321-330

"This… what is all of this!?" Thurul stared at the images with wide eyes. He stood up and got closer to the images trying to take them all in. "This…. Where did you get all of this!?"

I chuckled to see how excited Thurul was. "I found it all in a dungeon I last entered. I was hoping we could form a team…."

"Let's go! Right now! We need to get started on this right away!" Thurul suddenly yelled out, causing everyone to be startled.

"Thurul, give at least two days to prepare. Getting to the Dwarven kingdom will take time." I said, trying to calm him down. I know he wanted to get things started right away, but first, we needed to prepare.

"Alright, two days. But you need to go with me. To make those old guys move, we need someone with enough power and influence in this kingdom. And that is you." Thurul replied. i𝒏𝘯𝙧𝐞𝒂𝗱. c𝚘𝓂

"Alright. I will first tell the king and begin preparations. We will meet here at your shop by first bell two days from today." I had to make sure everyone was set before I left. This included telling the king and also telling the dean that I would be gone for a while. Luckily I was ahead in my studies. Not that the curriculum was hard, but I did wish to have some more time studying how to command armies better. While I did think I did okay this time around, I still ended up finishing everything myself. Which, in truth, was not ideal. I also had many things to take care of as well. Maybe I should set up a barrier around the entire kingdom….

"Alright, I am off. I will see you in two days." I said as I picked up the crystal orb. Thurul's expression sank as the images disappeared. I chuckled and said my goodbyes, and headed back to the house with Jen.

"So…. You are heading to the dwarven kingdom. To think the Faith I know who used to lock herself in her room unless dragged out would be willing to go to another kingdom at will." I looked at Jen and stuck my tongue out at her. Only she would tease me like this.

"It is all for the plans I have in mind," I said with a smile.

"But it seems to me that your plans pretty much put you in a position that will make you in a higher power than the king himself. Why not just take the king up on his offer and become queen?" Jen asked.

"A queen can not make trips as she pleases, nor can she accomplish everything she wants when stuck dealing with nobles and other political matters. Think about it. When did those in charge on Earth ever run around as they pleased while not taking care of their duties? I don't want to be locked down. Nor do I have the will to take full control of a country. My goal is to assist the kingdom that has been so good to my family and me." I explained. I do not have such lofty goals of being a ruler. While I have had a few dreams where such a thing has happened, but that did not mean it would come to pass. However, it does seem some things will move in that direction no matter how much I try to ignore it. It's just that…

"This time, I will need to go alone…." I needed the girls to do me a favor while I was gone because I could be gone for more than a month. I needed the girls to help watch over my mother. I will be setting up a temporary teleport from wherever I am to quickly make a trip back to the capital to take my mother to the fortune teller, but I will need to return quickly and continue my journey.

—

"So you will be heading out?" The king asked after I told him my plans.

"Yes, I will be heading to the dwarven kingdom to bring back people to help me with the things we talked about," I answered. I kept it vague as I did not want others to know about what I had hidden under my estate.

"I understand. A trip to the dwarven capital will take four years by airship. We do have a teleportation circle set up for the kingdom, but it can only be used for political means. So I can not allow you to use it. I am sorry. But I can allow you to take an airship. We do have a small airship that can make the trip in four years' time." The king's words made me remember just how vast this world is. While I could probably make it there in a shorter time if I was by myself, but sadly I needed to bring Thurul with me in order to have any chance of finding people. But this made me slightly confused….

"Wait, how did the sly cat from the beast kingdom and the elf princess of the elf kingdom get here so quickly?" I asked because it made no sense for them to arrive here in such a short time.

"They had special means to arrive in our kingdom. I can not say how they did it. But if you were to become…."

"Stop! Why does our conversation always turn out like this!? Anyway…. I will be speaking to the Dean as well since I need to set up a way to keep taking my military tactics courses. I don't want to fall behind since by the time I get back, I will be able to graduate." I really did not want to miss anything, so I figured with some runic inscriptions, I might be able to set up a few things to allow me to still attend class and also talk with my family and loved ones while I am gone. With an emergency teleport set up, I can also return almost instantly if need be.

So unexpectedly I secured an airship to fly to the dwarven kingdom in. After making a few special kinds of crystal orbs I was able to secure the ability to attend classes and even ask questions if need be. On top of that, I made a few for my family as well. They also acted as a point of teleport as well, which means the orbs that I have are able to act as a means of teleporting me to my house, Adel, Sophie, and all my family members.

After settling things and making sure I could come and go if needed, the morning to leave had finally arrived. I had to have Thurul stay at my estate the night prior since we would not be going by carriage. Last night both Adel and Sophie clung on to me the entire night. We did nothing but kiss but it was a very long kissing session.

"Faith, you better contact us every day!" Adel said stubbornly as she hugged me tightly. I smiled and hugged her back.

"I will. I will be back as soon as I get enough people. Luckily I can teleport back here in an instant when that happens. When I get back, I hope to see an amazing Crown Princess." I said with a smile.

"Humph! That stupid old man." Adel whined. She had been told she was going to be the first heir to the throne. She was not too happy about it but when she heard why she suddenly became fired up about it.

"Faith…." Sophie tugged on my sleeve. I turned and smiled at her pulling her into the hug as well. I then leaned down and kissed them both on the lips.

After I broke my hug with the girls, I looked at Iena and Diablo who also stood at the side. I scratched my head and walked over to the and hugged them both and gave them a kiss on the cheek. It was more a friendship kiss, but it was also to tell them that I had not forgotten about anything. "Diablo, you and Iena will be my sword and shield while I am gone. I leave the protection of the kingdom in your hands. Also…."

I pulled the two demons close and hugged them tightly. "Diablo, take care of Iena while I am gone, and Iena, take care of Diablo. You two are with me, but I still want you two to get along as well."

"Master…." Iena blushed. I know she still loved Diablo, so using the fact that they had formed a marriage pact with me is a way to get them closer.

"Master this…." Diablo's cheeks turned red. He knew what I meant, and seeing him acting shy was kind of cute.

"I rely on you both a lot. And I wish for everyone to be happy. As I said before, I am not someone who has really come to love anyone yet. Adel and Sophie are the ones I have come to be intimate with, but that does not mean I have forgotten about you two. Diablo, Iena, you are both bound to me. In more ways than one, so I will not abandon either of you in my lifetime. And to be honest, I may one day want to start a family as well. But before any of that happens, I must grow to know more about the two of you as well, just like how I have grown to know so much about Adel and Sophie, and yet we still are only at the stage of kissing. I want all four of you to be happy. This is my wish. But at the same time, I do not want to force anything, either. What happened between the three of us was a misunderstanding on both our parts, but I will also not run away from my responsibility.

"But we need time to grow together and nurture the feelings we have and then see where it takes us in the future. Just like how Sophie and Adel kiss, I do not mind if you two nurture feelings between yourselves as well. After all…. We are all tied together, right?" It may sound weird to some. But I have come to terms with the way things are between those around me. Adel and Sophie have grown close enough to kiss, and it doesn't bother me either. I do not feel jealousy because they both truly love me as well. It might be that I am broken in terms of relationships, but to me, seeing those I care for being close also makes me smile. Of course, it would be different if it was not someone in our strange circle that we have now.

"Master!" Iena hugged me tightly and leaned close to my ear before whispering: "Thank you."

Diablo scratched his head. His ears were burning red, causing me to smile. I waved him over. Seeing this, he slowly got closer and joined in on the hug.

I said my goodbyes to my family and friends before boarding the airship. It was of a smaller size, but it still had quite a few rooms and a lot of storage. There was a full bath and even a kitchen as well. This was once an airship owned by a noble, one of which had been exterminated during the purge. i𝘯𝓷𝚛𝐞𝓪𝐝. 𝓬𝐨𝚖

"Lass, we will be in for a long journey. I hope you don't mind this old face of mine." Thurul said as she sat on the couch in the main sitting room of the ship.

"Thurul, I have seen your old face enough not to cry anymore," I said jokingly, causing him to snort at me.

"Yes, Master has seen your ugly face enough to be immune to even the ugliest of people in the world." A voice came from behind me. I turned to see Grace standing there as if her presence was as natural as natural can be.

"Grace!? Why are you here!?" I cried out.

"Master, you did not think that you would be able to leave this servant behind, did you? Whether you told me to stay or not I had full intention of following you because you are my master and if I allow you to slack off for even a second you would become lazy. After all there is no telling when you will take over the world and need to actually do things in a proper manner. It is my job to make sure you are ready for such a schedule."

"So you snuck aboard?" I asked, feeling amazed by Grace's ability to just pop up out of nowhere. Now that I think about it, I did not see her when I set off.

"Master, the word snuck on is a bit demeaning. I walked right on without issue. I even sat near the rear of the airship out of sight while it took off and waited for this moment to appear." Grace proudly replied.

At this, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. "So, in other words, you snuck on." I shook my head and slouched down in my chair. "Not that it matters what is done is done. Did you at least tell someone else, or should I notify the house?"

"I left a note for Annie stating that I would be away for some time in order to serve Master properly," Grace answered with a firm nod.

Thurul was at the side, chuckling while I held my head. "Now that you are here, take one of the rooms. We are in for a long trip, after all." Please visit 𝚒𝘯ｎ𝒓𝐞𝓪𝗱. ᴄ𝘰𝐦

"Then I will go about my daily routine and make sure the ship is kept clean. Master, you still have classes later, so, please make sure you do not miss them." Grace gave a bow before turning around and going about her tasks. She was strange. A noble lady turned servant. All because of a blood seal contract that put her in this role. I still feel bad and want to fix this issue, but sadly there is no way. Not unless I rewind her entire life back to before then, but she refused no matter what I said.

"Lass, the next few years will be long. I say we stop off in a few places along the way." Thurul took out a map and laid it on the table in front of us, then began pointing at a few places. "Here and here."

"This is?" I looked at the spots he was pointing at, and they were not major cities or anything but places far from any known town or city.

"They are sights of interest because they are known to have strange energy fluctuations. The dwarven kingdom has wanted to investigate this strange energy source for a while but they can't due to it being on other people's lands. And for some reason, the kingdoms involved will not allow it either. So I am suggesting that we take a peek ourselves. It may be related to the energy you talked about with those weapons." Thurul explained.

"I see… Then let's change course slightly and head to the first spot. It will make our trip about a half year longer but it will be worth it if we gain something from visiting these areas." I would not pass this chance up. If the areas in question actually had something to do with the strange energy, then it would be well worth the extra time it took to reach these places.

—

Two years later….

"Lass, we are almost there." A voice came over the com as I slowly rose from my slumber. It's been two years since I set off. Adel and Sophie have talked to me every night for hours on end until we all fell asleep.

Diablo and Iena have also been doing well together. Although Diablo said he would not have a child with Iena since he was married to me and that only I was allowed to bear his children if I so choose, but as I had asked, he had been treating Iena very well as a lover since then, which was good.

Iena talked nonstop about how happy she was and told me she did not forget her duty to me either. She said she was still saving herself for me when the time came, which made me blush. In other words, the two have never gone past kissing, from what I understand.

To be honest during this time I have to say that all four of the people in my relationship I guess you can call it, were still always thinking about me. I gave them permission to nurture their own feelings toward each other, but they still think of me before themselves. But I guess since they all seem to be happy, that is good. I do make a trip back to see them once a month, which turns into a huge fuss since it is only one day. On that day, the airship is docked someplace out of the way in order to not lose the teleport point.

But besides me trying to stay in contact with everyone, it has really been a long journey so far, and the first stop on our list before the dwarven kingdom was a place inside a kingdom called Golentod. It was a very small secluded kingdom within a mountain range between two other kingdoms. The Kingdom of Tross and the Kingdom of Yorn. All three are human kingdoms, and all three allow enslavement of demi humans so people like Thurul and me are number one to be attacked and enslaved.

"You ready, Lass?" Thurul asked. He was now in full metal armor with a huge hammer on his back. This was Thurul's battle gear.

"Yeah, let's head down. Grace, the ship is covered in a multi elemental barrier. If you get attacked, take the ship and leave. Contact me when you are safe, and Thurul and I will catch up. If they are able to land on the ship, escape through one of the many escape teleports, I set up after activating the core orb I gave you to cause the ship to self destruct. You will only have five seconds, so make sure you activate it only after you are about to teleport away." I had taken everything into account. Because of the area we were in, I did not wish to allow Grace, who was a support type mage, to get captured. While she was stronger than average, I still worried. So I was leaving her on the ship with many ways of escape.

"Master, I will be sure to stay safe so please focus on your task at hand," Grace replied with a smile. I nodded and stepped forward to hug her before turning to Thurul. Please visit 𝙞𝓃𝙣r𝘦а𝘥. Co𝙢

"Alright, let's head down. Hold on tight." I said as I motioned for Thurul to hold on to me. I was going to be flying down and Thurul was not able to fly so he had to hold on to me.

"Take care, Master!" Grace yelled out as I jumped off the airship.

"Lass, if you drop me, this old man will haunt you!" Thurul cried out as we fell towards the ground at a high speed. Only when we broke through the cloud bank did I spread my wings to slow our descent.

"If that happens, I will welcome you to haunt me," I replied with a chuckle. I looked down at the mountain range we were headed to and pursed my lips when I saw a factory hidden deep in one of the valleys. "Thurul that?"

"Looks like a refinery. It seems the power source or whatever needs to be refined in order to be used. And it seems this small kingdom has a means of refining it. My guess is they probably sell it to the neighboring kingdoms as well, otherwise, they would have already been wiped out by the larger kingdoms. Although, I can understand why after all if you have such a power source it is best to use it to profit from it. " Thurul answered.

"Or they are not selling it and have such a strong military that uses this new energy that can ignore barriers that no one dares to attack." I was unsure which one of us was right, but I can say I do not plan to go and ask either.

"That is true as well. Anyway, let's take a look. But Lass, don't make any snap judgments. If they are enslaving demi humans it will not be pretty. But we need to keep ourselves from reacting too much." Thurul warned. I knew what he was saying, but if I see anything that goes beyond manual labor, I will not even think before acting.

"I will do my best. I mean, I could just wipe the whole kingdom out with a single phrase." My lips curled up into a sinister smile, causing Thurul's body to tremble.

"Well, anyway, let's land somewhere out of the way. We don't want to be noticed just yet." Thurul suggested. I nodded and flew over to a dense area filled with trees and landed in a small clearing on the back side of it.

"It's quiet…. A little too quiet…." I mumbled as I looked around. The wind was blowing, so all I could hear was the rustling of the trees, but that was it. I could not hear any birds or monsters at all. There wasn't even an insect in sight.

"It might have something to do with this new energy. If there is an abundance of it in the area, monsters and other animals which use mana as a means to sustain themselves might not want to get near it." Thurul suggested. But this suggestion did seem quite sound. But something came to mind.

"Thurul, if you knew of such energy before, why didn't you mention it until we got onto the airship?" I asked.

"It was not like I was trying to hide it, but I saw no need if you were just going to jump in without understanding what we were up against. Plus, would you spend two years flying out here just to investigate something that might not be sound? Yes, you might have been able to talk to His Majesty and ask him to send people, but what good is that if you do not have someone who is at least knowledgeable in magitech? I wouldn't have even suggested coming here if you were not here. This is the only safe way to inspect another kingdom's source of power. And that is to have a power stronger than the kingdom itself." I see, so Thurul was worried something would have happened, and then it would have caused a bigger issue.

"That does make sense, but you could have still told me," I replied as I let out a sigh. "Thurul, I am going to put a few barriers around your body. And tether you to my mana. "

"Oh? Why so cautious?" Thurul looked up at me with a questioning gaze.

"Because the area is too quiet. As you said, the other monsters and animals might have fled from this place, but why? Why would they flee when there is still mana in the air? I think this special kind of energy might be toxic. If that is the case, we need to be sure that we are keeping ourselves safe. From what I know from the energy in the weapons I found, they were contained in a blanket of mana and also mixed with mana itself, which caused the energy to be stable. But….. if the energy, if it is the same, is in its natural environment, then it could be very toxic to living beings." I explained. I did not want to cause either of us to get sick from an unknown energy.

"Ah! This is something I did not think of." Thurul scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Well, I am usually one to be more cautious when it comes to the unknown." If I did not set myself up in the dungeon to be able to be pulled back from that house when the Wraith attacked me, then I might have been killed then and there without being able to defend myself. Which reminds me, I still need to ask my father what skill he learned to kill wraiths and ghosts with. "For now, let's move slowly. And watch our surroundings carefully just in case something else is here that we should worry about. Because it could be more than just the strange energy that has caused this place to be free of life except for the trees and plants."

I did not know what it was about plants, but they seemed perfectly fine and flourishing even though the animals had all disappeared from the area. My guess was that since they do not take in anything but mana the other kind of energy would just bounce off their outer layer, unlike animals and people that need to breathe in the air around them, which will result in taking in both mana and the strange energy into the body. Hopefully, Thurul and I do not get sick from breathing in the air that we did. Just in case I did cast a healing spell on us.

We made our way through the forest, and I kept my detection magic, scanning the entire area. In order to not set off any kind of monitoring system, I made sure to keep the area I was detecting short range. While I know I did not really need to worry about who would show up, I still did not wish to alert anyone of my position since I was using illusion magic to hide the two of us as we made our way toward the refinery.

"Lass, there it is." Thurul pointed at the opening between the trees after a thirty minute walk, we had arrived at our destination.

The refinery was like nothing I had seen on this planet so far. It seemed more like some kind of steampunk style place because there were many smokestacks and metal piping everywhere, along with many huge cogs that interconnected, turning one another.

The building itself was made from brick and metal. And there were open air windows with nothing stopping the elements from passing through them. The loud sounds of machinery grinding inside could be heard, causing Thurul and me to look at one another before nodding and proceeding on.

We did not speak but used hand signals to tell each other which way to go next. We walked around the back of the refinery to see carts and carts of a blue glowing ore that emitted the strange power. I have never seen this kind of ore before, not even in books. I could only turn to my appraisal skill to see exactly what it was.

[Plasmite]

[High density mutated wind elemental filled ore used in the refinement of plasmatic material.]

[Good source of energy.]

I pulled on Thurul's sleeve, causing him to nod as we followed the ore carts inside. What we found was a massive refinery that was taking the ore and using super heated mana to melt it down into a liquid and mixing it with concentrated Mana.

[Mana Infused Plasma]

[A material that can only be made by melting down plasmatic material. ]

[Due to its properties and mana mixtures, it is able to ignore certain elements.]

[Highly combustible when exposed to air or fire. But also very flexible, allowing it to be stretched and pulled.] 𝐢𝗻𝑛𝓇𝚎𝚊𝘥. 𝙘o𝓂

Reading the information, I patted Thurul on the shoulder once more and motioned for us to leave. We quickly retreated back to the forest, where we found a downed tree and sat on it. "Lass, what did you find out?"

"Using my appraisal skill, I was able to figure out that the rock itself is called plasmite. It's an ore infused with a mutated variant of wind element. The reason that it takes on the form of a rock like that is because of its high density and mutation. The refined product is called plasmatic material, which is then used to create mana infused plasma. But because of its mutation, it differs from normal wind elements and is able to ignore most other elements. But it is also highly combustible, which is why when it makes contact with fire, it will explode. It is also able to stretch as well which is probably why it can be fired in a beam shape. This is all speculation, though. They might do something else to it as well." I was thinking that maybe it was shot out like a rubber band. It's pulled to its upper most limit, then left, sending it flying. When the back side of it finally retracts, it will slam into itself, causing an explosion or sorts, or when it finally hits something.

"Strange indeed, but does this explain anything about the Prime Minister and his brother?" Thurul asked.

"I am not sure. Maybe he has a way to harness the power or is using special tools created using this same power source. There is no way of telling until I find that bastard." I said through gritted teeth. I want the Prime Minister's entire body so I can soak the now barren land of my home village in his blood.

"Lass?" Thurul called out to me, causing me to come out of my small trance. It was hard controlling my anger every time I thought of that man.

"Sorry. Anyway, we need to take this kingdom for the Gravos Kingdom. But first, I will need to speak to the king to see what he thinks." Taking the kingdom is easy enough. I can just create a barrier around the entire kingdom itself and then threaten the ruler into submission. But before I did, I had to make sure it was something the king wanted me to do.

"Why is it so scary that I know that you are not lying? After all, you annexed four kingdoms in a single month." Thurul replied while shaking his head. I shrugged as I took out a crystal orb. It shot a rectangular beam of light six feet high and five feet wide into the air and also a beam of light that engulfed my entire body.

"Hmm? Faith?" The king asked as he looked at me in confusion.

"Thurul and I think we found the source of energy used in those things. I want your permission to take the whole kingdom that is able to refine it and turn it into weapons under the Gravos Kingdom's flag. What do you think?"

"Wait…. Wait… Slow down…." The king held his head and stared at me. "Have you become addicted to annexing kingdoms!?"

"No. But it is the easiest way to get all the technology that they have, is it not? They allowed weapons of mass destruction to be used in a war against our kingdom which is basically an act of war against us right? So what is wrong with annexing them?" I asked. I am not sure how this works, but if they allowed their weapons to be used in another kingdom's war, then it should be considered as such.

"…." The king went silent as if contemplating what I said. Only after a few minutes did he finally speak. "It can be considered as such. But are you sure this is the kingdom in question?"

"Nope!" I replied honestly. "I mean, how am I supposed to know what is what? For all we know, they got rid of anything that dealt with the sale of these kinds of weapons. And I have not traveled the kingdom to find out if there is anything that mildly resembles the weapons I captured. That is why I will just take both kingdoms under the kingdom's flag. Set up barriers around them, and then have your people deal with the aftermath. We only need teleports to our kingdom, no? I think with so many kingdoms under one rule, we do not need much from other kingdoms, so closed borders are fine for the time being. Of course, we can stay open to allies and those who wish to formally form alliances and trade routes. But those can all be easily dealt with with a kind of pass in and out of the kingdom."

"This does make sense but by doing this. I am not against the idea, but you need to do it in the least violent way. After all, while we can do things forcefully thanks to you, we still do not want to turn the populace against us. And I am only willing to do this because of the lingering threat of Pholin and his brother." The king did make a good point. We did not want a revolt.

"Alright, I will try to do this delicately then. I will fly to the capital city as an envoy to start and try to speak with their king. Is there any chance you can give me a letter? Or have something I can use to identify myself as an envoy?" While I could just fly over the place and cast thousands of grand falls to cast a shadow over the kingdom to threaten them, it would be best if I could do things more delicately, as the king said. I mean, it would be much easier to just have the king suddenly abdicate the throne to me, right? Dragon speak will come in handy for this.

"This I can do. Teleport here when you can, and I will give you what you need." The king replied, causing me to smile. I took Thurul and hurried back to the ship.

As soon as I was on board, I teleported directly to the throne room, where a court session was taking place. None of the nobles seemed to be bothered by my presence, and some even greeted me with a nod of their head.

"You were quicker than I thought." The king said with pursed lips. Well, I am one to be prompt when it comes to dealing with issues at hand. The king waved his hand and had someone bring him over a few items, which he used to create a special kind of royal seal used by envoys who travel to other kingdoms.

"Thank you. I will head off now." I said as I turned around to teleport back but was stopped when the king called out to me. "Faith, make sure you do things in a manner that will not cause an issue for our kingdom. As I said, I do not wish to have the people revolt against us as we work to secure the kingdom and set up a government there."

"Don't worry. I will not do things forcefully. If anything, it might be handed over on a silver platter." I gave a smile as I turned around and began to teleport away. Just before I left, I could hear the king say: "Why do your words make me worry!?"

When I returned to the airship, I went right to work putting a barrier up around the entire mining and refinery operation. As soon as I did, Thurul gave me a strange look. "I thought you were not going to take things by force?"

"Hmmm? I have to make sure they can not move anything out of the kingdom first, right? You never know. Once I take over, they might try to do something they shouldn't. This is just a precaution to make sure I do not lose this energy source which is why I want this kingdom in the first place." I replied. I did not see anything wrong with my actions. I even made it so nothing can teleport in or out as well.

"I do not think that is the point! You were supposed to be an envoy. If they get word that the refinery is suddenly blocked off before you even show up, they will know it is you or think of it as too much of a coincidence." Thurul tried to argue, but I just pursed my lips. I was already going to force everyone to do a blood seal contract with my dragon speak as soon as I made the king abdicate his throne to me. So it's not like anything bad will happen. At least I hope anyway….

"Sir Thurul, I think you misunderstand my Master. While she is smart, some of the time, she doesn't think things through the other parts of the time, but either way, she will always get the job done." To be honest, I am not sure if I should be happy Grace is trying to stick up for me or cry due to her making fun of me.

It was still going to take some time to arrive at the capital, so I retired to my room. I had only just sat down in a chair when one of my orbs suddenly lit up. It was the one for Sophie. "Faith!"

Seeing Sophie's face filled with tears caused me to be confused and a bit panicked. "Sophie, what's wrong!?"

"My parents…. They were found…." Sophie replied, but her tears kept flowing. I had a bad feeling rising up inside me when I saw the sadness in her eyes. "They…. They have passed…."

As soon as the words left her lips, I called down to Thurul to anchor the airship and teleported away. I appeared right next to Sophie, who dived into my chest and clung on to me with her trembling body.

Life is harsh. Sophie had been strong this entire time because her parents had left to go to a nearby village to sell some of the produce my father had harvested during the attack, so for the past few years, she had been holding on to hope and never really spoke about it. Both Adel and I also did not wish to bring it up in case it broke her mindset. But now….

"Where were they found?" I asked softly as I embraced the grief filled fox girl in my arms.

"Near the village, they were supposed to trade goods at. The cart they were pulling was found deep in the forest near there in a hidden cave, riddled with arrows. They were attacked by bandits…. My mother and father's clothing, along with some bones, were found not far away. If not for a hunter discovering it, they would never have been found." Sophie explained through her sobs.

"I see…" I took a deep breath. My own voice was trembling as I hugged Sophie tighter. I did not wish to leave her alone at this time. "Do, do you want to come with me for a few days?" I asked as I gently rubbed her back.

"No…. I still have things to do here. Adel is also going to help with the funeral operations that will be held when their remains are sent back. I know you have many things to do. But…. Can you come to my family's… Muph!!!" I stole her lips for a few seconds, cutting her off as I slowly parted from her. I reached out and gently wiped her tears away as I said: "No matter what I am doing, nothing will stop me from being there to support you during your time of sorrow. While I must push on due to the circumstances at hand. When the day comes, I will be there to hold your hand and say words of parting. Such a thing is not something you have to ask me to do but something I have to do."

My heart ached for Sophie. To lose one's parents suddenly while having hope that they were alive all this time was not easy. I wonder if this was how my parents felt when I died. Was this how Jen felt as well, as she watched me pass away before her eyes? I pulled Sophie back into a hug and stood there in silence for a while. I could feel my shoulder getting damp from her tears.

"Faith?" Adel's voice came from the side. I turned my head and raised my hand to my lips. At some point in the past thirty minutes, Sophie had fallen asleep in my embrace.

Adel nodded and walked over to me, and gently placed her hand on top of Sophie's head. I feel guilty about how I was of no help in this situation. I did not have any idea of what Sophie's parents looked like, so detection magic was not something that was of much help in this situation. I did send it out quite a few times to see if there were any signs of them in the villages, but I am not sure if my mind shut out the idea of them having died or what, but I never thought to search the forests for anything….

I spent the next few days at Sophie's side before returning to the ship. While I wished I could stay with her in her time of need, I still had responsibilities, and one of them was to ensure that Gravos would be protected so that the lives of the people would be safe from war. Only then will the knights be free enough to move across the kingdom and wipe out any and all bandits. To double ensure the safety of the hard working citizens of the kingdom who only wish to live out their lives peacefully and so that what happened to Sophie's parents will never happen to the parents of other sons and daughters of the kingdom.

But to do that, we needed the weapons and technology that I had gathered to be mass produced in a way that would protect the kingdom from all threats, no matter how big or small. I disliked the idea of amassing large amounts of powerful weapons that could be used for mass destruction, but in order to live in this new world threatened by powerful people like Azengrade and Pholin Segri, it seemed like the best option instead of standing still with the current power structure.

"Lass, what's wrong?" Thurul asked as he walked over to me. I was currently standing on the deck of the ship, looking out over the clouds below.

"I am just thinking if there is a way to keep people from doing things like committing murder, or other henious acts. Why must the world be in a situation where no matter what rules are made there is always someone who wishes to break them due to their own greed. Whether they were people of high standing or low standing there is always that one person who ruins it all. Why did Sophie's parents have to die? I did not get to even meet them yet and announce that I was dating their daughter. I mean…." I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks. I never wanted to introduce myself as their daughter's girlfriend like this….

"Master!" Grace came out of nowhere and hugged me, which only served to drive my sorrow more. Death was not something that I could handle well. I had been bottling it up inside me all this time, but now with the news of Sophie's parents, all the people I knew and grew up with were now popping up in my mind. Auntie Finna and everyone else all died because they were targeting me. If only….

I do not think I have cried like this in a long time. Grace did not part from my side either. Instead, she stayed with me, keeping me company while I released all my pent up stress. Staying strong is one thing but bottling it all up inside was also not a good thing. I have been busying myself trying to do this and that to keep my mind busy. But even then, I was still suffering on the inside.

A month passed, and we finally reached the skies over the capital city of the Kingdom of Golentod. Thurul put the airship to anchor while I was busy readying myself for my departure. Thurul was not coming with me, but grace would be. As an official envoy, I needed at least one servant to make things look good and official. However, I needed to make things quick if I wanted to make the funeral in two weeks' time. i𝐧𝓃𝒓𝒆𝑎𝙙. 𝘤𝘰𝚖

"Lass, be careful down there. You know those bastards will be wanting to pick a fight with the fact that you two are demi humans." Thurul gave me a hard reminder that this place was not against slavery. Even at the factory, I did see many demi humans pushing carts. While it hurt to see, I did not make a fuss about it due to the fact that at that time, there was nothing I could do, and did not wish to make too much of a scene, but now things will be different.

"Don't worry. I will deal with it all. Everything needs to be set in motion before I have to head back to attend the funeral." I replied with a half hearted smile. Just thinking about it made me think of many things that I did not wish to think about at this time.

"Alright, I will watch over the ship. Good luck." With Thurul's words of encouragement, I jumped off the airship with Grace at my side. I then activated my teleport to the castle in Gravos to allow the knights that were waiting to be my guards to appear in front of me with scaled horses and a carriage. They each kneeled to the ground and bowed their heads to me. "Princess Cyrilia, it is our honor to be of assistance during your mission this time. I am Knight Captain Breckett."

"I thank you for your help and am sorry for the sudden notice. We will try to do things quickly. But please keep things as civil as possible. Also, please don't kneel to me. I hate these kinds of things." I said with a smile.

The nights all slammed their chests with their fists in salute as they all answered in unison: "By your word Princess!"

With this, we made our way to the gate in a grand procession. Ten knights and a royal carriage rolled down the path as we made our way to the gates. I peeked out the window after getting changed into a proper dress that was blue with white frills that went down to my ankles.

There was a long line of humans at the gate, most seemingly merchants, with many having demi human slaves carrying their gear. Their ragged clothing made me frown, but there was nothing I could do about it at this time. We skipped the line and rode right up to the gates with all the merchants staring at us. Some of the knights were actually demi humans catching the attention of the humans and the guards.

"Halt! Who are you!?" One of the guards yelled out while drawing his sword. He did not move to attack, nor did he say anything slanderous but only asked the simple question, which was the normal procedure, I guess.

"We are here to escort Princess Cyrilia as the envoy of the Gravos Kingdom to meet with your king. We have the envoy's seal right here." The Knight Captain, Sir Breckett, said as she stepped forward with the royal envoy seal and showed it to the guard. The guard frowned as he looked at it before waving his hand to have one of the other guards come over.

The other guard, who was most likely the captain, looked at the seal before handing it back to Sir Breckett. "Get my horse. I will lead them to the castle." The captain ordered before turning to Sir Breckett and saying: "I am Captain Willson of the Kingdom of Golentod's guards, Sir Knight. May I have your name?"

"I am Knight Captain Breckett of the Royal Knights of the Kingdom of Gravos. I am in charge of protecting Princess Cyrilia, our kingdom's envoy." Sir Breckett seemed very well suited for this kind of thing. He did not waver in the slightest, even with all the people staring at us with a bit of hostility.

"Sir Breckett, I must ask that the demi human knights please stay outside the capital. Our kingdom laws do not allow demi humans who are not of a royal decree from another kingdom to enter our capital. It is to keep not only your knights safe but our people as well." Captain Willson suddenly said, causing me to frown. Half the guards were demi human and they wanted us to leave them outside? Did they really look down on us that much?

Before Sir Breckett could answer him, I decided to speak up. "So you are saying that I, myself, and my servant are not allowed to enter? After all, I am only a titled princess, not a princess of royalty, yet I am also a demi human."

I slowly opened the door to the carriage. Grace jumped out and reached out to me to help me off. I took her hand and slowly stepped out into the open and looked at the guard captain. "I think you should understand what it means to anger another kingdom's envoy. It will cause an international incident. I think you should first think before you speak. My guards and I will all enter the city no matter what. As far as I am concerned, only a member of your royal family has a right to tell me how I should act, and only then would it be up to me whether or not I heed their advice."

"Look, Princess Cyrilia, was it? I do not make the rules. If you want to enter, you need to leave behind all demi humans." The guard was basically saying that all demi humans had to leave including myself.

"Oh? So this is how you do things in this kingdom? You tell the envoy of another kingdom they can not enter? I see. Well, too bad you will be getting punished for not following the rules." I sneered as I turned back around and got into my carriage. I wanted to see if they would really stop us from entering or not.

"Master, are we really going to force our way in?" Grace asked. I guess she was concerned about causing some kind of international incident, but I came here to start one, so it was fine.!

"Grace, I came here to take over the kingdom. Why are you worried about international incidents?" I asked with a chuckle. Grace blushed. I guess she forgot.

"Sir Breckett, ignore him and just continue forward. I want to see who dares to stop me." I finally got to act like a tyrant! It was kind of fun.

"You! You dare force your way in!?" The guard captain yelled out. The guards from the gate all rushed out and encircled us. I smiled and waved my hand creating a barrier around us that began to spin and narrow out to a point so that it could push people aside easier.

"Let's go! To the castle!" I yelled out.

"Yes, Princess!" Sir Breckett's voice had a tinge of excitement in it. I guess he found this just as fun as I did.

"Master, you're smiling weirdly," Grace commented, causing me to purse my lips. How was I smiling weirdly? This was like a movie back on Earth where a tyrant princess does as she pleases! Of course, I am not sure if such a movie ever existed, but this was fun. As for doing things low key well… That went out the window after the guard told demi humans to wait outside, so this was my only choice. Well, maybe not, but still, can you blame me for wanting to have some fun? I do have a lot on my mind and doing things like this allows me to forget about it.

As expected, as we began moving, not a single guard could stop us. They fired magic at us, and it did nothing. They sent someone to hit the barrier with their sword, and that person went flying in some direction. I made sure that no citizen would not be harmed, so when I saw that they were getting too close to the barrier, I warped the barrier around them so that they could not be sent flying.

Like this, we made it all the way to the castle gates, where I casually got out of the carriage with Grace's help while a large group of guards surrounded us. The knights I had brought with me all encircled Grace and I as I removed the barrier around us so that it would only surround the carriage and our horses, as I did not wish for them to be harmed in any manner. After all, an envoy could not bring their carriage into the castle grounds as it would not be proper. And I was doing things very properly. Proper was my middle name!

"Princess Cyrilia! Please do not make us use force! Return from where whence you came!" Captain Wilson, who had chased us all this way, was sweating and completely out of breath as he stood there pointing his sword at my knights and me while his chest heaved up and down. I had to hand it to him. He had a lot of dedication, but then again, it would be his head for letting me through.

Now, if anyone heard of what I just did, they would probably ask me: "Why did you not just use your dragon speak to allow them to let you in." And my answer to this would be: "Where is the fun in that?"

"Huh? Why would I go back? Is this not your own fault for trying to refuse a royal envoy of another kingdom? I have an important matter to talk to you king about. If you keep this up, you may very well end up losing your head." I said with a bright smile as I continued forward, not stopping for anything. Everyone who was standing in my way had no idea what to do. Because if they attacked and something happened to me, they might very well cause an international incident. So with my nose in the air and my tail swaying back and forth, I walked confidently through the castle gates without them even trying to stop me. Even Captain Willson had no choice but to let me go.

It was ten minutes to the castle's main entrance, where I was greeted by two knights who both reluctantly bowed their heads to me. "We will lead you to where you can speak to His Majesty."

I chuckled, seeing the looks of hostility in their eyes. I knew that not only were the knights not happy, but I am sure the King was not happy one bit. But this is what he gets for showing no respect for another kingdom envoy.

The castle was well decorated. The halls that we walked down were not red carpeted but actually blue in color, so were most of the banners that lined the walls. The statues of previous kings and monsters decorated the sides as we passed by and were brought to a small receiving room which made me laugh even more. I guess an envoy who was a demi human was not allowed to be received in the main throne room.

"You may only take two guards with you. The rest must wait outside." One of the knights said. I nodded since this was normal. Those that entered also had to wait at the door, including Grace.

When I entered, there was only the king sitting on his small throne and a few aides at his side, as well as ten guards who stood by the walls. I guess he was quite wary that he was about to be assassinated. I walked to stand before the king of Golentod and did my normal courtesy as I said: "Your Majesty, I am Princess Cyrilia, and I am here on behalf of the Kingdom of Gravos." Please visit 𝚒𝒏𝓃𝓻e𝑎𝙙. 𝙘ｏ𝑚

Please visit i𝑛𝗻rℯ𝒂𝒅． 𝓬o𝘮

The King did not say anything, forcing me to keep my head lowered. Only after five minutes had passed did he finally speak: "Why has the envoy from another kingdom barged into my capital city and forced their way into my castle? Is this proper etiquette that should be followed by a Princess of another kingdom no less?"

"Hmmm? So telling my knights and myself that I need to wait outside even though I am the envoy is considered proper etiquette for your kingdom? I never knew this…." I said as I lifted my head without the king telling me to and tilted my head to the side, looking at him as if he was an idiot.

"Watch your tongue! You are in front of his majesty!" One of the aides stepped forward and yelled but what caught my eyes was not his ugly face or the large nose he had on his noggin but the gun shaped object at his side. Which highly intrigued me.

To his remark, I only smiled and said: "Watch my tongue? I only asked a simple question. Why are you getting all flustered when all I did was ask why I, an envoy of another kingdom, was told I couldn't even enter the capital because I am a demi human. You might as well have just yelled: I want war! I mean, is that not what it means to reject an envoy and treat them with discourtesy? I mean, even now, the rudeness of this kingdom knows no bounds when you are not even willing to receive me in the real throne room. You do realize that I have already set up teleport points in this kingdom on my way here that my kingdom can use to send a massive army in to deal with a small kingdom like this that is rude towards one of their princesses, right?"

I watched with a sly smile on my lips as the king in front of me lips twitched, and his brow furrowed. He then snorted and waved his hand. "Stand down." He narrowed his eyes and looked at me. He seemed to be finally taking me seriously. "What did you come to my kingdom for?"

"Nothing much. I just want you to…." My eyes lit up with magic circles as I finished: "Hand over your kingdom to me."

"You dare!? Guards seize her!" The aid yelled out, but before anyone could move, the king suddenly stood up, and to their disbelief, he took off his crown and walked over to me and placed it on my head before kneeling down in front of me and saying: "As you wish, My Queen."

"Your majesty!? What are you doing!? Witch! What did you do to His Majesty!?" No one dared to move. Even though the aide had just yelled out, they dared not move now that the king had suddenly done such a thing. They had no idea what was going on, but they knew this was not right. I could see the confusion and anger in their eyes, causing me to smile brightly.

"Thank you never thought you would hand it over so easily. Now then, as Queen, I guess I should seal off the kingdom." I waved my hand, and with that, the entire kingdom was encompassed in a spinning barrier that no one could leave or enter through.

"What have you done!?" The aide was now starting to get scared. I could see it through his eyes. It was then that something seemed to strike him as he suddenly pointed at me and began trembling. "The Little Demon! Faith Cyrilia!"

"How rude! How am I a demon!?" I yelled out. I am not a demon. I am a very nice young woman who likes to read and eat cakes while sipping tea.

"You! So you came here to annex us just like you did to the Norian Kingdom!" The aide began to back away in horror. Even the knights who had surrounded me all began to back up. I do wonder if I was that scary. I see no reason for them to be acting this way.

"Look, I will not lie. I did come here to annex your kingdom, but that is only because you are producing weapons of mass destruction and then selling them to others. Those same weapons were used to attack my homeland and kill my kingdom's people. Some of which were very close to me. Do you think after all of this, I was just going to let the kingdom who created these weapons go?" I asked as I waved my hand. The weapon on the side of the aide's hip flew into my hand. I looked it over and saw that it was indeed a mini version of the weapon I had seized during the war.

"You! What happens to the weapons after they are sold has nothing to do with us! We just produce them!" I guess the aide did not see a reason to hold back information but sadly, he was very wrong with his words.

"Heh…. Did you really think such a reason would fly? I am here today to tell you that this kingdom is now the property of the Kingdom of Gravos. From this moment on!" I waved my hand and created magic circles in front of every being in the entire kingdom before saying in dragon speak: "You will all now sign a blood seal contract making it so you can no longer enslave any demi humans. You can also no longer sell weapons to anyone but the Gravos Kingdom. And You will never try to start an uprising at any point and time and will not harm anything that deals with the Kingdom of Gravos's interests. Complete the blood seal by dripping a drop of blood onto the magic circles in front of you."

With this, no one will ever be able to cause any issues, and everyone will be able to live peacefully from this moment on. Through my detection magic, I could see the demi humans who were enslaved crying tears of joy while others were cursing me or, well, cursing my voice. But there was nothing they could do about it. This kingdom was not the same as Gravos and would be under the same laws where everyone was equal and free. With this, I draw a magic circle on the ground, which would be a teleport to the officials who would be coming over to organize this kingdom to be under Gravos's rule.