Bridge 40 (First Date)

Once I accepted my newfound engagement things became easier and more complicated. The eyes monitoring me were still there but they have backed off a whole lot. Instead of trying to constantly know what I was doing, it has shifted into simply knowing where I was.

Beyond that, I was moved into the Royal Palace and treated as a guest of honor for now. The Royal family did not want the political scene to shift with the engagement of the Princess. They would honestly prefer that I impregnated the Princess before they make any such announcement.

Ringo of course took that information and just laughed at me while Tsuyukoi also found some amusement from it. My fiancee was not even that thrown off about it either. Then again she was raised with the expectation that her offspring would be the greatest thing she could offer for the Royal Family.

I was not quite sure if that was her entire motive or if she had other things on her mind but time would tell. For now she was playing the game that she had shown me and I was willing to play along for now.

When I asked Tsuyukoi to go snoop around and find out the name of the Princess. She gave me a helpless look but I refused to budge on this. I will not constantly ask people to introduce themselves. If they don’t find the need to to it themselves I will find out through other methods!

I chose Tsuyukoi for the mission as I thought she would not mock me too hard on this. The issue there was that she did not hide her mission from Ringo so I still got the mockery. I should have just down it myself but I figured having minions meant that I should use them for the menial tasks.

At least I was able to get the name of my fiancee from them. Theia Helia Von Centralen. I felt my eyes twitch at the long ass name but at least it sounded okay. Honestly, just from her name alone, you could tell who was favored in the family.

The Crown Prince’s name was Karlheinz Bartille Von Centralen. He was apparently named after several members of the Royal family but it was just a mess. No one would want to say his full name because frankly, it sounded stupid. Hell, most of his friends and confidants stuck with Your Highness or Karl if they were feeling a bit more casual.

Beyond how stupid his name sounded the comparison in meaning was drastic. Theia’s middle name was a direct reference to their ancestor Helios. Apparently, it was tradition for any boy who awakened the Divine Protection of The Sun to have Helios as their middle name or Helia for the woman.

Finally, her first name was another analogy between myths as Theia was the mother of Helios in Greek Mythology. That could just be a coincidence as far as I can tell since Mythic references were not that prevalent in this world. Most of the gods here had completely different names and legends so the Greek Patheon had very little meaning here.

Still, while it might be a coincidence I would still wager her name having real meaning here. 

Today I was dragging her along for a dungeon run. The king thought it would be a great bonding experience. I had no idea why he thought two teens killing monsters together would be remotely romantic but he pushed for this so I would comply.

This also saved me the time of finding a good place to look for loot. I could certainly find things with spells and time but the Royal Family already had all the information I needed.

“So where are we actually heading?” I asked mildly as Theia and I sat in the carriage hiding towards a dungeon. Ringo and Tsuyukoi were off doing their own things again. It would have been safer to have them by my side but I should be able to handle this considering the general levels of monsters I have seen.

The King would also not send his precious daughter to a place he thought we could not handle.

“Oh? Not a fan of surprises are you?” She asked with a teasing smile on her face. I gave her a bland look that had her smile widen further.

“No, I would rather have all the facts. We might be wasting our time in a place that did not really interest me.” I spoke out after a moment seeing that she was not going to say anything till I responded.

“Boring.” She let out with a huff as she leaned back in the carriage seat. “You know girls don’t like it when a man is all business.” She drawled out with a smirk that would have men kneeling at her feet.

“Well, I don’t have to worry about that right? I’m not marrying you for love and if I was the type to indulge you I think you would lose interest even faster.” I spoke out dryly and the small bell-like laughter coming from her told me I hit the mark.

“No, I suppose that is the case. Fine, if you must know we are heading towards the Valley of The Flying Dragon.” She spoke out with a gesture that dismissed the place we were heading.

I leaned back into my seat and thought that over.

“Hmmmmm, well Dragons should make decent opponents and they should have decent loot. They are known for gathering various treasure hoards.” I spoke out calmly as I went over what I knew about Dragons. Theia let out another bought of laughter and I raised my eyebrow at that.

“You really do aim high my love. No, we shan’t be fighting any Dragons on this day. The Valley is named in reference to ages long since passed. Now it currently only holds Wyverns.” She spoke out with a small giggle whipping the tears gathering at her eyes from said laughter.

I frowned as that was not nearly as impressive. Sure, the Wyverns should be good XP but the loot they would have stored would be minor. I guess I would be relying on the Item Drops here but I would have preferred looting more of this world’s treasure hoards.

“It’s not a dragon but I suppose some Wyverns would make a nice icebreaker between you and I.” I finally spoke out letting the frown fade from my face. I should have expected that they would not throw us right into the fire.

“You have told my father that you are but a flickering flame in comparison to our ancestor but with words like that I truly wonder if you have already reached such heights.” She spoke out with a teasing smile on her face. 

I paused at that. I mean, from my understanding of the current power ceiling I should be at a near-legendary level. I could fight the top combatants of every kingdom and hold my own while Ringo and Tsuyukoi could run circles around them.

On the other hand from the vague notions of Gods and their offsprings, I figure the true ceiling of this world was beyond me currently.

“I am powerful there is no doubt about that but a figure like your ancestor should be miles above me currently.” I let out after a moment of thought. Theia nodded along with a smile. If I used Item Empowerment I should still be able to handle them but if we just went off of what I gained in this world they would destroy me.

“Well, you are still young, as you grow you should topple my ancestor. I won’t accept anything less from my love.” She spoke out with a smug smile and her golden eyes blazing. I blinked at her words and looked her over again.

Perhaps she was more excited about this marriage than I thought.

I was going to say something else but the carriage finally stopped moving. The knight that was riding with the driver opened the door and I got out first. Offering to help Theia leave the carriage. She took my hand with a smile and I felt her trace circles in my palm as she left the carriage.

I was just playing along with what I thought a noble would do here but clearly, she was the one who was the hooligan here. I turned away from her with my cheeks shinning just a little red which earned me some more giggles.

Stupid Vampire skin. Too pale, even mild embarrassment would be clear as hell on my face.

I looked over at the valley and while the sun rising over it was beautiful with the vast stoney valley offering an imposing sight. That said, the natural beauty here was not the captivating sight that caught him. The Wyverns dotting the sky dominated the sky. Predators of the skies danced in the air as they fought and played. Light sparkled off their scales some gem-like others as dark as ink. Those reflections turned the sky into a strange nebula of colors that really was impressive to look at.

“I almost don’t want to kill them. If only to see this sight again.” I spoke out absently as I watched. Theia poked at my cheek distracting me from the sight and smiled softly at me. I looked away again and shook off any other thought.

Maybe I did not give the King his proper due. This dungeon really was romantic after all.

“I thought the same when I first saw this Valley. But the Wyverns breed constantly here so the Kingdom needs to cull them monthly.” Theia spoke out with a chuckle as she started to lead the way. I hesitated for a moment but followed.

“I guess that makes sense, No matter how beautiful this sight is Wyverns need food to eat, and considering their aerie advantages the farming villages on the brink of territories would be harassed,” I spoke out as I frowned at the Sky Mice. Still, even knowing that I did not want to take this sight away from the world.

“Thus the cullings. Do not worry too much my love, if we kill every single Wyvern here they will recover by next month. There is something here that draws them here. Perhaps the legends of the world being torn asunder by gods and dragons have some weight. This Valley was created by The God of Wind cutting down an ancient Dragon or so the legend says.” She spoke out with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Is that so?” I asked with a curious glint. Usually, Valleys are created from running water slowly cutting down mountains but a god fighting here could have certainly caused this damage. It was hard to tell considering the thousands of years of erosion.

“It is, there is even a temple dedicated to the Wind God perched in the center of the Valley. Although no man worships there as the constant Wyvern attacks would fell even the greatest of men.” She spoke out with a smile.

As if to prove her point a Wyvern charged from the Sky. The speed of the thing was impressive rivaling even a hawk in dive. I was almost not able to react.

Chains of Runic arrays charged towards the thing to impale it and ground it but before my Chains impaled the beast Theia reacted. A spark of golden flame flickered off of her out stretched hand.

That small flame caused waves of heat to boil around the air. The air shimmered from the vast heat she produced. The small flame touched the Wyvern and as soon as it touched the flame the flame spread like the beast was covered in gasoline.

Within seconds the beast was nothing but ash. I raised an eyebrow as I did not expect that from her but it made sense. She was the one blessed by the Sun God and she was older than I.

“Well, what do you think my love? I’m not a damsel that needs protection right?” She asked with a sharp smile that had me sighing.

Honestly, if it came down to a fight she stood a chance at taking me down. I could avoid her attacks if I boosted and buffed myself but if she got the drop on me she could burn me alive.

Those flames were Holy/Light/Fire/Divine all aspects that deal increased damage to me. Honestly, even standing over here was uncomfortable for me.

“You certainly are something else.” I offered after a moment that only had her laughing brightly. 

Before anything else could happen an even stranger sight greetest us.

“Oh me Oh my. The Sun and The Moon side by side. What a rare sight.” A whimsical voice sprang from the sky. I tensed as those words were too specific. I looked up and balked at the man standing in the air.

A wispy figure whose lower body was merged with the sky around him leaving only his torse. Long green hair dancing in the wind wrapping around his frame. Nude showcased a body that was filled with muscles. His eyes closed but it felt like he was looking at us. Beyond that, there was a presence in him that both eased my nerves but had them rising in caution.

I looked over at Theia and she too was worried about the clearly unusual figure. I let out a sigh, figures I would deal with something like this when I left the house.

I really do need to invest in my LUK Stat.