Chapter 274 Not Exaggerated!
After the short meeting with his three subordinates, Alvine continued his visit to the other two areas without clutter and in incognito mode before returning to the palace.
The places that have marked his mind are the forge area, the arena where the monthly duels took place, but above all, the ivory tower that serves as an academy to help the children of city dwellers in their cultivation.
‘Who would have thought that I would find my ancient doyenne in the Ivory Tower and that she was still the director? Hehe, Celestia must really love the teaching profession.’ He said to himself, looking at the dark sky with eternally bright stars above him.
“Even if Randolph’s intentions were not good, I am still grateful to him for giving me such a chance to live such a life. However, I don’t know if it’s really thanks to his intervention that I find myself here. Whether it is the words of Dalvine, Sabrina, or even those of Linn, they all differ from each other. Sigh, I guess I have to unravel this mystery myself.”
“Maybe I should go and process the rapports in my office. According to grandpa, we must go to this mysterious town tomorrow. As for Sylvia, who has not yet come to meet me, I suppose she is more concerned with monitoring the planet of Alzania than anything else.” He murmured to himself by teleporting himself directly in front of his office, guarded by two high-ranking succubuses who seemed newcomers on this planet during his absence.
“Your majesty!” The two bowed to him after their brief surprise to see him suddenly appear in front of them.
“Good job to you both.” He said as he entered his office after the two opened the door in front of him.
But as soon as he entered his office, he was discouraged by seeing the piles of documents on his desk as if it were a decoration before the shooting of a film on the wall-street.
“How long do you plan to take on this planet?”
At this very moment, Linn’s voice resounded in the dark corner of Alvine’s office as she leaned against the wall.
“Hm? Were you waiting for me here, or did you just arrive?” Alvine asked after a keen glance.
“Hmm, that’s a good question. But it’s surprising to see you calm even in such a situation. Since when has the planet of this bastard become so pleasant and peaceful?” She asks, crossing her hands under her chest.
“I’m not surprised to see you here; what surprised me was to see you hold yourself properly for a whole day. In short, it’s good that you’re here; it will save me time.” Alvine spoke these words nonchalantly while strolling to his office.
“Did you want to talk to me? You don’t intend to extend your stay here, do you?” She asked with a frown.
“No. That is not the case.”
“So much better then. So, what is it?” She asked once again, barely seeing Alvine’s hair behind the piles of documents behind his desk.
“What I’m asking for is not an extension of a stay but to stay here with me.” He announced while starting his inspection.
But hearing Alvine’s words, the peaceful atmosphere that reigned in Alvine’s office drastically changed into a heavy and suffocating atmosphere.
“Did you lose your mind?” She asked coldly.
“Sigh, do you have anything against crowded places?”
“This is not the answer I was waiting for.”
“This is also not the question I was waiting for from you. The agreement we have between us is limited to your healing. And if possible, help you reach the legendary rank. But you seem to have forgotten a crucial thing; unlike you, I have responsibilities that cannot be neglected. People, children, families, a kingdom, a planet, but above all, a home to protect! Someone as lonely as you, who has lived alone, disconnected from the world for millennia… will never be able to understand me.” Alvine replied casually while continuing to read the reports he had missed.
“Ho~? So it took just one day to transform a scourge of genocide into a gentle and caring king? Stop making me laugh; this life is not the one you are destined for. You look like a god of evil trying to become the apostle of our holly goddess!” Linn replied sarcastically.
“… Please try to see the situation from another perspective. I am not asking you to wait but to stay on this planet during your healing process. If you wish, after we have finished processing these documents, we will do the dual cultivation as promised.” Alvine continued with a boring sigh when he saw her so capricious.
“No! As promised, we must go back to where we were!”
Seeing her so persistent, Alvine frowned, but he did not leave his documents from his eyes. “Why do you want me to go back on this solitary meteorite? This planet is the most suitable for dual cultivation, whether in magical energy or something else. If you are still angry with Assiaphir and Yuer, I…
“It has nothing to do with them.”
“… So what’s the problem?”
‘Why does she act like that? Sigh, and I, who thought she had finally started to soften.’ He said to Himself, finally looking at Linn.𝒪𝑣𝑙xt.𝗇𝓔t
“It’s…
“Why are you acting so strangely? This planet is at the same level as the planet of the Punishers. If you are so uncomfortable with the crowd, I’ll order the maids not to bother you. I will do my best to meet all your needs as my guest. So what exactly is the problem? Is there an emergency that forces you to act like that? Or maybe it’s because of Sabrina? No? So that’s the problem?!” The more Alvine thought about the cause that pushed Linn to act like that, the more confused he became.
The most disbelieving thing for him is seeing Linn become angrier as he tries to reason with her.
“Why do you want to stay here? Because of this traitor’s daughter?” she then loud this question.
“Eh? What does it have to do with Assiaphir? I say that there is an emergency that can endanger everyone on the planet. And taking care of it will probably take an indeterminate time. How could I turn my back and peacefully live when the people I cherish are in danger of death? On top of that, I don’t remember telling you that I would stay with you forever. Our agreement is only related to your healing. So what’s wrong with you staying a little with me for this short moment?”
As soon as he finished his last sentence, Alvine became speechless when he saw Linn’s eyes. “H-Hey, are you sure you’re not possessed by an evil spirit or something like it?! Or maybe it’s the side effects of your curse?!”
“W-what?! I’m doing perfectly well. It is rather up to me to ask you such questions. Why do you want to stay here with these mortals? Because you are now a king? Because you have the lives of thousands of people on your shoulders? Or because this succubus uses her useless work as an excuse to charm you even more?”
“??” -Alvine
“Don’t give a damn about me! These people have never needed your protection to live; you and they are different. How can you worry about the lives of these insects when you killed billions without blinking?! Sooner or later, you will be betrayed by them. They are not and will never be able to get rid of their nature. It’s just profiteers and…
-VWRR!
Her words got stuck in her throat when she noticed the aura and bloodthirsty eyes of Alvine, who could no longer keep his rage under control when he saw her mock the hard work of her subordinates.
“Please, I’ve heard enough. Look around you with your magical perception. Maybe, it’s unnecessary since you may have already done it several times. I wouldn’t even be surprised to learn that you were watching me from the moment I ordered Yuer to take you to the living room. But throughout your rude espionage, what did you notice? Despair? Wickedness? Or another negative feeling? No! None of this! So, what do you…! Sigh, please; I don’t want to disagree with someone who helped me so much.” He tried to calm down after losing control of his emotions due to Linn’s mockery words against his subordinates.
“…”
“…Sigh, If you are not able to see the intentions of these people, so, It’s such a mess to see you endowed with such good eyes that can see hidden things. These people you see there, even if I’m the scourge you’re talking about, it would never bother me as long as my family stays safe!”
“Everything I have done, everything I have accomplished, all the suffering I have endured, all my being is here! This place, these people, are irrefutable proof that I had accomplished something in this life, unlike before when I was nothing more than a good-for-nothing who lamented about his fate by constantly accusing destiny of being so unfair to me. So, if, once again, you repeat such words by mocking these people who all do their best to help me, I would do what you want to pay all my debts to you. But on the other hand, we will be strangers to each other.” He then continued.
“… It has nothing to do with it.” She retorted these words between her tight teeth.
“Seriously, what the hell is your problem?! Sigh, is that related to the antique remains?” Alvine finally asked with a frown.
“What vestiges are you talking about? Have you found any remains on this planet?!”
Upon hearing her question, Alvine almost lost consciousness. ‘Haha, this odd girl! I never thought she would be more problematic than these piles of documents in front of me! Even if women are complicated, her case is really exaggerated. She’s really going to drive me crazy at this rate!’ He almost loudly scolded her when he saw her suddenly change the subject as if nothing had happened.
“Sigh; this is the reason that forces me to stay here for a while. My subordinates told me about discovering an entire town hidden behind an invisible barrier. I don’t know what threat is hidden in this city, nor its origin. It is a city that even Assiaphir, who had lived on this planet for millennia, did not know its existence. But those who discovered the existence of this ghost town said in their report that it probably houses an existence or a kind of creatures that goes beyond the power of a high-ranking divine mage.” He explained with a sigh, seeing Linn become normal again; at least, that’s what he thought.
But he immediately abandoned this idea when he saw the surprise in the latter’s eyes.
“Do you know anything about this city?” He then asked with a frown.
“… T-this city is probably one of the old cities that existed before the goddess disappeared.” She commented in an uncertain tone.
“Hoo~? Aren’t you also going to tell me legendary stories similar to those of Asiaphir?” He asked while continuing to analyze the documents.
But Linn did not pay attention to his sarcastic words. ‘It’s strange. Why will such remains appear on this planet? Now that I think about it, this planet is the most mysterious among the rank one planets; There are all kinds of unverified legends about it, such as the goddess domain or the place where the supreme tree had been planted. Sigh, even if I hate to see him stay on this planet that has about 80% of women, 97% of whom are succubuses, I can’t let such an opportunity slip between my fingers.’ She decided in her thought while silently watching Alvine check the reports.
…
..
.
Then, Even if the reports were hundreds, Alvine did not take more than two hours before finishing with them.
“Huff!!” He then exhales a breath of fresh air after checking the last report that explained in detail the creation of the ivory tower, the resources used during its building, the admission procedures, the conditions that a person must meet to be an ivory tower teacher, etc.
“I want you to leave me with you!” Linn’s voice suddenly resounded behind him after an hour of silence.
“Hm? Are you still there?” Alvine asked, looking behind him.
“You want to come with me? Are you talking about exploring the ghost town?” He continued.
“Yes.” She responds instantly.
“… I don’t mind. But I have only one condition.” He enumerated, raising his index finger.
“Which one?”
“As fabulous as the wealth, resources, weapons, artifacts, elixirs, or even other things we will find in this city, will return to the government.” He said with a Machiavellian smile.
‘As the dangers are so exaggerated, it would be stupid of me to refuse the help of a primordial.’ He continued in his thoughts while keeping his smile on his lips.
“Do you call it one condition? What’s the point of going with you if it’s to come back empty-handed?!” She asked between her tight teeth.
“Hmm~ to satisfy your curiosity, I guess?”
“Tsk, you’re still as vicious.”
“You can forget otherwise. And don’t even try to imagine following us incognito.” He gave this warning calmly.
“But if you are interested in something, maybe I could make an exchange as long as it is beneficial for my people.” He added when he saw her hesitation.
“… Very good. So when do you plan to leave?” She finally nodded when she saw Alvine propose this compromise to her.
“Hmm, tomorrow, at about 10 o’clock.” He said with a satisfying smile.
“10 o’clock? Ah, I see. But above all, You must do something for me before going to such a dangerous area.”
“Is this hidden town so dangerous?” Alvine asked with septical eyes, guessing the service that Linn wanted to ask for.
“Sigh, you don’t seem to take the dangerousness of such areas seriously. If this city is really an ancient city, then I advise you not to bring any divine mage with you, whatever their levels! Even I couldn’t guarantee my safety with this fucking curse. That’s why you must do everything you can to help me break this curse before dawn!”