976 Chapter 942

''I'm such a good Samaritan. Don't you think too?" He turned in Saeko's direction as she asked that question.

Upon hearing that question, Saeko couldn't help but feel a little amused as the corners of her mouth perked up.

''You would have been a good Samaritan if you hadn't stolen all their space rings as you were sending them to meet their maker but I guess Samaritan needs to eat, so it's understandable,'' Saeko responded with a touch of sarcasm.

Looking at this, Alex twitched the corner of his eye. He had no word to offer.

After a momentary silence, Alex said.

''I got some nice spoils.''

To prove his words he immediately took something from the Mountain Bandits leader's ring.

A modest shield with a symmetrical zig-zagged top and a symmetrically pointed bottom is supported by a fox on either side. All of which rest on a hilly landscape.

A considerable crown, or coronet, rests atop the shield, it's a crown of raised snowflakes, it has a satin cap and an abundance of similar gems decorate the outer sides.

On top of the coronet sits a great helm, which itself supports the crest, in this case, a classic lion's head. The coronet and crest are decoratively bound by a roll of fabric, or torse, which carries the main colors used on the shield.

Lastly, tied to the helmet is a fairly large drapery, or mantling, in the shape of delicate ribbons and colored in the main colors, just like the torse.

The shield itself has 4 colors which are painted in a bevilled pattern. 3 anchors serve as the emblem, or charge, and a delicate ribbon, partially wrapped around the supporters, carries the motto, which reads: "Pride and honor."

''It's a good shield and its grade could be compared to S rank artifact. I think you should give this to your friend Leon. I would like it.'' Saeko suggested as soon as she saw and analyzed the shield Alex took it out.

''I was thinking the same thing. You deserve a kiss as a reward. There's another shield inside Khan's spatial ring.'' Alex declared and immediately after took out another shield. This one was not flashy as the previous one.

A modest shield with a symmetrical double outward curving top and an asymmetrical straight bottom is supported by a moose on either side. All of which rest on a hilly landscape.

A simple crown, or coronet, rests atop the shield, it's a crown of tines with pearls and an abundance of different gems decorate the outer sides.

On top of the coronet sits a sallet helm, which itself supports the crest, in this case, a common fox. The coronet and crest are decoratively bound by a roll of fabric, or torse, which carries the main colors used on the shield.

Lastly, tied to the helmet is an enormous drapery, or mantling, in the shape of small flowers and colored in the main colors, just like the torse.

The shield itself has 3 colors which are painted in a dancetty pattern. 1 triangle and 1 horse serve as the emblem, or charge, and a large ribbon, partially covering the bottom of the shield, carries the motto, which reads: "Let there be eternal light.".

''I will give this to one of my men. I will check the other spoils later as we reach the Foxia's Empire. Let's go.'' Alex declared before taking Saeko's hand as they stepped across space to go to the nearest city.

°°°°°

A few hours later, they were now in the Foxia Empire.

''Welcome Alex and Saeko. We were waiting for you." Kuina said with a polite bow but couldn't hide the frustration she was feeling inside.

'This bitch has stolen my spotlight, I should have been the one to go next. How dare she. Sigh! Calm down Kuina, calm down.'

''I'm happy to see you again Kuina, you are beautiful as always,'' Alex responded not forgetting to compliment the fox lady. He was not that dense and could see what she was trying to hide, she was jealous that Kuina passed before she does after everything she had done. Once again he was not dense, he knew most of the things his women had in mind.

''Nice to meet you big sister Kuina. I'm Saeko-''

Kuina didn't let Saeko finish her introduction before dragging her with her.

''Let's go sister. We have so much to catch up.'' She said and dragged the slightly confused Saeko with her.

Seeing this Alex couldn't help but chuckle. Women are such fickle creatures. They are hard to understand.

Alex smiled while following them. The two talked as if they were already bosom friends. He couldn't help but be amused by this situation. Saeko was also a cunning one. She immediately took notice of the situation and used his compliment as starting point to also called her Big sister and an already happy Kuina became happier and forgot the grudges she held toward her. Maybe all of this was part of the fox lady's plan. Still, it is good to see them on a good term.

Shortly the group arrived at their destination where everyone else was waiting for them.

''Welcome Alex!!"

''I'm here!" Alex responded before sharing a family hug with everyone.

Maria, Artemia, and the others except Gracier dragged Saeko somewhere. They must have a ton of things to discuss.

''Brother, let's go get some natural air in the garden.'' Gracier declared before dragging Alex toward the garden.

°°°°°°

An ornate patch of grass was neighbored by similar flower bushes and shrubs. A lone, bulging boulder sits in the back right, and on top of it sits a sundial. The flowers and plants were barely visible at first, but offered a spectacular surprise when found; they're a delight for butterflies. The flower bushes and shrubs reach 1.2m/4ft high, but they won't grow much taller than this. A few, short signs are scattered around the garden, guiding visitors around the garden, and showing them all it had to offer. Plants and vines keep each other in line, but were all hungry for more land to expand to.

The ornamental boulder was generally the biggest eye-catcher in the garden. The flowers and plants are eye-catching in their own right, and the flower bushes and shrubs have no hard time getting their share of the attention, but the eye will just be naturally drawn to the ornamental boulder.

And sitting in the middle of all of this was a small tea house. Gracier dragged her brother inside this pagoda and they sat inside it before she ordered a maid to bring them a coffee.

In the meantime, she decided to chat with her brother.

''Brother, how were your travel days with sister Saeko?''

Because Saeko was not that older than her compared to the others, she liked to call her sister instead of a big sister like she did with the others.

''It was wonderful. Have you met the empress when you arrived?" Alex responded while at the same time switching the subject.

''No, they said she went to some annual meeting or something along those lines,'' Gracier said.

''I see, well we will eventually meet her before leaving, though,'' Alex said before enjoying the tea.

''The Tea brought out my sense of grace, bringing me into the blessed moment,'' Gracier said as she enjoyed her tea.

Alex nodded before suddenly asking a question that made the little devil spit her tea.

''Gracier, did you have someone you love? I mean romantically, a boy you fancy for example.''

''Big brother what with the weird question so suddenly?" Gracier asked while wiping away the tea that spilled on her.

''You think my question is weird?" Alex asked feeling that his question was not weird, as big brother he must know hence the question.

Gracier nodded. ''Of course, it's weird, I mean the timing is weird. I brought you here to spend time together with you, not for a question like that.''

The little devil seemed a little bit displeased. She wanted to spend some quality time with her brother before his women take all his time, especially now that there was a new one trying to join the family. This person was none other than Kuina, she was sure that the fox lady would do anything to have the rice cooked before Alex would leave for their next destination, especially even more so now that Saeko beat her first.

''I see, so you said that because of the timing but I don't think this is weird timing, though?" Alex said trying to put the discussion back on track, however, his sister glared at him, as if trying to say that she was not too eager to talk about such a topic right now.

But Alex had other plans in mind, it was something he wanted to ask a long time ago but because he was busy he postponed it. The truth is that he had planned to discuss this topic with her once he arrived.

''Come, Alexandra, don't be like that. Let's have this conversation and tomorrow I promise you that we will go on a date between siblings. Just the two of us.''