Hard to Understand

Lucien and Brigantiea watched the workers preparing to go home, enjoying the peaceful scenery of the village. Despite its small size, it held a nostalgic charm.

Finding a small hill nearby, they settled there, basking in the tranquility of the day, knowing it would be their last together.

"Time sure flies," Lucien remarked, breaking the silence.

"It does," Brigantiea agreed, her gaze fixed on the orange hues of the sky.

"Well, our first meeting wasn't the best, but I'm glad I found someone who could alleviate my pent-up energy," Lucien said with a chuckle, leaning back against the tree behind him. "Thank you for everything."

Brigantiea furrowed her brows in response. "Why are you saying this?"

Lucien was puzzled by her reaction. "Isn't it the end of your mating season? I thought you'd be letting me go after seven days."

"Who said that?" Brigantiea's tone grew colder.

"You did! And Gibson, I think?" Lucien tried to recall if Gibson had mentioned anything like that.

Brigantiea remained silent, turning her gaze back to the sky. "I'm going to stay here for a while."

"Why? There's nothing particularly interesting here. Shouldn't you be doing dragon things? Staying with humans might bore you," Lucien attempted to persuade her.

He genuinely likes Brigantiea, but he couldn't help but think it might not be wise for her to stay in the village, given his limited understanding of dragon temperament.

It might be best if they met in her own domain, should he miss her. After all, it wasn't far from the village.

But Brigantiea seemed to perceive it differently, "Are you trying to make me leave?" her face contorted into anger. In her life, she never once was unwelcome, especially with humans.

"No, it's not like that," Lucien hurriedly explained, sensing he had touched a nerve.

But then a thought struck him. Maybe Brigantiea truly wanted to stay, and he needed to negotiate.

"You can stay as long as you want if you agree to mentor me in magic," he proposed.

Lucien had been contemplating learning magic due to the dangers of the world. With unpredictable monsters, dungeons, and potential threats to the village, he couldn't always rely on others, especially his family.

There might come a day when they are separated, and he needs to be prepared. Learning magic from a dragon, known for their expertise, seemed like a logical choice.

"No," Brigantiea's response was firm and final. Rising to her feet, she declared, "And I'll stay whenever I want. You can't stop me," before disappearing.

Lucien was flabbergasted, remaining in the same spot until nightfall. He couldn't fathom what he had done wrong to make Brigantiea leave like that.

Returning to his cottage, he found he couldn't access his bedroom as Brigantiea had locked it.

"Hey, don't be cranky like that!" Lucien knocked on the door repeatedly, but there was no response.

"Just give up, son. You can't beat a sulky woman. Just sleep in the living room tonight," Cassius advised, holding a pillow as he headed to the living room.

Lucien facepalmed in frustration and followed his dad. With no sofa available, they ended up sleeping on the floor, sharing the same pillow and sleeping side by side. He couldn't help but feel awkward about sleeping next to his father.

Lucien suddenly said, "So... What did you do?"

"I fucked up... I lost the precious garlic your mother loves the most. Looks like I'll be sleeping here for the rest of the week," Cassius lamented, gazing at the ceiling with a guilty expression.

"I see... So Mother is still searching for that garlic, huh?" Lucien found it amusing that amidst the harshness of this world, his mother's concern remained fixated on garlic.

"Hey! Your mother's world revolves around food! The cuisine in this world is as bland as water. So don't mock your mother," Cassius scolded, furrowing his brows, looking at his son as if he wanted to choke him.

Lucien gulped, realizing he had struck a nerve. "Sorry, Father... That's not what I meant."

"Stop calling me 'Father' like that. We're not some fancy family!" Cassius retorted.

"Alright..." Lucien nodded since he didn't want to get into trouble.

"What about you? What did you do, son?" Cassius inquired.

"I... Bid her farewell, but she refused to leave the village. I tried to persuade her to leave, which only made her angry."

He paused, taking a deep breath, "So, I suggested that she could stay if she taught me magic," Lucien explained, perplexed by her reaction.

"I don't understand what I did wrong."

Cassius sighed and delivered a light smack to Lucien's head. "You don't see what you did wrong? I didn't raise you to be an insensitive bastard."

"What the hell, Dad? I still don't get it," Lucien grumbled, rubbing his head. His father might not have realized it, but Cassius was tougher than the average person.

"What do you think about your relationship with her for the last seven days?" Cassius tried to be more patient and asked his son gently.

"Well, just physical attraction? It's all about lust I think." Lucien answered honestly.

Lucien never tried to romance Brigantiea, and so did she. The two of them just have fun and have sex as much as they want. It wasn't love, wasn't it?

"Right? Imagine using her body and then telling her to leave when she is no use anymore," Cassius said, trying to remain patient despite his frustration.

"You even want her to teach you magic. You take away many things from her without giving anything back.'

"Uh... I mean, yeah, I guess... I kind of a jerk?" Lucien replied, that his father was right, he acted like a total bastard.

"Just talk to her about why she's upset. Making excuses or assumptions won't solve anything," Cassius advised, ending the conversation and turning away, hoping to get some sleep.

While Lucien ponders how to ask for forgiveness since he said such things to her. Would she just forgive him like that?

So in the end, he didn't sleep all night long.

***

As morning dawned, Lucien resumed his duties overseeing the construction workers. The presence of the golems proved invaluable, aiding the workers in reaching high points of the wall and transporting heavy objects with ease.

Inspecting the wall's progress, Lucien noted the details for reference:

[Giant Wall of Euclair]

[Height: 35 m.]

[Width: 10 m.]

[Length: 5 km.]

-------------------------------------------------

[Construction Status: In Progress]

[Damaged Section: H: 20 m, W: 10 m, L: 100 m.]

[Workers: 100, with 2 Golems assisting.]

[Completion Rate: 15%]

Frowning at the slow progress, Lucien pondered the implications. 'At this rate, it'll take a year or more to complete.'

Despite his focus on the construction, his mind was also preoccupied with Brigantiea, who had been sulking for the past two days.

'What should I do about her? I tried to talk to her, but she remained behind that closed door.'

"My Lord, something seems to be bothering you?" Gibson's voice cut through Lucien's thoughts. "And I haven't seen Lady Brigantiea for the past two days."

Lucien snapped out of his reverie and replied, "Ah yes... We do need more workers."

He paused, considering his next question carefully. "You have a wife, don't you? If she were upset, what would you do?"

Gibson's eyes widened, and he chuckled. "I'd typically give her a gift she likes and apologize."

Nodding thoughtfully he decided to do what Gibson said, every woman loves gifts.

After that, Lucien continued to discuss the construction problem, "If we need more workers, can we acquire serfs?"

"We can, but our funds are limited. We might need to borrow from Lord Edgarda," Gibson replied cautiously, aware of Lucien's desire to distance the village from the lord.

"As I recall, weren't you also appointed by him? Ideally, I'd like to minimize our ties with him," Lucien stated firmly.

"Yes, My Lord. While Lord Edgarda appointed me, my allegiance lies with you and the villagers. My attachment to the villagers surpasses any ties to him," Gibson affirmed, bowing respectfully to underscore his dedication.

Lucien stroked his chin, contemplating the situation. He activated his unique skill, "All-Seeing-Eyes," to assess Gibson's loyalty.

[Name: Gibson]

[Age: 50 years old]

[Race: Human]

[Class: - ]

[Experience: Village Chief, Bookkeeping, Planning, Organizing, Diplomacy.]

-------------------------------

[Satisfaction rate: 40/100]

[Loyalty rate: 60/100]

Satisfied with what he saw, Lucien decided not to dwell on it further.

"I'll consider it for a while. With more golems on the way, perhaps we won't need to rely on serfs," Lucien remarked before bidding farewell to Gibson.

But before he could go, there was a big commotion inside the construction site. People were gathering and some even yelling in a panic tone.

"Don't crowd around! He might get sicker!" one of the workers urged.

Lucien and Gibson quickly made their way through the crowd, they parted to let them through, and Lucien could see a man lying unconscious on the ground.