Chapter 264: Personal Business (1/2)
Julia stared at the angel who'd been her constant traveling companion. They'd shared good times and bad over the course of their journey, and she'd come to think of the woman as a friend, albeit one that requires constant supervision. So it was with these thoughts in mind that Julia did her best to control the sudden urge to throttle her.
”What do you mean you forgot?! That was the whole point of coming here!”
Cariel laughed, looking a bit sheepish. ”Well, it was such a good fight that it didn't even occur to me until I was already heading back.”
Julia had spent nearly two hours hunting for the angel on the battlefield, only to find her in the keep after she'd given up and gone back. She'd somehow fallen in with a group of orcs, and was taking them on in a series of celebratory wrestling matches. Needless to say, this did not improve her mood in the slightest.
Hands curled into grasping claws, the cat beastman had to look away, lest her anger get the best of her. She asked another question in the hopes of salvaging something from the situation. ”Did you at least meet the person you were looking for?”
”Hmm...” Cariel frowned in deep thought, obviously consulting her memories thoroughly. For every second that she delayed, Julia could feel her blood pressure rising. Finally, the angel's face broke open into a grin. ”Ah! Now that I think about it, there was one guy who seemed like he might be the Hero. He was fighting this big skeleton dude, who was actually pretty tough. Even I had some trouble with him.”
”Aren't you supposed to be able to sense the Hero's presence?!...Haa, never mind. You probably forgot that you could do that, too. Anyway, what did he look like? Did you see where he went afterwords?”
Cariel frowned again, ”He was human...I think? I didn't really see him leave though. Once the big skeleton was down and the fight seemed to be over, I saw a group of undead knights that looked like they were trying to get away, so I chased them.”
[What are you, a dog?!] Ignoring the mild irony of the thought, Julia rubbed her temples, feeling the now familiar headache coming on. ”Alright, so here is what we are going to do. Chances are, he's going to be part of the victory celebrations back in Almirn, probably even going to be the guest of honor at whatever feast the royals are throwing. If we can get in there, it should be simple matter of tracking him down.”
”Okay, I understand.” The angel nodded absently, clearly not understanding at all.
Julia sighed. ”I suppose I'll just take care of that part too. Don't worry about it.”
”Thanks, Julia! Your the best! I'm going to go back to wrestling now. I've only got another twenty matches or so before they'll let me take on their chieftain.” Cariel replied enthusiastically before running back to the circle of orcs. Although Julia might have been imagining things, she thought the line of muscular warriors cringed at the angel's return.
Walking away, she began planning everything she would need to do to get into the event. [The easiest way would be to get an invitation, but that might be a bit difficult. Failing that, I could steal some servant uniforms or something. Hmm, I'll save that for a last resort, since I don't think Cariel could act long enough to make it through the front door...]
It was late at night, not that you could tell from the raucous celebrations that were still going strong. Chances were that most of the people she needed to speak with were already well into their cups.
[Nothing for it. I guess I'll wait until tomorrow to get started.]
Lost in thought, she didn't even notice as her target landed nearby and quietly entered the keep.
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Morning found Mike sitting on the keep's parapets, deep in thought.
He'd avoided sleeping again, having spent most of the night dealing with the repercussions of Sera's kidnapping. Not to mention the lecture he'd gotten from her about treating her like a summoned monster. Although the Oracle was obviously upset, he could tell that her heart wasn't in it. She even lapsed into awkward silence once he told her about his Cabal hunting activities.
The remainder of his night had been dedicated to exploring the limits of his new abilities. He'd discovered that becoming Tier 4 had given him another boost to his already ridiculous attributes and improved his command of his other skills. While certainly welcome, this meant he needed to take time to adapt to his new power, lest he end up losing control at an inopportune moment.
[Well, I suppose its about time I got this over with.] He thought as he prepared to go down and face the members of the coalition army.
Thanks to the raucous party last night, which had only petered out once the sun came up, he'd been able to put off reporting to the army leaders. He dreaded having to answer all their questions, and listen to their praise and gratitude, but he supposed that he would have to get used to it. After all, there would be a lot of that sort of thing in the coming days.
Standing, he was just about to drop off the side of the keep when he heard an exclamation from the stairs.
”Manling! Wait! I wish to speak with you.”
The orc chieftain he'd once defeated in a duel was standing there, a look of confused anger on her face.
Mike hopped down and walked over to her. ”What is it, Talgratha?”
The half-orc hesitated, as if uncertain of what she wanted to say. Finally, she growled under her breath and pointed one finger at him accusingly. ”I can't beat you in a fight!”
He blinked, a little confused himself. ”...I'm sorry?”
”Don't apologize!” She turned and paced a few steps angrily, before rounding on him again. ”Its become obvious to me that I don't stand a chance against you in a fair duel. Although that was true even before you broke through, I just can't accept it! I swore to make you into my slave, and a true chieftain doesn't go back on her word. Since I can't take you by force, then I will make you follow me by the only means left to me!”
”...I see?” He replied, feeling that this whole conversation was a bit surreal.
[I really don't understand this woman. She seems angry at me, but I'm not actually detecting any hostility. Is she embarrassed or something? Maybe this is normal in orc culture? I suppose if you look past the whole fighting and slavery thing, this could be construe as a kind of romantic conversation... But that couldn't be right, could it?]
Still lost in thought, he didn't have a chance to react as Talgratha suddenly swept him into a sudden embrace. Although his initial impression was dominated by the sensation of rock hard muscles along her arms and stomach, he found himself pillowed against her surprisingly soft chest. His mind went blank as a pair of soft lips pressed against his, although the points of two tusks made it slightly uncomfortable. After a few seconds she let go and stepped back, face flushed.
”Listen well, manling! I declare that, since I cannot claim your body through physical combat, I shall one day claim your heart as a woman! Prepare yourself!” She announced dramatically before turning on her heels and quickly descending the stairs. Although her posture was still stiff and upright, Mike couldn't shake the impression that she was beating a hasty retreat before he had a chance to reply.
[Well...that certainly happened.] He thought while brushing his lips with one finger. The sensation of the kiss was still lingering, and he was trying to decide how he felt about it.