Chapter 11 - Progress

"Hello? Where am I? Have we arrived yet?"

"Nope."

Lucius replied with a business smile.

"What?!"

"Haha, I'm just joking. You have arrived, but not to your supposed destination."

"Is this not the Andronot planet? You guys are part of Frekia, right?"

"I'll be honest buddy, I have not a single clue about the names you've just said."

It was currently night, and there were torches everywhere lighting the camp. Not to mention, tonight was a full moon, so the night was significantly brighter than usual.

The confused man looked around and saw that there were men wearing medieval armor busily transporting cryogenic chambers out of a huge spaceship wreckage. He realized that him and the other refugees were rescued by these people.

He also noticed that there were also men wearing familiar black uniforms making sure that the unloading process was done properly. To his surprise, they looked very similar the police officers of the past, commonly seen in vintage 20th to 22nd century movies.

"So, uhhh.... which planet are we exactly in?"

"Pfft, I have no idea."

Seeing Lucius' nonchalant attitude, it made him annoyed. He then asked again while holding his anger, trying his best to sound as hospitable as possible.

"Umm, sir? Could you tell me where we are right now?"

Seeing the man's jaw muscles clenching in-between his words, Lucius decided to answer seriously this time.

"You're in my territory called Heimer. If you want the full explanation, go to that tent over there."

Lucius pointed to a far-off tent.

"That's where the others who have been defrosted are staying. I've already explained it to them thoroughly, and they'll definitely be able to explain it to you as well."

"I see."

Seeing as the conversation was over, Lucius immediately called for a person.

"Andrew!!"

And the person he had called quickly ran towards him. It seemed that the person had just exited the aforementioned tent a few moments ago.

"Lieutenant Officer Andrew Red at your service, my lord!"

"Andrew, you don't have to shout. I can hear you clearly. Guide this man to the others. And remember what I've showed to you earlier? I'll give them to you now. Put each of them in your left and right ear, like this. Afterwards, listen to their conversation as much as possible."

"Understood, my lord."

Andrew followed his lord's instructions, and he quickly fitted the strange black objects into his ears. They were earpods that were specifically made by Lucius to directly translate English into the continent's common tongue. He made them using his nanobots.

The man had watched Lucius converse with Andrew, but he had no idea what language they were speaking in. After all, the common tongue of this place was not something you'd hear anywhere else.

Lucius then turned to the man, and said some more things to him.

"This guy's name is Andrew, and he'll guide you to the tent. He'll also be the one in charge of looking after you and the others, so if you want to drink or eat, just ask this guy."

"Got it."

Andrew then gestured the man to follow him, and both men departed from the spot.

This left Lucius alone with Elizabeth again.

"Are they from the same world you were from?"

This was the first thing that Elizabeth caught on to when she saw Lucius conversing with him.

"Probably."

"You're not sure?"

"I have very little information about them, so of course I'm still not sure. I tasked Andrew, the officer you just saw, with gathering that information. They seem to have realized that only I can understand them, so if they were to plan on doing something risky, Andrew can convey what heard to me."

"I don't understand. How would that guy understand their language?"

"You remember the two tiny objects I handed to him?"

"The ones that he fitted into his ears?"

"Yep, I made those things. They're able to translate their language into the common tongue. So whenever these people speak, their words are translated into the common tongue via sound. The wearer can then hear the translated words through the earpieces."

Hearing his words, Elizabeth got a little bit heated.

"But that's literally just translation magic that you put into the objects!! Earlier you told me that magic wasn't real, but now you're openly admitting to using it."

"Calm down, I never told you that it was magic. It's pure science."

"Ughh...."

Elizabeth fell into thought, and had her head hurting. The reason why she was so adamant and defensive about magic was because it was the field that she had pursued while she studied in the capital's academy.

You could say that she was an expert in this field, but Lucius was openly denying her entire education.

Before the Day of Descent 10 years ago, mana was abundant in this world. However, when the Demon God descended on that day, mana was suddenly taken away from the world.

While the world was still in chaos, the magicians and scholars spent their time researching the matter.

They eventually spread the news that all hope was not lost. Their reasoning was based on their belief of the world being made out of mana. So since the world didn't end, it must've been because mana still existed.

These events were what had caused the world to plunge into a world war. Every nation was fighting for resources that they previously had easily obtained using magic.

*SNAP SNAP*

Lucius snapped his fingers close to Elizabeth's left ear.

Having snapped back into reality, Elizabeth curiously looked at Lucius. Even though she'd like to deny it badly, she was still curious about the reason Lucius had said about the earpieces not being made with magic.

"Elizabeth, let's eat dinner. I've sent Sebastian to fetch some maids from the castle to deliver us dinner a couple hours ago. They've just arrived here. Oh, I also asked them to bring a spare dress for you, I'm sure you'd want to change your clothes."

Elizabeth's face went red from embarassment, she had forgotten the fact that her dress was stained in blood.

****

The maids that came with Sebastian had set up a lavish dinner inside of Lucius' spacious tent. They even went so far as to borrow the Durk village chief's big dining table for the married couple's dinner.

Upon arriving to the tent, Elizabeth was immediately taken away to a separate tent by the maids, leaving Lucius by himself. They were going to do a swift makeover on her.

After less than 10 minutes, Elizabeth came back and entered Lucius' spacious tent. The scent of delicious food entered her nostrils, and she began to salivate, causing her to swallow a lot.

She saw that Lucius was patiently waiting for her makeover to be done before they had dinner. She sat down on her designated chair in her new attire.

Her previously light blue dress stained with blood has now changed to a more casual attire. She now wore a white blouse and baggy light brown pants. She also had her hair tied in a ponytail, leaving her nape open for eyes to see.

"Lucius, what are these clothes? I look more like a commoner than a noble."

"Where I'm from, those clothes are ones women wear for their casual attire. I had them specifically made just for you. Don't worry, they're high quality stuff."

"It feels.... strange to have this much mobility. Even in the academy, they didn't let the women wear pants. The only women who wore pants were the ones training to be knights."

"But the commoner women do wear pants, it's not exactly a crime to wear them. Anyway, let's start our meal. The maids have painstakingly brought the food from our castle without ruining them, so let's eat."

Elizabeth nodded, and started eating, prompting Lucius to start eating as well.

They both didn't talk during the meal, as they both were fully focused on savoring each bite.

After they were done, Lucius ordered the maids to clean up the table.

His spacious tent was as big as a small house and had multiple compartments. It had a spacious hall in which the dinner table was set, a large bathroom, and a single master bedroom.

He planned on living at the location for the next few days since the situation had gone far more complicated than just a simple meteor landing.

After the table was cleaned, the maids gave the married couple some privacy, and promptly exited the tent.

"I'm planning to stay here for the next few days."

Hearing Lucius say this, Elizabeth hesitantly asked him a question.

"Should I go back to the castle?"

"That's up to you. I have told you about being open to becoming a real married couple, so I'm giving you the option to stay here with me."

"Wait wait wait, does that mean we get to sleep in the same room?"

"Sure."

Lucius made a cheeky grin, and this made Elizabeth turn red.

"Anyway, what made you visit here?"

This question made Elizabeth remember what she had seen in Archid's tent, and it made her mood sour again.

"Oh, it's just Father. He was urging me to find you. It seems that he wants to talk about the heir stuff again."

"But we literally just talked about it yesterday night?"

"I know, he's being very insistent about it."

Seeing Elizabeth's down mood again, Lucius made his way to her chair. He gestured her to stand up.

When she stood up, he buried her face to his chest, and hugged her tightly.

Elizabeth was quite surprised seeing Lucius being this kind to her. But Lucius was even more surprised, he never thought he could be this empathetic.

Today was just a constant flurry of different emotions to him.

From feeling a murderous frustration out of seeing an old acquaintace, to feeling ecstatic just by maniacally torturing a certain commander, to feeling chest pain just by seeing Elizabeth sad, and to finally feel a warmth and tingly sensation all over his body just by hugging her.

It made him feel like he was the innocent and naive human he used to be.

'Fuck, why does it have to feel so good when I hug her? Am I actually falling for her?'