Althea adjusted her posture, making sure her hair looked fine, as she conjured a little water to check her reflection. The Golden Turtle’s ship made an utterly unnatural stop just a few meters from her ship's edge, almost making her jump in fright. Had it gone on for one second more, it would have torn the fleet in two.
The Golden Turtle just looked sturdier than Althea’s very expensive and advanced ships. The single ship was radiating more mana than her entire fleet. Not to mention how quickly the ship reacted, that was definitely something her ships couldn’t do.
A large woman landed on the boat, and then promptly jumped into the air. Althea noted her large size, a stomach so large that it looked like she would be able to roll down a mountain. And then there was the fact that she was floating.
"Is that Venny?" the woman said, zipping towards them from the air. "Yes, it is you! Did you come back to meet me?"
The woman fluttered her eyebrows as she posed in clear mockery of a lady. A hand on her chest, an arched back, as if she was about to faint.
Althea took a step forward.
"If I may ask that you introduce yourself-" The woman interrupted her before she could finish the sentence.
"What is this?!" the woman flew back, clutching her heart. "Did you replace me with this-" the woman glanced down at Althea's body, taking in her dress and entire ensemble. "This ravishingly wealthy young woman dressed in far too little jewelry?"
Althea hid a scoff. That was only if you didn't count the dress as jewelry. Not to mention she was wearing jewels in her hair, and quite intricate earrings and a bejeweled pair of footwear. There were even a couple rings on her fingers, though they were barely visible against the jewel gloves. The only thing she wasn't wearing was a necklace. There was no necklace in the world that would suit this dress.
The Steward coughed. "Please behave yourself, Miss Golden-"
The woman dramatically clutched her heart, and began screaming. "What? Oh no, Venny has replaced me with a younger woman! How could you do that, Venny?" The woman flew towards the Steward far too fast for Althea's eyes to keep up. "Have you really forgotten me, Venny? Have you really forgotten our love?"
A few tears started to fall from the woman's eyes, while the Steward looked unsure how to respond. The corner of his lips continued twitching, making her wonder what he was really feeling.
"I assure you he has not done anything of the sort." she said, a smile stretching across her face. Now to make things worse. "In fact, I am starting to suspect that he has been waiting for you."
Althea looked at the Steward in mock accusation. "Have you been waiting for her, Steward Ven? Is that why you wanted to keep her hidden?"
"I - that is not true at all, Countess." the Steward spluttered. The Golden Turtle wasn't having it.
"Oh, really!" the woman started circling the Steward, yelling 'whee' like a little child, while Althea found herself unable to keep track of her again. The woman was hard to manage, for sure.
"Is she really just your assistant?" Golden Turtle asked, stopping in front of the Steward far too quickly again. Althea was starting to wonder if this was an ability of hers. Speeding up and stopping so quickly was not natural. This amount of acceleration and deceleration was difficult for her to deal with.
"Not at all, Miss golden." the Steward coughed. "This is my liege, the Countess Guarding Diery."
The Golden Turtle turned to her. Althea curtsied to her. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Golden Turtle. I look forward to doing business with you."
"Diery? Like the Diery family?" the Golden Turtle asked.
"Yes, I am the latest head of the Diery family." she replied.
The Golden Turtle looked down at her dress. "Is that real jewel?"
"Of course. Why would I use fake jewelry?" Althea asked.
The Golden Turtle smiled. A wide smile that told her that she had the Turtle’s attention. "Of course! That's exactly what I say when people ask me about my ship!"
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"I suppose we are kindred spirits after all." Althea replied. "If I may be so bold as to ask, what brings you this far north?"
The Golden Turtle clapped her hands, yelping in excitement. Althea replied by smiling slightly, giving her best lady smile. The one she had spent years practicing. A smile was one of a lady's best weapons, after all.
"Why, we're here for loot, of course!"
"Oh? That sounds delightful. Is there anything we can do to aid you in this endeavor?" she asked, keeping her smile in place while she looked at the Golden Turtle. Did she just say loot? Yes, she did. Althea loved loot. That meant more money. And if someone as rich as this Golden Turtle was moving, it had to be pretty valuable.
"Not at all!" Golden Turtle zipped around Althea's head like some sort of fairy. A fairy that was larger than her and definitely had a special persona.
"I won't be sharing any of what I gain here, dear. But if you and dear Venny want to join me on my ship for some delightful time, I would be delighted."
The Golden Turtle fluttered her eyes, acting cute again. Althea ignored her.
"Of course, it would be my honor." Althea replied. "If it isn't too much trouble, I would like to invite the other participants traveling with me."
"Oh, could it be? Are you the Northern team?" the Golden Turtle clutched her heart again. "Oh my, oh my. This is such an honor! Yes, it must be. I must-" lights of many colors started to gather around the Golden turtle as she started floating higher. "Have a party!"
A loud sound Althea found reminiscent of a gunshot sounded as the Golden Turtle shot towards her ship. "Join us, people of the North! I shall show you the hospitality of the South!"
Althea smiled, turning towards the Steward. "I think we know what we are doing today." The sigh that came as a response told her what the Steward thought of it.
Then again, he seemed to be smiling.
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The Golden Turtle's ship was not as opulent inside as it was outside. The ship seemed to be designed in a manner she thought was a mixture of Japanese and Indian ways of seating. The sofas looked like the stuff she had seen when doing a project on Indian palaces. The house looked like something out of Shinchan. A courtyard stood in the middle, with a glistening black kitchen. That was surprising. Why was there a kitchen here?
Althea had no idea. Was the Golden Turtle going to be cooking something?
"Countess," Lady Surich whispered in her ear. "How do you sit in these things?"
Althea looked at the sofa, and the cushions arrayed around it. This was bad. There was no way any of them was going to be able to sit in this. The location would also make it harder to make new sofas using Earth magic. Not to mention, it would be rude.
"Miss Golden Turtle?" Althea asked. A young woman wearing a sari stepped out.
"The Golden Turtle is busy at the moment, your grace. If you please direct your requests to me?"
"Please add more seating for us. I fear cushions are not comfortable." Althea said. The maid nodded.
"I shall do it at once, your grace." the maid responded, bowing as she stepped out. The bow was as good as her most trained maids, in accordance to Solerian custom. The maid had to have been trained in this in advance. So either the Golden Turtle's servants were trained in the Northern Continent's customs, or they had been trained in preparation of this meeting.
At this point, she found either of the two likely. The sofas were delivered within minutes, arrayed behind the first sofa in a pyramid formation. The seating arrangement reminded her of how the mean girls would stand in teen movies. And how, she would be taking the position of prime mean girl as the highest ranking person here.
Was she going to be the villain again?
Althea took her seat, folding her legs as she maintained her posture. Isa, Vanessa, Lady Surich and Steward Ven took positions behind her. Steward Ven to her right, Lad Surich to her left, and the other two behind them.
A curtain hid the other side of the courtyard, but she could hear sounds emanating from inside it, telling her that it was occupied. And occupied by someone that was far too noisy.
The five of them waited for a few minutes, employing a stately silence as they waited for this 'party' to start. There was no doubt that this part was going to be very different from anything she had ever been to before.
Althea noticed Lady Surich fidgeting with her hands beside her, her posture loosening as she moved even more.
“Are you alright, Lady Surich?" she asked. Was she sick? Why was she fidgeting at this point? The other curtain belied that the Golden Turtle had other guests, and they had to be important ones. This was a meeting between the nobility of two different continents, they had to put up a good impression.
"Y-yes, Countess. I am fine." Lady Surich replied, straightening her back as she pressed her hands on top of the other. Althea noted that they were still vibrating, but did not comment as a clap called her attention.
"How nice! Two important clients right here!" the Golden Turtle said, floating down from the ceiling. The room was in the head part of the ship, not the shell. But she was sure that the shell was also hollow. The way mana moved told her that. There were a number of spells keeping air and water away from that part, meaning there was something valuable there. Perhaps something that could become spoiled. A cargo area? That would make sense, the Golden Turtle was, after all, a merchant.
What she was really curious about, though, was this other client. Just who was it?
"Please take some time to enjoy our dishes." the kitchen lit up, dishes appearing on the platforms. The stove began burning as some of the servants started heading there. A live table? "The product shall be ready as soon as we finish acquiring it."
The curtain on the other side opened. Althea opened her fan, jewel encrusted of course. That was practically the theme of her outfit today. 'Jewel'.
A man dressed in a sleeveless shirt and leather pants appeared on the other side, lounging on the chair. A bunch of people sat around him on the cushions, glaring at her. The man looked normal, not at all like the gaudily dressed and poised people on her side. If one did not know who he was, they might even think that he wasn't important. But she knew who he was.
Feng, the youngest disciple of the Grandmaster of humanity, and her main competitor.