Chapter 155: Maintaining Relations – Part 1

Chapter 155: Maintaining Relations – Part 1

"Do you have anything you want to say, Madame Carolea?" Ciel solemnly inquires.

The widow stands up a bit weakly, and the gondola doesn't even sway due to the [Weaverism] spell on it. Then Carolea scans the audience and, with a wavering tone, speaks what her heart aches to say, "It makes me happy to see how many close friends my husband had, to see the respect he's given after giving his life for the Lordship. He was born a knight, lived as a knight, and died as a knight. All that matters to me now is that he's happy and waiting for me in Paradise."

Samaiel's energetic expression cracks, and I realize he's using his pride for his father to hide the sadness of losing him. But he quickly gets his emotions under control and stands up, then says, "For father, to die while performing his duty was the best end he could ask for. He hated the idea of retirement, and it's impressive how long his body held on, even though he was already old."

How old was Azador...?

"I don't know, but he was already old when I was a child," Yunia quietly replies through our connection.Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com

"May he have a long stay in Paradise!" one of the knights shouts and salutes, folding his elven ear.

"For Azador!" a commoner cheerfully follows.

"For Azador!" everyone repeats.

Then the audience becomes emboldened and also begins to share their feelings.

"He was a good friend!"

"A good drinking partner."

"A wise fellow."

"A good gambler in the arena."

"He had the best guesses about who would win the blood duels."

"He was also a bit weird, tho."

And everyone chuckles as even Yunia agrees.

"You don't get so many red flowers in your beard without being a bit 'special.'"

"Father liked bloody battles a bit too much, yes," Samaiel wryly remarks.

And another commoner teases, "You're following in his footsteps, aren't'cha, Sam?"

But the newest knight raises his hands defensively. "I just want a couple of Vamiros as proof of my skill."

The teaser's expression softens as he continues, "The real proof that you're his son will be if you can keep the smugglers in check like he did."

Samaiel smiles pridefully. "Why do you think I'm so confident? Father was anything but careless; he taught me well about all of the secrets of this town."

"And I'll be here to make sure he doesn't step on a Jaca," Carolea warmly finishes.

That's a... Brazilian saying, but it seems quite bastardized.

After a bit more reminiscing, our court mages open a hole in the water of the lake and into the soil at the bottom. Then Azador's corpse is levitated and lowered down into its final resting place.

On the way back, Samaiel's excitement dies down, and he gains a wistful look, though he always keeps looking forward, never glancing back.

What a day...

But on happier matters, Teresina warmly receives me, making me quite glad that she isn't trying to keep some distance between us.

"Are you busy? Do you have time for a casual chat?" I softly ask the gilf as I enter her office.

She gently nods, but then her stern eyes sharpen as she answers, "I do have time. You haven't brought me any trouble yet, and the Purge has finished in Escanso, so I'm not particularly busy, especially now that your 'healthcare' has been lightening our load."

And I smile handsomely. "I'm glad to hear that I've been able to make your life easier."

She hesitates for a second, but I can't decipher the reason for it from her expression. "Let's hope it lasts because this Purification drained a few years off my lifespan," she replies, trying to not sound too tired.

My smile turns guilty as I casually take a seat before her. "The Purification only happens once every few generations, right? So you shouldn't have to worry about it anymore."

She stares for another couple of seconds, and this time I feel like she's holding back a bit of a smile. "Well, I'm worried about the next problem you'll bring." -But then her tone suddenly becomes harsh as she remembers something- "Your use of torture on Katasko's commanders was the most worrying thing, and I hope you don't plan on repeating that."

Indeed, I really don't plan on repeating the torture, but her still words make my smile deflate quite quickly.

So I sigh softly and earnestly reply, "That was a difficult decision, but it had to be done. The Punishers seemed quite glad to have a list of enemies to purge, did they not?" And I return a bit of her sharp look.

But Teresina is nonchalant. "The Punishers never look twice at free gifts, but using extreme means to hunt down heresy will only cause instability."

Now that's something quite surprising to hear coming out of an ex-Punisher's mouth.

She still sounds unconvinced, so I reassure her, "We're in no way eager to repeat that. I can't actually promise that we won't do it again," -then I decide to turn a bit of the heat back on her- "but you know that we don't take something like this lightly, don't you?"

But once again, she's nonchalant and deftly deflects, "I'm more interested in the future. How will you react when the merchants and companies make a move against you?"

I raise an eyebrow at her and confusedly ask, "Why would they?"

And she gives me a disbelieving look, as if it's obvious. "Why wouldn't they? You're making yourself very well-liked by the commoners, but you haven't made a single move to appease the merchants while you've already acted against a company. Some are already referring to you as a 'king of commoners.'"

"Sounds like a good thing to me," I casually reply with a snort.

The mature woman isn't amused, and she even makes a complicated expression, showing a level of concern for me that's even a bit endearing. "Wolf... this is why it's hard for me to open up to you. I can't give up on being your counter-balance if you keep being so reckless."

My heart skips a beat, then overcompensates by beating twice as fast. She's basically just confessed to having been seduced by me... but then the human pulls on the reins of the dragon to let me think clearly again.

I assume a perfectly polite tone as I reply and explain myself, "I apologize for giving you trouble. It's really not my intention to make life harder for you, but I'm Blessed by the Goddess of Knowledge, and part of the bargain to receive her favor was to spread my knowledge. It's this very same knowledge that guides my actions, and I know that I'll make some enemies along the way because no change comes without effort."

And then she falls silent for a long moment. She can't go against the desire of the Gods, even if my actions will cause conflict in the future, so she forces herself to accept that this is the right path. "This knowledge... is it from your home Realm?"

My heart skips another beat, but I should've been expecting this, so I quickly calm down. "Caterina told you about my past...?"

She nods softly and quickly adds, "Yes. It doesn't change my opinion of you because the Gods already accepted you; I can only judge your actions." Then she falls silent again, waiting for me to answer her previous question.

My throat starts to feel a bit dry, but I don't pull out my tea set, for now. Then I breathe in and start revealing it all to her, "My home world... home Realm, as you Rupegians call it, is more socially and technologically developed than this Realm. History taught me that these changes I'm attempting to make were opposed every step of the way, and blood was shed for them. You can expect the same to happen here, but if the temple is on my side, many lives will be saved."

"I can't give you an answer with such a vague promise," she immediately replies.

"Ball bearings. The axles just wear down too fast without them, so I'm waiting for Lina and Aoi to finish developing them before I begin building cars."

And she subtly leans forward. "What are 'ball bearings'?"

I realize that part of her curiosity is to make sure that I'm not bringing anything dangerous to this world, but I still enjoy talking about things with her. I'm not a physicist, anyway, so nuclear bombs likely won't be a thing in this world for a long while, but I'll still tell her the dangers of them so that people will know what to expect once the atomic age arrives.

The table I've chosen for us is small, and so our feet and legs occasionally rub against each other as we shift in our seats. I don't dare to deliberately caress her, but only for today. I feel like we've grown a lot closer today, and she does seem to enjoy my company, so I have hope for our future.

But the moment I get comfortable in her presence, I get horny. She's a classy gilf, a beautiful stern woman with a boner-inducing glare and a delightful composure that exudes dignity, the kind that'd still look awe-inspiring with my cock in her mouth or with her bent over, spreading her pussy for me and asking to be fucked.

And some of my [Sexual Charm] must've leaked out by mistake because her gaze gradually becomes sultry, then she crosses her legs and lets the side of her foot touch my thigh. She's wearing a simple but pretty sandal that graces her beautiful foot, and her priestly black robes are riding up a bit, allowing me to spy a quite well-shaped calf.

But her touch excites me so much that I get ahead of myself and ask, "Have you ever seen the town with this kind of view at night? It's a beautiful sea of mist."

She lifts an eyebrow, and this time, I clearly notice that she's holding back a smirk as she's managed to get me to lose my coolness with just a touch. "I haven't, but I won't be staying to see it... not tonight," she coos back, her tone thrillingly warm.

"Fuck's sake. Is Wolfy going to get a Punisher before me?" Hana grumbles inside my soul space.

I sigh as I forcibly calm myself, but then the dragon asks for revenge, so I boldly wrap my tail around her calf, gently rubbing it as I apply a subtle spirit touch, and the way that she sharply inhales and her eyes widen is totally worth her pulling back her leg.

Then she narrows her eyes at me in annoyance, but the war will have to be put on hold because the sun has set, and it's time to take a bath before tonight's celebration.

I guess that's why she did this little test right now. She won't have to show me her embarrassed face because I have to leave.

Announcement

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