Bab 23: Chapter 2 — Vengeance for dessert
"…have you heard that the Spellbane has recently perished? I know it's terrible news, but it leaves his place vacant! Have you ever dreamt of becoming one of the Three Champions?" The words of Ledra Goldman still wouldn't leave Keyaruga's head. Something went terribly wrong. That man never met his end in the first world. And now, to have him killed that early? And that wasn't even all…
It's been two days since Keyaruga returned to Ranalitta and made another deal with Quinta. Now, he wished he had skipped the city of paupers and filthy rich whatsoever. But staying felt so much better. Setsuna could get stronger with the Hero of Healing; Freia could train with the ice wolf, teach her words and grammar in return, and read a few extra pages from her spellbook after all. And even the red-haired lad clinged to that last deal with the shady merchant. Ranalitta could offer nothing else to their party. Keyaruga's saber was as strong as it could get, Setsuna's shackles protected her skin like a fine armor after the healer enchanted them, and even Freia got an upgrade — a couple of silk stripes on her sleeves, amplifying her magic. And there was also the amulet Keyaruga kept under his vest. Nogato's gift could accumulate mana, both natural and wild, so that the user could refill his energy pool when needed.
"M-m, master, it smells good" Setsuna reacted after a cook presented his customers with his work of art. Three dishes of a brownish stew with potatoes, carrots, and spicy herbs above. Naturally, its main ingredients were fine roasted beef and boiled chicken, the best that could be found here. Every ingredient they used was diligently grown and prepared at local farms, and with their level of quality control, it got a bit pricey.
"My gods, I'm so hungry, I could eat it all!" That was Freia, greedily gazing at the food. The trio, having nowhere to spend their money, decided to visit one of the many restaurants in Ranalitta. It wasn't hard to notice that the girls were much more gluttonous than Keyaruga ever was, but he didn't mind. After all, making them happy was delightful for the healer as well. Even if it depleted his money bag quite severely.
"Then what are you waiting for? Eat before it gets cold."
"For you, master." — The she-wolf replied.
"Would you starve if I wasn't around?" — Keyaruga asked, his face brimming with annoyance for a moment. However, that was of no importance anymore — the girls weren't even watching him anymore.
"A-a-a! I love this bread!" — Freia exclaimed. After all, what could be eaten there couldn't compare to what was given in the inn, let alone that stale abomination they carried in their travels.
"And Setsuna likes the wine. It like juice, yummy." Now, the huntress sipped from the bottle itself. She liked her tribe's fire wine, but a regular human beverage also suited her tastes.
"Lord Keyaruga, I don't want to be ungrateful, but why are you being that generous all of a sudden?" The sorceress, though, got a bit suspicious.
"Setsuna likes it, but it's… manutai." Troubling, huh?
"Now, calm down, girls. We will leave this town soon after I sell my last supply of potions. So don't be picky; I'll pay for as much as you eat." — Keyaruga said, chewing a bit of beef. Although, despite his best efforts…
"And… why is that?" The Hero of Magic got worried.
"There are bad rumors spreading. They say a squad from Capital is heading here very fast. And since Jioral is a bunch of hypocritical slavers, you know what to expect. Haa, if not for that merchant…" I'd already be on my way to find Blade, Bullet, maybe even the Demon Queen. At least I bought some info here. That old crowned prick knows about Leonard. Well, if you want to find me, go right fucking ahead. Just… Just one more deal, and I'm out.
"Hey! Gimme some friggin' booze!" And that was another customer, sitting one table away from the healer with another fellow drinker. They both had their necks and wrists bandaged, which identified them as members of that calamitous (for Jioral, of course) raid. Somehow, not only had they survived the bleeding, they managed to get back to Ranalitta in one piece. And now all they could do was drinkand brawl over and over while they still had money. Well, only one of them was that aggressive.
"Hey, brother! That's your slave?" And bold enough to approach Keyaruga's table and point his dirty fingers at Setsuna.
"Yes, she's with me. What's it for you?"
"Sell 'er to me, huh! I'll even pay ya!" For what it was worth, the scum tossed a silver coin to the hero. And, as if that wasn't enough, he flaunted a Jioral's emblem.
"Being cheap, bro. Gimme a hundred thousand in gold, and maybe, MAYBE, I might think about your… proposal." — The red-eyed man replied, winking at his wolf-eared companion.
"Are you fucking braindead?! Imma kingdom's soldier, can't ya fucking see?!" No, you're a deserter, and your emblem is worth shit. Can't you see my saber that I bled you with? Or at least my goddamn cape?
"Get. The. Fuck. Out. You're troubling my girls."
"FUCKING KILL YA!!!" Now that was a big mistake. The deserter tried punching Keyaruga in the face, but the latter had already reached for his blade. The fist wouldn't even reach his…"A-A-A-A-A!!!" Well, that's settled.
"You no touch master!" It was Setsuna. She tossed the ruffian on the ground and twisted his arm to the point where it cracked. Freia looked at the scene with crackling lightning in her palms. And with the troublemaker down, she finally dispelled them.
"A-A-A-A!!! ARM! MAH' FUCKING ARM!!!"
"Get the fuck out, or die right here. You have three seconds." It was nothing short of an ultimatum, with a decent argument looking like an ice gauntlet, ready to cut his throat, and nobody else here wouldn't even mind. After all, this city was all about power.
"S-spare me! I beg you, please!"
"Hm, you've made the right choice." — The healer said, tapping the deserter by the bare neck, not even bothering to hide the green light. "Release him." Ultimately, with the huntress releasing the man, he had nothing to do but reunite with his friend and sit quietly from now on.
"You've grown stronger, Setsuna." The man patted his toy's head. After all, it has always managed to soothe her.
"It all thanks to master's love." — The girl answered, shyly lowering her ears. By now, she had reached the twentieth level. She could get more, since her level cap now equaled twenty-three, but her depots of experience had dried out, but it was fine. With enough hunting and murdering, the girl could even exceed Kureha Cryleth, which the lad looked forward to.
"You know, you could've killed that filth, yet you didn't." — The hero deliberately said it so loudly that the humiliated deserter could hear him.
"Uh-huh. But blood smells bad. No good for eating. Why would he want Setsuna?"
"Well, you're a beauty for once. I like having you around. Not just for your power."
"Good. Because Setsuna likes master… tonight." With her tail wagging and the bottomless aquamarine eyes begging for intimacy, a good evening was guaranteed by now. But what hid behind those pupils was even more curious. A peace of mind. Somehow, the ice warrior extinguished the flame of vengeance within her soul. Or it was weakened in some way. But even without it, Keyaruga still found her charming.
"You're my cutie. I love you." — The hero said, petting his dear wolf's ears. "Unlike that worthless shit that tried to extort and rape an innocent girl. What a scum!" And after those words, the deserter buried his face even deeper into the table. Some of the customers even started to make fun of him themselves. First, he was unable to breach the Taretanbi's defense. In his attempt to get at least one ice wolf, the deserter got abased once again.
"Hm. Coward." Oh yeah, that piece of filth failed to take the pressure and heroically escaped, leaving his friend alone. The latter haven't even tried to look at the healer. Good choice.
"With that settled, let's choose a dessert!" — Freia raised her voice, lowering the tension in the air. The caster had a whole lot she wanted to taste, but that barely even concerned Keyaruga. His dessert was watching his victim slowly die with the jade eye. A barely visible needle poisoned the loser, and now he brutally vomited blood. Soon, he would stop moving, but the pain would go on for hours, with the only hope of unavoidable death as a relief. Either way, Keyaruga had stolen both memories and a royal emblem. The question is, how can I use them now?
"I want that strawberry cake!" — Finally, after some time, Freia voiced her choice in the matter.
"And Setsuna wants fruits. A lot of them."
Freia, Setsuna. I love their smiles. And I will do anything to keep them this way. Although killing that fuck was more fun than I expected. Heh, vengeance for dessert.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone