Sulphur & Lightning Chapter 9: 008 - Rejecting a Free Meal

Read chapter 9 of Sulphur & Lightning by anaugustauthor on NovelPedia.

The Lycan youth moved rapidly backwards from the feast before him and instead kowtowed a few metres away. “You’re much too kind, young mistress, but I cannot eat.” “What do you mean?” He had to be careful with his words here. “…Lycans can survive on very little for very long.” “Regardless, it’s rude to not eat when you’re offered something.” “You’re of course right, young mistress… still, I pray that you’ll pardon my rudeness in your benevolence.” If she had been annoyed earlier, then she was irate now. Still, she suppressed her scowl and asked a simple ‘why?’ “The young mistress knows very much why.” “Don’t say it’s because of your class, I do not care about such things. I think I’ve made that abundantly clear by actions.” “It is not proper for a Goblin noble to ignore the dictates of Ani.” “Don’t presume to lecture me on my obligations to the Goddess,” she said testily. He remained silent at this, knowing that there was no good response. She gave a signal for her staff to leave, and although they were uneasy, they quickly heeded the command. Elijah was anxious about being left alone with her, but wisely didn’t say anything on the matter. “I have a question for you.” “I’ll do my best to answer you, young mistress.” “Are we friends?” “What do you mean, youn–” “Answer the question!” He saw in her eyes that there’d be zero room for evasion and decided to bite the bullet. “No, young mistress; I wouldn’t presume to make myself your equal in that way.” The expression on her face made him feel like he had dug his claws into her gut. “What if I said that we were?” “…You’d be mistaken, young mistress.” “Why?” He weighed the question for several long moments before arriving at an answer. “Earlier,” he said with no small amount of despondence, “someone called me an osu dog. The expression sent me into a rage and I did something careless as a result, but on reflection I see that it’s true... You can’t be friends with a dog.” “I don’t agree with that assessment of yourself.” “It’s the unfortunate truth of the matter, though.” “Are you satisfied with that?” “No one can defy the gods, young mistress. It doesn’t matter if I’m okay with it or not.” In a manor situated within the mountains, a group of rugged and injured individuals were rushed to the medical bay. It was Julnan and Yachit’s group, and the pair anxiously watched as the rest of their teammates were carted off for care. Most of their wounds were neither big nor small; just the effect of casting backlash. That miserable osu had timed his mana-destabilising howl just as they were about to release their spells. Comparable to having your gun blown up in your face, it wasn’t difficult to imagine their current states. Still, with the medical staff they had on hand, a couple days of bedrest after their treatment would see them right as rain. The real concern was Iya and Atu. Iya had not only suffered from the mana boil, but also forcefully pushed through the backlash and used a mana stone to replenish himself, something that backfired immensely although he had gratefully bought some time for the other two to arrive. If not for that, maybe Atu… Her condition was the worst; her hands had been shattered by that bastard son of a thousand fathers. To make matters worse, they had been foiled in their purpose completely by that Goblin whore. Master Busa won’t be pleased, Yachit said internally. She paced the grounds anxiously alongside her teammate, unmoved by the tranquil and picturesque environment made to put one at ease. It was truly a shame too, because it was truly a beautiful place. Designed with a stark departure from traditional Reiginian aesthetic conventions, the manor itself was leaned into symmetry and proportion that was almost daunting to behold, quite contrasted to the nearly grotesque castle that was the Chukwudifu manor. The style was what the human called Georgian[1] and that wasn’t all that was interesting about it. If one observed it from above, they would see that the main