章節 50: Royal Retainer
A boulder twice her size was hurled at Antani's direction, but rather than flattening her, it was instead sliced into pieces. Antani emerged from the debris with a fervent shout.
"Hyaaaah!"
Arcing sword slashes soon followed as Antani did her best to harm Ellamir. There were no rewards for her efforts as Ellamir remained without a scratch, while clad in metallic darkness that shone as sunlight penetrated the shaded forest.
Normally, it would be Ellamir's cue to playfully sneer at Antani's efforts, but she couldn't do it. How could Ellamir when her lover's eyes burned with zeal? She could practically feel her fiery passion everytime she would deflect Antani's sword with her arms. It goes to show much she truly wanted to be the queen of their tribe. The part of Ellamir that relinquished her claim to the throne accepts this with awe.
Even so, as Antani's self-proclaimed royal retainer, it was Ellamir's duty to put a stop to Antani's zealotry whenever it would border on the harmful.
Deactivating her drider armor, the towering mass of shadows dissipated and Ellamir gracefully landed on her feet, "That's enough training for now. We will continue again tomorrow."
"Hah...But I can still fight!..hah… Come on, just an hour more!" Antani's breathing was ragged, she was no doubt about to reach her limit, it was also the same reason why she wanted to press on further.
"We WILL stop for now. We've been training for 5 hours straight! As your royal retainer I must look after your needs, and frankly, you are in dire need of a rest. Now let's go, lunch awaits."
Press the issue and have a fight like they always do, or have lunch with her bossy dark elf? With a grin on her face, Antani sheathed her sword. She hooked her arm around Ellamir's as they trudged the forest on their way back to the city.
"Since when did you become my royal retainer? You're already my lover, you want to take that job too?"
"I decided on it last night. Since you served me in the past I figured I should do the same thing." Her expression straight, Ellamir as-a-matter-of-factly declared. No approval needed for the royalty in question.
"What kind of retainer decides on the matter without consulting first? Also, you can't be my retainer and just order me around like earlier."
Ellamir's straight expression broke into a smugness, "There's no need for consultation when I'm already in bed with the said royal. Also, I never said that you can't order me around. Go on, try it."
"That's a royal scandal waiting to blow up!" From incredulity to sporting the same smug expression as her lover, Antani questioned. "Order you?"
Months of living with Antani and Ellamir had equated that smug grin as a harbinger of misfortune, for Ellamir that is.
"Yes, order me."
"Then I order you to let me borrow your dick again."
"Heh, No fucking way."
+++
Moon World isn't as packed as its evening crowd, making it well suited for a hearty lunch.
"What will ya two be havin'?"
Dax asked the two lovers as Antani stared at the menu scroll, contemplating what after training meal would be the best.
"I think I'll have…a wild boar stew with mushrooms."
As soon as Antani was done, Ellamir ordered hers.
"I'll have the same thing she's having."
"Two wild boar stews, coming right up."
With their orders taken, Dax headed to the kitchen.
And just as lovebirds were in the middle of a conversation, Yulia showed up and sat at their table. The massive headache from the hangover she was having was apparent on her face. The tiefling felt like her head was being split open.
Ellamir sneered, "Wow, It appears that you really do love that dress, don't you?"
"No, you wiseass. I just woke up, I still haven't gone home since last night."
Joining in at teasing their friend, Antani chimed in, "You look haggard as hell, rough night?"
"Oh yeah, rough night of drinking that is."
Then, a succubus slid into view. The couple's teasing grin faded, stunned at how much of a head turner the grey skinned beauty was.
Magna's hand rested on Yulia's shoulder as she was about to say her goodbye.
"I'll be going, Yulia."
"Why don't you stay? You can have lunch with us. I'll introduce you to my friends." Yulia pleaded, she might have come off as a bit desperate, but the heart wants what the heart wants. And Yulia's heart wanted to spend more time with the succubus.
Giving the other two at the table a courteous smile, Magna reasoned, "I have work later tonight. I want to rest for a bit before then. I'm afraid you're going to have to introduce us another time."
As soon as Magna was about to depart, Yulia stood up and called.
"Magna…I want to see you again."
"Sure. You know where I work, visit me tomorrow after I get off."
With that. Magna had left Moon world, Yulia sat back at the table, smiling from ear to ear. Their little exchange might have prompted teasing glances from the couple, but Yulia couldn't care less. Her haggard visage morphed into the demeanor of a lovestruck maiden. Swooning eyes, and a smile that she can't take off.
"Something tells me you didn't spend the whole night only drinking." Antani smirked.
"Gods, I wish. I could sense that she likes me, yet somehow she's too elusive. Get this, we slept at around 4 in the morning, with our backs turned towards each other. And she didn't even make a move!"
"Hmph. If that was me I would've wrapped my arms around her." Ellamir pridefully declared.
Unfortunately, that little statement of hers earned her a death stare from Antani.
"Care to repeat that again?"
"I-if that was me AND you were the one next to me, of course! You didn't let me finish!"
Moments later, Dax brought in the food that the two ordered. The sight of the mouthwatering stew made Yulia's stomach grumble with awareness, she still haven't had any breakfast and it was now time for lunch.
"Dax, do you have any lime juice and loaf?" Yulia's disposition might have improved but the headache from the alcohol was still there. In her experience, there's no better way to alleviate a hangover than a refreshing citrussy drink.
"Ya still haven't paid me for those 2 bottles of dragon's kiss from last night."
"Pfft. Just put it in my tab, it's not like I'm going to run away from you or anything."
The dwarf grumbled in annoyance, but soon came back with what Yulia ordered.
"Thanks, Dax. You're the best!"
"Just pay me when ya have yer damn gold."
As the three of them began eating, Yulia couldn't help but instantly down half of her juice in one go. There's just something about its sour sweetness that made it seem like it flushed last night's bitter drink out of her system.
Out of concern, Antani couldn't help but ask.
"Yulia, did you gamble all of your money last night?"
The tiefling chortled as she refuted the question, "What!? There's no way a platinum adventurer like me would go broke just because I gambled a little…" The bread Yulia ate in silence represented how her conscience ate at her for lying to her close friends, with every bite she could feel the guilt settling in. "...Yeah, I lost all my gold in poker because I wanted to impress Magna. I'm not totally broke, though. I still have silver coins."
"Hah! Like squire like paladin. Stefano's horrible luck rubbed off on you."
Ellamir's teasing would have made sense if Yulia was up against anyone else other than Magna.
"No, my hand was definitely good. Magna's luck was just better. Not only that, she's a damn good player too, I tried my best but I couldn't make her fold!" Being the gambler that she was, Yulia was amazed.
"Since you're already broke, while Ellamir and I need to save up for something. How about we take on a high-paying quest?" Antani suggested.
"Oh, I like the sound of that. But if you don't mind me asking, what are you saving up for?"
Antani gave a determined smile at the tiefling's question as a sense of pride washed over her.
"I'm going to challenge my sister for the right to be crowned as the Queen of the Amazons."
"Can I come!? I don't know who your sister is but if she's the reason why you and Ellamir are training everyday then she must be insanely strong. That's a fight I don't want to miss."
The enthusiasm shown by Yulia was something that Antani expected. She knew that Yulia was a bit like her, someone who's a bit of a battle fanatic. The only reason why she didn't invite her to train one on one even when she was itching to, was because of Ellamir. She didn't want to cause a rift between them especially since the two of them are now good friends.
And besides, their dynamics have changed. Whenever she and Ellamir would train, Antani was now the challenger.
"I was planning to invite all of the team to come with us. Because depending on the result, Ellamir and I may have to stay behind once I become the queen."
"What do you mean 'depending on the result'? You WILL win. I've said this before and I'll say it again, you're the strongest swordmaster I know." Ellamir interjected nonchalantly, taking a spoonful of the stew right after. Originally, Ellamir planned to break the legs of Antani's sister before the fight but relented since she was 100% sure that it was Antani who would break hers if she ever found out. But what if she roped in Yulia on the plan? Would Antani just break one each of theirs? Best give up on it, it's a plan too risky and might jeopardize their relationship as a whole.
Although Ellamir's faith in Antani's swordsmanship did ease her, it wasn't enough to completely blot out from Antani's mind how huge the gap is between her and her sister. Ellamir might have championed her as a swordmaster but Alara was a spear master unlike anyone else. A league all on her own.
Antani would need to give it her all just for a sliver of a chance. And to make sure that chance turns into a victory, she would need to go above what she's capable of. Surpassing her limits alongside the help of Ellamir's Aeon.
"Look at you, aren't we extra supportive today." Yulia flashed a smug grin. "Or does that extend o only to Antani, hmm?"
"Shut up, Yulia."
The exchange of the two amused Antani, they're getting closer as friends with each passing day.
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