Re:Zero - Jobless Reincarnation: Succubus Sword God? I don't recognize it!

Chapter 552 Inside the Carriage, Whose Heartbeat Echoes?
As soon as she finished speaking, Aisha was stunned for a moment, but reacted quickly. She covered her mouth in a slightly exaggerated manner, clenched her fists in front of her chest, and praised with a deliberately fangirl-like expression:

"Commander? Is my brother the current commander of the Street Soldiers?"

Allen: #￢_￢

The head of the guards looked at Allen's face:

"Yes, Allen Boreas Grellat was appointed as the commander of the Street Legion by His Highness Gravel two weeks ago. The commander of the Street Legion not only needs to be proposed by the nobles, but also needs to be elected by the captains of the Street Legion. And Lord Allen's appointment was the result of a unanimous vote by all the captains of the Street Legion."

Aisha nodded: "Even if he's not in the capital?"

The head of the guards nodded in agreement: "Even though Your Excellency is not in the capital."

Allen shifted his gaze from Aisha's face to the head of the guards, showing little reaction to the so-called commander of the street guards, and instead inquired about the head of the guards' identity:

“Hill Chers, the third son of the Chers family, and my previous head of the Water God Style Dojo. Should I call you senior brother?”

—This statement alone is enough to verify his identity.

As expected, Hill Chers immediately waved away the curious guards around him, then stopped looking directly at Allen, lowered his head and chuckled as he said:
"Lord Allen, it really is you! What are you saying? Please don't tease me."

"Senior brother? Lady Leta only publicly acknowledges true geniuses who have formally entered the in-person instruction hall as her disciples. I am not even qualified to attend her in-person instruction hall to receive her teachings, so how dare I presume to call myself your senior brother?"

Allen continued, "I remember the Chers family controlled the sex industry in the Free Zone and were once very close to James, so have you seen me before?"

Hill Chers slowly said:
"Of course I've seen you before. It's precisely because I've seen you before that I didn't recognize your hair and face just now."

Allen didn't say anything.

Hill Chers abruptly changed the subject: "James? He's a dead man. Mentioning him is bad luck. The true line of Boreas has always been in Roya, not the capital. This is the current consensus among the nobles in the capital. As for what happened before, those were just some insignificant ripples in the Boreas family turmoil."

Allen smiled: "That's true."

Hill Chers chuckled and, without engaging in conversation, tried to get close to Allen.

Allen turned his head to look at the city wall, as if gazing at the royal palace, and murmured:

"However, the commander of the Street Soldiers, Gravel, is indeed very hardworking and acts very quickly. Now I don't even know how to deal with him."

Hill Chers pretended not to hear, keeping his eyes down.

Allen looked at him again: "You still have some ulterior motives. The Street Soldiers, huh? Why didn't Gravel appoint me as the commander of 'Dawn'? The Street Soldiers don't have the prestige of 'Dawn' at all."

Hill Chers scoffed: "You're in the Street Legion, so the Street Legion is Ars's 'Dawn,' all that? What is the Lilfan Knights anyway?"

Allen blinked at him: "You're quite a character."

Hill Chels scratched his head: "You flatter me, sir."

Allen said, "No need to be so nervous. Come to the mansion in a couple of days. I reckon Gravel will have to find an opportunity to hold an inauguration ceremony for me. Before that, I need to get a good understanding of the jurisdiction and responsibilities of the Street Legion."

Allen himself is not interested in power, but when power comes knocking on his door, he naturally won't refuse.

In the warring kingdom of Wanglong, he could simply kill anyone he didn't like with his sword, but now he was in the capital of Asura.

Family and friends all settled at the very center of power in this kingdom. Power was thrown at him, so he accepted it calmly. This would not only put Gravel at ease, preventing him from thinking about crooked ways all day, but also avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.

As for how to deal with Gravel afterward, he would have to talk to Olsteed about it later.

In the original story, Orstead helped Ariel ascend the throne because developing magical technology would have a positive effect on defeating the demon god Laplace later. Although he also thought highly of Ariel, at this point in time, objectively speaking, Ariel was indeed less capable than Gravel.

Even if he forcefully supports Ariel to ascend the throne, it would actually hinder Ariel's growth.

And
Allen thought that after Ariel took over, she might take advantage of her position to summon him to the palace every day, just like that time when he was trembling against a tree outside the Water God Sect's main dojo, using his murderous intent as material for spellcasting.

He had already started having headaches ahead of time.
Thoughts flashed by.

Hill Chels, who was opposite Allen, was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Then it's settled! Lord Allen! I will bring my wife to pay a visit."

She and her wife attended several banquets together, had pleasant conversations, and she praised her wife every day as a proper and elegant lady.

She's been pestering me to visit her all day, but I always felt it was too forward and advised her not to be so impulsive. This time, however, I finally have the chance.

Alan was interrupted and remembered Hilda's fiery red hair.

He paused briefly, then nodded:

"You're on good terms with Mother, huh? Well then, I must thank your wife for keeping her company."

Hill Chers paused, glancing at Aisha with a strange expression.

Aisha had a beaming smile on her face.

He hesitated for a moment, then stealthily leaned close to Allen's ear and whispered something under Allen's somewhat surprised gaze:

"It's Lady Hilda, not Madam Hilda."

Allen was taken aback, realizing that "Madam" referred to his wife, not his mother. Then, his brain seemed to rust, and it took him a few moments to figure out why this guy was acting like a thief.

He glanced at Aisha with a twitching smile.

—Aisha's expression remained unchanged, but Allen clearly saw the smile in Aisha's eyes.

Damn it. This guy saw how intimate he and Aisha were and decided he didn't intend to make the 'ordinary-born' Silphi his wife.

He shoved Hill Chers away with a backhand motion:

"As I just introduced, she is my sister."

Hill Chers looked a little confused:
“Ah? Enochos, I understand, it’s a good match. This is perfect.”

Aisha smiled and immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes."

Allen: "Huh?" Hill Chers, seeing Allen's expression and Aisha's demeanor, became even more excited and moved closer:

"Hey, sir, it's actually quite normal. You see, in the power circles of the capital, most of the noble young masters and ladies who are well-matched in social standing are like this."

The entanglements of interests and the connections of power mean that today I give you this, tomorrow you give me that; in the end, you're always sleeping next to the same familiar faces. Ultimately, some things are not entirely within our control.
For example, my wife is my distant cousin. The marriage was arranged by the family a long time ago. We grew up together. When we were young, we played in the back garden together. When we got older, we studied at a noble school. I went to the main dojo of the Suijin-ryu school to practice swordsmanship, while she studied illustration with a master at the theater next to the dojo.

Now, we're sleeping in the same bed again, with two pillows, two blankets, two people, one bed!

He slapped the back of his hand, making a loud slapping sound, and said with deep regret:

"You know what? Touching her hand is like touching your left hand with your right hand."

Allen and Aisha stared blankly at his clapping gesture.

Hill Chers became even more excited upon seeing this: "However, although that face has been uninteresting to look at for so many years, my distant cousin enjoys a good reputation among the nobles of the capital."

Previously, she was known as the "Flower of Chelsea" in the elite school, and was highly praised and sought after for her appearance.

I think if you met her, you would definitely like her type.

Aisha: ?
Allen: ? ?

No? Wait a minute? What do you mean I'd like to see your wife too?
Allen was stunned for a while. Looking at Hill Chers's smiling face, and combining it with the thought of Ariel's perverted nature, he finally felt like he was back in Ars.

The familiar absurdity and the inexplicably outrageous actions make one feel right at home.
What a mess!

He glanced at Aisha.

Although Aisha was still smiling, she looked at Hill Chers as if he were a dead man.

He waved his hand and pulled Aisha away, saying, "Come over by yourself in a couple of days. If you bring your wife, I'll beat you to death on the spot, you believe me?"

Hill Chers was taken aback: "You...you don't have to kill me. I'll walk away by myself tonight."

Allen ignored him completely, pulled Aisha along quickly back to his carriage, and swiftly got her into the carriage.

Aisha's forced smile seemed to have been interrupted by Eren's actions, and she burst into laughter, bending over with laughter.

Allen told the driver to keep going, then looked at her helplessly: "What are you laughing at?"

Aisha clutched her stomach and turned her head to look at him.

Strands of red hair swayed across her forehead, bobbing with her gaze, framing her dimples and bright smile, piercing Allen's eyes:
"It's quite interesting~ There are advantages to getting bigger, at least you can see your brother from the perspective of Sister Hilfi and the others."

My brother is usually as steadfast as a rock battered by a raging torrent when handling important matters, but he always seems a little flustered in these strangely trivial things. Isn't that a contrast, and also a bit intriguing?

Allen:
"Don't you think the nobles of Asura are all... strange?"

"Oh? Is that strange?"

Aisha propped her chin up with her index finger, looked up at the carriage roof, and said thoughtfully:

"When I was the head of the Asura Magicians' Guild, Her Majesty Ariel felt that I always had a gloomy expression, and tried to show me the 'customs and culture' of the royal aristocratic circle so that I could relax."

Allen's face fell, and his voice cracked slightly: "What the hell??"

Aisha looked at Ellen, her hands resting on her knees, striking a docile pose: "But I have absolutely no interest in her cute maids, and as for the so-called 'young talents' she tried to introduce to me, they are utterly vulgar and laughable, not even worth a second glance."

Her gaze followed Allen's cheekbone to his nose, then from his nose to his lips, and finally swept over Allen's dark pupils, completely extinguishing her smile.

Like a lost traveler who has been trekking for a very long time, tirelessly pursuing an answer.

Finally, he looked at Allen earnestly and asked:

"Brother, do you think I'm strange?"

The two looked at each other.

With a gurgling sound, the carriage slowly passed through the city gate, its curtains swaying in the wind.

"Lord Allen, see you later!" Hill Chers bid Allen a respectful farewell from outside the curtains.

Whispers drifted from the group of adventurers outside the city walls, as if they were speculating about the identities and relationship of the two people in the carriage.

It was very noisy and disruptive.

But I don’t know why.

At this moment, in Allen's senses, the ambient sounds became more and more distant, more and more ethereal, and more and more elusive.

He could only hear the echo of his own heartbeat.

"Click it."

Allen and Aisha both looked to their side.

Alsted clung to the window, leaning slightly forward, as if he were about to jump out of the car, but because his body was too large, he could not squeeze out of the window quietly, and could only form an awkward stalemate with the window.

He paused slightly and released his grip on the carriage window.

His hands had pinched the edge of the window frame, creating a cracked, shattered look.

Alsted silently looked at his hands, his expression unchanged, still bearing that murderous look:

"We have entered the Free Zone. From here, it will be another half hour's drive for you, Allen, to get back to Boreas."

This is nonsense.

(End of this chapter)