Chapter 559: Don’t you Mean Grand Guild Master?

"Good evening, Dame Sara," Erica bowed her head a bit, her voice soft and respectful, and her green eyes meeting Sara’s briefly before dropping again in deference. "It is a pleasure to make your acquainta—"

"Why is such a beautiful woman like yourself bathing with my husband?" Sara interrupted her with a straight face, her emerald eyes fixed on Erica with a burning intensity that made the elf shrink back. "I love the goddess, Hera, and I despise infidelity, I’ll have you know."

To Erica, the martial partner of a 1000-years-old god just found them naked with their lover, and they’re pissed about that.

As Erica got frightened and didn’t know what to say anymore, her green eyes wide with terror, Benjamin nudged Sara a little, his elbow pressing into her side with gentle insistence.

"C’mon, don’t scare her," he pouted, wth his blue eyes carrying a note of reproach. "This person has helped me a great deal here in Thaad. She has been invaluable, a true companion and ally. You should be thankful for her assistance rather than threatening her."

"Ah, so this place is Thaad?" Sara raised a brow in surprise, her head tilting slightly as she processed this new information. "Are you not supposed to be in Goliathens, fulfilling your duty to the Interracial Alliance? What are you doing here instead?"

Benjamin jolted and glanced at Heka nervously for backup, his eyes darting toward the Amazon woman with a desperate plea for help.

"Sister, listen to this; Benjamin refused to heed my cries for reason," Heka threw him under the wagon, her voice flat and unapologetic. "I tried to convince him to stay on course, to follow the mission he was given, but he would not listen to me. We even visited the Khairkhan tribe before coming here, wandering far from where we were meant to be. King Renard must be enraged by this defiance."

"And enraged, he is, trust me," Sara side-eyed Benjamin, her lips curling into a teasing smile. "He has sent a lot of messages and letters to mother expressing his displeasure and demanding explanations. Though mother herself only finds the whole thing amusing and feels Benjamin should spread his wings, explore the world, and experience what it has to offer."

She turned to Erica once more, her expression softening slightly, her voice losing some of its edge; "Please, do not take my words for certainty. Benjamin belongs not only to me but three kingdoms’ worth of powerful women, each of whom has a claim on his attention and affection. One more darling elf does not make much difference in the grand scheme of things. Welcome to the family... but understand that I am the first wife, the one who holds precedence above all others~"

"Hey, hold up!" Benjamin grabbed Sara’s cheeks and pulled her face towards him, his fingers pinching her skin with gentle but insistent pressure. "I and Erica aren’t like that! We are friends and allies for life. Don’t make this weird by implying something that does not exist! Erica, please don’t be offended by her word s."

[That said, Sara keeps calling herself my wife, and I know I proposed to her but... since when were we married?] Benjamin pondered silently, his thoughts turning inward, his mind searching through memories for the moment when a proposal became a binding union. [Did I miss a ceremony? Was there a document I signed? When did this become official in her mind?]

As they exchanged polite words on economics, politics, and cultural matters on Amaranthyst and Verdant Spire, their voices dancing across the warm water, Erica got interested in Amazon culture more, her eyes lighting up with curiosity as she listened to Sara describe the customs and traditions of her people.

"Ah, so Benjamin became an adventurer?" Sara glanced at him, her expression one of mild surprise. "King Renard asked me to join once, but I was still a dark and gloomy woman then, before Benjamin brought light into my life."

"Ah, yes," Benjamin shrugged, his shoulders rising and falling with casual indifference. "That femboy sex slave seems to have a hand in the adventurer’s system, pulling strings and making decisions from behind the scenes. Heh. I will never allow him to control me. More like I enjoy seeing him squirm when I disobey direct orde—!!"

Benjamin suddenly stopped talking and started sweating with a nervous smile, his face paling, his eyes darting around as if searching for an escape route, his body tensing with sudden awareness.

"Wh-what I meant was, King Renard is a cool and amazing ruler, yes... A leader of great wisdom and compassion," Benjamin reiterated carefully, his voice strained with effort, his words measured and deliberate. "You know, he’s cute, charismatic, girlie, smallish, human-traffic-able—"

"Would you stop the abuse already?" Another gender neutral voice slipped in naturally, smooth and calm, as Benjamin flinched again.

"Good evening, your Majesty," Sara bowed, addressing the new figure in the basin opposite to her position, her voice carrying the proper respect due to royalty, and her head dipping in a formal gesture. "It is a surprise to find you in such a location at this time, so far from your kingdom and duties."

"Yes, good evening my dear," The individual replied, their blue eyes still locked on Benjamin with an intensity that made the man squirm, their expression one of calm wrath. "There was a matter of particular concern I had to address personally, a situation that required my immediate attention. Don’t mind my intrusion into your private bathing."

"K... King Renard?!" Erica nearly jumped out of her skin again, her entire body jerking with shock, her green eyes going wide, her mouth falling open in disbelief.

She was seeing the literal king of the allegedly greatest human kingdom in the world submerged in the same basin as her, casually soaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Don’t you mean Grand Guild Master?" Renard faced her and smiled warmly, their expression kind and welcoming, and their voice gentle and reassuring. "How are you doing today, Erica? I hope my sudden appearance has not disturbed you."