24. The Matters of Cultured People, Called Theft
Now is not the time for me to ponder, “Why does that phrase ‘Open up, checking the water meter’ sound so familiar, like I heard it with someone before?” Perhaps I’ve been a bit dazed enjoying my days as a pretty boy, but I absolutely haven’t forgotten: Aidefu, the King of the Kingdom of Pluris, this elven loli who insists on forcing me into marriage, has already learned about the true relationship between Kefier and me!
For an elven loli with such a distinctly S temperament, can she endure it!?
Not a chance! Even if Aidefu has a naturally M disposition, she is still a well-known big BOSS in this script! Just look, in just a day or two, she has already used the world’s top magical technology from the Kingdom of Pluris to find the temporary hideout of Kefier and me, and she barged in just as I was dealing with Kefier!
Accompanied by Aidefu’s sudden emergence into my death script!
—
【Adéve, consumed by jealousy over Kephir and Oujilide’s relationship, stabbed Oujilide to death.】
Um… Your Majesty, isn’t your reason for wanting to stab me a bit strange? If you’re jealous of Kephir, why do you want to stab me?
Looking down, I saw Adéve huff and shake off my hand, turning her face away from me, and then she pressed her hand against the hilt of her sword!
Kephir, of course, wouldn’t pretend not to see such a reaction. Following closely, she tapped a nearby spoon, and the magic sword, Miss Alsas, which was leaning against the ground, spun in mid-air and landed in Kephir’s hand .
Even if I’m a novice, I can tell that this situation is definitely off. As the saying goes, when gods fight, mortals suffer. If Kephir and Adéve really got into a fight, a few houses wouldn’t be enough to contain the destruction, not to mention Aunt Mel, who had just come in behind Adéve, was shaking her head vigorously, hinting at me with her eyes.
【Adéve isn’t here to arrest anyone.】
The script reminded me of this, and I was starting to figure it out. After all, from the moment the “death script” began, Adéve’s attitude was absurd, as if she wasn’t here to arrest anyone but clearly came to argue with Kephir!
After exchanging a glance with Aunt Mel, we immediately understood each other and pulled our respective leaders away.
“Kephir, don’t act rashly; they don’t seem to be here to cause trouble.”
“Your Majesty Adéve, don’t forget what you said your purpose was after finding us here.”
“Hum!”
Adéve and Kephir spoke in unison, then both reluctantly lowered their weapons. Adéve plopped down onto the chair in front of me, while Kephir untied her apron and came over, looking at me with a hint of provocation.
Previously, Kephir had helped me escape from a marriage, and my worst fear was that Adéve would directly lead people to hunt me down. But now, Adéve seemed to have some intention of “negotiation,” and I certainly couldn’t let this unexpected joy slip away.
Of course, by now, my relationship with Kephir had been exposed, and some non-negotiable bottom lines had to be stated.
“Your Majesty Adéve, as you’ve previously learned, we are already registered in the Great Ying Empire. You pressed me too hard before, and I didn’t have the chance to explain; now…”
“Enough!”
Adéve shot me a glare, “Do you think I’ve calmed down after knowing the situation these past two days!? In just two days, the Kingdom of Prulist has found out everything about you! Oujilide, Kephir, you two are already registered in the Great Ying Empire. Although I don’t understand why that woman from the Great Ying Empire would let a wanted criminal like you go, and instead send me this information, it doesn’t matter. You two came to my Prulist, thinking of it as a date spot, right!?”
Though the situation was somewhat different, our original intention seemed to be pretty much the same.
“And then, Oujilide, you suddenly set your sights on something from my Prulist Kingdom and wanted to take the opportunity to steal it, right?”
As she spoke, Adéve puffed her cheeks in anger at me.
“Scum, pervert! Go die!”
If I were really scum, I would have long used the pretense of marriage to pull a scam on you, Adéve. It was precisely because I wanted Kephir to negotiate properly that I had to drag out the matter of escaping marriage, preventing Kephir from taking me away too soon.
“It’s just that if I left early, you wouldn’t be in the mood to discuss any negotiations about treasures with Kephir.”
There was no helping it; who told me I wasn’t in the right at this moment? So I could only patiently explain to the little loli.
“The treasure stored in the Prulist Kingdom—the Wind Fairy Magnus—you should be unable to awaken it, but only Kephir can.”
I looked into Adéve’s puzzled eyes, not rushing to ask, but continued.
“If you’re wondering why it belongs to Kephir, I can only say I have no comment; it’s because my prophecy says so. If you don’t believe it, you can have Kephir try it herself. In exchange for relinquishing the treasure , we can provide some reasonable assistance to your Prulist Kingdom in the future, including my own prophecies.”
Using prophecy as a bargaining chip was the best leverage I could think of.
However, after hearing this, Adéve neither agreed nor refused.
She simply looked at us with a strange expression.
—
“Eh? So you’re saying you didn’t steal it?”
“Steal!?”
Your Majesty, are you joking with me? How could a girl like Kefir, with her personality, do something as petty as stealing chickens? I don’t really feel guilty about it, but if we actually stole it, I’d be lectured and looked down upon by Kefir, so I have to do this more openly.
“Of course not!”
Kefir and I exchanged glances. “Your Majesty Adave, if we had stolen it, would we still be hiding here? We would have run away ages ago! Besides…”
【The Wind Fairy Magnus has already been taken away!】
“What did you mean by saying it was stolen!?”
This treasure was clearly prepared for Kefir as part of her upgrade storyline and the final reward. Now Adave is telling me it was stolen! How could I just pretend I didn’t hear that and laugh it off!
“It’s understandable; after all, I also don’t think it was you who did it.”
Adave blinked, whispered something to Mel beside her for a moment, and then looked over with an air of superiority.
“Actually, I don’t care that much about that kind of treasure. What concerns me are the noble elves. As for me, I never believe in those so-called ‘relics of the lost dynasty’ because our Pulus’s magical technology is the best in the world! There’s no need for archaeology!”
“But losing something is still losing it. I would like to deal with that useless Thirty-Eight, but those stubborn old nobles keep bringing you up! It makes me want to blow up their house with a magic cannon!”
“So, Euclid, don’t forget what you’ve done to me! No one in Pulus can resist me, Adave! If you want to escape, find that treasure for me! At that point, whether you leave or stay is up to you; I won’t care. Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving the capital, let alone Pulus! Hmph! Heartless scoundrel! Big!”
But Your Majesty, I’ve never done anything to you! Those nights, I was watching you tied to the bed while I slept on the sofa…
That said, Kefir’s upgrade script has already been disrupted due to previous events. The only way to remedy this is to find the artifact treasure first. I absolutely cannot let Kefir’s upgrade path be affected because of me.
I silently nodded, as for Adave’s little thoughts…
【Adave intends to approach Euclid for information!】
Forget it; I’ll just treat it as compensation for this elf loli. I can endure it.
Illustration: Nilu (New Outfit)