Chapter 321 - Aftermath

Mercury spoke to Julia in his arms once again

"Julia..? Julia!?"

Jey, one of the crusaders besides Mercury that was about to catch Julia before Mercury did sighed before she spoke

"She's just exhausted… Don't worry"

"Oh… Thank you, Jey"

Mercury picked up Julia in his arms before he asked Jey

"Where should I take her?"

The gem embedded on Jey's armor flashed for a moment before she showed a frown under the helmet and spoke

"Away from the prying eyes"

Mercury looked back towards the gates and saw a crowd of people had gathered there and was looking into the mansion, then he nodded before he spoke

"I'll take her to the shop"

"Okay, we'll head there at once… Ben let's go"

The other crusader looked at Mercury for a bit before he spoke briefly

"...Yes, lead the way"

Mercury ignored him and jumped over the sidewall of the mansion complex, the two crusaders and Marie nimbly followed after, and soon they returned to weapon shop Mercury where Mercury laid Julia on the couch inside the living room and breathed a sigh before he turned to Jey and the other crusader and spoke

"Thank you for your help"

Jay showed a smile as she removed her helmet as the gem in her armor shone once before she spoke

"We weren't much help… I am sorry…"

Mercury shook his head and spoke

"It's because I know the two of you are protecting Julia that I can be reckless like that"

The other crusader sighed loudly before he spoke

"The 33 almighty… Why did Julia have to fall for a man like this…"

Mercury narrowed his eyes slightly before he spoke

"Must be my handsome face and dashing personality"

The other crusader sighed before he remained silent, then Jay spoke again

"I hope that the king will be lenient with Julia's treatment after this…"

Mercury nodded before he quickly asked

"Wait there's a king?"

Jey blinked her unseeing eyes once before she spoke again

"Of course there's a king, who else would rule the nation of Juliantia"

"Is that the country we're currently in?"

Jey nodded

"Yeah… Juliantia stretches over 2 continents, or rather it sits in between the two continents, with a total of 232 islands in its borders, this is the east-most city of Juliantia"

"I see… Then what does the king of Juliantia have to do with anything?"

"Well Julia Judged a city lord that has been given his title by the king"

"Ah… I see"

Mercury considered it for a moment, if he was the king he sure would be pissed, then he muttered

"Maybe I should kill the king..?"

"Eh..?"

"Don't worry, I am kidding…"

'For now'

Mike sighed before he lifted Julia up and sat down before he laid her head in his lap, then he closed his eyes as he began humming a song as he stroked her hair, Marie looked at this with a slight frown before she sighed and walked over and sat down next to Mercury and held his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder as she closed her eyes and listened to his humming, The male crusader sighed and walked over and looked stood in the doorway into the shop while the gem in Jey's armor shined once before she showed a soft smile and sat down in a chair and closed her eyes

Time passed, eventually, half an hour passed, Mercury still sat and hummed when Julia softly grasped his hand he looked down and lifted her veil and saw Julia looking up at him with a soft smile on her face, Mercury smiled and stroked her cheek for a bit before she asked

"What song is that?"

"It's called 'Self esteem' It's from my memory" 

"It's a lovely song…"

"That it is…"

Mercury lowered her head and gave Julia a kiss, then he felt a gaze from the side and quickly gave Marie a kiss too before he asked Julia

"How do you feel?"

"Like my body is made of stone…"

"...I see"

Mercury nodded, clearly the backlash from using [Judgment] was rather big, especially since she used it so many times in a row, Mercury felt a warmth spread in his heart as he tought about how she had saved him, the smile on his face got a little wider as he stroked her cheek

"Muu, don't forget about me…"

"I never will Marie, I love you both equally"

Marie showed a happy smile as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, Mercury sighed before his face darkened slightly

'King of Juliantia… If you are going to punish my Julia for this I'll tear you to pieces…'

Time passed once again, life was peaceful for Mercury and the rest over the next 2 weeks Mercury worked on a set of full armor for himself as well as that he helped with work in the shop by forging arms and armor for the inventory of the shop, Mercury stood by the forge and worked when he heard something from the font of the shop, he sighed and put down the piece of metal and stopped working before he threw on a shirt and walked out of the workshop and into the shop where he saw a couple of people in full armor, he noted the swords that hang on the hips before he put on a smile and spoke

"What can I do for you?"

One of the knights looked over at Mercury and removed his helmet revealing his rather young looks and spoke

"We are here under the orders of his highness"

Mercury nodded and spoke

"Wait here, I'll go get Julia"

The young knight narrowed his eyes before he spoke

"No can do, I am coming with you to see Judicator Julia"

Mercury nodded before he gestured for the young knight to follow after him before he walked past the doorway to their home and called out loudly

"Julia? You better be wearing clothes"

A moment passed before Mercury heard some slightly panicked rustling upstairs and sighed before he suddenly let out a large amount of blood lust as he spoke to the young knight that was about to rush upstairs

"If you move, you are dead"

The young knight paled slightly before he spoke

"I am here under the orders of the king of Juliantia, I am free to go where I please!"

"Sure you are, but if you go upstairs before my girlfriend is dressed I'll end you"

The two stared at each other for a bit before the young knight sighed and spoke

"Fine, I'll wait here"

Soon Julia walked down the stairs and into the living room, the young knight bowed as he spoke

"Judicator Julia Helia Augustus, the king summons you home"

Julia sighed before she spoke rather bluntly

"I don't care what my father wants, I am not returning"

"Princess! Argh, whatever… Your father told me not to say this but I'll say it to convince you… The east is gearing up for war, we can't have you this close to the border!"

Julia scoffed before she asked

"How could they, we have at least twice their military might!?"

The young knight fell silent before he looked over at Mercury that was sitting off to the side eating grabs on the couch before he spoke

"Not in front of an outsider"

Julia narrowed her eyes before she spoke

"Mercury is not an outsider… I am his woman"

The young knight looked conflicted for a moment before he sighed and spoke

"It appears that they found some ancient dragon tomb… And with it, weapons said to made by the ancient council"

"Ah…"

The young knight and Julia looked over at Mercury that suddenly dropped the grape he was about to eat before he spoke

"That would be my tomb…"

The young knight blinked once before he started laughing, then after he was finished he spoke

"As good a joke as that was, this is not the time for jokes… Good one though"

Julia sighed before she spoke

"I swear to the 33 that what he just said was the truth"

The young knight paled before he jumped back and drew his sword before he pointed it at Mercury, Mercury put down the grapes in his hand and asked

"Why did you do that? What's so scary about little me?"

The young knight stammered

"A-According to our spies, the worst weapon, the one sealed in the bottom of the underground pyramid, was missing… Left behind was an empty sarcophagus with burial wrappings leading to the upper levels…"

Mercury looked at the young knight before he asked

"So you are saying that I am the missing weapon?"

"...Yes, that is exactly what I am saying"

Mercury sighed before he spoke

"And so the plot thickens… Or something like that, is he telling the truth, Julia?"

"Yep… Though it would explain something about your past… I kind of want to visit that pyramid now…"

"Yeah me too… Though looking at this guy that isn't going to be possible now…"