Travel to Nurid
After the emperor's declaration, Cassian and Olivia packed their clothes which fit in a single rucksack and got into a beast drawn carriage which belonged to the count's family. Thus, the party of four excluding the carriage driver began their journey to Nurid.
In the carriage, which looked comfortable enough for four people, Olivia and Cassian sat on one side while Sebas and Alice sat on the other side. Cassian looked at the serious poker faces of Sebas and Alice and considered one very important question. Do they even like this marriage? Although they exchanged pleasantries before, they did not have a chance to have a meaningful conversation.
"Do you like this marriage at all?" asked Cassian bluntly. Alice and Sebas were initially surprised but quickly resumed their poker face.
"We respect the king's decision" answered Sebas. Even though Cassian found Alice to be extremely pretty and could not help but look and admire at her beauty, he persisted.
"There's no need to be diplomatic. I and my mother were sent far away from the capital so that they don't have to look at our faces. If you do not like this arrangement, we can go our separate ways once we reach Nurid and no one needs to know about it." Although he wished otherwise. Olivia too looked at Sebas and Alice curiously expecting an answer.
Cassian found that mortal women of this world and his previous world are similar in terms of beauty. However, women who could accumulate qi in their bodies possess beauty that could not be compared to mortal women. Men are handsome as well. He hypothesized that the qi which they use to sustain themselves purifies the body as compared to the food which leaves impurities behind. Naturally, people with higher cultivation are even more beautiful/handsome. However, there are exceptions like Alice and Olivia who got lucky genetically.
The light clothing sense of the people in this world does not help either. There's a valid reason for it though – majority of the qi absorbed by the body is through skin and not by nostrils/mouth. So, people either wear baggy clothes or are scantily dressed. It depends on an individual's preference. Olivia prefers skimpy clothes as she grew up in a brothel. Most nobles prefer to wear baggy clothes although, there are exceptions. Alice wore baggy clothes but Cassian imagined her to have a great body that would complement her beautiful face. He came out of his thoughts when Alice replied.
"I have a childhood friend who is the only child of a local merchant family. We liked each other, but his parents did not let him marry me because of my low talent. He was married to some girl from a distant trader's family a year ago. Although you're a stranger to me, I want to give this marriage a chance" said Alice shyly.
Cassian looked at Sebas who said "I care for my daughter a lot, and I respect her decisions. My only wish is for you to treat her nicely"
It was awkward for a few moments before Cassian felt the need to know more about her life. After a few days of small talk, everyone opened up and felt more comfortable speaking their mind.
Cassian slowly unraveled that Alice had grown up without any involvement from her mother who is a married commoner from a trading family that conducted business in the northwestern regions. She left as soon as she gave birth and never came back to Nurid again. Alice is 18 years old and has a few childhood friends who are from merchant and trader families. He also learned that the entire region of Nurid is administered by Count Sebas with the help of two viscounts and four barons. She has one sister, Eve who possessed green talent and was married to the younger son of a local viscount. Eve helps her father in administering the region while Alice's daily life consists of just traveling around Nurid witnessing everyday activities of mortals and commoners. She acts a bridge between commoners and nobles by communicating their problems with Eve or Sebas.
Cassian was surprised to know that more than 95 percent of Nurid's population are cultivators. This pretty much has to do with the fact that Nurid was the safest location and is thus a lucrative spot for growing herbs and rearing beasts. There is practically no crime here as the count's family policing and punishments are pretty harsh. Moreover, cultivators have grown used to their monotonous life. There is also the fact that in Nurid, mass migration is prohibited. Outsiders including nobles from other regions cannot own houses in Nurid. This law was enacted thousands of years ago to stop mortals and cultivators from overcrowding Nurid. The ancestors of Count Sebas were lucky in that regard.
There are no qi stone mines in Nurid – which primarily is the source of employment for mortals. Sebas spoke about his duties and the problems of Nurid as well. The local population is easy going and was extremely relaxed. However, the majority of problems were centered around the crimes committed by moving traders and their rude interactions with locals. Olivia, although did not have much experience, gave surprisingly reasonable and innovative ideas on solving those problems, causing Sebas to look at her differently.
Alice wore baggy clothes that covered everything from her neck to her ankles. 'I have to change the way Alice dresses' thought Cassian. He then looked at Olivia's bombastic figure. Olivia, who was in a mask, was dressed in a green colored summer dress which accentuated her now E-cup boobs highlighted by her nipples. Her dress only covered the uppermost portion of her thighs and would often provide titillating view for those who dared to peek. Sebas sat back for most of the journey in hopes of getting a glimpse but was left frustrated with his failure and an obviously visible erection which everyone in the carriage noticed. Olivia guessed his dick size to be in the larger end of the spectrum and was obviously thrilled. Cassian could not help but sympathize with Sebas but he was glad that he wore a baggy robe. He adopted this fashion sense as he often finds himself in close proximity with Olivia due to their bond. Both of them are attracted towards each other, but did not dare to take any step in that regard as they were in the castle. Any wrong move could have devastating consequences especially when Erik declared Olivia as solely his by marrying her in spite of her red talent. Moreover, their daily torturous life made it difficult to have distracting thoughts.
Incest between cultivators is not a taboo in this world as there is no chance of having a baby with deformities. However, most people would not practice this as it would cause unnecessary friction between a father and son or a mother and daughter. Royals and nobles typically would look for someone outside their family, however, they will not hesitate with incestuous sibling marriages if they do not find anyone suitable from outside their family.
After 45 days of a peaceful yet peculiar journey where Cassian/Sebas could not stop themselves from secretly looking at Alice/Olivia, the party reached the sea facing town of Drexia, the capital of Nurid. Cassian and Olivia loved the town the moment they set foot in it. It is peaceful except for the main market street and has a pleasant climate. It was winter right now, but the weather in Drexia is mild yet sunny. They arrived at the count's castle where they met Eve who was just as skimpily dressed as Oliva, her husband Davis and the count's wife, Gloria who wore baggy clothes. Both Eve and Gloria were absolutely gorgeous and busty.
Eve and Davis live in a nearby house and were here to greet the newest addition to their family. They spent some time having small talk and when the night approached, Sebas instructed their butler Keith (a middle aged looking man who was in late foundation establishment realm) to take the trio to their new house.
It was a decent bungalow which is located a bit further away from the busy market and the count's castle. It is surrounded by bushy trees and has a certain sense of privacy to it. The backyard of the house has its own restricted beach access. The entire area has formations that have self-cleaning features and also provides privacy to the residents. When the formations are active, anyone looking from outside would only be able to look at a hazy and distorted reality. The greatest thing about these formations is that it only requires 1 qi stone per year to operate effectively. Cassian felt that this house looked like one of those fanciful beach houses of Caribbean on earth, yet looks modest compared to a noble's castle.
Cassian felt extremely satisfied with this new house of his and appropriately paid Keith a sum total of 100 qi stones from his rucksack. He knew that this is a large amount, but he was loaded as Erik provided Cassian and Olivia with 10,000 qi stones for their expenses.
A/N: a single qi stone is almond sized for reference.
"No, my lord. This is a gift from Count Sebas to the newly wedded couple. Hope you have a great and exciting married life" said Keith. He took a quick look at Olivia as he immediately left after denying the payment.
Cassian could not help but appraise this nice but perverted man. He noticed Keith occasionally glancing at Olivia and Alice. Especially at Olivia's boobs and ass. Free from his previously horrible life, Cassian could not help but think of new and exciting possibilities when he looked at Olivia and Alice. He got hard thinking about his perverted desires and thought of potentially involving Keith in his future debauchery.
"Well, let's go in and explore our new house" said Cassian excitedly. Olivia was the first to run into the house.
The bungalow has a spacious living room, small dining room that also included kitchen (since people don't eat regularly, kitchens and dining rooms are rare features) and three moderately sized bedrooms all of which look the same. There is a spacious bathroom with a huge jacuzzi as well. Cultivators never shit (except when tortured or if they are below eight years old) but they bath whenever possible even though they do not sweat and only excrete impurities through their skin when they advance a level.