"Rise, sit. You are my guest after all, a host should never lord his status over his guest." When the pair rose, they immediately moved aside, and Lupusregina's heart jumped into her throat when her Lord chose to seat himself beside her.
'Lord Momonga is just… so cooooool!' She wanted to squeal the words, but dared not, lest she interrupt his weighty thoughts.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Momonga said to her, and Enri bowed her head.
"Thank you, My Lord." Enri whispered the words, "I'm grateful beyond words for what you did. I will spend the rest of my life repaying it." She said to him and then feeling the beginnings of tears in her eyes, she brought her arm up and rubbed them dry. "My father had a saying, 'the scales always have to balance, otherwise you'll go home angry, or with a grudge behind you."
Momonga traded a glance with Lupusregina, who could only shrug, she lowered her head a little in apology, until she felt his hand on her head, rubbing gently. She leaned into it and the start of a frown turned upside down in an instant.
"I see, he was a farmer, wasn't he?" Momonga asked, the saying sounded oddly militaristic.
She nodded. "He used to be the one to take our crops to E-Rantel. He said that about making deals with merchants, if we got too good a deal, they might not buy from us again. If we didn't get a good one, we wouldn't want to deal with them twice. So he always tried to make it fair… for all the good it did us in the end." She pursed her lips tight to keep at bay any words that would create more tears.
She concealed it by nurturing the spark of anger that the maid had lit in her belly. "If I could balance the scales against the ones who did this… if I could, I would."
"How would you? Just out of curiosity?" Lupusregina asked and rested her arms on the table, then set her head in her upturned palms, watching Enri with renewed interest.
Revenge fantasies danced in Enri's head, one after another, burning castles, mass rebellions, public beheadings… dreams of blood danced in her head where they never ventured before.
Until she settled on one.
"They made us live in fear during the daylight, I'd make them afraid of the night. If I had the power, the skills? I would sneak into their castles, in their homes, where they feel safest and most secure… and I would make sure every morning there were fresh corpses taken out of the beds of the lords and ladies. Every night they'd fear going asleep, wondering if they would wake up in the morning… if I could do that? Yes. Yes, I would love to let them have a taste of the fear we lived with every single day." Enri sighed, the very thought of it was utter bliss.
She could see it so clearly in her mind, an arrogant face, a moment of twisted surprise, dismay… and fear. Then silent lips and glassy, empty eyes as life ran out of their body and pooled red in their overstuffed mattresses.
"Damn them." Enri cursed.
Lupusregina giggled, "She sounds like Lord Nishikienrai. He loved stealth kills."
"She does, she really does." Momonga mused on that as his thoughts coalesced ever clearer in his mind. 'He also had a daughter, and lost his parents to murder. What a strange coincidence.' He pondered privately, however out loud he said to her, "I will offer you that chance."
"My Lord?" Enri asked, blinking her eyes as if afraid Momonga were an illusion.
"You have the will, we can offer you the training you need, and the chance to grow stronger." Momonga held out the offer to her, and her mouth dropped open, no words came out.
"Is that… is that really possible?" Enri asked, "What- what can I even begin to offer for something like that? I can't pay… I have nothing. My Lord has far more beautiful women around him than I…"
"Do you have somewhere where you'd rather go instead?" Momonga asked, and Enri shook her head.
"No. If I leave here, Nemu and I have no future. If starvation doesn't get us, the bandits will, if the bandits don't get us, then life in a city will. This world isn't kind to peasant girls." Enri replied and said, "I can offer my friendship. My loyalty. And anything I learn, any power I gain, I will use for you… that's all I can offer, but what good is that much from a peasant with nothing but the clothes on her back?"
"It may be more than you think." Momonga said and recalled his earlier experiments in the arena. The monster hadn't yielded exp, but that was because the NPCs were already max level, however the indicator had flashed in his mind showing that exp was possible. More than that, they did have a way to break level caps. 'If the people of this world have similar caps at all… I still need to learn that one way or the other… so much to learn…' The scale of his thoughts expanded exponentially. 'I will need ample help, the NPCs, for all their abilities, seem bound by their programming still. Perhaps they can grow beyond it, but perhaps not. Even if they can, there's far too much for them to handle alone, no matter how intelligent and capable they are.'
Enri was silent when Momonga said that, seemingly lost in her quiet contemplation, and Lupusregina broke the silence herself. "My Lord, if it please you, I can take her to Lord Cocytus in the arena and let him start her training. But what about when the tiny one wakes up?"
"We earn our keep." Enri said at once, before Momonga could make the offer she felt sure he was about to. "Nemu is a good helper and takes direction well, and she's pretty strong for a little girl."
"Which maid is working in that area today?" Momonga asked offhandedly.
"CZ, My Lord." Lupusregina answered at once.
"Then have a maid outfit provided to Nemu and let her assist CZ today." Momonga suggested, "But make sure she isn't worked too hard."
"At once, My Lord." Lupusregina said, popping to her feet while Enry by contrast, rose as if she were pressing herself through thick molasses.
"I am going to see Gazef, tell Cocytus to report to me his observations when he is finished for the day, and make sure Enri and her sister are afforded proper meals and other needs." Momonga gave the instruction and made to leave, rising to his feet and heading toward the exit.
The pair bowed deeply to his back, and despite his keen hearing, it was only just barely that he heard the tiny whisper… "Thank you…" from the peasant he'd rescued.