บท 41: Little Princess
It was time for a second attempt at this.
Hyuk held Adam over his shoulder while the eccentric kept close to help the patient's condition.
His presence keeping the unconscious guy cool…
It looked like the tattoo stitching their Landlord with his Innate Semblance had a proximity restriction.
Not that the Martial King cared about it much.
He couldn't get a read on this new 'Simon', but he could tell the young man didn't want any trouble.
That was enough for him.
The horned figure, who'd introduced himself with the title of Holy Progenitor, wordlessly looked on.
They stood in front of the door and decided to go in while holding hands. It was to make sure there wouldn't be any time distortion between each person leaving. Velma was the leading figure.
Her earless head without the traits of a bunny was foreign to her. Like something was deeply wrong.
And leaving the dimension made no big difference.
She could feel the presence of the 'System' returning to her and correcting her bodily changes.
Or to be more specific, it seemed to have cemented her current form as original condition.
Nothing was said about 'Divinity Striker' though…
So it probably didn't see it as part of her body.
As Velma was trying to figure out what that meant to her future growth, Nyaura followed her through.
"Urgh…!" All good things didn't last, and she once again felt her body scarred by the worldly grudges.
Sure, she derived strength from their hate, but that didn't mean she could handle their malice at once.
Her body toppled into the former bunny girl's thin arms, but she made sure to hold onto her allies.
The next person to come out was Sebastian.
"Haaah…" He sighed in relief. It felt like having a breath of fresh air after leaving that skewed world.
The affinities he was attuned to returned to him.
The last three that followed was Hyuk giving Adam a piggyback, with Holy Progenitor sticking close.
The only one among them showing a difference was their Landlord. He shivered quite abruptly.
[Warning: Territory License owner in critical state!]
[Should the owner of the Territory Licence be considered 'dead', all land shall return to Gaia.]
['Mother Nature' panics in response seeing the gruesome state of her apostle's current condition.]
[Recalibrating growth correction and statistics…]
[Legendary Skill 'World Unity' has connected current condition with the residents of his land.]
[Excess Life Force shall be gathered to improve Adam's vessel stability. Consent is now skipped.]
Perhaps this was both a credible threat and conviction shown to the five after 'reconnecting'.
The blue screens brought a pressure upon them.
However, they weren't intimidated enough to forget what they came here to attain by saving Adam.
Hyuk was the one who took charge while their Landlord was sleeping away years of exhaustion.
The first act he did was get everyone comfortable.
Then went outside to talk to the armoured State Guard and Knight Class soldiers outside the house.
He brought them in and explained that Adam was unwell, and that they'd treat him in the meantime.
For now, the talks of his wedding were put on hold.
Although sickness was uncommon in the Divine Realm, their explanation that it was due to his Innate Semblance persuaded Shane, which in turn became the conviction of the ruler behind him.
They agreed to send their best Doctors to assist.
Hyuk took his time acting like a housekeeper, but there was a matter he couldn't put off for too long.
After the agreement that at least one person would be constantly keeping an eye on Adam, the five who had gathered downstairs the next day looked towards him. Lucia was amongst those there.
Her cute little figure and exquisite dress only making her look more adorable to the rest of them.
Although she looked young, she seemed to at least have the maturity to calmly watch them converse.
Lucia grabbed a cup of tea Hyuk made and started to drink it slowly. So… very… unusually… slow…
Her eyes peeked at the tigress woman and brunette sitting at one side, demanding payment.
"We did our part of the deal… Now it's time for your end of the bargain." Nyaura took the initiative.
None of them could deny their contribution.
Although most of it was done by Velma, this small matter didn't change that THEY helped the most.
"That's right… Things didn't turn out the way I'd anticipated. I thought I could send 'him' with you."
The moment they mentioned the crazy geezer, a shiver ran through the high and mighty striped cat.
Although he didn't hold a 'Grudge' against her in particular, his blind rage was one to be feared.
But when Velma held her shoulder, she found herself a new reason to keep herself strong.
"Get to the point." The brunette spoke up for the multicoloured cat. Her eyes looking at him deeply.
"I'll send my friend with you instead." The moment he patted the guy's shoulder, he widened his eyes.
The Magician pointed at himself, but had no choice but to follow when Hyuk responded with a smile.
It wasn't like they could let them go easily…
"…But is he strong enough?" The tigress regained her wits and squinted her eyes on the 'old man'.
He didn't make the best first impression, and that one punch he showed only meant he was average.
They didn't get to see much from him earlier other than his cloaking magic, so they were suspicious.
"Trust me. He's strong. You guys should prepare some stuff before returning. The fact you left for this place should've caused a big impact on your gang already. Mostly in a goof way." He reminded them that they benefited more than they lost.
Especially Velma…
The brunette may have lost her bunny ears and strong physique, but she gained Simon's skills.
The technical proficiency of a god-like fighter…
Once she mastered her new 'Divinity Striker' Mystic Tool and become able to shift into her 'Red Rabbit Divine Physique' on the fly, the brunette would become an unstoppable figure to them.
At least, that was his honest prediction.
It would be hard to tell if Shane could ever hope to beat Velma after successfully obtaining that state.
This was also a compensation they had earned.
With that, the matter was promptly settled.
The two Beastkin left to prepare contingencies in the meantime, and Sebas turned to confront him.
"What was that about…?" The Magician couldn't let this off easily, his hand clutched on Hyuk's neck.
But the Martial King's reaction was quite mild…
"Oh~ What are you planning~?" He flipped his hair and let out some feminine charm to mess with him.
"…" His opponent had no response.
The sound of Lucia taking a big gulp in the background made the handsome man get serious.
"Ahem… There was no choice." He put it all out.
"Why can't YOU go?"
"Didn't I tell you before? I'm weak."
"Like hell you are." It wasn't like he forgot who was the one that smashed Simon's teeth into the floor.
And he called himself 'weak'…?
"I'm a defender of love and justice. Trying to step all over some people politically just ain't my style."
"Be serious. You can't always have it your way."
"Can I bring up my issue too?" Lucia interrupted before they started bickering like past lovers.
She didn't seem to find the scene all that pleasant.
"What issue do you have?" Hyuk pried the Magician's hand off his neck and leaned closer.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do here. Didn't I tell you this kingdom will burn in about 15 years?"
"Yup."
"Then…?" She asked what was their plan of action.
"We'll raise you as our own and get past all that depressing stuff. Oh, come over here… you~?" He got up and gave the adorable girl a hug. Since she'd grown used to it, the little princess snorted.
She reluctantly allowed him to give her an embrace and bring her up into his arms… spoiling her.
Almost as if it was natural for her to get spoilt.
"You mean… the two of you will?" Lucia begged for full clarification. Her eyes shifting between them.
"I've never raised a daughter with another man."
"AND YOU NEVER WILL." Sebas didn't shout, but the intensity of his voice showed he was against it.
"What? Don't you want to~?" Hyuk once again brazenly blindsided the man with feminine charm.
It made the Magician shiver…
"NEVER!!!" He roared before running off, his eyes filled with confusion. It caused Hyuk to giggle.
The Martial King's loud laugher didn't stop…
It was only after seeing the cold look on Lucia's face did he stop. He tried to regain composure.
But his joking atmosphere changed when she spoke with a derisive tone he hadn't expected:
"You sodomite…"
These words caused him to abruptly stop laughing at look at the child in his arms with a dark look.
"Who taught you that word?"
"…Does it matter where?" It was at this point that he realised she wasn't fond of his frivolous tone.
"It does."
"It's heretical for two men to have a relationship. A man cannot make life it was with another man."
"What is your real reason for saying this?" He knew she wasn't talking just to accuse him of a 'sin'.
"…Are you serious about him?" Lucia hesitated, but she was able to bring up a matter in her heart.
The way Hyuk kept on manipulating Sebastian only made her remember how Clara hypnotised people.
How she ended up being betrayed in the end…
The thing about it was… Hyuk could only take what she'd asked at face value. Was he being serious?
"Do I have to be?" He saw nothing wrong in a little teasing here and there. It was HIS look being used.
"Then you're just leading him on…"
"Maybe."
"And you're not going to regret this?"
"If he felt anything, I'd cleanly reject him… but that has nothing to do with what you just said to me."
"Huh…?" The way he shifted her position in his arms to properly face him made her feel a bit shy.
His face was aesthetically pleasing even to her.
"So people of this kingdom are against gays?"
"You Otherworlders may call us 'backwards' and ancient, but sodomy is a sin. Everyone knows."
Her words made Hyuk realise that some state religion had given them such a big impression.
To him, her words were beyond his scope of reasoning. Beyond what he could tolerate.
For the first time, his face started frowning…
"…Wow, this nation is evil." The as-a-matter-of-fact way he said this made nearly made her fall off.
The expression Hyuk made was truly terrifying…
"You're exaggerating. Also, you can just put me down now." He ignored the latter part of her words.
Instead he took the teacup off her and put it back on the table, only to hold her up like a house cat.
She felt awkward when being held under her arms.
Her legs hung down and swayed in the wind…
"YOU don't have the right to say that. Especially since you came back to rewrite your death."
"Is there something wrong with what I said?"
"A lot. You said that this Clara person- I mean, 'older sister' of yours was the reason for it all."
"Right. If it wasn't for her, I'd-"
"Be lavishly spending your family's money as you wasted away. Being the 'villainess' you spoke of?"
He let go of the girl and let her fall onto the sofa, an intelligent look in his eyes after figuring Lucia out.
She was as useless as she looked…
A child that might have lived a longer life in her head, but was still an immature brat like 'normal'.
She was exactly what other noble daughters were.
Brazen, selfish, petty, and not the type to accept new things that weren't 'trendy' to the public eye.
She couldn't hold it in after her true nature was discovered. The little princess got up to scream:
"What are you planning to do if I get hurt?! First there's that Magician taking my only bodyguard away, and now I have to hear this from you? Yeah, I didn't do much in the past… but I want to change!"
She lowered her head and buried her face down on her legs. Curling up into a white-dressed cloth ball.
Her messy hair became prominent…
It looked like she'd been taken care of by servants her entire life, so what did she experience before?
Hyuk could tell that she probably had a hard time changing this morning. Especially by her own self.
Independently changing wasn't a thing for young women in this world. There were always servants.
All of them as replaceable as the next…
The Martial King let out some Internal Energy to cleanse her and straighten the pitch black hair.
He patted her to make the young girl feel better.
"It's fine. Leave the hard stuff to the adults. Why should a child have to risk your life to survive?"
"I'm not… a child…"
"Well, then why not just accept being one?" His words made her look up from her pitiful position.
Lucia looked into those kind and warm eyes.
Feeling like she was becoming 'worse' the longer she looked into them. Like she wouldn't ever grow.
"Promise." She put her pinkie finger up, wanting him to do the same, while saying: "Protect me."
Hyuk felt like they were finally coming to an understanding. He shook her pinkie with his own.
No restrictions were placed, but she believed him.
For the first time, she felt like there was someone who'd unconditionally love her like his own family.
Her face started to redden…
"Now… let's go look for that religion that says gays are bad." His eyes suddenly became serious again.
"Umm… Err… Weren't we having a moment?"
"There's no time to lose!"
"But I'd heard the Saintess is still being trained before her ceremony to take her rightful position."
"You're point?"
"The main Holy Sanctuary isn't accepting any visitors right now. Only regular churches are open."
"That's more of a reason to go."
"…Why?"
"ROMANCE!!!" The Martial King was ready to show her exactly how one wooed and got charmed.
Leaving the eccentric and Adam home alone.
This was perhaps the start of the easygoing part of their life they'd start missing later on in the future.
Life was always hard to predict at times…
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