Chapter 921: An Invitation

Ludwig moved away after Celine left, patrolling around the territory and found Thomas sitting on the manor steps. The fire spirit was eating something stolen from the kitchen while watching the Holy Order’s smoke rise from the eastern fields.

"What do normal people do for fun?" Ludwig asked as he sat beside him.

Thomas chewed more slowly. "You’ll have to narrow that down. Different people enjoy different things."

"Something that doesn’t involve work, fighting or frightening anyone."

"You could eat, sleep or drink. Those seem to occupy most adults."

"I’ve already tried all three, and my body doesn’t demand the first two. Nor does it get drunk from the third..."

Thomas stared across the courtyard as he searched for another answer. "Some people paint. Others ride horses, collect things, play music or set things on fire."

"Normal people usually avoid that last one."

"They set smaller things on fire. Candles, fireplaces, cooking stoves. It’s all a question of scale."

Ludwig rose. "This conversation has been useless."

"Dude, you’re pretty bored aren’t you... hmm, why not try fishing?"

For reasons Ludwig never fully understood, he accepted that suggestion.

Bastos had a river, people often sat beside rivers with rods, and Thomas claimed the activity became relaxing once someone accepted the waiting.

Ludwig borrowed equipment and settled beneath a tree. Three hours passed before the line finally moved. He reeled in a silver fish and watched it thrash across the grass.

The fish’s mouth opened and closed while Ludwig considered what he was supposed to feel. He had succeeded, yet the achievement brought no satisfaction.

"Apparently, I’m meant to enjoy this," he told it.

The fish continued suffocating.

Ludwig removed the hook and returned it to the river. "You can go. At least one of us should benefit from those three hours."

Hunting offered more movement, but every genuinely dangerous creature had either fled Bastos or died during its reclamation. Ludwig walked several miles into the forest, found tracks and followed them until a massive boar charged from the undergrowth.

He stepped aside and struck it once.

The boar died before it hit the ground.

Ludwig stood over the carcass and stared at the damage. "Tsk."

Three hours later, Celine sat in her office reviewing trade agreements when Ludwig entered with the enormous boar draped over one shoulder. Blood ran from the carcass and spread across the newly restored floorboards behind him.

Celine slowly lowered her pen. "Why are you carrying a dead boar through the manor?"

"I went hunting after fishing proved unbearable. This attacked me, and leaving it in the forest seemed wasteful."

"I see...but Do the kitchens even need this much meat?"

"Probably not."

Celine examined the widening trail of blood. "Take it to them anyway. Once they decide what to do with it, get someone to clean that, please."

She didn’t look pleased...

Ludwig followed her gaze and finally noticed the mess stretching through the doorway. "I may have overlooked that."

"The boar distracted you?"

"It’s heavier than it looks."

The cooks were considerably happier to see the animal than Celine had been. They claimed it would feed most of the settlement, which gave Ludwig a brief sense of accomplishment.

That pattern became his routine. He found something to occupy himself, discovered that people either had no need of his help or became terrified when he offered it, and returned to the manor before beginning again the next day.

The cleansing continued while Ludwig searched for ways to endure peace. Purification markers spread across the outer territory, the red soil gradually retreated and corrupted pools began reflecting the actual sky. Twisted roots died properly for the first time in centuries. Animals returned to the forests, and new fields extended beyond the settlement.

Bastos had begun to resemble an actual territory. It remained small, quiet and underpopulated, but life had returned.

Ludwig resented how little of that recovery required him.

He had spent years wishing people would stop placing every disaster in his hands. Now Celine governed Bastos, Misty supervised the purification and Didal helped manage the settlement. Kaiser appeared perfectly content building his absurd necropolis without assistance. Van Dijk continued searching for Gluttony, the Empire was stable, and Necros had explicitly ordered Ludwig to rest.

Even the remaining Usurpers seemed willing to leave him alone.

For the first time in years, nobody required Ludwig Hart to save anything. He should have enjoyed that freedom. Instead, he was fucking miserable.

One afternoon, he appeared in Celine’s office and sat across from her desk. She continued reading without acknowledging him.

"If you’re here to reorganize another work crew, the answer is no," she said. "Yesterday’s chicken coop did not require an Apostle’s intervention."

"The frame was poorly planned. One side would have sagged within a month."

"It was a chicken coop. The residents could have repaired it without experiencing a crisis of confidence."

"I improved it."

"You redesigned it to withstand a cavalry charge."

Ludwig rested his arms across the chair. "That sounds like excellent construction."

Celine finally looked up. "Please leave my office before you remember another problem that nobody asked you to solve."

"This is technically my manor."

"You wanna do the paperwork?"

Ludwig held her gaze for a moment before rising. "Fine. I’ll leave."

"That’s what I thought."

He returned twenty minutes later.

Celine set down her document. "What happened?"

"I’m leaving Bastos for a while."

That drew her full attention. "Where are you going, and should I begin preparing for whatever crisis you found?"

"I haven’t found one. Necros hasn’t contacted me, Kaiser hasn’t created another problem, and I’m leaving Gluttony to Van Dijk as promised."

"Then why are you going?"

Ludwig leaned against the doorframe. "Because I’ve spent weeks trying to rest, and I’m one quiet morning away from interfering with the construction of a second chicken coop. I want to leave the house."

Celine stared at him before slowly leaning back. "You came here with that expression because you want an afternoon outside?"

"I was thinking longer than an afternoon. The Imperial Capital has shops, taverns, food and enough people that I can stand in the street without anyone assuming I’m inspecting their work."

A smile threatened the corners of her mouth. "You have rediscovered the concept of a city."

"I remembered cities perfectly well. I had forgotten they could be visited without an army."

"That is an important distinction." Celine looked toward the documents on her desk. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow. You should come with me."

The invitation was casual enough that Ludwig might have been asking her to inspect a damaged wall. Celine studied him, waiting for some indication that he understood what he had proposed.

"Do you want my help with something in the capital?" she asked.

"I want your company. You know the city better than I do, and spending the day alone defeats the point of going somewhere crowded."

That answer surprised her more than any grand declaration would have. She covered it by straightening the papers in front of her.

"What exactly are we doing once we arrive?"

"I have no plan. We can walk around, find somewhere to eat and see whether the capital contains anything less boring than Bastos."

Celine smiled openly now. "That may be the worst invitation I’ve ever received."

"Is that a refusal?"

"No. not at all." She closed the document and set it aside. "We’ll leave tomorrow morning. I need enough time to organize the work here and ensure you arrive looking like a Marquis rather than someone who spent the afternoon dragging animals through a forest."

Ludwig examined his clothing. "There’s nothing wrong with what I’m wearing."

"You still have dried blood on the sleeve."

He found the small brown stain near his wrist and rubbed at it with one thumb.

"Yeah, that won’t get removed by spitting on it or rubbing it hard. You’ll need better clothes."

"The Regalia you made for me is plenty enough."

"That one is made for war, and battle, it’s hardly good enough for a social outing."

Ludwig left muttering about aristocratic priorities. Celine watched the empty doorway for several seconds before looking down at the documents she had intended to finish that afternoon.

Tomorrow, they would travel to the capital without a mission, an enemy or a kingdom requiring salvation. Ludwig believed he had found a practical solution to boredom. Celine recognized the invitation for what it was and smiled despite herself.

"That idiot."