Magook stood over a bolder overlooking his army. They were tired, hungry, but more than anything, losing confidence in their ability to steamroll all human opposition like they have been doing before. They had another celebratory feast after taking a second city, but when they attempted to take a third, dozens of magic casters supporting human soldiers with renewed vigor stalled the siege. The beastmen suffered great loses immediately because of their over-confidence.
"Bring me a strong one."
A subordinate hurriedly brought another male human captive to his war chief. Magook uses them to boost morale, by showing his troops how truly weak and pathetic the humans are. The captive was freed from his bonding and given a sword. He was told to fight the unarmed Magook in front of the beastmen army. If he manages to wound him, then he's free. The human tested the sword several times, then approached his opponent cautiously. He was not a soldier in the regular army, but every able-bodied men have been trained to use a weapon to some degree since their teens, because of the constant threat on the border.
Magook jumped down and waited patiently with his body wide open. He wanted the human to be comfortable enough to fight at his best. Standing at over eight feet tall and quite thick, Magook looked like he could snap the human in half easily. Being a rare cross-breed of Minotaur and Tigerman, he is gifted in both strength and speed. No brute can overpower him. No prey can escape him. His favored weapon is a large metal-studded war club made from an ancient tree, reinforced with rings of steel. The humans like to form shield walls and stick their long spears from between the gaps. Magook likes to swat away those spears and break down those shield walls. Usually a human officer or champion would ride over to the breach and rally the men to push the beastmen back. That's when Magook charges forward like a raging bull, pushing everyone aside and going straight for the human champion. They would get knocked off their horse, or get crushed by their own ride. Magook would then beat the human half to death with his bare hands, breaking all his limbs so he couldn't fight back, and breaking the enemy's morale.
The human captive finally gathered enough courage to attack Magook, taking several quick swings, not using stabs since Magook is not wearing armor, and he only needs to wound him. Magook dodged swiftly without taking his feline eyes off the human despite his size. He wanted to show the crowd he's not fighting a cripple. Finally, he's had enough, and swatted the sword right out of the human's hand, leaving some claw marks on the steel blade. The human is grabbed by his shoulder and neck. Sharp claws sunk into his flesh. He punched the beastman's arm desperately. Magook pinched the human's arm with two fingers from his free hand and twisted it, breaking it at the shoulder joint then slowly pulled it free, tearing the tendons and skin. He applied more force with his other hand, breaking the other shoulder. He tore off the legs after that, keeping his victim conscious by controlling his breathing. The entire beastmen army heard the screams until Magook ripped apart the human's torso with his fangs, spilling internal organs all over the floor and ending his life.
"Prepare our forces. We shall concentrate on attacking only the east gate this time. Don't worry about the food escaping, we can hunt them down later. Just take the city."
The human defenders saw the invaders coming from miles away. There was no stealth or strategy involved for the beastmen. The battle was fierce, but it ended pretty much like the previous ones. Magook felt his position as the war chief of the beastmen's forward assault group being shaken. Magic casters atop the walls blasted spells at his troops. His strongest warriors incinerated by fire balls and lightning. His fast climbers ensnared by paralysis and stun. His flying units disabled by blindness and magic arrows. The magic casters even summoned Angels this time to boost their numbers.
"Damn those magic casters. Why have I not seen them before? I shall break their bones and feast on their magical flesh, after I sacrifice them to the Beast God like I did with their champions. They shall make the best offerings."
Magook has been capturing strong humans since the invasion, torturing them as a type of ritual. He believes they would please the Beast God who would grant him power. It's not clear whether if there is real divine intervention or if this is a placebo effect. He would feast on the mutilated bodies of his almost-dead victims after the ritual. The other beastmen can have all the weaklings. He does not care for the number of humans captured, only strength. He is a warmonger even among beastmen.
"Sound the retreat. This is pointless. We shall spread out and hunt in the wild. The humans cannot hide inside forever."
"What about their raiding parties while we are away, Lord?"
"I will wait outside the city. Set up a camp nearby. It will make a tempting target." Magook salivated at the thought of mage flesh inside his mouth.
Ariel drooled at all the food in front of her. This would be her first dinner at the mayor's mansion. The kitchen prepared all kinds of beautiful and delicious-looking dishes, intending to impress their little guest, and to gauge what her tastes are like.
'Are those baby squids? I didn't think a European-like society ate those.'
She pointed at the dish, and a maid brought it closer.
"This is a delicacy for people living close to the coast. Most people inland are somewhat put off by their appearance. Please don't force yourself if it is not to your liking, my lady."
Ariel bit one in half. It was filled with squid eggs. Baby squids were expensive on Earth. She wants to taste all the delicacies whenever she can. She ate only using a fork and spoon, not bothering with table manners.
'There are more silverwares than I have fingers! I'm not going to restrict myself to stupid social norms to please people I don't care about. They should know that I lived all my life in the wild.'
Ariel's bedroom is on the second floor on the back of the mansion. It has a small balcony overlooking a garden down below. A very large four-poster bed sits in the middle of the room against a wall. On top was a thick mattress stuffed almost to bursting with goose down. Same with the pillows. Rich crimson drapes with intricate patterns on their surface tied neatly to the bed posts with golden sashes. All the bedsheets and quilts are made of the finest silk in rich colors. Magical lights on walls and furniture had different colored filters. Her entire quarter seemed more colorful and renovated differently compared to the rest of the mansion.
When the head maid first showed Ariel her rooms, she insisted that she change out of her street clothes and into one of the many prettier dresses. A large walk-in closet connected her bedroom, also illuminated with magical lights. Inside was filled with all kinds of high-quality clothes and accessories. The dresses alone made Ariel's head spin a little because of how varied their designs were.
'Is that a Chinese-style qipao? I would look good in it. But I don't know how much skin I should show. Oh well, I will just play ignorant.'
"These dresses are all enchanted with minor cold resistance, so they will adjust to fit the wearer automatically."
"That so? That's impressive. Can I have some of them?"
"Of course. Everything you see in these rooms are yours. They have no other owners."
'Well then, don't mind if I do.'
Next to her bed was a big fancy dressing table fit for a princess. It has two stacks of drawers containing all kinds of hair accessories made of semi-precious metals and jewels. Several expensive-looking jewelry boxes filled with jewelry sat on top of the dressing table. A very well-made doll house sat near a corner opposite to the bed. It is large enough to fit Ariel inside.
"Some of these items were recommended by friends of the mayor. Many of whom are merchants who wish their wares to be sampled. Some of them were also unique finds from distant markets, gifted to the mayor as thanks for letting them operate in this city."
'More like attempted bribes to me. God knows how many merchants want to conduct business in a major trade city bordering three human nations.'
Ariel chose to clean herself up first before putting on her new clothes. She went into her private bathroom, leaving Otto outside the door. The head maid ordered two other maids to tend to Ariel and excused herself. The bathroom is quite large for one person. It is not a large bathhouse like the one in Nazarick, but still luxurious. She could fully stretch out her entire body inside the large bathtub. The maids filled it with warm soapy water, added some perfume-like substance to make it smell really good. Ariel soaked inside for a while, enjoying the feeling. Then the maids offered to scrub her. She felt their eyes checking out her body like men would when she's not looking, sizing her up.
'Am I turning them into lesbians? I know this body looks good, but I'm not a succubus. I sense no lust coming from them. They seem to be committing every detail into memory.'
Ariel chose a simple fitted white dress shirt with sleeves reaching past her elbows and a silky off-white long skirt to wear for her dinner. A tight blue vest went over the white shirt, accentuating her lithe figure. She put on a pair of closed-toed sandals made of the softest white leather. After dinner, she checked out the sitting room that led to her bedroom in more detail. Books addressing a wide range of topics filled an ornate bookshelf. They contained titles like "The Foundation of Re-Estize", "Teachings of the Gods", "How to Run a Fortress City", "Mysteries of the Scriptures", "Tales of the Silent City", "Landfall: The Culprit Behind the Undead Disaster" and "What It Means to be a Noble". Ariel thought these books had quite the thick, elaborately decorated covers, designed to be read by Nobility. She could understand the texts fine, because of her Divine Wisdom ability. Similar to Momonga's Dark Wisdom ability, it allows Ariel to learn more spells than normally allowed, and twice the amount if the spells are of the Divine type. In addition to that, she can understand most languages. She found out she could also learn new languages quickly in the New World. She memorized all the Kingdom's alphabets in one day. If she keeps this up, she could write the local language like the natives in no time.
Ariel retreated into her bedroom. Like the sitting room, it had shiny hard wooden floor covered by many large thick rugs. Some of them looked like pelts from some unknown large beasts. She took off her shoes and sunk her feet into one of the cozy white pelts next to her bed, enjoying the softness. There is another smaller bookshelf between the bed and a small round table made of white wood. She pulled out a chair and decided to do some reading. Unlike the larger bookshelf, this one was filled with romance novels. From children's fairy tales to the more explicit adult themed stories.
'Did someone half-illiterate see one children's book and decide to take the whole section of love stories? These belong inside the room of a widow, not a little girl.'
She dug deeper into the bookshelf, hoping to find something more interesting.
'Is that… "Kama Sutra"? Someone is definitely messing with me. It could be a prank by one of the young butlers. The horny bastards.'
The version Ariel held in her hands did not have drawings of Indian Hindus, but that of White European-looking couples in different sex acts. It was probably an adaptation to better serve the local populace.
Ariel opened the glass doors leading to her balcony. It was already dark outside. She could see some parts of the city not obstructed by the high walls of the estate. The night sky looked beautiful and calming. No pollution from light or smog. The air smelled fresh. She has not yet taken time to truly relax and enjoy nature since arriving.
'I want to go back to the Forest of Tob someday. Maybe go herb-collecting with Nfirea and enjoy a nice walk there. To see all the different plants with my own eyes, not just using my unnatural senses. I will have to go alone if I want to go deeper, because of monsters and bandits…'
Ariel felt there is something important she's forgetting, while thinking about the woods.
'The Black Scripture! Damn it, I totally forgot about them. They have that World Item that lets you mind control people. What were they doing in the woods in Season One? If I can find Brain's bandit cave, I should know how to find that location from there… Nope, too late. Too many days have passed. I hope this doesn't come bite me in the ass.'
Unbeknownst to Ariel, her prize will come to her eventually in some unexpected way. While in her deep slumber past midnight, Ariel woke up. Something activated her surveillance ward she placed inside the strongbox in the Shining Golden Pavilion. The wards she placed on the doors of her suite and outside the strongbox were not triggered, meaning someone picked the locks instead of broke in. She did put some money in the container in case she has to use it in front of someone.
'Who would go through all that security just to steal some money? Whatever. I can track them down with divination magic if they take even one coin' Ariel went back to sleep.
The next morning, a maid knocked lightly. She entered her bedroom and opened the curtains.
"Breakfast is ready, lady Ariel. Would you like to have it here?"
"What do you mean?"
The maid called two butlers inside. One holding a silver tray covered by a silver dome. The other held a small table with short legs. Ariel sat up from her bed. Her hair hung loosely, framing her small apple face. She looked cute as a button with her hazy morning eyes.
'How lazy do you have to be to have breakfast in bed? Don't you have to go take a piss and brush your teeth first?'
"You can sit the food on the table over there. I need to go use the bathroom."
Before anyone could do anything, Ariel threw the covers off herself to get up. Her chemise rode up above her knees as she scooted towards the edge of the bed, giving everyone a nice view of her legs before she landed on her feet. The maid was too stunned to say a word. The butlers too mesmerized by what they saw and tried to burn the image into their heads. She entered her private bathroom adjacent to the closet and closed the door. When she came out, the butlers were gone. The maid stood by the table with a flushed face.
"Lady Ariel, you must not show yourself in such revealing outfit in front of another man who is not your husband. It will only drive them to have uncultured thoughts, especially if they are young men."
"Hmm? I don't really mind. It would be unnatural if healthy men don't have those thoughts."
"Lady Ariel!"
"Relax. This night gown covers almost everything. I once had to run naked in the woods because I saw a deer while washing in the river. Deer meat is really good, you know?"
"Oh, the Gods… I PRAY you will never have to run naked again, ANYWHERE. Please enjoy your food." The maid left the room quickly trying to forget what she heard.
'That was a nice image I put in your head. I remember now, you were one of the maids who sized up my body while bathing me.'
When Ariel came out of her bedroom already dressed, two different maids in the sitting room told her she could've called them in to help her dress. She tried to dismiss them, but one maid walked with her to the winding stairs. The curved handrail shined in the morning sunlight. Ariel walked over and sat on the handrail sideways and slid down. She maintained her balance easily. The maid reached out a hand as if to stop her. When Ariel reached the bottom of the stairs, she hit the top of the newel post with a loud thud. Her body hooked around the post from the momentum and spun in the air, before landing on the floor in front of the stairs and rolling a short distance. The whole thing looked like it hurt. The maid who was watching from the second floor ran down the stairs. Ariel got back on her feet before the maid reached her.
"My lady, are you alright? That was reckless! A young lady like you should not behave in such manner."
"I'm fine. You do know I'm a healer, right? Part of the reason why I'm here? That was for fun. I had things way worse happen to me."
"Even worse than this? It's hard to imagine."
"Oh yeah. Once I had a feral troll bite my arm almost clean off, before I fried its brain with a precise lightning spell. I got so much crafting materials from its corpse. I came up with the brilliant strategy of using myself as bait to lure the stupid beasts to me after that and got really good at it."
The maid suddenly hugged Ariel against her shoulder, gently stroking the back of her head.
"You poor thing. You don't have to do that anymore. Anything you want, just ask."
"OK?" Ariel answered with a muffled voice.
She went to visit the garden. The butlers followed her like a pack of fish, constantly looking for things that might interest or dissatisfy her. Poor Otto had to walk behind everyone else. Ariel enjoyed all the different kinds of flowers in all their interesting shapes and colors. The garden was not as big as the one in the Royal Castle, but it had innovative designs. Archways covered with roses blocked out the noon sun where there is no shadow from the building, led to a small water fountain. She surveyed the "landscape" with her Ranger senses, noticing signs that many of the more exotic flowers were recently planted.
'I have gotten at least a few of their names right. The light blonde and blue eyes with outgoing personality is Johan. The darker blonde hair and brown eyes with warmer personality is Marcus. The raven hair and grey eyes with a few words is Samual.'
"Hey guys, I think I'm going to live here for a while. Can some of you come with me to the Shining inn and help me pack? I want to check out of there today."
"There is no need to trouble yourself with such things, my lady. Mayor Rettenmaier has already taken over the billing of your suite. We can send all the required help to get anything you need from there. You are free to stay at either place any time you want." Johan answered.
Later that day, a butler came running to inform Ariel that some important visitors wanted to see her. She met them in the lounge. It was Swords of Darkness, and Nfirea.
"Finally, we found you!" Ninya stood up and approached her. "It was so difficult! First the people at the new inn said you didn't live there anymore, and they refused to disclose the location of your new residence. We had to get Nfirea to vouch for us as the famous pharmacist and personal friend of yours. Then we hit a snag when trying to enter the administration district, because we had no appointment with anyone inside, and the guards said we were not on any official business. They only took us seriously when we said we had information about possible assassination attempts in the mayor's home. Lukrut almost got us arrested."
"Hey now, I was trying to get the guards to move faster. Someone's life is at stake here."
"Someone's life? Assassination? You have to slow down. I don't understand."
The adventurer team told Ariel about Ijaniya, how the Temples are like, and the significance of Ariel's actions. She offered them to stay at her suite at the Shining Golden Pavilion, since it's fully paid for, and no one lives there. They thanked her but declined, to the disappointment of Lukrut, saying it was too far from the Guild and their jobs. Maybe they will consider it a place to visit after completing a big job. Ariel bid everyone farewell. There was not much she could do except being careful, she said. The mayor's estate is about the most well-guarded place inside E-Rantel anyway.
'Too bad. I thought I could use them as decoys to lure out anyone waiting for me in the Pavilion suite. There are too many unknowns. I guess this is the disadvantage of not having a spy network like Nazarick.'
Couple days later, when Ariel was ready to retreat into her room to rest for the night, she sensed a presence before opening the door. It was more powerful than the servants, but still weak compared to herself. It was trying to hide itself using some kind of shadow technique.
'Maybe I will get to ask them myself and find out what's going on.'
She made sure no one else was nearby, and entered her quarters pretending not to notice, while silent cast [Silence] and [Dimensional Lock].