indianbanksassociation #349 - Be bold in your pursuit of love, don't stop
#349 - Be bold in your pursuit of love, don't stop
The conversation was pleasant.
The long-awaited reunion brought even more closeness. Felt and the others were very interested in Zun Zun's experiences over the past year, and they applauded when they learned that he had been schemed against and kicked to another world, a rare moment of discomfiture.
“Speaking of which, Reinhard.”
“Yes, Lord Zun Zun.”
“Calculating the time, it shouldn't have been a year since I left, right? Did you call me back so quickly because of something important?”
“As expected, you can't hide anything from you.”
Reinhard smiled with relief. This guy, doesn't he think I'm as willful as Felt?
“Actually, it was Lord Macrotoff who summoned you.”
To prevent anyone from forgetting, let me remind you again. Macrotoff is the representative of the Council of Sages, and he specifically met privately after the Royal Selection Ceremony and expressed his support for Zun Zun to become the next king.
“Actually, I've turned down such summons several times, but…”
“No need to say more, I understand.”
Reinhard must be on his side, helping to conceal his actions, but no matter what excuse he uses, not showing his face for a year will always arouse suspicion. Not to mention that the old man said that his territory should be handed over to Zun Zun to manage.
However, his chief of internal affairs is actually helping Felt manage the territory.
“If I don't show up again, maybe the Sword Saint family will be regarded as rebels with ulterior motives.”
“Please don't say that, Lord Zun Zun. The Astrea family absolutely does not have such thoughts!”
“...You really are boring.”
Zun Zun rolled his eyes.
To be honest, even if Reinhard told everyone now 'I'll do whatever I want', others would just have to let him do it. However, the knight in front of him is too upright. He is like the perfect knight who has absolutely no disloyal intentions.
“The influence brought about by different values.”
“Yes, I will fulfill my loyalty even unto death.”
Reinhard calmly stated his nature, “Also, although I would like to have Lord Zun Zun set off for the royal capital now, but before that—”
Knock, knock, knock.
The guest room door was knocked.
A man with short gray hair opened the door and said, “Lord Felt, Lord Reinhard, we have distinguished guests visiting.”
“It seems like the timing is perfect.”
Reinhard said with a smile.
— — — —
Walking along the corridor of the Astrea family, seeing the trio of little ruffians still being trained in the courtyard, these three guys who haven't been seen for a long time are still so useless, and Old Man Rom, who is training them, is almost the same as before.
“How should I put it, it's really reassuring that nothing has changed, but…” Zun Zun looked at someone following behind him and asked, “Who is this?”
He was asking about the man who had come to announce the arrival of the distinguished guests.
Short gray hair, dead fish eyes, looking like he was about to die.
How should I put it.
Seeing his collar, he found that he was only a little taller than Felt. The atmosphere was very similar to Otto, and it would be no problem to say that they were half-brothers.
“This is…”
“Ezio Gardner.”
He bowed very respectfully and said, “I am very sorry for the late self-introduction. I am Ezio Gardner, currently serving as the chief of internal affairs for Lord Felt's faction.”
“Oh, hello Ezio.”
Zun Zun greeted him very casually.
According to Reinhard, Astrea's current development is thanks to his and Otto's efforts. No wonder the atmosphere between the two is so similar, it must be because they are always working together.
Arriving at the reception room.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting. Has tea been served for you?”
“Yes, yes! Please don't worry about it!”
Reinhard asked casually, and the other party responded with nervousness and rigor, a bit stiff and rigid.
Crossing gazes saw a beautiful young man with delicate features. His slender body was wrapped in a decent dress, his long hair was tied into a light purple braid, he was about 17 or 8 years old, with a slight tension on his face, and the monocle on his left eye also contributed to this rigid impression.
Felt very gracefully pulled on her skirt and made a proper etiquette, “I am Felt, one of the kingdom's candidates, please give me your guidance.”
“V-Very grateful! I, I am here as an envoy of Lady Anastasia Hoshin, Joshua Jukius!”
The beautiful youth was so excited that his cheeks were slightly flushed because he was valued.
Zun Zun also followed suit and said social pleasantries.
“Zun Zun, tentatively considered one of the royal election candidates, you're called Joshua, right? Please give me your guidance.”
“Lord Zun Zun…?”
“Is there something wrong with me?”
“N-Nothing… It's just that my brother often mentions you, saying that you are the elf knight second only to him, and also saying that with your talent, you will surpass him sooner or later…”
“Oh my, I'm really grateful that he thinks so highly of me.”
I didn't expect Julius to have such high expectations for himself. Maybe in his opinion, it's incredible that he, who doesn't have the [Blessing of Attracting Spirits], can sign a contract with six fairy spirits, so he would say that.
“But I don't want to admit it!”
“Hmm?”
“Because my brother is a very outstanding person. He became a celebrity in the kingdom's knight order at a young age and holds the de facto second-in-command position in the Royal Guard Knights. Even Lord Reinhard is—”
Joshua's face stiffened.
It's not impossible for him to talk eloquently about how much he admires his brother, and it's barely understandable to compare him with others, but to do so in front of the person himself, and even compare him with the knight of knights—the Sword Saint, that would be very problematic.
If it's serious, it might even turn into a diplomatic incident.
“I, I…”
“It's okay, it's okay, I'm not angry. And as a close friend, Julius is indeed very strong, and he will definitely surpass me in the future.”
“Right!?”
No, no, no, that's absolutely impossible, right?
Even if you give Julius 100 years, he won't be able to surpass Reinhard, and you can even let him use one hand.
Joshua seemed to have taken Reinhard's humility as a serious statement.
Soon, he calmed down.
“I, I am very sorry, I couldn't help it, I couldn't control myself as soon as my brother's affairs were mentioned.”
“It's okay, it's okay.”
This is obviously Felt's base camp, but Zun Zun is the one who is leading the conversation, and Joshua doesn't feel strange at all, as if he already knew it would be like this.
“So, what is Joshua's purpose in coming here?”
“Yes, as an envoy of Lady Anastasia Hoshin, I will convey my lord's words to Lord Felt and Lord Zun Zun.”
Hearing Zun Zun inquire about the main business, Joshua also became serious and took out a letter from his arms. The content written in black ink on the letter spread out on the table was—
“Lady Anastasia hopes to invite and entertain Lord Felt and Lord Zun Zun to visit the water gate city of Pristella.”
“Pristella?”
Felt appropriately showed a puzzled expression.
Otto, on the other hand, focused on internal affairs, explaining, "That's one of the five major cities of the Kingdom of Lugnica, located west of the Royal Capital, with a population of approximately 100,000."
"I know all that! What I mean is…"
"Indeed, it's situated on the border between Lugnica and the city-state of Kararagi, and it's also the town currently being developed by the Hoxin Trading Company."
Joshua didn't hide anything.
Rather, such a small matter would be known as long as one bothered to investigate. Besides, how could Felt and Zun Zun, as candidates for the Royal Selection, not investigate their opponents' movements?
"So, what's the matter with calling us there?"
"It seems to be an invitation to a party. A gracious offer from Lady Anastasia, hoping to build a good relationship with you… Of course, that's not the only reason."
Seeing Felt's somewhat impatient questioning, Joshua wasn't angry. Instead, he narrowed his yellow eyes, revealing a faint smile, his expression and appearance very similar to Julius.
"Actually, she wants to exchange information with you, such as… the Witch Cult."
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"Hmm?"
The words "Witch Cult" were indeed very easy to trigger people's alertness. In the past year, there had been almost no rumors about the Witch Cult on the continent, but everyone felt that they hadn't become restrained, and were definitely planning something big.
"Are you saying that the Witch Cult will appear in the Water Gate City?"
"You misunderstand, I didn't say that."
Joshua quickly waved his hand.
His expression was anxious, not flustered by being exposed, but genuinely afraid that Felt and the others would misunderstand.
"Then what do you mean?"
"As Lady Anastasia says, she wants to tell you about the Witch Cult in exchange for information from your side."
"Hmph, I refuse."
Felt decisively refused.
As the topic progressed, she didn't bother with formalities, but rather sat cross-legged like a little hoodlum, puffing out her cheeks unhappily.
"Why should I go there? There's no benefit for me, right? Information about the Witch Cult is not important to me at all. It makes no difference whether I have it or not, okay?"
"So, are you planning to withdraw from the Royal Selection?"
"— Ah!?"
Felt's expression became frightening, and her tone became even more rude. However, Joshua wasn't afraid, looking directly into her eyes, his monocle slightly reflecting light.
"Lady Felt, as far as I know, you don't seem to have made any substantial achievements yet, right?"
"…What do you want to say?"
"Among the five Royal Candidates, Lady Crusch and Lady Anastasia were initially regarded as promising candidates, the other three… to put it bluntly, could be regarded as filling the numbers. However, this pattern was quickly broken, the reason being—"
"The Witch Cult."
"You're absolutely right."
Joshua nodded, very satisfied with Felt's answer, and continued to explain, "Precisely because Lady Emilia is the most outstanding among the five Royal Candidates, the White Whale, Sloth, the Great Rabbit… consecutive subjugations have given her great prestige and influence. If this continues for a long time, do you understand what will happen?"
Emilia would be the popular choice, successfully ascending the throne amidst everyone's cheers.
The others were fine, Crusch and Anastasia had both participated in activities to subjugate the Witch Cult, and their reputations had increased a lot. The person who is anxious now is only Felt, who has made no progress at all.
"Hmph, but that arrogant big-breasted woman hasn't done anything either, has she?"
"You're right. But that lady is too eccentric and there's no way to persuade her, I hope you can understand this."
"Yeah, that's right."
Felt deeply understood this.
The two had many conflicts in the beginning, and even though Zun Zun acted as a lubricant between them, some things were destined from birth. The two who didn't like each other just didn't like each other.
"However, I think that guy will definitely come uninvited."
Zun Zun took the opportunity to intervene in the conversation.
Priscilla is synonymous with arrogance, finding fun is her nature, and even if she isn't invited to such a gathering, she will definitely come to disrupt the venue, and then laugh loudly, saying that such a gathering is better.
"In addition, I don't understand what Lady Felt has to worry about."
Joshua pushed up his monocle again, looked at the Sword Saint standing behind her, and said, "Sir Reinhard's strength is obvious to all. He alone can flatten the entire Water Gate City. Are you still being timid like this? It's a waste for Sir Reinhard to be under you."
"Hey, you guy…"
"Lady Felt!"
Seeing that Felt was about to become angry and explode, Reinhard wanted to step forward to stop her, but unexpectedly, she took two deep breaths and calmed down, glaring at Joshua with unkind eyes.
"You're good at using reverse psychology."
"Hehe."
Joshua just smiled and said nothing.
"Ah, you're right, it's a waste for Reinhard to be under me, but I want to declare one thing, he has been forcing me to do these things, understand!?"
"Your words are engraved in my heart."
"Good! Since you've said so, how could I refuse! I accept your party invitation! However, don't blame me if I accidentally make a mess!"
"It seems you've agreed. Well then, we will prepare everything, and look forward to your arrival."
Joshua bowed very gracefully.
Afterwards, he gently exhaled, and his expression relaxed.
Although his social skills were excellent just now, whether it was temptation, reverse psychology, or emotions, he grasped almost every aspect with ease. But after all, he was still a 17 or 18-year-old teenager, these things were always at hand, and his spirit had been tense.
"Stand up straight, Joshua."
"Zun, Lady Zun Zun…?"
"You did very well, even better than Julius. Although that guy can also do these things, he always has a tense face that makes people dislike him. You are a little more impressive in comparison."
"Really!?"
Clearly, his own brother was being belittled, but Joshua didn't get angry because of it for the first time. Instead, he felt happy.
It wasn't because of anything else.
But because he believed that he could help his brother. Although he couldn't go to the battlefield together, it would be worth it if he could make up for his brother's shortcomings in this regard.
In the end, it was still because of Julius.
"Speaking of which, Joshua, what are you planning to do to persuade me?"
"Lady Anastasia said that you would come along on your own initiative, so just be present when conveying the message to Lady Felt."
"Hey!"
"In addition—"
Joshua paused for a moment, looked at Zun Zun seriously, and said, "When you meet, Lady Anastasia will ask you to marry her again, I hope you are prepared."