Chương 31: A Few Thousand Problems

"In any case, I was already planning to hole up in this cave... Ahem, I mean, make the underworld my home. So, if you decide to stay here, that would basically place you under my protection. Whatever that means." Cerys looked first at Nerez, then at the trembling figures on the ground, before reluctantly dismissing her scythe.

"Fine, but if they're going to stay in the underworld, they need to understand where they stand," Cerys said at last, crossing her arms.

"Oh, of course, of course!" Thaelor exclaimed, getting to his feet along with his granddaughter.

"We shall be your most humble and devoted servants!"

"You two are the second grandfather-granddaughter pair I've met in quite a short time," Nerez remarked, looking at the old man and the young woman still clinging to him.

"The first pair is definitely going to cause me plenty of problems. I hope you don't follow their example."

"Lord Nereziel, I promise I will do my utmost not to cause you any inconvenience!" Thaelor declared, not really understanding what Nerez was talking about.

"And my granddaughter Sae is even more proper than I am." The old man gave his granddaughter a gentle pat on the back to encourage her forward.

"I am Saelith, Your Divinity... but please, Sae is enough," she said, bowing her head reverently.

"It wasn't a threat, so you don't need to get so tense... By the way, let's stop with that whole 'Your Divinity' thing. It sounds strange..."

"And how should we refer to you?" Thaelor asked.

"Nerez is going to be the king of the underworld, so of course you must address him as Your Highness! And I am Lady Reaper!" Cerys exclaimed, puffing out her chest.

"You really liked that name... But Nerez and Cerys are fine."

"Of course, Lord Nereziel," Thaelor said with a bow.

"Lord Nereziel," Sae repeated, doing the same.

"Just Nere... fine, whatever..." Nerez sighed, giving up. Apparently, mortals had an aversion to calling him by nicknames.

"Though, are you sure you want to live in the underworld?"

"I do not know if we can return to the surface on our own," Thaelor admitted. True, journeys to the underworld are complicated in every world... In our case, the obstacles would run away just from seeing Cerys, but I have no idea what the trip would be like for the visiare.

"But more than that, if the god of death himself permits us to stay, it would be a blessing for us," the old man went on.

"This is a place filled with magic, after all."

"Bah, mortals and their inefficient ways of using spiritual energy," Cerys scoffed, looking down on them.

"But you are right. The underworld is a sacred place, so you'd better be grateful you're being allowed to live here." If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Is magic a type of spiritual energy? Well, if even faith counts as one, nothing surprises me anymore...

"Lord Nereziel, there is one small matter... We have not eaten or drunk anything in some time. Would you happen to know where we might find provisions?" So much for not causing me problems...

"There's no helping it," Nerez answered, pulling a small leather pouch from his pocket.

"These are Skytree Nuts. One is enough to sustain you for an entire day."

"Oh, thank you very much, Lord Nereziel!" Thaelor exclaimed, taking the pouch.

"I shall immediately distribute them among those most in need!"

"Those most in need? There's enough for everyone..."

"From this little pouch? Oh, I see! A spatial magic artifact!" Thaelor inspected the pouch and realized there were thousands of nuts inside.

"As expected from a race with an affinity for spatial magic. I guess it wasn't that surprising after all..." Nerez remarked, one hand on his chin.

"Though I wouldn't call it an artifact. It's supposed to be a simple coin purse... (It's just that I used it for the nuts.)""Any trinket from Empyrean Peaks would be an artifact to these simple mortals," Cerys declared, seizing the chance to mock the visiare. Chop"Ugh!"

"You call it a trinket as if you were the one who bought it... And stop picking on them."

"Empyrean Peaks?" Sae asked. It was the first time she had spoken on her own, and her eyes were shining with curiosity.

"The city of the gods, a place forbidden to mortals," Cerys boasted while shielding her head with both hands against any possible chop.

"You are right, Lord Nereziel. It is a magic item. It is simply so well made that it is easy to mistake it for an artifact," Thaelor affirmed after finishing his examination of the pouch.

"I also erred out of ignorance. I had never heard of a spatial magic item that was not an artifact before. As expected from the land of the gods..."

"It's just a cheaper version of a true artifact... That's exactly why I'd like to see the artifacts you can create."

"Oh, of course! It will be an honor to create artifacts for you! As soon as we are settled... and have built our workshops... and obtained tools..."

"If you truly had talent, you would make up for all of that with guts!" Cerys exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.... She was met with nothing but silence.

"There's no rush, Thaelor," Nerez said after lowering his hand from his face.

"Speaking of settling down, once you've distributed the nuts, we should get moving. On our way here, we came across large areas full of vegetation. Maybe there will be more farther ahead too." Thaelor thanked him once more with a bow and went over to the rest of the visiare to organize the distribution among the thousands of hungry souls. Sae also took her leave, looking a little calmer and more cheerful now, especially after watching Nerez and Cerys interact, which had drawn a few small giggles from her.

A young man and another girl were waiting for her, both visibly relieved. They were the same two who had also been about to rush forward to protect her when she was on the ground with her grandfather.

"I came to the underworld for a quiet life, and now I have thousands of mouths to feed..." Nerez sighed under his breath.

"Nerez, you truly amaze me!" Cerys exclaimed.

"We only just left Empyrean Peaks, and you've already done more than any other god to expand your influence."

"..."

"What?"

"Weren't you rejecting the visiare just moments ago?"

"They were being rather presumptuous, expecting your protection. But if they're going to serve you in the underworld, then that's different. You have to take responsibility for them," the redhead replied with a smile.

"And by the way, servants shouldn't get that many chops to the head!"

"They're pretty gentle... Besides, servants don't bite their masters either."

"Grrr... you're right. No choice, then. I'll have to get used to it." Was not biting not an option...?

Nerez had gone through, in a single day, provisions meant to last him for years. Fortunately, the answer would come the very next day. As they emerged from the cavern network they had descended through, what awaited them would solve that problem... and leave the visiare staring in awe.