Chapter 150: Emir’s Plan (Bonus - )

Chapter 150: Emir’s Plan (Bonus Chapter)

After they had come to an agreement, Emir was invited inside for further negotiations, while Kaelen was left behind to ’get to know people’.

The same people that would’ve killed him ten times over if their gazes were weapons.

Tch.

This didn’t stop Kaelen from grabbing a dessert and a glass from one of the servers. They smiled professionally, but Kaelen knew they felt no different from the others on the inside.

There were still those who didn’t openly loathe him but simply stared at him in calm curiosity, but Kaelen could tell from the gazes of these people that they were far more dangerous than those who openly hated him.

Not that he cared. He simply stood at a quiet corner to enjoy his grabs when Valerie approached him after stepping out of the bathroom to clean herself up.

Kaelen was slightly surprised she was running inside to protect Emir but was heading his way instead.

When she arrived, he didn’t say anything and pretended he didn’t know her as she stood beside him.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked. He could hear the hesitation in her voice. It took more than her willpower to ask.

"Shoot."

"What?"

"Ask your question." He almost forgot he wasn’t on Earth, and such slang might be mistaken for something else.

He was also surprised he could understand and communicate with everyone using basic English. Though he was curious if the general system, Evolution Online, had something to do with it, or if everyone simply spoke basic English as well. He decided to test it with Valerie and watch the movement of her lips closely, but still kept it discreet to avoid coming off as a creep.

Valerie hesitated once more as she ran her eyes across the courtyard. "May I ask what you and Lady Emir discussed in my absence?"

Kaelen’s brows shot up slightly. "What?"

She exhaled softly and turned to face him with a serious expression. "I’ve been with Lady Emir for millennia, and she’s never hidden anything from me before. We’re that close that we barely need words to communicate our intentions. But when I asked her what her plan was, and what you two discussed, she brushed it off."

’I see...’ Kaelen mused to himself. Her lips weren’t moving according to the words she spoke. She definitely wasn’t speaking English, so was everyone else in the room. Except the system had broken that language barrier for everyone.

"If she didn’t tell you, it simply means she doesn’t want you to know. So why ask me?" Kaelen replied dismissively.

Valerie was taken aback by his reply and remained silent for a moment like she’d dropped the matter.

"Look, I know we don’t like each other, but I’m really worried about Lady Emir."

"I don’t dislike you. I simply have no reason to tell you anything. And if you dislike me for some reason, then that’s on you." Kaelen replied calmly as he took a sip from his glass and almost moaned in pleasure.

He was caught off guard by the perfect blend of sweetness and bitterness that made his taste buds flare up.

Quality, indeed.

Even though they were made by his enemies, there was no reason to deprive himself of their quality food. After all, this would be their last supper together, because after the grand tournament which Emir spoke of like it’d completely skyrocket his evolution realm, Kaelen was coming back to tear each and every one of their worlds down.

"Lady Emir was never one to smile before," Valerie suddenly began.

Huh?

"She was cold and distant. Respected and feared by both her allies and enemies. Until after her encounter with the Creator that totally shattered and left her in a depressed and suicidal state. I remained by her side even after a lot of our own deserted in fear of being targeted. I helped recover and find the hobby of art and craft to always keep her busy and keep her mind away from the fact that she had lost everything. I wanted to remind her that that wasn’t the end of the road—"

"Can I ask a question?" Kaelen suddenly interrupted. "How exactly does having a kingdom work, and why exactly did Emir fall into depression after her encounter with the so-called Creator? I know my question sounds stupid, but y’all are making it sound like it’s more than losing her army, and more like the Creator broke her heart or something. Just curious."

Valerie turned to run her eyes across the courtyard, confusing Kaelen, before she raised her hand to point at a white statue.

"There, that’s the statue of the Creator. Personally, I never believed in Gods, religions, and superstitions, but the majority of worlds puts their faith in the Creator and even have churches to worship her. Lady Emir was one of those dedicated to serving the Creator, or to be more precise, Goddess Zemira."

Kaelen stared at the statue of the beautiful woman with a serene presence for a moment. At that moment, Valerie’s mention of ’churches’ suddenly triggered his memories of the system back when he killed both the guild leaders at the dungeon tower and the stronghold lords at the expedition ruins.

Both kill notifications had something in common;

Evil Church.

At this point, Kaelen was starting to have doubts if his mother was entirely behind the creation of his system, or if there was an external force involved.

The Reward System had been dropping hints that were getting harder to ignore.

"Unlike your world, Lady Emir’s world operates on Lord domains. You are given a piece of domain to protect and grow into a kingdom or empire. Lady Emir had created something more than that. Her military was easily the strongest force in the entire universe, that all she needed to shake the universe was to simply march across it."

Kaelen’s eyes glistened in surprise. It was almost similar to Kenora’s story. Different worlds, different mechanics. But at the core of it all was Evolution Online. And at the top of that, like the cherry at the top of the cake, was the so-called Creator, Goddess Zemira.

"The first time I saw Lady Emir smile wasn’t when she accomplished her first painting or sculpture. It was when the first universal announcement about you rang across the sky. It was subtle, but still there. And now, after she finally decided to step out of her old shell, she smiles at every little thing." Valerie recounted.

"Shouldn’t you be happy for her?" Kaelen asked with a raised brow.

Valerie tilted her head to look at him. "I probably should, but for some reason, I get terrified every time I see her smile. It’s almost like she’s accepted her fate... which is why I need you to tell me, Kaelen, what you discussed with her. What was your agreement? I need to know to be able to save Lady Emir from whatever she’s planning, that’s probably why she doesn’t want to tell."

Kaelen stared at Valerie for a moment. "Does getting pregnant count?"

"W-What?"

"That’s what she wants. She wants to conceive the next founding successor because she believes the bloodline ability still flows through my veins."

Valerie stared at Kaelen for a long moment, like she wanted to be certain he wasn’t just pulling her leg.

"What? I-Is that all? Is that all she wants in return from you?" Valerie asked in confusion.

"According to what she said, yes. She did add we’d have to get married first before I could touch her, though." Kaelen recounted as his expression darkened.

"Well, what does she plan to do with the founding successor?" Valerie hurriedly asked.

Kaelen thought for a moment. When he asked her, she had said a lot of things. But at the end of the day, it all summed up to: "Nothing."

"What? Nothing? Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I made myself clear that I wouldn’t let her do anything stupid to the child if we ever came to an agreement on that."

Valerie fell into deep thought. "Does she want to start a family? No. That’s unlike Lady Emir. You did mention she made marriage mandatory, right?" She asked like she was asking herself rather than asking him, when her eyes suddenly widened in shock and disbelief.

"Kaelen, be honest with me. How exactly did she say she was going to save your mother and your world?" Valerie asked hurriedly.

"An immortality pill is enough to save my mother and should be found in the tournament. As for my world, she said she wouldn’t personally save it, but would help me attain the strength to do so myself through the tower—"

"N-No." Valerie’s pupils constricted as she cut Kaelen off. She seemed to have figured something out, something that Kaelen was curious to know himself to know what Emir was actually planning.

"What is it? Tell me what you think her plan is?" Kaelen asked. ℴ

Valerie zoned out for a moment as she simply stared at an empty spot in space, before her terrified gaze settled on him.

"K-Kaelen, Lady Emir isn’t interested in you or the founding successor. Her plan is—"

"What are the two of you talking about?" Valerie flinched the moment she heard Emir’s voice, and Kaelen turned to see her wearing her signature warm smile, except something behind her gaze told him otherwise.