Viceroy of Hell (18+)

“We don’t have a single god damn ship,” I said, standing at the pier with nothing but small fishing boats docked in it.

I’d made my preparations for my departure. As we’d discussed, the best route would be passing through the nearest free city, Ozburk. From there we’d have to travel on carriage, passing some towns and villages before arriving at the Principality of Vonditz.

We were at the mercy of luck at this point. Ships docked on this island once a month and the last one was roughly three weeks ago. The same ship I hitched on from Xitlachtan.

I had no other choice but to wait. This town needed a proper shipyard and some ships so bad.

While waiting, I helped in writing documents detailing and implementing some reformations for Farisle. My priority would be decoupling the plantation’s workers from their status as slaves, followed by establishing a census.

That meant criminalizing slavery. But I kept hard labor as a punishment.

In the meantime, I put some people to work clearing out the mansion’s debris. Although people didn’t like me yet, they accepted the wine and rum as a temporary form of payment.

Aesel had kept herself professional around me. Although I got horny a lot of the time, it was work that helped suppressed it. Maybe I was getting used to less sex. Well, I didn’t always get laid even back on Earth so it was just me returning to my roots.

Still, I couldn’t help but steal glances at Aesel. She sure was a damn fine woman. Her side profile emphasized her sharp facial features. And whenever she smiled, her eyes turned into upward crescents – switching her mode from drop-dead gorgeous to impossibly cute.

“I have the town’s most beautiful women working for me,” Aesel said all of a sudden while we worked on the documents in the inn’s lobby. “You need only ask.”

I cleared my throat. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

On the fifth day, a sloop docked for resupply. The captain was a regular so Rulof knew him well. We negotiated for a ride to Ozburk.

“We don’t say no to the mayor of Farisle! And don’t mind the fee – we just want some discount and maybe some freebies,” the pot-bellied hairy captain said with a toothy grin.

I supplied them all the fish they wanted free of charge. This town sold them for dirt-cheap anyway, considering how abundant marine life was in Bloodscale sea. If this town had proper preservation facilities seafood could become one of its best exports.

I made sure to note it down.

I spent the night before departure in the inn’s VIP room. But not to have an orgy. I just wanted a different place for contemplation. Because of all the stuff that happened in less than a few weeks, I never really thought much about having sex and chasing women like I initially did.

That golden circle was stuck in my mind. I touched the bump behind my neck – it was still there. What did the Prince of Lust gave me this for?

A whole week had passed since I became a mayor. I’d forgotten about blacksteel for several days until recently. I would love for Atala’s weapons to climb off my priority list so I could focus on managing this town.

A particular person appeared in my mind. A short-haired, pale and petite woman with a pair of pure-white eyes.

“I wonder how Amea’s doing now?”

Atala herself promised her safety and I was inclined to trust her word. Amea always came to mind from time to time. And maybe Aesel was running a close second.

Aesel probably didn’t have any further motivations in her betrayal than getting rid of the mayor. I might just be too wary of her. After all, I didn’t trust anyone back on Earth.

In the end I couldn’t sleep. I stepped outside and sat on the platform, finding peace from the blows of cold, salty wind and the gentle slaps of waves.

Planks creaked behind me. The dim torchlight revealed Aesel. She wore a black silken night dress, her tits and nipples protruded from beneath the slightly transparent fabric. The only undergarment she wore was a pair of black panties. In her hand was a long pipe with expert carvings, thick smoke rolling from its tip.

She stood behind, offering me the pipe. I gave it a whiff. Yup, I still couldn’t get used to the sensation. But unlike the one I tried with the sailors, Aesel’s had a sweet citrus flavor.

“What even is this?” I said.

“Bruff husk mixed with a flavor I personally concocted.”

She smoked it with ease. I felt less manly.

“Was it excitement that prevents you from sleeping?” she asked.

I sighed. “Not just that, but a lot of other things too.”

She sacrificed her fancy night dress by sitting on rough planks. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit.

“What?”

“You must have a lot of silk dress to ruin one like that.”

“Oh, please, I’m planning to ruin all of it. I want you to buy me new clothes.”

“Is it to rid off the reminders of your ex-husband?”

“I never treated him as one.”

I declined the pipe this time.

“You really hated him that much?”

“If I had a better choice I would’ve chosen that one instead.”

“So it was a marriage for survival. I bet there are better aristocrats inland – wealthier and more handsome, too.”

“It’s a complicated matter,” she said, puffing another smoke, “I’m not a normal elf so I need a lot of things to thrive.”

“What even is a normal elf?”

Horeln came to mind. But then again he came from a very distant land and somehow ended up on the other side of the continent.

“Someone that isn’t me for sure.”

Why didn’t she just start with that and not an attempt at seduction?

She was vulnerable tonight, so I took the chance to know more about her.

“Tell me, Aesel,” I said, “what’s your biggest goal in life?”

She smiled, “why do you ask?”

Although I usually didn’t divulge the true reason, Aesel became a person I truly was interested in, especially now. She always had this air of mystery and I might’ve suspected it for something else.

“I believe a person’s motive reveals who they truly are.”

“Well,” she went into contemplation while staring into the darkness of the ocean ahead, “a predictable life, I guess.”

“You can never have a predictable life. Even as a god.”

Look at what happened to Agaphonet. For all the power she held in Bloodscale Sea, a mere human on a wooden boat with a sharp stick still managed to kill her. Assuming the Prince of Lust was equal to a god, even she failed to predict the Prince of Wrath destroying a world she liked.

“What about you?”

I hummed. “Money. Lots of it.”

She smiled, and it turned into a bit of laughter.

“What?”

“If that’s the case then you’ve achieved your goal. Is it the number? How much?”

“If I’m gonna chase numbers then it will never end.”

“Then what you truly want is what money can personally do for you.”

The stars twinkled in tranquility above. Sure I desired all the fame, attention, and money… but why? Was it supposed to check a list? What list?

“I... honestly don’t know.”

The island’s natural ambiance took over. Aesel slid closer, placing her hand on mine. It still felt cold. When I gazed into her dark eyes, it wasn’t a void that gazed back but a galaxy brimming with twinkling stars.

My heart raced. Was I supposed to feel this with someone else other than Amea?

“If there’s someone both compassionate and pragmatic, that would be you. And I love that about you.”

She said those words in a soft, gentle tone. Even when her palm was cold, her warm breath brushed comfortably against my lips. My heart hammered in my chest. Thoughts rushed in my head yet I failed to pick one to say.

Just give in, Caesar. She obviously didn’t have any malicious intent against you.

“Tell me what’s in your mind,” she whispered sweetly, maintaining the distance between us. Her breathe smelled strongly of tobacco with a hint of sweetness.

“I can’t trust you. I don’t know why. Something feels wrong, I guess.”

“You don’t have to. But I will trust you, nonetheless. I will strive to stay by your side as long as you stay true to yourself and your goals.”

“And if I didn’t?”

Her hand grabbed mine. She inched closer, leaving barely any gap between our lips.

“How do you like to be called a former mayor?”

I smiled. “Doesn’t sound good unless it means retirement at sixty.”

“But…” she said, her hand climbing up to my chest.

“But what?”

“If you make me fall for you… then maybe, just maybe, I might even follow you to the deepest recesses of the cold, unforgiving caverns.”

She remained still, maintaining the gap between us. The air grew palpable, and I itched to grab her. Just as I gained the courage to finally risk it, she stepped back, stood up, and turned around.

“Hauntless night, Caesar.”

I could only watch her walk back to the inn, her hips swaying femininely.

I was left baffled with my dick at its peak erection.

“I guess I fumbled that.”