Capítulo 37: Cutest finger pinch!
The next morning, Chris woke up on top of his brand-new pillow.
This new one was made out of Ra-pig fur filled with chicken feathers. He managed to get a new one on such short notice after bothering the tailor ladies until one finally had enough.
[Those are some tough ladies.] Thought Chris as he almost used all of his usual tactics to no avail.
The tailor was quite surprised by Chris' proposal of filling up the pillow with feathers. Up till now, they were mostly used for quills and arrows. Pillows and the likes were usually filled with cotton for the more expensive models and straws for the cheapest. This idea opened brand-new possibilities for the tailors who were currently short on cotton.
Which meant Chris was now enjoying the first pillow of its kind in this world. He was also very aware of the current wave of, very cute, pillow thieves in the neighborhood. So he meticulously hid his own in a chest he requisitioned from Mia.
[Can't be too careful.] He thought.
He heard Mia and Cat's laugh from the next-door tent as he dressed up and prepared to leave.
[Such a cute laugh.] He thought. [I will miss that when we move into a real castle.]
Cat was most likely there to wish Mia goodbye as she was about to leave, with Titus, for their next task.
So Chris went out to wish good luck to both of them, while in the camp, 300 soldiers were also preparing. They were the troops allocated to eradicate the three Gnoll camps as well as any predators lurking nearby they could find.
The goal was to secure the forest, but it was, of course, also to allow Titus and a few trustworthy men, like Carl, to bury the dungeon's entrance until the Sun Kingdom was ready to protect it from outside forces.
These many men were overkill for such a job, but the dungeon was just that important and the job needed to be done fast and cleanly.
The faster a camp was eradicated, the less chance there was for something wrong to happen. Such as another camp being alerted and coming to help, or worse for the Gnolls of that camp to flee and spread out in the forest, making it that much harder to kill them all. And of course, there was another deadline looming over them. The troops had to be back and rested as fast as possible, as the next Kunall scout party was due in a few days.
"Let's move out." Shouted Cat when everything was ready.
"Good luck Cat, Titus!" Shouted Chris while waving his arms. "Be careful on the road!"
They waved back and left in a hurry. [So embarrassing...] They thought.
Chris noticed the sun was rising in the sky. It was time for breakfast.
He stopped by the cantina and noticed that as usual, Rinat and her workers had dropped a few dozen tables and chairs. The cantina was looking much more proper thanks to their efforts.
[I have to thank Rinat for this later.] Noted Chris.
He picked his eating utensils and stopped in front of Beatrice. She was the newly appointed head chef.
"Hi, Miss Beatrice. Looking pretty as always!"
"My lord, still trying to flatter an extra portion out of me I see." She said smiling as she served him his food. "Aren't you worried Miss Mia would misunderstand?"
Beatrice was originally from Mia's refugee camp. She deserved her position as she always managed to make delicious meals.
Chris was truly looking forward to what she could do with a proper kitchen and if she had her choice of ingredients and spices. She was around 50 years old and had a very gentle face. Chris would describe her as the sweet motherly type. And she was, indeed, old enough to be his mother.
"You know about Mia and me?" Said Chris in a surprised tone.
"Huhu." She chuckled. "Who doesn't? You are not the most discreet man, my Lord."
He scratched his nose. "She knows she has nothing to worry about. Our relationship is quite good. I'll have you know that she even borrowed my pillow last night." He said shamelessly.
After this, Chris left with a plateful of food and found his usual table. Berg was already there eating. He was taking a break from the training ground.
"My Lord, are you sure it is wise to say such things?" Berg was close enough to hear Chris and Beatrice's exchange.
"Why not? The people shouldn't care who I court." Said Chris.
"No, I mean that Miss Mia might hate you for it." Explained Berg to a shocked Chris.
They both finished their dinner and left as they had a lot of work to do.
Berg was going back to supervise the training of the new recruits.
And Chris... Well, he left for the residential district for his first challenge of the day.
There, a small arrogant figure was waiting for him. She was standing under the shining sun, her arms crossed.
"So you came!" The small figure said. It was Petunia.
"Today I take back Dalahan!" Chris felt very confident. He had trained for this.
A huge crowd of children came to watch the Hopscotch duel. It seems this was now a regular occurrence.
Unfortunately, it was not Chris' day, and he got crushed... Again.
"Hahaha!" Laughed Petunia. "This means I get to name the first castle!"
Mia or his lieutenants would pass out if they knew the kind of things he used as leverage to get a donkey back.
"Damnit! How can you be so good at Hopscotch?" Grumbled Chris. He was covered in sweat as it was very hot.
"I'm not that good at it, I keep losing against the 12 year olds." Petunia was 11 years old this year.
[What? Could it be it's not that she is incredible at it... But that I am just that bad?] Worried Chris. He was looking at the mage staff in his hands, his next offering.
He was about to issue another challenge when suddenly a guard came running.
"My Lord! People are coming!" He shouted.
"Are they hostile?" Asked Chris. Their defenses were currently at their weakest with Cat, Titus and 300 of their soldiers away.
"They seem to be refugees my Lord."
"Good, we need more workers. Let's go." Said Chris. [A king's works never end huh.]
He joined Mia and Berg who were waiting at the camp's entrance. A few hundred people could be seen making their way to them.
"Wow, they are in bad shape." Commented Chris.
Mia nodded. "Who knows what happened to them. Wild beast attacks? The Kunalls? Or they just couldn't feed themselves anymore?"
"This is a little earlier than expected." Said Chris. He was currently planning to send his scouts to recruit other survivors. But they still needed to improve their own living conditions before that.
They remained silent until Chris noticed Mia getting closer, he was pinched hard before he could react.
"GYAA!" He shouted. "I-is there something wrong?"
He tried to figure out what she was mad about. But there were so many things...
Mia leaned forward and said softly "I know what you said to Beatrice."
[W-what? She already knows?] Suddenly Chris looked at Berg who seemed strangely concentrated on his nails. [It was you, wasn't it Bergy!]
Mia continued. "This is payback." and she pinched him hard again.
"Yeow! Two times? You weren't even that mad when I bribed the two servants to let me use your bath water after you!"
"GYYAAAA! W-wait, I just wanted to preserve water..."
"GYAAAAAAA! I'm sorry!"
.... ....
....
The refugees finally arrived and were welcomed by a red-eyed Chris, and Mia who had a very refreshed face.
A soldier that guided the refugees came next to Chris and explained the situation quickly. Chris nodded and made a quick speech.
"Welcome everyone. I am Chris, Brine City's Lord. I heard you had a tough few weeks. I can certainly feel your pain." Chris stopped to rub his sides. Mia just turned her head and 'humphed'.
"But you are now safe. The introductions will have to wait for tomorrow. I can see that you are all tired and famished. Our cooks have prepared a meal for everyone, please enjoy. Later we will guide you to your temporary quarters, and we'll meet again tomorrow."
Everyone was very excited and followed guards to the cafeteria. This would be their first proper meal in a long time.
*********
Chris shared with Mia what the soldier told him, once everyone else left.
They fled after a bandit attack had destroyed their camp. They had nothing left after the bandit looted all they could. One of the scouts found them during his patrol and guided them to the city.
"Three hundred and fifty people is not a small number, we have much to prepare." Said Mia. "They are also in bad shape. They will need a few days of rest and good meals." Said Mia.
Chris nodded.
"Do you regret it?" Asked Mia.
Chris froze and protected his side. He thought she was asking if he was regretting his previous words to Beatrice.
She noticed his reaction and laughed. "I mean do you regret accepting them so easily? This will make things tougher for us in the short term. They can't work for a few days. And with the heat, we'll soon be short on water."
Chris relaxed. "How can we turn away our own people, when our ambitions are so high? I would be ashamed if we did. Luckily, with the heat, I have already prepared something for our water needs."
"Hm. Good." Said Mia calmly. She then looked at his sides a little worried. "I didn't pinch you too hard? You deserved it but still..."
"Hahaha! Don't worry! This body is as tough as iron!" Chris took a superhero pose by stretching his arms in the air. "I am fresh like a carp, hot like a tornado and tempered like steeEE-!"
Chris show was interrupted by the looming threat of Mia's fingers.
"Huhu. Like steel you say?" Giggled Mia.
*Ahem.* "Well... I wouldn't say no to a massage."
"Very well, please wait in your tent." She smiled at Chris' shocked expression before continuing "I'll send Berg over."
"You know what? I feel a lot better already." Chris said quickly.
"Huhu. I thought so as well." Said Mia.
They continued chatting as they walked side by side. Eventually, Mia asked. "You said you have something ready to transport water faster?"
"Oh, are you curious? This is pretty cool. I can show you the plans if you want."
"Hm." She nodded.
Chris really enjoyed the mood and was a little sad when they reached their tents. Just as he was about to enter his, he heard a soft voice: "If you bet and lose the staff to Miss Petunia... I will really punish you."
Chris gulped. [She knew about that too!]
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Pastare
Pastare Editor: LtBeefy
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Next chapter tomorrow if I can finish it in time, or a little later in the week!
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