Boreas POV
"Why are you smiling?" Dad asked out of nowhere and then turned to see where I was staring at
'What are you talking about, father?"
"Father...? I knew it, you found a new victim."
"What am I? A serial killer? I'm 7, I can't do anything."
"You got banned from school and therapy, not the place, but from therapy itself...how do you even do that?"
Ah, the classic trope of sibling rivalry and betrayal in a fictional world. It was a plot twist as predictable as it was entertaining.
In the midst of the celebrations, I couldn't help but wonder which of the duke's older children would be the one to succumb to jealousy and greed, their desire for power driving them to betray their own flesh and blood. Would it be the eldest son, eager to prove himself as the rightful heir to the family legacy?
Or perhaps the second-in-line daughter, resentful of her younger sibling's newfound fame and fortune? Regardless of who it was, one thing was certain, the temptation of the sword would prove too great for them to resist, they're going to try to take it by force somehow, by stopping them, I could earn the Duke's favor...and I can use him as my future sponsor, eventually, I'll just meet the queen, and I'll get her permission for previous records and any proper detailed information on the so-called demon lord.
We got back on land and sure enough, it was the eldest son, Justin, who's about 16 years old, who's the jealous guy as I caught several of his sneaky glares and glances that were directed at Matt. I kept watch all the way from the underwater ruin, and the information I've learned so far just confirm my theories even more, since the 2 are half brothers due to the duke having 2 wives. The other wife was at home to watch over while the rest were gone, so I'm thinking that she's the second wife, mother of Matt.
Even if her status is to be treated as equal to the first, the first woman the duke married will probably feel threatened. Even though harems are common in this world, usually the main person would have the harem or extra partner before their first marriage, not after, which is the status of Matt's mother.
The duke himself was eying Mari, but Mari was not very interested. Mari being nonchalant around men shocked many researchers as there were a lot of properly written official records of nymphs being very open to the opposite gender, but Mari was the opposite. The duke eventually asked her to accompany his son instead of me, much to the displeasure of his wife.
Having a nymph to support him would increase his influence, and help his son to rise in status, while also giving him a chance to get close. The offer would have tempted her a while ago, but having the goddess appear before her the other day helped her not even think of it. I told her that the youngest son was also brought here by the goddess, but even then, she rather go with me, who managed to summon the goddess.
Mari once again joined my room to have a private chat outside of my parents and anyone else's ears.
"The duke won't like that."
"What's he going to do? Kill you?" she shrugged
"Oh, that's not going to happen, I got a lot of plot armor on my side."
"Wouldn't that stop that plan of him becoming your sponsor?"
"Don't worry, I can have a lot of sponsors, I'm the protagonist. Besides, it's not like I have to worry about the duke, what's he going to do? Poison me? I've injected enough poison behind my parents' back ever since they let me out that I'm actually immune to 70% of all of this world's poison."
"Is that why we can find you snacking on herbs and flowers?"
"We?"
"Yeah, your parents found out like a year ago. But 70%, are you sure that's correct?"
"Don't worry, the number might be higher, the others are just quite rare around these parts, I can get a good extra 15% in the capital, an extra 5% once we get some money, and the top 10% are probably something we can find along the way from rarer creatures like venomous serpents."
"So you plant on poisoning yourself to stop yourself from being poisoned? Is that how that works?"
"Uh, yeah? I've got a great body, with the power of plot armor on my side, no one's killing me, and I'll just earn immunity to the things that I'm not killed by. The goddess gave me a good body."
The duke's summons caught me off guard, but I knew better than to ignore such a request. I think I know what he's going to ask, Mari too, but that duke should know better, and here I thought my reputation would have spread to the capital already. I arrived at his private lodging where he had me greet him formally and sat down in his living room across from him.
"Boreas, was it? A unique name." the Duke began the conversation with a compliment, "I have a proposition for you, one that could prove to be mutually beneficial for both of us."
"How much would it take to convince the nymph to stand by my son's side?"
"Why would you want that?"
"Let's not beat around the bush, I've heard from the others...you're a very unique child, you should understand my question, so give me an answer."
"If it's just convincing...well, you can give me however much you want."
"Let me rephrase things." his face was full-on serious now, "Now that my son possesses the sword of an important world figure, he will need a proper mentor and escort, and I believe that your friend, Marianna, is perfect for that role, as she knows quite a bit about the hero in question and is likely to know what abilities the sword possesses...so how much would it take for you to MAKE her to come to my side?"
"Shouldn't you ask her instead? I can't do nothing as I respect her autonomy."
"And I believe that there's a number to everything, child, now speak...before this proposal no longer become mutually beneficial."
"Ho? You're threatening me?"
"Take it however you will."
I'm going to have so much fun.
Boreas POV
"Why are you smiling?" Dad asked out of nowhere and then turned to see where I was staring at
'What are you talking about, father?"
"Father...? I knew it, you found a new victim."
"What am I? A serial killer? I'm 7, I can't do anything."
"You got banned from school and therapy, not the place, but from therapy itself...how do you even do that?"
Ah, the classic trope of sibling rivalry and betrayal in a fictional world. It was a plot twist as predictable as it was entertaining.
In the midst of the celebrations, I couldn't help but wonder which of the duke's older children would be the one to succumb to jealousy and greed, their desire for power driving them to betray their own flesh and blood. Would it be the eldest son, eager to prove himself as the rightful heir to the family legacy?
Or perhaps the second-in-line daughter, resentful of her younger sibling's newfound fame and fortune? Regardless of who it was, one thing was certain, the temptation of the sword would prove too great for them to resist, they're going to try to take it by force somehow, by stopping them, I could earn the Duke's favor...and I can use him as my future sponsor, eventually, I'll just meet the queen, and I'll get her permission for previous records and any proper detailed information on the so-called demon lord.
We got back on land and sure enough, it was the eldest son, Justin, who's about 16 years old, who's the jealous guy as I caught several of his sneaky glares and glances that were directed at Matt. I kept watch all the way from the underwater ruin, and the information I've learned so far just confirm my theories even more, since the 2 are half brothers due to the duke having 2 wives. The other wife was at home to watch over while the rest were gone, so I'm thinking that she's the second wife, mother of Matt.
Even if her status is to be treated as equal to the first, the first woman the duke married will probably feel threatened. Even though harems are common in this world, usually the main person would have the harem or extra partner before their first marriage, not after, which is the status of Matt's mother.
The duke himself was eying Mari, but Mari was not very interested. Mari being nonchalant around men shocked many researchers as there were a lot of properly written official records of nymphs being very open to the opposite gender, but Mari was the opposite. The duke eventually asked her to accompany his son instead of me, much to the displeasure of his wife.
Having a nymph to support him would increase his influence, and help his son to rise in status, while also giving him a chance to get close. The offer would have tempted her a while ago, but having the goddess appear before her the other day helped her not even think of it. I told her that the youngest son was also brought here by the goddess, but even then, she rather go with me, who managed to summon the goddess.
Mari once again joined my room to have a private chat outside of my parents and anyone else's ears.
"The duke won't like that."
"What's he going to do? Kill you?" she shrugged
"Oh, that's not going to happen, I got a lot of plot armor on my side."
"Wouldn't that stop that plan of him becoming your sponsor?"
"Don't worry, I can have a lot of sponsors, I'm the protagonist. Besides, it's not like I have to worry about the duke, what's he going to do? Poison me? I've injected enough poison behind my parents' back ever since they let me out that I'm actually immune to 70% of all of this world's poison."
"Is that why we can find you snacking on herbs and flowers?"
"We?"
"Yeah, your parents found out like a year ago. But 70%, are you sure that's correct?"
"Don't worry, the number might be higher, the others are just quite rare around these parts, I can get a good extra 15% in the capital, an extra 5% once we get some money, and the top 10% are probably something we can find along the way from rarer creatures like venomous serpents."
"So you plant on poisoning yourself to stop yourself from being poisoned? Is that how that works?"
"Uh, yeah? I've got a great body, with the power of plot armor on my side, no one's killing me, and I'll just earn immunity to the things that I'm not killed by. The goddess gave me a good body."
The duke's summons caught me off guard, but I knew better than to ignore such a request. I think I know what he's going to ask, Mari too, but that duke should know better, and here I thought my reputation would have spread to the capital already. I arrived at his private lodging where he had me greet him formally and sat down in his living room across from him.
"Boreas, was it? A unique name." the Duke began the conversation with a compliment, "I have a proposition for you, one that could prove to be mutually beneficial for both of us."
"How much would it take to convince the nymph to stand by my son's side?"
"Why would you want that?"
"Let's not beat around the bush, I've heard from the others...you're a very unique child, you should understand my question, so give me an answer."
"If it's just convincing...well, you can give me however much you want."
"Let me rephrase things." his face was full-on serious now, "Now that my son possesses the sword of an important world figure, he will need a proper mentor and escort, and I believe that your friend, Marianna, is perfect for that role, as she knows quite a bit about the hero in question and is likely to know what abilities the sword possesses...so how much would it take for you to MAKE her to come to my side?"
"Shouldn't you ask her instead? I can't do nothing as I respect her autonomy."
"And I believe that there's a number to everything, child, now speak...before this proposal no longer become mutually beneficial."
"Ho? You're threatening me?"
"Take it however you will."
I'm going to have so much fun.
