CHAPTER 30: LADY IN TOWN

The last day would be quite turbulent. The number of arrows to be used in the ballistae on the walls had been determined. One elf had been placed in each ballista to support the walls.

Regardless of their gender or strength, each one was an elf. Their lineage already elevated them to a superior level in terms of physical and magical power; therefore, whether male or female, carrying and loading those massive ballista projectiles—those enormous arrows—would not be difficult.

Luke felt at ease.

Everything was being checked every hour. The mermen and mermaids were constantly monitoring the lake they were in and even the area outside the lake.

The Magical Monster Gates would open on the right side of the town, that is, on the right side. According to Luke and Kevin’s calculations, the Magical Monster Gates would open from the east, but nearly 200 kilometres away. These gates would progress linearly to the right, meaning that the line stretching hundreds, even thousands of kilometres, would reach the Duchy of Wirgo.

The number of magical beasts coming to Selene Town was truly astonishingly low. Perhaps five thousand, or maybe six thousand at most, would come to the town because the mountain range blocked the area where the line was located.

This directly pushed the magical beasts, who could strangely sense the traces of life, or rather the traces of sentient life, into those regions.

Like the Mutant Mythril Turtle that attacked the region when the town was still a village and Luke had just surrounded the area with a wall. Magical Beasts could sense life itself.

Those who could be seen as weak and foolish chose to see life in everything, like trees and plants. The smarter ones, however, were able to perceive sentient life.

Of course, this also affected many races living in the world, including humans, elves, dwarves, fairies, half-humans, half-demons, and dragons.

The fact that Luke’s town of Selene, or rather the entire region, stretched from the mountain range where Wirgo was located to three thousand kilometres beyond the lake, naturally brought many creatures living in that area to the forefront.

Dragons were included in this.

They weren’t ancient dragons, but they were dragons nonetheless, and this alone was enough to suggest that if any danger were to come from the land rather than the sea, it would be eradicated by the dragons. After all, ancient or not, dragons were the self-being, literally incarnations of magic.

The monsters emerging from the Magical Monster Passage weren’t intelligent. They acted solely on instinct, and this was the key factor that made everything straightforward.

What was needed was solidarity. No matter what happened, Luke had to ensure that the villagers were properly organised, even if there was no immediate problem, and he had already done so. In short, the only thing left to do now was to wait and see if the invasion would begin immediately when tomorrow came and winter set in.

From tomorrow onward, they would have to remain on alert for exactly three months, or 89 days.

As Luke was thinking about all this in his room and reviewing his plans just in case, the door to his room suddenly knocked:

"Thud-thud-thud!"

When the door opened, the person who entered was Kevin. Still, something was off. Kevin...wasn’t usually someone who showed much emotion. Of course, by nature, he was as skilled in assassination as he was in service. This was what surprised Luke.

Kevin was truly shocked in a way Luke had never seen before. Even when Luke’s gift was revealed, such shock had never been evident on his face.

Now, however, he stood before Luke with his mouth open, his eyebrows raised to the middle of his forehead, and his eyes wide open.

Luke was aware that there was no danger. If there had been, Kevin would have intervened, and if he couldn’t, Callum would have stepped in. It had always been that way.

"What’s wrong?" Luke asked naturally.

"Your Majesty..." Kevin said in his deep voice, then added without pausing, "I would prefer for you to see it with your own eyes."

Luke put on his coat, then his usual fedora hat, and left the room with Kevin, then exited the mansion.

As he slowly made his way through the village, he saw the villagers gathering in one place and began to hear questions rising:

"How did you meet him, my lady?"

"I understand, but come on, Your Majesty, you’re a bit of a grumpy lady!"

"Still, he has a very good heart. Did you know he saved us all?"

As the questions came one after another, Kevin’s voice suddenly rose:

"Make way!"

As soon as Kevin said these words, the villagers began to part like two large velvet curtains on a big stage.

Luke managed to see the beauty behind the curtain.

A woman with hair purer than snow, as white as silk, and eyes redder and brighter than the deepest ruby, was looking at him.

Luke immediately removed the fedora hat from his head out of respect and then held it to his chest as he spoke the name:

"Zoey..."

With Luke uttering that name, an expectation formed in everyone’s eyes. Each of them seemed to be waiting for that cliché, and to put it bluntly, a terrible moment of "reunion" from cheesy romance novels or the stage plays.

Zoey was not the kind of woman who would give them that.

Suddenly, Zoey stood up from where she was sitting and quickly walked over to Luke, grabbing his cheek directly.

"OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!!!"

Luke had screamed in pain. Even if it didn’t hurt that much, Zoey was a strong woman.

"How dare you just disappear like that?!" Zoey had suddenly shouted.

To be honest, the villagers were strangely happy to have such a lady among them. After all, Luke was someone who tended to overdo things and strive for perfection in everything he did. At least they thought Zoey could slow him down and give Luke a chance to rest a little.