Cthulhu Gonfalon

At that time, the Keane City was a mess indeed.

Plenty of aggressive guys had flushed into the city. They were like a group of sharks attracted by the smell of fish or a horde of flies chasing after decayed corpses, making others feel disgusted.

Most of these guys had bad personalities, and some of them were even the trash of society. As for those with good personalities, how many of them could do things as disgusting as stealing from a little girl while her brother was dying?

Sui Xiong scanned the whole city carefully and found an old acquaintance among them.

It was a middle-aged man with half of his hair turned gray. He was calm and peaceful, and his words and deeds were full of confidence and charm. He, both a bard and a thief, wasn’t weak at all. His overall strength had reached the advanced level, which made him a real master.

Compared to Sui Xiong, this man’s strength wasn’t even worth mentioning, but what interested Sui Xiong was his identity.

Sui Xiong had met this man several decades ago, not long after his arrival in this land. At that time, Sui Xiong had been planning to build his own church, so he had traveled a long distance to recruit excellent administrators for his territory, from the northwestern Ashes Woods to the southern Mifata Fedaration.

On the way, he had passed an Explored Territory called Geerteng Viscount Hill, which was located on the border of civilized society. At that time, the old Hill Lord had died, and Miss Steele, the heir, had been so open with her sexuality that nobody had liked her. Then, a young man named Romon had appeared. He brought some proof left by the old Viscount Geerteng that indicated that he was the illegitimate son of Viscount Geerteng. He wanted to compete for the inheritance.

It was quite a long story. At last, the successor who was named to Viscount Geerteng was neither Steele nor Romon, but a little girl named Olian, who hadn’t been famous before the decision.

Olian was from the collateral branches of the Geerteng Family, which had been originally in a low spot in the order of inheritance. But at that time, she was the most talented and most likely to lead Geerteng to prosperity, so Sui Xiong had used a Divination Spell to find her, then helped her become a Hill Lord.

Certainly, Olian was powerful. She was the only student of the famous Legendary Master, Black Blade, or Wall. After Wall was given the divine title of God of Knowledge and Education, she became his only electorate, acquiring an immortal life and great power.

Now, Olian Geerteng had become a world-renowned master and sage and led the Geerteng Hill in steady progress. This small and remote territory had become the largest stationery production center in the whole Main Plane. In addition to the recently launched herbal cultivation industry, the residents in Geerteng Hill, though not large in number, enjoyed a very high per capita income, which was probably second only to that of the well-known Void Mask Land.

Geerteng Hill was somewhat similar to Keane Hill. The only difference was that the Hill Lord of Geerteng Hill was powerful. She also had powerful support behind her. Thus, no one dared to take her territory, but Keane Hill had a weak base, and the most powerful characters there were a few high-level adventurers. Besides, it didn’t have a powerful support backing it up. If not, how dare this group of unknown guys come to Keane Hill and chase after the baron’s sister while he was still alive?

After Olian had inherited Viscount Geerteng’s title, she had expelled Steele, who had lost the competition for the inheritance. Later, Steele had followed Sui Xiong and gained experience. Now, she had become the director of the Red Pig Clinic in the Void Mask Land, and was also a world-famous master in medicine and first aid.

However, she was more famous for her uncontrolled lifestyle. She had once said that she could sleep with anyone, as long as they were a man. In recent years, it had developed to the point that she could sleep with anyone, as long as they were strong or lovely, whether a man or a woman…

Another competitor for the inheritance of Viscount Geerteng was Romon. However, when he had been about to be exposed as a fake illegitimate son, he had seized the moment that Sui Xiong and fled. Nobody knew where he was going. Sui Xiong didn’t meet him again until that day.

Decades later, Romon was much older. His hair was half gray, and his face was wrinkled, but he was still handsome, and he looked more mature and reliable. He was working as a teacher and military adviser to a second son of a nobleman, planning for this young boy to get both beauty and money.

Wearing a monocle, Romon, who looked like a scholar, asked gently, “Young Master Stephen, what do you think is your advantage?”

The one named Stephen was a teenager, about fourteen or fifteen years old. He looked very young, and his eyes were full of naivety, showing his lack of social experience. It was hard to explain why his family had sent this young boy to make a proposal. He had such a silly and soft appearance! It was a miracle that he hadn’t been murdered and robbed on the way.

“I think… I’m from the Carter Family. Does that count?” Stephen thought for a moment and asked with little confidence.

Romon smiled and shook his head. “The Carter Family, as the famous earl in the Kingdom of thousands of Springs, is certainly very influential. However, Young Master Stephen, you are only the sixth successor of the Carter Family. There are three older brothers and two uncles before you. Unless they all die of a sudden illness, it’ll never be your turn to inherit the title of earl. If they really do die all of a sudden, I’m afraid the whole Carter Family will encounter a huge crisis, and then the title of earl won’t be yours, either. On the contrary, it may be your turn to die with them.”

“Wow… Teacher, please don’t be so mean to me.”

“I’m just letting you know the reality as soon as possible.” Romon smiled with no mercy. “Okay, that was a wrong answer. Tell me your advantage again!”

Stephen thought for a long time and answered, “I’m handsome.”

Romon looked at Stephen’s face carefully and nodded. “Well, that’s right. Your appearance is in the top ten among the suitors here. If you dress up well, you will hopefully be in the top five.”

“Then am I right?” The young boy was happy.

Romon’s face immediately turned gloomy. “Absolutely wrong! What can a good-looking man do? Are you going to sing an opera?”

“It’s said that Mr. Crick loved art very much. Maybe he’ll like someone who can sing opera,” the young boy whispered. “Actually, I’m very good at singing.”

Romon sighed deeply. Sui Xiong, who was hiding in the air above their heads, could clearly feel that Romon was trying to suppress his anger and frustration.

After a long time, Romon calmed down and sighed. “Young Master Stephen, if the baron is in good health, maybe you can really win his appreciation with your handsome appearance and excellent literary talent. It might even possible for you to be allowed to marry his sister. But please note that the baron is seriously ill now, at a critical moment of life and death. At this time, what he needs isn’t a handsome and talented brother-in-law, but an excellent man who can protect his sister and the Keane Hill!”

“I surely can’t do that.” Stephen hung his head and his face was full of frustration. “I’m not good with swords, bows, or arrows! Even my spells aren’t very powerful. I’m confident in singing, but not fighting.”

Romon knew clearly about the strength of this young boy. It would be impossible for this young boy to protect a girl coveted by countless villains, as well as the rich, but not powerful enough, Keane Hill.

“That’s a wise judgment, Young Master. You’re actually very clever, but you still need some time to grow up.” Romon laughed and encouraged his student, then said, “In fact, you only see the negative sides of yourself, but not the positive sides.”

“What’s positive?” Stephen asked curiously.

“First, your age.” Romon smiled and said, “I’ve investigated that among the suitors here, not including those mysterious guys hiding something, you’re the youngest one with a good family background. You’re likely to make a proposal successfully.”

“Is age an advantage?” Stephen asked, puzzled.

“Of course it is!” A symbolically confident smile appeared on Romon’s face. “Miss Anna is only fourteen years old. Among other suitors, the youngest one is twenty-two years old. You’re the only one close to her in terms of age.”

“Twenty-two and fourteen… There isn’t a big difference, is there? My uncle married a fourteen-year-old girl when he was forty.”

“I’ve seen a man marry a fourteen-year-old girl at sixty, not to mention forty.” Romon laughed. “But in that case, it was always an unequal marriage, or even a man who was just playing with a girl. In aristocratic society, there can’t be too big a difference in age in an equal marriage. There is certainly not an unacceptable gap between twenty-two and fourteen, but in contrast, aren’t fifteen and fourteen more suitable?”

Stephen thought for a moment and nodded softly. “If that’s the case, I think I really have an advantage.”

“Besides, you don’t belong to any church right now, so you can change your belief in God at any time. As far as I know, Miss Anna is a follower of His Majesty Void Mask. You can also believe in him.” When Romon mentioned the Void Mask, he was a bit melancholy. Sui Xiong clearly saw that from the sky and couldn’t help laughing secretly.

“The Void Mask? Teacher, don’t you often say that he’s a little unreliable?” Stephen asked curiously.

“Yes, he is somewhat unreliable, but he’s powerful enough!” Romon grinned bitterly and said, “For us now, the most important thing is for you to make the proposal successfully. It will win you a firm foundation and protect you from being hurt by others in the competition for the inheritance of Carter Family. Thus, everything else can be dealt with.”

Hearing that, Sui Xiong was a bit angry. What did ‘everything else can be dealt with’ mean? Sui Xiong thought he was a good God. In these years, he had never done anything terrible, such as killing or robbing the poor, nor had he done anything immoral, such as bullying widows or digging others’ graves. How could believing in a God like him be conceding something? Sui Xiong also found Romon was a bit discontent. What? Romon, is there anything for you to be discontent with? Are you a decent guy? You’ve tried to take another’s property by pretending to be his illegitimate son, so how do you even deserve to be called a decent person? What a shame!

But even so, Sui Xiong had to admit that Stephen seemed to be a good choice.

Sui Xiong hadn’t met Romon, a jerk, for decades. And this time when they met, Roman had given him such a big present…