I stood on the deck of the ship, and I felt naked. I wasn't, though I kinda wish that I was… which was more of a statement than most would think. Running around in the buff was frowned upon no matter where you went, but it did happen.

Most often, I would say it involved males egging each other on, usually when wine was involved. Sometimes, a girl was the instigator, though I really didn't see how any male thought it was a good idea to strip down like that in front of a woman.

What were the outcomes? Either you have nothing impressive going on, and she laughs at you, or you do, and you learn the woman who enjoys degrading others will leave you when someone with a bigger cock comes along because she obviously lacks morals. Though that would be more your fault than hers, given all of the red flags she was hoisting. Anyway, the point was that the fallout of having a questionably worthy wife leave you for another man would have less of an impact on your life than me stripping down right here and now.

About a week ago, we finally turned onto the Louko River, which was a fork of the Rush a few hundred miles north of the point where the river entered the Great Forest. After traveling along the Rush that had the steps on one side and interchanging pasture and farmland on the other for hundreds of miles, entering the most populated area within the Republic was a stark difference.

By the time you lose sight of some noble's villa surrounded by orchards or vineyards, you will be spotting a large village coming around the bend. Or another villa. Really, there was always some cluster of buildings popping into sight on the river or within sight of it.

It wasn't just buildings, as wagons filled with goods, noble carriages, and travelers loaded down with packs carrying all of their worldly possessions were constantly moving along the roads running next to the Louko. On the waters itself, a dozen ships were always in sight, ranging from simple fishing boats working the river to massive barges supplying tons of goods up and down the waters. The farther south we went and the closer to the capital we got, the more ships we saw until it felt like they were pressed together prow to stern.

Well, that was how it looked for every ship except ours. With the ornate flag and overall quality of the boat, nobody wanted to get too close to us. While the other ships were relegated to traveling down the western and eastern sides of the river, depending on which way they were traveling, we went right down the middle. Even other noble-owned ships that were allowed similar rights got out of our way, a fact that I took no small amount of pleasure from.

Soon enough, we were a day away from Olimpia herself, and I was informed that my wardrobe was not fit for the august presence of the senator while we were in the capital. I had neither the social rank nor the wealth that would allow me to wear a toga, but as a technical part of the Kin delegation, I couldn't get away with wearing my basic legionary scout armor like the others.

To my annoyance, Senator Ponpti's staff generously handed me clothing that I had heard about but never actually seen and told me to dress myself without another word. It was the formal legion attire for those who were unlucky enough to interact with the upper crust of the Republic while being of low birth. As my situation clearly demonstrated, and much to the nobles' continued annoyance, there were times when the low board ended up among them, and they did not appreciate their lack of decorum.

The costume — that was actually a resume of my social rank — consisted of a tight, black, high-collar tunic that did its best to choke the wearer. There was also a sash that ran from your left shoulder to your right hip that was colored to denote your legion rank. The right side of your chest was for medals that represented every stage of your career, such as the legions you served in and any major battles you participated in. If there was one thing about the uniform that made me feel somewhat better, it was that my left hip held my sheathed gladius slapping against the slacks with a red stripe running down the outside of the leg.

Except the sword wasn't nearly the protection that it might appear to be at first glance. Having a sword within a noble's presence at a gathering only meant that the snotty shits that wanted to prove themselves against a veteran — or put you in your place as they saw it — could challenge you to a duel… Or so the legion gossip around campfires told of.

With any noble guaranteed to have more mental energy reserves and probably more skill with a blade than me, add in the fact that using my special abilities would be stupid… Yeah, being naked so I would be ignored wasn't looking like such a bad thing right now, even if it would ruin my social standing within the Republic in the eyes of the nobles.

Then again, I have heard stories of nobles being so affronted by someone they made it their personal mission in life to systematically destroy everything in that person's life that made it worth living before ensuring they didn't die quickly on the streets. And it was still tempting.

"You don't look that bad," Sathera said from my side, a teasing note in her voice. "In fact, I would say you look rather dashing… once you remove the scowl from your face."

"Humph," I grunted, though my frown did lessen as I felt a spike of amusement. "You can only say that because you have been to these things before."

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"I think you have a greatly exaggerated impression of the influence my family has. We are old but have never been able to acquire more than a middling amount of power and standing… Perhaps that was intentional. Enough power to scare off the vultures without drawing the wolf's attention." Sathera said, her voice trailing off.

"And yet you still have experience in this world."

"All the more reason to take my advice when I tell you that your self-consciousness will only draw more eyes to you. If you want to go unnoticed, be an indifferent pillar."

"Yeah…" I said, my tone dry and irritated. "What better way to tell someone who is self-conscious that they need to be less self-conscious to go unnoticed. I bet you're the type of person who tells someone not to look over their shoulder when you're being followed. Oh, maybe we should go cross a precarious bridge, and you can tell me not to look down."

"Yes, let's go." Stated Sathera, tilting her nose into the air in a haughty manner. "Yes, I am that type of person. And you know what? I'm weary of hiding it. Don't look, but Ambassador Kanieta and the Senator have come onto the deck."

My head tilted to the side to look over my shoulder on instinct, and I couldn't help but snort as I tried to stifle a laugh. "Yeah, it must have been such a burden on you pretending to be something you're not. How could you live with yourself all this time?"

"It is indeed a struggle." She nodded, keeping her face solemn. "It helps now that I am with those who are close to my level of perceptiveness, as I don't have to constantly be warning people. Such a weight off my shoulders."

"Think you're pretty clever, huh, trying to distract me." She only shrugged in response, but a small smile quirked her lips. "Now, if only you could do the same to the crowd so we can slip past them."

"Ahh, alas, there is a limit to my powers, and that is far beyond them." We both rocked with the deck, and I couldn't help but blow out a breath. The ship had hit the dock we had been steadily floating towards. Within two seconds, a dozen lines were thrown from the ship and anchored onto the weird hook things on the pier, and a ramp was pushed up to the boat's side.

And then everyone waited. The senator said something to Kanieta, who responded with an uptick of her lips and a dip of her head. Then he meandered across the deck like he didn't have another care in the world. After all the rushing, it took minutes for the man to move across the deck and onto the walkway.

Not that I didn't have anything to watch. As I moved over to the Kin delegation as the token Olimpian, I saw Nareta whip out an ornately carved staff decked out with what I now knew were amulets… from I honestly didn't know where. One second, she didn't have anything, and the next, Kaneita hopped back like she saw a venomous snake next to her foot. I even heard her let out a small growl of warning. The foxkin quickly smoothed out her clothes and fixed her expression, but her voice still came out in a hiss as she asked, "Why… did you bring that!?"

Nareta somehow managed to look genuinely confused as she responded, "Don't elders typically wear the old vestments of their station when attending formal gatherings. I assumed that you would enjoy doing the same; nothing like a month passing for one to get sentimental."

Kanieta's jaw worked, chewing air as she stared daggers into her cousin, not getting a response. The interchange only lasted a second, and by the time it took a candle flame to flicker, Kaneita had remastered her emotions for the people who were starting to pay attention to the interaction. Face blank, Kaneita reached out, grabbed the staff, and slowly pulled it to her side as she stiffly said, "Thank you, Nareta. I will remember your… thoughtfulness."

Biting my cheek to prevent myself from smirking, I moved to position myself a step behind Kaneita like I was just one of her servants, walking in step with the thumping of her stick. Within moments, we were across the ship and down the ramp, where we rejoined Senator Ponpti and were forced to slow to match his pace.

If it wasn't clear to me before, as we slowly moved as a group, it became apparent it wasn't the senator's welcome party that was waiting for us. His slow pace wasn't meant to draw out our approach to the city to gain an appreciation for its aesthetic appeal, so much as it was him buying time to think without appearing to be stalling. The longer we took to move down the pier, the tenser I became, my hands clenching at my sides as they twitched for my sword hilt, as it was the only thing that reassured me with all the silent judging eyes boring into us.

There wasn't a square foot of space in the surrounding dockyard, and on the walls a few hundred yards past, the shore was packed with people. Every one of them watching us approach, some with looks of disgust and others with curiosity, though most had expressions that stank of suspicion.

Slowing my steps so that I came even with the reaper, I hissed out of the side of my mouth, "Is it just me, or does this stink of the dark elves."

His eyes flicked to me, but they just as quickly returned to inspecting the crowd before us, "Could be. Or it could be that another family got word of what Ponpti was doing and decided to attempt to undermine his position within the Senate… However, my personal motto is that there is nothing wrong with being too cautious or ensuring your sword is loose."

Taking the mirroring of my worries and the not-so-subtle warning to heart, I extended a tendril and wrapped it around the hilt of my gladius, gently shaking it while I walked, confirming I could easily draw it. Something I noticed everyone around me also doing after overhearing the reaper's words. The tension in our group escalated to the point where it was almost physically tangible.

It wasn't something that the senator and those of his level of power could miss, but he and the man waiting for him a few steps past the pier's edge didn't do a thing about it. They acted like we, and the greater crowd, didn't exist, only having eyes for each other as we came to a stop.

"Ahh, Senator Hipocant, it is such an honor that you have gathered such a crowd to greet me and my guests." Senator Ponpti said after the two stared at each other for a few seconds.

"I find that hard to believe. From your actions, I would almost think that you wanted to sneak into the city while concealing who you were arriving with. Do you not want the glorious people of Olimpia to know that you, Victorus Ponpi, are the one who has single-handedly undermined the efforts of the legions by bringing beastkins into a city that hasn't known their presence for thousands of years?" At his words and the unmistakable Kin within our group, thousands of voices within the crowd jeered.

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