Chapter 32: First friend
*Woshhh*
Sol slowly opened his eyes as he once again appeared in the special teleportation room belongings to the church.
This time, it was a private meeting between him and Camelia so he had no reason to wear particularly special clothes. Though he did make the effort of dressing nicely by wearing a simple black and white cloak over his white suit.
'I did not feel sick this time.'
A wide smile plastered his face. He had always hated this form of transportation because of the resulting sickness. Now it seemed that he did not have to worry anymore.
"Welcome, your highness."
Other than him, ten others were present in the room. Though the hair color of one of them, in particular, caught his attention.
'Blonde hair and blue eyes? And–an armor?'
Those two colors were the sign of someone blessed. Genetic had absolutely nothing to do with it. Children wouldn't inherit this particular set of colors. The only way to obtain it is to be blessed or recognized by one of the goddesses. As for the armor, it didn't take long for him to understand that she was a paladin or one in training.
'But why is she giving me such weird stares?'He could feel a slight enmity but more of a large curiosity in the way she was looking at him, but he did not really care. There was no way an enemy could be standing so boldly here. Not even Echidna would dare. After all, churches, all seven of them, were seen as special asylums.
"Good evening everyone. Could I ask where Camelia is?" Giving a polite smile to everyone, he asked calmly while ignoring the blush spreading on the faces of those young pretty girls.
The only one who wasn't blushing was the blonde-haired woman. Rather her expression warped in a slight frown. This made Sol take another look at her as he asked,
"Is there a problem?" He was truly curious. Perhaps Camelia wasn't present? Or something came up?
The girl's frown tightened a little before finally relaxing as she let out a sigh as she said calmly in a clearly unwilling voice, "I do not really like the way you call her without using her title or any honorific. But I guess this isn't my place to intervene."
Sol was rather impressed and also intrigued. From the way she talked it was clear that she didn't take him as someone superior to her. This could only mean two things–
'She is either fearless or she is from a background equal to mine.'
Sol knew about the exchange program of the paladins done between all seven churches. This girl was most likely a holy daughter being groomed for the title of Supreme daughter, or the heir of one of the seven kingdoms.
From her mostly human characteristics and her lack of apparently distinctive features,
"Hehe… So you are an angel? I must say that it's the first time seeing one. Happy to meet you."
Her flabbergasted expression was truly a sight to behold.
----
The exact number of races in this world was difficult to count.
For example, take the beast-kin, there were hundreds of different subspecies in their group. The same went for the demons.
Still, if one were to regroup all races, they would find that there were seven grand races, and each race–was the ruler of a kingdom.
The angels were the main race living in the floating islands called the Slotsthein Kingdom. They were under the church of Industria and the royal family of Acedia.
---
Chloe held a frustrated expression as she walked along with Sol next to her. The small smile on the side of his mouth was so infuriating that she had to give her all to not insult him.
'Calm down Chloe. Calm down.'
She was truly stunned by the way he simply guessed what she was from just a few clues. Even more so when he explained to her his speculation while they were walking.
'Sigh. I guess at least he isn't just a womanizer.'
If there were two quality angels respected above all, it was diligence and wisdom. Scholars were extremely respected in Slotsthein, to the level that if the crown's princess didn't show some talent in any scholarly discipline, it would be nearly impossible for her to be respected once she took the throne.
Thinking about that, the lazy smile of a red-haired girl as she tinkered with machines flashed in her mind, making her lose another sigh.
"So, it seems like we still have some time before reaching the place where Camelia is. Why don't you tell me a little more about you."
Sol could hardly hide his excitement. It wasn't just about the fact that he was seeing one of the fabled angels in his old world. No, what really excited him was that he had finally found an equal.
Sol didn't have any friends.
He had lovers, he had people with authority on him, he had servants, and a loyal knight/slave. But… He didn't have any friends.
Sol was the heir of the Lustburg kingdom. Only another heir of either a church or kingdom could match him. He had never met the current holy daughter of Castitas.
Chloe hesitated a little, even though she couldn't read his mind, she could feel the eagerness in his voice, she wasn't the smartest of the bunch, but she also understood a little of what he was feeling. After all, before meeting that redhead–she also felt a little lonely.
"My name is Clover. Clover Industria. I am the daughter of Iris Industria as well as a paladin in training and the holy daughter of Industria. Those close to me call me Chloe as it was my original name before being sanctified."
Chloe decided to cast aside her initial impression of him. She still didn't really like him, but it was just because of seeing Camelia bleed so much.
Sol nodded, all "daughters" be it supreme or holy had to shed their original name once they received their Title and take a name related to a flower. He didn't really understand the logic in such a rule, but then again the fact that all crown princes and kings of the seven kingdoms had names related to stars or planets was also weird in itself.
"You should already know me, but I am Sol Luxuria. Crown prince of the Lustburg kingdom. Those close to me simply call me Sol. Happy to meet you, Chloe."
He stretched toward her and Chloe after a short hesitation simply clasped his hand in her,
"Happy to meet you, Sol."