Chapter 46

  Over the course of what would be called days on this new planet, Wes and the rest of his companions had become settled into their own routines. If not for the girls sharing with him that months had passed, he would have no real way of telling, other than watching his experience tick up. Doing the math on exactly how much time had passed would be more trouble than it was worth at this point.

  After spending time on Pyrronia’s training planet, he had grown used to the idea of night lasting a long time, but after he was informed that he would have to wait another seven months for the sun to rise, he gave up on the idea of seeing the white sun-cracked planet in the light of day. From what Wes was told, to walk around in the sun at all, you would need the resilience of significant levels to withstand the heat.

  When Wes first pushed for an answer to just how many would be needed, the answer was always along the same lines. They would say, “When you can step outside and not die, that’s when you know you're strong enough.”

  The Perplexing Nature of ChiShiKi 1 was something that Wes could not wrap his head around. On the one hand, everyone whom he had come to meet was supposed to be some of the strongest in the entire empire, but they spoke of things in the most roundabout manner. To try to gauge anything in Human terms was impossible. Their culture did not race to classify anything like the Human one he was born into. They also didn’t wish to measure each other. Over the many true days he had spent, he would go to sleep wondering how they all knew who was the strongest. The question, for some reason, drove Wes crazy. The very nature of the respect that one coeus would show another was all but ingrained into their way of life, but from what he could tell so far, they had been either reluctant or unwilling to share.

  Wes, on the other hand, had begun obsessing over the details of leveling. Choosing to pester Phony at every free moment. Phony met his enthusiasm with excitement at first, but after so many whys and hows, that excitement had turned to resentment.

  That was why he was met on this day with a hand up and the statement, “No questions today, got it?”

  Shaking his head in the affirmative, Wes could see that Phony was having a much rougher time than he was. Since the day they had met with Chi, she and Dozel had been made to learn the coeus ways of support. To say that they went above and beyond anything that humans did was an understatement. Dozel, coming from her servant background, had taken up studying and training with a modest amount of effort. She was not excelling, but she was not struggling either.

  Phony, however, would come back to their shared quarters mumbling in anger to herself. On more than one occasion, she would greet him with a scowl before huffing and retreating to her own quarters.

  In essence, Wes saw the training as subservience training. That was how he saw it at first glance; the girls became more attentive to Wes’s every mood or desire following his arrival.

  At first, Phony participated willingly in the exercises, but after only a few short weeks, she rebelled against the training at every opportunity. If she weren’t being watched by Chi’s wife, Mun, Phony would not do the training. The sour attitude began to bleed into Wes’s and her every interaction, and shortly thereafter, the bombardment of questions, simple questions, and relentless training gave way to Phony becoming more standoffish.

  “Swear, no questions this time,” Wes answered.

  “I’ll hurt you if you go back on your word.” Phony sneered.

  “Hey, I’m not saying I won’t ask any questions. But I won’t ask anything about the Republic”.

  Phony looked at Wes with non-commital resolve on her face before agreeing to share the room with him. She moved over to the seat that Wes had claimed for himself in their time on Planet 1. She plopped her bottom down into Wes’s lap and allowed her body to sink onto his own.

  The single biggest change for Wes was that he no longer had to steal secret glances at his fiancée. Both her and Dozel were now his wives, and Wes had come to find out that he quite enjoyed being loved, almost as much as he enjoyed doing the loving. That, in conjunction with the training from Mun, made them get closer over the few months, a certainty.

  The girls had been made to dote on him, even when they were tired. That was the main focus of Phony and Dozel’s personal training with the wife of one of the most powerful beings this side of the universe. Phony didn’t enjoy being made a servant, a tool, to be used at another's behest, but she had become surprisingly docile when Wes abstained from asking his questions.

  “You figure it out yet?” Wes asked.

  Phony’s pacing fingers came to a standstill for a moment before continuing. “Dozel has a theory, but I don’t know.”

  “Oh? What was her theory?” Wes rocked his leg up and down to push Phony to answer.

  “Mmm.. . She thinks. . . She thinks that it’s to maximize the benefits of support. It doesn’t make sense, though; all she keeps saying is to anticipate, appreciate, and prostrate.” Phony looked up at Wes and winced, “Kinda hard to submit to a guy who isn’t the best looking though.”

  Wes brought up the arm that had been wrapped around Phony’s waist and ruined her perfectly kept hair.

  “No!” Phony playfully drawled.

  Wes licked the thumb on his other hand and drug it over the makeup on her face, “You deserved it. You shouldn’t.. Ufff.”

  “And you deserved that, you know how Mun is, it takes me forever to paint my face to her standards.” Phony said as she withdrew her fist from Wes’s stomach.

  Wes held up his index finger on his free hand, “hup, did you?” Gasping for air, Wes bemoaned, “Did you really have to hit me, though. You know how strong you are compared to your frail husband.”

  Phony stood up and straightened out her Coues dress. “More like my weakling husband. I made such a huge mistake, settling on a whimp like you.”

  Feigning hurt, Wes brought his knees up to his chest like an emotionally wounded child, “I suppose this is where you tell me you're leaving me?”

  “Perhaps! But I’ll give you a chance to show me what you're worth.” Phony slyly peeked over her shoulder as she walked to her room.

  “Weren’t you just complaining about your makeup? I’ll definitely be ruining it for sure.” Wes half-asked.

  Stopping just short of entering her room, Phony turned and teased, “As I thought, no guts. A truly despicable man with no backbone.”

  Phony quickly went through her door, making sure to leave it slightly ajar.

  Bait which Wes happily took, he got up off his favorite sofa chair and ran over to Phony’s room.

  ***

  Magdrundon sat outside Chi’s private study, waiting to be called in. Mun had been sitting with her, keeping her company up until the point she declared that her new pupil was bad-mouthing her, and that she had to see to making her next few candles as pleasant as possible.

  Dozel had been with them as well, but with the girls rotating every republic true day, she was tasked with learning from Mun for another few hours. Strict hours that required her to be attentive to Mun’s every move.

  Magdrundon remembered her own training. Looking back on it fondly, that was how she sat over the next quarter candle alone, waiting to be called into Chi’s office.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  As if announcing it was her time, Lady Mun teleported back without Dozel at her side, and the doors opened soon after. They waited for a moment to allow guests in the prior meeting to leave. Magdrundon got up and walked in as the last guest walked out. Anxiety built up in her for the first time in a Millenia as the two in the room came into view. Lady Mun’s soft steps behind her let the seriousness of her crimes sink in all the more. But she wanted to be honorable and meet the punishment head-on like her father and grandfather would. But being willing to meet one's punishment for breaking decorum was not the same as being okay with being punished.

  ***

  Wes and Phony lay in post-nuptial bliss, “I think I’ll keep you around for a time.” Phony declared.

  “I’d appreciate that,” Wes replied with a satisfied grin.

  Phony poked his side before getting up, “I've got to get ready for Mun’s torture.”

  “Maybe you should try to keep a good attitude,” Wes pointed out.

  “I know, I know. Not every day you get to be trained by someone of her caliber, it's just. She’s basically telling me to be your slave. No, more than that. It’s like she wants me to be your pet or something. Obedient and always well-groomed.” Phony shivered at her words.

  “No, I was just saying you should have a good attitude, cuz I just showed you I wasn’t such a whimp.” Wes joked.

  Turning around, Phony whipped the boot she was picking up toward Wes.

  “I’m kidding!” Wes called out as the boot came crashing over his forearms. “Eewwff, that's going to leave a mark.”

  Turning to get out of bed himself, Wes got serious. “Really, I’ve been wondering why they would put you guys through something so mundane myself. These guys must have the secrets to the secrets with how long they’ve lived, yet they have you both doing simple stuff. And yes, I agree. It amounts to you being my little slave-pet, but stick with it. They wouldn’t have you both do it for no reason.”

  Phony stood wrapped in sheets at the edge of the bed, dejected. “I know that, I just feel like I’m being trained to be the perfect wife, not the perfect person or warrior.”

  “Is that what you want? To be the perfect warrior.” Wes asked sincerely.

  Phony shrugged, “I dunno.”

  Phony went to speak again, but Wes beat her to it, “Maybe figure out who you want to be, after you take advantage of this. I know, it's not amazing for you, but I have to believe that it's for a reason. Just hang in there for me, kay?”

  Phony nodded, “Will you do the honors?”

  Activating Cleanse as Wes walked over to where Phony stood. He kissed her on the forehead before walking over to the shower. “Going to shower.”

  “But you’re already clean,” Phony questioned.

  “Hey, a rich kid like you might see a shower as a chore, but having a bathroom as nice as the ones they have here and back on your family’s planet is a luxury. I enjoy washing myself by hand. Hot water crashing down on ya is heaven. I’ll never get tired of it.” Wes waved behind and added, “Don’t forget to paint your face again.”

  “Oh shoot, forgot!” Phony raced into the bathroom behind Wes.

  Hearing Wes turn on the shower and step in, Phony yelled, “Don’t make it all steamy in here, I need to be able to see myself.”

  Not hearing anything back, Phony called out louder, “You hear me? Don’t make it all steamy in here!”

  Phony got up from her makeup chair and walked over to the shower after not hearing anything back the second time. She opened the already fogged-up shower door and found an empty stall.

  ***

  Wes found himself standing naked in a room with four Coeus. Two of which were people he would never want to be naked in front of. And the third was playing some sort of sick joke by the small smirk peeking out from the corner of his lips.

  “Really? Why like this?” Wes asked as he covered himself as best as he could.

  “Haven’t I told you, be ready for when I call?” Chi asked.

  “I’m supposed to be ready forever?” Wes questioned.

  Raising an eyebrow, Chi replied, “Is that so hard?”

  “Yes.”

  “I gave you a moment to wrap up your business. Be glad I didn’t bring you a few moments ago.” Chi pointed out.

  “Come on, it was more than moments.”

  “Just barely.” Chi smiled.

  “Alright, all-powerful. Master of masters, would you mind getting my clothes for me?”

  Chi looked over to Magdrundon, who was holding her forehead fixed to the floor behind Wes.

  Wes looked at her and saw that a set of his Coeus attire was laid out perfectly next to her. Rolling his eyes, he reached down and put on his trousers as quickly as he could. Stopping when he realized that he had seen the clothes at his initial panic-stricken assessment of the room.

  “How did you know?” Wes asked Magdrundon.

  Not raising her head, Magdrundon said, “It was not I, but Lady Mun.”

  Wes whispered to himself in realization. “Anticipate.”

  “Keep that to yourself; it does us no good if they do not understand for themselves.” Mun’s warning came sternly.

  Nodding, Wes turned to the only person in the room with whom he still had little interaction, “Hello, Mistress Anor.” Wes offered a shallow bow, since she was a stickler for decorum.

  “Still unwilling to offer a true bow to your superior, I see,” Anor commented.

  “If you wish to kill me, then be done with it. I’ve been told that I should only offer a chance to kill me to those I truly trust.” Wes replied as he straightened.

  Anor chose not to reply, choosing instead to return to her usual aloof demeanor in the corner of the room just as she always was when Chi brought him over to his office.

  Wes turned to Chi and asked, “So what’s the lesson today?”

  “Precedent,” Chi answered.

  “Precedent? Like how?” Wes asked.

  Chi stood up from his chair that overlooked the pearl-white landscape of his home planet. He went over to the window and said, “My dear granddaughter has broken one of our most revered rules. She has brought an outsider to our birth planet, as thorough as she was to be sure that she could not be traced. She still broke the rules. She must be punished.”

  Wes looked to Magdrundon, “She’s your granddaughter?

  “Yes, my oldest.”

  An incredulous Wes looked back toward Chi and could swear he could see a sad man, “What’s going to happen to her?”

  “That’s up to you, she offers no explanation as to why she has broken our most hallowed rule,” Chi answered.

  Smacking himself on his forehead, Wes walked over to Magdrundon and tried his best to raise her head to meet his eyes, but her levels were too high for him to even move her an inch. He settled for kneeling down next to her, “I hold you to no prior pledge. If it will save your life, I trust you. Spill it, or I will.”

  Magdrundon turned her head to meet Wes’s eyes for the first time. She shook her head no before saying, “I can’t betray a friend who has put you in my care?”

  “Won’t I just die shortly after you, though?” Wes told her.

  “Wait, are you saying that she will be put to death?” Was asked, Chi.

  “Nothing is off the table. Even I need an answer for the other two on this planet.” Chi explained.

  Returning his eyes back to Magdrundon, Wes proclaimed, “Look, you tell him, or I will. You're no good to me dead, plus Nia would probably want to skin me alive when I get back.”

  Magdrundon shook her head again without meeting his eyes. “Are you telling me it's unsafe to tell Chi?”

  Magdrundon shouted out, “I would never!”

  “Then?” Wes asked.

  Magdrundon raised her head slightly, so she could catch his eye, and looked to the corner where Anor sat.

  “Awwe, I see.” Wes nodded along.

  “Quite bold of you, little one.” Anor’s dry demeanor came through in her tone.

  “Chi, I have no problem sharing with you, but if Magdrundon doesn’t think I should share with Anor, then I will have to lean on her judgment.”

  “That could be a problem, Wes. She is the observer in this house.”

  “What’s that?” Wes asked.

  “To put it simply, she is here to be sure I don’t try and kill the other two.”