Few days after I finished making equipment for myself, I was playing cards with the boys. Hill, Kron, Oleg, and Mustache. We didn't play with Albert since it's no fun playing with someone who can tell lies. But he insists on joining so he is the dealer while Victoria is leaving with the girls.
We didn't bet money and just use matchsticks to play. We're just doing it for fun after all.
By the way, there are still some leftovers left of the Giant Salamander's scales. And since no one else needed and wanted physical protection, I turned them all into throwing knives and a pair of daggers. I wanted to have something big as weapon, but it's difficult to carry them with me. Especially when I'm in town.
After Albert's arrival at Melk, he managed took charge of the city and it slowly restored the city back to normal. And now we were supposed to not have anything else to do in Melk and thought of returning to Cassau, but something important comes up.
Two days ago, Sonia appears in front of us bringing message from Veronica. Veronica is returning to Melk together with some other cult members. She was sent here to investigate about the stampede and how the city is not destroyed.
She said that there was a new cult member who survive the stampede, and he reported about how Hirugas city managed to fend off the monsters. That's why the cult sent their people to the targeted cities, and Veronica's destination is Melk.
Which is great now since Albert is here as well, so we decided to stay here for a few more days. The only thing left for us is to make Veronica leaves other cult members' eyes when she is in this city and makes her meet Albert.
She said since it's an important mission, she travels to Melk by flying. And with her power as an expert level wind mage, she should be arriving today faster than the other cult members.
Which mean once she arrived in Melk, we should have enough time before the other cult members arrive. Probably they will arrive tomorrow.
That's why we are playing cards not in the hotel, but in an empty building. This is the place where we will have our meeting with Veronica.
Of course not all of us will be there. Oleg, Hill, and Kron will not stay for the meeting. They just leave the difficult things to us. Albert will do the talking and Mustache will be his bodyguard. As for me, I will hide and watch the area in case there are some cult members trying to spy on us.
We told Veronica to enters the gate normally so we have time to look for cult members before she arrives in this building.
"Hey. Why won't you let her just fly to this building? It's faster that way, right?" Kron asked.
"Even in the cult, she was being spied on by other people. Even if she says that she will come alone, that doesn't mean the people spying on her will leave her alone. Making her walk from the gate will make sure that she will gain people's attention on her. Then I will use the time before she arrives here to see if she brought any spies with her." I replied.
"You really think that she got the look as good as you say? That will make all men turn their eyes on her?" Hill asked me.
"Most men should be attracted to her looks as long as they don't have similar taste as you have." I said to Hill.
"Hmm… I see. So Hill has a unique taste. Why does it seem like everyone other than me knows about his taste?" Kron asked.
"…rather than that, we are confused as to why you never realize it after all this time." Oleg said.
We have been regularly meeting with each other and play some games together to pass the time. Victoria has taught us many other card games from her world, but the one we enjoyed most is Hold 'em Poker.
During the time we gather together like this, we are equal. Even when the king himself is participating in the game, we talked to each other normally. Other than Mustache who insist to speak to Albert in honorific.
We talked about many things. From our friends, girlfriends, family, and every little thing as well. Albert said these group can be trusted, so I told them that I come from the future, and that's how I know that the stampede will happen.
Albert also told everyone that he has twin children instead of just one. And his daughter is under my care. Hence, I was nicknamed as Kidnapper by the guys.
Since both Albert and Oleg are married, they can open their heart to each other about their wives and situation at home. We are just close friends here. Not a king and his vessels.
"Hmm? Seems like she's here."
I see with my Divine Vision that there are a crowd of people, mostly men, looking at the same direction. To the gate. So I know that Veronica should be here.
"Then we'll be going. Good luck with the interrogation!" Oleg, Hill, and Kron, leave the building.
Then I also leave as well to check if Veronica brought some spies she doesn't know with her.
"Albert. Tell Sonia to contact the Victoria that Veronica is here."
Victoria and Sonia are the only two people who have meet Veronica before. As for me, I was in hiding so she never actually sees me.
After Victoria finally take full control of the slime, she told me to call her through Sonia instead of summoning her directly if I want her to come. Of course if it was an emergency, I can directly summon her. But since this is not one of those moment, I called her through Sonia.
After telling Albert that, I leave the building and look for Veronica.
She didn't get herself surrounded by men, but most men are staring at her from a distance. It's easy to find her, but it's difficult to find the spies among them.
She keeps walking around through a path that we planned instead of walking directly to her destination. It's so that we can find anyone who is following her.
And after walking around, I don't see anyone who is following her. There are some men who tried to flirt with her, but she refused them. Those men don't seem to be bad people since they gave up pursuing her. Maybe it's because I put a lot of men like them in prison after the stampede, and that makes these people afraid of going too far.
I don't see any trace of spies following her. That's good, so I return back to the building and hide inside the room beside where she will have a discussion with Albert.
When Albert sees me entering the room, he knows that everything is clear. I also see Victoria is also there in her human form. Other than the two and Mustache who is guarding Albert, Shirley and Candy are there as well. As for Sonia, she will be here later.
Soon, the door opened and a gorgeous lady entered the building. It was Veronica.
As soon as she sees Albert, she's down on her knee and greet him.
"Your majesty."
"You can stand up and take a seat over there. Do you know the reason we called you here?"
"Yes. It was to ask about the cult's next action." Veronica said as she stands up and sit on the sofa in front of Albert.
"Well, that's true. But that's not the main reason we called you. Some of us still don't believe that you are really wanted to leave the cult, so we're here to ask you that. Will you accept the interview?"
"If that's what you wish."
Veronica agreed to be interrogated. She also knows that she can't be trusted by us, so she complies with our request.
"Alright. First, tell me your name."
"Veronica."
"Okay. Next is, do you really want to leave the cult?"
"I am."
"Please tell us the reason."
"I never wanted to be part of the cult. They just wanted to use me for my appearance to gather more believer. And they are the one who is responsible in the death of my parents. Not only I want to leave the cult, I also desire to thoroughly destroy them. But it's impossible for me alone to do that."
Veronica answered.
I looked with my Divine Vision and see that Albert has one of his hand behind his back, raising two of his fingers and making a peace sign. It's a signal for me that she is telling the truth.
"Does that mean you want to join us?" Albert asked.
"If your goal is to destroy them, then I will." Veronica said confidently.
"Our goal is not just to destroy them. We are going to protect everyone as well. So, will you join us?" Albert invited her to join us.
But what does it mean by joining? Don't tell me he's still want me to build a clan, and makes her join the clan?
"I will."
"Thank you for joining. We are planning to build a clan in Cassau. The clan will mainly take request from me, the king. And most of the requests should mainly be related to the cult. As for the leader of the clan, he is Victoria's master."
"SO YOU JUST LEAVE EVERYTHING TO ME AGAIN, YOU DAMNED KING!"