Chapter 430

More than a decade ago, the eldest son of Duke Stelmane of Baldur’s Gate had sought Adrie’s hand in marriage, only to be thrown out by her.

It wasn’t that she lacked social awareness. She simply refused to let anyone use her as a stepping stone to seize control of Paros!

Banning the slave trade and actively combating it across borders were two very different things. Throughout the Sword Coast, Paros was the only city that persisted in doing the latter.

If someone else took over as head of the council, the armed forces and funding dedicated to that effort would immediately be cut, and the entire undertaking would soon come to nothing.

Those who had never suffered through slavery themselves would never truly understand. That included Anser.

He had never been a slave. He sympathized with some slaves, but his sympathy was nowhere near enough to make him harbor a deep-seated hatred of slave traders.

Adrie had chosen Anser not merely because of his strength and status, but primarily because he was the person least likely to compromise with slave traders.

He was a Paladin, and the battle that had made him famous involved slaughtering slave traders.

Not only that, he had no hesitation about killing Underdark creatures, orcs, Mind Flayers, or the Chosen of evil gods. There was no way a handful of slave traders could intimidate him.

Anser couldn’t tell whether Adrie’s romantic feelings were genuine, so he decided to let things take their natural course. After all, hadn’t he been attracted to her looks from the start?

After dinner, Adrie stopped clinging to Anser.

According to earlier intelligence, if the drow army marched through the night, it could reach the vicinity of Paros in the second half of the night.

The entire city was on alert tonight, with several times the usual number of soldiers on duty, all to guard against a nighttime attack by the drow army.

Anser wasn’t worried. In fact, he was hoping the drow would hurry up and arrive.

If those Underdark creatures dared to gather in one place, he would gladly unleash another Meteor Swarm. A few thousand of them posed no threat whatsoever.

It wasn’t that he was getting arrogant. He genuinely couldn’t imagine how the enemy could defend against an attack of that magnitude. Even he couldn’t defend against his own attack.

Their best option would be to assemble several Legendary Professionals and surround him, but he could fly, teleport, and travel between planes. None of that was a secret, and his enemies had no way to deal with him.

As long as he didn’t get reckless or walk into an enemy trap, he was relatively safe.

Unless some deity became so fed up with him that they decided to descend personally just to kill him.

‘It hasn’t come to that yet, has it?’ He shook his head and stopped entertaining such thoughts.

Adrie spent the entire night on guard duty, while he stayed in her bedroom reading.

He had only made it through a third of the Book of Exalted Deeds. He had been slacking off a little and needed to pick up the pace.

This Artifact was immensely helpful to him, so he had to finish reading it as soon as possible.

The Holrewen Charitable Foundation had already begun operating, and its initial efforts over the past two days were showing results. Large amounts of Spirit Coins had been distributed, attracting considerable attention.

There were far too many things to spend Spirit Coins on through the Spirit Net and far too few ways to earn them, leaving many people at their wits’ end.

Whether it was sharing knowledge, publishing news, singing, writing books, or producing nude art, none of these activities was particularly accessible. Many ordinary people were dirt poor and couldn’t even read Common, much less do any of those things.

But everyone could participate in doing good deeds. Even if they couldn’t accomplish anything major, they could always do something small. Helping the elderly and vulnerable wasn’t particularly difficult.

After successfully receiving payments from the charitable foundation, many people couldn’t resist showing off their earnings on the forums. Participation skyrocketed as a result, and the allocation of ten thousand Spirit Coins was almost entirely exhausted.

Naturally, some people tried to cheat the system. What they didn’t know was that the Spirit Net secretly recorded videos whenever photographs were taken. Combined with oversight from other members and moderators, most fraudulent activity could be detected.

The names and identification numbers of those caught would be posted on the foundation forum’s blacklist, and they would be permanently barred from participating in any activities organized by the Holrewen Federation.

That was a powerful deterrent. Even the most foolish person wouldn’t want to offend the increasingly influential Holrewen Federation over a handful of Spirit Coins. It simply wasn’t worth it.

The night stretched on. Scattered lights dotted the walls of Paros, where patrols continued without interruption.

Birds constantly flew through the silent night sky. They were animal companions belonging to military Professionals, serving as the finest scouts.

On the city wall, Adrie stared into the pitch-black night, her gaze unfocused. Her thoughts kept drifting back to what had happened earlier that day, and she unconsciously licked her lips.

Footsteps interrupted her reverie. She turned her head and saw the military commander of Paros approaching.

“Council Speaker, they haven’t come. It looks like they’ve followed the Winding Water eastward.”

“Hmm?” Adrie frowned slightly. “Are you certain?”

“Yes. We’ve confirmed it three times through reconnaissance,” the officer replied with a nod.

“Maintain the alert. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Adrie pulled her cloak tighter around herself to keep out the cold night wind, then turned and left.

When she returned to the manor on her Phantom Steed, she immediately noticed the light shining from the top-floor balcony.

That man was still reading!

‘He really does work hard. No wonder he’s so powerful at such a young age,’ she thought admiringly as she quietly made her way upstairs.

She was something of a genius herself, but she rarely spent entire nights studying. With all her administrative responsibilities, her strength had largely come from the gradual accumulation of experience over time.

Clearly, even Sorcerers couldn’t dispense with day after day of hard work and perseverance.

Lost in thought, she reached her bedroom and pushed open the door. She caught sight of Anser’s profile, his cheeks bearing a faint metallic sheen that made him resemble a remarkably lifelike statue.

“Looks like the drow didn’t come?” Anser asked, turning toward her.

“That’s right. How did you know?” Adrie closed the door and removed her cloak.

“The Spirit Net, of course.” Anser chuckled. “Plenty of bounty hunters are tracking those drow, hoping to be the first to publish intelligence about their movements and make a fortune.”

“So that’s how it is.” Adrie relaxed, letting her body slump as she rested her head against Anser’s shoulder, exhaustion written across her face.

Anser closed the Book of Exalted Deeds and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her into his embrace. “You’ve been running back and forth all night. Aren’t you tired?”

“Tired. Very tired.” Adrie nestled deeper into his arms. “It feels wonderful to have someone to lean on. When I was little, I used to curl up in my father’s arms just like this.”

“And here I am, playing several roles at once,” Anser teased.

Adrie froze for a moment before catching his meaning. She couldn’t resist nudging his chin with the top of her head. “Are you sure you’re a respectable Paladin?”

“If I were too respectable, would you have gotten your chance?” Anser countered.

“So the rumors really are true. You’re entangled with the royal families of Cormyr and Bral. Are you planning a political marriage?” Adrie sat upright, her expression turning serious.

“Those rumors are false.” Anser waved a dismissive hand.

“Then why are you helping them?”

“For fairness and justice.”

“Oh, really?” Adrie drew out the words, clearly skeptical, or at least not entirely convinced.

Anser felt helpless. It was difficult to explain, so he simply changed the subject. “Why haven’t you joined the Spirit Net?”

He had just asked Sakkors to check, and apparently Adrie had never applied to join.

“I don’t trust the Spirit Net,” Adrie replied bluntly.

“The Spirit Net was created by the gods of the Seldarine. Even the Silver Marches have issued an official statement supporting it.” Anser studied her curiously.

“I worship Selûne, the Moon Goddess,” Adrie explained.

“I see.”

Most elves worshiped the gods of the Seldarine, but there were always exceptions. It wasn’t particularly unusual.

Just then, a message arrived through the Spirit Net. Anser quickly checked it, and sure enough, it contained information about the drow army.

They had suddenly changed direction, crossed the Fields of the Dead, and headed straight for Trollclaw Ford.

To the northeast of the ford lay Boareskyr Bridge. Both locations were vital trade routes connecting Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate, and travelers had to pass through them.