City of Sin (Yanyu Jiangnan)

Days Together

Richard knew all of the Deepblue’s laws. One could throw a trespasser out by brute force, and they would not have to compensate for any injuries incurred or damage sustained. The law effectively allowed one to deal with intruders as they liked, but he got shivers at the mere thought of Mountainsea’s abilities and immediately crossed out that idea. Another way was to lodge a complaint to Blackgold, whereafter the enforcers would teach the intruders the law. But would that really work out? Telling that grey dwarf about this girl? He removed this thought from his mind as well.

That was how Richard realised that the supposed laws of the Deepblue were pretty much useless before someone with strength and status like Mountainsea. It was thus that the two began living together. The girl moved in alone, only bringing a handful of clothes along. Steelrock, that old man, and her other guards did not follow. Nobody would know what went on once the door closed.

Of course, if anything violent were to happen, Richard would not be the cause.

That night, a bonfire illuminated the campsite of the barbarians, and fresh whale was being roasted atop it. The grease from the whale dripped into the dancing flames, making them sizzle. Warriors and young girls alike danced in a circle around the bonfire, to the tune of horns, drums, and flutes in the backdrop. The music was intense, its strong rhythm pulling the audience into dancing to it. These people simply had far too much to celebrate about, for instance their most beloved princess receiving a ‘gift.’

Steelrock and the elder were sat in the corner, enjoying drinks and meat. It took entire barrels of alcohol for Steelrock to let out a satisfied sigh, “That Richard lad is pretty fine, but he’s still too young. With Mistress so close to him, will there be any issues?”

The old man laughed in reply, “Steelrock, did you forget Mistress’s unique innate ability? What she’s really fond of is the smell of Richard’s bloodline. It’s quite rare for someone to have the blood of both devils and elves.”

“Devils and elves? Well, that’s rare, but nothing special, right?” Steelrock scratched his head in confusion.

The old man shook his head, “No, it’s not that straightforward. It is almost impossible for two pure bloodlines to crossbreed. And by right, the strength of a hybrid’s blood grows weaker by the generations, and they won’t be easy to spot after a while. That boy is strange; I felt an unknown strength lurking within him, but couldn’t determine its nature. Someone covered it up; maybe Sharon, maybe someone else, but that bloodline ability of his is only the start. His soul is pure and forthright, and he has many essential abilities that could guarantee his ascent.”

“That makes sense. Honestly, after travelling to so many places in Norland I’ve rarely seen anyone who can’t be knocked down with money. Sharon is one, and this young boy is another,” Steelrock praised.

Were the legendary mage present, she would have first grown elated before beating this cunning and deceitful giant up for playing a fool in front of her.

The old man raised his head to the starry night of Floe Bay, the five moons in the sky unable to steal its limelight, “We don’t have to worry. The Beast God will lead Mistress to the people she should get close to,” Urazadzu lifted his cup and drank everything in one shot.

……

The days with Mountainsea were a bizarre but unforgettable experience. There were only three things in her daily routine. She was either eating, sleeping, or clinging to Richard. She never set aside time for practice, instead wasting her days away like someone who really fitted the definition of ‘gold-plated.’

Richard was somewhat worried about Mountainsea; since she’d already spent millions of coins to become Sharon’s pupil, he thought she might as well make full use of it. Learning something was better than learning nothing at all, and she should have served her money well. But these coins were worthless in the girl’s eyes. She told Richard that she didn’t need to train specifically as long as she had enough food and sleep to grow.

Richard’s first reaction upon hearing that was to stare at his schedule for a long time, before he eventually focused on an experiment to put an end to the conversation. Talking to Mountainsea was normally a pleasure, but sometimes it really pushed his buttons.

Mountainsea pushed away the plates in front of her, following Richard to the lab before curling up in a large chair for her afternoon nap. These days, the only thing that satisfied her in Deepblue was eating; that included Richard’s meals and Sharon’s fruits.

For the first three days she’d moved in, Richard had never been full. His meals had grown to ten kilos by virtue of Sharon, but even if the alchemists wanted to double his meals several of the rare ingredients in them had short shelf lives. They usually had to order these foods a month or two early, and the cooking took a lot of effort as well. They used up all their reserves, but they couldn’t bring out any more.

At one point, they thought about bringing out other food items for Mountainsea, but she looked at the plates and gagged in a disgusting manner, just like a picky child. Before she could say anything Steelrock had done the work for her, yelling at Blackgold as the dwarf thoroughly wiped his sweat and promised that both of them would have similar treatment in regards to meals in the future. In Blackgold’s eyes, Steelrock’s brown skin had started to glow emerald like that of his mistress.

On the third day, Sharon who was earning money on another plane sent a message back with a menu. Thus, from the fourth day, Mountainsea had her own personalised lunch and dinner. The girl resembled a house cat ever since then, looking forward to meal times everyday. Richard could never figure out how she could finish a 50kg meal within 3 minutes, just like he could not figure how Sharon was perpetually eating fruits. Their stomachs seemed to be spatial voids. Regardless, he could finally have a meal that filled his own stomach.

Mountainsea’s preferences were rather bizarre, and the meal that Sharon curated for her smelled strong and grotesque. The girl did offer some to Richard, but he lost all appetite the moment he took a whiff of the food. The girl herself found it strangely tasty, using both her hands to sweep through the box like a tornado. She would leave deep tooth marks in the cutlery, especially ones from her canines, even if it was all made of stainless steel. They changed it into carbon steel the next day, but with even that failing they switched to high-carbon steel used to make shields. They then tried lafite steel on the fourth, the same material used in rune knights’ breastplates. The destruction only stopped on the fifth day, when they changed to obsidian. Only a handful of even rune knights qualified to have weapons made out of this material.