Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Returning to the moment when I saw with my own eyes how the first gunpowder produced in this world was burning, I must admit that I was overjoyed. The discovery of this remarkable substance is only the tip of the iceberg. To make a truly useful agent out of it, you also need a weapon that will fire it - which has yet to be made, and to make it, you need people who will be able to do it. There are, by definition, no such people here, so they must first be taught and also motivated to work on their conscience.

Actually, the story with gunpowder is similar. It is not enough to start making it; you have to do it in the right quantities, and Klaus cannot make it alone, even if he sleeps for an hour a day, working for exhaustion seven days a week.

And I simplify this a lot by going over the top, because besides the process of making guns and gunpowder, there are a lot of nuances that will turn the whole process into a real mess.

In short, it takes a lot of time and effort to make my idea of the local civilization entering the Renaissance a success, and while the latter can be solved by finding the right people, training them, paying them, and charging them ideologically, the former is very sad. Vult can raise his army in a new campaign at any time, and the underdogs among the corrupt nobility are sure to raise their heads - it is only a question of when it will happen. So I left the scholar with mixed feelings, knowing that the hardest part was yet to come. The only good thing was that I would be able to raise all these questions now, when the meeting of the renewed Alliance began, at which the tasks and roles of its members would be distributed before the war began. After that, everyone would go to their towns and prepare while time allowed.

The royal castle greeted me with a business-like buzz of activity and people running around all the time. Or elves. Celestine's kin, though rare, were nevertheless occasionally encountered, though I didn't know who they were or what they did. According to the priestess, they live isolated in a separate quarter of the capital, and the last purge didn't affect them. But now some of them are here.

It's a different place altogether from when I came here. It wasn't a sleepy place, of course, but... some of the slowness of its inhabitants was immediately apparent.

Well, they can't beat themselves up now. Celestina took the reins, very loudly, with aplomb, stirring up the swamp with a little red. And no one even squeaked, not even the slightest indignation, seeing a very clear example in front of them. Of course, it will be like that only at first, and then the fear of reprisals will subside, and some gentlemen will start to have questions, but by that time it will be too late. They will not go anywhere. And the simpler people already follow their Goddess.

Walking through the courtyard, I saw an interesting scene: on a specially fenced-off area, whose surface was a thick layer of slightly wet sand, there was a training of the royal guards.

Well, training... more like one girl had nothing better to do, so she decided to amuse herself. I was talking about Luu-Luu, the halfling, a member of the Order of Celestine, who's a bit of a pain in the ass and has a guilty conscience. How else to explain the fact that she deliberately played with her opponents, humiliating them on the training ground and making mocking comments at the same time.

The little one was very strong, being a princess (yet another one, yes) of her people, she had some hidden magical power that elevated her physical capabilities far beyond human capabilities. The dope in this little girl, no taller than a hundred and forty at the withers, was enough to throw the men in full armor around like pins in a bowling alley, which she did with great pleasure. You could easily tell from the faces of the guys (and a couple of the girls) how much they were "thrilled" by what was going on, but no one could object, because:

a) this lady is highly respected, and the guys are stupidly embarrassed to say no;

b) they are also stupidly afraid, because the wog is also known for her bad temper, her propensity for unmotivated violence, and her general bitchiness;

And finally - c) even knowing all this, my pride did not allow me to just give up and beg for mercy.

For some time I watched Luu-Luu roll the knights in the sand. Watching and assessing. She's not a bad handguard, much better than anything I've seen here before.

By the way, I'll have to practice with the girls later. I think I can give them a lot in that regard.

The speed and strength are pretty good, too. I'd say she's somewhere below the level I had with my brothers before the Citadel gave me the upgrade. True, as I said before, it was all spoiled by her hideous character. I felt sincerely sorry for the unfortunates who had fallen into her hot hand. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to help them; there was a feeling that as soon as I got close enough, it would be impossible to step back without getting into a useless fight. There's not much time left before the meeting starts, and I still want to talk to my Queen for a while, and it wouldn't hurt to cross paths with the other girls. I'm already beginning to miss Prim's sweetness or the timidity of Maya, who has become rather meek in my presence for some time now.

[Girl's pretty strong,] I shared my thoughts with the AI for some reason, already turning around and getting ready to go about my business. There was nothing else to see here.  - [But her character sucks.]

[Care to test her skills in person, Carrier?] - Martha made an unexpected suggestion. - [I think I should express my opinion that this ill-mannered little woman could use a lesson in good behavior.]

For a second I wondered if I really should go and stretch myself a little. But after a quick consideration of the pros and cons, I decided against it.

[No. I guess not.] - was my mental answer to my electronic assistant. - [Maybe some other time.]

I'll get to know this elemental disaster dressed like a pedophile's dream, but the ladies much nicer to my heart need my company now.

[Are you not attracted to this individual, Carrier?]

She's at it again, isn't she? O-o-oh... I knew she was offering this for a reason...

[Of course not!] - I immediately dismissed any unnecessary ideas on the part of Martha, who had started throwing around dubious suggestions again. But my next thought was...  - [Why... why do you ask?!]

[Just gathering information about the kind of women you like.]

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[Definitely not that kind!] - And I'd better not find out the reason for that kind of interest, because it's getting scary. Kay's smart - Kay won't shoot himself in the foot.

[Hmm...considering your relationship with the dark elves, one might conclude that their more mature bodies make a much greater impression on you.] - But when has that ever stopped Martha? - [Or is it all about their age? In that case you have nothing to worry about: the individual in question is quite sexually mature and has reached the age of eight decades...]

[But she looks and acts like she's eleven!] - No! No, no, no and no! - [And anyway, why such stupid conclusions? They're not true at all!]

[It's just statistics. And it says I'm right.]

No, it can't be true.

Unless it's just a little bit...

I left the room with a wounded heart and upset feelings, hoping to find Olga as soon as possible and fix the disturbed mental equilibrium.

But as you know, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. I didn't tell any god, but that didn't stop someone from paying attention to me.

"Hey," - came a mocking voice from behind me.

I pretended to have nothing to do with it, so I sped up my pace and tried to get away.

"Stop right there!" - The voice came again, this time closer and with a much more insistent intonation.

I realized that I could not turn away, so I stopped, raising my head to the sky, and, letting out a tired sigh, I turned around. Luu-Luu was already standing in front of me, a child's face playing with an anticipatory smile. Behind her, her recent opponents were shifting from foot to foot.

"Standing," - I answered, catching a couple of sympathetic glances.  - "What do you want?"

"You're Kay, right? I've heard a lot about you from the others. They say you're strong, you've killed a lot of enemies in Feoh..." - the girl spoke, scrutinizing me from head to toe, then she stepped closer and peered into my face with an unkind gleam in her eyes. It looked more amusing than threatening, considering her height, and something must have been reflected in my appearance, for she flared up at once. - 'What?! You think I'm petty, don't you? You think Luu-Luu won't kick your ass?"

"What?" - Is she serious? I just saw her throw a bunch of people around, which is kind of a testament to her power. What's her problem?

"Are you deaf?!" - Luu-Luu took my surprise at such a drastic change in mood in her own way. Stomping her foot and folding her little hands on her little chest, she squeamishly frowned her nose and began to tell me, like an idiot, which in her eyes I seemed to have already become. - "I said I would kick your ass! If you really are as tough as they say you are, take the challenge and fight!" - At the end, she slyly squinted with a "come on, try and say no" look. - "Unless, of course, you get scared."

She provokes me to fight. But why? A sporting interest? A desire to assert herself at the expense of an upstart? Perhaps in her eyes I am, and the rumors about me greatly exaggerated, so she decided to put me in my place? Something else? I don't understand.

"No, not interested." - So I didn't go for it. - just turn around and walk away, tossing behind me goodbye. - "Bye."

I guess I shouldn't have done that.

The whistle of air rushing through the air set my instincts on edge. A sharply thrown forearm stopped the kick of a small foot. The force of the blow was such that the clap of it drew the attention of everyone around us, who immediately turned their heads in our direction. Luu-Luu struck a good, quality, haikikik - fast, accurate, and strong. But it didn't reach its target - I didn't even lose my footing, so I remained standing half-turned, looking at the surprised face of the runt who had decided to sneakily stab me in the back.

"Are you trying to get at me?" - I asked her, frowning.

"No one's ever walked away from Luu-Luu just like that!"

She's got no instinct for self-preservation.

Oh, well, you want a fight, I'll give you a fight.

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