《Transmigration Retiree》27: Home Visit
Advertisement
“Quite the lovely home you have here.” said Leon. Feeling incredibly awkward after having stormed into his junior’s courtyard only to find his wife there with her maids.
He would have gone home to come back another day, when the youth was available, but apparently he’d gone missing in search of a sample.
This was followed by Leon asking what kind of samples, and for what reason the young man was collecting them, whether the youth had gotten permission from someone to leave the sect, and whether the young woman knew when her husband would be back.
The answers he received were two polite shrugs, a shy maybe, and yet another shrug. Leading to the old man, feeling weak in the knees, and the dutiful young madame calling her maids, and having them prepare tea.
“Um...thank you….I, uh, it’s all due to the Sect’s beneficence...All I did was decorate a bit.” said Vanessa. Smiling weakly.
Feeling uncomfortable because technically as an elder of the outer-sect, the older gentleman in front of her, was of a greater status than any of her fathers. Which alone would have been manageable, if it weren’t for the fact that as a member of the inner-sect her husband technically outranked the man. Holding a higher status even if he was of a lesser-seniority.
A situation that left Vanessa unsure what the rules of their interactions should be, a feeling that was both unfamiliar and unpleasant to the young woman. Since she generally made it a point to know the proper etiquette of any given situation.
Further driving in the point that in just a few months time, her world had been drastically changed. Leaving her thoroughly out of her wheelhouse.
“Mhm, you’re too humble Madame.” said Leon. Taking a sip of the tea that the maids had brought in.
Advertisement
Taking a second sip, when he found himself startled by the sense of refreshment from the first sip.
“Good tea…” he said.
Vanessa nodded. Smiling politely.
“You’re too kind, sir. Cultivating tea leaves is just a hobby I picked up since I’ve found myself idle while my husband is doing his duty to the sect.” said Vanessa.
Genuinely pleased, and slightly put at ease, to hear a positive reaction to the work she’d taken up.
The tea-plant breeding project was based on her Edwin’s research for the sect, and the expansive data archives that she’d accessed from his ship, while she was looking for something to do, so she wouldn’t just be sitting alone thinking about how unsure she was of her situation.
As for old Leon Skinner, after draining his cup, just as he was about to shamelessly ask for me, he realized that he was forgetting why he’d come to the woman’s manor, and grabbed hold of the woman’s mention of her husband.
“Speaking, of Disciple Edwin, I don’t suppose you know what his plans are, for his membership in the sect? I know he was quite taken with us, but some of us, were growing concerned since he doesn’t seem to be taking too much advantage of the opportunities in front of him.” said Leon.
Vanessa blinked, and then she frowned, unsure of how to answer.
She’d been just a hair away from blurting out the sad truth, which was that she was pretty certain, her former little brother, and current husband, wasn’t the sort who planned much of anything.
He schemed sometimes, yes, and if the ship was anything to go by, he had myriad little operations that he worked on as part of his hobbies, but actual planning, for the things that normal people with common sense would plan for...didn’t seem to be the kind of thing he did.
Advertisement
After a moment of thinking, she saw her husband’s almost childishly innocent face in her mind’s eye, and realized to her horror that this was probably part what he was talking about when he said, that he’d “leave it to her”.
This was was “it”, their lives in general were apparently entirely up to her. Which didn’t seem quite right to her.
It was fine when she thought he was just leaving the business of the household to her, but now she was starting to suspect the man’s intentions.
She was now wondering exactly how much responsibility he was leaving in her hands, and how much non-responsibility her husband thought he could get away with.
She was hoping she was misunderstanding something, or over-reacting but something told her that this was not the case.
Leon watched the young woman who sat across from him, pretty with a sort of mature grace. He wondered if she was ill, for after he’d spoken, she’d spent several minutes sitting in silence, growing increasingly pale.
A heavy sort of pressure seeming to emanate from within her.
“Are you quite alright, Madame?” said Leon. When he could no longer take the silence and suffocating pressure.
“Huh? Oh, er...yes. Thank you. Sorry. Erm...You said you were wondering what my husband’s plan is...What kind of plan would you expect someone in his position to have?” said Vanessa.
Working very hard to keep her voice even, and free from the muted horror that she’d felt as she’d realized that the man, she’d married might be even more eccentric than her biological-father was said to be.
Leon startled, crossing his arms and thinking. Remembering all the propaganda he’d been sent to spew over the years, while he’d been undergoing his decades' long punishment, serving as a sect recruiter.
“Well, you know….Fighting his way to the top of the sect,...if he can. Standing on the peak of his martial potential, and maybe even becoming a true immortal. Divining the secrets of the cultivator world. Mastering various skills. Journeying through the world, making powerful friends, and defeating even more powerful foes. Wooing beautiful women. Saving the weak. Destroying evil….You know, hero stuff. Cultivator stuff.”
Advertisement
The Kinnear Chronicles
For Alys Kinnear, becoming a wizard was her life's ambition, but it's an ambition that might just cost her her life. Does a country girl from Éire have what it takes to handle the dangerous and inglorious realities that come with being a practitioner in the magic-infused modern day city of London? She quickly finds herself confronted by street thugs trying to steal her new employer's property and a client whose home turns out to be a former asylum filled with the angry ghosts of former patients. With her new Familiars, a pair of snow leopards she rescued from an unscrupulous shop owner, Alys must overcome these and the more mundane day-to-day difficulties of studying to become a full-fledged Wizard. Because before she expects it, she'll find herself tested in ways she never imagined.
8 177A Titan's Crusade
Erik Thayne spent most of his life being brutally ridiculed and tormented for his weight and physical appearance, among other things. A social pariah and diagnosed with an eating disorder no one has an explanation or treatment for, Erik spent years trying to overcome his issues with his personal image and escape the ridicule and vicious torment of his peers. After years of dedicated effort, and a fresh start in a town away from his childhood and adolescent tormentors, he had finally begun to truly realize what he'd been striving for all along. Only, fate apparently has other plans because in the blink of an eye, Erik found himself snatched from Earth and taken to another universe, another world, where he is offered the chance to be more than he'd ever imagined. Now, he has to fight to restore the Balance between Chaos and Order on a world of swords and magic, in a universe governed by the System's laws, which resemble those of RPGs from Earth. Erik learned to embrace the things about himself that others taught him to hate, using them to reforge his physical identity into something more removed from his old self-loathing. But can he learn to embrace the darkest parts of his mind just as he did the reviled aspects of his body and become who he needs to be to succeed in the task set before him? It might just prove easier to stalk in the dark as a monster than to walk in the light as a man... *This is my first time publishing anything I've written to a public audience. Due to formatting issues, I forwent traditional stat-screens for something a little less problematic, delineating stat screens by separating them from regular text with horizontal lines in a lighter-grey coloration. Let me know if you like them or not. Criticism is entirely welcome, but please don't hate on my work after only reading 1 chapter. This is a writing project I intend to complete but I have committment problems so we'll see how long this goes on. Also, fair warning, as the description implies, the main protagonist is intended to be someone who has been treated cruelly, developed antisocial tendencies, and ultimately has to question his own humanity--or lack thereof. This story is not intended to be brutally dark but I will definitely be trying to follow a darker theme. It is intended to be violent and some scenes later in the story might be...alarming. There will likely also be some light, non-graphic (think more implied with crude jokes and conversation than actual details, there will be no full-blown sex scenes)relationship scenes planned later and if you're opposed to either a bisexual or gay main character, stay away. I haven't yet decided which way he's going to swing but the odds on him being straight are relatively miniscule, and I've always wanted to write a story about a gay man who basically looks like a lumberjack because who doesn't like giving conventional stereo-types the middle finger? This will NOT be a harem story, and I have no intention to focus on romance over action--it's a consequence of character development where I'm concerned, not the be-all-end-all of the story. The cover-art does not, in any way, belong to me. It was an image titled the Druid King (by duskanmarkovic according to the file name) which I found on Google Images. Until I can get something commissioned, this is the best stand-in image I could find.
8 106Disdained Challenger
2025, modern-day America, adults rushing to work, children sprinting to school. Day by day, hour by hour, time proceed normally, but there’s a secret behind the human race, one so grave it goes unrecognized among nearly 8 billion people.For years and years, the humans have been at war with an invasive race; the humans with an ever-weakening army were destined to lose.Stephen Wilson, a person with no specific talents, just a kid whose existence was known by little. Comes across a hidden power; will it be enough to change the dire situation the humans are presented with?
8 125Dungeon
Rulers and would-be rebels throughout the world are locked in a desperate struggle for power, coveting mysterious places of magic and myth known as Dungeons and the secrets they hold. A young man named Kydan, desperate to seek wealth and fortune after his home is destroyed, sets out as a Dungeon Hunter. By chance, he meets an amnesiac bard named Auros, to whom there is a lot more than meets the eye. Together they set out on a journey that will change both of their lives as well as those of the many people they encounter, and uncover long lost secrets which promise to shake the very foundations of the world as they know it. *Multi-POV adventure story, heavily anime/light novel inspired* *Chapters 1-15 now available! Usually updates Monday, Wednesday and Friday with the aim of a bonus update most Saturdays, may be slightly irregular as of 11/10/21 while I finish writing the first volume*
8 159Gamer Reborn
Ajax used to coast through life before his parents died, after that he focused hard to try get his life back on track but that wasn't really happening and it all ended the day he got mugged. Given a second chance at life he now looks to become someone who matters and is willing to work hard from the beginning to make that happen. _________________________________________________________________________ This is a LitRPG reborn story, as well as my first try at writing so comments and tips are appreciated Uploads are M W F.
8 8763Innocence Lost || Indv. RP
I think the title explains it all :)
8 835