Quest: Book 2

by Yufeng Zhuang

20

  We return to the Dark Moon city which I have not seen for a long time, we go back to my house. From the moment when we enter the city gate, we can feel the intense celebrating atmosphere, the hanging ribbons and the joyful residents are everywhere. Because I have a head of black hair and black eyes, the in ordinary costume me is recognized by all the people. From the on duty guards at the gate to the normal civilians, from the shambling old men to the running helter-skelter on the street children, almost all the people give me the friendly smiles, they express their blessing to me with what they think the most appropriate way.

  Even he viceroy mansion of the Dark Moon city is decorated with lanterns and colored with hangings, the guards in front of the mansion change in the new clothes. The in and out people are even several times of that much in my memory.

  "How are you, third childe!" a guard takes over the rein from my hand, because he is the house bodyguard, so he calls me like this instead calling me the viceroy, "the first childe and the second childe are also back to the town!"

  I smile and nod my head at him, I don't care about Wensly's opposition, I turn back to force holding her hand and enter the door, Wensly's sneaking face turns to thoroughly flushed in people's eyes.

  "Papa! Mama!" I stand in the atrium shouting, "I'm back."

  "Back is back! What are you shouting for?" my mother comes out from my father's study room with two beautiful ladies chaperoning her, she takes a look and recognizes Wensly out by my side, she immediately casts me out to the clouds, "come here and let me take a look, Wensly, since when our little elf becomes so beautiful?"

  "Auntie Kathleen," Wensly shakes off my hand in a hurry, she runs over to take hold of my mother's hands, "how do you do!"

  “Mama, I bring back the flowers which the queen send you!" "Abandoned" by these women, I'm unwillingly to walk over to there to speak with grimace, "you don't introduce these two beautiful ladies to your son?"

  "Knock it off, you." my mother knows clearly the tricks by me who grew up in her bosom, she knocks slightly on my forehead and says, "These are your elder brothers' wives-to-be, go go go, go find your father and brothers, don't bother us talking." when my mother speaks, the two ladies by her side who I don't know are smiling at me.

  "This... Mama," I pull my mother aside, I explain the details to her about the things between Wensly and me, "please mama give me more helps!"

  "Really? This time you think of me! You went out for that long and never wrote me a letter, it really waste me doting on you for these many years," my mother pulls my ear and says, "what do you want me to say to Feline and Kelly? You want me to tell them like this, there will be one more bride in tomorrow's wedding?"

  "This is your strength!" I give Wensly a wink and run away, "you can tell them, I will not get married without Wensly."

  "Come back... Ah, come on, let's call on Feline and Kelly, we go to see the flowers which the queen sent me."

  When my mother's voice comes from behind, I have already run far away.

  I straighten my outfit a bit and walk into my father's study room. For the recent period, it's more and more obvious to see the trend that the action of my former life is used on my body. Straightening the outfit before seeing the superior, it's also a small habit under my former strict military training.

  My father sits at the desk facing the door, he is listening to my eldest brother Lef saying something, my second elder brother Sefta stands smiling aside in a clipping decent knight casual.

  "Look, our groom comes back," my father smiles and says, "how is everything on the road? How is the situation over there?"

  "Everything is fine!" I just finish my words, I have been clasped around by my two strong figure brothers tightly.

  "Hey! I'm glad to see you standing over here now!" Lef first give me a fist on the shoulder, "we are all sad when we hear the news that you get hurt."

  "I'm fine, I'm fine." seeing my second elder brother Sefta raises his hand and is ready to give me a fist like what my eldest brother did, I quickly embrace my eldest brother more tightly, "I'm really sorry, let you guys worry."

  "That’s right!" my second elder brother's fist can't find a place to land, he has to turn it to palm, and he pats on my shoulder heavily, "if it wasn't for us in the army, we would be in the Saint Capital long time ago to vent the anger for you."

  "All right," my father calls us, "come over and sit down, let's listen to Kone to tell us about the situation of the Darkness city there."

  "In general, it's good." I take over the cup that my eldest brother hands to me, I take a sip, and speak to them, "the early preparations are very good, the personnel side is very sufficient too. But the money seems not enough, in addition, we lack a large number of senior commanders for the new troops which I am going to build, the clerks for managing the daily affairs are very scarce in particular. Those guys are either warriors or sorcerers, they have already put all the energy into the vocational skills, if you ask them to manage the people's livelihood, sorry, their heads have been filled full with the magic or the fighting skills.”

  "We can't help you about the problem of money," my eldest brother wrinkles his eyebrows, "I can think of a way for you to solve the lack of the commanders. After all, I and Sefta ate the brigadier generals in some point."

  "That's right, you just rest your heart!" Sefta says to me, "if there is people trying to intervene, we can make some of our good officers to break away from the military status, and then bring our recommendation letters to your place there directly."

  "Well, this is a good ides," my father slightly think it over, "what do you think, Kone?"

  "In general, it works," I say, "as long as you give me one to two years, I think I can train a group of qualified officers at all levels to take over."

  "You?" my second elder brother stares at me straightly, "training?"

  "Let's not talk about this first," my father interrupts my two elder brothers who still want to continue to ask me, "now let's talk about the problem of the clerks."

  "I have no ides for this!" my eldest brother spreads out his hands and shakes his head, "Sefta and I have none of these kind of people in hands."

  "You don't need to worry about this," my father smiles and says, "I have a lot of clerks here."

  "Oh?" I'm shocked to ask, "since when? How come I don't know?"

  "From after you three were born, your father I began the trainings." my father's facial expression is a bit proud, "ten years a term, all ages. Especially in recent years, one point is that Kone doesn't have fighting skills, the other point is that the whole Empire's situation is critical, I increase the reserves in the talent side."

  "It's hard to see!" I put my hands on my father's shoulders devoutly, "Papa you have a great foresight!"

  "So in this way, the talent problem is solved too." my second elder brother says, "for the thing that not having enough money, Papa you have what good ideas?"

  "Yeah..." talking about the money, even my father wrinkles up his brows, "this is the key, Kone, tell us again your detailed construction plan."

  "Alright!" I take the drawings of the Darkness city and the surrounding towns out of my arms, I explain the details...

  "Even though your this idea is very good and very feasible," my father looks at the map carefully, "but just this mush is far, far not enough."

  "Then can we ask your Majesty to add some more to the fund?" my eldest brother asks, "and Kone has the military post now, he also should have some military fund available in hand."

  "Your Majesty this time the five hundred thousand gold coins is already a great spending." my father shakes his head and says, "continue to add some more is impossible. The Prime Minister that side is eyeing at the Darkness city, there are even more problem to deal with Kone's military fund, it can't even divert a copper coin."

  "Originally, we can provide Kone supports from our territories," my elder brother says with full apology to me, "but the past few years, the empire's taxes are so heavy in the T
emple's pressure. I'm sorry, Kone, looking at those hungry civilians the desperate eyes, I really don't have any idea..."

  "It doesn't matter!" I pat on my elder brother's shoulder and say, "this my that kind-hearted elder brother."

  "To realize your idea," my father says, "that needs at least one million gold coins. Where can we find such much money to fill the gap?"

  Along with my father's words, we four people are all in silence, we start racking our brains to think of the ideas...

  Right at this moment, a rush of footsteps spoils our thinking.

  "Kone Cada! Come out!" Kelly looks angrily standing by the door to call out my name, but sees that my father and brothers are all in the room, she lowers her voice to apologize in a hurry, "I'm sorry, uncle Vassel."

  "What are you doing? Didn't you see that we are discussing some important things?" money is the head molestation in pain, I don't have the good spirit to answer her. Change for the other time, I would be sure to have a good talk with her, but, who asks her to bump in to the muzzle now.

  "You please come out!" Kelly's tone is very firm, that makes the original bad mood me have more angers in my heart.

  "That won't be necessary," I stand up and say very impatiently, "say what you want to say now! We haven't finish our discussion yet."

  "You!" she doesn't expect that my attitude is so tough, Kelly obviously has some real angers too, "well, I can just say it right here! What's the matter about Wensly?"

  "What's the matter?" although I have already prepared for this thing in my heart, but hear Kelly speaks in such tone, it still makes me can't hold the fire back, "didn't my mother say it to you?"

  "Auntie Kathleen said to me," the stubborn Kelly still would not give in, "but I wouldn't accept it!"

  "What did you say!" for a moment, as if the character of the former life completely is back to life, I "Deng Deng" two steps walk from the desk to in front of Kelly. With a kind of eyes she has never seen before, I stare at her coldly. Kelly's face turns pale white by the sudden change, she takes a step back subconsciously. My father and brothers at the table and the coming Feline from distance are all astonished to see this scene.

  "You listen, Kelly, I will just say it only once." I ignore all the eyesight, I speak to her, "Wensly and we are all good friends, I have already proposed to her, and I got her and auntie spirit's affirmative replies. Tomorrow, Wensly will marry me with you all together, I hope that you can accept her friendly."

  "That's all?" Kelly's eyes are full of tears, she can't believes to look at me and says, "you just have a few words like these to speak to your fiancee? No any other words?"

  "I have nothing else to say." in my former life, the women's tears is one of the things that I hate the most. In my consciousness, a women just need to give her husband care and comfort, why do they want to try to set the men's heart with the tears as the chains?

  "I have already answered your question, now you may leave, to do your own things" after I finish this sentence, I turn around and walk back to the table and sit down. I take a deep breath, my mood disorders to the fullest point.