Kiss the Hulder

Relocating to the Garden of Naiads, I leaned on the railing of a bridge that overlooked the water.

I'm not really sure why but the Eastern Kingdoms always made me want to visit a shrine to be cleansed. Since there were no Shinto shrines nearby, I could only make do with the untainted environment of this grotto.

Theoretically, I knew enough about the Forbidden magics of Gaellia to know that undead are usually created from curses. It's not the zombie plague that was common to see in theaters back home but it was magically just as tainted.

"Hey, what do you think about the undead?" I asked the hulder that were frolicking in the water.

"Draugr? They are usually pitiful, twisted puppets," one of them answered and others murmured their agreement.

Maybe I'm focusing on the Night of the Living Dead scenario happening in the east a bit too much. But it's really hard to consider the situation in the Eastern Kingdoms without the zombies, considering how they were sometimes used as disposable soldiers.

King Zadok, the one that sent representatives, was known to be moderate. He followed Crown City's stance on Forbidden Magic being illegal (though, in reality, who really knows) and treated his people with more courtesy than some of the other rulers of the east.

Like Kamila. The only queen regnant in the Eastern Kingdoms. I'm not sure what was heresy but what was definitely true was that she had a court of necromancers at her beckoning. Her reign was partially possible since reviving the dead was Forbidden and could get a bounty on your head faster than killing a living person, so the fleeing "criminals" went into her open arms, the queen who welcomed their abilities.

[Nori—]

"Do you have troubles with draugr, Cousin?"

I suddenly found myself eye-to-eye with the hulder that often took to be the spokesperson of the group. Jerking back at the sudden proximity, I straightened and stared uneasily as the beautiful magical being continually dripped water on the railing as she propped herself up with magic.

She smiled coquettishly at me, her hand drawing magic to form a globe of water. "A sprinkle of this and no draugr would bother you anymore, Cousin."

"Really. … and what do you want in exchange?"

"Just a little kiss."

…

I felt 37 in my mind, unsure but not alarmed.

If it was a kiss, I can do that. Let's just hope this isn't some obscure thing that can steal my soul, though.

Warily, I gripped the railing tightly before I leaned forward until our lips met.

"Nori."

I straightened up and turned around. I gawked when I saw Taskill Lornwisp, the Head Librarian. Until now, I thought the alfr basically lived in the Library, so seeing him outside was somewhat of a shock.

Remembering what I was doing before the alfr called my name, I glanced back only to see all of the hulder gone with only the floating ball of water still present.

<Hulder-Blessed Water>

Skimming the description, I placed it in my Inventory to split into vials later.

"You should be careful of the hulder, Nori. You're their type," the Head Librarian commented as he glanced toward the empty waters.

I laughed awkwardly, "I will, Sir."

He didn't really have to tell me this. I was more than aware that the hulder wanted me in the water for some reason or another.

Considering folktales from Earth, it was either to drown me or eat me. I didn't think they ate humans, considering the alliance, but… well, I am very delicious-looking.

The AI sighed.

"Mister Lornwisp, I actually was wondering about something," I took the chance opportunity and jogged up to the Head Librarian.

The alfr had continued walking before settling on a bench overshadowed by a willow tree (well, it looked like one). "Oh?"

"Yes, I helped one of the Eastern Contingent members with her errands earlier and we conversed a bit."

"Is that so?" the alfr calmly responded before gesturing to the empty part of the bench. "What is it that you were wondering about?"

I took his offer and sat down on the other side of the bench. "I'm wondering about the current political situation and King Zadok's place in it."

"Ah, no wonder. The books in the Library can only tell you of past history and not of history as it's being made," was the Head Librarian's zen reply as he rubbed his chin.

"Ahaha… yes." I knew it wasn't a dig considering the librarians were bigger bookworms than I was.

"There are eight kingdoms in the east right now. Originally, there were seven territories until Kamila murdered her father and set off and created her own kingdom over the last two decades. So now there are seven kings with the high-king ruling them all.

"Compared to most of the others, King Zadok is a fair king…" Taskill slowly started to explain.

I remained quiet as the Head Librarian talked about the east, just taking the information the alfr was giving me. Most of the impromptu lecture was spoken without bias except for one point: I could tell that Taskill did not like King Zadok despite him being a fair ruler.

It was more a mild distaste that I saw originated from the habits of the wealthy and prominent taking multiple wives and mistresses. The alven race was monogamous, I learned during my studies, and while they were okay with human habits (adultery, divorce) when it came to romantic relationships, I suppose harems were too much for them to tolerate.

Taskill and Elin were related. So, to a male whose wife had long passed, it was probably not odd for him to judge such "fickle" customs as something disagreeable. The Head Librarian was Elin's great-grandfather, after all, so his wife had been human.

Thanking the alfr and leaving him to his obvious reminiscing mood, I left the grotto and headed toward Lanturn Avenue for dinner.

…

Tilting my head down, my eyes drifted unseeingly to the people behind me.

'Is anyone following us?'

[Negative.]

I frowned at his reply.

Somehow, they were hiding from 37's radar because I was familiar enough with being stalked back on Earth to realize it was happening. Right now.