CHAPTER 2 – PART TWOSo we traveled from Atbangkeru to the border of the demon and human realms. However, the border is actually the Moribor Mountain instead of the frontier village Agera. Asha and her daughter Meridith have enough MGC and INT stats to learn how to fly via mana manipulation but that will tire them out fast since they"ll only just be learning about it, so flying on their own is a no-no.
That meant that I had to take them each in my arms to accommodate them both.
Although I was opting for traveling on the road when we first set out, I immediately changed my mind when we kept getting attacked by small fries that ignore the power gap or can"t even sense my power and still charge with a kamikaze attack, not knowing that they are doing it.
So while scratching my head I decided to just fly and make sure to leak my mana so that flying monsters and other creatures would scurry and hide when they sense my presence. The mother-daughter pair also just hid in my bosom as we flew so there were no words exchanged. It was quiet.
Although it took me a year and a half just to get to the demon city of Atbangkeru, it would actually just take me a few hours to get back compared to when I spent whole months just absorbing the sun"s radiation up there in the world"s exosphere. Even though I can"t breathe there, it seems that my lung capacity enables me to fuel my body with oxygen for even as long as a few months with no problem at all. At my current capacity after a.n.a.lyzing it for a bit, it seems I can exactly hold my breath for no more than five months without inhaling again.
After about 15 days of flying, yes that"s how big the border difference between each realm is, flying at low speed so that the two I"m carrying don"t burn into cinders from the air friction, we have arrived at the Moribor Mountain and I went directly to my abode. Entering the territory, I heard loud noises reminiscent of battle just outside the walls they set up for the Village.
"{I think my territory is under attack, let"s have you settled down first and I"ll take a look at what"s happening after that.}" I told Asha while putting them both down at the entrance to my abode. I want to call this "Love Nest" or something, but that would sound very weird for the people outside my circle to listen to. So, I"ll call it Love Nest only for those who know me directly and for those others this will be [the Heavenly Abode of the One who Rebels] it"s a bit long but that should be imposing enough. Let"s announce that later for them.
With my mana leaking all the way towards every direction, surely my people have already noticed my presence, right? They should report to me in just a bit so I"ll wait inside the house.
Entering the Love Nest, my Love Nest, who greeted me was Lucretia with someone else behind her wearing the maid uniform that Lucretia also wore since last I saw her. Right now she"s wearing a fancy dress and perfume. What the heck"s happened since I last was here? Did she get excited and wanted to do some role-play? But that kind of s.e.xual play isn"t even known in this world so that"s unlikely. Let"s wait for her to tell me on her own accord. Looking at her face and the status that appeared just beside her, it tells me that she"s really excited. I mean, her status says [Excited] so she must be excited, however, about what, I don"t know.
I stood there and took two steps forward to give some s.p.a.ce for the mother-daughter pair of Asha and Meridith to come in. When they stepped inside, they gasped and it seems they were surprised by the s.p.a.ce inside the small building they saw outside.
I turned around and teased, "{Did it surprise you? This is my abode, so naturally it has to have a big interior.}" I chuckled and pat the head of Meridith who had her mouth agape. It seems she has already begun to warm up to me even for a bit after what happened to them. I"ll give them ample of time to get used to me.
When Lucretia saw the two people, she had a change in look and a bit of hostility appeared in her eyes. I"m not imagining it she"s become hostile to my guests. It must be because they"re demons, but if this is how it"s going to be I"ll have to work on changing their point of view slowly. What a ha.s.sle, but this is for my grand plan, I"ll just do it slowly though.
"Lucretia, when are you going to greet me or are you just going to stand there and keep me standing at the entrance? Immediately get something to eat for my two guests and something cold to drink for me. Then prepare the baths."
When I finished my orders, Lucretia surprisingly waved her hand and gestured for the other maid behind her…
"Stop." I ordered. A bit of my annoyance might have leaked and enhanced the sustained effect of Overpower and made both Lucretia and the maid to kneel. Dammit, I still can"t control my own strength. I decided not to wear any accessories so that I can consolidate my power and totally have it under control, but well, it hasn"t been long since I tried it, I"ll control it in no time later, I"m sure.
[S-Sire, forgive us.] Lucretia pleaded and I woke up from my thoughts. Immediately I calmed my mind and inquired, "Lucretia, I notice that we have another guest that I am unaware of, how can you go and order our guest around like that with a wave of your hand? You, come here and sit, I want to ask you a few things." With that order coming to her, the maid behind Lucretia had become pale as death and was trembling. She was looking towards Lucretia to ask for help but Lucretia just looked away and bowed her head.
If I were a n.o.ble of some kingdom and I had used this kind of tone then that would have meant death for the one being used the tone at. However, I"m just really curious as to who this girl is and how she came to be inside my abode, when I specifically made clear to everyone that no one should be brought here that I or any of my retainers trust not. If she is here then that means my people trust her, but since I do not know her, it is only natural to ask about her, is it not?
"Come." I said again while I had Lucretia do what I just ordered. [… Lucretia, go and do what I just ordered. Don"t make me repeat myself please. I"m tired from my journey and my guests are surely hungry."
"Stay there a moment, okay? You"re a guest after all; I can"t be rude to you. Just relax and enjoy my company for now." I said to the maid and then turning to the mother-daughter pair and telling them to wait for a bit.
So she went away and was gone for a bit before she came back dressed as a maid already with dishes that smelt good and appetizing. Asha and Meridith must have been captivated by the smell and so they had their eyes set on the food. After placing it in the coffee table at the center surrounded by the sofa, I told them to eat. Lucretia then went away to prepare the baths.
While the pair was eating, finally the door of the house sounded with a knock and four men entered. Of course they"re just Isaac, Caltec, Jon and Mor. They gave me greetings as casual as our relationship was. I told them not to treat me as if I"m some sovereign if only them so that I don"t feel too lonely.
[Sire, you"re back finally. How has your training been? I see that you"re already not wearing these, so I reckon you were successful in training?] Caltec asked while grabbing his hands and showing me the rune-bands he had on his arms.
"Nah, I feel that if I don"t do this, I won"t be able to properly use my strength when it matters. Since I grow too fast, too much, I can"t get used to my power. That"s a disadvantage. So like me, you should also take time consolidating your strength later on, when there"re peaceful times.
"I noticed there"re battles going on around the city, but I know you"re handling it beautifully so I don"t need to hurry. Now that I think about it, it should probably be the Imperial Army right? However, let"s not talk about that for now, I want to know first about this guest here that I do not know of.
"You should already know that those two who are eating are my guests, but this one, I don"t know whose guest she is. So could you give me an explanation as to who she is and why I should keep her alive any longer?"
I finished speaking to that point and even these men had turned a shade paler. Just what is going on? They know that I don"t tolerate betrayal and they"re giving me hints of betrayal by their actions, however my mind does not let me think that and instead wants to know the truth about the matter. I think my mind has developed a certain ability to keep me from irrationally do things that I might regret later on. Automatic a.n.a.lysis and always active are only two of the many abilities my mind has started to manifest. I still don"t have a full grasp of how much my INT really affects my whole being.[S-Sire, it should be Lucretia that tells you about this as this maid were taken in by her; her name"s Dethy and she"s also someone from the Service Guild. She can be trusted of course as we have already done background checks on her but it was Lucretia that made the decision to get another servant in here.]
Isaac explained and even his normally composed look seemed to be shaking. I"m not doing anything and my Overpower is inhibited already, so it should not be Overpower. Is it because of my order of not having people I personally don"t trust to be here? That"s should be it.
"You know of my order and I"m confident that you remember it verbatim, now, tell me how do I interpret this blatant disobedience of my orders? Are your lives enough to compensate for it or is it that you also want your families to die because of you?" I"m actually just bluffing them right now, but it won"t be good in the future if they let something like this happen again.
"You allowed a mere servant to tell you to bring another servant like her in and you did not stop her? I don"t know what to think. LUCRETIA!" I shouted Lucretia"s name and almost immediately she scurried to where we were. Seeing as the others are already here, Lucretia turned even paler than before.
"Lucretia, explain to me how you procured the courage to bring people in my abode without my permission and even ignoring the warnings of my direct retainers. I may have said that you have the same standing as them as my personal servant but that only applies to matters of my person, you do not have power over the management of things unlike Isaac. What you are in charge of is MY body and MY well-being, not yours nor others. So now explain to me properly, or I will have your head taken out of your neck this very moment!"
I showed a bit of my anger at their disobedience. My Overpower is leaking but I let it be as it should be bearable enough.
Lucretia kneeled on the ground and was already in tears, snot and saliva uncontrollably flowing out of her. I kept on looking down on her and she started speaking, [S-Sire, please forgive your servant, I"s blunder I only did what I deemed was good for your child. I value the child as much as you and so I had to give everything to take care of him. He"s currently sleeping on your bedchambers surrounded by an spell so that nothing disturbs his sleep. I"m sorry for doing things without your permission.] She said while crying and gasping for breath at the same time. That news gave me a huge jolt."!"
I was startled by that news that I stood up unknowingly and left everyone where they sat and went to my room. I opened the door and went inside. There, I found a bundle of warmth and stupendous cuteness.
"This is my son? I-I have a son?! I HAVE A SON!" in my mind I shouted at the top of my lungs. I took the baby in my arms and held it like it was Simba and kept on raising it up. My Overpower just dissipated on its own from my mood. I can"t describe my own happiness, what is this?
I did not expect to have a child at all. I remember making love with Lucretia non-stop two years ago before going on my journey but to think she would bear a son for me. How wonderful. d.a.m.n, if I knew this from the start I wouldn"t have been too harsh on her. It"s her fault for not telling me as soon as I arrived. This is something that"s a cause for celebration!
"Isaac! Let"s have a city-wide party!" I shouted towards Isaac after leaving the baby inside the room and closing the door behind me.