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Chapter 14.3: Thunder Sonia's Troubles
Chapter 14.3: Thunder Sonia's Troubles
Last part of chapter 14 folks!
Still, she wanted to somehow get rid of this disgraceful rumor about her smell.
This was Sonia’s most sincere desire right now.
But what could she do?
There was no way the rumors would just disappear even if she were to defeat the Orc Hero now.
And it wasn’t like she could beg Bash for a redo – to ask him to “take” her.
“And screw those Humans too!”
Eventually, her ire turned towards the Humans as well.
“Look at them! Look at how many of them came to town to look for a partner! They’re all so excited and giddy at the idea of marrying an Elf! But nooooo, when it comes to me, suddenly it’s all about nobility and humility and diplomatic relations and business! None of them want to even talk about a relationship with me! I’d be fine even with an affair! Just give me a chance! I just need one single Human to give me chance and I’ll prove to everyone that that silly rumor is a load of bullshit! I’ll stay by their side until they die! Fifty years? Sixty years? Bring it on! It’s nothing to me! I’ll take care of all their needs! Humans love a supportive woman, right? And who better than me? I’m the best-of-the-best! I’m perfect!”
“Really? The best-of-the-best?”
“Of course, I’m the best! Look at me! I’m 1200 years old, but I look like I’m barely 100! I can use nearly any kind of magic! Oh, and my knowledge! I can give advice on politics, economy, territory management, and even cooking! If that doesn’t qualify me as the best-of-the-best, I don’t know what does! Sure, I don’t have any experience on the romantic side, but don’t Human men love that?! They like pure girls, don’t they?! I even remember that one time a Human General came over to our camp and had fun with a bunch of Elven girls, but he didn’t even look at me! I was right there, and he didn’t even LOOK at me!”
As soon as Sonia felt she couldn’t do anything about Bash, she began disparaging all the men she had been rejected by instead.
Aconite had no choice but to just listen, smile and nod.
To be honest, he was rather sure that if she were to beg as hard as she was now, at least one of the Human men would agree to date her.
But there was no way that would actually happen.
Sonia was rather reserved when out and about, and considering her position as the Elven Archmage, she did her best to behave with the appropriate level of decorum.
In other words, she put on a mask.
It didn’t help that the Humans with which she fraternized would never be so stupid as to try coming on to the Elf Hero.
If she got offended, it could lead to a war between Elves and Humans.
Whenever she visited Human Lands, she was treated as a guest of honor and given the highest of respects.
Thunder Sonia thought it was the rumors surrounding her ageing smell that kept Humans away from her, but that wasn’t the case.
“Oh, yes, Aconite. Let’s talk about you. How’s your love life doing?”
At the sudden suggestion, Aconite’s face tightened.
“Please spare me.”
Aconite’s oldest memory was the sight of Thunder Sonia changing his diapers.
As she was cleaning him up, she proudly told his mother, “Just leave it to me! I’ve changed your diapers and your mother’s diapers. Just consider me our family’s nanny.”
From that moment on, the Elf Hero had been his and his family’s reliable caretaker.
Needless to say, he had never harbored anything remotely resembling romantic feelings towards her. It was simply impossible.
“I… have someone in mind.”
“What?! Since when do you have a girlfriend? What the hell! Why didn’t you tell me?! Who is it? Do you guys get along? She’s not some kind of vicious vixen, is she? I won’t anyone to break my precious little Aconite’s heart! Don’t worry, I’ll use my authority and make arrangements for you to flee the country at night, and you’ll be nice and safe and away from her. Just say the word, and I’ll take care of everything for you, no questions asked. After all, I’m the generous and magnanimous Thunder Sonia! So, what do you say?”
“Sigh… It’s Lady Inuela, one of the Beatkin princesses. She’s the Beastkin King’s third daughter… We’re still dealing with the specifics right now, so I can’t tell you anything.”
“Huh? So, you actually like her? What do you mean by specifics? Are they giving you a promotion to give you a proper rank to marry royalty? What about an engagement date? How come I haven’t heard anything?!”
“I told father not to tell you. Lady Sonia, with all due respect, you’re rather… loose lipped.”
“Huh? They why are you telling me this now! Don’t they teach you to keep your mouth shut in the army? Don’t you know the importance of confidentiality? Huh?”
As Aconite sighed, giving up in the face of Sonia’s barrage, an owl landed on the windowsill, hooted, and pecked at the window.
Something was tied to its leg.
“Hmm? A message?”
Sonia opened the window, put the owl on her arm, and took the object strapped to her leg.
It was a letter.
“Ah, it’s from lil’ Cal.”
“From Lieutenant General Calendula?”
“Yup. Looks like he spotted a Lich among the zombies.”
“A Lich? Could that be reason behind the rise in zombies in the last few years?”
“No doubt about it. That would explain why they keep popping back up no matter how many times we exterminate them.”
Undead were a naturally occurring phenomenon.
The corpses of those who died with deep grudges or lingering regrets would reanimate and strike at the living.
However, once they were defeated, that was that – they would never come back again.
It was said that the souls of killed zombies would be irreparably shattered, never to be reborn.
But a Lich could turn that notion on its head.
Liches were the highest level of undead and could innately perform necromantic magic to repair said shattered souls and reanimate dead zombies once more.
In other words, so long a Lich was around, the undead would never disappear.
“It says here that there’s a massive zombie cleanup operation planned five days from now, and he’s like our help.
“I see. I’ll make the necessary preparations.”
“Please do.”
The Elven military was a well-oiled machine.
After all it had only been three years since the signing of the peace treaty.
Their combat know-how, accumulated over thousands of years, was still alive and well.
Whenever they struck, they would blitz through with all the strength and speed at their disposal.
The top brass, not wanting to underestimate their enemies despite them being just zombies, had decided to mobilize the entirety of Siwanasi Forest’s 2nd Battalion.
When attacking, they should use their maximum strength to attack in an instant.
The elven military decided to mobilize the 2nd Battalion of the Siwanasi Forest Army, not underestimating the fact that it was just a zombie attack.
This Battalion was composed of mostly magic capable soldiers – ideal for the situation, as fire magic was deathly effective against the undead.
They would take this opportunity to mop them up all at once.
“Though… I’m kind of worried… With this kind of large-scale operation, I’ll need to increase the number of eyes on the Orc Hero and his companion. They might take action while we’re out.”
“Hmm… Eh, well it should be fine. I just said that if they were really planning something bad, they wouldn’t have bothered to come see me, right? I hate to say it, but they’re not really doing anything suspicious right now.”
“Are you sure? Ah, no need to tell me explicitly. Don’t worry, I can take care of it. I’ll send some men to harass them. I know you want me to.”
“Hey! You’re making it sound like I’m some kind of vengeful woman trying harass all the people I don’t like! No! Don’t send anyone!”
The owl, still sitting on the windowsill watching their silly exchange tilted its head.
It was a peaceful night.