Guild Wars

"Impossible! That half-breed child was left with the members of the Buddha Lineage way back then! How could they have let the wretched devilspawn live?" Councilor Damien cried out in shock.

"Such nonsense! Didn't your own father allow a wretched devilspawn like you to live? How dare you refer to another Councilor's child that way?!" Hector roared as he flung his glass away, no longer in the mood to drink.

"Whether or not this is Councilor Walter's child as the exile claims has yet to be confirmed. It could just be a look-alike for all we know." Councilor Meredith interrupted hurriedly.

"A good point, while we're at it, we should also go and check your heritage, just to make sure you are actually the daughter of former Councilwoman Meridia. For all we know, you might have been a child she simply found in a trash can and presented you as her daughter!" Councilor Edwards retorted as he took his legs down from the table and sat down seriously for the first time.

"You..!!" Councilor Damien and Meredith shouted at their opponents, but were silenced by Councilor David.

"If what Nicholas says is true, then he has done a meritorious deed. It is a fact that Councilor Walter's child with the prodigy of the Buddha Lineage is alive and willing to acknowledge his father's Lineage, this is something to be celebrated and dealt with carefully."

Councilor Meredith's face changed and she glared at Councilor David coldly from the side, but the fellow wisely decided not to look over. Instead, he doubled down and spoke frankly.

"Nicholas, I do not like you. You are chaos incarnate, someone who is too lazy to properly use his enormous talent and power, and are decadent in behavior like Hector."

Councilor Hector who had been glaring at Councilor Damien's face suddenly became awkward as he pointed to himself like 'what did I do?!' innocently.

"However, that is only my dislike for you. I have nothing against this child and rather sympathize with him. I know of the events that led to his estrangement, and I won't deny that we are at fault for his suffering. If, after all that, he actually does not hate his father's side and is willing to come before us, we must seek ways to remedy the harm done in the past and soothe his heart." Councilor David spoke frankly.

"Really? I kinda of agree with that logic, it makes sense. As long as we can verify he holds no malicious intentions towards the Lineage, we shouldn't just take him back, but go as far as Councilor David suggests." Councilor James added as he focused his gaze on Councilor Walter.

Walter himself had been dumbfounded when he heard Misery's revelation, frozen in his seat as years of memories lost to time resurfaced in his head, especially when he looked at the adult Kiran who looked like just him when he had met Juno back then.

...............

22nd February, 2040. According to the timeline, this was around 8 year before World War 3 would officially begin, and the various nations were eyeing each other as international tensions rose.

At this time, a 21-year-old beauty from India had decided to travel the wolrd to broaden her horizons and train herself despite the looming danger. This beauty was innocent, fearless, playful and willing to learn all she could.

She had worked many jobs on her way here, experiencing the life of an average person throughout. Even though she was quite attractive, in this era where social media existed and hundreds of beauties were available for seeing, there was no great reaction to her presence.

The occasional times that some fellows had tried to take a chance, a brownish energy had enveloped her body and her martial power had left them barely alive, as if Batman had passed through and had questioned them.

This month she was travelling through England, working as a florist in a dainty shop on Oxford Street. It wasn't on the main street but in one of the small alleys at the back, where a line of small kiosks opened on either side of the road peddling wares.

In truth, her business was going quite well this time. Unlike the smaller countries she had passed through on her way here, England was a top country and the economy was quite good in comparison. Even though she was a small business owner in a rather niche business, she made enough profit to be left with some savings in he bank account.

On this day, she was peddling her wares as usual when she saw four young men in extremely fashionable attire pass by. Juno blinked at their sight, noting that they all looked similar to each other.

A group of cousins perhaps?

Not only that, they were all handsome and looked regal from their demeanor. Eventually, the handsomest one (in Juno's opinion) seemed to notice her gaze and looked over. He then froze on the spot as if stunned, feeling like he had encountered an angel who had descend upon this earth.

Juno suddenly blushed as her heart began to race due to his reaction, and the only thought in her head was 'oh my!' over and over again. The other fellows seemed to notice their cousin's reaction and followed his gaze.

When they saw Juno, her reaction and Walter who was still in a daze, the other three snickered at their behavior. They immediately slapped the back of the fellow's head and dragged him along with them despite his protests and clearly red face.

"Yo, beautiful madam florist! Please give us 10 of your most expensive flowers!" A brown haired and grey eyed boy demanded as he slapped hundreds of pounds on the table like a hooligan.

Seeing that she was about to make a big sale, Juno was happy. She jumped on the spot and her amazing chest bounced up and down in her loose apron. Four pairs of eyes followed their movement up and down until Juno turned around and entered the shop to arrange the order.

The three who held Walter turned to look at him with pride in their eyes, giving him a thumbs up.

'It seems we didn't raise you for nothing, kid! You have at least 5% of our good taste in women!'

Eventually, Juno came back with a carefully arranged bouquet containing the most expensive and beautiful flowers in her shop. None of these fellows were flower guys, but they had to admit that Juno had a talent when it came to this, for even they were moved.

When she extended the bouquet to the brown haired boy, he grinned widely and stepped back. The other two, who both had golden hair and blue eyes, pushed Walter forward with smarmy grins.

Juno suddenly blushed as Walter was now in front of her. The young adult male too was stunned to be suddenly thrust forward like this. He shakily reached out to accept the bouquet, at which point he ended up touching Juno's soft and warm hands.

His brain seemed to short circuit and he froze, just as Juno did. The two stood there for a good few seconds, holding the bouquet together while staring at each other like frightened rabbits.

Eventually, the other boys couldn't help but roll their eyes and wake the two up, which caused them to separate like lightning. Walter held the bouquet close to his chest and breathed a bit heavily, trying to firm himself.

Juno, who was also panting a little and clutching her hands together in front of her belly, saw that Walter came forward again and bowed slightly in greeting.

"Hello beautiful miss florist, my name is Walter. May I have the pleasure of knowing yours?"

Juno seemed surprised, but smiled the next moment, lighting up the entire shop. "Of course, handsome mister Walter. My name is Juno, and it's nice to meet you."

Walter seemed moved by this. "Thank you for humoring me, Juno. I'm sorry about my behavior earlier, I was... I was just... it's my first time seeing such a... Well."

Juno giggled when she heard this and she felt extremely pleased internally. "I understand. I also haven't often seen someone as striking as you, so I also behaved a bit out of touch."

Hearing that she also felt the same way, Walter's heart was likely beating faster than an assault rifle pumping out bullets. He was eager to suggest something, but was scared of being too hasty. After all, they had just met and he was lucky enough that she had openly admitted to being attracted to each other.

Pushing too far might make her retract back if his words made her feel like things were going too fast or he was treating her cheaply. As such, Walter just stood there, opening and closing his mouth like a fish on land, unable to decide whether it was better to say something or nothing.

Seeing their cousin trapped in 'fish mode', The brown haired boy rolled his eyes and stepped forward.

"Miss Juno, as you can see my cousin has fallen head over heels for you. Would you be free anytime soon so you two can hang out together?"

Juno looked at Walter who suddenly turned from a gulping fish and shut his mouth so fast he actually clutched his jaws in pain, and laughed. She found him extremely cute.

"Sure, if Walter is up for it, I'd be happy to." Juno assented.

"I am, I definitely am!" Walter stated hurriedly.

"Hehe, then it's a date!" Juno affirmed with a lovely smile.

Just as Walter was about to be mesmerized even more, the brown haired fellow stepped forward with a fawning smile, as if trying to curry favor.

"Miss Juno, I'm sure that you can see that today is a great day for love, happiness and joy. Lord knows that in recent times the world has been bereft of true love, and seeing the interaction between you and Walter had rekindled the hope for a better world in my heart."

"As such, I Nicholas, would like to experience this feeling for myself and ascend from the dark world I live in into a world of joy and happiness!" Misery - then Nicholas, since he had not adapted the nickname - said with a solemn expression.

"As such, do you have any sister, friend or cousin as beautiful as you? If so, I'd like to make their acquaintance, hehe." Misery ended with a fawning smile.

'Shameless! Shameless! SHAMELESS!' His other two cousins by the side roared in their hearts as they glared at their cousin with shock.

'Argh, this fellow has no dignity!!' Walter also roared internally as he couldn't help but glance at his cousin.

Juno herself felt her lips twitch. Why was Walter's cousin so... different from him?

Funny enough, this interaction would be the start of a funny and amusing friendship between Misery and Juno.

At the moment, though, Juno simply glared at Misery and hmphed without answering. Misery wore an awkward expression, but quickly wiped it away and spoke righteously.

"It seems that Miss Juno is lacking in such affiliates, but I, Nicholas, do not judge. I believe that in time, Miss Juno should be able to surround herself with people of her own quality. Finding friends in this beloved country is not hard, so one should not be discouraged!"

The entire group and even people passing by to shop in other kiosks were dumbfounded. How could someone be like this? How could he even turn around this rejection and make it seem like the other person was lacking and they were trying to save their own face, while you were willing to be magnanimous and considerate?

With such skills, this fellow would make a good politician! Heck, if time could be rewound into the medieval era, it was likely that this fellow might even have become a City Lord.

As for right now, Juno was on the verge of blowing her top and Walter was covering his face with embarrassment, trying to distance himself from Misery.

As for the other two, who were obviously Hector and Edwards, they were not so polite. They had obviously reached the limit of their tolerance, as they pounced on Misery and began brawling with him on the street.