Velvet enjoyed the full course of Asmodeus’s service, her fears, upset, and self-hatred lting into euphoric waves of pleasure. anwhile, Paul, the temporary lord of Baltimore, stood overwatching the ocean in silence.
"This cannot be good."
Beside him, Simon hugged Ygrene’s waist. The forr demon knight retired the mont she beca pregnant and took up cooking and beca the owner of a small inn just outside the castle gates.
"Simon, Paul, can you sense that... strange, disturbing energy?"
"Y-Yeah."
Sweat dripped down Paul’s cheeks as a sharp tingling sensation arced across his flesh, a familiar and haunting power.
Simon, on the other hand, looked oblivious while glancing at the two.
"What’s wrong with you two?" He asked while slipping his hand down his wife’s back, reaching the plump curve of her buttocks.
"Hah?"
Ygrene slapped his hand away. "Can’t you feel that disgustingly murky energy?"
He cocked his head to the side, then glanced at the ocean, squinting his eyes while focused on the distant horizon, but nothing.
"Sorry, I can’t feel anything... what does it feel like?"
Paul covered his face using his palm, sighing. "What’re we going to do with you..."
"I know, right? He’d be dead before even realising an enemy was after his life!" His wife added with a snappy tone.
"Okay, okay, don’t get angry, honey. It’s bad for our baby."
Simon hugged her waist tighter, pulling her closer as he stroked the slight bump of her stomach, their second child soon on the way. His actions were a little crass and simple, but her face relaxed, and her brows lifted as she leaned on his shoulder.
"If you weren’t such a good father, I would take the kids and leave right away, hmph."
"Yes, yes, honey. I am wrong, I am the worst, but it’s your fault for turning on, right?"
Paul shook his head, glancing at the stupid couple, knowing how they would fight over the most foolish things just to rush into the kitchen monts later to "Fight" it out.
"I think we should send soone to the Capital to inform Asmodeus." He missed his little protogé and emperor. In the past, they could leave and enjoy dungeons and adventures, but once he beca the acting lord, everything changed.
’I wish I had amazing wives like him... though, I love mine just how they are.’
Thanks to their honest efforts to improve the city, most people accepted Paul and Simojn quite easily, after the Empire attacked Baltimore almost four years ago. They focused on cleanliness, street safety, and cri.
While in his spare ti, Paul would use his magical glyphs and runes to restore the slums to a normal state, while Simon taught the younger kids swordsmanship, helping them to escape poverty as novice adventurers.
Two people even had the talent of magic, though it wasn’t world-shaking. Paul, who once struggled to cast two spells with his agre mana. He imdiately requested Asmodeus’s diluted blood, worried about refusal.
To his surprise, Asmodeus supplied him with blood every month for two years, allowing him to take the two girls as his students. Sadly, their sickly mother passed away earlier this year, and he adopted them as his own daughters.
’I wonder if they managed to reach the capital safely.’
He lifted a necklace with two small gemstones, one a sapphire, the other a ruby. To match the girl’s hair colours after choosing to focus on fire and water magic.
’I almost forgot because of Asmodeus that normal people can barely use one elent, let alone all of them as he and his wives can...’
"Ah, this guy is thinking about his precious daughters again!"
"Shut up, Simon, go deal with your wife."
"H-Hey?!"
He tried to follow, only for a firm grip to hold his wrist. "Hey~ honey, let’s head back, the lord even gave permission."
The mont he heard Ygrene’s sultry voice, his entire body shuddered.
"W-Wait, we did it last night... how about so rest?!"
Alas, Ygrene, a forr demon knight, ignored his plea, dragging him towards her inn while humming with a lively expression.
Paul approached the edge of the pier and squatted down, taking an empty vial from a pocket inside his robe, and filled it with the salty water. "I don’t like this strange sensation... if phisto was a slight prick, this is being stabbed relentlessly all over my body."
He shook the vial, trying to discern the changes.
"What if I..."
A sudden thought flashed in his mind as he tapped the glass, then guided his mana towards his fingertip. The slight tingle travelled from his lower abdon to his chest before spreading through his nerve endings and reaching his finger.
Bzzt!
The glass wouldn’t conduct electricity, so he planned to cast it directly into the seawater.
However, the instant the arc of lightning flashed, the water transford into a slimy texture, reaching towards the magic with tentacle-like appendages made of water.
"!!!"
"SIMON!"
He yelled through the pier as loud as he could, ignoring the strange looks.
Ygrene’s face dropped the mont Paul’s voice echoed from behind, her hand almost crushing Simon’s wrist into dust.
"Brother, you cared after all!"
Simon darted away from his wife and rushed to Paul’s side with his arms wide open.
Paul avoided his sweaty hug and held up the vial, "Stop ssing around and look at this. We have a GRAVE problem!"
"Che~ stingy old man... what exactly do you an?"
He watched the vial, tilting his head at the normal water. "There’s nothing wrong with it..."
"Then I dare you to touch it with your finger while using demonic energy."
Simon looked up into Paul’s eyes, unaware of the danger and imdiately gathered the dark purple force that swirled freely through his muscles. Then he placed his finger into the vial, and the glass shook as he ca closer to the water.
The mont his finger lowered, the ocean water distorted, creating the shape of a misford face, sothing inhuman and resembling a kraken. The water kraken shot towards Simon’s finger and tried biting it.
"W-What the hell is that?!"
He quickly yanked his finger away.
"Simon, gather your knights and prepare for Asmodeus’s arrival. This isn’t sothing we can deal with. The aura matches phisto, but the scale is worlds apart."
Ygrene slowly tied her hair before tapping the glass vial. "This creature seems to be nothing but water... is there sothing in the water we cannot see?"
Paul’s eyes flashed at her words.
"Yes! I rember Asmodeus saying sothing about bacteria that we couldn’t see when I asked him how to clean the slums. Then he sent loads of recipes for soap and cleaning products. Is it similar to that?"
But he couldn’t understand what caused the water to react like an Abyssal....
"Is there an abyssal sowhere in the ocean?" He asked while staring towards the horizon.
.
.
.
Back at the Imperial palace of Luria, Nerim carried a box of scrolls, parchnt and various books on her shoulder while heading to the chancellor’s room.
Knock!
She hit the door with her shoulder before stepping inside.
The room carried a thick scent of musk, from the old books and docunts, dust and the closed window, making it worse. In the centre of the room, Alice sat at her desk in silence, dragging her quill across the hundreds of parchnts.
"Sister Alice, I’ve brought the docunts you asked for."
"Hmm?" Alice peeked up over the stack she had just finished, then nodded. "Good work, Nerim. Though I wouldn’t have thought you’d choose this role..." Her eyes trailed over the tight brown muscles and her battle-ready figure.
"Well... since I am pregnant, I wanted to gain more knowledge to help my children beco even a little smarter. All those little angels in the palace made slightly jealous of how charming you all are."
"Fufu, you’re so honest."
Ever since Nerim ca back, she took her fate into her own hands, seeking out Asmodeus’s wives and asking them what needed doing or if they wanted help.
Asmodeus said she could just enjoy herself, rather than working so hard. But that’s when she t Alice at the small gathering the night after they returned.
She glanced at her superior and humd.
"Well, if I tell lies, wouldn’t that make everything worthless and empty?"
"Little Nerim, everyone lies at so point." Alice stopped writing as she stretched her back. The tea set in the corner caught her eye. "But, I like your earnest attitude, shall we take a break and have so tea?"
"Eh, is that okay?"
"Of course, we’ve finished the month’s work, now it’s just requests for help, and suggestions from the various cities and towns." As if fated, a docunt ca into her eyes while she spoke about it. "Look, here’s one from our husband’s best friends, we should read it over the tea."
Alice slipped off her chair, stacked with several extra cushions and bounced to the tea set with a bright expression.
While preparing the tea, she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself, glancing at the half-empty desk and complete docunts.
"You’re really my lucky star, Nerim!"
"Sister Alice, you’re just making fun of now... all I do is sort and carry docunts for you."
"Tsk tsk tsk, do you know how long it took to carry these proposals, docunts and other stupid things those dimwit wives send ? With you, it takes ten minutes as if you’re teleporting...!"
’Because I am...’ Nerim thought as she lowered her gaze to the docunt on the table. "Eh? Baltimore, I’ve heard that na several tis from darling."
"Mhm, it’s his favourite place to run when seeking a mont to himself."
"I can imagine the sight, haha."
There were just too many won in this palace.
Nerim adjusted well but soon wondered if Asmodeus was crazy or just unable to stop himself.
"Let’s take a look, shall we?" Alice placed two cups of dark red tea, a few sugar cubes and cream in a silver jug on the table.
Nerim watched as Alice sipped her tea, her face scrunched up as she pulled out her tongue, before quickly adjusting after noticing her gaze.
However, before Nerim could make a joke, Alice’s face beca dark, and her hands almost crushed the docunts as she read them.
"No... this is..."
"W-What’s wrong?" Nerim tentatively asked.
Alice remained focused on the docunt as ti slowly passed.
Eventually, when the tea beca cold and all ten pages were read, she pulled back, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"Nerim, how fast can you get this docunt to Asmdoeus right now?"
"Uhm..." A little off guard, she hesitated.
"Nerim! This is serious, even more grave than the last encounter!"
"I can arrive in seconds!"
Alice nodded, "Good, then take these docunts and the book on ancient legends you just brought . The one about the Monster of the Deep, I believe, this will help him understand the situation... "
"Yes, Ma’am!"
Without asking another question, she gathered the docunts, carefully slotting them back into the envelope, and took the thick book with over a thousand pages.
’H-Heavy!’
The next mont, her body flashed with a watery glow as she vanished.
"Damn, so she can teleport... what an amazing power," Alice grumbled alone in the room, reaching for her cold tea and sipping it.
"BLEERGH!"
Only to spit it out and toss the cup against the wall.
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