Chapter 354 - Girls , Stop Overreacting Please !
The next month Rudra was swamped with work. However the atmosphere at work , was not exactly workable to be frank.
Four women were extremely pissed at Rudra for very different reasons... The atmosphere could be considered boiling at the very least , as shots and jabs were taken at him left and right.
Amelia was pissed at Rudra ditching work , he had to listen a long lecture about how she too had a life and that work hours do not equal 24 hours a day and emergency work should not last for 5 days a week.
While Rudra and the boys were off to questing , saving the emperor , Amelia literally had to work overtime both in game and in real life. Her throat was sore , there were dark circles under her eyes. And it seemed like she had a mild fever.
Rudra was extremely apologetic over the situation , and soo was Karna . The two were seen lurking around her work desk in the game , coming to check on her every 15 minutes or so. Trying to help her as much as they could.
At first Amelia was genuinely pissed off , but her anger soon evaporated seeing the two boys run left and right around her , and seeing their dumb attempts at logistic work.
After a while she just could not stay angry at them , they were just too cute for that. However , she wanted to enjoy the VIP treatment for a bit longer , soo she continued to act like she was pissed , now thoroughly enjoying the show.
This had a huge impact on the guild members too , when they saw Rudra and Karna running around her all the time , they understood the real power dynamic in the guild. The position of Amelia was solidified as the third boss of the guild .
The second one to be pissed off with Rudra was Furball. It could smell the faint traces of Ruby's smell on Rudra and it was actually a pleasant and calming smell of nature. She naturally did not know that the smell stemmed from a human and not another pet.
Furball had never been in contact with Elves , all she ever smelt was Humans , and humans did not smell soo good. Hence she assumed that Rudra had been fondling some other pet and was hence throwing a temper tantrum.
She would not let Rudra pet her , and pretended to be super sad. Rudra naturally could not understand why Furball was throwing a temper tantrum and hence asssumed that it was because he did not acknowledge her for a job well done .... Or perhaps because the fight had been traumatic for Furball.... Or she was mad at him for being injured.
In any case Rudra gave her more VIP treatment , he would say sorry to her and pet her for hours while working on beuracratic work of the city. Eventually Furball forgave Rudra and started to nuzzle back at him and give him licks and cuddles.
The third person to be pissed at Rudra was Naomi , she was angry at Rudra that he was reckless and got injured to a severe extent in battle. She would come everyday and angrily sit beside him as he worked and tried to heal him.
Although Furball absolutely hated her presence , she tolerated it for the time she casted her healing spells. After that she would outright start to growl at Naomi. This routine continued for a week before , seemingly Furball accepted that , the human was a wellwisher of her master , and accepted her presence .
Anytime Rudra would even mention about upcoming quests or battles , Naomi would give Rudra a menacing glare. That struck fear in Rudra's heart. That look was the same one Rudra's mom gave Max when he would not do his homework.
It was the look of " OH ... SO YOU DARE? ".
Rudra hence had to instinctively tone it down and lay low for the time being , as he did not want to suffer the wrath of Naomi.
Rudra did not understand why ... But Naomi's opinion mattered on stuff to him. During their healing sessions he would often ask her about administrative problems , and although she would give curt angry replies . Rudra found them to be sensible and one that provided him with a fresh perspective. He hence started to value Naomi as his advisor and doctor a lot. He was truly starting to feel as if he made his first she friend.
However there was one more person who was pissed off with Rudra , and she was Yua nakatomi , she was mad at Rudra who gave too much attention to Amelia these days . To her the behaviour between the trio of Amelia , Rudra and Karna seemed nothing ordinary.
Growing up in the corporate world , she knew very well what it meant when bosses doted on secrataries wayy too much.
She feared that Karna and Rudra would end up in an eventual fight over Amelia , causing friction in the guild and also hated the attention Amelia was able to hog off Rudra.
It was a situation where she was not right and she was not wrong either. But she was very wrong.
Hence Rudra had to deal with a daily dose of baloney , Yua was supposed to be a helping hand to Amelia , but everyday she would try to one up the lady , and take decisions she saw fit without consulting her , only to be naturally rebuked hard by the lady in charge.
This led to unnecessary friction and headache for Rudra , as Yua would come rant to him angrily about Amelia every single day , and he would have none of it. Eventually he was forced to relocate Yua to SMG 's department and appoint her as a teacher of practical knowledge like taxes and buisness application in real life. A compulsory course for all who would enroll in the Elite academy.
Hence two weeks passed with Rudra embroiled in work and balancing four angry women. Untill finally it was the opening day of the Elite academy.
It was a big day for all the guild members , as the entire guild was deeply invested in this project..... And it was sure to be grand!!
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( Meanwhile , somewhere in mainland China)
Hao Mi was pacing around her room .... The news that the old emperor was back at the helm of Hazelgroove kingdom was bad for buisness for her.
Aman was someone least bothered with administrative work , he was the perfect king for illegal buisness to bloom , however Cervantez taking the throne changed the whole game.
Hao Mi was pissed and angry at the same time , the new war announced by Hazelgroove kingdom was extremely detrimental to her plans. The triads were currently in strong positions within the Nineclouds and Aquahose Kingdom , the political instability would make organized crime more difficult.
She hated the fact that someway or the other it was again linked with Shakuni of the elites , that man had became a thorn in her path. She absolutely hated his guts.
Nobody could humiliate her and live to tell the tale. And that man paraded her in chains in Purplehaze city. She wanted nothing more than burning him down along with that entire city , as retribution.
However she saw a shining opportunity in this war ..... As she hatched a plot. Hao Mi wanted to use the war as a way to gain enough military merits and go up the ranks in the political system in Nineclouds kingdom.
Once she was high enough , she could use her military power to provide cover for her shady activities , while using that might to burn Purplehaze city to the ground.
Hence , the order was issued to the triad members, who were going to join the defense cause of Nineclouds kingdom as an independent mercenary contractor under Hao Mi.
Aiding the government in war efforts against the advance of Purplehaze kingdom. Voluntarily offering to hold 3 villages and one fort near the nothern border of Hazelgroove kingdom.
Naturally the entire defesce was not left to them and there was a military NPC division stationed , but the numbers of the triads to the NPC's could be said at a 2:1 ratio.
There were far more triads than NPC's , hence it was clear to whom the credits of the victory would go.
With this started the preparation of Hao Mi's revenge on Rudra. The next 6 months were going to be a mad rush to strengthen , from both sides . As the showdown was only a matter of time now. It was inevitable! .
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( Meanwhile .... Yume's POV )
Yume was doing charity in the orphanage of Purplehaze city . When the caretaker of the orphanage , a sickly old man came upto him and asked.... " Thankyou for bringing food for the children ... They are happy ".
Yume said " Amitabha , it is my pleasure ".
The frail old man then said with a smile " I am old now ... I don't know how much longer I can run this orphanage , but I hope that the children here can grow up and land on their feet even without me around ".
Yume's heart moved as he donated 500 gold to the orphanage.
The old man's eyes widened in shock ... For him it was 5 years worth of money .... It was simply too much.
He said " It's too much , I can't accept this ".
Yume just waved it off , as he said " I am a monk ... I have no use of money ... What I seek is wisdom".
The old man's eyes brightened as he said " I am old , but I am wise ... Since you are such a fine?man , I will give you one of my most valued treasure .... It is something that money cannot buy".
System notification : Reward received ( unknown map )
Yume bowed in gratitude. He was happy with whatever he was given. But out of curiosity he asked " Where does this map lead to ..? ".
The old man smiled , his broken teeth showing his hollow smile as he said " Draconia! ".