A lot of dys went down, but we finally left back. Since running was going to be a hassle, I summoned my shields, sat Irina on it, and dashed through the skies of the country early in the morning.


    "This magic carpet of yours sure is convenient."


    "What it, please. It''s a shield."


    "Sure."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    We were rushing through the skies at speeds many couldn''t fathom, but that mattered little. Not long after, we crossed through the capital and neared the very edges of the country.


    And there it was, right in front of us, the grand city of Apollon.


    The colored streets made for a sight full of wonder while the uniform yet strange architecture on the stretching heights all over the city made for yet another sight to behold.


    I moved over to my mansion first.


    The shields dissipated as the two of us hopped down on the grounds of the mansion.


    "Hey, kid," Irina called.


    "What?"


    "Keep it a secret, alright?"


    I waved my hands.


    "Find me whenever you want to make more secrets."


    She grinned and urged me onward. I pushed open the door in one go and found the entire gang sitting on the couches next to the fire ce.


    Keith, Luka, Dawn and the two princesses, Hoya and Anatolia were all on one end. On the other sat Maria, Lily, Lethe, Noa, Sophia and Rio. The Fonias twins, miss sses. and sses sat on the third side, all of them staring at the standing Luka.


    That man turned toward me and clicked his tongue.


    "You''rete," Albert muttered. "The summer vacation is almost ending and we haven''t even gotten the goddamn ckmarket yet."


    "Wee back to you too, Albert."


    "Cut the snark," Albert sighed.


    Almost as if a cue had called it over, a small eagle flew in from the outside.


    "What the—''


    "Stop," Rio blocked Keith''s movements. "It'' from the academy."


    The eagle fluttered inside my mansion before a small bag of letters dropped from its feet.


    Cautiously, Albert picked up the letters and flipped one open. And then the next, and then one more before sighing.


    "We got lucky."


    "What do you mean?" Luka asked.


    "The vacation has been extended two more weeks," Albert answered. "Apparently the principal left on a longer vacation with his secretary."


    "Argh.."


    "Come on, he can keep that to himself."


    "Did that old coot really inform every single student of his luck?"


    "No," Albert said. "That bit is only in the letters for the teachers, not for us."


    "Oh…"


    I shook my head and walked over to the fire ce, and Irina followed. sses sat on the ground and let me have his seat while Miss sses did the same for Irina, though it seemed that Adelia was about to do it too.


    I leaned back on the chair and smiled.


    "Good job, all of you," I spoke, an attempt to encourage. "You managed the first splendidly. I am taking off 1.5 million from each of you."


    They all seemed to have been touched at first but then removed their shoes and threw it at me. It all got blocked as I turned to Albert once more.


    "Good work," I said.


    "Yeah, you made it easy." Albert answered. "Just considering telling me beforehand that you''ll be starting a war."


    "We had to… improvise"


    "I see."


    Two nods were all we needed. Albert figured it was about demons, and his opinion on the urgency of our situation reached me just well.


    "Also," Albert continued. "Something big happened. The court physician of the Royal family was found dead."


    I shifted my gaze toward Hoya…


    I wanted to say a cool line like, so this was why she was sad, but I had never even known her happy face let alone the sad one.


    "The royals and the Fonias would get suspicious. Stupid physician had to bail now."


    "Oh well, he''ll be back," I said.


    "That reminds me," sses suddenly spoke up. "I remembered something that I had to inform you of, Lord Dark Moon."


    I stopped and looked at the sses.


    "What?" I had to ask.


    "That… there are a lot of people moving into the city saying they are here to seve their lord." Mentioned sses. "I believe it is all thanks to my hands that have been blessed with the luck of a god—"


    Arge influx of people.


    I was surprised to see that demons had already found their way inside.


    "Well, let''s look into tht tomorrow," Albert said.


    "Tomorrow?"


    "Yes, we have a ck market to investigate first—"


    "No," I said. "This is more important than the rest. Where are they?"


    "The mayor has helped us set a ce for them for now,"


    "Take me to them."


    I demanded.


    The demons were here, it was time to make do on the promise that I had made with Bathym.


    And soon, we would have our own little demon lord in me going all the way to hell and connecting another city to Apollon to make Grand Apollon.


    "sses, let''s go."


    "Uh, sure?" It''s just the town like a walking distance away—


    ***


    I was led to the ce where the demons were temporarily living.


    All of them still in the appearance of a human bowed when they saw me, gathered in the streets on the outer edges of Apollon.


    "Lord,"


    "The lord is here."


    "Our liege''s liege is our liege."


    That was a little burdensome.


    "Raise your heads," I told them all and raised their heads they did.


    All of these demons with no ce to go had moved over to Apollon at my very word.


    Trust. No, honor of this level was to be met with honor.


    I turned to my side where sses sat and spoke.


    "sses, prepare to make a grand research center in this ce."


    "A research center?"


    "Also open the paths to Mirxa and get them read to open through another path that is currently filled to the brim with betting powers/


    "As for all of you," I said. "I may have a temporary solution in mind."