Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Sweetheart
Chapter 192 – Sweetheart
"How did you get here so fast?" Klaus asked immediately, looking at Esmeray and Sarah.
He had thought that with his wind affinity and his ability to fly, no one would have reached the Safe Zone before him, unless they had a space-type Aspect.
Which was extremely rare.
However, what he didn’t know — and what the girls would never bother to tell him — was that Sarah’s memory was out of this world.
So while they were falling from the sky, she had been able to obtain not only a complete map of the Rocky Mountains but also of the other three zones, with nothing more than a single serious glance.
It was no wonder that once they had landed, she had guided Esmeray straight to the Safe Zone. However, because they had fought the White Apes along the way, and Sarah’s strength was severely lacking, they had taken longer to reach it.
Because of that, Emrys had been the second to reach a Safe Zone in the Test.
Still, they were slower than Emrys by only a minute or so, making them the third to enter a Safe Zone.
They were each rewarded 1,500 Elysia Points.
But Klaus knew none of that. And Esmeray, instead of answering his question, said something completely unrelated.
"Say, Klaus, it’s well known that you are Cassius’s childhood friend." She said, smiling. "How about you tell us more about him? I’ve heard he was quite an evil little child."
"Evil?" Klaus tilted his head. "What even is evil?" He asked, then looked at Sarah.
"And who is this weak-looking woman? She is only at Mortal rank and her aura is far too mundane. A commoner? Yes, definitely one. They’re easy to recognise. Are you a babysitter for weak commoners now, Esmeray?"
Sarah’s eyebrows twitched heavily, looking at Klaus with dissatisfaction.
"She is my brother’s maid." Esmeray replied, lovingly wrapping an arm around Sarah’s shoulders. "And mind you, Klaus, for some reason, my brother likes her very much. And she likes him too, as I’ve noticed. Can you believe it? I offered myself to her and she refused my body."
"Princess, please." Sarah pleaded, embarrassed by Esmeray’s words and actions.
Inwardly, she promised herself to have a serious talk with Raven later.
Why hadn’t he taken her with him? This had been the perfect opportunity for them to make some memories.
But instead, he had gone off on his own.
’Why has he been a little more distant lately?’ Sarah thought worriedly. ’He still talks to me and spends time with me, but... something has changed. And I see him with Anesthesia far too often these days.’
Had he already failed to control himself? Had he given up and chosen Anesthesia?
Sarah subtly bit her lower lip, then gently shook her head, trying to focus.
’Don’t think about it, Sarah. For now, I need to pass the test first. I can’t fail Lord Earth because of my own personal life!’
She thought with strong conviction, and almost choked when Esmeray spoke again.
"Say, Klaus, would you sleep with me if I asked?"
"You are Cassius’s aunt." Klaus said, walking toward them. "I would never do such a thing. And I want to do it with my wife first."
"Says the man whose soon-to-be wife cucked him with Emrys." Esmeray mocked.
Klaus’s lips twitched. "I don’t know what or who you’re talking about. You must be confusing me with some lame man."
"Is that so?"
"Definitely. And Esmeray, can you stop talking about sex? Now that you brought it up, though, I have an interesting story for you. I just saw Love fighting those White Apes. Hahahah. Do you want me to tell you what I did?"
"You fucked her?"
"Well, in a way, I did."
He smiled broadly, proudly, sitting cross-legged in front of them. Windy was still perched atop his head, looking at the women with hostile eyes that openly screamed, "Don’t get close to my Klaus!!"
They ignored her completely.
"Oh? In what way did you fuck her?" Esmeray asked, curious. "Maybe I can learn something."
Sarah, meanwhile, was lost and embarrassed.
These two’s conversation was completely random, making it hard for her to follow.
And her thoughts were proven right when, halfway through his story, Klaus randomly decided to answer the first question Esmeray had asked him — the one about Cassius.
Yet again without finishing his answer, he suddenly thought it better to tell Esmeray how Keisha had been an annoying crybaby who couldn’t stop clinging to Cassius when they were young, and how Natalia was just as annoying with her dream of a prince who loves her every single day.
By the time he decided to move on to another subject, the three of them came to a complete stop, sensing a new presence.
Turning their attention toward the entrance of the Safe Zone, the trio took in the sight of an otherworldly woman with white-and-gold hair and deep white eyes.
Esmeray’s and Klaus’s hearts skipped instantly, dazed by such beauty.
And when the woman smiled, even Sarah was affected, though with a chill crawling up the back of her neck.
The woman was beautiful to the point of being impossible.
Beside her, Anesthesia and Isolde would look like commoners.
"Hello," Theophane said gently, her voice like one belonging to an angel. "I hope I didn’t interrupt anything."
The trio were slow to answer, their eyes still hazy. But soon after, they recovered themselves and answered quickly, stuttering.
"O-of course not!" Klaus said, inwardly shocked at why he was so nervous.
"Please, sweetheart — oh, I’m sorry, I don’t even know you, but may I call you sweetheart?" Esmeray said with a wide smile. "I am Esmeray Hood, Princess of Hood."
Sarah said nothing. Something was deeply wrong with this woman, and she could feel it.
Theophane bowed her head at their words. "I am Theophane Celeste. Nice to meet you, Princess — and you, handsome — and you too, beautiful."
Her eyes curved into a crescent of a smile. "And yes, Princess, I would be honoured if you called me, a simple commoner, sweetheart."
"Then come, sweetheart! Come, let’s talk!" Esmeray said hastily, thrilled at such beauty. Her heart was beating far too fast — almost as fast as when she was with Bliss — and strangely, no lust grew within her.
It was as if lusting over someone so immaculately beautiful would be the greatest sin.
This was a completely new feeling. Different from the one she had with Bliss. And Esmeray found herself trembling with an entirely new emotion.
The feeling of awe.
Slowly, Theophane walked toward the trio. The closer she came, the more Sarah felt the instinctive urge to run.
She could sense it. She could feel it deep in her heart, that this impossibly beautiful woman...
’...is a monster!!!’
And just as that thought crossed her mind, Theophane spared her a glance — and for a brief moment, far too brief to even be registered by Time, her face became devoid of everything, emptied of all emotion and thought.
But...
...Sarah always remembered. And for the first time in her life, Sarah wished she could delete a memory without being ordered to.
...
At the same moment, in the Zone of the Yellow Forest, Meadow and Omm were walking peacefully toward the Safe Zone.
They were protected by a Tier Four Invisibility Cloak that hid them from the monsters of the Yellow Forest — creatures that looked like tall giants made of yellow wood.
At the same time, in Meadow’s hand was something resembling a compass, its needle pointing in the direction they were heading.
"With this," Meadow began with a smile, "we’ll find the area with the least chaotic disturbance in this zone. That area is most likely the Safe Zone."
Omm simply nodded, his face slightly stiff. And it had been like this since the test began.
Which was thirty minutes ago.
Meadow was finally tired of Omm’s lacklustre responses. This was supposed to be a fun event for her.
But he was spoiling it.
"What’s wrong with you?" She hissed, irritated, her pink eyes narrowing behind her glasses.
"Huh?" Omm exclaimed, walking slowly beneath the yellow canopy, then sighed. "It’s just that since the beginning, Miss Wealth, I have done nothing to help you. You’ve been protecting me this entire time."
He scratched his head, embarrassed. "I’m truly grateful. Honestly, I am. But I want to help too."
"Are you embarrassed because a woman is protecting you?"
"I-I mean..." Omm refrained from answering, knowing his answer might anger his Miss.
Meadow sighed. "Shepherd, you are a simple Mortal rank."
"...I can still help."
She looked at him intently for a moment, then nodded with a sigh. "Alright. Tell me what your First Skill can do."
"It’s hard to explain, Miss Wealth." Omm replied. "The main thing is that I can summon something out of something."
"What?" Meadow stopped in her tracks, looking at him.
Just a couple of metres from them were four Tier Six Tree Walkers.
Meadow and Omm completely ignored them, unbothered by their presence.
The monsters didn’t even notice them.
"I can summon something out of something." He repeated.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that if I have an artifact and use my Skill on it with enough materials, I can summon something related to that artifact."
Meadow frowned, feeling this was an Aspect far too strong to be in the hands of a commoner.
How was it possible?
And most importantly...
"Why haven’t I seen you use this power? Where are your summons?"
"As a Mortal rank, I can only summon one. But the problem is that the main condition for my Skill to work is that the item needs to carry a hint of spirituality."
"Spirituality? You mean awareness?"
"Yes. And I haven’t been able to find one like that until now."
"Of course you haven’t. Such artifacts are tremendously rare." Meadow said, even more surprised.
She knew Shepherd was somehow special, but why was his Aspect like this?
’From what I remember, neither of his parents had an Aspect like this.’
It was strange. But for now, she decided to set it aside.
"...but I do happen to have some of them."
"Huh?" Omm blurted, looking at her.
Meadow nodded. "I have one I can give you to use your Skill. But not now. Let’s reach the Safe Zone first, and see if you can use it there."
"...yes." Omm couldn’t bring himself to say no this time, desperately needing a way to be useful to Meadow.
They began walking faster now, knowing the time limit was approaching.
As they went, Meadow asked one question that piqued her curiosity greatly.
"What is the name of your Aspect?"
"Golden Commander." He answered.
The young tycoon nodded absentmindedly. Then suddenly, a piece of knowledge buried deep within her — gained from reading some book of the past ages — surfaced at the name of Omm’s Aspect.
Knowledge about a certain Undefeated—!
SNAP!
Meadow’s eyes snapped open as if waking from a trance. She stood still, looking around with eyes full of confusion.
"What was I saying again, Shepherd?"
—End of Chapter 192—
