3 bar menu

Chapter 106

“Ah…” I stumbled and almost falling to my knee, managed to just grab Destiny’s hand.

We were on the edge of a sudden decline, and if either of us went over, it would be a pretty aggressive tumble.

“You oaf!” Shui cursed. “Watch yourself.”

Destiny’s breath quickened, but she still helped me back up. Had she not been there, I might have tumbled down and broken something. That was the look of relief I painted on my face.

“Th-thanks,” I told her as I ended up standing up just a bit closer than normal with her hand helping me. “This area is a bit more rugged than I expected.”

Destiny’s cheeks turned red and she looked away. “Shui’s right. You need to be more careful out here.”

“I will!” I smiled moving to hug her.

Her body tensed, but I stopped as if I suddenly realized it was inappropriate, and then took her head and nodded before turning away and taking a few steps forward. Destiny watched me walk away, biting her lip as her forehead furrowed. Previously, I had shown little interest in her, and she had seen me as a vassal, a servant she could claim and boss around. However, since we began the journey out of the city, I began depending on her more and more, giving her bright innocent looks.

I already could guess what was going through his mind. Given how clumsy I was, I would be a terrible vassal. Before I could seduce her, I needed to break down her original preconceived notions. If I just showed off now, she’d only start to see my actions as the actions of a vassal. First, I needed to get her to separate me from the vassal in her head, and second, I needed her to worry about me. If I acted too confidently, she’d begin to expect it, and if I failed to live up to that confidence, I’d appear foolish, which would cause feelings of annoyance.

Instead, I had to prepare Destiny to feel she needed to protect me, so when I flipped the table and became her source of safety, it would overturn her feelings and cause her to grow even more attached. Well, it wasn’t like I didn’t have experience with these kinds of things. I was a bit rusty, but for a young sheltered girl like this, it wasn’t too difficult to get her thinking about me. It wasn’t like Shui had made any progress with her either way.

“This is the valley,” Shui announced, making a gesture.

We were still standing over a steep incline, but we had climbed up from the other side and then climbed around the hill under we were standing over a deep valley. From this location, I could see quite a distance, including tall mountains surrounding every other side. This was truly a secluded place, which was why the threat of the infernal wolves was merely a request rather than an imminent threat. Someone had to go out of their way to enter this valley, and the wolves would have to travel a distance if they wanted to disturb the routes heading in and out, something they’d only do if they were starving and overpopulated.

“What are the infernal wolves like?” I asked.

“You’ve gotten to this point before bothering to ask?” Shui tried to mock me every chance he got, throwing looks at Destiny to see if she realized I was trash, but his words only seemed to cause her to become more worried. “You tell him.”

He nodded to one of his friends as if speaking to me wasn’t worth his time. The guy stepped forward and sneered at me.

“Infernal wolves are a sagebeast evolved from wolves. They are ten times as strong as a normal wolf. Besides their size, they’re recognizable by their red and orange hair which resembled a flame. They are considered highly intelligent, and using numbers they will set up ambushes and traps for anyone who comes into this area. We’re currently just outside their area. A few steps forward and we’ll be inside.”

“The quest said I needed to kill five of them?” I looked at the coin in my hand. “But, I can kill more for more points, right?”

The man chuckled. “You think you can kill more? Be my guest.”

“The colony here ought to be at least seventy!” Destiny spoke up. “The more you kill, the more you’ll attract. Usually, the most someone can kill is five before they need to retreat. Otherwise, it’s too much of a risk that more will come. Should their pack leader come…”

She stopped talking, allowing silence to fill the rest of what she meant. The pack leader seemed to be stronger than the rest. Of course, I wasn’t particularly worried about it. The real issue came in not showing my abilities to these people. If they realized I was stronger than I appeared like Erika had, it would be troublesome. I had to be more careful with them. Then again, Destiny didn’t seem to be as bright as Erika, and Shui seemed to be a meathead if I ever met one.

“Let’s go then.” I smiled easily toward Destiny.

Destiny looked like she wanted to say more but then she turned to Shui, a worried expression on her face. He grinned and shrugged like this had nothing to do with him.

“You heard him. You don’t need to worry though. We’ll be close behind. If it becomes dangerous, I’ll step in and save you.”

“Both of us?” Destiny demanded.

His smile grew, and he crossed his fingers across his chest. “I’ll save both of you, as long as it is within my power. However, he looks pretty confident. Shouldn’t you give him a chance first?”

Although his words had a slightly mocking tone to them on that last part, she didn’t seem to notice as she glanced at me uncertainly. Finally, she gave a nod.

“It won’t hurt to at least look.” She seemed to convince herself that this was a scouting expedition and that if things were too dangerous she could always pull me back with Shui’s group providing safety.

She finally gave a nod as if she had made her decision, and then began to progress with me down into the valley. Shui crossed his arms as he watched us descend, a smug and knowing expression on his face. He eventually waved to the other guys.

“Fan out.”

“Boss… if they do somehow get the attention of the wolf leader, even we’ll struggle…” One of the men tried to give him a quiet warning that I could overhear using my spy mark.

“These small fries?” Shui laughed. “The boss only comes out if someone starts indiscriminately slaughtering his pack. Unless you think they’ll succeed in killing five wolves, there is nothing to worry about.”

The guy didn’t protest anymore, deferring to his boss. They allowed us to split the difference, but they continued to follow. Thus, I decided to strike up a casual conversation with Destiny, using the moves I had honed over countless women. Of course, I had a second mission too. I needed to learn more about the nature of the houses.

“So, you’re the young lady of the Lou house, huh?” I casually. “Are they related to the Great Houses?”

She nearly missed a step. “Th-the Great Houses? What are you saying? We’re a major house in Stormberg, but we’re nothing anywhere else. Compared to the Great Houses who have branches across all of the Audra Lightning Province, we can’t even be mentioned in the same breath.”

“Is that so?” I asked. “I thought the Capala branch was in town. I’d be surprised if the other Great Houses didn’t have connections in this city.”

“The L-lou house is rather new. Most houses have a history of hundreds if not thousands of years. Our house’s rise is only two generations ago. My Grandfather was the one who raised us from the realm of mortals to being recognized by the elites. He did that through combat prowess. He was a famous Sentinel. Lord Arcford took such a liking to him that he raised our house. We’re the soldier arm of Lord Arcford!”

“Ah… isn’t that pretty amazing?”

She let out a laugh. “It is amazing! You see, right? The other houses look down on us, saying we’re just a bunch of ruffians who only know how to fight. Just because we don’t have a ton of money in textiles or some other nonsense. Of course, they all have their military forces too, but we’re the only family in the city that concentrates on battle. All of my brothers are Knights! If I wasn’t born a girl, I’d be…”

Her expression faltered slightly, and a bit of unhappiness appeared on her face.

“Can’t you fight too?” I asked.

“The School of Knighthood in Arcford only accepts men. Women are not allowed to join.”  She spoke unhappily. “My parents won’t even allow me to have a metal weapon.”

She looked down at the whip at her side and let out a sigh. It seemed like even the evolved had problems it seemed. I reached out and wrapped my arm around her. She let out a cry of surprise at first, but as I leaned in, she couldn’t help but turn her ear.

“I believe you can be anything you want. This is a world where strength decides everything. So, don’t you just need to become strong enough that they no longer can ignore your wants?”

Her eyes widened slightly, and then she smiled, looking at me with a new kind of look. “Thanks.”

From a short distance behind, Shui was watching. He couldn’t hear what we were saying, but he did see her let out a laugh, and then shortly after, the mortal put an arm around her and she allowed it even after. His body shook and he clenched his teeth in rage. Just who did this guy think he was?