168 Fools Parade (2/2)

It was why I felt so restless and kept on fidgeting while I stood in that line of young officers standing at attention behind Great General Darah and Grimthorn, both of whom were waiting for the Lord of Stars and his party to finish their parade along Shärleden's main street.

A crowd of Trickster nobles and common people were gathered on both sides of the street, eager to get a glimpse of the audacious human who'd conquered one of the oldest and most prestigious fairy clans in the Fayne.

For his part, Christ Pint didn't disappoint. His bright red cloak billowing behind him like he was Superman, the Lord of Stars cut an impressive figure as he gazed out at the scenery with a toothy grin while waving a hand at the crowd.

And don't get me started on the open carriage he rode in. That thing was bedazzled to such an extreme that gazing too long at the glittering jewels covering the carriage surface put one in danger of getting blinded by all the lights flashing off them.

If that wasn't enough, the high number of scantily clad females joining him in his carriage was enough to make a teenage boy like me feel more than a little uncomfortable.

I averted my eyes from his display and instead trained my focus on the rest of his entourage.

There were twenty swifthart riders to each side of his carriage, and like stars set against the backdrop of a dark blue canvas, the Star Knights' polished silver armor glinted under the proverbial spotlights trained on them.

But what caught my eye was the knight riding toward the rear of the right line. She had long braided blonde hair, had blue-eyes, and was very beautiful—and she wasn't naked like the first time I met her. Yeah, I did recognize her. It was the human girl Chris Pint bought during the auction. I guess he saved her after all.

\”Someone go down there and demand that showboat hurry his Mudgardian behind up here already,\” Darah growled.

\”Must you always sound so muddamn vulgar, Darah?\” Grimthorn complained.

\”Shut it, dwarf,\” Darah turned her ire on him. \”Or I'll rip you to shreds.\”

\”You shut up, she-elf witch,\” Grimthorn countered. \”Or I'll cut you down to my eye level.\”

The two turned their heads toward one another, their eyes staring daggers at each other.

This sort of thing happened pretty often whenever two or more of the great generals were in each other's immediate vicinity. I guessed that rivalry from their younger days never really went away.

\”Humph… no way my liege would lose to that elf-witch,\” Dain Hammerhand whispered under his breath.

Lucky for him Darah was too preoccupied with his master for her to hear him. Under normal circumstances, she would have punched him into the sky with a single hit. So it was left to me to defend my great general.

\”Dream on, dwarf,\” I countered in an equally low whisper. \”Darah could punch anyone's lights out… anyone.\”

Dain and I glared at each other, almost as if the old rivalry of our seniors was spilling over onto us.

I don't know how long we growled at each other like two pit bulls sizing each other up, but by the time I realized it, Al was whispering my name in a rather urgent way.

\”Dean,\” he called.

It was only then that I realized that everyone was looking at me. Rather, they were looking at me because of the person standing before me. For some reason, he'd ditched his convoy below and climbed up the steps to where I was in the short time I was distracted by stupid Dain.

\”Yo, fellow sense knight,\” Chris Pint said in a louder voice than I would have liked. \”Fancy meeting you here.\”

I groaned visibly. I can't believe he just outed me in front of so many people especially when I once told him that only a few members of the council knew what I could do.

Chris didn't wait for me to reply. He simply wrapped a shoulder around me, and after a quick nod toward Darah and Grimthorn, he pronounced to the people around us, \”I'm borrowing this guy for a bit.\”

Next thing I knew, I was being dragged up the stairs via neck lock while my fellow young commanders looked on with mixed emotions of pity, annoyance, and even envy.