ALL NOVEL Chapter 181: Chapter 177
"My lord, there's a new bounty issued."
"New bounty?"
Inside the room that resembled an ancient imperial office, a well dressed man with a dignified aura of majesty raised his head from his paperwork and look his subordinate with a confused frown.
This subordinate in particular is his most trusted attendant which would bring up unimportant matters by mistake since his time has its worth in gold.
Taking the document offered by his subordinate, the man quickly scans it with his eyes before his expression turns for the worse.
"Ahem. Since Milord ordered me to personally inform anything in regards to the God of the Eastern Island…"
His subordinate with his head lowered, raised a little to take a peek at his lord's expression. What he sees is, as expected, anger and discontent.
"I want this bounty posted in every corner of the city and delivered to the people. Anyone that can capture or provide any clue to this criminal will be rewarded handsomely by me."
The man angrily slammed the document to his desk before hurrying his subordinate to complete his task.
"Of course, Milord."
The subordinate quickly left the office and left the man to his own thoughts.
The man glanced at the document once more which made him sighed deeply in frustration.
"Raiden Makoto… to think you would reject my courtship after benefiting so much from me only to boldly declare your affection to another person."
"Good. Good. To think I would be played like this and taken advantage of. If I do not display my might, everyone will start to look down on me."
The man's face twisted with anger as he stood up and left his office.
———
After two days of travel, Ray and Freya finally arrived at Taketsugu Port town.
From afar, the town was massive and bustling with activities from both sea and land.
Surrounded by tall and beautiful walls that look more like an art piece than an actual practical wall. The architecture style of the town is a mix of Japanese and Chinese style.
From outside, Ray saw a lot of people and horse-pulled carts lined outside the town gate. Most look like merchants with their carts that would either be empty or filled with cargo.
"Should we line up and enter properly or…"
Freya could finish her words when she felt her body sunk into Ray's shadow.
"Naturally, we sneak in."
Ray grinned before turning into a blur, jumping in and out of shadows like fish leaping in and out of water.
The reason why Ray did this is not only that he lacked documents and money to pass the gate normally. He is also now on the run. He didn't want to take any chances. Not especially when he could feel something tingling from his intuition trying to warn him of something bad.
After a few minutes, Ray emerged in a dark shaded alley with Freya who are now draped in a common looking robe to cover her eye-catching armor and gears.
Instead of looking for a ship to board, Ray closes his eyes as his body partially melded into the darkness. Within his mind, he could see numerous scenes scattered across the port town. He used his ability to turn any shadows into his eyes and
ears.
———
A scene depicting a manual labourer carrying cargo down from ship into the port while mumbling his thoughts.
"Hmn… what should I eat for dinner?"
Another scene in some shady alley with a group of gruff and shady looking gang members surrounding a poor man, extorting money.
"Cough up your protection tax if I make sure your shop goes out of business in a week."
Many more scenes played out in his mind but aren't the one he needed which Ray eliminated until he found the one he wanted.
In a higher end restaurant, a group of merchants are having their meal and drinking alcohol.
"Hmn, I heard the situation in Liyue is getting more severe. It's almost impossible to enter their waters let alone the port to trade with the ongoing invasion of the monsters and Gods from the sea."
"The war had been raging for almost half a year with no sign of ending. At this rate, the price of goods will spike as supplies dwindle especially for raw ores."
"This is also our opportunity! I knew someone from Monstadt that is willing to supply metal ores. But he will only exchange for rare and exotic foods and spices."
"Hmn, Monstadt is plagued with harsh winter wind. Naturally, their food supply is low with their inability to farm in such weather while having abundant ores they mined to trade."
"In any case, we must prepare appropriately. If we did it well, we could grow our influence to rival even the gods!"
"For our freedom!" x4
The merchants then cheered their mugs of beer before taking a big swig.
———
Exiting his mind, Ray came to a contemplation.
Apparently, there's a major war fought in Liyue which means entering the nation will be difficult.
But, Ray became even more eager because of the war since his purpose to enter Liyue is to benefit from the war to regain his power through consuming intense negative emotions of the people caused by the bloody war and also devouring powerful beings for their power and abilities.
Since there are no ships willing to sail to Liyue, Ray had to improvise a way. For his plan to work, Freya's cooperation is crucial…
"Hmn? Master wants me to use my Charm on those unworthy humans?" Freya shows an unexpected resistance to his order.
In Freya's mind, her beauty is dedicated to her Master alone. To reveal them to the unworthy is akin to using the highest quality silk as common rags to wipe stains. It's natural for her to show resistance to his order.
Ray however simply rolled his eyes at her hesitation.
It is true that she is unwilling because she dedicated her beauty for him only. But, that's not the main reason. It's merely an excuse. What she truly wanted is reward.
Even if her mind and soul is lobotomized in such a way that she would show Ray her absolute loyalty. She still retains the concept of motivation.
Previously she feared Ray to death so that she would never dare to cross any line because at that moment, her position is replaceable and he is strong enough that he could dispose of her without hesitation. As such, her motivation is fueled by her desire not to be seen as an annoyance and be disposed of. However, the present Ray is weak and mostly relied on her. Her position becomes irreplaceable.
With her position elevated overnight and power dynamic changed. Her motivation naturally changed too and was no longer driven by fear but by desire to earn his love.
For the past five years, she had been working hard without ever being rewarded. Thus, her motivation also dropped to the extent that she started to have rebellious thoughts like desperate workers that were forced into unpaid labour.
Ray definitely noticed it especially when she is not trying to be subtle about it starting when she openly defies his order five years ago after the battle with the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles where his power reached his lowest, she acted on her own input which derailed his plan although resulted with better outcome. But still, the sign is there.
Who knows what she might do in the future when she gets really impatient.
Trying to seal his power and turn him into a helpless person fully dependent on her isn't out of the realm of possibility when considering her darker obsessive love deep within her.
After careful consideration, Ray made his decision. For the time being, his best course of action was to properly control and maintain his best lifeline for survival.
With that thought in mind, Ray made an offer.
"If you do it, I'll properly reward you tonight." He said ambiguously but with enough hints from his expression and tone.
Freya looks stunned, dazed and stupefied by his sudden generosity. But none of it matters anymore to her when her face shows anticipation, excitement and hope.
Even if it's just a small dangling morsel. As long as she can feed off that maddening desire to fulfil her purpose as the Goddess of Love that is gnawing at her sanity and rationality, she is willing to take on the Heavenly Principles for him.
That's how desperate she is to gain his recognition despite knowing she is being forever cursed to be nothing more than a tool for his convenience instead of someone he considers as part of his family for her sin of offending him in the past.
Yet, she persists with the thought that eventually. Her efforts and sincerity will be recognised.
—————
AN: Yeah, this arc will feature Freya heavily. Her character is complicated and Ray had a valid reason to dislike her.
Original Freya's personality is… for the lack of words, bad. Sure, she is genuine with her love. But, Ray can't see any wife material in her although Ray is also a hypocrite for this with his own personality.
As for the deal with Freya's disobedience despite her brain being wired to show absolute loyalty can be explained as,
Freya loyalty is enforced by love. Her Divinity of Love is twisted into a leash that makes her unable to help but love Ray to the extent that her entire life purpose centered around him alone. This is because brainwashing isn't absolute imo as shown in other media that willpower can overcome it.
In Freya's case, she is a Goddess of Love. Love is part of the core(concept) that made up her existence (soul).
So, by twisting her original concept of 'love' from obsessing over pretty souls or something, to dedicating every fiber of her existence to serve him.
But in the situation where obeying his order would cause him to die while disobeying would result with him ro surviving. She would obviously choose the latter because she can't express her love if Ray dies. Thus, Ray must be alive first and foremost before anything else.
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