((Author's Note: So, yeah, this is really late in coming in. Things have changed in the past months, I'm sure we can all agree on that. Coursework moved entirely to online for me, so double my homework, which slowed down creating this. On top of that, I had technical difficulties, which are resolved. I didn't mean for it to take forever, it isn't forgotten, I just had to adapt.))

((Recommended Songs for this Chapter: Epic Score – Vengeance, Two Steps From Hell – Eria, Jordy Chandra – Coffee Evening, Mozart – Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" Allegro))

30th, December

"Hurry it up." Luko watched with a rice bag under her arm as Miyuki struggled to lift another into the carriage. They had managed to gain passage north while helping the caravan load supplies and products to sell. For the most part, they were the hired hands to pay their way. The remaining coin they had would be needed to feed them once they got through the borders of their neighboring empire. It wasn't much, enough for a couple of weeks at best. They'd be stopping in a few towns along the way, tending the oxen while the merchant hocked his wares. It was the only way to get out of their country quietly without anyone really noticing, at least until they had disappeared into the crowds of another nation.

"Why am I lifting the bigger stuff?" the princess snapped as she tried to push another bag of rice over the back hatch. The thirteen-year-old had never needed to perform menial labor before. Her hands were struggling to keep whatever was picked up from flopping out onto the ground.

"You think that's big? I've been lifting the barrels, princess." The wolf woman sighed in annoyance and pushed at the corner of the bag, which threw the kitsune off-kilter, nearly making her trip on her own two feet. The package sunk past the door as the teenager regained her balance.

"Why are you so frustrated with me?" Miyuki questioned her. "You knew what would happen if I didn't leave."

"What I know right now is that I'm an outcast that would be tried for treason. I cannot go back to my family, with what little of them are still alive; I cannot step foot in my home without an order for my death. This is all because you wanted not to be married. I am branded."

The princess didn't realize the position she had put her bodyguard in, her friend. Luko just stood there with her hands on her hips, staring at her with one eye. The teenager averted her gaze, understanding now what she had just sacrificed. "I'm sorry…"

There was a huff that came from the swordswoman; she turned around, looking at the hills in the north. "It's not like I didn't have a choice in all of this… let's get the last of the supplies in, then let the caravan leader know we're ready." That response seemed to lighten the mood, letting the girl know that the royal protector had understood the risks and accepted the responsibility of continuing her duty to look after her. Their garb had changed somewhat, with a generic kimono and cloak for Miyuki followed by ordinary lamellar armor on top of linen. As long as no one pulled the hood back for either, the duo could slip by.

Once finished with packing, the two ladies climbed in and traveled on towards whatever destination they thought was in this new land that could provide a better life. Miyuki wasn't quite old enough to know the challenges she needed to face as an adult, though she was smarter than others her age. She understood that they would need to find jobs to continue fending for themselves; her hope was that there would be an open position for a bouncer at a tavern, with the princess able to hide out as a waitress or apothecary. Once they earned enough, they could try and buy a small shop where she could craft all sorts of alchemical mixtures to help the people, blending into society. Her dream was to be a musician, playing one of the seven zither instruments that the republic was known for. The alternative to this plan, unfortunately, was to use her tails for a small miracle.

Despite what many thought, her bloodline allowed slow growth of the extra appendages on her coccyx. With those furry parts of her body that usually helped with her balance, she could, in most cases, cast spells no one else could. Her casting capability would get stronger as she got older, eventually being able to use rituals and incantations that would be what many believed a god would use… though that was, for the most part, hyperbole. There was one caveat that the shoguns didn't understand, attempting to marry her to their sons in hopes of receiving unbridled power. The tails would halt growth for a decade if a spell of any magnitude that required her tails was cast. If too many were fired off, she'd never realize her true potential until she was a feeble old lady, incapable of ever staying young. Those greedy bastards would seal her fate for their own use.

Those 'gifts' got more powerful the more of these appendages that have grown, with stories of ancestors with as many as nine to cause incredible effects on the world. What most of the fables lost to time, sadly, was that these gifts granted were only so powerful. While there could be widespread destruction offered up against one's enemies, or incredible alteration of time or space in a location, there was no guarantee it would be equal to a cataclysmic event that spanned an entire continent, let alone a planet. With only three tails, she was mostly relegated to illusions, bright lights, charm and limited mind control on weak willed people.

For a request of riches and wealth, even with a sizeable number of tails in play, the range of the gold that would appear could only go as far as the eye could see for its maximum. These restrictions had been forgotten, with many expecting unparalleled reality warping. The question was always as such: to cast an incantation only she knew and halt the growth, taking ten years of her life before they would slowly start again, or to continue hardship while she got stronger, forever staying in her prime as fairy tales would tell of?

Once she had grown all nine tails entirely, there would be no issues. The only thing that ever seemed to counter them, at any point, was something that showed high resistance to divine powers. There were beings out there that were rare but could be found that could ignore the effects of the spells. How they could do such a thing was never explained in any of the stories. She did remember reading two things about these beings, though; an ancient tome told of people called 'players,' with another an extra-dimensional being. One could assume that the latter was a god, unable to be toyed with by her supposed miracles cast. Unfortunately, the tomes she had read were always quite vague or partially water damaged, to make as many people turn the pages and be excited by these incredible adventures. They paid for a dream to sit back and wallow in for a time until they reached the end of that book. The word 'player' had no information on what to look for, just calling them as such. It also could have been a mistranslation.

There were artifacts in the world that could also restrict her alterations to the world, disregarding what she chose and merely acting as if nothing had happened. There was a small rumor of a faraway human kingdom having a few of these, one of which looked like a qipao dress. These items with worth beyond anything a nation could offer as a reward could, in fact, bypass the effects of her tails. An ancient alchemist, long dead, had theorized that her kind were living, breathing versions of these artifacts, or extensions of gods themselves acting as messengers. Of course, he also tended to eat things that were near poisonous to receive visions and was very idiosyncratic. He also stood on his head often, the blood flow most likely causing issues with his brain.

A bump rocked the carriage, then another, and another. "We should get some sleep while we can; I have a feeling they'll ask me to take watch when we stop for part of the night," Luko quietly told her.

"So… why should I rest? I'm not tired," Miyuki questioned her. The bodyguard sighed again in annoyance.

"Because you might be put on watch at some point as well. It's a rotating shift that might get picked at random. You keep your eyes open for two to four hours, and they better stay open, or bandits could attack… potentially worse." The fact that they would put a young teenager on watch meant there weren't very many escorts for this caravan. Luko had already realized that the reason behind so few guards to protect the carriages was supposedly the empire to the north was well defended; once past a certain point in the trip, they could rest without a care due to the army to the north. Getting there was the problem. The alternative was the caravan was stingy on paying for a hired sword. Luko was betting on the former.

"Worse? You don't think those assassins are… I mean, they couldn't be following us. We were careful, weren't we?" the princess asked, now worried about the situation. The royal guards didn't know where they were, but if those who wanted her father and her death were still skulking around and trying to find them, then they were in trouble. Their best bet was to just get lost in the civilization to the north.

"You didn't see the pairs of eyes watching us while we left, the suspicion in their gaze. A little coin here and there to grease their palms, then the group that was invading the Jade Palace would have a general idea of our direction. Luckily, we have a head start and wheels, and I took care to buy a few things to help us to elude trackers. That may not last long, depending on which direction this caravan goes later." Luko stared directly into Miyuki's golden-green orbs, forcing the teenager to look away. Even with only half the vision, the bodyguard's steel gaze always made her back down. The protector had far more worldly experience than she did; it was the reason there was only one eye, a story she didn't share.

"Alright…" the next in the royal line replied, settling in on the sack of rice, waiting for the convoy of carriages to eventually stop for the night.

2nd, January

Hrist sparred with Brynhildr in the gym, the walls specially hardened and reinforced to protect against any damage they could cause. The shields were activated, allowing them unparalleled movement as they bounced around and tried to get the upper hand against each other. If they really let loose, there would be a structural strain on the material, not quite high-end space-age metals just yet. The castle already needed a full upgrade, despite having so many advances in technology already. That was a test to the real strength of a Valkyrja that not even the hyper-advanced design of the gym was able to withstand the damage… yet. "You're loosening up your defenses!" Bryn laughed out as she dove and attacked, being twisted with a counter by her sister.

"Or maybe I let you see that opening!" the raven-haired woman responded, slamming the seven-foot-tall shield maiden into the ground with her hand pinned to her back. There was a massive thump heard from the impact, with the floor radiating an energy pulse outward to maintain integrity as it spread the force evenly, looking like a blue hexagonal lattice akin to a beehive. The blonde tapped the ground three times to be let go and was helped up as they both huffed and took a breath.

"Your response to the empress's daughter was… odd when we came back," Bryn told her as they both walked over to pick up their towels and get a bottle of water.

"Was it?" Hrist replied, not meeting her sister's gaze.

"What are you thinking? She explained that Eve was secretly hidden away long ago to protect her, just now having a chance to bring her back home."

"I know, I just… it feels like a bit of a lie. Something isn't right with that story."

Her taller sister grumbled something under her breath and rolled her eyes. "Hrist, why would she lie to us? Besides, her daughter is adorable. Are you unhappy she lives in the castle?"

The battle maiden cocked her head back in shock as she met eyes with Brynhildr. "What? Of course not! I'm quite happy Selene has a daughter! It's great that she's got someone to come home to every time from some meeting in another nation. I just – this isn't a normal introduction."

"You don't trust Selene? We're friends now."

"I trust her implicitly, you know that. I just feel like we weren't told the truth due to… to…"

Brynhildr was silent as they stood there, almost staring at a blank wall together. It gave credence to the auburn-haired woman not being human. They both believed the princess wasn't born of natural means.

"She's protecting her daughter. Wouldn't you keep something a secret if it could somehow harm a child of your own?" the taller sister asked quietly. Hrist didn't answer, just staring at the wall for another minute as she sipped from the straw on her bottle, the paint altering and shifting like a watercolor mural in constant flow.

Meanwhile

Selene kept running on her treadmill, getting a workout while she could. She'd wake up at 4 am in the morning, like always, exercising while being limited by a new development created by herself, a spell to increase metabolism, and a restrictor effect in her character sheet disabling her bonus strength and speed attributes. Each time the combination was used, the dev would burn double the number of calories, which there seemed to be no immunity towards that she could gain. She was using it five times, multiplying the burn by 32 so that she only needed to have a harsh workout once a week. The setup was uncomfortable, to say the least, but all of it was made to speed the process up. Any defense attributes were left untouched, keeping any attempted assassinations from flying in from long range.

Once the workout was complete, all of the gear was taken off, a very awkward armored suit to inhibit rather than protect. The checkmark in her sheet couldn't be activated unless three things were put into effect: that no threats were detected by [Detect Hostiles] spell cast within a 25-mile radius, that an alarm was activated to disable the ability after so many minutes in case she forgot, and a calorie tally system activated in her Hud to reactivate all stats once she reached her goal. The dev stopped the machine and slowed down, her ponytail no longer bouncing behind her as she grabbed a towel and headed out, pressing the pop-up button on the chest and allowing the suit to collapse on the ground, wearing yoga pants and a tank top underneath. Her breathing went from strained to calm as everything in her Hud reverted to the increase of 500 points across the board, with a new line showing what her muscle strength was without the added bonuses. There was so much news in the past few days that she had to pour through, very little of it being minor.

The first notice was that the Churches were in an underground war, one which seemed a little lopsided. From what she could get intel on, the Church of the Clockwork Empress has been doing everything it could to bring more followers its way, in some cases poaching from other religions. This has caused the Church of the Golden Faith to attempt assassinations on critical leaders in retaliation. Few, if any of them, have succeeded, with any of the archbishops resurrected without much issue by their priests. The attacks haven't been reciprocated either. The view was that the followers had to hold fast until their goddess intervened. They were sticking to their tenets loyally, not once straying to fight back. It was both impressive and, at the same time, incredibly stupid for them to not defend themselves; instead, they put forth their efforts to help those who were having their money strained from their lives like water from a sponge by the Golden Faith.

The empress's actions to counter this were swift. Those who put the contracts out for the assassinations were caught and placed in prison faster than the police could even get warrants for arrests. The paid killers were eliminated quickly, with security teams sent in to capture them; the idea was floated by the dev on what to do with the prisoners, a new plan suggested by her ARC scientists of using those who couldn't be rehabilitated in a new creation called a Limbo Vat. The nervous system was forcibly removed from the body and emplaced in the machine, sustaining the mind in a virtual reality simulation. Data would be taken on what their actions were inside, and just as the criminals would reach their goals, the world would be reset, and they'd start from scratch, with new laws and restrictions in place to keep them from doing any harm. It rarely stopped them, with new ingenious ways of performing a murder, theft or attempting world domination. Still, it helped with new training protocols for police to catch future evildoers and understand how to keep the peace more efficiently. There wasn't a need to throw away the capability to protect the empire in new and interesting ways. The alternative, at least when the empress became angered, was permanent death.

There were tier spells well above what the people knew that could restrict resurrection without cleansing it first, a curse upon the body, such as [True Death]. Dimensional magic had many forms of it, one of which was even for machines to keep them from being repaired. Very few of them could be cleansed without effort, one of which was to get a gamemaster to alter the data for the object or character. They were rare by far for players to use, only because it opened them up to a potential ban inquiry, and many were removed outright from Arcanic's Wizardry. The alternatives were always some quest by a player to gather resources just to bring back their main into the game. Anyone who was found griefing another in this regard had their accounts suspended for three months if not banned outright. Given subscriptions were connected to a biosignature due to the dive systems, it was near impossible to fake a new account to continue griefing.

Selene had found out how to cleanse the effect with a few tests on one civilian drone training dummy. The developers themselves had put in a hideous amount of other ways to remove the debuff from a body or object… players were just stupid and oblivious. Some of these were tutorial quests, which many didn't remember at all. There were so many whiners and complainers about how hard or easy some games became that there were constant patches to remove spells or abilities from many MMORPGs, all due to the player's not watching the signs. Luckily, the empress remembered most of them for dimensional magic.

The entire event had caused the money-hungry followers of the Golden Faith to go underground within the last twelve hours, a silent war they were attempting with little regard to public safety. Unfortunately, they didn't have much of a leg to stand on or sympathy, expected to eventually fade away as their faith dissolved into nothing. Discord was all but assured now with those worshipers until that happened, many of which were now hiding in plain sight, waiting for a chance to overthrow the government. They considered Selene a false goddess, but also Elesia and Gigsen clay deities as well. The only thing they believed in were gems and coin, piled high which bought their way into heaven upon their deaths. Their hypocritical views were so twisted from reality.

What she received was a grand ovation from hundreds who got an eyeful of the event, with word getting out that the Golden Faith could not do what they wished anymore. The laws were being upheld. Let others worship freely, even if that worship somehow changes, bar any harmful faith that required live sacrifices or pain to come to a person or animal. Men and women had equal rights, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender. Children were not to work, excluding work experience for a school course that provided protection management, which also helped the child reach a career. Animal cruelty was not allowed. A rumor was started with evidence that the empress's irises had a golden halo around them, glowing faintly inward as she became frustrated with the oblivious worshipers of the almighty coin… not gods. Both eyes eventually turned into just the left one, growing brighter… and blue. She never got a chance to see what that looked like, as by the time she reached a mirror, it was gone. Hrist had commented that it reminded her of someone, except that the dev still had both eyes, and the iris glowing was the opposite.

The second issue that appeared was a standoff with none other than the leviathan that caused the Great Battle of Sweet Water Harbor. It took an enormous amount of effort by Zaza and Nara to stop the 7th naval fleet from engaging the ocean-dwelling dragon, with a hostile entourage riled up around him by the aggression field preparing to attack. The fleet ready to engage had a brand-new battleship and carrier in the middle to fight back against large creatures, with small submarine fighters to win the engagement. They were eventually able to make him remember who he was and get some treatment offered up by the empire. It would take some time for his mind to go back to the way it was before late-stage dementia, but there was medical technology to ease him back to a functioning if old, dragon. Surprisingly, he disabled the field he was emitting, immediately having the small underwater army disperse back to their daily lives. His original reason for being near Sweet Water was finding something he dropped, not to bring a fight to their shores.

To Zaza's dismay, the effects were substantial in his life. The leviathan couldn't remember where he lived, most of his memories were a jumble, and the only two names he seemed to keep at the forefront of his mind were Zaza and a long-lost mate. The story behind the meeting of the younger wyrm and the massive underwater creature wasn't brought up. However, there were hints of knowing those in her lineage, possibly treating the gold wyrm as a grandchild. Until his mind was his own, he was a guest at the Dragon Aerie under constant watch by security. For the most part, "Galithos" was calm and somewhat friendly, if highly forgetful. There were times when he spoke in tongues, not realizing that the rest of the dragons couldn't even understand what he was saying. It wasn't another language being translated, he just mixed up his words. This was supposed to eventually go away in the next year or so. Until then, he would always ask when breakfast would be served… in the evening.

The third issue, which seemed to be the most urgent, was her security being tipped off by the police in multiple cities that there were casks with crude magic imbued on the casings and invisibility enchanting on the space they were placed. They were filled with what appeared to be mind control liquid that would vaporize once the containment seals were punctured, a crude chemical bomb as it were. The mist would flow out and be inhaled by the surrounding population, turning them all into pliant living zombies that would acknowledge the first person who laid claim to them.

Unfortunately, they couldn't figure out who was creating the canisters. The advantage the empire had right now was the auto soldiers disabling each cache, and prepping aerosol dispersion medication and counter spells to remove the mind control if one detonated. There were no fingerprints, no DNA samples. Whoever was the culprit would be considered domestic terrorists and have all rights removed immediately, potentially shot on sight. What these people didn't understand, though, was the fact that the troops were getting faster and faster at finding them, using predictive analytics to locate each hideout and perform raids. Triangulation of the supply routes to deliver these chemical weapons was almost instant within a couple days, except the wagons carrying the casks were unmanned. They hadn't found anyone inside the buildings, and the ownership of each warehouse was different each time, with no knowledge by the owners of the barrel shipments. Whether that was because of not being informed or someone breaking in just to place these caches was unknown.

A fourth and final issue that made the empress express sympathy for them was the dwarves. They had sped up the creation of the golem due to multiple noble houses collapsing, a few of them loyal to the prince. The estimated completion date would be just after the ball. She hoped it would unify everyone without causing further trouble, showing the mountain dwellers just what they really were capable of. If not, and given the fact she now had over 30% of their population living within her borders as refugees, they could fall. This dwarven society seemed different from what Sultan Gazi had given her in history books, as other kingdoms across the seas were in far better shape. One, in particular, controlled multiple mountain ranges and was the primary defense against multiple other nations squabbling with each other, acting as the grown-ups between everyone else.

These events, along with the side notice that adventurers were trespassing in Tal Salunbal restricted areas without warning, had whittled down the empress's patience quite a bit. However, she never snapped at anyone in her inner circle, with Orlo acting as her shrink to get things off her chest. Gazi and his son would arrive a little earlier than expected before the winter ball to hash out details of controlling the movements of the independent explorers and monster hunters, as well as work out the transportation of medical supplies and pesticide sprays for a new disease infecting food growing near the undead city to the far north. In exchange, he had hinted that they may receive an early supply of the new steam engines Tal Salunbal now could make, albeit in an extremely small volume. They just did not have the infrastructure to make more than a dozen in a year, maybe two dozen. Those would be given to companies proving they took care of their employees as an incentive to progress.

"Ma'am, we detected a lowering of your heart rate, are you finished with your workout?" was heard over the intercom by Will. Plans were already set for both Selene and her daughter to stay for two nights on the Majesty's Grace during the ball, not really wanting to be in the White Palace for too long. Even with them cleansing the place from top to bottom, excluding the dungeon that Xaxara was still chained up inside, something about the building felt… uncomfortable. The only way that would go away was to have the place torn down and rebuilt from the ground up.

Juliet didn't exactly have time for at least another two weeks to take on the project, working hard with her teams to start new infrastructure throughout the empire as the 2nd royal home wasn't a big deal anyway. There were tunnels now dug through most of the mountain ranges to get from one city to the next via train or carriage, with some rumors floating around that the empress would help the people receive the new hot air balloons that Tal Salunbal was now testing openly. Installation of the teleportation pads for government transportation between major cities was already completed, rapidly moving entire armies to main staging areas.

On top of that, there were concepts drawn up for new city designs, complete with a much more modern infrastructure and green lifestyle. The goal was to make internal transportation relatively easy for all manners of travel, with teleportation or air balloon for long-distance movement, while also not affecting the environment. This would allow citizens to expand more in one area instead of taking up extra land by starting a new village somewhere in the boonies, requiring a new mayor and security in the area. Once the towns and cities became a decent size, they'd expand upwards versus outward. The idea of farms placed inside the boundaries of cities for fresh produce sold at nearby stores would become the next big thing.

"Yes, I'm done for the day. What's the skinny? What needs to be fixed? It better not be something I did," she asked as she put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "I hope it isn't something I did…" she mumbled to herself, having a low sense of confidence with their alterations to laws and regulations recently. The next list of chores to keep up with, even as the ruler of the Clockwork Empire, was now going to be laid on her shoulders for the day. The dev was now learning that nothing was going to be perfect, even what she put in place. Some systems or policies needed to be tweaked almost weekly due to the education of the people in the empire. Some things just didn't work yet; others were too strict and needed to be rebalanced. It was somewhat like doing game testing, checking what needed to be nerfed or buffed. The Clockwork Empire was in beta, perhaps even in alpha.

"We just wanted to inform you that your colleague, Ranger Dina, has been taking the failure of the tournament hard. Recordings of her responses via ornithopter have revealed she feels guilty for her actions against another team, disqualifying them before they could be in the next combat trial. Practice has been extensive to keep her busy."

The dev blew air out of her mouth and closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly. "That kid can't take being knocked down all that well… alright. How's her team?"

"Currently, all healthy. The warrior Pops, real name Philian Altor, has officially retired, heading back to Silvinholm to look into buying a home. Apparently, he's figured out that he doesn't need a reward from the tournament with the social security funds provided as well as the Silvinholm defense stipend. Dylan and Marv are both staying in the adventurer barracks, working on their team skills with the Paladin Piper, along with planning to complete a long-term quest near Paldos City; however, it appears that Dylan may be coerced into joining the police force in Aureos. Marv, real name Marvin De Estelon, has been offered a chance to rejoin the Wizard Academy. Piper is being requested to assist more with their faith in the church, now that the Golden Faith appear to have become suspiciously absent. Did you want a report on the secondary support crew, specifically the priest Ezra?"

"No, I already know what he's doing after the church event. That boy sure has some balls on him, standing up to a high priest and his lackeys without any backup just to defend someone who isn't of his faith… if that wasn't a confidence booster or shitting a brick, maybe both, I don't know what is. He grew up in the span of a few minutes – at least until his legs gave out when police and security arrived." The woman touched the wall, having it turn on with a built-in holographic viewscreen popping up with an aerial isometric view of Aureos; it quickly zoomed in with light-up wireframes surrounding hidden assets throughout each district. Androids were staying put where needed, ready to answer the call from their creator or one of her administration, with automatons available for military backup when less finesse was required. The screen landed on a group planning something in the guild barracks. "Have someone shadow their team, make sure they don't get into trouble."

"You aren't afraid she might push herself too far to make up for the failure?" Will asked.

"I'd like to say she has a good head on her shoulders, at least with the little time we worked together. Still, with one shadow watching them while they finish whatever this quest is, it should give her a chance to get out of the slump she put herself in. I figured the gift of the common tier armor we sent would cheer them up. There aren't any other teams trying to compete with them are there?"

"Hmm, define competition. An Adamantite rank party is training a brother and his platinum cohorts; I believe, were they knowledgeable of experience points, that this would be considered 'power leveling.' They'll be heading out to perform another contract in the area, something about an underground crime ring reported working out of the ruins of Paldos. They can't do anything near real civilization, so they set up shop in places they think we won't search."

Selene huffed. "Should just bulldoze that place right now, I thought Bryn did a number on the buildings already, guess there are some areas still habitable. Ugh… will their team's paths cross? Also, is this the same group that the altercation happened with?"

"It is ma'am. Let's see… the quest for the Orc Destroyers was to escort a trio of priests to determine if a mansion can be cleansed of a 'malicious' presence in tomorrow morning; the main issue was that spirits have apparently taken residence inside and guard the antiquities against being taken out, with a wealthy aristocrat donating quite a sum for the help in regaining family heirlooms and lost history. Mmm, there won't just be two teams either in the area, more like six; most of what they're doing is minor, at least from what we can see. A report of a dire Corby nest was sent in, considered very low threat priority. Dina's team will be clearing it as a secondary objective for extra coin at the edge of our borders."

"I would figure they'd be heading outside our borders, not having to continue doing stuff in any province. That tells me we haven't secured everything just yet," the dev questioned. Most of the territory was sterilized, with next to no chance of undead somehow appearing beyond a necromancer at work or unhappy family members refusing to let go. What did crop up were the unholy monster creations that the last of the demons on the continent would try to get crapped out of a spawner rift. It only took a few security teams to clean up a forest or mine; the problem was they still didn't have a way to close the rifts beyond collapsing the tunnels, or building encasement bunkers around the source surrounded with auto-turrets and minefields.

"Afraid they can't handle themselves?"

"I'd like to keep them from picking a fight with each other. The discourse between adventurers is a great way of later having a city block set on fire and panic due to a violent rivalry in the streets. The last thing the cities need are feuds that damage public property, which I'm sure the adventurers can cause."

"Do you want Dominic to send troops to the area? I believe the 92nd security can provide a few teams. What am I saying? They can probably just go as an entire division," Will asked, smacking his forehead lightly with the palm of his hand on the other side of the com line. There was a very dull metal sound from the impact, his own shields, and plating not keeping his palm away.

The empress cupped her chin for a moment, thinking carefully. There were so many soldiers, both security and military, that there wasn't much of a reason to not send them. "Of course. I want every quest inside our borders cleared. The only direction adventurers have is to go outside the empire. Have payments given out for all groups, we need a restriction on anything inside the nation as it will cause them to stumble into restricted military zones. I don't need one of them stepping on an active spider mine. The Corby nest… eh, low threat, let the Orc Destroyers deal with it this one time." Selene brought her hand up in a facepalm and just shook her head, continuing with a groan. "I swear, I don't know why I keep looking in on that party so much. Is there anything special recorded about Dina? Like, she isn't human or something, a magical girl, or whatever?"

"Nothing we've detected really, a blood test previously documented might reveal some… hmm… interesting… this slipped by doctor review…" Will went silent as the empress brought up a registry of births for all citizens. Most didn't have any sort of paperwork, so it had to be recreated from the ground up with a lineage or gene chart. A surprisingly large number of civilians didn't even know how old they were, just trying to remember how many moons had gone by. Dental records and medical checkups eventually rectified that. What they both were looking at was a peculiar gene sequence noted, something Gabriel had as well. "That… can't be a coincidence."

"I wonder what it's connected to? Gabriel and Dina aren't related, are they?" she asked.

"Negative, there is no relation. This is rare, though it doesn't put them at risk of any disease. We should send this to the ARC for review, they'll want to analyze the data for a full lineage mapping. Morlan has it too… and… Elsei? It could be…"

"What are you thinking?" she questioned him.

"Huh? Oh, nothing too promising, just a theory of my own looking at this. What if that sequence tells someone they are related to a player?" he replied.

Selene stood near the digitized wall and dropped her hands back onto her hips, cocking her head back and furrowing her eyebrows. "That… could explain why I noticed Dina in the guildhall back in Silvinholm instead of walking away… but her level is… well, I mean it was five or six if I remember correctly. Do descendants of players share the same level, or get half of their attributes? That's a whole research branch we need to work out. Hmm, something to think about. We don't have enough intel on children of players given we haven't even had the chance to talk to one that is alive, let alone understand who is related to them here."

"Agreed. It was just a theory, after all, make of it what you will," the chief of staff told her nonchalantly.

"I know. I'll keep that in mind with her, though."

"Understood ma'am. Oh, you've read the new research and construction report, correct?"

"I have. They figured out how to keep new rifts from being created. Well, that's a step in the right direction." The dev rolled her shoulders and cocked her head to the side, feeling a knot in her neck. Her pre-workout exercises weren't extensive enough, it seemed. The report itself was mainly improvements to what she was already getting from tech tiers, fine-tuning them alongside regular R&D to understand the world they were on. Miniaturization, energy efficiency, material usage, reliability, adjustments were being made with a slew of designs and altered schematics. While they already understood how to make a railgun, there were new ways of making it smaller, more powerful, with less waste or heat. One was a single shot creation made of a mixture of wood with iron filings brushed through the barrel and an array of potato batteries. Usage was not advised due to the high chance of the holder being killed at the same time as the target.

Tier magic was now officially nullified with the highest quality resistance film applied to armor. Newer designs of automatons and androids were now being updated, including the more massive mechs and special military units still dormant under the Clockwork Castle. There was a new research facility opened in where Southern California would be on their continent, built entirely for experiments with diseases, gene splicing, and medical in mind. Everything inside would eventually be moved upstairs to a space colony once they were able to build one far enough away from the planet for safety reasons. The space elevator was almost complete, the official start date would be when the winter ball happened, barely at midnight.

"Indeed. This would bring up something else that you might find interesting. Now that we can 'vaccinate the land' so to speak, there have been sightings of demons that are actively attempting to integrate as immigrants into society."

Selene seemed surprised, blinking rapidly as this new information was told to her. "What, wait, how – h-hang on, you're saying… what kinds of demons? I know there are multiple types, obviously. Why weren't they shot on sight?"

"Succubi and incubi, a few imps. No devils it seems, though our research into whether they truly could alter their ways has been fruitless. The reason they weren't killed immediately is that they willingly surrendered. It appears there are outliers in all races that don't act the same way as their brethren. Even without being different, I believe there have been many stories in all written universes that have told of love, or survival, becoming the main reason a creature that normally would be considered evil to alter their ways or seek redemption. They were tested in their responses with [Truth From Lies]."

"That… that can't be possible… are they killing anyone or pulling little twisted plans to destroy the empire?"

"The succubi and their male counterparts are usually opening brothels, with the requirement of no soul siphoning allowed; also, they are restricted from causing the patrons leaving to be completely exhausted, or it will cause health issues. Then we come knocking and close down their shops. It's the equivalent of a bar cutting someone off who has had enough. This, in turn, requires large amounts of mana to be crystallized for sustenance to replace souls; in essence, it is acting as an alternative food source… they are voracious eaters if it is not the primary diet they normally subsist on. It also seems to be a wealth of intel due to pillow talk. We might be able to use that."

Hiring a succubus lady of the evening to send heads ups on little plans in their cities? Hmm… keep them tracked while also getting things that could slip through the cracks… no, send that intel to Morlan and his fledgling agency.

A thought crossed the dev's mind as she tried to figure out what they'd even eat beyond souls or human flesh. It stood to reason that there would be exotic resources out there that were particular to otherly realm creatures to ingest or absorb. She suddenly snapped her fingers at remembering what someone else was currently using in their mountain fortress. "Holy shit! Mana steel! Can they eat that?!"

"Apparently we, and others, have been creating a supply of fine delicacies for them to buy, provided we put any of it on the market. There is a 'flavor' that is dependent on the vessel that once housed the mana, with potions being potential major sellers with added ingredients. They don't actually eat the material, more of a drain from the item as it becomes inert or damaged; this would warp the metal and make it require a recasting without the imbuement. Even regular foodstuffs have a minuscule amount of mana in it, becoming immediately rotten once siphoned from, though it is highly doubtful they'd buy poor quality edibles that humans would ingest. This brings up the question 'will they absorb the essence from a mana generator used to produce mana steel, or will it be considered bland in flavor?'"

The bigger question is, 'if they did siphon from a generator, would they blow up?' Those things are designed for supply in mass manufacturing and farming, not for individual usage. It' be like drinking from a fire hose.

Selene looked up at the ceiling and just blinked, dumbfounded by the prospect. Succubi and incubi, imps, no devils though… they were living in her empire, not harming anyone. It was insane, but there was so much misconstrued in tabletop games about what was allowed and what wasn't. "Their alignment is lawful evil or lower, though. I mean, how are they not trying to subvert anything or cause corruption? If they change alignment, doesn't that make them dissolve or something? I thought the… wait, that was D&D lore that was vague from the beginning… what the hell am I thinking, new world… are they trying to throw old antics out the window? Or do we just not understand the concept of an infernal creature?"

"Alignment we've figured doesn't actually exist here, karma does. We've been using it to discern how a person reacts to most situations, showing in our optics and your Hud akin to their hidden demeanor. A paladin of lawful good could be a giant prick and yet still trying to do the 'right thing.' For the demons, we're unsure how they are managing; however, what we can say is that beyond some annoyance with mortals being at times quite incompetent when they interact with them, i.e., 'stupid sheeple,' they've been rather civil in most regards and following the laws, especially the imps who want to… become lawyers for the judicial system. There is no fact provided that states they cease to be what they are if they decide to become productive members of society instead of the essence of evil. Be advised, this isn't all of them. Quite the contrary, only a tiny fraction of the suspected population that is still running wild, roughly 1% or less, have decided to put down their weapons or claws and started new lives here. You may see, at best, a couple hundred sprinkled throughout the empire of over 13 million, less even. The chances of many even meeting one are slim."

The dev just couldn't believe what she was hearing. A succubus brothel would probably be a very popular place for the working man to visit in a city. Given that prostitution was legal, along with some limited recreational drugs and nonlethal combat sports, there were probably plenty of areas for the infernal races to find a job, more than likely starting new companies with their capabilities. She just couldn't believe that they weren't evil; the fact was there was no hard lock on that rule here. What was allowed and what wasn't had generally been up to Dungeon Masters to decide in their various game campaigns, regardless of if it was D&D or otherwise. "I'd like for them to be kept an eye on, please. Not until they've had a probationary period of – I'd say a few years at least – I think the mortally challenged can ignore the wait time. Are there any other races that suddenly decided to integrate out of nowhere that I haven't been made aware of? I know about the vampire."

"Should they be working towards their green cards? Grey and Felix have the necessary assets to track what they're doing ma'am. As for that last question, the new census report is out due to this."

The empress was wide-eyed. There were Oni that were working as chefs, gnomes opening up repair shops, even a few insectoids with professions as prospectors. The census report continued with rare finds just trying to live. A family of animal folk decided to permanently immigrate up from the Seong Neow Republic, sneaking away to start new lives. They were an extremely small minority compared to humans and even elves. Still, they were there, sifting through Clockwork society and working the 9 – 5… or overnight, for vampires and the succubi. How any of that came to be, she couldn't figure, given that she believed the insectoids should have been looking for a hive to incorporate into or starting their own. The vampire had to be drinking blood from something living. At least she knew they could provide the required nourishment from the trees. That made her wonder if a new market for exotic foods would start to build up, selling crystallized mana or other specialty foods for their dietary needs.

What's next? Undead accountants? Goblin bankers? Orc rock stars? That last one might become a thing if we found a tribe that didn't want to be man-eaters. "Hey Grog, how are the orc kids?" "They're doing fine, Bob, going to see the doctor about your bones?" I… I just… my brain… I never expected this! Elves, sure, dwarves, fine, gnomes… yeah, whatever. Vampires, demons, and… what is this… A FUCKING MEDUSA?! HOW IS SHE NOT PETRIFYING PEOPLE?! CAN SHE CONTROL IT?!

There was a long list of experience and qualifications each had in their quazi-resumes, some of it gruesome, other parts not so much. Details were explained carefully as to their capability and understanding of what was required of them to fit into society. The medusa could, in fact, control her petrification, which defied everything Selene thought was possible. The snake hair was probably going to terrify people still until they got used to it. She also had a sister who did not have the snakes, causing confusion as to how their anatomy worked; the medusa even knew of one that had flames for hair.

The vampiress had an eidetic memory as well as a profound understanding of cardiology… for obvious reasons. That made her wonder if anyone would go to see a vampire doctor, provided she was well fed. For all Selene knew, the woman could easily pick out heart conditions on the fly, just like a good mechanic for a car. The files on the new immigrants all had their alignment register something in between chaotic neutral all the way up to lawful good. One imp was lawful evil, but his view of how to act seemed much higher. In his belief, greed was helpful only when those who needed his assistance were indebted to him, so he would donate funds gained and time to the community in hopes that the town or city he lived in would owe him. It shouldn't have been possible, at least she thought that was the case. Karma ratings were all over the place, even for the ones who were trying to be somewhat decent.

Something changed them after being stuck here, cut off from their plane. I would assume if found out, the outliers would be killed for being too weak in a place other than here. Must play havoc with their mental faculties, unless most of them are 'young' by their standards.

"Where did they come from? Is there an origin for most of them, like mountain ranges we haven't fully mapped or villages we missed?"

"A healthy chunk of them are from mountain ranges or the small regions of the Underdark that we've added into the empire. Most of them are curious about how our nation is developing and improving, providing better living conditions to the ones they had. Regardless of any race, one could surmise that quality of livelihood outweighs racial loyalty, and in many cases, overcomes old hatreds. If they prosper by living next to humans day in and day out, without fear of racism or classism that would go unpunished, and proper nutrition without having to do battle for it, then why should they stay hidden away plotting an attack that will ultimately fail? They must be thinking if they can't beat us, join us."

"The problem with that is the humans have proven that they are very much capable of being racist assholes even if the other side is willing to cooperate. Very intolerant, imbecilic assholes. A few outliers aren't going to change that," Selene mumbled out.

Earth is proof of that. There were just humans there, and just because of the color of your skin, you were considered lower on the totem pole. No wonder species everywhere pick fights with each other.

"We're allowing them to join, correct? Ma'am?" Will asked.

Selene just facepalmed and shook her head. It was an opportunity to prove humans, and other races can live side by side without any issues; even outsiders were accepted, literal outsider races, if only just a few rare like-minded individuals. If she turned them away, it would just prove that race had too much control over who could be friends with whom. The dragons were an excellent example to this, along with some stories she had read for research that told of lawful good demons, evil angels, and even some undead that just wanted to be left alone. There didn't need to be one alignment stuck for each race, it was just what they tended towards, not what they needed to be always. Besides, she knew that alignment could change depending on how one acted. "Yeah… assuming they don't start anything, yes, they can join. The empire is turning into a bizarre melting pot."

Less D&D and more Shadowrun. I can't believe I remember that tabletop even after all those iterations it's gone through over a century and a half. I think it's up to what, 56th edition?

"Understood ma'am. There are over one hundred requests from some of these new faces to even join the academy."

"Oooh, Skuld is going to deal with that, not me. I'm not touching that with a ten-meter pole," she responded, throwing her hands in the air. She blew air out of her mouth and closed her eyes for a moment. As long they didn't start anything and were productive citizens, there wouldn't be a problem. "Anything else?"

"I had a question, two questions, in fact. The first involves the ex-nobles. You aren't looking forward to this ball, are you?"

"I'm not. I've read up on what they're doing. The younger up and comers are enjoying the empire and working hard to follow the laws. Sadly, they aren't the main chunk I need to deal with. A few of the older generation are genuinely decent people, but they're few and far between. The rest are… well, let's just say I could do without them being here."

"We could eliminate them for you quietly, ma'am."

"I know, I'm just trying to keep from ending lives without some proper reasons. Killing someone just because they annoy me isn't the proper response, it means I can't control myself. If they've gone too far, eh. Then it turns into either death to just get rid of the problem or Limbo Vats for ARC. Frankly, we haven't seen them do anything that would cause me to choose either sentence. Our judges haven't had any of the aristocracy, at least the families themselves and not their children, get into a situation that requires they be sent to jail."

Will raised an eyebrow. "You are actually considering the Limbo Vats they've created? Is this the same empress that created me?"

The dev smirked. "Hah hah, funny. Yes, I'm interested in the usage of those. For the violent hardened criminals, they already are sent over for Nikola and Robert to test on. They can't be rehabilitated anyway, too stuck in their thinking or aggressive tendencies. Why waste their minds in death these days with those around. It makes execution all but pointless now beyond not taking prisoners in a war. Of course, it technically does lock them in a personal hell… fair game honestly with what they've done to others. I'm seeing the usage as a way to learn to counter those crimes before they are committed. Why waste perfectly good brains we can model training off of?"

"I'm impressed."

Selene pursed her lips and waggled a finger at the screen. "Don't think I've changed completely. I just understand now that there are necessary evils I need to partake in to keep the place going and the lights on. I don't consider the people just toys to play with, that's why I haven't just outright blown the aristocracy to pieces and forced all of them to be loyal or die. You know, I remember Orlo once quoting Machiavelli to me, about it being better to be feared than loved if you can't have both."

"Do you believe so, ma'am?"

"I'm getting an idea of what he was telling me. I can't just be nice and friendly, handing out money for sponsorships or helping everyone with their problems. Sometimes I'm going to need to kick people around to drag the empire into the next era. I'm just still a little hesitant with doing that just yet, at least inside my borders. There's a set of stairs I'm going to need to walk up soon just to get things going, I just don't know what. I would like to have both love and fear if possible, the best of both worlds. That might not work out, but I'll try all the same."

The empress's chief of staff received a small paper report sent in, the thing written up by Mayor Alfred from Silvinholm. It had passed through the hands of the auto governor of the province, giving a heads up of the repair of all trade routes and the economy now coming back. It also informed him that most of the mayors from neighboring provinces were going to be traveling with him to Aureos to stand with the empress if she gives a speech. "That brings up the next question."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Involving the next era… have you had a chance to speak with Grey about a plan he's concocted with Nikola and Robert? I caught the short end, cut them off, and told them to bring everything up personally with you during the ball. It's… well, it could revolutionize how to get everything running quickly into rapid advances."

The dev furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I can't say honestly, as I didn't listen to the entire explanation. I wanted to hear it alongside you so that I didn't spoil anything. It's just an idea they have."

"If it is about how to move into the future, the education level of the people isn't up to par yet. By the last report, only 20% of the population has an elementary education right now, with less than half that any higher. It's expected to grow by double within a year, slowly tapering off. Within a decade, the entire population will have at least an elementary degree, possibly up to a high school degree if we play our cards right."

"Which brings up what Grey has developed. I don't necessarily understand what they have created, but you should have a sit down with them. I'll join, obviously, as will the rest of your cabinet."

Selene stood there for a moment, blinking, running through what he just said as her eyes darted around the room. "He – wait, he didn't bring this up yet, this plan?"

"If you don't approve it, then the whole thing is canned. They haven't done anything just yet, at least directly. Nikola and Robert have been developing more than just ways to protect the empire, these are personal projects they want to bring up."

"Well, hell, I knew that. They bring them up all the time, though I'm starting to look into their previous ideas again. Look, we've had this discussion before, about the cultural shock of giving too much too fast. Their brains wouldn't be able to handle it, with their understanding of math or… anything really. Most don't even know about other lands outside ours; I doubt they'd even be able to conceive of other planets, let alone of galaxies."

"The picture we're getting from reports is that the people want to desperately forget the culture of Artinia or the old medieval setting. Most of what was remembered does not bring fond memories for most. The fashion has all but been erased within a matter of months, with everyone desperately embracing what we've brought. They're learning, you have to give them a chance to show what they can do."

"I know, I know. Ugh, food for thought, my main issue was that cultures evolve over centuries for most countries, creating their music and art styles, home designs and the like. People see that uniqueness and connect it with the empire. But I guess if most of what they had is turned to ash, brings bad memories and wants to be forgotten… I'll take a look. Another problem is Tal Salunbal would be left in the dust, could destroy their economy if we don't really need anything from them."

"Or, it could help Sultan Gazi to reach the stars faster, his dream. Could nudge them in the right direction, build a close friendship with the neighbor, eventually integrate them just like King Weren and Queen Ynshael. They control their nations under your rule. Gazi would simply be another royal listening to you. They could, along with Gold Pine and the west coast, become tech powerhouses. Gazi could become the representative of the humans."

"And the dwarves?"

"We can all get these off our chests during a meeting later, these are just suggestions for how to go forward, ma'am."

"And I'm listening. That's what you all are for, obviously. I surround myself with smarter people so I can fix all this. Well, if we're having another meeting after the ball, we can rework some more of our plans of action… again…" Selene replied, scratching at her hair.

"Won't that be after 10? Won't you be tired?" Will questioned. She could easily use [Greater Rejuvenate] to keep awake and go to bed early morning, but he didn't want to push.

"If it gives me some new ways to focus where we're going, I'm willing. The ball shouldn't stress me out too much. Start of a new year, we've been around for about 3 months, I've been on this planet for I think six, and I have no idea where my goals are now that we are a sleeping superpower. So far, everything we've set out to do right now has been met, but I feel like it's a slow start that'll eventually stagnate. Touching base with everyone while we wait for those three fleets to make landfall, then scheduling a meeting with the emperor of the Seong Neow Republic, and –"

"They don't want to speak to us, ma'am."

Selene paused mid-sentence, wondering what that meant, her mouth agape as she blinked rapidly. "Gala sent an ambassador already? Oh, right, the report was… wait, they don't want anything to do with us?"

"None, not one single thing. Apparently, the ambassador insulted them with opening borders for commerce, didn't follow proper customs… it was a gynoid, they don't feel that a woman can speak on behalf of men in their positions."

"I don't have that kind of plumbing. I'm not about to have a gene splice and genital mutilation just so they take me seriously."

"Gender inequality is still a thing for feudal Japan, on which the Seong Neow Republic is based. Back on track, the people want open borders for trade, but the government rules with an iron fist and bass ackward laws to punish those who leave the nation. They do so anyways now, sneaking away where possible. Some get caught, execution is… well, it's a thing for 'shamefully abandoning the country' so to speak. The people may be the government; the government is not the people."

The empress facepalmed. "That sounds more like North Korea than Japan. They must have a mixture of all the Far East. Just… whatever, fine, we aren't dealing with them then. They don't speak to the ambassador, I'm not going to fly out there and waste my time. They aren't my problem until they decide to become one, we're not here to bring democracy to the world like the U.S. wanted to. However, if their people come over our borders, they start something here we end it, got it? I'm more than willing to clean their clock just like with the Be'arkeln Grand Tribe."

"Dominic is way ahead of you on that, ma'am. By the way, we did find other tribes of orcs living on the island grouping we consider Hawaii. They live with pig men… initial meetings are completely different from the Grand Tribe."

"Hawaiian culture?"

"Samoan for part of it. They don't really care about meeting you, but they're willing if you decide to show up."

"Pretty easy going, I take it?"

"Very much so, but just don't try to piss them off. Artinia was fended off in a few books, on multiple occasions. Their isolation from everyone else has made them pretty good at water hedge magic, which they're surrounded by obviously."

"Good to know. Might be a time to talk shop with them later." Selene brought up pictures of the tanned creatures covered in tattoos smiling at an automaton drone walking on the beach. A subtitle was added with the phrase 'hey brudda, you ere for da coconuts or da fish?'

"Just remember, they are pig men, which means don't make any jokes about bacon."

Selene felt awkward at hearing that. There was at least one other reason why they were laid back.

Early Morning, 5th, January

Miyuki woke up to see Luko sharpening her katana carefully, cleaning and oiling the blade. It was a specially created sword made with the capability to launch foxfire with each swing. She didn't need to be within melee range to hit someone trying to jump back, usually catching the attacker off guard. It was also anointed with a hardness enchant, to lower the need for maintenance. To top it off, it could naturally be set on fire with no oils, merely using a small striker attached to the tsuba. The princess's ears rotated and flicked as she came out of her groggy state, wondering why the guard was so calm. "Is it my time to keep watch again?" the young teenager asked.

"Not yet, and honestly, the sun will be up in a few hours anyway. We're close," the wolf woman replied, wiping off all liquids from the katana and sheathing it. Her next weapon was her wakizashi, somewhat ignored for the past few days. She had to abandon her Nodachi at the palace, along with the bow due to carrying constraints, both much more preferred weapons for the open fields ahead of them.

"That's good to hear. We might finally be free to relax for once."

The wolf woman looked up at her from her blades. "Don't get your hopes up, we still need to get jobs to pay the bills, blend in where we can, and even before all that… unload the caravan. We're still labor last time I checked."

Miyuki's ears flattened as her mouth became a thin frown. "Ugh, don't remind me."

Luko chuckled at that. She'd have to get used to supporting them both with what was needed to survive in her new life unless, of course, she wanted to go back to being pampered in the palace… and married off against her will, having no say in anything happening to herself. "What do you think it'll be like? I'm… I'm a little afraid and… also a little excited."

"Who knows? A different society from ours. The caravan leader says that racism isn't allowed in the empire, at least public displays of it that is. He told me that it's only 3 to 5 Ri more to the border, with a few friends he made with some shops they've bought and sold goods to. They might be able to point us in a good direction, somewhere that –" Luko paused mid-sentence and looked around, her ears twisting like radar. It was quiet outside, being quite peaceful… too peaceful. No sounds of birds slowly waking up nearby, no slight shift of rodents scurrying in the tall grass.

"What's wrong? What do you hear?" Miyuki asked as she tried to listen to whatever it was that alarmed her protector. Her ears were far better than any human, but she wasn't used to the signs she needed to look for that something was wrong. The samurai got up slowly only to push Miyuki low to the ground and popped the katana with her thumb against the tsuba. The design of the handguard looked like a rising phoenix surrounded in flame and curving to the top. As she pulled her weapon out carefully while looking around, the caravan leader walked out of his tent while rubbing his eyes, a large orangutan humanoid of a man just waking up to relieve himself.

"Ah, you two are awake. Good. We're almost there, shouldn't be long before we pack up and –" that was all he could get out before an arrow slammed into his shoulder and sent him reeling back into the tent. He yelled out in pain as his wife screamed, a firebomb used on the canvas as others rushed out of their small portable abodes to figure out what was happening.

"We're under attack! Bandi- argh!" was heard by one of the drivers before he too was struck down by an attack in the darkness, his adult son rushing to help his mother and instead receiving a blade to his chest.

"Assassins. We need to run!" Luko snapped at her charge.

"Run?! What about the others?" Miyuki asked as her hand was grabbed and jolted upright as her arm became taut, struggling to keep up with her protector as they just shot towards the north as fast as they could. The young teenager looked back at the camp, seeing the destruction of the killers trying to catch them all and end their lives. It was to make sure there were no witnesses to the princess being this far away from the Jade Palace. Luko had already theorized it was to somehow bait the emperor out of the safety of the palace if there was no knowledge of where his daughter had gone… or whether she was even alive.

The wolf woman went full sprint forward, dragging her charge with her the entire way, her lamellar armor barely heard as they dodged through the destruction and ran for the border. They dropped to a shallow river without realizing it, wading through the cold water and forgetting about the bridge that was still somewhere west of their position. Once to the other side and a few hundred feet more, Miyuki pulled away and dropped to the ground, taking deep gasps of air and trying to recuperate from their frantic run. Both of them were soaked, with a small cast of a minor spell to dry their bodies. "We left them…" the princess said in sadness, commenting on the fact that those people were going to not only get them to this new empire but also give a little help in settling in. They abandoned them.

"We would have been next in line for our deaths if we tried to help. Come on, we have just a little bit more to go." Luko put out her hand and wiggled it a bit, motioning for Miyuki to grab on and continue. They heard sloshing sounds behind them, multiple pairs of legs heading through the water, with one of them falling at one point. "We need to go… now!" the teenager grabbed her hand and stumbled back to her feet quickly, her kimono torn and damaged near her legs, the cloaks forgotten back at the camp and most likely incinerated. They could hear the footsteps closing on them from behind, with the girl not quite capable of moving at the same speed that her adult friend could. The kimono tripped her at that moment, dropping the princess to the ground and causing a small bruise on her cheek. That gave the assassins all the time they needed to catch up, surrounding the two of them.

Luko skidded to a halt and prepared for a battle, growling at the attackers with bared teeth, mostly looking the same as any human. Every murderer in a circle around them wore a black mask, their own weapons ready to engage. One leapt at her, was sidestepped quickly, and received a slice across his stomach that melted through the armor, only to continue into another trying to catch her unaware. The samurai wasn't a royal protector for nothing, clearly showing it would take a combined effort of at least ten to stop her with two of their brethren dead on the ground. They rushed forward, receiving a frenzied defense, trying to keep them away from the princess and cutting the tips off of spears trying to keep range. She was doing well, getting a few cuts and gashes in that set on fire the outfits they were wearing and lighting up the area as they struggled to put the flames out. A whirlwind spin to send a wave of fire to get some breathing room allowed the woman to fall back for a moment. She felt almost honored that they sent at least one hundred just to take her on, with possibly more she couldn't see.

One of the assassins finally got the upper hand and knocked the guardian to the ground, with another turning around and heading back to the still prone teenager. "Luko!" Miyuki screamed as the woman blocked a dagger with her blade slowly being pushed down towards her throat with gritted teeth, the poisoned weapon starting to heat up in the attacker's hand. Just as the friend of the one who had the girl's protector pinned came towards her with a wakizashi, an armor-piercing arrow slammed into his head, immediately causing the man to crumple to the ground. In the distance, a woman was holding a bow, a hawk launching from her shoulder with some friends charging forward.

Another assassin tried to attack a female pink-haired paladin, who wasn't having any of it. Her sledgehammer caught him mid-swing and launched him through the air, cartwheeling across the river with incredible strength. They had a rogue in their group, and they weren't running alone. A second team was with them, a dark elf blade dancer and half-orc berserker among their number. A second paladin defended against four different assaults, looming over Luko to keep the murderers from finishing the wolf woman off with a kite shield.

"Marv! More coming over the river!" Miyuki heard the ranger shout as she notched another arrow. The second team didn't have a wizard, instead having a reasonably strong battle priest with them. Multiple flashes of searing fire blasted from his small mace, knocking enemies off their feet and causing their clothes to burst into flame. He was also providing multiple buffs in tandem with Marv, bolstering both groups and drastically improving their odds.

"I got them! Handle what's here so far!" a robed man in the back yelled back as he cast a spell to freeze the water temporarily, locking many of the reinforcements in place or incapable of crossing.

"How many do you see?" the second paladin, a man with a mustache, requested as he blocked a crossbow bolt aimed at Piper. The shield held surprisingly, with the bolt bouncing off and creating a small dent. A bright flash was barely seen on the receiving side, acting as a miniature flashbang.

"Still over fifty. Can we really do this?" Dina replied. "Tyran? Can we do this?"

"You're the one who wanted to help! We just joined in because it was the right thing to do! And yes, We can!" the paladin shouted back as he slammed his shield into two assassins, breaking the jaw of one while bringing down his war hammer on the other to finish them off. A gold-ranked adventurer party backed up by a mithril-rank group had come to their aid. Miyuki couldn't have been happier. Tyran wiped away some blood from his mustache and spat, mumbling something about the taste. A minor cleansing wave erupted from him as he cast a [Aura of Purity] to remove any poisons that could affect them. That sadly also removed the ointment from Dylan's daggers.

"Well… crap…" the rogue mumbled out as he resorted to rogue 101, lots of stabbing. "Marv! can't you just blow them up or something?!"

"You expect me to do that on a whim?!" his teammate replied.

"Yes! I expect you to do that on a whim! You're a wizard, aren't you?! You just froze part of a river! Turn them into goop or something!"

"It's not that simple!"

"It's never simple with you!"

"Moooooooore staaaaaaaabbings!"

"Can't you just erect a wall of stone?"

"I can't hear you over all the idiots I've set on fire! Literally!"

Luko managed to get back up with some help from the male paladin, jumping into the fight as well. The numbers continued to come to push them back, forcing their hands. The royal protector unleashed the full power of her sword, carving through four in one swing and turning their bodies into infernos launched back towards their colleagues in a hail of burning viscera and bone. Dylan slit the throat of another, cut the hamstring of third, and threw a knife into the forehead of a fourth heading towards Dina. "All this for two people? What the hell did they do to cause this? And where the hell is the border patrol we've heard rumors of?"

"Probably on the other side of the border, duh! We're standing on it!" Marv shouted out as he cast a fireball at two assailants. Five somehow managed to daisy chain over the ice on the river, crossing the ice and heading directly for Miyuki. "Heads up! Cut those bastards off!" the caster of the Orc Destroyers was immediately occupied with another assassin, bringing up his quarterstaff to block an attack and hold the line, while others defended the young teenager by herself.

"Are we still in the empire?" the half-orc berserker, Nirgorn, asked.

"Technically? Yes, barely" Tyran informed him.

Dina notched an arrow and aimed, but it was clear something was happening to her as she tried to make sure not to hit the kitsune just trying to keep her head down, the princess covering her head and closing her eyes as she had never been in a real battle. If her aim was off, the arrow would hit the girl, and that would be the end of it. She focused everything she had into making sure to hit the lead attacker, with the energy she wasn't noticing coursing into the projectile about to be unleashed towards them. She felt light-headed, her hands starting to give out as the arrow flew, firing off like a railgun and suddenly disappearing. The bow that fired it shattered from the immense energy that it couldn't contain, the force projected through it from its user. Time seemed to slow down for that last second as a blade was coming down towards the girl before the unthinkable happened.

Multiple massive explosions slammed into the ground around the assassins, with unknown bolts raining from the sky with enough kinetic force to cause tremors after their impact. Anything caught by the rounds was blown to pieces. It was like rain from a god coming down to punish those who would dare attack the girl, long rods of metal using gravity to become deadly weapons. All of that from one arrow. Marv's eyes flew open wide, never seeing an archer do that much damage with a single strike. "Holy shit…" he mumbled. Some spells could cause mass destruction, one was even known by him, but he'd never believed Dina was able to come close to that. He also understood that she wasn't anywhere near as powerful as some of the deadliest wizards. He was sure of it because he wasn't anywhere near them, and he knew how scary they could be.

Unfortunately, the ranger was spent after just that last shot, keeling over unconscious from whatever she just did. "Dina!" Dylan yelled out and raced to catch her before her head hit the ground. The concussive blast around one explosion slapped the princess into the dirt and knocked the wind out of her. Well over forty assailants were obliterated nearby, however. "Wake her up!" he shouted to the battle priest.

"Don't know how! She's spent!"

"You don't have a blessing or something like that to wake her up?!"

"Not something that normally is taught in my faith!"

"Then what is?!"

"This!" the priest repeatedly beat an assassin over the head with his mace, bashing his brains out onto the ground. He then caused a wave of concussive force to ripple from his body, knocking multiple assailants onto the ground. He promptly finished the combination with a second spell that caused golden chains to erupt from the ground and wrap around the bodies, most of which snapped the necks of the killers.

"Hell! It works!" Marv replied in the distance as he knocked away the sword from an attacker and blasted him back with a rock barrage.

"What the hell kind of god do you worship?!" Dylan snapped in disbelief.

"The god of justice!" the priest yelled out, pinning another ninja. "You. Will. Repent!" He finished caving in the skull of a prone assassin, looked up at everyone and realized he was covered in blood. "Not a bad day's work."

(Recommended Song: Epic Score – Vengeance)

The rest of the adventurers were starting to be surrounded by the remainder, even if they had the upper hand. Luko backed up and bumped into Tyran, with the paladin taking a more defensive stance. The dark elf blade dancer bounced from one assassin to the next, passing Dylan in the process and taking the head of a nearby target with her as she continued on, a shadow becoming physical through the hundred or so enemies before them. The half-orc, Nirgorn, swung a massive bat that caught three of the ninjas in the arc and threw them down the side of the river skidding across the breaking ice. There was a new problem now, as the leader seemed to mumble something in a shadowy mixed language, causing all of his remaining forces to start multiplying with shadow copies of themselves. "Alright… do we have a plan for this now?" Marv questioned Tyran. The paladin just looked at Piper, who typically was in a good mood. Her mouth had a grimace on it, worried that they had bit off more than they could chew.

That was when a thunderous crack was heard, then another, and another, with a disruptive explosive tossed into the middle of the attackers causing the shadows to disperse in a puff of smoke. The assassins were being picked off, their heads exploding from something firing at very long range, well beyond a catapult or trebuchet. Miyuki had no idea of any weapon that could do that, yet someone was firing them and getting closer… or were already there. One assassin was pulled into the weeds, a sickening sound of a neck cracking afterward. That was when a noise that none of the killers wanted to hear came, something they didn't understand was attached to a potent flying monster.

A silver dragon was out for a quick morning sweep across the skies and noticed the commotion, believing it could help out the adventurers of the Clockwork Empire. A wave of frozen breath washed across the area the assassins were standing on, turning the field into so many art sculptures. The rest immediately cut and ran as the dragon turned overhead, coming around for a second run. There was absolutely no chance of fighting against anyone with that capability, let alone the security team popping out of the weeds in ghillie suits, yellow optics barely seen underneath. The flying citizen was given a signal from down below to stop its assault and head back to its home, which the giant creature complied with.

The princess raised her head and saw that they hadn't been surrounded once, but twice now, with these unknown soldiers just tracking their movement, no other sound coming from the environment. They hadn't interfered at the beginning due to not yet understanding who was the one at fault, Luko and Miyuki, or the ones coming after them. Their assessment was of potential criminals escaping, not of people running to get away from an assassination attempt. For all she knew, they had been there the whole time. "Who are you?" Luko asked, pushing the teenager behind her with one hand while her katana was held out with the other. Both of their eyes shot to the sky as a bright light shown down from above, then two, as a pair of drones tracked their movements.

By the gods, the assassins never stood a chance…

The armor they wore was nothing like the royal protector had ever seen, and they clearly weren't living creatures in any books she had read. Not once was she able to hear them, which was astonishing just how frightening that was to her. They were ghosts. "Customs and immigration are further down the road. If you want to enter The Clockwork Empire, you need to do it the right way, ladies," she heard come from the much larger form leading the team. A massive square shield was strapped to its shoulder like a pauldron, with small bricks attached to the outside of it meant as reactive armor. "As for both adventurer teams, your assistance is appreciated, but not required. Please move along."

"Where the hell were all of you? If we didn't intervene, they'd be dead!" Dylan snapped.

"We were closely monitoring the situation, sir. No harm would have come to them," the commander responded.

"Like hell you were…" the rogue grumbled out as he helped pick up the unconscious ranger. He didn't know if they were telling the truth, with the possibility they would have started fighting right when Dina had fired the first arrow.

"We… uh… I…" Miyuki had no idea what to say, stumbling over her words. This wasn't their main military. That thought had now occurred to them.

"We are requesting asylum within your empire," Luko interrupted as she slowly lowered her blade. The soldiers looked at each other for a moment, not once speaking before a much larger flying form arrived, aiming a spotlight down at their position and coming down with a ramp door slowly opening at the back.

"Reason for requesting it?" the leader asked.

"There are those who would want our deaths within our country."

"Are you criminals escaping? We will return you to your local law enforcement if that is the case."

"We're simple travelers, just trying to get to our caravan." The commander looked at the rest of his team.

"There hasn't been a caravan detected in three days at this section of the border, lady. We should warn you, we can detect if you are lying and consider that suspicious." The bodyguard made to speak again, but no words came out. There was nothing she could say that wouldn't sound off without giving the truth.

Her charge stepped forward and put her robed hands out in front of her friend in a T pose. "My name is Princess Miyuki Shizunagi of the Seong Neow Republic. I come to your country to escape enslavement," the teenager shouted out, making Luko glare at her. The girl flicked her tails out of the hole in her kimono.

"What are you doing?! What happened to keeping your identity hidden?!" the woman snapped at her through gritted teeth. It was an insane move to pull, as they still didn't know if they could trust the military here. "We could have just kept our mouths shut!"

"We were already attacked! They know if we are lying! This could speed the process up! We –"

"Checking with SECCOM of this province. We have a confirmed acknowledgment from higher administration, it's been raised to the top. You two are coming with us," the medium fireteam leader informed. "Correction… standby… adventurer teams, you are also requested to come with us."

"What? We didn't do anything wrong. We just helped, and we're being arrested?" Marv questioned.

"Not arrested. Your presence is requested directly by the empress." The caster looked at Dylan and blinked, then at Piper.

"Weren't we hoping to get an invitation somehow to the ball?" Tyran chuckled out, looking at the rest of his team. "I guess grouping up with of all of you has helped in that regard."

Four Hours Later

(Recommended Song: Two Steps From Hell – Eria)

Eve ran down one hallway to the next, zipping between maids at the White Palace with Tariq following her, eventually being dodged by Jeeves as he spun around and walked backward while keeping an eye on them. Even though the old Artinian mansion was technically the fourth home and not quite as robust in amenities as the Clockwork Castle… or the airships… or the cottage inside the pocket dimension now built into a large house… there were portable systems added in and drilled through walls to provide a somewhat enjoyable stay. Wiring was added for the light fixtures with smart fiber wallpaper, along with mobile generators installed in each room. Cameras were added, with adaptive metal detectors at the doors and an electronic security suite placed in a spare room.

The doors had fingerprint readers on the handles and chip readers, only allowing the visitors for the night to go where they were supposed to go and staying away from where they weren't. The maids, at least the human ones, were coded in for areas that were further away from the ball so as to put less stress on catering. Once they got their first glimpse of an auto maid arriving and taking care of one room by herself in a few minutes, they thought they would be out of a job that night. Thankfully, they were relieved to hear that would not be the case, with Duncan actually standing up for them and… groveling. The empress was perfectly fine with it, even being asked at the end to increase their wages a small bit. They had to go through extensive training to maintain the palace.

What they received was a full package deal, room and board given, with some of the quarters commonly used by VIPs and instead converted into private lodging for the help. The auto maids certainly didn't need any of that, even finally giving the women a chance to have days off to relax every week. To top that off, their pay was doubled at the cost of increased responsibilities and holding themselves to a high professional demeanor in the presence of the nation's ruler and dignitaries. They were expected to always work in two maid teams for duties to speed the process up and keep everything running smoothly while the empress wasn't there. Some of them nearly cried tears of joy at getting far more than they expected. This provided a more personal experience for visiting dignitaries instead of a clinical stay.

The whole place would be stripped down and demolished later, worrying Duncan. What calmed him down was the acknowledgment that a new palace would be built in its place with a few days. This plan wasn't going to happen for at least a month or two.

As Eve dipped around a corner in shorts and a cat T-shirt, with Dahlia quietly following the entire way, Tariq finally caught up as they entered the main ballroom with quite a few walls demolished to expand the size of it to Duncan's dismay. A mural on one of the panels was torn down, showing a great battle from ancient history of how Artinia had come to be, no longer cared about as they altered storage rooms surrounding the central area into more dancing space and seating. Portable tables were erected and covered in fine cloth, doilies were placed with fine china and crystal glasses, the chandeliers were replaced with newer LED systems that could be programmed with ambient settings and even rotate.

The food wasn't out yet, with a wide assortment for most palates to enjoy being concocted in the kitchen, all of it with new high-end equipment that had the human maids in awe. There were even allergen-free meals being cooked, with no giant cauldron sitting on a fire or meat hanging on hooks freshly brought in. Refrigerators were installed, with vegetables from all over with herbs and spices arrayed on the countertops. It was an assembly line, with not just hundreds of delectable dishes, but enough to feed thousands beyond those invited. Spare food was going to be given to anyone still considered poor outside the palace walls. It was not considered alms as most expected, as the standard way of providing the food was the remainder of a dish or table scraps with a trencher. The people were able to enjoy full meals equal to the aristocracy, though without the fine china. This was unheard of, with compostable utensils, cups, and plates.

The young princess shot through another door on the other side as an auto maid deftly moved out of the way, eventually heading down another hallway that led to a staircase leading to the second floor, and finally to her mother's bedroom. It was remodeled as best they could with new furniture added, insulation injected into the walls and paneling layered on. Selene sat in a chair in front of a multi-panel mirror with Adesha and another battle maid, Emerae Orange putting her makeup on. Every time Emerae circled around her creator, her spiral pigtails dangled and bounced from the sides of her head, a bright and peppy attitude with a smile. That smile would follow her into any battle that might include her, potentially telling the enemy that she reveled in combat, even considered malicious as she'd dismember a foe.

Eve's mother opened her eyes after her mascara was added with a spray pen, blinking twice as the little girl ran to her side with Tariq waiting at the door with Dahlia as Emerae worked on her dark red auburn hair. "Hey there, munchkin, how'd your exploration of the palace go?" her mother asked as her daughter climbed onto her fluffy lap, a dark purple robe wrapped around the woman's body.

"What's that big door downstairs?" the white-haired girl questioned.

"Ah… that's… um… you don't need to worry about that. It's pretty boring down there with nothing to really see."

"Okay."

Nothing except a goddess that I haven't yet met and don't know how she even acts.

"Mommy?" Eve asked.

"What's up?"

"How long are we staying here?"

"Two days. Why? You don't like it here?"

"Aren't we going back to the big ship in the sky?"

Selene gently poked the tip of her daughter's nose, making her giggle. "Very astute. We'll be sleeping there, yes. I just don't feel the need to rest in this home right now with so many guests arriving."

"But… why are you putting that stuff on your face down here?" Eve asked as she cocked her small head, the black hairband with two floppy bows on the sides keeping her long white mane from falling over her shoulders much.

"Because I was wearing ordinary clothes before all of this and needed to speak with Tariq's father about things between our nations. Mommy has some things to do before the ball even happens. How are you getting along with him, by the way?" her mother responded. While his son kept Eve company during the day, traveling with them to the White Palace for the festivities and getting the chance to be a kid instead of a prince, Gazi sat around with Donovan and the empress dressed in simple boring clothes alongside Aldemir. It felt almost refreshing to not be studied as royalty and, instead, sitting around in comfortable attire with the dev in sweats. The sultan was good-natured in many ways and quite easy-going outside his own borders. He could finally introduce his wife, arriving just out of a cold front on the ocean. She had a minor illness, which was quickly cleansed by an accompanying sorcerer, acting a bit like her husband. Very few guards were needed, trusting in the empress to honor and protect a VIP and his family from another land.

"He's nice, but really… um… what's the word…" the young girl spoke, trailing off as she didn't have a very expansive vocabulary just yet.

"Formal?" Her daughter nodded quickly. "That's just how he has been brought up. You were both able to play, at least, right?" Again, another nod. "Good."

"Why do I have to wear those clothes tonight?" Eve asked. Her dress was going to be a powder blue with frills at the shoulder straps and reaching below her knees, with black strap shoes. There would be bows in her hair to accentuate her white hair. She was recently taught how to curtsey when introduced to someone, with Melsia providing in-depth instruction alongside Dahlia on how to act like a proper little lady in front of others, at least to a limited extent. She didn't have to act like that all the time, just when dignitaries arrived and saw her. If she didn't understand or know how to act, Eve could simply stay quiet and let Dahlia or her mother speak for her. When she felt uncomfortable, her instructor would have whoever tried to talk to the girl change the subject… or else.

"Because sometimes you wear special clothes for special occasions like tonight."

"Do I have to wear them all the time?"

Selene cocked her head in confusion. "No, not at all. It doesn't fit right or something? What's wrong?" she said, eyeing her daughter and worrying that Jeeves hadn't appropriately measured. Everything that the dev wore felt as if it was the most comfortable ever created.

"No, it's just… I like the shoes I'm wearing now. Those make more noise on the floor. They, um, slip too. I don't like them."

The dev giggled and poked the girl's stomach gently, eliciting a laugh from the child's mouth. "It's because the floor here isn't like the floor back at the castle. Just bear with it for tonight, and you can wear your sneakers again later. I'll check with Jeeves to get some rubber stick-ons sprayed on, so you don't need to worry."

"Okay. Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"You look really pretty."

"Thank you, sweetie. Now, run along for a few more minutes, we're almost finished. I'll come to find you, and we play for a little bit before the ball." The empress felt perfectly fine with allowing Eve to be out of her eyesight with the exorbitant amount of security in the area. The perimeter defense, as well as internal escorts, were everywhere, with hidden turret emplacements ready to pop out if an alarm was activated, emergency caches, and most windows locked. Four security were at every door, two on each side of them. Evacuation plans were in place alongside new interactive maps meant for those who didn't quite have a higher education, telling a person 'you are here' at the arrow and providing directions to restrooms vocally. Despite trying to show she was calm and relaxed, the dev was anything but that.

Most of what she was feeling was annoyance that she was going through a formal act like this, inviting people she didn't really know or connect with in any regard. Unlike Earth, there was no need to have a party of this caliber; there was no reason to socially network with many of the aristocracy, even if half of them were entirely on board with her laws and regulations. While there was some stumbling in figuring out how to work within the system, they eventually started to eke out some wealth. As an old saying goes, "you have to spend money to make money." So many of the old corporate fat cats on Earth didn't understand this concept, continuing to try and squeeze blood from a stone, and constricting employees by keeping their pay low.

The only ones that were still causing issues were the cream of the crop, eventually having a meeting with the empress at their urgent behest during the ball. The rest that were attending this party were all in agreement with what she was doing, looking for new opportunities to expand their businesses. From what she was told, only the ones coming to the meeting were going to wear older fashions, the ensembles far too expensive to waste and show what remained of their old money still around. The rest bought into the new designs, moving into a mixture of Elizabethan era frills and velvet. The bottom rung rich and wealthy were actually enjoying the empire changing things.

Once the makeup and clothes were put on, the empress stepped out of the room, ready for the ball still many hours away. Morlan and Elsei walked by from their bedrooms, both wearing their armor. "Uh, no."

"Your majesty? What's wrong?" Morlan asked.

"The armor. Wear a suit, Mor."

"I… I-I thought you would want –"

"The full plate is good for inspiring heroism and fear on the battlefield. I need you in a uniform or tuxedo to inspire elegance and respect, possibly some terror. I don't need heroes, I need them to see a Director of Internal Investigations." The warrior seemed to look sheepish, the reason seeming to be apparent. Selene rolled her eyes and smirked. "Let me guess, you forgot your suits back at the Clockwork Castle?"

"Yeah…" he replied as he looked at Elsei. He didn't realize some of his luggage was still in his room.

"Well, alright, go see Jeeves. He's tailoring up a storm right now. From now on, have a few pairs here when you're in Aureos. You obviously have quarters here as well, and it's not like I'm restricting you from entering this palace." Both of her subordinates bowed to the empress and headed off.

Just before they turned the corner, Morlan stopped and looked at her. "Your majesty, I had a question if you'd be willing to answer."

"What's up?"

"Would you be willing to allow further training for us?" he queried.

Selene seemed confused at what he was getting at. "You've already gone through special forces training, at least part of it. You're due to another few months to finish all of it. Is that what you're referring to?"

"I was… actually hoping for experience with some of the weapons your soldiers have available."

"Ah… uh… well…" the dev looked away and chuckled nervously. "We… I…"

"We'd just like to expand our horizons is all," Elsei continued for her partner.

"Accentuate your current equipment?" They both nodded. "I'll… you…" She stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Focus on the training you're in now, we'll worry about future-proofing you two later. No telling what we'll do for Boltar…"

"Understood empress, thank you for considering it," the elf replied as she bowed to the woman. They then continued out of sight. She brought up her character sheet and inventory in her Hud, checking over what she had just worked through in the past few days.

Before coming to the White Palace, she had made sure to try and get to level 400, with the intention to, at some point, head down into the dungeon to speak with Xaxara. Having a few extra levels, even if her skills and attributes were already restricted at 500, made her feel a little more in control alongside the Artifact armor and weapons that were crafted. She still didn't understand why her limit was already reached, worried that there was no reason to increase her level anymore, or that there could be a restriction she needed to figure out how to break. A quest of some sort, either out in the field or "finding herself" with some meditation, might be in order.

Her tech tier had finally raised another step, with Early Extrasolar Era now the de facto position she found herself in. The schematics received didn't stun her, with a good hour spent as she tried to make sense of everything smashed into her brain, with the intent that the next tier would improve on what little was learned. The basic premise of it was to start creating space stations outside of a solar system, reaching another star without thousands of years passing, and intermediate level long term space survival without a planet and still stay in a gravitational link to the sun, so the bases wouldn't be left behind as the galaxy slowly shifts. While it was the early form of the triple exploration tiers that allowed to peek their heads out of their star system, it wasn't going to be a picnic. If she decided to send anything out beyond the system's rim, it would be an expedition fleet designed for a long-term mission.

There was no real chance to use most of it yet, as her empire was still just getting up into space with the stations in far orbit, a base almost complete on the moon as well. Most of the work done at the moment was to get the space stations up and running, the moon base online, and the hundreds of probes and satellites launched towards the next planet nearby to check for resources and capability of easy terraforming. Four more mining facility platforms were being constructed in the asteroid belt, with their attachment to other major asteroids coming in the next month. Once the space elevator was online at midnight, and the first space station reached phase 3 construction in two weeks, they'd expand rapidly. The idea was to create more orbital bases even faster, eventually having the prospect of creating a space ring surrounding the new world or others.

All of this work to move mining to asteroids allowed the rights to the planetary mines to be given over to companies willing to buy them up, at least in non-restricted zones. The residual effect was the replenishment of the natural resources found with Selene's skill in Gathering and the unique ability [Renewable Resources]. That would last for at least the next decade before it would wear off, requiring either the government to step in again temporarily, or the mine to eventually run dry after years or decades. This made those mines worth way more than the rights would generally be, not only the original ownership causing a rush to grab them up, but also the fact that they would last a long time. The money given at the auction had to be given to the cities or towns, not the royal government. That gave a surge in cash flow for the mayors to spend on parks and theaters, with more public events happening like art festivals or wine tasting.

A primary concern that had cropped up was the Orb of Experience dipped in the secondary color connected to action points used to upgrade the tech tier. Selene hadn't seen it do that since she started attaching all of her automatons to it. That meant the number of points being pumped into the artifact wasn't keeping up with newer tier costs. She quickly figured out an exponential model for the data and realized that at best, with her empire still being continent restricted, she could only go up another two tiers before it was mostly drained and needed to wait for a refill. While the orb could hold an infinite amount, the dev had apparently reached a critical crossing point that she was taking more out than they were producing. Expansion of the empire was needed, or it would soon take years before she could improve. That expansion was going to be upstairs and underwater. Conquering other countries didn't thrill her, and the effort to put into incorporating the people into her empire and all of its annoyance seemed like more work than just terraforming other planets with new technology or building star bases. Why waste effort on fighting others when there was plenty of real estate elsewhere unclaimed or waiting to be artificially constructed?

That's probably what aliens think out there, if there are any. No point in wasting time on an occupied planet if there are trillions out there for the taking. If someone is capable of moving from solar system to solar system easily, then it is possible they can terraform and colonize with just as little effort, probably not even care about being on the surface anymore either.

(Recommended Song: Jordy Chandra – Coffee Evening)

"I'm impressed with the education of your maids here, empress," she heard from behind. Selene turned around and noticed Gazi walking up smiling, suited for the event in a royal blue kurta with green embroidered leaves through it, coupled with cream-colored trousers. A ceremonial sword was in a scabbard attached to his black belt, cinched with a circular golden buckle. A red turban was worn, keeping his long black hair bundled up. While his shoes were pointed at the toe, they resembled a more conventional design compared to what she observed in Tal Salunbal, likely due to him wanting to dance with his wife.

"Ah, I assume you are referring to the human ones, not my creations. They had some time to read the books I see. I'm working on improving what they know," she replied with a returned smile. He put his arms out for a hug, which she accepted. In the past few days, they had found a friendship quite easy to build between them, with even a few petty arguments to help their neighbor rule more efficiently. Selene admitted it was refreshing, and annoying, for the sultan to tell her to take a bit more direct approach with her troops inside towns and cities, at least at first, even if they didn't do anything other than walk right through. It would show the people they were there, if not in the general vicinity all the time.

"Yes, they know almost as much as my farmers," Gazi chuckled out, with the empress looking sheepish. Artinia wasn't very competent with making sure everyone knew their ABCs and 123s. It was all for control of the lower castes, to keep them under the nobility's thumb. "It's alright, I understand you came into power only recently. I know that face, you feel as if they are not showing the best of your empire."

"No, I mean, sort of." She took a deep breath as he raised an eyebrow at her, the kind of look she'd get from a close friend. "We're doing our best to get things back on track, less war and more a chance for enlightenment for everyone. Education, art, culture. It's… going to be a long process."

"It always is. Our founder for Tal Salunbal did not build our kingdom overnight," he commented with a chuckle.

Rome wasn't built in a day… despite how fast automatons construct cities now…

They both started walking down the hallway from her bedroom and down two flights of stairs towards the inner courtyard. While still cold outside for the sultan, they wouldn't be out for long. "May I ask you a question?" she said as she turned to look up at him while heading to another set of doors.

"Of course."

"How did Tal Salunbal deal with Artinia in the past? Was there ever a neutral or better relation between kingdoms? What about the Kohar Confederacy?"

Gazi averted his gaze and thought for a moment. "That… feels as if that is a loaded question. Given how the royalty of Artinia thought of anyone that wasn't within their borders... were they ever able to negotiate with us would be more apt. The relations between our countries was always poor."

"Did they?"

"Twice if I recall, both times I believe the king, not the most recent be advised, threw a tantrum and stormed out. There was no compromising as we would have liked; he wanted his way, and we were willing to give part of it in exchange for trade rights in the north. You can see how that turned out in the end. As for the minotaurs, they… well, they didn't exactly like that we wouldn't hand them some cropland for free. To them, there was an unused territory that hadn't been moved into yet, they wanted it. We refused as they had no claim, we had plans. That was the end of all negotiations from then on. The Seong Neow Republic… we don't have any connections to, I don't think anyone does."

"Huh." They both continued towards the throne room, now having the wall to the ballroom knocked down to open the area up for dancing and the buffet. The throne itself was also removed, replaced with a new clockwork mechanical chair just like the one in the castle back in the valley. The tile on the ground was ripped up and changed to marble with soundproofing below, as the empress knew the noise of hundreds of feet was going to turn into a cacophony on the ears.

"May I ask a question as well?" the sultan said with a raised eyebrow. She stopped at a table and checked the menu set up for that spot, a feast of meat and fish still cooking in the kitchen. Outside, there were pallets of spare supplies ready if the people somehow were able to work through the buffet prepared.

"Yes?"

"Why do you not prove to the people you don't need them, that they need you?"

She seemed caught off guard. Had he seen through her guise? "What… what do you mean?"

He walked off towards the balcony and clasped his hands together, leaning against the balustrade as she followed, both watching the city bustle and get ready for the evening. Every district was preparing for the coming festivities, with the entire population of the city spilling out and getting ready to eat and have a good time. "You provide so much for them, just as I've done for my people. However, you seem to have no restriction on coin, whereas I have to at times watch who I anger just so I can refill our coffers. It's a rope I cannot always balance on, occasionally stepping from one side to the other to keep things going. You, on the other hand, have no qualms with this."

Selene chuckled. "I'm supported by a powerful government."

"That does not need to be paid, who are utterly loyal to you, who are to be feared in a great number of ways. The maid that has been assisting me for any nightly snack requests I am very sure could end my life in the flick of a wrist. Many would dream of having this, as they would shoot for the stars and not care who got in the way. It appears as if you are dragging the people forward, entirely self-sufficient without them. Yet, you continue to try and keep every life stable, even refraining from snuffing out those who keep causing harm to what you create."

Uhhhhhh… I'm pretty sure I don't keep every life stable… the Limbo Vats are now a testament to that…

The dev looked down and closed her eyes. "So… you noticed the wealthy and stupid, did you?"

"I have. Honestly, from the reports I received, they are part of the reason the Demon War happened here, the scars that were left that your minions, your… subordinates, creations, they clean up or repair. Nobility, aristocracy… at times they are worth it to have around, the rest… they make my hair fall out at an early age," he said, tilting his head to look at her for a moment, then covering his eyes and groaning.

"You know, Will joked about just getting rid of all of them. He says a lot of things, all of them to help me obviously. A few of them were things like force the dwarves, even the minotaur to join up due to how they act around here," she chuckled out.

"Would get the lands all under one banner, so other oddities don't arise. Did he say anything about Tal Salunbal?" Gazi laughed out, but suddenly there was silence between them as he realized her chief of staff had said something about his country. Selene looked away, worried that things had just become awkward between them. There was no answer yet. "So, he has said something about a potential plan to make us join your empire?"

Selene froze, wide-eyed and waved her hands in the air in defense. "What? No, no plans! There's nothing in the works, I swear! You don't have to worry."

Gazi smiled and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Yet it does hold some merit. It is a fact that there is a gross difference in capability between our nations, and I do not say this lightly. Since the last time we met, I knew with all of the knowledge you gave us to help in the creation of the balloons that our technology was nowhere near what you could provide if you just gave it to your people. I know, I know, you withhold much of it to slowly bring them into a better understanding of what they have. I… to my understanding, my kingdom does not have a chance if the empire decides to ramp up advancements."

The dev fidgeted, feeling like crawling into a hole and hiding. He was right. Despite wanting to play nice with everyone, at least where possible, eventually, her empire would outclass every nation and force them to have economic issues just by merely existing. No one would want to live anywhere else with all of the high-end amenities appearing here. "Don't worry about it, Tal Salunbal won't just disappear even with –"

"If Tal Salunbal were to join you, it would mean I would no longer have a sovereign nation, instead it would be another piece of the great Clockwork Empire. However… I know we could not compete outside of it, you know it too. The Kohar Confederacy cannot compete, the Seong Neow Republic cannot compete."

"I'm not trying to start anything with your kingdom, Gazi. Look, this is an awkward conversation we're hav –"

"I am a ruler trying to look after his people, just as you do for yours. I am not stupid, you must see that. Again, if we were to accept entrance, what would happen? Theoretically, of course," Gazi suddenly said. He wasn't looking at her, his eyes surveying Aureos from their perch.

"Uh… well, w-we… well, the standard drill? Laws and regulations, acknowledging me as in charge, uh… stuff… lots of stuff... some of it might sound dumb or complicated, others not so much… you'd figure it out pretty quick…" Selene looked flustered, stammering out her words as she tried to find some way to fix this. After seeing someone else ruling another country that she could befriend, who was doing a pretty good job and improving his country beyond the surrounding nations, the woman just didn't want to lose the relationship just because he decided on something. There was silence between them as she just clasped her hands together, not able to see the white knuckles underneath her gloves as the empress watched some of the streets far below.

Will, I know you were trying to help, but seriously – no, this isn't his fault, why did I just keep my mouth shut? First, I had problems with blurting shit out, now others figure it out without me saying jack all. Is it written on my face or something? I can't win sometimes… I should have said no. I should have just said no, he didn't say anything about Tal Salunbal, everything was about our neighbors.

The sultan finally broke the silence between them, birds chirping the only sound before that. "There would need to be some requirements you need to acquiesce to."

"Crap… I should have lied or something…" she tried to whisper out.

"Lied?" She didn't say anything and bowed her head down to her hands. There was nothing she could do. His hand gently fell on her shoulder, something no one else was allowed to do. "The first requirement would be giving me enough time to slowly implement the laws and regulations into our system of government. That could take six months, a year, two years, or even more. Until then, my kingdom is still separate. The second would be giving me a chance to let everyone know and adapt to a new future. The third would be allowing our government to still function without removal of my family to –"

"Weren still rules the dark elves, Ynshael is still the queen of the high elves, that didn't change, they just answer to me. Racism is flushed out the window, those who try it get a bullet in their heads or sent to a really nasty place for eternity. Look, this is all just hypothetical, right? And if you do accept, then… things could change almost immediately within those months or years. I'm not kidding about that. It'll feel like you were moving a million miles an hour with everything rushing by your face."

"Change how?"

"Uh… things."

"So, things and stuff?" he chuckled out.

"It's… complicated."

He stared at her for a long minute with his eyebrows up, realizing she wasn't joking, then smiled. "We can talk further about it later. Let's not have this ruin this night, as you wanted." She could tell the face he was putting forth was fake. He was utterly confused, yet very interested in what her response meant. They both turned to see a woman with short black hair and a hanging ruby tiara draped on her forehead, long green clothes with an orange sash flowing from her neck.

"Your majesty, I bring here before you, Sultan Gazi's wife, Sultana Emira Dahanara Arun of Tal Salunbal," Duncan said proudly, introducing the woman in a grand sweeping gesture. Her husband strode forth quickly and grabbed her hands, beaming with pride and happiness that she arrived.

"How was the trip?" he asked quietly.

"Interesting, I'm used to the tides and wind in the sails, not floating over rooftops," she replied to him as he kissed her nose.

"Ah, but that is where we should go, to travel in new ways, to help bring forth a new era of transportation. Wheels on the ground, flying in the air, swimming through the water… perhaps amongst the stars even."

That isn't that far out there if Tal Salunbal joins up… I don't want to give him a heart attack if he finally gets his wish… what the hell am I thinking? I haven't even been up there yet.

"You and your dreams, Gazi. Ah, stop this, we are in the home of another."

"You would be surprised at how easy-going Empress Selene is," he responded as he hugged her to his side and walked his wife in front of the dev. The dev visibly jumped at hearing that, misunderstanding what he was saying.

"A… a-a pleasure to meet you finally, Sultana Arun."

"Is Gazi truthful in what he says?" Emira asked.

"My love, why do you do this?" he questioned, holding his chest as if he was struck.

"Because sometimes you lie to make yourself look better than you are in my eyes. You do not need to do this, I fell in love with you already and know you all too well" she snapped and pointed a finger at his nose as the brown-skinned woman returned her attention to the empress. "Tell me, is it true?"

"When have I lied to you?" Gazi questioned.

"When you said there was a giant dragon you slew with Aldemir coming to visit our neighbor here," Emira responded, her eyes half-closed with a frown on her lips. "He reported that the instant I walked into this home of hers, amongst many other things."

"You didn't harm one of my citizens, did you?" Selene shared the frown, though it was fake.

"I… alright, that might have been stretching the story a little…" he finally replied as he scratched his neck, wincing and hoping not to get slapped upside the head by his wife. "We… saw one… but… it flew away. We didn't do anything to it…" Emira and the empress rolled their eyes and laughed.

"We are friends, Sultana Arun, no need to worry."

"Then call me Emira obviously. I hate it when titles are used amongst those who are willing to be casual, as long as we can call you Selene."

"I'm happy to hear that. Selene it is."

Gazi's wife rolled her eyes and gave the dev a hug, then pulled away and groaned. "So, you have these events now as well? Did you get dragged into this, or did you decide to throw this yourself?"

"She doesn't want to have this happen," the sultan responded.

"I was asking her, not you, my dear. She is in charge here, obviously. Show some respect to her."

"I am my love. More than you know," he replied, giving a side glance at the dev. It made her want to avert her gaze as if she damaged their friendship.

"Gazi has it correct, Emira. This is… not exactly…"

"Fun? It seldom is when nobles are around. Always forced to look proper, eating carefully, and –"

"She doesn't worry about any of that, Emira. Trust me on this; no one will tell her how to act here, which is good. I believe the only reason she decided on this was because of them begging to see her," her husband said, interrupting her train of thought. Duncan cleared his throat as he slowly took steps backward, hoping to be dismissed. "Except that one, he's always been one for rules and traditions from what I have seen in the past few days. It reminds me of my viziers… too much. Etiquette at the table has frustrated me while being here – you! I don't raise my pinkie when drinking tea! I look at my surroundings when drinking it! – *Sigh* He doesn't cause you trouble, does he, Selene?"

The empress stared at the adviser as he bowed his head, hoping to not be punished. "He's done well so far, highly adaptive and a good heart. Provided he can work on that backbone of his, he'll go far," she responded with a smirk. "If you need to be somewhere else, Duncan, you can go if you wish."

"Thank you, your majesty. I hope you have a fantastic evening, one to sing about by bards for years to come!"

The dark-red-haired woman looked between both of her guests in confusion, hoping for some light shined on this. "I take it you are not staying for the ball?"

"You… did not provide an invitation to me, your excellency. I am not allowed, neither are the maids. I… informed them that they have the night off. Was… was this in error?" the old man asked, worried he had made a grave mistake. He seemed to cower a little as his ruler blinked rapidly.

"I didn't realize I needed to give you one, or the maids, given you are the paid help. I guess this was normal for Artinia, to give those to all of you as well? Huh, well, we have the assistance already, all of you can rest and relax. I'll have food brought to you all in your quarters if still around unless you wanted a night out in the city?"

"That's… you don't have to do that, your majesty."

"I know, and yet I'm doing it."

"T-thank you, your magnificence. Truly a kind ruler to her people!" Duncan said with a wide grin.

"Yeah, about those traditions. I don't know most of them, nor do I give a fuck. That's Artinia, not The Clockwork Empire. As far as you're concerned, they don't really exist these days, okay? If you don't have an answer to something, just ask. I wouldn't have known if you just disappeared before the ball. Etiquette is what I make of it. You know the rules of the palace, beyond those you just ask."

"Of course, your grace, of course. That's… oddly relieving. I'll remember that for the future."

"Good. Now, if you wish to be here, just come in. Otherwise, enjoy the night off." Duncan bowed deeply and backed up, turned on his heel, and marched off with some pep in his step, his arms mechanically bouncing at an angle while he moved with a smile on his face.

"You swear without care," Emira chuckled out. "I like that. You really don't take any crap from anyone, do you?"

"Only when my daughter isn't around. Then I have to keep the potty mouth in check."

"Of course, we do the same when Tariq is nearby. Those words are there to shock, not casual speak. Now, I should go get ready for tonight, there will be dancing, and I expect my husband to walk me out onto the floor. No stepping on my toes while we approach the dance floor, my love. That's for when we're close."

"When have I done… oh… right, you still haven't forgotten that, have you? Oh, one last thing…" Gazi said as he squeezed his wife's hands gently, turning his attention to Selene, "back to the ones who are causing a disturbance for you."

"I'm taking care of them tonight during a meeting, don't worry. Sadly, it seems I have a full plate tonight, in more ways than one."

"If you wish for me to come with you, support makes things very easy to handle them. Those who feel they deserve more when they've done nothing to earn it are plagues that need to be cleansed from the land. Striking fear in their hearts and showing you are in charge, with others acknowledging your view from other lands, is a great way to let them know to stop or face everyone's wrath," he told her quietly. "I know you will have many guests and even some dragons, I believe. Showing you have stronger allies is a great way to let them know they are outnumbered."

"Way ahead of you. I'll be fine, don't worry." The sultan nodded and followed Emira, walking her to his lavish loft. A good portion of the top floor was turned into a VIP area where officials could stay from other countries.

As they walked away, Selene tracked the long list of guests already getting ready to head out of the inns they were staying at, with the invitations expressly telling them they were not sleeping in the White Palace. Quite a few of the upper echelons were up in arms about that, with their "donations" to the previous ruler allowing them some freedom of staying in royal quarters, fine dining, and able to partake in the harem that the empress now owned. The city was like a giant ant colony coming to life, with thousands of new faces all getting ready to enter this second palace of hers later on.

"Alright, all of you, let's see which ones will play nice and which ones are going to be on my shit list."

Will came in through a side door and stood behind her. "You want to know when I'm going to speak with the two brought in, don't you?" she asked over her shoulder.

"When you're ready, ma'am."

"Dina is there as well?" the woman questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"She is ma'am. The report has already been sent in with recorded footage. That attack of hers was… it was the equivalent of a LKKS from a bow." A Light Kinetic Kill Strike was a rain of bolts launched from orbit, down through the atmosphere and bursting to cause a flak barrage on the planet's surface. It was mostly designed for infantry and light vehicles, with some capability of removing heavier vehicles from a battlefield.

"She's related, that's a given now. I wonder… was that made by her? Instinctively even, given she's seen how our troops fight?" Selene quietly said as her eyes didn't leave the streets for a few more moments. The theory now popping into her head was that any children of players that grew up in the empire would have any special abilities or Martial Arts skills emulate their country's military. It was possible others in different nations had the same effect, with one focusing on holy attacks even with a bow, or perhaps summoning.

"Even with that type of ancestry, she fainted after one shot. That could tell us she isn't prepared for something of that caliber, not on a regular basis. She was doing what she could to save a life, not simply take one." The empress nodded and turned around, heading with him towards a large living room. Inside was Dina and her team, with a separate smaller room connected, keeping the two animal women inside. The ranger had already woken up again, speaking with her friends.

" – It was like I was just throwing everything I had into it, I… oh, uh…" The teenager jumped up from the couch as Dylan and Marv did the same. Piper stood at attention along with the second group, Tyran leading them.

"I'd like a word with Dina privately. All of you should stay in the next room for a little bit," she told them. There was a look shared amongst the adventurers, wondering why they were even brought there if only to be discarded as unimportant bodies connected to the ranger. "You can all come back in once we've finished." As the teams left to sit with princess Miyuki and Luko, Selene sat down and pointed at the chair opposite her. "Come, sit."

The brunette didn't quite know what to do other than acknowledge the command, staying silent as the ruler stared at her. "Um… we… thank you for letting us come to the palace, your majesty…"

"I've seen the report of what happened. You came to their aid out there, congratulations. Your integrity and conscience brought you to protect someone you didn't know. Not many can say that of themselves."

"T…thank you, your excellency…"

"Do you know what you did?"

"I… I don't know, I… I mean, you're referring to the… the…"

"The arrow you fired. That wasn't normal. Any high-end adventurers or elves have at best used Martial Arts skills that follow a similar action to casting a spell, some acting like small weapons of mass destruction, but nothing quite like that at your… uh… your skill level." There was slight hesitation heard by Selene as she tried to hide the fact that Dina in her Hud was a level 12 now, just about to reach 13. The assault on the crypt in Silvinholm and its defense, the abbey raid, the work done to catch criminals in Aureos, and the partial training by Morlan for only one day for the tournament, she had gained so much in a short time.

"You… you can tell?" the ranger asked.

"I can see many things, Dina; tell me, was that taught to you recently or by someone you knew in the past?"

The teenager fidgeted and crossed her legs, trying to act proper in front of the most powerful woman she'd ever seen. "I don't know, I just… I wasn't taught that, it just felt… natural?"

"What do you call it? Does it have a name like other Martial Arts out there?" Selene questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Um… er… Phoe… no… um, lightning… no… I guess I don't have a name given it was just the once." The ranger seemed to be squeaking out the words, unsure of how to speak to the empress.

"So, this is the first time that has ever happened. I take it you don't believe you can do it again?" Dina looked down sheepishly, feeling as if she looked incompetent. "Do you believe, with proper training, you might be able to harness it a second time without draining yourself?"

"Maaaaaaaybe?" the teenager winced out, her tone sounding as if it was more a question than an answer.

"That might be good enough." Selene put up her hand for a moment to silence any reply, pushing a small button to the temporary intercom installed. "Morlan, has Jeeves measured you?"

"Uh… yes, your majesty, we're all done."

"Good. Come to the second living room, the one with the ring sofa." The ladies waited as the warrior, and his partner, made their way to their location, bowing immediately after.

"You requested my… uh… presence?" he asked, his eyes locking onto the ranger.

"I did. You trained her before the tournament, correct?" the empress questioned. Dina looked between both of them, wondering where this was going.

"I… did… for all of a few hours. I'm not quite sure I understand where this is going."

"What is your initial impression of young Ranger Dina?" Selene asked politely with a smirk and a slight flutter of her eyelashes.

Silence clamped down on the room as Morlanion thought of what to say. "She's… er…"

"Be truthful, Mor, as honest as you can be."

The warrior huffed and shifted on his feet. "Well, as you wish. She's headstrong, takes insults poorly, doesn't really lead her team – not that that is much of an issue, her wizard friend is better at it – and in general, doesn't have much experience in actual combat." Dina was wincing at each point made, closing her eyes tightly.

"Is that all?" the dev queried.

He sighed quietly and shook his head slowly. "No. Once she makes up her mind about doing something, unless there is a risk of life or limb, she won't take advice, with it going in one ear and out the other. She doesn't always trust her team to handle something while she deals with another problem. She also relies too much on that hawk of hers to see the surroundings." It was like a hammer smacking her on the head each time, as the teenager squished her head down into her shoulders.

"I see. So…" Selene looked over at Dina, who looked as if she didn't want to be there anymore. "… just like everyone else trying to prove themselves?"

Morlan gazed at the ranger who finally opened her eyes, realizing what the empress had just said. "I was similar, yes. Those are only a few things wrong with her, but they can all be fixed." He rolled his eyes and decided to continue. He could see how she was acting, as if a child being told she was worthless and taking it to heart. "She has talent, raw talent, better than most I've seen. I wouldn't be surprised if she could figure out how to fire one of those rifles your soldiers use with pinpoint accuracy. With the proper training, which she doesn't have right now, she could be another hero."

"Provided what you just said were tended to and removed," the dev corrected. The teenager was just looking at both of them in awe, her eyes opening wide at suddenly hearing that.

"Yes, very much so. Now, might I ask what this was for?" the huge man asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"I'd like her to be a candidate for your agency."

Both Dina and Morlan gawked at her, the same word coming out of their mouths in unison. "What?!"

"Your majesty, empress… is this for real?" the ranger asked while blinking in disbelief and then pinching herself.

"What you don't know is things are probably going to keep changing in the next few weeks, and there are some things you will be concerned with once your team members drop some important news on you. This is an offer to do more than be an adventurer," Selene simply explained, receiving a small glass of sparkling cider from a maid. "Oh, don't give me that look, Mor, I have full authority to do this."

"I… I-I know that, your majesty! But… you said… you told me…"

"I told you that you could pick from a slew of candidates, one of which is Boltar right now. I met him this morning, by the way… he didn't like me at first."

"How did he come off to you?" Elsei questioned.

"Annoyed and blunt, said something about how poorly thought out the interior design was, the aesthetics being too bright like I was trying to blind everyone from all the shit hidden under the floorboards. He wondered how many men I had slept with in each of these rooms."

"And… you responded?" the elf delved further.

"I told him he should be an interior designer, maybe even jump into fashion so he could get some nice pants to replace the shit stain running down his back, maybe even a diaper so he'd stop looking like he took a dump while walking; also, a nice scarf to cover his dirt covered mug and gloves for those dainty hands of his that had never fought a real battle before. I'm pretty sure I also said something about his mother, can't remember all of it. He was surprised, laughed, agreed to talk shop from then on."

Morlan looked at Elsei. "I can't believe it; she already knows how to talk to him like we do."

The dev smirked. "I just know that if you talk smack, you better be willing to receive it as well. Now, back to this matter. She's going to go through training, provided Dina agrees in the first place." The auburn-haired woman looked at the teenager, who just kept looking back and forth between two of the strongest people she'd ever heard of, let alone met.

"Are you serious? I'd get a chance to be… by the gods, people dream of chances like this…" the girl brought her hand up to her forehead, her head reeling from the offer. "Can I… can I first talk to my team? I mean… I…"

"By all means, bring it up with them. Go." Selene shooed her with one hand to the other room. "And send those two headcases here while you do so, will you?" She took a sip from her glass and looked up at Morlan. "I know what you're thinking, and I don't want to hear it. You need agents, it gets her out of being an adventurer, and it keeps her from being another body in some dark dungeon. Plus, Ezra would be unhappy if she went meandering through the lands with another team. You wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you?"

"You know something, don't you, your majesty." The warrior sat down and looked at her while she continued to sip her cider.

"I know a lot of things, Mor, not all of it I will explain. Trust me on this; you want her to succeed in whatever teams you put together. That's all."

"What about her party?"

"Dylan has been offered a very generous position as a detective for the Aureos Police, Marv was invited back to the Wizard's Academy for in-depth research apprenticeship and eventually to head a team for expanding civilian magic. Keep that under your belt, please, I get a lot of information, and I'd rather it not look as if we spy on everyone out there."

"Do you?" Elsei questioned.

"I'd rather not say. It would scare many if they heard yes or no. Does it affect daily life for most? Not really." Princess Miyuki and Luko both walked in, the katana at the bodyguard's side magically sealed to stop her from pulling it out. "Ah, both of you sit down. Morlan, that was all; if you want to keep talking with Dina, you can, otherwise, enjoy the next few hours before the ball and relax. Afterward… enjoy the party obviously. Congratulations on your first teammate with Boltar, I hope you get many more, including Dina."

The warrior stood up and looked at the two animal folk, barely any fur on them besides their ears and tails, their appearance for the most part just like humans. He nodded at the empress. "Have you decided on a name for the agency yet, your majesty?"

"I have a few ideas now… how about… Einherjar?" Both agents looked at each other and blinked.

"Isn't that a warrior picked by a Valkyrja?" Elsei queried.

"It is, but considering I have three as my Generals – well, one is a headmistress – I would think they would accept that title be given to warriors who are beyond exceptional in my empire. What do you think? I'll run it by them just in case."

Morlan puffed up his chest suddenly as he blinked rapidly, realizing what that title meant. Einherjar weren't just warriors, they were handpicked elite meant to stand at the side of Odin during Ragnarok. He had gotten a chance to read a few books with stories about those gods now long forgotten in the library, now having a few of the tomes recovered from the temple that Hrist and her sisters visited. "That's… that's an honor."

"I'll see if they are against that name, but I doubt it." Both of them bowed to the empress and left, with the ruler's attention now set on the princess. She just stared at her for a minute, wondering why she was there. "A princess. Most likely, the daughter of Emperor Hisako Shizunagi, I assume. Now… why would you be entering my empire?"

"The princess wishes to leave her kingdom to request asylum here. I would think that an empress would already have that information given to her by her soldiers," Luko replied for the girl.

"Oh, I know that, but I wanted to hear it from her mouth, not yours. This conversation is between her and me, she doesn't require your interference and jumping to her aid all the time." Selene cast a silence spell on the royal protector, keeping her from speaking again until the dev was finished chatting with the teenager. "Now, what is the reason for asylum?"

"I am tired of being thought of as a toy to be auctioned off to some General's son, a tool to keep the peace in the republic. I came to get away from that."

"Hmmm, living a life of luxury only to escape and work your butt off here. That would be a drag."

Miyuki glared at her. "I would have to bear their children! I would have to cast… I would have to cast…"

"You're a kitsune, correct?" The princess nodded at the question the empress asked. Selene licked one of her canines and continued. "So, I have a question. If you have that kind of power, even with three tails – and yes, I know how many you have – why not, I dunno, strike some fear in their asses for crying out loud? Only the women in your family have those I take it?" The dev propped her chin on a fist and glanced over at Luko, who was trying to scream at her, with nothing heard. "Oh, shut it, she's going to need to explain it all anyway."

The wolf woman leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest, frustrated and glowering. Miyuki returned her attention to the ruler of this empire sitting before her. "I… I'm not certain I could do as much as you think."

"Ah, so the books are true, there is a limit to how much power you can bring to bear in one area." The princess blinked at her, surprised. "We get some traders from your kingdom from time to time, I have some of the stories translated. Knowing the history of the world makes sure we don't repeat any stupid shit that your people pulled. Saves us pain in the long run, same for Tal Salunbal. One of those explains your whole royal line. What? You thought we were ignorant up here?"

The kitsune was silent, her mouth open and gawking at the empress. Finally, words came back to her. "I… I am here now, that's what is happening in the present. I can't change the past and now request asylum here. I do not want to be used as property."

"Let me break it down for you right now. You were found crossing my borders illegally. That's not really much of a problem; my border patrol caught you, by the way, along with adventurers coming to help out – wasn't expecting one of my citizens to come blasting in from the air, but whatever. Now, this is where things have gotten interesting. You were under assault by assassins. Let me repeat that. Assassins, as in paid killers. That doesn't happen often. Do you know what happens when your kingdom figures out somehow you are still alive, try and track you up to my borders, and detect there was a scuffle? Who do you think they will believe sent those hired swords, especially with you under armed guard here?" Selene told her more as a statement than asking a question for her to answer.

The ruler then continued, changing legs as she re-crossed them. "Now, I've already been turned away from talking to your stupid government, gods know why they wouldn't want at least some communication with their neighbors, so they don't get caught flatfooted, I mean it's just foolhardy. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, after all. The big issue is they'll think we sent the assassins and, well, you're here. Probably a change of thought, we decided to kidnap you in some grand plan to force them to give something up. You just caused a big fuck up in your country. I'm not really happy about that." Luko tried to speak again, waving her hand over the table. "Oh, fine, what is it?" The dev removed the spell and allowed the escort to talk once again.

"Don't you mean your country? Her father and the shoguns will send armies this way. Besides… I made sure to hide our tracks and smell."

"The… the potions you bought before!" Miyuki gasped out. "They mask us?"

"For a limited time, yes."

Selene let out a dry laugh. "I don't mean my country, I mean yours. You have no idea how effective my military is at wiping people out. The orcs and goblins are a testament to that on this continent; it's the reason you don't get any more raids from them. Look, this is what will happen if they somehow figure out you are alive, like catch wind at all about you being in the land of the living. The first step, they'll send scouts, try and find you. The second step, armies, as you said. Next, they'll demand we return you. If I don't, they try and invade. It goes badly for them, very badly. We conquer your kingdom in two days, probably faster now, given the upgrades and advancements we've worked on since blasting the Grand Tribe into oblivion. Now, if we do return you, I'm pretty sure there are still two choices given how stupid some people can be, with them somehow deciding to still attack for any involvement in this, exacting false vengeance and all that. That goes badly still for your people. Lots of lives will be lost. If nothing happens, you still go back and have the old ball and chain attached to your leg. See where I'm going with this?"

"We… we could hide away, they'd never find us," Luko replied, looking at the princess.

"Where would you go? A cave? Can't live in civilization because traders would still see you, and as long as the scouts don't try and pull anything obvious, aren't always easy to find if all their doing is acting like tourists. Sure, they can't go in restricted zones, but you won't be able to either. That complicates things and makes it only a matter of time before they figure it out."

"They won't find out she's alive, though."

"Did you leave a body double?" Selene asked with a raised eyebrow and a half-snarled up lip. No response. "I figured that. No body, no remains with recognizable features. Yeah, you just created a problem for your republic, I would just be an end result."

"But… you… you don't…" Miyuki started to say.

"Don't what, dear? Have to fight? Well, of course we don't if we turn you over. That's not what rulers do though when trying to protect their citizens. If your government decides to come here in some form of military strength to bring you back, you think I'll just roll over? That's not how this works, kiddo. Not one bit."

The princess seemed to look like she was about to hyperventilate, glancing at Luko in hopes she'd help. Her leaving could mean thousands would die just to bring her back, loyal to her family and believing they were rescuing the girl from a horrible life. It would be a one-sided slaughter. "Please… I don't want to go back… I don't want to go back…" there were tears in her eyes. Luko wrapped her arms around her and glared at Selene, believing she was going to pack them up and send them off.

"So that's it? We come all this way only to be carted to the Jade Palace with an apology letter?" the royal protector grumbled out.

"What is happening right now is you're here, not there. As far as we're concerned, I have no interest in creating some crazy scheme to hide you away from your father. But… at least until I can figure out what they'll do – if they'll do anything – you can stay."

"What about the adventurers in the other room?" Luko questioned.

"Why should you care? Besides, we'll just say this girl right here is the body double, testing the waters in our lands so to speak. The real princess was near our borders, so she took it upon herself to try and lead everyone astray so the royal blood could head back to the capital."

"Why would they believe that?"

"Because I'm their empress and you two are just random animal folk coming up from your kingdom? For all they know, you're both crazy and say all sorts of stuff. There's no evidence to prove you are, in fact, the princess, beyond the tails." The dev had made her point.

Miyuki beamed at her with sparkling eyes. "Thank you."

The dev pointed a finger at the princess. "I said until I figure out what your republic will do. No guarantees, but it's not like we turn away those looking for better lives. Look, stay in the quarters I'm giving you, don't cause a fuss. Maybe, just maybe, we'll hash out some more details of what will come after tonight. This is bothersome to me, so the least you can do is keep your head low." The teenager nodded vigorously, her ears perking up as she wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. "And you," she pointed at Luko, "make sure she doesn't get into trouble in the first place. I don't want to hear about some high and mighty royalty causing a scene from another land, got it? You keep both of your heads level around here. As far as you are concerned, you have no title here, just two women as guests in my palace. I'll have food brought to your rooms and clean clothes."

As they were escorted away from the room by a maid, Will flipped his chair and leaned over the back of it. "That's going to cause problems eventually."

"Not until they find out."

"You aren't going to tell them, are you?" Will asked, hoping she hadn't lost her senses.

Selene furrowed her eyebrows. "Fuuuuck no! The less stress within the next few days, the better, I don't need panic happening to the people because they see armies massing on our borders, regardless of if we can fend them off. The psychological effect would screw things up. It would also scare the crap out of anyone trying to immigrate up, believing they'll just get killed by us." She patted down her bangs a little and looked at one stray lock. "Well, given the fact they turned us away, I'd say if I didn't want a meeting before, I'd get one eventually."

"What will you do with her? The republic princess, I mean."

"She can stay here, out of sight, out of mind. I know it'll be a bit like a jail cell, unable to leave beyond the walls, but it's got to be like that until the Seong Neow Republic has already found out."

"Do you really think someone would report back that they saw her walking around?" her chief of staff questioned.

"Well, given the fact they tend to be executed for leaving their country without official authorization… those chances are slim until someone is stupid enough to think they'd get rewarded. Then, two things could happen: they either get rewarded as they hoped for and the government prepares their troops, or they don't get rewarded and have a knife slammed into their backs, again the government prepares its troops. Either way, let's keep a secure perimeter where the republic nudges against us."

"They could be rewarded with cutting their own guts out and allowing their families to get the reward in their stead for their transgressions and redeeming themselves," Will warned.

"Ok, that's a grizzly number three then. Still, if we play our cards right, that won't happen for a while."

"Or not at all," the automaton countered.

"Nope, I'm pretty sure the cat will be out of the bag eventually. I'm mentally preparing myself for when that happens."

Selene sighed and draped her arm behind her, staring up at the ceiling. Dina came back out, surprised. "Dylan… he's… he's going to take a position in Aureos… Marv… he's…"

"I know. Piper I take it has more work at the church with Ezra?" the empress finished her sentence. The ranger nodded. "Seems to me like your team is breaking up."

"I… I don't know how I feel about that. I thought we were close."

"You don't lose friends that easily. They're going to new jobs that pay more. Dylan and Marv are still going to live in Aureos, Piper too. Look, with new transportation everywhere, it isn't difficult for you to go visit your old posse. The question is, now that they've made their decisions, what are you going to do?"

The teenager looked at Will and blinked. He simply gestured in the air with his hand open-palmed. "Do what you think is best, young one. Her majesty isn't forcing you."

"I'll take it. I mean… if Morlan will let me."

"You're being entered as a cadet, not as an official agent. You have a long road ahead of you, but far shorter than others, I can easily tell" The dev responded.

"Not all of the cadets are as good as me?"

"Well… I wouldn't say that, but… talent-wise, you do exceed a fair portion of them. Do your best, listen to your superiors, trust your team. Notice your flaws, fix them, work hard, and you'll go far," the ruler told her. "Do you have any questions?"

"I… I'll probably have a lot of them after I leave, but for now, I'll… I don't have any. My mind is kind of a blank with everything being a blur."

"Well, just relax and take a breather. Hell, you and the other team that backed you up can come to the ball. I mean, I think there are what, two, three Adamantite groups already?" Selene said, popping her fingers out on one hand while looking at the automaton sitting next to her.

"Two, both due to standing their ground against a demon's nest now neutralized."

"It… feels odd bumping elbows with their rank…" Dina said quietly.

"You aren't going to be a gold rank adventurer anymore, you'll be a cadet in the Einherjar agency. Different badge, different people you should be looking up to," Will advised.

"Yeah… yeah! I didn't think about that. Oh… crap… I… um, I don't have a…"

"Dress? *Sigh* Jeeves." The empress gave an underhanded point at the door. "The rest of your group and the other team can do the same. I swear, without him, most of the people on these grounds would be naked…"

"A real hero to be sure," Will chuckled out.

"Papa Jeeves keeping us clothed, fed, and clean…" Selene grumbled out. "What would we do without him." She looked at her Hud's clock and grimaced. "Two down, one to go before the big bash. I can't wait…" the dev groaned out and let her head flop backward. As Dina got up to go be measured, the empress cleared her throat.

"Ah! Sorry! Sorry! Um… should I be excused?" the girl asked.

"One last thing. The two you helped out at the border? She isn't really the princess."

Evening, Winter Ball

(Recommended Song: Mozart – Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" Allegro)

Carriage upon carriage spat out their owners as they entered the palace, an announcement made for each person arriving so that everyone knew who was there, allowing them to get into their little cliques. Appetizers were served for those inside, waiting for the main meals to be brought out. A few ex-nobles were in line trying to get in, with strict rules keeping them from entering without following everything to the letter. "We know who you are, Genevieve Marton, you simply cannot bring your pet in with you," the security auto commander outside explained at the front doors.

"Countess Genevieve Marton, do not forget that!"

"Your title has been removed, Mrs. Marton. Do not forget that, either."

The woman looked around embarrassed, pulling at the neck of her dress as others smirked at that response. The soldiers guarding the palace really didn't hold any respect for anyone beyond their empress. "Leave my precious Fifi here? Why, the nerve! I have never had such issues before! Bring your empress here; I'm sure she will understand that my little girl goes with me wherever I go!" she spat out as her hands played with the fur of a Pomeranian. The dog barked a few times at the guard, who didn't show any fear of the small creature. To their side was a greyhound on a leash, sitting proudly next to his master.

"It is not a question of allowing them in, these are her majesty's wishes written down. There is a guarantee that your pets will be considered prey for her own pack."

The countess looked at her husband, who tried to appear as posh as he could with a cane and long feather hanging out of his hat while holding the leash. "My Andre and Fifi are strong enough to hold their own against such pale… such pale…" she shut up immediately as her eyes bugged out of their sockets, her husband doing the same. Bouncing around the corner was Blue with a rabbit found and killed, being chased by Ash, who was playing with him. These two wolves showed up that could very quickly eat Fifi in two bites or less, or snap Andre's neck in no time. Following them as she slid into a stack of boxes and knocked it over due to her size was Luna, the massive white lupine charging after her siblings with her tongue hanging out, easily the size of a large horse. Behind her were two drakes enjoying the fun, watching the wolves go right past the front door and back around the palace, dragons following. There was no doubt the greyhound would be outclassed in speed by Luna or Blue, with the latter capable of teleporting.

To top off all of that, the harem that the empress owned was trying to keep up, loving the exercise as they chased the myriad animal group playing havoc in front of the palace. An elven concubine was bouncing behind, her enormous bust swaying with her arms pressed to the sides. "Oooh, why do I have to wear these? It's so much easier to just go without this leotard!" she whined. The minotaur dashed right past her, wearing nothing more than a speedo and a big cricket bat on his shoulder, giggling.

"Try and keep up!" he laughed out as if it was a game to chase the wolves. The rest of the royal ladies and men of the evening carried on right after them, one dwarf giving a crazed waggle of his eyebrows and a massive grin on his mouth while he passed the ex-countess.

Both aristocrats blinked, with Fifi soiling her owner's hand immediately while whining. The greyhound pressed against the leg of the husband.

"You will protect them, yes? Surely there can be an exception?"

"We will not. We've already told you that pets are restricted from entering. If left unattended, they will be killed on these grounds."

"The empress doesn't control her own… her own…" the countess couldn't even finish her sentence.

"They are wolves, Mrs. Marton. The empress is their pack alpha. As far as a wolf pack is concerned, your two pets are prey. The royal harem is not a group of pet sitters for you. Remove those creatures from the property, you are not allowed to enter until that is done."

Everyone else continued filing through the main entrance, watching what was happening, a few of the other houses trying to stifle laughter at what was transpiring before them. Genevieve decided to try and regain some composure and turned around, heading back to the carriage in a huff with her nose in the air. "She will not get the chance to see such a spectacle that we are in the ballroom then. The empress will just have to go the night in shame."

"She does not care, Mrs. Marton. Your presence will not be missed," the security commander replied. There was laughing in the background as others within the woman's level of wealth just shook their heads. She needed to follow the rules… or else. It was surprising that the guard commander, an automaton of the empress's creation, was so gruff with the woman. He didn't show respect for removed titles, didn't care who was supposed to be wealthy. They were visitors to his creator's home, they would show respect to them instead. There was a small conversation going on in machine language silently between all the soldiers. These flesh bags were not worthy of their maker's presence. They were not worthy of the presence of even the wolves that had assisted the dev in surviving the first month, or the concubines that had just become a spectacle.

Once everyone was inside, the gates were closed, and festivities began. Drinks were given to all, with no sign of the empress just yet. It was to be a reveal of what she was wearing, to enter the throne room and sit down, allowing everyone to continue to enjoy the buffet.

Some of the ex-nobility were surprised to see Melsia and Donovan there, though they were shown great respect… at least to their faces. The lower tier aristocracy flocked to them, "new money" as they were called, talking about the laws helping them get on their feet and build small companies. Donovan praised them, while the old houses chastised them for jumping to lick the shoes of the new ruler so quickly. The disdain for each side seemed palpable, with a division in ranks. A few of the older generation weren't that bad, even looked towards wrangling their peers in finally. Whether that would happen remained to be seen. Some of the old houses from Silvinholm stood with the Riktors, receiving scowls from one side of the ballroom.

One Hour Later

"Ok, time to head out to meet and greet," Selene muttered to herself as her daughter held her hand, with Dahlia and Adesha right behind. She had been playing with the girl to calm her down, as Eve was nervous about what to do inside. Cameron was opening each door with a flick of his hand, with a magic spell keeping the path clear of obstacles, a point man for everything as Jeeves kept things under control in the kitchen and the ballroom. Zaza and Nara were waiting at the doors to the throne room main entrance, with both of their children standing prim and proper in a suit and white dress, completely different from running after the wolves in their scaled form. Tariq and his parents were already sitting as guests of honor, with another smaller throne prepared for Eve. The mayors, governors, even the police and fire chiefs were all present to support their ruler. The numbers were substantially in the empress's favor.

"Ma'am, you still have your meeting in the red room," Will whispered to her as he walked out of a side room to catch up with her. The rest of her cabinet were already mingling, keeping everything that was a secret from ever being revealed. A few times, they denied anything being done by the empress for specific issues arising, making it seem like nothing was wrong to keep panic from washing over the masses. If they became aware there were still some demons hiding in the shadows and attacking villages, multiple fleets were heading their way with unknown intentions, or that there were still massive creatures underwater posing a threat, there could be hysteria. Propaganda was an art form for her administration now, as Gala informed a duke that favored Selene's rule that everything was fine, with plenty of trade routes opened between their neighbors.

"Yeah, are they all inside already?" she asked.

"They are waiting for you right now." The dev looked at Adesha and Dahlia, her order already plainly seen. They'd follow little Eve and help her get whatever food she wanted, protecting her along with the security detail. Meanwhile, the empress would go speak with the top aristocracy and see what they had to say. If the princess ever wanted to leave at any point, they would escort her out, keeping everyone else away from her beyond Sultan Gazi and his family or those sitting next to him. He was already acting like a godfather to the young girl.

"Okay. Eve, honey, go with Dahlia and Adesha. I'll be out there in a few minutes."

"Okay," the princess let go of her mother's hand as the maids led the girl through a side door.

"Dominic and Grey want to also inform you we've found six more caches of the drugged barrels with magical explosives on them. They've also caught multiple teams of mercenaries paid to plant them. There is now a signal that can be detected that links all of the ones we found, proving there are no more. All warehouses are under surveillance, but there is no chance of any others cropping up," her chief of staff told the woman.

"Good. Any of the mercs crack?"

"All of them took poison, all of them were resurrected. None wish to talk."

"Considering they're terrorists now… have them sent to ARC. They just volunteered to be guinea pigs. Maybe Robert or Nikola can pull something from their brains with the Limbo Vats."

"It's getting easier to deal with things like that, isn't it?" Will questioned.

"Considering they've had their rights revoked and what they were doing, yes. Treason against the empire on that level, accepting what they were doing and getting paid for it… I don't consider them human or even alive. If they wish to harm so many, it's safe to say we can do the same to them. I've come to the conclusion since my science advisors came up with that thing."

"Understood ma'am, I'll let Dominic know to cart them off from their cells." Selene nodded as they walked away from each other. "Oh, one last thing. The first space station is about to finish phase 2 construction tonight as well, just like the elevator. There are still quite a few amenities needed, but as a launch point and small dock, it functions. Juliet is in the ballroom right now with Romeo, they just wanted to get you up to date."

"Sweet, it might be fun to at least head up there for a visit. The others?"

"Just reached their points, moon base 1 will be coming online tomorrow just about noon. The remaining stations are in pod construction now, should be in position by tomorrow, then phase 1 construction can be programmed." The phases set up for the star bases were 1, 2, and 3, with a proposed phase 4 for Battle Stations. Currently, phase '0' was just the pod launched and barely habitable; at best, an emergency survival location to get out of the harsh void of space. They were getting faster at building them now, with the first finally able to assist in the construction of its sister stations. Building in the solar system would quickly snowball soon, without the rest of the new world even realizing it. While they were figuring out gunpowder, her empire would be zipping from planet to planet.

"Okay, that's good news."

"The first mining facility is working hard. You… you may want to skip checking inventory slot twelve…" he told her, worried she'd flip out at the massive piles of metals and resources. Just one asteroid out produced all the mines in the continent right now. Having multiple refineries and mineral excavation sites upstairs meant never worrying about supply for manufacturing again. What they needed now were things like noble gasses and liquids, which the other four would gather.

"I'll take your word for it. The third batch will be built after for… what was it… ice?"

"Correct. The second batch is for noble gases."

"Good." Selene stopped at the door to the main hallway that headed towards 'the red room,' a notorious conference area. The dev sighed and shook her head. "I just want to cancel this meeting and get this night over with."

"They won't learn unless you show up and let them know you won't cow to their requests. Oh, I'd hold off on heading to Star Base 01 before it hits phase 3. Gravity plating hasn't been installed yet. You'd be enjoying some null-grav for your trip, which I've heard can play havoc on your stomach." Will continued on, checking in with security in other rooms as the empress took a deep breath and headed down the hallway. She didn't know what to expect, just that the meeting wasn't going to turn out very well. These ex-nobles needed to be told what's what, and she wasn't going to take any crap. They were about to learn not to mess with her anymore.

I have the Zero-G skill… it shouldn't be a huge problem… still, probably a good idea to wait like he suggested…

"Ok… let's do this." Selene walked forward with the double doors opened for her, laying her eyes on the array of people all sitting around a circular table in the middle of the room. Every single one of them had a smug look on their face that she wanted to wipe off with a smack. "Greetings to you all. You've called for this meeting during the winter ball, and I have agreed to show up. Now, what is it you would like to discuss that couldn't be sent via missive?" she asked as the empress sat down and clasped her gloved fingers together.

The monocle might be a good idea, after all. I should ask Gala for it.

"Oh, I think this requires your physical presence, your majesty," Alain said, the head of house Reysor in Silvinholm, the very same who warned the king of the rebellion. There was a gleam in his eye as he motioned for a stack of papers placed in front of the empress for her to read. "These are… things we would like you to oversee in changing how the empire works. We have many… er… concerns that need to be addressed. Please."

Selene picked through the pile, skimming her eyes across the requests – no, demands – as quite a few alarmed her. After ten minutes, she flicked the last sheet onto the table and tried to remain calm. Her eyes raised a few times as she stared at every face for a moment before descending back to the ludicrous needs of the entitled sitting in the room.

"My son will not be ignored in this, you've read that part, right?" another woman in the room said as she held the hand of a young man grinning at the empress. There was a demand for marriage to the ruler, to produce heirs. Selene already knew dirty thoughts were going through the boy's head. The only thing the dev did was put up her finger for them to be quiet as she continued reading silently. The woman, her name apparently being Karen, looked at her in disgust.

The main requirements were marriage, reinstating titles, slavery reintroduced, diplomatic immunity, and payment for all the losses they had incurred during the war. Others involved lowing taxes for the wealthy, making them non-liable for any harm that comes to any workers under their employ, and doing away with the basic wage law. Previously, any boss could set what they paid their people, even if it wasn't livable. 5 copper a week was standard, now set to 8 a day as a bare minimum. If she didn't accept, they had unanimously signed the last page, informing her that they had secretly placed caches of chemical aerosol explosives around the empire, the very same that her troops had dismantled previously. There was a huff coming from Alain as he rolled his eyes. "Hurry it up." The empress glanced at him before returning her attention back to what was in her hands.

"Are you going to sign or…" her finger rose one more time. Any other government would have collapsed in on itself to abide by their demands due to not being able to find the caches. Luckily, the Clockwork Empire wasn't just any other government, with her automatons, androids and battle maids never sleeping and having a machine network connection to transfer information near-instantly amongst themselves and to her due to {Communication is Key}. Their sensors were able to pick up the key ingredients and track where they were going now, similar to those trying to make homemade explosives in the United States. They weren't used to doing this just yet, not expecting such an event to happen so early in the development of the nation.

As she continued in silence, her left eye started to glow, bypassing the first stage. Everyone else in the room seemed oblivious to what that meant, her temper all but dashed as she did what she could to keep her silent composure, her blood pressure skyrocketing in anger. Selene continued to flip through pages, occasionally picking up the previous one to compare with a slight nod in understanding; it wasn't a move to accept the settlement, but agreeing with a choice she had now made in her own head on their fate. The nobles in the room all looked at each other, now quite concerned they'd need to explain things in-depth to make the empress understand their needs, believing the woman to be slow in the head. She wasn't acting like they expected, with many others caving in given this ultimatum. The chances of stopping such a threat were almost nil, right? The dev just kept silent.

[Selene: Will, I'm scanning a copy through my Hud. You reading this?]

[Will: We all are ma'am. They're acknowledging terrorism. Do they realize what they've signed? Are they that sure they have us that they would admit such a deed?]

[Dominic: I'm reasonably confident their brains couldn't figure out the pointy end of a sword, let alone the fact that it's dangerous. The same goes for this. They're boasting that they are supervillain wannabes. Ladies and gentlemen, we are looking at the "League of Extraordinary Stupidity" here.]

[Orlo: Given a quick psyche eval from how their body language is through the cameras in the room, I'd say high stats in narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. They don't care unless it gets them what they want.]

[Gala: They don't understand how the real world works, just what is inside their bubble.]

[Selene: I'm in agreement.]

[Will: Ma'am, your eye is glowing in stage 2. That's… are you alright?]

[Selene: I can see the pages lighting up. I'll check a mirror after this. Hold until I give the signal.]

"You aren't going to sign, are you?" the head of house Treeyul from Silvinholm asked in a matter of fact tone as he now knew… things were about to turn bad. "You know we will activate our trump card, don't you little empress?"

All she did was shake her head slowly, not even looking up.

"Perhaps this should have not come to be…"

Selene nodded at that.

"This can come to an end easily if you just sign."

"Nooooooo, no it cannot. I'm afraid all of you are well beyond that point by now," the empress finally said in an indifferent tone.

"You need to understand how the world works around here, you cannot just come here thinking that Artinia has fallen and your empire can change –" That was when soldiers walked into the room and aimed their rifles at each of them. The empress put the pages back into a pile and lightly tapped the bottom on the table before placing the stack back down. She looked utterly calm despite the one eye glowing bright blue.

"Use the passphrase! Now!" Duchess Enel shouted.

[Grey: I should warn you, ma'am, the activation sequence is flawed. We just had an advanced EOD team check over the dispersal and ignition… none of it actually works for inorganic objects. The detonation sequence won't prime.]

[Selene: Why did it take so long to get this information?]

[Grey: Backchecking through the wizards in Aureos. The spells used to respond to vocal recognition don't work that way. They were meant to dispel summoned creatures and remove wards. What they tried to do was a basic sleeping pill protocol on the barrels, removing one of the defensive wards to cause the offensive to melt the sides.]

[Will: So… they're all duds? We responded so quickly for something that, for the most part, is crude storage for volatile chemicals?]

[Grey: Good practice for when a real terrorist threat appears. For the most part, just be amused that these people thought they had the world in the palm of their hands with such an absurd plan. A for effort, F for enacting it.]

"You really shouldn't try it," the empress said calmly.

Alain opened his mouth. "Victory for the houses longing for eternity!" he yelled, his vocal cords seeming to emanate what looked like a specialized sound pulse due to a collar around his neck, the gem embedded on the front chipping apart. He simply laughed maniacally as cuffs were put on his hands. The vibration of his voice impacted the walls but was blocked by the noise-cancellation systems emplaced within the past few days. Nothing happened. "What's done is done. The people will follow us now. All of this could have been avoided if you had just done as we asked, but instead –"

"The caches of explosives never worked, and even if they did, we found them all. The mercenaries caught delivering them have been interrogated, more than likely cracked by now, and spat out everything connecting to you… not that we need any of it. Your supply chain has been destroyed. Your stupid shit never even WORKED! You do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, you go straight to hell." The dev stood up, adjusted her suit jacket a little, and left without another word. Outside the door, Dominic and Grey jogged over. "I had a hunch they were causing all this, we just didn't have all the evidence until recently," her director of intelligence said.

"Fucking… waste… of time… and energy… they're actually lucky… so damned lucky that I don't just kill… and resurrect them all… again… and again… and again… god damn it…" the empress seethed openly. Psionic energy was crackling around her; had anyone beyond her creations been nearby, one of the arcs might have clipped them and cause spontaneous combustion. A single strike carved a large divot in the wall as she did her best to calm down.

"What do you want to be done to them?"

"Limbo Vats. Their minds will be stuck in simulations while we get some good data on them. A living hell fit for what they just did, never able to reach their goals." The empress continued on as both turned around in worry at her mentality right now, watching her leave. "Torture them on occasion, put them in a horror movie or something once in a while."

"Should have ended their existences a dozen times over in that room," Dominic advised.

"Did they really think they could get away with it, against a woman that a religion popped up around? Who built this empire from the ground up?" Grey responded in a dumbfounded tone.

"I want the rest of tonight… to go by… without a hitch… not one…" Selene said as she tried to calm down with gritted teeth as she spoke down the hallway over her shoulder.

"Are you… angry, ma'am?" Dominic questioned. She closed her eyes and stopped for a second, taking a deep breath to reply.

"I'll answer that question after the ball, right now there are guests I need to go have a chat with. I'm not going to let this ruin tonight; they've been dealt with finally," she replied with her hands gesturing slowly in the air, pushing her middle fingers against her thumbs to try and reach a zen mode… somehow. As the woman passed a mirror, mumbling and grumbling obscenities under her breath, she stopped for a second and noticed what everyone else had seen firsthand. One eye, a bright blue halo light emanating from the iris and appearing to be bleeding into the pupil. She made a slight sucking sound with a click of her tongue and nodded at herself, heading off towards the throne room where everyone else was ready for her arrival. While she hadn't seen the supposed stage 1 glow yet, this was now making her wonder what was happening.

[Selene: Gala?]

[Gala: Yes, ma'am?]

[Selene: You still have that monocle, or was it never made?]

[Gala: I've now put it in your inventory.]

[Selene: Good, I need to hide my eye.]

The double doors opened to the massive room with a grand entrance made by the ruler of the Clockwork Empire, as Selene strode forth with the new monocle as everyone was silently watching her. "It's her! She's finally here!" a few whispered. Once in front of her throne, her daughter waving to her with a small plate of cheese and fruit as her mother sat down next to the girl, the empress surveyed everyone before her bowing down or curtseying below the dais. Hrist sat on her opposite side, looking as if she could give Elsei a run for her money in looks and a somewhat revealing blue dress, with Brynhildr at the makeshift bar in a bright green halter top. Hundreds of faces all watched, waiting for her to speak, including Gazi and his wife with prince Tariq.

There weren't just ex-nobles in the massive crowd, but also those who understood what she was doing and controlled the towns and cities. Commissioners saluted her, standing at attention to show their undying respect. Even adventurers were invited, at least the highest ranks. Dina seemed to be in the mix alongside the Receptionist Tilly, who looked like she was trying to keep the guild master for Aureos from touching her rear. Giles raised a glass to her with Abby, grinning warmly with small plates in their hands. The look of those who wanted her there helped immensely to settle her temper down below the boiling point, the energy surrounding her body dissipating mostly at the doors, with all of it finally gone.

"Ahem…" Selene cleared her throat as the sultan leaned forward slightly, nodding at her with a smile. "Continue." The festivities started back up once again as she watched those dancing on the ballroom floor.

[Will: Those were the only ones who had disagreements with your rule.]

[Selene: That's it? Seriously? All the others are ok with what we're doing?]

[Grey: Yes, ma'am. They cut ties with those 12 in the red room due to the over the top reactions and idiosyncratic natures. Most of the ex-nobility that caused the destruction and corruption before the war are now dead due to the demons, with almost all of them turned into undead or considered MIA with no corpse found. For the most part… ding dong the pricks are dead.]

[Selene: So we're in the clear?]

[Grey: It seems likely. Out of the two thousand faces here, very few, if any, have a problem with the laws. The economy was rebuilt from the ground up after being turned to ash, after all; they're happy with being able to make small fortunes over the past months by investing in their workers and their own low-level research. They aren't oblivious or stupid; most just had to go along with the way Artinia ran things. They adapt quickly, at least those who want to. The next few years could see a massive expansion of companies turning into megacorporations that aren't against a living wage here.]

[Selene: I know what happens when those crop up, Earth had too many lessons from history of keeping those from appearing. Let's curtail some of that if possible.]

[Will: Was that wise allowing them to try and activate their trump card? There may have been caches we didn't know about yet.]

[Selene: I had faith in all of you getting it right. Besides, I was pretty sure the noise-cancellation systems blocked everything.]

[Grey: We're happy to hear that, ma'am.]

[Gala: Here here.]

An Adamantite adventurer party walked up to the first step and bowed deeply towards her as she came out of her com channel. "Your majesty, we are honored that we have been allowed to come here as escorts for some of the guests. If there is anything you require of us, simply ask," the leader spoke as he kept his eyes focused on the floor.

"Continue to enjoy the party," she responded. All five of them stood back up, walking by Dina as she watched them. The empress met her gaze and simply nodded, continuing to observe the party with her select few sitting next to her, a table being set up before the throne for her to eat at. Eve attempted to pull on the woman's sleeve as her mother seemed to be in a daze, coming back to reality as she picked her daughter up. Her demeanor changed to warm and soothing for the girl, but inside she was a swirling tempest of annoyance with what had just happened.

I should have executed them when I had the chance long ago! I've been too weak-willed when it came to absolving people of their crimes against others, especially the idiots that do that. I keep sitting back and hoping for people to embrace a new future, but in the end, it holds me back at the same time. I keep restricting myself from taking lives that need to be taken unless absolutely necessary. If anyone causes the same disturbances as those twelve again, it's Limbo Vats or death. I'm not waiting for another terrorist attempt. No more waggling my finger and calling them naughty.

Her smile seemed entirely fake, even though Eve was unaware. Hrist could tell something was off, but the empress didn't want to scare the child. Behind the monocle, the blue glow still going, barely contained behind the specially prepared glass.

Gazi leaned over and cleared his throat. "You know your maids are quite protective of the princess, right?" he whispered to her.

"Oh?"

"One of the young noblemen amongst the guests asked when she would be old enough for marriage, with his intention unknown for if it was a request for him or his son. He's not here anymore, taken to see a doctor due to this one right here," he explained, pointing at Dahlia while smirking. The battle maid sent video footage of the question asked to the empress, followed by a palm strike that launched the man across the room, nearly collapsing his ribcage. The dev could already see it was a light push, not even her full strength. She had evidence, worrying that she might be punished for causing a small scene.

"I'm pretty sure I abolished arranged marriages…" Selene groaned out. She looked up at her daughter's instructor, who simply kept her head bowed. "Good job Dahl, I appreciate that. You did well."

"Always your majesty. She will always be protected." While she was being praised, many of the visitors were now very much afraid of the ladies who doted on the royal family. They were not to be trifled with. No one else dared approach the princess again beyond a very select few, including Giles and his wife.

Another nobleman, an ex-archduke, walked up to the bottom stair and bowed to her. "Greetings, your majesty. I would just like to thank you for this incredible evening and allowing us to partake in it here. I'm so happy that we are among the citizens of the empire, with no more of that pathetic king. May he never find rest in hell, along with his soldiers."

Selene put her finger up to stop him. "Those soldiers weren't all bad, many have had to fight away from their families for long days, months, years."

"But the travesties they have committed –"

"Not all of them engaged in rape and pillaging. The rest… they were orders, young man. The hell that goes on in their heads after those wars is almost never-ending. Their consciences are still functioning, compared to the now-deceased mad king or a small number of his generals. You should feel pity for them instead because they returned to a land that seems like it doesn't want them, even when they fought to protect it. Do not forget that one of those soldiers is now the mayor of Silvinholm, and rebelled against Artinia to protect its population." A fat older gentleman by the name of Richard Fornower walked over with a glass of bourbon.

"I apologize for listening in on your conversation, your majesty, but you are correct. My shops are hiring these young men and women, now that they have no jobs. Their training allows a certain control over their emotions when put under pressure, with strong backs and keen minds. They are paid well for their service, and their faces are known to intimidate those who would try and steal away with goods."

The ex-archduke looked between both of them and smiled, nodding as he stood corrected. "My mistake for believing they were standing on the same level as our overthrown monarch. Perhaps I was too harsh in speaking such poor words about them. I am sorry." He took his leave with the older man back to their table, trading stories about what they did for their companies.

Tyran was congratulating the Orc Destroyers on leaving the trade for new jobs, speaking in hushed tones as to how they might prove themselves to the ruler, and get a chance at candidacy for the Einherjar. Selene leaned over to talk to Hrist. "What do you think about this name for Morlan's agency?" she asked as she jotted it down on a small piece of paper. The Valkyra looked at it with her blonde sister sneaking a peek. Her generals glanced at her and blinked.

"Elite warriors. I think they should be honored to be called that. I… that is a worthy name to use on their behalf," the raven-haired woman replied. She then turned her head almost mechanically to look at Bryn wide eyed for a moment, sharing a thought between them.

"Finally, seeing some living instead of dead. I hope their fates don't continue in the direction they did alongside Odin," Bryn commented as she sipped from a glass of Champaign after. Hrist tried to keep her composure as her sister waggled her eyebrows and smirked on the lip of the glass.

"Neither of you object?" Selene asked.

"Not in the slightest. I don't believe Skuld would either," Bryn told her.

"Where is she, anyway?" her shorter sister said as her green eyes scoured the large room.

"Keeping some of her students in check at the back of the ball. A few were rambunctious, having won the raffle to attend this party with chaperones. They just want to show off." A few guests shifted in the crowd to show the headmistress indeed scolding two young men, with their uniforms having food stains on their chests. Three others were joking in a corner, one of them taking another in a headlock and getting a noogie as he said something about winning the empress's hand in marriage eventually, and they'd all be sorry.

Selene just watched the crowds move and sway throughout the night, the dancing continuing on as thousands of faces enjoyed the winter ball that had been planned for weeks, finally going off without much of a hitch. That was when the ruler found out the harem she still owned had caused a scene in front of the palace earlier. She simply facepalmed for a moment as her daughter patted her hair, thinking she had a headache, receiving a kiss on her forehead, and having her back rubbed in response. That band of misfits would have to be talked to… on a later date.

10 pm

"Ugh, I should have never joined in a drinking contest with General Brynhildr," Morlan moaned out as he lay on a couch in a large living room, one that had the walls knocked out to add in eight others. While the aristocracy was now gone, the remainder were the people handpicked to help lead the lower government, all sitting around and talking the night away. These people, those who fought fires and caught criminals, were allowed to stay in the White Palace for the next two days. They were heroes, even if they didn't go dungeon spelunking or fight armies of monsters.

"Why anyone would think they could out drink a Valkyrja, I have no idea," Selene quietly said as she patted him on the shoulder while walking past. Liyana and her brother Davin were passed out on a pile of cushions, a few different desserts half-eaten nearby.

"You kept up with her… where do you store all of that? Not trying to be rude or anything, majesty," Donovan mumbled out while draped on a love seat, with Melsia dabbing at his forehead with a washcloth. He, too, was well beyond just inebriated.

"Hollow legs."

"Is… is that so? That's a thing? I mean, I don't… don't exactly question…" the man burbled out.

"I'm joking, Don. I have a high resistance to alcohol; it doesn't affect me anymore."

I wish I didn't tonight. I wasn't trying to keep up with Bryn, I was trying to get my mind off of the meeting. Funny how some things that protect you instead feel like they harm.

"Indeed, a fine advantage to have… oh, where is the bucket again, dear…"

The dev tried to focus on what was next on her agenda, the night not yet over for her as she saw the array of misfits that tended to hang around, all of them having some charm to them. Ex-Commander Alfred from Silvinholm helped move a few more onto waiting chairs, all too sloshed to get to their bedrooms just yet. He had somehow managed to kick the habit of drinking, not one drop reaching his lips. That had something to do with Marin, the sergeant that used to be under his command. The place almost looked like a triage hospital, with plenty of patients being tended to, some receiving small tonics to ease the symptoms or getting magic cast on them to cancel the alcohol enough to move.

"Your madjedgy, it has brin a pressure to… hic… preasure to… be hrer…" Duncan said, mixing up his syllables as he looked about ready to drop on the ground, KO'd from the party.

"Glad you enjoyed yourself. You should go rest, the door is right behind you," she replied as Selene picked up a closed top coffee thermos being served by a regular auto maid and started heading out. "Not there, the door is to your right. That's a WALL!" she suddenly snapped as the man wobbled towards the obstruction, was stopped and turned by the empress's hands, nearly ran into a table, altered his trajectory and stomped through the exit with his head lawling back and forth on his shoulders while he tried to keep balance. "Someone, please make sure he gets safely to his bed and isn't passed out in a hallway. I'd rather not find puke stains on the wall, nor do I want to give the human maids here a horrible job of cleaning up that kind of a mess."

As the auburn-haired woman followed after him, she caught sight of Bronze Team. "You guys! You two specifically." Deacon and Ethan both stopped midstep as Jorge pushed them forward with his massive paw of a hand, pointing at each other. "Don't try and swindle the adventurers who were guests here. They nearly got themselves in a world of trouble when you started mouthing about taking them all on in an arm-wrestling championship. Spirits are being served here last time I checked, and those tend to lessen inhibitions."

"Woulda nearly had them on it too, ah" Deacon laughed out as he slapped some metal with Ethan in a weird brotherly handshake. "Buncha pussies."

"You would have broken their arms and smashed them through the table."

"I woulda gone easy on them!... at first… reel them in with a double or nothing at the end…" the sniper responded in defense. Selene looked up at the commander behind them, waiting for him to chastise them.

"Ma'am, it was a party," the medium told her.

"You don't try and harm the guests with random fun. Besides… should have played poker instead…"

"You play, ma'am?" Turnie asked.

"I was a bit of a cardshark in college, helped pay for courses. People stopped wanting me in games after word got out, though."

"What'd you do after?" Turnie asked.

"Did people's homework." Bronze Team all shared a look between them. "What? Skills to pay the bills, guys."

"Hey, ma'am, about the… you know…" Deacon started to question her about the meeting before the ball. "They had their kangaroos loose in the top paddock, eh?"

"Intellectual capability is not a required factor to be rich or famous," she responded.

"I heard you sent them to the vats," Turnie suddenly said, with Selene rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, we'll see if we get anything out of their pathetic biomass."

"Did it feel good?" the medic questioned.

"Yup. I'd rather not talk too much more about it, my blood pressure is rising just remembering the event." The team put up their hands in surrender, deciding to change the subject. Selene was a still a little hotblooded right now after what happened, trying to cool down the entire time she was in the throne room.

"Do you feel this ball was a waste of time?" Orlo questioned.

The empress shook her head quietly. "No, it gave those who are loyal even more incentive to stay as such, the ex-nobles who are onboard with everything got a chance to see the face of the woman running things, and I got to see them firsthand and not think they're just mouthbreathers. Here's hoping they don't fuck the options I've given them." She continued on towards an exit to the palace, heading straight for a waiting helibot taking her back to her flagship. Eve was already put in bed just after 9, so she didn't have to worry about tucking the princess in. Dahlia was going to stay with her the whole night.

Once she arrived, her entire cabinet was waiting in the conference room. "We're happy you have the time to speak after all of that, ma'am," Will told her.

"I have a feeling I won't be going to bed until early morning. Did all of you get a chance to relax?" she asked.

"I have realized I do not like the taste of champaign," Felix informed her.

"You're a red wine kind of mech, are you?" Gala chuckled out.

"How'd you know? The vineyards that some farmers have been able to get up and running have been able to produce some decent Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm impressed they have the ability to age the bottles so quickly, with a magician coming around once a week to assist in the process," the secretary of agriculture replied. "Strangely, that spell doesn't work on complex beings like humans, probably for safety reasons or lack of understanding biology. I wonder where it was created."

Selene sat down and opened the canister, pouring out a cup of coffee and started to drink. "Ok, so, I'm here for some sort of interesting plan of action Grey and Nikola have concocted." Everyone was silent as they looked at her. "As you all are aware, most of our work has involved key things. Those were: one, to get the economy back up and running and we've done that; two, to get people incentivized to get an education. We're partially there, with them still working to keep everyone going. It's too early to determine how well we've done. Three is getting their infrastructure updated within boundaries of their current era. Frankly speaking, with them entering the Renaissance, they have the latest tech possible until the next phase without having to work for it just yet."

"Four would be cleaning out the crime that was latched in place everywhere," Will interrupted, pointing at her.

"Yes, that would be four. I know that look, Will. They're taken care of, the job was done."

"I'm just saying, there is a reason it was called the 'Red Room.' We have resurrection capability if you needed to take out your aggressions further."

"Look, that would have been for nothing if we did, in fact, resurrect them. Ok, maaaaayyyybe it would have been nice to air condition that smug, fat ass sitting nearby, but it's much better to just shove him in a vat and see him barely touch his goals in a simulation only to have it wrenched away in a reset. Besides… I'm pretty sure we just strained crap out of the gene pool now."

"We just worry about you, that's all ma'am," he responded.

"Thank you. Now, five was… er…"

"Agricultural enhancement with ranches becoming obsolete. Farms are easier to take care of with a wide array of vegetables growing pretty much everywhere, including the new varied trees introduced," Felix said, assisting the empress. "Bar a plague that festers right under our noses, which means the empire is already truly destroyed, food shouldn't be an issue for those paying for it."

"Which brings us to a minimum wage system, which has been balanced now. People can now live on basic pay per day and still manage to save for new amenities, pay taxes and, in general, not be afraid to lose their homes. Gradient taxes have closed the gap for the poor and the rich now, with a difference of thirty percent between their workers and themselves" the Secretary of Commerce, Akuchi, explained with a distinct Nigerian accent.

"Good, but we still have a lot to do, at least for ourselves. Most of what gets done is building and keeping things out. Both parts of that are in thanks to Juliet and Romeo over there," Gala said as she pointed to the two in charge of constructing just about everything. Their crews were strewn throughout the land, getting bases and cities to rise from the dirt, sometimes within a day for the smaller locations.

"Alright, what's this plan you've got, Grey? Nikola?" Selene asked as she sat back and tried to relax.

The director in charge of her intelligence system throughout the empire put up one finger in the air. "I just have one question before we explain. Have you gone to see Xaxara?"

"Nope. I was thinking of doing so, but that might have ended with me taking out my anger for no reason."

"Isn't she the embodiment of lust, sorcery, and corruption?" Dominic queried.

The empress gestured with a wave of her hand in the air. "Elesia, when I met her, wasn't exactly friendly, despite being the goddess of kindness, beauty, and nature after all. Besides, as has been shown in stories from both here and Earth, gods can be fickle creatures with different personalities. For all I know, she's jovial and takes jabs at people. I don't want to put a blade to her neck just because I'm pissed at some ex-nobility and a misunderstanding in how she speaks. She's still alive, right?"

"Barely. The chains keep her from accessing the flow of faith from her followers. Frankly, corruption might be a bit low in the area, so I'd think she'd normally be getting her energy from lust or magic users," Dominic reported as he put down a large coin he was carrying on the table. His visage was of a 1960s politician just come out of the military, sharing some similar suit designs to Will, only with a more muscled build.

"Wondering if I should break one of those…" Selene questioned herself as she scratched her chin.

"Not until you know for sure she isn't a threat. Once you go that route and she is hostile, we're coming down there to stop her right behind you" Will snapped his fingers and pointed at her. The empress put up her hands in submission. They were very protective of their creator. The artifact quality tier sword that was crafted had the capability to severe the existence of a god from their own celestial qualities, acting as if the deity was mortal. It was a defining characteristic of all artifact tier weapons, something that World Class Items didn't share. What the latter had over the artifact tier was a more diversified list of already thought up creations. Artifact tier had a total of 300 items designed that Selene knew of, given that players rarely found them. Celestial quality was just around the corner, only two ever found in Divine Apocalypse.

"Now, for the pet project we've thought up," Grey said as he looked over at Nikola, who nodded at him. "We believe we can speed up the process of education for the people here, and in so doing, speed up tech era transfer."

"What does this involve?" the dev asked, looking around for further enlightenment.

Nikola pulled out a bag and placed it on the table, opening it up and taking a syringe with a glowing blue gel inside. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is liquid experience, knowledge in an injectable form."

"How much is in there?" Will questioned.

"One experience point," Robert responded in place of his colleague. Everyone in the room blinked, thinking it was a joke.

"Wait, what?" Selene questioned for everyone. It looked as if there was enough in the tube to baste a turkey with.

"We know the amount inside is visually misleading. This is just the beginning of the project to determine if it was even possible. The design is off of a basic analysis of the orb our empress has, along with low-level integration of the 'cheese packs' in her inventory." He was referring to the booster packs that players could get created to speed the process up of leveling in Divine Apocalypse.

"You were able to figure out how the orb works? Can you duplicate it?" Selene asked quietly, furrowing her eyebrows.

"No ma'am, we haven't gotten that far. It's an unusual artifact. We're actually quite surprised no one tried to search for it, considering the object can do, well, all of this for you. Maybe no one else out there can make the same use of it as you can. Regardless, back to the topic at hand. If we refine the process of creating these, make them smaller, and with larger quantities of experience, maybe specialize them with certain types of knowledge, then all adults will have basic education, and we can get this ball rolling," Robert informed her.

"We're talking at least elementary school level here, at least at first," Grey commented.

"How would this work? What's the time frame?" Gala asked them.

"If we do this in sections, entire cities brought into clinics… three years for basic training due to the number of provinces. That doesn't include research time to improve the design," Nikola replied.

"So that seems to drop us back to square one. The standard curriculum schedule is still 12 years, with us streamlining that down to 10. That doesn't speed the process up very much with everything combined and only giving us elementary school degrees injected" the Secretary of Education, Minerva, stated as she added to the group. This was the first time she had entered a meeting with everyone else, focusing on getting schools set up and assisting the heads of academies to understand their responsibilities. Skuld worked closely with her on an almost daily basis. She looked very similar to a teacher, ponytail and glasses with a blouse and long skirt.

Selene sat there thinking for a moment.

That's better than most countries back on Earth, shaving 2 years of high school and putting it instead towards college.

"Ok, so… how do we fix that? I'm interested," the dev asked.

"Give us some time to refine the process. By our estimates, we can double the experience stored every week, with that time frame changing after three months into quarterly. Providing more scientists will not make this go faster; unfortunately, the experiments won't take less time with more hands," Nikola told them. "Afterwards, take each province, give them the serum, give them a chance to adapt."

"We should definitely restrict how that experience is used now that I think about it, the chances of wasting it on random information is too high," Robert told him quietly as he leaned in and wrote down on a tablet with an electronic pen, jotting notes for later. "Specialization seems required."

"I concur. Now, to expand on this, there is a technology that is brought up in stories since forever, either that or magic. Time dilation. Now, magic on the scale we're talking about would take an exorbitant amount of mana, which we can get from the generators, but positioning would be difficult, and planning out travel restrictions in the area would be… annoying, to say the least," Grey continued to explain.

"We'd use that on a province to get civilians back up and running after the injection? Won't that have a disconnect with the rest of the world?" Dominic asked them. "If they believe it's such and such date, and others they come into contact with outside the bubble say otherwise… all I'm saying is information would be disjointed between everyone suddenly, not to mention the aging of all present inside. Communication, now that it's become better with the postal service, apprentice wizards running messages… that's going to be a problem. Hell… birthdays missed, holidays… that's a mess waiting to happen."

"What if we provided a paid vacation per city or town?" Selene asked. They all looked at her.

"Care to expand on that, ma'am?" Will said.

The empress rubbed her forehead and looked at the ceiling of the conference room. "A trip of enlightenment, provided by the government. They get temporarily put to sleep, injected in specialized facilities, brought back to their homes after such and such time. They get to have a nice long dream – monitored, of course – they come back to their houses with no real lost time. Provide the age regression serum as well that Nikola and Robert want me to take, at a much lower strength."

"Those facilities are going to have contact issues with… oh, wait," Will said, then stopped midway. "Our communications aren't restricted by time fields."

"You nearly forgot about that?" Gala chuckled out.

"It's never come up before. With the magic immunity films in our construction and active defense systems installed, it's never even been a thought. Well then, I guess we should get to that tech to use it first."

"We're gonna do this with magic. I can't get to the tech yet to make this feasible with science." Her cabinet all looked around at each other, suddenly worried.

"Ma'am, is there a problem with the orb?" Will queried. None of them knew of the exponential model she figured out, that the actions produced was now less than what was needed for future tech tiers. Selene explained that the artifact had another two upgrades in it before it was drained and needed to be filled, with experience being a non-issue. The room went silent.

"So let me get this straight. Drones, androids, along with us… we're not producing enough actions to maintain a consistent excess output anymore?... We need to expand upwards quickly then, to balance that out," Dominic suddenly said, tapping a pointer finger on the table matter of factly.

"We're already getting four stations in orbit, the moonbase will be operational soon, the roids are producing now, the elevator comes online this very night and –" Akuchi started to say.

"Four? We need double, triple that. Send terraforming systems to the next planet, send transports with more of us to build up the solar system. We need space colonies, outposts, science facilities on the moons, push out there. We need subaquatic bases, floating cities on the oceans, as well as in the sky. Four is a paltry number, Akuchi. That's not going to cut it in the grand scheme of things," the Secretary of Defense told him, interrupting his colleague. Dominic looked at the empress and made a sound that was similar to clearing his throat. "I… apologize for that outburst, ma'am. Just some devotion to the task at hand. I hope everyone understands."

"No, you're right." The dev sipped more of her coffee and brought up a holographic image of multiple designs for cities, space colonies, and fortresses created by Juliet and Romeo. "Fact is, we've reached the edge of what we're going to gain on this continent. Could conquer the dwarves, or the minotaur, or the Seong Neow Republic, but frankly, that's a waste of time when we can just go somewhere else."

"It also means integrating all those people into our society. That's… a lot more work for little gain," Gala informed them. "Frankly speaking, grabbing anyone else outside would take more time to get them up to speed, clearing crime out, fixing things… obnoxious tedium."

"Far easier to just construct more of us and go up, turn millions into billions or trillions, let the organic population live in peace down here for the time being," Dominic commented.

"Weren't we going to hold off slowly incorporating new tech to the citizens? To allow them to build up their culture?" Felix asked around the room. They all looked at their creator.

"If there's one thing I've now been hearing and seeing, it's that they want to forget Artinia. Everyone wants to move forward into something new." Selene sighed and tapped her fingers on the table. "They want to absorb anything we give them. Orlo had a discussion with me about handing off hundreds of musical instruments and books of new art styles instead of just letting them figure it out. Fact is… they'll figure it out regardless of what is put in front of them, we're just cutting down the time it takes for them to get to play with a piano or a DJ board. They'll pick what they want and write sonatas or rap for anyone that will listen or buy their equivalent of a Van Gogh. Their creative sides will flourish more if we let them get their hands on it, provided we can make sure they understand what they're doing."

"Instill morals in all of them. Could have that as an injection," Akuchi said.

"I believe that wouldn't be against our policy, compared to the loyalty serum we could put in the water treatment," Nikola responded. The dev still didn't want that used. It would be no better than the mind control liquid in the barrels, making them no more than nobles who were still in charge. Free will still needed to be free, even if the government was trying to force better tools into their hands to express it.

"We use the floating cities," Selene told them. They all looked interested suddenly. "After the injections, give them a chance to prove they have what it takes to excel, for the betterment of their fellow man."

"Nobel prizes?" Robert asked.

"Exactly! Except we make it more common; those who prove themselves, they get to live on one of those cities, leagues above what they are used to. Instead of the Renaissance Era, they get high-end steampunk homes with all the accouterments, proof that they had what it takes."

Will nodded at that. "Would instill loyalty through action, show their conscience is working, their reputation would give them a ticket up or out onto the water… or under it. Would they eventually get a chance to go into space?" he asked.

"In time. That's still pretty far out there, just focus on getting that jump. That could… what, shave off a few eras, right?" the empress said, looking around for acknowledgment.

"Could work. Provided we get all adults with a high school education, incentivize college after… we'll have a lot of unemployed, at least temporarily while they find themselves," Felix said. "We'd cut out what, a few time periods they'd go through? That saves us a few decades."

"The only problem would be those who are still greedy and only pushing themselves to get up to the cities. We should have a test in place to catch those who rate highly on the dark triad score," Grey advised.

"Agreed. Also, anyone who is still highly racist or prejudice against others. Don't need that tainting the communities," Romeo replied. "Getting tired of having to set up outposts between forests to keep asshats from thinking they can still pick on the elves."

"I thought we blew those miserable idiots up?" Gala grumbled out as she leaned back and sighed.

Dominic flipped a datapad in front of him and swiped down a card game. The dev's creations could multi-task well beyond any organic creature could. "That would be that one village we cratered, and that isn't all of them. While hate crimes are illegal, some don't have the brain cells to acknowledge the law. It's surprisingly difficult to change their views, lost causes in many cases. Some abide, a good portion doesn't. That's what our penitentiaries are for, after all, to weed out those who won't let others live their own lives the same as them, who cause pain and suffering to the communities they are a part of."

"So we're in agreement? We can perform the experiments?" Nikola asked, with Grey looking at their creator.

"Yes, sure. We're a go for the cities too, combine this whole thing into one big rocket launch towards a new future," Selene replied. "Hell… I should probably take those tests for the dark triad. Somehow I get the feeling it's becoming easier to take those lives."

"No, you're not" Will told her. "Orlo would have picked up on something during your chats, advised you if he noticed certain traits that could cause you to become disconnected. We're all loyal to you obviously, but we'd warn you if we noticed psychopathic tendencies arising. The fact you're here, in this meeting, trying to figure out how to get everyone a brain boost, while still not forcing them to salute you ala Hitler, is a testament to that."

"If we do this right, there would be no reason to stay on the ground," Gala said.

"On the contrary, rip down the old towns and cities, build new ones similar to those sci-fi paintings some artists have created in the past, streamlined utopias that reach for the sky and still work in harmony with nature. Not that difficult to do once we aren't working with citizens stuck working with muskets and rapiers," Juliet said as she looked at Romeo. "Steampunk doesn't have to look rusted and mucky, it can be just as shiny and in touch with nature as anything else. We just have to design it right, incorporate regular technology in with a little extra science for streamlining."

"Better population control too. More advanced civilizations don't overpopulate as quickly compared to their neighbors, meaning less encroaching on the environment, less damage to the planet," Felix said.

"This isn't going to be used on the children, is it?" Minerva asked.

"Only adults. Ages 1 to roughly 22 will not be allowed to have the injection due to the development of the body and brain. If we intended to provide the injection to all, then far more research would be needed to make sure we do not create serial killers," Nikola explained. "That would cause a substantial extension to be tacked onto this endeavor. I doubt anyone would want that. Besides… I'm fairly certain this should be a one-time event, with the conventional education system in place taking over."

Silence filled the room, with all of them agreeing. "Ok, so we're done?" Selene asked. They all seemed to nod.

"One more thing, empress," Nikola said as he looked at Robert, who acknowledged his interruption. "We've mastered the Early Paleolithic Era in all advancements and research." The dev furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

"Uh… we're… I mean… what?"

The automaton scientist smirked and clasped his fingers together on the table. "Let me explain. The research stations you had in your inventory, you gave all of them to us. We've put them to good use, improving on old designs. Yes, that may sound useless, at least at first. You must understand, creating a stone dagger that can cut through steel is no small feat. It goes beyond that as well, though. Mastery of that era has provided roughly a five percent boost across all other eras we reach, along with certain effects."

"Wait, five percent… that might not be that large for some situations, but if it causes generators to pump out more power… that's a pretty huge boost in the long run. There's more?" the empress asked.

"Very much so. I sent all of the data involving stone research and its properties to Juliet, every study we initiated. It'll speed up digging tunnels by cutting the time in half, with some interesting designs in stonework for construction."

"It means if we wanted to, could make a fort or a house that could withstand a massive earthquake or a military assault," Juliet jumped in. "It also means new ways to get houses up on better-designed foundations, better placement of plumbing with less need to repair pipes from shifting, new mortar mixtures for bricks, an easier job for my crews or human utility workers."

"I'm sorry, and I know this is awesome, but… how long did this take to get one era maxed?" Selene chuckled out.

Robert almost looked embarrassed. "Ma'am, we're sorry, but there's only so fast those advancements go without some errors jumping into the mix if we push it further. I'm not gonna lie, we used time dilation magic on them already. They really do not like that. Whatever they do in your inventory, trying to enforce new rules on them outside of it tends to cause… bad things. We try to let them work through understanding new material while we focus on other projects. Less… property damage… to the ARC."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, are you saying they blow up if someone tinkers with them?" Will asked, raising his metal eyebrows in astonishment at the science advisor, turning his gaze to the empress.

"That's one way of putting it…" Nikola mumbled out.

"' Going critical' would be more apt," Robert commented. The footage was played in the middle of the table of one such event, locking down the room and encasing it while activating all defensive systems. The whole place rocked from the blast. Just one of the old research stations was like a hydrogen bomb going off of high yield. The same could probably be said of the magic desks Selene used to have to craft specialized inks for magical scrolls or incantation tomes. The security camera actually glitched from the energy warping out in the video.

Selene's eyes were wide. "Good to know. Let's not do that again without warning me first."

"We weren't expecting that to happen at all. There was no indication anything like that would have occurred," Nikola said. "All the same… we'll be a lot more careful with future experimentation on creations of yours in the future, I can promise this."

"Don't uh… don't go tearing holes in reality, ok?"

"We'll do our best to avoid that, empress. All the same, we've now diverted the stations to Middle Paleolithic Era. It'll take a month or two to finish, giving another five percent, but we do wonder what passive improvements it will give us."

The empress had previously thought her creations got passive boosts from her perks, but this was probably the reason behind those stations in the first place. The old research into the grass creating new lubricants for the automaton's joints, new nutrients to feed into other plants, organic pesticides that didn't harm the environment, she had forgotten about all of that after the empire became as large as it had.

The idea of the tech tiers was to give access to whatever needed to be created by the player in Divine Apocalypse, with Selene having everything in the tier each time she upgraded. The main thing she needed to remember was it gave the basic form of it, a boring low-quality piece of equipment that could be improved further. While initial steampunk railguns were powerful, lowering their energy consumption, rate of fire and range could quickly be done in a few research stations. Time was the restrictor for them, and would only increase with each tier. The Information Age, for example, might take years to completely maximize, even if they already had all available tech.

The dev checked on where she'd received time dilation technology, and it was well past Late Extrasolar Era, as well as only speeding up or slowing down time by one microsecond. This was where the research stations would shine, eventually completely outpacing magical spells entirely… unless there were some improvements at the writing desks, of course. "Well, continue on with letting those things do their job. Are we done?"

"I believe there is still need of a discussion for terraforming the next planet we've been sending probes and satellites to," Will said as he brought up another docket. "We could always leave that for another night." They all looked at each other as the empress sat back down.

"I'm gonna stay up anyways for the activation of the elevator. Might as well here this out," she said as the rest did the same. The meeting continued on into the remainder of the night, with Selene calmed down now that everything was falling into place.

Meanwhile

Yuri walked out onto the deck of the ship and looked out onto the open water. In the next two days, they'd be seeing land after two weeks of travel. She was eager to get the job done for the Supreme One, report back what they found. Entoma was sitting on the edge of the upper deck, eating one of her green biscuits and waggling her legs.

"We're almost there," Yuri said as she put her hands on the railing.

"Do you think Ainz-sama will allow me to have some leniency if I accidentally eat one of the locals? We aren't going to know what is intelligent there," Entoma asked.

"Do your best to avoid that if possible. If not, at least do it out of my sight. Perhaps it would be best to wait until we meet one of the other fleets coming behind us."

"Ah, that might be good. But if it's who we've been fighting, won't they just disappear? I hate it when that happens, I can't get a bite to know what they taste like." The arachnoid thought about the army that had soldiers who vaporized on death, possibly returning to their creator to the north. They still didn't know how that was possible, but one thing was for certain: Ainz, their great and all-knowing master, he had far more answers for what was happening than they did. There was a reason for every action he took, and they would loyally follow every order he gave them to the letter.

"Contain your hunger to the food on the ship, sister. If we do well here, this mission will be over before you know it, and we'll back in the glorious Sorcerous Kingdom once again," Yuri replied.

"Very well. What if the locals attack us? I know we'll do our best to keep hidden, but if that eventuality does come to fruition, what do we do?"

"Defend ourselves as expected. If that happens, I do not see an issue with… indulging."

"Ok! I almost want that to occur, but I know Ainz-sama would be unhappy if I did it on purpose." Entoma looked up at the night sky, watching the stars and glowing moon. It was cold outside, with her moving very slowly around the ship. She wasn't enjoying the temperature, but her Dullahan sister was undeterred by the weather.

What she didn't notice was the drone flying high above, watching them and relaying its footage along with a spy satellite and stealth submarine underwater. In the far distance was the second fleet, very much a day behind them and not following the same trajectory, in hopes of finding a new landing point on the new land. One thing was for sure, things were about to get interesting with the next few weeks once the northern army arrived. Yuri only hoped they could find something on this continent that would interest the Supreme One.