Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

"Sorry, Griar, but I have never done as much as hold a man's hand, at least, not romantically" Antieeld didn't even blink as she revealed something that was, arguably, rather sad, Griar had come to ask her, not just because she was about the same age as his mother, but he had assumed that a woman of her calibre would certainly have had a handful of suitors at least, but none?

It was pretty much impossible to tell since she was still youthful, but the commandant was a rather old woman by this point, sure, perhaps the eyepatch could put some people off, but not a single man had ever approached her with intent to seduce? That seemed hard to believe.

"Don't look at me with pity, I can tell what you are thinking, and yes, I was approached a few times, but at first, I was too focused on my studies to give any space to that sort of thing, and then… Well, let's just say that the man I felt was right, did not make it" she frowned a bit as she looked at Griar, it was quite awkward to speak of this, not because Griar was younger than her, but because he shared the same name as the man in question.

The commandant sighed, readjusting her eyepatch.

"You want to put a ring on that Flor's finger?"

"Huh… Yes"

"Then what are you waiting for? It's obvious that she likes you- There is no harm in being direct, for example, your father and mother, I hear that they were just doing so regular training when all of a sudden-"

"D-Do I really want to know that?" Griar sensed that the story might inflict mental damage to him.

"...You do not want to, but I think it makes for a nice argument to not dance around the subject and just get in there- From what I heard, Flor comes from a vastly different realm than ours, and her life has not exactly been easy, her standards for a companion are completely different from those of the average woman you're used to, just be direct, I am certain she'll love it"

"Anyways, you can always ask more people for advice before making your decision… Also, just an advice from me, but ask for advice from men too, most women have no idea how seducing actually works… But if you insist on getting a female perspective, go ask Mamiel, Rummy and Spula in particular" said Antieeld.

Griar tilted his head slightly, the talent holder in taming, a death hunter, and the talent holder in alchemy? He had to admit, they were not the people he was most familiar with, so he wouldn't have thought to ask them anything as he didn't feel that they were close enough for that.

"Why them in particular?" he asked, feeling curious, Antieeld knew everyone, and with her talent as a commandant, she was quite good at judging and understanding people, it was a good skill to have if you ever had to direct and lead said people.

"Do you not know?" for the first time since they began speaking, Antieeld smiled, it was a rather charming smile accompanying a charming woman, but somehow, it made Griar feel odd, like he was seeing something that only comes up every hundred years or so.

Griar indeed did not know what she was talking about however.

Antieeld brought both of her palms together, her hands covered by gloves as per usual.

"First of all, Rummy and Spula? I am surprised you don't have a clue, it's not like they are hiding it- They are a thing, you know, like…" Antieeld outstretched the middle and index finger on both of her hands, and then interlocked the two 'signs' together.

Griar was confused for a moment, before his eyes opened wide in understanding.

"Oh… Oh! I thought they were just very good friends, but I guess… It was indeed pretty obvious"

"If there are any women around who actually know how to hit on a woman, it's them, and they have been together for a while now without any problem, so their advices should be somewhat trustworthy, but be careful, there is a fifty percent chance that Rummy will try to mess with you"

"I see… And what about Mamiel?" he wondered, as far as he was aware, she was not in any sort of relationship, and also…

"Doesn't she have a daughter that was born shortly after we arrived in the Peaceful Realm?"

"Yes, Tiliz is quite the adorable girl, and you would know that she is an emerald folk" said Antieeld, leaning back in her chair "Just realised that I didn't offer anything, want some tea?"

Griar was not sure when the commandant was going with this, but he agreed to some tea, the bitter taste invading his mouth.

"Well, you might have been too young to know that, or maybe you forgot, but Mamiel used to be in a relationship with Iliz, one of the Divine Dancing Priestess, you know, the one that was shorter than the others and had fluffy ears?"

Griar nodded, he had indeed been quite young at the time, he left the Emerald Realm when he was three years old, after all, so although he knew the Emerald Heralds and Divine Dancing Priestesses, he did not have many clear memories of them.

"Oh, so she had a relationship with her before breaking up and having Tiliz?" he said, but Antieeld chuckled.

Smiling was one thing, but chuckling? Griar felt like he had entered a parallel dimension.

'Why does that make her laugh though?'

"You wouldn't have known…" Antieeld shook her head "...No, Tiliz is Iliz's daughter"

Griar blinked, glancing to the side for a moment.

"Aunty Antieeld… That's… That's not how this works, two women can't… I mean, unless they use some magic I guess, but…"

"You sweet summer child, the beast worshippers take on the traits of the beasts they commune with, and the Divine Dancing Priestesses are particularly advanced in that regard… And you see, because the communion depends on the beast in particular, and not just the species as a whole, so it is common to prioritise communion with male beasts, because they are generally stronger than their female counterpart, in particular, they pick the strongest males, so the one who reproduce the most, the 'alphas' if you will…"

"Huh?"

"Let's just say, that a Divine Dancing Priestess has a pretty easy time fathering a child"

"..."

"But anyways, just to say, Iliz was still a woman to begin with, and Mamiel thoroughly 'tamed' her, our resident tamer can definitely tell you a few things about charming a woman"

Griar rubbed the bridge of his nose, this was not the most ludicrous thing he had ever heard, there were realms you could enter and exit that were basically completely different worlds after all, but he had not seen this coming, that was something pretty big to learn about women whose power and character he admired.

"It makes sense actually, I remember hearing that the Divine Dancing Priestesses were the main contributors to increasing the population, and I thought… It thought: Oh wow, it must not be easy to do… But now I understand, it certainly is simpler if it's the other way around"

Griar put down the tea.

"Thank you, Aunty Antieeld, for that knowledge I don't think I wanted to know"

"You're welcome"