After just hearing the ground-breaking news that I had enough game to attract a god, I sat back on the chair, processing the newfound information. Putting my face in my palms and leaning back, I motioned for Hunapo to continue telling me what the conditions of the bet were.
"Well, now that you seem to have recovered from that, I'm going to move on," Hunapo sighed, stirring his tea, "I need you to avoid Llyr as much as you can, for both your sake and for the sake of me winning this bet."
Hunapo looked at me with an innocent smile, his hands folded on the table in front of him as he crossed his leg over the other. I moved my head from leaning over the back of the chair to looking at him with a look of disbelief, thinking he just said the obvious.
"...Well, no shit, Sherlock! Of course, I'm going to avoid him! He is like the fucking plague, y'know, the thing I want to see the least! Is this seriously all you came to bother me with?!" I exclaimed, shooting up from my seat and grabbing his collar with a glare.
"Sorry, but I'm into handsome people, not the old sexy type," Hunapo teased, touching my hands to get me to let go. To which I did, wearing an expression of disgust.
"Eugh, please don't say that to me! That is the last thing I ever want to hear come out of your mouth, ever." I replied, releasing him and faking a hurl.
'Wait…wouldn't that fit Lev's type? Handsome and sexy, at least apparently…UGH nope! Don't wanna think about it!'
"Heh, I'd never go for someone like you, so no need to worry. Anywho! I know you would purposefully avoid Llyr, which is why I made a bet on those conditions. However, we also need to remember that it was the literal God of Trickery that it was made with, so Thien is likely going to do whatever dirty tricks are necessary to win. Even with the discomfort and anger of you," Hunapo reminded, making me turn back to him as he straightened his robes.
"And? I don't see the reason why you had to come 'seek my help' or warn me, or whatever," I rambled, waving my arms.
"Child, it is because you are the only one who can control your fate, no one else. And currently, you are only headed to a path full of ruin. If you listen to my instruction, I can make sure that doesn't happen," Hunapo sounded like a prophet as he said it, it was as if he was laying down a revelation for me, one that only I could change to save myself.
"...Fine, then tell me what I need to do. I just want to live a peaceful life. I couldn't before, and now that I have a new chance, I want to do all I can for the sake of it," I admitted, giving myself a look of pity.
"Wonderful, then I shall tell you what I know, starting with the current whereabouts of Llyr," Hunapo smiled, one who was full of confidence.
As Hunapo spoke, he told me about Llyr's sort of "development," as he called it. How Llyr took his kingdom's trial to ensure he was the rightful heir to the Alkmene Kingdom's throne, and passed. How, with a sort of personality change, he regained his political power in the palace court.
Then told me how he stowed away on a ship, though it was more like he paid for a room in exchange for doing some work for them. Hunapo just changed the narrative, maybe to make Llyr look good, maybe Cordelia knew about my meeting with Hunapo beforehand and asked him to talk Llyr up a bit; I didn't really care to know.
Hunapo was an odd individual, but I didn't particularly mind; he was my technical employer after all. Getting back on track, though, Hunapo continued telling me how he had Retha join Llyr as his travelling companion, making sure the poor guy didn't get into too much trouble.
"Hold on, Hold on!" I interjected, now confused in the story, "First of all, who is Retha? And secondly, what if I wanted Llyr to get roughed up a bit? Character development, y'know?"
"Retha is my saintess, my eyes of the mortal plain. Also, what's it matter if Llyr gets roughed up or not? You hate him anyway, not like your feelings would change if he got a little rougher around the edges, you have Sephtis," Hunapo reminded, leaning back with his arms crossed.
"I like my men a little rough around the edges, that's all. Plus, maybe he wouldn't be such a man-child afterwards, and more puppy-like, like Sephtis. Then I wouldn't have to worry about hating him during marriage," I muttered, hating myself for admitting that.
"Lev. Are you being fucking serious? He kidnapped you, sexually assaulted you, and forced an engagement on you. Do you really want to be with a man as obsessive as that?" Hunapo raised his eyebrows and squinted his eyes more with pursed lips.
"...Alright, fair point, continue with the story," I sighed, admitting defeat and shoving a cookie from the snack tower on the table into my mouth. When did that get there? I didn't know, and I didn't care; the cookies were good as hell.
"Good, now, as I was saying, Retha is my saintess, and I had her accompany Llyr to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble, but also steer him off the path to you…at least she tried, she didn't get far with that plan," Hunapo trailed off, looking away from me with guilt.
He then continued by telling me how Llyr reached Benoni City, where he met Thien. He then told me that his connection to the mortal plain was ended during their discussion, not by Retha dying, simply that he couldn't see the area around them due to Thiens barrier.
"And that is where I last saw him," Hunapo finished, taking a sip of his tea once more, "I have no idea where he is now, considering he ditched my poor saintess! Though he was nice enough to pay for her room for two weeks, so that wasn't too bad…right?"
"Hm, Thien likely told Llyr the city I am in now, so he is likely headed my way," I ignored Hunapo, thinking of the likely conclusion of the current predicament. "This is quite the difficult situation. I can't exactly leave the manor so soon…"
"I actually agree with you on that matter. I think it would be a shame to abandon such a lovely estate! Which is precisely why I am now going to give you a piece of advice," Hunapo exclaimed, his smile brightening.
"...I'm not sure I'm going to like whatever you are going to say next, but go on," I sighed, looking away in annoyance.
"Trust me, this will actually save you quite a bit of trouble. I figured that a good way to avoid him would be to personally give Roman Fortunata your response to his letter; it would be convenient and would give you just enough time to avoid crossing paths with him," Hunapo proposed.
"I-...That isn't a bad idea exactly, but what about Oryn? What would happen if I crossed paths with him?" I asked, leaning forward and pursing my lips.
I didn't mind crossing paths, as much as he creeped me out, he was easy to deal with. The only concern I really had was that he would be too persuasive; he was a Duke after all, and he had no children despite being of the marrying age for this world, so there was likely a greater reason for it.
'Maybe I'm just overanalysing things. He could just be gay, he is into me after all…though with Lev's face and body it could just be something else entirely.'
"Unfortunately, I can't quite tell you what would happen if you and Oryn cross paths. What I can say, though, is that I wouldn't be a bad thing per se, but actually more beneficial than you'd think," Hunapo advised, shrugging.
"...Alright then, I'll go back to the Quare Kingdom for a short while, just until he leaves the Silversun Kingdom. As I'm sure you are aware, some things still need to be done here," I announced, looking away for a brief moment.
"Haha, no need to worry, Saito, there are still a few months till Cassius makes his move, so you can stay at home for as long as you feel the need to," he nodded, trying to assure me that I wasn't as rushed as I thought I was.
"I hope that that is the case, but knowing how many variables there are now, no one can really say," I noted, looking at him with a look of 'you should remember this, you old fool!'
***
After Hunapo whisked me away from his space and seemed to have placed my consciousness back into Lev's body, I awoke to see that the sun was just coming up.
'That rotten son of a bitch, he better have not had me miss the entire day yesterday!' Though sadly, that was indeed the case.
Rubbing my eyes and groaning, I sat up to see Victor putting my laundry away for me. I was planning to do it yesterday, but seeing as I likely slept the entire day, he saw that it was in desperate need of doing and did it for me.
"Oh? Good morning, M'Lord, I hope you slept well," Victor greeted, turning towards me as he put the last clothing item in my closet.
"Why didn't you wake me up? I had some paperwork that needed doing," I wondered, tilting my head at him, a strand of hair falling from my shoulder.
"Mister Sephtis said you had a slight fever when he went to check on you, so I thought it was best to let you sleep," Victor explained, walking over and putting the back of his hand to my forehead. "You have been rather stressed lately, and I fear you have been overworking yourself, so you deserve the rest."
"Thank you, Victor. I have no idea what I would do without you," I praised with a smile, noticing a little blush creep onto Victor's ears…perhaps embarrassment?
"I appreciate such a generous compliment, but I am merely doing my job. If anything, I should be thanking you for allowing me to stay by your side all these bitter years," Victor exclaimed, smiling a genuine smile. The first genuine smile I've ever seen him make.
I wasn't sure why, in fact, I don't even think it was from 'me' at all, but I felt a small 'pang!' in my chest from that smile. I was a little blown away to see such a serious man finally show a moment of weakness. It made me happy a little; it felt as if I had finally done something right.
"Victor, you should smile more often; it suits you," I recommended, surprising even myself with such a comment. It wasn't out of adoration, but from a place of friendship.
'Do I…consider Victor a friend? No, no. He is my subordinate, nothing else. He belongs to Lev, and I don't want to burden him with such a thought of friendship.'
"Thank you for the compliment, My Lord. If you so wish, I can smile at you many more times," Victor offered, once again with a smile.
This time, I was more than sure it wasn't me who was causing that 'pang!' in my chest, but instead, the real Lev. I also slowly realised that Victor's kind words weren't meant for me, but were just as similarly meant for the real Lev.
"..." I sat there for a moment, thinking about what I realised as Victor was headed towards the door, "Victor, tomorrow we are going back to the Quare Kingdom. I've decided to give my response in person."
"Hm? Alright, then I shall tell Arwan to get ready to go. Should I give everyone a notice?" Victor responded, going back into butler mode just as quickly as he exited it.
"Yes, I plan on having Nari stay at the estate when it is time for us to return to the manor. Probably Lorenzo as well, as useful as his abilities are, I want him to train under Sir. Malyen," I announced, getting up from the bed.
"Very well, I shall relay that to those two as well," Victor finished, leaving the room and silently closing the door behind him, leaving me to wallow alone in self-pity.