Chapter 53: EnoughDay 56

  I knew that accepting Roxanne meant accepting responsibility for her. Showing hesitation would be irresponsible and cruel. Her training to adapt to any sort of master cannot repce her need for an unreserved commitment. I still expected to have some reservations, but somehow, I have none. I’m irreversibly drawn to her. Roxanne’s sweet smile, soft demeanor, unique charm, alluring scent — it’s all absolutely fantastic.

  It’s damn lucky we didn’t meet when I first got here, before Alina helped me break the old barriers. Would I have pushed her away saying, ‘That would be wrong’? Maybe at first. Nah, with the slightest encouragement from her, my old-world morals would have shattered. The girls are right, I’m easy. I barely managed to resist Tuuli for a day and she’s no Roxanne (sorry Tuuli).

  My old values now seem as silly to me as they did to everyone else. Last night, I completely forgot that Roxanne was a sve and her tail just reminded me of the area where it’s attached. Feeling her snuggling up to me is almost too much. Actually, why wait? Plenty of time to squeeze in a quick bonus round.

  We eventually dressed and went downstairs to join the breakfast in progress.

  “We won’t be working with Rutina today. Instead, I’ll have a short meeting with her and we’ll go somewhere else afterwards. If the duke shows up, I’ll come home even earlier. I simply can’t let him ruin a wonderful day.”

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  Dressed in normal clothes, I warped to the forest near Selmer’s Castle. I announced myself at the gate and was escorted to Rutina’s study. Security seemed to have rexed since the old count but I still wasn’t allowed to just walk around on my own. I entered to see Rutina talking to Cassia. I wonder if Cassia is still mad at me for the st time we spoke. Well, I did warn her not to talk to me at the time so it’s partially her fault.

  Cassia: “Welcome, Lord Moreau. Thank you for coming.”

  David: “Greetings, Your Grace. Lady Rutina, did I come at a bad time?”

  Cassia: “Lord Moreau, I’m here as the Provisional Governor of Selmer.”

  David: “Yes, Your Ladyship. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’m here to speak to Lady Rutina.”

  Cassia: “Lord Moreau, if you have business with the County of Selmer, you are to speak to me.”

  David: “Alright, then please ask Lady Rutina when she might be avaible.”

  Cassia: “Lord Moreau, you don’t seem to understand proper protocol.”

  Rutina: “Sister, please stop.”

  Cassia: “Rutina, you have no experience with negotiations and Lord Moreau is much too slick. Let me take care of this.”

  Rutina: “Lord Moreau has nothing to lose by walking away — I do. Please, Sister, let me handle this.”

  Cassia: “Hmph, I’m just trying to protect you. Fine, do it your way.”

  Rutina: “Lord Moreau, I am prepared to pay 400,000 Nars for the pair.”

  David: “No, that’s too high. I’m not here to sell them, just get reimbursed for their contracts.”

  Cassia: “What sort of negotiation is this?”

  Rutina: “Sister, please. Lord Moreau, my suggestion includes the inconvenience of finding suitable repcements.”

  David: “Not a problem — we did that yesterday.”

  Rutina: “Already? How much did you pay?”

  David: “Um, well, 350,000, but women cost more.”

  Rutina: “All women, huh? Lucky you. ?”

  Cassia: “Why would he want that?”

  Rutina: “Oh, because, um…”

  David: “Alright, 350, no higher.”

  Rutina: “Deal. Now for their equipment.”

  David: “That’s confidential. We’ll talk ter.”

  Cassia: “Lord Moreau, do you like women?”

  David: “Do I seem unfriendly?”

  Cassia: “Answer the question.”

  David: “Yes, Your Ladyship, I do like women in the way you imply.”

  Cassia: “Lord Moreau, I forbid you to accompany Lady Rutina without an escort.”

  Rutina: “Sister!”

  David: “No problem, she already has my entire party.”

  Cassia: “We will provide an appropriate escort.”

  David: “Are you seriously suggesting that I cannot be trusted?”

  Cassia: “Lord Moreau, you have no say in this matter.”

  David: “Alright, I hereby suspend my support of Selmer County until Lady Rutina inherits her title.”

  Cassia: “What? You can’t do that.”

  David: “Lady Rutina, I consider our colboration to be suspended, not broken.”

  Rutina: “Yes, Lord Moreau, sorry about all this.”

  David: “I just can’t seem to get along with your family.”

  Cassia: “Lord Moreau! You are being completely unreasonable.”

  David: “I don’t care. We’re done here.”

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  Well, I lost another fan. I can still hear Cassia’s voice, but I refuse to listen. As I round the corner, the noise fades. I pass the gate and am comforted by sounds of nature. I make my way further into the forest, check my surroundings and warp to a nice, safe byrinth to express my feelings.

  “Argh! I’m still not trusted? How much proof do they actually need?”

  I guess it isn’t completely her fault. Not even the duke is completely wrong. A significant part of the problem is me and my reluctance to accept feudal society. The worst part is that this seems to be an artificially gentle version of feudalism. The nobles here ck divine right, can be held responsible for neglecting their duties and, most importantly, commoners can be elevated through merit. I’m really being too harsh.

  Since I can’t change them, I need to change myself. I sure as hell ain’t going to bend the knee but maybe I could learn to be more patient when they graciously offer to shackle me. They only know the values of this society. It’s unfair of me to expect that they’d have any sense of objectivity.

  Ah, the warmth of moral superiority.

  Well, at least I won’t have to decide who will need to stay home on Rutina days. Anyway, I should inform Bernhard that we won’t be dropping by as often. I certainly wouldn’t want him to worry.

  “No, Bernhard, everything’s fine with Lady Rutina. The duchess doesn’t trust me so I’ll wait until she leaves in a few weeks.”

  “Send the duchess to talk to us. Everyone here trusts you, David.”

  “Thanks, Bernhard, but it’d be even worse if she got angry with you.”

  I went home to update the party.

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  “The duchess interfered with the negotiations and decided that I can’t be trusted around Rutina. Of course, that only sts until Rutina becomes the countess.”

  Theo interjects, “Um, she’ll become the ‘count’, Boss. ‘Countess’ is the title for the person married to the count, regardless of sex.”

  “Oh, so it’s just like the Priest job. Good to know.”

  Sherry adds, “Yes, David, ‘countess’ comes from the abbreviated way of referring to the count’s consort. Long ago, titles got shortened and eventually lost the distinction between man and woman. This is probably because it was rare for a woman to hold the primary title.” [1]

  “That makes sense. I guess I should already know stuff like this.”

  Theo asks, “Did anyone else know the history?”

  Alina answers, “Nope and I still don’t understand.”

  “Well, it’s time for us untitled people to get to work. Roxanne, do you think you’re ready to keep up with us?”

  “Yes, Ma- David, I want to do it.”

  “Still having trouble using my name? Let’s compromise on having you call me sir. Alright?”

  With a beaming smile, “Thank you, Sir.”

  Oh, that sort of stung. Well, if it makes her happy, I’ll manage. And here comes Alina, pouncing on that moment of weakness.

  “Hey, why did you give in so easily?”

  “Because you just wanted to call me master to tease me.”

  “Yeah, that’s true.”

  “OK, let’s make it fair, anyone may pick from David, sir, boss or even Moreau.”

  Hesitantly, Roxanne asks, “Excuse me, Sir, why do you dislike being called master?”

  “Where I grew up, svery was illegal and considered terrible. Although it’s gentler here, I still can’t accept the name. In other words, being called master makes your master unhappy.”

  “I’m sorry, Sir.”

  “I’m gd you asked. Besides, if svery really bothered me, I simply wouldn’t have sves. I must admit that having sves helps me greatly. In return, I hope to provide all of you with a good home and opportunities in the future. Now, where was I?”

  Unexpectedly, Theo answers, “Um, Boss, shouldn’t Roxanne have better gear?”

  “Right! Good catch, Theo. Since we’ve already lost most of the morning, I’ll take Roxanne out for a quick shopping trip. In fact, let’s all go. Good to get more opinions and help to hunt for the good stuff.”

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  We wore normal clothes and stuffed the dungeon gear in Item Boxes. Curatar seemed the most obvious so we started with the main shops there.

  “As usual, look for Damascus-steel but certainly call out if you find something like dragon-leather armor. Roxanne, this is to help you be more useful in the party so don’t worry about the cost.”

  After an hour of searching, all we found was a small steel shield with two open slots. Of course we bought it and then decided to go to Vale. I sent them ahead while I made a quick detour to the tub store, which was actually a cooper shop. I talked to the same guy as before (at least he seemed to remember me) and ordered a new tub that could fit four ‘Davids’. Getting a tub big enough for six ‘Davids’ would be obnoxious.

  I paid and was told it’d be delivered to our house in a couple days so I warped to rejoin the others in Vale. Making my way to the armor shop, someone called out.

  “Hey, you’re the fool who bought that bitch Roxanne, right? Surrender her to us.”

  “Um, it’s not like I’m carrying her in a pocket so what’s your brilliant pn?”

  “We will never stop until you give her to us.”

  “OK, good luck with that. Bye.”

  “Stop. We demand that you surrender.”

  “Are you just here to whine and beg or actually threaten me with violence?”

  Hushed, “This has to be some kind of trap.”

  “If you use violence, you’ll become bandits. Then, no one will even question your deaths.”

  “Let’s get out of here!” “What? Are you falling for that?” “Come now or get left behind.” “Wimp.”

  Damn, they completely ignored me at the end. I didn’t even get a “we’ll remember this” or “you’ll regret this someday”. What losers.

  I joined the others at the weapons shop. They showed me what they found, but nothing was worth the bother to enchant. Well, maybe we’ll go to Nordselm’s Labyrinth since we’re still on a lower floor there. I wasn’t there for Cassia’s sake anyway. Just as we were leaving, the previous fools showed up with reinforcements.

  “Roxanne, do you recognize the people approaching us?”

  “Yes, Sir, they’re from the rival family, lead by the one who won’t leave me alone. I’m really sorry to burden you with my problems.”

  “It’s alright, Roxanne. Just stay with the party and leave the discussion to me.”

  Some wolf-kin woman with pointy ears and long blond hair approached with a flock of followers. She looked like an overprivileged, rich girl complete with a sarcastic smirk and overly styled hair. [2]

  When they got close, the lead woman called out to me.

  “Hey, you with the bitch, stop right there.”

  (None of them have criminal jobs, so I’ll start softly.)

  “Whoa, careful with the insults. You must be the one obsessed with my cherished party member.”

  “So, the tramp used her tits to ensnare you too. Svery wasn’t enough, she needs to suffer.”

  (Well, that failed fast. I’ll move towards a mildly threatening voice.)

  “I don’t like your tone. Apologize now and make it good.”

  “Don’t you dare look down on me. I won’t let anyone get in the way of my revenge.”

  Cheerfully, “Oh, that sounds like a threat.”

  “Of course it is, you idiot.”

  “So, are you going to attack me here in the street, like a criminal?”

  “No, I challenge you to a duel.”

  “Fine. I have a few minutes to spare. I accept.”

  Roxanne struts forward to announce, “Sir, please let me fight her.”

  “Sorry, Roxanne, you’ll at least need your specialized job before I’ll let you fight as my champion.”

  “Sir, it is too dangerous for a Mage.”

  “Trust me, Roxanne, that’s an order.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Roxanne immediately stopped protesting and I turned my attention back to the annoyance.

  “OK, Bitch, let’s go get a Knight to officiate.”

  “Don’t call me that! I am…”

  “I don’t care. You’ll soon be forgotten anyway.”

  We found someone to act as a marshal, showed our cards and were shown to the field.

  “Roxanne, do you want me to spare her life?”

  “No, Sir, not at all.”

  Theo opened his Item Box to cover for me to take out my gear from my own box. Donning my Sacred Robe of Dissipation and wielding my Sacred Rod of Hypnotic Absorption was certainly overkill, but ‘safety first’. The robe just slipped over my normal clothes so it didn’t take long.

  The bitch mocked, “Ha ha, I’m going to take every st stitch of your fancy gear.”

  I returned with, “Hey, nice sword you got there. I’ll give that one to Roxanne. Heck, most of your stuff is too good for you. Of course, we’ll have to debitchify it thoroughly.”

  When the marshal announced the start, I flung my dagger at her head with moderate force. While it was still in flight, I surged forward with Overwhelming. She lifted her sword to easily deflect the knife while I took a hard swing at her right knee with the rod. Hypnosis didn’t activate but the unexpected hit made her twist to the side. A follow-up from my right shoulder into her left side completed the move to knock her on her ass.

  “Huh? Wait, how did you move like that? I wasn’t ready.”

  A solid strike to her head snapped her Cord of Substitution and a second hit ended the duel. Her people were stunned. My party completely expected this, except for Roxanne who jumped for joy. The marshal decred the end of the duel and recited the usual ‘no retaliation’ thing.

  Well, that ends that.

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  [1] In Brahim, Duke and Duchess are both written as DUC and the ducal spouse (consort) is CONS DUC. This is simir to abbreviated Latin’s DUX and CONS DVC. Considering the time period, Medieval Occitan is a better fit.[2] This unnamed rival is encountered in the LN (v7 c5). That MC allows Roxanne to be verbally abused, but grants her the fight.