Chapter 125: Engage! – Part 2

Chapter 125: Engage! – Part 2

I sit down beside the twins to rest and pull out some cold tea to refresh myself.

Arturus stares intensely at me, and I notice that he wants to say something, so I raise an eyebrow at him, and he blurts out, "How many skills-... how many levels do you even have?"

It's actually pretty impolite to ask someone their level, like asking a woman her age, a dragon the thickness of their tail, or a man the size of their dick... wait, that last one I'd gladly tell anyone. Anyway, neither levels, skills, nor even "Magical Power" can reliably tell how powerful someone actually is, so one's level is personal information that's rarely shared.

"Brother, please," Antares tiredly pleads, and even Ahren looks surprised by Arturus' audacity.

"Fifty-nine," I answer honestly.

The three show a variety of surprised reactions, both because I actually answered and because of the number.

And my answer emboldens Antares to ask, "How did you manage to level up so fast?"UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m

I shrug. "I'm Gifted. There's no reasonable way for a normal person to keep up with me."

"Oh... that explains a lot..." Ahren mumbles wryly.

"It's like the Gods wanted you to come here..." Arturus whispers soberly with a frown.

But I also smile wryly and agree, "Yeah, that's exactly what we believe happened. We came to Confiel to ask for aid just in time to participate in the deposal of your parents, which led to us meeting Yunia, and then, right next to our future home, we entered an ancient dungeon that gave us the Royal lineage. There are just too many coincidences."

Arturus' frown deepens, and the three of them go silent, in awe due to the revelation. Perhaps they now understand that serving us will be unlike serving any other Lord.

I watch as Hana beats a bunch of our men, then she drags a Companion to the female bath. I feel like following them, but then I receive a message that Lyle wants a quick meeting.

I really find it hard to say no to him...

I take a [Gate] back to the castle and receive the little cockblocker at the main hall, but Garanae has come with him too.

The disheveled boy with wild eyes hurries into the room with an apologetic smile on his face as he quickly explains himself, "Wolf, I'm sorry. I forgot to ask you this yesterday because I got too excited talking about the inventions."

And the blonde boy frowns annoyedly at him as he begrudgingly keeps up with his hurried pace. "He would've again forgotten to ask you before you left if I hadn't reminded him," Garanae exposes Lyle, making him wince.

I smile politely at them and motion to the grass sofas as I assure them, "It's no problem, I still have time. Take a seat... and what did you want to talk about?"

Garanae sobers up and asks, "Do you remember Ankara Gartania?"

"Uuuh..."

Lyle refreshes my memory, "Chosen Descendant of Fort Erda. I invited him to explore the Wisps of the Proud dungeon with us."

I clap my claws as I recall him, then I frown in concern. "Ah, I remember now. Weird boy, not very friendly."

Lyle raises an eyebrow at my use of "boy" since we're all supposed to be of similar ages, but neither of them comment on it, and then Lyle continues, "Yes, he kind of is. You two didn't get along very well... but we still need to ask this, as a favor to us: can you help him and his family?"

I lean back on my sofa and let my tail sway in thought, then I cautiously reply, "Well, what sort of aid do they require?"

Lyle turns to Garanae, who's more apt to eloquently explain, "The imperial nobles of Goldcross and Fort Katakti are complaining that his family are incompetent and aren't fulfilling all their obligations as Lords. The truth is that they're being deliberately ostracized and isolated so that they'll struggle, creating a justification for their deposal."

The imperials are against the Gartanias, but not the elves?

They both seem to be a bit knowledgeable about the plotting of nobility, so I decide to share and ponder, "Do you know about the Purification? I heard that the temple will call for it soon, so do you believe they are at any risk of being challenged during it?"

The two share a worried look.

"Father didn't mention that to me," Lyle hesitantly confesses.

Garanae nervously runs his hand through his sweptback hair. "Same, so we honestly can't say, but the Purification would be the perfect opportunity to steal their Lordship since they have no allies."

I feel like I'll only be able to give them an answer after we've squeezed Katasko's commanders dry, so I make a small request, "I can't make any promises right now, but we're set to make a move against Katasko soon, so can you name these nobles that are plotting against his family? If they're the same as those behind Katasko, we'll gladly help him."

And that's enough to appease Lyle. "That'd be wonderful! Thank you, Wolfy..." He exclaims with a wide smile of gratitude.

But I still need more, so I lean forward and warn him, "But... if Ankara really wants our help, he should come here himself and ask for it."

He immediately cringes. "You know how he is. Sometimes, he can be a bit... 'difficult.'"

And even Garanae backs up Lyle's view, "He's a good person, really, he just has trouble making new friends."

I'm starting to wonder what, exactly, is wrong with Ankara...

But I narrow my eyes, unconvinced. "I'm helping their whole family, so if not Ankara, then at least his father needs to get in contact with us."

"We will convince them," Garanae affirms with an unusual amount of conviction. It seems he can be quite a good friend if he's capable of overcoming his fear of me to help Ankara.

I nod solemnly. "Very well, I'll be waiting."

"That's all we had to say," Lyle politely replies, and I hum, then the two rise up.

"Good luck at the capital, Wolf," Lyle kindly gives me his blessing.

Garanae nods soberly and adds with the same tone, "Our families left because we didn't want to deal with this 'Purification,' so yes, good luck."

"Thank you. I believe we'll need it. It seems like things always become complicated whenever we get involved," I wryly reply.

"I don't envy you," Lyle whispers back with a worried smile while Garanae simply raises his eyebrows in surprise.

Then I just smile and wave as they leave.

"Fort Erda has no strategic value to us, Wolfy," Yunia cautions me through [Bind], not supportive of my desire to help the Gartanias.

"Think of this as a means of ensuring Lyle's and Garanae's loyalty. A web of relationships makes us stronger, after all," I explain myself.

She hums pensively, "Hmm... it'll all depend on how much we have to invest to 'save' the Gartanias."

I nod internally in agreement.

There's not much to do before we leave for Mac Gantus, so I decide to fly around the city on a whim.

I cram a squad of Companions into a Dragon-class plane and tell them to follow me. We'll use Emergency Rings just in case one loses sight of the other.

The priests recognize me and become mortified at the commotion the children created, so they start rounding up the little ones and hurrying them away to prevent even more embarrassment.

But my heart has already been wounded.

I only like that people fear me when I'm trying to look fearsome...

"Don't worry, Wolfy, most people find you adorable," Roxanne makes an attack of opportunity.

"I won't take that as an insult," I composedly reply and move on.

The temple is busy, but the people make way for us, so we get inside without a problem, and I immediately notice Ciel doing her idol thing by leading a simple song.

They sing a song that is a prayer to the Goddess of Prayer about missing the month of Prayer, so they pray that nothing bad happens to them because they forgot to pray for protection.

"Wolfy..." Ciel grumbles while internally rolling her eyes.

"It's an accurate description," I categorically reply, but she just grumbles internally and ignores my internal monologue.

"Ah... so you're the source of the commotion," a familiar and pleasing voice graces my ears.

I look to the side and see the beautiful Teresina coming down the stairs from the second floor, her arms entwined with her just-as-beautiful daughter.

My lips immediately part into a smile, and I see Teresina's mouth twitch, which I assume is because she's holding back her own smile.

It's time to flirt a little before we leave.

Announcement

Hall of Fame of Patrons

The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:

Prince PreownedFIN.

Prince Creamy Spinach.

Prince Owldente.

Prince Charlie Foxtrot.

Lord Andrew Meyers.

Lord Novgarod.

Lord Michale Erwin.

Lord Bakerdea.

Lord Maurice.

Lord Mattirro Draca.

Lord Sean Drake.

Lord FrostyCube.

Lord Mike Bartter.

Lord Warwulfv.

Lord Jorge Franco.

Lord Khristopher Welsh.

Lord DJ.

Lord Tenebris Lupus.

Lord Paul Daval.

Lord Paul Daval.

Lord Bradly.

Lord AndreyUC.

Lord Tmac.

Lord School Work.

Lord Gwendolyn Simmons-LaRose.

Lord CopeyDunt.

Lord Warwulfv.

Lord James.

Lord BlindTactic.

Noble Salty Panda.

Noble Mild Fracas.

Noble Aclys.

Noble CarlBaxter.

Noble d3235.

Noble Cidant.

Noble Frank de Jong.

Noble Shai.