Novel Full Chapter 1120: No Friends
Chapter 1120: No Friends
“You have no friends.”
“…What?” Quinlan blinked, genuinely thrown by what the oriental beauty had just said.
“You’re surrounded by women,” Ayame explained evenly. There was no mockery nor hints of joking in her tone; she was dead serious. “I think you should have a male friend or two as well. Even you told me this earlier in our journey, but you’ve not been following your own words.”
“But I do have male friends.”
“Hah!” Ayame’s snort was quick, sharp, and merciless. “Yeah? Who? You joked around with Ronan, sure, but he’s off in Miri Town doing construction work. And let’s be honest, he’s your slave, not the kind of friendship I’m talking about. He’s also a horny pig, so let’s forget him. I don’t want you to associate with that human garbage; he could be a very bad influence.”
Quinlan’s lips curved into a grin. “So your opinion on him hasn’t changed, hmm?”
Of course it hadn’t. She’d been showing animosity toward the man ever since they bought him.
The reason for Ayame’s feeling stemmed from the fact that Ronan wasn’t enslaved for debt or theft; he was shackled because he had charmed and bedded a noble’s daughter despite being a commoner. A very big taboo. Ayame, herself a girl of noble birth, considered him a scumbag for that reason. Not because she disbelieved in love between nobles and commoners—far from it—but because Ronan had gone behind the family’s back for nothing more than a tumble.
He’d deflowered the girl, ruined her prospects, and most likely destroyed her standing in her household. Ayame knew better than most what that meant. She could see with painful clarity how the girl’s future had likely spiraled for the worse, all because of Ronan not being able to keep it in his pants.
Though, of course, one could also argue that the same was true for the girl as well.
This was why Ayame didn’t reach out to help her. She reaped what she sowed. The consequences for her actions were a lot more favorable than what Ronan faced.
But this knowledge didn’t make Ayame like Ronan anymore.
“… Broderick?” Quinlan tried.
Ayame burst into full-blown laughter, hearing that name. “You haven’t spoken to that guy since the day you entered the Consortium. Some friendship you share with him! You dropped him the moment you registered for the Phenom Trials. He became useless to you, and you forgot his existence.”
“Hey, we did visit him that one time when we bought Ronan and Iselda.”
Ayame’s stare cut right through his skull.
“… Got it,” Quinlan muttered, conceding that he was indeed not Broderick’s best friend.
She turned her attention toward Feng and Felicity, who were watching the exchange with wide-eyed curiosity. It was so interesting, in fact, that Felicity even forgot for a bit that she was being explained why she should let herself be [Subjugated].
While watching the two children, Ayame continued. “Your best buddies are, in fact, teenage girls. I’m starting to worry. I know you’re a possessive, jealous man, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some drinking pals. My father was always so happy when he could step away from family matters and just spend a few hours joking with his friends. I don’t expect you to cultivate some inseparable bond with another man; I think you’re incapable of that unless you sire a son. I just think having a men’s outing or whatever it’s called once every few months could be healthy for you.”
Seraphiel voiced her agreement. “When you’re busy with something, we girls often spend some bonding time together. I have a lot of fun during such gatherings.”
“We can talk about things that would be difficult in your presence. If you associate with women only, you will alienate yourself from your own gender,” Even Kitsara spoke up with an uncharacteristically serious tone.
“Though I only participated in a few gatherings, I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Serika nodded while sending Quinlan a supportive smile.
It was obvious his girls only wanted the best.
Quinlan rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhaling. “Your words hold some truth to them…”
Then he examined Ayame and noted something. “You look like you have someone specific in mind.”
Ayame nodded. “Ignis.”
“Oh.” Quinlan’s face eased a fraction. “I like him. He’s a nice guy.”
“Indeed. We’ve only met him briefly, but one could even say he saved our lives back in the beastman mission.”
“So what, you want me to invite him over for drinks?”
“No.” It was Aurora’s turn to voice her thoughts. “We’re not delusional enough to think you’d let another man into our home willingly. Even if we’ve never given you a single reason to worry.”
Quinlan gave her a side-eye. “So…?”
“Ignis is a wanted man,” Serika said. “Alexios put a bounty on all Shadow Vanguards and Veil Walkers. He’s hunted, just like us.”
Seraphiel took over. “But he’s not just a criminal. He’s also a family man who has three housewives. I don’t think he’s stupid enough to reveal where they live, but members of the Syndicate surely know. And the Syndicate itself might turn on itself. That information might get sold.”
“The wives would be used to capture him…” Quinlan concluded darkly. Then his gaze became even less amused as he added, “Your concerns are warranted, by the way. Some members of the Consortium seem to have already sold information about me to the king.”
“… That’s horrible news,” Vex sighed, finally slipping out of her jealous mode. “I didn’t expect fractures to happen so soon.”
“We’ll discuss this later. Let’s quickly finish the Ignis topic first,” Ayame spoke up. “Here’s my proposal. Knowing how possessive you are, having them here is out of the question. But Miri Town? That’s different. It’s growing quickly, and Ignis’s wives are retired combatants. Older than anyone else there. They’d add real value to the community. At the same time, you’d earn Ignis’s trust. As I said, I don’t expect you two to become best buddies, but it could be a start. As your partner, I thought it was about time I voiced my concerns.”
As Seraphiel weaved another spell to keep Raika among the living, her eyes shone with calculation. “Not only would we gain Ignis’s support, but as a man who knows a lot about us, we would ensure the king can’t use him to harvest even more damning information.”
Aurora’s voice chimed in smoothly next. “If the three wives joined in with Mavena to do some family business together, I’m sure Lucille would also feel better about leaving her behind in Miri Town. She was fine leaving Mavena in Braedon, as she grew up there. But Miri Town is uncharted territory for Mavena.”
Vex also voiced her support for the plan. “This is something I can get behind. Ignis has a pristine track record; he’s as trustworthy as they get. And he’s got a fulfilling love life, so our possessive hubby won’t have to worry about him getting any ideas.”
“I’m honestly unsure if our man is even capable of making friends with other men. Real friends, I mean,” Kitsara giggled.
“Well, true,” Vex admitted with a lovely giggle of her own. “I still remember back during the beastkin war. Hubby built us that elaborate bath just so he could ’explore my tattoos’ or more accurately, molest my skin to his heart’s content, and then he gave Ignis the cuck tub. I think he even broke it.”
“… That was not very nice,” Ayame said dryly, her eyes cutting toward Quinlan. She folded her arms. “You can start by apologizing to him for being a rude bastard.”
Seeing the many feminine gazes concentrating on him, all being on the same page, forced him to raise his hands in surrender.
It was decided.
Today, it was time to retire for the night (swim in dogkin juices). Tomorrow would bring an incredible amount of surprising changes, including the move of Quinlan in the chaotic manhunt.