161. Mission 4 Update
Chapter 161: Mission 4 Update
I woke up to sunlight doing that rude thing where it forces its way through the curtains like it owns the place.
My head hurt. In a good way. My body hurt. In an even better way.
Gwen was still asleep beside me, tangled in sheets that had long since surrendered their dignity. Naked. Warm. Peaceful in that dangerous, heart-softening way that made a man consider stupid ideas like tomorrow.
Room 2B of the Mikaelson Inn smelled faintly of soap, sweat, and bad decisions I fully intended to repeat.
For about three glorious seconds, I let myself pretend the world had paused. No System. No missions. No empires. Just a bed, a girl, and a ceiling with a crack shaped suspiciously like a dragon eating a shoe.
Then came the knock.
Firm. Professional. The kind of knock that didn’t ask, it informed.
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
I slipped out of bed carefully, because Gwen sleeping was a sacred thing, grabbed my trousers, thought better of it, and settled for my underwear. If the world was about to screw me, it didn’t get the satisfaction of full pants.
The knock came again.
“I’m coming,” I muttered. “Violence optional.”
I opened the door.
Freya Mikaelson stood there in full city-guard uniform, polished armor, sword at her hip, posture ramrod straight. And she wasn’t alone. Two guards flanked her, faces professionally blank, eyes very carefully not looking at my bare legs.
Freya’s gaze flicked down once.
Paused.
Returned to my face.
Something tiny shifted behind her eyes. A micro-expression. Surprise? Annoyance? Murderous thoughts? Hard to say. It vanished as quickly as it came.
“Kaizen,” she said flatly. “You are summoned by the Duchess. Immediately.”
“Good morning to you too, Sunshine,” I said. “You always bring backup when waking people up, or am I special?”
“This is official business,” she replied. “I am here as Knight-Captain of Torak. Not as a civilian.”
Behind her, one of the guards coughed and stared very hard at the opposite wall.
I leaned against the doorframe. “Let me guess. ‘Urgent.’ ‘Non-negotiable.’ ‘If I resist, someone gets stabbed.’”
Freya didn’t blink. “Get dressed.”
She stepped forward just enough that she could see past me.
Into the room.
Onto the bed.
Onto Gwen.
Naked. Asleep. Hair splayed across the pillow like she belonged there. Which she did. Very much did.
Freya’s jaw tightened.
There it was again. That flicker. Gone in a heartbeat.
“Five minutes,” she said coldly. “Do not test my patience.”
“Wasn’t planning on it,” I replied softly.
I closed the door.
The room felt heavier.
Gwen stirred, blinking sleepily. “What’s wrong?”
“Government,” I said. “The natural predator of happiness.”
She sat up, sheets pulled to her chest, eyes searching my face. I forced a grin. It probably came out crooked.
“I’ll be back,” I said. “Try not to miss me too much.”
She smiled anyway. Gods help me.
I dressed quickly, leaned down, kissed her forehead, then her lips because I wasn’t strong enough not to and turned away before I could make things worse by promising things I couldn’t control.
When I opened the door again, Freya was already turning on her heel.
“Follow,” she ordered.
No hesitation. No glance back.
We moved through the inn like a funeral procession. Erik stood behind the counter, wiping a mug. He froze when he saw me flanked by guards.
Our eyes met.
He didn’t ask.
He just frowned.
That was somehow worse.
Outside, Torak was awake and loud and blissfully unaware of how close I was to getting crushed under cosmic bullshit. People stared. Whispers followed. A few recognized me. Fewer smiled.
As we walked toward the central district, I tried once more.
“So,” I said, matching Freya’s stride. “Care to tell me why the Duchess wants me dragged out of bed like a criminal?”
Silence.
“Let me guess again,” I continued. “Empire. Envoy. Political nightmare. I’m the weird variable no one knows where to file.”
Still nothing.
Her face was stone. Professional. Distant.
Fine.
We reached the City Lord’s Manor. Guards saluted Freya and opened the doors without question.
Inside, the air felt different. Thicker. Like the building itself knew bad decisions were about to be made.
They led me into a private chamber.
The Duchess Helena of Korka stood near the window, sunlight catching in her hair like it had been instructed to behave. City Lord Boromir was there, stiff and uncomfortable in his own house. And standing off to the side…
Lashley and Neralia.
The twins looked tense. Neralia met my eyes briefly. Something like apology flickered there.
I swallowed.
Yep. I’d been expecting this.
For one stupid moment yesterday, I’d thought about running. Packing up. Vanishing into the forest. Letting the world choke on its own problems.
Too late now.
Freya stepped aside, hands clasped behind her back, every inch the Knight-Captain.
The Duchess turned.
“Kaizen,” she began…
The world froze.
Sound vanished. Light dimmed.
That familiar, soul-scraping presence slid into my skull like it paid rent.
***---***
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Mission Update Received.
Mission 4: The Imperial Envoy
Primary Objective: Unlocked
Rescue the Envoy.
Secondary Objective: Unlocked
Integrate Freya Mikaelson into the Harem System as your first Harem Member.
Completion Conditions:
1. Deliver the Imperial Envoy alive to King of Rostalio in the capital city of Avigate.
2. Engage in sexual intercourse with Freya Mikaelson on a minimum of 10 separate days within a 15-day period.
For this mission only, all objectives are mandatory.
Failure of any single condition will result in the immediate death of Survivor #4019.
Rewards and Bonuses: Classified
Expected Mission Difficulty: A-
Updated Survival Probability: 39%
***---***
My stomach dropped through the floor.
The room snapped back into focus.
The Duchess was still looking at me.
Everyone was waiting for me to respond.
I stood there, heart pounding, mouth dry, mind screaming.
Ten days.
Fifteen.
Freya Mikaelson.
Knight-Captain. Duty incarnate. Ice and iron and everything I was absolutely not supposed to touch.
The System wasn’t just screwing with my life anymore.
It was aiming straight at the people around me.
I laughed.
A short, sharp sound that made everyone flinch.
“Well,” I said, rubbing my face. “This day officially took a hard left into hell.”
And somewhere deep inside, I knew one thing with terrifying clarity.
Running away yesterday wouldn’t have saved me.
It just would’ve delayed the explosion.