Cultural Exchange Ch. 05

Remembering our plans, I added, "By the way, Alerick, I have decided together with my wife to host a dinner party for the surrounding neighbors tomorrow night. Make all the necessary arrangements, please."

"And make especially sure to invite Sol'Silna of the Blue Tree and her parents. My husband and I have matters to speak with them." Instructed my wife with her usual haughty demeanor. Is it my imagination or did I really see Alerick's brow twitch slightly when Ralya said the words "my husband"?

I had been holed up in the carriage the whole morning and I wanted to stretch my legs, so after a brief discussion, everyone agreed to my idea of going to take a walk around the house to see the crop fields and the farm before lunch. That's when I saw a Genga with my own eyes for the first time. It looked like a heavy framed cross between an ostrich and a parrot, with thick and strong legs due to its work pulling carts in the fields. Later at the farm, they confirmed what I already more or less knew: dark colored Gengas were used for field work, while the colorful ones were raised for food and to use their feathers in clothing and ornaments.

I conversed with many people, both field workers and farmers, getting a good impression in general, but there was something in my mind the whole time. Long ago, when I was living in the Earth, my girlfriend at that time had a male friend she used to turn to when she needed advice and didn't want to ask me. Long story short, I found out she had started dating him not long after breaking up with me. The glares I noticed in Alerick's eyes a pair of times reminded me of the ones I received from that false friend while I was dating that girl.

What could I do in that situation? It could be that I was just being paranoid, or it could be something totally unrelated. Having him fired just because of my insecurities and my past traumas would surely damage my reputation. I still didn't know Alerick enough to find out the source of his possible jealousy or hate. He wasn't a noble, so he couldn't be in any way expecting to get married to Ralya.

In the end, while we were returning to the mansion to have lunch, I decided to keep my suspicions to myself as long as I didn't get any definite proof. If I showed myself jealous in front of my wife it could annoy her or even lower the image she had of me, though my brother used to say that women feel secretly pleased if their man is a little jealous about them.

It was lunch time and, as it was customary between nobility in this world, the administrator recited the menu before having it served in case my wife or myself would want to make any kind of change, like "I want my steak well made" or "bring me a salad instead of soup."

As neither Ralya nor I had any objection, we nodded our heads and Alerick chimed a bell to call for the maids to serve us. Merita came to my side of the table and the red haired maid from before went to serve Ralya, both under Alerick's vigilant gaze. Once the first dish was served, they joined by the wall, awaiting for further instructions. I tried to withstand it, but after a few minutes I couldn't help but raise my voice. "Excuse me, but I'm not used to this kind of situation yet and I feel awkward eating with people standing around and watching. Could you please leave the room? We'll call for you with the bell when we need something."

Merita started walking to the door immediately, but the other maid just stood there in disbelief and looked at Alerick. With a tone I didn't like at all, he said, "Why do you look at me? Master has given an order for the three of us."

The woman lowered her head before me and answered, "Excuse my rudeness, Master."

As they moved out, Alerick scolded her even more. "You should know better than ask for my permission to obey Master or Mistress' requests."

The woman answered apologizing in a low voice. "It's just that the order took me by surprise, Nue'He. Don't be so strict."

Alerick lashed back at her with a low growl, "I've told you a hundred times not to address me in such a way during work hours, woman."

The poor maid answered with a wavering voice. "Please, forgive my fault, Administrator."

I felt bad for the woman, she seriously looked as if she was trying not to cry. On the other hand... Those two were married? Then, those things about the weird looks, the jealousy and Alerick hating me for taking Ralya away from him were just my imagination?

No. I may have mistaken the hidden reason, but I could never mistake a glare full of hate. I've received so many of those along my life that I can almost feel them on my skin.

The day up to now had consisted of traveling by carriage and meeting the different personalities that managed the main house and the farms. Now, after lunch and a little time to rest, it was time to meet those in charge of the military power of my Household. Meeting each and every soldier would obviously take too much time, even meeting all of the squad leaders one by one would be troublesome, so in the end, those who came to my new house were a total of fourteen Mountain Elves: the eleven Battalion Leaders, each one in command of one hundred soldiers; the two Division Captains commanding both swordsmen and and archers, and the Commander of all of them. The title of General of the Household Force belonged to me as the Head of the Household.

Hjolmer, my commander, was a stout Elf with a skin even darker than that of the Mountain Elves I had met so far, aside from the rosy scars he showed on his naked arms. He looked like a wise and good natured man. We spoke about questions such as training and equipment for the troops, as well as combat tactics. That's when I told them the little speech I had prepared for them.

"I'm not going to impose a totalitarian system. I'm not going to say that my ideas are the only valid ones. Even the squad leaders may have more experience at war than me. So if you think you have a better idea than me, tell me. If you think my ideas are wrong, even if you don't have a better one, tell me so I can learn from my mistakes. The only experience I have managing an army is in simulation games, which most likely won't reflect half of the real difficulties this task entails. With your help, we can protect what's ours, be it defensive or taking the offensive."

Most of my officers nodded solemnly, and some of them even clapped their hands lightly. Hjolmer crossed his thick arms over his equally thick chest and smiled, a gesture that looked scary because of the diagonal scar that crossed over his lips, from the right cheek to the left side of his chin. "You may be young and inexperienced as you yourself have recognized, but you have an important trait for any man who carries the lives of others on his shoulders; you listen to others, instead of convincing yourself that your way is the only way."

Talking further, he showed himself glad hearing the news about my union with Sil. "She's not a princess, but adding her to your House will mean an injection of funds that will let us improve our equipment. Also, the troops in her dowry include lancers and a corps of Battle Mages. Among her officers are some of the most terrifying tacticians I have ever seen or met."

We kept talking about possibilities over tea for a couple of hours, during which I discovered that everyone had learned to time their sips with those of Hjolmer to hide their smirks at the fact that he had the habit of lifting his pinky every time he drank. When we decided to call a stop to the meeting, I accompanied them to the front door, promising to visit the training camp the next morning and have a sparring match with some of my officers, Hjolmer included.

In a friendly tone, I told them, "I won't forgive you if you go easy on me just for being your boss."

They laughed and Ranbi, one of my Division Captains said, "Don't worry, we wouldn't miss the chance to beat down a Noble without suffering the consequences." This brought even more laughter until they suddenly went silent at the view of the unexpected guest that had approached us during our friendly exchange. My officers excused themselves in a more respectful fashion and then left, bowing their heads lightly at the man in front of me.

"Head of the Black Star, forgive my rudeness for coming to visit you unannounced," A Mountain Elf with black hair said. Asking from mere curiosity, I had learned days ago that between Mountain Elves, black hair was as unusual as natural red hair between Humans. So that and some other slight similarities told me who this man was.

"There's no need to excuse yourself, Head of the Blue Tree. Please, come in. Whatever it is the matter that brings you here, it should not be discussed here in plain sight," I said, gesturing towards the house. Upon entering, I rang a bell to call for a pair of servants, one to prepare the library, and the other to go look for Ralya, who should be refreshing herself in preparation for dinner after the exhausting appointments of the day.

Once in the library, with a light appetizer just served, I took a sip from my glass of wine and waited politely for my guest to start conversing. I was barely able to hide my choking with the drink when he went right in the direction I least expected. "First of all, I wanted to present you my excuses for the unforgivable behavior of my late son towards you, and thank you deeply that you found it in your heart to honor his death despite that very same behavior."

"Despite his prejudices, Elam found his death covering my body with his. It was the least I could do for him." I tried to ease the mood and take the conversation to the main point, but Morham, Elam's father, pressed the issue further.

"I'm ashamed to admit that my son was an extremist supporter of the Elven Racial Superiority. Based on the details I received from my daughter, my guess is that he was out of himself arguing with you and that's why he unknowingly stood in the path of that arrow. If the situation had been different, he might very well have let you die right there."

Ugh, this is turning grimmer by the minute. After thinking about it for some seconds, I looked back at him and tried my best to be diplomatic. "Whatever it was the reason, it doesn't change the fact that I stand here because he saved my life with his. Let's not tarnish his memory any further, do you agree?"

He nodded his head with a relieved expression, that's when someone knocked the door and Ralya entered the library and sat by my side after exchanging greetings with Morham.

"The main reason that brings me here on such short notice is the fact that we're receiving a commercial delegation from your world, and my daughter Silna has been approached by a mining company. It looked like a great coincidence that we learned that you are out here in the fields thanks to that invitation for dinner tomorrow night."

Surprised, I asked, "Excuse me if I look dense, but where do I fit into this?"

Morham had a sip of his wine before answering, "Well, obviously because you are the Ambassador from your world in this region. Acting as a mediator in disputes and business deals is a part of your duties. We have already agreed to have a tour around the mining zone they want to exploit during the morning. We can meet to have the negotiations over tea and have some time of rest before attending your dinner-party."

I understood now. With a smile, I answered, "A friend of my grandfather's used to say 'duties are like rabid dogs, if you turn away from them they'll bite your back'. Don't worry, I'll be there without fault."

Without further ado, Morham excused himself to go back to his house, and my wife and I finally had a little time alone until dinner. Not even after five minutes of cuddling in the sofa of the library, Ralya spoke. "You do know you're being tested, right? From the start of this visit."

A little absentmindedly, I answered, "So he's going to use tomorrow's negotiations to know what kind of man I am?"

My wife pressed her back against my chest harder. "Not only that, he tested you since the start of the conversation, the way you answered to his revelations about Elam has raised your esteem in his eyes."

I tried to feign the tone of a horrified nobleman. "You dared eavesdropping in our conversation! Do you know no shame?" We laughed together, but I asked with a little of worry in my voice, "What should I do tomorrow? If I don't pass his test, it's possible he won't approve of me as Sil's husband."

Ralya stiffened a little, but then answered after calming down right away, "I think there is no right answer to this dilemma, so you should just be yourself and do what you think is right."

As both of us were starting to doze off, Ralya and I went downstairs for a quick dinner. The changes my body had went through thanks to my union with Ralya had helped my internal clock to adjust to the longer days and nights of this world, so now I didn't spend hours of darkness turning around in bed endlessly or ended up exhausted three hours before dinner. Even with that, we were both so tired that we didn't make love that night. It's not like newlyweds are doing it all the time, either.

The next morning, we didn't wake up especially early, and had a breakfast rich in proteins to help us cope with the day that awaited us. Dressed in our training clothes, my wife and I walked to the training grounds of our House and started stretching and warming up before putting on our training armor, obviously because they would get in the way if we didn't do it like this.

A couple of hours, some sparring sessions and several bruises later, the general consensus between my officers was that I had attained a solid base, although I still had room for improvement. Between the new moves I had learned since my wedding, now I could use my Spirit to dash towards my opponents, hit their legs with my armguard in order to reduce their chances of dodging and two new sword moves called Shoulder Stab, a move to reduce the enemy's attack speed, and Swift Slash, this one being a refined version of the old power slash. Given that at this moment we were doing purely physical training, I couldn't use any of the new Magic-related skills I had learned, but in exchange, this morning I got the gist of a new move to perform three strong slashes in a very rapid succession.

After barely evading an attack I didn't expect from Hjolmer, I finally called for a break. "I didn't know you could do something like that with a spear!" I told him while trying to catch my breath.

Hjolmer chuckled and said, "That's because this isn't a spear, it is a pole weapon, my Lord." He grabbed the training weapon with both hands to show me a practical demonstration. "Spear-type weapons can be used with one hand because they base most of their potential in thrust attacks, but pole weapons have to be used with both hands. To put it simply, spears are sticks with a knife on the tip used to stab from distance, but pole weapons have a blade used to cut in wide swiping moves. They have a tip to thrust in single combat, but in the end, pole weapons are basically a weapon designed for crowd control on the battlefield."

That made me realize even further my lack of real combat experience. I still had much to learn, not only about weapons, armors and tactics for single combat, but also regarding actual battles. According to Ralya, if our Household were to rise high enough in the social scale, maybe I would even have to learn about global strategy in case an international conflict were to arise. Conflicts between the Seven Races were usually mediated an resolved by the Draghans, but in the unclaimed lands the rise of warlords and bandit bosses trying to establish their own nation wasn't unusual at all.

I was considering these things when suddenly, a group of angry voices reached me from the edge of the training grounds. The sounds of the sparring matches faded as everyone started to turn around in confusion. As I was approaching the source of the commotion, I saw a Dwarf falling ostentatiously to the ground after being slapped.

Clad in a tight leather dress with tail, her thick pink mane flaming under the morning sun, Countess Tierra Volknarr turned her face to Ralya and bowed so lightly that she looked like she was just nodding her head. "Allow me to excuse myself on behalf of my underling, mistress of the Black Star," Tierra paused to kick the fallen Dwarf in the ribs. "You can rest assured that this asshole is gonna get his just desserts for his rudeness."

Ralya answered in a more dignified fashion even though she didn't look exactly like a queen being dressed in her training apparel. "I hope you aren't too harsh on him, after all, everyone makes mistakes." Could that right now have gone with a double meaning?

At that moment I reached my wife's side. Tierra nodded at her before turning to greet me. "Sir, I'm happy to see you in good health." Even though her words were cordial, her tone was cold, and her smile was sharp as a knife. By my side, Ralya whispered something into a soldier's ear, who took out running immediately.

"Likewise, Countess Volknarr. What do we owe the pleasure of your sudden visit? If you had announced yourself we could have received you at our house in the city with the commodities that belong to a guest of your rank." It's not that I was trying to accuse her of anything, I was just curious.

She shook her head to negate and answered, "The armor you ordered was ready for delivery, and when I learned you were out here, I thought I could bring it to you personally and settle scores." Her smile became somewhat predatory. "It's just my fucking luck that you're even in the training field and warmed up for the fight."

"Please, be rational, Countess. Isn't there any way to resolve this matter peacefully? I find it completely irrational that we have to kill each other because I saved your life." I pleaded, trying to make her understand my point of view.

She barked a laugh and shook her head again, making her splendid curly mane flow around her like a wave of flower petals. "I owe you every God damned instant of my life from here to the day I die, moron. Not only that, my children, my whole fucking lineage would owe everything to you. Even if I were to give you a damned kingdom and an army of a hundred thousand dressed in black meteorite armor wouldn't be enough, and..." For the first time, I saw her fidgeting and looking aside while blushing, which made her really cute. "Let's not forget that you stained my purity by touching my naked breast. I guess your wife has sent someone for your sword, so let's finish this shit with metal and blood. We fight to the death; if I win, I forgive your life an we're even. If you win, you better take my life or I'll be a pain in your ass until the day one of us ends up fucking the other."

One of her followers snickered, and in a flash of flowing pink hair, Tierra turned around and kicked his crotch. "Not in that sense, you fucking retard!" I have to admit I was starting to find her really cute when she blushed and acted that way, but the time for those things ended as the man Ralya had sent out returned with my sword, my tunic and an armguard I had never seen before.

Three of the Dwarves came to leave several envelopes at my feet and opened them while I was putting on my tunic. As I leaned to take the first piece of armor to put it on, Ralya grabbed my wrist with a little more force than necessary and said solemnly, "It is the duty of the wife to dress her husband for war." After saying this, she started with a pair of boots of thick skin with metal plates covering the feet, then the greaves that protected both the shin and the back of the leg and the kneepads. Next a broad belt with a series of metal plates connected between them to cover the outer side of the thighs, tied in place with small buckles right over the knee. Then came a leather vest which covered from the ribs up to the base of the neck, and had a similar system to that of the belt to cover my shoulders. The plates for the chest and the back clasped each other over the vest, and then came the pieces for the hands, wrists and elbows. Finally, Ralya gave me a brief but intense kiss before putting a helmet with its inside lined with padded leather over my head.