Chapter 2: Infinite City – translated by Samuki (1/2)

“Why must I be the liege lord?” I grumbled, malcontented. I don’t even have the foggiest notion of what to do as a liege lord; wouldn’t it be better if the position was given to Wolf-dàgē? Making me the liege lord! I’m not even sure what to do with our new territory. What are we going to do with it, farm?

“Let me ask you, Prince,” said Lolidragon in an interrogative manner as she jabbed a finger at my nose, “Do you know how to devise strategies or command troops like Wolf-dàgē, and so be put in charge of the military department?”

I cocked my head to one side, thinking, Me, handle military matters? I don’t even know what the difference between strategies and tactics is… “I don’t know how to.”

“Or are you by some chance like Yulian-dàsăo, with the talent to manage finances and accounts with incomparable skill, able to use money to generate more money, and so manage the finance department? Are you, in addition, a mage, and so able to take charge of the mages’ department as well?”

“No, I can’t.” It’s already an achievement in itself if I don’t spend all of my money, and besides, I’m not a mage, I thought, feeling sorry for myself.

“Then do you have a brain as good as Gui’s? Are you able to come up with the blueprints for the entire territory and even supervise the entire construction process?”

I went to a corner to be gloomy. “About drawing… People have always said that the dogs I draw looked more like cats.”

“Then do you have my technical knowledge, to be able to lay traps around the territory to prevent monsters or other players from attacking?”

“Not stepping on one of those traps myself, that can already be considered a blessing…” There were now two ghost fires floating next to me.

“Then are you by any chance able to summon skeletons like Doll, to help with the construction?” Lolidragon questioned, dealing me a final blow.

I didn’t expect…that even Doll’s more useful than I am! I want to weep… “If I’m so useless, why do you still want me to be the liege lord?” I pouted, sulking.

Lolidragon gave me a pat on my shoulder, her face the picture of kindness – or was it faux kindness? – as she looked at me. “That’s precisely why we want you to be the liege lord! After all, the only thing you can be is the liege lord, who doesn’t need to do anything except be good-looking, be presentable, and not do anything to damage our territory’s reputation!”

“So that’s how it is! So it’s because I don’t know how to do anything that I can only be the liege lord…” My eyes filled with two large, glistening tears and I whimpered. “I must apply myself to learning some skills from now on, otherwise I’ll never amount to anything more than a liege lord.”

…Is being the liege lord really such a sad thing? wondered the remaining members of Odd Squad.

Backtracking a little, back on that day when Lolidragon used Burrowing to safely sit out the havoc wrought by the two large-scale AOE spells, stomped Feng Wu Qing to death, and then snatched victory back for Odd Squad in the Adventurers’ Tournament, we went onstage happily to claim our prize as a team. We drank in the deafening cheers of the crowd and admired the remarkable sight of the members of Dark Emperor standing stock-still, mouths gaping in shock for an entire hour…until the headaches began.

Of all the prizes, the most significant one was a piece of land, which we were suddenly saddled with for no reason. According to hearsay, it could compare with Sun, Moon, and Star cities in terms of size, and so we had no choice but to start discussing how to manage this piece of trouble…

“This land of ours is really no small burden. Sun, Moon and Star cities are spread out along the fringes of this continent in a triangular formation; as the cities are quite far from one another, and as teleportation fees are expensive, most players will usually opt to make one of the three cities their base camp and then train in its vicinity. Our territory lies right smack in the middle of the entire continent, however, and the amount of time needed to travel from our land to any of the key areas on this continent is pretty much the same.

”As such, if we play our cards right, we’ll definitely be able to lure most of the players away from Sun, Moon, and Star cities and get them to settle down here. However, for the same reason there will be many people eyeing this piece of land…and that will probably be much scarier than an attack by mobs,” Lolidragon mused, frowning. “Although the developers have provided us with NPC guards for the moment, once the time’s up, they will be removed, after which we will have to defend the city on our own. While we can hire NPC guards, they’re overly expensive and, after all, they’re not human players. They lack adaptability and thus cannot be the main pillar of our defense. We must organize our own defense force, create a vibrant economy, and design our city well…”

That was how we began to divide the work among us…And, as you can see, because there’s nothing special about me except my good looks, I ended up as an ornament – the liege lord!

“Although the liege lord is supposedly nothing more than an ornament, Prince, I have an assignment for you, to keep you from dying of boredom.” Wolf-dàgē cleared his throat. “We have a serious shortage of manpower, so you have to recruit some help.”

“Who am I going to recruit…?” My fan club? You’ve got to be kidding me!

“Rose Team.” Lolidragon said as she tapped her chin with a finger thoughtfully. Upon seeing me flinch, she hurried to add, “Even though there was some unhappiness the last time we met, they’re good people. I don’t think they really felt that what happened was your fault. Besides, there are quite a few talented individuals in Rose Team.”

“The big brothers and sisters from Dark Emperor too!” Doll exclaimed delighted. “They’re all good people!”

“Nan Gong Zui!” Yulian-dàsăo added, even as Gui’s face hardened upon hearing that name. (His objections were overruled, however.) “To have been one of the head honchos of the three major alliances in the tournament, he must have considerable influence. If you can get him to join us, Prince, our force’s numbers will be greatly bolstered.”

“That’s right, it’s basically these people for now,” Wolf-dàgē said with a nod. “While we’re pouring our sweat and blood into constructing the city, Prince you should make use of the time to chat with them and do some networking, and then get them to join us while you’re at it. Oh, by the way, it’ll be great if you can find other talented individuals as well. What do you think? Isn’t your assignment quite simple?”

Biting my index finger, with my head tilted to one side, I thought, It seems to be…quite easy?!

“Okay, then I’ll get going. It’ll be tough on you guys!” I felt a little guilty. Everyone else will be working hard on construction, whereas I’m running off to chit-chat… Sigh! It’s all because I don’t know how to do anything, that’s why I’m so useless.

Everyone waved cheerfully at me as I left. I too waved back at them enthusiastically, and then embarked on my “chatting” journey…

It was not until they could no longer see Prince that the smiles, which had been plastered on the faces of the remaining Odd Squad members, finally came off.

“Hmm… I feel a little guilty. We’ve tricked Prince into carrying the toughest job; I wonder if he’ll be okay?” Wolf-dàgē remarked, looking slightly worried.

“Don’t worry about it; that fellow has extremely good luck with people in general. Besides, I don’t have a conscience to speak of, so I don’t feel the least bit guilty,” Lolidragon said with an evil smile.

“Prince is the liege lord after all, so one way or another he has to have a little responsibility!” Yu Lian-dàsăo smiled, stretching her index finger and thumb as far apart as possible as she said “a little”.

In a troubled tone, Gui asked, “But will Prince lose his way?”

…That is the most worrying question indeed!

“Who should I look for first?” I agonized. “Oh well, I guess I’ll look for Dark Emperor first; since Zhuo-gēge is there, it shouldn’t be that difficult to recruit them, right?!”

I made up my mind and immediately PMed Wicked, saying, “Wicked, where are you guys? There’s something I’d like to talk over with you all!”

“…We’re in Star City, but it’s better if you don’t come over now.” Upon receiving her message, Wicked was initially delighted at the prospect of being able to see Xiao Lan. However, after he took one long look at his drunken teammates sprawled about in the restaurant booth and thought of how they had been talking about hacking the members of Odd Squad into a million pieces just a moment ago while drinking, Wicked thought the better of letting Xiao Lan come over. “What’s up?”

“I want to rope you guys into managing the territory!” I went straight to the point.

“Hmm… I’ll talk things over with my teammates, but they’re too angry to think straight right now, so it’ll be better if you don’t come over first.”

“Oh, then I guess I’ll look for Nan Gong Zui first,” I replied, even as I thought, Rose Team… I guess I’ll look for them last. I still felt a little guilty about what happened, so I wasn’t ready to meet them yet.

Unbeknownst to Prince, Wicked’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’re going to look for Nan Gong Zui?! That fellow Gui actually didn’t try to stop you?”

“Yeah, he did. I have no idea why he was objecting, but after Lolidragon got him in a chokehold, he didn’t object anymore.” (Or perhaps it was because he had no way to voice his objections?) Seriously, Gui gets jealous over just about anything. Are all gays this troublesome? He gets agitated if anyone approaches me, never mind whether they’re male or female… He’s such a poor thing!

“Don’t look for Nan Gong Zui! I guarantee you that Dark Emperor will join you guys!” Wicked looked menacingly at his teammates on the floor; woe betide any naysayers!

“I knew you’re the best, Zhuo-gēge! It’s a done deal then; you have to join us!” I said happily, thinking, One team down already, looks like I’ll be back with my Odd Squad teammates in no time! “I’ll go look for Nan Gong Zui now then.”

“Hey—!”

I closed my private channel with Wicked and PMed Nan Gong Zui for the first time ever. “Nan Gong Zui, paging for Nan Gong Zui!”

“Who is it?”

“Prince,” I reported my name cheerfully.

“…The Blood Elf?” Nan Gong Zui sounded somewhat startled.

“Just call me Prince.” Why does Nan Gong Zui like calling me “the Blood Elf” so much?

“Oh, Prince. Is something the matter?” Nan Gong Zui asked enthusiastically. “Looking for me to go drinking together?”

“Erm…something like that, and there’s some other stuff I want to discuss with you.”

“No problem; come over first! I’m in Moon City, just let me know before you arrive,” Nan Gong Zui replied, and his voice became tinged with frustration. “I still have to settle that problem with my godsister Ice Phoenix first.”

“Sure. It might take me a few days to reach, as I’m still pretty far from Moon City, so take your time to settle things,” I replied.

So, my destination is Moon City? I unfolded the map and saw that Moon City was on the west side of the continent. Which way is west? I looked blankly at the huge moon and the sky full of stars, thinking, Gui told me before that if I can find the North Star, I’ll be able to tell which way’s north…but what did he say about finding the North Star again? First I have to locate the Big Dipper…but what is the Big Dipper? My head slumped to one side, uncomprehending. (Gui: I couldn’t get you to understand in the end, but didn’t I give you a compass?)

“Phoenix, do you mean to infuriate me to death?” Nan Gong Zui was on the verge of exploding with anger as he looked at his godsister. “Fan is clearly deceiving you; can you still not see that? Why did you foolishly send him yet another present?”

Ice Phoenix smiled sorrowfully. “Dàgē, is it really so wrong to love a person, to want to make sacrifices for his sake, to want to dedicate yourself to him? I believe that his heart will be truly moved by me one day.”

“You, you…!” Nan Gong Zui gave an exasperated sigh as he wondered, How is it that women can be this foolish?

“I have loved Fan deeply since the moment I first laid eyes on him,” Phoenix said. There was an intoxicated expression on her face as she recollected, “He is just like a perfect god. Back then, when he walked towards me, I even thought that I was looking at the most handsome Sun God, Apollo! I believe that there is no other person in the world who can rival his perfection.”

Goose pimples broke out all over Nan Gong Zui’s body. Fan certainly is quite good-looking… I wonder, between him and Prince, which one of them would Phoenix prefer?

“Ah… Fan’s PMing me, I’ve got to hurry over,” Phoenix said, almost beside herself with joy upon receiving Fan’s message.

“I forbid you to go—” Before he could finish speaking, his godsister was already gone, and so Nan gong Zui had no choice but to hurriedly chase after his godsister’s disappearing figure.

In the end, I still took the wrong path. I inadvertently walked to the East instead, and thus wound up in Star City…after which I chose to simply travel to Moon City via the teleportation station. As it turns out, Moon City was actually a Chinese-styled city. As I wandered through the city, I happily admired the bamboo buildings, red lanterns, and the streets full of fan-waving swordsmen.

Talk about how the culture of a city influences the character of the people living in it… That’s odd, why did my brother, that Chu Liu Xiang-wannabe, end up in Star City instead? I mused as I gnawed on a stick of candied haws that I had just bought.

“Stop right there, Phoenix!” Nan Gong Zui grabbed Phoenix’s hand angrily.

“Let go of me, Dàgē; let me look for Fan!” Phoenix wailed.

I chewed another candied haw as I watched the scene unfold before my eyes, thinking, Looks like my luck’s pretty good; I found Nan Gong Zui without even having to PM him!

Fan sauntered over slowly towards the duo from the other end of the street with a smile on his face. “Nan Gong Zui, don’t you think that your behavior’s rather unsightly? You couldn’t win your godsister’s heart, so you’re resorting to brute force now?”

“What did you say? Don’t spout nonsense, I just don’t want her to be deceived by a bastard like you,” Nan Gong Zui roared, enraged.

“Nan Gong Zui, you should be more careful about what you’re saying. Who’s deceiving her? Phoenix, have I ever tried to deceive you?” Fan asked, and his expression was one of confidence. “I made everything clear to you, including the fact that you’re only one of the women I’m seeing.”

“I know. It’s okay, I don’t mind at all,” Phoenix replied, mesmerized by Fan’s handsome side profile.

Fan shrugged and gave Nan Gong Zui a helpless look.