Chapter 76In the southern region of the continent ran across a giant river. It was called Gora, which meant "life." It was a fitting name because indeed, Gora was the life itself of the southern kingdoms. Just as the mid-continent people relied on Msmel forest for supplies such as woods and wild animals, the southern people depended heavily on the Gora river.
Gora was the source of water, fish, and freshwater clams. Many used boats as transportation across the river. Women did their laundry here and their children swam in it. Babies were christened with the Gora water and the dead were buried at the sea.
Gora was as big as an ocean. The Acreian soldiers were frightened when they saw it. They thought Koemong was big, but it was nothing compared to Gora. When Poliana and Sir Donau were trying to figure out how to cross the Koemong River, they also talked about Gora. They have only read about it in the book, and now that they saw it in person, they realized that they underestimated its size and grandeur. Words couldn"t describe its size and depth.
Sir Donau murmured, "So there isn"t a bridge here either."
Poliana nodded silently as she stared at the river. The books they read in the past suggested that there were many bridges in Gora but obviously, they were wrong. Instead, there were countless small boats floating in a row, forming a bridge-like scene. In fact, many people walked across the boats as if it was a bridge. The water was calm and peaceful.
What shocked and disgusted the Acreian army was the distinct and unpleasant smell of the river, humidity, and bugs. The men suddenly realized that it was summer, and they were in the southern region, which was known for its warm damp weather.
All the men thought the same thing.
They should not fight during the summer.
Battling during such heat was a terrible idea. Lucius the First wiped his forehead, which was wet with sweat, and agreed. His war could wait.
Just then, a lizard crawled by. Lucius the First stared at it and closed his eyes in disgust. Unfortunately, the warm humid southern kingdoms were the perfect place for various different types of reptiles. There were more lizards than mice and rats on the streets.
"I"m going to die."
Lucius the First sighed desperately and his loyal knight, Sir Poliana did her best to protect him. Every time she spotted a lizard or a mouse, she made sure to kill it quickly. The southern people didn"t mind the reptiles. Unlike mice, lizards and snakes didn"t spread diseases or eat the harvested grains. Instead, they hunted and ate insects, so the lizards were left alone.
Because of the heat, the houses left their large windows open, and the reptiles could enter freely. Sometimes, they spotted some snakes that were bigger than most men.
Every one of the emperor"s guards remained vigilant in killing any lizards they saw around Lucius the First. Poliana was the most enthusiastic of them all, and she was successful in killing a large number of those creatures. Some of the lizards were edible while others weren"t.
The most popular lizard among men was the white-tailed lizard. It was considered to be amazing for man"s stamina, and when the soldiers and knights found out about this, they became even more vigilant.
Poliana joined in, not to eat it herself, but to give it to her adopted brother Sir Donau, who seemed to be married sometimes soon in the future. She was worried about Donau. What if he doesn"t do an adequate job in the bedroom as a husband? Who was going to be blamed?
It would be her, Poliana Winter, who kicked his crotch countless times when they first met. Some knights considered giving the white-tailed lizard dish to the emperor, but they hesitated. They knew Lucius the First hated any kind of reptiles, so they felt certain that he would get angry and refuse to eat it.
When Poliana kept offering Donau the white-tailed lizard soup, he protested, "Why do you keep trying to make me eat this thing? It"s useless to me!"
"Who knows? Maybe you will need it."
"What… w-what are you talking about? Why will I need it?"
Donau stammered and reddened, but ignoring him, Poliana force-fed him. It tasted better to roast the lizard than make a stew of it, but it was safer to boil the meat just in case. It was going to be helpful for him in the future, so Poliana couldn"t understand why Donau kept refusing her offer.
An unmarried woman offering a young man a dish that was good for a man"s stamina… It might have looked strange and suspicious except for the fact that the Acreian soldiers and knights didn"t see Poliana as a woman. They didn"t think much of it. They also remembered Poliana attacking Donau"s manhood in the past. They guessed that she was making him eat the lizard dish because she felt sorry.
Sometimes, there were other knights who offered to take the dish instead of Sir Donau. Every time, Poliana refused, saying, "No. This is for Sir Donau."
***
Sir Howe walked towards his younger brother and complained loudly, "I am SO tired. I"m gonna die from all the training."
Sir Howe belonged to Sir Ainno"s special forces, which involved intense training. "Donau, I am required to train day and night! I am so tired that I don"t even get an erection in the morning anymore."
"Bro! Stop talking! You"re so gross."
Sir Howe and Poliana were close now, but Donau still insisted that it was no way to talk in front of a woman. When Sir Howe bowed and apologized, Poliana nodded and offered the lizard dish to Sir Howe. She realized that it wasn"t going to be just Donau who was going to be married. Sir Howe was going to be a husband as well, which meant that he would benefit from this stew too.
Sir Howe had heard the rumor about the white-tailed lizard as well. He brightened and asked excitedly, "Oh, this is the thing that is supposed to be great for men, right? Can I eat it?"
"Yes, since you will need it too."
"Me? What do you mean…? Oh, is it because I need more stamina for training? That"s very true."
It seemed that the brothers didn"t know anything about the plan for their arranged marriages. Based on her spying, Poliana knew Sirs Rabi and Baufallo were talking about it actively. Soon, Sirs Howe and Donau were going to be told of their future wives.
Poliana felt herself grinning and tried to control her lips. She failed in the end, and an odd and freaky expression appeared on her face. Sir Howe was used to Poliana"s strangeness, but Sir Donau frowned and told her to stop smiling oddly.
Poliana finally said to the boys, "You guys need to get married soon."
"You should worry more about yourself, Sis."
Sir Howe scratched his head and replied, "Hmm… It"s true that when we return, our mother is going to be nagging us about getting married."
It was clear Sir Howe had no idea what was going on. Poliana knew that if she stayed any longer, she would end up blurting something out. She walked away quickly.