Rupegia - Chapter 102: A Warrior’s Welcome

Chapter 102: A Warrior’s Welcome – Part 3

Alissa hugs Allura from behind and struggles to reach the tattletale's mouth with her hand, but she manages to shut her up.

"I'm going to murder you if you say anything," Alissa whispers dangerously to Allura.

"What is it...?" Léonne's gentle voice resounds through the grass garden like the whisper of a sword being drawn. Both she and Jacques give the sisters inexpressive looks, cautiously waiting for the first beast to bare its fangs.

Allura's eyes become unfocused as she retreats into her mind to consider the consequences of this decision.

A silence settles in as Léonne's question hangs in the air, drawing the eyes of every onlooker as they notice the tension in both of the sisters' postures. It's like Alissa is holding a knife over Allura's heart, the former keeping her mad rage from bursting out of her body, while the latter holds the keys to the shameful truth which would bring justice down upon the mad fox.

Betray her sister? Or lie to her parents? These two very important questions would burden one's mind, rob them of sleep, then tear at one's heart, ripping it in two. The dilemma would make any Gods-fearing person struggle to choose...

But those deep concerns never once ran through Allura's mind.

She opens her mouth and shouts, "She wants her husband to ma-AAAAH-te with... the foxes...!" And she even manages to power through Alissa yanking on her fox tail.

The Sworn Hunters laugh, but both Léonne and Jacques continue with their impassiveness.

"Alluraaa~...!" Alissa whines and gives her sister's tail a final twist before letting her go.

"Hahahahaha!" Allura laughs as she runs away.

"How would... oh, never mind," Ofilia mumbles, then her porcelain skin turns scarlet.

"Allura, behave yourself," Léonne's ice-cold tone makes the almost-woman cringe, but she quickly recovers her impish grin, then Léonne's stern gaze turns to Alissa, and then me, making us both feel a bit meek. "Alissa, Wolf, don't."

"We won't," Alissa reflexively replies, as stiff as a robot, then she immediately returns to my side, seeking refuge from her mother's glare.

I slowly nod towards Léonne, then I try to play with the female fox as un-lewdly as possible.

Foxes are pretty needy, especially the ones who live within the estate since they're quite used to receiving lots of affection, so we have to force ourselves to leave them and move on.

Gify stays with them for a little while longer, but I'm sure that she'll come rejoin us as soon as we smell a whiff of food.

Alissa recognizes the guards at the gate, and their commanding officer is a black werefox so dark that he's almost a vantafox.

"Gardieu, you actually got promoted?!" Alissa exclaims jokingly. "I'm surprised that your fat ass didn't get larger from sitting here all day."

And Allura teases him in lockstep with her sister, "Oh, he certainly has calluses on his ass from working hard. Those chair cushions didn't fray all by themselves."

The black fox straightens his back and grips his spear while his eyes maintain a faraway look as he tries to seem as dignified as possible. "Your little bee stings for tongues can't hurt me. You're still far from the whipping that your mother's tongue can dish out!" He fires back like a soldier reporting to his superiors.

"A thousand bee stings can still kill a person," Alissa ripostes.

But he easily deflects with his shield, "Then give me a thousand right now! And if you can't, then you're only training my 'Endurance.'" He suddenly turns away from them, his long fox tail whipping around after him and softly brushing against Alissa's stomach.

"Hah," she snorts, remembering how his tail would hit her in the face whenever he did that back when she was growing up.

Léonne offers us a carriage, but Alissa declines, wanting to walk and take in the view at her own pace, and I promise Roxanne a good toe-sucking later if her delicate, pretty feet start to hurt.

As we cross through the gate, we're met with a picturesque sight. A perfectly straight path of smooth, gray bricks is laid out before us; short walls of ashen black wood flank it all the way along, partially hiding the tall, raised houses with their red-tiled, sharp-angled roofs; the entrances to these houses and the names of the streets are all marked by tall wooden columns filled with cute, elaborate carvings, like a sort of heraldry for the noble families or a depiction of the shops located along the road, respectively; and a few sparse trees populate the large gardens, most of them being Chape trees, a weird shaped tree that reminds me of a sombrero on a stick, the stick being the trunk and the sombrero the leaves.

The morning mist dissipated just a short while ago, leaving everything a bit damp, so there's a slight shimmer everywhere as the morning sun meets the dew.

I pull out the golems, and the girls explain what they are to the werefoxes as we walk. None of the werefoxes are mages or researchers, so they can only sheepishly nod in understanding even though they likely understood nothing.

There's little variety in the actual design of the houses, exemplifying the werefox collectivist mindset, but there's also enough detail that each house seems unique in its own way.

"Elven houses are more interesting," Yunia disinterestedly remarks in my soul space.

"Except for Goloria's," Alissa retorts defensively.

"Agreed, that place is a mess. Too much variety in buildings, while over here, there's too little," Yunia replies without skipping a beat.

"There's value in simplicity and humility," Alissa fights on, but Yunia simply scoffs.

"Those are the exact two things that an elf would never understand," Roxanne unexpectedly sides with Alissa, then flashes me a grin. "I'm an opportunist, I'd never miss a chance to poke someone."

"Don't compare the races like that, it's unfair," I try to assuage them.Cheêck out latest novels at novelhall.com

"Just enjoy the races for what they can give," Ciel piggybacks on my argument.

"A mouthful of fur?" Hana interjects.

"The positive things they can give," Ciel quickly corrects herself.

"Elves can't make cute things like the werefoxes can," Lina chimes in as we pass by an intricately carved column.

"I agree, but what did I just say...?" Ciel annoyedly presses Lina, who just smiles adorably to distract Ciel so that she doesn't get chastised.

"I fucking knew that Lina was a devious imp inside," I mumble jokingly, and she quickly closes off her mind so that no stray emotion of hers can bleed through [Bind] so easily again.

There's no gate separating these high-class mansions from the rest of the commoners, allowing us to visually observe the smooth decrease in wealth the further we walk.

The trees completely disappear, except for in public spaces, then the gardens start to shrink, and the houses grow increasingly warped, even comically so. Chape planks are quite flexible, and the houses that use them in their construction become "bowed" as they age due to the humidity. It actually makes for some pretty cute architecture, though I don't know how safe it is for the occupants.

"As long as the main pillars are replaced regularly, these houses will remain standing," Alissa confidently answers, and I decide to just stop thinking about it.

Then the shops start to appear, and the smell of foreign food fills our nostrils.

"I feel like having a fried Joolis stick," Alissa admits, salivating from the smell of the nostalgic snack.

I hear a *pop* on my shoulder, and then, with a chirp, "Gih!" Gify demands one for herself, too.

We grab a few sticks of the fried fish meat rolled into a ball and drizzled with colorful spices. It's pretty salty, but it's worth it because of the large variety of spices used. I even recognize Japanese nori.

I pull out some of the Frele tea that Ofilia had served us, and it goes pretty well with the snack.

Then Alissa asks for something else: a long stick of baked sweet potato. The interior is hot, but the charred crust has already cooled enough to touch, so we break the stick in half and then season it ourselves with a simple not-nori-based spice.

After that, Alissa gets a sweet omelet-or-waffle-like(?) snack with a dark berry sauce filling, and then she gets some thin, crunchy sticks of fried flour covered in some kind of peppery spice.

Noting Alissa's sudden appetite, Ciel shares her concern, "Not even Lina was this hungry when we visited Bersidon. Were you really enjoying the food back home?"

Alissa covers her mouth to give a muffled reply, "Of courshe, I was." Then she finishes chewing her food and swallows. "I just... 'missed' these flavors." She shrugs.

"Except for making snacks for customers, neither Mom nor Dad are great cooks," Lina shyly admits, and a small "oh" of understanding escapes our lips.

After the omelet-or-waffle, Alissa chooses a savory steamed bun with bean filling to cleanse the sweetness from her palate, then I notice a stall that's selling river fish not-sashimi, and the hungry dragon wakes up inside of me.

"Klein, Anton, memorize this flavor, then report it to Krysta," I order them with a smirk, half-jokingly.

Gurrier Vilarbre, Elder of the Hunt, Former Sworn Hunter of Chief Florent Verner, Former Captain of the 4th Division of Town Hunters of Roubaix.

Born on the 12th day of the auspicious month of Combat in the year 68,821 of the Solar calendar; died in his sleep on the 26th day of the month of Drink in the year 69,000, aged 179 at level 99.

Started his life as the second son of Blanche and Roy Vilarbre, Gurrier was born with [Bow Use] and [Hide Presence], a rare sign that revealed that his calling was to be a hunter from the very moment he was born.

He precociously enlisted in the Town Hunters at the age of 8 and graduated at the age of 12, then steadily accrued achievements until he succeeded the Captain of his division at the age of 18 when the previous Captain retired.

His leadership was stable and marked by successive victories, making him stand out as a model commander. He protected Roubaix from monster hordes, bandits, and slavers without faltering, inspiring generations to come.

At the age of 30, he trained his successor so that he could enter into the service of Chief Florent Verner as a Sworn Hunter.

Now tasked with protecting the rule of the Misty Fox clan, he aided Chief Florent in quenching the thirsts, filling the bellies, and solving the quarrels, as well as punishing the outlaws, overcoming disasters, and subduing the rebellious.

At the age of 104, he was called on by the Elder Council to act as the Elder of the Hunt and assume the duty of protecting the whole of the Misty Forest from any forces that sought to destroy it.

Loved by his parents, respected by his allies, and feared by his enemies. Gurrier exemplified the ideal hunter and warrior that all werefoxes should aspire to become.

His duty was fulfilled, and his memory shall be venerated.

May the Gods give him his just rewards. May Paradise provide him ample reward for his sacrifices.

Below that, the plaque lists his notable achievements, mostly his victories in battles.

"This is the person who trained you in how to be a slave?" Yunia curiously asks.

With deep melancholy and grief, Alissa touches the urn and manages a pained smile as her eyes water. "Yes, but he did more than that. He acted as a parent for me when mine were forbidden to, and he showed me more fatherly love than I could've ever asked him for, even though he'd never admit to it. I owe so much of who I am to him." Then she closes her eyes and prays for him to be here.

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