Accel14
patreon
(TPD) Chapter 23: Great King In-Training
🕑 Added 2024-12-18 08:41:39 +0000 UTCChapter 23: Great King In-Training
AN: For the sake of convenience, from now I’ll only specify a perspective change (Third Person, First Person -) when one actually happens to avoid confusion.
---
[Young Lord, it’s time to wake up.]
Now that he had Pandorica aiding him, he had relegated the responsibility of waking him up to the in-built assistant instead of Tomoe— since the latter had a tendency to get “creative” with how he woke Avalon up.
Avalon was met with the sound of a groan resounding a little away from his face, causing him to look down and face the also-nude figure of Adaloth, whose head was resting against his chest.
‘It’s about time you had some action, Mr. Popular,’ Tomoe chuckled from within his mind-scape.
‘Maybe a little too much action,’ Avalon gripped his back, wincing at the pain he was experiencing from the excessive clawing she had done while they shared their intense night. ‘I had to switch positions just to make sure she didn’t rip my skin off.’
‘What did you expect? She was a first-timer with freak strength and an unyielding obsession to claim you for herself, she was probably doing everything in her power to make you think twice about getting with Zekram. Speaking of which, what do you plan on doing now?’
‘I already gave her my answer, and I don’t plan on changing it.’
‘Your Sister isn’t going to be happy about that.’
‘That’s her problem, I already made how I feel about her crystal clear before we had sex.’
‘As long as you know what you’re getting into, then again, I have a feeling Zekram won’t be the only woman the poor girl has to worry about as time goes on.’
‘I’d rather you not jynx it,’ he sighed inwardly.
Avalon took a moment to survey Adaloth, watching as her chest rose and deflated in tune with her soft breathing.
‘Could it be? Is our playboy taking pity on the woman he despises oh so much?’
‘Quiet.’
He gently nudged her shoulder, slowly allowing her to come to as the memories of what had happened last night rushed through her head.
“You’re still here,” she snuggled into him, tightening her grip around his waist.
“That I am, now hurry up and get off me, I have to get dressed for my lesson with Zekram. Your teacher is also going to be arriving soon, so I suggest you get prepared as well.”
“It can wait,” she mumbled, her breath hitching against his neck with a distinct warmth to it.
“It really can’t, unless you want the both of us to get scolded.”
There was a chance that Souji would also be coming, and Avalon knew full well what awaited him if he was late to one of his lessons.
“I scold you all the time, you can handle it.” She started to run her hands across his torso, a possible attempt to get him in the mood again. “I don’t want us to separate.”
“What are you talking about? We’re both still going to be in the Bael Estate,” he pretended like he didn’t know what she was really talking about. “Now get up, I didn’t talk to Lars or Esdeath at all yesterday so they might come looking, I’d rather they not hear us arguing.”
“Fine— but we’re taking a bath together first,” she grabbed him by the hand before leading him to the bathroom.
“A bath? Wouldn’t a shower be quicker?”
“It would,” she smiled knowingly while allowing the bathtub to slowly fill up. “You’re still planning on going forward with Zekram, aren’t you?”
“Mhm, I’m going to assume you’re thinking about killing her?” He asked casually while dipping his finger into the water to test the temperature.
“It’s an appealing prospect, and one I doubt would be very hard to achieve.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that, she’s a lot stronger than you seem to be under the impression of.”
“Uh-huh,” she pushed him into the tub, sitting down on his lap right after and leaning back against him.
“I’m being serious, her personal strength and experience would only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fighting her. For starters, the fifty or so barriers surrounding the estate are directly linked to her, even for you that much defense would be a pain to get through. There’s also that strange ornament—”
“I don’t care about all that,” she silenced him with an abrupt kiss. “All I want to know is whether you’ll protect her or not?”
“Of course I will, she’s my fiance.”
She took a deep breath, “I really hate hearing that word come out of your mouth.”
“It’s the tru— Ouch!” He yelped as she bit him on the shoulder, hard enough to draw a trickle of blood.
“You know I can be a lot more forceful than that, so I suggest you stop using that word around me from now on.”
“Alright alright, sheesh. You didn’t have to bite me that hard,” he rubbed his shoulder.
“Are you going to tell her?”
“Tell her what?”
Adaloth shifted her waist, “About this.”
“Probably not, but I don’t think she’d care very much.”
“Of course she wouldn’t, because she doesn’t care about you,” she closed her eyes before leaning further into him. “I don’t get it, you of all people should want a proper romantic relationship more than anyone.”
“Is that so?”
“From the way you were talking yesterday, you didn’t get to have that in your past life. Why not seek it in this one?”
He looked to the side, “It’s no longer a necessity for me, I’ve learned that there are things beyond romance that can give me happiness in this life, therefore I have decided to pursue as best I can.”
“So you’re giving up?”
“That’s a morbid way to word it, but you aren’t wrong. Although, you also aren’t completely right either.”
“Is now really the time for the cryptic act?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think there’s a slim chance me and Zekram will grow to love one another.”
She scoffed, “I can’t believe you’re saying that either.”
“I remember that I said you and Zekram were similar at some point, but after some reflection, I don’t think that’s the case anymore. I think I was the one who was similar to her all this time, I also think that’s part of the reason she wanted me to become Great King.”
“I don’t recall you being a staunch traditionalist.”
“Don’t get me wrong, our ideologies are nothing like, It’s just our principles that are. How should I put this? She’s— surprisingly easy to talk with.”
“She’s just playing to your tastes in order to manipulate you, all you’re doing is letting yourself get caught up in her web.”
“Are you really in any position to be ridiculing her for that?” He didn’t even know half of it.
“I’m only doing it because I love you, because I care about you more than anyone else in this world. Zekram will never be able to give you even half of that sentiment.”
He smiled, scooping up a lump of shampoo and running it through her hair.
“I never have, and never will expect something like that from her.”
“I’m not a fan of how relieved you sound right now, don’t tell me you’re so adverse to love you find her apathy appealing?”
“Who can say? Maybe a part of me finds her Ice Queen persona attractive,” he chuckled. “That would be quite the problem for you if it was true wouldn’t it? Then there really wouldn’t be any hope.”
“I won’t let it end that way, even if I have to force you away from Zekram against your will.”
“Oh my, you’re planning on stealing Zekram’s betrothed away? Just the thought of two powerful, dominating women fighting over me is enough to make me blush.” His tone of voice physically couldn’t sound more lifeless.
‘Let me in on that,’ Tomoe chimed.
‘Aren’t you supposed to be straight anyway? You’re always bragging on and on about how many women you’ve seduced.’
‘Of course I’m straight! I’m just making an exception for you—Darling.’
‘The fact that I can’t tell whether you’re being serious or not is very disturbing.’
‘I don’t see the problem, you’ve already given me your body and mind, why not just go the full length?’
‘Please don’t ever word it like that again.’
“What if I find a way to make Zekram agree to give you back to me? Would you accept that?”
“No, because I’ve never belonged to you in the first place. Also, I’m on Zekram’s side now, so I’d probably have to protect her if you tried anything.”
“I can’t live with that.”
“I know,” he rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. “Unless I belong to you and you alone, it’s unacceptable. I’m sure there are some people out there who enjoy being obsessed over like that, but I am not one of them.”
“So you’ll only love me if I change?”
He hummed, “If the reason for you changing is solely to win my love, then would you have really changed at all? Our lives are long-lived Adaloth, just because I don’t love you, doesn’t mean you’ll never find love.”
“I’ll pretend like I didn’t hear that, for your sake.”
After some continued back and forth, they both got out of the tub.
Avalon proceeded to walk over to the bathroom mirror, grabbing a black-colored eye-drop tube with Ajuka’s crest on it and applying it.
“What’s that?”
“Wearing my blindfold all the time causes my eyes to itch, so Ajuka developed this to help counteract it.” He proceeded to dry his hair before grabbing two pairs of clothing, one consisting of a white dress shirt and black slacks, and the other the white and gray striped shirt he had worn upon his initial arrival to the Bael Estate.
“Your clothes are obviously in no condition to be worn, but you should be able to fit into mine,” he handed her the dress shirt.
“How can you even tell them apart with your blindfold on?”
“Texture,” he quickly fitted on his attire. “Have a good one with Mathers, I don’t know when we’ll next be deployed but I’d like to make a solid impact when we do.”
He waved her goodbye before stepping foot out the door, leaving to go meet with Zekram.
---
“A lot appears to have happened during my brief absence,” but before he could do so, he had one more interaction to deal with.
Leaning against the wall with one foot raised was none other than his long-time mentor, Souji Okita.
“I have a feeling I’m going to have this conversation more times than I’d like to,” Avalon sighed, turning to meet him. “I trust my brother has already filled you in on everything?”
“He did, he also let me know about a possibility you mentioned that I wasn’t all that fond of, not that I’m happy about what was confirmed either.”
“It’s not a possibility anymore, me and Zekram are engaged, and I have indeed accepted the position of Great King, although it will take me some time before I can assume it.”
Souji fell completely silent, his student patiently waiting for him to gather himself.
“You’ve gone mad.”
“Well that’s not a very nice thing to say to your disciple,” he pouted.
“You’re marrying the very root of evil herself, nothing good can come of that.”
“Why is it the marriage part that you’re all more concerned about than me becoming Great King? Souji, have you ever actually sat down in a room with Zekram before?”
“Once, but I don’t ever intend to again, and don’t even try to sell me on some crap like she’s just a poor, misunderstood woman.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” he took a deep breath. “However, and I don’t mean to be excessively rude, I think you’re all just a lot more afraid of her than you have any reason to be.”
Souji looked at him as if he had just uttered the stupidest sentence in the entire Underworld.
“You think our judgement is clouded by fear?”
“No— actually yeah, that is what I think. I mean Father said it himself, when he was in a room with her it was like he was fighting for his life with every word he spoke, I didn’t really get that impression from her.”
His mentor walked right up to him, staring him down with his pressure leaking out of every pore.
“This path you’ve chosen is wrong.”
“Then force me off it,” like usual, Avalon never exuded his pressure on purpose, but he still held firm in front of the Strongest Knight. “It’s a master’s duty to beat some sense into his student when he thinks he’s gone astray.”
“How little do you think I know you? Even if I were to beat you, you wouldn’t listen to a word I said.”
“You mean to tell me you didn’t come here to convince me to reject her?”
“I came here to figure out whether I could or not, and now that question has been answered.” Souji’s pressure dissipated. “Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact you were wearing that blindfold I would’ve assumed you merely married her for her appearance.”
“Oh? You’re admitting she’s beautiful?”
“Are you kidding me? She’s possibly the hottest woman I’ve ever seen, I’m surprised she still looks that good taking her age into account. Maybe Lilith’s power running through her has made her truly ageless or something.”
Avalon was left slack-jawed, he had never expected such a reaction from Souji of all people.
“You do understand that she’s received a marriage proposal from every Clan Head in the Underworld right?”
Avalon’s shock heightened, “I didn’t know that, but wouldn’t that just be because of the amount of influence they would gain from it?”
‘Also Father can’t possibly be among those people, right? No, of course not, he said he was terrified of her after all. And Wilbert as well? Nah, I just can’t see it.’
“What are you talking about? Influence is the last thing you’d think about when looking at her, unless you swing the other way of course. Hold on, have you not taken your blindfold off around her yet?”
He shook his head.
“Make sure you do that— you’ll understand what I’m talking about when you do. Oh, and make sure you invite me to the wedding.”
“Wait wait wait, shouldn’t you be against this just like my brother?”
“That business is between you and your family, I’m not interested in butting in. And if anything I’m proud of you for managing to get such a smoking hot wife, you take right after your Father.”
Souji patted him on the shoulder in an approving fashion before leaving, “I’ll be hanging around if you ever want to spar.”
He stood there utterly dumbfounded for a moment before shrugging. “Well— that went a lot better than I expected it to.”
---
“Did something happen yesterday?” Zekram asked him the second Avalon stepped inside their allotted room. “I felt your Sister’s Demonic Power flare up last night.”
“Well, I guess you could say we had a little argument, but it’s all resolved now.”
“Argument? About what?”
“Nothing you need to worry about,” he smiled. “Now then, where do we begin?”
She narrowed her eyes at him before continuing, “Since we’re doing this during wartime, I thought it would be best to start teaching you about proper strategy first. The fact that you already have practical experience in the field should also make it a little easier for you to get the hang of the fundamentals.”
“I feel like Lars would be more adept at something like that.”
“He definitely would be, but the point isn’t to turn you into a master-strategist. It’s to make sure you have a basic grasp on what strategy is, taking the way you fight and operate into account most of the stuff I’ll teach you won’t have any practical use. However, it’s all knowledge you’ll be expected to have as Great King.”
Avalon sighed, “Would it be safe to assume a lot of the stuff you’ll teach me won’t have any practical use either?”
“No, most of it will be extremely useful, vital even. But theory alone isn’t what’s going to give you an edge over everyone else, it’s how you apply it.”
He looked at the desk behind her, “Judging by the amount of books I’m seeing, there’s quite the amount of content to get through.”
“That’s not even half of it,” she caused him to recoil internally. “Once you’re named Great King everyone will expect nothing but perfection from you, the way you walk, talk, carry yourself, every little mannerism will warrant their undivided attention. If they don’t look at you and think you’re some kind of exalted existence living in a different realm to them, you’ve failed.”
Avalon had already begun to regret his decision, perfection? Him? No chance.
“Sylas certainly didn’t give me that impression.”
“Is Sylas the type of Great King you’re aiming to become?” He shook his head. “The only reason Sylas has any sort of reputation whatsoever is because of my labor, as we discussed— he is naught but a puppet. I expect you to be someone who I can actually trust to do their job without having to handhold them every step of the way.”
He plastered on a mischievous grin, bowing with one hand on his chest.
“I’ll make sure not to disappoint you, Your Majesty.”
“You better not, oh, and you’ll be sleeping in my room from now on.”
“Ara, are we getting started so soon?” He hugged his own torso. “Am I that appetising? I didn’t know my fiance had such a predatory side to her, ah, whatever will I do?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you were three minutes late today. If I can’t trust you to be punctual on your own, then I’ll have to do it for you.”
“Hmph! I know you’re just after my body, there’s no use in hiding it! Baka Zekram!” He huffed while planting his hands on his hip.
She pinched her nose-bridge, clearly not amused. “Enough dawdling, we’re getting started now. Make sure you’re paying attention because I won’t be reading this twice to you.”
[Young Lord, why not just ask her to make it digital for you? I could upload all the material and have it ready in an instant, there’s no need for her to read everything aloud.]
‘Don’t be silly, if I did that then I wouldn’t get to enjoy these one-on-one sessions with my beloved.’
“There’s just one thing I’d like to do before we start.”
“Make it quick.”
Avalon grabbed his blindfold, startling Zekram as he pulled one side up to reveal one of his enchanting bright-violet pupils.
“Souji was right, you really are beautiful,” he said before propping his blindfold back down.
“I don’t need your empty flattery.”
“There’s nothing empty about it, as a matter of fact he told me you’ve received a marriage proposal from every Clan Head in the Underworld— is that true?”
“It is,” for a second Avalon caught a glimmer of pride in her tone of voice. “Now can we please actually begin your lesson?”
“Even Father?” He asked, completely ignoring the latter half of her sentence.
“Yes, and if you even think about interrupting me one more time I’m going to hurl you through the window.”
‘There’s definitely a story there, and I intended to find out every last detail no matter what!’
---
“Are you sure this is a good idea? We can still turn back, you know?” Zeoticus asked with a distinct shiver in his voice, his knees buckling as he observed the towering gate in front of him.
“She’s intending on marrying our son, you don’t think that warrants a formal sit down?” Venelana shot back, daring him to try retreat.
“If it was any other woman it would, but this is Zekram! You can’t tell me you’re not even a little nervous?” Every fiber of his being wanted to turn back and run, but the fear of his wife pummeling him into the ground kept him static.
“Darling.”
“Yes?”
“Get it together!”
Zeoticus stood straight, like a soldier being reprimanded by their superior officer.
“Y-Yes Ma’am!” Part of him was tempted to throw up a salute to go with it.
“Her Majesty had a feeling you’d arrive,” a figure soon arrived at the front gate, the person in question being none other than Albedo.
The horned woman looked to one of the stationed guards, motioning for them to open the gate.
“I see you’re still intent on serving as her lapdog, Albedo,” Venelana appeared to be familiar with her.
“At least I didn’t get shipped off from the estate to marry that rodent of a man,” Albedo smirked while glaring at Zeoticus. “I’d suggest you make whatever business you have with Her Majesty quick, she might entertain your presence because of your blood, but I doubt she’ll take kindly to him.”
“Whatever you say, bootlicker,” Venelana scoffed before motioning for her husband to follow suit. “At least my children are better than your— Oh wait, you don’t have children do you? Or a husband for that matter, ah, I do apologise. That statement must have been hurtful for someone who hasn’t secured a singular spouse in centuries.”
“Filthy hag,” Albedo muttered under her breath, staring daggers at Venelana as she passed by.
“Was it really a good idea to provoke her?” Zeoticus asked.
“Nothing she says or does really matters, Albedo wouldn’t even dare to relieve herself without Zekram’s approval.”
---
Imagine being the Mother and Father-in-law of someone probably more than double your age, Venelana’s really going through it.
Sorry if this chapter was a little shorter than expected, I just kind of needed to get things moving in the storyline so I rushed it a little bit.
The action part of the story will return eventually, I just need to first get everything going on between Avalon, Zekram, and Adaloth grounded before moving on to make sure this part actually feels fleshed out.
Leave any suggestions or comments below as per usual and I’ll respond to them whenever I get the chance, I’ll see you in the next one.
![gal ha had[The Sir] from patreon](https://patrefans.com/kistorage/53465.jpg)
