“So why exactly no one had made swords out of mana yet?”

“Because it costs too much mana, even a small marble could threaten one’s life.”

“So someone did have tried it before,” Artus muttered under his breath. “No flying magic swords for me then, plan B it is.”

“What’s plan B- wait, hold that for a second,” Verona told him as she surveyed the darkness outside the wall.

They had been doing this after his shield had been proved better than anything the two other guys had to offer. They had talked about nothing but the random past in the last two days. She got a lot already bottled up all these years.

And it’s not like they could talk all the time. The creatures that come to test the defense were relentless. It would be a nightmare to stay outside the walls. It might be just him, but it felt like the monsters were running away from something else themselves.

A crude spear clanging his shield had proven her senses were right on the mark. A quick [Flame Dart] later, the threat was neutralized. One thumb-sized fiery hole was enough to kill anything, he imagined.

She shot a bunch of them at once to get the rest of the fleeing goblins. The lady blew the smoke coming out of her index finger like it was a gun.

The whole thing is very sexy. Lady Verona made them look like ants being draped with liquid fire. She made it look easy because she OP compared to other defenders.

Another reason he avoided talking to her at any other occasion. He might think using his dick again and played right into her game. He wondered if she knew anything about recreating thermite with magic? Or any other kind of colored flame?

“I know I’ve said this before, but you know how great it is to be able to see where the attack is coming from? I can’t do that with shields all over my face,” Lady Verona scoffed.

“I’m sure the captains have only wanted to keep their heads by keeping you alive,” Artus jibbed in. “Why don’t you learn how to use your [Fire] element defensively?”

“I will, from now on, but I would love to learn the trick from you,” she cajoled.

“You can dream on, my lady,” Artus chuckled.

“Not even after fooling around a few times?” she used it again. “We could make it regular,” she cooed.

She sounded like a purr of a kitten and it got him all the time. He would have agreed if he was still the same person. She is a really delicious MILF.

“Don’t you have a husband, boyfriend or something?”

Her smile suddenly vanished and he could guess the answer already. Four years of fooling around weren’t for nothing, well, until she decided to dump him.

“The kids I have, they aren’t really consensual, if you know what I mean?”

“I know what you mean, and you don’t have to explain it to me if you find it hard.”

“It’s not what you think, Artus, he is just too powerful and the family needed newborns.”

“I don’t want to judge you, Verona, but we always have choices, no matter what.”

“You are... right, as always,” she gave a sad smile.

“Well, not always. I am also a fool who failed to follow my own advice sometimes,” he chuckled. “How do you even get here, girl, you are really far from home.”

“Would you believe it- “

“My lady,” interrupted one of the captains. “You should talk about that with strangers.”

“Well, he is not a stranger, Mafu, he awakened as my old flame, my old love in a past life. I trust him more than anyone else, even my own judgment.”

Artus was more than glad to hear that.

“But people do change my lady,” the guy, Mafu stated.

“You know what, he is right, people DO change,” he said to their surprise. “It's fine if you don’t tell me, but who knows I might know something about the reason you were sent here.”

“He got a point,” said Verona while thinking. “And I think he already figured out why we are here, don’t you, you sneaky bastard?”

“Hey, language, ma’am,” Artus chuckled. “But if I have to guess, is it about a Celestial running around?”

A sword clink at its scabbard made Verona stand in front of him. The captain was still holding a grudge after the small bout they had. Losing a bet against a no leveler had slapped the man’s years of pride pretty hard.

“Touch him, Mafu, and I’ll roast you alive if that is the last thing I’ll do,” she warned with a blue flame engulfing her hands.

The intense heat radiating from her made everyone flinch on their feet. The other captain already held both of his hands up and backed away. Her reaction to the threat had warmed his heart a little.

But it didn’t affect her or him. Artus knew intense heat was radiating from her but it didn’t burn him or he felt any pain. Magic fire is not really fire.

“Are they always on the edge like this? You people should learn to relax a little, but if you want to know more, you have to enlighten me about this Celestial. A trade, how's that captain? You already know that your blade couldn’t make a dent on my shield anyway.”

The two of them sat down again after a long stare. The other captain returned to his spot after the tension calmed down.

“We make a great team, don’t we,” Verona said as she sat beside him.

She took his arm and pressed her chest onto him. Her eyes challenged him when he turned towards her in a surprise. The woman would eat him if there was no one around. He never thought he would refuse sex offers from a gorgeous, luscious woman.

Some give him a medal, please.

“No, I make a great team, with anyone,” he replied and looked at the darkness.

The lady scoffed but didn’t let him go. Well, she’s the boss now, isn’t she?

“Well, it’s odd how you don’t know what a Celestial is if you know who he represents.”

“I’ll play, Verona,” Artus smiled at her attempt. “SHE didn’t find it important to tell me that.”

“Oh! That is news, not even the fools looking around knew that but for an exchange, there is a very convincing story that they, the Celestials, know how to get there,” she pointed at the large planet hovering in the dark sky. “Well, among other rumors of their vast knowledge in magic.”

“For that, I can tell you that she is no longer anywhere close, her Core was somehow marked, and she is on her way to get rid of it for good.”

“Anything else you want to add, something we don’t already know?”

Artus shrugged at the captain, “how should I know what you guys already know if you don’t tell me? It’s simple logic. But I’ll throw another one out, the one she was looking for was the first Artus, and no, I don’t know where the old man is. She is smart enough not to tell me anything that might harm herself.”

“Now, working with him is much more worth it, don’t you think, Captain Mafu? And we don’t want to risk angering a Celestial, don’t we?” Verona turned towards him. “What are you to her?”

“Well,” he chuckled, “we fooled around plenty of times.”

Verona choked. Her face changed colors a few times. He was surprised to see jealousy and heartful pink were there in the end.

All the guard duties after that became a little awkward with stealing glances while she thought he wasn’t aware. He couldn’t dig any more information out of her without digging into her which would be great, but ultimately stupid.

She also could just make him agree with her whims as she was powerful enough to do that, but she had enough pride to not force him into it. They ended up flirting with one another most of the time.

-

In his room again, Artus sat in meditation as Verona had instructed him how, but he would say she wasn’t the best of teachers. Emptying his mind from thoughts wouldn’t be the best of ideas for him as he was almost always thinking about something.

It also might mean he was doomed to never be able to get the skill. Regardless, he still had folded his leg under him just because the reward would give him a huge advantage.

A condition that he could review anything at an accelerated time was something worth trudging along in the darkness. [Meditation] opened up more possibilities with it [Memory Lane] upgraded class skill. He would be a fool to not try to get it.

The door creaked open behind as the girls returned. Artus could feel the hesitation in the air as the girls approached him. They sat on either side before they grew the courage to tell him. It might have taken them a few days already.

“We had received an offer, Artus, to work as maids for a family in a big city.”

“And we think we will take it,” added Jane.

“You are telling me this because?”

“There is no position for any male as they had enough of them,” Cindy explained. “And we were offered only because of the [Arithmetic] you have taught us.”

“But you have to understand, this is a chance of our lifetime!” Jane insisted.

“Then what about Lilly?” He asked.

“We're going to get her when the darkness yields in a day or two,” Cindy said. “We couldn’t bring you or Kent along because all maids live with their employer, servants or not. Normal maids only have more freedom and payment.”

Artus sighed. “It’s okay, I understand,” he said to them. The two of them hugged his sides and he patted the naive girls' worried backs.

Their employer was no secret to him. The guard duty by the wall with Verona had been kept secret, and the girls were just too scared to realize the interaction he had with Verona during the attack.

There were volunteers who offered to make arrows or bolts for the guards, and he had used that excuse in the last few days. Verona had wanted to keep it under wraps and so he had respected the lady’s wish.

He felt bad to hide the fact that he knew who had offered them the job. Verona thought that she was doing him a favor so he didn’t need to worry about the girls, and she was right. He does worry about them after taking her deal.

There should be a reason why the silly girl didn’t tell him or them about each other's arrangements. He could guess that one of them might be the girls’ own safety.

The lady also might not be able to arrange them to live with him and telling them would only complicate things. They could be separated far from him if he didn’t know any better.

“We will never forget you,” said Jane as her body warmed up.

“Yes, we’ll- we’ll come and get you when we have enough money,” promised Cindy.

“Yes! We’ll do that,” Jane agreed. “We’ll take care of each other.”

Artus kissed both on their silly foreheads. “Don’t do that, silly, I might not be here anymore by that time. Who knows, I might already become famous somewhere.”

“Yeah, you are right. You were so brave, and we would have died if not for you,” Cindy recalled the flier's attacks as she shivered. “But will you remember us?”

“Of course, I will,” he smiled and gave the girls a reaffirming embrace.

“But let’s just make sure you will remember, okay?” June asked.

“How are you two going to do that?” He chuckled. They didn’t even last as long.

“With these,” Cindy held up a collection of small bottles filled with green goo. “These are stamina potions.”

“Where did you get that?”

“Our new employer, it’s our parting gift,” Jane smiled sinisterly as her hand slipped into his trousers.

Her head went down when she found it still limp. Jane swallowed him whole while Cindy began to kiss him. The memory of the combination of kisses by two girls at different places alone would last forever if anyone asked him.