A few hours after the sun had come down, a few well-trained maids gently knocked on the bedroom door.
*knock*
The banging sound resounded in Both Caesar and Ahri"s ears, their "session" had lasted until just a few hours ago, so the amount of sleep obtained was minuscule.
"Hmmmm"
Caesar groaned and sat up from the bed, his hair was messily scattered behind his shoulders and fresh scratch marks were discernible on his back.
He pushed the covers aside and quietly stepped off the bed, he walked towards the door and turned the doork.n.o.b, he pulled open the door and peeked out of a small crack.
His piercing red eyes were the only thing visible for the maids outside the door, they were a bit taken aback at first but they soon got a hold of themselves.
"Ahem, the empresses daily bath is scheduled" one of the maids cleared her throat and explained.
Caesar glanced at Ahri who was still in a deep sleep on the bed before shaking his head with a wry smile, "then reschedule, I don"t think the bath is going to happen right now" Caesar said through the small crack.
The maids wanted to argue with Caesar, however, they knew their position, thus, they bowed deeply and scurried away.
After seeing the maids leave, Caesar gently closed the door and walked back towards the bed. He grabbed the spatial ring that he had stashed in a nearby dresser and placed it on his finger.
He took out a fancy suit that sported a grey sleeved shirt, black vest, black trousers, and a black blazer with a grey handkerchief… he dressed up, albeit slowly, and walked out of the room.
Although he looked presentable, his sleepy eyes didn"t betray his current exhaustion. Once he exited Ahri"s room, he turned to the nearby guards and walked towards them…
The guards noticed Caesar walking towards them and they couldn"t help but shiver fearfully, he stared at them with those grumpy eyes, which made them feel as though they were in the middle of a snowstorm.
"Hey, you two" Caesar called out to them to which they saluted respectfully, awaiting his next orders.
"I want you to guard Ahri"s door instead of this hallway from now on, notify the guards on the next shift as well…" Caesar said and walked past them without waiting for a reply.
"W-we"ll guard it as best we can!" they shouted at Caesars back before running towards Ahri"s door and standing as still as a statue… It was an honor for them to guard the empress, not to mention, it was an order from the esteemed strategist.
As Caesar was walking through the halls, he casually rummaged through his right pant pocket and took out a rectangular box. It was the same box that the a.s.sa.s.sin had on her body, he didn"t get the chance to inspect it last time because of Ahri"s interruption.
He flipped the box around his fingers curiously for a few moments before opening the lid and inspecting the insides… within the paper box, were a few small cylindrical objects, some s.p.a.ces were empty, which signified that the a.s.sa.s.sin had used some.
Caesar brought his nose closer to the box and took a long sniff, "tobacco?" he thought to himself with widened eyes.
Caesar took out what looked to be similar to a cigarette and cigar combined, he brought it closer to his eyes and examined it even more closely.
"Is tobacco already so advanced in this world?" he whispered to himself, his shock was by no means small… Finding a cigarette, well, at least something so similar to cigarette was not in his expectations.
Whilst deep in thought, he soon made it to Musashi"s doors. As It was a common routine for him to stop by Musashi"s place at this point, the guards stationed at the doors weren"t surprised at Caesar"s presence at all and let him pa.s.s without question.
He pa.s.sed by the familiar corridor and arrived in front of the elegant doors, he raised his right hand and knocked on the door.
*bang*
He could hear Musashi"s frantic footsteps from the other side of the door, soon, the door slid open and a well dressed Musashi poked his head out.
"Aha, I have been awaiting you," he said with a slight smile after seeing Caesar"s face.
"Indeed, I believe you have already heard about the a.s.sa.s.sin that I arrested last night" Caesar spoke while walking past Musashi and sitting down on a nearby chair.
"Your a.s.sumption is correct, I was informed this morning about a human woman that you had ordered to be imprisoned…" Musashi replied with a thoughtful look.
"I don"t think she"s following orders from the trolls" Caesar suddenly interjected.
"Explain your reasoning" Musashi spoke with an extremely grave expression.
"Although I could be wrong, from my understanding, the trolls wouldn"t train a human girl in their camp for so long… and if my observation is correct, they aren"t smart enough to smuggle a human girl into this stronghold" Caesar explained
Musashi stroked his chin in contemplation, "you think a human kingdom is interfering with matters in the dark continent? That is a bold claim" Musashi replied
Caesar shrugged his shoulders, "just an observation, nothing more, I just don"t believe the trolls are capable of gaining this much intel without a third part, alas, I have no proof, besides…" Saying to here, Caesar took out that rectangular box.
"I doubt the trolls have produced tobacco in such a graceful manner," he said while taking one of the cigarette, like cylinders from the box.
Musashi, who smoked a pipe, was very aware of what tobacco looked and smelled like, however, he wasn"t sure whether or not it was obtainable by the trolls.
Seeing Musashi"s hesitant look, Caesar just shook his head, "it"s nothing for certain, I just figured I would let you know… We can learn more once we interrogate the la.s.s" Caesar said while putting the cigarette into his mouth.
"Speaking of a sperate topic, how are the flood control and drainage system going?" Caesar spoke in a m.u.f.fled manner, as the cigarette was pressed between his lips.
Musashi snapped his finger and lit the end of the cigarette in Caesar"s mouth, after which, he sat on the foot end of his bed and took a puff of his pipe.
"Since the mission is being led by Faust, the progress should move smoothly, alas, I haven"t gotten a status report yet" Musashi replied exasperated.
Caesar nodded his head and blew out a ring of smoke from his mouth, his face carried a very nostalgic expression. Although he wasn"t a smoker in his past life, he occasionally smoked in his past time. Just enough so that it wasn"t too unhealthy for his body.
"Well, let"s go check the progress then, shall we?" Caesar said after a few moments of thought, he was still flavoring the unique flavor of tobacco this world provided, it was very different from earth yet also somewhat similar.
"I don"t have much planned for today besides our training, so it wouldn"t hurt to check how Faust and the rest are doing" Musashi responded while walking through the door, his fast footsteps betrayed his feigned reluctance.
Caesar froze the end of his cigarette and placed it on a nearby table, he enjoyed smoking, however, he wasn"t someone who would want to smoke often, he enjoyed the pleasant smell of his breath.
After placing down the cigarette, he followed Musashi out of the doors.