Things had been progressing smoothly until now. Madame Vera and I were getting closer by the day, and it was only a matter of time before I would gain a new Attraction Point.
Over the past few days, I hadn't quite managed to get intimate with her, meaning that the perk I had acquired through the Taming Tree hadn't been used yet. But… I was waiting for the right moment, and I had a feeling that maybe today would be the day.
"Are you ready to go to the bazaar?" Vera asked with her usual sweet voice.
She wore a very nice, long, white dress that complemented her figure perfectly. She also had a very large hat, which gave her a mysterious charm.
"Yes, let's go!" I replied as I finally finished getting ready.
We both left the estate, and right in front of the entrance, a carousel was waiting for the two of us. However, with the carousel, there was also a beautiful woman whom I had seen a few times while peeking out the windows into the training grounds.
She wore some light armor with a sword in its sheath. With a glance, it was easy to tell that she had gone through some harsh training.
"Miss Vera, if you may," she moved aside as she opened the door to the carousel with a bright smile on her face.
"Oh, thank you, Sariah!"
But then, when it was my turn, she lost her smile and didn't hold the door for me.
I didn't make a huge deal out of it. However, it was clear from her behavior that she didn't like me very much.
Nevertheless, Sariah wasn't allowed inside the carriage; she waited outside, peeking in once in a while with a clear frown on her face every single time.
"Why are you sitting there, Zale? Come sit here!" Morgana muttered with a bright smile as she tapped on the seat right beside her.
As I went toward the seat, I noticed that Sariah looked fuming with anger, as if she wanted to kill me right there and then.
But then, as our eyes met, a small panel of information appeared before me, similar to the one Morgana had.
[Taming Status: Sariah Elis]
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman
Status: Single
Strength: 123
Agility: 132
Intelligence: 60
Charm: 72
Loyalty: 0
Obedience: 0
Corruption: 1
Libido: 100
Affection: ♡♡♡♡♡ (0/5)
Skills: Sword Master (Passive) - Lvl.MAX, Sword Instinct (Passive) - Lvl.MAX
'What the hell did I do to anger her!' I thought inwardly as I looked at her status.
She seemed to be a highly loyal person to Lady Vera, and she was also much stronger than Lady Vera herself, who also had quite high stats. However, what caught my eye was her high Libido. If I was able to raise her Affection for me, then there was a chance that she would be a great addition to my "tamings".
However, with her current behavior raising her Affection would be a much harder task by all means. I had only seen her a few times, and I had never talked to her. But she was already looking at me as if I were some kind of monster.
Nevertheless, I quickly looked away from her as Morgana took my full attention.
"Are you excited?"
"Yes, thank you so much for agreeing!"
Morgana smiled as she pulled me closer to her. "It's only normal for you to have hobbies. To think that you wanted to start training in the sword."
I awkwardly smiled as I felt the killing intent from Sariah outside the carriage, who was surely listening to the conversation. I ignored it.
Gaining Affection Hearts from Morgana was great, but the real objective was still to prepare for the entrance of the Academy, which was still quite far away. Nevertheless, getting stronger also needed to be one of my main preoccupations.
That's why, yesterday, I decided to ask Morgana about buying a sword so that I could start training. I expected her to refuse, but… it was the complete opposite; she didn't even try to refuse. She happily agreed, saying that it was a great idea.
And that's why we're here, inside of this carousel.
Suddenly, Morgana leaned closer with a smile on her lips and whispered, "If you want, I could ask Sariah to train you. She's one of the best knights of our estate. She would be a great teacher."
I silently gulped as I could still feel her deadly gaze on me through the carousel's window.
"Right…"
Having her as my sword instructor could definitely be a double-edged sword.
***
A few minutes later, we finally arrived in the city that Morgana was in charge of, and things were bustling, to say the least.
The streets were filled with all kinds of people: kids running around, merchants shouting to sell their wares, families roaming around buying their groceries.
The atmosphere was completely different from the quiet one of the Vera Estate. It was a nice change of pace, for sure.
"Sariah, what's the best swordsmith in the city?"
"T-The best swordsmith?! You want to buy him a sword of this caliber?" Sariah's eyes widened. "Are you sure you don't want to buy him a random sword? With his skill, that should be enough."
Morgana frowned at Sariah in response. "How dare you talk back to me? If I ask you to point me toward the best swordsmith in the city, you will do it without a word. And to answer your question…" Morgana pulled me into her embrace again w ith a slight blush as if I were her own child. "I want to buy him the best sword on the market. He deserves it."
Sariah squinted her eyes as she immediately gave me yet another deadly gaze before quickly turning around. "Fine. Then follow me; I will show you the way."