“Are you sure about this?” Otto asked for the tenth time.
“Stop badgering him. I approve of this. It’s how a man should act!” Octavia gave me a thumbs up.
“I’m just worried you’ll be hurt.” Octius pouted, stroking my arm.
“You’re just using sympathy as a chance to touch me, aren’t you?” I raised an eyebrow.
“What are you saying?” Octius put on a hurt look.
“If you like touching muscles, brother, you can feel these!” Octavia immediately did a flex pose.
“I-it’s just not the same!” Octius sighed.
Some time had passed, and I was now waiting in a room in the church, not unlike a room the bride would be waiting in before the wedding. The entire wedding party was being moved to the training fields behind the church where Paladins learned battle. That would ultimately be where I faced General Nova.
“Are you certain about this?” Octin asked, his arms crossed as he thought deeply, even his contemplative features resembling a cool beauty.
“I’m not as weak as I once was.” I shrugged. “I’ve very interested to see how strong I am now. Recently, my soul was damaged, but those souls were combined, and rather than lose strength, I should have gained it. However, I haven’t had time to test myself. Even if I lose, he already said if I forfeit and admit he’s stronger, then he will accept my defeat. Worst case scenario, one of us dies.”
“With Resurrection, it is true that death isn’t permanent.” Octin nodded. “And with your healing, you could bounce back from near death with ease. However, if you kill him, this will cause outrage among the Ost Republic, and if he kills you, we’ll be forced to retaliate with aggression as well. Killing an upper noble is a grave insult to the country, no matter your personal feelings.”
“I see… then the best opportunity would be if I won, but then forfeited.”
He raised both eyebrows. “Really? I suppose that is a good plan. You show you’re powerful and give honor to Aberis, but also allow the wedding to continue. He won’t be able to easily cause any more trouble after that.”
“Of course, it still ends with Alysia getting married to Nova.” I sighed.
“Is there a problem with that?” He asked.
“No…” I shook my head after a thought. “None at all. Tell me, what do you know of Nova?”
“He’s a general. Many think he’s lazy, and maybe he is, but he makes up for it by being extremely cunning. I’ve faced him a few times on the border, and it’s always ended in a tie. He supposedly has a large harem of women that he plays with daily. He surrounds himself with beautiful women, many of which are slaves.”
“Seriously?” My eyes flashed angrily.
“Yes, I’ve heard that he even forces them to fight for him. You didn’t see them in the church, but he has a personal guard made up of all women that he sleeps with!”
“That monster! How can he dare think about marrying a woman when he treats so many other women that way?” I snapped.
Raissa leaned over to Eliana and whispered. “Should we tell him?”
“A clueless Deek is a cute Deek. We’ll let him figure it out on his own.” Eliana responded.
The two girls giggled together playfully. Although I didn’t know what they were whispering, it was nice to see that they were starting to bond as well, just as I had hoped.