t y along with it. Lucilia said one thing that I concur with. I, too, should give everything for elves. I can rely on myself; I can rely on someone who has sworn to stay with me forever to take me back. Nevertheless, I can''t destroy elves for my own personal desires. My eyes aren''t as important as our elven races. Our internal affairs are not an excuse for humans to realise their ambitions."


    The Elven Queen shook her head then turned, predicting where I was. She continued, "I would like to ask you to help me. At the very least, don''t let Queen Sisi see me and converse with me this time. If I must, you must continue to remind me to stay calm. I am genuinely very infuriated right now and reluctant to be resigned to this fate. But nheless, I genuinely do not want to destroy elves for my own personal desire. That is my bottom line. If it is at all possible, I hope you can prevent humanity from attacking us."


    "Put that aside for now," Veirya said.


    I was very d to hear that. Before I could respond, however, Veirya, spoke up. It wa peculiar to me. Veirya didn''t care what we thought; she wasn''t interested whatsoever, yet she tried to get ahead of me. She frowned for the first time. She asked the Elven Queen, "The person. Who you just said. Would stay with you forever. Who is that?"


    The Elven Queen fearlessly faced in Veirya''s direction and calmly answered, "That would be this man, of course."


    Veirya pulled me into her arms and seriously said, "Why? He''s mine. I won''t. Let him be with anyone else."


    "But he kissed me. In our culture, a kiss between elves means a proposal. I don''t n to reject him."


    The Elven Queen mentioned something shocking, yet did so withposure. I was stunned; I could feel the murderous urge next to me gradually intensifying. Veirya coldly looked at the Queen and, in a voice colder than ever, responded, "He''s mine. I won''t. Give him to anyone. I turned down Her Majesty. And now. I''m turning you down, too."


    "I am afraid that is not for you to decide, Veirya. After all, it was not you who kissed me but him."

 Chapter Volume 4 29

    <strong><em>We were 60-ish views away from 300, but I¡¯ll make an exception this week. </em></strong>


    <em>What¡¯s Done Can¡¯t be Undone?!</em>


    The young girl saw that winter as a freezing cold time that was also extremely dark. Look as she may, there was no light in sight. Curl up as she may, there was no warmth to be felt. Nevertheless, there was a big fire in the direction of her home. She, therefore, wondered why it was so cold.


    "Should I have not run away? I ran away with my elder brother, only for him to abandon me with someone else. I gave it my all to run away, only to find myself with no one to depend on. I was living a life of peace at home; I got to enjoy everyone''s worship and praise, yet everyone is now driving me off as if I''m a wild dog. All I can do is curl up in a dark alley and use the trash to keep warm.


    Father did nothing wrong; he was so nice to them. They sent him to the execution tform merely because he failed to satisfy their desires just once. Why? Why? Why? Aren''t kind Princes and Kings supposed to be loved and remembered by all? Why? Why? Why was my father hung? When Father was pushed up to the execution tform, the people, who he deeply loved, hurled stones and rocks at him. The people led better lives than in the past. Father devoted all of his blood, sweat and tears on them, only to have the kind deeds repaid with stones and more stones. Do those people not know gratitude?" recalled and questioned the young girl.


    As opposed to saying that those stones hurt the previous King''s body and broke his heart, perhaps it was better to say they totally shattered the crystal pce in the girl''s heart. The young girl, who believed Princes and Princesses led blissful lives and that there would be an old grandpa who gave children presents every year, had all of her beliefs shattered by that point. She was only a child, yet she saw man''s most evil side. That evil side was called greed.


    Greed could destroy humanity''s virtues, kindness and kill a kind and sincere King. That was humans¡¯ nature. Humans are ugly and repulsive. All humans are greedy. The people are fools; they don''t know the King''s kindness. The King gave everything to his people. When a crisis hit, nevertheless, not one of them was willing to stand up for their King.


    That winter was freezing. On that winter day, the girl couldn''t see a thing in the darkness.


    Queen Sisi vigorously opened her eyes; she looked at the red curtains around her feeling surprised. A cold sensation seized her body. Only then did she realise she had kicked off her thick nket at some unknown point in time. She sat up and pulled her nket up again. However, it was toote by then, as the nket had lost its warmth. All she could do, then, was rely on her body temperature. Queen Sisi curled up into a ball inside her nket. The cold winds outside of the carriage whistled. It was already spring, but the deste North looked as if it was still living in winter. Her horse carriage, alone, was nowhere near enough to keep the cold out.


    "This is why I hate the North," Sisi remarked.


    Queen Sisi sighed; then, she sat up and knocked on the carriage door. She immediately received a response from outside. Thedy-in-waiting stood at the door and asked, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?


    "Bring me a hot drink. While you''re at it,e in and warm up my bed."


    As soon as Queen Sisi gave her orders, thedy-in-waiting went to prepare the drink forthwith. Everyone in the imperial pce was aware their Queen feared the cold. That was also why the fire in her room was never extinguished. Queen Sisi couldn''t sleep if she felt even the slightest bit chilly. Hence, she needed ady-in-waiting to warm her bed when they were outside of the pce. Nobody knew why she feared the cold, though.


    Nobody knew why Queen Sisi feared the cold so much. In reality, Queen Sisi''s fear wasn''t due to the cold but because she associated it with her miserable past. Feeling cold ever so slightly would bring her despairing image of herself as a young girl to the forefront of her mind. She''d see herself as a child, fearfully and despairingly tucked in the trash in the small alley at that shabby imperial capital. Queen Sisi could help lots of people, but she couldn''t help herself.


    Not many people knew what happened in the past anymore. The previous King was betrayed and executed. His younger brother reimed the throne for a while after killing the traitors, but not many people knew. Queen Sisi''s elder brother was the next King in line, but he soon died due to organ failure. Queen Sisi was the only one who knew about all that.


    When a young girl''s crystal pce is shattered, when Cindere''s crystal heels are shattered, there won''t be any more fairy tales. All that will be left is a witch and a stepmother.


    ========


    Current time in the North at Veirya''s residence.


    I looked at Veirya, who was furious, and literally prostrated myself to admit to my mistake: "I was wrong¡­ I honestly admit to it."


    Veirya folded her arms. She coldly looked at me and asked, "How long. Has it been?"


    "Not very¡­ One day? Two? I think two. It was two days ago. You have to believe me, though!! Believe me, Veirya! It was only because I thought she wouldn''t wake up¡­ that I kissed her!! I genuinely didn''t know elves had that belief. If what she said was true, then Lucia¡­"


    "You even kissed Lucia?!" Angelina, who was off to the side, looked at me with her mouth agape.


    Veirya''s expression immediately turned more frightening. Her murderous aura intensified in magnitude, sending a chill down in my spine.


    I shot Angelina a re, thinking, "God, I want to strangle you right now¡­"


    Veirya looked at me more aggressively: "What''s. Your rtionship. With Lucia?"


    "Nothing! Serious!! That time was only because Lucia had to feed me the medication¡­ Serious! That''s all there was to it!"


    "Oho, now I''ve heard that one before. Men will go picking wild flowers off the side of the road. When they get home, that''s their excuse. Serious, I''ve heard it plenty of times. Veirya, as your mother, I need to remind you that none of those sorts of men can be trusted. They say that now, but he might have some sort of rtionship with Lucia and even Queen Sisi behind your back!" Angelina folded her arms. It was clear from her attitude that she was looking forward to the entertainment.


    I genuinely questioned what I previously did. I think the best decision would''ve been to turn Angelina over to Queen Sisi. If it wasn''t for Angelina shooting her mouth off, I might''ve had an easier time exining myself.


    Veirya folded her arms then unfolded them and lifted me up by my cor without any effort. She looked into my eyes and, in an absolutely stern tone, said, "I. Hate being betrayed. Your loyalty. Belongs to me. So. I won''t allow you. To give your loyalty. To anyone else. I. Turned down Her Majesty. For you. So, you should. Take responsibility for it."


    "I know! I know!! There won''t be a next time?!!"


    "Really?"


    "Do you think that there''s any point in asking him that? Think about when you buy something: whatever it is you buy from a store, the owner will always tell you it''s a treasure. Asking him that question is absolutely pointless. Veirya, do you remember what I told youst night? Just push him down onto your bed, and seal the deal. See if he still runs around after."


    "For god sake, Angelina, please shut up¡­" I thought I as I red at Angelina.


    Angelina gleamed with joy. She''d look perfect if she had ws. The issue was that Veirya wasn''t joking!!


    Veirya stopped to think. Then, she stated, "In that case. Come to see me. Tonight. From now on. No helping others."


    "I¡­ I¡­ Should I be looking forward to tonight¡­ or should I be scared¡­?" I wondered.


    Veirya was absolutely serious¡­ She also learnt¡­ what a man and woman do at night¡­ Seriously¡­


    "Now that I''m thinking about it¡­ I''m quite excited¡­" I thought to myself.

 Chapter Volume 4 30

    <strong><em>Same deal asst week. 300 views on all videos during the week and I¡¯ll release an extra chapter at the end of the week. </em></strong>


    <em>For the Greater Good</em>


    All I could say was that I couldn''t allow my rear to be on fire when I had a foreign enemy to face on the frontlines. Queen Sisi would soon arrive in the North. Therefore, I had to settle things at home before she did. We needed to unite if we were to convince Queen Sisi to give up on attacking the elves. If Veirya suddenly exposed us and if she didn''t take the drug, we''d be in a pinch. Hence, everything I did was for sake of the n, the n to have humanity and elves get along and for world peace. Everything was for the greater gains and kindness. To prevent humans and elves shedding blood, I had to make Veirya bleed tonight.


    That was why I was in front of Veirya''s room. I wasn''t there for something perverted. To the contrary, I was there for the greater good, the world, the Elven Queen and Queen Sisi. I only went to Veirya''s room for the innocent soldiers. I wasn''t lusting after Veirya''s body. I''m a man who had transcended from the lowly interests. I wasn''t a man who was greedy for enjoyment and abandoned the world that was in peril. I went to Veirya''s room for the sake of all of humanity! For the sake of all life, I had to seal the deal with Veirya.


    "It''s fine. It''s fine. There''s nothing to worry about. This is all for a greater good," I reminded myself.


    I gently knocked on the door and adjusted my hair. I already told Leah that I had work with Veirya for the night, which was why I probably didn''t need to worry about Leah finding out. My heart raced as if it was going to burst.


    "Calm down, calm down, I need to calm down. Otherwise, I''ll look as though I was looking forward to it too much. It''ll be embarrassing if I look eager for it. I''m doing this for the greater good and to protect the peace between elves and humans. I''m sacrificing my body for this world. Calm down. Calm down!" I told myself.


    Veirya pulled the door open. Before I could say anything, she pulled me into the room with one arm. I was quite d that she did that, as I wouldn''t need to feel awkward. Since she was so assertive, I could remove some restraints on myself.


    I was ashamed to admit it, but it was my first time¡­ I didn''t have any experience¡­ Angelina was absolutely right about one thing: it was going to be awfully awkward for us, since it was both our first times.


    When I entered, I was surprised. Veiry-, wait, one of them was definitely Angelina. They sat on the bed in the exact same clothing. Plus, it was the exact same model Queen Sisi wore. They wore thin clothing and embellished their luscious thighs in ck silk socks. Given how beautiful they were, as well, I could barely resist the urge to just throw myself at them. They looked absolutely identical; thus, I was spinning. I couldn''t distinguish the difference between them¡­


    I began to think: "The one who came out to bring me in¡­ erm¡­ Was that Veirya or Angelina¡­?"


    They sat on the bed and looked at me with the same gaze and expression. It was basically impossible to identify any differences¡­


    "Umm¡­ didn''t you¡­ tell me toe see you, Veirya?"


    I tried to test them; however, I knew I couldn''t distinguish between the two. I had also gotten them mixed up. I panicked: "Why is this happening?!! Why?!! Why do I have to face two of them when Veirya was the one who called me over?! Why is Angelina here?! What are they trying to y at?!!"


    "Yes." One of them nodded then replied. She revealed a mischievous smile, one that only Angelina could reveal: "As a mother, though, I''m also very, very curious about this sort of stuff. I need to provide guidance so as to avoid you two using the wrong spot."


    "I know what to do!!! What the heck would a mother be watching for?!!"


    "Nothing. I just think there''s a bit of a problem for you two to do it. Doing this at night doesn''t seem to be a punishment for you; in fact, it''s essentially a reward to you. Therefore, I decided to test you. If you can discern our difference, I''ll immediately leave. If you can''t, however, and choose me, we''ll still do it." Angelina then walked up to me and touched my chin. Leering, she continued, "Isn''t it all the same to you? If you want to sleep with a woman, isn''t it the same regardless of who you sleep with? If you want to do <em>that</em>, I''m a better choicepared to Veirya. You kissed the Elven Queen and Lucia; what about me?"


    Angelina gently wrapped her two arms around my neck then leaned in to kiss me. She smelt almost the same as Veirya. They had the same physiques. My heart began to speed up until my body''s most basic reflexes kicked in. I couldn''t help myself from reaching out to hug Angelina. Her smile became more prominent. She leaned on my shoulder and softly chuckled: "See? I told you, right? It doesn''t matter who it is, does it? It''s all the same to you, isn''t it? The love that you mentioned amounts to just this, doesn''t it¡­?"


    But then, I grabbed Angelina''s shoulders and gently pushed her away. She was nonchnt about being pushed away, though. She turned around and walked off: "Let''s start now, then. You can begin to choose. If you can prove that you can identify the difference with Veirya, if your so-called love is strong enough, let''s see if you can recognise Veirya."


    I took in a deep breath. I looked at Angelina and replied, "Sorry, I refuse. I won''t distinguish between you two."


    "You can''t tell the difference between us?"


    I honestly answered, "Correct. I can''t tell you two apart. I admit I have no way of telling you two apart, because you two resemble each other too much. I admit it. While it''s a fact that I like Veirya, I can''t differentiate between the two of you."


    "So¡­"


    "So I refuse, because I can''t tell you two apart. I might choose the wrong one. I don''t want to do it with anyone but Veirya. Some things did, indeed, happened between the Elven Queen, Lucia and I; nheless, the one who I sincerely like is Veirya. I won''t do it with anyone besides Veirya. I can''t tell you two apart, so I''m highly likely to choose the wrong person. If I choose the wrong person, I would''ve betrayed Veirya. Thus, I''m going to avoid letting that happen. I won''t do it."


    I looked at Angelina with absolute seriousness and then looked over to Veirya. I felt extremely embarrassed when I confessed in front of Veirya, but I had to say it. I didn''t know if Veirya understood what I said, but she came over to me. I was surprised to find that I was slightly touched. I finally had the chance to see Veirya in sensual clothing.


    "If I can seed in the future, how amazing would it be¡­?" I thought to myself.


    Veirya sped my head. I jolted. It was a natural reflex. I knew what Veirya was going to do next!! I couldn''t react in time; hence, I felt the impact of our teeth bashing together. Immediately after, I saw the world spin before my eyes.


    Veirya solemnly said, "I. Don''t really understand. But. Seeing your response. I''m very happy. I hope. You can always. Be by my side. No. Making promises to others. From now on."


    "Understood."


    Out of the blue, Veirya asked, "So, do you want to do that with me?"


    I instantly went red in the face and ears. Usually, girls would be shy to talk about such things, but I was flustered when Veirya outright asked me. I shyly lowered my head. I couldn''t utter a word. She sped my and asked, "You want. To impregnate me?"


    "No, no, no, no! It''s too soon¡­ too soon for that¡­ Sorry, um¡­ sorry!!!"


    I''ll take the bullet. Yeah, I made a very embarrassing decision. A woman was more assertive than me, and she was the woman I liked no less, yet I actually ran off.

 Chapter Volume 4 31

    <strong><em>3</em></strong><strong><em>00 views on all videos during the week and I¡¯ll release an extra chapter at the end of the week. </em></strong>


    <em>Elf¡¯s Touch</em>


    Angelina didn''t lie to me. After Veirya consumed the drug, it clearly upset her stomach. She didn''t look as though she was eight or nine months pregnant, but her belly did bulge, nheless. Veirya couldn''t do up the lower buttons on her clothing. She, therefore, had no choice but to reveal her belly for the meantime. I didn''t have time to make her new clothes, as Her Majesty was supposed to arrive tomorrow.


    Leah was particrly curious about Veirya''s belly. Veirya''s movement was somewhat restricted due to the change to her physique. I was slightly sad to not see the usual Veirya. After all, her belly wasn''t my credit¡­ She just resorted to a drug. Veirya didn''t say anything or wear a different expression. Leah sat next to Veirya and carefully touched Veirya''s belly, "Mama Veirya, is this what happens when you''re pregnant? Do you have a baby in your belly right now, Mama Veirya?"


    "No." Veirya''s response was resolute. She looked at Leah and ced two pills on the table, "It''s because. Of this pill. My belly. Is justrger. I''m not. Pregnant."


    "Yeah?"


    Leah picked up the pill. I snatched it from her and then said to Veirya, "Don''t'' give medicine to children."


    Veirya nodded: "Uhm."


    Leah then ran over to me and looked at me with puzzlement: "Papa, why does Mama Veirya have to erge her belly? Is there some sort of benefit to it?"


    "No, it''s just a tactic to deal with Queen Sisi. Otherwise, Queen Sisi might ask Veirya to join the war. Leah, you don''t want to see Mama Veirya join the war, do you?"


    "Uhm."


    Perhaps Leah shivered as she imagined all of the things that happened in the previous war with Veirya''s participation. Leah then nodded furiously. I touched her head with a smile: "That''s good, then. When Her Majestyes, don''t say anything thoughtless, Leah, okay?"


    Leah unhappily pouted and softly said, "Geez, Papa, has Leah ever given you any grief? Leah has never spoken thoughtlessly before!"


    I stroked Leah''s head with a smile: "Sorry, Leah, Papa shouldn''t have doubted you. Although, Queen Sisi ising to our ce, she''s still the Queen, so don''t forget your manners just because we''re together."


    "Uhm!"


    Though Leah had yet to understand the detailed formalities, she was unlikely to bother Queen Sisi as long as she wasn''t too much of a headache. Queen Sisi didn''t seem interested in Leah. In spite of her being the Demon King''s daughter, Queen Sisi never mentioned Leah. Queen Sisi cared for Leah''s father''s head rather than Leah.


    I had passed down orders. Queen Sisi''s escort was going to camp in our ce. The entire town had to get busy. I said it before; lots of ces in the town were practically in ruins. Some ces are inhabited while others weren''t. I called for helpers from the nearby city to help us clean up the entire town. We didn''t renovate things, but, at the bare minimum, we had cleaned up the alleys stuffed with trash and filthy water. I also made a trip around the entire town and essentially split up the town into sections for Queen Sisi''s arrival.


    If Queen Sisi didn''t have to visit, I might''ve been peacefully beginning to develop the North, and my story would be a slice of life novel. Compared to the current scene, I think a slice of life novel might be the toughest and lowest transmigration lifestyle. As soon as I transmigrated here, I saw the consequences of the war humanity waged against the demons. Then, I was swept up in humanity''s internal strife in their empire. Then, I had the elves versus humans war on my hands. That guy scored two moms when he transmigrated while I¡­ Mm¡­ well, I was pretty close by this stage.


    I didn''t know where it would be best for Queen Sisi to stay; hence, I selected two ces. The first option was our ce, and the second option was the only tavern. Needless to say, neither ce couldpare to the Imperial Pce. As such, I wasn''t sure if she could stand it or not.


    Anna ced dinner on the table then passed me the tray. There were three diluted bowls of soup. The three elves could finally eat, albeit a little. In addition, the bodyguard had taken charge for feeding the Elven Queen, therefore saving me the trouble. In saying that, perhaps Veirya still minded my interaction with the Elven Queen, which was why she never let me take care of the Elven Queen after the revtion.


    Veirya couldn''t move about after her belly was erged. Plus, the two, who had begun to dig in, were already fighting for food, so it was impossible for her to take care of the Elven Queen. As for Angelina, she didn''t leave her room today. The more I thought about it, the more I suspected she was up to something, except I couldn''t just outright ask her. I didn''t think she''d do anything harmful to us. Honestly, I wasn''t interested in the Elven Queen at all. I did respect her some more, but I lost all interest.


    Anna suddenly looked at me with a smug look in her eyes. I didn''t follow right away, but a light bulb lit up for me. I never expected Anna to be someone who hopped from team to team. She wasn''t on Veirya''s team. She thought I had feelings for the Elven Queen, which was why she nned to have me deliver the food for her¡­


    "Veirya is sitting right opposite me!! How do you expect me to go and deliver it?!!" I shouted in my mind.


    Anna tried to give me encouragement through her gaze.


    "Just what is she trying to do¡­?" I wondered.


    I lingered for a moment then picked up the tray and got to my feet. Veirya immediately asked, "What. Are you doing? If you''re delivering food. Let Anna take it."


    "No, I''m taking it to Angelina."


    I faced my back to Veirya. Veirya nced at the table to find that there was, in fact, one bowl short. She subtly nodded. I was lucky I didn''t say anything or eat. Veirya thought that it was for Angelina. Indeed, Angelina still hadn''te down, which exined why Veirya didn''t mind me leaving. Veirya didn''t notice what was on the tray, probably because she was busy snatching up food.


    I climbed the stairs then knocked on the elves'' door before waiting three seconds and then spinning around to knock on Angelina''s door.


    Angelina didn''t open up, but Ciara opened their door. When she saw me, she subtly narrowed her eyes then let me in. She didn''t take the food from me for a change. That was unexpected; I went in, nevertheless. The diplomat looked at me with a smile: "You did note yesterday. I hope what Her Majesty said did not give you and Veirya trouble. After all, she, admittedly, was too rash. Veirya must be very important to you. Your rtionship with Lord Veirya is not simple, is it?"


    "Mm¡­ well¡­ I''d say it''splex."


    "Your Majesty, he is here."


    Ciara shut the door. The Elven Queen gently sat up then, in a bleary state, turned her head in my direction. From behind, Ciara pushed me forward. Honestly, I was reluctant to approach the Elven Queen. I just wanted to deliver the food, and that was it. I definitely wasn''t going to feed her, no way¡­ no way¡­


    "I am happy to see you again. I hope what I saidst time did not cause you any problems. I thought she might have tormented you," the Elven Queen apologised. She then softly giggled: "Your rtionship with Veirya must beplex. Therefore, I hope that you can be forthright with me. Are you and her husband and wife?"


    I shook my head right away: "No."


    "So, are you engaged?"


    "No."


    "So, do you love her?"


    "Yes."


    I finally said it in a straightforward manner. I discovered that I didn''t care about admitting my feelings for Veirya to others but couldn''t say it her. I wanted to run away even when Veirya came close to me. I kept asking myself, "Why does that happen? I''m supposed to be good with words¡­"


    "So, do you switch your target of affection?" The Elven Queen''s question was straightforward and passionate. She borated, "After all, you kissed mest time. I perceive that as a marriage proposal. I n to ept your proposal, as marrying you is the only way to ensure I have somewhere to belong to. Furthermore, I do not hate such a gentle and considerate man such as yourself. I, too, want to experience romance and marriage."


    "Have you given up on returning to the elvennds?"


    "No, I have never and will not give up."


    "Yet, you want to marry me?"


    "I will return, but I do not n to continue serving as the Queen. I no longer have my eyes; I cannot administrate a nation any longer. The next Queen in line just needs to continue leading elves to prosperity. I merely want to go home. Even the forest will do. If I do not go back, this ce of yours is the ce closest to the elvennds. Additionally, I can smell elven flowers here. If I want to go back there, I must have your assistance; I need my husband''s help. You and Lucilia are on very good terms. Subsequently, I believe that you will have a way."


    I smiled helplessly: "You have a keen sense of smell. I apologise. I am happy to know you feel that way; unfortunately, I do not n to change my target of affection. As I have chosen Veirya, I must earnestly take responsibility for these feelings. One''s heart can only house one person. If there is another, it would not be fair. I do not want to let that pitiful woman down, which is why I will only love one woman."


    "Yeah?"


    The Elven Queen gently shook her head and then reached out for my face. I was slightly surprised but didn''t dare to mindlessly move, as I''d end up pouring the contents on the tray onto her. She touched my cheek. She used her longer, slender and supple fingers to gently touch every part of my face, seemingly afraid that she''d miss a single an inch.


    "I cannot see your face, so please allow me to slowly touch it. I want to use my hands to imprint the image of your face into my mind."

 Chapter Volume 4 32

    <strong><em>3</em></strong><strong><em>00 views on all videos during the week and I¡¯ll release an extra chapter at the end of the week. </em></strong>


    <em>So-Called Queen</em>


    Queen Sisi recalled, "The imperial capital was a flourishing and prosperous location with light ubiquitously seen and the fragrance of food whisking through the air. I once looked at the grandiose city that I couldn''t be any more proud of. The city belonged to my father. I wasn''t the child everyone was fond of, but I could still view the entire city from the empire''s most prosperous imperial pce.


    When I fell to rock bottom in the city, however, I finally saw the true nature of the city. I finally saw the side that I had never seen before. That was how the entire world looked. That was the real imperial capital truly was. Inside the imperial capital, in the areas where the lowest people in society resided and in the dark and shabby alleys, not everyone got to eat a full meal. Corpses would also randomly appear. Not everyone looked at each other with smiles. There wasn''t even one person who was willing to spare a young girl a little something to eat.


    I had no home and nowhere to go. In fact, I couldn''t state my name. The city belonged to me, yet it abandoned me. I clearly didn''t do anything wrong, yet I was exiled in my own city. They say the situation may turn for the better, but why was the wind still so cold?


    I had nowhere to go. All I could eat was food that I begged others for. Children younger than me threw food at me as if I was a dog. I had never suffered such humiliation. My tears coursed down face, but my starving belly and teeth desperately bit into the dirty food."


    Humiliated beyond imagination, young Sisi cried uncontrobly. As a matter of fact, she wanted to bang her head on a wall and die. s, she was scared. She was more afraid of dying than her arduous life. She was more afraid of pain. The fear was so overwhelming that she couldn''t stop her trembling. She truly didn''t want to die. She wanted to live.


    Queen Sisi continued to recall her childhood memories: "I had to abandon my dignity to survive. It''s impossible for a human being to live in a dog kennel. The only way for it to be possible is to be a dog. Whose fault is all this? Who made me fall to this point? Whose fault was it? It wasn''t their fault; people in this world are just that way by nature. They''re vile, greedy, selfish and sinister. That''s human nature. That is the most authentic side of humanity. That is the human race countless poets and artists haveuded. That''s human nature in its most naked form. I shouldn''t be ming their nature, for I, too, am human, and this is the way we are. The one who destroyed me was my father!


    My father destroyed me! Had it not been for his kindness, negligence of everything and had he not been generous and agreed to everything, they couldn''t possibly have done that! Had Father just eradicated all of the nobles in the South after conquering the South, none of this would''ve happened!!! Had Father done a good job of managing the people, they would''ve fought for him! Had Father been able to increase the number of guards in the pce, it could''ve been avoided! Had father killed the nobles in the South instead of forgiving them, this could''ve been avoided!


    Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!!!!


    This is all Father''s fault! Father was the very reason he was hung. It was his fault that my family was hunted! It was also his fault that I''m in this state!! It''s his fault! Everything is his fault!! His so-called kindness led to his and his family''s demise! It was all because of his useless kindness!! Kindness is useless in this world. There are is no room for kindness in this world."


    "Your Majesty. Your Majesty¡­" called ady-in-waiting, shaking Queen Sisi.


    Queen Sisi crankily knocked away the hand shaking her and then curled up into a ball inside her nket again. She pouted: "Don''t wake me. I want to sleep for a little longer. This feels amazing¡­ too amazing¡­"


    Thedy-in-waiting and hopelessly said, "Your Majesty, do not sleep anymore. We will be arriving anytime now. You need to wake up to change."


    "Why do I need to wear special clothes to see Little Doggy? I can just wear this."


    The point was that Queen Sisi usually slept nude. She only had thin sleepwear and silk socks on - if silk socks could even be considered clothes, that is¡­


    "You cannot do that, Your Majesty. You could get away with it if you were seeing your favoured vassal, but you will definitely have to see all of the townsfolk. They are surely prepared for you. As you a monarch, you cannot embarrass yourself even if you are seeing heretics. You need to hurry and change. Oh, right, Your Majesty, do you have any thoughts on where you want to stay? They said in their letter that there was no appropriate ce for you to stay, but you could stay at their ce."


    "Great! I want to share a bed with Veirya. Veirya''s body is warm and soft. I love the sensation of hugging her. I want to sleep together with Veirya."


    Queen Sisi, who was feelingzy and couldn''t be bothered, immediately reacted amazingly excited upon hearing thedy-in-waiting''s question. She sat up from her bed and picked up her clothes by the side. Thedy-in-waiting felt relieved.


    "Veirya would ept sleeping with Queen Sisi, because she has never refused Queen Sisi. As for that gentleman, nothing would happen between Her Majesty and him, right? Even if something did, it''s not my ce to be concerning myself with it," thought thedy-in-waiting.


    The escort was a grand team, but even though it was the Queen''s escort, they appeared small and insignificant in the natural wild. If they stood on high grounds, the sight of the simple walls and shabby small town would already be visible. Nheless, the outside perimeter of the town was a field of lush scenery, which was evidence there was life in the city. The barrennd had finally seen humanity''s light.


    Queen Sisi didn''t like the ce; however, it was where the man she was interested in resided and the ce that housed something that she would very soon be interested in. It was her northernmost ce. Henceforward, though, it might be her central hub.


    Queen Sisi pledged to herself, "I''m the Queen of humanity''s empire. How will my future look? I may very well be the ruler of the entire world from now on. My past will forever be nothing more than my past. That innocent young girl will remain only in my dreams. What happened in the past will never happen to me again."


    Queen Sisi never lived in the past; she always kept her eyes on the future. Perhaps she refused to recall her past because it was too miserable for her. She looked at the path ahead and only ever thought about what she''d see in the future. Queen Sisi believed, "I''ve gone through hell before, so I''m not afraid of falling again. Every decision is a gamble, but gambling doesn''t men betting your luck. Gambling can be controlled with skill, too."

 Chapter Volume 4 33

    <b><i>Please cast your vote on a poll at the end of the chapter (Disqus featuredment)</i></b>


    <em>Queen¡¯s Beauty</em>


    Initially, Queen Sisi didn''t rule the people in the North. She merely united the humans, who were spread out, in the North due to the war. So ordingly, the people weren''t interested her visit. They cared more about their newly grown seeds that they needed to tend to. Had I not promised all of them ten copper coins per day to have them drop their current work, Queen Sisi might be weed by the awkward scene of just us when she arrived. That would likely anger her to insanity.


    The townsfolk lined up on both sides of the main street, which was also the street that led to our residence, to wee Queen Sisi''s arrival. From afar, we could see the cavalry at the forefront with the gs on their gun tips raised up high. Her escort was stately. Fully-geared up cavalry rode at the forefront; every individual and ever horse was practically the same. Each of them had colourful gs held up on guns. There was most likely some sort of meaning to the gs.


    Behind the cavalry were the civil servants. They were probably people who Queen Sisi trusted. Dead centre was Queen Sisi, herself, in a massive carriageparable to a tank. The six white horses looked magnificent. Beside her carriage were messengers. To the rear was the group ofdies-in-waiting, who were responsible for serving Queen Sisi. Plenty ofdies-in-waiting didn''t have equestrian skills, which was why they used ordinary horse carriages. Next, there were the fully-geared soldiers. To the rear were the infantry, who were tasked with protected the supply carriages.


    While it was just an escort that was out for a single trip, it was a grand team. The metal reflected light. From a distance, it didn''t resemble an escort team out on a tour, but a fully-equipped army. By my estimations, Queen Sisi must''ve spent more on simr trips than what I could earn by putting my life on the line and even sacrificing a leg.


    Sisi was the Queen of humanity''s empire no questions there. Her disy would probably be enough to convince the elves to rethink if it was actually wise to go to war against humanity. That said, war wasn''t fought with money, but whether or not there are men willing to go and fight. Regardless, it wasmon for people to be willing to go to war for money.


    Leah stood in front of me. Surprised, she remarked, "Papa, Her Majesty''s escort sure is magnificent."


    Leah, who wore luxurious clothing for the day, looked as adorable as a Barbie doll. Standing behind her, I pinched her face gently and enviously replied, "Yeah. She is the Queen after all; plus, she''s the proud type."


    "It''ll be so nice when Papa can sit in the same sort of carriage, since Papa''s leg¡­" Leah turned to me feeling that it was a pity.


    I smiled and bent down to kiss Leah''s forehead: "Papa can''t do that. If Queen Sisi found out that I used a carriage on par with hers, Papa would probably be chewed out. Moreover, it doesn''t matter to Papa what sort of carriage Papa sits in. What Papa cares more about is if Papa can let you sit in an equally luxurious carriage."


    Leah reacted surprised. She scratched her face then shook her head: "Papa wants Leah to be a Queen?! Papa, Leah doesn''t want to be a Queen. Queen''s always have to fight this and fight that. Leah just wants to be Papa''s daughter."


    "If you were with the demon race, after your father''s passing, you would''ve be the Demon Queen, right?"


    "Not at all, Papa. Leah is the daughter of a subus, which means that Leah was of very low status¡­ The sessor to the throne would be the best elder brother or sister. In short, it wouldn''t be Leah¡­"


    "That said, your brothers and sisters probably aren''t alive anymore, right? You are the only surviving child, aren''t you?"


    "Papa, the demon race doesn''t exist any longer, either, you know?"


    I couldn''t helpughing at Leah''s reaction. A former Princess of the demon race reminded me that the demon race was destroyed, and she didn''t look sad in the least. Judging from her attitude, her childhood must''ve been worse than she described.


    I heard a horn. The escort''s forefront riders reached the main doors to our small town. They blew their horns to grab our attention. The town doors opened, and everyone bowed their heads to wee the escort as per my instructions. Leah and I, however, didn''t need to. We only needed to salute Queen Sisi, not the others.


    The sounds of horse hooves and wheels approached from the destend outside. The frontlines raised the gs that represented Queen Sisi''s dignity and passed through the crowd. Every rider looked absolutely serious; the same went for the civil servants. They passed through the silent crowd; all that could be heard were the echoes of horse hooves. The massive carriage stopped in front of Leah and I. Ady-in-waiting then brought a flight of stairs to the door of the carriage and opened the door. Queen Sisi emerged dressed in a long milk-white dress. She didn''t dress in a very revealing fashion this time. Instead, she wore a dress simr to what was worn in ancient Europe.


    Thedy-in-waiting extended out her hand, but Queen Sisi waved her off. Queen Sisi then looked at me and revealed a smile that made me shudder with fear. She softly giggled: "What''s the matter, my dear Little Doggy? Are you somehow displeased with me granting you the honour of helping me down my carriage aftering here from so far away?"


    I helplessly smiled in my mind then slowly walked up to the steps. Queen Sisi appeared as a beautiful white rose that graced the deste North with its beauty. I heard the townsfolk around me gasp. Queen Sisi''s beauty was irresistible. Their hearts palpitated much more than when they saw the green in their fields. Queen Sisi smugly smiled as she looked at her people. The people, who I had to figuratively drag there, went down on one knee with the utmost respect. They greeted her in unison, "May the gods be with our Queen!"


    "Little Doggy, you have a foot injury, so there is no need for you to kneel." Queen Sisi reached out to stop me when I went to kneel. She seemingly floated through the kneeling crowd with the elegance of a swan. She pinched Leah''s face then softlyughed: "I must say, while you''re a demon, your face is, without question, very cute. I''m happy to see your face. Have you ever thought about bing mydy-in-waiting?"


    Somewhat fearful, Leah looked at Queen Sisi''s face and then shook her head. She answered with a stutter, "S-Sorry, um¡­ um¡­ no¡­ I have not¡­"


    "I see. That''s a pity, then."


    The invitation ended there. As a result, I wasn''t sure if Queen Sisi was just making a polite gesture or if she genuinely desired Leah. I wasn''t convinced Queen Sisi had given up yet. After all, if she could bring Leah to the imperial capital, I would definitely follow her.


    "That was truly a long journey. Life in the carriage couldn''tpare to life in the imperial pce. Nheless, I have something that I must do here."


    Queen Sisi didn''t continue the rest of the journey in her carriage. The long escort orderly went off to the ces that were organised for them. Queen Sisi followed alongside me. She wrapped her arm around mine and smiled: "Before I explicate my intentions foring here, though, I need to see my good friend. Why did Veirya note to wee me? Is she not well?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty. Veirya is not too well; she is currently awaiting your arrival at home."


    "Oh?" Queen Sisi''s heterochromia eyes lit up. With a smile, she said, "I''m looking forward to seeing her, then. She actually gets sick? Hurry, let me see her. I''m curious now; I want to see what illness the woman who defeated the most powerful being on this continent has. I need to avoid it!!"

 Chapter Volume 4 34

    <b><i>Quota not met for the week. This is the week¡¯sst chapter. Also, <10% of readers have voted on yesterday¡¯s poll. </i></b>


    <em>Biological Daughter</em>


    Truth be told, I was very curious, too. I wondered what Queen Sisi''s reaction would be upon finding out that Veirya was pregnant.


    "Will Queen Sisi be shocked, flustered or lost for what to do?" I wondered.


    I personally was every eager to see Queen Sisi''s shocked and lost for what to do expression showing on her proud face. I bet she never thought her friend would be pregnant. Additionally, Veirya was perfectly normalst time they met; there were no signs.


    We went to the door together. When we arrived, Queen Sisi raised her head to scan the house. She thenughed: "What a cute house; it''s pretty much what I imagined it to be. A flower garden, a not-sorge house and a loved one by your side. If I could have those things as in fairy tales, I could give up everything that I have."


    "I, too, like this ce very much. Of course, that is because I am with those I love and those who love me. In saying that, when I first arrived here, the ce looked quite spooky."


    I nostalgically checked out at the house. Thinking back on it, the house definitely did not give off such a warming air when I first arrived. At the time, the sun wasn''t as bright as it was today. The house looked murkier. When we went inside, it was essentially walking into a box of dust. There was nothing in the firece, leaving the house colder than outside. Leah and Veirya didn''t speak to each other. Veirya would just sit there in silence as if she was a block of wood. The only feelings I initially had here were the cold despair and loneliness.


    By this point, the house was clean. Anna kept herself busy in the kitchen. The elves upstairs would leave their room to chat with Veirya every now and then. Angelina and Veirya would take Leah out to y. The frighteningly empty house grew a tad squishy. Still, it was so warm that I was almost reluctant to leave.


    Queen Sisi quietlyughed: "It sounds as though you weren''t too happy when you first came here?"


    I honestly nodded and smiled: "Indeed. When I first came here, I did feel quite despaired. What could I do, though? It was the only ce I could take shelter."


    "By the sounds of it, it was my mistake. Had I not teased and toyed with you that night and treated you properly, instead would you havee to my side and lived as my favoured vassal? Now that I think about, it truly wouldn''t be a bad life. Was I wrong?''


    Queen Sisi turned to look at me. I turned to face her. Honestly, I had never considered the question. If Queen Sisi didn''t treat me that way that night and was sincerely kind to me, would I have been in her employ? I thought it might''ve been possible. I had nowhere to go at the time, so it''d only be natural for me to cling to the biggest tiger on the mountain to live. I would''ve chosen Queen Sisi over Veirya if I had the choice back then.


    I began to think about my next step: "What should I do now? I think I''ll stop Queen Sisi from attacking the elves, as the only way that I''d be able to enjoy the special privileges that Queen Sisi has given me is to ensure that she''s alive. Nevertheless, there''s a prerequisite to that, which is ''if''. However, there are no ''ifs'' in this world."


    I shook my head and answered Queen Sisi, "That is hard to say. I cannot tell you whether you were wrong or right. If I had gone with you, I might be different to how I am now. You might not like how I am at your side. If that was how it turned out, it would not be positive for either of us."


    Queen Sisi stopped to think for a moment and then happilyughed: "I like every time you speak very, very much."


    I understood what Queen Sisi meant. She wouldn''t admit her faults. She was too proud to admit her wrongs. Hence, if you made a mistake, you''d only be ridiculed.


    Queen Sisi touched my face as she softly giggled. I knocked on the door. Veirya opened the door. Veirya looked at Queen Sisi with an expressionless look as she did in the past. Queen Sisi smiled and went to hug Veirya; however, she froze in ce when she saw Veirya''s belly.


    Once upon a time, Queen Sisi also loved to see people''s look of agony and astonishment. That day, I got to see that same look on her face, and it pleased me beyond what words could do justice. I guess seeing such expressions are entertaining.


    "Wh-What happened to your belly, Veirya? What happened to you? Are¡­ are you sick?"


    Queen Sisi was dumbfounded. She never expected Veirya to turn into that shape. Nevertheless, I also noticed that, while people would usually guess a woman was pregnant if they saw her with a bulging belly, Queen Sisi thought that Veirya was sick, surprisingly. I, therefore, figured out that, although Queen Sisi was always teasing me, she was actually apletely clueless virgin.


    "Mm, I am pregnant." Veirya did exactly as Angelina told her. She added, "And. It is his child."


    "Wait¡­ pregnancy¡­ pregnancy¡­ you¡­ you¡­ you two slept together? You two have already shared a bed?!!"


    Queen Sisi looked at us with a shocked expression, making it seem as though she was looking at monsters, though I wasn''t quite sure what she meant by slept together. I was pretty convinced she just meant it in the sense that we lied on the same bed, not the act that we actually did. Queen Sisi was totally ignorant on the subject, after all.


    "Uhm, we slept, and then we also¡­"


    "Stop!! Stop!!" I swiftly stopped Veirya.


    Although Angelina did teach Veirya what to do, there was no need to go into the details! Queen Sisi didn''t need to know the finer details. Or rather, we would lead Queen Sisi down the naughty path. Queen Sisi''s ignorance on the topic was a relief for me.


    "So¡­ so¡­ so¡­ what should I¡­ Mm¡­ mm¡­ I think¡­" Queen Sisi was couldn''t even speak. She couldn''t even use her usual way of referring to herself. She stuttered and still couldn''t make aplete sentence: "I¡­ I mean¡­ I¡­. what should¡­ what exactly should I do¡­? I¡­ mm¡­ should I give you something¡­? Um¡­ but I don''t know what to give a child¡­ I¡­ what exactly should I do? I didn''t prepare anything¡­ um¡­ What¡­ what¡­ what exactly should I prepare?"


    I almost burst out inughter as I watched Queen Sisi''s frantically stammer. Though I imagined she might''ve been flustered over the discovery of Veirya''s pregnancy, I never thought she''d be <em>that </em>flustered. The nonchnt and proud Queen Sisi revealing such an expression was ecstatic to me. I never expected such a big reaction from Queen Sisi.


    "It appears that our choice of method was great. Damn, I''m happy as can be," I thought to myself. I held in myughter and said, "Okay, okay, let''s put this aside for now. I believe that our child is very happy to know that Queen Sisi, herself, is here. After all, not everyone gets the chance to see Queen Sisi''s revered beauty. I believe that our child is definitely very happy."


    "Ind-Indeed, huh¡­? Mm¡­ Yes, that''s right; that''s right." Queen Sisi desperately tried to regain herposure to return to being the proud Queen Sisi before. She carefully touched Veirya''s belly and mumbled under her breath to herself, "S-So this is what pregnancy is like¡­ Mm¡­ I''m surprised there''s a child inside¡­ I see. I see¡­ how miraculous, how miraculous."


    Queen Sisi turned around and headed into the house. However, she then hesitated for a moment before turning around to call ady-in-waiting over. She whispered something in thedy-in-waiting''s ear. Thedy-in-waiting was absolutely surprised; she never expected Queen Sisi to make that request. But nheless, she didn''tment. She turned around to prepare. With that said, I had a good guess of what Queen Sisi wanted to do. By my guess, she probably wanted to do something for the non-existent child while she was here.


    "However, I am truly perplexed," Queen Sisi remarked.


    I was pretty certain that I knew what Queen Sisi wanted to say, which was why Veirya''s belly was fine thest time they met, yet suddenly bulged. I could im she actually already had a bulgest time, but it just wasn''t as obvious and had only be obvious today. Queen Sisi couldn''t prove otherwise, anyway.


    To my surprise, Queen Sisi shifted her gaze to Leah. Leah froze. She looked at Queen Sisi, unsure of what to do. Queen Sisi stated, "Leah is a child that you just picked up, after all. She''s not your child. Would you still raise Leah if the child is born? Would you still take care of Leah the same way? That''s your biological child, while Leah is just a subus you adopted. I thought Leah would be opposed to you having a child as she doesn''t have anywhere else to go, after all."


    Queen Sisi hit me out of left field with herments. Caught off guard, I looked to Leah. Leah looked at me without knowing what to do. I quickly exined, "That is impossible! I will take proper care of Leah no matter what!!!"


    Veirya turned around as I eximed. She added, "Leah. Is our child."


    "You didn''t conceive her."


    "She is. My Child. She will. Always be. My child."


    Okay, sometimes, Veirya was sometimes more useful than I was. Perhaps Leah didn''t trust me too much, since I say so much. Veirya, on the other, hand managed to reassure Leah with a simple remark.

 Chapter Volume 4 35

    <b><i>300 Views on all videos in the week, and I will post an extra chapter at the end of the week. Going to trial autoy on mute tomorrow.</i></b>


    <em>Queen¡¯s Tears</em>


    "I think living here is nice. You don''t need to find a ce elsewhere,"mented Queen Sisi.


    When Queen Sisi saw our ce, she nodded with a soft chuckle. We just had a tour of the first floor. Honestly, we didn''t even fancy up the first floor. The fountain had just been done. The rubbish left behind after it was repaired was still dumped there. The flowers on both sides of the garden had yet to be nted, and pretty flowers had yet to sprout from the soil we dug up. I didn''t think there was anything worth seeing. I wasn''t sure Queen Sisi was genuinely interested or if she was mocking us. Perhaps she just really wanted to live with Veirya.


    We didn''t let Queen Sisi upstairs. Though the Elven Queen wouldn''t turn against elves and side with humanity, since she was sensible, a fact which really relieved me, I didn''t want to let the two Queens meet. The less trouble I had, the better.


    "Are you not going to give me a tour of the second floor?" questioned Queen Sisi.


    Queen Sisi''s aim seemed to be to meet with the Elven Queen on the second floor. The greetings and shock from Veirya''s pregnancy had subsided, so Queen Sisi took the reins again. At the start, I thought my guess that Queen Sisi visited our ce for the Elven Queen was on the mark, albeit not knowing how Queen Sisi knew the Elven Queen''s whereabouts.


    Queen Sisi was cognizant of the fact that I deliberately didn''t let her meet the Elven Queen. My desire to hide the Elven Queen probably made it more evident the Elven Queen was at our ce. Furthermore, the Queen Sisi knew that I knew what she was thinking; therefore, she brought it into the open and forced me to take her upstairs. Queen Sisi''s question wasn''t actually a question but amand. I, consequently, had to take her upstairs and let her meet the Elven Queen.


    I sighed to myself. I had no choice. I tried to exin, "Mm, there are only bedrooms on the second floor. However, there are injured elves, who are recuperating upstairs, which is why I that think it is best not to disturb them."


    "That doesn''t matter. I came to see my good friend. After all, she was once myrade when we fought together. I basically know what happened with the elves. I know what happens in my territory, after all."


    "Did Queen Sisi just cast a nce at me?" I wondered.


    I knew what Queen Sisi hinted to me; she wanted to tell me that, despite me being in the northernmost area, she was still informed of everything that happened there. I, however, saw through her ruse. It was a senseless threat; Queen Sisi only knew about the incident. The only thing I didn''t know was how she found out.


    With a subtle grin, I remarked, "It appears Veirya and I kept our secrets quite well, then."


    Queen Sisi''s expression stiffened on her face, although she quickly reced it with a smile. She pinched my face, "How interesting, Little Doggy. If you''re a dog, you should know what you should and shouldn''t say, right?''


    "Sorry, Your Majesty. I do not work in the imperial capital."


    Queen Sisi unhappily pursed her lips: "I see that you are blurting out my weakness. So then, shall I ask that question from that day again? The question is the exact same."


    "Coincidentally, Your Majesty, my answer happens to be the same."


    Queen Sisi softly giggled and then grabbed the rail to head upstairs. I sighed to myself. It was unavoidable in the end.


    The young man and Achilles weren''t wrong; Queen Sisi did, indeed, want to attack the elves. Else, she wouldn''t need to see an Elven Queen who had fallen from power - unless she actually swore a sisterhood oath with her, nned to take her back to the imperial capital and take care of her for eternity. That wasn''t the sort of person Queen Sisi was, though.


    Queen Sisi was the type to eat someone bones and all. Perhaps a vampire would be a more appropriate way to reference than a human. She sucked the life out of people before finally throwing their corpse away andining they tasted bad. That was her true nature.


    I followed Queen Sisi upstairs to the elves'' room. The Elven Queen probably shared my thoughts: if we could be less one problem, then let us be less one problem. I noticed Angelina still hadn''t stepped out of her room, though, albeit still eating as per usual. She''d sneak out to use the toilet, but I didn''t have the foggiest clue as what she was hiding from.


    Was it because I rejected herst time, I wondered. What flipping right would she have to be upset and angry about, though?!! She was Veirya''s mom for Pete''s sake!! What sort of mother gets jealous of her daughter?! Shouldn''t she be happy to see a man be faithful to her daughter? It wasn''t time to be worrying about Angelina, nevertheless. After all, Angelina was an adult and wouldn''t be wilfully angry as a child. The priority was the meeting between two Queens.


    Queen Sisi knocked on the door. Ciara pulled the door open. She wasn''t particrly surprised to see Queen Sisi. In fact, she calmly bowed: "Esteemed Queen Sisi, it is a great honour to meet you here. Our Queen has yet to recover, unfortunately. We are not in the elvennds, either. Therefore, please forgive us for not being able to provide you with the best reception."


    "That''s not important. I can''t ask an injured woman to salute me. Plus, I came to visit you; hence, you don''t need to stand on ceremony."


    Queen Sisi pressed her hand on the Ciara''s breasts and pushed thetter away. She looked eager to enter. She could no longer wait to see her final goal, the Elven Queen. I followed her into the room. The Elven Queen lied on the bed as usual and didn''t greet Queen Sisi. I didn''t know if she was feigning to be asleep or if she was actually asleep. Queen Sisi couldn''t hide her smile when she saw the Elven Queen. She then immediately switched her smile for a heartbroken demeanour. She walked over and knelt down in front of the Elven Queen. Queen Sisi''s switch was shockingly fast. Queen Sisi could definitely score an Oscar. Heck, she already had tears in her heterochromia eyes!


    "My most beloved elf, what happened to you¡­? What exactly happened to you¡­? Heavens, I never thought they would do something so cruel to you. I-I, my heart hurts¡­ Dear, Dear, tell me, what exactly happened? What do you want to do? I will definitely help you. I will definitely avenge you! Tell me, dear, you can tell me anything!!"

 Chapter Volume 4 36

    <b><i>300 Views on all videos in the week, and I will post an extra chapter at the end of the week. Trialing autoy + mute. </i></b>


    <em>Queen Versus Queen</em>


    "I am your good friend. We fought together before; we''ve both been bathed in the blood of our enemies. I will never watch my friend fall and do nothing. Tell me, Dear, tell me, who exactly did this? I will definitely avenge you! I will avenge you at all costs!"


    I watched Queen Sisi put on her irate act and screaming. I didn''t know what to say. I didn''t know that Queens had to take acting sses in this era. Queen Sisi was getting full marks for the ss. Queen Sisi''s act made me wonder if it was because I was too much of a utilitarian that I saw her as shameless.


    "Queen Sisi''s true love for the Elven Queen¡­" I cut of my own thinking. My rationality told me Queen Sisi''s supposed feelings couldn''t remotely be genuine. She wasn''t that sort of character.


    The Elven Queen''s lips budged. Tears didn''t course down from underneath her bandage. The following was the script I expected: Queen Sisi would wait, and then the Elven Queen''s calmness and tolerance would surprise Queen Sisi.


    However, Queen Sisi then did something that stunned me. She pressed her hand on the Elven Queen''s mouth. Everyone around froze in ce. Queen Sisi kept up her heart-wrenching act but didn''t let the Elven Queen speak. Queen Sisi sobbed, "You don''t need to tell me. I can''t bear to hear it. I can feel your pain with my very own heart. This is too cruel, too cruel. I cannot bear to hear it. You don''t need to tell me, Dear, I understand. I understand your pain. Leave it all to me. I will definitely help you go home. I promise!"


    Queen Sisi then stood up simrly to a gust of wind. She wiped the tears on her face then turned to leave. The Elven Queen struggled to sit up, apparently to chase after her. Sadly, due to being blind, she identally tripped. Queen Sisi turned around and softlyughed: "There''s no need to be so emotional, Dear. You don''t need to be so grateful. I''m your friend; I should do this. Don''t worry, I will ensure they answer to their crimes for you. Rest easy; I won''t mistreat my friends."


    Ciara and I quickly ran over to help up the Elven Queen. The Elven Queen fell quite badly; she hit her head straight on the floor. Her forehead bled, but she ignored the bleeding on her forehead and thundered, "Sisi!! I won''t allow your unruly ns to bear fruit! Our elven internal affairs are our business; it has nothing to do with you!! Don''t you humans stick your noses in our business!"


    I couldn''t imagine the startled look on my face. I thought, "Honestly, those words should''ve sounded dominating and imposing, but you''re not supposed to yell them at me¡­"


    Queen Sisi didn''t reply to the Elven Queen or pretend that she didn''t hear. Instead, she assertively walked over and gently helped up the Elven Queen. Ciara warily monitored Queen Sisi as though she was afraid Queen Sisi would thrust a knife into her Queen or try to kill the Elven Queen''s dignity using her words.


    Queen Sisi gently went up on her toes. The two Queens were quite close in height. She leaned in to the Elven Queen and hugged her. Then, she licked the Elven Queen''s wound on her forehead. The Elven Queen shivered violently then aggressively shoved Queen Sisi away.


    Queen Sisi nonchntlyughed then took a step back before swiftly leaning in again. She leaned on the Elven Queen''s shoulder and whispered in her ear, although I could still hear her. She whispered, "Did he tell you to say that?"


    The Elven Queen fumed, "No!! Sisi!! Don''t go thinking that I''m open book! You want to attack us elves and rob us of ournd, don''t you?! The elves may have exiled me, but I''m still an elf. I won''t allow you to harm my elven homnd! I will never allow it!!"


    Okay, okay, while I admit that I admire the Elven Queen for keeping the bigger picture in mind, I still had to ask, are elves dull? Would you actually say that to someone''s face? Queen Sisi never said that; we were just predicting her thoughts. Before Queen Sisi actually attacked the elves, it was all a conjecture. The hints may obviously point to that conclusion, but if Queen Sisi didn''t attack, it''d mean we ndered her.


    You can''t outright say such things. Mindlessly speaking would empower Queen Sisi to seize the initiative. Once she had the initiative, she''d have thousands of ways of proving that she wouldn''t attack the elves. To the contrary, it would give you a bad name for suspecting your friends. Not to mention that Queen Sisi would be able to go back to the imperial capital and im that she tried to sincerely take care of the Elven Queen, only for her to be trampled on and ndered. The other races would, consequently, see it as the elves'' mistake.


    "Oh?"


    And Queen Sisi reacted just as I expected. She revealed a smug smirk. It didn''t matter, since the Elven Queen couldn''t see, anyway. Queen Sisi''s previous act was splendid, but the Elven Queen couldn''t see the performance regardless of how superb it was. If you think about it that way, it was a pitiful waste.


    Queen Sisi took a step forward with a smile: "I never said I would attack elves. I merely promised to help you take back your throne. I never said I would wage a war for you? Do you see me as such a violent woman? No, no, no, Dear, I may love you very much, but I do have a brain. It is a mistake to sacrifice our brilliant citizens for our private affairs. On top of that, it is absurd for us to harm each other for friendship. As such, I don''t understand why you think that I would attack elves? I think you misunderstood my kind intentions. He must have fed you misleading ideas."


    "He didn''t!!"


    The Elven Queen''s desire to protect me was touching. Unfortunately, it was useless. She just wasn''t on the same level as Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi had absolutely no need to concern herself with the Elven Queen. Queen Sisi would lead the Elven Queen by the nose, and thetter wouldn''t have any means of retaliation. Queen Sisi didn''t care what the Elven Queen said. She just needed to continue with her own topic. It was no different to negotiations breaking down at the table. In the end, she''d be left with no option other than to obediently sign the papers.


    "Really? He didn''t? I don''t me him, however, for I know that. As he is my favoured vassal, others will inevitably nder him. Moreover, as my favoured vassal, he won''t choose to say things opposing my will to my face. That''s why I can understand him using you as his medium."


    Queen Sisi turned to give me a smile. I had to give it to Queen Sisi for being vile. She turned me into a scoundrel who used the Elven Queen as a medium to express my viewpoint. She also turned me into a coward who might''ve imed such things because I was bribed.


    I chuckled: "Your Majesty, you jest. I am no favoured vassal. I am Veirya''s spoil of war and have always remained in the North. Myst trip to the imperial capital was my very first visit. Furthermore, I cannot put names to the faces of those around you."


    "Indeed. I developed a great fondness for you when we first met, which goes to show that others perceive you to be trustworthy."


    "You are trying to apotheosise me, Your Majesty. I am just being myself. That said, you just mentioned that I avoid saying things which oppose your thoughts. So, if this madam spoke my mind, I want to know, what is this oppositional perspective that you speak of?"


    That was an Achilles heel right there. Queen Sisi said something very interesting in herst turn. The Elven Queen didn''t allow Queen Sisi to attack the elves. Subsequently, if my perspective opposed Queen Sisi''s, that was the equivalent of admitting that her intent was to attack the elves. You could consider it Queen Sisi''s slip of the tongue. It was a perfect weapon to counter Queen Sisi.


    My thoughts were simple: I didn''t intend to help the Elven Queen; however, Queen Sisi, I won''t allow you to spread the fire to me!


    Queen Sisi didn''t panic whatsoever. She kept herposure as she answered, "Why, that would be to refuse to help the elves, of course. Not everyone will agree to me helping the elves. Little Doggy, you should be aware of what exactly those people around me are thinking. You should be<em> very</em> aware."


    Queen Sisi was no pushover, for sure. She dodged my question without giving the impression it was contrived. The two of us would need to think for a long time before we said anything if we wanted to discuss such topics.


    I took a moment before responding, "I definitely concur with helping elves. While you were discussing the matter, I had already helped these three innocent elves, but we are worried about you and your peoples'' means in achieving that."


    "You and your people?" Queen Sisi pursed her lips into a smile: "You and your people? Little Doggy, you are clearly a human, so why are you siding with the elves? Your wife is pregnant, and you want to flirt with an elf? Little Doggy, you are a splendid gentleman in every capacity, but you need to keep your phndering activities under control."


    "That is not important at the moment!!!"


    I knew Queen Sisi diverted the topic to somethingpletely irrelevant on purpose, because she wanted to avoid the topic. Under normal circumstances, nobody would remember the totally irrelevant topic, as it was a horrible failure of switching the subject. s, the Elven Queen surprisingly turned to me. Her lips gently trembled. In a shaky voice, she asked, "Y-You''re¡­ already married¡­ and¡­ have a child?!"


    "No, no!! That''s not what''s important right now!! That''s not!!"


    "Answer me! Why did you kiss me when you''re already married and have children?! Why?!!"


    "That''s not what''s important at the moment!!"


    All right, all right, I admit it. Queen Sisi''s topic switch wasn''t a failure but an overwhelming sess.

 Chapter Volume 4 37

    <b><i>300 Views on all videos in the week, and I will post an extra chapter at the end of the week. No more autoy + mute.</i></b>


    <em>Cut Finger</em>


    Queen Sisi sessfully distracted me with a topic that would otherwise utterly fail. I, too, had just found out the meaning behind the kiss not too long ago. I had always wanted to brush it off for the meantime before fixing the misunderstanding. However, the Elven Queen''s reaction irritated me and left me at a loss. Veirya also knew, after all; she looked at me with a very abnormal gaze. I knew Veirya might say something to me after Queen Sisi but not for the meantime.


    Queen Sisi seemed content after sessfully breaking me and the Elven Queen up. I found myself anxious. While I spoke to the Elven Queen and we both knew what to do beforehand, I was worried she''d ally with Queen Sisi out of spite. Queen Sisi was most likely aiming for that. Queen Sisi was unlikely aware the Elven Queen and I kissed. She merely tested us, as I sided with the Elven Queen. She just unexpectedly hit the bull''s eye.


    Queen Sisi was definitely ted for it was the first time she managed to silence me after all the verbal exchanges between us. I was helpless. The Elven Queen was always of the belief that I kissed her, knowing full-well what the significance of it was, which led to her feeling betrayed.


    Queen Sisi was hoping for the Elven Queen to get angry. A normal person wouldn''t do crazy things, but someone who let their anger cloud their judgement may just do crazy things. If the Elven Queen wasn''t blind, she may very well have given me a School Days ending.


    Anna and I prepared dinner; Leah and Veirya sat at the dining table with Queen Sisi. Leah sat in Veirya''sp; she was still somewhat afraid. Queen Sisi appeared to be satisfied already, though. She knew Veirya wasn''t someone she could have a good conversation with, which was why she didn''t speak. Instead, she drank the most expensive drink avable in the North, bearing in mind that the cost of it wouldn''t even be worth mentioning to her. As she sat there and drank, she wore a spooky smile and spaced out.


    I didn''t know what Queen Sisi''s end goal was. All I knew was that she nned to find a good opportunity to attack the elves via the Elven Queen. In addition, Queen Sisi''s ambition was literally hidden behind just a paper-thin veil at that point. She wasn''t there to test the waters. From the dominating aura she had, it was obvious she was absolutely determined to go through with her agenda. But nevertheless, I believed it wasn''t her sole goal.


    By my estimations, Queen Sisi should''ve had another goal in mind, namely Veirya. Veirya was already pregnant, though, thereby forcing her to put that n on hold for the meantime. In saying that, was Queen Sisi even the type of woman who would give up so simply? No, she wasn''t; she never gave up. I couldn''t let down my guard yet. I was scared out of my wits, seeing Queen Sisi and Veirya sitting together. I wasn''t scared of only Queen Sisi. If the idiot, Veirya, had a slip of the tongue¡­


    Though Leah hadn''t cried or made a scene, I was able to sense Leah''s unease after hearing Queen Sisi''s remark about being my daughter. She''d asionally steal nces at Veirya''s bulging belly. She knew that it was fake and the result of a drug. Still, it was unsettling for her. I forgot to take that into consideration. I never thought about having a child with Veirya. She didn''t look as though she''d earnestly give birth and lead a modest life¡­


    Indeed, it was a challenge for Leah. Veirya and I both expressed that we wouldn''t betray her even if we did have a child. However, Leah had experienced being abandoned by her father and starving every day. Subsequently, she was particrly sensitive about the topic. After Queen Sisi mentioned it, it triggered me, too. If I could marry Veirya in the future, we''d definitely have a child. The question, then, was what would Leah think about that? How would she live together with us in the future? Those were problems.


    I felt Queen Sisi came to torment me. Not only did she throw off my life that I went through so much to put in ce, she even bombed me with dilemmas and difficult problems.


    Immersed in my own thoughts, I suddenly heard Anna cry out, startling me. So ordingly, I stopped bringing down my knife on the meat. I suddenly felt a sharp painful sensation on my left hand. Only then did I realise that I had finished cutting the meat and that I''d cut my finger off if I continued cutting. Though I had subconsciously stopped, I still cut into my finger. Anna quickly grabbed my hand and anxiously eximed, "Sir, are you all right?! Why were you so careless?! You would have lost your finger if you cut down!!"


    "Ah¡­"


    Before I had the chance to speak, Leah and Veirya rushed into the kitchen. Leah emotionally yelled, "What?!! Papa!! What happened to your finger?! Y-You cut your finger while making dinner?! You won''t lose it, will you?! You won''t, will you?! You won''t¡­ lose it this time, will you?! Does¡­ does Leah need to go and look for Sister Lucilia?! Sister Lucilia would definitely have a way to heal it!!"


    "There''s no need to; don''t be so anxious, Leah. It''s just a minor cut. Don''t be so worried."


    Ever since I lost my foot, Leah was particrly nervous about any injuries that I suffered. She reacted as though all the wounds that I received were fatal. Leah grabbed my hand and looked at the cut. She then stuck my finger in her mouth and sucked on my finger. In the past, I said that she might''ve done so due to her race. Leah''s tongue was deft and sensitive. She was just sucking her father''s finger, yet I oddly enjoyed it. After several repeats, Leah spat my finger out and carefully stroked it a few times. It stopped bleeding. She then said, "Done, Papa. You must be careful next time¡­"


    I didn''t have time to reply, though, for Veirya copied Leah and did the exact same thing.


    Veirya also licked my wound, except it was more simr to a dog licking a bone because of how vigorously she licked it. In fact, it made me worry that the wound would end up bleeding again as a result of the pressure. Veirya didn''t say a word, while I didn''t think it was all that nice¡­ it just¡­ hurt somewhat. Veirya spat my finger out; she looked at me and, with a serious look, stated, "Two times. Will be better."


    I knew that I couldn''t win an argument against Veirya; hence, I gave up. It was whatever she says it was, I guess.


    I noticed Queen Sisi also came to the kitchen. She curiously scanned the surroundings as if it was her first time in a kitchen. Okay, maybe my guess was right. It was her first time in the kitchen.


    When Queen Sisi noticed my gaze on her, she suddenly shuddered and took a step back: "Don''t look at me! I won''t lick your finger for you!!!"


    "I never even thought about asking you to!!!"


    It sounded as if it was a joke, and it was Queen Sisi, who was teasing me. Very soon in the future, however, I teased Queen Sisi with that line when I saw her. After all, she wouldn''t suck my finger¡­ That said¡­


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *School Days - An adult visual novel/anime.

 Chapter Volume 4 38

    <b><i>300 Views on all videos in the week, and I will post an extra chapter at the end of the week. </i></b>


    <em>Mother and Daughter</em>


    Queen Sisi chuckled as she looked at the table of dishes and the piping-hot food in front of her. She gleefully remarked, ¡°I never expected Little Doggy to be a culinary master, as well. This was unexpected.


    After dealing with twists, turns, bumps and hurdles - you get my drift - we finally finished preparing the official banquet for Queen Sisi. I bore in mind she wouldn¡¯t like eating things that she ate before. Given her personality, she¡¯d definitely prefer to eat dishes that she hadn¡¯t eaten before, which was why I specifically prepared Chinese dishes. It was quite arduous to prepare them, and there were lots of missing necessary ingredients, but nevertheless, I managed to cook up a table of dishes that was basically Chinese cuisine. Additionally, I ditched the forks and knives for chopsticks that I specially made. As a safety measure, I also prepared spoons.


    Owing to the fact that I had never taught anyone how to use chopsticks, Queen Sisi didn''t touch her dining utensils. She wouldn''t let me see her ipetence with chopsticks. Therefore, she sat there and observed me. I should''ve used a furtive way of telling her how to use the chopsticks. Notugh at her. That is, of course, unless I contracted some sort of terminal disease and had a death wish or didn''t want to have Leah murder me after secretly kissing Veirya and Leah caught me.


    I gently cleared my throat then checked on Leah, who was opposite me. Leah was in the midst of ying with her chopsticks. She treated the two lengths of wood as toys instead of dining utensils. I said to her, "Leah, don''t y with it. They''re called chopsticks. Papa once used them to eat. Don''t think of them as just two lengths of wood. Once you''ve mastered them, you''ll be able to deftly pick up anything. Here, let Papa teach you."


    I deliberately raised my voice at the end and purposely demonstrated their usage to Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi wasn''t an idiot. Therefore, she should''ve known what to do. I grabbed hold of Leah''s hand. I had her hold her chopsticks with her right hand and then showed her how to pick up food with them. Leah gave them a go, but I could see that she was nervous. She gripped her chopsticks extremely tightly. Her movements looked stiff and clunky. When she picked up a piece of food, she used all of her strength as though she wanted to torture the two lengths of wood.


    As with everyone who uses chopsticks for their first time, Leah used too much force and didn''t get to experience their magic. After spending much effort to pick up a piece of food, she dropped it on the table. Dismal, Leah sunk down and sprawled onto the table to look at me with a pitiful gaze. I smiled and touched her head: "Rx. Don''t use too much strength. Leah, you only need to use a tiny amount of strength to use chopsticks. Rx and don''t use too much strength. Practice more and you''ll get the hang of it."


    Veirya stared at the chopsticks in front of her and fell into deep thought. She seemed to wonder how the two lengths of wood could pick up food. She watched me teach Leah and then tried to pick food up with her chopsticks. However, in that very instant, they snapped under the pressure of her fingers. Veirya innocently looked at the snapped chopsticks in her hands then looked up at me: "I think. This isn''t good. This utensil. Is very fragile. Can you. Really use this?"


    "No, no, no, I truly doubt anyone back home used so much strength. You just need to use a tiny bit of strength¡­ Veirya, I think they might not be suitable for you¡­"


    I doubt there was a One-sh Girl Veirya back home; I don''t think anybody ever snapped chopsticks with their fingers, either. Either chopsticks didn''t really suit Veirya or metal chopsticks would be a better alternative for her.


    Veirya and Leah were doubtful. They seemed to conclude that chopsticks couldn''t be used to pick up food; they believed that I was lying to them. Queen Sisi didn''t try after seeing the two fail. She, too, looked at me, seemingly feeling that I was deliberately setting her up to embarrass her.


    That being the case, I needed to prove myself. I may be poor with other things, but I was definitely well-trained with chopsticks after using them for twenty years. I did have to pick up the, apparently, best parts when the table was spun, after all. Consequently, I was confident with myself when it came to chopsticks.


    I proficiently picked up the food that Veirya and Leah tried to pick up and put them in my bowl. I didn''t even spill a single drip of broth. I then told them about the pros of chopsticks. Hence, I went out of my way to choose a fish. It was very tough to use a fork and knife to cut up a fish. With chopsticks, on the other hand, it was simple. Leah watched in amazement as I dexterously opened the fish''s belly, deboned it and put the meat into her bowl. Her gaze for me was filled with admiration. Meanwhile, Veirya looked at her right hand again and spaced out. She looked as though she was reflecting on herself to determine if she did use too much strength.


    Queen Sisi giggled as she watched me, but my sess wasn''t enough for her to try. She was aware that my sess didn''t imply she''d seed, and failing as Leah and Veirya did wouldn''t make her happy. Therefore, she chose an alternative that I couldn''tment on. She stood up and picked up the tes one by one. She scraped the down into her bowl. Then, she mixed the food together to turn it into gaijiaofan. Finally, she began to proudly eat with her spoon.


    I don''t have anything against gaijiaofan, but back home, only deliverymen made gaijiaofan the way she did!! mming different vours together didn''t taste good!


    "Mm¡­ You know, Little Doggy, I think you shoulde with me, after all. I regret it somewhat now; had I kept you with me at the start, my quality of life could be improved."


    Apparently, Queen Sisi was a fan of it¡­ Queen Sisi lowered her head and didn''t speak again, focusing on eating mouthfuls of food. Hopeless, I smiled. I stood up and used big tes to make Leah and Veirya their serves. Though I did that, I didn''t just pour it all on. I, instead, separated the food on two sides so as to avoid the vours shing. I''d say that was quite simr to take-away.


    It was pointless even if the two mastered chopsticks. They were just my way of showingpassion for the past that I''ll never be able to return to. At the very least, it reminded me that life in this world wasn''t my entire life.


    After dinner, I felt as though the three of them ate half-a-month worth of food stores. Fortunately, I took Veirya and Leah''s appetite into consideration. After dinner, Queen Sisi revealed a pleased expression; nheless, I also noticed she appeared to be searching for something.


    "Little Doggy, I have yet to see what I also wanted to see."


    I ced down the dishes that I was clearing off the table and entrusted them to Anna. I chuckled: "Your Majesty, what other ce would you like to see? It iste now, unfortunately, so how about we go tomorrow?"


    "I haven''t seen the knight today. Are you saying that I will get to see her tomorrow?" Queen Sisi asked straightforwardly and chuckled. "Little Doggy, the knight came back here with you, didn''t she? We''re not in the imperial pce at the moment, and I''m in your area of jurisdiction. Neither my bodyguards nordies-in-waiting are present. We do not have any agreement to maintain secrets between each other, so be candid with me. Why are you hiding Angelina?"


    "He. Did not," Veirya answered before I could as soon as Angelina was mentioned. "He. Did not hide Angelina. Angelina. Is in her room right now. However, recently. She has not left her room. So. I do not know. Either."


    "Oh?"


    Queen Sisi paused. I knew that she had absolute trust in Veirya. It made sense for her to trust Veirya, for the reason that Veirya wasn''t the type who could tell lies. Queen Sisi just didn''t expect me to actually be innocent in regards to Angelina''s case. I didn''t have any intention to hide Angelina.


    Queen Sisi didn''t look at Veirya but me: "Do you all really not know?"


    I nodded: "Angelina has been in her room all the time as of recent. I didn''t say or do anything. Your Majesty, if you have business, you can go upstairs to see her. May I ask what you want to see her for, though?"


    Queen Sisi chuckled. She then stood up and went behind Veirya. She gently pinched Veirya''s face and chuckled again: "Are you ying stupid, Little Doggy? Do you think I don''t know? Angelina and Veirya have always been incredibly difficult to tell apart. Even I can''t distinguish between them despite Veirya once having been with me all day and night. Up until now, I have only seen Veirya; or rather, this pregnant woman here. The two are identical, but I can only see one. Do you think I would believe you?"


    "How could I possibly impregnate Angelina?!! Also, how could she have a bulging stomach in just half a month?!!"


    I never expected Queen Sisi to suspect the current Veirya to be Angelina. If you think about it carefully, you''d understand. I said that I liked Veirya. I''d have a child with Veirya when we were in love. How could I impregnate Angelina just to put on an act? Moreover, even if Angelina did sleep with me, how could she be obviously pregnant in a few measly days?!


    At first, I thought the statement was too stupid to even require thinking; however, Queen Sisi surprised me. Since Queen Sisi was oblivious to the matters between men and women, perhaps she truly didn''t trust me.


    "No, no, no, my Little Doggy, I know you far too well. If you would kiss an elf, what would stop you from sleeping with Veirya''s mother?" Queen Sisi looked as though it was a given. She pointed upstairs and demanded, "Let me expose your charade. Veirya, if you''re the real Veirya, show me your loyalty. Go, Veirya, go and let me see your mother!!"


    "That''s impossible!! I wouldn''t possibly do such a thing!!"


    "As youmand, Your Majesty."


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Gaifan/Gaijiaofan - Typical Chinese fast food consisting of rice and fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredient. It''s existed as far back as to Western Zhou.

 Chapter Volume 4 39

    <b><i>Not going to put the note again, but bear in mind, 300 views on all videos in the week, and I will post an extra chapter at the end of the week. This week = fail again. </i></b>


    <em>Angelina is Pregnant</em>


    Honestly, I had no idea what Angelina was up to. But nevertheless, since Angelina didn''t want to see us, she definitely had her own ideas. That''s why I was somewhat reluctant to let Her Majesty meet her. Another reason was because I couldn''t control Angelina. I couldn''t control her thinking or actions. I was worried that she''d involved me in what she did. Veirya probably didn''t concur, though.


    Veirya trusted Queen Sisi and would obey hermands. Furthermore, it didn''t appear as though she ever wondered what Angelina would do, which was why she took the initiative to lead Queen Sisi upstairs. I followed behind the two. Truth be told, I had lost the right to speak. I said I was Veirya''s spoil of war. In other words, Veirya''s will was my will. I, therefore, couldn''t stop Veirya. I only ever provided Veirya with suggestions, and she just happened to ept all of them. However, suggestions remain as suggestions; they only existed before a decision was made. Since Veirya had decided what to do, I shouldn''t stop her. Hence, I just followed the two, hoping to do my best to control the situation.


    Veirya stood at the door; she turned her head to look at Queen Sisi and I. Queen Sisi looked back at Veirya with her arms folded and chuckled: "If you break the door down, I bet the gentleman behind us and your mother in the room won''t be too happy. Therefore, please allow me to knock."


    Queen Sisi politely knocked. I believe it was a rare experience for her to knock on a door, as she never needed to in the imperial pce. Moreover, given how proud Queen Sisi was, it was impossible for her to take the initiative to look for someone else. She made an exception by taking the initiative to visit Angelina. Under normal circumstances, everyone shoulde and wee Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi was at Angelina''s door; if Angelina still didn''t show her face, she''d be taking things too far. If Angelina opened up, there was still a chance to turn things around. If Angelina refused, we were done for.


    Fortunately, we heard sound from Angelina in the room. Queen Sisi folded her arms with a chuckle as she waited for the door to open. I was also curious as to what exactly Angelina had been doing, locking herself up in her room for several days.


    Angelina slowly pulled open the door. The three of us, who were standing outside, froze. I had imagined countless different scenes we''d see after Angelina opened her door, but I never imagined I''d see Angelina in that shape. She wasn''t dressed; she boldly disyed her goods to us. I must say, her body arrested my ey-, ptoo, ptoo, this is no time to be worrying about her body. What was most worth paying attention to weren''t her twin blessings that were a tadrger than Veirya''s, but¡­ but¡­ but¡­ her round belly¡­ below her perfectly perky breasts¡­


    Angelina seductively ran her fingers through her hair and chuckled in a soft voice: "Sorry, Your Majesty, I am not in as good shape as my daughter while I am pregnant, which was why I did not take the initiative to see you. It would not be good if I was to puke in front of you."


    I was absolutely positive she was Angelina thanks to her smile. Veirya wouldn''t smile; it had always been Angelina who posed as Veirya and never the other way around. In addition, Angelina didn''t have the mole on her breast. The mole was the only difference between the two. I had no idea if Queen Sisi was informed of that, but I noticed she was, once again, shocked. It was Queen Sisi''s second time seeing a pregnant woman in a single day, which blew her mind even more than the first time.


    "Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-¡­"


    I didn''t expect to see a pregnant Angelina. She gave me a smug look and a weird mischievous smile: "Are you that heartless, Dear? Have you forgotten that beautiful night? I never imagined I''d be able to serve one man together with my daughter. I was somewhat shy about it, but when we got down to it, it was really fun. Plus, it truly is so nice to let a woman, who''s always never had a man, return to her youthful twenties, isn''t it?"


    "What nonsense is that?!!!" I protested.


    I started to question if I lived in the same dimension as Angelina. After all, I never did what she just imed. Nevertheless, what she said totally freaked me out. I wasn''t afraid Queen Sisi would believe her; I was afraid that Veirya would believe her¡­


    Veirya didn''t look as if she believed Angelina, though. She slightly frowned: "Impossible. You have. Left your room recently. A month ago. You. Still didn''t know him. You had no chance. To. Be alone with him. Plus. We have. Never been together."


    Veirya wasn''t brainless, after all. She, at least, didn''t believe a liepletelycking evidence. Consequently, I felt reassured. I looked at Angelina, and she looked back at me. With a smug grin, she asked, "Says who? Veirya, how do you exin my belly, then?"


    "Drugs, of course¡­"


    From the moment Angelina asked that question, I realised that there was something wrong. Being idiotic as she was, Veirya would definitely spill something that would practically destroy us. Thus, I swiftly covered Veirya''s mouth with my hand. To cover up my awkward response, I pulled Veirya into my embrace. I dryly chuckled, and then raised my voice: "Sorry, I was wrong; I''ll be honest. That night, I couldn''t tell you two apart and went to the wrong person. However, I swear I didn''t expect Angelina to get pregnant. I''ll sort it out; I''ll definitely sort it out properly, so calm down for now, Veirya. I think that you and Angelina need to calm down. Love you."


    I really wanted to kiss Veirya on the face as theds in American movies did, but I couldn''t. My heart virtually burst out of my chest just hugging Veirya. I swiftly pressed my hand on Veirya''s shoulder and pushed her to the stairs, and then turned around to block the path, preventing Veirya froming back up. Veirya had an utterly dumbfounded expression on. It was beyond her toprehend what happened in the short exchange of two sentences.


    Angelina continued smugly looking at me. I, on the other hand, wanted to rip her head off. I always thought of myself as being incredibly smart, yet I was done in by women twice in a single day. I was frustrated. I rarely experienced being shut down. After experiencing it, I could say that I genuinely disliked it. Angelina was different to Veirya. She was a little too smart for our good.


    Queen Sisi took some effort to get her train of thinking back on track. She missed the small mishap before. Subsequently, she only just recovered her mind''s functioning. She looked at me and, with an astonished look on her face, stuttered, "Y-Y-You and¡­ and¡­ Veirya''s mother¡­ you¡­"


    "I d-, okay, I did it, but have you confirmed it yet? You believe us now, right? That was Veirya, herself, just before."


    "Uhm¡­ uhm¡­ but¡­ I''m more interested in the story between you two!"


    "Please do not make me talk about it. Please?!!"

 Chapter Volume 4 40

    <em>The Power of Capital</em>


    Honestly, Queen Sisi didn''t visit to torture anyone; she merely tormented me to push me to the brink of contemting suicide. She ruined my family that I went through so much effort to build. Had it not been for what Queen Sisi said, I wouldn''t need to prostrate myself on the ground again.


    Veirya stepped on my head. It was different to when Queen Sisi stepped on me. Back when Queen Sisi stepped on me, she, at the very least, used her bare foot, which made it more enjoyable than painful. Veirya, on the other hand, stepped on my head and pressed it right onto the floor with her military boots. My forehead and rear of my head were practically squashed.


    "How. Has it been?" Veirya''s voice from overhead was cold.


    Leah, who was off to the side, also looked at me with a heartless gaze, indicating she didn''t n to speak up for me. Leah was infuriated when she learned of Angelina''s im. She wanted to just run over and rip me apart. I had to admit that it was my mistake; I overestimated Veirya''s intelligence. It was impossible for her toprehend what just happened with her intellect or what exactly the contents of our conversation meant. Veirya onlyprehended one thing, which was that I did something with Angelina behind her back that I should''ve been apologetic about.


    I did say that I did something with Angelina, but it was a joke. Veirya, however, believed that I wouldn''t lie to her; hence, despite initially believing Angelina and I to be clean, after I went and said that, she believed Angelina and I went behind her back, even going as far as actually impregnating Angelina.


    "I have to admit that I was wrong¡­ I was wrong¡­" I remarked whilst thinking, "Wrong, because I trusted Veirya''s wits¡­"


    "I didn''t do anything with Angelina¡­ The truth is that''s just the drug at work¡­ I had to lie to trick Queen Sisi; else, she''d find out about the drug. Your initial belief was correct. Correct, I never had any chance to be with Angelina. You already know that you need at least three to four months to have a noticeable pregnancy, but three to four months ago¡­ I didn''t even know Angelina."


    I needed toy out all of my thinking for Veirya or she''d have no means of understanding my reasoning. My voice was evidently strange, since I prostrated myself on the ground. Nevertheless, Veirya understood my issue. Thus, she moved her foot. Still suspicious, she asked, "Why. Can''t we tell. Her Majesty?"


    "Because Queen Sisi intends to have Angelina take your ce on the battlefield. That''s what my conjecture is. There''s no need for her to seek Angelina, otherwise. Angelina''s method may be a good one, but she was being mischievous at the same time. If I''m correct, she was trying to make fun of us; don''t worry about it. There''s nothing between me and her. Rest assured."


    "Good." Veirya chose to trust what I said.


    Leah was still somewhat doubtful. Puzzled, she questioned, "What exactly is Queen Sisi here for?"


    "Mm, it''s very simple. She probably wants to attack the elves and bring Mama Veirya along. Previously, I was just guessing, but it''s pretty much proven now."


    Owing to the fact that Queen Sisi chose to not use our barrel for a bath, we had some free time. Queen Sisi was very keen on bathing with Veirya, but as soon as she heard that I would bath with her, she left.


    That baffled me. Queen Sisi was fine with letting me see her sleep, yet took issue with me sharing a bath with her. God forbid I could wrap my head around that logic. But on second thought¡­ her logic¡­ was, indeed, correct¡­


    Thanks to that, we had time to clear up our misunderstanding. Family harmony is the most important, after all. If not, it was pretty obvious that Veirya might have messed everything up. To be fair, Veirya wasn''t the only hazard; Leah was a hazard at that point, as well.


    "Let''s put Sister Angelina''s matter aside for now, then. Papa, you never mentioned the matter between you and that elf."


    Leah gave me a stern look after all that. I never told her about what happened between the Elven Queen and I, so she was always in the dark with regards to it. Today, though, she found out what happened, and she found out that I kissed the Elven Queen. Then, she found out the significance of kissing an elf. As a consequence, she was very serious about the topic. I gently cleared my throat then tried to use the same trick Queen Sisi used with me before, also known as, changing the subject.


    "Um, Leah, can we stop calling Angelina ''sister''? You see, Leah, you call Veirya ''mama,'' so what should you call Angelina, who''s Veirya''s mother? Think about this: sister or, more specifically, elder sister is used to refer to those younger than your mama. Angelina happens to be older than Veirya, so don''t you think it''s not quite appropriate to call Angelina ''sister?"


    Leah immersed herself in deep thought. She desperately tried to figure out if she should call Angelina ''sister'' or not; plus, if she wondered what to call Angelina if she didn''t call Angelina ''sister''. As such, Leah was deep in thought, thereby temporarily forgetting what she should be asking me. Veirya, on the other hand, already asked the question before. Therefore, she wouldn''t ask a second time. What sort of left my conscience feeling uneasy was how Veirya had reached a point where she trusted me too much. If I told her I didn''t have any rtionship with the Elven Queen, she wouldn''t press me any further. If I had an affair, she might not even suspect me. That sort of pure trust deterred me from daring to have affairs, as the worst form of torture is when your conscience is ming you.


    Someone suddenly knocked on the door to our residence. It was already veryte. Queen Sisi was eager to sleep with Veirya, but she probably gave up on that n after seeing Veirya''s belly. Moreover, it was obvious that Queen Sisi wouldn''t be visiting sote. She wouldn''t leave the ce she lodged at sote. The question, then, was who was it?


    Is it Achilles or that young man, I questioned. I''d say they were on the same boat and wanted to persuade me to help them. I already tried to help them but almost got myself dragged into it.


    Veirya didn''t draw her sword, which proved that our visitor wasn''t armed and she didn''t perceive them to harbour ill-will. Therefore, I walked over and opened up without concern. I was weed by blonde hair. Yes, I felt that the blonde hair was much more eye-catching than the owner''s face. It was night time, but the blonde hair was the equivalent of glowing fireflies. The owner had a young appearance and was only about as tall as a high school student. He wasn''t the young man from the military. He was dressed very simr to Achilles. I presumed he was most likely a businessman. Such a young businessman would usually be a conman or an idiot who helped people count money.


    As soon as he saw me open the door, the youth immediately revealed a polite smile as though it was ingrained through training: "Hello, Sir. I was not at the imperial capital when you werest there, which was why I missed the chance to greet you. I am very sorry about that. I hope you will not be offended by that."


    "You are¡­?"


    I was immediately rmed. The more polite they are, the more cautious you need to be. Only those with enough brains would be respectful and polite. Those sorts of people were the most dangerous ones. I subtly nodded and then stepped aside to gesture for him toe in. He nodded and came in with a chuckle. Upon seeing Veirya at the dining table, he gave her a deep bow: "It is our first time meeting, Lord Veirya."


    Veirya nodded: "Uhm."


    Somewhat fearful, Leah hid behind Veirya and warily scanned the youth. He chuckled as he took out a small pouch from his pocket: "These are candies. I prepared them for your daughter. I hope you will ept them."


    Leah was eager to take them. I nodded. There was no point in rejecting menial gifts. If I didn''t ept so much as a pouch of candy, it''d mean that I wasn''t willing to talk when, to the contrary, I was somewhat curious as to what exactly he wanted. I, therefore, epted the candy, which gave him the green light to speak.


    "So, I live in that city. I am a businessman. More precisely, I was once a merchant, who was in charge of delivering resources to the military. I have been to this town before. I discovered that, behind the mountain, yes, the mountain behind your town, I discovered an outdoor mine. It was exposed. The ore is ck."


    "Oh?"


    He piqued my interest. A mine with ck on the surface was presumably a coal mine. It was simple to mine coal. If I was back in my old world, I''d die fighting for the coal mine. In this world, unfortunately, the industrial revolution had yet to ur. I couldn''t let him know it was valuable. Coal might still be absolutely useless to people in this world.


    "It is a form of energy, Sir, a very powerful one. I met a young man, who invented a big machine that could boil water and power things, including metal. That is why I believe the mmable ck mineral will definitely be the source of energy for such machines. If I mine the mineral, and then sell those huge machines, we will strike it rich!!"


    I could see where he wasing from, and he most certainly would be filthy rich. The question, then, was how do I gain something from a man who was about to make it rich? Of course, I definitely didn''t want to slice off piece by piece, and I didn''t want a share. I wanted the cake<em> and</em> the pot. The problem was I didn''t know where the mine was. If I fought for it after he found it, it''d devalue it. I wanted to them to bring the mine to life to get all eyes on the North. That would attract more investors out for treasure.


    "So, you came here to¡­?"


    "As the mountain is a part of your territory, I need to ask you for permission¡­ I n to buy the rights to the mine for one-hundred gold coins." The man pulled out a parchment. Detailed on it was the approximate location and size of the mine. He rubbed his hands together: "ording to the price of thend and the tax rates the imperial city set, the price ofnd in your North should be very cheap. I hope you will not raise the price. It is pointless to hog the coal mine, after all. Without my friend''s machine, no one will like it."


    "I''m fine with selling thend for one-hundred gold coins; that said, purchasingnd and mining in ournd are two separate matters. For you to mine there, you need to pay an extra fee. You''re digging mynd and mountain, which will have an impact on my townsfolk''s hunting activities. You need to make it up to my hunters. In addition, we need to maintain the roads for you. Therefore, you must pay to cover the costs."


    "How much do you estimate that to be?"


    "Two-hundred gold coins for mining. Additionally, thirty percent of your annual profit from the coal mine will be forwarded to us as payment for maintenance and protection. Should you need it, we can also provide you with a warehouse for free. What do you think?"


    He stopped to think for a while before agreeing: "I can ept that."


    While the price couldn''tpare to the earnings from the vouring smuggling, thetter was illegal, while the former was legal. Land itself wasn''t worth money. Additionally, the man before me was a fellow who earned the differences from transporting resources. Hence, I didn''t think he had much money. That was why it was pointless for me to try and make money off of him.


    "So, bring two-hundred gold coins another day, and I will have drafted up an agreement. You just need to sign the papers, pay the fee, and you will be ready to work on it. I am very curious about one thing, though. Do you really have enough money to mine?" I inquired.


    "Um, we n to start apany. Do you understand what I mean by apany? It is simr to a merchant association, but I like the new name. It makes me feel good as the word ''bank'' does. We have taken up all machinery and mining work. After hearing what we had in mind, the bank gave us a sum of money to proceed with it, and we can pay them backter."


    I responded with a small nod. I learnt something important. We then chatted without too much substance before I sent him off. It was a sessful negotiation, and I acquired one-hundred heavy gold coins.


    "Papa, do you really believe he is telling the truth? Leah thinks he''s a liar¡­ what big machine..? Leah has never even heard of such a thing."


    I gave Leah a small nod: "It''s true. Also, he''ll make it rich; or rather, Papa will make it rich."


    "Papa, are you going to raise the price?"


    "You can''t sellnd for much, and I want all of it. I want the coal mine and the so-called machine that he mentioned. I want all of it. If I''m correct, Her Majesty brought him with her, which would exin why he mentioned our trip to the imperial capital. I think it''s safe to assume Queen Sisi is interested in the machine; else, she wouldn''t have brought him along. Nevertheless, it appears he won''t take the initiative to sell it. That means I have to let them know what the power of capital is. Since there''s a bank, it means I can gain enough power from the bank to acquire the things he mentioned."


    Veirya''s weapon was a sword. With it, she could kill the Demon King. Queen Sisi believed people to be her weapon. With them, she could conquer every corner of the world. However, my weapon was capital. With my weapon, I could turn the entire world on its head and inside out. The power capital granted was enough to change an entire world.

 Chapter Volume 4 41

    <em>Hot Springs, Queen and Coal Quarry</em>


    Humanity''s greatest invention was probably the organisation that came to be known as a bank. Achilles mentioned it before, albeit indirectly, but I didn''t notice. I didn''t have the time to go and y some tricks at the bank when I visited the imperial capital, either. The bank isn''t as simple as a ce that stores money, which is why I argue that the bank isn''t a ce to store money but credibility.


    Modern money is a nation''s credibility. The concept was the same as the current currency, which had Queen Sisi''s face carved onto them. The currency represented humanity''s empire. Fundamentally, it was another way of evaluating Queen Sisi''s credibility. Humanity''s empire was strong and wealthy, and they were the nation that slew the Demon King. The chance of the empire copsing was miniscule. That, in turn, meant more races were willing to use humanity''s currency. Compared to other coins, their value was also naturally higher. Furthermore, thanks to Queen Sisi''s absolute authority, the practical value of the currency was exceptionally stable; no one would try to spam the market or depreciate the value.


    That''s why Bitcoin is a bubble. A non-existent currency such as Bitcoin doesn''t have any nation supporting it to give it credibility. To add, the fluctuations in prices are too drastic. As a result, it won''t be considered a viable currency to be circting. Bitcoin''s price is controlled by the people at the top of the pyramid. They earn money from Bitcoin by developing the loweryers and then developing theyers below that bottomyer. Simply put, it works the same way as multi-level marketing.


    Now, since the bank stores credibility, what we can withdraw includes credibility itself. I could use my credibility to exchange it for a particr item. That''s the current nature of banks and current currency. Hence, as long as I had something to pawn as coteral, I could acquire infinite money from the bank.


    The two were able to start apany with a loan from the bank. ordingly, I could get a loan from the bank and then buy shares of the bank to finally be thergest shareholder, subsequently bing the one who had the highest authority in the bank. I wouldn''t get enough funds to pull it off from loaning money from the bank alone.


    As they were mining in my backyard, I had countless ways of making money off them, such as transportation fees, toll fees and storage fees. I had plenty of ways of seizing opportunities for my own gains in this sort of finance industry that had just taken off. Capital could equip one with the power to change the entire world. With that said, I needed to make lots of preparations to sessfully pull it off. In any case, Queen Sisi was in the North; she was my biggest concern at the time.


    I didn''t get any sleep that night. Leah climbed into bed and hugged me. My mind was upied with how to get my hands on the world''s greatest invention and the mineral. They might not have understood the underlying value of those things, but I did. The machines were exactly what Queen Sisi dreamt of having for what they provided: power.


    The next morning, I personally watched Leah transform back to her child form and sit up. I went downstairs and prepared dinner. Angelina also started joining us for meals downstairs. After I ordered Anna to take food up to the elves, I joined the others at the table. Seeing the women with bulging bellies next to me and in front of me left me speechless, especially since they were mother and daughter. Seriously, you''d be speechless if you were there.


    Veirya didn''t know the purpose of the visitorst night and the true value of the news he brought. That was why she was her usual self. Leah looked up at me from her te. She was concerned, since I was spacing out. She asked, "Papa, are you all right? You''ve been spacing out since yesterday. Isn''t what that man said over already? You just need to get the money today. What are you thinking about, Papa?"


    "Ah, no, nothing. Papa is thinking about whates after."


    The principle for moving the capital that came next was very simple. In saying that, it was difficult to exin it to a young girl. Therefore, I didn''t reply. Leah rested her face in her hands. A wave of emotions flitted passed her face. She pouted: "Geez, Papa never cares about Leah. Leah wants to be able to make Papa think of Leah so much, too."


    "Leah, everything that Papa does is for your sake. Papa is trying to earn money so that you can live a happier life in the future."


    "Leah is already very happy to just living together with Papa. Life at home is very lively now, as well. Leah is very happy now."


    I knew Leah wasn''t lying. Leah smiled a lot morepared to the past. Nevertheless, as her parent, I couldn''t feel ascent. After seeing the pope''s awesome house, I couldn''t let my Leah continue living in the shabby house. I wanted Leah to live a life of luxury.


    Veirya looked up at me dissatisfied. She seriously asked, "Then. What about me? Why do you. Only take care for Leah? I''m also Mama Veirya. Will you. Think of me?"


    "Of course. Of the five of my ''sweet dreams'' each week, you''re the star in four of them. Thest one is you and Leah¡­" I didn''t think it was wise to say that, though. It''d be sexual harassment if I said that¡­ though Veirya wouldn''t feel that way.


    I replied, "Of course you''re included. I do it for the two of you. The two of you are my family. I put in all of this effort for your sakes."


    "How about me, then?" asked Angelina, as she shamelessly hugged my arm.


    I red at Angelina to tell her to take a hike: "Who are you?"


    Angelina let go.


    I continued grumbling in my mind, "My forehead still hurts due to getting intimate with the floor yesterday, and you happen to be the one responsible for it."


    Veirya ignored her mother and continued conversing with me: "In that case. You don''t. Need to work hard. I can. Take care of you. You just. Need to think of us."


    Veirya said it with an expressionless look, but it warmed my heart. In saying that, the whole overbearing CEO''s "I''ll feed you," isn''t quite appropriate for a woman to say to a man. Plus, it was Veirya we were talking about. If I believed her, I might starve to death.


    "I have to work hard for your sakes. That''s my goal."


    I gave a simple one sentence response. I had no intention of giving a touching response. I just expressed my genuine thoughts. My biggest goal at the time was taking care of Leah and winning Veirya''s heart.


    Before we could finish breakfast, I heard a number of footsteps outside, which could only have been Queen Sisi, since there was yet to be a knock. Only Queen Sisi would bring such arge group of people to our ce. I sighed and went to answer the door. Veirya and Angelina instantly set down their food and sat properly. Leah was in the middle of preparing to put a piece of bread in her mouth. Seeing the mother and daughter pair swiftly change their expressions, Leah started to feel afraid and unsure if she should continue eating or not.


    "Little Doggy, let''s go to the hot springs together today!! My valiant cavalry located a hot spring in the valley yesterday, and they repaired the surrounding area overnight. I can''t wait to go there now. Let''s go!! Let''s go for a dip in the hot spring together!!"


    I had yet to greet Queen Sisi after opening the door, yet she had hugged my head and cheerfully fired off. I knew I couldn''t get out of it.


    I never heard of the hot spring in the valley before. I nned to go with Veirya and Leah to the mountainst time for some fun, so it was a nice idea to take advantage of Queen Sisi''s suggestion. However, among the people following Queen Sisi, which included her cavalry anddies-in-waiting, I spotted the eye-catching blonde hair. As I thought, the youth apanied Queen Sisi. He brought Queen Sisi her favourite thing. I was absolutely certain Queen Sisi''s cavalry didn''t go out just for the hot springst night.

 Chapter Volume 4 42

    <em>Loyalty and Gains</em>


    Previously, I thought I''d have the honour of sharing a carriage with Queen Sisi. I assumed wrong. Veirya and Leah had the right to share the carriage with Queen Sisi, while Angelina couldn''t due to her identity. As for me, I had no choice but to ride a horse. Achilles andpany followed the majestic escort.


    Compared to making things look easy as he usually did, Achilles looked quite anxious. Up until then, he thought Her Majesty just wanted to attack the elves due to her blood going to her head and that it''d blow over once Queen Sisi calmed down. s, she personally came to the North, which consolidated that she wasn''t joking and was serious about attacking the North. Most importantly, there was the blonde. The blonde kid rode closer to Queen Sisi''s carriage, presumably because she liked him.


    Achilles rushed up behind me to ride alongside me. He reported, "You must have met him, the one with the bright blonde hair. When he returnedst night, he spoke ill of you, stating that you were not as amazing as the legends portray you."


    I gave him a small nod. I wouldn''t feel irate over somebody bad mouthing me. I replied, "It sounds as though your days aren''t great. His blonde hair is shining brighter than yours."


    Achilles helplessly chuckled: "Haha, that kid is just my substitute. I used to be responsible for food transportation in the entire South, which was why Her Majesty valued me. Now, however, I am against her n to attack the elves. Subsequently, she no longer trusts me. The boy found something that could spit gas. Her Majesty, naturally, likes him more. You are still Her Majesty''s favourite. Be careful not to lose favour."


    I chuckled: "Does that have anything to do with me? I''m different to you all. I don''t rely on Her Majesty''s fondness to live. That said, it looks as though not even you support her n to attack the elves. That means there should be a fair number of people in the imperial pce who would support your stance."


    "It is actually to the contrary. Lots people support Her Majesty''s desire to attack the elves. The heartless and irresponsible fellows see the discrepancy in opinions as their chance to climb to higher heights. Only the few of us dispute Her Majesty''s desire to attack the elves after earnest deliberation. Sadly, Her Majesty is not taking us serious. Were you able to dissuade Her Majesty after I visited you?"


    "If I were you, I wouldn''t dissuade Her Majesty; I chose to stop her. It looks as though my attempt failed."


    The Elven Queen was useless in the grand scheme of things. If Queen Sisi truly wanted to attack the elves, it would be useless even if the Elven Queen didn''t provide her with an excuse. If Queen Sisi was hesitant, couldn''t get Veirya''s support and couldn''t find an appropriate excuse, she might''ve given up on the attempt to attack the elves. Judging from things, though, Queen Sisi didn''t look as though she nned to give up.


    Achilles went silent for a moment before telling me his final thoughts: "Whatever the case, I hope you can dissuade Her Majesty. This does not concern just my business but your ie, too. It is just a form of repayment for Her Majesty''s once unconditional trust and favour for us. Do you not call that loyalty?"


    Achilles didn''t expect much after hearing my response. I gave Achilles an affirmative answer: "I''m different from you. I''m choosing to dissuade Queen Sisi from attacking for the sake of money and ie. Don''t worry; we''re on the same boat. I just won''t choose the same means as you."


    Achilles nodded and then looked over to the blonde: "What do you think of him, Edward, eldest son of Quilt Household? A handsome young talent?"


    "An extraordinarily ordinary young man with rather cutting-edge thinking."


    "Are you talking about the loan from the bank and the machine?"


    "Pretty much."


    "How do you n to handle his business, then? In my personal opinion, if his machine is actually as useful as he said, he will actually make a lot of money. How long do you estimate it will take for him to make back the capital, though? Also, we have never seen the machine that he mentioned; I have seen my fair share of frauds iming to possess advanced technology when, in reality, they were just frauds relying on trickery."


    "My opinion is simple. I want it all." I made a fist gesture at my chest with my left hand. Seeing my aggressive stance, Achilles retreated, figuratively speaking. I borated, "I can tell you that the machine can truly change the world''s things, but I don''t rmend you invest in it. Wait until I get my hands on it. Then, invest in it."


    "You want to invest and then split the profit? I think you should quit while you are ahead. Quilt Household is an influential andrge family. They usually will not allow others to get involved in their business. Having said that, it seems that their in-fighting is quite intense. At the end of the day, although everyone invests their money together, everyone has their own household. Everyone wants power; as a result, it has be a situation of whoever invests more has the right to speak."


    That was perfectly normal. That was the system where one who held the most shares had the highest authority. It was basically the same as whoever possessed fifty one percent of the total shares had the right to make decisions, transforming them from an ordinary shareholder into the person in the highest position of an enterprise. Needless to say, there were those who didn''t have that level of authority in spite of having the most shares in regards to Edward''s case. In saying that, it Edward Quilt''s industry employed the shareholder system, apparently. Whoever invested the most had the final say. There was something crucial to note: Edward didn''t ept foreign investments.


    "Edward ambitions know no bounds. He is not the sessor to Quilt Household; he is merely the son of a mistress, but he is ambitious and is very tenacious. That is why he does not flee no matter how dangerous it bes when following the army. He then coincidentally met a worker, who could not find work. The two of them then kickstarted the idea. You could say that Edward has put all his eggs into the basket for this project of his. He even sold his wife and daughter to a brothel to collect the money. He is a money-thirsty wild beast that only cares about money. If he suffers losses in this investment, he will go bankrupt. Her Majesty is interested in his product, however. If the project officially goes into operation and things go well, I think he will be rich overnight."


    "In other words, he alone invested for the entire project?"


    "No, he persuaded a decent number of people into investing in his project. Lots of people are now waiting for him to profit. To be frank, I am not too convinced; else, I would invest a little."


    "Yeah? It seems I will need to do quite a bit, then."


    "You n to get involved with it?" Achilles sounded surprised. He noticed Edward over by the carriage, so he lowered his voice: "Edward is investing every penny he has. I suggest you do not get involved. We have no grudge against him; we are all businessmen. If you go too far, he will die!!"


    "I never expected to hear that from your mouth. For some reason, I never realised you were so nice. You didn''t uphold justice when you teamed up with the chapel and kidnapped my daughter?"


    "I still did not understand you at the time; however, I understand Edward."


    "He''s a scumbag who sold his wife and daughter to a brothel; I don''t think I''m doing anything wrong. Furthermore, I haven''t said what I''d do, have I? Can I understand that your emotional reaction is praise for me?" Iughed.


    Achilles looked disturbed in more ways than one. After a moment of silence, he replied, "We businessmen will not drive each other to bankruptcy; that is principle. Edward''s business is his life. We are people from the South; we need to join hands to protect ourselves, which is why, regardless of what may happen between us merchants, we never totally decimate others."


    "Sorry, Achilles, but I''ve never had any principles to speak off. Moreover, he only has his own stupidity to me if I utterly destroy him. I have no obligation to take care of a fool. Achilles, don''t worry; this has nothing to do with you."

 Chapter Volume 4 43

    <em>Sharing the Hot Spring</em>


    We went along the mountain path that was clearly man made to reach half-way up the mountain. We could hear the sound of water. Soon enough, a hot spring that was neitherrge nor small came into sight. It was a pure outdoor spring. Nobody had developed it yet. Steam came from the gurgling water and flowed out from the spring and into therge pool before flowing into the river course.


    Queen Sisi''s carriage stopped. She hopped off her carriage and stretched out her limbs. Then, she turned around to face her knights and chuckled: "I love this ce. What are you still standing there for? I''ll be here. I want to spend the night here for a bath; it''s much morefortable than bathing in a barrel."


    The knights immediately responded, "Yes, Your Majesty!!"


    They had no regard for Veirya''s opinion when Veirya was the lord of the ce. They took out axes from their horse''s backs and began to chop down trees. Apparently, they nned to chop down trees to make Queen Sisi a residence. We also dismounted. We couldn''t do anything but watch them. Thedies-in-waiting looked ted. They could use the hot spring when Queen Sisi didn''t use it. Furthermore, they could direct water there to dig up another hot spring. I didn''t think too much, though. I was more interested in finding out the location of the coal mine.


    Edward wasn''t tall. In fact, he wasn''t even as tall as Queen Sisi. He nervously stood next to her and kept trying to get her attention, but Queen Sisi wouldn''t give him time of the day. Instead, she was arm in arm with Veirya, talking about something. Veirya never replied as always and just silently listened. The blonde young man looked tantly awkward. That was a problem that often had. Sometimes, you should stay in your ownne instead of incessantly trying to approach your boss.


    Achilles stood next to me. He looked in Queen Sisi''s direction with his eyebrows pinched together. It was clear that he was somewhat bitter. We could tell how foolish Edward was, after all. It''s frustrating to know such a fool snatched your post from you. Nothing could be done about it, though. Edward''s ideas lined up with Queen Sisi''s agenda. I trusted Achilles was loyal. Anyone who was remotely loyal at that point would''ve agreed that humanity couldn''t attack elves.


    Queen Sisi would trust those who''d help her. The way she thought was different; she had no concept of right or wrong. Her belief was that her vassals and people were obliged to satisfy her desires. Her definition of correct was anything that made what she wanted a sess. That was the ssic "winner takes all, loser is wrong" mentality. I didn''t know who taught her to adopt that philosophy. In any case, it was best for the idea to remain in history with those who believed in nihilism. If that was how a monarch operated, one small mistake would sink their entire nation.


    Perhaps Queen Sisi was done talking to Veirya when she turned around. With a cheerful smile, she said, "Okay, okay, gentlemen, you can go back now. It is nowdies'' time."


    Achilles sighed and patted my shoulder. Edward froze. He was anxious and eager to say something; unfortunately, Queen Sisi paid him no mind. The guards on two sides came up to lead him away. He, therefore, had no choice but to turn and leave in disappointment. I had no clue what he wanted to say, but damn it was satisfying to see him disappointed.


    I was a male, so, while I didn''t want to leave Leah, I had to turn around and leave. When I went to leave, I suddenly, "Wait, Little Doggy. You stay."


    I saw Queen Sisi''s smile and heterochromia eyes. She folded her arms: "Since you''re my favoured vassal, you must behave as one. As my favoured vassal, you, naturally, have to join me in the hot spring. Furthermore, if you''re not here, Leah and Veirya wouldn''t be willing to be with me at night, would they¡­?"


    "Mm¡­"


    I didn''t refuse; instead, I stopped. I noticed two pair of eyes. One from Achilles, who was somewhat relieved, but he also encouraged me. The other pair of eyes belonged to Edward, who oozed jealousy. I knew Edward wanted Queen Sisi''s favour; only by winning her favour would it make things easier for him to enact his policies as a businessman. Further, Her Majesty was interested in just their product; not so much them. That was why he was most likely still concerned.


    I stopped. I didn''t n to say anything during the visit to the hot spring. If I outright told Queen Sisi to not attack the elves, she''d brush me off. I needed to try and figure out what she was thinking. After all, she also seemed interested in the machine. Acquiring the machine should''ve sat well with her.


    Everybody was gone soon enough. The knights, who were also the guards of the imperial capital, set up a small campsite nearby. They only had simplerge tents in the camp, but they had already finished setting up. Thedies-in-waiting moved everything Queen Sisi needed to thergest tent. I recognised thergest tent. It was the very tent that Veirya threw me intost time.


    After checking that there was nobody around, Queen Sisi cheerfully began to undress. She jumped down into the water without even taking off her socks. Veirya dawdled and then jumped straight in without even taking her clothes off. She picked up Queen Sisi; Queen Sisi froze. The Princess carry position that they were in looked simr to a pair of lovers. While carrying Queen Sisi, Veirya asked, "Your Majesty, are you all right?"


    I had my living daylights scared out of me. I yelled in my mind, "Veirya, can you please be careful with your body?! You''re currently pregnant!! You may not be truly pregnant, but you need to be careful as a pregnant woman would be!! If Queen Sisi finds out that it''s a hoax, I''ll be doomed! Also, what are we going to do if Queen Sisi tells you to join the battle after witnessing you move so dexterously?!"


    "Hehehe¡­"


    Queen Sisiughed happily. She hugged Veirya around her neck and gently rested her head on Veirya''s shoulder. She shut her eyes happily and snuggled up. Voice soft, she said, "This is nice, Veirya. This is nice. I do feel so at ease with you by my side, after all. There all too many people around who can talk, but you''re the only who''d stille to my rescue when you''re pregnant¡­ Veirya¡­ you''re my true knight. How nice would it be if you were a man? If you were a man, I''d most likely be madly in love with you."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty."


    Veirya didn''t understand what Queen Sisi meant. She decided to set Queen Sisi gently down on the bank first. She then looked over to me, apparently to ask me if she just did the right thing. I shook my head with a helpless smile. I only finally felt relieved after Veirya looked to me.


    Queen Sisi, to the contrary, unhappily frowned when she noticed Veirya''s gaze: "How upsetting. Veirya is my knight, yet she cares for your feelings instead of mine. Little Doggy, how did you conquer Veirya?"


    I answered honestly: "I did not do anything."


    Veirya looked at me as if I lied about something. She then turned to Queen Sisi: "He. Did lots of things. Helped me. A lot. So. I really like him. I care. About his feelings. Very much. Also. He is. Usually always right."


    In a somewhat spoilt and flirtatious tone, Queen Sisi questioned, "What about me, then, Veirya? What about me?"


    Veirya lingered for a moment before answering, "I greatly respect you. Your Majesty. I will always. Be loyal to you."


    "That''s not what she wanted to hear!! She wanted to hear you say that you like me!!"


    "Mm. Your Majesty. I like you."


    The two of them made me feel incredibly awkward. If Veirya was a man, you''d have an insomnia-inducing, crude romance development by then between a dense main male protagonist and the woman he liked. As Veirya was so obedient, Queen Sisi hopelesslyughed. With a smile, she took hand of Veirya''s hand and said, "Okay, okay, Veirya. I shouldn''t have teased you. Undress and let''s take a dip together. It must be difficult to bathe here, since we don''t have the bath that we have in the imperial pce."


    If you used the imperial pce''s baths as the standard, I doubt there were many people who would have actually washed themselves, then. Veirya obediently undressed. Leah also undressed. The three of them totally ignored my feelings. All of a sudden, I had three charming bodies in front of me. Arguably, I had the most beautiful scenery in the world before me. Nheless, I couldn''t react to them. Queen Sisi was present¡­ She wasn''t Veirya or Leah. Those two, I was used to¡­ Okay, maybe not¡­


    "Fuu¡­ how soothing. Hot springs truly are the most soothing. They''repletely different to bathtubs. Fuu, fuu, this feels amazing."


    Queen Sisi stretched herself out in the water to her heart''s content. She shut her eyes and enjoyed what nature had to offer. Leah was very surprised by the water temperature, as it was her first time at a hot spring. She cupped water in her hand and looked at it feeling befuddled, apparently wondering why the water was hot. Veirya turned around to ask me, "Do you want. To join?"


    "Huh?!" Queen Sisi and I both froze.


    "What''s the matter? We. Bathed together. Before."


    "No! No! He can''t!!" Queen Sisi cut Veirya right off. "I''ll get pregnant. Veirya, you''re pregnant, so it''s fine for you, but not me!"


    Veirya wore a stoic expression: "No. Because I am not¡­"


    "Aaaaahhhh!!! I''m done!! I''m done!! I''m going for a walk over there! I''m going for a walk over there!!" I screamed.

 Chapter Volume 4 44

    <strong>This week = Fail again (It¡¯s always off by less than 60 views)</strong>


    <em>Coal Quarry</em>


    When thedies had their bath, it was best for me to not hang around nearby. I headed to the open coal quarry with the guidance of a soldier. The ce wasn''t natural. Possibly due to rainfall or war, the mountain was slippery, thereby forming a fractured section. Underneath the fracture covered by the crass, I saw traces of people having dug around. That was where I finally touched the ck coal. The entire fractured region was ck coal. If the nearby area was a coal quarry, it''d be considered an enormous coal quarry. In any case, it no longer belonged to me.


    It was no longer quarry after I took a hundred gold coins from Edward. However, I needed to sell the quarry. As he stated, I didn''t have steam-powered machines. Therefore, even if I extracted the coal, I wouldn''t be able to export it. There was no way it was the only coal quarry in humanity''s empire. When others were found, my coal quarry would be a burden for me instead.


    Coal had never been worth money. Natural resources never were worth money. Coal was worth money thanks to steam engines. Having coal on its own is worthless. I wanted everything.


    Edward came up next to me from out of nowhere. He looked at the coal that belonged to him and chuckled: "I knew you woulde here. If you regarded our activities as being important, you woulde here, and anyone with a brain would have their eyes on us. You have already be a household name in the imperial capital after what you did there. That is why you, as a brilliant businessman, would watch us."


    "Sorry, I didn''t know you were also here. Otherwise, I think I''d need to make an appointment with you beforeing here. It is yours now, after all."


    "Are you ridiculing me? People say that ridicule is a way of expressing one''s regret. Can I assume you are now regretting your decision to sell me thend so thoughtlessly?"


    Edward chuckled. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. I smiled: "You know, the one thing one should always avoid is getting carried away after making one correct decision."


    "Why can one who has changed the world not get carried away? Her Majesty is the perfect example. Do you have businessing to my coal quarry? I would presume that you are not here to try and take it back. It belongs to us now, after all. We already have¡­"


    "Did you forget that we have yet to sign the contract?"


    "Let us sign it now, then."


    Edward vigorously pulled out a parchment and pen from his pocket. I took the pen with a smile. I signed Veirya''s name without any hesitation, as it belonged to Veirya to being with. I handed him the parchment: "The most fundamental aspect of business is credibility, so I won''t vite the contract. The quarry is yours once I receive the one hundred gold coins."


    "I have already handed the one hundred gold coins to that¡­ that¡­ that maid at your ce. You should see it by the time you get back."


    Edward stored away the parchment carefully. He was quick; I''ll give him that. By the looks of it, he must''ve truly been eager to procure the rights to the quarry and finish everything. Steam engines'' wide variety of applications would be the first industrial revolution, and the surge in production abilities would change the entire world''s outlook. More explicitly, the empire might have to shuffle their cards. Indeed, he made a world-changing discovery. With that said, what I saw wasn''t capitalism; what I saw was merely the fact that steam engines could bring me lots of money.


    "You''re very young, Edward, too young. It''s not necessarily a good thing for one to be sessful at a young age. Arrogance is one''s downfall just as the current Queen Sisi. Frankly, I shouldn''t be saying this to you, but, if you ask me, you''re scum. That''s why you''re an eye sore, literally. And so, I''m going to ridicule you further." I took in a deep breath then went on, "You sold your wife and child to a brothel for money. You''re not a businessman because you fail to be the ''man'' in ''businessman.'' I always say I don''t have a bottom line, but the reality is that my bottom line is merely different to others. I will not betray my family even if it means that I will have to take myst breath as a consequence."


    Edward didn''t let me rile him up. He took a step back with his gaze on me. He chuckled: "You have not experienced everything that I went through; therefore, you cannot understand me. What you sayes from your standpoint. My wife and child are my assets. It does not matter what I need to do. I am just the same as you; I am utilising all of my capital to obtain everything that I want."


    Edward didn''t wait for my response and left. I didn''t chase after him. Honestly, it was my personal hobby. The act of him selling his wife and daughter had nothing to do with me. However, I had Leah and Veirya, which was why I couldn''t stand him as a man. If I was my past self, I might not have bothered with him. To my surprise, though, I was angry due to someone who had nothing to do with me and over something that had just as little to do with me. Seriously, I felt slightly dejected about it. I stood at the coal quarry in silence and drifted into my own world.


    I already said to Edward what should be said. I used to have great rtionships with previous business partners. Edward and I? It was clear we were adversaries by then.


    I needed to go back and ask for Queen Sisi''s opinion. Edward introduced his business to Queen Sisi, suggesting she might also be fascinated. I needed to obtain her tacit approval for me topete for the quarry. Else, she might very well not allow me to fight for it. Subsequently, I needed to ensure that the Queen would continue to favour me. While I wasn''t sure if she genuinely favoured me at the moment, at the very least, she imed to favour me for the meanwhile. She didn''t seem interested in Edward in the slightest. She was conscious of the fact a man too young and too proud was bound to never seed.


    I kicked the coal quarry then turned around and headed back. I didn''t have anything left to talk to Edward about. I needed to visit the bank in the city and see to things there. Once I gathered thepulsory information, I couldmence the n I had in mind.


    When I returned to the spring, the three were already done. The dapple of sunlight shone a gentle and warm light onto the three. The three of them were lying on thewn, enjoying the beautiful and forest air in their underwear. They had a bottle of wine bottle with ice blocks enveloped around it sitting on a tray, ced between them.


    Leah seemed interested. She had a full cup with the yellow liquid in her hand. I walked up to her and took it from her: "Kids can''t drink this, yet."


    "You dote on Leah too much. I already began using my intellect for the nation at her age,"mented Queen Sisi.


    "Leah is not you at the end of the day."


    "She didn''t go through everything that I went through, after all." Queen Sisi sat up from thewn. She pulled over a towel and draped it over herself before standing up: "If we have time, I will share my past with you, Little Doggy. However, you appear to have something to say to me right now, correct? Tell me. What do you think about the elves and I?"


    I walked over to Veirya and sat down. I looked at the gentleness before me and paused for a moment before I spoke: "Are you positive you want to hear my opinion, or did you want to hear what you wanted to hear?"


    "I think the options do not exist, for there is only one answer."

 Chapter Volume 4 45

    <em>Queen¡¯s Kingship</em>


    <strong>*Pant¡­ Pant¡­ Pant¡­*</strong>


    The girl tightly held the bread that she just stole. The bread was soft and still had steam whisking from it. Against the backdrop of the dark sky, the bread was akin to the warm ray of light next to an angel. The girl took in big breaths of cial air. Despite her legs feeling as though they were no longer hers, she continued to run, for there was a violent dog on her tail, barking as it chased her. In addition, there were soldiers riding horses after them, using her predicament as their entertainment.


    The guards probably had no idea who they had found. Otherwise, they wouldn''t possibly have used her predicament as entertainment. They purely wanted to see the dog catch up to her and gnaw her neck off, as that allowed them to enjoy the ecstasy of hunting in the city despite their prey being a young girl, who stole two loafs of bread due to hunger .


    "Aah!!!"


    The young girl''s legs couldn''t support her body any longer, so when she stepped on a block of ice, she slipped to the ground while her bread rolled on the ground, thereby getting covered in mud and filth. The vicious dog behind her didn''t slow down; it lunged straight onto the girl and bit her left arm without a moment of hesitation.


    "Ah! Aaahh!!"


    The young girl tragically cried in despair. She desperately tried to escape. She punched the dog''s head using her right hand with all of her might. Hurt, the vicious dog released her arm and then aimed for her neck. The young girl cried as she fought back, trying her best to to avoid having her neck gnawed off before she knew it.


    She choked the dog''s neck with her left arm. The dog tried to wrestle her. She desperately searched around using her right hand. It could be anything; anything would do. Anything would do as long as she could escape the vicious dog.


    The dog''s rancid breath was right at the tip of her nose. Not only was it stinky, but also reeked of death. Her face was sodden in the dog''s saliva. The weak, young girl could only cry and struggle, but her fear and weakness tried to steal her conscious. She couldn¡¯t feel her fingers in her left hand, which were gripping the dog''s neck. Her arm eventually grew numb until she couldn''t feel anything. She struggled. She heard the sound of horse hooves. She wanted to cry for help. She wanted to beg them to help her. She''d rather be locked up than have her neck gnawed off there. However, the only response she received was the dog''s barking and the men''s boorishughter.


    "Nobody will save me. Only I can save myself," the young girl realised.


    If she wanted to live, if she wanted to continue with her life, where she couldn''t have a full meal,cked warmth and was exiled, then she had to save herself.


    She grabbed something strange with her right hand. It sent a sharp painful sensation through her hand. She believed it could be a broken shard of ss. She didn''t have the spare energy to be concerned with the wound and pain in her right hand. Clutching it tightly, she used all of her might to thrust the shard of ss into the dog''s neck. She didn''t know how long to stab it for or where precisely to stab it. She just used her might to put up the best struggle she could offer because she wanted to live.


    The wild dog grimaced. It wanted to evade the shard of ss that''d take its life, but the girl stabbed it deeply into its flesh. It jumped away as it groaned, but the now crazy girl grabbed it by its ears and mmed its head onto the ground one, twice, thrice, a fourth time, until she broke the ice on the ground.


    The dog''s hot blood melted the ice. The dog went silent a long time ago. The soldiers behind them were frightened and didn''t make another peep. The young girl panted; she then weakly sat down to the side. She released her bloody grip on the dog. She continued panting as slowly crawled over to the bread on the ground because she was hungry.


    ========


    "Little Doggy, have you ever eaten frozen bread covered in blood, filth and your own tears? Little Doggy, have you ever tasted such bread? Do you know how it tastes? Do you know how it feels to have nothing but rubbish to keep yourself warm at night? Do you know how humiliating it feels to go from being a Princess to being someone who has to bear with adults'' molestation to get some food? Do you know the pain of fighting for food with a wild dog?"


    Queen Sisi and I sat on thewn. Owing to the somewhat cold temperature at night, Queen Sisi was virtually touching my body. She gently held my hand but didn''t try to tease me. She just wanted me to feel the scar on her right palm that was virtually invisible. I felt long and thin scar on her hand.


    I never knew about Queen Sisi''s past. Well, she never shared it with me. I always thought Queen Sisi was born arrogant as the Princess of an entire empire. I never imagined she''d gone through such experiences.


    Our night conversation didn''t end happily. I opposed her, expressing that I didn''t support the attack on elves. Furthermore, I held no punches when telling her the current issue with her methods as well as the fatal w in her excessive arrogance. On the surface, she didn''t indicate anything and chose to leave. I thought I offended her to the point of no return. To my surprise, she came to my side at night while I was out for some air and shared her entire past with me.


    Queen Sisi gently leaned onto my shoulder and stretched her hand out. She softly said, "So, can you understand now, Little Doggy? Do you understand how I think now? My father was the benevolent King that he spoke of. But what happened? What was his ending? He was hung, and his corpse was fed to the crows in the imperial capital. His wife and children were destitute and homeless. His daughter was almost gnawed to death by a dog. That''s the sort of monarch they need, for they could have such a monarch whenever they pleased. Kindness has never moved humans. A kind and benevolent King will always be sent to the execution tform by the people he loves. Establishing a nation with the people as the foundation is as wishful as building a house on sand.


    Those foolish and ignorant people, who are no different to domestic animals, don''t understand a thing. They have no idea what''s truly good for them. They''re only afraid of power and des. It''s impossible to rule a nation with kindness. Kindness is but a lie. Actual administration of a nation and conquering the world can only be achieved with supreme power and authority. My father already proved to me the consequences of that so-called kindness. Monarchs are never to serve the people; the people are to pledge their servitude to the monarch. That is the kingship that I believe in."


    I didn''t say anything. Queen Sisi grabbed onto my hand tightly. She was physically meek, but she held my hand firmly. She peered at the hot spring in front of her and, in a soft voice, continued, "No one understands everything about me, but that is my kingship. Kindness, correctness, they''re all fake. Only power is real. My vassals should show absolute obedience to mymands. Little Doggy, that is me. That is everything I experienced. Come help me; help me prove that kingship, as I define it, is correct. My father already proved that his definition of kingship was wrong. Thus, prove to them, prove to those idiots, who believe in kindness, that my definition of kingship is correct!¡±

 Chapter Volume 4 46

    <i>Knight and Princess</i>


    Queen Sisi wasn''t what I thought she was. Her past was different to what I imagined. As the saying goes, I don''t know everything someone went through; all that I''m doing is criticising them from my standpoint. Everything Achilles, the military, Edward and the guard unit knew was limited to purely everything they <em>could</em> know. Their experiences weren''t what Queen Sisi experienced. So-called loyalty was worthless to Queen Sisi. She wasn''t after that sort of loyalty. She knew very well what their so-called virtues offered.


    Queen Sisi wasn''t wrong, strictly speaking. The people had always been foolish, and their biggest problem was that they didn''t acknowledge their foolishness. The more civilised a society was, the smarter and more civilised the fools believed themselves to be. They didn''t know what was good and what was correct. They just needed what they needed. Once they couldn''t obtain what they needed, they wrote off everything you ever did. A minute amount of aggravation was enough to light the fire and trigger them into erupting.


    Queen Sisi''s father met his end at the hands of fools. The people are forgetful and easily angered, foolish and ignorant. Hence, they executed Queen Sisi''s father despite him never having done anything wrong. He merely turned down a few noble families. Queen Sisi realised her father''s mistake, which was why she relied on her de to rule her nation. She didn''t know if she was right or wrong, but she knew her father was wrong.


    I stayed silent. Queen Sisi took a brief break from speaking. She sat next to me with a gentle demeanour and her head gently resting on me. She carried on, "I witnessed lots and lots of things. I fell to the bottom of the valley from the peak, and I''ve also gone from the bottom to the top. I''ve seen too many people. That''s why I like Veirya, who''s pure. I''ve never seen someone so pure before. Veirya doesn''t have any ulterior motives. She protects me in such a pure and beautiful way, which is why I like her so much."


    Queen Sisi gently took off her shoes and dipped her feet into the hot spring. Her pure white feet resembled fish jumping out and diving into the water underneath the pure moonlight and steam in the spring. She gently hugged me and tenderly said, "I know the people around me are divided. I''m not miserable; I''m just disappointed. I once trusted Achilles andpany a lot. I entrusted them with my trust, yet they didn''t understand me. What right and wrong is there as a monarch? Little Doggy, if I manage to conquer the elves this time, no one will im I was wrong to attack the elves, correct? I don''t need those people. I need those loyal to me around me, not a group of people with ulterior motives."


    "We do not think that attacking the elves is wrong. It is just that it is not the right timing."


    "Is now not prime time? The elves must be conducting an internal clean up right now. The faction that supports their Queen and the current ruling faction must be in conflict. During the war against the Demon King, our military was smaller than it is now, and we won in the end, didn''t we? However, that''s not the problem I''m talking about. Little Doggy,e join me, okay? What I want isn''t an elf; I want to prove that I''m correct. Little Doggy, join me. Come and help me as Veirya does. Prove to them I''m correct. Tell them that my definition of kingship is correct."


    I could see Queen Sisi''s sincerity and seriousness in her eyes. I, as a matter of fact, could even see her pleading me subtly with her eyes. She looked at me the same way Leah did. I almost stopped breathing because of her demeanour and the fact that she was hugging me with her warmth. I could also see her beautiful face, but my brain wouldn''t stop.


    Queen Sisi was different to Veirya. My only weakness was Veirya. I only lost my ability to think when I was in Veirya''s presence. I knew how to answer even if Queen Sisi kissed me. Furthermore, Queen Sisi could cry at the drop of a hat; putting on the act that she currently has going isn''t a challenge for her. Queen Sisi didn''t lie about one thing, for sure. She was truly scary skilled with psychological maniption.


    I looked at Queen Sisi then looked away. I solemnly asserted, "Your Majesty, I am sure that you must be able to understand one thing."


    "What?"


    I turned back to look at Queen Sisi and replied, "I sympathise with your past and can understand your current methods."


    Queen Sisi happily sped my face and smiled: "I know that you''re an astute and emotional man. You''re the only one who can understand me. I always feel happy when you''re with me. You can do what others can''t. I''m inviting you again: Little Doggy, help prove me right and them idiotic. I can give you anything that you want. I¡­"


    "Sorry, Your Majesty." I resolutely interjected. I then shook my head: "Your Majesty, I am sure you understand that sympathising with you does not imply that I will help you. All of your past experiences are merely the reason you have chosen your current path. Nevertheless, that reason is not a reason for you to do this. They are two different matters. Being sympathetic of your past does not mean that I approve of you. I merely said I sympathise with your past. I never said that I believe what you are doing at the moment to be correct."


    "¡­"


    Queen Sisi''s expression immediately changed. She released me. Her smile was erased, but her gaze didn''t show aggression or disappointment. To the contrary, she was very calm. Maybe she had totally given up after I refused her so many times. Perhaps that was herst attempt that still ended in failure. Queen Sisi asked again, "Are you¡­ really not willing to?"


    "I think you are wrong, Your Majesty. If you attack now, your sess is unlikely. As a businessman, I will not support a Queen who fails."


    "Isn''t that why your job is to make what would otherwise fail a sess?! It''s the job of all vassals to make what their ruler wants a sess, isn''t it?! Why can''t you help me?! Why?!"


    "Because my loyalty belongs to Veirya, not you. Moreover, I do not n to change who I dedicate my loyalty to. Your Majesty, many people say that I do not have a bottom line, but my bottom line is Veirya and Leah. They are my family. Everything I ever do will be for them whether that is in the present or future. But nheless, I have already thought for you. Your Majesty, once your attack on the elves fails, you will lose everything that you currently have. You went through a lot to obtain everything that you have now. Do you understand that?"


    Queen Sisi nodded: "Yes. It is precisely because I went through hell that I don''t care what happens in the future. I''ve never considered what will happen in the future. All I care about is what I will gain after victories. If not even I believe in its sess, how will it ever seed? I''ve never questioned myself. I''ll still do it."


    "I know. If you truly want to do something, we cannot stop you by any means."


    Queen Sisi stood up. She took a few steps on the stone steps in the spring and stood in the centre. She skilfully spun a circle in the spring and then smiled gleefully: "That is life, Little Doggy. I am enjoying what''s called life right now. I''m enjoying everything I never enjoyed. Whatever happens, I''ll ept the results. However, I still hope a knight wille to my rescue when I''m in danger just as portrayed in many fairy tales. In the end, the knight and Princess always lived happily ever after."


    "Do you still believe in fairy tales?"


    "Of course I do. It''s just that this world won''t let me believe in them. There''s nothing wrong with looking forward to it."


    I was sure Veirya would protect Queen Sisi if thetter was in danger during the war against the elves. I couldn''t stop Veirya if she chose to do so. Queen Sisi was important to Veirya. I had no doubt Veirya would go to her rescue in the elvennds. The elves, however, would consider it an attack from Veirya.


    Veirya couldn''t show up in the elvennds. In fact, Veirya couldn''t have a part in the war. The elves were aware of how frightening Veirya was. Lucia would probably have her eyes on Veirya the moment Veirya entered the elven forest. Lucia did say that Veirya''s head was what she wanted most.


    I was certain Queen Sisi''s campaign was bound to end in failure for her. Consequently, Veirya couldn''t go to Queen Sisi''s rescue once the result was irreversible. That meant I was the only candidate who could go.


    I wouldn''t save Queen Sisi because I like her smile, which a child would wear, as she yed in the water, definitely not because of her many invites and definitely not because of her body and smile. I merely didn''t want Veirya to risk her safety.


    That night, Queen Sisi basked in the moonlight and cheerfully yed in the water. I silently watched her. It was also then that the oath between the knight and Princess was established¡­


    All tiers for MYSD on Patreon are up.


    Peasant = 1 chapter


    Worker = 3 chapters


    Adventurer = 5 chapters


    Soldier = 10 chapters


    Noble = 25 chapters


    Royalty = 45 chapters

 Chapter Volume 4 47

    <i>Jealous Veirya</i>


    Leah slept by herself in a tent. Perhaps she was spent after the day, hence didn''t wake up when I returned and, instead, pouted as she turned over. I lied down next to her and pulled her nket up. Leah hugged my arm and then rolled over onto me to wildly attack me with her erged breasts.


    When I had a breath of relief, I heard the sound of a curtain slowly opening from outside the tent. I opened my eyes and sat up to see Veirya''s short hair. That scared my soul out of me. Thus, I quickly tugged Leah''s head under the nket with one hand. Shocked, Leah nearly screamed, but I pressed her head to my belly so that she couldn''t scream. After the initial shock, she realised what was going on. Leah immediately curled up and glued to me in silence.


    Veirya noticed my action when she stood at the door: "Did I. Disturb you?"


    "No. I just lied down."


    "Leah?"


    "Leah is asleep."


    I patted the small ball next to me. Leah was about the same size as her child form after she curled up in her adult form. Therefore, Veirya didn''t say anything after sweeping her gaze over Leah. Veirya looked back to me and lowered her voice: "How about. Coming out to talk?"


    My original intention was to talk outside regardless of what Veirya wanted to say. Veirya seldom took the initiative to approach me. Plus, Leah was in her adult form. It wouldn''t be good if I forced her into the nket for too long. However, Leah tightly grabbed onto me. It seemed as though she didn''t want me to go out with Veirya.


    "No need to. Leah is holding onto me, so I can''t move."


    Veirya''s gaze contained a tinge of envy. She probably wanted to sleep together with Leah and have Leah hug her. We still hadn''t told Veirya about Leah transforming into an adult yet, though. That was why Veirya wasn''t going to get to enjoy the bliss of it anytime soon.


    "I want to ask. What. Did Her Majesty. Talk to you about?"


    It was my first time seeing Veirya behave that way. She looked quite cautious; she looked as if there was something that she found hard to talk about. Perplexed, I pondered, "What does Veirya want at this hour? Why is she behaving this way?"


    "We didn''t talk about anything. Even if I told you, you wouldn''t understand," I answered.


    I thought, "Why does this conversation sound as if I cheated on her?"


    Although it sounded as if I was trying to humour Veirya and be done with it, what I said was the truth. Veirya wouldn''t be able toprehend what we said. If I had to exin it to her, it''d probably take ages.


    Veirya had enough self-awareness to know she wouldn''t understand. For that reason, she never asked the question in the past. She''d ask every now and then but wouldn''t pry deep. She didn''t n to end there this time, however. She was as serious as if she was questioning her husband, who she suspected of cheating: "Tell me. I. Don''t need to understand. I just want to know. What you two. Talked about. I saw her. Hug you. You two. Looked very good together. I''m worried. You''ll go. To the imperial capital."


    After Veirya said that, I felt Leah grip me tighter. Leah was also worried that I''d go to the Imperial Capital and leave the two of them in the North. Veirya''s tone was also oddly tense. Frankly, I was surprised.


    I had questions racing through my mind: "Veirya is nervous due to the possibility of me going to the imperial capital?! Since when did she start to care about me so much?! This is making me strangely excited. Have I be important to Veirya?"


    "I don''t want. To let you. Go to the imperial capital. Her Majesty. Keeps asking. You to go. Which is why. I don''t want¡­ I want you to always be here." Veirya paused for a moment, seemingly trying to adjust her words and behaviour so that she could speak properly. She took a step forward. She didn''t sound too happy as she went on: "I¡­ was also happy. To see you two. Happy. I have never. Seen Her Majesty. Smile that way. I¡­ I feel¡­ slightly unhappy¡­ but, I don''t know. Why¡­ I really want to speak, but¡­ for some reason¡­"


    My mind was blown. I shouted in my mind, "What is this?! Is Veirya jealous?!"


    Veirya gently bit down her lip. A look of dilemma and resentment passed her face for the first time. Seeing as I didn''t stop her from stepping forward, she took a step inside. She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I don''t know¡­ why¡­ I feel unhappy¡­ when I see you two. I can''t help but feel. That you''re happy. With Her Majesty. While I always. Give. You. Trouble. And. I get frustrated."


    I shook my head and smiled helplessly: "You don''t. Actually, it''s miserable being around Queen Sisi. She''s too clever and perceptive. Trying to be with her is also tiring for me. I feelfortable around you, Veirya. I won''t go to the imperial capital, so don''t worry."


    "You won''t. Go to the imperial capital. With Her Majesty?"


    Veirya repeated my statement, but she sounded happy when she did. She lowered her head and took off her shoes. She then stepped onto the mat on the ground and lied down next to me.


    I said it before. I was nervous and shy whenever Veirya was near me. My heart began to race out of control again. Veirya and I lied in the same tent and next to each other.


    "I think. This can. Help put me at ease."


    Verya rolled over and looked at me. She even hugged me. My heart felt as though it''d burst out of my chest. Leah, on the other hand, hugged me around my waist and tried to pull me away from Veirya with all her might and into her own embrace. Veirya was quite baffled as I was. However, she hugged me around my neck and softly said, "I''ve never felt this way. I don''t know. Why. But. I. Really care¡­ I truly. Care very much."

 Chapter Volume 4 48

    <i>Departure</i>


    Leah and Veirya tugged me back and forth all night. It felt a little simr to lying in a hammock, swaying side to side. Surprisingly, I actually managed to sleep. When I woke up, Queen Sisi , who was standing at the entrance with the curtain open, looked at me with a smile: "Oh my, Little Doggy, you have ady on each arm."


    I tried to sit up in a bleary state, only to find it impossible to do so, as I had two heavy arms on me. I looked to my sides. On my left, Veirya lied there, hugging my arm in silence. It was the first time I saw Veirya sleeping so soundly with her eyes shut. She didn''t have her guard up against me whatsoever as she slept by my side.


    "What a rare scene to see Veirya with her guardpletely down. Normally, Veirya would be awake by the time I came within her vicinity, yet she''s still asleep this time. That proves she haspletely let her guard down," stated Queen Sisi.


    Queen Sisipletely ignored Leah, who locked me with her arms and legs. Queen Sisi carefully walked up to Veirya and touched thetter''s silver hair. Veirya didn''t wake up even when Queen Sisi touched her hair. Queen Sisi could, therefore, only smile helplessly, "It feels incredibly nostalgic to see this side of Veirya. In the past, she only slept that deeply when she was around me. When she slept, it meant she was genuinely exhausted and would sleep for a while.


    Hardly ever did I see Veirya so deep asleep. She never looked so at peace in front of me. The beauty of her deep asleep expression put the word beauty to shame. Unfortunately, my arm was sort of numb. I wanted to pull it out from her embrace a little. As soon as I moved it just a little, Veirya vigorously raised her head and panicked. She instinctively tightened her hold on my arm as if she was afraid I''d leave.


    Queen Sisi softly called, "Veirya."


    Veirya jumped to her feet. She bowed to Queen Sisi: "Sorry, Your Majesty. I. Fell asleep."


    "It''s fine. I just came to bid goodbye. I''m returning to the imperial capital today," stated Queen Sisi, caressing Veirya''s head. "I''ve basically gotten everything that I wanted from here; therefore, I won''t stay any longer. Veirya, I have ordered people to buy a number of things that children need. They should be delivered to your ce in a few days. Once your child is born, I''m willing to be your child''s foster mother."


    By the sounds of it, giving a child a foster mother was a custom in this world. It was simr to a godmother. Queen Sisi didn''t hesitate to offer herself for the position, which was an indication that she really wanted be the foster mother to Veirya''s child. If our child''s foster mother was Queen Sisi, she''d have a smooth-sailing ride to the throne in the future.


    "Thank you very much."


    Veirya wasn''t actually pregnant but sincerely saluted Queen Sisi to express her gratitude, nevertheless. Queen Sisiughed. She looked at me onest time before turning around to leave.


    "Oh, right, Little Doggy." Queen Sisi suddenly turned around when she reached the entrance, thereby startling me. I thought she was nning to do something, so I quickly kicked my brain into top gear. However, she just chuckled: "As for him¡­ Little Doggy, I don''t like golden fur dogs. They may look a little better, but I still prefer the steady type of hunting dog. Perhaps a golden fur dog might be better as a pet, but I need a soldier. Additionally, I won''t concern myself with my two dogs fight for favour. I just need to hold the victor and kiss its face."


    "Your point being?"


    "I prefer a hunting dog with me."


    Queen Sisi didn''t explicitly say what she was thinking but merely chuckled. There was a hint of encouragement in herughter. Veirya had confusion written all over her face. She earnestly thought about Queen Sisi raising a dog. I, on the other hand, had already figured out what Queen Sisi was saying.


    Queen Sisi probably knew I was going to get involved with the coal mine and that Edward purchased the rights from me. She definitely knew what I was thinking. What she meant by what she said was that she would turn a blind eye to what happened in the North. She didn''t prefer Edward. To put it another way, I could do as I pleased.


    I quietly woke Leah up. She rubbed her eyes. She was aghast to see Sisi. She shyly tucked her head into the nket, but Queen Sisi ignored her and left. The camp was soon packed up. I thought the campsite would make for a nice holiday resort if we renovated the ce. I saved it to memory so that I could take Veirya and Leah there in the future.


    Queen Sisi didn''t drag her feet. After she returned from the hot spring, she immediately took off with her people. The town didn''t miss her after she left. The purpose of her visit was to see if Veirya would join the war and to legitimise her excuse to attack the elves through the Elven Queen. She was most likely heading back to prepare for her attack. Queen Sisi didn''t n to give up. The uing war between humanity and elves was inevitable.


    What I could do was very limited. Additionally, I was more interested in how to take the machine and mine for myself. Queen Sisi needed some more time to prepare for the war. I, ordingly, had time.


    We left the house for just one day, but Leah already missed it a lot. Anna was also relieved to see us. She weed us and said to me, "Wee back, Sir. We received lots of things yesterday. We have two hundred gold coins here, a chest from the elves and things that Her Majesty sent us¡­"


    I knew those things would arrive; I didn''t expect them to arrive together, though. Next, I needed to arrange study materials for Leah to start her lessons. While I was at it, I also needed to visit the bank in the city to n things out. I decided not to bring Leah and Veirya along, for I''d be quick, presumably. I was the key yer on that battlefield, after all.

 Chapter Volume 4 49

    <i>Leah¡¯s Smile</i>


    At lunch, I told Veirya and Leah, "I need to make a trip to the city; it won''t take long, so I won''t bring you two along."


    Veirya nodded calmly then lowered her head to continue eating. Leah, on the other hand, looked surprised: "Papa, are you going to the city for something?"


    "Yeah, Papa has some business. It''s veryplicated. Papa needs to visit the bank to see if Papa can get the machine and mine."


    I thought that it''d be excessivelyplex to exin loans and pawning things. Leah and Veirya didn''t understand the concepts of bank loans andpany shares.


    Company shares and bank loans had only just been introduced in this world. In reality, the two things, bank loans in particr, were fantastic. As aforementioned, what banks did was actually convert your credibility into a tangible product in the same way that nations turned credibility into money. You required credibility or something that could represent your credibility to pawn it with the bank in exchange for money.


    The issue was that pawning an item in exchange for money was what someone with no ss would do. Anyone with a couple of brain cells wouldn''t choose that route. A skilled individual could make it happen with empty hands. Banks andpany shares had a ring w. For instance, if I bought a hundred gold coins worth of shares, I''d have a shareholder right in thepany, which, in turn, allowed me to receive a bonus annually. That bonus would convince the bank I could repay the loan and interest that came with the loan. Further, I could use the share as coteral to exchange it for money. Then, I could use the money to buy shares. Then, I could use arger share as coteral in exchange for more money. That allowed me to go off and buy shares of thepany yet again until I possessed fifty-one percent of the shares, thereby bing the biggest shareholder.


    Once I reached that point, I''d acquire ownership of thepany. I just needed to repay the bank the sum for fifty-one percent of shares that I bought. Moreover, I didn''t need to immediately pay the sum. I could purposely sit back and wait for the annual bonus to pay it off.


    How much was my capital in the deal? That would be the one hundred gold coins that Edward bought thend with. I basically turned the one hundred gold coins into money that could buy out apany. A businessman''s true power is never what he can buy with the money on hand, but his ability to make money without any leverage. It''s only admirable if you can get what you want when you have nothing even if you were threatened.


    The reality was that, regardless of how well-thought a n might be, the rationality behind it was very simple. All finance problems were very simple. Buy low and sell high was the cornerstone principle.


    Aforementioned w had been addressed and banned in the modern era. One must guarantee that they had assets to buy shares. Regardless, you could only do it once. You couldn''t utilise the rinse and repeat method that I mentioned anymore to avoid impacting the stock market. However, you could buy shares and then loan money to buy some more. That was a form of gambling, though. If you won it, you''d strike it rich, since you had no capital. If you failed, on the other hand, you''ll be superman-ing off a roof. Most people who loaned the extra money loan it at high interest rates. Unless you could make it rich in one breath, it was excruciatingly difficult to repay the loan. As such, the stock market was a high-risk coliseum, and it was very hard and then harder to analyse the stock market.


    What else was there to my n? First, I needed to see if Edward would ept me joining with an investment. He sold his wife and daughter to a brothel, which proved that he didn''t have much money. In saying that, I was certain he wouldn''t let me in after our talks broke downst time. If I couldn''t buy a share, there was no way I''d have a share as coteral for money. In other words, I needed to find a chance to acquire a share; that wasn''t a high hurdle to ovee.


    Money was involved. Thend was in my territory; therefore, it was a simple matter for me to make it impossible for him to continue on. There was no need to be too concerned about that for the meantime. The bank was my chief concern; I had no idea what stage of development the bank was at in this era. If it was just a simple pawn-an-item-in-exchange-for-money entity, then it wasn''t good enough. I needed to be able to exchange shares for money.


    I needed to make a trip into the city. I could remember the city. Originally, the chapel nned to control the city, but due to their extermination, the city was under Queen Sisi''s jurisdiction once again. Thest time I visited it, I didn''t get a chance to see the bank.


    Anna served up fruit and asked me, "Will it be too much of a rush to go tomorrow? You have been busy even before Her Majesty visited. Would you be too tired to head straight to the city next?"


    Veirya looked up at Anna. Anna looked at looked back surprised. Anna lingered for a moment, for she had no clue why Veirya looked at her. She hesitated until she finally realised why: "Lord Veirya, you need not worry too much. I am merely caring for my master as a maid and nothing more. You can rest assured."


    I froze stiff. I conjured a number of exnations as to why Veirya looked at Anna, but I never thought that Veirya was jealous. Wait, Veirya was jealous? I wasn''t convinced. Under normal circumstances, Veirya would never be angry over such a thing. She didn''t care about me or if someone else cared about me. Nheless, Veirya nodded once she was content before returning her attention to solely on eating.


    "Seriously? That''s why you looked at her?! Veirya was jealous as Anna cared about me too much?!" I eximed in my mind.


    Veirya was weird ever since what happened with the Elven Queen. She changed her attitude toward me considerably. To be honest, Veirya getting jealous was cuteness overload. I was truly astonished.


    "Yeah, Papa. You must be tired after all of this. Leah wants to be together with Papa, too." Leah pouted. She grabbed hold of my hand and pleaded, "Leah won''t get in Papa''s way. Leah will be a good girl. Leah just wants to be with Papa. Please bring Leah along, Papa."


    Veirya had decided to stay home, but after Leah said that, Veirya said, "I want to go. Too. Otherwise. You two will be in danger."


    Veirya then paused for a short moment but continued before I could respond, "Do you remember. That Leah. Was nearly kidnapped. In the imperial capital? That''s why. I must follow you."


    Angelina looped her arm around Veirya and smiled: "You can''t go with your belly in its current state. There''s no drug that can undo the effects on your belly. You need to wait for three more days for your belly to tten. What, are you expecting him to take care of you out there? When a man is working, don''t interfere. You know how smart he is."


    "A brain. Can''t fight," argued Veirya.


    "But you can''t fight if you don''t have a brain, either," rebuked Angelina.


    I helplessly smiled as I watched the mother and daughter pair. Hopeless, I said, "I''m just visiting the bank. I haven''t made enemies or n to do anything. What danger could there be? Rest assured; I should be back soon. Take care of the Elven Queen during my absence. By the way, Leah, I''ve received books from the elves for you. You''ll be able to study with the diplomat elf from now on. You must be studious. Papa will bring back a present for you."


    Leah¡¯s gravity-drawn shoulders painted a picture of her heart as she knocked on her bowl with her spoon. I felt apologetic when I saw Leah''s reaction. It was true that I hadn''t yed with her in a while, but it was a fact that I was getting busy. It''d be fine for me to bring Leah along. As Veirya said, nheless, it was dangerous. It was safer for Leah to stay with Veirya.


    I stroked Leah''s head, but she ignored me. She continued pushing her bowl around. Intrigued, Veirya watched Leah. She hesitated for a moment before putting her bowl down and picking Leah up to put on herp. Leah hugged Veirya; she sobbed on Veirya''s belly.


    Angelina went over to stroke Leah''s head and cate her: "Leah, be a good girl. Your Papa isn''t going out to y; he''s going out to work. That''s how it is with men. Men must go and work to feed their family. His family must be considerate and understand his position."


    I sat in my chair feeling horrible about it. After all, it was my problem. Anna couldn''t really say anything, either. I couldn''t go back on my words and bring Leah along.


    "Sorry, Leah¡­"


    Veirya looked up at me: "I think. That Anna. Is right. You can. Stay home. For a few days. With Leah. And then go."


    I bit down on my bottom lip. Honestly speaking, I didn''t want to do that. I was the type who was always had his foot on the elerator because I didn''t want to dy my n, especially for no reason. Although, I, admittedly, had nothing to do at the moment, I couldn''t stand the feeling of dying my n. But nevertheless, spending some time with my daughter wasn''t a pointless endeavour. Leah was more important than what I was thinking about.


    I finally nodded: "All right, then. I''ll rest for a while before going to the city."


    From Veirya''s''s embrace, Leah softly sobbed, "Papa¡­ you should go¡­"


    I smiled helplessly. I stood up and went over to Veirya. I gently took hold of Leah''s hand and looked at her head. In a tender voice, I said, "Leah, your smile is more important than anything."

 Chapter Volume 4 50

    <strong>This extra chapter is my thank you to you guys who subbed to one of the channels. He emailed and told me you guys subbed, and he loved it. He didn¡¯t give me your names, so I can¡¯t give you a shoutout. Nheless, a favour done is a favour that will be reciprocated.</strong>


    <i>Leah¡¯s Teacher</i>


    Current time in the imperial capital at the guards'' headquarters.


    "Guys, guys, guys,e over and sit. While we are assigned to different locations, we''re allrades. You have it tough out there, as well."


    The young man took off his cape. The female bodyguard behind him took it and hung it up. He didn''t even spare Zero, who was smiling, a nce. The field military had always looked down on the garrison soldiers. Capturing cities and conqueringnd was the job of the field military. The field militaries soldiers and officers lived and died on the battlefield for thend then handed it over to the garrison soldiers to guard. They sweated and shed blood. Only to turn around and see the garrison soldiers merrily drinking and eating. There, understandably, was no way the field soldiers wouldn''t be angry and look down on the garrison soldiers.


    Though the Northern military wasprised of nobles, the field soldiers had always taken pride in themselves. Zero was also aware of that and so were the rest of the garrison soldiers. The field soldiers went through life and death, after all. That was why the garrison soldiers were in no ce to be pping back for being looked down on. Who could argue that dignity was more important than life? Both groups maintained a silent harmony between them, in the sense that neither of them interacted with each other. The field military took charge of matters outside of the city while the garrison soldiers were in charge of the interior. If their paths didn''t cross, they couldn''t sh.


    The guards were a part of the garrison soldiers. The mightiest small team of garrison soldiers in the imperial capital consisted of the most experienced and strongest soldiers, who served under the cautious and decisive officers. That was also precisely why the guards were previously split up and managed by different individuals to avoid them uniting to usurp the throne.


    The young man removed his long sword and pressed it onto the table. He candidly said to Zero, "What exactly do you people want?"


    "What do we want?" Zero paused then revealed a hopeless smile: "We don''t want anything. We''re just guards who are tasked with protecting Her Majesty? What could we do?"


    The young man mmed the table with his long sword. He thundered in Zero''s face, "Quit ying the fool with me. Nobody would be happier than you lot after hearing that Her Majesty wants to attack the elves! You don''t want to go, yet you took the initiative to offer to lead a team to take on the task? What are you ying at? Are you questioning us?!"


    Zero dawdled for a moment. In his mind, he thought, "It''s an undeniable fact that you field soldiers have a merit credited for capturing cities and conqueringnd, but the garrison soldiers and we guards are the ones who guard this ce. You''reing to our headquarters to yell in our face? You''re pushing it too far, don''t you think? I can ignore the daily nder and mockery you make of garrison soldiers, but you''re now insulting us in our faces. Nobody can stand it. We''re all military personnel. The garrison soldiers also deserve to be credited for defending the city. We can''t have you, a kid, mming the table and stepping on us."


    The guards reached for their sword handles, and so did the field soldiers'' guards. Zero wore a sombre look but remained silent. The young man also sat in his chair in silence. The both of them served Her Majesty as military personnel, yet had their weapons drawn in a confrontation with each other in her very imperial pce. It appeared a physical altercation would break out between them at any moment.


    After a long silence, Zero answered, "I don''t n to do anything. Do you think we can convince Her Majesty? Do you think she would listen to us? Instead of all that effort, why not realise Her Majesty''s wish? It''s not impossible to attack the elves. When ites time to attack, we can just enter the forest and reach a few stalemates."


    The young man brought his emotions under control and seriously replied, "We are Her Majesty''s vassals and soldiers; we must take responsibility for her decisions. We must be dutiful to her! It''s clear that Her Majesty is in the wrong. We need to dissuade her. We can''t allow her to destroy the empire and our predecessors sacrifices are for naught."


    "Is there any point in you saying that? Do you still not understand how Her Majesty thinks? Previously, everyone doubted we could attack the demons and fight with them head to head. They imed that our nation couldn''t support it. What happened in the end? Her Majesty took a sword, held it up to her neck in front of everyone and asked everyone to prepare for war. Last time, she threatened us with her life. What about this time? If we try to talk her out of it, it''s likely going to have the same oue. What gives you the idea we have the power to dissuade her?" Zero sighed then added, "If you turned down Her Majesty, do you think things will end well for you? Do you?! Even if you do die, Her Majesty won''t change her mind. What''s the point of all your effort? How about you hurry up, prepare, and do your best to realise her ns?"


    The young man clenched his teeth. He stood up and left without a response. He knew that; he knew he couldn''t talk Her Majesty out of it. Still, he still tried. He genuinely didn''t want to let her ambition destroy the nation and to march his soldiers to their meaningless deaths. The veterans in the military had retired while the new recruitscked experience. Plus, the military officer wasn''t experienced with forest warfare. Starting a war without thinking it through would only result in wasting their soldiers'' lives.


    The young man thought, "I want to try everything. My words aren''t falling on deaf ears. It''s just that Her Majesty hasn''t met someone who she is willing to listen to. I should do as much as I can. Who knows, maybe the next person to tell her will get through to her and convince her to give up on her unrealistic endeavour."


    However, frankly, the young man knew such a person may not exist.


    ========


    Current time in the North.


    "These books¡­" The diplomat was surprised to see the neatly arranged books in the chest. She gently ran her hand over the books. She was so touched that she shed a few tears. In a shaky voice, she stammered, "These¡­ are the books from my home¡­ I thought¡­ I thought¡­ that I would never get to see them again¡­"


    "Lucia sent them. She didn''t want to send them. After all, they are elves'' assets. Moreover, they are a very important asset," I said.


    Ciara watched us from the other side. She had a drink of water and sardonically scoffed, "I guess those elves still have a semnce of a conscience, then."


    The diplomat tightly hugged one of the books. She started to shed more tears. There wasn''t just one chest but three. I could see the diplomat hailed from a family of schrs, for her household had many books. After transmigrating here, I could understand the writing and speech, which was why Leah considered me well-studied. In reality, however, I was unable to write.


    "Leah, from now on, learn humanity''s and the elves''nguage from this elder sister. Make sure to read a lot. Be an outstanding woman in the future."


    Leah didn''t understand the text, but she was extremely ted to see the books. She sat on my thigh and looked at the elf across from us. She lightly hopped off my leg and gave the elf a deep bow. With a smile, she dered, "I will be your student from now one and wait upon you, Teacher!"


    The diplomat was dumbstruck. From her expression, it was clear that Leah got through to her heart with her smile and by calling her "Teacher." The diplomat shifted her hands. I was sure that she had a strong urge to pull Leah straight into her embrace. Subi sure were scary, huh?

 Chapter Volume 4 51

    <i>Family Afternoon</i>


    "Papa!!"


    Veirya and Angelina sure knew how to choose a good ce. They chose a tall hill nearby, so it was a part of the in that bulged upward. Perhaps thewn was lush, as there was enough sunlight exposure there. Veirya and Angelina passed Leah a small wooden sword. Veirya and Leah stood opposite each other with their swords poised.


    Leah tightly bit down on her bottom lip and meticulously observed Veirya. Veirya raised her sword. Leah hopped left and right while constantly feeling out Veirya, lunging, throwing thrusts non-stop simrly to a fencing match. Leah lookedical, but Veirya earnestly monitored her without moving. She didn''t bother with Leah''s feints that were meant to feel her out, but her gaze didn''t change.


    Leah soon exhausted herself with her hopping. The moment she stopped for just a second, Veirya sprung. Veirya was lightning fast. The force she generated swayed the grass. Veirya rushed straight out in front of Leah; before Leah could react, Veirya gave Leah a hard smack on the buttocks using her sword.


    "Aah!!" Leah cried out; then, she threw down her sword and leapt into my embrace.


    I chuckled as I hugged Leah. I looked at Veirya. Veirya gave off nervous vibes. She hesitated before speaking: "I. Honestly. Didn''t hit hard."


    "I know."


    Leah just wanted to be spoilt. She tightly hugged me around my waist and cheerfully giggled. I scrubbed her head. Angelina sat next to us and gently pinched Leah''s hand: "Leah, didn''t I already teach you what to do? It''s pointless for you to senselessly move around. If a fighter had any degree of training, he wouldn''t fall for your obvious feints. You''ll only tire yourself out doing that. Once you''re exhausted, you''ll be defeated. That''s why you must remember to not move randomly."


    Leah turned around in my arms to face Angelina and curiously asked, "But if I don''t move at all, wouldn''t I be an easy target?"


    Angelina shook her head: "No, that''s not true. Here, Veirya and I will demonstrate for you to see."


    Angelina stood up. Veirya and Angelina exchanged eye contact. Veirya tossed away the wooden sword in her hand and drew her long sword, which was lying on thewn. I watched the shiny sword wave in the air and spaced out. I didn''t expect her to use a real sword just to demonstrate a point to Leah. Angelina didn''tment. She, too, drew her sword.


    The two poised themselves. The two of them moved extremely subtly. They slowly circled around. They assumed different stances to each other, but they were both as serious and steady. There wasn''t a single thoughtless movement until Angelina identally stepped on a stone and wobbled ever so slightly. Veirya immediately rushed at her.


    Angelina revealed a strange smile. She quickly bent backward, evading Veirya''s sh. At the same time, Angelina raised a leg to try and perform a perfect a mid-air spin andnd a kick on Veirya''s chin; however, Veirya swiftly sheathed her sword, leading to Angelina''s kicknding on Veirya''s scabbard. Regardless, the force of her kick was enough to wobble Veirya''s sword.


    "All right, all right, we can stop there. We''ve established the point with that." Angelina panted as she took two steps back and then held her belly. Panting, she asked, "My stomach is empty, but it''s impacting me physically. I''m so tired after just that. Veirya, aren''t you tired?"


    "I''m fine. I''m not tired."


    Veirya ced her long sword aside. The two of them just sparred intensely despite their bellies still bulging. It was a frightening sight to behold. Angelina gasped for air as she sat down next to me. She assertively hugged my arm without any hesitation and leaned on me. Veirya looked at Angelina for a moment then walked up to my other side. She sat down next to me and seized my other arm. I sat there without daring to move. Leah sat on myp. Angelina looked up at Veirya with a strange smile: "Didn''t you just say that you weren''t tired?"


    Veirya tugged me toward her. Without going red in the face whatsoever, she replied, "I''m now. Tired."


    Angelina giggled. Leah took nces at the two of them. She grabbed their hands with a smile and ced them before her chest. She then leaned onto my chest, putting more of her weight onto me than before. We just sat there in silence. The three of them should''ve loved it, but I didn''t feelfortable whatsoever. My heart was palpitating as if I was having a panic attack with a Veirya on each side. I imagine my blood vessels would burst if we stayed there. I was so nervous that I didn''t dare to budge. I asked myself, "The four of us came out to watch Leah have her afternoon training session, so why did this happen again?"


    Leah shut her eyes. With a quiet and groggy voice, she murmured, "Papa, this is so nice."


    I rubbed my chin on the top of Leah''s head and, in a soft voice, responded, "Don''t you need to train every afternoon, Leah? You taking it easy today?''


    "Hehehe¡­ Papa is here."


    I silently let Leah rest on me. Her breaths were gentle and calm. They were as soothing as if I was listening to birds singing. I looked at the far-away sky. The white clouds leisurely drifted across the sky. The sun didn''t sting my eyes. There was no breeze, but it wasn''t hot. The cool grass and clear air enveloped us. The air contained Veirya''s scent that bestowed me bliss and mesmerised me.


    Everything in that moment was beautiful. Time felt as though it had slowed down. There were no cell phones or inte in this new world. I rarely gazed at the sky, but I didn''t feel inconvenienced or frustrated in the slightest with theirpany. As long as I had theirpany, I would be satisfied gazing at the sky forever. The question was how long those blissful times would continue. I didn''t know the answer.


    What would the coal quarry and machine that practically appeared out of the blue bring to the North? What would Queen Sisi''s ambitions and so-called kingship bring to the North? I didn''t know the answers. I never tried to predict the future; I just focused on making the present the very best it could be. Yet, I thought sitting there with theirpany was beautiful.


    ========


    Current time in the elvennds.


    "I''ve told you many times that I don''t eat this stuff!! This is how humans prepare it! I don''t eat this filthy stuff!"


    A te flew toward a quivering banshee. A flying knife flew through the air and knocked the te in the air away, pouring the contents onto the ground. The banshee trembled. Lucia came up from behind and pressed a hand on the banshee''s shoulder. She whispered, "It''s all right. You can leave."


    The banshees were one of the races that the elves conquered. All banshees were basically the elves maids. Lucia was fond of the adorable banshees, but her brother looked down on them and considered them filthy beings.


    "What''s the matter, Brother? Don''t get angry with an innocent child."


    "It''s nothing. It''s just that some people really get on my nerves."


    "Who?"


    "You know."


    "I''ll head out tonight."


    Lucia nodded without asking any more. Lucia¡¯s brother nced at her and smiled: ¡°I¡¯m so d to have such a sensible and patriotic sister. Lucilia, you make me proud. Go on. You can test the power of the guns tonight.¡±

 Chapter Volume 4 52

    enter;¡±><i>Elven Harem</i>


    Three dayster. Conference chamber in humanity''s Imperial Pce.


    Queen Sisizily sat in her chair. There weren''t many people in the chamber; there were roughly only ten or so people. They were her ears, eyes and brains. This time, she specifically ced a new seat at the long table, except that there was nobody sitting there. Achilles knew who the seat was reserved for, though.


    The young man took in a deep breath before standing up: "Your Majesty, I am not objecting to your idea. I just want to ask you if we can push back the n to attack the elves for a while."


    Queen Sisi narrowed her eyes. She twirled her burgundy hair and chuckled: "Oh? For how long?"


    The young man quickly responded in a loud voice, "Five years. Wait, no, three years. Just three years will do. We will train up soldiers and officers in the three years as well as prepare the resources required forbat in a forest. In addition, we will construct weapons and machines to tackle the elves. Three years. Three years will suffice."


    The young man thought there was finally hope. The escort came back very quickly on the return trip. Therefore, he believed Queen Sisi regarded the matter as important.


    As he stood there, the young man thought to himself, "I just need to make Her Majesty understand what I need. If it''s victory that Her Majesty needs, then I can bring her victory. She just needs a little bit of patience. An ordinary war requires approximately one year to prepare for. How can we attack the elves without even a single day of preparation. The current military isn''t ready for battle. They need to be reprepared."


    "Three years?" Queen Sisi smiled then nodded. She raised her voice: "All right. I shall give you three years. That''s not a problem. I have time."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty!!"


    The young man was ted. He immediately gave Queen Sisi a deep bow; he was nearly moved to tears. He celebrated to himself: "Her Majesty has not let me down. She was just too impulsive before today. After going out for some fun and thanks to that man''s persuasion, she has finally regained her rationality. We can attack the elves; it''s just that we need time. In three years, humanity''s military will definitely be powerful enough to conquer the elves!"


    "But¡­ you need to do something for me."


    "I am at yourmand!!"


    "Go to the elves and tell them: don''t attack us in the next three years. We need to prepare ourselves." Queen Sisi sniggered as she got to her feet. She walked up to the young man and gently pinched his chin. She looked at the young man''s expression that went from delighted to grim and snickered: "I think there''s something wrong with the way you think. You''re a soldier, a soldier, whose duty is to protect me and the nation''s dignity, yet you want to talk about time with me?! If the demon race was to be revived now, are you going to tell them, ''Please wait three years for me. Let''s fight when I''m ready in three years'' time?'' What you soldiers need to do is be at my beck and call at all times whether it''s to attack or defend. If you can''t do that, how about I let someone else who can do that?"


    "Y-Your Majesty¡­ I¡­ I¡­."


    Queen Sisi sighed. She turned around and went back to her throne. As she walked, she loudly remarked, "Why is there only one Little Doggy? If Little Doggy was here, I''d probably already be sitting on the Elven King''s throne."


    "Please forgive me for being blunt, Your Majesty, but Mr. Lin is not in support of the attack. Furthermore, he is not well-versed in military affairs."


    "But he knows how to please me," contended Queen Sisi, sitting down. She looked at Achilles, who just spoke up for the young man, and supported her face with her hand: "Achilles, how much can you provide in funding to support this war?"


    "As much as you need, Your Majesty."


    "Don''t give me that nonsense. You can provide me with however much I ask for?" Queen Sisi gave Achilles a warning re: "Give me an exact number. How much can you provide? Don''t try and humour me with hogwash."


    "Twenty thousand gold coins." Achilles paused then added, "I meant, twenty-five thousand gold coins."


    Queen Sisi nodded: "All right. Twenty five thousand gold coins. Next, I want you prepare the money and purchase necessary resources for the military and provisions. As for the remainder, Edward, you know those people with the money depository, right? Go and loan fifty thousand gold coins under my name. Use that loan to purchase goods, too. Oh, before I forget, how is your machineing along?"


    Edward lingered for a moment. It was his first time in the chamber, so he had yet to adapt. He quickly rose and loudly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. The Machines, they, they are fine. We will be able to begin mining and begin production very soon."


    "Good." Queen Sisi nodded then stood up to stretch her limbs out. She looked at the young man, who had a grave look on his face down below, and Achilles. She chuckled: "See? If you did that sooner, wouldn''t everything have been fine? You know what? I don''t need your field military anymore. Since you''re so displeased with this war, you won''t give it your best. Zero, you prepare. I''ll be relying on you guards and the garrison soldiers toe with me. The elves'' forest is just a dot on the map. It''ll be enough with just you. Also, you don''t need to manage the field military anymore. Go home and enjoy a three year vacation. I''ll give you three years. I''d like to see how you''re doing in three years."


    Queen Sisi didn''t give the young man any chance to speak, which indicated she was truly disappointed in him. She spun around and left the conference chamber. Despite there being differing opinions still, the n was set in stone with Queen Sisi''s departure. They might all be against it, but if they were to be worthy vassals, they had to serve her and win the war that appeared to be a wrong war in spite of victory looking impossible.


    ========


    Current time in the North.


    "Leah, you must study hard at home. Angelina and Anna will take care of you. Be a good girl and listen to them. Papa and Mama will be back very soon. There''s no need to worry."


    Veirya and I were on our horses. My initial n was to go alone, but Veirya said that it wasn''t safe for me to go alone, thus forced me to bring her along.


    I wanted to bring Leah along, but it was too dangerous for Veirya and Leah at night. I was referring to the risk of Leah''s transformation being exposed, by the way. I exined that to Leah, which was why she wasn''t too upset. She tugged on my trousers and asserted, "Papa, you have toe back soon, okay? Also, you and Mama Veirya need to sleep in separate rooms. Sister Angelina said that something will happen if you sleep together."


    Iined, "Angelina, don''t go telling children anything and everything."


    "It''s nothing bad. She''ll eventually experience it for herself anyway," Angelina responded with a nonchnt smile.


    Angelina must not have considered the topic shameful¡­ Admittedly, it wasn''t. Still, I thought it was still too soon for Leah to learn about the topic.


    Veirya knew what happened, but she didn''tment. She, instead, carefully stroked Leah''s head. She told Leah, "I will. Take good care. Of him."


    Leah responded with a firm nod: "Uhm."


    Leah then took a step back and wiped her eyes: "Bye, Papa. Come back soon. Leah will be a good girl at home, so focus on your work, and don''t let yourself be distracted, Papa."


    I really wanted to grab Leah and take her with me in my arms when she looked so adorable. I gave her a smile and pivoted. I tapped my horse with my foot.


    "Please wait."


    After I turned around, I heard a voice from behind Angelina and Anna. I turned around to look, feeling surprised. The three elves came up to me. Ciara supported her Queen. They carefully came up to my horse. Veirya revealed a hint of unhappiness in her gaze when she saw the Elven Queen.


    The Elven Queen came up to my side with Ciara''s help. With a smile and a soft voice, the Elven Queen inquired, "Is that you, Sir Travor?''


    I nodded: "Yes."


    I stretched down and took hold of the Elven Queen''s hand. Her hand was soft and slender. I could feel her gentle fingers in my hand. She gently felt my palm and softly said, "You have taken care of us for so long, so we cannot just stay upstairs when you leave. I, too, wish to see you off."


    To be frank, after my rtionship with Veirya was exposedst time, particrly after the Elven Queen learnt Veirya was pregnant, we didn''t speak again. However, Ciara probably informed her that the pregnancy im was untrue, since she saw Veirya''s belly gradually return to normal. That must''ve been why the Elven Queen took the initiative to make an appearance.


    The Elven Queen moved my hand up to her mouth and kissed the back of my hand. She sped it with both hands. She looked up and, in the gentlest voice ever, expressed, "I pray the elves'' light will guide you no matter where you go. My Dear, I hope you cane back soon."


    "!!!"


    Veirya''s scabbard immediately touched my hand, scaring me. I thought Veirya would swing down without hesitancy. She callously asked the Elven Queen: "Can you. Let go of each other. Yet?"


    "Sorry, Veirya. I have no intention of fighting over him with you. It is just that from our elven perspective, a brilliant man with power will have even more women. Therefore, I do not mind being your maid as long as you can allow me to be with him. I havee to understand that status and ranking means nothing in love."


    I said, "I think you may have misunderstood something¡­"


    "I believe your kiss will not lie. After all, Ciara told me that you rarely kiss anyone. Furthermore, you do not kiss Veirya."


    The Elven Queen let go of my hand and bowed with a smile. She looked up and, as a bright smile bloomed on her face, added, "I shall not hold you up, Sir. I hope you cane back soon."


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *For now, don''t worry about the term ''money depository''. It will be exinedter.

 Chapter Volume 4 53

    <em>Hand in Hand Journey</em>


    The path from the town to the city was still deste. nts were growing, but it still couldn''t change the fact that there was no life. If I didn''t have Veirya next to me, boredom might''ve killed me. Veirya was no longer the aloof and silent Veirya anymore. At the very least, she expressed jealousy when I was involved. That meant Veirya cared about me. She still wore a stoic look, but I was happy.


    Veirya rode next to me with her gaze ahead. All of a sudden, she asked, "What. Exactly. Is your rtionship. With the Elven Queen?"


    I knew Veirya would inevitably ask the question. Veirya looked at me through the corner of her eye the entire journey. I, therefore, knew she wanted to ask, but I didn''t think there''d be a reason for the Elven Queen to behave the way she did.


    If we were being logical, the Elven Queen and I shouldn''t be close yet. I never did anything that would touch her or make her want to repay me with her body, did I? All I did was give her one kiss. Surely that wasn''t enough for her to develop romantic feelings for me. I didn''t quite understand elves, but I think a woman who would be so devoted after one kiss¡­ for the most part, only existed in novels, right?


    "I''ve been with you recently. Nothing happened between her and me, either. Maybe it''s their elven tradition? I''m not too sure."


    "What if, then. She really. Wants to. Be with you. Will you. Have children with her?"


    Veirya turned her head to look at me. I lingered for a moment before looking back at her: "Why are you suddenly asking me that? I never thought about it¡­ I don''t think my rtionship with her has progressed to that stage¡­ It''s too soon to have children."


    "Mom said. People only have children. With the person they love most. She also said. You love me. So. She told me to watch you. And not let you have children with anyone else."


    "¡­ That woman¡­"


    That was bloody embarrassing. It was so embarrassing to have Veirya mention that I love her as if it was nothing major. I cursed in my mind, "That woman can''t do anything right. I''m supposed to say that. What''s your issue, woman¡­?"


    Also, I was dead certain Angelina didn''t do it with the intent of bringing us together, but for her own entertainment!


    I thought Veirya started to care about me. To my disappointment, it was due to Angelina putting ideas in her head¡­ Nheless, Angelina didn''t seem to be the reason Veirya got jealous of Queen Sisi that night. After that night, Veirya was somewhat different to her past self. I still remembered it was impossible to approach her in the cold winter, when she exuded a cold aura. At the time, she was Queen Sisi''s sharp de. Merely touching said de would cut you. Nevertheless, Veirya resembled a girl who didn''t know how to interact with the world. She revealed such a weak side of herself that night. She was no longer a weapon but a genuine girl.


    I still remembered my promise to let Veirya experience the life of a normal girl. I guess I was gradually making that a reality.


    "Mom said. That the love you mentioned. Means that. You wanted to live together with me?"


    "Uhm¡­"


    Since we had taken the conversation that far, it wouldn''t be tactful of me if I didn''t admit it. Veirya was a serious individual; if I refused to acknowledge it, she may never mention it again. It might even affect my confession in the future. Worse, it might''ve made it impossible for me to confess in the future. Thus, I decided it was best to admit it.


    Veirya seemed to have something in mind. She turned back to face ahead. In a quiet voice, she said, "Is that. Love? Is that. What Her Majesty. Is after? Is love. Just being able to live together with someone? If it is¡­ I think¡­ I should. Be able. To provide Her Majesty with it¡­. It''s. What Her Majesty. Wants more than anything."


    I smiled helplessly. What sort of love would such a strong woman want? A man who could set Queen Sisi''s heart aflutter must be one extremely formidable man. Honestly, I couldn''t think of any man who could handle the proud peacock that Queen Sisi was. It''d probably take a man who saved the entire world to be able to rein in her pride. I did believe Queen Sisi was after a romance, though.


    Queen Sisi was ignorant of the things between men and women. Perhaps her rough experiences as a child left her indifferent to so-called romance. After bing the richest and most powerful woman of the entire empire, she probably started fantasising of beaming and blissful romances found in fairy tales. Actually, she''d need the world she knew to be rescued. Needless to say, I didn''t have any intentions of getting involved with her romantically. I had Veirya''s world to save; I didn''t have time to bother with someone else''s world.


    "Love isn''t that simple." I paused for a moment before proceeding: "Personally, I don''t understand it very well. In saying that, love is between two people. I think an understanding of what love is can only be achieved by two people who are together."


    "When I''m with you. I be. Strange." Veirya turned to face me. She calmly borated, "I don''t know. If it''s a good or bad thing. However. I feel. Happy. Every day. Have I started. To be. A normal woman?"


    "Uhm." I responded with a nod to provide Veirya with an affirmative response.


    Veirya didn''t express anything else. I smiled. I didn''t know if I managed to pick up a mind-reading super power after spending so long with Veirya. While she didn''t say anything or express anything visually, I could tell that Veirya was genuinely happy.


    I extended out my hand and looked at Veirya. She looked back at me surprised. She didn''t quite understand what I was trying to suggest. I took in a deep breath: "Do you want to hold hands?"


    Puzzled, Veirya asked, "Why? It''s meaningless."


    "I just want to."


    "Okay, then."


    Thinking about it, it seemed as though our roles were reversed. Usually, it was the female who acted coquettish. Not that I considered it a problem. Her hand was warm, and her grip was firm, after all. Plus, it made me happy¡­

 Chapter Volume 4 54

    <em>Bank and Dwarf</em>


    The city didn''t exhibit a drastic increase in life after the chapel''s shackles on it were removed. I guess it could''ve been due to the people of the city losing the desire to pursue joy after being oppressed for so long. Perhaps the North, which relied on war to prosper, was at the mercy of the era. It no longer qualified as a city; it was more akin to a cemetery for the past, where those who died fighting were buried and waited for those still alive to join them. The people still lingering in the city were merely wandering souls from thest war.


    For the reason that I wasn''t familiar with the city, I needed to ask the guards at the entrance where the so-called bank was located. Apparently, they didn''t refer to the bank as a bank. After I exined that a bank was a ce where one stored money, a light bulb lit up for them, and they finally realised what ce I referred to. Here, in this world, they called it a money depository. There wasn''t just one business association. Achilles started one of them, but most businesses selling products and service model businesses under Achilles'' banner worked in the city. Thus, I need to visit two particrpanies.


    The two of us rode through the streets. I didn''t know Veirya was so familiar with the city. She knew lots of small paths. Thankfully, that made travelling efficient.


    Technically speaking, humans were also animals. All humans shared the instincts animals had, particrly avoiding harm while trying to maximise gains. Humans lean toward the side that''s more favourable to them. Not the one that would be harmful. Money was the best thing there was to humanity''s society. Wherever money could be made would be humanity''s best location. Banks, or in this case, money depositories were humanity''s most sumptuous meal. At the same time, though, it was a trap. Well-trained hunters would be able to safely escape from them, while others would need to repay their debts with their lives. Countless people flocked to banks the same way bees flocked to ces where they smelt honey. There used to be lots of businessmen in the city. Businessmen have a keen nose for money.


    The buildings in the city were incredibly robust. They were simr to the Temple of Athena Nike in a way. They were squares or rectangles and had an incredibly solemn vibe. The huge stone pirs were evidently somewhat worn out now after having existed for many years. Being ancient and worn out, however, couldn''t stop people from liking that sort of new stuff.


    The ce we were at was probably the liveliest ce in the entire city. There was a good number of people entering and exiting. I even noticed a few dwarves. Presumably, it was where the people from the ce and other races interacted. It wasn''t rare to run into dwarves or elves at the border in the North, after all.


    The two of us led our horses inside. Veirya stated. "This. Was formerly. The control centre."


    "Are you talking about during the war?"


    "Uhm. In the past. Queen Sisi. Once stayed here."


    Indeed, the building appeared to be the best building inparison to all the other buildings in the city. It, therefore, was no wonder Queen Sisi would reside in it. I nodded: "Let''s go, then, Veirya."


    "What exactly. Are we here. For?"


    "To get money."


    I answered in a very simple manner; however, I neither lied nor hid anything. I came here to get money; I just didn''t tell Veirya how I''d do it.


    Veirya followed alongside me as we headed to the building I was interested in. We waded through the crowds. We heard thenguage of money in our ears. Everyone present had their own business to attend to, and their business dictated the cirction of money.


    To put things into perspective, imagine ake. If water only ever came in and never left, it''d be dead water. The same principle applied to money in a city. A city can''t develop on its own. It requires imports. The bank is the foundation of imports. Without the abundance of money in the bank, trading would be nothing more than trading for fun.


    We entered the bank. It was a primitive bank. The first ce we arrived at upon entering was arge hall. In the hall was a long table with workers behind it counting money. There was also a specific appraiser who appraised a red gem the size of an egg that a dwarf brought in. There were also scales that weighed coins to verify they weren''t counterfeit coins.


    The bank was packed. Lots of people waited for their turn to be served. There were also a fair number of people attired in ck speaking to customers about something. The majority of people were busy with coordinating things between humans and dwarves, though, because lots of humans and dwarves couldn''tmunicate well.


    "Veirya?! Tarak?!"


    We suddenly heard a familiarly and brash voice nearby. We turned to look in the direction it came from; Veirya was first to identify the owner of the voice. She immediately looked down. His big beard was asical as I remembered. The manner in which Franics came over to us resembled a round and furry ball rolling over. He probably hadn''t drunk yet, but he still reeked of alcohol.


    "What are the chances that I''d see you two here?! My, my, I never thought I''d see the day when this woman woulde here to loan money. I thought she''d only ever take the head of her hunted prey to the adventurer guild to exchange for money."


    Veirya calmly responded, "I didn''t do that. In the past, either."


    Francis heartilyughed. He questioned, "Geez, you''re still so serious when you''ve gotten married. Doesn''t your husband find your seriousness a bore?"


    Veirya looked over to me and asked, "Do I?"


    Veirya casually epted the im that we were married and that she was my wife. That said, it could''ve been that she didn''t understand what those terms meant. I smiled: "It''s all right. I think you''re very nice."


    "Okay, okay, you two, let''s put aside your sweet couple world for a moment. Tarak, it''s been a long time since west met. Let''s have a drink again. I''m done with business; are you free?"


    "I just got here."


    "What do you need to do? Store money or loan money? If you need to loan money, you don''t need them. They always try to im you have this and that problem so that they can increase the interest they charge you. Juste see me if you need a loan. I just bought a piece ofnd here in your area."


    "From Veirya''s territory again?"


    "I guess." Francis nodded without putting too much thought into it: "When I have money, I n to go and talk to Veirya about something. I''m certain she''ll approve."


    "No. You need. To ask him." Veirya finally improved after the first time with Lucia.


    I pinched my chin to think: "Previously, nobody came here. Why have people started sellingnd now? Thend isn''t important; what''s important is what thend has."


    "Let''s go. Let''s go have a drink first," I suggested. I thought, "Whatever is going on, I need to ask and find out."

 Chapter Volume 4 55

    <em>Dwarves¡¯ Land</em>


    We could put the coteral aside for the meantime; after all, I didn''t have any shares to use as coteral, yet. In saying that, I was quite surprised by the fact that so many people suddenly developed an interest in ournd. Honestly, I was quite surprised when Edward came to buynd from me. The coal and steam engine appeared quite suddenly. There was nothing I could do, though. In winter, I was only active in the town. The one time that I went to the imperial capital, I was busy running around for Leah and Veirya. Because of that, I had no time for anything else.


    Veirya was the lord of the North. Queen Sisi didn''t seem to care about the newnd that humanity obtained. That was why she just randomly segmented it up to the city we were at. The North was basically Veirya''s territory, but the poption in Veirya''s territory was fairly small, and shecked a respectable city. The town we resided at was considered the most prosperous ce as it was.


    The piece ofnd Francis was interested in was ours. Also, it was the cheapest and worthless thing to us because the climate in the North made it impossible to nt many crops. In addition, there were no holiday resorts or the sort. As such, there was only one reason for them to buynd in the worth, which was the Earth''s gift: Mines.


    Perhaps the North was a sea or something in the past. Perhaps the coldnd had mines rich in minerals that other ces didn''t have. Being original residents of the North, they might''ve known the wealth and worth of the North better than I did, since I only just arrived.


    It was difficult to develop the North; it was too expansive. That wasn''t what was most important, though. The biggest obstacle I faced was that no information pertaining to it was left behind. The humans who formerly lived in the North and the current humans were different. The current humans had a rtively simple civilisation; there wasn''t much left behind in terms of written records. So ordingly, there was no way for me to examine things. Topound the issue, there was the small poption. Nobody ever discovered anything.


    If professional explorers didn''t discover something, nothing would ever be found. In addition, qualifying the explorer''s activities was a gamble that was extremely unlikely to seed. A lot of money was needed to qualify them. The dwarves most likely began investigating the North a long time ago. Our territory did connect with theirs, after all. The dwarves should''ve been educated on minerals. That meant they had to be buyingnd for the mines located below.


    "You''re right, Tarak. We, indeed, are nning to mine in yournd. However, if I may be honest, we aren''t sure if there are minerals there or not, for we never went there to examine the area."


    I ced the empty wine cup on the table. Veirya and Francis were perfect drinking partners. The two of them looked perfectly fine after drinking such strong alcohol. For me, a mere lick was enough to fry my brain, which was why I had a drink of something else. I furrowed my eyebrows: "Since you have never been there, why do you want to buy thend? Besides the mineral, I can''t think of any other point in buying it?"


    "I know." Francis patted his beer belly. He dangled a piece of smoked meat in his mouth and borated, "It''s a fact that we''ve never been there; however, we have definitive evidence. Our dwarves'' business associations arepeting with each other, too. The associationpeting with us decided to purchase that piece ofnd of yours. They''re serious, and they n to arrive tomorrow. That''s why we need to acquire the mineral despite ourck of exact information in case they get a step ahead of us."


    "Is it a very important mineral?"


    "It''s a mineral that can change the nature of warfare. By mixing together several minerals, a violent explosive weapon can be made. Probably best of all, it won''t produce smoke; therefore, we will definitely produce arge volume of the ammunition and weapon. To proceed, we must obtain the minerals. We even physically fought that business association at a few manufacturing locations. This time, we must obtain it."


    "Haven''t you considered that it could be a diversion tactic? You, after all, boughtnd that you don''t have confirmed information for. You could very well lose money and leave empty handed. We''re only in charge of selling thend to you. Not guaranteeing there are minerals or otherwise."


    When two teams werepeting, it was easy to spread false information to hike the price on a block ofnd and enter a contest with them. The one spreading the false information would triumph the moment theirpetition took the bait. They wouldn''t gain anything from it; but nheless, it could cause theirpetition to waste their money and purchase a useless block ofnd. Thus, I definitely had to provide Francis with a disimer.


    As the people in charge of the area, we most certainly weren''t responsible for what was found in the ground. Whether or not there was something down there after they purchased thend was none of our business. Subsequently, if Francis was tricked, then we weren''t going to be responsible for it. We were merely responsible for selling thend.


    "Of course." Francis nodded then stroked his beard to get off the food stuck to it. He drank another cup with Veirya then panted as he spoke: "We won''t make things hard for you. You just need to sell us thend instead of us. Oh, yes, that being the case, have you thought about joining our business?''


    "Your business? Are you referring to your minerals?"


    "Correct. You can invest financially to join our association. Then, you''ll receive a designated share. We''ll share a portion of our annual ie with you. It''s perfect as we''ve already sold arge number of the weapons to the elves. Humanity is also bound to buy some, which means that we''ll definitely profit from it."


    I believed Francis. Lucia came to me for money to purchase weapons, which I''d assume were the weapons that Francis mentioned. So, the weapons were unmistakably going to be a catalyst for a revolution and roll in lots of money. In essence, it was an investment in firearms.


    Firearms had always been one of the highest earning investments. The problem was that I had misgivings. As I previously stated, they might not get anything. I''d earn money from thend, but if my investment failed, I''d never get that money back. I''d hazard a guess that they didn''t have a concept of principal for public listing yet. If it failed, I really wouldn''t get a single penny back.


    Although Veirya didn''t say anything, I noticed that she kept her eyes on me the entire time. Previously, I was upied with thinking about everything and didn''t notice her gaze, but I noticed her gaze on me when I rxed. I looked back at her. She immediately raised her cup of wine for a drink. I wasn''t sure what she was trying to express, but Francis noticed her gesture and smiled as a result: "I never imagined I''d see Veirya with such a gentle gaze. We''ve never seen her so feminine. She didn''t say anything, but she truly does love you deeply, huh?"


    Veirya expressionlessly responded in a seemingly shy fashion: "Nosy."


    Feeling somewhat proud, I smiled: "It''s useless to rely on just a beautiful illustration if you want an investor to invest. Compared to the promised scene, an investor would be more concerned about the risks they will need to face."


    "I''m not asking you to put all your eggs in the basket. ording to your prices, we need to pay you five hundred gold coins for thend. How about investing that sum with us? That way, we won''t need to go to the bank to withdraw cash. That, additionally, would allow us to get started almost forthwith. It''s fine if you want us to bring money; it''s just that we won''t be able to let you join us. If we confirm that there is a mineral, we''ll have to raise the price, meaning that you might not have the money to join us as a stakeholder."


    "Mm¡­"


    It was a decent n. In saying that, it would be to Francis'' advantage, as we''d be grasshopperspletely tied together. If I took the five hundred gold coins and then added an additional investment to it, I''d profit as long as I didn''t invest more than five hundred gold coins. In that scenario, it''d juste down to a question of how much.


    If I invested five hundred gold coins into Francis'' business and ended up losing money, my capital would go poof. Consequently, I''d lose my profit and wouldn''t even get thend back because they did purchase thend. The money I lost would''ve been lost in the investment, and I''d never get it back. Hence, if I agreed to join, I had to ensure that they got what they wanted. Only then would I get what I wanted. That''s what''s called cooperation. Sometimes, bringing unrted people together can give you what you want. It was one way of doing things. I could reject the offer, but if I did, I might lose an opportunity.


    All businessmen are addicted with gambling, especially that sort of gamble. When one has nothing, they''ll certainly be willing to gamble. I wasn''t yet at the stage where I could steadily do business. It was still too early for me to give up on my dream. I was willing to make the bet.


    I wasn''t five hundred gold coins short. Sure, the more money I had, the better. Nheless, my life wouldn''t be affected if I didn''t have the five hundred gold coins. Moreover, my current goal wasn''t money. Perhaps I really would be able to get what I wanted through a gamble, I thought.


    I nodded: "I''ll invest. I''ll invest the five hundred gold coins in your business."


    "Excellent." Francis cheerfullyughed. Then, he raised his cup, "All right, then. Let''s wish the Earth will bless us. This was an awesome trip. We must heartily drink for our friendship and our cooperation!! Come on, don''t drink this tasteless junk. Here, Tarak. It doesn''t matter if you get drunk."


    "I''ll pass; I''ll pass."


    I refused to drink. Veirya went along with it, nevertheless. The two merrily drank from the moment the sun departed from the horizon.

 Chapter Volume 4 56

    <strong>Bonus chapter because one of the channel owners just mised his channel (I¡¯m going to persuade him to stay and demand more next month), and let¡¯s give Daiz something to feed off. </strong>


    <em>Carry me to Bed</em>


    The entire world was changing. I had just arrived in this world, but I noticed that it was changing. Steam engines, guns, everything that I saw were catalysts that led to colossal advancements for humanity. Once humans have enriched lives, they begin to think about how to improve and change. Guns empowered those thinkers with the weapons to prove themselves. Even if Queen Sisi didn''t attack the elves, the enormous empire would certainly change. Her rule was very effective during wartime; however, as resources increased and free trading grew, the absolute rule system would inevitably be abandoned.


    If Queen Sisi attacked the elves and seeded, she''d be able to take the empire to its apex of prosperity. With the conquest of elves and the demon race under her belt, she''d be able to live a stable life until after she left the throne, at the very least. Her reputation and fame would rise along with the territorial expansion and war victories. Those aplishments,bined with her absolute rule, would allow people to enjoy the empire''s glory until she passed away.


    Conversely, if Queen Sisi''s campaign against the elves ended in failure, the empire''s pride would be crushed. Simultaneously, humanity would begin to consider opposing and revolutionising. Needless to say, the humans with advanced production abilities and weapons would definitely cause big waves. In turn, that might''ve led to humanity''s entire society undergoing a massive change just as humanity''s society did many times in history. Revolution after revolution meant that humanity''s civilisation was advancing. Science would gradually change humanity''s life. Once humans had enough to eat, wear, a roof over their head and basic necessities to survive, they''d begin to try and revolutionise this and that.


    To extrapte, I was standing on the wave of a historical revolution. As a matter of fact, the uing big revolution might take ce right around me. I might''ve very well been the catalyst for the revolution, as I did transmigrate to this world. The things that recently transpired, which could lead to a revolution, happened immediately around me. Something was bound to happen in the North. The attack on the elves, the extraction for the steam engine and the gunpowder produced by the dwarves were things that took ce in the North. Consequently, the North could very likely be where the revolution happened.


    I contemted, "What''s my role in the revolution, then? What should I do? How do I get what I want by this fork in the road in this era? My previous dream was to buy a house in the imperial capital, but that goal sounds too small now. I''ve never had such a perfect change that couldunch my value to the sky. What do I need to do and how do I do it? I can already hear the revolutionary waves. What should I do, since I''m standing on the shore?"


    The smell of alcohol enveloped me. Underneath the sunset me, the crowd loudly yelled and cheered. The bar''s windows were all open, but the stifling heat and strong smell of alcohol wouldn''t leave. The voluptuous anthropoid maiden twitched her ears as she deftly slipped through the crowds and tables to serve the customers their orders. Only an anthropoid girl would be able to move so nimbly.


    We sat in the bar. Next to us was a wooden barrel. The dwarf and Veirya enjoyed the strong wine in said barrel. They had some cheese and slices of meat as apaniments for the alcohol. They told stories during their days as adventurers. It was mostly the dwarf speaking and Veirya silently listening. She asionally responded here and there.


    By the sounds of it, the elf, Lucil, the human, Veirya, and the dwarf, Francis, all walked long journeys. Veirya was expressionless, but her experiences must''ve been her most treasured assets. Francis and Lucilia definitely treated Veirya as their most cherished friend.


    "Those times were seriously the best. We were heroes no matter where we went. We went to so many ces, ate the elven dried fruit and salted meat, your bread and candy, drank our wine and swung our weapons. Those days were awesome. We killed those damned demons and saved plenty of people. Everyone respected us back in those days. We made so much money and earned so much honour. That was our honour and friendship. You, the t-chested elf, our glory and eternal friendship!"


    Francis appeared to be drunk. His face and a red tomato looked as though they were fused together. His voice grew loud and speech became somewhat inarticte. He rubbed his palm against the table. His hand was a hand of flesh, yet it sounded as if he was scraping the table with sand paper. That must''ve been due to what they call a warrior''s hand, hands as tough as iron.


    Veirya silently had onest drink. Her expression never changed; it was as though she just drank water. Francis sprawled onto the table in a bleary state. In a quiet voice, he mumbled, "Everything has changed now, though; we''ve all gone home. The t-chested elf is busy eliminating her own kind. We heard what happened to the elves. You got married and have settled down your own family now, though lots of people are unwilling to believe that you found the man you love and have sheathed your sword. As for me, the dwarves'' hero, the most skilled formation demolition artist, has be a guard who protects mountains of money for a business association. Sometimes, I dream of us sitting around the bonfire at night, with you drinking wine on your own and me arguing with the midget. When I wake up, though, all I see is money. It really could bring a tear to my eyes whenever I see that. The midget won''t be leaving the forest from now, while you have your own family. I''m the only one who still has to go around by himself."


    Francis wasn''t just figuratively illustrating his sorrow; he actually cried. He sobbed. He wiped his snot with his sleeve as tears rolled down to his red beard, where he then sucked them in.


    I was aghast but didn''t know what to say. Veirya nced at me then Francis. She paused for a moment before speaking: "You''ll. Forever be. My friend."


    Francis stayed prostrated on the table, nevertheless. Veirya added, "If. You want to. Go somewhere. Or explore. We, too, will go. You''re my friend. You always. Will be. You''re wee. At my ce."


    "No, I can''t do that¡­ You have your own family. You also have a man to take care of now¡­ The era¡­ has changed¡­ Perhaps this is the best life that we can have. If we didn''t have thest war, we would probably be leading this sort of life¡­ Friends¡­ I just need to remember you all."


    Francis shut his eyes. I assumed that he wanted some shut eye. He and Veirya drank a big barrel, after all. That would also exin why he was feeling despondent.


    Veirya turned to look at me then stretched her arms outward. I lingered.


    "Hold me." Veirya calmly looked at me and demanded, "I''m drunk. Carry me. To bed."

 Chapter Volume 4 57

    <em>Drunken Veirya</em>


    When I carried up Veirya, the entire bar cheered me on. The shame had my ears aze and tingling. I carried her in my arms but didn''t dare to look at her. She hugged me around my neck. I Princess carried her in my arms, but her expression was the same as always. She leaned her entire body onto mine, yet trained her eyes on me. She stared at me until I almost passed out.


    Lots of people recognised Veirya. Seeing their hero carried as if she was a normal woman gave people an indescribable sense of happiness and satisfaction. However, Veirya wasn''t a young girl from my perspective. No child would weigh what Veirya weighed. I felt as though I''d dislocate my back when I carried her.


    Teeth gritted, I carried Veirya step by step. Veirya was heavy; every step forward felt impossible to take, but it was it was the closest Veirya could be to me. When she took the initiative to wrap her arms around me, I didn''t think she''d be willing to let me release her. She was heavy, and it was hard on me, but I definitely didn''t want to let go, for she was what I needed to carry. She was heavy and the journey was long, but she was my most cherished treasure. Regardless of how tough it was, I''d tightly hold onto her.


    We returned to the inn we stayed atst time. For some reason, Veirya only had eyes for that particr inn. She didn''t speak during the journey there and didn''t ask to be put down. I had no doubt she was aware she was heavy for me but didn''t mention a thing. She just watched me continue to put one leg in front of the other while carrying her.


    It was very uncharacteristic of Veirya to behave that way. Not even when her rtionship with me had improved leaps and bounds. Veirya never did pointless things or gave me trouble. The only possible exnation I had was that she was drunk. Veirya didn''t lie. If she was drunk, she was unable to walk. That would justify her letting me carry her. Veirya''s expression didn''t change neither did her blue eyes. Nheless, she appeared drunk.


    Startled upon seeing me carry Veirya back, in a grouchy manner, the owner of the inn remarked, "Didn''t you say that you weren''t married?"


    "Not yet¡­ not yet¡­"


    I gave a vague response, which earned the ire of the owner. He went through his drawer to pull out a key and tossed it on the table. He grumbled, "You stayed here before, yet hid it from me. That''s upsetting. It''s a good thing that Lord Veirya got married and has children; why did you have to hide it from me? That girlst time was your child, wasn''t she?"


    "Because¡­ because¡­ of Veirya''s identity, I didn''t want to acknowledge it¡­" I smiled helplessly.


    The old man clearly looked as though he doesn''t want to converse. Hell as if I know why he chose to be upset then. Maybe the inn was where Veirya and her crew lodged. That''d exin why she liked this ce so much, I suppose.


    I carried Veirya to the stairs. I looked up with the realisation that I was doomed. There were less than ten steps to climb, but it looked as though I was crossing an impossible bridge. Being a man, however, I couldn''t look down to Veirya and tell her, "Sorry, I can''t carry you." I would have no pride left as a man.


    I struggled up the stairs. Veirya shut her eyes, seemingly having fallen asleep. She didn''t budge or show any expression. As Queen Sisi said, as a soldier, one who lived in the wilderness at night, Veirya had to be fully vignt at all times. She was akin to a sheathed sword in my arms. Her sharp edge was gone. She was as gentle as Leah in my arms. She gently breathed, while her short silver hair gently swayed along with her movements. Nobody could imagine she''d look that way when she slept. She was more violent than anyone on the battlefield. If you saw Veirya in my arms, you''d never think that she had her hand stained with blood.


    Francis missed the past; he missed those days he spent with Veirya outside because that was when he shined the brightest. I didn''t miss those days, however. Veirya was a killing machine those days. That Veirya had her hands drenched in blood.


    The surroundings, including myself, seemed as though they were shocked by Veirya''s sleeping appearance. I gently set Veirya down. Veirya''s legs were too weak to support her body, so I supported her, instead. I opened the door. Veirya squinted; she climbed onto the bed with my help. I watched her with a helpless smile and flipped her over. I then crouched down to help her take her shoes and socks off. I saw her bare feet. Veirya always wore high boots, but it seemed as though she never sweated. For some reason, her feet aroused me. I surprisingly had an urge to lick her pearly toes when I saw them¡­


    "Don''t. Don''t¡­" I told myself.


    I undid her cape that was done up across Veirya''s chest then pulled it out from under her. I took in a deep breath to prevent my hand veering off course to an out-of-bounds area and undid her buttons. She neither said a word nor budged an inch. She allowed me to remove her clothes, revealing her generous bust before my eyes. After removing her outer garment, all that was between my hands and her breasts was her undershirt, but I didn''t have the guts to go a step further.


    I removed Veirya''s belt and trousers. Then, I set her straight. Undressing her was so nerve-wracking that my entire body trembled and felt as though all of my blood went to my head. Had I identally touched her breasts¡­ my brain might''ve gone and done something while Veirya was drunk¡­ She probably wouldn''t have resisted.


    I quickly took two steps back and slogged back a cup of cold water to calm myself down. I turned back around to go to Veirya''s side. I crouched down next to her bed and admired her sleeping face. The moonlight shone onto the side of her face, thereby resembling rippling water on her face.. My heartbeat spurred me on to close in on her lips when I saw her looking so quiet and gentle. I straightened up my torso and stood up. My heart rate sped up. I approached her lips bit by bit. I closed in on the lips of the woman I liked¡­


    The moonlight shone between us as if it was a river connecting us. When we were that final centimetre away from each other, Veirya suddenly raised her head¡­ I was the one who tried to sneak attack her, yet it ended up with Veirya bashing her teeth on mine¡­

 Chapter Volume 4 58

    <em>Morning in an Embrace</em>


    Current time in the North.


    "Angelina!! Have you seen the elves?! The elves on the second floor, have you seen them?!"


    Angelina opened the door while yawning. She looked at Anna, who was panicking, and asked in a confused tone, "What''s the matter? Have the elves gone missing?"


    "Yes!! They were already gone by the time I went. Also, they took the sword Veirya gave them!! They''re definitely running away!! They ran away!!" Anna was at a total loss. She was literally on the verge of tears: "What do we do, what do we do, Angelina?! If Sires back and finds them missing, he will definitely be angry!! What do we do?! I failed to keep an eye on them¡­"


    "There''s nothing to panic about, Anna; you''re mistaken." Angenlina scrubbed her hair and nonchntly exined, "Veirya and her man won''t be angry with you. Veirya doesn''t like the Elven Queen to begin with because the Queen seduced her man, while he''s never considered them his assets, so he won''t think that they ran away. He''ll just think that they didn''t want to stay here and, therefore, left. It''s fine."


    "But¡­ but why did they run away¡­? We were very nice to them¡­ We¡­ we never mistreated them. Plus, plus, they promised to teach Leah¡­ The Elven Queen also loves Sir¡­ Why did they run away¡­?"


    Angelina shook her head: "Who knows? We humans can''tprehend what goes on between elves. It''s oftentimes impossible toprehend what elves do if we apply our human logic. That forest holds a different meaning to them than it does for us. Ignore them; they''ll definitelye back. The elves exiled them, so they won''t ept the three. Without a horse, they can''t leave from this town. They probably didn''t take much food. They''ll starve to death walking there without anyone doing anything."


    "Do we¡­ need to search for them?"


    Angelina wore an indifferent expression and looked away: "No. They probably n to go and do something during Veirya and her man''s absence. We don''t need to search for them. If they want to go back and die, let them go die. If they n toe back, we have no reason to search for them. Please bring breakfast in. I want to sleep some more today. There''s no one else at home, so I want toze around a bit."


    "Sure." Anna didn''t look too assured, but nodded, nheless. There was nothing that she could do, after all.


    =======


    Current time at the Elven Forest¡­


    "Your Majesty, be careful."


    Ciara helped the Elven Queen to carefully step over the tree stump. The Elven Queen had her eyes covered. She used the tree trunk as support while Ciara also helped her. She nostalgically touched the tree trunk and softly said, "We¡­ came back in the end¡­ we''re back¡­ It really¡­ does make me so nostalgic that I want to cry."


    "Uhm."


    The diplomat wasn''t too happy, however. She''d turn around and look behind her every now and then. She quietly opined, "Your Majesty¡­ we came here without notifying them. Furthermore, I do not think that it is good to leave while Lord Veirya and Sir Travor are absent¡­ Moreover, I already promised Leah to¡­"


    "Stop. Someone ising."


    After Ciara put the Queen at a tree trunk, she aggressively drew her sword and coldly watched her surroundings. The diplomat fearfully hugged the Queen. The elves lived up to their reputation. They were able to detect even the subtlest movement of the grass from a breeze. Two elves appeared next to Ciara and aimed their long swords at her. One of them stuttered, "Y-You are Madam Ciara? Which means, Her Majesty¡­"


    "Yes, Her Majesty is also here."


    Ciara let out a breath of relief upon seeing the two elves. The two appeared to respect the Elven Queen. Although the Queen had been exiled, not all elves supported the exile. Some believed the Queen was betrayed.


    The two elves sheathed their des; they went up to the Queen and went down on one knee to salute her: "Your Majesty."


    The Elven Queen chuckled. She reached out to touch their heads. That was a customary action that was performed when the Elven Queen met with others. She shook her head in response: "I am no longer the Queen. You need not mind the formalities."


    Before the two could respond, an arrow pierced a leaf by the side and pierced the two of them in one go, spraying their hot blood out in an instant. The Queen had no idea what happened, but Ciara leapt over to cover her. The leaves rustled. Ciara aggressively swung her sword, shing with the de that came down from overhead.


    Lucilia dexterously kicked the tree trunk to spring away. Tone frigid, she brayed, "You daree back?! You''re scum that''s been exiled. How dare youe back to insult our forest!!"


    "You came quite fast; you just qualify as apdog." Ciara coldly snorted. She poised her sword forbat and coldly added, "Spare the drivel; if it''s a fight you want, bring it on. This was Her Majesty''s order. I will protect Her Majesty no matter what."


    "You''re now Travor''s asset, so I don''t n to kill you. He might get angry if I hurt you." Though she said that, Lucilia didn''t put her sword away. She vigntly monitored the three: "Out of respect for Travor, I''ll spare you. Now, get lost. If you dare to take one more step forward, I''ll kill all three of you."


    "Lucilia, we have no ns of returning to the elvennds," The Elven Queen suddenly said then faced in Lucilia''s direction. "We know that, if we wanted to contact you, then we had to return to the forest to meet you. We have news to pass on to you. Humanity, I met humanity''s Queen. They harbour ill-will toward elves; they will attack elves. We merely came to pass on that information to you. We''ll be heading back."


    "Yeah?"


    Lucilia looked at the Elven Queen then Ciara. The Queen was absolutely sincere, but Ciara had her sword poised, so it wasn''t exactly safe for Lucilia.


    The Elven Queen seemed to realise the fact: "Ciara, lower your sword. Lower it."


    Ciara furiously looked at Lucia, but she obeyed the Queen''smand and sheathed her sword. Lucilia wouldn''t attack an unarmed enemy. Once Ciara sheathed her sword, Lucilia also put her own away as per etiquette dictated.


    "I know that I can''t return home, but I can''t watch someone destroy my home." The Elven Queen struggled to her feet and suggested, "Ciara, let''s head back."


    Ciara looked reluctant to leave. s, there was nothing that she could do. Ciara didn''t have much of a chance of defeating Lucia. Further, when they left, the Queen said they weren''t trying to return home but merely delivering the news. They just needed to deliver the news that humanity wanted to attack the elves. The Elven Queen knew Queen Sisi would absolutely attack the elves. She didn''t want to see her homnd destroyed despite not being able to return home.


    Lucilia didn''tment. The Elven Queen headed back with Ciara''s support. They left again as when they were exiled from their homnd. This time, however, the Elven Queen didn''t turn back to look at her homnd once. Perhaps the Elven Queen no longer missed the forest.


    ========


    Current time inside the inn at the city¡­


    There was only one bed in the room. It was definitely because the owner believed that we were husband and wife that he arranged the one bed. I wasn''t that emotional. For instance, when Veirya woke up the next day and discovered a man next to her, on the floor or sofa, she wouldn''t be too touched. Actually, she''d carry me to the bed. That was why I furtively lied next to her. The bed was big enough to fit the two of us. I, however, was still nervous. I took up just a small corner. In fact, I didn''t dare to take the nket, so I just shivered in my corner.


    When I woke up, I found myself in Veirya''s tight embrace. Her breasts were stered to my face. I''d go so far as to say that my face was basically buried in them as Leah did with my head every night. The issue was that she was Veirya!!


    My brain instantly went nk when I discovered where I was. I was so nervous that I couldn''t utter a word. Veirya pressed her weight on me. The tip of my nose was right next to her breasts. I basically took in her mesmerising scent with every breath. The pink tip moved around right at the tip of my nose¡­


    I didn''t dare to utter a word or even breathe hard, as I was afraid I''d wake her. I couldn''t look up to check if she was awake or not, but she didn''t let go. Admittedly, I didn''t want to leave, either. I had no idea how long I stayed there for¡­ In any case, I think it was around noon when nature''s call became unbearable. I had to give Veirya a pat on her arm. I was surprised when she instantly released me. She looked at me with her expressionless look and remarked, "You wake. Veryte."


    "Aren''t you in the same boat?"


    "I woke up. Long ago."


    "Why didn''t you wake me, then?!"


    "Because. I thought you were sleeping."


    "¡­"


    "We were thinking the exact same thing, then¡­" I realised.

 Chapter Volume 4 59

    <em>Mission Complete</em>


    Owing to it being impossible to feel my left foot, it wasn''t easy to control it to urately get my foot into the stirrup. Dismounting was even tougher. I felt I needed a horse carriage, except they were too expensive. Hence, I just had to deal with the drag.


    Francis walked next to me; noticing how hard it was for me to mount a horse, he smiled: "Your foot appears to be hurting."


    He was a dwarf, but he nimbly mounted his horse. Furthermore, dwarves didn''t require stirrups. God forbid I knew how they managed to fix themselves on the horse. He came to us at noon and asked us toe to the bank to sort out the business between us.


    Veirya and I got ready to leave once we woke up. Francis brought me the contract. I examined the map to check the location they needed. The location was quite close to the dwarves but fairly far from our town. Furthermore, there appeared to be a vige there. Therefore, we most likely needed to speak with the vigers there if we wanted to sell thend and had to prepare money for them to buynd.


    I presumed putting together money to pay the vigers was simple enough. They probably never saw gold coins before; I estimated one hundred gold coins to be adequate. hus, I didn''t need to worry about them. Candy from a baby. There was nothing to fret about.


    Veirya followed behind us. From my side, Francis inquired, "Can I ask why you want to make a loan with coteral? What do you want to pawn?"


    "It''s ratherplex; it''s not for buying a house or something or rather, however."


    "Of course. By my estimations, you aren''t the type to go after little things. You''re different to the average businessman. You''re the type of businessman who wants to turn everything on its head."


    Smiling, I replied, "I''d say you''re wrong, then. My dream is to purchase a house in the imperial capital, and that''s all."


    "In that case, your methods will be incredibly extreme, won''t they? What exactly is it that you want this time? We dwarves heard you humans invented a steam engine or something that could provide infinite andrge amounts of power to propel the entire world. We''re very fascinated in such machines; after all, it''s rted to our mining activities. I would venture a guess that the loan you seek is somehow rted to those machines, right? With that said, taking a loan to invest is a little rash, wouldn''t you agree? If you take the loan and your investment falls through, would you be able to repay your debt?"


    I shook my head: "I never said anything about investing in it."


    Francis smiled: "We''re good friends already, so why do you need to hide things from us? We won''t fight you for the business; right now, we''re most focused on the mine. We don''t have the spare energy to be distracted with something else."


    That was quite the promation. To be frank, I genuinely didn''t consider us to be friends. Francis and I had only met twice by that point. I questioned if dwarves considered anyone who drank with them to be friends. I believed Veirya and Francis were good friends.


    "I''m not lying to you. I honestly don''t n to invest anything in that business. As you, yourself, said, if it falls through, I seriously can''t repay the loan. That''s why I won''t invest."


    Bewildered, Francis pressed me for answers: "What are you nning to do with a loan, then? Do you have any other business? We''re friends, so how about filling us in?"


    "Truth be told, it''s not big business or anything. Plus, I don''t necessarily need to take out a loan, either. I purely want to know more about loans. I can prepare for the future, after all. New things intrigue me."


    I had no intention of sharing my n with the dwarves. Last night, Francis did look as though he awfully missed the past. Even so, if there was something that could improve his life at the snap of a finger, he wouldn''t let the opportunity escape him. To add, I didn''t want others to know what I was nning, either. With that, Francis should''ve got the hint that I didn''t want to talk about my ns and shouldn''t press me any further.


    We finally reached the entrance to the bank. It was already afternoon, also known as peak hour at the bank. A clerk or something simr quickly ran over when he saw Francis. Judging from the individual''s reaction, Francis must''ve been a big customer for the bank. Thanks to Francis, the worker at the bank immediately served us. The worker was young. By my approximations, he was only around twenty. Nevertheless, his pale lips and eye bags made him look as if he was being worked to death. That went to show how much pressure workers were subjected to at the bank.


    The worker took out a parchment: "Did you say that you want to loan money? Approximately how much do you wish to loan? You can take out the loan if you have something of simr worth. Then, we will provide you with an interest rate dependent on your loan amount and the time frame. Should you not be able to repay the principal amount within three months of taking out the loan from the day you signed and the interest, we will confiscate what you pawned. If you wish to loan money, you just need to fill out this contract. We can provide you with cash and cheques that you can use to exchange for cash at any of our money depositories."


    "Oh, no, I just wanted to ask if I could pawn intangible items. For example, can I use the bonus that I annually receive from apany as coteral?"


    "That would depend on the status of thepany. We need to ensure that the bonus is enough to pay our interest and that you can repay the principal amount."


    No matter where you go, banks will always be willing to loan you things when you provide coteral. As long as they were willing to loan money, I''d definitely do my absolute best to satisfy them, for banks relied on the interest paid for loans to earn money. The principle applied especially forrger sums, as therger the loan, the bigger their profit. In addition, when there was no interest cap as we had, who could tell how high their interest rates would go?


    In any case, I didn''te for a loan. I just wanted to find out the answer to my query. Since I could use apany''s share as coteral to get a loan, I could also use the bank''s loan to buy more shares to loan more then rinse and repeat. I found out what I wanted.


    I meticulously studied the contract, especially the interest and the statute of limitation. Seriously, there were lots of overbearing and unreasonable articles and uses. But nheless, there were just as many ws. I saved the numbers to memory. They were the essence of the sheet.


    "What, you seriously just came for a look?!" asked Francis.


    Francis was astonished when he saw me calmly get up and leave. He didn''t believe that I really just wanted to satisfy my curiosity. He thought I had something to put into motion, but I really didn''t have ns to do anything. I didn''t bring my principal; I needed some time to get it first.


    "Yes." I nodded and extended out my hand with a smile: "We''ve aplished our mission for this time; we need to head back now. If you want to buy the block ofnd,e see me first. There are residents there; therefore, we may need to make an appearance and coordinate things."


    "Ah¡­ Sure¡­ Uhm¡­"


    l

 Chapter Volume 4 60

    <em>Stick Figure on the Moss</em>


    Francis wasn''t the only one who wasn''t quite convinced; even Veirya didn''t quite believe it. She looked at me with her head titled. Baffled, she asked, "Is it. Over?"


    I asked, "Basically. There''s no rush to head back, though. Let''s stay until tomorrow to return. How about we go for a spin here in the city?"


    Veirya gazed up at the sun in the sky. The sun had reached its peak. It was afternoon. In a while, night would fall. I doubt Veirya would get drunk again without Francis. There were still a few more hours in the afternoon, however. I didn''t n to waste those few hours. If we left then, we''d need to take a break after a short while; hence, I figured it''d be better to leave tomorrow. At the very least, we''d be able to leave while the sun was bright. I didn''t want to waste the time we had until our departure. I thought it''d be best if I could go for a stroll on the streets with Veirya.


    "All right." Veirya nodded. She then looked down at her clothes and tugged on them: "It''s getting hot. Buy. Leah. New clothes."


    "Leah isn''t with us. If we buy clothes without her being present, we might not buy the right size and need to adjust it. We bought her a setst time already. If we need to buy her another set, we''ll need to bring her here with us next time. Let''s buy you one first."


    "I. Don''t need it."


    Veirya shook her head. She appeared to lose interest in going out to a degree. She looked as if she wanted to head straight home or go back to the inn. I helplessly smiled: "We don''t need to worry about Leah so much, I think. Leah isn''t with us at the moment, so there''s no need to worry about what she wants to do. We It''s just the two of us now, just us two. Think about things you want to do with just the two of us. Have a good think; what exactly do you want to do, Veirya. What do you want to buy?"


    Veirya titled her head and pulled her eyebrows together. She earnestly contemted what she should do or wanted to buy most. Perhaps nobody ever asked her what she wanted most, which would exin why she needed to think when I asked.


    "I want. Clothes the same colour. As your eyes. Also. Last time. The ice-cream. We ate together. I want. The things. I had together with you." Veriya paused before continuing, "I have only. Experienced that. I. Don''t know. What else there is. I want to experience."


    Only then did I realise that I asked Veirya an extremely stupid question. She wasn''t a normal woman. She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to be a normal girl; however, in the past, she never experienced a normal life. She had no idea what a normal girl should do. She had no idea what a normal life was. She couldn''t think of what she could do. The world she recognised was what I illustrated.


    I took in a deep breath: "Let''s go, Veirya. Although there isn''t much to y with in this city, I can definitely let you experience some things that a normal girl would enjoy. I''ll take you for a stroll. I''ll take you to many ces in the future to show you the world."


    "Then. Let''s go."


    After nodding, Veirya walked beside me. I looked at her outstretched hand. Vierya didn''t look at me weirdly as she didst time. Instead, she took my hand without any hesitation. She raised our hands and carefully scanned them: "You''re not. As strong as me. But. Your hand. Is bigger than mine. By a bit."


    "Ah¡­" I reacted shyly.


    "I''ve never. Held anyone else''s hand. I don''t. Quite understand. Why we need to hold hands. But. I don''t think. Holding hands. Feels bad. I think. This feels warm."


    "Yeah¡­? I agree¡­ mm¡­"


    I didn''t know what to say, for I was nervous enough to barely be able to speak. As soon as I felt nervous, I began to utter nonsense. When I was excessively nervous, I couldn''t utter a word. I was good with negotiations, but I was nervous and speechless as a young boy when I was in front of Veirya.


    While the two of us nned to have a few hours of town in the city and let Veirya experience an enriched life, as I previously said, there wasn''t much entertainment on offer in the city. The chapel administrated the city for too long. Lots of people couldn''t change habits despite the shackles having been removed from the city. We went along the streets for a long time. We didn''t do anything besides order Veirya a new cape.


    After travelling for a long time, I started to worry, as it was impossible to provide Veirya with any entertainment. Fortunately, Veirya didn''t feel bored. I couldn''t think of anything to say, while she remained silent. Thus, the two of us silently explored the roads.


    We went along the streets. On both sides were blue bricks that disyed the marks time left behind. Some marks were man-made carvings. Veirya also told me that one of the long scratches on one of the bricks was her work. We went to the ce we previously went to. The owner of the food store looked at us with mixed emotions, while I gave him a smug grin. We went through a small alley where I almost had dirty water poured on me. Thankfully, Veirya pulled me out of the way in time. We went to the white chapel. The chapel in the imperial city had been destroyed, but the city was far from Queen Sisi''s rule. We could still hear a choir. Veirya unhappily fiddled with her short silver hair. Consequently, I quickly tried to bring her under control in case she lost it.


    Brown high boots and low ck boots apanied each other along the blue bricks that they once ran across and the street where blood was once spilt. We went around from the afternoon until the sun went down. What were originally bricks turned into ck shadows. The two of us travelled a long distance. Our sweat glued our hands together, but we didn''t want to let go. We didn''t buy ice-cream or flowers. In fact, there wasn''t even someone selling snacks. A bar wasn''t exactly a ce for us to rx.


    I failed. I wanted to let Veirya experience a different life. In the end, we just turned corners and then turned more corners, sadly.


    "Sorry, Veirya, it seems the city doesn''t offer any entertainment."


    I hopelessly leaned on the brick wall by the side. I coincidentally touched moss. I looked at Veirya with a tinge of fear and let go of her hand. I then drew a stick figure on the moss.


    "It''s fine." Veirya shook her head: "I''m. Already very happy. With this afternoon."


    "Yeah?"


    I turned around feeling surprised. Veirya''s face suddenly came right up to mine. I fearfully averted my gaze. She was putting my heart in a precarious predicament¡­ I awkwardly touched my neck then turned my head: "Let''s had back, then. It''s better to go back¡­ Erm¡­ erm¡­ there''s¡­ nothing interesting here."


    "Wait."


    Veirya leaned over to the wall and drew a small stick figure next to the one I drew. She looked at the stick figure''s round face. She hesitated for a moment and then gently added a smile¡­


    l

 Chapter Volume 4 61

    <em>Attached Subus</em>


    The field military didn''t have an exact location for their main camp during wars because the officers would go wherever the frontlines were. Wars were the quickest way for young officers to be promoted, which was why they advanced until they were triumphant. However, during times of peace, the field military, which mainly consisted of descendants of noble military families in the North, would gather at Belfer City.


    Belfer City was named after a war hero and humanity''s first capital. The city was the root of humanity and the Northern noble military families. Humanity''s imperial family had left the city. Despite their departure, the military still stayed at humanity''s military''s location where blood was shed and glory was attained - or lost. Belfer City was also Veirya''s home.


    A young man walked to the huge house at the heart of the city and then went down the stairs. The city, which was no different to a military camp, housed nothing but soldiers. Further, they didn''t ept new people unless they thoroughly knew them. That was why it was the safest and most secretive ce for the young man. Not even Queen Sisi''s eyes and ears could reach the ce. In saying that, it seemed she never nned to nt spies there, as there was no precedence of nobles in the North rebelling. They viewed loyalty as honour and glory.


    The young man went to the dungeon and lit up a candle that was situated on a pir. The soldiers above understood what the me meant. So ordingly, they shut the door to the dungeon. The dark and cold air in the dungeon instantly gushed forth. There were several heavy pirs in the dungeon. Between them was a long table. People were seated on either side. Everyone had their faces covered under their ck hoods. The young man also wore his hood on, thereby hiding his face in darkness. He joined them at the table.


    The young man looked at the people on both sides. Neither side spoke. He cleared his throat and rose: "Everyone, God and our fathers are watching from above. We must take responsibility for what we will do. What we are doing is not despicable insurrection, but a measure to ensure the long-standing survival and prosperity of this empire. A monarch who leads their empire to destruction is not qualified to be a monarch. Our loyalty is reserved for a monarch who will fight for the empire. Not one who leads their own empire to destruction. We cannot serve her; we will only be people that the masses will give up on if we do. Thus, my purpose in calling all of you here is to have you support me with something. I, therefore, hope that you can support me by not sending reinforcements when the current Queen is defeated. Instead, I want to ask you to help me crown Lord Veirya."


    A man asked, "Lord Veirya? Is she a suitable candidate for the throne?"


    The man with the query ignored the first part because the people sitting at the table were there with the decision to overthrow Queen Sisi already. Consequently, they didn''te to discuss whether or not to overthrow Queen Sisi but what to do after overthrowing her.


    Everyone in the army was wise. Overthrowing Queen Sisi was simple. The challenge was how to ensure the empire continued to survive after her abdication. It was a simple matter to destroy, but to create an empire would require millenniums if not centuries. Their goal was to save the empire; to that end, they needed to ensure the empire would not copse as a consequence of Queen Sisi''s removal.


    The soldiers knew theycked what it took to run a nation. Furthermore, the people wouldn''t ept a traitor as a ruler. Queen Sisi subdued the demon race and led the empire to the apex. The people still fervently supported her. Subsequently, it would take someone the people would acknowledge to rece Queen Sisi. Essentially, they needed a hero the people trusted.


    Veirya was the hero who personally slew the Demon King. Lots of soldiers considered her the messiah of the world. The legends imed she had the ability to singlehandedly take on a hundred men. Hence, if Veirya was crowned, nobody would question her. Wealth and honour should belong to a hero. Those were what motivated more people to be a hero. Nobody would question Veirya as a monarch. As a matter of fact, the people would be d to have their hero rece a fool the elves demolished. Veirya, therefore, was a qualified candidate for the helm. The issue was that nobody knew if she had the brains to run a nation.


    The young man nodded: "Worry not. Lord Veirya may not be interested in politics, but her attendant is a brilliant man. From a ce that nobody could imagine, he dismantled the chapel''s scheme to recreate a new Demon King. He discerned there were no weapons and protected those he wanted to protect from Her Majesty. Moreover, he, too, holds the opinion that we should not attack the elves this time, which goes to show he is astute. Furthermore, he, like us, is loyal to Lord Veirya. Given those points, he is absolutely willing to go through hell for Lord Veirya."


    "The thing is, have we considered Lord Veirya''s opinion on the matter? You could go as far as to say that she is Her Majesty''s personal bodyguard. She''s incredibly loyal to Her Majesty. She''d interpret our revolt as a form of betrayal; do you think she would peacefully sit down and talk it over with us and then ascend the throne?"


    The young man exined, "Lord Veirya refused to participate in the attack on the elves. Her Majesty is unaware, but we are aware. Lord Veirya isn''t pregnant. She showed no signs of pregnancy when she wasst in the imperial capital. There is definitely something fishy about her sudden pregnancy. It proves Lord Veirya also doesn''t want to fight the elves and used her pregnancy to avoid taking part in the war. Now that we look at it, Her Majesty is just one individual. Everyone with a functioning brain knows the uing war will inevitably fail. Her Majesty is the only one who insists on fighting. That, therefore, is why we are going with the flow of history. What we''re going to do will definitely seed; you need not question that."


    "It sounds as though you''ve thoroughly investigated everything. With that said, it''s best to confirm Lord Veirya''s stance on the matter first. All you know is that Lord Veirya doesn''t want to spill elven blood, but we don''t know if she is willing to be Queen or not."


    The young man nodded: "I will check with her. The garrison soldiers are currently assembling; by my predictions, they should be preparing for the elves very soon. Her Majesty is serious this time. She won''t let us go. Let''s get ready, shall we? Should Her Majesty sessfully conquer the elves, we will admit we were wrong and willingly obey Her Majesty. To the contrary, should she fail, the reigning Queen has no reason to continue to exist."


    "Uhm."


    Everyone reached a consensus. The group of generals sitting at the table knew how to protect their empire as officers. Queen Sisi always wanted to fuse herself with her nation, thereby creating a situation where being loyal to the nation meant being loyal to her. The generals from the previous generation understood that the nation and Queen Sisi were two separate entities. Monarchs came and went, but thend remained silent. Soldiers spilt blood, which was also what soldiers loved most, on every inchnd in the nation. The generals called themselves patriots. Not The Monarch Protection Party. Of course, those names didn''t include the garrison soldiers, for the field military didn''t consider the garrison soldiers to be part of them and vice versa.


    There would nevere a day where the Queen''s left and right wings worked together. All she could do was ensure a temporary peace. s, the peace equilibrium could no longer be bnced.


    ========


    Current time in the North.


    "When is Papa going to be back?"


    Leah stabbed her fork into her fish over and over while supporting her chin in her hand and whinging. Angelina nced over. Leah was gloomy recently, and she wasn''t very well physically. Leah''s physical condition seemed to be connected Lin Dongqing; she seemingly needed to be with her father, or her physical condition would deteriorate.


    Angelina also noticed that Leah''s appetite had taken a big dip after he left for just three days. Leah looked ill. Her father seemed to be a spiritual pir of support for her and even more so a physical pir. Leah was literally withering day by day after being separated from her father. Apparently, leaving Leah behind was a mistake.


    "Don''t worry. There''s no way your father and Veirya can do anything while they''re away. Given Veirya''s wits, do you think anything would happen? Don''t worry. Come on, eat up to stay healthy. Your father will get mad at us if hees back and sees you looking this bad."


    Angelina rubbed Leah''s head. Leah silently looked down and cut her fish. Anna came downstairs and gently sighed: "I never expected the three elves to choose toe back. They didn''t answer when I asked them where they went. I''m honestly curious. But nheless, it''s quite nice that they''re here."


    Angelina looked at Leah and smiled: "She''s begun teaching Leah the elvennguage after all. Leah, how much have you learnt?"


    Leah sighed. She hopelessly replied: "Leah¡­ Leah has only learnt ten numbers and the elves'' characters. Their words areprised of four of characters¡­ Leah¡­ Leah has not fully grasped it yet¡­"


    "There''s no rush, Leah; you''re already learning very quickly. We can speak with elves, but we don''t know how to read their text. It''ll benefit you if you canprehend their culture. You also need to learn humanity''s text, though. Don''t let the elf teach you nothing but elven stuff. Make time to learn humanity''s stuff, as well."


    Leah nodded and then ced down her fork: "Sister Angelina¡­ I''m feeling slightly sleepy¡­"


    "Okay. Anna."


    Anna nodded after receiving Angelina''s signal and led Leah upstairs. Angelina continued sitting at the table with a nk look. She noticed that Leah practically didn''t even have a bite of her fish. Strictly speaking, she ate just a tiny bit, but that was it.


    Angelina entered deep thought: "Leah was still fine the first day after he left, but her mood continued to worsen ever since. Leah is a subus; I''m aware of that. Why do subi react that way, though? Must subi rely on a man? Wait, don''t tell me¡­ he''s¡­ her food?!"

 Chapter Volume 4 62

    <em>Starving Subus</em>


    "Hmm?"


    Angelina sat up from her bed and swiped her sword by her bed toward her as she rose. She was no longer a knight. Still, having lived with a highly vignt lifestyle, she still maintained her heightened senses during her sleep. She heard footsteps in the corridor. Worth noting was they were footsteps she was unfamiliar with. It waste at night; the three elves should be asleep; Anna lived downstairs, so she wouldn''te up. The footsteps didn''t belong to Leah. The footsteps belonged to a mature woman, and the owner deliberately tried to stifle the sound they made.


    This is suspicious. If it was my daughter or son-inw, they wouldn''t need to be sneaky. Plus, I don''t hear footsteps belonging to a man. Whoever it might be is suspicious. Is it a thief?" wondered Angelina.


    Angelina carefully went to her door and slowly drew her sword one inch, using her finger as a stopper. She readied herself to draw her de at any given moment. She listened in; the footsteps were audible every now and then. Perhaps the individual was walking then stopping.


    "Are they searching for their target? There are lots of rooms upstairs," questioned Angelina.


    Angelina didn''t get hasty. She noticed the individual gradually approaching her. The individual would definitely stop at the front of their door. All she had to do was open the door and subdue them.


    Angelina thought, "It must be a thief. That''s what I call having guts. The thief probably doesn''t know that the two strongest beings in the world reside here. Well, one of them is off on a date, but I''m right here."


    The woman stopped at the front of the door. Angelina swung her door open. Before she could draw her sword, however, the woman outside leapt over and tightly hugged her. The woman''s body wasn''trge or tough, but her explosive strength was enough to press Angelina onto her bed. Angelina never expected she was targeted before she opened her door.


    "This woman might''ve been waiting for someone to open the door," assumed Angelina. She then eximed, "You!!"


    Angelina suddenly had her face licked. She instinctively resisted, but to her surprise, her body felt numb and weak, rendering her defenceless. She gripped her sword in her right hand but was powerless to slide it down. The woman exuded a strange fragrance. In that instant, Angelina realised that she must''ve been poisoned.


    "I was careless!" Angelina cursed to herself. She didn''t expect there to be someone who''d apply poison to themselves. She wondered, "Won''t she get poisoned, as well? Could she be a demon, and not a human?! What sort of demon is she? I''ve never seen this type of demon before."


    Angelina tried to break free, but the woman was too strong for her. Angelina couldn''t escape. Nevertheless, the woman didn''t do anything to Angelina. Instead, she sped Angelina''s face and kissed her.


    Angelina''s body violently convulsed. In the next instant, Angelina''s body swiftly began to change; she felt her body gradually burning, her skin turning red, and a hot liquid pouring onto her bed sheets. Meanwhile, a liquid was also smudged with a liquid.


    "I¡­ I want¡­"


    Angelina murmured with a hazy gaze. She couldn''t rest the urge to reach out. She gently panted and looked at the woman before her through her hazy eyes. She touched the woman''s face. The woman lowered her head and bit Angelina''s sleepwear simrly to when Veirya went for her still impressive mountains, biting, sucking, tugging and teasing. Angelina tightly clenched her teeth. She rubbed her legs against each other. She felt as if her body was aze. She wanted to y with her body; anyone would do. She was fine with anything as long as she could avoid the pain.


    Angelina was no longer a breastfeeding mother, yet she suddenly had an infinite amount. She didn''t know what happened to her body. Howbeit, she recognised the sensation. The extreme ecstasy and arousal were sensations she was familiar with. She was once hooked on that desire, but she never experienced it after her husband left her.


    The woman on top of Angelina lowered her body and bit Angelina as if she was a vacuum cleaner. Angelina shuddered; she couldn''t hold back her loud moan and convulsing. The intense ecstasy wiped her mind nk; she almost even forgot to breathe. Her attacker was definitely not human. A human''s tongue wouldn''t feel as if it had so many miniature hands that could tease every inch of her nerves. Angelina almost passed out fromck of oxygen due to the endless arousal. Her body went limp after every muscle in her body intensely contracted. She sat on the ground with a lifeless gaze while allowing herself to squirt and other fluids to be expulsed as if she was dead.


    "This isn''t enough¡­"


    Leah gently licked her lips, but her red eyescked the life they once had. To the contrary, they were as empty as Angelina''s eyes were. Leah was in her adult form, but she felt something ck akin to wings along her back. She listlessly looked at Angelina, who looked empty and repeated the phrase again, "This isn''t enough. This isn''t enough."


    Subi required food, but the food had to be a man. Women would suffice. Sadly, it wasn''t enough for a subus who had just awoken. The craving wasn''t for herself. A man a subus loved was her food. In exchange, she granted him her beauty and love. Regardless of what the case was, a man''s liquids would do. Subi needed it tobat their hunger. Once a subus was hungry, she might ambush human men and drain thempletely.


    Leah slowly left the room. The first rays of sunlight had begun to shine in the sky. Leah weakly dropped to her knees. She was at her limit. If her father still didn''te back, nobody could say for certain what would happen to her.


    "It''s her fault¡­" Leah weakly sprawled out on the floor. All that she could hear was that voice in her mind saying, "I''m feeling so miserable. Meanwhile, that woman might be holding my papa and enjoying herself¡­ He''s my Papa¡­ He belongs to only me¡­ He should only be my papa¡­ He''s my food¡­ I don''t want to share him¡­ It''s¡­ it''s¡­ it''s her fault! It''s all her fault!''

 Chapter Volume 4 63

    <em>His Daughter is His Wife¡¯s Formidable Nemesis</em>


    "Leah! Leah!"


    Anna anxiously sat down next to Leah. She grabbed a tight hold of Leah''s hand. Leah weakly lied on her bed and tightly bit down on her lip. She looked as though she was in immense pain. Anna had no clue what happened. Leah looked ill when she turned inst night, but she didn''t look as though she was in such excruciating pain. Upon checking in on her, Anna found Leah squirming as if she was going to pass out.


    Angelina sat down and checked on Leah. Angelina passed out due tock of oxygen from being too arousedst night, but she still had her memory intact. There was no way a human would do that at night, and elves didn''t get aroused. The only possible culprit left was Leah, who happened to be a subus. Angelina couldn''t determine if Leah assaulted her, but she also didn''t know if she should tell her daughter. On top of all that, she didn''t know what to do about Leah''s current condition. The worst part was that she couldn''t take Leah to a doctor, for Leah was a subus. Not a human. Humans couldn''t treat Leah.


    Anna worriedly eximed, "We need to quickly take Leah to a doctor. If we leave her in this state, something might happen to her!"


    Angelina didn''t respond. She gently touched Leah''s trembling arm and finally replied in a soft voice, "Anna, we can''t go. Human doctors can''t help Leah. Leah is a subus, not a human."


    "A-A-re we just going to just watch Leah suffer, then?! C-Can''t we do anything? Elves¡­ the elves¡­ the elves are skilled with medical practices, so they must have a way!"


    Anna was genuinely worried. After what happenedst time, she felt apologetic and guilty. She was also fond of the young girl. Her heart genuinely ached when she saw Leah in so much pain. If she could, she''d shoulder Leah''s pain for her in a heartbeat instead of letting Leah suffer so miserably.


    "The three elves aren''t Lucilia. By the time they call Lucilia over, who knows what would''ve happened. Moreover, I don''t think elves have a wealth of information rted demons¡­"


    Angelina stood up. She pinched her chin, for she had no direction, either. She had a faint feeling that Leah''s condition was due to Lin Dongqing having left for too long. Angelina pondered, "Leah should be fine if hees back. Where in the world is he right now, though?! What do we do if he decides to spend some time holidaying with Veirya after he finishes work? Do we need to go and find the two? Where in the world would we search, though? The city is massive. It would take a day to get there if nothing else. Nobody can say for sure what condition Leah will be in by then."


    "Papa¡­ Papa¡­ Leah¡­ Leah wants Papa¡­"


    Leah''s sobs reached Anna. She looked at Anna as her tears coursed down her face. Heartbroken, Anna bit down on her lip and revealed an expression that looked worse than crying. She shakily responded, "It''s okay, Leah. Your papa will be back soon. He''ll be back today, Leah. Don''t be scared."


    "Papa¡­ Papa¡­" Leah began to cry.


    Angelina froze for a moment beforeing up with an idea. She went to the cupboard and went through it. There weren''t a lot of clothes inside. She found a familiar piece of clothing. It was clothing soldiers wore in winter. By the looks of it, the owner must''ve cherished the clothes, as the clothes were carefully folded and ced. Lin Dongqing hadn''t worn it since the weather began to warm up. Nheless, Angelina didn''t recall Anna washing it before.


    Angelina took out the piece of clothing and handed it to Anna: "Cover Leah with this."


    Anna dallied because she didn''t know what function it served. Anyhow, due to Angelina''s absolutely serious demeanour, she covered Leah with the piece in the end. The shirt was the one Veirya, personally, adjusted for Lin Dongqing before Anna came into their lives.


    Leah grabbed the shirt and held it up to her face. Leah instantly began to go a little crazy. She tightly gripped the shirt and tugged it, sniffed it, licked it and even ripped it with her teeth. She looked as though she wanted to eat it. Her behaviour startled Anna.


    "Papa¡­ Papa¡­ Papa¡­ Papa¡­ Papa¡­ Papa¡­"


    Leah seemed to mumble instinctively. All she made out was a single simple word. She tightly gripped the shirt and bit it. The shirt was sodden in her saliva. Anna wasn''t sure if she should take the shirt from Leah or not, but, as soon as her hand touched it, Leah shrieked as if she lost her mind and starting swinging her arms and legs in a frenzy.


    "What¡­ what¡­" stammered Anna, backing off frantically and looked to Angelina.


    Angelina gave her a small nod: "Leah is a subus. She probably cares about her father; that''s his shirt. Her father''s scent should still linger on it. He''s not back yet, so I hope this can ease her misery little. By the way, has he worn anything else?"


    "No¡­ I''ve washed everything¡­ Additionally¡­ Sir Lin basically doesn''t have any smell on him¡­ That shirt was worn long ago, so I would presume that his scent is no longer on it¡­"


    Angelina softly sighed: "That''s true for us, but Leah is a subus. She needs him. It''s not just because he protects her, but also because she sees him as her food now if I''m correct. He needs to always be with her. Leah will be awfully unstable without him. Who knows what she''ll do¡­? Unfortunately, he definitely won''t try toy his hands on his daughter. He''spletely devoted to my daughter, and Veirya likes him, too. If they continue to progress, get married and have a child, I wonder what will happen to Leah¡­"


    "W-Would Leah not let them get married¡­? Sir Lin and Lord Veirya are in love with each other. If they can''t get married due to Leah, it would be such a pity¡­ Leah will grow up sooner orter."


    "What''s most frightening is when Leah grows up andprehends what love is. If Leah considers her feelings to be romantic love, what will Veirya do? In the past, I never thought about what was most frightening in their rtionship, but I finally know now. Leah, who brought them two together, is the most frightening individual in their rtionship. If this is how Leah acts now, I don''t even dare to imagine what would happen in the future¡­ How is he going to choose between Veirya and Leah¡­?"

 Chapter Volume 4 64

    <em>I Want Them Both</em>


    The town we resided at was about half-a-day away from the city. As we didn''t need to rush, we didn''t choose to travel through the night. Veirya seemed a lot more anxious to return than I did, however. I spected she missed Leah.


    Honestly, I could only allow us to kick back for half a day, as I wanted to go home to see Leah, as well. I even bought her a huge ham, which Francis rmended. The ham wasn''t made from salt, but honey. The price was ridiculously exorbitant. It cost one gold coin for one chunk of ham. The chunk was big enough tost our entire family for one day. I figured Leah would really like it.


    We finally saw the outer perimeter of the small town at noon. The crops outside of the town had grown. The crops in the fields were alive, so we were unlikely to face a famine in theing year. The war had ended; the weak North wasn''t going to be able to withstand a second war. If it did suffer another one, I''d have to surrender if I needed to procure food. If I conned the military for their army provisions again, Queen Sisi would probably arrest me and have me brought to the Imperial Capital for a public execution.


    "Lord Veirya. Sir Lin." The farmers in the fields on both sides saw us, so they stopped working and saluted us.


    I gave the farmers a smile and let them know they didn''t need to mind us. Veirya was expressionless as always, appearing as if she didn''t care. Nevertheless, I noticed that she cared about the people''s gazes on both sides. She started to fit the title of a lord more despite being Veirya. She finally understood that the people were her assets. It was a good thing for someone to learn to take care of their assets.


    Mm, the main door was still there. The lord''s property wasn''t on fire and there were no subi pinned to the city walls. That meant that nothing happened in the town. That was great. All I asked was that it was safe and in one piece. That also meant Leah was fine.


    The two of us rode to the door. Veirya dismounted and then walked up to me. Before I could react, she pulled my crippled left foot out of the stirrups for me.


    "Now. It''s easier, right?"


    Veirya then turned and headed to the residence as if nothing happened, leaving me feeling slightly awkward. My heart suddenly began to race and couldn''t calm down, while she was nonchnt. Admittedly, though, it was a lot easier for me. It was tedious for me to dismount every time, otherwise.


    After dismounting, I carried the ham on my back as if I was carrying New Year gifts home. I held my cane with my left hand and entered the main hall. Speaking of the main hall, it wasn''t used for anything. I intended to renovate it and see if I could turn it into a useful room of some sort. I didn''t think I''d ask everyone to assemble there.


    We entered the corridor, where I took a look at the fountain. Anna turned it on during the day for a short while and then again at noon. Usually, we didn''t turn it on because I didn''t want to destroy the flowers with too much water. The flowers had begun to grow; from the looks of it, we should have bright flowers in bloom in summer that year, which would fulfil one of my promises to Leah.


    Veirya pushed the door open. I had a look inside. I saw Veirya lower her head with her hands behind her back at the door, so I smiled. Leah must''ve sensed using and stood at the door to wee us. I chuckled: "Leah, we''re back. Were you a good girl at home?"


    "¡­"


    Leah didn''t answer. Instead, she looked at Veirya and walked over. Veirya was confused. Her expression showed her dilemma. Her hand on her sword shook a little. I didn''t understand why Veirya wanted to draw her sword when it was just Leah.


    Leah approached Veirya with light steps. I thought she was going to hug Veirya, but my heart literally jumped out of my chest the next instant. Leah pulled out a meat cleaver from behind her and thrust it at Veirya. I nearly passed out from fright. Fortunately, Veirya reacted extremely fast, catching the cleaver, thereby stopping it right in front of her stomach. The knife trembled just centimetres away from Veirya''s belly. Leah looked up at Veirya with a pair of listless eyes. She then tightened her grip on the handle to try and stab it into Veirya. Leah gnashed her teeth as she belted, "Die, bitch!"


    Veirya gripped the de, making it impossible for Leah to thrust it forward a single inch regardless of her efforts. Veirya''s hand didn''t bleed; she calmly watched Leah without moving.


    I quickly pressed a hand on Leah''s hands and shouted at her, "What''s the matter, Leah?! What''s wrong?!! Why are you attacking your mom?!!!"


    "Papa!!"


    Leah immediately released her grip when she saw me. She jumped up and tightly hugged me. Her voice was somewhat shaky. Angelina and Anna finally came racing downstairs in states of shock: "Leah, what did you do?! Didn''t we tell you not to run around when we were taking care of the Queen?!"


    Seeing the de in Veirya''s hand totally freaked Angelina out. Veirya nimbly spun the knife and then set it down aside. She calmly said, "Just. Exin to me the reason first."


    Veirya had done her absolute best to hold back. If she was her past self, she''d likely have decapitated Leah by then. I patted Leah and went to put her down. To my shock, however, Leah had passed out on my shoulder.


    "Leah!! Leah!!" I quickly hugged Leah. Her body was weak and immobile. Frantic, I asked Angelina, "Is Leah sick?!"


    Angelina nodded: "Mm¡­ I guess¡­ She''s been sick recently. She''s been spacing out a bit. Hurry and see how Leah is. She''s a child; she definitely did that due to her illness. Leah''s not in the right frame of mind at the moment. We can''t help."


    "Let''s head up first."


    I turned my head to look at Veirya, and she nodded: "I see. It can''t be helped, then. How is. Leah? Do we need to call a doctor?"


    "Leah is a subus, so I doubt humans would be able to help. Come up with me first. Veirya, find a ce that sells some stuff."


    Angelina tugged my arm and then handed Veirya a sheet of paper. Veirya nodded after she took a look: "Understood."


    I nervously rocked Leah as I carried her and followed Angelina upstairs. I ced Leah on the bed. I didn''t have time to go and greet the elves because I needed to ensure my daughter''s safety first and foremost.


    I only left for a few days; how did Leah fall sick? Additionally, what were we to do when a subus fell ill? I had no idea where to take them for a medical check. The only hope was the subus in the imperial capital.


    I began to panic in my mind: "What do I do when the subi aren''t over here? It would take three full days if I rode non-stop to reach the Imperial Capital. There''s no way I''ll make it. What do I do?"


    "Calm down first." Once inside, Angelina mmed the door shut. She continued, "Don''t panic. Leah is fine right now; she''s a subus. She may have not yet fully awoken, yet, but she still needs you. Not only are you her father, but also her food. Without you, Leah will fall sick."


    I was astonished with what I heard. I turned back to Leah and stuttered, "S-So you mean that I-I have to be with Leah? D-Doesn''t that mean that she''ll recover as long as I''m by her side?"


    Angelina nodded: "Essentially. Next time, it''s best if you don''t leave Leah behind. After you left, her mental state started to be abnormal and lots of things happen with her at night. I think that it''s for the best if you keep Leah with you at all times."


    I nodded: "Uhm."


    I hugged Leah and rested her head on my thigh. Gaze on me, Angelina sighed: "Leah''s situation is quite simple; however, have you ever considered the consequences? You like Veirya, don''t you? If you want to be with Veirya, I think you need to consider Leah''s ce. You have to consider her in the future anyway, don''t you? Leah will be with you two, but after you''re married, you''ll have your own life. Leah will advance to the next stage. If she needs you more, what are you and Veirya going to do? Who will Leah be to you two?"


    I didn''t reply.


    "What can you do? What will you do? Are you going to give up Veirya for Leah? What exactly will you all do? The problem you''re currently facing is that you like Veirya, and still have Leah. How will you choose? Leah is a subus, and nothing will change that. She''s not human; she''s a s-."


    "She''s not human," I said in agreement, nodding. "But she''s my daughter."


    "So, what are you going to do? You''re Leah''s father, but I''m Veirya''s mother. I can''t watch my daughter have her happiness stolen. You have to take responsibility for my daughter. You can have your own daughter, and Leah can have her own life. Are you going give up on Veirya?"


    Angelina started to frustrate me. Stoically, I dered, "I''ve never once thought of giving up on any of them. I want them both."

 Chapter Volume 4 65

    <em>Protecting Family</em>


    Leah had yet to wake, but I figured that she''d be fine at this state. Angelina was probably correct. The subus in the capital did say that subi are very wary of those around them being touched by others. My instincts told me that the information the subi gave me was applicable to Leah''s condition. Judging from Leah''s reaction, subi, unquestionably, needed their man to always be with them. I left Leah for a little too long. As a consequence, Leah fell into her fuzzy state. She would be fine once I slept with her at night.


    Angelina sat aside in silence with her arms folded. I understood where Angelina wasing from, since she was Veirya''s mother. She was bound to choose Veirya over Leah if she had to choose between the two of them. She made the same decision before. If someone and Leah were drowning simultaneously, I''d definitely choose to rescue Leah first. It was totally normal.


    "If Leah tried to stab Veirya this time, no one knows what she''ll try in the future. If Veirya and I do discuss marriage at some point - which I genuinely hope will happen - then what happens with Leah? If Leah cries and protests, what do we do? Do I just have Veirya raise a subus without an official title for herself?" I pondered.


    Just because I could understand Angelina''s stance, it didn''t mean that I concurred with her. Children choose; an adult takes it all. Leah and Veirya were both my treasured family members. I couldn''t possibly sacrifice one for the other. I loved Veirya, and I cherished Leah.


    I prepared to head downstairs. As soon as I opened the door, I saw Veirya. She was startled when she saw me. She carried a tray in her hand. Before I said anything, she asked, "How is. Leah?"


    "She should be all right; she''s fine. She should be all right after some rest."


    Veirya handed me the tray: "Good, then. This. For you to eat."


    I took the tray, while Veirya squeezed through. She looked at Leah, who was in bed, and carefully touched Leah''s face. She was expressionless, but I could sense she cared for Leah. I went up to her: "I''m so sorry, Veirya¡­"


    "Why?" Puzzled, Veirya turned around to look at me. She seemed confused as to why I apologised.


    I looked at her and then Leah: "Because Leah nearly hurt you. I didn''t think that would happen; sorry."


    "It''s fine." Veirya shook her head then went on, "It''s not. Leah''s fault. Leah is. Just sick."


    "I''m just worried that Leah will continue to be sick often," expressed Angelina. She came up from behind Veirya and patted her shoulder: "Veirya, what will you do if Leah continues to attack you with a knife? What if, one day, Leah genuinely wants to kill you? If that actually happens, what will you do?"


    "Angelina!" I yelled.


    Angelina pped me across the face, almost knocking my lights out. She pinched my face to stop me from interjecting. She turned her attention to Veirya. Veirya looked back at her mother and calmly responded, "Leah can''t hurt me."


    "What about in the future? Tell me again what we''re doing nowadays. We''re teaching Leahbat skills. Leah is very smart. You and I both know she''s a very fast learner. She might not be able to hurt you now, but what about in the future? Are you confident enough to protect yourself from her in the future?! Leah is a subus! She needs this man. What will you do when you two need each other?! Leah wants to kill you now, so what about in the future?! Can you still protect yourself?! Did you forget that you killed her father?! What are you going to do when she wants to seek revenge?!"


    "I can. Protect myself," argued Veirya, with a nod. She grouched, "This is. Our business. Leah. Is our daughter. I''m sure. She won''t do that."


    Angelina steeled her heart and thundered, "You''re being too simple minded!! You''re a warrior when you wield your sword, but you have the brain of a child!"


    Angelina shoved me aside then turned around and left, loudly mming the door behind her. I rubbed my face and sat up from the bed. Veirya concerned me. She lowered her head and didn''t speak. After a short silence, she looked up at me and solemnly said, "Leah. Won''t do that."


    While that sounded as if it was a statement, I felt as though Veirya asked me a question. Perhaps Veirya wanted my confirmation to ease herself. s, I wasn''t confident, either.


    Angelina wasn''t necessarily wrong. Who could say for certain what Leah would do? She was still just a child, yet she tried to stab Veirya. If she already went that far as a child, what would she do in the future?'' Sophia said that subi wouldn''t let others touch their property. Nothing changed the fact that Leah is a subus. It was most likely Leah''s nature.


    "Are you worried?" I asked.


    I said that I wanted both of them, but I had to consider Veirya''s opinion. If she didn''t want Leah, I had to convince her to ept Leah. As a matter of fact, Veirya might not ept Leah and force me to abandon Leah.


    If both Angelina and Veirya didn''t want Leah, I was getting the boot. As a consequence, I would only have one feasible route; I would have to go and seek out Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi wouldn''t care if there was a subus with her. That was not to mention there was also a group of subi in the imperial capital who could take care of Leah. I didn''t want go to her, but if it came down to it, I had to go to her for Leah''s sake.


    Veirya shook her head: "I''m . Not worried. I. Like Leah very much. She''s a. A cute girl. She won''t. Do that."


    "I won''t let her do it, either. Veirya, I''ll protect both of you."


    Veirya nodded back: "Uhm."


    Veirya then caressed Leah''s face before turning around and leaving. She was expressionless as usual. I, therefore, couldn''t read her mind. But nheless, every word she said was convincing and reassuring. Though Veirya and I hadn''t been acquainted for long, we trusted each other. People could say whatever they wanted, and Veirya would never betray us.


    I sat next to Leah and gently caressed her face. I knew about everything that could potentially happen in the future. In spite of that, as her father, my goal was to protect her and Veirya; not run away.

 Chapter Volume 4 66

    <em>A Destructive Night</em>


    Leah transformed into her adult form at night just as I suspected. Once she transformed, she squashed me. I was mentally prepared. It was all due to Leah''s subus nature. I needed to help her recover. Based on the personality of subi, it was bound to happen at night, as I was Leah''s food. I knew that it wasn''t Leah''s nature to violently attack Veirya, but she was a subus; that was an undeniable fact.


    I felt humans'' view of subi was wrong. Subi weren''t a race that was fond of men; they were just more susceptible to falling in love with a man. As for Leah, she was frightening once she fell in love. Leah needed me; she needed to carve me into her mind. Though she needed her smell and taste to advance, Leah didn''t know what to do, so she clung to me simrly to a daughter who had been separated from her father. That was enough for her.


    That was fantastic. I never considered Leah''s awakening to be a good thing. Angelina and Veirya didn''t harm Leah, either. Actually, Veirya wouldn''t harm Leah. After all, she was out of the loop.


    I questioned, "What does Leah consider me? What''s her description of a father? What''s a father and a human father considered from a subus'' viewpoint? Does Leah consider me her father or love? If I''m her lover, what will happen with Leah and Veirya? Leah can''t leave me."


    Leah attacked Veirya today. While she failed to hurt Veirya, it proved that Leah didn''t view Veirya as her mother.


    I didn''t understand subi and neither did Veirya. We considered Leah a human. If Leah didn''t transform, have lots of tentacles appear on her body and have red eyes, I wouldn''t remember Leah was a subus.


    I finally realised the extent Leah needed me. Leah gently hugged me with the tentacles. She wore a smile of excitement for her sumptuous meal. I was her food. She needed all of me. If I resisted or tried anything, she''d probably rip me up. However, when I looked at Leah in her current state, I neither feared her nor felt infatuated with her. To the contrary, I was more alert and sober. I looked at Leah, who tightly hugged me and acted coquettish on my chest, but I didn''t harbour lustful thoughts. Angelina''s reminders kept on reying in my mind.


    I told Angelina everything I had to say, but what sounded so simple was actually incredibly difficult to aplish. The oath made during a wedding will forever be sincere and beautiful. How many people can stick it out to the end?


    "What do I need to do? What do I need to do to teach Leah to understand how a human family really works? How can I live a blissful life with Veirya, have a child, have a family and not have anyone ruin or threaten it? If Leah always needs me and can''t ept Veirya, what do I do?" I brooded.


    Questions and more questions flooded my mind, but I couldn''t find a single answer for any of them.


    I could stay with Veirya and Leah, but I still didn''t understand them. I could convince Queen Sisi to give up on crushing a chapel, but I had no way of keeping the two by my side safe and sound from each other. I¡­ I couldn''te up with an appropriate method. I, as a matter of fact, didn''t know if I should inform Veirya of Leah''s situation or not.


    I hid hide too many things from Veirya. Did she want to be kept in the dark? Was it right or wrong to hide the truth from Veirya? I didn''t dare to gamble. Hiding the truth would allow Leah and Veirya to maintain peace between them. If I revealed Leah''s adult form and Veirya saw Leah with tentacles all over her as the Demon King had, Veirya might very well try to harm her as she was a warrior.


    Perhaps I was wrong from the very start. I shouldn''t have let the Demon King''s daughter be with Veirya. I really didn''t know what I could do to have Veiryay her sword down for good, and I had no means of turning Leah into a real human.


    I wondered, "If I chose Queen Sisi at the time, would we have such a happy life now, though? I wouldn''t get to see Veirya''s expressionless face, feel her breaths, hold her hand or walk by her side. Everything that we have now would disappear; everything that I''m working for will also disappear. If I made that decision, we''d share the same path, but she wouldn''t say a word or even spare me a nce, would I feel happy? Would Leah feel happy?"


    It was a pity that I didn''t have the chance to choose again. I gave up the chance to choose again; therefore, I had no right to think about it. All I could do was tightly hold onto everything I had at present and give it everything I had for my family.


    I had made up my mind. I didn''t know what would happen down the road or if I was going to seed. I had never been able to stay confident in the face of unpredictable situations, but I made up my mind to do whatever I could.


    When I woke up the next day, I found little Leah curled up and still tightly gripping my shirt. She gently breathed on my chest; her eyes had returned to normal. Leah had returned to the adorable Leah I knew. By the looks of it, it must''ve been true that Leah purely missed me.


    When I went to push Leah off my chest, someone pushed the door open. I fumbled in a flustered fashion as I looked over to see Veirya standing at the door. She had a tray with breakfast in her hands. Veirya calmly came in and ced the tray aside. She turned around and said, "Get dressed. Come out. It appears. Leah. Has recovered."


    "Uhm¡­ Uhm¡­"


    I looked at Veirya''s back. The early morning sunlight shone onto her back, illuminating her hair. I held my daughter and watched Veirya exit. Veirya apparently noticed my gaze on her and, thus, turned around with a perplexed look: "What''s the matter?"


    "Nothing, just looking at you."

 Chapter Volume 4 67

    <em>Dining with Elves</em>


    Aftering downstairs, Leah gave Veirya a deep bow and sincerely apologised, "Sorry, Mama Veirya."


    I also stood next to her and apologised, "Sorry, Veirya; it was my fault. I didn''t think that would happen as a result of me and Leah being apart."


    Veirya shook her head: "It''s fine. I didn''t get hurt. And. Leah wasn''t. In good shape. So. It doesn''t matter. I''m d. You''re all right."


    Angelina, who sat to one side, didn''t look too happy, but she most likely knew her ce. Frankly, we took her in; if Veirya sided with her, then, she''d have a chance to voice her opinions, but Veirya sided with me, thereby leaving her in no position toment. I didn''t intend to do anything to Angelina. I could understand her stance; everything she did was very reasonable and didn''t impact me. Thus, it was fine. In saying that, the gaze Angelina reserved for Leah was one that I couldn''t make sense of.


    Did something happen between the two while I was gone, I wondered. I doubted it. Leah didn''t change in a single day, after all. Maybe she did something to Angelina. I didn''t pry.


    Veirya stood up and walked up to Leah to pull Leah into her embrace. Leah went along with it and hugged Veirya, resting her small head on Veirya''s shoulder. Veirya patted Leah''s back. Veirya was expressionless, but I could tell that she didn''t hate Leah or have anyints. It was still impossible for Leah to assassinate Veirya; Veirya probably considered Leah''s attempt to be just her being yful. Veirya released Leah.


    Anna revealed a relieved smile; she stood up and went to caress Leah''s head. She giggled: "I''m so d Leah is okay. Leah scared me when Leah was sick. Come, Leah, your papa brought back a big chunk of ham for you. Let''s enjoy it for lunch."


    "Really, Papa?!!"


    Leah''s red eyes glittered with a desire to eat. I could see that Leah still loved food. Though she was in terrible shapest night, she was now no different to how I remembered her. If I took her to the city with me, all of the problems probably could''ve been avoided. I still had no n to tell Veirya what happenedst night. Leah wouldn''t end up in that state again as long as I was always with her. Presumably, that must''ve been Leah''s full subus transformationst night. Chances were Veirya will y her if she saw those tentacles and her mannerisms. I think that was it for our family issues.


    Anna and I went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. While Anna sliced the ham, she stated, "Sir, there is something that I am not sure if I should tell you or not."


    "Just tell me. Is it about Leah?"


    Anna exined, "No, it is about the elves. Not long after you left, the elves sneaked out. They came back in the end, but they never told us where they went or what they did. I am worried. Would the elves stay with us for some sort of ulterior motive?"


    "I would say that blinding yourself to achieve a goal would be too high of a price to pay. Further, do we have anything that elves need? I guess they could be here to try and gather information on humanity. Hence, I don''t think it has anything to do with us."


    "Really¡­?" Anna was a tad puzzled by my calm answer.


    I added, "The elves won''t try to harm us, so there''s no need to worry."


    "I see¡­ Oh right, they knew you hade returned, yet did note out to greet you. They are too rude. They are relying on us to live, yet always stay upstairs. They are being too impudent!"


    "Asking someone blind to descend the stairs and stand at the door to wee me is pretty unrealistic. I doubt it''s due to the elves not willing to leave the room but because the Elven Queen needs a lot of time toe down. Climbing the stairs is a tedious ordeal for her. Consequently, I n to turn the big hall outside into a living quarter for the three elves. That''ll make things more convenient for them."


    "I-I see." Anna revealed a distressed smile then turned her focus back to slicing the ham. As she sliced it, sheughed: "Sir Lin, you truly are a very gentle man. I have never met anyone as kind as you. You are always being so considerate of others."


    "Kind?" I titled my head feeling bewildered. I then said, "I''ve never been a gentle person. I''ve always been the type to think about what I can get from someone. Nothing that I do has to do with being kind. I''ve never mindlessly been kind to anyone."


    "No, you are just too shy to admit it. The truth is that everything you do is because you are very gentle and kind. When I first came here, you had every reason to turn me away. You asked me to be a maid, yet never did anything to me or gave me a heavy workload. You are just too shy to admit your gentleness and kindness. That is why you came up with an excuse to give me an unimportant job. The same can be said of your decision to take in the elves and Leah. You truly are very kind and gentle."


    "Would there be any use in telling you that I really need you now?"


    I helplessly smiled. Seriously, I wasn''t a kind individual. The only person I genuinely and selflessly protected was Leah. The reason I first helped Veirya was merely to ensure I had a home. Later on, I helped her as I loved her. I helped Queen Sisi for my own ends. I didn''t give the refugees a single bag of food. I kept Anna, for I truly needed someone to take care of things. I still hadn''t paid Anna a single penny. I took in the elves, as Lucilia forced me to keep them. None of it had any relevance to my gentleness and kindness. In essence, I only paid capital to those who could bring me profits. If that was what was considered being kind and gentle, every businessman in the world would be a phnthropist.


    Anna smiled but didn''t say anything else. She focused on slicing the ham and ting it. I washed my hands and informed, "I''m leaving the rest to you. I''m heading up to check on the elves. While I''m at it, I''ll be taking this te of ham and bread. Slice some more."


    "We have wine, too."


    "Please pour me a bottle."


    I soon came out with a tray in hand. Leah cheerfully came over and excitedly reached for a piece, but I caught her hand: "Patience, Leah. You''ll get yours in a moment. Papa is taking this up for the elves. Wait for your turn."


    "Mm¡­ Papa, does Leah need to go with you?"


    "Aren''t you always watching the elves? It''s fine; I, alone, will be fine."


    I went upstairs. Veirya sat to one side. Apparently, she had no ns to see the elves. It made no difference to her whether the elves were around or not, for she wasn''t interested in them whatsoever. Lucil was probably the only one who she was remotely interested in.


    I went to the elves'' door and knocked. Ciara opened up and grumbled, "You are my Queen''s husband, yet you did note visit her when you came back. That is a failure as a husband. If we were in the elvennds¡­ okay, an Elven Queen cannot get married in the first ce."


    "Don''t say that, Ciara. It must''ve been because Leah was sick."


    The Elven Queen, who sat by the window, softly chuckled. She stood up and with the diplomats help, walked up to me. She reached out to try and touch my¡­ chest? Ciara quickly grabbed her hand and ced it on my face. The Queen awkwardlyughed: "You are much taller than I imagined. Wee back, Sir."


    "I''ve brought some ham for you."


    I ced the tray aside. The Queen continued to sp my face and smiled: "Did things work out for you?"


    "Uhm, very sessful, I would say."


    "That is good. I kept praying for you from here, and it seems that my prayers were heard." The Queen giggled. She slid her hand down my face to my arms and finally my hands. Sheughed: "Did anything interesting happen on the way that you could share with me? I am looking forward to hearing your story. Please share it with me."


    "Ah¡­ Nothing really."


    I stepped in despite saying that. However, a fork came whizzing past my eyes. Not even Ciara reacted in time. I nearly yelled out. I turned around to see Veirya, who looked over with a calm gaze. Sternly, Veirya stated, "You said. You were just delivering food. You didn''t say. You were going in."


    I sensed¡­ danger¡­ The Elven Queen didn''t panicked whatsoever. She calmly faced me with her usual smile: "Since Lord Veirya has said that, how about we go downstairs and join you for lunch? I do not want to pass up this sort period of time, so I hope you can take care of me as we dine, Sir."

 Chapter Volume 4 68

    <em>Everything Needed</em>


    There was no way for us to fit so many people at the dining table. I, consequently, had to bring two bedside cupboards down to extend the table. The elves never dined with us in the past; today was their first time. Nevertheless, I could sense their intense hostility due to the seating arrangement.


    The Elven Queen upied the spot next to me. Foolish Veirya had no idea what seating arrangements were. She sat in her usual seat. Leah grumpily stared at the Elven Queen next to me. On my other side was Angelina. She looked at her daughter, disappointed, as she had hoped for better from her. Then, she gave me an admonishing look. The heavens could testify that I had no clue about seating arrangements. I went upstairs to set up a table.


    The Queen giggled as she turned in my direction. She politely remarked, "Hehe, while I cannot see I can smell the delicious food. This smell is totally different to food in the forest. This aroma is very appetising."


    Owing to the lunch being important, Anna and I worked overtime to organise it. Anna went out of her way to go to the tavern to buy the ear dish. Then, I used the ham, lots of vegetables and vouring to boil a pot of meat stew. I then made a number of Chinese dishes, thereby whipping up a table of lots of food


    "Now then, we can all start now, everyone. Thank you for taking care of things while Veirya and I was out."


    We didn''t have a custom of speaking before dinner, but I instinctively mentioned a few things. Needless to say, it wasn''t supposed to be my job but the job of the one I served. That said, the person I served would always ask me to say a few things and have a toast.


    "If possible, I, too, would like to have a taste. I heard you personally cooked these dishes, Sir. You truly are very gentle." The Queen giggled as she reached her hand out to seemingly search for her eating utensil.


    I quickly pressed down on the Elven Queen''s hand and then stabbed a piece of ham with a fork for her. She seemed to know what I did. She smiled and twirled her long hair. She amorously turned her head toward me, slightly opened her mouth and waited¡­ I bet anyone could tell she was waiting for me to feed her¡­


    If she was someone else, it wouldn''t be too appropriate, as we''d be behaving excessively intimately. The issue was that I couldn''t apply that to the Elven Queen, I think¡­ She was blind, after all. Others probably spoon fed before her ordeal, as well. I carefully brought it to her mouth. She gently grabbed it with her mouth and gently chewed it. I turned the fork to pull off the crumbs of the ham and gently held it up to her lips. I could feel her breaths on the tip of my finger.


    "You spread honey on it, am I right? It truly is very sweet." The Elven Queen titled her head and smiled: "I am very fascinated with this lunch. Please feed me some of the dishes you prepared."


    I instinctively nodded since taking care of a blind person was no big deal. I couldn''t teach a blind woman how to proficiently use a knife and fork. However, when I turned my head back, I felt a chilling sensation down my spine. I instantly realised what I did. I didn''t think it was an issue, but Leah and Veirya stopped eating altogether. An extremely calm, yet murderous, gaze was on me. The other individual clenched her teeth and red at me. At the same time, I felt immense pain on my right foot. I looked to my right with a terrified expression. Angelina wore a bright smile as she conversed with Ciara. She didn''t even look at me. It was definitely Angelina who was putting her weight onto my right foot. She then turned to face me with a friendly smile as if to say, "If you dare to speak, I''ll make sure you reap what you sow." And thus, I just had to take back what had nearly escaped my lips.


    I turned back to the Queen, albeit awkwardly. She silently waited for me. Leah gripped her fork as if she was seriously mulling whether or not to stab it into my eyes. Meanwhile, Veirya looked nonchnt, but I could sense the murderous intent she leaked¡­ Apparently, Veirya didn''t understand what we were doing, but she was purely unhappy.


    "Um¡­ this is your fork. I''ve prepared a variety of dishes. You can eat whichever you like. Here, they''re over here," I said to the Elven Queen, smiling helplessly.


    The Elven Queen couldn''t see my smile and, therefore, titled her head with puzzlement. She smiled: "Have I caused you trouble? Is Lord Veirya not too happy?"


    I awkwardly nodded: "Mm¡­"


    It was somewhat shameful to admit to another woman that you were afraid of your wife, but the Queen didn''t seem to share that sentiment. She gently grabbed my hand and touched her face with it, especially her eye bandage. Voice soft, she exined, "Lord Veirya, I do not know if you have experienced this. You can shut your eyes now; you will be able to experience my feelings if you shut your eyes now. See if you can put the spoon closest to you in your mouth with your eyes shut. You may feel that I am challenging your dignity and flirting with him, but I want to prove that I absolutely respect your feelings and His Lordship''s love. I understand. However, what you consider to be flirting is a necessity for me. I need you to believe me."


    Veirya nkly looked at the Queen. She then nced down at her te. Leah was evidently thrown off. She tried to eat with her eyes closed. Unfortunately, but as expected, she wasn''t able to put a spoon of food into her mouth. Instead, she nearly stuffed it into her nose. She opened her eyes and looked at me feeling hopeless. Then, she shifted her gaze over to the Elven Queen; she was sympathetic at that point. Veirya lowered her head and bit into her ham. She appeared to have no intention of saying anything else.


    The Elven Queen gently opened her mouth. I took in a deep breath to calm myself. I calmly faced the Queen and scooped up some food to feed her. The Queen slowly chewed her food with a gentle smile on her face. She swallowed her food then softly giggled: "This is delicious. You truly seem to be capable of every, Sir. If possible, I sincerely hope to be able to join you for meals as I am now. But nheless, Lord Veirya may get angry. Therefore, if Lord Veirya thinks that it is all right, pleasee up to invite me. Thank you."

 Chapter Volume 4 69

    <em>Silent Forest</em>


    Imperial capital. Military assembly za.


    Usually, humanity reserved the za for entertainment purposes. Everyone was equal there in therge za. Everyone had the right to y there. Nheless, it was still used for its original purpose. Humanity''s soldiers gathered there before every war that they fought. It was where ambitions, loyalty and madness grew. It was either where a sovereign would be born or obliterated. The za had witnessed miracles and destruction time and time again. It was where humanity''s most fearsome war machines assembled.


    The za served its purpose again today as the military''s gathering grounds. Below the throne were mighty soldiers perfectly lined up in formation. The red war g on the poles fluttered in the winds. The knights stood at the forefront. Their white steeds had their heads lowered in silence, not daring to make a sound. The soldiers primly stood in ce. Their curved des and shields reflected the sunlight, while their war g was even more captivating. Every single one of them silently had their heads up and eyes on the throne on the tform. Fully-equipped guards stood on both sides of the empty throne. Their monarch had yet to appear; everyone awaited the Queen''smand.


    Queen Sisi swiftly appeared from the side of the throne. She dressed in the same uniform as her soldiers. The soldiers vigorously raised their arms and loudly chanted. Nothing could raise their spirits more than seeing their monarch dressed in the same uniform as them. It was proof that Queen Sisi didn''t consider them cannon fodder butrades andpanions. That granted the soldiers the satisfaction and excitement of being valued. All of the soldiers were willing to die fighting for theirrades.


    "Men." Queen Sisi loved when soldiers cheered for her. She extended a hand to have the cheering stop for a moment. She looked at her immensely imposing army. Her confidence and pride stroked her ego. She looked at her soldiers below and eximed, "My courageous soldiers, today, I called you here, not to satisfy my own wishes, but for your own sake, your family and a better future that you should be entitled to. Your descendants will be able to go further and see more! They will no longer be stuck on this smallnd as we are! They will be able to see the entire world!! Your children will have everyone in this world''s respect!!"


    "Ho!!"


    The passionate soldiers raised their shields and sent tremors through the air with their roar, literally lighting up the air, preventing anyone from breathing.


    "I know that you are all tired and have just suffered the misery of losing loved ones. Nevertheless, I am in the same boat. I have always stood with you; have I ever run away even once?! I''m also tired, and I''ve also suffered. However, if we stop advancing here, we will stop being worthy of being soldiers. Our brothers have fallen! We mustn''t let their deaths be in vain! I will go to the frontlines together with you this time! I will fight by your sides!! This time, we will attack the elves! We will kill those ignoble and pitiful insects in the forest! Those elves have hurt our friend! We must reinstate the Elven Queen!"


    "For the Queen!!"


    Humanity''s booming roars shook the Earth. Queen Sisi loved it; her soldiers'' roars stimted her arrogance. They were her soldiers, who would fight and die for her. All of that honour and glory was hers, and they would still be even in the future!


    "March toward that forest!! Burn down that forest! Silence that forest! Go, my soldiers! I will, personally, light the first torch!!"


    Humanity''s war machine started to move. Humanity wasn''t a race that won every war they fought. They failed before, but their war machine had never copsed before. Humanity wouldn''ty down their sword even in the face of despair. Humanity had conquered one race after another. It was the elves'' turn to taste defeat at the hands of humanity. The war between humans and elves officiallymenced.


    ======


    The war was between the two races, but the fighting didn''t start at the border. Due to being far and remote, the war and news of it arrived therete. I didn''t know what the elves had to say since I wasn''t waiting for the elves'' Lucilia but the dwarf, Francis.


    Francis sat on the chair and handed a beautiful emerald gem to Leah. Leah cheerfully took it and examined it from different angles. I guess all women like pretty things.


    Francis gave Veirya a smile: "Veirya, we should''ve sent gifts for your marriage to Tarak. I noticed you two didn''t buy rings, so I specifically made one. This is the best gem we have found in thest thirty years. Our best artisan made the ring. I''m giving it to Tarak as a present for you two."


    Francis handed me a small box. Curious, I opened it. The gem was blindingly shiny. The crystal didn''t reflect light; to the contrary, it emitted light. Pure white gems were iid in the centre. It was set off with a leaf that resembled a spinning upward rose petal. The leave was also embellished with tiny gems that emitted a light together. I bet only dwarves would give away something so valuable without a second thought.


    "A ring?" asked Veirya.


    Veirya scanned the ring curiously. She, apparently, didn''t understand its purpose, while I felt too awkward to exin it to her. I, therefore, ced it aside. We only imed to be married; we weren''t actually officially together. I felt a little too embarrassed to give Veirya the ring. It was better for me to take it out again when I officially proposed.


    I was aware Francis came from far away and brought so many gifts for more reasons than being friendly. For him to have paid us a visit not long after we separated, it must''ve been for business, and that would be none other than the acquisition of thend.


    As there was a vige in the area, I had to speak with the residents there. I had never met them before, but thew stipted they belonged to Veirya.


    I queried, "You want to talk about thend acquisition, right?"


    Francis nodded with a smile: "It truly is a great pleasure to speak with you. You can understand what we want, which makes things so much easier. Correct, I want to discuss thend acquisition. The vigers are your assets. We need you, as the lord, to speak with them because you would be more convincing than us. Therefore, I''d like to ask you to speak to them."


    "All right. However, I need to bring Veirya and Leah. Is that fine with you?"


    "Sure, sure."


    "All right, then. Come call us when you''re ready to go."

 Chapter Volume 5 1

    <em>Maybe it was an Argument</em>


    Though we had to leave again after justing home, Veirya didn''t express discontent. As for Leah, who didn''t get to join usst time, she was bouncing off walls. Travelling in this world was a pain in the neck. Further, we had to bear with shoddy meals and living conditions. Leah, however, seemed to enjoy travelling. Perhaps all kids enjoyed travelling as they weren''t the ones who needed to ount for the challenges and tiresome aspects of the journey. They just have to be responsible for enjoying the different scenery.


    The trip would be a safe one as we were still within our territory. Our destination wasn''t far, either. Francis probably had to head back to prepare, while I wanted to check out how things were over at the vige. Sadly, it sounded as though the humans at the vige didn''t interact with the humans at the town too much. All I found was a rather old map. As a matter of fact, I couldn''t even confirm if the map was correct.


    That was all the information I had on the vige. I had no clue what they wanted. My question was whether they considered money or physical goods to be more important. For all I knew, bringing a bag of elven vouring and salt might''ve been more practical to them than gold coins.


    Uncertain, I decided to bring everything in case everything was useful. I brought some cereal and meat, vouring, salt and money. I had gone through a lot of stuff and lent a fair amount to the elves. I was slightly short on savings at the moment. As a result, I needed to find an opportunity to carry out the first vouring trade.


    I prayed the two nations wouldn''t start the war while I was away. Nheless, I also noticed the North was somewhat abnormal as ofte. The North was one of the ces furthest from the imperial capital. Simrly to throwing a pebble into a stone, however, the ripples would eventually reach the North. I had no idea what exactly happened in the imperial capital, what Queen Sisi wanted to do or did; however, I noticed a fair number of people visited the North to inquire about purchasing properties.


    Edward''s people had also arrived In the North. They entered the forest to begin setting up to mine. There were a considerable number of artisans who apanied them. I let them have the run-down houses for a low price, and let them repair and renovate. In two years'' time, they''d be allowed to live there for free. If they chose to be permanent residences after two years, I could sell them the properties for a low price. In essence, they''d repair the homes and be potential assets that could upgrade the town.


    Because there were new mines to be explored in Veirya''s territory, lots of people wanted a piece of the pie. In saying that, I had an unnerving hunch that they might not havee for the coal mine. However, if we were talking about metal-work artisans, the miners would, without question, go through their tools. Therefore, it was fine for the artisans to provide them with tools.


    This was the conundrum. The artisans weren''t limited to making only pickaxes. They could repair more than mining tools; they could make weapons and repair armour. If there was a war in the North, they wouldn''t be making money from solely the miners, but also the soldiers. If that was their purpose, it was conclusive that elves and humans were going to march against each other.


    I didn''t want a war. I didn''t know what exactly happened on Queen Sisi''s end as I didn''t have spies in the imperial capital. Consequently, no one informed me of what happened. If I wanted to know, I''d have to go to the imperial capital.


    "You haven''t been back for even two days yet. Are you not rushing too much?" Angelina asked Veirya, concerned. "I know you need money, but you''re not that short on money, are you? Rushing around as you are must be more tiring than fighting."


    Veirya shook her head: "It''s not. I basically. Don''t have to. Do anything. I just. Need to follow him."


    "True." Angelina sighed then looked at me with a weird smile. She touched my face: "Do you still not understand what I mean? Heartless man. Poor little me has looked after the empty house for a long time and needs yourpany. You brought me her, yet abandoned me here to suffer loneliness. That''s not what a responsible man would do. How about you make a baby with me so that I have something to do?"


    "I don''t need to take responsibility for you, do I?" I sarcastically asked.


    I calmly had a drink of water. I was finally capable of calmly dealing with Angelina''s teasing. I had dealt with her teasing too many times by then, after all. Noticing my calm demeanour, she unhappily pouted: "Heartless man."


    Anna came out from the kitchen with a te of fruit akin to watermelon but milk white inside and set it down in front of me. Anna looked at the three of us with a smile and asked, "Sir, do you have to leave again?"


    I asked, "Ah, yes. We need to go and sort out a property deal. I''d say we will be gone for a week. Actually, make that half a month. What''s the matter, Anna? Is something going to happen at home while I''m gone?"


    Leah handed Anna a piece of fruit. Anna smiled brightly and scrubbed Leah''s head. She answered, "Not exactly¡­ It is quite peaceful in the town¡­ It is just that you are out rather too frequently. You should spend more time with your family at home."


    I nodded: "I''ll definitely have time in the future. I just have to grind a little for now."


    Veirya looked at me but didn''tment; instead, she lowered her head once again. Angelina chuckled as she watched her daughter. However, she gave me a serious look: "I don''t know if you''ve noticed, but I heard the artisans state Queen Sisi has already led her army out and is heading this way. Judging from the sounds of things, she is proceeding with her n to attack the elves. This ce will definitely turn into the frontlines for her attack. If you leave now, what do we do?"


    I shook my head: "There''s nothing I can do about that. In fact, it would make things troublesome if I was here. Don''t inform the three elves about it. Once they find out, they''ll definitely leave again. If my prediction is correct, they went to inform the elvesst time. There''s nowhere else they could go."


    "You want to prevent the elves from passing on information to help humanity?"


    "I just don''t want to drag us into it. There''ll be hell for us if Queen Sisi finds out that the elves we''re taking care of leaked her n. We''re not getting involved with this war. We''re the victims in this war."


    "Hasn''t everything you''ve been doing to help the elves? Actually, I feel as though you''re ying to two sides. You gave the elves money and helped Queen Sisi deal with the chapel. You seem to be looking forward to a war."


    "Why don''t you think that I hope both sides lose?" I smiled helplessly: "I helped them for other reasons. I don''t even want this war to happen; it''s a meaningless war. As a matter of fact, it''s destroying what I worked so hard to build. I''m not participating in this war. My attempt to stop it ended in failure. Since Queen Sisi insists, I can''t stop her."


    "Are you saying that you''ll help if Queen Sisi fails? You im she''s a pain, but you''re on good terms with Queen Sisi, aren''t you? Everyone says you''re her favoured vassal. There''s no smoke without fire. Something is going on between you two. Before Veirya arrived at the imperial capital, did something between you and Queen Sisi happen?"


    Angelina nced at her daughter as she spoke with her smug smile and eagerness to see some bickering. It yed out just as she desired; Veirya shot me a disgruntled look, leading to me shuddering. I quickly faced Veirya and exined, "Nothing actually happened. Serious. She merely asked me to stay with her because I took down the chapel. The whole favoured vassal business is merely a ploy to force me to stay with her. Nothing happened between us. I won''t bother with her regardless of what happens to her this time. I''m much more interested in what the two mines can bring me instead."


    "Really? What about you, then, Veirya?" Angelina looked at Veirya with a smile: "You''re Her Majesty''s knight. If she''s in danger this time, will you oppose Lucililia?"


    "Yes," responded Veirya with a calm nod. She sternly added, "Not matter who. Hurts Her Majesty. I will. Kill them. Even if. She''s Lucililia."


    "Let''s put that aside for now. Who knows how things will develop?"


    I quickly cut off Angelina and Veirya''s conversation. Truthfully, I was eager to end the subject. I knew what Veirya''s stance was. It was a miracle she refused to participate in the war. She was Queen Sisi''s knight and fanatically loyal to her. I didn''t want to let her go and rescue Queen Sisi, though, as the elves would undoubtedly attack her once she entered the forest. Veirya might be powerful, but what are the chances she could defeat so many elves in the forest? Would she really be invincible in those circumstances?


    I wouldn''t let Veirya go, but she''d go without a doubt. If we kept discussing the topic, we were bound to get into an argument. I didn''t want to argue with Veirya and, thus, put it aside for the meantime. I had nothing to gain from arguing with Veirya; arguing wasn''t even in her dictionary. Arguing with her might justpletely tear down our rtionship. I, therefore, wanted to do my best to avoid that.

 Chapter Volume 5 2

    <em>Rainbow Flower</em>


    As the weather warmed up, the quality of our breakfast increased ordingly. We no longer had just yoghurt, and no longer was it simple bread, cheese and butter. We also had more fruit and fruit spreads. Plus, we had more fresh milk. We had a bucket of milk delivered to our door every morning, and we''d leave copper coins in the bucket for them to pick up in the evening. Then, someone would deliver wine and fruit to our door. Simrly, we left copper coins behind. So, while we didn''t leave the house, we had the privilege of enjoying lots of food. Being able to afford breakfast meant that you were rich in this era. Lots of people didn''t have breakfast. They''d just grab a piece of bread and head out to work.


    Leah was very happy. She had lots more motivation in the morning ever since the weather warmed up in the North. Owing to the warmer weather, it felt a bit more simr to the imperial capital. The temperature was cool; it wasn''t freezing or burning hot. The atmosphere in the town was friendly and warm. Food was no longercking. Veirya and Leah blessed me with gentleness and familial love.


    I didn''t know when Francis woulde and tell us to leave, but I enjoyed the life I had at present. Leah would nudge me awake in the morning with her small hands. Then, we''d have breakfast prepared by the time we went downstairs - courtesy of Anna. Veirya and Angelina would already be waiting at the table. When we ate, Angelina would step on my foot; I''d retaliate and identally bump Veirya, thereby leading to her questioning what I touched her for. The Elven Queen woulde downstairs. She would sit in the long corridor for a while ever since the flower seeds began to sprout. In spite of the flowers having yet to bloom, she still wished to find the smell of her homnd.


    I didn''t inform the Elven Queen about humanity''s attack. Humanity''s army would require roughly five days to reach our town from the Imperial Capital. The war didn''t open up opportunities for politicians exclusively; it also opened up opportunities for businessmen. Be it big or small-time businessmen, they travelled to the North. The empty properties quickly became stores that they were charged two hundred silver coins for. The rowdy sounds of carriages definitely had to follow behind the army''s advance. Essentially, the army was moving money from their perspective.


    I forbade anyone from opening brothels. They could do as they pleased in their own military camps, but I wasn''t going to allow a ce where people often started quarrels or challenged morals to exist in Veirya''s town. The townsfolk shared different religious beliefs with the people who just came to begin with; therefore, there was a higher risk of conflicts. If I set up bars and brothels, it was practically a guarantee we''d have assault cases to sort out.


    Angelina and Anna volunteered to maintain security in the town. Ciara also promised to join them when she had time. With the three of them patrolling the town, it would be safe, and I trusted them.


    "Papa." Leah ran up from behind while I was crouched down, examining the sprouting flowers, and hugged me around my neck in a gleeful manner.


    I grabbed hold of Leah''s hand. The flowers that were sprouting out were the so-called rainbow flower. I had never seen a rainbow flower before, but Lucilia confidently proimed it to be the most beautiful flower. Summer had note in yet, but I could already feel the summer air. I was worried because, normally, beautiful flowers bloom ording the seasons and not vice versa. If the flower didn''t bloom in summer, we would have to wait until next year.


    "Has the flower not bloomed yet?" asked Leah, blinking her eyes and scanning the flowers.


    I pped my hands and carried Leah up on my back. Iughed: "No, not yet. It''s fine, however. In two or three more months, they should''ve fully grown."


    "Rainbow flower." The Elven Queen, who was sitting in the corridor behind us with a cup of tea in hand, smiled: "I can still remember it from when I still had my vision. When I travelled for some time eastward of our elven imperial city, I found a field of rainbow flowers in bloom on a hill. At the time, the birds in the sky and the rainbow flowers were a perfectly synchronised scene. Though I can no longer see, I can smell the fragrant smell, which allows me to feel that I am still in the elvennds."


    Leah turned around to the Elven Queen: "Sister Queen, do you really want to go home?"


    "Yes." The Elven Queen nodded with a chuckle. She then asked Leah, "Leah, your homnd is not here, either, is it? Do you miss home, Leah?"


    "I don''t mind because I have Papa with me. I''m very happy as long as Papa is with me."


    Leah revealed a bright smile. That bright smile was the prettiest flower in the entire world, but the Elven Queen couldn''t see it. I couldn''t resist the urge to tightly hug Leah, and she went along with me to tightly hug me back.


    The Elven Queen softlyughed and then had a drink. She replied, "I feel the same way."


    "Hmm?!!"


    Leah''s vignce level maxed out instantly. I, too, blushed as a result of hearing the Elven Queen''s response. I suddenly found myself unable to respond. The Queen didn''t know where we were, so she just calmly giggled.


    I looked at the Elven Queen''s smile. I truly felt she was a pitiful woman to be kept in the dark about humanity''s attack on the elves. She had left the elvennds, but her heart was still with them. I suppose she would''ve been more miserable if I told her, though¡­ How depressing would it be to realise humanity was going to attack elves, yet she was powerless to do anything? Furthermore, she might go and get herself killed if she was too worried. I, therefore, decided that it was better for her to stay oblivious. Sometimes, hiding some things isn''t necessarily wrong. It could be a way of protecting someone.


    "Your Lordship."


    The Elven Queen stretched her hand out with a smile. I grabbed hold of her hand. She used the pir next to her to support herself to her feet. She tried to take a step forward. I swiftly caught her to support her despite my left foot also being out ofmission. She walked into the soil and relished the sensation of her foot making contact with the soft soil. She squatted down and searched for the flower. She softly murmured, "This is the rainbow flower."


    I couldn''t see what the Elven Queen thought underneath the ck cloth covering her eyes. I wondered if she''d cry due to the nostalgic emotions that would''ve surged up upon finding a flower she was familiar with in a foreign country. I silently stood next to her and watched her. She lowered her head and softly asked, "You will be leaving for some time again, correct?"


    "Yes."


    "I shall wait for you here, where the rainbow flower shall bloom, then, Your Lordship. I hope you cane back when it blooms. Where you and the rainbow flower can be found is now my home."

 Chapter Volume 5 3

    <strong>This is a repeat video, and there is only one channel owner staying. The other one is not continuing due to views declining considerably. </strong>


    <em>Dark Sky</em>


    The weather wasn''t too friendly when Francis came. I might''ve taken the better weather for granted thanks to the bright sun and weather. When Francis came, the looming clouds let me know that the weather wouldn''t always be warm. The long winter in the North had yet to end; it merely entered a quiet period during the warmer days. Today, though, it had escaped its shackles. It was just cloudy, yet the air was particrly cold. I wanted to bring out my winter clothing again, but on second thought, I just draped a rtively thicker cloak on.


    Francis entered the house and looked at us, who were ready, and smiled with satisfaction, "Veirya is Veirya, after all. That was a quick preparation. Let''s get going, then. We also needed to be as fast as possible; therefore, we will to go full speed. We don''t want to have someone snatch it, after all. Can Leah keep up?"


    "I''m fine." Leah nodded. She then clung to my arm and smiled: "As long as Papa is with Leah, Leah won''t be too tired. Leah can keep up."


    "Francis nodded: "Great."


    Anna came up from the side with Leah''s small cloak. Leah cheerfully ran up to Anna. Veirya looked over to them and went over. Anna froze as she was puzzled as to why Veirya came over. Veirya extended out a hand to her. Anna immediately understood what Veirya was suggesting. She smiled and handed the cloak over to Veirya. Veirya crouched down and draped the cloak on for Leah. There was a tinge of nervousness from Leah. Nevertheless, Veirya sincerely looked at Leah and carefully did up her cloak for her. Once she set the cloak on properly, she patted Leah''s shoulders and informed, "It. Will be windy."


    Leah paused for a moment before shaking out her hood and smiling: "It will be okay, Mama Veirya. I have a hood. When it gets windy, I will wear it on."


    "Uhm."


    Veirya went to touch Leah''s head, but she was even more nervous than Leah. Therefore, despite lifting up her hand, she lowered it in the end. Leah didn''t respond in time. Veirya stood up and went to the door. Francis folded his arms as he looked at Veirya with a smile: "I honestly never imagined I''d ever see the day Veirya would be so full of motherly love. I''ve never seen Veirya as a woman. Honestly, Tarak, I''m dying to know how you conquered Veirya."


    I gave the same answer asst time: "Didn''t I tell you before? Sincerity."


    Veirya didn''tment. She silently waited at the door to leave. Leah cheerfully ran up to Veirya''s side. Our luggage had been sent out, so we were ready. Normally, we''d already be on our way. However, I stood in the house while Francis looked at me feeling confused. Nheless, I heard footstepsing down the stairs. The elves weren''tzy or something; it was just that the Elven Queen couldn''t see. I knew the Elven Queen woulde to see us off, which was why I chose to wait for her instead of letting here down to find out we already left.


    Ciara helped the Elven Queen down. She looked at us with a hopeless look and smiled: "Sorry for making you wait. It is a bit too hard for the two of us to take care of Her Majesty, Usually, there would be a big group of banshee gifted to her as a dowry when you get married with her, and they would take care of her."


    "Do all of you elves like to gift servants as dowry?"


    Smiling, Ciara exined an elven practice: "Servants are also an asset. When one''s daughter is married off, a number of banshees will be handed over to take care of her. If they have a family that are prisoners of war, they will also hand over those prisoners. At the end of the day, they are also assets."


    The Elven Queen stood chuckled: "Okay, we will not hold up His Lordship with unnecessary chatter. Your Lordship, I am here to see you off."


    "If it is such a daunting task for you, you do not need to see us off every time."


    I held my hand up to the Elven Queen. She gently grabbed hold of it and kissed it. Next, she gently sped my face and smiled: "May the forest be with you. Dear, I will definitely wait for you toe back here, Your Lordship."


    "Uhm, I will be back."


    I stepped back after nodding. That was the limit. If the Elven Queen tried anything more, Veirya and Leah would be irate. To further add to theplication, if they were unhappy, the journey might be a troublesome one for me. The Elven Queen chuckled and gave me a small bow: "Goodbye, then, Your Lordship."


    "Goodbye."


    I waved back and then went to the door. The weather outside was freezing. I looked up at the dark clouds overhead and muttered to myself, "It looks as though it''s going to rain."


    Veirya: "If it rains now. Will get sick."


    After she made the remark, Veirya pulled up Leah''s hood and fastened it. Francis pped his hands and nimbly mounted his horse: "It''s not the wisest idea to leave in this weather, but we''re in a bit of a rush. Let us pray that our seniors and the spirits bless us and keep us safe. Let us be on our way now."


    I nodded: "All right."


    It took a bit of effort for me to mount my house and get my left foot into the stirrup. Leah had Anna''s help to hug onto Veirya. We then rode off toward our destination on our three horses.


    Francis queried, "We are putting all of our hope on you for this deal, Tarak. You won''t let us down, will you?"


    "I can''t say for sure. I myself don''t know the people there or if they''d be willing to obey Veirya''smand. I can''t guarantee you things will work out, but we''ll do our best."


    Francis was displeased with my response. He stroked his beard and replied, "You''re different to Veirya. Veirya can always back up her talk."


    "I never thoughtlessly make promises; Veirya can guarantee you sess, but I can''t."


    I shook my head. I didn''t want to ept Francis'' discontentment. You''re either a liar or a moron if you mindlessly make guarantees when you''re not certain. I genuinely wasn''t sure what would happen. Either way, I wanted to wrap up as soon as possible to get back before the war between humanity and elves erupted. Queen Sisi would stop by the town; without me present, who could tell what she''d do to my family?

 Chapter Volume 5 4

    <em>Francis¡¯ Feelings</em>


    I knew Francis wanted to travel through the night, but Veirya shot him down. The cold outside exceeded my prediction. It wasn''t bucketing, but the drizzle wouldn''t let up. The drizzle literally froze everything in the destend. We breathed out mist; Leah was surprisingly quiet in Veirya''s embrace. She must''ve been freezing. I never thought the temperature would drop so low. As such, I didn''t prepare clothing to weather the cold. I regretted my decision to not take winter clothing.


    Neglecting Leah''s feelings to continue through the freezing night was not something that Veirya would do. I wouldn''t agree to it, either. As a result, we also chose to take cover and light up a bonfire to spend the night. Leah curled up; she intently stared at the bonfire and sniffled. Veirya set up a small tent. The tent was set up with just fabric and wooden stumps. Nevertheless, it was able to provide us with shelter from the endless drizzle. The thick wool mats on the ground isted us from the wet ground.


    Francis quickly set up a big pot on the frame where the fire was. We tossed some water and ingredients into the pot to simmer it all. It smelt surprisingly nice despite the random ingredients we threw together. The warmth of the bonfire and the fragrant scent healed the fatigue and cold umted over the entire day.


    Leah looked at the lid on the pot that was subtlying to life with her eyes glittering. Francis rolled up his cloak and sat down on it. He let out breath of relief as he panted. He handed me a pot: "Here, Tarak. It can warm you up a little. This is how it is out here during this time of the year. It gets cold as winter. The rain, in particr, is really annoying. Everything feels as if it''s stuck to your skin."


    I curiously took the pot and shook it. The heavy weight of the pot was reassuring. I was somewhat wary of what he gave me, so I inquired, "What''s this?"


    Francis casually replied, "It''s just water; however, I added a tiny bit of wine. Don''t worry; you practically won''t even detect the alcohol. It''s enough to warm you up, though."


    I nodded. I carefully held it up to my mouth for a sip. I was worried that his definition of "practically won''t even detect¡­" was rtively dangerous. To my surprise, I really could barely taste it. A warm sensation went down my throat and circted to every part of my body, though. Soon enough, I felt warmer. I shivered gently. I then looked at Leah, who had her puppy eyes look on. I steeled my heart and said, "You can''t drink it, Leah; you''re not an adult yet."


    "What''s the big deal? Leah will definitely grow up. It''s fine for her to drink a little. Plus, it''s not for enjoyment but to keep warm," Francis contended.


    I pulled Leah over and she sat in myp. I turned her cloak to cover the front of her body since she had her back to me, and tightly hugged her: "I won''t let me daughter touch alcohol at such a young age. She''s still a kid at the end of the day. Alcohol isn''t good for children; if Leah is cold, a bowl of soup will do."


    "Exactly."


    Veirya sat next to us; she nodded in agreement with me. Leah also revealed a reassured smile and curled up in my embrace. Francis, who sat opposite us, watched us and chuckled: "This is nostalgic. We used to do the same thing in the past, but we also had Lucilia. That elf loved to drink. In spite of not being able to hold her liquor, she''d still drink a lot. Once she was drunk, she''d cling to Veirya and asked to be spoilt; it was really fun. It would''ve been nice if Lucilia could''ve joined us this time. Nheless, nobody can enter the elven forest."


    I nodded. I could imagine how Lucilia looked when she acted coquettish. Francis missed those days, the days where they were at the peak of their glory and everything from that era. Lucia, however, was busy with internal politics in the elvennds. She probably wouldn''te over for anything.


    "I saw the Elven Queen at your ce. The elves sure are a hierarchal-focused race. An Elven Queen can''t get married; she must offer everything that she has to elves. She might be loving life by your side now." Noticing Veirya''s expression, Francis went on, "Is the Elven Queen your mistress, Tarak? We''ve attended an elf''s wedding before. I must say, if a female elf agrees to marriage, she really can offer everything for her husband."


    Veirya''s expression didn''t change, but I had already begun to cuss Francis in my mind" "Can you not poke her sore spot? Although Veirya''s expression hasn''t changed, she really doesn''t want to hear it. Plus, the Elven Queen is no mistress. Also, Veirya and I don''t have anything going on, let alone the Elven Queen and I."


    Veirya didn''tment on the topic. Instead, she looked at the pot and remarked, "It''s. Done."


    "Ah? Oh." Francis nodded.


    I opened the lid. We added water and a type of yoghurt. We boiled some mushrooms and vegetables that Francis found. I didn''t expect it to be decent. I sprinkled some vouring in and gave it a stir. I served Leah a bowl first. Leah was starving after the long day of travelling. She gave it a few blows then slogged it back.


    The rest of us knocked back our serves in one go, as well. As expected, the food provided us with warmth and calmness that wine couldn''t provide. Furthermore, being able to enjoy a hot soup in the freezing rain bestowed us with bliss and optimism. We all went silent for a while; we focused on acquiring much needed warmth and bliss from the pot.


    None of us were full after finishing the pot, but we didn''t bring much food. Leah, therefore, was the only one who could to enjoy half of my bowl and some dried meat. Francis washed the pot somewhere; I didn''t know where he washed it, though. Then, he brought back half a pot of water and boiled it. The hot water provided us with warmth and something for us to cook tomorrow.


    "We''re still one day and one night away from our destination. We might not get any chances to rest from now, so rest up tonight. I think the rain will stop during the day tomorrow."


    Francis sat down in front of the fire. Leah shut her eyes and curled up in my embrace. I caressed her head, while Veirya sat next to us in silence, drinking the dwarves'' strong wine. Francis didn''t speak to any of us thereafter. Consequently, the only sound around was the crackling fire. Francis stroked his beard with an awkward demeanour: "Can one of you say something? Don''t you find it really lonely to just listen to the sound of rain and the crackling me?"


    Veirya asked, "What. Do you want. To talk about"


    Veirya''s seriousness caused Francis to freeze. He stroked his beard and grumbled, "You say something¡­ I don''t know¡­ I just don''t want to feel so lonely. Whatever the case, just say something to liven up the atmosphere. Remember how cheerful it was with that elvenss talking? The elves argue with us, but it''s quite fun."


    "I''m not. Very good. At conversations."


    Veirya looked at Francis with a serious look and then me. I jolted. Chatting was out of my wheelhouse. They say those who talk a lot at work don''t like to speak much outside of work. I had to stop and think for a moment before speaking: "Is Lucilia very lively?"


    "Lively doesn''t do her justice; she''s an absolute pain on journeys. She has an odd sense of justice; she''ll get into trouble and rescue people when it''s not time to. As a consequence, we''ll always be left covered in filth. Furthermore, she seems to never run out of energy. She drinks a lot every night and then goes on rampages and bothers us. I really didn''t think the immature elf was their hero. As if anyone could imagine that."


    Francis raised an eyebrow. He had a drink from a pot of wine. I noticed the dwarf was particrly excited whenever Lucia was mentioned. Heined that she was troublesome and giving him grief, but he never expressed any dislike for her. Though he whinged, in reality, he wore a smile as he talked about her. I hadn''t known Francis for long¡­ Judging from his beard, I''d presume that he was old enough to be her father.


    I thought to myself, "Can dwarves and elves be together? Elves are very xenophobic, so would they be able to ept one of another race? The dwarf may be friends with Lucia, but would she ept him?'' It can''t be that bad, surely. The Elven Queen can ept me, after all. Lucia should be able to ept the dwarf, then, right? I think that Lucia would be able to ept Francis if she genuinely likes him¡­ I just don''t think she likes him. She rarely mentions him, after all. Actually, I''d make a case that Lucia likes Veirya¡­"


    "Lucilia is a cute girl." Veirya looked at Francis and sincerely nodded.


    Francis nodded: "She is¡­"


    I didn''t know what to say¡­ But nheless, since Francis didn''t explicitly express he liked Lucia, I thought it was best if¡­ I didn''t say anything about it¡­

 Chapter Volume 5 5

    <em>A Large Force Encroaches Upon the Border</em>


    The rest of the journey wasn''t as tedious. Besides the water puddles on the ground, which was quite annoying, the bright sun blessed us with warmth once again. The singing birds and fragrant flowers on the path cheered Leah up, as well. We were forced to travel full pelt, but Leah would still asionally react pleasantly surprised.


    The North''s terrain was t, which I didn''t expect. We didn''t run into many uphill paths. We, as a matter of fact, rarely saw mountains. All we came across were some small elevations. Big and small rivers that curved and swirled ran through the North. The current green colour hadn''t yet totally overwhelmed the yellow dirt during the peak of the war. With that said, the green we saw today was an importantpensation for the freezing-cold rain that we were exposed to yesterday.


    None of us spoke. We didn''t see anyone on our journey, either. If there was just one person, we might''ve felt miserable due to loneliness. Sometimes, one''s most formidable opponent isn''t a foreign enemy, robbers or wild beasts but absolute loneliness.


    I had no idea what we''d face; it was pointless to even think about it. Moreover, the bumpy ride was my biggest foe. Francis was a dwarf, his equestrian skills were superb. Veirya didn''t show any signs of fatigue, ether. I, however, felt I''d eventually beunched off. I was a modern man without any equestrian training; a long journey without rest was draining for me.


    On the way, I contemted, "What''s everyone at home doing? At this point in time, Queen Sisi''s mighty army should soon arrive in the North. Our town will be a replenishment base for the army. What will that mean for the North?"


    If Queen Sisi managed to capitalise on her boldness and captured the forest, the North would no longer be humanity''s border. Instead, it''d be the centre of humanity''s empire. In turn, the North would begin to develop, subsequently providing me with an opportunity. If, contrariwise, humanity was defeated and the elves counterattacked, then our town would be the first line of defence. I wondered if Lucia would spare our town out of friendship. The cruel elves might capture everyone and make them their ves, otherwise.


    As opposed to saying Queen Sisi was making a gambling, I could say she figuratively tied the entire North to her. In other words, the North''s fate rode on the war''s oue. I started to feel more and more convinced that I shouldn''t have followed Francis to the mine. If I stayed in the town, however, Veirya''s fake pregnancy was highly likely to be exposed.


    I couldn''t do anything for Veirya''s territory, either. I could lead lots of people by the nose. Sadly, I couldn''t read Queen Sisi. She was an extremely insistent woman; she wouldn''t change her perspective regardless of what anyone argued. That was just the way she was.


    I wondered if the elves were done preparing. I only told them humanity might attack them. I never told them humanity was on their way. I figured they already knew, nevertheless. Given Queen Sisi''s personality, she might unt the attack.


    ========


    Current time in the elvennds¡­


    "Brother."


    Lucia turned around and gave her brother a nod. He nodded back. Then, he looked below the inspection tform. All of the elves were ready. The elves numbered fewer than humans, but also consisted of males and females. Nheless, the elves present were the elites among the elites. They were the guards of the elven race and their race''s military power. Sending all of their fellow elves to the war wasn''t wise, for there was a very high likelihood that those with the previous Elven Queen would take the chance to usurp power. His sister knew their family had always protected elves, though. They could die, but they couldn''t let elves die. They couldn''t allow the elven race to be wiped out.


    Lucilia had also changed into her battle gear. She donned simple leather armour with a long elven bow strapped to her back. She had a long sword strapped to her belt as well as a short gun. In just one short week, Lucilia had mastered firearms. She quickly fell in love with the powerful weapon. The bullets could pierce the heads of wild beasts, so killing a human being had to be incredibly simple. Lucilia had only put bullets in a few elves'' heads, not humans¡­ yet. Perhaps she was about to finally have the chance to do so.


    "All soldiers are ready. Humanity''s army should take one day to reach the border. Under normal circumstances, they will attack in a week."


    Lucilia, who had always fought side by side with humanity''s armies, were familiar with humanity''s military structure. The elves had been preparing themselves the entire time. They chopped down trees to block the paths in the forest, thereby making it impossible for arge army to spread out, subsequently forcing the enemy army to advance in columns. That allowed the elves to rush the enemy from both sides, split humanity''s army at the middle, and finish off humanity once they were separated. The elves were at the disadvantage when it came to sheer numbers, but they were peerless in war.


    Lucilia''s brother scrubbed her head then stood before all of the elves present. He had his family heirloom, a bow, strapped to his back. The bow served more as a disy of duty and prestige than a practical purpose. The elven soldiers brandished bows, long swords and guns. They waited for their general and the war.


    "Brothers and sisters, humanity has initiated an attack on us. We saw through those wretched humans'' ambitious nature long ago. Act as they may, they can''t change their nature as wild beasts. They''re greedy and selfish. They belittle ournds and ughter our people. However, we elves are definitely not fodder! The forest is our pride, and we are its guardians. We will never surrender or cower. We shall engrave the fear of our bows and arrows into humanity''s core even if we all die fighting. We must teach them to fear our forest!!! Brothers and sisters, our mission is to defend our people and forest. Humanity''s Queen is apanying this time. She insulted us before. She''s also our enemy. Capture her alive! Show her our wrath! Go, soldiers! Go teach those vile creatures what war really means! March!!"


    "March!!" responded the elves.


    The elves had slim physiques; but nheless, their war cry didn''t pale inparison to humanity''s. They raised their bows high. They numbered fewer than humanity; however, their determination and conviction was, by no means, inferior.


    Elves weren''t demons. Demons didn''t have such intense tenacity. Humans weren''t demons, either, though. The war against the demon race was, unquestionably, brutal. Howbeit, the most brutal war was unarguably the war between humans and elves.

 Chapter Volume 5 6

    <em>Military Camp Interior</em>


    "Her Majestyst came here not long ago, yet she''s back again. Far out, this is annoying."


    The residents of the town weren''t excited about the uing war by any means. As the frontlines at one point, the North had been on the victim''s end of a massacre. The residents were cognizant of what war consisted of and its consequences, which was why they chose to leave one after another unlike the excited and enthusiastic businessmen who scurried to the North. As a consequence, it became extremely difficult to put together a group of people to wee the Queen.


    Angelina never had the patience to attempt something so tedious. Moreover, the owners of the fields with green nts in them had departed. If someone didn''t take it upon themselves to take over, the food prepared for winter would be history again. Angelina and Anna were forced to hire workers to take care of the farnd. The North suffered losses every time Queen Sisi visited. Understandably, then, nobody weed her.


    Her Majesty''s army could arrive tomorrow. They could already see the freckles of mes from their camp in the distance were akin to a devastating bush fire their camps in the distance at night. Queen''s military might was admirable as always. Inparison, such a standard had never been seen from the elven side. Nobody doubted humanity''s prospects in the campaign. The question was, what was the story in the forest?


    ========


    Current time in humanity''s camp.


    Queen Sisi''s tent was bigger than any other. All of her luxury living needs were ced inside. She even brought a bathtub with her. She had to bath once each day; it was tradition, one that she would not sacrifice despite joining the army in the war. The only asion she didn''t adhere to her bath routine was during the previous war, where she didn''t remove her armour for four days straight.


    Queen Sisi didn''t believe that she needed to burn her boats against the elves to disy her courage and determination. She couldn''t fathom defeat when her army looked so dominant. Her soldiers staunchly believed they would emerge victorious. The military forces that had always been tasked with guarding the city interior had never experienced real warfare. Further, the soldiers, who had always been dissatisfied with the field soldiers, also argued the field soldiers purposely exaggerated their stories to extol themselves. The garrison soldiers wanted to triumph as the field military did in order to prove that they were, in no capacity, inferior to the field soldiers.


    "Zero didn''t follow?" Queen Sisi admonishingly looked at a young officer. She yed with her burgundy hair and stated, "My word. I, personally, came here, yet he stayed at the imperial capital. I feel that he, too, simrly to the field soldiers, is no longer loyal to me and courageous. I do not wish to see them alive when I return."


    "Your Majesty, it is not that Zero did not want to join you here. His child has just been born, so he did note this time. However, he will bring reinforcements after he sorts out his child."


    "His wife gave birth to their child; what does it have to do with him?" Queen Sisi ambled out of the tent. She peered toward the town. Lip tugged up ambiguously, she asked, "I wonder what Little Doggy is doing at the moment. Is he reacting as if the enemy hase, or does he have his own ns? Or, has he fled?"


    "ording to our messenger, he has already left. Reportedly, he went with a dwarf to check outnd. It is likely that he sold a block ofnd to a dwarf and is going to examine thend with the dwarf."


    "It''s mynd, yet he''s reselling it." Queen Sisi was always strangely jumpy about territory.


    The officer took a second to opine, "You did gift it to Lord Veirya."


    "I told her to go and guard thend. I didn''t tell her to sell it to other races. I don''t know what Little Doggy and Veirya are thinking, but I am unhappy about them selling my territory off. I can overlook the mine because the buyer is my merchant, but what are they doing this time? They are sellingnd to a dwarf. If they have the audacity to sell that piece ofnd, does that not prove that they would be willing to sell my imperial capital, too?"


    "I am sure that is not Lord Veirya''s intention?"


    "Really? I want to hear Little Doggy''s exnation for this." Queen Sisi went back into her tent. She stroked her finger. Then, she slouched back in her soft chair and waved: "Leave. There''s nothing else. Oh, right, go and write a letter; tell the garrison soldiers next to the field military that, if the field military tries anything, kill them in my name. The field military is split amongst themselves. If we gather our forces, they may not be our match. While we are at it, take their families hostage. I do not want to be dealing with people scheming behind my back while I am fighting on the frontlines, understood?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    The field military didn''t participate in the war. Lots of the soldiers had prepared themselves, but Her Majesty did not give them the order to march. The soldiers from the field military divisions didin it was dangerous to attempt the campaign against the elves. Even so, they were willing to go out of their duty as soldiers and their loyalty to the Queen. Nheless, Queen Sisi didn''t ask them for their protection in the end. To the contrary, she lost trust in them. The situation was lethal. It was lethal for a soldier to lose the trust of the one they devoted their loyalty to.


    The field military officer didn''tment. The high-ranking officers, in particr, didn''t articte their opinions. Therefore, their soldiers were in no ce to speak on the matter. Queen Sisi didn''t have spies in the field military faction. That was why she did not know what they were doing. ordingly, she had a number of garrison soldiers keep tabs on them when she set out for the campaign. They were ordered to eliminate the field military as soon as they tried anything. Queen Sisi was quite confident, nevertheless.


    The Northern militaries'' tradition was absolute loyalty. Queen Sisi''s current behaviour might not align with their own opinions, but they had inherited the bloodline of their noble households. If they harboured any ulterior motives, the internal structure would crumble. Regardless, that wasn''t an adequate reason to let her guard down. Arrogant she may be, she was very cautious, nheless.


    The elven forest was right up ahead. Queen Sisi shut her eyes as though she could smell the leaves and greenery from the forest. Those scents were her dream. Queen Sisi knew what she wanted; she used everything at her disposal to seize the throne. Thus, she was determined to use her throne in exchange for something. For example, to erase the humiliation she suffered in the past.

 Chapter Volume 5 7

    <em>Duel</em>


    The vige we arrived at was smaller than I expected. The vige gave me the impression that it was a sojourn location for nomads. The sparse grasnds didn''t have many ces where crops could feasibly be nted. Their vige didn''t have any farnd. Their walls looked as though they were temporarily put together walls. All of the buildings within the vige looked as though they were set up as temporary structures. The walls and roofs made from straw and soil resembled tents. Outside of the forest were children, who were cheerfully ying, in simple clothing made from sackcloth. All of them stopped when they saw us. They curiously scanned us then shouted in a weirdnguage before running back inside the vige.


    Francis took in a deep breath and blew his beard: "It appears they are Anks people."


    "Anks?"


    I had no idea what sort of people Anks people were. I never heard of them from Queen Sisi or the information I gathered in the North.


    "You don''t know them?!" eximed Francis, surprised.


    Francis'' overwhelming reaction made me begin to suspect if I had forgotten¡­ I confirmed with myself again that I genuinely had no clue who the Anks were¡­ Why is Francis so surprised I don''t know, I pondered.


    "Of course I don''t¡­ I''ve never even heard of their race. There are no traces of their existence in the North¡­ Plus, I don''t have any information pertaining to them." I decided to be honest.


    Francis stroked his beard. In a somewhat awkward tone, he exined, "It seems my assumption was wrong, then. I thought you were an Anks. Are you not from the North? Among the poption in the North, the Anks would most likely be the only people who could fight against the demons. The Anks are a violent group of humans. They''re nomads who are incredibly skilled in equestrian andbat. I thought that you were an Anks as you were the Demon King''s prisoner of war, and you dared to stand in Veirya''s way. Only an Anks would have that sort of courage."


    I shook my head. I exined, "I''m not an Anks. Truthfully, I''m the same as you. I just happened to be unlucky enough to end up in the demons'' hands."


    Francis nodded then stroked his beard again: "The Anks are a troublesome bunch. They love to fight. I think we best not act rashly. Whatever you do, don''t aggravate them."


    I warned Francis, "I don''t think I would aggravate them. If you ask me, you''re the most dangerous one. You better keep your drinking to a minimum while we''re here. Something bad is likely to happen in your drunken stupor."


    Francis awkwardlyughed: "I know. I know. I know what to do and when. These Anks should be considered Veirya''s people; I just don''t know if Veirya can put that through their skulls."


    I felt the Earth quake before I could reply. I had never felt the Earth quake as if an army of thousands upon tens of thousands shook the Earth before then. My horse vigorously raised its head and fearfully neighed. I quickly tugged the reins to bring it under control.


    It was a perfect scene of arge cavalry unit charging across the ins. Sand from both sides of the town gusted up and whooshed toward us. Along with the strong gale came a group of nomads, sweeping our cloaks up. I had to cover my face with my hand. Veirya and Francis, on the other hand remained calm as they watched the riders take formation. There were only thirty of them, yet I felt the pressure of facing an army of thousands.


    "You people are?" asked an Anks.


    The Anks were all bold. Perhaps they thought their hair would inhibit theirbat skills. Every single one of them looked as tough as nails. They wore unadorned clothing made from animal fur and scanned us from atop their horses. They were fully equipped for battle. Their leader carried arge axe on his back.


    I nced over to Veirya; she calmly observed them with her hand on her sword handle. Despite looking nonchnt, Veirya was actually already alert. If the Anks charged at us, Veirya would immediately retaliate.


    I took a step forward and answered, "This is the lord of the North, the hero, who killed the Demon King, Lord Veirya. This area that you reside is part of Lord Veirya''s territory."


    The man before me removed hisrge axe. He spat to the side and indifferently responded, "We don''t know a Veirya. We''ve lived here for generations. We''ve never bowed our heads to anybody! This is ournd. There''s no way you can take it. We will live here and die here. Such a weak woman might be ploughed to death by us. She might even able to leave behind a bastard for us."


    His brash and crude remark ticked me off. Veirya was the woman I liked; there was no way I wouldn''t be livid if she was insulted. Nevertheless, Veirya maintained a grip on her emotions. Francis extended a hand: "Out of respect for your god, this woman is, indeed, your lord. I know that you neither believe us nor are you willing to ept her, so how about this: we''ll have a fight in the name of your god. If this woman can defeat all or your warriors, you must acknowledge her as your lord. What do you think?"


    Francis nced at Veirya. Veirya subtly nodded. The man opposite us raised an eyebrow. He then looked to Veirya and burst out inughter: "You''re sending a woman to her death? I have a request, as well, then. If we win, the older woman and younger will be our ves, how about it?"


    "I don''t¡­"


    "All right."


    Veirya cut me off. She helped Leah down then dismounted. I wanted to dismount, but I couldn''t get my left foot out. The more I panicked, the more I failed. The group of Anks burst into mockingughter when they saw me with one foot stuck. I wanted to howl because of the shame and anxiety I felt. I wanted to protect Veirya, but I was stuck on the horse.


    "I''m so darn useless. People just insulted Veirya in my face, yet I can''t even get off my horse," I silently cursed.


    As I struggled to get my left foot out, Veirya came up to me from behind and helped me down. She didn''t say anything to me. She, instead, drew her sword from its scabbard then tossed her scabbard aside. She walked up to the group. I went to say something; however, Francis stopped me. He stated, "Don''t distract a soldier. You need to believe in Veirya; she''s never failed before."


    "Uhm¡­" I responded.


    Francis was right. Veirya had never lost before. She could behead the Demon King, so she, obviously, could behead the man in front of her.


    The manughed hysterically and dismounted. The man was about two metres tall. His robust physique resembled arge bear. Veirya looked as small and harmless as a kitten before him. He raised hisrge axe up andughed: "Missy, if you can''t continue, then make sure to yell out. Otherwise, I might split your skull open."


    Veirya didn''t reply. Instead, she raised her long sword; she trained her eyes on the man and grounded her feet.


    "Veirya has never lost before," stated Francis, nonchntly.


    I, however, was stunned as I watched Veirya fight. Veirya was so fast that I only saw her afterimage. She was right in his face before he could run. He forcefully raised his axe to try and knocked Veirya back, but her white silhouette onlysted for a second in the spot he aimed. The next second, his blood spurt from his thigh; Veirya immediately followed up with a kick to his chin. As he instinctively swung hisrge axe, she ducked down and then thrust her sword forward, aiming for his exposed neck.


    "Veirya!!!!!" I shouted for Veirya to halt.


    Veirya abruptly stopped in her tracks, but the sharp tip of her de was already flickering in front of his neck. Veirya''s cape was still fluttering owing to her blistering speed. The man''s leg appeared to have been crippled with herst sh. He was forced to his knee on the ground. Veirya stood before him and emotionlessly demanded, "I. Am your lord. Kneel. Before me."


    Veirya''s intense murderous aura exploded from her. The men on their horses all fearfully took a step back. Veirya was no longer a soldier; it had been a long time since she drew her sword. Nevertheless, when she unleashed her murderous aura, there was no one who wouldn''t tremble in fear. Even I almost retreated a step. But nheless, I was able to ovee my fear and stand my ground. Veirya would probably have been upset to see me afraid.


    "You can ept her now, right?" I sarcastically questioned.


    I mustered up courage to walk forward. The man nced over to me. Humiliated, his face was up in mes. He suddenly roared. All of a sudden, he stood up and staggered over; he took a swing at me. Behind me, Leah screamed, while Francis rushed over. I couldn''t move my left foot, so all I could do was nkly watch the axe swing up. However, I didn''t feel any pain.


    A piece of clothing gently grazed my face. I opened my eyes to have blood sttered on my face. The axe weakly dropped to the ground en route to my head. His head dropped.Had he not stopped, I most probably would''ve been crushed.


    Veirya plunged her sword into his throat and then took it out by horizontally swinging it out, thereby cutting half of his neck off, resulting in one shoulder tilting down. Veirya turned around from behind him. She calmly asked me, "Are. You all right?"

 Chapter Volume 5 8

    <em>Condition</em>


    "Our duel. Has nothing to do with him."


    Veirya shot the others a warning gaze. She stood in front of me with her sword poised toward them. With her killing intent seeping into her voice, she said, "I ept. Your challenge. And will do. My best. To keep you safe.. If you try to hurt him. Though. I''ll kill all of you. No matter how many of you there are."


    The Anks instinctively backed down a step then exchanged eye contact with each other. They dismounted one after another then knelt before Veirya, their lord, Veirya.


    Veirya did kill the man, but she won everyone''s respect. That was probably the Anks'' tradition. Veirya defeated their warrior before them, thereby proving that she was more worthy of being their lord. Francis looked at me and chuckled: "I told you, didn''t I? Veirya has never lost before. She was able to defeat demons several times her size before."


    "I can''t find it in me tough when Veirya protected me. To the contrary, I''ve lost any semnce of respect that the group might''ve had for me."


    I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was d that Veirya didn''t get hurt. On the other hand, I was unable to dismount when the woman I liked was insulted, and she had to protect me in the end. My pride as a man was shattered. If she wasn''t Veirya, I probably would''ve received a re. Ashamed, I couldn''t meet with Veirya''s eyes.


    Leah tightly hugged me from behind and banged her head on my lower back. She whimpered, "Papa¡­ you scared Leah¡­ Leah¡­ Leah thought¡­"


    "He will. Be fine." Veirya came over from behind me: "Next time. Don''t approach. When I fight. I can. Take care of it."


    Veirya''s gaze and voice were as calm as usual. I understood that Veirya wasn''t an ordinary woman. In spite of that, her calm demeanour made me feel more mortified. She didn''t look as if she agreed with my sentiment; she seemingly looking forward to receiving praise from me.


    "No man can do everything in the world. It''s toote for you to learn swordy now even if you wanted," said Francis, with augh. He went up on his toes and patted me on my shoulder. With a smile, he continued, "Don''t feel pressured. If you want to be with Veirya and protect her, wouldn''t it make her existence meaningless? Veirya has solved one problem. Next, you''re required."


    Puzzled, Veirya titled her head. She didn''t quite understand what I was thinking. She had probablye to take her actions as a given.


    I took in a deep breath to adjust my state of mind. It was no time for me to be sulking over my feelings. Francis was right. I needed to take the stage for the next part¡­ For better or worse, it didn''t look as though the group needed to discuss thend with me anymore. When Veirya led me up to them, not even one of them dared to raise their heads. They were a simple race. We basically solved the issue using brute force. Beating them would be child''s y for Veirya. That being the case, I no longer served any purpose¡­


    As I thought, the vige was set up temporarily; or rather, it was always one of the camps that they set up for hunting. There weren''t many things worth money in the vige. Their living necessities were very minimal. They persistently used pottery that was in shabby shape. The makeshift drying lines were as simplistic as what little kids put together. Based on the way they set up their structures, I figured it was safe to assume the vigers weren''t skill with handiwork. The children and hunting dogs ran about in the vige. Perhaps it was a post-trauma that caused my leg to cramp whenever I saw dogs¡­


    The women in the vige sat outside their homes and sewed things with animal fur. They were a tad vignt and curious when they saw us outsiders. The children also curiously scanned Leah, who was around their age. Simrly, Leah scanned them. The children were different to the human children Leah knew of after all.


    The group of men led us to a tent that didn''t particrly stand out. At first, I thought that they it was set up for beasts, not humans. I brushed aside the curtain. A simple, yet elegant, scent came from within. By no means, was the tent a miraculous tent that was small outside andrge inside. That said, the interior was stacked with books. There was only one elder sitting in the centre of the tent. He had a book in his hand. As opposed to looking as if he had his eyes narrowed to read, he looked more as though he was mulling.


    "Lord Veirya," acknowledged the elder, standing up before I said anything.


    The elder was thin as a stick figure. His eyes were astonishingly small. He pronounced Veirya''s name perfectly, however.


    "You¡­ know Veirya?" I asked, surprised.


    "Only ignorant fools would not know of the hero who slew the Demon King. I am this vige''s voodoo doctor; they call me Prophet; however, I have no powers to speak of. In saying that, I can predict the future based on previous events." The elder struggled to push the pile of books in front of him away then he came over to us. Form hunched, he continued, "What have you threee here for this time? Has the hero, who slew the demon,e to our vige for something?"


    "The reality is that this block ofnd belongs to Lord Veirya. After the war ended, all of thend around here became Lord Veirya''s property. Our reason ining here this time is to ask you to move out of this area for we have other uses for it. However, you need not fret. We will ensure that we sort out everything adequately. You just need to move out. It should not be a major issue for you as you lead lives as nomads, right?"


    I assumed the elder was a highly-respected individual in the vige. Therefore, as long as he agreed to move, the rest should willingly move. With him and Veirya''s name at the table, it shouldn''t be difficult to sort out the matter.


    The elder nodded: "We can leave. As it is Lord Veirya''smand, we will definitely obey. The young look as though they have decided to obey, too. What right does an old man, such as myself, have to refuse? In saying that, we also have a condition, and it pertains to where we will go."


    I nodded: "You may name it."


    It was perfectly reasonable for relocation to be a problem when asking someone to move. Asking someone to move without paying them a penny was nting a ticking time bomb on yourself. I didn''t have the impression the vigers were the type to make absurd demands. Thanks to Veirya, we seized the initiative in our negotiations. If negotiations fell apart, we would be kicked out.


    "We¡­ want your city."

 Chapter Volume 5 9

    <em>Exchange</em>


    "You want¡­ to go to our city?"


    Honestly speaking, I genuinely didn''t consider that problem. I never expected that would be his request. I didn''t think they would choose to be permanent residences. Further, I didn''t want to let them go to the town. Due to the chapel''s previous activities there, the townsfolk were on edge and the town, as a consequence, was highly susceptible to conflicts. If a group of aggressive people joined the town, as well, it''d be too risky. I wanted theirnd, not their people.


    "The world has changed." The elder looked at me then turned back to look at the books. He continued in a soft voice, "Very soon, we will no longer be able to look at the future through the lens of the past. The world is changing too rapidly. The death of the Demon King was a beginning. The world is changing; if we do not change, the world will eliminate us. As such, I, too, want to go to the centre of civilisation, the centre of the world, for that is where the future of our people lies."


    I didn''t respond. I still didn''t want to let them into our town, not because I was I was petty¡­ okay, I admit, there was a selfish reason for my reluctance, too. Anyhow, I didn''t want to bring in a group of outsiders the townsfolk couldn''t ept. To add, they were nomads who relied on hunting for survival. What would they do once they got to the town? They didn''t have fields to nt crops in, and I doubted they would be willing to anyway. They might as well have stayed where they were to mine.


    I knew that it was pointless to consult Veirya since she definitely wouldn''t care. She calmly looked at the elder as I predicted. However, I felt that she just didn''t want to bother with anything and might''ve been spacing out.


    I was going to have to take responsibility for the group of Anks in the future. I could turn them down since we were the ones with the initiative in the negotiation. They couldn''t protest if I refused them; at most, they''d just name another condition. I wondered if they were truly useless, though. Perhaps they might not have been useless if I keep them with us.


    Francis whispered to me, "They''re a rare breed of warriors, you know?"


    I, obviously, knew that. There was the townsfolk riotst time. I felt sorry for Angelina, Anna and Ciara, the only three maintaining security in the town. Our town didn''t have its own defence force. Queen Sisi wouldn''t allow us to have our own military force for sure. But nevertheless, we needed a small team that could protect the town.


    The team that would protect our town could not be fodder. They had to be the elites among the elites, who were capable of handling any abrupt situations, and had to be absolutely loyal to Veirya. I never had any suitable candidates before. The townsfolk were farmers, not soldiers. Trusting them was no different to using paper for bulletproof vests.


    We could instate the group of Anks as soldiers. They couldn''t defeat Veirya, true, but there were few people in the entire world who could. They could be mightier than others for all I knew. I suppose aforementioned point would qualify them as professional guards. The chief potential hazard was whether they''d guard the town or sabotage it. They could help deal with foreign threats; however, what would we do if they started trouble within the walls? They weren''t just guards. The religious, lifestyle and culture differences might lead to internal strife. How would we resolve internal conflicts? Tell Veirya to sh and gash them? It was easy to see they were a double-edged sword. No one could guarantee the policy would work in our favour. A sharp de could y your enemy, but at the same time, it could be your own undoing. Icked information to conclude if it was a good opportunity or otherwise.


    "Sir, is there anything else that you need to worry about? We do not want to receive anything. It is just that this ce is no longer suitable for living in. Our lifestyle will be abandoned. History has abandoned countless people; we do not want to be its next victim. I believe the young ones can respect Lord Veirya, which means their loyalty shall continue."


    I exined, "I am not particrly worried about whether they are loyal or not. My main concern is whether or not you can continue to be respectful and humble. Your young ones insulted Veirya and my daughter right in my presence. After they lost the duel, they made an attempt on my life. Do you think I can trust such folks?"


    "You would be aware that all young ones have that same issue. Indeed, it is a problem brought on by our traditions. Our young ones are overzealous about battle andck respect. It is unquestionably a problem. With that said, you must understand it is a fact that we are behind civilisation. Among our young generation, I cannot find anyone who can inherit these books from me. We did have a civilisation, but the demon race destroyed our homnd. These books contain the knowledge and intellect our predecessors painstakingly acquired and recorded. My lifespan as a human ising to an end. I want to rescue my race. During the war, being well-versed inbat was valuable. Nevertheless, the Demon King is dead. If we do not change the way we live, we will history''s next victim. Change is hard, and it will definitely eliminate some. If someone starts a fight, we will leave it up to entirely to judge them."


    The elder was incredibly sincere. Now, the cornerstone questions: Was what he said actually useful? Would the young ones outside obey what he says? He said we could punish anyone as we pleased, but could he guarantee he could appease their anger? Could he guarantee the young ones wouldn''t harbour any incandescent feelings?


    I didn''t know the answers to those questions. There was a time and ce where you could usibly gamble. If this gamble ended up as a loss, the entire town would be in peril. Our base was the town in the North. Should the town meet with mishap, we would be stranded. As ast resort, we would need to turn to Queen Sisi. That was thest thing that I wanted to happen. Businessmen do not act on impulse. We could not gamble with our capital.


    Veirya, who was next to me, ostensibly noticed that I was stuck in a dilemma. Subsequently, she whispered in my ear, "I think. It will work."


    "Normally, Veirya wouldn''t concern herself with such matters. Why did she suddenly speak her mind this time?" I wondered.


    Veirya borated, "If they. Step out of line. I''ll. Kill them."


    "Yes, but nothing would happen if we didn''t bring them back in the first ce."


    "Her Majesty. Will be very happy."


    Veirya''s statement enlightened me. She never thought about keeping them for herself; she nned to pass them on to Her Majesty. That would, supposedly, leave us without any problems.


    "Why didn''t I think of that?" I cursed in my mind. If we handed them over to Queen Sisi, problem solved. Queen Sisi would probably love the excellent soldiers. Veirya''s idea was sound to me.


    "All right, then. You hand us this block ofnd, ande back with us."

 Chapter Volume 5 10

    <em>Queen Sisi¡¯s Dignity</em>


    At the town.


    "So I was fooled, after all," remarked Queen Sisi


    Queen Sisi had a drink. It wasn''t clear if she as smiling or not. Angelina stood in front of Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi brought her fully-equipped soldiers into the property. Based on that, it was safe to say she did not harbour kind will. Angelina knew she had to show up and hold down the fort in the current situation. Her daughter and Lin Dongqing were absent. If Queen Sisi was upset, she could tear the entire property down without offering a reason.


    Angelina took in a calming breath and tried to imitate the way Lin Dongqing conversed with Queen Sisi: "Her pregnancy may be falsified, but the two are genuinely in love."


    Unfortunately, Queen Sisi just jibed with a chuckle, "Knight number one hundred and twenty-seven, don''t imitate Little Doggy. You have no idea what ''talking'' means. If it was him, he would''ve told me that I hadn''t seen Veirya so that I had no way of knowing if Veirya was pregnant or not."


    Angelina gnashed her teeth quietly. Queen Sisi was right; she hadn''t seen Veirya for the day, after all. Angelina could''ve argued Veirya was pregnant, and they did not lie. Queen Sisi fooled her. She could not match wits with Queen Sisi. Defeated, Angelina decided to be forthright: "Your Majesty, did you need something here?"


    "I need Little Doggy and Veirya. However, seeing as they are not here, forget about it."


    Queen Sisi shook her head. She chuckled as she took a step further into the property. Angelina instinctively obstructed her. The three elves resided upstairs. If Queen Sisi wanted to kidnap the three elves as hostages, the three elves would probably be goners. While Angelina didn''t particrly care about the three elves, they were her daughter''s friends. Her daughter didn''t have many friends to chat with; she, therefore, cherished those friends of hers.


    "Oh?" Queen Sisi noticed Angelina''s small movement and, therefore, giggled: "What''s the matter, knight number one hundred and twenty-seven? Is there something upstairs I can''t see? I never arranged spies here for I trusted you. I am disappointed. You hid elves without permission, sold mynd and are trying to block my way. What exactly are you nning?"


    "Your Majesty, you must believe that we harbour no ulterior motives. If you do not believe us, I shall go to the elvennds together with you!"


    After witnessing the annihtion of the chapel, Angelina learnt what sort of means Queen Sisi was willing to use. Despite the chapel having no intent of rebelling, Queen Sisi went and decimated it without a trace of hesitation. She killed everyone and razed the chapel to the ground. Bearing witnessed the inferno from the extermination, there was no way Angelina wouldn''t fear Queen Sisi''s madness. Tension gued Angelina. She went to loudly exin the usations; however, Queen Sisi didn''t care. She pressed a hand on Angelina''s mouth and chuckled: "Don''t be so worked up, Knight. I don''t intend to do anything. Moreover, I won''t allow someone I don''t trust to follow me by my side. Such an individual won''t use her life to protect me when there is danger. She, in fact, may be the threat to my safety. As such, you can rest at ease. I won''t have you go."


    "Th-Then, what did you¡­ what did youe here for?"


    Queen Sisi giggled: "Rx. I just came to visit an old friend. It just so happens to be that my friend isn''t around right now. That''s why I n to go and fight now. All of the glory in this war shall belong to me. I couldn''t be any dder."


    "Your Majesty, I know it is already toote for me to say this, but I still must tell you: it would be in your best interests to not attack the elves. They, by no ounts, are a race that can easily be defeaed. Your attack on the elves is doomed to fail!!"


    "No, no, no. Don''t say that, knight number one hundred and twenty-seven. I''m about to go right now. Don''t say such inauspicious things. There have been countless people who have challenged me with that. Do you think you are somehow different to all those before you? Do you think I would listen to you and stop at this stage? Or, did you think I''d change my mind. It''s too early for you to be dreaming. I will never change my mind as I have never believed myself to be wrong. There is no chance they can thwart my ambition."


    "You do not understand¡­"


    "Previously, you all also imed I didn''t have a grasp of the demon race. All I need to know is that the elves can be killed. As long as they can be killed, I know I can win the war." Queen Sisi spun around and waved her arm. Giggling condescendingly, she went on, "Okay, okay now. Knight number one hundred and twenty-seven, that''s all I have to say. I must be on my way. I am happy with the life my people in this town lead. It is a friendly and perfect small town. I have a strong desire to construct a pce I can stay at while I am here. Let''s make the hot spring the centre. My builders havemenced work. I will visit this town annually from now. I am genuinely fond of this ce."


    A surprised Angelina looked at Queen Sisi. She repeated, "D-D-Did you say that you want to build a pce here?!"


    "Yes. Did I not mention that I like this ce? It is not just because I am a fan of this ce, but also because the person I like most is here. Henceforward, this ce will be the heart of the empire. I can''t control my empire if I do not have a pce to reside at here. Who knows, I might even turn this ce into my imperial capital henceforth."


    "What¡­"


    Angelina wasn''t certain if Queen Sisi was jesting or being serious. If she was serious, Lin Dongqing would definitely be Queen Sisi''s. Something would inevitably happen between him and Queen Sisi. That was why he did everything he could to keep his distance from her. Additionally, given Queen Sisi''s personality, she would take him by force if that was what it took. If her daughter refused to hand him over when Queen Sisi asked for him, her daughter wouldnd herself in hot water, no doubts about it.


    Veirya liked Lin Dongqing. It merely was an issue of her daughter not yetprehending those feelings. The ce was her daughter''s blissful home. If her daughter lost him, she''d lose all of her happiness. Her daughter would be nothing more than a killing machine without him.


    Queen Sisi didn''t spare any thoughts for Angelina''s opinions. She turned around and left the property, walking as if she was gloating. Queen Sisi was going to attack the forest tomorrow. Humanity wasn''t totally unprepared.


    The first coal that was extracted was turned intorge fireballs. They nned tobine the fireballs with the dwarves'' ck and sticky oil that the dwarves mined and thenunch them over to the elves, thereby setting the forest on fire. Queen Sisi bore in mind the fact that humanity wouldn''t be able to spread out in the forest, which was why her n was to burn the forest.


    The elves had yet to figure out what would happen; the forest was as quiet as always. They were totally indifferent despite humanity''s military being right in their faces at that point. Well, at the very least, they had yet to show any signs of retaliation. The elves raid humanity''s camp at night, either. As a matter of fact, the scouts who entered the forest returned to humanity in one piece. It was as if all of the elves had fled. But nevertheless, everyone knew well and truly that the elves wouldn''t flee.


    The elves had nowhere else to go without the forest. It, consequently, stood to reason they were still in the forest. They had to be nning something. The elves were aware they were no match out in ins. That meant they''d have to fight in the forest. Based on the fact that the elves had not yet shared any intention of surrendering, it was clear they would fight to the bitter end. With that all said, Queen Sisi still overflowed with confidence.


    "As the elves have chosen to fight to the death, we shall grant them death," was what Queen Sisi thought.


    Queen Sisi had no ns of capturing elves; they held no value to her. All she wanted was the forest. She was after more territory. The territory served her no purpose, no doubt, but she wanted it. She wanted the glory and prestige that woulde with it. The power and prosperity of a nation was defined by how muchnd it upied. That was what Queen Sisi was after.


    All of humanity was aware of their limited lifespan. Humanity possessed one of the shortest lifespans on the. Queen Sisi, who had already experienced death once before, understood that it was simple for someone to die. Thus, she treated every day as if it was herst, in turn, motivating her to make such bold gambles, betting everything on her choices. After all, a wrong bet only meant death. Death was nothing she couldn''t ept. She knew being powerless and tormented by others was the worst pain, not death. She''d rather die than fight for food as a dog would again.


    Queen Sisi would never give up. It was a matter of dignity. Nobody could understand the value she assigned to dignity because they never went through what she did. Only she, the woman with a faint wound on her hand, would understand. Queen Sisi wouldn''t hesitate to spill a river of blood if that was what it took for her to acquire that dignity.

 Chapter Volume 5 11

    <em>Hoax</em>


    There were less than a hundred people in the vige. Based on the size of our town, it required an overhaul to take care of all of the Anks people for the meantime. The vigers promised to leave. Thus, the deal entered its final stage. Francis and I signed a contract in the elder''s tent. We defined the boundaries of thend. We settled the price and signed it after confirming its uses. The deal, therefore, was officiallyplete.


    Thend already belonged to us; in other words, we just transferred ownership of it to the dwarf, Francis, and his business association. Francispleted his task and procured thend. The problem was that none of us knew if there was a mine there or not. If there wasn''t, Francis'' business association was duped.


    The night we acquired thend from the vigers, we saw a second group of dwarves. I knew they were Francis''petition; in other words, another business association. They didn''t look too happy when they saw Francis. Francis, on the other hand, smiled from ear to ear. He sat next to therge bonfire situated in the centre of the vige and raised his cup of wine: "My dear friends, what a coincidence to see you here. I''m so d to see you out here in the most deste ce in the entire world. Do you have business here? Sid you purelye to drink with lonely me?"


    Two elves in front of Francis clenched their teeth. Seething anger seeping into their voices, they muttered, "Francis¡­"


    I was d to see the two dwarves'' expressions. At the end of the day, I was a businessman. I knew there were profits and losses. I didn''t go all the way there for the original inhabitants of the ce. Gaining the vigers couldn''t even be considered a gain. I didn''t invest the money earned from selling thend into the deal. If Francis didn''t profit, then all of my earnings would be flushed down the drain, too, because I''d lose an entire block ofnd without any ie. Put another way, I suffered the biggest defeat. Although we didn''t mention the idea on the journey, that didn''t mean that neither of us cared. Both of us were eager to find out the oue.


    "What''s the matter, my dear friends? Didn''t you think that I''d be here?" jeered Francis.


    "We already sensed this shameless betrayal. Someone definitely leaked the news to you. Then, you got a step ahead of us thanks to your repulsive deal with humans!!"


    Francis heartilyughed: "No, no, no, my friend. You''re wrong about that. Even if you came here, you wouldn''t have acquired thend. Thisnd belonged to my friend, Veirya, and this gentleman. You wouldn''t have had the right to survey the area or mine here even if you dide."


    They fumed, "We had nned to search, but your group snatched it first. We may all be businessmen, but we''ve never used such unscrupulous means. You found out our ns through a traitor. Such unscrupulous means is sickening."


    "No, no, no, I beg to differ. I''ve never used underhanded tactics such as bribery. Shouldn''t you reflect on yourself? Why would your pupils take the initiative to betray you and join me? How do you treat their families? If you abuse others, it''s only natural they''d leave. If people resentfully depart, it''s bound to lead to betrayal. It''s not my fault; the fault lies with you," Francis calmly argued. He then raised his cup for a toast and finished the drink in one go.


    "Our association''s business has nothing to do with you. Francis, don''t stick your nose in our business."


    Francis nodded: "Sure. Simrly, this is our business deal. This is our association''s deal with Lord Veirya and this gentleman. By the same token, you have no right to stick your noses in, either. Moreover, this is now my territory, and you''re not wee."


    The two dwarves exchanged nces after Francis'' response. They took a step forward to approach Francis. They looked at him and, in an absolutely serious tone, replied, "Francis, let''s put aside our personal grudge for now. What has happened and what we''re talking about is unrted."


    Francis vigntly watched them. Despite the dwarves saying that, there was no question they were nning something, and it was bound to be rted to thend. ording to what Francis previously said, thend was definitely valuable; hence, it was worth lying and betraying for. Francis aggressively asked, "What do you want?"


    "We are talking about thisnd, Francis. How much did you spend on thisnd?"


    "I told you already: this deal is none of your business. You have no right to be asking any questions."


    Francis had no intention of telling anyone about our deal. Under normal circumstances, disclosing the details of a contract to a third party was a vition of the terms, otherwise known as betrayal. Heprehended that. Worth noting was I didn''t know if he refused to disclose anything merely due to dislike or not.


    "What I meant to say was that we could help you reduce your losses. I swear that was not our association''s intention but because our friend, who admires you as our dwarves'' hero. That''s why we n to help you reduce your losses, understand? In essence, it''s useless for you to purchase thisnd. There are no gems that we''re after here, understand? We didn''t n to purchase this block ofnd. There are no minerals here. All you''ve bought is a useless block ofnd located at the farthest and coldest corner in the world. You have to believe me."


    I didn''t believe him. I did think that it was a possibility before their visit. It was likely a method of distracting one to swindle them of their money. Howbeit, nobody would believe you if you suddenly came up to yourpetition and told them you''re conning them¡­ Who would ever be so honest? Nevertheless, after their deration, I began to panic¡­ After all, if they were telling the truth¡­ then all the money I earned was¡­. Bound to be lost¡­

 Chapter Volume 5 12

    <em>Uneptable Failure</em>


    "I thought you said you had urate information indicating this ce contained the mineral you needed."


    I gulped. However, my voice was shaky as I questioned Francis, who looked ghastly.


    The two dwarves didn''t stay for long. It seemed as though they were genuinely trying to help a friend but were rejected. It was as though they said, "Well, if you''re not going to ept our good will, we won''t stick around." I knew there was the possibility of their im being a hoax to deceive Francis into handing over thend, but I was no longer sure about that¡­ Actually, I had a burgeoning suspicion the two weren''t lying when I saw Francis'' grave expression. Francis might''ve been tricked. I, in turn, would also have been tricked.


    Because it was Francis, I actually had faith in the deal. For that reason, I wasn''t worried about giving all of the gains of thend to him and trusted my investment in thend would rake in profits for me. If there were no profits to be made, though, Francis and I would both be in dire straits. Investing is a dangerous game. That was the consequence of investing in a business without a margin. Francis, at the very least, hadnd that he had the right to develop. It might be useless, but I wouldn''t earn a dime; plus, I''d lose a block ofnd. That would be a horrific return on investment.


    I had never experienced something so embarrassing ever sinceing to this world. I wasn''t a resident of this world. I was supposed to be ahead of the curve in business. I was a master of money subjects. I was confident I wouldn''t be cheated. I wouldn''t have invested if it wasn''t for Francis; I thought it''d be fine since he was Veirya''s good friend, but it appeared that I was mistaken. Francis was an idiot, aplete idiot!


    "I thought¡­" Francis stroked his beard to distract himself. He touched the ground and trembled as he continued, "I¡­ I''m not sure, either. I just knew they''d buy this block ofnd¡­ Th-The money I used to purchase thend¡­ was a loan I took¡­. I guaranteed the sess of this deal, which was why I¡­ I¡­ They clearly said that there was a mineral here. I think they lied to me; they must''ve lied to me."


    "Do you have a way to confirm it? Aren''t you dwarves able to probe? Can''t you test if there are minerals down there?"


    Slowly but surely, I regathered myself. I needed to establish what the status quo was. I only had the story from one side. I, therefore, couldn''t determine who was lying to Francis. They may very well have wanted set him up to trick him into handing over thend. We couldn''t afford to be tricked. Thinking with clouded judgement wasn''t going to help. What if Francis was tricked? If he was tricked from the outset, I''d lose thend and five hundred gold coins for nothing. While I didn''t need the five hundred gold coins, being tricked would be a blow to my dignity as a businessman.


    "Yes. m down. Calm down." Francis grabbed his beard then stood up: "I shall go and investigate now. I''ll go see now. I''ll check it out while it''s night time. I don''t believe it; I don''t believe I was tricked. The child had actual wounds. I''m sure this isn''t a hoax. No way; there''s no way. We wouldn''t bash a child. That''s despicable; that''s absolutely despicable!!"


    "You can''t trust a businessman. They have no such thing as a bottom line."


    Every word that came out of Francis'' mouth turned up my anxiety metre. I couldn''t shake off the feeling it was a hoax. It was finally obvious they had nned it for a long time. Those dwarves were right; how they treated their pupils was their business. An outsider wouldn''t know. They inflicted pain on themselves as a ruse, and Francis took the bait right away. Francis, a dwarf who never had his guard up against children, fell for it.


    "Not only were you tricked, but you''ve gotten me involved, too. This dwarf is brain dead. I shouldn''t have trusted him!!" I reprimanded myself in my mind.


    Francis stood up and staggered off. I called out to him back and reached out to him: "Hand me the contract."


    "What?"


    Francis'' spirit was wandering somewhere after he was fooled. He didn''t quite keep up with what happened. I asserted, "I don''t care what you want to do, but give me the contract now. Don''t try to escape while it''s dark. I, in fact, now suspect that this is all a scheme you came up with to con me out of thisnd."


    "I''m not that sort of person!! I would never trick Veirya! Veirya is my friend!! You''re insulting me now!"


    I rubbed my temples. I demanded, "I told you: businessmen have no such thing as a bottom line. If they could use a child to trick you, you could trick me with your friendship, too. Hand me the contract. I''ll give it back to you when youe back. Don''t you dare run away. If a loss has to be suffered, we''ll suffer together!"


    I changed my attitude toward Francis significantly. I saw him as a durd, throwaway garbage. I wanted to say, "It''s natural to pursue profits when you see it, but you need to use your brain to do that. It''s clear as day that there has to be something wrong with money dropping into yourp, yet you gambled everything you had for it! There''s unquestionably something wrong with that!!"


    "This guy isn''t worthy of being a merchant. I can''t believe I trusted him! Trusting him is the biggest mistake I''ve made all my life!" I thought to myself.


    I yanked the contract off Francis and shoved it into my pocket. I lowered my head and didn''t utter another word. My anger licked every vein in my body. I wanted to hit someone. I wanted to shout. I wanted to strangle the dwarf in front of me to death. All of my rationality was dedicated to calming myself down.


    Normally, I could ept failures. I knew deception was inevitable when we were both trying to one up the other. This was different, though. I was an utter embarrassment in front of Veirya during the day. I was such a disgrace that I couldn''t even dismount. At the time, I kept trying to console myself, telling myself that I was smarter than Veirya and could make money. Only toter find out a dwarf yed me!!


    I told myself, "If I can''t even do this much, what right do I have to stay with Veirya?! What light would she see me in?! I''m a man, god damn it! I can''t hide behind Veirya forever!! I can''t fail! I absolutely can''t fail! I need to go something for my Veirya! I must! Not! Fail!! I can''t ept this! I want to be with Veirya! I don''t want her to look down on me!"

 Chapter Volume 5 13

    <em>Veirya¡¯s Embrace</em>


    Veirya sat next to me. She monitored me for a reaction before speaking: "Leah. Is asleep. You always slept with Leah. No exceptions. So. Did. Something happen?"


    Only then did I remember Leah transformed into an adult at night. I couldn''t leave Leah with Veirya at night. I had spent the entire night grouching as I watched the fire. I felt as though my body burnt hotter than the fire. I didn''t reply. I silently dug my fingernails into my palm. Veirya carried on, "Leah. Didn''t dare to approach you. She said. You were angry. I want to know. What happened. Also. Where is Francis?"


    I didn''t know how much time had past; we had yet to hear back from Francis. As I previously mentioned, I suspected he went along with hispetition''s ruse to bamboozle me. People tend to conjure up all sorts of ideas when they''re nervous just as I was.


    Francis was either an idiot or a traitor. His continuous mentions of his brothers and his memories of the past may have just been part of his ruse. He might''ve said all of that to lower my guard. Had I not demanded him to return the contract just before, I wouldn''t have had a single thing.


    I didn''t want to see Veirya yet. I made a mistake; I let her down. Veirya ced her faith in me, yet I let her down. I practically handed over thend to the dwarf for nothing. If there was something underneath thend, I might really have lost everything. Veirya believed I could deal with it all, but I failed. I let down my woman. She saved me, protected me and apanied me, yet I couldn''t even fulfil my role. I let my lord down. How was I going to answer to her.


    Teeth, I muttered, "Sorry."


    "Why?"


    "I¡­ made a mistake." I gnashed my teeth. I aggressively grabbed a piece of wood and hurled it into the fire. In a muffled voice, I said, "Francis might''ve fooled me. Else, the group fooled him. Either way, I was duped. I almost lost this block ofnd and lost money. Veirya, I''m sorry; I let you down. You trusted me, but I almost gave away thisnd for no reason, nevertheless. You''re the lord, yet I failed to protect you¡­"


    My energy seemingly escaped my mouth. I dejectedly sat on the ground and peered at the fire with my eyes looking empty. The me appeared as nothing but an illusion before my eyes. I virtually couldn''t see anything. Guilt and regret gnawed at me. Defeated, I bemoaned, "During the day, you were insulted, yet I couldn''t argue back. I couldn''t even dismount. In the end, I had to rely on you to protect me. I thought I could help you with something else; in the end, I failed to do even my own job. I failed you."


    Veirya gazed at me in silence. She didn''tfort me even when I finished speaking. I knew that was Veirya''s nature, and, of course, she knew I was wrong in her stubborn mind. That was why she didn''t want tofort me. She was nice enough to not admonish me. I couldn''t imagine herforting me, either. I was satisfied to have her just sit next to me. Neither of us spoke. I continued to sit by the fire and stare at it. I didn''t need to make excuses for myself. It was my mistake. My mistake was being too impulsive. I trusted Francis more than I should''ve trusted him. I wasn''t thatx when I met Lucia.


    I couldn''t help reproaching myself, "Why did I trust Francis. He was even a key yer in my victory against the chapel, so why did I trust him? What in the world was I thinking?! Why did I have to get greedy for such a meagre amount? I shouldn''t have trusted him, and I shouldn''t have gotten involved. Why did I not stop myself and get involved when I went to the bank to ask about the loan?!! Why?!!"


    Suddenly, Veirya remarked, "I. Was so frightened by goblins. That I wet myself."


    I looked up at Veirya but no words wouldeto mind. Veirya borated, "Later. Demons attacked us. My arm was nearly. Gnawed off. Lucilia. Almost died in their jaws. Afterwards. They forced us. Into the water. We almost drowned."


    I couldn''t figure out what point Veirya was trying to make. I couldn''t see how it was relevant to the topic at hand. She carried on, "That''s why. I. Don''t think it''s a problem. People. Will always trip. So. It''s fine."


    "Veirya¡­"


    Veirya quavered if I wasn''t mistaken. I asked myself, "Was that her way offorting me? Did Veiryafort me? Veirya actually took the initiative tofort someone?"


    "I. Told you. What I considered embarrassing. So. Are you. Better now? Everyone. Will fail. So. You don''t need. To be so dejected."


    Veirya''s blue eyes gradually looked foggy. I didn''t know why my emotions surged up to my eyes and tried to escape as tears. Veirya''s attempt atforting me was seriously clumsy; she had no clue how tofort someone. She merely shared her embarrassing stories with me. The way she looked at me gave me the impression she was somewhat despondent. She turned her head away and added, "Sorry¡­ I. Don''t know¡­ how tofort people, so¡­"


    I suddenly went to hug Veirya, but she reacted swiftly, stopping my arm with hers. I froze; I suddenly realised what I just did. She held onto my arm. I had no idea if it was a subconscious action or if she didn''t want me to let me hug her¡­ Nheless, she immediately answered my query. She reached out and pulled me into her arms simrly to a mother.


    Veirya and my height, which was quite close, were perfect for that moment. Her hands felt particrly gentle and soft around me. I gently rested on her shoulder. I couldn''t hold back my tears any longer. She hugged me without a word or expression, but her arms were ever so firm and reassuring.


    I stopped thinking. My indignation finally converted to tears on Veirya''s shoulder. Crying on her shoulder actually sort of reversed our roles. In any event, I didn''t consider it a problem then. I was happy to have her shoulder at that moment.


    Veirya wouldn''t even rebuke me; she evenforted me. Veirya was no longer the old Veirya of the past. Additionally, she wouldfort me when I was disheartened. That was proof she cared about me. That was nice enough for me. Veirya still cared about me. I never expected her to care for me so much.


    We understood how each other felt, though. At the very least, I knew that Veirya upied my heart. I didn''t know if she thought about me, though.


    Veirya still trusted me. Despite my failure and requiring her to protect me, when I was a good for nothing and a ve she could throw out whenever she liked, she still cared about me and lent me her embrace.


    A sequence of footsteps interrupted us. Veirya slowly released me. I saw Francis, who looked downtrodden more than ever. He wobbled over to us. Hisnguid eyes suggested that nothing happened, or maybe something bad happened to him.


    He dropped to his knees all of a sudden. Quavering, he apologised, "Sorry¡­ sorry¡­ I''m so sorry¡­ Veirya, Tarak. It was my mistake. It was all my mistake. I was tricked. They tricked me. I was disgracefully tricked. I didn''t mean to implicate you¡­ I honestly¡­ didn''t do it on purpose¡­ The¡­ the mineral I need isn''t here¡­"


    I suddenly felt as if shackles on me were removed. Veirya''s shoulder helped me regain myposure. I said, "All right. It doesn''t matter. I didn''t suffer too many losses. The contract we signed was for development. You can only use thisnd for developing a mine; that is what its uses are limited to. Therefore, I can give it to you. As for the five hundred gold coins, I don''t want them, either."


    "I guess this should be over now. My failure should end here, right¡­?" I wondered.

 Chapter Volume 5 14

    <em>Scheme</em>


    By the looks of it, Francis truly failed. He sat next to the fire with his posture hunched over just as he did before. He didn''t ask for the lease from me, either. I wouldn''t me him; the lease was pointless at that stage. I only sold him one right, which was the right to develop thend. Without minerals there, the block ofnd was just a hill of dirt. Therefore, it was totally normal for him to not want the block ofnd.


    I could ept the loss. I just happened to gain nothing. I never received the five-hundred gold coins; hence, I could write off the loss and brush it off. After all, my only loss -if it was considered one - was no ie. Technically, I lost time and money travelling, but the money spent on that was minimal. More importantly, the failure was a lesson for me to burn to memory. The take-home message for me was to not trust the dwarves. I would rather trust Lucia. At the very least, the elves were trustworthy and wouldn''t trick me.


    I didn''t console Francis or even speak to him again. I, instead, stood up and left with Veirya. She seemed to want to say something to her old friend but followed me when she saw me get up. We had to separate in the end, after all.


    I couldn''t Veirya see Leah and, thus, we separated. I felt somewhat lonely after our separation that night. Apparently, Veirya also felt somewhat lonely. She stopped at the entrance to our tent for a while before turning to leave. It was just a few minutes in her arms, but it was an especially blissful experience for the two of us.


    I returned to our tent. Leah was able to stay amazingly optimistic no matter where she was. She slept soundly despite where we were. I caressed her head andy down next to her. I was originally flustered and furious, but I had calmed down considerably. I, in fact, tended toward the optimistic side. I thought I had changed. To be specific, my thinking started to change. I used to be solely focused on how to make money to take Leah away from the North. At some point, money couldn''t hold a candle to Veirya.


    Even if I couldn''t purchase a property in the imperial capital, I was willing to stay in the North with Veirya. The elf diplomat was also a remarkable teacher. Leah wouldn''t be a fool under her tutge. To add, I had gotten my hands on more books; the elder''s books were going to be given to Leah. Hence, Leah wouldn''t be undereducated even in the North. As a matter of fact, she''d be even more educated than those in the imperial capital.


    I didn''t get too sleep for long as a sudden voice from outside woke Leah and I up. Leah was still in her adult form. Afraid, she grabbed the nket and wrapped herself up. I ced my hand on her head and focused in on listening to the voice. I heard Veirya''s voice, but that wasn''t the predominant voice that I heard. Francis'' breathing was the loudest sound. I told Leah to not speak or be scared then draped my cloak on and exited.


    I initially thought that Francis nned to steal, only to catch sight of him kneeling on the ground and quaking. Veirya crouched down next to him and patted him on his back. In front of us was a rack for meat and clothes. There was a rope dangling from the rack. Francis was coughing on his knees, while Veiryaforted him. It all pieced together for me in that moment.


    I revealed an indifferent smile. Francis wasn''t conned. He tried to con me. Francis had nned it all out. Until I saw the scene, I wasn''t certain. Francis'' suicidal act confirmed my suspicion. He had no reason to suicide. Plus, he didn''t need to do it right outside our tents. It was all a ruse that required him to victimise himself. He intended to perform the show for me. Actually, I take that back. His act was dedicated to Veirya.


    Francis struggled to look up at me. He gasped for air and wrestled with his body to lift his chin: "Sorry, it was all my fault. It was all my fault. I''m Veirya''s friend, yet got you tricked. I can''t go back and face my people. I was certain that I''d win this bet, but I''ve failed. I utterly failed. I can''t go back, and I can''t repay your losses. Therefore, I must die before you to redress my blunder."


    Veirya replied, "There''s no. Need. I. Don''t mind."


    Veirya¡­" Francis emotionally clutched Veirya''s hand. Voice trembling, he said, "Thank you, Veirya. Thank you. You truly are my goodrade. If it was someone else¡­ I can''t pay the sum¡­ and¡­ and¡­ if I don''t have anything, if I don''t have the five-hundred gold coins or the lease, then I can''t go back¡­ I can''t go home now¡­"


    "Can you, at least, have some shame?" I jibed.


    I was done; I couldn''t stand Francis any longer. You can be shameless, but you just can''t be as shameless as he was. He had failed, yet he was still trying to lie his way out. Using pity to lie is as shameless as shameless gets. I fumed, "You''ve beenpletely defeated, yet you''re still trying to act pitiful to con me? I''d have some respect for you if you used a more ssy idea. What''s with the fake hanging skit?"


    Francis yelled while his snot and tears flew off his face, "I''m not lying! I genuinely want to die! I have nowhere to return to anymore! Veirya has you; Lucia has the forest. What about me, though? Where can I go if people are going to ridicule me?!!!"


    Veirya also looked at me. She lingered for a moment before saying, "He''s. Not that sort of person. So, Help him. Please."


    I had a strong urge to tten Francis face with my fist. I knew that his act wasn''t for my sympathy but for Veirya''s. Veirya, being pure as she was, wouldn''t know what the dwarf was after. She wouldn''t believe the conniving piece of manure was angling to swingle her. She would unconditionally trust herrade in spite of her him taking advantage of her friendship.


    I fumed to myself, "Lucia tricked her. Francis tricked her. What sorts of sacks of shit are the people around Veirya?!!!"


    I crunched down on my bottom jaw: "What do you want?''


    "Five-hundred gold coins or the lease."


    I resolutely replied, "I''ll give you five-hundred gold coins."


    Francis froze. He then began to panic: "No, no, no, I don''t want money; just give me the lease. I''m not after your money; I''m not that sort of person. Haven''t I already bought thend? I just want to take it back. I don''t need you to give me extra money."


    Tone unwavering, I argued, "No, you said five-hundred gold coins or the lease. I''m now refunding you your capital. But, I won''t give you thend. This block ofnd belongs to Veirya now."


    "You¡­"


    I silenced Francis with my response. I held up the lease and ripped it up in front of him: "You didn''t hesitate to y dirty to acquire thend. That means you definitely have ulterior motives. That''s why I won''t possibly let you have thend. Ever. Out of consideration for Veirya''s feelings, I''ll give you five-hundred gold coins. Now, pick your ass up, and get out of Lord Veirya''s territory!!"

 Chapter Volume 5 15

    <em>Stay Away From My Woman</em>


    Francis was repulsively unbing; hisst ditch effort wasn''t even swindling. Hisst effort was extortion under false pretences. His intent was to put on act to win Veirya''s sympathy. Veirya wouldn''t watch herrade die with her arms folded, and she wouldn''t believe herrade wouldmit such a despicable deed.


    What Francis wanted was the lease. He made a gamble, betting that I wouldn''t give him five-hundred gold coins, hence the idea. On the surface, it appeared as though he merely wanted to make up for his mistake, which exined why he imed he was fine with either the five-hundred gold coins or the lease. In reality, however, the five-hundred gold coins was just a veil. Nobody, under normal circumstances, would choose to give the five-hundred gold coins for the reason that handing over the lease wouldn''t incur a loss because Francis had, in actual fact, already paid the five-hundred gold coins. Thend was already Francis'' property; there would be no loss if I gave it to him. If I gave him another five-hundred gold coins, however, that''d equate to a loss of one-thousand gold coins.


    I would rather give Francis five-hundred coins and suffer a loss of one-thousand gold coins than give him the lease. I didn''t know what was in the ground in the area. Even so, for Francis to have concocted such aplex scheme to swindle thend from us proved that thend was undeniably valuable. The only missing aspect was that I didn''t know the source of its value. Francis undoubtedly began nning his every step ever since meeting us at the bank. For all we knew, the two days he waited at the block ofnd might''ve been to wait for the results of the inspection. Then, he got into the skin of the victim and followed alongside us to the block ofnd. If I didn''t take back the lease that night, he would''ve vanished with the lease that night. He might''ve given me a hundred or a couple dozens of gold coins to pretend he sold it to repay my losses. If it went down that route, though, I would, perhaps, lose even more.


    It was a scheme; everything about it was part of Francis'' scheme. I failed to discern it from the very start. I trusted Francis more than I should have because he once fought alongside Veirya. That was why I didn''t have my guard up against him. I never expected him to be worse than Lucia. Lucia just tricked some food from us, but she provided me with lots of benefits afterwards. As for Francis, he basically tried to take the firewood from the cauldron.


    Francis tried to take advantage of Veirya. I wasn''t angry about him lying to me because, had it not been for Veirya, I might''ve continued falling deeper into his trap. If he hung himself in front of me, I would just watch him die without batting an eye. I''d bet my head he wouldn''tmit suicide. That sort of trick would only be able to fool Veirya.


    Francis purposely tricked Veirya. Veirya trusted him and respected him. She considered him apanion who fought alongside her in the past, yet he shamelessly tried to swindle her! That was what infuriated me.


    Francis could''ve taken my signature to Achilles and withdrew the money I asked thetter to hold onto for me. As such, Francis was incensed. Nevertheless, he couldn''t vent in Veirya''s presence. I took in a deep breath to keep my emotions in check and directed, "Veirya, go and pack your luggage. We''re leaving tomorrow morning. I want to console Francis by myself."


    Veirya gave me a small nod before turning to leave. Francis watched Veirya leave before finally turning back to me. I didn''t give him a verbal beat down right away. The two of us maintained a peculiar silence. Without Veirya, Francis packed up his pitiful circus act.


    "I honestly think you should give me the lease." Francis paused for a moment before continuing, "This block ofnd seriously doesn''t contain the mineral we need, or the one you need. Coal or whatever, there''s zilch. There are only useless rocks and stones. It''s pointless for you to keep it. Spending five-hundred gold coins to buy it is the worse loss you could make."


    "I know." I casually nodded andughed sarcastically. I decided to take a dig at him: "Thisnd is so poor that you used an unscrupulous scheme and stopped at nothing to put on a show for Veirya to see in order to swindle this block ofnd from her, but you''re kind enough to stop me from losing five-hundred gold coins."


    With my eyes traned on Francis: "You can wake up now. I don''t care what you and Veirya went through together in the past. Whether you bled, lost an arm or defeated demon lords has nothing to do with me. All I know is that you tried to swindle Veirya for yourself. Not to mention you tried to swindle her right in my presence. I respect Veirya; if she says topensate you, I''ll do so. I won''tin about that. Having said that¡­"


    I aggressively grabbed Francis'' beard with a vice-like grip. I stared him down. I knew I wasn''t his match in a fist fight, but he didn''t scare me. I stopped thinking rationally or being scared long ago because I was mad: "However, get away from the woman I like before I change my mind. If you dare to take advantage of Veirya, I''ll let you know how small this world is. I don''t ever want to see you again. Don''t ever let me see you and your business associates again. Otherwise, you might have to get the fuck out of humanity''snds ass naked!"


    I released Francis. He took a step back. I spun around and left. I didn''t lie. Veirya was more important to me than money. If someone dared to take advantage of her foolishness again to trick her, I seriously would let them know I could end him no matter where he was on the globe and how powerful money was. I didn''t know martial arts, but I did know how to make those who did work for me.


    Francis best not let me ever see him again and best not let me get involved with his association again. Else, I''d sabotage their deal regardless of who they did business with. While I was at it, I''d make sure they go bankrupt. All challengers were wee. That said, I had more important things to think about.


    Truth be told, I didn''t exactly have a lot of money. Queen Sisi didn''t give me moneyst time. The money that I had was from the vouring smuggling. I then bought books from Lucilia. I coughed up another five hundred for Francis this time, which meant that my savings were in danger. Originally, I nned to use my limited funds to buy shares and sabotage the coal and steam engine business bit by bit, but I now seemed short on funds¡­


    I needed toe up with a way to make money. If nothing else, I needed to see if I could make money from the war. The next item on our agenda was to head back to the town. I didn''t know what Queen Sisi''s status quo was. The elves and humans war had definitely broken out already. As for what I could gain, I didn''t know.

 Chapter Volume 5 16

    <em>Enemy and I</em>


    Humanitymenced their attack. Technically, it couldn''t be ssified a war as Queen Sisi had no intention of dering war. She didn''t inform the elves she wasing for them, but the elves already knew, anyway. In that sense, it was a war where the deration of war didn''t need to be voiced. Although Queen Sisi didn''t dere war, strictly speaking, it was a brazen front-on attack. Not a sneak attack. Taking that into consideration, it probably suited the elves'' spirit of war.


    Humanity didn''t lead an upright frontal attack as the elves predicted. Queen Sisi didunch a serious attack, but she wasn''t an idiot. She knew humanity couldn''t spread out their forces in the forest and that numbers were their advantage. She understood she should strike the enemy''s weakness with her strength, and not use a weakness to attack a weakness. That was why humanity utilised the most threatening weapon they had specifically against elves.


    Said weapon was the ancient catapult. They catapulted lit up coal wrapped in rosin into the forest. In addition, they added the highly-concentrated mmable oil that the dwarves concocted, thereby turning the forest into an ocean of mes. The forest wasprised of mmable wood. The mes instantly devoured a big portion of the forest.


    Humanity was in no rush. They quietly waited for the mes to die out. Once it was done burning, they just needed to deal with the ash, fallen trees and burnt elven corpses. In the end, however, humanity didn''t sessfully carry out their goal. Queen Sisi assumed the elves would all be hiding in the forest as hunters, waiting for humanity to enter. She thought she''d burn the elves alive in the forest if she just burnt the forest down. Sadly, she was wrong. All they found in the burnt remains were ash and fallen trees. There wasn''t a single elven corpse in there. It was as the scouts'' initially reported; the elves had already left the forest they resided in for generations. The forest had to shoulder humanity''s vition.


    "Where exactly have the elves gone? Does the forest belong to me now with just that? Have the elves given up on thisnd and left? So, it''s over without a single skirmish?" pondered Queen Sisi.


    The soldiers were already ted and had even begun writing home, telling their families they would be back in a week, supposedly. They interpreted the war to be the fire attack. All they had to do was wait for the fire to go out. Cleaning up the remains was basically the same thing they did in the city. They were professionals at cleaning corpses. They suffered zero casualties and injuries. They, therefore, perceived wars against foreign enemies as nothing special. They figured the field military did lie to them, after all.


    Normally, merchants and women wouldn''t be allowed in military camps. In addition, while in camp, soldiers weren''t allowed to write letters or leave at their leisure. Queen Sisi considered the war against the elves to be a particrly rxing one. Her forces had started to enter the forest, yet they didn''t practice any semnce of discipline. They drank. Women came and went as they partied, and merchants sold snacks and alcohol. None of them felt any fear or sense of nervousness. It wasn''t a war; it was just a holiday.


    Queen Sisi felt somewhat despondent since winning without fighting didn''t satisfy amander''s desire for glory. Further, nobody would be impressed with her when victory was achieved so easily. All they would say was the elves fled, and she wasn''t defeated. The scorchednd was of no value to Queen Sisi.


    The only sign of war was the amount of money. The exorbitant expenses in the military were Queen Sisi''s main concern. She didn''t have much money for the war, and she even needed to loan a lot of it. After the war, she would have to repay the bank loan withnd. If they had a fair amount remaining, though, she wouldn''t have to give them as muchnd. The coal fireballs were all made from money, and humanity would struggle to turn scorchednd intond that could generate profit. Hence, she forbade burning any more of the forest, and the army filed into the elven forest.


    A big portion of the elven forest had already been scorched. With obstructions burnt down, humanity''s army could spread out. They axed down any remaining obstructions so that the human army could continue advancing in rows and columns.


    No elves weed humanity when they entered; there were no arrows zipping through the air, either. The forest was still. Humanity didn''t know where the elves were. Soon enough, they developed the belief that the elves had fled and that the forest was theirs. It was a tour with Queen Sisi leading. Their mission wasplete once they reached the other end of the forest and nted their g.


    Queen Sisi truly was incredible. The soldiers revered her because of the undemanding triumph. Ever since she emerged, she brought victory to humanity time and time again. She was courageous and wise. Nobody was able to match her, a fact that was proven over and over.


    The soldiers shouted, "Love live Your Majesty" from the bottom of their hearts and sang songs thatuded Queen Sisi. They enjoyed their holiday with fervent reverence for their Queen. News of their victory not only spread among the soldiers, but also to the citizens behind them. The people fervently admired Queen Sisi thanks to the victory and the plethora of courageous exploits credited to her name. The citizens of the imperial capital went as far as gathering to kneel in front of the imperial pce despite being aware she wasn''t in the imperial capital. They donated their own belongings and nned to construct a huge golden statue in her likeness.


    Queen Sisi blessed humanity with dignity and glory beyond anything they''d had in generations. The humans, who formerly had to fight tooth and nail and barely scrape by, were finally the ruler of the continent. Half of the continent belonged to humanity. They would never ever have to rely on the assistance of any other race again. Humanity fell even the elves.


    The young man who read the report outlining the results of the battle was quite surprised by the oue. It sounded as though humanity had emerged victorious. Actually, they had upied almost half of the forest without a single fight.


    The elves'' city was already right in front of humanity''s army. Humanity had set up their encampment at a riverbank. Queen Sisi apparently joyfully yed in the water. A good number of soldiers took advantage of the water flowing there to wash up and wash their clothes. The scene was a group on vacation through and through.


    The young man couldn''t figure out why the elves weren''t present. Queen Sisi surely wanted to let him see the results. She didn''t head their advice and attacked the elves. As she had upied elven territory and achieved her goal, the results were a form of ridicule. If she came back in a good mood, she wouldn''t kill him, but there was no doubt she''d rub it in his face and demean him. Nheless, the young man didn''t believe Queen Sisi had won.


    The young''s rich war experience told him that, as long as the elves were alive, humanity hadn''t won. upyingnd was meaningless; victory required defeating the enemy. If the enemy orderly retreated and didn''t lose many men, the survivors were a threat. A perfect retreat was an indication themander cannot be underestimated. Retreating was more difficult than attacking. As long as the elves had conserved theirbat strength, they, by all means, could still retaliate in some shape or form. Moreover, camping next to a river wasn''t ideal, especially when the enemy was hidden, while humanity was out in the open.


    Queen Sisi hadpletely stopped bothering with the intricacies of battle, as everyone believed they could win. Nobody thought they would need to fight again. ordingly, they did as they pleased and whatever was convenient for them. From the young man''s perspective, that was a taboo for soldiers. Queen Sisi was unaware, though. If they found a bunch of elves'' corpses, then they seeded, but the elves were perfectly fine. Nothing was more worrying than the fact Queen Sisi had no clue where they were.


    The biggest problem in humanity''s war with the elves was thetter''sbat style. Humanity specialised in teambat; the elves, on the other hand, were skilled in ambushes and guerri warfare. The elves had set up the perfect environment for them to maximise their skills. Nobody spotted an elf, which meant that humanity was in danger.


    The young man wasn''t certain that humanity had won. To the contrary, he thought that the elves might¡­ have already won.


    ========


    Current time at humanity''s camp.


    Humanity wasn''t cautious with fires despite being in the forest. They lit up a bright bonfire in the forest. The women giggled. The scent of wine whisked through the air. Queen Sisi rewarded the soldiers with a handsome amount of wine. Bottles of wine littered the ground. Humanity could enter the elves'' imperial city tomorrow. The soldierspletely had their guards down. They merrily drank, sung andughed. They didn''t resemble soldiers at war in any capacity.


    Queen Sisi stayed in thergest tent. She bathed in her bathtub while enjoying red wine and bird meat that the soldiers had just hunted. To top it off, she also had fruits from the forest. She, too, hadpletely dropped her vignce. She definitely looked as though she was out on vacation. The rear continued to deliver supplies to the frontlines without any obstructions. There were no enemies in front. Tomorrow, she could sit on the elven king''s throne. It was all as beautiful as a dream.


    ========


    Current time underground¡­


    The elves assumed crouched postures. Above them were the cheerfulughter and the sounds of wine bottles rolling around. They bore with it very patiently. They had predicted that humanity might burn the forest, which was why they moved underground. With the effort of every elf, they were able to construct an underground passage that was as densely packed as a spider web. They could move about underground without humanity detecting them. Humanity never imagined the elves were right underfoot.


    The elves were amazingly lucky. Humanity was right overhead and right around their exit. However, the elves didn''t intend to go out and fight. They moved barrels of gunpowder underground. Fighting? No, they were going to just blow the human army into the sky. Their thinking was simple: youunched fire at us, so we''ll return the favour with fire from underground.

 Chapter Volume 5 17

    <em>Obliteration</em>


    "What''s the situation?"


    I didn''t detect the mood of people stuck in a war when I returned to the town. The town was the forefront of the frontlines, in essence, yet the townsfolk were still walking around unfettered. They smiled and chatted merrily. Business was booming in the town for the first time. There were plenty of people drinking in spite of the sun still shining in the sky. Carriages went back and forth on. By my predictions, the carriages should''ve been carrying resources for the frontlines. Some carriages purchased things from business in the town and delivered them straight to the frontlines. A ce specifically for treating the wounded had been set up; interestingly, it was so deste that there were only two doctors chatting away at the door. I couldn''t see how there was a war. Plus, the town was a frontline when everyone was soid back.


    "There''s no way there can be no wounded in a war, can there? Why is there no wounded? Are they actually fighting a war or out on a tour? Could the war have been unbelievably sessful that humanity didn''t even have one wounded person? That''s make believe. There should be wounded personnel," I reasoned.


    Even Veirya kept staring at the carriage that passed by the three of us. The foods they covered underneath rainproof fabric on the carriages caught her attention. Leah, however, pinched her nose andined, "There''s so much alcohol. The entire street reeks of alcohol. Papa, Leah feels slightly dizzy¡­"


    "Alcohol?" Perplexed, I repeated Leah''s statement then watched carriages pass us.


    They all looked the same and presumably transported wine. I had never participated in any war, including wars in ancient times. That said, based of my limited experience, I expected the soldiers on the frontlines to require weapons instead of wine. They couldn''t possibly need to transport that much wine even if they needed to kill time.


    "If they''re sending so much wine to the frontlines, are they going to fight or not? Is this really a war?" I mulled.


    Veirya shook her head. She peered in the direction that the carriages left: "Wrong. The army. Shouldn''t. Drink so much wine."


    Imented, "What is Her Majesty doing¡­? Could the elves have been defeated already? Is the frontline already celebrating? I don''t know. I''m not sure what the situation on the frontline is."


    Veirya responded with a slight nod, but didn''t offer any input.


    Judging by the situation in the town, the war should be looking optimistic for humanity. After all, I was mentally prepared to have the elves upy our town. I didn''t expect the town to still be in one peace and everyone so joyous. Seldom did I see humanity so confident.


    We returned to our ce. The main hall was empty, and nobody came looking for us. When we went through the long corridor, I saw the Elven Queen quietly sitting in the centre, facing the fountain in silence. Ciara stood leaning on a pir in silence. Ciara turned in our direction when she heard our footsteps. The Queen turned to ask Ciara if we were back. The Queen then turned to face our direction with a smile: "You are back, Your Lordship?"


    "I am," I replied


    Veirya nced at me then grabbed hold of Leah''s hand. The two of them immediately joined forces and looked at me with admonishing and displeased gazes, making me feel as if I was sitting on pins and needles. I didn''t know what to say. The two picked up their pace, leaving me behind. They opened the door and went home. In the end, however, Veirya turned around to nce at me onest time. She was expressionless, but I could tell she was cranky. From what I deduced, she permitted me to interact with the Elven Queen under the condition I stuck within an apparent time limit. If I stayed too long, Leah and she would let me have it. That was fine by me. I''de in after a quick word.


    I went and sat down next to the Elven Queen. She still had her lips curled up into gentle smile. In front of her was the fountain and flower garden. Our trip was short, but the flowers had begun to grow a little in that time. It began to rise from the soil and straighten up. Unfortunately, flowers had yet to grow; we just had leaves. Nevertheless, it had to bloom soon, probably around summer.


    The elven as she turned to face me. At peace, she asked, "Are you happy this time?"


    I shook my head with a helpless smile: "No. I was tricked. Man, it was my first time being fooled here. I didn''t think a dwarf of all people would fool me, either. Not to mention that he was Veirya''srade. I didn''t think Veirya''s formerrade would pull an underhanded stunt in an attempt to scam Veirya. I honestly was caught off guard. God damn, it angers me."


    "You need not be angry. It is only normal to be deceived. There is no way for us to know what someone has in mind or how they change. I am a prime example. I, too, never thought Lucilia would betray me."


    The Elven Queen took a while to find my hand. She ced my hand gently on her face. My fingers gently slid across her eye cover. The fabric felt lifeless. For a while, I didn''t say a word. In the end, I opined, "It must hurt a lot."


    "Uhm, it does." The Elven Queen nodded. She changed her hand position, tightly sping my hand. She then gently ced my hands on her face. In a gentle voice, she pleaded, "Therefore, please touch me more. Please continue touching my eye, like this."


    My body jolted. I felt a chilling sensation up my spin. I turned my head around to see Veirya standing at the door after opening it and calmly watching me, especially my hands on her cheeks. Every strand of hair on my body stood up. She didn''t have a sword on her, but her threatening aura was just as intimidating as when she had her sword on my neck¡­


    I quickly pulled my hands back. The Elven Queen seemed to realise what happened and, therefore faced the door and smiled: "Is that Lord Veirya? You truly are so fortunate to be able to go out together with His Lordship. Can you not give us some time?"


    "No." Veirya''s answer couldn''t be any simpler.


    The Elven Queenughed; however, she didn''t let go of my hand. Instead, she stood up and, with a smile, dered, "In that case, I shall go back with His Lordship. That should be fine, right? I just need His Lordship."


    Veirya didn''t respond this time. She still looked at me with the same gaze, though¡­


    "This has nothing to do with me!! It''s not my fault!" I wanted to cry.


    <em>Boom!</em> As I cried out in my mind, a deafening explosion shocked me. The ground underfoot quaked. Before I even had the time to rpose myself after the explosion, I heard another explosion and then another.


    I panicked as I looked toward the direction the explosions came from. It wasn''t the sound of thunderp; the sound came from underground in the distance. To be precise, it came from the within the forest¡­

 Chapter Volume 5 18

    <em>Defeat</em>


    The elves dered their victory via a cruel method. The loud sounds weren''t thunderp, but the elves'' horn; that was the sound of their fireworks, announcing their victory.


    I nned to select some people to go find out what transpired in the forest. Howbeit, as I was selecting the people to go, an elven horse carriage pulled up at the entrance of our town. Veirya and Angelina were in full gear. We rushed to the entrance together. The coach of the elven carriage wore a belittling and taunting smile. He dismounted and turned the turned the carriage around while ignoring all of us humans. He then opened the carriage.


    Inside was a scene that left everyone deathly pale. The women''s shrieks shut down humanity''s triumphant and casual lives. The stench of scalded flesh instantly burst forth from the inside. The rancid stench reced humanity''s leisurely and rxed atmosphere. Human corpses poured out from the carriage. Corpses were piled up on corpses. Not one person escaped the tragedy; they looked as if they were pulled out of an inferno. Their flesh was rotten, appearances were disfigured and exposed skin was covered in burns. In fact, their skin was basically ck charcoal.


    "Humans, we elves practice war norms. We''re sending all of your wounded back to you. As for whether or not they are still alive, we can''t make any guarantees. There might be corpses stuffed in amongst them. Also, they might be missing bits and pieces of themselves. Welp, they''re in your hands now. We''re not responsible for your people. We''re keeping the others as ves." The elf stood next to the two mountains of flesh andughed heartily.


    I finally realised I wasn''t looking at two mountains of corpses but two mountains of wounded personnel!! Correction, two mountains of corpses and wounded personnel mashed together!! They were all soldiers who were either burnt to death or suffering burn wounds!! If the elves were taking the initiative to send us injured soldiers, keeping the live and disposing of the dead, then that meant that humanity lost the war!! Humanity''s frontlines were crushed! I quickly inferred the sequences of explosions that I heard before was rted to how the elves routed humanity.


    The elf didn''t hesitate for a single moment. He smugly took off, leaving us with two mountains of burnt human beings and flesh.


    "What are you all looking at?!! Hurry up and help them!!" I yelled as I was first toe back to my senses.


    Mymand brought the people to their senses. They panicked as they rushed over to the mountains to separate the corpses and survivors then took the wounded away. Blood dispersed throughout and dyed the grass a terrifying dark red. As the elf said, lots of them were missing limbs and whatnot. Some only had half of their body intact and came back with theirst breath to see humanity''snds again. They couldn''t even moan or groan anymore. Some of them only had half a head remaining, missing arms or missing legs. It was obvious that the wounds weren''t inflicting with des but explosions. The elves made fireworks out of humanity''s army.


    When the medics, who were supposed to treat the wounded, saw the messy blood and flesh, some of them went to the side and quivered in fear, while others vomited. The women fled helter-skelter as if the world was ending. Anybody would be scared; anybody would be scared after seeing their own kind sted to pieces. Even Angelina and Veirya were stiff.


    I didn''t know what the elves did precisely, but I knew that they won. There were less than a hundred men delivered to us, while there were less than twenty survivors. The elves only sent us this batch, and Queen Sisi wasn''t seen amongst them.


    "Humanity''s army was annihted, but where''s their leader? To hell with the soldiers; what happened to Queen Sisi?!" I was panicking.


    In a quiet voice, Veirya murmured, "Your Majesty¡­"


    Veirya rose to her feet to charge to the forest, but Angelina, with her swift eyes and hands, caught Veirya''s cape and yanked her back. Veirya pivoted around and raged, "Let go!"


    Angelina thundered, "Calm down, Veirya. I can understand how you feel, but you can''t go there now! Right now, humanity and elves are in battle, and you happen to be humanity''s hero. If you enter the forest, the elves will definitely catch on to you! The elves are no match for you here, but you''re no match for Lucilia in the forest!!"


    Veirya aggressively pressed a hand on Angelina''s: "Let go. Whatever the case. My loyalty. Is devoted to Her Majesty. I won''t. Betray her. Right now. She''s in danger. I must. Save her."


    Angelina pulled me over and shoved me into Veirya''s arms: "You''ll die!! You seriously will die!! Lucilia will definitely kill you; I guarantee it! You know the elves well enough! They couldn''t ask for a better spoil of war than you! Think about him, and think about Leah!! What are they going to do if you die?!!"


    Veirya instinctively hugged me. The two us were centimetres away from each other''s faces. My brain went nk; I turned my red face away as I didn''t dare to look at her. Veirya, who was boiling, suddenly went quiet.


    "¡­ You''ll. Go with me. To the elvennds. To rescue Her Majesty?"


    I needed to put some distance between us, or I couldn''t think¡­ I wiggled out of Veirya''s embrace and took two steps back to calm down. I answered, "You can''t go."


    Veirya froze for she didn''t expect the answer from me. I didn''t wait for her to reply. I, instead, borated, "Lucilia will definitely kill you; no questions about it. You can''t enter their forest. At the very least, not until the war between humans and elveses to an end. You must stay here."


    "Then, Her Majesty¡­"


    "I''ll go." I took in a deep breath. I scratched my head and exined, "I''ll rescue Queen Sisi from them; you stay put. Veirya, you trust me, right? You trust that I can bring Queen Sisi back, so you stay in the town. The elves won''t initiate an attack, but you are not to go into the forest under any circumstance, understood?"


    Veirya revealed dumbstruck look: "How. Are you going to do it?"


    "I have my own ways."


    To be frank, I had no idea in mind; I had to calm Veirya down, nevertheless. You think I wanted to go and rescue Queen Sisi. If I didn''t go, however, Veirya would surely go, when she was no match for Lucilia in the forest.


    I had to go and rescue Queen Sisi for Veirya''s sake.

 Chapter Volume 5 19

    <em>Self-Hypnosis</em>


    I never once expected an annihtion of such magnitude. I did consider injured personnel, but the number of wounded soldiers exceeded my expectations. I didn''t know how the elves did it, but it was a fact that the elvespletely annihted humanity''s army.


    We had a station set up to treat wounded soldiers. s, because there were no wounded sent over after a long time, lots of doctors left. There were only two doctors left; the two doctors were from the garrison soldiers division. They had never witnessed any major incidents. They were as slow as snails just treating the wounds. They even treated the soldiers while weeping and puking. I spected they were more susceptible to breaking than the burnt soldiers. The ce for the wounded wasn''trge; impossible to fit hundreds. The elves'' medications would be helpful for the wounded, but I doubted that the elves would help us in that situation.


    "Anna, rush to the city; call as many doctors over as you can. Have them bring medication and anything else required to treat burn wounds."


    Truth be told, I couldn''t care less about the wounded soldiers as their lives had nothing to do with me. I wasn''t the one who got them killed. I had fulfilled every possible moral standard by providing them with a location to take shelter and be treated. By contrast, Veirya remained around the wounded soldiers the entire time. She took hold of their hands and listened to their groans. Though she never said anything, she remained by their sides the entire time.


    Even Leah ran back and forth, carrying basins of blood. My entire family was there to help the wounded; thus, it wouldn''t be too appropriate for me to look indifferent. But nheless, I couldn''t help feeling nauseous when I saw their burnt flesh, open wounds, the ck liquid pouring out of their wounds and the limbs that weren''t intact. The air around the ce was repulsive, thereby attracting masses of flies. We couldn''t dispose of the dead in time, so we had no choice but to toss them aside. Flies stopped on their open lifeless eyes. We didn''t even have a piece of fabric to cover them.


    "Can''t you go any faster?" I asked.


    The injured had been left in critical condition for a long time by the time they arrived. I suspected the elves deliberately dyed their delivery. Lots of them were already dead by the time they arrived. Soldiers continued to die one after another after their arrival. All they did was lie there and plead, "Help me," in the form of murmurs as they waited for their blood to run dry before finally going totally limp.


    The two doctors still continued to dawdle at the table, however. They didn''t have the foggiest idea as to how to treat a wounded leg. They shouted, "We can''t help it. It''s difficult to treat this wound! We need to amputate it, then bandage it, stop the bleeding and disinfect it. The problem is that the wound still hasn''t been bandaged!!"


    Veirya looked over to us and suddenly remarked, "I. Know some medical skills. We can. Treat them inside. I can. Treat some."


    "Me, too." Ciara also offered to help: "I don''t have any medications, but I can bandage them and whatnot. I believe that we are all willing to help."


    "I won''t allow you to." I didn''t hesitate to interject. In a serious tone, I exined, "I won''t let any wounded personnel into our house. I''m not cold-blooded. The issue is that we can''t do anything about the wounds and corpses here. Are you going to force Leah to see corpses back home, as well? You want to stink up our ce, too? Also, the corpses'' temperatures are so high that they''ll rot very quickly! I won''t risk your lives!"


    A doctor turned around and yelled, "What do we do, then?"


    "Amputate their legs." I offered a simple solution: "If it''s hard to keep their legs, just amputate them."


    "They''ll die if we amputate their limbs!!"


    "And they''ll die if you don''t get a move on! We can''t save the severely wounded. Relieve the severely wounded with a quick finish, and then hurry on to personnel with minor wounds! Every extra one saved counts. You have to learn to ept and reject!" I grabbed the doctor''s cor and pushed him over to the table.


    The injured soldier was still conscious. His leg had basically been blown off. His bones had already snapped. His breathing was erratic. He aggressively grabbed my arm and, with his pale lips, softly muttered, "No¡­ Sir¡­ don''t¡­ please¡­ save me¡­ save me¡­ I¡­ I have a child¡­ I don''t¡­ see¡­ see¡­ my child¡­ and my wife¡­ I¡­ I don''t want to die¡­ Please¡­"


    It didn''t take much effort for me to pull my arm out from his grip. I ignored the soldier. I pushed the doctor over: "Chop his leg off. Do what you can. Whether he survives or not is his business. You, too! Don''t waste too much time and medicine on one person. If you can''t save them, throw them out!"


    It was called the alligator principle. Once an alligator has caught your leg, it''ll rip your arm off if you try to pull your leg out with your hands. The only solution was to chop off your leg. If you struggled, you''d just have more to lose. The most crucial course of action was to limit your losses.


    We had no time or medicine to waste on such severely wounded soldiers. It''d be nice if they made it, but if they didn''t, we were genuinely hopeless. We fulfilled our obligation. We could only save more by giving up on those we couldn''t do anything about.


    "Don''t!! Don''t! I have children! Don''t!! I don''t want to die! I don''t want to die!!!"


    The soldier''s screams were loud, but they didn''tst for long. The doctor looked at the soldier and then pushed a section off the table. Half of his body dropped to the ground. He hadn''t shut his eyes yet; his gaze was aimed in the direction that I left.


    Veirya grabbed my arm. I sighed as I knew that I might have given myself a pain to deal with.


    "He. Has a child."


    "Lots of people here have children."


    "He was injured."


    "Lots of people here are injured."


    "We have to save him."


    "And we have to save other people, too."


    The two of us both wore neutral expressions. I wasn''t totally cold-blooded. I wasn''tfortable watching someone die as a result of mymand, but what could I have done? There were lots of people who had injuries that couldn''t be dyed. Wasting too much time on someone who barely had a chance of survival would only cost the lives of others, for the reason that saving him alone would cost too much time and medicine. That would not be fair on the others. Our goal wasn''t to save everyone; our goal was to save enough people.


    "We. Can''t abandon him." Veirya then paused before continuing, "We. Can''t abandon anyone. Otherwise. Nobody will. Be able to fight without concern. In the future."


    I calmly exined, "The war has already ended; the curtain on the war between humans and elves has alreadye down. The elves won. We still don''t know if Her Majesty is alive or not. Do you honestly think humanity will gather all of the entire nation''s power to go and fight the elves? Veirya, you''re mistaken. You''re the only one who is worried about Her Majesty. Right this moment, the people in the imperial pce are already discussing who to crown next. They don''t and won''t care about Queen Sisi or think about revenge or what have you. Our goal now isn''t to save everyone; we''re trying to save as many as we can."


    "They. Sacrificed everything. For Her Majesty. They deserve. To receive treatment."


    "Only those worthy of help deserve help. Veirya, you won''t always be repaid for your investment. Only those qualified to receive a return on their investment will receive that return."


    That was Veirya''sstment. She didn''t consider my argument to be of any significance. She turned around to the doctor then went up to him. She seriously demanded, "You have. To save everyone. Do your best. Unless they die. You must continue to help them."


    "Veirya!! This is not time for you to be acting stubborn!!" I waded my way through the corpses to reach Veirya. I grabbed her by her arm and scowled: "Now is not the time for you to be acting emotionally!! Our current duty is to save as many people as we can! If you waste medicine and time on someone who has no hope, what are you going to do about the others?! Are you expecting them to just wait to die?!!!"


    Veirya still wore a straight face; she wasn''t angry, and she didn''t argue. She just calmlymanded, "Don''t stay here. And concern yourself with things here. I. Order you. To leave this ce."


    "You¡­"


    Veiryapletely shut me down. Words weren''t her weapon, but shepletely silenced me. Shemanded me while totallyposed, freezing all of my blood. I thought our rtionship had progressed a fair lot. I thought that Veirya and I cared for each other and thought about each other. I thought I could speak to her on the same level, and we loved each other. However, she had never considered me someone worth keeping by her side. She never put me on the same level as Angelina and Queen Sisi. She had always considered herself my master; she never considered me a human being. Thus, we were never fated to be in love. Everything that I thought was just things that I conjured up in my mind. Veirya never thought what I thought she thought. She never shared the feelings I had for her. Veirya. Never. Loved me.


    I stood in ce in silence for long time before finally quietly replying, "¡­ Fine."


    Veirya turned around and stopped speaking.


    "I''m going to the elvennds now," I stated.


    I looked up at Vierya''s back; nevertheless, I no longer had any lingering feelings when I saw her back. I, as a matter of fact, was somewhat irate and discontent. Veirya never cared about my feelings.


    "You''re going to go. Rescue Her Majesty?"


    "That''s the n."


    Veirya didn''t seem to care about anything. Not that I med her. She didn''t love me or think that she hurt me with what she said before. She believed her attitude to be perfectly justified. To be fair, I had no right to be angry as everything that I thought were just ideas I conjured up in my own mind.


    "How. Will you rescue her?"


    "I have my own way."


    I had my own way of doing things, and I could think independently.

 Chapter Volume 5 20

    <em>Silent Goodbye</em>


    The young man stood up. The results of the war turned out as he expected. The elves didn''t retreat or fail. They, instead, hit back. The garrison soldiers had no clue what war was or how to do battle. When they didn''t find any elves, they dropped their guard and became a tourist group. It was only a matter of time before the elves annihted them when that was the sort of attitude they adopted. And, as expected, the elves decimated them.


    The elves didn''t give humanity a chance to breathe. Their envoy galloped straight to humanity''s imperial pce. The elves had amunication device; hence, they had the ability to ry information promptly. The elves dered their victory to humanity and requested thirty thousand gold coins as a ransom for Queen Sisi. The entire imperial pce, by logic, should''ve been engulfed in anarchy.


    News of Queen Sisi''s capture as a prisoner of warpletely defeated the ministers temporarily responsible for managing national affairs from the imperial pce. When Queen Sisi was on the throne, they held absolute power. Without their leader, Queen Sisi, they didn''t know what to do. Thirty thousand gold coins certainly wasn''t a small sum for humanity. Furthermore, since Queen Sisi was gone, who was going to pay the sum? Queen Sisi controlled the national treasury. The war had ended in failure, and the money owed to the bank needed to be repaid. Subsequently, somebody needed to step up.


    The army had finished with their preparations. The soldiers thought they fought for Queen Sisi, and that was true. Actually, to be precise, they fought for humanity. This time, they were going to fight for humanity''s future. Humanity didn''t need a defeated Queen. A Queen, whose own hubris led to an army''s annihtion, wasn''t worthy of being a Queen. Humanity needed a more qualified Queen going forward.


    The military''s goal wasn''t to destroy the elves. Their destination was the imperial capital. Without a leader, someone among humanity needed to step up and take the reins.


    "I am the descendant of a noble military family. My ancestors'' blood was spilt here in this empire, so I must take a stand even if I might be killed. This is my duty," reasoned the young man.


    The military pushed open the castle doors. The young man rode on his steed at the forefront. He predicted Zero would try something. And he wasn''t surprised to see Zero with the garrison soldiers there to block their path. The garrison soldiers seemed to still be delusional, thinking Queen Sisi could still return. Refusing to ept a new Queen was just being pedantic and foolish. The garrisons had no idea who they should''ve devoted their loyalty to. The bunch of artists, who knew nothing of battle, dared to block the military.


    "Perfect. If I defeat the garrison soldiers'' main force, nobody in the imperial capital will be able to question my authority. Therefore, no other military force will be able to stop me. I''ve never swung my sword at my ownrades, but since my hand has been forced, I won''t hesitate," thought the young man.


    The young man and Zero didn''t exchange any words. Zero didn''t actually lie. His child had just been born. His original mission was to bring reinforcements to the frontlines for Queen Sisi; however, reinforcements no longer served a purpose. Zero, therefore, chose to immediately run over to stop the young man. He predicted the field military would try something once Queen Sisi was gone, and he was right.


    The skirmish between the two factionsmenced. Neither side backed down; there was no fear or pity. Everyone knew that the battle was for humanity''s future. They needed to step over their fallenrades to reach the future, but nobody backed down or showed fear because such a scene wasmonce to humans.


    ========


    I found Angelina and Leah. I told Angelina, "Angelina, help me take care of Leah. I''m going to the elvennds; I can''t bring Leah."


    Angelina stopped tearing a bed sheet to use as a bandage and looked back at me: "You''re going to the elvennds?!! Are you going to save Queen Sisi? That''s fine. You''re on pretty good terms with Lucilia, so the elves definitely won''t harm you, but¡­ Leah can''t leave you."


    "I think it''s best not to bring Leah this time. Having Leah around might make what I''m going to do be somewhat awkward." I scrubbed Leah''s head: "Leah, I have no choice but to go to the elvennds this time to save Queen Sisi. I need to go and find your Sister Lucilia. It''s very dangerous in the elvennds at the moment, so Papa can''t bring you along. Therefore, stay at home and make sure to listen to Angelina and M-¡­ Mama Veirya, okay?"


    Apparently, Leah could tell that the situation was very urgent and, as such, didn''t gripe. She, instead, nodded: "Okay, Papa; Leah will be a good girl¡­ but¡­ it''s very dangerous there. Are you really not going to take Mama Veirya with you?"


    "Don''t want to." Perhaps my rejection was too strong, which would exin why Angelina looked was thrown off. I, consequently, changed my wording: "After all, the war was between humans and elves. Veirya is humanity''s hero. In other words, the elves are likely to aim for her if she enters the forest. I''m different, though. The elves should be aware that I can''t do anything; plus, I''m Lucilia''s friend. The elves are unlikely to harm me. That''s why I''ll be going alone this time. I''ll do my best to bring Queen Sisi back."


    Angelina: "Queen Sisi is unmistakeably still alive. The elves won''t kill a ruler. Further, they definitely want to use her to ask humanity for a ransom. It''ll be on humanity whether or not they pay the ransom. Needless to say, you understand the minds of the elves. Go quickly; rescue Queen Sisi before she''s tortured to death. If you don''t seed, Veirya will personally go there. So for her sake, you must sessfully rescue Queen Sisi . Additionally, Queen Sisi is, at the end of the day, a qualified Queen. This failure doesn''t prove anything. Go now."


    I nodded. I then crouched down to kiss Leah on her forehead. I pulled her into my tight embrace. Leah hugged me around her neck tightly and kissed my cheek: "Papa, Leah will wait for you; Leah will always be waiting for you."


    "Papa will definitely be back."


    I stood up. When I left, I ran into Veirya, who came over. The two of us stopped in our tracks when our eyes met. Veirya appeared as though she wanted to say something, but I didn''t stop for long. I looked down and quickly left. The two of us passed each other by without a word exchanged. That was probably the first time we did that.

 Chapter Volume 5 21

    <em>I Love You</em>


    "Wow, long-time no see, Queen Sisi."


    Queen Sisi had been stripped naked and forced to kneel. Lucia sarcastically saluted Queen Sisi with a smug grin. Queen Sisi raised her chin with a lifeless look. Her pretty face was scarred. Her heterochromia eyes were void of her former high spirits. Her body was now smothered with dirty mud and leaves. The elves didn''t let her keep her shoes. Her bloody feet and the mud were glued together.


    Lucia knew the elves wouldn''t sexually harass Queen Sisi. Elves thought poorly of those who sexually harassed women. While elves would kill any male, they wouldn''t sexually harass women as their sexual urges weren''t strong. Furthermore, the elves, who considered themselves to be the most esteemed race, wouldn''t mate with a "mere" human. The very thought of it was sickening to them.


    "Queen Sisi, I assume this overgrown brain of yours has cooled down a little after drifting in the water for a night-long tour, right? You now realise that attacking us elves was a mistake, don''t you? We may have a small poption and possess little territory, but no race has ever ruled us. The demon race failed to, and you have failed to."


    Lucia didn''t wait for Queen Sisi to reply. Instead, she looked away: "Give her a lesson. Don''t let her die, and don''t let her kill herself. She''s our product. We need to exchange her for humanity''s money."


    "Yes, Ma''am!"


    After the victory, Lucia, who fought bravely, reached new heights in fame. She was the first one to charge at humanity''s camp after the explosions. She didn''t charge over with a gun or bows and arrows but solely a long sword. From humanity''s perspective, she was just a small weak girl, but nobody could stop small and weak girl. She was the first one to charge into the human Queen''s tent. Needless to say, Queen Sisi''s tent was already demolished by that stage. At the time, Queen Sisi''s whereabouts were a mystery. The bathtub and twodies in waiting were corpses as a result of the explosions.


    What followed next was a ughter. The elves opened fire on humanity from every direction, leaving humanity in a miserable fog of their own blood. The elves, who charged in, cut down the human soldiers where they stood. All survivors were shed or shot to death. Some final survivals made ast ditch effort to escape the despair by swimming across the river; unfortunately for them, the elves expected that much. The elves were already waiting for them at the shore. They crushed the humans'' brains with iron hammers as if they were ying a game of whack-a-mole. It wasn''t a war; it was a ughter.


    ========


    Current time at the outer perimeter of the elvennds.


    I sighed. The forest was different to its former self. Humanity had destroyed the elves'' peaceful forest. The outer perimeter was big field after big field of scorchednd andyers of charcoal. Humanity ruthlessly vandalised the forest, turning it into an area that anyone coulde and leave from any angle. Nheless, the elves had also expressed their anger.


    The elves fixed humanity''s limbs onto wooden stakes along the path humanity ironically cut open. It was as if I was at a museum of human corpses. The elves also tried their best to artistically attach the blown up corpses together. Having saying that, they didn''t care if the limbs actually belonged to the individual or not. They dug out the eyes of the corpses; not one person was spared. If there was only half of a head remaining, they dug out the remaining single eye. The corpses had yet to bleed dry. Their blood still continued to spill from their wounds.


    The path of corpses was the path that humanity treaded and their road to destruction. The path extended deep into the elvennds. The corpses kept mepany the entire way. I didn''t know how many humans the elves killed; I didn''t think that a number was appropriate for describing the scene. What should''ve been used to describe the death toll was how far the line of corpses stretched. The path was unsettling for the sick stench of blood overpowered any other scent. A gentle breeze kept the grass and corpses swaying. What should have been a normal road was a frightening scene to behold. I prayed two elves coulde and greet me¡­ It would be a bonus if it was Lucia¡­


    I walked for a long time to finally catch sight two elves standing in the distance, looking as though they were waiting for something. They, too, noticed me but didn''t draw their weapons to attack me. Instead, they folded their arms and shouted, "Are you here to pay your Queen''s ransom? Did you bring the full thirty-thousand gold coins? We don''t ept cheques; we only want cash."


    "No, I''m not here for the Queen." I raised my hands to indicate that I wasn''t harmed.


    They immediately lost their patience upon hearing that I didn''te for Queen Sisi. They waved me off: "In that case, leave. You don''t appear to be a threat, so we won''t kill you. We killed too many not long ago, so we''re quite disgusted."


    "I''m here for Lucilia. I''m friends with your Lucilia. I have something important to see Lucilia about; I hope you help me find her. If you refuse, I think she will be very angry when she finds out."


    The two elves exchanged nces and deliberated it. They were worried about my rtionship with Lucilia. They didn''t know how we were rted. If we truly were friends, Lucilia would be furious if she didn''t see me."


    "Wait for a bit, then." In the end, they decided to go and grab Lucia. After all, I was unarmed. Obviously, my cane wasn''t a weapon.


    I touched my pocket gently. Inside my pocket was thest thing Francis left with me. I initially nned to give it to Veirya, but I felt it wasn''t going to ever serve its purpose with Veirya anymore.


    The elves turned and left, leaving me to stand there and wait. I really wanted one of them to stay behind with me¡­ Standing amidst corpses made me feel there were countless haunted gazes on me. When the wind blew, I thought that they wanted to vent their vengeance on me¡­


    "Travor!!"


    As I fretted, I heard Lucia''sughter from their side. Lucia zipped over to me as fast as the wind just as always. She jumped from tree to tree andnded in front of me. I could see that Lucia was gleaming with joy. She leapt over and hugged me then excitedly thanked me: "Thanks to your help, look at how much we''ve gained!! It was all thanks to you, Travor."


    "You know, there are human corpses all around us. I feel awkward with you iming that it was all thanks to me," I expressed with a helpless smile.


    She hopped a step back, still smiling: "That''s fine. I always considered you a member of our elven race. Don''t you think you fit better with us? Did you need something from me? We can give you lots of things this time. Once we gather up all of humanity''s armour, swords and whatnot, we will melt them and sell them to the dwarves, which, in turn, will make us a lot of money. There''s also Queen Sisi''s ransom, as well."


    I shook my head: "I''m not here for money."


    Befogged, Lucia inquired,"What are you here for, then?"


    With my gaze on Lucia, I lightly reached out and grabbed hold of her left hand. She froze. I took out the ring, the dwarf''s ring. The rings were supposed to be for Veirya and I.I gently slipped the ring onto Lucia''s left ring finger. I looked at her surprised eyes and sincerely said, "Lucia, I like you. Please marry me."

 Chapter Volume 5 22

    <em>Proposal</em>


    "This is the imperial pce!! This is where Her Majesty resides! How can you soldierse here and audaciously break thews?!!"


    The young man grabbed thedy-in-waiting''s cor. Being covered in blood, his cape and clothing were glued together. His face also had blood stains on it. After defeating the garrison soldiers, they didn''t stop to rest for a moment. They led their knights to the imperial capital. Virtually all of the guards in the imperial capital went to the front lines with Queen Sisi. Thus, even if the ones remaining in the imperial capital were to put up a resistance, they would be no match for the military guards who had fought hundreds of battles.


    In a serious tone, the young man taunted, "It''s only called the imperial pce for as long as the monarch is present. Imperial pce contains the ''King'' character, which reces ''imperial''. With Queen Sisi missing, he removes the ''King'' character; therefore, it''s just ''pce''. That''s why he specifically says that the imperial pce is only called the imperial pce. Where is your monarch now?"


    "Queen Sisi will be back!! Her Majesty is not dead! Her Majesty will be back!" Thedy-in-waiting grabbed the young man by his arm and belted. She looked at the group of soldiers without a single trace of fear in her. She then looked back at the young man and raised her voice: "Putting aside Queen Sisi''s current state, you should all be executed for trespassing into Her Majesty''s residential pce!! The next ruler in line won''t ever be you!!"


    "The imperial family is no more. Queen Sisi was the final member of the imperial family. You''re right about one thing, though. I don''t n to be a King, either. I serve the nation. My honour is defined by offering my life, body and soul for this nation."


    The young man pulled his hand out and turned around. His knights had seized authority over the imperial pce. All of Queen Sisi''s vassals were brought under their control. Nobody was allowed to leave or enter without permission. Soon enough, the main army would arrive to seal and control the entire imperial capital. Once that was done, he could go and bring over the next ruler.


    "You trespassed into Her Majesty''s pce. You''re a soldier, yet you''re not going to Queen Sisi''s rescue. Instead, you''re bbering about justice. I''ve never seen anyone so shameless."


    Thedy-in-waiting attempted to p the man, only for him to catch her wrist with a vice-like grip. He argued, "My loyalty is not devoted to the Queen. My loyalty is devoted to this nation. Queen Sisi almost destroyed this nation. I can''t respect her or dedicate my loyalty to her. We need a new Queen, a rational Queen, not a maniac. I already have a candidate in mind. After I bring her here, she will be crowned. I now need to go and set up defence lines in case the elves attack. You people watch over this ce and prepare clothing for the new monarch."


    "You¡­ You have no right!! You don''t have the authority to select a ruler!! You''re just a military officer. You have no right to interfere with the selection of a ruler and most definitely don''t have the right to appoint one!!!"


    The young man paid thedy-in-waiting no heed; there was no need to concern himself with statements of those without power. The people he had under control were the ones who had no right or reason to speak on the matter. Only one with military power could act as the leader; therefore, the new Queen was up to them to decide.


    ========


    Current time at the elven forest¡­


    "Ah¡­ I¡­ Umm¡­ I¡­ Uhh¡­"


    Lucilia stammered, but failed to piece together a coherent sentence. She tightly gripped her ring finger. Hot flushes flitted across her face. She didn''t even dare to raise her head; even her voice became incredibly weird. I knew my proposal was beyond abrupt, but I had to strike while the iron was hot. I pulled petite Lucia into my arms. I noticed the two elves behind her with their eyes erged. Lucia didn''t resist; she went along with me and trembled in my arms. It was a proposal, yet she reacted as if I threatened her.


    For example, if I sew a studio orpany broadcast an awesome program, but the program was tremendously popr and a huge sess, they wouldn''t sell it to me. If that was the case, how could I get the program? Simple, go and buy the studio orpany. Then, sell off the parts I didn''t want while keeping the awesome parts of said program for myself. As for how I would force thepany or studio into selling their ownership to me, that would be the next step. In saying that, the prerequisite to sessfully pulling that off would be concealing your intention.


    There was no chance the elves would release Queen Sisi even if my rtionship with Lucia was hypothetically better. The only way to have her released would be to pay the thirty-thousand gold coins ransom. There was still no word from humanity, which suggested they nned to abandon Queen Sisi. I was Queen Sisi''sst hope. I had to engage my brain to bring her back.


    The n was to marry Lucia so that I would be the elven heroine''s wife. Once they dropped their guard or if I made Lucia mine, I could use an excuse to smuggle Queen Sisi back to humanity''snds. The next phase would be a confrontation between the field military and the elves. In the end, Queen Sisi would negotiate with the elves. I ced my bet on the elves opting not to fight beyond the forest, citing their disadvantage. As a subsequence, the elves would have to ept a negotiation with Queen Sisi. Paying some money beat letting them take Queen Sisi hostage for a ransom any day. The requisite to the n''s sess was that I had to marry Lucia. I needed to have a useful status in the elvennds.


    "I sincerely like you, Lucia. If possible, I hope you will ept me."


    Lucia''s entire body shuddered when she heard my confession. She then raised her head but still didn''t dare to look at me. She stole a glimpse of me then lowered her head again forthwith. She gripped her left ring finger. In a soft voice and, with some sobbing, she stammered, "I¡­ I don''t know¡­ I-It''s to sudden¡­ I''ve never¡­ proposals or¡­ I¡­ I¡­ I don''t know¡­ Umm¡­ Veirya¡­. Veirya¡­."


    "Veirya is just my master. I''m a gift Queen Sisi bestowed Veirya with. However, Queen Sisi is no more, so I''ve basically been granted freedom. Lucia, you were the one who stood up for me when Queen Sisi humiliated me. When Leah and I were about to head to the North, you helped us, too. You also saved me in the forest and then protected Leah. You know, I loved you from day one. It was just that I had no right to tell you. Now, though, I''m a free man. I can express my love for you. Lucia, I truly love you."


    I could control my emotions and my feelings. Though I appeared to be brimming with affection, the truth was I didn''t have any romantic feelings. As a matter of fact, I perceived it as my revenge on Veirya. While such vengeance was merely tofort myself, and Veirya might never be affected, I still pathetically believed Veirya cared about me.


    Lucia looked into my eyes. Perhaps she was trying to determine my true feelings. I couldn''t look away when she looked at me. Realising that I was looking at her, smoke whisked from her blushing face. She shifted her line of sight away. I, therefore, immediately hugged her tighter and went down to kiss her cheek.


    "Kyaah!!"


    Lucia shrieked. She then looked up at me in a flustered manner. Tone affectionate, I said, "Lucia, I hope you can give me an answer no matter how you feel about me. Whatever your answer may be, I''ll still love you."


    Lucia quivered as she shook her head: "I don''t know¡­ I don''t know¡­"


    "You¡­ don''t love me?"


    Lucia abruptly raised her voice to cut me off: "No!!"


    I was relieved to hear her response. By the sounds of it, she did think positively of me to a degree and was flustered purely because it was the first time she received a confession. She warily looked at me with her hands sped together: "But¡­ we¡­ we¡­ are not¡­ not¡­ uhh¡­''


    "You just said we were the same type."


    "Y-Yes¡­"


    Anxious Lucia''s long ears shivered. She stole nces at my face every now and then. She reacted in a flustered fashion simrly to a frightened rabbit when she noticed that I didn''t move my gaze. Her usual look ofpetence was nowhere to be seen; instead, she was as shy as a kid.


    "Umm¡­ We¡­ we¡­ are¡­ umm¡­ mm¡­ Veirya¡­"


    "Veirya won''t care."


    "Sh-She won''t¡­?"


    "I''m no longer her ve, nor do I want to be her ve. She''s never viewed me as a human being. Never."


    Lucia finally looked up at my face. She touched my face then checked out my body. I had no clue what she was thinking. After a while of checking me out, she took a light hold of my hand. She lowered her head and mumbled almost indiscernibly, "I¡­ I¡­ ept¡­. It''s just¡­ just¡­ I have an older brother¡­ he¡­ umm¡­ You need to see him with me¡­"


    I nodded: "I know."


    I released Lucia. Lucia stood in front of me with a shy expression and didn''t dare to move, though. I grabbed hold of her left hand. She clung to my body and kept her head down.


    "Let''s go, Lucia. Let''s go see your brother." I bent down and gave Lucia''s ears a light kiss. It was quite fun to see her ears go red again.


    Lucia obediently mumbled, "Uhm."


    She leaned onto me as a lover would. The two elves most probably never saw their hero behaving so shyly, but Lucia ignored them. Lucia''s brain was jumbled. I, to the contrary, remained calm and focused. My aim was fixed on my goal. I didn''t go to the elvennds to marry Lucia. I went there to rescue Queen Sisi.


    I promised myself not to hurt Lucia too much; not even her feelings. At the very least, I''d treat her well as my fianc¨¦e and wife before I left.

 Chapter Volume 5 23

    <em>Love and Loyalty</em>


    "Angelina."


    Veirya was puzzled why her mom would look so startled. Angelina quickly put down what she was doing and wiped her hands while keeping her eyes on her daughter: "You''ve never taken the initiative to speak to me ever since you grew up. Do you have something you want to talk about this time?"


    Veirya earnestly exined, "I. Probably had an argument. I gave him. A poor attitude. I assume. He is vangry. He didn''t. Bid farewell. When he left."


    "You two argued?"


    "He. Stopped the doctors. From saving the wounded. I wanted. To have them help. Then. I told him to leave." Veirya gave a very simple recount of what happened, rendering Angelina dumbstruck.


    Angelina couldn''t wrap her head around what happened. Lin Dongqing''s methods were somewhat utilitarian, but he wasn''t someone who left people to die. He didn''t let the doctors save the severely wounded. Therefore, by the sounds of it, he knew what he was doing better. After all, he could see the truth.


    "What do you want to do now, then? Apologise?" questioned Angelina.


    Veirya titled her head: "I. Won''t apologise. I didn''t. Do anything wrong."


    "I didn''t mean apologise for not taking the correct course of action but for hurting his feelings. Of course, it''s the same for him; he also needs to apologise to you. If you truly think you didn''t do anything wrong, you wouldn''t have taken the initiative toe and told me about this, would you? You want to make up with him, don''t you?"


    Veirya looked away. Angelinaughed, thinking, "She''s my daughter, no doubt about that. She''s the exact same as I was in the past. I behaved the same way around the man I liked back then."


    While Angelina would usually be obedient and sensible, whenever she argued with her husband, she would refuse to admit her wrongdoings despite knowing he was upset. She''d insist on waiting. Veirya, too, acted wilful and stubborn when she was in a simr predicament.


    "Veirya, neither of you actually did anything wrong. It''s just that you two have different views. You don''t need to argue with each other; you both end up miserable when you argue. It doesn''t matter who apologises first. You''re telling me this as you''re also feeling guilty, aren''t you? It''s nothing to be embarrassed about. See, he argued with you, yet he still went off to the elvennds. It''s not easy on him, either. When he returns, apologise to him."


    "No, he''s just someone. Her Majesty gave me¡­"


    "Veirya!" Angelina immediately cut Veirya off. Frowning, she asserted, "What are you talking about? Yes, Queen Sisi gave him to you at the outset, but after going through so much with you, do you still consider him a mere essory? He didn''t do so much for you out of loyalty. Veirya, when someone unconditionally treats another person kindly, it''s not purely out of loyalty. Do you think he''s unconditionally nice to you? Wrong; he''s not loyal. That''s love. He loves you. That''s why he tries to make you happy regardless of the price he has to pay."


    "Love. Love. Is a higher form loyalty?"


    "No, I just told you that he isn''t being nice to you out of loyalty. It''s because of love. To put it into perspective, it''s essentially a man being loyal to a woman simrly to a knight devoting himself, I guess. He''ll love you with all his heart, and you will only have that one knight. You two aren''t master and servant; you don''t obey each other. He''s not your essory but your romantic partner. It''s the same as Lucilia and you, except he loves you more than Lucilia."


    "Is that. Love?"


    "Yes. Therefore, you''re both in the same boat. If you hurt his love for you with what you said, you also need to apologise. He, too, must apologise."


    Veirya nodded: "I will. I will apologise. But. Love. How do you respond. To love? Do I need to. Love him, too? But. What is love? I have never. Quite understood it. I thought. It was the same. As me serving as Her Majesty''s soldier."


    "It''s not the same. There''s no one who doesn''t understand what love is, Veirya. You''lle to understand it. You just need to stay by his side and keep searching for it. I promise you''lle to understand it."


    Angelina''s hand reached for Veirya''s head on its own; sadly, Veirya stopped her mother. Surrendering, Angelina chuckled then turned around and continued busying herself with her job. Veirya didn''t say anything else and left the room.


    Veirya gazed in the direction of the elvennds. There was no news from him after he left. She pondered, "He said. He could rescue. Her Majesty. But. How will he do it?"


    Veirya just spent a short second thinking about it before giving up. She had gotten used to it. Lin Dongqing had exceeded what she perceived to be impossible every time. She, subsequently, believed that he could rescue Queen Sisi if he was the one who went to her rescue.


    ========


    Current time at the elven forest.


    From my side, Lucia looked down at her feet as she walked and minced her words: "I have never received a proposal¡­ or¡­ been in love with anyone before¡­ This¡­ is the first time someone has proposed to me, and is also my first time being someone''s partner¡­ I¡­. I don''t know if I can do a good job¡­ I''m¡­ I''m a bit worried."


    "There''s no need to worry, Lucia. I love you because you''re Lucia. You just need to keep being yourself, while I take responsibility for loving you."


    "But¡­ I don''t know how to love someone¡­ I¡­ I''ve never been a wife or mother, either¡­ I¡­ I''m worried¡­."


    "I''ve never been a husband or father, either. I think we''ll be able to learn how to fulfil the roles if we''re together."


    Lucia giggled quietly. She couldn''t resist the urge to lean closer to me and tighten her hold on my hand. We had entered the interior of the elves'' city. Subsequently, the number of elves around also increased. There were lots of gazes of surprise and confusion. There was no backing out at that point. After so many elves saw us, I had to be Lucia''s husband. Next was Lucia''s brother, I guess.

 Chapter Volume 5 24

    <em>Lucia¡¯s Elder Brother</em>


    "Ah, my dear sister. I was just about to send someone to look for you. Our celebration party ising up next. You have to attend; after all, you''re our hero."


    An elf in a dark red robe with a helmet pulled Lucia into his embrace when he saw Lucia and ignored my existence. He then patted her on her back.


    The so-called elven imperial capital was about the size of our town. The buildings in the city were simple, circr, timber homes. The top of them were covered in green, which wasparable to creepers on top. The city was tiny but orderly. Judging from that, the elves were, presumably, a race that considered order to be integral.


    A war had just ended. The elves'' imperial capital was abounded with a joyous atmosphere. Every elf still carried their weapons on their back and donned leather army that was desecrated with humanity''s blood, but they merrily chatted amongst each other. Lots of naked humans had their wrists tied up to one another with vines and were forced to squat on the ground to await judgement. An elf held a small book as he stood before them. After recording whatever it was he recorded, an elf, who was holding a length of iron, would press the burning, bright red piece of iron onto the humans'' faces.


    Listening to the humans'' screams was enough to feel my own face burning¡­ The elves would ignore their cries as they imprinted the number on the humans'' faces. The elves had a tradition of turning prisoners or war into ves. By going through that process, it signified those humans were effectively turned into the elves'' ves. Further, the elves were by no means kind masters to their ves. The humans were never going to be able to return to humanity. I doubted Queen Sisi would be epted after she returned. The captured humans were destined to die in the elves'' forest and never be recalled. Their fate was the same as the trail of corpses outside. The only difference was that they got to live for a while longer.


    I specifically checked but didn''t see Queen Sisi among them or the corpses. She''d be noticeable since she was eye-catchingpared to the naked men.


    I analysed, "Where could Queen Sisi be? The elves must''ve employed some tactic involving explosions to blow up humanity''s army. Did Queen Sisi die right then and there from it? No, that''s nonsense. The elves just mentioned a thirty-thousand gold coin ransom for her. That means she''s not dead. Where exactly did the elves lock her up, then? As the elves want to use her to get a ransom from humanity, they wouldn''t harm her. They can''t sell their damaged goods."


    A crucial question was, would humanity really want to pay the ransom now? There hadn''t been any word from humanity. I wasn''t in the capital; therefore, I had no clue what their stance was. I needed to keep Queen Sisi safe until I heard from them. If humanity abandoned her, Queen Sisi would no longer have any value and would, subsequently, be cruelly killed.


    I supposed my wedding with Lucia would be able to divert all of their attention on us as opposed to Queen Sisi. I prayed humanity would remain loyal and have hope for Queen Sisi. If any side dropped the ball, not only would Queen Sisi be sold off, but the elves would butcher me, too. There was no question an enraged Lucia would me. I wouldn''t put it past her to dig my eyes out and send them to Veirya.


    "Lucilia, is this our human friend t you mentioned? Indeed, his information helped us a lot, and we managed to buy arge amount of gunpowder thanks to him. We should invite him to join our celebration banquet. Dear sister, you''re more thorough than I am."


    Lucia''s brother finally paid attention to me. He first examined me then revealed a smile and patted my shoulder. I could sense that he wasn''t as strong as Lucia despite being her elder brother.


    "No, Brother." Lucia looked at me bashfully. She then ambled over and lightly looped her arm around mine. She leaned onto my arm and shyly smiled: "Brother, I didn''t call him over to attend our celebration banquet. Just now, I epted his proposal¡­ The truth is, we''re here to ask for your input."


    I saw Lucia''s brother''s smile slowly recede. His gaze went from confused to shocked and then even to fear. His face slowly turned pale, probably because he never expected it. His sister suddenly wanted to marry a human. There couldn''t possibly be anything more heartbreaking than that. Regardless, the elf looked slightly scary to me.


    "Are orthopaedics popr with elves at the moment or something?" I wondered.


    "Wait¡­ wait¡­ what happened¡­? Why is this so sudden? You never mentioned this before. Didn''t you say you don''t like him¡­? Why do you suddenly want to get married¡­? This development¡­ is too sudden, isn''t it?" stammered Lucia''s brother.


    I answered, "To be honest, I fell for Lucia at first sight. That''s why I unconditionally help elves. I sincerely love Lucia. Please believe me."


    "No, no, no, you shut up for now, Human." Lucia''s brother flustered a little. He gave me a push then anxiously warned Lucia, "Lucia, Lucia, calm down. I know this human helped us a lot. That said, he''s still a human. We just finished a war with humanity. I''m not suspecting your feelings, but it''s awfully suspicious for him to propose now. I could approve if it was before the war, but why now, right when humanity just failed? Why? Is his goal really to marry you?"


    Though Lucia was very pure, her brother didn''t seem to be. Her brother immediately discerned that I was suspicious. Nheless, I didn''t panic. I had to maintain myposure and act as though his suspicions were fairly warranted; I needed to avoid appearing guilty.


    I expounded, "I proposed precisely because humanity failed. I only had the chance to propose because humanity failed. Otherwise, I''m humanity''s ve. I''ve only just been granted the freedom to freely love. In truth, I''ve always loved Lucia. I came for Lucia; I swear I didn''te for anything else. I hope you can trust me."


    Lucia was on edge but didn''t know what to say. She trusted me from the very start; unfortunately, her brother doubted me. I pulled her into my embrace with one hand. I then kissed her lips right in front of her brother¡­


    "Hey! Hey! Hey!!! What are you doing?! What are you doing to my sister?!!!"

 Chapter Volume 5 25

    <em>nning</em>


    "This is my answer."


    "Are you not going to pay the ransom?"


    A few people sat together. Though they were discussing in name, the reality was that it was a group of people tuning in to the young man describe his viewpoint. The young man looked to the person next to him and continued with his exnation: "Humanity isn''t invincible; we''ve lost, failed and lost Kings on the battlefield. Nevertheless, we have never paid a ransom or given awaynd. This is our glorious tradition. We will never submit. We will not bow our heads to elves. We have a candidate for the throne. We will not give away humanity''s money for one Queen! The money is supposed to be for protecting our people. Not to save a Queen!"


    A man dressed attired in a long robe and a red cape sted the young man, "But Queen Sisi brought us glorious victories. Queen Sisi provided us with what we have. We can''t abandon her over one failure. Furthermore, it''s your fault Queen Sisi is in her current pinch!! You betrayed her! Had you also gone with Queen Sisi, that wouldn''t have happened!"


    The young man firmly contended, "We only respect and protect this nation. If you ask me, this nation needs a new Queen. We advised Queen Sisi to not fight the war, but she refused to listen. That also proves she''s unfit to be a Queen. She can''t even discern which suggestions are right or wrong; how is she supposed to lead the nation? We need a new ruler, one everyone trusts, and one who can sessfully lead the nation back on to the right bath!"


    "And who would that be? Who do you want to crown? In any case, I vehemently demand Queen Sisi be brought back. Queen Sisi also loaned fifteen thousand gold coins from us. Will the loan be acknowledged by the next ruler? How will you repay the fifteen thousand if Queen Sisi doesn''te back?"


    The bank didn''t want to let Queen Sisi leave for only she would acknowledge the loan and repay it. The dead can''t repay a debt. In addition, there was no guarantee the new monarch repay the loan as it was Queen Sisi who took out the loan, not the nation or the national treasury.


    "All right, then, you cough up thirty thousand gold coins to redeem Queen Sisi. If you can cough it up, I''ll acknowledge her," asserted the young man.


    The ransom the elves asked for was an exorbitant sum. Thirty thousand gold coins was a sumrge enough to fund two wars. A bank couldn''t possibly afford the loss. They would, at least, need the national treasury and bank to shoulder the sum together. Moreover, Queen Sisi wouldn''t repay the thirty thousand since she didn''t loan the sum or pen an IOU.


    Only a fool would spend an extra thirty thousand gold coins for fifteen thousand gold coins. Losing fifteen thousand coins would hurt. Even so, it was bearable. Losing thirty thousand gold coins, on the other hand, was uneptable. If, however, they talked it out with the military, they should be able to have the new Queen repay the loan with the national treasury''s money.


    "Well, since you have nothing else to say, we shall go and find our new Queen. You just stay here and be honest with the elves. Tell them we won''t pay a single penny for reparations. If they want to kill Queen Sisi, then so be it."


    ========


    Current time in the elvennds.


    My fiery kiss on Lucia rendered her brother senseless. Lucia''s bashful smile that she wore after the kiss shattered him. I always thought the fellow was a bit of a sis-con, and it turned out I was right. Nevertheless, the kiss garnered cheers from the elves. Everyone wanted to see a love story between a hero and a Princess. Although I was the Princess in the story, it was still enough to make everyone react as if they were in a y. Judging from their reactions, the experience wasn''t exclusive. As long as the elves considered you a friend, then that was enough.


    "Sister¡­ Sister¡­ you haven''t grown up yet¡­ why do you want to get married¡­ You still haven''t told your brother¡­ why¡­ you''d do this¡­ You said¡­ you liked me, your brother, before¡­"


    "That was fifty years ago, Brother!! I matured long ago! I won''t say that sort of stuff anymore!" Lucia blurted something shocking as she grouchily stared at her brother.


    Her bit the dust. The crown on his head would''ve look perfect if it was green. In saying that, it would be strange for people to see an elder brother treat his younger sister as if she was his lover. Lucia hugged my arm and smile: "By the sounds of it, Brother has agreed to it. Now then, what¡­ what do we do next?"


    "Miss Lucilia''s engagement ceremony?!"


    Several young girls cheerfully crowded around us right away. They touched my body with then suddenly hugged Lucilia and stroked her face. Wearing a smile, one of them promised, "I truly can''t believe our youngest sister is actually the first to get engaged amongst us!! It''s fine. We, your sisters, will definitely design and n your engagement ceremony properly. We''ll make sure your engagement ceremony is the most extravagant and romantic engagement ceremony elves have seen!!"


    "You have this many sisters?!" I eximed in surprise.


    The female elves wore thin and transparent clothing made from totally different fabrics to humanity''s version. They strongly resembled the silk I was once familiar with. Their sleeves were akin to wings. Judging from their physiques, it seemed all female elves were doomed to have t chests¡­ Even the Elven Queen back home would be considered t-chested. There didn''t seem to be any elves with big breasts. If we removed that as a criterion, Lucia should be one of the cutest elves.


    "Cousin." Lucia''s cousins carried her off.


    Lucia turned around and apologetically smiled. I suddenly realised¡­ it had¡­ be¡­ just me and Lucia''s brother¡­ I slowly turned around; unsurprisingly, I saw her brother trying to pierce me with a dangerous gaze. I shuddered in response. Although he wasn''t as strong as Lucia, he should''ve been morepetent inbat than I was, presumably¡­ Surely, he still felt an urge to kill me¡­


    He vigorously pressed his hands onto my shoulders and hostilely warned, "Don''t get carried away after using your filthy human lies to trick my sister for now. My sister has never loved or liked anyone; that''s how you managed to trick her. However, I can see you''re a liar. All of you humans are liars. I won''t ever hand you my sister. Never. If I could, I''d seriously stick a knife in you right now. I know what you''re after; you''re after your so-called Queen, aren''t you? You want to take back Your Queen Sisi, don''t you?"


    "No." I shook my head. I innocently looked at Lucia''s brother and borated, "I merely love Lucia. I genuinely don''t have any other motives. Of course, you might not believe me. Hence, I won''t say any more on that. I do have to state my feelings for Lucia, though. I sincerely love her."


    Lucia''s brother red at me with a terrifying gaze, but I had to maintain an unshaken appearance. I didn''t know if the sis-con brother deliberately said that to test me or if he had actually seen through me. Either way, I couldn''t deny he read my agenda, which meant that I had to be mindful and ignore Queen Sisi. At the very least, I needed to act indifferent in front of Queen Sisi.


    Lucia and I didn''t need her brother''s approval. As per Queen Sisi''s favourite approach, I only needed to turn my rtionship with Lucia into a reality; I just needed to be affectionate and intimate with Lucia. Once we were engaged, everyone would consider us a legitimate married couple. By then, even if Lucia''s brother refused to acknowledge it, others would persuade him to ept us. At that stage, nobody would believe his conspiracy theory. Thus, Lucia needed to announce news of our engagement, meaning that her sisters needed to start spreading it. I assumed her sisters to be the best broadcasting media.


    Lucia''s brother coldly snorted then left.


    Well, no elves were going to be waiting on me there¡­


    ========


    Current time at the town in the North.


    "There are seriously too many wounded. There isn''t enough space for them all, and we don''t have enough hands, either. We must send them to the city. Those with severe wounds can stay here, while those with minor wounds need to be sent to the city for the doctors there to take care of. Also, thoughtlessly throwing out the corpses will lead to gues. You need to dig a chasm deep enough to throw them in. After you throw them in, cremate them. You must remember to ensure the hole is deep enough, and make sure that they''re all burnt. Avoid water." Angelina instructed those around.


    Anxiety and frustration gradually suffocated Angelina. The town was busy helping the severely injured personnel. One town couldn''t treat an entire nation of wounded soldiers despite their desire. The injured personnel could die any day. There was too little they could do at the end. The end of the war happened long ago by that stage, but no word came from humanity. Judging from the silence, they likely wanted to abandon the soldiers in the North.


    "God damn it, what in the world are the people in the imperial pce up to?!! Why have they still not sent help?!" cursed Angelina.


    Angelina threw aside a notebook then saw the financial records book ced to the side. She was quite sad; the money she spent was the money Lin Dongqing earned. The number in the book was rapidly dropping. If their funds continued to diminish¡­ he might lose every penny¡­


    "Actually. They''ve arrived." Veirya ced down a basin of water and told Angelina: "I just saw. Military personnel. Outside the town."


    "Really? Really? Fantastic."


    "But. Only one person."


    "What is he here for, then?!!"

 Chapter Volume 5 26

    <em>Engagement</em>


    Veirya asked the soldier, "Have you all. Given up on Her Majesty already?"


    "We did not give up on Her Majesty; she betrayed us. We told her not to attack the elves, but she refused to listen to our suggestions. She ignored humanity''s fate for her own desires. When a monarch decides to do such a thing, they have already betrayed us. That is why we need a new ruler, one who can lead humanity to prosperity and can listen to suggestions."


    "Refusing to march with Her Majesty was betrayal. What you''re doing now is insurrection. You''re no longer soldiers but traitors," argued Angelina, who sat down next to Veirya. She gave the messenger a displeased look. The messenger couldn''t tell them apart when the two identical women sat next to each other. Angelina went on, "I''m amazed you have the gall toe here. There''s nobody more loyal to Her Majesty than Veirya. If you want to crown a new ruler and betray Queen Sisi, there''s no chance Veirya would support you. Furthermore, Queen Sisi isn''t dead. Lin Dongqing has already gone to the elves to bring her back. Queen Sisi will definitely be back. I suggest you end this act of betrayal if you know what''s good for you."


    The news shocked the soldier, "Mr. Lin went to the elves? We had no idea. Also, why would Lin Dongqing be loyal to Her Majesty? Could it be true that he truly loves her?"


    "Don''t go thinking that others don''t stay loyal just because you decided to be a traitor. Lin Dongqing and Veirya are absolutely loyal to Her Majesty."


    Angelina quickly stomped on Veirya''s foot to signal thetter not to speak. The soldier froze. He argued, "But we can turn Lord Veirya into our new Queen. Queen Veirya is humanity''s hero. I believe lots of people would want for her to be our new Queen. Additionally, Queen Veirya would definitely be a Queen who would listen to orders, and not gamble with humanity''s fate for her own desires."


    "Impossible." Angelina cut the soldier off. She expanded, "You''re not thinking for Veirya. Veirya is not ruler material; she doesn''t know anything. She''ll send humanity to its extinction. If you''re crowning my daughter, you''re not thinking for humanity''s sake. You just want to make her your puppet. As I said, you''re traitors, not loyalists. A nation needs a suitable and capable ruler; not one who obeys orders. It''s your fault Queen Sisi has fallen to where she is, yet you want to switch her for a new ruler? It sounds as if you decided on this with the elves."


    "I. Don''t know how. To be a Queen," confirmed Veirya.


    "But Mr. Lin can, can he not? Mr. Lin has disyed prudence and intellect that can definitely help Lord Veirya reign properly as a Queen. Furthermore, he would be happy to help."


    That was the ace the young man gave the soldier. If Veirya didn''t agree, he was told to y the ace - Lin Dongqing. Veirya would definitely consider it if Mr. Lin was willing. If Mr. Lin was avable, he was told to speak directly to Mr. Lin and not Veirya.


    Veirya was befogged just as they expected. She turned to her mother. Angelina shook her head. Next, Angelina resolutely defended her stance: "Mr. Lin would never agree to it, so you shouldn''t thoughtlessly agree to it, Veirya. This could be a fatal decision; if you agree to it, it''s the equivalent of abandoning your entire life. They''re not doing this for your sake but to provide themselves with a puppet at their beckoning!"


    "That is not true!! We merely want to serve a qualified ruler!" thundered the soldier.


    "You didn''t even remain loyal to Queen Sisi, so ording to what would you be willing to be loyal to the next ruler? You''re not loyal to a Queen. You''re just choosing a ruler for the nation based off your own perspectives. What you''re doing is called betrayal!! I can''t believe you have the shame to im you''re loyal to the nation. The Queen is the representative of the nation, but not one of you respects her!! Is loyalty choosing whoever you want to be a ruler? God, when did you soldiers turn into such a mob?! You''re all traitors!"


    ========


    Current time in the elvennds.


    I wanted to confirm Queen Sisi''s status, but I was conscious of the fact I was being monitored. As soon as Lucia''s brother caught me trying to find Queen Sisi, he''d probably send my eyeballs back to Veirya¡­ I needed to demonstrate I wasn''t interested in Queen Sisi whatsoever.


    The elves led me to a big room. Presumably, it was where the elves nned to hold their celebration banquet, but it wasn''t set up yet. The absurdly long table was crowded with various dishes. By the walls were neatly arranged rows of huge wine barrels. You could get a full cup of green wine even if you were to mindlessly take one.


    "This wine colour is quite ironic, huh¡­" I mused.


    While the elves around me were busy, they would all conscientiously salute me then hand me a dish. The food tasted decent; however, I felt awkward with them giving me food in that manner¡­


    "Please do not worry. It is a celebration banquet. In saying that, we n to announce your rtionship with Miss Lucia to all elves at the banquet. Consequently, Miss Lucia is currently getting changed. You are our hero''s fianc¨¦, after all. That is why we will provide you with the grandest wee."


    "Oh, you don''t need to do that; you don''t need to do that." I waved my hands non-stop.


    The elf, who conversed with me, dressed extravagantly. She was probably from a noble family, Lucia''s good friend or something¡­ Lips tugged up, she told me, "You best change into our elven clothing. We have some. Pleasee with me. I guess this will be your official engagement ceremony with Miss Lucilia. In a week''s time, you and Miss Lucia will get married. She wants to get married sooner; I guess she is really looking forward to it."


    I nodded and stood up. I didn''t expect our engagement ceremony to be scheduled so soon.

 Chapter Volume 5 27

    <em>Mischief of Rodents</em>


    "Listen to me! Lucilia, I''m your brother; I won''t lie to you. Think about it; think about it. Why did he never tell you that he loved you, yet chose to suddenly confess now of all times? Don''t you find it odd? Lucilia, I''m telling you he''s lying to you!! He doesn''t love you. He just wants to rescue Queen Sisi. He''s a human, Lucia; you have to remember that he''s a human!! Don''t trust him so easily, Lucilia! Listen to me!!" Lucia''s brother despairingly pleaded Lucia, who kept checking herself out in the mirror.


    Lucilia took on different poses with a blissful smile as she checked to see if her long dress fitted her or not. She had never worn dresses before. She had a fondness for archery and adventuring in the forest since she was a kid. As a consequence, she always sported leather armour or form-fitting clothing.


    Lucia''s two sisters beamed as they watched their youngest sister. None of them paid the man''s poignant and rational pleas any attention. Lucia didn''t take him seriously, wither. One of the elves gently ced a hand on Lucia''s shoulder and opined, "Lucia, you look great in this. You have such a nice body, after all. If I could have a chest as t as you, that''d be fantastic. I''m already careful, yet my chest is still visibly bulging. It''s so frustrating."


    Lucia shyly giggled: "You''re pretty, too, Sister."


    "I never imagined our younger sister would be getting married already. I really never thought Lucia would choose to get married. She never gave the impression she was an elf who would marry. I''m amazed the human managed to win your heart. Lucia, what exactly do you like about him?"


    Voice soft, Lucia chortled: "Because of a number of things, I suppose¡­ Lots of things happened between us; he helped me every single time. When I needed something, I''d think of him. We also identally kissed in the forest¡­"


    "Lucia, Lucia, please, listen to me!"


    Lucia''s brother finally found an opportunity to interject. He emotionally begged her again, but Lucia punished him with a grouchy gaze: "Brother, you''re so annoying."


    "Wh-¡­"


    Cue the sound of a heart breaking. It was perfectly normal for a brother''s heart to shatter after being impaled so ruthlessly, wasn''t it? Heartache seized Lucia''s brother''s face. No words woulde to mind. Despair and pain eventually surfaced on his face.


    "I know he loves me. Brother, you haven''t seen his gaze. He has a sincere gaze. Plus, he also came here to tell me that he loves me and wants to marry me. I don''t think he would dare to lie me in our territory." Lucia continued with a nonchnt look: "Queen Sisi has to be returned to humans in the end, anyway. We''ll send her back once we receive the thirty-thousand gold coins, so there''s no need for him toe here, is there?"


    After gently adjusting her hair, Lucia added, "He''s a very smart man; he would never put himself in danger. If he tries to escape from here after confessing to me, he''d have himself a death wish. I won''t ept my lover betraying me. If he does, I''ll dig his eyes out. On the other hand, if he doesn''t and continues to love me, I''ll be happy to be his wife. I also like him, after all."


    "Y-Yes¡­" Lucia''s brother barely articted.


    Lucia wasn''t madly in love. Lucia and Lin Dongqing''s feelings were doubtfully at that deeply-in-love stage. It sounded as though they merely had good impressions of each other. Nevertheless, Lucia was eager to get married.


    "Wh-Whatever the case, I''ll watch him!! I''m your brother! I won''t allow anyone to trick you! If someone does, I''ll be the first to stand up for you!"


    "Thank you, Brother." Lucia walked up to her brother with a smile and gave him a peck on the cheek: "So, what do you think of this dress, Brother?"


    "You''re adorable in it. Lucilia, you''re cute and pretty to begin with, so you look cute in anything."


    Lucia''s brother''s response was a sincere one. By elven standards, Lucia''s body type was the cutest. Lucia changed into a white long dress embellished with butterflies and flying birds. Her short hair wasbed into a small bundle that was held in ce with a jade hairpin, thereby revealing her delicate neck. A light-green gemstone hung down to her chest. Lucia looked totally different to usual; she looked purer and cuter. But nheless, her statement saying that she''d dig out her husband''s eyes if he betrayed her certainly wasn''t an empty threat¡­


    "Well, things should be ready on this end now. I''m sure everyone is looking forward to Lucilia''s engagement ceremony." One of Lucia''s sisters came up and pushed Lucia''s brother away. She then said, "Okay now, okay now, Lucilia, let''s get going. Let''s go and see your fianc¨¦. He may be a human, but I''m sure he''ll fit perfectly into elven clothing."


    "Uhm!!" responded Lucia.


    Lucia couldn''t wait any longer. Her brother, however, didn''t look pleased¡­


    ========


    Current time at the elven dungeon.


    Queen Sisi opened her eyes. Some sort of liquid trickled down onto her face. She instinctively touched it; it was a sticky and stinky liquid. Having no appetite to begin with, she felt an urge to vomit as the stinky liquid dripped onto her. She quickly crawled aside. She touched her eyes. They were still there, proving it wasn''t dark because she was blind but because she had been thrown into a ce without light.


    "Where exactly am I?" wondered Queen Sisi, realising that she wasn''t restrained. Therefore, she figured the elves must''ve put in the stops to ensure she couldn''t escape. She silently questioned, "Where exactly is this ce? Will I still be able to see the sun? Will I be able to survive?"


    Queen Sisi neither shouted nor feared for she knew that it was futile to. She tried to stand up; she carefully took a step. She identally stepped on something. She heard a painful squeak underfoot, causing her to shudder. She finally figured out where she was.


    Amand was received. Countless eyes suddenly glowed in the darkness. Their squeaking reverberated¡­ Queen Sisi''s entire body froze in ce. She staggered backwards and knelt on the ground.


    "Aaaaahhh!!!!!!!" The young girl shrilled as though a crushing tide would crush her¡­

 Chapter Volume 5 28

    <em>Engagement Ceremony</em>


    It was my first time seeing Lucia in a dress. Petite and adorable Lucia looked winsome in her clothing that was partially revealing and partially conservative. The elves'' fashion bore a striking resemnce to ancient Rome and Greece''s fashion. The white, ancient Rome strap sandals asionally revealed themselves underneath her dress. Her back was on disy. Lucia was definitely a long-distance archer. She had much fewer scarspared to Veirya, but her back wasn''t as weak and t as ordinary girls. Her back had some subtly visible muscles. She was a soldier, after all.


    Lucia wore a light and thin wedding veil on her head, bashfully concealing her face. She appeared to have put on a small amount of makeup, therefore enhancing her charm. Her usual messy hair had also been arranged into a small bun. She approached me with a shy smile. Her sisters were around her.


    Lucia''s sisters pushed her over to me. She nervously touched her face and drylyughed: "What do you think? This is my first time wearing this sort of clothing, so I don''t feel too confident in them¡­"


    "Very pretty. Honest."


    I gently covered Lucia''s face with my hand. She lowered her head as if it would hide her aze ears. She seemed to be ted. Her sisters delightedly watched us. Only one person looked at me as though he wanted to murder me, and I knew that it was Lucia''s brother¡­


    Lucia''s brother still didn''t trust me. I wasn''t sure if it was due to his jealousy or if he actually saw through my ns. I didn''t think he was that perceptive, though¡­


    "Let''s go, then. We''ll have to show you two off to everyone next. Lucilia''s fianc¨¦, everyone is looking forward to meeting you."


    Lucia and I tightly held hands. I suddenly found myself a little too shy to look at Lucia. I knew what my real feelings were. I was lying to her. My n should''ve been sailing smoothly. Lucia didn''t seem to suspect me in any capacity. s, I felt guilty when I saw her bashful and cute mannerisms. I didn''t know what would happen to her after. I knew what I was doing. I was taking advantage of a girl''s feelings. There was nothing worse than taking advantage of a girl''s feelings. But nevertheless, I had no choice. If I had any other way of saving Queen Sisi, I wouldn''t ever resort to lying and taking advantage of Lucia''s feelings. I was prepared to never be able to leave the elvennds when I decided on the n.


    "Sir!" As we headed to the celebration banquet room, I had someone cheerfully run up to me with an earthen jar the size of their arms, wearing a cheerful smile.


    I hadn''t known her for long at the time, but I recognised her. She wore simple cloth clothing and wore a head cloth. She had gone from a noble girl to a healthy countryside girl. She wouldn''t have been able to carry the jar thest time I saw her. That day, though, Ascillia was healthy and lively. She was no longer the cursed girl.


    "Ascillia!!"


    I never thought I''d see Ascillia there. After I sent her to the elvennds, I gave up any ideas of seeing her again and nearly forgot about her. It was quite a coincidence to see her there again.


    Ascillia expressed, "I am truly d to see you again. After the war broke out, I thought I might never see you again. This time, did youe here¡­ to¡­ to¡­ to marry Madam Lucilia?"


    I bashfully nodded. Lucia tedly grabbed onto my arm and firmly nodded. The light in Ascillia''s eyes somewhat faded, but then she immediately regained her spirits. With a smile, she told me, "I see. I cannot help it, then, I guess. You and Madam Lucilia are a fantastic fit, after all. With that said, if you have free time, you muste and visit us. Mom and I are sincerely grateful for everything that you did for us. Without you, I would not have had my illness cured, and I would not have my current life. I must say it again: thank you very much."


    "There''s no need to thank me. You need to thank these elves. They were the ones who saved you."


    I scrubbed Ascillia''s head. Though she confessed to mest time, I only saw her as a child. She was barely older than Leah. She chuckled as she took a step back: "I shall not hold you two up any longer. I will definitely go and give my blessings at your wedding!"


    "Thanks."


    While I wanted Ascillia to attend our engagement ceremony, as well, I remembered that it wasn''t a legitimate engagement ceremony. Before our engagement ceremony was the elves'' celebration banquet. The banquet was held to celebrate the elves'' victory over the humans. As a human, it was too awkward for her to participate in the banquet, which exined why she wouldn''t join the banquet.


    "Let''s continue."


    We continued ahead. Lucia informed me, "That girl has been here with us for a long time now. We quite like her; she''s sensible and polite. After she recovered from her condition, she began to help her host family with chores. If all humans could be as nice and reasonable as you and her, we would be able to live in harmony. Why, though, are there always some people, especially those simr to Queen Sisi, who harbour ill-will toward us? We''ve never attacked humans before."


    One of Lucia''s sisters interjected, "Lucilia, you''re about to get engaged. Don''t bring those bitter thoughts up."


    I didn''t respond in any way as I noticed Lucia''s brother''s eyes spontaneously zoned in on me as soon as the topic came up. He was still of the belief that I wanted to trick them to rescue Queen Sisi. Hence, I couldn''t reveal any ws. I was on an infiltration mission. Call me Agent Lin.


    As soon as we entered the elven building, everyone inside rose to their feet and let out excited cries, almost bringing the roof down. The elves then sat down and mmed their table while shouting. I awkwardly watched them; I didn''t know what to say. Lucia, on the other hand, wore a smile and shyly kept her head down. Still, she clung to my arm.


    Lucia''s brother walked up to the front of everyone. He stretched his hands out to indicate for everyone to quieten down, and quiet down they did.


    "All right. Now, allow me to inform you that my sister, in other words, my family''s Lucilia, will be announcing her marriage with this human, Travor. I am sure you haven''t met Travor before, but I hope you won''t be confrontational or prejudice against him. He is not our enemy. During winter, we received our food to drive away the Queen. Then, he informed us humanity wasing for us. Then, he provided us with funding to buy guns and gunpowder. He has always been our friend andrade in this war. As such, he has the right to be respected and to have Lucilia''s heart. As Lucilia''s elder brother, I won''t stop her true love because of different races. Since my beloved sister likes him, I shall agree to their marriage. If no one has anything to say on the matter, I can announce that Travor is Luciia''s fianc¨¦. The two shall hold their wedding ceremony in one week''s time!"


    "Woo!!!"


    The elves cheered in unison; nobody objected. Perhaps my previous feats won their approval. The engagement was simple enough. Once Lucia''s brother wrapped up his announcement, I removed Lucia''s head veil. The two of us looped our arms and drank a green ss of wine each. We then French kissed in front of everyone, effectively confirming our rtionship. Henceforth, we would be considered husband and wife.


    Well, half of my n was a sess. The next step was to wait for the official wedding, which was scheduled for the next week. I needed to locate Queen Sisi while under Lucia''s brother''s surveince within the week. I nced over to him, and he watched me as I suspected he''d be. He went along with us, but he was actually waiting for me to expose myself before he killed me.


    One thing I noticed was that the elves had distinct boundaries between them. While they were on either side of a long table, after the banquetmenced, it was evident there were two teams. I stayed by Lucia''s side the entire time, smiling as if I didn''t care about anything. In truth, my brain was in overdrive, trying to analyse. I observed my surroundings and scanned everything around. I was deep in enemy territory, so I tried to find things to exploit.


    "Elves arepletely united when against humans, but is it really true that their internal rtionships are perfect? How many ways can I rescue Queen Sisi? How can I leave the elvennds? I need to be in and out within a week. If I end up marrying Lucia, I lose. How will I escape the elvennds after marrying Lucia? I need to hurry, and I must be alert at all times. The guy''s a damn sis-con; he''s an unpredictable threat," I analysed.

 Chapter Volume 5 29

    <em>Veirya''s Husband</em>


    "Mama Veirya¡­ is there still no news from Papa?"


    Leah grabbed her nket. She peered over to Veirya from over the top of the nket. Veirya dallied for a moment before looking back at Leah. She shook her head: "Not. Yet."


    Leah turned her head back feeling somewhat disappointed. She pulled the nket over her head and quietly muttered to herself: "What exactly is Papa doing¡­? Will Papa be in danger there¡­?"


    Veirya took a step back. She wanted to console Leah, but she didn''t say anything in the end. She, instead, turned around and left Leah''s room. She stopped at Leah''s door and mulled over something before descending the stairs.


    Angelina was snoring at the table. Due to the shortage of hands forcing her to fill more than a pair of shoes, exhaustion defeated the iron warrior. She had to admit she was no longer as fit as her younger self. Veirya walked up to her side and aggressively yanked her hair up. Subsequently, Angelina vigorously opened her eyes in shock then scowled: "I''ve never woken you up in such an aggressive manner. Also, is something the matter"


    "I''m going to the elvennds."


    Angelina tilted her head: "What? He''s been gone for only two days. What are you so anxious about? Queen Sisi will be fine. Lucilia won''t hurt him, either; there''s nothing for you to worry about. You''re different to him. If you go there, the elves will kill you. Don''t forget humans and elves are in the middle of a war."


    Veirya shook her head: "I''m not afraid."


    Angelina grabbed hold of Veirya''s hand: "Calm down, Veirya. You''d only interfere with his job if you go there now. I''m sure he''s doing his best over there at the moment. We shouldn''t be interrupting him. He''s deep inside elven territory right this moment. If we act thoughtlessly, we really will put him in danger."


    "Then. What should. I do now. To help him?"


    Veirya dug her fingers into her palms. It was her first taste of an emotion called vexed. In the past, she could carry Queen Sisi out of danger regardless of what happened or how dangerous things were. She could save countless people and defeat countless foes. She also believed herself to be without equal, therefore believing nobody could stop her or hurt those she cared about. Yet, she discovered she couldn''t do anything right; she couldn''t get what she wanted. She purely wanted to protect those around her, yet was unable to get catch up to him. For the first time ever, Veirya realised that the distance between him and her was enormous. He had gone to the elvennds, but she couldn''t go. She eventually questioned if he was actually Her Majesty''s knight.


    Veirya always believed she was worried about Queen Sisi, desired to ensure her safety and wanted to rescue her. That was why she was mentally and emotionally rustled up until then. When Leah mentioned Lin Dongqing, she finally realised the person she was worried about most wasn''t Queen Sisi but him.


    Veirya took Lin Dongqing for granted when he was always by her side. When he left her, she finally realised how much had to be done in the town and how powerless she was to do anything for she didn''t even know where to start. She finally realised how much he did. She needed him. Sadly, he was still in the elvennds. She was irritated because he wasn''t with her. It had been less than two days since he departed. Nevertheless, she had already felt as irritated as Leah did.


    "Could I be viewing him. As a father? He is like my father. Being able to do everything. But. I am not his child. Is this. Love? Do I. love him?" Veirya pondered.


    "You just need to stay here. Take care of Leah, and reject the military. That''s how you can help him. He''s in the elvennds at the moment. I can tell you he doesn''t want to see his family in dire straits."


    "Your Lordship." Anna knocked on the door and entered, carrying a candlestick in her hand. She was quite confused as she didn''t know who to speak to¡­


    Veirya questioned, "Did. Something happen?"


    "Umm¡­ umm¡­ the military''s¡­ erm¡­ Arthur would like to see you¡­ He prepared a horse carriage. It seems he wants to leave with you."


    "Tell him. Audience not granted." Angelina spoke up before her daughter could: "Don''t let him in. If he wants toe in, you can physically drive them off. The military are refusing to shelter the wounded soldiers. That makes them our enemies. How dare theye and ask Veirya to leave now."


    Anna wasn''t too sure what to do. Fighting the military wasn''t a rational decision. Angelina was one of the chapel''s erstwhile knights. She, therefore, instinctively disliked and felt apprehensive about the military. To the contrary, Veirya was a former soldier, so Anna figured Veirya didn''t want to fight with the military. Veirya nodded: "Do. As she said."


    "Are you really not willing to be a Queen? In my opinion, it would be worth being a Queen. Surely you have seen how luxurious Queen Sisi''s life was. Since you have the chance, why not try being a Queen?"


    Veirya shook her head: "I won''t. Be a Queen. I don''t know. How to be a Queen. Also. He. Wouldn''t be happy. Even if I must. I need to wait for him toe back."


    Anna nodded: "I see."


    Anna left. The young man respectfully stood at the door. He watched Anna exit and asked, "Did Lord Veirya note out with you?"


    Tone void of emotion, Anna answered, "Lord Veirya''s reply is simple. She refuses as she refused before. If you really want to do something, go and find Mr. Lin. Without him, Lord Veirya won''t make any decisions."


    The young man grabbed Anna''s arm and threw a fit: "But Mr. Lin is currently in the elvennds!! Lord Veirya is an adult! Why can''t she make her own decisions?! Why?!!!"


    Anna''s polite smile gradually turned into a warning expression. She pressed her hand on his and reminded, "Sir, this is the front of the Lord Veirya''s property. You must show respect even if you are the leader of the military. I would like to ask you to let go; else, I may get physical. Please understand that Mr. Lin is Veirya''s husband. His word is final. Further, you are only her former officer. Please leave."

 Chapter Volume 5 30

    <em>Lucia''s Test</em>


    Nights in the forest were different to nights in the town. The merciless cold prated through my thick cloak. The freezing air always reeked of blood from dead humans.


    I felt as though I travelled back to when I first arrived the North. Veirya would sit at the table in silence at night. It''d be deathly freezing upstairs, where only Leah and I were. The corridor would be dead silent. I found the same feeling akin to death again.


    Sitting on a rock, I gazed at the moon. My home was nearby, but the elven forest seemed was a long bridge that I couldn''t reach the other side of. Lucia was the key to everything and the key to everything I wanted.


    My mind began to wonder: "What exactly do I have to do? Also, what''s going on at home now? What are Leah and Veirya up to now? How are the wounded soldiers? Will they cause trouble due to their condition? Leah is just a kid; will she get scared at night after seeing corpses and blood? If she has nightmares, who will she hold onto at night? She''ll have to bear through a terrifying, slow and long night to calm herself."


    I wanted to go home as soon as possible. I had to find Queen Sisi and bring her back with me. Else, everything I sacrificed would be in vain. I needed a n of attack. Up until then, no elf had mentioned Queen Sisi''s whereabouts. I hadn''t seen the human prisoners, either. Their locations were a touchy topic. I bet I wouldn''t have myself a pleasant ending if I went and asked them straight up. If I sat on myurels, I''d be wasting an entire week. I was wasting a night already if nothing else.


    "Travor¡­"


    As I pondered to myself, Lucia sat down next to me. She wasn''t dressed in her engagement dress anymore. She changed back into her form-fitting clothes and leather armour. She turned her head away when she noticed my gaze on her. She awkwardly pursed her lips and raised the corners: "Sorry, I felt the clothes from before were slightly too troublesome to move about in¡­ so I got changed¡­"


    "It''s fine. You''re cute to begin with."


    I gently pulled Lucia into my embrace. She rested on me and sped my hand. She quietlymented, "I never imagined we''re about to be married when we were just good friends yesterday. We''ll be living together henceforward. When I think about it now, I don''t know you at all. All I know is that you''re smart and brave, but that''s all."


    "So, what do you need to know, Lucia? Haha, I''m right here, Lucia. You can ask anything. I''ll honestly answer all of your questions."


    "In that case, I want to ask¡­"


    I noticed Lucia wasn''t affectionately holding my hand. She was merely preventing me from escaping. Lucia didn''te over to enjoy the night with me but to interrogate me. Voice soft, she finished, "Your true purpose ining here."


    I knew Lucia asked me the question on her own ord; therefore, I wasn''t worried. I noticed Lucia''s fingers gently resting on my wrist. She was checking my pulse. When those who don''t often lie do tell a lie while nervous, their heart rate would pick up. In effect, Lucia was checking my pulse to see if I was lying. The method would work on others but not me. I had practically never told any truths. I was never afraid to lie; it was in my blood. I was a liar, and it was my means of survival.


    I looked straight into Lucia''s eyes and sincerely addressed, "Lucia, look into my eyes. You know whether or not I''m lying. Lucia, I love you. I can tell you that countless times. I can look into your eyes countless times. Lucia, do you think I''m lying?"


    Lucia looked into my eyes earnestly. Her finger on my wrist pulsated as my heart beat. She examined me and my love. She didn''t say a word; simrly, I didn''t say anything else. The argent streaks of moonlight between us froze as if our tension influenced it. Neither of us spoke, but she gently removed her finger from my wrist. Next, she ran her hand up my arm.


    "So, she believes me?" I wondered.


    "I will¡­ be a good wife and a good mother. I''ll learn everything I haven''t learnt before. I''m willing to be your wife and spend my whole life with you. I can understand your feelings, my beloved Travor. You do truly love me, so I will love you wholeheartedly, as well."


    I realised that my eyes contained so much affection for the first time. I doubted I ever looked at the woman I truly loved with the same gaze before, sadly.


    I gently hugged Lucia but oddly felt cold. I needed to hug her for that was the only way for me to hide the look on my face. Perhaps I used up all of my energy before for her test and, consequently, felt too spent to reveal a gentle expression again.


    Leaning on Lucia, I went through my thoughts: "How many people have I hurt this time? Every step I advance, I hurt Lucia again. How can I avoid hurting her in the end? Lucia is innocent. She never did anything wrong, but ended up being tricked by me. I married a totally innocent woman because a woman left the woman I love."


    I knew I did plenty of things considered wrong. Nevertheless, sometimes, what people need isn''t an almighty main protagonist, but a viin who won''t hesitate tomit any sin, like me, to resolve everything.


    The ice-cold moonlight and air guing me was reced with the warm girl in my arms. Lucia gently leaned onto me and lightly wrapped her arms around me.

 Chapter Volume 5 31

    <em>Morning with Lucia</em>


    The sun bloomed early on the horizon in the elvennds. Chirps rippled through the chilly forest. The chirps pushed the sluggishness from my mind, much to my chagrin. I rubbed my forehead as I sat up. I looked next to me. Lucia had not yet woken up. She still had her arms around mine. The blissful smile on her face was still in bloom¡­ The heavens could testify that I never did anything that crossed the line. The two of us only slept in each other''s embrace. I had no interest in Lucia''s t body. Plus, she didn''t n to do anything before marriage. Last night, I carried her back to our room, and I slept until morning.


    "Lucia. Lucia."


    I didn''t n to wake Lucia up, but she hugged my arm too tightly for me to get up. Hence, I had to wake her¡­ Hearing my voice, she opened bleary eyes and gave me a warm smile: "Good morning, Travor. The weather is great again!"


    "Yeah, the weather isn''t bad today."


    I peered out window of our wooden home. The elves didn''t have any ss. They used green vines as windows. As such, they couldn''t keep the wind out entirely. Still, it was enough to reduce the sun''s heat sting through. I thought I could see the vines cheerfully dancing in the wind as if the nts had a life of their own.


    The ce I was at was, presumably, Lucia''s home. However, it wasn''t her brother''s home. The ce was for just one person. There was only one floor, one bedroom, one guest room, one kitchen and one toilet. A huge and soft bed was ced in the bedroom. The elves'' bed seemed to be held together with some sort of nt underneath. Their nkets apparently had something to ensure they were always warm. Life in the elvennd waspletely different to life in the humannds.


    It must''ve been tough on Ascillia and her mother; they only had each other in the lonely forest.


    Lucia sat up and got dressed. She turned around to give me a smile and hugged my head. She gently touched her forehead to mine. I had no idea what significance that gesture meant to elves. She bashfully told me, "I wanted to kiss you, but I just woke up, so I''m shy. I, therefore, chose to just touch foreheads with y-."


    Before Lucia finished, I sped her face and gave her a gentle kiss. She shuddered. Her first reaction was to run, but I forcibly sped her face so that she couldn''t leave. The two of us separated. Lucia lowered her red face and ears. She pouted, "I just said that I''m too shy to kiss¡­ we just woke up¡­"


    I gently tapped Lucia''s forehead with my own and chuckled: "It''s no big deal. We''ll be living together in the future. Is there a need to worry about this sort of stuff? Won''t good morning kisses be the norm in the future? We don''t need to mind these trivial things."


    Lucia hugged me. She then climbed onto the bed and literally squashed me underneath. Being petite, she wasn''t very heavy, though, so I didn''t feel ufortable. From my embrace, Lucia gently brushed her face against mine: "Do you have any ns now? You want to have a tour of our ce? I want to take you home today. I''m not referring to this ce but where my family is, in other words, my n''s home. After we get married, I''ll receive some properties. I can let you see them beforehand. I don''t understand purchasing or operation, but my brother does. Hence, I feel assured entrusting it to you."


    I nodded and hugged Lucia: "I''ll try my best because it''ll no longer be your property, but our property. Lucia, it''ll all be ours, our family and children, in the future."


    Upon mentioning children, Lucia''s blush seared through her cheeks. She leaned onto my shoulder as she didn''t want to let me see her face, apparently. Voice soft, she responded, "So, how many kids do you want? I¡­ I don''t know¡­ how many I''ll have¡­ I''ve never thought about it. If you have a desired number, I''ll try my best to achieve it¡­"


    To be honest, I couldn''t imagine Lucia having children when she was so petite¡­


    "Shame on you, Lin Dongqing! What am I imagining?! I can''t allow Lucia to be pregnant! I''m lying to her; if I get her pregnant, I''ll be worse than scum!!" I cursed in my mind.


    I had no ns of getting Lucia pregnant. Nevertheless, I answered, "As long as they''re our children, the number is of no importance."


    Lucia gave me a muffled response. Then, she pulled back to look at me when a thought came to mind: "What about Leah, then? Leah is also your adopted daughter. It wouldn''t be right to abandon Leah to stay here with me after we get married. Leah is an adorable girl, and she never did anything wrong. I think we should take care of Leah. I''m not Veirya; I can understand Leah, so I can ept her."


    Now that wasn''t something I expected to be brought up. Lucia caressed my face and giggled: "Don''t worry, Travor. Go and bring Leah over. The elves here can ept her. Bring her over. Bring her home. I''ll try and be a full-marks mother. I promise to take good care of Leah."


    "I know. I know." I kissed Lucia on her cheek then quietly said, "But aren''t you worried that I''ll run away? I could run away with picking Leah up as an excuse."


    "I trust¡­" ¡ª Lucia gently ced her hand on my chest where my heart was ¡ª "This. Your heart can''t trick me. Nobody can trick their own true feelings. Travor, I''ve tested your feelings before, and I know you genuinely love me. Therefore, I believe you. I will love you the same way. Travor, you won''t betray me, and neither will I. I''ll always love you."


    "Me, too. I''ll love you forever."


    The two of us looked into each other''s eyes. Lucia sat on my thigh and slowly approached me. Lucia appeared to have developed a fondness for kissing, so she wanted to kiss at every opportunity. I went along with her. She was akin to a little bird, sensitive and afraid, yet was infatuated with the feeling.


    When we were romantically kissing, someone suddenly pushed the door open. Lucia''s brother appeared at the door. He initially wanted to say something, but then looked at us with a ghastly face. We quickly separated when we saw Lucia''s brother. Although embarrassed, Lucia still looked at him with a blissful smile that she couldn''t wipe off her face. She cheerfully greeted, "Good morning, Brother. Can you knock before youe in next time, though? It''s embarrassing to be caught¡­"


    "What¡­ what¡­ what are you two doing first thing in the morning? Why are you doing something so shameless first thing in the morning¡­? Wh-What are you two doing¡­? Could¡­ could you two have done thatst night? Y-You¡­"


    Lucia''s brother almost copsed to his knees. He stuttered so badly that he couldn''t articte aplete sentence. Lucia notified, "What''s the matter? Aren''t we engaged already? This is no longer my ce but our ce, so you need to knock before youe in. Otherwise, it''ll be incredibly awkward. The two of us were blissf-"


    "Y-Y-You¡­ you feel that I''m in your way now?!"stuttered Lucia''s astonished brother.


    Frankly, I never thought that he''d catch us¡­ Lucia was still puzzled. With her head on a nt, she innocently asserted, "Are you not? Brother, I''ll be splitting with the main family after I am married, so this is now my home."


    "Y-Y-You stole my sister!! You stole my sister with your lies! You dared to steal my sister!! You! I''m going to kill you! I swear I''ll kill you!!" Lucia''s brother suddenly thundered at me.


    He drew the short sword at his belt and lunged toward me. Before I had a chance to react, Lucia zipped over and kicked the dagger away. Before he could make another move, she grabbed choked him with one hand. Gaze frigid, she warned, "Calm down, Brother. You''re my brother, not my husband. Henceforward, he will be the one to keep mepany and give me love, not you. I respect you, and I love my husband. Hence, I won''t allow my husband to insult you, but I also cannot ept you attacking my husband. Brother, I hope you understand that."


    "I¡­ I¡­" Lucia''s brother nched - he could almost feel the white in his cheeks. His words were stuck in his throat, leaving him with only incoherent utterances.


    Lucia released her brother. Hopeless, she asked, "Why can you two get along? Brother, do you still not trust him?"


    "Obviously, I don''t!! How can I trust a stranger to give my sister bliss?! I''ve never seen him before! How do you expect me to trust him?!!!"


    "Let''s go, Travor. Let''s ignore him. I''ll take you home." Lucia grumpily shot her brother a re. She turned around and looped her arm around mine. She looked back at her brother and provoked him: "Brother, grow up. You need to take care of our child in the future, as well, you know?!"


    "No! I refuse!! I absolutely refuse!!"

 Chapter Volume 5 32

    <em>Prisoners of War</em>


    An elven tradition dictated that a daughter would take a portion of the family assets upon getting married. The elves weren''t prejudice against girls and favoured boys. In fact, their gender differences were barely noticeable. The elven poption was too small, after all. Men and women had to fight and work together, so there was very minimal difference between them.


    Lucia''s family consisted of just her and her brother, but they possessed a fair amount of assets. The huge stone structure was their residence. While elves didn''t have high aesthetic standards, the ancient vibe that it had was visible. Inside the wooden fence at the entrance was a flower garden. I finally saw how the rainbow flower looked once it bloomed. Each petal was a different colour. The radiant rainbow flowers added an enthralling touch to the garden. The scent in the air calmed my nerves. In the future, we would be able to see the rainbow flowers next to our fountain in the town.


    There were eight pirs in the main hall of the stone property. Apparently, the carvings on the pirs were depictions of elven legends. The propertyprised of two floors. The staircase connecting the two flowers sat on the two sides of the pirs.


    "This is our house." Lucia proudly folded her arms as she scanned the house. She leaned on me and chortled: "We''lle back to visit in the future; however, our home isn''t here. We need to build our own home away from here. I really like your home. How about we give our home the same design? There should be those who know how to build a house among the human prisoners of war, right?"


    "Actually, I think they''re all professional soldiers. I don''t think the soldiers are randomly selected anymore¡­"


    "There are still a number of engineers among them, though. The machines they built have earned my admiration. I think they can build a house. If they can''t, I''ll force them to learn to. Else, we''ll just execute them all. Oh, right, right, there are also these, these ones."


    Lucia pulled me over. We didn''t head straight upstairs. Instead, we ran down to a dungeon via a small but long and secretive flight of stairs. The candles on either side provided modest lighting. The chilly air intensified the further down we went. I could feel the dampness and cold down below. The two of us walked for a long time before finally seeing a bright me. There was a startling sight to behold.


    Countless thin girls looked up at us. They were simr to the elves in appearance, but they were thinner thin elves. The girls were frightened when they saw Lucia. They all stood up and bowed. I spotted two vertical scars on their backs.


    "They''re banshees. They''re elves'' ves, which make them our assets, as well. My family has more than seventy banshees. We can ask for half of them and these ones."


    Lucia led me through the banshees. I surveyed at the banshees as we passed by. They only had simple and thin white clothing to wear. I could literally see their lower body. They were all girls. Not one of them dared to look me in the eyes.


    The banshees lost the war against the elves. As a result, they were made thetter''s ves. Lucia continued leading me ahead. Deeper in the dungeon were iron cages. I quickly discerned we were at a prison. I went inside. Lucia grabbed a torch from the side then knocked on one of the cages with a fork that she picked up. There were twenty-plus people squeezed inside despite the cage not beingrge, consequently making lying down impossible.


    The people in the cage were the human prisoners of war. They were stripped naked and were relegated to barely getting by inside the cold iron cage. I didn''t find Queen Sisi among them


    Well, I guess it was only logical for Queen Sisi to not be locked together with the group. If not even Lucia had the right to lock Queen Sisi in her room, though, where would Queen Sisi be? It was horrible enough to be locked in there. I hated to imagine where Queen Sisi was held captive.


    "These are the prisoners we caughtst time. There are more prisoners further in. I think we''ll be able to ask for more than four hundred of them." Lucia folded her arms. Distressed, she added, "It''s always nice to have more hands, but too many is counterproductive. We also have to budget money to feed them. If they die underground, they''ll affect the banshees. In saying that, we need some new ves for our new home, right? What should we have these humans do?"


    "Have them nt the vouring crops, I suppose. That way, we''ll have ie. They''re just wasting money here anyway."


    Lucia frowned: "Humans wouldn''t buy our vouring anymore, would they? We can only do business with dwarves now, right?"


    "Dwarves are by no means a good business partners. They don''t have good business practices. Humanity can''t be without vouring. Even though the war continues, we can still sell the vouring from the North."


    "Mm¡­ that makes sense. I don''t understand all that anyhow. I''ll just leave it all to you. Won''t it be awkward to see Vierya again? After all, in the past, you two -"


    "It''s fine."


    Lucia looked back at the humans and continued, "I think I can find something to do. Come exercise with me tomorrow. Let us elves show you our archery."


    "I got a taste of your archery a while ago."


    "But you haven''t seen me shoot before!!" Lucia pouted: "You''ve never seen my archery skills. You only know of them. Archery is one of the things that I''m especially confident with. I must show you my skills."


    "All right, show me, then."


    ========


    Current time at the elven main hall.


    An elf asked the miserable elven leader, "You do not seem to be so well. We won the war, and humanity has not taken any further military actions. Also, your sister appears to have found herself a good man. Is there anything left for you to worry about?"


    "Thest point that you mentioned is exactly what I''m not happy about. He''s a human; how am I supposed to trust a human?!! I''m absolutely certain he''s scheming something. Of course I''m angry when my adorable sister has been fooled!!" Lucia''s brother furiously mmed the table. He clinched his head as if he was trying to contain an explosion: "Ah, forget it. Let''s put my family issues aside for the meantime. Business is most important. What is humanity''s response?''


    "They refused to pay the ransom."


    "In other words, we can kill Sisi n-?"


    "No," Lucia''s brother suddenly interrupted. "I have a good idea. We''ll use Sisi to kill the human. Leave it to me. Hand me Sisi!"

 Chapter Volume 5 33

    A patron did me a kind deed. I return the favour in kind.


    <em>It''s Been a While</em>


    Unknown location in the elvennds.


    "Aim carefully. You got it? Get all of those rodents down. That''s it. Got it, right? One, two, three, heave."


    The grey rodents scurried into the dark and moist locations to avoid the light. Rancid liquids dripped off her body after she was pulled up from underneath the rodents. The rodents urinated on her body. She even spat out some that invaded her mouth. There was still some rodent fur at the corner of her mouth. Her hands were covered in wounds due to the rodents biting them. She was also covered in blood. The blood wasn''t just her blood but also the rodents.


    She opened her eyes; however, her heterochromia eyes looked listless. Her naked body exuded a gag-inducing stench. She was pretty all right, but the smell was beyond repulsive. The elves hooked her thighs with iron chains as if she was a toy in a machine.


    "This woman ate even rodents. Damn, that''s disgusting. She even ate their fur? Humans truly are wild beasts. You reckon she''ll eat a human corpse if we throw one down there for her?"


    The elves pinched their noses and jeered. One of them suddenly got in the mood to y a prank. While he undid his belt, the elf next to him eximed, "Oi, oi, what are you doing?! What are you doing?!!"


    "What are you afraid of? We have to wake her up one way or another. Why not save the drugs? I happen to have one for her."


    The elf whipped out his rod and leered. He then began to urinate liberally. The other elf watched hispanion in disbelief. He quickly turned around and walked some distance away to avoid bringing grief upon himself.


    The putrid yellow liquid shot into Queen Sisi''s nose, causing her to cough intensely and open her eyes. She bent over to one side and puked a strange liquid apanied by red flesh and a piece of grey fur. Queen Sisi ate a rat alive before the elves came.


    Queen Sisi didn''t care what the liquid overhead was. She used the liquid to wipe her face then let out a breath of relief. Then, she went limp over to one side again. The elf violently rolled her over: "Hang in there. You better not get me dirty. I don''t think you have anything left to spray though, huh?"


    Queen Sisiy on the ground and allowed the elves to do as they pleased. There was no sign to suggest she was alive. She didn''t have food to eat or water to drink for the three days that she was underground. She also didn''t dare to sleep, for she was afraid the rodents would devour her¡­ She was drained both physically and mentally after what she went through and, thus, unable to do anything. She ignored whatever happened.


    The elf, who urinated on Queen Sisi, took out a wooden instrument and snickered. Cold water suddenly shot into her body. A painful sensation that was on the borderline of being torn apart came from her vagina. Her entire body began to aggressively squirm while she cried. s, her weak body was unable to put up a resistance. The elf hosed the water into Sisi. She curled up into a ball. Her abdomen bulged due to the elf forcing arge volume of water inside. The elf then took a length of wood and shoved it in.


    "Aaaahh!!!!"


    Sisi convulsed and screamed. Her entire belly was inted monstrously. Her belly jiggled as she rolled around. The elf remained indifferent. He then grabbed a bucket of cold water and poured it down to wash off the filth on her. He tied her hands and feet to a wooden rod and asked his friend toe back. Together, they carried her toward the interior of the forest in the same fashion one would carry dead sheep.


    ========


    I didn''t know what the elves meant by an archery performance, but I assumed it was a standard event¡­ I couldn''t think of what else to do besides joining them¡­


    Lucia and I arrived at what could be considered the elves shooting range. It was a t expanse ofnd in the forest. Opposite the stand were three rows of targets, which were fifty metres, one hundred metres and two hundred metres away from the stand, respectively.


    Lucia left my side to pick up her arrow and examine it. With a smile, she informed me, "This is the first bow and arrow I received when I came of age. I used it until I arrived before the Demon King. Therefore, I cherish it."


    Lucia handed the bow and arrow to me with a smile: "Here, give it a try. Archery is actually very simple. It just takes practice."


    "I''ll give it a try, then."


    It was my first time touching a bow and arrows. Lucia''s were made from wood. The bowstring was made from a material I had never seen before. Maybe it was a special material the elves had. I tried to pull it. To my surprise, the small bow was incredibly hard. I had to pull hard to pull it just a little. The wood creaked as if it was expressing displeasure with my brash treatment.


    "That''s not how you use it. Archery isn''t about brute strength but technique." Lucia watched me andughed. She took back the arrow and easily pulled the string.


    The elves were most certainly very skilled archers. Lucia was able to easily pull it in spite of her small side.


    "Is it ready?"


    "Yes."


    Lucia softly chuckled. She smugly picked up a small nut from the table. The nut was about the size of a melon seed. I couldn''t see it clearly from fifty metres away, but Lucia held the nut andughed: "I''ll shoot this nut and crush it from over two hundred metres away."


    "You can do that?!" I didn''t make the remark to please her. I was genuinely amazed.


    Lucia proudly tugged her lips up. She took an arrow from the person next to her. She mmed the table then shouted to the rear. The two banshees behind us immediately came over to ce two cups of the green elven wine in front of us. Then, they took the nut. Lucia held her bow to her chest. She quietly hummed an ancient melody. Apparently, it was the elves ancient song for heroes. Perhaps that was a part of the preparations for archery performances.


    Out of the blue, I spotted two elves carrying something across our front view. I thought they shot some game. They walked up to the target two hundred metres away and unloaded the goods there.


    My vision wobbled for a split second when I made out what they unloaded. The ice block in my cup of wine also almost fell out. I mustered up everything I had to maintain my expression because I almost cried, "Holy shit," after what I saw. It wasn''t game. It was Queen Sisi. Her enormous belly looked bizarre¡­ I could recognise her despite her being over two hundred metres away.

 Chapter Volume 5 34

    <em>How Repulsive</em>


    Never did I expect to meet Queen Sisi again in that fashion.


    Lucia gently grabbed onto my arm. I didn''t move; I, instead, slowly had a drink of wine and sucked on the ice cube in my mouth to leverage the cold to stimte my brain. I felt as though the cold would tear the interior of my mouth. I felt sorry for Queen Sisi after witnessing the state she was in, but I was also angry. I couldn''t allow my heart rate to increase, though. I had to show I was indifferent to her circumstance. After all, my goal was solely to marry Lucia, not to save Queen Sisi.


    "Don''t get angry. Don''t get angry," I kept silently repeating in my mind.


    Queen Sisi had her limbs tied to a cross. Her posture was weird. Her heavy belly slouched down as if it was going to peel off her body. Feeling her muscles and bones scream, she shrieked and cried: "Aaaaahh!!!"


    Lucia gently patted me on my shoulder. She whispered in my ear, "I know, Dear. I totally understand. That human humiliated you without any hesitation; she nearly humiliated you as a dog, which is why I think this is nice. Humanity has abandoned her. As such, she has no value to us any longer. We''re going to use her for entertainment purposes. This is even better. I''ll let you vent today. Dear, let''s do this: do you want me to shatter her brains or the nut? Or would you like me to shoot one of her eyes? Or would you prefer her throat?"


    Queen Sisi continued to scream as she squirmed. She futilely tried to escape the cross as her neck was pinned to the cross with an iron ring. Her belly swayed side to side, looking as if it was a water balloon.


    I chuckled: "Lucia, do you want to demonstrate your prowess?"


    "That''s a given. My goal this time is to impress you with my archery skills," Lucia proudly reaffirmed. She pointed to Queen Sisi: "You can choose any spot you like. I''ll unquestionably be able to hit it. So, Dear, what is your choice?"


    "Lucia, how good are your skills?"


    Lucia''s brain stuttered. She nced over to Queen Sisi before replying, "I can hit the nut from here, I guess. I can still hit it from further away. I can also curve shots. Those are all supreme skills."


    "Queen Sisi''s head would be too big of a target, then, right?"


    "Of course. It''s child''s y to hit such a big target from here."


    "Shoot the nut, then. I''m not here to vent this time. Plus, killing her with one shot after the way she humiliated me doesn''t qualify as revenge. Letting her die now would be relieving her of her misery now. I want to humiliate her; not kill her." I turned around to look over at Queen Sisi. I ced my cup down and smiled: "How about scaring her? Is she pregnant or something?"


    "Oh, umm, that¡­."


    Lucia giggled, deeming my reason eptable. She then waved a hand. Five human prisoners, who had their hands restrained, were pressed down onto our table. Five elves stood behind them, resting heavy double-handed swords on their shoulders. The five humans exchanged nces while panicking. Their mouths were stuffed, so they couldn''t utter a word. Lucia stood up and shouted to Queen Sisi, "Sisi, listen in, before you are elven nobles. You''re our property and our prestige. Should you fail to show etiquette in everyone''s presence, I shall kill these five human soldiers in front of you. Know this: your soldiers are in their current predicament thanks to you. If you are rude, I''ll have your soldiers die and have you witness their execution as a penalty for your blunder!!"


    Queen Sisi had no means of speaking. All she did was look in our direction. Lucia picked up her bow. She then looked at me and chuckled. I felt the pressure of a hand on me. I turned around to see her brother''s calm look. He lowered his head then gave me a weird smile and chuckled: "This is great, huh, my dear Lucia''s husband? It''s nice to see your enemy humiliated, isn''t it? That''s why you don''t care what happens to Queen Sisi, correct? That''s why you''re okay with watching her die, correct? Please enjoy it. Not everyone has the privilege to witness Lucia''s archery skills. Generally speaking, those who saw her archery skills are dead."


    "Yeah? I''m quite honoured, then. She''s quite lucky, too, then. Queen Sisi is one who will live to tell the tale, after all."


    I didn''t bother with Lucia''s brother again. I picked up the cup of wine. The banshee behind me quickly refilled my drink. The wine made from fruit perfectly suited my pte. It wasn''t strong and could calm me down somewhat. Lucia''s brother stayed by my side. He looked over to Queen Sisi andughed condescendingly: "I wonder if Queen Sisi will make it. I can''t be sure where the arrow will fly to."


    "I have absolute faith in my wife."


    I gave Lucia''s brother my back. Lucia focused on taking aim andined, "Brother, once my arrow leaves the string, it''ll make a circle and hit your hat as punishment for your rudeness toward me. Why do you not trust me? Name one time I missed. I said I''ll hit the nut. That means I will hit it without a doubt."


    Lucia immediately let the arrow go after she finished speaking. The sharp arrow pierced through the air and zipped toward Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi tragically howled. Due to her neck being restrained, however, she couldn''t move. The arrow was designed in a unique way. The rear of it had a ribbon tied on, allowing me to clearly see the trajectory and velocity the arrow travelled at. The nut was tiny; it wasn''t even as big as the arrow. I wasn''t sure if it''d put a hole in Queen Sisi''s head or hit the nut.


    Two hundred metres took a while for an arrow to cross. Those few seconds were an incredibly long time to us. It was as though time had stagnated. All of our lives rode on those seconds. Those few seconds were the finalst seconds of life for some. They gave me enough time to see me panic.


    Lucia and her brother had enough time to kill me. Nobody knew where the arrow would fly to in those few seconds. It could''ve pierced Queen Sisi''s small head at any moment. The closer it got to her, the tenser I should''ve been. Howbeit, neither my heart rate nor expression changed.


    All I could do was watch the arrow with a pretty ribbon on it fly toward the person I was supposed to save. All the while, I couldn''t allow my mouth to budge. I kept my eyes on Queen Sisi; meanwhile, all of the elves gazed at me.


    "Aaaahhh!!!"


    The arrow hit the nut on Queen Sisi''s head precisely. The arrow terrified Queen Sisi, however. Anybody would be scared if they saw an arrow zip past their scalp to hit a nut on their head. Queen Sisi''s body spontaneously went limp, thereby rxing her dder. As a result, a liquid of disgusting colour began to spray from her lower body. Ashamed, Queen Sisi bunched her face up. She no longer even had the strength to cry. Her head sunk in defeat.


    "Do it." Lucia gave hermand without any hesitation.


    The executioners showed no mercy. They raised their double-handed swords up high and cleanly truncated the four soldier''s necks. Blood spraying, five heads tumbled across the ground. Their scarlet life force began to drip off the white tablecloth. The scarlet rain created a charming, yet despairing, sight.


    Lucia set her bow down and jeered, "How unbing. How unbing. Queen Sisi, you''re supposed to be humanity''s Queen, yet you wet yourself in front of everyone? Look at your filth. Look at it. It''s repulsive. Is humanity''s Queen an animal? Do all the humans in your imperial capital wet themselves whenever poor little them gets scared? Look at these five corpses! Good going!! They died because you couldn''t hold it in. You sure are an excellent Queen, huh?!!"


    Lucia gently ced her hand on my wrist. I quietly had a nip of wine. I knew what I was supposed to do. I knew better than anyone else. If I couldn''t control my emotions, if I revealed just that teeny trace, I knew what would happen. Neither Queen Sisi nor I would escape with our lives. I surmised the shooting event to be the final test.


    I knew that they did something extremely cruel to Sisi, but what was crueller was that they didn''t even give me the right to be angry. I had to say something. I couldn''t keep a lid on my mouth forever. They awaited my response. I needed to provide a response that showed indifference to Queen Sisi, yet also cared about her. If I answered incorrectly, the two of us would lose our lives on the spot. I only needed to answer with a word or two, but those could be myst words.


    Lucia had her finger on my wrist while her brother had his hand on my neck. I couldn''t feel my heart beat, but they didn''t know. The tenser I was, the clearer my thinking was. Words were my weapon. Deceit was my style.


    I looked over to Queen Sisi. I ced my cup of wine down and contracted my brows. Imented, "How repulsive."

 Chapter Volume 5 35

    <em>Coincidence</em>


    Lucia folded her arms. She grumbled, "That''s enough now, right? Brother, we''ve done even this, yet his heart rate never sped up, which goes to show he''s not lying. I told you he came here because he truly loves me. We''ve already begun nning our future. You''re the only one still suspecting him. I''m not going to go along with any more of your nonsense. I need to choose a ce to build our home and get married. You''ve confirmed his feelings now, right? He''s fine. You can do whatever you want with Queen Sisi, but I don''t want to see you trying anything on my husband again."


    Cornered in a dilemma, Lucia''s brother smiled helplessly: "Sorry, sorry, Lucia. Maybe Brother was too uptight. You must understand, though, Brother loves you, Lucia. You''re brother''s only sister. It''s only natural for me to not feel easy about trusting a stranger with you. There won''t be a second elf who treats you the way I do. That''s why it''s normal for me to be worried."


    Lucia crankily red at her brother. She pped his hand away and eximed, "Brother, you''re overprotective!! I''m an elf who could defeat even the Demon King. How could I be tricked so easily?! I''m going to go and choose a location to build our home now. Oh, one more thing, Brother, I want to take half of the banshees and prisoners of war to help with building the house."


    Lucia''s brother nodded right away: "That''s fine. That''s fine. You can have Sisi, too. Humanity has already abandoned the bitch; she no longer has any value. Do as you please with her. Making her a servant isn''t a bad idea."


    "All right, then. My husband is a human, after all. She humiliated him in front of everyone in the past. I''m going to have her serve my man as his servant so that Travor can let off some steam. I doubt Travor is happy with what he saw. That was disgusting, Brother. Why did you have to choose such a revolting method?!!"


    "Weren''t you ecstatic about it, too?!"


    Lucia folded her arms and responded as if her reason was perfectly justified: "But wetting herself in front of my husband is just far too repulsive!"


    The brother and sister were satisfied with my response. My response proved that I didn''t care about Queen Sisi as my first response was disgust, not her condition. Furthermore, my cold attitude rendered it impossible for the elves to pinpoint anything strange. After confirming for himself, Lucia''s brother also affirmed that I wasn''t suspicious.


    Lucia could finally enjoy her married life. She also nned to set down her bow and pass it onto her child. She began to mind her body and got rid of most of her battle robes at that point. Next was buying normal female elven clothing for herself. Henceforward, she would learn to cook and how to take care of her family. In the future, she would earnestly fulfil the role of a praiseworthy wife. Not the elves'' hero.


    Humanity had been defeated so badly that they didn''t have a next step. Therefore, the elves finally won themselves a period of prestige, dignity and freedom. Once the forest was repaired, the elves could return to their free and glorious lives.


    I took a deep breath and dipped my head into the freezingke water. The cold water flushed against my face and prated through, clearing my mind considerably. I shut my eyes and withstood the intense cold. The water that was cold enough to make me shiver wasn''t enough to put quell all of the rage and hatred within me. I tightly gripped a handful of soft soil next to theke, deeply etching my handprint in the soil.


    I had nothing I could do nor did I want to say anything. I was furious. Queen Sisi did make a mistake; she shouldn''t have attacked the elves, but she didn''t deserve being humiliated in front of me. She was humiliated because of me. They deliberately humiliated her to provoke me. I had to suppress my fury despite them humiliating her right before my eyes. If I wanted to rescue Queen Sisi, I had to keep a level head to use.


    Knowing that Queen Sisi was still alive was enough. She would have to bear with the torment. On the bright side, she was alive. In other words, I didn''t put myself through everything for naught. Had I gotten married with Lucia, only to find out that Queen Sisi was dead, I''d have gotten the short end of the stick. I didn''t know where they kept Queen Sisi detained. I only had a general direction, but I didn''t dare to ask any further questions.


    I pulled my head out of the water and wiped my face. Lucia gave me time to go and pick up Leah tomorrow, but I was unlikely going to bring Leah over. I alone needed to stay here. If Leah joined me, I''d have only given them another hostage, subsequently only making it more difficult to escape.


    I stood up and took in a deep breath to calm down and regather my mind. I, presumably, had a window the elves would trust me, and I had freedom. That was an opportunity to locate Queen Sisi''s location.


    As far as I knew, Queen Sisi was held captive somewhere in the direction I was heading. Howbeit, I didn''t have an exact location. I scanned around. The elves'' small houses didn''t house any banshees or prisoners. There was only one or two that had them. It did cost money to feed them, after all. Ordinary elves would hand them to Lucia and simr noble families in exchange for money. Otherwise, they''d just kill them. That shrunk my search parameter plenty. I just needed to locate a rtively big building.


    I went along the path I had in mind for a long time to catch sight of an elven building half-way up the mountain opposite theke. The building wasn''t eye-catching. Having said that, it had the same ambience Lucia''s house did. I, consequently, suspected it to be the property of a noble elven family. Of course, Queen Sisi might not be in there at all. If she wasn''t, I had no clue where she was.


    There was a small wooden bridge at the front of the property. I could use it to cross over. However, when I reached the bridge, I saw someone carrying a wooden bucket over toward me. By my estimations, she was out to fetch water. I didn''t mind her at first, but when she saw me, she suddenly hollered, "Sir Lin. Howe you are here?! Are you here for me?! What an honour it is, then. I-I shall go back and tidy myself up right now. Would you like toe in? I am sure our lord would be very happy to see Madam Lucilia''s fianc¨¦."


    "Ascillia? You live here?"


    Ascillia nodded as though it was a given: "Yes. My mother and I live here. Would you like toe in and see?"


    "Sure."


    It was quite a coincidence, I was wondering what excuse I could use to enter, and one just fell into myp. Cognisant of what I was about to carry out, I silently said to myself, "Ascillia, I''m sincerely sorry. Last time, I used your father. This time, I''m using you."

 Chapter Volume 5 36

    <em>Steadfast Veirya</em>


    "I warned you that I''d kill you if you came and mentioned it again. You''ve made numerous attempts to deceive my daughter. My patience has its limits! The only thing you should be here for is to take these soldiers back, not to take my daughter. I will not let you do that. As long as I am alive, I won''t let you take my daughter!"


    Angelina flung him outside effortlessly by his cor. Angelina merely refused to let him take Veirya, but her patience finally ran dry as a result of his constant badgering. He even went as far as parking his carriage at their door.


    The young man pathetically tried to rise to his feet, but Angelina aimed her sword up to his throat: "Get lost, right now. If you dare toe here again, this sword will be inside you. The imperial capital is in enough chaos for a little nobody, like you, to hold power, so I doubt anyone wille here to look for you. Nobody will know if you die here!!"


    The young man belted, "I don''t care about my life. I don''t care at all!! I just want to see Lord Veirya!! You are not Lord Veirya when ites down to it. I want to hear from Lord Veirya. Not you and not that man!! Lord Veirya now needs to take responsibility for this nation! I am willing to die for this nation without any regrets! You aren''t Lord Veirya. Lord Veirya can decide for herself! Lord Veirya is the next Queen. Besides her, nobody has any right toment on this matter!!"


    "I. Refuse." Veirya appeared behind the door and shook her head. She borated, "He won''t. Agree. I. Follow his opinions. Moreover. I am loyal to Queen Sisi. You have. Betrayed her. When Queen Sisies back. I will follow her orders."


    "Queen Sisi is already dead!! Lord Veirya! It is true! Queen Sisi is already dead! We did not pay the ransom. The elves are guaranteed to have killed her! You know the elves, Lord Veirya! Do you think they are a benevolent race? Queen Sisi has definitely been killed after being tortured! Your loyalty to her no longer serves any purpose! Further, Queen Sisi brought all of this upon herself! We stayed loyal! It was Queen Sisi that refused to listen to us!!"


    Veirya shook her head again: "Her Majesty. Never. Needed to. Listen to us. Our loyalty. Should be unconditional. The reality is. You''re no longer loyal. You will betray. The next Queen. All the same."


    Angelina looked to Veirya and smiled wryly, satisfied. She mumbled in her mind, "I guess my daughter is sensible, after all. At the very least, she can remember what I said and isn''t stupid."


    The young man''s brain had a short circuit. He then awkwardly gulped and questioned, "Did that man say that to you?"


    Veirya shook her head: "No. That is. My own view. Plus. He. Wouldn''t allow me. To go to the Imperial Capital. Therefore. Go back now. I won''t kill you."


    "Lord Veirya!! Why do you have to obey him?!! Why?!! Why?!! He is not on our side! He is not loyal to the nation whatsoever! He does not care about us in the slightest! He is not on our side! He is just a bastard who cares for nothing but money!! Y-."


    Before he could finish, Veirya''s sword made its way to his throat. Angelina relished in the young man''s misery with a smile: "You just made a big blunder. You can mindlessly talk about anything but him. You just earned yourself a death wish, stupid kid. Your fault for speaking ill of him in front of Veirya."


    Veirya lookedposed, but her immense murderous intent erased every thought in the young man''s mind. Angelina didn''t make an empty threat. Veirya wasn''t threatening him, either. That was a deration telling the young man the young man''s death wish would be granted. With a straight-faced look, Veirya emphasised, "He''s my property. So. You are not to insult him. He aplished what others couldn''t. So. I trust him."


    "He is not willing to go to the imperial capital for you! He is not willing to let you be a Queen. How can that be called loyalty?! It is avoidance! He might have gone to save Queen Sisi because he loves her. He might never have loved you! You have not known him for long at all!! You cannot believe in that fa?ade he calls love, Lord Veirya!!"


    "You shut your trap!!!"


    Angelina showed no mercy. She was enjoying the show, but she finally lost it. She gave the young man''s face her boot then gave him another. She had rage written all over her face. She angrily muttered, "I can forgive you for everything else you said, but you have no right to insult others, you traitorous scoundrel! What right do you have to insult him? He''s gone to the elvennds to face off against every single elf for Veirya! Who are you?! You didn''t even have the balls to go to the border, yet you have the gall to discuss this topic?! You have absolutely no right to downy and insult his sincerity!"


    "I¡­"


    The young man was scared speechless. When his throat moved, he could feel the tip of the de gently graze his throat. Veirya''s gaze was absolutely serious. Her anger and desire to kill was an invisible pressure he could feel suffocating him. There was no doubt she could thrust her de through his throat at any given moment.


    Angelina looked at the two. She did make some seriousments. Regardless, killing wasn''t for the best. The young man''s means were uneptable, but he was a loyal fan of Veirya''s. That meant that he could be useful to her in some ways. If they killed him, the imperial capital might be plunged into more anarchy.


    Angelina stopped her daughter''s sword: "Forget it. Forget it, Veirya. He should''ve realised this by now. Don''t kill in Leah''s presence."


    Veirya pulled her sword back then turned around: "Leave. I don''t want. To see you again."


    Veirya''s final words were the biggest blow to the young man. They hit harder than Angelina''s threats. Despite Veirya having left, he still nkly lied on the ground as though his entire meaning in life had been taken from him. Angelina sympathised with the young man. She grabbed him by his cape and dragged him outside. Finally, she mmed the door behind her.

 Chapter Volume 5 37

    <em>Strange Elf</em>


    The elf''s home had a more weing feelingpared to Lucia''s. There were gardeners in the courtyard''s flower garden cleaning up; actually, I take that back. They weren''t gardeners. The humans toiled in the garden without wearing any clothing. The elf rode on a horse, gun in hand, and supervised the work. There were also female elves who came specifically to clean. They carried things around with smiles on their faces. It was clear that those elves were happier. All elves would also make way for them.


    I carried the bucket for Ascillia. Frankly speaking, the bucket of water was a bit too heavy for me when I had to hold my cane with my left hand¡­ Nevertheless, Ascillia looped her arm around mine and smiled. Ascillia led me through the elves. The elf on horse watched me then immediately bowed from their horse: "Sir Travor, I am honoured to meet you."


    I didn''t know what to say. I just waved and continued on my way. Ascillia gave me a smile: "So, you really are getting married with Madam Lucilia, huh? It feels a somewhat too sudden, honestly. I never heard her mention you before."


    "I did help her a fair number of times when she was in humanity''snds."


    Ascillia''s expression turned slightly glum. She lowered her head and seemingly murmured, "I thought you were so nice purely because of me¡­"


    I figured I should pretend I didn''t hear anything.


    When we reached the front door, an elf weed us. He froze when he saw me but didn''t reveal the same expression as the elf before. To the contrary, he was vignt and tense. Apprehensive, he crossed his arms in front of him: "What are you here for? Miss Ascillia, I believe you stand with Her Lordship; I do not think he is a guest we wee, is he?"


    "Hmm?" Ascillia froze for a second before replying, "Sorry, Sir, I did not know. I think we humans are uninformed of the elven conflict, and I doubt any of us are willing to be involved. Mr. Lin has juste here. I do not think he is aware of the elven internal strife. Therefore, technically, he is not on Lucilia''s side. I want to give him a reception as he was the person who sorted out the logistics to send me here."


    "I see." The elf nodded but didn''t drop his guard. Watching me, he gently cleared his throat: "I apologise for my rudeness, Mr. Travor. It is just that, as you may know, we elves do have an internal dispute. Unfortunately, we and your wife are oppositions. Hence, I hope you do not ask about the matter here; it has nothing to do with humans."


    "What matter? Is it about Queen Sisi?"


    The elven conflict he referred to unquestionably had to do with Linna. There was a rebellion, and the throne was usurped, therefore creating two factions. One faction supported Linna, while the other party revolutionists. The internal turmoil definitely pertained to the two factions. Since Lucia was part of the revolutionaries, this household''s attitude proved they supported the Queen Linna. Perhaps the two factions were far from confronting each other physically, but they had drawn the line between them.


    "Oh, no, it is not about Queen Sisi."


    The elf seemed to misunderstand. He shook his head as he headed in.


    I loudly said, "So, you are talking about your Queen, then? In that case, I have a right to speak. Your Queen is living in the small town under my jurisdiction, after all."


    It wasn''t just the elf stopped in his tracks; Ascillia, herself, was startled: "Mr. Lin¡­ did you say¡­ Her Majesty is at your town?! Was she not exiled?! Why is she at your ce? Did you find her?"


    "Not exactly. It was Lucilia who sent her to me. I''ve been taking care of her all this time."


    The elf spun around as soon as he heard that. He sprinted over and seized my cor with one hand: "Did you just say that Her Majesty is at your ce?! She is alive?! You found her?! Are you sure?! Are you absolutely sure that it is Her Majesty?!"


    "Of course," I answered and quickly put down the wooden bucket. I clutched his hand on my cor: "Your foreign diplomat officer and your Queen''s bodyguard are with her, too. They''re doing well. You don''t need to worry. It''s just that they can''t return to the forest again."


    "I know. I know. That is good to hear. All is well as long as Her Majesty is still alive." The male elf patted me on my shoulder then revealed a guilty countenance. He respectfully addressed me again: "Sir Travor, I am sincerely sorry. I apologise for my rudeness before. I did not think that you were so benevolent that you would ept elves you have no obligation to wee into your home. I bow my head in apology. I apologise on behalf of our lord. Pleasee with me now. I am certain our lord will definitely want to meet you after hearing you took in our Elven Queen."


    The elf passionately dragged into the building. After entering the house, arge hall more resplendent than Lucia''s home greeted me. There weren''t many ancient elven decorations. To the contrary, it bore a stronger resemnce to humanity''s set up. For example, there was the big staircase that came into sight after entering, the red carpet and banshees in ck and white maid uniforms. The banshees in the household were more confident and happypared to the ones at Lucia''s ce. They weren''t fearful; as a matter of fact, they had the confidence of other elves.


    The banshees must''ve been part of Queen Linna''s faction. Needless to say, those in her faction liked her. If that data was anything to go by, it was safe to assume the elves at the property were friendlier with humans. That would exin why they adopted more of humanity''s habits and aesthetic views. Thanks to humanity''s civilisation baptism, the banshees, who were ves, became maids. ves and maids were different.


    "These elves must be advanced elves who adopted humanity''s culture," I thought.


    "Oh, oh, human, Travor, elf''s friend."


    Coming down the stairs was an elf with her hands raised.


    "She''s¡­ a young girl?!" I thought with my eyes wide.


    Correct, the petite female elf was the lord the male elf mentioned.. I was stupefied upon first seeing her. I thought I saw Queen Sisi. She wore a long dress made with humanity''s style in mind. She extended her hands out as she eloquently descended the stairs. Her calves looked perfect. She came down wearing the same confident and proud smile Queen Sisi wore. She came over and hugged me. Before I could react, she kissed me on the cheek.


    "You humans all greet each other this way, right? I think I did a good job imitating it," the lord expressed.


    The lord took a step back and put her hands behind her back. She didn''t give me a chance to speak. She took a cup of wine from a tray that a banshee was carrying. Then, she pulled the banshee over and kissed her on her lips. She pushed the banshee away with a smirk, leaving the banshee looking flustered as she shyly moved aside.


    "All right, it appears thisss has some weird ideas about kissing," I thought to myself.


    The lord shoved the cup of wine into my hand: "I heard about what you did. You protected our Queen. I also know you came here to marry that wench, Lucilia, to be an elven husband. What intrigues me most, though, is that you''re a human who''s alive and kicking. You''re not a prisoner or war, but a human who holds a rank that corresponds to our own."


    Puzzled, I asked, "So, what is it that you want?"


    "What are you talking about?" The elf''s surprised reaction befuddled me. She borated, "No, no, no, Dear. I think you are mistaken. What could I possibly be looking for you for? I am just interested in a human. Here, I can have as many humans as I want; therefore, I have never thought about making you mine or anything. You''re the wench, Lucilia''s, husband. I don''t want to die yet; at the very least, not yet. You came to see me. I should be the one to ask you what you are here for."


    Ascillia answered before I could: "Ah, Your Lordship, Mr. Lin saved me during my time in humanity''snds. That is why I really wanted to give him a reception."


    The elf widened her eyes and then nodded: "Sure. No problem. No problem at all. You can do that. Go ahead. Ascillia, I love you, Dear. Hence, you can use everything at home. Eat and drink as you please. So, Mister, did youe to see me for something?"


    I bluntly stated, "I want to know about Queen Sisi."


    Dumbstruck, the female elf then narrowed her eyes and raised the corner of her lips: "That''s too direct, no? Mister, if you say that to me, I will think that you have an agenda."


    "Correct. I protected your Elven Queen, so I hope to find out about our human Queen."


    "How much loyalty could a man, who married the elven war hero, possibly have for a human Queen?"


    "I don''t need her; however, the woman I like needs her."


    "Lucilia needs Queen Sisi''s throne?"


    "I meant Veirya."


    "Oh, I see now." The elf nodded with a smile. Fiddling with her maroon hair, she went on, "I understand what you mean now. You are a crazy man. With that said, Dear, I love your idea to bits. I love everyone who opposes that wench, Lucia. Fantastic. I shall do my best. I promise."

 Chapter Volume 5 38

    <em>Ascillia</em>


    I didn''t know what the elf''s intent was. After voicing her support for me, she left. I discerned she didn''t stand with Lucilia from the very start. Lucilia, my current fianc¨¦e, was an upholder of tradition, but the elf I just met was lively and bright. So ordingly, she would definitely approve if I stated I didn''t concur with Lucilia''s current actions. In saying that, I also managed to confirm that Queen Sisi wasn''t at the property.


    Lucia didn''t like the elf living at the property. Given that they weren''t in the same faction, their interaction would be minimal. However, the elves, who did have power, could be helpful in helping me locate Queen Sisi. The elf gave the impression she was a lunatic, but I surmised she would be a useful helper despite her behaviour. I certainly had to continue my search, as well.


    And so, I had a cheerful afternoon tea with Ascillia and her mother. Elves didn''t drink afternoon tea. The human custom satisfied my desire for something familiar. I couldn''t continue my search at night. I''d die a miserable death if Lucia caught me.


    I bid farewell. I didn''t know where the elf went. Even so, I had a hunch she''d provide a conclusion in the end.


    When Ascillia saw me off to the door, she wanted to speak but withheld the words. Nevertheless, she told me in the end, "You may not know this, but Her Lordship has already contracted a terminal elven illness."


    Words stopped circting in my mind. I didn''t realise the elf had a terminal illness when she was so lively. I pried, "In other words?"


    "Correct. She might only have less than fifty years to live." Ascillia looked quite mncholic. It sounded strangeing from a human, but fifty years of life was an incredibly short amount of time to an elf. Ascillia continued, "It is probably the same as a human who had half of their lifespan shed off. That must be why she is so fond of humanity''s lifestyle. She looks very lively and has considered suicide before. It is such a pity because she is such a kind soul¡­"


    As tragic as it may have sounded, the reality was that I had no interest in the elf''s condition. Her lifespan had nothing to do with me. As long as she could live long enough to help me rescue Queen Sisi, I couldn''t care less what happened to her. The thought of having to rely on her assistance if I wanted to escape from Lucilia surfaced in my mind.


    Ascillia quietly expressed, "Sir Lin, I do not know much about the elves war with humanity nor do I understand the reasons for their in-fighting. Even so, I cannot help but feel that you have an agenda foring here to marry Madam Lucilia. I never saw you with Madam Lucilia before. Perhaps I am questioning your love; I apologise for that. But the fact of the matter is your arrival is very sudden."


    "Mm, it may appear sudden to you all, but the truth is Lucia and I have known each other for a long time. I met her the night the Demon King was in. That''s why our love didn''te out of thin air. Obviously, it would be best if I could take Queen Sisi back."


    I didn''t reveal my true ns to Ascillia in case she had a slip of the tongue; hence, I just made what appeared to be a casual remark. I did mention Queen Sisi to the elf in Ascillia''s presence, after all.


    "I see¡­" Asscillia responded with a small nod and polite smile: "In that case, nothing can be done, then, I guess. Sir, I am happy to hear you can move here, nheless as I would have someone to speak to. Furthermore, I am d just to see you."


    "I''m happy to hear that. Ascillia, if I gave you the option to return to humanity now, would you want to return?"


    "I¡­ have never thought about it." Ascillia shook her head with a smile. Looking somewhat dejected, she expounded, "What do I have in humanity''snds? I was considered someone who was cursed; I was bullied and insulted. Here, to the contrary, the elves have respected me and given me a ce to live. What would I return to humanity for? Nobody there cares about me any longer. Were you hoping for me to live with you or something, Sir Lin?"


    Ascillia suddenly turned to me, eagerness exuding from her. I knew how she felt about me. Unfortunately, I didn''t n to ept her. It wasn''t purely because of Veirya but also because of Ascillia herself. She was still young; she was just a child. She didn''t understand what love was yet. She fell deeply in love with me when I barely did anything. She would eventuallye to regret such an impulsive love. In love, your first find may not be the best one for you. Her life had just started. Falling for me was a mistake. I wouldn''t ruin a young girl just to satisfy my unbing lust. Ascillia was going to meet lots of people and better people, at that. When she does, she''d learn what love was.


    "Sorry, Ascillia," I responded with a gentle head shake. I scrubbed her head and chuckled: "It''s true that I care about you, but I''m going to be residing in the elvennds from now, aren''t I? I can''t live with you as I have Lucilia and Leah."


    "Is¡­ that so?"


    Ascillia lowered her head a little. The evening sun was out, but it couldn''t light up her face. She bit down on her lip, seemingly trying her best to stop herself from weeping. I couldn''t say anything. Being kind with her then and there would be cruel to her in the future. There was no doubt I was a viin, but I wasn''t scum.


    I turned around and left, crossing back over to the other side of the river. When I entered the forest, I saw a silhouette at the other end of the forest. The individual gave the impression they were waiting for something. I quickly recognised who it was from their small stature. It was Lucia. Lucia also spotted me.


    Lucia cheerfully came over while. For some odd reason, I sped up as though I had begun to look forward to meeting her while she looked forward to seeing my eyes.


    Lucia didn''t mind where I went. Instead, she tightly hugged me and giggled: "Wee home, Dear."


    I hugged small Lucia and whispered in her ear: "Uhm, thank you, Lucia."


    The final petals spreading across the sky from the red orb shone on us. Our capes fluttered in the wind and tightly clung to each other simrly to the way we clung to each other in that moment.

 Chapter Volume 5 39

    <em>Lucia''s Attack</em>


    Lucia didn''t ask where I went. The two of us returned to the small, but cosy house that Lucia currently resided at. I was surprised to see earthen pot and tes already set up on the table. The food had the uniqueness of elven dishes. Inside the pot was probably fruits from the forest mixed together to form congee. They didn''t make congee using rice but a soft liquidparable to tofu. A sweet aroma whisked from the bowl. Slices of meat and some bird wings that were akin to fried chicken wings were ted on the side. There was a square-shaped savoury dish that resembled pastry. To top it off, there was arge bottle filled with the elves'' unique green wine. The me on the candle flickered on the bottle that resembled an emerald gem. Two cups were prepared and waiting for their owners return.


    There were no decorations nor did Lucia go out of her way to adorn the table. They were delicious and simple homemade dishes. It had been a long time since I saw food waiting for me at home. It had probably been around four to five years since I came home to a table of food. When I arrived home with Lucia to see food ready for me, it was such a heart-warming feeling that I nearly shed tears. I grew used to taking care of others,forting others and resolving the troubles they started. I had forgotten the life of having someone care for me and enjoying others bringing me things.


    Actually, it was the first time I had a table of food prepared for my homing. If I was with Veirya or Leah, I''d need to cook for them upon arriving home. Their beauty was arresting, and they were adorable, but seeing a table of food uponing home was pure bliss.


    I had gone through a lot; I had gone through a lot of betrayal, deceit, excuses and all of the other grossest things humanity had to offer. I ran, tripped and crawled my way to the present. I sealed off my heart long ago. Humans can''t survive in darkness. Embrace the darkness, or the darkness shall devour you. That was how I ended up the way I was. In the end, the bliss of having someone taking care of me, feelings I found myself foreign to, shattered a piece of my heart. If my memory does me justice, it was the first time I realised I was also a living being, and I also needed someone to look after me. I never loved Lucia for a moment. I could say that with my chest in the past. If I ever had a moment where Lucia touched me just ever so slightly, it was then when I saw the table of food.


    I grabbed hold of Lucia''s hand and solemnly asked, "Lucia, did you prepare all this?"


    Lucia turned her head away with an unnatural expression. She dryly chuckled: "Yes. Yes. Of course. What''s the matter? Is there something wrong with them? I spent a lot of effort¡­ uhm¡­ yeah¡­"


    I determined that there was something fishy¡­ Lucia was an honest girl, so it was really easy to read her. She didn''t know how to lie. Smiling, I teased, "How¡­ did you make them, then?"


    Lucia vigorously turned her head back to look at me. With her face glowing red, she loudly and desperately exined, "That¡­ uhh¡­ it doesn''t matter, does it?!! It doesn''t matter how I made them, does it?! I specifically ordered them to be made for you. I had the best chef prepare every dish. I spent a lot of time, you know?! I don''t know how to cook, but I''ll definitely learn! I''ll definitely learn how to cook!"


    After expending all of her energy, Lucia fell into my arms. I kissed her forehead: "That''s fine. I''m d to see this version of you¡­ Thank you, Lucia. Thank you¡­"


    "You don''t need to thank me¡­"


    I tightly hugged Lucia. She snuggled up on my chest as though she was trying to find afortable spot. While she didn''t know what happened, she enjoyed my hug in peace. It was the first time I hugged Lucia without concerns or burdens ever since I arrived.


    My rationality continued to tell me what to do. I didn''te to the elvennds to love Lucia. My return to humanity was inevitable. I came only for Queen Sisi. I couldn''t immerse myself in Lucia''s arms forever. I knew what I had to do. It was to rescue Queen Sisi. Nevertheless, I thought it''d be fine for me to appreciate Lucia''s warmth for a while.


    We sat down, and I picked up my spoon. Dinner was delicious. The elves'' dishes had a very natural vour. You could most likely sell their food for premium prices in the modern day, but when I ate it in the elvennds, it was just a very ordinary dinner.


    After dinner, Lucia quickly cleared the table and took everything to the kitchen before I could. I heard a door open from the kitchen a whileter. Apparently, there was a door in there¡­


    "Don''t tell me¡­ Lucia hands the utensils to the banshees to take away through that door," I said in my mind.


    Whatever, though. It wasn''t as though Lucia would ever personally cook even after marriage. She was from a noble family and the elves'' hero, after all. The banshees would take care of chores at home; however, Lucia had the will, so she''d sincerely love me in the future.


    Lucia returned to the table. I suddenly realised the two of us were then and feeling <em>very </em>awkward. Lucia sat opposite me. She was too shy to say anything, while I didn''t know what to say after finding myself put on the spot. We could distinctly hear the candle''s me flickering. We heard the elven children outsideughing equally distinctly¡­


    Just when I finally found something to say, Lucia suddenly blew out the candle, engulfing the room in darkness abruptly. Before I could react, I detected Lucia crawling across the table. She climbed onto my hips and pushed me to the ground. <em>Thud!</em> It felt as if my back was torn off the bone when it collided with the ground¡­


    "Let''s¡­ do that¡­" Lucia stammered from above.


    Lucia grabbed my hand vigorously. I touched something t and hard. I lingered for a moment. I would''ve thought that I touched the floor if it wasn''t for the warm sensation. I wondered, "What body part is this? Wait, wait, is that a rib?" For the first time, I discovered that not all girls could turn me on or get me flustered. Lucia couldn''t.


    Lucia rubbed my chest as though she really wanted to do something but didn''t know what she needed to do¡­ She was probably in despair because, unless I purposely controlleded my heart rate, it wouldn''t have sped up¡­


    "Lucia." I calmly grabbed hold of Lucia''s hand: "Lucia, I don''t want to do this. It''s not because you''re not attractive but merely because I want to save something so important for the night of our official wedding. That''s when you''ll be more charming, right?"


    "But we''re already engaged!"


    "I still think it''s better to wait till then. After all, it''ll have a more ceremonial feel. If something happens as a result of us doing it now, I won''t take responsibility."


    "Nothing will happen. We''re destined to be together from now!!"


    "I still think we should wait. Lucia, let''s just sleep in each other''s embrace''s tonight¡­"

 Chapter Volume 5 40

    <em>ck Fabric</em>


    Lucia left early the next morning. She said she needed to begin preparing invitations. Thest thing I wanted her to do was invite Veirya, but if she didn''t, it''d be strange. Veirya was Lucia''s friend, so Veirya would definitely attend the wedding, and it would be very awkward, no doubt. Veirya might bring her sword along. I''d be willing to bet she might charge at us with her sword unsheathed¡­ I guess I had to do my best¡­ to finish up my job beforehand.


    After I left the ce I stayed, I needed to greet lots of elves. They were all ordinary elves living nearby. It was surprising they initiated greetings upon seeing me, but, hey, that was perfect. I needed more elves to see me. Lots of them knew of my existence but never saw me before. After seeing me, they would know who Lucia''s husband is. I wanted them to remember me. Why? No matter what I did in the future, no elves would get in my way. Lucia was my magic key.


    I did ap but didn''t see Lucia anywhere. I surmised she must''ve been writing invitations at home. Elves had gone off to collect a variety of things from the forest. The elves raised chubby birds that couldn''t fly and let them out to run. The elven children, armed with small bows, chased said birds. They put the children into training from a young age.


    I refused a few guards'' offers to bodyguard me. After I entered the forest, I did ap before returning to the river to sit down by the edge. I focused my gaze on the moving water and mulled over my next step.


    It was the time of the day when elves were most active. If Lucia''s brother had surveince on me, he would''ve just seen me sitting at the edge of the river in silence the entire time. I couldn''t take the initiative to go and see the elf across the other side of the river. She was part of the faction that opposed Lucia and her brother, after all. Lucia''s brother would most likely have given me grief, if not kill me, if I got involved with the elves'' affairs.


    The damned sis-con hated me to the core. He''d take any opportunity to kill me. His hatred would only increase the more intimate I was with Lucia. As a matter of fact, I suspected he might choose to forego any excuse and just off me¡­ You can''t put anything past a sis-con.


    Where exactly would Queen Sisi be, was the key question I required an answer for. Queen Sisi was too far away from me that day. As a result, I didn''t get a clear view of what she had on her. I saw Queen Sisi for less than ten minutes. In those few minutes, I did my best to try and collect as much information as I could from what I could visually notice on Queen Sisi. Honestly, I didn''t pick up many leads. In saying that, I did notice one thing. Queen Sisi was covered in wounds. The wounds weren''t from being beaten. Man didn''t inflict those wounds, and they weren''t bite marks, either. The wounds were tiny and closely located together. They were traces of rodents.


    I began my analysis: "Now, where would I find rodents? A cer? There were no rodents in the cer the banshees resided. Rodents wouldn''t be fond of such ces because there''s no food in a cer. That, in turn, means they won''t be able to feed many rodents. They choose ces with food and are damp. I can conclude Queen Sisi isn''t in the cer of some building or the house across the river. Where else could she be? A food warehouse? No, no, no. They wouldn''t possibly put Queen Sisi in a food warehouse. That said, she must be underground somewhere.


    Where could Queen Sisi be? She must be underground, but where? Would it be some ce along this river? If I continue along this river, I should be able to find her. That''s too wide of an area to search, however. How long would it take me to search the entire area? It''s best if I can figure out a more precise location. I don''t know what''s in store down below, and I don''t have time to go down to check."


    What did I need from the peculiar elf? I hadn''t decided or figured out what was possible. Either way, Lucia''s enemy was still useful. Not only did I have to rescue Queen Sisi but I had to do it stealthily. I also had to leave the elvennds, and do it without Lucia bearing a grudge against me. I had to obtain something from the elf to achieve those goals. I did have a n in mind, but it sounded oundish to me. I had a method in mind - albeit an immature one - that could allow me to take Queen Sisi, not make Lucia hate me, and even nullify our marriage. Said method was to make Lucia the Elven Queen.


    Elven Queens weren''t allowed to marry. As long as I could enthrone Lucia as the Elven Queen, she would be forced to dedicate herself to her role as a Queen in the elvennds. As she couldn''t marry, our wedding would have to be cancelled. In the end, she''d be forced to be the Queen, while I could leave with Queen Sisi due to the cancetion of our wedding. That was the perfect conclusion.


    I had found the most valuable asset for the n, namely the faction that sided with the Queen -I''ll refer to them as the Queen''s faction going forward. The Queen''s faction was never going to be able to bring the original Queen back. A blind Elven Queen wasn''t going to be able to act as the administrator for elves. Lucia was the elves'' hero and, therefore, must''ve been credible. I was of the opinion that it wasn''t a bad thing for the elves to return to those days. I didn''t think life at present was any different for the ordinary elves. With that in mind, the next step was designing a n to instate Lucia as Queen.


    While I was in my own world, Asci appeared to fetch water again. I approached her and crossed over with her again. Running into Ascillia and crossing over with her was totally different to crossing of my own volition. Since I went with Ascillia, I could brush off the usation that I went to speak with the Queen''s faction and lie I went to chat to Ascillia. Moreover, it was unlikely anyone besides me could sit there.


    "What will I be able to acquire this time?" I eagerly pondered.


    As soon as I entered the peculiar elf mmed a map onto the ground. She lied down on the ground and told me, "So, I did try my best to search using our informationwork. This is a map of our area here. ording to our predictions, <em>this</em> is the only ce Queen Sisi could be located."


    There was only word one to describe the map: ancient. In the centre was a building situated along the river, which was the ce she pointed at.


    "A farm?"


    She didn''t mince her words: "Correct. It''s where we ughter animals for poultry. It can also be used to hide people. The animals'' excretions are stored underground as fertiliser. Queen Sisi may be there. What''s your n, though?"


    I pinched my chin: "Can I just strut in there?"


    "Of course you can go in and out at your leisure. If you take Queen Sisi with you, however, that''s another story. Of course, we can''t go in and out as we please. It''s their faction''s territory. Unfortunately, we lost in the faction war. That bitch, Lucia, assassinated most of our members. I escaped here, but I''m essentially under house arrest here. That bitch is waiting for me to die, and it''s frustrating that she''ll eventually win this war of attrition.."


    I understood what the elf implied.


    "Lucilia is an idiot, a fact that I know. That idiot is still the same as always. She''s a good girl deep down, but her brother is always tricking her into doing things. She kills because of her brother, but I can''t do anything about it, as she trusts him too much. I can''t understand one thing: her brother let you marry his sister? That''s just perplexing."


    "You knew Lucia long ago?!"


    "We''re childhood friends. Well, not anymore. I doubt Lucia has any intention of acknowledging our friendship. To be fair, neither do I." The elf shook her head: "You saved our Queen; therefore, I will help you rescue your Queen. That is our duty as guards. We didn''t protect our Queen with our livesst time; we are now in anguish as a consequence. I won''t let myself experience that anguish again this time. Lucia killed too many of our friends. I believe she isn''t feeling good about it, either. Needless to say, we don''t like it. What can we do, though? Our scripture dictates that we can''t thoughtlessly kill our own kind. We won''t kill our own kind."


    I nodded to indicate that I understood. I proceeded to contemte what the elf just said: "Elves can''t senselessly kill their own kind. Lucia kills her own kind because of her brother. This group is willing to give up everything for their Queen."


    A vague n surfaced in my mind. I stood leaning on the wall and sorted out my thoughts. Ascillia, in a soft voice, cut off the elf, who was about to continue speaking, "Do not interrupt Sir Lin. He is currently thinking."


    "How do I put all these pieces together? This is all I''ll have. I don''t have anything else. I''m in the heart of the elves'' territory. Not to mention I''ve got a sis-con, one who might kill me on any whim, watching me. How do I do this?" I pondered.


    I came up with a good idea, except that it was brutal. I proposed, "Let''s say you have arge batch of ck cloth but nobody is willing to buy the batch. And, you''ll go bankrupt if you can''t sell it. How will you sell them?"


    "What?" The elf had no idea what I was on about.


    "In other words, nobody wants to buy your ck cloth because it''s ugly and nobody likes it. How, then, will you sell it?"


    "I''d¡­ switch it for another batch of something?"


    "What if it was your final asset and nobody was willing to exchange it for anything else?"


    "What should I do, then?"


    I first cracked a smile. I sauntered over and whispered in her ear, "Kill the King. That way, everyone will need to buy the ck cloth as they need it as part of their mourning apparel. The value of goods is never fixed. A brilliant businessman can determine the value of amodity. Be it humans or elves, we''ll all die. The majority of deaths are meaningless. However, tactful humans and elves can give infinite value to their deaths. You know what I mean now, right?"

 Chapter Volume 5 41

    <em>New Demon King</em>


    Late at night, Ascillia made a small bow and expressed, "Your Lordship, you should sleep now. You are not in good health. Staying upte will be detrimental to your health."


    "Ascillia." The elf looked up with a smile and gestured for Ascillia toe over with her hand.


    Puzzled, Ascillia went over. The elf hugged Ascillia and gave thetter a peck on the cheek. With a smile, she stated, "Ascillia, Dear, I''m so d to hear your voice. I feel much better now. To be honest, I feel a little cold. Come, let me hug you for some warmth."


    "Your Lordship, I think you should sleep now."


    Ascillia didn''t expect the kiss or hug. However, she didn''t avoid her kiss. The elf was fond of kissing those close to her. She had a rather bewildering understanding of human etiquette. Humans didn''t go kissing other people every day, but it was a real kiss to her.


    "Not yet. I''ve been thinking about what he said this entire time. I think what Travor said makes sense." The elf trained her gaze on the chessboard on the table in front of her and continued in a soft voice, "I''ve been thinking about what he said. I mean that ck fabric. I think what he said is reasonable, would you agree? See, if I only had ck fabric left, I would need to kill a King so that I could sell the ck fabric. I need to create value. Not wait for value to present itself."


    "Your Lordship, are you saying that you are going to assassinate Lucilia?!" Ascillia jumped up and panicked: "You must not misinterpret what he meant!! That was definitely not what Sir Lin meant. Furthermore, how can you assassinate Madam Lucilia? She is elves'' hero. It is as impossible as me trying to assassinate Lord Veirya!! You must not do anything silly! That is seeking death."


    The elf shook her head as sheughed: "No, I know that, obviously. I wouldn''t kill my friend. Plus, that bitch, Lucilia, is not someone of my calibre could assassinate. I would notmit such folly. In addition, he surely didn''t mean for me to kill Lucilia. He knows I wouldn''t do such a thing. That''s not to mention that he''s her husband. What sort of husband hires someone to kill his wife? In the hypothetical event he did, it''d be fastest and easiest for him to assassinate Lucilia."


    "That is right. Sir Lin would never harm you. He is a gentle gentleman. He would never impel someone to kill. Never." Ascillia heaved a breath of relief and beamed again: "You should not think too much. I doubt Sir Lin meant anything special by that. I am sure he does not want you to kill a King. Do not think too much. You should sleep now."


    "No, Travor''s words were not drivel¡­"


    The elf initially wanted to exin it to Ascillia, but she stopped herself when she saw Ascillia''s smile and gaze. She was cognizant of Ascillia''s yearning for Travor. Despite him already being engaged to Lucilia, she still loved him. Ascillia misunderstood Travor. She believed him to be a gentle, kind and friendly human; however, she didn''t understand him. She developed the belief he was kind and friendly solely due to the reason that he saved her. She had no idea his nature was that of a businessman. It wouldn''t be too far-fetched to say that he was a loathsome businessman.


    Travor was a man who was willing to do anything for his own ends. He thought nothing of the lives of others. He was determined to obtain what he wanted by all means, and he would stop at nothing to ensure he had it. His conscience wouldn''t even be rustled if others were hurt, suffered losses or died. Others encourage others to live. He, to the contrary, encouraged people to die.


    Ascillia had no clue what Lin Dongqing meant. The ck cloth theory he brought up was not intended to encourage the elf to kill Lucilia since it was asking for the impossible. The ck fabric he referred to was none other than herself. Ascillia didn''t understand what he meant, but the elf understood what Lin Dongqing implied.


    The elf realised, "He wants me to die. I''m the ck fabric, and he''s the businessman. In a nutshell, he was referring to my death. Everyone will eventually die; I''m no exception. I don''t have the lifespan of an elf. I only have as much time left as a human."


    From the perspective of elves, a human''s lifespan was the equivalent of a blink of an eye. That was why the elf stayed at her ce to wait for her life toe to an end. She assumed she could slowly wither. She couldn''t even oust Lucia for her Queen''s sake. She totally lost in the end. However, Lin Dongqing then showed up and told her that her death could potentially create more value. As he said, merchants determine the value of goods. He had the ability to turn her death into value.


    The elf wanted to die. She wasn''t afraid of death but Lin Dongqing. He told her he wanted her to die, but he didn''t even bat an eye. He genuinely treated her as nothing more than a piece of ck fabric, hismodity. He didn''t involve his feelings. The entire world was hismodity. He could abandon anyone''s value for what he wanted. He would squeeze everything out of them even if they would die as a consequence. That was his nature. Ascillia, however, still didn''t realise that. She was too deep in love with him to see his nature.


    "Now that I think about, he probably used Asci to approach me. Just what sort of man is he? What is the limit of what he would do? The previous Demon King put the entire world in danger, inciting the three races to join hands. Even then, they might not have been able to defeat him. The Demon King is now dead, and everyone believes that the world is now at peace. That man is likely able to also give the three races a run for their money, though. He will toy with the entire world as they run circles in the palm of his hand. I''d say¡­ he''s the new demon king."

 Chapter Volume 5 42

    <em>Within the Elves</em>


    I had a n, a new n. It was quite a risky n, but I had to roll with it. As I mentioned, I wouldn''t have any chances if the elven race was united. They ended their own in-fighting tobat humanity in the war. Said war was over, and the elves were triumphant. That also meant their in-fighting could resume. The Queen''s faction was subduedst time since their Queen had her eyes dug out and was sent to our ce. With that said, it didn''t mean the Queen''s faction was done for. I realised it after I met the peculiar elf, and I also found the best thing I could ask for, the elf herself.


    Lucia and her brother were on the same wavelength, but I managed to get in between them. In essence, I became the catalyst to have them deviate from the path they shared. Additionally, Lucia didn''t n to continue with her previous lifestyle. She chose to pursue equality and justice. She just happened to be susceptible to being led by someone else because she was too pure. I knew her brother wasn''t my match. There was no one who would be better at moving Lucia than me as I was soon to be her husband. Lucia wouldn''t live with her brother in the future but me.


    Lucia''s brother was, presumably, the one ruling the elves. Unfortunately for them, not everything he did was correct, and not everybody acknowledged him. All I had to do was instigate him and Lucia into harbouring opposing views. I acknowledged Lucia''s love for me was genuine and that she did her best to love me. I understood her love for me, but I also realised she had something she loved more than me: elves.


    Lucia loved the elven race. When a crisis encroached upon her race, she wouldn''t hesitate to take a stand. She wouldn''t fear or cower from humans or dwarves. Despite her current status, she still did her best to ensure the prosperity and peace of elves. Before I confessed to her, she never spared romance a thought. She dedicated her entire life and being for elves before my confession. She treated her life as a consumable for elves. She was willing to give up her personal life until peace was brought to elves. Only after peace was achieved would she consider romance with me. Lucia loved the elves more than she loved me. She could sacrifice me for elves the same way I could sacrifice her.


    Lucia hugged me around my waist. She took gentle breaths and would asionally move her lips. She snuggled up on my chest. The first night we slept together, Lucia was incredibly shy. After a few nights, she was used to hugging me and sleeping on my chest or arms. Little Leah felt the same as Leah when she lied next to me. I had my arm gently coiled around her.


    It was the first time I felt conflicted and torn. I didn''t love Lucia, but I didn''t want to hurt her, nheless. s, I was inevitably going to hurt her. Perhaps I was also always taking what I want from Lucia. Was loving an elf a good or a bad thing? I didn''t know. Either way, it was Lucia''s fate as it was mine that tightly bound us together no matter if it was in bitterness or joy. If I was reincarnated a second time, if Lucia found me instead of Veirya, then I would swear to stay with Lucia in the forest.


    There were three days left until our wedding; subsequently, there were less than three days before I had to leave.


    ========


    Current time at an elven internal affairs meeting.


    "What has that human been up to recently? Has he gone anywhere suspicious? Did he search any strange ces? For instance, did he search for Queen Sisi or something?" Lucia''s brother inquired.


    Hopeless, the elves smiled helplessly: "You have had surveince on him for a long time already, but we have not noticed anything odd about him. He goes to sit at the river for the afternoon. Then, he goes to chat with Ascillia, help her fetch water and that''s it. Moreover, did you not already confirm your suspicions in thest test you set up? He did not react to Queen Sisi. That is proof he did note here for Queen Sisi. Additionally, you can see that he will be marrying Madam Lucilia in three days'' time, yet has shown no indications of fleeing. Does that prove his feelings? Also, what is most important now is focusing our attention on those elves, is it not? They seem to have begun to harbour some ideas as ofte. Should we prepare to stop them?"


    "Uhm¡­"


    Truthfully, Lucia''s brother was still somewhat worried. Indeed, he didn''t notice any oddities when he checked Lin Dongqing''s pulse. That was what worried him more. A man whose heart beat didn''t change, a man whose expression wouldn''t change in that situation, a man who showed no fear despite having arge group of elves right behind him as a threat was a man that made Lucia''s brother feel uneasy. In fact, it was somewhat scary.


    "Was he pretending or does he truly consider himself an elf? I don''t think that even an elf could remain so calm in that situation¡­" reasoned Lucia''s brother.


    "Our focus should be on them, on what those elves are nning? About them trying to bring the Queen back?" asked one of the elves.


    Lucia''s brother tried to get his thoughts back on track. His sister''s marriage to Lin Dongqing was set in stone. They had chosen a location. The invitations had been sent out, and their new house''s location had been confirmed, as well. Their house location was on a small hill, and the entire hill belonged to them. They hadmenced work on thend. The human prisoners and banshees toiled there day and night. The elves also utilised their simple creation spells. In just three short weeks, it would be done.


    "I don''t think there''s any way of dissuading my sister at this point. Seeing her with that man is seriously an emotional rollercoaster," addressed Lucia''s brother.


    "They are probably nning to hold a protest and demand that we release humanity''s Queen, aren''t they?"


    "Why would they do that?"


    "They were dissatisfied with the way we treated prisoners of war to begin with. They''re also close to humans. That''s why they want us to send humanity''s prisoners back."


    "That is impossible. It is our elven tradition. We will not agree. Stop them. Kill their leader, and it will be settled. Just do as we always have. That said, I doubt my sister will take the job, so you need to send another assassin."


    "All right."

 Chapter Volume 5 43

    <em>Pasture</em>


    "Good morning." Lucia only said good morning after our routine affectionate moments every morning.


    We took care of morning mattersparably to an old couple. Elves had simple breakfasts. It consisted of just some fruits. Frankly, it was quite boring after some time. Fortunately, as long as onebined it with the rightbination, it could provide an energy boost. We quickly finished breakfast. As Lucia ate, she chuckled: "Umm, umm¡­ Travor, do you have anything you need to attend to today?"


    I shook my head: "No. Rather, I have nothing to do here."


    "I see¡­ Do you feel lonely, then?"


    I thought Lucia had a job for me, only to get that reaction out of her. She was genuinely considerate of me. She was worried that I was bored all alone. She gripped her clothes then added, "It''s fine. It''s fine. I don''t have anything to do today, either. I''ll keep youpany from now. Umm, umm, umm, there are lots of fun and fascinating things to do here in the elvennds. If you like, we can go pick mushrooms in the forest. Oh yeah, we can go hunting, as well. I''ll go hunting with you. Grilled meat is delicious. There are lots of fun things to do in the forest. We have elven chess, which I can teach you, albeit not being so good myself¡­ Also, also, if I alone am not enough, then you can also socialise with other elves. I don''t mind as long as youe home every day¡­"


    I shook my head with a smile: "No, no, no, I''m not that bored. I might not have anything to do, but I''m not bored. I reckon I''ll have many things to do in the future. Lucia, you don''t need to go out of your way to keep mepany. You can go and do what you want."


    "Well, no, I''m not going out of my way¡­ I''m basically done with the things I need to do. The elves don''t really need me anymore. Henceforth, we''ll be able to live together¡­ I also need to ask, do you really not n to bring Leah over? We don''t regard subi as enemies. I promise to protect Leah, and I''ll earnestly fulfil the role of her mother. I won''t give her the cold shoulder even if we have our own children in the future. Plus, you wouldn''t be so bored if you brought her over, right? That''s not to mention that I like Leah, too."


    "Mm¡­ I''ll go when it''s time. Leah wille when we get married anyway, so there''s no need to be fretting about it now. I''m worried that Veirya might do something to me; hence, I think it''s best if I don''t go back yet."


    Honestly, I was quite touched Lucia cared about Leah so much. Lucia was dedicated to perfecting our marriage. Sadly for her, all I could do in the moment was to act ignorant and brush it aside. I couldn''t bring Leah over. Leah would be a hostage in the elvennds.


    "Let''s do as you suggest, then."


    Lucia docilely walked up to me. She clung to my arm and apanied me outside. The elves would greet us with beaming smiles when they saw us in the mornings. Those of simr rankings to us would evene over to crack jokes or ask when our child would be born. Lucia would shyly lower her head and giggle but not reply. Compared to her former lively self, Lucia was so gentle. Perhaps she was only gentle around me, having said that.


    "So, Travor, do you n to go anywhere to y today? I''ll take you," suggested Lucia, tone eager.


    Maybe Lucia was anxious and eager to ensure I was taken care of as I mentioned that I had nothing to do. If I turned her down, that would upset her. Noticing the fat birds running about, I asked, "What are those birds?"


    "They''re walking birds. It''s a challenge to raise animals in the forest, so we raise those birds. Those ones are young ones. You can even raise young ones as pets. If you raise them as pets, they''ll be more obedient and loyal to us when they grow up. We had one in the past¡­ but it died when the demon race invaded¡­"


    "I see. Should I go and get us one, then?"


    The chubby birds were really adorable. When they ran around, you could hear their feet pping against the ground. I was keen on taking one back for Leah. We didn''t adopt any catsst time, so I thought a bird would make it up to her.


    "That''s easy!! We''ll go catch one now. There''s a pasture along the path of the river. We raise lots of walking birds in there. We''ll go get one; actually, let''s get two. I can raise one, while our child can raise another. Actually, we might have lots of children, so we might be able to raise lots of them. We have plenty ofnd at our new home, so we can raise many of them." Lucia immediately nodded.


    Lucia walked hand in hand with me toward the pasture. I lingered for a long time, even suspecting if she was trying to test me again. If my memory did me justice, Queen Sisi was supposed to be somewhere around the pasture¡­


    I didn''t dare to go there before then for the reason that I''d be under surveince, yet I could go there without any hassles all of a sudden. I think I had a justified reason to specte it was another one of Lucia''s tests. ording to how happy and eager she was, though, it doesn''t seem to be a test. At the end of the day, she wasn''t her brother. She wasn''t as doubtful as he was.


    Lucia wasn''t a girl who deceived others. I could tell whenever she told fibs with a single nce. Someone who wasn''t skilled at lying wouldn''t be able to act so convincingly. I guessed there was no harm in going with her to check it out.


    There was no way I''d be able to conduct a thorough check with Lucia apanying me; I couldn''t get myself killed, but it was an opportunity, nevertheless. I wouldn''t know what exactly I''d find out unless I went and explored. Queen Sisi wouldn''t be hidden somewhere everyone could see. I supposed she was in a sewer, but I couldn''t confirm it.


    Lucia and I headed to the pasture. Lucia understood the elves''nd better than I did. When we were out of the forest, we saw the so-called pasture. The pasture was essentially the central pasture. It was an enormous ce. There were several factories from the top. From that, I assumed they raised a variety of animals there. The elves had milk to drink and meat to eat, except they were different to humanity. I clearly saw lots of walking birds running around inside their factory.


    The two of us went inside. The elves reacted surprise to see Lucia. Perhaps they never expected her toe to the ce. Lucia happily requested, "We want a young walking bird to raise. Do you have any young ones?"


    "We do. We do. We have young walking birds here; you two may choose any you like." An elf looked at us with awe and reverence and led us in.


    Though it wasrge spacious inside, there was a strange smell. The smell of green grass and rotten stuff were mixed into together. Presumably, it was the smell that was present at any pasture. There were hornless cattle and small horses. The rest were small animals and the walking birds. The young and adult walking birds were segregated ordingly. Their eggs were stored in a sealed room. All sorts of coloured eggs were neatly lined up next to a fire to keep them warm while waiting for them to hatch. Some of the eggs were subtly moving.


    Lucia shook her head: "No, we don''t want eggs. We want hatched ones. Do you have any?"


    "Yes, yes. However, the ones that have just hatched are quite difficult to raise, so¡­"


    "That''s fine. We''ll earnestly raise it."


    Lucia shook her head. We were then led to another small room. The room was kept warm as with the other room. With that said, there were lots of walking birds resembling small ducks that had just hatched. They wobbled about for they hadn''t learnt to maintain their bnce yet. Not surprisingly, they fell every two steps. They''d crash into each other, fall and they''d struggle to ever get back up.


    Lucia pulled me along by my hand, smiling. She picked up a yellow bird. The yellow colour was the exact same yellow as a duck. It didn''t understand what Lucia wanted. Lucia joyously kissed it on its forehead then told me, "Here, we''ll take this one. Choose one, Travor!"


    "I''ll take this one, then."


    I chose a ck and white bird. The chubby bird was truly the type I liked. I picked it up and touched its fur. It looked at my finger and fell into deep thought; I think it was wondering if my food was edible or not.


    "Okay, we''ll take these two, then."


    We left the room together. Due to the room being heated, the young walking birds were weak. We needed to avoid staying inside for too long.


    "Let''s go wash the birds."


    Lucia and I went outside. As I looked at the water in the pond, a realisation hit me. The pond wasn''t a pond if we were being technical, but a waterway that continued to run down, presumably down into the sewer¡­ The sewer that it ran into was on the opposite side. There was an opening in the sewer that was about half the height of a human being. Initially, it should''ve been barred with iron rails. However, for whatever reason it wasn''t when we were there.


    "Might it be that they just tossed something rtivelyrge down there¡­? Wait, that means¡­" I realised.


    I suddenly let go of the bird. The small walking bird cried out as the water washed it away. I immediately got up and dragged my leg as I crawled into it before Lucia could get up. I slid into the sewer along with the wet mud and my walking bird¡­ I soon realised that I made a huge foolish mistake¡­

 Chapter Volume 5 44

    As an aussie, I just learnt of this thing called ¡°Thanksgiving¡±. This is how I do it. Feel appreciative? Watch the short video below. Might earn you another chapter?


    <em>Walking Bird¡¯s Information</em>


    Surrounded in darkness, Queen Sisi conversed with herself in her mind: "How long has it been? I wonder. How much longer will my patience and instincts keep me alive? Actually, will I even still be able to live? I was humanity''s Queen before. I enjoyed everyone''s respect, and worship. The entire human empire revolved around me. Now, however, I''m not even the Queen of these rodents. Was my decision to attack the elves a wrong call?''


    "I don''t regret it, though. It was my decision; that''s my definition of kingship. My father was killed when he walked his path of kingship, which proved that he was wrong. I''ve fallen low enough to be toyed with by elves, wet myself in public with everyone watching, thrown around by the elves as if I''m trash and animal manure and even thrown together with rodents. I don''t regret it. I got to where I am step by step. It''s not my mistake or anyone else''s. All this proves is that my kingship was wrong.


    "I guess¡­ this is it for me. I don''t know when I''ll die. I''ve already gotten used to the rancid smell around me. The rodents have lost interest in me, as well."


    With a pile of egg shells and remains that were rich in nutrients, the foreigner wasn''t considered part of the rodents'' menu.


    "I''m so lonely, though. I thought I was humanity''s greatest monarch ever, but nobody from the imperial capital hase to my rescue. As a matter of fact, not one person will care about me, not one. I saw Little Doggyst time, but all he said was, How repulsive¡­.


    "It hurts¡­ It''s not my body that hurts, but my heart¡­. Why? Why does no one remember me in the end when I worked so hard for humanity''s sake? My father was sent to the guillotine as the people cheered when he was so generous and kind. I was the one who expanded humanity''s power until it became the most powerful nation," Sisi cried to herself.


    <em>Thud!</em>


    "Ah, they must''ve thrown garbage down again. It''s probably another animal''s corpse," assumed Queen Sisi.


    Queen Sisi curled up in the only dry corner. She had lost all motivation to even move. The rays of sunlight were just fake freedom and hope. The sunlight was a beam highlighting the futility of escape.


    "Sisi!!"


    I had a few seconds. I could hear Lucia hollering to me from above. People would soone for me. I couldn''t allow them to know I came into contact with Sisi. I had to find Queen Sisi and confirm she was down there in a few seconds. Sadly, as soon as I jumped down, I instantly regretted my decision. The rancid liquid down there vited me from head to toe. Strange remains and, presumably, animal manure smacked me in the face. The stench almost knocked my lights out. My foot stepped into something soft, but it immediately ran off. Ipletely lost control of my left foot, thereby leading to me tripping into filthy water.


    I tasted animal manure and smelt the stench of rotten corpses for the first time¡­ I never wanted to experience it a second time. My clear mind instantly cleared out in the literal sense. I couldn''t think of anything besides how gross it was.


    I struggled to get up, but my left foot seemed to be stuck in something, thereby making it impossible to stand. Something heavy pinned my left ankle. I couldn''t get my foot I couldn''t control out. I wanted to see Queen Sisi when I got down there, only to find myself stuck and immobilised. My walking duck, on the other hand, enthusiastically ran off with the rodents. It didn''t turn around to bother with me.


    "Bloody hell!" I cursed to myself.


    I never thought my left foot could be such a burden. I desperately bent my body to try and pull my left foot it out. It seemed to be stuck in animal bones. I had to smash it to get my foot out. I soon heard running footsteps overhead.


    "I''m out of time!! I failed!! Mother. Flipper. I jumped into this cesspool of filth to find Queen Sisi, ate a mouthful of manure and became an exhibit for the rodents for god''s sake. I just wanted to see Queen Sisi!! I came just to see if she was here, but I can''t move! Damn this leg! I should''ve just chopped this damn leg off!" I raged to myself.


    "Travor!! Travor!!" Lucia''s small head appeared at the entrance of the sewer. She peered inside. She located me sitting down and shouted, "How are you?! Are you all right?! Travor!! Are you all right?!"


    "I''m fine. It''s just my leg is stuck¡­"


    I failed. Lucia spotted me, which meant that I couldn''t search for Queen Sisi. Otherwise, Lucia would take me back right away. She might not have told her brother, but she might lock me up and never let me return to humanity again. My only option was to wait for Lucia to bring me back up.


    "Is it serious? What is it stuck in?" Lucia was eager toe to my rescue.


    I had a look and replied, "I can get my leg out if I just smash it¡­"


    "All right."


    Lucia removed her sword and tossed it down. She didn''t care about the rancid water down below. I grabbed the sword and aggressively smashed the bone. The bone wasn''t too solid and easily broke in half. I managed to pull my leg out. I used the ground to prop myself up. I swept my eyes around in the darkness. The rodents monitored me from a distance and avoided the sunlight. Nheless, I didn''t see Queen Sisi. There was nothing down there that could be connected with a human. The elves didn''t even feed Queen Sisi.


    "I''ll throw adder down. Climb it to get back up, but be careful."


    Lucia threw adder down. Truth be told, it was quite the effort to climb adder in my state. I couldn''t stall for any longer, and I couldn''t reveal my aim. I turned around for a look. Speaking as if it was a pity, I remarked, "It''s a pity that my walking bird is gone¡­ I couldn''t catch it."


    "Forget it for now. Come up, and we''ll choose another!" eximed Lucia, anxious.


    Hopeless, I grabbed the woodendder and went to climb up. It was at that moment that Lucia suddenly shouted, "Look!! It came out!!"


    I turned around. I jumped to the conclusion the rodents gnawed my walking bird, only to see the little ck and white fellow swim out. He stopped when it saw me. I swiftly grabbed him. I noticed letters written onto his fur using rodent faeces¡­


    It said, "I''m here." It was humanity''s text. I quickly smothered the faeces to erase the writing then put the bird in my shirt and climbed thedder.


    I did say that Queen Sisi and I had the ultimate teamwork. We understood each other.


    "Sorry," I loudly apologised. Queen Sisi should''ve understood what the apology meant, too.

 Chapter Volume 5 45

    <em>Lucia¡¯s Warmth</em>


    Lucia pulled me into her embrace as soon as I got up, ignoring the stench and foul water dripping off me. In a coarse voice, she shouted, "Why did you have to jump down, idiot?! It''s just a walking bird!! We can just take another one if you lose it!! Why did you jump?!! You scared me to death!"


    I didn''t want to hug Lucia and smear her with the filth on me. Nevertheless, she didn''t care. She grabbed my arm and forced it to her chest. Feeling somewhat awkward, I warned, "Hey¡­ Lucia¡­ I''m dirty and smelly right n-"


    "I don''t care!" Lucia harshly cut me off. She tightened her arms around me and quietly sniffled: "Don''t do that. I was so worried something would happen to you. You''re the only person to ever tell me you love me. I''ve already prepared so much. I''ve prepared myself to be a bride. Don''t make my joy be for naught¡­ I gave you my love. Don''t leave without giving me anything."


    "I won''t let that happen. We chose him together, so he''s important to me. That''s why I wanted to bring him back up."


    "¡­ Idiot. We could just choose another one."


    Lucia''s heart was set aflutter. She gently snuggled up on my chest and blissfully shut her eyes, but the people around, who were watching us, rendered me awkward. Understandably, nobody wanted to approach me when I was stinky and covered in filth. The rancid stench dispersed into the surroundings, but if I didn''t respond, people wouldn''t think well of Lucia.


    "Umm¡­ umm¡­ Madam, Sir¡­ we have prepared stuff for you to wash. Our detergents can get rid of the smell. As for clothing¡­ we only have this sort of clothing that we wear¡­ If you need¡­ we can send someone to your ce and ask them to bring your clothes over."


    "There''s no need to go through so much trouble. Just give us your clothes."


    The person in charge feared Lucia to an extent. He was afraid Lucia would shut down the ce, if not massacre everyone. Lucia appeared to be held in the same regard as Veirya. Veirya was the Queen''s weapon for murder in humanity''snds, while Lucia had killed her fair share of elves. Lucia ignored them and quietly opined, "Let''s go wash up first. While I don''t mind, you can''t stand the smell, can you?"


    Lucia released me then wiped the ck and green filth coursing down my face. She then led me by my hand. The elves didn''t wash in hot water. A group of people led us to the river. They took our clothes and poured a peculiar green liquid in before bowing and leaving. Only when there was just Lucia and I did I realise that I was going to bath with Lucia¡­


    Lucia shyly and warily removed her clothes and tossed it to the ground. She covered her t chest and turned around. Timid, she requested, "I''m all right at night¡­ but during the day¡­ I feel embarrassed¡­ umm¡­ umm¡­ Travor, can you turn around?"


    I didn''t think there was any need to worry about being embarrassed as I didn''t realise that Lucia was a girl when she was nude¡­


    The two of us undressed, and then got into the water. The water was freezing. As soon as my foot entered the water, my cells told me to pull out. However, I took in a deep breath to sit down in the water. Lucia sat down and leaned on my back. Her body was my only source of warmth. Lucia handed me a small bottle from behind. Inside was a liquid of a crushed nt, but I could still see the leaves of the nt.


    "This is a quality detergent we love. It can swiftly remove any smells or filth from your body and leaves a nice scent on you."


    I responded to Lucia''s simple exnation with a small nod then carefully scrubbed my body in the freezing water to get my body to adapt to the temperature. Lucia and Ithered on the liquid. While we were soon to be married and slept together already, it was still quite embarrassing to face each other nude during the day. That said, I didn''t pay Lucia''s feelings any attention.


    I was focused on Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi was currently down in the sewers with a mischief of rodents and foul-smelling water. I needed to find an opportunity to rescue her, but I didn''t have a post-rescue n¡­


    I poured a little of the contents out and left quite a bit. Lucia didn''t know what I did because she had her back to me. I furtively hid the remainder in the mud by the river. I figured Queen Sisi would need it.


    "Don''t¡­ do that again." Lucia scared me when she suddenly spoke. She didn''t notice my startled reaction and continued, "I was scared, scared that you would leave. To tell the truth, we''ve tested you many times, Travor. At the start, I didn''t quite believe you, but I do now, so I''m willing to be with you. However, however¡­ I''m scared¡­ I''m afraid you''ll leave¡­ You''re the first one to be in a romantic rtionship with me. I don''t want you to leave so soon. I cherish you, so don''t leave me, okay?"


    "¡­ I won''t."


    It was all a farce. There was no question I would eventually leave. Lucia might''ve thought that I was unaware of their tests, but I knew all along. Lucia was the one who was in the dark. She was na?ve and kind. She loved me sincerely with everything she had purely because I told her I loved her. Unfortunately for her, I would inevitably leave. I was about two days away from leaving. I knew my lie would break Lucia''s heart, but I had no choice.


    "I''m d to hear that¡­"


    <em>Swish!</em> A warm sensation prated from my back to my heart.. She didn''t feel warm just because the water was too cold¡­

 Chapter Volume 5 46

    <em>Opportunity</em>


    Lucia tidied the invitations in front of me. With a smile, she stated, "All right. Everything is ready now."


    The elves used an expensive parchment for invitations. The time and location were beautifully transcribed on the parchment. Elven text was aesthetically pleasing, which was why Leah was a fan of it.


    Lucia informed on the identity of each guest: "This is my master. She''s a remarkable elven hunter. She could shoot the eye of an eagle in flight from extreme distances. I''ve admired her since I was young; however, ever since I graduated, I never contacted her again. I must ask her toe and give us her blessings this time, though. This is my aunt. After my parents passed away, she raised us. After my brother matured, she left us. I heard she hasn''t been in good health recently, but I''m sure she''lle back." Mm, this is my close friend, erm¡­ in the past¡­ To be honest¡­ I''m not sure if I should invite her."


    Lucia ced the invitation down. On it was the name sona. Lucia looked torn. She touched her hair and, in a soft voice, exined, "We were close friends in the past; we were always together. Now, though, we''ve walked different paths. Her family is loyal to the Queen¡­ but my brother¡­ Forget it. It''s our elven internal conflict. It''s not your concern, so¡­ you don''t need to worry about it¡­ It''s going to be my happiest moment, so I guess I should invite her."


    I might not have recognised the name¡­ but I was sure that it was the sick elf. Their rtionship was quite the tough one to ssify. However, since she stayed at home, they didn''t sh.


    I didn''t know if sona understood what I said to her. If I wanted to leave, I definitely required her. She should''ve understood what I said and what I needed. Moreover, given her personality, I didn''t think she''d pull an unpredicted move on me.


    "Mm¡­ as for Veirya¡­ to be frank¡­ I''m not too sure about Veirya. I don''t know if she''ll agree toe¡­ After all, you two used to, mm, well, I think it''s better if I can bring her over, still¡­ After all, I still consider her a friend."


    Lucia took out Veirya''s invitation. I hadn''t seen Veirya in a week, but it felt as if it had been a long time since Ist saw her. It was almost as if she was someone I met in my previous life¡­ I was with Veirya every day before I came to the elvennds. My brain always operated for Veirya, but it had been a long time since Ist used it for Veirya. My brain operated for Queen Sisi and Lucia at the time. I, in fact, didn''t think about Leah, either¡­ It was akin to having just woken up from a dream. I wasn''t going through all the effort for Lucia''s sake but Veirya''s. I forgot the reason for ourst argument. Thinking back on it, it was stupid of me to leave without a word.


    "Man, I''m a grown man, yet I acted out as a kid would. I need to apologise to Veirya when I get back," I decided to myself.


    "Also, Francis¡­ mm¡­ I don''t think elves like dwarves¡­ In saying that, he''s brave. We respect soldiers and warriors; therefore, we need to invite him. I just need to avoid letting him get into fights after he''s drunk."


    I clenched my jaw at the mention of Francis.


    Lucia carefully packed up the invitations then giggled: "I''m so d. We''ll be getting married in two days'' time. It really does feel the same as a dream. I wish we could get married a day sooner. After we get married, we can peacefully raise our child and walking birds."


    Before I replied, Lucia suddenly jumped to her feet. Her ears twitched simrly to antennas: "Sorry, Travor, stay home and don''t leave."


    A rowdy ruckus started outside, Lucia vigntly peeked outside then swiftly shut the door. She pressed me onto the bed and informed, "Travor, don''t go outside. It should be safe at home. This is between us elves; don''t get involved. I need to go and check it out, though. Don''t worry, I''ll be fine."


    "Okay, be careful."


    Honestly, I didn''t know what happened, but I had a faint feeling that it was the n I had been waiting a long time for.


    All of the elves focused their attention on the disturbance.


    "Shall I take this opportunity to escape? I can take advantage of this disturbance to run to the pasture, throw thedder down and bring Queen Sisi up. Then, we can race straight back to humanity''snds. Maybe we can ride a walking bird back. This is an opportunity! A fantastic opportunity!" I reasoned.


    Lucia carefully ced the invitations under our bed. After checking multiple times, she finally left.


    I silently sat in ce. I didn''t know the reason for the disturbance, but it was a good opportunity for me to escape. The biggest taboo when you had an opportunity was hesitation. It''s foolish to let an opportunity escape you due to hesitation. Opportunities can disappear in an instant. Act even if you don''t have a n. Once it''s gone, it''s gone for good.


    "Is it really a good idea to leave now, nheless? What will happen if I leave now? What do I want to do?" I asked myself.


    I needed to leave without Lucia having any lingering feelings for me. I needed to minimise the damage to Lucia. I needed to rescue Queen Sisi in one piece. That was my ideal conclusion. If I ran off with Queen Sisi then and there, it''d mean I legged it. I just told Lucia that I wouldn''t leave her during the day, yet fled at night during the disturbance. That was a level of scum I didn''t want to cross. Lucia wouldn''t forgive me if I just walked out on her, either. She''d massacre the entire town I stayed at. If Veirya didn''t hand me over, one of them was going to kill the other. I couldn''t dissuade them. My life wasn''t a harem story. None of the women around me were easy to deal with. Actually, I probably could''ve convinced the Elven Queen. Lucia allowed me to have a mistress. That said, I didn''t think she Veirya and the Elven Queen were candidates she''d ept.


    I deemed it unwise to take off then because I''d most likely only add fuel to the fire. I didn''t want to see Veirya and Lucia fight¡­ I couldn''t ept either of them dying. Then again, if I didn''t run then, when was I going to escape? The disturbance might''ve been deliberately started to give me an escape window. In that scenario, wouldn''t I be giving up my only chance to escape?


    I only had two more days. If I didn''t escape before the two days were up, I''d be stuck in the elven forest forever. If Veirya acknowledged our marriage, I''d never have the chance to return to her side again. Additionally, what could I say to return to humanity at that point? Abandon Lucia? Heck, Veirya might send me back to Lucia.


    I contemted, "Shall I escape or not? I can''t let an opportunity slip, but this opportunity may be a trap. If it''s a trap, I might die. What should I do? Should I go and take a look?"


    ========


    Current time at the elves'' tall tform.


    "The elves in the Queen''s faction sure know how to pick their timing."


    Lucia''s brother monitored the crowd below from a tform. The elves below raised Queen Sisi''s sign and shouted at the door of the elven elders'' abode. The guards at the door aimed their long guns at the crowd. Barging into the elders'' abode was a severe crime that justified firing guns. However, the crowd didn''t barge in.


    Lucia opined, "Don''t shoot them, Brother. The elders are willing to different opinions. It''s our ancestors'' tradition. They are just doing what they should as elves; they have done no wrong."


    "I know." Lucia''s brother pinched his chin.


    Lucia was right. They couldn''t fire. The elves down below didn''t do anything wrong. They weren''t armed and didn''t barge into the elders'' abode. The elders had a duty to hear their voices. It was an ancient teaching passed down in their race. Howbeit, it didn''t mean they couldn''t take action afterwards. They could assassinate an elf or two after even if they couldn''t shoot then.


    "Look, your friend appears to be their leader." Lucia''s brother pointed to one in the light and sarcastically remarked, "You sure have a good friend."


    "We just happen to share different views."


    Lucia shook her head. She, apparently, didn''t want to discuss it. Lucia was irritated. She came to stop anything from happening, but she didn''t even bring her bow out with her, which proved that she didn''t want to fight. She wanted to go back. The crowd was just protesting, which was futile.


    "I don''t think there will be an issue," Lucia assumed.


    Lucia''s brother hesitated for a moment before saying, "Lucilia, head on back first. Go back to that human. I don''t like him, but if he can bring a smile to your face, I''ll let him stay with you. I want to see your smile. Not your frown that you''re wearing right now."


    "Uhm, thank you, Brother."


    Lucia went up on her toes and gave her brother a peck before turning around to leave. Her brother chuckled as he touched the spot his sister kissed him, but didn''tment.


    Lucia grabbed the vine and went to descend. But suddenly, gunshots were audible one after another. Startled, Lucia almost slipped¡­

 Chapter Volume 5 47

    <em>How Many Elves Did You Kill?</em>


    The events of that day were recorded somewhat vaguely in the elven books. Every historian recorded the event with a touch of their own interpretation. Basically, there were two factions. One interpretation imed the elves identally fired, while the others proimed the soldiers deliberately shot down the elves.


    It was a chaotic night. There were freckles of mes from torches. The loud screams spun my supposedly clever brain. Lucia didn''t see what happened for she was descending the vine. Not many people remembered what happened. The soldiers didn''t know what the spark was, either. The survivors were to the rear, so they didn''t see what happened at the front. As such, nobody knew why the first shot was fired. Nevertheless, that shot led to a disaster.


    The soldiers were tense to begin with. Nobody knew if the elves were armed. Owing to the fear generated after the first gunshot, the scene was plunged into anarchy. Further, the soldiers understood the gunshot as permission to open fire. Thus, all of the soldiers in the first row pulled their triggers and gunned down all of the elves in front of them. The elves shrieked as they fled helter-skelter. The first row of elves pushed over to the soldiers. Next was a fight for weapons. Amidst the chaos, the soldiers in the rear opened fire and used their bays to clear out the crowd.


    Lucia''s brother rushed down and shouted for the soldiers to cease, but nobody could hear his voice amidst the chaos. As a matter of fact, they thought he was ordering them to continue clearing the ce out. Gunpowder and blood painted the dark sky, enveloping the entire forest in thick smoke.


    Lucia dismayed, didn''t know what to do or what she could do. It was pointless to do anything at that stage. The officer finally told his soldiers to stop after receiving the order to cease their attack. s, it was already toote. Elves were dead if not severely injured. The blood on the ground extinguished the mes. That was the elves'' biggest loss ever. It was ironic as they just defeated humanity without losing anywhere close to the number of their brethren that they killed.


    "Are there any survivors?!! Are there?! Are there?!!!" cried Lucia, standing amongst the corpses and dismembered limbs.


    A fire bloomed from a torch. Virtually all of the elves'' eyes of despair and fear were on Lucia under the light. Lucia''s legs were weak. She had never known fear before. She had crossed battlefields of corpses, but she was genuinely afraid that night. She tightly gripped her arm and howled. It was as though she awaited a non-existent voice''s response. The soldiers were panic-stricken as they searched the corpses in attempt topensate for their mistake.


    Elves don''t kill fellow elves. That was a norm that had to be upheld among elves. Elves only killed traitors. In the past, Lucia could justify her kills, didn''t regret killing the elves that she killed and exiling the Queen. What wrong did the elves there do, though? Nothing. They merely voiced their discontent. They had the right to do so. Every elf had the right to a voice.


    "What have I done?" was the question constantly hammering Lucia''s mind.


    The smell of blood rushing in Lucia''s nose reminded her of what happened. The wind blew against her face. The blood was so sticky that it was impossible to breathe. Every breath contained the blood of innocents. She touched her face with her scarlet and wet hands. Countless screams and cries reverberated, and the culprits of it all were her fellow elves.


    "Why did I fight the Demon King? Why did I go through snow, wind and deserts? What did I risk my life for? I risked my life to protect them. I was supposed to protect my fellow elves, the elves who smiled, sang and danced with me. I did everything to protect this era of the elven forest! I did it all for them!! Those elves I was supposed to protect are now lying on the ground in front of me, and my hands are covered in their blood," realised Lucia.


    Lucia''s legs finally gave in. Countless corpses clung to her. She could seemingly see their tragic souls floating around her. They came closer and closer.


    "No¡­ Don''t¡­ Don''t¡­ Don''t¡­" Lucia dropped to her knees. She sobbed, "Sorry¡­ sorry¡­ sorry¡­ sorry¡­ sorry¡­"


    Lucia buried her face in her trembling hands. Her tears rolled down her cheeks. She leaned over to the side and vomited. She did her best to hurl everything up as if she wanted to throw up her organs, as well. As Her body weakly tilted into the mush of blood as she convulsed. She repetitively apologised, ''Sorry, sorry, sorry¡­ sorry¡­ sorry¡­ sorry¡­ I''m sincerely¡­ sincerely¡­ sorry¡­"


    I gently picked up an elf who was convulsing. She struggled to look up at me. She had a hole in her chest. She had no blood left to bleed. Her eyes didn''t contain the fear before death but eagerness. She used herst ounce of strength to open her hand, revealing a piece of ck fabric stained with blood¡­


    The elf understood what I meant and what I wanted to do. The disturbance wasn''t my opportunity. Its aftermath was my opportunity. The field of corpses weren''t elven corpses but pieces and pieces of ck fabric. The bloodstained ck fabric was mymodity. The elf understood that. She turned herself into a piece of ck fabric that didn''t stand out. There was nothing more worthless in the world than the corpses, but, for me, a businessman, my goal was turn worthless goods into the most valuable goods.


    Mourning was the one thing I should never do. That was reserved for Lucia and the rest. What I had to do was consider how to elevate the value of their deaths; or rather, I had already nned their deaths. Therefore, I didn''t have any other thoughts in the moment. I ced her corpse down and got to my feet.


    I noticed Lucia lying on her side in misery. Aggravating her then was immoral. If I was hung up on morals with everything and decided to be considerate of her, however, would I still be me? I wasn''t there to give Lucia bliss.


    I went over to Lucia''s side knelt down. I hugged her. She tightly hugged me as if I was her life vest. She was freezing and quivering. She tightly hugged me to plead for onest bit of warmth. Unfortunately, she came to the wrong person.


    Next to Lucia''s ear, I whispered, "Lucia, how many elves have you killed?"

 Chapter Volume 5 48

    <em>Elves and I</em>


    "What do we do? What do we do now that something so serious has happened? There''s no way we''ll be able to hide it. How do we exin this to the other elves? We''re doomed if all elves know. It''s fine if we die, but everything we worked for will be destroyed after we die. We''ll return to the era of imperialism, and a new monarch will be born! All of our efforts will have been for naught!"


    Lucia''s brother clenched his teeth, grabbed his head and racked his brains. It all happened too abruptly for he, himself, to know what to do. It was arguably the most shocking event in elven history. The elves were a race that highly valued tradition and never permitted killing each other unless the other was a traitor. Else, those who killed fellow elves would either be exiled or join the fallen elf in the other word. With that said, the incident was attributed to him. Actually, it shouldn''t have been attributed to him, but all of his friends around him and everything else. The elves'' fury wouldn''t be directed at him, but all of his friends.


    As a revolutionist, everything that he did would result in his undoing at the hands of the elves'' fury. In fact, not even his friends would support me. He would be exiled. The consequences of the incident weren''t something he could bear. He wasn''t afraid of death; what he was afraid of was all his efforts up until now being for naught as the Queen he went through so much effort to have exiled would be reced with another. He did everything he did to help elves reach a higher state of prosperity. He didn''t want it to all end there.


    It wasn''t easy for the elves to live in freedom as they once did in the forest. He fought to earn them that privilege. If the Queen''s faction leveraged the incident to betray elves'' freedom and dignity, he wouldn''t be able to die with his eyes closed.


    "It wasn''t our soldiers'' fault; our soldiers are reasonable people. None of them would willingly shoot down a fellow elf! It was definitely the work of that human! It was definitely him who instigated it! His aim is to sow discord amongst us! It was unquestionably him!"


    Lucia''s brother angrily red at the enraged elf and coldly responded, "Don''t just randomly me people. He wasn''t present; he was at home."


    "How do you know that?"


    "Because Lucia told me so. I trust my sister. Moreover, I can distinguish between humans and elves. I can confirm that he was not present. While I think that this might not be a one-off sh and might be some sort of plot, it is still unlikely to have to do with him."


    Lucia''s brother shook his head, "Let''s put aside how it happened for the meantime; we need to think about what we''re going to do now first and foremost. There''s definitely no way of hiding this. It''s bound to be spread. We need to announce it. We need to be the first to announce it; we''ll im it was the Queen''s faction''s scheme with humanity involved behind the scenes, too. Then we''ll prepare to attack humanity''s small town."


    "Attack humanity?!"


    The other elves were stunned. They looked at him with disbelief. The elves'' numbers determined whether or not they could wage a head-on war. They had energy to spare in the forest, but fighting on an open field or assaulting a city would result in more losses than they could tolerate. Initiating an attack on humanity was a death wish. The elves couldn''t say their prayers enough when humanity chose to not continue with their attacks after their first failed attempt.


    "Correct. Isn''t that why I mentioned it? We can just attack a small town."


    Lucia''s brother knew where to draw the line. His n was very simple. In essence, he wanted to redirect the elves'' conflict away from them. It was proven in thest battle that elves will unite to face foreign threats. Therefore, he wanted to get the elves to fight an imminent war. Although the cmity of war might''ve buried the elves if a war broke out, if they sat on theirurels now, they, without a doubt, would be destroyed, as well. It was all the same in the end.


    ========


    Current time in Lucia''s room¡­


    I looked at Lucia and continued, "Lucia, is this the world that you wanted? Look at the dead elves outside; is that the sort of rule you desire? Do you honestly think that elves can prosper more and have more freedom under your brother''s lead? Lucia, think about this carefully. When the Queen was in power, did you kill that many elves? How many elves were killed by other elves when she ruled? You might say that she might destroy elves owing to her fondness for humans, and you, therefore, had to exile her. But think about it carefully, Lucia, did more elves die to humans or did you kill more elves?"


    Lucia''s body trembled. She extended her arms to try and hug me. She was on the verge of crying. She stammered, "I didn''t¡­ I didn''t¡­ I¡­ I¡­ I didn''t want to hurt them¡­ I don''t know¡­ I¡­ Please¡­ Travor¡­ I beg you¡­ don''t say anymore¡­. Give me a hug. I''m scared. I''m cold. Please¡­ Hug me¡­"


    I stopped Lucia''s hand. Lucia''s tears began to course down her face. She pulled her arms back to wrap around herself. I gave her no retreat path. I seriously asked, "Do you honestly think that this is right? Do you honestly think that your brother can lead elves to greater prosperity?"


    "I¡­ I¡­ don''t say any more¡­ please¡­ Travor¡­ we''re¡­ we''re getting married¡­ don''t¡­ talk about this anymore¡­ Brother¡­ Brother¡­ didn''t¡­ it¡­ it wasn''t our fault¡­"


    "Lucia, think about it carefully, Lucia."


    I grabbed Lucia''s wrists and didn''t allow her to cover her face with her hands: "Lucia, I know, Lucia. Look at me and honestly answer me. Between elves and I, who will you choose?"


    Lucia''s body jolted. She yanked her hands out from my grip while her tears flew off her face. She loudly wailed and refused to speak as a child would. She avoided the question. I sped her face with one hand and demanded, "Lucia!! In a loud voice, answer me!! Look at me!! Lucia!! Tell me!!! Answer me!! Between elves and I, who will you choose?! Lucia! Answer me!!"


    Lucia trembled and turned her head away. She was truly afraid and overwhelmed with despair. Regardless, I threw more difficult questions her way. I knew how much I hurt her, but I wanted her to hurt.


    "Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ I¡­ I don''t know¡­ I¡­ elves¡­ that¡­ I¡­" Lucia loudly cried¡­


    Lucia tightly gripped my arm; she gripped firmly enough to almost stab into my flesh. As she cried, she curled up into a ball¡­ I knew she was heartbroken; however, that was exactly what I was after.

 Chapter Volume 5 49

    Leah crouched down and looked at the flower on the ground. After a short moment of hesitation, she sighed: "Papa still hasn''te back."


    The Elven Queen, who sat behind Leah, heard Leah''s remark. She giggled: "It''ll be all right, Leah. You don''t need to worry. Knowing the elves, if he makes them disgruntled, he would already be back¡­ except he might be less a few things¡­ He hasn''t returned yet, though, which proves that things are going smoothly over there. Your father has left for only six days. It is tough on him."


    "That is true, but¡­ Leah is still worried about Papa. Leah dreams of Papa every night¡­ but when Leah wakes up, Leah is scared because Papa is not there by Leah''s side¡­ Leah wants Papa to be by Leah''s side¡­"


    The Elven Queen giggled: "Do you want to sleep with me at night, then?"


    Leah turned around, surprised. The Elven Queen wasn''t aware that Leah was looking at her, so she kept her gentle smile and faced the direction she thought Leah was in with her smile. Honestly, the Elven Queen was the only elf besides her father - barring the fact that he wasn''t an elf - who Leah wasn''t afraid of for the elf didn''t know what would happen at night. Leah shook her head: "I am fine on my own, but thank you."


    Her dad told her not to let anyone see her at night despite the Elven Queen not being able to see. Leah, herself, didn''t want others to see her transformation, either. The Elven Queenughed and tilted her head: "Don''t fret too much, in that case. I believe Sir Lin will soon be back. Don''t worry, Leah."


    ========


    Current time on the tall hill¡­


    "Your swordy Is a little too wild today," Angelina pointed out.


    Angelina pulled back her long sword on her daughter''s neck. Veirya got up from the ground and picked up her sword. She patted off the grass on her and walked to the other side again. She poised herself again and looked back at Angelina. She demanded, "Again."


    "Forget it." Angelina didn''t raise her sword: "Let''s just wrap up here. You''re not worthy of going to the battlefield in your current state. I always told you that you must be calm when you fight, but your mind is all over the ce right now. None of your attention is on your sword. Your mind is in disarray, isn''t it? It''s because he hasn''te back, isn''t it? I''d surmise that to be the case. Don''t worry, though. He''s yours. You need to have some faith in him."


    After a long silence, Veirya lowered her sword and then peered toward the elvennds. She solemnly replied, "That is exactly why. I''m worried. He hasn''t Come back. I''m worried. But. I don''t want. To disturb him. But. I miss him. Ever since a few days ago. I''ve always been thinking of him. I have looked forward. To seeing him every day. But he''s not here. I''m now. Feeling unsettled. Angelina. In your opinion. Do you think I should. Go search for him?


    "Not yet, I don''t think. If everything works out, he should be back in a week. If he still isn''t back in two or three days, then I''ll go there with you to look for him. I don''t think the elves would turn him into a prisoner. If the elves didn''t like him, they''d have dug his eyes out and had him sent back."


    "If they do that. I''ll go kill Lucia. Dig her eyes out. No. I''ll dig out the eyes. Of Every elf I see," threatened Veirya, with a straight face in spite of the terrifying content¡­


    Angelina chuckled. She went up to her daughter and patted thetter''s shoulder: "Don''t worry. I''ll help you if ites down to that.


    ========


    Current time in the elvennds.


    "Lucia, you must choose one. Lucia, do you honestly think that elves will be better off under your brother''s leadership? Open your eyes. Look at what happened tonight. Think back to when you began to serve your brother. How many elves have you killed under his rule? Do you still not realise what elves need?!!!"


    Lucia wiped her tears and bellowed, "I don''t understand¡­ I don''t¡­ I truly don''t¡­ I don''t understand anything¡­. I don''t¡­ I honestly don''t understand¡­"


    I sped Lucia''s face and thundered, "You do. You know very well!! Lucia! The truth is that you understand everything!!! Take a good look! Take a good look!! Lucia, have a good think; think back!! Were the elves happier under the Queen''s rule or the current rule? Don''t bring in any personal feelings and objectively think about it!! You sacrificed everything to bring peace for elves! Do you really want to thoughtlessly hand them over to your brother?!! Do you think the Elven Queen is necessary or not?!!"


    Lucia''s eyes glimmered with tears. Her tears continued to fall pit pat on her. Her lips were deathly pale. I thought she''d pass out if she continued crying. Her entire life crumbled. Her entire view of the world was challenged. I believed she knew that. I believed she was pondering the question and had found her own answer. That was why she cried.


    Lucia didn''t cry because she saw so many corpses that night or because her close friend died. It was because she discovered her brother was wrong. For the first time, she discovered the things her brother did were wrong. Previously, she believed him to be in the right and was leading the elves on to the right path, one that would be for the betterment of elves. She believed that she acted in the interest of elves. s, she finally realised it wasn''t true.


    Lucia realised she was wrong. She harmed the elves. She exiled the Elven Queen and firmly believed that she could do better for the elves. In the end, she realised she was leading the elves to their demise. She didn''t make things better for elves; the elves were in their current predicament due to her.


    I firmly gripped Lucia''s hand and didn''t let her wipe her tears. I couldn''t let her run away from the problem. I had to force her to face herself. I needed her to understand and make her own decision: "Lucia, think carefully. Tell me: between the Elven Queen and your brother, who is more suited to taking care of this ce?! Think carefully!! Answer me, Lucia, answer me! Don''t think of it from your perspective as your brother''s sister but as yourself, Lucia, the hero of elves!! Who is the better candidate to lead elves?!!!"


    Lucia''s foggy eyes pleaded me not force her to answer. I had to force it out of her, nevertheless. I gave her no chance to avoid the question. She was at her weakest; her despair had overwhelmed her. She hade to understand the situation, and she had an answer deep down. Her lips subtly moved. I showed no mercy. I awaited her answer.


    In the end, Lucia finally enunciated two distinct words: "Elven Queen¡­"


    "So, between elves and I, who will you choose?"


    "¡­ Both."


    "Only one," I vehemently demanded.


    "¡­ Elves¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ I''m so sorry¡­ I''m so, so sorry¡­." Lucia finally broke under the pressure, sliding down onto the ground from her bed, where she then knelt. She clung to my leg. She implored, "But¡­ but¡­ please¡­ please¡­ don''t leave me. Don''t¡­ You''re the only one¡­ left I can trust¡­ Don''t leave me¡­ I¡­ I¡­ I only have you now¡­"


    After a short silence, I took two steps back and shook Lucia''s grip off. She crawled after me, but I took another two steps back. I avoided her and proposed, "You''re wrong, Lucia. You can''t trust me. You have the elves, understood? Lucia, elves need a new Queen. That Queen can''t be any random elf. That elf should be their hero. That Queen should be a hero who all of them can wholeheartedly serve. A Queen cannot marry. Lucia, it''s because I care about you that I think¡­ you should¡­ spare your efforts for the future of elves and not me. Lucia, the way you dedicate yourself for elves is incredibly amazing to me."


    Lucia looked up from her knees with a look of innocence and bafflement. I took in a deep breath and said what I had scripted out in my mind. I was sure that even Lucia would be able to understand if I told her my entire n. I could say even prettier things and more of it, but it would just sound superficial..


    "Travor¡­"


    Lucia changed her sitting posture. Despair loomed on her face. Quietly, she questioned, "Have you ever genuinely¡­ loved me?"


    I knew that it was time. I had alreadye up with the answer the answer that would do her the least damage. I responded both calmly and resolutely: "Never."

 Chapter Volume 5 50

    <em>Elven Queen</em>


    "Brother," Lucia called.


    Lucia''s brother was quite surprised to hear his sister. He turned around and caressed her face with his hand. The two stood atop the military roll call tform. A few days ago, all of the elves put aside their differences to unite against humanity, expressing their rage and desire to protect their homnd in a war. The elves triumphantly annihted the human army, an army that numbered enough to squash them without even fighting, in their forest. Sadly, despite the two same people standing atop the same tform that day, there weren''t many elves down below. The war her brother was about to wage on humanity was no different to Queen Sisi''s attack on the elves. Nobody approved of it, and nobody helped. It was aplete gamble.


    "Lucilia, my dear sister, I''m so d you''re still by my side. These elves don''t get it, but as long as you do, then it''s fine. Lucilia, your brother wants you to risk your life to protect the elves and have more. You understand that, don''t you?"


    Lucia''s brother hugged his sister, but the instant he hugged her, his body violently jolted, while Lucia''s body began to subtly tremble. She dug her fingernails into his flesh as tears coursed down from her red eyes.


    Lucia''s brother broke free from his sister''s arms. He looked at the arrow tip in his belly in disbelief. The arrow pierced straight through his battle robe and flesh, dying the robe once covered in his ancestors'' blood once again with a soldier''s red blood. There wasn''t any pain in his gaze but shock and panic.


    "You¡­" He grabbed the arrow stabbed into his belly and staggered backwards two steps. Words failed him.


    "Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry, Brother¡­ I¡­ sorry¡­ Brother¡­ I¡­ I''m¡­ sorry¡­ This is wrong¡­ Elves¡­ can''t do this¡­ for elves¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ Brother¡­ Sorry¡­ I love you¡­ I will always love you¡­"


    Lucia gripped her brother''s chest and whimpered. Before he could wrap his head around it all, Lucia pushed him off the tform. The elf fell heavily into thend and the forest that elves'' nurtured.


    Lucia would never forget the scene. Her brother never took his eyes off her as he plummeted to the bottom. His shock and despair was a scene that was etched into her memory forever. In the end, her brother never considered himself to be wrong. He deemed her a traitor. Her brother dedicated his entire life for elves and her. He strayed from the correct path in the end, but who would tell him?


    des immediately pierced into the man on the ground one after another. He departed with his eyes open; his gaze remained the same as it peered at Lucia, the blue sky and everything he loved.


    The forest didn''t speak. The birds continued to sing in high-pitch voices merrily. The rabbits continued to bounce. The river continued to flow. The forest couldn''t feel the elves'' agony. That was just the nature of the forest. No matter what happened to the elves, the forest would just silently observe them. The forest wouldn''tfort her regardless of how much she hurt or how much despair overwhelmed her.


    "Madam Lucilia."


    From behind, an elf assumed a kneeling posture on the ground and presented Lucia a crown with two hands. She didn''t reach for the crown right away. The elven monarch''s crown was made from the elves'' unique metal. It reflected the scenery of the forest and her face simrly to a mirror. The crown was a reminder to the Elven Queen that she had to see everyone. Listen to everyone, and see the forest. An Elven Queen was expected to take care of everyone. Only if they could do that would they be permitted to wear the crown.


    Lucia wasn''t hesitating, wondering if she could make a good Queen. The elves needed her. Therefore, she would wear on the crown. It was just that her mind was still wandering. Just days ago, she and her brother were discussing her wedding. She had her beloved brother and her beloved man. Before she knew it, all she had left was the crown.


    The elven throne wasn''t passed down within families but elected. To be the Elven Queen, one had to abandon everything in one''s possession and wholeheartedly dedicate their life to serving elves. Lucia was somewhat confused.


    "Perhaps he didn''t fool me into be the Elven Queen. Perhaps it''s destiny. I lost everything in thest few days. In exchange, I''ve been handed this crown. Did destiny lead the crown to me? Should I not resent him, then?" silently questioned Lucia.


    Lucia gently took the crown. The elves bowed their heads. From their perspective, it couldn''t be any more eptable for Lucia to be a Queen. She was the hero they worshipped. No one questioned her abilities. Every elf admired her. She was going to be just and kind. She would be able to lead elves to greater heights. Her loyalty to the elven race was indisputable. A ruler who loved their nation would be willing to give everything they have for the nation.


    "My Queen." The elves called out in unison.


    Lucia wore on the crown. For petite Lucia, the crown was heavy.


    ========


    My aim was achieved with that. Lucia didn''t make things difficult for me as she had to ept reality. Her sorrow led her to despair, in turn, convincing her to ept the role of Elven Queen. She, subsequently, tacitly allowed me to leave. She no longer could think about so much for she had more important things that needed her attention.


    Lucia had always devoted herself for elves, and they needed her. She had no room or time to be worrying about romance. Some people were born for others as opposed to themselves. Perhaps Lucia was the former.


    I had to admit that it wasn''t true if I said I didn''t love Lucia. Having spent so long with her, there was no way I wouldn''t have any feelings for her. Nevertheless, I couldn''t leave a wound that''d continue to bleed. I wouldn''t return to the elvennds, either. I knew her feelings, our circumstances and who I loved. If I left her with what people liked to call hope and love, I''d be hurting her and myself. The false romance had to end. That was the best way to not hurt Lucia. Giving her false hope would be the most irresponsible thing I could do.


    Lucia''s future was a path longer than mine. By having her hate me, she''d be able to forget me sooner. Despair was a better feeling than false hope.

 Chapter Volume 5 51

    <em>Return Home</em>


    When I went to the pasture again, the elves there still showed me respect as per my first visit as I was Lucia''s husband - at least, I still was at the time. They weren''t informed of what happened. They knew a homicide happened, but not the part about elves starting another revolution.


    I didn''t need to infiltrate or anything of the sort to rescue Queen Sisi. I just let them know that I needed to take Queen Sisi. The elves pulled her up as if they were picking up a doll without a moment of hesitation. They even kindly asked if I needed to have her cleaned up. She stunk and was dirty, but speed was of the essence since undue dy may bring trouble.


    They had no intention of giving Queen Sisi new clothes. Hence, I had to wrap her up in a woollen nket and stuff her into the rear of a horse carriage that I found. The carriage should''ve been one that humanity used when they attacked the elves. There was still a bunch of stuff inside. Queen Sisi probably didn''t know what happened yet. She curled up in the nket and didn''t move. I didn''t tell her toe out.


    When I passed by the river, I scooped out the small bottle I hid the other day.


    So many dangerous things happened during my time in the elvennds. I was at risk of dying at any moment. Lucia and her brother kept on putting me through trials. I left feeling totally rxed when I went in as through I was walking into a minefield. The elven guards didn''t question me when they saw me. They didn''t even check the interior of the carriage.


    I slowly crossed through the forest. The mes from the town came into sight. I could see the light at home, yet it oddly felt distant to me. I left for just one week. Actually, it hadn''t even been a week, yet I felt as though I had never been there.


    I said that I didn''t love Lucia, but on the way home, all I ever thought about was Lucia, her smile and her final tears. I knew I had to do it. I had to break her heart to cripple her judgement. In the end, I regretted it somewhat. I couldn''t find it in me to smile triumphantly when I recalled Lucia''s distressed look.


    I hurt Lucia. I hurt an innocent girl, one who was so kind, na?ve and had even helped me for the sake of the woman I liked. Lucia never did anything wrong by me. She jovially weed the bliss, but I took advantage of her naivety, and I did it for nothing more than my own woman. I didn''t hurt Lucia for the greater good or justice but just to satisfy my own selfish desire. I did it just because I liked Veirya. I heartlessly crushed a na?ve girl''s heart just for my own sake. My behaviour disgusted me more than lying to any man.


    Lucia''s crying face and the way her body shivered still made it hard for me to breathe. Humans shouldn''t have a memory. The memory only incited misery for me. Never had I been so convinced that my methods were wrong and questioned if I had a better strategy. In reality, however, there couldn''t have been a better method.


    It was impossible for everyone to hold hands, not hurt anyone and merrily enjoy a new life. If my life could be as stupid as those novels written with their ding dongs, my life wouldn''t have been so tragic from beginning to end. I kept on hurting others but then had to keep depending on others.


    My mission wasplete. I promised Veirya to rescue Queen Sisi, and rescue her I did. Lucia wouldn''t have any fantasies about me again. She''d concentrate on fulfilling her duty as the Elven Queen. Humanity''s Queen would end the war when she returned. Though humanity''s foundation wasn''t damaged, it would take some time to recover. During that time, I doubted humanity would try anything bigger.


    I seeded; it was aplete sess. I sessfully pulled off what was deemed impossible. Nobody rescued the human prisoners, but I rescued Queen Sisi from the elves. Lucia wouldn''t pursue us. The war between humanity and elves, thus, ended there. Veirya wouldn''t go to the elven forest, while Queen Sisi could return to continue her reign. The seemingly impossible perfect ending was achieved through my efforts. However, I didn''t feel the joy of triumph. I, to the contrary, felt somewhat sad.


    I didn''t know why I felt down. I could brag to Veirya with my chest up and might even be able to see Veirya''s gaze of worship when she realised that I was a man who could do what she couldn''t, a real man. Nevertheless, I had no desire to tell anyone about what happened.


    There was nothing gloat-worthy about pushing a girl into despair and tears, yet not even wiping her tears. I wouldn''t feel guilty in any capacity if I fooled a man. After seeing Lucia''s blissful smile and then her final crying expression, I didn''t want to share what happened with anyone. I was victorious. How I achieved the victory, however, was nothing to brag about. I didn''t love Lucia, but I didn''t want to hurt her, either.


    I suddenly felt something move on my leg. I looked down to see a white and ck small head poke out from the woollen nket. The walking bird noticed he was leaving the forest. That must''ve been why he was confused why he had to leave. I suddenly remembered that walking birds were considered an elven species. I thought he wouldn''t survive humanity''s environment. I wanted to keep a memento, but I didn''t want to kill a walking bird for nothing.


    I got off the carriage. The boundary line segregating elves and humans was right in front. There were no pursuers behind me. That said, there was nobody to wee me back, either. Either way, I couldn''t care less.


    I ced the small walking bird on the ground and caressed his head. He looked at me, puzzled. He probably didn''t understand what I was doing. I wasn''t stupid enough to speak to an animal. I stood up and headed back to the carriage, but I immediately heard taps on the ground and him hollering, "Goo, goo, goo". I turned around to see the chubby walking bird hastily run over to me with a wobble. He bit my trousers and refused to let go. Apparently, he didn''t understand why I wanted to abandon him¡­


    "But¡­ but¡­ please¡­ please¡­ don''t leave me. Don''t leave me¡­ You''re¡­ the only one¡­ I can trust now¡­ Don''t leave me¡­ You''re¡­ you''re¡­ you''re the only one I have now¡­."


    I suddenly recalled when Lucia knelt on the ground and gripped my clothes. The walking bird behaved in the exact same manner. I crouched down and tightly hugged the little fellow. He responded with, "Goo, goo," seemingly reproaching me for abandoning him. He gently brushed my face with hiss soft fur. Voice quiet, I said, "I''ll take you home. I''ll take you¡­ home¡­ I won''t abandon you. I''ll never abandon you again¡­"


    My voice didn''t contain any sobs for I knew that I could no longer cry.

 Chapter Volume 5.1 1

    <em>Misfortune</em>


    "Happy families are simr. Unfortunate families, on the other hand, have different types of misfortunes."


    Lin Dongqing had a good memory, but he couldn''t remember novels with millions and thousands of words that he had read before. Nheless, he remembered that quote forever. Perhaps the quoteforted everyone who lived a misfortunate life and continued to struggle. It wasforting as it suggested there were people simr to oneself in the world. However, it was sad as it meant one was alone in their own misfortune.


    If a simple introduction for Lin Dongqing was possible, this would be it: Lin Dongqing was an ordinary child. Very, very ordinary. He was born into an ordinary life. His parents were ordinary blue-cor workers. He was born in an ordinary hospital on an ordinary bed and an ordinary nurse carried him. He couldn''t be any more ordinary as a child. There was nothing special about him. There were no twists and turns in his life at all. He would grow up normally, get a normal marriage, have his own family and live that way until his final days. That was how it was supposed to go.


    After that car ident, however, he lost that normal life. Lots of people consider their ordinary life to be a burden of sort. They believed it to be a waste of their lives. They felt ordinary lives required meaning or some or to do something meaningful to the world. To Lin Dongqing, who witnessed a group of adults arguing as a kid, however, being able to have an ordinary life was a luxury. An ordinary life was beyond him.


    Everyone tried to take from his parents. To them, those were free things that would be wasted if they didn''t fight for it. If they could take a cushion, then they profited. Said people were his rtives. Lots of people were wealthier than his parents, but it frightened Lin Dongqing, who was a mere child, when they fought each other for his parents'' belongings before their bodies had even turned cold. He was only around four or five, but he began to ask himself, "Why do people do this? Why do they not even have feelings for my parents? Why are people so greedy? Are these things worth more than familial love?"


    Nobody bothered with Lin Dongqing. The sole remaining member of the family was kicked around as if he was a ser ball. None of them wanted to take custody of him despite having taken so much from his family. Not one person was willing to share any responsibility.


    "We have a child in our family; where would we find the spare energy to take care of another one?! Your family doesn''t have children, so take him in. I''m your uncle at the end of the day. You can''t do this!"


    "We have our own lives, too. What''s the point of raising someone else''s child?! Plus, our house is so small. If he uses a room, where does our child stay? Your family is rich, and you have a big home. What''s so hard about raising another child?"


    "Stop, stop, his parents have just passed away. Is it right for you to push the child back and forth that way? You all have your difficulties, so let''s all spend an equal amount of money to send him somewhere and done, right? That way, we''ve taken care of him and saved ourselves trouble!"


    Human nature. That was human nature.


    When the boy still believed in fairy tales, he had already seen the ugliest side of human nature. He was pure and was still ignorant of many things. He had still yet to realise that he was witnessing human nature. He was just afraid. He curled up in a corner. He never thought about going to an orphan. He had just lost his parents. He lost his voice from crying in a corner, but nobody spared any effort on taking care of him. Only a nurse wiped his tears and gave him food. Nobody else bothered with him. He was still only a child, yet had be a burden to others.


    People looked forward to the things they could obtain more than him. He went from his parents'' most cherished treasure to a burden that people tried all sorts of ways to get rid of.


    He was face to face with his future. The argument decided his future, yet nobody spared a thought for his opinion or feelings. A group of grown adults audaciously yelled at each other. Their shadows on the wall resembled hideous monsters. Lin Dongqing was just a child, not a hero. All he could do was watch the adults and await his judgement. He couldn''t even plead for nobody cared about his opinion. They treated him as though he didn''t exist. It was akin to an individual struggling in the water, yet nobody was willing to help. Everybody would just stand there at the edge, enjoying the picturesque scenery and their bright lives, ignoring the child struggling for life in the water. Nobody would lend a hand or even spare a nce.


    "Come, child,e."


    Someone gently grabbed hold of Lin Dongqing''s hand. The hands weren''t pretty. They were wrinkly and dry as tree bark, but he felt a warm sensation and strength that could stop his tears in his small hands. Lin Dongqing nkly looked up at the woman. The woman probably had the roughest life among the people present. She wore ordinary clothing; in fact, the colour had begun to fade. Behind her was a young girl who fearfully, yet curiously, surveyed him. She seemed slightly afraid but also sympathetic. She didn''t have money, and she had a child, but she adopted Lin Dongqing.


    If that was how Lin Dongqing''s life was fated to be, if Lin Dongqing''s life was an endless sprint, a futile struggle, restructuring himself, turning himself into the version of himself that he liked and loved, then there was only that period of time, where his adopted mother relied on her stall at night to feed him and his sister, who was a few years younger than himself, that he considered to be a heart-warming memory.


    Lin Dongqing helped countless people in his lifetime but also destroyed countless others in order to help others. He had no standards or guidelines when he did things. He didn''t respect the rules of the game, either. His brain wasn''t used for creation but destruction. He was dynamic but also frightening. He had no kindness, sympathy or will to care for others to speak of. His actions were simple and aggressive, tearing down, gnawing, crushing and sucking them dry before spitting out their remains. He didn''t mind how others evaluated the way he looked as he gobbled others. His behaviour left people disgraced and terrified.


    When a yer has no bottom line, all the yers of the game have to fear him. However, those who cursed at him, cursed him and even those who got revenge on him never knew and would never know that that was how life treated Lin Dongqing¡­

 Chapter Volume 5.1 2

    <em>Work</em>


    I entered the room and regarded the interviewer. Though I described her as an interviewer, I felt she was the so-calledpany''s boss. When I first registered at thepany as a candidate, I thought it was quite a bigpany judging from the posh office, only to discover that my presumption was off the mark. If you asked me, I''d hazard a guess that the majority of thepany''s investments were invested into renting the extravagant building.


    That said, the interviewer, also known as the bossdy of thepany, was seriously gorgeous. Her ck hair was syed down to her ck work clothes. Her long legs underneath her skirt were elegantly positioned on an angle. Her ck stockings were hard to not look at. I didn''t know if it was better to look at her face or her thighs in her ck stockings. But nheless, she didn''t mind my gaze; instead, she scrutinised me and then my resume.


    "Now then, you are thest interviewee today, and you have just graduated high school. To be frank, had yourst workce not provided information, you would not have been given today''s chance."


    I nodded: "I acknowledge my education iscking, but I believe that I do not require high-level education for the job I am applying for. I believe there are no universities that teach one how tomunicate."


    "Uhm, you are very right. I am curious about something. Your previous strongly rmended you in his letter. I know him; he is a very tough man to get along with, yet you were able to get him to write such a letter of introduction for you, so it goes to show that you do have some degree ofpetence. What exactly did you do?"


    I stalled for a moment before answering, "Truth be told, I did not do anything major. I merely helped him with some troubles he had. There are many ways to resolve a problem, but I was able to do it without making others feel awkward or negating their expansion. Therefore, I am confident I have a talent for this sort of work."


    The woman nodded. Then, she ced down my resume and questioned, "Judging from your appearance and demeanour, you must be a smart gentleman. May I ask why you are not attending university?"


    I chose to wait before responding, "There is nothing that I have to hide. My family is not well off; it is, consequently, impossible to cover the university expenses for both my younger sister and I at the same time."


    "I see."


    The woman nodded. She seemed as though she finally made up her mind after her hesitation was erased. I assumed the interview was over when she stood up, so I followed suit. She reached her hand out to me. I bent over to shake her hand. Despite it being a subtle hold and not even holding her fingers, I could feel that her fingers were soft and slender. I, as a matter of fact, was distracted for a moment. Nevertheless, I couldn''t be impolite; it was a matter of work andw issues.


    "You''re the one, then. Please report in to the human resources department the day after. All of our celebrities'' schedules will be in your hands now."


    "Ah¡­"


    I nodded. I honestly never expected to get the job so easily. While I gave up the chance to attend university of my own volition, I couldn''t find a decent job as a result. Thepany looked new, yet they paid me a decent sry. Normally speaking, a manager wouldn''t choose someone who only graduated high school such as myself, but it went so smoothly.


    "May I ask how many celebrities are currently contracted with thepany at present?" I inquired.


    I had never worked in the field before. I was previously in charge of organising others living ces and jobs. I thought celebrities would be different. However, I figured that I could fulfil the job if I just weaved my way around until I got the hang of it. Since I was a manager, though, I was somewhat concerned. If there were too many celebrities, I wouldn''t know what to do.


    The woman lingered for a moment as though she was slightly embarrassed due to the answer. She replied, "To tell the truth, we only have three at the moment. In saying that, this is the first group. We will definitely have more in the future! We''ve only just started, after all. Don''t worry; things will get better!"


    "Uhm, uhm."


    I began to wonder if I chose the wrong ce¡­ I couldn''t shake off the feeling that the ce was fishy.


    I hoped I didn''t walk into a smallpany that would close down after two years¡­ The bossdy didn''t appear old. She looked no different to a university graduate. That sort ofpany wouldn''tst long. I figured I should work there for the meantime. I''d haul ass out of here the moment they began to dy paying my sry. The ce wasn''t reliable. The sry was high, but if it didn''t reach my hands, it was worth dog shit¡­ Hence, I needed to see how things yed out.


    I smiled on the surface. In my mind, on the other hand, I didn''t buy it. She stamped her feet. She was the boss of thepany. She was incredibly calm until I brought up her weak spot. She began to act slightly nervous and evidently awkward. I felt that I shouldn''t reveal my unease, but her gaze clearly had a hint of unease: "Don''t think that ourpany will close after a short time. I genuinely want to run thispany well!! We all want thepany to do well! So you don''t need to worry!"


    To be frank, that was pointless of her to say. Not to mention that she divulged the details of herpany. That just put her in a passive position; there was nothing positive to gain from it.


    She was recruiting workers; there was no need to act pitiful. Why would she spill the beans? In addition, there was nothing to gain from spilling them. I wasn''t passionate about her career. That didn''t make me enthusiastic about it. It had the opposite effect. She raised my suspicion levels. What could I do, though? I really needed the sry. Therefore, I nodded: "I''ll work hard alongside you all. I promise."


    Of course, in my mind, I was thinking that I better find a better job.

 Chapter Volume 5.2 1

    <em>Encounter</em>


    "Spoil of war."


    The warrior gave Queen Sisi simple response. The warrior pulled over the stuff from behind and threw it over to Queen Sisi. Included were two corpses and two heads. One was a young girl and the other was me. I became the warrior''s spoil of war.


    I felt the sensation of being thrown head first into the ground again. Actually, it was my first time, except that my face came into contact with a soft carpet, instead. My two hands and legs were tied behind me in a simr position to pigs hung from a pole during New Year. I couldn''t raise my head in that position; all I could do was chew on the wool on the carpet.


    I heard the water swishing from a bathtub. Next thing I heard was feet crossing the carpet. To be honest, I was keen on stealing a glimpse of the beauty exiting the bathtub. I stole a quick gander when I was thrown. Nevertheless, as I was immobilised, I was relegated to admiring a perfect pair of feet with water dripping from them approaching.


    She stopped behind the screen for a moment. Let me correct myself there. She almost came out and walked over to the warrior''s side. With a smile, she asked, "Is that the Demon King''s head?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty. This is the Demon King''s head, and that is his wife''s head. Their corpses are also here. I, personally, beheaded them," the warrior behind me, who nearly beheaded me, reported to her Queen.


    The Demon King was a stranger to me, but I felt the Demon King and his wife were quite pitiful to have the young girl behead the both of them.


    "Amazing. That''s amazing. You make me proud my warrior. Can you guarantee it? Can you guarantee that you personally beheaded the Demon King without anyone else''s assistance?"


    "Yes. The elves and gnomes were upied outside. I alone killed. The Demon King before you."


    Queen Sisi was jovial; however, the warrior''s voice was as calm as ever. Her voice never changed when she almost decapitated me, either. Suffice to say, it was a glorious feat for a human to y a Demon King, yet she sounded as if she only butchered a chicken.


    "Amazing!! Amazing!! Veirya, fantastic work!! Ah! Humanity has never done anything to make me as proud as this. Veirya. My dear. You truly are my greatest treasure. Do you know what you did?! You saved the entire world! The entire world should apud you! You saved this entire world, and I can uplift humanity to the position of leader in the alliance thanks to your bravery. After all, your bravery as a human was what allowed you to y the Demon King. This is great news. My beloved Veirya, I have never been so happy. Oh, my Veirya!!"


    "Your Majesty¡­ my armour is dirty¡­"


    "It''s all right, it''s all right."


    If I were to look in their direction, I would probably see a lesbian scene. I couldn''t raise my head. I could only see her go up on her toes on her bare feet twisting side-to-side before the armour.


    After checking out the two spoils of war over there, the Queen finally turned her attention to the young girl and me: "What about the remaining two, then?"


    <em>Selection Menu</em><ol><li><em>A) Touch the male</em></li><li><em>B) Express Interest</em></li></ol>


    "How interesting. Why was there a human with the Demon King?" Queen Sisi gave me a smile and instructed, "Pull him up. Since he is a human, we are now the victors through your effort and mine. A victor shouldn''t be tied up. Veirya, release him."


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    I was easily picked up from the ground. I had no idea why the woman was so strong¡­ She cut the rope restraining me.


    I froze at the sight of the stunning Queen. Her burgundy hair colour stuck to her pure silky skin. Her heterochromia eyes drew my soul in. She was about my height. She folded her arms and smiled: "I am curious as to why you, a human, were with the Demon King. Did demons capture you? Do the demons take prisoners of war, as well?"


    "Uh¡­ Yes."


    I had no way of exining my presence there, so I responded without too much thought. Nheless, Queen Sisi epted my exnation. She responded with her own small nod, "It sounds as though you are from the North. I have never known much about humans in the North, but you can understand me, which means we canmunicate. That''s good enough. The North was destroyed in thest battle; I imagine you don''t have anywhere to go now."


    Queen Sisi was correct. I had no response¡­ I couldn''t do anything but look at her. She was my only straw. I was in a world that I didn''t know a thing about. I had no information to form a concept of the world. If I was thrown out, death was inevitable. I had no idea whatnguage they were even speaking. I had to find a shelter, or I''d die.


    Queen Sisi lost interest in me and turned to check on the girl. The girl lying on the carpet trembled. I didn''t genuinely want to protect the girl; I merely wanted Queen Sisi to spare me her attention. Queen Sisi walked up to the girl. Ever since she was thrown in here, the girl never said a word or even cried. I was worried she was dead. However, Queen Sisi picked the girl up andughed hysterically: "This child looks quite cute, huh? If she wasn''t the daughter of the Demon King, I would really want to hug her. But now¡­ Forget it. I am not interested in a girl."


    "L-Let go of me!!"


    "Sure."


    Sisi walked up to the bath and dropped the girl into it. The girl let out a muffled shriek and then made intense gurgling sounds in the water. Queen Sisi immediately pulled her out of the water. Before the girl could catch her breath, Queen Sisi dunked the girl back in.


    "Stop!!" I instinctively shouted, demanding her to stop.


    Veirya swiftly spun around drew her sword out halfway. After looking back at me, Queen Sisi pulled the girl out from the tub and tossed her aside. Smiling, Queen Sisi wiped her hands and walked up to me. She gently pinched my chin and questioned, "Interesting. Very interesting. You''re a human, yet you''re showing sympathy to a demon. What''s wrong? Did you lose your dignity and stance as a human while with the demons? Were they very friendly with you, or is the demon your child?"


    "She is not¡­"


    I hurriedly pieced together what I wanted to say in my mind. I needed to provide a reason, one that could prevent Queen Sisi from killing me and the child. She didn''t give the impression of a patient and benevolent Queen.


    "What do I say? How can I convince the Queen to spare me?" I deliberated. Eventually, I appealed, "Any dimwit could torment a child, but only forgiving monarchs can give. That is why I am of the opinion you should not do that as a Queen."


    To be honest, I didn''t know what to say for I didn''t understand Quen Sisi. I merely stated what I randomly put together. I had no idea if what I said would be of any use on the sadistic Queen¡­ If I chose my words incorrectly, my life was over.


    "Oh?" Queen Sisi took a small step back. She didn''t mind. Instead, she pped, "Well said. My father once said the same thing, except he died after."


    I awkwardly stood there, not knowing if I said the right thing or not. Nevertheless, it seemed to drop her desire to continue tormenting the child. She chortled: "Since you like protecting her so much, how about you protect her. I don''t want to kill a child, either. With that said, I need you toe to me. I''m quite interested in you. You''re a brave one to worry about protecting a child in your predicament."


    I didn''t have a remote clue as to what to say¡­ Should I have expressed my gratitude and then feigned humbleness¡­?


    "Be my personal attendant. You should be happy to be with thedies-in-waiting," ordered Queen Sisi.


    "Was that¡­ an insult?" I wondered.


    Queen Sisi wore her usual grin, except with a tinge of yfulness. I had no idea what she meant by personal attendant. I guessed it was something simr to a maid.


    "Putting me to work together with women is her way of humiliating me, right? I guess it''s a blessing in this situation, however¡­ I can''t ask for anything more than a roof over my head right now¡­" I reasoned. I responded, "Yes, Your Majesty¡­"


    "Hehe." Queen Sisi caressed my head: "Be my pet from now. It looks as though you know how to cheer me up, right, Little Doggy?"

 Chapter Volume 5.2 2

    <strong>See Disqusment for release schedule update.</strong>


    <em>Queen''s Mood</em>


    Nothing happened to me. Put another way, Queen Sisi didn''t n to ham or humiliate me. She was probably going to some banquet next, probably the banquet to celebrate her victory over the Demon King. She did change into fancy clothing, after all. If it wasn''t for her odious temperament and twisted fondness for tormenting others, she''d be a perfect woman. She didn''t take me along.


    The ce we were held resembled an ordinary tent. Thatrge bathtub and the water Queen Sisi bathed in filled the room with a faint milk scent. To be able to spend sovishly was indeed what a Queen would do. Besides the bathtub, there was nothing else worth checking out. It wasn''t her bedroom, so there was nothing in there. I didn''t dare to move about outside; I wasn''t sure what would happen if guards saw me. Since I was in danger, I turned my vignce up to the very max.


    Besides me, the young girl was the only soul in the tent. The young demon girl silently lied on the ground. I didn''t know if she was all right or not. I didn''t understand her whatsoever. I had no clue what her situation was or what her name was. Nheless, we were both prisoners of war. Despite me being a human, I felt as though I was treated the same way as a demon.


    I sat down and picked up the girl. She weakly leaned onto my chest. Her body gently shook. I pressed my hand on her abdomen, causing her to cough up several mouthfuls of water. After she coughed the water up, she weakly opened her eyes. She gently grabbed my arm and tried to get closer to me: "So cold¡­ Please¡­ hug me¡­ so cold¡­ please¡­ hug me¡­."


    The girl pushed herself into my arms. I tightly hugged her and caressed her face. She shut her eyes, but her tears didn''t stop. She was just a kid, a very ordinary kid. She didn''t do anything wrong, yet was treated so harshly. She was so powerless and hopeless. Others seized control of her fate¡­


    I hugged the girl as though I was hugging my past self.


    "Thank¡­ you¡­ You¡­ saved me¡­ and are now treating me so nicely¡­ thank you."


    "It''s all right. I''m d you''re all right. You''re just a kid. No matter what the case is, it''s not your problem. Don''t be scared."


    I didn''t know why, but looking at her face gave me a strong desire to protect her. I wanted to protect her and hold her. Perhaps it was due to my own childhood. I couldn''t see how she was a demon from her appearance. She just appeared to be an innocent human child to me. There was nothing to suggest otherwise.


    "Are you the Demon King''s daughter?"


    She gently nodded. Then, she gently gripped my chest and quavered: "I may be the Demon King''s daughter, but my father has countless children. I am just his daughter with a subus. Subi are ranked very low among intelligent demons¡­ That''s why nobody cared about us. After my mom passed away, I was locked in the pce. I didn''t dare to leave¡­ My brothers and sisters showed no mercy and killed each other for the throne. I was not an exception. I don''t have anybat abilities. I was scared¡­ Nobody took care, and nobody protected me¡­ I was all alone even until my father was in¡­


    "Nobody ever protected me ¡­ Nobody ever cared about me¡­ Nobody even wanted to speak to me¡­ I just watched the birds fly from the interior of the pce every day, looking forward to the day I could finally leave¡­"


    The young girl gently leaned her head on my chest and sighed as though she felt reassured. She struggled to wrap her arms around my back and tightly hold onto me. She shut her eyes feeling reassured and softly murmured, "You¡­ feel as if you are my papa¡­. the papa I see in my dreams¡­ protecting me, taking care of me¡­. Your chest is very, very warm. I feel as though I don''t need to be scared or worried no matter what happens outside as long as I have you by my side¡­ If possible¡­ can I call you ''Papa''?"


    I choked on tears. I was aware she was serious, but for a single man, such as myself, such a sudden way of addressing me left me at a loss for what to do. I never even had a girlfriend. It, therefore, was a bit over the top for me to suddenly have a daughter.


    I looked over to the entrance when I heard a voice. Veirya brushed open the curtain, revealing a te on her hand. On the te was some food. She ced it on the ground and stated, "For you. Tomorrow. Go back. With Her Majesty. The child. Will be handed to the elves."


    "No."


    Frankly, the long sword at her waist freaked me out. I reactively pulled Leah behind me. Given that she didn''t hesitate in the least to swing her de down on a child, she might''ve shed me on the spot. I asserted, "I''ve decided to adopt her. Therefore, I won''t let anyone take her away. I''m taking her with me."


    "It''s Her Majesty''s order."


    "In that case, I demand an audience with Her Majesty. I believe that Her Majesty is willing to listen to my opinion. Since I have to serve her, I should be by her side!"


    Veirya mulled over whether what I said was wrong or right. By the looks of it, she couldn''te up with a reason to argue otherwise. Indeed, I should''ve been by Queen Sisi''s side.


    "What''s the matter? Did someone ask to see me? I want to take another bath, but I''ve heard something interesting."


    As we conversed, we suddenly heard Queen Sisi''szy voice from outside. She sounded tipsy. She bumped straight into Veirya''s back. She poked her head over the top of Veirya''s shoulder and smiled: "Do you have something that you want? Perfect timing, I happen to be in an excellent mood at the moment. Let''s hear what you have to say. It''s best that you don''t ruin my good mood, however."

 Chapter Volume 5.2 3

    <strong>See Disqusment for release schedule update.</strong>


    <em>Queen¡¯s Test</em>


    Drunk Queen Sisi was more dangerous than the one just before. She had her rationality intact before, yet abused the girl behind me. Shezily leaned on Veirya''s shoulder and wrapped her arms around Veirya''s neck intimately. She also kept on kissing Veirya''s face ceaselessly. But nevertheless, Veirya didn''t budge. Veirya calmly and vigntly monitored me as if she thought I could be a threat to Queen Sisi. Perhaps she was just staying ready to kill me if I happened to cross Queen Sisi with something I''d blurt.


    Queen Sisizily asked me, "You said you want to have the girl follow you, did you? Why? You said that you and she aren''t rted at all. Moreover, you''re not an ally or friend of the Demon King. The demons captured you, so why? Why do you want to protect her? She''s the Demon King''s daughter and a subus. Why are you so bent on protecting her? Could you have killed the wrong person, Veirya?"


    Veirya shook her head: "Your Majesty. No matter how you look at this man. He is just an. Ordinary human. He is definitely not a demon. I slew. The Demon King."


    "Yeah?" Queen Sisi then looked at me and chuckled: "In that case, exin yourself to me, mysterious human. The demons captured you, yet are now trying to protect a young girl. What is your reason? I''m curious. Are you a human or not?"


    "I am, without doubt, human¡­"


    Sisi narrowed her eyes, looking at me as though she was waiting for her favourite puppy to respond to her. I knew that I didn''t have much a chance just asst time. If my response didn''t fit her mood, there was no way I''d be able to keep the girl with me.


    Leah fearfully hid behind me and kept watch over Veirya. I didn''t understand why Leah feared Veirya so much. While Veirya did hold her sword up to our necks during out first encounter, I didn''t think she''d dare to harm us without Queen Sisi''smand.


    I didn''t know what that was!! I met the woman for the first time today. How was I supposed to know what she wanted to hear!! I was proficient with words and cheering people up, but mind reading was out of my wheel house!! So, with my eyes on Queen Sisi, I took in a deep breath and threw out a question with the aim of testing her: "Can I ask you a question?"


    Queen Sisi froze. She rposed herself and stated, "Before that, though, I want to know why you want to know why you want to ask me a question."


    "Because if I want to make you happy with what I say, I need to know what you are thinking. I do not know how to read minds. I am a mere ordinary human. My attitude will determine my future. Thus, I should spend effort on understanding you."


    "Oh?" Queen Sisiughed and nodded: "You want to understand me? You may need a very long time to understand me. Additionally, I''m not fond of having others asking me this and that. I am not a patient Queen. That is all that you need to know for now. It''s up to you to do your own thinking next. What will you have to say to obtain my permission to take her?"


    "Understood."


    Queen Sisi took joy in the process of tormenting me. I dallied for a while. I didn''t find out what I wanted to find out. All I learnt was that she wasn''t patient. What good was that, though? I would only die more brutally.


    I began my analysis: "Now, what do I know? Why did Sisi want to send Leah to the elves right from the beginning? Normally, the Demon King''s head wasn''t the only spoil of war; Leah could be considered one, as well. Leah would be more convincing evidence of her victory than the Demon King''s head. Why, though? Why does Queen Sisi not care about Leah whatsoever? She, as a matter of fact, wants to give her to the elves.


    I''m not convinced that Queen Sisi is the type to care about her allies'' feelings. I doubt she''d be so kind as to share a spoil of war with the elves. Nobody would give up their returns from war; that applies for Queen Sisi, too. Why, then?


    What if I think about this in reverse? Let''s reverse engineer this. Why does Sisi not n to take Leah? Is it because the elves are forcing Sisi to hand her over? I''m sure the elves also want to take home some spoils of war. The Demon King''s head and corpse are with Queen Sisi. Not to mention that Veirya was the one who, personally, beheaded him. Slice it how you like it, it wouldn''t be easy for them to take those two, which means that Leah is their only option. She''s the Demon King''s daughter. Once they take her, she''ll be a spoil of war, too. So, the elves want to take Leah? If I was in Queen Sisi''s shoes, by human logic, would she genuinely want to give up Leah?"


    I finally answered, "Your Majesty, it is not that I want to protect this child, but that she wishes to stay with me. You¡­ know that, right?"


    Queen Sisi took a moment before replying, "You''re saying that the girl wants to stay with you?"


    "Exactly. Furthermore, I have nowhere to go. As such, I have to join you. In turn, Leah will choose to go with you."


    I didn''t respond confidently despite looking at Sisi. To be candid, I didn''t know if I was right or not. I merely came to that conclusion based on the current information that I had. Strictly speaking, it was just stuff I made up to protect myself. I had no idea if that was what Queen Sisi was thinking. She had countless ideas in her mind, but I could only think of one, not to mention the least likely one.


    Sisi kept silent for a moment before shing a smile. She patted my face then turned behind her to Veirya: "He is truly an interesting man, Veirya. I truly like him very much. I''m amazed he managed to guess what I wanted without any information. I really like you. Come join me. I think that you will be useful in my ranks."

 Chapter Volume 5.2 4

    <em>Queen¡¯s Summon</em>


    The fact that Leah wasn''t human finally kicked in after witnessing her transformation at night. Heck as if I saw thating. I wondered if I should keep a bit of distance from her at night. I might actually end up doing something to her, otherwise¡­ Although Leah transformed into an adult, she had the mental age of a child. I''m not a paedophile. I wouldn''t vite a child.


    Maybe I left quite a good impression on Queen Sisist night, and we, therefore, were provided with a rtivelyfortable tent to sleep in. It was somewhat noisy outside when I woke up. I went outside and met a peculiar young girl who stood in front of our tent with her arms folded¡­ Needless to say, if she didn''t have her pretty and short hair, there''d have been no way of distinguishing her as a female¡­ She had a small physique, but her gaze was mature. She had a bow strapped to her back and wore tightly leather army, making her resemble Veirya.


    "Oh, so you''re the human Veirya brought back yesterday?'' She twitched her ears when she saw me. She ignored the human guards around and scanned me earnestly. She muttered to herself, "Nothing odd about him sticks out. He''s an ordinary human¡­"


    "Do you have business with me?"


    I suppose she was what they called an elf? Her appearance was pretty close to the concept of an elf that I had in mind.


    "The girl, yes, the Demon King''s daughter, is with you at the moment, right? ording to what was discussed yesterday, we elves have the rights to her, so I came to pick her up."


    "Sorry, she wishes to stick with me. She''s just a kid. I want to adopt her. You''ve already achieved victory, so there''s no need to take her back as a spoil of war, is there? She''s just a kid, not a tool. Whatever her father did is not rted to her."


    "Is that right?"


    The elf didn''t have counterargument. She scratched her long ear and stopped to think to herself. She appeared torn, while I froze. I never expected my casual remark to be enough for her to deliberate so thoroughly. Under normal circumstances, nobody would pay any mind to such excessively justice-oriented statements. Nobody would care if she was a kid or not or how she was viewed. Leah was perceived as the equivalent of a tool to them. Actually, they considered everyone to be their tool.


    After the elf finished thinking, she frowned: "Do you really n to adopt her despite her not being rted to you whatsoever?"


    I didn''t quite know what she was trying to find out. Nheless, I replied, "Of course. I''ll protect her. I will take responsibility for my decision to the very end."


    She scratched her ear again, still looking torn: "Yeah¡­? Okay, then¡­ I can''t oppose a child''s wish. Moreover, you''re right. It''s not a just act to use a child as a badge of victory. I can''t ignore a child, either. You''re right. It might be better just to let her go with you."


    She then smiled: "Seeing as the girl is willing to stay with you and you are willing to take care of her, I''ll leave her in your care, then. She never did anything wrong. My name is Lucilia. I''m an elven warrior. While this goes against our Queen''s wishes, I value justice more!"


    "Lucilia¡­"


    She suavely waved: "Say no more. I admire your bravery. Having the courage to adopt a demonpletely unrted to you while staying with that Queen is worthy of admiration. We shall meet again."


    I nodded and heaved a big breath. I was fortunate the elf was easy to talk things out with. She had persuaded herself before I even said anything significant. Though she was a warrior, she was awfully pure-minded. She believed in a so-called justice. By the looks of it, she wasn''t a political yer but a na?ve warrior.


    Afterst night''s party celebration, humanity''s soldiers began to pack their luggage. A fair number either dragged or carried their things on their back to the merchants. Victory had been attained, which meant that lots of things were no longer needed. It would only be a waste of energy to take them back; it was better to sell them. From the soldiers'' perspectives, their spoils of war were worth money. They weren''t mementos of the experience.


    There was also the heavy armour, weapons and so forth. They were no longer needed, so why not exchange them for money to take home. Their wives and children weren''t going to be after a badge of honour or something. They wanted money and their husband back by their sides.


    I looked around me. I felt somewhat confused. I didn''t know what exactly would be of me next. I had the right to live; however, I had no sense of security at Queen Sisi''s side. To the contrary, I felt as if I was nting a ticking bomb to myself. I had to find a chance to leave her and find a safe ce to live out my life.


    Several fully-loaded horse carriages passed by me. I didn''t know what they transported, but they appeared heavy. I spected they were transporting Sisi''s stuff.


    I suddenly heard footsteps approach me from my side. I turned my head to see the soldier with the cold expression. Veirya calmly informed me, "Her Majesty. Is looking for you."


    "Is something the matter?"


    "Head over."


    Veirya appeared displeased with me asking so many questions. She spun around after her response. I sighed. I had no idea what to do with her for it was impossible to converse with her. I figured I might never have a friendly rtionship with her.


    I deliberated, "I wonder if we can get along when we''re both working at the Queen''s side in the future¡­ She resembles the Queen''s bodyguard more, while I resemble the Queen''s servant. Let''s put that aside for now; what exactly does the Queen want me for?"

 Chapter Volume 5.2 5

    Please answer this quick poll (can¡¯t embed for some reason):


    <em>Queen¡¯s Embrace</em>


    There was no bathtub in Queen Sisi''s tent for this visit. There was only a group of soldiers sporting dark blue capes and red capes in addition to Queen Sisi herself. Perhaps the table of sand had yet to be cleared belonged to themanders. Queen Sisi stood to one side of the table and watched the officers. Apparently, Queen Sisi wasn''t too happy with the conclusion of their discussion. She wore a smile, but judging from the ambience and her crossed arms, she wasn''t happy at all.


    I nkly stood at the entrance. The officers looked at me suspiciously but didn''tment. They, instead, asserted, "Your Majesty, we do not believe that those uninvolved shoulde to our discussion during its proceeding. This is our business alone."


    "That is not true. As I am in discussion with you, why can''t my new little doggy listen in? To add, you are a group here to debate with me, so it is only a matter of course for me to call someone over. Come, Little Doggy,e here."


    Queen Sisi gestured for me toe over using her hand the same way you''d call a dog over. My dignity couldn''t quite ept her attitude, but what could I have done? Queen Sisi let me keep Leahst night; if I embarrassed her in that situation, she''d most likely order for me to be executed on the spot. I carefully went over. Every step hurt as if I was stepping on my own dignity.


    Queen Sisi joyfully scrubbed my head: "Go, Little Doggy, bite them! They''re bullying me."


    "Your Majesty, now is not the time for jokes¡­" appealed an officer.


    "Oh? Why is it not?" Queen Sisi shrugged nonchntly: "The Demon King is dead. Are you worried that his head can still speak or something? The entire army is packing things up in the camp. Why can''t I? The entire Demon King''s city should be my spoil of war. I''ve been decent enough to not turn it into my holiday resort. You can''t even spare me a few horse carriages?"


    The officer didn''t back down. He expounded, "Your Majesty, we do not have anything to say if you have ns to turn this ce into something. However, the carriages for resources are already packed tight as is. If you want to send back things that are unimportant, as well, we truly cannot manage. The entire castle belongs to you. Why must you insist on this? You just need send out your spoils of war one batch at a time when the time is right."


    With her arms folded, Queen Sisi fumed, "I want to have them sent back right now. They are spoils of war. Do you not understand what spoils of war are? If I can''t take them back when I win, what''s the point of them? That''s why I want to bring them back with me now. Why can''t you free up a few carriages for me? You''re my soldiers. You should satisfy my desires!"


    "Your Majesty, I think we have already fulfilled your desire. We fulfilled our duty and defeated the Demon King for you," contended a young man. I would say that he was a bit too young. Perhaps a kid would be a more appropriate term for him. Surprisingly, he had the right to be there. He continued, "We are an army, not your attendants. We will charge into enemies under yourmand, but it is not our duty to oblige and cater to your wilful desires. The carriages are currently carrying out reserves and provisions. We cannot unload anything from our guards unless you do not n to keep us in existence?''


    Puzzled, I blurted, "Provisions?"


    The soldiers immediately looked at me with gazes of contempt. The young man crossed his arms: "Outsiders can shut up. Do you think there is any ce for you to be speaking here?"


    "Why not? Little Doggy, go. Bite them." Queen Sisi cheerfully scrubbed my head.


    Curious, I asked, "May I ask approximately how many days it will take to get to the imperial city from here? Roughly seven days?"


    The young man replied, "Four or five days. What are you trying to say? Buy provisions from the imperial capital and send them here? That is a waste ofbour and funds. Moreover, the war has ended. Why would we purchase food? How are we supposed to exin that? All of the soldiers want to go home as soon as possible!"


    I shook my head: "No, that was not what I meant. I do not know how much provisions you require, either. If you are left with only four to five days'' worth of food, however, I think that was quite an arduous war for you."


    Queen Sisi: "What, my excellent generals, don''t tell me that you ran out of food now. Don''t tell me that, had it not been for Veirya risking her life to infiltrate the Demon King''s city and in him, we would be here nursing our woes."


    "Impossible! We prepared sufficient provisions this time. Even if the war had not yet ended, we can still fight for over another month."


    It sounded as though a defeat was once suffered due tock of provisions. That would exin why the officers adamantly refused to admit they no longer had provisions to sustain their forces. I argued, "In that case, since everyone wants to return home, you would only need four days'' worth of food. Why are you transporting enough provisions for an entire month? Leave the spare provisions here. Why can''t you then leave the spare space in the carriage for Her Majesty?"


    "Uhm! Uhm!" Queen Sisi sounded extremely delighted: "Hear that? I think that is a fantastic n. Go with that. Leave behind your provisions here. Let me use the remaining space to transport my spoils of war. Go now!"


    "Your Majesty!! Those are military provisions! They are military provisions!!"


    I responded, "True, but the fact is that the war is already over. What is the point of hanging onto all those provisions? Furthermore, this is now Her Majesty''s territory. Is there a difference between leaving behind provisions for Her Majesty''s citizens and you staying here?"


    The officers opened their mouths, but no argument came forth. Queen Sisi hugged my head and gleefully rubbed my head against her globes: "Amazing, amazing. Now that''s my Little Doggy. That''s the n. That''s the n. You have nothing else to say, either, right? I''m very pleased. Proceed with that. While I''m at it, let me think about what to give Little Doggy as a present."

 Chapter Volume 5.2 6

    <em>Queen¡¯s Beautiful Feet</em>


    I could see that Queen Sisi was delighted. She badly wanted to use carriages to transport her own stuff. With that said, I believed that she could definitelye up with a way. I suspected it might''ve been Queen Sisi''s test for me.


    Queen Sisi sat opposite me with one leg over the other and a difficult-to-read smile on her face. She watched her soldiers outside. She lightly leaned her entrancing body on the horse carriage. Her long burgundy hair gently danced correspondingly to the wind''s choreography. While the carriage wasrge, it seemed as though it couldn''t fit her long legs. She removed her boots, revealing her perfect calves wrapped in ck stockings. I didn''t know if her asional brushes against my leg were on purpose or not. I could smell her distinct and pleasing scent. She wore a dress with side splits that went high up, thereby generously revealing her ample thighs and even making her stockings'' slings visible.


    I was at aplete loss for what to do¡­ There were nodies-in-waiting or anyone else in the carriage. We were the only two inside. Queen Sisi was nowhere near as nervous and torn as I was, but she didn''t speak, either. We remained awkward and silent¡­ I was the only one who felt awkward, obviously.


    I decided to end the long silence: "Your Majesty¡­"


    If Queen Sisi had something to say to me, she wouldn''t be willing to initiate a conversation; after all, I was just an ordinarymoner with mysterious origins. While I helped her fulfil her desire, I still had no right to make requests of her. At most, I was just a prisoner of war.


    Queen Sisi suddenly lifted her legs instead of replying. She rested her legs on my thighs and maintained the curve on her lips: "Ah, how nice. You finally spoke up. I was wondering if you were expecting me to initiate the conversation. By the looks of it, you''re very perceptive. I''m pleased."


    "Your Majesty¡­"


    "Give me a foot and leg massage first. You''re going to have to often massage my feet and legs in the imperial pce. They''re my most tired body parts."


    Queen Sisi gave me no chance to ask a question orment. She switched into a morefortable position all while still smiling. Seeing my shocked reaction, she giggled as she held a foot up and pinched my face with it. A warm and moist sensation touched my face, but there was no smell. She asked, "What''s wrong? pping your gums alone won''t be enough."


    I slowly reached out to gently grab Queen Sisi''s foot. She giggled then yanked her foot out from my hold and kicked me in the face. While she was at it, she teased my face with it. She then opined, "Forget it. I''ve always believed in a saying: one should do what they are good at. Don''t make someone do what they aren''t good at. You don''t look as though you are a good masseuse, so I won''t have you massage me. Having said that, I believe there are lots of other things you can do to make me happy, correct, Little Doggy?"


    Queen Sisi removed her foot from my face, taking with it some sweat. I, however, didn''t want to let her know that I had already begun to feel aroused¡­ Queen Sisi casually returned her leg to my thigh: "I''m curious as to what sort of person you are. You''re clever and brave, but I can''t shake off the feeling that you''re hiding something. Your appearance is a mystery. Why can''t I find out anything about you here? In addition, what do you want to achieve at my side? They say that the Demon King is difficult to deal with. Could the owner of the Demon King''s city not be him but you? Have you always been the mastermind behind the demon race? If I look at it that way, have we basically fought an internal war?"


    I shook my head: "I am sorry to disappoint you, Your Majesty. I do not wield that degree of power. The reason that there is no information pertaining to me is merely due to me being too ordinary. I do not stand out in any way. I am merely an ordinary man."


    "Yeah? An ordinary person, huh?" Queen Sisi nodded: "You know, if you want to find a shelter, you need to prove your uniqueness, not that you are an ordinary man. If you are just an ordinary individual, what reason would I have to keep you by my side?"


    I calmly answered, "It is a fact that I am an ordinary individual. In saying that, I can do what unordinary people can do. I think that honesty is the most important quality."


    "Heh." Queen Sisiughed as she touched my face with her foot. With the bottom of her foot on my face and her lips tugged up, she stated, "Interesting. Little Doggy, I am truly happy. Rather, you are an excellent pet. You understand how to please me. Also, I should be able to remain lively for as long as I have the mysterious you around. I hate having nothing to do. I had something to do when the Demon King was alive. Now that he''s dead, though, what do I have to do? I hope you can make me happy."


    "Your Majesty¡­"


    Queen Sisi didn''t give me a chance to speak. She chuckled and shoved her foot into my mouth. I didn''t know what I could do in that position. I wasn''t sure if I should bite her foot¡­ or lick it.


    Queen Sisi gently removed her garter then slowly removed her stocking in front of me, revealing her pure white legs and toes that seemed as though they escaped the stocking for oxygen. After calmly removing her stockings, she chuckled as she wrapped her other stocking around my neck. She smiled, "This is my reward for you. Lots of people want my stockings. What do you think? Are you happy or not? I don''t mind what you do with the stocking after."


    I pulled the stocking off my neck. Indeed, it was Queen Sisi''s, and had her original scent, not to mention her body heat¡­ Queen Sisi grabbed another pair of stockings by the side while smiling. She held them out to my face then slowly wore them n in front of me. She didn''t speak again, and returned her attention outside, except this time, she probably wasn''t waiting for me to speak again for she was done talking.


    Queen Sisi¡­ was really strange¡­ but I couldn''t argue¡­ that she was gorgeous¡­

 Chapter Volume 5.2 7

    <em>Queen''s Knickers</em>


    The journey back to the imperial pce left me bored out of my mind. During the day, I could spend the day with Queen Sisi in a carriage with her. When night fell, I wasn''t allowed near her tent. Leah and I had to spend chilly nights in a small tent fitted with a bunch of stuff. However, Leah''s body temperature was very high at night, so it wasn''t that dangerous when I slept holding her. Howbeit, Leah''s seductive level was very high at night. I, therefore, was worried that I might do something without realising it. Nheless, by entering sage mode beforehand every night, I was able to calm myself.


    Queen Sisi didn''t do anything to me again for the rest of the journey. I''d say she was normal. That said, she maintained her bad taste. She loved to take baths. She had people go and fill her bathtub every night once we stopped without exception for her to then have a nice hot bath. She also changed through her clothes very quickly. She was arguable a Queen who spentvishly. If my memory does me justice, her goal in her journey was to fight a war. My question was why she prepared so many clothes for a war. And, why would someone prepare such a big bathtub for a war¡­? Is that really a sign of someone nning to fight a war?


    Queen also had a bad hobby of tying bow ties around my neck with her socks and stockings. Not to mention that they were ones that she just stripped off that had her scent and warmth. It was a bit humiliating¡­ I was surprised that I looked forward to it somewhat every day. She never asked me for her socks and stockings, while I found myself with four or five more pairs, all of which had her scent. The upside was that it was a great help in preventing me doing anything to Leah at night that would anger man, deities and those alike.


    The escort didn''t travel fast. We travelled for nearly one week. The scenery around us gradually changed as we travelled. At the start, we were in the North, where there was no life, but only deste coldnd and no green in sight. We didn''t see anyone around, either. Presumably, we should''ve crossed through the entire North. We only saw two cities, but the atmosphere in the city was essentially a city of the dead for there was no life to speak of. Once we reached the South, the people appeared to be the equivalent of butterflies and bees to flowers. There were flowers -rainbow freckles to adorn the green. There was moreughter. Our living conditions also gradually improved as we approached cities and towns.


    Queen Sisi would proudly go to cities and towns to receive cheers from the people. Perhaps she was the equivalent of a god to humans after her triumph. Queen Sisi''s usual pride and arrogance was befitting of a victorious Queen. Her pride and arrogance could perfectly and fully describe humanity''s victory. Every time she gave speeches, people would be particrly excited. Her proud smile was contagious; it allowed everyone to feel the joy of victory. Putting aside her bad hobbies, as a Queen, alone, she was excellent. She also managed to convince everyone to respect her and look forward to her. Those are qualities a monarch should have.


    After travelling for some time, during my moments where I was about to nod off, Queen Sisi suddenly remarked, "That is the imperial capital."


    Queen Sisi poked my face using her foot to wake me up. Surprised, I wobbled. When I looked out the window, I discovered we were on a hill. In the distance was a city in the shape of a star with six corners. I didn''t know what stone was used to build the city walls, but they were an old blue. The walls appeared as if they had silently gazed at the sky for centuries and millenniums. Queen Sisi sat opposite me with one leg over the other. Sounding and looking simr to a child bragging about their favourite toy, she exined, "That''s my city, the imperial capital. I will forever be its Queen. Now that the war has ended, I can continue being Queen Sisi of the city for, at least, a dozen years. s, it''s also my cage. I''m not particrly happy there. I actually am happier outside where I have my freedom."


    Queen Sisi didn''t seem to be looking for a response from me, so she carried on, "It''s probably due to boredom. I grew up there. I couldn''t be any more familiar with the city. The entire city is now mine. I won''t like boringnds, but are there any other goals that could pique my interest? World conquest? Or shall I have fun toying with you?"


    Queen Sisi teased my chin with her finger. Chuckling, she carried on: "Little Doggy, what do you think I will choose? To be honest, my interest in you is the same as my interest in this world. Once we reach the imperial pce, I''ll arrange a home for you to take care of that subus. Having said that, you must continue to remain this loyal and smart. Show me how much joy you can bring me."


    Queen Sisi sounded as though she looked forward to what I had to offer. She was certain of her judgement. She was a Queen who loved pursing stimtion and challenges. She didn''t like a mundane and repetitive lifestyle, which exined why she was interested in me, who was only new thing to her was me. But nevertheless, besides being familiar with the smell of her stockings, I didn''t know a thing about her.


    "Ah, we''re almost home. I''m feeling slightly poignant now. I miss the time out on the battlefield. Can another Demon King crop up for me to feel a little excited?"


    Queen Sisi lied down on a nted angle. She ced her legs on mine, treating me as amodity. She noticed me turn my head away. She wore a mischievous smile as she teased my face with her foot: "What''s the matter, Little Doggy? Does this bother you?"


    Queen Sisi pinched my face with her toes then went on, "Come on. Come on. Look over here. Come on!"


    I had to turn back. Queen Sisi suddenly pulled open her skirt. No matter how I thought about, her ckce knickers were way past the era she was in¡­ Plus, it was too arousing for me¡­ I instinctively groaned as I turned away. Queen Sisiughed. She sat up and tightly hugged my head in her breasts while rubbing it: "How adorable!! You''re seriously so adorable!! I never thought you were a virgin. That''s such a fun reaction. It''s fine. It''s fine, Little Doggy. Worry not. I shall educate you!"

 Chapter Volume 5.2 8

    <em>Queen''s Art</em>


    A woman in front of me straightened up her torso. With an incredibly authoritative tone, she said, "Though I don''t understand why Her Majesty would allow someone into the living quarters, I shall obey Her Majesty''s order. As she has given permission, you will be assigned as Her Majesty''s attendant; it is an important post. Regardless of your past, you must now obey mymand. Always ensure that you give Her Majesty the utmost respect and loyalty, understood?"


    The middle-aged woman wasn''t as tall as me, yet I appeared puny before her¡­ Her hair was perfectly bundled behind her head without a single lose strand. I wondered how long it''d been since shest smiled. Her mouth looked as though it had permanently turned downward - imagine an upside down smile. Her narrow and long eyes made her appear aggressive. By the looks of it, my superior was going to be a handful.


    I decided to respond with brevity: "Understood."


    Queen Sisi led us to the pce then put me in the hands of thedies-in-waiting who worked at her living quarters. There were onlydies-in-waiting in the pce. Everyone who saw me was surprised, but what made me happy was that they were all pretty. Queen Sisi sure did handpick them herself. I guess it improved her mood to see cute girls around her.


    We were provided with a small room to live in. Apparently, thedies-in-waiting shared the ce. I guess Queen Sisi was in a fantastic mood to allow Leah and me to enjoy a room.


    "Good." Thedy-in-waiting turned and exined, "Follow me. I''ll show you around the living quarters. This is where Her Majesty resides. Though she almost never takes strolls here in her free time, it''s still representative of her. We, consequently, cannot allow it to embarrass her. Even the smallest room must be kept pristine clean at all times. Additionally, regardless of what you do and when, you are not to let others see you dirty or anxious. If you are dirty, leave the residential pce for the meantime."


    "Understood."


    On the first floor was a big chamber. Facing the front doors was a white marble staircase. Jade pirs lined up on either side. However, where the stairs split into left and right down the centre, was a wall where a huge painting was hung¡­ In all fairness, it was perfectly fine to hang a painting since it was art. The issue was the painting she had hung up, how do I put it¡­? Err¡­ Leah would be able to paint the exact same thing if you gave her a brush, paint and paper. The quality of the painting was what a primary school kid would produce. In fact, it looked immature¡­ I couldn''t figure out how it was meaningful or worthy of being put on disy.


    "Did Queen Sisi''s child draw it or something? Sisi, who loves children, cherishes her child''s painting, so she proudly hung it out¡­ Queen Sisi doesn''t look as though she has children, though. Plus, she looks around my age. Wouldn''t it be a little too early for her to have children at her age? Moreover, would she go to the frontlines if she has a husband?" I mused.


    "Umm, Head Lady-in-waiting¡­" I stood on the stairs and tried calling out to the head maid. She was still in the middle of rambling about the history of the building.


    "Are you ady-in-waiting or a museum guide¡­?" I wanted to ask.


    She wasn''t too happy about being interrupted. She turned around and gave me a frown: "What is it? Do you have a question?"


    I pointed at the painting and curiously asked, "Umm¡­ this painting¡­"


    Before thedy-in-waiting could reply, I heardughter overhead. With ady-in-waiting following behind her, Sisi descended the stairs. I didn''t know where she was heading to, but Sisi dressed more revealingly than before. Her clothes had the valley between her between exposed. You couldn''t help but imagine the twin peaks with how tight her clothes were on her. Nheless, Sisi was nonchnt about it. She walked up to my side and looked up at the painting. I couldn''t read her mind from her smile.


    Sisi asked, "What do you think of it?"


    I couldn''t say it was horrendous¡­ though it was undisputedly a failure as a piece of art¡­


    "Sorry, Your Majesty, but I do not understand art to evaluate it."


    That was a perfect response. It didn''t put down the painting but wasn''t deliberate praise, either. Thus, it could be interpreted that it was nice, but I, unfortunately,cked the skillset to tell.


    Queen Sisi smiled: "I painted it when I was young. My father hung it here. Lots of people said it''s beautiful; they said that I have artistic talent. What do you think, Little Doggy?"


    "I think the people around you are a bunch of ignorant people with long noses¡­" was my genuine thought.


    What could I say? Should I join them inuding Queen Sisi? She wasn''t an idiot. She could tell if her painting was good or not. She definitely knew others were brown nosing her, but was I supposed to say in the presence of thedies-in-waiting, "Cancer. I can''t believe you''d hang out this embarrassing primary school level painting. My stomach is about to burst, hahaha?" Surely, she''d drag me out and torture me to death for saying that¡­ Brown nosing her wouldn''t be effective, however¡­ so ttery was no good, but I couldn''t embarrass her, either. It was a tough pickle to get out of¡­


    "I believe that your father is proud of this painting, right? Your father must love you," I answered.


    I decided to dodge the question¡­ It was basically the equivalent of saying, "From your father''s perspective, it''s fantastic, but from my perspective¡­ I don''t think it''s good." I surmised Queen Sisi would understand that.


    Queen Sisiughed and then nodded: "Yes. After all, he was the only who sincerely loved me, I suppose. Everyone else around me has their own agenda. My father is no longer with me, sadly. Who should I show off the painting to?"


    "Please do not say that, Your Majesty, we truly love you. I believe thedies-in-waiting here are here because they love you. We, too, think the painting is adorable and pretty!"


    I think I figured out why Queen Sisi didn''t remove the painting after hearing thedy¡­


    Queen Sisi''s smile was slightly awkward: "I know. I trust all of you, as well. I have to go out for a while. Train Little Dog well. I hope he can also be absolutely loyal and respectful to me as you all are."


    "Yes, Your Majesty!"


    "Oh, and nobody is going to ask for my opinion?!" I wanted to blurt.

 Chapter Volume 5.2 9

    <em>What Queen Sisi Looks Forward To</em>


    Despite being Queen Sisi''s attendant, I didn''t have the right to directly serve her because the headdy-in-waiting didn''t trust me, apparently. She just had me take care of hygiene inside the residential pce. In other words, I wiped stairs, rails and walls. I had to report in at the imperial pce very early every morning then get to work as a hygiene technician. While it housed only the Queen, it was four-storeys high. Wiping the stair rails daily was a death sentence.


    One of the most important aspects was that the headdy-in-waiting was extremely strict and harsh. Her love for Queen Sisi bordered on crazy motherly love for her daughter. She didn''t allow anything in Queen Sisi''s environment to be less than optimal. She''d go bananas give people an earful if there was as much as ayer of dust on the handrails. Lots ofdies-in-waiting were afraid of the headdy-in-waiting. Furthermore, she was attentive of how others dressed, demanding they were dressed properly at all times.


    Queen Sisi didn''t dress properly in her room, and she always left clothes everywhere akin to a snake shedding its skin or throwing food straight onto the ground without a care. Sometimes, she''d pour red wine straight onto the carpet if it didn''t please her pte, but the headdy-in-waiting wouldn''tin. Instead, she''d desperately try to clean the carpet.


    The headdy-in-waiting cherished the painting; she treated it was if she was Sisi''s mother and cherished the painting. Normally, she didn''t even allow us to go near it when carrying water. She even demanded that we gently cleaned the frame. I was under the impression that thest thing Queen Sisi wanted was to continue hanging it there¡­ After all, it was the most shameful sight in her adulthood. The people who visited the ce were among her high-ranking ministers; everyone would, therefore, see her childhood painting. That only served to make her feel ashamed.


    Queen Sisi gazed at the painting for a long time every time she came. Perhaps the headdy-in-waiting couldn''t tell, but I could tell what Queen Sisi was actually thinking. She wanted to destroy the painting¡­ but she didn''t know how to articte it without giving herself away. If she did it herself, it would make her look bad. She was no longer a child. If she was to get angry over the painting, then she wouldn''t have the temperament of a Queen. It would be awkward for her to tell the headdy-in-waiting to destroy it, too, as it would be the same as admitting that her painting was ugly. There was no way Queen Sisi would allow a blemish on herself given her prideful personality. Nheless, leaving it there would only continue to embarrass her. I thought I should help Queen Sisi get rid of the painting¡­


    Ever since I was instated as Queen Sisi''s personal attendant, I was able to deal more directly with her living necessities, but Queen Sisi wasn''t as intimate with me as she was in the carriage again. I wasn''t sure if she was just sick of me or if she was too busy with work. She lived avish lifestyle and had a loathsome personality. With that said, there was no doubt that she was a diligent Queen. The residential pce was only used for resting, true to its name. She didn''t have much for entertainment. Apparently, her odious personality was merely a way for her to tease others for some entertainment.


    I had yet to have many chances to see the outside world because I was stuck working in Queen Sisi''s residential pce. I decided that I had to find a chance to convince her to let me go outside. In saying that, if she didn''t take me out, what would be the point of going with her? Was I supposed to be Queen Sisi''s worker in the pce? That wasn''t what I wanted. It definitely wasn''t wise to stay at the side of such a loathsome Queen. She could have me killed at the drop of a hat. I needed toe up with a way to have her let me go so that I could live in the outside world on my own. Thus, I needed toe up with a n to ingratiate myself with her. The one that came to mind was that I should help her get rid of the painting.


    "What happened here?" The headdy-in-waiting inspected the ck mark on the wall at the top of the painting. With her arms folded, she ordered, "I remember it was perfectly fine yesterday. How did this happen? Actually, let''s put that aside for now. Go and get adder to remove the stain!"


    I responded with a nod. It was my n. At the end of the work day yesterday, I sneakily made a mark there. It wasn''t visible at night under the dim lights, which was why it was a perfect opportunity for me. After I brought thedder over, the headdy-in-waiting told me, "Take the painting down; else, it''ll be too dangerous."


    "Yes, Ma''am."


    I took the painting down. The headdy-in-waiting carefully leaned it on one of the far walls. I took in a deep breath. Thedder was slightly wobbly before I climbed it, but I never mentioned it on purpose. I nned to wobble then pretend to rip the painting down while trying to regain my bnce. Unfortunately, the n no longer looked usible. Despite the disappointment, I nced over to check the distance.


    I judged it to be possible. Nheless, if I fell down from my position¡­ I didn''t know how to ensure my own safety¡­ I was able to keep my bnce on thedder. If I fell from there, though, I wouldn''t be able to do so without getting hurt for thedder was quite high¡­


    Stalling due to hesitation, the headdy-in-waiting asserted, "Hurry and get rid of the stain. Her Majesty will be meeting with her vassals here very soon. We can''t let her be embarrassed!"


    As aforementioned, the headdy-in-waiting was extremely strict. She didn''t want to allow Queen Sisi to be embarrassed in any capacity.


    I thought, "Does it not ur to you all that what''s truly embarrassing her is the painting?! Do I really need to spell it out for you?! I don''t think you''d even want to believe me if I told you, but Queen Sisi thinks the painting is embarrassing. Why would you bring it out?!


    It appears that I have no alternative. If I want to guarantee Queen Sisi had a good evaluation of me, I have no other choice now. This is the best opportunity I have. If I miss this opportunity and embarrass Queen Sisi, it''ll be pointless even if I destroy the paintingter. Well, it appears I''ll have to take a gamble¡­ Man, I pray I don''t break a leg doing this¡­"


    I took in a deep breath. I vigorously swung my arm. The unstabledder cracked. Next, with the headdy-in-waiting''s scream apanying the timber cracking, I fell sideways onto the ground.


    The bucket in my hand couldn''t have poured onto the painting any more precisely. While I was at it, I scrunched it up with my hand. At the same time, my leg was stuck in between the snapped portions of thedder. A clear crack and painful sensation took my breath away. I fell limp on the ground. I watched the headdy-in-waiting scream and crying for help.


    The critical question was, "Was it¡­ worth it in the end¡­?"

 Chapter Volume 5.2 10

    <em>Queen¡¯s Joy</em>


    "What have you done?! What have you done?! What have you done?!! Oh my god¡­ This is Her Majesty''s painting! This is Her Majesty''s painting!!! What have you done?!"


    The headdy-in-waiting revealed a flustered reaction for the first time. She stood in ce with a stupefied look and yelled at me. I smiled helplessly. My left foot hurt almost hurt enough to knock me out, yet she was still concerned about Queen Sisi''s childhood painting. Not only did she not care about my leg, but didn''t even want to help move thedder off me. I gasped and asked, "Aren''t you going to show me some concern? I think my leg is broken¡­ Can you call a doctor for me¡­?"


    "It doesn''t matter how many of your legs broke! This is Her Majesty''s painting!! This is her only painting. Not to mention that it was what the previous King left behind! What are we to do now that you''ve ruined it?!!! You wouldn''t be able to restore it with your life! Queen Sisi is definitely going to kill you! This is Her Majesty''s painting!!" The headdy-in-waiting was so worried that she was on the brink of tears. She wiped her tears and shouted in a hoarse voice.


    The entire Imperial Pce was plunged into disorder. Thedies-in-waiting panicked as they came from all over the ce to see what was going on. I carefully grabbed thedder. It only budged ever so slightly, so I gave up. I nked every several times. Thedies-in-waiting rambled, but God forbid I could tell what they were saying.


    "What''s the matter? Nobody came to wee me when I returned. Instead, the entire pce is in chaos. What happened?"


    While the chaos ensued, Queen Sisi''s voice came from the door. She was evidently annoyed, which was perceived from her tone. Under normal circumstances, there should be people waiting on her from the door. Unfortunately, there was the amiss there, causing almost everydy-in-waiting to forget about it. Queen Sisi stood at the door, looking ticked off. She figured out what happened without needing an exnation.


    "Y-Your Majesty¡­"


    The headdy-in-waiting''s legs trembled beneath her, her lips ashen. When she spoke, her voice trailed slowly as if her words are unwilling to take flight. She dropped to the floor with a thud and cried, "Your Majesty¡­ I¡­ It was my mistake¡­ I failed to protect your painting¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ I will repent with my life¡­ Sorry!!"


    I was right. There was a hint of pleasant surprise in Queen Sisi''s gaze when she heard the painting was ruined. However, that hint quickly vanished. She scanned everything around then questioned, "It doesn''t look as though it was your fault. Maria, rise. I can tell that it wasn''t your fault but Little Doggy, am I right? Little Doggy, what have you done?"


    I hopelessly exined, "As you can see, I fell from thedder and idently tore your painting."


    "Do you know what you did?"


    Queen Sisi crossed her arms and coldly looked at me. Thedies-in-waiting around silently and carefully took a step back, afraid Her Majesty''s mes of rage would spread to them. I knew, however, that Queen Sisi''s rage wasn''t genuine; it was just an act. I replied, "I know. I know what I destroyed, and I am mentally prepared. Your Majesty, there is no doubt that I will repent with my life for ruining your painting."


    "Will you?"


    The headdy-in-waiting fought to yell first as if she was afraid Her Majesty wouldn''t kill her: "Me, too. I failed to protect your painting; I will also repent with my life!"


    Queen SIsi said, "You know, my father once said that a King''s authority is never established by killing people for any idiot can kill another. A King''s authority and right is tolerance and forgiveness for that was only something a King could do. It''s just a painting; I don''t mind. If others learnt that I killed two people for the sake of a painting, I would be too petty and heartless. I won''t kill you two; therefore, don''t worry. Maria, tidy up this ce. While you''re at it, ask a doctor to check Little Doggy''s leg. Little Doggy, I will pay you a visit. After all, if I don''t visit you when you break a leg, then it would be negligence and heartlessness on my part."


    "Really¡­?"


    Thedies-in-waiting around dispersed. Perhaps they went to call a doctor. Queen Sisi came up to my side. She looked down at the painting I managed to scrunch into something indiscernible. She squatted down and, next to my ear, she whispered, "How nice, Little Doggy. You really are the same as a dog. You are capable of sniffing out my enemies. I''m very pleased. This painting would embarrass me if anyone saw it. Now I won''t have to feel embarrassed."


    Maria still cried with her head down. I struggled to sit up. I quietly replied, "I see that there are things you are not good at, too, Your Majesty."


    "That''s a given. I''m not almighty, but I''m aware of that. I think that I''m good enough."


    Queen Sisi was right. There''s no one who is capable of everything. Howbeit, not everyone is aware of that. Queen Sisi scrubbed my head and grinned: "Take care of your injury, Little Doggy. I am pleased with your performance. As I said, you are always able to bring something different to the table. I''m bing more and more reluctant to let you leave. I hope you can make me happier."


    A doctor hastily rushed in from outside. He froze when he saw Queen Sisi. He misunderstood something happened to her. She gave him a smile: "Come,e,e,e and treat my Little Doggy. I really like Little Doggy. I hope he brings me a happier future. Don''t let him die on me now."


    "Yes, Your Majesty!"


    (<strong>Author note:</strong> In Veirya''s route, Achilles spent an exorbitant sum of money to purchase the drawing, thereby buying Queen Sisi''s trust.)

 Chapter Volume 5.2 11

    <em>Queen''s Favoured Vassal</em>


    They say that nerve and bone injuries require a hundred days to heal. I had rested my fractured ankle for some time already. Queen Sisi continued paying me a wage and providing me with food so that I could live through my recuperation. Leah was very happy during my recuperation. Despite her young age, she took care of me, an adult. Ady-in-waiting from the imperial pce would send me food. The food wasn''t anything sumptuous, but it was enough to keep our bellies warm. Queen Sisi never visited me. Speaking of which, I was quite perplexed for, before my injury, I was always thinking about how to escape the loathsome Queen. However, noticing that she didn''t visit me after so many days, I began to feel unhappy and frustrated.


    "Papa, do you really not want to have a good rest? Your foot hasn''t fully recovered, has it?''


    "I don''t think it will."


    I shook my left foot. I wasn''t sure if a nerve was damaged or not because it was extremely difficult to move my left foot. It was akin to it dering independence from my brain. I wasn''t used to walking with it in that state. Leah grabbed my cloak from the side and checked my foot with concern. She softly expressed, "Papa, Leah thinks you should rest some more¡­ Plus, being with Papa makes Leah happy. Leah feels bored here when Leah is alone¡­"


    "Mm¡­ That''s a problem. I''m sorry for neglecting you before, Leah."


    I realised I was focused solely on how to please Queen Sisi and escape her before my injury, thereby forgetting about Leah, who called me ''Papa''. I woke up early and returnedte every day. The time Leah and I spent together was limited to sleeping. That was why Leah was bored in the room during the day.


    Leah docilely leaned over and hugged my arm. I hugged my newly adopted daughter and pursed my lips.


    I began to think, "What should I do? Bringing her alongside is certainly not realistic. The atmosphere in Queen Sisi''s imperial pce may not be very serious, but it''s a ce with rules and regtions when ites down to it. It''s no ce for me to be raising my child even if she obediently sat there.


    Now that I think about, I don''t have any other reason¡­ I can''t continue wasting time here. I couldn''t move around due to my foot injury, which was why Queen Sisi didn''t say anything. If I continue to wait for thedies-in-waiting to deliver food, though, they''ll soon begin toin. After theirints reach Queen Sisi''s ears, I might be thrown out. She''ll surely hate us if not throw us out. I don''t seem to have a choice, then¡­ I can''t keep Leah by my side, but then I can''t stay by her side, either¡­ This is contradictory¡­ What should I do? Wait¡­ I think I just made a wrong assumption."


    I adjusted my thoughts again to see if I misinterpreted anything¡­


    Leah said that she got bored. There was nothing wrong with the ce¡­ but I mistook something¡­ For Leah to not be bored, I had to be with her.


    I kissed Lean on the forehead: "I''ll think of something, Leah. When Ie back tonight, I''ll provide you with a proper answer, Leah."


    "Uhm¡­" Leah looked at me with a tinge of distrust (Author note: Leah and Ol'' Lin had yet to be close at this point). Nevertheless, she didn''t have a way of refusing, so she just gave a reluctant nod.


    As soon as I took a step, I wobbled slightly¡­ I really wasn''t use to it. My left foot wouldn''t flex. I quickly leaned on the hall.


    "Papa, are you sure you''re okay¡­? Your leg has not yet fully recovered¡­ You¡­ you should rest some more¡­"


    "No need, Leah. If that Queen finds out we''ve been mooching for free here, I''m sure the consequences will be serious."


    Leah stopped talking at the mention of Queen Sisi as I thought. Evidently, Queen Sisi left Leah with a psychological trauma after she tortured the girl. If Leah was still a kid, just enunciating Queen Sisi''s name could probably get Leah to stop crying.


    I wobbled to the imperial pce. Thedies-in-waiting didn''t think I''d be back again, apparently. The headdy-in-waiting was also surprised to see me. She gently cleared her throat: "How is your leg?"


    "As you can see, I doubt I can do any heavy work in the future."


    "Tch¡­"


    In my mind: "Oh, you don''t feel it''s a pity for my foot, but that it''s a pity that you''ve lost a ve to order around! I must be a domestic animal to this woman! What a vicious woman¡­ Queen Sisi is still worse, nheless¡­"


    "What''s wrong? Howe everyone is here? Shouldn''t there be work right now?" I asked after seeing so manydies-in-waiting without work.


    "Her Majesty is with a guest in her private kitchen. We are awaiting orders here."


    My response was a nod. In that case, Queen Sisi''s guest was bound to be some famous and prestigious guest. Actually, they must be her favourite person. Normally, she would never receive a guest in her private kitchen. At most, she''d meet them in this imperial pce but wouldn''t invite anyone for a meal. For them to have the right to enter Queen Sisi''s residential pce, not to mention via invite and have the maids on standby, the individual must''ve unquestionably been Queen Sisi''s favourite individual.


    "Who exactly is that person to be able to win the favour of the odious Queen? Also, they should have a big appetite¡­ Otherwise, there wouldn''t be so manydies-in-waiting delivering food¡­" I assumed.


    The stack of empty tes on the cart by the side gave the impression that several people were dining together¡­


    ========


    Sitting at the table in the dining hall, Queen Sisi supported her face in her handed. With a crafty smile, she watched Veirya, who wore a cold expression while wolfing down food.


    "So, you killed them and then gave the food to the elves. In the end, you came back after eating all of the remaining food?"


    "There''s. Nobody left there. There''s no food. To continue living. There, either."


    Veirya was calm despite that.


    "It was my mistake. It was a foolish decision to send you to the North," Queen Sisimented with a sigh. Queen Sisi looked at Veirya, who leaned back, and smiled helplessly: "I was folly on my part. It''s all right, Veirya, it''s not your fault. I shouldn''t have let you go in the first ce¡­ I want to attack the elves now¡­ but, without a replenishment base, how do I transport supplies over¡­? It seems I''ll have to put the n on hold for a while¡­ Who do I have that would be suited to going there¡­? Hmm¡­ let me have a think¡­"

 Chapter Volume 5.2 12

    <em>Queen¡¯s Promise</em>


    "Ah¡­"


    I never imagined Queen Sisi''s guest was Veirya¡­ It was awkward when our eyes met. Veirya came out from the dining hall and scanned thedies-in-waiting around before fixing her eyes on me. I had no idea what to say.


    "Should I greet her, or should I salute her with the same level of respect as given to the Queen? Or does Veirya have something to say to me?" I pondered.


    Veirya didn''t give me a chance to reach a conclusion, nheless. I believed that I processed and pondered things fast, but Veirya''s patience ran dry even faster. She walked off. Queen Sisi remained in the dining hall even after Veirya left. Thedies-in-waiting tensely regarded each other. The dining hall was dead silent as if there was no one present. Or, perhaps, there was an angry Queen who was inside the dining hall, looking to vent on someone for some therapy. I didn''t know what Veirya and Queen Sisi discussed. But nevertheless, it didn''t seem harmonious. Unlikest time when Queen Sisi didn''t hesitate to hug her warrior despite her being covered in blood, Veirya apparently disappointed Queen Sisi this time.


    I took in a deep breath and squeezed through the crowd to head to the dining hall. I knocked on the door. I heard the sound of Queen Sisi knocking on her ss. I surmised it was her indication for me to enter.


    I entered the dining hall. Queen Sisi was still sitting on her master seat. She fiddled with an exquisitely carved fork, appearing to be deep in her own thoughts. I went to speak, but she swiftly made a hush hand gesture: "Wait, my little doggy. Be quiet for now. Be quiet for now. I''m serious. I''m thinking. I''m thinking about something very, very important. Serious. Don''t speak¡­ Well, youpletely derailed my thoughts. So, what is it now, Little Doggy?"


    I doubt any sane person would''ve been able to handle Queen Sisi''s abrupt change of mind¡­ Wearing a helpless smile, I expressed, "Your Majesty, I wanted to report to you since my foot has healed. Thank you for taking care of me."


    "I''m not blind. If you could walk here, it''s enough proof that you''ve healed, isn''t it?" Queen Sisi grouchily red at me. Then, she threw aside her fork and got up. She irritably scratched her head and muttered to herself, "How could I be so foolish. Damn it. I shouldn''t have sent her, but I don''t have a better candidate at the moment, do I¡­? Aaaahh, darn it. There are usually always people around me, yet they''re all rubbish bins. Not one of them can be relied on when I need them."


    I cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, should I or should I not ask why exactly you are so frustrated?"


    I had no way of guessing what her issue. I didn''t know the contents of her discussion with Veirya. I knew even less about what happened during my time off to heal my foot.


    Queen Sisi shook her head: "Nothing. It''s just that my n will have to be dyed. I take that back. It can''t be enacted now. I have no one loyal and reliable enough to take up the most important post at the moment."


    I was curious what the post was. My brain wildly sent me hints, telling me to take up the job. It was an opportunity from the heavens. Queen Sisi needed someone loyal and reliable. Why couldn''t that person be me? Didn''t that mean that I had a legitimate reason to leave under her orders? As long as I could leave Queen Sisi, I could ensure that I couldplete the task she assigned me. I could take Leah along with me, which would perfectly fulfil my promise to her. I could stay by her side henceforward; I wouldn''t have to wake early and returnte, either. Thus, I asked, "Your majesty, what is it about?''


    "Little Doggy, you''re asking too many questions. Since when did dogs ask their owner so many questions?"


    Queen Sisi''s dangerous smile hinted to me that I had gone too far. She was annoyed, and patience wasn''t her forte. Consequently, I shut up. I tried to read her. I had no clues that could help me figure out what was on her mind. Rather, perhaps it was better to ask Veirya what happened. It would be much simpler to get Veirya to spill something than Queen Sisi.


    I made a small bow. I knew that the smartest decision in that situation was to get out of there and fast. However, I had something I had to do. Queen Sisi stood at the window with her arms folded, presumably continuing her contemtion of whatever it was. I was hesitant to speak for it most certainly wasn''t the appropriate time to. If I didn''t, though, how would I face Leah? Should I have just waited?


    Noticing me still standing there, Queen Sisi looked over and frowned, "Do you have other business? Little Doggy, I hope you have something that can cheer me up to say. Howe you''ve be stupid after breaking your leg from your fall? You should be very clear what you should do in this circumstance, yet you''re still here. You best say that something that amuses me."


    "Truth be told, it will not make youugh. Rather, it is a request I wish to make of you." I checked her response before borating, "I apologise, Your Majesty. I know that this is not the right time to make a request, but sometimes, once you miss it, you will no longer have the chance. I hope that you can help Leah settle down. She is lonely at the moment. I hope to give her something to do. Allow her to stick with me, or you can allow me to go and resolve the problem so that Leah and I can leave."


    Queen Sisi snickered: "Really now? Little Doggy, you sure are quite amazing, huh? You''re providing me with options now of all times? Why do I have to choose? You''re only my prisoners of war. What right do you have to be negotiating conditions with me? All right, give me a reason for why I must choose."


    Queen Sisi walked up to me. I didn''t avert my gaze on her. I looked straight into her heterochrommia eyes and replied in a quiet voice, "Because¡­ that painting."


    "I already took care of you."


    "I meant your attitude toward it. You and your father seem¡­ to have had a good rtionship. My situation with Leah is the same. I am sure you understand how Leah feels."


    Queen Sisi fell into a silence. She scratched her burgundy hair before replying, "Geez, Little Doggy, your brain is annoying me, especially right now. Get out now. I''ll do something but, right now, get out."

 Chapter Volume 5.2 13

    <em>Queen''s Friend</em>


    "I am seriously so annoyed. Half a day of searching, yet there''s not one person who can go there. I''m not blind; I know the chapel is gradually taking control over the North. I thought Veirya would be able to control the chapel a little if I sent her there, only for me to overlook the fact that she''s an idiot. She''s back now, which means that I don''t have a single ally in the North. The chapel is running the entire border, which makes them a thorn in my side." Queen Sisi heaved a heavy breath. She then she looked at Achilles, who was silent, and asked, "Achilles, you''re one of the businessman I trust and arepetent. I trust yourwork. Do you have any sufficiently loyal and capable enough to take back control of the North for me?"


    "Your Majesty, I can only say that the chapel now has full control over the North. Initially, I nned to do some business with the elves. Unfortunately, they sealed the deal on an agreement with the chapel. At present, the chapel has power and authority in the North. With the elves, who have also received gifts from the chapel, added to the equation, we have no means of taking control of the North. I would argue that the wisest decision is to give up on the North."


    Achilles was aware that his answer was a rtively tough pill for Queen Sisi to swallow, but the chapel was the true ruler of the North. They were definitely waiting to smuggle vouring. Trying to stop that was unrealistic for the chapel didn''t need to bring it out. They could even stay in the North. How it was brought back was up to the crazy buyers. To add, the North was also in contact with the dwarves. When they worked things out with each other, they could directly transport weapons from the dwarves. Queen Sisi didn''t have any spies in the North; they had no clue what the chapel was up to. The chapel no longer needed to join hands with Achilles, which meant that he had to return from the North to avoid getting in trouble himself.


    Queen Sisi''s strategy for the Northpletely fell through. Not only did her n to attack the elves fail but even lost in the race against the chapel. That was the most disgraceful and uneptable failure that she had suffered.


    "I know that. In that case, I''ll have to destroy the chapel by force. With that said, without a legitimate reason, I''m afraid we''ll lose the support of the people."


    Queen Sisi wanted a legitimate reason to demolish the chapel. If there was concrete evidence that the chapel revolted or tried to assassinate her, then it would work, but she didn''t have any excuse. Destroying the chapel without an excuse would only result in losing her peoples'' support. Furthermore, attacking the chapel with force was unfeasible. Everyone knew of Angelina''s reputation. Veirya wasn''t the only one who could defeat the Demon King in a one on one fight; Angelina could, as well.


    Additionally, Queen Sisi knew Veirya wasn''t Angelina''s match. Veirya was hailed as humanity''s strongest soldier, but that was because Angelina wasn''t active on the battlefield. Veirya only managed to y the Demon King thanks to the severe injury he suffered at the hands of Angelina the night before his death. Worth noting was Angelina inflicted a severe wound on the Demon King with her bare hands. If such a killing machine were to strike first, it was unlikely she could be stopped.


    Queen Sisi needed someone to sort the issue out. She, alone, wasn''t enough. She couldn''t leave the imperial pce. She needed a brilliant human to investigate the chapel. Queen Sisi didn''t have any candidates in mind. As she said before, she had countless people with brown noses, but not one was reliable.


    "Achilles, go and investigate the chapel. See if they are up to anything questionable. It''s best if you can find illegal weapons or something. Also, do your best to eliminate all of those adventurers. We can''t allow the chapel to control them. Then get Veirya to return to me. Just what exactly does the chapel want?!"


    Queen Sisi didn''t know what the chapel wanted, but it undoubtedly wasn''t to her benefit. She was extremely vignt of the chapel. Their rtionship with each other was decent, but the chapel knew what Queen Sisi had in mind. Thus, they began to conceal their activities. While it was unclear what it was, they wouldn''t hesitate to attack Sisi if it meant protecting themselves.


    "Who else do I have around me that I can trust?"


    Queen Sisi heaved a heavy breath again. She scanned her empty imperial pce mncholically. She wasn''t lonely. Even in times when the world turned their backs on her, she had a loyal friend. However, when she sat on the throne, she had to find new friends to make her thronefortable enough for her desire. Queen Sisi relied on those around her time and time again to ovee obstacles. After she overcame each obstacle, though, she''d need new friends. She viewed friends as another consumable product. Did she have friends to use this time, though? She didn''t know.


    I figured that I really might''ve offended her to some degree when she was frustrated. I might''ve fallen out of favour as a consequence for all I knew. Strictly speaking, I wasn''t exactly in favour, but, at the very least, I was somewhat trusted. I wondered what arrangements she''d have for Leah.


    Leah hugged me. Owing to what happened during the day, I couldn''t sleep at night. I didn''t know where Veirya went or what mission she carried out to leave Queen Sisi that furious. I doubted Veirya and Queen Sisi would suffer defeats in battle. The Demon King was dead, so what battle would Veirya fight? Also, I knew how skilled Vierya was. Besides the Demon King, I couldn''t think of anyone else who could match Veirya.


    I reasoned, "This is strange, very, very, very strange. I doubt Veirya would disappoint Queen Sisi in her own field of expertise. Does that mean Queen Sisi sent Veirya off to managend? In that scenario, it''s most likely Veirya was sent to a key location. That being the case, it should be the North that has just been upied, but unfortunately didn''t handle it well."


    I then went on to brood over a bunch of questions: "As for me, what should I do to please Queen Sisi? I''m not informed about the North. As a matter of fact, I''m not even from this world. I don''t have the courage to say that I can manage it well, either. Besides, what''s the point of talking big after Veirya failed?


    What can I do to have Queen Sisi perceive me as valuable again? How do I prove myself through this matter? Also, what do I do about Leah? Regardless, this won''t be an easy bridge to cross. After all, I have a Queen I can''t read the thoughts to deal with."


    l

 Chapter Volume 5.2 14

    <em>Queen''s Arrangement</em>


    When I woke up the next day, I felt as though what I did yesterday was totally meaningless. In the morning, Leah had to spend another day alone. I wanted to tell ady-in-waiting to y with Leah for a while, but she had to sadly see me off in the end. When I pushed the door open, I happened to see headdy-in-waiting Maria, standing at our door. She had her hair perfectly done as always; her sharp eyes were still as intimidating as ever. I was genuinely worried that she came to off me on behalf of Queen Sisi¡­ or maybe she''d pull out a knife and tell me to do it myself. I shook as I stood before Maria.


    "Her Majesty told me toe t-"


    "Before you drop the extremely bad news on me, can I make a request first? I swear I will not cause any trouble. I will secretively leave the imperial pce to never return and swear an oath to never leak a word, so can you spare my life?"


    I carefully questioned Maria to see if I could plead my way out. The Queen didn''te, personally, which proved that I still had a chance to plead Maria. Killing me was the same as me vanishing, anyway. Therefore, if I quietly left and never returned, then I vanished. I was just a minor character. I wouldn''t think Queen Sisi would go as far as sending pursuers to hunt me down.


    Maria didn''t have the foggiest idea as to what I was talking about. Thus, she frowned: "What are you talking about? Didn''t you ask Her Majesty to have someone take care of the child? I was sent to carry out the task."


    "You?!" I was so astonished that I yelled. I then realised that something was odd. I, therefore, quickly cleared my throat: "I am sorry. I am not suspecting you¡­ I wholeheartedly trust you¡­ I just never thought it would be you¡­"


    "Yes, I did not think I would be chosen, either. I am Her Majesty''s headdy-in-waiting., not your child''s babysitter. With that said, it is precisely because I am Her Majesty''s headdy-in-waiting that I obey Her Majesty''s orders. Since Her Majesty has arranged for me to take care of this child, I will be sure to take good care of her."


    I felt relieved. Head Lady-in-waiting Maria used to be my nightmare, but she was someone I trusted. She was Queen Sisi''s favourite and most trusted headdy-in-waiting; you could even ssify her as thedy-in-waiting who specifically took care of Queen Sisi. Her stern, earnest and upright nature was definitely to Leah''s benefit. Furthermore, Queen Sisi''s loathsome character was a clear sign of her wilfulness as a child, a trait that was possibly thanks to Maria taking care of Queen Sisi as a child. In all fairness, Maria doted on children; I''d even argue that she was affectionate towards them. Children she babysat grew up wilful, true, but Leah would be able to be as upright and tenacious as Queen Sisi. Given the above, Maria was actually a splendid candidate. It seemed Queen Sisi sincerely put some thought into selecting a candidate.


    Leah hid in the room and cautiously looked over in our direction from the door frame. I turned around and, with a smile, called, "Come here, Leah. Come meet, erm¡­ mmm¡­ Auntie. From now on, she''ll be taking care of you during the day. She was once Papa''s superior. I''m sure she''ll take good care of you. She might look scary, but she''s gentle. Come say hello."


    I pulled Leah out in front of me. She nervously hid behind me, however. Obviously, I could understand her concern. Any child would be frightened upon meeting Maria for the first time. Maria looked down at Leah cordially. She suddenly rxed her tense expression to reveal a gentle smile. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Maria could reveal such a gentle smile. Maria rubbed Leah''s head and affectionately conveyed, "Your name was Leah, was it? I once took care of Her Majesty. She was the same as you when she was young. I see Her Majesty when she was young in you. I believe I can nurture you into an outstanding talent as Her Majesty is."


    "R-Really?"


    Leah appeared to rx a little once she saw Maria''s smile. was It clear that Leah was reluctant to part with me. I rubbed her head then told Maria, "I am entrusting her to you, then, headdy-in-waiting. I shall head into the pce now."


    "How¡­ is your foot?''


    To me, it seemed as though Maria hesitated for a long time before asking me that. While it was just a simple greeting from my perspective, it wasn''t something that we could casually ask between us. First, we weren''t friends. Second, Maria knew how my foot injury came to be. I could even go as far as to say that she believed I deserved it. Why? Because she cared about Queen Sisi''s painting that I ruined. She was angry with me about it, so she wouldn''t feel I deserved pity. The fact that she asked me the question indicated that she had begun to think that she was in the wrong. I was in the right. True, I ruined the Queen''s painting, but I did the right thing.


    Surprised, I lingered for a moment before replying, "Pretty much all right now. It will not affect my work."


    "I see¡­ Previously I thought you deserved to break your leg for falling and ruining Her Majesty''s painting. I, personally, raised Her Majesty. I thought I knew her very well. I thought she cherished the painting. She should''ve been as happy as she was in the past under my care; however, I believe I was wrong now. I''ve realised that she preferred an empty wall. Ever since you joined Her Majesty, she appears to have brightened up a little. Perhaps she has grown up, while I am still a maid living in the past. Maybe I no longer understand Sisi. You might be able to make her happier than I can. After all, she no longer likes flowers and skirts but serving the nation. Unfortunately, I can''tprehend any of that."


    "Do you think I understand it?"


    "I know you''re a sharp one."


    l

 Chapter Volume 5.2 15

    <em>Queen''s n</em>


    Queen Sisi woke early every morning, but not anydy-in-waiting was permitted to enter her room to help her get dressed and deliver breakfast. Usually, only her most trusted headdy-in-waiting was allowed to wait on her. Although Maria had gone to take care of Leah, that wasn''t a free ticket for me to enter Her Majesty''s bedroom in Maria''s ce. Instead, anotherdy-in-waiting was assigned to the vacant post. Everyone else could only wait outside. Once we saw Queen Sisi off, we''d begin cleaning her residential pce. Maria wasn''t present for the day, so ourdies-in-waiting were relieved. Apparently, they were nervous solely because Maria would split hairs with them.


    Veirya silently stood at the entrance with thedies-in-waiting. Swords were supposed to be forbidden at the residential pce, yet Veirya was in full gear and had a long sword with her. Not one person dared toment, nheless. Veirya, who leaned on the wall with her arms folded, was as cold as the icy and snowy North. Nobody dared to approach her. I, however, wanted to.


    Veirya wasn''t a fool who''d mindlessly hack people. She was able to control her sword. She just didn''t know when to sheath it. With Her Majesty in the imperial pce, Veirya wouldn''t dare to behave audaciously. Being Queen Sisi''s trusted and loyal guard, nothing bad would happen.


    I sauntered over to Veirya. She asked, "You. Have business with me?"


    I felt that I needed to greet Veirya before I got to the topic: "Mm, nothing really. I just wanted to thank you for rescuing me from there."


    "I didn''t. My original goal. Wasn''t to rescue you. And. I never wanted. To protect you. Or anything. You are just. A spoil of war."


    "Yeah¡­? Regardless, I''m grateful you spared Leah and I back there¡­. May I ask what you are doing here?"


    Needless to say, there was only possible purpose for Veirya''s appearance there. She was there to guard Her Majesty. That was the only way I could get the answer to my real question.


    "Henceforth. I will stay. By Her Majesty''s side. As her bodyguard."


    "I see. I thought you were always her bodyguard¡­"


    "Indeed. I am," replied Veirya, with a nod.


    "Did you go somewhere when you weren''t by Her Majesty''s side? You weren''t around all this time."


    "I went. To carry out. A mission. Her Majesty gave me."


    "Where did you do that?"


    I doubted Veirya would tell me what the mission was if I asked, so I had to ask in a roundabout way. I didn''t think I''d easily find out what the mission was, but I could hazard a guess if I knew the location it was to bepleted. After all, there are set things one would do in certain ces.


    "The North."


    My question didn''t go too far. Veirya, therefore, continued to respond to me. Before I could continue questioning her, however, someone pushed the door open. It was Queen Sisi.


    Queen Sisi spotted me before I could return to the group ofdies-in-waiting. Seeing us converse, Queen Sisi revealed a subtle smile. That was a sign of danger. A monarch''s bodyguard is a sensitive individual, especially since it was Veirya, who was Queen Sisi''s bodyguard. Queen Sisi was bound to have misgivings about me after seeing me associate with Veirya. In saying that, Queen Sisi didn''t appear worried in the least. She walked up to Veirya and touched thetter''s face.


    "Let''s go, Little Doggy, Veirya. Let''s go out together. I want a pet and a bodyguard with me this time."


    "Yes, Your Majesty!"


    Veirya responded with a small bow. I froze in ce, dumbfounded. I questioned, "Your Majesty? You want me to follow you, as well? H-How would I be of use with you?"


    Queen Sisi frowned: "You mean that I have to exin to you why I''m bringing you if I want to bring you? Little Doggy, you''ve been with me for a long time; do you still not know that I''m not a patient individual? Don''t ask too many questions. Just follow along."


    I nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty."


    I followed along without a clue as to why I had to, but Queen Sisi definitely wasn''t someone who made impulsive decisions. She was sure to have her own designs. And so, I followed behind her to the front of the pce.


    The Imperial Pce was simr to pces during ancient times in China. It wasn''t a castle structure. Queen Sisi''s rear pce was her residential pce, while the pce to the front was where she and workers in the pce worked. That was where she spent the majority of her day. On both sides of the path leading there were flowers waiting to bloom. Veirya followed behind Queen Sisi with her head and torso up. Veirya had an imposing and glorious aura around her. Both of them looked harmonious. As for me, I really did follow behind as a pet¡­ I didn''t exude the same awe they did.


    We entered the front pce. The people immediately saluted Queen Sisi upon seeing her. Queen Sisi walked past the crowd with the corner of her lips up. We finally arrived at arge room. Everyone inside quickly got to their feet. I stole a quick gander. They should''ve been Queen Sisi''s high-ranking officials by my predictions. Veirya shut the door once we entered, and then she stood at the door. Queen Sisi and I went over. I helped her pulled her chair out.


    "Wee, everyone. You don''t need to be so flustered; you should feel proud, actually. I called you as I believed you to be loyal andpetent. Further, you have another excellent trait, and that is I believe you are all tight lipped. I''ll be forthright with you all. I want to destroy the chapel!"

 Chapter Volume 5.2 16

    <em>Queen''s Request</em>


    I didn''t know what sort of organisation the chapel was or how powerful they were. I wasn''t from this world or nation, after all. Not to mention that I had been in Queen Sisi''s residential pce the entire time. With that said, I noticed all of Queen Sisi''s vassals who heard her deration were shocked and confused. Actually, I''d say it was disbelief. If Queen Sisi didn''t have a serious look on her face, they probably would''ve burst intoughter. Their reactions suggested that the chapel''s foundation was solid, and they were not easy picking.


    Queen Sisi couldn''t take the chapel down in one fell swoop even if she wanted to. She''d have to, at the very least, stagger step by step. However, there were no signs at present. Queen Sisi just waltzed in and dered her desire to destroy the chapel. Yes, it very much so was executed in Queen Sisi style, but some things just aren''t possible. You can''t change that fact with a single deration.


    With a smile of self-denial, one individual asked, "Your Majesty, are you serious? Surely you jest? Destroying the chapel is not so simple. You must know that their roots run deep with the people. We do not have any excuse to destroy them, either. They have notmitted any mistakes. If we hastily attack them, it will only put us in a passive position. Moreover, the chapel has their own knights. They may have been weakened, but they are still formidable, nheless. Are you saying that we will unite our garrison soldiers or bring the field military into the city?"


    I understood that either scenario was best avoided. Since the so-called garrison soldiers were separated, it meant that Queen Sisi was afraid that they''d unite and harm her. As for the field military, bringing them into the city would aggravate the people. It would make one question if the soldiers were staging a revolt or engaging in a battle. The semantic judgement is that soldiers will kill wherever they go, right? So, if they weren''t going to kill Queen Sisi, who were they going to kill, the people? Additionally, it was tradition to not have the military enter the city.


    Though Queen Sisi had a tight hold on authority over the military at the moment, she didn''t have a hold over the people''s hearts. What would Queen Sisi do if the soldiers started an armed remonstrance after they destroyed the chapel? Who would oppose them? As such, Queen Sisi couldn''t use military might to crush the chapel. She had to resort to an alternative.


    While standing behind Queen Sisi, I had lots of thoughts in mind, but I knew I had no right to give input on the matter. Not where we currently were, at tleast. The people present were all vassals Queen Sisi trusted. I was a mere attendant or, perhaps, pet. I had no right to speak up given the asion. Additionally, Queen Sisi would unlikely heed my opinion.


    I wasn''t even informed of the situation, after all. As a matter of fact, I didn''t even know about the chapel. Such an uninformed opinion was worthless. It was better for me to listen to the opinions of the vassals than speak in that situation. Queen Sisi couldn''t have possibly woken up in a good mood and then randomly decided to destroy the chapel. The chapel and Queen Sisi must''ve been dealing with friction between them for a long time already. Recently, the chapel had been probing where Queen Sisi didn''t want them; I just didn''t know the exact details.


    "Yeah, I''ve heard that before every time I mentioned this to you. You give the same response no matter when I mention it." Queen Sisi dimpled, but I could feel her fire escaping her from behind her. She borated, "What about now? I put my life on the line and used my courage to capture the North, yet I have yet to enjoy the glory of ruling. The reality is that the chapel is in control. You keep iming that you are prioritising my best interests, but every single one of you is just stuffing your faces, waiting for the day you pass on in the imperial capital while the chapel is running rampant in the North. Do you still not realise why I locked you up? Veirya!"


    Veirya nodded. She didn''t give the people present a single moment to react or shout. She spontaneously drew her sword. Next thing I saw was a frozen body followed and a spurt of blood immediately after. A shocked human head slid down and dropped onto a table. The body that was still seated sprayed blood in simr fashion to a fountain, catching everyone around.


    Before they could express astonishment, Queen Sisi loudly yelled, "Nobody is to move! Whoever moves shall die!"


    Queen Sisi''smand stopped anyone from trying to run. Their faces were ashen; lips trembled; not a word woulde out; blood still sprayed. Take a breath and blood would seep into your lungs.


    "Much better." Queen Sisi proudlyughed then sat back down in her chair. She crossed one leg over the other and then resumed: "Now you know. I''ve never been a patient. Do you really think that I''m oh-so fond of you? Stop dreaming. I like the things you sessfully do and your money. I''ll be sure to take good care of your family. Now, whenever you can make me happy will be when I''ll release your family and children! I can''t promise I''ll treat them well."


    Queen Sisi then took off without caring for the blood on the ground whatsoever. I followed behind her to exit the room. Veirya shut the door. The people inside were arguably safe at that point, but there wasn''t a single sound from within. Nobody dared to budge despite trying to escape before.


    Queen Sisi walked in front of me in the same manner she came over with. She continued to greet people with a smile as though what happened never actually happened despite her leaving behind bloody foot prints. She didn''t believe that she did anything wrong. Suddenly, Queen Sisi looked back at me with a smile I didn''t want to see and pinched my face: "Little Doggy, I don''t recall you saying anything. You''re not scared at all, are you? You''re not even shaking. Why aren''t you scared?"


    "Mm¡­ because I was scaredst time already. Last time, Veirya''s sword was on my neck. In fact, she scraped open a cut. After that experience, killing others is no longer enough to intimidate me. In addition, I also know that this matter is none of my business. I am not part of them; therefore, it is only natural for me to not be scared."


    "I see." An indescribable simper crept up on Queen Sisi''s face. She grabbed my cor and whispered in my ear, "Little Doggy, I''ve got a good idea again. Let''s do this: transform from a pet to a hunting dog for me. Go and help me investigate what exactly the chapel is up to."

 Chapter Volume 5.2 17

    <em>Queen''s Bedroom</em>


    "I''m¡­ Her Majesty servant, right¡­? If my memory does me justice, I¡­ should be Her Majesty''s servant. The chapel''s business has nothing to do with me, does it¡­? Shouldn''t this sort of stuff be Her Majesty''s vassal''s business? Tell me again how it has to do with me? There''s no point in me handling this because it''s not my job in the first ce. Queen Sisi wouldn''t be happy even if I seeded, right¡­?


    Is this Her Majesty''s joke? She just gave me a vaguemand, but no specific details for the job. I still need to fulfil my daily duty of taking care of her, right¡­? How am I supposed to have time for this job, as well?" I brooded as I headed back on the same path to the front pce.


    We passed by the same flowers, but there was a ck and white silhouette as well as cheerful smiles this time. I looked over in the direction of the voices. To my surprise, I saw Leah''s bright smile. I had never seen Leah smile so happily before. She ran around in the flower garden. Maria silently stood to one side. She didn''t stand far or close; she just silently watched Leah y in the garden. It was a harmonious scene that could bring peace to one''s state of mind.


    Queen Sisi stopped in her tracks and silently looked over. It was supposed to be a blissful and harmonious scene, but Queen Sisi''s gaze on them injected concern into the scene.


    "Queen Sisi stepped out from a swamp of blood. Now that she''s seeing Leah y around in the flower garden, will she get angry and try to do something?" I worried.


    I carefully sneaked a nce at the side of Queen Sisi''s face. I wanted to figure out what she was thinking from her expression, but she was never one to write her feelings on her face. She had a subtle smile on her face as she watched Leah with her arms folded. Veirya silently stood behind Queen Sisi . She, too, followed Leah''s movements with her eyes. However, she folded her arms instead of putting them on her sword.


    "What is Queen Sisi thinking?" I pondered.


    "Let''s go,"manded Queen Sisi.


    Queen Sisi turned and continued on her way to her residential pce. She didn''tment on Leah, but I didn''t know what she was thinking, so I was still awfully nervous. I didn''t know if I should ask her, but I didn''t know how to ask, either.


    "Should I just apologise? If Queen Sisi doesn''t have any opinion, though, I''ll be in trouble for presuming her thoughts to be ill will, right?" I mused.


    Veirya didn''t express anything. She silently watched Leah y in the garden. I figured that Veirya would express something if Queen Sisi wasn''t happy. Previously, Veirya attacked after Queen Sisi was enraged. The two came as a bundle.


    "Wee, Your Majesty!"


    Thedies-in-waiting weed Queen Sisi in sync. Queen Sisi greeted herdies-in-waiting with a dimple then took off her outer coat with their help. It was then my turn to temporarily leave the ce as I didn''t have the right to enter her residential pce. As I nned to turn around, Queen Sisi abruptly called, "Little Doggy,e in with me this time."


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    I didn''t know why she told me toe along and, evidently, neither did thedies-in-waiting. Nevertheless, Queen Sisi''s words were amand.


    I followed Queen Sisi into her spacious room. It was my first time in it. Thanks to the efforts of thedies-in-waiting, it wasn''t a mess. In the centre was arge bed that was covered with dark red bed curtains. On the ground was thick carpet flooring. Queen Sisi kicked her shoes aside then stepped onto the carpet with her feet in ck stockings. As she walked, she undid her dress''sces. Queen Sisi''s enchanting body suddenly revealed itself to my eyes. She wore a purple undershirt andce panties. Her ck stockings were held against her ample thighs. I knew that it wasn''t appropriate for me to stare, but my I couldn''t resist the urge.


    Queen Sisi wasn''t bothered about me staring. Instead, she calmly climbed into her bed as if nothing was an issue. She snapped me out of my daze with a chortle and stated, "I have ced the information pertaining to the chapel on the table. If you want to know more, go and take a look. Little Doggy, I don''t need you to run around. You''re one of the people around me. You don''t have a chance to thoroughly investigate, but you still need think of an appropriate strategy for me to deal with this. As I said before, I want to crush the entire chapel. I assume that your head isn''t just to house your eyes to gawk at me, right? So, don''t let me down!"


    So, Queen Sisi discovered I was checking her out before¡­


    "Yes Your Majesty."


    Queen Sisi seemed to roll over: "I''m going to have a short break now. Stay here and read through the information. If you do anything to me¡­ mm¡­ if you make me feel good, then I shall forgive you. If you annoy me, however, I''ll be sure to torture you, so watch yourself."


    I was sure that thest part wasn''t genuine. Queen Sisi would kill me either way. She''d call Veirya in to kill me and drag me out as soon as I even tried to approach her. I ambled to the table carefully. I knew that I was only to read the information pertaining to the chapel. I was not to read anything else without permission. I was in Queen Sisi''s room. Everyone wanted toe in but didn''t dare to. Queen Sisi was right behind me. I, in fact, could feel her heterochromia eyes silently observing me.


    All of the documents rted to the chapel were actually letters. The same person sent the letters; his name was Achilles. I assumed him to be Her Majesty''s most trusted person. I surmised he was in the North.


    The chapel had seized control of business and provisions in the chapel, so the chapel essentially controlled the North. Queen Sisi''smand was likely useless there. Given that scenario, what was the most important thing? It''d be to recapture the North. Regardless of whatever the chapel did, the North was still Queen Sisi''s territory. I needed toe up with a n to take back the North. If we weren''t going tobat the chapel in the imperial capital, there was a plethora of ways of getting at them, then¡­

 Chapter Volume 5.2 18

    <em>Queen''s Favourite Vassal</em>


    I ced down the letter in my hand. Ady-in-waiting knocked on the door from outside and, in a soft voice, reported, "Your Majesty, Sir Achilles seeks an audience with you."


    I didn''t hear any movement from the bed behind me. I stood in ce and silently waited, but Queen Sisi didn''t respond. I didn''t know if she was asleep or something. My guess was Achilles wanted to see her about the chapel. The chapel was focused on the North and weren''t active in the imperial capital anymore. In saying that, there were reports pointing out that they had a secret trade with the dwarves and transported a batch to the imperial capital already.


    I wasn''t sure why Queen Sisi was so concerned about the dwarves'' trade. Strictly speaking, the letter couldn''t be considered a letter for there were only a few words scribbled down hastily. Judging from the creases, however, Queen Sisi had read it over and over. She paid a lot of mind to the matter. My question, therefore, was what could be making Queen Sisi so tense?


    I surmised Queen Sisi was most nervous about military authority. On second thought, judging from what happenedst time, the military was unquestionably loyal to Queen Sisi. By that logic, she wasn''t worried about the military since it was unlikely that the military and chapel associated. If they had allied, Queen Sisi might as well surrender.


    The only advantage Queen Sisi had was military might. If she decided to outright wage war on the chapel without worrying about what others thought of her, she could. She had a sure win using that method. It was just that it would lead to others fearing and suspecting her. Further, she would never be able to clear the air with the believers unless she had a legitimate reason for doing so. Subsequently, she would put society in a state of unrest. With that said, the empire could suppress them using force and appease society again during its prime because the majority of people believed Queen Sisi, who had battle merits and more to her name.


    Putting it all together, I concluded that Queen Sisi''s only concern was that her final resort - having the military attack the chapel - might end up in failure. Hence, the question was who could stop her attack. I had an answer for that: military might.


    The chapel had their own military, their knights. Though their numbers were small, they had enough to spare if their goal was to protect their chapel. If the pope dered independence, it would no longer be so easy to surprise a peasant rebellion that consisted of the chapel''s believers. In that scenario, a political affair would be a national war. Fighting another war at this time was not wise for sure. Humanity''s empire would suffer a heavy blow even if Queen Sisi won the war.


    Humanity was currently at their peak; however, the poption numbers had yet to recover itself after dwindling down due to thest war. Losing more of their people before recovering would mean that their position as the leader of the alliance would be invalidated for humanity would just be an empty shell of its former self. Without enough power, they couldn''t ask the elves and dwarves to do anything. To the contrary, the elves and dwarves were associated, so it might turn into arge-scale war with everyone against humanity.


    Queen Sisi, in turn, would turn into a demon king. She knew well and truly how the previous Demon King died. If the chapel''s knights were strong, then Queen Sisi really would lose her advantage if she couldn''t guarantee herself a victory. Thus, the dwarves would definitely provide the chapel''s knights with things to reinforce theirbat prowess. The question was what would aforementioned things be? Weapons? Most probably so.


    What also needed to be factored in was that the chapel''s knights didn''t need weapons. After all, they were bound to have prepared weapons for themselves. Why, then, would the chapel need more weapons? A possible exnation would be that they were expanding. In an era of peace, why would you need to purchase weapons? Purchasing weapons means that you had an enemy to attack. So, the chapel''s enemy was Queen Sisi?


    If the chapel''s enemy was Queen Sisi, the situation was different again. You''re viewing Queen Sisi as an imaginary enemy. Does that mean that you n to revolt? If you revolt, you''re a rebel. Therefore, it would be perfectly reasonable for me to kill you. Whoever else supports you would also be a rebel. Hence, I can kill anyone.


    "All right, let''s go with that as a motive. As long as we can confirm that they have weapons, we can solve the problem," I decided in my mind.


    "Your Majesty, Mr. Achilles seeks an audience with you."


    Queen Sisi still hadn''t woken up. She pulled on her bed curtain. I didn''t know what happened¡­


    "Please don''t let anything bad happen to Queen Sisi¡­ If something happens to her, I''ll be the prime suspect. Actually, I''ll be hacked without the suspicion step. This is no locked-room murder scene¡­ Should I go and take a look at her? But¡­ but¡­ I can''t approach Queen Sisi''s bed, right¡­?" I contemted.


    Entering Queen Sisi''s room was one thing but approaching her bed¡­ that was an entirely different matter. I still remembered what she said to me before she went to sleep. It could''ve been her test of my loyalty for all I knew. If I approached her bed while she was asleep, Veirya mighte out from under her nket and cut me right down the centre.


    I cautiously called, "Your Majesty?"


    Queen Sisi murmured to herself. It sounded as though she rolled over. In an irritated and bleary voice, she responded, "You go. You go, I''m leaving it in your hands. Go and talk to Achilles. Don''t bother me."


    "¡­ Yes, Your Majesty."


    I was no longer sure if Queen Sisi was actually asleep or testing me to see if I could resolve the matter at that point. Either way, it seemed that I had to go and discuss the issue of chapel with Achilles. Moreover, I had to do well. When I came back, I needed to have something to report back to Queen Sisi; otherwise, she might have me executed. Veirya was with Queen Sisi. Put another way, she had another executioner on hand.


    I exited the room and gently shut the door.


    "Why can''t I hear. Her Majesty? What. Did you do to her?" Veirya questioned.


    "I didn''t do anything. Go check if you don''t believe me. She''s just asleep."


    If I couldn''t clear my name, Veirya would''ve ended me. Suspicious, she went inside. I figured the young man in ck interrogating me with his eyes was Achilles.

 Chapter Volume 5.2 19

    <em>Queen''s Written Decree</em>


    Achilles didn''t look old. I wasn''t Queen Sisi''s favoured vassal, but Achilles would''ve fitted the role, in my opinion. Bing Queen Sisi''s trusted vassal at such a young age wasn''t an easy aplishment. After all, she wasn''t one to trust anyone who ingratiated themselves with her. One couldn''t rely purely on showering her withpliments to curry favour with her. Evidently, then, Achilles was apetent individual. He had already begun conducting investigations when a group of people were still on their bottoms, spacing out. By the looks of it, he was one who was good at taking action.


    "Hello, I am Achilles. Is Her Majesty avable at the moment?"


    I smiled: "She is; however, she is asleep."


    Veirya stepped out from the room. She had confirmed that Queen Sisi was asleep and not dead because of me or something. Achilles gave me a small nod then turned to leave. I grabbed one of his arms. He turned around to me. Puzzled, he asked, "Do you have other business with me?"


    "Are¡­ you here to report to Her Majesty on your investigation of the chapel?"


    Achilles clearly froze for a moment before shaking his head: "Sorry, I do not want to discuss this with ad-, erm, sorry, I do not want to speak to someone in charge of taking care of Her Majesty about it. Also, you stole a gander at Her Majesty''s letters, am I right?"


    "No, Her Majesty has also ordered me to investigate the matter. It was just now that she gave me the right to read your reports."


    "Sorry, it is hard for me to believe you from where I stand. I cannot disclose what I am in charge of to outsiders. Unless I have a written decree from Her Majesty, I will not say anything. Therefore, you best not pry too much."


    I refused to let go: "No, I am serious. Do you not think that it is unusual for there to be a male among a group ofdies-in-waiting? Moreover, even if I was ady-in-waiting, how could I have entered Her Majesty''s bedroom while she was sleeping if I was not given permission - not to mention so manydies-in-waiting and even Veirya being here. I could not possibly harm Her Majesty given the conditions. The letters I read were all rted to this matter. They did not transport weapons here. This is very important. What exactly did they do here? What are they talking with the dwarves about?"


    "You¡­ really are under Her Majesty''s orders to investigate this case? That is great, then. To be honest, I am having trouble handling everything at the moment. Let us head to the front instead of staying here, then."


    "Sure."


    We left Queen Sisi''s residential pce together to go to the front pce. Achilles didn''t have an office at the front pce; hence, we just found a random room to borrow and then locked the door. The room appeared to be a room that was reserved for Queen Sisi''s spoil of war. There wasn''t so much as tables or chairs in the room. Thus, the two of us had to stand.


    Achilles started: "I investigated the warehouse today. I''m referring to the warehouse the chapel and dwarves are using for their trade. I bribed a dwarf to find the ce. However, there are only statues of God there. I suspect the weapons might be inside, but I could not break the statues to inspect them. Otherwise, I would have offended the dwarves if nothing was found. I, consequently, had no choice but toe back."


    I nodded then pinched my chin: "So, you mean to say that there is only a big batch of god''s statues in the warehouse, is that right?"


    "Yes. If they have weapons, then the weapons are bound to be in the statues. If there are weapons in the statues, how do we break them?"


    "That is impossible. I do not believe there are weapons in the statues. Why would the chapel''s knights need weapons? I, therefore, can say with certainty that the weapons are not for the chapel''s knights. I would assume they n to use them for something else. As for what that purpose is, I am not sure. Maybe they are reserving them to distribute to insurgents who join them afterwards, but there is no chance that there are that many weapons in the statues. That is why the statues are definitely just statues. There are no weapons inside. It is a ruse."


    "Really?"


    Achilles listened to what I had to say, but he didn''t look convinced. I didn''t know if my exnation wascking or if he purely didn''t believe me. Either way, I believed my reason to be rtively feasible. After all, that should''ve been the reality of the situation. If Achilles suspected my background, though, then he wouldn''t believe what I said. He wouldn''t believe me even if everything that I said was reasonable.


    Achilles queried, "What is your guess, then?"


    "I do not have anything in mind, either, as I have never gone out to get a visual on them. I just analysed the information in the letters. I think that, since the chapel is so well-behaved in the imperial capital, they would not do anything in the capital. What they are doing in the imperial capital should just be their cover. In my opinion, I am sure they were doing something in the North. They did not seize control of the North solely to do business. Instead, I would say that humanity cannot develop the North for they have just captured it. In that case, there are many things that they could do without Her Majesty being aware."


    "Yeah? And what might those things be?"


    "How would I know? I am not their bishop. We just need to pay attention to what is being said in the North for the meantime. It would be best if it was rumours that Her Majesty is sensitive to. Once I hear the rumours, I will be able to have a good idea as to what they are up to."


    "Is that so?" Achilles nodded: "Understood. Nevertheless, I hope to have Her Majesty''s written decree."


    I smiled helplessly: "That, you will need to personally see Her Majesty for. I am only in charge of this job. As for the details, you will need to speak to Her Majesty."

 Chapter Volume 5.2 20

    <em>Queen¡¯s Method</em>


    Achilles was still tense by the time we returned to Queen Sisi''s door. I inhaled and stated, "This is as far as I can escort you. I am not responsible for what transpires or the results of your negotiation. Her Majesty will be irritable upon waking, so I advise you don''t challenge her."


    "I know. I''m also her subject."


    "Break a leg, then." I knocked and quietly reported, "Your Majesty, Achilles seeks an audience."


    "Let him in."


    Strangely, Queen Sisi didn''t sound bleary. I faced away from the door after letting Achilles in. Upon having an epiphany of sorts, I approached ady-in-waiting to inquire, "Is there a map, a world map?"


    "Mm¡­ There is one in the conference room¡­" From the perspective of ady-in-waiting, the imperial pce was the entire world, so world geography was trivial knowledge, at best.


    I had never seen Queen Sisi hold a meeting in the conference room. I had to stand on a chair to have a level view of the big world map hung on the wall.


    Queen Sisi''s powers were gradually emerging from the north. The chapel was purportedly preparing arms. What was taking ce was beyond me, and I couldn''t trust my judgement given how jumpy the topic was. For any conclusion to be valuable, the mysteries needed to be exined. Queen Sisi wanted to keep the matter away from the public eye. She also didn''t want to publicly voice her hostility toward the chapel, or march on them, which would provide them with time to retaliate. She needed a justifiable excuse to send her forces to the north. I had an idea; however, it would require Queen Sisi to personally toil. In other words, sess or failure hinged on herpetence.


    Achilles and Queen Sisi were on their way out of her room by the time I returned. Their countenances didn''t provide much information to evaluate the results of their discussion. Queen Sisi had her usual dimples, while Achilles still had weight on his shoulders.


    "Ah, Little Doggy, perfect timing. Prepare some tea for me. I want to take a stroll outside. Achilles, you busy yourself with what you have to. It''s unfortunate, but I don''t intend to chat over a cup of tea with you."


    "It is unfortunate, indeed, Your Majesty."


    "Go on, Achilles. It''s my current priority, and I want to see a peaceful resolution, understood?"


    "Understood, Your Majesty." Achilles bowed out and gave me a goodbye nod.


    Queen Sisi sensed me approach and pivoted around: "What''s the matter, Little Doggy? Didn''t I tell you to prepare tea? You best have interesting information for me, otherwise."


    "Your Majesty, I have a strategy."


    Queen Sisi was doubtful. Even so, she turned to face the flowers andmanded, "Let''s hear it."


    "I know you want to bring the chapel back from the north butck justification to send your force there. As such, you require a reason."


    "I like the fact that you can tell what I need. If you were a traitorous minister, I would be in danger." The corner of Queen Sisi''s lips was tugged up.


    "¡­ I was thinkin¡­ how about we use the elves and dwarves. As they are close to the north, we can pass Veirya''s territory to the elves, turning it into amerce zone for our two races. We can offer the small town to the dwarves, converting it into their intelligence centre. That will stoke the mes between the two races. The key is that their conflict arises in our territory. That provides us with a reason to send our forces north under the guide of maintaining peace. Most importantly, the two races will seek out private audiences with us to vie for our support. That provides us with more reasons to obtain what we seek."


    "You''re suggesting I give the elves and dwarvesnd we fought tooth and nail for?"


    "How much value does the poornd have? We are not giving awaynd for free but turning it into amerce zone for three parties. All of a sudden, we will have legitimate excuses to keep surveince on both races. They will seek out our assistance to settle their dispute. The chapel will lose their ie since they do business with elves. The dwarves will refuse to supply weapons to the chapel to fight the elves. As a result, the chapel will lose their footing in the north. I also heard the bishop has a child in the imperial capital. Why not¡­ borrow her?"


    The smile Queen Sisi showed upon turning around was hard to read. My hairs stood up just waiting for her response.


    "I think it''s a viable n. As a matter of fact, it''s to my liking." Queen Sisi turned back around to the flower garden outside and borated, "I can have my tea now, right? I deserve a break. Little Doggy, what do you want for a reward if your n is a sess?"


    "I will not ask for anything in advance because I know penalties and rewards are different sides of the same coin."


    "Haha." Queen Sisi turned back to caress my face: "You''re always providing me with refreshing ideas, Little Doggy. Perhaps my initial evaluation of you was wrong. You are dangerous as a subject. If you are loyal, however, my kingdom will be safer, won''t it?"

 Chapter Volume 5.2 21

    <em>Wilful Queen</em>


    "It is so nice to have you join me here. Ever since I grew up, we seldom had the chance to sit together. I thought I would never see you again after you went north, hehehe¡­"


    Queen Sisi crossed her right leg over and ced a biscuit in front of the bishop next to her. He snapped the biscuit in two, startling the birds off. Conversely, Queen Sisi heard it as the song of victory.


    Queen Sisi relished a nip of tea and continued, "This is a nice reunion, is it not? I thought I would see your heade back in Veirya''s hands or it bouncing off a guillotine tform. That would be horrible. It would devour my conscience. It would break my heart if Ascillia lost her father."


    "¡­ Your Majesty, there is no need to harm Ascillia now that you have won, is there?"


    "Of course not. I arranged for her to be escorted to the elvennds. I may not like elves, but the fresh air in their forest and their medical skills will provide the optimal recovery environment."


    Queen Sisi, beaming, stretched out her hand. I scuttled over and bowed: "I am at your service, Your Majesty."


    "You have my Little Doggy to thank. He may only be a dog to me, but he is your benefactor. When I was plotting to kill you, Angelina or Ascillia, he persuaded me to calm down, hence the perfect oue." Queen Sisi leaned back in her chair. She pinched my chin and rubbed my cheeks. Smugly, she added, "Lulling the elves and dwarves. Stationing the military and having the businessmen, who travelled with them, sabotaging and monopolise your market, and sending Ascillia to Lucilia were all his ns. Rarely do I praise anyone. I now want to give him half a city. After all, the north that you upied for sinful ends has grown a lot, has it not?"


    I maintained a calm smile throughout. Sisi released me and folded her arms: "I shall take up Little Doggy''s suggestion. I give you permission to have the fairest and most benevolent end. I will not execute you. Go and take care of your daughter in the elvennds. Before you pass away, neither of you are permitted back into my territory. All of the chapel''s rights shall be transferred to me. You cannot disagree with those conditions, can you?"


    The pope voiced, "Your Majesty, I do not consider that a deal."


    "Because it is not one. It is ckmail."


    Sisi didn''t just possess the north; she had all of the chapel and the bishop''s daughter''s life in her grasp. It was checkmate.


    "Understood, Your Majesty," the bishop weakly replied, downtrodden.


    Sisi went to the window after I saw the bishop out. It was already winter in the north. Soon, the flowers in the imperial capital would all wither. For the meantime, nheless, the sun was still warm, and flowers were still in bloom, albeit past their prime. Her hair and the flowers danced to the breeze''s choreography. "Beauty does transcend time," was a statement the scene proved true.


    "Let''s go, Little Doggy. Set that stuff down. Thedies-in-waiting will sort it out. There''s a job only you canplete awaiting you."


    Sisi grabbed my hand as I was clearing the table and dragged me downstairs before I could protest. The warmth around my hand blurred the walls and shock flitting across faces. Sisiughed heartily and paid no heed to the fact she was barefoot or had little makeup on. She bolted into the field of flowers. When we crossed the same path in the past, she''d smile, but she''d never stop to admire the flowers. Perhaps the weight on her shoulders had been lifted.


    Thedies-in-waiting came running over. I gestured for them not to worry. They couldn''t believe Sisi was ying in the field of flowers as Leah would. She danced,ughed and sung. Never had they seen Sisi so out of character.


    The headdy-in-waiting arrived on the scene. She turned to gesture and ordered, "Don''t worry. Return to your stations. Her Majesty will find her way back when she is done. Stop watching and return to your stations."


    For whatever reason, Sisi''s joy infested me. There should''ve been a knight dancing with the burgundy-haired beauty, but I wasn''t sure if that was me. Suddenly, herughter stopped, and she folded sideways. Scared out of my wits, I sped toward her.


    I ignored the leaves, soil and scent I hauled along. Suddenly, she sprung and pulled me down by my waist.


    "Is this her scent or the flowers?" I wondered.


    "You don''t know how to read the mood, Little Doggy." Sisi, pinning my arms down from top mount and lifting the corner of her lips: "I can''t be crazy alone. I was waiting for you to join my celebration. Do I have to invite you?"


    Sisi licked her lips.


    "If I joined you, who would prompt you to return?" My heart rate didn''t pick up despite the distance between us.


    "I''m a wilful monarch."


    "Being wilful is cute, but you are still a monarch," I blurted without a moment of hesitation. The thoughtlessment had me thinking, "Why do we click so perfectly when we''ve barely had time to know each other?"


    Sisi''s lips stretched to her ears. She rubbed my cheeks vigorously and responded, "I''m green with envy, Little Doggy. How do you know me so well? How do you surprise me time and time again, make me happy time and time again? You''re so dangerous that I want to execute you now. You''re going to be my downfall at this rate. I should kill you now for this nation''s sake before I lose my rationality."


    "You justbelled yourself a wilful monarch, correct?"


    "¡­ Hahaha."


    Sisi bent down and kissed my lips. That was my first kiss and my first passionate kiss. Sisi''s kiss was the a deration of ownership of my lips. By the time she let go and licked her lips, I was gasping for air.


    "I am a wilful monarch," affirmed Sisi, grabbing my hands. "That''s why your duty is to pull me back in line when I cross the line. Guide me when I am lost. Sooth me when I have lost my temper. Yes, I don''t know your background. Yes, I''m privy the gap between our statuses is significant. Even so, you''re right when you say I''m a wilful monarch. I wantnd, wealth and¡­ my love by my side. Little Doggy, prepare yourself to serve a wilful monarch and a wilful¡­ woman."


    I had no choice. Only a wilful monarch imposes a conclusion on one instead of giving options¡­ Yet, the corner of my lips rose¡­


    "As youmand, my Queen."

 Chapter Volume 6 1

    <em>Knight and Princess</em>


    Leah vigorously set down her spoon and stood up from her chair. She looked outside feeling excited beyond what words could do justice and eximed, "I smell Papa!!"


    Without finishing dinner, Leah bolted out. Angelina lingered for a moment then shouted, "Leah,e back! It''s dangerous to be out at night!! Wait for us!"


    However, Angelina realised that her daughter had already rushed to the door. Hopeless, she sighed. She shouted back into the property to have Anna prepare dinner again. Then, she picked up two swords and gave chase.


    The town wasn''t too safe at night at the moment. After all, the majority of the townsfolk everyone was familiar with had left. The injured and straggling soldiers might do something. There were also the merchants who had gone bankrupt due to not making the profit they expected to in the war. Selling a girl to a brothel was absolutely within the boundaries of what they''d do. Leah, therefore, was in grave danger outside at night. Nevertheless, Angelina was somewhat happy as Lin Dongqing had returned, apparently. The biggest problem was whether or not he seeded, though. If he was back, what about Queen Sisi?


    "Did Queen Sisi safely make it back? Is he back in one piece?" Angelina wondered.


    "Papa!!!"


    As soon as I hopped off the horse carriage, I was blessed with a passionate hug. Leah leapt up and hugged me tightly with all four of her limbs, thereby nearly knocking my wind out of me. I tightly hugged her back. The memories I felt were distant instantly came back to me thanks to Leah''s warmth and scent. I kissed her cheek and smiled: "Leah, Papa is back."


    Leah suddenly sped my face and nervously touched my face. She then touched my ears and nervously asked, "Papa, are you all right?! You can see Leah, right?! Is your body in one piece? The elves didn''t hurt you, did they?!!"


    I gave Leah another kiss on the cheek: "Papa is fine. Of course Papa is fine. Papa came back from the elvennds, and Papa even has a small present for you, Leah. You said you really wanted to raise a cat, didn''t you? This isn''t a cat, though. It''s a walking bird."


    I carried out the walking bird with a big head that was sitting on the seat of the carriage and handed it to Leah. The walking bird immediately started calling out as it wanted Leah to hold it.


    I said to myself, "You were clinging to me just now, but you''ve chosen to change your master now¡­"


    As a subus, Leah had an irresistible attractive force that wild species couldn''t resist. Perhaps that was an ability unique to subi. None of the animals that saw Leah would ever run. Instead, they''d approach her.


    "Wow!! This birdie is so cute, Papa! It''s adorably chubby!!"


    Leah slid down from my arms and cheerfully held the bird up to her chest. Boy, I wanted to just snap its neck¡­ Leah hugged it and copied it: "Gugugugu."


    Apparently, she was saying something to it¡­ Actually, I doubted she couldmunicate with animals even with her power of attraction as a subus¡­


    Angelina then appeared behind Leah and caressed her head. With a smile, she said, "Lucky you, Leah. The bird is cute. It must be a walking bird, huh? They work as transporters for the elves. Essentially, they''re the same as elves. Leah, if you raise it well, you''ll be able to ride it in the future."


    "Really?!"


    Angelina instantly won Leah''s attention. Angelina took Leah away from me right away. I instantly figured out what Angelina''s gaze hinted meant. I looked up to see Veirya, who stood opposite me. She calmly looked at me as always. We had been separated for such a long time, yet she didn''t seem emotional in the slightest. I didn''t know what to say. My smile also slowly vanished. There was no one around; there was only the sound of the wind and the horse stamping its feet with its head down.


    Veirya didn''t approach me. I had thought of possible scenarios when we met again, but my brain nked out. I had no idea what to say. Veirya suddenly expressed, "Sorry."


    "Huh? What?"


    "Before. Before you left. You and I. Argued. So. Sorry."


    Veirya''s sincere apology surprised me. I was too contentious; it wasn''t her fault that we argued. I was supposed to apologise, yet she apologised. I thought she''d never apologise given her temperament.


    "Mm¡­ sorry¡­ It was my mistake to be fair¡­ I''m sincerely sorry."


    Normally, apologising was just procedure for me; however, I felt embarrassed to apologise this time. Nheless, Veirya didn''t n to say anything, so I was relieved. Happy with my apology, she came over and extended her arms out to me. I looked at her with surprise, and then she pulled me into her embrace, thereby letting me experience the familiar and painful collision one more time.


    My memories of Veirya and Leah were opaque, but their voices and embraces highlighted them. It felt as though I never left. Veirya didn''t release me. I touched my teeth to ensure that they were still there. I hugged her back and chuckled: "I''m back, Veirya."


    Veirya asked, "Where is Queen Sisi?"


    "In the carriage. She''s fine; however, she doesn''t smell too pleasant. She did stay in the elves'' sewers for a week, after all. That said, I brought back the elves'' detergent. She''ll be fine once she washes herself with it."


    I pulled open the fabric behind the carriage. Queen Sisi had sat up. She wrapped herself up with a nket while fearfully looking at the dark carriage interior. Veirya pulled off the canvas; she looked at Queen Sisi and bowed. In a calm voice, she regarded, "Wee back, Your Majesty."


    "¡­V-V-Veirya?!"


    Queen Sisi shuddered then went limp in the carriage. Her tears poured out of her eyes. Her first reaction was to rx. Then, she wailed and crawled over to Veirya. She wailed on Veirya''s shoulder. I awkwardly retreated two steps, for Queen Sisi smelt horrible. Veirya didn''t mind, however. In saying that, she didn''t hug Queen Sisi back. She, instead, calmly offered words offort: "Your Majesty. Please calm down. You have returned to humanity''snds. You have no need to worry anymore."


    "Veirya¡­ Veirya¡­ Veirya¡­ Thank you¡­ You, too, Little Doggy¡­ Thank you, thank you¡­ Without you two, I really might not have made it back!!"


    Queen Sisi looked up at me with her teary eyes as if she was hoping I''d give her a hug.


    "Uh¡­ I think we should give that a pass¡­" I thought. I had the privilege of being covered in head to toe in that liquid, so I wasn''t too good at handling the smell again¡­


    I took out the small vial from my pocket and exined, "Queen Sisi, put aside who saved you and whatnot for now. You need to wash up first. This is the elves'' detergent. It can easily get rid of the smell on you. Once you''ve recovered, you can return to the Imperial Capital. I am sure humanity''s Imperial City is in anarchy at the moment."


    Veirya added, "They. Wanted me. To be Queen before. But. I feel that. You are the true Queen. And. You would. Be back."


    "Veirya¡­ Little Doggy¡­"


    Queen Sisi returned to crying on Veirya''s shoulder. Veirya still didn''t dare to hug Queen Sisi back. She remained respectful as always to Queen Sisi in spite of Queen Sisi''s current state. Nobody respected Queen Sisi more than Veirya. Veirya''s loyalty was absolute loyalty and respect.


    The pure Veirya was also the Veirya I loved most. I would sometimes question myself in the past; Lucia would surface in my memory. Having returned to Veirya''s side, it felt akin to having found myself again. I really wanted to hug Veirya and tell her how much I missed her. I didn''t dare to think about her while I was with the elves. I finally realised how much I missed her. Everything considered, though, I didn''t think I could hug her. It was dangerous.


    Queen Sisi docilely rested in Veirya''s embrace. The two of them were akin to the knight who saved the Princess. I resembled a retinue who carried the weapons and shields in spite of me being the one who rescued Queen Sisi. It didn''t bother me, nheless. I didn''t want to prove anything.


    Perhaps Veirya, herself, didn''t realise it, but her gaze had a lot more lifepared to usual. That proved she was genuinely happy. I went through all the effort for her smile. Everything that I did was for Veirya''s sake. I infiltrated the elvennds for Veirya and fooled Lucia for her. I did so much and hurt so many people just to put a smile on Veirya''s lips. I regretted it before I returned. I felt apologetic toward Lucia, but the regret and guilt was all lifted from my shoulders when I saw Veirya.

 Chapter Volume 6 2

    <em>Queen Who Lives Here</em>


    Queen Sisi slid into the hot bath. It must''ve felt as nice as heaven in there after being in a rancid sewer for a week. Meanwhile, I sliced up meat. Behind me was Anna, who was in charge of cutting up vegetables. The ingredients were added to a thick broth made from milk, which would be nutritious for Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi didn''t have many physical wounds on her, but the enormous psychological blow from the experience would require some time to recover from. She would only be able to return to managing the nation once she recovered from it.


    "Sir, I have something I would like to speak to you about, which is about what happened at the imperial capital. The military has usurped power at the imperial capital. They have disowned Her Majesty and want to enthrone Veirya as the new Queen, "reported Anna, as she wiped her hands. She checked her surroundings and borated, "Although I know I should not be the one to mention this; however, I am worried Lord Veirya will not tell you. This is of utmost importance. I felt I had to tell you about this since you rescued Queen Sisi."


    "I know. I guessed as much when humanity didn''t pay the ransom."


    If humanity hadn''t turned their back on Queen Sisi, there was no way they wouldn''t pay the ransom. Humanity had the money; they just didn''t want Queen Sisi. End of story. It was the same as what happened with the elves. Humanity could only ept one Queen, humanity''s hero, Veirya.


    How could Veirya be a Queen, though? She wasn''t Queen material. A weapon that only knew how to kill couldn''t possibly be a Queen who ruled everyone. A Queen''s most crucial attribute is intellect, which happened to be Veirya''s Achilles. For them to want to make Veirya humanity''s Queen, they had to either be stupid, or they wanted to use her as a puppet for their own ends. Lucia was different to her. The elves were much easier to keep on reins than humanity. Humanity wasn''t a simple race. Not even I would want to be King or whatever. Queen Sisi had to be the Queen. She was the best candidate for the throne up to that point.


    Anna then inquired, "However, Lord Veirya rejected them, and the military has left the town. Lord Angelina did not allow her daughter to go there. What do you think?"


    "I think that Angelina did well. I concur with her stance; Veirya is not monarch material," I answered. "If I truly wanted to instate Veirya as the Queen, I wouldn''t have gone to rescue Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi is the best Queen, albeit there being a hup."


    "Uhm."


    As we cleaned, Veirya appeared at the door and stated, "Queen Sisi. Wants to see you."


    "Mm, I''ll head up once I''m done cleaning."


    I picked up a hand towel to wipe my hand and then left the kitchen. Leah ced the walking bird on the table and fed it bread crumbs. As an elven species, the walking bird surprisingly enjoyed humanity''s food. I scrubbed Leah''s hand before heading upstairs.


    Not long ago, Queen Sisi ridiculed, insulted and used the Elven Queen who resided here. Fast forward a short period, Queen Sisi was forced to live with the Elven Queen. The room I never expected to be upied was packed. How can one not sigh at the realisation? The North was just a corner of humanity''s territory that nobody noticed, yet was where several of humanity''s biggest events urred to date.


    The elven detergent worked like a charm. Queen Sisi no longer had the weird smell on her by the time she finished her bath. She leaned on the bed and gentlybed her long hair. There was no desire for revenge or resentment in her gaze. To the contrary, tranquility painted her face after escaping a peril. She subtly hiked the corner of her lips when she saw me enter the room. In a soft voice, she expressed, "Little Doggy, I''m truly thankful you came to my rescue. I''ve always considered Veirya to be my knight. This time, however, you were the one who risked your life to rescue me from the jaws of the elves. Unfortunately, I can''t reward you with anything at the moment. All I can give you is my thanks."


    "You do not need to thank me - not that it is what I want, either. I did not rescue you for your sake, either. It was Veirya who wanted to rescue you."


    Queen Sisi supported her face in her hand and chuckled. Sounding as if she had made peace with herself, she conveyed, "I know. Veirya sure is fortunate to have someone like you by her side. Veirya doesn''t have many people with her. There''s only you, but you were willing to risk your life and do whatever it took to make her happy. I once had so many people around me. Countless people pledged their loyalty to me, but not one came to my rescue when I was locked there. They even gave up on me¡­


    "Little Doggy, to be honest, while I was there, I wondered if I wouldn''t be there had I not treated you that way that night."


    "I did try to convince you otherwise, Your Majesty. Asking ''what if'' is pointless."


    "Yes, but, Little Doggy, is there nothing that you need me to do here? I may not be able to performbour work. I, nevertheless, am confident with my wits," replied Queen Sisi. She whipped her hair and exined, "I am no longer a Queen. I doubt I would be happy when I return to the imperial capital, so I will have to stay here, Little Doggy. I hope you can provide me with a shelter."


    "While you are no longer a Queen, I shall still address you as such for I have chosen to side with you. With that said, I must make it clear that I did not and am not helping you for your sake but because Veirya asked me to. At present, our prospects look poor, to say the least. The military has wrestled over control the imperial capital. Although merchants do not appear to be in a good spot, I believe they would choose to help you, a former Queen who might be dead in the elvennds for all they know. We do not have a single soldier. Veirya should avoid getting involved this time. Therefore, the only one you can depend on this time is me."


    "I¡­ don''t see any chance of sess¡­"


    "Did I not tell you that you have me, Your Majesty? As Veirya wishes so, I shall help you take back your throne. You only need me."

 Chapter Volume 6 3

    <em>The "I Love You" She Speaks Of</em>


    Leah had fallen asleep at the table by the time I returned downstairs. The walking bird joined her, curling up into a small ball next to Leah''s side. I smiled helplessly. Staying upte wasn''t healthy for Leah; I had to hurry and take her up. Veirya sat next to Leah. She poked the walking bird''s fur out of curiosity.


    Angelina came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands at the same time. She gave me a doting smile and suggested, "You must be quite tired after all that. I''ll take Leah upstairs first. You should also turn in soon."


    I understood Angelina wanted to let Veirya and I have time alone together. Anna came out with a broth that had just finished. She added some dry meat and bread for one sumptuous meal ording to the standards we had avable. Anna delivered the food upstairs to Queen Sisi, while Angelina carried Leah up. The elves were silent. Apparently, they had turned in already.


    There was only Veirya and I at the table just as when we first arrived in the North. Veirya wouldn''t say anything to me, while I wouldn''t know what to say, either. Despite me aplishing what was borderline impossible, Veirya didn''t give me any reward. I was a tad unhappy about that, but that was the true Veirya. Since Veirya was the woman I liked, I had to be ready to forego any unrealistic expectations of her. Nheless, she suddenly spoke up not long after I sat down.


    "How did you. Rescue. Queen Sisi?"


    I looked up stiffly at Veirya. I didn''t know how to answer. I did something that was literally impossible to do, using a method that easily deserved to be a cult ssic, so I could even brag in Queen Sisi''s presence. In saying that, I didn''t want to share it because I was ashamed of myself. There was nothing worth bragging about when I had to hurt Lucia to seed. Others might consider an elf they could be with or without, an idiot I fooled, an example of my intellect. From my perspective, she was a pitiful girl I hurt, deceived and was then left behind in the elvennds. Moreover, what was I supposed to tell Veirya? Was I supposed to tell the woman I liked that I got engaged with Lucia and even had Veirya''s invite prepared? What, do I just say, "I did it to save Queen Sisi, so you don''t need to worry. I still love you?" Prove to me that would be wise.


    When it came down to it, however, Veirya didn''t seem as though she''d spare me if I kept silent. I hesitated for a while before finally answering, "I¡­ took advantage of petite Lucia to rescue Queen Sisi."


    Veirya nodded. By the looks of it, she wasn''t angry with me using Lucia. Despite being good friends, the two gave their utmost for their respective races as their race''s heroes. They both put aside their friendship when their races were involved.


    "When you were away. I was. Somewhat lonely."


    Given that I liked Veirya, her statement set my face aze. I stared at the marks on the table and shyly muttered, "Truth be told¡­ I¡­ missed you when I was there, too¡­ I''m sorry¡­ for leaving without a word¡­"


    "It''s fine."


    Perhaps what I worried about was insignificant to Veirya.


    Veirya then changed the topic: "After you left. Angelina told me. A lot of things. In the past. I always. Treated you as Her Majesty''s reward. I felt. You should obey me. But. Angelina said. I was wrong. She said. You helped me. Because you loved me. You and I. Are actually the same."


    I looked back up at Veirya, surprised. She, on the other hand, was as calm as always. She reached her hand out to me: "I don''t know. What love is. So I don''t know. If I love you or not. But, I feel. I don''t. Want to let you leave. If that is love. Then. I think I love you."


    "Mm¡­ Veirya, if I may, I want to say the same thing to you, as well, Veirya."


    My heart began to race wildly just as my mind did, thinking, "What''s this considered? Isn''t this a great opportunity for me? They say that short partings make the heart grow fonder. So, Veirya has realised her feelings for me, and she finally understood what I cared about, and she finally sees me as a human being, and she said those three words, I love you, to me.


    "Thest one to say that to me was Lucia. My heart rate didn''t change at all when Lucia said it, but now that Veirya said she loved me in spite of not understanding its meaning, my heart feels as if it''s going to explode. Is this what love is? I know that this isn''t nice to Lucia, but maybe I really never loved her."


    "Uhm. What do you n to do. About Queen Sisi?"


    "Queen Sisi¡­ mm¡­ Someone came to ask you to go to the imperial capital to be a Queen, right?"


    I, personally, wanted to continue with the topic of our feelings for a while, but Queen Sisi, apparently, was more important. I didn''t n topete with Queen Sisi. What would be the point of getting jealous of Queen Sisi? I didn''t get confrontational as to why people asked Veirya why she wanted to be a Queen, either. It didn''t really serve any practical purpose even if I did know.


    "Uhm. I turned them down. Because. I felt. You wouldn''t. Let me go."


    "Good call. Don''t go. They''re not doing it for your benefit or the nation. Their goal is to make you a puppet as you don''t know how to rule as a monarch. My next goal from here is to go to the imperial capital and crown Queen Sisi again. It shouldn''t be difficult. Queen Sisi didn''tmit any major mistake. She should return to the throne since she''s back."


    If Veirya and Queen Sisipeted for the throne, Queen Sisi, admittedly, would be in dire straits. Veirya was a war hero and saved a good number of people in the most recent war. Meanwhile, Queen Sisi was a defeated Queen who I brought back. If youpared the two, anyone could tell who had more support. The people''s opinions didn''t mean squat, of course. Nevertheless, I required the people''s power in this instance. With the military controlling the imperial capital, the unarmed merchants, alone, wouldn''t be enough. I needed the majority, the people, in order to crown Queen Sisi again. If Veirya contended for the throne, then the people would never side with us. That would seal Queen Sisi''s fate as a one-man army. Fortunately, Veirya was on our side.


    "But, hang on. She just said that she loved me. Is that topic already done and dusted?!" I suddenly realised.

 Chapter Volume 6 4

    <em>First Morning</em>


    Leah curled up on the bed in silence. She had transformed into her mature form but still appeared so small and lonely on the bed. Leah was fine; she had enough to eat, drink and a big, warm andfortable bed, yet she still looked pitifully lonely.


    I removed my shirt and carefully climbed onto the bed. Leah seemed to subconsciously detect me joining her, so she rolled over and hugged me tightly, thereby enveloping me with a familiar scent and warmth. I gently wrapped my arm around Leah.


    Yesterday, I hugged Lucia, who loved me, in my arms the same way. Had not so much happened, I might''ve been married to her already, and the room would be our room for consummating our marriage under the candle lights. I might''ve even saw Veirya at our wedding and the pale-faced Francis. I might''ve even kissed in front of them. But nheless, I had returned. I ditched Lucia behind in the elvennds. She had probably returned to that house where I no longer was. Actually, no, she should''ve been in the Elven Imperial Pce. She''d be all alone, silently waiting for the morning air and sunlight in the forest tomorrow. That was her tomorrow.


    I questioned if such a life would be blissful from Lucia''s viewpoint? Her entire life was dedicated to the elves and still would be henceforward. She wanted to change her life. By the looks of things as they were, her destiny was sealed, however. Maybe it wasn''t such a bad destiny in the end.


    I doubted I''d have anything to do with Lucia again in the future. She was enthroned as the Elven Queen, and an Elven Queen couldn''t marry. Hence, she''d spare me. I believed it was for the best that I didn''t tell Veirya about it. Additionally, hiding would avoid sabotaging our rtionship with Lucia.


    I couldn''t let anyone know that Queen Sisi bore with a copious amount of torment at the hands of the elves. The elves didn''t spread it, while humanity''s field military wouldn''t attack the elves. I guess it was thest thing I did for Queen Sisi.


    "Papa¡­" Leah hugged me around my neck while I was thinking. She seemed to have woken up but also could''ve been dreaming. Either way, she began to murmur, "Papa is by my side¡­ I''m so d¡­ Papa¡­ Papa is here¡­ It''s so nice to have Papa here¡­ Papa¡­ don''t go."


    I turned over to hug Leah and whispered in her ear, "Leah, Papa won''t leave again. Papa will be by your side in the future¡­ at least, Papa should be¡­"


    Leah didn''t respond. She must''ve just been sleep talking, but it was what she looked forward to in her dreams.


    I had my most steady and undisturbed night of sleep for the first time after a week. When I woke up the next day, I felt horrible. I didn''t feel sick or something but merely due to not being able to breathe¡­ Somebody strangled me around my neck. In my hazy state, I thought Lucia came to kill me, and take my eyeballs. When I opened my eyes, however, I saw the absolutely sunlight. That said, bright would be an inurate description for the sky.


    "It doesn''t seem to be my usual waking hour. What''s going on with me?" I muttered.


    I turned around to discover Veirya lying next to me in silence. Her sudden appearance startled me. Howbeit, a small hand blocked my mouth. Leah lied next to me with an incredibly weird posture. She was literally lying upside down. Veirya quietly lied next to me but had her arms tightly wrapped around me¡­ tight enough to hurt my ribs¡­


    The cogs in my head began to turn, although the double dose of Veirya''s scent and warmth made thinking an arduous task. I tried to get my head out of Leah''s arms. I struggled to get my head over to look at Veirya.


    "Wait. She might not be Veirya. Normally, Veirya wouldn''t ever sleep in front of me. She might be Angelina. I can''t tell the two of them apart with just their face and hair¡­" I realised.


    Veirya''s hair had grown out a little. Perhaps Angelina purposely sported a hairstylepletely identical to Veirya''s. Hence, I couldn''t tell if she was Veirya or not¡­


    I started to think, "Now then, how do I tell the two apart? I remember that there was an extremely simple method, which was¡­ was¡­"


    I took in a big breath of air and held my breath. I focused all of my mental resources on my hand and eyes. As my fingers approached, my heart rate picked up. I gently touched the cor on her military uniform with the utmost caution¡­ I then pulled it down bit by bit¡­ bit by bit¡­ bit by bit¡­


    "What. Are you doing?"


    I suddenly heard Veirya''s voice from overhead when I was about to see her perfect skin. However, when I went to scream loud enough to make Leah jump, Veirya pressed her hand on my mouth and asserted, "Leah. Is still asleep. So. Don''t yell."


    Veirya pressed her hand to my mouth very firmly enough to make me feel as though I''d suffocate. I nodded in a flustered fashion. Satisfied, she nodded. She pulled her hand back.


    "Don''t yell. Leah is. Still sleeping."


    "Uhm¡­ uhm¡­" I quickly mumbled.


    Veirya then asked, "What were you doing. Just now?''


    "I¡­ I¡­ I¡­ I thought you were Angelina¡­"


    "Angelina. Did this. With you?"


    Veirya''s expression turned dangerously stern, and I picked up a trace of anger in her voice. She seemed as though she couldn''t tolerate it. The correct answer to her question was, "Yes¡­" Nevertheless, I knew that I couldn''t give that answer¡­ I, therefore, calmed myself down as I did in the elvennds then replied, "No, no, it''s just¡­ just¡­ I thought you wouldn''t have done this¡­"


    "Why. Would I not?"


    "That''s not important. Why did you suddenlye to hug me?"


    "I came to wake you. But saw you two so sound asleep. So I joined you."


    "Why¡­ hug me, then?"


    "I told you. I missed you. So. I wanted to. Spend more time together with you."


    My face was beet red. Meanwhile, Veirya didn''t blush whatsoever. Feeling awkward, I turned my head away. I didn''t dare to look at her for my brain would be fried if I didn''t avert my gaze¡­


    Feeling that it was enough, Veirya sat up. She then caressed Leah''s head, but Leah irritably brushed her hand away then went to hug me with the desire to sleep more. s, Veirya didn''t call it quits. She continued to nudge Leah.


    "Papa, Mama Veirya, what''s the matter?" Leah finally woke and asked.


    "Good morning, Leah." Veirya stood up and turned around: "Breakfast is read. Come downstairs. To eat."


    "Sure."


    Having sobered up, Leah coquettishly stretched her arms out to me and beamed: "Papa, help me get dressed."


    Veirya grabbed Leah''s clothes that were to the side. Although Veirya didn''t disy any emotion to speak off, I could sense her eagerness. Leah juddered, regretful of what she requested in Veirya''s presence¡­


    I immediately stood up and caressed Leah''s head. I smiled as I took pleasure in Leah''s misery and kissed her forehead: "Be a good girl, okay, Leah? Papa is heading down first."


    "Papa!! Papa!!!"


    Veirya ignored Leah''s cries. She walked up to Leah while I shut the door as I exited. Leah had nowhere to run now. The mother and daughter had a good chance to nurture their feelings. I say it was worth celebrating.


    As soon as I left the door, I bumped into Ciara, who just came out from her room. Ciara froze when she saw me. She rposed herself with a smile and queried, "You are back, Your Lordship. We were worried the elves would make things difficult for you. Did you rescue Queen Sisi?"


    I did."


    Ciara revealed a stunned gaze when I nodded: "You truly are incredible. We elves never release any prisoners of war without receiving a ransom. You are amazing for being able to rescue Queen Sisi ande back in one piece despite humanity not paying the ransom! Did anything happen in the elvennds?"


    "Sort of. Lucilia is the new Elven Queen."


    "What?!" After checking left and right, Ciara asked, "You are not lying to me, are you? How is that possible? Lucilia, personally, took Her Majesty''s eyes. If that is true, does that not m-"


    "In short, lots of things happened."


    While I conversed with Ciara, Leah and Veirya soon stepped out once they were ready. Hence, I couldn''t say any more. I told Ciara, "I''ll exin everything that happened to your Queen tonight. I think you best not get angry, though, as I''m not exactly proud of what happened."


    "All right."

 Chapter Volume 6 5

    <em>Elven Engagement</em>


    The breakfast Anna prepared for us was Queen Sisi''s leftovers fromst night. Anna cedrge pieces of bread in. The bread had been boiled. It tasted splendid when it was soft and was soaked with the broth. Presentation-wise, it earned a gold star. Anna scooped us generous servings of broth. Then, it was followed up with salted meat, bread and something akin to egg drop. There was also Leah''s beloved fruit spread and sweet whipping cream. I surmised Anna prepared such a sumptuous breakfast as I had juste back.


    Leah cheerfully sat down. Veirya, who sat next to her, picked up her bowl. Queen Sisi came downstairs with careful steps. Queen Sisi revealed a tender smile, void of her usual arrogance. You could even make a case for it containing a tinge of timidness. Upon sighting Queen Sisi, Veirya immediately rose and bowed: "Good morning, Your Majesty."


    "Good morning, Veirya."


    I chortled: "Good morning, Your Majesty. May I ask if our breakfast suits your pte? We do not have the ingredients in the Imperial Pce avable or chefs of the same calibre. I hope you are satisfied with what we can offer."


    "To be honest, I want to try Little Doggy''s cooking more." Queen Sisi chuckled. Eyes cast on the table and head angled, she requested, "Can you spare me a seat?"


    Vierya immediately looked over to me, hinting to me to go and cook for Queen Sisi right away.


    In my mind: "Come on now! Oh,e on! I just sat down to eat, yet you want me to get up to cook?! I just came home, man."


    "Ah, don''t worry about it, Veirya." Seemingly have noticed the signal Veirya gave me, Queen Sisi instantly interjected.


    Angelina brought over a chair again and set it beside her. What she meant was for Queen Sisi to sit next to her. Unfortunately, Queen Sisi was a step ahead. She came straight up to me and sat in Angelina''s chair. Queen Sisi scrutinised the eating utensils before her and then told me, "Little Doggy, I want those. They look tasty."


    "Sure."


    I had never seen Queen Sisi behave in such fashion. Her gentle demeanour and mannerisms were impossible to adapt to¡­ Leah appeared to be in the same boat as me. She had no idea how to treat Queen Sisi anymore. Queen Sisi giggled: "I am no longer a Queen, so there is no need for you to mind. Just be your usual selves. I will have to trouble you during my stay."


    Veirya immediately responded in all seriousness, "Queen Sisi. You will always be Queen. After you. Rest here. Go to the imperial capital. You will. Be Queen again. So. You do not. Need to worry."


    I nodded: "I will go with you to the imperial capital in a few days'' time. I believe it will not take you long."


    Queen Sisi had nobody else to depend on besides myself anymore. The imperial capital was already under the military''s control. The vassals were unlikely to dare to speak up for her, but I was sure the military wouldn''t dare to harm Queen Sisi. My trip to the imperial capital should''ve been smooth sailing as nobody couldpete with Queen Sisi.


    Veirya suddenly stated, "I''m going with you. After all. This has to do. With Her Majesty."


    That was only normal of Veirya to say so, but then I''d have to bring Leah along. Judging from Leah''s health during my most recent trip, I surmised her mental state could be controlled without my care as long as she had Veirya. One of us, therefore, had to always be with Leah. The trip to the imperial capital sounded as if it was a tour all of a sudden. I needed to see if I could investigate the steam engine while I was there.


    <em>Knock, knock.</em> Anna stood up to open the door.


    "Who could it be now? Please don''t be something weird or troublesome asking for my help. This man is busy. Am I the town''s problem solver now or something?" I silently whinged.


    Anna came back with just a strange letter. There was no name or writing on the envelope. I assumed it to be a letter from someone we were familiar with as they knew who to give it to. The first candidate who came to mind was Achilles. If it''s from him, it must''ve been for me, and it must have to do with Queen Sisi.


    I instinctively extended my hand out, but Anna ignored me. She, instead, reported to Veirya, "Lord Veirya, this is a letter for you."


    Veirya lifted her chin, while I raised an eyebrow. Someone sending Veirya was unheard of in my time with her. I presumed it might''ve been from the military trying to test Veirya again. Veirya probably didn''t take it for the same reason.


    "I. Won''t read it. I''m guessing. It''s from them again."


    "It is not, Lord Veirya."


    I couldn''t figure out what Anna''s gaze was suggesting¡­ She borated, "Lord Veirya, this letter is from the elves¡­ for you¡­"


    "Don''t read it!"


    I immediately realised what the letter was when I heard Anna''s response! My assumption was wrong! I bound over, thereby almost knocking the table over in the process. Anna eximed, but Veirya had snatched the letter before I could. She curiously scanned at the letter and I. I knew exactly what was inside, which was why I was particrly nervous! I had no idea what Lucia wanted, but she sent the invitation over!


    "Why?! Should''ve Lucia be the Elven Queen now?! How can she call me back if she''s the Queen?! Elven Queens can''t get married!" I panicked in my mind.


    Veirya questioned, "You know what this letter is?"


    "I know, Veirya. Let me exin. The letter is from Lucia. It''s useless. She''s probably just asking about Queen Sisi''s whereabouts. It''s a useless letter. We just need to ignore it. Just ignore it."


    "I see."


    Veirya obediently set the letter down. I lightly let out a pent-up breath. Nevertheless, I knew I couldn''t leave the dangerous letter there. I was only going to be safe once it evaporated in the fire. Before I could do anything, however, Anna added, "Sir Lin¡­ there is actually an elven messenger outside with something to hand you¡­ and an oral message."


    I shuddered. I went to tell Anna to shut it, but she already ced the object on the table. It was an elven head veil.


    "Queen Lucilia says¡­ her wedding engagement with you has not yet ended. She asks you to return to the elven forest to marry her. She also said to bring Lord Veirya along to attend¡­ Lucilia and Travor''s wedding¡­"

 Chapter Volume 6 6

    <em>Traitor</em>


    I finally knew what, "What goes aroundes around," meant. I always presumed that the marriage thing was done and dusted. Lucia had be the Elven Queen, so it should''ve been impossible for her to be pursuing romance. I thought Lucia would get off me once I returned to humanity. If neither Lucia nor I mentioned it and sealed it in our dreams, then Veirya would never have known about it. I nned to take it to the grave with me.


    "Why? Why did Lucia suddenly send someone to ask me to go back to marry her when she shouldn''t be able to talk about love again?!" I silently fumed.


    Nobody present should''ve known about it. Even Angelina and Queen Sisi were in disbelief. I sat on my chair with an ashen face. I found myself without a word to help me weed my way out for the first time.


    Veirya wasn''t clueless this time. Anyone could notice the aggression gushing out of her. Actually, she could burn the house with her rage.


    "I want. An exnation. You said. You loved me. So why. Are you. Marrying. Lucia?"


    I stood up. I exined, "Veirya, let me exin first. The goal was to rescue Queen Sisi. In order to do that, I had to win over Lucia first and foremost. That was the n I came up with to achieve that. I had to get married with her. That was the only way the elves would ept me, allowing me to approach Queen Sisi. Otherwise, they''d kill me. Veirya, believe me. I don''t love Lucia. It was just a ploy. I swear it!"


    The moment I voiced myst line, I suddenly felt that the more I desperately tried to hide things, the more I exposed myself. Not even I fully believed that I never loved Lucia in the slightest. I didn''t know if lying would work on Veirya.


    Leah licked the edge of her bowl and then coldly denounced, "Papa, you''re lying."


    "I''m not!!!"


    Leah showed no fear. She and Veirya looked at me with the same cold gaze.


    "Papa, Leah can smell the scent of lies. Papa, you''re lying."


    "Veirya!!" I pressed my hands on Veirya''s. Her expression had yet to change, but the calmer she was, the more flustered I was. I had no idea what she was thinking. I asserted, "Veirya, believe me!! I really never loved Lucia! I only did it to make you happy. I wanted to save Queen Sisi to make you happy! That''s all I did it for!! That was just my goal! I lied to Lucia! Trust me!"


    "I need you. To honestly answer. My question."


    "Go ahead. I swear to answer honestly." I took in a deep breath.


    Veirya touched Leah''s head. Leah remarked, "Papa, you can''t trick Leah."


    "I know¡­" I clenched my teeth, thinking, "God dang it, subus Leah really isn''t helping out here. If you know I''m lying, why are you saying it out loud?! You''re destroying our family''s harmony!! You''re just my daughter. What are you jealous about?!"


    Veirya sternly asked, "Did you and her. Embrace?"


    Leah kept her eyes on me as though she was eager to hear my answer. I took in a big breath and nodded: "We did¡­ But, Veirya, you have to bear in mind that I¡­"


    "Did you and her. Sleep together?"


    Veirya spared no cares for what I had to say. As soon as she got an answer, she ignored everything else I said to continue with a follow up question. It was clear where her questions were leading; sadly, I couldn''t go done that route.


    "Yes, but it was a necessity!! We didn''t do anything on the bed! Come on, trust me!"


    "Did you and her. Kiss?"


    Veirya waited for my response. I gyrated my lips. Leah also awaited my response. She didn''t have any intention of helping me. I knew the question was an important one. If I lied, though, I''d be exposed anyway. However, I was at rock bottom, no?


    "Understood." Veirya didn''t give me any time. She nodded, but her expression remained the exact same: "So, when I was missing you. You were there. Hugging Lucia. Kissing her. You said. You loved me. Did everything. For me. Yet hugged Lucia. And kissed her. How can you. Still say you love me? I. Don''t understand."


    "Let me exin!! I really never loved Lucia. Everything I did was for you!!"


    "You kissed. Hugged and slept with Lucia. For me?"


    Veirya tilted her head: "Angelina. Is that love? Should love. Be loyalty? Why. Did it turn out. That way? I don''t understand. I genuinely. Don''t understand."


    Angelina didn''t respond. She, instead, grabbed her daughter''s arm and quietly persuaded, "Veirya, calm down first. Don''t get worked up. When you''re worked up, don''t say anything that could upset people, and don''t do anything impulsive. You need to calm down first."


    I opened my mouth, but¡­ silence. I didn''t know what to say. Veirya''s words were knockouts. I didn''t know how else to exin myself. I loved Veirya. Because I loved her, I married Lucia. There was no way I could exin that. All I could do was tell Veirya that I loved her. s, in that situation, it sounded so insincere and weak. I was out of ideas. Nevertheless, lying to Lucia really was for her sake, except I couldn''t exin it.


    "I just. Don''t understand." Veirya shook her head. She pressed her hand to her chest and lowered her head. She muttered, "I don''t understand. Why do I feel this way¡­? I don''t know why, either¡­ I haven''t been wounded¡­ And. What he does. Has nothing to do with me. Why, then, do I feel so upset? Why? Angelina. Can you. Tell me why¡­? Why. I feel. So upset. And why. I am so angry?"


    I went to speak, but Veirya''s piercing gaze shut me down. What she verbalised was a serious and angry word: "Traitor!"


    l

 Chapter Volume 6 7

    <em>Only One by My Side</em>


    Despite my misery, I couldn''t say verbalise it. I had never felt so hopeless before. I truly did my absolute best to make Veirya happy. I got engaged with Lucia for Veirya''s sake.


    I did it all for Veirya, but why didn''t she understand me? I did everything I could to make up for my mistake. I did my best to stop Lucia from clinging to me. I didn''t go on a crusade for Lucia''s affection. I had returned to Veirya''s side. I could have chosen to stay with Lucia, but I chose to return to Veirya''s side. Didn''t that prove I loved her?


    Veirya left without giving me a chance to exin myself. Angelina pointed outside and thundered, "Go and tidy up your mess. Go outside and exin it clearly to the elf. Tell them who you love and who you want to marry. I don''t want my daughter to have a man with a fickle heart, staying by her side while having ambiguous rtionships with other men. Either you leave with Lucia or be with Veirya, and ensure Lucia won''te over to harass you and my daughter again!!"


    I went to reply to Angelina, but she spun around and left. Sisi stood up andughed: "It''s fine. I''ll apany you. About Lucilia¡­ I believe it had to do with me."


    I was grateful Queen Sisi, who I risked my life to rescue, was probably the only one who could understand me and was willing to help rify the fiasco. I had to go and see the elven messenger and have them put it aside. Veirya was here, so there was no way they could run.


    I touched Leah''s head, but she avoided me. I should''ve been a hero who did the impossible, yet everyone, except Queen Sisi, abandoned me. Even Veirya wasn''t willing to spare me a nce. Unfortunately, I couldn''t find fault with what she said. I told Veirya that I loved her, but then got engaged with Lucia. I didn''t even know if that counted as me betraying Veirya.


    I, myself, knew that I never loved Lucia. I knew it and firmly believed it, but Leah said I lied.


    Did I love Lucia, or have I always loved her? Never. Impossible. I love Veirya. I went to the elvennds for Veirya''s sake, subsequently leading to the string of events. I didn''t have the time to think about love when I was together with Lucia. I admit that I was swayed at one point, but it wasn''t a deep feeling. I didn''t love Lucia. I loved Veirya. How do I prove it, though?


    Queen Sisi and I went out. The elf bowed to me upon seeing me I had never seen the elf before. I surmised he was a new vassal Lucilia had instated. After chuckling for whatever reason, he reported, "Lord Travor, Queen Lucilia''s wedding with you has not yet been cancelled. Since you have returned to humanity and informed people here, you should return toplete the marriage now. We have sent out invitations already, so you should return to marry Queen Lucilia."


    "Hasn''t she already been enthroned as Queen?! Isn''t there a rule that Elven Queens must offer everything they have for elves?!"


    "That was true in the past. After the recent incident, however, elves felt that our previous approach was wrong. We believe we cannot force our Queen to sacrifice everything for elves on her own. Instead, we believe elves should select a representative, and everyone should work together for elves. Her Majesty should also live together with elves. That way, she will be able to understand everyone''s views. As such, the engagement is still effective. You are our Queen''s fianc¨¦. You have worn on for her the ring that represents love, which means that you sincerely love her. Her Majesty is our Queen. Her dignity is, therefore, our dignity. If you lied to her, that means you lied to all elves.


    "ying with our Queen''s feelings is a loathsome lie. You lived in ournds for one week, which means your feelings should be genuine, correct? Regardless, Queen Lucilia is still waiting for you at the border with our elven team. If you lied to us, I suppose you know what the consequences will be."


    "How should I choose now? Should I go see Lucia or turn back now? My decision will be the catalyst for a war orck thereof. I did consider it would be a possibility. If I fail to handle this appropriately, I''ll be watching a war between Lucia and Veirya. They''re going to fight to the bitter end. This is also a war between humans and elves. I have to avoid a war. Why didn''t I think of this?! Why did Lucia change the elven traditions out of the blue? Why didn''t she just work as a Queen? I''m just a human; why is she clinging to me?!


    "What can I do now?!! I can''t go to your forest again! Didn''t I tell you that I never loved you?! Why are you still clinging to me? I know that I was wrong for lying to you, but what can you do about it? You want to dig my eyeballs out?!


    "I really should let Veirya see what I went through. My eyeballs were at risk the entire time. Why does Veirya not believe me? I did so much for her, only for the verdict to be that I was in the wrong?! Why?!!


    "Why in the world am I in the wrong?! Was I wrong?! Should I have not gone? Should I have just stayed here? She wanted me to go, too. I used what I considered to be the best approach, yet this is how I''m treated?! Why?!! Why didn''t I even get a thank you for everything I did?! What in the world did I do it all for?!! The elves want to force me around. The humans don''t understand me. What the devil am I even doing?!" I fumed to myself.


    History repeated itself all over again. The situation was no different to life before I died. I helped people resolve their mires, but nobody remembered me. Instead, I was abhorred, hated, and no one understood me. I always believed there was one person who''d understand me. When people treated me well, I thought I found someone worth my efforts, only for it to end up the same way. I couldn''t fathom why nobody could ever understand me.


    "You have to go," Queen Sisi whispered in my ear.


    I felt a warm and firm hold on my hand. IQueen Sisi stood next to me, my hands in her, and added, "It''s all right. Don''t panic. Just be your usual self. You didn''t do anything wrong. Just stay calm. You were able to rescue me from the elvennds. By the same token, you should be fine handling Lucilia. Don''t panic."


    Queen Sisi''s voice was akin to freezing cold water flowing into my body, cooling my boiling and irritated blood. Her gaze was gentle, yet firm. She cracked her signature smile. She gave me a push from behind: "You''re the only one who can resolve this. I don''t believe there is anything you can''t do. I will always be by your side. I understand everything you did. If you wanted to save me, that was the only way you could. I would''ve done the same thing if I was in your position. What happened has already happened. You''re now in humanity''snds. Lucilia wouldn''t dare to push the envelope. Veirya is here, after all. Therefore, there''s no need for you to worry."


    "I don''t believe there is anything that you can''t do." I never heard that from Veirya before. Only Queen Sisi would say that to me. Not everybody would treat me that way. I won''t ever deny Queen Sisi'' attitude used to be loathsome, but she was genuinely grateful after I rescued her and was the only one who was grateful to me.


    I took in a much-needed deep breath. What Queen Sisi said calmed me down. Strangely, Queen Sisi and I never had any deep conversations, but we were always able to read the other. During themotion with the chapel, Queen Sisi sent an invitation. When she was down in the sewers, she didn''t shout loudly to avoid exposing me. When my feathers were ruffled, she helped me stay calm. I wasn''t almighty. I always had some ws when I acted alone. When I teamed up with Queen Sisi , however, I was truly capable of doing anything.


    "I''ll do my best." I squeezed Queen Sisi''s hand then let go.


    She softly giggled, and let me go. The two of us put some distance between each other and then made our way to the forest that we had just left.

 Chapter Volume 6 9

    <em>Farewell</em>


    "¡­ Travor¡­ I don''t want to force you or hurt you, either."


    Lucia didn''t do anything out of anger in spite of everything said. Meanwhile, the other elves behind her were already furious. She didn''t walk forward. I stood there in silence but couldn''t look Lucia in the eye. If I truly didn''t love her, I told her that I didn''t love her again. I couldn''t give her any chances or hope. Veirya couldn''t ept Lucia, and my life wasn''t ame novel. All I could do and all I was willing to do was stay with one.


    "Sorry, Lucia. If I didn''t know Veirya, I would be happy to be with you, but I''m sorry. As I have chosen Veirya, I won''t betray her." I repeated myself to Lucia again. I had my head down, but I believed my voice was firm.


    "Travor¡­" Lucia whimpered. "Travor¡­. You approached me with a goal, but I fell in love with you without realising it. Despite knowing that you lied to me to rescue Queen Sisi, I can''t find it in me to hate you. Travor, you''re so smart. Tell me, how I can fill the gap in my heart. What do I do now when my heart is in pieces? I don''t want to see you get hurt or hurt you. How can I win your heart, though¡­? I truly can''t do anything. I really want to have you by my side¡­"


    I didn''t know how to answer Lucia, and I didn''t have any means of helping her, either. I knew how much she was suffering, but what could I do? My goal wasn''t to shower Lucia with bliss. If I had to take responsibility for any of the people I ever hurt, I would need more than one lifetime to make it up to all of them. I wasn''t God or a teenager protagonist hallucinating he could chant spells to vaporise armies. It was never going to be possible for me to give everyone happiness.


    Life has never been perfect. There won''t be any addition in life. There''s only subtraction. You will be forced to make one decision after another until you''re left with the smallest part simrly to the logic of being caught in the jaws of an alligator. If you want your leg, you''ll lose your arm, as well. You have to severe your leg immediately to save your life.


    I suddenly felt a hand squeezing my arm. Due to still feeling a weight on me and swimming in pain a soft and warm pair of lips made contact with me before I could react. Queen Sisi kissed me on my lips. I had no idea why she kissed me, but there was no mistake that she was right in front of me and that her lips were on mine. She was extremely close to me. In fact, her face looked fuzzy as a result of her being so close. I didn''t have the foggiest idea as to how to react.


    "Should I push her away now? What does Queen Sisi want, exactly?" I mused.


    After the kiss, Queen Sisi wiped her lips and conveyed, "See that, Lucia? This is the man you like and what he does. You wouldn''t be so na?ve to believe that there would be such a thing as sealing a love with one kiss, would you? The number of human women far exceeds yours. They have superior bodies, are gentler than you, kinder than you and can always be by his side. I now also love him and wish to be by his side. But, see? No matter whom it is and in spite of my genuine and passionate love, there''s not a single trace of joy in his eyes. However, he would go to your ce as soon as Veirya told him to. Because of her, he would go to the imperial capital do perform any dangerous task, and he can tell that he wronged you. He''s not someone who likes to toy with other''s feelings. He did everything solely for Veirya. This isn''t a fair war, Lucilia. Regardless of how much effort you put in, you''ll never win. Therefore, you should give up."


    "Travor, do I really¡­ have no choice at all¡­?"


    Lucia''s eyes brimmed with tears. She was the Queen of the entire forest. Every elf was at hermand, yet she pleaded me over and over, hoping for nothing more than for me to be with her. I knew I hurt her, and I had told her the truth that I just used her, but she still loved me, nheless. She didn''t n to get revenge on me or harm me. She was satisfied as long as I went with her. In spite of being the elven hero who fearlessly faced the Demon King, she timidly and pathetically pleaded me just to have me return to her side.


    "I know that I should tell her, ''No.'' Why, though, are my eyes stinging? I thought I can''t cry anymore. Why do I have such a strong urge to cry now? I know that I can''t be with her. Why¡­ why can''t I turn her down now, though?" I mulled.


    "Travor¡­ Please¡­ Please¡­"


    Lucia''s tears drizzled onto thend where countless soldiers were buried.


    I suddenly felt a cold sensation in my hand. Queen Sisi''s scent and warmth came from behind. She tightly held my hand and whispered in my ear, "Little Doggy, don''t let those touching and guilty feelings lead you into making a decision that you''ll regret for the rest of your life. Remember what your goal ining here was. Don''t cling to this. You should be aware that sympathy doesn''t equal love and nor does guilt."


    I understood what Queen Sisi mentioned. I didn''t love Lucia. I kept on repeating that to myself. I didn''t and couldn''t love Lucia. I didn''te to listen to Lucia cry and plead me. I came to break free from her.


    I took in a deep breath and, in a sincere tone, repeated, "Sorry, Lucia. I know that my apology is absolutely meaningless, but that''s all I can offer.

 Chapter Volume 6 10

    <em>Queen''s Little Doggy</em>


    "They''re. Still not back. I think. They''re in danger. Because. Lucia. Is Very dangerous."


    "They haven''t even left for ten minutes, have they¡­?" asked Angelina.


    "It''s already. Been very long," persisted Veirya. "I have to go. See them. Last time. I didn''t go. And this happened. So. I must go see. This time."


    "All right, then."


    If he loved her daughter, his firm attitude would reassure her daughter. Further, if her daughter truly wanted him, and he didn''t have any misgivings, Angelina nned to find a chance to kill Lucia and snatch him back. He was her daughter''s, after all, not to mention that he was the key to her peaceful life.


    If he wanted to refuse, ten minutes should''ve been enough. Therefore, Angelina reasoned that it would be all right even if Veirya went.


    Angelina and Veirya went outside. Anna inquired, "May I ask what you two n to go outside for?"


    "Protect him." Veirya picked up her long sword and fixed it to her belt after she responded.


    Seeing Veirya grab her sword, Anna hesitantly suggested, "Umm¡­ Lord Veirya¡­ Lord Angelina¡­ I think that it is not wise to attack the elves now. I think it is best if you do not attack them."


    A corner of Angelina''s lips curved up: "No, we aren''t going to attack them. We''re afraid that he might be taken by the elves. He can''t protect himself. We know what we should and shouldn''t do. Anna, don''t worry too much. I''ll keep Veirya in line."


    "All right."


    Anna was privy of her rights'' limits. The man who did have the right to question her master was currently with a fianc¨¦e who appeared out of nowhere. Anna didn''t understand what an elven fianc¨¦e was about all of a sudden. He might have had a change of heart and didn''t dare to say it, but he lost a foot for Veirya''s sake, so Anna presumed the likelihood of him liking an elf was next to impossible.


    "But¡­ but¡­ Veirya has never given him much of a response. He might be broken hearted¡­ I don''t have any right to criticise, though. All I can do is watch their romance. It''s quite interesting, nevertheless," rationalised Anna.


    ========


    Current time at the forest border.


    The elves didn''t do anything, but that was thanks to Lucia stopping the angry elves. They didn''t choose to pester or attack us. Lucia didn''t do anything excessive even at the end. I was grateful she didn''t force me to go with her. Her face was smothered with her own tears in the end, but she didn''t harm me. The elves helped her leave after I firmly rejected her. I was able to breathe a breath of relief for the meantime as the elves didn''t attack us. The matter with the elves should''ve been done and dusted. Although Lucia still might have ideas, at the very least, she wouldn''t tantly do anything damaging to me.


    Next, I had to go to humanity''s imperial capital. I had to take back the throne for Queen Sisi, and I had to bring Veirya and Leah along this time. Thus, the rear - the North - would be without any administrator in name. As a result, it would be dangerous in the North if the elves attacked.


    Lucia probably wouldn''t do that, however. She didn''t want to hurt me, after all. Therefore, it would stand to reason that she wouldn''t attack our North. Furthermore, if the elves attacked the North, it would be an elven attack on humanity. The field military would take action against them as a consequence.


    I wouldn''t think the elves would let their emotions drive them to foolish decisions. The Queen''s faction was more rational and smarter than her brother''s radical revolutionist faction; they would stop Lucia from doing anything crazy.


    Queen Sisi walked behind me. If none of this happened, she wouldn''t follow me so docilely. In saying that, I didn''t have any intention of concerning myself with her. I knew that I had to leave Lucia, but it was strangely upsetting. The two of us quietly returned to the town as if nothing happened.


    Suddenly, Queen Sisi grabbed hold of my hand and remarked, "What I just said was all true."


    I turned around. Calmly, I stated,"I know. What you said was right. I only love Veirya; I have no intention of developing a rtionship with Lucia, so you were right."


    "No, I''m referring to my love for you."


    Queen Sisi held my hand particrly tightly. I, as a matter of fact, couldn''t get my hand out. She went on, "I''ve always craved a Princess'' love. When a Princess is in despair, a knight wille rescue her, and take her away. The Princess wouldn''t have to do anything or worry about anything. She''d abandon everything at present and run off with her knight. That''s the romance I wanted. When I wanted to give up, you came to rescue me by yourself and jumped down into the putrid sewer to rescue me. At that moment, I decided I''d always love you. Little Doggy, I''m being serious. I genuinely love you. I no longer care if I can be a Queen again or not; I just want to be with you."


    Somewhat irritated, I shook my head and sighed: "Do not y around, Your Majesty. If you truly mean that, your love would be too cheap. If you fall for whoever saves you, how many people would you love?''


    "But you were the only one who came," firmly answered Queen Sisi. Without stopping, she continued, "You''re right. I''ll love him as long as he has the courage toe to my recue. However, nobody but you came. That''s why I fell in love with you. Is that a problem?"


    "No, but you should not be telling me this now of all times." I pulled my hand out then turned around. I carried on while feeling annoyed: "I just rejected Lucilia. Do you think I would ept you? I assume you know what my answer is. You are only making me feel worse, mentioning it now."


    "I know you rejected Lucilia, but I am not Lucilia. I''m not someone who stops even if it''s impossible. You rejected Lucilia, true, but that doesn''t mean that you''ll reject me. I won''t give up. I''ll win you over from Veirya. Do you believe me?


    "When you saved me, I decided that I would forever stay by your side from then on. I won''t leave unless you ept me or I die. Otherwise, I will always stay by your side. This isn''t something that you can decide. The decision lies with me."


    "Please do not jest, Your Majesty. At the moment, I have absolutely no interest in this. I told you: I only love Veirya. I will not change for any other. I am serious about this."


    "You think I''m joking?" Queen Sisi tilted her head. She reached up and sped my face. She took a step forward. The two of us were roughly the same height, yet she went up on her lips to bite my lip.: "Now you know that I''m serious, right?"


    It wasn''t a kiss. Call it a bite instead. Queen Sisi licked her lips then asked, "You get it now, right?"


    I had my words bitten out of me. I just dealt with Lucia. Now what? How was I supposed to react? What was I supposed to say to her? Yes, I knew the simple answer. The problem was that my brain was nk. There was no option in sight to select.


    "What. Are you two doing again?"


    The voice from behind sent a cold chill up my spine¡­


    Queen Sisi immediately grabbed hold of my hand, but my attention wasn''t on her. I slowly turned my head around to see Angelina''s irate gaze, and Veirya''s cold gaze on me.


    I saw rage in Veirya''s gaze for the first time. Before I could utter a word, she coldly enunciated one word: "Traitor!"

 Chapter Volume 6 11

    <em>Run Away</em>


    "Veirya¡­ let me¡­"


    Before I could finish my weak sentence, a cold de appeared at my neck, shoving the meaningless words back down my throat. Veirya''s gaze was colder than the de. I was more afraid of her current gaze than her sword. With her sword aimed at me, she retreated step by step. I figured I should chase her and tell her how I felt in addition to exining what just happened. I didn''t want that to happen. I didn''t initiate it. Unfortunately, I couldn''t take a single step forward whether it was due to the long sword or Veirya''s gaze. I futilely opened my mouth, but not a sound exited.


    "Does this also have to do with Queen Sisi holding my hand?" I wondered. Queen Sisi was just a woman. If I wanted to break out of her hold, I could easily do so, yet I couldn''t. "Is it because of Queen Sisi or me?" was the next question that came to mind.


    "Don''t. Follow me."


    Veirya she spun around and left faster than I thought a human could go. Queen Sisi maintained her tight hold on my hand. Veirya had given up on listening to my exnation. It didn''t take long for Veirya to vanish out of sight.


    Angelina gave me a serious re and fumed, "I don''t know what exactly happened this time, either, but you''ve gone too far. You keep iming to love her, and we epted your exnation with regards to Lucia. What''s going on with Queen Sisi now, though? You said you went to rescue Her Majesty for Veirya. You said you volunteered to go there to stop Veirya from going but now? By the looks of it, you''ve been lying to my daughter!! You went there for Queen Sisi''s sake!"


    "No¡­" I sounded as if I was pleading: "Please, Angelina, help me, please? Please, I really, really can''t hold it together anymore. I truly did it all for Veirya. I''m just in despair now. Why does nobody understand? Not all of this is my fault. I brought you what you wanted; why are you treating me this way¡­?"


    I could no longer stand it. I slowly squatted and grabbed my chest. It hurt. I really couldn''t hold in there any longer. My thoughts flooded my head: "I tried so hard. I brought everyone what they wanted, so why did it turn out this way? Why did this happen? Why¡­ Why¡­? Queen Sisi is back. The elves won''t attack the town. So why am I granted this ending? I didn''t even receive a single word of praise. Why? Why? Why¡­? Why do I never have a happy ending?"


    Angelina didn''t know if she should help me up. My reaction rendered her dumbfounded in ce. Sisi circled around to the front of me and hugged me. She gently hugged me and whispered in my ear, "I''m the only one who can understand you. I understand everything you did, Little Doggy. I know how much effort you invested and how much you sacrificed."


    "¡­"


    I should''ve pushed Sisi away. I should''ve chased after Veirya, but, to my surprise, I felt that Sisi''s embrace was warm. It was a warm feeling that I hadn''t felt with Veirya.


    Angelina approached me and stroked my head. She expressed, "I don''t understand what''s going on with you two. I have no idea what will happen to you two anymore, either. However, I can see that you still love her from your reaction. Veirya isn''t totally ignorant. She just doesn''t understand. You just need to exin it to her. If you exin it properly to her, she will understand."


    I suddenly heard horse hooves. I looked up to see Veirya''s cape undting in the wind. Never did I expect her to gallop off without even sparing me a nce.


    I shoved Queen Sisi aside and chased after Veirya while yelling at her to stop. Due to my left foot''s injury, I couldn''t run. I dragged my left foot along as I staggered after her, but I tripped over something, and fell to the ground. I ignored the pain and dirt on me. I desperately pushed myself up to chase her, but she had disappeared. All that was left was the falling dust that she kicked up and an empty street. Actually, the street had never been quiet. It was just that I felt it was so deste and empty for the first time.


    Angelina jogged over to help me up. She looked into my eyes and yelled, "It''s all right. It''s all right. It''s all right. I''ll chase after her now. Don''t worry. It''ll be fine. She won''t go too far. She has nowhere to go. You don''t need to worry. She definitely won''t just run off. I''ll chase her."


    Queen Sisi cautiously tugged my sleeve and quietly suggested, "Let''s head back for now."


    Nothing came to mind, and nothing left my mouth. I no longer knew how to face the situation. I no longer knew how to calm myself down.


    Inwardly, I questioned, "What should I do now? What exactly should I do¡­? Can the elves still ept me?"

 Chapter Volume 6 12

    <em>Departing in Despair</em>


    The final ray of sunlight on me vanished. I experienced the sun gradually leaving me. I nkly stared at the floor. All I know was that, in my hazy state, I thought Veirya came back. However, it was Angelina, who came back with a hopeless expression. I almost hugged Angelina, but she shook her head: "Sorry, I don''t know where that idiot has gone off to. I didn''t find her nearby. That means that she''s ran far away. Sorry, I didn''t think things would turn out this way. She¡­ doesn''t understand anything, yet she ran away from home¡­ I''m sure she didn''t go too far, though. She''ll be back once she''s let off some steam."


    I shook my head. I no longer felt pain; all I was left with was a despairing calmness. I didn''t know what I could do. I brought Queen Sisi back for Veirya, only for her to storm off in a fit of anger. I couldn''t find her. My fate with Veirya was sealed when she called me a traitor.


    I already did everything that I could and satisfied everyone, yet couldn''t keep one person by my side. I was used to it. The same thing happened to me from as far as I had my memory. I''d try my best and repay other''s kindness to me. s, I would never receive any gratitude from them. In the end, I''d leave in a battered and torn state, while they''d enjoy it all with peace of mind. They''d even curse me incessantly. I was used to it.


    I thought that history wouldn''t repeat itself in this world, that Veirya would understand me and that she was different to others. I thought my new life was different to the past. I wanted to treat others kindly. I didn''t mind destroying my rtionship with Lucia to satisfy Veirya, but it still ended tragically. I expected too much from everyone.


    I knew that I feared loneliness. The reason I didn''t sleep at noon wasn''t because I wasn''t tired but because I couldn''t stand being alone in the room with the lonely sunlight. I wanted to have someone who could understand me and always be with me. Even Leah said, "Papa, you went too far this time!"


    I was alone again. Nobody understood me. Nobody knew what I went through while I was with Lucia. I didn''t have time to be romantic with her. My head would''ve been lopped off at any moment during the countless tests. Did I risk my life just so that I could be with Lucia?


    "Why does nobody understand me? What exactly did I do wrong? If I loved Lucia, why on Earth would I havee back? Why not just stay there with her? Why would they suspect me of having a change of heart? Why doesn''t Veirya get it? What else does she want?" I brooded.


    Queen Sisi gently wrapped her arms around my neck from behind. She leaned on my back. In a soft voice, she stated, "I''m still by your side; I''ll always be by your side. I know your pain right now. You want to go and search for Veirya, right? Go ahead. I don''t know where she is, but I''ll always follow you until you find her."


    I dawdled for a moment before quietly replying, "¡­ No."


    It was just as in the past, except that it wasn''t me who left in pieces but Veirya, who left of her own volition. That meant it was even more impossible to bring her back. I didn''t know where to search for her, and what could I have done if I found her anyway? Would shee back if I found her?


    I had lost everything. I no longer had a ce to stay. All I could do was find a shelter as a stray dog would. I just rejected the elves. I could no longer return to them. As such, Queen Sisi was the only one I could stay with.


    "Your Majesty, let us go to the imperial capital." I spun around and continued, "Let us put you back on the throne. I am worried now that Veirya is not here. She is your biggestpetition for the throne. If the military locates her, then the situation will be difficult to undo. Therefore, we need to head out as soon as we can."


    "I don''t care for the throne."


    "But I do."


    Queen Sisi froze. She chuckled: "Little Doggy, I have a question. What is your reason for wanting to crown me? Last time, you rescued me for Veirya. What about this time? Veirya is gone. Are you crowning me to give yourself a shelter?"


    "No. Your Majesty, I am crowning you to prevent the military from taking advantage of Veirya. She does not have the capacity to be a Queen. If she allows her emotions to get the better of her and ends up being their instrument, her entire life will be done for. I am partly to me for her departure. I do not me her. Even if is thest thing I can do after her departure, I will ensure its sess."


    Queen Sisi grabbed my cor and thundered, "She''s gone! She abandoned you! What are you still doing things for her for? What did she ever do for you to devote your entire being to her? I can do what she can, and I can even do it better. She''s left you. What''s the point of you doing this?!"


    I pressed my hand on Queen Sisi''s: "Veirya never did anything to me. You are right. She is very stupid. She has no idea what love is. And she has left me. Even so, when I had nowhere to go, she was the only one who took me in."


    "But I can ept you now when you have nowhere to go, can''t i?!"


    "Sorry, Your Majesty. This is not something that can be reced. Lucia was right. If you leave a wound on someone''s heart, it is impossible to erase it."


    I brushed off Queen Sisi''s hand and shook out my clothes: "Your Majesty, you should get ready. I will call Leah and Angelina. This may no longer be as simple as I previously imagined. That said, one fact still holds true: I alone am enough."

 Chapter Volume 6 13

    <em>A ce Where I Can Cry</em>


    I took in a big breath and gently knocked on the door. Leah couldn''t leave me. She couldn''t leave despite feeling furious. If both Veirya and I left her, she''d be mentally unstable again. I didn''t understand why she was angry as Veirya was and didn''t understand me. Unfortunately, I didn''t know how to deal with a child''s anger. Leah was a mere child. I shouldn''t me her. Also, she was my most beloved daughter. I believed that she would understand if I exined it properly.


    Leah didn''t respond. I pushed the door open, but something seemed to be blocking it. Leah didn''t let mee in. She just fumed to herself in her room and refused to eat. She starved herself to upset me. Only children would do such a thing.


    I ced the food on the ground. I cleared my throat and exined, "Leah, sorry. I didn''t try to hide what happened between Lucia and me in the elvennds. I never thought about leaving you here to move to the elvennds. I wasn''t happy in the elvennds. They kept surveince on me the entire time. They were sceptical about what my true aim was. I was on edge the entire time, but I fought through it. Leah, Papa missed you every day when Papa was there. Please forgive Papa."


    There was no noise from inside, so I wasn''t sure if Leah heard me. I pushed the door but still couldn''t open it. I wasn''t sure if she was stopping the door or asleep and didn''t hear me. Nevertheless, I nned to go on. Leah should''ve been able to pick up my scent. As a child, she would want my apology. She would return to my side if she epted my apology.


    "Leah, Papa has to go to the imperial capital now. I believe that Veirya is there. Veirya has nowhere to go. I considered it, but I''m sure that she can''t go to the elves or the dwarves. Therefore, the imperial capital is the only viable ce she could go. That''s where the military is. They''re going to take advantage of her. I don''t know how many people will approach her for power. By then, Veirya won''t be able to leave. I need to rescue her. Only Queen Sisi can bring the situation under control. Papa needs to return Queen Sisi to the throne. You''ll be unstable if you separate from Papa for too long so Papa wants to bring you along this time. Leah, we''re leaving tomorrow, so pack your luggage."


    The door behind me opened. Ciara poked her head out and awkwardly chuckled: "Umm¡­ Lord Travor, Leah is actually in our room¡­ Leah damaged the door yesterday, so we brought Leah to our room today."


    "I see."


    I felt relieved. I turned around to see Leah''s small head poke out from behind Ciara. She fearfully expressed, "Papa¡­ sorry¡­ Leah was mean to you¡­ Sorry¡­ The elven sisters have exined it to me¡­ You bore with a lot there, yet I was unreasonable¡­ I''m sorry¡­ Papa¡­ Leah¡­ Leah didn''t know¡­"


    I shook my head. I crouched down to give Leah a big hug. She wrapped her arms tight around my neck and softly sobbed next to my ear. I stroked her small back: "Thank you, Leah. Papa is so d to have you still with Papa¡­ It''s all right. Papa doesn''t me you. Papa is d you''re with Papa - very d."


    "Leah¡­ Leah won''t ever leave Papa. Lead will always be with Papa."


    I heard the Elven Queen''s giggleing from the made. I judged so based off the fact that she wore a thin sleepwear. The diplomat helped her over to us. I, too, reached out to help her: "Sorry for disturbing your sleep."


    "Not at all. I did not sleep yet as I knew that you would definitelye looking for Leah." The Elven Queen carefully touched my face andforted me with a smile: "Sorry, you have been back for some time, yet I have not had the chance to wee you. I thought I should let Lord Veirya have the privilege of weing you first, but it appears that your reunion with her was not a joyous one."


    I didn''t respond. I didn''t want to recall it, but the Elven Queen couldn''t see my face. She went on: "I cannot see what happened between you two, but I can sense that your heart is shattered; or rather, it was shattered long ago. You have be numb to it and no longer feel pain. That is why you were able to recover so quickly. Your most loved one has left, yet you are still concerned about disrupting my sleep. You neglect your own wounds. Perhaps it is because you know that nobody will care even if you cry. That must be why you do not cry."


    I froze. The Elven Queen tugged Ciara. Ciara nodded and then crouched down to whisper something in Leah''s ear. Leah left with Ciara after hearing it. The diplomat also followed suit, shutting the door behind her gently.


    I was quite surprised. The Elven Queen smiled with her head titled: "It appears that they have all left. There is only the two of us in here now. Additionally, this is my territory, is it? Of course, it is a ce you have provided me with."


    I didn''t know where she was taking it. She didn''t have eyes, so I couldn''t read her thoughts through her facial appearance. Nheless, she didn''t get touchy with me or something.


    "Your Lordship, can you help me to the bed?"


    "Sure."


    The Elven Queen grabbed onto my arm and looped hers around mine in the gentlest manner possible. If I may be honest, I had developed a reluctance to have physical contact with women by that point. The Elven Queen, however, was polite and appropriate when making physical contact with me. Therefore, I wasn''t averse to it. Perhaps I didn''t suspect she harboured ill will owing to herck of sight.


    I carefully helped her sit down. She didn''t pull me down onto the bed or anything or the sort. She pulled her arm out then patted the spot next to her. She stated, Can you keep mepany? After you came back, you are leaving again without having spoken to me. I want to have a chat with you."


    "Sure, but not for too long since I have to tuck Leah in at night."


    I sat down next to the Elven Queen. She gently hugged my head without wasting any words. The hug felt different to Queen Sisi''s. The Elven Queen''s embrace had more of a mother''s warmth to itpared to Queen Sisi''s. It wasn''t firm or romantic. I juddered, but she didn''tment. I didn''t struggle, but I could feel tears slowly course down from my eyes.


    "Eh¡­? This is odd¡­ I''m feeling calm right now, not sad. I no longer feel heartbroken as before, so why am I shedding tears? I thought I couldn''t try again. I haven''t cried in so long. Why am I crying in her arms?" I inwardly questioned.


    "Go on, cry, Dear. Nobody will see your tears here, including myself. Because I care about you, I do not want to let you suffer so much. Sometimes, crying is a way of releasing pent up feelings. If you keep all of your feelings pent up inside you, you are bound to break down sooner orter. Just cry here. You will definitely have to deal with a lot of pressure. Do not carry this pain with you while bearing more pressure. Even if you are facing insurmountable trouble, I will always be by your side. I cannot see. If you wish to cry, use my shoulder. You do not need to worry about anything or have any misgivings. I will be happy just as long as you are willing to cry on my shoulder."


    I tightly grabbed her thin shoulders and pressed my head to her chest. My tears began to pour out of my eyes. I gritted my teeth to muffle my sobs. I didn''t want to let anyone know that I was crying. She tenderly hugged me in silence and patted me on my back. She quietly hummed an elven melody that was soothing, yet sad.


    I still had tears in me. I still knew how to cry. My tears rinsed my brain. I discovered that I couldn''t lie to myself. I desperately tried to forget what happened during the day. I didn''t want to remember the reality that Veirya had left. I kept telling myself that I could find her, apologise and plead her toe back, but my tears allowed me to see myself for who I really was. The truth was that I couldn''t control others.


    To crown Queen Sisi again, I had to oppose Veirya. I wasn''t all alone. I still had my loved ones, those who loved me and those who cared about me by my side. At the very least, I had a shoulder to cry my heart out on.


    "I will not stop you; however, as before, Your Lordship, I pray that the forest will grant you courage and wisdom. I will always be here, praying for her until youe back safe and sound. I will always be there for you and waiting for you here."

 Chapter Volume 6 14

    <em>Husband and Wife Fallout</em>


    "Lord Veirya¡­" The young man respectfully bowed. Then, he looked up and chuckled: "You have finally thought it through and chosen toe here. The atmosphere in the imperial capital is not the best it could be at the moment; everyone is restless. It appears that a nation cannot be without a wise Queen leading it, after all. Ining here, you have shown that you are still brave and act for the greater good."


    Veirya dismounted. She was covered in filth from her long journey, not that it bothered her. She, instead, headed to the imperial pce. She then asked the young man behind her, "If I. Be the Queen. Is it true. That I can. Have anything. I want?"


    "Of course. As the Queen of humanity''s empire you can have everything that you want. As long as you name it, we will make sure that we provide you with everything that you want."


    The young man nodded frantically. He looked back, but what he saw left him somewhat perplexed. He wasn''t sure if he should voice his question or not. On second thought, nheless, he felt that he needed to ask. It was rtively vital, after all.


    "Umm, Lord Vierya, may I ask where¡­ your husband? Mr. Lin, that is¡­"


    "He''s . Not here."


    Veirya''s reply was both simple and brash. The answer left the young man frozen in spot. He warily questioned, "Umm¡­ did you and him¡­ have a fight? Are you angry with each other?"


    With a nod, Veirya expounded, "I. Am very angry. That traitor. Betrayed me."


    "Do you mean that he has a rtionship with another woman?!"


    The young man was bewildered as to why Lin Dongqing would betray Veirya, yet managed to survive. Veirya, on the other hand, was perplexed as to why the young man instantly understood what happened in spite of her answer.


    "Yes. So, in other words. As long as. I be the Queen. I can have him. Come back to my side. Is that right?"


    "Absolutely."


    Truth be told, the young man wasn''t certain if it was possible or not; it wasn''t something that could be controlled, after all. However, the young man was boiling and harboured a desire to make Lin Dongqing spill blood. Lord Veirya was the woman every soldier devoted their hearts to. Not only was it because she possessed overwhelming might but also beauty. Lin Dongqing came after, yet he was able to have Lord Veirya.


    "Winning Lord Veirya''s heart; thenmitting such a shameless deed. Betraying Lord Veirya''s feelings is unforgivable. He deserves to die," the young man inwardly cursed.


    "Good, then."


    Veirya nodded then went up the stairs. Queen Sisi''s ce had be Veirya''s. The young man turned around and called over a few guards. He told them to enact the prepared ns. The military had nned things out. Veirya, the only missing piece to the puzzle, had arrived. All the pieces hade together. A new Queen would appear. That man was an obstacle for Veirya, but she no longer had any other obstacles.


    Veirya just forgot something. When Queen Sisi reigned, she also wanted Lin Dongqing. s, he was still out of her reach. Veirya misunderstood the path. The reason she couldn''t have him wasn''t because she insisted on being the Queen. It was he who rejected Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi might''ve been able to have what she wanted but not everything.


    ========


    If one was to run full pelt to the imperial capital from the North, it would take three days to arrive. If we travelled via horse carriage, one day would cover less than a quarter of the journey. The roads in the North were empty, a vast expanse of sand; not a de of grass within sight. Our two carriages travelled at full speed. Still, a single man and horse would always run faster than a horse carriage, Time wasn''t the most crucial aspect, but if we were toote, then it would be problematic. Keeping Leah''s transformation hidden was also quite tedious.


    Once we reached the imperial city, the first problem I''d face was whether or not I could even enter. Veirya should''ve arrived, and she most probably informed the military about what happened between us. Thus, the military would stop me from entering to ensure Veirya''s reign. As a matter of fact, they may kill Queen Sisi to prevent Queen Sisi from having any chances of stealing the throne. Given that they were fine with refusing to obey Queen Sisi''smand for their own hides, there was nothing to say that they wouldn''t kill Queen Sisi since she was out of power.


    It would be impossible for us to waltz into the city as they controlled the imperial capital. So, how do we get in? The people in the imperial capital definitely recognised my appearance, while elves definitely wouldn''t be wee. Queen Sisi would just be marching to her own death. Leah had been with me for a long time, so she, too, was a recognisable face. So ordingly, we only had one person among us who could enter. Angelina.


    Angelina waspletely identical to Veirya. Nobody could differentiate between them unless Veirya was the sentinel. With that said, if Veirya was the sentry, it''d actually be much simpler to enter. Veirya wouldn''t harm Queen Sisi or us¡­ umm¡­ She wouldn''t hurt me, I presumed.


    If we let Angelina enter and then asked my friends in the imperial capital to help, we could get in. But nheless, I needed someone who could let us in. As for me, I could enter without a hitch as long as I didn''t have anyone with me.


    I never did anything wrong. They, therefore, had no reason to refuse me entry. Moreover, what I wanted to see was conflict with the military. The people liked entertainment, so I'' nned to deliver them entertainment. Manufacturing conflict was the only means of attracting all eyes onto me.


    It was a dangerous game; however, I reckoned it''d be easier than dealng with the elves. Veirya and the military? They were amateurs. I had to enthrone Queen Sisi, not for her sake but for Veirya''s.

 Chapter Volume 6 15

    <strong>**NOTE: I posted the wrong chapter yesterday (posted ch. 15 as ch. 14). Go back and read chapter 14 as the chapter for today.**</strong><em>Husband and Wife Fallout</em>


    "Lord Veirya¡­" The young man respectfully bowed. Then, he looked up and chuckled: "You have finally thought it through and chosen toe here. The atmosphere in the imperial capital is not the best it could be at the moment; everyone is restless. It appears that a nation cannot be without a wise Queen leading it, after all. Ining here, you have shown that you are still brave and act for the greater good."


    Veirya dismounted. She was covered in filth from her long journey, not that it bothered her. She, instead, headed to the imperial pce. She then asked the young man behind her, "If I. Be the Queen. Is it true. That I can. Have anything. I want?"


    "Of course. As the Queen of humanity''s empire you can have everything that you want. As long as you name it, we will make sure that we provide you with everything that you want."


    The young man nodded frantically. He looked back, but what he saw left him somewhat perplexed. He wasn''t sure if he should voice his question or not. On second thought, nheless, he felt that he needed to ask. It was rtively vital, after all.


    "Umm, Lord Vierya, may I ask where¡­ your husband? Mr. Lin, that is¡­"


    "He''s . Not here."


    Veirya''s reply was both simple and brash. The answer left the young man frozen in spot. He warily questioned, "Umm¡­ did you and him¡­ have a fight? Are you angry with each other?"


    With a nod, Veirya expounded, "I. Am very angry. That traitor. Betrayed me."


    "Do you mean that he has a rtionship with another woman?!"


    The young man was bewildered as to why Lin Dongqing would betray Veirya, yet managed to survive. Veirya, on the other hand, was perplexed as to why the young man instantly understood what happened in spite of her answer.


    "Yes. So, in other words. As long as. I be the Queen. I can have him. Come back to my side. Is that right?"


    "Absolutely."


    Truth be told, the young man wasn''t certain if it was possible or not; it wasn''t something that could be controlled, after all. However, the young man was boiling and harboured a desire to make Lin Dongqing spill blood. Lord Veirya was the woman every soldier devoted their hearts to. Not only was it because she possessed overwhelming might but also beauty. Lin Dongqing came after, yet he was able to have Lord Veirya.


    "Winning Lord Veirya''s heart; thenmitting such a shameless deed. Betraying Lord Veirya''s feelings is unforgivable. He deserves to die," the young man inwardly cursed.


    "Good, then."


    Veirya nodded then went up the stairs. Queen Sisi''s ce had be Veirya''s. The young man turned around and called over a few guards. He told them to enact the prepared ns. The military had nned things out. Veirya, the only missing piece to the puzzle, had arrived. All the pieces hade together. A new Queen would appear. That man was an obstacle for Veirya, but she no longer had any other obstacles.


    Veirya just forgot something. When Queen Sisi reigned, she also wanted Lin Dongqing. s, he was still out of her reach. Veirya misunderstood the path. The reason she couldn''t have him wasn''t because she insisted on being the Queen. It was he who rejected Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi might''ve been able to have what she wanted but not everything.


    ========


    If one was to run full pelt to the imperial capital from the North, it would take three days to arrive. If we travelled via horse carriage, one day would cover less than a quarter of the journey. The roads in the North were empty. The roads in the North were empty, a vast expanse of sand; not a de of grass was within sight. Our two carriages travelled at full speed. Still, a single man and horse would always run faster than a horse carriage, Time wasn''t the most crucial aspect, but if we were toote, then it would be problematic. Keeping Leah''s transformation hidden was also quite tedious.


    Once we reached the imperial city, the first problem I''d face was whether or not I could even enter. Veirya should''ve arrived, and she most probably informed the military about what happened between us. Thus, the military would stop me from entering to ensure Veirya''s reign. As a matter of fact, they may kill Queen Sisi to prevent Queen Sisi from having any chances of stealing the throne. Given that they were fine with refusing to obey Queen Sisi''smand for their own hides, there was nothing to say that they wouldn''t kill Queen Sisi since she was out of power.


    It would be impossible for us to waltz into the city as they controlled the imperial capital. So, how do we get in? The people in the imperial capital definitely recognised my appearance, while elves definitely wouldn''t be wee. Queen Sisi would just be marching to her own death. Leah had been with me for a long time, so she, too, was a recognisable face. So ordingly, we only had one person among us who could enter. Angelina.


    Angelina waspletely identical to Veirya. Nobody could differentiate between them unless Veirya was the sentinel. With that said, if Veirya was the sentry, it''d actually be much simpler to enter. Veirya wouldn''t harm Queen Sisi or us¡­ umm¡­ She wouldn''t hurt me, I presumed.


    If we let Angelina enter and then asked my friends in the imperial capital to help, we could get in. But nheless, I needed someone who could let us in. As for me, I could enter without a hitch as long as I didn''t have anyone with me.


    I never did anything wrong. They, therefore, had no reason to refuse me entry. Moreover, what I wanted to see was conflict with the military. The people liked entertainment, so I'' nned to deliver them entertainment. Manufacturing conflict was the only means of attracting all eyes onto me.


    It was a dangerous game; however, I reckoned it''d be easier than dealng with the elves. Veirya and the military? They were amateurs. I had to enthrone Queen Sisi, not for her sake but for Veirya''s.

 Chapter Volume 6 16

    <em>Entering the City</em>


    "As you can all see, our Queen, Veirya, has arrived. We can, therefore, conduct another Queen''s coronation ceremony to wee our new Queen. Henceforward, this nation will be in the hands of Lord Veirya. Lord Veirya is a war hero, and the warrior who slew the Demon King. I believe that everyone will support our Queen," the young man smug addressed.


    They were people from the military, national bank, and Achilles was in attendance. The military gave him a chance to serve the imperial court. Plus, he was also granted a voice, albeit one that may be tantly ignored.


    Achilles could read the situation. It was pointless for him to remain loyal to Queen Sisi. That would only cost him his life for nothing. Achilles was all right with losing his life, but he wasn''t all right with dying for nothing. Opposing the military at that stage wasn''t going to bring Queen Sisi back. Moreover, he believed that she was doomed.


    The elves prisoners of war had almost zero chances ofing back. Veirya didn''t tell anyone that Queen Sisi was still alive. Only the military knew, but the young man didn''t n to inform anyone. Queen Sisi may have suffered a defeat and been captured, but if the people knew that she was still alive, there were still a number of people who would trust her and stay loyal to her.


    "So, has Mr. Lin arrived?"


    "No." The young man paused before continuing with his exnation to the president of the bank: "What does it have to do with us if he is here or not? Our goal is to instate Veirya as Queen. It has nothing to do with him."


    The bank president knocked on the table: "We want to have him assist Veirya in bing Queen. You should be aware that Lord Veirya doesn''t actually possess the qualities or potential to be a Queen. Lord Veirya could y the Demon King, but that does not imply that she qualifies as a Queen. She may not even be able to recognise all of us. How can such a Queen give correct orders? We need that man to guide Veirya. He is the prerequisite for Lord Veirya to be a qualified Queen."


    The young man was stumped but kept his stern gaze on the president. Veiryacked the ability to rule; everyone was cognizant of that fact. Some didn''t mention it merely because they could leverage that to lead her by the nose to obtain power and resources. The young man knew that he couldn''t do anything about it for Lin Dongqing couldn''te. Rather, it was precisely because of him that Veirya was at the imperial capital. Furthermore, he had nned to get back at Lin Dongqing. Hence, the two groups ignored him. However, the bank president still brought him up.


    The reason the bank president brought up the point was because he didn''t want the nation to be ruined. A bank can profit, but only under the condition that its location was peaceful. An unstable environment would make it impossible to have a powerful government to ensure the currency remained stable. That being the case humanity needed a truly capable Queen who could control the entire empire.


    During the reign of the previous Queen, Queen Sisi, the bank was able to operate normally and makerge amounts of money. The people would also have a desire to spend if life was stable. If Veirya took the reins without an astute man assisting her, the corrupt officials would bring the empire to its knees. Subsequently, the bank wouldn''t be earning. Thus, Lin Dongqing was actually the most important person to the entire picture.


    "We can assist Lord Veirya, so he is not the most important person."


    "That is absolutely ludicrous. You soldiers know how to manage a nation now? If you knew how to manage a nation, you wouldn''t need Lord Veirya. You''re an ignorant bunch! Without him, I won''t support Lord Veirya. The national bank will not offer a nation doomed to fall a single penny!!"


    "Make sure to keep your eyes open, then."


    The young man got to his feet and left. The meeting was but a procedural act. Even if nobody supported them, Veirya would still be instated as Queen. Achilles nced at the president. The president coldly snorted and inquired, "Mr. Achilles, I heard that you are very well acquainted with that man. Might that be true?"


    "It is. I know what you are thinking, but I feel that there is no need to fret. If Lord Veirya is here, how could he possibly leave?"


    ========


    Just as I predicted, it was tough to enter and exit the imperial capital. Previously, the door sentinels were just there for the sake of it. This trip, there were a big group of them. The long line indicated how stringent their inspections were. Cavalry rode back and forth on both sides, inspecting the crowds. Anyone deemed suspicious would be inspected. Perhaps it was thanks to such strict inspections that the imperial capital was kept under control in Queen Sisi''s absence. In saying that, it was essentially a method of keeping the situation in line through force.


    I disembarked and went inside the hood: "Angelina, I have something I need to ask you to do."


    "Go ahead."


    Queen Sisi was in our carriage. If the guards found her¡­. As a matter of fact, we may have trouble on our hands. I exined, "You brought Veirya''s clothes, correct? Change into her clothing and enter the city ahead of us. I doubt anyone would dare to stop you. Also, nobody would have imagined that you would act as her substitute. Next, go find the subi. You should already know they have a gathering spot. Ask them to bring clothes. Ask enough of them toe out to take us in. When you pair a human up with a subus, humans will focus all of their attention on the subus, thereby not noticing us. Then, you can all enter. I want to enter through the main doors. Without all of you, I''ll be safe."


    "Understood," everyone expressed.


    "Leah,e with me," I instructed.


    "Okay, Papa."


    Angelina changed in the carriage. Herck of emotion was totally identical to Veirya''s. Their semnce was enough to bring back the heart jerking feeling. She gently hugged me and whispered in my ear with the exact same tone and voice as Veirya, "I''m off."


    "Please don''t pull these loathsome jokes."


    Angelina chuckled. She then patted her face, and off she went to the city doors. The dozen or so guards at the door were surprised to see Angelina. They allowed her entry without any inspection.


    The cavalry continued to run back and forth around the line. I calmly sat in the coach''s seat, not even bothering to spare them a nce. It was because of myposed demeanour that they wouldn''t concern themselves with me,


    We continued progressing forward in the line. The guards demanded people to open every bag for inspection. Everyone was required to sign in. I noticed that the exit had been blocked off. If people wanted to leave the city, they had to do so during the daily fixed time frame. To add, the volume of people permitted exits were limited.


    As we waited in line, we heard clear voices ofughter from within the city. Eight subi dressed in incredibly thin clothing, revealing their hips. Below their waist was underwear that was barely there. The love heart sitting low on their abdomen was particrly clear. The guards gawked at the cheerfullyughing subi with surprised reactions of their own. Some of them even spaced out. An officer immediately yelled, "Don''t look! Get your acts together!"


    All of the soldiers spontaneously turned back or lowered their heads. That was also part of the reasons I chose the subi. Humanity''s soldiers adhered to strict discipline practices, which meant that they wouldn''t dare to purposely look at subi. In fact, they wouldn''t even inspect them as the subi couldn''t hide anything on them. Their clothes barely covered their bodies, after all.


    The subi approached a horse carriage with smiles and made an inquiry. They soon found our carriage. With a smile, they asked, "Mister, your long journey must have been tiring. Can you have a rest in our arms? We can offer our arms in your carriage. What do you think?"


    I pursed my lips and pointed into the carriage. They nodded and then came in. I then rode away from the line and got inside the carriage. The cavalry noticed us, but when they saw me enter the inside with the subi, they couldn''t really say anything or search us.


    Even Queen Sisi, who was used to dressing quite revealingly, found their clothes excessively revealing. With a flushed face, she stammered, "I¡­ I¡­ have to wear this, too?"


    "Of course. Else, you would not be able to sneak in with us¡­"


    "Ok-okay, then¡­"


    Queen Sisi bit down on her lip. She mustered up her courage then suddenly turned to me. She covered her chest all of a sudden and eximed, "Why are you still here?!!"


    "Didn''t I already answer that? I have to be here to have fun with the subi." I turned around and expounded, "Get changed now. I won''t peek. Enter the city first. I''ll enter after."


    "Actually, you can look, Lord Travor. I¡­ need you to help me get dressed. I have never worn a subus'' clothes before," requested the Elven Queen.


    "I shall help you, Your Majesty." Ciara gave me a visual warning.


    I smiled and turned around.


    Leah stared intently at the subi the entire time, not allowing them approach me by another single inch.


    "Okay, we are done."


    I turned back. Queen Sisi kept her hands firmly up against her chest. She sounded as if she was sobbing when sheined, "I feel as though nothing is covered¡­ I don''t want to look as I did in the elvennds¡­ I want to wear some more clothing¡­"


    "Make it inside, and then you will be fine."


    The subi patted Queen Sisi on her shoulder and then filed out of the carriage. Queen Sisi''s body, the one I had gotten bored of looking at, suddenly exuded a different sort of allure. She used her hand as braces to ensure the material covered her chest. Howbeut, due to being too tight, Queen Sisi''s clothes looked as though they''d tear if she moved.


    "D-don''t look¡­" Queen Sisi bashfully lowered her head.


    I opened the curtain: "Your Majesty, enter the city with the subi. We will meet again at their gathering spot!"

 Chapter Volume 6 17

    <em>Imperial Capital Interior</em>


    I braked at the door. The guards came over. The leader of the group extended forth an arm to stop the guard who went to search my carriage. With that mug I wanted to rip off his face, he saluted me: "Lord Lin, wee to the imperial capital. We have been expecting your arrival."


    "Uhm."


    All he got from me was one simple response. The military giving me grief was within prediction. The most likely thing they would do was forbid me from entering the city. They were unlikely to kill me as that would send Veirya down the spiral of murder. Our business remained between us. If they meddled in affairs beyond their duty, Veirya would be unhappy.


    "So, can we inspect the interior of your carriage?"


    "Help yourselves."


    When the guard brushed open the curtain, the officer asked me, "May we first ask who hase with you?"


    "Just me and my daughter, Leah. I had an argument with Veirya. She should be here for she has nowhere else to go. We should handle our own family affairs."


    Myst sentence was a hint for him to mind his own business. Heughed it off. Leah obediently got off the carriage to sit at my side. As a subus, Leah had the ability to make others drop their guard around her. Consequently, the officer wouldn''t suspect Leah even if he looked at her.


    "Reporting, Officer. There is nobody else. There is, indeed, just Leah. There is nothing suspicious inside."


    "Haha, do you need me to give you the carriage? You can ask me to. I know that you all think it''s my mistake since you saw Veiryae to this city, so you want to get on my nerves on her behalf, correct?"


    "Correct."


    The officer didn''t hesitate to nod. He picked up a book by the side and made a note. Then, he looked up at me with a smirk: "I am very sorry, but due to you being Lin Dongqing, Lord Lin, you cannot enter the imperial capital. You are a dangerous individual, so please turn around."


    The military had no intention of mincing words with me. I thought they made me sound as if I was some overpowered character. The reason I couldn''t enter the city was because Lin Dongqing was too dangerous. That was the first time in my life I was ttered.


    With a nod, I snubbed the officer and rode inward. The soldiers inside immediately surrounded me with their long spears, aiming their sharp tips right at my face. Some even had their spears on my chest. Frightened, Leah hugged me around my waist and pitifully looked at the soldier next to her. The officer drew his long sword and chuckled: "You are not serious, Lord Lin? I trust that you are aware what the consequence of barging into the imperial capital is. You are a prudent man. You would know that doing so is foolish, right?"


    "I think you''re a prudent man, too. Who ordered you to stop me here? It was your wet-behind-the-ears officer, wasn''t it? I''m here to Veirya. Has our argument got anything to do with any of you? Does Veirya know that you''re stopping me here? If any mishap befalls me here, do you think Veirya will be happy? You look smart; surely you wouldn''t be foolish enough to let others use you as cannon fodder, would you?"


    I snickered and then continued forward despite the spears and swords trained my way. They only knew that we had an argument not what we came for. My assumption was that the officer suspected I might''vee to reinstate Queen Sisi. However, given that Queen Sisi wasn''t in my carriage, I must''vee to make up with Veirya. To add, the order he received didn''te directly from Veirya. Her attitude was a question mark. If heid his hands on me, Veirya would exact her vengeance on him when the timees.


    "Why did the other officer give the order and not Veirya? That was because Veirya never forbade Lord Lin from entering the city; it was the other officer who forbade his entry. He''s using me as a shield. If Veirya is infuriated, I''ll be the one who takes the bullet," rationalised the officer.


    Without their officer''s orders, the soldiers didn''t dare to harm me. They continued to retreat step by step while ncing over to their officer for orders. I continued forward all the way to the wall. I pressed the tip of a spear down: "How interesting. What are you still here for? Can you still not see what your officer''s stance is? This must be why you''re all stuck being ordinary soldiers all your lives."


    "Let him through," The officermanded. "Lord Lin, if you could refrain from mentioning this to Lord Veirya¡­"


    "I know. It''s my family affair, after all. It''s nobody else''s business."


    The soldiers made way. Wanting to stop me without killing me was a pipe dream. Plus, Angelina was in the city, so I could get in one way or another. Unless it was Veirya, nobody could stop me.


    We continued down the path. Meanwhile, the soldiers behind us were debating something at the door. I turned into a small alley then dismounted. I packed up the interior of the carriage and then unlinked the horse and carriage, leaving behind the rest. Then£¬ I led the horse through a section of the small and filthy alley.


    "Papa, do you know the way?"


    "No. I only have a rough idea¡­"


    "Did you know that you''ve already gone the wrong way, Papa? Follow Leah. Leah can smell other subi."


    "All right."


    I went red in the face¡­ Be fair now. It wasn''t easy to navigate all those twists and turns.


    Leah took hold of my hand and led the way. Soon enough, I didn''t need Leah''s guidance, either, for I picked up the faint scent of perfume, the smell found on subi. The brothel was around the corner. That building was our destination. We''d know if we were being followed if I had Leah with me, but I checked anyway for safety sake. The brothel was the safest ce for us as it stood.

 Chapter Volume 6 18

    Sophia blew out a mouthful of smoke: "You always manage to bring me pleasant surprises. There''s nothing stopping me from handing Queen Sisi over to the military. I''m sure they''d be willing to pay a huge sum to take her from me. As for what bes of her, that''s none of my business. I''m just your ordinary subus who runs this ce."


    "Well, it looks as though you aren''t doing amendable job. Your subi''s mental states look worse than when Queen Sisi reigned."


    The ce was a lot emptier than before. Basically, there were only free subi gawking at me with cravings in their gazes, thereby giving me goose bumps. The reason business was so poor wasn''t due to it being day time; there were lots of people indulging during the day before. The fact that it was empty was evidence that the military wasn''t fond of the ce. Further, it wasn''t just because the military didn''t like it, but also because the nobles were barely able to keep themselves together, thereforecking a desire to leave home. Otherwise, they wouldn''t give up on a chance to have fun.


    "Heh," chuckled Sophia. She then set down her smoke, "You sure do not mince words. Women don''t like that."


    "Fantastic."


    "Indeed, business is not doing great at the moment. That is why lots of my sisters have fallen ill. If you could help us, then that would be great as we would have something to feast on¡­" Sophia peered behind me to see Leah coldly ring at her and holding onto my clothes tightly. In fact, Leah''s gaze was aggressive. Sophia averted her gaze and dryly chuckled before switching the topic: "So, you n to hide Queen Sisi here with me? Are you nning to reinstate her? It seems the military ns to instate Veirya. Their n is alreadyplete. They most probably will hold the coronation ceremony soon."


    "It won''t go that smoothly. This is the safest ce I can think of. If they want to search for Queen Sisi, they will skip this ce. Nobody would think that Queen Sisi woulde here. While I am busy, I will be entrusting Queen Sisi to you."


    "I have a question to ask, but I am not sure if I should ask or not." Sophia took another puff. She narrowed her eyes as she blew a mouthful of smoke out: "As Veirya is bing Queen, it must mean that she has sided with the military, but you are on Queen Sisi''s side. You two are a family, so why are you on opposing sides? Did you ce bets with both sides?"


    "How can you ce bets on both sides for this? I just angered Veirya."


    I didn''t want to reveal any more. Sophia most likely understood what I meant. Sheughed and then pointed upstairs: "We are taking care of Queen Sisi and the elves on the second floor. I do not know why you brought the elves along. Queen Sisi''s presence is enough of a reason to shut us down. With elves present, too, we will all be executed."


    "I wouldn''t bring dead weight here. Also, don''t worry; nobody will search this ce. Even if they do find them, you''ll be fine. Just do business as per usual. I don''t need to let Queen Sisi out yet for the next few days, so you should all be safe."


    "We, subi, will definitely do our utmost to support you for Lord Veirya. While business is poor right now, a good number of people visited us before. Hence, we have a good amount of information. I do not know if the information will be of use or not, but, at the very least, it is a direction to try."


    "About Veirya and the military''s n?"


    I got a nod from Sophia: "Our girls know very well the things they mentioned. I''m not sure if the information is true or false. We also know that not everyone supports Veirya''s appointment. Some do not support it, except they''re the type who just rage about it to themselves and do not dare to explicate it."


    "Who are those not in support?"


    "The national bank president. At present, he is the only one I know of. Achilles¡­ he has not made clear his stance, so we are unsure of his stance. It also appears that a lot of people are extremely fearful of you. The military did not want to allow you entry into the city. I do not know if that is because you offended them."


    "I offended them the moment Veirya arrived here. Sad for them if they''re offended. It''s not as if they would dare to harm me. Veirya is still alive, after all." I then turned around and added, "I''m leaving Leah and Sisi in your care. I''m going out. I need to look into the information you provided me with."


    "Wait!"


    I turned around after suddenly hearing a voice from upstairs to see anxiety flit across Queen Sisi''s face. As she ran, her thin clothes undted.


    "Why aren''t you taking me along?! This is about me! This is my imperial capital; everything here belongs to me. Even the military must obey mymand. It''s too dangerous for you to be strolling around the city. I''m going with you."


    "Your Majesty, if they were truly loyal to you, you would not be here. Although you have entered the city, you are a thorn to the military now, not their Queen. You know what would be dangerous? Following me around out there would be dangerous. When the time is ripe, I will let you out."


    I noticed the concern in Queen Sisi''s gaze. She wasn''t a fool. What I said was most definitely within her realm ofprehension. Thus, she wouldn''t vehemently ask to follow me. She surprisingly nervous.


    "Haha, it will be all right, Your Majesty. I will be back. I managed to rescue you from the elvennds. The military is easy mode."

 Chapter Volume 6 19

    <em>Merchants, Gather</em>


    Whereas the imperial capital was fairlyx during Queen Sisi''s reign, the military was much stricter with their regtions. Perhaps it would be more befitting to say that nobody liked to leave their homes due to the overbearing way that the military enforced their regtions. Everyone on the streets made haste with their heads down. Few people shopped at the stores. The soldiers either patrolled the streets on horseback or in lines on foot. They didn''t treat the imperial capital as a prosperous city; I had the impression that they treated it as arge-scale military camp. You could find notices listing forbidden activities stered all over the streets. Not only was being outside at night forbidden, but even drinking in groups was prohibited. Additionally, the punishments meted were incredibly harsh. The rules were so strict that being drunk at night would result in being detained.


    Such strict regtions would only suit an empire that was military based or during times when everyone was at war, including peasants, and everyone''s lives were on the line. Otherwise, such oppressive means would only be counterproductive. As I thought, the military didn''t have a clue how a nation should be managed. They only knew how to manage military personnel in a military camp. People need more than just to have a full belly; they also need entertainment. Under Queen Sisi''s management, the entire city could be described as liberated and prosperous. Only a city that didn''t sleep would allow businesses to earn enough money.


    The military''s rule zapped the city of any life. Without life, there is no money. In turn, businesses will be unhappy. Those who were used to the previous lifestyle wouldn''t be happy, either. While it sounded detrimental for the citizens and businesses, it was in my favour. The people were discontent and afraid. I needed to persuade everyone to not be scared and that things would return to how they formerly were after Queen Sisi returned. They could, therefore, have back what they wanted.


    The subi didn''t know where the bank president was. So ordingly, I had to search for Achilles. Businesses should be able to contact each other. After all, merchants were still considered a weak entity in this world. If the merchants didn''t form a united front tobat the crisis, they would all be annihted soon if notter.


    I ambled along the street. The guards paid me no heed, passing me one after another. The imperial capital was akin to the city under the chapel''s administration. I passed by the chapel''s former location again. Thest time I was at the imperial city, ethereal and devout voices came from towering chapel in the form of songs. This time, to the contrary, the ce had be a collection of ck ruins that a wooden fence cordoned. The scene was Queen Sisi''s masterpiece. Before she knew it, it hade around to her. She personally destroyed the chapel in its entirety. The military then destroyed her. Perhaps the mysterious concept referred to as fate truly did exist. Fate has no mercy for anyone.


    Achilles'' building was immersed in darkness just as the chapel''s was. I went around the vicinity, but there were no guards. Nobody had visited in ages or something. I headed to the merchant''s tavern. If Achilles wasn''t present, I, at the very least, could leave a voice message.


    "Lord Lin, is it?"


    Someone suddenly put their hand on my shoulder while simultaneously pressing something into my lower back. No, I didn''t think he was gay, which meant that it could''ve been a de that could sink into my back right away. I stood in ce; he didn''t seem to want me to turn around.


    "That''ll depend on whether you think I am or not, then. Whether or not I''m Lin Dongqing will depend on what you''re after me for."


    "A cane, talks a lot, you must be Mr. Lin."


    "Is that how Achilles described me?"


    "Apologies, Mr. Lin. We do not want to treat you this way. Even so, as an insurance policy, you will have to pardon us."


    Something instantly covered my entire face from overhead. I was then carried into a horse carriage. I felt that there were people on my left and right. The narrow interior was packed to the brim. We soon came to a stop. I was guided up a spiralling flight of stairs. They checked left and right before opening the door. They put me in a chair and granted me my vision again. Before me was a cup of hot tea, steamnguidly ascending from it.


    Seated around the circr table I was at were men in formal clothing. As an approximation, they were in their forties and fifties. From their white hair to their formal clothing, they oozed a sly aura. Looking around, I appeared to be the youngest. Opposite me was a plump elder. He pointed to my cup of tea with a smile: "I am sorry, Mr. Lin. We did not want to resort to much means; however, due to difficult times, we all have to put up with some difort. I hope the cup of tea can help you calm down."


    I snickered and casually picked up the cup: "I must say, this is a nice ce. A brothel would not be inspected, correct? To add, this sort of run-down small tavern located next to a brothel would not be easy to find among the myriad of densely packed buildings."


    Everyone present revealed awkward expressions. The elder sitting opposite me froze. He looked at the man behind m, perplexed. I smiled and had a nip of tea: "You don''t need to me them. If you don''t want others to know, don''t pass by the brothel on your way. I couldn''t be any more familiar with the scent of subi. Furthermore, given the fact that we had to take detour after detour in this run-down building, it''s obvious that this is a nted type of building. Hence, there can only be one ce thates to mind."


    "¡­ You most certainly live up to your reputation, Mr. Lin. I truly am eager to know what sort of situation could lead to you losing your cool enough to give up thinking."


    The man opposite me chuckled then sat back down. I set down my cup of tea: "Correct me if I''m wrong, but you must be the most sessful merchants in the imperial capital, correct? Owing to the rush I was in to deal with business during myst visit to the imperial capital, I didn''t have a chance to meet with you all. I guess we''re finally acquainted. Let''s not beat around the bush, and get to the point. I want to loan money from you all."


    My final remark froze everyone, including Achilles. He nudged my leg, but I paid him no heed. After the short silence, the elder sitting in front of me forced a smile and dryly chuckled: "Umm, Mr. Lin, surely¡­ you are joking, right?"


    "I''m not joking." I indicated I was serious with me gaze prior to borating, "Gentlemen, I know that the war took ce in the North, which is also within my territory. After the defeat, I had to take responsibility for handling the elves'' fury and humanity''s injured soldiers. Meanwhile, you were all busy here with the contention for the throne. I am in the midst of doing my absolute best to rescue our brilliant young men''s lives. I used my own power to treat humanity''s wound. I want to return Queen Sisi to the throne, but without funds, the goal is a but a mere desire. Therefore, I need to loan money from you."


    "How much do you want?"


    "Ten thousand."


    The moment the number exited my mouth, I caught them all gasping at the number. A few elders bobbed their heads down to begin discussing amongst themselves. The leader thenughed: "Mr. Lin, I think that the biggest problem lies in whether or not you truly have Queen Sisi with you. Excuse my bluntness. We will not withhold money if it is for Queen Sisi for we understand that the true nightmare is the world without her. In saying that, we do not understand you. If you are just a conman, then¡­ Ten thousand gold coins is arge sum. I can definitely join hands and provide the sum, but we must act together. Let us see Queen Sisi first, all right?"


    "No. When Queen Sisi was suffering humiliation in the elvennds, not a single one of you took a stand to protect her. I <em>alone</em> risked my life to rescue her from them. You and I are businessmen; we all work for money. That is why I can''t possibly hand you my goods for nothing. Coincidentally, I happen to have a <em>very</em> good rtionship with Queen Sisi. If you refuse to provide the financial backing, I''ll pack up and go home, get married with Queen Sisi and then lead a peaceful life, while you can all flip coins, spin coins or whatever you fancy. If humanity bes a dump, I''ll just migrate to the elves; no problems there. I don''t have any assets here, but go on, have a good think to yourselves."


    Achilles desperately tugged my arm, but all he got was, well, nothing. The elders all wore grave faces. They engaged in another round of discussions for an extensive period of time. I just sat there and enjoyed the cup of hot tea. While I was at it, I poured myself another cup.


    I could understand debating, but I was sure that they''d agree to my terms. It might be a bit of a problem for one person alone to provide ten thousand gold coins; however, that was a small sum for the group. The IOU they would give me would be my protective talisman.


    After the long discussion came to an end, the leader queried, "All right. Since you insist, we shall agree to your request. With that said, you must understand that you must repay the loan of ten thousand gold coins. How long do you think you need to repay it?''


    I pulled up the corner of my lips: "Easy. One week. If Queen Sisi doesn''t return in one week, I won''t receive the ten thousand gold coins. If she is crowned, ten thousand gold coins is a miniscule sum."


    "All right, one week it is. We do not need interest. But nheless, you must ensure that Queen Sisi is crowned in one week. Else, you must repay the ten thousand."


    "Fine by me." I extended my hand out to the merchants: "So then, gentlemen, please give me my IOU. I am the borrower, and the lender is all of you. You can write all of your names on it. Once I receive the ten thousand gold coins, I will bring your Queen back."

 Chapter Volume 6 20

    <em>Devoted Queen Sisi</em>


    The ten thousand gold coins weren''t just ten thousand to me. It was also integral for my operation tomorrow. Actually, it was what gave me the guts for my operation tomorrow.


    The discussion concluded quickly. Knowing my stance, they wouldn''t waste their breath. Their goal was to get Queen Sisi from me, or, at the very least, find out where she was. Till the end, I refused to provide any information. Subsequently, there was no point in us going back and forth pointlessly. With that said, they understood that I was, without a doubt, on Queen Sisi''s side. In turn, they felt a little more reassured about lending me ten thousand gold coins. A debt is essentially a chain. As I loaned ten thousand gold coins, I had to repay it, meaning that I had to crown Queen Sisi.


    The military didn''t persecute the businessmen, but they disrupted their normal business operations. Merchants viewed that shiny gold with more importance than their own lives. You touch their money, and they''ll fight you to the bitter end. They might not have a soldier''s sharp de, but they have the power to make the world spin for them - capital.


    When we exited, Achilles checked to ensure that nobody was paying attention to us before helplessly smiling: "Frankly, you bring me pleasant surprises every single time. Actually, maybe I would ssify them as just surprises. The first thing you say when you open your mouth is demanding a loan. Now, that, I didn''t expect. Originally, we wanted to ask you to hand Queen Sisi to us, and we would work together to reinstate Queen Sisi, only for you toe out of the woods and lead the entire meeting by the nose. I never considered myself an idiot, but after seeing you, I feel that my response was a step behind you."


    "Haha, whatever. I just want to protect my own hide. I''m not part of your merchant assembly. The military is putting restrictions on me, too. If I can''t keep what you all want safe, then I''ll have you and the military sending me packing. I don''t trust people or you. You understand that."


    Achilles didn''t get to speak in time, as a hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned around to see an elder with an affable smile. I lingered for a moment then reciprocated the smile: "I am grateful to have your trust. I did not interact with you before this, but you were able to lend me ten thousand gold coins without concern. Truly, thank you, all of you."


    "Haha, ten thousand gold coins isn''t arge sum to us, but there are few who we can trust nowadays. When we previously heard your name, we heard that you managed to run the chapel into the ground in the imperial capital, and indeed, you have done your reputation justice at the meeting. The imperial capital is graciously known for producing talented businessmen; however, I have discovered that none of them canpare to you. For thest few days and even now, the imperial capital has seen in dark days from our perspective. We do not mind Veirya bing Queen, but we hope that you can support her. We hope to have someone who can exin to a Queen how to develop financially. So, either Queen Sisi returns, or we need you to assist Veirya at her side."


    "Neither Veirya nor I are qualified to rule a nation. There is no better candidate for the throne than Queen Sisi."


    "Indeed. Thus, we hope you seed."


    "I''ll do my best."


    After showing our agreement with a nod, the elder left, the others following suit. Maybe they were afraid of the military catching them. It was obvious that the meeting wasn''t an approved one and wouldn''t be, especially when Veirya was meant to be crowned soon.


    The meeting post wasn''t far from my hiding spot at the moment.


    "Life has not been good recently. We and the military have always had a sour rtionship. To add to it, the military''s administration system has never clicked with us. Nevertheless, as you are back, I can be considered your friend. Come to my ce. I need to treat you to a drink," proposed Achilles.


    "No thanks. Once Queen Sisi is reinstated, we''ll share a drink. I need to hurry back now. Leah is waiting for me."


    No word from Achilles was heard, but he did nod. He, too, soon vanished into the darkness.


    In the past, the night life would''ve kick off. Today, the streets were empty. Sophia stood at the door. Upon seeing me return, she chuckled: "It sure is tough. You went out for such a long time. Did you go to do something? Actually, pretend I ever asked. I wouldn''t understand even if you told me. What do you think of the results?"


    "Mm, decent. I got what I wanted."


    I entered after giving Sophia a nod and short response. The subi should''ve gone to sleep. It was peak hour for business, yet nobody came to the brothel. Sophia reminded me to not walk into the wrong room at night as the subi were currently¡­ erm¡­ hungry?


    I found food, albeit simple food, at the table when I got inside. Sisi sat in a chair by the table but rested her torso on the bed after dozing off. Apparently, she was waiting for me to return. I was almost moved to tears. I was used toing home to a pitch ck home without anything to eat. I''d knock back a carton of milk and go straight to bed. I didn''t need to turn on lights or the television because nobody waited for me toe home. It wasn''t my home; it was just a ce to take a break. It was the same as any other ce. To my surprise, I had an urge to give Sisi a kiss when I saw her sleeping at the table.


    I carefully draped my cloak over Sisi''s back. She shuddered all of a sudden. Then, she slowly opened her eyes and tugged my cloak. She sat up to effuse, "Wee back."


    I sat down opposite Sisi. She opened a box. Sounding somewhat hopeless, she stated, "The soup is cold now¡­ I''ll go reheat it for you¡­ I can''t cook, but I can reheat."


    "There is no need. I will feel overwhelmed from the special treatment if a Queen personally reheats food for me."


    I picked up a piece of bread and had a bite. Queen Sisi chuckled and stroked my face: "But I no longer want that throne."


    "But lots of people want you to return."


    "But, I want to return together with you."


    "¡­ Eat your food."

 Chapter Volume 6 21

    <em>A Night with Butterflies in Their Stomachs</em>


    Queen Sisi wrapped herself in my cloak, cherishing it as though there was nothing else in the world that couldpare, as the two of us had a simple meal.


    "Did you go see the businessmen today? I would think that they are the only ones left capable of putting up a resistance against the military."


    "Yes. I went to loan ten thousand gold coins from them, with them listed as the lender on the IOU. In essence, I now owe every merchant in the imperial capital."


    Queen Sisi had a moment to think prior to asking, "I can''t see how there is any point in you loaning that sum. Do we need money for something right now? Put another way, you n to go meet people from the military tomorrow?"


    Queen Sisi was astute enough toprehend my n. She could discern what I was nning if I just told her what I did.


    "Correct. The IOU is my protective talisman. I now owe everyone money, which means that none of the businessmen wants me to die. If I die, the sum will be a dead debt. I cannot say for certain whether or not the military will kill me. In short, I am just d that I have this protective talisman."


    "Then, if¡­ if¡­ if¡­ Veirya makes it clear that she is willing to kill you¡­ will you give up on her¡­ and leave with me? If you''re together with me, you don''t need to do anything. You just need to stay by my side¡­"


    "Sorry, Your Majesty. I do not want to think about that at the moment."


    Queen Sisi''s expression stiffened. She then gave me a smile and switched the subject: "Then¡­ do you think it''s appropriate to put all your hope in the businessmen? There is no question that the military has the imperial capital in its grasp, but can those merchants be trusted? I''ve never trusted them. Who knows what sort of absurd requests they will make afterwards? When they do, it won''t be resolved with just repaying ten thousand gold coins. I''m sure that they have their own agenda."


    "True. That said, at present, every merchant''s profits aligns with one another. They want you to return. That is why it is best to avoid destroying their current alliance. We need help to return you to the throne; however, such an alliance is bound to ask for lots of things once you are instated. Therefore, it is best if we can then undo their alliance."


    If Queen Sisi is reinstated thanks to the merchants'' help, they will inevitably ask for Queen Sisi to repay them ordingly. What they ask for in return definitely won''t be as simple as some money. As far as anyone knows, they might ask for some sort of administrative authority within the empire. Queen Sisi never gave any merchant any administrative authority in the empire before. All they were permitted to do was do business, not dip their hands in national administration. That was the farthest she would allow them to go. Should they approach her as a united front, then Queen Sisi will be at a huge disadvantage. Would she agree to their requests if they were to turn around and ckmail Queen Sisi with their contribution when she was soon to be reinstated?


    Now, if only Achilles or the bank president provided funding, then Queen Sisi would have the advantage. Have a request when I''m about to be crowned? Would your ckmail work on me when the crown is going to soon be mine again? You don''t want to help? Fine, I''ll ask someone else. Once they''re certain that Queen Sisi will return to the throne, lots of people would be willing to invest into the investment that was guaranteed to have a positive return on investment. Merchants are helpers; however, united merchants are not.


    With her face in her hands, Queen Sisi deliberated to herself for a while. Once done, she smiled, "I also have an idea. There is no way I can take the empire from the military, and then handed it to the merchants. With that said, you can just leave that to me. It''s inconsiderate of me to dump everything on your shoulders."


    Queen Sisi carefully ced my cloak on the bed then headed out. I didn''t know what she wanted to do. She took our eating utensils out. There was no need to worry if Queen Sisi, personally, came up with something or dip my hands into it. It was Queen Sisi we were talking about, after all.


    When I returned to the room, I saw Queen Sisie in, struggling to carry a big basin of hot water. Frightened by her wobbling, I rushed over to take the hot basin of water, albeit almost dropping it on contact. Queen Sisi''s hands were bright red, but she was still all smiles.


    Queen Sisi shook her hands, "Umm¡­ I figured¡­ you must be tired from this journey, so¡­ I wanted to wipe you down¡­ Sorry¡­. I don''t know what''s good, either¡­ but, I wanted to help you rx."


    "No need. I can help myself. I am used to it."


    "That''s why I insist!!" Queen Sisi suddenly ran up to me and grabbed the edge of the basin, thereby startling me. She threatened, "I can''t stand that habit anymore!! Why are you willing to be with Veirya when she''s so inconsiderate?! Clearly, there''s no reason for you to suffer all this; you clearly deserve to be taken care of, as well! Why do you have to be used to such things?! I insist on wiping you down today. Else, I''ll go and turn myself in to the military right now!"


    "What is the point of this, exactly¡­?"


    Hopeless, I sighed. After everything that happened recently, I no longer wanted to think about anything. I undid my clothes then took off my shirt. Then, I nonchntly sat down in the chair in front of Queen Sisi.


    "As you insist, I shall go along with you."


    Queen Sisi froze. Her determination and bravado vanished into thin air. She didn''te up behind me. Instead, she just stared at my back for a long time. I turned my head: "I guess Queen Sisi is not good at this sort of stuff, after all."


    "No¡­ I just¡­ feel slightly shy¡­ This is my first time¡­ touching a man''s body¡­ umm¡­ I still feel slightly shy about it¡­"


    Queen Sisi squeezed her towel in her hand. She trembled as she approached me. Even I started to feel somewhat shy with her just staring at my back¡­ I turned back around. I prepared myself for the sensation of the hot towel making contact with my back, but I didn''t feel the sensation in the end. Instead, I felt Queen Sisi''s somewhat hot hand¡­


    "Kyah!!"


    "Ah!!"


    Queen Sisi shrieked and tossed the towel in her hand to run to the bed. My heart rate sped up as a result of having a woman touch me¡­ I felt the whole idea was a mistake. The perfectly fine night had turned into a sleepless one¡­

 Chapter Volume 6 22

    <em>To the Imperial Pce Without Queen Sisi</em>


    "Lord Veirya¡­"


    "He. Has arrived. Yes or no?"


    The young man was concerned. Veirya held her long sword to her chest; she sat by the window and peered into the darkness outside. In a steady voice, she said, "I. Miss him. A bit now. I think. I might. Have done the wrong thing. Perhaps. I shouldn''t havee here. I now feel. That it''s better. By his side."


    "¡­ You did not make the wrong choice. You merely chose the nation over that man. You are this nation''s hero. You were and are still are giving everything for this nation just as we are."


    Veirya gaze was focused on the outside the entire time. For a long while, she didn''t utter a word. Eventually, she solemnly asked, "Do you. Know. Where he is. At the moment?"


    "No. We have not found him. He never had any unique traits. Our soldiers did not find him in the city. Further, it is an irrefutable fact that he did notmit a crime or do anything wrong. Therefore, we cannot justify putting out an arrest warrant and investigating his whereabouts. We did locate his horse carriage, but it was empty. We do not know where he has gone¡­


    "Lord Veirya, it is your business with him. As an outsider, it is not my ce to say much; however, I still want to mention one point: you do not need to go to him. Once you be Queen, you can have hime to you. Hence, need only to wait. When the timees, he wille to you."


    Veirya tilted her head to think: "Are you. Absolutely sure. That he. Will take the initiative. Toe to me?"


    "Absolutely." After a small nod, the young man left the room, as it was time for Veirya to turn in.


    "He wille find me on his own," Veirya repeated to herself.


    He had never taken the initiative to go to her. When they first met, she was the one who brought him out from the Demon King''s ce. He took the initiative to contact Queen Sisi and get engaged with Lucia, but he had never chosen her side. She believed that if she were to be the Queen, then he would take the initiative to go to her side. If that was how it worked, she just needed to wait.


    ========


    I felt quite sleep deprived when I woke up the next day. It wasn''t that it was bad sleeping in a chair as I had often slept in all sorts of odd ces in the past. I couldn''t sleep because Queen Sisi slept on the bed behind me. She left me irritated as I couldn''t forget her touch on my back. As soon as I thought about the fact that she was sleeping behind me, I''d be restless.


    "I only love Veirya Queen Sisi hasn''t even been by my side for a few days. Why am I suddenly feeling restless around Queen Sisi?" I asked inwardly.


    When Queen Sisi woke up, she yawned. Her first reaction when she sat up and saw me was to freeze. She shyly turned her head and pinched her hand. In a quiet voice, she stammered, "Umm¡­ good morning¡­ uhh¡­ sorry¡­ aboutst night¡­ I¡­ I¡­ panicked¡­"


    I shook my head: "Do not mind it. Just do not show it as things will get messy if Leah finds out."


    Queen Sisi gestured she understood, and then we left the room. Outside, a group of subi crowded around Leah. She sat on the thigh of one of the subi and enjoyed having another subus feed her a fruit. She looked as proud as a Queen among subi. The elves sat to the side. Ciara carefully fed the Elven Queen a strange soup.


    When she saw Queen Sisi and Ie down, Leah cheerfully hopped off the subus'' thigh to run over to me and hug me around my waist. She sniffed me, and then she cheerfully giggled: "Papa doesn''t have Queen Sisi''s scent. It seems that Papa truly learnt Papa''s lesson, huh? Leah is d."


    "Yeah¡­"


    Fact: we didn''t do anything indecentst night. Something did happen, but both of us hid it. As a result, Leah didn''t find out. I picked Leah up and gave the subi a nod: "Thank you for taking care of Leah."


    "Leah possesses the most venerated bloodline among us, so it is only right that we take care of our Leah. There is no need to thank us."


    Sophia gave me a nod unlike her concerned cohorts. I had the impression that they wanted to say something to me, but Leah gave them an incredibly aggressive re. The subi were worried about their so-called concept of belonging. In other words, since I was Leah''s prey, no other subus dared to think about going after me.


    Leah caressed my face: "Papa, what do you n to do today? You should tidy yourself today; you have a beard on your chin now¡­ You never grew a beard before¡­ Ever since Mama Veirya left, you seem to be in a daze, not knowing what you should do¡­"


    "Uhm¡­ Papa will tidy up."


    It had been a long time since Ist cared about my appearance. Leah was right. Ever since Veirya left, I was dead set on just one thing - reinstating Queen Sisi to stop Veirya from bing Queen. That was all that was ever on my mind, thereby forgetting about my appearance. Had Queen Sisi not helped me wipe my body downst night, I wouldn''t have even thought of it.


    "Unfortunately, we are all girls here, so we do not have a shaver," notified Sophia. She added, "It would be weird, and we would stand out if we went to buy one, right?''


    "It''s fine." Ciara made the remark while drawing her long sword and chuckling: "If you can trust me, I can use this to help you shave."


    "All right, do it."


    "Don''t!"


    I had no qualms with trusting Ciara. As the Elven Queen''s bodyguard, swordy was a field of expertise for her. Queen Sisi, however, stood between us and disputed, "It''s too dangerous. I won''t allow it. He has very important business today. He can''t have a wound on his face."


    "Then¡­ what do we do?"


    Ciara pulled her sword back. Queen Sisi turned to me and suggested, "Leave it to me today. I won''t allow something so dangerous to happen! Go with your beard. That¡­ will make you look more mature¡­"


    "Yeah?"


    Queen Sisi made me pay attention to my beard with her remark. I never thought about growing a beard, but after hearing that from her¡­ Should I have a beard from now, I wondered.


    Leah clung to my arm and enthusiastically asked, "Papa, can Leah follow you today?"


    "Sorry, Leah, it might be dangerous today, so Papa can''t bring you. Wait for Papa at home."


    Leah tightened her hold on my arm and pleaded, "That''s even more of a reason for Leah to go with Papa!! If Leah can''t go, then, Papa, can you stay, too? It''s dangerous¡­ Can you not go, Papa¡­?"


    "No, Papa has to go."


    I had to go; I had to go into the imperial pce to be able to see Veirya. It was dangerous to meet the young man from the military. Nevertheless, it was my only chance. If Veirya chose to return to my side after we met, then I could save myself all the trouble. My scout mission was important.


    Queen Sisi stroked Leah''s head. She crouched and whispered in Leah''s ear, "Don''t worry, Leah. Your father has his own n. If he dares to go into danger, he must be able to return safe and sound. We need to believe in him. Your father is not a man with brawn but no brain."


    "Uhm¡­"


    Leah was still fearful of Queen Sisi to a degree. After all, the traumatic experience Queen Sisi gave her when they first met still gripped Leah''s heart. Leah snuggled up in my arms. I caressed her head with a smile. I looked into her eyes and promised, "Leah, when Papa went to the elvennds, it was more dangerous, wasn''t it? Papa came back in the end, right? Papa promises toe back this time. Papa is the smartest one here."


    "Leah believes in you, Papa!!" With a firm nod, Leah reached up around my neck and kissed my forehead. She softened her tone: "Papa, ask Mama Veirya toe back. Without her around, you smell bitter¡­ Papa looks sad."


    "Is that right¡­?"


    Queen Sisi looked at me in silence, albeit with mixed emotions. I stood up and swept my gaze over everyone present: "I shall be on my way now, then. Your Majesty, if mishap truly befalls me th-"


    Queen Sisi vigorously covered my mouth before I finished: "I don''t like to hear that sort of stuff. That shouldn''t be something that you say. You and I never talk about ''what if''. You must believe that you can make it back in order toe back when the going gets tough. You muste back, not just for Leah, but also for me."


    Queen Sisi caressed my face, eager to kiss my lips. Nheless, as she saw Leah present, she stopped herself, leaving her with just my touch and warmth.


    "Go, my knight. I shall wait for you here to send me back¡­"

 Chapter Volume 6 23

    <em>You Are Not Worthy</em>


    There was a noticeable increase in the number of soldiers I encountered as I neared the imperial pce. I didn''t bring my cane with me. I had gotten used to using my cane, and so I struggled with walking without it. If I had to describe it, I was basically dragging my left foot along the ground. I did my best to lean on the wall for support and prevent myself from falling. It took a while, but I eventually habituated to walking with a left foot that I couldn''t feel. After all, I was genuinely worried that soldiers would impede in the middle of my journey.


    I arrived at the main entrance of the imperial pce. During Queen Sisi''s reign, people could enter and leave as they pleased, and they could stroll through thewn at the front as they pleased. The only out of bounds areas were Queen Sisi''s residential pce and the main hall for work. That day, however, not only was there not a singlemoner in any corner of the pce but not even officials. I suppose there would be no need to work for or devote their loyalty to a non-existent Queen.


    I was the only person standing at the door. I raised my head and told the guards, "You don''t need to stop me. Go in - no, forget your chief, and go straight to Alfor or Veirya, either will do."


    "You are¡­ Lord Lin, correct?" A guard exchanged nces with another guard: "You may enter. Lord Veirya told us that you can enter if you came."


    I nodded.


    It was strange; in the past, my heart rate wouldn''t pick up no matter how tense I was. Even when Lucia and her brother simultaneously watched me, my heart didn''t race. As soon as I heard that Veirya allowed me passage and realising that I could meet her again after such a long separation, on the other hand, my heart began to race. In fact, I even felt flustered. I couldn''t allow myself to be flustered. I was in the exact same situation as I was in the elvennds. Any of the soldiers could''ve killed me at the drop of a hat as the elves could''ve. I had entered the military''s most dangerous ce. I had to stay calm.


    Once I entered the imperial pce, a guard guided me. The ce belonged to Queen Sisi, yet it seemed empty and lifeless. If I didn''te across soldiers, I came across officers. They didn''t look as though they nned to join hands with anyone; they looked as though they nned to act as the sole administrator of the nation alongside Veirya.


    I had to give them credit for their confidence. Not even Queen Sisi would choose to rule without any allies. She relied on both the military and businessmen. When she eliminated the chapel, all she did was take their right to preach. She still relied on their doctrine to convince her people to respect and worship her. Relying on purely military might will only allow one to upy a nation, not govern it.


    I was led into thergest pce. I sat down in a room that resembled one reserved for discussion of national affairs. The only thing in the room was a circr table. The young man I was familiar with was waiting for me. While he was panic-stricken in Veirya''s presence, I detected the hint of smugness from him in front of me. He didn''t even sit up straight; he leaned sideways in his chair. If I was his father, I''d p his face around to the other side to teach him what manners were. Greatness was a word that would forever elude him and those simr to him.


    I sat down opposite him. He asserted, "If you have something to say,e out with it. I''ve never liked businessmen, especially one who swindled our food from us before."


    I sat still. No, I didn''t grant him my visual attention, either. The two of us kept silent. Several minutester, he stated, "If you don''t have any business, let''s not waste each other''s time."


    I still didn''t utter a word or stand up. The guard he summoned with a knock stood next to me and made a hand gesture: "Please leave, then."


    "I still haven''t seen who I came to see, buddy." I then turned my head to look at the guard: "I wanted to see Veirya, not a stooge who only knows how to act as a poser. Can I bother you to let me see Veirya? Our argument is our family business; it has nothing to do with a maggot."


    "Insolence!"


    Seeing the little man m the table aggressively gave me an urge tough. He jumped to his feet with ire and pointed at me: "You are in our army''s grounds. You disrespected and insulted our field military chief and hurt our hero. What right do you have to see her?! I am now Lord Veirya''s representative and assistant officer. If you have something to say, tell me; otherwise, get lost."


    I leaned in and questioned, "Who. Are. You?"


    "Shut up!"


    The guard next to me drew his long sword and held it up to my neck. Next, a sequence of quick footsteps encroached upon the room. Within an instant, the room was packed full of fully-equipped soldiers. If there was one thing I learnt that day, it was that my neck could fit so many swords. Nevertheless, not even ten swords could pressure me the same way Veirya did.


    "Say one more word, and I''ll take your head. Now, get out."


    He seemed to think that his swords could beat my strength. He was a little puppy smugly barking at a pack of wolves that left due to boredom, mistakenly thinking he won. Actually, scratch that. The owner of the puppy came over and drove off the pack of wolves, yet the puppy thought it scared off the wolves.


    "Imbecile," I inwardly said. I leisurely sat there and provoked them: "Whatever. If I don''t see Veirya, I won''t leave. You guys can save your energy. I dared to go to the elvennds; you think I''m scared of your swords on my neck? Also, you don''t dare to kill me."


    "How about we test that?"


    The young man''s gaze was violent.


    "Pfft, I could just lean back an inch, and save you the trouble; however, I have a ten-thousand gold coins IOU attached to me right now. Unfortunately, I owe every businessman in this city money. If I die or disappear, help me repay the ten-thousand gold coins, okay? Additionally, once the businessmen find out that you dared to kill another businessman, they''ll all leave. The prices of goods will soar through the roof; the people won''t be able to continue living here. Tell me how you''re going to protect everything you''re supposed to protect again? Kiddo, this is thest time I''m repeating myself: my fight with Veirya isn''t rted to you in any capacity. It doesn''t matter to me if I die, but do you think Veirya wants to see me die?"


    The young man froze. He gave me the death stare but didn''t have a single argument.


    "I just want to see Veirya. You don''t need to do this. Ipetent fool trying to act as if he''s someone. You''re a walking punch line. You want to assist Veirya with your quarter of a wit? Use your brain for a moment: are you worthy? Sorry, you''re not. I''m the only worthy one!"

 Chapter Volume 6 24

    <em>I Will Crown Her</em>


    Queen Sisi set down her pen then gently blew the ink. One could never mistake Queen Sisi''s handwriting that was written with utmost confidence and liberation from strict rules. Leah curiously went up on her toes behind Queen Sisi to check out the letter written. Noticing Leah''s gaze from behind, she turned around.


    "Hehe, are you curious, Leah?"


    "Uhm¡­"


    Leah initially ran away due to fear, but she was left awkward when Queen Sisi called her. She felt that it wouldn''t be right to run away, so she warily approached Queen Sisi. Leah gyrated her lips: "Umm¡­ umm¡­ Your Majesty¡­ umm¡­ I¡­ think¡­ you should not¡­ make such a mess of a letter."


    "You''re right about that, Leah."


    Queen Sisi spread the letter open. Because of the ck ink smeared on it, it was harder to dry. Due to her own selfish reasons, the diplomat deliberately tried to dy teaching humanity''snguage as much as possible. Hence, Leah still couldn''t read humanity''s texts and, by the same ount, couldn''t understand what Queen Sisi penned.


    Cheerfully, Queen Sisi exined, "But this letter can help your papa. Sometimes, letters aren''t intended for others to read for there is anotheryer of meaning behind the letters."


    "Really¡­? Leah does not really get it¡­ Leah struggles to understand what Queen Sisi and Papa say."


    Queen Sisi folded the letter and carefully abbreviated her name in a small corner of the letter. She instructed, "Leah, take this letter to the subus, and ask her to deliver it to the person at the address here."


    "Uhm." Suspicious, Leah had a whiff.


    Face on her hand, Queen Sisi told Leah, "Leah, I am truly envious of you. You now have a father who loves you so much and protects you, which is why you can still smile despite being in the centre of this chaos. At your age, I lost everything. I searched for food people didn''t want to eat. Stray dogs chased me down. Guards humiliated me. I also lost my father."


    Leah froze and tightly gripped the letter in her hand without knowing what to do. Queen Sisi crouched down and held her arms out: "So, Leah, can I give you a hug the same way your father and Veirya does?''


    "Your Majesty¡­ If¡­ if you insist, then¡­"


    Queen Sisi gently pulled Leah into her embrace. Leah shuddered. Leah didn''t dislike Queen Sisi''s scent. Leah never thought that Queen Sisi could hug her the same way a normal woman would, in that she didn''t expect it could be so warm in thetter''s arms.


    Leah, in a quiet voice, stammered, "Your Majesty¡­ can you¡­ protect Leah''s father¡­? Ever since Mama Veirya left¡­ Papa¡­ has been out of sorts¡­ He has been different to how he was before¡­ He now has¡­ a frightening smell¡­ Leah''s heart¡­ aches just catching a whiff of his scent¡­ Your Majesty¡­ Leah¡­ Leah cannot bring Mama Veirya back¡­ but¡­ if you can¡­"


    Queen Sisi sincerely pledged, "I know. I know. I swear to you that I will do my absolute best to protect him. As long as I am alive, I will not let any harm befall himfor I, too, love your father. As such, I will not allow any mishap to befall him."


    Queen Sisi felt that her rtionship with Leah was finally cordial. She felt that she was truly the equivalent of Leah''s mother. She wanted to perform better than Veirya, but she didn''t see Leah''s face on her shoulders.


    Leah''s expression was particrly aloof and violent. Everyone treated her as a child; she was privy to the fact that they approached her just to get close to her father. On the other hand, nobody understood her. What Leah wanted certainly wasn''t a mother. All she wanted was her father¡­


    ========


    Current time in the imperial pce.


    The soldiers removed their swords from my neck. The young man''s awfully displeased visage put a grin on my mug. As I said from the very beginning, nobody in the pce would dare to kill me. I could do whatever I pleased unless Veirya showed herself.


    "I won''t let you see Lord Veirya. It took a lot of effort for Lord Veirya to choose the correct path. I won''t allow you to ruin our nation''s future." Without the power of his de, the young man appeared so little and fragile. Nheless, he kept his gaze on me and remained stern as ever: "Lord Veirya should be the one to rule this world. We are different to you. We are passionate and loyal to this nation!"


    "Impressive. I''m amazed you can brazenly mention loyalty. Queen Sisi is the symbol of this nation. Not only did you disobey hermand, you even switched out the ruler. You can represent the will of the nation now? All you did was select a Queen you deemed befitting. You were no longer loyal ages ago. You''re the very source of disorder in this nation. When Veirya makes an error in the future, you won''t hesitate to abandon her all the same. Your so-called loyalty is recing the ruler of the nation to suit your own preference. That''s not loyalty.


    "I''ll give you a chance to repent: let me meet Veirya. I''ll convince her to quit, and then you can support Queen Sisi again. That''s the best oue. Veirya is not cut out to be a Queen.


    You people know that."


    "Wrong." He shook his head without spending so much as a second to think. He sported a fervent gaze for Veirya that not even I, who loves Veirya, would have. He proimed, "Queen Veirya is the Queen we need. We don''t need a fallen Queen the elves humiliated. We have decided to never change! We will not change regardless of what you say!"


    "Oh, really? Hmm, in that case, I won''t waste my breath anymore. I hope that you won''t regret it when the timees. My issue with Veirya is a family matter between just us. You''re the ones who insisted on turning it into what it is now. I could destroy the chapel for Veirya''s sake and turn the elves'' world on its head. Soon enough, you will also learn."


    "Lord Veirya must be Queen! Even if it''s thest thing I can do, I will crown Lord Veirya!!"

 Chapter Volume 6 25

    <em>A Minor Error</em>


    "I want to see him. I want to see him. I want to see him. I want to see him. I want to see him. I want to see him.


    "I left in a moment of anger, but I now genuinely regret it. I really do. I missed him so much when I was in the North. I looked forward and hoped he coulde back from the elves sooner, even if it was just one day earlier. He had returned, yet I ran off in a moment of anger. I shouldn''t have been so angry. I had never been so angry before. I wasn''t just afraid; it was because of a painful feeling that I was furious. It wasparable to a lion suffering from pain, yet unable to find a suspicious target that could retaliate, thereby feeling enraged due to a sense of powerlessness.


    "When I saw him kiss Queen Sisi, I felt as if I had my heart was hammered. I almost copsed on the spot, even. I don''t know why it hurt so much. There was also anger, but I don''t know why I felt that way. He''s the man I like, and she''s Queen Sisi, the Queen I have pledged an oath of loyalty to. I shouldn''t be angry, but why? Why did my heart feel as though it shattered when I saw them kiss¡­?


    "I regret it now. I didn''t run away to exact revenge. It wasn''t to vent. I just didn''t want to feel the painful feeling. I purely wanted to escape from the pain and aching sensation in my heart, not him.


    "He''s arrived. He''s in the city I''m in. I heard his voice in the imperial pce. I''ve done it. I wanted him toe to me. He''se to me, so it''s enough. I don''t want to be Queen. I don''t want power. I don''t any of that. I just wanted him toe to me and provide an exnation. I wanted to hear him tell me that he loves me.


    "I''m not very sure what love means, but when he says it, my body feels light for some reason. It feels as though I''m swept off my feet. It feels as though the world is brighter. I don''t know why I feel that way, either. I just want to see him and hear him say it again. I don''t know what it means, but I want to him to say it again and again. Nobody can stop me. The military won''t let me see him, but they can''t stop me," Veirya mused.


    Veirya lightly jumped out of a window and deftlynded in the flower garden below. While her hands and boots were covered in mud as a result, it couldn''t slow her down or extinguish her will. It would be hard for people to jump over the imperial pce walls without help, yet it wasn''t even considered an obstacle to her. She vaulted over the wall ran outside.


    "Where is he?" Veirya wondered as she searched.


    Everyone going back and forth on the street was a carbon copy of the person next to them; everyone wore identical ck cloaks and outer coats. With the eyes of an eagle, Veirya spotted him. He waspletely wrapped up with his ck cloak. His gait was odd as his left foot suffered an injury, and he didn''t have his cane on him. He walked along with a group of people but looked no different.


    Veirya''s heart began to race. She stood still in ce. She missed him so much, but when she saw him, she became timid and overly cautious. She didn''t know why, but her heart palpitated faster, and the world would appear brighter whenever she saw his back. However, her racing heart made her happy. "Perhaps this is the happiness that I haven''t recalled in a long time¡­" Veirya surmised.


    Thest time Veirya had the feeling¡­ was a long time ago. At the time, she was a nameless knight in training. At the time, she hadpanions. Her sword had never seen blood, and the sky was brighter than ever.


    Veirya took a step forward. She wanted to chase him. She wanted to hear his exnation, leave Queen Sisi in the imperial capital and go home with him. She just had to stop Lucia from approaching him again. That would make everything perfect. She just wanted to live with him as they did in the past. She would pretend their spat never happened.


    Veirya pushed aside everyone in front of her to chase after that back she was familiar with. The closer she got to him, the more excited she was. Her steps became lighter and lighter¡­


    ========


    Queen Sisi stood at the door with her arms around Leah. They seemed to be waiting for something. Upon seeing me, she smiled, while Leah excitedly sprinted over to me and tightly hugged me around my waist: "Papa is back. Papa is back! Leah knew Papa wouldn''t lie to Leah!"


    I scrubbed Leah''s head with a smile: "Papa is back, Leah."


    Queen Sisi strolled over. She stretched her arms out then tilted her head with a smile. She cast her gaze behind me and then smiled again: "So, victorious warrior, can I give you a hug?"


    I nodded. Queen Sisi gave me a hug. Leah was trapped in between us. Sisi then went up on her toes and cupped my face in her hands. She kissed me on my cheeks then chuckled: "My knight, seeing as you have been able to return, I suppose that means you sessfully achieved your goal? Things on my end also went superb. If possible, I hope you can go see the food merchant in the city tomorrow, and you should know what I did."


    "Actually, I would prefer it if you told me what you did now."


    "Oh? You want topete with me? I shall tell you what I did, and you tell me what you did. Let''s see who''s more astute."


    It was obvious to me that Queen Sisi was incredibly excited. Queen Sisi had to stay hidden, so we couldn''t stay outside for too long. I wrapped my arm around Queen Sisi to cover her appearance and then headed into the building.


    Veirya nkly stood in ce. Veirya saw everything. She saw the man who belonged to her hugging Queen Sisi. She couldn''t recall a beautiful scene, but she was of the opinion that there wasn''t anything better than him and Sisi being together. She had never seen Queen Sisi smile so brightly and blissfully. Queen Sisi didn''t smile that brightly even after she slew the Demon King. She had never put such a happy smile on Queen Sisi''s face before, yet he could. Arguably just as important was that it was so simple for him. His presence was enough for a smile to bloom on her lips.


    Leah also smiled so brightly. He walked into the building with his arm around Queen Sisi and Leah. The building was also exquisite. There were red flowers and decorations everywhere. It couldpare to a pce.


    "Maybe¡­ maybe¡­ this is everything Queen Sisi wanted? I could give up everything of mine for Queen Sisi, but I can''t bear with the thought of giving him away. It hurts just thinking about it. I can''t bear to give him away even though he can bring her so-called bliss and everything she wanted. But¡­ but he looks so mature when he''s with Queen Sisi. He looks so gentle with everyone. Maybe he doesn''t love me. Maybe he just lied to me. He''s lied to so many people, so why wouldn''t he lie to me?


    "He doesn''t seem to love me. Everything that I care about, all of the torment and bliss I feel when I think of him appears to be fake. What I feel, what I look forward to seems to be all pointless. I was just thinking about leaving Queen Sisi here and going home with him. However, it appears that I''m the one who should stay here. Why does my heart hurt so much¡­? Why? Why does my heart hurt so much when I''ve felt this feeling so many times already? I haven''t been wounded or failed. Why do I feel so hopeless? Why? Why exactly? What did he do to me? Is my only option to stay here? I have no ce next to him anymore¡­" Veirya mulled.


    There was one more thing¡­ She suddenly remembered the item¡­ The dwarf gave her a ring¡­ one that represented love¡­ She¡­ still wanted¡­ that ring¡­


    He didn''t see the shocked woman behind him. Everything he came to the imperial capital could''ve been resolved in an instant, but he missed the chance.


    "Forgive me, my warrior. All is fair in love. There''s no such thing as shamelessness in love because, in a contention for love, everyone is at a disadvantage¡­ Your weapon is might. I only have my wits," Sisi inwardly jeered, looking over her shoulder.

 Chapter Volume 6 26

    <em>Queen Sisi''s n</em>


    Queen Sisi ced her letter down in front of me. The letters exuded Queen Sisi''s unrestrained and proud nature. The pretty letters could be considered her ambiguous condition. If we wanted to talk to merchants, we had to offer reasonable conditions. Shecked leverage; hence, she had to use her future as coteral. Of course, it was the same concept as using physical coteral for a money loan, except she offered her abstract future.


    If Queen Sisi sessfully took back the throne with their help, they would have mintage rights. In essence, the letter acted the same way as how Qin Shihuang and I farmed money. Scam advertisements littered all over the street wouldn''t be trustworthy; however, a letter that Queen Sisi, herself, penned was unlikely to be forged. Anyone who was frequently at her side would definitely recognise her handwriting. Although she didn''t have her stamp, the letter was enough to prove that she wrote it.


    There was no issue with the authenticity of the letter. Its biggest issue was that the original text had been erased and rewritten. As a matter of fact, the most important part, which was what was to be offered once she was reinstated, had been erased and rewritten. As a consequence, the letter was perplexing. Normally, you would consider it a draft, and you would write a new one. Queen Sisi, however, proudly announced that she wrote it.


    The proud look on Queen Sisi''s lips reminded me of her old self. She ran her hand up and down her thigh: "What''s next in your n? You have a wound on her chin. The military threatened you, didn''t they? It seems that your chance to peacefully resolve the matter has failed. I assume that you n to begin your vengeance now."


    "Yeah."


    Queen Sisi sulked with her lips puckered, "This isn''t fair. I showed you my letter, yet you haven''t shared you n with me, nor do you have any visible preparations. I can''t make an inference unless you reveal something."


    "Haven''t you always been observing what I did?"


    "Ten thousand gold coins can allow you to do lots of things, but¡­ I would be disappointed if my throne was only worth ten-thousand gold coins."


    "It might not even be worth that much. Your idea is nice, but are you certain the messenger you entrust your letter to will deliver it? Further, are you certain the merchant will leave the merchant organisation? Does it really have enough power to do so?"


    "It will be absolutely fine. After all, I contacted two people. One of them is paranoid to begin with, and has always wanted to rece Achilles and the bank president. Another one is Edward, who you already know. While I like ambitious men, Edward''s insatiable ambition is distasteful. I prefer you."


    Queen Sisi seemed somewhat worried that I''d be jealous when she mentioned Edward, hence why the quick tag on the end. Unlike Veirya, Queen Sisi was mindful of my feelings. She checked that I was fine before she continued: "Among the two, one is part of the merchants'' inner circle, while the merchant alliance ostracises the other. Owing to the merchants feeling that he is an opportunist, they belittle him. Edward will definitely join me for the mintage rights. As for the other one, he is bound to notify other merchants but not Achilles and the bank president. The reason I smeared the letter was to cause them to lose trust in each other."


    "I see."


    Queen Sisi''s n was simple and aggressive but pragmatic. The quickest and most direct way to destroy businessmen''s rtionship was to cause their interests to sh. Being granted mintage rights was the greatest reward for a businessman. Money circtes from businessmen, but undoubtedly, a portion will be kept. If they could get their hands on the origin of the money first, then the merchants would be able to profit handsomely.


    If they had the mintage rights, they could control the amount of gold in gold coins, in addition to controlling the exchange rate and so forth. Given that the world was one where money could buy everything, whoever controlled the currency would be able to control the value of everything in the empire. That would be a win that businessmen could never even dream of. The most sessful a businessman could be is bing one who could monopolise the economy. That was what made one the true ruler of the empire. Not even Achilles, who had won favour with Queen Sisi, had that right. Queen Sisi didn''t even try to lull me in with its allure when she wanted to recruit me. The two rights that Queen Sisi never wanted to let out of her hand were military authority and the mintage rights.


    Anyone ambitious would consider Queen Sisi''s offer a God-sent opportunity. As for doubtful businessmen, they would specte it might be a trap. To top things off, Queen Sisi smeared the letters and penned the mintage rights over and over multiple times. When one saw it, suspicion would arise. Why? Because when they took it to another businessman to discuss, the one who was visited would suspect that their visitor tampered with Queen Sisi''s letter. Moreover, if he didn''t say anything, people would harbour suspicions of Edward and his actions.


    Businessmene together for profit and also separate for profit. Queen Sisi threw out the bet and then watched the group of wolves and dogs go wild, ripping into the piece of meat she threw out despite it being a hoax. I wasn''t convinced Queen Sisi would hand over the right. If she did, it''d just be decoration.


    Queen Sisi came up behind me and draped her arms over my shoulder. She giggled next to my ear in a soft voice: "To turn merchants against each other, all you need is a bargaining chip of enough value. It''s so simple, isn''t it? All I need to do is offer this. The mintage right will be yours in the end anyway."


    "I never wanted it."


    "I don''t n to just hand it to you, either."


    Queen Sisi caressed my face and gently ran her soft hand down to my chin. She returned her arms down around my neck and smiled: "Come, sit. I''ll shave your beard for you. I''ve never helped anyone shave before, so I''ll be careful."


    "I will do it myself."


    I recalled thest time when Queen Sisi tossed the towel. Frankly, she had me on edge¡­ I didn''t know when she managed to get her hand on a razor. She was radiating. A basin of hot water and some strange thing had been prepared. Perhaps it was a bar of soap. When I saw the way she held the razor, I shuddered. I didn''t think she had any experience. Actually, I was dead certain she had none!

 Chapter Volume 6 27

    <em>The Real Queen Sisi</em>


    <em>Pant¡­ Pant¡­ Pant¡­</em>


    "This is his face¡­ This is his chest¡­ This is his body¡­ This is my first time¡­ This is my first time seeing his body, touching his body and breathing in his scent. I can''t help it. I can''t think when I feel, see and smell these things. All the mental preparation I did has vanished. All that''s in my mind is him. My heart is racing, and I panic so much that I want to leave right away when I touch him, but I still want to touch him so desperately¡­


    "This must be love¡­ These must be my feelings¡­ Whenever we touch, I feel shy and nervous, yet my desire to touch him grows even more. I want to spend longer at his side. I prefer my current life over the throne or whatever. This is everything that I want. It''s only been two days, but spending time together with him in a room has been the two most beautiful days in my life. The delicate bliss I''ve felt for thest two days is so joyful¡­ This is all I ask for¡­


    "I want to sleep with him in my arms¡­ I want to see him when I wake up. I want to spend an entire day by his side. It feels as though, regardless of how I act spoilt, mess around or what mistakes I make, he''ll be there to correct me. In spite of what happened in the expedition against the elves, he could rescue me. When the entire world turned its back on me, he woulde to me no matter where I am.


    "All I want is him¡­ I want to touch him more¡­ spend more time with him¡­ interact more with him. I just want to always be by his side¡­ I want to always be by his side¡­ It''s okay for me to touch him more, right¡­? He won''t resist, will he? He won''t, will he¡­?" Queen Sisi inwardly conversed.


    I sure never imagined a Queen would personally shave for me. Queen Sisi''s hand was shaky when she first started for she was afraid of scratching my face. Thankfully, her hand gradually steadied itself, thereby allowing her to pick up the pace, as well. I didn''t know if it was deliberate or not, but her hand swam over my face and chest. I slouched in the chair, letting her do her thing, and contemted my next step.


    As Queen Sisi said, ten thousand gold coins were enough to allow me to do a multitude of things. In saying that, I was unsure if it was enough to reinstate Queen Sisi. Perhaps asking for ten thousand was too conservative.


    Next up was the merchants. I needed Achilles'' help. Actually, I also needed the subi''s aid. Even though few were willing to visit the subi anymore, their interpersonal connections could help me spread the news. Word of mouth always goes fast. Then, I needed to have the food merchant prepare. The moment the merchants did something, the entire city would shake. If the entire imperial capital''s foundations shook, the entire empire would be shaken. The military would never allow their imperial capital to be shaken, which was why I needed to start from the imperial capital.


    Sure, the military wouldn''t allow the imperial capital to be plunged into disorder. Even so, it was impossible for them to stop me. As long as I was alive, I wasn''t going to stop. They refused to negotiate, which meant that they insisted on crowning Veirya and abandoning Queen Sisi. When the military could no longer hold it together, they wouldn''tpromise and ept my request. Instead, they''d most likely try to end the battle with me as swiftly as they could. I, too, didn''t want to drag it out. If we did, it wouldn''t work out in our favour, as Queen Sisi would be discovered.


    Queen Sisi dipped her hand in some water ten gently stroked my chin. She remarked, "You should be good now¡­"


    "Oh¡­ thank y-"


    Queen Sisi suddenly straddled my hip, nearly throwing my pelvis out.


    "What are y-"


    Queen Sisi leaned her face in and firmly sealed my lips with a kiss¡­ I shuddered in response. There was something wrong about Queen Sisi. She seemed as though she had lost all sense of rationality. As she forced her passionate kiss on me, somebody knocked on the door behind and opened it. Queen Sisi vigorously raised her head and looked at our visitor in shock. I surprised myself because I felt relieved that it was Sophia.


    "What exactly¡­ is your rtionship? Are you nning to be a Prince?" Out came a mouthful of smoke. Sophia narrowed her eyes: "I did tell you not to wrong a subus, or the consequences would be grave, did I not? What exactly is your rtionship with Queen Sisi now?"


    Queen Sisi stepped aside. She patted her face to calm herself down. She carried the basin of water out. Sophia watched her pass by and then chuckled: "Your Majesty, being a woman does not suit you. A Queen should not be helping her man shave. Do you not intend to be a Queen anymore?"


    "They''re two separate matters; they don''t sh. I want to be the Queen but also a woman."


    "Avarice is not a virtue."


    Sophia shifted her line of sight to me. Sternly, she reproached, "Think this through, Sir. I told you: do not wrong a subus. If Miss Leah sees that in the imperial pce, the consequences may be very severe. To add, you im to love Lord Veirya, which is supposedly the motivation foring here. You said that you wanted to take Lord Veirya back and reinstate Queen Sisi, but right now, Queen Sisi, she, aaaahhh!"


    Steam evaporated from the subus'' head. Sophia wildly shook out her hair while screaming. She staggered backwards, while Queen Sisi stood at the door, her wrath gushing out of her heterchromia eyes. She threw aside the basin and brayed, "Don''t stick your nose in my business. If you dare butt into my business again, I''ll kill you!"


    There wasn''t a tinge of sympathy or benevolence. She was a Queen. Despite what she had gone through, she was still a Queen. I suddenly realised that the current gentle and considerate Sisi wasn''t Queen Sisi. Sophia was spot on. The Queen wasn''t a woman. Sisi was gentle and considerate with me. Nheless, with outsiders, she was still Queen Sisi.

 Chapter Volume 6 28

    <em>Vivid Dream</em>


    The golden orb in the sky woke me. A quick think told me that something was amiss. The familiar scent came from rainbow flowers, a scent the elves carried.


    "Am I back in the elvennds?" I wondered, heart skipping a beat. I inwardly told myself, "Why am I in the elvennds? Didn''t I reject Lucia? I shouldn''t be here, then. Ah, Wh-wh-what''s the matter with me? Wait. Calm down."


    The roof was the same one seen every morning at my home in the North. I couldn''t be any more familiar with Leah and my bed.


    "It doesn''t appear that I''m in the elvennds, then. Am I¡­ at home? So in other words, the rainbow flower scent ising from my flower garden? Man, how did I forget? I, personally, nted the flower for Leah. How did I forget?" I inwardly chided myself.


    I sat up and scrubbed my head. It was the same as every other ordinary day. There was a formal ck robe neatly set next to the bed. My cane was leaned up against the cupboard at the head of the bed. With that said, it didn''t resemble my cane. It had been switched for a morevish one. I didn''t recall arranging any of it.


    Suddenly, I heard light knocks on the door. Anna came in. Noticing that I was still spacing out on the bed, she paused. She grumbled, "Sir Lin, how can you still be soid back when there is something so serious waiting for you today? You are not showing Lord Veirya and the guests the respect they deserve, are you? Hurry and get changed. Sorry, but because of your tardiness, you no longer have time for breakfast. You need to hurry and go see Lord Veirya."


    "Ah¡­ sorry, I can''t remember properly, but¡­ uh¡­ what was on today''s agenda?"


    "You cannot jest about this, Sir Lin," reproached Anna. She came up to my side and opened the curtain: "You and Lord Veirya are getting married today. You have spent a long time pursuing her. I can finally say congrattions. Lord Veirya is ready. Do not make her wait long."


    "Uhm¡­ Uhm¡­"


    I picked up the clothes. Although I couldn''t wrap my head around what happened, I was excited. "I get to marry Veirya. I get to marry Veirya. I finally get to marry Veirya," I kept repeating to myself. Being with Veirya was everything that I wanted; it was my biggest goal in life, and I had finally realised it.


    I got dressed as fast as the wind, thereby almost identally ripping the clothes. Anna chuckled at my hasty manners. She affixed the ck cape to my clothes: "It sure is rare to see you so hasty. I am so d that you finally get to marry Lord Veirya. She looks sensational in her wedding dress."


    "Yeah? I''m looking forward to seeing her, then."


    I dusted my clothes, and then sped off. It was lively downstairs. Literally all of the townsfolk were gathered in therge hall that I had deemed to be useless. When they saw me descend the stairs, they cheerfullyughed and sprinkled burgundy flower petals on me. I crossed through the crowd, smiling from ear to ear. I wasn''t sure if it was the alcohol of not, but my feet felt particrly light, so light that I felt as if I was flying, making even the cane in my left hand feel as though it was dead weight.


    I mounted the white house outside. Without requiring mymand, it took off toward the familiar direction, which was the small hill where there was lush grass. Veirya once trained Leah there. It was a beautiful ce where you could see a blue sky and drifting clouds. I smelt Veirya''s entrancing scent from some distance away.


    The ce had beenpletely decorated, but there weren''t many people besides my friends. Leah carried a big bouquet of flowers and looked at me all smiles. I peered to the top of the hill and saw the rear view of a wedding dress. Her back was upright as always. I didn''t mind that she had a scar from a burn on her back. Angelina stood next to her and gently adjusted her dress. When she saw me, she smiled. She whispered something in Veirya''s ear.


    Veirya spun around. Her lips curled up into a subtle smile, which was a calm, yet iparably charming, smile. I genuinely felt the climb up the hill was a pain in the neck. I wanted to leap over and tightly hug Veirya right away.


    I struggled to dismount before my horse halted. I staggered over. Leah scattered flower petals on me. I rushed over, but Angelina stopped me with her outstretched hand. With a smile, she said, "Don''t be so hasty. You''re going to get married anyway, so she won''t run. Don''t be so hasty. We have to stick to procedure. Now, exchange wedding rings¡­"


    My heart stopped, and so did my hand in my pocket. My pocket was empty. I remembered putting it in there, I swear. I started panicking: "My ring, my ring¡­ ring¡­ my ring¡­"


    "You¡­ don''t have a ring? If you love Veirya, why wouldn''t you have a ring? If you don''t have a ring, you can''t exchange rings. Consequently, it proves that you don''t love my daughter, Veirya."


    Angelina''s voice suddenly turned frostier than ice. Even the air around me instantly turned freezing cold. My heart felt as though it stopped dead, and my blood ceased to flow. I lowered my head as I didn''t dare to look Veirya in the face. I was scared. I was truly scared that I would see her gaze of despair and anger again¡­


    "Don''t¡­ don''t¡­ I love her. I truly love her¡­ I truly love her¡­" I silently pleaded desperately.


    A pair of hands gently took hold of mine. Her hands were warm and soft. Her left ring finger had the touch of metal. A soft voice that wasparable to the sound of nature came from overhead: "Dear, don''t worry. Your ring. Is on my hand. Come, Dear. Let me. Wear mine on for you."


    Behind the white veil was Lucia, who wore a tender smile. The ring on her left ring finger radiated the bright light of a gem. As a matter of fact, I couldn''t look at it as the light felt as though it spurred on my tears.


    "Come, Dear. Be with me. I will take care of you forever. I''ll take care of you forever and love you forever, Dear. You gave me this ring of love, so please ept my love." Lucia tightened her hold on my hand.


    "Wait, wait, wait," I wanted to plead. The words just wouldn''te out.


    "This isn''t Lucia. Why would Lucia be so strong¡­?" I thought.


    It felt as though I was bound in a vortex. Lucia pulled me toward the dark forest.


    "I don''t want to go. I don''t want to go there! Stop! Stop! Stop! I don''t want to be with Lucia. I want to be with Veirya. I love Veirya! Stop! Stop!" I was virtually wailing at that point, but my pleas went unheard.


    Suddenly, a hand tightly grabbed hold of me. I heard another familiar voice from overhead. I couldn''t have been any more familiar with the voice. The tone was arrogant and yful.


    "Hehehe, what''s the matter, Little Doggy? It''s impolite to look so pathetic during our wedding."


    I looked up to see Queen Sisi smiling at me in a wedding dress. She pulled my hand, but I felt a hot sensation from them. It was akin to a me or hot water, melding us together.


    "Little Doggy, we have to be together forever. Together forever and ever¡­"


    "No!!! No!!"


    I put up a desperate struggle. I sat on the ground and continued to struggle, crying out in despair to try and pull my arm out from Queen Sisi''s grasp. s, it was futile. Queen Sisi smiled as if she was mocking me as ¡­


    Lucia bit my ear and chuckled: "Do you really think that you can be with that woman? You think you two can live a carefree life and even have your own children?"


    Sisi clung to me from my other side and kissed my lips: "Everything has a price tag. Little Doggy, you''re aware that you have to corresponding price for everything that you gain. This is the price. You will never be able to escape us. There''s no way you can. Stop dreaming of a fairy tale story with her. We''ll always be by your side unless you ept this reality or watch her die¡­"


    Suddenly, I felt a painful sensation at my chest. I nkly looked town to see two sharp tentacles thrust into my body. I then felt tentacles from behind. The tentacles bound me as if they were snakes. All of my limbs and even my head were bound.


    "Papa is mine¡­ Leah won''t give Papa¡­ to anyone. Leah will not give Papa to anyone!"


    <em>Gasp!</em> I vigorously sat up. My heart felt as though it would explode from my chest. My clothes were soaked in my sweat. I frantically surveyed my surroundings. It was a small room. Queen Sisi had her back to me on the bed. She was still taking gentle breaths. Leah wasn''t in the room. It was just me and my frantic breathing.


    "A dream. So it was a dream. It was only a dream, right¡­?" I wondered.

 Chapter Volume 6 29

    <em>Sisi''s Dream</em>


    With her eyes on me, Queen Sisi nervously sped her hands: "Umm¡­ Did you not sleep wellst night?"


    "No¡­ I had a bad dream."


    Queen Sisi was evidently relieved after hearing my response.


    "You did not do anything to mest night while I was sleeping, did you? Your Majesty, exin¡­"


    "No! Of course not! How could I do that sort of shameless stuff?! Absolutely no!"


    Queen Sisi immediately shook her head and loudly denied it as if I insulted her. I meticulously observed her. She forced herself to look me straight in the face in an attempt to hide her guilt in the most obvious manner. However, her face quickly turned red. Most importantly, she averted her gaze¡­ I couldn''t really say anything. What happened already happened. Admit it or not, nothing would change.


    Queen Sisi hugged me from behind and whispered next to my ear, "Oh, right, Little Doggy, you have never seen my name, have you?"


    The question sent me straight down memoryne tost night. I wasn''t one who normally remembered his dreams, but Queen Sisi''s back hug sent a shiver up my spine¡­


    "Everything has a price tag. Little Doggy, you''re aware that you have to corresponding price for everything that you gain. This is the price. You will never be able to escape us. There''s no way you can. Stop dreaming of a fairy tale story with her? We''ll always be by your side unless you ept this reality or watch her die¡­"


    Queen Sisi''s words fromst night and her touch were still vivid to me. Every part of the dream except for Queen Sisi seemed real.


    "Could¡­ Queen Sisi''s partst night wasn''t a dream but reality, then?" I pondered. I couldn''t tell if it was a dream or not. I questioned, "Why the sudden question?"


    "Because you called that woman''s namest night in such a blissful voice. You even wore such an innocent smile when you called out to her. I was hugging you from behind, yet you called her name. I was right within your grasp. I gave you a back hug, yet you were thinking of her?!


    "You were in my embrace, yet you thought about that woman. As if thinking about her during the day wasn''t enough. Why do I not even have a spot in your dreams at night? A day is a long time; why can''t I have a few minutes? All I ask is that you hold me for a few minutes, and tell me you love me.


    "Why? Why is that mindless woman able to have such a precious treasure? Why is that woman wasting her god-sent treasure, yet still can''t waste all of his patience and love? Why exactly? Does his heart not break? How can I persuade him to give up?


    "I want him to have his eyes on me. Despite the current predicament, despite me having done so much for him by his side, he won''t spare me as much as a nce. His eyes are always filled with sorrow because of that woman''s departure. Everything he does is for her, that woman who''s no different to a dimwit! What must be done for him to give up?" Queen Sisi was busting to blurt.


    "Call me by my name. Come on. I''m no longer a Queen. You keep calling me Your Majesty this, Your Majesty that. It doesn''t sit right, does it? Moreover, wouldn''t I be exposed if you called me so when we''re out? Hence why, from now on, you must begin to practice addressing me by my name. Do you need me to teach you? Sisi. Sisi."


    "I do not think that is appropriate, is it¡­? Not even Veirya addresses you by your name in spite of how close you two are."


    Queen Sisi pouted. She then tugged my arm and started acting borderline flirtatious. She badgered, "Come on; call me by my name. Veirya can''t call me by my name. Additionally, I don''t allow anyone to address me by my name in the imperial pce, so I only get to hear my name here. I really like to hear my name. Little Doggy, address me by my name from now."


    "Umm¡­ Sisi?"


    It was as easy as could be for me to address Queen Sisi by her name. I wasn''t the sort of person to be bashful when I had to call someone by their name asmonly seen in Manhua and Manga. I got over that age long ago. Queen Sisi, however, was different. Or rather, I thought she was. The moment I articted her name, she shook as if she was electrocuted. I could feel her hands around my arm quavering.


    "One¡­ one more time¡­ one more time¡­ Can you continue calling me that from now? Just call me that anytime and anywhere. Just call me by my name. It sounds¡­ very¡­ very nice. Wouldn''t you agree? My name is nice, isn''t it¡­? I¡­ really¡­ really like you calling me by my name¡­"


    Me in my head: "I''m innocent! I didn''t do anything! What are you trying to pull with that lovesick girl look?! Don''t! Stay back! Should I have not agreed to it from the beginning?"


    "Everything has a price tag. Little Doggy, you''re aware that you have to pay corresponding price for everything that you gain. This is the price. You will never be able to escape us. There''s no way you can. Stop dreaming of a fairy tale story with her? We''ll always be by your side unless you ept this reality or watch her die¡­"


    What Queen Sisi said in my dream was correct¡­ Nothing is ever free. Satisfying Queen Sisi, motivated her to take a yard. In the future, she''d turn into another Lucia. As an elf, Lucia couldn''t influence me when I was in humanity''snds. As for Queen Sisi, she''d be another Lucia once she reimed her throne. Veirya would end up dead without question, then. But then¡­ I wondered if I should buy a new ring. A ring worth ten thousand gold coins should be so beautiful it''d charm her instantly.


    "Okay now, Sisi, I need to get going."


    I pressed a hand on Sisi''s hand. She indicated she understood and immediately pulled her hand back. She was as obedient as a newlywed wife. She was so gentle that nobody could imagine she poured a basin of hot water on the subus. With a smile, she said, "Then, I shall wait for you toe back here. Come back early."


    "Uhm."


    "Wait¡­ why did I just go along with it and call her Sisi?" I wondered.

 Chapter Volume 6 30

    <em>Sisi''s Feelings</em>


    Prior tomencing my n today, I needed to make sure that my current rear was secure. Queen Sisi went too far yesterday if you ask me. As escapees temporarily seeking refuge at her ce, we couldn''t afford to offend Sophia. The risk of Sophia kicking us out if we affronted her always loomed. There was no way Queen Sisi didn''t think of that, so it was obvious just how furious she was yesterday. With that said, throwing your life away to cate your anger was irrational. Queen Sisi made irrational decisions when I was involved. As a consequence, I had to have a word with Sophia.


    In spite of the fact that Leah could now order Sophia around, Sophia had no respect for me or Queen Sisi to speak of. I pulled open the door and asserted, "Sisi, you are aware that you were in the wrongst night, right? We are currently guests they have no need to keep, yet you poured that basin of water on her. If she decides to get back at us, we will all be history. We need to apologise to her now, which means that you need toe with me."


    "I refuse." Queen Sisi juddered when I addressed her by her name again; however, she outright refused. She sternly eximed, "As I said to her, she shouldn''t be butting into my business, especially with regards to that! She should not be sticking her nose in my feelings! I am the Queen!! I will not allow anyone to question my love even if I must die!"


    "Do not be wilful. As a Queen, you should be aware when you should apologise, right? If you die now, all of our efforts would be in vain. If it is in wain, Veirya will be crowned. Are you sure you want that? You know that Veirya cannot possibly be a Queen. Are you going to surrender this nation? Moreover, if you do not n to be a Queen, why would you havee here with m-?"


    "I never nned toe here!" belted Queen Sisi.


    It was a stumping deration. Tears sat on the edge of her heterochromia eyes. Sorrowfully, Queen Sisi thundered, "From the very beginning, I told you that I just want to be together with you. You were the one who insisted on dragging me here. You were the one who insisted on crowning me again to exchange me for Veirya. You''re treating me as the same thing you treated Lucia! You want to exchange me for Veirya! You''re not doing this for me! I''m right here by your side, yet you keep uttering Veirya''s name! You''ve never smiled with me before, yet you smiled so tenderlyst night!! Now you want me to apologise to a busybody who stuck her nose in my love?! You''ve never been considerate of my feelings!!"


    I exhaled my frustration. Sisi suffered so much due to her own astuteness. She was on the money. I treated her the same way I treated Lucia. Indeed, I needed her to exchange for Veirya. In saying that, Queen Sisi was a Queen in the first ce. She was a Queen who fell due to betrayal. Thus, I wondered if she didn''t want to return to her throne.


    Queen Sisi was a Queen, a brilliant Queen. She was able to lead humanity to victory against the demon race, the most powerful race on the continent. She brought prosperity to the empire. She was the most suitable candidate for the throne in the entire empire. The entire world needed her; the empire needed her. Choosing me would mean the downfall of the empire and a waste of her talent. I I couldn''t make others pay such a big price for myself. Sisi wasn''t a woman, but a Queen. As for me, I wasn''t a man suited to the role of a Prince.


    "Queen Sisi, you said so yourself. You are a Queen. Do you genuinely have no desire to return to your throne at all? Sisi, you are the best Queen this empire could ask for. All of humanity''s hope rides on your shoulders. You put in so much for this empire. Are you going to give up the throne for me alone? Sisi, I am not doing this for myself and Veirya. I am also doing this for you and this nation. You are best Queen this nation can ask for."


    "Have you considered my feelings?! Have you considered my opinion?!"


    I shook my head. I turned around and opened the door: "Many times in life, your own opinion will be worthless. An impulsive moment will ruin your entire life. Sisi, do not be impulsive. This nation needs you more than I do. I am going to apologise to Sophia first, and then I will go see the merchant. You continue with your n. You have to return to the throne for your sake, too."


    I didn''t give Queen Sisi a chance to say any more. Queen Sisi shouldn''t be with me. The nation needed her more. Maybe we had a future together if she wasn''t a Queen, but that was impossible. Nobody was a better candidate to rule the nation than Queen Sisi. Giving up an entire empire for love only happens in novels and Manhuas. It sounds romantic, but it''s nothing more than being irresponsible. One should stay in thene they should stay in. One person''s happiness and love is worthlesspared to the entire world.


    When I got outside, I saw Leah conversing with the subi. She turned around when she heard the door open and ran up to me, beaming: "Good morning, Papa!"


    "Uhm. What''s the matter with everyone, Leah?"


    I had a vague idea of what happened when I saw the subi¡­ I supposed they assembled due to what happened to Sophia. Leah looked at me and then the subi behind her. She nonchntly dered, "Nothing, Papa. There is no need to worry about anything. Nothing happened."


    "I don''t think so."


    I folded my torso over to parallel to the floor: "I am sincerely sorry, subi. It was our mistake. Sisi poured hot water on Sophia. I hope Sophia is all right. The fault lies with us. I apologise, but that does not mean that I do not respect you. We are sincerely grateful that you could ept us, so when I return, I will personally visit Sophia and bring her some medicine. You don''t need to worry."


    Leah judged my apology to be meaningless: "Papa, you don''t have to do that. They won''t say anything."


    "That''s not right, Leah. If you made a mistake, you must apologise. A wrong is a wrong regardless of your reasons. Papa needs to head out now. Leah, watch over Queen Sisi. I think she might be unsettled today¡­"

 Chapter Volume 6 31

    <em>Copse</em>


    The bank president stormed into Achilles'' office and yelled, "Achilles, have you heard about the letter Queen Sisi sent?"


    "I know about it already. It seems that he is boldly showing us the letter due to not believing it to be Queen Sisi''s letter. However, I immediately recognised that Queen Sisi personally wrote it. I would say that is good news. After all, we can confirm that Queen Sisi is still alive."


    "I beg to differ. I don''t trust him. There''s a big problem with the letter. Why was it smudged, especially the most important part? That''s not to mention that it was smudged multiple times. Nobody can make out what was initially written. Do you genuinely think Queen Sisi would give us mintage rights? There is absolutely not chance she would give away that sort of right. No matter how you think about it, it''s painfully obvious that it''s fake. I''m not saying that the letter is fake but that the letter has been tampered with. He might be conducting some off-the-grid deal!"


    "But what would be the reason for forging the letter? To drag us down? Anyone could figure out that it''s impossible to trick us with such a tantly oundish deal. In addition, why do you rule out the possibility that Queen Sisi might''ve made an idental error and sent a draft?"


    "I''m not saying that it''s impossible, but ask yourself: is Queen Sisi really the sort of person who would make such a mistake? I kept deliberating it yesterday and realised that there''s a purpose to it. I suspect he''s betrayed us. He might havee to some sort of agreement with Queen Sisi and now wants us to give her our full support."


    "But would that somehow benefit Her Majesty? If we give her all of our support, then that would only allow her to return to her thrown sooner. That aligns with our intentions."


    "I would surmise that Her Majesty wants us to work for the mintage rights. I''m certain that she won''t hand the mintage rights to us once she is reinstated. Frankly speaking, the idea isn''t attractive in the least."


    "Edward also received it. He, on the other hand, is eager. He wants to do everything in his power to reinstate Her Majesty. I think that hecks the ability to pull it off. If Her Majesty never promised the mintage rights, then the opportunist that Edward is wouldn''t possibly be so enthusiastic about it, right?"


    "You meant to say that the letter is Her Majesty''s original copy? Regardless of what the case is, our inner circle is restless. Some are suspecting if Her Majesty is truly alive or not because the letter. At the same time, some have be firmer in their stance in opposing the military. Some have even begun ns to purchase arms and hire mercenaries tounch an attack on the military."


    "That is wrong. That is pure folly. That is awfully bad for us. We shouldn''t split up. We must be in rhythm with each other. Yes, we should support Queen Sisi, but before we can confirm if she will be able to return to the throne or not, we can only offer financial support and nothing more practical. If the military goes after Queen Sisi, then before she''s crowned, we''ll be put in an awkward situation, otherwise."


    The letter, which couldn''t be verified as Queen Sisi''s, had be the catalyst of the copse of the businessmen''s inner circle. When they discussed togetherst night, the radical merchants instantly found a target to pledge loyalty to. They effused that they had to bring Queen Sisi back to the throne immediately. They were willing to resort to force to take back control of the imperial pce even though Veirya didn''t spare a care. Those suspicious of the origins of the letter believed the man who brought the letter to be plotting something and deliberately forging a letter to get everyone worked up. As a result, both groups began to use the other.


    The problem that arose was serious. Others may not share the sentiment; however, as the leader of the circle, Achilles and the bank president were cognisant of the fact that, putting aside the authenticity of the letter for the meantime, they had to ensure everyone was united to the end. Businessmen were dangerous entities. They controlled the money that everyone desired during times of chaos despite not having might. Should they fail to turn the spare money into a weapon that could ovee the des swung at them, they would be exterminated.


    The businesses survived thanks to their unity. Howbeit, Queen Sisi plunged their inner circle into disarray with a single letter. The two needed a strategy to re-establish trust amongst them. As the two leaders, they had to create stability in the group again. Fortunately, the two were extremely calm. After all, the letter wasn''t worth trusting.


    As the two conversed, someone gently knocked on the door.


    Achilles, do you have a guest?"


    "No. I do not have anything scheduled today. I do not know who it is, either." Achilles paused before saying, "Hide for now. I think you need to hear what is said now. It might be a crucial conversation."


    "All right."


    The president made his way into a small room on the side of Achilles office. Achilles gently cleared his throat and invited his visitor in.


    I pushed the door open to see Achilles. His expression was perfectly normal. Apparently, Queen Sisi''s letter didn''t impact him much. Smiling, I expressed, "Good morning, Achilles."


    "Mr. Lin. It is risky for you to be here. The soldiers may not kill you, but they might torture you, so you best be cautious."


    "I don''t think there is any danger."


    The seat in front of Achilles was nted, which proved that someone had pulled it out to sit on before. I walked over and touched the chair, pretending my left foot was acting up. The seat was still warm. I, therefore, surmised that his visitor was still in the room. A quick think was all it took for me to figure out who it was. I smiled and then sat down opposite Achilles: "How are you doing recently? You free? I''ve finally had some time, so I came to have a drink with you."


    "In the middle of the day?"


    Achillesughed as he grabbed a tray with wine in it over. He poured me a cup. I wasn''t a fan of alcohol; I hated the light-headedness-inducing thing, but I had no choice. I had to prove a point to Achilles. I tilted my head back and back it went. I bore with the burning liquid nosedive down my throat. I already started to feel slightly dizzy with one drink. I wrestled with the dizziness and took in a deep breath: "This sure is a nice ce. The sun is bright. It''s just that people aren''t as lively as when Ist visited. It''s disappointing for businessmen. People aren''t lively won''t be willing to spend much, after all."


    "Yeah, it truly is not a good ce for us." Achilles didn''t seem to think I''d say something without any substance.


    I fiddled with the ss: "In saying that, it''s really annoying. The military are an ignorant bunch, yet they think they know everything. They can''t tell the problem between a Queen and a hero. I never believed people could be that stupid until I met them."


    "Indeed. Nheless. We should not have any wishful hopes of them understanding what we do. They are mere idiots whose only skill is killing people."


    "Exactly. This world would be much better without them. Then again, I wouldn''t be able to meet you without them. I wouldn''t have been rescued had there not been the war, after all. I might''ve just wilted away somewhere in the world, minding my own business instead."


    "You would never be an ordinary man wherever you go. That, I know. Your skills will be disyed as long as you are around humans. I believe you would definitely stand out conspicuously. We might have been allies in the same line. You would probably be a brilliant businessman or a brilliant official?"


    "Perhaps. If possible, I''d choose to work alongside Queen Sisi as long as she doesn''t go making mistakes every other day."


    "To tell the truth, without that triumph, Queen Sisi definitely would not have done so."


    "I concur. As she has already made the choice, though, I have to give my best for the current situation and her. I need to reinstate her. Queen Sisi made a mistake; however, as her vassals, we need to either stop her before she act son the mistake or help her again after she fails."


    I stood up and pressed my hands on the side of the table closest to me: "Well, see you again. I have other things to do. The ten thousand gold coins you lent me will empower me to do lots of things. At the very least, it''s enough for me to turn the imperial capital on its head and inside out."


    "The smartest individuals of the empire are right in this city."


    "That''s perfect, then. I happen to be the smartest among all here."


    With that, I turned and left the room. I didn''t need to concern myself with what happened in the room for I''d find outter.


    The president exited the small room and queried, "What did hee for?"


    "As he said, for a drink."


    Achilles was also quite flummoxed. He couldn''tprehend what the purpose of Lin Dongqing''s visit was. But nheless, perhaps not everything had a purpose. He really might''vee for just a drink. The president then walked over to the chair and nced back at Achilles. He grabbed the folded sheet of paper there. It read, "Merchant allianceplete disbandment."

 Chapter Volume 6 32

    <em>Ring for a Proposal</em>


    It should be fine. Achilles couldn''t exin the problem with the letter, which was actually a few words I casually wrote in the spur of the moment. The basic takeaway was, "Understood," which created the false impression that Achillesmunicated with us through letters in private. In reality, though, Achilles and we nevermunicated in any capacity. Howbeit, he couldn''t exin the nature of the letter. Put another way, nobody would believe him even if he did exin it. If there was doubt between the president and Achilles, then the merchant inner circle would be in total disarray. Among the group of disordered businessmen, some helped Queen Sisi, and they didn''t have the capital to ask for anything after they provided help. That was exactly what we needed.


    Queen Sisi''s letter was effective. The seemingly impregnable alliance was aughing matter, as all it took was one letter to dismantle it. That was the nature of businessmen. Before money and profit, trust and friendship are worth nothing.


    It was a much simpler issuepared to the first issue I tackled when I came to the imperial city for the first time. The businessmen and military personnel were not on the bishop''s level.


    The soldiers were busy sticking up posters to announce Veirya''s uing coronation, while there were others who reced the preachers, standing to one side, calling people over to exin why Veirya was superior to Queen Sisi. They also promised that Veirya wouldn''t do worse than Queen Sisi, and promised better days for everyone.


    I stopped to listen to what they preached for a while. What they were doing wasn''t Veirya''s intent, and they didn''t even talk about the key point. A manifesto should have one priority key point, which was what the new ruler could do for everyone. A manifesto isn''t a couple of slogans jammed together. Instead, it should include some points, such as reducing unemployment rates or increasing benefits for citizens. You also need to provide details for how that goal will be achieved. That''s how you convince the people. The soldiers didn''t say a single thing with substance. All their garble was slogans without any substance. Most importantly, the people weren''t even passionate about the war against the elves. The soldiers prattled about avenging humanity''s defeat at the elves'' hands. That wasn''t going to get them in the people''s good books.


    My n was to go and arrange things with the food merchants. Essentially, I was going to have them transport food out for some time as per Achilles'' wish. They didn''t need to do much. All they had to do was transport food out. Leave it there for a while, and then finally bring it back. That was a move in the food merchants'' favour because they could make some extra money from it. Amodity with a stable price, such as food, required such tactics to increase earnings. No businessman would pick a fight with money.


    The food merchants'' were focused at the spot close to the city entrance as it was a good location for transporting food in. Needless to say, there were also stores foreigners run there. There were no longer any elven stores around. Basically, there were dwarves'' stores. Lots of them were jewellery stores. They were dwarves'' stores, after all. They were far superior to humanity when it came to processing metal and gems.


    The mention of jewellery reminded me of that unpleasant dream¡­


    The ring Francis gave me was still on Lucia''s ring finger. At the time, I had to propose to Lucia. Without a ring, a proposal isn''t sincere. I couldn''t ask Lucia to give it back after. I admit the dwarf''s ring was nice¡­


    I gripped the ten thousand gold coins invoice in my pocket. I had ten thousand gold coins that all the merchants loaned to me. No matter how expensive a ring may be, it wouldn''t cost more than ten thousand gold coins. It was best for me to have a ring with me the next time I saw Veirya. If possible, I needed one the exact same as the one Francis gave me. But honestly¡­ I couldn''t remember how it looked¡­


    I strolled to the jewellery store. Someone suddenly pushed the door to the store open. A white robe appeared before my eyes, and a familiar scent came from in front, causing every muscle in my body to contract. My world lit up thanks to the familiar scent. My heart gradually began to beat faster. I couldn''t help myself from smiling. I told myself that I had to maintain myposure and not panic when I saw Veirya.


    "You didn''t do anything wrong. You must calm down¡­ just calm down. I need go and see the food merchants? And umm¡­ uh¡­. I can just apologise to Veirya, and then we can go home, right? I can take Veirya home and crown Queen Sisi. I''ll make it up to her with a ring here. If possible, proposing here while I''m at it would be all right. Do I even need to try? Wouldn''t all end well if we just went back?" I told myself.


    But¡­ I suddenly realised something¡­ I yanked my head up. There she was in front of me. Veirya hadn''t changed at all. She extended her hand toward the sun. The iid gem on the ring sitting on her left ring finger was akin to a sharp piece of ss that pierced my heart, with someone grabbing it and repetitively screwing it in while wearing a savage smile¡­ The young man next to her looked at her with a smile, one that you''d wear when spoiling someone. She looked as if she was a wife who came to buy a ring with her husband.


    What should''ve been fondness and affection had turned into pain and despair. Even though she saw me, Veirya immediately pulled her hand behind her. She gave me a small nod.


    "Veirya¡­"


    My heart ache stirred my tear ducts. My legs trembled. Had I not had my cane, I probably would''ve fell to the ground¡­


    "Uhm." Veirya removed her ring from her finger: "I just. Wanted this. So¡­ Is the ring. Francis gave us. With you?"


    "I¡­ I¡­"


    It was the same as in my dream¡­ the exact same¡­ I didn''t have a ring in my pocket. The ring Francis gave me was his blessings for Veirya and I. I ended up giving mine to Lucia¡­ I literally scrunched the invoice in my pocket up into a ball. I''d be willing to pay ten or even twenty times the ten thousand gold coins to get the ring back. I wanted to personally put it on Veirya''s finger¡­


    "I see." Seeing as I kept silent, Veirya lowered her head and wore on the ring again. She then looked up at me and questioned, "So. You no longer. Love me. Correct?"


    "I¡­ don''t have¡­ ring¡­ ring¡­ I¡­ Sisi¡­"


    "You''re. Already addressing her by her name. And gave her. The ring. So. We have nothing left. To say, then. Thank you. For your help before. I won''t need it. From now."


    With a nod, Veirya turned around. The young man gave me a grin that I wanted to rip off his face. He taunted, "I am delighted to meet you here, Mr. Lin. Next time, you will receive my invitation, okay?"


    I didn''t watch them leave. I grabbed my chest. I dropped my cane to the ground. I leaned onto the wall and banged it. My tears came from my eyes, nose and even my mouth.


    "If these aren''t tears, why am I so bitter?" I asked myself. "Aaarrrrghh!"


    Everyone in the vicinity went silent and looked shocked at the man kneeling on the ground. His body pulsated violently as he punched the wall over and over until his bloody fist was left on the wall. Nobody dared to approach him for they weren''t certain that he was human. A human wouldn''t roar that way.


    "I failed. Ipletely, totally, utterly failed," I cursed.

 Chapter Volume 6 33

    <em>Sisi''s Hope</em>


    Angelina stood at the door with her arms folded. She scratched her forehead then heaved a big breath: "I see. I didn''t think that would happen. That daughter of mine is admittedly too stupid. Thank you for bringing him back. If the military seized him, he probably would be dead by now."


    The dwarf nodded. He, too, was quite puzzled when he saw a man going bananas on the wall. As he was from Francis''pany, he did know a thing or two about the matter. Coincidentally, the subus delivering a letter happened to see them; hence, he brought Lin Dongqing back.


    The doctor opened the door. Sisi rushed up to the doctor and grabbed him by the cor. Anxious, she inquired, "How is he?"


    "<em>Sigh</em>, how do I put it? He is in good health physically. The sad news is, if he does not want to live on, he will continue to be in aa. I do not know how to treat him, either. I guess¡­ Well, just wait for him to recover on his own, I suppose."


    Queen Sisi nodded, and let the doctor leave. Leah ignored everyone holding her back to run over. She grabbed a tight hold of her papa''s hand and cried out to him. She pleaded her papa to open his eyes and look at her. She wanted him to hug her. Leah didn''t know what happened until the dwarf talked about how Veirya went shopping for a ring.


    Angelina understood what the idiotic thing her daughter did was. How she wished she could p her some sense into her daughter. She inwardly raged, "I truly can''t wrap my head around what she''s thinking. He went through so much just to ensure that she could live a good life. Didn''t he go to the elvennds to achieve that? You don''t understand him? Fine. What the heck are you doing shopping for a ring with another man for now? Refusing to listen to his exnation and acting unscrupulously. Not even Leah would do something that stupid! What in the world is she thinking?! Thank god I fail toprehend her mind''s inner workings."


    "What should we do now? Shall I infiltrate the imperial pce, give that idiotic daughter of mine a beating, and drag her out or just leave her? He''s broken down already. I can feel for him. Veirya has hurt him too much. Nobody would be able to stand that. We do not know when he wille to or if he even will. What are we going to do? It is not safe to wait here. We probably have to go back."


    Queen Sisi had her teeth in her bottom lip. She vigorously shook her head. With her gaze on Lin Dongqing, she resolutely dered, "It doesn''t matter. I don''t care. I don''t care what or when. I''m going to stay by his side until hees to. If he doesn''te to today, I''ll wait until tomorrow. Three days, seven days, one month, one year, ten years, I don''t care. I''m only twenty. I still have time. If ites down to it, I''ll enter an eternal slumber with him in the end. I said that I would never leave him, and I mean it. Once ites out of my mouth, I will do exactly as I say."


    "Your Majesty¡­ you have no need to do that. You should return to the throne¡­"


    Queen Sisi turned around and brayed, "What for? To bring back a woman who treats him this way so that I can watch her hurt a man who loves her over and over again? I don''t need your opinions. I don''t n to listen to any of you in the future despite this having happened. I especially hate it when people want to stick their noses in my love, not to mention someone looking identical to Veirya telling me that!!"


    "My daughter''s issue should not be associated with me. As you have said that, we should prepare to return to the North. Without him, we cannot do anything."


    "No, I''m staying here. The imperial capital has the best medical facilities and services. I''m taking back my throne. When I do, I''m going to butcher the slut and manwhore who did this to him. Then, I''ll use my authority to obtain everything that can take care of him. Previously, I was a Queen for myself. Henceforward, I shall be Queen for him."


    Hopeless, Angelina chuckled, "I am Veirya''s mother. I was eager to have him as my son-inw, but I cannot say for sure now. He might be happier with you. It is just that, without him, you will have to work hard on your own."


    "That''s fine. I''ve already almost figured out his entire n. I have an idea."


    Queen Sisi knelt by the bed and gently held Lin Dongqing''s hand. Leah crawled onto her father and cried until her entire body trembled. Sadly, it wasn''t enough to get even a hug from him. His eyes were shut tight. Being as strong as he was, he still ended up choosing to run. He could no longer bear with the pain. Having received blow after blow, he had been mentally defeated. He came to the imperial capital for Veirya, but in the end, it didn''t even matter


    "What do we do¡­ Your Majesty¡­? What do we do? What do we do¡­ Papa¡­ Papa will not wake up¡­ Your Majesty¡­ Wh-¡­ what do we do¡­?"


    Leah''s entire face was smothered with her tears. It was a struggle for her to keep her eyes open. Sisi gently hugged her while reserving one hand to hold Lin Dongqing''s. In a soft voice, she replied, "It''ll be all right. It''ll be all right, Leah. Don''t worry. He will wake up. We just need to wait. I''ll wait until he wakes up no matter what."


    "Your Majesty¡­"


    Queen Sisi didn''t say anything else. She, instead, stood up and caressed Leah''s head: "Leah, I need to prepare some things now. Ask some subi to help me send the stuff out. I''m going to do my best to take back the throne as soon as possible. Ask the subi to prepare some food that he can eat. I''ll feed him. In addition, we need to buy some ointment for burns. I''ll personally go apologise to her at night."


    "Your Majesty¡­ with so much to do¡­"


    "I''m used to it," said Queen Sisi, with a smile while caressing Leah''s head. "I''m not Veirya. I''m not as lucky as she was to have your father by her side. I carried myself through life in the past, so I''m used to it. Right now, at the very least, there''s still hope for me. Maybe your father will fall in love with me after he wakes up. There''s still hope for me."

 Chapter Volume 6 34

    <em>Company</em>


    "Move."


    "I don''t know how to form rtionships with people¡­ Indeed, I did want to kill her before since she''s the Demon King''s daughter. Now, though, after Her Majesty gave her to me, I want to form a friendly rtionship with her. Lucia is right. She''s just an adorable child. Unfortunately, she doesn''t appear she wants to be friendly with me."


    "I want to know. Why. You are. Different?"


    "Traitor!"


    "You''re. Already addressing her by her name. And gave her. The ring. So. We have nothing left. To say, then. Thank you. For your help before. I won''t need it. From now."


    I don''t know what happened. All I could tell was my mind resembled a junkyard. I knew that I was seeing countless snapshots in my mind, shing on and offparably to a light bulb. I didn''t know why or what happened. I wasn''t thinking about anything nor did I want to think about anything. No idea what happened to my mind. I didn''t want to recall being abandoned.


    Veirya rejected me and thenpletely broke it off with me. We were history. I wanted to run. I didn''t want to think about it. I always knew and understood that running away from the problem was fruitless, but that was all I wanted to do. I didn''t want to recall the things that transpired. Veirya should''ve been with me. We were supposed to still be in the North, where I''d get to watch Veirya and Angelina train Leah. That was how it was supposed to be.


    I was always of the belief that the one thing I had the most control over was my mind. To my disbelief, however, I couldn''t even lie to myself. My heart yelled, "Don''t, don''t, don''t." My mind kept disying scenes of Veirya for me to see. I never realised that my memory was so superb. I realised that I remembered so much about Veirya for the first time. The things I could recall all pertained to her.


    Veirya was also the one who brought me the most pain. That hurt me more and prompted me to be more averse to thinking about it. I desperately tried to sleep it all away. I didn''t want to recall it. I wanted to sleep as if I was dead, devoid of all thoughts. That was what I wanted. I couldn''t fall. I had no right to fall.


    I had no one to rely on. Nobody was ever willing to do something for me. To the contrary, I always had to take care of others. I was always alone.


    "If I fall, who would take care of Leah? I also needed to reinstate Queen Sisi and make money to develop the North. Anna was still waiting for me at home. I have to to go back. I have people to take care of. I can''t fall or crumble. I just want have some sleep. I just want some sleep¡­ I don''t even have the right to be hurt because I have nobody I can depend on.


    "Regardless of the situation, please, let me have a sleep. I don''t want to think of Veirya again. I don''t want to think about her again. Just let me have a sleep. When I wake up, I still have things I must do. I just want to have a sleep for now¡­ Please, don''t make me think about her. Don''t let me¡­ think about her¡­" I repeated to lull myself to sleep.


    ========


    Current time in the imperial pce.


    Sitting by the window, Veirya silently gazed at the ring in her right hand. The tiny, sharp me split theplete me into rays of light. The ring with a few leaves wrapped around an iid diamond fetched an exorbitant price, particrly thanks to it being a dwarf''s masterpiece. The young man asked the best dwarf artisan to make the ring just to please Veirya, a privilege that he never even dared to dream of.


    A ring was an object that was meant to be shared between lovers and represented their love for each other. Veirya knew that because Angelina taught her so. She didn''t know if Lin Dongqing loved her or not, which was why she wanted him to give her a ring. The ring should''ve represented his love. If her mother was right, he should''ve given her the ring as it was a ring that the dwarf gave to him and her to signify their love. However, he gave it to someone else. He gave the ring to another woman, which meant¡­ meant¡­ that he didn''t love her.


    Veirya always paid particr attention to the ring and looked forward to receiving it. She was certain that he would choose her and give her the ring. She merely wanted a ring to see what it was. That''s why she had the young man buy a ring. Nevertheless, she didn''t feel anything after wearing it on.


    Veirya mulled, "Isn''t a ring supposed to represent love? Why do I not feel anything? After seeing him back there, I don''t want to touch this ring again. I want to see him. I want to see him right this second¡­ I have never been so eager to do something before. I want to see him, hear him speak and receive a ring from him. It''s fine if he doesn''t have one. We can buy one together. Then, we can reinstate Queen Sisi."


    Veirya didn''t want to think about anything or choose anything anymore. All she wanted to do was go to his side. She didn''t want to care about anything else around her. He could resolve anything regardless of what she did anyway. She only wanted to be by his side.


    Veirya ced down the ring. She stood up and vigorously pulled the door open. Coincidentally, she saw the young man''s face when she opened the door.


    "¡­ Lord Veirya, are you looking to go somewhere?''


    "Move." Veirya paused for a moment then went back inside to grab the ring and put it in the young man''s hand: "Here. This. Isn''t what I want. But. I now know. What I want. So. I''m going back."


    "You¡­ are going to him?"


    His hand holding the ring began to shake a little. He thought he had victory in the bag. Never did he think that Veirya didn''t care about him. She calmly took his feelings and returned them into his hand. She didn''t hesitate, not one bit.


    Veirya''s gaze was totally different to before. She was emotionless before, but there was an intense me in her eyes that moment. She slew the Demon King for Queen Sisi. Now, she wanted to do something for herself.


    "You cannot go, Lord Veirya. You need to be the Queen. You came here to be a Queen!! The throne is within your grasp now. You will soon be the Queen of this empire. If you leave now, you will be left empty handed!!"


    "I. Didn''te here. To be a Queen. I was just. Angry. I won''t. Have him. Even if I be Queen. So. It''s useless. I''m going back. To find him. I want to know why."


    "There is no why!! Why did he note for you? Why is he with Sisi and not you? That is because he does not love you! He is working for Queen Sisi now! When Queen Sisi bes Queen again, he will stay here with his beloved Queen! Do you think Queen Sisi would let you stay here, though? If you cannot be Queen, how can you keep him by your side?! You had no way out the moment you came here! If you do not be Queen, you will never be able to keep him!!"


    The young man desperately tried to keep a straight face. Veirya wasn''t good at reading minds; she was ignorant. As long as he kept a neutral expression, he''d be fine.


    After the short silence, Veirya queried, "Is he. All right? When we left. He wasn''t. In a very good state."


    "He is fine. You do not need to worry. Someone else is taking care of him, you know? Queen Sisi would never let something happen to him. He is her most important chess piece. Furthermore, he does not love you, so how could he be upset? You just need to be Queen, and then he wille back."


    "I. See."


    ========


    Current time with the subi¡­


    Queen Sisi gently ced the soup on the table. Then, she pushed aside the letter she wrote. She approached the bed. Sisi had recovered not too long ago and wasn''t strong enough. Despite that, she did her best to prop him up. She pulled over a chair and gently opened his mouth. Carefully, she gently fed him spoon by spoon. He subconsciously swallowed the soup. Queen Sisi would wipe the spilt soup every time, and then feed him again.


    It took a long time, but Sisi eventually finished feeding him. She then struggled once again toy him back down. She then returned to her table to finish writing the letter. Once everything was done, she blocked out the chilly night breeze. She ced two chairs together and carefully lied across them. She used his cloak as a nket and would watch him in silence.


    Sisi didn''t feel anything because she knew that was her future. It wasn''t a moment of impulse. She nned to stay by his side forever until he came to or she went beyond the ether.

 Chapter Volume 6 35

    <em>Keeping Queen Sisi Company</em>


    I don''t know how much time had passed or what the state of things was. It was pitch ck all around. I couldn''t tell if it was day or not. The garish red curtains overhead were of a design where there were long sections. I had woken up, but my body was still weak, and I felt light-headed. I silently watched the bed curtain rotate. Perhaps I was too weak to even feel sad that I was particrly calm. It was silent in the vicinity. If that was how death felt, it was the exact stillness that I was after.


    I inhaled slowly and deliberately. There was a faint aroma in the warm room that eased my mind. I couldn''t name what the fragrant was, nor did I know what its source was. Either way, I couldn''t help myself from taking in big breaths of it. If angel''s existed, that was probably how it felt in an angel''s embrace.


    I shut my eyes slightly and slowly recalled what happened. People say that one may lose their memories or even die after suffering from a big blow. By the looks of it, I didn''t have the right to die. I silently recalled what I did, what I needed to do, why I needed to do those things and what Veirya did. I remembered it all despite the aching sensation in my heart. I could remember it all. Every. Single. Thing.


    I contemted, "Why do I remember everything? Why can''t I lose my memory? Losing their memories may be hell to others, but my memories torment me. Despite my age, I barely have any memories worth reminiscing. I''m fine with losing my memories. It would be an escape from the torment to me, after all.


    "If this is fate, why does it keep treating me this way? It''s always treated me this way. Everything I love and cherish leaves me in the end. Why can''t fate be a little nicer to me for a change? Even just a short while would do. I still believed that things would turn out for the better every time. Nobody in this world suffers forever, but why is my life full of misery forever? Again and again and again I''ve been abandoned and hated. I''ve never received anything in return for my efforts. Why is it always this way?"


    My eyes sort of stung. I wanted to wipe my tears with my hand. The Elven Queen wasn''t with me. I still didn''t have the chance or right to cry. I had to hurry and finish what I left undone. I needed to reinstate Queen Sisi, take care of Leah, and¡­ and¡­


    "Does¡­ Veirya still need me? She doesn''t, does she¡­?" I couldn''t bring myself to ask.


    I desperately wanted to lift my arm; however, it felt as though my arm didn''t belong to me no matter how I tried.


    "What now? I wasn''t knocked out with an explosion. Veirya triggered me enough to make me pass out. I couldn''t have lost an arm as a result of that now, could I? It sounds ridiculous. How could someone break an arm of mine? Also, I''ve broken a leg, so it''s not as if I can''t ept losing an arm," I griped inwardly.


    I raised my head and struggled to look to my left arm. My right arm was still attached. My left hand was covered under a few strands of dark hair. I started to panic a little but quickly calmed down after. Veirya had silver hair. This was burgundy hair. Perhaps that was the origin of the aroma I smelt. I shifted my gaze to see Queen Sisi sleeping with her head on my arm, curled up as small ball. She pulled two chairs over to the bed to form a makeshift bed. She didn''t even have a mattress or nket, let alone a mat; all she had was my thin cloak. The Queen who stood above all looked so petite and pitiful in front of me.


    When I was downhearted, there was someone who continued to stay by my side in spite of me having rejected her time and time again. I thought she was just wilful and impulsive in the moment when she dered she''d stay by my side forever. She was the Queen. I thought that she could never give up her throne and past, but she still stayed by my side.


    It had always been me who stayed at others'' sides. It was always me making the promise to stay with them. For the first time ever, someone was willing to stay with me. I gave everything I had to others. For the first time ever, there was someone next to me when I woke up who wasn''t my adopted daughter, albeit not being the woman I loved.


    When one is lonely enough, they''ll be more susceptible to falling in love. I couldn''t pull my hand out; I didn''t want to, either. I solemnly admired Queen Sisi''s quiet and gentle sleeping face there, which was totally different to how she was before. In the past, I always put her on the throne as a Queen and considered what to do or how to go from there. I never considered her an ordinary human. Perhaps Sisi was even more timid than Veirya.


    "Veirya no longer needs me. Veirya¡­ Vierya¡­ The Veirya who I loved¡­ no longer needs me¡­ That''s what she said. She no longer needs me¡­ I no longer had somewhere I belonged to. I couldn''t exin myself in time because I lost what connected us. Maybe she''s lost all hope in me now.


    "Does Queen Sisi still need me? Queen Sisi still wants me to be by her side. She''s willing to stay by my side. Should I also choose to be by her side, too, then? Is there anything bad about Queen Sisi? Is there something about her that makes her a better fit for mepared to Veirya? I''ve never been picky. I''ve never had the right to choose. What do I need to do at Queen Sisi''s side?" I asked myself.

 Chapter Volume 6 36

    <em>Prince Consort</em>


    I don''t know how much time had passed, but I didn''t sleep again. There was only Sisi and I in the room. Sisi''s breaths were barely audible. She leaned her weight onto my arm, where I could feel her warmth and strength. I silently admired her refined face but never got bored of looking at it because she was truly gorgeous. I didn''t touch her head as my arm was stuck underneath her head as her pillow. Nheless, I was happy to just admire her face that also calmed me.


    Sometime after, Queen Sisi gently jolted. She gradually began to move. She was simr to a small animal that was checking to ensure that their surroundings were safe upon waking. She slowly twisted and turned her body, showing signs of an apparent designer toze in bed, yet also seemingly because her body was sleep due to her sleeping posture. She then moved her hand, and then grabbed my hand subconsciously. She hummed as she rubbed her head on my arm as if she was trying to get her saliva onto my hand¡­


    "Uh¡­ Is this how she is when she wakes up every morning?" I wondered.


    Queen Sisi had yet to fully sober up, so she continued rubbing her head on my hand. A short while after, she finally regained awareness of her surroundings. She frantically lifted her head up, thereby meeting with my eyes. Her first reaction was to panic. Then, she switched to shock. Finally, she shed tears.


    I pursed my lips. I had almost forgotten how to smile. It felt as if I had an extremely long dream. My brain was such a mess that it was as if I was possessed back there and finally felt that I had survived the ordeal.


    Queen Sisi''s vocal chords gently trembled. Her pink lips quivered, making it appear as though she wanted to say something but was too overwhelmed to say anything.


    "Good morning, Sisi, though I do not know if it is day or not¡­."


    I didn''t get to say anything else. Queen Sisi didn''t intend to let me say any more, either. She leapt up and wailed on my chest. I, however, no clue what she did during my slumber. Nevertheless, I was sure that she held everything together, taking care of everything around as she did when she was a Queen. After the stressful period, she released all her pressure on my chest.


    "I''m so d you''re awake¡­ I¡­ I said that I would stay with you forever¡­ but I was still afraid¡­ I was afraid that you wouldn''t wake up again. No matter if you''ll be together with me or not in the future, I''m still afraid of never being able to see you again¡­"


    "I am fine."


    Sisi never cried on my chest before even when we escaped from the elvennds. She didn''t cry when the elves gave her hell, yet she was worried to tears just because I passed out for a while. I suspected her feelings as a moment of impulse before witnessing it, but I was then quite convinced that she truly cared for me and cherished me from the bottom of her heart.


    I gently pulled Sisi into my embrace. She went limp in my arms. She wiped her tears on my chest. She softly sobbed, "Th-This is the first time you''ve taken the initiative to hug me¡­ I¡­ I¡­ can I misunderstand for a moment? Can I think that you love me for a moment?"


    I stayed silent for a moment as I gathered my thoughts into words: "Sisi, what does a Prince have to do¡­? I have never been one, so I do not know what it entails¡­"


    "You want to be my Prince Consort?!"


    Sisi bounced up from the bed, thereby banging her head loudly on the top of the bed frame and then rebounding back down. She curled up on my chest and grabbed her head.


    "Pffthahaha."


    She sat up and began to thump me with her small fists. With her face beet red, she eximed, "Noughing! Noughing! It''s not funny!! Noughing!!"


    "Okay, I won''tugh. I won''tugh."


    I tightened my arms around Queen Sisi. Voice soft, I expressed, "Tell me what it entails first¡­ I''ve never been a Prince, but I promise to do my utmost. Veirya no longer needs me, so if you''re fine with me staying by your side, then¡­"


    Queen Sisi emotionally gripped my clothes. She loudly dered, "Sure!!! No problem!! Just stay with me. Everything will be fine as long as you stay with me!! You don''t need to do anything. Just stay by my side. I don''t need you to do anything; I''ll help you do anything and everything! All you have to do is stay by my side and not let me feel lonely. You don''t need to do anything else!"


    Queen Sisi was afraid that I hated doing something or didn''t want to do something and would go back on my offer if. If we went with her suggestion, Sisi would be a rich woman everyone would want. You don''t have to do anything except keep herpany. She''d do everything, and I was confident that she could, indeed, do everything. Why? Because she was Sisi.


    "Doesn''t that mean that it makes no difference whether you have me or not?"


    "All I want is you."


    Sisi sped my face and slowly leaned in. She informed me beforehand this time. She let me mentally prepare myself. I had the chance to push her away. I could push her away for Veirya. Sisi gave me a chance to back out the way I treated Lucia¡­ but I didn''t want to.


    I kissed Sisi''s trembling lips. The kiss was different to previous kisses. Maybe it was due to Sisi nning to enjoy it. Maybe it was due to the long preparation. Either way, she was quite nervous. She shut her eyes and stiffly responded to my kiss. She tightly gripped my chest and we kissed as if it was our first kiss as students¡­


    I felt her touch, her warmth, her smell and savoured every sensation. They were all different feelingspared to Veirya. Sisi''s warmth and tenderness was different to Veirya''s.


    Trails of tears coursed down my face slowly and onto Sisi''s face. I didn''t know why I shed tears. I genuinely didn''t know.

 Chapter Volume 6 37

    <em>Queen''s Knight</em>


    "Papa!"


    When I came out of the room, Leah leapt into my arms, almost knocking me over due to my weakened state. Fortunately, Sisi''s quick eyes and agile reflexes saved me from behind. Leah tightly hugged me around my waist andughed. After ensuring that I was able to stand steady, Sisi stroked Leah''s head with a smile: "Leah, you don''t need to overreact. I made a promise to you that your father would be fine."


    "Papa! Papa!"


    Leah didn''t pay any attention to Sisi. She just tightly hugged me and sobbed. My lower back fell as though it would snap under Leah''s pressure. Think about that:ing through after what I went through with Veirya, only for my daughter to strangle my life out of me¡­ Leah rubbed her head vigorously against me, thereby wiping her tears on me.


    Angelina joined me at my side. She scrubbed my head and beamed: "I''m so d you''re all right. I can''t argue that this was my daughter''s fault. I''ll make sure to have her apologise. She''s just a kid that doesn''t understand the gravity of her actions; you would know."


    I didn''t know what to say. My emotions were jumbled up. I knew that she was Angelina and not Veirya, but her face still stung me. I had Sisi, so I shouldn''t have felt the sting from her appearance, yet it stung when I saw Veirya''s face.


    Sisi nced at me. She immediately grabbed my face and twisted it toward her. She stated, "Angelina, have youpleted the task I assigned you? I think that you will be needed soon."


    "I havepleted it. That said, honestly, based on the current circumstance, I do not think the n is viable."


    "No, it is the only way. You''re the key to our n. Without you, our n is doomed to fail. I said it before: it is an undeniable fact that Veirya is a hero; however, her stance is subject to change."


    Sisi''s exnation received a nod from Angelina. Then, Angelina scrubbed my head and left. Sophia watched us. It didn''t appear as though what Sisi did that day caused Sophia any damage. Sophia handed me a serve of soup with a smile: "This was prepared specifically for you. We have added our unique subi ingredients, which have the power to enhance one''s recovery speed. Further, it is Miss Leah''s, so the results will be even better."


    "Can you tell what it is, specifically?"


    ''Something from a subus with the ability to restore one''s energy¡­ nothing goodes to mind¡­''


    Queen Sisi froze. I immediately figured out what it was. I looked over to Leah and shakily asked, "Did you do something while I was asleep?! What did you do?!"


    Shy, Leah looked away and clenched her fists: "You''re a meanie, Papa¡­ Don''t remind Leah. Leah is very shy, too! Leah wouldn''t have done it if it wasn''t for Papa!"


    "Uh¡­ Dongqing¡­ I apologise. I¡­ I didn''t know before the fact¡­ so¡­ err¡­"


    Sisi''s choice of words drew my attention off the soup and onto her: "Sisi, what did you call me?"


    "Dongqing" - responded Sisi, with a proud expression, voice joyous - "I think it sounds very nice, so I shall call you that from now."


    Leah, flummoxed, stole ganders between Sisi and I before finally reacting with surprise: "Your Majesty, Papa, d-di something happen between you two?"


    Sisi and I regarded each other visually. Sisi chuckled as she crouched down to hug Leah. While stroking Leah''s head, Sisi exined, "Leah, what did you think of my Imperial Pce when you visitedst time? Do you have something you want or flowers you like? When you visit again this time, I''ll show you around. You can choose any room you like in the pce."


    "Your Majesty?" asked a puzzled Leah. "Papa, are we moving again? Are we moving to the Imperial Pce this time?"


    I didn''t reply; instead, I gave Leah a small nod. Leah shifted her gaze from me to Sisi. Sisi expressed, "Leah, I am sincerely very sorry for what I did to you before. Leah, I hereby apologise to you. I know that I can''t erase the harm I inflicted on you with a single apology, and I don''t ask that you forget all of my deeds. I only hope that you can remember what I did and then watch me henceforth. Henceforward, I will always protect you. I have never been a mother; therefore, if I perform poorly in any way or neglect something, don''t hesitate to tell me anytime and anywhere. You just tell me without any hesitation."


    Leah gripped my clothes. Anxious, she asked, "What about Mama Veirya, Papa? Is¡­ is Mama Veirya noting back again? Papa, will Leah never see Mama Veirya again?"


    I didn''t know how to answer Leah''s questions. I was asking myself the same question. Would I see Veirya again? How would I face Veirya in the future? I had no idea. Given that I didn''t know, how was I supposed to answer Leah?


    "Okay now, Leah, Veirya is a matter of the future," stated Sisi, thereby bringing the topic full circle. She continued, "I have to go out with your father now. While I want to let your father have a good rest, I have to get busy now. Don''t fret, though, as I will be sure to take good care of him.''


    "Mm¡­"


    Leah wanted to say something but hesitated. Despite looking at us, she never spoke up. I scrubbed her head. She then looked at me with a serious gaze that children usually wouldn''t show: "Papa are you truly happy right now? Leah means, will you genuinely be happy together with Her Majesty? Will you be as happy as when you were with Mama Veirya?''


    I nodded without a moment of hesitation: "Of course."


    Delighted with my response, Queen Sisi giggled as she grabbed hold of my hand. I gave Leah a kiss on her forehead then picked up my cane and headed outside. Sisi and I had lots to do. Sisi figured out what I meant, and she definitely had her ownwork in the Imperial Capital. As a result, I could most likely reduce the amount of effort I needed to invest.


    Their backs appeared totally different. When they were with Veirya, Leah always felt as though her father was pursuing humanity''s hero. Now, however, it was Sisi who leaned on her father. Sisi was docile in a manner that was unlike a Queen when she was with her father. Actually, the both of them leaned on each other. Her father was by Sisi''s side, and Sisi was by her father''s side. The two of them were a match made in heaven. Surely the nation would be greater in their hands¡­


    Her father said that he was happy with Sisi, but Leah couldn''t smell the scent on her father that she was fond of. When he was with Veirya, he always carried a happy scent. Further, he''d be more lively and willing to work hard. However, he was a lot solemn now. Was that a good or bad thing? Leah didn''t know.


    We arrived outside. Sisi hadn''t had the opportunity to see the bright sun outside. She covered her eyes with her hand. She scanned the city that belonged to her. We were half-way through our n. Sisi could return to her throne soon.


    "Previously, I was thinking about whether or not I should return to the throne." Sisi tried to loop her arm around mine. Seeing as I didn''t protest, she leaned onto me without concern. With a blissful smile, she quietly finished off, "But I understand now. I need to return to the throne. I need to return for your sake. That way, I can give you the best stuff in the entire empire. Furthermore, with you by my side, history won''t repeat itself for me."


    "I tried to convince you otherwisest time."


    "I wouldn''t have gone if you held me this way."


    We resumed our walk. Sisi wore a hat to cover her face, but I didn''t think that anyone would realise it was her. She, after all, wouldn''t ever have her arm around another man''s. I smiled helplessly: "So it''s my fault now?"


    "No, it''s just that I''m grateful you came to my rescue. I''ll be wilful and stubborn every now and then. When I do act out, I''ll rely on you to put me in line." Sisi tightened her arm around mine. She stopped to think for a moment. She rectified, "No. We''re together now. I won''t be alone again. Whether I do the right thing or err, I''ll have you. That''s enough for me."

 Chapter Volume 6 38

    <i>Food Merchant</i>


    As I said, Sisi hadpletely figured out my n. The two of us didn''t need any exnation or debates. We could quickly catch onto what the other was nning once the other yed their card. Sisi trusted me. Therefore, she wouldn''t question me in any shape or form. Despite the risk of plunging the entire imperial capital into chaos or even turning it on its head, Sisi was still willing to go along with my n. I thought I might never need a cane again because Sisi would support me on my left arm. We had never walked together before today, but my pace was in perfect harmony with hers.


    We made our way to the ce of thergest food merchant in the city. It was the biggest food business in the entire empire and the leader of the industry. Sisi had to buy food from him when heading out on expeditions. He bought up lots ofnd used in producing food, and would take the food directly from the autumn harvest. His operation method was quite modernisedpared to everyone else.


    The size of the ce honestly exceeded my expectations. My image of a food store was a small shop with a warehouse inside and just an ountant outside. Surprisingly, the particr store we visited was the size of arge office. Actually, make that a bank. It strongly resembled the Temple of Athena Nike. The thick pirs had brilliant symbols of a god. Whether that was the god of agriculture or business, I had no idea. Either way, the grand scale of it was akin to the god of Rhodes Ind looking down on all living creatures.


    In my opinion, the imperial pce wasn''t even able topare to the grandeur the store was. Sisi wasn''t bothered, though, surprisingly. Horse carriages packed full of thick bags were waiting to enter. There were also lots of horse carriages that had just departed after being loaded with bags of food. Compared to the bank and imperial pce, the food store should''ve been considered the lifeline of the empire. Without it, who knows how many people would starve to death.


    Everything at the front of the store was the same as the main hall of the bank. There were countless windows, which were split into three. One was for exporting food and then exchanging money. One was a ce forrge volumes and personal purchases. Once purchases were made, they''d go to the back to receive a ticket. Thest one was for businessmen to discuss business.


    I ambled over to the window for businessmen. There weren''t many people there. There probably weren''t many businessmen willing to dabble in the food business. Food wasn''t worth given the circumstances. The person inside slipped me a sheet of paper and instructed, "Fill in the form. Choose a time for an appointment as well as the service you are after. We will have someone contact you thereafter.''


    I pressed the form onto the table and demanded, "I want to see your boss right now."


    "You are¡­?"


    Perhaps he was quickly shuffling through his memory to try and recall if I was some important figure. He unlikely recognised me. I did go on a rampage during myst visit to the imperial capital, but it didn''t affect the food business. Consequently, he shook his head: "Sorry, everything must be done ording to procedure. You cannot jump the line."


    "Then, how about me?" Sisi chuckled as she gently removed her hat a little.


    "I, uh, I, umm¡­"


    Sisi chuckled as she made a hush hand gesture. She quietly threatened, "You know what to do now, right? You choose a ce. You should all be aware that I''m not a patient individual."


    "Y-Yes, Your Majesty. Please wait a moment."


    Despite no longer being the Queen, people still instinctively panicked when people in the imperial capital saw her. That was the imposing impression that she left on everyone.


    We waited around in the lobby. I helped Sisi fix her hat up: "You shouldn''t take the initiative to show yourself. What if he goes to the military instead of his boss?"


    "It doesn''t matter. I''m sure you would still be able to get me out even if the military came."


    "I think that you are putting me on a pedestal that''s too high."


    "Hehe, weren''t you the one who wanted me to have faith in you?"


    I sighed. The businessmen and military were at loggerheads, so I didn''t think we''d be sold out.


    Not long after, the individual came up to us and cautiously informed, "He is waiting for you upstairs. Please head on up."


    "All right."


    The two of us went up a flight of stairs to the second floor. Normally, nobody was allowed to enter without permission as it was a ce reserved for discussions between businessmen. Upstairs, a middle-aged man, who sported an unforgettable bald path in the centre of his head and seemed to have some sort of ailment, silently stood up and gave us a deep bow. Respectfully, he expressed, "Your Majesty, Mister, wee. We did not know you would being, so we have not prepared anything. I hope you do not mind."


    "It''s fine."


    Upon sitting down opposite him, I queried, "Since you still call Sisi ''Her Majesty'', can I safely assume that you''re still loyal to Sisi?"


    "Yes." He didn''t seem to mind my way of addressing her. He borated, "Food would fetch a better price if I sold it to Her Majesty than the military. Subsequently, we are still loyal to Her Majesty. Your Majesty, you must have instructions for me. I am all ears."


    "Simple."


    Sisi and I exchanged eye contact. I then looked back at him and took over, exining, "We hope you can give us a hand. We need you to transport a portion of your food out of the city. You do not need to do anything. You just need to move the portion out of the city. At the same time, I would like to ask you to write a notice that you will be raising the cost of food. However, from all ounts, you have the right to not raise your prices. You just need to spread the news."


    "Understood." Whilst stroking his chin, he queried, "You want to incite panic in the city, correct? You want to incite panic through us to convince the people that the internal structure of the city is facing a problem, thereby convincing everyone to leave the city, correct?"


    "Correct."


    Unsurprisingly, the food merchant was sensitive about the price of food. He understood what we were after. It made things easier. If he was loyal to Queen Sisi and understood our n, it was a done deal.''


    "I understand, but sorry. Your Majesty, Mister, I cannot help you."


    "Why¡­?"


    "Yes, I can understand, and it is a fantastic strategy for you. Nevertheless, you might be unaware that I am the food merchant of this city. My credibility is more important than anything. If my news causes uproar, only for them to find out that it was a lie, who would buy from me again? I am loyal to Her Majesty, but my own life and business is also important. This is my bottom line. Our credibility as businessmen must be protected."

 Chapter Volume 6 39

    <i>Bottom Line</i>


    I thought the food merchant would understand Queen Sisi''s significance, would support her and easily take action as Achilles does. I thought he''d offer everything he had for Sisi. He didn''t reveal any unnecessary expressions. He remained leisure and didn''t even look up. He was in front of the individual who wielded the most power in the empire, yet he was casual andposed when he refused to obey hermand because of his bottom line and reputation as a businessman.


    Credibility was everything to businessmen in the city, especially in the era we were in. That was also why we didn''t have to worry about being conned in agreements or contracts. In an era with marketing, a businessman''s reputation determined whether he''d make it or break it in the world. Without credibility, he wouldn''t have a source for his goods nor would he have customers.


    I understood how important it was to a businessman, but I also knew of their nature. I knew that they were people who could abandon anything for money. It was my first time meeting someone who considered reputation their first priority. Perhaps the businessmen I came into contact with were all businessmen simr to Achilles, who considered the Queen as the top priority and rarely came across businessmen simr to the food merchant. Achilles credibility lied with ensuring the Queen had a full treasury; thus, he wasn''t a businessman through and through.


    The merchant seemed only a touch surprised for he wasn''t quite sure why we were so surprised. Apparently, his decision was supposed to be the universal response. I was speechless. Scratch that; I was somewhat perplexed.


    All businessmen have their own stance that they steadfast in. That remains true even when faced with Sisi. They may not stand to gain anything from that stance. As a matter of fact, they might make a loss from the gain they pursue, yet they still persist on it.


    My mind drifted off: "If businessmen all have their stances, then what about me? Veirya¡­ What about my feelings for Sisi? Do my feelings for Veirya change so easily? We lived together for so long. Am I going to forget Veirya after that one incident? Is that truly right of me to do? Is the love I speak of with every breath as firm as I im it to be? Have I given up after one ring? Does the ring truly represent something? The merchant stood firm in his stance when faced to face with Sisi, but what about me?"


    Sisi was puzzled as to why I was stumped with just that. She touched my hand to help me calm down. Then, she proposed , "Simple, then. You can opt to not personally show yourself. We will buy a batch of food and a few carriages from you. Once the carriages enter the city at night, send them back out in a cyclic fashion, subsequently creating the impression that arge volume of food is being shipped out. What do you think?"


    "I do not mind that but under the condition that it does not leave from my ce."


    The man gave the impression that he had made the biggestpromise already. I bobbed my head.


    "Let us do that, then. We will prepare everything necessary. Your Majesty, where do you wish the food to be sent to?"


    "Here."


    Queen Sisi pointed to a spot on the map, which the merchant approved of. Queen Sisi then chuckled: "You are a merchant, one who sells food, at that. You should know not to pry into anything else, I would assume. You know what I am talking about, so I don''t need to explicate it, right?"


    "I do."


    I silently stood up, Sisi hanging onto my arm. I wrote an invoice then left. We ran into a small bump, but it ended well.


    "Are you all right, Dongqing? I feel as though you aren''t in good condition," remarked Sisi, in a concerned voice while supporting my body. "Are you rushing things too much,ing out today? You haven''t fully recovered, have you¡­? Let''s go back so you can rest now. Don''t let anything happen to you."


    "No¡­ I didn''t perform too well just now," I replied, with a shake of my head. "Just now, my mind was totally nk, so I didn''t know what to say. You did great, Sisi. That''s a good n¡­"


    "No, there''s no need for you to praise me. You could''vee up with it, too. You just look a little sluggish, though," noted Sisi, as she touched my face. "Have a good rest. I know lots of rxing ces for you to rest. You can go to the hot spring on the mountain or anywhere you like. We''ve pretty much set everything up now, so leave the rest to me."


    "No, I''m a bit worried if I leave everything to you. I''m not worried that you''ll trip up; I''m worried about you."


    Sisi stroked my head: "You don''t need to worry in that case, for there are good things with us being together. After all, if one of us isn''t in tip top condition, the other one can cover for us. If we work together, we can definitely resolve any problem with ease."


    "All right."


    I calmed myself down a little and stopped thinking about Veirya for the meantime. I had chosen Sisi, so if I continued thinking about Veirya, then I''d be scum. What was crucial right now was focusing on the matter at hand, not Veirya.


    "Sisi is next to me, not Veirya. Remember that," I told myself.


    So, next up, Sisi and I had to find people; anyone would do. Of course, we couldn''t take that too literally. It was best if we could find people who could spread rumoursparably to a wildfire. The question, therefore, was where would the breeding ground for rumours be and where would the most gullible people be?


    Bars were breeding grounds for rumours. Plus, the rumours from them were often perceived to be true. I couldn''t exin the reason for the phenomenon, but it was the ce we needed. That was precisely why I didn''t feel assured with Sisi going alone.

 Chapter Volume 6 40

    <i>One More Time, Veirya</i>


    You could make an extremely strong case that the people in a bar are the easiest people to trick. The people under the influence of alcohol and the stimting environment were waiting to be victims. All you had to do was locate the rowdiest of them all, drop him a line, and he''ll immediately go spread the word. People with brains wouldn''t believe what people from the bar say, but idiots were the majority. Furthermore, lots of people won''t be hearing it from the bar patrons but the people around them.


    We found ourselves a group of unemployed folks and then had them take the reins of the carriage on our behalf. In addition, the carriage needed to stand out so that everyone knew that we were transporting food.


    Things were in ce. Our prior preparations were done. Next was Queen Sisi''s majestic appearance. When people begun to question what was happening, it would be the time for Queen Sisi to make her appearance. It woulde as a big shock for the missing Queen to appear before everyone during the ensuing chaos. Plus that with the suspicions we nted before her arrival, and a light bulb would switch on for the people. Consequently, they would believe and realise that it was Queen Sisi''s work. They would believe Queen Sisi, who was fully prepared. If she was empty handed, nobody would believe her.


    Sisi was the Queen, the Queen who once administrated the entire empire. She was taken prisoner in the war, but it seemed as though few even cared about the war. The chances of returning home after being captured by the elves was next to zero, yet Queen Sisi returned, which proved that she wasn''t captured. To add, I brought elves with us this time.


    The point of bringing the Elven Queen was to turn her into Queen Sisi''s prisoner. Yes, the elves captured Queen Sisi; however, we captured the elves'' Queen. Thus, we never lost; it was a draw. Why did Queen Sisi only achieve a draw? It wasn''t her fault; it was the fault of the traitorous soldiers. Had everyone been loyal to Queen Sisi, she wouldn''t have failed. As a subsequence, the draw was a result of the soldiers'' betrayal. The military was the empire''s traitors. The true ruler of the empire was Queen Sisi, while the group of soldiers were the ones who usurped the throne. The people would believe that story.


    As for Veirya, I had taken her into consideration from the beginning. There was no doubt that Veirya was the people''s hero. Nobody could discredit her when it came to that for she slew the Demon King as per public knowledge. Her legend had been deeply etched into the hearts of the people. Having said that, how many people recognised the true Veirya? Nobody could distinguish between her and Angelina. Not even I could. So would the citizens be able to? When the timees, Queen Sisi woud emerge with Angelina and im thetter to be Veirya. Even if the military did im they had the real Veirya on the side, nobody would buy the im. In the legends, Veirya was forever the Queen''s guard, who loyally served at the Queen''s side.


    I still needed a backup n. The issue was that Sisi destroyed the backup n. What would we do if the military decides to be a kamikaze pilot and kill the Queen? What would Sisi do? The empire only had a few military forces. The garrison soldiers had been defeated, while the chapel''s knights had been in. The adventurers were victimised, so they wouldn''t show up again. Sisi no longer had any soldiers at her disposal.


    Was Queen Sisi supposed to rely on farmers to fight back against the elite soldiers who she personally nurtured? The military''s current acts didn''t yet qualify as insurrection, but if they really did revolt, what could we do? The elves would never help humanity. What about the dwarves? Would they jump into the mess?


    Sisi''s arrogance cost her all of her friends and allies. She had lost everyone she could rely on. All I could do was pin all my hope with Veirya. She would definitely remain loyal to Queen Sisi. She could contend for the throne. She wouldn''t allow the military to kill Queen Sisi, nevertheless. That little man of hers was subservient to her. He would never oppose her will. Additionally, the moment Veirya was angered¡­ you probably wouldn''t see what happens a secondter.


    Queen Sisi wrapped her arm around mine and effused, "It''s finally done. I can soon return to the throne. I''m genuinely happy, not because I''m about to be a Queen but because I''ll have you by my side once I be Queen. You didn''t take a tour of the imperial pcest time. I''ll give you a tour at every location this time. Choose a ce you like to settle down, or would you prefer to make a pce specifically for yourself? Thetter option would probably take some time. It''s a slow process. What did you think of my previous room? My bed is amazinglyfortable. I want to have a child with you¡­ I meant, besides Leah that is¡­"


    Sisi gripped my clothes and bashfully added, "I¡­ I¡­ usually look as though I''m with men, but in reality¡­ I''ve never been in love before¡­ so, I''m still a virgin¡­ you don''t need to worry about that¡­"


    "That''s not what I''m worried about, but¡­ it''s not a good time for you to get pregnant. Managing a nation is an important and busy job. If you get pregnant now, it''ll be a while before you can return to the throne. I need to learn what needs to be done first before we have children."


    I hadn''t yet thought of children¡­ I did imagine my future with Veirya when we were together. I once wanted to have a child with her and resise in the imperial capital with her. That was once the goal I aimed for as well as my source of motivation. I worked so hard for that vision. s, I had lost the motivation and goal I once had.


    I had stopped thinking about the future. I returned to my past self. I never thought about the future in the past. In spite of seeing Sisi''s smile, listening to her discuss the future with me, her desire to have a child with me and live in the imperial pce with me, I couldn''t conjure up a future with her in my mind.


    We didn''t live together before. In the past, our paths just happened to intersect. I didn''t understand Sisi just and vice versa. I couldn''t imagine how we would look together.


    I didn''t feel ted. The reality we discussed felt surreal; however, Queen Sisi beamed. Her peerless heterochromia eyes contained delight and anticipation. The look in her eyes made me feel somewhat sad. I avoided her gaze, but she seemed to misunderstand that I was shy. She leaned onto me and quietly asked, "I''ll do my best. I''ll be your dutiful wife and Queen. I won''t make the same mistake. I''ll stay by your side. I''ve already obtained the greatest gift possible. What about you, Dongqing? Have I surpassed Veirya? Have I be your treasure?"


    I couldn''t hesitate or stay silent. It was the fatal question of legend. I had to answer. I went to speak but couldn''t utter a word despite how simple it was to answer. My eyes were trained ahead. My body began to quiver on its own. Nothing came to mind as if my brain had exploded. All I did was watch the movement ahead of me with a dumbstruck look.


    Sisi froze and contemted, "We''ve reached our temporary hiding spot. Has the military found out about our hiding spot? How would it make somebody crumble, though?"


    Sisi looked over in the direction I looked and instantly realised why I froze.


    Leah cheerfully held Veirya''s hand and pointed to the building. Veirya was the same as always, calm and silent as she listened to Leah.


    Sisi grabbed my hand so tight that it hurt a little, but I didn''t turn to face her. It wasn''t that I didn''t want to look at her. I knew what my oath to her was, and I knew that she was by my side. I remembered what happened between Veirya and I. Nevertheless, Sisi was out of sight and out of mind when I saw Veirya.


    "I can exin myself. I have a chance to exin myself. I believe in her! I believe she''ll understand when we see each other!" I inwardly repeated.


    Sounding as though she was sobbing, Sisi pleaded, "Don''t go¡­ Please¡­ Dongqing¡­ don''t go¡­ please¡­"

 Chapter Volume 6 41

    <i>Waiting and Clinging</i>


    When Veirya entered the building, the interior spontaneously fell into silence. Theughing subi didn''t know what we were doing, but their instincts told them there was danger. Veirya didn''t concern herself with them since they stepped aside.


    Angelina folded her arms and coldly confronted her daughter: "What are you here?"


    "I came. To see. Him." Veirya sped her hands as though she was shy and reluctant to speak.


    Leah enthused, "Sister Angelina! Leah went to the imperial pce to get Mama Veirya! Those soldiers didn''t appear to be bad people. They let me in after I said a few words!"


    Angelina frowned in response. The guards were unlikely to be vignt against a child. Plus, subi have a unique trait that earned the fondness of others. The soldiers, who weren''t mentally strong, let Leah through without much trouble. However, Angelina couldn''t figure out what Leah was thinking.


    Nobody knew what Leah''s mama was thinking, either. If time was rewound to two days ago, Angelina would want to bring her daughter out of the imperial pce for that would be a good time for her to talk face to face with Dongqing.


    "What now? He''s already gotten together with Sisi. What''s Veirya going to do now that she''s back? It should''ve been the start of a new life for them, but Veirya is back, so now what? Is he going to have to be tormented a second time? Why are they tormenting each other this way?" Angelina deliberated. Angelina made sure to specifically look at Veirya''s ring. She didn''t wear a ring. She mulled, "Has Veiryae back after finally realising who she loves most? He should now know who he loves most, too. Actually, that might not be true. I can''t argue that Sisi is an excellent choice. Who will he choose?"


    Angelina softly sighed. Veirya didn''t know what Angelina wanted. All of a sudden, Angelina pped Veirya across the face without pulling punches. Even Leah heard Veirya''s neck crack. Veirya spat out a mouthful of blood due to her cut gums. Veirya eyes were still devoid of emotion. Angelina silently looked at her daughter for a moment before reprimanding her, "This is the price you have to pay for what you did. He even lost a leg for you, yet you just upped and left? I told you many times before that you possess the swordy of a warrior but the mind of a child. Is your goal to hurt the man who loves you over and over?"


    "It was my mistake," responded Veirya, while wiping the corner of her mouth. "So. I want to know. Where he is. I really¡­ want to see him¡­"


    "Papa has gone out with Her Majesty. I don''t know when they''reing back." Leah helped Veirya wipe her mouth.


    "Then. I''ll wait here. For him. Toe back. And then apologise."


    ========


    "Please¡­ Dongqing¡­ please¡­ don''t'' go back¡­ don''t see her again¡­ I beg you¡­ please¡­ please¡­"


    Sisi looked as though she''d get on her knees to plead me. She gripped so hard that I wouldn''t be surprised if her fingers sunk into my skin. I, on the other hand, looked toward Veirya''s direction with a nk look. That was where we were hiding. It had also be where the woman I loved most was at.


    I inwardly effused, "I can exin it. As long as I can exin it, Veirya will return to me¡­ Veirya was willing toe, which means that she doesn''t have any rtionship with him. It was just a misunderstanding. It was just a misunderstanding! Veirya didn''t give up on me. She''s willing to return to me! Veirya is back! This if fantastic. Let''s go home now. Let''s pretend nothing ever happened. Let''s return to our peaceful life as if nothing ever happened!"


    I took a step forward. Meanwhile, Sisi clung to me in tears. I was less one leg, and Sisi clung to me, but I had to go. I wanted to see Veirya and to tell her how much I missed her. She had returned to me¡­


    "Don''t¡­ Don''t¡­ Please¡­ Dongqing¡­ Please¡­ I can give you anything, but please don''t abandon me.. You said you would stay by my side¡­ I trusted you. Please¡­ Don''t¡­ Don''t¡­ Stay with me. Let''s leave. We can go anywhere¡­ Don''t go¡­"


    Sisi clung to my arm and pulled me back. She couldn''t hold me back. She removed her hat and threw it down. She shouted to the people around, "I''m right here! I''m right here! Your Queen has returned! I''m Sisi! Soldiers, haven''t you been searching for me?! I''m right here!"


    Everybody turned to look over after she dropped the bomb. There was no question that she was Queen Sisi. Nobody in the imperial capital resembled her. The patrol soldiers were shocked.


    "What should we do? Should we take her away by force or what? We should be loyal to her, shouldn''t we? Why does the military want to capture her? If we get physical, we''d be turning our des against her. We can''t harm her, but what would the military do? Also, if we don''t do it, would the military spare us?" the soldiers questioned.


    The soldiers trembled as they approached. The citizens also approached, with neither knowing what to do.


    I finally came back to my senses. Voice stifled, I eximed, "What are you doing?! Our n hasn''t started yet! If we expose ourselves now, we''ll be shooting ourselves in the foot?!"


    Sisi wiped her tears and yelled, "What choice do I have?! Do you know what you just did?!"


    It took me a moment to respond in a soft voice, "Sorry, Sisi, I, I was a little impulsive."


    "Mm¡­"


    Before Sisi could say another word, soldiers had us surrounded. An officer, who looked as though he rushed over - judging from his crooked belt - panted as he adjusted his clothing. He stammered, "Your Majesty¡­ Mm¡­ I am d to see you safe¡­ I mean¡­ umm¡­ sorry¡­ Your Majesty¡­ umm¡­ Chief of the inspection guards at your service. Please head over now."


    I nced over in Veirya''s direction. I knew she was there, but I was no longer in my crazy mode. I wanted to see her, but the timing wasn''t right. I needed to protect Sisi first. She just put her and myself in grave danger.


    "Inspection guards, huh? Do we go with an armed group of inspection guards that we can''t even be sure are loyal to the Queen? We have no choice now. And, indeed, I shouldn''t go there¡­" I reasoned.

 Chapter Volume 6 42

    <i>Queen''s Supremacy</i>


    "It sounds as though something happened outside."


    Leah carefully poked her head out. The people outside flocked together. Unfortunately, being small as she was, Leah couldn''t see what exactly happened. Veirya remained sitting in ce, not saying a word. Angelina, with her arms folded, questioned, "Did you sneak out?''


    Veirya bobbed her head: "¡­ Could it. Be them?"


    "No. Sisi and Lin Dongqing couldn''t possibly make that mistake if they''re together. The two of them are cautious. Nobody will notice them," replied Angelina. "Until when are you going to wait?"


    "Until hees back."


    "What if he doesn''te back today?''


    "Tomorrow. Then," Veirya answered. "I will wait. Until hees back. I want to. Exin myself. To him."


    ========


    Current time in the imperial pce.


    Next to my ear, Sisi quietly asked, "Do you know how to use a sword, Dongqing?"


    In addition to the soldiers boxing us in, there were two rows of fully-equipped soldiers standing at the entrance of the pce. Sisi looked at the swords on their belt and the weapons in the hands of the soldiers around us. She seemed¡­ scared somewhat¡­ Honestly, I was panic-stricken, as well¡­. The pickle was unexpected¡­ But I must admit it was my fault¡­


    "I can''t. Can you, Sisi?"


    "Only a little¡­" Sisi tightly grabbed my arm and griped, "Now whose fault is this? I am definitely never acknowledging that the fault was mine. Had it not been for you being dumbstruck when you saw Veirya, I would never have done that. It was all because your brain had to malfunction when you saw Veirya! I''m still very angry right now! Wait until we get back! I''ll be sure to settle the score with you!"


    "Sorry¡­"


    I had no retort. I admit it. I was sort of crazy back there. My brain went haywire when I saw Veirya again. I don''t know why that happened, either. Being level headed was my specialty. My heart didn''t race even when I saw the mess Sisi was in when I was in the elvennds, yet I could never stay calm and rational when it came to Veirya.


    In my mind: "I promised Sisi to be her husband. I''m going to live in the imperial pce, not with Veirya. I shouldn''t be going back on my word after making the promise to Sisi. I''m not scum. I had no choice with Lucia, but I chose Sisi of my own volition, which means that I''m not supposed to like Veirya. I can''t like Veirya anymore. I can calmly tell myself this now, but why do I lose my cool when I see Veirya? I need to calm down now, though. If I can''t, we might not make it out of here alive."


    Our n hadn''tunched. The food and carriages hadn''t left the city. The people were still suspicious about us. They didn''t know what n we were hatching. Moreover, they didn''t believe that we''d seed. That was why it wasn''t optimal timing for us, but killing us would be a simple matter for them.


    ========


    Current time in the imperial pce.


    "Who told you to let the kid in?! Which one of you let her in?!! She''s a subus! She''s a subus, damn it! She''s that man''s daughter! Letting her in is the same as letting her take Lord Veirya! What were you thinking?!"


    The young man roared in the faces of a few guards, while they stood there and quaked. The young man irritably scratched his head. He then turned to look at his adjutant and thundered, "Her Majesty sure knows how to pick her timing! She has to pick the best moment for her, doesn''t she? I bet that man revealed Queen Sisi as he found Lord Veirya. If that''s the case, we''ve already failed! I never imagined the entire n rode on one kid!"


    If Veirya met Lin Dongqing and they resolved their issue, then, indeed, their n had failed. Veirya wouldn''t help the young man. He no longer had the ace to make a Queen. Nobody besides Veirya had credibility that surpassed Queen Sisi. If Veirya took Queen Sisi''s side, then Sisi just needed to return to the throne.


    "Hurry and send someone out to find her! You must bring Lord Veirya back even if you must resort to force! Take those two hostage, and Lord Veirya will definitelye back! It''s time anyway; we can''t drag this out any longer. It''s time to end this conflict with Queen Sisi."


    The young man turned to leave. He hesitated for a moment but set his sword down, nevertheless. He knew Queen Sisi was back, but he hadn''t seen her again. He had to see her again. He had done so much and was determined to see it through. Howbeit, he was still slightly fearful at the realisation that Queen Sisi was back and about toe face to face with him. Subconsciously, he believed himself to be wrong. He betrayed the Queen and didn''t dare to see her in an armed state.


    Sisi and I exchanged eye contact. The two of us forced ourselves to stay vignt as we walked alongside the soldiers. SIsi had walked the same path countless times before but most likely when she wasn''t so nervous. They silently watched us. Sisi seemed to be eager to see everything before her. The imperial pce used to be her world, and also where she lived, but no more.


    The young man appeared at the entrance of the imperial pce. He gently trembled when he saw Sisi: "Your Majesty!"


    "You sure trashed my imperial pce in my absence," remarked Sisi,ughing. She folded her arms and looked at the soldiers on both sides. With a stamp of her foot and the supremacy of a Queen, she thundered, "Who allowed you to bring weapons into the imperial pce?! Are you inspectors or assassins after my life?! Are you betraying me?!"


    Despite being delicate, Sisi didn''t show a single tinge of fear in front of the soldiers. They were armed with des, yet none dared to budge.


    <em>ng!</em> I don''t know who started it, but the soldiers disarmed.

 Chapter Volume 6 43

    <i>Choosing Between Sisi and Veirya</i>


    I knew what to do. Out in the field, it would be Veirya''s business. My battlefield was the table where everyone was sitting at. I didn''t know why the opposition wanted to speak with me. Under normal circumstances, we weren''t on talking terms. The military could marginalise me since they had the initiative. My original n was to wait for the people to be in frenzy, leaving the military at a loss due to focusing on one thing, and then have Queen Sisi emerge. That would force the military toe forward and talk with us to solve the matter. If they tried to kill Sisi at that point, it would be tant betrayal. That was the best timing.


    We didn''t get the timing right. The military could refuse to talk to me, reason being that the Queen had yet to rally the people. The people didn''t know what happened yet. The imperial capital was still as calm as still water. It was impossible to send the people into panic to incite panic in the military.. Put another way, they could skip all the talking and turn us into hostages, yet they wanted to talk with us.


    "Why do they want to talk with us? Does it have something to do with Veirya being at our ce? By the looks of it, Veirya sneaked out to go to our ce, and still isn''t back," I analysed.


    The military had lost their most important weapon, or rather, their stock crashed. Veirya was the key to their n. Without her, who''d be able to contend for the throne? Hence, the military had to negotiate with us to do damage control. At the very least, they could ensure that they could keep most of their members. Judging from the situation at hand, the throne was in Sisi''s bag. We could make any request we wanted in the negotiation.


    "That said, what do I do about Sisi if I''m prepared to return to the North with Veirya? I promised Sisi. I, in fact, even proposed to her already. I had no choice with Lucia, but what about this time? I''ve basically betrayed Sisi. I gave a girl hope for marriage, yet eloped with my girlfriend. I can''t do it. How can I pull such a scumbag move?


    "If we were back a few days ago, I''d definitely waltz off with Veirya with the demeanour of a victor, hand the throne to Sisi, and then you do you, and I do me. Now, though, do I really have to discuss this? Do I want to leave with Veirya?" I mused.


    Sitting next to me, Sisi grabbed my hand. Her scent and warmth calmed me. She wasn''t particrly afraid of the people who invaded her nest. To the contrary, she was extremelyposed. She held my hand to indicate that she was waiting for me to speak.


    I had two choices. We had won. Veirya was on our side. I just need to leave with her, and let Queen Sisi return to the throne. What she did after was none of my business. Everything would be back to how it was not long ago. Sisi would have returned to her throne, and Veirya would''ve returned to my side, mission aplished. We''ve resolved our differences, and we can go home with Leah to resume our peaceful life.


    Alternatively, I could decide to not acknowledge the victory, and let the people hold an official vote for Veirya and Sisi. That would provide Sisi with an opportunity. That was also my stance. Worded another way, I rejected Veirya and was willing to stay with Sisi.


    Option C was to elope with Sisi.


    "Veirya isn''t with me right now, so I''m calm and rational. That means the decision I make now will be the calcted and correct one. Now, how do I choose? Shall I leave with Veirya and tell Sisi, ''I was just kidding,'' and then leave as a husband on the surface, or should I give up on Veirya, and tell Sisi that I''m staying here with her as the Queen''s husband and chief of staff?" I deliberated.


    The young man opposite us stared at is as if wemitted some major sin when he was the traitor. Sisi didn''t pester me. Surely Sisi knew that I could make the call but believed in me and herself; she believed that I''d make the most appropriate choice.


    "I know that he''s calm right now. There''s no madness in his gaze. He''s in his most normal state. He can definitely make the right choice this time. Am I the right choice in his mind?" I pondered.


    Sisi didn''t know what he thought.


    Sisi used to love a type of bird, the type that would often fly around in the flower garden. Its voice was clear and glided along notes. Its feathers were seven bright colours and didn''t fear any possible dangers. It disyed its beauty without fearing nature''s challenge. Sisi really liked those birds as a young girl. She ran outside with bread every day and scattered bread crumbs. She''d watch the birds gather, shake out their feathers while chirping with joy.


    That was Sisi''s favourite activity. She wanted those pretty birds more than power, authority, military power ornd right now. The birds would visit her flower garden every day, but her doting father never caught one for her. Sisi was always perplexed as to why her father never gave her one of the birds as a present. If her father wouldn''t gift her one, she just needed to catch one for herself.


    Sisi was never one to easily quit. Soon enough, she created a device to capture birds as per the instructions in a book. In the early morning, she ran into the flower garden and scattered bird crumbs. The birds were used to being fed; thus, they stood there without any suspicion. Lying in ambush, Sisi yanked the rope, pinning a bird to the ground.


    "I caught it. I finally caught a bird that I wanted most!" Sisi cheered.


    Sisi rushed over with joy. She put the bird into a bird cage that she prepared beforehand. The bird whimpered sorrowfully as it bashed against the impregnable cage. Sisi proudly took it to her father. Her fatherughed but didn''tment.


    It was Sisi''s favourite bird; it was the bird she had been keeping tabs on most recently. Its colourful feathers consisting of five colours dazzled. Its smooth body was charming. Sisi kept poking it, but it only weakly groaned as it lied there. Nheless, its groans were pleasing to the ear.


    On the next day, however, Sisi found herself surprised when she looked at the bird she finally caught. The bird lied still. It didn''t eat anything. It ran into the rails of the cage all yesterday. It silently stared at Sisi. She didn''t sob or feel upset. She seemed to realise something. What she finally realised was that she didn''t like the bird but the bird''s look when it was able to fly freely in the sky.


    Sisi''s current situation was the exact same again. She knew that the man next to her would make the decision he deemed correct when he was level-headed. As such, she wasn''t anxious. At the same time, she couldn''t say anything. She didn''t consider herself doomed to lose, not to Veirya. When he was at rock bottom, she was the only one who stayed by his side and helped him get back on his feet. Additionally, he confessed to her first. So ordingly, failure wasn''t inevitable.


    ***


    "Mama Veirya!"


    Leah carried a bowl over to Veirya with a smile. A subus gave her a basket of bread. Veirya epted the food: "Thank you. Leah. I''m very happy. You came. To see me. Today."


    "It''s okay, Mama Veirya. You protected me, after all," replied Leah. "Plus, if you''re with Papa, he''ll be happier¡­ Last time¡­ Papa was so upset that he passed out. It was really frightening¡­"


    Veirya put down the food: "He. Passed out?"


    "Yes. After he saw you, he passed out when he came back¡­" responded Leah. Leah grabbed her own clothes and quietly muttered, "Leah thinks that Papa would be so miserable if Mama Veiryaes back."


    "¡­ Sorry, Leah."


    "Mama Veirya didn''t wrong me, but if Mama Veirya can make up with Papa, then that would be fantastic!"


    "I will. I definitely. Will."


    ***


    Current time at the imperial pce.


    I took in a deep breath. I had made up my mind. I couldn''t redo my life over, so I couldn''t change my mind.

 Chapter Volume 6 44

    <i>Oath</i>


    The moonlight gently pierced through the thin clothing. The gentle night breeze grazed her silky silver hair. Silently, Veirya sat still in ce, eyes closed. It appeared as though she wasn''t even breathing.


    I took in a deep breath and then held it. I wasn''t sure if it was on purpose or not, but there was no one in the room. What should''ve been the loudest ce at night was dead silent tonight. I wasn''t sure if Veirya heard my footsteps or not. Normally, any minute sound was enough to disrupt her sleep.


    "Is she deep asleep due to excessive fatigue?" I wondered.


    I ced my cane aside. I did my best to quietly remove my cloak and approach Veirya from behind. guard waspletely down. Normally, it''d be impossible to approach her from behind, yet she didn''t respond despite how close I was to her. Her military uniform covered her wounds on her back, but I could seemingly still see the burn she suffered as a result of protecting us.


    Veirya''s silver hair had grown out but was still messy. Even so, it was still as pretty as I remembered it. The moonlight added an ethereal touch to her hair. Sisi made sure to earnestly take care of her long burgundy hair daily, but Veirya never bothered with her hair.


    I gently draped my cloak on Veirya. She suddenly opened her eyes. Our gazes met at close range. My heart involuntarily raced again. I was ready to remain calm and freeze in front of Veirya. I had to remain rational. Nevertheless, I had to find a way to reduce the awkwardness between us. At the very least, it was our first meeting in a long time, so I had to say something¡­


    "What should I say? Let me think. Let me think¡­ What should I say¡­?" I contemted


    Veirya didn''t give me a chance to finish processing my thoughts. Judging from her reaction, she had deemed thinking what to say for our first meeting to be unnecessary. She draped her arms over my shoulder and pulled me in. Again. My teeth suddenly felt a hard collision again, thereby confirming she wasn''t Angelina¡­ Veirya hugged me as though she wanted to lock me in her arms. She didn''t have any hugging skills. It was as if she learnt to hug from a wrestling ss, but I spaced out for a bit due to the emotional rush.


    "Screw reasoning!" I inwardly yelled.


    "Sorry," whispered Veirya, by my ear. "I was wrong¡­ Sorry¡­ I should''ve. Trusted you¡­. Because¡­ I wasn''t sure¡­ I don''t know why¡­ Whenever you¡­ are with other women and intimate. I. Feel upset. Miserable. I don''t know. Why¡­"


    An ice cold liquid touched my face. Surprised, I pushed her back. Veirya was still expressionless, but her blue eyes, those blue eyes that made me feel suffocated and heart race, were wet. Her tears coursed down her pretty face¡­


    The sight of Veirya''s tears surprised me. She gently touched my face and opined, "Previously. I didn''t realise. That it was so joyous. To have you by my side. I''m d. You''re back to me. Let''s. Go home. The throne. Is Queen Sisi''s. So. Let''s go back¡­"


    It was my first time seeing Veirya cry. Never in my imagination did I think she''d plead me.


    Did I need to do anything? No, I didn''t need to say anything or do anything. I just needed to leave hand in hand with her. We just had to leave.


    "I want. To be together forever. From now. I won''t. Run away. Again. Or be wilful. Again. I will. Listen to you. And trust you. So, I hope. You can stay with me from now. Let''s pledge. An oath."


    Veirya released me and went down on one knee. She removed her sword and handed it to me. I stuttered, "Wh-What should I do¡­? What should I do¡­? I don''t know what to do¡­"


    "You just need to do this.


    I attempted to turn, but I suddenly felt my knee clip, sending me straight to my knees in front of Veirya. From behind, Angelina ced a hand on my shoulder and chuckled, "Although this should be a ceremony with Veirya pledging to you, I think that you should both make a pledge to each other. As for the ring, remember to buy Veirya one to make it up to her. Now, I''ll be your witness."


    Angelina snagged a veil sitting on a chair by the side, and put it on Veirya''s head. Veirya didn''t follow. Angelina raised my right arm and smiled: "Put it on her shoulder. You, too, Veirya."


    I did as Angelina said, and so did Veirya. Angelinaughed: "Now, repeat after me. It''s simple, but it might make you shy. After all, this is an old passage our ancestors imparted. Nheless, you must say it."


    "Heavens above, today, in the name of the ancestors'' honour and dignity and gaze of gods, I hereby swear."


    Veirya, gripping my shoulder hard enough to ache, calmly repeated the embarrassing passage.


    "I shall forever stay by his/her side as his/her shield and de. I will not hesitate to sacrifice my life for him/her, never betray him/her and never regret. This oath starts tonight and shallst for eternity."


    I didn''t know who started it or what the meaning of the ceremony was. All I knew was that Veirya and I had sworn an oath to stay with and love each other till the end of our lives.


    "Done. You two shall be together forever from now. Trust each other. Respect each other. And, love each other. So then, your business is done, right? Queen Sisi should return, so home we go."


    Angelina seemed to want to separate me from Sisi as soon as possible. To be fair, there was, indeed, no need for me to continue staying in the imperial capital. I should''ve left immediately with Veirya. In saying that¡­ only a kid would make that decision. An adult takes all!

 Chapter Volume 6 45

    <i>The One and Only Queen</i>


    "I know what you''re thinking right now. Put another way, you n to have Queen Sisi forgive you for your deeds and reduce your damages as much as possible, correct? You no longer have your ace. Veirya is on our side."


    I saw the young man''s mouth twitch. Sisi chuckled. She derided, "I knew that killing someone was something that trash among trash could do. Even a farmer could kill someone with their pickaxe. Hence, killing wasn''t a show of supreme power. A monarch''s power is generosity. Besides myself, nobody can pardon you dead lot. Your deeds can be ssified as insurrection, but I don''t n to do anything to you. You once fought alongside me, so I shall forgive and not punish you. In saying that, you should be aware that, after what you did, you are no longer qualified to remain in your posts."


    The people before her didn''t utter a word. The young man expressed, "Sorry, Your Majesty, what we need to say this time is that you should not disb-"


    "Not disband you?" Sisi chimed in with a snicker and m of her hand on the table. Gaze and voice stern, she eximed, "This army is my army. It''s supposed to be loyal to me, not you lot. My army should serve me, not you. By the sounds of it, you don''t even consider it an insurgence. You still don''t think you''re wrong?!"


    "We did it for the nation!!"


    "You crowned Veirya for the nation?!" I rhetorically asked. I snickered: "You know whether or not Veirya can be an excellent Queen. Crowning Veirya for the nation, really? Do you seriously think that? In my opinion, you want to send this nation to its demise. I said it before: Sisi is the representative of this nation. Questioning her is questioning the nation. Betraying her is betraying the nation. You''re the culprits who almost destroyed this empire!! You traitors still have the gall to make requests? Also, if you''re asking me, you all deserve to be cold in the ground! Have you shown any sincerity for a negotiation? You want to bring along a group of fully-armed soldiers to a negotiation?! Sisi, there''s no need to waste our time on them. They''ll have theireuppance meted out to themter!"


    I dragged Sisi off. Sisi was shocked, but she still left with me. Under normal circumstances, the negotiation would''ve been held after our victory. The opposition had no ability to resist at that point. All they could do was ept our conditions. Howbeit, they still had an ace up their sleeve - us. We were in their hands. The military''s soldiers were all around us. If we refused to negotiate, they could very well hold us captive. As such, though it appeared that we had won and they could only act to reduce their sentence a little after we talked, we had to negotiate with them.


    Sisi said what she said to avoid putting us at the disadvantage. In other words, we wouldn''t deal with them right away. Instead, we''d deal with themter on. For this negotiation, we just needed to leave, andplete victory was ours. Once Queen Sisi returned to the throne, the traitors would just be sheep waiting to be ughtered.


    What I did was aggravate the opposition on purpose. I provoked the military and forcibly ended the discussions. We might be able to make it out alive, but if the military decided to y suicide bomber, then we might be at out wits end. That was what I thought¡­ until I saw the high regard in which the soldiers held Sisi.


    I felt that, if they were to actually give themand to kill Sisi, then the soldiers might not have obeyed. True, Sisi lost in the war, but what truly displeased the soldiers was that they weren''t allowed to join the war. Their concern wasn''t whether the Queen was right or not; they felt that the defeat was a consequence of their absence. Therefore, they didn''t side with their chiefs.


    "Stop!" yelled the young man from behind.


    The soldiers around us immediately gathered to block our path. Sisi furiously turned around and thundered, "Aphor!! Who gave you the gall to speak to me in that tone?! I''m your Queen. Did you father sacrifice his life for me on the field for you to speak to me in that manner?!"


    Aphor''s face froze stiff. He looked to hisrades next to him, but they refused to regard him. Their loyalty for Veirya wasn''t as strong as his. Since things were going south, so they didn''t n to continue with it. Their priority had switched to keeping their lives. So ordingly, they rather bow to the Queen.


    "I apologise, Your Majesty," apologised Aphor, speaking through his teeth as he knelt.


    "Hmph." Sisi thundered at the guards in her way, "What are you trying to do? I''m your Queen. What are you trying to do?!"


    "Think carefully, Aphor. As your senior, I shall do you the favour of kindly breaking down your current predicament for you." I gently cleared my throat: "What is your capital to negotiate with us now? Can you keep us here? Do you think that your soldiers are still loyal to you? Can you trap us? Veirya is now on our side. Let''s say we don''t make it back. I wonder what two killing machines, namely Veirya and Angelina, will do. Do you think those people next to you will allow you to tie them up to your capsizing boat with you? You''re alone now. What are you still trying at this point? You''d be better off making arrangements for your funeral. I wanted to kill you with my own hands the moment you lied to Veirya."


    The soldiers made way. Sisi and I strutted out. We refused the negotiation, which meant that we might be met with a to-the-death attack, but I didn''t care or feel scared. I had Veirya with me. Scare me.


    I left the imperial pce hand in hand with Sisi. She kept her head down in silence the entire time. I knew why. Had I agreed to their requests and proceeded with the negotiation, then it proved that I didn''t want Veirya or need her to protect her. It would prove that I was definitely going to be with Sisi, but I left the imperial pce. Hence, it proved that I didn''t n to stay at the imperial pce. I nned to return to Veirya. Consequently, Sisi felt that I rejected her. Actually, I, arguably, betrayed her.


    "Sisi, I don''t want to betray you." I halted in my tracks: "I just wanted to craft an excuse to kill him. If you try to settle the score with himter, I won''t get my revenge now. He tricked Veirya, and mocked me face to face. I can''t let him off for it. I''ve never believed that justiceeste. Justice thateste is pointless justice. I want to kill him. Right. Now."


    Sisi figuratively jumped and firmly gripped my hand.


    "Sisi, I won''t betray you. I made a promise to you; therefore, I promise to stay by your side. I won''t leave you again, Sisi. However, that''s all I can give you¡­"


    "Dongqing¡­ Dongqing¡­ You¡­" sobbed Sisi. She banged her head on my chest and sobbed, "Dongqing¡­ Dongqing¡­ That''s not¡­ what I want¡­ Dongqing¡­ please¡­ I¡­ I don''t want to just be by your side¡­"


    "Sorry, Your Majesty."


    I pushed Sisi back a bit. I went down on one knee and grabbed her hand. I looked up at her and kissed the back of her hand: "Henceforward, I am your knight, Sisi. I will forever remain by your side. I wille to the imperial capital. I will not allow what happened to you to repeat. No matter what happens to you, I will always be by your side, Sisi. I hereby pledge my loyalty to you, and I will never betray my oath."


    "What I want is your love¡­ Dongqing¡­ I¡­ this isn''t what I want¡­"


    Sisi grabbed my arms tightly and cried.


    "Sorry, Sisi¡­ This is all that I can give you¡­" I didn''t hug Sisi back. I carried on: "I will protect you from your side, take care of you and devote my loyalty to you, but¡­ love¡­ I''ve given my love away, and I won''t betray it."


    "I will love Veirya," was what I nearly blurted.


    I knew my feelings. When I saw Veirya, I knew that I would never be able to stop loving Veirya. I wanted to go and see her. At the same time, I couldn''t betray Sisi.


    "I will stay by her side forever. I can''t make her my wife, but I will fulfil my duties as a Prince Consort. I will use every fibre of my being to protect her and this nation that she loves. I swear to never betray my pledge," I silently pledged.


    "Dongqing¡­ Dongqing¡­ Dongqing¡­"


    Queen Sisi trembled as she cried in front of me. I held her hand tightly while remaining on one knee. She was the Queen, so she didn''t fall. I was her knight, so I didn''t embrace her. I knew that I liked her and wanted to be together with her. If I could marry Sisi, I could say with certainty that she''d be very happy. s, she gave our chance to be together away to Veirya that night.


    Life doesn''t have a redo button, and I wouldn''t choose again. All I could do was protect her, my one and only Queen, with all I had. I would love Veirya, but I would continue to stay by Sisi''s side. Henceforth, it wouldn''t be just Veirya who protected Sisi as I shall, as well.

 Chapter Volume 6 46

    <i>Reconciled</i>


    Veirya tightly grabbed my hand and solemnly asked, "Are we. Going back. Now?"


    After what happened, Veirya seemed to have be clingier. She wanted to hurry back, back to our North and pretend as though nothing ever happened. However, I no longer nned to go back. The North no longer served me any purpose. I couldn''t ask the elves for vouring anymore. Perhaps Lucilia mighte and discuss it again. Even so, the elves would probably haul me back to their ce if I went to them To add to it, I promised to protect Queen Sisi. Consequently, I had to stay here.


    "Veirya, I need to inform you beforehand."


    After a moment of silence, I decided to not hide it from Veirya. After learning my lesson once, I decided to keep Veirya informed on everything no matter what. I nced over to Angelina, who was next to us, then exined, "The truth is, I promised Queen Sisi¡­ to stay with her. I made the promise to her when you were absent. I will reinstate and protect her forever, so after I return to the North and settle some matters, I''ll return to the imperial capital. I want to stay here with Sisi¡­ so¡­"


    "Hey, hey, hey, you''re going overboard now, don''t you think?" Angelina admonished. She grabbed my shoulder with one hand and jerked me over. She shuoted, "What''s that supposed to mean?! Aren''t you already engaged to my daughter?! Why are you still thinking about Sisi?! What are you trying to do? You got engaged with Queen Sisi beforeing back, did you? You betrayed Veirya from the beginning, didn''t you?!"


    "I didn''t b-"


    "Then why are you talking about being with Sisi?! You''re not her husband and most certainly not a citizen of this nation, so why must you stay with her?! The person you''re supposed to stay with and protect is Veirya, your future wife! How does Sisie into the picture?! Also, nobody knows what Sisi and you do in the imperial pce during your stay here. What are you thinking?!!"


    Veirya interjected: "It''s fine."


    Veirya snatched me from Angelina and pulled me into her own embrace. I''m a man, yet I was tugged back and forth between two women¡­


    "I also. Protect Her Majesty. He can, too. Plus. I trust him. From now on. I will always trust him¡­"


    "Veirya¡­ don''t go from one extreme to another extreme¡­"


    Angelina hopelessly held her hand to her forehead¡­ Then, she pulled me into her embrace again. She looked at her daughter then kissed me out of the blue. I never expected her to kiss me right in front of Veirya. Veirya''s body jerked in response. She instinctively reached for her sword but then suddenly paused when she looked at her mother.


    Angelina pushed me away and wiped our saliva. She then snickered: "You''re fine with that, too? You''re fine with it if another woman does that to your man? Don''t walk to another extreme! Care about things that you should care about!!"


    "I trust him. After this time. I will trust him."


    "Veirya¡­"


    I gratefully regarded Veirya. Indeed, she had gone from one extreme to another; however, given her limited abilities to think long-term, it was perfectly normal of her. That said, her trust made me feel somewhat guilty¡­. If you came home after having a tryst and saw your wife sleeping at the table with food prepared for you, you''d definitely feel guilty no matter who you were.


    Veirya voiced, "Let''s do as you suggest. We will. Return to the Imperial Capital."


    Angelina heaved a heavy breath: "Ah, whatever. Since that''s your decision, go ahead with it. In saying that, seeing as that''s your decision, Veirya, it''s fine¡­ if I do something, as well, yeah?"


    "What do you want?!"


    I vigntly gazed at Angelina, who chuckled with a mysterious aura. I could faintly feel something was amiss¡­


    Veirya kept her hold on me and conveyed, "Tomorrow. I have some stuff. To do. So. Let''s sleep now. I want to sleep. With you. And Leah¡­."


    "Leah is asleep already, so let''s not disturb her¡­"


    I began to shake with a hint of excitement. I was going to get to sleep with Veirya¡­ and¡­ and¡­ Veirya and I were engaged. Since we''re husband and wife¡­ it¡­ it was¡­ eptable for us to do a little something, right¡­.? We¡­ not to mention this sort of ce¡­ There were lots of things that could make us happy¡­ for instance¡­ there was¡­


    "Let''s. Not disturb her. Then. I also¡­"


    Before Veirya could finish her sentence, Angelina''s expression suddenly changed: "Veirya, you heard that, right? There''s noise outside."


    Veirya nodded. Veirya released my hand and pushed me into a chair. Then ,she stood in front of me, facing away.


    Angelina snickered as she drew her sword: "You still don''t do thorough jobs. It appears that someone is here for revenge. This wouldn''t be happening if you just ughtered your way out of the imperial pce, right?"


    "That''s Her Majesty''s imperial pce."


    Seeing Veirya draw her de, Angelina chuckled but kept her eyes on the door. It was no longer just the two of them who could hear the sounds. I, too, heard the footsteps and nging meal outside.


    "Can you make sure not to destroy this ce? The subi need the ce to live¡­ While you''re at it, it''d be best if you could capture that young fellow. I don''t want to let him off the hook so easily."


    "Your fianc¨¦e and I are about to get into a fight, yet you''re busy thinking about keeping this ce intact? You sure are a heartless man."


    Angelina pushed my head down. Someone mmed the door open. Angelina instructed, "Hide there, and don''t poke your head out. What you see may leave you sick. After all, Veirya and I aren''t too good at practicing mercy."


    I obediently lowered my head. I trusted the two of them. Though the enemy numbered a lot, I still believed that the two were invincible. With my instigation, the young man was just marching to his doom.

 Chapter Volume 6 47

    <i>Good Morning Kiss</i>


    "Your Majesty, it is so good to have you back."


    It was good news for thedy-in-waiting that her Queen was safe and sound. Thedies-in-waiting evaluated Queen Sisi as a considerate Queen. Also, the usual cool Sisi, who was only ever able to be with women, was an excellent individual. However, she was a lot more quiet and silentpared to before.


    Queen Sisi stretched out had left hand before her eyes. For some reason, she paid particr attention to her left ring finger, deliberately fiddling with it. T


    "Normally, a ring on one''s ring finger represents love and marriage, but why is Sisi touching it? Could she have¡­ fallen in love? But would a girl in love actually be so silent and say so little?" mused thedy-in-waiting. Hesitant at first, thedy-in-waiting cautiously broached the question: "Your Majesty, did something happen to you?"


    Romance topics were a rtively sensitive one. Queen Sisi was nice to thedies-in-waiting, but that didn''t mean she wouldn''t get angry. When she did get angry, she was frightening.


    "Nothing. I''m just musing." Queen Sisi then lowered her head and sunk down a little into the water: "If I really like a bird, but the bird doesn''t want to stay with me, should I just watch it fly away or break its wings and lock it in a cage?"


    "I beg your pardon?"


    Thedy-in-waiting panicked a little. She could faintly detect a hint of something from the question, especially since she heard the military personnel speak of a man who miraculously appeared and left with Veirya. She deduced that Queen Sisi cared about him.


    "Mm¡­ pretend I never said anything."


    Queen Sisi rubbed her eyes with her hand. The red from her tears was clear clear on her white skin, so clear that it was heartbreaking to see. The only memory of Queen Sisi that thedy-in-waiting had was her cool demeanour. Never had she cried, yet she shed tears that she hadn''t shed for over a decade for a man.


    She was the Queen of the entire empire. She could have everything in the empire, yet couldn''t have what she most wanted.


    "I knew the answer long ago. My father helped me learn the answer in the past. I preferred the look of the bird soar the sky more, but could you resist the desire to have it when you see its captivating feathers? Humans truly are contradictory creatures. I''m not Lucilia, though. Since he likes Veirya, I have a new idea."


    Queen Sisi thought, "Yes, he''s very loyal. He said he would love Veirya forever. What happens if Veirya no longer exists? If I kill Veirya, I mean, if Veirya dies in an ident, and the North is destroyed, then where else could he go? Would he have any other choice than to love me?"


    Needless to say, she wasn''t aiming to break his wings. If he lost his wings whilst flying, the fault wasn''t hers.


    "I can do it. I definitely can. As long as he''s by my side, I can do lots of things," determined Queen Sisi.


    Queen Sisi''s exit from the water was akin to a stunning water fairy making an appearance. Thedy-in-waiting quickly provided a towel. Wrapping herself in a towel as she climbed out, shemanded, "Prepare a double bed for me. I should be getting married soon to the most extraordinary man in this world."


    "Yes, Your Majesty¡­"


    Although thedy-in-waiting wanted to confirm if the man Queen Sisi referred to was the one she knew of¡­ she was somewhat afraid. Queen Sisi didn''t seem willing to mention him. Therefore, thedy-in-waiting decided to pass.


    "Oh, right, one more thing. There''s still some time until the sunes up. Go and have someone immediately bring me a sky blue cape. Remove thetches on the shoulder and neck. I''m going to personally make a cape for the man I love. If he doesn''t receive it before our ceremony, then all the tailors can get out of my imperial pce."


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    When the sun came up, Leah had yet to wake, but Veirya and I had woken. Queen Sisi was holding her ceremony, which was to be held in the imperial pce, for her return today. Thus, I had to go. My original n should''ve been held off for a few more days. I didn''t think that my daughter, Leah, would go and look for Veirya. I never expected it''d bring about such a miraculous result, either. I didn''t know if Leah had spent a long time with the subi and increased her subus powers or not as a result, but there were no humans who could resist her.


    "I wonder if I can use Leah in the future. Scrap that. I don''t want to endanger Leah," I inwardly chided.


    Yes, I spent the night with Veirya, but it felt more akin to sleeping with my mom. Veirya hugged my head, pressing it firmly to her blessings, but I didn''t dare to suggest <em>that</em>¡­ I was ready to graduate from virginity, but I got wet feet when I was in her embrace¡­ I froze whenever Veirya hugged me.


    Veirya watched me get dressed from the bed: "Are you. Going to. The imperial pce?"


    I nodded. It was quite the weird scene¡­ However, I couldn''t deny that I wimped outst night¡­


    "Then. Don''t. Get too close to Her Majesty."


    Veirya stood up and picked up my cloak. I went to grab it, but Veirya shook her head: "Come. Here."


    I walked up to Veirya, while she got to her feet. She tossed the cloak on my back, and then pulled it around to my neck. I stood stiff in ce. Her breasts were pressed firmly enough to my back to make it feel as though something would break¡­ She did up my cor from behind and carefully did up my cloak. Then, she spun me around, quite pleased with the results of her efforts. She patted my shoulder: "I still. Have something to do. See you tonight."


    "I''ll be taking the kid. I''m sure Her Majesty will really like the present."


    "All right."


    I awkwardly stood in ce. Truth be told, I wanted a goodbye kiss before I left. But nheless, I figured Veirya wasn''t the type of person to do that¡­ And unsurprisingly, she nkly looked at me,pletely ignorant of why I didn''t leave¡­ I knew that Veirya had returned to me and even helped me with my cloak, but I didn''t think she''d give a goodbye kiss.


    "I''ll get going¡­"


    I felt stupid and ashamed when I realised what I was trying to do¡­ I quickly turned around to leave, but, apparently, a light bulb lit up for Veirya. She grabbed my hand from behind and spun me around. The blissfully lightheaded sensation and the sensation of my brain jolting as a consequence of a teeth crash left me speechless. Nheless, I was quite happy¡­


    Veirya''s goodbye kiss brightened my day. I wasn''t frustrated despite having to look at the young man who had an arm and a leg broken. I had people throw him in the back of the horse carriage, and then rode toward the imperial pce. I had be the Queen''s guardian, so I had to be there to watch her return to her throne. Oh, and give her a present while I was at it.


    A horse carriage parked alongside mine. The Elven Queen and Ciara were helped to the carriage. The Elven Queen called, "Lord Lin, it is good that Lord Veirya was able to return, right? I never had the chance to as since it is not our ce to get involved. However, when you are heartbroken, you can alwayse to my side."


    "Sorry, I''m not used to sulking in a woman''s embrace all the time." I smiled then went up to her and held her hand: "What is about to happen to you is definitely not a good thing. You will be humiliated in front of humans. If you don''t want to be publicly shamed and wish to refuse, that is totally fine."


    "It is fine. We can ept it. We no longer had any dignity to speak of from the moment we were exiled."


    Ciara sighed, "What can we do? We no longer have any dignity to speak of. If you need us, we shall go."


    "All right, thank you for your help. I will be sure to repay you for the favour."


    "Hehe, I am looking forward to it, Lord Lin. I wonder how you will repay me."


    The Elven Queen nodded with a giggle. She then got into the carriage with Ciara''s help. The time for Queen Sisi to return to the throne was ripe, but she had to erase the people''s doubt for her. She had to prove that she didn''t fail. The elves helped prove that point. As Queen Sisi''s knight, so I had to dedicate my efforts for her.


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *The ring finger in English is denoted as a ring finger, but in Chinese, it''s denoted as the ''nameless finger'', which is why the exnation of it might sound verbose and ridiculous.

 Chapter Volume 6 48

    <i>Sky Blue Cape</i>


    The imperial pce was somewhat deste and cold after it returned to normal, but the keen noses of merchants and vassals led them to the pce. Queen Sisi sessfully returned to her throne. Queen Sisi had another achievement added to her resume - suppressing a rebellion without shedding blood in the imperial capital. Queen Sisi''s reinstatement was good news to them. They wanted to gain something from her. Last time, they provided her with ten-thousand gold coins and, most importantly, the right to mintage coins.


    Everyone was gathered in the main hall of the Queen''s imperial pce. They didn''t have the right to go to the Queen''s room. That''s why all they could do was stand in the main hall and wait for her toe out. Sisi was still preparing herself in her room. A considerable number of citizens had begun to enter the imperial pce. I arranged for the horse carriage to arrive at the rear of the pce. It was pointless to reveal the Elven Queen too soon. Furthermore, I needed to give that guy a piece of my mind.


    I saw Achilles and the president of the bank. However, the two weren''t too keen on meeting me. Their attitude toward me was rather cold. After all, it was thanks to me that the merchant alliance was scotched without it directly being crushed. Had Leah not thrown a wrench in their ns beforehand, something might''ve happened between the businessmen; the riled up businessmen might''ve even gone as far as hiring mercenaries to assault the imperial pce. I used an odious mean to lead the merchants into an internal conflict amongst themselves. Even the bank president and Achilles lost their faith in each other. Finally realising what happened, the two definitely weren''t going to be friendly with me.


    It didn''t really bother me. It was the nature of businessmen. The problem didn''t actually matter; time would gradually erase it from memory. Lying was part of the gig as businessmen. All you could me is yourself for not being cautious and gullible. Hence, the two shouldn''t have been too bothered.


    Edward was among the group of businessmen. Whoever could enter her room at the time meant that he was her new favoured vassal. Achilles could only wait. Thedy-in-waiting there didn''t allow him passage, which meant that he was no longer her favoured vassal. Edward thirsted for the position, except Queen Sisi never explicated he could have it. I didn''t want to crush his hopes, so I figured I shouldn''t tell him that Queen Sisi didn''t actually like him.


    I still wanted to get the coal mine and steam-engine machine from Edward. Due to the war and Queen Sisi''s matter, however, my ns were dyed. Once I head North, I they were my next target.


    The maid standing at the entrance didn''t allow any businessman in. I snickered and sauntered over. When I got to the door, thedies-in-waiting vigntly informed, "Her Majesty is currently changing."


    "I know. Tell Her Majesty I''ve arrived."


    I put my hand on the door. The two froze for a moment. One entered, while the other stayed outside to watch me. After a while, thedy-in-waiting who went inside came out surprised. She cleared her throat softly and notified, "I am very sorry, Sir Lin. Her Majesty asks you to go in."


    "Sure."


    All of the businessmen and some officials were dumbstruck. I casually entered under their watch and then shut the door. It was true that Sisi was getting changed. It was just that she could only ept me seeing her. As for the others, take a hike.


    Sisi sat on the bed, gently pulling up her long ck stockings then set them in ce. She gently ran her hand on her leg to ensure her stockings were smooth and proper. Hearing me enter, she raised her chin and dimpled: "You''re here, Dongqing. I thought you wouldn''te beforehand."


    "It was a given that I woulde beforehand. Today is your first day back, and I even prepared a present for you."


    I walked over and sat down next to Susu. She ignored thedy-in-waitings'' opinion and grabbed hold of my hand. She held it up to her mouth and gave it a peck. In a soft voice, she responded, "You''ve nned everything, right? Everything has been nned, right? I just need to trust you, and I''ll be able to return here no matter what."


    "Not necessarily. We have Leah to thank this time. I genuinely never imagined that Leah would actually be able to bring Veirya out. They were easy to deal with once Veirya wasn''t in their hands."


    Sisi bemoaned, "I''ve never seen you smile so brightly when you''re with me. You don''t smile around me. Do you smile so brightly as long as that woman is beside you?"


    I didn''t know what to say. Sisi stood up and pulled up her dress'' shoulder strap. She then giggled: "With that said, I still prefer the way birds fly. I guess there''s nothing I can do. Dongqing, help mece up at the back."


    "Sure."


    I circled behind Sisi. I gently helped herce her back piece. Thedies-in-waiting behind us felt quite awkward. They didn''t know what to say, while we didn''t care. A calming scent gently lingered by the tip of my nose. I finished helping herce up, but then gently grabbed her shoulder without letting go. Sisi didn''t say anything. The two of just silently stood there; however, we didn''t embrace or kiss.


    "Dongqing¡­"


    A short momentter, Sisi finally couldn''t resist. She spun around and grabbed my arm. She looked emotional and eager to say something, but I immediately stepped back. With my gaze on her, I shook my head. I quietly conveyed, "Sorry, Sisi¡­ I¡­ really can''t."


    Sisi took in a deep breath. Her shoulders rolled forward. I gently hugged her. She leaned on my chest and snuggled up on it. She revealed a smile that looked more upsetting than tears. She sobbed, "Isn''t it so ironic? I feel so upset that I want to cry, but I''m a Queen. I can''t cry now. Tears will ruin my make-up¡­ I''m the Queen again, yet I can''t even cry."


    "Sisi¡­"


    "Don''t¡­ do this¡­"


    Queen Sisi tightly gripped my chest. She bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying. She forced herself so hard that her entire body quavered: "Don''t¡­ be too gentle¡­ with me¡­ Right now, I¡­ really¡­ can''t cry¡­ please¡­"


    "Sorry¡­"


    I released Sisi. She took in a deep breath to prevent herself from crying. She blinked her eyes to stop her tears. Sadly they still lingered there. Next, she grabbed a sky-blue cape from the table, expressing, "Take your cloak off. I specifically made you a new cape. There is only the section on your shoulder and around the neck, but¡­ that''s enough, right¡­? It''s the same as me giving you a back hug¡­"


    Later on, another colour was added to the empire''s cape ranks. A sky-blue cape was made for one who had the right to wear it and was closest to the Queen. There was only one copy of the cape in the entire empire.

 Chapter Volume 6 49

    <i>Wedding Ring</i>


    Sisi''s return was a resounding sess. The entire empire was drowned in merry. Everyone figured out what happened once Sisi brought out the Elven Queen. Humanity didn''t lose the war. The reason Queen Sisi couldn''t return wasn''t due to her mistake but due to the military''s betrayal. The disloyal military dyed Queen Sisi''s return. She had never been defeated against foreign forces before, so all of the suspicions the people had were erased. Queen Sisi had returned to resume her role as the Queen of humanity''s empire without anyone questioning her. The oppressive rule was immediately lifted, thereby returning the city to the state of a city that never slept.


    I left after personally leading Queen Sisi up to the balcony, where she could look down at everyone below. Queen Sisi knew what to do next. She didn''t need me to tell her what to do next even though I was her guardian in name. I couldn''t remain at her side. It didn''t matter that thedies-in-waiting were aware. Howbeit, it wouldn''t be good if the people saw the man behind Queen Sisi end up with Veirya in the end. Rumours in the imperial pce were to remain in the imperial pce.


    Queen Sisi knew I left, but she had the empire and the people of the imperial capital in front of her.


    Before I left, I removed my sky blue cape and wore on my thin, white cloak again. The white cloak was one that Veirya personally helped me wear on. Ordinary it may have been, it was still the item that I cherished most. I folded up the sky blue cape properly because I was most likely going to have to wear it daily when I went to the imperial capital. I didn''t hate the colour. Sisi felt that the colour was appropriate for me. After all, I was considered a bird. It eluded me as to why the people of this world always associated me with animals.


    The streets were practically empty. Virtually everyone had gone to attend the Queen''s return ceremony. I didn''t have anything else I could do. The young man''s punishment wasn''t the priority. Spilling blood at the Queen''s coronation ceremony was also inappropriate.


    I went to ce I went to before. Yes, the one that left me with a psychological blow. Even though Veirya hade back to me, the association brought back unpleasant memories. The jewellery shop was as quiet as always but was open, nheless. The dwarves probably had no interest in humanity''s Queen.


    I went inside the store. The items were much simpler than what was avable in the modern day. There weren''t many treasures. To be precise, they were just wooden chests and more wooden chests jammed together plus a huge counter. There were several dwarves behind the counter using a scale to weigh gems. Noticing me, one of them inquired, "Is something the matter?"


    "Did Veirya have a ring made here?''


    "Lord Veirya? Yes, she did. Is there something wrong with it? If there is, we do provide free repairs."


    "No, I just wanted to ask if you could make another one."


    "Did you lose the original?"


    "No. I need a more extravagant one than that one. It''d be best if it was your best ring." I paused for a moment before resuming: "What can you make with your best materials for a ring?"


    "We dwarves refine the best mithril andbine it with dragon bones. After we smelt them, we turn them into a crystal. A big one. There are six smaller ones around it. We carve names on the ring itself then fill it with gold. We get it precisely right so that there isn''t any overflowing gold. It looks amazing, but it''s expensive. It costs four thousand gold coins."


    "I''ll take it." I ced the invoice I had on the table: "Show this to the merchants listed, and they will pay you. I just need to sign."


    "Mm¡­ All right."


    Dishing out four thousand gold coins at once wasn''t the norm. I did loan the ten thousand gold coins to take back Sisi''s throne, but I had sessfully achieved the goal. Further, I didn''t need to pay back the loan. Ten thousand gold coins was spare change for Sisi. However, she was going to have more burdens to deal with going forward as she had to repay the loans she took out for her campaign against the elves. With that said, along as the empire got back on track, that sum would soon be repaid. Humanity''s empire''s demise wasn''t due yet. It''d better to say that it was at its prime.


    The dwarf quickly went back. I asked, "How long will it take to have it made?"


    "You might have to wait for a bit, so I suggest youe back for it in the evening."


    The dwarf was understandably courteous. They immediately put down their gems and scale to hurry on with my order. Their workshop must''ve been behind them. I took the invoice they handed me and then left. I was petty, to be honest. I wanted to buy a more valuable ring to wave it in the young man''s face and tell him who the better man was.


    I didn''t know where to go after I left.


    "I guess I''ll take Leah to the imperial pce," I decided.


    ***


    Standing with Veirya in a narrow alley that didn''t stand out, a man checked around then proceeded to say, "Hehe, all right, let''s do a trade. As I said before, I have the ring you need. It''s amazingly pretty. You won''t find another one that canpare. Only I have such good stuff."


    Veirya took the ring and checked it out. On the pretty ring was a clear gem that shined.


    "What do you think? Amazing, isn''t it? Madam, this would be the perfect gift for your man. I''ll give it to you for cheap. This was my mother''s ring when she got married. I wouldn''t be selling it if I wasn''t in desperate need of money."


    "I. Don''t have money."


    Veirya popped the ring into her pocket then reached for her sword at her waist. The frightened man was about to go on his knees. He had been conning people for a long time but never expected to run into another scammer!


    "This. For you. In exchange. Her Majesty. Gave it to me."


    Veirya passed her sword to the man. His gaze stopped on the handle as there was a counterweight stone on the handle, and the stone happened to resemble a gem.


    "Deal! You have excellent taste!"

 Chapter Volume 6 50

    <i>ss Pearl</i>


    "Papa, this tastes really nice!" Leah, hands covered in honey on bread, ran up to me and enthused.


    I took a piece from Leah and had a try. I then scrubbed her head. She happily hugged my thigh, not caring that the honey on her mouth would get on my leg. Achilles, who was next to me, watched us and hopelessly smiled: "You still dote on Leah as always, I see."


    "Leah is my daughter. Of course I like her. And, look, don''t lots of people like Leah now?"


    I touched Leah''s head to let her know that she could continue eating. Sisi had yet to appear. The noon banquet gave us time to converse. Leah continued running around the crowd, but nobody dared toin. Some even wanted to try and speak to her for a smile. They used to ignore Leah, yet they did everything they could to put a smile on her face monthster.


    I knew that it wasn''t polite to let a child run around between adults, but I had power. Who cares about manners? My sky blue cape on my back was Leah''s protective talisman.


    "Heh." Achilles patted my shoulder: "You do not have any principles. We loaned you money and promised to help Queen Sisi, only for you to turn around and sow discord among us. I did not have my guard up against you, yet you yed me bad enough to almost make trouble arise between us businessmen."


    "You should be aware that I didn''t do that on purpose, right?" I had a drink of fruit wine from my ss and then smiled: "I''m just Queen Sisi''s assistant. I do what she tells me to do. Queen Sisi had misgivings about you lot. It had nothing to do with me. In saying that, I''m grateful for your help, though I do know that my gratitude isn''t practical."


    "Is your gratitude not already useful?" Achilles checked out my sky blue cape before carrying on, "They now have to get on Leah''s good side to give you a good impression of them. We, however, don''t need to get on Leah''s good side, do we?"


    "Then, you should ingratiate yourselves with Veirya. When we hold our ceremony, we''ll be relying on you a lot for help."


    "You two are set on getting married?" Achilles froze for a moment. He made a toast and finished his drink in one go. He opined, "That is good news. That said, is it really the appropriate time for you to be getting married? They say that marriage is the nail in your career''s coffin. It took a lot for you to win Queen Sisi''s favour; getting married now would not bolster your career in any way."


    "I would argue that we need to hurry and get married so that Veirya would allow me to work here."


    A servant handed over a new ss of wine, which Achilles took. We gave each other a toast. Achilles added, "In that case, I shall say no more. I do not want to be a victim of your fianc¨¦e''s sword, so congrattions!"


    "You should be getting married, too, Achilles."


    "I will need to wait till I meet the right person, I guess."


    We gave each other a smile then finished our drinks. As we conversed, we heard ady-in-waiting announce, "Her Majesty has arrived!"


    Everyone turned to face the direction the voice originated. Leah froze in ce with her fork and meat still in hand. She didn''t know what to do. All that was audible in the silence was high heels tapping the steps. Adorning ck gloves, Queen Sisi eloquently descended the stairs of the balcony, sporting her usual captivating smile. Her burgundy hair was syed onto her shoulders. The purple dress she wore emphasised her voluptuous breasts. She had a ck mole on her. It was a blissful feeling, surprisingly, to see such a beautiful Sisi approach. That perfect beauty loved me.


    "Ladies and gentleman," - Sisi gave everyone a gander and smile - "You''ve worked hard."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty!"


    Everyone bowed to Sisi. I, too, bowed my head. Unsure for what to do, Leah jogged over to Sisi, while Sisi watched her approach while smiling to herself. Sisi crouched down and questioned, "Is something the matter, Leah?"


    Leah lingered for a moment before holding out the piece of meat in her hand: "Umm¡­ Your Majesty¡­ this is for you¡­"


    Sisi froze. It took her a second to realise that Leah was worried she was angry about Leah taking Veirya back. Sisi giggled and gave Leah a hug. She kissed Leah''s cheek and took a fork. She ate the piece of meat in front of everyone without any hesitation. Thedy-in-waiting next to her quickly handed her a handkerchief and took the fork.


    "All right, everyone. There is no need to say any more. I shall not interrupt your meal time. I just hope that you can remain loyalty and motivated as you once had. So then, please enjoy this banquet!"


    Sisi didn''t say anything superfluous. Noticing me approach, she flustered as she wiped her mouth and tossed aside the handkerchief. She ced her hands behind her and gave me a smile. I handed her a ss of wine: "You look gorgeous tonight."


    "I specifically dressed up for you, "replied Sisi, with a smile. She spun around in front of me: "I''m fulfilled to hear that from you. If we weren''t in public, I''d give you a kiss."


    "I think we should give that a pass."


    I was worried about having Sisi''s scent on me. I''d be hard-pressed to exin it if Veirya detected the smell. We had reconciled, but I was still conscious of my interactions with other females.


    Sisi looped her arm around mine: "That being the case, as my favoured vassal, you can make ap with me, right? While we''re at it, I need to see the military and people''s representative. At night, I''ll help you kill that young man. Would you like to send him off on fire asst time?"


    "I have no opinion."


    I thought you were kind."


    "I never have been. As long as Leah doesn''t have to see it, then I''m fine. I don''t n to watch, either. I want to go back at night."


    "I see. I guess I won''t be able to keep you, then."


    "You''re right about that."


    I didn''t intend to give Sisi any chances. She shook her head with augh. The two of us addressed the vassals one by one to put them at ease. They were in panic due to her absence. It was nice enough that they could remain loyal in the face of the challenges.


    I was busy all afternoon. Sisi''s job wasn''t a rxing one. Unfortunately for her, I couldn''t take over the jobs on her behalf. I could only watch her busy herself all the way until night time, when I could finally leave. Sisi was exhausted. We gave each other a kiss on the cheek and then went our own ways. Sisi watched me go, waiting for me to vanish out of sight before returning. It pricked my heart to see her small silhouette as I rode off.


    I dropped Leah off prior to collecting the ring the dwarves had just finished. I must admit it was absolutely worth the price tag. The golden letters were fabulously carved on. It read, "I love you." The gem on the ring was akin to a bright me. The six small gems were collected around thergest one. As long as there was a source of light, you would see seven lights.


    The Elven Queen and Ciara hade back. Queen Sisi didn''t do anything to them besides having them kneel before humans. I bought them some elven jewellery as an apology, though. I wasn''t sure if the elven jewellery in humanity''snds would cheer them up a little, but it was the best I could do.


    At dinner, Veirya conveyed, "I have something. For you."


    "I''m the one who should''ve given her a present. Why is she giving me a present? She shouldn''t have money. She can''t afford a ring, so what is she giving me?" I pondered.


    Veirya took out a ring from her pocket and gave it to me. Nervously, she told me, "I¡­ I exchanged my sword for it¡­ I thought. This ring. Looked nice. They say. That you have. To give the person you love. A ring. So I''m giving you one."


    Veirya ced the ring in my hand. If you ever touched a real ring, you''d realise something was off about the ring she handed me. If it was a gem or some sort, it wouldn''t be so light. I scanned it then I knocked on the table with it. The so-called gem cracked.


    "This is ss." I sighed: "Veirya, you were scammed."


    "What¡­?"


    Veirya was shocked. She lowered her head and didn''t say another word. I nced down to her empty belt. I was quite sad. She didn''t have money, so she used her only possession to exchange it for a ring to give me. Sure, she was conned, but it was everything she had. Her sword was the one thing she''d never throw away as a soldier, yet she exchanged it for a ring for me, only to be conned.


    I grabbed hold of her hand and took out a ring from my pocket, triggering a subtle jolt from Veirya. I knelt down on one knee and carefully wore it onto her left ring finger.


    "You''re right. You should give your loved one a ring. I lost the other ring, so this one is to make up for it."


    "But, I¡­"


    Veirya''s body gently quivered. I picked up the fake ring and, voice serious, pledged, "It''s fine. A ring is just an object. It''s the thought that''s most important. Don''t worry, Veirya. I''ll help you. I''ll find that scammer. As long as I''m around, I won''t allow anyone to fool you!"

 Chapter Volume 7 1

    <i>Division</i>


    "Don''t underestimate a businessman''sworks, scumbag."


    I yanked the scammer''s head up by his hair. His mouth was bloody, and his teeth were strewn on the ground. He desperately tried to struggle, but the muscles behind him grabbed his arms and legs with vice-like grips,pletely immobilising him.


    "You scammed her, didn''t you? You scammed Veirya for her sword with that ss pearl of yours. Don''t exin anything to me. I just want to know where the sword is."


    The ce he stayed wasparable to a rodent den; it was a pigsty. We fumbled through the entire ce but couldn''t find the sword. I could recognise Veirya''s sword. It was an impable sword that Sisi gave her. Plus, the iid diamonds definitely weren''t ss pearls. Unfortunately, it wasn''t at his ce. All we found was a bag of gold coins. By the looks of it, he must''ve sold it for money.


    I had to locate the buyer. That was Veirya''s most important possession; it was her glory as a soldier. Veirya had never given up her honour or glory. She would never throw away her long sword and the emblem. The fact that she sold her sword indicated that she had foregone her pride as a soldier.


    I couldn''t ept that. Veirya should''ve been the most outstanding soldier by my side. The first half of her life was lived as a soldier. If we denied that part of her history, that would be the equivalent of denying her of everything as a human and her past. There was no way that I could ept that. I was going to protect everything she had be it her past or future.


    "I sold it to a schr! He''s in that area! He lives in the area where the schrs live! He paid arge sum for the sword. He''s over there! He''s over there! Edward knows him. He''s the one that''s with Edward every day! I really don''t know! I really don''t know! Spare me. I''m sorry. I''m a con artist! I really didn''t do anything."


    "You scammed Veirya. That''s enough of something."


    I poked his face with my cane and coldly demanded, "I need you to go and send a message. I know that Veirya is stupid. It couldn''t be any easier for you scam artists to scam her, so I need you to go and share a piece of information. Tell them what the consequences of scamming Veirya are."


    "I will¡­ I will¡­ I swear I will!"


    "Are words of any use?"


    I snickered; then shifted away from him a little, "Corpses hold more weight than words. Do it. Don''t worry. If anything happens, I''ll take responsibility."


    "All right."


    A painful cry was the end of it all. I went down the tilted stairs and to the outside. I gently adjusted my clothing, and then took in a breath of the clear night air to calm my mind.


    I had been given a good opportunity. I always wanted to meet the steam-engine inventor. And what do you know? We were going to meet now. I didn''t know what the purpose of buying the sword was. The gems on a sword wouldn''t be of much use to a schr, would they? It was valuable to a merchant. The sword handle''s significance was probably more important.


    "Might he be interested in history, as well?" I wondered.


    I think he was conned, to be honest. Veirya''s sword isn''t actually decoration; it''s a consumable¡­ ording to what she said, a sword wears out very quickly, consequently making her have to pick up other objects from the ground to us, be it hammers, axes, spears or even wooden rods. Veirya didn''t have a fixed weapon. The sword wasn''t the sword used to y the Demon King.


    The muscles from upstairs came down dusting his hands, "What next? Do you need us to do next? Do you have anything else for us to do? But with that said, he is Edward''s associate, so it would be somewhat dangerous to deal with me. Do we just kick his door down?"


    "No need. Leave it to me."


    I pped my hands, "Thank you for the hard work. Here is your payment."


    I tossed them two gold coins then asked them for directions. The southernmost part of the six corner city was the area for schrs. They were situated there because of the usual direction of the wind from north to south. They were bound to conduct lots of risky experiments, with bad smells left behind. Therefore, they had to be situated there to avoid it spreading to everyone else. Perhaps the ce was where chemistry would originate. I assumed their experiments to be so-called chemistry experiments. Humanity''s science must''ve been developed in that area.


    I headed over toward the area. Getting the sword back was one thing, but my main purpose was toe into contact with the steam-engine inventor. Edward was most likely useless. My ruses would only work on schrs. Even if the sword was the one used to y the Demon King, it was clearly abnormal for a merchant to give a con artist so much money; or rather, for someone to believe the words of a wandering "merchant" as that con artist, the schr''s IQ was probably only around Veirya''s level.


    <em>''This guy will be easy picking.''</em>


    I arrived at the southernmost area of the city. The area wasn''t as prosperous as the city area. I''d argue that the area in the south was deste, probably due to the people in the era being less inclined to buy things in the area, while merchants weren''t willing to approach the ce. In addition, while other ces were within every corner of the six corner star, the centre area wouldn''t have obstructions. This ce, on the other hand, had a thick wall up, separating it from the area on the other side.


    I went inside the area. There really wasn''t a soul around at night. It was dark but not scary as there was nobody around. The buildings on both sides resembled buildings that children built by chucking together timber however they pleased. They looked nted and wobbly as if they''de crashing down any moment. I counted the buildings as I walked along the street. Some houses were still bright inside; however, the majority were dark.


    "This is the ce."


    The timber door must''ve been there for ages already for it was alreadypletely ck. I had no idea what was spread or poured on the wall. I grabbed the doorknob and went to turn it, but then saw white text on the door.


    "What does twenty four divided by six equal?"


    <em>''You knock by solving an arithmetic equation here?!''</em>


    Given the era, there shouldn''t have been many people who could do division. I knocked four times on the handle. Unsurprisingly, footsteps approached the door from the other side. I took in a big breath and took a small step back. My life was riding on the meeting with the schr. If I could get my hands on the steam-engine, I wouldn''t have to worry about money for centuries toe.


    The saying, "Science and technology are a primary productive force," is absolutely right. I just happened to not be a scientist. No matter, though, for I was a businessman.

 Chapter Volume 7 2

    <i>Lost and Found</i>


    "You truly have impressive calction skills for a businessman. I mean, you can do division, after all. You must be a schr, too."


    I caught the pleased tone in the schr''s speech. His appearance wasnky and frail but very tall. Imagine a wobbly bamboo stick if you will. The interior of his house was messy. It resembled a dining ce, with utensils piled up here and there. Dry food and wine littered the floor. A rodent casually scuttled past me without any fear of us. He led me up a narrow wooden flight of creaky stairs. I''m not lying when I say that I felt it was going to crumble. He, however, was indifferent and even quite excited.


    "There are lots of interesting things in this world, division being one of them and the steam engine I designed being another. The same applies for those things which can emit all sorts of colours. Did you know that, if you took a piece of iron, then poured this liquid on, yes, this one here. Be careful not to touch it. Pour it onto the metal and look, the iron foams. Also, this gas can explode. It truly is miraculous. Why exactly does it happen?"


    "Honestly, buddy, I''m not interested in your junior high school chemistry gig," I wanted to say.


    I never took chemistry sses in university, but I knew what he was doing and the reason for the chemical reaction. Nevertheless, all of that was still in the research phase in this era. People could produce acid, but they didn''t understand why it reacted with iron. Mathematics had also just begun its gain recognition.


    "Why does he want to buy Veirya''s sword, then? He wouldn''t use a sword judging from his appearance," I contemted.


    Cheerful, he conveyed, "Sorry, I let my excitement get the better of me. I like sharing my discoveries with others. Sadly, most people do not know anything. I think you canprehend what I mentioned, though. After all, you seem to also like mathematics. Anyway, I should not hold you up. Sorry, I have never seen you before. May I ask what you havee here to see me for? If it is about the steam engine, you need to see Edward for I do not know much."


    "No, I''m not here for the steam engine." Obviously that was a lie. Faking augh, I expounded, "I came here today for the sword you bought. It was stolen. It shouldn''t have been sold, so I came to take it back."


    "I get it. You said that it is stolen property, right? I don''t care, having said that. I paid for it. It wasn''t legal with him, but I legally obtained it. Is it illegal for someone to buy it?"


    "It''s not¡­ In that case, can I buy it off you, then? How much do you think it''s worth?"


    "Sorry, but I don''t want to sell it," he replied, with a shake of his head and a smile. "It''s the sword that was used to y the Demon King. It''s extremely important to humanity. At the moment, it''s an ordinary sword, but how about in ten years'' time? It''s a historical artefact. It will be a worthy part of history in years toe, which is why I''m collecting it."


    "Yeah? You might end up disappointed, then. The sword used to y the Demon King wasn''t that one. You''ve been deceived."


    "That''s impossible! The sword is definitely Veirya''s. He said that the owner of the sword had silver hair. It''s definitely Veirya''s said. Plus, Queen Sisi bestowed her with the sword. I''m sure it''s this sword," denied the man. "You can''t fool me!"


    "I''m not fooling you. It''s true that it''s not that sword. You''re right that Queen Sisi gifted Veirya a sword, but it''s not the sword that Veirya used to y the Demon King. It was a gift given to her <em>after</em> she slew the Demon King. Frankly, there are a dime a dozen of them. As a matter of fact, it wasn''t even Veirya''s original sword."


    "Why do you say that?! How do you know so well?!"


    I showed him my hand, my ring, not the wedding ring to be correct because I already broke the ss pearl on it: "Sad as it is, Veirya was conned of her sword for this ring when it''s just ss pearl. You should be able to figure out what my rtionship with Veirya is given that I received a ring from her, right?''


    "You''re¡­ you''re¡­"


    "Correct, I''m Veirya''s fianc¨¦. That''s why my information is urate, isn''t it? Veirya never keeps her sword. Her weapon is quickly worn out or damaged beyond use on the battlefield if not lost. As such, she didn''t use that sword to y the Demon King. You''ve been scammed. That''s just a sword that was made very well. If you want, I can give you an exact replica."


    He froze, not knowing what to say. With a smile, I took the sword off his hands without much effort: "This is Veirya''s sword that was conned from her, so it should be returned to its rightful owner. If you want to keep the sword, you''re better of keeping this. This is a ring that Veirya exchanged her glory as a soldier for, and it''s the first personal item she made an exchange for. So ordingly, if you want to collect good stuff, I think that this is what you should collect."


    "Yeah¡­? That seems to make sense."


    He epted the ring from me. The ring was used to scam Veirya for her sword. Then, I used to get her sword back. Interested if I say so myself. I fixed the sword to my belt with a smile.


    "Is there anything else? If you only came for the sword, I don''t think you would havee here."


    "I did, indeed,e for the sword. Also, I''m Edward''s friend. I''ve heard about you from him."


    "Edward? To be honest, we may be friends; however, we don''t exactly know each other. I''m used to it, nevertheless. Not everyone can understand. The reason for my joy isn''t because this machine will make me money. What I enjoy is the process of creating it. I get to be happy, and so does Edward. That''s why I don''t have an issue with it."


    He smiled as he carefully tucked away the ring. He scanned his collection and queried, "Without Edward, I wouldn''t have the money to buy this stuff. I don''t care about money. Unfortunately, money is a necessity. I love these things. Humanity is limited to a short lifespan. If we can''t leave anything behind, what was the point in being here?"


    "You''re exactly right. Do you have any opinion of Edward''s business? Ambitious is the best word to describe him. He wants to have a monopoly on the entire process. He''s mining right now. You know about that?"


    "I''m not interested in that. That''s for you businessmen to think about, isn''t it? I don''t understand all that stuff. Edward is a coborator. When ites down to it, I hope he has ie. He''s put all of his hope on this."


    "So, in other words, if his business runs into a hurdle, then you''ll definitely help him?"


    "Of course."


    "I see." I took a step back: "Thank you for returning Veirya her sword. I won''t keep you any longer. Goodnight."


    "Oh? Do you really not n to stay and take a look? I have lots of things here. I thought you would be interested in this sort of stuff. After all, someone uninterested wouldn''t learn division." He enthused, "You know, I discovered that lots of numbers can''t be divided. The numbers are different to our current numbers. They don''t follow any set rules. Look¡­"


    Honestly, I didn''t n to listen to him exin junior high school mathematics. My high school knowledge would be enough to create a science revolution in this world. I, nheless, didn''t intend to disrupt history''s development. I was just an ordinary man. It wasn''t something that I should''ve been doing.


    I shook my head with a smile: "I''m interested somewhat. As you pointed out, nevertheless, I''m a businessman at the end of the day. My focus isn''t on mathematics. Plus, I''ve just gotten back my fianc¨¦e''s sword. I''m in a rush to get it back to her, so, goodbye."


    "I won''t keep you, then."


    He was a tad disappointed. Thankfully, he didn''t badger me. I didn''t see the steam engine. I probably had to pay him another visit. In saying that, Veirya was eager to return to the North, so I probably wouldn''t meet the schr for some time. I wanted to stay in the imperial capital for a while.


    There wasn''t a sound outside, but I wasn''t worried or afraid for the reason that there were people waiting for me at home. Leah wasn''t the only one waiting for me. Veirya was also waiting for me.

 Chapter Volume 7 3

    <i>Sisi''s n</i>


    "Edward."


    Somewhat nervous, Edward sped his hands and thought, "Her Majesty called me here instead of him. They say he''s the only man with the privilege of being granted a private audience with her at night. Does that mean that she also favours me? Maybe I haven''t failed. Who says that a Queen can only favour one vassal?"


    "Do you have orders, Your Majesty?" asked Edward, in a courteous tone and with his head down.


    Compared to the man she loved, Edward was more humble in her presence. Sisi loved Lin Dongqing''s indifferent attitude, though. That demeanour of his was the only one that could set her heart aflutter.


    "With regards to the coal quarry you operate, it''s located at Dongqing''s ce, isn''t it?"


    Edward''s heart skipped a beat. He had invested everything he had for his career.


    "Her Majesty isn''t going to make me hand the rights over to Lin Dongqing, is she? She''s never given me the order before, but she''s no longer the previous Queen. I wouldn''t put it beyond her to sacrifice me for him, and there''d be nothing I can do. I would lose my life opposing her, let alone my mine," Edward worried. "Your Majesty, Y-Y-You would not happen to b-"


    Queen Sisi shook her head: "Rx. There''s no doubt that I really like him, but I won''t interfere with your work. The quarry is yours. I won''t use any underhanded tricks to take it from you. I do know what priorities are; I won''t give anybody your mine."


    Edward was relieved to hear that, but thereiny the problem. Since she didn''t want to hand the mine to Lin Dongqing, why would she call him in? He worried, "Her Majesty has never specifically called me over for this. Does she n to look into my business now? That''s definitely not good news."


    "What I want to know, however, is if Dongqing wants the mine. I don''t understand your situation over there very well. If he does want it, I n to discuss it with you." Queen Sisi gave Edward no room to think. "What I want to say is, I really want to do something. Howbeit, Dongqing is a prudent man. If the profit isn''t sufficiently significant, he won''t take the bait. ordingly, I must start from your end. If Dongqing wants the mine, let him fight for it. Don''t stop him no matter what. I want to buy the mine, but I''ll put it under your name."


    Edward tried to fight a jolt. Technically speaking, the mine wasn''t entirely his. Everyone he coborated with had invested in it. They would receive year-end bonuses based on the profits for the year ording to their investment ratios. If Queen Sisi wanted to buy out the rights entirely, then she would be the sole proprietor of the mine. If nobody else found out her intention, and Lin Dongqing spent money to buy the shares of the people who were no longer shareholders, and walk off with it all, then he would go bankrupt. Because they no longer had any shares, Lin Dongqing''s investment would be for naught. If it was his money, then there''d be wiggle room. If, on the other hand, Lin Dongqing took out a loan, he''d go bankrupt due to not being able to repay the loan or have anything to pawn.


    What happens to bankrupt businessmen? Besides having all their assets seized, not even their wife and children will get off the hook. They''d have no choice but to go to some ramshackle ce or be a sailor out at sea. Should they be lucky, they''ll regain their freedom in forty or fifty years'' time. That is provided that they can survive in such ces for that long.


    "Her Majesty definitely doesn''t want Lin Dongqing to die, so what does she want?" Edward inwardly questioned.


    Sisi gave Edward a nod: "Of course, I don''t actually want your mine and whatnot. I merely need to borrow it temporarily. Once I''m done with it, the rights to the mine will be all yours. At present, the right to the mine is split, correct? If I hand all the rights to you, you just need to give me seventy-percent of the annual profit. Call those businessmen involved, and I''ll make arrangements with them."


    I''m still profiting, then. If I can get the right to the mine without lifting a finger, I couldn''t be any more pleased with myself. Even if I have to give Her Majesty seventy percent, the remaining thirty percent that I receive will still be more than what I get now. I don''t even have twenty percent of the shares at the moment. Additionally, this is to help Her Majesty forward her goal. If I handle it well, she might even fall for me. By then, I''ll be able to do even more. This sounds fabulous.


    Edward respectfully bowed: "Yes, Your Majesty."


    ***


    Everyone at the brothel should''ve been asleep, yet Veirya stood up from her chair, presumably having sat still there the entire time. Even the cup in front of her was still full. Feeling sorry for her, I told her, "Turn in first if I don''te back at night from now on. There''s no need to wait for me."


    "I''m fine," answered Veirya. Her eyes immediately drifted to the long sword in my hand. Surprised, she remarked, "You. Got it. Back?"


    "Yeah. He''s learnt his lesson, so I got it back."


    I handed Veirya the sword with a smile. She hesitated when she looked at my empty finger. She expressed, "Honestly speaking. I prefer. That ring. You could wear it."


    "It''s not important, Veirya." I smiled: "Ask Angelina to go buy another one another day. Don''t let yourself be fooled again. I''m delighted to have received a ring from you, though. Seriously. I''m very happy. Thank you, Veirya."


    "Uhm¡­" Veirya touched her ring on her left finger, cherishing it. She conveyed in a soft voice, "I''m also. happy. With this. It really is different. To thest one. It makes me happy. To wear one you gave me. I don''t want. To take it off. So. I can''t use a sword again."


    Apparently, one couldn''t wield a sword when they wore a ring. Veirya sounded as though she was willing to forego the life she was used to and lead an ordinary life with me.


    "So, let''s go back tomorrow. I want to. Go back now."


    Truthfully, I didn''t want to leave yet. I wanted to find out more about the problem with Edward''s business. It would be best if I could meet all of the people involved to enhance my understanding. I was going to make money from it, after all. When I saw Veirya''s gaze, though, I felt that I couldn''t stay.


    I lingered, hesitated, yet felt that I shouldn''t be wrestling with the question. After what just happened, what reason do I have to be in a dilemma?


    "All right."


    "Let''s think about it after we get back. We should be fine. There shouldn''t be any problems," I told myself.

 Chapter Volume 7 4

    <i>Pupil</i>


    "Sophia, will these things you''ve taught me truly make Papa happy?" questioned Leah, in her adult form. She was straddling a wooden dummy that had the form of a human and shaking her hips on it. She slid her hands over her body and quietly asked, "Leah doesn''t know what this is supposed to do. Will it make Papa happy? Does Leah just have to do this to Papa? Is this supposed to serve some sort of purpose?"


    "It''s a subus'' way of gaining the strongest power and the foundation of reproduction," answered Sophia. "Miss Leah, you love your father, correct? However, your father''s feelings for Veirya seem to run deeper. Are you truly willing to watch the two of them? You brought Lord Veirya back, but are you happy now?"


    "I¡­ I don''t know¡­ Leah''s father is Leah''s. Leah wants to make Father happy. Leah is Father''s daughter. Father protects Leah, so Leah must make Father happy. Leah is happy when Leah sees Father''s happy smile."


    "Is that right?" Sophia and whispered next to Leah''s ear, "Miss Leah, I believe that you will eventuallye to understand. What you must know, though, is that we are wild beasts in love. We do not need to mind family or friendship in love. Just rip apart yourpetition, and then straddle him and squeeze every drop from him. That is love. Miss Leah, you will understand sooner orter."


    Leah responded with a small nod, but she was still quite baffled. She didn''t understand what Sophia meant. Anyhow, since she was told that she''d eventually understand, she figured that she wouldn''t need to worry for now. Leah had memorised everything Sophia imparted to her. Sophia shared with her a subus'' experience for how to make a man so aroused that he''d lose conscious. As a subus, Leah soaked up knowledgeparably to a sponge.


    Leah didn''t know if it''d make her papa happy or not. Regardless, as long as she could put a smile on his face, then she, too, was delighted. Leah liked the world she was in. She liked the world with flying birds, pretty flowers, the delectable foods and the gorgeous clothing. Even so, they all paled inparison to her father''s smile. The entire world was particrly beautiful thanks to him.


    "Father¡­"


    Leah gently grabbed her chest. Every time she thought of her father, her heat would race¡­ Her father had returned to her side, smiled again and returned to his old self. She told herself, "Leah is a very good girl!"


    ========


    We packed our luggage to return to the North. We were all happy to return to the North this time. Sure, the North was much more run downpared to the imperial capital; however, it was the start of a new life for me. Once we got back, my rtionship with Veirya would be totally different. We never made it explicit, but we were engaged. I could finally sit next to Veirya without bing a nervous wreck.


    In the morning, Leah sat on myp and jovially kicked her feet as she waited for me to feed her. Veirya was expressionless, but I could see that she cherished her ring. She didn''t dare to touch food with her left hand, yet she would deliberately move her hand along with the sunrays, nheless. As a result, the sunlight was reflected off the ring and onto Angelina''s face.


    At first, Angelina put up with it, but she eventually exploded, "unt your ring one more time, and I''ll take your finger and your ring! I swear it!"


    "I''m. Not worried," responded Veirya, smugly adding, "He. Gave it to me! He didn''t. Give it to you."


    "Do you think you would have that ring if it wasn''t thanks to me?!" snapped Angelina. She probably never thought that her daughter would unt her ring. She was irate but didn''t know what to say¡­ She didn''t know how to word it to Veirya.


    "I can''t stand it anymore! My own daughter is unting her ring in my face! I also want a ring! I must have a ring, and I don''t care how! Buy me a ring!"


    "He won''t. Because. He won''t. Give one to someone. He doesn''t Love. You won''t get one."


    "You¡­"


    Angelina was so angered that she was speechless. She gave me the "it''s all your fault" look. I also gave Lucia a ring, except I didn''t n let Veirya know¡­ I looked at Angelina and nodded.


    "Why?! Howe I can''t have one?! I''m the exact same as Veirya?! Why can''t I have one?! I knew I shouldn''t have let Veiryae back! You wouldn''t even resist if I pushed you down onto the bed if she wasn''t around!"


    "Can you not say something so scary?" I helplessly smiled: "Giving Veirya a ring was the right choice, after all. Now I can differentiate between you two. Otherwise, I''d truly be worried."


    Veirya tugged her cor downward: "You can distinguish. By looking here."


    "I know, I know. Now stop showing me¡­"


    "Papa, is Queen Sisi noting to the North with us?"


    "No, Sisi, erm¡­ Sisi will be staying at the imperial capital. This is her true home. Do you like this ce Leah? Do you think that the imperial capital looks nice?"


    "Leah thinks it''s all right. Leah does have others with Leah here."


    I figured she must''ve been referring to the subi. They treated her as if she was their leader. Leah might''ve gotten used to having them around. She held my and, looking cheerful, dered, "Wherever Papa is, Leah likes, so if Papa wants to stay in the imperial capital, Leah will be fine with it!"


    "Yeah?"


    <em>Knock! Knock!</em> Someone suddenly knocked on our door. After Queen Sisi returned to the throne, the subi''s ce would return to usual business from tomorrow. Today, however, they were still cleaning the ce and didn''t ept any customers. I sighed to myself. My bet was that they were after me.


    I led Leah to the door with me and pulled it open. Nobody was there. My first response was to freeze. Leah, on the other hand, asked, "Are you¡­ here for Leah''s papa?"


    I looked down to see a head of milk-coloured hair with small triangr ears at the top of his head. His head was slightlyrger than a usual kid''s, and its shape was round. His eyes weren''t a human''s eyes; they resembled cat eyes. He was lean and looked around Leah''s age. He wore unadorned clothing made from bup. He didn''t have shoes on, thereby exposing his fluffy feet. He had a sheet of paper pressed to his chest. He took in a big breath and inquired in a quavering voice, "Umm¡­ umm¡­ are you¡­ are you¡­ Mr. Lin?"


    The shape of his mouth didn''t resemble a human''s but a cat''s. I had seen his race before at a bar, but they were all voluptuous women. It was my first time seeing a male from their race. I was surprised that their males looked so adorable and small. Had he not spoken, I wouldn''t have been able to identify that he was a male. Obviously, despite him being a male, I still thought cats were adorable.


    He hadrge and moist eyes. His body was small, and his gaze had that pitiful aura about them, which gave one the feeling that he was a pitiful young girl.


    "Yes."


    Needless to say, my attention was on the sheet of paper, not the boy himself. I didn''t know who addressed it to me, but it might''ve been important.


    "Umm¡­ umm¡­ I¡­ I am¡­ umm¡­ Mr. Achilles¡­ introduced me to you¡­ He said¡­ you needed a pupil. This¡­ is a letter he personally wrote¡­"


    "I don''t need a disciple. If you need a teacher, ask Achilles to take you in. I''m not a full-time businessman. I''m Veirya''s assistant if you will."


    I didn''t want a pupil. To top it off, the dwarves used a pupil to deceive me before, so I didn''t have a good impression whatsoever of this pupil that took the initiative to approach me. I pulled Leah over and turned around. I went to shut the door, but he grabbed the door and loudly pleaded, "I beg you¡­ please¡­ take me in¡­ Mr. Achilles also said he did not need me¡­ which was why he introduced me to you¡­ If you do not ept me, either, I will starve to death¡­ Please¡­ I will do anything. I am willing to do anything regardless of what it is¡­ I am very good at working hard and enduring hardship¡­ Please¡­ take me in."


    "I don''t ept pupils. I told you, I''m not a full-time businessman."


    It wasn''t tough for me to pull his hand off the door. I mmed the door shut. Leah looked up at me, seemingly eager to say something. I looked down at her and rubbed her head.

 Chapter Volume 7 5

    <i>Journey Home</i>


    "Papa, can we really not take him in?" asked Leah, while tugging on my hand and looking at outside feeling it was a pity. "Leah thinks he''s pitiful¡­ He''s in the same situation as Leah was back then¡­ No parents or family¡­ Having to ask someone else to take us in¡­ Papa, let''s take him in. Leah wants to have a younger brother, too.''


    I looked down at Leah, and she looked back. Seemingly afraid I''d be angry, she quickly added, "Papa, Leah was just making a suggestion. If we can''t, then don''t worry, Papa¡­"


    "Leah, do you feel that Papa is a man without any sympathy for others?''


    Leah firmly shook her head: "Of course not! Papa adopted Leah! Papa is the gentlest person in this world. How could Papa be someone without sympathy¡­? It''s just¡­ just¡­ Leah is slightly wilful¡­ Leah doesn''t know what Papa wants¡­ so¡­ so¡­"


    "Leah, it''s not that Papa doesn''t want to ept him. Taking him in would just mean feeding another mouth. We''ve taken in elves, so I wouldn''t be prejudiced against an anthropoid. It''s just that someone once tried to fool Papa with a pupil in the past, which is why Papa is cautious now. None of us know anthropoids; we only know that Achilles sent him. Therefore, Papa doesn''t dare to take him in. There are many ways he could harm us when he''s with Papa."


    "But¡­ But Mr. Achilles is Papa''s friend, isn''t he?" questioned Leah, confounded. "Mr. Achilles helped Papa a lot, didn''t he? He provided us with lodging before¡­"


    "Friend¡­?"


    I couldn''t resist the urge tough. Achilles and I¡­ our rtionship is ratherplex. There''s no such thing as pure friendship between businessmen. It''s a fact that we were all cognisant of. Achilles and I weren''t friends. At most, I considered him someone useful to me, while he believed that he would stand to gain something if he allied with me. The moment the circumstances necessitated it, I wouldn''t hesitate to betray him to save myself. By the same token, he would do the exact same. Additionally, I just used him during this fiasco. It would be perfectly normal if Achilles wanted revenge for what I did this time. Hence, I didn''t dare to trust an anthropoid. Pity can win sympathy, but sympathy is never a reason to make a choice.


    "Achilles and I can''t be ssified as friends. Papa will betray Achilles, and Achilles will do the same. Leah, don''t worry. He has Achilles'' letter of introduction, so businessmen will ept him out of respect for Achilles no matter where he goes. Plus, he''s not going to be able to learn anything from Papa."


    "Mm¡­ All right, then."


    Leah had yet to get over it. Perhaps she was still worried about the anthropoid. I didn''t know why she was so invested in him. Maybe she sympathised with him as he was in the same predicament that she was in back then. I could understand her sentiment.


    We returned to the table. Veirya asked, "Who. Was it?"


    "An anthropoid, who was looking to be my pupil, Achilles sent to me. I don''t know how he came to be."


    Leah had her fill and, therefore, went over to the Elven Queen to talk about something.


    "You. Didn''t ept?" queried Veirya.


    "A pupil, huh? That''s not a bad idea," remarked Angelina. Nostalgically, she proposed, "Back then, we also wanted to send Veirya off to study somewhere, but we realised that she preferred swords. Being a pupil is preparation for bing an aplished individual. After all, people onlye to learn from you if you''ve got what it takes. You didn''t take him under your wing? You can delegate lots of work in the future if you have a pupil."


    "If it wasn''t Achilles who sent him, I might have considered it."


    Pupils¡­ that''s a nice way of putting it. Putting it bluntly, they were just ves. They have to put their nose to the grindstone and suffer, performing menial tasks every day, and yet there was no guarantee that they''d learn anything from their teacher. It was a dirty business. Honestly, I did want a pupil. My work was piling up more and more. Anna and I alone weren''t enough to handle everything. Anna already had too much on her te. Veirya was just an eater. She said she wanted to learn to cook, but she threw that out the window.


    "There''s something shifty about the kid?"


    "Yes. Achilles sent him. Previously, erm, I still have ten thousand gold coins that I loaned from the merchants on me. I''m worried that he''s here to steal."


    Obviously, even if they did steal it, they''d only be able to get six thousand at best as the other four was on Veirya''s finger. I doubt Veirya would return it even if they wanted her finger.


    "You walked off with ten thousand gold coins?!"


    Veirya didn''t have a concept of money, but Angelina did. Thence, she queried, "Ten-thousand gold coins¡­ That''s enough to buy the entire North. Aren''t you worried that someone wille after you for it?!"


    "Of course I''m not afraid. I have you and Veirya with me. Plus, I have the sky-blue cape. Who in the entire empire would dare to harm me? Ten thousand gold coins is a paltry sum. I could take twenty thousand."


    Angelina questioned my methods. Veirya, on the other hand, trusted me and, therefore, didn''tment.


    After we had breakfast, a subus came up and respectfully reported, "Sir, your horse carriage has been prepared. You can set out now."


    I nodded. Leah cheerfully ran up to me. She turned around to bid the subi goodbye. Sophia conveyed, "There is no need to big me goodbye. Will you be back again? You might be our frequent customer."


    "No! I assure you I won''t!"


    Of course I wouldn''t be their frequent customer. I didn''t want to die yet¡­


    We left as a group. Our horse carriage was ready in the rear courtyard. Leah sniffed the air. Then, she scanned the horse carriage with a tinge of surprise but quickly returned to normal. I didn''t notice Leah''s reaction.


    "Let''s head back now. Leah, it''s time to go home!"

 Chapter Volume 7 6

    <i>Kiss</i>


    I got into the coach''s seat. We had two carriages. One was for our family, while the other was the elves'' and our necessary luggage. Veirya was too fond of the atmosphere inside the courage and preferred to ride on horseback outside. Angelina chose to ride at the back to prevent anyone from tailing us. Hence, Leah enjoyed the spacious carriage interior to herself. Leah stayed silent after getting in.


    The guards didn''t make things hard for us on our way out, and there was no longer a long line at the city doors. Lots of stores in the city had resumed business, and more people were found on the streets. The clearest difference was that there were already lots of people who came to inquire about when stores were going to open up again. The military''s oppression had vanished, thereby returning life to the city at longst. Undeniably, Sisi was the most suitable candidate to rule the city. Sisi should''ve ruled as the Queen in the imperial capital, not spent her life with us. Sisi was the only one who could lead the empire to prosperity; only she could breathe life into the city. She was born to be Queen.


    When I left the imperial capital, I turned around to take a look. I knew that that there was nobody there seeing me off, but I still felt as though those sad heterochromia eyes were on my back and apanied with a sorrowful visage. Nevertheless, Sisi was most likely in the imperial capital and couldn''t be at the doors to see me.


    Well, there was someone looking at me if I''m to be precise. The young man''s corpse was crucified to the city wall after he was dismembered. The crows had almost finished feasting on his corpse; even his eyes were gone already. All that was left were his empty sockets. The entire military was cleaned up. Theerefore, the entire military was within Sisi''s grasp.


    "Sorry, Sisi. I won''t leave, though. I''ll be back. I promised to stay by your side, so I will keep my word," I swore to myself.


    ========


    "So, do you have any opinions regarding the price I named?" Sisi asked from her throne, legs crossed.


    In front of the merchants was a sheet of paper telling them they had been sold out. The amount of shares in their possession was their privacy. How did Queen Sisi know? Anything rted to money was rted to a businessman''s life. They wouldn''t thoughtlessly share their private information, but Queen Sisi knew everything. The traitor? Edward.


    They weren''t sure how much Edward received for the information, but young Edward had lost all credibility. Queen Sisi didn''t walk in and snatched it like a welcher on a football belt. Once a traitor, always a traitor was a principle businessmen operated on. Nobody would want to work with Edward again. With that said, if he could serve Queen Sisi henceforward, then, indeed, there''d be no need for him to consider working with others as serving Queen Sisi would be enough.


    "No, no objections."


    The price Queen Sisi offered was fair. As a matter of fact, she was paying extra. The problem was the businessmen didn''t want to sell their shares. They didn''t want to kill the chicken thatid the golden egg. But nheless, there were armed soldiers behind them.


    They didn''t know why Queen Sisi was after the rights to the mineral, but she wanted to get it at all costs. If they opposed her, the consequences would be unimaginable. The chapel opposed her, and they were burnt to the ground. Another one who opposed her was an eaten corpse on the city wall.


    "So, that means that you are selling your shares. Thank you very much for trusting me. Needless to say, you need not feel that I am conspiring to do something, gentlemen," added Sisi, with her eyes on the businessmen, thereby forcibly ending the discussion. She wasn''t asking for their opinion. From the very beginning, she had no intention of epting rejections. However, she then stated, "I''m not doing this for money or the mineral. This isn''t how I make money. It''s how you make money as businessmen. All I need is to deceive one individual. I now have all of your shares, but you are not to leak this information. You must insist that you still possess the shares to the mine. Someone will seek you out to buy your shares. Once I''ve achieved my goal, I will give you another lump sum, understood?"


    Befuddled, the businessmen exchanged nces with each other.


    Sisi continued, "Obviously, you can ept money from him as per usual. You don''t need to repay it, either. If he can''t pay you, I''ll be even keener on joining in on the fun with you. In saying that, you are not permitted to kill him. As for children or women, you can do as you please with them."


    The businessmen all kept silent, but they had a hunch. They weren''t soldiers; they wouldn''t swing a de to kill someone. They wouldn''t see scenes of blood and flesh being flung through the air. That was precisely why they were crueller than anyone else, though.


    ========


    Current time en route to the North.


    The journey back to the North was a long one. Veirya wasn''t a good travellingpanion, but she didn''t need to say anything as I was happy just to have her by my side. Leah kept quiet in the carriage the entire time, although I didn''t know if she was asleep or what. We stopped on the side for a while to eat, but Leah took a long time to join us.


    We made that milk porridge again. It was quite the delicacy while travelling long distances. We sat around the pot. The Elven Queen also sat next to me. I filled up a bowl for Leah. She hesitantly asked, "Papa, can I eat in the carriage?"


    "You can¡­ but why?''


    Leah hesitantly replied, "Umm¡­ don''t mind it, Papa¡­ Leah has things that Leah wants to do, so¡­ please allow Leah to eat in the carriage."


    "All right, don''t spill the food in there, though."


    I didn''t think too much of it because Leah wouldn''t do anything bad: "Come back once you''re done eating."


    "All right."


    Leah went back into the carriage with her empty bowl but came back out in less than a minute. I knew that Leah was a big eater, but she was surprisingly fast¡­


    "Isn''t it troublesome to run back and forth?" I wondered. I took out our drinking water and filled a canteen for Leah: "Careful, it''s hot."


    "Thank you, Papa!"


    Leah ran up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Then, she ran back inside the carriage. Veirya, who sat on my other side, looked down at her own bowl, apparently thinking about something. Angelina nced over to the carriage and muttered to herself, "What is Leah doing in the carriage?"


    "What could a child do in a carriage by themselves?" I dismissed.


    Angelina silently mulled over it for a while then nodded. I then noticed Veirya seriously looking at me. She didn''t fill up her own bowl again. Instead, she handed me her bowl. I stopped what I was doing and instinctively grabbed it. I filled up Veirya''s bowl and passed it back to her. Suddenly, she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. Her kiss wasn''t as gentle as Leah''s. It was just a light peck.


    Veirya then turned back continued eating in silence as though nothing happened. I, to the contrary, started seeing stars as though all of my blood had rushed to my head. My heart pumped all of my blood up to my head. I sat there in a daze, focused on just the lingering feeling on my cheek¡­


    "Heh," snickered Angelina. "Geez, it''s worrying how you two will end up in the future. Watching you two makes me worry that you still won''t be able to do <em>that</em> after marriage. You might even pass out when it''s time to do it. I don''t think this will do. Veirya is my most adorable daughter at the end of the day. So, Veirya, before you get married, I need to give him a treatment."


    "Treatment?" queried a bemused Veirya. "What treatment. Does he need?"


    Angelina licked her lips and chuckled, "Simple. He''s not used to being with you yet. On a positive note, when he gets used to it, everything will be well. And so, as long as you let me be with him beforehand, then things will work out just fine. Veirya, this will get him used to it."


    "Really?"


    The Elven Queen giggled: "Of course not. If anything, he may no longer want you afterwards."


    "Does it have anything to do with you?!" Angelina gnashed her teeth.


    The Elven Queen giggled as she pressed a hand on Ciara''s shoulder. Veirya couldn''t keep up, hence entered deep thought. Me? I was still shut down.

 Chapter Volume 7 7

    <i>Cat, Human Hybrid</i>


    I didn''t travel through the night for there was no rush. We had camped at the ce each time we went back and forth between the North and the imperial capital. We lit up a bonfire and slept wrapped up in nkets around the fire.


    Leah returned to the carriage, while I lied on thewn with Veirya. We had settled our feelings, so we could finally enjoy the bright stars overhead. It was the first time I felt that the stars were so nice. I took in a few deep breaths. The clear scent of the grass lingered by my nose and Veirya''s ever so faint scent excited me. I turned my head to the side to see her looking at me. I felt awkward as though I stole something and got caught.


    To hide my awkwardness, I turned back to gaze at the stars and dryly chuckled: "The stars are pretty, huh¡­?"


    "Uhm."


    By the sounds of her nd reaction, Veirya probably wasn''t interested in stars. She didn''t think the stars looked good.


    "What''s the matter, Veirya?" Is something wrong?"


    "Nothing. Just. Want to hold hands."


    Veirya''s hand crept out from under the nket. I lingered for a moment. The ring on her finger was more sparkly than the stars. I carefully extended my right hand out and gently grabbed hold of her left hand. Her hand wasn''t smooth or supple. I could feel the blisters and scars from wielding a sword. Even so, I was happy. Shy, I turned back to gaze at the stars. Veirya turned to gaze at the stars thenmented, "The stars. Are truly beautiful."


    Veirya mused, "I had fought out in the wild for many years and had lived through thousands of simr nights. I had seen thousands of bonfires and identical scenery¡­ but the stars are only this beautiful when you''re by my side¡­ Maybe it isn''t that the stars are beautiful but that your eyes are¡­"


    Even though we were lying on awn, I nodded off quickly. Perhaps it was because we would soon arrive home. The biggest possibility was because Veirya was next to me, obviously.


    "Aaaahh!"


    The scream came from the carriage. I jolted awake, while Veirya pulled her hand out of my grasp. Next thing I heard was a deafening sound of a sword exiting its sheath. She stood next to me with a cold aura and her sword sitting horizontally on someone''s neck. Despite it being night time, I couldn''t have mistaken therge green eyes - they were the eyes of a cat.


    Scared out of his wits, he froze in ce. Perhaps Veirya didn''t deal the finishing blow due to him being a child. He nced over to me and frantically waved his hands while stammering, "Mr. Lin¡­ umm¡­ umm¡­ chest! Very big chest! Umm¡­ she''s just a child, but erged¡­ Very big chest!"


    Others might not have understood what the kid was saying, but I realised what happened. I overlooked it. I didn''t think Leah would hide him in the carriage! The kid was referring to Leah. He somehow sneaked into our carriage, and then Leah decided to volunteer to hide him. He didn''t know that Leah would transform at night, which was why he skedaddled in fear. Veirya didn''t know what exactly he was talking about, so she asked me, "You. Know him?"


    "Yeah. I mentioned to you a kid who wanted to be my pupil. That''s him."


    I walked over to the carriage. Leah hid inside, wanting to exin herself. Nevertheless, I made a hush hand gesture to tell her to keep quiet. I didn''t reproach her. I, instead, blocked the carriage. Veirya still had her sword on the kid''s throat. She inquired, "Leah. All right?"


    "She''s fine."


    Angelina and Ciara came over with their swords, as well. The kid raised his hands and dered, "Mr. Lin¡­ Mr. Lin¡­ I harbour no ill will¡­ I harbour no ill will¡­"


    "Why did you follow us?" I questioned.


    He trembled as he exined, "I¡­ I really want to be your pupil¡­ I have nowhere else to go¡­ so I can only follow you¡­ Please¡­ take me in¡­ I¡­ I really have nowhere to go. I will do anything. You can order me around as you please. I will do anything!"


    I scratched my head: "Veirya, you head back with everyone else first. Leave me a horse so that I can take him back."


    "No! No! Please¡­ Please take me in¡­" he pleaded, as he went down on his knees and grabbed onto my leg.


    "Can we. Not take him in?''


    "Taking in someone with a background that we don''t know anything about puts at risk."


    All of a sudden, Angelina said, "You''re from the cat race, aren''t you? I remember that you all have tails. Where''s yours?"


    "It¡­ it¡­ it was chopped off¡­ when someone said¡­ it was a nuisance¡­" The kid quivered and sobbed.


    Angelina exhaled as though she knew his pain: "It''s been tough on you. There are always creeps who like cute boys, like you¡­ Mm, I think that it''s fine to take him in. The cat race highly values their tail. Paying with a tail is too steep of a price, isn''t it?"


    Veirya waited for me to sound out, while I waited to hear her opinion. The kid crawled over to Veirya and tightly clung to her leg¡­


    I stared at the kid to convey, "Oi, squirt! Get your hands off her! Who said you could hug her leg?!"


    "Meow," gestured the kid.


    "Hmm?!"


    Me in my mind: "What the hell? What''s that supposed to mean?! Yeah, it''s cute, but you''re a boy, squirt! I think I know why those nobles like this kid now¡­"


    "Take him in."


    It worked on Veirya, apparently¡­


    "¡­ Fine," I drawled, thinking, "Since it''s Veirya''s wish¡­ fine, then, kid¡­"

 Chapter Volume 7 8

    <em>I Refuse</em>


    "Veirya¡­"Angelina cautiously called out to her daughter lying still on the bed.


    Veirya had never looked so down. She curled up on the bed and firmly gripped her chest, yet she was still expressionless as always. She sat up and lightened her hold on her chest. She solemnly said, "Angelina. I need treatment. My chest. Hearts badly. It feels. Simr to suffering an injury. A very serious one."


    "Veirya, nobody can treat that wound of yours. You need him toe back."


    Angelina softly sighed. She walked up to her daughter''s bed and tried to hug her daughter. In the past, Veirya would''ve refused such intimate physical contact with anyone. However, Veira hugged her mother. Angelina juddered. Her daughter hadn''t been intimate with her in long time; therefore, the hug came as a surprise to her. She hugged her daughter back and assured, "Don''t worry, Veirya. He''ll be back. He loves you. He went to the elvennds by himself and worked for so long. He could''ve stayed there, but he came back to you, which shows that he loves you, Veirya. You don''t need to worry."


    "I know. But. My heart. Still hearts. Why exactly. Does it hurt? Even if. He and Lucia. Lived together. I shouldn''t. Have. Any thoughts on it. Why exactly. Does. My heart ache?"


    "It''s jealousy, Veirya. You''re jealous. Love is selfish. It''s something that you will never agree to share with anyone else. He''s yours. You don''t want to let him be with Lucia, and you''re angry because he was intimate with another woman. That''s love."


    "Jealousy. Is bad. Lucia is my friend. Being jealous of friends. Is not good. But him being with Lucia. Makes me. Very unhappy. I waited here. For Him. But he enjoyed himself. With Lucia. He said he loves me. But betrayed me. With Lucia. Traitor."


    "ording to what he said, he did it for you. He still loves you. That might''ve been the only feasible idea he came up with. Look, he managed to bring Queen Sisi back, which meant that he wasn''t wrong. Veirya, I understand how you feel. If your father fooled around with women, I would also be seething. Now, you have to bear in mind that he went to rescue Queen Sisi in the first ce for you. That is an undeniable fact. He was afraid the elves would kill you if you went. He''s brought her back. Veirya, you should be grateful to him."


    Veirya released her arms around Angelina. With a tantly displeased visage, she remarked, "He''s clearly just a traitor¡­"


    At some point, her daughter always had this indifferent demeanour and evenck of emotions. She was a splendid weapon, but she wasn''t a good daughter. She had once thought that it was impossible to revert her daughter back to her old self. Whenever the topic was brought up, she''d just unhappily pout. When Veirya talked about him, on the other hand, she showed a different expression.


    ========


    Current time at the border of the elven forest and humanity''snds.


    Lucilia waited at the border of the forest. She didn''t wear her leather armour or carry her bow and arrows anymore. Instead, she wore a long dress designed ording to the elves'' ancient style. She also wore a crown on her head. The former lively Lucia gave me an imposing re. I never had issues meeting her in the past, particrly due to her forthright character; however, I discovered that I was afraid of meeting her again.


    "If I don''t sincerely love Lucia, would I be this reluctant to see her?" I asked myself.


    "Travor, I''vee for you. I believe you have already informed Leah, correct? Bring Leah back with you now, then. I don''t mind you taking Queen Sisi. She''s just an abandoned rat. If you really want, just tell me. We elves don''t mind."


    "¡­ Not entirely."


    Lucia took a step forward: "You do have any other requests, then? I''ll definitely satisfy you. It''s not elven business but our private business. Do you have anything else you want?"


    Lucia looked forward to me pulling her into my embrace, taking her away. However, I definitely wouldn''t do so.


    "Lucia, I''m very sorry, but you must know that my goal was purely to rescue Queen Sisi. Truth be told, I did it for Veirya because, if I didn''t rescue Queen Sisi, Veirya would go. You two would then inevitably fight. Lucia, I''m sorry I used you. I''m sorry for lying to you.


    "I have nothing to say now that you''ve found me, but if you n to wage a war for me, I would advise against it. I''m an ordinary human. You would be sacrificing more elves. That would not be wise. Although I lied to you, I havee to like you all after my time with you. Don''t sacrifice so many elves just for me. Lucia, if you want to exact your vengeance on me, go ahead and take my eyes. That way, I, at the very least, can give you an apology."


    As she listened, a tinge of sorrow crept up on Lucia''s face. She didn''t dig my eyes out. Voice soft, she asked, "You don''t want toe back even if you have to give up your eyes? Travor, you''re heartless. I left a space for you in my heart, yet you won''t take responsibility for it. You left with peace of mind after telling me that you didn''t love me, but what can I do? Have you consider my feelings?"


    "¡­ I''m sorry."

 Chapter Volume 7 8 (2)

    <i>Cat, Human Hybrid</i>


    I said it before: I didn''t mind feeding one more person because it wouldn''t break the bank. Furthermore, there was enough food in the city, so I didn''t need to be petty about that small amount of food. What I was truly worried about, though, was that the kid was shady. Last time, the dwarves used a victimised pupil to as wool for my eyes. I, therefore, was more worried that the catman was going to try and con me again.


    I folded the standard letter of rmendation from Achilles. I couldn''t discern any issues with it. Essentially, it was a bunch of meaningless text. It was precisely because I couldn''t identify any issues that my concerned felt more justified. I was going to scare myself if I kept being paranoid. The catman sat properly opposite me and nervously watched me. Veirya sat next to him and scanned him; she appeared to be eager to do something. Angelina also looked as though she had something to say but hesitated.


    I handed him the letter: "You want to be my pupil, did you say? You might have lots of work, then. Before anything, you need to be mentally prepared. If you make a mistake, you''re getting the boot, understood?"


    "I understand! I will do anything! And, I will be obedient! As long as you can allow me to stay with you, then anything is fine with me. I will do anything!"


    "Honestly, I''ve always had something I wanted to ask you. Why do you insist on joining me? Logically speaking, you could choose anyone superior to me in the imperial capital. Why me of all people?"


    He looked at me as though he was waiting for me to ask that question the entire time. He mped his fingers into fists and exined, "That would be because I want to be a real man just as you are! I know lots of things about you! You exposed and won against the chapel''s scheme. After that, you saved Her Majesty from the elvennds. You went to her rescue when nobody dared to! I¡­ I have been bullied ever since I was a kid. I have always feared others. I want to be a courageous and loyal man under your tutge! I want to be a real man!"


    I couldn''t point out any problems with his exnation¡­ In fact, his reason was quite appropriate. After all, it''s perfectly normal for a kid whose always been bullied to want to put an end to it. Nheless, I was puzzled about one thing. Since when did I be considered a real man? I was always despised as a contemptible individual. I had never been associated with the term ''real man'', nor had anyone considered me an upright man. I reckoned that the kid would soon realise I wasn''t as great as he imagined.


    Veirya pinched her chin and suddenly pulled the catman over with one hand. She lifted him up by his neck. Suddenly, she pulled his pants down¡­


    "Whoa!" The catman and I both eximed at the same time. He struggled with all his might due to embarrassment.


    "I never thought you were seriously a boy. I always suspected your gender. Oh! It''s small, but it''s there. Hey, it''s pretty cute, too, huh?!" Angelina flicked the poor kid''s manhood.


    The catman cried as he struggled with all he had. I believe that any man would be humiliated by that¡­


    Veirya put him back down then exined, "I was just. Confirming. That he''s a male. I was suspicious."


    "I also had my suspicions about that¡­"


    The catman quickly pulled his pants up and shed tears, curling up in fear. I suddenly realised something. Creeps had once done that to him, so Veirya must''ve reminded him of the times he was vited. I pulled him over and warned Veirya., "Don''t do that again. It''s an odious memory for him, after all."


    "Uhm."


    The catman grabbed my clothes and, "I knew it. I was right. You are the man I am looking for. You are an upright man! Nobody has ever said that to me before! Only you¡­ are fair and nice! You are a true man as I thought!"


    "I don''t know what''s in your brain, but I might let you down," I replied, lips curved upwards smugly. "I''m not remotely as brilliant as you think. I''m a sly man. I used someone''s wife and daughter to destroy him, went back on my word, sold him out without any consideration for his feelings and walked off with other people''s money. The reason I went to save Queen Sisi was merely because Veirya wanted to save her. I''ve done lots of bad things behind Sisi''s back. Lots of people consider me to just be a sly man. I have no bottom line or shame. I''m nowhere near as you think I am."


    "Modesty! I know that you are being modest! I have heard many things about you, but I know that they are lies from those who were defeated by you. I know, so please allow me to follow you!"


    I couldn''t argue with the kid. It seemed that he wouldn''t believe anything I said. I queried, "What''s your name?"


    "Name¡­? Humans call me Ross¡­ So, so, have I¡­ really be your pupil? Can I follow you now?!"


    "Yes, but you will have lots of work. Get changed when we reach the North. If you want, follow me from now. With that said, you might end up disappointed. I want to get some sleep tonight. You stay by the fire and ensure it doesn''t go out for now. Prepare breakfast tomorrow. You can cook, right?"


    "I can!"


    I told him where our food was and then yawned: "I''m going to turn in now. Angelina."


    Understanding what I was thinking, Angelina responded with a nod. I pulled Veirya down to lie with me. The catman''s footsteps were basically inaudible. He sat by the fire and watched over it earnestly. Angelina looked asleep. In truth, she was going to monitoring Ross. We weren''t going to drop our guard. We were going to keep him under surveince while giving him a chance to see what he does.


    I slept without any qualms for the reason that I knew Angelina would definitely keep tabs on him, not to mention that I had Veirya beside me. I was sure that he wouldn''t be able to harm me. Plus, if Leah''s transformation was exposed, I could use that as an excuse to do away with him.


    I still didn''t trust the kid. He approached me out of the blue and randomly worshipped me without rhyme or reason. There was nothing about him that was trustworthy. As a consequence, I wouldn''t drop my guard around him. Perhaps this test wouldn''t produce any results. Nheless, I had more tests and then more. As long as he was up to something, there''d definitely be clues left behind even if he was a cat.


    An enticing aroma woke me from my slumber. Ross was standing by a pot and diligently stirring the burling sticky milk. Leah poked her head out from the carriage and cast her gaze around before finally setting her sight on Ross.


    Beaming, Leah inquired, "Papa, are you taking him in?"


    "Yeah. Needless to say, it''s just for the meantime. I don''t n to keep him just yet. Having said that, why did you let him tag along and not tell Papa?"


    "Because if Leah told Papa, Papa wouldn''t have let him follow us. Leah feels sorry for him, however," sulked Leah, pouting. "Leah is sorry for lying to Papa, but Leah believes that Papa won''t leave someone so pitiful to die! Papa won''t admonish Leah for it!"


    "Well, it''s not that serious that Papa would admonish you¡­ It''s just, you should discuss it with Papa if you want to do something from now, Leah. Papa isn''t a dictator. As long as you voice your suggestion, Papa will promise to put serious thought into it."


    I went to the carriage and carried Leah off. Happy, she kissed my cheek. Ross was particrly surprised when he saw Leah. Puzzled, she titled her head. I made a hush hand gesture to signal not to mention Leah''s transformation. He nodded after his ears twitched to indicate he wouldn''t mention it. I prayed he knew what I signalled for him not to mention.


    Angelina and Veirya came over. Angelina gently shook her head, and I nodded in response. By the looks of it, the kid was either fine or he hid his intentions well. Whatever, though. Angelina and Veirya were in the North. If he harboured ill-will and was exposed there, he wouldn''t be able to escape. I wasn''t worried, but he''d be.

 Chapter Volume 7 9

    <i>Security</i>


    Though a war had been fought recently, the town no longer resembled a frontline in a war. Thanks to the war, our town grew famous after the event. Lots of people came here and sent their families back from afar.


    The number of wounded that we could treat was limited. Only about half of the injured personnel who came were able to make it back, and only half of them were able to go home with their entire body intact. The military was running amok in the imperial capital at the moment, while the garrison soldier was basically only alive in name. We didn''t have the funds to transport everyone back one by one, so we had to resort to sending letters out. Then, their families woulde and pick them up.


    The town was still peaceful and harmonious. There weren''t many carriagesing and going, but there were enough people to show that there was life in the city. The townsfolk worked in their fields, while the injured personnel carefully moved about in the town.


    Outside of our town, there was a cluster of white tents. Veirya and I both recognised them. They must''ve been the security guards we had nned to instate at the town. I wasn''t certain if they didn''t move in as they weren''t used to life in the town or what. They had begun to go grazing in a faraway ce. I didn''t mind that. We just had to give them a pasture.


    "Veirya, head back first. I''m going to take a look around here. They''ve just arrived here, so I need to have a word with them. Actually,e with me. Angelina, you head on back first."


    I changed my mind as I had no power tomand them. What they truly believed in was Veirya''s might. I had to bring Veirya along to ensure that they''d listen¡­


    Veirya nodded.


    "Sir Lin, can I go with you?! Do you need me to follow you?!" enthused Ross, poking his head out of the carriage.


    "No. Head on back. This job doesn''t concern you. Leah, you should be older than him, so look after him as his elder sister."


    "Elder Sister?! Leah is an elder sister?! Leah is an elder sister already?! So, Leah can take care of others now?!"


    Honestly speaking, I didn''t think I could treat the kid the way a ve pupil was treated. I didn''t know why I felt that way, either. Perhaps it was because his eyes looked too innocent. I couldn''t see any schemes in his eyes. His eyes were bright and clear in spite of the miserable past events he experienced. His eyes were ain to spring water. I spected he might be nning something under Achilles orders, and I always told others to keep tabs on him. But nheless, I couldn''t be ruthless when I saw his eyes and small cat ears.


    "You could say that."


    Unfortunately, what happenedst time left Ross slightly fearful of Leah. Mature Leah was alluring to us, but suddenly having a big ball smack you in the face as youy there is much more frightening than it is alluring. Thankfully, Ross didn''t seem to be a pervert.


    "I wonder if he doesn''t know the significance of females due to his past," I wondered.


    Veirya and I went over to the tents. When someone inside saw us, he gave their elder a holler. I went to support the elder upon seeing him.


    "Wee back."


    "Thank you. A long journey is not a joyous one. Fortunately, now that I look at the town, it was worth the long journey."


    He smiled and gently slipped a ne over my head. It was an emerald-carved ne, shaped after an animal that resembled an owl somewhat.


    "Could this group have had cultural exchanges with the elves before? My elven name does mean ''owl'', after all," I pondered.


    "This type of stone is often found at our homnd. Still, it is most beautiful. We usually use it as jewellery. We cannot give you much, but this stone has be a memory of our homnd for us. We might never return there; therefore, it is precious to us now. I hope you like it."


    I gripped the ne and expressed, "I will treasure it. Thank you for the gift. I shall now make arrangements for your life going forward. I don''t understand you. Thence, I need you to discuss this with me. I need to make the appropriate arrangements for you. On top of that, I have some other work to take care of. Try not to disrupt the local''s well-being/ I will do my best to fulfil your lives. As for your jobs specifics, I will exin them to you when it is time."


    "All right."


    I wasn''t interested in them in the slightest at the moment; they couldn''t provide me with practical experience and money. The town didn''t need any security guards at the moment. Thus, they could be put on the backburner for a bit. What I wanted to research most was the mine''s development. I had left for a long time, but I doubted the mine''s development stopped. The first batch of coal might''ve already been shipped out.


    I wanted the steam engine and the coal mine. That wasn''t a casual remark. I genuinely wanted them. The entire empire was going to be a steam-powered empire. They had yet to realise it. I, nheless, had. So ordingly, regardless of the price I had to pay, I had to get my hands on it. I had resolved all of the problems immediately around me, and Sisi would take my side henceforward. Sess was already in the back.


    Veirya and I headed back to the town.


    "Will we. Leave this ce?"


    "Definitely. We have to live in the imperial capital. It''s not good for Leah if we stay here forever."


    "But. I really like this ce." Veirya cast her fond gaze toward the town and added, "I''m happy. Here."

 Chapter Volume 7 10

    <i>Edward''s Ambition</i>


    "Wee b-, <em>gasp!</em>" When Anna heard using back, she cheerfully came out to wee us and immediately noticed the ring on Veirya''s finger. She was so pleasantly surprised that she covered her mouth with her hands. After rposing herself, she smiled: "Have you gotten engaged? I thought that the trouble this time was rtively serious, but it appears that you even had the luxury to get engaged, which means that you handled it without breaking a sweat."


    "You could say that it went smoothly. But it was thanks to Leah that I could return so smoothly."


    I grabbed Veirya''s hand with a smile. Puzzled, Veirya asked, "Why. Do we. Have to hold hands now?"


    "Mm¡­ no reason."


    Veirya''s question left me feeling awkward. How was I supposed to answer it¡­? Foolish Veirya didn''t know that, in love, sometimes there is no need for reasons. I wanted to hold her hands just because I wanted to¡­


    "I see¡­" Veirya didn''t pull her hand out.


    Anna giggled as she watched us. She questioned,, "Sir, have you brought more guests back? The young girl is a catwoman, right? What do you n to do with her? How shall I treat her?"


    "Erm, it''s a he, not a her."


    "A boy?!"


    "He''s my pupil, I guess. He''ll be working as you do in the future. Take care of us together. Tomorrow, give him a tour of our ce and see what he needs to do. There''s no need to give him special treatment; just treat as you would any ordinary person."


    Everyone questioned Ross'' gender upon first meeting him, but what could he do? He had a lean and frail physique. Plus, he had a round face andrge cute eyes in addition to cat ears. It was hard to me someone for perceiving him to be a girl. In light of him striving to be a real man, I thought that he should go train with Veirya for some time. Obviously, it would be pointless for me to train.


    Anna prepared dinner in the kitchen. A stack of letters was ced on the table. By the looks of it, a number of people were seeking me during my absence. By my estimations, they should''ve been rted to the injured soldiers. There were also letter from elves. There was no name or anything on the envelope, so it immediately urred to me that it was Lucia''s letter. Only she would send me letters. I decided to leave them forter in case Veirya saw them¡­


    Edward''s letter must''ve been penned when I was still in the North and be rted to the mine. Let me correct myself there, he sent three letters, all of which I need to study. I didn''t care about the other letters.


    As Veirya came over to me, I swiftly slipped Lucia''s letters to the bottom.


    "Who wrote. All these letters?"


    "Lots of them are from the wounded soldiers'' families. I''m going to have to visit the injured soldiers over the next few days and sort things out there. There are also Edward''s letters. I don''t know what it''s about yet; however, I assume that it has to do with the coal mine. It might also be to do with the steam engine, but I don''t know yet."


    I knew that Veirya might not have understood everything. Regardless, I didn''t want history to repeat itself, making me have to exin myself to her again. She nodded. Yeah, she definitely didn''t understand from that reaction.


    "You won''t. Be tricked. This time, will you?''


    "When have I been tricked?"


    She hurt my pride. It was humiliating to have Veirya, of all people, remind me to keep my guard up.


    "I don''t recall ever being tricked, either¡­ Why did she just give me a reminder¡­?" I suddenly realised.


    Veirya titled her head: "Last time. Francis. Tricked you. Didn''t he?''


    "Oh, that time?"


    I hopelessly smiled. Wasn''t Veirya the source of the problem that time? It was because Francis pulled the suicide card on me that I had no choice. I couldn''t say that to her, however. Instead, I assured, "I won''t let it happen again. I''ve always been very vignt and cautious. It won''t be easy for Edward to fool me. Plus, I have S-, Her Majesty backing me."


    I almost blurted "Sisi" but quickly added "Her Majesty" in time.


    "I. Trust you."


    "Thanks."


    I packed away the letters and saw Ross standing next to Anna in the kitchen, struggling to get on his toes to watch Anna teach him something. The kitchen wasn''t spacious, but Ross didn''t seem to require much anyway. I could say the same for Anna.


    If Ross had his ulterior motives well hidden, then he would steal my letters. Thus, I wanted to see if he''d watch to see where I hid them. Frankly, I hadn''t identified anything that was rming. In saying that, cats have superior sensespared to humans. As such, I might not have noticed him stealing ganders. I, therefore, would have to wait and see if he''d steal them. I nned to have Veirya and Angelina keep tabs on him. It was unlikely he''d be able to steal the letters at night, not to mention that I kept in mind the number of letters.


    ***


    "Edward."


    Achilles watched Edward pace back and forth in the room from the door. Edward no longer had a house as he had sold it for money. He now lived in an ordinary hotel room. Achilles scanned the messy and dirty room. By the looks of it, Edward was a grown man who had never performed a house chore.


    "Ah, Achilles, I''m d to see you. Pleasee on in. While you''re there, ask the people downstairs to bring me a quality pot of tea. It''s a bit messy in here, but I hope you don''t mind. I''m packing up, after all. I''ll be heading to the North soon. Did you need me for something?''


    "Something important," replied Achilles, shutting the door behind him. "I know that that you''ve conducted some unknown deal with Her Majesty. So, are you going to the North to see him? I know that you''re eager to prove yourself right. You now won''t stop at anything to prove that you''re an excellent businessman, but you have to bear in mind that you can''t offend everyone."


    Edward paused what he was doing. Feeling curious, he shifted his gaze to Achilles: "Are you encouraging me to betray Her Majesty? I don''t know what exactly happened to others when they tried to get rid of him. All I know is that they betrayed Her Majesty, which was why they were erased. He''s just hogging Her Majesty, big deal. There''s nothing scary about him. Additionally, I have Her Majesty''s support this time. What is there for me to be afraid of?"


    "There''s an awful issue with your frame of mind. I''m serious, Edward. I''m not saying this for his sake, jealous of you or to be a warrior of justice. I''m just trying to give you a reminder. Do noty your hands on him just because you have Queen Sisi. She doesn''t love you; she loves him. He could demolish the chapel, the military and us. Keep pushing him, and he mighte after us next as a consequence of your provocation. I''m trying to protect us businessmen. What you are trying to do is ying with fire. You need to understand that."


    "Really? Haha, previously, you and the other businesses refused to ept me regardless of my efforts. I still remember that you all considered me a crook with no bottom line or shame, yet you now want me to be considerate of your futures? Why should I care for your futures?"


    "This isn''t about our futures but yours, too! He will not spare you! You are pitching all of us into a crisis!!!!"


    "The businessmen who weren''t afraid of even gods or hell are now afraid of one man? One man?" Edward scoffed as he pped his hands. "Achilles, you''re growing old. I remember you used to be a businessman who dared to take on anything and anyone. You ran around on the battlefield and searched through corpses from the battlefields in ces that demons would frequent, yet you''re now afraid of one ordinary man? Have you grown old and senile?"


    "This is called being rational!"


    "I don''t see how I''m inferior to him. Since Queen Sisi recruited me to take him on, I''m sure that I''m in his league - make that him being in <em>my</em> league. I''m sure I won''t be inferior to him. You lot have just been intimidated. I, however, am not scared of him. I have nothing to be afraid of. Watch, I''ll prove that he''s not invincible. He''s just an ordinary man who gets fooled and will fail!"


    Edward retreated two steps before resuming, "I need to head north tomorrow, so I want to turn in early today. So, Achilles, I can''t drink with you tonight. Once Ie back from the North, we can have a toast."


    It was clearly a demand for Achilles to leave. Achilles was speechless. The businessmen were genuinely afraid that Edward would aggravate Lin Dongqing, which would cause all businessmen in the imperial capital to pay a disastrous price. That was why he tried to stop Edward. Sadly, it fell on deaf ears, as Edward didn''t seem to realise how scary Lin Dongqing really was.


    Lin Dongqing, indeed, was an ordinary man who was susceptible to being fooled and failure. Nevertheless, he was the same as Edward, in that he was fearless, had no shame and bottom line. If the two of them collided, it spelt trouble¡­ s, Edward had yet to realise it. Fortunately, Achilles had sent someone to Lin Dongqing''s side to keep tabs on him¡­

 Chapter Volume 7 11

    <i>Daughter</i>


    "Hmm¡­"


    I ced down the letter and rubbed my forehead. Truthfully speaking, I was quite puzzled.


    Why did Edward want toe here? He wrote me a letter indicating his n to visit in theing days, but it was more of a notification than it was a request. I was sure he was already on his way here.


    "What''s his purpose ining here? Does he want something from here? He''s already obtained what he can from me, right? Is there something else that he wants? What would that be? What have I not thought of? I only have a coal mine, and it still hasn''t begun normal operations thanks to the war," I contemted.


    I nned to go visit the coal quarry to see if there were any issues. At the moment, the North was at risk. The steam engine was rather useless being just collecting dust. If they relied on solely timber to power it, there would be serious issues.


    The steam engine had been made, which meant that the next biggest problem was whether or not a sufficient amount of gold could be obtained from our ce. The trend exhibited was indicating that humanity was starting to discover the magic coal offered. With war behind them, humanity finally had the freedom they desired and were empowered to pursue development. As such, humanity was on the path to pursuing a nicer life. The biggest obstacle was production abilities; however, there was a single piece missing from that.


    Money,mercial goods, capital, production all look as though they are repeats of the concept, but that didn''t hold true for this era, yet. Money had yet to represent capital. Commercial goods had yet to be split through capital. Production abilities had yet to connect with money. Howbeit, owing to the imminent change to production possibilities, they would be oneplete puzzle, each connecting to the other. Next, production ability would consist of "fertile" products. At the same time, the production ability would create inadequacy of a certain resource - currency.


    Currency would be capital next. In time, currency would no longer represent just businesses with tangible products. Very soon, people would pay for their risks with currency. Businesses would use money and time to create value. Currency would soon vanish. Value, on the other hand, would never disappear. People would use currency to buy businesses that were rather intangible and gradually develop into modern businesses.


    Increased production abilities will promote more spending. More spending will promote the cirction of capital. This ''capital'' is, in essence, a river that never stops flowing, which will eventually be an ocean. Said ocean may appear vast, produce big waves and seem peaceful. In reality, however, the underside of it would be littered with countless corpses. To put it simply, coal was extremely vital at that point in time. Whoever could get their hands on it would be able to rule the entire empire henceforward.


    I needed to control this world. I nned to leverage the shares I acquired to create a continuous stream of ie. Then, I''d control the coal mine. Once the bank sees the coal mine, they''d understand that I could pay my debts, meaning that I''d be able to pay the interest with my annual ie. That was enough.


    "Is the reason for Edward''s visit because he''s seen through my ns, or is he here to try and join hands with me? Neither seems viable to me¡­ I can''t figure out what his goal ining here could be? How can I deal with him? Whatever. I''ll counterpunch whatever he throws my way when we get there," I decided.


    I couldn''t be bothered reading the letters from the miners at the coal mine and, therefore, tossed them straight into the fire. I didn''t need to hear what they had to say. They shouldn''t have sent me their letters. I was only in charge of providing them withnd, not providing them with miners.


    I stole a gander at Veirya, who was behind me, and hid Lucia''s letters to me in my shirt. Lucia''s letters had a trace of her scent that I''d never forget¡­ Our rtionship would never develop any further. That being said, I wanted to know what she wanted to convey to me. If it was purely for romantic purposes, I would need to deal with it properly, and d my best to not leave any traces behind.


    I stood up, and Veirya followed suit.


    "You. Turning now?"


    "Yeah."


    I subconsciously pressed my hand to my chest where Lucia''s letters sat¡­ Veirya didn''t seem to make anything of the gesture. She, instead, inquired, "Can I. Sleep together with you, then?"


    "Together¡­?"


    I''d love to sleep together with Veirya even if we didn''t do anything. Unfortunately, Leah couldn''t sleep with us; else, I was worried she''d try to strangle Veirya in the middle of the night.


    After a shudder, Leah ran up to me: "No!! Leah wants to sleep together with Papa! Mama Veirya, you''ve hogged Papa for so long already! Leah should be the one who stays with Papa!!"


    "So. Can we. Sleep together, then?"


    I shook my head: "Veirya, it''s not a very wise idea to sleep together. How do I put it¡­? Sorry, Veirya, but I''ll have to sleep together with Leah. Otherwise, she''ll feel lonely at night. You remember what she didst time, right?"


    Despite her expressionless visage, I could sense that Veirya was somewhat disappointed. Shepassionately nodded. Angelina came over and stroked her back. With a smile, she exined, "You two haven''t gotten married yet, after all. An engaged couple can''t sleep together every night now, can they? Don''t worry, though. You can get married now. After you get married, you can have your own child."


    "Child¡­? Besides Leah?" Veirya queried.


    "Of course. It''ll be your biological ch-"


    I pulled Leah into my chest and stated, "Let''s discuss that at ater point. Let''s end the conversation here for tonight. We''ve travelled for a long time, so I need to take Leah up to sleep."


    I didn''t want to discuss the topic in Leah''s presence. Leah''s rtionship with us at present was healthy. Leah had already fallen silent upon hearing the topic.


    "Uhm."


    Veirya seemed to notice the problem with the topic. Leah hugged me particrly tightly in return. Though she didn''t explicate her thoughts, I could sense her unease. And so, I reassured, "I''ll never leave you. You''ll always be my daughter, Leah. No matter what happens, you''ll always be my daughter¡­"

 Chapter Volume 7 12

    <i>Adoration</i>


    The mountain path wasn''t easy to trek early in the morning. Besides being slippery, the forest was also dark. I used the tree trunks as support to traverse the path I once walked. A dominating team had once marched through this path, with Queen Sisi riding at the forefront, being both conceited and smug. These days, the leaves covered the path as if to symboliseying Queen Sisi''s former glory to rest.


    Only simple tents were set up at this location. The coal mine was already within sight. Owing to the slippery hill of soil, the ce had turned into a cliff, allowing them to reach the coal in the mine even when standing at front. I didn''t know howrge the mine was or how long they could mine it for. Howbeit, the ckyer of coal seemed to be boundless.


    As the coal quarry was close to the elvennds, the miners were worried that the elves would take their vindication out on them. Hence, the minors fled. Maybe they were struggling to survive in my town at the moment. Who knows. This forest connected to the elves forest; the elves could''ve sneaked over and killed them at any moment. In saying that, I didn''t think the elves would be thatme.


    After Lucilia''s ascension, there were no more fights between elves and humans. It was a weird ceasefire. Neither side signed any ceasefire agreement, reimbursed each other or gained anything. The elves triumphed, but all they got out of it was a mountain of corpses. While humanity lost the war, they didn''t lose a single inch ofnd. As such, the war might''ve just ended up forgotten without anyone noticing. Perhaps the insurgence took all the attention off the war. Only those soldiers who were dismembered knew what happened, except they would also soon be forgotten.


    The price of coal was a question mark. What were the transportation fees? Should I repair the path that connected the quarry to the city? Should I foot the bill for it, or should I include it in the price? Also, before I know the area the steam engine requires, how do I export the coal? Should I drop some money to build aplete factory here? Shall I construct a factory for producing steam engines? I''d need to pay that scientist if I wanted to produce steam engines. I didn''t want to pay that sum. I still hadn''t profited from the mine. Still, I needed find out how to manufacture them¡­ Unfortunately¡­ I was no scientist.


    To answer my questions, I needed to make a trip into the city to get a rough idea of how much mmables cost. I also need to figure out the capital required for transportation. I managed to crown Queen Sisi, destroy the chapel and military; however, this wasn''t an easy deal to sort out.


    I knew how important the job was. It was a big cultural leap for all of humanity, while I happened to be standing at the forefront of event. I was spurring on humanity''s development. Every step I would take was going to be things that the nation and society of this era had never ever witnessed. ordingly, I needed to start from the very bottom and ensure I didn''t neglect any aspect.


    ***


    As it was part of the town, the door before Edward wasn''t locked. He pushed the door open to be met with arge and empty hall. It was where the administrator of the town was found, yet there wasn''t a single worker.


    "Judging from the look of this, it appears that the owner of this ce isn''t even bothering to run any operations," judged Edward.


    Edward headed to the rear and pushed another door open. This time, he was met with a long corridor. On one side of the corridor, a bright flower had bloomed. The flowerprised of seven colours, and its soothing scent boldly danced through the air. The fountain was switched off.


    It was still early in the day, so Edward assumed that he''d catch Lin Dongqing. Though he spoke a big deal, the very thought of engaging in a real challenge with Lin Dongqing rustled his feathers. There was no doubt that Lin Dongqing had aplished many terrifying things.


    "Can I really win against him? What''s my rtionship with Her Majesty? Will she actually help me when I need it?" Edward inwardly questioned.


    Edward knocked on the door then silently waited. Footsteps approached from the other side of the door. Edward saw a bright smiling face. She was just a kid. She most certainly wasn''t tall, but she disyed charming traits of a woman at a tender age. Her red eyes could seemingly suck the soul out of one. Her smile was brighter than even the flower and sun outside. She wore am an unadorned shirt and a short skirt. Her faint scent was more entrancing than even flowers.


    .Although he had prepared himself in various ways to avoid Lin Dongqing swaying or shaking him, he was dumbstruck at the magnificence of the young girl''s beauty. His heart skipped a beat. He had never been so entranced before.


    "What is this feeling? Is this exciting and eagerness to hug this girl love? Is this what they call love at first sight?" Edward asked himself.


    Leah had seen him before, but it eluded her as to who he was in the heat of the moment. As she pondered to herself and Edward stood there in a daze, Veirya came up to Leah from behind.


    "You here. For him?"


    "Mm¡­ Uhm¡­ yes¡­ yes."


    "Papa has gone out already."


    Leah hid behind Veirya and curiously scanned Edward. She noticed that he kept staring at her ever since they came face-to-face. Veirya had no intention of letting him in.


    Edward asked Veirya, "Is that right? Mr. Lin has gone out, has he? Can¡­ Ie in to wait for him, then?"


    "Mm¡­" Veirya made way.


    "Are you Mr. Lin''s daughter?"


    "Yes," replied Leah, with a proud nod and calm tone.


    "How cute."


    Was Edward''s remark a polite greeting or an intrinsic desire?

 Chapter Volume 7 13

    <i>Ledger</i>


    After descending, I walked back to our ce, but I noticed a carriage stopped out front, which was a sign that somebody was there.


    "Could Edward have arrived already? He''s earlier than I expected," I thought.


    I took in a deep breath then walked into the long corridor. The Elven Queen sat in the corridor in silence as per usual. Ciara stood leaning against a wall, quietly watching over her Queen.


    The Elven Queen seemed to hear my footsteps and, therefore, turned to me with a smile: "Sir Lin, correct?"


    "Yeah. How did you know?"


    "Because your footsteps sound different," expounded the Elven Queen. "Your footsteps are much lighter than others. It gives the impression that you are afraid of disturbing me."


    "Really¡­?" To be honest, I never paid particr attention. I asked, "Has a young man, with particrly pretty, blonde hair,e here?"


    "Do you think that I can see?" queried the Elven Queen, not affronted. "I cannot see, but it is true that a visitor is in the house. Ciara, does he have pretty, blonde hair?"


    "Yes. He is a young man. He is here to see you."


    "I know."


    I was certain it was Edward, then.


    I ambled to the Elven Queen. She looked up in my direction when she heard me approach. With a smile, she inquired, "Did youe here to me for something? Is there something you wish to say to me?"


    "Nothing special. I just wanted to give you a present."


    The Elven Queen bore with a lot during the mission to reinstate Sisi. She was treated as a prisoner of war in humanity''s presence. Further, to prove Queen Sisi''s war aplishment, we revealed her missing eyes; we pretty much added insult to injury. She put up with all of humanity''s admonishment and ridicule merely to satisfy my own n. She entrusted me with her dignity, which was more than asking for her life.


    Truth be told, I wasn''t fond of jewellery. The ne I was wearing was meaningless to me. I gently wore it around her neck and verbalised, "Sorry, I made you go through so much for my own ends. This is mypensation."


    A gentle and pretty smile surfaced on the Elven Queen''s face. She clutched the ne and voiced, "Thank you, Sir Lin. I will treasure this ne. I will cherish it as I would my life. I am sincerely happy to have received this gift from you. I am already happy to know that you still think about me when you have Lord Veirya and Sisi. Thank you very much."


    "You don''t need to thank me¡­"


    The reality was that I merely didn''t like the ne¡­ Seeing the Elven Queen cherish it so much made me feel bad¡­ Ciara and she were happy that I made the gesture. The Elven Queen held up the ne and gave it a light kiss before letting it hang at her chest. She gently sped my face and kissed my lips.


    I took a step back and wiped my mouth before heading into the house. When I opened the door, Anna weed me back and took my cloak covered in dew. She quietly notified, "Sir, you have a guest."


    "I know. Edward. It won''t take too long. Please prepare us some hot tea."


    "We already have."


    Ross came up to Anna from behind with a tray in hand. His ears twitched with joy when he saw me.


    "Good morning, Sir. You have a guest," informed Ross.


    "I know."


    I walked in. I undid one of the buttons on my shirt. Edward was sitting in the guest room. He peered outside, but I had no idea what at. He didn''t notice me even when I had almost reached the table. I followed his line of sight. Veirya and Leah were outside. The elven diplomat sat at a small desk outside, teaching Leah the elvennguage. Leah was a model student. Meanwhile, Veirya just calmly watched over them. The three of them were as beautiful as a work of art. My heart was filled with bliss and satisfaction just seeing them¡­


    "But does it have anything to do with you?! Who are you to be watching the blissful scene? Leah''s my daughter, and Veirya is my wife. Where do youe in? What, you miss your wife and daughter you sold off now?" I inwardly snapped.


    I knocked on the table. Edward jolted as he turned to look at me as if he woke from a long dream and dryly chuckled: "Ah, sorry, Mr. Lin. I did not notice you hade in."


    "Yeah, your attention was focused outside, after all." I walked to the window with a smile and gazed outside: "What are you looking at, my wife or my daughter? Or were you looking at the pretty elf? You can forget about my wife, while my daughter has yet to grow up. If you like the elf, I suggest you quit while you are ahead."


    Judging from Edward''s surprised reaction, he didn''t have any interest in the elf. It was conclusive that he was either interested in my wife or my daughter. Should he dare toy his hands on either of them, especially Leah, I''d<em> personally</em> kill him.


    "Let us talk business, then," Edward proposed.


    I nodded and sat down opposite Edward. I had a drink of tea before starting, "I just got back yesterday and woke up early today, so I''m quite irritable at the moment. If you have something to say, you better not beat around the push, or I''ll be in a foul mood."


    "I hope to join hands with you in managing the coal mine."


    "No," I answered with a poker face.


    "Why?!" Edward rose to his feet and protested, "You may not be aware, but this is definitely a profitable business!! You must know that the steam engine can only burn coal. Furthermore, we are the only ones with coal, so¡­ you get it, do you not?! This business will definitely be profitable."


    "That''s exactly why. I know how important it is, which is why I won''t trust you. No businessman, especially you, would share his money-making machine with another. You sold your wife and child. Therefore, it''s only natural that you would never share something so good with me. There''s no doubt that you have your own agenda, so I must decline."


    "This is what happened: you must be aware of what happenedst time; I am referring to the war between elves and humans. Our mine is right next to the elves. Hence, I am worried that history will repeat itself, and our workers will flee due to fear of elves. To add, should the elves harass us, we would suffer severe losses. I know that your rtionship with the elves is decent, especially given the fact that you have elves residing at your ce. I, therefore, believe that the elves will show you a degree of respect. You just need to join us, and the elves will not give us any grief."


    Edward provided a reasonable reason that I couldn''t rebuke. Regardless, it was painfully obvious that it was a trap. Nobody would hand you their money for free. I wouldn''t. Achilles wouldn''t. So there wouldn''t be a remote chance of Edward giving away money for free. There had to be an undisclosed problem awaiting me. Either he was trying to drag me down or something happened to the steam engine, and the shifty Edward wanted me to take his garbage.


    "Can you really not ept it? Can I ask why you cannot ept?"


    "You know full well why." I leaned forward a little. Voice quiet, I borated, "I said it before. There are no free lunches in this world. You''re plotting something. You wouldn''t let me earn money for nothing. Your business stint might already be in tatters, and now you want me to carry your garbage. That''s why you''re trying to convince me. Show me your steam engine. Not one but your warehouse. Let me see if your goods can be sold and if I can earn from them."


    "Are you sure you want to see? My warehouse is in the imperial capital. If you want to see it, make a trip back with me. Having said that, I think that there is no need for you to check out the warehouse. I have brought our ledger. If you really want to confirm, I can let you see my ledger. You can then write a letter to confirm it. You should be aware that I would not joke around with this business."


    "You always bring your ledger with you when you leave?"


    "No. I only brought it with me since I wasing to see you. I knew that you would not easily trust me, after all. I felt that I needed to bring it with me."


    Under normal circumstances, nobody would thoughtlessly let another see their ledger. Financial records were a businessman''s life. You can''t mindlessly show it to others, particrly other businessmen.


    He put the book on the table and pushed it over to me. I pressed a hand on it. If I opened it, it was tantamount to conveying that I agreed to join him, so I left it shut.


    "Should I join him? Would Veirya be happy? We have our stable and peaceful life, but I still want to take a risk. What would Veirya think?" I deliberated.

 Chapter Volume 7 14

    <i>Cute</i>


    "Sir, why are you hesitating? I meant, I do not understand why you refused¡­" inquired a puzzled Ross, who stood cautiously beside me.


    I didn''t open the book in the end and returned it to Edward, instead. He didn''t expect the oue. It was my first time feeling quite embarrassed about myself. If a businessman challenges you, yet you retreat without even putting up a fight, then you''ve already lost the morale contest. If you back out without even putting up a fight, no other businessman would be willing to do business with you, either. Every transaction runs the risk of failure. If you don''t dare to do anything, others will look down on you for having no backbone.


    I had never known fear in business. In the past, nobody dared to give me the attitude Edward did. Nobody dared to provoke me with their financial books. I''d definitely open it in their face. I knew how proud and confident I was with myself. I wouldn''t back down even if I wasn''t prepared in such a situation. It was the equivalent of someone pointing their sword in Veirya''s face. She wouldn''t back down from their challenge. Sess or failure is one matter, but back down from the challenge, and you''ve already lost in character.


    Edward''s gaze for me turned belittling. I knew what he was thinking. From his standpoint, I was a coward.


    I knew that it was unlike my past self or what I''d usually do. Nevertheless, I didn''t want to ept his challenge. As a matter of fact, I didn''t even want to have anything to do with him. I knew how cowardly I was, but I didn''t think it was something to be ashamed of. To the contrary, I felt rxed. I didn''t regret my decision.


    I silently peered outside to see Leah trying her best to converse with the diplomat in the elvennguage. The reflection of sunrays reflecting off Veirya''s ring stung my eyes, but I didn''t want to look away.


    I finally broke the long silence and exined, "Because that''s no longer what I''m after. Had he provoked me some time ago, I''d certainly ept the challenge, but I can no longer bear a failure. You don''t have a family yet, so you don''t get it. I''d only dare to gamble with anything when I had nothing to lose. A failure now wouldn''t impact just myself; it''d also impact innocent Leah and Veirya. I no longer have to shoulder just my fate alone but also their future. I can''t gamble with their futures."


    "But¡­ I believe it is an opportunity¡­ for you. You are so brilliant, so I am sure you will seed," enthused Ross.


    Ross worshipped me for some random reason. I smiled helplessly then turned around: "Sorry for disappointing you. I told you from the very beginning, Ross. I''m not the man you think I am. I''m not brave or prudent. I just y the smart guy."


    I headed out without giving Ross a chance to respond. The golden orb blessed us with warmth and serenity. I propped myself down next to Veirya. With her brows together, Leah stammered and stuttered in the elvennguage. Her teacher encouraged her to keep going. I expected Leah to take a long time to learn the elvennguage, but do you know?


    Seemingly afraid she''d disturb Leah, Veirya did her best to keep her voice down as she asked, "Edward. See you. For something. Rted. To the Queen?"


    "It was nothing, and it wasn''t rted to the Queen, either. It was about the coal quarry. He said he wanted to work on it with me, but I declined."


    "Yeah? I don''t. Remember you. Turning anyone down. Before."


    "Things are different now." I gingerly ced my hand on Veirya''s and borated, "In the past, my desire was to provide for you both. I''ve achieved that goal. We can move to the imperial capital now. I still have several thousand gold coins. I''ll make an attempt to get the mine. If I can''t, then I''ll opt for something else. I can''t gamble everything I have now as I''ll be gambling with your futures. I have to be responsible for you two now."


    Veirya bobbed her head: "Right now. I''m happy. Honestly. I''m happy. Every day now. I''m happy. To have you. And Leah."


    Despite being expressionless, I could feel Veirya radiating happiness. Sensing my eyes on her, she turned to me. She stopped to think then pushed the corners of her lips up toward her ears: "Can you. Tell now?"


    I couldn''t resist the urge to pull Veirya into my tight embrace. She almost reflexively wrestled me to the ground. Once she stopped her urge, she robotically wrapped her arms around to my back. Puzzled, she asked next to my ear, "What''s wrong? Why. Did you hug me?"


    "Because you''re seriously too cute, Veirya!!"


    I really wanted to shout. My heart was filled with bliss and excitement. My fianc¨¦e was seriously adorable. I loved her to bits. I lost a leg, betrayed Lucia, gave up on Sisi and even changed my character for her. At the end of the day, I could proudly say that everything I did in exchange for Veirya''s smile was worth it.


    "Cute?"


    Apparently, Veirya had never been described as cute by anyone. So ordingly, she didn''t understand what it meant. Having said it, maybe it made her happy.


    "Ah!! Mama Veirya is being a thieving cat!!" Leah cried.


    Before I could turn to look in her direction, Leah had jumped onto my back. From behind, she tried to pull Veirya''s hair with all her might. Veirya pulled Leah tight onto my back, thereby hugging us both¡­


    What do you call this weird position¡­? Whatever the case, I couldn''t have asked for more.

 Chapter Volume 7 15

    <i>Kindness</i>


    Because she cherished the book, the elf carefully shut it once ss ended at noon. Dimpling, she reported, "Leah is improving rapidly. The elvennguage is not easy to learn for many of the pronunciations are different. Further, the writing rules are different. Fortunately, Leah possesses an excellent memory. She can remember everything I teach her. Her pronunciation, grammar and spelling are basically all correct. She is already able to converse with me in the elvennguage. As a teacher, I very much like such astute students."


    "Yeah?"


    I happily scrubbed Leah''s small head. You could say that I had gotten a taste of being a parent. Hearing that my daughter was smart and a quick learner put a bright smile on my face. Leah giddily clung to my arm and questioned, "Has Leah cheered Papa up?! Did Leah do well? Papa, is Leah a good girl?''


    "You sure have," I responded with a firm nod. I gave Leah a kiss on her forehead and added, "Papa is happy and d to see Leah studying so earnestly. Leah is a good girl. Don''t getzy, though; you have to keep up the hard work. There''s still a lot to learn!"


    "Uhm! Hehe."


    Veirya crouched down and gave Leah a peck on the cheek. Leah wasn''t used to Veirya making such an intimate gesture. But nheless, Veirya caressed her face and expressed, "I''m also. Very happy. But you have to. Work hard in the afternoon, as well."


    I couldn''t hold myughter. Leah was almost one of those kids who are forced to take every supplementary ss under the sky. Leah was supposed to be in primary school, yet she had a full day course of studying. In the morning, she studied the elven and humannguage. In the afternoon, she practiced swordy with Angelina and Veirya. Leah, however, didn''t appear annoyed. Instead she nodded. By the looks of it, she didn''t find her time out with Angelina and Veirya to be dull.


    "Papa won''t go with you this afternoon. Papa should teach Ross something."


    "Uhm¡­"


    I detected a tinge of jealousy from Leah. I held her hand and gave her a smile, "Don''t worry, Leah. Papa won''t give you the cold shoulder for Ross'' sake. He is Papa''s pupil, after all. Papa, consequently, needs to each him something."


    "Leah knows."


    We returned to the house together. Anna served everyone a big juicy piece of meat, some green vegetables and a soup. Ross stood next to us with a pot of wine in hand to refill our drinks when needed, while we were seated at the table. The elves joined us at the table. It was our first dinner together since our return.


    Initially, the table was visibly spacious when there was only Veirya, Leah and I. I could still remember those days. At the time, we only had a candle with a flickering me apanying us. Veirya, who sat opposite me, would always resemble an iceberg and not utter a word. There would only be soup and rock-hard bread on the table. The house was cold enough to literally turn the soup cold. We wouldn''t speak and ate as if we were swallowing rocks.


    Fast forward and the table was filled with piping hot dishes. Leah sat next to Veirya and quietly told her what she wanted to eat. Veirya would then take the entire thing for Leah, incurring Angelina''s protests. The Elven Queen, listening in to Angelina''s protests joyously, gently ced her hand on mine and waited for me to guide her to the food. Anna hastily came out of the kitchen. She wiped her hand and sat down. Angelina would try and pinch food from Veirya''s te or tease me every now and then under the table with her foot. The bright sun at noon shone onto our table, giving a gloss to the dark red wine we had. The wide and spacious table was somewhat packed. I considered if arger table was necessary.


    "Ross, bring a chair down from the room farthest in upstairs to join us. We don''t need someone to wait on us. Since I''ve taken you in, you''re part of the family, soe sit. I don''t have that many rules and regtions here."


    "C-can I really?!" Ross stuttered.


    "Don''t worry. If I''ve already told you so, then there''s nothing to fret about. Just do as I say."


    "Y-yes¡­" Ross quivered in ce, apparently still afraid to do as I said. Howbeit, when he saw my firm gaze, he shakily headed upstairs in the end.


    Angelina gave me a smile: "Weren''t you the one who''d rather die than ept him? You''ve taken him in and even treat him so well now. At the very least, I''ve never heard of anyone treating their pupil so kindly."


    "It''s a fact that I was reluctant to take him in. Since I chose to ept him, I must fulfil my duty. With that said, Angelina, I need you to keep tabs on him at home. I still don''t know what his goal in joining me is. I just don''t want idents to happen here."


    "I know. Based on my conjecture, he''s trustworthy. Up until now, he hasn''t done anything suspicious. Needless to say, he might be concealing it well."


    Ross finally came back with a chair that he struggled to carry: "Umm¡­ Umm¡­ Sir Lin, I have brought a chair¡­ so¡­ so¡­ where should I sit?"


    I swept my gaze around the table. I didn''t want Ross to sit opposite me as Veirya and Leah were there. He might be cute, but I knew he was a male. I answered, "Sit on my left hand side."


    "C-can I?" inquired Ross, with his eyes wide and frantic demeanour.


    "What are you on edge for? Just sit down. I''m not going to eat you."


    "Can I¡­? Can I really sit next to you?"


    "Of course you can."


    Ross set his chair in ce but didn''t dare to sit. Hopeless, I smiled: "Didn''t I tell you that I wasn''t as brilliant as you believed? That''s why you don''t need to be treating me as if I''m some worshipped being. Just sit. Anna, bring another te and piece of meat over."


    "All right."


    Anna stood up and served a te of meat to Ross. Lost for what to do, Ross scrutinised the big piece of meat and then looked up at me. I questioned, "Can I¡­ eat this food? Can I eat¡­ anything on the table?"


    "Of course. You can''t drink alcohol, obviously, but everything else is fine. You can share the fruit juice with Leah."


    "Have you brought another individual back, Your Lordship? Ciara told me it was an adorable catman," asked the Elven Queen, who was sitting next to me. She wiped her mouth and smiled: "Female catman are usually sensitive and tiring to get along with."


    "But we have a ''he'', though."


    "Really?" Even the Elven Queen was surprised and froze upon hearing it was a male.


    Ross shrunk as he felt wronged. His small ears flopped onto his head, while tears welled up in his eyes. I scrubbed his head. Leah imed, "It''s fine, Ross. A boy must be strong just as Papa is. Papa doesn''t cry."


    "I-I see¡­"


    I scrubbed Ross'' head again: "Don''t cry over everything. Regardless of what people say, keep your head high and stand proud. Continue to do as you believe should be done."


    "Sir Lin¡­"


    I chuckled. Ross didn''t seem to understand what I meant yet. What I actually meant was that I had resorted to many immoral methods and broke rules to destroy mypetition before. Thence, I wouldn''t listen to anyone''s criticism or lectures. I always carried on as I pleased.


    I lowered my head and picked up the Elven Queen''s te. As I sliced her meat, I said to Ross, "Eat. This is supposed to be time to be happy. Don''t cry."


    "Understood¡­"


    Ross wiped his tears then gingerly picked up his knife and fork. Leah watched him clumsily try to slice his meat. Suddenly, she stood up on her chair and took Ross'' te from him. Frightened, he jumped back. Leah dered, "Leah will slice it for you. Leah will teach you how to use the fork and knifeter! Leah wasn''t too skilled with it before, but Leah is a professional now!"


    Once he confirmed that Leah meant no ill intent, he carefully sat back in his chair. He watched Leah and softly muttered, "Th-thank you."


    "It''s nothing! Leah is your elder sister! As a dutiful elder sister, Leah shall take care of Leah''s younger brother!"


    Iughed quietly. I was much happier with Leah''s gentleness and kindnesspared to her studies or swordy. What made humans different to other races was that humans knew what kindness was, and I wanted to instil that in Leah. Leah wasn''t a subus. She was my daughter, one who did her father proud.

 Chapter Volume 7 16

    <i>Bing a Shareholder</i>


    Ross sat primly opposite me. Truth be told, I was also pretty anxious. After all, it was my first time teaching someone. Normally, nobody would want to learn what I did. To add, I never undertook any systematic learning system for what I did. It was all acquired through my innate talent and instincts. All I could share was experience, not a systematic theorem.


    "Ahem, so then, our sses will be held in the afternoon. As you are my pupil, I will do my best to teach you things; however, the onus of learning on you, so you must try your best to grasp what I teach as best as you can."


    "Yes, Sir Lin! I will definitely earnestly study! So, what are you going to teach me, Sir Lin? I just want to be a man like you!"


    "I know. Judging from your appearance, you''re not suited forbat, so you don''t need to train with Leah. Therefore, I think you should learn the elven and humannguages with Leah. That''s going to be an crucial skill in life. I''ll teach you business. You must be a businessman on par with Achilles and myself."


    "C-can I?" Ross sped his shaky hands and questioned, "Can¡­ I be a businessman as sessful as you and Lord Achilles are¡­?"


    "Of course you can; anyone can. We''re ordinary people to begin with. To put it simply, no matter what business it is, there is only one way to make money, which is to sell for more than you bought it for. It doesn''t matter how profound their methods may look, that''s an unchanging principle that''s forever abided by. It''s about using strategies to raise the price you sell for."


    Every businessman''s tactics are derived from the aforementioned principle. There are no textbooks on their tactics. Even if there was, you still wouldn''t make money following the methods in there. Those who make money are usually those who can think of what others can''t. That''s why I couldn''t teach Ross business. He had to figure it out for himself.


    After my exnation, someone knocked on the door. I froze for a split second then checked the time. Leah and Veirya shouldn''t have been back yet at this hour. Surprised, Ross stood up, intending to get out of my way. Anna opened the door. Edward''s blonde hair immediately stole the limelight. He gave Anna a small bow: "Hello, Miss Anna. May I ask if Mr. Lin is home?"


    "Sir Lin is home."


    Anna turned around to me. I dispassionately nodded to indicate that she could let him in. Anna made way. Edward removed his cloak and scanned the interior of the house. He then smiled to me: "Mr. Lin, I do not see your daughter this time."


    "Leah and Veirya have a ss together in the afternoon. Veirya teaches Leah swordy every afternoon. I suggest you best not disturb them."


    "Does she? Leah is still just a young girl. Is it really wise for her to be learning swordy? Also, I feel that there is no need to learn swordy anymore."


    "As Veirya''s daughter, she must know how to wield a sword. It has nothing to with necessary or unnecessary. Additionally, as she is a girl, I cannot protect her forever. Only by learning to use a sword can she put men with crooked thoughts their ce." I narrowed my eyes and went on, "What, you came here just to inquire about my daughter? That''s unlike you, Edward. Or, did you want to talk to me about what we discussed in the morning? I''m sure I made myself clear enough in the morning."


    "Yes."


    Edward ignored Ross and sat down opposite me. Ross awkwardly lingered, unsure if he could stay. I made a hand gesture to tell him to do as he liked, and he chose to stay.


    "I still don''t n to join you in the coal mine. To word it differently, I don''t trust you. I''m sure you have a hidden agenda. I just want to lead a peaceful life now. I don''t want to be taking risks again."


    "I know. You told me in the morning already. For that reason, I''ll just say this: since you don''t want to participate in the coal mine, can you invest some money to join us? The miners are asking for a raise, which is the reason the mine has been left idle. I don''t have much money. As such, I need your assistance."


    "Mm¡­"


    I recalled the workers'' letters, but I never read them. Maybe they were writing to me about the raise. I definitely didn''t want to get involved with the coal moan, and I had no intention of taking it. My original n was merely to acquire all of the shares. There was no way I was going to be responsible for managing it. I wanted passive ie; I had no desire to manage it. If he just wanted me to make an investment, then I could ept that. I would be a shareholder once I invested, thereby allowing me to get a loan from the bank with the share as coteral. Subsequently, I could buy the other shareholders'' shares.


    Coal was bound to make money; everyone knew that. The issue was that managing it would require painstaking efforts.


    "So, what''s the lowest investment?"


    I didn''t want the fly to keep harassing me, so I decided to drop some money so that he would bugger off.


    "Mm, just one thousand gold coins will suffice. One thousand gold coins will give you about twenty percent of the shares. As for the specific number, I will tell you once I do the calctions. You will receive an annual bonus every year, and you will be able to freely trade shares every year hereafter. That''s fine," Edward enthusiastically promoted.


    I had Ross bring over a sheet of paper. I gave Edward a thousand from the six thousand that I made off the businessmen. I wasn''t certain how much profit I''d earn from one thousand gold coins. Either way, I knew that I had managed to earn myself peaceful days. That was enough for me.


    I didn''t know what Edward currently had in mind, but as long as I didn''t get involved, I wouldn''t have anything to do with it, would I? Even if the coal quarry fell on its head, I''d only lose a thousand gold coins. That was nothing major. As long as I wasn''t involved, I should be able to wee a temporary period of peace.

 Chapter Volume 7 17

    <i>Family</i>


    "Papa!"


    Leah extended her hand out of the bathtub, revealing her body to me. Veirya, who sat opposite me, calmly turned around. I gently cleared my throat then wrapped Leah in a big towel. Leah grabbed onto my shoulders for support and walked along Veirya''s thigh to get out. I gently dried Leah''s hair with the towel.


    "Leah, head up and prepare for bed. Papa wille up after a bath."


    "Okay." Leah jogged upstairs.


    Veirya stood up from the water. She copied Leah, extending a hand out to me. I cracked a helpless smile. Despite having some muscle and wounds, her body was still seductive, consequently entrancing me for a brief moment. I draped the towel over Veirya. As she leaned forward I could feel those tips¡­ She, however, wasn''t bothered. She hooked her arms around my neck and got out. Chin raised, she demanded, "I also want. You to dry my hair."


    "Which exalted household do you hail from?!" eximed Angelina. "It''s really disgusting to be acting coquettish when you have an emotionless look, you know?"


    "No, I think it''s cute."


    I dried Veirya''s messy hair for her. Her uneven hair due to the fire incident didn''t bother her. After I dried her hair, she picked up her ring from the table with the utmost caution and wore it on. It was almost bedtime, yet she still didn''t want to have her ring out of sight for a single moment. I was genuinely delighted to see her cherish the ring so much. That was the Veirya I liked.


    Anna handed Veirya a cup of strong wine. Drinking alcohol was, perhaps, Veirya''s only hobby. She knocked back the drink then shook her body out.


    "So. Do you need me. To do anything else?"


    "No. You can go sleep now. I''m going to take a bath and then turn in, as well."


    With the corner of her lips tugged up, Anna inquired, "Sir, do you need me to prepare you a drink?"


    "No. Tea will do."


    Anna then joined Ross and moved the barrel and poured it out. I dare say lots of valuable contents to creeps were lost in that water. After all, it was water Veirya and Leah bathed in¡­


    Angelina, who was first to finishing bathing, was amidst rxing a fruit wine session at the dining table. In front of her were fruits that weed in the cool breeze. I sat opposite her and poured myself a cup of tea. She set her cup down and gave me a smile: "This is the first time we''ve had such a rxing environment in months, huh?"


    "Yeah."


    Ever since the fire that night back then, I practically had no peaceful days. After eliminating the chapel, humanity attacked the elves. After Queen Sisi went and got herself destroyed, I had to get engaged with Lucia, only for that to end up putting my love with Veirya in the bnce. Next, Queen Sisi and I began an amorous rtionship that was an ordeal to end and bring in this time of peace in my life.


    "You declined Edward, did you? I don''t understand your reason for doing so, but I can tell you turned him down from the way he keepsing and going. If I''m correct, he came from the imperial capital to offer to work with you, right? Are you enjoying this life you have at the moment?"


    "I''d say so. After going through so much, I crave this sort of lifestyle. I know that I don''t need to do anything or obtain anything. Nheless, I''m quite happy with this carefree life," I answered with my pursed lips curved up.


    Angelina picked up her cup of wine and drank it in one go. She stood up without a word. Ross and Anna moved the barrel back to its original ce and filled it up. They lit up a fire underneath. Before I could give them my thanks, I suddenly heard someone shuffling with their clothes. I cast my gaze in the direction of the sound to be treated to Angelina''s gorgeous back. She didn''t have an excessive amount of scars. Her back was alluring and enchanting. She ignored my gaze and calmly undressed in front of me. She even turned her head to give me the tender smile of a woman. Finally, she climbed into the water that was supposed to be for me.


    Ross stood stiff in ce with firewood in hand, not knowing what to do. Anna covered his eyes. Then, she took the firewood from him and quickly had him leave. Angelina stretched her limbs out in the most rxed fashion ever. Without a single care in the world, she opened her legs, putting one on each side. If you were to look at her front on, her legs resembled the letter ''M''. There was nothing that wasn''t visible. I knew that I should bend over¡­ as it would hurt immensely, otherwise¡­


    "You''re not actually a good liar. Your body is always honest as can be. Like, right now. You always im that you love my daughter, but my body has conquered your mind. You said you''re happy at the moment, yet there''s no joy in your eyes."


    "They''re two different things¡­"


    I turned around to calm myself a little. Angelina alwaysunched surprise attacks, thereby leaving me lost for what to do¡­ She giggled, but didn''t say anything. Instead, she pulled her legs back in and smiled: "So, let''s bath together. I want to try it again, too. Having said that, I can''t guarantee that I''ll keep my hands to myself. You''ll feel gross if you don''t bath, however, huh?"


    "Veirya is going to end me if she catches us."


    "I think this will cheer you up somewhat. You''re not happy in the least right at the moment, after all."


    "Says who? Why are you sounding as if you know me better than my mom knows me? I think I''m happy. I''m genuinely very happy with my current wife! I''m being absolutely honest!"


    Angelina frustrated me for some reason. She let me finish what I said before contesting, "You can go ask Leah. Ask her. Ask what she thinks of the current you. If you''re genuinely happy as you say, would she be so anxious to cheer you up?"


    I suddenly found myself shut down for I had no argument.


    "You''re not happy you''re just afraid. You''re afraid because your errors could cost Veirya and Leah. You''re suppressing your desires and staying here. In reality, you want to do something as always, right?''


    I still gave no reply. I didn''t know how Angelina saw through me. I couldn''t see my face. I inwardly questioned, "Is my smile really devoid of joy? I don''t know. How do Veirya and Leah see me at the moment? Am I that easy to read now?"


    "No matter what you say, I can''t gamble with their futures now. I have no right to ruin their lives. They like this life. This life suits them better. I can''t ruin their lives for my own selfish desires. I won''t do that."


    "Really?" asked Angelina. She giggled. "People say that marriage is a man''s grave. I guess you just proved it. Previously, you wouldn''t hesitate for a moment as long as there was just that smidge of hope left. What about now? You''re so busy with worrying about losing that you can''t think about what you could gain. Surely you''ve thought about what you could gain if you seed this time."


    Indeed, I had. Or rather, if I acquired the coal mine, I would essentially have the empire''s lifeline in my hands. I couldn''t say for sure how much that''d be worth as it was impossible to assign a value to it. In essence, the entire empire would be under my control. Nevertheless, if I had to choose between the coal mine and Veirya and Leah, I would choose Veirya and Leah without a thought. That''s why didn''t want to get involved.


    "You''ve climbed into your grave too soon. You''re still young. If you give up on everything now, it would be a waste. You need to believe in yourself. You must bear one thing in mind: if a man has given up on everything, what is he left with? What about afterwards? What would you have in the end? Only your regret, I bet. To that end, don''t let yourself regret it. There''s no need to worry about Veirya and Leah. They don''t want their current life; what they want is just you. If the two of them be the reason you give up on everything, they''ll regret it along with you in the future. Therefore, you best do as you want."


    "I know."


    "Obviously, you might regret listening to me. In my opinion, you need to consult Leah and Veirya. I''m an outsider. You three are a family. Or, did you want to be family with me, too?"

 Chapter Volume 7 18

    <i>Trust</i>


    I kept feeling something warm, moist and heavy rubbing my belly at night. I opened my eyes and looked down. I saw Leah''s silver hair. She sat on my belly and slid up and down it. Noticing me wake up, she giggled. I seemingly detected a tinge of bashfulness from her giggle.


    "Leah, what are you doing?"


    "Leah wants to cheer Papa up, so Leah is trying this method. Sophia said that this would make you happy, but do you genuinely feel happy, Papa?"


    Leah continued to slide along my hip and belly. If she understood what the action meant and did it on the right spot, yeah, the person on the bottom would most probably be delighted. However, pure Leah was uneducated on what the real meaning behind the action was. As a result, she interpreted it as shifting back and forth on my hips. The thing was, that wouldn''t make me happy¡­


    I grabbed Leah hips and moved her aside.


    "Papa, are you really not happy?" Leah hugged me and asked.


    I smiled back: "Hmm? Is Papa not happy? There hasn''t been any troubletely, right? Papa is happy; you don''t need to worry about Papa."


    Leah blinked. Though she was in her adult form, she still wore a child''s unhappy gaze: "Papa, you are lying. Leah can sense whether Papa is happy or not. Papa does not smell happy. Papa was happy only at the beginning, not now. Papa doesn''t smell happy anymore. Papa is lying to us."


    I fell silent for a brief moment. I caressed Leah''s head and kissed her cheek: "¡­ Leah, don''t tell Veirya."


    "Why, Papa? Aren''t we family?" asked a confused Leah. "Leah is sure that Mama Veirya also cares about Papa. Why can''t we tell Mama Veirya? Papa, if you are not happy, shouldn''t you let us cheer you up? Leah promises to be a good girl!"


    "So¡­ you were such a good girl to cheer Papa up, were you?" I caressed Leah''s head: "Papa has failed because Papa made you worry. Don''t worry, however, Leah, Papa will soon adjust. There''s no need to worry."


    Leah responded with a firm nod: "Uhm!"


    Snuggled up in my arms, Leah touched my face with a smile: "Leah will always be with Papa! Papa doesn''t need to worry about Leah. Leah will be fine as long as Leah is with Papa. It doesn''t matter where we live. Leah wants to see Papa happy, not downhearted Papa."


    I gave Leah a kiss on the forehead and ended the conversation there. Leah gradually fell asleep, but sleep eluded me for the rest of the night. The moonlight in the dark sky outside the window and the first rays of sunlight mixed together, forming a new colour.


    I contemted, "What exactly should I do now? Am I really that unhappy? What do I want deep down? What should I be thinking about? Isn''t everything that I fight for to put a smile on Leah''s sleeping face? Isn''t that what I truly want to protect? Although Leah said she''d be fine living anywhere with me, as her father, shouldn''t I provide her with arge house that has arge garden? I have what I wanted to give her, so is there any need for me to gamble with anything?"


    I shut my eyes and fastened my arms around my daughter. Whether I was happy or not was of no importance. I could live happily however life treated me, but Leah couldn''t. I couldn''t gamble with her future. The current life she had was earned through several ordeals. I couldn''t be so selfish.


    "Why can''t I get rid of the numbers, coal mine and Edward''s financial records book from my mind?" I asked myself.


    "People say that marriage is a man''s grave¡­"


    "You''ve climbed into your grave too soon¡­"


    I mused, "Have I already climbed into my grave? I''m not even thirty yet. Am I going to climb into my grave already? I admit that there''s a part of me that doesn''t want to end it here¡­ Why am I by Veirya''s side now? Why am I able to be by her side? Additionally, do I have enough money to provide Leah and Veirya with a happy life? Is this enough money? If I quit now, will I be able to provide them with a life that is good enough? Angelina is also right. Is this really the Lin Dongqing that Veirya wants?"


    I don''t know if I slept that night or not, but I realised something that night. I woke up when the sun was up. I gently pulled the nket up for Leah then made my way downstairs.


    Anna and Ross were already busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen. After Ross joined us, Anna had managed to offload her workload by a decent amount. She smiled when she saw me: "Sir, you sure are up early today. Is something the matter?"


    "No, nothing. I just have something on my mind."


    I sat down at the table with a smile. Veirya openly opened the door and came in from outside, wiping her hair and dusting tree leaves off her. She gave me a small nod: "A little early. Today."


    "Did you go for a morning run?"


    "Lord Veirya goes for runs daily. It is just that she is usually back before you wake."


    "Really¡­?"


    I regarded Veirya with my eyes. Her scent was more prominent thanks to her sweat.


    "Do you. Have something. You want. To say to me?"


    "¡­ Yeah. It''s about the coal mine. It might be worth lots of money. I want to try my luck at it, but that means I''ll have to be running around away from home. I might even have to drop by the imperial capital and gamble everything we currently have for money¡­"


    The more I divulged, the more I regretted divulging it and the more I was reluctant to continue and the more I was reluctant to continue parting with Veirya.


    Veirya didn''t give me any reaction until I was done for a while.


    "Got it. So. Be careful. When you go. To the imperial capital. Do you need me. Toe with you?"


    Hearing an unexpected response, I asked, "Veirya, do you actually understand what I just said?"


    "No. But. I trust you."

 Chapter Volume 7 19

    <i>Bird Cage</i>


    Perhaps Angelina was right, in that I wasn''t someone who could sit still. When I decided to y Edward''s game, it was as if flowers in a dull garden had bloomed. I had my beloved woman and daughter. I was able to blissfully stay by their sides. However, after finally having something to do, I was extremely excited. You could say that I was finallyplete.


    I had to make a trip to the city. I wanted to spend more time with Leah and Veirya, so I never went. As I decided to join the party, though, I had to go and get and loan with the share I had. Next, I needed to hold a shareholders meeting. I needed to know how many shares each person possessed. I could buy as much as they had. Selling shares was a concept that had yet to exist in this world, so there was no odd lot sold on the market. That being the case, I needed to talk to the businessmen, and buy the coal.


    "I need to make a trip to the city. Before Edwardes looking for me again, I need to head into the city. It shouldn''t take long. I''ll take Ross along to let him gain some experience. Leah, Veirya, you two stay at home. I''ll be back soon." I exined my intention to Leah and Veirya at breakfast.


    Leah froze at first but then smiled with joy: "All right, Papa. Leah will be a good girl."


    "You. Must. Be careful." Veirya hesitated for a moment before speaking. Apparently, she needed to pick and choose her words for just that.


    I gave them a nod.


    Ross'' ears instantly stood up and almost dropped the bread. He trembled: "What¡­? Y-You want to bring me?! You are bringing me?!"


    "Yes. You need to experience it in the flesh. Otherwise, you want be able to stay calm in their presence, in turn making it impossible for you to be a good businessman. You''re not some servant; you''re now my pupil. They consider you one of the best pupils. Have some confidence in yourself."


    Ross was actually a quick learner and toiled diligently withoutining. While he wasnky and frail, he neverined to Anna. He did his best toplete all of the tasks Anna assigned him. If Ross wasn''t Achilles spy or whatever but a disciple I took in, I''d definitely appreciate the diligent cat.


    "You truly cannot sit still," remarked the Elven Queen, who sat next to me, giggling as she pressed her hand on mine.


    I noticed Leah''s odd expression. Veirya stared at us the entire time, too. I caught a glimpse of the spreading knife in her hand¡­ I was seriously worried that she might suddenly nail my hand onto the table with it¡­


    "If I sit still, we might no longer have what we have."


    I carefully pulled my hand out. The elven pursed her lips into a smile and said no more.


    "I. Think it''s better. That I follow you."


    "Who will take care of Leah if youe, as well?"


    I hopelessly smiled. Leah and Veirya could remain rational beside me, but I couldn''t remain rational around Veirya. I never knew why. Fear, perhaps? If Veirya and I left, Leah would revert to her yandere mode. That''s not to mention what Sophia had taught her. She might really do something¡­ If I brought Leah and Veirya along, conversely, what would that be considered? I should be focussing on business, not a family vacation. At the very least, I must show respect.


    Veirya nodded. We finished breakfast. I wasn''t in a rush. I had enough time to think and write Sisi a letter. It was best that I had Sisi behind me as my shield because I''d be in peril when the businessmen were incensed.


    I rejected Sisi, but I trusted she wouldn''t harm me. I knew she loved me. Yes, taking advantage of her love wasn''t exactly nice, but I pledged my loyalty to her in return. I was definitely going to move to the imperial capital after this job to protect her and acquire everything she wanted. I knew that I was trying to justify my actions. Unfortunately, that was the best I could do.


    Sitting at the table, I considered what the biggest threat I could face was.


    I analysed, "Will Achilles get involved? What about the bank? Achilles isn''t an issue, so the biggest issue is the bank president. I know for sure Edward took a loan from the bank using his own shares. Assuming the bank president has realised the potential gains - which I''m certain he has - he''ll join the fray in his own name. He wouldn''t be short on money. How should I get that conniving president? How many shares would he have?


    "Odd lots are easy to obtain. I''d just need to create the impression that workers couldn''t get to work on the mine and it was about to go bankrupt. That would result in lots of smaller business demanding Edward to refund their shares. If that happened and Edward didn''t have enough to refund them, he''d be done for. Every business has the right to refund their shares as long as they give up on the year''s profit. Edward would have to pay cash. If he didn''t, thew and the chamber ofmerce would punish him. He''d lose everything as a businessman. ordingly, Edward has to enough money to get through the ordeal. That would make it the best opportunity for me to strike.''


    "My most useful weapon at the moment is my five thousand gold coins. It''s difficult for businessmen to get five thousand gold coins in cash. Despite Achilles being excellent in business, not even he would be able to whip out enough cash in one go. I, however, have enough to procure arge number of odd lots.


    "As long as I can stop the coal mine from being sold or they can''t make money from it, then everything should fall into ce. That will lead to the businessmen abandoning their shares. Now, how do I sell the coal? What do I do? I need to think of something. Stopping them from extracting coal is out of the question for that would be too obvious."


    I exited my thoughts upon hearing knocks at the door. Anna opened the door. Edward came in with a sack. As soon as he entered, his eyes started scouring the interior. Coincidentally, Leah happened to be cheerfullying downstairs with books in hand. The cheerful girl wanted to run up to me and have me spoil her before leaving. As soon as she saw Edward, she quickly turned into a ssy girl as the diplomat taught her. She bunched up her skirt and made a small bow with a smile: "Good morning, Mr. Edward."


    Edward cleared his throat and averted his gaze. He responded in a quiet voice, "Uhm, good morning."


    Leah gave me a kiss on my cheek and smiled: "Papa, I shall go and study now."


    "Uhm, go on, Leah."


    I rubbed Leah''s head then kissed her forehead prior to her leaving the room. Edward stared at her back for a long time. I didn''t particrly care since Leah was a subus; plus, she had be more and more charming recently. I didn''t me him.


    Edward turned around and ced the sack on the table. I gave him a grin: "What, you want to bribe me now? I doubt you know what I want, though, right? What I want is Leah and Veirya. I don''t need you to give me anything."


    "That''s why I did not buy anything for you," replied Edward. He chuckled as he took out a few bits of aesthetic material from the sack. With a smile, he exined, "I brought this from the imperial capital. It is the best material around. This beautiful material suits your wife and daughter''s beauty. This is not for you; it is for your wife and daughter."


    "Yeah? Well, I shall ept it on their behalf."


    It was totally fine for me to ept some material. I wasn''t an official. Therefore, it wasn''t illegal for me to ept bribes. Such small gifts between businessmen weren''t considered capital. Additionally, the act of epting it was a hint for Edward. Basically, I hinted that I might ept his proposal.


    Unsurprisingly, Edward chuckled: "Can I understand that as you having changed your mind? I do not know the reason, but you seem to be willing to budge now."


    "I have to put food on the table for the family, after all. I''m also a shareholder now. Give me your book. While you''re at it, I hope you can set up a meeting to let me meet the others. I need to get acquainted with them. I''m fine with meeting them in the imperial capital or whatever, but I must see them."


    "Easy done. In saying that, you might have to make a trip to the imperial capital. If you were there, things would be much easier."


    "I''ll go, eventually."


    Edward was on cloud nine, convinced I fell for his trap.


    "Is his n to let me get involved with his business? This is an extremely profitable business. Why¡­ is he letting me in¡­?" I deliberated.


    ========


    Imperial capital.


    Birdy, Birdy, I love watching you fly. I love your look when you fly freely, but I like seeing you weep in my hands better¡­ Come¡­ let me pluck all of your feathers so that all you can do is quiver and weep in my hands¡­


    Come, Birdy¡­e¡­ I''ll hug you. I''ll give you all of my warmth! Come! Come! Little Birdy! I''ve prepared a cage for you! Hurry on in!

 Chapter Volume 7 20

    <i>Steam</i>


    The book clearly recorded who Edward received money from and how much. He had a good habit of keeping his books clear and orderly. That was an important practice for businessmen. In order to avoid writing the wrong number, he used two different writing styles. I could see that he treated his records with equal importance as his life. Given that he sold his wife and child, it was clear to see that business was everything to him.


    I also recognised that the shares for the coal mine were rather dispersed. Nobody had more than thirty percent of shares. Among them was Achilles, who only had twenty percent. Thus, it was evident that even Achilles had his suspicions about the business and didn''t dare to invest his fortune. As for the others, lots didn''t even have one percent. Fundamentally, they only invested several hundred gold coins. Nevertheless, they were not to be undermined.


    In this nation, one gold coin was enough for an ordinary family to survive for half a month. All of our assets in the Northbined didn''t even add up to three thousand gold coins. In other words, if Veirya sold her ruling rights, she would only receive three thousand gold coins, max. Hence, the entire coal quarry''s price had been inted excessively.


    ording to my calctions, the quarry was worth about fifty thousand gold coins. Edward was surely the major shareholder. Howbeit, that is under the context that we calcted it using subtraction. Else, Edward wouldn''t have fifteen-thousand gold coins.


    It was hard to determine if the value of the coal had been inted or deted. The main thing was whether or not it could rake in a profit of fifty thousand gold coins. Coal was just a mmable. If the steam engine gained poprity, the price of coal would soar. The coal mine would, therefore, be able to gain a value of fifty thousand. Now, if nobody thought well of coal, lots of people might not get their investment back (Author note: Whether the value of an enterprise has been inted or deted can be calcted using a finance method, but it won''t be described here).


    The steam engine was a newmodity. Nobody knew how it''d perform. The main thing was if it could be usedter on. Whether or not it would be useful would depend on the apaniment work. It needed time to garner attention. At the moment, nobody was sure what the potential of coal was. Edward most probably hoped that Queen Sisi could encourage the production of steam engines and its usage.


    So, is coal really worth so much? I knew the answer to the question. Nheless, as aforementioned, what was truly worth money was the steam engine, not the coal. Would Queen Sisi promote steam engines? No idea. With that said, I felt that there was a need to exin its usage to her.


    I needed to inform Queen Sisi of the value of science. As long as she could convince the entire nation to promote steam engines, then the price of coal would increase exponentially in an instant - unless a new coal mine was discovered.


    ***


    "Oh, my beloved citizens, this must be your first timeing here. This is also my first time meeting you all here. I would like to wee you," Sisi rose to her feet to address.


    There were young ones and elders, all incredibly nervous people, sitting at the circr table in the imperial pce. They all wore their best clothing. Unfortunately for them, their clothes could only be considered clean and tidy, not aesthetic. In fact, lots of them had a weird stench on them. Their hands were decaying, causing some weird colour that was different to that of their arms to grow out. Some had missing fingers.


    They were people who were originally separated by the city wall. In other words, they lived in a segregated zone away from others. They had never had the privilege of having the Queen''s gaze on them. They were kept at a far distance when Queen Sisi toured her city. Their suburb smelt foul. Naturally, Queen Sisi wouldn''t approach it, either. People in the imperial capital were prejudiced towards.


    Sisi didn''t show any disgust for them. Beaming, she continued, "You know what I saw in you? Hope. You are humanity''s hope and the reflection of money. I know what you are worth. You aren''t the greedy and sick alchemists that I heard of in stories as a child. You''re just a group of schrs who research things that others can''tprehend. In essence, you are in the same group as my cultural and music departments. The difference is, I see more hope in you."


    Everyone at the table exchanged nces with each other. As a matter of fact, an elder cried tears of appreciation. They were d that a Queen, for the first time, was willing to open her arms and treat them friendly when they had already gotten used to being looked down on, marginalised and ndered with fabricated stories.


    "And so, I want to let you know that after a week of contemtion, I have decided to establish a science department. Was that how you pronounce it? Isn''t that what you''ve always referred to yourselves as? Henceforth, you shall work for me as vassals. I will renovate your residential area and turn it into my science department. You can continue conducting your research there. In addition, I will erect a school for your usage next to the imperial pce to allow you to continue to foster your pupils."


    Queen Sisi watched the touched crowd whisper among themselves and chuckled: "With that said, do not get excited yet. Prior to carrying out the work, I need to inform you of something, which is that I need you to design something for me. Here, look, this is the new toy I want. In other words, this steam engine. It''s pointless for me to have something on its own. I need you to design it. Take a look, and tell me where this can be put to use. I want to use everything a monarch needs most in this world: power."


    The so-called alchemists, con artists, pests, dangerous individuals, stood up. From that day forward, they had an official title - Queen Sisi''s scientists.


    When science was still a brand new term, Queen Sisi established the empire''s first science department. At the time, there weren''t even thirty scientists. Nevertheless, it was they who nted the seeds. Needless to say, we are now talking about the future.


    At the time, I wrote two letters to Sisi. One informed her of my strategy, and the other asked her to promote the usages of steam engines for me. I didn''t promote steam engines purely for humanity''s future and technology but solely because I realised how much money I could rake in from it.

 Chapter Volume 7 21

    <i>Loan</i>


    Sisi ced down the letter in her hand and lied back on her bed. She waved the letter around, imitating a white bird flying. She rolled around on her bed out of joy. Then, she slipped the letter under her pillow and kissed her pillow.


    Ady-in-waiting watching on had no clue what happened to Queen Sisi. Concerned, she asked, "Your¡­ Majesty?"


    "Oh, don''t worry about me, hehehe. It''s just that I don''t know what happened with Little Doggy. I just know that I understand him. He''s not the type who can handle loneliness and depression. He''ll definitely walk into my trap, and he''s already begun putting in the work. The harder he tries, the closer he will be in contact with me. I don''t need to lift a finger now. All I need to do is wait for Little Doggy to return to me! It''s good news, isn''t it? Isn''t it?"


    "It is," answered thedy-in-waiting, in spite of not knowing if that was the correct answer or not.


    Smiling from ear to ear, Queen Sisi rolled over and muttered to herself, "Little Doggy would never imagine that everything he''s now doing is sending himself to me. My ns have never failed. This time, I''ll definitely have Little Doggy! And, this time, it''ll be forever. I''ve already set everything up, but he''s still in the dark. Little Doggy only amounts to so much. Little Doggy will be mine."


    ***


    I didn''t dally for long. I went straight to the city. The front of the grandiose bank was still as packed asst time. There were still a fair number of dwarves. However, I doubted Francis woulde again. If he dared toe again, I''d have him crawl out, if even that. I didn''t have Veirya this time, so if I wanted, I could even con him of his briefs.


    Lots of people were busy with jobs. I waited for a while before someone finally approached me. It wasn''t the same person asst time, but he, too, had bags under his eyes that were so dark that he looked as though he''d drop dead at any moment. He put down a book and opened it. He then sighed, "Let us begin, then. Mister, may I ask what business you are here for?"


    "I want to take out a loan with coteral."


    "That will not be an issue. Please tell me what you will be using as coteral, how much you n to loan, for how long and how you would like to repay it. We have annual and monthly repayment ns."


    By the sounds of it, he must''ve dealt with countless simr cases and, consequently, was well-trained in dealing with them. This time, though, I wanted to use something different as coteral, namely shares to the coal. I bought the shares for a thousand gold coins. Logically, I should be able to loan one-thousand gold coins for it, but the challenges were him and the bank, in the sense that do they have interest and hope in coal.


    Not everyone believed in coal yet as I said. To add, steam engines had yet to be promoted. As such, the question was whether or not these people would feel that coal was worth fifty thousand gold coins. If they didn''t think so, they wouldn''t evaluate my shares to be worth one thousand gold coins, consequently meaning no loan for me.


    "My coteral is something called shares, which is twenty percent of the coal at the mine on the mountain in the North. I bought the shares with one thousand gold coins, so I hope to loan one thousand gold coins. I will receive a bonus from it annually, which I will use to repay the interest of my loan."


    "Is that right?" Evidently uneducated, he flipped through his book and scratched his head. He muttered to himself, "A mine? There are minerals on the mountain now? I don''t know¡­ How much is it? Erm¡­"


    He stood up and gave me a small bow: "Sorry, Mister. I truly do not know how much the mineral is worth. I need to ask my superiors. Oh, right, do you know who the mine belongs to?"


    "Edward from the imperial capital. I believe that you will understand once you send someone to the imperial capital to inquire. While I am here, let me introduce myself. My surname is strange by your standards. It''s Lin. My name is Lin Dongqing. I know my name is weird. Even so, I hope you can pronounce it correctly. That will help you figure things out in the imperial capital."


    "Y-you are Mister Lin?! Y-you are Mr. Lin¡­? Umm, umm¡­ I apologise for being impolite, Sir. I never met you. I have only heard of your name. I have never met you¡­ I did not recognise you¡­"


    "Oh, really?" I asked with a smile. Curious, I asked, "How did you hear of me here? In any case, you''ve realised what sort of person I man, right? Do you understand the value of the mineral in my possession now?"


    "Yes. I have heard of you. However, businessmen do not speak very kindly of you. I remember our leader said that, if you were toe and ask for a loan with coteral, then we needed to be extra attentive with what you use as coteral. After all, it is not your first time tricking someone. You took off with the money used to reinstate Queen Sisi and have not repaid it."


    "¡­ How are you even able to keep your job here when you''re horrendous with words? Also, haven''t I already reinstated Queen Sisi? I didn''t waste that money."


    Things turned somewhat awkward¡­ I admit, I deceved a number of people, but I had a reason every time! Plus, that sum they gave me was to reinstate Queen Sisi. She''s already returned to her throne, so I didn''t waste it, technically speaking. All I did was take the spare amount. That said, nobody said I couldn''t take the sum.


    "Regardless, I hope you can wait for a bit. We will look more into your loan request. We have never heard of a mine; therefore, we do not know the value of the mine. We need to investigate it. Edward and your reputations are not particrly good among businesses. In saying that, Edward''s reputation is worse. We question if his mine is as much as imed."


    I nodded. I could understand the concern toward Edward. He sold his wife and daughter for money. It''s only right for them to suspect the value of his mine when he went that far for business. While the mineral exists, whether or not it can be traded is another big problem in itself.


    By the sounds of things, I wasn''t going to get my money today. I needed to wait for the bank to get back to me. I, therefore, got to my feet and gave the worker a smile: "Let''s do this: I know that you''ll look into it carefully, so I also know that I won''t be getting any money today or even days. So ordingly, I don''t n to wait here for nothing. I hope you can do me a favour and send the one thousand gold coins to Veirya''s estate in the North if you confirm it to be worth that much."


    "Are you going back?" questioned the worker. "Understood. We will do as per your request. We will look into the value of the mine, but you must bear in mind that our perception of a mine may be different to yours. There is a high likelihood that we do not evaluate it to be so valuable. If you want to take out a loan, you might not be able to loan one-thousand gold coins."


    "I understand, but I''m sure you''ll believe me."


    The reason for my confidence was that I was certain that Sisi would assist me. Rather, their investigation would provide me with the necessary time for my letter to reach Sisi. Given that Sisi loved me, she''d go to great lengths to promote steam engines. Once they gain poprity, coal, which powers the steam engines, would be priceless. That being the case, fifty thousand gold coins wasn''t a lot.


    There was enough coal ready to allow investors to earn back their investments. Fifty thousand gold coins was a sum that was enough to purchase half of the imperial capital. That wasn''t a steep price for the steam engines that were able to change the entire world.


    All I needed to do was await Sisi''smand. I also needed for my letter to reach her. Everybody needed time, except I needed it more.


    Backing me was Sisi. With power in my hands, it was obviously easy to acquire money. I was sure that my n was fail proof unless Sisi betrayed me. The chances of her betrayed me were zero, though. She''d help me even if it was in the name of repaying her debt for my help.


    I exited the bank. I was the one getting a loan, yet Edward looked more nervous than I did. I had no idea why. Edward was never one to care about people¡­


    "I failed. The bank needs to see if your mine is worth one thousand gold coins before they loan it to me, meaning I haven''t received the sum yet. I can go ahead once they''re done investigating, nheless. They''ll be sending it to my ce. Please go and make arrangements for me to meet all the shareholders. Anywhere will be fine."


    "All right. I will go and make the preparations. Wait for my letter. You might have to make a trip to the imperial capital."


    "Fine by me."

 Chapter Volume 7 22

    <i>Returning Home</i>


    Anna revealed a surprised expression when she opened the door: "Sir, are you back already?!"''


    "Why does it sound as if you don''t want me to be back?"


    I handed my cloak to Anna with a smile.


    "I meant, I am just bewildered somewhat. In the past, you would be out for three or four days beforeing back. I am d you are back, though. When you were out, Lord Veirya was quite anxious, leading to her pacing back and forth all the time," reported Anna, who dusted me. "It is only noon, so did you want a drink before turning in until evening? Or would you prefer tea as usual?"


    "A cup of tea will be fine. I need to write a letter. When I was away, did anyonee? I''m including elves, too."


    "You would be nervous if it was an elf, would you not?" answered Anna, with a shake of her head. She borated, "However, workers did visit. Due to your absence, though, Lord Veirya met with them. There appeared to be no progress, nevertheless. They said they would visit again soon."


    I stopped in ce: "Workers? What workers? Do we have workers at the town now? Also, if we do, tell them to see the ountant first. Don''t juste looking for us."


    "No, they seem to not be from the town but from the mine on the mountain. In my opinion, they were tense. I was never there, hence do not know what they talked about. I suppose it does not matter to Lord Veirya."


    Ross came in from outside as Anna and I spoke. He queried, "Sir Lin, your horse has been taken to its ce. Do you have any other orders?"


    "No. You can finish up for the day now, Ross. By the way, when I went to the bank, you were with Edward, weren''t you? What do you think of him as a businessman?"


    Ross lingered. The tips of his ears twitched a few times before he awkwardly replied, "Sorry, Sir Lin. Sir Edward does not seem to care for me¡­ I¡­ I did not have the courage to speak to him, either¡­ so¡­ so, I do not know¡­ Sorry¡­ Sir Lin. Have I embarrassed you?"


    "No, you''re fine. That''s Edward''s personality. He won''t spare a nce for anyone who doesn''t help him forward a goal. That''s how his life is. As a businessman, you could say that he''s a businessman through and through. He could give up everything for it and abandon anything deemed dead weight. He''s a true businessman, not me." I scrubbed Ross'' head and added, "Are you disappointed?''


    "No!!" asserted Ross, as he shook his head vigorously. "Sir Lin, you are more humane. I feel honoured to be with you!"


    "Haha." Iughed as I strolled into the house.


    Without surprise, the Elven Queen sat in the long corridor. Her loyal knight leaned on the same pir and watched over her Queen. This time, though, the fountain disyed a real rainbow flower. I spotted Veirya and Leah there. Leahughed cheerfully as she allowed the droplets of water to rain down. In her hand was the ck and white walking bird. It pped its wings and called out in simr fashion to a chicken. It seemed to enjoy the temperature of the water. Veirya stood in the water behind them and silently watched over them.


    Veirya and Leah''s thin clothes stuck to their body due to the water, thereby revealing Veirya''s curvaceous lines and Leah''s young beauty. Ross nkly stood in ce, wanting to look, yet not daring to. I covered his eyes and chuckled, then pushed him toward the house. He was my disciple, indeed, but I wasn''t sharing my wife with him. As for Leah¡­ if Leah liked Ross, then¡­ I¡­ as her father¡­ I''d strangle the runt to death. What''d you think I''d say?


    "Papa!!!"


    With an ted smile, Leah put ced the walking bird down and stepped out of the flower garden. She ignored the fact that she was wet from head to toe. Regardless, I hugged my daughter with a smile and kissed her cheek: "Papa is back!"


    "Uhm!"


    Leah sped my face. She left her footprint on my foot as her foot was muddy. The befuddled walking bird wobbled over to us. The heartless bird hadpletely forgotten who brought it here from the elvennds. However, it''d remember Lucia if it saw me, so¡­ I figured it''d be better for it to stay away from me¡­


    "Wee. Back."


    Veirya called out to me before getting close, apparently in an attempt to grab my attention before the Elven Queen could turn to face me. I finally noticed that she wasn''t wearing any pants. Presumably, she came out with her shirt to y in the water. Her two legs blinded me with the reflection of the sun. Okay, I could ept that¡­ but¡­ she didn''t even wear pants!!!


    I screamed, "Veirya, what are you doing?!!! Why are you out here without pants?!!!"


    I put Leah down and ran over to Veirya. I took off my outer coat and wrapped up her legs.


    "But now. I''ll get wet. Also. We''re at home. There are no outsiders."


    "You still can''t be undressed!! What if somebody doese?! I bet you didn''t even want to wear this shirt!! Thank you to whoever had you wear it!"


    Veirya still seemed baffled. ording to her perception, as long as she was bathing or showering, there was no need for her to wear clothes. She still hadn''t understood how important her body was. She titled her head and touched my face: "But. You''re back."


    I turned silly from worry. I sighed again, and all my anger dissipated. I cracked a smile: "Yeah, I''m back."


    "It is my turn now, right?" asked the Elven Queen from behind.


    I turned around to see Ciara help her to her feet. She faced our direction and bowed: "I am d you are back, My Lord. We all missed you."


    "Thanks."

 Chapter Volume 7 23

    <i>Workers</i>


    "Someone came. To look for you. Before¡­"notified Veirya, from behind while taking my outer coat from me.


    "I know. Anna told me. Do you know what he came for?"


    "They. Want me to go see the elves. To ensure their safety."


    Despite Veirya''s simple answer, I couldn''tprehend it. It wasn''t that I couldn''t understand what she said. I just couldn''t fathom what the workers were thinking. See, why would they wanted us to see the elves to guarantee their safety? In addition, their safety wasn''t my duty. I was never the person in charge of the mine. They should''ve asked Edward to help them address the safety issue. It was pointless to bring it up with me. To add, I didn''t think Veirya wanted to talk to the elves. After all, what happened between Veirya, the elves'' reigning Queen, Lucia, and I wasn''t exactly uh¡­ harmonious. Ever since what happened between us, I hadn''t dared to go near their forest. I was worried that they might kidnap me; I was more worried than the workers. At most, the elves would kidnap them to sell for money. If I was kidnapped, then my fate was sealed. I didn''t want to have anything to do with the elves.


    "Have the elves done anything recently?"


    Veirya pinched her chin: "¡­ No. I have not. Heard anything. If. The elves came here. What do. We do? Can I. Fight them?"


    I noticed the subtle change in Veirya''s expression after her question, which was why I didn''t waste a moment in responding, "It would be best if you could avoid a physical altercation. I''m not worried about them. You might get hurt, though."


    I used my desire for her safety to steer the discussion away. The moment elves are brought up, the atmosphere between us turns eerie. It was akin to a husband and wife speaking about their exes who they still had lingering feelings for. Topound the matter, this particr ex of mine hadn''t given up yet.


    "Leave the matter with the elves alone for the meantime¡­ Humans and elves haven''t signed a ceasefire agreement. It''s just a tacit ceasefire. If we don''t handle it well, we might incite another conflict¡­"


    As I previously stated. Elves and humanity didn''t have an official ceasefire in ce. Else, the coal mine sitting on the two races'' border was in a pickle. I didn''t know if the elves had threatened the workers or not. Without a ceasefire, either side could march their army across. The elves could infiltrate since it was a forest , capture the workers and sell them for money. And what could humanity do about it? I doubted Queen Sisi would march her army again for the workers. Sisi was in a financial crisis already due to the previous failure. If she failed again, the entire empire would go kapoof.


    I would be lying if I said I wasn''t worried about Veirya; the elves might very well purposely lure Veirya into an ambush. If Veirya initiated an attack, they could ambush her to kill or capture her. If I went to the elvennds again, it was a one hundred percent guarantee that I''d nevere back again. I wasn''t sure if it was Lucia''s newest scheme¡­


    Regardless of what Lucia wanted, I needed to counter the changes in circumstances. I nned to just up and leave for the imperial capital. As for the workers'' issue, I''d just handball it to Edward. Whether he decides to pull out his wallet to hire mercenaries, or coax the elves into staying in their ownne with money was none of my business.


    It was just a mine, yet they had to make things soplicated. I didn''t know what the elves were up to, nor did I know what had to be done to get the workers to get to work. Additionally, I still didn''t know what the stance of the other shareholders were. Whether or not the coal could be sessfully sold after it was extracted was a problem in itself. If it could be sessfully sold, then I had another problem to resolve, which was how to get the shareholders to give up their shares. I couldn''t ssh cold water in their faces right off the bat or fry Edward. When it was time for me to light the me, I needed have the pan in my hand so that I could fry a dish with the vour I desired.


    As we didn''t have the inte in this era, the speed at which news travelled was about as fast as horses could go. The letter I wrote to Sisi should''ve just about finally arrived in her hands now, and news from the imperial capital might take a long time to reach the North. By then, it''d be toote. I needed to pen a letter to Achilles in order to ensure that I could receive news from the imperial pce immediately. I believed that Achilles was the one closest to Sisi in my absence.


    Sisi''s response was the most important step in my n. Only after knowing her stance could I enact my n. Until then, I was a sitting duck.


    Once Sisi gave the order to invest into producing steam engines, the value of coal would finally be revealed. Once the value of coal was known, the bank would perceive my shares to be worthy as coteral, thereby giving me a sum of money. Next, I''d buy shares and pawn those shares for more money. Then, it became a process of rinse and repeat, allowing me to earn over and over. Further, due to the change in value, I would be able to loanrger sums from the bank using the shares. That wasn''t even all of it. Owing to thepetition between banks, the profitable coteral would make it a breeze for me to go between banks.


    In the end, I could pawn the right to the coal mine for fifty thousand gold coins. I could then either have Sisi give up on a steam engine policy or use her leverage her right tond to pass the mine to the nation. There was no chance the bank would dare to fight the Queen for the rights. As a consequence, the bank would go bankrupt. I would''ve fulfilled my duty. I wouldn''t have money to pay back my debt, so I''d have to turn over to the bank what I pawned for them to keep. Nevertheless, my hands would be off the case, and it would have nothing to do with me after Sisi took the rights to it.


    Alternatively, I could ask Sisi to give up on a steam engine policy as I mentioned. That was fairly unrealistic, having said that. Otherwise, I could find higher quality coal at a lower price, subsequently plummeting the value of the coal mine in the North. Once it did lose its value, though, it wouldn''t have anything to do with me because it was a fact that I had already gave them coteral of equal value. If the price of the coal mine dropped after they epted my coteral, that wasn''t my issue. Fundamentally, it would be a form of future contract. All could be said was that I ced my bet on its value depreciating.


    I didn''t particrly want the coal mine. The only reason I wanted the shares was to sell it off for a favourable price. Once I pocketed fifty thousand gold coins, I could go to the imperial capital and do whatever I fancied. The prerequisite was that I would need to make the value of the coal mine on the mountain depreciate; else, I wouldn''t have earned anything.


    Selling a coal mine worth fifty thousand gold coins for fifty thousand gold coins isn''t what a businessman should do. Any idiot could achieve that.


    Among all of the ideas I had, only one made the most sense. The best oue would be to find another coal mine through the dwarves. Then, I''d hide its existence to start with. Only at the end, once bank took the bait, would I reveal the new coal mine. The question was, would I be able to find another one? From the standpoint of the modern day paradigm, coal mines weren''t rare. Therefore, I deduced that it was quite possible to find another coal mine. What was most vital at present was to get the rights to the mine. There are plenty of chances for a slip between the cup and the lips. What would I do if somebody found another mine before me?


    Unfortunately, I still needed to do something about the workers even though I didn''t want to get involve. The workers didn''t make me wait long. I didn''t know if they had someone keeping an eye on our estate or what. As soon as I finished lunch and had only finished writing half of my letter, someone knocked. I asked Anna to have them wait for a bit and then swiftly finishedposing the letter. Ross put forward his best effort to blow the ink dry and sealed the letter in the envelope. While he took it to the deliveryman, I went downstairs.


    A man dressed in gunny cloth stood restlessly in the guest room. Perhaps his skin colour resembled soil due to a lot of work with Mother Nature, which could also exin his chapped and cracked skin. He squinted, presumably due to minimal sunlight exposure. He sped his hands so tightly that one would think he might squeeze a handful of soil out between them. By no ounts did I feel disgusted.


    "Please take a seat. Did you have something you wanted to say?" I revealed my usual smile and sat down opposite him.


    He gripped his clothes. Judging from his demeanour, he, presumably, didn''t often socialise with high-ranking figures or heavyweights. I invited him to sit, but he still sat in ce, refusing to budge. I didn''t care if he stood or sat, to be honest.


    "Whatever this is about, you need to tell me first. Whether something can be done or not is another story."


    "S-so, we are in your territory. We are workers nning to extract the ck stones from the mountain near the elvennds. Mm¡­ you should already know¡­ You know¡­ elves and humans had a fight, right¡­? Now¡­ Our camp¡­ is not safe¡­ because it is close to the elves¡­ At night, the elves seem to be around us. During the day, we can see arrows that had been shot onto the timber at the top of our tents. Food¡­ keeps getting stolen¡­ We do not dare to go out at night¡­ umm¡­ if possible¡­ Please ¡­ Please¡­ Please speak to the elves, so that we can work¡­"


    No surprises there. I touched my ears and questioned, "Look at my ears. Have a look. Are they long?"


    "N-no, they are not¡­ Mm¡­"


    "Exactly. They aren''t long."


    All I had to do was look to Anna for her to understand what my intention was. She approached to prepare to see our guest out.


    "I''m the same as you are. I''m also human. Why do you think that the elves will treat me kindly? Furthermore, if they want to take you hostage, wouldn''t I, a human, the person in charge of thend, be a better target? Trying to converse with elves is not wise. I can''t guarantee I can help you. The best I can do is get in contact with Edward. That''s the only thing I can do. You must understand that I have never hired you, and you have nothing to do with me. All of your requests should go to Edward, not me. I''d like to ask you to address your concerns and requests to the person responsible, not me."

 Chapter Volume 7 24

    <i>Revenge</i>


    "Your Majesty, the child has arrived. This is the child of a brave soldier who, unfortunately, lost his life. I am sure the same courageous blood flows through him. He has a noble soul, so, ording to traditions, the child will be left in your care to raise. We hope your virtue will carve the warrior''s descendant into an excellent man, providing elves with a splendid descendant."


    It was elven tradition to have the Queen adopt the child of a soldier who valiantly sacrificed his life on the battlefield because the Queen wasn''t allowed to marry¡­ Of course, Lucilia could marry, except she wanted to adopt a child due to a certain reason¡­


    The child in the priest''s arms looked around with puzzlement. The child lost his parents before he had grown up, but he was still unaware. In the future, however, histe parents would be brought up over and over, reminding him to never embarrass his deceased parents. Further, he would know that the Queen selflessly raised him. Despite that, not everybody cared about how the loss of his parents impacted him.


    The way Lucilia took the boy proved she wasn''t too familiar with holding children. Apuses to respect the warrior''s bravery and the Queen reverberated from below.


    The boy wondered why the girl was holding him. Lucilia''s eyes were slightly fuzzy. Perhaps her fondness for children developed as a result of having taken so many lives on the battlefield. She really wanted to have the right to hold a child the way she current did. However, she wanted to hold her own child more.


    Lucia wanted to have Lin Dongqing by her side while she held her child. Holding a child wasn''t the happiest feeling; the happiest feeling was holding her child while he held her. She did her very best to forget the fake love he had for her. s, she recalled all of it vividly when she held the child.


    "Your Majesty, please give the child a name. A name is very important for an elf. We h-"


    "Travor," blurted Lucilia, before the priest could finish.


    The priest was dumbstruck. As he said, names were important to elves. In their culture, owls weren''t a suitable for a child''s name as the animal was too dark and couldn''t express the virtue of elves.


    Lucilia stressed, "The child''s name shall be Travor. I like the name. It''s the name of the most brilliant and brave man I''ve ever met. I want this to be an elf who is equally remarkable, which is why he shall be called Travor!"


    "Th-then, Travor it is! Let us give our blessings to this child. This child lost his biological parents. Nevertheless, he has received the love of all elves. Henceforward, this child is the child of the elven race. From this day onwards, we shall all care for him. Let us pray to our forest and our goddess for him in hopes that he can be an outstanding elf who lives up to his parents'' greatness!"


    The elves lowered their heads and silently prayed for the elf. The priest didn''t know what exactly happened, in the sense that he didn''t understand the value of the name, but some knew. Those directly around Lucilia all knew what the name Travor represented. He was Lucilia''s first love, and the man she still loved deeply to this day. s, he abandoned Lucilia. Had it not been for Lucilia''s love for him, the elves would kill him even if he ran to the end of the world.


    Lucilia loved Lin Dongqing, yet he would never look at her again or even respond to a letter. It was too unfair for Lucilia to shoulder the torment and pain of their love by herself.


    "Lucilia loves you, which is why she won''t kill you; however, you put our Queen through a whirlpool of misery. Don''t think we elves will let you off scot-free," was a pledged that every elf who was privy to what happened swore.


    If Lucilia was a mere ordinary elf, things would be simple. She, nheless, was now the Elven Queen. Therefore, hurting her was the equivalent of showing contempt for elves'' dignity. Were elves people who could just be led by the nose without any repercussions? In what light would humans perceive elves if the incident was just ignored? Humans should''ve begun to fear the elves'' forest, not feel that they were people who could be fooled.


    "Lucilia loves you, but other elves don''t. You can be wayward with her, but not with us. Ever. Humans pay the price. Not every human must pay, but he must pay. Lucilia might not approve, but we can just not tell her," was the universal thought process floating around among those informed.


    The elves already had an idea, one that they didn''t n to share with Lucilia. The revenge n had already begun. The elves had their own agenda. Rather, they had an agenda long ago; they just didn''t act on it. How could they bear to watch Lucilia writhing in agony? It wasn''t just about loyalty but also sympathy.


    ***


    Arms folded, Edward confronted the workers'' representative in the north and pontificated, "I hired you to create value, not for you toe to me to ask for special treatment. You''re afraid of elves? Why are you afraid of them? You scared to die? If you don''t invest your life into the mine, you''ll still be wasting alcohol. Also, what would they achieve if they kidnapped you? How much money do you have for them? They''d lose money kidnapping you. What are you afraid of? I won''t ept your requests. If you don''t want to work, go home. There''s a line of people waiting to take your ces!"


    The moment the representative went to speak, Edward spun around. There was no discussion with him. He rejected all of their requests. If they were kidnapped, he wouldn''t spare a penny to help them. Actually, helping them wouldn''t even be on his agenda.


    What could they do? They couldn''t quit the job. Otherwise, everyone could work as miners in a world where all sorts of mines had popped up. They''d lose their jobs. Their only choice was to work on the mountains. It was either an ident in the mines or the elves'' malice.

 Chapter Volume 7 25

    <i>Prey</i>


    Achilles examined the drawing in front of him and subtly nodded: "Your Majesty, I understand now. I shall go and make the arrangements."


    "Good. I shall leave thend matter in your hands. That''s the block ofnd I want. I know that thend is being used to produce food at the moment, but I don''t understand science, so I won''t suspect them. As that is the block ofnd they have chosen, I shall trust them. With regards to the funds, let''s split it fifty-fifty between you and me. I shall take eighty percent of the profits after exclusion of cost, and the remainder shall be yours," stated Queen Sisi, sitting on an angle in her throne.


    Queen Sisi tasked Achilles with starting the textile factory that steam engines would power. The earnings were also based off profits. What did that mean? It meant that Achilles had lots of room to work with. When the time came, the cost would probably increase. Eighty percent of the profit would go to Queen Sisi, while he''d get to pocket the remainder.


    Queen Sisi never said such a thing before. In the past, the cost was never factored in. She just took eighty percent of the profits without considering the cost and left him with the remaining twenty. Whether or not it was enough wasn''t her concern. In essence, if he wanted to make more money, he either needed to find ways to cut down on costs or earn more.


    Even though Queen Sisi wasn''t business savvy, she knew how to make money better than your average retailer. You could also say that there was trust. The reason Achilles could stay with Queen Sisi wasn''t solely attributed to hispetence but also because he was still loyal to her without her having to keep tabs on him. Achilles was a terrific businessman; however, what Queen Sisi wanted wasn''t a business. She wanted a business who understood what she wanted and what they should do. Achilles ticked all of the boxes.


    Achilles stowed away the drawing. The drawing was a design of the textile factory. After getting everyone''s opinions and many amendments, they had the world''s first steam powered textile factory. Needless to say, the design had to be redone. Even then, they still might face problems. If they wanted the factory to be in operation, then there was a lot of tiresome work to do. Achilles calmly epted the task without anyment. Hence, the matter seemed settled.


    Achilles didn''t panic this time. As soon as he received Lin Dongqing''s letter, Queen Sisi called him over. He thought something was wrong. Fortunately, it was just an ordinary visit at the end.


    "Wait," called Queen Sisi, just as Achilles went to leave.


    A sick feeling visited Achilles'' stomach because his intuition told him that he didn''t want to hear what wasing. Queen Sisi''s light footsteps approached from behind. No, he wasn''t calm. He was just terrified. He couldn''t keep his heart rate under control as Lin Dongqing did when he was among a group of elves.


    "You¡­ received a letter from Dongqing, didn''t you¡­?"


    Queen Sisi gently leaned onto Achilles'' shoulder and worked her arms around his waist as if they were shackles. She slowly and gently gripped his neck. Next to his ear, she whispered, "You received his letter, didn''t you? You received a letter from my most beloved Dongqing, didn''t you¡­?"


    Achilles shuddered while his throat convulsed. Sounding as if he was replying to the devil who had a de sitting on his back, he answered, "¡­ Yes, Your Majesty¡­"


    Queen Sisi gently ran a finger on Achilles'' throat: "Hehehe, you understand, right, Achilles? I want to know what Dongqing said. Tell me. While I''m at it, I''d like to inform you that I don''t like Dongqing''s <em>personally </em>written letter to be with someone else¡­"


    Quavering, Achilles replied, "He¡­ asked me about the current state of affairs¡­"


    "I see¡­"


    Queen Sisi stepped back, relieving Achilles of the shock and tension of having guns aimed at him. That said, he still stood nkly in ce without moving. It wasn''t hot in the imperial capital nowadays, yet Achilles'' back was drenched.


    "Can I safely assume you know how to reply¡­?"


    Achilles spun around to see Sisi sporting her mischievous smile, though there was nothing else that was different about her.. She made no attempt to hide the malice that could burst forth from behind her smile; she''d most probably have him killed on the spot if there was a single lie from him.


    "I''d bet the only person who could lie to her in this situation is him," Achilles thought.


    "Your Majesty, are¡­ you sure you want to do this? Fooling Lin Dongqing¡­ is definitely not a good thing. It is too dangerous. Do you still not realise what the consequences for tricking him are? Are you sure about this? Honestly, it is not a good idea!"


    Though he didn''t say much, Achilles hesitated for a long time before he spoke. Queen Sisi tugged a brow up: "Achilles, you are one of the people he has fooled, but aren''t you alive right now? I know why. He knows that he''ll be fooled; however, he will never take revenge on those who fool him. The only time he retaliates is if you hurt his family. I don''t need you to tell me what to do. You just need to respond to his letter. Tell him what he wants to hear. At the same time, spread this news throughout the entire empire. You can''t boil a frog with lukewarm water. Only blistering oil can kill it!"


    "Yes, Your Majesty¡­"


    Achilles understood her. He wondered if Lin Dongqing rescuing Queen Sisi led to her bing even more fearless. Her personality didn''t change whatsoever after being taken prisoner. She was just as conceited as ever. After he rescued her from the elvennds, she became a headstrong woman who''d do anything for him, yet he took off and left the mess behind for Achilles and everyone else in the imperial capital. It, thence, was time for him toe back.


    Queen Sisi was a wild horse. A wild horse required skilled equestrian to rein her in. Even if that equestrian already had a steed he treasured, he was still needed back here to rein the wild horse in.


    ***


    Letters areparable to justice. When results are king, a letter that is missed bes worthless. That was why the news arrived with perfect timing. Although I had lied down on my bed already, I still took the letter Ross brought to me and delicately opened it under the me. Achilles writing was unexpectedly messy. Some letters had even been smudged. I, therefore, felt that Achilles must''ve rushed topose the letter and have it sent to me.


    By my standards, the letter was worth waking up for. Achilles roughly written letter told me exactly what I had in mind. Sisi went along with my request as I thought she would. She had begun to promote steam engines; the snowball had begun to roll.


    Steam power''s promotions were unlikely to have yet gone beyond the imperial capital''s walls. Thus, I still had plenty of time to do what I needed to do with the coal mine. I didn''t need to take the letter to the bank. They could sniff out money much more proficiently than I could. I just needed to wait, and money would be delivered. As a matter of fact, I should receive more than I imagined. Next, I nned to proceed as per the n I had in mind. Everything was going to go the way I wanted. On this battlefield, I was invincible.


    ***


    There were two words to describe how the businessmen felt: very perplexed. Normally, a Queen wouldn''t have any business in the middle of the night that required businessmen. She''d call for either the military or officials. Businessmen wouldn''t have anything so urgent that they were required at night. Furthermore, businessmen weren''t active at night; that was a rule for it was too easy to pull tricks at night.


    "You all understand what I want to do now, correct? My n has sessfully proceeded. As long as the n proceeds ording to my design, the man I love most will return to my side. The next step is in your hands. My lover has begun purchasing shares. Go and sell your shares to him. I need to stress that you mustn''t let him see through you. You must make him feel as though he must jump through a lot of hoops to buy your shares from you. Otherwise, he''ll catch on. Remember: you are facing off against the smartest man in the entire empire. In saying that, he''s also the most arrogant man. You must let him feel pleased and proud of himself. You can bribe and tter him. Most importantly, you need to make him happy."


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    The businessmen understood what Queen Sisi wanted.


    Even the best do not always attain perfect scores. Everyone had a weakness, and Lin Dongqing was no exception. Lin Dongqing''s weakness was arrogance.

 Chapter Volume 7 26

    <i>Arrogance</i>


    "Papa, you''re in a great mood!"


    At breakfast the next day, Leah, who held a big loaf of bread in her hands, happily weed me. She was right. As long as I was happy, Leah would be happy. I couldn''t say for certain if that was because we slept together every night, thereby gradually bringing us closer. It could be thought of as Leah digging her tentacles deep into me at night when I was sound asleep, maybe.


    Veirya gave me a small nod: "Did something good. Happen?''


    "I''m waiting for someone toe, actually." I bit off a chunk of bread.


    Angelinaughed: "Don''t get carried away. You''re a little different to how you were before now. Even the way you eat has changed. Who are you waiting for? You waiting for Lucilia toe fight for a man¡­? Okay, my bad. I shouldn''t have used that as a joke."


    Angelina quickly ended her joke the moment she noticed her daughter''s murderous gaze. Veirya emitted a cold aura but didn''t mention a thing.


    "Who are. You waiting for?"


    I had a hunch that Angelina''s joke raised rms. Anyhow, I exined, "The people from the bank in the city. The people from the building that we met Francis atst time when we went to the city. He''s supposed toe and deliver me money."


    "Did you do something good, Papa?" asked curious Leah. Though I was on cloud nine, she didn''t know the reason behind my good mood. "Papa, you haven''t done anything thest few days. Why would someone send you money? There is no free kind gesture in this world, so Papa must''ve done something, right?"


    Leah cleverly mixed in the elvennguage when she asked her question. I didn''t expect such a dramatic improvement from her. She stammered when trying to pronounce their words just days ago, yet was already able tobine humanity and elvennguages together smoothly. While I was aware that a father should feel proud that his daughter was so intelligent, a monstrous learning ability is, rightfully, terrifying.


    "No, Papa was at home, true, but Papa''s n was still proceeding. Sometimes, you don''t need to do anything yourself. One letter can change the entire world."


    For instance, Queen Sisi tore down the merchants'' alliance with simple letter. In fact, the letter wasn''t clear on anything. In the end, she never granted them the so-called mintage right.


    "What did Papa do, then?"


    Ross'' eyes flicked up, reacting as though he didn''t expect me to look to him. I touched his ear and questioned, "Ross, you''ve been with me the entire time. You can pretty much figure out what I''m trying to do, can''t you? I already told you the standards of businessmen, after all. I''ve made myself a profit this time. What did I buy for cheap and sell at a higher price?"


    <em>Plop!</em> Ross dropped his piece of bread into his bowl of soup. He began to fluster and then frantically look side to side. Unfortunately, there was nobody who''d give him a reminder or hints. I didn''t intend to give him the answer. If he wanted to be my pupil, he should know what I was doing. It wasn''t a challenging question. After I visited the bank, they were going to deliver money to me when I never gave them anything. At the same time, a letter came from the imperial capital, which I led to me feeling delighted after reading it. Recently, I had been doing things rted to the coal mine. It wasn''t rocket science to deduce my ns. If one couldn''t deduce my ns with that many clues provided, they were extremely unlikely to have any future in business.


    "Y-y-you are¡­ working on the coal mine¡­" Ross stuttered, while checking to see my response due to fear that he was wrong.


    I continued eating whilst sporting a poker face. I could maintain a stoic visage and control my heart beats in front of Lucilia, so would it even be considered a challenge to control my expression in front of a catman?


    "Then¡­ you¡­ you want to the bank¡­ Now the bank is sending money to you¡­ In¡­ in my opinion¡­ I think you¡­ you exchanging something for money¡­ And the money¡­ mm¡­ sh-should be connected to the coal mine¡­ Previously¡­ you spent one thousand gold coins¡­ so¡­ you exchanged¡­ the coal mine for money¡­ and¡­ and¡­ mm¡­ I suppose¡­ there should be a buyer¡­ at the imperial capital¡­ So¡­ so¡­ the coal mine is worth money now. Therefore¡­ you are happy¡­ I meant¡­ the bank would be happy¡­ sorry¡­" stuttered Ross, afraid that I would get angry if he was wrong.


    Fundamentally, Ross was correct. Howbeit, he didn''t figure out the intricacy between the bank and I. I was slightly disappointed but still quite content. After all, it wasn''t something a kid could immediately wrap his head around. One Leah was frightening, so if Ross was just as astute, I''d be worried.


    "You''ve got the main idea correct. With that say, you didn''te into the bank, which exins why you don''t know the connection between the bank and I nor do you understand what taking loans with coterals means."


    Ross was relieved to hear he was right.


    "Taking a loan with coteral means that you pawn the bank something in exchange for cash. Hence, the more valuable what you pawn is, the more you will be able to loan. The reason I''m happy is because I bought shares for one thousand gold coins, but those shares will now give me more than one thousand gold coins given the status quo. To put it into perspective, I exchanged one thousand gold coins for one thousand and five hundred gold coins. This is what is meant by buy low, sell high."


    "I see¡­ I see¡­ Sir¡­ Y-you truly are incredibly smart¡­ I never thought of that¡­"


    Ross fiddled with his ear once I realised what I did.


    I was absolutely proud of myself and ted. It was my power, after all!


    Nobody in this world could match me. To top it off, I had a gorgeous fianc¨¦e, an adorable daughter, Sisi backing me and, worse came to worse, I could flee to the elvennds. What could cause me to fail now? I was immune to failure. Victory was mine as soon as I clicked the button. Ross, spies, none of them can do a thing. I was invincible.


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *A loan and a loan with coteral are two separate terms in Chinese. They, however, are both tranted to English as simply ''a loan'', and the different concepts are lost.

 Chapter Volume 7 27

    <i>Child with Lucia</i>


    The sky-blue cloak Queen Sisi bestowed me with was hung up in my room. The two strongest individuals on the entire continent, namely Angelina and Veirya, were with me. Anna was also a superbbatant. If the former Elven Queen was threatened, Ciara would also fight for me. Therefore, I was safer in the North than in the imperial pce. You think anyone scared me? Today, I my confidence was challenged.


    Veirya had put away her ring and brought her sword out again. Ciara was also on full alert. She had her sword in hand and was ready to fight in the blink of an eye. Angelina, on the other hand, leaned on the rails of the staircase and took joy in our predicament. I gulped and robotically curled my fingers. I had never been so nervous before, not even when I was in the elvennds.


    The elven envoy was here, in my safe zone, on Lucia''s orders¡­ What should Lucia be considered? My ex-wife or my ex-girlfriend? We did get engaged but didn''t go through with the marriage. Knowing Lucia, it dangerous for her to send an envoy to me now of all times as the war between elves and humans had yet to conclude. The elves had an excuse to attack the town at the border¡­


    In contrast, the elf didn''t seem to notice that the atmosphere in the property was tense. Sitting in front of me, he casually took out two documents from his bag. It was an official sheet of paper stamped with Lucia''s personal golden stamp.


    "Because you did not reply to Queen Lucilia''s previous letters, she sent me here to personally deliver the letter to you and demanded that I wait here for you to write back so that I can take a letter back for her," the elf elucidated, stern and displeased with me. "I do not know your reasons for not replying to her letters, but I shall not pry. Whatever the case may be, you are our Queen Lucilia''s husband. Your arms look fine. Are you illiterate? I think there is no point in a man such as yourself living for another second if that is the case."


    "Elves sure are foul mouthed¡­" I thought.


    The elves felt a sense of superiority for some reason that eluded me, and they were foul mouthed, which was fine, but the thing was, I probably couldn''t p their mouth without being punctured afterward¡­


    Apanying a sigh, I inquired, "Uh, I wasn''t at home during that period. I was at humanity''s imperial capital and, therefore, didn''t receive Lucilia''s letters. What, did she have something important to say?"


    "Spouses do not need to have important business to write to be allowed to write to each other. Replying to her letters would cheer her up. While she does not force you to stay by her side, that is not a reason for you to forget her. We can live for centuries and can remember centuries'' worth of things. We are not the type to go back on our word as you humans do," he ribbed. "This is also a letter from Queen Lucilia. I hope you read it carefully. This is about you and Her Majesty''s child."


    "Child?!" Everyone present yelled the same word in the simultaneously.


    The elf irritably rubbed his ears andined, "Can you humans not be as graceful as us elves and not belt meaningless things in people''s ears? Only wild boars in the forest would scream the way you do. Put simply, our Queens follow a tradition of adopting the orphaned child of our most valiant soldier. As you will not return to the forest, Queen Lucilia has adopted a child¡­ We elves do not want a half-human, half-elf, obviously¡­ So, from the perspective of ourws, the child is also your child, and you are his father."


    "By what logic?! I didn''t know a thing about this! I can''t randomly be an elf''s father!"


    That didn''t make any sense. Was I supposed to just raise another man''s kid? Also, the child didn''t have anything to do with Veirya. He was an adopted child just as Leah was. I didn''t do anything, yet started adopting kids? I didn''t sign up for an orphanage director job!


    "Are you suggesting that you can choose your father when you are born, or are you saying that you can choose the child you like to be your child when you be a father? When has bing a parent be sudden?" asked the elf, with a raised eyebrow.


    I raised a finger but had to lower it in the end¡­


    "Also, Queen Lucilia asked for your input but never received a reply. As such, we had to proceed as per her wish. We sent letters; it was your issue for not reading the letters. You cannot me us. Your only choice is acknowledge the child as yours. As he is your son, you must fulfil the duty of a father. When you see your sonter, you need to treat him the same way you would treat your biological son. Right now, I need you to give me one of your personal cloaks to wrap your child in. It is our tradition to do so."


    "This one I have?"


    I didn''t want to give him the cloak I was currently wearing for it was the first one Veirya gave me. It was the cheapest, inest cloak in humanity''snds that could be purchased anywhere. Nevertheless, it was one Veirya gave me and personally wore on for me. There was no way I wanted to hand it to anyone.


    I was thinking, "If the child was my biological child, fine. What does your valiant soldier''s child have to do with me, though¡­? Plus, your valiant soldier died fighting humans, yet you want me, a human, to give my cloak?"


    "Yes. It is what you should do as a father. Now, please write a letter, and I shall take it back to Queen Lucilia. Please take off your cloak afterwards."


    I heaved a hopeless breath: "Won''t another cloak do? It would still be a cloak I wore anyhow. It doesn''t matter which cloak it is, does it? He''s just a child, so you don''t need to be that picky, do you?"


    "Are you insulting and scorning our elven tradition now?! He is your child! You may be trash, but do you need to treat your sign so negligently? How are you any different to an animal? Your blood is colder than an animals."


    The elf got to his feet and fumed, "You are Queen Lucilia''s husband, yet you scorn our elven tradition? There is no way we can ept that. The war between elves and humans has not yet concluded. We can still attack you. How long do you think you canze around here for? We respected your feelings and took them into consideration for the reason that you are Queen Lucilia''s husband. Do you think we would havee to steal your cloak from you, otherwise?"


    "Hey, Elf, don''t you think you''re too stuck up?" threatened Angelina, chewing on something while leaning on the rails. "You''re not in your forest at the moment. This is our house. You''re looking down on us a little too much with the way you''re talking to the man of the house and even threatening him."


    "Does this have anything to do with you humans?"


    That was just the nature of the elves. All of them were confident and proud of themselves for some odd reason. They never knew fear.


    Snickering, Angelina suggested, "Lucilia won''t even know if we kill this elf, so how about it?"


    "No. Lucilia will just send another elf. Furthermore, if they grow suspicious, they''ll have a reason tounch an attack."


    If I could kill him without facing any repercussions, I would definitely have killed him already¡­I didn''t put up with his insults and threats because I had a nice temperament but solely because I couldn''t help it. If I killed him, nheless, I wouldn''t be able to deal with what came after. What could I do if the elves attacked us? Additionally, it would serve as justification for them to retaliate.


    "I know that this has nothing to do with you; however, you need to teach your ves here some manners," admonished the elf, while calmly extending a hand to me at the same time. "So then, please hand over your current cloak and a letter. Seeing as neither of us likes each other, let us wrap this up as soon as possible.


    I couldn''t do anything about the proud and stubborn elf. Hence, I handed him my cloak then told Ross to bring me paper and pen. The letter was considerably tiring to write. Generally, I could finish writing a letter in minutes. On this asion, I needed mull on every word and sentence to ensure that I spoke as a friend and not a husband. I didn''t want to give Lucilia the impression that she had hope, which would lead to hering over and starting trouble¡­ To add, how was I going to exin my missing cloak to Veirya?


    True, the mightiest individuals were at my ce. That was precisely why it wasn''t easy, even for me, to put out the fire once my backyard was on fire.

 Chapter Volume 7 28

    "How annoying¡­ I feel that the elves are gradually erasing the good impression I had of them." I sighed, scratching my head at the same time.


    This time, Veirya didn''tfort me. She, instead, chided, "But. Well. Deserved."


    "Though I''m reaping what I sowed, don''t you think it''s too much to say that it''s well-deserved?!"


    Denying that I reaped what I sowed wouldn''t change the fact that it wasing back to bite me. With that said, Veirya hurt my feelings.


    "Does Veirya still not realise why I got associated with those haughty elves and still have to put up with their attitude?" I wondered.


    Sisi''s life had never been my business¡­ Of course, it was now, but certainly not at the outset. Back then, I went to the elvennds and risked my life that I could''ve lost at any given moment to rescue Sisi for Veirya''s sake.


    "Hmph."


    Veirya was still angry even now. Irate, she touched my shoulders: "You''ve lost. The cloak. I was the one. Who gave it to you."


    "Sorry, Veirya."


    If I had another choice, I wouldn''t have given away the cloak. Veirya wasn''t the only one who valued the cloak.


    Head angled, Veirya questioned, "Why didn''t. You. Give him the sky blue cloak? Are you still. Thinking about Her Majesty?"


    "Veirya, we have to go to the imperial capital. If Her Majesty found out I gave the cloak to the elves, I''m afraid I''ll nevere home again."


    "Why. Can''t you. Come home?"


    "Because furious Queen Sisi would likely kill me," I exined, smiling helplessly.


    Veirya responded with a small nod then turned to Angelina.


    Angelina took a bite of the fruit in her hand: "Don''t worry about me. You two continue. I''m just eating. I''ll get moving soon. Right now, I''m imaging this fruit to be that damned elf''s head! Speaking of which, how did you manage to go adventuring with Lucia given an elf''s foul temperament?"


    "Lucilia. Doesn''t have a foul temper. She''s cute. Angelina. Do you know. How to make a cloak? I remember. You made one. For Dad."


    "That one? Oh, I bought it," answered Angelina, while casually waving her hand. "As if I know how to make one. I sneakily bought it, obviously. Then, I just tugged some of the thread out of ce to make it look as though I did my absolute best. Your father wouldn''t have been so touched, otherwise. And so, I got to do what I wanted to do at night."


    "What did you do?!" I eximed, feathers rustled.


    I didn''t feel scared because I thought Angelina would do anything to me, but Veirya was her daughter. She may very well tell Veirya, who was a pure te. Once Veirya learnt it, she might coldly do something <em>very</em> dangerous¡­ Angelina had a sense of control, but Veirya would bring a mountain down¡­ I bet my bones would shatter¡­


    "I won''t mention it in a child''s presence," remarked Angelina, chuckling and shaking her head at the same time.


    I thought the conversation had ended. s, Veirya didn''t quit:"Take me. To buy a cloak. For him, then."


    "Can''t you go on your own? Why do I have toe?"


    "I don''t know. How to choose."


    Indeed, that was a hurdle for Veirya. There was a fat chance she''d end up getting scammed into purchasing garbage. Further, shecked any sense of aesthetics, so she''d most probably buy whatever the seller told her to buy. She made the perfect customer for someone who wanted to sell items that wouldn''t sell and even jip her in the process.


    <em>Knock, knock!</em>


    Anna went to answer the door. I thought it was Edward, yet nobody came. Instead, Anna brought back a letter for me and reported, "Sir, this is a letter from the imperial capital that was sent by Sir Edward''s messenger."


    "Edward has already gone back to the imperial capital?!"


    I contemted, "He should''ve stayed to supervise the progress with the coal mine, yet went back already? What in the world? Is he not aware of what''s going on in the imperial capital? I think that''s usible. How can a businessman as savvy as Edward not have a newswork, though? Could I have been the only one to receive the news? I''d consider this a trap if it was somebody else. Why am I the only one being given the profit?


    "Oh, I see. I see. Achilles must''ve given her the idea. Perhaps the news has been strictly shared with only me. That''s what you call love. Sisi gave me the news ahead of time so that she could give it all to me. I now have information that others don''t. The initiative is in my hands now."


    By the time the businesses began to rush on board, I''d probably have acquired enough shares. All I was waiting on was the bank''s money. They wouldn''t go back on their word. In saying that, if they didn''t receive the news, I needed to show them the letter I received.


    "The other alternative route is that Achilles figured out my method and arranged things with the bank? No, he had a rtionship with the bank president, as well. The two of them have a crack in their rtionship that needs to be repaired. Sharing this information might be a good opportunity, which would mean that the bank would also know about it.


    "I''ll wait until the end of the day. If the money doesn''t arrive, I''ll go pay the bank a visit. Once I''ve obtained the money, I can go to the imperial capital to buy up shares and throw in all of the money," I rationalised.


    Edward''s awful handwriting reported that the shareholder meeting would be held at the city closest to me.


    As I finished reading the letter, a knock on the door was heard again. Anna opened up again. When she came back this time, however, she wore a strange smile with a letter in hand: "Sir, what you have been eagerly waiting for has arrived. I never imagined money that could fill two chests could be reced with a sheet of paper."


    "Two chests?"


    "Two thousand gold coins."


    I couldn''t hold back my delight. I pulled Veirya into my embrace and jubntlyughed: "Yes! Yes! Everything is ying out perfectly! Everything is going the way I want! Yes! This is fantastic. This time, Veirya, I''ll make so much money that you won''t finish spending it in a lifetime! Watch me run the show! This is my stage!"

 Chapter Volume 7 29

    <em>Purchase</em>


    If the bank wasn''t in the city, the ce was a forbidden zone for businessmen as the city was formerly under the chapel''s administration. Lots of people should never have gone there. The thing was that there was no spending there. During the chapel''s long reign, it wasn''t possible to people to spendvishly. No spending meant that there were no business opportunities. Thus, it was the first time one could see so many businessmen in the city.


    All businessmen and merchants hade to the city. They rented a ce close to the bank to hold our shareholder meeting Edward set up. The main purpose of their visit was to meet me and discuss pertinent matters. Anyone with a nose keen enough would''ve noticed the business opportunity that coal offered. Lots of people might''vee to check out how much coal there could be, as a matter of fact.


    I deliberately arrivedte. I gently adjusted my clothes when I arrived before the entrance of the building and then confidently strode in. The building looked as though it was one the chapel renovated. There was a spacious room as soon as I entered. On both sides wererge colourful ss. Unfortunately, there was no longer a statue of a god or people praying. All that was there was a giant square table at the centre of the room and, of course, the people on both sides in conversation.


    "Mr. Lin, you arete. I thought you considered this meeting important enough to be here early. I did not think you would be more than a dayte,"mented Edward, grumpy. "I remember I wrote you a letter long ago. Did you not receive it?"


    "Sorry, gentlemen. I do consider it important, but I ran into a bit of trouble on the way here," I exined as I sat down in my seat to join theughing men. "You know that the path from my ce to here is different to yours from the imperial capital. Our ce was not under Her Majesty''s jurisdiction before the war ended. Naturally, that means that we are not blessed. The path from our town to this city hasn''t been repaired. As a consequence, the recent rainfall left the road muddy. In addition to that, the road was also slippery due to thend. As I had to ride in a horse carriage, I couldn''t arrive sooner."


    "I see."


    It did rain around the area recently. Howbeit, the path wasn''t as slippery as I imed. With that said, it would be by the time I went back. I had organised people to make the road muddy and then had them toss lots of tree bark and whatnot on the road. Forget horse carriages, even one horse and one rider would struggle to tread the path.


    There were over twenty people at the table. It didn''t resemble a shareholder meeting whatsoever. It resembled an alliance meeting. Businessmen form alliances for profit but also split for profit. It was just their nature. I didn''t recognise lots of them. Achilles was also missing. He definitely wouldn''t want to sell his shares because he knew coal would be extremely valuable. I also knew that it''d be difficult to buy his shares from him, which was why buying from him never crossed my mind.


    My targets were middle-ss to small businesses. They didn''t have the money that Achilles and the bank president had. They, therefore, couldn''t tolerate long investments and trades. They didn''t have a lot of shares. Having said that, it was a colossal sum whenbined.


    They understood that extracting coal was one thing, but its value was another. Whether or not it could be transported out of the mine was the key factor. At the moment, the roads were already blocked, thereby making it impossible for them to transport extracted coal out. Hence, the coal couldn''t be sold. If it couldn''t be sold, then there was zero ie from it. With zero ie from it, they couldn''t continue. Essentially, it was business with them continuously coughing up money. Without being able to remain calm and determined, as well ascking funds, the smaller businesses would request to pull out. Edward, who was responsible for the transportation of the coal and paying them back, would refuse for sure. In turn, that provided me with the opportunity to purchase their shares from them. Obviously, that was a future step.


    "Since Sir Lin has arrived, let us not waste any more time here. Let usmence," stated Edward, who rose to his feet. Smiling, he went on to inform, "I introduce to you a new shareholder. I am sure most of you recognise him. He is the most outstanding businessman representative, the newest businessman and Queen Sisi''s favoured vassal, Mr. Lin. I believe that we are all aware that we are here for the coal on the mountain. I was the one who discovered it and began extracting coal from it. Nevertheless, you were the source of funding. Her Majesty has realised the power of steam engines, so coal is bound to be a hotmodity. I am also here to answer your questions. If you have any issues down the road, you can visit the mine on the mountain to see for yourself."


    The workers weren''t willing to work. Nheless, Edward''s forceful demands convinced the workers to begin work, and work efficiently, for their family''s sake.


    Whether it could be transported from the mountain depended on when I fixed the road. We were in Veirya''s territory, so if she didn''t approve of road repairs, then I could fully control when the road was repaired.


    The main aim of the meeting was to introduce me, and then it was Edward''s turn to answer queries. By the looks of it, it was quite a normal meeting. But nheless, my attention wasn''t on the meeting; my goal was to meet with them in privateter to see if they understand my aim and sold me their shares. Edward didn''t mention the news from the imperial capital. As a result, the other businesses weren''t convinced of his "bound to" im. Nobody who didn''t receive the Queen''s letter and document would believe the im.


    "It seems that Achilles and Sisi shared the news with only me. I''ll be the only one making money, and I better do it so that I don''t let her down, then," I inwardly remarked.


    The meeting soon came to an end. Servants by the side served up food and wine. It was a wise setup on Edward''s part. As we held the banquet right on the spot, if anything needed to be discussed, we could do so right at the venue.


    I turned down the wine the servant served me and took a cup of fruit juice, instead. I never liked things that impeded my thinking abilities. It wasn''t time for me to chase down others, but time for me to wait for them to approach me. I was perfectly calm. Those who had functioning brains should''ve deduced what I did to cause myte arrival.


    Not surprisingly, a businessman soon approached me. He was a middle-aged man who seemed to have been in business for several years already. He was attired ck clothes with a t and straight style. He was a tad older than Achilles, but Achilles probably wouldn''t have a big gut. The man wore a huge gemstone ring on his finger. I wasn''t a fan of that type of jewellery.


    "Haha, truly a young and talented man. Queen Sisi''s ns are not something that we can decipher even after extensive deliberation, yet you were able to win her favour so quickly. Do you really have no intention of bing Prince Consort?"


    "No, Sisi isn''t the one I love. You came to persuade me to return to her side, correct? I think that you can spare yourself the effort, then, as I will naturally return on my own."


    "Sorry, I am not here for Queen Sisi. I am merely here to see if I can get back my investment. This is truly important for me as my child will soon be opening a medical clinic, which requires a big sum. I want to sort out all my investment. I n to keep on with anything with potential and abandon those that do not show potential."


    I nodded. It was difficult for a young man or woman to open a clinic in this era. First, they needed connections. Second, they needed skill. They would need enough money to maintain their clinic during times where patients were few and far between. It would be financially exhausting for a father.


    "What do you think of this business, then?"


    "I am not sure. Judging from the news from the imperial pce, Her Majesty has never mentioned steam engines. Having said that, she might be preparing. Achilles has left the imperial capital. Some im that he is in charge of a project. I surmise it might be Her Majesty''s steam engine project. ordingly, I think that there is some potential to it. Nheless, I have learnt about the problem with the road from yourte arrival. The question, therefore, is if the coal can be transported out from the mountain when the timees. If it cannot, I think that there will be no ie.


    "The road is not good, indeed."


    I hadn''t yet revealed my true aim; I merely entertained him with a remark. He, however, conveyed, "I now want to pull out, but I know that Edward does not have much money. Therefore, I doubt I can get my money back from him. I know that you made a lot of money from the businesses in the capital. If possible, I want to get back my money, and I will give up on trying to profit from this. I can sell my shares to you for the same price I bought them for. One thousand and five hundred gold coins for four percent of the shares, what do you think?"


    "Mm¡­"


    The price was reasonable; it was five hundred gold coins below expectations. I couldn''t ept it yet, nevertheless. Since I came from the muddy path, I was supposed to know that the coal wouldn''t be easy to transport.


    I pinched my chin and sighed: "All right. Unfortunately, I do not have much cash on me. I also need to find a team to clear the road¡­ Now that I think about, I have quite the expenditure. To be honest, I really don''t want it."


    "One thousand and two hundred gold coins. I just need one thousand and two hundred. Consider the three hundred to be for clearing the road. What do you think?"


    "Mm¡­ All right, then. <em>Sigh</em>, I''ll consider it forming a friendship. One thousand and two hundred. Deal."

 Chapter Volume 7 30

    <em>Sess</em>


    "Why are you back again?" asked the man with dark eye bags, looking as if he''d have a sudden cardiac arrest at any second. "If you have regretted it and wish to take back your shares, it will cost one thousand and five hundred gold coins, not one thousand gold coins anymore."


    "That''s unreasonable, isn''t it? The contract we signed clearly stated that I give you something worth one thousand gold coins as coteral. You can''t ignore the contract just because the price has gone up. By your logic, does that mean that I can take it back with a thousand gold coins if the price drops? Does that mean I just earn from the difference? What, I have topensate you now? I didn''te here to earn from the difference this time, though. I came to make another proper loan with coteral from you."


    "But the contract clearly states that we gave you two thousand gold coins. We loaned you that two thousand. You are pawning it with us, not selling it to us. Do not try to rece the concept with a disguise. This is a loan, not a sale and purchase transaction. You cannot dodge the debt."


    If I didn''t want it anymore, the bank could probably sell it for two thousand and five hundred gold coins. By the same token, I couldn''t possibly pay a thousand gold coins to get it back. Of course, I was aware of that¡­ I just pawned the shares. I didn''t sell a future contract.


    If I adamantly refused to repay the loan, it could be considered a future contract. The only reason the bank would loan me money is if they were sure they could get the money back. If its value appreciated and I didn''t repay the loan, the bank could take my coteral, thereby profiting. I could ce a bet on the mine not being worth money. That would lead to me giving the bank my coteral to repay my debt for the value wouldn''t change once it''s determined. As such, I would''ve profited from the difference. Needless to say, it would also run my credibility into the ground. Thus, I saw no hope in fooling the bank.


    "Haha, I now have another four percent of shares. You may double check to confirm them. Edward has acknowledged it. I, therefore, n to give this four percent to you as coteral for another loan. Based on the current value, four thousand coins would be within reason for sure, wouldn''t it?"


    "Where did you get the shares from?!"


    "I bought it with money, obviously. What, you think Edward would donate them to me for free or something?" I retorted. "I trust that you now realise the value of coal now. That''s why you gave me two-thousand gold coins. You definitely value the shares I now have. After all, you can definitely make money from it. So, you can get me my money, right?"


    "No¡­ We recently heard that the road is not in very good condition."


    "What are you worried about?" I haughtily pped my cloak andimed, "See this cloak? It''s sky blue? See it? Queen Sisi personally gave me this. Why did I change my cloak? Because Veirya has gone to buy me one and has yet toe back, get it now? I have Queen Sisi and Veirya backing me. How hard do you think it would be for me to repair the road? I could repair it in less than one week; it won''t dy the transportation."


    "True¡­"


    He then put his nose to the paper and began to write the contract. He tantly overlooked one aspect. I could remove the obstacles on the road in a week. I could also leave the obstacles there for years. Then, I could just dump the coal mine that isn''t making any money in the bank''sp and not repay them. I could spend money to buy the coal mine back at a rock bottom price afterwards. Subsequently, I would''ve taken the rights to the mine from Edward in the blink of an eye. That was my n.


    I soon received four thousand gold coins. Ignoring the cost, I had two thousand and eight hundred in earnings. I wasn''t done yet, though. Six percent of the total shares was nowhere near enough. I needed more if I wanted shares.


    I had been going back and forth between the rted people thest few days. Every day that a businessman wasted was lost money. Not earning meant losing. They didn''t hold meetings. All they did was gather over drinks and idle chatter. I didn''t know what they were here for.


    Maybe they were waiting for good weather to go see the mine? Perhaps they were waiting for news from Her Majesty to arrive? We were at the location closest to the mine. Wherever there are deer, the ones closest to them will be the wolves. The pack of wolves would look as though they were idly wasting their days. The moment the deer approached, the wolves most definitely wouldn''t take their time jumping it.


    I think I used everything I learnt in my entire life on the shareholders over the few days I interacted with them. When wheat reaches its peak in growth, I would finally have finished the steps I needed to take. The cluster of wheat in the North had also grown as high as it could grow.


    I signed future contract after future contract and bought share after share. The prices of the shares were no longer an issue. Once all was said and done, I could remove my mask and publicly buy shares. Once Queen Sisi''s announcement that therge-scale steam-powered factories were in operation was made, the coal would be heated in my hand. I never mentioned repairing the road. I had people on the road. If the merchants hired any teams to go and repair it, my people would drive them away. Meanwhile, if they hurt any of our men, then that would be considered them viting Veirya''s territory. Nobody would dare be audacious with Angelina and Veirya present.


    I owed the bank over fifty thousand gold coins but became the majority shareholder of the entire coal mine. With the mine in my grasp, not a single cart of coal could leave. The price of firewood soared, while the poprity of goal gradually declined. I was waiting for the price of coal to hit rock bottom. I had done what needed to be done. It was a waiting game again thenceforward. I''d send out an odd cart or two every now and then; however, I still didn''t want to share a penny with Edward. I intended to send the coal mine to hell once I was done.


    The conclusion had been set in stone. Nobody deciphered my n. I basically just took from one hand, passed it to the other and vi, the entire coal mine was mine. Once we began to export coal, the coal, which was a better mmable than wood, would instantly transform into money.


    "I''ve seeded. Nobody can question me. I''m now the most sessful businessman on this entire continent!" I inwardly celebrated.

 Chapter Volume 7 31

    <em>Opening</em>


    "Leah. Is sick," notified Veirya, water and mud dripping off her clothes.


    Rain was still belting down outside, while the obstructed path was a struggle to traverse, yet Veirya didn''t have an umbre. I swiftly removed her cape and threw it aside. I grabbed a big towel from the side and tossed it on her head. I opened the door and shouted, "Bring a kettle of hot tea and a bottle of wine!"


    I shut the door then yanked the towel off Veirya''s head to wipe her face and dry her hair. Worried, I lectured, "You could''ve just written me a letter. There was no need for you to personallye here. You can''t let yourself catch a cold!"


    Veirya gently shook her head. She grabbed my head and irritably yanked the towel off her head: "You haven''t. Been back. In a long time. Even if I''m with her. Leah. Can''t hold on any longer. You need to. GO back and see her."


    I nodded and then turned back to look at the records on the table. The records were the fruits of my recent efforts. I had lost track of time and couldn''t tell how long I had been away from home. I couldn''t even remember how many days it had been. I had ben solely focused on the shares and those businessmen. I dedicated all of my being to obtaining enough shares from them, loaning more money from banks, yes, banks, because if one didn''t have enough, I went to another. I visited every bank in the city. Everybody had learnt of the importance of coal. Sadly, I was stuck. I had to prepare to head to the imperial capital. I wanted to negotiate with the businessmen.


    I had forgotten about home. I felt that the family didn''t need me. I thought that I didn''t need to worry about them since there was Angelina, Veirya and Anna, justifying me focusing solely on destroying the coal mine and hiring dwarves to see if they could find a new coal mine. For some reason, the price of the coal mine wouldn''t depreciate and the reason the businessmen remained in the city, refusing to leave. It went against what businessmen would do. Normally, a businessman would immediately go search for an alternative to substitute their loss, not waste their time here. Achilles, who needed the coal mine, also wouldn''te here.


    I thought that I was on the verge of victory. That was how the market was supposed to y out, yet I felt that I was just short. I couldn''t identify the reason, which was why I wanted to head to the imperial city, and find out who was preventing the price of the coal mine from depreciating.


    I couldn''t go back to the North. Not now. News didn''t reach the town I the North. If I went back there and the price of the goal mine dropped, when would I ever reach the end, running back and forth? Furthermore, the businessmen in the city might''ve been trying to fight a war of attrition with me. Using firewood as a mmable would leave the citizens of the imperial capital without a mmable. Firewood was a necessity. Thus, they couldn''t just increase its price thoughtlessly. I wanted to see who''d win the war of attrition.


    "I can''t go back right now."


    I sat down in the chair. Veirya froze. She kept silent for a long time before finally asking, "What. Did you say? Did you say. You don''t want toe back?"


    "Uhm, I can''t. Not now." I nodded. I then took off my coat and handed it to Veirya: "Take this back to Leah for now. I seriously can''t go back now. If I go back now, all of my effort up until now would''ve been for naught. I won''t know what the merchants have done during my absence. Once a business opportunity is missed, it won''te back. I need to wait here. I need to go to the imperial capital. I can''t go back, Veirya."


    "You have. Been out. For ten days already!" yelled Veirya.


    Veirya walked up to me and grabbed my shoulder with one hand. She spun me around and pressed me down on the table. My back refused to let me bend over to far, but Veirya ignored that. I couldn''t recall thest time she was so mad. She grabbed my cor and raged, "Are you. Abandoning us now? Leah. Is sick. You''re her father. Yet you''re not by her side. Leah. Has been crying for you. All this time. Yet you refuse to return?! I''m taking you back. Even if I have to chop you up!"


    "Listen to me! Veirya! Veirya! Listen to me!"


    Veirya ignored me. She tore her cape and forcefully turned me around to restrain my hands behind my back. Veirya was probably genuinely angry. She had no intention of showing any mercy. I felt my wrist was on the brink of breaking¡­ She yanked me off the table and carried me as if she was carrying her luggage. The waiter came in with a pot of hot tea and a bottle of wine at that moment.


    "Umm¡­ Are you¡­ kidnapping him?"


    "I''m his. Wife," Veirya replied, raising her left hand up.


    The waiter immediately understood the situation when he saw Veirya''s ring. He gave me a hopeless smile: "Sir, I think you should take care of your family. Your wife must be lonely."


    "Have you seen this sort of lonely wife before?! Save me! Save me!"


    "It is not appropriate for me to be getting involved in your family affairs. We shall put the fee for your room on your tab."


    The waiter then moved aside with a smile. I struggled around on Veirya''s shoulder. I recalled the past when Veirya and I met for the first time¡­ She tied me up and dragged me back that time. At least, I was carried back this time¡­ This time, I was going to see Leah, not Queen Sisi.


    ***


    "Dongqing has taken the bait, and he''s sunk his teeth all the way in," remarked Queen Sisi, as she tossed aside an invoice. "Excellent. I think we can reel the in now. Achilles, what do you think? May patience has run out. I want to sleep with Dongqing in my arms tonight. I only got to furtively touch him at night before, but I can touch him with perfect justifications now! Oh, right, ask Maria toe back. She has to look after my child with Dongqing, after all. Achilles, what do you think we should name our child? While you''re at it, go and prepare some necessities for children. Shall I expand my imperial pce while I''m at it? What if we have lots of children? What do we do if they vie for the throne?"


    Achilles helplessly smiled and answered, "Your Majesty, I think that you are forecasting too far into the future. Mr. Lin has not even arrived yet. Moreover, he might not give up just because he is bankrupt. Based on how I know him, I would not judge him to be a man who easily gives up. He might not be willing toe to your side so easily."


    Sisi crossed one leg over the other and rested her face in her hand:"I know that Dongqing isn''t one to easily give up. In saying that, his problem is that he only tries when there is hope. If I get rid of all those around him by having Leah leave him and Veirya die, he''ll lose his goal. Without a goal, he''ll lose his motivation. I know him too well. He''s actually still a fearful child. Whoever gives him a hand, he''ll take their hand. and go with them. He''ll think that he''s found the warmest nest in the entire world. That''s precisely why a child won''t act on his own ord. Once he loses everything, he''ll be that kid who curls up in the corner again."


    Perhaps she was right; perhaps she was wrong. Nobody knew for certain what sort of man Lin Dongqing was. Nevertheless, everyone was aware that Queen Sisi was an expert at deducing an individual''s character.


    Laughing softly, Sisi disputed, "Do it, Achilles. Take Dongqing from that woman. If you can kill her, that would be the best oue. He imed that he''ll love Veirya forever. Let''s see how that holds up if she''s dead. Will he love a collection of bones? I''m not Veirya''s match if she''s alive, either. Would I lose to a collection of bones, though?"


    "Veirya is the mightiest warrior on this continent, is she not¡­? I do not think anyone could possibly kill her. If Lin Dongqing finds out we sent assassins after her, would he not explode? I do not think it is a wise idea."


    "The current Veirya is no longer the Veirya from the battlefield. She''s no longer as vignt as before. Well, it matters not if you don''t kill her. Regardless, you must make her break up with Dongqing. It''s on you. Before that, nevertheless, you need to make Dongqing go bankrupt. Go now."


    Achilles indicated he heard Queen Sisi loud and clear prior to departing. Queen Sisi rose to her feet from her throne. With her chin between her fingers, she frowned. She wasn''t joking; she was contemting <em>very </em>important problems, which were the problems she mentioned to Achilles.


    "Should I expand my imperial pce? There might not be enough space for my child, after all. Plus, I must make time for them in the future. Who can I entrust work to? In addition, I must hurry and ask Maria to teach me how to take care of children. I, at most, have one more year. That''s a very short amount of time. I must make haste. I don''t feel safe trusting anyone with my child," Sisi mused.

 Chapter Volume 7 32

    <em>Family</em>


    Angelina frantically shouted, "Veirya! We said to bring him back, but we didn''t say haul him back as a criminal!"


    I underestimated Veirya''s speed or, perhaps, I underestimated her courage. The road was no doubt full of mud and fallen trees. Maybe the team that dutifully obstructed the entire path and dug deep pits deserved the credit. Anyway, the path wasn''t easy to travel in a normal manner even if it was just one horse. Hence, Veirya''s cogs turned. If she couldn''t take the main road, go through the forest next to it.


    Veirya was as skilled as an elf in the forest; I doubt a war steed would''ve been as dexterous as she was. She sprinted through the forest on horseback, ignoring the risk of the horse crashing into tree trunks and dying. Naturally, I was screaming from herp. I felt I could''ve died several times in there; however, Veirya sped through on a straight path to throw me onto the ground at home half a dayter. The price I had to pay as my cloak being torn. In addition, being totally wet meant that I shivered the entire time. I was on the verge of dying from the cold despite it being summer.


    "Because he. Didn''t want. Toe back."


    Veirya''s steam was still there, apparently. She didn''t n to undo my hand restraints. Instead, Angelina helped untie my hands and dusted the leaves off me. She then turned her attention to Anna, who rushed over a towel and wine: "Hurry and pour him water so that he can take a bath, or he''ll get sick at this rate. I''ll help him undress."


    "I''ll do it!" dered Veirya, who seemed to understand what Angelina had in mind. "You go. Bring Leah over."


    "All right," replied Angelina, smiling helplessly. She then went upstairs and sulked, "Usually she''s a dunce who doesn''t know anything. Why does she appear smarter all of a sudden?"


    Veirya ignored Angelina. I wobbled to my feet. While shivering, I asked, "I''ve calmed down¡­ I realise I was wrong¡­ I think I went overboard. How is Leah¡­? How is she doing? Is she all right? Is she in a worse state thanst time or what?"


    "Just. Somewhat weak," answered Veirya, who seemed to have cooled down a tad.


    Veirya removed my clothes and then forced my mouth open with her hands. Before I could protest, she gave me a mouthful of strong wine, thereby leaving my brain stupefied and unable to think. Veirya stripped me down as though I was a doll. Ross and Anna promptly filled up the barrel with water. Anna nced back over in our direction every now and then. Nheless, I couldn''t even feel embarrassment anymore.


    Veirya then tossed her cape aside. She slowly undressed and flicked her hair. Flustered, Ross looked away, while Anna instructed, "Ross, go and grab water. Don''t stand here looking."


    "Understood."


    Ross knew that if he looked at Veirya, I might just kill him on the spot¡­ He picked up the bucket and ran out, repeating to fill up the bath barrel. Veirya watched Anna in silence, causing Anna to feel tense. When she finally couldn''t bear with it any longer, she turned around to reassure, "My Lord, rest assured¡­ I have no interest in Sir Lin''s body¡­ I prefer tougher men¡­ So you need not feel concerned¡­ I will not look."


    "Uhm."


    Veirya also stripped down naked and pulled me into her arms. The alcohol evaporated from my brain temporarily. My face was stered to Veirya''s chest. I could see everything with my eyes. My hands and feet were hot and numb, thereby making it a struggle to move. Nheless, I was surprised to see¡­ I had an erection¡­


    I¡­ was hugged in the same way a child would be in front of my maid and even had an erection in front of everyone¡­ I missed having my nk mind andck of embarrassment a moment ago. I felt so embarrassed that I wanted to end my life. I might''ve lost my standing in the family henceforth.


    "Papa!" Leah came up from behind and tightly hugged me. She then sobbed on my shoulder and cried, "Papa, I miss you so much¡­ Why didn''t youe back home in so long, Papa¡­? Leah¡­ Leah thought you didn''t want Leah anymore¡­ Leah¡­ Leah was afraid that you went to the imperial capital for Her Majesty and abandoned us¡­ Papa! Papa!"


    I barely uttered from my numb lips, "Papa won''t¡­"


    I held Leah''s hand. Veirya cast her gaze to Leah. I was afraid that Veirya would tell Leah what I said before¡­ Honestly, I felt I was crazy to have said that. I picked up the job for my family. The origin of my motivation wasn''t to make money for making money''s sake, but for my family''s sake. Of course I had to go back when my Leah was in trouble.


    "Was I drunk or stupid there?" I wondered.


    I had calmed down a lot.


    "Let''s have a break first, and then I''ll spend some time with Leah. I''m in no rush right now. Rather, I might as well pretend nothing ever happened and ignore it. The coal mine''s value will fall, and the moment I''m waiting for wille.


    "Hang on. Now that I think back¡­ something seems off¡­ Now that I think about it carefully, something seems odd¡­ very odd¡­ What''s odd here? Was I fooled? I need to think properly¡­ Where does the problem lie? I need to re-evaluate this from the top. Where exactly does the problem lie?" I deliberated.


    As I contemted to myself, Veirya suddenly picked me up and entered the water. The warm water drained out all of the cold sensation in my skin. I juddered intensely before I could rx. My brain forgot about what I was worried about just now. Leah then jumped into the water and sat on my thigh. Veirya gently wiped my body with a sponge.


    Though surprised, I decided I might as well lean back and rx. My daughter was cute, and my beautiful wife scrubbed my body. Was there a need to feel any regrets when I had such a life? I couldn''t think, didn''t want to think and didn''t feel worried. Any problem could wait.

 Chapter Volume 7 33

    <em>Hostage</em>


    "Did anything else happen at home recently besides Leah''s condition?"


    I dried my hair and sat in a familiar spot. I asked Ross for a cup of hot tea as I conversed with Angelina.


    "The workers on the mountain came for you, but you weren''t home. The situation is urgent. We were considering if we needed to report to Her Majesty," shared Angelina.


    "What happened?"


    Going as far as wanting to report to Queen Sisi was an indication that the circumstances were dire. I wanted to know what it was before deciding if I should let Sisi know or not.


    "The elves kidnapped a worker and demanded that you take the ransom to them, or they would kill the hostage," replied Angelina. "I think it was Lucilia''s idea. If what happened between you two never happened, I think it would be fine to deliver the money. In this case, however, I''m afraid they''ll take both the money and deliverer. Furthermore, Veirya certainly won''t let you go. As such, we n to have Her Majesty ask for the hostage back. The situation with the elves is a sensitive one, after all."


    "I think it''ll still be awkward even if Sisi went. They took her prisoner, after all."


    Although the elves didn''t brag about it, it didn''t mean that Sisi was indifferent to it. I''d bet it was a big blow and humiliation that she couldn''t erase. I wouldn''t want to recall wetting myself in front of an audience of elves to myself or anyone else, for that matter.. If I were to venture a guess, she had to attribute her ability to eke out her indignant existence during her time held captive to her rough childhood. I predict she''d even forbid us from mentioning elves soon enough. Given those points, there''s no way she''d be able to resolve the elves'' kidnapping incident.


    Whether it was paying the ransom or having Veirya and Angelinaunching a night raid to rescue the hostage, it was all on us to carry out. That wouldn''t do, though¡­ Chances were the elves kidnapped the worker. As for what the elves were after, beats me. What I did know was that they weren''t after the ransom. Elves were still a race that was self-sustained. They had no need for a lot of wealth, because even if they did have all the money in the world, they wouldn''t be able to use it.


    "What are the elves kidnapping a human and asking for a ransom for? Are they trying to see me? That''s meaningless. Thest envoy took my cloak back, so there''s no need to kidnap someone to force me to go. I think they might have gained the confidence to try and lure me over to kidnap me after I went along with their demandsst time. They might even take my eyes or force me to have a child with Lucilia¡­


    "This isn''t going to work. I can''t go. The elves won''t attack our town, since kidnapping is one thing, but attacking our town is dering war on Angelina and Veirya. The two of them would crush your elves on ins or in a city," I analysed.


    I was a hundred percent safe here. If I offered myself up to the elves, I''d never be able toe back.


    "We''re turning a blind eye. This has nothing to do with us," I exined, "The elves are definitely not after money but me. I might never be able to return once I go, so I certainly won''t go. Who knows what they''ll do in the forest¡­ Nope, this has nothing to do with us, and don''t tell Sisi. Dump the problem in Edward''sp. It''s his mine and his worker anyway¡­"


    Thatst line sounded awkward after I expressed it for I was the major shareholder. While the mine was still under Edward''s name, in reality, I was the administrator of the mine. It should''ve been mine at this point. If Edward didn''t want to bother with the hostage, he couldn''t be med. I was the one who should''ve been concerned about the coal mine, after all.


    "If neither of us is going to budge, then let''s wait for the elves to kill the hostage. So many people die daily in this world. One more or one less doesn''t matter," I decided.


    <em>Knock! Knock!</em>


    I stood up and notifed, "I''m heading upstairs to change."


    "All right." Anna went to answer the door.


    When I got upstairs to change, Veirya ced the new cape she bought me to the side. It still had the scent of new fabric on it. I didn''t know if it was topete with the sky blue cape I had or what, but she chose a light-red cape¡­ I had no clue which tree my sky blue cape hung from at the moment¡­ I wore on the dry andfortable clothing. I tied my new cape in ce and then left the room.


    It was awkward running into Veirya at the door on my way out. She, in contrast, didn''t show any signs of awkwardness. She ced her hands on my shoulder and spun me around. She ran her hands along my back and nodded: "This cape. Looks good. I think. It''s very bing of you."


    "Thank you."


    Veirya removed the string tying my cape together and then personally did it up for me as I gingerly caressed her hair.


    "Don''t do that. Next time. When it''s time. Toe home. You have toe home."


    "Uhm, I won''t do that again. I said that, as I felt somewhat dizzy. I won''t do it again. Don''t worry."


    "Uhm." Veirya patted my chest: "There''s someone. Waiting for you. Downstairs. It''s a worker. I think. He''s asking you. To go see Lucia. I reckon. You shouldn''t go. I will help you. Rescue the hostage. By force. But. Don''t go."


    It must''ve been hard on Veirya to say so much at once as I''d never anxiety on her face. We still felt averse about meeting with elves after what happenedst time. I didn''t n to interact with the elves any more than necessary. Clearly, Lucilia was trying to make me go over with the kidnapping stunt. You could even argue that she came to snatch me over. Plus, she adopted a child and randomly made me a father. Consequently, Veirya was even more nervous.


    "I know. I won''t go. You don''t need to go, either, Veirya. This has nothing to do with us. We shouldn''t get involved. If this was just about humans and elves, then it wouldn''t be too hard to resolve. The issue is that it''s difficult if we''re involved. We''ll leave it to someone who has no connection to the elves, instead."


    "Uhm¡­"


    Veirya was hesitant to speak. I knew that she felt puzzled. The elves kidnapped our people. As a former soldier and warrior, she couldn''t ept sitting and watching. But she was willing to believe me when I told her that we were to no do anything or even bother, nevertheless.


    I thought I''d see a person or two downstairs, only to be surprised by the presence of a big group of people. It was clear as day that they were miners from the coal mine because they were as dark as coal. They bowed shouted out disorderly, "My Lord, please go and have a word with the elves! We are working in terror. They wille and kidnap us! We are genuinely scared!"


    I extended a hand to hush them: "Ahem, calm down first. I know that it''s worrying you a lot. I understand. I do. Anyone who saw what the elves did would be. In saying that, you have to understand that Queen Sisi personally appointed Lor Veirya as the administrator of this region. Veirya, therefore, represents Queen Sisi''s dignity and status. If we bow our heads to the elves and negotiate with them while avoiding her, then Queen Sisi will find fault with us. That is not to say that we will let your men be captured and killed. We will write a letter to Queen Sisi to request her opinion. You just need to wait."


    Needless to say, said letter never existed, doesn''t exist and wouldn''t exist. I only mentioned it to cate them, and have them wait. If they came again, I''d just tell them that the response would being soon. Then, I''d wait until things were set in the imperial city so that I could leave the North and reside in the imperial capital permanently. The miners could do whatever they wanted in the North. That was none of my business.


    "That will not work, though, My Lord. The elves¡­ they asked that we pay the ransom in three days! They also asked that you personally took it to them! It already has been two days. If you do not deliver the money tomorrow, he will die for sure, so please¡­ Please¡­ Please save him first¡­"


    "Calm down. If the elves want money, why would they kill their hostage? How would they get money if their hostage is dead? It''s just their ploy. Stay calm. There seriously is no need to be worried. I''ll deal with it. Don''t worry."

 Chapter Volume 7 34

    <em>Rainy Night</em>


    "You may leave now," said Achilles, panting as he dusted his cloak. "All of you did well. Lin Dongqing has taken the bait, so you can return to the imperial capital now. I need to go and deliver the news."


    For some reason, perhaps it was due to the heat melting the North''s alps, but, despite it being summer in the North, water vapour that had been condensed for some time rose and rained down incessantly. As a consequence, summer in the North was freezing cold, so cold that one would feel as though it had seeped into their bones.


    All of the merchants heaved breaths of relief. They spent every day in fear in the North, having to try and put on an act around Lin Dongqing. If he saw through them, they wouldn''t be on either side for Lin Dongqing would get back at them, and Her Majesty would mete out punishment for their failure. Lin Dongqing had taken the bait, spending tens of thousands of gold coins for thin air because they didn''t have any shares. All of the shares were with Queen Sisi, and it was her turn to y her hand.


    "Lin Dongqing isn''t here, correct?"


    "Yes, his wife took him."


    Achilles nodded and wiped his face. He took a swig of a strong alcoholic drink and wiped his face again for there was still rainwater dripping from it.


    The lifeless merchants cheerfully packed their stuff. They even had their people prepare to head back in spite of the heavy rain. Not one person cared about Lin Dongqing. It wasn''t just about him going bankrupt. He might lose his freedom and future for good. They had his execution notice with them. They were the farewell party, but they showed no signs of sorrow, not that they could be med. What did any of it have to do with them, after all?


    ***


    "It''s raining cats and dogs," Imented as I set my teacup down.


    Summer in the North got on my nerves. Nevertheless, it was a luxury to enjoy the warm fire over tea and thepany of my beautiful, and silent, wife, who drank wine. Recently, I had been running around from the hotel to the merchants and the bank. I had no time to drink tea or watch the rain. I didn''t even have time to shave. I had tidied up my appearance and was listening in to the rhythmic rainfall outside with Veirya.


    "What a leisure it is. I know that this life of leisure will only make me feel good now, however. Once I''m truly free, I won''t be able to bear it. I''ll head back tomorrow, but I''ll take a break for today," I decided.


    "Uhm." Veirya ced her ss down and peered out the window. "It often. Rains outside. Usually at this time. Angelina. Likes to watch the rain."


    "Yeah? She''s given us her spot, though."


    I smiled and then faced Veirya. She made a small nod but didn''t say anything else. The two of us always kept our conversations simple. I knew that I was already as close as could be with Veirya. She didn''t know what love was, but she was willing to stay by my side, keep mepany and got jealous when I was with other women. Isn''t that how a wife is? That was why we only had a thin wall left between us.


    I put my words together in my mind and pried, "Veirya, once this is over, I should be able to make enough for us to spend for an entire lifetime. Additionally, we''ll have a never-ending stream of ie. We won''t need to live here anymore. We can return to the imperial capital to provide Leah with the best living conditions and ess to the best education. You can spend time with Sisi, too. Life will be simpler there, so erm¡­"


    I wanted to propose. s, the words wouldn''te out. I wasn''t having an inferiorityplex onset but purely shy.


    Veirya responded with a small nod, uninterested then poured herself a ss of wine.


    The rain outside suddenly belted harder.


    "Is she happy or annoyed? Or is she okay with whatever? I don''t know how she feels. Will she be happy if I suddenly propose now? Does she know what marriage means? Will say yes? If she rejects me due to ignorance, how awkward would that be? Should I propose now or not? I don''t have anyone around me. I don''t have anyone I can ask, either. I really want to go upstairs to ask Angelina for help. I''m sure she''d help me. She''d understand this stuff. Plus, she''d definitely have a way of exining it to her daughter properly," I thought.


    Veirya picked up her ss again, while I still couldn''t get out of the dilemma. Fidgeting with my cup, I mulled, "She''s already worn on the ring, and everybody has acknowledged us as husband and wife. It''d be weird if I don''t even propose, nheless, wouldn''t it¡­? Should I try? Wait, she can''t tell if I subtly test her, so would it be better for me to be straightforward?"


    The rainfall drummed against the window, even rocking the flowers outside.


    "Umm, Veiry-"


    "There''s somebody outside," abruptly interjected Veirya.


    Veirya rose to her feet. I titled my head but then realised something. For someone toe all the way here in the heavy rainfall, they must''vee for me. Veirya didn''t have her sword at her waist, but she still remained vignt. I waved my hand with a smile: "It''s all right. They''re here for me. Don''t worry, Veirya."


    "What a strange person. Why not knock when you''re at the door? Have they not had the chance to yet?" I questioned in my mind as I went to answer the door.


    The moment I opened the door, a sharp weapon burst rain droplets as the wielder thrust it toward me. I had no idea why I had a de thrust at me. I just instinctively retreated one step, but the sharp tip went straight for my body. Suddenly, I was knocked into the wall by the side. My left arm hurt as if it''d been dislocated. Nevertheless, I didn''t have time to mind myself for I smelt blood.


    A miner watched the rain dripping down and the blood gradually spilling onto his pitchfork. Veirya firmly grabbed the pitchfork plunged into her body.


    "Ah¡­ Ah¡­"


    My heart skipped a beat. My brain stuttered. I wanted to drag myself over to Veirya, but my arms and legs were numb. I felt as though I had bone stuck in my throat.


    A sorrowful creek ran down the timber length of the pitchfork from the gap in those white fingers.


    Veirya turned to me. There was no pain or sadness in her expression. "I''m d. You''re okay."


    Veirya copsed onto the ground, but she never averted her gaze off me. She looked rxed and even happy¡­


    I told myself, "This isn''t real¡­ This isn''t happening¡­ This can''t be real¡­ No. This can''t be. This can''t be. I must be drunk. This can''t possibly happen. Veirya is the strongest. She won''t get hurt. Th-th-th-this m-must be an illusion¡­ This is all fake. It''s fake. This isn''t happening. I need to wipe my eyes. This isn''t happening¡­ Veirya. Veirya is all right. She''s all right.


    "I should still be considering proposing to her. She should still be drinking in front of me. She should still be looking emotionless. This isn''t real. It''s not. It''s a dream¡­ This isn''t real¡­ it''s not real¡­ It''s not real¡­ I¡­ I¡­ I don''t believe it¡­ This isn''t¡­ isn''t¡­"


    "Ah¡­"


    My throat slowly made way for my voice. I ignored Angelina, who had drawn her sword and was rushing downstairs. I ignored Leah, who screamed from the staircase. I crawled over to Veirya on all fours. I didn''t care how I pathetic I appeared.


    Veirya''s ring was stained with blood, yet she wasn''t anxious. I could see her desire to protect me still burning bright. The moment I grabbed her hand, the world finally resumed turning.


    "Aaarrgh!"


    That night, that man''s cry was louder than the heavy rainfall and more painful than being grinded on the ground¡­


    ***


    "Mm¡­" Sisi turned her head and peered outside her window to see heavy rainfall. She irritably waved her hand: "The thunderp shocked me. Shut the windows."


    ***


    "Mm¡­"


    Lucilia stood up, resuming her back and forth pace in the room. The child was asleep. Work wasplete. There was nothing left to do for the day. Rain was belting down on the green canopies. It wasn''t dangerous by any means, having said that. It was another ordinary and redundant day.


    "Why do I feel so restless today?"

 Chapter Volume 7 35

    <em>Ex-Wife</em>


    "Hurry and help her¡­ Hurry¡­ Hurry¡­"


    "Calm down! Calm down!"


    Ciara trembled as she ripped open the paper bag in her hand, almost spilling the white powder out. Angelina pressed down on Veirya''s wound with one hand and kept me at bay with the other. Veirya no longer spoke. She bled a tremendous amount, and there was no stopping it.


    "All right, all right, this is an elven drug to stop bleeding, but her wound is too serious. She needs to be treated. We must send her off!"


    Ciara quivered as she poured the bag of powder onto Veirya''s wound and staunched it with a bandage. The white bandage turned red as soon as it touched her body, while the powder seemed absolutely useless. I couldn''t bear to look.


    Angelina turned around and yelled, "Prepare a horse carriage, now!"


    The scent of blood on Angelina''s hand instantly shot up my nostril. I shuddered and dropped to my knees. I felt insanely nauseous. I couldn''t hold it in and saw dinner a second time. My tears burst out of my eyes. I didn''t know if my reaction was due to an adverse response to the sight and smell or if I was just overwhelmed with grief.


    "What should I do? What do I do?" I panicked in my head.


    I couldn''t stand the scent in the air. I couldn''t breathe the air with Veirya''s blood. I just wanted to puke. I couldn''t move, either. I had no clue what do. All I knew was that I needed to save Veirya. I wanted to save her¡­


    "Veirya will be fine. I''m sure Veirya will be fine. She''ll be fine¡­ She''ll be fine. She will definitely be fine¡­" I repeated to myself.


    "Pull yourself together! Veirya''s life is riding on your shoulders now! Calm down! Hurry and get a carriage! We''ll take her to the doctor! If we dy any longer, Veirya will die! You must save her!"


    Angelina didn''t give me time to calm down. She pressed me to the ground and pped me across me face as if she was pping her dodgy television. Although it was violent, it was effective. While keeping my eyes on Veirya, I staggered to my feet.


    I contemted, "Veirya will die here. Veirya will die. I must save her. Should I go to the city or the imperial capital? The imperial capital would have the best doctors and medicine¡­ Yes, yes, we can treat her at the city, and then rush to the imperial city. We should make it. We should make it in time. We just need the elven drug to stop her bleeding. We can save the rest. It won''t take three days to reach the imperial capital. Veirya will make it. She''ll make it. Yes¡­ Yes¡­ That''s the n, then. I can save Veirya. I can save her. I can save the woman I love."


    As soon as I yanked the door open, the rain hit me. The loud thunderp cut through the ominous. The cold rain and air sobered me up. I wiped my face and silently peered at the sky in ce.


    "What are you doing?! Hurry up and get me a damn carriage!" Angelina kicked me out from behind.


    I staggered into the rain and mud. I turned around and, in a quavering voice, voiced, "We can''t get there¡­"


    It only just urred to me that we couldn''t go to the imperial capital. Forget the imperial capital; we couldn''t even get to the city¡­ The problem wasn''t Veirya but the heavy rain and me.


    Before Veirya got hurt, I destroyed the entire road to make it impossible for the coal to be transported. Now that there was a downpour, it would take, at least, a week to clear the path to get a horse carriage through. Seven days. Add the time to reach the imperial capital and that''s ten days¡­


    Angelina also froze. Veirya wasn''t in good shape. Ciara wasn''t Lucilia. She just happened to be an elven soldier who always had the elves'' drug to stop bleeding on her. It was just akin to first aid, though. Ciara wasn''t a medical practitioner, while all Angelina could do was a simple job of bandaging that she learnt for use on the battlefield. Veirya was bleeding from three holes in her body. We had already done all that we could to reduce her blood loss volume. If we didn''t rush her to a doctor for treatment, then¡­


    My brain cogs turned: "I have to save her. I must save Veirya¡­ I love her. I love her. I can''t lose her. It was so hard to have someone I loved and my own family. I don''t want to lose them. I''ll save her even if it costs me my life. I must save her regardless of the price¡­ Wait. I do have somewhere to go. I think I know where to go now¡­"


    ***


    "Ma''am Lucilia."


    Lucia slowly opened her eyes and carefully propped herself up with her hands in order to avoid waking the child. With a window curtain between, her servant stood at the door, holding an oilmb. Lucia picked up her coat and cape. Quietly, she expressed, "What''s wrong? Did something happen? It wasn''t easy for Travor to sleep, so don''t wake him."


    "Sir Travor is back."


    "Tr-"


    Lucia hastily got up and got dressed as fast as she could. She flicked her cape andmaned, "Raise the oilmp up. Does my face look all right? Do I have any marks from sleeping? Help me wipe my face with a handkerchief."


    "You need not be so panicked, Your Majesty," conveyed the attendant, with a short chuckle. "Sir Travor looks horrible this time. He hase to us with a request. He will not be concerned about your appearance."


    "Travor¡­ hase to us with a request?"


    Lucia''s attendant used a huge leaf as an umbre for her Queen who dashed into the rain and briskly walked to the guest hall. Though Lucilia never explicated it, everyone knew how she felt about Lin Dongqing.


    Upon seeing Lucia enter the guest hall, I supported myself to my feet using the table and uttered, "Lucia¡­"


    Lucia revealed a bitter smile: "Travor¡­ you don''t look too good. Did something happen? Did the humans do something to you?"


    I shook my head and then dropped to my knees in front of Lucia, startling. She frantically rushed up to me and supported my shoulder: "What''s the matter, Travor?! Just tell me. There''s no need for you to kneel. You left me, but we''re still husband and wife. I won''t hurt my husband. Travor, hurry and tell me what happened! What can I do for you?!"


    I tightly gripped Lucia''s arms and whimpered, "Please¡­ save Veirya¡­"


    I know that I was extremely shameless. I tricked the elven maiden to save Sisist time. I stole her heart, hurt her feelings and incited a massacre, only then to casually strut off. Instead of approaching Lucia to keep herpany or apologise, I asked her to save my lover. I was asking my ex-wife to save my current wife.


    Lucia froze when she heard Veirya''s name. I refused to release her arms because she was myst hope. It didn''t matter if I had to sacrifice my eyes or life. I wanted to save Veirya at all costs!


    "Is she that important to you? You weren''t even willing to go near the forest to avoid me. I''m aware you''re scared, but you lied to me the first time you came here for Veirya. The second time, you came knowing that I might kill you, yet gave up even your dignity. Is Veirya worth it? I consider you to be mighty and brave, yet you''re willing to kneel and beg with an ashen face for Veirya''s sake. Why? Why do you appear big and tall to me, yet so pathetic for her¡­?"


    "¡­ I beg you¡­ Lucia¡­ Please¡­ save her¡­ Save Veirya. I''ll promise you anything afterwards¡­ but¡­ please¡­ save Veirya¡­"


    Lucia lowered her head. I couldn''t see her expression underneath the shadow of her bangs. She was silent for a brief moment. She then touched my cheek with her hand and, in a heart-melting voice, replied, "Understood. You''re my husband. No matter what, I love you. I''ll save Veirya. As long as she''s not dead, I should be able to do something. As for you, Travor¡­"


    I was mentally prepared. If she asked me to stay, I''d stay. It was my own decision, and I was ready to bear all the consequences. I didn''t care what happened to me as long as Veirya could make it. I wanted to know she was alive even if I wouldn''t get to see her again. I couldn''t force her to leave the beautiful world due to my blunder. She had her family and life to live. I still loved her.


    "Get up, Travor. You have a job to do," stated Lucia, as she pulled me up from the ground. She gave me a push on my back and conveyed, "I won''t force you to stay. I love you. Nheless, I like to see your smile even more. Since you haven''t chosen the forest, I won''t force you. I just hope that youe back to visit me. Right now, though, there''s nothing for you to do here. I''ll save Veirya. You need to get revenge. Whoever put your most beloved woman in this state needs to pay the price! Go, my Travor. You aren''t someone''s pet dog or a bird in a cage. You''re the wolf of the forest; the eagle in the sky. I believe in you, Travor. Spread your wings and fly. Ferociously dig your enemies'' eyes out!"

 Chapter Volume 7 36

    <em>Bankruptcy</em>


    I would''ve gone back even if Lucia didn''t tell me to. Leah and Ross were still there. The Elven Queen immediately hugged Leah to prevent her from seeing the corpse on the ground and Veirya.


    I nned to leave Veirya with Lucia because I could trust Lucia. The elves, on the other hand, couldn''t be trusted. I was aware of the elves cruel and aggressive nature. Though Lucia could ept the current me, what if the elves couldn''t stand me? Veirya no longer had what it took to defend herself, so I had to protect her.


    Lucia wrinkled her nose: "Her wound is bad. She needs a blood transnt. It''s easy to get our hands on medicines; however, our blood isn''tpatible. Mm¡­ I need to check further. If we give her a different blood type, it''ll be fatal. Angelina, Travor, you two test yourselves. I''ll help her repair her organs and other damaged parts. Don''t worry. She''s severely injured, but it''s not fatal."


    Lucia filled two miniature cups with a bit of Veirya''s blood and then gave Angelina and me one each. She removed Veirya''s bandages and focused on using some modern medical instruments to treat Veirya''s wound. I didn''t know what Lucia''s n''s upation was, but she looked experienced and professional.


    I sliced open a cut on my arm and dripped my blood into the cup. Lucia took our cups. She held them up to the me to examine and reported, "Unfortunately, not even biological parents necessarily share the same blood as their children. Travor, your blood matches hers, luckily. Therefore, Travor, you can''t go back yet. I need you to leave some blood for Veirya first."


    I nodded. Lucia''s tube for blood collection looked frightening. It was just a tube and a pouch. She cut open a wound on a wound on my arm and stuck the tube in. I clenched my teeth to stifle my voice. Forget two hundred or four hundred. I''d give Veirya half of my blood if that was what it took to save her.


    "Angelina, stay here and watch over Veirya for me. I need to head back. I need to make a trip to the imperial capital. I''ve noticed something odd. I feel that there''s something amiss somewhere; it''s suspicion. I just haven''t had the time to contemte the matter. This attack was not a coincidence. It was most likely premeditated. That''s why I need to go. Whoever it was, I''ll make him pay!"


    I went too wild,pletely failing to weigh the consequences. I gradually noticed something, though. Why did the price of the coal mine not drop? Why did the merchants just loiter in the North instead of leaving? Why was I the only one to receive news first? Why did Achilles note up? I felt that those questions were linked. The workers might not have just been aggravated. As a matter of fact, it might not even have to do with elves. It wasn''t just due to their anger. I was sure that there was a connection somewhere.


    I swore to myself, "Whatever the connection is and no matter how powerful their backer is, I''m going to find the mastermind. I won''t give anyone for harming my wife, my Veirya. Forgiveness is not an option. My life and everything I have is for my family.


    "No matter how many people are involved, no matter where you all run to, no matter how long it takes, even if I must use the remainder of my lifespan, I''ll hunt every single one of you down. You''re all finished. You''ve gone and angered me. You chose the wrong man to start with."


    "All right."


    Angelina nodded, albeit with a tinge of annoyance. Lucia pulled the tube out of my arm and then bandaged my arm with a bandage that had a drug to stop bleeding applied to it. The elves wanted to stop me leaving but Lucia, who had her head down to treat Veirya, shouted, "Don''t stop him."


    The rainfall had tapered. With that said, it was the darkest time of the night. An elf walked in front of me slowly with an oilmp in hand. I couldn''t see below foot too clearly with it, unfortunately. The elf remained silent, not that I nned to say anything. The two of us silently walked to the border of the forest, where he then halted. He seemed to have something to say to me. Nevertheless, when I turned to look at him, he didn''t say anything. Instead, he handed me the oilmp after a short pause.


    "I shall not see you out of the forest, Mr. Travor."


    "All right," I nodded. I didn''t ask much and just took themp.


    Home was right where there were still bright mes.


    "Lucia should be able to treat Veirya, so I can feel at ease for a while. Next, I need to take Leah and Ross to the capital with me. Toss coal mines and business. I''m going to get to the bottom of this, and some people are going to need some holes!" I told myself.


    I walked through the muddy path to return to the town, only realise that something was wrong in the town. Everybody should''ve been asleep at home at this hour. For some reason, there was a group of townsfolk crowding around my house, each one of them holding an umbre. They let me through without any questions.


    I saw several men dressed in ck with umbres. They silently stood at my door with a parchment in hand. Ciara stood at the door with her sword drawn. They turned around upon hearing my footsteps.


    "Achilles?!"


    Achilles took off his hat. He looked at me without a word and a neutral expression. However, he wasn''t puzzled or flustered. I grabbed one of his shoulders with one hand and shouted, "You know something, don''t you?! You definitely know something, don''t you?! Tell me! Tell me! What happened?! What in the world happened?!"


    Achilles didn''t panic or show befuddlement, which meant that my reaction was within his predictions! He definitely knew something!


    "Sorry."


    Achilles pressed a hand on the back of my hand. His hand was heavy and cold from the rain. It felt as if I had a heavy gold coin ced on the back of my hand.


    He solemnly conveyed, "Sorry, I do not know what you are talking about, Mr. Lin. However, I must solemnly inform you that Lord Veirya¡­ Actually, I can just tell you outright. You used fake shares to defraud the banks of fifty thousand gold coins. The fifty thousand shares you purchased were fake and have no real value. As such, you now owe various banks a total of fifty thousand gold coins. The banks now wish to collect the sum from you. You, unfortunately, do not have that much. Consequently, you are dered bankrupt. Your territory, home, elves and daughter shall all be taken as solvency. Now, do you have any other questions?"

 Chapter Volume 7 37

    <em>Imperial Capital</em>


    Ciara guarded the door with her sword in hand: "I don''t know what exactly you''re talking about, but I won''t allow you to take Her Majesty and me. We are not his assets; neither will we just let you take us away. Try if you wish. Let''s see if my speed can surpass your numbers!"


    The men weren''t afraid of Ciara''s de. They didn''t need weapons for the possessed a power which couldn''t be opposed - credibility and thew. Based on what I had been told, it was a fact that I had gone bankrupt. Since I was bankrupt, it waswful and rightful for them to confiscate all of my assets, and they certainly would do so.


    "Lin Dongqing, don''t make things hard for us," demanded Achilles, giving pats on the shoulder all the while. "We are only here to confiscate yournd and assets. They are not our business. The elves can be sold off, but we won''t touch Leah. Don''t worry. I''m your friend. I can''t deny your bankruptcy, but I can protect Leah for you. You will no longer have your freedom. You will be dealt with ordingly, and where you will be sent will be decided. I will protect Leah properly, though."


    "Ciara, lower your sword," I ordered.


    After something major as Veirya being wounded so seriously, bankruptcy didn''t disappoint me all that much or rattle. Rather, I had predicted as much. They dared toe knocking and confiscating my assets precisely because I was bankrupt. I didn''t care about bankruptcy anymore, nheless. I just wanted to kill those who crossed me with their deceit.


    Ciara didn''t want to lower her sword. The Elven Queen gently pressed a hand on her shoulder from behind. Ciara remained reluctant. The Elven Queen chuckled and shook her head: "It''s all right. I trust Lord Lin. He won''t abandon us. Let''s not add to his problems. He has his own designs. Ciara, lower your sword."


    "¡­ Yes, Your Majesty." Despite her reluctance, Ciara lowered her sword in the end.


    "Achilles, you need to know that the elves aren''t my assets. They''re my family. I can give you my assets but not my family because they''re not my assets. I won''t ept you selling them to anyone. To add, I''ll be back. I was deceived. There''s no way I can''t make myeback. I want to go to the imperial capital. I refuse to ept that I''m bankrupt!"


    "It matters not if you ept it or not for it is fact now," disputed Achilles. "I sympathise with you. Sadly, there''s nothing I can do. The best I can do is protect Leah for you. I can''t do anything else for you. It''s not me that you owe money to but the various banks. They aren''t a charity, and they aren''t your friends. There''s no chance of them showing you mercy."


    "Yes, they and I aren''t rted in any shape or form. In saying that, since they came together with you, that means that you and they are connected. I hope you can help me out. Give me a few more days; make that half a month. Let me go to the imperial capital to sort this out. You trust me, don''t you, Achilles?"


    I interpreted Achilles silence as deliberation time. Neither of the people around budged. They knew I couldn''t escape. If I wanted to escape, I could only flee to the elvennds or even further North. Their banks branches were found everywhere else, most likely. While there were no airnes in this era or ID inspections, there was nothing more pragmatic than awork of people. I had lost credibility and gone bankrupt. As a consequence, all I could do was run somewhere without human habitants and a ce where selling and buying were non-existent concepts. I didn''t have money, though, having said that.


    "Take some stuff with you, and then head to the imperial capital," stated Achilles, breaking his long silence. "Nheless, you can''t take the elves with you. They will be considered hostages. If you can resolve your issue, there won''t be any issues. If you can''t, on the other hand, these banks will be allowed to do as they please with the elves."


    "All right, thank you, Achilles."


    I was extremely grateful to Achilles. He had done his best. That level of leniency was a sign of trust. Under normal circumstances, a bankrupt individual loses his freedom. Achilles was the only one who trusted me enough to let me roam free, not to mention even allowing me to take some stuff with me. I could take everything worth money and then run off to live in seclusion. Moreover, he didn''t confiscate all of my assets immediately.


    I still had a chance to reverse the situation. I had to. If I couldn''t, then neither could I enact my revenge. If I couldn''t get revenge, then who would be responsible for Veirya''s pain? I couldn''t care less what mistakes I made before. You dare touch my family and loved one, and I''ll end you whether you have two heads or four arms.


    Achilles nodded. Then, he whispered something into the ears of the few with him. They discussed among themselves before turning around to make way for me.


    I patted the Elven Queen on the shoulder and assured, "Don''t fret. I''lle back for you. I''m going to need to sort out a few problems now. Wait here for me. I promise to be back."


    "I know," responded the Elven Queen, visage void of fear or suspicion. She touched my face and expressed, "What a frightening night. Although I cannot see, I can feel your angst. I understand that anyone would get emotional if they saw their loved one in such a state. Sadly, I do not even have the chance tofort you now. Lord Lin, I cannot help you with anything this time. As such, I will wait here for your return. I will always wait for you no matter how long it takes."


    The Elven Queen then tried to go up on her toes and gave me a light kiss on my cheek. I silently nodded in response; I didn''t care if she could see or not. I headed inside. Leah, who had transformed into her adult form, ran up to me to tightly hug me and sobbed on my shoulder. I hugged her, sniffed her scent and relished her warmth. My body also began to quiver slightly. I had calmed down. Howbeit, I started to feel fearful after hugging my Leah. I was genuinely worried. Had I been back just a little bitter, I might never have seen my Leah again.


    "Papa¡­ Papa¡­ I''m scared¡­ Leah¡­ Leah is scared¡­ How did this suddenly happen¡­? Why¡­? H-how is Mama Veirya?" whimpered Leah, as she tightly gripped my clothes and quavered.


    I stroked Leah''s head with firm strokes. "It''ll be okay, Leah. It''ll be okay. I''ll protect you, Leah. Veirya is also fine. Don''t worry. Leave her to Lucia. I trust Lucia. Still, we need to leave this ce. Let''s go to the imperial capital to resolve this first. By the time wee back, Veirya will have recovered. It''ll be all right, Leah. It''s not that serious. Trust Papa."


    "Uhm¡­"


    Leah wiped her tears on my chest. As she did so, I saw Ross descending the stairs with several sheets of paper in his hand. I rushed over and grabbed his wrist, frightening him.


    "What are you trying to do?! They sent you here, didn''t they?! You''re trying to take my stuff, are you?! You''re trying to steal my stuff, aren''t you?!"


    "No! I am not¡­ I¡­ I¡­ These¡­ these¡­" stammered Ross, who shrunk and brought his limbs in.


    Leah ran over and grabbed my arm. "It wasn''t Ross'' fault. Ross¡­ Ross has already done his best. Several men barged into the house to snatch Papa''s stuff. Ross¡­ Only Ross was able to snatch some back. This is all he managed to get back¡­ Papa, it wasn''t Ross'' fault!"


    I froze in ce. Seeing the documents in Ross'' hand, I slowly released my hold on him. Frightened, he retreated a step but didn''t dare to utter a word.


    "Sorry. I was impulsive," I apologised and dropped down to the side. "Those documents are meaningless. Those are the bits of the contract I made with Francis in the past. It''s for thend far up north. It''s useless now. One, because thisnd no longer belongs to Veirya. Two, even if I sold thatnd, it wouldn''t be enough to repay my debt of fifty-thousand gold coins."


    "Sorry¡­ My Lord¡­"


    "It''s fine. It''s not your problem. Regardless of what you grabbed, it wouldn''t have been enough." I got up and scrubbed the two kids'' heads. "Whatever the case is, I need to go to the imperial capital. I can''t give up when Veirya is in that state. Leah. Ross¡­"


    "Leah will always be together with Papa!"


    "If¡­ If possible, I will also stick with you, Lord Lin¡­ I will do my best to help!"


    Despite turning his fingers into steely mps and sounding serious, I could detect the hint of nervousness and fear in Ross'' tone.


    "All right, let''s go to the imperial capital and collect some debts!"

 Chapter Volume 7 38

    <em>Lucky</em>


    Lucia exhaled a breath of relief. She gently scrubbed her hands that had been washed with Veirya and her lover''s blood in the basin.


    Not only was Veirya bleeding incessantly, but even her organs were damaged. Had it not been thanks to the elves'' medical skills and emergency powder for controlling bleeding, Veirya wouldn''t havested until the rain stopped. At longst, she had escaped critical condition and just needed to wake up.


    Ignoring Travor''s involvement, Lucia couldn''t bear to see her old friend die before her eyes, either. She and Veirya didn''t have any enmity between them; they just happened to love the same man. Lucia didn''t hate Veirya. Veirya never used any underhanded schemes to win Travor''s heart. Lucia understood that she just happened to lose. She admitted to being somewhat jealous. Still, her sense of justice wouldn''t allow her to leave Veirya for dead.


    Lucia gulped down a cup of water. Then, she turned around to catch one of her attendants approaching her. The attendant hesitated for a moment before opening the curtain and conveying in a quiet voice, "Your Majesty, I am not sure if I should report this."


    "Speak your mind."


    Lucia sat down to the side. She trusted her attendants. Lots of them were elves she had known since childhood; some had even taken care of her. She believed them to be loyal and brave. As such, she never suspected them.


    Lucia''s attendant dithered and dithered¡­ Finally, he reported, "Before I tell you, I need to apologise first. Your Majesty, we formed a small team and kidnapped a human from the mine at the frontier without your permission. We kidnapped one of them and demanded Lord Travor, personally, delivers the ransom here so that you could meet him."


    "That is preposterous!" Lucia mmed the table and furiously rose to her feet. In a muffled voice, she reprimanded, "What were you thinking?! I told you that the matter between Travor and I is our business! It''s private business! I should prioritise elves and the forest, not my personal feelings! What do we do if your act instigates humanity into getting revenge on us? Moreover, what would parliament say?! How would I exin it?!"


    "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty!" The attendant immediately bowed his head.


    Lucia started pacing until an idea flourished in her mind. Softly, she questioned, "Did you mean¡­ that I, I meant, you were the ones who wounded Veirya?!"


    "I¡­ think so¡­ Perhaps they attacked Lord Travor and Lord Veirya due to him refusing to pay the ransom¡­ thereby causing Lord Veirya''s injury. I think that might have been what happened, which is why I am reporting this matter to you¡­ As you saw, Lord Travor has an overwhelming desire for vengeance. I think something happened in humanity''s side that is keeping him from ming us. However, if he does find fault with uster on¡­ what do we do?"


    "Mm¡­ Go and kill that human, and pretend nothing ever happened," answered Lucia, after a long think. "Since we don''t know why he hasn''t realised the connection to us, we should prevent him from making the connection. Kill the hostage, and pretend nothing happened. Remember: you never kidnapped anyone, understood? Don''t tell any other elf. Pretend this never happened."


    "Yes, Your Majesty!"


    ***


    "Mm¡­" Queen Sisi read the letter and then cast her gaze on the rain outside. She scratched her head and then she threw the letter onto the desk in an annoyed manner. "How weird¡­ Why did Veirya die when Achilles didn''t do anything¡­? Well, whatever, it says she''s dead in the letter¡­ Who knows..? That wasn''t part of my predictions."


    "Your Maj-"


    "Quiet."


    Queen Sisi extended forth a hand to stop ady-in-waiting who went to speak. Queen Sisi wasn''t asking for opinions. She was merely muttering to herself to sort out her thoughts. True, she did say that she wanted to kill Veirya. Even so, she knew that Achilles wouldn''t do so. Furthermore, that wasn''t her main agenda. She was merely afraid that Veirya woulde for her head.


    Veirya''s mishap definitely didn''t spell good news. Lin Dongqing was headed to the imperial capital with a vengeance. He could ept Sisi causing his bankruptcy. If he believed that she killed Veirya, though¡­ there''d be no telling what he''d do for there''d be nothing he wouldn''t do should the me fell in herp.


    Veirya''s mishap messed with Sisi''s head. She pinched her own face and sighed. She picked up a nk letter and began to write. Once done, she handed the letter to thedy-in-waiting and instructed "Rush this letter to Achilles as fast as possible, and don''t concern yourself any further."


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    Queen Sisi heaved a heavy breath again. Then, she peered out the window to watch the rain with a smile. "Interesting. Things are getting more and more interesting. Dongqing, hurry to my side. I am so looking forward to what you can do this time¡­ While you''re at it, help me get rid of those elves. Since it happened there, the elves can forget running from the me. Oh, right, what''s that on your neck?"


    Queen Sisi touched the ne on thedy-in-waiting''s neck. The ne resembled a tiny flower carved from a piece of jade. Ladies-in-waiting in the imperial pce were forbidden from wearing any jewellery, hence why thedy-in-waiting quaked in her boots.


    Fortunately, Queen Sisi didn''t hurt her. Instead, she sighed again. "I''ve heard it plenty of times as of recent. Why do youdies-in-waiting love to wear jewellery? I don''t recall you all having a habit of wearing jewellery before. I saw the headdy-in-waiting confiscate many from you all, however. What''s going on?"


    "These¡­ have recently be popr in the imperial capital¡­ Theye from a merchant who came back from the North," exined thedy-in-waiting, quivering as she spoke. "The merchants said¡­ that these gave them good luck while they were in the North¡­ And so¡­ lots of people want to buy them¡­ They are very dear¡­ We were told that we had to wear it at all times¡­"


    "I see. Hide it well, then. Don''t let the headdy-in-waiting catch you. I don''t care about discipline in the pce and, therefore, will keep the secret for you."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty!"


    "Good¡­ luck¡­" repeated Queen Sisi. Queen Sisi watched thedy-in-waiting leave. Indeed, luck was the most important thing to her in her situation.


    ***


    "This is for you, Lord Lin."


    As I was about to leave, the Elven Queen approached me. She removed her ne and then tried to search for me. Ciara grabbed the ne from her and handed it to me. A calm smile bloomed on the Elven Queen''s face. "Sorry, Lord Lin. I know that you need money this time, but I do not have any. I felt that perhaps this would be worth some money to you. I am returning this to you. If it can be of help to you, then that would be fantastic."


    Truth be told, the ne was meaningless to me as it wasn''t worth much, but I took it anyway.

 Chapter Volume 7 39

    <em>Negotiation</em>


    The ne the Elven Queen handed me was but ame, simple handmade item thatmoners made. All it did was serve as a symbol for good luck. Good luck is worthless, unfortunately. Ifdy luck was on my side, I wouldn''t be in my pickle.


    Although the ne was useless to me and I didn''t believe in luck, I had to admit that I needed luck asionally. I still had signed contracts with me. They were evidence that I bought the shares. However, they didn''t even have the shares to the coal mine, so it was deceit. Ruining one''s credibility and reputation as a business is courting death. I could sue them in court and resolve the matter ording to thew in the imperial capital. In fact, I didn''t even need the merchant alliance to lock horns with me.


    By my estimations, the merchants'' alliance hade for me. I had lost my advantage. There was no way I couldbat so many businessmen on my own. See, merchants damage their so-called credibility as other merchants won''t ept one merchant shamelessly conning others. They made an exception and allied to swindle me. That meant that their evaluation of each other wouldn''t suffer any negative effects for liars don''t consider another liar a liar when they''re on the same team.


    No businessman in the entire imperial capital would take my side because they all yed a role in harming me. To add, they had nned it all out. They definitely had it all nned out from the very beginning. I needed to deduce where the problem started.


    First and foremost, they said that a coal mine had been discovered. Then, Edward came to the North to extract the coal from the mine. I had my n in mind from way back then; I just didn''t voice it to anyone. I only told Veirya a simplified version of my vision. I then went to the bank in the city to ask about getting a loan with coteral. I then headed further north with Francis and brought back a group of people. Next was the war with the elves. I never left the town from the beginning to the end of the war. After that, I went to the elvennds to bring Sisi back. I then reinstated her. That then brings me to this.


    The span of time in between was too big. I didn''t know what went on in the North while I was busy trying to reinstate Queen Sisi. Since when did the merchants begin nning to send me into bankruptcy? No idea. Was it from when I first asked about a loan with coteral from the bank? No, I didn''t think so. I doubt they knew what I would do.


    The most usible frame of time would be after that, when I began preparations to ept the coal mine. It must''ve been around the time Edward brought me his records after I reinstated Sisi. The merchants had already begun their ns to ensnare me from then. Had I managed to be patient enough, this wouldn''t have had happened¡­


    It was my fault for being too greedy and overconfident. It was so obvious. I should''ve realised there was a problem when I noticed the price of the coal mine sitting steady. I should''ve realised there was a problem when it was such a breeze to procure the shares. I was too overconfident that I believed I was immune to being deceived. What exactly happened¡­? What exactly happened to me¡­?


    It was that letter¡­ The letter Sisi gave me. Wait, it might not have been from Sisi. Achilles gave the letter to me, but it was on Sisi''s orders. I should''ve had doubts from back then! Why was I the only one who received the news? Sisi might never have said it. Achilles might''ve been the mastermind of the entire scam. I couldn''t consider him the good guy after he did me this favour. He was never my friend. Achilles must''ve let me go to appease his conscience. I assumed it must''ve been Achilles and the bank president''s handiwork.


    I wasn''t convinced Sis would deceive me. She never lied to me before.


    I had to see Sisi for she wouldn''t betray me. I couldn''t fight head to head with the merchants. I could take one on. Unfortunately, I was the one who was being ganged up on. I couldn''t beat their rocks with an egg. The biggest problem is that I was bankrupt. I needed some money to protect myself first and foremost. Not only was I going to have my belongings confiscated, but even my family would be assets for them to sell.


    I pledged, "Leah, the elves, Veirya, Angelina and Anna¡­ What other options do I have¡­? I must protect them,"


    I leaned on the timber board but had no desire to sleep. Leah used me as a pillow to sleep. Ross slept curled up in another corner of the carriage. I could no longer tell if Ross was a blessing or a cmity for me. I couldn''t name anything bad that Ross did ever since joining me, not to mention that he gave his all to pinch my stuff back for me during the incident.


    The document was the contract that Francis signedst time with me. It was a lease. It was useless, unfortunately. My name and Francis'' was on it. In other words, it was only effective between the two of us. Further, even if Francis decided to be benevolent out of the blue and buy it, it would only supply me with a few hundred gold coins.


    I''d be better off treating my family to a nice meal than a few hundred gold coins, when I owe fifty-thousand gold coins. Starting a small business with a few hundred gold coins and hoping to turn the tides is asking for the impossible. First, the bank wouldn''t possibly have the patience to wait for me to reverse my situation. Second, I was a bankrupt man. Nobody would trust me, financially assist or supply me with goods to sell.


    Sisi was the only one I could turn to¡­ Having said that, I doubt she could whip out fifty thousand gold coins. I couldn''t ask her to open the national treasury for my sake as it was the empire''s money, not mine¡­ I had no hope of repaying my debt. I nned to ask Sisi to kill them all for me. I would never abuse authority, but this time, it would be a waste to not use such a simple method. I just wanted to kill them. How that was done wasn''t something that I wanted to think about at the moment.


    The carriage continued forward. I didn''t know how much longer it would take to reach the imperial capital. The moon outside was clear as if nothing ever happened. My life had crumbled down in ruins. The piece of shit world was still clear and beautiful, nheless. Those businessmen might be out drinking and celebrating their victory. My wife''s life was still hanging in the bnce. My daughter might end up being sold off. I was finally calm. That being said, I''d unleash a methrower on them when I caught them.


    "Don''t let me reach the imperial capital because, when I arrive, I''ll be collecting your heads with a scythe," I inwardly asserted.


    ***


    "This is it, right?" Sisi questioned as she looked at a star-shaped ne. She threw it over to the headdy-in-waiting, who nodded in response. She bemoaned, "I''m not very enthusiastic about concerning myself with you all. Your private matters are not my business. My job is to keep the empire alive, not to fuss over ady-in-waiting''s jewellery."


    "But thedies-in-waiting will only behave if you give themand. This is inappropriate. This thing''s price has continued to appreciate. How could ady-in-waiting afford it? They might begin epting bribes just to buy it in the future. That is not good for you."


    "All right, do as you see fit, then. That said, ask a merchant toe tomorrow. I want to learn more about it."

 Chapter Volume 7 40

    <em>Subi</em>


    I couldn''t imagine what the status quo of the imperial capital was. Rather, it seemed to always be prospering no matter when. Despite what took ce during the military''s reign, the people still had enough to eat. I, however, knew that the city was a city of blood. Perhaps it''d be more precise to describe it as a monster''s mouth, where countless people had been minced in it and then their bones spat out but were fortunate enough to survive. For example, Queen Sisi could.


    I wondered if I had some sort of peculiar fate connecting me to the city. When I lived in the North, I had no clue what the imperial capital had to do with me. However, due to several encounters that jeopardised my life, I ended uping to the city. I could consider it the home to my life.


    "All right, we''ve arrived."


    I carried Leah off the carriage. Ross disembarked after us. We had lost track of how many days we spent in a carriage. I had even abandoned my carriage. We had to board a carriage carrying fur to travel to the imperial city. The fur was excellent cushioning and kept us warm. Sadly, we ended up reeking of fur.


    "Papa, where are we going?" asked Leah, who I led by the hand. "Papa¡­ if we have time¡­ Leah would like to take a bath¡­"


    "I know, Leah. Papa promises to let you have a good rest¡­"


    I touched my pocket. I only had approximately a few gold and silver coins. That was enough to let Leah have a good rest. We, at least, could get a decent room. However, they were myst dors, myst legs. It wasn''t remotely enough for me to get back on my feet. All I had left was only enough to not ruin Leah''s living experience.


    I had no idea what the future had in store for me. If I went bankrupt, Leah wouldn''t be able to stay with me. It wasn''t a question of whether I wanted her or not. My daughter would unquestionably be sold off after I was bankrupt. My bankruptcy had nothing to do with Leah. I couldn''t allow her to be sold off owing to my ipetence. I had to entrust her to someone trustworthy. Until then, I couldn''t mistreat her as her father. I didn''t inform her of what her fate in the future might be. She didn''t ask, either. Perhaps she wasn''t upset as she still considered me her almighty father. Unfortunately, I might''ve been at my wits end.


    "This ce is¡­" Ross cast his gaze onto the dark-red structure.


    "What, you don''t recognise it anymore? Isn''t this the ce where you sneaked into our carriage?"


    It had been restored to its former glory. I could hear the subi''s cheerfulughter from within. All of theirughs promoted the cirction of money. The men wouldn''t hesitate to spend money inside in exchange for a nce form the girls they fancied. Nheless, the subi didn''t need gold. They needed the men''s bodies.


    Shy Ross lowered his head. The revealing clothing the subi wear was a bit too much for him. The subi virtually never showed themselves during the military''s reign, but they were now in bloom.


    "Miss Leah?!" A subus eximed.


    "I need to see Sophia," Leah demanded.


    "Understood."


    Little Leah neither had any powers or weapons, yet the subi remained absolutely loyal to her merely thanks to her lineage. When a trail of smoke came out, I knew Sophia hade.


    With her pipe in hand, Sophia respectfully bowed deeply to Leah. She then questioned, "What is the matter? I am rather busy with business here. We will obey Miss Leah''smands, nevertheless. Something must have happened for you to be back here again. Go ahead and tell me. We will be sure to help."


    "I need you to hand this ce over to Papa!" demanded Leah, before I could speak. "Papa is in desperate need of money. You definitely have a decent amount of money here. You must hand the money and ce over to Papa!"


    Sophia''s brow popped up. "Haha, is this your idea? If it is your idea, I am fine with it. Money is meaningless to us now. I am fine with handing it over as long as you can allow us to stay employed. So, what do you have in mind?"


    "That''s not what I''m after," I replied, then pushing Leah over to Sophia. "Sophia, I need you to take care of Leah for a while. I''ll be back to pick her up. Before I do, could I trouble you to take good care of her?"


    "Is there something you need to do again?" Sophia inquired without rejecting me. "Judging from your expression, you have a problem, and you give the impression that it is not easy to resolve."


    "You''re right." I crouched down. I stroked Leah''s head and kissed her face. With a smile, I said, "Leah, stay here for now. Papa wille back once Papa resolves the money issue. Papa can''t take this ce. It''s not Papa''s. Plus¡­ if Papa fails, Papa hopes you can stay with your subi kin."


    I couldn''t take the ce. If I did, it''d be part of the solvency. Putting aside the fact that it wasn''t worth much, I couldn''t guarantee that the subi would be safe from the bank. The bank might tear the ce down and build it back up. What would be done with the subi, though? The ce was their only home and ce of survival left. Moreover, if I was done for, Leah would have somewhere to go. At the very least, she''d have her subi kin. I didn''t feel assured with letting Leah go anywhere else. The subi would undoubtedly treat her well, at the very least.


    "Papa! I want you toe back!" eximed Leah, tightly hugging me around the neck and sobbing. "Leah will be a good girl¡­ but Leah doesn''t want to lose Papa¡­ Papa won''t fail. Papa won''t fail¡­ Leah will wait for Papa. Papa¡­ please¡­ you must pick Leah up¡­"


    "I know. I know, Leah. I promise toe back to pick you up. I promise."

 Chapter Volume 7 41

    <em>Behind the Scenes</em>


    <strong>NOTE:</strong> Read notice inments.


    "Lord Lin. Lord Lin¡­ are we going to loan money now?"


    I didn''t want to find lodging despite the darkness havinge out to y. It had been long since Ist ate and slept, but I felt neither hungry nor tired.


    Ross had to jog to keep up to my pace. However, I had no intention of amodating him. I grabbed a long loaf of bread and tossed a copper coin to the merchant. I handed the bread to Ross. He took it but was startled due to my sudden kind gesture.


    "Umm¡­ are you not eating, My Lord?"


    "I have no appetite."


    Ross ripped the bread and then chased after me. He tried to pass half of the bread into my swaying hand, making me turn around. Frightened, he took a step back. He dug his fingers into his bread and frantically replied, "Sorry¡­ Lord Lin¡­ I did not¡­ I just¡­ I was just¡­ mm¡­ worried you were hungry¡­ so¡­ so I came over¡­"


    "It''s all right."


    I adjusted my speed and resumed. Ross noticed that I slowed down, thereby finally smiling and ran up to my side. Because took care of me despite my extremely poor mood, I didn''t judge him to be some malignant tumour anymore. If he had any designs for me, he wouldn''t have followed me when I was at rock bottom.


    While eating his bread, Ross inquired, "Lord Lin, Lord Lin, are we going to loan money? We no longer have money, so we have to take a loan, right¡­? Else¡­ we cannot back the back."


    "No. The bank isn''t the issue. If it was just them, I wouldn''t have been defeated so thoroughly. The businessmen deceived me. In their defence, I share part of the me. I was too overconfident. I wouldn''t be in this predicament had I calm down just a tad. It''s pointless to seek them as they definitely wouldn''t give me a loan. I''m going to see Her Majesty now. Wait for me outside the imperial pce."


    "But¡­ It is alreadyte¡­ How about we wait until tomorrow morning¡­? Her Majesty would not grant you an audience at this hour, would she?"


    "I''m an exception. Just wait for me at the door."


    We finally arrived at the pce doors. As Ross said, the doors were shut, and only guards stood at the door. When they saw me approach, they opened the door for me without ament.


    "Wait for me here. I won''t be too long," I instructed.


    I didn''t know if Sisi had heard of my bankruptcy and, therefore, ordered the guards to open up for me or if the guards knew my identity. Themps on both sides of the imperial pce weren''t particrly bright. Sisi didn''t go for strolls in the middle of the night anyway.


    The rear pce was still bright, yet Sisi''s room was dark. Ady-in-waiting reacted surprised upon seeing me: "Lord Lin, you have arrived?! Her Majesty said you would be here, which was why we did not dare to let too many off at night. It is good news that you have arrived. Did you want to eat something? I shall notify Her Majesty. She must be asleep now."


    "Mm¡­ I''ll head up to see her."


    I wouldn''t want to disrupt Sisi''s sleep under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, I had to speak to her as she was the only one who could now help me.


    "That¡­ is not wise, is it¡­?"


    Normally, nobody was allowed to approach Her Majesty''s bedroom, especially males. I moved thedy-in-waiting aside: "It''s fine. SIsi won''t me you. If you stop me, on the other hand, she will punish you."


    "Please head on up, then."


    I heaved a breath before knocking. I heard Sisi climb out of bed and open her door. Sisi radiated as she pulled open the door. Before I got to speak, she expressed, "Dongqing! I knew it was you! I knew it! The only person who could be here for me at night is you! Come, Dongqing. Come in. Do you have something to say to me? Come."


    I had no idea why Sisi had a fondness for sleeping nude¡­ Regardless, my intention wasn''t on her body that didn''t have a blemish under the moonlight. I entered her room. She cheerfully jogged over to her bed and sprawled out on it. She patted her bed with a smile: "While I didn''t expect it, I don''t care. Dongqing, do you want to do something? If you do,e. I asked thedy-in-waiting what I had to do, so I, too, want to try what I learn."


    "No, I didn''te here to do it with you. Sisi, I came to ask you for a favour¡­"


    "Is this about your bankruptcy?"


    Sisi rolled over to face me, and let an unweing smile bloom. I felt something was off about her when I looked at her. Nheless, I didn''t think too much as it was reasonable for news of my bankruptcy to have reached her.


    "Yes¡­"


    Though it was shameless to admit it, I had to speak up. Else, I wouldn''t have any way of discussing it with Sisi.


    "It''s all right, Dongqing. I know about it. It wasn''t your fault. Clearly, someone was pulling the strings from the shadows. The businessmen wouldn''t have teamed up, otherwise."


    I emotionally responded, "Indeed¡­ you''re right. So, do you have any clues?"


    "I do, hehehe."


    Anxious, I took a step forward and practically yelled, "Who orchestrated it?!"


    Sisi hopped off her bed and sauntered to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and bit my ear. She thenzed onto my shoulder andughed: "Me, of course¡­"


    l

 Chapter Volume 7 42

    <em>Responsibility</em>


    "Sisi¡­ you¡­"


    I simultaneously retreated and pushed Sisi back, eyes an extra sizerger. She wore a smile of bliss as she did before. Her beauty was still surreal, yet she appeared as a hideous fiend to me¡­ The moonlight and shadow split her face in two. The side enshrouded in shadows stared at me as if it wanted to eat me whole¡­ I didn''t want to believe it in spite of Sisi, personally admitting to it.


    "Why did she do this to me¡­? I trusted her. I thought she loved me¡­" I inwardly questioned.


    "Ah, Dongqing, I know what your next question is."


    Sisi giggled andtch onto me. I couldn''t help stepping back, bumping into the wall. She touched my face with a smile and hugged me around my waist. Then, she sniffed my face and gave it a few kisses. She muttered to herself, "It really is Dongqing''s smell¡­ This is Dongqing''s smile. The smell and warmth that has lingered in my mind all this time is finally here¡­"


    I yanked Sisi off and thundered, "Tell me what happened! Why did you do this?!"


    Sisi wasn''t rustled. She, instead, wryly smiled and pressed a hand on my lips: "Why are you asking me that? Don''t you already know? Dongqing, you went back on your word and abandoned me alone here. Shouldn''t you have expected this? You reinstated me but turned around and left. Isn''t it clear what I''d do in response? Or, did you think that you found women''s weakness with Lucia, leading to you believing that all women in the world were as fragile and weak as Lucia? Sorry, but I''ve never been a weak woman, Dongqing. I am a Queen. Either I get what I want or I destroy it. I like the way a bird looks when it takes flight. Even so, I didn''t regret my decision when I saw its corpse. Understand now, Dongqing?"


    I seized Sisi''s neck with one hand. She didn''t panic in the slightest, not even when I began to tighten my grip. After a brief moment, I released her and stepped back: "Come after just me alone, then. Veirya is innocent. Why did you hurt her?"


    "What did you say?!" It was the first time Sisi revealed such a surprised gaze, reacting as though all of her preparations had been destroyed. She gripped my arm and eximed, "What did you say? Why is Veirya hurt?"


    I ripped my arms out of Sisi''s grasp and snapped, "Why are you asking the obvious?!"


    "No, no, Dongqing, I¡­ I really don''t know anything about that!" Sisi who then anxiously took a step forward, denied. She pointed at herself and questioned, "Dongqing, let me exin! I wanted to make you go bankrupt to have youe to me. I never wanted to harm Veirya. You can ask the merchants and Achilles. Although I ordered them to deceive you, I never gave the order to kill Veirya! Veirya is your lover, and she''s also my important friend. How could I possibly order her assassination?! What happened to Veirya?! Dongqing, how is Veirya?!"


    I mused, "Does SIsi really not know? I''m cognisant of the fact that she''s a ster actress. There are no tell-tale signs of acting; even her lips are trembling. I can''t think of anything to refute her exnation, either. She just needed me to go bankrupt. I''de to the imperial capital once I was bankrupt. I''de no matter if Veirya was alive or not. There''s no motivation for her to harm Veirya. Who hurt Veirya, then? Did the workers really attack us of their own volition? So¡­ Sisi only made me bankrupt but didn''t hurt Veirya?"


    Sisi advanced and cried, "Donqing, what exactly happened?! Say something! Tell me. Think, think, who hurt Veirya, Dongqing?!"


    "If she''s telling the truth, Veirya''s injury was my fault¡­ It''s all my responsibility. I have nobody I can me¡­ My arrogance led to my downfall. It was my idea to block the road¡­ I refused to go to the elves due to fear¡­ It was me who tried to entertain the workers and failed to appease them¡­ It was all my fault¡­ This is all my fault¡­


    "I am the source of Veirya''s pain¡­ I should''ve been the one to bear all of the consequences. The pitchfork should''ve pierced me that night¡­ Veirya got hurt trying to protect me. She had to bear the repercussions of my errors¡­ I can''t me anyone but myself for all of this¡­ Nobody stole what I loved from me. It was I who personally destroyed everything I cherished¡­"


    "Dongqing, was it your fault? Did you fail to protect Veirya? Veirya wouldn''t possibly get hurt on her own. Why did she get hurt? Dongqing, did you do something wrong?"


    I inwardly beat myself up, telling myself, "Because of my greed, I got involved with the chapel and Achilles, causing Veirya to end up getting burnt. This time, I caused her to get hurt¡­ It''s always been my fault¡­ Had I chosen to stay at home, none of this would''ve happened¡­ Had I been calmer and smarter, I would''ve deduced the coal mine''s issue and not stuck my nose in there¡­ Had I gone to see Lucia, nobody would''ve been kidnapped¡­ Had I not avoided Veirya, this wouldn''t have happened¡­ All of this is a result of my selfishness, my arrogance¡­ I''m not worthy¡­ of Veirya¡­


    "Veirya won''t be happy with me. I''ve never given her any happiness, warmth or bliss. All I''ve done is hurt her time and time again. I took advantage of her naivety to do selfish things, hurting her over and over. Veirya¡­ sorry¡­ sorry¡­ sorry¡­ It''s all my fault¡­ It''s all¡­ my fault¡­"


    "Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ Sorry¡­ I''m truly¡­ sorry¡­" I weakly fell to my knees and dug my head into the carpet. My tears burst forth from my eyes, taking along my despair and angst. s, my apology wouldn''t reach Veirya¡­


    "Okay, okay now¡­"


    Sisi knelt down to hug me, gently stroking my neck and back. I hugged her back and wailed. Nothing came to mind, and I didn''t want to think about anything. I could only see Veirya in my mind and her final gaze on the ground.


    "Didn''t I tell you before? Dongqing, some birds are bound to not belong in a cage. Sometimes you don''t need to be with someone because you love them. Sometimes the world is just cruel that way. Some people like cactuses despite it pricking them. Dongqing, you understand, right?"


    Queen Sisi''s voice sounded indistinct next to my ear. It sounded as though it came far away, yet as though it was a voice in my head.


    Queen Sisi licked my ear, bit it, unbuttoned my shirt and stroked my chest. Whilst gently panting, she asserted, "Exactly, Dongqing. You are the same as me. We''re the same, aren''t we? I want to hold you, but I always hurt you¡­ You do the same thing, don''t you? You only keep hurting Veirya at her side. It''s not your fault or mine. It just happens to be our nature¡­ Nobody in the world will feel blissful with us. We can only find warmth with each other.


    "Dongqing, stay with me. Don''t go and hurt Veirya or anyone else. Do you still remember how we will able to ovee a seemingly insurmountable challenge when we were together¡­? Though you are bankrupt in name now, in reality, I have the rights to the coal mine. Marry me and be Prince Consort. Then, you will be the real major shareholder of the coal mine. That means that you didn''t trick the bank, and they won''t ask you for the coal mine. Veirya can continue ruling in the North, while you''ll have the ck gold that can bring you wealth. I have steam engines. Steam power will shake the foundations of the entire world. We can change the entire world together, and we can collect the entire world''s money. Dongqing,e to me, okay?"


    I rationalised, "Do I have any other choice now that it''se to this¡­? I''m¡­ out of options¡­ I can''t¡­ return to Veirya''s side¡­ Sisi is right¡­ I''ve only ever been hurting her¡­ And¡­ I''m bankrupt¡­ I¡­ can''t reverse my situation¡­ All I can do¡­ is¡­"


    "All right¡­"


    Sisi pecked the same way a mother hugged her child: "It''s all right now. It''s all right now. Dongqing, just return to me and all will be fine¡­ I''ll protect you¡­ I''ll always protect you. Forever and ever. I''ll always love you¡­ Just stay with me¡­"

 Chapter Volume 7 43

    <em>Decision</em>


    "Ross¡­"


    Ross quickly got up from the ground and excitedly turned to face me. Nervous and hopeful, he inquired, "Yes! Lord Lin, can we leave now? Has Her Majesty agreed to help?!"


    I wiped my eyes to start. Tone calm, I replied, "Come in, Ross. Sisi wants to see you. While I''m at it, I want to give you post in the imperial pce."


    Ross revealed a look of surprise: "¡­ Lord Lin¡­ H-have I done something wrong again¡­? I¡­ I do not want to leave you¡­ No matter how things turn out¡­ I wish to stick with you¡­ Lord Lin¡­ Please do not kick me out¡­"


    "What are you saying?" I asked, touching Ross'' ears at the same time. "I''ll also be staying in the imperial pce from now. You won''t be leaving me. That''s why I need to give you a proper post in the imperial pce. While we''re at it, I want to let you meet Sisi."


    Ross had a moment of realisation. He rubbed his eyes, and his ears sprung up with excitement again. d, he asked, "I see! Sorry, Lord Lin. I was too impulsive and presumptuous. Mm¡­ All right, I shall go with you now. However, your decision sure came suddenly - I am referring to your abrupt decision work in the imperial pce. Does that mean that the issue has been resolved?"


    I bobbed my head: "You can say that."


    I led Ross into the imperial pce.


    Beaming, Ross queried, "I knew Lord Lin would definitely resolve it. You live up to your reputation. I am amazed you were able to resolve such a serious issue within one night. Did Her Majesty agree to help you? Do you need me to write a letter to Miss Leah and Lord Veirya to have theme over?"


    As we ascended the stairs, I answered, "Leah, yes, but not Veirya."


    "Uhm¡­ That makes sense," responded Ross. He dithered as he had something to ask but decided against it. Beaming, he conveyed, "Lord Veirya is still injured and cannot move yet, after all. Sorry, Lord Lin, I almost overlooked that."


    "No. That''s not what I meant."


    I led Ross to Sisi''s bedroom without borating on my statement. Sisi didn''t shut her door. Hence, we saw her sitting at her make-up table,bing her long burgundy hair in silence.


    Ross went down on his knees as soon as Sisi was in sight. His nerves were so frazzled that he trembled and didn''t dare to utter a word. Queen Sisi had worn on a splendid white dress, which perfectlyplemented her skin colour. Raising the corners of her lips, she queried, "Dongqing, I never expected you to find yourself such a beautiful anthropoid maiden in such a short frame of time. Is she a cat?"


    "I-I am a boy, Your Majesty¡­"


    "Oh?!"


    Queen Sisi thought her eyes had been tricked. She had always been confident in her skills to read another person, being able to identify one''s nature with a single gander, only to fail to correctly identify Ross'' gender. That left her incredibly awkward. She immediately dashed over to Ross. She touched his head and remarked, "What a cute catman. You can work as a servant in my rear pce from now on. Go and see the headdy-in-waiting. I think you''d look cute in ady-in-waiting''s uniform."


    Ross looked at me with a pitiful gaze, hoping that I''d say something. He was a boy; he wasn''t willing to be treated as a girl. The most feasible exnation for Sisi''s demand for him to wear a female uniform was to satisfy her nasty tastes. He didn''t dare to protest, so he turned to me.


    "Ahem, let him work in reception at the front pce. I think that would suit him better. I don''t feel assured with a male in the rear pce."


    "Oh my, Dongqing, are jealous now?!" teased Queen Sisi, with eyes that were glimmering. She hugged me around my neck with delight and kissed my lips. Sounding as if she was flirting, she warmed, "Let''s do that, then. Donqing, I have to interact with men for work, though. I''ll do my best to limit contact with them. Don''t go getting intimate with thedies-in-waiting back here, either, okay?"


    Ross was blown away by surprise after bearing witness our act. Words hade to his lips. Howbeit, he hesitated to let them out.


    "Now then, I should pick Leah up, as well. I don''t have a child yet, but I promise to live up to my word. I will do my best to take care of Leah. Ross, I''ll let you deliver the letter."


    "But¡­ Your Majesty¡­ Miss Leah¡­ is Lord Lin and Lord Veirya''s daughter, is she not?" stuttered Ross, gulping as if it were hisst breath. "Umm¡­ Umm¡­ I am not too sure¡­ what is happening¡­ Umm¡­ Lord Lin¡­ are you and Lord Veiry-"


    "Oh, that," remarked Sisi, with a smile. She looped her arm around mine. Blissfully, she went on, "You haven''t gotten married yet, have you? I''m also Dongqing''s fianc¨¦e now. We''ll hold a wedding as soon as usible. This is a decision we came to together. As for Veirya, I can only apologise."


    "What are you doing, Lord Lin?!! Do¡­ Do you not love Lord Veirya?!" Ross snapped, leaping to his feet. "Did you note here for Lord Veirya?! Also¡­ Also, Miss Leah considers Lord Veirya her mother, which is why she loves her so much. What exactly led to you doing this?! You have betrayed Lord Veirya and Miss Leah. You cannot make this decision on your own. Miss Leah¡­ Are you not even going to consider Miss Leah''s feelings?!"


    "Ross¡­ it''s aplex situation to exin¡­" I sighed. I opened and closed my mouth several times thereafter but couldn''t articte even one reason despite having an abundance of reasons.


    "It''s fine, Dear. Go and write Leah a letter. I''ll exin to him."


    Sisi pushed me out of the room with a smile and mmed the door shut. She leaned onto the wall to listen to what was happening outside. Once she heard my footsteps vanish in the distance, she spun around and suspended Ross in the air in one hand. He screamed and struggled. Sadly, Sisi had her vice-like grip around his throat. She red at him with her ice cold hetechromia eyes and the hideous expression of a demon.


    "Listen, Kitty."


    Ross couldn''t breathe. All he did was put up a futile resistance.


    "I''m taking you in thanks to Dongqing. My wedding with him is more important than anything to me and is my most blissful future. If you dare share your opinion on the matter, I''ll pull your spine out, break it up into bits and serve it on Dongqing''s te, got it?"


    The misty tears in Ross'' eyes inhibited his vision. He instinctively nodded. Sisi finally released him. Ross dropped to the floor with a thud. He held his neck and panted.


    "Good," remarked Sisi, who pped her hands and revealed a happy smile again. "So then, let''s get along from now, kitty."

 Chapter Volume 7 44

    <em>Steadfast in her Faith</em>


    <em>Gasp!</em> Angelina vigorously opened her eyes. Veirya, who had been deep asleep the entire time, suddenly shuddered and then began to tremble. Angelina grabbed her and softly called her, "Veirya! Veirya, what''s wrong? Are you all right? Veirya¡­ Veirya¡­ Shall¡­ Shall I call Lucia over¡­?"


    "No need. I have already arrived," informed Lucia, as she came in from outside. She removed her gloves and ced them aside: "Don''t worry. I predicted it would be around today. I meant that this is an indication that her wound is healing quite well. She shoulde to in a few hours'' time. She''s truly lucky. If Travor''s blood didn''t match hers, not even I would have been able to save her. I know that she''s definitely going to search for Travor once she wakes up, though. You must stop her. Her wound hasn''t fully closed. If she doesn''t want her organs to pop out and bleed to death, she needs to stay here and recuperate. For convenience''s sake, I''ve asked Ascillia toe over, since you''re humans. If you have any issues or needs, let her know."


    Lucia and Angelina weren''t exactly on good terms, but neither were they on bad terms. While Veirya was a warrior with the army, as a former knight of the chapel, Angelina rarely had contact with elves. As a result, Lucilia and Angelina didn''t have much to say to each other. Hence, Lucilia left after giving a small nod.


    Angelina hesitated for a brief moment. She lingered and lingered, but finally spoke out, "Thank you, Lucilia. Without you, my daughter w-"


    "There is no need to thank you. I did what I should have done," replied Lucilia, who turned around and shook her head, as well. "After all, she''s mypanion. She once fought side to side with me and saved me on many asions. It''s my turn to save her this time. Moreover, Travor asked me to save her. If you genuinely wish to thank me, then when Veirya wakes up, ask her to stop being excessively possessive. Let Travore over and keep mepany asionally."


    "I can''t make any promises there."


    Angelina honestly couldn''t make any promises there. Plus, she didn''t want to make a decision on her daughter''s behalf. Lucia left with augh.


    Veirya gradually calmed down. She fell asleep again as she usually did. Angelina gently stroked her daughter''s hand. She leaned in and kissed Veirya''s cheek.


    "Veirya¡­ hurry up and wake up¡­ You''re Mommy''s only child¡­ Although¡­ Mommy never fulfilled the role of a mother and even has a crush on your man¡­ Mommy sincerely loves you."


    Usually, Angelina would never say such things. She would never vocalise her love for Veirya. She always wholeheartedly loved Veirya no matter how circumstances changed. That included when she was still the chapel''s knight, while her daughter chose to be the Queen''s knight. That also included when Veirya drew the line in their rtionship. Angelina was once asked if she could kill Veirya, and she nodded. Deep down, nheless, she knew that she could never get serious with her daughter. Her de would never pierce her daughter, because she loved her daughter. She loved her mother than her life and loyalty. Veirya was her only daughter. She was her most beloved daughter¡­


    ***


    "Miss Leah, do you need anything else?"


    Leah stood up from the bathtub. She checked out her perfect body but couldn''t shake off the feeling that something was odd. The subus at her side courteously handed her a bath towel. Leah dried herself and shook out her long hair. She swept her red eyes over the subi. She wasn''t the Demon King or even a daughter he liked. To be fair, however, he didn''t like any of his children. Nevertheless, the subi trembled as if the Demon King swept his gaze over them.


    Leah calmly issued her orders, "No, nothing. Just prepare me some food and do my bed. I won''t stay here for long."


    The subi immediately began to move upon receiving their orders. Sophia entered the room. She bowed to Leah first before speaking, "Miss Leah, may I ask what opinion you have of our ce?"


    "Nothing," remarked Leah.


    Leah had no ns to continue speaking. Sophia dawdled for a second before speaking again, "I apologise, Miss Leah. What I say next may not please you; however¡­ I think that Lord Lin will not being back¡­"


    "What are you saying?! Of course Papa will be back to pick me up!" thundered Leah, after turning around to look at Sophia. Tone stern, she eximed, "Papa has never abandoned me! He never abandoned me at any point, and there''s no way he will abandon me now! Papa wille back for Leah once he is done resolving the problem! I am certain of it!"


    "I beg your pardon for my bluntness, Miss Leah! Miss Leah''s father went to the imperial pce but has still note out. Furthermore, Ross, who was outside, has also been called into the imperial pce. Clearly, they do not n to leave the imperial pce. Miss Leah, I may know what your father is up to. If he does not n on leaving the imperial pce after entering, then that means he has been kept there by Queen Sisi¡­ Do you think that she would ept you?"


    Leah knew from the very beginning that Sisi wasn''t Veirya. Sisi didn''t like her from their first meeting. The only reason Sisi was nice to her was because of her papa. That was precisely why Leah didn''t want to be around Sisi and would take the risk to bring Veirya to her side.


    If her father went into the imperial pce and didn''t return, then she¡­ either stayed with the subi or joined Sisi. There was no doubt in her mind that Sisi would find an excuse to banish her.


    "I''m going to go find Papa!"


    Leah instantly understood where Sophia was going with what she said. Leah spun around and left. s, Sophia grabbed her before she could. Leah whipped Sophia''s grip off with annoyance. Sophia solemnly advised, "It is pointless to go find Lord Lin now. Moreover, they will not let you into the imperial Pce. Her Majesty will not be pleased, either¡­ Therefore, you should wait, in my opinion. I just want to remind you¡­ that I do not have my hopes up¡­"


    "Papa¡­ Papa won''t abandon Leah¡­ Papa¡­ wille back¡­"

 Chapter Volume 7 45

    <em>Alcohol</em>


    "How is Dongqing?" inquired Queen Sisi, whilst handing her cape to the approachingdy-in-waiting.


    Thedy-in-waiting frowned: "He has not moved for two days. He has locked himself in your room this entire time, doing nothing but drinking. Your Majesty, while this is your personal affair and we should notment as yourdies-in-waiting, we sincerely do not hope to see you marry an alcoholic. We cannot see how he is worthy of you in any capacity."


    "That''s where you''re wrong," contested Sisi, with a chuckle. "I feel much better with him in that state. You know, some birds can never be controlled. They''ll try and break their cage even after they bleed from banging on it with their head. My rear pce is massive. How easy would it be for him to leave? Furthermore, would I have to kill everyone''s hero when that woman charges in here? All I need is for him to choose to not leave. When someone proud discovers that everything they did was meaningless, they will end up in that state. It''s just a temporary breakdown; there''s no need to be rmed. Having said that, you must ensure that nobody can approach him. Leave him in that state. Give him what he asks for. Time will smooth everything out. When hees out, he''ll be a qualified Prince Consort."


    Thedy-in-waiting didn''t have a positive impression of the alcoholic at present. Nheless, Her Majesty''s orders were absolute.


    Sisi jogged upstairs jubntly: "Since you don''t like taking care of a drunken man, let me, personally, take care of him, then. Oh, right, have you prepared what I asked you to? I will only have one wedding ceremony in a lifetime, so it must be majestic. I want people toment that it was the most memorable wedding they ever attended decades down the road, understood?!"


    "Yes, Your Majesty!" respectfully responded thedies-in-waiting.


    Sisi hummed a cheerful tune as she opened the door. She ignored the scent of alcohol that her hard as a wave and entered.


    Defeated, I had constantlymented to myself, "All of it was my fault¡­ mine¡­ All of it was my fault¡­ I should''ve realised it¡­ I shouldn''t have taken the bait¡­ Had I not agreed to join¡­ Had I stopped myself from being baited and stayed at home without being greedy, all of this could''ve been avoided.


    "Why did I have to leave home and stick my nose in it? Why couldn''t I resist the allure? I caused Veirya to end up hurt so seriously just to satisfy that insignificant desire for glory and to entertain myself¡­ Last time, I gave Veirya a burn scar for spare change. Why do I never learn?


    "Why don''t I think for Veirya? Why am I so selfish? I''m always iming that I do everything for her and to protect Leah when, in reality, what have I even done? I did everything I did just to satisfy my selfishness and ego¡­ I destroyed our entire family¡­ I made Veirya suffer. All of it was my fault¡­ Nobody is to me for this¡­ It''s all on me¡­ It was my mistake¡­ my mistake¡­ my mistake¡­ I brought it all upon myself¡­


    "I don''t want to think about it. I really don''t want to think about it¡­ s, try as I may, I can always see Veirya''s face as though she''s next to me¡­ Is it because of the alcohol o me? I''m calm. I''m not agonised. Veirya has never left me or gotten hurt¡­ She''s right here next to me¡­ She''s living well on her own up North.''


    "Nobody will hurt Veirya if I don''t stick around her, right? As long as I''m not with her, Veirya won''t be in danger. Veirya can protect herself if she faces danger¡­ She''ll be fine as long as I''m not around¡­ Sisi is right¡­ My embrace will be what hurts Veirya. I can''t stay near her. She''ll end up in her current state again if I do.


    "This is fine. This is fine. As long as I stay here, Veirya will be safe and well. Without me causing turmoil, Veirya won''t get hurt. I''ll ask Sisi to repay my debt to the bank, and then the North will remain Veirya''s. In the future, the North will develop thanks to the coal mine. Life will be a lot more convenient. Veirya won''t need to bother with anything. She just needs to live in peace there. There won''t be any wars or people to look down on her. That''s fantastic¡­


    "I''m fine as long as I can see Veirya alive. Sisi was right. A bird is prettiest when it flies in the sky. I can. I''m no good. I can''t stay by Veirya''s side. I''ll only ever bring her trouble. I keep stating I love my family, but I can''t even provide Leah with a proper home now. Leah should be able to study with the elf at home without any woes, and then go to the field to train with Veirya in the afternoon. She should beughing, ying in the water and dancing in the rainbow. That''s how things should''ve been. I''ve never done anything to bring them bliss. All I ever did was sabotage their happiness.


    "It was my fault¡­ It was my fault¡­ All of it was¡­ my fault¡­"


    "I''m not against you drinking. With that said, alcohol is not good for you or your mind. Additionally, I think you should get some fresh air."


    Sisi opened the curtain and window. The fresh air whisked the scent of alcoholing from my corner outside. She picked up a bottle of alcohol from the floor and, from the window, stated, "Alcohol isn''t bad. Drinking too much will get you killed, though. I don''t want to be a widow at such a young age. Come, Dongqing, I''ll arrange a bath for you. Have a nap in the afternoon, and then you''ll feel better."


    "¡­ The fault was mine¡­"


    "It''s all right," consoled Sisi, who stroked my face with a smile. She kissed my lips and borated, "It''s not toote to realise your mistake. It was none other than pride that hurt Veirya and brought upon you a disaster. In saying that, Veirya isn''t one who can withstand a disaster. So ordingly, you two aren''t a good fit. Dongqing, I love your ego. It''s not a weakness that needs to be changed. All you need to is someone who can help you resolve the problems resulting from your ego. I''m wholeheartedly willing¡­"


    Sisi struggled to lift me up. She gently panted as fear took form on her face. Slowly, she unbuttoned me. Then, she anxiously and frantically pulled off my belt. She touched my body with her hands as lustful woman would. Her face was the face of an intoxicated and entranced woman. She leaned onto my chest and licked it.


    "Mm¡­ Dongqing''s scent¡­ It''s Dongqing''s scent¡­"


    Sisi''s hand slowly slid south to finish removing my belt. As her panting intensified, she ran her hand across my chest and down to my belly button. As if she finally made up her mind, she shoved her hand in¡­


    "Ahahaha!"


    Despite my conscious being fuzzy, I was still frightened. I was lost for what to do. I wanted to get away, only to discover Sisi had crabbed my crotch¡­ Sisi''s hand¡­


    "Where do you think you''re touching!" I wanted to blurt.


    Queen Sisi let out high-pitched screeches that sounded darn weird. She wore a strange expression; make that a hideous wild smile. She gave myher region a few strokes and then quickly pulled her hands out. She panted and panted. I was worried that her heterchromia eyes would burst into blood. She nkly looked at her right hand and, ignoring my presence, shook as she held her hand up to her nose¡­


    "Fuah¡­ Fuah¡­ Hnng¡­ I knew it¡­ I knew it¡­"


    Seemingly feeling not addicted enough, Sisi stuck her hand into her mouth and sucked it¡­


    "Dongqing¡­ It''s Donqqing''s taste¡­. It''s all¡­. Hmm¡­ Seriously¡­ this is amazing¡­ Hng¡­"


    Sisi turned her head in a dangerous manner. She seemed somewhat dissatisfied with her temporary catch. She pushed me down and tried to pull my pants off in desperation.


    <em>Creak!</em> Someone gently pushed the door open. A startled Sisi almost pierced thedy-in-waiting standing stiff with her re upon locking eyes with thetter.


    "Umm¡­ Your Majesty¡­ I just¡­ just¡­"


    "Ahem, go on. What''s the matter?" Sisi did have to maintain her image as a Queen. She calmly got off and pulled over a chair to sit in.


    Thedy-in-waiting couldn''t have felt any more awkward. She felt that it was best not to say it in consideration of her safety. Nevertheless, she asked, "Umm¡­ umm¡­. Ross wants to see Lord Lin¡­ Do we let him in? Ross is Lord Lin''s pupil. Is it really appropriate for us to stop him?"


    "Tell him Dongqing is drunk and asleep, so don''t let him in," replied Sisi. "Henceforward, refuse him if you see him. I don''t care how you do it. Ask the guards to drag him out if you must. Is my rear pce a ce that a cat cane in at his own pleasure now?!"


    "Yes, Your Majesty¡­"


    "Call over ady-in-waiting to give Dongqing a bath, too. Ah, Edward is also back. I''ll go see him in the afternoon." Sisi put on a fake surprised visage and got up after touching her right hand. Thedy-in-waiting quickly made way. She lowered her head, not daring to look at Sisi. Sisi passed by the maid and whispered, "If you dare to leak what you say, I guarantee I''ll make you regret being born, understood?!"


    The maid quavered, "Yes, Your Majesty!"


    Queen Sisi didn''t respond, nevertheless. It never happened, after all.

 Chapter Volume 7 46

    <em>Provocation</em>


    "Very good, very good, Edward. All else aside, youpleted your job splendidly this time. I now have what I want, so you can take a break,"plimented Sisi, chuckling as she crossed one leg over while sitting on her throne.


    Edward respectfully bowed and inquired, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Then, may I ask what ns you have for the coal mine and steam engine?"


    "I know what you want. I approve. I''ll officially appoint you as the department head of my business department when I get married in a few days. In saying that, the rights to the coal mine are still mine. You can open your own factory. I won''t ask for a single dime. I will have eighty percent of the ie from the steam engine, and you shall have the remaining twenty. However, only I can produce steam engines, understood?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty."


    On the surface, it sounded as though Queen Sisi gave Edward unfair stiptions. In reality, though, it was a blessing for Edward. The only reason Sisi was willing to share the ie from the steam engines was because he did a decent job deceiving Dongqing. All of the scientists now worked at her science department. Edward, therefore, no longer had the right to produce steam engines. Still being able to have ie from them wasn''t bad.


    Steam engines were bound to instigate a revolution. Twenty percent of the ie produced from them was just a drop in a bucket for a nation. Having said that, it was an enormous sum for a businessman, no doubt. As the department head of the business department, Edward would be able to check on the factory. He could start factories. He would be first to know where there were business opportunities. On top of that, he would also have control over the factory Achilles started. As such, he was able to boss Achilles around.


    Queen Sisi couldn''t possibly let Achilles be the first to enjoy the bonus produced from a steam engine factory. Consequently, someone had to go and put a spoke in his wheel. In turn, the two would have to remain loyal to her forever. She could always use one of them to check the other.


    "¡­ Umm, Your Majesty, I have another question."


    "Oh?" Intrigued, Sisi switched legs. "All right. Speak. Let''s hear it. Bear in mind, however, I''m neither a generous nor patient Queen. If you make a greedy request, I might take back what you have, got it?"


    "No¡­ I have a question, not a request," replied Edward. "Dongq-"


    "Since when did you have the right to address Dongqing by his name?!" thundered Queen Sisi, springing to herfeet. "He''s my fianc¨¦. In the future, he''ll be my husband and this nation''s Prince Consort! Is he someone you can address by name?! Do you really think you tricked Dongqing?!"


    "Sorry¡­ I did not¡­ Your Majesty¡­" Edward quickly and obediently bowed his head to apologise.


    After a short breath, Queen Sisi huffed and sat back down: "Now, ask your question. Let''s hear what it''s about."


    Edward looked up at Queen Sisi again: "Mm¡­ Your Majesty, it is about L-, Lord Lin''s daughter¡­"


    Queen Sisi tilted her head ever so slightly, "Are you talking about Leah? I don''t know what''s happened with her, but I haven''t seen her recently. I don''t know if she came to the imperial capital with him. What, what are you asking about her for?"


    "Leah¡­ mm¡­"


    "Oh!" Queen Sisi revealed a pejorative smile: "I never expected you to be that sort of man. Leah is still a child, yet you already want to do that already. You sold your wife and daughter, yet now want to marry a child?"


    "It is different this time. I genuinely want to live a proper life with Leah. I will treat her as well as Lord Lin does. I no longer need my sold off wife and daughter, either. I think I have found true love."


    Queen Sisi chortled in a condescending manner. Edward never even mentioned Leah, yet suddenly mentioned love. As if anybody would be convinced. It wasn''t love; it was a twisted creep''s fetish. Queen Sisi didn''t n to say anything. She didn''t like Leah at all. As a matter of fact, she considered Leah someone who would eventually threaten her. She didn''t view Leah as a daughter but a woman. There was no way she''d let there be another woman around her man. It was in her favour to get rid of Leah.


    "I don''t mind. With that said, you must realise that Leah has yet toe of age. If you want to marry her, you must have her parent''s signature on your marriage certificate. Otherwise, it is a criminal offence. What''s your decision?" asked Queen Sisi, folding her arms. "Do you think that Dongqing would sign now? His daughter is hisst family member, and you deceived him. If you ask me, I would imagine the first thing he''d do upon seeing you is strangling you to death."


    "Your Majesty¡­"


    "Don''t ce your hopes on me. I won''t help you. That''s Dongqing''s trigger. I wouldn''t possibly trigger it. I won''t provoke him as he currently is. Be patient. Wait until I am married with Dongqing, and you will have your way. After we''re married, I''ll be Leah''s mother. My signature will be equally effective. Before that, though, don''t provoke Dongqing, understood? Don''t provoke him! He hasn''tpletely broken down. If you provoke him, I''ll kill you!"


    Queen Sisi''s particrly ferocious gaze made Edward judder. Trembling, he replied, "Yes, Your Majesty¡­"

 Chapter Volume 7 47

    <em>Struggle</em>


    "What a cute kitty."


    The nobledy giggled as she touched Ross'' head. She ced a coin on his head that he took off. He bowed to the nobledy and then sneakily stuffed the coin in his pocket before leaving to see to the next guest.


    Thanks to his teacher, Queen Sisi didn''t make Ross dress as a girl for her own entertainment. He also took on the role of being a guide and wee guests to the imperial pce. The imperial pce wasn''t restricted to just a front and rear pce. When nobledies waited for their husbands, they would asionally hold banquets at the adjacent pces. Over time, it became a ce where lots of nobledies spent their leisure time. Sisi didn''t mind; actually, she was extremely tolerant and generous in her handling of the imperial pce.


    Everything at those two smaller ces was provided for free in spite of them providing the absolute best things in the entire empire. They were enjoying the same quality as the Queen. With that said, the users of the ces began to create a hierarchal system there in no time. Though everyone enjoyed the things offered for free, aside from families of high-ranking officials, everyone else who was there was treated condescendingly.


    Thanks to his keen senses, cute and frail appearance, Ross quickly earned fans out of the nobledies. Some even requested he wait on them for tea. He managed to earn some money in exchange allowing them to touch his head and face. Consider it a tip. Sisi would sometimese over for afternoon tea. Nheless, she never had Ross wait on her.


    Ross had a n. He needed to go find Leah. He didn''t know what exactly happened or what Queen Sisi said to his master, but there was one thing he knew, and that nobody was at fault this time. Veirya made the decision herself. She used herself to save his master but never wished for his master to leave her. Veirya was happiest when she was with his master. There was never a reason to betray family.


    Ross couldn''t contact his master, but Leah unquestionably could.


    Ross reasoned, "Leah is Master''s daughter. He will listen to Leah if not me. Leah can calm him down. Regardless of what happened, my master is still the most brilliant man in the world. If he can get himself together again, he''ll definitely be able toe up with a n! This wasn''t my master''s fault! It was nobody''s fault!


    "I should have enough money now. A few silver coins should be enough for me to ride a horse carriage to that ce. I must see Miss Leah. Master can''t continue this way. This is not what Lord Veirya protected Master for. This isn''t fair! I must get out of the imperial pce!"


    Ross checked left and right. He walked up to the headwaiter, removed his name tag at his neck and asked, "Sir, my work hours are up. Can I have a small break?"


    "Go on. Come back soon, though. The baroness wants you to wait on her during her afternoon tea."


    "Yes, Sir."


    Ross knew where he had to head to leave the imperial pce. The guards recognised him but didn''t bother with him. A number of horse carriages were orderly parked at the entrance. Almost all of them belonged to families, obviously. Ross descended the stairs hastily. A carriage for hire happened to stop at the entrance. He jogged over but identally bumped into someone.


    "Watch where you''re damn going!" fumed the man he bumped into.


    "Sorry! Sorry! I am sincerely sorry!" apologised Ross, after quickly helping the man up and bowed.


    "Hmph!" He tugged his clothes, and then nudged Ross on the shoulder. Surprised, he questioned, "Aren''t you¡­ Lin Dongqing''s pupil? What¡­ what¡­ what are you doing here?''


    "Mr. Edward?!" Ross reacted as if he met family.


    "What are you doing here? Are you trying to get out?"


    "Yes, I need to go see Miss Leah¡­"


    Edward''s visage changed as soon as he heard Leah''s name. He didn''t know where Leah was at the moment. She wasn''t in the North, so Lin Dongqing must''ve brought him to the imperial capital. However, Leah wasn''t in the imperial pce. Queen Sisi had no reason to lie about that. Plus, it was evident that Sisi wasn''t fond of Leah. If Leah entered the pce, Sisi would try all means to get rid of her.


    Edward wanted to take Leah out for a stroll and confess. If he couldn''t find her, though, then there was nothing he could do. He figured he''d take advantage of Ross.


    Edward caressed Ross'' cat ears and smiled: "You''re looking for Leah? Good timing. Let mee along. I haven''t been able to meet with Lord Lin, so I don''t know how he''s doing. This is a disaster. Lord Lin is my friend, at the end of the day. Let me go see Leah with you. Take my carriage."


    "All right," replied Ross, thinking, "If only I knew Edward was looking for them sooner. It might be a good thing to see Leah with Edward. He might be able to help me."


    Edward led Ross to his carriage. Ross climbed inside. Edward stood outside and took in a big breath. He fixed his hair and coat. Then, he asked his coach, "How do I look?"


    "Splendid, Mr. Edward. Are you going on a date?''


    "I guess you could say that, hehehe."


    Edward then climbed into the carriage. Ross carefully shifted over, afraid that Edward would hate him. Nevertheless, Edward didn''t mind.


    "Should I buy some gifts for Miss Leah? If I don''t have anything, it feels as though I''m not too polite¡­"


    "R-really¡­?"


    "What should I buy? Do you know what Miss Leah likes?"


    Ross stopped to think earnestly: "What exactly is Miss Leah''s favourite? Food? Clothes? Flowers? Something said?"


    But think as he may, Ross only found one answer. Leah liked her papa. There was no way Edward would have her.

 Chapter Volume 7 48

    <em>Proposal</em>


    Perhaps Edward felt insulted because the subi were fawning over Ross and uninterested in him. Business wasn''t busy at noon for the subi; most of them were free. When they saw cute Ross, they all rushed over to him, giggling and hugging him.


    "Aw, cute kitty, you want to have a nap in my arms?"


    Several subi surrounded Ross with their charming smiles. His tiny triangr ears were swiftly wrapped up in the subi''s mountains, almost leading to suffocation.


    A more mature subus approached Edward, who had stood around for a while: "Pleasee over here, Customer. Do you have anyone you are familiar with?"


    "Leah. I am looking for Leah."


    "Leah? Sorry, Sir, but Miss Leah does not entertain guests. If you know her, does that mean that Lord Lin sent you?"


    "I was! I was!" shouted Ross, after fighting his way out of the subi''s maze of breasts.


    Ross struggled with all he had to break free from the next hugs to no avail. They caressed his face and asked, "What a cute kitty. There''s nothing to do at the moment, so how about we provide you with free service?"


    "No! Don''t! I want to see Miss Leah! I need to see Miss Leah!" cried Ross.


    As opposed to saying that the subi were serving Ross, perhaps killing him would be a more fitting term. Ross'' face was as red as if he was going to explode; however, he didn''t dare to push them away for he was afraid of touching them indecently. The subi felt he was even cuter because he wanted to look, yet didn''t dare to. They loved the kitty; if kissing his cheeks didn''t prove it, then what better proof would there be?


    The experience traumatised Ross. Yearster, he couldn''t forget the humiliation he suffered there¡­ That was the reason he avoided the ce every time he''d visit the imperial capital¡­ Moreover, he was extremely afraid of Leah, who was also a subus as he was afraid she''d do the same thing one day¡­


    As they smothered Ross, Sophia came downstairs with her pipe hanging from her mouth: "All right, stop joking around. As Lord Lin sent them here to see Miss Leah, don''t hold them up, or Miss Leah will be angry."


    "Yes, Madam." The subi backed off whilst giggling.


    Ross quickly stepped forth and conveyed, "I¡­ I am Lord Lin''s pupil. He is in danger right now! I need Miss Leah to go see him! Lord Lin is in danger! I am telling the truth! I swear! I need to see Miss Leah! Where is Miss Leah?!"


    "Don''t panic. Miss Leah is upstairs. You just need to head up to see her."


    Edward voiced,, "I also want to see Leah. If possible, I would like to see her in private; I have something to say to her."


    "Head up together, then. Bear in mind, I won''t allow her to leave this ce. Lord Lin arranged for Miss Leah to stay here. If he wishes to take her from here, he must personallye and pick her up. Else, I won''t allow you to take her from here."


    Ross flinched: "I can''t do that! I must take Miss Leah to the imperial pce! Lord Lin is in danger! I swear it!"


    "Isn''t that Lord Lin''s issue, then? Since when did a father require his daughter to save him? Also, he left her here, which means that he should be the one to take her away, not you. If he can''t resolve the matter, he will be a businessman who owes others fifty thousand gold coins. As his daughter, Leah will be sold off. I will not allow her to be sold off! Therefore, only Lord Lin can take her away from here rightfully. I won''t allow anyone to take her." Sophiapletely shut Ross down.


    The most pressing issue wasn''t the fifty thousand but that he couldn''t get over his failure, though. Ross needed to ask Leah to bring his master back to his senses. Otherwise, Veirya would see her man and Sisi''s marriage announcement when she came to. How heartbroken would she be to see that?


    Edward ignored them and headed up. Sophia didn''t stop him. Edward knocked and weed himself in.


    Leah was in the middle of diligently reading a book. As soon as she heard someone enter, she immediately shut the book. The book she read was the brothel''s financial records. As her father taught her, financial records couldn''t be carelessly shown to others. As such, Leah wouldn''t let Edward see the records, either.


    "What now? Are you here to sell me off now?! If Papa didn''t trust you, he wouldn''t be in this predicament! What do you want?!"


    "No, no, no, Leah, let me exin. This incident really doesn''t have anything to do with me. I just wanted money to mine. I never expected th-"


    "Impossible! Papa bought shares to the mine and then used it as coteral to loan money from the bank! The shares were yours, though. There''s no way you didn''t know what happened! I''m Papa''s daughter! Papa taught me about these things! I''m not an idiot! I''m not going to be fooled!" fumed Leah, as she rose to her feet. "If you are just here to find entertainment from our misery, then I don''t want to see you. Although it''s normal for you businessmen to deceive each other, he''s my father! If you don''t have business, get out! I don''t want to see you!"


    "Wait, wait, wait, Leah. Calm down. Listen to me," cried Edward, who got to his feet and pressed his hands on Leah''s shoulders.


    Leah was just a kid, true. In reality, though, nobody knew her real age. She was merely in a pre-awakened state. When conversing with Edward, was nothing about her to suggest that she was a child.


    "Leah, believe me. I am here to provide you with a suggestion that would allow you to return to your father''s side. You can choose to refuse, but can you listen to my suggestion first? I can''t find your father at the moment. If I can, I wouldn''t speak to you."


    Leah narrowed her eyes. After a brief moment of thought, she asked, "All right, then. Speak. What is your suggestion?"


    "Leah, will you marry me?"


    <em>p!</em> Leah immediately pped Edward across the face the moment hisst word left his mouth. She hit so hard that Edward''s spine cracked. He wouldn''t have known that, while she looked in her teens, her teacher was none other than Veirya and Angelina. Although she had trained under their tutge for less than a month, she knew exactly how to throw heavy blows. As a result, she literally pped Edward''s conscious out of the room and into thin air.


    "Now you just insulted me! I wouldn''t marry you! I''m done with you offending me! Get out!"


    "I can repay the fifty thousand gold coins for your father, though!" shouted Edward, hand on his face.


    Leah froze in ce. With his gaze on her back, Edward exined, "Lord Lin is done for. He has chosen to stay with Her Majesty. The truth is, we deceived Lord Lin under Her Majesty''s orders. Her goal was to make him pledge himself to her. She has seeded now. If Lord Lin cannot pay off his debt, he will be forced to stay in the imperial pce permanently. What about Veirya, though?


    "If Veirya wants to be with your father, he must have fifty thousand gold coins. I can provide him with that amount. As long as you marry me, I''ll be able to put together fifty thousand gold coins. I take that back. Not even five hundred thousand gold coins would be an issue for me now. I am now running a business with that miraculous stone. I have the most stones. I can earn fifty thousand gold coins in the blink of an eye. As long as you marry me, I swear I can bring you fifty thousand gold coins!"


    Leah nkly stood in ce. She neither called for anyone nor turned around. She was aware of what Edward said. She knew her father''s debt was enormous. If Queen Sisi didn''t help him, he couldn''t repay the debt. If he went bankrupt, she would lose her family. Actually, it wouldn''t be just her family she''d lose. The elves cohabitating with her and herself would be sold off. Queen Sisi was her father''sst straw. s, Queen Sisi tricked her father.


    "How can Papa make aeback? Vieyra is still wounded and in the elvennds. If she heads home and finds her family is gone, Mama Veirya¡­ Papa did so much for me¡­ He''s just an ordinary human. He stopped Veirya''s de for me when we first met¡­ Afterwards, regardless of what happened, he was always by my side¡­ Should I do something for Papa?" Leah mused.


    "Can you really help my father repay his debt if I marry you?"


    "I guarantee it." Edward took in a deep breath and pressed a hand to his heart. He solemnly repeated, "I swear I will help your father. Leah, as long as you marry me, I promise to provide you and Lord Lin with a better life. Trust me."

 Chapter Volume 7 49

    <em>Father</em>


    "Veirya! Veirya! Are you awake?!"yelled Angelina, sping her daughter''s hand upon seeing thetter open her eyes


    Veirya licked her pale lips and, in a husky voice, enunciated, "¡­ Water."


    "You want water? Okay, okay, I''ll get you some water."


    Angelina gleefully rushed over to grab a cup of water. Veirya silently stared at the roof. She touched her lower abdomen, which had been bandaged with a thickyer of bandages, and surveyed her surroundings.


    "Are we. In the. Elvennds?"


    "Yes. Lin Dongqing sent us here. Take care of yourself. Don''t rush. He''s gone to the imperial capital. He can resolve this matter. Don''t worry, Veirya."


    Angelina brought the cup over to Veirya and carefully supported her daughter''s head to drink. Veirya had a small sip, privy to the limitations her condition imposed. By the same token, she didn''t get jumpy over her wounds.


    "Was it. Lucia?"


    Veirya wasn''t worried about Lin Dongqing but Lucia. Well, strictly speaking, she was taking Lin Dongqing into ount with her question, too.


    "How did. Lin Dongqing. Persuade Lucia? What did he. Promise her?"


    "Don''t worry. He didn''t promise to stay here. I have Lucilia to thank this time. It was Lucilia who saved you without asking for anything."


    "Really¡­?"


    Angelina stood up: "I''ll go tell Lucilia you''re awake. She might already know you''re awake and be on her way here."


    "Indeed," remarked Lucilia, overhearing Angelina outside for the nth time. She opened the curtain and, beaming, pped as she added, "How nice, huh? You''re all right now, Veirya. I figured you''d be up around now. You have to thank Travor. Had it not been for him, you would''ve died in minutes from such a deep wound."


    "Thank you, Lucilia," expressed Veirya.


    "Don''t try to use any strength in your lower abdomen for now, or your wound might open. Although I applied our medicine, humans and elves are different at the end of the day. The time it takes for you to recover is rtive to you. As long as you maintain your equanimity, rest properly and listen to us, you''ll recover quickly. Having said that, I haven''t heard anything from Travor for a while. Furthermore, your town seems to be up for auction. It seems that Travor is in a dire situation this time."


    "I know. Did you say. Our town. Was on auction?"


    "To be urate, they are preparing to auction it. We have no desire to dabble in it. It''s humanity''snd, at the end of the day. They''ll never let us elves have it. Have faith in Travor. He knows what he has to do. Rest well, Veirya. At the very least, wait until your wound has recovered before you go look for Travor. I won''t remind you of what you should be aware of already."


    "I know. Lucilia. What do you need? I don''t want. To owe you a favour."


    "You''re just worried about me making a request of Travor, aren''t you? Don''t fret, Veirya. We''re friends. We once fought alongside each other. You saved me, so it''s only fair that I save you this time."


    Veirya shook her head.


    Ascillia bowed in. With a smile, informed, "Hello, Lord Veirya. I am Ascillia. You do not know me. Mr. Lin saved me and my mother in the past. I am very grateful to him. As you are his wife, I am also grateful to you. After youe to, I will be responsible for taking care of you. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to let me now. I promise to do my best to satisfy you."


    "Ah¡­"


    Angelina thought to herself, "Being cognizant of the fact that elves and humans are different, Lucia arranged for a human girl to take care of Veirya so that she has someone who knows how to take care of another human."


    Veirya, to the contrary, nervously queried, "What happened. Between you and him? I want to know. The details."


    "Umm¡­ He¡­ is nice to me¡­ and looks out for me."


    A pink flush faintly appeared on Ascillia''s face. Angelina couldn''t help cursing to herself for she could foresee iing trouble. Inwardly, she questiond, "He and this child definitely had something between them. They didn''t officially date, but what do we make of the past now?"


    Drained, Veirya didn''t question Ascillia any further and closed her eyes.


    Angelina vigntly stole a gander Veirya''s way and then whispered to Ascillia, "Be careful. Veirya is a strong tendency to be jealous."


    ***


    "Umm, Lord Lin, this is a letter for you," ady-in-waiting reported.


    Curled up as a ball on the ground, I wondered, "Is the letter from Veirya or Leah? I don''t dare to look¡­ I don''t dare to¡­ I let them down. I''m a disgrace¡­ All of it was my fault¡­ All of it was my fault¡­"


    "Lord Lin, this is a letter from Mr. Edward addressed to you. Do you need me to read it to you?" inquired thedy-in-waiting. Eventually, she opened it but decided against reading it and stressed, "Lord Lin, it is best that you read it yourself. This is a<em> very</em> important letter from Edward. It is about his marriage to your daughter¡­ He needs your signature¡­"


    I yanked the door open aggressively, huffing and puffing. I snatched the letter from the startleddy-in-waiting and skim read it. Once I finished reading it, I ripped it in half as if I was ripping Edward''s limbs off.


    Afraid, thedy-in-waiting backed off and panicked: "Umm, umm, it there is nothing to do, I shall take my leave¡­"


    "Get back here," I demanded, catching her cor.


    Thedy-in-waiting shrilled and put up a resistance.


    "If it is not too much trouble, could you help me wash, bring me some new clothes, shave and help me tidy up my face?"


    "Wh-what are you doing?!"


    "Doing what a father should do."

 Chapter Volume 7 50

    <em>Revenge</em>


    "Congrattions, Edward. I don''t know why you''d like a little kid, but it sure is nice to have won her heart. Plus, you''ve be the businessman with the most stones. Both business and love are treating you well, huh," remarked a man with his ss of wine raised, underneath the bright candle.


    Edwardughed and raised his ss. He had a drink of the red-blood wine and boasted, "As a businessman, I''m already considered sessful. I really need to live with a peaceful mind now. I have the woman I love with me, and I''ve earned one million gold coins of stones. My trip to the North was an amazing one. It''s literally a gold mine!"


    "But, was that wise? You know who you''re provoking, don''t you? Sending that request letter to Lin Dongqing is begging for death, isn''t it? Didn''t Queen Sisi tell you not to provoke him? He would never sign. You''re just offending Queen Sisi at this point. Before my master left, he specifically told me not to get involved with that man in any shape or form. Was that wise of you? You even went against Queen Sisi''smand."


    "Who cares?" rhetorically asked Edward, leaning back and smuglyughing. "What do I have to be afraid of? Why do I need to be afraid? Why do I need to be someme idiot who''s bankrupt and doesn''t even have a house for? Why should I fear him? What, should I be afraid of him biting me? If he genuinely loves Leah, he''d let her be with me. I stated it in the letter. I am now a businessman with a one million fortune. Leah would only enjoy a better life if she''s with me, not after she gets sold off because of her broke old man!"


    "Your fortune is still just rocks, though. Once they lose their momentum, you''ll go bankrupt. You loaned five times the amount from the bank. You''ve invested all of your money in the business. If I were in your shoes, I''d start gradually getting rid of the rocks from now."


    "Do you know why the stone is worth so much? The stones aren''t worth money. The original inhabitants had lots of them; however, they''ve all been bought because the women believe that the stones will bless them with good luck and love. That''s why it''s so popr. In saying that, that is precisely why the price is absurdly high. Think about it, though. Despite the big price tag, has the women''s desire and passion for them diminished? Men don''t have it easy. Making money isn''t easy for them. If they shake their hips and say the word, their man will open his wallet, nheless. The market isn''t saturated yet; the price is still appreciating.


    "Given that I have the most stones, I can''t sell them. Every time I sell some, the price will fall. I need to ensure that their price reaches a certain point before I sell them. As for the bank, there''s no need to be concerned. Unlike that dimwit, I won''t make the same mistake he did. After this, I will be as wealthy as the nation. By then, even Queen Sisi would have to show me respect. Do I need to give a toss about her?! Hahaha"


    The man conversing with Edward began to contemte, "Will I be able to be as haughty as Edward? What sort of business should I pursue to impress my teacher, Achilles? Is it fear or what that''s keeping Achilles from returning from the North? I should get some aplishments to my name."


    ***


    "Where is Dongqing?! Where is my Dongqing?! Where have you taken my Dongqing?!" thundered Queen Sisi, as she hurled a flower vase with two hundred years of history at thedies-in-waiting.


    Thedies-in-waiting quivered on their knees. The room was in the same shape. Dongqing''s bottle was still where it was. His marks left behind when he was in the corner still remained, but he himself was missing.


    "H-he went to have a bath¡­ and then¡­ and then he left¡­"


    Queen Sisi furiously swivelled around again and snapped, "I told you not to provoke him! I told you over and over not to provoke him! What did you say to him?! I asked you to take care of one man, and you couldn''t even do that much?! I know what sort of man my husband is! Why did you have to provoke him?!"


    "We did no provoke him, Your Majesty!" sworedies-in-waiting, shaking their heads. "It was Edward¡­ Mr. Edward wrote a letter to Lord Lin, and then¡­ it appeared to be a marriage request that required Lord Lin''s signature¡­"


    "Edwaaaaaard!" Sisi roared, tugging on her hair.


    Queen Sisi screamed as she flung anything she got her hands on. Given the fact that she was angry enough to pull out her most cherished hair, it was obvious that her rage had reached boiling point.


    The headdy-in-waiting hastily subdued Sisi: "Your Majesty. Your Majesty, calm down. Calm down. Do not be so angry. This is detrimental to your health. Calm down first regardless of what happened. Lord Lin will definitely


    "Never expect handouts. n and manifest it yourself. Make money. Manifest muscle. Make your mark. Lord Lin certainly will not suicide or go and kill Mr. Edward. He is not the type to do that. Calm down. Believe that Lord Lin wille here. He wille back."


    "Have you ever seen a bird return to its cage after flying away?! Do you know how hard it was to get Dongqing? I was days, just days, away! Edward! You''re dead! You''re dead!"


    "Your Majesty, he now owes the bank money. Do you n to repay his debt for him after you kill him? Calm down, calm down. There are lots of ways to kill Edward. Do no personally give the order!"


    ***


    I could smell the familiar and strong smell of alcohol that I couldn''t stand previous visits. Now, though, it felt as gratifying as returning home. The rowdy voices, stench of dwarves and scent of alcohol immediately flushed out the door and my face as soon as I pulled the door open. The anthropoid women with buxom bosoms deftly passed through the crowd as I remembered to deliver the cups of wine and food. Francis, who conned me might''ve been down there, but I wanted to see him for a change.

 Chapter Volume 7 51

    <em>Deathmatch</em>


    Dwarves'' ability to sniff out minerals and money far surpassed the elves. Hence, the dwarves paid particr attention to the mineral that could make them money. Last time, Francis tricked me. Nevertheless, he was a businessman when it boiled down to it; there was no way he''d let a good opportunity slip through his hands. To add, he just wanted to avoid me. The imperial capital wasn''t under my jurisdiction, so he was devoid of worry.


    As soon as I went down, the dwarves stoppedughing and speaking and fixed their gazes on me because it was rare for a human to walk into their den. One of them went hell for leather to the back door.


    "Francis, what are you doing? Are you that unhappy to see an old friend? We''re businessmen; we get over things quickly. I have something to talk to you about."


    Francis halted in his tracks and slowly turned back around, tugging the corners of his lips up awkwardly.


    I squeezed through the crowd of dwarves to reach him. I bent over to whisper in his ear, "Francis, I know what business you''re currently in. If possible, can you treat me to a drink?"


    As the dwarves didn''t see any conflict, they resumed drinking. I could tell that they considered it boring that Francis and I didn''t get into a physical altercation. Francis, on the other hand, awkwardly and nervously sat down at an empty table with me. With his voice muffled, he asserted, "What are you nning now? It''s already been so long, and I didn''t take the lease. What do you want now?! I also heard you''re bankrupt; I can''t help you with that! Your threats won''t fly with me."


    "What are you saying? Didn''t I just say I already put it behind me? It''s absolutely normal for us to trick each other in business. I''ve gotten used to that long ago. You''re correct that I''m bankrupt, though. That''s why I need your help," I replied. Voice serious, I borated, "I learnt from ady-in-waiting in the imperial pce that there seems to be a carved stone being used as jewellery and explosively popr in the imperial capital at the moment. The stone jewellery, apparently, bring good luck and bliss, consequently sending its worth into the ether. That''s why lots of women want one; even thedies-in-waiting in the imperial pce want one. Surely you want to get involved with it."


    "Indeed. I suggest you quit while you''re ahead, having said that. The majority of the reserves are now in Edward''s hands. Moreover, it''s poor timing for you to jump on board as the cost is too high."


    "And that''s why it''s fine as long as I have more stones in reserve, correct?"


    Whoever monopolised the stone market had the right to set the price. Whoever could set the price profited the most. At the moment, Edward was the man with the most stones. He, therefore, was empowered to manipte the price on whims if his heart desired. As long as the women acted coquettish, the price would continue to appreciate. When he began to sell them, however, it would give the impression that the stones lost their value. As a result, lots of others would follow suit and abandon their stones. With a saturated market, they wouldn''t be able to sell them for a good price. In fact, the price would plummet rapidly. Besides Edward, the majority would definitely have sleepless nights.


    "Correct. We are also searching for them. Sadly, the people imed that they once buried the dead and worshipped God. They never told us anything else. The North is your territory, so we dwarves can''t go there to search for them. Humanity didn''t find anything in the North, either. All that can be found now are the stones those people brought. On the flipside, we''re also lucky the people in the North are awaiting your return. They''re loyal people, I tell you."


    From what I gathered, Francis had hit a wall despite his best efforts.


    "That''s what I came to talk to you about. You noticed that they were loyal to me, correct? And, I happen to be right in front of you." I put the ne and lease on the table then expanded, "See this? Have you seen a stone this big before? These stones are literally littered in the ce they came from, and it''s the simplest handcraft to them. So, if you can find the stones, you''ll be the man with the most stones, allowing you to control the price of the stones. In turn, you''ll be able to earn an incredible amount of money. On top of that, this is the lease to the ce they lived. This lease is legally effective. I haven''t acknowledged bankruptcy yet, which means thend won''t be auctioned yet. You follow?"


    Perhaps Francis was somewhat baffled after drinking too much. Perhaps the news came too sudden for him to process. This was the moment patience and silence decided the victor.


    Dwarves'' wine was strong, yet my mind felt slightly clearer after a cup, as a matter of fact. After a long silence, Francis went to take the lease, but I mmed my hand on it: "The initial price is no longer enough. Francis, you know that I''m bankrupt. If you want the lease, you''re going to have to pay more."


    Francis was also cognizant of the fact that the previous price was definitely not enough: "How much do you want?''


    "Ten thousand. I want ten thousand gold coins. Right now, Edward can im he has one million gold coins. Let''s say you know the ce where the stones are: would you be limited to just one million? Even ten thousand gold coins is a cheap price for it."


    "But ten thousand gold coins is a stretching it too far for me right now. I can''t afford it," protested Francis, showing the angst I was digging for.


    Really, ten thousand gold coins wasn''t much, though that was to future Francis. At the moment, it was a big sum for him. If he could find the ce, or rather, with my lease and letter in hand, the dwarves would be able to find the ce without a doubt. By then, one million gold coins would be spare change. As long as they pleased, the dwarves could control the sales and price; men would find all means of making money for a woman''s smile.


    "How much do you have now?"


    "Five thousand."


    I didn''t miss the tension in his jaws for the split second telling he, indeed, only had five thousand. Needless to say, ten thousand and five thousand gold coins were the same to me because I couldn''t repay either sum. My n wasn''t just to repay my debt but topletely, utterly, absolutely crush Edward. Last time, I reaped what I sowed. This time, Edward had to die. No alternative avable. Youy your hands on my daughter, and I''ll make sure you continue paying in your afterlife.


    "I''ll take five thousand, then. I want cash. The remaining five thousand will be my investment in your business. Then, I''ll wait for my share of the earnings. That''s enough for you to trust me, right? We''re now on the same boat. If you win, I win, too. With that said, I won''t earn, either, if the price plummets. I desperately need money now. Otherwise, I''ll go bankrupt. I can only earn if you do."


    The cornerstone statement was still applicable: to be able to monopolise it, news must be withheld. If everyone knew the dwarves manipted the stones'' price, they would lose their value. Once I divulged the location to others, the dwarves would lose their right to a voice. The people would realise what was happening and not fall for the bait. As such, Francis needed to trust that I wouldn''t spill the beans. So ordingly, I tied us together, thereby creating a situation where we either profited together or fell together, implying that I wouldn''t betray him.


    Francis pulled over a parchment and dered, "Deal!"


    After confirming that the contract on the parchment was fine, we made two copies and signed them. I handed the lease and letter to the Anks people to Francis. He couldn''t even wait until tomorrow; he wanted to get going right away. Business opportunities thate all of a sudden must be seized and capitalised on. For a businessman, it was a business that could climbs tens of thousands or fall tens of thousands within minutes.


    I received the five thousand gold coins invoice that could exchange for five thousand gold coins at the bank, but I couldn''t go. If I did, the five thousand would just be taken. To circumvent that, I had Francis write Ross'' name. I needed Ross, who I brought along, for the next phase of my n.


    "Cheers."


    The two of us had a toast to celebrate the establishment of our contract.


    "You''ve changed, Tarak. I remember you didn''t drink before. Howe you''re now drinking our wine as if it''s nothing?"


    "People change."


    "Did something happen to Veirya?"


    Should I say Francis'' intuition was pretty good? I pretended I never heard him and left.


    "Get your act together! Don''t let Veirya love you for nothing!"


    "I know," I responded, thinking, "I know that, obviously. I can''t let Veirya down. She loves me. Therefore, I must return to her side no matter what."


    Family is family. Edward reminded me that, even if I left them, people would stille after them, so it was up to me to protect them. The only one who could lie to them was me. Nobody else is allowed to deceive them.

 Chapter Volume 7 52

    <em>Insurance</em>


    In contrast to dwarves, humans weren''t fond of messy ces. While humankind was also a social species, they needed quiet environments, too. Humanity''s bar''s ambience and environment was excellent. At the extravagant bar, there was only Edward and a few others at the bar counter. The bartender dressed in a straight formal uniform, assiduously cleaning the ss cups. In spite of being a mere ss cup, one would think that the bartender was cutting diamonds given how serious he was.


    Edward loved the luxury he now enjoyed. He was finally able to enjoy what he could only watch before. His career sess was assured. He enjoyed his session on his own with the exquisitely crafted wine ss.


    After hearing the bell rang, the bartender regarded the customer who just entered wearing a hood a face mask with a polite smile. He inquired, "What would you like to drink?"


    The customer went and sat next to Edward. Edward nced at him. The customer appeared about the size of a child. The visible parts of his body were pale white. His hands appeared obviously small for a man. He pointed at the brand on the most expensive shelf and then turned to Edward. Sounding raspy, he informed, "Mr. Edward? I have been searching for you. They said that you might be drinking near the bar."


    "Yeah?"


    Edward chuckled. Nobody else could identify him, but maybe they never paid attention or forgot. Edward decided not to ask who the man was for he figured it''d be rude.


    The young man cleared his throat and expounded, "Sorry, Mr. Edward. I have a bit of a cold at the moment."


    "It''s fine. What do you seek me for? It must be important for you toe see me instead of sleeping."


    Though presumably young, the young businessman was a generous spender, which meant that he must''ve had the money to support it and also indicated the he was apetent businessman. If he didn''t have thepetence, yet spentvishly, it was easy to see through his disguise right away. Howbeit, hisposure was an indication that he was used tovish spending and high-end environments. He, therefore, had to be the child of a noble family or a businessman associated with sess. With such delicate and supple skin, it was obvious that he was no small-timer as businessmen had to run around all day. There was no way he''d have such nice hands. The fact that he could take such good care of his skin meant that his living conditions were top notch.


    Edward started to develop an interest in the businessman. Actually, proud would be the better word for the reason that he had begun to consider business a pastime, not a scheme.


    "I''m here to sell you something."


    Edward narrowed his eyes andughed. He had a drink and replied, "Take out your goods, then. Let''s see what it''s worth."


    "Mr. Edward, my good is on you or, more urately, you are my good. I know that you are currently the businessman with the most stones. The stones will make you extremely wealthy. I would estimate you could make around one million gold coins, correct? However, I know you would not have had enough money to obtain so much with you money alone. You must have taken a loan from the bank and arge sum, for that matter. So, have you considered that you would go bankrupt if someone else one day had more stones than you?"


    "That''s impossible."


    Edward frowned. Despite the reasoning being sound, it wasn''t auspicious to hear.


    "It is just a possibility. Can you guarantee that it will not happen? You can go and see if a group of dwarves have joyously left the city. If they found that ce, what would happen?"


    "That''s impossible! That ce is n-"


    Edward suddenly froze. The lord of the ce had gone bankrupt. As a result, the ce would be auctioned. Though the elves couldn''t participate in the auction, if they hired someone to bid on their behalf, then it''d be fine. Nobody mentioned him going to the North. With that said, given that the dwarves left the city so hastily, they must''ve found something. If the dwarves could get their hands on the stone, then¡­ Nheless, Edward couldn''t confirm the authenticity of the im.


    Noticing Edward''s silence, the businessman proposed, "Would you like to have insurance for the risk you have taken on? I know that you are rich now. You can earn an enormous amount selling just a tiny number of stones daily. Let us do this: I want ten thousand gold coins daily over a period of five days, thereby totalling fifty thousand gold coins. If the stones plummet during this time and you go bankrupt, I will cover your losses. On the other hand, if you do not go bankrupt, then I will take the fifty thousand gold coins. What do you think?"


    Such an insurance policy was the first Edward had ever heard of. Nevertheless, the conditions were eptable. Fifty thousand gold coins was an insignificant amount to a businessman with a million. Howbeit, if he was to go bankrupt, then he really would be doomed. There was no question that the businessman he offered the deal had a gain to make. The price of the stones had only appreciated; there were no signs of it depreciating. If he could make fifty thousand gold coins in five days, he would be making a colossal amount of money¡­


    "Didn''t you just say that some dwarves had left?"


    "But do you really believe that they will be able to locate the stones?"


    Edward stopped to think again.If somebody was willing to cover him, then it''d be a dreame true. The question was, could the businessman actually repay the losses.


    "Do you really have enough money to help me?"


    In response, the businessman took out several parchments.


    "I have already received money from plenty of people who have entrusted me with their backs. Though they may not have paid as much as you, I have made money. The price cannot possibly drop at the moment. Even if it did, I have enough here to get back your capital. What do you think? I can easily pay back the small-timers."


    "Mm¡­ All right, then. I''ll sign. As you mentioned, if the price doesn''t drop in five days, the fifty thousand gold coins will be yours, and you''ll also be able to earn from them, right? How much can you earn?"


    "About a hundred thousand. I have not finished yet."


    The merchant proudly thumped his chest. Then, he grabbed a new parchment and wrote up a contract. Edward checked the terms and signed..


    "Pleasure to do business with you, Mr. Edward."


    "A pleasure to do business, um, Mr. Douqin Lynn."

 Chapter Volume 7 53

    <em>Trap</em>


    A man donning a hood and face mask opened the door to Achilles''pany.


    "Mister, you are here for Sir Achilles, I would assume? My teacher has left. Leave an address, and I will immediately notify you when he is back."


    "No, no, no, I don''t need to see Mr. Achilles specifically. I just wanted to establish a small business deal here."


    The teenager Achilles only pupil. Achilles must''ve held him in high regard, though. He wouldn''t have trusted him with the ce, otherwise.


    "Sorry, I do not know if I have the authority to make the decision. If possible, I hope you can wait for Mr. Achilles to return."


    "If you didn''t have the authority, he wouldn''t have had you stay here, would he? You''re Achilles'' pupil. Wouldn''t it be weird for hispany to not do business during his absence?"


    I was d the boy didn''t recognise me. I had Ross approach Edward in a disguise since thetter recognised me. I guess I was disguising as Ross, then. Achilles'' pupil didn''t know me, so he wouldn''t have been familiar with my voice or appearance. Plus he was a pupil, so he was easy to fool.


    "Mm¡­ If it is a smallmodity, then I think I can make the decision. What would you like to discuss, then, Mister?"


    "It''s simple, really. It''s just a simple transaction," I answered. I took out several sheets of paper and expanded, "Let mee in, and then we can talk. I have a bit of a cold, so I''ll keep my mask on."


    "Ah, right, sure, sure, sure."


    The boy seemed to finally realise he hadn''t let me in. It was quite frustrating to him to have forgotten such basic reception manners. The fact that Achilles'' entrusted his rear to him was a sign of trust and, clearly, he didn''t want to disappoint. Even if he didn''t have any aplishments to note, he didn''t want to let Achilles'' business suffer a loss. Furthermore, it was his first time handling such tasks, so he wasn''t used to it yet. Having said that, I didn''t think he was a wall. At the very least, he was obedient. Perhaps Achilles believed obedience to be of more importance thanpetence.


    The guest room he led me to wasn''t exactly a big room, but that didn''t bother me. He inquired, "Would you like to drink something? Would you prefer tea or wine?"


    "I''ll be all right. I just came for business. I''ll be done quickly. I just need to show you these, and you will understand."


    I passed the boy the sheets. He took them and earnestly read over them.


    "These¡­ these¡­"


    "Exactly. These are insurance policies that they have bought to circumvent the risks undertaken. If the price of the stones doesn''t plunge into the depths of hell within five days, I can walk away with fifty thousand gold coins from Edward and their money. What do you think? Quick money, isn''t it? In saying that, if the price drops, I will need to cover Edward''s losses. The good news is that Edward''s money can be covered with their money. As for the smaller businesses, I have money to cover them. Bear in mind, though, the price of the stones are riding their poprity upwards. Would their price drop within five days?"


    The boy spent a brief moment to contemte it. He then shook his head: "So, you n to sell this offer? I am very sorry, then, because Mr. Achilles is not interested in these stones. I have only bought a tiny amount myself. I do not think it is worth buying this insurance policy."


    I felt that the boy wasn''t suited for business. In business, you need to be able to think dynamically. He had gold coins in hand; what sort of person doesn''t want gold coins when they see them? To my amazement, his first reaction was to wonder if he should spend money. How can that sort of person make money? I couldn''tin, though, as it was fantastic news for me.


    "Of course, I am not here to ask you to buy it. You see these policies, right? Ignore the small policies for now. Let''s analyse at Achilles'' policy. This is a policy worth fifty thousand gold coins. You''ve seen it yourself. You don''t get the money until five days after. I want money right now, though. Let''s do this. I want thirty thousand gold coins. In exchange, you can have these policies. After five days, you''ll have fifty thousand gold coins deposited into your ount, meaning that you earned twenty thousand gold coins. What do you think?"


    "Thirty thousand gold coins?! I¡­ I have never seen so many gold coins¡­"


    "That''s a given. Only sessful businessmen would be able to see so much money. If you''re just a pupil you''d never see such arge sum. So, you want to write a letter to Achilles, and wait for him to write back? It would take three to four days at the fastest for you two tomunicate, right? Would I need your money by then? Think about it. At the moment, you are purchasing this under Achilles'' name. When hees back, you would''ve made him a profit of twenty thousand gold coins. Do you think he''d still treat you as a pupil after aplishing such an impressive feat?"


    "But¡­ But¡­ But¡­" stammered the boy, simrly to a dying fish that was unable to make a sound.


    I could tell that he was in a dilemma. On one hand, he didn''t have the courage to proceed. At the same time, he wanted to prove himself with the twenty-thousand gold coin profit.


    "To be frank, it''s extremely rare to find a pupil who could generate a profit of twenty thousand gold coins. If he I can make a profit of twenty thousand gold coins, Mr. Achilles will see me in a beter light. That means that I''ll get to learn more. I might even get to seed thispany," inwardly reasoned the boy.


    Thirty thousand gold coins was undoubtedly a huge sum he''d never seen before as a pupil. On the flipside, it might be the reason he''d ept the offer.


    "Have a think. If you can''t call the shots, I''ll go ask someone else. I''m confident that there will be someone who epts making fifty thousand from thirty thousand."


    "Please wait!"


    The voice behind me told me I was sessful. Nobody can withstand the allure of money unless they could prove the money was bait. To the pupil, nheless, the money was definitely not bait.


    "If you think thirty thousand is toorge of a sum, I have a good idea. You can do what I did, and sell these to others. You can sell them as individual policies. Either way works. This deal¡­ is one super simple deal."

 Chapter Volume 7 54

    <em>Leah</em>


    "Your Majesty, do we need to send someone to search for Mr. Lin? We believe that he would not leave the imperial capital. As long as we find him, he wille back," carefully opined the headdy-in-waiting, who stood behind Sisi.


    "I told you already. You opened the cage. Have you ever seen a bird fly back into its cage after leaving it? Birds prefer the more expansive blue sky over the tiny cage. I was just one step away from plucking all of his fur! Damn Edward! I warned him not to provoke him over and over and over again!"


    Sisi spun around and threw a letter at the headdy-in-waiting. Angry, she ordered, "Take this letter to the elvennds. I don''t care who goes. Of course, it''s not for Lucilia but Veirya. I need to inform Veirya to avoid his rage burning even me. Dongqing can squash Edward without me lifting a finger."


    "Your Majesty¡­ are¡­ you really going to let him¡­ run amok here?"


    "This isn''t a joke. Even if he can''t kill Edward, I will kill him," raged Sisi, rising to her feet as she spoke.


    ***


    "My Lord, we have done what we can; what is our next step?" asked Ross, who stood next to me.


    I stared at the fire in silence for a brief moment before answering, "Wait."


    "We just need to wait?"


    Ross seemed to be under the impression that the operation was a bit too simple. After all, I only asked him toplete an insurance deal. Then, I sold the papers to Achilles''pany. I now had a total of thirty five thousand gold coins on me. I arranged the invoices and handed them to Ross.


    "Take five thousand gold coins to thergest bank tomorrow. Have whoever is in charge add it to part of my repayments. Although it''s not enough to repay the entire debt, it''s enough to prove that I have the ability to repay the loan and, therefore, can avoid them selling Leah. Remember: tell them that I''m still on the verge of bankruptcy. I don''t have any remaining assets. Don''t let them think that I''m back. We just need to hang onto the remaining forty five thousand and wait."


    "My Lord, you can repay the debt now?'' inquired Ross, in awe. "You made thirty five thousand gold coins without doing anything. I think Mr. Edward would have epted one hundred thousand if we asked for it. That way, we could repay your debt and pick up Miss Leah to leave."


    "My goal isn''t to repay my loan; I don''t n to repay it, either. They deceived me, hurt Veirya and still want me to pay them? This is merely to prevent Leah from being sold," I exined to Ross, with a squint. "My goal is to body Edward. What I''m doing isn''t to repay but to earn money. This is all meaningless to me. I want to destroy Edward and everything he has. He made me bankrupt, so I''ll give him a taste of his own medicine. It''s not just him, though. Every single businessman in this entire imperial capital will pay the price. I''ll destroy all business in the entire imperial capital. I''m going to let them know what happens when they trigger me."


    I decided not to go after Sis because I couldn''t do anything to her despite knowing that she was the mastermind. If I did something to her, she could just turn around and kill me. The incident taught me that Sisi wasn''t a kind and merciful Queen; even I wouldn''t be spared. If I made an enemy out of her, I''d be making an enemy out of all of humanity. What would I be able to do if I offended Sisi? What, flee to the elves? Humanity was only defeatedst time due to their internal turmoil. If Sisi waged another war on the elves, it''d be hard to say whoes out on top.


    As long as I didn''t stand in opposition to Sisi, she wouldn''t stop me. She was going to have to get involved after my n imploded whether she wanted to or not, having said that. All businesses in the entire imperial capital will have their foundations quaking. Once the bomb drops¡­ why was it my problem again?


    Ross handed me my cloak once I took to my feet.


    "Ross, stay here. I''m going for a walk outside."


    "Lord Lin, I think it is dangerous for you to walk outside on your own. I think you best avoid walking around outside at night."


    "It''ll be fine. I''m now just a failed and bankrupt businessman. Why would anyone want to harm me? Sisi knows that it''s pointless to search for me when I''ve chosen to leave. I never did anything wrong, so capturing me back would only take points off my fondness for her. She won''t be that stupid, so don''t worry, Ross."


    "Then¡­ take care, Lord Lin." Ross was still worried. Nevertheless, he could only take my word for it.


    The ce Ross and I stayed at was seriously excessively simple. I didn''t ask for premium living conditions, obviously. The owner was nodding off at the counter. There were a few people still drinking and quietly chatting in the main hall. I pushed the door open and woke the owner up. I told him, "I''m heading out for some fun, so don''t worry."


    "Ah, oh, sure."


    Truth be told, the owner didn''t want to let his customers go out. Thew in the imperial capital states that, if customers go out at night without the owner''s knowledge, the owner still has to be responsible. That was why owners waited at night.


    After Queen Sisi returned to the throne, the imperial capital became the city that never slept again. Maybe it was because there was now another item women liked that the men liked toe out at night to engage in some small stone trades. The stones were practically found everywhere to the people originally from further North, yet it had be worth so much money in the imperial capital.


    The thought of using the stones to make money never crossed my mind. My goal was merely to crush Edward, full stop.


    I felt that the booming brothel was where the majority of the stones were at. I noticed some subi with the puny gems around the necks of the subi clinging to the arms of men. The men should''ve been aware that subi weren''t wife material; splurging to make the subi happy was a pointless endeavour. Anyhow, I went over and asked, "Leah around?"


    "Ah!" eximed the surprised subi. They fearfully and softly replied, "Miss Leah is upstairs, but Madam Sophia would like to see you first."


    "Yeah¡­?"


    Sophia met me at the entrance with an indescribable smile and queried, "Lord Lin, have you already paid your debt and can rightfully pick up Miss Leah?"


    "¡­ Sorry, I haven''t repaid it yet."


    "I cannot allow you to take her, then. Miss Leah is our family member and our leader. I cannot hand her to you in your current state. She would be sold off, otherwise. Surely you understand where I aming from."


    It would be dangerous to keep Leah with me since everyone else saw her as my asset. I took in a deep breath and exined, "I came here just to prove that I coulde and pick her up. Please, do not let her leave with Edward, though. I beg you. Please protect Leah."


    Sophia narrowed her eyes: "Are you jealous? I really want to know how you see Miss Leah."


    "Leah is my daughter I care most about regardless of what happens. She''s my family. I care about her."


    "Do you? Daughter, did you say?" sarcastically asked Sophia, with a chuckle. "So, I just want to ask. This is a hypothetical question: if Lord Veirya did not make it, would you consider making Miss Leah your partner? She possesses beauty that does not pale inparison to Lord Veirya and loves you as much as Lord Veirya does. Would you consider her?"


    "What sort of question is that? It''s impossible to begin with. How could I lust for my own daughter? She''s my daughter, isn''t she?!" I righteously chided.


    "She''s not your biological daughter. Have you forgotten how Miss Leah joined you?"


    I suddenly lost my voice as I realised, "Yeah¡­ since when did I have a daughter¡­ Leah¡­ just¡­ calls me her papa¡­"


    "I¡­ I''m leaving for now."


    "No. No. Absolutely. No¡­ Absolutely no¡­ How can I have such dangerous ideas? Leah is my daughter, not my wife¡­" I reminded myself.


    Anybody watching me would''ve assumed I was fleeing from something¡­

 Chapter Volume 7 55

    <em>Waiting</em>


    I had to y the waiting game again. I saw the boy sell Edward''s insurance policy and instigate a war for it. Nobody believed that the value of the stones would drop and, therefore, obtained an insurance policy. Stones were then sold and bought daily in the city, and it would attract huge groups of merchants eager to¡­ make money. As a consequence, their price continued to soar and soar. Some waited to buy. In fact, lots of signs that indicated they were buyers were hung up. However, there were very few that were sold. Everyone was hoping that the stones in their possession would increase even just a little more tomorrow so that they could then sell them once their value peaked.


    In essence, it was stocks or future contracts. The stones that were worthless on their own had be a cornerstone for businessmen''s investments. Women smiled for men''s generous wallets. Didn''t the merchants do squat in the North? Well, they were hauling themselves to procure the stones. Simrly to diamonds, are they worth that much? Besides the industrial value, there was no shortage of diamonds. The belief that the stones represented love was what gave value to the stones.


    The businessmen around me were all looking forward to getting rich and had a chance to. Since they bought insurance for the stones, they would get involved with the stone trade. As a result, they''d be here to monitor the stones'' performance. It wasn''t as if they didn''t know that Edward was the one who decided on what they were worth thanks to his monopoly on the stones'' value. The reason they were so heavy was because not many people sold them.


    As I wasn''t in the stone business, I couldn''t care less about the price of the stones. I was in the Edward business. Face hidden under my hood, I sat in a corner and drank the cheapest wine in the imperial capital. One of the five days had passed, and there was nothing wrong with that. I couldn''t reveal myself for some of the businessmen recognised me. If they did, a disturbance would likely ur.


    Meanwhile, Ross disyed his dexterity as an anthropoid in all its glory, weaving through the crowd. "Lord Lin, I have bought back a fair amount," reported Ross, panting when he returned to my side.


    Ross handed me the parchments, and I told him, "Don''t show me here. You bought them, not me. Put them away. Give them to me after we get back. There''s no need to rush right now, but we must buy them back."


    We, at least, had reimed the majority of the insurance policies. I had thirty thousand gold coins and bought back the insurance policies that I had scattered. I also sold the insurance policy, which was worth fifty thousand gold coins, for thirty thousand gold coins. As long as there was a sale, the price would drop a little. As such, I could purchase back the majority of the insurance policies. Even though it sounds strange and wasteful to buy the policies twice, it was actually an integral exchange. As aforementioned, as long as I pawned the coal mine with the bank and then took it back, the mine would be mine.


    Yes, I had spent fifty thousand gold coins to shoulder Edward''s insurance policy. What about now, though? Everyone who had the insurance policy transferred to them would have to shoulder the potential losses from the policy. What does that mean? You should be able to figure it out if you have a brain that does more than let you boast you have one.


    Ross resumed his errand in the crowd after a simple lunch break.


    Five days was plenty of time for me. The dwarves could reach the other side in three days, and then they''d reach the North on the fourth. On the fifth day, I could begin my promotions. As a matter of fact, it would only take a day and a half to reach the North if one went all day and night at top speed. Dwarves, as a matter of fact, might''ve had more efficient methods of travelling for all I knew. I doubted Francis would take everyone from his group as he was just going to verify that the mineral was there.


    When the sky was an orange hue again, a tired Ross came back to me with even more parchments in hand. There was no denying that Ross was a genius. Perhaps people had their guard down against him due to his cute cat appearance. Even though had done his best and brought back a decent number, it wasn''t enough, unfortunately. Nowhere near enough.


    I scrubbed Ross'' head and praised, "Nice work, Ross. We just need toe again for two more days. Two more days and we''ll have reimed the majority of them."


    "Lord Lin, some were unwilling to sell no matter what I said."


    "Don''t worry about them; they''ll regret it when the timees. We just need to focus on reiming the majority of them," I quietly exined.


    "Lord Lin, I honestly cannot understand the purpose of doing this. We could repay the debt with so much money. Why do we need to buy our own belongings with money? Further, as you saw, the price of the stones have not depreciated whatsoever. We are just watching Edward make money. All of them are making money!"


    "I know. I know they''re all making money."


    "Then, you¡­"


    Ross worshipped me in the first ce since I was able to make money from nothing. In this scenario, I was giving away free money, spending my own money to buy back my own goods.


    "Didn''t I tell you, Ross? My goal isn''t to make money."


    "Then¡­ are they not making money?"


    I chuckled, "Don''t be hasty. Don''t forget: though they are making money now, they have to shoulder all of the losses if Edward goes bankrupt. Do you know how much Edward owes the bank? Normally, the bank wouldn''t loan money the way they''re granting him loans. Nevertheless, the bank has trusted Edward too much, and that will be his undoing."


    "But how do we make Edward bankrupt? Lord Lin, what should we do next to make him bankrupt?"


    "Wait."


    Baffled, Ross repeated, "Wait?"

 Chapter Volume 7 56

    <em>Cohabitation</em>


    <strong>Note:</strong> Read the notice in thements after you finish reading this chapter!


    Ascillia gave Veirya a smile and bowed: "Good morning, Lord Veirya. You sure wake up early. Or did I wake you?"


    "No."


    Noticing Veirya staring at the tray in her hand, Ascilliaughed: "Ah, are you hungry? Please wait a moment. I shall feed you right away. Or would you prefer Madam Angelina to feed you?"


    "Letter," enunciated Veirya.


    For a second, Ascillia actually thought there was a letter she was supposed to bring. In reality, no such letter existed. She replied, "Umm, Lord Veirya, we have not received any letters."


    Veirya nodded and then lied back down. It suddenly dawned on Ascillia that she wasn''t very considerate. It was obvious whose letter Veirya was looking forward to. It would be none other than a letter from Lord Lin.


    Ascillia enviously admired Veirya''s glistening ring. It wasn''t just a ring; it also represented his love and loyalty. She had once dreamt of receiving a ring representing love from Lin Dongqing.


    "Are you¡­ waiting Lord Lin''s letter?" inquired Ascillia.


    Despite mustering up the courage to ask, it wasn''t to speak to Veirya but merely because Ascllia wanted to ept the reality that she couldn''t be with the man she loved. He rejected her already, yet she was taking care of the woman he loved most.


    "Yes," answered Veirya. "I''m a bit worried. About him. I still haven''t. Received any news."


    "Is this love," wondered Ascillia, smiling helplessly. "Lord Veirya, you should worry about yourself, instead. Your wound has not yetpletely healed and may open again. I am sure that Lord Lin will be fine. You need not worry about him."


    Ascillia helped Veirya sit up as the former couldn''t flex her core yet, or her wound would open. Ascillia identally grazed Veirya''s ring, prompting Veirya to instinctively jerked her hand back and stare at Ascillia. Ascillia quickly removed her hands and smiled: "I apologise, Lord Veirya. I did not mean to touch it. You must love him very much."


    "Uhm. Have you. Interacted with him before? I''m curious. What you think of him."


    "Ah?!" Startled, Ascillia almost spilt the contents in the bowl she held: "I¡­ I¡­ Lord Veirya¡­ I do not quite understand what you mean¡­ Umm¡­ Umm¡­ Lord Lin¡­ is father¡­ I mean, not father¡­ takes care of me more than my father did¡­ He saved my mom and me¡­ I am grateful, yes, grateful to him!"


    "I see. Father?"


    Veirya calmly nodded in spite of Ascillia''s flustered response.


    Ascillia''s heart palpitated out of control. She was so afraid that she would reveal her true feelings to his wife. She inwardly questioned, "What would Lord Veirya think? I¡­ am just a child to her, yet I like her husband. Wh-what is this considered?"


    Ascillia gripped her skirt, concerned she let something slip. Veirya grabbed the bowl and slowly drank the liquid inside as being fed was childish in her world.


    "Umm¡­ Lord Veirya¡­ Can I return to humanity''snds together with you this time?"


    "Return?"


    "Yes¡­ Previously, Lord Lin sent my mother and I here to treat my ailment. I have recovered thanks to the elves taking care of me and wish to go back now¡­ So, Lord Veirya, can I go back together with you and live together?"


    "Live. Together?"


    Breaking the long, tense - depending on perspective - Veirya finally replied, "I think. It''s fine. But. You must. Ask him."


    "I will!"


    Angelina happened to stroll in and, apparently, heard their conversation. Ascillia''s hairs stood up due to Angelina staring at her with an ambivalent smile. She quickly grabbed the tray to leave. When she passed by Angelina, Angelina whispered, "Be careful. Veirya isn''t your only opponent. There''s also Leah."


    "Ah¡­ wait¡­ what¡­ what are you talking about¡­?"


    Asci flinched and stammered, attempting to y the fool. Nheless, Angelina just squinted and pushed her out with augh.


    "I. Like the girl," verbalised Veirya, watching Ascillia leave but not noticing the girl''s tremors. Veirya ced her bowl down then added, "I also want. Her to join our family."


    "Yeah¡­? I don''t think Lin Dongqing will be too happy." Wearing a smile only the likes of Sisi or Lin Dongqing would fathom, she continued, "Leah won''t be happy."


    l

 Chapter Volume 7 57

    <em>Patience</em>


    "Miss Leah, these are today''s earnings."


    Leah tossed the stone that the subi obediently handed her into the box in front of her. Leah never left the ce or saw any guests, including Edward despite his countless visits, Leah didn''t know business operations or pricing. Still, she knew that she was to sell and what was worth money in the imperial capital.


    Leah only knew that the stones were worth a lot of money; however, she didn''t know how much. She wondered how long it would take for her to collect enough to repay her father''s debt of fifty thousand gold coins. It didn''t matter how long it took for she was adamant on helping her father. She had the subi do their best to win the affection of the men so that they''d give the subi gifts. The men who visited the ce and had gold coins couldn''t possibly be average folks. It wasn''t hard for them to buy some stones. A few giggles, shake their hips and the men would obediently hang the valuable gems over their necks.


    Leah passed Sophia the small container and instructed, "Sophia, go and sell these tomorrow."


    Although Sophia silently took the box, her face told an ambiguous story. Puzzled, Leah asked, "What''s the matter? Is there something wrong with what I said?"


    "No¡­ Miss Leah, I just think¡­ there is no need for you to do this. As you have chosen to be with him, you should wait for him to resolve the issue, not resolve it yourself, because it is his business. If he cannot even resolve the matter, would you be happy with him?"


    "What are you saying, Sophia?" grouched Leah. "He''s my papa, my family. Since we''re family, it''s only natural that we work together. I can''t let Papa handle it all alone."


    "No, no, no. Miss Leah, have you already forgotten that Lord Lin is not your father? I assume you know how he became your father. What sort of feelings do you have for Lord Lin? Do you really not know? Do you really think that you love him as your father?"


    "What else would it be?" asked Leah, with her head titled. "Papa protected Leah ever since he came here. He has always been taking care of me. I''m very, very grateful to him. I want to be with Papa. Nothing can separate Leah from Papa. Nothing! That''s why Leah must work hard now! Regardless of how little it is, Leah must protect Papa."


    "Understood, Miss Leah. It is not really my ce to say anything, though I believe that you will soon understand. I shall proceed as youmand and sell them tomorrow."


    "Good. What is Papa up to recently? Has there been any news?"


    "None at all. Not a single merchant, let alone anyone else, has mentioned Lord Lin. He seems to be waiting; I just do not know what specifically it is that he is waiting for."


    ***


    If my conjecture was correct, I only needed to wait two more days, and I''d receive a letter from the dwarves. I wasn''t gambling; I had a perfect n. Nobody knew what was going on. They were still secretly trading the stones in the position. The women''s smiles still galvanised them open their wallets. The price of the stones was still riding the wave to the top. Sisi sat back and watched the price continue to soar.


    The stones weren''t manufactured anywhere because there was no lord in the North. The merchants had sent their people up North to search for the mineral. Howbeit, humans weren''t the only ones running the North for the war between elves and humans had yet to end. There was also the kidnapping not long ago. The explorers didn''t dare to approach the elves'' forest. To add, the North was an absurdly expansive area. Moreover, they had no experience with the mineral, hence searched randomly.


    The dwarves were the only ones who could get their hands on the stones, and I was dead certain that the original inhabitants possessed the stones. When they did find them, I could have everything I wanted.


    Ross ced a water kettle on the table and queried, "Lord Lin, do I need to buy more of those insurance policies tomorrow?"


    I nodded but just kept gazing at the me in silence. Ross bit down on his lip me and stared straight at me from the seat opposite me.


    "Lord Lin¡­ I absolutely trust you¡­ but¡­ I really want to know, what exactly you are waiting for¡­ What exactly are you after?"


    "¡­ Ross, it''s perfectly normal for you to not understand. I gave the ne and lease to the dwarves. Right now, they''ve reached the ce the lease is for. I''m waiting for news from Francis. My first five thousand for this operation was from selling the lease. I actually sold it for ten thousand gold coins. Therefore, I still have five thousand gold coins worth of shares in Francis'' business."


    "I see! I understand now!" eximed Ross. "I get it. I get it now. The reality is you do not care about the stones they have because you have more than them. When the dwarves make money, you will also make money. Based on the current price of the stone, you can easily earn fifty thousand gold coins from it!"


    "That''s wrong," I replied with a frown. "I told you many times already. I''m not trying to repay my debt. The thought of repaying it never crossed my mind. My goal is purely to run Edward into the ground. That aside, there''s a big hole in your analysis, Ross. Why do you think the stones are worth so much?"


    Ross examined the ne I tossed him and guessed, "Because¡­ because everyone wants it?''


    "Everyone wants food; why isn''t food worth so much? Their demand is one factor. The severe shortage of them is the key. If there was a tremendous demand for them, you can only establish that they can be sold. It doesn''t determine their price. The shortage is what caused the price hike. As such, should the dwarves find as many stones and I leak the news, do you think they''d be worth money anymore?"


    "But¡­ that would only make the dwarves¡­ wait¡­ Mr. Edward would go bankrupt, as well¡­ Is that your goal? Would you not also be bankrupt? Your insurance¡­ You have topensate Mr. Edward for his losses¡­"


    "No, it''s not on me," I rectified with a victor''s smile. "More precisely, not just me. Do you still remember how many people bought the insurance policies? Everyone who bought them will have to shoulder the risk. It''s just that I''ve collected them all now."


    "So¡­ so¡­ you¡­ why do you want Mr. Edward to be bankrupt, too? That would mean¡­ you would have topensate him for his losses, no?"


    Ross'' ears flopped down on his head he scratched.


    "Why do I have to cover Edward''s losses? Don''t forget, Ross, I''m currently a bankrupt man. Since I''m bankrupt, all of my assets were seized. By the same token, all of my debts have been written off. I promised Edward to cover his losses. Can he ask a bankrupt man to cover his losses, though? It''s not just Edward, having said that. Everyone who bought these insurance policies will have to shoulder the responsibility. When they bought them, though, they assumed that the next buyer will cover their losses, which was why they were fearless. I, however, had you go and reim the policies. Consequently, I have to shoulder all of the losses in the end. I''m bankrupt, though. In other words, I can''t cover any losses.


    "Everyone who was part of it will be bankrupt because not one of them can repay the bank such a ginormous sum. At the same time, the bank loaned money to Edward as they believed that he could provide them with a profit. Where does the bank get its money from? They get it from the citizens'' of this city''s savings. I can''t repay the loan. The others can''t. Edward can''t. The bank can''t collect their loan. As a result, the entire city''s citizens'' savings have vanished into thin air."


    "You¡­ you¡­ you¡­ managed to achieve all that with a dialogue and a few parchments?!"


    Ross trembled so much that he couldn''t talk properly. I waited for a while before chuckling: "I told you: the stones have no real value. Since people assign the value, I can change that value. Only imbeciles would invest their entire fortune on those stones, and Edward happens to be one of those imbeciles."

 Chapter Volume 7 58

    <em>Showdown</em>


    Everyone, even I, because it was the fourth day I was looking forward to, was on cloud nine. Edward loaned an unfathomable sum from the bank. Fortunately for him, his business earned him an enormous amount. He didn''t need to do anything other than drip feed the stones he possessed every day. The stones were cleared off the shelves as soon as they were in stock. Perhaps they were given to somedy. Perhaps they became second-hand stones that were sold the next day for even more.


    The stones weren''t worth much but humanity''s money was. Investing gold coins on those stones was irrational. Nobody considered the possible consequences as they were focused solely on making money. For some reason, the merchants seemed to think they were in heaven once I was out of the picture. I never considered myself their match, nevertheless.


    You couldn''t see what was written on the timber board from the corner I sat in. Therefore, there was practically nobody around. Whatever happened, happened. It was meaningless to me. I wasn''t waiting for their news. Ross continued to weave through the congested trading floor as he did thest few days.


    Catching a familiar scent, I perked up to see Sophia in a rtively formal ck robe, standing in front of me with a bag in hand. She asked, "Why am I not surprised? You would never let this opportunity slip. I do not know what you are waiting for. Does this mean that you have given up?"


    "I never gave up."


    Sophiaughed and ced the bag she carried in front of me: "This is what Miss Leah asked our subi to con people into giving us. She then asks us to sell it for money. We are experts at this sort of stuff. As a consequence, we have earned quite a bit. This is money Miss Leah hopes can help you get through your tough time. See if it is enough if I sell this."


    There were a decent number of stones in the bag. Nheless, it was far from being enough to earn fifty thousand gold coins.


    "I''ll let you in on something. The price of these stones will definitely nose dive. And, it won''t be worth a penny when it does, so I suggest you sell them now."


    "Really?" asked Sophia, casting her gaze over to the trading floor. "I cannot see that happening, though. Arge number of patrons have promised to make jewellery with the stones for our subi. Their price would not drop, would they? Or, do you happen to have a way to make the price drop?"


    "I do have a way, which is why I suggest you sell them as soon as possible."


    "What method might that be?"


    "Wait," I answered and had a drink.


    Sophia looked puzzled. Nheless, she wasn''t keen on making sense of it and, therefore, departed. I was sure she''d believe me. Needless to say, even if she didn''t, there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn''t obligated to do any exining to her.


    "I wonder when the dwarves'' letter will arrive. If things go without any hurdles, I should receive it today or tomorrow," I inwardly said.


    The final victory would be on thest two days. Nobody had the foggiest idea as to what had happened. They still thought the stones were raking in money for them. Soon enough, though¡­ I looked at the crowd that had gone into frenzy with excitement and tugged up the corner of my lips.


    I thought to myself, "Their money is going to vanish into thin air faster than alcohol. I hope they can still show me those smiles when this implodes. They fooled me. They must''ve smiled the same way when I ran with Veirya to the elves and went on my knees to plead Lucia and when Veirya bled. When the elves were nearly sold off when I was kicked out of my house, when my daughter was almost sold off, they must''ve all been smiling that same way. I hope you can still show me that smile when I drop the bomb.


    "Edward, you felt blissful that you scored my daughter, didn''t you? You thought that I could no longer take care of my daughter, didn''t you? Let''s see who can take better care of Leah. I won''t hand my daughter to a bankrupt halfwit. I may have nothing now, but I can still squash you like a bug, and it''s easy. Nobody is allowed to harbour ill will toward my daughter. I''ll let Leah get married, but it won''t be to Edward!


    "Let''s wait and see. Yes, I''m bankrupt right now. I admit I failed; however, that''s not your ticket to push your agenda on my daughter! Edward is sewage waste, one who thinks he''s all that, I won''t ept it! You dare to push your agenda on my daughter, and I''ll make you regret you were born! Mark my words."


    ***


    "Is Lord Lin here?" A man ran into the hotel with a letter in hand. Panting gently, he ryed, "This is a letter for Lord Lin. It is an urgent letter from the dwarves. Two horses died to deliver this. I need to get it into Lord Lin''s hands."


    "He should be at the trade centre at the moment. He told me beforehand that, if the dwarves have a letter for him, then hurry and send it over to him," replied the owner of the hotel. "Is Lord Lin and the dwarves conducting some sort of business deal? Is it legal¡­? If it is not, I will have to take responsibility, as he is lodging here."


    "I am not sure myself. I am just a letterman. The dwarves told me that it was an important matter, though," simply replied the young man, who then took off like a bat out of hell.


    ***


    Sisi shook our her hair, and then asked thedy-in-waiting behind her, "Has there been any news of Dongqing recently? How about the merchants?"


    While Queen Sisi has her own retainers, she was privately searching for Dongqing and digging for information. During her absence, thedy-in-waiting was notified first. The headdy-in-waiting shook her head. She gently patted Sisi''s shoulders and replied, "None whatsoever. We only know that Lord Lin has been at the trade centre every day. Despite being there, he does not sell or buy any stones. He just drinks there, and then leaves."


    "Uhm¡­" nodded Sisi. Voice soft, she muttered to herself, "Just what exactly is Dongqing trying to do¡­?"

 Chapter Volume 7 59

    <em>Trust</em>


    "Lord Veirya, a human envoy Queen Sisi sent would like to see you. Fortunately, she gave the order early, or the envoy might not have been able to see you."


    An elf bowed and chuckled. Veirya nodded, and that was that. Meanwhile, Angelina perked up an eyebrow, opining, "I, on the other hand, hope you can kill the envoy. I can say with absolute certainty that the envoy doesn''t bring good news if she''s here now of all times."


    "Why? Is Queen Sisi not the one Veirya serves?" asked Ascillia.


    "Do you not already know? Why are you so careful about breaching topics, testing the waters and not outright sharing your feelings? Imagine the vicious woman Sisi is. Wouldn''t you take advantage of situations to get rid of the biggest obstacle when given the opportunity?"


    Ascillia covered her mouth and stammered, "So, so, you are saying¡­ Her Majesty¡­ also¡­ l-, Lord Lin¡­?"


    "Am I. In the way?" asked Veirya, flummoxed.


    Angelina stroked Veirya''s head: "No, Queen Sisi just happens to consider you a nuisance, which is why the envoy is a hazard."


    "Her Majesty. Won''t. Hurt me." Veirya told the elf, "Let the. Envoy in."


    Queen Sisi''sdy-in-waiting, who the elves almost killed, strolled in, neither nervous nor afraid, instead, maintaining her regal aura and dignity, which meant that she represented Queen Sisi. She bowed to Veirya and elucidated, "Lord Veirya, I am d to see you safe and sound. News does not travel far from here. Therefore, Queen Sisi has only known about your injury recently. So ordingly, she sent me to see that you are safe. I came here after hearing you were in the elvennds."


    "How did. You know. I was. In the. Elvennds?"


    "The three elves at your house are still waiting for you and Lord Lin to return, so I asked them."


    Thedy-in-waiting paused after she finished her reply and paid attention to Veirya''s gaze.


    Veirya struggled up into a sitting position. Anxiety evident, she inquired, "You came from the. Imperial capital. How is he? What is he doing? Is he safe?"


    "Are you asking about Lord Lin? He is well. He stayed at the imperial pce for a while and then left. I do not know what he is doing recently."


    From the sounds of it, Lin Dongqing and Her Majesty didn''t do anything. On second thought, though, the "stayed for a while" conjured ambiguous assumptions. How long was "a while?" One night? Several nights? What happened between Lin Dongqing and the Queen during his stay? When Veirya wasn''t therest time, he and Queen Sisi had gotten together. Vierya had returned; however, Angelina never told her about Lin Dongqing and Sisi to avoid ruining their rtionship. Having said that, Angelina was aware that Sisi wouldn''t spare Lin Dongqing given her character.


    The pertinent question was, how did Sisi find out Veirya was hurt? For all they knew, she might''ve nned to kill Veirya to convince Lin Dongqing to go back to her. Lin Dongqing was deeply in love with Veirya, so he wouldn''t team up with Queen Sisi to n it. Nevertheless, Angelina had no proof to prove or falsify Queen Sisi''s involvement. Veirya, however, never suspected Sisi. Possible things behind the scenes had never crossed pure Veirya''s mind. Thus, Angelina kept to herself.


    Veirya was eager to share her assuaged feelings with Ascillia and Angelina, evident from the constant nces their way. Ascillia pressed her hand to her chest and let out a breath of relief. The only who was happy was the rtively dense Veirya. Otherwise, anybody would''ve been able to read Ascillia.


    "So, I can get to the main topic now," stated thedy-in-waiting, clearing her throat. "Visiting Lord Veirya was my first job. My second job is to ry Her Majesty''s message. Her Majesty would like you to return to the imperial capital, Lord Veirya. After what transpired, Her Majesty has been awfully worried about your condition. She strongly urged me to bring you to pick you up. As you are fine, you shoulde to the imperial capital to allow us to take care of you. As you are aware, elves and humans are still hostile toward each other. Her Majesty does not feel assured with you staying in these elvennds as a human."


    "The elves couldn''t be more aodating to Veirya. They don''t like Veirya, but they know how to treat their friends," retorted Angelina, bodynguage closed off. "As for why elves and humans have the current status quo, I would assume that Queen Sisi knows the answer."


    "Sorry, I am not here to improve the rtionship between elves and humans. It is not my business to be thinking about that. I am merely here to pass on Her Majesty''s suggestion, which is for Lord Veirya to return to the imperial capital. We have the best doctors and conditions to ensure that Lord Veirya recovers at the imperial capital. Furthermore, Her Majesty has stated that she will allow Lord Veirya to borrow her hot spring treatment centre for her recovery. The provided conditions are far superior to the elves''," said thedy-in-waiting, not even sparing Angelina a nce.


    Angelina voiced, "We''re not leaving."


    "Sorry, I did not ask you," grumbled thedy-in-waiting, finally casting her gaze onto Angelina.


    "I''m Veirya''s mother!"


    "Lord Veirya is an adult now; she can make her own decisions."


    Veirya looked left and then right, only to realise that the man who should''ve been her advisor wasn''t by her side. She turned to Angelina. Sadly, Angelina was still arguing with thedy-in-waiting. She looked to Ascillia, but Ascillia was panic-stricken.


    "Sorry. I''m staying. I''m not. Declining Her Majesty. It''s just. He sent me here. He didn''t. Tell me to go to the imperial capital. So, I''ll obey him. And wait here. I won''t go. To the imperial capital. It''s also. Nice here. The elves. Are also very nice. So I won''t. Go."

 Chapter Volume 7 60

    <em>Determination</em>


    I received the letter I was waiting for at night. There were no signs prior or changes. Nothing had changed, unless you wanted to count the young man''sint when he delivered it to me. The imperial capital''s air was still bathed in a faint scent of alcohol. Drunkards caroused throughout the streets. paled inparison to the girls'' smiles and hip-shaking actions. The girls'' clear skin bounced, exuded sensuality and their pheromones boldly enveloped men, attracting them in simr fashion to bees to honey. Everything was the same. No matter what happened or was about to happen, nothing had changed.


    If this was a novel, I''d spring a surprise attack at sunset, at thest moment of trading hour, when I had destroyed Edward''s joy with the letter I received and revelled in Edward''s stiff smile. However, my life wasn''t so dramatic, and it wouldn''t happen to me. I wouldn''t let it happen. I no longer had anything to gamble on. I had to ensure that I''d hit the bull''s eye without question. The letter arrived with impable timing as it gave me enough time to make adjustments. I didn''t think the romanticised oue wasn''t cool. That was for brute force people. There was still a lot that had to be done.


    The dwarves'' letter consisted of only two words: "Found them." That was enough for me. I knew full well how excited Francis was; he might''ve been drunk already.


    I handed Ross a letter: "Take this letter to the boy working at Achilles''pany."


    "Understood."


    The letter I wanted delivered to the boy was a warning that the price of the stones would plummet. As for whether he believed it or not, that was none of my business. If he quickly got rid of them before the bomb imploded, Achilles''pany would be able to get some health points. If he didn''t believe me, then what could I do? His decision would determine if he could do business or not. If the boy sensed the danger and immediately cut his losses, Achilles would definitely think that he had a businessman''s nose.


    "And here''s another letter. Take it to the bank. Have theme to the trade centre at sunset tomorrow. I''ll dere my bankruptcy there."


    When I touched my face, I realised that I had stubble again. I picked up the metal tray to check myself out. I hadn''t paid attention to my appearance for days. I only just realised how haggard I looked.


    I told myself, "I need to tidy up my appearance after this before going to see Veirya. I don''t want her to think I went through trouble here."


    The hotel was shabby, yes. Still, they did have soap and razors. I took in a deep breath. I looked into the tray and hot water on the stove. Although my life wasn''t dramatic, there was a show worth watching at sunset tomorrow. Being the main protagonist tomorrow, I had to put on a ster performance, which included rocking a striking appearance.


    ***


    "Mr. Edward, you met the businessman, right?" asked the man in front of Edward.


    He took the chilly ss of wine from the bartender. The price of such a drink should be self-exnatory in an era where there were no refrigerators or freezers.


    Radiating confidence, Edward nodded: "He was an interesting fellow. I never thought of that idea. There''s no capital required. All you need to do is to shoulder the risk. I''ve thought about it. If only one or two people went broke in a business with a hundred people involved but a hundred people paid to insure themselves, even covering ten times the amount would still put you in the profit margin. It''s an excellent money-making idea. Once this done, I want to copy his method. What did he call it again? Insurance?"


    "Mm¡­ To tell the truth, he actually sold the insurance policy to me for thirty thousand gold coins. I then sold it to others, thereby making myself a fair amount," shared the young man. "Do the insurance policies count as amercial good? If it is, I think we can turn it into a tradable item."


    "Yes."


    Second hand and third hand deals had little bearing on Edward''s business or even impact his ability to make money because, if Edward won, everyone won. Edward was scheduled to pay the insurance man, who was bound to show up at the trade centre to collect his money, tomorrow at sunset. Hence, Edward could even pass the money on to the young man with him at the moment to hand over. It wasn''t just Edward who had to pay. All the people who bought the insurance policy would have to pay him.


    Everyone joyously believed that they''d make money thanks to the insurance policy. They believed their investment would make them money. Maybe some realised there was a risk of bankruptcy but were fine with it for the next buyer would cover them. The thing was, nobody knew who thest buyer was.


    Fourth night. Another ordinary night.


    I sshed water on my face and wiped off the bubbles on my chin. I checked my face out in the mirror. The me beside me wasn''t bright enough, causing my face to appear in the mirror as if it was a flickering light. My eyes were enveloped in darkness. I rinsed my razor in the water once I confirmed I was done tidying up. I grabbed a pen again to begin penning my letter to Veirya.


    "I wonder how she''ll react when she receives a letter this time. She was grouchy thest time I didn''t write one. Is Veirya awake yet? There won''t be any residual issues, will there? What else does she need to do for her recovery?" I wondered as I wrote.


    I wanted to take care of Veirya. Unfortunately I had to stay in the imperial capital. I couldn''t deny that her injury was my fault. With that said, it wasn''t a reason for me to be disheartened. I was her lover. I needed to keep putting one foot forward for her. Since we were family, I had to go and work for her. Sisi''s argument was sound. Nheless, it wasplete logical facy. Perhaps something would happen to Veirya and I. I would protect Veirya, nheless. Veirya could still get hurt without me. As a matter of fact, she''d be in more danger without me. Veirya got hurt because of me, which was precisely why she needed me.


    I had to get revenge. I didn''te just to talk to Sisi. I came to exact a vengeance.


    I gazed my cape that Sisi made for me quietly hanging on the wall. I didn''t hate Sisi. Put it this way: what would be the point of hating her? She was the queen of humanity, the Queen of the empire. I could eliminate anyone who could threaten her. How was I going to oppose her? Though making me bankrupt was her idea, I didn''t hate her. On one hand, I might''ve feared her. On the other hand, I felt I still had some feelings for her.


    "What exactly do I think of Sisi and Lucilia? I know that I''m just feigning ignorance," I inwardly said.


    It broke my heart to see Sisi quiver and cry in front of me, but what could I do? I med myself and also felt upset when I left Lucia, but what could I do? I did much worse to Sisi than Veirya; however, I genuinely wanted to be together with Sisi back then. I just happened to treat her as a substitute.


    I left without a single moment of hesitation and didn''t spare a thought for Sisi when Veirya returned. I could understand Sisi hating me, and I could also understand her loving me. In saying that, I wasn''t a harem novel main protagonist. Veirya and Sisi were normal women and could never ept me having a harem. Moreover, how could a Queen not have a lover who belonged exclusively to her?


    I would be willing to give up everything for Veirya. Having said that, I would look after Sisi, as well. Sisi''s entire life was dedicated to her throne and nation. I nned to protect everything she treasured. That was all I could do. I couldn''t change the world. I don''t know how the characters in novels do it; I was happy enough to change just Veirya.


    I carefully put away the dwarves'' letter, my tool for reversing the tables tomorrow.


    "Veirya, wait just a while for me. I''ll be back to you. I''ll get back everything you cherish. We''ll be together as we did at the start. You''re all my family. I won''t abandon any of you."

 Chapter Volume 7 61

    <em>Revealing the Cards</em>


    Although Francis had found the mineral, whether or not he was able to extract it was another matter, meaning he didn''t have the power to sway the value of the stones yet. There was no way that the dwarves wanted others to know they had located the mineral.


    Ross and I sat in the corner I always sat, minus my disguise. Unsurprisingly, I noticed that lots of people whispering about me, not that it bothered me. I just calmly sat there. I greeted those who greeted me and then resumed drinking.


    My appearance was just the interlude, yet people were already on edge, distancing themselves from me. They thought that I might have a hefty number of stones on me since I suddenly came from the North with no news of my arrival prior. Based on their assumption, then, the price of the stones might dip dramatically or whatever. That was why they were discussing whether or not to get rid of their stones¡­ Needless to say, those were all my assumptions. If I was them and saw an individual, who was from the ce of the stones origin here out of the blue, I''d definitely assign a problem tag. They might have enough to make your own goods on hand worthless. Consequently, the safest move was to quickly exchange your goods for money. Goods could lose value; however, money never lost its value.


    Soon enough, the workers at the trade centre came over to announce that today''s trades couldmence. Unlike usual, a batch of stones was swiftly sold, thereby bringing the price of the stones down a tad. My attention wasn''t on the price, while everyone else''s attention was one me.


    They wanted to know if I wanted to see the price drop. They remained vignt after noticing that I remained indifferent. However, others began to quickly sell their stones after seeing others get rid of them. The price of the stones, therefore, continued to tumble down. In just two hours after the market opened, the price had dropped low enough to have people in discussions.


    It was just the tip of the iceberg even if they sold all of their stones. Edward had to make a move to create any significant change. Moreover, if the price hit rock bottom before I made my move, my n would be in tatters. In saying that, another group of people believed that I didn''t have anything for they knew me rtively well. They took advantage of the price drop to boldly buy stones, consequently driving the price back up.


    The price fluctuation caught the attention of countless people. Pupils would check the numbers, and then they''d run over to their teacher to provide updates. Merchant after merchant joined the fray. I was akin to a small shark that was thrown into a fish tank, inciting absolute chaos in there.


    No rush. The chaos was even better. I knew one particr man woulde over. I ordered a second ss of beer and deliberately ced a few gold coins on the table, which incited even more panic. I was already bankrupt, yet was able to spendvishly on alcohol? It led to people wondering if I had managed to repay my debt somehow.


    "You live up to your reputation. Despite being bankrupt, your presence alone is enough to create disorder," remarked a voice I was undesirably familiar with.


    I subtly grinned. I could burn him with my hatred, but I hoped to see him. The fluctuations in the stones'' price inevitably affected Edward. Hence, he came over to the trade centre.


    I ced my ss down. Without looking at him, I responded, "I just really like the ce. You know I''m bankrupt. No money. It''s a good business deal to you people. This ce is just a ce for me to kill time with a pint of beer, though."


    "You came here to kill time? I think you are in the wrong ce, then. If you need, I can rmend a perfect ce to drink," said Edward, helping himself to the seat next to mine and simpering. "After all, after you sign, we''ll be family. I don''t want Leah''s father to be missing at her wedding ceremony when her father is mentioned."


    I loudly mmed my ss on the table and shot Edward a piercing re: "Edward, if you mention that topic, I guarantee you''ll regret it. You best shut up while I still have some human emotions in me."


    Edwardughed and shrugged with his hands supinated: "Really? What could you possibly do now? What could you possibly do to me now? Smash me over the head with your ss of beer? Ouch. That will really hurt. Please show mercy."


    "You know, Edward, I don''t even need capital to knock durds, like you, out. You know why Sisi never treated you as a favoured vassal and gave you the same treatment as Achilles? It''s because neither Achilles nor I consider you smart. You''re an opportunist, and that''s all you are."


    Obviously I wouldn''t smash a beer ss over his head. Getting physical is the lowest level of defeating someone. Even a miner could wound Veirya. What was the point of brute force?


    Edward''s mouth twitched. Brushing it off with a snicker, he jeered, "Really now? What does me making you go bankrupt count as, then? You always reckon you are the cleverest person in the empire, but what does reality tell us?"


    "When did you ever fool me? Edward, use that brain of yours. Who concocted the n? Don''t steal Her Majesty''s credit."


    I then just sat back.


    Edward got to his feet: "Hmph, I don''t have time to argue with a bankrupt man here. I think Leah will have a better life after you officially acknowledge your bankruptcy."


    "Don''t go, Edward."


    Edward spun around and inhaled loudly through his nose. I offered him a toast: "Don''t be so hasty, Edward. Wait until sunset. I''m waiting for you to pay me my fifty thousand gold coins, you know?"


    Startled, Edward flinched then shouted, "That was you?! You¡­ you were that man?!"


    "No," I replied as I rubbed Ross'' head: "But he was my prized pupil."

 Chapter Volume 7 62

    <em>Evaporation</em>


    Edward he quickly regained hisposure and sped off after his mental stutter. I didn''t know what he wanted to do. Nheless, he wouldn''t sell arge volume of stones. If the price of the stones plummeted, he''d go bankrupt in an instant because, if he got rid of the stones, the sharp merchants would suspect a problem, thereby frantically getting rid of their own. If he couldn''t get rid of his in time, he''d face bankruptcy. He couldn''t sell all of his stones in one breath for there weren''t enough buyers. On top of that, noticing that he dropped such a vast amount would lead to buyers forcing the price down, equally sending him into bankruptcy. He was in dire straits either way.


    The stones that could''ve brought Edward infinite returns had be a stone that''d burn him. He couldn''t get rid of so many at once but couldn''t hang onto them, either. He couldn''t pawn them with the bank to repay his loan as the stones would soon be worth scrap. He couldn''t repay the principal, either.


    Edward could onlyfort himself, praying that I was just rustling his jimmies. The reason he hastily left was surely to search for a news outlet. He wanted to know if any stones had recently entered the imperial capital, if somebody found a mine or not and even where I''d been going around in the imperial capital. He cared more about me than a yandere girlfriend would.


    I approached the people from the bank at the heart of the trade centre, who nned to have me sign the acknowledgement, which proved that I was bankrupt. My wife, daughter and the three elves would all be sold off as assets, while my territory would be auctioned. That would be the equivalent of me acknowledging that I had utterly failed. Thanks to the existence of the popr mineral, the North had the potential to fetch a decent price.


    Seeing me approach, they excitedly asked, "Did you want to sign now?"


    "No, I wanted to remind you to detain Edward; he''s about to be bankrupt in a moment. He might try and flee from here," I warned, dusting their shoulders at the same time.


    "Sir, we understand how you feel, but it is pointless for you to do this¡­ All you can do is vent to no avail¡­ You should just sign."


    "I told you: I will sign. I just want to wait until sunset. When the sun goes down, business closes. Nobody will do business here at night. You said that, didn''t you? Now, however, I hope you keep your eyes on Edward. Oh, right, do you have a fast runner among you? Remember to call over your president when the timees. I''m sure he''d want to see me."


    "I-Is that so?"


    The two bankers were spinning. Thanks to Edward, the bank president had yet to dere my bankruptcy. I was nning to announce it myself, and giving them the North with the best timing. They''d be celebrating as they suffered no losses, yet pocketed the North for free. I doubt they imagined I''d use this method.


    I returned to my seat and handed Ross some gold coins to buy us lunch. I couldn''t care less what the people around were tense and anxious about. I happily shared my lunch with Ross.


    Edward came back in the afternoon, somewhat calmer after collecting information. He knew that no more stones had entered the city. I, as a matter of fact, never left the city. He had a faint suspicion that I was merely provoking him but still didn''t feel reassured. Hence, he came back to wait. On the surface, he looked his usual self. Judging from his gait, the way he sat and kept talking to others, it was clear that he was panic-stricken.


    He didn''t dare to do anything with his stones for he was afraid. He didn''t dare to sell but didn''t want to keep them, either. He couldn''t do anything for everyone had their eyes on him. Any minute action from him would trigger a big wave. Why not take my time torturing him? I wanted him to pay; he had to pay.


    Edward obviously looked relieved as the horizon turned into an orange hue. The fluctuation in the morning had readjusted on its own. Overall, the price of the stones had changed minimally. Edward smugly whistled.


    I stopped two workers who approached me with a hand gesture and rose to my feet. I waited for all attention to be focused on me then cleared my throat. I opened the letter the dwarves sent me and chuckled.


    "Gentlemen, this is a letter the dwarves sent me. As you all know, the original inhabitants of the area from where the stones are sourced use the stones to make jewellery. They don''t have any value because they''re literally the floor there. The only reason they''ve be so popr is thanks to you making a big deal out of them. In other words, they''ll be valuable as long as someone monopolises them, agreed? As a consequence, you all desperately searched for stones and tried to procure as many as possible. Sadly, I happen to be the master of the original inhabitants. After receiving my letter, they led the dwarf, Francis, to their location. Put another way, Francis is actually the one with the most stones. What you currently have is a stack of stones. You can have as much as you want now. This news will soon spread, and I''ll publicise the address. Once the ability to monopolise them ceases to exist, as you would all know, the stones will be worthless."


    They were still questioning the authenticity of what I said. Suddenly, though, one man threw his big bag of stones onto the table and shouted out to everyone in the centre, "I''m selling all of mine! I''ll swap you my stones for money! I''m selling all of mine!"


    His voice shattered the silence in the trade centre. It was akin to watching starving residents of a vige suffering a feminine racing after a loaf of bread. Even if Edward had the most stones, there wasn''t enough demand for him to get rid of them all. Additionally, the people waiting to buy instantaneously threw their stones out for sale. Within minutes, all workers at the venue switched out "waiting to buy" signs with "looking to sell" signs. They handed out bags and bags of gold coins, yet mindlessly threw aside the stones, because the stones almost on par with the value of gold had be nothing but stones with no value.


    Edward nkly watched it all y out; his pale lips and shaky legs told the whole story.


    "Hahaha." I jumped onto the table and waved the parchment in my hand up high: "Sell! Go on! Sell! It''s toote to sell them! Those stones are just stones now! They''re worthless now! Did some of you buy insurance? You thought somebody would cover your debt? Ding! Correct! That was me! But I''m bankrupt now! I''m bankrupt! I''ll sign! Bring it here! I''ll sign!"


    I snatched the document from the workers. I gave them my vigorous and lively signature before passing it back to them. Iughed as I pranced: "I''m bankrupt! That''s right! I''m bankrupt! I don''t have anything left! Your debts are done, too! Yes, I''m bankrupt! You seeded! But, like me, all of you here, who bought Edward''s insurance policy, every single dor in every money warehouse in the entire imperial capital has evaporated!"


    ***


    Exnation of the financial crisis


    I''ll use letters to try and make this simpler to follow:


    We''re going to say that Edward is ''A'' for alpha male.


    A bought insurance from B. B, therefore, has to cover the losses and principal when A is bankrupt.


    B sold the policy to C, so C also has to shoulder the risk.


    C sells the policy to D, so D also has to shoulder the risk.


    Repeat the process until it reaches Lin Dongqing, who can be assigned Z for all that matters, but let''s use G.


    Now, when A goes bankrupt, B has to cover, but B thinks, "It''s fine. C will cover me."


    C thinks, "It''s fine, D will cover me."


    Repeat until you reach Goody Ol'' Lin, who says, "Who cares. I''m bankrupt anyway. I can''t repay it."


    As such, the one after Lin Dongqing, let''s say it''s F, has to cover. F can''t cover, so F deres bankruptcy.


    E can''t cover, so E deres bankruptcy.


    D can''t cover, so D deres bankruptcy.


    At the end, A, otherwise known as Edward, has nobody to cover for him, which means that he''s also bankrupt. However, the majority of his investments were made from money he loaned from the bank. Consequently, the bank can''t get back their money; the citizens'' savings in the bank has, as a result, turned into a mountain of worthless stones. Now, due to the changes to the nature of the stones'' value, their money has vanished into thin air. Since the bank can''t payout their customers, the bank also has to dere bankruptcy.


    This means that the money the people ved away for and trusted the bank with had been turned into worthless stones, leading to the entire imperial capital having to dere bankruptcy.


    Lin Dongqing essentially utilised the above concept to shatter the enormous "price bubble" that the poprisation of the stones created. The fluctuation in their price is basically the same as stocks evaporating.


    Ling Dongqing couldn''t cover that amount. Edward, who had the most stones and took out the biggest loan, now wouldn''t dare to make Lin Dongqing bankrupt because, if Lin Dongqing went bankrupt¡­ the entire imperial capital would be bankrupt. This means that all the people who made Lin Dongqing bankrupt would have to whip out their wallets as fast as they could to repay his debt for him. The issue was that nobody had enough to repay the entirety of his debt. As a consequence, Sisi would have to repay Lin Dongqing''s debt with money from the national treasury.


    In essence, Lin Dongqing just one-shot KO''ed everyone. He doesn''t need to do anything as the entirety of humanity''s empire would be more than willing to repay his debt for him.


    Hope that makes sense.

 Chapter Volume 7 63

    <em>Punishment</em>


    One hourter at the bank''s VIP room.


    I ced my cup of wine down. The amber liquid swished, moving the block of ice with it. I admired the extravagant candbrum and golden candles overhead, chilling in a leather sofa with one leg crossed over the other. It was a simr situation to thest merchant meeting, except this time, I sat in the centre.


    I refused to spare any of them a gander because I knew they all looked miserable. I knew they wanted to kill me. Sadly for them, it was absolutely pointless to. On second thought, if I died, nothing would change. They didn''t dare to let me die and were even more afraid of me vanishing. If was a smoker and used a tissue to light up a cigar, I''d look as cool as the gangsters when triads were all the rage. But it was a pity that I had neither item. Hence, I just had to stick with my current act.


    I pursed my lips as if I was savouring the honey wine. Once I had enough, I jibed, "You''ve almost touched me to tears. I''m bankrupt and about to be sent to a mine or to work as a sailor, yet you''re all taking so much care of me for this farewell party. This one shall remember the gracious deed you have done for him. I think I should be going to Edward''s coal mine, hey? Please take care of me when I''m there. Thank you very much."


    I offered Edward, who was deathly pale, a toast.


    "Ahem." The bank president picked up my bankruptcy parchment, scrunched it up into a ball and tossed it into the fire with everyone witnessing.


    I had another drink with a smile and then frowned. The attendant quickly refilled my ss. I focused on swishing the wine around in my ss. Whatever they did now was none of my business. I didn''t need to care about anything. It wasn''t my turn to be worried but their turn to be trying to rack their brains for a solution.


    "You''re making things hard for me, man," I jeered, with my hand open. It was about time for me to end the posing and begin my performance. "Didn''t you alle over from far away to fool me with the aim of making me bankrupt? You''ve seeded. I''m bankrupt for real. Then, you go and burn my bankruptcy acknowledgement parchment with my signature. What are you ying at? What do you want from me? So, do you want me to be bankrupt or not? You''re making things really difficult for me.


    "Haha, of course, Edward, you can count yourself out. I forgot you''re also bankrupt now, too. I won''t entrust my daughter to bankrupt businessman. You can''t give my daughter a better life, either. Let''s go mining together. We might even earn posts as foremen or overseers. Don''t forget I''m on good terms with the elves. When they kidnapped you, I can save you¡­ just kidding; I''ll tell them to just kill you."


    "Lord Lin, you should be appeased now, should you not?" remarked the bank president, after the long silence. "It was not our intention to make you bankrupt. You should be aware that it was Her Majesty''s wish. We cannot oppose Her Majesty, and neither can you, right?"


    "Exactly, which is why whether I''m bankrupt or not is none of your business. What are you all so hasty for? Give me the document. I''ll sign again for you. My name is easy to write; I can sign all of the copies you have for me."


    I ced my ss down and snapped my fingers. The bank president was seething. Even so, he had to remain calm and friendly. Else, I wouldn''t cooperate and dere bankruptcy. If I did that, the merchants could all forget anypensation. Every single one who owed the bank wouldn''t be able to repay their loan. The bank got their money from the citizens'' savings. All of their money had turned to stones all in an instant, and the people who had all be broke. The entire imperial capital''s economy would copse and potentially even spread. Businessmen were essentially a huge spider web. If one side shook, the other side would inevitably be affected.


    The bank president carried on, "Lord Lin, the situation at present has gone beyond our control. We need you toe see Her Majesty with us. We mustpensate with the money in the national treasury. Please do not be angry anymore. We know that we were wrong now. We willpensate you for our mistakes. With that said, you should give all of us a way out, right? You should think about the innocent citizens. Do not let their blood, sweat and tears be stones."


    "Remind me why that''s my problem. When you decided to dupe me, did you consider the townsfolk of my town? Did you consider my wife? Veirya is still in the elvennds suffering from a critical wound, and I don''t even know if she''s recovered or not. My daughter was even forced into a marriage with Edward - courtesy of his fib - and you want me to calm down and be considerate to you? You must have extra rich imaginations. When did I ever give you the false impression that I was a benevolent saint?"


    The bank president was shut down. Benevolence has always been an unnecessary trait for businessmen. They should''ve known long ago that trying to persuade me was futile. They had to provide me with an eptable chip. Else, I wouldn''t ept.


    I wasn''t bankrupt. I could go ask Queen Sisi to cover me with her national treasury, and then cover their losses. Correct, it''d be incredibly hard for me to give fifty thousand gold coins. Now, nevertheless, every single person in the entire empire had to repay my debt from my losses. My debt didn''t bother me as someone, if not people, would repay it for me.


    "Tell me. How much do you want?" inquired the bank president. "I hope that you will not make any absurd demands. After all, we will not have much money left after sorting this out."


    "I know that. Do you think that money is important to me now? I don''t want money. I can make money any day. What I want is very simple." I pointed at Edward and dered, "I want him dead."


    "Wh-" eximed Edward, with a shocked expression.


    I added, "That''s it. I don''t want money orpensation. I want him dead. I want to personally watch him die! If a man tries to harbour those sorts of thoughts for my daughter, wounds my wife, yet I don''t avenge them, I wouldn''t be worthy of being a human being! I did all of this to get him killed! I promise to go see Her Majesty once he''s dead. I promise to ask Her Majesty to help you resolve the issue. Thoughts?"


    There was no need for any businessman to think about my offer. It couldn''t be any simpler to choose. What does Edward''s death have to do with them? There are no friends between businessmen. They wouldn''t try to save his life. They, in fact, couldn''t ask for anything more. That would prevent them from going bankrupt. Edward was already isted. Human nature is iparably vile, but that''s fine because I''m part of the pack.


    "Edward," called the bank president after a brief silence, heaving a burdened breath. "You don''t have family, so¡­ I presume you have nothing or anyone to worry about. You should''ve considered the consequences when you started this. Achilles warned you; however, you refused to listen. Rest in peace for our sake now."


    "You can''t do this! You can''t just obey him, and let me die! We''re the exact same! We were all yed! We¡­ We¡­ We should join forces to get him, not kill me!" protested Edward, with his entire body, as he stammered after jumping to his feet.


    Not one man showed a tinge of sympathy. The president shook his head: "Don''t forget who brought this demon king here. He''s a demon king! What was so wrong about leaving him alone in the North? Weren''t you the one who brought him here? You resorted to every means, ignoring time and ce just to get in Her Majesty''s graces, putting the entire imperial capital in peril. Shouldn''t youpensate us for that now?"


    "I didn''t do anything wrong! I didn''t do anything wrong! I don''t want to die! We can''t find another solution! We definitely can! Why do we need him?! Can''t we go see Queen Sisi ourselves? Why must we need him to go? W-we can resolve this, can''t we?!"


    "Things are different this time. All of us are in dire straits this time. Do you think we can get out of the hole? Queen Sisi will onlypensate our losses through Lord Lin. Otherwise, not even Queen Sisi would know how to distribute money."


    The money in the national treasury wasn''t Sisi''s personal wallet. She couldn''t just take money from there and distribute it to businessmen. If she bought out my insurance business, then she could justify repaying their debts. If she went around me, how would she do it? Turn all of the others a part of the nation? Sisi wouldugh herself to madness. If every single business in entire imperial capital was to be her property all of a sudden, what would be the point of having the merchants?


    "Gentlemen, please make up your decision quickly. I still have things to do. I want to sleep early, or I won''t be able to work in the mine tomorrow."


    I set my ss down and got up. Every step I took brought Edward closer to death. I wasn''t going to give any sympathy or give up. I wanted to see Edward die.

 Chapter Volume 7 64

    <em>Demon King</em>


    I wasn''t going to give Edward any chances of a negotiation, and I had no intention of giving the merchants a chance to negotiate, either. Either Edward dies or I wouldn''t speak with them. If I was bankrupt, I''d just take everyone to the elvennds with me to spend the rest of my life in peace with Lucilia while they grovel and pray to whatever the hell tickled their fancy.


    "I don''t give a damn what happens to your economy, humans. It no longer concerns me anyway," I thought in my mind.


    "Why are you looking at me with those gazes?! Don''t look at me with those gazes! Why must I die?! This is just his twisted hobby! You can''t do this! I didn''t do anything wrong, so why do I have to die?! I''m a victim just as you are! You can''t sacrifice me to save your own hides! This is ckmail! You aremitting murder!" yelled Edward.


    I victoriously kept my hand on the door handle, facing the door. I heard the chairs the merchants sat on move.


    "You''re just taking revenge! You''re purely seeking revenge! I didn''t do anything to Leah! Leah is your daughter, not your wife! Why can''t I love her?! This is murder! This is murder!"


    Yes, I wasmitting murder. Beat it. I wanted to pressure the merchants into killing Edward. had neither sympathy nor a bottom line. If there must be one, Leah and Veirya were my bottom line. Sure, Leah was my daughter and not my wife. In saying that, I hoped she could find a young, loyal, honest, earnest and reliable young man around her age to hold her hand. Leah could smile so brightly when she was with me. Therefore, I hoped for her to smile just as brightly with her Mr. Right. I didn''t want her to with that opportunist scoundrel!


    "Mr. Edward, please do not make things hard for us. You epted this job to please Queen Sisi, hurt Lord Lin and then harassed his daughter. We would not do this if it was his wife, but Lord Lin''s daughter is only ten, is she not? Could you reallyy your hands on her? Do you not feel that you should apologise tous and Lord Lin?"


    The merchants suddenly decided to threaten Edward with justice. Theirrade, Edward, had been forced to the edge of the precipice, yet all they cared about was their debts. Killing me meant they''d never be able to repay the sum. If Edward died, on the other hand, they wouldn''t need topensate him and worry about only the bank. Subsequently,


    "I don''t¡­ I don''t want to die¡­ Please. Please, don''t kill me, okay¡­? I beg you¡­ Don''t do this. Don''t do this. We''re all businessmen. We''re all businessmen. You all know that. You all know that. I don''t need yourpensation. I acknowledge I''m bankrupt. Come on, I won''t ask you topensate me, just please¡­ Lord Lin¡­ I''m sorry. I was in the wrong. I¡­. I shouldn''t have harassed your daughter. I willpensate you for your losses and damages in the future, so, so, please forgive me. Lord Lin! I''m begging you!"


    There was a saying that went, "Show leniency whenever possible." A grown man cried and pleaded for mercy. Killing him would tickle my conscience. While I didn''t personally kill him, it was me who caused his death. Furthermore, it was me who forced him to die. To be fair, Edward didn''t do just proposed to Leah; he never harassed her. And so, I decided to open the door and go outside. I guess I still couldn''t watch someone maul another person.


    Not long after I got outside, I heard screams and shrills. After waiting for a while longer, the voice vanished. I waited for a few more seconds before entering to see Edward lying silently on the ground. He had a belt mark around his neck. I didn''t know whose belt it was. I kicked his body, causing him to judder all of a sudden and cough violently.


    "It seems that this motley crew aren''t talented killers. I guess merchants aren''t professionals at killing people," I thought to myself. "That''s enough. Even if I don''t kill him, there will still be others looking to kill him. I think the subi would like an extra side hustle. Take Edward to the subi. He''ll die if Her Majesty sees him."


    Truthfully, my curiosity was piqued. Sisi wouldn''t spare him. Had he not provoked me, I wouldn''t havee to the imperial capital. I might''ve been quivering in front of Sisi instead of tormenting him if he didn''t have an ego erection.


    I took in a big breath and picked up the ss of honey wine to finish it. I tossed it aside thoughtlessly and then grabbed the sky-blue cape the attendant passed me. I opined, "All right, since it''s pretty much over, let''s head over to see Queen Sisi. Of course, I think she might not be too happy to see you lot."


    After Sisi finished reading the bank president''s letter, she squeezed as if it owed her money. She was absolutely calm, having said that. Words failed the headdy-in-waiting.


    "Let''s head to the front pce. I have to go there to handle some work. There will soon be visitors seeking an audience with me," stated Sisi.


    Worried, the headdy-in-waiting circumspectly inquired, "Your Majesty, did something happen?"


    "Nothing," replied Sisi, as severaldies-in-waiting rushed over to help their Queen change. "I''d say it''s a good thing you didn''t bring Veirya back, actually. I''m sure that there''s something which could bring Dongqing back again. It''s perfectly correct to say that Leah is the Demon King''s daughter. Be it the past or now, her father has always been the Demon King. Previously, the Demon King almost broke through humanity''s city walls, but this time, the Demon King destroyed this empire from within. Dongqing truly is a demon king."

 Chapter Volume 7 65

    <em>Choice</em>


    All we needed to was go to the imperial pce and seek Sisi''s intervention. I didn''t want to force her hand into doing something. Additionally, if she didn''t help, her imperial capital would be history. Lots of people would discover that they couldn''t withdraw money when they went to the bank in the morning. Lots of businesses would find out that their supplier was bankrupt, so they didn''t have any sources for goods. The entire imperial capital would be a mess. The wealthy would be beggars overnight. Not even wealthy families would be able to buy things. Take a limb if the people don''t revolt after that.


    Sisi just needed to repay the debt to settle everything. That would make Sisi the businessmen''s new creditor, except the total sum, including my debt, would exceed one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins. Needless to say, Edward could be considered dead. What needed to be done was to repay his loan from the bank. So ordingly, there were about one hundred thousand gold coins approximately there. Not even the Queen could afford to pay that much.


    "I understand now," stated Sisi, as she ced down the report the bank president submitted.


    Although the report was hastilypiled, it was critical for decision making. Sisi, who embellished herself in a white dress, appeared to be aware of what happened already as well as what to do. Hence, she wasn''t angry. She, instead, gazed calm in a way that suggested she hade to ept the oue. Sisi let out a long sigh: "Dongqing, I have not treated you poorly; why did you have to do this?"


    "Your Majesty, please believe me when I say that I have not pursued any personal vendettas in this matter. I was merely exacting revenge on Edward and the businessmen. I had not expected this to happen," I lied with a straight face and regr heartbeat.


    I had ounted for Sisi getting involved and taking the reins, of course. Regardless, I still had to say what had to be said.


    "Is that right?" rhetorically asked Sisi. "Edward reaped what he sowed. I won''tpensate his losses; however, I know that it will be problematic if I don''tpensate your bank. ordingly, I will help. Pardon me. The nation will help with it. I don''t have much myself. I shall withdraw one hundred thousand gold coins from the national treasury to repay Dongqing''s debt and cover the loans you took from the back this time in addition to Dongqing''s debt of fifty thousand gold coins. As such, Dongqing won''t be bankrupt, and your loans will be covered."


    Sisi didn''t look as though she nned to say more. The businessmen only lost their principal. Though that was arge sum, it wasn''t uneptable. In addition, they didn''t have a choice. It was that or bankruptcy, so being able to repay their debt was blessing as it was. It was a given that Sisi wasn''t going to just be getting the short end of the stick. They still had to repay the principal for it was the nation''s money. Not Sisi''s personal savings. Sisi, therefore, couldn''t just help them repay their debt and get nothing in return.


    Sisi exhaled misery: "Five years after I began my reign, the military failed me first, and now you have failed me. I had high expectations for you, only for you to disappoint me one after another. I won''t bring up the military''s incident again, but what about you? I merely wanted one man, yet you were led by the nose by one man. I really don''t know what the point of your existences is anymore. Judging from these events, I just need Dongqing to carry out all the bragging you do."


    Nobody uttered a word. Sisi cordially picked up a parchment to write up hermand and then stamped it with the imperial family''s stamp. Then, she handed it to ady-in-waiting. Once again, she sighed. She sped her face and bemoaned, "I''ve been diligently working for five years. Five years. I genuinely thought I had resolved anything. I thought you were outstanding talents who could help me manage this empire. Judging from the status quo, though, you''re not all that. I thought I was the best at judging people, but my judgement turned out to be unimpressive."


    Tears began to impede on Sisi''s speech, prompting the businessmen to lower their heads in silence. Sisi knew thew didn''t punish numerous offenders. In other words, while she couldn''t kill all of them, she could impel them to kill themselves. Everybody has a conscience. The businessmen present were all haughty. The fact that Sisi was utterly disappointed with them angered them, made them feel ashamed, despaired and agonised. Sisi didn''t need a de for her tears could hurt them much more. Nevertheless, I knew that her performance was for me to see. I also knew that I couldn''t trick myself.


    I ambled and squatted down to give her a hug. She ignored the eyes of the people around and threw herself into arms, where she softly sobbed. I gently stroked her burgundy hair. Voice gentle, I expressed, "It''s all right, Sisi, it''s all right."


    Sisi wilfully hugged me and wiped her tears on my chest. I sighed in my mind; however, I couldn''t show it on the surface.


    "It''s all right, Sisi. I''lle back in the future. I''lle to you. If I''m the best among these businessmen, I''ll also be by your side. I''ll always watch over you for the rest of my life, my Queen."


    "Uhm¡­" answered Sisi, with a nod as she gently leaned on me. She wiped her tears and hoarsely asked, "Does that mean that you won''t be my husband, this nation''s Prince Consort?"


    "That''s right."


    I didn''t hesitate or pull punches. I resolutely looked at Sisi to show that there was no room for discussion.


    Sisi knew there was no room for negotiation. She had always lost the only opportunity to keep me by her side. This time, specifically, Edwardpletely ruined her chance.


    I released Sisi. She wiped her tears and implored, "You may all leave. I don''t intend to punish you this time. I only ask that you exercise more vignce. Dongqing, will you stay? Just one night will do. One night, okay?"


    "No," I responded, shaking my head solemnly. "I need to go and Veirya. I have to go back now no matter what."

 Chapter Volume 7 66

    <em>Trap and Kill</em>


    "Was that really wise?" Angelina asked.


    Veirya, holding onto a parchment, was unable to shake of the puzzling feeling. Brows contracted, she questioned, "She. Didn''t lie to me? Why. Is this parchment. Three thousand gold coins?"


    "I guess it''s a trading method? Think about it: Dongqing doesn''te back with much cash on him ever. He keeps a parchment on him when he works," simplified Angelina, arms crossed. "What I want to ask is, Veirya, do you really think it was wise to do that? I''m certain Lin Dongqing can resolve the issue. That thing must be important to you, though, right? Are you just going to sell it off? And it''s three thousand gold coins¡­"


    "It''s fine. He is. More important than it is. I want to. Be together with him. So it doesn''t matter. If I sell my medal. It was. From Her Majesty."


    Thedy-in-waiting didn''t insist after her offer was rejected. She, instead, asked if Veirya like to sell her medal. Veirya''s medal was her most treasured possession because it was what she received in exchange for her past. She suffered wounds for the medal, and it was also a representation of her efforts with Lucia and others. It, therefore, represented her friendships and valiant courage. Though she never had anything she particrly cared about, the medal was something she''d rather give her life up for than abandon.


    As soon as she heard her house and the North would be auctioned, Veirya sold her most treasured item, a medal that represented her past and glory, without a batting an eye. She threw away her greatest sense of honour and glorious past without any hesitation for she had found something she cherished more.


    ***


    "Don''t be so hasty to leave, my Dongqing. I have already prepared for so long. Could you really heartlessly abandon me a second time?" Sisi shouted from behind, refusing to let me go.


    Sisi''s heterochromia eyes were wet with tears. Her pink lips gently quavered. She fought to stop herself from crying. As withst time, I was going to leave her again. Last time, I promised to stay by her side but then left and abandoned her.


    "I can''t love you, Sisi." I stabbed my nails into my palm and took in a breath of air. Voice soft, I exined, "Veirya has upied my heart for too long. She''s always the only one on my mind. I can''t squeeze another person in. I only want to be together with Veirya. If loved you first, I''d stay, but I love Veirya now."


    "Why, though, can''t I look at Sisi?" I asked myself as I verbalised my response and averted my line of sight.


    Nothing could be seen outside. Nothing could be heard. It was as though Sisi and I were the only ones left in the world.


    Sisi sobbed, "Please, Dongqing. Don''t just abandon me. I''m begging you. Can you leave me with a decent memory? Can you let me dream again? Please, Dongqing, please. Can you let me have a dream?"


    I didn''t know if Sisi was asking for a hug or what. Nevertheless, my feet began to take me to her. I had abandoned her once; I didn''t want to abandon her a second time. I didn''t want to see her broken-hearted expression a second time. I couldn''t provide her with a perfect future. Still, I could give her a dream.


    I pulled Sisi into my arms. She fastened her arms around my waist and leaned no my chest. She administrated the entire empire, controlled all of the empire''s vassals and won battle after battle on the frontlines. At the end of the day, nevertheless, she was still a twenty year old girl who craved love, was sensitive, weak and hoped to have an embrace. She happened to believe I should be the one to offer my embrace.


    "Dongqing, dance a dance with me," requested Sisi from my dreams, raising her head off my chest. "At an imperial family member''s wedding ceremony, we must have the imperial family members dance with their lover. I know that my wedding with you is unlikely to proceed now. However, my heart and memory still wants to dance the dance, at the very least. Dongqng, dance with me. Nobody will see or know. Just the two of us. Our two-person wedding. After this, I won''t get involved with what you want to do. You aren''t a bird that I can trap in a cage. Every time you spread your wings, you shine the light of freedom."


    I lightly took a step back and took Sisi''s hand. I knew I was bad at dancing, and she clearly knew. What we did didn''t qualify as a dance for there was no music, audience or prepared dance steps. We slowly spun circles on the slippery floor, and that was it. It wasn''t a wedding ceremony or dance. It was just Sisi''s dream as a young girl.


    I didn''t think Sisi still had any designs judging from innocence she radiate. She wasn''t a Queen in the moment but a girl who loved to dream. After that dance, I knew that Sisi and I would no longer have any implicating connections. I would return to my North and propose to Veirya.


    I had to say the words no matter what. I wanted to marry Veirya, have our own house, children and lead a peaceful life together. I wasn''t going to get into such a situation again. I swore to not ruin our life again. I promised myself to never be so arrogant again.


    "Dongqing, you know¡­" In a tender voice and with a smile, Sisi asserted, "Do you know who I am? I am the Queen of this empire. The entire empire is under my rule. So, you know that they''re all my vassals. The entire imperial pce is mine. The entire imperial city is mine. The entire empire is mine."


    I tilted my head, wondering, "What meaning lies behind her words? I know that Sisi is an expert actress, but is she acting now, as well? I can''t tell. Is she still acting by any chance?"


    "Therefore, Dongqing, you''ve always overlooked one thing. The North was never yours or Veirya''s but mine."


    Sisi got out of my arms. She pranced along the smooth marble floor, a bright smile blooming on her face. She smugly whipped her pretty dress then extended forth her hand, yet stepped back. Joyous, she jeered, "So, it''s easy for me to auction mynd. As long as they have my written decree and stamp, they have everything they need to proceed. You would know that a fast messenger can deliver my will to the North within a day and a half. I also told the merchants that I was auctioning the North in themand I wrote. So, what are you going to do?"


    I quickly snapped out of my shocked reaction and showed a clean pair of heels, yelling in my mind, "What am I doing?! What am I doing?! Why don''t I learn Sisi''s character?! I''ve been fooled again! She''s not someone who easily quits! Everything she did was to stall! She''s stronger than I think by far! She won''t ever give up! I have to get back now! I have to run back now! I''ve only repaid my debt, though! I still don''t have money! The merchants have to start over from scratch but so do I!


    "Those merchants would sell their damn pots just to get revenge on me. They''ll take the North even if it''s just destend, torment my family and leave me homeless! What do I do?! If they''ve already set out, what do I do?!"


    "Go on, Dongqing," remarked Sisi, watching on as she chuckled eerily. "Let me see what your love for Veirya is. They say that love can pass through life and death and time. Now then, show me that it''s true."


    I rushed out the main hall and the pce doors.


    I thought, "I still have a chance! I still have a chance! Achilles avoided losses thanks to my letter, so he''ll lend me money. I can make it all back if I have ten thousand. The rest of them couldn''t possibly spend ten thousand topete with me. We''re now all trapped beasts! This is going to be about who bleeds out first!"


    Someone crashed into me as I turned the corner. Before I could apologise, I was floored. I fell on my back on the street of the imperial capital after I felt a sensation akin to someone viciously punching me in the gut. I tried to sit up. s, my core wouldn''t support me. It felt as though it was being torn. I struggled to stand up, only to discover I was spurting blood from my gut.


    I tried to get up and run; however, took another bullet to my back. The imperial capital''s denizens probably heard my harrowing scream, but nobody came to help.


    The individual with the gun threw the handgun to the side and skedaddled. The imperial pce''s guards dumped me in a secluded corner.


    "They say that love can pass through life and death and time. Now then, show me that it''s true. If I can''t have him, let him die in the cage, then," Sisi inwardly opined.

 Chapter Volume 7 67

    <em>Help</em>


    "Mr. Achilles!" The young man ran up to Achilles. His mind was in fragments as it was his first time seeing a man near death.


    Achilles patted him on the shoulder: "You''ve done well to bring him back alive. We''ve found the most experienced doctor already. Whether he can survive or not is not in our hands. We just need to leave it to the doctor."


    Achilles approached the doctor who just entered. The doctor shook off the blood on his hand and opened them in a shrug. Smiling, he reported, "He''s an unimaginably lucky man. The second shot should''ve been enough to take his life, but this ne saved him from it. The first short didn''t damage his organs. Regardless, he needs to rest with a wound of that magnitude. Otherwise, his wound will open, and there will be no way to stop the bleeding. He might not have been resting and sleeping properly for thest few days. I think it will take him approximately one month to recover. Look after him."


    "Thank you." Achilles patted the doctor on the shoulder. Achilles ced the halved ne dyed in red blood in his pocket. With a smile, he dered, "I''m keeping this. This lucky item that saved him from a bullet will definitely be able to help me avoid a disaster."


    "Mr. Achilles¡­ since he nearly died at the entrance of the imperial pce, which suggests that Her Majesty wanted to kill him. Is it really a good idea for us to keep him? We are not friends, are we? Do we have to risk our lives to protect him? How about we take him elsewhere?" questioned the fretting young man.


    "Haha, how much did we lose this time?"


    "We¡­ did not suffer any losses. I sold all of our stones at thest moment. They still fetched a lot at the time. If anything, we earned twenty thousand gold coins from the event," answered the young man, chest high with pride.


    "Had he not written you the letter, would you have made the twenty thousand gold coins? If you opposed him, would I not be homeless by the time I came back? I''m sure you''ve seen what makes him a frightening man. He was bankrupt, yet in the blink of an eye, not one single person dared to let him go bankrupt. Forging a friendly rtionship with such an individual will only bring us benefits; there won''t be anything to lose. Rest assured, and take care of him. As for Her Majesty, if she genuinely wanted to kill him, he would be dead by now without a doubt."


    Achilles looked at the man lying silently on the bed, pondering, "Surely he went on a rampage just before, turning the entire imperial capital on its head. Before that, though, when he was nning it all, how much pressure did he feel? How much risk did he shoulder? His n could''ve gone wrong at any moment. Only he knows how much he went through to realise the n until now. This man, who managed to fell every single businessman in the imperial capital, looks so helpless and small as he''s lying here now. What holds this man up? Is it the woman who is bed ridden in the elvennds?"


    Although Achilles never experienced love, he had an idea of what it entailed as he watched the two.


    "Prepare a horse for him," instructed Achilles. "Prepare the fastest horse and a good carriage. I heard that the auction for the North will continue. It appears that Her Majesty is not going to stop at anything to have him. I may be loyal to Her Majesty, but I cannot watch her err over and over. Let Dongqing head back. Additionally, prepare ten thousand gold coins for him. He must need money now."


    "Understood," verbalised the young man, wishing to opine but realising he didn''t have the right to when he noticed Achilles'' expression.


    As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw the candbrum overhead spinning; I couldn''t get a clear visual on anything. The sharp pain from my gut was still had all of my nerves screeching. I tried to stand up. s, my lower back refused to heed mymand.


    Suddenly, a pair of hands supported my back, thereby allowing me to sit up, albeit with a struggle. I rubbed my eyes and looked over to see Achilles standing next to me.


    "Good morn-, rather, goodnight? It''s almost morning, however. You want something for breakfast?" Achilles cheerfully inquired.


    Once my memories gushed into my head, I shunted Achilles aside. I grabbed my gut and struggled to try and get off the bed, but he quickly returned and supported me: "It''s all right. Don''t be hasty. I have a good idea of what happened. This is a cheque for ten thousand gold coins. I''ve already had someone prepare the fastest horse and carriage for you, but you''ll need to find Leah yourself. There''s no need to be hasty. The North is still in chaos, and I doubt your people would agree to the auction. It can be stalled for a while longer, so there''s no need to rush."


    Because I resembled an idiot trying to process the influx of information, Achilles chuckled: "Hurry on up. You have ten thousand gold coins on hand, so you''ll win regardless. Those merchants would be lucky to have several thousand gold coins, so it''ll work out."


    I grabbed the cheque from Achilles and dragged my injured leg out, hand pressed on my wound. The young man pulled the door open and helped me into the carriage. There were a few riders behind the carriage waiting. They gave me a nod and expressed, "Lord Lin, we once fought alongside Lord Veirya. We heard you were hurt, and we were worried about you being assassinated on the way. As such, we will protect you until you reach the North."


    "Thank you, all." I climbed in and told Achilles, "I''ll repay the loaned."


    "No rush. It''s yours to being with," replied Achilles, waving his hand with a smile. "I hope all goes smoothly for you, Lin Dongqing. To be frank, all of the so-called young geniuses and so-called business geniuses in the imperial capital are now the equivalent of trash cans to me. You have won my admiration, man. After you''ve recovered and rested, we''ll meet again in the imperial capital."


    "Yeah, we will."


    I had no time to pursue the assassination matter. I had to head back. I had to pick up Veirya. I wanted to propose to her. I wanted to be together with her forever¡­

 Chapter Volume 7 68

    <em>Contest</em>


    I shoved open the carriage doors as soon as it pulled over in front of the brothel and demanded, "Tell Leah toe out. Tell her toe out, and leave with me. Don''t bring Sophia here to waste my time. I''m taking Leah. The North is in trouble, and I''m no longer bankrupt. Hurry and let Leah return with me!"


    Before I could say another world, Leah charged outparably to a tornado, proceeding to leap straight into the carriage and ster her small body to mine. Normally, I''d be overwhelmed with bliss. Today was not the day for it. I gently pushed Leah back and held my back with a grimace.


    "Sorry, Leah, don''t hug Papa that enthusiastically yet. Papa has an injury at the moment, so. Papa will hug you when Papa is healed."


    "Papa! What happened to you, Papa?!" eximed Leah, grabbing onto my arm after seeing my look of agony.


    I smiled helplessly and stroked Leah''s head: "Papa isn''t too bad. Papa just has a minor injury. We need to head back now, Leah. Our house is in danger. We need to head home to protect our home. Papa will protect your flower. Papa won''t allow anyone to ruin our home!"


    "Leah will always trust Papa! Leah wants to be with Papa forever! Leah will never leave Papa again!" Leah asserted.


    Leah sat next to me and clung to my arm. I scrubbed her head. I took out a wine sk from my pocket with my shaky hand and had a few gulps. I used drinking as a way to mask the stabbing sensation shooting up to my brain. I couldn''t let Leah see my pain. I had to hang on until we got back.


    "I should be fine. My wound has been disinfected and sewn, so I should be fine, I reckon," I inwardly repeated.


    The horse took off running. The golden orb had juste up in the east again, but the darkness had yet to lift for me. I had one goal, and that was to run to the North as fast as possible. Thus, I tightly held Leah to reduce the rocking of the bumpy ride and protect her head. Ross was with the riders, so I didn''t need to worry about him.


    "Papa¡­ Leah¡­ really missed you this time."


    At the moment, a hug was more effective than a thousand words for her. Voice slightly shaky, she softly opined, "When¡­ when Edward came to Leah¡­ Leah¡­ Leah was really scared¡­ Leah was scared that Papa didn''t want Leah anymore¡­ Leah was scared¡­ that Leah really would have to marry him¡­ Leah hates that man¡­ Leah only wants to be together with Papa. Leah doesn''t want to go anywhere else¡­"


    I kissed Leah on the forehead: "Papa won''t leave you. Papa is your papa. As they said, Papa is a demon king. Papa can make every businessman in the imperial capital bankrupt for you, so don''t worry, Leah. Papa can always protect you no matter what happens. Always."


    "Regardless of what anyone says, Papa will always be Leah''s Papa, Leah''s best Papa. Leah will forever trust Papa! Leah is never scared if Leah is with Papa¡­ Leah is not scared at all now¡­ With Papa by Leah''s side, Leah will always be safe," responded Leah. Next to my ear, she whispered, "Leah doesn''t want to marry someone else. Leah only wants to be with Papa. Leah wants to be with Papa forever no matter what. Nobody can take Leah from Papa."


    I didn''t detect any issues with the contents of what Leah said. I kept my hand on my wound and furtively shifted my hand forward. I saw dark-red blood on my hand. I carefully wiped my hand to avoid Leah noticing the blood. I could bear with the degree of rockiness at present - not that I had any alternative.


    ***


    "You aren''t praised for nothing, Veirya. You''re already able to stand," remarked Lucia, as she watched Veirya try to stand on her own. "Your wound most likely hasn''t fully healed. Therefore, you should exercise cautious. With that said, I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear?"


    "¡­ Good news?"


    "I''ve received the letter you''ve been looking forward to most. In other words, a letter from Lin Dongqing," reported Lucia, waving the letter in her hand at the same time.


    Veirya leapt over to snatch the letter. Unfortunately, Lucia dexterously hopped back and evaded Veirya''s surprise attack. Then, she pressed a hand on Veirya and said, "Calm down. I have a condition. The two of us must read Travor''s letter together. Now, for the bad news, for some reason, your North is still going to be auctioned. I think you best go and take a look to see what''s going on. I don''t know if Travor wille racing back to do anything."


    "¡­ What does one need. For an auction? How much. Money do I need?"


    "Mm, don''t go bothering with that, I reckon. You haven''t healed yet. If you thoughtlessly run around, your wound might open again. You want Travor toe back and scold me for not protecting you well? Ascillia, you happen to be a human, as well, so you should know about this sort of stuff. Let''s do this: you go to the North''s auction as Veirya''s representative. It''ll be fine. You have elves'' backing you financially. Needless to say, Veirya, you should be aware that I''m not just your friend but also the Elven Queen. I can''t senselessly spend our money for my personal feelings, so you''ll have to repay me."


    Ascillia bobbed her head then turned to Veirya, promising, "It will be all right, Lord Veirya. I will not fail you!"


    "All right¡­ I will. Repay the loan. I also have¡­ three thousand gold coins. From Her Majesty. I don''t know if it''s. Helpful or not. But here."


    "Works for me."

 Chapter Volume 7 69

    <em>Bandits</em>


    "Lord Lin, we are going fast enough already. We should be able to arrive at noon tomorrow. Even if you do not want to rest, surely your daughter needs rest. We should take a short break here," shouted one of the riders, from the window of the carriage.


    I covered Leah''s head and peered outside. It wasn''t wise to travel in the wilderness in the dark. On top of that, Leah and Ross hadn''t eaten anything all day. While Achilles provided me with a horse carriage and personnel, he didn''t provide me with food and water. Leah neverined once from my side. Though I urgently needed to get back, Leah and Ross did need rest, indeed.


    "All right."


    The soldier nodded and then shouted out to the coach, bringing the carriage to slowlye to a stop.


    "Papa, it''s all right. Leah isn''t tired¡­"


    "No, Leah, Papa can''t make you suffer. You should have something to eat, as well." I hugged Leah and kissed her cheek: "Leah, hop off first. Papa has to do something first. Papa needs to change capes. We''ll be arriving at Veirya''s ce soon."


    "Okay."


    Leah pushed the door open and hopped off. The people outside began preparing a bonfire, dinner and had a bit of a break. I could see that they were exhausted. Even humans feel overwhelmed with fatigue from the rockiness of speeding on a horse.


    I removed my cape that I used to cover my wound, hissing as I felt the sharp pain again; some blood even spurted out from my abdomen. I didn''t know when it happened, but my bandage and blood were stuck together. When I pulled on my cape, it pulled on my wound, too.


    I carefully removed my red bandages. I clenched my teeth and wiped the spilt blood. Then, I took out a small bottle of alcohol. With my teeth gritted, I poured it onto my wound. The intense sensation The pain had me squirming, banging my head back on the carriage, randomly trying to grab things and even seeing ck screens every now and then. I forced myself to sit back up. I took in a deep breath. Then, I covered the wound with cotton and bandaged myself again."


    I couldn''t tell if I was wiping tears or sweat off my face. I hid my bloody corpse under my seat then opened the door to let the stench of blood escape. The smell of nts in the North and the cold air blew against my face, thereby relieving me of the pain and difort and calming me down somewhat.


    I went over and sat down next to the fire. Ross jogged up to me and nervously asked, "Lord Lin, are you all right¡­? I¡­ You¡­ you got hurt¡­ You sent me back¡­ When I was waiting for you¡­ you were attacked¡­ Is your injury¡­ bothering you?"


    I shook my head with a smile: "It''s just a scratch, nothing major. It won''t affect me. I''m d you''re all right, Ross. I was worried that the assassin would go to the ce we were staying and burn it or something. I''m d you''re okay. We''ll be in the North soon. will be well once we reach the North. Veirya should be fine."


    Ross stood up: "All right. Lord Lin, I shall go help take care of the horses! I will be back soon. Have a rest here for now!"


    I sat next to the fire with Leah. I wasn''t sure if the reason they didn''te to the fire to rest was to allow Leah and I to have time alone. They, instead, set up a new fire, where they sat around to eat and chat. We had a small pot ced above our me that boiled the bread and milkbo, which was what we always had. I, unfortunately, didn''t have an appetite. Leah ate the meal enthusiastically, on the other hand. Although she imed she didn''t need to rest, it was clear that she was starving.


    I rubbed Leah''s head and continued gazing toward the North. I couldn''t see the town''s fires from where we were. One thing I did know for sure was that the businessmen were already there trying to get back at me for dropping haymakers on them.


    I was runningte, but even if they arrived before me, the auction would require some time to prepare, so I would still make it in time if I arrived tomorrow. I wasn''t convinced that they had ten thousand gold coins. If they could whip out ten thousand gold coins so easily, they wouldn''t have gone bankrupt.


    I was nodding off. Seriously, I wanted some quality sleep. While we were in a much poorer environment than the imperial capital, at the very least, it was safe. The North was my territory, so if they wanted to assassinate me, they''d have to bring their A-game. If Veirya was with me, as well, I''d be even safer.


    I didn''t know if I fell asleep or not because I just had my head down; I felt I nodded off, nevertheless. Either way, Ross came over, shouting in a panic-stricken voice, "Lord Lin! Lord Lin!"


    Surprised, I cast my gaze up up to see the people by the other fire on their feet and slowly approaching us. Their des reflected the mes. Ross tightly grabbed my arm and anxiously shouted in a muffled voice, "Lord Lin! Lord Lin! They¡­ they are nning to kill you and then sell Miss Leah and I! What do we do?! What do we do?!"


    "Don''t panic." I urged. I maintained my sitting posture and vigntly watched them approach. Quietly, I instructed, "Ross, hurry over to the horses immediately. I want you to link our horse up to the carriage. Use a piece of wood to break the joints on the other horses, or you could even kill them and be done with it. Regardless of what happens, do not leave them with a functioning horse. After you''re done, just wait by the carriage."


    Ross responded with a firm nod. He mustered up his courage and bolted off.


    "Leah, when you hear me speak, put the fire out immediately, and then we''re going to run as fast as we can into the carriage, understood?"


    "Understood, Papa!" replied Leah, tightly grabbing my arm.


    Smiling, the crooks sarcastically proposed, "Lord Lin, technically speaking, we have seen you off to the North, so it is time for us to collect our payment, right? How about this, you hand over your money, and we will leave, all right?!"


    I held my abdomen as I shakily stood up: "Really? That''s hrious. Men who once fought alongside Veirya have be scum and bandits, not to mention that you''re carrying out your crime in the North, which happens to be under her jurisdiction."


    "Lord Lin, that is all in the past. I think you are the only one who still reminisces. We fought alongside Veirya, but we were left empty handed in the end. Only Veirya found herself territory to rule. The erstwhile glory and prestige is worthless now. We would rather money than that stuff now."


    They spat and then waved their swords around.


    "Lord Lin, need we say any more? You have a child with you. Do not let her see bloodshed and be without a father. Hand over your money, and we will leave right away."


    I would''ve considered them handing them the money if I didn''t need it because I could make more as long as I was alive. Howbeit, I couldn''t hand it to them, for it was money I needed to buy back the North. Without the gold coins, I couldn''t reim Leah''snd. The North was Leah and Veirya''s home. I had to reim what Leah treasured!


    "Papa¡­" Fearful, Leah hid behind me.


    Suddenly, we heard horses neigh. Then, the horses began to riot. The group froze and instinctively turned to the direction of the sound.


    "Now, Leah!"


    Leah kicked the wooden rack used to hang the pot, the soup instantly putting out the fire, while I lost my vision. On the bright side, I could also hear the crooks panicking. I remembered the direction the carriage was in, so I grabbed Leah''s hand and "ran" over, dragging my crippled leg along. My abdomen throbbed as though I was breaking in two. My left foot couldn''t keep up, so I staggered and tripped several times.


    "Leah, Hurry on!"


    The group picked up their fire torches again. They roared as they ran over. I leapt onto the front seat of the carriage and aggressively poked the horse. Ross helped Leah up onto the carriage. My lower back screamed in pain due my vigorous actions. I grabbed the reins in my teeth. I didn''t know where to run to, so I just sped off northward. Ross hopped up to the front from the rear and shouted, "Let me take the reins! Lord Lin, I can see the road at night! Let me take the reins!"


    "Okay, then."


    Though it was dark for me, it was all the same to Ross, who was a cat.


    Ross got the horse to pull the carriage out of the mud and get back onto the road. Once again, the horse sped off full pelt toward the North. The group''s horses couldn''t catch us due to their pain and broken links. We finally appeared to be safe.


    "Damn¡­" I let out a breath of relief and went limp where I sat.


    Ross enthused, "Lord Lin! We are safe! We have escaped! Lord Lin! Lord Lin!"


    "Stop shouting. Bloody hell it hurts!"


    I grabbed my abdomen and groaned in pain. My sewn wound had burst open. I was bleeding heavily. I could even feel my blood just gushing out. Even my conscious faded gradually.


    "Can I reach the North¡­? Can I still make it back to Veirya? Hang in there. I need to hang in there¡­ Just a little more. Just¡­ a little more¡­" I told myself.

 Chapter Volume 7 70

    <em>Auction</em>


    "Lord Lin! Lord Lin! Lord Lin! Lord Lin!"


    I heard someone call out to me while I was in my hazy state - I think. All I saw was a nket of white. Nothing was clear. I squinted for a long time before finally seeing Ross'' anxious face and Leah''s small head pressed on my abdomen, desperately licking my wound and spitting blood out over and over.


    It felt as though I was lying on my bed at home, waking up to another ordinary day. I wasn''t bankrupt. Veirya wasn''t hurt. I didn''t go to the imperial capital. I wasn''t assassinated. My abdomen didn''t hurt anymore. I didn''t know what took ce while I was out cold, but my wound had stopped hurting. I felt less dizzy; I''d even say that my mind was clearer by a bit. My body no longer felt so heavy. Though I had no clue what I was shouldering, I no longer felt anxious. I wasn''t even thinking about anything as a matter of fact. My mood was¡­ calm.


    "Ross, have we arrived?"


    "Yes, we have arrived. We have arrived¡­ However, in order to avoid danger, we are currently at the clock tower near the auction grounds¡­"


    "Clock tower? Since when did our town have a clock tower? ¡­ Oh, that one¡­"


    The chapel came over to conduct their vouring trade in the past. That was why there was a structure resembling a clock tower in the town. I didn''tpletely destroy the chapel. I never went after the chapel in the North, so it remained as a tower with an ancient clock.


    Our house must''ve been turned into the auction grounds now. We could overlook the auction grounds from the tower, so it wasn''t a bad spot. Ross sure knew how to choose a good spot.


    "All right. Let''s stay here, then. We can participate in the auction still," I decided.


    Leah looked up at me with her face smothered in tears. Tears streaking down her cheeks, she cried, "Papa! Why didn''t you tell Leah?! Why did you travel through the night when you had such a serious injury?! Why couldn''t you rest in the imperial capital for a while?! Papa will die! You will die, Papa!"


    "This Is Leah and Papa''s home," I replied, pursing my lips to form a smile and wiping the bloodstain at the corner of Leah''s mouth. "This is also Papa, Veirya, Angelina, Ross and the elves'' home. It''s notrge. The location isn''t good. It''s also freezing, but it''s our home. Leah''s flower also grows here. Papa is Leah''s Papa. Papa must protect this ce even if Papa has to risk Papa''s life."


    "No!"


    Leah grabbed my chest and cried. She didn''t say anything in particr, not that I knew what to say. I tried to hug her. Sadly, my armscked the strength, unfortunately. My strength wouldn''t obey my order to sit up.


    "I remember Veirya was also stabbed in the abdomen. Talk about simrity. She was hurt gravely, but she should be all right now. Before shees back, I need to protect this ce," I inwardly said.


    Ross, standing at the window, excitedly shouted, "Lord Lin, Lord Lin, the auction is starting! Lord Lin!"


    With my hand on my abdomen, I quietly directed, "Ross, I can''t shout right now. You go. Here are ten thousand gold coins. If it doesn''t work out in the end, spread the news that the merchants are bankrupt, which would make their efforts fruitless. Buy back the North."


    "Understood!"


    I couldn''t hear what was said there nor could I utter another word. All I could hear was Ross scream numbers.


    "Interesting. I initially thought Ross might''ve been plotting something and refused to ept him. Now, however, he''s the only one who can help me. Ross has changed, too. He is no longer the cat who gets scared of everyone he meets. He''s no longer a boy others can lead by the nose. I don''t know if I was the catalyst, but he''s much braver now.


    "They say that your life will sh before your eyes when you''re about to die. Why don''t I have any memories? All I see is white mist. I can''t see past the mist? What''s behind it? Will it be Veirya''s embrace or the sun we once saw together?"


    The white mist gradually dispersed, and I couldn''t hear anything. I felt as though I had just woken up. With my thoughts hazy, I rubbed my eyes and looked around again. I had no idea where I was or what I went through.


    "Is this what I thought was real but is actually a dream I can''t recall?" I pondered.


    The clear breeze from the north after noon brushed my face. The sun was bright as always just as Leah''s smile was. The leaves cackled as the breeze grazed them. I felt soft mud and the smelt the scent of grass. The sky was clear and far away.


    Veirya was there, lying silently next to me, eyes closed. Her long eyshes danced in the wind. I could still feel the warmth of her hand. She had never left. We had never parted. We had never seen life and death, either. Everything was still at the most beautiful point in time.


    I gently shifted closer to Veirya. Despite being very close, despite leaning on her shoulder, I had let go of everything. It should all have been a dream, a dream after a summer afternoon. Veirya and I should be sleeping on thewn. The shouting in the distance must''ve been Leah and Angelina. Veirya was next to me. She had never left.


    "I''ll sleep for a bit. Everything is fine," I told myself.


    I grabbed Veirya''s hand and leaned on her shoulder. I let out a long breath and gently shut my eyes¡­

 Chapter Volume 7 71

    <em>Papa</em>


    What do I consider Papa?


    "Papa! No! No! Papa¡­ please¡­ Papa! Please don''t die¡­ open your eyes¡­ Please!"


    The man in front of me still wore a gentle smile, but his eyes were shut. I tightly gripped his chest with my tiny hands and desperately shook him, but I couldn''t wake.


    Thest word he murmured was, "Veirya¡­" Hisst expression was a blissful smile. Perhaps it was because he saw her in the end. I''m right here next to him, so why is he thinking of that woman? I''m worried about Papa and heartbroken, but why am I also angry?


    That woman angers me. Why? Why? Why? I''m right by Papa''s side. I''m the only one who has never left Papa, so why is Papa thinking of her? I want to be together with Papa forever, but I don''t want to share Papa with anyone. I just want to live together with Papa. I only need Papa. I don''t need anyone else. I only need Papa!


    Why is this feeling¡­? What is this feeling¡­? I don''t want to share Papa with anyone. I want to be by Papa''s side, hold Papa''s hand, lean on Papa''s just as the other subi do. I want Papa to hug me and kiss me, but not my cheek or forehead. I want him to kiss my lips and entangle his tongue with mine. I want to do the things that make Papa happy. I want Papa''s child. I want Papa to do what men did to the subi, but with me!


    What exactly is this¡­? Is this love? I want to keep Papa by my side and not let anyone elsey their filthy hands on him be it Sisi or Veirya. Papa is my Papa. I love Papa but not as a daughter. I want to embrace Papa, kiss Papa and be together with Papa forever and ever and ever and ever! I won''t let anyone have Papa¡­


    "Miss Leah, I am sure you wille to understand. However, you must bear in mind that when ites to love, we are wild beasts. There is no need to worry about family or friend. Rip apart your opponent, and then saddle the man and devour him. That is love, Miss Leah. You will understand one day," Sophia taught Leah.


    Ah¡­ Yes¡­ Sophia was right¡­ Right now, I¡­. I want to¡­ crush that woman, skin her, tear her apart and reduce her to a speck of dust! Nobody can steal my Papa from me. Nobody!


    Ross stammered, "Lord Lin¡­ a¡­ a woman just offered ten thousand gold coins¡­ we¡­ we do not have money¡­ we do not have any more money. What do we do¡­? Lord Lin! Lord Lin! Lord Lin!"


    "Stop shouting, Ross," ordered Leah. Voice calm, she expanded, "Since we don''t have money, let''s leave the North. There''s no point in staying here. Let''s go somewhere else. I know of a ce. I once lived there. It should be abandoned now, but if Papa is there, we can revive it! Plus, we can go to the elvennds to treat Papa first! Papa isn''t dead! I know it! Papa isn''t dead!"


    "Really?" eximed Ross, delighted to hear the first piece of good news in a while.


    As the hammer came down, the rights to thend were transferred from Veirya to that woman. Honestly, nobody knew who she was. When the bid reached ten thousand, the merchants were done whether they liked it or not. Nevertheless, they figured Lin Dongqing didn''t have much as he had just recovered, as well, since raising the bid to make him drop some money wasn''t so bad in the end. They, however, never expected the girl toe out of nowhere and drop thirteen thousand gold coins in one go, thereby winning the bid and the North.


    The oue was the best oue to the merchants. While they failed to buy it, it didn''t matter, for the reason that the North was a useless block ofnd with no value. They purely wanted to spite Lin Dongqing.


    As the curtain on the auction came down, a sequence of horse hooves came through apanied by several gun shots. Surprised, Ross looked over then immediately leaned back.


    "Miss Leah¡­ what do we do..? The people fromst night¡­ It''s those men fromst night¡­ Th-they''ve caught up¡­"


    The group of bandits aimed their swords and the dwarves'' guns at the crowd. Flustered and loss for what to do, the crowd clustered together. The group on horses loudly demanded they hand over their money.


    "There''s someone in the clock tower! There''s still someone in the clock tower! The one up there has ten thousand gold coins! You guys go and find him! You must find him! He has money! He has money!" shouted the group, pointing to the clock tower.


    "Miss Leah, what do we do? What do we do? Where can we run to now? We¡­ we are trapped here¡­ What do we do?!"


    The group rushed over to the bottom of the tower. Ross chose the best spot for the auction. Sadly, it became his undoing since there was only one way up and down the tower.


    "It''ll be fine," dered Leah, performing neck circles as she picked up a length of timer by the side. "Mama Veirya and Angelina taught me swordy. I will protect Papa! Nobody can hurt Leah''s Papa! Nobody!"

 Chapter Volume 7 72

    <em>Lucilia</em>


    "Where am I? Did I just have an extremely long dream? Everything seems surreal? When did the dream start? Did it start when I was fooled and Veirya got hurt, or did it start when Veirya and I slept on thewn? Or was it from when I met Leah for the first time? Is it all a dream? Are Leah, Veirya, Angelina, Lucilia and that woman I hate and love, Sisi, all a dream? Were the schemes, firece in the small house in summer and my maniacalughter in the trade centre a dream? Was the night journey and myst murmur at the clock tower a dream? Was it all a dream I conjured in my mind to not design a wedding for my beloved woman?" I reeled off in my mind, unable to answer any of the questions I posed.


    Iuded myself as he smartest individual in the empire, yet I couldn''t even tell where I was. My eyes were still shut; however, I could smell rain that was sprinkling onto the leaves.


    "What''s this next to me? Is this gentle breath from time?"


    I tried to move my finger, but it was slow as a robot. It resembled a robot trying to move one part after the other. However, something warm tightly sped my fingers. It was gentle, yet firm. I felt as though I had a bone lodged in my throat. My vision was quite hazy upon opening my eyes. I couldn''t shake off the feeling that I had seen it somewhere before. I had the impression that I had seen it in reality or a dream before.


    Eventually, my vision became clear. I was surprised to spot a small head next to my arm. I recognised the head. Short hair and an elven crown - Lucia.


    An elf servant noticed me wake up, therefore making a "hush" hand gesture. Then, she pointed to Lucia and quietly informed me, "Please let Queen Lucilia sleep for a while. She has not slept for two days to take care of you."


    I inwardly appreciated, "She''s been looking after me at my side for two entire days? I was so mean to her. I betrayed her, and made the entire elven race suffer a heavy blow, yet she''s taking care of me and helping so devotedly. This is the Lucilia who loves me. This is my Lucilia."


    Had I not fallen for Veirya, I really might''ve swapped Sisi to live a life of bliss with Lucilia in the elven forest. I couldn''t help loving Lucilia when she loved me so sincerely. However, I had promised Veirya to be with her.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Despite how quiet the maid was, Lucia woke up. Bleary, she rubbed her eyes until she saw me looking at her. She sped my hand and delightfully enthused, "Yes! Yes! Travor, you scared me to death. I was genuinely worried you''d¡­ I was seriously scared¡­ When¡­ when you were brought here, you were in horrific condition. I''m d you''re alive, Travor, so, so d you''re still alive. This is great."


    Tears welled up in Lucilia''s eyes by the time she reached herst words. I held her hand back and smiled. It was exhausting for me to even smile. She inhaled deeply to smile again withposure: "In any case, I''m d you''re alive. Travor, your wound has been treated. Veirya gave you a blood transfusion. You two sure are fun, taking turns to give each other blood transfusions. Needless to say, I had to resort to despite not advocating it."


    Lucilia carefully caressed my face: "Have a rest, Travor. Take care of your wound. Don''t worry about anything else for now. We elves will always wee you. For now, take care of your wound, or you will die."


    I nodded but didn''t release Lucilia''s hand.


    "Is something the matter, Travor? Veirya''s wound is fine now. She and you just need some time to heal yourselves. I''ve helped Leah and the catboy settle down, so you don''t need worry about them. As for the North¡­ mm¡­ it''s fine. We killed the bandits and hauled the merchants over. I heard they wanted revenge against you. If you like, we can off them; that won''t be an issue."


    "So the elves saved me," I remarked to myself.


    I didn''t know what happened after I passed out yesterday. I had no idea how the elves knew about my pinch, either. In saying that, I had to admit that I''d actually be dead if it wasn''t for them. I swear on my life I never thought they''d kidnap the merchants.


    I patted the spot next to me. Lucia looked at me feeling surprised but then started to get slightly giddy. Her twitching ears were gave it away.


    "You mean I can sleep next to you?! I can?! Great, great! You can leave, shoo."


    The servant nodded and left as per Lucilia''s instructions. Lucilia bashfully touched her face and hair. She gently set aside her crown and stripped, leaving just her simple white underwear to clothe her body. She shyly covered her virtually non-existent breasts and softly said, "Pardon the intrusion¡­"


    I should''ve been the one to say that, but perhaps Lucilia considered herself to be the one profiting. She slowly lifted the nket and climbed in, curling up on my chest. She was too shy to even speak, but her fingers on my face sure weren''t shy.


    I ran my fingers through Lucilia''s hair and tried to speak. Only then did I discover how raspy my voice was.


    "Thank you, Lucilia. I don''t know what would have be of me if it wasn''t for you. Thank you."


    "It''s nothing. Regardless of what the case is, you''re also my lover. I will always love you, Travor. You loving me and me loving you are two separate things."


    "¡­ Sorry."


    I didn''t want to betray Veirya. I couldn''t reciprocate Lucilia''s feelings in spite of her having done so much for me. With that said, it really tormented my conscience to see her treat me so kindly.


    "It''s all right. I understand, Travor. If I brought you to the elvennds at the beginning, we might already have our own child, but it no longer matters. You wouldn''t be happy if I forced you to stay with me now, would you? Having said that, can you do this with me again in the future? I don''t need you to always be my Travor, but can you asionally be my Travor for a night as you''re doing now?"


    I caressed Lucilia''s cheek and kissed it. At first, she pulled back then gently kissed me back. I certainly couldn''t be her Travor forever, but if it was just one night, perhaps I could be Lucilia''s Travor for one night.


    Apparently, Lucia was slightly aroused, evident from her hand beginning to try and head south. I also started feeling blood collect between my legs if I was honest. That said, I didn''t quite dare to move because I still remembered the sensation of my abdomen throbbing with pain. If I recklessly moved and opened my wound again, I''d die for real. Lucia, however, didn''t need me take any initiative. The moment she made contact with my wood, her face turned beet red.


    "Don''t get too excited, Travor. I''ll do the work¡­ Travor, you should be aware¡­ that I''m willing to do anything."


    Afterwards, Lucia quickly slipped down under the sheets. I honestly never expected Lucilia to do it¡­


    "What would the elves think if they saw this?" was a question I was curious about but never wanted to know the answer to.


    The Elven Queen was gently getting me off¡­ It must''ve been Lucia''s first time. It hurt a little but was very warm and felt incredibly, mm¡­ amazing¡­

 Chapter Volume 7 73

    <em>ident</em>


    "Your Majesty, killing Lin Dongqing is really not a good idea," opined Achilles. "Do you honestly think that killing Lin Dongqing is wise? Moreover, you assassinated him. Will he remain on good terms with you from now?"


    "You can''t speak thoughtlessly, Achilles," responded Sisi, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "Since when did I give themand to assassinate Lin Dongqing? Achilles, it upsets me that you would senselessly suspect me."


    "Your Majesty!"


    "It has nothing to do with me. I never sent anyone to assassinate Lin Dongqing. You can ask anyone to confirm that. I have never given such an order. Lin Dongqing didn''t offend me; why would I be angry? Don''t you think the dwarves and merchants would be more eager to have him killed? Dongqing''s assassination did astonish me, indeed. Furthermore, didn''t you save him? If I wanted him dead, would you dare to save him?"


    "Your Majesty, can you really say that his assassination has anything to do with you? Given that he was assassinated near the imperial pce, I cannot see how you are not connected to the assassination. Your Majesty, I hope that you can be on good terms with Lin Dongqing. He far surpasses any businessman in the entire empire. If you lose him, our empire will have suffered an enormous loss."


    "Achilles, how much do you think he can do? I know how smart he is. In addition, I, of course, know that he is superior to any other. Nheless, how many Lin Dongqings are there? I have so many businesses in my imperial capital. Could one Dongqing make me all the money required? True, those businessmen can''tpare to him, but without them, my imperial capital would go stagnant. How can I not cate them? I didn''t assassinate him; I just didn''t protect him."


    Achilles had no counterargument. Sisi''s logic made sense. Lin Dongqing fooled them and almost destroyed the entire imperial capital by himself. Having said that, the entire capital couldn''t rely on him alone. After what happened, all of the merchants couldn''t be any more furious with Lin Dongqing. If Sisi couldn''t appease them, their loyalty for her would diminish. Everyone now knew that she wouldn''t abandon them for him. That was the concept of bnce. Business in the imperial capital required the businessmen to continue. They were inferior to Lin Dongqing but superior to others. Lin Dongqing was suited to stay by Sisi''s side. At the same time, they needed to make sure the businessmen were loyal to her, as well. As Queen, Sisi needed to consider things beyond the romance between a man and woman. She had to manage the businessmen''s mood.


    "Lin Dongqing will be back, however," continued Sisi. "He''s bound to be back. I have what he will definitely take back from me, so I have no concerns. He''s mine. No matter how he tries, I''ll ensure hees back to me."


    ***


    When I woke up the next morning, I discovered Lucia had already left. I wasn''t sure if the elven medicines were highly effective or if my wound wasn''t particrly serious. Nevertheless, I felt that I had recovered a bit. At the very least, my body no longer felt heavy. My senses had fully returned to me, too. I could even feel slightly hungry.


    Lucia left a note on the table, telling me that I could ask an elven servant to attend to me once I woke up. I softly called out.


    A young elven girl immediately entered and bowed to me brightly: "Lord Travor, how can I help you?"


    "Where¡­ is Veirya?"


    When I had to choose between food and Veirya, I chose thetter. I wanted to see Veirya so much. Things hade to an end. I could finally see her. I didn''t want to just see her, hug her and confirm that she was fine. We were finally reunited.


    "Lord Veirya has notpletely recovered and is still recuperating in the room next door. She should be able toe see you soon. Did you want something to eat? Ross and Miss Leah have turned in. They fell asleep after finding out you had woken upst night and have yet to wake up." The young elven girl bowed and then exited.


    Everything was over. The entire fiasco had finally concluded. While there was my assassination to get to the bottom of, I didn''t to pursue the matter. It was pointless to. What would be the point? Was I supposed to ask Sisi for an apology? She would never apologise to me, and I wouldn''t harm her. It was time to wrap up the whole fiasco. I doubt Sisi wanted to actually kill me because, if she did, I wouldn''t have made it here.


    I gently touched the bandage on my abdomen. I recalled Lucia fromst night¡­ I never expected her to go there, but it was seriously, seriously amazing¡­ But¡­ but¡­ I suddenly noticed a problem¡­


    "So¡­ Veirya was in the room next to mine¡­ In other words¡­ there was only one wall between us¡­ Lucia and I did that right next to Veirya''s room¡­ I always said I loved Veirya¡­ yet did that with Lucia¡­ Mm¡­ Let''s forget it¡­ Pretend it never happened. I just need to avoid letting Veirya find out, and it''d be fine¡­ idents happen¡­"

 Chapter Volume 7 74

    <em>Mother-inw and Daughter</em>


    "Papa!"


    Leah woke me up in the afternoon, squashing me with her weight. I opened my eyes to see her pressed firmly on my chest. An elf came over and patted Leah on the shoulder: "Miss Leah, I think you should avoid squashing Lord Travor. He has a wound on his abdomen, so it is dangerous to apply pressure to it."


    Leah backed off ever so slightly in a somewhat reluctant manner. I gently touched her face, smiling: "Leah, I''m so d you''re all right."


    "Papa, you''re the one worrying Leah! You had such a severe wound, yet you rushed here! You should''ve rested in the imperial capital for some time! Why were you so hasty?!"


    "Sorry, Leah, I had to rush back; else, we''d lose the North."


    "Sorry¡­ Lord Lin¡­" expressed Ross, who hid behind Leah with his head down. "Sorry¡­ Lord Lin¡­ I failed to win the auction¡­ I¡­ I did not know what to do¡­ because¡­ because we did not have money. When we did not have enough money¡­ I did not know how to continue bidding¡­ Sorry¡­ Lord Lin¡­ Sorry¡­ The fault is mine¡­ I should havepeted¡­"


    "It wasn''t your fault, Ross. Don''t be downhearted," I calmly replied. "Even if you did win the bid, it would be useless if you couldn''t pay your winning bid. All we can put it down to is a miscalction on our part. Don''t worry, nevertheless. Those merchants didn''t win the rights to it in the end. Since somebody else bought it, it means that we have a chance at buying it back. It doesn''t matter, however, as there''s nothing left there. We can go to the imperial capital to live. It''s all right, Leah. I''ll nt the flower for you again after we get to the imperial capital."


    "Leah doesn''t mind where we go as long as Leah is with Papa. Leah just wants Papa! Nothing else matters. Papa, we can go live where Leah originally lived. Leah is talking about the castle. In Leah''s opinion, Papa can make it beautiful for sure."


    "I remember now. Leah must be talking about the Demon King''s castle¡­ That ce still hasn''t been torn down yet? It seems that Sisi isn''t interested in developing it, either¡­ If we don''t have the town but still want to stay in the North, we could move into the castle. Last time, I only had a glimpse of the castle, and it was certainly a magnificent castle. I suppose a lord should have a castle. That''s just a suggestion, though,"


    "Papa, Leah wants to make a trip back there. Leah wants to go back."


    "Hmm?"


    I looked at Leah feeling confused. If my memory didn''t fail me, the castle should''ve been empty.


    "Queen Sisi smugly confiscated all of the spoils of war as the victor. Did she leave some behind perchance? But is the ce worth reminiscing or feeling happy about to Leah?" I pondered. "Leah, do you want to go there for something?"


    "Mm¡­ don''t worry, Papa. Pretend Leah never mentioned it," cheerfully replied Leah, shaking her head at the same time. She jogged over and caressed my face. She kissed my cheek and smiled. "Leah really likes Papa lots and lots. Leah just wants to be with Papa, but¡­ Papa, will we still live together with Mama Veirya in the future?"


    I was confused. I smiled and answered, "Of course, Leah. However, Veirya might be your real mama in the future. You''ll have a younger brother or sister in the future."


    I had made up my mind to confess to Veirya when I saw her again. I didn''t want to waste another opportunity. It was almost impossible to confess after what transpiredst time, so I was determined to at all costs. I was determined to confess even if I would be met with rejection. Perhaps I could only start my life after rejection.


    "Ah¡­"


    Leah wore mixed emotions on her face. Before I could say another word to her, Angelina came in. I almost mistook her for Veirya and cried. Of course, she immediately gave me a smile, "I''m d you''re still alive. Did you and Veirya n this out to see who''d get hurt in the abdomen first? Who was responsible?"


    "Not sure. It might''ve been the dwarves or merchants in the imperial capital. Either way, it was one of them. Needless to say, Queen Sisi tacitly allowed them to do so," I replied. I smiled helplessly. "Is Veirya all right?"


    "She was quite well before she found out you were heart. She was a good girl and took her time healing. Ever since you arrivedst night until now, I''ve caught her getting out of bed three times to try and visit you," calmly replied Angelina.


    Truthfully, that should''ve warmed my heart to hear, yet it was actually frightening enough to make me break out in cold sweat. Luckily, she was caught every time, because if she saw what I did with Luciliast night, there would probably be another round of headaches, since I didn''t exin¡­


    "I''ll go see her when my wound has healed," I replied. I paused for a moment before continuing, "Help me write a letter to have the elves¡­ oh¡­ right¡­"


    The North no longer belonged to us. Whoever it was, wouldn''t allow the elves to continue living there. This ce, the elvennds, was where they were exiled from, so the elves wouldn''t want to see them back here. What could the three elves do?


    "What''s wrong? Write to who?" Angelina wore her puzzlement on her sleeve.


    I shook my head and answered, "No, nothing. I just suddenly remembered that there was no need to. Don''t worry about the letter."


    "Yeah¡­?" asked Angelina, with a nod. She then walked up to me and kissed me on the lips. She leaned back before I could put up a resistance. With a mischievous smile, she stepped back and said, "I''ll kiss you on my daughter''s behalf. You don''t have any need to be nervous or shy. Just pretend I''m Veirya! Rest up well, my dear."


    I was done¡­ Though I knew that she was Angelina, her appearance that was identical to Veirya, her tone and smile caused my heart to race beyond belief¡­ However, it was precisely because I was distracted that Ipletely forgot about Leah, who was next to me. I missed her expression and her gnashing her teeth¡­

 Chapter Volume 7 75

    <em>nning</em>


    Lucilia licked her lips: "Sorry, my mind wandered off just now, so I didn''t pay attention to what you said. Please repeat it again."


    "With regards to the human merchants we captured, you should be aware that they are Lord Travor''s enemies. Furthermore, they have also admitted that they came to the North to seek vengeance on him. Before this, they were the ones responsible for Lord Travor''s bankruptcy tap. Hence, they are Lord Travor''s enemy, which makes them the enemy of elves. As we have captured them, there is no reason to spare them," repeated the elf, brows locked together


    While the Elven Queen no longer wielded all of the authoritative power any longer, she still had the prerogative to pass down orders and opine her opinion. The elves still had divided opinions on different matters; however, they were always united when humans were the subject, and that was to bare their sharpest fangs.


    "¡­ I will need to ask Travor for his input on that. If it was just one or two of them, I''d keep them for experimentation purposes. It''s not so simple when there are so many of them, however. There''s no doubt that they''re from the imperial capital and Queen Sisi''s subordinates. If we thoughtlessly kill them, I''m sure she won''t let us off the hook. The status quo between us and humanity should change. We won''t stand to benefit in any shape or form, otherwise."


    The elves took a brief moment to exchange silent nces with each other. They didn''t express their viewpoint on Lucilia''s answer. Nheless, it was clear that they weren''t particrly happy with her decision.


    "Queen Lucilia, is your suggestion motivated by Lord Travor''s sake? Are you having misgivings about humanity''s feelings due to Lord Travor being human?"


    "Mm¡­ that has nothing to do with this, does it? As the Elven Queen, it is only natural that I prioritise elves. There is no question there! I have offered my entire life to elves. Does that still not suffice?"


    Lucilia felt somewhat irate for she could ept them questioning anything but her devotion and loyalty to the elven race. Those who had any semnce of a conscience would know how much her n had done for the elven race. Not only did they conduct medical experiments but also led the elves to victory in many battles. To add, Lucilia was one of the heroes who slew the Demon King. Questioning her loyalty to the elven race was going overboard.


    "Your Majesty, that is not what we meant. I merely wanted to rify your stance. We hope you do not mind¡­ You and Lord Travor did itst night, correct?"


    "What you are saying?! That''s so rude!" eximed Lucilia, covering her mouth.


    The elves regarded each other and then conveyed, "Your Majesty, we can understand that you love Lord Travor; we do not intend toment on that. With that said, you are our Elven Queen. Meanwhile, Lord Travor is a human. You cannot be considerate of him due to his identity. Else, you would be considerate of humans. You should think from your own perspective, and do what is meaningful for elves. Since they are Sisi''s vassals, we should kill them to deal a blow to humanity, not spare them, because you are worried about Lord Travor."


    "I don''t recall ever saying to spare them."


    The elves took one step forward and continued sternly, "Of course, we are not telling you to give up on your love. It is just that we need to have Lord Travor think for our sake, not you thinking for humanity''s sake. We can keep Lord Travor here in the elvennds. If you kill them, Lord Travor will be forced to stay here. Obviously, that includes Lord Veirya."


    "What are you talking about?!" vociferated Lucia, as she furiously jumped to her feet, "Veirya is my friend. We once fought side by side, yet you want me to kill her? And¡­ and¡­ she is Travor''s¡­"


    Lucia suddenly froze. She released howughable her situation was, inwardly querying, "Because I love Travor, I don''t want to make him said. In turn, I can''t kill Veirya, for the man I love loves her. How ironic. I can''t kill the woman he loves, as I love him. What exactly is my stance? What am I to Travor? I might be nothing. I''m not a mistress but not a lover, either. What am I? I did it with himst night. That doesn''t mean he''s mine, though. He was my Travor for one night. Did I heal him so that he could lead a blissful and happy life with Veirya?"


    "¡­ I''ll consider it," stated Lucilia, then departing.


    If the elves killed Queen Sisi''s best weapons, namely the merchants she relied on, she and humanity''s empire would suffer an unbelievably heavy blow. The war between the two races hadn''t ended. The elves couldn''t fight beyond the forest but had to ensure that humans couldn''t attack their forest again, nheless. If they kept dealing blow after blow to Queen Sisi, she''d naturally take the initiative to ask for peace.


    The previous Lucilia would definitely have done so withplete disregard for humanity''s stance. Perhaps it was better to say that the more humanity suffered, the happier the elves found themselves.


    The Elven Queen should prioritise elves. The elves didn''t object to Lucilia''s love. In saying that, the asserted Travor should be an elf, not the Elven Queen who bes a human. That was the elves'' bottom line. Fortunately, Luclia still had hope. She said she''d consider it, which meant that there was hope.


    At night, Lucilia returned to the room.


    "Not bad. I was worried you''d go running around, which was why I went out of my way to station lots of people here. Thankfully, you listened to me. Don''t worry. Your wound should be healed in two to three more days, by which¡­ you can then leave."


    "Can I get up tomorrow, then?" I asked with a smile. "I feel much better now. I''m almost good as new now. I think I can stand now. How about I try?"


    "Don''t get overexcited."


    Lucia appeared to be in a manner of states. She walked up to my side and gently lifted my shirt. FHer gesture and kneeling posture reminded me ofst night. I didn''t know where she learnt to use her mouth from. Also, I never expected Lucilia, the Elven Queen, to be so open minded and bold. I was too embarrassed to mentionst night, and she didn''t mention it.


    Lucilia undid my bandages and gently touched my wound. Then, she grabbed some new medicine, which was pounded nts of some sort that was turned into an ointment. She gently applied it to my wound and then carefully bandaged it again. An elf then brought in a basin of hot water. Lucilia took it from her and had the elf leave. Lucilia threw a towel into the basin and whipped her hair.


    "All right, let me wipe your body, Travor."


    "Lucilia¡­"


    "It''s fine."


    "I''m not against you wiping my body. It feels really nice to have you wipe me down, and I''m very grateful¡­ but¡­ you can''t wipe just one ce¡­ Normally, people would put on an act. Why did you go straight for it¡­?" I thought to myself.


    Lucia didn''t wipe my body for my sake; she wiped me for her own ends.


    "Hehe, Travor, you react to me, too, huh? I''m pleased to see that. Let''s do it again. This time, you have to watch me."


    Without wasting a second, Lucia brushed hair aside and swiftly lowered her head¡­


    ***


    "Hmm?"


    Veirya opened her eye and looked at the wall with curiosity: "There''s moaning. Over there. I think."


    "Moans?" Angelina asked. Curious, she pressed her ear onto the wall and sighed: "I thought it was Lucilia moaning, but it''s him, amazingly. He must be in a bit of pain while getting his bandages changed."


    "Why would Lucilia moan?"


    "Need a demonstration?"


    "Can I have one?"


    Angelina''s eyes lit up, licking her teeth as if she was thirsty. Grinning mischievously, she answered "Of course I can. Let me and Lin Dongqing demonstrate for you¡­"

 Chapter Volume 7 76

    <em>Catching Cheaters</em>


    "Mm¡­"


    When I woke up the next day, Lucia was still around. Apparently, she was feelingzy today - suggested from her still sleeping in my arms. I gently yed with her radiant and smooth hair. She gently juddered at first but then allowed me to y with it at my own leisure afterwards.


    Morning in the forest was always so beautiful and peaceful. The exotic rm was the only rm I''d like to wake up to. The forest''s refreshing scent in the morning rejuvenated my bleary mind. Needless to say, the nicest scent came from the pretty elf by my side.


    The elves were the best part of the forest, pretty, fragrant, somewhat vicious but still enough to entrance one. I gave Lucia a kiss on her forehead and rolled over. Just as I nned to hug her and continue sleeping for a while, I noticed sounds at the door.


    For whatever reason, I had vision so splendid that I could see the breeze escort a silver strand of hair in. Veirya, standing at the door, checked the surroundings outside for any elves. I finally saw my lover who I missed all this time. She was the one I worried about most and loved most. I had always wanted to hug Veirya and kiss her, yet I wasn''t pleasantly surprised. Instead, I was frightened! I had Lucia in my arms!


    I quickly rolled over so that my back faced the door and tightly hugged Lucia, or perhaps I should say, shoved Lucia into my arms. Thanks to her being petite and soft, she could curl up into a ball before Veirya turned her attention inside.


    Veirya swiftly sneaked in and then carefully shut the door. She then pulled open my nket, scaring the living daylights out of me. Nevertheless, she wasn''t there to catch me in an affair. Next thing I knew, I felt a warm sensation on my back.


    What¡­ does one call that situation? I have my main wife, or rather, my fianc¨¦e, behind me on my bed. In my arms was my elven mistress who gave me a happy endingst night? Wait. Not mistress. Ex-elven wife? So my current woman hugged me from behind while I hugged my ex?


    "What in the world?! If Angelina was here, would I have a mother-inw on my hips, too? Would Leah be the spectator? What do I do?! What do I do?! I could make all bankrupts in an imperial capital go bankrupt and reverse my situation with empty hands, yet can''t resolve my family issues¡­ What do I do¡­? What in the world do I do¡­? Shall I pretend to be asleep? What does Veirya want?" I inwardly analysed.


    Veirya''s hands crept along my waist, unaware of what I was doing. If her hand kept going toward the front, she''d touch Lucia! I couldn''t stop her, either. Otherwise¡­ how would I exin myself? Suddenly, Veirya stopped on my hip, where my wound was, and gently stroked my wound. She then carefully pulled her hair back, seemingly afraid that she''d open my wound again. She gently touched the side of my face from behind. However, touching my face seemed to lead her to attain enlightenment to some new world. She carefully caressed my face, and then she earnestly propped her body up and caressed my face¡­


    "What does she want?!" I inwardly cried.


    My closed eyes shivered; however, I didn''t dare to open them. Veirya, on the other hand, enjoyed herself. I could say with certainty that she was Veirya, not Angelina, since she''d be the only one to do something so stupid and not discover Lucia, either. Angelina wouldn''t bother with forey. She''d go straight to home base.


    My nervousness continued to intensify. Veirya''s touched my face, then my shoulder and even into my clothes. She leaned into my neck and breathed in my scent¡­


    "What does she want?! What is this supposed to be? Is she nning to gnaw my neck off? I don''t think I can keep this act up any longer¡­ I think I need to wake up¡­" I told myself.


    Nheless, Veirya neither bit me nor discovered Lucia. She was probably focused on looking at my neck. I could barely resist her kissing and licking my neck. That was Veirya''s first time doing something so sensual. Teeth banging isn''t considered sensual, is it? Veirya gently hugged my neck and tugged my head in a quite a violent manner. Then, she banged her head on mine before finally stopping.


    I prayed to myself, "Don''t! It''sfy and blissful, but you can''t do this right now! Lucia will die in my arms if you do this now!! Also, what would the elves do if they can''t find Lucia? I know that you miss me. I miss you, too. Can we wait until I''m done with my ex-wife first, though?"


    Suddenly, someone pushed the door open again. Whoever it was came up to the bed and tugged Veirya.


    "Geez, I knew you were here. You were going to see each other today anyway, yet you still couldn''t stop yourself and sneaked over to share a bed with him. If you want to share a bed with him so badly, I''ll educate you at night. What''s the point of this? Get up, get up, or else, Ascillia will wake the elves up."


    "I want. To sleep with him,"


    "Yeah, so I do, but it''s not time to be sleeping."


    Veirya stood up, albeit reluctantly. Angelina saved the day. I had no idea if she realised or not¡­ but as long as she didn''t tell Veirya, all was well¡­

 Chapter Volume 7 77

    <em>Lucilia Entrusting</em>


    "That was seriously dangerous."


    Lucia crawled out of my embrace. She gazed toward the door with her hair still messy and a lingering fear, yet she couldn''t hide her mischievous smile. I scrubbed her head, and she touched my face in response. She got off me before fixing her hair.


    "If Veirya caught us, what would you have told? Or did you not have any intention of exining? What do you think she would''ve done to you? If you got a divorce, would you spend the rest of your life with me, or do you have another candidate?"


    I had no response to Lucia''s questions because I had no idea what to do in that scenario. I had two choices: option one was to remain in the elvennds and live a life of peace. Option was to spend the rest of my life as humanity''s Prince Consort with Queen Sisi. While it was undeniable that I was assassinated, I knew that it was unlikely under Sisi''s direct orders. She most probably just refused to protect me. I couldn''t deny that I deserved it. I did give Sisi hope twice and then walk out on her, so it wasn''t as though her wrath wasn''t justified.


    I was cognisant of the fact that I couldn''t oppose Sisi. Opposing her would never lead to a good ending. I still had many backers; none of them could oppose her, which went to show that I most certainly couldn''t.


    "Lucia, you said that your elves captured the merchants, right?"


    "Yeah," responded Lucia, who sat in her chair,bing her hair. "In saying that, I haven''t figured out how to deal with them. What do you think? Travor, they cornered you. How do you think we should do with them? They are your enemies, not ours, after all. Perhaps I should say that virtually all humans are the elven race''s enemy."


    "I know you want to kill them, don''t you?"


    "Not exactly. I just have some new experiments that I''d like to try."


    Afterbing her hair, Lucia got dressed. If Veirya noticed the clothing, I''d have been doomed because I wouldn''t have been able to exin Lucia''s clothes, otherwise.


    Lucia was no longer the girl I knew, though her body hadn''t notably changed. However, I could see that she had matured a lot. It was probably attributed to her taking on more and more. She had to carry the honour and fate of the entire elven race on her shoulders.


    "I don''t think you should kill them. How about using them for a ransom? Lucia, you know that neither elves nor humans stand to gain anything if you maintain this war situation. Times are changing. One day, the forest won''t be able to protect elves. Elves must leave their forest, not wait for others to enter. Lucia, heed my advice. Exchange the group of merchants for humanity''s steam engine prototypes."


    "Steam engines?" asked Lucia, after turning around to me. "Sorry, my n doesn''t research that stuff, so I''m not educated on the topic. Travor, what exactly is this steam engine you speak of?"


    "It''s a machine that can provide you with what you want. To be more precise, it can provide every imperial city with what they want. Power. Lucia, they are power. Steam engines can rece a lot of manpower. The elven poption is small, which is why it is even more necessary to have steam engines."


    "Is that right? ¡­ All right, I''ll bear that in mind. However, what I''m about to tell you next is as Lucilia, not the Elven Queen giving you suggestions. I would like for you to leave this ce as soon as possible, Take Veirya and your family with you. The elves now want to kill you in order to keep you here, but that''s not what I want."


    "Got it. You think Veirya can still recover after leaving the elvennds in her current condition?"


    "She''s essentially fine now. I''ll provide you with the remaining medicine. If she wants to undergo aplete recovery, she''ll need to rest for a year. Nevertheless, her wound won''t open at this stage. Her day to day life won''t be impacted, either. You, to the contrary, need to rest up properly for some time. You''re awfully weak physically at the moment, not to mention you bled excessively this time."


    Lucia walked up to me and gave me a peck on the cheek. Voice soft, she went on, "Although I want for you to stay by my side and recuperate for a while until you''re healthy again, if you stay here, you might never be able to leave. I have no choice but to let you leave. Travor, if you have time, remember toe back and visit me. We don''t have the chance this time, or I''d let Travor Jr. call you ''Dad''."


    "It''s fine. I acknowledge him as my son. Our son."


    I kissed Lucia, who was in my arms, on the cheek.


    "You can see Veirya today. Hurry and take her away from here; anywhere will do. In short, it''s no longer safe here in the elvennds."


    Lucia picked up the Elven Queen crown and wore it on. She had transformed into the Elven Queen, Queen Lucilia, not the Lucia by my side. At the same time, I was no longer the elves'' Travor. I had my own business to deal with, while Lucia had everything she had to protect. The two of us wouldn''t cross paths again after that night.


    Lucia wouldn''t lie to me. By the sounds of things, the elves had designs in mind. I surmised that thest human kidnapping case was to allow Lucia to meet me. I, therefore, wouldn''t put it past them to kill Veirya for their Queen''s sake. As such, I had to leave with Veirya as soo as possible. The question was, where could we go? Besides the imperial capital, I guess the Demon King''s castle was the only alternative.


    Wherever we go, as long as we''re together, then that''s enough. Anything will do as long as our family was together.

 Chapter Volume 7 78

    <em>Oath</em>


    My lower back disagreed with me when I tried getting to my feet. Fortunately, it was no longer an unbearable pain. I grabbed my washed clothes by the side and carefully dressed, worried that I''d open my wound.


    "I should take some of the elves detergent with me if I have time. It''ll make it easier for Anna to wash the clothes, as well," I thought.


    I nostalgically touched the sky-blue cape suspended on the wall. I was the only one in the entire human empire to have a sky-blue cape. Sisi personally sewed thest one; as for this one, I wasn''t sure. Nheless, I decided against wearing it on since I was going to see Veirya.


    The golden rays outside irritated my eyes, but the temperature in the elven forest was always pleasant.


    While the elven imperial city was only the size of a small town, it was their most prosperous city. I saw elves with bows on their back or swords passing by me. They all greeted me courteously as though I never left and was there as the Elven Queen''s husband,


    A few carefree walking birds ambling passed me looked my way, wondering why I, who was different, was in the elves'' territory. Frankly speaking, I never knew them as a species very well. I had never seen elves ride them to battle or travel. Maybe they were just raised for their eggs or aspanions?


    Spotting me standing at the front of Lucia''s old ce, an elf approached and made a small bow: "Good morning, Lord Travor. Do you n to go and see Lord Veirya now? Do you need me to guide you there?"


    "No, you can just tell me where she is."


    The elf pointed to a room I had seen before. I never expected Lucia would let Veirya live there instead of her manor that resembled a castle or the elves'' imperial pce. Maybe it was because elves weren''t fond of humans, and Lucia didn''t want to have elves treat Veirya, I suppose.


    I arrived at the small room''s door. I took in a deep breath, nervous for some random reason. Perhaps it was due to what happened in the morning that I was somewhat fearful of Veirya. I surmised that Angelina wouldn''t tell Veirya, nevertheless, betting on Angeline exercisingmon sense.


    I fixed my clothes and touched my face. I even sniffed myself prior to knocking on the door. I wanted to hug Veirya sooner. I didn''t want to do that while I was caught cheating. I wanted to righteously see Veirya as her lover!


    Ascillia was pleasantly surprised to see me upon seeing me. She pped her hands with joy andughed: "Lord Lin Dongqing, you have arrived! I am d to see you are all right. I heard you were hurt. I really wanted to see you. s, I never had time. I am so d to see you all right. You do look slightly haggard, having said that. You still need quality rest."


    "Ascillia? You''re taking care of Veirya here?" I asked, surprised.


    "Yes. I took care of Lord Veirya here. She has recovered for the most part now. She sneaked outside this morning, which gave us all a fright."


    Ascillia''sst statement left me feeling quite awkward¡­ I knew she sneaked out¡­ but I couldn''t admit to it.


    Before I could speak, Angelina pressed her hands on Ascillia''s shoulders and smiled: "I can understand how you''re feeling, but we, as outsiders, should not stop a husband from seeing his wife after being separated for so long. No matter how much you have to say to each other, save it for a bitter. Let''s let Veirya and he have their reunion first. Else, Veirya will want to kill you."


    Ascillia awkwardly nodded. She took a step back with an awkward smile: "I am sincerely sorry, Lord Lin. I was a bit excited. You can rest assured; Lord Veirya has almost fully recovered now."


    "Thank you, Ascillia. Thank you for taking care of Veirya during my absence."


    Based on what I knew, it was too dangerous to have the elves take care of Veirya. Ascillia was also human and on very good terms with me, so I felt safer with letting her take care of Veirya.


    I nced over to Veirya, who was sitting on the bed, still expressionless. Had I not caught her jumping me in the morning, I''d have misunderstood that she didn''t care about me. Fortunately, I knew that it wasn''t just me who missed her, as she also missed me. Things were different to the past at this point. In the past, although Veirya didn''t care about me, she now worried for me. I guess it was love for us now.


    Honestly speaking, despite having left Veirya for only somewhere around two weeks, it felt as if we had been apart for ages. I felt she was still so gorgeous when I looked at her again. My heart raced as a result of her beauty again.


    I didn''t know what I was afraid of. I was probably just nervous. Angelina watched us with a smile and then pulled Ascillia out with her, albeit with a hint of reluctance. After she shut the door, it was just Veirya and I in the room. I didn''t know what to say. I wanted to see her so much. When I finally did, though, I was lost for words thanks to my own nervousness¡­


    In a raspy voice, I conveyed, "Veirya, I really missed you."


    "I also. Missed you very much."


    Despite how shy saying those words made me feel, Veirya enunciated them in apletely calm, yet sincere, tone. I warily tried to hug her, and she reciprocated the hug. I carefully sped her face. I expected too much, however. Veirya hadn''t learnt to kiss, and she didn''t learn to touch teeth. She smashed her teeth into mine <em>again</em>.


    "Sorry¡­ It was all because of me. The fault was mine. Had I not gone out, none of this would''ve happened, and you wouldn''t have been hurt. It was all my fault. Veirya, it was all my fault."


    "It''s not. Your fault," replied Veirya, with her head tilted to indicate confusion. "You. Did nothing wrong. It wasn''t you. Who hurt me. I''m also. Fine. Additionally. You''re back. Isn''t that. Good enough?"


    "Veirya¡­ thank you."


    "Don''t mind it. I love you. At the time. I was very afraid. You''d die. So. I protected you. I don''t know why. This feeling. Is different to my concern. For Her Majesty. Maybe it''s because. I love you."


    I sniffled. For some reason, I was so weak in front of Veirya. She stroked my back gently, while I held back my urge to cry that had amplified.


    "I failed to protect our home. The North has been bought. I haven''t decided where to go now. Don''t worry, though. I''ll definitely provide you with a warm andfortable home. Believe me."


    "Mm? I bought. The North," whispered Veirya.


    I pushed Veirya back, deluged with surprise: "What did you say? You ced a bid?! Ross can identify you, though. Plus, where did you get the money?"


    "Lucilia lent me ten thousand. I also sold my medal. To Her Majesty for three thousand. Ascillia went to buy back. The North."


    "The medal that Veirya cherished and exchanged her blood and courage for was sold off just like that? Veirya bought her own belonging with her own money?! Sisi!" I snapped in my mind.


    I stood up and touched Veirya''s head. I then turned and left.


    "Where are you off to?"


    "I''m going to get back your medal."

 Chapter Volume 7 79

    <em>Date</em>


    I needed to get Veirya''s medal back from Sisi. It wasn''t Sisi''s property, and the North was a fief that Sisi rewarded her with in the first ce. Sisi could auction it. Fine, I had nothing to say about that. In saying that, she couldn''t make Veirya sell her medal. I was going to pay on behalf of Veirya, but I had to get back the medal. The medal was Veirya''s glory. That was proof that she was humanity''s hero. She risked her life and spilt blood for it. Veirya had nothing in her past. If even the only meaningful thing in her past was taken from her, it would be tantamount to erasing her from history. That medal was a representation of the past she regarded importantly. Sure, it was a mere medal. At the same time, though, it was her entire past to her.


    "Lord Lin!" Ascillia immediately approached me as soon as she saw mee out.


    I handed the cheque to Ascillia and told her, "Pass this cheque onto Lucia. Veirya loaned ten thousand gold coins for the auction, right? This is the repayment. Prepare me a horse carriage. I''m going alone this time. Angelina, Ascillia, please take care of Leah and Ross."


    "Lord Lin, where are you going? Your wound has not healed, has it? You certainly do not look recovered. You need proper rest!" urged Ascillia, as she grabbed onto my arm.


    I gently pressed my hand on Ascillia''s hand. She knew to let go.


    "Angelina, you were there when Veirya sold her metal, weren''t you? You should be aware how important it is to her; why didn''t you stop her?" I questioned.


    Angelina shrugged: "It''s not mine. How can I stop her from selling it? I asked for her opinion. She was the one who decided she could sell it. She''s an adult. Therefore, she can decide if she wants to sell something or not. It''s important to her, obviously, but if she chose you over the medal, that means she can sell it without hesitation. You should be happy."


    "That''s precisely why I can''t ept it. Veirya is more important to me than anything and anyone, which is why I can''t ept her losing her most cherished possession. I''m going to get it back from Queen Sisi. It''s just three thousand gold coins. I can get that much."


    Angelina smiled after a brief moment to herself then proimed, "Do you actually think you cane back after going to Sisi this time? Do you not realise why she bought the medal? You''re walking into the trap she set. I think that it''ll be impossible for you to return if you go now."


    "I still have to go, nevertheless. I''ll always be able to find a way toe back. If Veirya''s medal is gone, though, then it''s gone for good. That''s her past, her cherished possession. I won''t just hand it over to Sisi. All that Veirya has left for those years of risking her life is the medal. That''s their glory and honour as warriors who slew the Demon King. I must get it back. I must!"


    ***


    "Money sure is easy to make. I sold what was hers to her so easily and made so much," remarked Sisi, pouring red wine onto the gold coins. She sat cross legged on her throne and chuckled: "Put this stuff in my treasury. Take some out to repay my loan from the bank. See, isn''t it easy to make money? I didn''t do anything and still earned thirteen thousand gold coins."


    The headdy-in-waiting solemnly queired, "Your Majesty, the North now truly belongs to Lord Veirya. Moreover, in light of what you did to Sir Lin Dongqing, do you not feel you are in danger? Lord Veirya was loyal to you before, b-"


    "Dongqing is a smart man; he should know what to do," interjected Sisi. "He''s not dead, which I''m very pleased to know. I never wanted him to die. He won''t do anything even if he thinks I assassinated him for he knows who the empire belongs to. He knows the consequence of defying me. He''ll obediently return to me because he has qualms. After this, he should be aware that I love him, but if he loses favour, then I can kill him at my own leisure."


    "But¡­ he would not return after leaving this time, would he?"


    "He will return," guaranteed Sisi, looking at the headdy-in-waiting with a haughty look. "Didn''t he say that he loves Veirya? If I have this, all I have to do is wait here. He''lle back as long as I wait her. He''lle and take it back for Veirya."


    "Do you not love Sir Lin, though, Your Majesty? You will never be able to have his eyes on you if you do this, right? Love is trulyplicated. Sometimes, love is hard to attain. I think you should give up on Sir Lin."


    "Never happening," dered Sisi, rubbing her belly earnestly. "Headdy-in-waiting, you made sure to get the dates correct, right? It should be within the next few days, right?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty¡­"


    Ladies-in-waiting were Queen Sisi''s servants who took responsibility for her day to day life. They knew her body very well. As a result, they knew the dates they were asked to calcte. With that said, that was why the headdy-in-waiting fearfully inquired, "Your Majesty, is this¡­ really wise?"


    "Why wouldn''t it be?" rhetorically asked Sisi, rising to her feet with a smile. She turned around and headed to her bedroom, expanding, "Isn''t it fantastic? Previously, you all mentioned the issue of my sessor. The offspring of Dongqing and I, the two smartest individuals, can easily seed this empire. Is there still something you''re not satisfied with? Additionally, once I have a child, what can Dongqing do? He''s the child''s father; he can''t deny that. I don''t ask that he lives together with me. Howbeit, he must treat me equally as Veirya. I must have everything Veirya has!"

 Chapter Volume 7 80

    <em>Concern</em>


    After the chaos in the town, it had finally calmed down. I wasn''t sure if people were still mining or not. Everyone was likely deterred from the anger after thest kidnapping case. Some of the inhabitants of the area had gone with the dwarves and didn''te back. Another number of them carefully defended the town. They were very surprised upon seeing my horse carriage; they looked very relieved. One individual said, "We are very d you are back. The town is inplete chaos at the moment. Nobody knows who their new lord is. In fact, some imed the elves were going to upy the ce and massacre it."


    "They won''t. The town is still ours."


    I headed into the town without much of an exnation. The townsfolk were relieved to see me. By the looks of it, the townsfolk couldn''t handle the increasing changes. Nobody knew what the future held. However, I didn''te back to the town with the goal of appeasing them. I also had no intention of running the ce for the meantime. As long as it could operate without a hitch, then it was fine. Achilles would help me with administrating the ce properly, as the steam engine required the coal found at the mine. As long as Achilles wanted his factory to develop well, he''d need the mine. Otherwise, his factory would incur losses.


    I went to my house. The ce looked abandoned for a long time. Despite it feeling as if it had only been a dozen or so days, the house looked as if it had been abandoned for a decade. I got off the horse carriage and went inside. It was the samerge hall, albeit quite dirty and messy. The auction was held at the house, so a fair number of people would''ve visited. The town had gone through too much, and the hall had witnessed just as much.


    I went to the long corridor. The fountain on the right appeared to have never stopped. I said that it couldn''t be left on for a prolonged period of time, for it would kill the flowers. The rainbow flower I nted for Leah had vanished underneath the mud. The only visible part was akin to dismembered parts of a corpse desperately trying to plead for something. I silently looked at the ce and lightly sighed.


    I pushed open the door. As soon as it opened, two swords immediately came toward the doorframe. Anna and Ciara were surprised to see me. They quickly pulled back their swords. A pleasantly surprised Anna asked, "Sir, you are back. Does that you mean you have resolved the issue? Does this ce belong to us now?"


    "Yes," I replied with a nod. "We have bought back the North, and I''ve repaid the debt. The ce is still ours. With that said, I need to make another trip to the imperial capital now to deal with some stuff. I came back to ensure you were fine. Are you all okay?"


    "We are fine," replied Ciara, with a head shake. "Those merchants hired a group of thugs to stir trouble and kick us out, but after we killed a few, they left, and they didn''t dare to harass us again. There was enough food at home. We had the fountain for water. We had enough firewood, too. Hence, we did not run into any troubles while here."


    "Anna, Ciara, take care of the Elven Queen for now. I''m going to make a trip to the imperial capital. Pack your luggage while I''m out."


    "Did you not say the problems had been resolved? Have you not bought back the North? Why¡­ do you want us to pack? Are you not going to continue living here?"


    "We could, but I feel that it''s not the best option anymore. I think that life in the imperial capital would suit us better. It''s also better for Leah. Therefore, I n to migrate to the imperial capital in the future. This time, I''m going there to buy back Veirya''s property and investigate this matter."


    I looked upstairs. I didn''t know if the Elven Queen was sleeping or what, but she didn''te down. I quite liked being pampered in her embrace, sleeping in it and whatnot. Nheless, it wasn''t time to rx yet. I knew what Sisi''s nature was.


    "Ciara, I''m in a rush this time, so I can''t bid her goodbye. As long as she''s fine, then that''s good. Last time, the ne she gave me saved me from a bullet when I was assassinated. Had it not been for the ne, I''d be dead now, so I want to thank her."


    Ciara replied, "Her Majesty mentioned you to me. We were truly very worried that something happened to you. Her Majesty persisted that you would return, nevertheless. She is currently resting upstairs. I hope you can personally pick her up next time. She has always been here, waiting for your return. She has always waited here, believing in you."


    "I know. I wille back to pick her up."


    Everyone at home was sound. The town Queen Sisi set up to be auctioned off no longer had any problems. Not even Sisi could take back thend if she changed her mind. The right to the ce was now safe unlike in the past.


    I also knew that Sisi spent three thousand gold coins to buy Veirya''s medal to lure me back to the imperial capital. I was cognizant of the fact that I couldn''t escape that fate. Three thousand gold coins didn''t appear to be much. The thing was, I was empty handed at this point. I had just recovered from bankruptcy. Where was I going to get three thousand gold coins from? Loan it from Achilles? Moreover, it wasn''t just a money issue. I wouldn''t be able to buy it back because I desired so. It depended on whether Sisi would sell it or not.


    Sisi wanted me to go back, and I was prepared to. If that was all she wanted was my service, then I could ept it. What I was afraid of was her wanting me to be her husband.

 Chapter Volume 7 81

    <em>Going Wild with Sisi</em>


    I didn''t go see Achilles. I didn''t think he was hoping I''d repay him the money he loaned. I sure as anything couldn''t let the elves use Veirya''s debt as a reason to keep her, meaning that I had to repay our loan from them. Achilles¡­ his loan didn''t matter. We could even discuss the interest.


    Achilles probably didn''t expect me to be back. I was assassinated at the entrance of Sisi''s imperial pce, which was evidence that she was involved in some shape or form. If she wasn''t directly involved, then she tacitly approved of it. Nevertheless, I had returned to the imperial pce. I could stop my horse carriage as if I owned the ce, and no guards would drive me off. Nobody could force me to leave besides Sisi.


    I reached into my clothes and undid my bandage around my lower back. My wound had healed for the most part; I just had some scarring left. I was still somewhat weak, but it wasn''t debilitating. I gave the coach a signal to open up for me.


    The imperial pce was as majestic as I could remember. The nobles on either side conversed as they slowly walked along the marble path. I scanned everything around before taking in a deep breath and heading in.


    As I had no business at the front pce, I made my way to the rear pce. The entrance there was the same as before. Thedies-in-waiting didn''t look surprised to see me. I, therefore, surmised that Sisi must''ve taken the next step after Edward''s failure. She knew that I woulde for the medal. The rear pce was no longer Sisi''s and my love nest. It was a spider web. Once I went in, it would be a challenge to leave. That said, what could I do about it?


    I could choose to just leave with Veirya. She also considered me more important than the medal. To me, however, she was more important than anything and anyone. If I loved her, I couldn''t let her abandon her glory due to fear of danger.


    I took in a deep breath and headed into the rear pce. Thedies-in-waiting bowed to me and then resumed their duties. Thedy-in-waiting who received me led me upstairs without a word. I didn''t know if Sisi had gone out to discuss national affairs or what, but she should''ve been at the front pce at this hour, yet her door was shut.


    "Her Majesty knew you would be back today, so she is currently having a bath in her bedroom. When she is done, you can enter."


    "This is a ss of honey wine for you."


    "Thank you."


    If I learnt anythingst time, it was how to drink. After I took my time finishing the drink, twodies-in-waiting came out carrying Sisi''s clothes and bowed, signalling it was eptable for me to enter.


    Sisi, attired in her bathrobe, sprawled out on her sofa and rewarded her pte with a ss of wine. She gave herself a vacation by the looks of it. She boldly wriggled her toes and unted her breasts with the way they were bursting at the seams. After she waved her hand, thedy-in-waiting outside room shut the door.


    My throat suddenly felt dry while I felt a little hot.


    "What in the world?! This is enough to get me aroused?! I''m used to seeing Veirya''s body, so I should be indifferent to Sisi in her bathrobe. Why do I have this terrifying impulse right now?" I wondered.


    I took in a deep breath, only to discover that I couldn''t calm down. My body and mind developed autonomous control. I approached Sisi step by step. I had forgotten what I came for. I just wanted to push her down and ravage her.


    "What exactly am I doing?! What am I doing?! Was there something in that ss of wine?" I pondered.


    Sisi lifted the corner of her lips and stood up with Veirya''s medal, the one made for warriors, in hand: "Dongqing, you want to get this back for Veirya, right?"


    Sisi undressed, conquering more of my rationality: "Come. I also want to skip the drivel. Come, Dongqing. If you can please me enough that I pass out, then I''ll return the medal to you. If you give up halfway or fail to please me, then I won''t return it. You can choose any spot in my room. I''ll go along with y-"


    Before Sisi could finish, I had stripped and tossed my clothes aside. I sped over, pressing her onto her bed and stered my lips to hers. She responded wildly. She ripped off my remaining bits of clothes. I rubbed her mounds that were akin to a divine miracle into all sorts of shapes and forms. She spared no effort to hold back her bold moans. I think the entire rear pce could hear her. Nevertheless, I didn''t care about any of that. Sisi''s hands desired me to move to the next base.


    It was my first time, but I imitated what I had seen before. Some say that suckling is an innate ability that humans are born with. I agree. I never had any experience before, yet I was able to find the right ce, and I went as hard as I could, ignoring Sisi''s screams. She wildly fastened her arms behind my back. I could feel her convulsing and wriggling her hips as though she was searching for the best spot. I let my instincts take ove my hips. After the initial shyness, Sisi gradually turned up the volume.


    Although Sisi was assertive, she wasn''t able to hang in there for too long. Soon enough, round one ended. She panted and shifted back a little. She ignored what I had to say and went on all fours on the bed with her teeth clenched. They say that mature men should tie their lover''s hair. Thus, I tugged her hair and began to ram her from behind.


    Sisi pushed me to the ground and mounted me. Her burgundy hair danced wildly as she dug her finger into my flesh. Maybe it was the arousal and maybe it was the drug, but all I saw was her body dancing on top of my hips.


    Round two ended. While convulsing, Sisi rolled over onto the carpet. Nevertheless, she still had a vice-like grip on the medal. I never thought it''d be so tiring. Despite panting, she smiled and stated, "Not enough yet."


    "Oh, really? You know what? Neither have I."


    That day would be an incredibly terrifying day for thedies-in-waiting. The action in Queen Sisi''s room didn''t stop from day to night. Her cries, crazy pleas for pleasure and every other noise she could make - not to mention the sound of body on body collision - never stopped. Some even saw Queen Sisi pressed up against the ss window as she passionately kissed her man. They even saw the two go crazy enough to knock the door open. When Sisi fell down, he dragged her back in. She almost sounded as though she pled for mercy.


    When he needed a breather, Sisi strangled his neck and continued squirming on him. The room only quietened down when he sun came down the next day. Those who were informed knew that it was their Queen''s nasty hobby. The ignorant would''ve thought the room was a coliseum where a warrior and a lion fought for an entire day before both fell. Despite it being silent, not a soul dared to approach.


    I ended up losing count of how many times I did it. I had lost my memory and conscious during the session as a matter of fact. I was left with just instinct. Else, Sisi woke me up by pouring water on me¡­ Was it water? I never found out¡­


    The two of us had no shame or guilt. If Sisi passed out, I didn''t give a single care. I continued pping against her cheeks until she woke up. When it was her turn, she choked me, shouting for me to wake up and continue. The two of us even began to hurt each other. I mmed Sisi''s head on the door, while she scratched my chest as if she''d gone mad. Our blood stained the entire room. Lord knows how many antique flower vases we kicked over. Neither of us felt any pain when we cut our feet. In the end, we both dropped to the ground without an ounce of energy left in us. Sisi tightly gripped the medal and maintained her eerie smile. I mustered up my strength to grab it. Sadly, I passed out before I could grab it.


    I asked myself, "What did Ie here to do exactly? To <em>do</em> Sisi?"

 Chapter Volume 7 82

    <em>Waking From a Dream</em>


    When I woke up, it was dark outside and inside since nobody came in to light up the candles. Sisi bathed in the moonlight as still as a corpse.


    I went to stand up, only to discover my legs were weak. It felt akin to having run a marathon and then trying to walk down the stairs. I used the bed for support to barely stand up. I wobbled a few steps and then dropped to my knees. It was a horrible feeling; it felt as though I aged decades in an instant. My abdomen looked as though it was concave after my organs had been taken out. I was hungry but also felt that I was missing a lot from my body.


    I essentially crawled over to pull the window open. The breeze sobered me up a tad and also removed some of the stench in the room. Sisi rolled over and curled up. With her eyes closed and a husky voice, she whinged, "Close the window. I''m cold."


    "Get¡­ up first."


    I discovered that my voice was also very husky when I went to speak. There was a burning and painful sensation in my throat. I searched for ages before finding the only kettle filled with wine lying shattered on the ground. I assumed the dark red liquid on the ground was wine.


    Sisi held her head and used the bed to support herself to her feet. Feeling sore, sheined, "I feel horrible. My legs hurt. Myher region also aches. I''ve got a headache. My stomach aches, as well. Mm¡­ I was so wild back there; why do I feel so horrible now?"


    "You''re not so bad. I can''t even feel <em>it </em>now¡­"


    I leaned on the wall and sighed. Our clothes rested in pieces on the ground thanks to Sisi. The stabbing sensation still lingered in my chest. I had blood on my chest - courtesy of Sisi. I probably had scratch marks inflicted all over my back. I resembled a soldiering home from a war.


    Sisi crawled to her bed and bemoaned, "My nails snapped. Geez, this is going to hurt for a long time. Dongqing, I didn''t stab my fingernails into your flesh, did I?"


    "I don''t think so," I answered, checking with my hands.


    Upon hearing Sisi ring the bell, thedies-in-waiting promptly knocked. I was indifferent to them when we were getting it on, but I felt ashamed now that it was over and, therefore, dashed to into a corner. Sisi weakly demanded, "Bring me some food and wine for now. Then, prepare proper food. I want to eat a lot. While you''re at it, prepare presentable clothes for Dongqing and me¡­ Fill up my bathtub. We''re going to take a bath. Clean up the room while we''re bathing, understood?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty¡­"


    I swear could see thedies-in-waiting awkward looks despite having my back to them. Nevertheless, they most likely didn''t see the majority of it or the aggression. I figured they might as well not tidy the room. It''d be more convenient and quick to swap Sisi a new room. They were going to work overtime tonight. After all, the imperial pce wasn''t my humble house.


    Thedies-in-waiting brought bread, smoked meat and honey wine in. The alight candles restored some resemnce of the bedroom to its former state. Sisi and I, two people who were starving mad, dug in without worrying about getting dressed.


    I regained some thinking and moving capacity after I finally had something to eat. Thedy-in-waiting by the side helped me wash my hair while Ized in the bathtub. It was sofortable that I almost fell asleep. Thedies-in-waiting gently massaged my body. I didn''t concern myself with gender formalities and whatnot. There were no male servants in the imperial pce, after all. I, however, suddenly heard movement in the water. I had something warm and heavy squash me. Yeah, Sisi plopped herself on top of me and leaned her head back on my shoulder. She shut her eyes and passed her hair to thedy-in-waiting behind.


    Thedies-in-waiting gentlybed Sisi''s long burgundy hair as always, albeit after a brief moment of surprise. That said, there was some sticky stuff in her long hair that wasn''t so easy to get out.


    Sisi hooked her hand gently around my neck and bit my lip. In a tender voice, she conveyed, "What do you think, Dongqing? It was very happy day, wasn''t it? Be my husband. You can do whatever you want to me. As long as want, I can spend as many days with you as you like."


    "I think I''ll have to take up praying, then," I thought in response. "Sisi, you liked it?"


    "Mhm, it was great."


    "Can I have the medal now?"


    "¡­ Do you really not n to stay?"


    "No." Firmly, I exined, "Sisi, I came here to take the medal back. I didn''te here to stay. So, I''ve done what you wanted me to. I can go back now."


    "All right."


    Sisi then pointed to the medal on the ground. Thedy-in-waiting courteously handed it to me. I looked at it. It was the glory rewarded to the brave and was Veirya''s past. Though Veirya rarely shared her past with me, I had a good idea of what it entailed when humanity had yet to rule the world. I could imagine what she had to face.


    "I''m giving it back to you. In saying that, I still hope you stay. Dongqing, I truly love you. You should be able to feel it! I truly love you very, very much," expressed Sisi, albeit sounding closer to pleading, with her hands gently pressed on my chest.


    I knew that. I knew that, obviously. I also knew how Sisi felt about me. s, I also knew that if I developed feelings for her as I did in the elvennds, then I wouldn''t be able to leave. I loved Veirya. Therefore, I had to go back, regardless.

 Chapter Volume 7 83

    <em>Aftermath of the Chaos</em>


    Sisi didn''t continue clinging to me or impose on me to stay. The food served up was more attractive than we were to each other. After a frenzy of a night, we returned to being civilised human beings dressed in bathrobes at a dining table. I doubt anybody could imagine the beast-like acts we carried out in the room not long ago based on the appearance of us gracefully utilising knives and forks. We virtually destroyed any semnce of shame humans had.


    I firmly rejected Sisi back in the bath, but she didn''t seem perturbed. Perhaps she never really harboured any hope that I''d choose to stay after the night with her. Although she enjoyed the food and wine, I dealt with my mixed emotions. I had misgivings about the food and honey wine thedies-in-waiting served me; I was worried about them being spiked with something. Seeing Sisi''s calm demeanour somehow made me feel that she didn''t add anything.


    I washed down my meal with honey wine then set down my fork and knife. Even though it was the middle of the night, and I was extremely exhausted, I didn''t dare to stay in the imperial pce for too long.


    "Sisi, I''m heading back."


    "Mm."


    Sisi then started on her dessert. It was as though I was just a friend who came to share a meal and had to go home. However, she probably expected as much from the beginning. I might not even return after taking the medal. The North was no longer hers. We had a reason to stay in the North forever.


    As the coal mine developed, prosperity would bless the North thanks to the merchants'' endeavours and transportation of the mmable. I could deal with just the elves. The North would also be the only import channel for the vouring. Thedies from noble families would be keen on purchasing vouring, which could be attributed to their nice lives and pursuit of luxury goods. Regardless of when it was, women''s hips and smiles were able to entrance men.


    There was no reason for me to return to the imperial capital. Plus, with what happened, Sisi had to know that I might never return. I had gone through a lot, so I had a legitimate reason to leave her. Having said that, she stuck with an unbelievably calm demeanour. I went into her room, where thedy-in-waiting helped me wear on a new set of fitted and pleasing set of clothes. I then wore on my sky-blue cape.


    "I should ask how thedy-in-waiting has my measurements to make me clothes¡­" I inwardly said.


    I didn''t end up asking. I took care to ce the medal in the breast section, against my heart, of my clothes properly so that the cold medal would share Veirya''s past with me.


    Sisizily slouched in her chair and enjoyed her honey wine after dinner, giving me a gentle nod as I stepped out. I wanted to say something to her, yet I didn''t know what to say.


    I inhaled a couple of times and then informed, "I''m heading back to the North, Sisi."


    "I know."


    Sisi revealed that unsettling grin of hers again. There was a degree of condemnation and disdain but also arrogance - the ssic Sisi smile. Whenever her ns sessfully worked out, she''d wear smile. The fact that she wore that smile now meant that everything went ording to n.


    She gently touched her abdomen and chuckled: "Do you have any suggestions for our child''s name, Dongqing? Or did you want me to name our child?"


    "You¡­ it was only one night!"


    I thought she might say that. Still, I was reluctant to believe it. It was just one day. If she could get pregnant in one day, there wouldn''t be so many people struggling to have children, would there?


    "Today is my most fertile day," stated Sisi, stroking her abdomen. "You want to make a bet? Dongqing, if I''m pregnant, then you''ll be my child''s father. Could you bear to let a child be without his father? Or will you remain in the North and leave a child without a father?"


    Although pregnancy wasn''t a matter of chance, surely Sisi had her timing too spot on. If we did it for an entire day on her most fertile day, then it would be easy for her to conceive. Sisi always ensured she had a backup n no matter what she did. Indeed, I couldn''t ignore the child and go to the North. As a result, Sisi could acknowledge the child was mine. I had to go back. Otherwise, nobody would ept the child if the child''s father wasn''t by Sisi''s side. When it came to royalty''s marriage, nobody would ept my marriage to Veirya. Additionally, what would Veira think? I didn''t n to inform Vierya about what took ce today. In other words, I had to be with Sisi if I didn''t want the matter to be make headlines.


    In the end, I left without another word. Sisi didn''t need to say anything for the reason that we both knew what the ending would be. Sisi was going to keep the child. If I was present, then Sisi would be able to silence the debates and questions because I, the child''s father, didn''t abandon Sisi. Everybody should also be aware of my rtionship with Veirya. Nobody would be nosy since it was our inner circle issue. Sisi always had a n B. As soon as I approach Sisi, she would y me.


    As I left, Sisi hugged me around my waist from behind. In a tender tone, she begged, "I don''t ask for much, Dongqing. I just want a child. Can I? Dongqing, I¡­ just want¡­ your child¡­"


    I just gently tapped Sisi''s hands and then left, inwardly assuming, "It seems that Veirya''s child with me will have two elder sisters or maybe an elder sister and brother."

 Chapter Volume 8 1

    <em>Edward''s Ending</em>


    The subi''s brothel flourished just as when I left. The subi appeared to me as nothing more than walking bodies of flesh; there was no allure to speak of. Even the engineering miracle that their breasts were, weren''t able to illicit any feelings of arousal in me.


    "Why are humans so infatuated with this sort of stuff? What are you all thinking about all day? Can''t you work and study earnestly?" I fumed to myself.


    The subi stepped back a little when they saw me.


    I never knew why the subi feared Leah. If I had to hazard a guess, I suppose it had to do with her lineage. She wasn''t even a pure subus, though, as far as I knew. Her father, the Demon King, wasn''t a subus. I didn''t know what species the Demon King was, but subi were low-ranking demons among the demon race. How could a subus be a Demon King? I''d never seen male subi, either.


    Sophia approached me and intimately looped her arm around mine.


    "Stop, stop, stop¡­ I no longer like women. Don''te so close¡­ All women areher-region-eating monsters! Stay back!" I inwardly cried.


    With a smile, Sophia conveyed, "Hmm, Lord Lin, I am d to see you. I heard Her Majesty assassinated you. Some said that they saw your corpse at the rubbish dump. Miss Leah didn''te, so I thought you were still alive, nheless."


    "That''s all rumours. With that said, what those merchants is about to face is no rumour. The elves have captured them, so who knows if they''lle back alive."


    "I would be eager for them toe back. They are my generous customers. Without them, we wouldn''t be too happy, which isn''t just due to money."


    No kidding. There was something more important than money that the subi needed to absorb.


    Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw someone with a very revealing set of clothes, revealing breasts and a short skirt¡­


    "Erm¡­ That''s¡­ not a subi, is it¡­? That''s the body of man, isn''t it?!!" I almost blurted.


    "You subi have added <em>this </em>to your business now?!"


    Sophia smiled helplessly: "He''s not part of our services. He''s Edward, isn''t he? Wasn''t it your intention to turn him into this state?"


    "I don''t have such a creepy hobby! I''m not, I don''t, don''t make things up!"


    I paid particr attention to Edward''s body. To my astonishment, he had some missing things on his body¡­


    "Did the subi do this?! Are they this twisted?! I never gave this sort ofmand!" I thought.


    "He tried to get physical with our sisters all the time when he first came here. While we are subi, we do pick and choose. He tried to approach Miss Leah before, and he also upset her. For those reasons, we decided to give him a lesson. It is not an issue, nevertheless. He forgot that he is a human after we tortured and brainwashed him over and over. He now believes himself to be a subus."


    "Yeah? You decided to be that vicious¡­?"


    I watched Edward attend to customers and fell silent¡­ Although he did lots of thinks that irked me, he didn''t do anything to hurt me in reality. He just wanted Leah but didn''t even get her. He didn''t actually do anything harmful to her. He merely proposed. I strongly disliked him as a father, but turning a man into that state just because he proposed to my daughter¡­ It wasn''t what I asked for, was it¡­? I guess the subi had a grudge to settle for heckling Leah?


    I felt a tad sympathetic toward Edward given his current state if I was to be honest, not that it''d mean I''d help him. If he was convinced he was a subus, then the subi''s ce suited him more.


    As I pondered to myself, I saw Achilles wearing a perverted smile as he walked in with subi left, right and centre. He had his arms around the subi''s slender waists and asionally teased their voluptuous breasts with his hands. He was totally different to his usual prim self. His face cramped upon seeing me, and he awkwardly released the subus.


    "It''s fine. It''s fine. I get it Achilles. Let''s not discuss work here. Have fun. I only came here to take a look. I''ll be returning to the North tomorrow."


    "Yeah? I never expected you''d be back so soon. I thought you''d be best hiding in the North for a while. Queen Sisi doesn''t want just you, after all, not to mention that the elves have captured the merchants. Everyone in the imperial capital is in panic after the elves captured them. Everybody is gathering money to attempt to redeem their family. Unfortunately, the elves never sent any demands after capturing them. I''d venture a guess that they''ve been killed."


    "Did Queen Sisi not send an envoy?"


    "She has. I imagine they have just arrived. Queen Sisi intends to take the opportunity to end the war with elves. Hence, she ns to pay extra to convince the elves," exined Achilles, popping himself down next to me.


    I kindly declined Achilles'' offer for a drink. If there was anything I learnt this trip, it was to not thoughtlessly ept drinks from strangers. I used to think I didn''t need to worry about it as I was a male¡­ Someone will always have designs for me despite me being a man¡­ With a single ss from Sisi, my lower back was still sore. Luckily, my wound had healed because it''d have ripped open, and I''d have bled to death, otherwise¡­


    A subus came over and looped her arm around Achilles'' arm. In a gentle voice, she flirted with the man. He must''ve been a regr by the looks of it. Despite knowing that she was a subus, not human, he still gazed at her tenderly. I knew he hadn''t married yet.


    "He doesn''t n to marry a subus, does he¡­? Humans and subi are two different races at the end of the day. Plus, can subi understand human love? Are their feelings for humans love? Even if Achilles wanted to be together with her forever, would the subus choose to live with him? He''s just food to them. Would someone be loyal to their own food?" I contemted as I watched.


    "Sorry," remarked Achilles, getting up.


    "Have fun?"


    Achilles smiled: "There is a businessman in the south from my hometown who wants to meet you to discuss business. If you agree, I will pass your address in the North to him, and he will go visit you."


    "What sort of business?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Whatever it is, I don''t n to do anything in theing days for sure. Veirya has just healed. I n to spend some quality time with her. There''s also my daughter. I need to take care of them, so I won''t be going anywhere anytime soon."


    "I understand. Therefore, I will tell him to visit you at ater date."


    "Don''t you try to dig me another hole. I no longer have any interest in pulling a big stunt."


    "Rest assured. It is not a very big deal. He is not after an investment. He just wants your suggestion. I would say that he is a hubristic businessman. I have not been home in a long time, so I am not sure what businessmen do there. In saying that, they are into business on the waters, apparently. I think they found arge piece of inhabitednd. They want to develop it; however, they do not know if they can get a positive return on investment."


    "Is he the type of businessman to do that sort of stuff?"


    "No. He is in the food industry. Now, however, everyone is thinking about how to invest. As such, he is unsure if he should invest."


    Queen Sisi would be the happiest person to hear that. It was the equivalent of humanity''s fleets making a huge discovery. An inhabited continent might have gold scattered throughout and development opportunities. Moreover, there''s no such thing as too muchnd for humans. Meanwhile, businessmen could very well find rare things that humankindcked or didn''t have on this side. Either way, it was a money-making continent.


    I guess that was humanity''s nation''s fate. Steam power brought about the first industrial revolution. Now a new continent had been discovered. As long as humanity could use it reasonably, mankind''s empire would be the empire on which the sun never sets.


    "How will Sisi choose? What do I need to do in this situation? I''ve arrived at an era''s fork in the road. What can I do now that I''ve caught up with humanity''s most momentous era? I''ll go back and marry Veirya first; then, worry about whates after afterwards," I decided.


    <strong>Glossary</strong>


    *Achilles switches between informal and formal speech in the chapter. That is not inconsistency in trantion.

 Chapter Volume 8 2

    <em>Elves and Humans</em>


    "The elves want the prototype steam engine machine?" queried Queen Sisi, pitch higher than usual. "Did they ask for anything else? Resources? ves? Money? Did they ask for anything else?"


    "They epted the money, but nothing else. However, they insisted on getting the prototype steam engine; otherwise, they refused to release the captives. This is what they told me to bring you¡­"


    The envoy, who just returned to humanity''snds from the elvennds, gingerly handed over a small container. The small wooden container didn''t stand out; however, Sisi was vignt as she knew the elves'' brutal nature. Thedies-in-waiting undoubtedly were also afraid. s, since their Queen stayed silent, they had to take it on her behalf.


    A putrid stench escaped the container, and flies burst out, frightening the traineddy-in-waiting. Several human earsnded on the floor of the Queen''s conference hall when the container slipped out of thedy-in-waiting''s shaky hands. Queen Sisi, irate, waved her hand. In a shaky voice, thedy-in-waiting called for a guard to take away the repulsive things and clean up the floor.


    If the elves were a peace-loving race, they wouldn''t have survived in the harsh forest for centuries. They had defeated anthropoids, fiends and demons. Even the demons, who drove humanity to the south, couldn''t do a thing to the forest the elves guarded. Don''t provoke an elf if you don''t want to have swords lodged in you and your limbs dislodged.


    That was elves'' way of telling Sisi that they were not to be trifled with. Sisi knew that she was out of chips to bargain with. The elves weren''t interested in negotiations. They were after a trade, and they were calling the shots. The only way they''d spare the humans was if she gave them the steam engine prototype. Sisi didn''t know if the merchants divulged the steam engine prototype information to the elves in their pleas for mercy or if Dongqing shared the information with the elves as vengeance against her. Either way, the answer couldn''t change the tides.


    "The elves number so few. They have one meagre forest. Why can I just not conquer them when I''ve mowed down everyone else? I can''t allow the elves to kill those merchants yet because all of the businessmen in the south are watching," silently analysed Sisi. "Send one of the prepared prototypes to the elves, and bring back that group of trash for me!"


    Originally, the south was another human principality and not the current inhabitants. The only reason they united with the rest of humanity was due to the resistance against the demons necessitating it, as well as Sisi''s schemes, of course. If she gave up on the captured businessmen, she would inevitably lose the support of the businessmen in the south. As a consequence, it would be hard for her to make money off them. Money was almighty in this world. Humanity had to submit to the elves again.


    ***


    "Veirya, I would really like for you to rest and rx here. Unfortunately, I can''t convince all of the elves to acknowledge you, especially in light of the current circumstance¡­ In saying that, Travor has repaid your loan, so hurry along," conveyed Lucilia.


    Veirya bobbed her head.


    Angelina gave Lucilia a small bow: "Thank you for taking care of Veirya during this time, Lucia. Had it not been for you, Veirya wouldn''t be alive."


    "It''s fine. I said it before: Veirya and I are good friends. We once fought side by side, sharing our lives with each other. Therefore, we should help each other out. While I still don''t think positively of humans, I can distinguish between friend and foe."


    Lucilia moved aside for Veirya and Angelina get into the carriage.


    Lucilia patted Ascillia''s trembling shoulder with a smile, "Go on, Ascillia. You are always wee here."


    "Thank you for taking care of me!" stated Ascillia, before losing control of her tears.


    Ascillia gave Lucia a big hug despite thetter being the Elven Queen. Lucia wasn''t as tall as Ascillia. Still, Lucia resembled an elder sister hugging her younger sister who was about to leave on a long journey.


    Spotting Veirya hop off the carriage, Lucia froze. She released Ascillia and fearfully contemted, "Did she find out about our tryst¡­? She didn''t mention it then, so she wouldn''t it now, would she¡­? What do I do if she mentions it? Refute it to the death? What''s done is done. It''s digested in me already. Veirya has no proof!"


    Before Lucia could say anything, Veirya pulled petite Lucia into her embrace. Lucia''s dumbfounded head collided with Veirya''s warm and soft chest with perfect precision. For the first time ever, Lucia realised that having a fatty chest wasn''t useless.


    "Is it because I can''t give Travor this feeling when I hug him due to my small size that he doesn''t like me?" wondered Lucia to herself.


    "Lucia. Is very cute. As I thought," stated Veirya, rubbing Lucia''s head on her chest a few times.


    "Hey! What''s that supposed to mean?! You treating me as a kid?!"


    "No. It''s just. Lucia. You''re really cute. I really like you."


    Veirya firmly rubbed Lucia''s back. Angelina pulled her daughter back and, apanying a dry chuckle, she conveyed, "Sorry, Lucia. We''ve caused you trouble."


    "No¡­ mm¡­ It''s fine."


    Lucia was going to flip out; however, on second thought, she decided to just forget it. It wasn''t an insult, after all. To add, she liked Veirya''s husband, so¡­ forget it.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!