New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

After leaving Leon's room, Astaroth made his way down to the office Phoenix often used as a personal meeting room and where she did her paperwork in peace.

He found a single guard at the door, who looked almost too young to be standing there in the Royal Guard uniform.

When the guard saw him, he clanged his heels together, slamming his fist into his chest plate.

"Your Highness!" he saluted.

"At ease," Astaroth replied, heading into the room.

The soldier calmed down after he passed next to him, but then looked at the hall with a curious face.

"Uhm… Sir?" he called out.

"Hmm?" Astaroth hummed, stopping his steps.

"Where is your assigned guard?"

Astaroth's eyebrow raised, wondering what he was talking about.

"What assigned guard?"

"Your assigned private guard, sir. Orders from the Royal Guard commander?"

Astaroth looked at him with the eyes of a dead fish, having no idea what he was talking about.

"I was not assigned one, and I doubt Rodney would even think I need one… I don't even understand why Phoenix has one. Why would I have someone follow me around when they are not going to be needed if a fight breaks out?"

The soldier calmed down after he passed next to him, but then looked at the hall with a curious face.

Astaroth's eyebrow raised, wondering what he was talking about.

"Uhm… Sir?" he called out.

"Hmm?" Astaroth hummed, stopping his steps.

"What assigned guard?"

"Where is your assigned guard?"

"Your assigned private guard, sir. Orders from the Royal Guard commander?"

The guard looked stunned for a second, assuming the king had been briefed about this before going back to a stoic face.

"Sir. I implore you to get your guard. They were orders from Commander Levine and concerned both you and the queen."

Astaroth sighed loudly.

"I don't ne—"

Before Astaroth could finish his rant, Commander Levine popped out of a side corridor.

"Ahh! There you are! I've been looking for you since the meeting. Where were you?" Rodney asked, visibly annoyed.

Astaroth looked at him and frowned.

"Here and there. Why? Did you need me for something?"

As he asked this, Astaroth saw a soldier pop out of the same corridor Rodney had come from, and his face dropped.

"Rodney, I—"

"Nope! I don't want to hear it. I'm not asking. As your Royal Guard commander and de facto general of this nation, I'm ordering you to always have this personal guard with you. Get used to him. Selena, he's all yours. Don't lose him."

"Yes, sir!" the woman shouted, saluting the commander, who promptly left.

Astaroth was left in the hallway, with a snickering Royal Guard in front of the door to Phoenix's office and another suddenly shadowing him.

"Urgh… Just don't get in my way if a fight ever breaks out. And by all means, make sure you can follow me."

"I will do my best, sir!" the woman said.

That was when Astaroth noticed two small pointed ears on the top of her head amidst her hair. They had flicked around as she answered, catching his attention.

"Are you a beast person? I thought most of your kind stayed hidden?" Astaroth asked, getting closer to her ears.

The woman immediately stepped back, keeping a respectful distance from the monarch.

"The guardian recruited me after he defeated me. It hasn't been long since I've started showing my face around, sir. But I have been in the kingdom for months."

Astaroth looked at her, trying to remember if he had seen her before. White hair, azure blue eyes, striped ears.

He would think she was related to the white tiger that had assaulted Bastion City during the siege if he didn't know better. But it couldn't be.

That tiger was a full-on monster. There was nothing human about it.

He saw a long black-and-white stripped tail swish behind her, and his face contorted strangely.

"Have we ever met?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

Seeing a bead of sweat form over her brow, Astaroth knew he was on to something.

"I… I don't believe we have, y-y-your majesty, ah hahaha," he laughed nervously.

Astaroth's gaze narrowed.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

Before she could crack, Phoenix's voice from inside the office drifted their way.

"Alright, leave her alone. That's harassment, you know?"

Astaroth rolled his eyes upward, stepping back from the guard.

"I just wanted to know who I was dealing with…" he replied, entering the office.

"Couldn't you have done that in a more civilized fashion? Instead of stepping into her face like that? I swear, sometimes I wonder how you can be so crude and so delicate on the same day. It astounds me," Phoenix admonished him.

"Close the door, please, Gabe," she ordered her personal guard.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

As the door closed, the beast woman mouthed the word thank you to Phoenix, and she winked back.

"Why did you just wink?" Astaroth asked, snapping his head back toward the door as it closed completely.

"I didn't wink. I had something in my eye. Now sit down. We have a few things I would like to do if we pass the rest of our day in here."

"Oh? Really? What kind of things?" Astaroth asked, wriggling his eyebrows.

"Shut up, dummy. Sit down; we have plenty of work to do. You know? Proper work? Something you have been skimping on for over a month?" she teased him. Novel Fire - novelfire.net

"Hey! That wasn't my fault!" he rebuked.

Phoenix giggled, taking her stack of paper and splitting it in the middle. She then slammed it across her desk in front of the despairing Astaroth.

"Go through these. These are members of Aces High, whom I still haven't accepted to break the contract. Most of them are dead weight, and don't deserve to stay in Paragon. But they refuse to leave."

Astaroth looked at the piles, and his head spun.

"How are so many of them who don't want to break the contracts? From what you told me, those are basically slavery contracts…"

"I know. Listen, they are afraid that they won't be able to find another guild if they leave. I get it. This world has become a dangerous place to be a solo player. But I don't want uncommitted people in Paragon or people who risk selling our info at the first sign of danger…"

Astaroth sighed, dragging the pile closer to him.

"Fine… Let's get this over with…"

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