Hill had two daughters of his own, one of whom had already been lured away. He couldn't help wondering whether Earl Ster's approach might be better.
Then he quickly shook his head.
He could never do it.
He wanted to protect his daughters' eyes and souls! How could he let them see every sordid side of life until they gave up on love altogether?
Who wanted their children to turn into heartless old nuns?
He did want his daughters to see more of the world, but not like this... Hill felt that spending even a second in such an environment would taint them.
"Earl Ster must have a very forceful personality," Hill said slowly, choosing his words.
"What?" Ellie had been staring blankly ahead, probably feeling lucky herself. She blinked and came back to her senses. "My father is a soldier through and through."
She paused, then whipped her head toward the box opposite them.
"Oh..." Ellie murmured. "So is my mother.
"No wonder... Father hasn't dared go to the training grounds to see Mother lately.
"I thought it was because he couldn't bear to watch her painful rehabilitation!"
"Earl Ster and his wife must be very close," Hill said dryly. He decided not to comment further on the earl's vivid imagination... Perhaps the man had spent too long in the desert and overdone the seawater baths after coming home.
Hmm... It would have to be an Umberlee-grade seawater bath.
Come to think of it, what was this world's sea god called?
Hill only remembered a rather handsome male sea god with a beautiful dark-blue fish tail and an exquisite conch horn hanging at his sturdy waist... When Hill had arrived in Oaisis, all the world's gods had watched him from the Astral Plane.
Naturally, Hill had looked back.
Perhaps