Captain Galaros

It didn't take long for us to make it to the capital, despite being 20 miles away. According to Central, this carriage was going 50 MPH for most of our trip. Since the average horse can only go 30 MPH over the same distance, I guessed that it was due to the modifications the amerans placed on the horses. As we rode up to the capital city of Amera, we noticed that there was another wall installation surrounding the capital city itself. Compared to the Large Ameran Enclosure we went through before, this looked to be more intimidating but also seemed extraordinary. As we got up to one of the four military checkpoints, I could see that they were heavily armored.

"Damn. Is it Fort Knox or a capital city? Why is security so tight?", I said.

"The capital city houses all of the royal families and nobles, as well as the richest individuals in Amera. It's only natural that they would want extra security. They also want to keep the poor out of their sight. What better way to do that than build a heavily reinforced wall?", Damaris said.

Judging from her tone, this seemed to be the part of Amera she hated the most. Upon seeing our royal carriage, two giants stepped in front of the gate. As they watched our carriage come to a halt, 10 royal knights of various races were on either side of the checkpoint. As we got out of the carriage, Damaris began to walk over to one of the knights.

"Hello, Capitan Galaros. I hope your troops have been keeping our nobles safe. We need to deliver the summoned hero to King Rilo, per his request. He's the paladin holding the lion over there".

"Hey! Are you really the paladin God we've been hearing about?! Show us and we'll let you pass!", Galaros shouted curiously.

Seeing as there were centaurs, giants, cyclops, elves, and dragons at the heavily reinforced checkpoint, I felt like this was the perfect example of peer pressure. Despite that, I decided to take out my shield and show them my Create ability. If I wanted to persuade them to let me pass, I needed a creation that would impress them. Thus, I decided to make the first thing that came to mind. I activated Create and pictured the being in front of me. As it was slowly being created, the troops' eyes began to shine.

"Is that what I think it is Paladin?!", Galaros said cheerfully.

When the cute woman was finally finished, she grew her devilish wings and began to hover above the ground.

"Can your average person create a succubus? I think not. Praise your Paladin Lord! He shall bestow you many Succu-"

Before I got to finish my sentence, Arcana and Daera punched my arms. They did not hold back their punches.

"What the hell was that for? Didn't we get into Amera?", I said.

"Really, Brice? Succubus? Out of all the things you could create...you make a succubus?", Daera said pouting.

"You really are trash, you know that? Creating a succubus in front of us!", Arcana said.

As we headed back into the Carriage, I brushed off their complaints since we finally got the clearance we needed. I deemed that the money to be made from the mission outweighed a little loss of respect. The succubus was only level 12 anyway so she didn't really cost much mana to make. After the knights were finished ogling at her, I sent her back to the Fortress to become our maid while we were away. I needed to send someone to keep the slime company anyway.

Since we got the clearance we needed, we were on our way to King Rilo! Although the carriage was moving extremely fast, I could tell that the capital city was a very affluent place. Compared to the cities that surrounded it, there was no sign of poverty anywhere. Most of the people that were walking around seemed to be rather affluent. There was also a variety of royal knights that were either patrolling or enjoying the city. Researchers, understandably affluent themselves, were also seen walking around the capital city. The demographics were less diverse, as it was mostly humans who walked the streets. Given the information that Damaris told me, all of the humans here are called "gifted humans". This only enhanced my perception that Amera was run on a meritocratic society.

After some time sightseeing the beautifully designed districts, we finally made it to the massive castle that belonged to Rilo. I had to give him props: he had pretty good taste in design.

We jumped out of the carriage, waved the carriage driver goodbye, and followed Damaris through the massive castle. My mini-map was able to project a map of the inside but it wasn't able to name the individual rooms. Essentially, it would only take little effort to get myself lost in Rilo's palace.

"Ok. We seem to be a little earlier than expected, which is good. Rilo usually banishes subordinates who are late more than 3 times. I've seen many young knights get banished from Amera this way. It's always a sad occasion, especially since the knights are usually one of the gifted" Damaris said.

Daera, Arcana, and Shobe never visited Rilo's castle so they were as amazed as me. I'm not sure I've ever seen so many things with gold trims on it. It also had magical technology scattered all over the palace, each gadget serving a different purpose. Unsurprisingly, high ranking knights were passing by us as we were walking towards the royal throne room. When we finally got to the doors, we saw two royal minotaurs who were 7 feet tall and built. Initially, their faces were stoic but upon seeing Daera they began to smile. I guess Daera made their day less mundane.

"Ok! We are about to meet King Rilo and Queen Draella! Judging from the knights that passed us, they just came from strategizing the defense of the outpost! As I previously stated, we obtained intelligence that Ringdrex is planning a raid on one of the 5 military bases. They are strategically placed between the military checkpoints that you saw earlier. We can't allow Ringdrex to take a single base or risk Amera falling apart completely. If you understand all that, you're ready to meet the Rilo and Draella Dragonbane of the royal family!" Damaris said as she opened the door.

As we walked into the massive throne room, we saw hundreds of knights sitting, standing, training, and protecting the royal family. Some of the soldiers seemed to be low-ranking rookie units, as their armor was more basic than Capitan Galaros' armor by a fair amount. As we walked up to the throne, the higher ranking knights began to walk beside us. It seemed that it was in response to not only Damaris' presence but out of respect towards Daera and Arcana. When I finally got close to the throne and looked at the royal family, I couldn't help but notice a particular detail.

Despite Damaris telling me that the King and Queen were around 120 years old, they looked to only be 40...