"Have you already. Obtained what you wanted?" asked Veirya.
When I returned home, Lucia gently placed a full bag of gold coins in front of us which, presumably, was the two hundred and fifty gold coins income. The entire bag was filled with heavy gold coins. I'd never forget the beautiful side view of the face on the coins. I was absolutely positive it was the side of Queen Sisi's face. The carving magnificently brought her to life. Despite being just a side view, it perfectly exhibited her beauty. I had to admit it was the most splendid art design I'd ever witnessed.
Queen Sisi must've liked that sort of gold coin; she was the type who loved to flaunt her beauty, after all. Veirya was different. Queen Sisi put great effort into her appearance. Thus, Queen Sisi was worthy of being called the empire's most beautiful woman.
I sat down on a chair and answered, "Basically. However, I must now bring Leah with me on a trip to the imperial capital."
Veirya wasn't dressed. She merely had a cloak draped over her front side. Needless to say, I was sure she would've been stark naked if Anna didn't suggest she cover herself. Veirya tilted her head: "Why do you have to go to the imperial capital."
"The Queen might have a plausible idea for dealing with the chapel. At the same time, the chapel happens to be in the imperial capital. I, therefore, need to make a trip there. Leveraging this incident alone to deal with the chapel is insufficient. The Queen won't fight with the chapel just because they made an attempt on my life. We must find an excuse that would provoke her."
Veirya nodded: "All right, then. I'll go with you."
"Your back injury hasn't healed yet. Stay home and recuperate. Leave it to me."
"I'm fine. By the time we reach the Imperial Capital, my foot would've practically healed. I'm going to see the Queen this time; I should be fine. The chapel wouldn't start in the imperial capital even if they were crazier, would they?"
"Take good care of Leah, then," said Veirya, with a nod. She paused before adding, "I'll go. To the imperial capital to find you. When I have healed."
"Mm, take good care of yourself, then."
Truth be told, I didn't plan to let Veirya come to the imperial capital, as what I had in mind might've crossed Veirya's bottom line. With that said, it wasn't totally unacceptable to her; rather, Veirya could accept anything. This time, however, I had no energy to spare on looking after Veirya and Leah whilst trying to deal with the Queen, Achilles and the chapel. If I wasn't worried about Leah's identity being discovered, I wouldn't have wanted to bring her along, either.
I was taking on the chapel, an organisation that had been established for some time, I didn't know how long. I didn't have the foggiest idea as to how many believers they had. I had to do my best to eradicate them. That being the case, I needed to focus all of my energy on work. Judging from the chapel's previous performance, they weren't fools. I was certain it won't be easy to get my hands on something I could leverage against the chapel. Furthermore, I didn't have any clues at the moment. I needed to find out more while on the way there.
Lucia looked at Veirya then me. She clasped my face and seriously said, "I need to return to the elven lands. I'll come back to pick up the remaining money later. Travor helped me a lot this time. You're our most valued friend. In the future, if you come to our elven lands… I'll definitely do whatever I can to help you. Travor… thank you very much for your help…"
Lucia suddenly went up on her toes and gently kissed me on my face. Anna nearly shrieked, but quickly covered her mouth with her hands. Veirya silently watched us. Lucia moved away and looked at me with hot flushes on her face. She softly giggled, and then dexterously hopped back. With a smile, she said, "So, then, I'll definitely give you an invaluable present the next time we meet. Goodbye, Travor."
Because Lucia kissed me before, I quickly calmed down this time. In saying that, before I could say goodbye, Veirya suddenly grabbed my hair from behind and turned my head around. All of a sudden, I was looking up at Veirya's descending breasts.
"Wait, Lucilia…"
Veirya looked at Lucia then lowered her head in a swift motion. Before I could say anything, it sounded as if a meteor smashed into my teeth. Veirya's teeth smashed into mine, rattling my brain. She then looked up at Lucia. Lucia wore a stunned expression. Lucia shuddered, and then exclaimed, "Wh-Wh-What are you doing? Teeth to teeth? Is that some sort of new greeting you humans do?!"
Veirya clasped my face with both hands. She looked at Lucia and, in a tone that left no room for questioning, replied, "This. Is humanity's action. For showing intimacy."
I had a strong urge to argue otherwise but my brain was jumbled. Lucia was rendered speechless. She hesitated for a moment then said, "D-Do I have to smash my teeth with him, as well? It looks painful…"
"No," replied Veirya, quickly pressing a hand to my mouth and vigilantly watching Lucia. "No. Only I can do. Lucilila. No."
"I-I see…"
Gaze on Veirya, Lucia slowly walked backwards. She didn't quite understand why Veirya was angry or humanity's odd greeting. She retreated another step: "I-I'll be on my way, then… mm… See you next time… See you next time."
Veirya nodded: "Mm."
Lucia went to the door. Then, she turned her head to look at me: "By the way, remember, your foot's nerves have yet to recover. If you run fast during your recovery phase, you may very well sprain it again. If you hurt it again, that foot will be permanently damaged. It won't break and can recover, but you won't be able to perform any high-difficulty movements again. If you don't want to end up crippled, you must rest up properly until you're fully recovered, understood?'
I nodded: "Of course."
I'd protect my foot, obviously. There'd be lots of inconveniences in the future if I lost a leg.
Suddenly, Veirya spoke up: "After you go to the Imperial Capital. Remember. To bring stuff back for me. Her Majesty. Should. Still be thinking about me."
No guarantees there… If Her Majesty was still thinking about Veirya, we were in danger… For all we know, Her Majesty might've wanted to eliminate Veirya… Veirya was a warrior capable of slaying the Demon King. Consequently, it was inevitable for her to consider Veirya a Demon King to a certain degree. I needed to probe around and find out what her attitude toward Veirya was. Queen Sisi was a fearsome murderer. Her adventurer kill record spoke for itself. The last one might very well be Veirya.