Chapter 29: Is it Worth?
“How could you kick her?!” Kyouka grabbed Nith’s hair and pulled him up before giving him a painful noogie.
She squatted beside the unconscious co-worker and woke her up.
Nith said, “She didn’t even feel any pain. That’s how amazing she is. Just dreaming about the princess is enough to make her forget about everything… yeah, to the point where she loses consciousness.”
“Why didn’t you wake her sooner?! It’s so late now! She’ll miss her evening studies!” Kyouka continued scolding Nith.
In response, Nith sneered, “Told ya. I kicked her a few times—”
“You idiot!” Kyouka passed a healing potion to her new worker, which eased the pain she felt around her stomach. Anesthesia was one of the effects that helped Kyouka’s alchemist skills rise to the top, making her all the rage in the capital.
“If you knew how much she yaps,” Nith whispered.
Not like he could have handed her a potion or done anything else. Kyouka would never leave her basement unless something urgent happened.
Nith didn’t deem the co-worker being knocked out an emergency, so he let her be. And now, his compassionate partner kept nagging him about how heartless he was.
“Bla, bla, bla,” Nith said, turning around and heading to the kitchen.
After thirty minutes, Kyouka joined him.
Despite still looking angry at him, she had changed into her casual clothes, which Nith appreciated. She made tea for herself before sitting beside him.
“I heard we had a peculiar client today,” Kyouka said.
“The yapping bitch talked about a banquet and nobles so much that one appeared and laid her flat. You have a talent with people,” Nith said, his face twisted.
Kyouka snorted, “You were in the wrong. Why the face? And yes, I have a talent with people—look who’s sitting beside me.”
She puffed her chest out, much to Nith’s pleasure. “Let bygones be bygones. Which princess visited us? It must have been Princess Valora.”
“How did you know?” Nith asked.
“You know what role noblewomen usually have in royal houses. The first princess is married to the neighboring kingdom’s second prince and doesn’t get much involved in the scene. The second princess, though—I heard her strength deters many men and that she doesn’t find relationships appealing. Rumor says she will only marry if it benefits her a lot.”
“Sounds like a certain someone,” Nith snorted.
Kyouka stuck out her tongue. “So?”
“Yeah, the banquet. Just read the invitation,” Nith pointed to where he had spat the invitation, emphasizing how foolish he had looked carrying the two letters like a dog.
Using her mana, Kyouka picked up the royal seal, opened the letter, and read its contents, her eyes sparkling with each sentence.
Not only could she take Nith to the banquet, but she would also meet many of her friends there and introduce him to them. The rest, such as the noble houses attending, didn’t matter to her.
Nith felt goosebumps down his spine. “I ain’t going with you.”
“Oh, you will!” Kyouka said. “Dare to stand me up, and I’ll make you regret it so much you’ll beg me for forgiveness on your knees!”
“How demanding you’ve become,” Nith said, musing aloud, “Is it worth suffering so much over a pussy?”
“Hey!” Kyouka turned red and puffed her cheeks, glaring at him with a furious stare. Her mature features contorted in such a beautiful angle that Nith couldn’t help but be amused.
“Well,” Nith turned his head to the side and looked directly into her eyes, “This silly bitch before me is so sexy that she doesn’t have to try much to draw my attention.”
Hiding her face behind the letter, Kyouka whispered, “You will definitely attend with me.”
Her eyes sparkled.
Nith shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. When is it?”
“In two months,” Kyouka replied. “Enough time to get your arms healed! I’ve finished early to study those veins more. Let’s head to my basement!”
“Bitch! I’m hungry!” Nith complained.
“Ah, yes… boooo,” Kyouka whined like a brat, heading over to the kitchen table to make a quick supper for them. “…couldn’t you just drink poison?”
“You want me to be human or not?” Nith deadpanned. “You also forgot that I also received an invitation?”
“True!” Kyouka looked over her shoulder. “Not to the banquet, I assume?”
“Yeah, to Valora’s guild,” Nith replied.
“Princess Valora. She may be forgiving today, but around others, and with others judging you, she’ll exert her status on you if you remain disrespectful. You’d better start calling her Princess Valora now, lest you get reprimanded by her or someone else. I can already see this snowballing into a mess, with you responding with a contorted face and someone else getting triggered by it… sigh, how demanding you are.”
“Now, you’re exaggerating,” Nith spat.
“Am I?” Kyouka sneered.
When the scrambled eggs were done, sizzling on the pan, Kyouka split them evenly onto the plates and brought them to the table.
She ate and fed Nith at the same time.
He said as he munched, “It seems me casually mentioning that I can concoct the same potions as you has gotten out of the store and… she heard about it.”
“For the first time, it’s not me blowing hot air… I should mark that on the calendar,” Kyouka commented after gulping down her portion. She didn’t talk with her mouth full, unlike a certain hunched clown.
“What do you think about her guild?” Nith asked.
“It doesn’t seem terrible. If she hadn’t openly declared that her goal is to get rid of the adventurer guild, no one would have paid much attention to her. The kingdom’s forces are also training in the danger zones and dungeons, after all. Until her guild becomes big, the adventurer guild will just keep tabs on her,” Kyouka said.
With that, Nith nodded, no longer bothering himself with her guild. The invitation said he could visit her guild anytime, so he decided to focus on his rehabilitation for now.
That was something Kyouka looked forward to as well, for many reasons.
