Chapter 150: Setting Ground Rules
Two days after the Fishmen Island event came to a perfect end.
After Vela received a report about ‘a suspicious character wandering just outside the Unnamed Town but can’t be fought because she’s an ally unit’, she led several guardsmen players whom Angora had recruited as NPCs to take a look. That was where they found that it was Kinley Ainsworth, the alchemist apprentice she had met back in Tunaya.
Kinley’s already-large eyes widened at the sight of Vela.
“Y-y-you… aren’t you supposed to be dead?!”
***
Although Kinley had witnessed firsthand how the Players fought as she stayed behind Edward and the others, Edward’s group was the top fighting force amongst all Players and any battle would flow smoothly like a stream as long as they did not do anything stupid. Moreover, Eleena the Saintess-in-training had gained great power through her tantrum over being denied milk pudding, and hence fought with so many special effects that the film studio must have unlimited budget.
And in the confusion, even if Joe and Gou Dan were accidentally killed while luring monsters and be immediately revived by Jessica and Eleena, the impression Kinley would get was that the two were merely punched to the ground by demons and then immediately brought back to the battlefield with a single healing spell. It remained within the realm of understanding even if Kinley wasn’t sure what healing spells had such cool special effects.
On the other hand, the reality of having someone come back from the dead was just too astounding that Kinley could not maintain her delicate lady image in her immeasurable shock.
After all, the Silver Eagle Duke himself had believed Vela too be dead, even convinced that he had inadvertently caused the death of his son’s retainer-slash-lover and was very guilty about it. He had even suggested matchmaking parties on multiple occasions for Angora wherein he would invite every n.o.ble daughter in the north for his son to pick one he liked, but Angora would never hesitate to decline.
Angora’s intentions were clear: gamers-got-no-time-for-babes.jpg
Horan naturally did not know that his son was too obsessed with his game for a blind dead, instead a.s.suming that Angora was caught in the heartbreak of lost love and therefore felt even guiltier.
Though Horan did try to think of other ways to salvage the situation, Angora’s group had promptly teleported to the Lifestone at the Frogmen Village when they received word of the tsunami before Horan could do a thing.
As such, Kinley, who had been stunned by the System technology and a.s.sumed that the Unnamed Town was developed in alchemy beyond its time sought out Horan, informing him that she intended to head to Angora’s fief to visit him (and then think of something to learn the alchemy over there). The old man was at once relieved and did not protest at all, even giving her a lot of money for transport fee, several luxury carriages and diverting some of his best soldiers to be her escorts. In fact, Horan even went so far to hint that Angora had become the convert of a heretical G.o.d so as to prepare her mentally.
Kinley did not care much about the hint from the old man. As an alchemist, she was naturally a believer of Alchemie, the Lord of Alchemy—who was a heretical deity to the Brilliant White Church despite being a true neutral.
Be that as it may, Alchemie had believers far and wide with master alchemists who held monopoly over the core alchemy skills of the current age, and therefore controlled technology that could turn the status quo of the continent upside down. That was why every existing nation treated them with deference, with kings of certain smaller countries being ranked less important!
Kinley’s master was one of them. As such, even Cecil was acting like a dog trying to lick her feet despite being the eldest son grand duke, just to gain more power in his desire to expand his influence…
Either way, with their own G.o.ds having not set the rules to compensate for arguments between humans, the Brilliant White Church naturally wouldn’t go on inquisitorial hunts on Alchemie believers like they did to believers of other heretical deities.
That was why Kinley was not troubled but actually pleased to find out that Angora was a believer of another heretical G.o.d. No wonder Angora and his retainers acted and fought differently from the orthodox churches, and their weird alchemy technology was never-before-seen. It made sense if it was a heretical G.o.d existing beyond the orthodox!
The curious Kinley therefore became even more excited. What wonderful things could that heretical G.o.d show her?
And she was not disappointed upon arrival at the Unnamed Town: it was the royal flush upon arrival, which promptly left her dumbstruck.
‘Well f*ck. Isn’t that a little awesome to develop actual resurrection technology? Do you people really not fear Death come knocking on your door?’
“So, it’s you…” Vela was not concerned about Kinley a.s.suming that she was dead, and merely frowned. “Why are you here?”
Her reaction naturally wiped away all of Kinley’s a.s.sumptions that she was a twin, which made Kinley even more curious about the heretical G.o.d’s heretical tech.
“I came to visit Angora, of course. Could you lead me, little lady?” Kinley smiled charmingly, her little face scoring so perfectly in friendliness that others around her could not help having a good feeling about her.
Only Vela found a migraine after seeing that.
She had the nagging feeling that this seemingly meek girl was not as simple as she looked.
Moreover, it was especially troubling when Vela saw the long procession of carriages behind her, looking as if they had the wedding dress and the dowry all prepared.
Be that as it may, Vela did not chase her away by using her authority. Instead, she led Kinley inside the town after a helpless sigh.
After all, the System had acknowledged Kinley as a friendly unit, and it was best to have Angora decide what to do with her.
On the other hand, Kinley felt Vela’s enmity but paid it no mind, since Vela remained a village girl despite her ability to come back from the dead, and would never win against her.
As she entered the village Kinley began looking around, and found many weird things she had never seen before just as she wished.
Then, Vela led her to Angora, who was seeing to some administrative work.
He appeared impatient too, and was about to turn her down right away after Kinley told him why she came when his body suddenly stiffened. After a moment of staring into the thin air in front of him for a while, he mumbled tiredly. “Isn’t this just hitting on girls, but decreed?”
With that, he scratched his head unhappily amidst Vela’s piercing gaze and said, “I can allow you to stay in town, but my subjects can be a bit… oh, fine. They are almost all very special, and so I have to set some ground rules with you to avoid any conflict.”