Chapter 411: One More Letter for Now

Curry delivery service!

That was how Ares chose to start his note. He'd just finished writing it and was double checking it as he neared Transmit while Aejaz was doing the same with his own hastily put together message.

I'll keep this mini letter short... Hopefully... I might go on a long rant and forget so, uh, my bad if I do! So as not to keep you from the food so I'll get right into the swing of things. Glad to hear you're all doing well, that eases my worrying. Not entirely but a lot!

Enyo, please don't fret too much about what you had to do to those bandits, it's really not a big deal. Even despite acting upon your gut feeling and killing them, you're still far more justice oriented than at least 90% of other cultivators! (These statistics may or may not be false but are likely representative of the point being made on a wider scale) Seriously though, you're still a saint compared to most other cultivators and that should be what really matters to you. There's no such thing as absolute purity or justice in any world and no one person could bring about such a thing anyway so don't burden yourself with an impossible task. Who you are has not change much at all since we met, just your attitude towards who you are in hindsight. You've made a few concessions but you're exactly as I remember you being and fretting over this incident proves it because your sense of morality has not shifted. You aren't any less 'just', you simply aren't as lenient is how I would put it. Your assessment of crime, and what can be construed as one, has not budged an inch, the scale of judgement, your willingness to punish, and the punishment itself, have. That's not a bad thing because it wasn't balanced before. Is it balanced now? Were your actions too far? That's impossible to tell because everyone has different standards but I assure you you, in general, haven't, it just feels like you have compared to where you were at before.

Cultivators don't live like mortals do and judging yourself by their standards, in relation to law and order, will only make you feel regret for everything you've done and will inevitably continue to do. You don't need to overcome any mental block with regard to your decisions, nobody would ever blame you for what you did back then, you need to understand that the justice system of the Legions is deeply flawed inherently and not conducive to creating the kind of environment it aims to due to a lack of severity in their punishments. Maybe spend more time discerning hypocrisy within Legion doctrine or search for ideals that fall short of their intended purpose? If you can distance yourself from the Legion belief system that makes you feel uncomfortable with your actions in the first place then maybe that would help you in the long run. There is no such thing as a perfect ideology and so spotting flaws in the one you've lived most of your life by will help you come to terms with the path you walk now being so vastly different to what it once was... Or maybe you can just shag Blo Blo and put everything else to the back of your mind? Bury your woes in decadence, luxury, and pleasure!... No but seriously, if you aren't capable of overcoming that mental hurdle then I think not dwelling on it is the way to go for now as the problem will solve itself eventually anyway (which I'll touch on a bit later when I bring up another topic). You'll become accustomed to these things eventually out of necessity. It can't be avoided forever and numbing yourself to it slowly but surely is a valid strategy if you aren't actually concerned about the direction you're heading in rather than how to get there without feeling like you could have done it better. Even this response from me is too wordy because the matter is simple, do what I do and just stop thinking about it! Like you told me to not worry about the harem stuff too much, you can just let me deal with anything you find uncomfortable. Well... I can't kill bandits for you if I'm not around but, when I am, there's no need for you to get your hands dirty at least.

Anyway, I said I'd make this quick, and I've still got Bellona to chat to, so I'll start a round up here. If the people who ambushed you are really working with the Torchbearer then I now have more than enough reason to go and kill him personally. Them's the breaks. There will be no lenience for this transgression! That aside, I'm glad to hear you've been living large and enjoying yourselves. I'm looking forward to seeing the clothing you got your hands on especially (I have some too from Xasca, actually, and it's high quality stuff!) I don't know if you ended up reading Bellona's part of the letter you two sent but she's doing fine so you don't have to worry about her too much. I'll be talking with her after this so don't get nosy and peek unless she gives you the go ahead!

As for the police force you mentioned, I'm grateful for whatever manner of help you can bring to the table as we're all gonna be a bit swamped with work when the sect and Red Sun are hoisted off into Vraizon. Crime not being rampant will be a massive weight off our shoulders from a logistics standpoint as manpower can be safely allocated elsewhere and civil unrest should be easier to deal with. I can't think of anyone better for the job than you so I'm not surprised Hans gave the ok and I look forward to seeing your hard work pay off. I can't help but feel like it will resemble a perfected Legion clan, in a way, and be the version of your clan you wished it could be... Ah but those high hopes might feel like expectations and I don't want to stress you out or anything because the job's not going to be easy as is. I mean that this will be a good experiment for you and might even help with what I was talking about before. You'll be setting rules, laws, and judging case by case scenarios yourself, rather than just following law and order dictated by another, so I think there's no better way to fully understand yourself, and where you ultimately stand on the justice spectrum, than via this plan of yours. You'll have to make hard decisions and question what you think you believe in for the sake of people other than yourself. Your choices will affect everyone on our new home and the difficulty that comes with it will help shape your mentality, hardening you to make choices you don't necessarily like but acknowledge are correct. It's hard. Be prepared for that! I won't butt in! For your sake you need to do this yourself! Besides, I'm good at dishing out violence, less so at figuring out when dishing it out in the first place is the correct choice or not when the line between 'should' and 'shouldn't' is so slim!

Last points. Thanks for being understanding about the presents. I really did try to keep an eye out for more fancy stuff for you but it all just kept coming back to lewd goodies... I'm a terrible husband and I feel bad!... Spank me maybe? Ha, I kid... Although you might be looking forward to it now that I've said it... Whatever, if you want to punish me then so be it, I'll sacrifice my rear on the alter of your forgiveness. Also, I'll give Blo Blo hints just as she asked for so that ought to keep her pre-occupied and distracted for a while, perfect for you to sneak up on her and pounce! I've received word you're on the right track so just keep at it and she'll buckle eventually... What else... Ah yes, thank you for your suggestion about contacting pagoda Ares. It's a good place to start and better than the literal nothing I had to go on. I'll check the void, and maybe the Primordial Blade too, and see how things go from there.

To answer your question, no, I have not 'found any women in Xasca', to paraphrase. There is an interesting person here called Sandy that I'm trying to recruit as a potential elder though. She's nice and strong. I think you'l be good friends, maybe. Am I attracted to her? Not really? Or at least not to the same scale as I am with you and Bellona anyway. It's a kind of 'if I hadn't met either of you two during my life until this point then I would have probably pursued her then and only then' kind of deal, I guess? Maybe my mind would change with time, maybe not, but I don't think she'll be one of the wives. Figured I would be open and honest about it just as a heads-up because you'll be seeing her at some point in the sect and you told me to send everyone your way in the letter.

Final point, regarding the Goddess... Uh, at least we know she's still there? Not much to say about her if she's busy watching her R18 chick-flicks right now... I'm happy for her, I guess? It's hard to know how to feel about her because she's technically you, right? No technically about it, I guess, she's literally just you from the past... Ah whatever, we can figure that out whenever she rears her head again and becomes relevant. I'll end off my section to you here because I've been going for a lot longer than I was anticipating. I can't help myself! I love you too much! Talking to you again, even if just like this, makes me happy. plus I can't just ignore the problems you two brought up without at least giving my two cents!

Anyway, enjoy the food! I made tandoori... Well, tandoori everything! I know Bellona likes strong flavours so I used a clay oven, that I bought from a place aboard the Federation the day before disembarking, and a good mix of spices that I think work well to really enhance the various dishes. Plenty of meat, plenty of bread, plenty of rice. There's also a couple of homemade mango drinks with some yoghurt in them if you like... Although Blo Blo will probably drink a mango bubble tea knowing her... It's not really in the exotic sprit but its certainly in her own spirit and she was the main reason I made it so might as well let her have her fun. Speaking of, be sure to send me a request next time too! You know I'm not fussed by such things so don't be shy! I want to cook for you so don't be modest now!

Love you lots,

- Ares

[Enyo, no peeking past this point! This if for Blo Blo eyes only! No perverts allowed}

Heh, Blo Blo! You called yourself Blo Blo in the letter! You have no idea how giddy that makes me! It brightened up my whole day! No, that's an understatement, I'll be smiling until the end of the week! My goal in life is now to make you say it out loud to me at some point! Bonus points if we're cuddling when you do it! I'll get it out of you yet now that I know there's hope for it!

Ah but I'm getting distracted. You wanted a hint for your presents right? Well you're in luck! Tremendous luck thanks to your tremendous timing! I've just been put through the riddle wringer and my brain's a buzz with plenty cryptic conundrums!... Not that I'm going to give you a riddle though. you're a smart cookie so you'd probably figure things out if it's not incredibly unspecific, at which point it would be pointless to do anyway. Instead I'll just give you a quick description! There are two presents. Ares was referring to the model car and the tv / films here. The first one is related to stuff we've discussed before and is incredibly stylish! It was expensive, very, but the craftsmanship is very intricate and I'm sure you'll love having it on display somewhere in the house. You can even use your measurement manipulation magic to increase its size and sit inside it if you want! The second present is something you'll get plenty of use out of and enjoy in your spare time. Everyone in the house can enjoy it, actually, but I'm pretty certain you'll get the most use out of it! One day we can replace it with something of higher quality but it will do for now considering the scarcity of such a thing in lower domains. That's that! Only two presents but I promise they'll blow your socks off. 

On the topic of removing clothes, let's segue into Enyo and the stuff you were saying in the letter. Take a deep breath! There's no reason to be 'anxious', there's no reason to plan everything out and make some kind of schedule, and there's definitely no reason to be self-conscious of embarrassed! Well other than the whole spectator in the room thing... Just pretend I'm not there! I'm really not, to be fair. Ah but you'll probably forget about that in the moment anyway. But that's not the point! Who the hell feel anxious when you're about to have fun? You like games, right? Just treat it like a very physical game! One in which your performance isn't going to be judged. You aren't being graded on your talent and Enyo's not going to conduct some kind of live after-action report! I know you're unfamiliar with this stuff but you're putting it on a pedestal when it's really nothing of the sort.

Your efforts to be more girly are appreciated, and duly noted, but entirely unnecessary if strictly for the sake of doing the deed. You're plenty girly enough and I find you irresistibly cute most of the time anyway despite, or maybe even because of, your tomboyish nature. Of course I'm going to treat you like a woman! What else am I gonna do? Treat you like a man?! I don't swing that way, thank you very much!... Ok, I shouldn't make light of your concerns too much. I know that being blunt and joking about the silliness of it all is helpful with you but I should also be softer here and there too. You have plenty of womanly charm as is. You don't need more. If you want that for my sake then I'm already satisfied! Who else is there to please? Enyo has lower standards than I do and mine are already not difficult to meet as you just existing makes me happy. I'm looking forward to being with you. The size of your chest, the colour of your nails, your eyelashes looking extra pretty, etc... None of that matters. I, and Enyo, just want to have intimate fun with you, that's all. You might think it would be better for you if we took this matter more seriously but that attitude would just be off-putting and slap more pressure on you than you seem to already feel. Trust me on this, after you've done it once you won't have this issue anymore. You might be a bit embarrassed for a day or two but it will be normal after that. Some people might struggle more with that but I know you definitely won't because it's just not like you.

There's no need to treat this differently to anything else you do so chin up and get in there! There's nothing to be afraid of because, really, Enyo's probably more afraid of you than you are of her. If you just be straight with her, and talk to her to tell her what it is exactly you want, she wont say no. You have a lot more power in your relationship with your sister than you realise, especially after everything else that's happened. She's acknowledged that you and I were right about a lot of things that happen with the Legions and so, while she hasn't become dependent on our opinions, nothing of the sort, she definitely holds a lot more respect for them than she did before. There was always a part of her, I think, that understood you were right, she simply didn't want to admit it. Now that she already has, there's definitely a part of her that's going to treat your words with a lot more sincerity than you think she would. Only you can decide how best to go about this with her so make demands! Yes Enyo is pushy, and she won't relent in the bedroom, but before that you can push her around a bit too you know! Fight back Blo Blo! Don't be a pushover! You're easy prey right now and that's just going to make people like Enyo and I more aggressive! If you want more space, tell her to stop bothering you. If you want gradual intimacy,,encourage her or just speak your mind when you want it. if you grow a pair and decide to get it over and done with, drag her into a room and command her to make herself useful! You've already set a date for yourself to get this done by so I'm not worried you'll endlessly procrastinate if put in charge of the situation. In that case, you might as well feel comfortable until you two do the deed by having the kind of environment that makes it easy for you to not feel smothered by her.

Oh! One more thing, I know the sister thing is complicated, I get it, but really what comes next won't change anything between you two. Think about the relationship we had before and after finding out we're related. It hasn't changed! It'll be the exact same with Enyo and you can still play around with her like you used to and banter about whatever it is you two banter about when I'm not around. Probably your time back in the Legion clan if I were to guess, but the point is that none of that magically disappears so if that's what's got you worked up I can assure you it won't be a problem. If nothing else, Enyo wouldn't let that side of the relationship she has with you die ever, she values it a lot you know?

Ah, damn, this note turned into another letter... Whatever! I'm in for the long haul now! Let me wrap up this specific topic, though, because it's simple, really. Be brave, get it done, enjoy it, stop fretting over every little detail because none of them will matter in the moment, you are beautiful and do not need to be any prettier than you already are for what you're going to do because there's no such requirement to begin with, be upfront with Enyo at least once, and be yourself!... If that still doesn't work... I'll play my final card. If you don't grow up and just do it I won't give you your presents! I wont' even tell you what they are, I'll just hide them from you for a week at minimum if Enyo tells me she struggled with you! If she shares her memories of everything leading up to the night with you, and you're still timid, bashful, shy, and running away, I won't give you goodies! Or food! Muahahaha! Blackmail! I know that this will definitely be effective against you if nothing else! I know you crave burgers! What's more important to you? Skulking around like an invisible maiden besieged on all sides by barbarians or meaty, juicy, thick, burgers! Be wise, make the correct choice! (Side note, thank you for saying you were looking forward to being with me. It's a small thing, and I could already guess it, but hearing it means a lot to me. I know it wasn't easy for you to say but, and I say this without a hint of my usual playfulness because i'm entirely serious, I am extremely grateful you mustered the courage to be honest. I won't actually hold anything back from you when I return, be it food or gifts, you know I couldn't do that to you, but I think that if you even momentarily believed it you would feel inspired enough to switch up your perspective a bit. If you felt a surge of confidence for even a second at the thought of losing your precious burgers then things ought to not be too daunting now that you released how easily you can get over your fears and how insignificant they were to begin with. That's all. I love you and look forward to our time together when Im back; I will treat you exactly how you want to be treated when the time comes.)

Hey! Who was that person that just stole my pen and wrote all of that mushy crap?! Ah whatever, he clearly knows what he's talking about so I'll let it slide. Wrap up time because I've still gotta talk with someone else before I send this curry and note... Letter... it really did become another letter... Whoops.

Food! Food is good, ask for more in the future, nom nom nom. Also, please keep an eye on Appa's Snappa consumption! I know she's cute but someone has to say no to her at some point! I can hear Appa 'hehe-ing' about all of its snacks from here! Cute things... Nibbler! You'll definitely love Nibbler when you meet him, he's a good pupper with a good heart.

Ummm... I think that's it? If there's anything I missed you can ask Enyo because my part to her was pretty comprehensive... Though she probably read hers out loud so you likely already know everything in that part. Long story short, Love you plenty and will be lovin' you plenty too! You got this Blo Blo, show 'em who's boss! I look forward to seeing you again and, yes, we can do the dress up stuff still as promised. I haven't forgotten and I won't break my promise to you ever. Spending time with you on something silly like that will be fun, i bet.

Ciao! Enjoy your food, nerd!

- Ares

Ares double and triple checked everything and sighed to himself. He really had gone overboard... But he couldn't stop his hands from writing! there was a lot that needed to be said to those two so, even if not the most interesting letter ever, it wasn't exactly filled with exploits or daring tales of bravery, it still needed to be done. Ares would tone down the letters from now on, and double down on Xasca, but this one felt important! They were both stuck in their thoughts for two very different reasons but, really, they could have just talked with each other! Clearly tthe sleeping with each other thing was making communication awkward but that was mostly Bellona's fault as she needed to stop running away! Hopefully Ares could have somewhat abated their issues and sped things up a bit, by directing Bellona to be more natural, and they could go back to 'normal'. Not that they weren't already normal with each other but... More normal? If that made any sense. They were good but could be better than before? That seemed about right. Ares liked helping them whenever they were feeling down or had complicated thoughts but he couldn't always be there and they needed to rely on each other a bit more! Ares nodded to himself as pushing Bellona to be more open was 100% the correct play here and would do the most good before he himself came back into the picture. Their issues would be sorted by the time he saw them next, Ares wasn't in any doubt about that, but if there were still any lingering doubts for whatever reason then he'd step in and deal with them personally! Enyo and Bellona were capable of dealing with their problems themselves, though, so Ares wasn't expecting to have to join in any more than he already had with these letters.

Ares put those thoughts to the back of his mind for now because there was one more person he wanted to speak too!... Uh... Actually... What's her name again? Transmit lady! Whatever her name was! Ares never did find out last time he was here! Which was earlier today! Whoops... Well he could ask now! He wanted to talk to her about the prospect of becoming a data expert in the sect and getting away from this place. He hadn't given her much time to think about her own problems, whatever they were exactly, but he figured he might as well check in and clarify a potential option for her in case it interested her. She might even just say yes on the spot!... Or not, upending your life and restarting it elsewhere was the kind of thing that required a comprehensive understanding of the pros and cons of before making a well reasoned decision after countless hours of going back and forth and...

"Take me with you!"

"Huh?" Ares looked down at the counter, as he'd seemingly stumbled into Transmit while his mind was drifting elsewhere, and looked at the seated lady who seemed very confident in her decision... Welp... Everything Ares was just thinking could be ignored! He was very wrong, as it turned out!

The woman shook her head and sighed. "Ah, I shouldn't spring that up on you without an explanation. I don't want to be here in Xasca anymore. I feel like there's nothing here for me and I want out. Don't get me wrong, Transmit's actually been really helpful. They offered me a job when I couldn't find one on my own... But I think I'm in a dead end job that doesn't really suit me. It's not what I'm interested in and, though I don't know If I'll get the chance in your sect or in Red Sun, I'd like to at least try and pursue something that I think is more fitting for me. I'm asking you for that chance even if its selfish... Sorry and, if you agree, thank you."

"Uh, ok... By any chance, would you happen to be interested in working on stuff like the notebook you gave me? 'Cos if the answer is yes, I'll be honest, I was going to ask you for your services anyway. It'll be a well paying job with a good position in whatever the hierarchy of the sect ends up looking like. I was thinking a title along the lines of 'grand librarian' is appropriate given how early you'd be joining us and how valuable what you do is. Any and all data logging tools and treasures go to you first and people will share countless memories of undiscovered monsters and plants for you to catalogue... If you don't think that sounds boring then I'd be happy to have you. Of course if you were thinking of something else then I guess it can be arranged.. Though I would also appreciate some assistance with managing data and memory transcription every now and then if you have spare time? Also.. And I know this is completely ridiculous to only be asking now... But what's your name again? I didn't catch it the first time."

"Ah! Right, you seemed ot be in a hurry when you left. My name is Lara..."

"Wait... You wouldn't happen to be related to Arla would you?"

"Yes? How did you know that? She's my sister. I'm a fellahin too, technically, but I never really excelled as one so I'm not sandy like they are. Womp womp, woe is me, a combatant I shall not be. I was treated well though but I wanted to make something of myself and follow my dreams which, yes, just so happens to be what you were asking of me. I enjoy learning about new species and plants, as well as drawing and compiling information. I find new stuff like that interesting so I'm more than happy to come along. Deal? No take-backs!"

Ares reached his hand across the counter and shook Lara's. Ares wasn't going to bring it up but the reason he could guess he was Arla's sister is because... They were bloody anagrams of each other! Why was everyone's name always so ironically apt in this damn universe?! And better yet, why was Ares the only one who kept noticing it!? He felt like a madman for being the only one bothered by this nonsense but, alas, there was nothing to be done about it so accepting it was his only way forward. "Deal. I look forward to working with you and I'll make sure your working conditions are less.... Bothersome than they are here. I'll allocate a few guards to make sure you aren't pestered all the time." And with that, a deal was struck. Lara was in and the sect had gained a very valuable resource n her expertise and talents. Throw in Sandy, likely Arla, and a few other fellahin that wanted to tag along as well, and Ares' Xasca haul was already massive! This was why sect masters shouldn't be constricted to the sect! By the time Ares returned he would be the most powerful person in Sheryashka and have gained immeasurable talent for the sect's ranks. Nobody could question his methods then and any and all complaints from his earlier interview with the elders should be quelled! Great success!