Chapter 311: Divine of the East (2)

The Celestial Garden Kai visited for the first time in a month remained just as beautiful.

The rainbow fountain’s still there, the flower beds too. Oh! But I see a lot more paintings now.

Most importantly, Helik was seated at the table where she always drank tea and ate cookies, her eyes closed.

What in the world is she doing?

Curious, Kai quietly approached and watched what she was doing.

Helik, eyes tightly shut, had her index and middle fingers pressed to her temples and was mumbling, “Candy is coming... chocolate is coming... cake is coming hand in hand...Oh! Ice cream is coming too...”

She appeared to be sending some kind of telepathic message.

Kai, watching her, let out a quiet sigh, then suddenly shouted, “

Whoa!

”

With a deliberately exaggerated motion, Kai threw himself to the floor. He looked up with wide eyes and flashed an awkward smile at Helik.

“H-how did this happen? I was suddenly transported here...”

It was an unconvincing performance a ten-year-old could see through, but Helik, with her pure heart, opened her eyes wide.

She sprang to her feet and shouted, “D-did it really work?!”

She showed an overly excited expression, then quickly crossed her arms and tried to regain a dignified look. Of course, that was merely what she wished to do. Her twitching lips and puffed-up cheeks clearly revealed how overwhelmed with happiness she truly was.

“Kai. You may sing my praises a little more.”

“Hooray for the Solarian God.” Kai halfheartedly raised both arms to praise her.

Even so, Helik nodded in satisfaction. “

Ahem.

You must be surprised, being suddenly summoned here amid your busy duties... But this happened because you haven’t been bringing me enough snacks lately. Be more mindful from now on.”

“Understood.”

“So, what did you bring today?” Helik scooted closer and crouched beside Kai, eyeing the bundle in his hands.

“

Oh

, today’s treats are a little different than usual.” Kai opened the bundle and took out the snacks sent by nobles and merchants overseas. “These are molecular candies from Aran Kingdom. They pop in your mouth, so you’ll find them fun. And this is a fourteen-layer pastry cookie made in the dry environment of the Kingdom of Havier.”

“

Wooooow!

” Helik’s eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky.

Her hand instinctively reached for the bundle, but Kai gently stopped her.

“W-why?” Helik asked with a heartbroken expression.

After all, nothing in this world was more sorrowful than being denied food placed right before one’s eyes.

“Did you limit yourself to three sweets a day?”

“

Yup!

”

“Did you brush your teeth properly?”

“

M-mhm...

”

It was obvious when Helik lied. The force in her voice changed, and she couldn’t meet his gaze. Her eyes, fixed on the floor, were also slightly trembling.

“Say

ah,

” Kai instructed.

“

Ah—

”

Of course, as a non-expert, Kai could only make limited judgments by checking her teeth.

After a moment of thought, he shook his head with a serious expression. “I don’t think you’ve been brushing well. If this keeps up, I’ll have no choice but to take you to the dentist.”

"Dentist? Just hearing the name sounds like a dreadful place."

Helik looked scared. The dentist was, after all, a dreaded word that made one not want to go just by hearing it.

“If you don’t want to go, remember to brush your teeth properly.”

“Okay. I will.”

“Here you go, then.”

When Kai handed over the snack bundle, Helik politely reached out with both hands to receive it.

Our Helik is even well-mannered!

Kai stroked her head for doing well. Watching Helik beam with joy as she pulled out snacks one by one, he smiled.

Then, Patrick’s words suddenly echoed in his mind.

To think this adorable Helik once endured much pain... What could have happened to her?

He felt tempted to ask, but he gently suppressed that urge. If that memory truly caused Helik pain, then bringing it up would be terribly inconsiderate.

“Please just stay the way you are, Helik.”

“

Hmm?

” Helik looked up at Kai, who was stroking her head, her face full of question marks.

***

“This place is always busy..”

The capital of the Kingdom of Rashion, Rayark, was always bustling with people since it was the perfect starting point for beginners to begin their journey.

Right outside the city gates are balanced hunting grounds for low levels.

Starting from the capital meant one could raise a character up to level 100 with ease.

Libertia should be like this too.

At the same time, a deep sense of regret flickered in Kai’s eyes. Although there were hunting grounds near Libertia, the monsters there were only suitable for players at level 300 or above.

It can’t be helped. It’s not like I can forcibly develop hunting grounds either.

Swallowing his disappointment, Kai passed through the busy streets and headed for the royal palace.

“Is something happening today?”

At the entrance of the palace, there was an unusually long line of carriages.

Guess I’ll have to line up as well.

Kai quietly joined the line and waited for his turn. Perhaps because they were conducting thorough identity checks today, and the queue barely moved. Then, commotion started brewing behind him.

What’s going on?

Kai turned his head to look and furrowed his brows.

“Isn’t this Baron Dyfa? Fancy meeting you in a place like this.”

“Count Sinva. Have you been well?”

“I’ve been fine, but today’s long wait is putting me in a bad mood.”

“If you don’t mind, please take my place. I don’t mind entering a bit later.”

“Well, if you insist... I’ll remember your kindness.”

Kai saw someone cutting the line, and not just any line-cutting. This was coercion, using rank and position as leverage.

“

Hmm

.”

The carriage driven by the count’s coachman soon moved right up behind Kai.

The coachman sitting in the driver’s seat looked down at Kai and asked, “Excuse me, may I have your name...?”

Kai slightly turned and replied, “Kai.”

“

Ah!

Could you be... from the east... the one leading Libertia?”

“Yes.”

“I see, it’s Baron Kai. Must have been tough coming all the way from the countryside,” the coachman looked down at Kai and let out a mocking chuckle.

His own master was a count, while the other was a baron from a remote territory with no carriage.

There’s always one of these guys wherever you go.

Kai no longer wanted to speak with someone under the powerful that mistook that authority as their own, and turned his head forward.

However, the coachman did not seem willing to let him go. “Baron Kai, you didn’t arrive by carriage?”

“No.”

“If His Majesty hears of this, he might be furious at your lack of formality. Are you sure this is wise?”

“That doesn’t seem like something for you to worry about.”

When Kai firmly cut him off, the coachman frowned but didn’t dare retort. Even if he was driving a count’s carriage, the man before him was still a noble.

That’s when the count himself spoke. “

Ahem

.”

Peeking out through the carriage window, the man casually gestured with his hand, “You said you were Baron Kai? Quite young, aren’t you?”

Even Kai couldn’t ignore a count’s words, so he nodded politely. “Yes, I am young.”

“I’m Count Sinva of the western region. I’ve heard about you several times. A talented young fellow for your age, they say.”

Kai smirked at those words.

Talented for your age, huh?

That was just a roundabout way of saying he was decent for someone his age.

“Thank you for the compliment. I’d love to offer some praise in return, but I haven’t really heard much about you, Count.”

At Kai’s words, Count Sinva’s expression slightly stiffened. He had belittled Libertia as a countryside, but Kai said he had never heard of Count Sinva. In other words, it was a sarcastic jab implying that the count’s name hadn’t even spread as far as this countryside. Of course, Kai truly had never heard of Count Sinva before.

“... Young baron, would it be all right if I gave you some advice as an elder?”

“No. That wouldn’t be all right, so please don’t.”

When Kai shut him down cold, Count Sinva was left speechless, his mouth hanging open. No one had ever acted so confidently in front of him like this before.

Even viscounts, let alone other counts, always bowed their heads before me...

Count Sinva, a great lord of the western region, slightly bit his lip as his pride was wounded. Of course, even though he was angry, he couldn’t make a scene. If it had been his own territory, he would have taught such an insolent baron a lesson, but this was the entrance to the royal palace.

That brat. You should consider yourself lucky.

Count Sinva slammed the window shut, mumbling in a voice loud enough meant to be heard, “

Hmph

, this is why uncultured country bumpkins are just hopeless... Wouldn’t you agree?”

“You’re right, Father.”

“I’ve heard that Libertia is a land of beasts. Have you ever been there?”

“Even if I’m running a merchant guild, I wouldn’t want to do business in such a countryside. Wouldn’t the place reek of fish and animal dung?”

“

Hahaha!

I’m sure it does.”

It sounded like he was talking to his son, but it was obvious to anyone that his words were meant for Kai to hear.

Amusing.

Kai felt something beyond surprise, genuine bewilderment. It had been a long time since anyone dared speak to him like that.

Well, I have spent less time around NPCs lately.

Perhaps because of that, he had almost forgotten, but nobles like that existed in

MID Online

since the beginning. The former lords of Aquaria and Whitehall had been just the same. It was no wonder players constantly filed complaints to Pegasus about aristocratic NPC abuse.

Honestly, I could’ve tolerated it if he were just insulting me...

But there was no way he could stay quiet when someone insulted the demi-humans of his territory like that.

“Gravity Field.”

As Kai whispered, the gravity around Count Sinva’s carriage suddenly multiplied several times over. This was where Kai’s precise control shone. He increased only the gravitational force on the carriage, not affecting the coachman or those inside. Naturally, the carriage couldn’t withstand the weight and began to creak in agony.

“

Oh no!

”

“W-what in the world?!”

Startled, Count Sinva and his son crawled out from the wrecked carriage, and the coachman rushed to help them.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Kai deactivated the gravity field and looked at the disoriented pair with a faint smile, and of course, he didn’t miss the chance to get under their skin.

“That’s why you need to use a sturdier carriage. Try to save a few coins with cheap stuff, and look what happens.”

“Y-You...!”

It was a muttered jab that dug deep into the pride of the stunned Count Sinva.