Chapter 962 - 962 Chapter 962 The Devil’s in the Details… and it’s not Kat

962 Chapter 962 The Devil’s in the Details… and it’s not Kat

“Assuming the young master is poisoned, what should we prioritise?” asked Sue as her first question.

“Ideally, getting the young master to the alchemist should be the first priority. It’s not a major concern, as I already mentioned, but using the fact the young master was poisoned is much more valuable as a bargaining chip then catching the criminal first and then trying to get concessions later,” answered the old man.

“Yes, that makes sense, but what should I prioritise, as the escort?” repeated Sue.

The old man thought for a few moments before shrugging, “I’ve not been informed. I’d simply ask you use your best judgement at the time.”

Sue nodded, “That’s fair. Am I expected to engage in sexual relations with the young master?”

“Is that an issue?” asked the old man carefully.

“You seem to be avoiding the question,” responded Sue.

The pair stared at each other for a few moments before the old man broke first. “It was not something I was requested to make part of the contract… but it is your job to stop him sleeping with other women so… how you go about that is really up to you,” answered the old man with a frown on his face.

Sue let out a light chuckle, “I’m just messing you. I’ll happily fuck him if he shows even the slightest interest. I’ll also probably make a few attempts even if he doesn’t. It’ll be good fun,”

.....

The old man glared at Sue for a few moments, not particularly liking the fact she was starting to mess around. For him, this was all rather serious still. He hadn’t had the contract confirmed and Sue was asking silly questions. Still, he was a professional and it could be much worse, so he chose to turn away from Sue and ask Kat, “What about you Enforcer? Any questions for this old man?”

*Hmm…* “Am I responsible for the young master’s safety before we leave for the event? I’m not sure if we’re currently in the Mountain Shaker sect, or not but am I responsible for his safety during the two days we remain here?” asked Kat.

“The young master will certainly be safe from attacks while he is here. It is part of the Mountain Shaker sect and the patriarch will be able to respond to any issues in a few moments. I am to encourage you to spend at least some time with the young master to get to know him, and for the Escort, capturing his attention is important, but he is not expected to be in any danger,” said the old man.

Kat nodded for a few moments before realising there was something to clarify, “What should I protecting the young master from? Assassins of course, but what else?”

The old man nodded, understanding the question easily. “You are primarily to concern yourself with unseen threats, and attacks of much higher Rank. The young master is currently Rank 1, on the edge of Rank 2. It is not your job to stop fights between his peers. We need you to defend the boy, not coddle him. Injuries are not a concern,’

Sue decided to jump in here, “Hang on… how old is the young master? I’m a Succubus yes, but not one to go after children. That’s one fetish I’m perfectly happy to avoid,”

The old man sighed and shook his head, “The young master is 93 years old this year,” Sue coughed in surprise, “he has begun cultivating recently but has not yet reached 100 or passed his test of adulthood. As such he is still considered a boy by our society’s reckoning,”

Sue frowned and looked at the ‘old man’. “Is the young master not human?”

The old man shook his head, “The Mountain Shaker sect is primarily made up of Mountain Elves.”

“Huh… never fucked a mountain elf before…” mumbled Sue.

*Wait… I thought this was a cultivation world… why is there elves here? And what about this old man? Is he human? He looks human and I’d have seen through any illusions he had on him… so… hmm… Lily do you think you should check your spell casting here?*

[Do remember this place is warded massively Kat. I’m not sure I could cast properly regardless of what higher energy they use here. That and I’d almost certainly get caught by the old man. Hard to hide a glowing blue circle. Perhaps you should just ask the old man?]

“What higher energy do you use here?” asked Kat, ignoring Sue’s comment. Probably for the best.

“We are capable of using both mana and qi here however not both at the same time. It has been shown that qi is a more reliable path to long term power, though mana allows for explosive growth, especially amongst geniuses. The problem is that using both inside your body leads to exploding. Not ideal at all. Oh, and demonic energy of course, nothing will stop that,” answered the old man.

*Huh. I didn’t think we’d find a place that uses both. I guess I kept thinking of them as mutually exclusive. How good do you think your spells will be here Lily?*

[Not sure… apparently mana works fine so I’d assume they’d work better then ever… but I don’t really know how mana interacts with qi in the air. I doubt they’d just explode, that seems silly and easily exploitable.]

“Are spells likely something I need to be worried about defending against?” asked Kat.

The old man scratched his beard for a few moments, “Not especially no… at least, it’s not something we’d expect, and no spies have reported powerful mages making any moves so it’s not expected but I’m not going to say that it’s impossible. So… do be aware of it at least, even if it is unlikely to be a problem for the young master,”

Kat nodded but went on to ask, “How resistant are people here to spells?”

The old man shrugged, “It really depends on how much power is behind them. I also don’t have a good comparison to what you’d consider ‘resistant’ or ‘weak’ to spells. They truly aren’t common Enforcer. Do not discount a spell just because it looks weak I suppose? It’s what we teach the younglings in school, so that seems appropriate now,”

Kat nodded, and Sue decided to ask her own question. “What sort of accommodation do we have? Both here and in during the event?”

The old man’s eyes lit up, apparently this was a question he had prepared for. “Before you get on the Sky Boat we have set aside to joined rooms for you both to share. They are modestly sized and sparsely furnished but part of the main compound. During transit, there will be a small bed provided in the young master’s room for the Enforcer, and a spot in the crew quarters for the Escort. You can of course, choose the young masters bed, if he allows such a thing,”

Sue grinned as the old man continued, “Once you arrive at the event space, the young master should be assigned to a modest dwelling with two guest rooms. One will be set aside for you, while the other will be set aside for the servants. There will be four of them. All mortal, and not really your concern,”

Best

Kat let the statement hang for a moment before asking, “Do I need to protect them as well?”

The old man just shrugged, “They are of no consequence. If they die, it is no matter, though they are not expected to be attacked either. The young master has no favoured servant, and though well trained the servants in question are easily replaceable. I don’t see why anyone would go through the effort to attack them.

“I would personally suggest not going out of your way for them. They are weak, and unremarkable. If you start to noticeably defend or defer to them someone might get the wrong idea and target them more deliberately. They will be safest if you just ignore their presence or treat them as part of the furniture. You can save them if you really wish… but you will not be rewarded for it at all and if the contract deems you to be neglecting your duty to the young master because of your actions…” the old man finished with a shrug.

*You know… I kinda hate that he seems correct in this explanation. I’m perfectly happy to defend them… but that’s opening up a weakness... I wonder if they’re really safter if I just completely ignore them and the risks to them?*

[I’m not sure… I do sort of get the argument. If they’re just sort of there nobody will be bothered with them. A thief doesn’t go and steal a basic t-shirt when there’s jewellery on display nor do they kill the family pet… or no… a better example would be a vacuum cleaner I suppose. If you’re coming in to attack someone… would you take out the robot vacuum?]

*That’s a horrible way to think of a person.*

[But one that just might keep them safe.]