Chapter 598: Blushes and Baskets ( 598 )

Chapter 598: Blushes and Baskets ( 598 )

“You like it, Buddy? Good boy~”

Cuquawked!

Javier smiled and rubbed the side of Buddy’s thick neck, earning a satisfied squawk and a happy tail wiggle.

“Ah… that was fun. And good exercise too, right, Buddy?”

Cuquawked.

Javier let out a long breath and glanced around the stronghold. Once shattered and scarred by war, now the walls stood proud again. The buildings were nearly all rebuilt. New roofs, reinforced gates, clean courtyards. The cobblestone roads beneath his feet shone faintly, perfectly fitted without cracks or gaps.

He smirked. A faint glow still clung to his fingertips—a residue of the magic crafting spells he used earlier to rebind the stones and reinforce the structure of the stronghold.

He leaned back, looking toward the horizon.

“Buddy… I wonder who Father will send here.”

Cuquawked?

“Alf? Nah. No way. He, Erinnette, and Hesbeirn are way too important to Father. Those three are basically his limbs. I doubt they’d ever leave his side… right, Buddy?”

Cuquawked!

The bird puffed its chest as if agreeing with the logic completely.

Javier exhaled and looked up at the sky, arms resting behind his head as he lay on the smooth cobblestone.

“I really want to build a mana relay tower here… just one… so I can call Liana. Hear her voice.”

He smiled faintly. “I miss her, Buddy.”

Cuquawked!

Buddy bobbed his head proudly, as if also missing her.

“But I can’t,” Javier muttered. “This isn’t the Armand Region. If I set one up here, even if hidden, someone might eventually learn how it works… and while I doubt they could actually duplicate it—”

He paused, then grinned.

“—it’s not about that. I just don’t like it when other people start using my stuff. It feels… wrong. Like watching someone else wear your clothes. Aha… hahaha…”

Cuquawked…

Buddy tilted his head and gave him a long, skeptical look.

“What? I’m not being selfish. I’m being protective,” Javier defended himself, wagging a finger at his Pekko. “Big difference.”

Javier stretched his arms behind his head and yawned.

“Now I’m bored again, Buddy. What do you think we should do?”

He glanced around the stronghold—walls reinforced, roads mended, buildings repaired. Even the cracks in the inner gatehouse were now sealed with enchanted stone.

“There’s nothing left to repair anymore.”

Cuquawked.

Buddy fluffed his feathers and lowered his head in agreement.

Javier looked up at the outer walls, where one of his towering mithril-plated puppet knights stood motionless. The glowing eyes beneath its helm scanned the horizon, the built-in mana gun mounted on its shoulder humming softly with active enchantments.

It wouldn’t wait for orders—not anymore. He had long since programmed all of them with defensive algorithms and autonomous targeting, tethered to his mana signal.

“Good boy’s always watching, huh,” Javier muttered with a smirk.

He strolled toward the main plaza. From the corners of his eyes, he saw the dwarven soldiers mingling, their expressions lighter than before. Some laughed faintly while sharing hard bread and roasted meat; others leaned against crates, sipping water or ale. Children ran about with half-eaten apples in hand, no longer fearful.

Javier stood still, watching them silently.

“…Good thing I brought enough food to last.”

His smile softened.

“All the meat I hunted as a kid… stored and forgotten. Looks like it’s finally useful.”

He gave Buddy a side glance. “Guess I wasn’t just hoarding after all.”

Cuquawked.

Buddy puffed out his chest again, clearly proud of his master.

Javier walked along the edge of the rebuilt plaza, hands behind his head, whistling casually.

He glanced around—and then, his eyes caught sight of something.

A group of dwarven girls walking past, carrying baskets of supplies. Their build was surprisingly different from the usual burly dwarven men he’d seen so far. These girls were slender, with toned but graceful figures, moving with swift and practiced steps.

“…Whoa. That’s unexpected,” Javier muttered.

He blinked and looked away quickly, a bit flustered.

“Well… I’m still technically not an adult to think about that kind of thing…”

He paused.

“Ehehehe~ Oh well… I am an adult on the inside. And…” He grinned smugly. “Mine is BIG! Woo-hoo!”

He chuckled to himself proudly before slipping into a quiet daydream.

“Soon I’ll be fourteen. After that, just four more years… and I’ll marry my dream elf…”

His face flushed red as he imagined Liana’s serene yet mischievous smile.

“Hehehe~ Liana~ my perfect wife~”

His knees slightly buckled as he drooled a little, lost in his fantasy.

“And then… Gloria… mm~ a second perfect wife.”

Javier sighed happily.

Then suddenly, two names popped into his head—Mimi and Delya.

“Ah… those two, huh?”

He frowned slightly, thinking.

“Mimi… that clingy catgirl. Always adding ‘Nya~’ to everything… and climbing me like I’m a tree. Ugh…”

He scratched his cheek with a sigh.

“And Delya… that cute demon princess. Always calm and cold until she suddenly calls me Danna-sama with that expression… seriously, she’s dangerous in another way…”

He crossed his arms.

“Hmm… well, I’ll think about that later.”

Javier’s expression softened as his thoughts returned to where they belonged.

“But now… ah~ my Liana~”

He looked toward the sky.

“I wonder how they’re doing… Are they still in training?”

Javier, lost in his fantasies about Liana, Gloria, and future romantic triumphs, strolled down the stone path of the stronghold’s plaza without a care in the world.

What he didn’t notice…

Was that every single dwarven girl passing by had stopped to watch him.

They paused in their tracks—baskets still in hand, cheeks faintly flushed.

Whispers filled the air.

“He’s too handsome…”

“So tall… and that confident way he walks…”

“He’s exactly my type…”

“Do you think Lord Javier is single?”

“I want to be hugged by him… just once.”

“I wouldn’t mind if he… called me into his bed tonight.”

Blushing giggles followed.

The girls quickly looked away when he glanced vaguely in their direction—but once he looked away again, they went right back to sneaking glances.

It wasn’t just admiration.

It was quiet, stunned awe.

After all… this wasn’t some rugged old dwarf.

This was Lord Javier—young, tall, smooth-skinned, and already starting to show the features of a dangerously handsome nobleman.

And the fact that he casually walked among them like it was nothing… only made the hearts of the dwarven girls flutter harder.

( End Of Chapter )

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