金瓶梅第2部

With Sorina Capulet and Athena Vanzano conversing about... mage things... or womanly things... Tycon sought to greet two more Sol Invictus members, Corporal Horse and Private Jeremy.

The Vanzano stables were sorely in need of repair. Tycon would see to it that the two noble and loyal steeds would have access to some of the servants' mattresses by evening, as well as proper food and fresh water.

"You look well, Horse," Tycon patted his companion reassuringly on the neck. Horse was a strong and handsome chestnut-brown stallion and one of Sol Invictus' senior members.

"(Snake!! Yes. We are well,)" Horse whinnied. "(I was wondering, though... Do you know where a fellow can get some cocaine? Asking for a friend.)"

Tycon narrowed his eyes, "You might need to dissuade your 'friend' from such habits... And you, Mister Jeremy, have you had any difficulties?"

The cream-colored stallion nervously glanced to his left and right, "(Oh, me? S-sorry, Boss. I'm still unused to two-legged persons talking to me.)"

"(T-tell him that you need the good stuff,)" Horse urged. "(--and that you need it realllll bad!)"

Tycon felt the corner of his mouth twitch, "It's fine, Mister Jeremy. Give me a report, concerning your travels."

The two horses turned their head to gaze at a woman standing near the stable entrance.

Tycon followed their gaze... and approached her cautiously.

The woman of the Kingdom wore a white blouse with dark horizontal stripes and a conservative black skirt, her fiery red hair topped by a black beret. She appeared to be wearing dark eyeliner and other makeup... though the scent of it was mysteriously absent.

"Miss Seldin Korr... I almost didn't recognize you," Tycon chuckled to himself.

Korr was a former adventurer and one of the most powerful mercenaries he had encountered in the Kingdom. She was also the fourth and final member of Sol Invictus' reinforcements that had arrived with Sorina Capulet.

"Leader..." Korr whispered, her cheeks reddened. "H... hi."

Curiously, the long scar that covered half of her face had vanished. Her blind eye was open, with a matching iris to match her opposite. Tycon utilized his System to identify the cause. The young lady was hiding her physical imperfections with Elementary-Rank glamour magic.

That wouldn't do.

"I would prefer if you didn't use such glamours." He tapped a finger upon the young woman's cheek, easily dispelling the low-rank spell, "You are beautiful as you are, Korr."

A sudden chill ran down Tycon's spine while conversely, the immediate area around Korr began to rise in temperature. What was going on? Was she going to attack him?

Korr stared at him with wide eyes... her cheeks flushing to a deep crimson. She wanted something... but what?

Did she want to fight? Tycon shifted his body weight, gaining some consolation that he felt his short sword on his back. He was stronger now. He wasn't afraid of her.

⟬ Seldin Korr, Gold-Rank Human Raging Flame Knight. ⟭

Abort mission! He was not stronger than her! He was very afraid of her!

The woman violently thrust her arms out to the side. Was she going to charge an attack? A soul-rending sphere of obliteration? A ⌈Hyper Beam⌋?

No, that was ridiculous.

Based on her class, it was probably a fire-based attack.

"H... hug..." Korr threatened in a quiet voice.

Was she going to crush him to death?!

She was blocking the doorway! Unable to escape, Tycon's brain operated at its maximum calculating speed.

Was she upset that he dispelled her glamour? Did she need a raise in pay? Was he supposed to have purchased a gift? He hadn't... and that blunder was about to cost him his life.

No... there was a chance. There had to be something he could use to appease her rage.

Was she... hungry? Women became violent when they were hungry. It was one of the few things Tycon knew about the capricious creatures.

"K-korr..." Though Tycon's heart trembled in fear, he forced himself to smile, "H-how about we get something... to eat?"

"L-leader and me?" Korr gasped. She dropped her eyes to her feet and fidgeted with her hands. "Just... the two of us?"

"...Yes?"

The temperature continued to rise, causing some of the hay on the stable floor to smolder and ignite. Had he miscalculated? The notion was inconceivable! The promise of food assuaged all forms of aggression!

"Hey, you guys talkin' about food?" Centurion Zenon popped his elevated head into the stables. "Ooh, it's warm in here."

Tycon was saved! "Yes! Yes, Centurion! Absolutely."

He turned to Korr...

The woman was gone... while unobserved, she had retreated to beside Horse and Jeremy, leaving a bit of smoking hay where she stood. Tycon casually snuffed out the flame with his boot.

Sorina popped her head in, just below Zenon's, "You guys goin' out to eat? I've always wanted to try authentic Tyrion cuisine."

"Oh, yeah?" Zenon smiled, "I've got this great place for just that! It's only a few streets down from here."

Tycon smiled nervously, "Wonderful. Let us leave, immediately."

...

Sol Invictus and Team Athena ate a late lunch at Zenon's favorite restaurant, Olea Garden.

Athena and her two footmen ordered conservatively. They didn't seem to like the restaurant much.

Zenon ate his fill-- mostly eating the complimentary breadsticks.

Korr looked generally unhappy until the meal was served. Then, she ate ravenously from both her own plate and Tycon's.

Tycon was just happy to be alive, so he surrendered his meal without contest.

Sorina Capulet suffered a case of food poisoning and needed to be carried back.

Victorius volunteered for the task, likely for lascivious reasons. After Athena beat her footman with her sheathed sword, the task was assigned to Korr. The red-haired Knightress slung Sorina over her shoulder, rear-facing-forward, allowing the Calculator to freely expel the contents of her stomach as she pleased.

Upon returning to the estate, Athena insisted on providing Sorina Capulet and Seldin Korr guest rooms, unwilling to assign them to the servants' quarters.

...which also made him realize that he and Zenon were not given the same offer.

It was fine. There were so few servants in the estate that he had taken an entire room for his own use.

When Tycon returned properly, he expected to work throughout the evening. He needed to request a few more favors from his associates to ensure the smoothness of House Vanzano's reestablishment.