NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42: Showing Prudence – 100 Zanpakuto School!!!
On the roof of the tower having the king's chamber, Kai stood, watching the black sky turning blue.
Dawn was close. Yet Kai's prospects seemed dark from the sullen expression on his face. His eyes kept coming in and out of focus. Two notifications hovered in front of him, both trying to outdo each other.
The first was the milestone that had come up after leaving Cersei.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn
You have achieved a Milestone
…
Milestone: Have consensual sex with Cersei Lannister
Milestone Rewards: Charisma +3
]
…
Then there was the notification of a new Title.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn
You have unlocked 1 Title
…
Title: Adulterer
Specification: Have consensual sex with at least three of the following queens:
- Queen Alicent Hightower
- Queen Cersei Lannister
- Queen Margaery Tyrell
- Queen Sansa Stark
- Queen Frigga of Asgard
- Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons
- Queen Galadriel of Lothlorien
- Queen Arwen of the Reunited Kingdom
- Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom
Status: (1/3)
Effect:
- Stamina +5
- Skill: Heart Rhythm
…
Note: Only 1 Title can be equipped at a time
]
…
Seeing the nine names, the corners of Kai’s mouth twitched.
It didn’t take him much to guess that, most probably, all these Queens were married in their Timelines. He didn’t even recognize any name, other than Cersei, of course.
Moreover, it was the first time Kai was seeing a Title with an innate Skill.
Suddenly, a frown appeared on his face, remembering the queen.
Cersei hadn't permitted him a second more in her bed, after replying to his questions, and that wouldn't have troubled Kai if he had at least got a favorable answer. But he didn't.
There were three reasons for Kai to approach Cersei after kidnapping Jon Arryn. Foremost, it was to devour her tale. Then, it was to see her, one of the most beautiful women in Westeros, or so the scrolls had described her. Kai now found that statement lacking in adequacy. Last, he wanted to use her authority to get close to a powerful knight, like the black-armored guard with Prince Joffrey.
The Hound. Kai recalled the name. Though he isn't a knight. Weird.
"So you have fantasies like other boys too," Cersei had commented upon hearing his request. "You have chosen the wrong time, then. Lord Rykker of Duskendale, that lickspittle fool, has again organized a senseless tourney.
“He even had the gall to ask Robert himself to be there. Like the king has time to free himself from whoring, humph! So he sent my brother, Jamie, there instead, to represent the king. The Kingsguards have fallen to this, mere figurines."
The prince had also gone there with his entourage, Cersei had added later.
Kai had dared not ask the queen to let him meet a Kingsguard, the strongest knights of the seven kingdoms.
With her nature, she would have become needlessly suspicious. And Cersei's suspicion was no short of a death sentence, he knew. So with a smile on his face, Kai had said her goodbye, leaving her naked figure sprawled under the silk.
For a moment, a part of Kai wanted to just go back and lay beside her. But he had more important things to do. One of those important things was the Side Mission to pass Jon Arryn's coded message to the king.
Its best to just give the message personally, Kai thought. I will need to be within 10 ft to use The Song of History of the Book, anyway. If a queen's tale has given me such a potent Skill, I wonder what a king's tale has in store for me.
Kai turned around. The king rarely slept with the queen, but in another chamber, on his bed full of young whores. He could still see the disgust on Cersei's face whenever she had mentioned the king's name.
Kai grinned. The thought of gaining a new powerful Skill stirred his emotions.
The option to go to the king from within the holdfast was a sure death wish. Even if he could somehow deceive Cersei, Kai wouldn't survive the attack of the Kingsguards given his Abnormality Limiter.
The best and easiest way to reach the king was to go over the holdfast's roofs.
Kai took an excited step, almost slithering.
Then he stopped.
He stood there as if someone had petrified him. Scenes from his last ambush rewound in his mind like an unforgettable reel.
The prophecy… Kai analyzed. Last time, the prophecy came true at a time like this. And those two Contestants had nothing to do with my mission, either.
Neither Cuckoo nor Sparrow had mentioned anything about Jon Arryn to him. They had only come when Kai was following Petyr Baelish. It was like they had their own mission, their own in-world Characters, and he had intruded on their territory.
After mulling over it a bit, Kai became sure of his reasoning, again going with his instincts.
Am I intruding on a foreign territory again? Kai asked himself. Are all important characters surrounded by powerful Contestants?
Cersei was a live exception to this question, Kai knew.
No one had prevented him from approaching Cersei. But would it be the case if he just decided to kill her? Was it worth it to risk his life for the rewards of just a Side Mission?
If there is a powerful Contestant around the queen and the king, then they already know my fighting style and the presence of Abilities, Kai thought, frowning. Then his heart shuddered thinking of the Book. All I did was open and close it within a few seconds. Sigh!
As if this sense of foreboding wasn’t enough, Kai suddenly remembered Chaos' words.
It worked this time. Will it work the next time as well?
So was it really worth it? The answer came naturally to Kai this time.
It wasn't.
It wasn't worth it at all.
Kai remembered the fresh Blood Prophecy he had done before coming here. It hadn't changed. So, taking a deep breath and donning a heavy frown, he turned around.
This Side Mission… he would give up.
*
*
As Kai crossed the moat outside the holdfast's wall, slithering, a figure appeared on the spot he was previously standing.
It was a man.
He was wearing a long white greatcoat lined with black stripes at the edges. Loose white pants and white shoes made him look like a specter under the gray-blue sky. His brown hair was long and curly, and one stray lock of hair dangled on his forehead. On his waist, to his right, there was a long sheathed Katana, whose hilt was decorated with red and gold strings.
"You let him go," a sweet female voice entered his ears from behind. "I was so sure you would act this time."
The man glanced back, but there was no one there. Though, his eyes seemed to look at someone, as if he could see secrets others couldn't. He didn't reply to the voice. He saw Kai disappearing behind the wall, his speed a blur.
"The way he used Mana," the man mumbled, “why did it feel like a Pokemon’s move?"
"Why don't you ask him?" the female prodded. "He is a swordsman too, you know."
The man turned around, his hand lifting, landing on the Katana's hilt. His one raised eyebrow seemed to ask, how does she know this?
The unseen woman snickered. "I saw the guard he killed," the voice came out of thin air. "The back of his neck had been nicked using a sword. But it was the poison that killed him."
"Poison?" the man said, frowning. "A coward's choice of weapon."
"A coward or not, he sure fucks like a man," the woman said, giggling.
The man's grip on the hilt tightened. "Spare me from the details," he said. "I don't care how you handle your Missions."
"Haha!" the woman laughed. "Very well. Though I wonder. What would you do if this coward were to join your 100 Zanpakuto School in the 4th Set someday? Now that would be a sight worth seeing, wouldn't it?"
There was one other thing the woman didn’t tell him, because she didn’t own him anything. The coward… also most likely possessed a Grimoire. But she couldn’t interfere with lower floor Contestants’ missions, otherwise she would have looked into it more thoroughly.
“I wonder if he would return…” the woman chuckled, disappearing. “Now that would be truly foolish… Hehe!”
The man loosened his grip over the Katana as the woman left.
"What will I do?" he asked himself, turning around to see Kai, who was now stealthily hopping through the shadows. "Sword and Poison… Weapons of cowards… and the desperate ones."
His voice cut the horizon, letting a red hue descend on the world.
Then he disappeared, returning to his mission of protecting King Robert Baratheon.
