Chapter 57
"What? A hunt?" I asked as I saw the lord preparing to leave with a couple of soldiers and knights.
"Yes. The lord and his knights would be leaving for a three-day extended hunt." The lord's assistant explained. It seems like I wasn't asked to follow along due to my strength, or perhaps the lord was worried about my growth. Or there could be another reason. I didn't know, so it was better to just nod along. Not like they were going to find anything.
But...
"Why the sudden urge to hunt?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, you know why, don't you? There has been no sign of a monster for the past few days. Not even their remains are found. The trade has plummeted to the ground, so the lord is going himself to see what the issue is." The servant replied. I nodded and simply made my way to the lord to greet him. Only he was going from his family, so his wife and children would still be at home, which meant my duties wouldn't change.
As expected, "You are to remain at the residence until I return. Make arrangements with your family."
The lord said. Well, I could have taken offense to that, but by the time he would return, I would have already taken over his position and everything he owned, so...
"Most certainly, my lord." I simply replied and got it over with. There would be a battle when he returned, but I was confident I would be able to win. There were still the backups I hadn't used, so I was confident I could defeat the lord at the very least.
The only problem was to take over his house in three days. I wouldn't be taking over it in a literal sense. Just infiltrating enough to covet and steal all his wealth. I would also have to convince Zara to make a deal with me. Well, that was pretty much a gamble, and she would soon decide what her fate would be soon enough.
But she was a third circle mage as well, so if she wasn't on my side, then unfortunately, I would have to kill her. There was nothing personal. Although her talent was immense, and it made me want her, that didn't mean I would jeopardize my future plans because of her.
As I entered the house, the first person who came into my view was the very person I was thinking of and the first words she said to me were, "Follow me."
Uncertain, I followed her wherever she was taking me. In about five minutes, we arrived at the room in which we made love yesterday. Well, love was a fancy word to describe the animalistic mating we did, but it was still an extension of love, so... love.
It was love.
"What are we doing here, Lady Zara?" I asked.
"We will be making a deal." Zara got straight to the point before she took the seat on the bed in the same exact spot where I tapped her yesterday.
"A deal?" I asked.
"Yes. A deal." Zara replied before she waved her hand, and a bubble appeared around her. Although there was no one in our immediate vicinity, she still took countermeasures, so it must be something serious.
She looked at me with utmost seriousness in her eyes and said with determination and as heavily as she could in her soft voice to relay the severity of the situation, "Awaken your penis."
"Eh?" I was taken aback for a moment. It was a bit too sudden after all. And the way she was saying it was a bit comical as well. Anyway, I was quick to recover myself, and because she could repeat herself, I quickly replied, "Do, forgive me, Lady Zara. My penis can only awaken after noon."
Technically, an hour after noon, but it was in the same timeframe.
"There's a condition?" Zara asked. I nodded and explained in all honesty, "Yes, Lady Zara. I can only awaken it once a day, either after midnight or after noon."
Well, complete honesty wasn't necessary either.
"Hmm..." Zara mused for a while before she nodded and said, "Very well. We shall resume this conversation then. For now, I would like to offer you something. Surely for a young, growing man like you, you would have a certain level of ambition, correct?"
"Well, I always remember my limits." A modest reply. Never reveal your fangs, even if someone were to put a gun to your head.
"That's a good trait to possess as well." It was the correct answer from the looks of it. The problem with nobles was that they were very much narrow-minded, so if they saw someone crossing their limits and trying to rise above them, they wouldn't take it too kindly and would take care of the problem before it had even had a chance of maturing.
"The offer I have in mind for you is simple. In exchange for your services, your loyalty must be unquestioned." Zara stated her requirement. And no, she wasn't just talking about my dick services, there was something more to it. And the loyalty she mentioned wasn't to the lord but to someone else. Her, most probably. Or there was a chance of there being someone else. One possibility that came to my mind was whoever was behind the sewer rat incident.
Nothing was certain yet, so I simply steered the conversation in a direction advantageous to me.
"I shall lay my head down for the lord." Not an immediate answer. Never give an immediate answer.
With this one reply, I had cemented her beliefs that I was indeed a naive child who had just stepped foot in the world of the adults and had no idea how the world worked, and also made her ascertain that I wasn't disloyal as she presumed me to be. If I easily followed her, that would be a question of my loyalty, and if I understood the meaning of her true words, she wouldn't think of me as the innocent child I was coming forth as.
"No. Not to the lord. But to me." She corrected my misunderstanding. Her words were clear and precise, leaving no need for a question, but I wasn't supposed to come off as quite a clever kid, now was I? So, keeping up the pretense, I asked, "Is that not the same thing?"
"It is not." She said as she stood up and began to circle around me as she said, "Where my husband has sought to step on you and limit you, I shall grant you my full support. I won't limit you, but instead help you grow very quickly."
"Li-Limit me?" I stammered as I asked the question, the point I was supposed to be the most confused about.
"Yes. Why do you think he forbade you from going out to hunt? It's because he seeks to limit you, waste your potential so that the presiding lord wouldn't notice you and someday, probably, take this city and give it to you instead of him, who is nothing but a mere knight." Zara explained everything as she encircled me, her voice like that of a succubus that sought to entice me.
Pure horror appeared on my face as I began to realize the facts that came out of her mouth. With that, I was within her grasp.
"H-He was trying to do all that?" I couldn't believe the words coming out of her lips, and she chuckled. She placed her hand on my cheek as she closed the distance between us quite dangerously and said, "Yes~"
An enticing sound of a succubus indeed. She passed my lips and whispered in my ear like a demoness, "But I won't do that to you. I shall help you reach heights you wouldn't have even if he were not to limit you."
She parted, moving a little away from me, and she asked, "So? Will you join me, Jack?"
"Y-Yes, I will." There was no need to refuse. Acting all shocked and betrayed, it was enough to convince her that I had thoroughly come to hate the lord. She smiled and moved back, turning to leave the room as she left a few parting words behind, "Come find me when you can awaken your penis."
"Yes, Lady Zara," I replied with a subtle bow as she left me alone in the room.
I raised my head to look at her swaying ass in that tight dress, bouncing left and right as she walked out the door. Once she was out, I sighed and sat on the bed. With this, I was certain there was someone else behind her.
Someone powerful.
Now the question was whether or not they were the people behind the sewer rats or someone else.
Were they hostile? It didn't matter. To me, nothing else mattered. I always rose above everyone, and I shall do the same in this world as well. Whether they were hostile or not, I never considered them friendly in the first place.
They were all just... my bags of EXP.