*plop* Haaahh... lying on a high-quality mattress feels really good! This is Kiralne's room on the fourth floor of Bunny Point Inn. Her room is high-class, comparable to the hotel rooms in Earth... which I only saw on pictures. I have not been in any resorts or hotels because they are costly. I was living on inheritance money and part-time job payments after all.
Kiralne's room has a big queen-sized bed, varnished wooden desks with drawers and chairs, comfortable and bouncy sofas, and a wardrobe! The room also has its own personalized bathroom and toilet. When I first saw the bathtub and toilet, I marvelled at how its similar to the things on earth. Only this time, it relies on magic, not the laws of physics.
Magic, or should I say mana, really breaks the laws of physics. They seem to function thanks the runes placed on their surface structures. I can't really discern the runes used because of my low magus rank. Okay! It is decided! I will definitely reach the elder magus rank to properly understand rune enchanting! I know how to enchant things but my mage rank and mana pool is too low to utilize rune enchanting.
Rune Enchanting also relies on the elements to work. Take for example, a movement type rune uses wind mana. An energy-type rune relies on light, lightning or fire mana. And many other aspects of the elements and their own profound truths. I can't explain in full detail because that will take a long time to do. I will also definitely use other useful facts in my head that are related to magic. Hehe. I'm such a cheat! Sorry to the mages who are working hard on their field of magic but I basically outsmart you in your branch of study.
Anyway, I wanted to experience more of this world's civilization and wonders before getting dragged back to the wilderness for training. Although Kiralne is probably a pervert, as I can tell from her expression when she looks at me, she is sincere about her promise as my protector. And training with an SS-class adventurer will surely increase my battle experience. As I contemplate silently in the bed, Liz who's also in the bed comes closer to me and I subconsciously hugged her, a natural reflex of mine when I'm lying down and notice a pillow. Her scales are not a bother and Liz is so warm!
"Krey onii-chan. Don't squeeze me too much. Its so tight!" (Lisana)
|Kyuuuu~Kyuaaa!|
"Ah! Sorry Liz! Here you go." (Krey)
I let go of Liz and she starts jumping around the huge, fluffy bed while occasionally 'kyu-ing'. As I watch Liz play in the bed, I remembered the fact that I should be angry with Liz since my hard-earned money was on the brink of disappearing due to the things she ate prior to arrival in the inn.
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I left the reception with Liz clinging to my back, leaving behind Kiralne who I want to get away from. She made that disgusting expression once again, scaring me out of my wits. I think she is a pervert. Its similar to the faces of perverts in Earth but hers is horrifyingly disturbing.
I walked down the stairs, meeting the curious gazes of other adventurers who are going o the upper floors.
Now then. Before I get swarmed by those adventurers in the main hall, I deploy {Mana Shield} and ready {Telekinesis} just in case.
I arrived in the first floor and as expected, the adventurers who saw me immediately came in droves, inquisitive gazes land upon me, threatening to engulf me both figuratively and literally.
But when they get closer at the edge of my {Mana Shield}...
"Uwaa-?!" (Male Human Adventurer)
"W-what is this...?!" (Female Beastman Adventurer)
"Magic...? No... there's no chant..." (Male Demon Adventurer)
They stop as if they hit a wall around me, and I continue to walk forward to the exit. The surrounding adventurers, regardleas of gender or race, were all pushed aside as I advance. Some of the more stubborn ones, I fling aside using {Telekinesis}. Its quite funny to see people get tossed around for no reason.
After a few more steps the distance between me and the exit gradually lessened. By now, the adventurers must know that I don't like their behavior and kept their distance.
Leaving through the large doors, I waited for Kiralne to pick up the pace while playing with Liz's stubs... horns.
It did not take long though. Shortly after I played with Liz's horns, Kiralne arrived with her brows raised.
"Did you have to use your weird magic in front of a lot of spectators?" (Kiralne)
I shrugged and said-
"There are the ones blocking the way. I simply moved them is all~." (Krey)
I gave my completely logical and rational explanation to Kiralne about my actions. On the other hand, Liz is trying to get my attention with something. She keeps nudging me with her snout. Well, at least she's polite.
'Onii-chan, I am hungry!' (Lisana)
|Kyua!|
'What!? You ate just a moment ago!'
"I'm still hungry!" (Lisana)
|Kyu kyuu!|
Her tone now an impatient and stubborn one. Okay. Forgot about what I said of her being polite. She's still a child so I'll tolerate such behavior... for now. *sigh* Now I know why I like being alone most of the time. I simply have inadequate experience in handling people. Light novels and anime are much easier to cope with.
'Haah... Fine. I'll get you something to eat later.'
'Un!' (Lisana)
|Kyu!|
As I concede with Liz's demand, I noticed Kiralne looking over at me with an annoyed face. We've been walking through the alleys for awhile now. We're probably close to Kiralne Street. She must have been trying to strike up a conversation with me.
"Hey... why are you ignoring me!" (Kiralne)
"No, I wasn't~. You are just boring." (Krey)
"What?! Why?!" (Kiralne)
"Maybe later~. Where can I find a clothing store and food store?" (Krey)
"*sigh* At my street, there's a well-known tailor there that I frequently go to on some occasions. The prices are just right and if your lucky, there might be something cheap over there. Food store...? Hmm. There's a retail store right next to the inn if that's what your looking for. It sells mainly meat, vegetables, spices and a few other things. Why are you asking me this?" (Kiralne)
"To buy stuff~." (Krey)
"*sigh* Do you even know how to haggle? Fine. Here is two gold. This is your allowance for the week. Not that you'll be able to use it after three days. I'll be around the area if you need me." (Kiralne)
She handed me two gold coins and then went to a nearby store. Hmph! I was self-reliant back on Earth. Frugality is important to me. You'd think I'd be careless? Not that she knows of course. Come to think of it, we're at Kiralne Street already huh? The street still has that quiet and pleasant atmosphere. As expected, the street has a moderate amount of people strolling in the road and walkways, but not enough to cause traffic.
I looked for the tailor store that Kiralne recommended bur before I do, my hair was pulled by Liz as if to stop me. All I can say is... its painful!
'Gyaaah-?! Hey! Liz what are you doing?!' (Krey)
'Onii-chan, meat over there~!' (Liz)
|Kyuu' Kyuaaa~!|
Liz pointed her paw to my right and what came into my sight were barbecue stalls. Vendors grilling a lot of meat with different spices and sauces as additives are there too. There is about 27 stalls here in Kiralne street, and over 6 of them are barbecue stalls. Weird.
'Alright, alright. Wait a while.' (Krey)
'Okay!' (Lisana)
|Kyu!|
I approached the nearest and vacant stall and asked for the prices of the skewers. Hmm... there are quite a lot of varieties of meat here. There's the expensive Larsit meat as well. And it seems the chicken-like meat is the meat of a Cortyal. A predatory ostrich. I don't know what's wrong with the biology of this world.
"Okay, uncle. I'll buy the..." (Krey)
'Larsit skewer~! Cortyal skewer~!' (Lisana)
|Kyuua~!Kyuun~!|
'Oi?! Why are you choosing the expensive ones?!' (Krey)
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
'They look delicious!' (Lisana)
|Kyu kyua!|
'...' (Krey)
I think I'll have a money crisis in the future. I ordered three Larsit skewers and five cortyal skewers. One skewer is absolutely expensive! I could get two days stay in the inn with meals out of the price of one skewer! Its 50 copper. All in all their 4 silver. *sigh*I think money just went down the drain.
'More!' (Lisana)
|Kyuan!|
W-what?! I didn't even had a bite yet and she already finished it all?! And now she's asking for more?! What about in the future? Won't I be bankrupted immediately at this rate?
'More onii-chan~!' (Lisana)
|Kyuuaa~!|
...
I'm screwed...
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'I'm sorry about that onii-chan..' (Lisana)
|Kyuuu..|
Liz looks disheartened when she heard of my plight. In the end I was still able to buy the things I needed but... my money has been drastically depleted. I spent 1 gold, 98 silver and 25 coppers for the things I bought awhile ago, while most of it... were all spent on feeding Liz high-quality=costly meat. I only have a measly 24 silver and 8 copper in my storage ring. I want to cry right now. My only consolation is that, Liz will be feeding on mana in the future as she grows older so this incident won't happen again... I hope. Being naturally stingy back then, losing a lot of money in a single day is a big blow to my self-esteem.
The stall vendors must be happy right now, leeching of the money from me because of Liz. I already forgave her in my heart but I'm afraid she would be too spoiled so I gave her a punishment.
'Liz, you will have to be my hug pillow for tonight. Its the only way or me to forgive you.' (Krey)
I know that she hates being restrained. I show a slightly angry and demanding expression to Liz so that she will learn to be moderate and behaved. And it worked!
'A-alright Krey onii-chan...' (Lisana)
|Kyuaa...|
Liz came close to me and I immediately hugged her. She squirmed awhule but eventually calmed down and I enjoyed her warm scales.
Haaah... I'm sleepy...
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Mmmm...
*nudge*
"Hey, Krey wake up." (???)
What... who disturbs my sleep. I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was the plains and trees... which are moving fast for some reason.
"...?!" (Krey)
What?! I looked downwards and I saw a galloping horse... which I'm apparently riding on. We're... travelling? I turned around to look at Kiralne, who is holding the reins. Her silky, blonde hair swaying freely as the winds buffeted her. Right now her clothes are different from usual. This time instead of a long skirt, she's wearing a mini-skirt! Her green blouse and brown coat/blazer are also new additions. Moreover, she's wearing boots and thick knee socks! She looks younger and more outgoing with this outfit. Still, the horse runs pretty fast. Wind is hitting my face but I don't feel good. It is just irritating. Liz is still asleep in front of me. At least she's comfortable.
"Hey. You're finally awake." (Kiralne)
She flashed me a small smile but it just made more confused and annoyed at the situation.
"Why are we here?! I was supposed to be sleeping back in the inn!" (Krey)
I wanted to take a bath in the bathtub and change my clothes after napping. Then sleep again afterwards in Kiralne's comfy bed. After that I wanted to eat more delicious food!
Kiralne grinned at me and answered-
"Well about that... I kinda want to leave early so I put you and Liz to a deep sleep using a drug and left Arles City, while bringing you and Liz along. Don't worry, I've prepared all our supplies, bathed and changed your clothes as well as a few other things."
Huh?! Aren't you kidnapping me?! I clearly did not give my consent to this barbaric act! Furthermore, what's with the impatience!? Is this payback or something?
"That's not it! I wanted to relax for awh...?!" (Krey)
As I was about to complain, I suddenly realized that she said "bathe" and "changed clothes". I looked at my clothes and they're different... I'm wearing a thick, black-colored trench-coat with yellow patterns at the front, a dark blue long-sleeved buttoned shirt underneath it and fur-lined black trousers. Slowly my face turned pale and asked the Kiralne the dreaded question. I don't want to believe it but there is no other way to know but ask.
"Kiralne... did you say 'bathed' and 'changed clothes...?" (Krey)
My tone solemn and near-desperation. I can feel my face distorting into that of anguish.
"Hmm? Yeah. I did. And I must say..." (Kiralne)
Kiralne glanced down at my lower part and smirked. I can see a faint blush in her face but I don't care about that. Why did she smirk?! Oh no please no...
"You have some potential down there.*wink*" (Kiralne)
While saying that, she turned her gaze back to the front, occasionally reining the horse. She is no longer paying attention to me. My mind is preoccupied by thoughts of this... tragedy
No.... no no no no NO NO NO NO!!! NNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! WHY!!?? Why must this happen?! I've been defiled!! My purity, my innocence, my future prospects have been ruined!! My immaculate and pure body (lol), touched and stared at by a deviant such as you! Damn you! You she-devil! This humiliation of being seen bare by a pervert like you... I WILL PAY IT BACK A THOUSAND-FOLD!! Just you wait!! A gentlemen's revenge can wait. Ten years. Twenty years. A hundred years!! Every second, every hour, every day. I will count each of them. All of them will contribute to my vengeance and the degree of suffering you shall bear!!!
As I continue to curse Kiralne in my mind, my expression turned to that of smoldering anger and embarrassment. By reflex, I squeezed Liz who was still sleeping in my embrace and accidentally woke her up.
'Uwaaah-?! Onii-chan let go of me! Its too cramped!! No~!' (Lisana)
|Kyuaa?! Kyuu! KYuuuu!! Kyun~!|
I ignored Liz's squirming and incessant pleas as my mind is still filled with the venomous thoughts of humiliation and vengeance. Liz gradually increased her squirming but I still had her in an iron grip to help placate my anger.
'Onii-chan! No! Stop it!'
|Kyuuu! Kyua! Kyuuaa!|
I'm still angry.
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(Third Person P.O.V.)
"Boss. Kiralne left the city with the boy and his pet. It seems she's heading to the Magic Mountain Range based on the direction she is travelling to." (Pitiful Underling)
In the dark room, where the large bearded man is sitting down, still drinking wine, the previous person once more informed him of the status of his hated adversary. The large bearded man abruptly stood up and yelled-
"Ready the wyverns! We will arrive there first and set up an ambush! Call Folrido. Tell him to bring the poison." (Bearded Man)
"Yes, sir!" (Pitiful Underling)
Once the man left the vicinity of the door, the bearded man laughed sinisterly.
"HAHAHAHA! Kiralne! You have chosen quite the grave for yourself! Don't worry I'll make sure to let you enjoy your last moments! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" (Bearded Man)
The bearded man said with ridicule and disdain. He once more drunk wine, spilling some of it in his armor.
"Once you, and the rest of the Grand Soldiers of this kingdom are taken care of, Tolkium kingdom will fall! I should thank them for giving me the chance to finish you off myself!"
The man murmured to himself as he walked out of the door.
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Author Note: Yo! Late update. Projects and requirements. School life. Yada yada yada. Please suggest names for new powerful spells and their effects please! I'm running out of ideas. It's quite a short chapter though, please bear with it. Anyway, there will probably be a war or disaster, who knows? I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)