The Azure King's Last Life 7 The Girl And Cat Are Mine

I had them take a seat in the common room and started explaining

"Alright, anyone here who thinks you're still on your home planet pleast raise your hands."

They looked at Roland strangely before slowly lifting their arms.

Roland smiled. "Yeah, let me stop you right there." He said. "Unfortunately you're wrong. Maybe this seems like your world, but it's not." Actually Loki was sorta ambiguous on that but Roland a.s.sumed it wasn't anyway. They didn't give off the same aura as the planet.

Each one had a energy signature, the same as every being, and it left it's imprint on their inhabitants.

Now that Roland had been here a while he could faintly tell they didn't quite seem to fit in with the world they were currently on.

"Then where are we?" Lilith asked, frowning.

"h.e.l.l if I know, I just got here too. But not to worry, we already know who you girls are and Loki's going to get in touch with your guardians. They'll be here eventually. As for you boys," Roland gestured to the brothers. "We know you're orphans but as for what planet you come from, Loki didn't say anything about it. If you want we can look more in depth and send you on your way later on. Or, I dunno, you two can make a go at it here on this one."

The younger brother folded his arms. "Something tells me you don't really care either way."

"I don't really care about most things anyway. You're not special in that, don't worry." Roland a.s.sured. "But I picked you guys up and helped you out so now I feel a bit responsible for your lives. What can I say, I'm a softie. Not going to just let you go out and get yourselves killed in a strange world you know nothing about. You're not going to make my effort go to waste, got it? And if you choose to I don't mind you guys sticking with me either. It'll be a good experience. You'll learn a lot, have some fun. Meet new people, new realms. I'll even give you guys some pointers now and then. There's a lot of planets out there a lot easier to live in than this one."

The two looked at each other with raised brows.

"Well," The older one started. "We're not really attached to our home planet, I guess."

"And even though we can probably continue as bounty hunters here...a.s.suming this planet is advanced enough in civilization...living day to day like that isn't something we want to do for the rest of our lives."

The two often wondered how they'd end up and it was never pretty. They never made enough money hunting and they didn't have the level of strength needed to really move up in their society. So they thought their lives would end in some beast's stomach someday.

But now? They could tell this guy was something else. If what Lilith said about him before was true then they were lucky someone as strong as him didn't mind them being companions.

It wasn't often that people like them had the chance to leave their homeworlds and expand their horizons.

Who knew what could happen? Change wasn't always for the better but they'd take their chances. Whether it by Rhys or James, they were gamblers through and through.

Roland nodded in understanding. "Surviving isn't living, as they say. Great, then. You guys can come with me when I leave this planet and we'll have ourselves a good misadventure or two. Just try not to get caught up in any cults. Trust me. Last time I showed off in a lower rank planet they started up a whole religion and sent me a dozen virgins in sacrifice. Unless that's your thing, I won't judge. But taking care of a dozen young women is pretty stressful."

The boys seemed interested."What did you do with them?"

"They'd been forced into becoming sacrifices." Roland deadpanned. "What do you think I did? I couldn't exactly send them back. They were resentful and hurt, plus it was my fault to begin with. Do you have any idea how clingy women can get when they've been abandoned by their families and you show them a bit of kindness? I ended up having to take them home. My mother practically adopted them."

Roland really didn't know what else to do with the girls, really, except make them maids.

He even gave them a manual he swiped from Odin a while back. A way to give them a bit of ability to decide what to do with their lives later on.

By now they were probably Valkyries themselves and itching to go out and do something exciting. Roland hasn't been checking up on them so he didn't know. But he should. Let them stretch their wings, that kinda thing.

He could find his mother other servants.

She seemed to really like the kids though so who knew, maybe they really were his sisters in name these days. Roland's mother was a pretty easy-going woman and showed her love freely. He wouldn't be surprised if he found himself with a couple of new family members when he went back.

"Anyway, yeah, so that's what's going to happen. Oh, but I'm keeping that one too." I point to Reina. "For a bit, at least."

The girl, quietly sipping the tea I'd made for them before our little get-together, nearly choked.

"Me?! What? Why?" She panicked.

Lilith smacked the table.

"Hold it right there, buddy." She glared. "What do you mean, you're keeping her? Who the h.e.l.l do you think you are? Just what are you planning, huh?"

Her sister was supremely cute so it's no surprise the guy was interested. But no way is she handing her little sister over to some stranger! Especially not some stranger with a decapitation fetis.h.!.+

"Hey kid, don't give me that look. She's too young for my tastes, remember? She's s.e.xy enough, sure, but I've still got my morals. No way am I going to take advantage of a child."

"You think I'm s.e.xy?" Reina asked, pleasantly surprised. To be perfectly honest that was a compliment no one had ever said to her. Usually the responses she got were cripple, talentless, trash, crybaby, weakling, mistake, b.a.s.t.a.r.d child or worthless freeloader.

Cute and adorable were words her adoptive parents called her, granted, but they had to say it because they loved her. "s.e.xy" would be a new one. Normally it was Lilith who got all the praise.

This time though it was her, Reina, being complimented! And it was from a man! A very attractive man!

Roland thought she was being weird. "Yeah, so? Of course you're s.e.xy. Not enough to make me want you though. Since, you know, you're still a child."

Again! He called her s.e.xy again! Ha!

It was a ma.s.sive boost to her ego. Was she smiling? It felt like she was smiling.

He sorta felt like a frivolous guy, yeah, but being good enough for a hot guy who was buddies with a literal G.o.d ( and supposedly packed some serious power of his own)....that'd make any woman feel more confident in themselves.

The good feeling was short lived.

Hold up.

"Um, yeah, I'm not a child. Okay?" He didn't seem all that much older than her. What's with the thing about being a child? "I'm a mature w--"

Roland snapped a finger and conjured a lolipop. As she was talking he calmly slipped it past her lips.

"You were saying?" He smirked.

"...Not a child..." She said through clenched teeth.

He pulled.

"I've always been a child at heart."

"That's more like it. Enjoy." And let go.

"Rei!" Lilith yelled. "What the h.e.l.l! Don't give into him so easily! You're not a kid!"

The girl looked away. "What? It's really good, alright?"

Whether it be her real parents or her adoptive ones, both were strict. She rarely had any sweet treats. And whatever this was, it's tasty!

This wasn't giving in, it was a tactical retreat. Alright? She was being strategic. She would have had nothing, now she had something. Is that not a win?

Lilith--Roland really was getting a few flashbacks from that name--gave an annoyed look. "And you! You're keeping her complacant with candy? Really? Who does that?"

"I've got more if that's what you want." He conjured another lolipop. Which was smacked to the ground.

"Cut the bulls.h.i.+t. What do you want her for?" She wasn't going to budge when it came to Reina.

"Entertainment." He shrugged.

The girls were stunned into silence.

"No, again, not like." Roland flicked their foreheads. "Knock it off with that kind thinking, d.a.m.n perverts." Honestly. Kids these days..."Girl, do you even know how amazing your sister is?"

Rubbing an injury that had no right hurting as much as it did, Lilith questioned his intelligence.

"Amazing?...Are you stupid?"

Reina, as much as Lilith loved her, could not be called amazing. At least not by their family's definition.

"I'll take that as a no. But just because you guys couldn't unlock her talents, doesn't mean I can't. The girl's got potential. I just want to see how far she'll make it with a little help. It's a good thing I'm interested in her, really. Obviously you don't know who I am. Hint: I made your namesake call me daddy." He revealed. "Now calm down or I'll put you over my knee have you do the same." A promise.

Lilith mentally calculated her odds of beating him down: Zero.

This was a guy who made a group of Immortals his playthings. Yeah, she had no chance. As soon as the realization came she understood her previous att.i.tude was...less than ideal.

But that last comment still had her simmering.

"That doesn't tell me anything." Was all she could muster. "Still never heard of you."

"And all that means is you're not high up enough in the pecking order to be have been told of my numerous and varied deeds."

People outside the Higher Planes would likely not know him. Not unless they had a good network of information or were there when he was romping about the place.

"..."

Lilith was mute. Okay, fine, to be fair neither she nor Reina had been to the Higher Planes in years. And their guardians never deigned to tell them about any recent events happening up there.

Huh. But now that she thought of it there was one time about a year or two ago when their dad seemed to seriously be worried about something. Their adoptive dad, not their "father". Or Patriarch, as the man liked to be called.

Lilith, seeing how strong this Roland is and who his friend was, started to wonder if that had anything to do with him.

"Speaking of your sister's potential." Roland went on. "We should go and see what it looks like."

"You don't mean now, do you?" Reina, the person in question, asked.

"Why not?"

"Oh. I dunno. It's just sudden. Do you really think I've got talent?"

"Well I'VE got talent. And since you're similar to me, you should too. You just need enough juice to kickstart it."

"Will it hurt?"

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle." He paused. "Don't take that out of context this time."

"Right." She nodded. "So...now?"

"Reina, you're really going to trust this guy?" Lilith whispered to her sister. Which Roland could hear.

"I mean...yeah? He doesn't seem bad."

"How the heck would you know? We've only met him today."

"That's true..." Reina had to admit. "But still. I don't think he'd hurt me. Probably. He hasn't harmed us at all so far, at least."

"He literally just hurt us." That flick really was painful, alright?

"That was kinda our fault though." She defended, not knowing why she cared so much. " Anyway isn't this a great chance?"

This girl...

"For what? Rei, you know how hard you've worked before. Nothing came of it. Nothing. And that's okay. Yeah? So what if you don't have any talent? Talent isn't everything."

Reina stared. "Says the person who has all of it."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

Roland, however, also had an opinion."You're kind of being an insensitive p.r.i.c.k." He cut in.

Never tell a girl they're a p.r.i.c.k. Even when they're being one. Unless you're like Roland and you don't give a f.u.c.k at being mentally stabbed to death. Or, also like Roland, could actually survive being stabbed. Since a stabbing may be what would happen in such a case.

"How, exactly?" Her tone was ice-cold.

"That fact you need to ask says everything " He replied. "But forget that. Let's go, kiddo."

"Go? Go where?"

"Away. What, did you think we were gonna do it here? Are you crazy? You're going to be pumped full of more power than ten Atom Bombs combined."

"What's an Atom Bomb?"

"Not something you want going off in your house, that's what."

James and Rhys felt like that'd be something fun to see.

"Can we come?" They asked.

"Like to watch, do you? Alright, fine. Field trip time."

"I'm going too." Lilith declared.

"The more the merrier. Hope you guys don't mind a long walk."

"Meow~"

But right as they exited the front door a grey ball of fur lazily ambled past their feet.

It was a small cat with amber eyes. A longhair by the look of it.

"Woah there little guy, where do you think you're going?"

Roland's hand struck like lightning and grapped the animal mid-stride. It struggled in his grasp, letting out all kinds of evil hisses. A yowl came from deep in it's throat as the thing swipped at him with it's claws. It even tried biting his fingers.

At the corner of it's mouth was dried chocolate.

"Cute. But you won't be getting away that easily. That stuff's bad for you, you know?"

Roland smiled and tickled it's chin.

Reina and Lilith looked on with interest.

"How adorable." Reina's grin was stupidly wide. Roland understood the sentiment. A cat lover? He's liking her more and more. "Is it yours?"

"It is now." It was probably a stay? In which case Roland had no problems taking it in.

As if in response to his words the cat let out another hiss.

"Come on, let's find you some real food."

Roland saw a pond somewhere around, didn't he? It probably had a fish or two.

"You're just going to take it with us?" James raised a concern. "Won't it get hurt? You said it's dangerous."

"It's not different than having the rest of you come with. I'll provide the protection, don't worry." He turned his gaze to the furball in his hand. "Feisty one, aren't you?"

Even now it was struggling for freedom.

But Roland just flicked it's nose lightly and it was stunned into serenity. "That's more like it."

It's a simply spell but quite unbreakable.

Works every time.

Except this one. Because the thing merely shook it's head clear and glared as if Roland had greatly insulted it's intelligence.

"Don't give me that look. Do you want food or not?"

Yeah, I could eat..It's eyes seemed to say.

"Well hop aboard then." Roland put the cat atop his shoulder where it hung like a small sack oofrice, entirely unwilling to move.

"Just casually picking up wild animals to keep as pets. Alright." Rhys shrugged. "Hope that thing don't have any diseases."

Like it understood what he said, the cat jumped from Roland and swiped at the young man's face. Another hiss, one of pain, escaped into the air. This time it from Rhys.

"That's one smart cat," Roland commented. "I wonder if it has a magical beast in its lineage?"

Just as Roland was admiring, the cat quickly ran off towards the kitchen. But Roland really wasn't going to let him just do as he pleased so it was caught before it could take more than ten steps.

"What does it want?" Lilith asked.

"Did I tell you about the chocolate fountain in the kitchen? This thing's been getting into it, apparently."

"What kind of cat eats chocolate?"

"What else is it going to eat?"

"Why can't it hunt? Is it stupid?"

The claws were ready for round two.

Lilith gave it a wide berth.

"Other than those kept to add to the scenery I don't think are any little animals for it to hunt. Actually, I wonder how it's even survived this long if that's true?"

A sudden thought came to life. Roland cast the cat another glance. "You've been thieving, haven't you?" He accused, tickling it's tummy.

It stared back innocently.

...Something about that look seemed awfully human.
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"Eh, you gotta do what you gotta do. No judgment here. Anyway, let's get going."

"Uh, hey, can I hold it?" Reina stopped him.

Her hands were already unconsciously reaching out.

A growl.

"Do you like your face the way it is?"

"...Yes?"

"Then no."