I left the room and closed the door behind me, but I decided to listen in on their conversation. They got me a bit curious after all.
I wonder what they will talk about?
Retos: “They grow up so fast. Don’t they?”
Mom: “It was like only yesterday when I could carry her in my arms.”
Retos: “But I heard that she will leave the house soon. Are you okay with that?”
Dad: “It’s fine, we knew that one of our children would be like us. It was inevitable.”
Mom: “I also left my house at an early age to become an adventurer, so I am fine with it, I won’t stop her like my parents did.”
Retos: “Well, they had their reasons, but it turned out fine.”
Dad: “Anyway, Retos, are you sure the supply of Roentz paper can’t be sold this time?”
Retos: “Yeah… the civil war that is brewing in Jistra has led others to believe that Kat-a’kut will launch an invasion when the civil war breaks out, while it doesn’t necessarily concern us, it does make the trade routes more dangerous.”
Dad: “This civil war, do you think Kat-a’kut has something to do with it? They even signed treaties with Jistra’s Allies.”
Retos: “I see what you mean. But I don’t think they can come up with that, besides even a foot soldier knows that the men of Jistra will just unite and attack the invaders. Jistra is a prideful country, they will not allow a foreign king to rule over them.”
Mom: “The ‘men of Jistra’ will, how about the people shunned by Jistra. Those that were deemed inferior.”
Retos: “That might be a possibility, but they are a minority. They can’t possibly-“
Dad: “No, they are not a minority, From the information I got, there are only 53 000 soldiers in Jistra, including reserves and the rival faction, while there are about 230 000 able bodied people who the Jistrians deemed inferior, even half of that is too much for them to handle.”
Is this really all what they are going to discuss? No sweets or adventures or heroic tales?
Retos: “Did you also include the women? I find it hard to believe that there are that many men in Jistra.”
Dad: “Nope, but if you want me to include them, the number would be closer to 500 000, if you want me to include those who can still fight, it would reach 700 000.”
7-700 000!? That’s almost half our population! We also only have 10 000 soldiers.
Retos: “…I guess all we could do is pray that the damage will be minimal and won’t reach our country.”
Mom: “You don’t need to worry about that. Mr Retos.”
Retos: “I-I see, a-hahaha… (Why is she releasing bloodlust?)”
Dad: “Anyway for now, let’s discuss what we can do to cover our loss.”
Retos: “We can set their prices to 70% and sell them here. Since we won’t need to travel, nor hire any adventurers, we would only lose about 12%, that is if we could sell all of them.”
What are they talking about? I can’t follow…
Dad: “No make is 57%, 70% is too high, but don’t offer any other services so that our clients–“
Ughh it’s getting hard to understand, might as well leave now. I also need to check this card out.
Retos: “Hmm… That true, but I hope we get to sell more than two thirds of our stock-“
Maha: “She left.”
Gintu: *Nods
Retos: “Are you really going to hide it from her? I mean it won’t really matter I think?”
Maha: “I hid it from her, because she wants to travel the world, and if it doesn’t work, she could always come back.”
Gintu: “She has the greatest potential to become the best assassin in our country, but my daughter’s wishes comes first. She also seems to be a bit reluctant about killing.”
Retos: “She is too pure-hearted. I had even doubted if she is your daughter, you two wouldn’t cheat righ-“
A dagger flies by Retos’ cheek, looking at Gintu and Maha, they seem to be releasing a lot of killing intent.
Maha: “Dear, don’t you think the Guild needs a new guildmaster? Mr Retos, unfortunately choked to death.”
Gintu: “Now, now, stay calm. Since his cheek is bleeding, he must have died due to poison from an assassin.”
Maha: “Oh, your right, my anger must have clouded my judgement.”
Gintu: “Now, where did I keep my poisons-“
Retos: “I’m joking! I’m joking! Of course none of you would cheat, you’re too lovey-dover to each other that it’s making other people uncomfortable.”
Maha: “Haaah, anyway, back on topic.”
Gintu: “You really know how to trigger people. You should change that.”
Retos: “Ha ha… but will you not at least teach her how to kill? She will need that, if she hesitates for one second, she might just die.”
Maha: “I don’t want to teach her how to kill, but I will teach her how to protect. I am too far gone to be redeemed, I just wish that she will not end up like me.
Gintu: “We have longed for a happy ‘lovey-dovey’ family, but our positions will not allow it. She is our only hope.”
Retos: “But what if the worst does happens? Will you be fine with just that?”
Maha: “If she dies then that’s the end of her story, it is sad, and we will grieve, but we have been prepared for even worse possible outcomes.”
Retos: “Worse outcomes? what do you mea-“
Maha: “Kidnapped, tortured, raped, enslaved, sold, whatever crosses your mind. We have been preparing for those and even if her freedom is offered in exchange for this nation, will prioritize this nation over one girl and her family.”
Gintu: “We might sound too cold to you, but we will lay our life down for this country. We will not sacrifice our citizen’s lives for one girl. We will also talk about this with her, as a final warning to make her change her mind.”
Retos: “Haah, this is why I don’t like dealing with you, you always prioritize your loyalty to the King.”
Maha: “Not the King, he merely represents this nation, our loyalty is to its people.”
Retor: “Right…”
Gintu: “Besides, we have spent weeks thinking all possible scenarios she could end up in that we could think of, I don’t think she will need any help, I’m sure she could solve them herself.”
Retos: “How confident are you that she won’t just end up in a mass grave?”
Maha: “Above 90%. We even thought of a very troubling scenario of her being tortured and enslaved but in almost all of our simulations she would be able to escape.”
Retos: “What kind of parents are you, imagining tragic scenarios of your daughter.”
Gintu: “Well, it’s not just us, we asked the maids, butlers, and our children for help. The room was so serious, it was like we were preparing for our last fight. It was even more serious than the war room meeting held last year.”
Maha: “Right? No one even hesitated to say the word “rape” in front of me, that’s how serious we were.”
Retos: “A war meeting for the youngest daughter’s adventure… How crazy are you people? How long did that take place? And why was I not invited?”
Gintu: “We are assassins, preparing, gathering intel, and finding the best solution is our specialty. But oh boy, we took a bit too much time for that.”
Maha: “Recalling it even makes me so tired.”
Retos: “How many hours was it?”
Gintu: “Hours? It was days. We spent 23 days on that I think.”
Retos: “23 days? Well, it’s not too bad, some war room meetings last more.”
Maha: “Yeah, but we were able to sleep in those war meetings.”
Retos: “Hmm…? Hm!? How long did you not sleep?
Gintu: “Well we started the meeting after Maya left town for her school camping trip last year and slept with her when she returned.”
Retos: …
…
…
Retos: “Uhm, I will just remind you that last year’s camping trip lasted for three months. Surely you won’t say that all of you did not sleep that long…”
Maha: “Of course not! What do you think we are? Monsters? We let our staffs and children take breaks so that they could sleep and think of worse scenarios or solutions to the scenarios.”
Gintu: “Three months? It felt shorter.”
Retos: “You know what, you guys are not cold, you are crazy! So how did you deal with the request from the king?”
Gintu: “I can’t recall any request form the king last year?”
Maha: “Oh, the war meeting for the possible war with our neighboring countries? I just told them that we will lose and left the room.”
Retos: “I thought you prioritized the nation?”
Maha: “It was the king’s ambition, not the nation’s, so we held no interest in it.”
Gintu: “Oh right! Maha was gone for three days that time! So we promptly rejected all requests unless it was a call to arms to defend the nation.”
Retos: “So you looked that pale, not because of the king’s request, but because you have yet to sleep!?”
Maha: “Yes.”
Retos: “So why not include me? With my help, that could have been done in 20 days or less.”
Gintu: “This is a family issue that we must solve within our household. Sure, you would have lessen the time and also provided ideas that we would never thought of, we would also feel like we didn’t put much effort in.”
Maha: “If you would have helped it would leave a bad taste in our mouth since we know that you will provide more scenarios than we could have.”
Retos: “You don’t need to mind that. I am your friend, you should have given me a bit of the burden that you are carrying.”
Gintu: “Sorry, we were just too closed-minded that day.”
Retos: “I have a question though, have you also included Hana in you simulations?”
Maha: “Yes, from being a gifted child to the one who will betray Maya.”
Gintu: “We even prepared a scenario where Hana would be the first person Maya kills.”
Retos: “Hmm… did you also thought of a scenario where Maya carries Hana like some sort of item? Like a puppet that only relies on its strings to move?”
Gintu: “What kind of scenario even is that? I mean how can we even plan for a scenario that wild.”
Maha: “Well, the possibility isn’t zero, Necromancy could be learned, and corpses can indeed be carried like an item in <Storage>. I just would feel bad if Maya returned broken with her friend turned into a puppet.”
Retos: “How about a scenario where a cloud of insects attacked a city, or what if she meets her twin, what about her joining a cult where they need to chop their arm, or what if she is a reincarnated person in a land from the east, what if she secretly is overpowered, oh, oh, I know what if she meets god and got several skills, ohh what if she was a boy in the past and kept stealing glances at your breast acting like a child but is secretly lusting over it? Or she still has yet to unlock her memories and learn that she is a reincarnated person. No, no what if Maya and Hana were reincarnated people that is destined to fight one another or the demon king?… bla bla bla bla”
Gintu: “And this is why we left you out.”
Retos: “Hm?”
Gintu: “No, nothing, please continue.”
Gintu and Maha regretted not stopping him sooner as it went on for a couple more hours.
Gintu: “Grrrwolll“
Maha: “Oh dear! Are you hungry? Sorry Retos I guess we have to stop here.”
Retos: “Oh, then while we wait for the food, lets talk some more, I still have a lot to share.”
Gintu: “It’s alright Retos, you can go on ahead, the maids have yet to prepare the food. it might take a couple of hours.”
Retos: “Oh it’s ok, I could drink tea while we wait.”
Maid: “Ah, sorry Mr. Retos it appears that this tea is now spoiled.”
Retos: “This is the tea you have been serving me though?-“
*Crash*
Maid: “Oh dear, my hand must have slipped! I will prepare another tea, but it might take a few hours since I need to check which tea is still good.”
Gintu: “Oh dear, for Irene to make a mess means that the tea is most likely spoiled.”
Retos: “Hm, Your right, her skill is pretty handy for avoiding poisons. I guess I’ll leave now-“
The door swung open, and another maid brings a tray with a lot of food in.
Retos: “-Oh I guess we could eat here then.”
Maid 2: “Excuse me, your meals have arrived!”
Irene, walks towards the other maid.
Maid 2: “How about that Ms Irene! I, Maria of house Dolas, has successfully brought food without dropping a single grain of rice!”
Irene: “Is that so? Then pass it to me so that I could-“
Maria: “Nuh uh, I’m going to set it down, I have to show you the fruits of my trainings.”
Irene: I guess it’s fine, she will most likely slip anyway or spill it to Mr Retos...
She did not. In fact she would be given the highest scores for her poise and gracefulness when she brought the food.
Gintu: “How come she didn’t mess up?”
Maha: “That’s what I want to know, do something!”
Gintu: “What am I supposed to do? Throw away her effort? I am not that heartless!”
Maha: “Then what, are we just going to accept Retos babbling about stuff he read in books?”
Gintu: “We endured worse, we can make it.”
Maha: “Wait, I thought of something.”
Maha: “Maria, why don’t you cut Retos’ ham into smaller pieces, I’m sure he would appreciate it.”
Maria: “Do you like me to cut your food Mr Retos?”
Retos: “Sure, I don’t mind.”
When Maria reached out for the knife, Maha side eyed Irene.
Irene: “Watch out!!”
*Bang*
Maria: “Ouch!”
Irene: “Stop moving! We know what you are planning Maria!”
Maria: “Wha-? But I- Mmff, mmph!”
Maha: “It’s good you spotted that Irene. One second late and Retos would have been killed!”
Gintu: “Is that really what you could think of?“
Maha: “My mind’s breaking. Give me a break.“
Retos: “Uhh, but she was-“
Gintu: “You don’t have to be reserved, and don’t worry we will deal with her.”
Maha: “Irene, Bring her to the torture chamber.”
Maria: “Mmph, mph!!”
Gintu: “We will continue this conversation next time. I need to talk with Maria.”
Retos: “That serious huh? Is she going to be okay?”
Maha: “You don’t have to worry about her, she will still work as a maid here.”
Retos: “Then I’ll leave it in your hands, I’ll take my leave then.”
Inside the torture chamber, there were a few prisoners, but one stood out.
Puhaa–
Maria: “Irene, I wasn’t going to do anything I swear. Please I don’t want to be tortured please, please.”
Irene, just stood and watched as Maria cried.
The other prisoners just kept their heads down not wanting to draw attention to what they refer to as the “Beast“, they could only imagine what would happen to the poor Maid.
When Maria stopped crying, Irene pulled her into another room, where tools for unspeakable torture are hanged and displayed.
Maria knows that those tools will be used on her. As she already learned the secrets of this house, she will not be let out with a simple slap on the wrist for a supposed attempted murder of the Guildmaster.
Tears started building up again, as she remembered what she saw during her Maid training. All she could do was accept her faith, trying to escape from Irene is impossible anyway.
After a few minutes of silence, her Masters and a few more maids entered the room, probably to set her as an example and to teach them how this household operated.
Maria also personally saw a fellow maid be tortured to death after learning she was a spy from another country.
Now it will be her turn, then her family, that’s just how the Perrman family cleans up mess.
I’m sorry…
“Congratulations!”
Maria: ,,,
Maria: “Eh!? What, uh..”
My Mistress leapt towards me then hugged me tightly.
Maha: “Sorry Maria, it was the only way, Retos’ couldn’t be stopped.”
Maria: “I-uh-I don’t understand.”
Gintu: “You don’t have to worry about it. Anyway from this moment on, you are now officially a maid of the Perrman House, and as a maid of the Perrman house, you get your own torture chamber, use it how you see fit and serve us well.”
Maha: “Now for your first assignment.”
*Snap*
The the other maids who entered, began subduing three maids, this time a lot more force is used on them. Their clothes were torn, there were bruise marks and one was bleeding from the nose and mouth as they were pinned to the ground.
Maha: “These girls tried to abduct Maya a while back, and this bitch- *slap* even tried to seduce my husband.”
“No, that’s wrong! She told me to-“
*Slap*
Maha: “Did I give you permission to speak whore?”
Gintu: “Their crimes are as follows:”
A: abduction, theft, spying
B: theft, leaking information, murder, and attempted assassination of Maya
C: abduction, murder, seduction, rape
Maha: “You are allowed to use any tool here to bring judgement to these three and extract any info you can out of them.”
Maria: “…with pleasure.”
Maria, who looks cute to passers by would soon be known to the prisoners as “The Butcher“.
As Maria walked towards the three prisoners, she slipped and knocked herself unconscious.
…
Maha: “I thought she was ready…”
Gintu: “Give her a day, she must have been exhausted. I hope.”
Irene: “It seems you three will live a bit longer.
Maha: “Irene bring this whore to my torture chamber, we are going to have a long talk.:
Irene: “Yes Ma’am.”
“No, no, noooo!!”
Author’s note:
Terrible writing needs terrible story lines. I really wanted to clean up the chapter but, I got bored. Sorry.
Lazy Carnivel 