"Would you like a cup of tea, dear?"
"I d—yes, thank you."
And for the first time ever since he landed on Enkland, Rhys finally felt like he was actually on vacation. Of course, he and Lina were not here for a vacation at all, but that is what it felt like now.
He was out in a vast field of grass, with the stony hills and a lake in the distance. This was not the first time Rhys had seen a view like this, the verdant Meadow Regions of the Underworld had plenty of views just like this — but there was one important aspect missing;
The horizon in which the verdant fields and the blue skies meet.
It was... refreshing.
"Would you like to have biscuits, dear?"
"I—yes, thank you."
Rhys once again smiled and nodded his head as a beautiful middle-aged woman gently placed her hand on his wrist; her red glowing hair, almost making Rhys squint. But her hair wasn't the one that had the most glow, but her smile that almost seemed to swallow Rhys whole.
"Agatha, leave the poor sod alone."
"Nonsense, Francis. A behemoth like this should eat properly."
The middle-aged woman was Agatha, Lina's aunt and the youngest sibling of Lance and William. Like most of the people in their family, Agatha held a beauty that was almost mesmerizing. Unlike Lina and her other female cousins, however, Agatha was... bountiful in all the right places, and she was not afraid to show them.
She was wearing a corset, her large breasts almost showing themselves due to her... overly revealing top. She was also slightly... touchy. Rhys was worried at first that she was intentionally doing this to make her husband angry, but her husband doesn't even bat an eye or seem like he minded at all.
And Rhys knew the reason why — there were 5 Hearts floating above his glowing red hair. Rhys did not really have to ask or think much, as most of the royal family seemed to marry out of convenience rather than love. In this case, to keep the Noble bloodline pure.
"Here's your tea, Mr. Rh—Oh... my, my."
And as Rhys was lost in his thoughts, the tea that Agatha was holding spilled from the table and conveniently right onto his crotch, causing him to slightly back away from the table. Before he could stand up, however, Agatha suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and sat him back down.
"I truly apologize, I'm... somewhat of a ditz sometimes," Agatha let out a quiet giggle as she grabbed a napkin from the table and just proceeded to dab it on Rhys's pants, "Let me dry that for you."
"No, it's... It's alright," Rhys wanted to grab the napkin from Agatha's hand, but Agatha just slapped his hand away.
"Tch, tch," Agathe then kneeled beside Rhys although it was completely unnecessary as she continued to wipe his pants, "Let the adults handle this, hm?"
"I am... an adult, Ma'am," Rhys did not really know what to do, as for the first time ever since he gained his ability to read the desires of people...
...his head started to hurt.
How could it not, when Agatha's desires just completely drown him?
"...You guys do know I can hear you, right?"
Lina, who was actually also waiting in the combatant's area, could not help but just roll her eyes as she heard her cousin speak ill of her right in front of her face,
"And the reason why the bigfoot lost to me is because all of you lack actual combat experience."
"You know nothing of what we have endured here," Vicky, who had just been quietly sitting with her legs crossed on the ground since earlier, let out a scoff as tiny as she turned to look at Lina, "While you were out there frolicking, galavanting, or whatever you people do in Amerka – we are out here doing the work of god."
"Oh god, here we go," Lina once again rolled her eyes as she left the combatant's waiting area and started to walk toward the field.
"While your people keep on reclaiming land that is not theirs..." Vicky hurriedly stood up as she followed Lina to the field, "...we are reclaiming the lands which we have still not recovered from the monsters. We are doing the fight that matters, not diving down deep into the Underworld where we don't belong."
"And that is why this country is fucked," Lina smirked as she glanced at Rhys, "You've become too comfortable. You wonder why our Noble blood is starting to dwindle, then just look at us, look at you — all that power, for nothing. You're so used to being on the top, that you don't even know how to climb anymore even though the palace you so eagerly keep is already drowning in the abyss."
"You don't know us, you weren't here," Vicky's eyebrows lowered.
"I don't," Lina shook her head, "But I've been around someone who had climbed from nothing and is now on his way to conquer and reshape the world, I think that also makes me an expert at spotting the opposite...
...which is you and the rest of these sorry asses."
"...Tsk," Vicky no longer said anything and just snarled. And with a breath, droplets of water began condensing around her; seemingly vibrating and compressing at an insane speed.
"Hm..." Lina also remained quiet as her hair began waving in the air and her feet very slowly left the ground.
And without even a single word, the droplets of water around Vicky shot out toward Lina at an insane speed; the droplets were almost like lasers as they completely tore the ground behind Lina. They were not, however, successful in hitting Lina as she flew up in the air — only to hover right above Vicky's head with her finger already pointed between her eyes.
"Amateur," Lina whispered, "Your glowing hair is wasted on you."
And as a ball of air began merging on the tip of Lina's finger, Vicky could not help but close her eyes in instinct... proving Lina's point that they were completely inexperienced in combat.
"I think that's enough, Lina."
Before the violent ball of wind could shoot out from Lina's finger, however, Rhys suddenly appeared right behind Vicky; her back almost falling onto him while he very gently covered her head to protect her,
"There's no point in doing any of this ruse...
...you've already won me."
"Rhys..." Lina could really only whisper as she softly landed on the ground. Before she could say anything back to him, however, Agatha also suddenly stood on the field.
"I don't think anyone has won anything yet..." Agathe let out a small giggle before the blades of grass beneath her feet just withered and burned away even though there was not a single visible flame dancing anywhere,
"How about you and I fight, Mr. Rhys? And if I win...
...You'll become my lover."