Chapter 363: Engagement Banquet

"An engagement banquet???"

The next day, when Rod came to patrol the Claw Valley Highlands as usual, he heard from Dimia a piece of news that made his face darken.

The daughter of a person of distinguished status in Shi Ying Town was getting engaged.

—Tobeka.

The stepdaughter of old gentleman Humbert, one of the members of the Shi Ying Town Committee.

In other words, the whore with the clap that the demon Atu had brought over from Coral Bay when he infiltrated Shi Ying Town, trying to seduce Humbert.

Stepfather and stepdaughter.

Humbert was madly in love.

Not only did he spend a fortune curing her clap, he was even willing to accept the dockworker's child in her belly.

He had seen that old tortoise-man's face still wearing a sweet smile before, probably because he had hooked up with Tobeka again.

But unfortunately, the groom was not him.

"The groom is a passing bard. When he was busking in the tavern for drinks, Tobeka spotted him, and after that the two of them got tangled up. Humbert's legs aren't great, so he asked me to pass this along to you."

The witch Dimia said helplessly.

She was standing with Rod on top of the watchtower, watching the construction and progress of the defensive works below.

She handed over an invitation.

"Uh, I remember she had a dockworker husband back in Coral Bay, and even the baby in her belly was his."

"Five months along now, she even went to the tavern with that big belly to rendezvous with the bard, sigh. Poor Humbert, done in by this woman... forget it."

Dimia was unwilling to speak ill of people behind their backs, and with another sigh she gave up.

Rod shook his head.

Truly worthy of a pure-blooded old tortoise-man, Humbert.

"When is it being held?"

"January 1st next year, about ten days from now, a bit rushed."

It was already mid-December now, it was about to arrive.

Humbert was, after all, a country gentleman of some standing in Shi Ying Town; ten days or so was indeed a bit tight.

Rod said with a smile: "I'll go ask him."

"Don't upset him, he's not young anymore."

"Don't worry, I know the measure."

"Really? A man with measure wouldn't do that sort of thing in someone else's house with someone else's best friend, twice no less."

She said with a smile.

As the two grew more familiar, Dimia had also learned to banter with Rod.

"Don't blame me and Sharon, I suspect there's something wrong with the renovation materials in your house."

"Huh?"

"You might not know this, but some human nobles mix in some aphrodisiac materials when painting their walls, causing everyone who enters the room to fall into a state of sexual arousal."

Rod was talking nonsense.

Actually, Tally had told him about it; it just wasn't done by human nobles, but by succubi.

They would pick a small, sealed room, smear their fluids on the interior walls, then heat it to vaporize the fluids, using it to ambush groups of two or more men.

Tally had used this little trick on him.

Though she was more direct about it, smearing the fluid directly into the cup Rod drank from.

After being discovered, Rod used that succubus tail to tie her up and hung her from the ceiling beam for a whole day.

As a result, it actually hit Tally's excitement button; dripping wet for a whole day, would you believe it, the floor was soaked in a big patch.

"Nonsense."

Dimia was amused by him and let out a reserved laugh.

She thought for a moment, jotted it down in her little notebook, apparently intending to use it in the raunchy novel content later.

"By the way, I heard you brought another girl back to the forest."

At this point Dimia lifted the brim of her hat, revealing a chubby baby face with a pinkish flush.

The little notebook covering her mouth, she glanced sideways at Rod with suspicion.

"Uh, news travels that fast?"

"Last night Selina said it in our 【Far Whisper Chain】 little group chat."

"You guys have a little group chat?"

"It's our little mage group chat for discussing spells and Yan Jiu De Fa!"

Dimia's face was a bit unnatural; she had no intention of telling Rod that most of the time in the group chat they were discussing this forest ranger's love life.

"Let's not get into that! Since you and Sharon are in that kind of relationship, you should keep it under control, you can't keep bringing girls into the forest endlessly!"

Lady the witch declared that she firmly stood by the side of her canine-race best friend.

This guy had too many women; if he took a different one every night of the week, it wouldn't even be their best friend's turn.

"Don't worry, this time it's definitely not that kind of relationship, I just caught her and brought her back to work."

Rod said helplessly.

He explained the ins and outs in a couple of sentences and finally dispelled the witch's concerns.

The two chatted for a bit and soon wrapped it up.

Just as he was about to leave, Lady the witch called out to him again: "This morning two elves from Emerald Court came... the elves were aggressive, especially the ones from Emerald Court, please go to the town hall and check, don't let Rosalia be taken advantage of."

He had just discussed those two elves with Lady Kali yesterday, and they're already here?

"With Rosalia's personality, could she possibly be at a disadvantage?"

Rod smiled and agreed.

After entering the town.

Rod led the spider-touched fairy Watching Yuna into the town hall together.

As for Tally, she had played too wildly last night. The succubus in her aunt form had also gotten carried away, hiding in the shadows and saying she wanted to knit a pair of woolen underwear for her own little nephew, expressing that she wanted him to wear only that and engage in another intense aunt-nephew interaction.

Rod had just greeted the little sister at the front desk, about to ask if Humbert was in.

He then saw two blond elves with straight backs and arrogant faces walking out of the town hall.

One man and one woman, with outstanding and exquisite features, both mainly wearing their long hair loose over their shoulders.

When the two walked, their arms barely swayed, their noses in the air, and even after disappearing into the bustling street, they remained the same.

And when they passed by Rod.

They glanced at the spider-touched fairy behind him, revealing a hint of contempt and disgust.

Rod couldn't just beat someone up over a single look, so he turned back and patted Watching Yuna's little head.

"Don't mind it."

Watching Yuna's face showed no fluctuation. She shook her head: "As long as I can be by Master's side, Watching Yuna doesn't care about anything. Watching Yuna only worries that it will affect Master's reputation."

While speaking.

The tooth fairy Rosalia came down the stairs, while also discussing matters concerning Shi Ying Town with the little sister at the front desk.

She immediately spotted Rod leaning against the counter in the hall.

"Mr. Rod, good morning."

"Dimia said two elves who look down their noses at people came to the town hall to cause trouble, and asked me to come help take a look."

Rod said with a smile.

The tooth fairy also smiled along, a shallow smile, carrying an air of classical elegance.

Paired with her long ears composed of insect exoskeleton and membranous wing structures, it gave off yet another distinct kind of feeling.

She said: "Those two elves wanted to apply for temporary residence permits, and also inquired about something regarding the Golden Crown. Emerald Court and Aethelon's relations aren't too bad, especially at a time like this—better to have one more ally than one more enemy. Elves have troublesome temperaments; one careless move can easily light the firecrackers in their hearts, so we can only handle it with caution."

Rosalia knew about the matter of the Golden Crown, and also knew that the item was currently being held by the Demon Control Union, so she simply pushed the whole matter over to them.

Rod nodded, also agreeing with her decision.

Just as he was about to say something, the sounds of a disturbance and arguing came from outside the street by the town hall.

The two furrowed their brows and leaned out to look.

They discovered that the two elves from earlier had gotten into a dispute with someone on the road.

(End of this chapter)