ã€ŠLord Who Visit Another Worldã€‹


 Chapter 1 - The Beginning

    You know, I never thought that I would get reincarnated into a new world. However, this is not your ordinary world, This world is named Gaia, and it is filled with fantasy creatures that can only be told in fantasy novels and fanfic.

    My name was Joshua before it changed into Isaac Lionheart, the son of Count Lionheart.

    That is right. I''m reincarnated into a noble family.

    The Lionheart family lived on the northern side of the continent called Izoth.

    There are five continents around the world. Izoth is located on the western side of the world, where ten rulers rule the continent. My land is under the Vulux kingdom wing, the kingdom that rules the continents'' northern side.

    While the Vulux Kingdom is the ruler of the largest land on the continent, only a handful of Lords govern the land, and most of the lords live on the southern side of the Vulux Kingdom, where the crops can grow at a fast pace.

    On the other hand, the lord who governs the northern side of the Vulux Kingdom needs to limit our food intake, hoping to preserve some of the food for the winter. Not only the food, but we also have a problem with the local monster. There are too many monsters roaming around this region that some of the land''s lords are gone because of the monster outbreak.

    Oh? Do you think that is the only thing that we need to watch out for? Well, too bad because many savage men called the Men of Arriamir ready to kill and enslave our people and take our food.

    However, there is a positive side out of all this. The people of the north eat less food than their southern counterparts. The people of the north also need to fight constantly because of the monster and the savage man. The north will always have an army ready to march if a war is coming knocking at our door.

    The Lionheart Family also has an ally to our north, where most snow and mountains are located. They are the people of Dalagull, their population consists of a dwarf, but there is also another race in that land.

    From the memory of this body, the Dalagull people are a loyal bunch. They will immediately come to ?ssist us when they receive a letter saying that we need their help. The reason is that they believe that a great shame will come to those who do not help a friend in need, for their harsh land has taught them the value of cooperation.

    Of course, we also help them by selling our food to them at the lowest price we can. So while we don''t make a profit as your usual merchant does, we still get a profit nonetheless.

    Now, let''s talk about my land, shall we? The land where the Lionheart family lived is not a harsh place to live like the Dalagull. However, we still need our people to be ready as the monster outbreak is still happening. Not only that but there is also a five tribe of the savage men of Arriamir nearby, ready to kill our merchant and farmer.

    The land is not as fertile as the southern land, but we still can plant crops and get a bountiful harvest. The people of my land usually plant crops that can grow in the snow, like spinach, beets, and cabbage.

    We also have a trade agreement with the other lord in the south. We usually sell our iron to them at a high price as the one with an iron mine is the lord of the north.

    Anyway, the castle where I lived is called Sea Dragon Castle. The reason is that the Lionheart family has a lion as our family symbol, and my city is a port city. The land itself is called the Sea Dragon Point, so yeah, my ancestor is not really creative in naming something.

    However, there is one thing that I really hate in my current situation. Whoever sent me into this world is a d*ck. I arrived in this world after the announcement of my father''s death. He died while fighting an army of Arriamir outside the castle.

    It has been a week since the ceremony, and now, it is my duty to continue his work as a Lord.

    "My Lord, the representative from the Dalagull has come."

    "Oh? Then let''s greet them."

    I walk out of my office and then go to the gate, where I see a group of burly men riding a polar bear. The one that leads the group is a dwarf. Like any other dwarves, he is not very tall, maybe around 150 cm in height, but his body is built like a wall. Even with the armor, I can see all the muscles ready to use against his foe.

    "Welcome to Sea Dragon City, Lord Lomun."

    The one that I greeted is Lord Lomun MacGrath. The current Lord of Dalagull and the sworn brother of my father. So technically, he is my uncle.

    "Bah! You can call me uncle Isaac. Your father and I are a sworn brother."

    I smile a little at his word before saying.

    "Of course, uncle. Please come inside."

    I lead my uncle to the meeting room. Then, when all of the guests sit on the chair, I say.

    "What is the reason you come here, uncle?"

    "We come here to attend the funeral of your father. But, sadly, we cannot arrive in time because of the distance between Dalagull and Sea Dragon City. For that, I''m sorry."

    I am surprised when I see him bow at me, and his followers also bow at me.

    "Please, raise your head, uncle. I understand why you cannot attend the funeral."

    "Thank you for your understanding."

    "Do you want to visit the Crypt?"

    "Yes, if you allow me to visit it."

    "Of course. Please follow me."

    I led uncle Lomun to the crypt, where I left him mourning the loss of my father. I can tell from the memory inside my head; I know that Lomun and my father is like a blood brother rather than a sworn brother.

    Fifteen minutes later, Lomun gets out of the crypt.

    We then walk to the meeting room once again, where I see the maid already preparing some food for us. We spent another fifteen minutes in the feast, and when we finished eating all the food, it was time for a lordy business.

    "Now, shall we start?"

    "Yes, let''s finish this quickly."

    "Then let me ask you first, Lord Lomun. What can I, Lord of Sea Dragon City, do for you?"

    "I come here to ask you if you want to change the agreement between our people? I know the previous lord said that you would not change the agreement, but I want to make sure as I want to prepare my people if you change or cancel the agreement."

    "No. I, as the lord of Sea Dragon City, declare that the Lionheart family will continue the alliance between Dalagull and Sea Dragon City."

    "Good, that''s good."

    "So, is that all?"

    "No. I come here also to offer you something."

    "Oh?"

    "I want to let my daughter marry you."

    "Huh?"

    "I want to let my first daughter marry you."

    "I see¡­ I cannot accept it right now¡­."

    "Why? Is my daughter not enough for you?"

    "No, that''s not it. Your daughter is a beautiful lady, and I feel honored to marry her."

    And I''m serious about that. Lucina is a beautiful young lady with a bold personality. She is beautiful in her swordplay like she is beautiful in her personality. She is smart and understands politics. She is a perfect wife to any lord.

    "Then?"

    "I don''t want to marry her when she doesn''t like me. I want to marry out of love and not a forced marriage. I want to get close to her first and know about her a little more. Let her stay here for a year, and if she is okay with me being her husband, then I will marry her."

    "Heh! I don''t think she will complain about my decision to marry her to you, but I will agree with your decision."

    "Thank you."

    When I arrive inside my bedroom, I touch the wall''s seemingly random surface, but instead of a normal wall, I see a portal open up. This is the power I get from whoever sends me to this world.

    This portal will lead me to a pocket dimension. The pocket dimension size is massive; it can fit a medium-sized country inside. Inside the pocket, dimension is an island sitting the size of a small country like South Korea, and the rest of the place is filled with water.

    At the edge of the island stood a mansion. This mansion is the place where I can sleep or train. Inside, the mansion is filled with an unlimited source of food, water, gas, electricity, medicine, and first aid kit supplies. Hell, it also even has internet access that is connected to my previous life somehow.

    Not only that, but the Mansion is also filled with materials like Metal, Art Supplies, Simple Tools, and Hardware. I also can use any material needed to create something. However, I cannot summon any complete product like a computer or a TV, for example.

    There is also an entertainment room where there is a TV where I can watch any film that existed in my previous world. Finally, a self upgrading God-tier computer that filled any games in my previous world, I only need to open up the equivalent of Steam program and download the game. To the side is the console place where there is a console in my previous world, including the game.

    Next to the entertainment room, there is a training room where I can work out and train my muscles. Not only my muscles, but I also can train my instinct and swordplay in this room because there is a simulation room where I can do sparring with a mannequin that will attack me. There is also a nice effect in the training room. I get four times the strength every time I train in this room. Not only that, but I can also limit my strength, so I will continue to increase my strength. Sadly this training room consumes a lot of my stamina, and for some reason, the room knows when my stamina gets depleted and will not let me train my body if my stamina is empty.

    I also can take anything from my pocket dimension, but it was limited to ten kilograms of worth items per day. If I try to take more than ten kilograms worth of items, then the said item will disappear, and I can''t take any more items for one day. For the last five days, I have already saved a gold bar. Right now, I have sixty gold bars worth of money sitting in my personal vault. I intended to make that gold as my emergency money.

    I also can choose which time when I exit my pocket dimension. I can choose the next second. I walk inside my pocket dimension. The time inside the pocket dimension is still working like the real world, but I can choose when I exit the pocket dimension.

    Because of these features, now I can try the last feature of this pocket dimension, alternate dimension-hopping. I can jump to ANY alternate dimension to learn any magic, martial art, or search for rare metal to forge for myself. Sadly I cannot choose the specific universe to jump to and only choose a general explanation of the universe. Like ''I want to go to the magic world with a low-level threat'' or if I want a challenge, ''I want a dangerous world where I can hone my skill.''

    For now, I want to go to the world of magic because any magician in this world will always go to the Magician tower where they will isolate themselves from the world and can only be called back home if there is a disaster happening like a war, plague or natural disaster like an earthquake. Other than that? They cannot go back, and they will stay loyal to the magician tower. They cannot take their lordly duty or even take their role as a king; that is how strict the magician tower is. This is why the only one that comes to the magician tower is the second and third son of nobility.

    There are magic books and tomes spread out across the world, but they are not as good as the authentic magician''s teaching. The oath magician takes not to spread out the Tower of Magician''s teaching, but there is no rule about ''accidentally'' dropping a magic book inside their family mansion/castle.

    This is the reason why I want to learn magic. My family is known for the family with magic inside their body, but sadly for me, I''m the only son of the Lionheart family''s former lord. I have a little sister, but she is currently four years old and cannot go to the Tower of Magician because the Tower only accepts people of age between 10 years old to 25 years old.

    Right now, I''m fifteen years old, an acceptable age to be accepted into the Tower of Magicians, but if I do that, I loudly declare that I don''t want the position as the Count of Sea Dragon Point.

    While I want to learn some magic because you know, Magic! I still want to keep my position as the Count of Sea Dragon Point.

    "Alright, let''s do this."

    I walk toward the door with a word above it that says. ''Dimension Hopping, Please say your general wish first before walking inside.''

    "I want to go to a world where I can learn magic and without thinking about the enemy wants to kill me."

    After saying that, I see the door open up and see a whirlpool with a kaleidoscope color.. I walk inside, and I can see my body get su?k?d up before I only see blank.

 Chapter 2 - Business

    I open up my eyes and see I''m still inside my pocket dimension. However, I can feel the world is different. This world has thicker mana than the one in my world. I walk toward my pocket dimension mansion''s living room and see that it changes a little bit. The usual modern era decoration is changed into a Victorian-era decoration.

    I have a few guesses about which world I''m currently in, but I need to make sure.

    I walk toward the portal that will lead me to the real world and exit my pocket dimension. As I exit my pocket dimension, I see the sunrise from the east. I don''t know where I''m, but the exit portal is on the wall surface inside an alley.

    As I walk out of the alley, I see a familiar sign across the street.

    "Leaky Cauldron. It looks like I arrived in the Harry Potter Universe. However, which era do I arrive at?"

    I cannot see if I arrive in the Harry Potter Era or the Marauders era because there are not many people walking around the street, and the people walking around the street wearing a thick jacket to cover their body.

    Anyway, I walk toward the Leaky cauldron and walk inside the pub. As I walk inside the pub, I can see the innkeeper busy making something behind that counter. I also saw a newspaper that showed that today''s date is the 30th of July 1991, which means that this is the time for a new Hogwarts student to buy their school material. Anyway, I walk toward the innkeeper and say.

    "Good Morning"

    "Ah! Good Morning! It is rare to see a young man like you in my inn early this morning. So! What can this old Tom help you with?"

    "Could you help me go to Diagon Alley? My mom says that you could help me with it."

    "But of course. However, why are you here, not with your mother?"

    "Ah¡­ I''m here to help her buy all the books for my mother. I never come here because my mother makes me study at home while my little brother gets invited to Hogwarts. So I come here to buy the books for my mother while she will come here later via Floo Network."

    "Oh! Then let me show you!"

    I followed Tom to the back room, and when we arrived in a small room, we stopped in front of a wall.

    "Here. Let me show you. From the rubbish bin, three up and two across. That is how you open up the entrance to the Diagon Alley."

    True to Tom''s word, the wall in front of me opens up, and I can see a totally different alley.

    "Welcome to the Diagon Alley."

    "Thank you, Tom."

    "No problem! Now go ahead. The Flourish and Blotts are in the sixth building to the left. That is the shop where you buy your books."

    "Once again, thank you."

    I walk along the not-so-busy street, and my destination is the Gringott bank. However, after a few seconds of walking, I stop because I don''t know if the Goblin will buy the gold I have.

    ''Is there any valuable material the Goblin of Harry Potter world wants to buy from me?''

    This is also another function of my pocket dimension. I can ask what kind of material can be sold and how valuable it is to the other. Not too long ago, I asked which item was precious in my world, and my pocket dimension answered it by showing it inside my brain. The list of the items begins to pop up inside my head, and I can take it.

    Anyway, my power gives me the list of items the Goblin wants. However, the most wanted thing the goblin wants is Mithril. Mithril is a unique metal that cancels any magic it touches. Not only that, but it also has the characteristic of coating its user with an Anti-Magic forcefield. However, that is not the only thing this metal can do. Mithril can also channel the user''s magic so that this metal can be used as Anti-Magic armor and a foci for wizards and witches.

    Mithril is so rare that the Goblin will buy it for at least ten million Galleon per kg of Mithril ingots. If the Mithril has a high rate of purity, then the price will also increase.

    I take out one kilogram worth of Mithril and look at it for a few seconds. The metal color is deep blue, and I can see a greenish color inside the metal dancing around the metal. Instead of metal, it was more like a gem. Anyway, I put away the Mithril inside my pouch and walked toward the Gringotts.

    I look at the infamous quotes engraved on the silver door of the Gringotts. However, I ignore it and continue walking inside, where I go to one of the tellers and stand there.

    "What can Gringotts do for you?"

    "I want to sell something."

    "We don''t want it. Next!"

    However, instead of saying anything, I place down the Mithril ingots in front of him.

    "I want to sell that."

    The goblin looked at me for a few seconds before saying.

    "Wait here."

    He takes the ingot and walks away from the counter, and whispers something to the goblin in the back before walking inside the massive door.

    ~Five Minutes Later~

    "Sorry to make you wait. Please follow me."

    After five minutes or so of standing in front of an empty teller counter like an idiot, the Goblin teller showed up and led me to the back room. Anyway, I follow the goblin to the backroom, and after a few seconds of walking, we arrive in front of another big door. When the goblin teller opens up the door, I see another Goblin sitting on the couch with my Mithril ingot sitting on the table.

    "My Lord, this is the one that wants to sell the ingot."

    "Please have a seat."

    I sit down on the couch and look at the Goblin in front of me.

    "Let us cut to the case. We will pay you five hundred thousand Galleons for these ingots."

    "Goodbye."

    Without saying anything, I take my Mithril and begin to walk away from the room. So this ingot is worth more than ten million Galleons, and they want to buy five hundred thousand Galleons? F*ck off.

    "I will sell this to the Dwarves instead. I hear they are more honorable and honest with their price."

    "One million!"

    "Do you think I''m stupid? This ingot is worth at least ten million Galleons! And with this purity? My base price is thirty million Galleons and no less!"

    I could see the gear inside their head begin to grinds.

    "So? The Dwarves in Norway will want to buy this ingot for thirty million Galleons without hesitation. The only reason why I come here is that Gringott is the nearest place that can afford this ingot."

    The goblin leader, who is still sitting down on the couch, looks at me with a thinking eye. I don''t know what he is thinking, but I know that he wants this ingot.

    "... Thirty-five million Galleons."

    "You got yourself a deal."

    "Then please take a seat. Some of the tellers will prepare your money."

    "Very well."

    The goblin leader makes a hand gesture, and I can see three of the goblins walk away from the room.

    "While we are waiting, is there any business the Gringotts can help you with?"

    "Actually, yes. Can you make a wand from the Mithril ore?"

    "I cannot do that, but there is some expert that can do that for you."

    "Then I want to make a wand using Mithril."

    "Sadly, we don''t sell the Mithril we just got."

    "Who says that I want you to use your Mithril?"

    I put my hand inside my pouch and summoned another Mithril ingot from my pocket dimension to take it out from my pouch.

    "I want to use this."

    "Y-You have another ingot?!?"

    "Sadly, this is the last one."

    "I see. We can make your wand just fine, but what do you want to do with the rest of the ingot?"

    "You can have it, BUT I want as many books and medical plants as the rest of the ingots worth. I want all types of magical books that teach me how to use magic. Be it dark or your normal magic. However, I want books that don''t have any curses in them. I don''t want to get cursed after all."

    "And the rest of the Ingot will be ours?"

    "Yes."

    "Then we will write a contract."

    "Sounds good to me."

    Just as we finish our conversation, the goblin teller that walks away from the room comes back from wherever they are, and one of them brings a trunk with them.

    "Great. This is your money. Our enchanters specially modify this trunk to be a portable vault. This Trunk has blood-related protective magic on it, so any person except you cannot even touch this trunk. It also has a strong barrier for magic, so you can rest ?ssured that this trunk can handle any magic thrown at it by any wizard or witches."

    "That is good."

    "Now for the contract¡­."

    I raised my eyebrow a little when I saw the goblin take a piece of paper out of his pocket and give it to me.

    "You have a piece of unsigned contract inside your pocket?"

    "A good businessman needs to have a contract inside his pocket every time."

    "Fair enough."

    I read through the contract, and it is basically saying that both sides need to fulfill their promise, and if they do not fulfill it, they will die.

    I write my promise as a Mithril ingot while the leader of the goblins, named Ragnock, write he promise me a service of Gringott wandcrafter to craft a Mythril Wand, Books and Medical Herbs with the same price as the Ingot I promise him.

    "Please come here tomorrow. We will make the ingot ready for the wandcrafter. The books and medical herb you want will also be ready tomorrow."

    "Will do. See you tomorrow then."

    The goblin guard led me to the exit of Gringotts. I walk toward the Leaky Cauldron and greet Tom before walking away from the pub and going to the alley where I come from and touching the wall, then walking through the portal.

    I need to store this money first and only take some of the Galleons before going back to Diagon Alley and buying some books to study.

 Chapter 3 - Misunderstanding

    You know, I never thought that learning wandless magic would be this difficult. I can do a simple spell like Lumos Charm or Levitation Charm. However, while casting the Levitation Charm is easy enough for me, maintaining the spell is hard.

    I can make a feather flying high just fine, but I can''t do that when I try to make the feather float indefinitely. I can make it float for a few seconds, but after that, I can feel my magic suddenly lose focus and begin to disperse. So it looks like I need to increase my mana control first.

    Anyway, today is the day where my book and medical herb should arrive. So, early in the morning, I get out of my pocket dimension and immediately go to Diagon Alley and go to Gringotts.

    As I arrive outside the bank, one of the guards comes to me and says.

    "Excuse me, but could you please follow me? I will lead you to Lord Ragnock."

    "Oh? Please lead the way."

    "This way."

    The goblin guard led me to the door behind one of the tellers, and after a few seconds of walking, we arrived in front of a massive door made of gold. I don''t know if they have something like this inside their bank. When the guard opens up the door, I can see Ragnock, the Gringotts leader, or maybe the lord of all goblins. I don''t really know.

    "Welcome, Isaac Lionheart. Please take a seat."

    I sit down on the couch in front of Ragnock and see another goblin sitting next to him. When I sit down on the couch, the goblin sitting next to Ragnock places a box on top of the table.

    "First thing first, inside this box is your wand. However, this wand is not yet finished. This wand needs your blood so it can be bonded to your magic. So, please give it your blood and finish the bonding."

    "Good, now this wand will only work for you, and it will always come back to you if you call it."

    "Thank you."

    "Think nothing of it. This is just a business between us. But, now I must say this¡­."

    Ragnock looked at me with a serious expression.

    "Never tell anyone about the real material of this wand. The Minister bans any material other than wood and some material coming from magical animals. I don''t know why, but this type of wand is the most powerful other than the legendary Death Stick."

    "I promise."

    "Good because that is for your own good. We, the Gringotts, will not take responsibility if you get imprisoned because you tell the other wizard of this wand."

    "Of course."

    "The same with the book. Some of the books are a copy of the dead family magic tome. So if someone knows about this book and sees you reading it, we aren''t responsible for what will happen to you."

    "Of course."

    One of the guards then walked toward our table and placed a trunk on top of the table.

    "Inside this trunk is all the books and the medical plant we can get. Inside this trunk is a massive library where you can read all the books. There is a catalog inside the library where you can see the list of all the books inside the library. There is a massive medical garden where all the medical plants we could find are planted. We decided to plant the medical plant inside the trunk inside, giving you the harvested medical plant. I hope you don''t mind? We can fix this if you don''t want it."

    "No, it was perfect."

    And I''m not lying. This is more than perfect, in fact. Now I have a continuous supply of medical plants inside my trunk. I don''t know if there is a book about the plant and how to grow it, but I will try to grow it inside my pocket dimension.

    "Then that is our business."

    "Yes. It is a p???sur? to have business with you."

    "The same to you. If you need to sell something, please come to us first."

    "Of course."

    I then get up from the couch, and the guard leads me toward the exit. Anyway, I immediately go back to my pocket dimension and go inside my new trunk. When I arrive inside, I immediately go to the library. As I walk inside, I see a massive library with row upon row of a bookshelf filled with books.

    When I open up the books, I immediately see on the first page that this library contains more than three thousand books. It also divides the book by type and how the other wizards and witches see it, Dark or Light. There is also a special section where it is filled with the family magic of the dead family.

    However, of all the magic books listed in this catalog, there is one that immediately catches my attention: Blue Magic or Sound Magic.

    The catalog says that this magic is used in the past to tame a magical animal and creature. This magic is also used as the magic used to summon rain by the shaman in the American continent.

    However, the main reason why I choose this magic as my first magic in this universe is that I have a bard character in D&D, and I want to become one.

    "The Blue magic book is in the F section of the bookshelf and the 20th book if I count it from the top left."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ~The Next Day~

    *3rd POV*

    Inside the Leaky Cauldron arrive two different people. One of them has a huge body, and the other is a small child. This is Hagrid and Harry Potter. Hagrid takes little Harry here to introduce him to the world of magic.

    "Oh! Hagrid! The usual, I presume?"

    "No thanks, Tom, this is an official Hogwart business. Helping the young Harry here to buy all his school supplies."

    "Bless my soul! It is Harry Potter!"

    Just like a water dam has been broken, all the people inside the pub begin to swarm the poor boy to either thank him or touch him. But, there is also one particular person coming to meet the legendary Harry Potter among those people. It was a man wearing a robe and covering his head with a turban. This man is Quirrell.

    "H-Harry P-Potter. C-can''t imagine h-how pleased I''m t-to meet you."

    They exchange a few words before Hagrid decides it is the time for Harry to buy his school supply. However, before they could go to the backroom, they hear a booming voice coming from one of the tables.

    ~Fires far~

    ~Journeys not remembered now~

    ~Tired, scarred~

    ~Kneel among the embers now~

    ~Vessel of rebirth~

    ~Over and over be denied~

    ~The peaceful earth...~

    ~To light the fires far~

    ~Ignite the fires far~

    ~Sisters of solace singing~

    ~Ignite the fires far~

    ~The mourning bells are ringing~

    ~Deep in the crumbling walls~

    ~Though kingdoms will fade, decay~

    ~The ghosts of the past shall stay~

    ~Locked away~

    ~Ignite the fires far~

    ~Sisters of solace singing~

    ~Ignite the fires far~

    ~The mourning bells are ringing~

    ~Breathe life into this hollowed~

    ~Vessel of rebirth~

    ~Over and over be denied~

    ~The peaceful earth~

    ~To light the fires far~

    Harry looked at the young man sitting in the corner of the pub holding a book in his hand while he sang that song. Harry did not know what was happening as the other people looked at the young man, who stood up and left the pub with his book, and whispered to each other something about a seer? He doesn''t know. So, he talks and asks Hagrid about it.

    "Hagrid. What is it? Why is the other whispering about that boy?"

    "A prophecy has been born to Harry, and it was right in this Pub. Not only that, it was coming from such a young man."

    "Is it good?"

    "I don''t know Harry, but by the booming voice he is releasing and the magic in the air, this Prophecy is real, and I need to report this to the Headmaster. C''mon Harry. We need to hurry up."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Crap! I don''t think that blue will create such a booming voice!

    I come to Leaky Cauldron to try the infamous Butterbeer of the wizarding world. While drinking the beverage and reading the book about Bard magic, I couldn''t help but try it. So, I sing a song about a Dark Souls game created by the Miracle of Sounds.

    However, I don''t know that the first spell can create such a booming voice that can be heard by all the people inside the pub.

    Of course, I immediately run away from the pub and go back to my pocket dimension, where I immediately go to bed embarrassed about that incident.

    I hope that booming voice did not cause any problem to Tom, the innkeeper.

 Chapter 4 - Go Back

    It has been three weeks since I arrived in this universe. I usually spend my time inside my pocket dimension, but sometimes I go to the leaky cauldron to eat some different food other than what I cook. I can cook, but I want some variety and taste some food other than what I cook.

    Anyway, something is interesting about this universe. There is another prophecy born just before Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts. That is one thing that makes this universe different from the canon universe.

    However, I am not sure I can help with this. The only reason why I come here is to learn some magic, and I''m doing just that. I''m not and will never go to Hogwarts, where there are too many death traps for my comfort.

    From my time here, I have learned several useful tricks. The first one is the Blue Magic, also known as the magic of music. The next magic I learn from reading the book the goblin gives me is Druid Magic. It is the magic that commands over a plant. It can accelerate the growth of a plant to an unimaginable level.

    And when I combine both Blue and Druid magic, now I can grow a plant using my voice. However, that magic is difficult as the Blue magic needs my emotion to create a certain effect. For example, if I want to destroy something, I need to sing a hard and fast song with angry emotion, and if I want to grow a plant using music, I need to sing something cheerful and upbeat with the emotion of happiness. If I use an angry emotion to grow a plant, it will result in an explosion that can damage my enemies.

    Now I know the reason why the modern wizard and witches do not use Blue magic anymore. This is because blue magic takes time for its effect to appear, while your usual sleeping charm will take effect instantly. However, the difference between them is that Blue magic will last longer. Hell! The simple sleeping spell from the Blue Magic can last forever and can only be cured with a certain method.

    On the other hand, the Druid Magic completely vanished from the Wizarding community because the minister in the past decided that Druidism is a dark art and should not be practiced because there is a ritual in the Druid skill set that needed a sacrifice of an animal.

    From there, the teaching of Druid Magic is a ''Dark'' art began to spread across the world, and suddenly Druid magic became a dark art even though it was not. I already glance over the dark arts, and I must say that it was disgusting. There is this ritual of creating the nastiest barrier I see so far. It needed the blood of the v?r??n woman. However, to obtain that said blood, the one who wants to create the barrier needs R*PE said a woman and manually collected the blood. What makes me disgusted is that it needs a ton of blood, so you need to R*PE a hundred or so women to create this barrier successfully. Oh? I didn''t tell you that the younger the woman is, the more powerful the barrier will be? The barrier makes you into a R*APIST, and this ritual also encourages you to become a pedo.

    I want to learn about the dark arts because I want to protect my land in my world, but I don''t want something this disgusting.

    I want to learn Killing Curse because it was the most efficient spell to kill the opponent. No pain, Quick death, and do not leave any trace. This spell is created to kill the opponent in a duel and not to create everlasting pain as the other spell does. While it is considered the most sinister spell ever invented, I think this curse is pale compared to the ritual earlier.

    This spell is also easy to use. It only needs a flick of your finger and the spell name. However, there is another thing you need before you could cast this spell. It would be best if you had extreme emotion. Sadness, Hatred, and Killing intent. Those are the emotions needed to cast this spell.

    However, I must say that this spell consumes a good chunk of mana from my body. As a result, I can only use this spell five times before feeling my body weakened by mana''s overconsumption.

    The other dark spell I learn is Fiendfyre. Fiendfyre is a spell that summons an enchanted fire with immense heat and size that can swallow anything on its path. Once consumed, it is hard to control. You need to dominate it like a wild animal that only obeys the command of its alpha. If not for the books, I will get swallowed by my own spell. I can only tame the fire after I flare up almost all of my mana in the air showing that I''m its alpha that it should obey.

    In my time in this universe, I also tried to plant the medical plant the goblin gave to me inside my pocket dimension, and to my surprise, it grew! The only reason why I plant these medical plants is that I want to test my Druid magic.

    So I plant a good amount of medical plant seed on the field inside my pocket dimension.

    Anyway, today is the day where I go back home and leave this universe. I already accomplished all of my goals here. First, a book that teaches me about magic be it in theory and practice. I also get myself a farm of medicinal plants that the local pharmacist can use to make medicine for a common sickness like cold and smallpox that usually appears in medieval times.

    While I give them the recipe to create the potion, I will also make them sign an unbreakable contract that I will write myself saying that they cannot sell the plant and will not sell the secret about making the potion unintentionally or not.

    Anyway, I walk toward the Dimensional jump room and say return before walking inside the room. A second later, I look around and see that my mansion has already changed into your modern-day mansion instead of the Victorian-era one.

    I walk outside the mansion and walk to the biggest tree in front of the mansion. As I walk near the tree, I can see a portal appear on the surface of the tree. As I walk closer, I can see an option above the portal that says ''default.'' This means that I have already gone for three weeks, like the time I spent in the Harry Potter Universe if I walk into the portal.

    "One second, after I walk inside the portal."

    This is the special ability this pocket dimension has. It can decide when I want to exit the portal. However, I cannot go to the past and the future. I cannot go back to the time before I walk inside the portal, and I cannot go forward to the future. For example, I cannot go forward to the time of four weeks since I walked inside the portal because I didn''t spend four weeks in the other world.

    When I walk toward the portal and touch it, I can feel the portal suck me in and let it suck in. Then, a second later, I''m inside my bedroom where it is the same as before the time I leave this place.

 Chapter 5 - Goblin

    So this is the day. The day expedition to kill the goblin has been making a problem in the area. This kind of problem should be taken care of by the adventurer guild, but sadly there is no adventure guild on the northern side of Vulux Kingdom.

    When there is an adventurer in the area, they want to hunt some monster or animal that only appears on the northern side of Vulux Kingdom. Other than that, they will stay away from this area.

    The reason is that this area is poor and too risky for them to live in. Not only for the monster that is roaming around the land but also the climate. The ever-present snow in the area makes this place not suitable for the adventurer to grow. They usually die from the snow when they hunt or die from a stronger monster than them.

    There is also another reason why the adventurer is a rare sight in the northern region. The northern people cannot put up a bigger reward for the mission. Any lord in the north cannot spend their money carelessly because they need it for emergency food.

    Many adventurers see the mission coming from the north as a joke and will not take it with a low reward and high-risk mission.

    "You are ready, My Lord."

    I snap from my thoughts and nod at the servant that helped me put on the armor. I then picked up the spear, the same spear my father used in his time. This is the heirloom of the Lionheart family since the beginning of the first head of the Lionheart family. While this spear is not a magical spear, it was made of a Mithril.

    Mithril in this world is almost the same as the one in the Harry Potter world, but there is a slight difference between them. In this world, the mithril did not have an anti-magic property like the one in the Harry Potter world.

    This Mithril is like the Valyrian Steel from the ASOIAF or GOT. Any weapon or armor created with this metal will never rust or lose its sharpness. While I never used any spear in my previous life, I still have the muscle and mental memory of Isaac Lionheart in spear art. I don''t know what performance will be in the field, but I still have my magic even if I cannot use my spear.

    I walk out of my room and see a beautiful woman standing in front of my room while carrying a little girl in her hand. My mother, Eveline Lionheart, nee Duchamp, and the one in her hand are my little sister Ginerva Lionheart.

    "Mother¡­"

    "Isaac¡­ Before you go, let me give you something."

    My mother gave Ginerva to the wet nurse near her, took a red ribbon from her pocket, and tied it to my spear.

    "This is the most prized ribbon I have. This ribbon is given to me by my mother, and my mother received this from her mother. This is the ribbon that gives luck to one that holds it. I want you to have this and come back to me safe and whole. I don''t want to lose another precious person in my life anymore."

    "I promise, mother."

    I close my eyes when my mother takes my head and kisses my forehead.

    "Remember our house word."

    "Fierce, Loyal and Protective"

    "Just like a lion. Now go and come back to me victorious."

    I give a kiss on my little sister''s head before walking away from the castle, where I see eighty people waiting for me in the front yard of the castle. Among those men is my uncle Lomun riding his trusty polar bear with an ax in his back.

    "Isaac, glad to see you here. Are you finished saying goodbye to your mother?"

    "Yes. Now it is our time to march."

    I walk toward the horse that has been prepared by the stable boy for me and climb up on top of the horse.

    "Move out!"

    After I say that, the small army begins to move up toward the west, where we will fight against a tribe full of goblins.

    ~A few hours later~

    After a few hours of marching, we arrive at the location where our scout says there is a tribe full of goblins inside.

    However, to make sure, I sent another scout to see how many goblin types in that tribe.

    There are many kinds of Goblin, and each one of them has a different class of threat. For example, there is a Goblin scout (E rank), Goblin warrior (E+ Rank), Goblin Archer (E+ Rank), Goblin knight (D Rank), Goblin mage (D+ Rank), Goblin general (C- Rank), Goblin king (C+) and Goblin Emperor (A-Rank).

    The rank can be viewed like this.

    F Rank: A beggar equipped with a sword can kill it.

    E Rank: A fit man equipped with a sword can kill it.

    D Rank: A soldier can kill it.

    B Rank: A group of twenty soldiers needed to kill it.

    A Rank: Need an army of fifty to two hundred to kill it.

    S Rank: A nation-level threat, all the army in the kingdom needed to kill it.

    SS Rank: A continent-level threat. Unknown level of power needed to kill it.

    SSS Rank: World-level threat. Pray to your god.

    While Goblin is weak individually, their real strength is in their number. It is rare to see a lone goblin roaming around; there must be at least five or so goblins following the first one.

    So while their rank is low individually, their rank is increasing by one when they are together. So if there is a tribe of goblins nearby, there is a chance that it has a goblin king inside. That is why we bring eighty men with us.

    Anyway, after waiting for fifteen minutes, the scout came back and immediately reported the situation.

    "My Lord! This is a large tribe, and most likely, there will be a Goblin king in this tribe!"

    "I see¡­ Is there any spot for our archer?"

    "Yes, my lord. The tribe is located under a small cliff. First, however, they need to walk around the goblin tribe."

    "I see. Uncle Lomun, what do you think? Should we send the archer ahead of us first?"

    I look at the man that is sitting on top of the bear listening to our conversation.

    "Hmmm. I think they should. Is there any way we can see them when they arrive at the goblin nest?"

    "Yes, Lord Lomun. We can see the people above the cliff from where we should be arriving."

    "Then we will send them ahead of us. We will then begin to march once again five minutes after they go. We don''t want to alert the goblin with our presence. What do you think, Isaac?"

    When uncle Lomun looked at me, I nodded at him before saying.

    "Then we will send our archer first."

    "Very well."

    I then look at the captain in the archer group and instruct him to follow one of the scouts and when a group of goblins attacks them, kill them quickly and if they can''t do that, blow the horn. I also instruct them if they see us, they will immediately prepare to fire their arrow, and when the horn from our side is blown up, they will open fire.

    After saying that, the archer then begins to move. They move like an ?ssassin. Silent and hard to detect. The reason is that they are mostly former hunters that decide to join the army.

    After five minutes of waiting, we slowly move up toward the goblin nest, and after slowly walking for another five minutes, I can see a village of goblins in front of us. When I see the goblin nest, I order one of the soldiers to blow the horn. When the goblin hears the sound of the war horn, they immediately charge at us.

    However, because they focus on us, the archer on top of the cliff easily kills the goblin by shooting them in the back.

    "Shield!"

    When I said that, the shield wielder began to create a protective formation in front of us while the spearman in the back killed the goblin using their spear.

    "Goblin Mage!"

    When I hear the archer saying that, I look at the back, and true to their word, there is a goblin mage preparing some spell to attack us.

    "Shielder! Create a path for us! We will charge inside!"

    The shield then begins to create a path for the cavalry by pushing the goblin away from them, and the spearman stabs the goblin that tries to run inside the formation.

    "Charges!"

 Chapter 6 - Magic

    My uncle and I lead the charges in the front while my men follow us from behind. Our target is the goblin mage in the back. While the goblin mage is a long-rank monster, it still disturbs the soldier''s formation, and we need to take care of them immediately before they can cast their spell.

    I stab every goblin stand in my charges and continue to ride my horse toward the goblin mage. When I arrived in front of the goblin mage, I thrust my spear toward the goblin head and killed it. I look around and see that the other is also killing the mage, but some of my men get injured when one of the mages finishes their chant.

    *ROAR*

    Before I could order the soldier to get back, I heard a loud roar coming from the deeper part of the goblin village. I look at the source of the roar and see massive goblins wearing armor and holding a butcher sword in their hands. This creature is the Goblin King, a C+ creature that needs a group of ten soldiers to kill.

    However, what makes Goblin King more dangerous is not his strength; but rather, it will always have at least five Goblin Generals on its side, fifty Goblin Knights and seventy Goblin Mages.

    And by the look of it, there are at least sixty Goblin Knights near the Goblin King. I cannot see how many Goblin Mage there, but I know they are hiding behind the Goblin King''s giant figure.

    "Get back! We need to regroup! Archer! I leave the Goblin Mage to you guys!"

    I use a little bit of my blue magic to amplify my voice so the archer could hear my command. After saying that, My men and I begin to regroup with the foot soldier. For now, we need to hold our ground against the incoming angry army of Goblin.

    "Shield front! Spear! Kill every goblin you can! The rest of you follow me! We will protect the shield from the one that is coming from the side!"

    "Yes, Sir!"

    Just like I said earlier, an army of Goblins are charging at us at full speed. Our shielder could hold their ground just fine, but I know that it will not last long. So, without anyone noticing, I take out my wand and conjure a hundred arrows in the air and shoot it at the goblin mage in the back.

    I did not stop there. I also transfigured a big rock near the goblin mage into a tiger and made it attack them. I continue to change three more boulders into tigers and order them to attack the goblin army''s backline.

    Leaving the tiger wreaking havoc in the enemy backline, I focus on the enemy in front of me. Then, I lead another charge to attack the enemy from the flank with a group of horsemen to reduce the goblin number.

    With this strategy, we can make the shielder job a little bit easier. However, by doing this, I also risk that our flank will be breached as we sacrifice defense for offense, but I know my uncle and his men can take care of the defense while we do the offense.

    "Back!"

    I order my men to go back as I see the Goblin King and his personal army begin to move. The first one to charge at us is a Goblin Knight, followed by more than seventy Goblin Warriors. We ride toward the rest of the army and regroup.

    When we regroup with the other, I look at my uncle before saying.

    "What should we do?"

    "There is nothing we can do but hold our ground for now. When Goblin Archer and Warrior are gone, we will charge at the Goblin King. We need to kill that thing before it can enrage even further. Also, you should use your magic right about now."

    I look at my uncle with a surprised face.

    "Don''t look at me with that face. I see you using a wand from your pocket and creating that big tiger in the enemy backline. I know that you don''t want to get the Magic Tower''s attention, but we really need your magic. I also want to see what kind of magic you can do. It has been a while since I saw magic."

    "... I guess you are right."

    "Don''t worry, boy. These men are your trusted people that will follow you through hell. These people are the people that were personally picked by your father to protect you. You can trust them. You also can trust my men and me. We will not tell anyone. Heh, as if people trust the barbarian from the north anyway."

    "Very well."

    "Protego Tria!"

    An invisible barrier appears and blocks the spell the Goblin mage cast at my men and me. Not only spell, but it also blocks all the arrows the goblin archer shoots at us.

    "This is our chance to push back! Charge!"

    While I was blocking all the spells, the Goblin Mage fired at me. My uncle shouted and led the horseman to do another charge. Seeing the people charging at the enemy''s backline, I decided to focus my attention on the enemy in front of me.

    "Confringo!"

    With my wand pointed in the general direction of my target, an explosion is happening. With the amount of mana I throw at this spell, it creates enough explosion to kill ten or so Goblins.

    For a few minutes or so, I continue to fire my spell at the Goblins and also try to protect my men from getting injured from the Goblin attack. However, with the addition of the Goblin Knight that attacks our formation, the Goblin Knight can block my spell with their shield and reduce the damage received from time to time.

    "My Lord!"

    I look at the captain of the shielder group before saying.

    "What?"

    "Look!"

    I look at where my captain points his finger and see that the goblin from all sides surrounds my uncle while the Goblin King fights them with the butcher sword in his hand.

    "Captain, I will leave this position to you."

    "Leave it to me, My Lord! I will not disappoint you!"

    "Thank you."

    I then begin to run toward my uncle with my spear and wand in hand. I flick my wand and cast Deprimo and create a giant hole in the ground and transfigure the pebble into a spike before levitating the goblin coming at my way toward the hole from twenty meters high in the air.

    I also use my spear when the goblin is too close to me and kill it by thrusting or slicing the goblin.

    After less than a minute of running toward my uncle, I conjure a fire whip and use it to attack the goblin knight that surrounds my uncle and the horsemen. When I get their attention, I cast another blasting curse at the Goblin Knight and kill it with one spell. Because of how big the explosion is, the other Goblin around it also gets hit by my spell.

    "Get back!"

    "I will finish this fight. You go back first. I don''t want to cause friendly fire."

    My uncle hesitated for a second before nodding and standing behind me while the other retreated to the back and helped the foot soldier.

    I ignore my uncle''s curious expression and raise my wand, take a deep breath, and cast one of the most dangerous spells I can cast.

    "Fiendfyre!"

    After I say that, a lion made of fire appears from the ground and begins to massacre the goblin in its way. When all the goblin guarding the goblin king is dead, the Fiendfyre look at the massive goblin and roar at it before charging at the goblin king and burning it into dust.

    When the fire looks at my uncle and roars, I ?ssert my dominance by flaring the remainder of my magic to remain the spell who is the alpha in this group. When I see the fire bow its head, I cancel the spell and see the fire is gone.

    I look at my uncle and smile a little before suddenly darkness consumes me.

 Chapter 7 - Aftermath

    When I open up my eyes, the only thing I can see is the dark sky filled with stars. But, when I look to the side, I see my men having a pleasant conversation with each other around the campfire.

    "Ah, It is good to see you wake up just in time for dinner."

    I look to my left and see uncle Lomun sitting down on the ground with his beloved polar bear sleep near him. When I see him, I get up and sit down on the sleeping mat made of leaf and twig. When uncle Lomun saw me sitting down, he gave me a piece of grilled meat.

    "Here, eat."

    "Thank you."

    I take the meat my uncle gave me and begin to eat it. After using so much magic one day nonstop and fighting with my spear, all my energy and mana have been depleted. I guess that is the reason why I fainted after I flared up my magic to subdue Fiendfyre.

    "What happened after I fainted, Uncle?"

    "After you fainted, the rest of the goblin began to go berserk. Lucky for us, you already killed most of the Goblin Mage and Goblin Knight with your last spell before you fainted. If not, we will lose many people."

    "How many people die?"

    "Fortunately, none. However, five of the Shield Holders have been seriously injured, but luckily the healer we bring with us can heal them just fine. How are you doing?"

    "I''m fine. I fainted because of overusing my magic."

    "Good, that is good."

    I continue to eat all the food my uncle brings me, and when all the food is gone, I walk toward the campfire and sit down among the soldiers. When I sit down among them, I can see their surprised face before suddenly smiling at me before greeting me.

    This gesture of sitting down among the commoner is something that is rare to be seen. However, I know that getting closer to your troops will increase their loyalty and increase their trust.

    My father told me about this practice in the past, and in my previous life, I also watched and read that doing this will increase the closeness between the soldier and their general.

    The time is spent drinking some ale and eating grilled fish and meat. This food is looted from the Goblin Village. Not only animal meat, but there is also gold, mana crystal, and even weapon. This is the other reason why many people try to become an adventurer. Many monsters hoard their ''Victory loot'' inside their base/nest. The Adventure guild has a rule of ''Finding is the Keeper.'' That means if the adventurer finishes their quest and finds some loot inside one of the monster nests, then they are the owner of the said loot.

    Anyway, my uncle finishes singing right now and then looks at me with a grin on his face.

    "Isaac, come on! It is your turn to sing!"

    I sign and look around to see if anyone wants to switch with me, but they look at me with excitement to my disappointment.

    I signed once again before deciding to sing a song.

    ~Brave the snow

    Through the pillars of the pale

    Rest your feet

    Come and listen to the tales.

    Raise your mug

    Through our songs

    They will never be lost.

    Tales that will never be lost

    Kept in the legends of the frost

    Kruziik Ahkrin Haalvut Lok (Ancient courage touch sky)

    Oblaan Qostiid Rein Norok (End prophecy fierce roar)

    Briinah Bruniik Sahrot Vahdin (Savage sister mighty maiden)

    Zeymah Mul Kendov Krin (Brother strong warrior brave)

    Tales that will never be lost

    Once and always

    A part of history

    Long remembered

    Warriors be

    Distant thunder

    Echoes of the past

    Through our voices

    Forever to last

    So raise your mug to the legends of the frost.

    Kruziik Ahkrin

    Oblaan Qostiid~

    This is the song created by Gavin Dunne, also known as MiracleofSound. This song is about the tale of prophecy created on the northern side of Tamriel, the place called Skyrim. The tale of a human with the blood and soul of a dragon. That human is called Dragonborn.

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear clapping from all around me. I even see some of the people crying for some reason. A second later, I know the reason why they are crying. I sing this song with the help of Blue Magic, making my voice more beautiful than my normal voice.

    Dammit, I''ve done it again. First in the Harry Potter world, now I use it here.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    *3rd POV*

    Lomun looked at his nephew in a new light. He never knew that he could sing this well, and not only that, he sang about the tale from the north, the tale of the frost.

    There is a language that he doesn''t know, and he will find out about the meaning of that language.

    "Isaac, what is the meaning of that word you say in the middle of the lyric?"

    "Kruziik Ahkrin Haalvut Lok means Ancient courage touch sky. Oblaan Qostiid Rein Norok means End prophecy fierce roar. Briinah Bruniik Sahrot Vahdin means Savage sister mighty maiden. Zeymah Mul Kendov Krin means Brother strong warrior brave."

    "Where do you know this language from?"

    "I read it in the books in the main library of Lionheart Family."

    "I see."

    Lomun nods his head as he knows that Isaac is known for his hobby of reading books and the main library of the Lionheart family is something that makes many scholars envious. Many groups inside the magician tower pride themselves on having a hundred books but compared to the Lionheart family library. Their book is nothing.

    The Lionheart family is an OLD family. They already exist even before the Vulux Kingdom is formed. The only reason they did not want to become a king of their own is that they needed help to repel the incoming Monster Rush coming to their ancient castle.

    The Lionheart family will surrender to the newly formed Vulux Kingdom and will become part of that said kingdom without a fight. Their only demand is that they will keep their ancestral land for themselves.

    It is not weird to see if there is an ancient language inside the Lionheart family''s main library.

    Lomun smiles a little at his nephew before looking at the sky, thinking that his decision to marry his daughter to him is the right decision. Not only does he care for his daughter''s well being, but he is also brave and knowledgeable.

    Not only the marriage between his daughter and Isaac will secure the source of the food for the Dalagull people but also he knows that his daughter will be happy marrying her childhood crush. To this day, he still can see the bright smile on her daughter when Isaac sent a letter to her.

    Lumon is really looking forward to the future.

 Chapter 8 - Forward

    I look at the fruit of my labor and smile a little.

    It has been a month since the last expedition we do to exterminate the nearby Goblin tribe. After that expedition, there is nothing too interesting happening, but I successfully created a ward around my land with that amount of time.

    This ward is a combination of modern wizarding magic and green magic. This ward will accelerate the growth of any plant planted on my land, and it will also increase the amount of fruit or vegetable the tree produces by a hundred percent. Not only that, but this ward also informs me if there is a human or a demi-human with a bad intention to come to my land.

    There is also an alert system on the ward that will inform me if another magic-user is walking inside my land.

    Anyway, currently, my personal butler named Richard, and I look at the vegetables that grow in the land that is supposed to be barren because of the cold temperature. However, with the help of magic, the barren land became fertile and ready for plantation.

    "Richard, what did the villagers say about this new change?"

    "They are rejoicing, My Lord. Especially when you introduce them to a seed drill, with this new invention you created, the villagers no longer take a long time to plant the seed. Also, the seed you bring grows nicely in this climate."

    While I want to try to plant a warmer type of plant in this land, I want to try and see if the plant that can grow in the winter on earth can grow in this world. So after seeing that it really grows and with the help of my ward, it is almost ready to be harvested.

    I walk toward the nearest plant in front of me. This is a potato plant. When I touch the potato leaf, I use my green magic and see this plant''s growth. To my surprise, I can ''see'' the potato already grow in size, and it can be harvested tomorrow.

    "Richard"

    "Yes, My lord?"

    "Please give me some of the shovels."

    "My lord?"

    "I want to check something."

    "... Yes."

    When Richard gives me a shovel, I begin to dig the potato. I can see one of the villagers sweating bullets for some reason. Don''t worry, my friend, I will not destroy your hard work.

    "Look like I was right. Richard tells the one that plants the potato to harvest it tomorrow morning. They are ready to be harvested."

    "What? Are you sure, my lord?"

    "You can look at it yourself."

    When Richard looks at the potato with his own eyes, I can see him surprised at the potato''s size in his hand.

    "This is¡­."

    "Looks like we will be able to pass the winter just fine."

    "Yes¡­ Yes¡­"

    Richard then stood up and looked at it with proud eyes before saying.

    "This all because of your fertilizer and the drill seed, my lord. If not for your invention, then we will have many people die of starvation this year."

    "Then I''m glad I made those things."

    Fertilizer is the alibi I use for the insane growth of the plant. While magic is a common thing in this world, there is almost no magic that can accelerate plant growth. This world magic is still in the discovery stage. That is why the mage in this world decide to isolate themselves and guard their knowledge for themselves.

    They did not want their research of magic to get stolen by the commoner and rob their authority as one of the powerhouses of the world.

    Anyway, back to the plant.

    "Richard, I want you to write all the potatoes we harvest personally. I want to compare it to the future harvest. Will the harvest be reduced in number, or will it be increased? I want to know about it."

    "Yes, My lord."

    "Also, how is the situation around the land? Are there any more monsters creating a nest around???

    "Nothing happened for the last month. There is one or two of our merchants who get attacked by a monster around the land, but the escort can take care of it without any problem."

    "I see. That is good then, but please send another scout to go around the land and make it a monthly job. I don''t want the monster to have a massive number. I don''t want a monster wave."

    "Yes, my lord. I will tell the commander at once."

    Monster waves have many different kinds. There is a one species Monster wave that usually the highest rank of said monster will lead their species to either take a breeding victim or food. Of course, their food is human flesh.

    For example, if the last fight against the goblin did not happen, there is a huge chance that the Goblin king will evolve into a Goblin emperor. When the Goblin emperor is born, all the goblins around it will rank up in strength by one rank.

    There is also another goblin that will evolve in the process. One of the Goblin mages will become a Goblin ArchMage that has the strength of a B+ monster. Goblin Archmage was not included in the book of monsters in the section of goblin because Goblin Arch Mage only appears when there is a Goblin Emperor.

    This monster is placed among the special monsters where the other monsters usually get forced to evolve by the birth of A rank monster.

    The monster wave usually has at least a thousand monsters of various strengths, from a mere E rank monster to a B rank monster. When an S rank monster leads the monster wave, there will be at least five A rank monsters.

    "Good. Please send a letter to my vassal saying I want the house of Byron to do the same. I don''t want my own vassals to suffer because of their own ignorance."

    "Yes, my lord."

    "Excellent. Now let''s go back to the castle. I want the day to be almost over, and I don''t want to make the people here standing here all day because of my presence."

    "Of course, my lord. Please walk inside the carriage, and we will go back to the castle immediately."

    I walk toward the carriage and get inside before suddenly Richard drives the carriage to my castle. I want to go back to my pocket dimension and train myself. While I''m good enough in wizarding magic, I still don''t have enough mana inside my body to continuously fire a spell, especially a high-rank spell like the killing curse or Fiendfyre.

    For now, I need to train and get stronger as I don''t want to faint in the middle of a battle.

 Chapter 9 - Training

    After waking up from my slumber, I immediately go to my pocket dimension and take a bath first before cooking some food for breakfast. Today I want a full English breakfast. I want all the energy I can get before the training is started.

    Today I want to do full physical training. Be it muscle training or spear art training.

    However, while all of those are good, I still need to expand my knowledge about spear arts or any close combat arts. I know a world with a person who can transfer knowledge of specific things into my brain, but I know that the world is dangerous.

    The world that I mean is the WORM universe¡ªa web novel series created by John ''Wildbow'' McCrae. A grimdark superhero world on the brink of extinction by the Giant Space Whale has an avatar of a Golden Jesus wannabe.

    There is a Parahuman in that world named Cranial. She is a tinker specialize in neurology. She can extract human memories and skills then implant them into others. She can give the knowledge and skill of a military member who has a skill in close combat fighting.

    While I really want to go to the WORM universe and get that skill, the risk of coming to that universe is too high for my taste.

    I don''t know if my existence can be seen by the Path to Victory and then kidnapped by the Parahuman boogeyman herself. I also don''t know if the wannabe golden Jesus will get me if I touch the Earth Bet even for a second. Lastly, I don''t know if the entity will notice my pocket dimension and then mess with it.

    No, thank you.

    So the only thing I can think of right now is to train by myself and increase my experience with a weapon. However, I can''t do that in the real world as my mother will never allow me to hunt a monster by myself. The soldier will be the one hunting the monster. The last time I fight against the Goblin King is the only time I can fight the monster myself. Even then, more than a dozen people come with me all the time, and even my uncle always stays by my side if something happens.

    Lucky for me, there is a place in my pocket dimension that can be used for honing my skill in the arts of a spear.

    This mansion is not the only thing inside my pocket dimension. While the area around the mansion is safe for me to cultivate the land to become a medical herb garden, I will meet many monsters if I go past two kilometers away from the mansion.

    In the beginning, there is only the monster that comes from this universe, but after I come to the Harry Potter universe, there is a new addition in my pocket dimension.

    For example, there is Azkaban in the middle of the ocean. I can see the prison from the observation room inside the mansion. From the observation room, I can also see the Dementors flying around the prison.

    While I want to do it right now, I can''t do that as I want to train my strength first before doing that. Maybe tomorrow but today, I need to train all my muscles to increase their strength.

    I walk toward the training room, and when I arrive inside the training room, I open up the door that says ''Gravity Chamber.'' I never go to this room, but if the room name is correct, then this is the place where I can train my strength and speed.

    As I walk inside the chamber, I see a pillar in the middle of the room, and in front of the pillar is a computer that shows a number on it. It shows number one, and when I click the up bu??on, I can feel the whole room begin to pressing my body.

    I guess this chamber is the same chamber in Dragon Ball Z. What makes this chamber different from the one in Dragon Ball is that there is an option to summon a sparring partner in the form of a mannequin.

    "Let''s do this."

    ~Next Day~

    You know a four-time gravity of the earth is a mistake. I can feel all my bone crack because of the gravity pressing down against my body. My body is not yet adapted to the four times the gravity of earth.

    However, I can fight against a level one mannequin that has the strength of a D- Rank monster if it was compared to the monster in my world while also experiencing two times the earth''s gravity.

    Yesterday, I only did training all day and the only time I got out of the gravity chamber was when I needed to cook some food to eat and sleep. Oh! I also brew some potion that helps my body to adapt faster against all the strain I put on my body.

    This potion is the potion that comes from the book I get from the goblin, and also, my pocket dimension provides the material for the potion. This potion is not popular in the Wizarding world and disappears as not only will this potion not have any positive effect if the drinker did not work hard, it also drains the drinker magic at a fast rate if the drinker does not workout.

    The modern wizard in the Harry Potter universe is not very athletic. They are rather lazy, especially because most of their daily activity is helped by the use of magic.

    Anyway, this potion is good because it discards any negativity of working too hard and only takes the good from overtraining. This is a perfect potion I can ask for, especially in my training time inside my pocket dimension.

    Anyway, today I will go to the wilderness area inside my pocket dimension to hunt down some monsters. While the mannequin is good for training, there is a time where I need to fight against the real monster.

    But for now, it is time to eat. The potion''s side effect is that I need to eat a large quantity of food. If I don''t, I will not have enough energy even to start the day.

    ~One Hour Later~

    I take a deep breath and take my spear before walking toward the forest in front of me. After walking for about an hour, I can feel the mana around the area begin to change. The usual mana that gives a pleasant atmosphere begins to change into something wild.

    From my previous experience here, I know that I will encounter a monster any moment now.

    And¡­ Look at that. Not even ten seconds I think about that, there is a group of Goblins coming at me with their weapons pointed at me.

    Lucky for me, there is only Goblin Scout coming at me. If there is a Goblin Knight or mage, I need to use my magic. I came here to train my physical strength and spear art, not my magic, at least not yet.

    When I see the goblins charge at me, I take a low stance and charge at the incoming goblin.

 Chapter 10 - Hunt

    You know, while I say that I want to fight against some monsters to increase my experience, I never thought that I would fight against so many of them for five hours non-stop. While the monster itself is not too strong, the sheer number of them makes me exhausted from all the fighting.

    Right now, I''m the temporary base made of wood on top of a massive tree. I build this treehouse using my Green Magic. The magic from the Harry Potter universe is really convenient for my everyday life.

    I''m really glad the Dimension Hopping room sent me to the Harry Potter world as not only is the spell not too difficult a spell to learn, it is also good for an amateur mage like me who only has a little bit of mana inside my body.

    Anyway, I have been in this forest for at least twelve hours or so as I can see the sun already setting.

    My day in this forest is filled with me either fighting the monster or staying inside my temporary base. I fight through a legion of goblins for at least five hours in the morning before spending another one hour building my treehouse. After building my treehouse, I fight against a wild Runespoor that sleeps near the lake not too far from my temporary base.

    Runespoor is a giant snake that has three heads. Each head has a different function. The left head is the planner. This head is the one that makes plans about how it should be hunting some food. The middle one is the dreamer. This head is the one that keeps dreaming about the ''lost glorious day'' the Runespoor had. The right head is the one that criticizes all of the heads, excluding itself. Usually, the right head will be killed by the other two because the right head keeps criticizing them.

    Runespoor is XXXX Creature that needs a specialized wizard/witches to handle it. It has a very poisonous venom that can kill a human within a second.

    The Runespoor I fought doesn''t have its right head meaning that the other two already kill it. That makes the fight rather easy. Its own poison already poisoned the Runespoor, and it was really weak by the time I fought it.

    The fight is tough, but I can kill it without any massive problem. I only have some bruises from the hit I got from the Runespoor tail. I can avoid the fang and the poison spit from the Runespoor rather easily because of the massive battleground I fought the Runespoor.

    With much room to maneuver and the weakened state of the Runespoor, there is no problem for me to kill it.

    After skinning the Runespoor as much as I can, I get meat, skin, fang, bone, and venom. I don''t know how much this will cost if I sold it in the Harry Potter world. I plan to sell it.

    After dismantling the Runespoor, I store it inside my mansion. Just like I can use my pocket dimension from the outside, I can also access the same ability I have when I''m outside the pocket dimension.

    I can summon an item from the mansion and use it. However, unlike when I''m outside the pocket dimension, I can take an unlimited amount of items from the mansion. I also can store any loot I got from the hunt in the wild. From the loot I get from dismantling all the monster corpses or maybe just maybe a treasure ?h?st.

    Anyway, currently, I''m cooking some dinner for myself. After a long day of fighting, it is really good to eat a hearty meal that you cooked. While I cannot take a bath as there is no bath in this treehouse, I can clean my body with conjuration.

    After cooking all the food, I bring it to the table I create using my magic.

    However, before I could put the food inside my mouth, I heard a screech coming from the outside of my treehouse.

    After hearing that sound, I immediately grab my spear and summon my wand into my other hand. When I look out the window, I see a creature with wings coming to my treehouse. The creature has a giant eagle and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion.

    And by the look of it, this Griffin is hungry, and its target is me. I can guess that this Griffin somehow smells the meat that I cooked in my temporary base.

    Anyway, I quickly climb on top of my base and begin to flick my wand. A second later, the tree around me began to grow and ensnare the Griffin with its vine. I can see the vine successfully lock the Griffin movement. However, I know that it will not last long as I can see, the vine begins to snap by Griffin''s physical power.

    But it was long enough for me to reinforce my feet and jump at the Griffin. When I''m on top of the Griffin, I reinforce my spear and stab my spear at Griffin''s head. Blood begins to pour out of Griffin''s head as it thrashes around in pain. I keep my ground by holding at my spear that still stabs Griffin in the head.

    After a few seconds of struggling, Griffin finally died. Usually, I will try to fight the monster using my spear only, but I don''t want to prolong the fight against a creature with wings and fly high in the sky. I don''t have any method to fight in the sky¡­ Yet.

    When I see the Griffin is dead, I flick my wand once again, and suddenly, all the vine that holds the Griffin and put it down on the ground. I don''t know what I should do with this corpse, but for now, I need to put it away first.

    I touch the corpse, and suddenly it disappears from my sight.

    *Sigh*

    I sighed a little before looking at the sky and climbed to my treehouse. I guess I will stay in this forest for another five days before I go to the other universe. I know the place where I can get a tool to make myself more powerful.

    This world is a world that is governed by something called RUNE. This rune consists of 27 True Rune that has absolute power. It will give the wielder immortality, and not only that, but it will also give the power over an aspect of the world.

    The world that I will visit next is called Suikoden.

 Chapter 11 - Fate

    I look at all the items I will bring with me. My main objective in this journey is to buy a rune from the rune shop in the Suikoden universe. Not only buying and attaching a rune into my body, but I also want to hunt monsters in this universe.

    Suikoden is the universe tied with something called True Rune. True Rune has power over many things that tie the world. For example, there is a rune called Beast Rune. This rune is one of the 27 True Rune that represents animalistic rage and passion. While this rune is too big for a human to equip it on their body, it can summon a gigantic silver wolf with two heads.

    While not unkillable, this beast can cause massive problems to the one fighting it. Not only its physical ability surpasses many humans, but it also can cast many types of spells, from elemental spells to debuff and buff spells.

    All True Runes represent a certain aspect of existence, such as punishment, beginning, or even the basic elements (fire, wind, etc.). They are tied to the foundations of the universe, bringing both benefits and curses to its bearer, such as agelessness, immunity to disease, incredible magical powers, but most notably, the ability to control the destinies of entire nations.

    While the power of True Rune is really tempting, I don''t think I will hunt for those runes. The True Rune has massive power, but every true rune also gives the bearer a curse.

    The Rune I want can be considered a common rune, but they are still very powerful. I want to buy Water, Lightning and Fire runes. These Rune can be bought from the rune shop.

    There is also a rune I really want, but it was a rare rune. The rune is called Pale Gate Rune or Blue Gate Rune. This Rune can only be obtained from a ?h?st inside a cave called a cave of wind, and that is my destination.

    I want to try to get the Pale Gate Rune first, and if I cannot find the rune, I will travel to the nearby city to purchase the other rune.

    Anyway, when I arrive in front of the Dimension Hopping room before saying.

    "Cave of Wind from Suikoden Universe."

    When I see the door open on its own and see a Kaleidoscope color inside the room, I walk inside, and suddenly my view begins to change.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Riou looked at the people in front of him before sighing a little. He and his companion arrived in front of the Cave of Wind where the Star Dragon Sword was located. Coming with him on this journey are Viktor, Freed Y, Eilie, and his sister Nanami.

    After the fight against Neclord, Riou and his companion go to the Cave of Wind to get the Star Dragon Sword, the only sword that kills Neclord, the vampire.

    "What? There should be a boulder closed in the cave."

    "Viktor is right. There should be a boulder sealed in the cave as there are too many monsters roaming around the cave."

    "So there must be a person inside the cave before we come here. Stay alert. We don''t know if the person coming inside is hostile or not."

    "Roger"

    Riou nods his head and follows Viktor''s lead. He really hopes the person inside is not hostile but rather a friendly person.

    Riou and his companion are already exploring all the corners of the cave. The reason is that Viktor forgot the path inside the cave, so they needed to explore all the corners of the cave to know the location of the sword.

    After they successfully cover all the wind holes in the wall, Riou suddenly smells something. It was not something bad, but rather something pleasant. It was the smell of food. Riou is not the only one who can smell it. His companion also smells it.

    "Let see what it is."

    Riou slowly walked toward the gap near them. As he walks closer, Riou can see smoke coming from the gap between the walls. When they arrive, Riou peeks at the gap and sees a man sitting next to a campfire while waiting for the meat on the fire to be cooked.

    The man looked at them with a surprised expression before saying.

    "Hello, is there anything I can do for you guys?"

    Riou can see while the man asks us politely without any hint of hostility, the man grips his weapon and ready to fight if Riou and his companion become hostile to him.

    "I''m sorry to startle you. My name is Riou Genkaku, and we are here to search for a sword called Star Dragon Sword."

    "Wait, Neclord is still alive?"

    "What do you mean he is still alive?"

    "Well, there is this rumor that Neclord is dead. Killed by someone named Viktor? I don''t know if the name is true."

    Riou looks at Viktor, who looks away, embarrassed when the young man mentions his past.

    "Viktor?"

    "... Yeah, I fought him in the past and defeated him, but I don''t know how he is still alive and well even though I defeated him."

    "I see."

    After nodding his head at Viktor''s explanation, Riou looked at the young man in front of him, who looked at Viktor in a surprised expression. Before he could ask what the problem was, Viktor beat him to it.

    "What is it, kid. Are you surprised by my handsomeness?"

    The young man nods his head and says.

    "To be honest? Yes. I hear the rumor that Viktor is more like a bear and a human hybrid. So pardon for my surprised expression earlier. I don''t know that Viktor is human."

    "Pfft!"

    Riou looks at his sister, who holds her laughter but fails. On the other hand, Viktor looks at Nanami with an annoyed face. After a few seconds of laughing, Nanami looked at the young man before them and asked.

    "Yo! What is your name? My name is Nanami! This is my brother Riou, the one with a sword in his back is Freed Y, the woman next to him is Eilie, and lastly, the human-bear hybrid over there is Viktor."

    "Oi! Don''t call me Human-Bear Hybrid!"

    "Anyway, what is your name?"

    The young man chuckled a little before saying.

    "My name is Isaac Lionheart. I''m a traveler and Treasure hunter. I came to this cave after hearing a rumor about a Blue Gate Rune located inside this cave."

    "I see. Do you get the rune you want?"

    "Yup. There is this older man that asks me if I want to go back to the cave entrance. Right now, he said that he wants to take a break, however."

    After beating all the monsters inside the cave, Issac begins to search for the Blue Gate rune and notices that this cave is really different from the game. The cave is huge, and there are too many branches that lead to a dead end.

    However, Isaac successfully finds what he wants inside this cave. Isaac already stores the Rune orbs in his pocket dimension.

    While fighting the monster, Isaac can see there are a few differences from the game logic. The fight is not a turn-based fight like in the game, and every person can dodge or attack as much as they want. The AOE attack also can be dodged, but a little bit harder as the attack is so big you need to either leap away from the battlefield or block the incoming attack.

    The monster is still dropping some loot that he can take, but it was rare. Isaac only gets money from one out of thirty or so monsters he killed. So while he has some money from hunting the monster inside the Cave of Winds, it was not much. The total amount of money he currently has is 1000 potch.

    Potch is the currency of this universe. Potch is a coin made of copper coated with gold. It is no difference between potch, unlike the money from his universe that has a different coin, from Gold, Silver, and Copper.

    Not only money, but the monster will also sometimes wear armor, and when Isaac defeats them, they will drop their armor. However, Isaac knew that it was a rare occurrence. After four hours of fighting, Isaac only meets one monster that wears armor.

    "Isaac, will you come with us? We need all the power we can get to fight against Neclord the Vampire. I know I ask you too much as I only met you just now, but we really need as much help as we can."

    Isaac snaps from his thought when he hears Riou invite him to join the party to defeat Neclord. Now Isaac knows the reason why Riou and his companion came here. At first, he doesn''t know which era he arrived at, but it looks like he arrived just in time when Riou was about to fight against Neclord and get a headquarter for his army.

    After thinking about it for a few seconds, Isaac nods his head before saying.

    "I will come with you."

    "Thank you! Thank you very much!"

    Just like that, the star of destiny changes without them knowing.

 Chapter 12 - Sword

    You know, I never thought that I would be joining the hero party of this universe. Riou Genkaku is a young man around sixteen, just one year older than me.

    Right, I follow Riou through the Cave of Winds in search of the Star Dragon Sword, the only sword that can nullify Neclord power. Right now, Neclord, the vampire, cannot be killed because a normal weapon and magic will not work against him.

    Anyway, after fighting our way through, we arrive at the opening where there should be a person waiting for Viktor''s presence.

    And true to my prediction, as we walk toward where the Star Dragon Sword is located, someone is waiting for us, standing there in the corner of the room.

    This man is Khan Marley.

    We walked toward Khan, and before Riou could say something, Viktor beat him to it.

    "Who are you? What are you doing hanging around here?"

    "I was waiting for you, Viktor."

    "How do you know my names?!? Are you one of Neclord''s undead Slaves?!?"

    Before Viktor could take out his sword, Riou and I held him down.

    "Don''t get too excited. I understand the feeling, though. Neclord¡­ You are not the only victim of his cruelty. I also have a grudge against him."

    "So you want a piece of him too, eh?"

    "Yes¡­ The Marley family has been hunting vampires for generations. My father and his father hunted Neclord in the past before they were both killed by the said vampire. Ever since I was a young boy, I swear that I would destroy him with my own hands. In the name of the Marley family, I swear that I will destroy Neclord!"

    After hearing Khan''s explanation, Viktor begins to relax before saying.

    "So, what do you want from me?"

    "My business isn''t with you¡­ It is with the Star Dragon Sword and the Rune of the Night. Neclord uses a Doppelganger technique to make a double of himself. The Neclord that you defeated is not the real Neclord."

    "Doppelganger¡­ Do you mean the one I defeated in the past is not the real Neclord?"

    Neclord has been defeated in the past by Viktor''s own hand. This happens when Viktor joins Tir McDohl in the Toran Liberation War three years ago if the timeline is correct. Viktor successfully defeats Neclord with the help of Tir McDohl and his True Rune of Death called Soul Reaper.

    Oh, did I mention that Star Dragon Sword is also a True Rune? Star Dragon Sword is the holder of the rune called Rune of the Night, A True Rune representing the "power of the night," this rune allows "creatures of the night," such as zombies, skeletons, and vampires to exist.

    This rune is the only thing that can only nullify the power of Moon Rune. The only thing that can cover the bright moon is the darkness of the night.

    Oh? What is Moon Rune? Well, Moon Rune is another True Rune. The Moon Rune is a True Rune representing destruction and compassion. This rune also turns its bearer into a vampire. This rune carries a huge curse with it, as it actually dominates its bearer''s mind until she/he gains mastery over its powers.

    A bearer of this rune will go on a rampage as their thirst for blood begins to dominate their mind, and only complete control over it will make the thirst go away. However, the bearer needs a long time for he/she can control the rune.

    "He''s a vampire that lived for hundreds of years. Of course, he would learn some techniques that will keep him alive. However, if we use the Night Rune to cast his spirit out and seal it, I think we''ll be able to capture his spirit."

    "That stupid sword¡­ Whadda ya mean ''Night Rune''? He''s the reason why we didn''t beat the first time!"

    "Well¡­ I know one thing, without the Star Dragon sword, we have no chance to kill Neclord. That is why I am waiting for you. I know you will be coming to get it."

    "If you knew the location of that dumb sword, why you didn''t take that old Star Dragon Sword for yourself?"

    "That sword was not meant to be used by me. In any case, the way it looks¡­"

    "That I figured¡­"

    "So, may I travel with you? After all, we have the same goal."

    After talking to Viktor, Khan looked at Riou before asking him to let him join the party. Riou thinks for a second before saying.

    "Sure."

    "Thank you. Well then, shall we retrieve the Star Dragon Sword."

    With a nod from Riou, we continue our journey in search of the Star Dragon Sword.

    ~Thirty Minutes Later~

    "AHRRRGHH"

    You know I never dreamed of being fighting a sentient flying sword, but here we are.

    After we explored all the caves, we arrived in front of a sword that was stabbed on the stone. It was a black stone that had the shape of a face on it. Viktor then begins to talk toward the sword and calls it pal, an old friend, or something like that.

    However, instead of greeting Viktor back, the sword begins to shout about how dare Viktor leave it inside the cave and how Viktor is its servant.

    When Viktor says that the sword should be shut its mouth, Star Dragon Sword begins to float in the air and grows in size.

    And here we are. Fighting against sentient gigantic swords that can shoot lightning. Oh? I didn''t say that the sword shoots lightning? Well, too bad because it can shoot a beam of lightning.

    "Watch out!"

    With a flick of my wand, I create a massive dome made of earth that blocks the incoming lightning. I can see Riou and Viktor nod at me for protecting them from the incoming attack.

    When I feel the beam of lightning is over, I release my spell before charging at the sword with my spear and wand in hand.

    While charging at the sword, I conjure a hundred arrows and fire them at the sword. When I see the sword blocking all the incoming arrows with its magic, I can see Viktor, Riou, and Nanami already sneaking their way toward the sword back. When they see my arrow make the sword busy, they begin to attack the sword with their weapon.

    I don''t know how we can defeat a sentient sword, but by looking at the aura around the sword, I can see that every time our attack hits, the aura begins to reduce a little bit.

    Anyway, it looks like the surprise attack is working. With the sword''s attention on Riou, Viktor, and Nanami, I charge at the sword once again, but this time, Freed Y also charges at the sword with his weapon in hand.

    While charging at the Star Dragon Sword, I can see the sword create a beam of lightning toward Freed Y and me. However, before the lightning strike could hit us, a throwing knife stopped the incoming lightning strike.

    Seeing the opportunity, I thrust my spear, hit the sword, and saw the aura reduced once again.

    I continue to twirl my spear and continue to hit the sword with it, but I leap away from the sword when I see the sword ready to make another AOE attack. However, before I could get away from the sword, it released a burst of dark energy from its body.

    A second later, we are thrown away by a burst of dark energy. I can feel my body is too heavy, and I can''t even move a single finger. It looks like that attack is a paralyzed attack. Dammit. I can''t even move my finger to cast a spell.

    I look at the Star Dragon Sword that begins to charge a large amount of lightning around its body. However, before the sword could cast its spell, Riou''s hand began to glow, and a shield symbol appeared above him.

    After Riou activated his rune, our body began to glow, and suddenly, I could move my body once again. When I feel my body can move once again, I immediately create a stone wall around the sword to block the attack and make the lightning attack hit the sword.

    *BOOM*

    I hear an explosion happening inside the prison of earth. When the explosion is over, I cancel my spell and create a thousand arrows in the air, ready to be fired at the sword. When I see the sword still in his gigantic self, I fire my conjured arrow.

    When my arrow hit the sword, Viktor, Riou, Nanami, Freed Y and Kahn charged at the sword with their weapon in hand. Seeing them fight the sword head-on, I also join the fight leaving Ellie in the back to support us with her throwing knife.

    While fighting the sword, I also use my magic to support the team by pushing them away from the attack or summoning them in my direction.

    After fighting the sword for at least ten minutes, I can see the sword begin to change back into its original size.

    When Viktor sees the sword change back to its original size, he stabs his weapon on the ground before saying.

    "Huff¡­ Huff¡­. Are you calmed down now?"

    ".....Yes."

 Chapter 13 - Abomination

    After explaining our situation, Star Dragon Sword agrees to come with us to slay Neclord in the North Window. Right now, we are walking toward the North Window by foot. It was not too far away from the Cave of Wind. Riou and his companion arrive at the Cave of Wind from the North Window after two hours of walking.

    "Ne~ Isaac."

    "Hmmm? What is it, Nanami?"

    "Where are you coming from?"

    "Hmm? I was born in a small village in the Toran Republic. Sadly my village has been destroyed by Neclord when he first became the lord of the Lorimar region. My family knows that he is bad news, so we moved away from Lorimar and went to Obel Kingdoms in the south of Toran Republic."

    "Oh?!? So you come from the famous Island Nations Federation?!?"

    "Yeah, I grew up there."

    "How is it?"

    "The island is beautiful and exotic. The economy is good for people that search for jobs. The Island Nations Federation is located in the center of the world; that is why many people are coming here searching for jobs. However, with all that positive side, there will be a negative side. Because the Island Nation Federation is a trading nation, many ships are coming in and out of the nation."

    As we walk toward the North Window, I tell them about one of my ''Origin Story'' that I created before I decided to come into this universe.

    "Seeing that many trader ships sailing in and out of the port in the Island Nations Federation, there are many criminals who see this as an opportunity and decide to become a pirate. The federation became the target of many pirates. Lucky for the merchant, Island Nation Federation has the most powerful Naval Army in the world, and with their constant patrol around the area, the pirate did not rule the nation."

    "That is really good."

    "Yeah, but many merchants still need to hire either a knight or a mercenary to guard their goods from the pirate."

    "Is pirates the only problem in the Island Nation Federation?"

    "Oh, no. There is also a monster as well that attacks any ship they can find in a surprise attack. So that is why they hire some knights or mercenaries. They need it not only for the pirate but also for the monster."

    "That sucks."

    "Well, that is how the world works. There will always be trouble."

    We continue to have a pleasant conversation with each other. Either it is Nanami asking about my ''adventure'' around the world or a conversation about how to defeat Neclord.

    Without knowing it, we arrive in front of the North Window city, Viktor hometown. I must say that the game is really different from what reality shows us. When Viktor says that North Window is a ghost town, he really means it, and even I can see ghosts flying around on top of the castle not too far away from us.

    "Here we are. North Window. I don''t know if we can trust Neclord, but he says that he will wait for us on the castle''s top floor. We should hurry up."

    After Viktor says that, he leads us toward the castle, where a dozen zombies immediately greet us. When Viktor sees the zombie, I can see Viktor''s painted face before he grips his sword a little tighter. Look like they are the people of North Window that Neclord resurrected as a zombie.

    However, this attack did not immediately kill the zombie, even though a piece of its brain oozed out of its head. This is another thing I hate from the Suikoden universe. It was following the rule in the game; the monster has an HP. Some monsters cannot be defeated even though I cut off their head, which sucks.

    And what makes things worse, I cannot see the HP of the said monster so that it can fake its death. I learn it the hard way when the monster bites my legs when I think the monster is dead. That is why I will make sure the monster is dead by stabbing them three more times or five times to make sure.

    But with the law of this universe, the enemy also cannot cut my head off in a single swing if their attack is lower than my ''HP.''

    Anyway, we kill all the zombies that come at us. Viktor, Riou, and Freed Y become our vanguard, Nanami, Khan, and I follow behind the vanguard while Eillie becomes our long-range fighter with her throwing knife.

    Khan also helps us with his rune called the Resurrected Rune, a light-based rune that is effective against undead and can heal us.

    I also can see a rune in Riou''s hand other than the Bright Shield Rune. It has Fire''s shape, which means he either has a Fire Rune or a Rage Rune, the more powerful rune than ordinary Fire Rune.

    Not only Riou that have rune in their hand. I can also see Nanami having a Wind Rune on her hand as well. That is good because the Wind rune can be both offensive and support rune.

    Our group consists of physical fighters, but we can fill the gap of lack of magical attack with the rune''s help.

    Anyway, we continue our journey to fight Neclord by climbing our way toward the castle''s top floor. We walk from floor to floor while fighting our way against any monster coming our way. I don''t know how Neclord can gather this much monster inside one castle, but I guess he learned how to summon the monster and bind them to do his bidding.

    When I arrive on the third floor, I can feel the cold aura of death coming from the floor above us. It looks like we will soon meet Neclord.

    When we arrive on the fourth floor, I can hear an organ being played by someone as I look at the end of the room and see a man playing the organ for a few seconds before looking at us and saying.

    "I''ve been waiting for you¡­ Viktor and Star Dragon Sword. Oh? Is that a Marley boy, I see? I''m so glad you could come here."

    I can see Viktor and Khan begin to get angry at the mocking voice of Neclord.

    "Between the Star Dragon Sword and the secret technique of Marley family, your time is running out, Vampire."

    "That''s right!!! Get ready to die!!!"

    Viktor then unsheathes the Star Dragon sword and is ready to charge at Neclord. Before Viktor could charge at Neclord, the vampire raised his hand and said.

    "Wait. Don''t be in such a rush. Of course, I understand your feelings¡­ But I have my own idea as well. That is why I invite you to this castle. I have someone that I want you to meet."

    After saying that, Neclord claps his hand before a magic circle appears in front of us. Seeing the magic circle begin to take our battle stance. However, when we see that it was not a monster, Riou and his companion relax a little but did not lose their guard. While the others were relaxing when they saw it was just a young woman, I knew it was a trap for Viktor.

    "So, what do you think? Do you feel nostalgic? I think her name was¡­ Daisy wasn''t it?"

    Viktor looked at her childhood friend in shock before muttering.

    "Bastard¡­"

    Neclord smirks when he sees Viktor''s expression and says.

    "Well? What do you think? Just hand over the Star Dragon Sword, and I will give you back this little girl. What do you think?"

    "V¡­ Viktor¡­?"

    When Viktor hears ''Daisy'' talk to him, I can see his expression begin to change into a different kind of emotion. From guilt, anger, and sadness.

    "D-Daisy¡­."

    Seeing Viktor walk toward the young woman, Riou shouts at Viktor, trying to wake him up from whatever is affecting him.

    "Viktor! Don''t give Neclord the sword!"

    "Viktor!!! Please don''t give him the Night Rune! If you give him the sword, we will never be able to defeat Neclord!"

    I can see Neclord enjoying the show and chuckle a little.

    "V¡­. Viktor¡­. Help¡­. Help¡­ Me"

    Viktor stands there unmoving with the Star Dragon Sword in hand. Neclord, never a patient person, shout at Viktor.

    "What are you waiting for! Give me the sword, and you can have her!"

    Viktor walked toward the young woman and touched her shoulder before saying.

    "Star Dragon Sword¡­.."

    "Do whatever you like."

    "A lot of years have passed since then¡­. It was so long ago that I b?r?ly remember her face¡­."

    "Listen here, you bloodsucker!!!"

    Viktor backs away from Daisy and raises his sword.

    "I know that when a person is dead for a long time, they are gone forever!!!"

    He then swung down his sword and cut ''Daisy'' in half with the Star Dragon Sword.

    "Viktor here is not stupid enough to be fooled by your little drama!"

    He then pointed his sword at Neclord and said,

    "Let''s go, Pal!"

    "Don''t call me, pal !"

    When we see Viktor ready to fight, we also ready our weapon to help Viktor. However, before we could charge at Neclord, he snarled at us and said

    "You¡­. You¡­. It looks like the negotiation failed. Well, anyway, you guys have something bigger to worry about, and I have something to do than fighting you guys. Farewell, we''ll meet again."

    A second later, Neclord disappears from the castle leaving only us in the room. I can see Viktor ready to explode, but before he could curse his luck, I can feel a movement from the ceiling.

    "ABOVE US!"

    Hearing my warning, we leap away from our position. A second later, a monster landed where we stood previously.

    "What is that?!?"

    After dodging the ambush, Nanami shouts while pointing her finger at the monster in front of us. This monster is an Abomination, the monster created by Neclord.

    "I don''t know, but here it comes!"

 Chapter 14 - Fight

    *BOOM*

    "ROAR"

    I dodge the incoming fire attack coming from the Abomination mouth. I don''t know that undead abomination can do a fire breath, but here we are. However, there is something wrong with this fire breath. Instead of red in color, it was colored blue, and not only that, the fire breath is more liquidy? I don''t know how to describe it, but it was a rather thick fire, unlike a regular fire. I don''t really know how to describe it.

    After dodging the attack, I flick my wand and conjure flame with the shape of a snake that begins to slither around the Abomination''s body. When the fire arrives on the head of the Abomination, it detonates and creates an explosion.

    "Woah! That is awesome!"

    I smile a little at Nanami. That tomboy girl is really easy to please. Create an explosion, and she will be a happy girl. She rather fights with her weapon, but if there is a chance to use the rune on her hand, she will do it, like right now.

    "Shredding!"

    After saying that, the rune in Nanami''s hand shines a little and a symbol of Wind rune appears above her head. Suddenly five small-sized tornadoes appear around Abomination and attack it from all sides.

    Seeing the tornado happening, Riou raises his left hand, and suddenly a symbol of fire appears above his head. A second later, five serpents made of fire appear out of thin air and attack the Abomination.

    When I see the abomination try to run away from the combination attack, I take out a plant seed from my pocket dimension and throw it at the Abomination''s feet. After throwing the seed, I call upon the might of Green Magic, and suddenly the seed grows up and locks all the Abomination movement.

    However, I did not stop there as I conjured a stone wall around the Abomination. I can see my stone wall begin to change color in red as the combination attack''s intense heat begins to heat the stone wall.

    For another few seconds, we wait for the attack to be finished. However, when I release my spell, I can see the Abomination still standing there with its body charred because of the magic attack. Not only standing, that thing still moving.

    "Prepare for another attack!"

    True to my word, Abomination jumps high in the air, and its target is us.

    "Scatter!"

    Even without Riou saying that we already ran away from the Abomination that landed toward our previous location.

    When the Abomination lands on the ground, the head on the back begins to glow before suddenly a thunder strike coming from the back head hits us all.

    While I can still move my body, some of us cannot do that. When Riou sees that some of us have been paralyzed by the abomination attack, he raises his hand once again and casts another spell with his rune.

    While Riou heals the other, Viktor, Freed Y, and I begin to charge at the Abomination with our weapon in hand. When I close enough to the monster, I jump up and stab one of many eyes the Abomination has.

    *ROAR*

    I don''t know if the Abomination can feel pain, but it was thrashing around like it was in pain. While holding my spear in one hand, I take out my wand and cast a sticky charm on my feet to stay on top of the Abomination.

    After casting my spell, I continue to stab the Abomination with my spear. To the side, I can see Viktor and Freed Y also doing the same, but they are attacking the back of the monster. While I cannot see what is happening in the back but I can see a spell attacking the Abomination coming from the other.

    A few seconds later, Riou and Nanami join the fight while Khan raises his rune high in the air. When I see Khan want to use his Rune, I want to retreat to avoid friendly fire, but when I see the other didn''t do it, I decide to stay and continue to attack the Abomination.

    "Charm Arrow!"

    I glance at Khan yelling his attack before suddenly a six symbol appears around us and creates a light pillar. While to us, it was nothing, to the Abomination, it was a devastating attack as Resurrection Rune is a light type rune that is effective against undead.

    I don''t know how there is no friendly fire, but I''m guessing that Rune can be commanded not to hit an ally. However, I will need to make sure of it first.

    And before I could request someone to cast another Rune attack, Riou cast his Fire Rune that summoned a snake serpent that began attacking the Abomination. When I see the other stay attacking the Abomination using their weapon, I decide to trust Riou.

    True to my theory, any fire that attacking the Abomination did not burn me or the other close to the Abomination. I guess there are only a few runes that can hurt me or my ally. This is good, but there is also some bad news. Pale Gate Rune is one of those runes that can hurt self and the other if I remember.

    True, not all of its attacks will hurt me or the other, but Pale Gate Rune can hurt the user or the user ally, which is annoying. It has massive firepower, but it can also become a double-edged sword if there is an ally around me.

    Anyway, back to the fight.

    Right now, the Abomination begins to slow down as it takes so much damage from all of us¡ªRiou with his rune, Viktor and Freed with their sword, and Khan with his Resurrection rune. While I cannot use my magic as I don''t want to do a friendly fire, I can still use my spear. Nanami and Eilie become our support by healing us with her rune (Nanami) or interrupt any spell attack the Abomination wants to release by throwing more than ten throwing knives (Eilie).

    And just like your usual protagonist, Riou makes a jump attack that kills the Abomination.

    While the other is happy when the fight is finished, I can see Viktor has a different opinion on this matter.

    "F#CK!"

 Chapter 15 - Strategist

    "F#CK!!!!"

    Viktor continues raging for another few seconds before Riou comes to his side and comforts him.

    "Damn it. He got away¡­. Damn it¡­."

    "Don''t worry, Viktor. We will get him next time he appears."

    "..... Yeah. If he shows his ugly nose once again, I will be the one killing him, but this time he will be dead for sure."

    Viktor then looked at us before saying.

    "Let us get out of here."

    I nod at Viktor''s suggestion and begin to follow Riou toward the exit of the castle. While there is still a monster roaming around the castle, it was not as bad as when we came here the first time.

    After walking away from the castle, we stop to see the sun already setting, and the night will soon cover the land.

    "We accomplished our mission, and Neclord has fled. We should go back to the South Window and report our mission."

    "..... Yeah. I guess you are right, Freed. I also want to see how Flik and the others are doing."

    Freed and Viktor have a conversation about our next plan. Freed wants to quickly go back to the South Window as soon as possible and go back to his lord Granmeyer. While still wanting to hunt for Neclord, Viktor knows that he will come out empty-handed as he doesn''t know where Neclord''s location currently is. So the next logical thing he can think of is to meet his brother in arm Flik.

    While both of them want to go back to the South Window, Khan has a different destination.

    "Well then, Goodbye for now. I''m going to follow Neclord''s trail as much as I can. When I find him, I''ll send a word to you."

    "Thank you, sir Kahn."

    "Think nothing of it, young Riou. May we meet again, Viktor Riou."

    We then see Khan walk away from us. After a five-minute break of fighting monsters inside the castle, Freed suggests they should hurry up and go to the South Window to arrive there before midnight.

    We walked toward the gate of the North Window; however, before we could reach the gate, I saw a group of more than a hundred people walk inside the gate of North Window. The one leading them is Flik, the Co-Leader of the Mercenary group that protects Muse City and also Viktor''s brother in arms.

    "Eh? Eh? What is happening? Why is everyone here?!?"

    Nanami looks around with a surprised expression as she knows that everyone should be staying in the South Window city.

    And the first person to answer Nanami''s question is Flik.

    "..... South Window has fallen to the Highland."

    "WHAT?!?"

    The only explanation is¡­

    "What did you say?!? What happened to Lord Granmeyer?"

    "Killed¡­ By the Highland General Solon Jhee."

    Freed looks at Flik with a shocked expression, then sadness, then anger, then back to shocked expression. Freed snaps from his state after a few seconds of muted shock and says.

    "Tell me exactly what happened."

    "Yes."

    Flik takes a deep breath before saying.

    "Just after you left South Window, we were attacked by Solon Jhee, the General of Highland 1st company. Lord Grenmeyer must have judged that we don''t have any chance of winning¡­ Lord Grenmeyer surrendered unconditionally without a blow being struck."

    Flik then looked at Freed with sadness in his eyes.

    "The next thing we know, the mayor''s head was hanging in front of the Mayor''s mansion. I was with the children and woman so I could escape from the city."

    "Ho Ho Ho. Who do you have to thank for that? Hmmm?"

    "Shut up!"

    Rina walks toward Flik with a mischief smile on her face. While the other did not notice, I can see a little bit of face powder, and his lip is a little bit redder than any male should be. It looks like Rina does a makeover to Flik so he can escape with the woman and children.

    Rina is the big sister of Eilie and a little sister to Bolgan. They are a small family of traveling performers. They go from one city to the other to perform and gather some money. They meet Riou and his group when Riou visits Ryube to buy some flour for Viktor and his mercenary.

    Riou and Eilie family separate when Riou and Jowy arrive in their hometown, Kyaro.

    From there, I don''t know what is happening to them, but they somehow escape Kyaro before the military of the Highland kingdom can capture them and interrogate them.

    Eilie, Rina, and Bolgan somehow arrive in Coronet, a fishing town on the northern side of Dunan Lake. They then decide to follow Riou and his party to the South Window, where they meet Flik and Viktor, who get ordered by Lord Granmeyer to investigate the North Window for the kidnapping of a woman around that area.

    Eilie decides to follow Riou while Rina and Bolgan decide to stay with Flik in the South Window.

    The rest is what happened not too long ago.

    "Ahem! Anyway, we successfully run away from the South Window, and on the way here, we meet Apple and Tsai who have a hundred or so scattered soldiers of Muse and now combined with the soldier that came with us from the South Window, we now have two hundred people, not including civilians."

    "Why did the soldiers of the South Window come here? Shouldn''t they fight?"

    "No, Freed. They are the people that fight against the Highland. The highland decided to ''spare'' the South Window soldiers if they did not rebel and join the rank of their army. However, I hear from the Highland soldier that the South Window soldier will be killed after Highland crown prince Luca Blight comes here."

    "That is¡­"

    "Cruel, I know, but that is Luca Blight''s personality. He wants blood, and there is much blood in the South Window ready to be harvested."

    Apple walks forward and says.

    "The Highland are afraid of rebellion, so they execute and arrest as many soldiers of Muse and South Window as they can. This is the only soldier we meet on our way in here. The rest either have been imprisoned in the South Window and forced to join their army or executed."

    Viktor begins to walk to the left and right with his hand on his chin.

    "Which means that it''s only a matter of time before the Highland Army come here and attack us. We only have a few people and maybe this old castle."

    All of us stay silent for a few minutes before Riou says.

    "There must be a way."

    "But Riou, can we stop the whole army coming our way?"

    The people around cannot talk anything before Eilie walks forward and shouts at Flik and Viktor.

    "What is wrong with all of you!!! Is running away all you can think of?!? Riou is right! There must be a way! There must be!"

    "But to fight a war with no chance of winning is stupid¡­."

    Suddenly Apple, who stayed silent for a while, shouted.

    "We do have a chance!"

    The rest of the people look at Apple, who begins her explanation.

    "For a small force to have a chance of winning, a strategy is what we needed. With the right strategy, we have a chance to win."

    Viktor looks at Apple and says.

    "Yeah¡­ And do you have this strategy?"

    "No, I''m not up to the task. I''ve learned it the hard way, but I know someone who is. In Radat town, there is someone named Shu. He and I were students of Master Mathiu. Master Mathiu expelled him, but he is a brilliant student. A first-class strategist that even master Mathiu acknowledges."

    Mathiu Silverberg. The main strategist in the Toran Liberation War, the main storyline in the Suikoden series. He is the reason why Tir McDohl, the main character of the first Suikoden and the holder of Soul Eater, one of twenty-seven True Rune, win the war.

    Mathiu is the key member of the Toran Liberation War that led Tir and his army to Victory.

    "If we can manage to recruit him, I''m sure that he will come up with some strategy that leads us to victory."

    Flik and Viktor stay silent for a few seconds before saying.

    "I guess you are right. We can''t keep running to the edge of the world."

    "Okay, let''s do our best. Flik, you and I should gather any Muse and South Window soldier that scattered around the area. As far as this Shu goes, I will leave it to you, Riou."

    Apple nods at Viktor.

    "This is Important, Riou. Radat Town is on the East side of South Window. Seven hours of walking from South Window. I''ll go along with you."

    Leona, the barkeeper and a friend to Viktor and Flik, says.

    "Don''t worry. I will keep an eye on Pilika here."

    Seeing the opportunity to talk, I say.

    "I will also stay here to help the others cleaning up the castle and taking care of the people here. It would be best if you slept now because you will go to Radat early this morning. There is a bed in the castle. It should be enough for now. I will create a temporary house with my magic, so you don''t have to worry about us for the time being."

    Riou looked at me with a grateful expression before walking inside the castle with Nanami and Apple.. When I see him walk away, I take out my wand and use my magic to create a temporary sleep place.

 Chapter 16 - Preparation

    I look at the wood and stone temporary home I create for the North Window people. At the same time, some soldiers are clearing the castle so it can be used. They cleared any monster roaming around the castle and removed all the rubble around the castle.

    It takes two to three hours of continuous use of my magic. I can feel the strain in my core from using my magic non-stop. However, I must say that I''m satisfied with my work. However, the house''s shape is like Minecraft players'' house, usually build in their first gameplay, Cube.

    However, the others did not complain about it as not only do they have a roof to sleep on, I also create a bed made of grass I grow using the power of Green Magic. I''m really glad about that. I don''t want to have a fight because of someone ungrateful for my hard work.

    Anyway, after doing all the work and see all the refuge begin to sleep, I sneak away from the North Window and begin my journey to the North Window.

    After using some much magic in one sitting, I want to sleep on a fluffy bed, thank you very much. So here we are, running along the path to the Cave of Winds. Lucky for me, I always knew the exact location of my pocket dimension entrance even when I was far away from it.

    The path to the Cave of Wind is not too far away from North Window, but because of the monster that keeps spawning because of the night time, I arrive in front of my Pocket Dimension entrance after three hours long walk even though it should be a two-hour walk.

    However, in the end, I arrive in front of the entrance of my Pocket Dimension. As I touch the smooth surface of the cave wall, a portal appears in front of me. When I walk inside, I can see the mansion where I will sleep for the day.

    When I walk inside the mansion, I look at the clocks and see it was already at 11 PM. While I usually sleep at 2 or 3 AM but today I''ve spent all my energy walking to the North Window and Cave of Wind two times in a day. I am physically exhausted, but my mental energy has also been spent constructing all the houses the other needs.

    Anyway, after taking a shower, I immediately go to bed, and when my head touches the bed, darkness immediately consumes me.

    ~The Next Morning~

    After waking up from my sleep, I immediately take a shower and have a big breakfast as I know that I will be busy helping Riou and his party. I plan to leave this universe after the first big battle against the Highland.

    Not only will this give me an experience against a human opponent, but it was also a valuable experience for me as it will be the first war for me.

    Anyway, after eating all the food I cooked, I walk toward the exit portal and set the time of me getting out of my pocket dimension as 4 AM. When I get out of the portal, I can see the sun has not yet risen, so I decided to go to the North Window.

    I begin to walk along the path that becomes more and more familiar to me. However, after an hour or so of walking to the North Window, I see a Highland soldier galloping across the plain with a horse. Seeing them coming from the North Window, I''m guessing that they are the scouts sent by General Solon Jhee.

    I quickly walked toward the soldier and cast a quick Legilimency spell on him. While I cannot cast a wandless Legilimency spell yet, I can cast the Legilimency spell with my wand. However, there is a side effect of using Legilimency spell without mastering it.

    While you still get the result, the target of your spell will become a vegetable. Permanently.

    After casting my spell, my mind begins to search for a clue of this soldier''s order. I then get a flash of memory of Solon Jhee ordering this man to see the fleeing Muse and South Window Army''s rumor to the North Window and make it their base.

    Solon Jhee then warns the soldier that his life will indicate the situation of the war. If this man returns and brings the news about the North Window small army, then Solon Jhee will order all the Highland army to march out to North Window without bringing the South Window soldier as they will become a burden to him by slowing down his army as there is not much horse they can use to carry all the soldier from the South Window.

    There is also an official letter inside the soldier''s pocket that explains the Solon Jhee order. Something that I can use to warn Viktor and Flik.

    I use my wand and levitate the man and continue my journey. After another hour of walking, I arrive in front of North Window city''s gateless wall, where I see a dozen or so soldiers guarding it.

    When I close enough to the gate, the soldier looks at me and says.

    "Sir Isaac! We are searching for you the entire time! Where have you been?"

    "I do my morning training not too far away from here."

    "I see, and who is the one in your shoulder?"

    "He is a scout from the Highland army. Look like he snooping around the North Window when you guys are not looking."

    "I¡­ We are sorry, sir Isaac."

    "Don''t think about it. I need to find Viktor and Flik or maybe Riou."

    "Sadly, sir Riou already went to Radat with lady Nanami and lady Apple."

    "I see. Then I will go to meet Viktor and Flik."

    "Yes! You can find them inside the castle. They are in the meeting room on the second floor."

    "I see. Thank you."

    "It''s not a problem, Sir Isaac!"

    I walk toward the castle, and I can feel many eyes curiously looking at me. While they know who I am, they did not know the person I carry like a sack of potatoes. I walk up the stairs and see that the castle is still sturdy, and I know that it will stand for another hundred years.

    Anyway, I arrive in front of massive double doors where another soldier is guarding the door.

    "Ah! Sir Isaac! What can we do for you?"

    "Is Viktor and Flik inside?"

    "Yes, sir!"

    "Then I want to meet them. There is something I want to discuss with them."

    "Yes, sir."

    The soldier opens up the meeting room, and as I walk inside, I can see Viktor, Flik, and Tsai talking with each other. From what I hear, they are talking about the weapon the soldier will use against the Highland.

    "Oh! Isaac! What can I do for you? Riou and the others already go to Radat. Riou wants you to come with him to Radat."

    "Well, I woke up earlier in the morning and decided to have morning training. Anyway, the reason why I came here is this."

    I then place down the man I have been carrying on my shoulder. When Viktor and Flik see the man''s armor, their expression changes into a serious mode.

    "This is¡­"

    "A Highland soldier, yes. I found him riding a horse from here, and his destination is South Window. You mean that, right?"

    "He is the scout General Solon Jhee sent."

    "That is right. Sadly he is already dead, but I found this in his pocket."

    I pass the letter to Flik, who begins to read it. The more he read the letter, the more his expression changed from his serious face into a grim one. When Flik passes the letter to Viktor, I can also see Viktor''s expression begin to change.

    After reading it, Viktor gives the letter to Tsai and says.

    "This is bad."

    "Lucky for us, the soldier is dead. Which mean Isaac here give us some times before they surround us with the combination of Highland and South Window soldier."

    I nod at Flik''s explanation before saying.

    "So, what should we do? Viktor Flik, do you guys know the location of Muse soldier that scatter around the land?"

    "Yes, we do. However, we don''t know how many soldiers it will be. Flik here predicted there would be a hundred or so soldiers in that location. Gilbert, our friend when we are a mercenary, says there should be a band of mercenaries in the south. Near the wall that separates South Window land and the Badland."

    "Even there is a mercenary in there, can we afford to hire them? I don''t think we have enough money to hire them."

    "That is true¡­ Not for a long battle, at least. Right now, I have ten thousand pouches in me, and I think Flik has some money as well. We can hire them for one battle only, and we can''t hire them for more than five days if we go by what we usually ask our employee."

    "That means we need to hire them a few days before the fight then."

    "Yes."

    "Then I think you or Flik should go and search this band of mercenary to confirm if they are still near the Badland walls. While one of you search for the mercenary, the other will search for the remnant of Muse soldier around the land."

    "Sounds good to me. What do you think, Flik?"

    Viktor and I look at Flik, who nods his head in agreement.

    "Good, then Viktor Flik, you guys should pick three or five of our soldiers to accompany you in your journey. There should be fifteen horses in the stable right now, ready to use. You can also use that. The faster you guys come back, the bigger chance we are winning this fight."

    "Yeah!"

    "Roger that."

    I then see Viktor and Flik run away from the meeting room to gather more soldiers for us. After seeing them leaving, I look at Tsai before saying.

    "You say that we need iron, right?"

    "Yes, I need more iron to create the weapon we need."

    "I bring ten kilos of pure iron with me on my journey. Will it be enough?"

    "Pure iron, you say?"

    "Yes."

    "Then it should be enough to make fifty or so spear."

    "Perfect. I will go back to the Cave of Wind as I leave that iron in there. I will be back in a few hours."

    "Then I will make a temporary smithing place for this job."

    "Good. Let''s do this"

 Chapter 17 - Ally

    I once again arrive in front of the Cave of Wind. While I can summon ten kilos of pure irons without going back to the Cave of Wind, a soldier is coming with me to this cave. Tsai picks the soldier to come with me to help me transport the goods and also to protect me from any enemy that I encounter.

    Because of this, I need to go to Cave of Wind and ''take out'' my stash of pure iron. While this is a game universe, there is no inventory system in here. So I cannot just show the other about my ability just yet, maybe in the future when they already know me better.

    "Come on. We must hurry up."

    "Yes, sir!"

    We walk inside the cave and fight our way up to the ''location'' of my iron. After fifteen minutes of walking, we arrive in front of the secret place where I find the Pale Gate Rune, and I see the old man still standing there with his usual smile.

    "Excuse me."

    I walk toward the empty ?h?st near the old man and put all the iron I can take from my Pocket Dimension before closing the ?h?st and picking it up.

    "Here. The iron is inside this ?h?st. Let''s get out of here."

    I walk toward the old man before saying.

    "Can you teleport us to the entrance of the cave?"

    "With p???sur?."

    Suddenly all of us arrive in front of the Cave of Wind.

    "What?"

    Yeah, I know what you guys feel. I was also confused with that old man''s job of teleporting people outside the Cave of Wind.

    "Come on. We need to deliver this iron. The faster we finish this delivery, the better."

    I open up my eyes and see that I''m inside the North Window castle. I decide not to go back to my pocket dimension when the people inside the castle already prepare some room for me. While it was not as comfortable as the bed inside my pocket dimension or in the Sea Dragon Castle, it is comfortable enough for me to sleep without a problem.

    After stretching, I walk out of the castle and go to the Dunan Lake near the North Window castle to take a bath. This is the other thing I don''t really like in this universe. There is no indoor plumbing like the one people have in the modern era.

    As for me, North Window is located near the lake of Dunan. Lake Dunan is the second biggest lake in the northern continent of the Suikoden universe. The lake is so big that it is filled with monsters. Lucky for me, the monster only appeared in the middle of the lake. It should be safe to swim, fish, or take a bath on the lakeside.

    When I arrive at my destination, I begin to ward off the area with a simple privacy ward that makes the people near here ignore this place.

    I take out a bar of soap and shampoo from my pocket dimension and begin to clean my body.

    ~15 minutes later~

    With my body feeling refreshed, I walk to the North Window. When I see the guard, I greet them one by one before continuing my walk. You know, I don''t really realize it, but the people around here keep calling me the title of ''Sir.''

    There are only a few people called with the title of ''Sir'' in this place. Viktor, Flik, Tsai, and Freed. Viktor and Flik are the famous mercenaries that fight for Muse, and their feats in the war have been heard throughout the world. Tsai is a famous blacksmith and has a famous nickname of ''Tsai the Divine Spear.'' He got the title because not only is he a famous blacksmith that creates a high-quality weapon, especially spear, he is also a master of spear arts, and I intended to learn from him. Freed Yamamato, or Freed Y, as the other called him, is the right hand of the former South Window mayor, Granmeyer. It is his right to be called with the title of ''Sir'' as he can be considered a Noble if he is from my homeworld.

    I will try to ask the soldier why they call me sir even though I already say that they can call me by my name.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Viktor looks at the gate of the North Window city that supposedly is gone.

    "Flik. Is it just me or the North Window get fixed without us knowing?"

    "No, it was not just you, Viktor. I can also see the North Window has been fixed. The wall is smooth without any crack, and there is a gate that can be closed and open up from the inside."

    True to Flik''s word, the wall that surrounds the North Window has been fixed. There is no crack or hole on the wall. There is also a gate that prevents an enemy from walking inside the city without permission.

    Yesterday, North Window''s people needed to seal up the path with Rock and Wood to prevent any monster from charging inside the city. However, the people can rest easy with this gate as the monster cannot sneak, run, or walk inside the city without alerting the guard.

    Viktor and Flik just got back from their mission to recruit as many men as they can. Viktor goes south, near the wall that separates South Window and Badland. He goes there to check if the mercenary rumored to have their base is still available to be recruited. However, when he and his party arrived at that place, it was empty, leaving only a few mercenaries.

    When he asks, they say that Highland has hired the mercenary. They did not give him any more information. Seeing he will not get anything from the mercenary base''s caretaker, Viktor decides to go to the Flik location.

    He met with Flik after walking to the northwest for half a day. Viktor met Flik leading a caravan consisting of fifty soldiers from Muse and a hundred or so civilians coming from Muse and the village around it.

    But they decide to take all of them to the North Window. While it will increase the ration consumption, they need all the help they can.

    "Welcome back, Sir Viktor, Sir Flik."

    "It is good to be back. How do you guys repair all the walls and put back the gate this fast?"

    "Ah! It was the work of Sir Isaac. When you and Sir Flik recruit all men you could, Sir Isaac decides to repair the wall and the gate using his magic."

    "Really?"

    "Yes! He also helped Sir Tsai create as many spears as they could."

    "They make a spear?"

    "Yes. Some of the civilians use the boat to smuggle some iron from Coronet Town to our north. Sir Isaac helps Sir Tsai control the heat while Sir Tsai creates the spear."

    "I see."

    After showing the new people where they can sleep, Viktor and Flik walk toward the castle, but when they arrive in front of the castle, they see Isaac have some friendly spar with Tsai.

    When Isaac and Tsai see both Viktor and Flik, they stop their spar and greet them.

    "Welcome back, Viktor Flik. How is your journey?"

 Chapter 18 - Amber

    I conjure water and place it on the bucket I borrow from one of the civilians outside the castle. Right now, I''m on the roof of the castle where many vegetables and fruit like strawberries are being planted here by me.

    I planted these fruit and vegetables to let me practice my Green Magic and give the people here some job and food to eat. While there are many animals we can hunt and fish we can take from the lake, I want to eat some vegetables and fruit to balance my diet.

    The soil I use has been enchanted with Green Magic''s power, so any plant that gets planted inside will grow faster. For example, strawberries need three to four months to grow and are ready to be harvested, but with this soil, it only needs one month to grow and one more week for it to be ready to be harvested.

    However, if I continue to use my green magic, I can increase the growth speed even more. If it grows and is ready to be harvested only needs one month and a week, then if I continue to use my magic, it only needs a few hours before it is ready to be harvested.

    Fortunately, the spell to increase the plant''s growth is an AOE spell so that I can grow all the plants five meters around me. I take some of the civilians to help me harvest all the vegetables and fruit and then transport it to the small storehouse filled with smoked meat or fish.

    I carve a rune on the storehouse''s surface with a chilling rune that I learn from the book I bought from the Gringott. While it was not perfect as I needed to recharge it with my magic every eight hours, it was good enough to make the vegetable fresh for a good time.

    Because of this training, I can feel my magic increase for a good bit. I don''t think I can rival the top tier magicians of this universe or the top wizard in the Harry Potter universe in terms of mana reserves.

    However, I can feel that it grows slowly but steadily. I know that I sometimes need to reach Albus Dumbledore''s level, but I know I will reach that level.

    While I don''t really like Albus Dumbledore''s characteristics, I acknowledge that he is a powerful wizard. The most powerful one? I doubt it, but he is powerful, and I respect that. His personality? I wouldn''t say I like it, but I can respect him as a powerful wizard.

    "Sir! Sir Isaac!"

    I snap from my thought and quickly put on my cloth and walk toward the soldier waiting for me outside the rooftop.

    "What is it?"

    "Sir Riou is back with lady Apple. Sir Viktor and Sir Flik are waiting for you in the meeting room."

    "Of course. Lead the way."

    "Yes, Sir!"

    I follow the soldier in front of me and arrive in front of the meeting room. As I walk inside the meeting room, I see Riou, Apple, and Nanami already inside, having a conversation with Viktor and Flik.

    "Isaac! It is to see you come here. Where is Tsai?"

    I nod at Viktor before answering his question.

    "Tsai is busy making some weapons for us. We get enough iron to make some sword and many spears from Coronet town."

    "Good. Riou and Apple, you are back. How was it? Were you able to talk to that strategist?"

    Apple walks forward and says.

    "Shu promised to help us. He should be here soon."

    "I guess the rest is up to this strategist of yours. But can we really trust him? He was banished after all¡­"

    However, before Viktor could finish his sentences, someone walked inside the meeting room. The one that walks inside the room has the appearance of a young man with long silky black hair. This man is Shu, the strategist.

    "If you don''t trust me, perhaps you should leave."

    Shu walks toward Viktor and says.

    "If you want to win, don''t question me again. If you can''t do that, I will consider you an obstacle that needs to be removed."

    Viktor looks at Shu with a shocked expression before looking at Apple and says.

    ".... Apple, I''m starting to see why he is banished¡­"

    Shu ignores Viktor and walks toward Flik and says.

    "Hey you, Blue-Boy. You''re Flik, right? How many soldiers do we have?"

    "If we add up all the former Muse and South Window soldiers plus many volunteers. We have around one thousand and five hundred people."

    Wait a minute, one thousand? There are one thousand people taking refuge in the North Window? Huh. I know many refugees are coming to North Window from Muse and South Window, but I never thought it would be this much.

    "We also get this castle. Isaac over there fixed the wall and gate so we can use them to defend this place. On the other hand, the Highlander army has increased its size to twenty thousand with the addition of all South Window army that was forced to fight for the Highlander."

    Shu nodded at the Flik report.

    "I''ve got a plan. If I recall, this castle played a key role in a counterstrike when the Scarlet Moon Empire invaded. I bring 500 soldiers I can recruit with me. Two thousand soldiers should be enough."

    "They may be twenty thousand strong, but they''ll have to leave soldiers to man their garrison as they go. In reality, they only have ten thousand soldiers. They can move as they pleased. Furthermore, one-third of them are former South Window soldiers. Under the right conditions, we should be able to get them to join our side. If we could do that, we''d have a force of five thousand compared to their force of seven thousand. We have a good chance to win."

    Viktor looked at Shu with an impressed expression. I must say that I''m also impressed by Shu''s observation. While yes, Highland has twenty thousand armies in their possession, but they need half of it to defend the other region, so their enemy did not attack the hard-earned city they take.

    With ten thousand people to defend their territory, they only have ten thousand people to bring with them into battle. Their main soldier consisted of seven thousand highland people and three thousand south window people. That is one thing that Shu wants to exploit. He wants to convince the South Window people to attack Solon Jhee and his army instead of siding with them.

    "I''m impressed¡­. Listening to you, I actually believe we have a chance. But what is exactly the plan?"

    Shu looked at Freed before saying.

    "Freed"

    "Yes, Sir!"

    "Infiltrate the Highland army and spread the rumor that the Highland will execute all the soldiers after the war."

    "I understand, sir!"

    "Everyone else will stay here and protect the castle. We''ve got to buy some time."

    "What then? No reinforcements are coming, and I don''t think Freed rumor alone will get the South Windower army to change sides."

    "That is true, Viktor. The enemy undoubtedly tried to surround this castle. We will have a small unit work its way around the enemy and attack Solo Jhee''s units from the rear. If we attack their general, their morale will be dropped. We should be able to get the South Window army to change sides."

    Flik, who stays silent for a long time, decides it is time for him to talk.

    "Wait a minute. This is a peninsula. How are we going to sneak around an enemy that has us surrounded?"

    "The Highland Army has been only in land battles. They have no experience in the water. For Solon Jhee, water is just an obstacle. But we are going to use the lake to our advantage. We should be able to borrow some ship from the neighboring village to lend their ship."

    This time I''m the one who decided to speak.

    "We already have our own ship. We have seven fishing ships and two transport ships. I can create another ship if needed."

    "Oh? That is good then. How big is this ship?"

    "One of the ships can carry fifty people without their armor and weapons. This is for the fishing ship. For the transport ship, I can say that it can transport around a hundred or so people without their armor and weapon."

    "Good. I want another three ships of this size. If you can make it bigger, the better, but make sure it finishes tomorrow afternoon. If you can only make the same size without passing the deadline, then do it, but the bigger, the better."

    "Roger that."

    I can hear Riou and Nanami talk to each other in excitement as Shu''s presence here makes their chance of winning bigger and bigger. The previous hopelessness disappears when Shu arrives in this castle and explains his strategy.

    "Okay. I''ll take a chance on you."

    "So who will be the one leading this small unit? Either me or Viktor¡­"

    However, before Flik could finish his sentences, Shu said,

    "No, I''m going to leave that role for someone else."

    Shu walked toward Riou and put his hand on Riou''s shoulder.

    "Riou. I''d like you to do it."

    "Okay. I will do it."

    "The key to defeating Luca Blight is literally in your hands. We''re counting on you."

    "Yes."

    "Well, everyone gets to work. Freed, I''ll help you to figure out what to say to the South Window soldier¡­."

    Freed does a salute before shouting.

    "For the memory of Lord Granmeyer! For the people of South Window!! I''ll fight with all my power!!!"

    "Okay, I''m counting on you."

    Shu then looked at Viktor, Flik, and then me.

    "Viktor, Flik, and¡­"

    "Isaac"

    "... Isaac. Try to protect this castle."

    We nod our heads as Shu looks at Apple.

    "Apple, I want you to handpick three hundred soldiers from our army of two thousand. That will be Riou''s unit."

    "Yes, sir."

    Just like that, the dying fire begins to blaze up once again.

 Chapter 19 - Army

    It has been a day since Riou and Appel arrived, bringing Shu with them. In these two days, I was busy helping the carpenter make the ship needed to ambush Solon Jhee. I''m the one growing the tree to create the ship while the carpenter makes the ship with the fisherman''s help.

    The volunteer who watched Highlander''s movement reported that they would attack us earlier than we thought they would be. It looks like the Solon Jhee gets news of us gathering any remnant of Muse soldier and South Window soldier.

    Right now, we are in the meeting room where we are discussing the movement of the Solon Jhee army. However, I did not see Riou and Nanami yet, which means he will be the last person to arrive in the meeting room.

    True to my prediction, Riou and Nanami is the last one come inside the meeting room. Seeing Riou walk inside, Eilie walks toward Riou.

    "Hey, Riou. Did you sleep well? The next battle will be riding on you."

    "Yes."

    Eilie and her sibling begin to cheer up on Riou and Nanami, who will be the ones leading the small unit to ambush the enemy general, Solon Jhee.

    A second later, a soldier ran inside the meeting room and immediately said.

    "The Highland army has arrived. It appears they are trying to surround the castle."

    "Okay, it is time. Viktor, Flik, Tsai, and Isaac, are you guys ready?"

    "Leave it to us."

    "We will protect this castle."

    "The Fire Spear is ready to use."

    "Roger that."

    Shu nodded at us before looking at Riou.

    "What about you, Riou?"

    Riou nods at Shu''s question and says.

    "Yes. I''m ready."

    "Okay, begin the operation. The morning fog will conceal you from the enemy while you and your unit sail around the enemy. Move out!"

    With that order, I walk toward my unit, where my unit and I will be the ones holding the vanguard with Tsai and his unit. Flik will be the one leading the cavalry, Viktor will lead a unit of footmen, and Apple will be the one leading the archer.

    When I arrive, I see my unit waiting for my order. I take a deep breath before saying.

    "Move out!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Solon Jhee looked at the insect in front of him. They are grouping together in the corner of the land and decide to make it their base, just like ???kroaches. As a human, it is his duty to exterminate all the insects that appear in his way.

    "Move out! The enemy is an insect! They are cornered and think they can hold us back!"

    However, one of Solon Jhee''s lieutenants disagreed with his decision.

    "Our flank is exposed and easily get attacked."

    "They are just an insect that cornered. They are outnumbered! Their only weapon is a pointy stick! Attack them!"

    Culgan looked at his general with a disappointed look. He knows that a cornered animal is the most dangerous as they don''t have anything to lose. Culgan has a bad feeling in this fight. However, he cannot reject the order from the general, so he orders his unit to move out, leaving Solon Jhee and his unit alone in the back.

    On the other side of the battlefield, Shu looked at the army marching toward their castle with a smile on his face. He is right about the Solon Jhee tactic. Solon Jhee sent South Window''s soldiers first, followed by his main army in the back to hunt down any deserter.

    She knows that Freed, already spreading the rumor about Solon Jhee, will execute every South Window soldier after this war. He can see the soldiers of South Window hesitate to march, and with the Highland soldier killing anyone that runs away from the battlefield, they know that the rumor is not a rumor anymore but the truth.

    Shu knows for sure that the South Window soldier will change sides with a little bit of hope.

    The person that will give that hope is currently lying in an ambush in the forest near Solon Jhee''s unit. Riou already sailed using the boat Isaac and the carpenter created to the backline of the enemy. Shu hopes that Riou does not immediately attack the Solon Jhee unit as it will attract the other unit before they are close enough to the castle.

    A few minutes later, the former soldier of South Window city is ready to attack, but before they charge at the North Window soldier, a war cry comes from the Highlander backline. The people look at the back and see Riou and his unit decide it is the time to attack.

    Solon Jhee looks at the army that is attacking him and his unit.

    "W¡­. What the hell !!!"

    Solon Jhee snaps from his stupor before starting to give an order for his unit to create a defensive formation around him. However, this decision of his makes the situation even worse for him.

    Because of this, the former army of South Window city looks at the ''beaten up'' Highland general with awe and hopeful expression.

    "The Highland army¡­. They are being beaten?"

    Seeing the South Window army''s surprised expression, Freed, who infiltrated the South Window army, shouted.

    "Everyone look! Riou attacked Solon Jhee''s personal unit!!! Lord Riou is the one that can lead us to victory! It is our chance to fight back! That''s right! It''s time to payback for what the Highlanders do to our home! It''s time to pay back for what they do to our homeland! For our homeland, South Window!!!"

    With that speech, the South Window army begins to see that it is their chance to fight back against the Highland.

    "He is right!!! It is our chance to fight back!"

    "Destroy the Highland Army!"

    Shu smiles a little before suddenly says.

    "Flik, it is your time to move. I want you to move out and help the Riou unit. Isaac and Tsai, I want you to help the South Window army to create a gap for Flik and his unit to move. Viktor, you stay here with Apple and me. We don''t want them to take this castle."

    In a minute, Issac and Tsai''s unit arrive in the frontline to help the South Window army against the Highlander army that tries to help their General but get stuck fighting against the South Window army.

    When Isaac arrives in front of the enemy, he immediately reinforces his body with his magic and begins to stab and slash any enemy in his way.

    "Portego!"

    When Isaac sees a sword coming from his left, he casts a Portego charm and blocks the incoming attack. This is one of a few spells Isaac learned how to cast without a wand. While it cost him a little more when he used it without a wand, but he still thinks that this spell is necessary to learn without a wand.

    *Stab* *Slash* *Block*

    Enemy after enemy fall by his weapon. Isaac can see many of his men get killed by the enemy, but he cannot do anything about it as he cannot get his attention away from the enemy. If his attention is away from the enemy, he is afraid he will get either stabbed by the enemy''s spear or his head will get cut off.

    Isaac continued to make a gap for a few minutes, and when the gap was created, Isaac shouted.

    "FLIK!"

    When he shouts that, Flik looks at his unit and gives his order.

    "Charge!"

 Chapter 20 - Victory

    We continue to push our way out of this headlock while Flik and his unit charge at the Solon Jhee unit in the back. I can see the Highland army want to help their general, especially Culgan and his unit, but they are getting blocked by both the Tsai unit and the South Window army.

    The situation where we are getting surrounded has been reversed. Now we are the one that surrounds the Highland army.

    I look at Culgan, who led the unit to create a gap between us, and Solon Jhee, trying his best to get away from us. This tactic is not good in this situation because not only do you need to breach out from the headlock, but also you will expose your back to the enemy.

    However, I know Culgan needs to rescue his general. If the news of Solon Jhee dead after he tries to take North Window city with an army of twenty thousand men while his enemy only has two thousand men, then not only is the morale of the army gone, it will also increase the morale of their enemy.

    This will lead to a worse situation for the Highland as with this morale boost, the other city-state of Jowston will unite and make an all-out attack against the Highland. I know that Culgan cannot accept this situation. So he tries his hardest to help his general.

    While Culgan tries his hardest to get away from us, Tsai and I try our hardest to hold him in here while Flik and Riou take care of Solon Jhee and his unit. Shu says that we should hold the other army as much as we can, and when Solon Jhee decided to retreat, it was time we let them go.

    Our mission is not to wipe out the Highland army but only to make them retreat. As Shu said, ''a person with nothing to lose is the most dangerous person you could face''. We don''t want to fight them to the last blood, which will also cost us too many men.

    So when I hear a horn getting blown up by the Solon Jhee unit, I know that they want to retreat fully. A second after the horn is blown up, Solon Jhee lieutenant Culgan and Seed order a full retreat.

    ?????Retreat! Retreat!"

    When the Highland army retreated, I ordered my unit not to chase them and instead search for a survivor''s battlefield. Some of the South Window armies say that we should leave the Highland soldier to die, but I''m afraid I have to disagree with them and say that we will become them if we leave them here to die.

    While reluctant to do it, they bring back the survivor to the castle, including the Highland soldier.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Hey! Lord Riou is back!!"

    "You did it, Riou!!! You really did it!!"

    "I''m so relieved. Pilika was worried too, but Riou is just fine."

    Eilie and Bolgan walk toward Riou with a big smile on their face. While they did not come to the frontline, they stayed in the castle with Viktor and his unit to defend the castle in case something happened.

    The last one to walk toward Riou is Tsai.

    "Come on. Everyone is waiting in the Great Hall."

    "Where is Isaac?"

    "Currently, he is in the infirmary with Tuta to heal all the soldiers that get injured in the battle. They will go to the Great Hall after healing all the people."

    "I see. Then let''s go to the Great Hall."

    Riou and the other walk toward the castle with all the people cheering at him. Some of them even cried their eyes out. This is the first win for them, and it was the first time they felt a glitter of hope arrive in their darkest time.

    When they arrive in the Great Hall, Flik walks toward Riou and says.

    "You are famous Riou. All of a sudden, you are everyone''s hero."

    Viktor hears Flik saying that grin from ear to ear before saying.

    "Hahahahaha, and well he should be! This is the young man who defeated the Highland army!"

    Eilie nodded her head at Viktor''s explanation.

    "Everyone is talking about you. They are calling you the Herald of Victory."

    "We have managed to win this battle, but we have already lost Lady Annabelle, and the City of Muse has fallen under the control of Highland. The Jowston State is in shambles, and the survivors are in danger of being destroyed one at a time. Furthermore, sooner or later, Luca Blight''s main unit, White Wolf Guard, will attack us in the North Window. In our present condition, we wouldn''t be able to defend against such an attack. We need to gather more power here."

    Hearing Shu explains the situation. The other expressions become grimmer the more they hear Shu''s words. White Wolf Guard is an infamous unit that can fight against ten thousand people even when their number is only five thousand people.

    White Wolf Guard is an elite among the elite in Highland that has been through harsh training. Not only physical power, but they are also trained in magical training. They can use enchantment magic to make their physical prowess more powerful.

    They cannot match that kind of power just yet.

    "You are talking about making this castle into our headquarters so we can fight the Highland army?"

    Shu looks at Flik before nodding his head and says.

    "Exactly. We have already got a good tool for collecting people. It''s this great old castle. But now we need someone to focus on all that power. Someone that brings all us together. We need a leader."

    Viktor looks at Shu with a raised eyebrow and says.

    "Shu, are you saying that you are going to be that leader?"

    "No, I can''t do it. I am a military genius, but I''m no good at leading people¡­ Inspiring them."

    Flik frowned at the word Shu was saying.

    "In that case¡­ are we going to appeal to the remaining city mayor? But without a leader, I am not sure they will help us."

    Shu shook his head once again and looked at Riou.

    "There is a person here who should be our leader."

    Shu walked toward Riou and placed his hand on Riou''s shoulder.

    "Riou. No, I mean lord Riou. You are the one who should become the leader of the new state army.. We need you to show us the way to victory."

 Chapter 21 - Goodbye

    The other people in the room look at Shu with a shocked expression before they nod their heads. At first, they were surprised that Shu did not take the new state army leader''s position. They will accept them as their leader, but they know that Shu cannot be a perfect leader for them.

    Riou, on the other hand, is a perfect leader for them. He is brave, kind, and the one who beat General Solon Jhee. He has the fame of the one that defeats the enemy general, he has the charisma to lead the soldier to fight for him, and he is a kind person that many people like.

    While others agree with Shu''s suggestion, Nanami has a different opinion.

    "Wait a minute here. Why? Why Riou? That''s not right. Can you explain why?"

    Before Shu could answer Nanami''s question, Viktor looked at Shu with hesitation.

    "Is it¡­. The name of Genkaku, Shu?"

    When Viktor mentions the name of Genkaku, the people in the Great Hall begin to whisper to themselves.

    The first one to speak is Leona, the bartender, and friend of Viktor and Flik.

    "Genkaku¡­. Do you mean ''that'' Genkaku?"

    "You are the son of a hero, Genkaku, who has driven away from the City-State thirty years ago. In your hand, you possess the same ''Bright Shield Rune'' that Genkaku did. You are lord Riou who defeated General Solon Jhee of Highland, who has a record of never being defeated in battle. Many people look to you for hope. But more than all that, I have seen the brilliance in you. The kind of brilliance this age needs. You must lead the state army."

    Riou looked at Shu with a shocked face before saying.

    "Me¡­. a leader?"

    Nanami looked at her brother before quickly saying.

    "Wait a minute Riou. Are you sure? I¡­ I think you should give it some more thought."

    Riou looked at his sister before saying.

    "But Luca Blight¡­."

    "That¡­ that is true¡­. But why you? Is there some reason Riou must do it? It''s going to be very dangerous."

    "But¡­ If I can help out¡­"

    "Yes, but¡­.."

    Seeing the argument between Nanami and Riou, Viktor decides to speak up.

    "We can''t expect Riou to make a decision now. He needs some time to decide. But there is something else I want to talk to Riou about. Something Annabelle didn''t have time to tell him¡­."

    Shu wants Riou to immediately accept the leader position, but he knows that he cannot force Riou into this position as he is only sixteen years old.

    ".... Lord Riou, please take your time and think about it. When you have made your decision, please come back here. I believe in you."

    "Riou, Nanami, come to the tavern later. I will tell you about Genkaku."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I wipe out the sweet in my forehead as the last patient has been patching up. It has been a few hours since I volunteer to heal all the people that get injured in the battle. This is a perfect thing to do to increase my mana reserve and increase my proficiency in healing spells.

    Green Magic can be used for healing, but it will take a long time to heal a serious injury, at least for me. Green Magic will increase the natural regeneration of the human body to heal any injury.

    It is a good way to heal an injury, but there is a side effect. The patient needs to eat a large amount of food after he/she finishes getting healed. If he/she does not eat a large amount of food, they will die.

    So yeah, I don''t want my patient to die if they did not eat some food. Especially when our food stock is limited. So I use the healing spell I learn from the book to heal the people in here.

    Tuta, the boy Riou and his party encounter in Viktor mercenary band also help me heal people. Tuta has a medicine rune attached to his right hand. The medicine rune, in reality, is different from the one in the game.

    In the game, Medicine rune will automatically use medicine for the people that get injured in the battle. In reality, it has the passive ability that enchants any medicine like health potion, medicine paste, or cure potion by three times the original effect.

    I don''t know if it only affects a potion to heal a person or the medicine rune can affect all potions Tuta creates.

    I wonder if creating a poison will increase its potency by three times? Because there is a saying ''Medicine can become a poison and poison can become medicine. Too much medicine becomes poison, and the right amount of poison can become medicine.''

    Anyway, I walk toward the water basin and wash my hand and look at Tuta with a smile on my face.

    "Good work Tuta."

    "Thank you, Sir Isaac! You are so amazing! You flick your wand, and then suddenly, all the wound is gone!"

    "Hahahaha. Your use of medicine is also brilliant. If not for you, there will be many people who die because of the injury they have."

    "Hehehehehe"

    I pat the boy''s head after I wipe my hand with a clean cloth. Tuta from before is totally different from Tuta in front of me. When he is working, his face is stoic and focused on his work. On the other hand, this Tuta is like your ordinary nine-year-old boy who wants to see the world.

    After I finished doing my job in the infirmary, I walked toward my room on the castle''s second floor. When I arrive on the second floor, I see Riou and Nanami walking away from the meeting room, and I can see their conflicted expressions.

    It looks like Shu already asked Riou to become the leader of the New State Army, huh?

    Sadly I cannot see him leading the new state army. I already serve my role in this place, and it is time for me to do what I mean to do in this universe. I begin packing all the items inside my room and walk away from the room.

    I then cast a Disillusionment Charm into my body and begin to walk away from the castle. However, before I could even walk away from the castle, someone says.

    "You should say your goodbye first to Riou and Nanami. You are an important member of this group, Issac. Can''t you stay in this place?"

    I sigh a little before looking at Viktor with Flik standing near the castle door.

    "I''m a traveler, Viktor. I can''t stay in one place as it was not my nature. I promise Riou to help him defeat Neclord but seeing him run away, I decide to help him fight against the Highlander, and I think that is enough to fulfill my promise to help him defeat Neclord."

    "I see¡­.. Here take this."

    Viktor takes out something from the pouch on his belt and tosses it away to me. I look at the crystal Viktor toss at me. This crystal is half the size of my palm. Inside the crystal is a symbol of a scythe with a golden and red color scheme.

    "This is¡­."

    "I found that in one of the secret rooms in this castle. I don''t really know about Rune, but if Neclord saves this rune for himself, I know this rune is powerful enough for his fancy."

    Of course, this is a powerful rune! This is the children of one of twenty-seven True Rune! This rune is called Darkness Rune. This rune is one of the most devastating runes other than True Rune that can be found in this universe. All the rune attacks are either instant death effects or causing massive damage to the enemy.

    While it is not as powerful as the Soul Eater rune, it is still a powerful rune on its own.

    "Are you sure? This is a rare item, you know?"

    "Meh. Riou did not want it, Flik content with his lightning rune, Nanami also the same with her wind rune."

    "How about you?"

    "Me? Nah. I don''t use rune. I prefer to fight with my sword."

    ".... Are you sure?"

    "Heh! Just take it. Thinking this as your payment for helping us. I know this is not much for your service. Not only do you repair this old castle to its perfect state, but you also make a garden on the roof to feed the others. I also hear the storage room where the food will last longer if placed inside that room. I know it needs to be recharged every few hours, but it was something amazing many people did not think about. So, thank you for your help. Thank you for your service to keep people morale high. Thank you for healing all the people in the infirmary. We owe you one. If you need help, come to us, we will help you with all our strength."

    "Thank you, Viktor. If fate allows it, we will meet again in the future."

    "Yes. May your journey be filled with good fortune."

    "May your future be bright as the sun. Goodbye for now."

    "Goodbye"

    I take Viktor''s hand and give him a firm handshake.. I shake Flik''s hand before walking away from the castle.

 Chapter 22 - Rune

    I look at the city of South Window. Previously, this city was closed to the other by order of General Solon Jhee, but now when the Highland army is making a full retreat, South Window opens up once again.

    The city opened up two days after the defeat of Solon Jhee in North Window city. When I arrived in the South Window city for the first time yesterday, it was still closed up by the Highland Army. So I spent a day inside my pocket dimension before once again walking toward the South Window city.

    I walk toward the South Window, and to my surprise, one of the guards greets me.

    "Welcome to South Window, Sir Isaac!"

    I look at the guard with a shocked expression. The guard looked at me and decided to explain it.

    "I''m one of the soldiers under your command, sir! Not only that, but you are also the one to heal my friend and me."

    "Ah! I see, and your name is?"

    "Bob, sir! Bob, son of Raul!"

    "I see. Then Bob, can I walk inside the South Window? I don''t know if the city will accept a guest yet."

    "Oh! Of course, sir. Please come inside!"

    "Thank you. Nice to meet you, Bob."

    "Yes, sir!"

    I walked toward the city, but before I could walk far from the gate, I walked toward Bob and asked him a question.

    "Errrrr Bob, can I ask you a question?"

    "Of course, Sir Isaac!"

    "Where can I find the runemaster?"

    "Oh! You can find her on the south side of the city. Just follow the road in front of you, and when you meet a dead end, her store is in your right."

    "I see. Thank you, Bob."

    "It is my p???sur?, sir!"

    I nod at him and then walk toward the runemaster store. After a minute or so walking, I arrive at a two-story-tall building with a symbol of rune crystal attached to the building''s front door.

    I walk inside the store and see four people sitting on a chair with four other women who touch their hands and massage their hands. Some of the women take a rune crystal and make it float above the hand of their customer. It looks like massaging the customer''s hand is the process of attaching the rune.

    "Welcome to our store. What can I do for you, stranger?"

    I snap from my thoughts when one of the workers walks toward me.

    "Ah! I come here to attach some rune into myself."

    "I see. Then please sit down, and I will go back to you in a second."

    I sit down on one of the empty chairs in the room. A few seconds later, the woman came back from the backroom and sat down in front of me.

    "So! Do you want to buy a rune crystal first, or do you bring your own crystal?"

    "I bring my own crystal, but before we begin, can I ask how much do I need to pay for this process?"

    "If you bring your own crystal, then you only need to pay two thousand potch. If you want to buy and attach a rune, then it will have a different cost. Fire rune will cost you twelve thousand potch, ten thousand potch for the crystal, and two thousand potch for the attachment process. Lightning rune will cost you fourteen thousand potch. Water rune will cost you eight thousand potch."

    "I see. I will need two runes attached to me for now. I will come back here to buy the Water Rune. I need to take more money from the inn first."

    "Of course."

    Right now, I only have ten thousand potch from the monster drop I killed not too long ago. I either need to sell some gold to the trader or hunt some monster and hope they drop some money.

    Right now, I''m in a hurry, so I guess selling some gold is needed.

    "Can I have your right hand?"

    I snap from my thoughts and nod at her before giving her my right hand. When she gets my hand, the woman begins to massage my hand like she is searching for something.

    "Hmmm, Can I ask what you are doing?"

    "Ah! We do this because we need to create a path to connect the rune to your magic. You will feel like an ant crawling around your body in a second. Please ignore it for a second."

    True to her word, I can feel a hundred or so ants crawling on my body. It was not hurt but rather uncomfortable. After a few seconds, the uncomfortable feeling began to disappear, and the woman stopped massaging my hand.

    "Good. Now please give me the rune crystal so we can begin the process."

    "Of course."

    I take out the crystal from my ''pocket'' and give it to the woman in front of me. The first crystal she takes is the Pale Gate Rune. When she looked at the rune crystal, she widened her eyes for a second before looking at me.

    "You have a rare crystal in here."

    "Yeah, I''m a traveler and treasure hunter. This is one of the few things I encounter in my travels."

    "I see. Is there anything rare you can sell to us? As long as it was magic related, we will buy it."

    "Maybe later, first thing first, let''s finish this. I will come back after I take my item from the inn."

    "Of course. Please come to our store first, okay?"

    "I promise."

    "Thank you. Please follow me to the other room. Pale Gate Rune can only be attached to your forehead. I cannot do it if you are sitting on the chair."

    "Of course."

    I take the darkness rune back and follow the woman to the next room, where the woman tells me to lie down on the bed. When I lie down on the bed, the woman walks toward me and makes the rune float above my head.

    "Please don''t move too much. The process will be uncomfortable, but please don''t move too much."

    "Okay"

    Lucky for me, the women already told me the process would be uncomfortable, but I never thought that I would get a massive headache when the rune crystal touched my head. The headache lasts for a few seconds before it slowly goes away, leaving only a numbing sensation.

    However, before I could release a relief breath, a rush of knowledge appeared in my head. It was the information of how many attacks the Pale Gate Rune had with the current me. Right now, I can summon a firefox for an hour from the Void to do my bidding. It can cast a fire-based attack and an illusion. There is also a massive centaur knight I summon for five minutes before it gets back to the void.

    There is also another summon I can access, but I cannot reach it just yet.

    "It is done. The rune will grow the more you use it. The rune also gives you a boost. Pale Gate Rune will boost your mana density by a hundred percent, so you need to train your magic control."

    "I see."

    Yeah, I can feel my mana has changed if my previous mana is like water, then this time it was like honey, thick and hard to move. However, it also packs more punch than before. I need to test this out later.

    Also, did she say that I can increase my summon duration just by using it over and over again? It is time for grinding then.

    "Now for the next rune. Please give me the rune."

    "You must be a fortunate treasure hunter, huh? Darkness rune, the rune that governs darkness and death. If you sell this to the other kingdom, you will be given land and nobility by them."

    "Meh."

    "Meh? That''s it? You can get a title and land, you know?"

    "Yeah, meh. I''m a traveler, and I prefer to travel around the world."

    And I already have a title and land to govern. I cannot govern a land that I will permanently leave.

    "You are a weird man."

    "That I am. Anyway, can you attach this rune in my right hand?"

    "Of course. In your journey, have you encountered a raw magical crystal?"

    What is a raw magical crystal? I don''t know what it is, so I decided to ask about it to my power. A second later, a piece of knowledge about it appeared in my head.

    A raw magical crystal is a material to contain the rune power. It was needed to create a common rune. It was not a rare material but rather an uncommon material used by the Runemaster. This crystal can be found in the monster that eats that crystal or in the crystal mine.

    Because it is a material, I can summon it with my power.

    "I do. I have ten kilograms of it in my belongings."

    "Then will you sell it to us?"

    "How much do you offer for this crystal? It was one big crystal, not a bunch of cristal."

    "Realy?"

    "Yes."

    "Then can we look at it first? We will, of course, offer you a fair price."

    "Then I will bring the crystal here after we finish this business first."

    "Of course!"

    I guess I need to rent a room in the local inn to ''take out'' the crystal.. I don''t want to go outside the city to summon the crystal.

 Chapter 23 - Interlude

    My name is Lunaria. I work for madam Rose, the owner of all rune stores in the South Window Principality region. The owner of all Rune stores in the South Window region and Madam Rose are also one of the biggest merchants in the City-State of Jowston.

    However, recently the supply of raw magical crystals has been decreasing at an alarming rate. Usually, they can get fifty or so kilograms of raw magical crystal from the Tinto region, but because of the Highland invasion and the South Window abandoning the Tinto army when they fight against the Toran Republic.

    Now, all the Tinto region supply has been reduced by half and double the usual price. To compensate for the increasing price of the material to create a rune, madam Rose needs to increase her usual price and make her customer decrease.

    Usually, people only need to pay four thousand for a fire rune crystal. Now it increases to ten thousand potch for one fire rune crystal.

    So when a traveler came to the store while bringing Pale Gate Rune and Darkness Rune, I was surprised to the point of a little bit of drool coming out from my mouth.

    Pale Gate Rune is a rune that specializes in summoning monsters coming from the World of Emptiness. Not only summoning, but it also binds them to do the user bidding. There is a rumor that the most powerful magician in the northern continent Crowley and his former apprentice Mazus, can use this rune to summon the most powerful creature in the World of Emptiness, Argam the eternal flame, and Paymirth the first dragon.

    That summons is so powerful both users can only summon them for a few seconds before they get back to the World of Emptiness.

    I don''t know if the rumor is true but seeing that the badland is created by those magicians fighting each other, I know that there is some truth behind those rumors.

    Anyway, the Pale Gate Rune is considered a rare rune that many high ranking people want to have in their hand.

    If someone sold it to a rich country like Felena Queendom in the south, they would get at least five million potch in a single transaction.

    While the Pale Gate Rune can be considered a fortune to any adventurer, treasure hunter, or mercenary, the Darkness Rune can be considered a life-changing encounter.

    So when a treasure hunter came inside our store to attach that said rune into their body. At first, I think the rune will only be wasted if used by a newbie or people that don''t have much mana in their body.

    Rune can be only attached to someone that has enough mana to contain its power. Rune has semi-consciousness; while it doesn''t have the same intelligence as a human, it still can choose its own master.

    Only a certain rune that accepts low-level mana reserve individuals. On the other hand, Pale Gate Rune, only a top-tier magician can equip this rune.

    I decided to humor this treasure hunter with a hard heart and begin to create a path for the rune to attach itself into this person''s mana reserve. While opening the path for the rune, I decide to peak the man reserve and never in my life feel so much mana coming from one individual.

    Humans can absorb mana in the air and then spread it around their bodies. All living beings do this, so even the smallest and weakest creature has mana inside their body even though it was only a tiny bit of it.

    However, this man not only has a massive flow of mana inside his body. I can feel a pulsing ball of mana in the center of his body filled with mana. What makes me more surprised is that this ''core'' continues to grow by absorbing all the mana around this man.

    So not only this man has a massive amount of mana in his body, but he also has a mana core inside his body that can be used as an emergency supply of mana. Not only that! This man Mana absorption rate is too fast! It is like a whirlpool in the sea! It draws raw mana in the air at a fast rate and processes it, spreading it around his body, and the rest of the mana that did not get absorbed by his body gets taken away by his core, leaving nothing behind.

    The human body cannot proceed with all the mana their body absorbs from the air. It will always have a little bit of mana that cannot be purified by the human body. This waste of mana will be thrown away. This waste is called impurity.

    The impurity coming out from the human body will be the catalyst for the monster to respawn. Many researchers in the world are searching for a way for the human body to at least limit the waste of mana it releases.

    And their answer is within this mysterious man that just left away to get back to the inn and take the Raw Magical Crystal to sell to us.

    Anyway, I arrived on the third floor of the store where Madam Rose''s private office is located. I knock on the door, and a second later, I can hear madam Rose coming from the room.

    "Come in."

    I open up the door and see a beautiful woman with red hair and wearing a beautiful pink silk dress that reveals her enormous br??st.

    "Ah! Lunaria! What can I do for you?"

    "Madam, some interesting man is coming to our store."

    "Oh? For you to directly report this to me, then it must be a REALLY interesting man."

    "Yes. This man came here not too long ago¡­"

    I then begin explaining my experience to madam Rose. After a minute of explanation, madam Rose sighs a little before saying.

    "I see. Please do not tell this to others. This is not a request. This is an order."

    "But why? We can solve the problem of monster spawning!"

    "Yes, if what you are saying is correct, then he is a powerful individual. I don''t want to offend a powerful individual."

    "But he is just one man."

    "Yes. In the front, yes. But a normal treasure hunter WILL sell his finding to either the auction or directly to an empire. However, instead of selling his treasure, this man attacked his rune on his body. That means he did not need any money or ...."

    "Or?"

    "Or he is bored with all the money and only wants to travel the world. If he doesn''t want any more money, then where do you think he will get money for his food and equipment?"

    "Either selling the treasure, he finds or¡­"

    "He gets money from his parents and relatives. A treasure hunter is not a profitable job, as it needs massive luck if you want to find something valuable. The same with Adventurer. They only get money from the monster they defeat who sometimes drops money."

    "I see."

    "Yes. That means he is the son of a big noble house in another country that does not need land to govern as his father will give him the land he wants. He did not need any more money as his pocket money is bigger than what he can sell."

    That makes sense. The only thing that man needs is an individual power that he can show to his people. He already has economic power from his father, status power, and the only thing he needs is individual power to show his people that he is a worthy successor.

    He became a treasure hunter to search for rare rune or powerful artifacts and increase his experience.

    "Then what should we do, Madam?"

    "Nothing. We don''t know which house he comes from in which country. So we cannot forge a friendship with him for the long term. However, we can form a short term friendship. He says that he will sell his Raw Magical Crystal, right?"

    "Yes."

    "Then buy all his crystals at a fair price."

    "Of course, madam."

    I then get up from the chair and bow to madam Rose before walking away from the room to meet the mysterious man once again.

 Chapter 24 - Trade

    I walk inside the rune store and see the previous woman waiting for my return at the front table. When she sees me, she smiles a little and then walks toward me.

    "Welcome back."

    "Yes. Is there any private room where we can conduct this business?"

    "Of course. Please follow me on the second floor. We can also attach another rune into your body there."

    "Of course."

    While following the woman in front of me.

    "Hey¡­ er?"

    "Lunaria, sir."

    "Isaac, nice to meet you."

    "You too, sir."

    "Anyway, is this store selling a rare rune by any chance?"

    "What kind of rune, sir?"

    "Like Rage or Thunder rune."

    "Ah. Sadly we don''t have that kind of rune, but we do have Flowing and Mother Earth Rune."

    "I see. Then let''s see how much you pay for this trade before I decide if I want to attach those runes."

    "Of course, sir."

    We arrived in front of one of the rooms on the second floor. When we walked inside, the woman let me sit down on the chair while she prepared some tea for me to drink. After a minute of waiting, the woman placed down the tea on the table before saying.

    "So, shall we start the trade?"

    "Of course."

    I placed down a box that I carried from the inn. I buy this box from the inn earlier to place down the item I need to sell.

    "This is the Raw Magical Crystal I want to sell."

    "I see. Do you mind me inspecting it?"

    "Go ahead. I don''t mind."

    I take the tea that has been served to me and takes a sip.

    Hmmm. It is delicious.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Lunaria looks at the man in front of her for a second before taking the massive crystal inside the box he brought with him. Isaac keeps his word that he will be back in a few minutes and not go to the trade house.

    It looks like Madam Rose is right. This massive raw magical crystal can be sold in the trade house, and the trade house will put it in the auction for sure.

    She takes out the crystal and pushes a little bit of my mana inside the crystal. Instead of feeling a lingering of mana inside the crystal-like many Raw Magical Crystal in the market, she felt a stream of mana flowing inside the crystal. It was like seeing a vortex of mana.

    Lunaria looked at her customer, Isaac, still shocked at the amount of mana inside the crystal. Usually, this kind of crystal can be used for twenty or so rune containers IF it was a normal crystal. By the look of this crystal, it can be used for at least a hundred rune containers!

    "A-are you sure you want to sell this in here?"

    "Hm? Of course. I promised to sell it here, didn''t I?"

    "I see. Would you mind if I take this crystal to my superior?"

    "No, I don''t mind. Go ahead."

    "Thank you."

    Lunaria walks toward Madam Rose''s office, and when madam Rose says that she can walk inside, Lunaria walks inside and places the crystal on the table. Madam Rose touches the crystal with her hand, and she has the same reaction Lunaria had earlier.

    "This is¡­ Are you sure he wants to sell this?"

    "Yes, madam."

    "I see¡­. Buy this crystal at a high price. 5 million potch minimum and 15 million potch at maximum. 5 million should be good enough for the first price, and right now, 15 million potch is what I willing to give to him."

    "Of course, madam."

    With her instruction clear, Lunaria walks away from the room and goes back to the room where she leaves Isaac alone. When she walks inside the room, she can see Isaac sipping his tea, but there is a cake on top of the table beside the tea. She wonders where he got those cakes.

    "Sorry for the wait."

    "No problem. The tea is good. I couldn''t help but almost drink it all. I''m sorry about that."

    "It was not a problem, sir. It was my p???sur? to serve you the tea."

    "So, how is it?"

    "Ah! Yes¡­ My superior says that she can over you 5 million potch for this crystal."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    When I hear the money Lunaria is willing to waste on this crystal; it almost makes me spill all the tea. 5 million potch for a single crystal? Holy moly.

    One loaf of bread is 20 potch, an average rent of an inn is 120 potch per night, not including food, and one longsword is about 1000 potch. By looking at that price, I can guess that 5 million potch can buy me a small piece of land or a medium to a large-sized building.

    "Is it not enough? How about 6 million potch?"

    "How much for the Flowing Rune?"

    "Flowing rune? It will cost you 32000 potch."

    "I see. Then 5 million is good enough for me."

    "Are you sure?"

    "Yup."

    Lunaria hesitated a little before nodding her head. I guess I understand her hesitation. When someone is willing to pay you 6 million gold coins, but you only want 5 million, then there must be something wrong.

    "Also, you can take the money from this trade for my Flowing Rune. I want it attached to my left hand."

    "Of course. It will not be a problem."

    "Oh, before you go. Can someone have more than one rune in their body?"

    "Yes. However, it was not recommended. There are a few requirements to do this. The first one is that a person needs a massive amount of mana in their body. The second one is that the person needs to train their body to be strong enough for the rune. The last one is that the said person needs perfect control of their magic."

    "I see¡­.. What do you think of me? Do you think I can have more than three runes?"

    "Hmmm¡­. You already fulfill the two requirements needed for the last one¡­ I suggest you train your new rune first as each of your runes have a different effect on your body."

    "Like what?"

    "Pale Gate Rune has a passive ability that increases the user mana quality by a hundred percent. It makes your mana denser than before, and not only that; it also increases your affinity to summoning spells. I also hear it also gives you an affinity to Void spells, like teleportation or void traveling. Darkness Rune increases your affinity to the Darkness element and also the Death. Your affinity with death makes you harder to be killed. You can continue to fight even when you lose a huge amount of blood from your body. All runes give the user a boost in their mana reserve, but it will increase with time. You can, of course, make the process faster with training."

    I see. That means I can increase my mana capacity if I continue using my rune over and over again. Not only that, but it also opens up more options of attack for me to use in the future. I''m really glad to come to this universe. Not only is the rune an individual entity inside my body that does not need mana to cast their attack, but it also gives a boost to my mana as well.

    "I see. What Flowing Rune gives me?"

    "Flowing Rune will increase your water affinity by a large margin. It also lets you breathe underwater. The rune also increases your ice affinity by a small amount and increases the effectiveness of all healing spells you had."

    "I see. Yes, I will have a Flowing Rune, please."

    "Of course. Please lie down on the bed while I do the process."

    I lie down on the bed without saying any word, and Lunaria begins massaging my hand once again. However, this time it was not as uncomfortable as before, but a few seconds later, the same headache as before still happening as a rush of knowledge appeared inside my head.

    For a few seconds, I was still lying down on the bed while rubbing my forehead before sitting down on the bed and looking at Lunaria, who smiled at me.

    "The process is done, sir."

    "Yes, Thank you."

    "The money will be given to you in a few minutes. Are you willing to stay here? Or do you want to go back to the inn first?"

    "About the money¡­. Do you know someone named Viktor or Flik? I hear they are rather famous."

    "Yes. They are the leader of a band of mercenaries that fight against the Highland. If not for them, the South Window will fall under the Highland control."

    "Then you should know the North Window city then?"

    "Ah! Do you mean Dunan City? The name has been changed not too long ago."

    "I see. Anyway, I want you to send that money to North Window and give it to Viktor, Flik, Shu, or Riou. They are the people that should receive the money."

    "We can do that¡­ But are you sure, sir?"

    "Yes."

    "Then we will do that. Don''t worry. We will deliver the money to them. You can count on us."

    "I know."

    With all the business done, I walk away from the store and begin to leave the city. It is time for me to leave and go back to my pocket dimension. However, I don''t want to get back just yet as I still want to train my rune inside my pocket dimension.

    Anyway, I trust the store to deliver the money to Riou in the hope it will help the war against the Highland. If the store did not send the money, then I cannot do anything about it. I don''t lose anything and only gain something from the transaction anyway.

    Now¡­ It is time to grind.

 Chapter 25 - Home

    Has it been a few months? I don''t know. I don''t see a calendar when I''m training my rune. My Pale Gate Rune now can summon more monsters from the Void. I also learned some important things in my training.

    Pale Gate Rune has a different level of a stage where I can summon my monster from.

    The stage is called Pale Gate, King''s Road, Royal Passage, Pale Palace, and Empty World.

    If the weakest monster is level one and the strongest one is level a hundred, then Pale Gate is where level 1 to level 30 monsters reside. King''s Road is where level 25 to level 60 monsters reside. Royal Passage is the place where I can summon level 61 to level 90 monsters. Pale Palace is the place where all the top-tier monsters reside. This place is filled with monsters from level 91 to level 100.

    Empty World is a different place entirely. This place is the place where many forbidden monsters slumber. You could say that this place is the place where I can access exodia if I was in the Yu-Gi-Oh world.

    This place is different from the other one. If the other stage lets the monster stay on my side for a certain amount of time or even forever, this place only lets me call the monster to attack the enemy for one time, and then it needs a time before I can call it once again.

    However, while it only can be used once every month (At my current strength), the attack this monster makes every time I summon it is so powerful that it can obliterate a massive mountain in a single attack without a problem.

    But it has the same system as Alchemist from the FullMetal Alchemist world. It needs an equivalent exchange. I need to give almost all of my mana to summon the weakest creature from the Empty World. Unlike the other summon where I don''t need to spend any mana to summon monsters.

    This is the only ability that is needed for me to cast it with my own mana. The other Rune or the other ability Pale Gate Rune have did not cost me any mana.

    Speaking of other runes, My Darkness Rune and Flowing Rune become more powerful each time I use it like the rune mistress says it would be.

    I pick up the note in front of me and see all the attacks my rune can do right now.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Pale Gate Rune|

    1.) Summon Nine Tail Fox (A nine-tailed fox from the myth) (Fire element) (Indefinitely)

    2.) Summon Silver Talon (A massive silver eagle with two pair of wings) (Wind element) (Indefinitely)

    3.) Summon Earth Golem (A ten-meter tall Golem made of stone) (Earth element) (Indefinitely)

    4.) Summon Water Horse (A hybrid of horse and dolphin. It have a front leg of a horse and back of a dolphin) (Water Element) (Indefinitely)

    5.) Summon Golden Crow (A golden crow that has a wing made of golden energy) (Lightning Element) (Indefinitely)

    6.)Summon Angel of Light (A knight with a white wing on its back) (Light Element) (Indefinitely)

    7.)Summon Angel of Darkness (A hooded figure holding a sword made of darkness in its hand) (Darkness Element) (Indefinitely)

    8.)Summon Gate Guardian (A centaur knight fully equipped with armor and also a lancer in their hand) (Null Element? There is no sign of element used) (One Squad [10 creature] can be summoned indefinitely) (One Platoon [50 creature] can be summoned for a few months) (One Company [200 creature] can be summoned for a week) (One Battalion [1000 creature] can be summoned for three hours)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    This creature is a master of illusion and fire. Not only that, but it also has a mind of its own, so it is a perfect creature for ?ssassination, espionage, and sabotage.

    The Pale Gate Rune does not summon any random monster from the Void each time I summon a monster. It will always be the same monster. You could say that each monster is like my own familiar that made a contract with me even though it was technically a slave contract.

    The Nine-Tailed Fox that I named Yuka says that while they cannot disobey their master''s command, they can do it differently. Yuka can give false information to her master or weaken her attack by a considerable amount.

    She also says that each command they fulfill will make them stronger and make their power more potent. That is why if their master is an ?ssh*le, they will not use their full power. However, if their master is worthy, then they will give their hardest to serve them.

    Anyway, those eight summonings are something I can summon and can stay for an indefinite amount of time, except for the Gate Guardian. I can let them stay forever if I only summon ten of them, but Yuka said that it was a bad idea to let them stay in the Overworld (Yuka calls the world other than the World of Emptiness as the Overworld) as they are first and always be a gate guardian.

    They will complete their duty commanded by me, but they also have other duties to guard the gate. So if I let them stay in the Overworld, they will begin to see me as someone that makes them betray their duty as the Gate Guardian.

    Anyway, that is all the summon I can summon and let it stay forever.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |King''s Road|

    1.) Summon King''s Knight (The massive version of Gate Guardian. This version also have a sword, bow, and shield alongside the lancer) (Null Element) (5 Hours)

    2.) Summon King''s Magician (A massive humanoid creature wearing a cloak that covers its face and body) (Three to Five elements) (3 Hours)

    3.) Summon Trent (A massive tree that is towering over 20 meters from the ground) (Nature Element) (2 Hours)

    |Royal Passage|

    1.) Summon Bull of Heaven (Massive bull with blue skin, long and sharp horn and tail made of lightning) (Lightning Element) (1 Hour)

    2.) Summon White Serpent (A serpent with a spear-like nose that can drill the ground with ease) (Water, Wind, and Ice) (1 Hour)

    |Pale Palace|

    1.) Summon Emperor Vessel (A massive ship. Not a modern kind of ship. It has more than a hundred cannons and they can be fired like a Gatling gun) (All element) (10 Minutes)

    |Empty World|

    1.) Summon Void Watcher (A massive skull above my head as it fires a beam of destruction that can split the sea. *Note. This summon need almost all my mana and only leaving a little bit of mana for me to stay awake) (Void Element) (Can only be used once) (3 months cooldown)

    |Flowing Rune|

    1.) Fog of Deception (Make a dense fog in 100 meters radius from me. Not only that, but it also hides me and my ally mana and life force. Last for ten minutes) (Can be used 20 times) (5-second cooldown after the fog is gone)

    2.) Rain of Kindness (Call a rain that heals my ally and I over time. While cannot regenerate a chopped limp, it can heal small to medium injury. The rain last for ten minutes) (Can be used 20 times) (5 seconds cooldown after the rain stopped)

    3.) Protection Mist (Almost the same as Fog of Deception but instead of hiding my life force and mana, it enchant my ally and my defense to both physical and magical attack) (Can be used 20 times) (5 seconds cooldown after the fog is gone)

    4.) Breath of Ice (An ice attack where I can deal damage to the enemy. This spell did not attack the enemy from the outside. It attacks from the inside of the enemy. The chilling aura coming out from this spell slowly eating the enemy.) (Can be used 20 times) (5 seconds cooldown from each use)

    5.) Silent Lake (A spell that prevents my enemy from casting any spell for ten minutes. *Note. This spell did not dispel any magic that already been cast) (Can be used 10 times) (1 minutes cooldown)

    6.) Mother Ocean (Summoning an angel-like figure that heals me or anyone I touch to their full health. *Note. This spell is not an AOE type spell. It can only be used for one person. **Note. I already test this to the monster inside the pocket dimension. This spell can regenerate a limb that has been cut off in an instant.) (Can be used once) (1-month cooldown)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Darkness Rune|

    2.) Soul Thief (This is the spell that let me drain my enemy life force. Unlike the name imply this spell did not steal someone spell but rather drain the enemy life force and then use it to heal my self) (Can be used 5 times) (5 seconds cooldown)

    3.) Final Bell (A group instant death spell. Unlike the Finger of Death, this can be used against a group of people. For example, if I want a certain family to die, then I can use this spell. *Note. When the spell is used, a bell tolled will be heard, and I think it was not only me who heard it. So basically, this spell is like the Evening Bell Grand Hassan have from the FGO) (Can be used once) (20 seconds cooldown)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I place down the piece of paper in my hand and take a deep breath. I forgot to write that the rune can be recharged after a good night''s rest. Also, this list of spells is not all of the spells it can do. There is something more powerful, but I cannot access it just yet.

    Not only opening a more spell for me to use, but the rune in my body also increases my mana by a considerable amount. While not doubling the size of my original reserve, it still increased my mana.

    Lucky for me, the pocket dimension reset itself after midnight. So I can cause as much destruction as I want without worrying that the pocket dimension will become a fallout wasteland.

    Anyway, I put on my cloth and walk toward the Dimension Hopping room, where I press the return bu??on and walk inside the room. A few seconds later, I walk out of the Dimension Hopping room and walk outside toward the tree where I set the time I get out the pocket dimension as a few seconds after I walk inside the pocket dimension.

    When I walk toward the portal, I can see my bedroom just like I remember where I leave it.

    "Home sweet home."

 Chapter 26 - Report

    I walk toward my office, where I see Richard already inside my office with all the paperwork I need to do.

    "Good Morning, Richard."

    "Good morning, my lord. Do you want to have some breakfast now?"

    "No. I will have breakfast with my mother. Please tell me when my mother wants to have breakfast."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "So, what in this paper?"

    "The first ten papers are reports about the army patrolling around within a radius of three meters around the castle."

    "The rest of the paper?"

    "The next ten paper is the report about the harvest we got from the land in the inner wall of Sea Dragon Castle."

    "I see."

    I then put that report away from the army report.

    "And the last one?"

    "The last ten is the report about the trade and letter from the noble from the oversea."

    "Very well. Good work, Richard."

    "It is my p???sur?, my lord."

    I look at the report in my hand. The first report is the report of the army scouting the land in search of monster nests. Lucky for me, there is no monster within three hundred meters of the Sea Dragon Castle. However, there is a report of a monster coming from the mountain a few hundred meters from their location.

    "Richard"

    "My lord?"

    "Tell the master of arms to send a few dozen of his men to check the mountain in the southeast from our castle."

    "The silver mountain?"

    "Yes. There is a report saying that the monster is coming from silver mountain. Usually, the monster will stay in the mountain area as there are many caves for them to hibernate, but the soldiers say that the monster is coming from the mountain. Do you know what that means, right?"

    "Yes. It is either there is a more powerful monster making a nest in there and kicking the weaker monster out of its new nest or¡­"

    "Someone is kicking the monster out of their nest. I don''t want a bandit to steal the food we really need in this wintertime."

    When I mention bandits, I can see Richard''s face change into anger for a second before it changes back to his professional self. Richard is one of many victims of the bandit. His wife almost died in the hand of a bandit but lucky for him, my father came to the rescue and killed all the bandits.

    "I will inform the Master of Arm at once."

    "Good."

    When I see Richard walk away from my office, I continue to read all the reports in front of me. I know that Richard will inform the Master of Arm about this situation.

    The Lionheart family has a council. In this council, there are five seats that take care of different things. The Master of Arms is the one that takes care of the army. He is the one that arranges the training of the army, the one that prepares the army if there is an emergency, and the one that checks the equipment the army wears if they are good enough in case a war is coming.

    Master of Sea is the one that takes care of the harbor. He is the one that oversees any merchant coming to the Sea Dragon Point and the one that enforces the tax for any merchant that comes to this city.

    The Master of Ship is the one who manages the ship and the one that takes care of the sea. He is the one that guards the sea against a pirate, enemy ship, and also a sea monster. He has the same power in the military as the Master of Arm.

    The Master of Coin is the one that handles the treasurer. He is the one that monitors the money flow. Monitor where all the money gets out and the one that oversees the tax income. He is the one that monitors the money, and when there are some people that did not pay his/her taxes, he will be the one that reports it to me. The treasure is not only a coin but also food and a valuable gem.

    Lastly, the Master of Night. Richard is the one holding this position. He has two positions, the Head of all Servants and also the Master of Night. Master of Night is the position handling the spy network. It was a public secret that the head of a servant is also the Master of Night. The reason is that this position is not only the one that manages the spy network but also the one that protects their lord from enemy spies and ?ssassins. There is no one more deserving that position other than the personal butler of the lord himself.

    Richard already trained his son to be his successor. The one that wants this position anyway.

    The winter should arrive a month from this day. With the ward''s help around my land, the plant should be ready to be harvested before the winter comes.

    I then take the last stack of paper on my table and begin to read it. The first is the letter coming from Lord Lomun saying that he wants to buy some of our grain. After reading it for a few seconds, I begin to write a letter to my uncle Lomun that I will send a merchant to sell them grain at a lower price than the market.

    Many of the letters are letters from the Northern Lord who wanted to buy the grain from me. I want to help them all but the grain we have¡­. I guess I could upgrade my ward to increase the plant''s growth rate in my land for now. I don''t want to make the ward permanent so as not to gather a jealous glance from the other lord, especially the lord from the southern side of the continent.

    Or I could create a private farm for myself. Richard already knows about my ability to use magic, after all. Yeah, let''s do that, but I still need to ''create'' a fertilizer to fool the public eyes. I don''t want someone to speak about me having magic. Yet. I want to expand the inner wall farm so the others know where I get all the grain I sold to the other lord.

    I could make the rest of the northern lord to be dependent on the Lionheart house for emergency food, especially in the winter, in exchange for a favor and, of course, money. I gain their favor and goodwill with me, selling them a lower price than what they usually pay.

    It is good to have an ally, after all.

    I begin to write a letter to all the lords saying that I will send some convoys to sell them our grain and vegetables. After I finish writing the letter, I look at the last letter on the table.

    "Hmmm? From the king?"

    Looking at the stamp on the letter, I know it was from the king or at least coming from the palace. When I open up the letter and read the letter''s content, I widen my eyes a little bit.

    "I completely forgot about the Winter Eve party."

 Chapter 27 - Party

    Right now, my family and I are eating our breakfast in the dining room. While it is not as good as the one I usually cook, it was good enough for my taste. I''m not a picky eater, but I appreciate good food.

    A few minutes later, I wipe my mouth and look at my mother before saying.

    "Mother. I want to inform you that we are invited to the Winter Eve party in the royal palace."

    "Hmm? The letter has arrived?"

    "Yes. Do you want to come?"

    "Hmmm. I will not come this year. I don''t think your little sister can handle the winter wind just yet."

    "Then, I will go there alone."

    "No. You will not be going there alone."

    "Hmmm?"

    I tilted my head a little and looked at my mother with confusion.

    "Your uncle will be coming there as well. Also, my father, your grandfather, will go there as well."

    "That is true."

    I forget that this event is for all nobility, not only a certain number of people.

    "Mother, could you write to grandfather and ask if he wants to meet here or he wants to go to the royal palace immediately?"

    "I think he wants to go immediately to the royal palace, but I guess I could ask him; he has not yet seen her only granddaughter after all."

    "Thank you."

    "Don''t think about it. We are family, after all. Just be careful when you arrive at the royal palace. That place is called the Snake Pit for a reason. There are too many poisonous snakes in that place. The worst kind of snake."

    "Oh? What kind of snake is that?"

    "Politician."

    "Hahahahaha. Then I''m a snake as well, then? To become a lord, one needs to know about politics, right?"

    "No. You are a lord. You did not lie to get something for yourself. You lie to protect your people. You lie to make your people survive throughout the winter. You lie for the good of your people."

    "I lie?"

    "Don''t think I don''t know that you are creating a magical barrier around the land. While I''m not a magician, I''m coming from a family with a magic core inside our body. I only have a small core, but I''m s?ns?t?v? to magic. I can feel the magic around us begin to thicken."

    "I see. I''m sorry not informing you, mother."

    "It was nothing. You do it so the people could eat. You do it, so the people don''t starve to death. That is why I said that you are a lord, not a politician."

    For now, there is a stack of paper I need to do.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    It has been a week since the letter from the royal palace came and right now it is the time for me to go to the capital city and attend this party. My mother and an army of maids help me pick up the cloth I should bring with me.

    While I will wear casual clothing for the journey, my mother insisted that I bring at least seven formal clothes for some reason. I cannot do anything about it. Not only I don''t really know anything about fashion, but my mother says that I will need this many clothes.

    After an hour of torture, I''m ready to go. I walk out of the castle and stop in front of the carriage I will be using on my journey. Around the castle is a soldier wearing their full armor. They are the top soldier personally picked by the master of arms.

    I walk toward my mother and hug her for a few seconds. After hugging my mother, I walk toward the wet nurse and then kiss my little sister''s forehead before walking inside the carriage. I continued to give them a wave before I couldn''t see them anymore.

    When there is nothing I could do anymore, I take out a Nintendo switch from my pocket dimension. The journey will take two weeks. If it were not for my pocket dimension, I would be dead because of boredom.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    My name is Elizabeth Anworth von Vulux. I''m a princess of the Vulux kingdom. I''m the third child of the current king of the Vulux kingdom. Many people see me as your usual innocent princess, but I have a massive secret.

    I''m a reincarnated person!

    I''m called Haruyama Hazuki, a thirty-year-old woman working as a mangaka in my previous life. I still remember how I was dead. That night, after drinking a lot of sake for the celebration of my first royalty, I try to walk home, but when I want to cross the street, I can see a bright light and before suddenly I can feel all my body hurt before the darkness consumes me. The last thing I see is a bloodied truck before I don''t know anymore.

    The next thing I know, I wake up as the princess of some kingdom. However, when a week or so passes by, I suddenly remember which world I''m reincarnated to. This is the same world as an otome game I once played in the past!

    The game is called ''White Angel.'' This game is about a woman having an ancient bloodline that lets her kill monsters easily. This bloodline takes the form of a white wing that protects her from any harm coming at him. This wing also let her attack any monster coming in her way.

    The story starts when she awakens her bloodline in public after being tortured by her family that sees her as useless. The reason for this torment is because her face has a large scar across her face.

    Originally she is the dotted daughter of her family, but because of some accident that her step little sister orchestrated, she got a massive scar on her face.

    The MC is from a merchant family with connections to the high-ranking noble family, and the heir of that family fancy the MC. Seeing the opportunity, the MC father decides to offer a marriage proposal to the said family, and they accept it.

    However, the father did not know that her other daughter from his second wife is falling in love with this heir. Blinded with jealousy, she creates a plan to deform the MC''s face into something ugly. When the heir sees the MC''s new face, he decides to cancel the engagement and the trade agreement between them.

    The little sister gets a potion from one of the magicians from the Tower of Magic. The game did not say the magician''s name, but the game implies that he was a high-ranking magician. The game did not give any information about an important event! Hell, there is no official name for the main character and her family! The player decided the name.

    Anyway, that is not important right now. What is important is that I''m reincarnated as the daughter of a shitty king! My father is a man that blind to the situation in his kingdom. He did not care about his kingdom and only cared about his own needs.

    When I play the game, this kingdom will always be the first one to be destroyed by either this kingdom''s enemy or by its own noble.

    Lucky for me, I still have ten or so years before that disaster happens.

    The first disaster is happening when the Winter Eve party is happening. From what I know in the game, the noble from the southern region of the Vulux kingdom hate the people from the northern region. The southern noble thinks that the north people are a barbarian who only know how to fight.

    They did not think about the harsh environment of the north. The north is filled with monsters, and its climate makes it hard for them to grow crops. They didn''t care about noble etiquette because they don''t need that to survive.

    The north is also the place where many demi-human reside. Vulux kingdom is known for its acceptance of other races, but in reality, only the northern region accepts the demi-human. A slave is legal in this kingdom, and the usual target for enslavement is the demi-human.

    Because of them accepting the demi-human as their citizen, the southern nobles begin to see them as the second citizen even though they are the nobles of this kingdom.

    The southern noble says that northern people are people that eat each other to fill their belly, but I know it was false information. Northern is the most loyal people in the Vulux kingdom. When they see you as their lord or lady, they will give their life to protect yours without any hesitation. That is how people really are.

    On the other hand, the southern noble sees the other as either prey to be hunted or as a tool they can use for their benefit. It is kinda ironic when they say that the northern people eat each other to fill their belly, but the truth is the opposite. The southern noble is willing to eat the other to fill their belly and filled their coffer with gold.

    "My princess, we have arrived."

    "Announcing Elizabeth Anworth von Vulux! The princess of Vulux Kingdom!"

    When I walk inside the ballroom, I suddenly hear a mechanical voice in my head.

    |210 unscanned people. Would you scan them?|

    Yes.

    |Scanning¡­.. Scan complete. If you want to see their status, please say identify in your head while facing your target.|

    This is the ability I got when I get reincarnated in this world. This ability I called Scan and Identify. It is like a game mechanic, but it can only show the status of the people I scanned. While it sounds useless, it is something that is really useful for me to have.

    |Theodore Mast|

    |Viscount Rank|

    |35 years old|

    |STR: 7|

    |VIT: 9|

    |INT: 0|

    |WIS: 17|

    |What he feels about you|

    {Lusting over your body. Want to make you his woman but know it is impossible. Want to get your good favor.}

    Just like that. I can see what people think about me, and let me tell you, this ability is really useful if you have an important title. Because of this ability, I can avoid people that have bad intentions towards me, and this place has so many of those kinds of people.

    Especially an older man who wants to marry a fourteen years old child. I cannot keep saying that I''m too young to marry when I''m almost coming of age. This world is still in the medieval age, where fifteen years old was already considered an ?du?t.

    A healthy ?du?t has a 10 in his/her physical stats. STR is how strong you are. VIT is how durable and healthy your body is. That is for the physical stats. INT is the stats for your magic and how many mana you have. WIS is the one showing how clever you are. That is the mental stats.

    I also can identify their skill, but I need to keep looking at them, making it an awkward situation when I try to do it.

    Anyway, I avoid all the people that try to gather my goodwill in favor of searching for one of the most important people at this party.

    Isaac Lionheart.

    Isaac has a title given by the player of White Angel.

    The Silver Lion

    He is the one that takes care of the people of the north and the one that tries his best to feed all the people in the north when the winter comes, from selling the other some food at a lower rate than the other or even giving them some food for free when the harvest is failed.

    He was like a lion protecting its cub from danger, and in return, he will get the loyalty of all the nobles in the northern region.

    Anyway, after a few seconds of searching, I see a group of people of different races gathering in the corner of the room, chatting at each other and having a pleasant moment. As I walk toward that group, I see my target and quickly use my identity.

    |Isaac Lionheart|

    |Count Rank|

    |15 years old|

    |Human|

    |STR: 70|

    |VIT: 87|

    |INT: 325|

    |WIS: 50|

    |What he feels about you|

    {Did not know anything about you. Curious about you. Uncomfortable with you staring at him}

    When I see the last description, I look away with my face burning up before coughing and bowing a little at him.

    "Excuse me. My name is Elizabeth Anworth von Vulux, but please call me Elizabeth or Eli."

    Isaac looked at me with a surprised expression before shaking his head and smiling at me.

    "Isaac Lionheart.. It is a p???sur? to meet you. What can I do for you?"

 Chapter 28 - Winter Eve

    It has been a few days since I took a journey to the capital city where the Winter Eve party was celebrated. Even with all the games I had on my switch. It is still a boring journey. I cannot access my pocket dimension, and I cannot do anything inside this carriage other than sleep or play some game.

    Right now, we are taking a camp on the side of the road. I wave my wand a little and make a shelter for the soldier. I can see the amazement in their eyes when they see the tool floating around to create a tent for them to sleep.

    They are my personal soldiers trained by my father in the past. I know they are loyal to me, but just in case, I cast a permanent compulsion that will make them not saying anything about my magic.

    Anyway, I''m inside my tent right now, waiting for the chef to finish cooking. I really want to cook my own food, but the chef doesn''t allow me to do it because that is their only job on this journey. If I take their job, they will be jobless. I don''t mean it like that, but they did not listen to me. Urgh.

    I walk out of the tent and go to the forest.

    "My lord?"

    "Ah! I want to take some private matters. Don''t worry. I will be back."

    "I see. Please don''t wander too far, my lord."

    "I will."

    What I say to him is that I want to take a dumb. Anyway, I walk toward the forest, and after a minute of walking, I create a privacy ward and use my Pale Gate Rune.

    "Summon Nine Tail Fox"

    My head shines a little before suddenly a hole appears in front of me, and coming from the hole is a massive Fox with golden fur and a nine tail behind its back.

    "Hello Yuka"

    "Master"

    "Could you change your size?"

    "Of course."

    "So, what do you need?"

    "Nothing. I want to have a company on my journey to the capital."

    "Hmmmm~ Very well. I will be your company on your journey."

    I walk out of the forest, and when I arrive at the camp, I see the chef has already finished cooking all the food.

    "My Lord. The food is ready."

    "Thank you."

    I walk to the bonfire and sit down on the log with the other. I can see the others still uncomfortable with me sitting and eating with them, but after I sit with them from time to time, they begin to relax a little when I sit next to them.

    "Do you want some?"

    "Yip~."

    I smile at Yuka''s answer before giving her a piece of my steak. The others look at me with a surprised expression before they continue to do whatever they are doing. I guess my time training my blue magic on animals really helps in this situation.

    After eating the food, I go to my tent and take out my switch and look at Yuka.

    "Mario Kart?"

    "Heh. I will not lose to you this time."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    We arrived in the capital city just before the sun rose. Drallac, the Capital city of Vulux Kingdom. In the books, this city is called, city of dreams, the paradise, or the city of light but in reality¡­.

    |Master, it stinks!|

    |I know, but please bear with it for a few minutes.|

    Drallac is the shadow of its former self. In the past, this city can be called the City of Dream as this city is where many people get some work that changes their lives. However, in recent years, this city became what is known as the City of Lies.

    Drallac has four districts. The first district is where all the peasants lived. The first district has two sections, the outer and the inner section. The outer section is like the slum where the beggar or slaves lived. The inner section is where the free peasant, small merchant, or soldier lived.

    The second district is where the lower class noble lived. This is where the like of Knights, the Palace Guard, and Baron lived. This district has a contrasting atmosphere than the first district, even though they are only separated by one wall. This district is clean and doesn''t have any stink aroma.

    The third district is the place where higher nobles build their house. This district is the place where the likes of Viscount, Count, and Marquiss lived. To build a house in this place, you need at least a million gold coins and permission to buy the land in this district from either the King or Duke.

    Lastly, the fourth District. This district is where the palace is located. So this district is specifically used for the High Ranking noble and Royalty. The people who can live in this district are the King council members, a Duke, and his family, or the Royalty.

    The bard and other merchants tend to tell the other about what it looks like inside the Second district and above while never telling anyone about the first district. That is why this city is called the City of Lies.

    And right now, we are going to the third district. My grandfather has enough fortune and connection to the previous king to buy and build a mansion for the house of Lionheart. I don''t know why he bought this mansion, but the north did not like it. They thought that it was a waste of money and I must agree with them.

    The southern people did not like the northern people. I know that he wants to try to make the Lionheart family like the family in the south. Still, it is difficult to make the southern people change their opinions about us because of the different kinds of culture between the northern and southern regions.

    But I''m grateful for this mansion. I don''t need to sleep at the local inn. The only inn that can be considered for a noble is the one in the third district where the noble that didn''t have land here can rest there.

    There is an inn in the first district, but if the noble gets seen resting in that place, there will be gossip that can be fatal for that house.

    "My lord, your bedroom is ready. Sorry for the wait, but the mansion has not been used for years, and there is no one here taking care of it."

    "It is no problem. Please show me the way. It has been a long journey. I need to rest before the party begins."

    "Of course, my lord. Please come this way."

    I follow Richard to my room. As I arrive in my bedroom, Yuka jumps away from me and begins lying down on the bed.

    "So, what should we do?"

    "Yuka¡­ Can you do some spy work for me?"

    "Oh?"

    "Yes. I was hoping you could copy all the financial reports of the kingdom. I also want you to gather some information about the richest house right now and the house with the most grain that they cannot sell before the winter."

    "Hmmmm~ You want to buy the grain from the people that cannot sell their harvest because of the competition between houses, huh? But you know they will try to take advantage of you, right? They will try to sell it at a higher price than what it deserves."

    "It was not a problem. This is the third job I want you to do for me."

    "Oh?"

    "There are MANY corrupt officials here."

    "Heh. Very well"

    "Thank you."

    When she receives her order, Yuka goes to the window and jumps away from the mansion. I don''t want to steal some gold, but if there is a way to help my people survive this winter, I will do it.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I followed the butler that led me to the ballroom where the party will be held. When the butler opens up the door to the ballroom, I can see many people already inside. After looking around for a few seconds, my eyes see a familiar person.

    I walk toward one of the corners of the room where more than ten people are gathering.

    "Uncle Lomun"

    My uncle looked toward me before widening his eyes.

    "Ah! Isaac! I am glad to see you!"

    "Hello, uncle."

    "Come! Come! I bring Lucina with me."

    Uncle Lomun takes me to the gathering of the northern noble lord, and among them is a familiar woman.

    "Lucina."

    The woman looked at me before smiling. This woman is Lucina, the daughter of Lomun. She is short but not too short because of her race. She is around 140 to 150 cm tall, rather tall for a dwarf.

    "Isaac! How are you doing?"

    "I''m doing fine. How about you? Are you doing fine?"

    "Of course! We Dalagull people are a tough bunch. How is little Ginerva?"

    "She is doing great. She is an active child. She ran around the castle. She demanded many stories from me, and I couldn''t reject her when she asked for a story while pouting."

    "Really? I never thought a mere pout would beat the Lord of Lionheart house."

    "Oh, let me tell you some secret. That pout of her is a spell that can make anyone comply with her request."

    "You are the same as always, huh?"

    We continue our conversation for a few more minutes before one of the lords comes to me, interrupting my conversation with Lucina.

    "Lord Lionheart."

    I look at the man in front of me. He is human. He is a rather tall man. He is around 180 cm or so. He has brown hair and a goatee on his chin. He has green eyes. This man is Lord Saunders, Alfie Saunders, he is a baron to our west. A day of the carriage ride.

    "Lord Saunders. What can I do for you?"

    "Let''s get straight to business."

    "Oh? No sweet talk first?"

    "Heh. I''m not a southerner."

    "Then, please tell me what you need."

    "I want to buy a little bit of your grain."

    "... I want to sell you some of my grain, but there is a problem."

    "What is it?"

    "I already promised the other I would sell them some grain."

    "I see. So it was impossible, huh?"

    "Not really¡­"

    "Huh?"

    I look him in the eyes and say.

    "I want to buy some grain from the southern noble."

    "You know they will charge you more, right? It was cheaper to buy it from the other country than the southern people."

    "I know. However, there is something that lets me buy it a little bit cheaper. At least a little bit cheaper than buying some grain from the other country."

    "How?"

    "Do you know the news about many noble houses having difficulty selling all their grain?"

    "You don''t mean¡­"

    "I will try to buy some of their food. I don''t know why they didn''t sell it to us, to begin with. Money is still money."

    "Heh. It is their pride. They think that we don''t have enough money to buy food from them. Well yeah, we can''t buy it because their price is ridiculous."

    "I know which houses have massive leftover food that they cannot sell. If I can get them to sell the food at a reasonable price, I will contact you immediately."

    "About the price¡­ I will be honest here. I cannot buy anything from you if you change your usual price."

    "I will not change the price, I will promise you."

    "Then you will lose money."

    "Meh. I have some spare money."

    "...."

    Lord Saunders looks at me in the eyes for a few seconds before he nods at me and says.

    "If you are willing to do that, I swear in my family name that I will always help you and the Lionheart family with all my strength."

    "You know¡­ You don''t need to swear it on your family name."

    "No. If you really do something like that, I will be forever in debt to your house."

    "Haaaaaa. Very well."

    After that conversation with Lord Saunders, I return to have a conversation with Lucina once again. From time to time, the other northern nobles also approach me with the same reason as Lord Saunders. I did not promise anything, but I will send some people to their territory if I do get the deal.

    We spend our time within our own little group and ignore the whispering of the southern nobles. While the southern nobles celebrate winter''s arrival, we, the northern, pray that this winter is not a long winter.

    While we had a pleasant conversation with each other, I caught someone walking toward our little gathering with my eyes. It was a little girl with long golden blonde hair styled entirely in large coils. By the look of it, this girl is trouble.

    I decide to ignore her, but the more she stares at me, the more uncomfortable I become. After a few seconds of staring, the little girl suddenly introduced herself.

    "Excuse me. My name is Elizabeth Anworth von Vulux, but please call me Elizabeth or Eli."

    I look at her with a surprised expression before introducing myself.

    "Isaac Lionheart.. It is a p???sur? to meet you. What can I do for you?"

 Chapter 29 - Problem

    |Isaac Lionheart|

    |Count Rank|

    |15 years old|

    |Human|

    |STR: 70|

    |VIT: 87|

    |INT: 325|

    |WIS: 50|

    His physical stats are almost the same as the Palace Knight-Captain! And he is only fifteen years old!

    |System! I want to scan his stats fully |

    |Are you sure? It needs 7 days before you could use Full Scan|

    |Yes|

    |Very well. It needs a minute to complete.|

    I mentally nod at my system, respond, and look at the man in front of me. Isaac Lionheart, the Silver Lion. Her silver hair grows to his shoulder, sharp eyes, and blue eyes that shine with power.

    "So, what can I do for you, little princess?"

    I blush a little when he says that.

    "Don''t call me that!"

    "Oh?"

    "Call me, Eli!"

    "... You know that I cannot do that, right? You are a princess after all."

    I pout at him for a few seconds before he sighs and raises his hand, admitting a defeat.

    "Fine. What can I do for you, Eli?"

    "Hehehe. Can you tell me what the north likes?"

    "Hmmm. What do you want to know?"

    "Is it true that the north will always be snowing?"

    "Yup. Especially in the further north."

    "Heeee~ It must be really cold up there."

    "Yeah, but we adapt. While it is cold, we still call it home."

    "I see... "

    |DING. The scan is completed. Now you can read the rest of Isaac Lionheart''s stats. These stats will automatically update when you use a full scan once again in the future.|

    Without hesitation, I mentally command my power to open up the stats.

    |Isaac Lionheart|

    |Count Rank|

    |Title: Death Beloved, Child of the Sea, Master of Void, Star of Swift Courage|

    What the hell are those titles!!! Death Beloved?!? Child of the Sea?!? Master of Void?!? Star of Swift Courage?!? What the hell are those?

    |Do you want to read the description of all those titles?|

    |YES!|

    |Death Beloved|

    |This title is given to the holder of ¨|¨|¨|¨|.|

    |Effect|

    {Increase the holder closeness to Death}

    {Increase the holder affinity to Darkness by 700%}

    {Increase the holder affinity to Death by 10000%}

    {Increase any damage dealt to the unliving being by 500%}

    {Steadily increase the holder Mana Capacity}

    That is insane! Also, what the hell is the unliving?!? I thought the death element is something a necromancer uses!!!

    |Necromancers don''t have the affinity to death. They have an affinity to the unliving. Death hates people that cheat her.|

    Wait, her?

    |Death doesn''t have gender, but because people keep calling it Lady Death, it changes its appearance to a woman.|

    I see. Does that mean that Isaac is not a necromancer?

    |No. He is the exact opposite of Necromancer. He is the one that let undead have their rest after being enslaved by Necromancer.|

    I see.

    I''m glad that he is not a Necromancer. Necromancer is something taboo in this world. Even the people in the Tower of Magic are disgusted by the people that practice Necromancy.

    |Child of the Sea|

    |This title is given to the holder of ¨|¨|¨|¨||

    |Effect|

    {Increase the holder Water Affinity by 1000%}

    {Increase the holder Ice Affinity by 200%}

    {Let the holder breath underwater}

    {Steadily increase the holder Mana Capacity}

    |Master of Void|

    |This title is given to the holder of ¨|¨|¨|¨||

    |Effect|

    {Increase the holder Void Affinity by 1000%}

    {Increase the holder Summoning Affinity by 500%}

    {Steadily increase the holder Mana Capacity}

    |Star of Swift Courage|

    |One of 108 Star of Destiny. Given to the lord that governs the land and defends it valiantly. One of the stars of heaven.|

    |Effect|

    {Increase the holder''s stats as long as he fights alongside the child of destiny.}

    {One of the strengths the child of destiny relies on.}

    {The holder is needed to let the child of destiny fulfill his destiny.}

    {The child of destiny is named ¨|¨|¨|¨| ¨|¨|¨|¨| the holder of ¨|¨|¨|¨| ¨|¨|¨|¨| ¨|¨|¨|¨|}

    What about all this black bar?!?

    |That black bar meant that it was something that you cannot learn without prior knowledge.|

    Dammit. Can''t you do something about it?

    |I don''t have enough power to do it.|

    Dangit. Just looking at his title, I know that he is a strong individual, just like in the game. He is the one that halted the invasion of the Holy Light Empire to the northern region of the continent.

    Holy Light Empire is the empire where the Main Character was born and the main place where the player started. This empire is the center of the religion that worships Kyna, the Goddess of Light.

    While the church has massive power in that country, the emperor has the authority above the church. The Prince, Princess, and Duke have the same power as the church as a whole. The duke has a slight advantage over the other.

    Anyway, when the game already finished the Academic arc, the Holy Light Empire declared a crusade to conquer the continent in the name of Kyna.

    The Holy Light Empire almost conquered all the continent if not for Isaac Lionheart, the Silver Lion, and the Guardian of the Bloody Gate.

    The Bloody Gate is a gap between the formation of mountains. This is the only place where southern people could go to the Northern region. You can go and decide to choose the mountain route and get attacked by a monster and a tribe of barbarians who stay in the mountain.

    This is the place where Isaac holds all the incoming army the empire sent. Isaac fights the empire for a week without stopping. This event is known as ''The massacre in the Bloody Gate'' where more than twenty thousand men from the empire died from fighting against the northern people.

    Even with the help of magicians hired from the Tower of Magicians, they cannot breach the Bloody Gate. From there on, the empire decided not to move north and focus their fight in the south.

    The fight in the south was completed after two years of constant fighting, and when the empire wanted to try their luck moving north, a disaster came in. This disaster is the event that starts a new arc.

    Anyway, I don''t care about that arc right now because if the game can be trusted, then I will be dead when the empire invades the Vulux kingdom. I need to make Isaac defend the Vulux kingdom somehow!

    But first thing, first! Back to reading!

    |Skills|

    |Spear Mastery, Wand Magic, Runic Magic, Green Magic, Blue Magic, Leadership, Summoning|

    That is a lot of magic. In the game, a magician can only learn two types of magic, and the only one who could reach this level is a high-level magician. Not only does Isaac have four types of magic, but he also has the more rare type of magic.

    I don''t know how powerful it is in this world, but those magic Isaac have something the player of White Angel hunts for their magical ability.

    A magician can only be hired for a certain amount of time in the White Angel. They are the mercenaries hired by a kingdom or some lord. Magicians can be hired by the player in the Tower of Magic.

    You can only hire three magicians initially, but the bigger your influence in the game, the more you can hire the magician.

    Magicians also can grow the more you let them stay in your army, but they also demand more money the higher their stats.

    Many players search for a certain type of magician, usually either Runic Magician or a Summoner. Runic Magician is someone that can create a strong barrier that can block any attack and create a barrier that can detect any spy or ?ssassin.

    Summoner is like its name suggests. It allows the magician to summon a creature to do their bidding. They are a one-man army that can destroy an army.

    Anyway¡­.

    |Spear Mastery (C+)|

    |The skill indicates how you handle a spear|

    |Effect|

    {200% damage to all spear attack}

    What is C+ mean?

    |It shows how much this man mastered the spear arts. E rank means the individual just learned how to handle a spear. D-rank means this individual can be considered a soldier that has a solid foundation in spear art. C rank means that this individual can handle the spear pretty well and can be considered a low-level master. B rank means the individual can be considered a top-tier spear master. A rank can be considered one of the strongest in the continent. S rank means that the individual is one of the strongest spear masters in the world|

    Does that mean Isaac is an exceptional spear master?

    |Yes, but there are still many people that can beat him in pure spear arts|

    I see.

    |Wand Magic (B)|

    |Magic that can be used by using a wand|

    |Effect|

    {Need a wand to cast a spell}

    {When holding a wand, the spell cost is cut in half or more}

    {Increase the user control over magic when he/she hold a wand}

    |Runic Magic (D)|

    |Magic that needs someone to write a rune on the surface of an object|

    |Effect|

    {Can create a permanent magic effect}

    |Green Magic (B+)|

    |Magic that let the user control over a plant|

    |Effect|

    {Let the user control a plant}

    {Can increase the growth of any plant}

    {Can change the density of any plant}

    |Blue Magic (C+)|

    |Magic of Sound|

    |Effect|

    {The user voice can be used as a weapon}

    |Leadership (D)|

    |A skill that boosts the user leadership|

    |Effect|

    {Boost the user charisma}

    {Every soldier under this user banner will receive morale boost and physical stats boost}

    |Summoning (A)|

    |Magic that let the user summon a creature or being into the world|

    |Effect|

    {Let the user summon a creature to become their familiar}

    That is some powerful skill. While I don''t know what kind of Wand Magic is, he can be considered a low-level master by looking at his mastery.

    And look at his summoning skill! Does that mean that Isaac is the number one Summoner on the continent?!? I guess I can see why he can hold the empire movement with only the north''s people.

    When I am about to look at Isaac''s other information, I hear someone say something loudly near me.

    "Princess! I think you shouldn''t sit down near all the barbarian. They are all a barbarian after all!"

    When the idiotic man finished his speech, I can feel the air become cold as winter hit earlier than we thought. The idiot man did not feel the atmosphere change and continued saying something bad to the northern noble.

    After half a minute of enduring all the insult, Isaac stood up and looked at me.

    "Princess¡­. I''m glad you enjoy our company here, but it looks like the other did not welcome us. I''m sorry to leave early."

    Isaac looks at the man that insults him and his fellow noble before saying.

    "Be careful, my lord."

    "Oh? Be careful of what? Do you threaten me? I''m the son of a marquess. You are only a count and a northern count at that. You are beneath me."

    "... Winter is coming, my lord. I hope you are prepared for it."

    "Tch. So what? God blesses our land! A mere winter is nothing."

    Isaac ignores him and begins to walk away from the idiot noble before bowing a little to the king, my father, and then walk toward the door. The other noble follow Isaac''s example and walk away from the room following Isaac.

    I watch Isaac and his fellow noble walk away from the room and hear him singing something.

    "Walls will not hold the winter~."

    "Over and under crawl~."

    "Walls will not hold the winter~."

    "All in the way will fall~."

    The more he sings the song, the colder the air inside the room. When Isaac and his fellow noblemen are gone, I realize that I''m the culprit that triggered this disaster!

    Dammit!

 Chapter 30 - After Party

    I know that princess will only bring me trouble. I look at my fellow noble before bowing at them a little.

    "I''m sorry for this."

    They look at me in surprise before my uncle says.

    "It was nothing. I don''t like what that little bastard is saying. This is why I wouldn''t say I like attending this type of party. Stuck up people try to show their so-called power. In reality, they are nothing but a bunch of cowards hiding behind their wall."

    "Thank you, uncle."

    "I agree with Lomun¡­"

    I look at the source of the new voice and see a massive man wearing a black suit. He has green eyes and short white hair. He has a white beard and wrinkles around his face showing his old age, but even with that wrinkle, he still has the face of a veteran warrior with an aura matching his face.

    This man is Michael Duchamp. The lord of Duchamp county. His county is located to the east of my place. He is also the father of my mother. Meaning that he is my grandfather.

    "They become worse than the previous generation. They become lazier because of the safety of their wall. They never experience hardship like us. They stay inside their castle, filling their belly with wine and bread while leaving all the fighting to their citizens. Disgusting."

    "I see. I guess you are right, Grandfather."

    Each of us walks inside our carriage. Some of the lords go to the inn where they stay while Uncle Lomun and Grandpa Michael decide to go to my mansion. I know that uncle Lomun wants to make Lucina and me getting closer, while Grandpa Michael wants to see me after a few years of not being able to see me.

    After five minutes, we arrived in front of the Lionheart mansion. When we walk inside, I ask Richard to make something for us to eat. Seeing Richard walk away to the kitchen, I walk to my bedroom and summon the best wine my pocket dimension could summon.

    With two bottles of wine in my hands, I walk toward the dining room, where I see Lucina, Uncle Lomun, and Grandpa Michael sitting there having a conversation with each other. When I arrive, I look at one of the servants and say.

    "Could you take some glass for us?"

    "Of course, my lord."

    I place down the wine on the table where my grandpa takes it and examine it from top to bottom.

    "Isaac, where do you buy this wine? I have never seen this type of brand before."

    "This is the wine we produce for personal use."

    "Really?"

    "Yup. Sadly we can''t make this wine in a large quantity. So I only make the wine for personal use."

    "Then let us taste it."

    As the servant comes back with the glass, I open up the wine. As I open up the wine, my nose gets attacked by a sweet aroma. The aroma is strong but not in a bad kind. I pour the wine into the glass.

    After pouring the wine, I take the glass then bring it closer to my mouth before taking a sniff and enjoying the sweet aroma of the wine. When the wine touches my tongue, I can feel an explosive flavor happening inside my mouth. The perfect combination of sweet, sour, and bitter flavors the wine has is delicious. Really delicious.

    "This is the best wine I ever tasted!"

    "Yes. This wine is better than the most expensive wine I ever bought."

    "It is delicious."

    I''m as surprised as them. I know that I request the best wine, but I never thought that my pocket dimension would give me a wine this good.

    After emptying his glass, my grandfather looked at me and said,

    "This wine could be a good source of income for your fief. I suggest you increase the output of your wine production."

    "Hmmm¡­ I will think about it. However, right now, I cannot do that with winter around the corner."

    "I guess you are right. Speaking of winter, do you have enough food for the winter?"

    "Yes. I have enough food for the winter. I even have some food that can be sold to the other lord."

    "Oh?"

    "Yes. I have some secrets that I will share with all of you. Please follow me to the backyard. I will show you something."

    I can see the confusion in my grandfather and Lucina''s eyes, but my uncle has an expression that says he already knows about the thing I want to show them. When we arrive in the backyard, I take out my wand and create a private ward around us. I don''t want people from the capital to know about my ability to use magic.

    Grandfather looked at me with a shocked expression after I was creating the ward.

    "You are a magician?"

    "Yes, I''m."

    "For how long?"

    "I can use magic after the death of my father."

    "I see¡­ I''m sorry."

    "It''s okay, grandpa."

    "Is this what you want to show us?"

    "Ah! No, I want to show you something else. I create this barrier to hide our presence to an unwanted eye."

    "You think there is a spy here?"

    "No, I don''t think there is a spy among us. I don''t want the people from the capital to know."

    "I see. Then let''s see what you want to show us."

    I flick my wand, and suddenly a tree appears in the middle of the backyard. Not only growing, but the tree also began to bear some fruit. I flick my wand once again and take the apple on the tree and make it float toward my uncle, grandpa, and Lucina.

    "This¡­"

    Grandpa looked at me while opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

    "This is my power. I can grow any plant as long as there is soil under my feet. The reason why I show you my magic is that I want to give you something."

    I take out a ward stone I create to fill the boredom from staying inside the carriage for more than a week.

    "This is called Ward Stone. This stone let a 200 meter of land around it to fertilize and let any plant planted inside this area grow five times faster than usual."

    Grandpa and Uncle Lomun take the stone and touch it gently as if the stone is the most important thing in the world.

    "Not only does the land fertilize, but this stone also creates a barrier around the land to make a compulsion to anyone other than you to not tell anyone about this stone and its effect. This stone also makes other people see it as something normal. The only exception is you."

    Both grandpa Michael and uncle Lomun look at the stone in amazement before looking at me.

    "Isaac, do you really want to give this to us?"

    "Yes. You could create a private farm in the castle backyard. That farm can be used to grow some fruit or vegetable or even a grain. I don''t want you or your people to starve to death in the winter. With this stone, wheat only needs two weeks to grow."

    "I see. Thank you, Isaac, I really thank you. If you need any help, don''t hesitate to ask me, the Duchamp family will lend their full strength to ?ssist you."

    "Thank you, Grandpa."

    The next one to come to me is uncle Lomun who looked me in the eyes before saying.

    "I don''t know how I can repay you, Isaac. While we are an ally, I don''t have anything to give to you."

    "It was nothing, Uncle. We are family. Think of this stone as one of the betrothed gifts."

    "That means¡­"

    "Yeah, I accept your offer to take Lucina as my wife. As long as Lucina agrees to it."

    Uncle Lomun looked at her daughter and saw her looking at me with widened eyes before nodding her head and hugging me tightly. Uncle Lomun grinned at the affection his daughter showed before saying.

    "It is time to party!"

 Chapter 31 - Interlude

    My name is Lucina MacGrath, the daughter of Lomun MacGarth, the proud lord of Dalagull land. From a child, I have been taught how to take care of my future husband. How to cook for him. How to take care of the child I will give to my future husband.

    In the past, I didn''t want to be sold out to a rich merchant or a bastard lord that only wanted to make me his trophy wife. That is why I demanded my father to teach me how to wield a weapon from a sword to a slingshot. I also demand him to teach me how to be a top tier crafter.

    Not only practicing a martial skill, but I also increase my knowledge in trading and accounting. When the time comes, I want to have a choice for my life. I don''t want to be a trophy wife. I want to choose my own partner for life.

    However, all of that changed when Isaac came into my life. Lord Lionheart comes to Dalagull with his son, Isaac Lionheart.

    Lord Lionheart and my father become friends when there is a monster outbreak near Dalagull city. With the help of Lord Lionheart and his army, they successfully defeat all the monsters.

    After that event, both Lord Lionheart and my father become friends after a year of going to battle against the monster together, both of them declared that they are a brother in all but blood.

    When the situation has returned to normal, Lord Lionheart comes to Dalagul and comes with him as his only son, Isaac Lionheart.

    The first time I see him, the first I see is his silver hair that reflects the sun. The next thing I see is his blue eyes that shine brightly with power that is not yet unleashed.

    My father introduced me to him, and from the sound of my father, I know that this young man is my future husband or someone that my father wants to betroth me with. That day, I could feel my heartbreak as I thought that my father would sell me away.

    I don''t think which destination I will go to or how I could get food. The only thing I can think of is running away from home so I will not be sold away by my own father.

    When the sun is setting, I already remember the guard schedule and sneak away from my room when the guards go back to their barracks and switch with the night guard. I begin to run away from the Dalagull city and continue to run away as far as my legs can carry me.

    When my leg gives up from exhaustion, my mind begins to think clearly. My mind begins to tell me that all of my so-called plans are stupid. As I sit down under a tree and think about my future, I hear something from the bush near me.

    When I hear it, I take out a knife from my belt and prepare for something to jump away from the bush. As I walk slowly away from the bush, I can see something walk from the bush, and I see ten Goblins appear in front of me.

    I can see seven goblin scouts and three goblin warriors appear from the bush, and when they see me, they begin to charge at me. Seeing them coming at me, I begin to run away.

    As I run away, I can see three of the goblins run past me and block my way to run. Seeing the situation, I take a stance and wait for them to attack. When one of the goblin scouts charges at me with its knife, I dodge it and stab its arm with my knife.

    The goblin screamed as I took away my knife and blocked the incoming attack from my back. As I block the incoming attack, the goblin scout from earlier bite my leg. That bite is really hurt, and I still have the bite mark to this day.

    When the goblin bites my leg, I push away the goblin warrior''s sword and then stab the goblin scout that bites me. I begin to kneel as the pain and the exhaustion from running away from the castle make my leg give up trying to stand up.

    As I was already accepting my fate, he came. Isaac Lionheart comes with his spear in hand and stabs the goblin warrior that is ready to take me to their nest and make me their food. I look at Isaac as he kills the goblin with ease and then tosses his lantern away, burning the bush near it.

    "Why?"

    I asked him why he rescued me. From the first time he arrived in Dalagull, I gave him the cold shoulder and ignored him.

    "I don''t know. I feel like it."

    "I ignore you. I give you the cold shoulder. So why?"

    ".... You look lonely. I don''t know why you decided to run away from home when your father loved you so much, but I know you are a lonely girl when I look at you in the garden. You have a goal that you want to achieve, but because of that goal, you never have any friends to talk about your woe, to talk about all the happy moments you have, or to talk about some nonsense. From then, I decide to become your friend and ease that loneliness you have."

    Under the light of the moon, I can see Isaac glowing a little, and with a gentle smile on his face, I know that I have fallen.

    My feelings continue to grow the more time I spend with him, from sparring to walk around the city. When Isaac and Lord Lionheart say their goodbye, I want to cry or demand my father to let Isaac stay.

    I''m afraid that he will forget about me and meet a more beautiful woman than me. My mind began to think about the worst thing once again, but it all disappeared when Isaac walked toward me and hugged me.

    "I will be back."

    "Promise?"

    "I promise. Here¡­"

    Isaac takes out something from his pocket, and I can see two necklaces. It was a necklace of two doves as he takes one of the necklaces and wears it before placing the other one around my neck.

    "Dove is a symbol of a people that will meet again someday. This my gift to you and also a promise that we will meet again."

    After hugging him for a few seconds, I let him go and see Isaac and Lord Lionheart go back to his home. I touch the dove with a smile on my face and hear my father say.

    "Dove also the symbol of love~."

    That day I ignored my father''s teasing and went back to my room.

    I look at the necklace that I still wear to this day and look at the same necklace around Isaac''s neck. I smile a little and ruffle his hair. We have just finished celebrating the announcement of the betrothed between Isaac and me.

    I don''t know what the future has for both of us, but I know that I will be okay.

 Chapter 32 - Morning

    Urgh. I wouldn''t say I like hangovers¡­ I don''t know if there is a way to beat a hangover with magic instantly, but I will search for it. I look to my side and find Lucina sleeping beside me. I smile a little before slowly walking away from the bed.

    I take a look out of the window and see that the sun has just started to rise. I slowly walk toward the bathroom and fill the bathtub with water, and then warm it up. I clean my body first before walking to the bathtub and soaking my body.

    While relaxing in the bathtub, I see a familiar fox appear on the window near me.

    "Yuka, welcome back. How is the mission I give you?"

    "It is doing good, master."

    "So? Is there any news that I should know?"

    "Yes. You know the human that said bad things to you?"

    "Yes. What about him?"

    "He got offended because the princess blamed him for what he did."

    "So?"

    "He wants to go to war with you."

    "What?"

    Is he an idiot? The winter is knocking at our door, and he wants to go to war?

    "Yes. He already sent a letter to his uncle, the duke, asking his approval for this war. The official reason is that the Lionheart family is stealing their peasants."

    I see¡­ While the kingdom doesn''t have a law that says the peasant cannot move out from someone''s territory, but the kingdom also does not have a rule that says the lord cannot steal the peasant by using propaganda.

    Because of this, the kingdom did not forbid a war between lords with the reasoning of peasant thievery. However, the one who wants to declare war needs the approval of a duke or the royal family.

    "That means the war will likely happen. Haaa¡­. I really hate to do this."

    I look at Yuka before saying.

    "Yuka, I want you to do another hunt for me, but this time, I know which family will become your target."

    "What about the gold I currently have?"

    "Oh? Do you really get some gold from walking aimlessly? You did not take it from the peasant, right?"

    "No! I got it from the city guard. This is the bribe money they got from many nobles selling some illegal items in the capital."

    "How much did you get?"

    "I don''t really count it, but I think it was around four hundred thousand gold coins."

    I whistle in amazement. I never thought that I would get that much from the city guard.

    "Where is it?"

    "Here"

    Yuka opens up a small portal, and coming from the portal is the trunk I got from the goblin. I take the trunk and put it inside my pocket dimension. After placing it inside my pocket dimension, I now know the exact content of the trunk. It has five hundred thousand four hundred and fifty gold coins inside the trunk.

    Nice.

    I then take out another trunk from my pocket dimension and give it to Yuka.

    "Yuka. I want you to track where his home is and then rob them blind. Please take their food supply and also their gold. If the trunk cannot fit all the items, you come back to me, and I will give you another trunk."

    "Roger. It will take a few days. Will you be okay with that? I need to track all his treasure and food after all."

    "Of course. My uncle and grandfather want to get back to the north as soon as possible, so we will ride to the north in a few hours from now or tomorrow if something is happening."

    "Very well¡­ Then¡­"

    "Wait! I want you to prioritize his house food first."

    "Of course."

    "And lastly, if you finished robbing them, I want you to steal all their army weapons and armor. Then leave a message ''Winter is Coming'' in the place where he can see it easily."

    "Fufufufu. I like this one. Creating chaos and uneasiness to your enemy. Can I create more chaos?"

    "As long as you did not target the peasant."

    "Roger that. Then I will be going."

    ~A few minutes later~

    After taking a bath, I walk out of the bathroom and see Lucina already waking up and sitting on the chair, watching the sun rising on the horizon. I smile at her and walk toward her and say.

    "Hello there. Don''t you have a hangover after drinking that amount of wine last night?"

    Lucina looked at me with a smirk on her face before saying.

    "Perk of being a Dwarf. We will only have a hangover for a few seconds before it''s gone."

    "Lucky. I hope I have that kind of ability."

    "Hmmm"

    "You should take a bath. I will make hot water for you."

    "Really? Thank you."

    While waiting for Lucina to finish taking a bath, I take out my switch and begin to play some games. Around fifteen minutes later, Lucina walked out of the bathroom.

    "How is it?"

    "Could I keep the soap and shampoo?"

    "I will give you one."

    "Thank you."

    We then walk toward the kitchen, where the servant looks at us with a surprised expression before they bow a little at us. I nod at them and ask them to make some tea and breakfast for Lucina and me.

    "Hey, Isaac. Can I ask you something?"

    "Hmmm? Sure, ask away."

    "Will it be okay leaving the royal palace like that? While the other northern nobles also leave the palace with you, I know the southern noble will blame you for their action. While the other northern noble think their action is the sign of loyalty, the southern think their action is a rebel to their authority."

    "Meh"

    "Meh?!? Is that all you can say?"

    I take a breath and look at Lucina before saying.

    "So what should I do? Apologize to them? No. I, we, do nothing wrong. No rule says we should stay in the palace until the party is over. Also, rebelling against their authority? Even the king cannot take my title and my land with his authority without good enough reason. What can they do to me? Try using their army to attack my land? Good luck surviving the wildlife of the north. If they can survive the wildlife, then the climate will be their new challenge."

    There is also the gate. A natural mountain formation that separates the north and the south. The only way an army can move is through this gate. They can try using the sea, but there is a place called the Boat Graveyard that separates the northern sea and southern sea. As the name implies, this place is the place where many boats either try to cross this place or someone gets lost and arrives at this place.

    This place is filled with many big rocks that make navigating around this area really difficult. The rock and the wind that comes from the north also make the boat harder to navigate.

    There is a reason why not many people are trying to invade the north.

    "... I guess you are right."

    "Yup. Don''t worry about them or worry about whether they do something to the Lionheart family. I already made a promise to your father saying that I will make you happy, and I will do just that."

    I smile at Lucina, who begins to blush at my words.. She snapped from her thought when the servant arrived, bringing our breakfast.

 Chapter 33 - Interlude

    "WHAT?!?"

    The Lord of Blackbriar''s family looked at his castellan with anger, surprise, and dread mixed in his eyes.

    "Are you sure?!?"

    "Yes, my lord. All of our food supply is gone. Not only that, but all of our gold inside our vault is also gone."

    Matthew Blackbriar has been the lord of Blackbriar marchioness for more than thirty years. He already enjoyed the power of being a noble lord since he was ten years old! In his reign, there is no problem that he cannot solve.

    Bandit? Order his knight to deal with it. Peasants cannot pay the tax? Torture them until they agree to sign the slave contract. The only thing that never becomes a problem is food. God blesses Blackbriar''s land. Its land is so fertile we sometimes have an excess of grain even after selling some of it to the others.

    Never in history has the Blackbriar family had a shortage of food. So when all their food and money are gone, Matthew doesn''t know what to do!

    "Father, what should we do? Uncle Phineus already accepted our reasoning, and he also already sent a letter to the king. If we don''t attack the Lionheart family, we need to give the Lionheart family at least five hundred thousand gold for making a false war declaration!"

    He knows about it, dammit! If the person who declares war did not move their troops for a month, then the one declaring the war will be considered a loss for the one declaring the war. Then the side that loses the ''war'' needs to give a certain amount of gold to the ''winning'' side. This thing is called the False War Declaration.

    A Duke family needs to pay one million gold coins. Marquess needs to pay five hundred thousand gold coins. Count pay three hundred thousand gold coins. Viscount paid one hundred thousand gold coins. Baron paid fifty thousand gold coins.

    Not only losing money, but the noble house will also have a huge chance to have their position demoted. After being demoted in rank, all their vassals will get independence and free from taxes that their lord set for them.

    "Don''t worry. We can still get a loan from the bank in the Holy Light Empire. With this loan, we will buy as much grain as we can for our soldiers. We only need to make a fake movement while we wait for the grain we buy from the other lord."

    "I see! What an amazing strategy, father!"

    Before he could say anything, his office door got kicked open by someone. When Matthew is about to scream at the uncultured swine, the said uncultured swine shouts at the top of his lungs.

    "My Lord! My Lord! My Lord! Bad News!"

    "What is it?!?"

    "The armory! The armory!"

    "What?!? What happened to the armory?!?"

    "All of our weapons are gone!"

    "What?!?"

    The f*ck this man saying!

    "What do you mean all of our weapons are gone!?!?"

    "It is as I said, my lord. All of our weapons, armor, and even arrows are gone! All of them are gone!"

    "Let me see it!"

    "This way, my lord."

    Matthew and his son follow the knight captain. After a minute of running, they arrive at the barrack, where Matthew kicks open the armory and immediately kneel in front of the armory after seeing what is inside the armory or rather the nothingness of the armory.

    The armory is empty. There should be a thousand swords, five hundred spears, a hundred pieces of armor, a thousand shields, seven hundred bows, and ten thousand arrows inside the armory. However, instead of seeing that, Matthew did not see anything inside the armory.

    "How? How could this happen to me?"

    Matthew weeps at his misfortune before looking at the knight captain and screaming at him.

    "Search the city! I want every single soul in this city to get checked. Check every corner, home, and even the sewer! I want the culprit to be found!"

    Before the knight captain could follow his lord''s order, a cloud of smoke rising from the docks, the pale face of Matthew becomes paler when he sees the smoke. He begins to run toward the docks, and after running for fifteen minutes, they arrive in front of a massive fire that burns all the merchant ships and the ship used for the army.

    Matthew''s legs begin to give up from running around the city. The lord of Blackbriar, one of the most powerful houses in the Vulux kingdom, kneeling down on the ground for the first time in his life.

    Matthew did not move from his position for a full ten minutes before he suddenly got up and began to walk toward his castle.

    "Father! Where are you going?!? The ship is on fire!"

    Matthew looked at his son before saying.

    "What should we do? We cannot do anything about any of this. The only I can do is to go back to the castle and sleep, hoping that this is only a nightmare."

    Matthew walked toward his castle in silence. As he reaches his bedroom, he sees a letter on his bed. He takes the letter and opens it before reading it.

    "Winter is Coming"

    Matthew''s body and mind begin to shut down after reading it, and the darkness consumes him.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    It has been a week since Yuka came back from robbing the Blackbriar family blind. From food to gold, Yuka robs the Blackbriar without mercy. Not only that, but she also burned all the ships the Blackbriar family had, making them unable to trade for a long time.

    Anyway, the war declaration is delivered with the royalty stamp. They really sent a letter to the Duke family, and the duke family asks the royal family to agree with the Blackbriar family declaration of war.

    Heh. It looks like they cannot gather enough soldiers with their situation. I guess they can demand some gold and army from their vassal, but that will make the Blackbriar vassal hate the Blackbriar lord more.

    While there is a chance the Blackbriar family will move their army, I still have some time before they reach the Gate, where we will welcome them with an open arm. While I still have time, I don''t stay idle. I ordered my arms master to prepare for war.

    Fortunately, Yuka also stole all the Blackbriar weapon reserves. With all this weapon, I easily equip all of my men.

    Lord Byron, my vassal, waited for my instruction and already armed his men. I ask them to wait for the Blackbriar family movement. If they decide to continue the war, I will inform Lord Byron to gather an army in the gate.

    But for now¡­

    "Richard. Send a letter to each Northern lord saying that we will send them the grain they need."

    "Of course, my lord. Do you want me to ask them for a reinforcement?"

    "For the Blackbriar family?"

    "Yes, my lord."

    "No. We don''t need the other lord to get involved in this mess. However, I want you to see the condition of the Blackbriar family. There must be a reason why they have not sent their army yet."

    Richard bows his head at me before walking away from my office. After Richard left the room, I sigh a little before smirking at all the gold I currently have in my possession after Yuka finished doing her mission.

    With all this money, I could begin to make a road and other projects I want to do. The first one is a road; I don''t like the condition of Lionheart County road. The next one in my project is an introduction to a new farming technique. I also want to create a ship for the army. Lastly, building a brewery to make some vodka.

    I want my city to have a specialty, and I know Vodka is a good specialty for the Sea Dragon City.

    Yeah, with this money, I want to make my land prosper.

 Chapter 34 - Vita Cotidie

    "Isaac. Can I come in?"

    I look away from my paperwork when I hear Lucina''s voice coming from the door.

    "Of course. Come in"

    As I say that, Lucina walks inside with two cups of tea in her hand. It has been two weeks since I arrived in my castle from the capital and a week since Richard''s report that said the Blackbriar family declared war on us.

    "Here. I help the servant brew this tea."

    "You know¡­ You don''t need to help the other brew it."

    "But I want to do it. A wife needs to know how to cook, brew tea or coffee for her husband. While we are not yet a husband and wife, after the war will be husband and wife."

    After I accepted the marriage proposal my uncle gave to me, my uncle said that Lucina should stay with me while preparing for the marriage ceremony between Lucina and me. However, before he could travel to Sea Dragon City, Blackbriar''s declaration of war reached us. Making the wedding ceremony delayed.

    I can imagine him raging at the news.

    "Thank you, Lucina."

    "It is my p???sur?. So, what will you do to fight against the Blackbriar?"

    "There is a saying that the most dangerous man is the one that doesn''t have anything to lose. With the Blackbriar family losing all their money, their ship gets burned down, leaving them with nothing. Knowing their so-called pride begin trampled for not attacking me, they will do something stupid. Either they loan a large amount of money or order their vassal to gather all of their armies."

    "But that will make their vassals hate them."

    "Yes, and when I receive the news they move their army, I will only need a final push to break them apart."

    "And that is?"

    Before I could say anything, a fire appeared between Lucina and me. Coming from the fire is Yuka, who immediately curls up around my neck. After making herself comfortable, she says.

    "Master, I''m back from the Blackbriar territory."

    "What is the news you bring?"

    "They already moved out their territory, master. The lord Blackbriar''s family, Matthew, takes a massive loan of seven hundred thousand gold coins from the Holy Light Empire bank to gear up his army and buy some ration. He decided to go all out when he heard you selling many foods to the northern nobles recently. He thought that you have enough wealth to compensate for all his losses. He also promises his vassals that we have enough gold for them to loot."

    "How much is their army?"

    "There are ten thousand men total from the combination of Blackbriar''s main army and the army from his vassal. They also bring a catapult with them."

    "Then they will arrive at the gate in a month or maybe more. Yuka, please be a dear and create as much chaos as possible, would you? Steal all their food. We will not waste good food after all and burn down their catapult, okay."

    "I demand a steak! You will be the one that cooks it!"

    "Of course. I promise it."

    After I say that, Yuka jumps off my shoulder and about to go to do her mission. However, before he could jump inside the portal, I quickly said,

    "Yuka, I want you to do it in three days. I want them to be as far away from their home before you stole their supply and burned their catapult. I also want you to steal all their weapons and armor as well if you can. If you think it''s too dangerous to do it without them noticing, then don''t do it."

    "Okay, master~."

    "Then be careful."

    After Yuka is gone, I look at Lucina before saying.

    "Now, answering your last question. A wise man once said, ''A true victory is a victory that is obtained without lifting your finger,'' and there is also someone saying, ''Chaos is the ladder.'' Both two men are correct. If there is a victory that can be obtained without risking my people and my loved ones, I will do it. In the first place, this war is stupid. This war is started because some idiot gets offended, and their pride is hurt. I do not regret doing this."

    "I see. I guess I understand your point. However, I don''t really like it. I grew up in a household where a fight should be happening face to face in an honorable way."

    "... I will try not to do that often. However, if people declare war for a stupid reason like the Blackbriar family or for greed, I will do it again."

    "Thank you."

    I spend the rest of the day with Lucina as she helps with all the paperwork I have. While working on the report with Lucina, my office''s door opens up, and coming from the door is my little sister and mother walking inside.

    "Isaac, we come here to see you. Ginerva over here misses you."

    "En! Big brother, not play! Gin wants to play!"

    I smile before walking toward my little sister and pick her up before tickling her.

    "Hahahahaha! Stop! Tickles! Stop, hahahahaha!"

    I continued to tickle her for a few seconds before letting her sit on my ??p.

    "So! What can I do for you?"

    "Hmmm¡­ Story!"

    "I see. What kind of story do you want?"

    "Adventure!"

    "I see, I see. Then let me tell you about the tale of five adventurers exploring the world called Egrad¡­"

    I begin to tell my little sister the tale of my D&D adventure before I got reincarnated into this world. A Devil contractor warlock that is also a devoted Christian. A vegetarian and non-drinking Barbarian. A Rogue who is not a Kleptomania. A Wizard who has dyslexia. Lastly, a Bard wants to be a v?r??n until he finds his loved one.

    ~The Next Day~

    I look at all the vegetables and fruit already fully grown with the help of my magic. We are currently inside one of the newly built greenhouses. This is one of the projects I finished when I became the lord of Sea Dragon City.

    Two newly built greenhouse where I can plant a medical herb and also emergency food. Beside me is Richard, my mother, my little sister, and Lucina. We come here to harvest the strawberry I plant in this place.

    "Woah! Brother, can I pick them?!?"

    "Of course. You can also eat them if you want. Here let me show you how to do it."

    I show my little sister how to pick up the strawberry and then feed her one of them. I smile when she eats the strawberry like a hamster. Cute.

    "Isaac, what will you do with all this fruit? Will you sell it?"

    "Not for now, mother. However, I will sell them to other countries in the future. What do you think?"

    "Hmmm. Good idea. I think you should do that."

    "Of course, mother."

    While I have much gold from the Blackbriar family, it is good to have a steady income. However, I need to think of ways to keep the fruit fresh when they arrive in the other country. I guess I need to create something.

    While it is not too far away from Sea Dragon City, the city of Herston still needs a few weeks to reach it from Sea Dragon City via ship.

    I shake my head and continue harvesting all the strawberries. Hmmm¡­ I wonder how the Blackbriar family is doing?

 Chapter 35 - Move Out

    Lucina, My mother, my sister, and I are currently enjoying our day sipping some tea and eating some snacks Richard brought to us. I just finished doing all my paperwork for today with the help of Lucina.

    Ginerva demanded to have me playing with her, and seeing there is no more paperwork to do, I agreed to her demand and played with her in the garden where the flower was still blooming even though it was the beginning of winter.

    I already upgraded the ward around the castle, making the castle and the area near the castle a little bit warmer than usual. The ward also makes the garden more fertile and lets the plant continue to grow.

    There is also a defensive mechanism around the castle. The first one is an intent-based ward that lets me know if someone has bad intentions toward my family and me. The next one is a ward against physical projectiles and some magical spells.

    I carve the rune on a tree I grow using the Green Magic. This tree will continue to absorb a little amount of mana in the air and empower the ward with it, making the ward last forever. I grow five trees to maintain the ward and also double up the effectiveness of the ward.

    There is also loyalty enforcing wards, a ward that makes my subject more loyal to me. A lightning ward, a ward that lets me strike any army that comes to this city, makes it as if the Gods are annoyed at what they are doing.

    The castle also has anti-theft wards. In case I''m far away from the castle, and a spy is trying to steal an important document. This also prevents anyone from stealing from the vault.

    I intended to create the same ward around my land, but I cannot walk around the land like before because of my current situation with the Blackbriar family.

    Anyway, it has been three days since I ordered Yuka to create as much chaos as possible. She should be returning today.

    I snap from my thoughts when I see a portal appear in front of me, and coming from the portal is Yuka. When I see her, I smile a little before saying.

    "Welcome back, Yuka."

    "I''m back, master."

    "How is your mission?"

    "I failed, master."

    "What? Tell me everything."

    Yuka then tells me the Blackbriar family hires a magician to protect their ration and help them fight this war. Yuka successfully burns down the catapult, but she cannot do anything to their food supply and their weapon.

    "I''m sorry, master."

    "Don''t worry. It was my order saying you should retreat when you think your presence will be noticed. You are doing great. I will cook a steak for you tonight. When will they arrive on our doorstep?"

    "In three weeks the fastest or a month."

    "Then we need to move our army then. We need to reinforce the gate to welcome the Blackbriar family and their ally."

    As I am about to search for Richard, the said man walks toward us with a tray of snacks and tea.

    "Ah! It is good you are here, Richard."

    "Is there anything I can do for your, my lord?"

    "Yes. I was hoping you could tell the Master of Arms to gear up the soldier. Yuka tells us that the Blackbriar family army will arrive on our doorstep in a month. Tell him to leave three hundred soldiers in here while the rest of them will go with me to the gate. We will reinforce and create a trap to welcome the enemy."

    "I see. I will immediately inform the Master of Arm immediately."

    "Oh! Before you go, send our fastest raven to Lord Byron and say that we will arrive in his city in a week. Also, tell him to also prepare some of his men."

    "Yes."

    Richard then leaves the garden after placing down the tray of snacks and tea. Yuka decides to take one of the cookies and begins to eat it. My mother, who is also listening to the conversation between Richard and me, walks toward me and says.

    "Isaac¡­. Do you need to go to war? You could leave it to Leonardo, the master of arms, to lead the army."

    I shake my head and look at my mother in the eyes before saying.

    "I cannot do that, mother. While I can do what you said, I will be seen as craven by the people and the other northern noble. I cannot let that happen. I will not tarnish the name of Lionheart and the Duchamp family. If you wish for me to stay here, then I''m sorry, but I cannot do it."

    My mother smiled at me. The smile is not her usual smile. It was a smile mixed with sadness, proud and motherly feeling.

    "I''m not ordering you to stay. I know that you will lead the army into battle no matter the situation. You are just like your father and grandfather¡ªa stubborn man with a heart of gold. You have my blessing to go to the battle. Remember to come back to me whole. I don''t care if you lose the battle. I only want you to come back to me alive."

    "I will, mother. I promise you."

    "Good. It''s good."

    Ginerva seeing her mother cry, begins to cry as well. I take her up, and when I take her up, she begins to hug my head. I also take Lucina with me to a group hug for a minute before I release them.

    "Let us go inside."

    ~The next day~

    Currently, I''m hugging my mother. We are in front of the city gate, saying goodbye to my family. After saying goodbye, I mount my horse and order the army to move out. Leonardo, the master of arms, successfully gathers all the soldiers we have.

    Three thousand men ready to go and to leave five hundred men in the city. There are also seven hundred levies we gather from the local village. We equip them with a spear and light armor made of leather.

    My objective before the war is to create a fortress made of wood. We decide to fortify the gate by building a fortress to defend the gate from the Blackbriar family.

    I look up to the sky and hope that this war will be over quickly.. The snow has already begun to fall, and the winter will come to the north at full force.

 Chapter 36 - Calm

    "What do you think, my lord?"

    I look at the fortress we build in a week. The fort itself is not perfect, but it will do for the current situation. The fort is made of wood without a single stone.

    "This is good. Lord Byron, is the mountain around us can hide the archer if we place them up there?"

    "Yes. It was a perfect place to hide our archers."

    "Good. We will place three hundred of our archers in there."

    "Not all of them?"

    "No."

    I shake my head and place down the map on the table. I point my finger at our location and say,

    "We currently have the advantage of having a mountain around us. The only way they can go to our land is through this place. We need to bait them to attack us here. While we have them in here fighting against our infantry, the archer will rain down their arrow unto them."

    "I see. That is a good idea."

    "We will use a shield wall tactic. The one that holds the tower shield will be in the front, and the spearman will stand behind them with their spear pointed at the enemy. If they send out their cavalry first, they will meet with a wall of spear ready to kill them all. If they send out their infantry, they will be stuck here trying to break through our formation."

    "With the infantry busy trying to break our formation, the archer will shoot them from above. However, why do we only place a few hundred of them on the mountain?"

    "I don''t want them to know we have an army on the mountain. I want them to think that we only defend one point. That is why I want the rest of the archer to stand above the wall and tower that should be finished in three days. How many archers do we have?"

    "We have eight thousand archers fully equipped with bows and arrows."

    "There should be a leftover bow, right?"

    "Yes, my lord."

    "Give some of them to the levies. Pick a hunter from the levy and give them a bow and arrow. I want them to join the archer on the mountain."

    "Very well. I will tell the captain to search for any hunter in the levies unit."

    "Good."

    "My lord. What about our cavalry?"

    "Yes. This is something I want to tell you, Lord Byron. I want you to make a surprise attack to the backline of the enemy."

    "Oh?"

    I picked up a small statue of a horse and put them in the forest, one to the mountain''s left and right sides.

    "I want you to command half of our troops to attack their flank. We have five thousand men if we include the levies. Please take two thousand men and go to the forest waiting for the signal. I will blow a warhorn, and when you hear it, I want you to attack their backline. I want you to attack their backline and break their formation."

    "What about you, my lord?"

    "I will stay here and hold the army in this place. When you successfully break their formation, I think the people who fight us will retreat to help their backlines. If they do this, I will command the cavalry here to charge at the enemy and surround them. When they are surrounded, their morale will be dropped, and we will attain victory."

    Lord Byron nodded at me before he excused himself to give my order to the other. Daniel Byron, the current lord of the Byron family. He became the Lionheart family''s vassal after one of their ancestors saved my ancestor''s life when a bear ambushed my ancestor.

    Lord Byron is a veteran that protects his land from the barbarian and also monster.

    He is a competent commander. I know that he will be doing just fine leading the army to attack the enemy flank.

    My role in this fight is to defend the fort while lord Byron does a surprise attack. I need to lure the Blackbriar army into this place where we will surround them. With me holding the frontline, lord Byron will have an easier time wipe out the enemy backline.

    With their backline in disarray, the enemy will try to rescue their backline, and when that happens, I will lead the cavalry to attack the retreating army.

    I sigh a little before I walk toward my tent and see Yuka sleeping on my sleeping bag.

    "Yuka"

    "Hmm? What is it, Master?"

    "Yuka, I want you to go to the Blackbriar army."

    "Do you want me to steal their food?"

    "No. Do you still remember the face of the magician the Blackbriar family hired?"

    "Yup~."

    "I want you to go to that magician and contact me when you see him. I want to use my Darkness Rune."

    "I see. You want to kill him from far away?"

    "Yes. I cannot let a magician bombard our fort."

    "I see. You will see the man''s face and use your Darkness Rune to kill him."

    "Yes."

    "Then I will be going."

    "Be careful."

    I sit down on my sleeping bag and wait for Yuka to arrive at the enemy base. It is time to decrease enemy morale once again.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Matthew grinning from ear to ear. He and his army are marching toward the north. He cannot contain his excitement to crush Isaac Lionheart''s skull. He knows that he is the culprit for all the misfortune he experiences.

    He knows that Isaac is the one that burns all the ships the Blackbriar family has. Matthew knows that he is the one that steals all his money and food. Matthew also knows that he is the one that steals all the weapons, armor, and arrows in the armory.

    Matthew will take all of that bastard riches! He will take all of his women and make them his slave!

    He keeps thinking about how he will kill Isaac and his family before taking all the women for himself. He knows that he cannot take the land for himself, but he can take anything else.

    Matthew is already in his comfort zone. He already forgot about his siege unit. He thinks that having the Fire Mage in his army is enough for him to defeat the Lionheart family as the Fire Mage is known as an Anti-Fortress mage. They can bombard any wall in their way and destroy it with their spell.

    Right now, they are resting in the flatland in one of the southern noble territories. Matthew already asked for the landowner''s permission. Matthew, currently inside his private tent, has a pleasant conversation with the Fire Mage he hired.

    While they are having a conversation about the riches they will get from raiding the Sea Dragon City, something appears above the Fire Mage head.

    "What is that?!?" Matthew and his son shouted at the same time while pointing something above the mage head.

    The Fire Mage looks at what is above him and widens his eyes.

    Matthew shivering from his toe to his head. The being that appears before them is a skeleton-like creature wearing a black robe and holding a scythe in its hand. Before they could do anything, the being swung its weapon, and suddenly Matthew and his son could see a transparent image of the Fire mage appear in the being''s hand.

    Matthew''s face became paler than usual as he knew that it was the soul of the Fire Mage he hired. When he sees the being eat the Fire Mage soul, his face becomes as pale as a corpse.

    He wanted to run away from the tent, but his leg did not work, and so his mouth. He can only watch the mighty Fire Mage is dead from this being. When the being looks at him and his son, his pants are wet because he cannot control his bladder.

    However, the being did not do anything and disappeared without leaving anything behind.. When he sees the being is gone, Matthew begins to think that this war is bad for him and his family.

 Chapter 37 - Fight

    Matthew nervously looks at the fort in front of him. The snow is falling from the sky, and he knows that they need to break through the fort in a single attack. If they cannot do that, they will be stuck here because of the thick snow that gets in their way.

    Not only that, but he also knows that they will get trapped in a snowstorm before they could get into Sea Dragon City. He heard a rumor that said a northern snowstorm is the most dangerous snowstorm on the entire continent.

    But he cannot turn back now. He can only fight against the northern man.

    "My lord!"

    Matthew snaps from his thought when the scout arrives in front of him.

    "Speak! How many soldiers does the enemy have?"

    "Around three thousand, my lord. They have five towers. Three outer towers and two inner towers. They have a few hundred archers in the tower and wall of the fortress. The fortress itself is made of wood, my lord."

    Matthew cannot help curse his luck. If the Fire Mage is still alive, this war will be easy.

    "Anything else? Can you see anyone on top of the mountain?"

    "No, my lord. I cannot see anyone or any building on top of the mountain from where I see."

    "Good work, you can go back to your unit."

    It looks like Isaac decided to save his soldier from defending his city. Matthew knows that a Count has more than three thousand or so men. That means that the bastard ordered the rest of his troops to stay in the city.

    That means this is his chance to crush them in one final swoop. He then can use that fortress to be their temporary headquarters in case a snowstorm happens.

    "Move out!"

    On the other side of the battlefield, Isaac smiled a little. It Looks like his spell is working. He cast a notice-me-not spell around the place where Lord Byron''s unit and the ambush archer were located. Not only that, but Isaac also summons the Silver Talon to do a skirmish. He ordered the Silver Talon to create a massive gust of wind to create a small snowstorm around the Blackbriar army to reduce their vision on the battlefield.

    "Thank you, Silver Talon. Will you watch the fight from above and create chaos as much as you can?"

    "Kaw! Kaw!"

    "Thank you. I promise you that I will cook some meat for you."

    "Kaw!"

    Isaac let Silver Talon fly to the sky and then look at the incoming army. When he sees the cavalry will be their enemy, Isaac takes a deep breath and shouts.

    "Shield Wall! Spear behind! Go!"

    The shield man walked to the front and created a shield wall with their tower shield while the spearman put their spear above the shield wall and the gap between the shield wall. After ordering the troops, Isaac raises his left hand and says.

    "Protection Mist"

    The Flowing Rune, his left hand glowing a little before suddenly a dense mist appeared around them. However, to Isaac and his ally, this mist is not as dense as it would appear to their enemy. The Blackbriar army, this Mist is dense enough to cover the entire fortress.

    Despite the dense mist, one of Blackbriar''s vassals tells his unit to keep charging toward the enemy''s general direction. As they continue to ride their horse and charge inside the mist, they meet a wall of a spear that greets them with pain and death.

    "Archer! Fire!"

    Hearing his word, the archer hiding behind the thick forest on the mountain appears and begins to fire their arrow, attacking the enemy from above. The archer on top of the wall and tower also begin to fire their arrow toward the enemy.

    When Isaac saw the enemy infantry charged toward his location, he shouted to his men.

    "Brace for impact! Another wave is coming! Archer! Shoot the infantry!"

    Isaac raised his left hand once again before saying.

    "Rain of Kindness!"

    Suddenly, rain happened, but this rain heals anyone injured by the enemy attack, unlike normal rain.

    "The second line, go front! First-line retreat!"

    The first shield wall slowly gets switched by the new and fresher soldier to hold the enemy. When Isaac sees the enemy archer almost reach the perfect place to fire their arrow, he looks at the warhorn bearer and says.

    "Blow the horn!"

    Daniel looks at the fortress when he hears the sound of the war horn before saying.

    "Charge! Attack their archers. Move! Move! Move!"

    As he rides his horse, he also sees Leonardo, the Lionheart Master of Arms, leading his unit to take charge toward the enemy archer. Daniel rode his horse with his sword and shield in hand. When they reach the enemy archer, he begins to swing down his sword at the enemy, killing as many as he can in a single charge.

    After he and his punch through the enemy formation, they run away from them after hitting them the first time. They then begin another charge once again. They are doing this because Daniel did not want to let the enemy archer shoot them down when they are stopped to fight.

    By doing this, Daniel and his man will be harder to get hit by the arrow.

    Isaac nodded his head when he saw Lord Byron and Leonardo attacking the enemy''s backline. Some of the enemy infantry that has not yet fought against the shield and spear wall decides to help the archer in their back.

    After fifteen minutes of fighting, the protection mist is gone letting the enemy unit commander see their archer get harassed by Daniel''s cavalry.

    "Retreat! Retreat! We need to help the archer! Move!"

    Hearing their commander, the people begin to run away from the fight. However, they did not realize this action was bad for them. In the war, they cannot show their back to the enemy, but here they show their back to the enemy and forget that their enemy has another unit, a fresher unit ready to be deployed.

    "Cavalry! Get ready! We will charge at the enemy in a few seconds. The first and second line of infantry will stay here. The third and fourth lines will come with me! We will attack them and surround them! Third to the left, Fourth to the right! Cavalry will come with me to herding the enemy into one point."

    When the first and second infantry units create a gap in their formation, Isaac points his spear at the enemy.

    "Charge!"

    With that war cry, Isaac and his cavalry begin to charge at the enemy''s back. The enemy, who is still running toward their backline, try their hardest to block or defend against Isaac and his cavalry unit attack.

    One of the Blackbriar vassals orders his troop to split up, one to defend against Isaac''s unit while he and the rest of the troop help the archer. However, this strategy only holds them for a few minutes, and when the infantry arrive, Isaac easily punches through their formation.

    After punching through the enemy formation, Isaac let his horse galloping toward the enemy commander, who was busy fighting one of Lord Byron''s men. When he arrived in front of the enemy commander, he thrust his spear and pierce the enemy commander''s skull.

    Isaac ignores his man shouting that the enemy commander is dead, and fights against the enemy that keeps coming at him.

    Matthew knew that this campaign is a lost cause. Especially when he hears one of his vassals is dead in the hand of Isaac Lionheart. He wants to run away and retreat to his castle, but his vassals argue to him that they can still win if they send the rest of the troops.

    They say that if they run away, the Lionheart family will win the war, and they cannot attack the Lionheart family before the winter is over. If they wait until the winter is over, the duration for this war that the king gives them will be over, and they need to pay tribute to the Lionheart family because they are the winner in this war as they are the ones that won the first and last battle.

    Matthew sees a few hundreds of cavalry galloping away from the hill charging toward the enemy. He widens his eyes when he sees the enemy quickly create a shield wall and spear to welcome the cavalry that is coming their way.

    The bad feeling in his gut begins to worsen when he sees the cavalry gets skewered by the massive spear. When the rain starts to appear around the battlefield, he knows that his troops will be dead, and when a dense mist appears, he knows that his troops'' fate has been sealed.

    Fifteen minutes later, his worst prediction came true. The snarling lion flag still stood in the middle of the battlefield while the swimming fish flag was trampled on the ground. His army can finally see the situation, decide it is time to run and run they did.

    They run anywhere they can find safety in any direction except north, where they know that their fate if they run toward the north, is dead.

    Seeing his army is defeated, Matthew orders his personal troops to go full retreat. His son and two of his vassals who did not want to join the fight begin to run away from the battlefield, leaving the rest of their army slaughtered by the Lion and his pride.

    From this single victory, Isaac Lionheart got himself a title. A title that Lord Blackbriar will always remember in his entire life.

    Isaac ''The Silver Lion'' Lionheart.

    And the Gate that separates the north and the south also gets its own nickname.

    The Bloody Gate.

 Chapter 38 - Aftermath

    I look at all the corpses in front of me before looking at the battlefield around me. Seeing the enemy retreating, I rise my spear in the air and shout a victory.

    "VICTORY!!!!"

    After celebrating our victory, I ordered the troops to go back to the fortress. When I arrive at the fortress, I order some of the troops to take care of the corpse in the area. After ordering some of the archers to take care of the corpse in the area and take back the corpse of my army to the fortress to be given to their family and give them a proper burial, Lord Byron, Leonardo, and I walk toward the war room where I sit down on the General chair before saying.

    "Lord Byron, do you think they will attack us the second time?"

    Daniel Byron shakes his head and says.

    "Very unlikely, My Lord. Not only is winter here, but there is also a huge chance of a snowstorm happening. Not only do they need more food in case the snowstorm appears, but they also need shelter when the snowstorm appears. I don''t think any landowner wants to accept a few hundred or maybe a thousand soldiers into their land, especially when winter is happening."

    "I see, that is good then. We also cannot let the soldier stay in this fort. We don''t have enough food for a long fight."

    "I agree, My Lord. So what should we do next, my lord?"

    "I think we should stay here for another day just to make sure. What do you think, Lord Byron?"

    "Hmmm¡­ I guess we can do that. However, by the feel of the wind, the first storm will happen in a week or so time."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. We cannot stay in this place for more than two days. We don''t want to get caught up by the storm."

    I think about it for a second before looking at Lord Byron once again and saying.

    "Are you really sure about the snowstorm?"

    "Yes, My Lord. I live long enough to know about it."

    "If you are really sure about it, then we don''t need to stay here."

    "Then we will go back home?"

    "Yes. Tell the soldier to start packing. We will move when the sun is above us."

    "Very well."

    I take out a smartphone from my pocket dimension and see that the clock is showing at 10 AM. We could begin to move out at 1 PM.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    It had been a week since the Blackbriar attacked us. Richard says that the Blackbriar family is busy preparing for the winter as their food supply is getting low from the war. Hearing what Richard says, I know that the Blackbriar family decide to conceal the fact that they are getting robbed by Yuka.

    The weather becomes colder and colder, and true to Lord Byron. I can see the sign of a snowstorm will happen not too long from now on.

    Two days after the fight, the marriage between Lucina and me is happening. That day is a happy day between the Lionheart family and the MacGrath family. I invite all the northern nobles. Some of them still stay here to avoid the snowstorm.

    They ask me if I can help them build the Greenhouse in their territory. I could do that, but I need to transfer some knowledge to a trusted person before building it for them. The greenhouse is something that I build using the material I get from my pocket dimension.

    As for transferring the knowledge, I could do it with one of the branch spells of Legilimency Spell. This spell let me transfer a little bit of my knowledge into someone. However, before I could do that, I need to create an unbreakable contract for the people I will transfer my knowledge to sign.

    Yeah, let''s do that.

    "Isaac."

    I snap from my thoughts when I see Lucina walk inside my office.

    "You want to see me?"

    "Yes. As we are a wife and husband now, I want to show you something. Please follow me to my room."

    I take Lucina to my room, where I touch one of the walls. When I touch the wall, I can see Lucina''s eyes widen when a portal appears in front of her.

    "This is¡­"

    "This is the power that I awakened when my father passed away. Come one. I will show you around."

    I take Lucina''s hand and walk inside my pocket dimension. When we arrive inside my pocket dimension, her eyes widen, seeing what is inside my pocket dimension.

    "Isaac. This is¡­."

    "This is my power. You could say that this is a different world from what we live in. However, unlike our world, this world doesn''t have any humans other than me, but there is a monster roaming around when you walk away far enough from that mansion over there."

    "This¡­ Really another world?"

    "Yes. Come on. I will show you what is inside the mansion."

    I walk toward the mansion while Lucina follows me to the mansion. I show her around the mansion and explain to her the technology inside the mansion. She did not understand many of them, but she said that she would learn. For now, she thinks all of the electronics are powered by magic, and that said electronics are magic items.

    "This is¡­.. Wow¡­. You can take as much of the item you want from here?"

    "Yes."

    "That means you can summon gold?"

    "There is a limit for it, however."

    "I thought you said that you could take out as many items as you want?"

    "That is different. I can only take as many items I want when I place them inside the pocket dimension. On the other hand, the gold is something I summon, and I can only take them outside for a certain amount."

    "That means this place is a storage where you can store an item from the outside world and let you take out the item you store inside this place."

    "I also took out the item that was already inside this place.

    "And this place has an ability to let you summon any material you need out of nowhere, but it has a limited use per day."

    "Yes."

    "Then why don''t you take a massive amount of gold in this place and then take it out outside?"

    "It doesn''t work. As long as I summon that said item, I can only take a certain amount of items out to the outside world. However, I can take out something that I made with that said material to the outside world as much as I want."

    "Hmmm. Then why don''t you make a gold statue and then bring them out? You have a smelting room, right? I could help you craft any items. I''m a dwarf, after all, crafting is in our blood."

    That¡­ Could work. While I cannot bring out more than ten kilos of material, I could bring out a golden statue, a sword made of mithril, or a sword made of anything valuable. After taking it out to the outside world, I could melt them and then make a gold bar once again.

    "You are right. Will you teach me a basic in crafting?"

    "Which kind of crafting?"

    "Hmmm¡­ Swordcraft would be good for me."

    "Then I will teach you! I will teach you how to craft a sword that makes dwarf praise you for your work."

    "Then, I will be in your care, teacher Lucina."

    Lucina blushed a little before saying.

    "Sadly, to become a swordsmith, you need years of training. I started my journey as a crafter when I was five years old. I needed to learn to be a swordsmith for two years before it was considered acceptable by my father."

    "Then we are lucky."

    "Huh?"

    "While we are here, we don''t need to think about time."

    "Wait. What?"

    I couldn''t help but chuckle a little when I saw her shocked face.

 Chapter 39 - Time Skip

    You know, I never thought Lucina would be such a slave driver when she taught me how to be a swordsmith. She teaches me how to maintain the fire without using my magic as she wants me to know the basics first before trying to use magic to maintain the heat. She also taught me how to shape the sword using the hammer and make the sword sharp.

    We have been doing this for two months in the real world and three years in the pocket dimension. When Lucina said that we need a long time for me to create a decent sword in the eye of a dwarf is true.

    The winter is already over, and spring is coming.

    She can see even a tiny bit of fault in my work with just a glance. When that happens, I need to work from the very beginning to make another sword. It took me five months to create a ''simple'' long sword.

    Simple to the dwarf, yes but to humans? It was a masterpiece. This sword can cut even a boulder as a hot knife cut through bu??er. While the sword has a look of your average looking double edge long sword, this sword is something else entirely.

    After creating that sword, Lucina teaches how to create a special sword. She teaches me how to create a sword that will be responsive to magic or physical energy. Physical Energy and Magic are two different things.

    All living beings in Gaia have energy inside their body, and even a monster has energy inside their body. That energy is called Magical Energy and Physical Energy. There is another energy called the chaotic energy used by the monster.

    Magicians are the people that have Magical Energy inside their bodies. This Magical energy is the energy that lets people cast spells. Not only cast spells, but this energy also can enchant the user''s physical capabilities to a certain extent.

    Physical energy is the energy used by the soldier, adventurer, and any physical fighter. This energy lets the user do an extraordinary thing like jump fifty meters above the ground or create a massive crater when he/she punches the ground. This energy also lets them create what magicians do on an elementary level, like cast a small fireball.

    While every living being has energy inside their body, the maximum capacity of said person is limited. Only a selected individual can have a massive potential to grow their energy reserve to a higher degree.

    No record says a person that has two massive types of energy inside their body. Usually, when someone is m?tur? enough, their dominant energy will suppress the other energy making them only able to use one type of energy. The dormant energy did not disappear. However, it is still there, but you cannot use it.

    After I reincarnated in this world, my energy switched from Physical Energy to Magical Energy.

    Anyway, The next thing Lucina taught me is how to create an artifact. An artifact is an item that needs one or both energy to be activated. Usually, an artifact is a weapon or armor, but sometimes it can be in the form of a ring that can store any item you want or a necklace that protects the wearer from any harm.

    This stage took me at least two years¡ªone year to create the artifact and one more year to learn how to enchant the artifact.

    Enchantment is divided into two types. The general enchantment and specialize enchantment. The example of a general enchantment is Unbreaking and Sharpness if we go by a Minecraft term. Unbreaking is an enchantment that makes an item really hard to break, it still can be broken, but it is tough to do it. Sharpness is like its name, and it makes the sword sharper than before.

    The specialized enchantment is the type of enchantment that a high-rank blacksmith can only be done or a high-rank magician. However, there is an exception to the dwarf as their affinity to crafting is so great that they can do it when they reach the age of ten.

    An example of a specialized enchantment is Fire Aspect or Smite if we go by a Minecraft term. Fire Aspect lets the sword burn down the enemy if the sword hits the enemy. Smite enchantment lets the sword deal more damage to undead and nonliving beings like ghosts or vampires.

    However, because she is focusing on my swordcraft training, Lucina and I decide not to go to the other world just yet.

    Anyway, we get ourselves a little more powerful physically and magically (for me). Lucina says that her Physical Energy also grows in size. She says that her Physical Energy reserve is quite big as she is a dwarf, and not only that, the MacGrath family, also known as the family with a massive Physical Energy reserve.

    "Isaac"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Lucina''s voice from my side.

    "What is it, Lucina?"

    "A guest is asking for an audience."

    "Oh? Who is it?"

    "He is called Tuama. The guard says that he is coming from the Holy Light Empire."

    "Holy Light Empire, huh? Tell him to meet me in the meeting room. Will you stay with me?"

    "Eh? Are you sure?"

    "Yeah. You are my wife. I will listen to your advice and your suggestions in this meeting."

    "I¡­ Thank you¡­. I will not disappoint you."

    I frown a little when I hear saying that. This world was still at a time where women did not hold much power compared to men. There are a few exceptions, but the majority of the noble in this world are men.

    The job of a woman is to give the lord an heir. The more, the better. They can become more than a breed mate, but most of them are to become a breed mate to the lord.

    The majority of Noble Lord did not let his wife attend any meeting that said lord would attend, especially an important meeting. The reason is that the lord is afraid that his wife will leak any important information in his wife''s tea party.

    When I see Lucina walk away from my office, I walk away from my office toward the meeting room. As I walk toward the meeting room, I order one of the servants who I meet on the way to the meeting room to serve some tea for us.

    I sit down in the meeting room, where I wait for my guest to arrive. A minute later, the meeting room door opens up, and I can see Lucina and three people walking inside the room.

    "Welcome to the Sea Dragon City. My name is Isaac Lionheart, the Count of Sea Dragon Point."

    The man wearing an expensive white robe bowed a little at me before introducing himself.

    "My name is Tuama Conaire. I''m a merchant from the Holy Light Empire. These two are my guard, Iva, and Matz."

    I nod at them while my wife walks toward me and sits down next to me.

    "Please take a seat. I already ordered some servants to serve you some tea."

    "Thank you."

    After hearing my word, Tuama sat down on the chair opposite of me while his guard stood behind him. Seeing him sit down on the chair, I decide not to beat around the bush.

    "So, let us get straight to business. What do you want?"

    When I say that, I can see Tuaman''s eyebrow twitching a little, but his polite smile still on his face.

    "We come here to offer a trade agreement."

    "Oh? What kind of trade does the Holy Light Empire want to do with us?"

    "We are not the representatives of the Holy Light Empire. We are the representative of Duke Cailin Conaill."

    "Heh, same difference."

    Tuaman eyebrows begin to twitch more, and his smile begins to drop, but he keeps his polite smile.

    "So, what kind of trade do you want to do with us?"

    "Ah! We have the list of items we want to trade from you and also the price we promise to give you."

    I take the scroll and begin to read it. After reading it for a few seconds, I look at the man in front of me and say.

    "Do you think I''m an idiot?"

 Chapter 40 - Merchant?

    "Who do I think I am? An idiot?"

    The people in front of me think that I am willing to sell them our iron for their food. Not only that, but they also demand one kilo worth of bread traded with one kilo worth of iron!

    Only an idiot or a truly desperate person wants to trade with that kind of deal! One kilo of iron is worth more than one kilo worth of bread, dammit! One kilo of iron can give me a hundred or maybe a few hundred worths of bread!

    And I can see Lucina agrees with me.

    "I must agree with my husband on this. Do you guys think we are an idiot?"

    Tuama and his guard begin to twitch after hearing what we are saying. Tuama''s smile is gone, replaced with a scowl of hatred before looking at me and doing a ''Young Master'' kind of sneer.

    "Hmph. Look like a barbarian like you cannot appreciate our generous offering. Iva, Matz, we are leaving. Look like the rumor that saying the Lionheart family is different from any barbarian from the Northern Region is false."

    Hearing what the bastard is saying, I quickly stop Lucina from chopping the head of the so-called merchant and his guard. The servant that just walked inside the room also gave them a stink eye. Lastly, I shake my head at the soldier near the door when I see them grab their sword and ready to use it. I don''t want the people from the Holy Light Empire to declare war on us.

    The man sneer once again before leaving the room with his guard.

    I take a deep breath before looking at the servant and say.

    "Please be a dear and tell Richard that I want to meet him in the meeting room?"

    "Of course, my lord!"

    I sigh once again and rub my nose as I know that this will become a headache. I know that Tuama will report this meeting to his lord, and I don''t know what his lord will say about this. I hope that this lord did not do something stupid.

    It is known that human stupidity is infinite, after all.

    "Isaac, are you okay?"

    I smile at Lucina and say.

    "Yes. I''m just thinking about what that bastard will write to his lord and how his lord will respond to our ''disrespect'' toward his representative."

    "He cannot be that stupid, right? He needs to walk through the southern region if he wants to declare war against us."

    "Don''t underestimate human stupidity."

    After I said that, Richard walked inside the meeting room, bowed to me, and said.

    "You called me, Lord Isaac?"

    "Yes, Richard. Please sit down."

    When I see him sit down near me, I pass him the scroll Tuama gave to me. The longer he read it, the bigger his frown appeared on his face.

    "My Lord¡­ What is this?"

    "The people that just came here not too long ago offered me a trade deal. That is their so-called deal."

    "What?"

    "Yup! They thought that we are an idiot people or desperate enough to accept their so-called offer."

    "I see. What do you want me to do? Dispose of them?"

    "No. Nothing that extreme. I don''t want the Holy Light Empire to hold a grudge against us. However, please send someone to tail them. I want your best men to follow them. I want to know all their movement as long as they are in the north."

    "Of course, My Lord."

    "Ah! Before you go, I also want you to tell Leonardo to increase the patrol."

    "Huh? Increase the patrol?"

    "Yes. This is the time for a monster that hibernates to wake up. After waking up from their hibernation, they are¡­"

    "Hungry"

    "Exactly. I don''t want the monster to wreak havoc around my land."

    "I will inform sir Leonardo immediately. Should I ask Lord Byron to increase his patrol as well?"

    "Yes. Ask him to do that and also ask him for confirmation about the Greenhouse."

    "Of course. Excuse me, my Lord."

    With that being said, Lucina, Richard, and I walk away from the meeting room. Richard walks away from the castle to meet with Leonardo while Lucina and I walk to the garden where I know my mother and sister playing in the garden.

    As I arrive in the garden, I''m greeted by a missile named Ginerva, and that said missile hit me right in the stomach.

    "Brother!"

    I smile a little before picking her up and saying.

    "Hello there, Ginerva. What are you doing?"

    "Flower! I''m learning how to make a flower crown with mother!"

    "Really? Will you create a flower crown for me?"

    "En! Come!"

    I put her down and let her drag me toward the nearby flower bed. Lucina follows us from behind while smiling at the Ginerva attic.

    Dammit! What a barbarian! Didn''t they know that what I''m doing is for their own good?!?

    It has been a month since I arrived in the northern region, and not a single one of the lords is willing to sell their iron to us!

    However, even after I change the offer, they still look at me as if I''m an idiot.

    "Lord Tuama"

    I snap from my thoughts when I see one of my guards call my name.

    "What?"

    "What should we do now? Should we go back to the empire?"

    ".... Yes. We should leave this place. I hate to admit it, but this region is the most dangerous place on the continent. Especially this time of year where many monsters wake up from the hibernation and start to hunt for food."

    I really don''t want to admit it, but the northern region is the harshest place to live. While they don''t have much food to eat, their massive Iron reserves around the area let them trade it to the other continent.

    Just as I walk inside the inn where I stay, I see my spy sitting down on the chair, messaging his swollen eyes. I sit down near him and say.

    "What happened?"

    "Where do I begin?"

    "From the beginning."

    "Very well. I follow your order and begin snooping around for rumors and information. The first place I go is to the tavern and hear many people praising Isaac Lionheart to create something called fertilizer. This item let the plant grow quicker and healthier. The harvest the peasant yields doubled up. There is also some rumor that Isaac Lionheart has something that lets him plant some vegetables even in the winter. However, when I ask them what it is, they begin to punch me in the face saying that I''m a spy. The only reason the city guard did not arrest me is that most of them were patrolling the area and fighting the monster."

    That is interesting information. That means our information about the northern region is outdated. They can keep growing a vegetable and keep feeding their livestock using the leftover vegetables.

    I guess I can see why they did not accept my kind offer earlier. They don''t need more food to feed all their peasants. They already have enough food! Dammit! This means all Lord Conaill faces difficulty in continuing his main plan.

    I know that lord Conaill wants to equip all his soldiers with steel as he wants to support the second prince of the Holy Light Empire and then make the Second Prince his puppet. Lord Conaill knew that there would be a Succession War if the Emperor did not choose his heir for the throne before he died, and many people wanted the Emperor to die before he could choose his heir.

    Lord Conaill knew that the Emperor would die before he could choose the heir to the throne as many conspirators wanted him to die and make the Emperor''s son a puppet. How does Lord Conaill know about this? Well, he is one of the conspirators, after all.

    This is why he wants to buy a lot of iron from the northern region. He wanted to equip all his soldiers with the best armor and weapon to show the rest of the noble the Conaill house prowess and make the second''s prince look powerful as the Conaill family backed him.

    However, with the northern region not wanting to trade their iron with bread, then they need to trade their gold for the northern iron. Meaning that lord Conaill can only buy a little iron instead of buying them in bulk like he was planning.

    "Come on. We need to leave and report this to Lord Conaill. Lord Conaill''s plan of buying the iron from the northern region to equip all his army failed."

    As they are going back to their carriage, they do not think that the inn owner near them is one of Richard''s spies.

 Chapter 41 - Gold

    "UNO!"

    I smile a little at my sister''s enthusiasm at playing the Uno game. Today is the first rain that happens after the spring comes to the north. It is rather boring sitting down on the chair without doing anything, so I decide to take out some card games like Uno from the pocket dimension and begin to play with Lucina.

    After playing with her for three rounds, my little sister came to my office and saw me play with Lucina and demanded me to teach her how to play.

    Here I am playing a game of Uno with Lucina, my little sister, and my mother.

    However, I never thought that this game would be anything like what I thought it would be. I thought that Uno''s game would be a relaxing game where we laugh at each other, but¡­

    I glance at the serious look of my mother, sister, and Lucina as they begin to think about the strategy they need to do in this game.

    My friend in the previous life once said that Uno games are like war. I never knew he was telling the truth!

    "Errr, skip."

    As I place down the yellow skip, I can see Lucina giving me a stink eye while my mother has a smug face for some reason.

    "Fufufufu, Plus Four. I''m sorry, Ginerva, but it looks like you will not win this time~."

    "Nooooooooo"

    However, while it was like playing in the tournament, I enjoy seeing them playing the game together.

    Anyway, after seeing my little sister take four cards from the deck, I place down a blue skip on the table, and I can feel Lucina trying to drill a hole into my brain with her stare.

    Lucky for me, before Lucina could drill a hole in my head with her stare, I heard someone knocking on the door of my office.

    "Come in."

    When the door opens up, I can see Richard walk inside my office and then bow a little before saying.

    "My lord."

    "Richard. Is there anything I need to know?"

    "Yes, my lord. There is a guest from the Royal Capital coming here, and he said that he wants to meet you."

    "Oh?"

    From the capital? I don''t think there is a report saying that someone from the capital will arrive at the Sea Dragon point. I look at Lucina, my mother, and then my sister before saying.

    "I''m sorry to leave you guys, but there is something I need to attend to."

    My mother smiled at me before saying.

    "It''s okay. We will continue to play. You can go ahead and meet this person."

    I nod at my mother and let Richard lead me to the guest that just arrived. I follow Richard to the front yard and see a group of people standing in front of the guard post, and behind them is a two-wagon.

    Fifteen people stay inside the front yard, but I can see more than twenty armed people staying outside. Three of the people are wearing fancy clothes while the guard is wearing full iron armor that is painted in silver color while having a sword on their h?ps and a shield on their back.

    As I walk toward them, one of the noble-looking men walks toward me and says.

    "You must, Lord Isaac Lionheart, correct?"

    I nod my head, and when he sees me nod, the man takes a parchment out of his pocket and hands it to me.

    "Please sign this document."

    "Before I sign this, could you explain what is going on?"

    "Did you forget that you won the war against the Blackbriar family?"

    "No, I don''t."

    "Then you should know that they need to pay you a large sum of money if you did not attack them and take their land."

    Ah! I completely forget about that. The peasant-thieving war only lasts when one of the houses loses their capital castle to the enemy, or the deadline is over. If one of the sides is defeated, then the winner will take all the loser''s land, and if the deadline is over, the royal family will see which side gets the most victory in their fight. The loser family then needs to give a tribute to the winner.

    I don''t really know about the total amount of gold the Blackbriar family needs to pay, but I know it is a large amount of gold.

    "Then lord Lionheart, please sign this document, and I will give you the tribute the Blackbriar family sent to you."

    I snap from my thoughts and read the document. This document says I will not attack the Blackbriar family for three years, and the Blackbriar family will not attack the Lionheart family for three whole years.

    If one of the parties decides to break this peace treaty written by the Royal Family, then they will be branded as the Oath Breaker, and the Royal family will declare war against the Oath Breaker.

    "Before I sign this document, could I see the item the Blackbriar family sent to us?"

    "Of course. Please follow me, Lord Lionheart."

    Richard and I follow the man as we walk toward the two wagons that stay outside my front yard. As we approach the wagon, one of the guards opens up the curtain, and I can see a ?h?st filled one of the wagons.

    I can see more than twenty ?h?sts inside the wagon.

    I look at the guard who picks up the ?h?st and places it down in front of me before opening it up. I widen my eyes when I see many gold coins inside the ?h?st.

    "There is twenty-five ?h?st filled with gold inside the wagons. There are a total of five hundred thousand gold coins inside this wagon."

    I shake off my shock and ask the man about the second wagon in the back.

    "What about the other wagon?"

    "Ah! The other wagon is filled with Rare Metal and Rare plant seeds like Tea and some of the more common fruit seeds like Apple and Grape."

    I raised my eyebrow when I heard him say that. Grape and Apple are known for their long time it needs to grow and tea that cannot grow in an environment that is too cold. While it sounds precious, all those seeds are not really good in the northern region.

    Sadly for them, I''m already at the Journeyman stage in Green Magic, one step away from the Master stage.

    "Where do I sign the document?"

    "Please write it next to Lord Blackbriar''s name."

    I sign the document and give the parchment and the quill back to the man. After inspecting the document, he then bowed a little at me before saying.

    "With this, all of the items inside the wagons are yours. Where should we place it?"

    "Richard will be the one to lead you to the warehouse."

    I look at Richard and say.

    "Richard, please escort them to the warehouse."

    "Of course, My Lord."

    "Will you stay here?"

    "I''m afraid not, Lord Lionheart. We have been ordered to go back to our lord immediately."

    "Very well. I hope your journey home is safe. May we meet another time again."

    "Thank you, Lord Lionheart. May we meet another time again."

    I nod at him and walk back to my office. I need to change my plan regarding all the projects I have in mind.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "My Lord, all of us are ready to go."

    "Good. Let us move out."

    I look at the Sea Dragon Castle for the last time before taking a deep breath as I close the door to my carriage.

    My name is Livius Darriel, the castellan to Duke Phineas Frederick. I said that all of the gold is coming from the Marquess Blackbriar, but the truth is that this money is coming from Duke Frederick''s personal vault.

    The idiot Matthew Blackbriar already explained his situation to Duke Frederick. He says that all his rations, gold, and even weapons are gone without a trace, and he has a gall not to inform Duke Frederick.

    Instead of asking the Duke for help, this idiot man decided to cover this news and take a loan to the Holy Light Empire bank to buy all the food they need and basic equipment for his army. If they can win this war, then Duke Frederick doesn''t have a problem with it, but sadly this idiot gets himself a devastating loss.

    Out of twelve lords that came with him, only three of that said lord survived. The rest of the noblemen were either killed by the northern men or died because of sickness.

    However, what makes Duke Frederick more infuriated is that out of ten thousand men who survive, only a thousand of them come back to their home. What makes matters worse is that the only one that survives is the so-called elite of the Blackbriar family.

    That so-called elite becomes a joke to the other knights as they don''t even have a dent in their armor. They arrive in the Blackbriar family with polished armor without a single dent or scratch. On the other hand, the levies that come back have a face scarred, and their armor and sword chipped, indicating they are the ones that fight in the frontline instead of the so-called elite.

    "Lord Darriel"

    I snap from my thoughts as I see his fellow castellan under Duke Frederick''s banner.

    "Sorry about that, Lord Lovirus"

    "It''s okay. I only want to say about what I see."

    "Oh? Please do."

    "Sadly, I cannot see much about the military strength of the Lionheart family. For some unknown reason, every time I want to sneak toward a more important place like the barracks or the armory, I always get found by some soldier or the captain of the army."

    "I see¡­. That means our suspicion about the Lionheart family having a talented spymaster is correct. They know about our movement even without us knowing."

    "That''s right. That means the possibility of the Lionheart family being the culprit behind the loss of Blackbriar fortune is increasing almost to a hundred percent."

    "Yes. However, we still don''t have enough evidence to declare war against them. Not only that, but we also did not know how big the reach of Lord Lionheart spy. We cannot declare war without knowing if they can steal our fortune or not."

    That''s right. That is one of the reasons why Duke Frederick did not do anything about the Lionheart family. He is afraid they will do the same thing they do to the Blackbriar family. There is also the problem with the Lionheart family military.

    Three thousand army cannot defeat Ten thousand army in a single battle. There is no record about it in any history or present book. However, Isaac ''Silver Lion'' Lionheart successfully does the impossible.

    While I know that the Ten Thousand army has an idiotic and coward general, but there is no denying that a ten thousand army is a massive army. Because of this achievement, many of the southern nobles begin to see the north as a force that cannot be underestimated.

    While the more veteran noble that has an age around seventy to eighty years old have a smug face that says ''I told you so'' as they are the one that keeps saying never underestimate the north.

    They are the ones that tell many of the younger generations while the north doesn''t have the quantity as the southern have they have the quality the southern rarely have.

    "So, what should we do?"

    "We will follow the Duke Frederick order and do nothing. There is nothing we can do, and the stake is too high if we do something reckless like the Blackbriar family."

    While on the surface, they cannot do anything but in the background? They will send as many spies as they can to monitor and write all the things the North has before we make our movement.

 Chapter 42 - Meeting

    It has been two days since the people from the capital arrived in the Sea Dragon City. Right now, Richard, Lucina, and I are waiting for all the council members to show up. I need to discuss something with them.

    With my coffer full of gold, now I can begin one of the biggest projects I want to do.

    I snap from my thoughts when I see four people come to the meeting room. I smile at them and ask them to sit down and after letting them sit down on the chair.

    "Good, you all here. First thing first, I want to hear about the yearly report. Master of Arms, Sir Leonardo, please give me the yearly report."

    "Of course, my lord. The troops are at their top condition. The weapon and armor are also at their top condition. However, there is news of monster movement around the silver mountain. One of the scouts is saying the monster consists of E to C rank monsters. He can see more than one hundred monsters in that place."

    "I see. That is bad but not too bad. Send a scout that keeps an eye on the monster. Next, I want you to place one thousand men in the village near to the monster location. I also want you to bring ten to twelve carpenters with you and build a wooden fort there. This fort has another purpose as a lookout post for any monster that appears in that area. I want this place to become the training ground for our newest recruit in the future."

    "Of course, My lord. I will do it immediately."

    "Good"

    I nod at Leonardo before looking at the master of the ship, Lucas.

    "Master of Ship, Lucas, please give me your yearly report."

    "Of course, my lord. There is nothing wrong with the dock. The only thing that keeps haunting many sailors is the Sea Devil illness that keeps the sailor reluctant to sail away from the docks¡­"

    Sea Devil illness is this world name for scurvy. It is a deadly disease that haunts any sailor trying to go to the other continent, especially the farthest continent.

    "Before you continue, I actually know the treatment for the Sea Devil illness."

    "What?!? Are you sure, my lord?!?!"

    "Yes. I already tested it on one of the sailors, and he now can continue to work without chopping his useless limbs."

    "What is the cure? Can I see it?"

    "Of course. Richard, could you pick up the newly harvested strawberry for me?"

    Richard looked at me with a curious expression but did what I ordered nonetheless. A few seconds later, he came back with a box in his hand. He then opens the box, and the people inside the room look at what is inside the box.

    "My lord¡­ This is a fruit?"

    "Yes. These are the cure of those Sea Devil illnesses. Fruit. You can take some of these fruits to the disease''s victim and see for yourself the result. If that said victim did not get healed, then I will admit my stupidity, but I know these fruits will help the victim heal."

    "I see. I will then immediately test this fruit."

    "Good. If the result is positive, report back to me immediately."

    "However, my lord. This fruit will only last for a week, right? A single voyage to the other country takes at least a month."

    "That is the first thing I want to tell you about. First thing first, I want to tell you, people, something."

    I take a deep breath before looking at them with a serious expression.

    "I''m a magician."

    My councilman looked at me with a surprised expression before laughing their heart out. They continue to laugh for a few seconds, leaving me with a confused expression. After they finished their laugh, Lucas looked at me with amusement.

    "My lord, we already know about it. Your secret is the most poorly concealed secret we have. The people of this city never mention it because they are a loyal subject, and they know that if the Magic Tower knows about your power, they will try their hardest to snatch you away from us. You are not like any other magician that only wants power for themselves. You use your power to help the other. You use your power to create a better future for us. Because of this reason, we, as your subject, will also protect your secret from the other."

    I don''t know how to react to this.

    "I-I see¡­ Then I will not hesitate to show this item then. Please put your hand inside this box."

    Lucas leaned over the table and put his hand inside the box, and widened his eyes.

    "This¡­"

    The others are also curious about this box and put their hand inside the box, and a second later, they have the same reaction to Lucas.

    "This is what I called the Cooling Box. This box will help our merchants preserve their meat, vegetables, and fruit when selling it to other countries. Not only that, but this also lets anything inside be chilled but not frozen. For example, this drink."

    I pick out a small barrel of vodka that I place on the bottom of the box. I let Richard pour down a little bit of the vodka into the cup that was already prepared beforehand and let the other drink it. I also drink it (In this world, 15 years old is already considered an ?du?t. Don''t drink alcohol if you are under 21) and feel my body warm-up.

    "This is¡­"

    "This is Vodka. A drink that will warm up your body. While it is a strong drink, this drink is good for the northern people."

    "Yes¡­ This¡­ Will you sell this, my lord?"

    "Yes. However, I still need to build the machine to create this."

    "Machine?"

    "Yes. It is called a distillation machine. Right now, this project I handed to my wife, Lucina. When the machine is done, I will order the production of Vodka immediately. What do you think? Will this product be sold?"

    "Of course! If your method to cure Sea Devil is working, then the sailor will not have to fear the illness, and they will be eager to travel to the other continent. This drink will be popular in the Northern Continent. They will buy this drink in bulk!"

    "Then I will look forward to it. Other than Sea Devil illness, is there anything you want to report?"

    "Ah! Forgive me for delaying it for so long."

    "No problem, now continue with the report."

    "Of course, my lord. The next thing I want to report is the condition of the ship. The ship''s condition is not bad, but some of the ships need to be repaired, and with the increase of pirates coming from the eastern continent, we need to increase our ship as well."

    I nod at Lucas''s explanation before looking at him and say.

    "Lucky for us, we have gold to spare. How much gold do you need to build a galley?"

    "Lucky for us, we have a perfect wood for our ship. As for the price¡­. I think a few hundred golds are good. We have the basic components to build the ship. We only need to pay the Ship Maker."

    "Then I want you to order three Galley. Two as the military ship and one as a merchant ship."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Is there anything we should know?"

    "Yes. With the increasing number of pirates from the eastern continent, I suggest we build another fort near our shore. Not only does this fort function as a place that can be used to defend the Sea Dragon City from enemies coming from the Gate, but this fort also functions as a defense base against a pirate that wants to steal our woods."

    "I see. Leonardo, what do you think? I want to increase our standing army, but I know we need to take care of other things first."

    Leonardo stayed silent for a few seconds before saying.

    "I think we could use this fort as another training ground for a new blood, but with the monster preparing for an invasion, I think we should delay it for now."

    I nod at Leonardo before looking at Lucas.

    "I agree with Leonardo. I will order someone to build the fort. However, we will delay the process after we finish the monster invasion problem."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Is there anything else?"

    "No, my lord. That is all I want to report."

    "Very well."

    I look at the Master of Sea, Rovul. He is a Dwarf with a height of 153 cm, a rather tall dwarf. He has a bulky body, and I can see his muscles bulging out of his sleeveless cloth. He has a magnificent beard that covers her lower face. He doesn''t have hair on top of his head, but I know where all his hair goes. He has sharp brown eyes that can see your intention.

    "Master of Sea, Rovul, I want to hear your yearly report."

    The dwarf drinks the vodka in his cup in a single swing before saying.

    "There is no problem in the port. There is your usual merchant from the southern region like the merchant from the Holy Light Empire complaining that we should not tax them as they are the more ''cultured'' people while we are the barbarian and don''t need their money."

    "I hope they did not do anything?"

    "No. With a quick killing intent and their so-called roar become a mewling like a kitten meets a predator for the first time."

    "Good."

    "Back to report. Like what Lucas says, the only problem the merchant has is the Sea Devil illness. If that has already been taken care of, then there is no problem."

    "There is no other problem?"

    "No. However, I want to make suggestions to build one more port warehouse. With your invention of the Cooling Box, I hope you can make this warehouse have the same ability as the cooling box. With this, we can preserve all the fish our fisherman sell to us."

    "Granted. I will tell the carpenter to help you build the warehouse. You have a perfect place for it, I hope?"

    "Yes. I also hope you will send a few dozen men to guard the warehouse. I don''t want any thief to steal our goods or a spy to sabotage our goods after all."

    "Granted. Anything else?"

    "Quickly build that machine so I can enjoy this drink more often."

    I chuckle at what he says. Dwarfs are always the people that enjoy drinking, even Lucina.

    "Next is Master of Coin, Ayas. Please give me your yearly report."

    "Yes, My lord."

    Ayas is an elf with light green hair and eyes. He has the typical long ear that indicates he is an elf. He is a rather tall man. He is around 193 cm tall, making him the tallest person in this room.

    "There is no problem regarding the tax. The merchants come here to pay their taxes, and the peasants also do the same. With the money from the Blackbriar family, we have at least One million golds. However, after using it for the salary of the others and the project you want to do, it only left us with Eight hundred thousand or so."

    "I see. That is good then. There is also the business between the other lord and me. The project of Greenhouse is on the way."

    "How much will they pay?"

    "One greenhouse is seven thousand gold coins."

    "All of the Northern Noble want the greenhouse, right?"

    "Yes."

    "That means we will have forty-nine thousand gold from this transaction. However, are you sure about this, my lord? This greenhouse is worth more than seven thousand gold coins."

    "Yes. I''m okay with this. The greenhouse is not as big as ours, but it was big enough for them to plant some vegetables to feed them and the livestock. I don''t really care about the money. I only want the northern people to survive the harsh environment of the northern region. Seven thousand gold is good enough for me. In the end, we are still profiting as the glasses are not coming from the glassmaker in the other continent, but rather, it was created using my magic."

    "If the glasses are created using your magic, why don''t we start a glass-making business?"

    I shake my head and say.

    "I cannot create many glasses with my magic, and after creating it, I will get sick. To create the amount of glass to create the other Noble greenhouse, I need all winter to do it. Luckily it was wintertime, where I wasn''t really busy. If I''m busy doing my job, I cannot create the same amount as what I created in the wintertime."

    "I see. I''m sorry for suggesting that, my lord."

    "Don''t worry about it. Is there anything else?"

    "There is nothing worth noting, my lord. The food in the warehouse inside the castle is still full, and with your magic, the food inside lasts longer than normal."

    "Good. Now let me tell you about one of the projects. I want you guys to help me with it."

    I place down a map on the table and open it. The map is full of circles and words.

    "The first project I want to do is to expand our farm and animal husbandry. What I want to know is where I should do the expansion? I already thought about it yesterday and marked the possible place for the farm. This farm will be exclusively for the Lionheart family farm. I want this place to become the place where we get an item we could export to another country."

    I point my finger at the northwest circle on the map not too far away from the Sea Dragon City.

    "This is the place I think is the perfect place to cultivate. It was not too far away from the Sea Dragon City but far enough from the shore to not let the pirate see the farmland from the sea. Not only that, but this place also is far away from the mountain where monsters usually create nests. What do you think?"

    The people think about it for a few seconds before one by one they begin to say¡­

    "Aye"

    I nod at their answer and say.

    "Ayas, Rovul. I want you two to recruit the worker and also invite some peasants to work there. I will not give them the land, but I want them to work there under my name. They will get seventy bronze coins per month and ten kilograms worth of grain."

    There are three kinds of coins in Gaia. Bronze, Silver, and Golds.

    One Gold = A hundred silver coins.

    One Silver = A hundred bronze coins.

    One piece of bread is equal to three bronze coins in the Northern region or one bronze coin for one piece of bread in the southern region. That means seventy bronze is enough to buy around twenty bread, and ten kilogram worth of grain can create more bread for them.

    "The farmer is also given food once per day in the night and five loaves of bread in the morning. Make sure to say that they are not a serf that works without getting paid."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Heh, leave it to me, lad."

    I nod at both Ayas and Rovul.

    "Good. We will use the seed we got from the Blackbriar family. I can use my magic to grow the tree from the seed phase quickly.. If there is nothing else, then you are dismissed."

 Chapter 43 - Work

    It has been more than a month since the meeting between my councilman and me. Right now, I''m looking at the farm and stock breeding ground in front of me with a satisfied expression. The farm is a huge success.

    In front of me are many apple trees and grapevine grow up from the ground. The apple trees need at least another month to produce some fruit, but the grape is ready to be harvested in a few days or maybe a week.

    I create a ward around this land so any plant planted in this land will grow at unimaginable speed at their growing phase, and the fruit will be ready to be harvested in a week after the tree is m?tur?d.

    The ward around this land also has a defensive property. The first defense I create is a secrecy ward with a compulsion that makes my employer never tell anyone about this farm. Of course, I make them and their family signs an unbreakable contract that says they will never tell any soul about this farm using any form.

    A notice-me-not charm makes this farm like your regular farm that doesn''t have any extraordinary ability. This ward also makes the other quickly forget this place.

    An unlucky curse ward that makes anyone who has bad intentions toward me and mine gets VERY unfortunate if they walk into this place. If a thief or bandit stumbles upon this farm, their bones will melt away as they die in pure agony before their body becomes nutrient for the land.

    There is also an alarm and spying ward that let me know if an intruder or spy decides to check out this farm. This also allows me to control the ward and see what is going on on the farm. There are many more wards that I created using other types of magic.

    Anyway, I snap from my thoughts and walk toward the food storage that was just recently built. I need to carve some rune on the food storage surface to make the food inside last longer. With the help of Rune (Not Suikoden Rune), I can make fish and meat to last for more than two years. The meat and fish will taste the same as it was at its fresh state unlike the one placed inside a freezer.

    There is also a building where the future worker makes wine. Underneath the surface is the wine cellar, where I already create a rune on the barrel holder that boosts the wine''s fermentation. A wine usually takes a month to be considered an okay wine, but it only takes one week for it to be ready with this rune.

    "Richard. Could you search for someone that has a talent in this area?"

    "This¡­ Area?"

    "I want some that can write the items inside this storage and then calculate how much these are worth if we sell it to the other country. I also want him or her to be stern but honest. Can you search for someone like that? I prefer someone from the north. The second son or daughter of the lord is good as well, but I guess they want to see the result first."

    "Then how about inviting the daughter of Lord Byron? She has an education on wielding a sword and spear but saying that she wants to become a merchant rather than a soldier. She says that a martial might is a must at this age, and she did not want to be underestimated by others. At the age of twelve, she was already entrusted by Lord Byron to take care of a small financial problem. I also hear that she has neat handwriting and can make a simple yet direct report."

    "Good. Lord Byron will come here in a week, right?"

    "Yes, my lord. You already tell Lord Byron to come here to give his reward for helping you fight against the Blackbriar family."

    "Did he tell you if he brought his family?"

    "Yes. He said that he would bring his wife and four children with him"

    "Good. I will tell him about the farm by then. Luckily for us, the grape is ready to be harvested in a week. I will tell him about the prospect of this farm."

    "Of course, My Lord."

    ~A week later~

    "What do you think, Lord Byron?"

    "This¡­"

    "I need someone to take care of this place, and I hear your daughter is someone that has a talent for this. I need someone to oversee all the workers here. She will be the one that gives them their salary every month and the one that gives me a daily report via raven."

    "I¡­ I really want to say yes, especially with all you promise to give to us. However, I cannot decide it myself. Rachel¡­ What do you think?"

    I look at the young woman around her seventeen years old, who slowly nods her head. I smile at her confirmation and say.

    "Welcome to the Lionheart Winery and Farmhouse. You can start your work tomorrow morning. I will be the one showing how it is done."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Daniel Byron looked around in awe. He never thought he would see this much green in the north. While the snow is still falling from the sky, the trees and vegetables still grow under the north''s cold.

    He knows that his lord, Isaac Lionheart, is a magician. A powerful magician. He already saw his feat of magic in the fight against the Blackbriar family. However, he never thought he had magic that let the plant survive the northern region''s coldness.

    The useless seeds the Blackbriar family sent for the losses in the war become something valuable for the Lionheart and Byron family.

    His lord already promised him a fertilizer that let one acre of land be fertile like the one in the south. Sadly he cannot make many fertilizers at once, but his lord promises him that he will send fertilizer worth ten-acre of land.

    Knowing there will be ten acres of land ready to make food for his family and his subject, Daniel Byron couldn''t help but feel touched by his lord''s action. His Lord also wants to send it to the other lord but at a smaller amount.

    Isaac says that he did not want to change the north into a green region like the south when Daniel asks why his lord says Winter is the biggest enemy to them, but Winter also the North''s biggest ally.

    Daniel couldn''t deny it. Winter is the one that makes their land the harshest place to live, but winter also the one that makes the North the hardest place to invade. By making the north the same as the south, they just kicked out their biggest ally.

    He could agree with his lord''s decision. While the winter is harsh, it also makes them stronger.

    With this fertilizer that lets him feed his people and also the reward his lord gives to him even though he can keep the reward and not give him anything, Daniel could begin to start the project he wants to do, like make a fort that lets the Byron family army train and keep the monster at bay.

    With the gold coin, Daniel also can start building a fishing village that he really wants to build for a long time.

    He then looked at his daughter, who listened to his lord''s explanation about her new work. Daniel loves all his children. Rachel listens to all Isaac says and remembers all of her new job that will start the next morning.

    At first, Daniel thought that his lord would only pay his daughter for what she was doing and nothing more. If your lord personally calls someone to work for him, it was a great honor, especially when they were entrusted with a piece of land that the lord owned. Daniel thought that Isaac would only pay her daughter with a little bit of silver coin, but to his surprise, his lord pays her daughter three gold coins a month, two meals a day, and five bottles of wine each time the wine is finished fermenting.

    Not only that, but his lord also gives her a little bit of land to build a house for her and her descendants. This is what made Daniel really touched. The land is something valuable that not many people can attain.

    The one given the land doesn''t need to pay the rent as the said person owns the land. However, while they owned that piece of land, they cannot do everything they wanted to that land. If they use that land for something bad like making that land as a bandit hideout, then the local lord can and will exterminate the owner and all the bandits inside.

    While the owner cannot do something bad or opposite what the local lord wants, the land can be used as a source of income or a place to live. The owner could make farmland or winery to get a regular income.

    What makes Rachel''s land in the Northern region more valuable is the location. Rachel soon to be land is located in a safe place far away from the known monster breeding zone. Her land is also one of the lands that Isaac is processing, so this land is fertile like the land in front of him.

    Daniel doesn''t know about the future, but currently, he is content with all he has. He is content with the happiness he currently has. He doesn''t know what the future has in store for them, but he knows that he will be safe under the banner of his lord.

    He remembers what his lord said to him before the winter hit the north.

    "Winter is coming, my lord. A lone lion will not survive the winter; however, the pride will survive and thrive."

    Yes.. He is a member of Lionheart pride, and he knows that the whole pride already survives the winter, and now it is their time to thrive.

 Chapter 44 - Visiting

    I read the report in front of me. Like I previously thought, Vodka became a popular drink in the northern region. It is so popular, and I need to increase the distillation machine. Lucky for me, Lucina is a dwarf. When I give her the blueprint of a distillation machine, she immediately makes it inside the blacksmith of my pocket dimension.

    The vodka became the most sought product we sold to the other. Vodka is only sold in the northern region and is not yet exported to another country or continent. However, a few merchants who come from the east continent decide to buy a few Vodka bottles from the local trader.

    While I permit to sell a few vodka bottles to the foreign merchant, I forbid anyone to sell more than three bottles of Vodka. There is no law about Item Monopoly in this world. With them only can taste the drink in here and as they become addicted to the drink, the demand will be higher, and with the supply is low, the price of the Vodka will become higher as well.

    Because only the Lionheart family could make Vodka, I could monopolize the price and to whom I wanted to sell the drink.

    Vodka becomes a booming accommodation in the northern region as not only can it make you drunk it also warms you up. There is also the grain that used to make the vodka contains a little bit of magic. This makes drinking vodka that we make is more delicious and more healthy¡­.? The effect of the mana inside the drink makes overconsumption of vodka will never cause alcohol poisoning.

    Thus, many of the workers on my farm will be given a cup of vodka every morning. When the rumor of the vodka warms your belly, many peasants will buy the vodka from the local tavern and keep it inside their house to drink it in the morning.

    Of course, I give all the tavern an order to not sell the drink for takeout more than three cups worth of vodka. I also make a law that says if someone is found drunk when it is time for work, they will be punished and sent to my personal farm to do intense labor without getting paid.

    When I make that law, I also upgrade my ward to enforce it in their brain to not get drunk at the time of work and only do it in their free time.

    "Isaac¡­"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Lucina''s voice from behind my office.

    "Come in."

    As I see Lucina walk inside my office, I smile a little before saying.

    "Hello, Lucina. Is there something I could do for you?"

    "Nothing, dear husband. However, it is time to eat¡­ You stay inside your office since the morning. Little Ginerva gets bored and demand Lady Eveline to take her to meet you."

    "Really? Then I cannot make my little sister wait, can I?"

    Lucina shakes her head with an amused expression before taking my hand, and we go to the dining room.

    ~Next Day~

    "Lucina, do you want to come with me to the other world?"

    "Really? Can I?"

    "Of course. You are my dear wife, after all."

    I chuckle a little when I see her blush.

    "Then yes. I want to come with you to the other world."

    "Come on."

    I take her hand and open up the pocket dimension portal. We then walk inside the portal and continue our walk toward the mansion when we arrive in front of the Dimension Hopping, where I press the world that I already visited.

    This is one of the functions of this room I am grateful for. This room let me go back to the world that I already visited. At first, I was afraid that I could not go back to the world I visited and only went back to the alternate universe of the said world I once visited.

    Anyway, I select the Harry Potter world I previously visited. As I press it, the system asks me which time I want to come out of the portal.

    Wait a minute. Does that mean the Harry Potter world is continuing going on as I stay in my world? I guess that makes sense. I thought that the Harry Potter universe would be frozen or something like that.

    I decide to leave it as it is. I want to see how long time has passed in the Harry Potter universe. It has been more than two months since the last time I visited the Harry Potter world, if you did not count the time I spent inside the pocket dimension.

    "Isaac? Is there a problem?"

    I smile at Lucina, who is having a worried expression before saying.

    "Nothing. Come on. I already set which world we will be visiting."

    "Really? What kind of world is that?"

    "Hmmm¡­ That world is divided into two types of world."

    "Huh?"

    "One side of the world is filled with people that can use magic and control it to help them in their daily life."

    "And the other?"

    "The other side of the world is filled with mundane people or non-magical beings."

    "So? They still have physical energy, right?"

    "Sadly no. They don''t have it."

    "Then how can they survive?"

    "By using their brain. They use their wit and intelligence to create a weapon and tool that help them to survive. From there, they continue to upgrade their tools to make their life easier."

    "Oh~ Then what about the magician? Why did they not help the non-magical being?"

    "They are called a wizard for the men or a witch for the women. As for helping¡­ well, they don''t want to do that. There is a dark time called the Witch Hunt time. As its name suggests, this is the time where many wizards and witches get hunted down by order of the local church and king."

    "That is awful."

    "Yes. Because of this event, many magical beings decide to hide and create a community called Wizarding World. They create a barrier that separates the world of Mundane people and the Wizarding world."

    "I see."

    "However, because of this separation, the people in the wizarding world, especially the noble, are called pure blood here, see the mundane people beneath them as they cannot use magic."

    "They just like the people from the Tower of Magic, then."

    "Really?"

    "Yup~ I met a magician from the Tower of Magic once when he came to Dalagull to hunt some monster to harvest it for a potion ingredient. However, instead of acting like a guest, he acts like he is the owner of Dalagull and demands my father to give him the lord room for him to stay and serve a feast three times a day."

    "I bet uncle Lomun is furious."

    "Of course! He decided to kick out the magician from Dalagull, but that bastard decided to challenge my father in a duel. Let''s say that there is a reason why magicians positioned themselves in the backline instead of in the frontline. Before he could cast his spell, my father already cut his left arm with his ax and then chop his head off."

    "Heh. I will pay to see that fight."

    After done talking with Lucina, I open up the Dimension Hopping room door and see a familiar kaleidoscope portal.. I take Lucina''s hand and take her inside the room.

 Chapter 45 - Encounter

    As Lucina and I walk away from the portal, and see the familiar alley and massive building around us. Lucina looks around in wonder as it is her first time seeing so many massive buildings in one area.

    I chuckle a little when I see her gaping like a fish at the sight of a car. She snapped from her thought as she heard me chuckling at her face and pouting a little.

    "Sorry, Sorry. Come on. The entrance to the Wizarding World is across the street."

    I take her hand and lead her toward the Leaky Cauldron. As we arrive in front of the pub, Lucina looks at me with a confused expression.

    "This is the entrance to the Wizarding World?"

    "Yup."

    "Inside a tavern?"

    "Yup. Come on."

    I walk inside the Leaky Cauldron and look around for a few seconds before I see the newspaper for today. As I walked toward the newspaper desk, I read the title of one of the newspapers called Witch Weekly.

    ''HARRY POTTER''S SECRET HEARTACHE''

    I frown a little before taking the newspaper and placing a Galleon into the glass bowl next to the newspaper. Seeing my expression, Lucina walked toward me and whispered.

    "Is everything okay?"

    "Yes. Just surprised by the news. Lucina, do you want to eat first? I need to read this news first."

    "I don''t mind."

    "Thank you."

    I walk toward Tom, the bartender, and say.

    "Hello, tom, could I get the full English breakfast for two people?"

    "Of course. Take your seat. The food will come in a minute."

    "Thank you."

    Lucina and I take a seat near the counter. As I sit down, I open up the newspaper and begin to read.

    By the look of the date, it has been more than four years since I arrived for the first time in this universe. 5 March 1995, the newspaper is written by Rita Seekers claimed that Hermione Granger was Harry Potter''s girlfriend and that she was toying with him by seeking Viktor Krum''s affections, who himself was very much smitten with her.

    It looks like the Triwizard tournament is not yet finished. However, the second stage of the Triwizard tournament is already finished. That means the time in my world is moving slower than the Harry Potter world.

    "Here is your food."

    "Sorry for asking this but did I meet you before?"

    "Yes. I came here in 1991."

    "Oh! I remember now! You are¡­. Isaac, right?"

    "That is me."

    "Welcome back! I hope you enjoy your stay!"

    "Thank you."

    As Tom walks away from the table, Lucina and I begin to eat our breakfast. After we finished eating our breakfast, we walked toward the fireplace near the booth and said.

    "Tom, we need to take the Floo to Hogsmeade. How much for the food, drink, and the Floo powder?"

    "Three Galleons and four sickles."

    "Hogsmeade!"

    As I see the fireplace blaze up, I encourage Lucina to walk toward the fire. She hesitates for a second, but she begins to walk toward the fireplace when she looks at me. When I see her disappear, I throw another floo powder and walk toward the fire. A second later, I see a rather crowded street filled with children and ?du?ts.

    "Come on! Many magical items are being sold here. I know you are curious about the magical item in this world. After looking around, we could try to meet the Dwarves in this world."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Harry, Hermione, and Ron wait for Sirius to arrive. Sirius says that he will arrive in front of the Three Broomstick Inn in his animagus form. While waiting for Sirius to show up, the golden trio order up some bu??erbeer.

    However, while waiting for Sirius to show up, Harry looked at a person come inside the inn. He still remembers a young man sitting on the chair reading a book inside the Leaky Cauldron. That man is the seer he saw in the past!

    "Harry! Harry!"

    Harry snapped from his thought when Hermione shook him.

    "Harry. Is something wrong?"

    "Hermione, can you see that young man in front of us?"

    "The one that has silver hair?"

    "Yes."

    "I can see him. Why?"

    "He is the seer that gives a prophecy about the Fire far away. The fire that prevented the kingdom''s demise."

    "That¡­"

    Ron, who stays silent while drinking his bu??erbeer, begins to speak.

    "Do you want to talk to him, Harry? Maybe he can help you with the tournament."

    Harry nods at his friend''s suggestion before standing up and walking toward the young man, followed by Hermione and Ron.

    The young man looked at Harry and his friend with a raised eyebrow before saying.

    "Can I help you guys?"

    Harry takes a breath before saying.

    "Could you help me?"

    "... Could you explain it to me from the beginning? I don''t know the context of you asking me for help."

    Harry then explains about the Triwizard tournament and about the prophecy the young man created. The young man stayed silent for a minute after Harry finished telling the young man about his tale. The young man looked at him before saying.

    "Fine. I will help you. Is there any place we could use to teach you something?"

    Before Harry could answer, he heard a bark coming from the outside of the inn. As he looked outside, he could see Padfoot waiting outside the inn. He doesn''t know what to do. He wants to meet with his Godfather, but he knows that this is his chance to learn from the Seer in front of him.

    After thinking about it for a few seconds, Harry decides to risk it. He walks away from the young man and squats down before saying.

    "Padfoot. I want to do something risky. I want that man over there to come to your hideout. I want to learn from him. He is the seer that makes a prophecy about a Fire that prevents the kingdom''s demise. You don''t need to change into your human form. Just for this day."

    After a few seconds, Padfoot at his head. Seeing his Godfather agree with him, Harry walks inside the inn with Padfoot follow him behind.

    "My name is Harry Potter. I will be in your care for today."

    "Isaac Lionheart and this beautiful woman here is¡­"

    The woman sitting next to the young man, Isaac, smiles at Harry and his friend before saying.

    "Lucina Lionheart nee MacGrath. Isaac''s wife. Nice to meet you."

    Harry and Hermione look at the couple with a surprised expression. On the other hand, Ron looks at Isaac and Lucina before nodding his head.

    "Y-You are married?!?"

    Hermione couldn''t help but say that both Isaac and Lucina look like a person who has not yet reached ?du?thood, and she is correct.

    "Yes. We have already been married for two months? Or maybe more? More than two months but not yet three months."

    "B-But you are not yet an ?du?t!"

    "Yes. We are ''married'' in the paper only. Our parents decided to marry us to make the bond between our family even stronger. We cannot do an intimate activity just yet as we are not yet reaching ?du?thood."

    "B-but¡­ It was wrong!"

    Hearing Hermione will not let it go, Ron decides to intervene by saying.

    "Hermione, let it be. We have a different law than the Muggle world has. What they do is a common practice here. They solidify the bond between houses. It was usually because both houses wanted to do a co-business or share a piece of land. They are not married just yet, but you can say that they are betrothed. However, unlike your regular betrothed, they cannot break their contract and change their partner."

    Hermione hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. After that, they begin to follow Padfoot to a cave. When they walk inside the cave, they can see a giant Hippogriff lying on the ground looking at them.

    "Oh my! What a wonderful beast you are!"

    Before Harry could introduce Buckbeak to Isaac and Lucina, Isaac already walked toward the Hippogriff without giving the beast respect. The trio anticipates Isaac getting kicked away by the Hippogriff. However, instead, get mauled or kicked out by the Hippogriff, Buckbeak nuzzles the young man with its head and purrs like a cat when Isaac scratches the neck of Buckbeak.

    "Yosh~ Yosh~ What a majestic being you are! Do you want some meat?"

    Harry looked at Isaac in confusion about the meat part as he did not see any meat. Harry widens his eyes when he sees Isaac take a massive piece of meat out of thin air and give it to Buckbeak, who immediately eats it.

    "I don''t know you could own a Hippogriff!"

    "Errrr, we can''t."

    "Huh? So what is Hippogriff doing here?"

    "Well¡­ Do you know the news about Dracon Malfoy getting attacked by a Hippogriff?"

    "OH! I see what you mean. A little bastard that doesn''t know how to interact with a Hippogriff. Heh. Serve him right."

    "Y-You will not tell the ministry about Buckbeak?"

    "His name is Buckbeak? Of course not! He is a rather tame beast. If that Mafuyu guy¡­"

    "Malfoy"

    "Yes, know how to interact with Hippogriff, and he will not get bitten by it.

    "I see. Thank you."

    Isaac smiles at Harry before saying.

    "Right! Now before we begin our lesson, why don''t we change back into our human form, hmmm?"

    The trio begins to panic before Harry begs Isaac.

    "Please, Please don''t tell anyone¡­. Please¡­"

    "As long as that ''dog'' did not bring danger to me and what is mine, I will not tell a single soul."

    Harry nods at Padfoot, and a second later, the black dog begins to change into a human. Sirius Black looks at Isaac and Lucina, who look at him with interest.

    "Huh, neat. I guess that is why they never find you, huh, Sirius Black?"

    "Yes, and right now, I gamble my freedom to show it to you."

    "And I will keep my promise to you."

    "I will hold you to that."

    Isaac then looked at Harry before saying.

    "So! What do you want to learn? And why did you come to me to learn something instead of one of your professors?"

    "My professor cannot teach me anything as it was part of the rules of the Triwizard tournament. A professor cannot help the participant with anything. As for the reason for me to approach you is that you are a seer."

    "Oh?"

    "I read it in one of the books in the Hogwart Library that said a seer is a powerful individual, be it mentally or magically. Professor Trelawney is strong mentally and not magically."

    "And how do you know she was not powerful in magic?"

    "Each time she tells her ''prophecy,'' the magic in the room never shifts or changes, unlike you when you first create your prophecy."

    Isaac stays silent for a few seconds before taking out his wand and flicking it.

    Suddenly a chair and table appear in front of them.

    "Very well. I will teach you what I know. However, before I begin, I need to ask you something."

    "What is it?"

    "Do you know a soul is leeching your magic inside your scar?"

    Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Sirius looked at Isaac with a shocked expression.

    "WHAT?!?"

 Chapter 46 - Teaching

    You know, I never thought that the song I sang in the past would become a ''prophecy.'' I know that my singing will become a trouble to Tom, the innkeeper, but I never thought that it would become a troublesome thing!

    Our first visit is the bookstore in the Hogsmeade called Tomes and Scrolls bookstore when we arrive in the Hogsmeade. I bring Lucina here because this store is a specialist bookstore selling books that sell special knowledge like Curse Breaker, Blacksmithing, Enchantment, Crafting, and Potion Making.

    While I have a forging book inside my pocket dimension that I got from the goblin, it was an advanced book that they copied from the old family. There are too many holes in the book that never explain the basics. Making Lucina and I have a hard time understanding it.

    Unlike spells that only need a chant and intent to be cast, a forging skill has steps that need to be done before I could enjoy the finished product. The book that I got from the goblin immediately went to step twelve instead of step one.

    That is why we buy many basic and intermediate level forging books from the bookstore.

    After buying all the books we need, we visit another store like Dervish and Banges that sells magical instruments. From this store, we decided to buy pocket-sized Secrecy Sensors.

    Secrecy Sensors is a magic instrument that lets the possessor detect concealment and lies. It will detect if there someone conceals themselves when near me. Not only that, but it also detects a lie. It will vibrate if someone lies to me.

    The shopkeeper is kind enough to make it into a necklace.

    The next shop we visit is Spintwitches Sporting Needs. In this place, I bought two flying brooms for both of us. After talking to the shopkeeper, we decided to buy two Comet 260 broomsticks and two Firebolts broomsticks. While the Comet 260 is the older Broomstick model, it has a perfect balance and does not go too fast, making it the perfect broom for a beginner. On the other hand, Firebolt is the newer model that focused on its speed, making it unsuitable for a beginner.

    After shopping, we decide to take a break in the Three Broomsticks Inn. However, before we could even order our food, Harry and his friend arrived in front of us and asked me to teach him some magic.

    We then follow him to a cave where Buckbeak is located. When we enter the cave, I immediately release my Green and Blue magic to make Buckbeak accept Lucina and me as friends.

    I also tell Sirius Black to change back to his human form. When I tell Harry about the Horcruxes, I can see his face begin to lose its color when he hears Voldemort leeching off his magic.

    After creating a bed and letting him lie down on the bed, I raised my left hand and activated the Rain of Kindness. While the Golden Trio and Sirius look at the rain that appears inside the cave in wonder, I raise my right hand and say.

    "Touch of Death. Tom Marvolo Riddle."

    The Grim Reaper flies closer to Harry. I can see Harry try to run, scream and even beg for his life, but he cannot do anything. The same could be said to the other people in this room, including Lucina.

    However, instead of taking Harry Potter''s soul, the Grim Reaper touches Harry''s scar. After the Grim Reaper touches Harry''s scar, a cloud of black smoke appears from his scar, screaming as if it was in pain. However, the Grim Reaper did not stop there. It stretched its hands, and suddenly another six black smoke appeared near it.

    A second later, the Black Smoke combined and created a humanoid figure with Voldemort''s face after resurrecting in the Triwizard Tournament aftermath. The Grim Reaper makes a clicking sound that resembles laughter.

    The Grim Reaper rises its scythe and is ready to slice Voldermort into two. However, before it swings its scythe, I can hear a whisper.

    "You¡­ Cannot¡­ Cheat¡­ Me¡­."

    The Grim Reaper then swings its scythe and cuts Voldermort into two. I can hear Voldemort screaming that saying he is Lord Voldemort, he is above the dead and what not but after a few seconds, he began to scream for mercy and then started crying before silent as the Grim Reaper is eating his soul.

    After eating Voldemort''s soul, the Grim Reaper disappears from my view, leaving us alone. I look at Harry and see that the scar is gone.

    "Yup. Now with the soul leech gone, we can start the lesson."

    I flick my wand and transfigure the stone into a whiteboard and take out a basic book of dueling.

    "Now! The first lesson is¡­"

    "WAIT!!!"

    Before I could start my lesson, Hermione, who was the first to snap from her shocked state, shouted at me.

    "Yes?"

    "What was that?!?"

    "What is what?"

    "That thing!"

    "Ah! You mean the Grim Reaper?"

    "Yes!"

    "Well, it was a Grim Reaper. A Grim Reaper is a being that harvests the soul of the deceased and brings it to Death itself."

    "I know what a Grim Reaper is!"

    "So, what do you want to know?"

    "What is it doing here?!?"

    "Bringing Voldemort to face its judgment¡­?"

    "Wha¡­? Huh? What?!?"

    Harry is the next one, snapped from his thought and said.

    "I think what she means is how you could summon the Grim Reaper to do your bidding."

    I shrug and say.

    "My family magic."

    Harry and Hermione want to dig deeper, but Sirius decides to stop them by saying.

    "Stop it. If it was his family magic, we could not ask him about it. There is a reason why it is called family magic. Anyone that tries or has other family magic other than theirs, they will be sentenced to Azkaban for a lifetime."

    Hermione hesitates for a second before nodding her head. After that, I began to teach them spells and magic that Hogwart did not teach its students. Like Occlumency and Medical Magic. Harry is like in the canon a prodigy in Defence Against the Dark Arts and surprisingly Occlumency, unlike in the canon.

    Hermione is good at Charm and Healing magic. She is good at theory, but unlike Ron and Harry, she is not creative at using her magic.

    Ron is a mediocre person. He can do most of the spells I teach them, but he cannot do the high-level spell. However, unlike Hermione, he can get creative in using his spell. Like, use a levitation spell to levitate a rock to block an incoming attack or using Incendio, a first-year spell, to his opponent to distract them while Harry and Hermione attack the enemy.

    Lucina and I spend the rest of our time training the golden trio. Lucina did a sparring match between the trio and her. On the other hand, I''m the one who constantly casts Rain of Kindness to heal all the injuries the trio get from sparring.

    Lucina did not use her weapon and only used her fist when she sparred with the trio. While it was not much, this will teach them how to dodge an attack and not just create a barrier spell to block the incoming attack.

    I laugh a little at the trio and Sirius'' surprised expression when they see Lucina destroy their barrier with her fist.

    We continue our training until the sun starts setting. As the trio go back to Hogwarts, Lucina and I go back to the pocket dimension. We take a bath, eat dinner and get ready to go to bed. However, before we go to sleep, Lucina says.

    "Hey, Isaac. While I enjoy our time here, could we go to the world where we can become an adventure? A place where we could walk around the world, fight monsters and enjoy nature."

    "Sure, we could do that."

    "Really? Thank you. It is my dream to go around the world with the person I love and enjoy nature. Sadly, we cannot do that in our own world. With your duty as the lord of Sea Dragon City, I cannot take you to become an adventurer or a treasure hunter! That is why I want to take a journey around the world."

    "Of course. As long as it is within my ability, I will fulfill all your dreams."

    "Thank you, dear husband."

    "Of course, my dear wife."

    We cuddle for a few minutes before the dream world takes us.

 Chapter 47 - Interlude

    He is the creature of Rebirth. He is the majestic creature of the Light. He is the creature of Fire. He is a phoenix. He is a Phoenix that has lived for a few centuries. While he is a young chick compared to the other Phoenix, he is still an old creature in the mortal eye.

    Many mortals called him with many names, but in this reincarnation, he is named Fawkes.

    Fawkes is the Phoenix that guards a place called Hogwart. He already stays in this land before the four chicks come to him and ask for his permission to build a school to protect other magical mortals.

    He watched them build the school from the ground up and saw them teach and protect many more chick that come to their school to seek guidance and protection.

    As the time flies by, the Wise Woman comes to him and asks him to become the school''s protector. She wants to make him the school''s protector that she and her friend built from the ground.

    She says that all of her friends already choose their own guardian. The reckless man chose his trusted hat to filter all the future students coming to this school. The hat also will be the anchor to all the barriers around the school.

    The cunning man chose the creature of Poison to guard the land against the outside force. He makes a cage for his beast deep inside the foundation of the school.

    The kind woman chose to create a forest around the school and make a pact with the star watcher. She let the star watcher stay inside the forest she created using the Green Magic as their home in exchange for them to protect the school from any harm.

    Now the wise woman chose him as the protector and the last line of defense against anyone trying to harm the school she and her friend create. Fawkes accepted her request and became the Hogwarts'' guardian, the school, and home to the lost one after seeing her pure intention.

    Fawkes watches the school like he is promised, and as time flies by, many of the guardians begin to forget their role. The hat begins to think that his only role is only to sort the student on which house they should go to. However, by abandoning his role as the barrier''s anchor, the magic begins to take shape in the form of a semi-sentient being.

    This is a good and bad thing at the same time.

    The barrier can see which person has an evil intention to walk inside the school. It can banish them from the school ground. However, when someone decides to suppress and block the school magic, the school''s barrier becomes weaker by 85% of its original, like what happened not too long ago.

    His so-called master, Albus Dumbledore, decided to seal up the barrier and tie it into himself as he thought it was for a Greater Good. However, Fawkes knows the reason why he is doing that. Albus wants to control the barrier to do his bidding. He wants to make the school his own, and by sealing up the barrier and tying it into himself, he thinks that he is the school owner.

    Fawkes is disgusted by his so-called master magic. His magic is too sweet that makes many untrained people think that he is a being of light, but he is the master manipulator in reality. Fawkes and any magic s?ns?t?v? creature will know about the true nature of his being.

    If not for his promise to the wise woman, he would have already gone from this place.

    The forest that the kind woman created began to be tainted by many creatures that did not belong to the place full of people. An idiot Giant with a kind heart decides to let an eight-legged creature make a nest in the forest taint the forest even more.

    The star watcher forgets their oath and lets a dangerous creature stay inside the forest and think that they are the forest owner. Because they broke their magical oath, Magic takes what the most precious thing they have, their eyes.

    They cannot see the future as clear as before. Their eyes will always be clouded and never see the truth. They only can see a little piece of the future, never to see the full future.

    He wants to fly away from this place, but his promise, his oath, make him stay in this place. He doesn''t want to break his oath and lose his gift of Rebirth. However, the longer he stayed here, the quicker his circle of fire started.

    Initially, he only needed to do a circle of fire every decade, but his Circle of Fire shortens into once every month with all the dark magic around him.

    One day as he continues to watch the school like usual, he feels magic in the world begins to shift. Fawkes closed his eyes and began to feel the magic around the world before opening his eyes. He knew this feeling. It was the feeling of Death.

    The last time he feels this feeling is the time of Death gives a gift to the Idiotic Trio. It was the time when Death searched for his chosen one. The one that carries its will. The one that hunts down the mortal that cheats it.

    That day, Fawkes fly high in the sky and look at one of the houses owned by the two of the Lion cubs. He watches a baby with green eyes born into this world with the presence of Death around the baby.

    He watched as the two lion cubs named the baby Harry James Potter. He will remember his name as he will be the one who carried the will of Death. He will make sure the littlest cub stays alive before he can fulfill Death''s will.

    Like his namesake, the manipulator begins to manipulate the people around him, and when he tries to manipulate the Lion cub, Fawkes knows that it will start something bad.

    True to his prediction. The bearded manipulator tries to manipulate destiny. He positioned himself as the most powerful mortal on this island. He frames an innocent man, makes a Death envoy into a martyr, and manipulates the same envoy to do his bidding.

    He fears what Death has in store when its envoy dies before his time. Before he fulfilled his duty. Fawkes already tries his best to prevent the envoy from dying before his time, but his patience is limited. While he like the envoy as he can feel his pure magic, but he will not torture himself by getting closer to the taint on his head.

    One day, while he is doing his duty of watching the school, he feels the magic around the world changed. It was something he never felt or saw in his life. Fawkes walks to the window and begins to fly away from the school and arrive at the lonely village near the school.

    He made himself invisible to the others and landed on the inn''s window in the lonely village. He can see the Death envoy sitting on the table chatting with his companion but right now, he comes here not to see the Death envoy but rather to see the source of the change in world magic.

    When his gaze landed on the silver-haired young man, he knew that he was the source of the change in world magic. He activated his all-seeing eye and widened his eyes. However, he widened his eyes not in surprise but in fear.

    What he is in front of him is a massive being hugging the silver-haired man. The being has a black cloak that covers all its body. The only thing that is shown to him is a skeleton hand that hugs the silver-haired man. He knows who is that being in front of him. It was Death. The beings that already exist even before time exist.

    A being that is so powerful that even Gods fear it. The being that cannot be killed as Death cannot be killed.

    He cannot move his body as he sees Death in all its glory hugging the silver-haired man in affection.

    When Death was looking at him in the eye, Fawkes deactivated his eyes and immediately flew away from the silver-haired man.. He doesn''t know the silver-haired man''s relationship with Death, but one thing he knows is that he will never offend him and his loved one.

 Chapter 48 - Pokemon

    When I woke up, I looked to my side and did not see Lucina, meaning that she was already awake before me. I walk to the bathroom and wash my face before walking downstairs, where a delicious aroma hits my nose.

    As I walk toward the dining room, I see many kinds of food on the table ready to be consumed. I look toward the kitchen and see Lucina preparing another dish for us to eat. I sit down on the chair and wait for Lucina to finish her cooking.

    A few minutes later, Lucina finished her cooking and sat down on the chair near me. We eat all the food before walking toward the Dimension hopping room.

    "Isaac. Before we go, could you tell me what kind of world we will be visiting?"

    "Sure. This world is called the pokemon world. This world is created by a being called Arceus. When Arceus wants to create the universe, Arceus creates three creatures named Dialga, who govern over time, Pialka, who govern over space; and Giratina governs over Antimatter. While technically those three are the ones that create the universe but without Arceus, they cannot create the universe."

    "I see."

    "In this world, there is a creature named Pokemon. They are monsters that are roaming the world. However, unlike the monster in our world that cannot be tamed, Pokemon can be tamed and become our partner."

    "Really?"

    "Yup. Come on. We are going to do an adventure. You will know what kind of world we will be in when we arrive."

    When we arrive in front of the Dimension Hopping room, I look at it and say.

    "Pokemon World."

    I don''t ask for a specific place because I know that Pokemon world is a great world and all regions have their own uniqueness. When we see a portal appear, we walk inside the portal, and we can feel the world is changing.

    When we go to the tree where the portal to go out, the pocket dimension is located. As we step outside the portal, we are in the middle of a forest. I look at Lucina for a second before taking out the broom we bought from the Harry Potter world and begin to fly high.

    When I see a city not too far away from our location, I descend to the ground and say.

    "Come on. I can see a city to our north."

    There I take her to the city first to gather information. We don''t have any ID to buy a Pokeball or any pokemon supply. I need to know if we could legally make an ID and if we cannot do that, then I need to search for an excellent illegal forger.

    I look at the crowd in confusion before walking toward a man not too far away from us.

    "Excuse me. What is happening there?"

    "Oh? It is the time of the year where the Gym Leader registers a new generation of pokemon trainers. You don''t want to become a pokemon trainer? A boy your age usually wants to become a trainer."

    "Sadly, we can''t do that. We are an orphan, you see. We don''t even have an ID because our village is in the middle of nowhere. We come here to search for a job, and if we are lucky, we could build a house in the future."

    "Then you should go and register yourself as a trainer. It was free, don''t worry. After you are registered, you will get a starter given by the League. However, don''t get your hopes high as they will not give a rare pokemon as the professor gives to their sponsored trainer."

    "Really? We could become a trainer without an official ID?"

    "Yeah. As long as you are not a well-known criminal, you are good to go. They will ask you some questions, and they will use a Psychic pokemon to see if you are lying or not. They will know if you are a criminal. If you are not? Then you are good to go."

    "I see. Thank you, sir. Sorry for taking your time."

    "You problem, young''un. Many people from villages around the world come here to become trainers. After you become a trainer, you can search for a job around the city. The most common one is a delivery boy, where you will be paid a good amount of Poke Dollar for your job."

    "Once again, Thank you, sir."

    After waving at the old man, we walk toward the building where many people are queuing up. There are many people from the age of ten to a man in his mid-thirty. After waiting for thirty minutes, Lucina and I separate as Lucina walks toward the women''s room, and I step inside the man''s room.

    The previous person who came inside the room has been taken out by what looks like a police officer.

    As I walk inside the room, I see a man sitting down on the chair behind a counter, and next to him is a Kadabra standing there looking at me.

    "Hello there. My name is Ralf, and this one is Chevy the Kadabra. Please take a seat."

    As I sit down on the chair, I can feel energy probing inside my mind. When I feel it did not probe my memory, I decide to let it be and not strengthen my Occlumency.

    "Then let us begin this interview. Are you ready?"

    "Yes."

    "Relax. As long as you are not a criminal, you will be doing okay. First question. Have you ever stolen something big?"

    "No."

    "Have you killed someone in cold blood?"

    "No."

    Before I say that, I strengthen my Occlumency to fool the Kadabra. I really hope it works. When I saw Kadabra tilt his head, I began to panic. The man looking at his pokemon nodded his head and looked at me in the eyes.

    "Have you witnessed someone get killed?"

    "Yes."

    "Are you thinking that it was your fault?"

    "... Yes."

    The man nodded his head and looked at me in sadness before writing something in his notepad.

    "What is your reasoning to become a trainer?"

    "I want to protect my loved one, support her and show her the world."

    The Kadabra nodded his head. The man smiled at me and put down his pen.

    "Good. The interview is over. Here, please fill this form."

    I then begin to fill up a simple form that asks my name, birthday, birthplace, and where I''m from.

    "Isaac Lionheart. A strong name, please wait here for a minute. I will come back with your ID and starter."

    I see the man walk away from the room with his notepad before coming back three minutes later with a card and three Pokeball.

    "Here is your ID. The ID will last for three years before you need to come back here or any other Gym in the region for your new ID. This ID also has another function as your bank account. You can take out money from any ATM nearby and deposit your money to a local bank. Please don''t lose this card as you will find a huge sum of money before you could recreate it."

    "Yes!"

    "Good. Now, this is your starter. Inside this Pokeball is Pidgey."

    "Excuse me, but could I ask you something?"

    "Of course!"

    "I hear from the traveler that you can get a rare pokemon like Cyndaquill as my starter."

    "Ah! Yes, you can, but sadly it was only available for a trainer sponsored by a well-known professor."

    "I see. The same with Pokedex, right?"

    "Yup. You could buy a Pokedex in the PokeTech, but it will cost you a bit of money. Pokedex has another function of a phone as well, so you need a good amount of money to buy it."

    "I see. Thank you for everything."

    "It is my p???sur?. May we meet again when you decide to challenge Falkner for your first badge."

    "See you."

    When I walk away from the building, I see Lucina grin at me. I can see her have a belt around her waist, the same belt I have on me.

    "What is your first pokemon? I get Zubat."

    "I get myself a Pidgey."

    "How about we have a battle in a few days? I will train my pokemon. You will train yours. I ask the good lady there about training your pokemon. She said that we could train our pokemon ourselves initially, but after our pokemon became bigger, she did not recommend it as they are MUCH more powerful than a normal human. Lucky for us, we are not a normal human, huh?"

    "Really? Then I agreed to it. In seven days?"

    "Seven days."

    With that being said, we walk toward the pocket dimension to train and bond with our pokemon.

 Chapter 49 - Training

    When we arrive inside the mansion, we release our first pokemon. A second later, I see Pidgey and Zubat appear in front of us.

    "Pi Pidgey?"

    "Zubat? Bat?"

    I smile at Pidgey, and I can see Lucina also smile at her pokemon.

    "Hello there. My name is Isaac Lionheart."

    "Pidgey!"

    Pidgey suddenly tackled me and rubbed its head at my cheek in excitement.

    "Woah, there."

    I chuckle a little and rub its neck gently before saying.

    "You need a name. Do you want a name?"

    "Pidg! Pidgey!"

    "I see. Hmm, Are you a male or female?"

    "Pidg! Pid~"

    Pidgey gives me its tail and shakes it a little. I look at it in confusion and say.

    "You are a female?"

    "Pidgey!"

    Pidgey shakes its head before continuing to shake its tail.

    "Male?"

    "Pidg~."

    "I see. How about Jonathan Joestar?"

    "Pidgey!"

    "You like it? Then from now on, your name will be Jonathan Joestar, JoJo for short."

    "Pidgey~."

    I rub his head before looking at Lucina, who is rubbing her Zubat, who is making a nest for itself on top of Lucina''s head.

    "Lucina met Jonathan Joestar or JoJo for short. Jojo, this is Lucina, my wife. Be nice to her, okay?"

    "Pidgey~."

    Lucina waved her hand to Pidgey before introducing her pokemon to me.

    "Isaac, meet Unire or Uni for short. Uni, this is Isaac, my husband. Be nice to him and his pokemon, okay? We are family, after all."

    "Zu~ Zu~."

    After introducing ourselves, I place down my pokemon on the table, and Lucina also places down her pokemon on the table.

    "All right. First thing first, there is something I want to say to you guys. Lucina and I promise to have a friendly battle between us in a week''s time."

    "Pidgey!"

    "Zu! Zubat!"

    "I know what you guys want to have a fight immediately as it is within your nature to fight with each other to grow. However, we also know that you don''t have experience in battle just yet. That is why we will train you for the next week."

    When I see the excitement on their face, I know that our pokemon did not mind having a training montage.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Ralf. Here a bottle of water for you."

    "How is your day?"

    "Not bad. What about yours, Kaliya?"

    Kaliya is my childhood friend from the orphanage in Violet city. It was our childhood dream to become a Pokemon champion. Sadly for us, that title is something that we cannot reach. We successfully get the Eight Amateur Badge by defeating all the Amateur Stage Gym. However, we cannot beat the Mid-Class challenge, at least not all of them. I successfully collect two Mid-Class Badges, while Kaliya successfully collects three Mid-Class Badges.

    Johto league has three-stage challenges before you could challenge the elite four.

    The Amateur stage is when the Gym leader uses their new or young pokemon to fight the challenger. The Mid-Class stage is when the Gym leader uses their second team. Usually, this team is filled with a pokemon that just fully evolved.

    Lastly, the High-Class stage. The High-Class stage is a challenge where you need to fight four lieutenant of the Gym leader before challenging the Gym Leader. The Gym leader will use their main team. The most powerful, the most experienced pokemon they have. Not only that, but the challenger also cannot heal or treat their pokemon with a potion or a healing paste.

    "So-So. However, I meet an interesting person this morning."

    "Oh?"

    "Her name is Lucina MacGrath. She comes from a village named Dalagull."

    "Dalagull?"

    "Yup. Do you meet someone from that village as well?"

    "Yes. His name is Isaac Lionheart."

    "Heh~ Anyway, this young woman has witnessed someone get killed in front of her eyes."

    "..."

    "And when I asked her what her dream was, she said that she only wanted to protect and support her loved one."

    "... Funny enough, Isaac also says the same thing with a little bit of a different goal."

    "Really?"

    "Yeah. He said that he only wanted to protect his loved one, support her and show her the world."

    We stay silent for a few seconds before Kaliya says.

    "What do you think is the cause?"

    "I think it was a bandit. There is a village being razed to the ground on the western side of Johto fifteen years ago. The police cannot find any survivors and only find rubles. I think they are the only ones that survive. That is the reason why they are so protective of each other. I have a theory that they stay inside the forest for a year surviving with only barriers and wild vegetables. They sold some of the vegetables in the nearest market to get some money to buy some cloth and medicine. However, it was just a theory. They are the only one know the truth."

    "I hope they are doing okay. I hope they have a great bond with their starter."

    "Yeah, let''s hope so.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "PIDGEY!"

    I dodge the incoming wing attack to the left and swing my wooden pole. My attack hit JoJo right in the head, stunning him for a few seconds. However, instead of attacking him, I wait for him to get out of his stun state.

    "Not bad. However, you are still too slow. Not only that, you will easily get a counter-attack after you finish your move. We need to train you to stop after you use your wing attack immediately. I suggest you use your quick attack after you stopped."

    "Pidg~."

    "Do you want to continue?"

    "Pidgey!"

    "Good! Then come!"

    After saying that, JoJo began to fly at me once again. However, this time he did not attack me but generate a small sandstorm to appear around me. Seeing the Sandstorm around me, I decide not to take out my wand and use my magic.

    I release a little bit of my magic, and suddenly I can ''see'' my surroundings. I can see JoJo''s movement in the sandstorm, and when he decides to attack, I spin around and raise my pole to block the incoming attack.

    While I block his Tackle attack, JoJo creates a gust of wind with his wind to throw me away. As I pushed away, JoJo''s wing shined a little and began to charge at me and attack me with its wing. As I block his wing attack, JoJo uses his claw to attack him.

    I smile a little and push him away from me and begin to charge at him. I begin to release a flurry of attacks toward JoJo, who tries to block all my attacks with my pole in hand. However, with our difference in strength and speed, he cannot block all the attacks.

    Some of my attacks hit him, but JoJo keeps fighting and tries to do a counter-attack by creating another Sandstorm and Gust of Wind. However, instead of letting him create a distance between us, I keep pushing with a fast attack.

    After a few minutes of close combat, I stopped and activated my Flowing Rune to heal him. I look at the clock before looking at my pokemon, who are eager for more training. Huh, I never know that a pokemon is a battle maniac.

    I look to the side and see Lucina and Uni also finished their training. The Rain of Kindness also heals them.

    "Lucina, do you guys want to do gravity training for a few hours? We will stop an hour before dinner time."

    "Sure."

    I look at both JoJo and Uni before saying.

    "What do you think? Do you guys want to do gravity training? Or Do you want to take some rest first?"

    "Pidgey!!!"

    "Zu~ Zu!"

    I nod at their eagerness before I walk to the center of the room and tap my foot on the floor. A second later, I see a computer appear.

    "Two times the gravity of earth. It will start at 3¡­. 2¡­. 1¡­."

    When I feel my body get heavier, I look at Lucina and the other with a grin on my face.

    "Let the training begin."

 Chapter 50 - Battle

    "Pi!!!"

    I grin a little when Jojo charges at me and attacks with a quick attack and wing attack. I''m proud of my pokemon growth. Not only for his growth in power but also for his physical growth. When I wake up from a grueling training, I see Jojo grow in size overnight. The same with Uni.

    When I first got Jojo, his height was around 35 cm while Uni was about 80 cm. However, after intense training and a good night''s sleep, they grow in size. Jojo grows to 75 cm while Uni grows to 1.4 m.

    Seeing their growth, Lucina and I decided to have a quick spar. So here we are.

    "Stop. Good job, Jojo. You already grow into a strong pokemon, huh~."

    "Pi! Pi~."

    I smile a little before giving him a head pat. I can see Lucina and Uni still having a spar on the other side of the room. Seeing them busy, I decided to let them be and walk to the kitchen. I put down Jojo on the table and walk toward the refrigerator.

    "Jojo, Do you want to eat fish? Or you want to eat some berries?"

    "Pi~ Pi~."

    "Fish it is then."

    I smile a little when I hear Jojo start to sing while waiting for his food. After fifteen minutes of cooking, Lucina and Uni walk inside the kitchen and sit down on the chair while she places Uni on the table next to Jojo.

    When I finish cooking all the food, I place down the food in front of Lucina, Uni, and Jojo before sitting down on the chair next to Lucina and eating the food.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    It has been a week since we got our starter pokemon. Jojo has evolved into Pidgeotto, and Uni has evolved into Golbat. However, unlike a normal Pidgeotto and Golbat, both Jojo and Uni are massive.

    Jojo stood in front of me proudly with a height of 1.6 m tall. If he stretches his wings, it reaches more than two meters long. The same with Uni. She stood in front of Lucina with a height of 2.2 m tall, and if she stretched her wings, it reached three-meter long.

    Right now, we are in the Pokemon Gym to do an official battle. The official battle is a battle where you will fight in the Pokemon Gym in the local city. The official battle is the battle among trainers in the game.

    In the official battle, the loser needs to give the winner money like in the game. Not only that, the official battle is a battle that is recorded by the Gym. You need at least 10 official battles before you could challenge the Gym Leader in the amateur stage. Oh? Did I forget to tell you that the game is wrong? Yeah. In the game, you could immediately challenge the Gym leader after beating the minion but here? You can''t do that.

    You need at least 10 official battles in your pocket before you could challenge the Gym and get your badge. There is also the next stage of the Gym battle. Amature, Mid-Class, and High-Class stage of Gym battle. You need to collect the High-level badge before you could challenge the pokemon champion. At least in the Johto region. I don''t know about the other region, but I think it is the same.

    "Are you guys ready?"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear the referee saying something. I look at Jojo, who nods at me before I nod at the referee.

    "The fight will start in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Go!"

    After the referee says go, Jojo immediately flies toward Uni.

    "Jojo! Sand Storm, Wing attack, and Quick Attack."

    Hearing my word, Jojo began to create a sand storm around Uni. As the SandStorm reduces Uni''s vision, I can see Jojo''s wings begin to glow, and suddenly he disappears from his position and appears near Uni. Sadly, Uni already uses a Quick Guard to block the incoming attack and use her wing to attack Jojo. However, before the Uni wing attack could touch Jojo''s body, Jojo raised his claw and blocked the incoming attack.

    Just like that, both Jojo and Uni begin to do a close combat fight. They use their claw, wing, and beak/fang to attack each other.

    When I saw both Uni and Jojo do a close combat fight, I did not give a command. This is one of the things that I teach him. I will not always give him a command, so he should use instinct when I did not give him a command.

    I think it is dumb to make the pokemon only listen to our command, and when we did not say anything, they stopped attacking.

    Anyway, the close combat is over after a minute of a fast-paced fight between Uni and Jojo. Uni pushed Jojo away from her. As Jojo gets thrown away from Uni, he immediately casts an Air Slash and creates an Air Blade that flies toward Uni.

    While the screeching sound did not affect me, but it affected Jojo as I can see he is wobbling a little. Seeing Jojo is affected by the Uni attack, Lucina orders her to attack him. Jojo, who was still affected by the sound, did not see Uni coming and got bitten by her.

    I can see Uni releasing a purple substance from her fang. I know that Uni uses a poison fang. I widen my eyes when I see Uni shine a little. I look at Lucina, who has a smug expression.

    "I see Lucina teach Uni to combine Poison fang and absorb. Jojo! Feather Dance and then Twister!"

    Some of Jojo''s feathers begin to fly away from his body and stab Uni''s body, making her release her fang of Jojo''s body when she screams in sudden pain. However, Jojo did not stop there as he flapped his wings, and suddenly a small tornado appeared and threw Uni away from him.

    "Tailwind, Mirror Move, and Wing Attack."

    Jojo''s tail begins to glow before suddenly a whirlwind appears around his tail, his wings also begin to glow a little before he flies toward Uni. In a second, Jojo appears in front of Uni and attacks her with his wings.

    I can see Jojo successfully hit Uni with his wing attack, but to my surprise, Uni already cast a quick guard making Jojo''s attack not so effective anymore. When Uni blocks Jojo''s attack, she grabs one of his wings and casts a Venoshock at him in a point-blank range.

    The Poison quickly covers Jojo''s body. Jojo quickly pecks Uni in the head a few times before Uni releases him away. As he gets away from Uni, he begins to shake the poison away from his body.

    Jojo stretched his wings and released a massive gust of wind toward Uni. Not stopping there, he began to release a continuous wind blade at Uni.

    However, instead of getting a knockout, Uni successfully lures Jojo and lock his movement by holding his wing and claw using her wing and claw before sinking her fang into his body. Her body glows once again, and I can see her body slowly healed.

    With all his body poisoned and Uni fang in his body, Jojo begins to lose consciousness. When Jojo is knocked out, Uni releases his body and bows a little.

    "Winner! Lucina MacGrath with her Pokemon Golbat named Unire!"

 Chapter 51 - Sparring

    "You two are awesome!"

    I never knew that there would be so many people watching the fight between Lucina and me. I know that the Official battle will be a public battle where many people can watch but Holy Moly. At least a hundred spectators are watching the fight between Jojo and Uni.

    After fighting and healing our pokemon, we walk away from the Gym, but we are greeted by a child who looks at us with a star inside his eyes.

    "Can you guys teach me how to train your pokemon to be this strong?!?"

    I smile a little at the little guy before saying.

    "The first thing you need to know is that you need to train your pokemon every day. However, remember that don''t push your pokemon too hard as they are also a living being who needs rest and to eat. Second, let your pokemon gain experience by fighting against a wild pokemon or sparring with another trainer. Lastly, do a weekly check-up in the Poke Center."

    The child nods his head so fast that I fear his neck will be broken.

    "Will you guys participate in the Official Tournament next week?"

    "Official Tournament?"

    "Yes! It was a monthly event held by the Gym! All of this battle is an official battle! There is an Amateur battle, Mid-Class battle, and High-Class battle!"

    "I see. Where can we register ourselves?"

    "You can ask one of the Gym members to register you!"

    "I see. Then we will participate in this tournament."

    "Then I will cheer you guys!"

    I smile a little at his enthusiasm before looking at Lucina and saying.

    "What do you think? Do you want to participate in this tournament?"

    "Of course. Let us join this tournament."

    I nod at her before walking inside the Gym once again, and when I meet our referee from before, I ask him about the tournament. He then led us to a computer room where he showed us how to register and told us to insert our ID into the computer.

    The process takes us one minute before we are fully registered as the participant in the Official Tournament of Violet city.

    With our pokemon inside the Pokeball, we walk to the forest to the east. As we arrive in front of the eastern gate of Violet City, I can see that the Route in front of us is Route 31. I take out the map I bought in the Pokemart and see that we are not too far away from Dark Cave.

    "Do you want to explore the cave nearby? Or do you want to follow the path to the other city?"

    "Hmmm¡­ Let us explore the forest. I want to let Uni evolve once again."

    "I see. Then we should search for a place to make a tent."

    We then walk into the forest and follow the pathway to the other Route. However, after five minutes of a silent walk, we decide to explore the forest. When finding a perfect place to set our tent, I take out the tent from my pocket dimension.

    With a flick of my wand, the tent finished being built in a few seconds. After setting the tent, I release Jojo from his Pokeball. He released a cry and began to nuzzle me with his head. Lucina also does the same thing.

    However, before we could do anything, I heard a growl coming from the bushes. Coming from the bushes is a pack of Growlithe. I can see five Growlithe growling at us.

    "Jojo. Do you want to fight them? Take this as an experience for you in case you fight more than one enemy."

    "Pi~ Pi~."

    "Then go ahead."

    I look at Lucina, who nods at Uni, who also flies toward the pack of Growlithe.

    Jojo and Uni start their attack by charging toward the enemy head-on. Both Jojo and Uni start with a close combat fight. While both Jojo and Uni are outnumbered, their size and power are larger than the Growlithe.

    When the Growlithe spewing fire from their mouth and our pokemon dodge it, I take out my wand and make the fire vanish before it could burn the forest.

    The fight between Jojo and Uni against the pack of Growlithe has passed the ten minutes mark. I can see the Growlithe begin to lose their morale to fight. One of the Growlithe looks at its friend before growling. The other Growlithe wh?n?d a little, but the pack leader (I ?ssume it was the pack leader) growled once again.

    After hearing it, the other Growlithe begin to run away, leaving their alpha behind. Even when he is in his last leg, the alpha stood there ready to give his life for his pack member. I can respect that.

    The Growlithe fought for another minute before his body gave up and was knocked unconscious. I picked up the Growlithe and cast a Rain of Kindness. All the injuries our pokemon and the Growlithe have slowly disappear.

    ~Fifteen Minutes later~

    "Growl!"

    I look away from my food and see the Growlithe already wake up. I smile a little before saying.

    "Hello there. How are you doing?"

    "Growl?"

    "You guys are the ones that attacked us in the first place. We come here not to disturb your territory but to train."

    "Growl? Grrr Growl~."

    "Sure, you can stay here and watch our training."

    "Growl!!!"

    "You are welcome."

    After saying that, I give the puppy pokemon a piece of meat for him to eat (I can see his PP from here), and after we finished eating our food, Both Lucina and I take a good distance between us before we suddenly charge at each other.

    When I say training, I don''t mean training our pokemon. All of us do a two v two spar¡ªLucina with Uni and Jojo with me.

    With Jojo fighting Uni in the air, I fight against Lucina with my spear in hand. When Lucina is within my weapon range, I thrust my spear at her, and when I see her dodge it, I immediately make a swing attack, which gets blocked by her.

    I widen my eyes when her weapon begins to glow, and a second later, a wind blade flies toward me. I reinforce my spear and cut the incoming wind blade; however, as I block the incoming wind blade, Lucina appears next to me with her weapon raised and ready to attack me.

    I use my green magic, and suddenly a wall made of wood appears between Lucina and me. However, it can only hold her for a few seconds as the wooden wall gets destroyed by her. Sadly for her, that few seconds is good enough for me. With my body getting reinforced, I thrust my spear at high speed.

    While Lucina can block most of the attacks, she cannot block all of them.

    "And the first blood goes to me."

    "Heh"

    Without saying any more words, Lucina''s body begins to glow a little, and suddenly she disappears from her previous position, leaving a crack on the ground. My instinct screams at me to dodge, and I obey it. As I leap away from my previous position, I see an explosion happening.

    As the dust is gone, I see Lucina on the ground with her ax in hand, and under her feet is a crater created by her. I swallow my saliva for a second as I know that a person with Physical energy inside their body is a tough enemy in close combat.

    While my reinforcement is good, it cannot be compared with an individual that has Physical energy inside their body. There is only one thing I can do in this situation. Use my magic.

    I flex my green magic, and suddenly many tree roots come from the ground and lock Lucina''s movement. I also make the root to take away her weapon from her. I know that it will not last longer than a few seconds, but it was enough for me. When she is struggling to move, I charge at her and thrust my spear at her.

    With one of her hands break free, she breaks the rest of the roots that hold her and holds my spear with her left hand. I tried to break free my weapon from Lucina''s grip, but it did not move even an inch.

    While her other hand is holding my spear, she uses her other hand to punch me. Seeing the situation, I decided to release my grip over my spear and block the punch.

    *Crack*

    Urgh. Holy hell. Her punch is heavy enough to make my bone break. After blocking her attack, I kicked my weapon away from her hand and then moved to the right and punched her in her head. My punch is strong enough to throw her away.

    She shakes her head a little before standing up with a smirk on her face. She takes a stance without her weapon in hand. Seeing Lucina decide to fight me without a weapon, I throw away my spear as well and take my own stance before charging at her and trying to punch her face.

    Lucina blocked my punch with both of her hands. I do a left hook and try to hit her head. However, before my hand could hit her, Lucina duck down and dodge my attack, she then does a quick uppercut to my chin, but as she hits my chin, I grab her hand and hold it down before doing a round kick.

    We continue to do fast hand to hand combat. Punch, Block, Dodge, Counter, we continue to do it for another fifteen minutes before I successfully take Lucina down and lock her movement with my hand and leg.

    "I-I give up!"

    I take a relief breath before releasing her and looking at my surroundings. The clearing inside the forest is filled with crater either from my fight against Lucina or the fight between Jojo and Uni. I look to the side and see Jojo and Uni lying on the ground, exhausted.

    I raised my hand and activated the Rain of Kindness. I can see my injury begin to get healed in a second, but the fatigue is not gone. I look at our only spectator and say.

    "What do you think?"

 Chapter 52 - New Member

    "Grrr! Growl~"

    "You want to join me in my training?"

    "Growl~."

    "Sorry, I cannot do that."

    The Growlithe in front of me looked at me in shock. However, before he could ask me anything, I said.

    "I only train my companion and family members. You are neither of them."

    "Growl¡­."

    "That is why I want to ask you if you want to join my team."

    "Grr?!?"

    "Yup. What do you think?"

    "Growl~ Grrr!"

    I smile at him before placing the Pokeball in front of him. He presses the Pokeball bu??on on his own before suddenly the Pokeball opens up and swallows the Growlithe. After a few seconds, the Pokeball still indicates that I already caught the Growlithe.

    I pick up the Pokeball and release my newly caught pokemon. When released, Growlithe tackled me and began to lick my face covering my face with his saliva. I laugh at his enthusiasm before picking him up and looking him in the eyes.

    "From now on, your name will be Leo."

    "Growl~ Grrr!!"

    "Welcome to the family, Leo."

    "Growl~."

    I place him down on the ground and look at Lucina before saying.

    "Sorry about this, Lucina. I should have talked to you first about which of us will catch him."

    Lucina shakes her head and smiles a little.

    "It is okay. I can search for other pokemon."

    "Thank you. So! What about another training?"

    "Sure!"

    For the rest of the day, we do endurance training by creating a sphere of water with the same pressure as a deep ocean using Flowing Rune''s power, a speed training by running around our tent with a heavy object on our body. The last thing we do is free for all fight between all of us.

    By the end of the sparring, the area becomes a war zone. Many craters on the ground, the lake nearby almost out of the water by Leo''s fire or my magic. The forest almost catches on fire, and many of the pokemon around the area decide to flee from us.

    After heals all of us, I take out the kitchen equipment and begin to cook some food for all of us.

    ~The next day~

    I open my eyes and see Leo and Jojo sleep on top of me while Uni sleeps on top of Lucina. I place both pokemon away from me, get up from the sleeping bag, and walk away from the tent.

    I take a deep breath and let the morning air come into my lungs. After doing a light exercise for a few minutes, I take out my towel and bath item from the pocket dimension before walking toward the nearby lake.

    As I take off all my clothes and begin to walk toward the lake, and take some of the water into the bucket and begin to clean my body using soap and clean my hair using the shampoo.

    "Good morning, Lucina."

    "Morning."

    I smile at her before looking at her from top to bottom. Her straight brown hair that was usually tied into a ponytail is now flowing into her waist. My eyes then see her perky br??st with a pink n?pp?? that taunts me. Lastly, my eyes see her v???n? that she recently shaved at my request.

    "Do you like them?"

    Lucina touched her br??st while saying that.

    "Of course."

    "Do you want to do it?"

    I look at Lucina in surprise before saying.

    "Are you sure?"

    "Yes. Come on now, take me."

    As a gentleman that I am, I obey the lady''s request.

    ~Five hours later~

    We continued to explore the area after we finished eating our breakfast. After walking for a few hours, we arrive in front of a massive lake in the middle of the forest. This lake is five times larger than the previous lake, and this lake is full of life.

    I can see a lot of Poliwag relaxing near the lake. There is also a Poliwhirl among the pack of Poliwag. Inside the lake is a group of Magikarp and Whiscash swimming around.

    When they see us, they take an aggressive stance. However, before they could attack us, Jojo said something to them in the Pokemon language that I don''t understand fully. I know that Jojo wants them to know that we are not hostile.

    A few seconds later, the biggest Poliwhirl walks toward us and begins to examine us before nodding its head. When the Alpha nods its head, the rest of the pokemon there begin to relax, and even some of the Poliwag begin to walk toward us.

    I smile at the adorable sight before tickling them one by one. Lucina and I continue to play with the baby pokemon while Jojo, Uni, and Leo decide to do a friendly spar with each group''s alpha. A Poliwhirl, Quagsire, and a Gyarados.

    I ignore the explosion that is happening not too far away from us and take out a massive amount of fruit and vegetables from my pocket dimension. Seeing the food I take out from the pocket dimension, all the baby pokemon begin to climb up to my ??p and beg me to feed them.

    I smile before feeding them berries. As I feed them berries, the other pokemon begin to walk toward us and look at us with pleading eyes asking if they can eat the fruit and vegetable. When they see me nodding at them, they begin to eat the food with glee.

    She found a small Azurill. From its look, this pokemon gets separated from its pack and decides to stay in the pack of Poliwag. The little Azurill latches itself on Lucina''s leg and will not let it go. It will follow Lucina around as if she is its mother.

    When asked if the Azurill wants to come with us, the little Azurill jumps up and down in excitement.. Just like that, we get ourselves a new family member.

 Chapter 53 - Tournament

    It has been a week since we met the pack of pokemon around the lake inside the forest. Right now, we are inside the stadium in Violet City. It is the time for the Official Tournament.

    Our pokemon already evolved into their maximum evolution. Jojo already evolved into Pidgeot with a height of 2.5 m tall. The member of the Gym said that Jojo is one of the biggest Pidgeot she ever sees. The same with Leo, who already evolved into Arcanine. Leo has a height of 3 meters. I use a Firestone I summon with the power of my Pocket Dimension to evolve it into Arcanine.

    Uni evolved into Crobat. She is 2.4 meters tall, and her wings can reach 5 meters long. Lasu, the Azurill Lucina catch last week, has already evolved into Azumarill. Lasu is 1.3 meters tall.

    All of them continue to get stronger to the point both Lucina and I cannot keep up with them anymore. In the beginning, we hold ourselves not to injure our pokemon too much, but right now, it is their turn to hold back their strength, not to hurt us too much.

    However, by sparring with all of them, Lucina and I also grow in strength. We were not afraid to go all out against them anymore, and with them becoming stronger than us, Lucina and I need to think about our next move and think about strategy about how to beat them in a fight.

    I snap from my thoughts when one of the Gym members walks toward us. She asks us to show our ID and then looks at our pokemon in astonishment.

    "You got those pokemon last week?"

    Both of us nod our heads.

    "Wow"

    The Gym member then looked at one of the Poke nurses. The nurse walked toward our pokemon and began to examine them from top to bottom. After checking them for a few minutes, the nurse nodded her head before saying.

    "They are in great condition. They don''t have any illness or signs of abuse. They are in their top condition."

    "You guys must be a good trainer. Usually, a pokemon that fully evolved, even though they only get the pokemon in a week, get harsh treatment. The trainer usually forces their pokemon to train to make them quickly evolve. You, on the other hand, did not use that method. I can tell your pokemon loves you. Good job."

    We smile at her praise and scratch both Jojo and Leo''s neck.

    "Here is your number. The fight will begin in fifteen minutes."

    I look at the number and see that I have the number 4 (A), meaning that I will fight against number 2 (A) while Lucina has number 4 (D).

    The tournament has four groups in each stage, Group A, B, C, and D. Each winner of the group will go to the semi-final before they fight against their neighboring group. Group A against Group B and Group C against Group D.

    The Amateur stage winner can challenge the Mid-level stage, and the Winner of the Mid-level stage can challenge the High-level stage if they want it. However, most of the lower stage cannot beat the higher stage because of the difference between their pokemon power.

    I look at Lucina before saying.

    "Let''s meet in the final"

    "Yes. Good luck"

    "Good luck to you as well."

    ~15 minutes later~

    I walk to the arena and see many people come to the Gym to watch the tournament. I take a deep breath before looking at my opponent. He is a teenager around fifteen. He has six Pokeball around his waist, meaning that he brings his full team.

    A second later, I see the Master of Ceremony appear on the massive screen above me.

    "Welcome to the monthly tournament of Viole City! My name is Mr.Z will be your Mc for today. The first stage is the Amateur stage! We have sixteen contestants and four groups! Group A consists of 4 male trainers!"

    The Mc then begins to tell the audience about the participant. I ignore the other participant, but I listen to the Mc when he announces the fight between my enemy and me.

    "... The next one is the fight between Okuyasu Shibata! He is bringing his full team to this tournament. His team consisted of Houndour, Seel, Magby, Togepi, Weedle, and Spearow!"

    After the announcer said that, my opponent, Okuyasu, released all his pokemon with a smug smile on his face.

    "His opponent is a new trainer named Isaac Lionheart! He has a team consisting of two pokemon! Pidgeot and Arcanine!"

    After the announcer said that, I released both my pokemon. When my pokemon appear, many people gasp and have shocked expressions on their faces. I guess they never thought an amateur trainer would have a fully evolved pokemon that is bigger than your normal pokemon.

    "Wow, would you look at that? I guess he is not as arrogant as I thought he would be."

    I can feel my eyebrow twitching when he says that. I take a deep breath and look at my pokemon before saying.

    "Please make it quick. At first, I want to tell you guys to make a flashy move but seeing that announcer take us lightly, and I want you to go all out and beat our opponent in an instant, okay?"

    "Pi~."

    "Gao~."

    I nod at them and place them to go inside the Pokeball once again. When the referee comes to us, I take out Jojo Pokeball, and when the referee says go, I throw the Pokeball away and release Jojo from his ball.

    My opponent throws his Pokeball, and suddenly Houndour appears in front of Jojo, growling at him. Jojo raised his eyebrow when he heard the Houndour growling at him.

    "Start!"

    After the referee says that, Jojo disappears from his position and appears in front of the Houndour with his wing glowing in power and attacks the Houndour making the puppy thrown away from the arena and immediately went unconscious.

    The referee has a shocked face before shaking his head and says.

    "Winner! Isaac Lionheart! Isaac, will you continue with your current pokemon?"

    "Yes."

    "Very well. Okuyasu, please release your second pokemon."

    My opponent released his second pokemon, and it was a Weedle. Just like before, the Weedle got thrown away by Jojo, defeating it in an instant. The same with his third, fourth, fifth, and last pokemon.

    I feel bad for him, but I decide not to tell Jojo to make a flashy move. In the end, the match did not last for two minutes. It only lasts for a minute, and by the third match, I can see the so-called Mr.Z have a shocked face and stay silent.

    I look at the announcer and spit on the ground when he sees me in the eyes.

    I know I look like an ?sshole, but I did not like being underestimated.. Also, I was not too fond of the announcer''s tone when he saw I only have two pokemon.

 Chapter 54 - Final

    The tournament happened without anything interesting except the fight between Lucina and her enemy. While I decided to make it quick by beating all my opponents with a single hit, Lucina decided to do it in a flashy way.

    Her pokemon decide to hold back and make the fight a little bit longer. However, she has a pattern that makes her pokemon use their powerful move to finish the fight. It was a good fight to the spectator, but to trained eyes, they can see that Lucina and her pokemon held back by a considerable amount.

    When my second fight happened, I decided to do the same as my first fight. I beat my opponent in a minute before walking back to the participant waiting room. Lucina fought against her opponent and beat him in ten minutes. However, during the fight, I can see her yawning a little before she hides it away.

    After a fifteen minutes break, it is the time for the match between Lucina and me.

    "Welcome back! This is the fight that many of you have been waiting for! On the west side is the Immoveable Trainer, Lucina MacGrath! And on the opposite of the arena is the One Hit Trainer, Isaac Lionheart!"

    The spectators begin to cheer for us. The spectators begin to silent when the referee comes near us.

    "Alright! This is the final battle. Please select your Pokemon!"

    I take out Jojo Pokeball and nod at the referee. Lucina also nodded at the referee when she took out her Pokeball.

    "Very well! The fight will begin in 3! 2! 1! Go!"

    I released Jojo from his Pokeball while Lucina released Lasu from her Pokeball. I can see her giving a ''tsk'' when I release Jojo first. I chuckle a little when I see that. It looks like she thinks I will release Leo first.

    "Jojo, Go!"

    "Pi!"

    With a battle cry, Jojo begins to fly toward Lasu, the Azumarill. Lasu stood there ready to welcome Jojo''s attack, and when Jojo''s wing attack hit her, Lasu took the attack head-on and caught Jojo''s wing with her hand.

    While holding Jojo in her hand, Lasu creates a water sphere and traps Jojo inside the water. Seeing Jojo trapped, I said.

    "Jojo! Iron Claw and Iron Peak!"

    Hearing my word, Jojo''s claw and beak begin to glow before attacking Lasu with his claw and beak. This is the move Jojo learned at my request. This move has the same principle as the Wing Attack. Jojo coats his claw and beak with energy to enchant its attack and sharpness.

    When Lasu loses her grip on Jojo, He uses this opportunity to get away from Lasu by flapping his wings with all his strength. With his wing free, Jojo flies away from Lasu and flaps his wings to create a massive tornado, and as he makes a battle cry, the sand begins to fly around the tornado creating a sand storm and hiding his presence.

    Lasu stands there and ignores all the sand around her, and concentrates. When Jojo flies toward her, Lasu opens her eyes and takes a deep breath before releasing a jet of hyper toward Jojo. Jojo, surprised at the sudden attack, gets attacked by the water jet, but with his enchanted beak, he can cut through some of the water jets.

    However, the closer he gets to Lasu, the stronger the water jet power makes him get harder and harder to charge through.

    Seeing there is nothing he could do in this situation, Jojo decides to break away from the deadlock between him and Lasu. He then begins to hide in the sandstorm once again, leaving Lasu in the middle of the sandstorm.

    From the cover of Sandstorm, Jojo releases a dozen of Wind Blade and continues doing that from a different angle. Lasu opens her eyes when she feels the incoming attack and begins to block and dodge all the Wind Blade using her feet, hands, and tail.

    With Lasu distracted, Jojo comes in and attacks Lasu unguarded back with a Wing Attack throwing her away a few meters. After attacking Lasu with his Wing Attack, Jojo begins to hide inside the Sand Storm once again.

    "Lasu! Explosive Whirlpool!"

    Hearing her trainer''s command, Lasu takes a deep breath before releasing a massive amount of water from her mouth. The water then creates a massive Whirlpool. Suddenly, the Whirlpool exploded, creating a shockwave strong enough to destroy Jojo Tornado + Sand attack combo.

    The explosion threw Jojo away and hit the wall behind him. Seeing him on the ground, Lasu releases another Water Jet toward Jojo. Seeing the incoming attack Jojo use his wing to throw himself away from his previous position.

    After dodging the attack, he creates a small Heat Wave from his beak to dry himself. When he feels another attack coming his way, Jojo flies away, dodging the attack. Lasu, seeing him fly away, created another Water Jet from her mouth. However, this time she did not only use a Water Jet as her main attack. She also made a water bubble that floated around her and let it fly toward Jojo.

    Jojo could dodge some of the attacks, but the water bubble is too fast to avoid all of the attacks, especially when Lasu decides to create two dozen attacks every second. However, what makes the bubble attack more dangerous is that it explodes when it is near Jojo making it more difficult to dodge.

    "Jojo! Gust and Double Tornado and followed by Flash!"

    Hearing my word, Jojo flapped his wings toward Lasu and created a massive Gust of wind. The Gust of wind helped him to block all the Water Bubble and Water Jet for a few seconds. While it sounds quick, it is long enough for Jojo to create two massive Tornados that block all Lasu attacks.

    With the Tornado attacking Lasu from left and right and su?k?n? all the Water Bubble Lasu created, Jojo''s body begins to shine with an intense light before suddenly he disappears and attacks Lasu using his beak, wing, and claw from all directions.

    Jojo moves so fast. I cannot follow him with my eyes. What indicates Jojo is still in the arena is that Lasu gets attacked by something, and she slowly gets thrown into the air by him.

    However, instead of helplessly get attacked, Lasu creates a water bubble strong enough to capture Jojo''s beak, and when she catches his beak, Lasu claps her hand. Suddenly the bubble creates a massive explosion.

    The explosion threw Jojo to the wall and created a massive spider web pattern on the wall. However, after shaking his head for a few seconds, he stood there.

    On the other hand, Lasu has a hard time standing up as her body is full of injury. After a few seconds of trying to stand up, her feet give up. As her body lay there in the middle of the arena, the referee declared me as the winner for the first round.

    The crowd stays silent for a few seconds before they begin to cheer up.

 Chapter 55 - Final (II)

    The crowd went wild as the first round of the fight was finished. The crowd continued to cheer for us for at least a minute before they stopped, and the referee walked near us once again and said.

    "Lucina, please give your pokemon to the nurse behind you. They will take care of your pokemon for you. They will get healed immediately."

    Lucina nods her head and walks toward the nurse that is waiting for her in the back and gives her the Pokeball that contains Lasu. After giving her pokemon to the nurse, Lucina walked to the center of the arena once again and nodded at the referee.

    "Get ready! The match will start in 3! 2! 1! Go!"

    I release Leo from his Pokeball, and when released, he releases a loud roar. I can see the pokemon in the spectator section get intimidated by Leo''s roar.

    Uni, on the other hand, did not flinch and only looked at Leo in determination. The fight starts with Leo creating a massive fireball and firing it toward Uni. Seeing the incoming attack, Uni opens her mouth and releases a sound wave that destroys the fireball with ease.

    Leo began to run toward Uni and hit her with his head. When Leo hit her body, Uni tried to bite him with her fang, but Leo released a flame tower from his mouth before she could do that.

    Uni uses her wing to throw Leo away from her. Get thrown away by Uni, Leo did not stop his flame attack and continue to use his flame attack. Seeing the incoming attack, Uni uses her wing to cover her body and create a cocoon-like shape.

    This move successfully protects her from all the attacks coming from Leo. When Leo finished his attack, Uni got out of her protection move and began to fly high in the air.

    While flying in the air, Uni released a purple cloud from her mouth. It was a poison fog. The poison fog begins to spread all across the arena, hiding Uni inside the thick fog. Leo cannot sniff her smell with the thick poison fog in the air without getting the poison getting worse.

    While hiding inside the fog, Uni releases a wind blade toward Leo. A few dozen wind blades come from the fog, and when he sees it, Leo dodges it and attacks the wind blade with a fireball.

    Seeing her attack did not work, Uni began to fly around the arena. A second later, the fog begins to create a vortex-like pattern following Uni, who is flying in a circle. Leo looks around and looks from which direction Uni will attack him.

    Suddenly Uni began to fly toward Leo with her poison fog followed behind her. The Fog, for some reason, gets denser than before. Leo looks at his back and raises his paw to block the incoming attack.

    The Giga Impact hit Leo right in the center and thrown to the wall, and it created a massive web spider pattern. Leo falls to the ground and growls a little. A second later, he gets up and is ready to fight. As he gets up, I can see Leo get covered with purple goo.

    On the other side of the arena is Uni shaking her head and getting up from the ground. It looks like the impact also hurt her as well.

    "Leo! Flare Blitz! Evaporate the poison in your body."

    Hearing my command, Leo''s body begins to catch on fire and evaporate the poison on his body. However, I know that the poison inside his body cannot be vanished without getting treatment from a healing pokemon or the pokemon nurse.

    After shaking her head for a few more seconds, Uni begins to fly once again and gets ready to attack Leo.

    Uni flies high in the air once again and tries to attack Leo from above. However, instead of attacking Uni from the ground, Leo stomps his feet on the ground, and suddenly he begins to jump high in the air.

    Seeing Leo jump high in the air, Uni begins to create a distance between them. However, as she runs away from Leo, Leo stomps his foot once again, and suddenly he begins jumping in the air as if there is a platform for his feet to jump.

    This is the move Leo learns from watching one of the One Piece episodes. This technique is called Geppo, also known as Moon Walk. Leo can create an invisible platform using his aura. However, he cannot maintain this invisible platform for a long time. Because of this, Leo cannot float in the air like a psychic pokemon. However, he can use this technique to attack a flying pokemon that is too far to reach.

    When Leo appears in front of Uni, he uses his claw to catch her with his claw. Uni tries to get away from Leo''s grip, but she cannot do that, and in the end, both Leo and Uni fall from the air. As they fall to the ground, both Leo and Uni continue their fight in hand-to-hand combat.

    Bruises begin to appear on Leo and Unibody. Leo''s body is filled with a purple ooze coming from his wound as every attack Uni uses is coated with poison. On the other hand, Uni''s body is filled with burned wounds as Leo''s attack is coated with a burning effect.

    Both of them continue to fight for ten minutes straight, and from their fight, they create many craters on the ground and take a good chunk of the wall from their fight. Another minute passed by before Uni went unconscious, leaving Leo standing there roaring in victory before he also passed out.

    "Fight is over! The winner is Isaac Lionheart!!!"

    I smiled a little when the crowd went wild at my victory. I place back Leo into his Pokeball before walking toward Lucina and saying.

    "Good fight."

    "Yeah. Next time, we will win"

    I smile a little before walking away to the podium, where Violet City''s mayor walks toward me and congratulates Lucina and me before giving us a medal and giving us the prize for our fight. I also got a certificate that said I could go and challenge the Amateur Stage Gym. Lucina also got the same certificate.

    After the award ceremony, the mayor asked me if I wanted to challenge the Mid-Stage trainer. I decide not to do it as I want to begin our adventure around the world. I also want to visit Mt..Silver and catch Larvitar.

 Chapter 56 - Mt. Silver

    I look at the beautiful scenery in front of me with Lucina to my side and our pokemon near us. Right now, we are near Mt. Silver, where I can capture the Larvitar. However, instead of immediately going to the cave where I can encounter a Larvitar, Lucina and I decide to camp on the hill near Mt. Silver.

    We stay in here for the night. We train our pokemon, eat some food and cuddle with each other. When the morning arrived, I cooked some food for all of us and then enjoyed the scenery with Lucina.

    "What kind of pokemon do you want to catch?"

    "If what the information you give to me is true, then I will try to catch Misdreavus, Sneasel, and Larvitar. How about you?"

    Before we came here, I already printed a list of pokemon that are available in Mt.Silver. I got this information from the internet, so I don''t know if that pokemon is inside or outside Mt.Silver.

    "I guess I will try to catch Larvitar. This pokemon will be my main target. The next one is Absol and lastly a Machop or Machoke."

    "Hmmm~ Shall we go get going then?"

    "Sure"

    We stand up, and I flick my wand, and suddenly the tent where we sleep begins to fold itself up before it floats toward me. After I store up the tent, Lucina and I begin to walk down the hill with our pokemon following us.

    Leo and Jojo on my right, while Uni and Lasu on Lucina left. We decided not to make them stay in the Pokeball.

    As we walk down the hill, I feel a movement to our right, and when something comes out from the bush, I raise my spear and block the incoming attack.

    The one that is attacking us is a massive purple snake. It has the shape of a king cobra but a hundred times the size of a regular cobra. This creature is Arbok. A poison-type Pokemon.

    Seeing me get attacked, our pokemon begin to spring into action and attack the wild Arbok.

    The Arbok gets thrown away from me when Leo headbutt it in the head. When the Arbok gets thrown away, Jojo flaps his wings and creates a massive blade of wind that flies toward the Arbok and creates a massive gash on its massive body.

    I look at the Arbok corpse before flick my wand, and suddenly the corpse catches on fire. I waited for a minute before I vanished from the fire. The corpse is gone leaving only ash.

    After that, we continued our journey to Mt.Silver.

    It takes us three hours of walking to arrive in front of the cave under Mt.Silver.

    We took so long to arrive because we met a bunch of pokemon in the forest. The first one we meet after the Arbok is a pack of Phanpy and Donphan. They are not aggressive pokemon like Arbok, but they will attack you if they get attacked.

    Anyway, we stayed there for an hour because the pack''s Alpha challenged our pokemon in a fight. The one that fights against the Donphan alpha is Leo and Uni. The fight is intense. I really underestimate the power of Alpha Donphan.

    I guess with many pokemon wanting to attack you and your pack, the Alpha needs to be a super-strong pokemon.

    They finished with both Leo and Uni as the winner. However, they win without an injury. Both Leo and Uni are on their last legs. Their enemies have massive firepower and also a high defense that makes it harder to beat.

    After the fight, I heal the three pokemon using the Rain of Kindness. After finished healing them, the Donphan alpha bowed at us, and I also bowed at him showing our respect. There is nothing wrong with showing our respect to a strong pokemon that uses its power to protect its pack.

    We then continued our journey and then met another pack of pokemon, but this time it was a pack of Ponyta and Rapidash. The same with the pack of Donphan, the alpha of this pack wants to fight our pokemon.

    In this fight, we have Lasu, the Azumarill. While the Fairy type move will not be effective against the Alpha Rapidash, the Water attack is a huge boost in the fight between Jojo and Lasu against the Alpha Rapidash.

    However, even with the help of Lasu, the fight did not come as easy as I thought it would be. The fight is still intense as the Alpha Rapidash has a mind-breaking speed. Even Jojo has a hard time keeping up.

    The fight is over with our pokemon as the winner, and after healing them, the Alpha Rapidash bow at us, and we do the same.

    After that, we don''t encounter any packs of pokemon anymore, but we still face a wild pokemon that wants to fight us. We did not kill any pokemon we encountered, only the one that tried to kill and eat us like a few Arbok and Golbat we encountered.

    Most of them only want to challenge us to fight to test their power and not to eat us. We also not only let our pokemon do all the fighting. Lucina and I also fight against the pokemon that come at us. Especially a group of twelve Ursaring want to fight us.

    Six of us against twelve of Ursaring. Two humans and four pokemon fight against a dozen fully evolved pokemon. If other humans see us fight a pokemon, we will be branded as suicidal, and I can agree with them if we are a normal human or Dwarf in Lucina cases.

    Anyway, the fight itself is pure chaos. Many craters are created from the fight between the group of Ursaring and us. The fight finished in thirty minutes with the result of us winning. From the fight, I got myself a bear claw on my ?h?st.

    A non-enchanted Mithril cannot handle a continuous attack from the Ursaring. In this fight, I also use my Flowing Rune to heal Lucina, our pokemon, and myself. From doing this, I unlock a new spell for me to use called Ocean Kindness.

    This is the upgraded version of Rain of Kindness. This spell creates a ball of water near my allies and me before it coats us with an armor of water that heals all of our wounds. Not only that, but this armor of water also gives a temporary defense boost in the form of water armor. It will take a quarter of the damage received.

    After another walk for thirty-minute from the last fight against the group of Ursaring, we arrive in front of a massive cave. The cave itself is dark, and the deeper it goes, the darker it becomes. I look at Lucina and say.

    "Shall we?"

    "Yes!"

 Chapter 57 - Mt.Silver (II)

    "Lumos"

    A ball of light appears in front of us, illuminate the dark cave. As I cast the Lumos spell, a few dozen Golbat fly from the cave, startled by the light coming from my spell. Most of them fly away from us, but a few of them decide to attack us.

    I raise my spear and begin to defend myself from the incoming attack. After blocking all the incoming attack, I begin to charge at one of the Golbat and thrust my spear at it. The Golbat uses its wings to block my attack using its wing and uses it to push away my weapon.

    However, before the Golbat could push away my weapon, I twirl my spear and make a swing attack from the left, and when I see the Golbat block my attack, I kick it from the right. When the Golbat loses its balance, I reinforce my spear, hardening it before thrust it toward the Golbat who loses its balance.

    *SCREECH*

    The Golbat releases a screeching sound when I stab it in the eye with my spear. When the Golbat is trying to pull out my spear from its eye, I push it even deeper and then cast a wandless Blasting Spell at the Golbat.

    The spell hit the open mouth of the Golbat and killed it instantly. I look to the side and see Lucina already finished her fight the same with all of our pokemon. I nod at them and ask them if they need healing. Seeing them shake their head, we continue our journey.

    We continue to walk deeper and deeper into the cave. After walking for a few minutes, we encounter a Machoke punching the boulder. When the Machoke looks at us, it jumps in our way and challenges us in battle.

    "Lucina, let my pokemon fight him."

    When she nods her head, my pokemon begin to charge at the Machoke, who welcomes both of my pokemon in excitement. They started the fight with a boom. Leo uses a headbutt while the Machoke welcomes it by punching Leo''s headbutt.

    Both attacks are strong enough to create a small shockwave.

    On the other hand, Jojo flies in the air and begins to attack the Machoke by creating a wind blade with his wing. The Machoke grunts a little before he throws Leo away and begins to where Jojo is located.

    Jojo keeps firing his wind blade and a gust of wind to keep the Machoke away from him, but the Machoke uses its fist to punch all the incoming attacks when the Machoke near Jojo jumps high in the air and punches him in the face.

    Jojo lost his balance for a few seconds, but he successfully maintained his balance and continued to fly in the air. Leo decides it is time to attack and spew a massive fireball, and the fireball hits the Machoke.

    The Machoke got burned by Leo fire, but it was not stopped there as Jojo created a tornado, and combined with the fire coming from Leo, the tornado became a firestorm that roasted the Machoke alive.

    When I see the ball stay still for more than five seconds, I pick up the ball and place it on my belt. I smile a little and look at my companion before continuing our journey.

    We follow the path inside the cave, and after walking for ten minutes, we see a way to the upper floor. We decide to go to the second floor seeing nothing is interesting on this floor other than a few pokemon that only want to be left in peace.

    When we arrive on the second floor, I can hear a screeching sound. However, unlike the screeching sound of Golbat from earlier, this sound is different. I look around the area, but I cannot see the source of the sound with the limited view of the cave.

    I decide to push more mana into my Lumos spell, and suddenly the Lumos spell shines brightly, and in the corner of my eyes, I see a floating pokemon screeching in surprise when my spell shines brightly.

    "Uni attack!"

    Before I could say anything, Lucina already told her pokemon to attack the Ghost pokemon. It is a Misdreavus. While the Misdreavus blinded because of my spell, Uni attacked the poor pokemon with her wing attack, and after Uni attacked the Misdreavus, Lucina threw her Pokeball at the Misdreavus.

    The first attempt failed. However, after the Misdreavus got out of the Pokeball, Uni attacked the Ghost Pokemon once again. Still, this time she did not hold back and attack the Misdreavus with her wing attack and throw the ghost pokemon to the wall creating a massive web-like pattern on the wall.

    Seeing the Misdreavus unconscious, Lucina throws her Pokeball, and this time, she succeeds in capturing the ghost pokemon she wants to capture.

    "One down, two to go!"

    We explore the third floor for ten minutes before we encounter what we are looking for: a Larvitar. When the Larvitar sees us, it hisses at us before charge at us. Leo and Jojo are the ones fighting the little Larvitar.

    The little guy uses its little feet to do a flying kick at Leo. The attack hit Leo''s head, but it was not strong enough to hurt him. Seeing its attack did not work, the little Larvitar growled a little before releasing a dark pulse from its mouth and shooting it at the Arcanine.

    Leo flinched a little when he felt the dark energy hit him, but it didn''t affect him enough to make him scream or howl in pain. However, it is enough to make Leo annoyed. Leo punched the little guy hard enough to throw it away from him and create a web-like pattern on the wall.

    When I see Larvitar try to stand up, Jojo creates a gust of wind to throw the little guy once again. This time, the Larvitar did not wake up and stay on the ground unconscious. I throw the Pokeball, and I succeed in capturing Larvitar in one go.

    "Two down, one to go."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    When we finished our search the Mt.Silver after we had all the pokemon we wanted, Lucina has four more pokemon: Misdreavus, Sneasel, Larvitar, and Makuhita. I also get myself four new pokemon under my belt. Machoke, Larvitar, Absol, and Onix.

    As we get out of the cave, the sun is already setting. We decided it is time to go home. We let our pokemon go back to their Pokeball, and I take out a piece of metal from my pocket dimension.

    This piece of metal is not your ordinary metal. This metal is a portkey that I already set to transport us to the pocket dimension portal location.

    "You are ready, Lucina?"

    "No, I''m not."

    "Yeah, me too. I don''t like this kind of transportation, but this is the only thing we have if we want to go back fast."

    ".... Can''t we just make a camp around here?"

    "It is dangerous, you know? I don''t think I can sleep with that many wild Arbok around us ready to eat us."

    "How about we stay among the Donphan?"

    "Huh. We can try that."

    I release Jojo from the Pokeball and ride him. Lucina also releases Uni from the Pokeball and rides her before taking off to the pack of Donphan we encounter in the morning. After flying for a few minutes, we arrived at where the Donpan pack was located.

    When we land on the ground, the Alpha Donphan looks at us and bows a little. After bowing at the Alpha Donphan, I explain to it about our circumstances, and the Alpha Donphan nods his head before making some noises, and suddenly the pack makes a place for us.

    I thank the Alpha Donphan and take our tent out from the pocket dimension and begin to set it up.

    Today we have camped among the giants'' pokemon, and I like it.

 Chapter 58 - Go Back

    You know the fight in the gym is a disappointment. It cannot be helped that Lucina and my team have the strength that can challenge the High-Stage gym battle. My team consisted of Jojo the Pidgeot, Leo the Arcanine, Tobi the Machamp, King the Tyranitar, Laus the Steelix, and Lulu the Absol.

    My full team could challenge the High-stage gym battle and maybe win. However, we don''t have time to challenge the Johto Pokemon Champion Lance, the Dragon Trainer.

    Not only my pokemon that grow in size and strength. Lucina pokemon also grow from all the training we have in the pocket dimension. Uni the Crobat, Lasu the Azumarill, Kali the Mismagius, Rulo the Weavile, Vrasur the Tyranitar, and Zril the Hariyama.

    The pokemon nurse also says that our pokemon is strong enough to challenge the high-stage gym battle.

    Anyway, after getting ourselves a Zephyr badge, we decide it is time for us to go back to our world. However, before we go back to our world, I decide to go to the Suikoden world to attach a rune to Lucina''s body.

    When we arrive in front of the dimension-hopping room, I select the Suikoden world and a month from the last time I visited that world. As we walk toward the kaleidoscope portal, I can feel the world begin to change, and a second later, we arrive in the Suikoden world.

    Before we get out of our pocket dimension, we release our pokemon inside the pocket dimension and let them roam around the pocket dimension. However, we order them not to go too far away from the mansion and go back to the mansion when the sun is setting.

    After that, we walk out the pocket dimension and see that we arrive in front of a cave entrance. We then continue our journey to the South Window by foot. The journey takes us a few hours because we encounter many monsters on the way. Not only monsters, but there is also a group of bandits ambushing us from the nearby forest.

    After killing all the bandits, we decide to burn their bodies up and take a unique-looking sword one of the bandits uses when they fight us. I don''t know if those bandits are worth something, but it is good to inform the local soldier.

    It is what I do if a well-known bandit is roaming in my land. I put a bounty on his/her head and demand proof of either their head or their unique weapon.

    When we arrive in front of the South Window city, we are greeted by the city guard.

    "Hello, Bob"

    "Ah! Sir, Isaac! I am glad to see you again! How are you doing?"

    "I''m fine. How are you?"

    "I''m great! Who is this?"

    Bob looked at Lucina and asked me.

    "This is Lucina, My wife."

    "Oh! Your wife! I''m sorry for my rudeness, my lady."

    Lucina smiles at Bob before saying.

    "It''s okay, sir Bob."

    "Just Bob will do it! Your husband is my saver! He saved my life not too long ago."

    "Really? You never tell this story, dear husband."

    I scratch my neck before saying.

    "I forgot to tell you about it. Anyway, Bob. Can we come inside?"

    "Of course, Sir Isaac."

    "Oh, before I forget, Here. We get this from a bandit that we encounter in the forest near the Cave of Wind."

    "This is¡­"

    Bob looked at the sword with a shocked expression before bowing his head at me and shouting.

    "Sir Isaac, on behalf of South Window City, I thank you!"

    "Oh?"

    "This sword is owned by the notorious Larius the Beheader! He is a leader of a group of bandits that terrorize South Window this past month. With Lord Riou busy making an alliance with the Two River City and Sir Viktor and Flik gathering men to join their ranks, there is no one strong enough to handle Larius and his band of bandits. That is why I thank you for your service to the City of South Window."

    "It is not a problem."

    "Please follow me, sir Isaac. We will give you the bounty for Larius immediately."

    Lucina and I follow Bob to the building near the gate. Bob then talks to what looks like the city guard captain before the captain walks toward me with a smile on his face.

    "Sir Isaac! It is good to see you. I never thank you for saving my life in the past."

    "It was nothing. It is my p???sur? to help you."

    "Please wait for a second. I will take the bounty money immediately."

    A few seconds later, Bob came back from the building bringing a medium-sized ?h?st with him. Bob then gave the ?h?st to the captain before the captain gave it to me.

    "On behalf of the South Window city, I thank you for taking care of Larius the Beheader. If you need something, please do not hesitate to ask us. We owe you big time. With this, the merchant will release a relief breath when they know Larius is gone. Inside this box is 500.000 potch worth of money."

    I smile at them before taking the ?h?st from them and saying our goodbyes. After placing the ?h?st inside my pocket dimension, we continue walking toward the Rune Store. When we arrive inside the Rune Store, we are greeted by a familiar woman.

    Lunaria, the woman that served me the last time I came here.

    "Ah! Sir Isaac! Welcome back! What can we do for you?"

    "We come here to attach another Rune to our body. Can we see the catalog?"

    "Of course. Please follow me. We will attach the rune in the private room."

    Lucina raises her eyebrow at me but decides not to ask¡­ for now. We follow the Runemistress to one of the rooms and sit down on the chair while Lunaria gives us the catalog for the rune they have.

    After looking at it for a minute, Lucina says.

    "What is your recommendation for a close combat fighter?"

    "Hmmm. What kind of fighter are you? Wind Rune is good for support and aggressive fighters. It can enchant your physical capabilities and also use the offensive spell to shred the enemy. It also has a healing spell that you can use to self or your ally."

    "I see. In here, it says that the Wind Rune has the more powerful version of it?"

    "Ah! The Cyclone Rune. Yes, it is the more powerful version of Wind Rune."

    "I see. Then I will take that. Is it okay, Isaac?"

    I nod my head and say.

    "Sure. However, before we buy it, I want to ask Lunaria something."

    "What is it, Sir Isaac?"

    "Will accept another Raw Magical Crystal?"

    "Of course! Is it the same quality as before?"

    "Yes. However, I only have a little bit of it with me."

    "Then it is our honor for you to choose our establishment to sell such top-tier Raw Magical Crystal."

    I nod my head and take two kilos worth of Raw Magical Crystal out of my pocket dimension and place it on the table. Lunaria began inspecting the crystal, and after a minute of examining the crystal, she smiled at me before saying.

    "We will give you one million potch for this crystal."

    The last time I sold them ten kilos worth of Raw Magical Crystal, it was worth more than five million pounds. Meaning that one kilo Raw Magical Crystal worth five hundred thousand potch. Not bad.

    "Deal. Now for the rune¡­. Lucina, do you want another rune?"

    Lucina thinks for a few seconds before saying.

    "Any more recommendations?"

    "Hmmm. For melee combat, I recommend a barrier rune. This rune gives a passive ability to decrease any magic and physical damage dealt by the enemy. Not only that, but this rune also gives resistance to poison and curses like mind control or insanity."

    "I see. I will take that as well. Isaac says that a person can only attach three runes into their body for the first time?"

    "That is the recommended amount, yes. You can attach more, but we do not recommend it as it will make the mana inside your body become chaotic."

    "I see. Then please recommend another rune for me."

    "With p???sur?. Do you want to enchant your physical attack, or do you want to have a long-range attack?"

    "Hmmm. I guess I need a long-range attack. With a close combat fight being taken care of by the Barrier Rune and Wind Rune, I need a powerful long-range attack."

    "Then I recommend a Fire Rune or Rage Rune if you want the more powerful version of it. This rune lets you use a fire spell that you can use to attack a few hundred meters enemy. You also can control the fire with your thoughts. You can make the fire never hurt you or your ally."

    "What about the passive ability? Isaac says that every rune has a passive ability."

    "That is true. However, the rarer runes, the more passive power they give. The Rage Rune makes you immune to fire. However, it did not make you immune to all kinds of fire. A special kind of fire can still hurt you, like a fire created from the sun."

    "I see."

    "Not only that, but this rune will also increase your mana reserve the more you use the rune. Another passive ability this rune gives you is that it lets you control fire to a certain degree. The stronger your mastery in the Rage Rune the stronger your control over fire. Like Sir Isaac Flowing Rune that let him control water, Rage Rune let you control fire."

    I can control water? I never knew that. Huh, I guess I did not explore the power of my rune to the fullest.

    "I will take that."

    "Then it will cost you 120.000 potch."

    "Ok"

    "Please lay down on the bed. I will attach the rune to your body."

    When Lucina lay down on the bed, Lunaria began to do her usual massaging thing. The process takes ten minutes, longer than my own process.

    "What took it so long?"

    "Lady¡­."

    "Lucina Lionheart, My wife."

    "Lady Lucina mana reserve is different from you, sir Isaac. Her mana did not come from inside her body but rather her mana coat her to create a second skin. A little bit of mana inside her body creates a VERY small core, but it was not enough to create a path for the rune. Not only that, but her mana is also different from any normal mage. She has mana that is excellent for a physical enchantment rather than creating a magical spell."

    I see. What Lunaria feels is the Physical Energy Lucina has inside her body. I guess in this world; it is still called mana.

    "I see. Will it cause a problem?"

    "No. It will not. I already encounter many people that have the same mana Lady Lucina has inside her body. However, it takes more time to create the rune path than your normal magician as I need to stabilize the mana before I could create the path."

    "I see. That is good then."

    "Yes. Shall we continue, Lady Lucina?"

    Seeing her nod, Lunaria takes a small box with a fire emblem from the drawer and takes a red crystal inside the box.

    "We will start with the Rage Rune as this rune is the most difficult rune to attach because of its chaotic nature. Where do you want to attach this rune? Forehead, Left hand or Right hand?"

    "Forehead."

    "Very well."

    Lunaria begins to attach the rune to Lucina''s body. Rage rune to her forehead, Cyclone Rune to her right hand, and Barrier Rune into her left hand. The process takes another five minutes before Lunaria lets Lucina sit down on the bed.

    I can see Lucina examining all the spells she can do inside her head. I leave her alone and look at Lunaria before saying.

    "Lunaria, can I ask you a question?"

    "Of course, Sir Isaac."

    "Is there any rare Rune you have? The one that you cannot find in a normal rune store."

    "We do have it. However¡­. It will cost you a lot of money."

    "How much?"

    "A hundred million rune."

    "What rune is that?"

    "Star Rune."

    "Star Rune?"

    "Star Rune is a rune that lets you use the power of the star. It can enchant all your items, heal you and your ally or destroy your enemy. This rune can be compared to your Darkness Rune."

    That sounds like a good rune.

    "Then why don''t you sell it to the nobles?"

    "Sadly, while it was a powerful rune, it also had a high requirement. It needs the user to have a massive amount of mana inside their body as it will suck that mana before the rune could be attached. The chance of the user dying from their mana gets su?k?d dry by the star rune. That is why not many nobles want to buy this rune. It will only become a useless item in their possession and gather envy from their neighbor from possessing such a powerful rune."

    "I see. Then why do you tell me about this rune? Do you want me dead from my mana get su?k?d by the Star Rune?"

    "NO! I never thought about that!! The reason why I tell you about this rune''s existence is that I know that you have enough mana to handle it."

    I nod my head and begin to search for the most valuable thing in the Suikoden world. A second later, my power gave me the answer. It was called Null Crystal. I take out one kilo worth of Null Crystal and place it on top of the table.

    "I hear this crystal is worth something. I think exchanging this crystal with the Star Rune is worth it, no?"

    Lunaria looks at the crystal with a shocked expression before touching the crystal with her hand. A few seconds later, she places it down on the table and says.

    "We cannot accept this. Do you know this crystal, right?"

    "Null Crystal"

    "Yes. Null Crystal is a crystal that can be used to nullify any rune! Any kingdom will pay you a few hundred million potch for this thing! Not only that, but they will also give you their daughter and any land you want if you give them this crystal! Even one kilo of this crystal can create a barrier that can protect that kingdom for at least a millennia, and you want to exchange this thing for a Star Rune?"

    "Yes."

    "You¡­. You are serious about this?"

    "Yes."

    "... I need to ask my superior about this."

    Lunaria walked away from the room, leaving Lucina and me alone inside the room. A few minutes later, Lunaria comes back, but this time, she is not alone. Walking inside the room with her is another woman wearing a Chinese dress that reveals a long of her tight and br??st. The woman has long crimson hair that flows to her waist. She has green alluring eyes that can charm a normal man in an instant.

    "My name is Rose. The owner of this establishment."

    "Isaac Lionheart and my wife, Lucina Lionheart."

    "I know who you are. Isaac, the healer. Isaac the Silver Spearman. You gain a good amount of reputation in a short amount of time."

    "Thank you."

    Lady Rose sat down on the chair in front of me and placed the Null Crystal on top of the table. She looks at me in the eyes and says.

    "Do you want to sell this item to us?"

    "Trade it with Star Rune, Yes."

    "You know you can buy three or five Star Rune with this amount of Null Crystal, right?"

    "Meh"

    Rose looked at me for a few seconds before she suddenly laughed.

    "Fufufufu¡­ Hahahahaha"

    She continues to laugh for a few seconds before she stops and says.

    "You are an interesting individual. Very well. We accept this trade. If you want anything in this trade, please tell us."

    "Hmmmmm. I want a book teaching us how to be a runemaster. A few dozen of the basic runes. Water, Earth, Wind, Fire and Lightning."

    "Heh. Agreed. Anything else?"

    "A book about how to enchant weapons using the rune. Any book about crafting you have. I hope you throw in the basic book as well."

    "Is that all?"

    "Yes. That is all."

    "Very well. I will grant all your requests. Lay down on the bed. I will be the one attaching the rune into your body. Also, take off your clothes."

    I take off my clothes and lay down on the bed. Lady Rose begins to touch my ?h?st with her hand, and I can feel unknown energy get inside my body. After a few seconds, Lady Rose nodded her head and asked me to turn around and show her my back.

    She does the same thing to my back, but I can feel a cold surface touch my back this time. A second later, I feel my mana get su?k?d out of my body. The feeling of my mana getting su?k?d out from my body continues to happen for a few seconds, almost a minute, before suddenly it stops after it has su?k?d almost all of my mana.

    I feel light-headed before suddenly my head is filled with knowledge about the Star Rune usage. Not only that, I can feel my mana core begin to double up in size, and the quality of it is also enchanted by a large margin.

    "It is done. Train that Rune well, and you will become one of the strongest Rune Users in the world. Lunaria, please be a dear and prepare our honorable guest item. I will be the one serving them the tea."

    "Of course, Madame."

    We spend an hour with Lady Rose drinking tea and talking about the situation in the City-State of Jowston. After an hour, Lunaria came back with a few guys bringing the item I requested. I store them inside my pocket dimension and say goodbye to them.

    After doing that, we decide it is time to go back to the pocket dimension and train our newest rune.

 Chapter 59 - Home

    It has been two months since we got a new rune. Right now, we are inside my pocket dimension training our new power.

    The result of our training is satisfying. I look at the skill book I wrote yesterday.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Flowing Rune|

    |1| Ocean Kindness (This spell is like a Rain of Kindness, but instead of creating rain, this spell summons a water ball the size of a human head. After summoned, this ball of water will coat my ally and my body with water that heals mid to severe injury. It also becomes an armor that reduces any incoming damage by a good amount. The armor will last for a minute) (Can be used 20 times) (5 seconds after the armor is gone)

    |2| Flowing Rune let me control the water around me. However, my control water becomes stronger, and my range is larger when I''m in the middle of the sea or on the shore. As long as it was seawater, I had absolute control of it. However, I only control water and cannot control other liquid substances like blood.

    |3| Ocean Might (A spell that let me summon a water construct. The water construct has the shape of a massive serpent. It was a few hundred meters long. The water serpent continues to generate water from its body, making its body denser and denser. So the longer it stays, the stronger it becomes.) (Can only be summoned once) (1 week after de-summoned) (The serpent will stay as long as I can supply it with my mana. Currently, I can maintain the serpent for one hour before I feel light-headed)

    |4| Sea of Life (An upgraded spell of Mother Ocean. Summon a projection of a Sea Goddess above me. The projection will heal anything in a 10 meters radius around me. As long as the person, animal or monster is still breathing, the spell will heal them. *Note. I don''t think this spell can heal old age.) (Can only be used once every month)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    My mastery over Flowing Rune increased to the next stage. All of my old spells increased in usage, and its cooldown also decreased by a good amount. For example, I can only use rain of Kindness 20 times a day in the beginning. However, now I can use it 30 times a day. It''s cooldown originally 5 seconds after the rain stopped, but I can use it again after three seconds of cooldown.

    Not only that, but the rain also lasts for fifteen minutes.

    I then look at my other rune.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Darkness Rune|

    |1| True Darkness (Create a sphere of pure darkness a hundred meters around me. This sphere of darkness will make my enemy lose all of their sense. While my enemy loses all their senses, I still can use mine. The Sphere of Darkness will last for ten minutes) (Can be used 5 times) (10 minutes cooldown after the sphere of darkness is gone)

    |2| Cold Peace (This is the spell is an exorcism spell. This spell lets any undead, ghost, or any unliving being that is controlled by a necromancer find peace by severing the connection between the necromancer and the poor soul. *Note. Not really useful for a living being, but it is a great spell for any unliving being. **Note. This is a single target spell.) (Can be used 50 times) (Instant)

    |3| True Death (A spell that will kill anything. A true instant death that cannot be blocked or dodged. *Note. This spell needs a large amount of mana. It needs all my mana to cast before leaving me unconscious. **Note. Lucina says that I summon Death herself when I cast this spell. Death has a massive body that towers over a mountain.) (Can be used once every year)

    Sadly, my Pale Gate Rune did not give me more creatures to summon, but all the creatures'' duration to stay in the overworld increased by a large margin. I then look at my last rune Star Rune.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Star Rune|

    |1| Twinkling Star (A spell that summons a homing laser from the sky that attacks my enemy.) (Can be used 5 times) (5 seconds cooldown)

    |2| Starry Stillness (An anti-magic spell. I can use this spell to disable barriers and any ward around the area. This spell also sealed up my enemy magic usage. *Note. There are side effects to this spell. My own spell also gets affected by this spell. All my magic attacks will get weaker as long as this effect is activated.)

    |3| Comet (Summon a meteorite from the sky. Now I can become Madara Uchiha when he fights against the Shinobi Alliance. The meteorite has a diameter of twenty-meter long.) (Can be used two times) (5 minutes cooldown)

    |4| Meteor Shower (An upgraded version of Comet spell. However, instead of summoning one meteorite from the sky, this spell summons a dozen meteorites of the same size as the Comet spell.) (Can be used one time) (20 minutes cooldown)

    |5| Polaris (A healing light coming from the sky that heals me and my ally. *Note. This spell has the same healing effect as the Rain of Kindness. Only can heal small to medium-sized injury) (Can be used 15 times) (10 seconds cooldown)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Now, I have a full set of runes attached to my body. Flowing Rune for support, Darkness for ?ssassination, Pale Gate Rune for info gathering rune, and Star Rune for the offensive rune.

    "Isaac. I''m ready to go."

    I snap from my thoughts when I see Lucina walk inside our room with all of the items we want to take out to our world.

    We not only train our rune and our body here, but we also upgrade our armor and weapon. With my armor gone from fighting against a pokemon, we decide to upgrade our armor and weapon.

    My previous armor is made of iron, but now, my armor is made of pure Mithril. Not only that, but it also has been enchanted with both my Magic and Lucina''s Physical energy.

    Lucina also enchants the armor with the Rune we got from the Suikoden world. Fire Rune makes the armor have good immunity to fire attack. Lightning makes the armory have good immunity to Lightning attacks. Earth rune makes the armor denser and doubles up its durability. Wind rune creates a second skin that redirects a physical attack thrown at me. Water runes give a small regeneration to the wearer.

    Anyway, we also do our usual training with our pokemon. Speaking of pokemon, they explore the area and fight against the monster and pokemon in the area. Because I visit the pokemon world, there is a pokemon in my pocket dimension now.

    The pokemon inside has a different strength. The farther we walk away from the mansion, the stronger the monster and pokemon it becomes.

    We also learn about the crafting book we get from the Suikoden world about their swordsmith, rune crafting, and potion crafting.

    That is what we do with our time in the pocket dimension.

    "Come on, dear husband."

    I snap from my thoughts once again and smile at Lucina before we walk toward the portal, and a second later, we arrive inside my room.

    "Home sweet home."

 Chapter 60 - Guest

    "Richard, who is the Lindholm family? Do you know them?"

    It has been two days since Lucina and I came back home. Right now, I''m reading all of the paperwork on top of the table. One of the papers attracted my attention. It was a letter from the Lindholm family''s lord saying that they will visit Sea Dragon City.

    "Lindholm¡­ Oh! They are the family from the Holy Light Empire. They have a rank of Viscount that governs the northern side of the empire."

    "I see¡­ Why do you think they want to come here?"

    "I think they want to buy our iron, my lord."

    "Iron?"

    "Yes. Like the previous ''merchants'' that came here on behalf of the Duke family, they came here to buy our iron."

    "Do you know why?"

    "I hear a rumor that there will be a civil war in the Holy Light Empire. A succession war. The war that will decide who will be the emperor. I hear the empire is already moving their soldiers around ready to go to war."

    "I see. How many factions get involved in this war?"

    "There are three factions in this war. The First Prince faction with the backing of Duke Andechs. The Second Prince with the backing of Duke Frederick and lastly the Third Prince with the backing of lower noble like Count and Viscount."

    "Then which faction does Lindholm side with?"

    "I think they are with the First Prince faction. I don''t know for sure, but I''m pretty certain they are with the First Prince faction."

    "What do you think will happen if I reject their request to buy our iron?"

    "I don''t think they can do anything, my lord. However, by doing so, you will have an enemy in the shape of the Lindholm family. However, with the distance of our location, I don''t think it matters as they cannot do anything to us without passing a long journey across the land or the sea."

    That is true. The Holy Light Kingdom border is a month away from the Sea Dragon Point if we use the land route. If we use the sea, then it needs four-month of a long journey as you need to sail from the Eastern continent. They cannot sail directly to the north because the boat graveyard is on the way.

    If they take the sea route, they need to think about the scurvy or, as the people in this world call it, the Sea Devil Illness. The longer they are on the sea, the bigger the chances they get scurvy.

    There is also an increasing number of pirates in the eastern continental sea. So if they want to go to the north via the sea, they need to go through a long journey, Scurvy, and Pirate.

    If they decide to use the land route, they need to go through a long list of nobles to fight. However, I don''t count on the southern noble to fight the foreign soldier to defend the northern noble.

    "So what do you suggest, Richard? Should I let them buy our iron? If we do this, the other nobles from the Holy Light Empire will see us supporting the First Prince Faction."

    ".... My suggestion is that you should sell some of our iron to them but sell it at a high price."

    "Oh?"

    "Yes. In the western continent, the only kingdom that did not wage war against each other is the Vulux Kingdom. The Holy Light Empire have their succession war, and the most southern kingdoms are currently doing a great war called the Unification War."

    "Unification War?"

    "Yes. Someone named Maximillian is doing a campaign to unify the most southern region of the Western Continent. However, I don''t know from which family he comes from as I don''t have any shadow placed there."

    Western Continent is divided into three regions. Raktuz, the northern region of the western continent. Xarient, the center region of the western continent, and Lazlo, the continent''s southern region.

    All three regions have equal size, more or less.

    Raktuz is a region ruled by the Vulux kingdom. Vulux kingdom is still called a kingdom because they did not rule all of the Raktuz region lands. A big chunk of the land in the Raktuz kingdom is a winter wasteland that the kingdom cannot use.

    With the large chunk of land that the Vulux kingdom cannot use, the Vulux kingdom cannot elevate its rank into an empire.

    Xarient is the region where the Holy Light Empire ruled. In the beginning, this region is filled with many kingdoms that wage war against each other. However, a few hundred years ago, the Holy Light Empire founder successfully united all the kingdoms into one banner.

    On the other hand, Lazlo did not have a ruler because many kingdoms did not want to give up their power to the other. There are fifteen or so kingdoms in the Lazlo region that rule over each location of the region.

    "I will take your advice, Richard. We will sell our iron at a higher price than the other. Thank you for your suggestion, Richard."

    "It is my p???sur?, my lord."

    I still have time to think about what to do with them anyway as they need at least a few weeks to arrive.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Princess, what an honor to meet you today."

    I smile politely at the noble son and daughter coming to my birthday party. It has been a few months since the last disaster happened¡ªthe war between Count Lionheart and Marquis Blackbriar.

    They are in debt to the Frederick family because they are the ones paying tribute to the Lionheart family after the Blackbriar family lost the war. Not many people know about this. The only reason why I know about this is that my Grandmother, the Queen Dowager, has an eye in every corner of the kingdom except the north.

    While I know that the first disaster that is the Blackbriar family is an inevitable disaster, I will try to prevent the second disaster!

    The second disaster is Famine. A great famine will happen a year from now. My father, the king, will declare war against the Holy Light Empire when one of the factions approaches my father and asks him to help them fight against the other faction.

    My father agreed with the request and declared war against the other faction. However, while fighting the Holy Light Empire, there is massive crop failure across the kingdom. With the news of crop failure, the Vulux kingdom decides to take away their soldier from the front line.

    Vulux sent their diplomat and successfully secured peace with the Holy Light Empire. However, while the Vulux kingdom successfully secured peace with the Holi Light Empire, they still have a great famine problem.

    The famine lasted for years, and this famine is one of the reasons for the fall of the Vulux Kingdom. With the Vulux kingdom''s bad relationship with the Holy Light Empire, they cannot secure a cheap source of food.

    With their fortune decreasing at a fast speed, the kingdom becomes desperate. Without gold, the kingdom cannot pay for their soldier, and without their job, the soldier decides to become a bandit.

    Vulux kingdom becomes a lawless kingdom full of bandits, pirates, and corrupt nobles. Speaking of noble, the noble of Vulux kingdom become a slaver when the famine strikes the kingdom. They sell their slaves to the eastern kingdom for food or gold.

    I don''t want to become a princess to a lawless kingdom, dammit! However, my father and my brother did not hear my advice and only spoke.

    "Make the land into farmland? Why do you say something like that, dear daughter? We are the Vulux Kingdom! The goddess blesses our land, and our people are warriors. Farming is the job for the peasant. We don''t need to taint our status as a royal family by converting our land into farmland. Let the Baron family do that. It was their job, after all."

    He keeps saying that even when I beg him to do it. In the end, I cannot do anything. Sometimes I really hate being born a woman. As of right now, I don''t have enough power to change my fate without depending on other people.

    However, the people I can depend on did not believe me thinking that I''m still a child who did not know anything! Arrggghhhh!!!!

    "Princess, please socialize with the other noble. I don''t want you to be scolded by Queen Dowager once again."

    I stand up from my sofa and walk toward the other noble with my patented polite smile with a sigh.

 Chapter 61 - Interlude

    I look at the little girl in front of me; this is Ginerva Lionheart. My sister-in-law. Right now, we are playing what Isaac calls a roleplay. This is a game where we are played as a character we created in the beginning.

    Isaac sat in front of us with a cover in front of him, hiding his storybook. I once read about this game in the ''computer'' inside Isaac''s Pocket dimension. I don''t know how it works, and I''m itching to tear it apart and study it. Sadly Isaac says, I cannot do that. I really want to do it, but I will obey my dear husband''s order. I''m a good wife, after all.

    It has been two weeks since our adventure in the other world. From our journey, we get ourselves a pet. I love them all! They are strong and cute.

    These past two weeks, Isaac has been busy overseeing all the projects he wants to do. The fort near Silver Mountain is almost complete and only needs a finishing touch like a barrier that blocks any magical attack coming from the monster.

    Not only that, but he also needs to oversee the first big harvest around the city. Seeing so many foods get harvested makes me smile. I also got news from my father that the Greenhouse in Dalagull is a huge success. The fertilizer also a huge success making Dalagull have a steady supply of food.

    With the steady supply of food, my father can now do his own projects like building new iron mines near Dalagull or creating a fishing village nearby. He got the gold from trading with the other city in the eastern continent that came to Dalagull, planning to buy iron and equipment.

    "... The three of you open your eyes and see the sign in front of them saying: ''Welcome to Yharnam'' Seeing the sign, the three of you look at each other and decide what to do."

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Isaac finish the introduction with an ominous voice.

    "Lucina, what will you do."

    I decide what I need to do and look at my character, Lucina. I decided to use my own name in this story. I''m a mountain dwarf, living in mountain Enor, but because of my sickness, I don''t have much time left in the world and decide to spend my time left to adventuring the world.

    My class is barbarian, with a tool proficient in Smithing, proficient in Perception and Survival. I have 15 in STR, 14 in DEX, 15 in CON, 10 in INT, 10 in WIS, and 12 in CHR. All of them are rolled from dice.

    "I decide to look around the area to see if there is a threat to us."

    "Roll the dice."

    I role and wince a little as I see it land on 1.

    "You can see a massive building in the distance, but other than that, you did not see anything else. Now, mother, what will you do?"

    "I will also look around the area and try to find if there is something wrong or not"

    "Then roll the dice."

    Lady Eveline rolled the dice, and it landed on 14. She is a High Elf coming from the common folk. She is the protector of the forest with her job as a ranger. She has 18 in STR, 16 in DEX, 12 in CON, 12 in INT, 14 in WIS, 11 in CHR.

    "You see a massive building in the distance and also many empty buildings around it. However, as you look around, you see some shadow coming at your location. Seeing the shadow coming at your location, you shouted ''Incoming!'' Throw a dice."

    "You guys successfully dodge an incoming attack unharmed. After dodging the attack, you see who is attacking you. It was a dog-like creature. However, unlike your normal dog, it did not have fur or even skin. Its uncovered flesh oozing blood-like fluid from its flesh. What do you guys do?"

    I want to say something, but before I could say it, Ginerva beat me by shouting.

    "RAGE!"

    "Sorry Gin Gin, you cannot rage. You are a Cleric."

    "Mou! Then I take out my crossbow on my back and fire the creature in front of me!"

    "Then please roll the dice."

    Ginerva rolled her dice and saw it land on 10, she looked at Isaac, and when he nodded his head, Ginerva rolled another dice, and it landed on 8.

    "You shoot your crossbow and see the bolt hit the creature right in its body. While your crossbow bolt hit it, the creature did not die. Lucina, Mother, what will you guys do?"

    When Isaac looked at Lady Eveline and me, I said.

    "I will use rage and then use my Great Axe to attack."

    "Roll the dice."

    I roll the dice, and it lands on 16. I then roll another dice and see it land on 11.

    "With an uncontrollable rage, you charge at the creature and swing down your great ax. You successfully cut down the head of the creature, killing it. You three come near the creature and look at it curiously. You three did not know what kind of monster it was, but you guys know that it was coming from the city. What do you want to do?"

    I look at Ginerva and Lady Eveline before saying.

    "I think we should go to the city and investigate if there is a problem."

    Ginerva nods her head and says.

    "That''s right! We cannot let the monster leave the city! I don''t want them to kill the innocent!"

    Lady Eveline hesitated a little before saying.

    "Very well. We decide to investigate the city in front of us."

    "You three walk inside the city and see there is nothing but empty buildings. You continue to follow the path until you arrive in front of a massive bridge that connects one district to the other. As you walk on the bridge, something is moving under the bridge. Roll a dice."

    We roll our dice and see where it is landed. My dice land on 18, Lady Eveline land on 5, and Ginerva land on 16.

    "Both Lucina and Ginerva are shouting about something coming. The three of you jump away from the bridge and see a massive creature landed on the place where you used to be. It was a huge creature with hideous horns and shrieks that sounded like cries of agony. Although the creature appears to have a malnourished and almost skeletal body at first glance, you three know this monster has high agility and supernatural strength. What do you guys want to do?"

    Without wasting time, I say.

    "I will use raging and use my Great Axe to attack the monster."

    "Roll your dice."

    My first dice landed on 19, and then the second one landed on 4. Dammit.

    "In your raging state, you charge at the monster and hit it in the leg using your Great Axe and cause 9 damage."

    Isaac then looked at Lady Eveline, who said.

    "While Lucina is attacking the monster with her ax, I take out my longbow and use it to attack the monster from a distance."

    "Roll the dice."

    Lady Eveline rolls the dice, and the first dice lands on 13, and the second one lands on 6.

    "You use your bow and arrow to attack the monster from a distance. As you fire the arrow, it hits the monster right in the head, causing 9 damage. Ginerva, it is your turn."

    Ginerva looks at Isaac and says.

    "I will use my crossbow and shoot the monster with it."

    "Roll your dice."

    Ginerva rolls her dice, and it lands on 17, and her second dice lands on 4.

    "The crossbow bolt you fire at the monster hit its body causing a 6 damage. The monster roars in anger and charges at you with its claw in the air, ready to use it ...."

    Isaac then makes a disturbing roaring sound that makes my body hair stand up.

    "I need you three to roll a dice while I also roll the dice for the monster."

    As Isaac is about to roll the dice, we hear someone knocking on the door. A second later, Richard opened the door and bowed to us.

    "I''m sorry to interrupt you, my lord, my lady. However, a guest is waiting outside."

    "Who is it, Richard?"

    "He is a merchant coming from the eastern continent, my lord. He wants to meet you and discuss something."

    "I see¡­"

    Isaac looked at us before saying.

    "I''m sorry, guys, it looks like we need to pause this campaign next time."

    Lady Eveline smiled at him before saying.

    "It is okay, Isaac. Your job as the lord of Sea Dragon City is more important than playing."

    While Lady Eveline is okay with it, I can see Ginerva pouting. However, she did not complain or throw a tantrum¡ªwhat a good girl. Before I could say that I will play with Ginerva, Lady Eveline smiles at me and says.

    "You should go with Isaac, Lucina dear. I will be the one playing with little Ginerva over here."

    I hesitate a little before saying.

    "Very well. I''m sorry, mother."

    "You don''t need to say sorry, dear."

    I smile at my good mother before following Isaac to the meeting room, where I can see two people sitting down on the chair on the other end of the table. Isaac sat down on the lord''s chair while I sat next to him.

    Richard stands behind Isaac while the maid pours some tea into Isaac and my tea. I take the teacup and take a sip. After taking a sip, my taste bud filled with a fragrant aroma of the tea. I must thank the Blackbriar family for sending us this great tea, and I also need to mock them for sending us this first-class tea, thinking we cannot grow it.

    After a few seconds of silence, Isaac starts the conversation by saying.

    "Who are you guys?"

    The two people inside the room put down the tea and say.

    "My name is Barius, and my guard and wife Maria."

    I look at the two of them. They are a beastman, a cat-type beastman. Like most of the race in the Eastern Continent, both of them are beastman. Beastman is a race that has two types of base shapes.

    Both people in front of me have a Human as a base shape with an animal feature. The beastman is known as the race that can breed with all races in the world. Unlike the other races where childbirth has a lower percentage than a marriage with the same race.

    Like my marriage with Isaac, even though we do our nightly activity every night, to this day, I''m not pregnant. Lucky for us, Dwarf and Human marriage are known for a successful cross marriage as both races can have a child. We only need time before we are blessed with a child.

    As long as we continue trying every night, we will be blessed with a child in the end. Lucky for me, the Isaac sword is bigger than your usual sword. Every time we do it, I always become a mumbling vegetable because of the bliss. Not only that, his skill in pleasuring me is something out of this world and his tongue¡­. I shudder in p???sur? just thinking about it¡­.

    "Both of us are merchants from the East."

    I snap from my dirty thoughts when I hear our guest say something.

    "I see. Why do you want to meet me? You could meet with the Master of Sea."

    "There is a reason, my lord. We come here because we want to offer you trade between the Lionheart family and us."

    "Oh? Please tell me what you offer."

    Without being told twice, the man passed a roll of parchment to Isaac and me. I look at the parchment and read what is inside the parchment. The parchment is filled with a request that said, they will buy our fruit and vegetables from us. However, there is something that I want to know.

    "You know that the vegetable and the fruit will go bad before you reach your country, right?"

    "Yes. However, we already prepared for it. We will place the vegetable and fruit inside a massive box filled with a block of ice. That is why we write in the parchment that we will pay for the block of ice we get from your land."

    I see. That could work. That is what people usually use. However, the ice will quickly melt if you use your usual sea route.

    "How do you make the ice last longer? Do you use the usual sea route?"

    "No, we use the northern sea route to maintain the ice. We also have a secret method to perverse the food, so you don''t need to worry about us complaining your food went bad before we sold it, my lady."

    Magician. That is the only thing I can think of right now. A second later, Isaac looked at the merchant in front of us before saying.

    "I can agree with this request. However, I can only give you a discount when you buy more than 300 kg worth of fruit and vegetables."

    "Understandable. As long as the price is the same as the market, we are happy."

    "Then you have yourself a deal. Please come here tomorrow morning. I will prepare the contract."

    "Very well. It is nice to have a business with you."

    Both of them get up, and the maid leads them to the exit. When they are gone, Isaac looks at Richard before saying.

    "Richard, I want some of your shadow to tail them. I want to know if their intention is pure or not. If their intention is pure, then we will finalize the deal."

    "Of course, my lord. However, aren''t you a little bit too paranoid, my lord?"

    "With all the merchants that come here in the past that have a shady side goal, I don''t think you can call me a paranoid."

    "You are right, my lord. I''m sorry."

    "Don''t worry about it. Just make sure to keep an eye on them and search for any bad intentions."

    "Of course."

    When Richard leaves the meeting room, leaving Isaac and me alone in the room, I say.

    "What do we do next, Isaac?"

    "I want to meet Rovul next. I need to check our goods. I cannot sell something I don''t have, after all. However, I know that tomorrow will be the day all the plants in our private farmland are ready to be harvested."

    "Can I come?"

    "Of course. You are my wife, after all. However, are you sure? It will be boring, you know?"

    "No, I''m sure."

    "Then come on."

    We spent our day inspecting all the warehouses where we stored many fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat. Not only that, but I also get some action by beating some people from the other country that trying to harass our trader.

    We finished doing the inspection when we see the sun begin to set. After eating dinner with the other and clean ourselves, we walk to our room. As we walk inside the room, I take off all my clothes and hug him from behind.

    "Lucina?"

    "Isaac, do you want to try again?"

    "I don''t mind, but is there something that is bothering you?"

    "... No."

    "Come on, you can tell me. I''m your husband, after all."

    ".... I fear that you will hate me for not giving you an heir¡­."

    Isaac looks at me in the eye before flick my forehead and says.

    "You silly woman. I will never hate you. I love you, always. I will continue to love you till death do us apart. Even when death does us apart."

    "En¡­ Thank you¡­."

    Isaac hugged me tightly before he suddenly picked me up and placed me on the bed.

    That night, the Silver Lion showed his mastery over the spear to me.

 Chapter 62 - Vault

    I smile a little when I see the merchant in front of me sign the contract. The contract says the merchant has permission to dock their ship in our port for ten days without getting taxed for it. Usually, a merchant ship can only stay for three days before they get taxed for using the port space.

    Not only that, but the contract also says that Barius and his company have permission to take a block of size coming from the lake in our north. The lake near Dalagull where the temperature there is always at zero Celsius or even less.

    In return, they will not try something funny like deciding to steal some of the payment even a little bit. They also cannot use a fake gold coin. They cannot take more than 10 blocks of ice with the weight of 10 kg per block. They also need to watch their guard or sailormen and tell them not to cause trouble unintentionally or intentionally. There are also some more rules I write.

    If they break those, there will be a punishment.

    If it was your ordinary contract, then they can break those rules just fine, but sadly for them, it was an unbreakable contract. As long as an individual work under Barius and Maria, they will be immediately included in the contract. Even the spy.

    If they break the contract, they will die in the most painful way. However, if Barius and Maria did not order or ask one of his/her men to break the rule, they will do fine, but they will feel there is something wrong.

    "And it is done. Can we talk about the business?"

    "Of course. Your item is ready to be transported. Please follow me."

    I then lead them to the warehouse near the docks, where I show them all the items they can buy. I really want to smirk at their surprised face but decide not to do it. Inside the warehouse are our newly harvested fruit and vegetable from my personal farmland. Not only that, but there are also more than a hundred barrels filled with Wine that just finished fragmented and ready to be sold.

    When I see them snap from their thoughts, I give them a parchment listing all the items I am willing to sell.

    "Here is the list of items we are willing to sell. Please take your time."

    While waiting for Barius and Maria to read all the list, I walk toward one of the wine barrels and pick it up before opening the barrel. As I opened it, a sweet aroma hit my nose. I look at Rovul, the Master of Sea, who hands me a cup.

    I pour the wine into the cup and give it to Rovul, who gives it to both Barius and Maria. I then pass another cup to Rovul and pour the wine into the last cup for me. Both Barius and Maria take a sniff of the wine before taking a sip.

    I smile a little when I see them widen their eyes and immediately drink all the content inside the cup. I let my nose get close to the cup and let the fragrant aroma of the wine get su?k?d by my nose. A second later, I take a sip, and my taste buds get bombarded by delicious wine.

    Rovul and I continue to drink the wine while our guests look at the list and have a conversation with each other before looking at me and saying.

    "Lord Lionheart, we will buy 100kg worth of strawberries, 100kg of apples, 200kg worth of wheat, 20 barrels of wine, and one barrel of this drink called vodka."

    I nod my head before looking at Rovul and say.

    "Rovul, would you be kind and take care of their order?"

    "Of course, My lord. Sir Barius, Lady Maria, please follow me. We will finalize the price in my office."

    Before they go, I suddenly say.

    "Then I leave you two with Rovul here. Don''t worry. He has authority in this trade. You also did not need to worry about the price. The price is already in the parchment you see earlier. He will also give you a discount on this purchase as promised. Have a nice day."

    After saying that, I walk to the castle with my guard.

    ~The Next Day~

    "Ayas, how much gold do we have in the vault?"

    "Almost one million gold, my lord."

    "Do you think five hundred thousand gold is enough to build a fortress around the gate?"

    "For a small to a medium-sized fortress, yes. However, if you want to cover all the gates, then it is not enough."

    "I see."

    "Sadly, you can''t build you a permanent fortress there, my lord."

    "Hmmm? Why?"

    "Remember, my lord. The gate is the only path that the merchant can take from the south. The other northern lord will hate you if you do so. That means you are the only one controlling the trade route from the south. With the position of Sea Dragon City and Dalagull, you are also the one controlling the sea trade route, making you the only lord who controls all the trade routes in the northern region."

    Dammit, I did not think of that. If I build the fortress, I control the two trade routes that come to the northern region. To the west, I control the sea trade route coming from the eastern continent. To the south, I will control the land route if I build the fortress. Meaning, there is only one trade route left. To the east. The sea trade route from the central and northern continent.

    However, the merchant is rarely coming from the northern and central continents. The northern continent has the same export items as us: iron and other precious metals. On the other hand, the Central Continent already has all they need, and they rarely buy things from the other continent. They want to sell things, not to buy them. Once they buy something, they buy it in bulk and then sell it at a higher price to the northern continent or to us.

    "Yeah, I don''t think about that. My mind is filled with how to defend our land from the southerners, especially the southern noble."

    "I understand, my lord. However, it would be best if you also thought about the feelings of our fellow northern nobles. Right now is springtime. Many merchants work in selling and buying goods from one other. If you block one of the three routes and own the other route, the other will see you as a tyrant, and either they will declare war in a trade route dispute between lords or be branded as a traitor."

    "Traitor?"

    "By sealing the only way to the north, the king will see us as a traitor that wants to gain independence and create our own kingdom. While we will support you if you want to do that, I don''t know about the other lord."

    "You are right. Haaaaa¡­. My short-sightedness almost doomed us all."

    "You are still young, my lord. You still have so many things to learn. You think about the other attacking us like before, but you also need to think about the people near you. I know you only want to protect us from the southern people, but you also need to think about the consequences of your actions."

    "I see."

    After that, both Ayas and I walk to the vault where my family has stored their treasure for generations. The vault is under the ground next to the Lionheart family crypt. This vault is not my personal vault where the lord''s personal money and backup money in case of emergency are stored.

    Only a few people know about the location of the Lionheart family vault. We are not a wealthy family, but one million gold coins is not a small amount of gold. As we arrive in front of the vault, I see five guards standing front of the vault.

    When we walk inside the vault, I can see row upon row of a ?h?st filled with gold. Ayas and I came here because I need to increase the security in the vault. I''m too busy increasing the security around the castle and the nearby village. I forget to create security for the vault.

    After thirty minutes, I finished creating a good enough barrier around the vault. I need to fill a jewel with my mana before I could create a high-tier barrier around the vault. However, the jewel needs a massive amount of mana before I can use it. It needs three times my reserve before I can use it.

    For now, A bone-melting ward for a thief is good enough.

 Chapter 63 - Time Skip

    It has been two months since the first official long-term trade with Barius, and I must say that this trade started to bear some fruit. Now Lionheart family has a steady incoming from the trade between Barius company called Sea Serpent Trading Group and us.

    Barius trading group is a small trading company in his country. Barius is coming from the Salauris Kingdom. Beastman is the dominant race in that kingdom, but there is another race as well lived there.

    Salauris Kingdom land is like Mongolia. A country consisted of grassland and field. They can use their land to plant some food like wheat and potatoes. The only plant they can grow is the plant that can grow in any place. However, even if they can grow their own food, the harvest is not as good as the plants in the western continent.

    While they usually import food from other countries, they are one of the biggest exporters of meat in the world. Not only meat, but they are also the biggest exporter of wool and other animal products like milk and eggs.

    Anyway, the last time Barius came here, he brought five galleys instead of two like before. They then buy many grains, fruits, and vegetables in bulk, and I need to tell them that I cannot sell them this amount of goods every month. I need to think about my own people, after all.

    In return, I also buy a good amount of wool and leather from them. The wool is used to make clothes, while the leather is used to make the troops'' armor.

    Speaking of troops, the two forts are finished. The first fort is located in the southwest of the Sea Dragon City near the fishing village. This fort has a function as a training fort for the marine. This fort also has a function as a response team if there is a pirate that successfully landed on my land and tried to raid it.

    While I can smite them with lightning from the sky, I cannot do that if I''m sleeping and pirates do their raiding, which usually happens in the middle of the night. That is why I also create a ward around the fort to wake up the soldiers there if a pirate docks themselves near the fishing village or the forest where they cut down the tree to fix their ship.

    The other fort is in the opposite direction. This fort is located on the west side of Sea Dragon City near the Silver mountain, where many monsters spawned and bred. This fort has the same main function as the other one, Training the newbie. However, unlike the other one that has another function as a defender against a pirate, this fort is the one controlling the monster roaming around the mountain.

    The soldier in this fort is the one that kills any monster that gets out from the mountain range where they lived. The scout from this fort is also the one that oversees the monster movement around the area. If there are more than a hundred D+ to C monsters, they need to alert the villagers nearby to evacuate immediately. If they see more than twenty B-class monsters, they need to send the fastest hawk they have and alert both Lord Byron and me.

    "My Lord"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Richard''s voice.

    "I''m sorry for that, Richard. Can you tell me what you want to report once again?"

    "Of course, my lord. The first I want to say is that there is an invitation to the Royal Palace to celebrate the first harvest, my lord."

    First harvest party, huh? As its name suggests, this party is the party that celebrates the first harvest. Usually, this party is the time the southern lord flaunts their riches to us and the time the northern nobles search for any merchant coming to this part and beg for them to sell their food at a lower price.

    However, right now, the north did not have to fear not having food on their table as they have enough food already.

    "Do you think the other lord will come to this party? They already have the food they need after all."

    "No, I don''t think they will come, my lord. Some of them? Maybe. They still need to meet some buyers for their goods after all. With their food problem being taken care of, they now want to sell their metal for a higher price. Especially iron and copper."

    "So, do you think I should go there?"

    "It is up to you, my lord."

    ".... You know what? I will go. Richard prepares for our departure tomorrow morning."

    "Of course, My lord."

    "Good. Now speaking of the first harvest party, how is the situation on the farm?"

    "They are doing great, my lord. Rachel says in her report that the farm is doing great. The worker already planted new seeds yesterday. The next batch of wine and vodka was already delivered this morning. I think they will arrive here in a few hours from now."

    "Good. Is there any problem there?"

    "Nothing she cannot handle, my lord. However, she asks how to handle the wild boar and goat making a nest in the area."

    "Tame them if they can, but if they cannot do that, then hunt them down. We don''t want them to eat our food source after all."

    "Very well. Rachel also asks if you can hire more workers. While they don''t have a problem maintaining the farm but when it is the time for planting and harvesting, they cannot harvest all of them in a single day."

    "I see. Richard, ask Rovul or Leonardo if they have some men who want to work in the field."

    "I understand asking Rovul for a worker, but why asking Sir Leonardo?"

    "Leonardo was formerly a hunter before he became a soldier. I think he knows some hunters that want to work in the farmland. I want to hire the hunter to hunt the wild boar and goat in the farmland."

    "I see. Then I will immediately inform both sir Rovul and sir Leonardo."

    "Good. Now, is there anything that needs my attention?"

    "Yes. There is a letter from Lord Duchamp."

    "Oh? Please hand it over."

    I take the letter from Richard''s hand and begin to read it. The letter asks me if I will go to the First Harvest party in the capital city. Not only that, my grandfather asked me if he could buy some of the wine and vodka in bulk.

    "Richard, please prepare ten barrels of wine and ten barrels of vodka from my personal cellar and place it in our carriage for us to bring tomorrow."

    "Ah¡­ It looks like lord Duchamp is addicted to your creation, huh, my lord?"

    "That he is. However, I also need to tell him not to become an alcoholic."

    "Then I will prepare ten barrels of wine and vodka for our journey, my lord."

    "Good. Is there anything else?"

    "Nothing, my lord."

    "Good, then please tell me the menu for today''s lunch."

 Chapter 64 - Another Party

    I smile a little when I see Lucina hug my mother and give a light kiss on Ginerva''s forehead. After hugging and kissing, Lucina said.

    "We are going, Good mother, Good Sister."

    "Have a good trip, Lucina."

    After saying that, my mother looked at me and said,

    "Be Careful, okay?"

    "Of course, mother."

    "Then go. I received a letter from my father last night. He said that he would go to the party to accompany you. Your uncle Lomun also came. He said that he wanted to meet his daughter. While they are saying that, I know that the only reason they come to the capital is to have a free drink."

    I chuckle a little as I also receive a letter from uncle Lomun saying that he also wants a few barrels of wine and vodka from me. Old men and their need to drink.

    "Then we are going, mother."

    "Yes. Be safe out there."

    I walk inside the carriage, followed by Lucina on the driver''s seat is Richard. I waved my hand at my mother and little sister until I couldn''t see them anymore.

    After doing the waving, Lucina looks at me and says.

    "Isaac, why do you want to go to the capital? We don''t need to go there and endure the sneering face of the southern noble."

    "Because we need to search for a buyer."

    "Buyer? I thought we have a limited amount of goods to sell?"

    "Yes. For now. I have a plan to expand our farmland a little more. Not only that, but I also intended to create a fish farm and animal husbandry. With the increasing goods that we don''t use or eat, they will only rot in the warehouse. While the warehouse can preserve the food for a long time, their taste will differ from the fresh meat. If this happens, the price of the goods will drop."

    "I see. So you want to bait some of the merchants to come to Sea Dragon City and then sell them our goods?"

    "For a higher price, yes."

    "Why the higher price?"

    "I know the merchant here will play hard to get because I come from the north. However, they will be curious enough to investigate our city with a small rumor here and there. When they see our goods are higher quality than the other, they will try to negotiate with us. If that happens, then it is our time to be an arsehole by using a play hard to get tactic before setting our price higher than the market price."

    "If they decide it was not worth the price?"

    "Then it is not a total loss as we still have the merchant from the Eastern Continent. It is a gamble, but if we win this gamble, then we get ourselves another daily income."

    "I see. However, if someone makes fun of you or any of us, I will make them feel pain."

    "Please don''t do it in front of the king."

    "I will try."

    "That is all I ask."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I take a deep breath and put on a polite smile before walking into the room where another party is being held. This is the party where we celebrate the First Harvest of the year. However, like in the game, the sign of crop failure started to appear.

    Today''s harvest cannot be compared to the last harvest. Not even half of the previous harvest. Right now, my father still has enough money to buy grain and other food from another country, but I know it will not last long.

    I already try anything I can. I beg my father to create another farmland. However, even with us having so much empty land that could only be used to build a mansion for no reason, my father did not want to create another farmland.

    I keep saying that our harvest result is decreasing at an alarming speed, but instead of hearing me, he says that it was nothing to worry about. The only person that heard my plea is my grandmother, Queen Dowager.

    With her power, I get a little piece of land on my name. After getting that land, I immediately hired some workers to cultivate the land. The main plant planted on this land is Grain like Wheat and beans.

    I''m worried about people''s well-being, but my own father, the king, decides to make a lavish party wasting all of our food supply and gold. Not only that, both of my parents continue throwing their money around like it was nothing!

    So here I''m attending the First Harvest Party hosted by the royal family. I know this is a tradition but when the commoner doesn''t have enough food to eat we are not supposed to waste our own money!

    "Announcing! His Majesty Charles Anworth von Vulux III and the royal family have arrived!"

    As my family and I walk inside the room, I smile politely at the people inside. While doing that, I look at the people inside the room, and after a few seconds of looking around, my eyes land on a group of people on the back.

    They are a unique group among the people inside the room.

    They are the northern noble. If the southern noble wearing colorful clothing that hurt my eyes, the northern noble wearing simple yet elegant formal clothing. Not only that, the aura around them makes them look more handsome and beautiful.

    I ignore my father''s speech and continue to stare at the silver-haired man on the back.

    Do I need to scan him once again?

    |No. However, it only shows you the old status|

    |Yes|

    Haaaa¡­. Full Scan Isaac Lionheart. Do I need to wait for a minute while looking at him?

    |No. The process only takes ten seconds for the individual that has already been fully scanned. You can also use the full scan for other people because technically, you are not using the full scan but updating his stats.|

    Good. Begin the full scan.

    |Starting the full scan¡­. 10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­ 7¡­ 6¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ The scan is completed|

    Show me his stats, please.

    A second later, a blue panel appeared in front of me.

    |Isaac Lionheart|

    |Count Rank|

    |Human|

    |STR: 127|

    |VIT: 170|

    |INT: 754|

    |WIS: 100|

    |What he feels about you|

    {Feeling indifferent about you. Wary about you. Didn''t want you to cause problems for him. Want to keep a distance from a trouble magnet (you)}

    Oh, come on! I don''t mean to cause a problem for him. Also, what is happening with his stats! Almost all of his stats have doubled! Not only that, his magic power is 70 times stronger than your average magician! What the hell!

    There must be a spin-off game of White Angel that I don''t know because his stats grow like the main character''s growth!

    |Isaac Lionheart|

    |Count Rank|

    |Title: Death Beloved, Child of the Sea, Master of Void, Star of Swift Courage, Silver Lion, Gate Guardian, Trainer, Children of the Star|

    Welp, look at that. Now I know he is the main character in one of the spin-off games of White Angel that I don''t know. An absurd growth and a title that he recently got is proof enough for me.

    He is the main character!

    Argh! Why can''t he be born into my family? Or at least my cousin! I can laze around in the palace with him near me without having a headache because of the problem my family creates. The only family member that I can rely on is my grandmother, but even my grandma has power in the palace, it cannot be compared to the king''s authority. Because you know, he is the king.''

    Grandma''s faction is filled with old lords and ladies that she gathered in the past. She said that her friend would immediately change their agriculture technique and use the one I introduce to them when the sign of crop failure is happening.

    With the harvest yield decreasing by half, I already have my evidence, and it is up to them to believe me or think of me as a child that didn''t know anything.

    Anyway, I read the description of Isaac''s title.

    |Silver Lion|

    |A title was given by the commoner and noble from the Vulux Kingdom|

    |Effect|

    {Increase the holder Charisma by 15%}

    {Increase the holder reputation in the northern region of Vulux Kingdom}

    {Decrease the holder reputation to a certain southern Vulux Kingdom noble}

    I expect this. However, I never knew that the fan nickname for Isaac Lionheart appeared in real life. I also know which noble house hates Lionheart House. The Blackbriar family and the Frederick family. The Blackbriar family hates Isaac because they are losing the war against the Lionheart Family. As for the Frederick family, they are the ones paying tribute to the Lionheart family. I know this information from Grandma, who tell me about this news.

    |Gate Guardian|

    |Title give to the one that wins against bigger army when defending|

    |Effect|

    {Increase the holder and his/her ally stamina and stamina regeneration by 5% if they fight a defending battle}

    {Increase the holder Charisma by 100% when they are fighting against the army that has a bigger size}

    {Increase the holder ally''s overall physical ability by 100% if they fight on a narrow path. It can only be activated when facing a bigger army. The bigger the difference, the bigger the boost will become. When the army decreases, the effect also decreases.}

    This is¡­ While it is not good for individuals but it was really good when Isaac led an army to fight against an army bigger than his. Not only good but a perfect title. Now that makes sense. Thirty thousand men cannot defeat more than two hundred thousand men.

    How many boosts do they get from this title alone?!?

    And with all his magic he knows, I can see why he can hold the Holy Light Empire march in one place. With the Holy Light Empire that continues sending their men to the north and maintaining their number, the northerner boost from the enemy will continue to exist.

    |Trainer|

    |The title was given to a monster tamer and trained them to become a battle-hardened fighter|

    |Effect|

    {50% faster time needed to tame a beast (Cannot tame a monster)}

    {Every beast tamed by the titleholder will immediately become a docile beast}

    {The tamed beast get a boost in their physical growth by 100%}

    I see.... even though the description saying a monster tamer, this title did not let him tame a monster, which is good. There are too many monsters in this world, and if he can tame two or three S-rank monsters, he becomes the most powerful human in the world.

    I guess this title is the ''normal'' title Isaac has.

    |Children of the Stars|

    |This title is given to the holder of ¨|¨|¨|¨||

    |Effect|

    {Increase the holder Gravity affinity by 10000%}

    {Give the holder authority over the power of the star}

    {Increase the holder learning ability over Astromancy Magic}

    {Let the holder survive in the space and allow the holder to move around on space as if on the earth.}

    {Increase the holder mana capacity over time}

    {Increase the holder magic control by 500%}

    What is this bullshit! Look at that! What kind of cheat item does he get to have this title! Give me some of your cheat items, dammit! All the cheat items in my family''s possession are inside the vault and can only be used by the chosen one.

    And you know what''s funny? The chosen one is the Main Character that lived in the Holy Light Empire, the same empire that conquered the place where I lived. Argh!

    "Haaaaa"

    I released a sigh before looking at my father, who finished his speech. I guess a person with authority really likes hearing their own voice, even in the other universe.

    "Elizabeth, you should socialize."

    Seeing my chance to try to get closer with Isaac and other northern nobles, I nod my head at my mother''s instruction. However, before I could walk away, my brother stopped me and sneered at me while saying.

    "Don''t you dare to try to sully our family name by befriending the northern barbarian. You should socialize with our kind."

    "Our kind?"

    "The pureblood. You should search a friend, our fellow noble, not a barbarian."

    "Oh? Like Henry Blackbriar, the son of Matthew Blackbriar, your close friend?"

    "Yes."

    "The same family that was beaten black and blue by the Lionheart family. The family that sullied the knight code by not fighting with his man and leaving them alone to the lion to be eaten. The same person that ran with his tail under his leg from the fight? The same family that led his vassal to lose their family head? That same family?"

    The more I speak, the redder my brother''s face becomes.

    "I think it is you who should think about which person you want to befriend before you decide to lecture me with your ''wisdom,'' brother."

    I left my brother before he could say something and walk toward the group of northern nobles sitting at the table in the back. Eight people are sitting there. Four men and four women.

    "Good Evening, Lord Lionheart.. It is a p???sur? meeting you once again."

 Chapter 65 - Deal

    The journey is like the previous one, a boring journey. It is a little bit bearable with Lucina on my side. We play some games and sparring with each other and teach the soldiers coming with us.

    Hell, even Richard decided to join us in our training even though he had already passed his seventy.

    Not only that, but I also decided to brew some potion for the soldier and Richard, the same potion Lucina and I use in the pocket dimension. The same potion that let their muscle adapt to the strain from our training.

    From all the activities we do in this journey, it is a little bit bearable.

    Anyway, we arrive in the capital city once again and once again I need to hold my breath because of the horrible smell. After we arrive at the Lionheart Mansion, Lucina and I decide to rest for a little bit.

    When the night arrives, Richard comes to the kitchen where I want to cook some for both Lucina and me.

    "My lord."

    "Richard, just for this once. I like cooking, and I want to cook some food for my wife."

    "It is not that, my lord."

    "Oh?"

    "Lord MacGrath, Lord Duchamp, and Lord Ekdal have arrived."

    Huh? Why did lord Ekdal come to the capital city? I thought he was busy overseeing the harvest that should be happening right now. Lord Ekdal is a Viscount, and his land is to the northeast of Sea Dragon City. You need a week to arrive at his land via carriage. His city is a port city that has access to the Northern Continent and Central continent sea route.

    His main income is from selling woods and irons, but their specialty is their woods. The wood grown near his land is so sturdy that it can survive from low to mid-level magic blasts. Not only that, but this wood is also light, making it the perfect wood for building a ship or a fort.

    "Tell them to go to the kitchen. I already cooked a lot of food for all of us."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "After that, please help me with the table."

    "Yes, my lord."

    At first, I want to store the food inside my pocket dimension for later after sparring season with Lucina. Because of the potion, we need to eat a lot of food after all.

    A few seconds later, Richard came back with six people behind him. I know four of them. Uncle Lomun and his wife, Leslie. Leslie is a beautiful woman with straight brown hair and blue eyes. She is a short woman because she is a dwarf-like her husband.

    Next to her is my grandfather and grandmother. Michael Duchamp and Cecilia Duchamp. Cecilia, my grandmother, always wears a gentle expression on her face. Her brown eyes glow a little as if it was saying that I will be okay and she will always be on my side. Her smooth black hair flows from her head to her arms.

    The last couple that comes to my mansion is Lord Ekdal and Lady Ekdal. Lord Ekdal is a man around his forties with a beard around his chin. His black hair is cut short, making him showing his masculinity even more. He has light blue eyes and is currently wearing simple dark red clothes.

    Lady Ekdal is a beautiful woman around her thirty or maybe forty. I don''t really know. Women are really good at hiding their age. Anyway, she has wavy red hair that reaches her shoulder. She has green eyes and is wearing a simple white dress.

    "My lord. Your guest has arrived."

    "Welcome to the Lionheart den. Please sit down on the chair. The food will arrive in a few seconds."

    I then look at Lucina, who helps me cook the food, and says.

    "Lucina, could you spend some time with the guest? I only need to finish the dessert."

    "Of course."

    I then look at Richard next before saying.

    "Richard, please take a few barrels of wine and vodka from the warehouse and serve it."

    "Yes, My lord."

    After another ten minutes, I finished all the dessert. Richard and I then serve the food on the table. On top of the table is a variety of food and drink. I then sit down on the chair at the end of the table before saying.

    "Let''s dig in."

    "You are the one who cooks this food?"

    "Yup. I get a weird hobby when I search for some food in the middle of the night and when I cannot find some snack in the kitchen, I decide to make it myself. So here we are. I find cooking is a rather relaxing activity."

    "Huh. If you''re really into it, I don''t have much to say. You are also showing great results by cooking these delicious foods. However, there is one thing I want to say. Don''t do this every single day. There is a reason why we, a lord, did not cook our own food is that we have our own cook. If you continue to cook for you and your family, then the cook will feel left out or question whether their food is bad. Without you knowing, you destroy your chef''s self-esteem. I know it was not the case for every individual, but we don''t know if that individual is the one that doesn''t have self-confidence. That is why you need to see your surroundings. There is also a problem with maintaining the image of the lord. However, the northern people know that a lord needs to know how to hunt and cook their prize."

    I nodded at my grandfather''s lecture. I agree with my grandpa''s explanation. To become a cook to a lord is a great honor and high income as well. When the Lord decides to cook food for himself, the cook will question his skill and decide to give up his position before the lord hangs him.

    A brave cook will ask the lord if there is something wrong, but the one that didn''t have that bravery will give their job before the Lord decides to do it themselves. The cruel lord usually does it by hanging in public, and the kinder lord decides to fire them.

    I will not do both of those, but it is good not to have a rumor about me flying around.

    "I understand, Grandfather. I only do this because Richard is the only servant I bring."

    "Good. Now, let me taste the wine you bring."

    I smile at my grandpa''s eagerness to taste the drink I bring with me. I look at Richard, who nods his head and begins to fill the glass with the wine we bring with us. While not as fragrant as the most delicious wine I have in my pocket, it is still a fragrant aroma.

    "Cheers"

    After saying that, I take a sip of the wine. Unlike the wine I sold to the merchant, this wine tastes sweeter, and the aroma of the grape lingers inside my mouth a little longer than the other wine. The bitterness also was not too overpowering but rather balanced the sweet taste of the wine.

    "This is a great wine. Not as great as the previous wine but great nonetheless."

    "Thank you, Uncle Lomun. This will be the wine I sold to the merchant coming to Sea Dragon City."

    "Really? How about vodka? Do you plan to sell those?"

    "Yes. However, my main target for these goods is the people in the north. You already tasted the drink, right?"

    "Yes. It is a strong drink and also makes your body warm."

    "That is right. I think the people in the northern continent will want this drink rather than your normal wine."

    Before uncle Lomun could say anything, my grandpa says.

    "What a coincidence. Isaac, let me introduce you to Lord Tobias Ekdal and Lady Viktoria Ekdal. Tobias, this is my grandson, Isaac Lionheart, the current lord of the Lionheart family."

    Lord Tobias nodded at me respectfully before saying.

    "My name is Tobias Ekdal, and this is my wife, Viktoria Ekdal. It is an honor to meet you, Lord Lionheart."

    "Isaac Lionheart. Please call me Isaac."

    "Then please call me Tobias or Tobi for short."

    "Very well. Tobi, what can I do for you?"

    "Let us don''t beat around the bush. I want to buy your vodka in bulk."

    "... For personal consumption or selling it back."

    "I want to sell it to the merchant that is coming from the north. Many merchants come from the northern continent when they hear we can grow our own food. I admit that many of them are spies that try to dig the search behind our sudden ability to grow our own food."

    "Fair enough. After this party, I will send someone with the contract between us. I will sell it to you one gold per barrel and reserve fifty to a hundred barrels of vodka for you to buy every month. In return, I was hoping you would not sell those vodkas more than four gold per barrel. I want to introduce this drink across the world and want it to become an affordable drink that even the commoner can drink."

    "Why not sell it at a higher price? You will get more profit, right?"

    "Wrong. A higher price means that only a noble or rich merchant can drink it. However, if we set the price of this drink low enough so the commoner can afford it, we will get many customers. While yes, you only get a small amount of money from each drink sold. However, those goods will sell out faster than your expensive drink. Meaning that they will quickly come back and demand more goods. Unlike an expensive drink that only sells one barrel per year, you can sell this drink a hundred barrels per month."

    "I see. I never think about that."

    "Speaking of merchants. Can you buy anything other than the drink?"

    "Oh?"

    "As you guys know, fertilizer is a great item to boost plant growth and boost the result of the harvest."

    ".... I see. You have many goods in the warehouse but don''t have enough merchants coming to the Sea Dragon City planning to buy your goods."

    "That is right. Your land is located near the sea, and many people from the northern continent buy some food from you. I was hoping you could buy our goods before we sell them to the northern continent. I know you are taking a huge risk by doing this because you also don''t know if the merchant from the northern continent will come or not, but if they come, this deal will be a huge boon for you."

    ".... Can I think about this deal for a few days?"

    "Of course. Take your time. Please send a raven to me if you make up your mind about this deal."

    "Of course. Thank you, Lord Isaac, for helping me."

    "Heh. Call me Isaac, Tobias, and this deal is beneficial for both of us."

    I take my wine glass and raise it to the air before saying.

    "For the bright future."

    "For the bright future!"

 Chapter 66 - Meet Again

    Hmmm? There is something wrong with those people. The last time I came with my father here to celebrate the First Harvest, two or more noble lords came to us and spoke loudly about their harvest yielding a great result. They usually mock us by having a conversation with each other about their harvest and how they will not sell it to the barbarian, us.

    However, when my companion and I walk inside the room, there is no one talking loudly about their great harvest and how they will not sell it to us or how they have too many goods that there is too much food that gets wasted because their harvest gives them too much food.

    "There is something wrong."

    I said it out loud while looking at the people around me.

    "You are right. Something is going on here. I don''t if it is a good or bad thing for us."

    I nod at my grandfather before deciding to sit down on the chair in the corner of the room. As we sit down, I pour wine into the glass and take a good sniff. The aroma is not too strong and not as fragrant as the wine I bring with me, but there is something that I cannot describe from the smell of the wine.

    I then take a sip of the wine and grimace a little. It was sour.

    "What the hell is this?"

    "The wine is sour. Urgh"

    "Urgh. I never thought that I would spit back wine in my life."

    Uncle Lomun, Lord Tobias, and my grandfather say it simultaneously while putting down the wine on the table in disgust. There is something wrong with the wine and making it sour. With a sigh, I take the food in front of me and put it inside my mouth.

    Meh.

    The food is not bad, but it is not good either. I will eat this when there is no other food, but I pick the other if there is another option.

    I ignore the king saying something about the goddess blessing his kingdom and how it prospers under his rule. I completely ignore him when he begins to tell us about the history of his family.

    I ignore the king and decide to eat the food in silence. After what I feel like fifteen minutes, the king decides it is time to end his speech and asks us to enjoy the party. I can go back to my mansion after this because I already have someone willing to buy the goods I have, but I decided against it.

    Tobias Ekdal agreed to be the one buying the food we sell at a lower price. While I only get a small profit from this trade, I still get a profit and do not need to prepare for anything else as Tobi will take care of it.

    "Isaac"

    "Hmmm?"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Lucina call my name. When I look at Lucina, she points in the direction of her head. I look at where she is looking and see the Trouble Magnet come to our table.

    I sigh a little, and when I hear the princess greet me, I place my polite smile.

    "Good Evening, Lord Lionheart"

    "Good Evening, Princess."

    "Please call me Eli."

    "Then you should call me Isaac."

    "Then Isaac, how are you doing on this fine evening?"

    "I''m doing fine. Let me introduce you to my companion. The one sitting opposite me is my grandfather, Michael Duchamp, and his lovely wife, my grandmother, Cecilia Duchamp."

    The princess gives an elegant bow and says.

    "It is my p???sur? to meet you, my lord."

    Both my grandparents smile at the princess and nod their heads.

    "Next to them is Lord Tobias Ekdal and his lovely wife, Viktoria Ekdal. He is the Viscount of Laudron."

    "Nice to meet you, Princess."

    "It is our p???sur? to meet you, your highness."

    Hearing both Lord Tobias and Lady Viktoria greeting, the princess bow once again and says.

    "It is an honor to meet you two."

    "Next to me is my good father and a good mother. They are also a sworn uncle and sworn aunt of mine. Let me introduce you to Lord Lomun Macgrath and Lady Leslie Macgrath."

    Uncle Lomun nodded at the princess while Aunt Leslie waved her hand at the princess. Seeing their informal greeting, the princess waves at her back instead of getting offended. Huh, I guess there is something good in this princess.

    "Lastly, the beautiful woman sitting next to me is Lucina Lionheart, my wife."

    "It is my p???sur? to meet you, princess."

    The princess nods her head and says.

    "The p???sur? is all mine."

    "Please take a seat, Princess¡­"

    When I was about to say princess, she glared at me a little.

    "I mean, Eli."

    "Thank you!"

    Her face brightened when I called her with that nickname before sitting down next to me. However, after sitting down and looking at Lucina the second time, her eyes widened a little before she stared at Lucina.

    What a weirdo.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Lucina Lionheart|

    |Countess Rank|

    |15 years old|

    |Dwarf|

    |STR: 100|

    |VIT: 120|

    |WIS: 50|

    What the hell is this?!? Her stats are almost the same as the king guard. While she did not have magic inside her body, I know her physical aura, or as I called it qi, can increase her physical attack and defense by a good amount. Not only that, but I know it also can be used to create the same effect as magic but weaker.

    I once saw it when the King Guard sparred with each other. That was scary and exciting at the same time.

    "So, what can I do for you, Eli?"

    I snap from my thoughts when I see Isaac look at me right in the eye. When he looked at me with that expression, it was as if I was a mouse in the presence of the lion. However, I swallow my fear and look at his eyes back because I know that even a rat can help the lion in his time in need.

    "I come here to ask you for help."

    I decided not to beat around the bush and immediately asked for his help. It is public knowledge that the northern region people are known to be direct when they talk with each other.

    "Oh? Then please, what kind of help you need from this humble me?"

    Humble my left ?ss. There is nothing humble about you, you damn protagonist!

    "First thing first, there is something I must tell you."

    "Please continue."

    "Vulux Kingdom will experience a famine."

    "Famine?"

    "Famine is a¡­."

    "I know what famine is, Eli. What I want to know is the cause of it. War? There is no war happening right now. Overpopulation? I don''t think so. That only thing that can cause this famine is¡­."

    "Crop Failure, yes."

    When I say that, all of the northern people nod their heads as if they just realized something. Isaac then looked at me before saying.

    "I see. That is the reason why there is something different in this party."

    "Different?"

    "Oh? You did not know about it, princess?"

    "I¡­ I don''t know what you are talking about?"

    "Look around, princess. Look around and see if something is missing in this party."

    I look around the room and see nothing is missing in here. Inside the room is your usual noble and rich merchant¡­. Wait a minute. I look around once again and see there is indeed something different. There is no merchant inside the room! Usually, there are four merchant groups around one or two noblemen, but this time there is no one grouping other than the northern noble near me.

    "There is no merchant in this room¡­"

    "That is right."

    I look at Isaac, who nods his head before continuing his explanation.

    "Usually, the merchant will offer us their goods, but this time there is no one offering us their foods to sell. There must be a shortage of foods around the Western continent. Usually, the merchant already flocks to the Duke or the Marquis. However, this time, it is the Duke that searches for the merchant by the look of it."

    I look at where Isaac looks and see Duke Frederick looking around the room as if he is searching for something or someone. Dammit, why didn''t I see it?

    "Looks like the famine came earlier than you predicted, Eli. By Duke Frederick''s look, I can say that he lost more than half of his usual harvest. I guess it cannot be helped. After all, he focuses all his resources in military and mining rather than farming and husbandry even though it is peacetime in the kingdom."

    That is what I''m trying to do! Converting those useless military bases that he did not use into farmland but Noooooo! No one wants to hurt their pride by doing the ''commoner'' job.

    I know the military is important but come on! You have many lands that ready to be cultivated, but you use them to build a military base? What the hell?!?

    "So, what do you want to ask me?"

    I take a deep breath and discard all the so-called pride of the princess and say.

    "I want to buy as much grain you are willing to sell to me."

 Chapter 67 - Troublesome

    "I want to buy as much grain as you are willing to sell to me."

    I snort a little at her bluntness. Many merchants who come to me usually use their silver tongue to either fool me or buy our goods at an outrageous price. Not only did this princess speak bluntly, but the lie detector around my neck also did not vibrate. She also decided to do it directly without coating her intention with a sweet word.

    "I like you. You will become a great individual in the north with that attitude."

    I chuckle a little before looking at the princess''s eyes and saying.

    "While I like your bluntness, I must ask you something."

    "What is it?"

    "Why did you come to me? You already know there is a crop failure across the kingdom. What makes you think we did not have a crop failure as well?"

    The princess looks at me as if expecting me to be joking before a second later, she says.

    "The first clue is your fellow noble. I don''t want to say this, but true to your first explanation about the merchant, it is also true that the northern nobles need them to sell you some food at a lower price than usual. However, instead of all noble lords coming here, only four noble families come here. Meaning that they already have enough food in their storehouse and silo. I also heard a rumor there is a merchant company from the Eastern Continent coming to the north to buy food and also sell their leather and other items."

    Huh, I never thought the news would reach here that fast or the southern noble would care about that information. I guess I''m wrong.

    "The only reason you come here is that you want to search for the merchant that was invited into the palace but for a different reason. You want to sell the excess food you have, right?"

    I smile at the princess before saying.

    "Yup. The reason why I came here is because of what you are saying. However, I already get what I''m looking for, Lord Tobias over there willing to buy my food."

    "... Is there nothing left from your deal? I only want to buy enough food for this city to survive. I already use my own land to make private farmland to try to feed this city''s population."

    "Not the rest of the kingdom?"

    "If I can, I will. Sadly, reality sucks. There is no way I could feed the entire kingdom with my small piece of land that just began to be cultivated. I''m not that naive. As long as I can help the people in this city, I''m satisfied."

    I nod at her explanation. I agree with her view. You cannot save everyone. As long as you try your hardest, that is enough.

    "Come to the north with all your money. I will sell my grain to YOU, not the other. I will not sell it to the Vulux family, but I will sell it to Elizabeth Anworth von Vulux."

    "Thank you, Thank you very much. If there is something you need, I will help you with all my strength."

    "Heh, Think nothing of it. Just don''t come to the north alone. There are too many monsters for you to handle alone."

    "I''m not that stupid."

    "Heh. Just want to make sure."

    We laugh at her pouting face and decide to enjoy the party with the princess.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "You know this is not what I mean by never coming to the north alone."

    Right in front of me is the princess herself and behind her is a few dozen or so knights wearing their full armor. I know they are the Palace Knight. The knight that protects the royal palace. They are under the command of the King''s Guard, and they have four divisions.

    The first division is called the Horse Division. Unlike its name, this division does not consist of cavalry, but rather this division is called this because of their job that needs to move around the capital. This division is the patrol division and also the one that kills the monsters around the capital city.

    The next one is called the Snake Division. This division is like its name. They are the knights that protect the capital city like a snake hiding behind the bushes before they strike at the enemy''s weakness.

    The turtle division is the one that maintains the city''s stability. They are the one that manages the city guard division and also the one that trains them. This division is the one that has the least core members, but they have the biggest underling under their management.

    The last one is the Dragon Division. This division is the one that protects the Royal Family members like the Queen, Princes, and Princess. This Division is the one that has a chance to be promoted into the King''s Guard if they qualify.

    And the knights in front of me are the knights from the Dragon Division. I know about this because there is a dragon symbol on their armor, indicating that they are members of the Dragon Division.

    I hear a rumor from Richard that the knights in the capital city get weaker because of corruption, but I know not to underestimate them.

    "This is more efficient. I have permission from my Grandmother to go with you. Sadly I cannot bring fewer people with me. I hope you don''t mind bringing another thirty people to your territory."

    "Meh. As long as they don''t cause any trouble or break any law, I don''t mind."

    "I promise you that they will behave."

    "Good. Now let''s go. We will begin the journey. We will take a break for lunch and supper. After supper, we will make a camp and sleep for the night. Are you okay with that?"

    "Sure."

    "Good. Now let''s go."

    I sigh a little after I walk inside my carriage. I know that this will become a problem in the future. I just know it. I just can''t take back my word to the princess after asking for permission from Queen Dowager.

    While asking for permission from Queen Dowager is good, I''m afraid the King will get offended by his daughter''s behavior.

    "Haaaaaaa"

    I really hope the Trouble Magnet (The Princess) will not attract more trouble than I can handle.

 Chapter 68 - Interlude

    I stretch my body for a little bit. I look around and see that we are camping near the forest, not too far away from the main road to the northern region. I know the journey will be boring, but I never thought it would be this boring.

    Ahhhhhh, If only I could bring my phone with me when I get reincarnated. I look at the knight I bring with me and who begin constructing a tent for me while the soldier Isaac brings with him makes a fire and tent for themselves.

    On the other clearing side of the forest, I see Isaac and his wife Lucina doing an exercise. I don''t know what they want to do, but I decide to scan her as well. It is a known fact that the main heroine has the same bullshit as the protagonist.

    Full Scan on Lucina Lionheart.

    |The full scan will take one minute, and you cannot use it for another7 days before you could use this once again. Are you sure?|

    Yes.

    |Scanning¡­ 60¡­ 59¡­|

    While waiting for the scan to complete, I sat down on top of the log near the campfire the northern soldier made for us. On the side, I can see the butler Isaac brought with him to take food and drink from the carriage. Some of the food is cooked on the pot, while the food like dry meat, bread, and salted meat is given to the soldier.

    On the opposite of the butler, I see my servant I bring with me, who also begins to cook some food for me.

    |Scanning completed. Do you want to open the status windows?|

    Yes.

    After I say that, a blue panel appears in front of me.

    |Lucina Lionheart|

    |Countess Rank|

    |Title: Dwarf Pride, Lady of the Wind, Immovable Shield, Sun Dancer|

    Would you look at that? She has the same bullshit as Isaac.

    |A Dwarf that follows the way of their ancestor|

    |Effect|

    {Every item crafted by the user will be stronger than your usual item}

    {Learning new craft get 300% faster}

    {Increase a reputation to fellow Dwarf that follow the old ways}

    {Increase the user''s physical and magical strength if the user use the weapon or armor they crafted}

    What is the Dwarven Old Way?

    |Dwarven''s old way is a tradition where a young dwarf at the age of five will begin their training in the art of crafting. They will learn all kinds of craft like Swordcraft, Armor craft, and even a potion craft.|

    I see. Are there many dwarves who did not follow their old ways?

    I see.

    |Lady of the Wind|

    |This title is given to the holder of ¨|¨|¨|¨|.|

    |Effect|

    {Increase the holder a wind element damage resistance by 1000%}

    {Increase the holder affinity to Wind element by 500%}

    {Increase the holder affinity to Null element by 300%}

    {Increase the holder''s Physical Energy reserve.}

    Here is another black bar. There is not a single person I can scan that has a black bar, but here two individuals have a black bar that hides the source of their power. I want that kind of power, dammit!

    |Null Element is the enchantment element. Unlike other elements that have color, this element did not have any color hence the name Null Element|

    Does that mean her stats are not the final number?!?

    |Yes. If the description is correct, she can enchant her strength 40 times its original number.|

    Forty times more than the original?!? What?!?

    |She has the potential to do it. However, she needs to train her body to the very limit to endure the strain the enchantment does to her body.|

    I see. She needs to train her body to endure her power, huh? What would happen if she did not train her body?

    |Her body will explode|

    Yikes.

    |Immoveable Shield|

    |Effect|

    {Give the holder 200% damage resistance from Physical and Magical attack}

    {Give the holder a second layer of skin to block a certain amount of damage}

    {Give a complete immunity to poison}

    {Increase the holder resistance to all Elemental Debuff}

    {Give the holder a great resistance to Mental Attacks like Mind Control, Illusion, and Madness Curse}

    Welp, Lucina Lionheart just became a walking tank. Her Null Elemental abilities alone make her very durable, and now with this title? She becomes a walking tank that can absorb damage like nobody''s business.

    Also, the resistance is really useful. That complete immunity to poison alone makes this title very valuable.

    |Sun Dancer|

    |Effect|

    {Increase the holder a Fire Elemental resistance by 1000%}

    {Give the holder absolute control over fire. (Did not affect special fire like Hell Fire)}

    {Increase the holder affinity to Fire Element by 500%}

    {Increase the holder affinity to Smithing skills by 200%}

    {Increase the holder Physical Energy reserve}

    Would you look at that? Another broken title. Now the Lionheart family has three broken titles over the element. Isaac for having the title of Child of the Sea for the Water affinity. Lucina has Lady of the Wind''s title for the Wind affinity and Sun Dancer for Fire ability.

    *BOOM*

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear an explosion from where Isaac and Lucina are doing their exercise. When I see the source of the explosion, I widen my eyes. Both Isaac and Lucina are fighting each other with their weapons.

    Each of the blows creates a shockwave. Their movement is so fast that I can only see blurred lines. I can only see them fight when both of them are in a deadlock or fight while standing still.

    Each of the deadlocks happens for a few seconds before suddenly they trade blows while standing still at high speed. I have never seen a fight like this before. The fight between the knight in the palace is not as intense as this one.

    The sparring between knights was never this intense. Usually, they only trade blows or even make a twirling attack. When I see both Isaac and Lucina fight, I know that the knights use moves that look cool rather than effective.

    They aim at the opponent''s sword rather than aiming for the other weak point like the neck and heart. Isaac and Lucina, on the other hand, fight like they want to kill each other. It was scary and awesome at the same time.

    Scary because the shockwave created by each blow makes my mind think to hide from the fight and awesome because it is my first time seeing a real-time fantasy fight and not only in the anime or read it in the manga.

    The fight lasts for a few minutes before the Lionheart family butler comes to where they are fighting before saying.

    "My lord, My lady, it is time for supper. Please stop your sparring and eat."

    Like that, both Lionheart lord and lady stop their fight and look at Richard, who begins to talk.

    "Please don''t get too carried away in your sparring, my lord, my lady."

    Like a child''s sheepish face when they are caught by their parents stealing a cookie in the cookie jar, both Isaac and Lucina have a sheepish expression at their butler scolding.

    Both of them walk toward the campfire and look at me with a sheepish expression before saying.

    "Sorry about that, We are too occupied with our sparring."

    Shut up, you protagonist.

 Chapter 69 - The North

    I take a deep breath and feel the cold wind inside my lungs. We arrived in the north, and I can feel the difference between the south and the north. I guess it is just me, but I feel the north is more comfortable. I guess it is me being biased because I''m born in this part of the world.

    I look at the princess, who is wearing a thick jacket made of animal fur, and nod at her.

    "Welcome to the Sea Dragon City, Eli"

    "It is gorgeous. However, it is too cold for me."

    I chuckle a little before leading her to the castle, where I catch a speeding bullet in the form of Ginerva, who decides to tackle me.

    "Woah, there. How are you, Ginerva?"

    "Big brother! You come back!"

    "Yeah. I''m back."

    After hugging her for a few seconds, I put her down. When I put her down on the ground, she looks at the princess and says.

    "And who is this?"

    "Ah! Let me introduce you to two. Ginerva, this is Elizabeth Answorth von Vulux, the princess of our kingdom. However, she likes to be called Eli."

    "En! Hello Eli!"

    "Eli, This is Ginerva Lionheart, my little sister."

    Eli smiled a little before saying.

    "Hello, Ginerva. It is nice to meet you."

    "Hello, Eli!"

    I pat Ginerva head before saying.

    "Ginerva, would you be kind and show Eli around?"

    "Okay! Come on! We should go to the garden!"

    Just like that, Ginerva takes Eli''s hand and begins to drag her away to the garden. Lucina looks at me and nods at me before she follows Ginerva to the garden. I then tell the princess servant to place their carriage in the building near the stable where I store my carriage.

    I then lead the head servant of the princess and tell her where the princess will stay. After doing that, Richar and I walk to my office, where I look at Richard and say.

    "How is the situation in the south? Is it as bad as I predicted?"

    Richard nods his head and places down parchment on top of the table. I read it and see that inside the parchment is a report saying that the capital city''s situation is a lot worse than what I predicted.

    "It is worse than the princess told us it was. Many southern lords buy their food from the Central Continent. Some of them also buy the foods from the Eastern Continent. They don''t really care about spending some money as it did not make a dent in their vault. However, if what the princess says about the long-term famine is true, then their riches will be gone in a year, especially if they continue throwing away the food and gold around in party and useless celebration."

    "The noble in their infinite wisdom decide to use a false report to cover their weakness. They only want to keep their pride intact without thinking about the other people."

    "That is right, my lord."

    "Then, how did the princess know about this famine?"

    "I think she learned about this from the Queen Dowager, my lord. Queen Dowager is known for doting and grooming the princess to be her successor. She wants the princess to inherit her spy network. Sadly¡­"

    "She doesn''t want the princess to face reality just yet."

    "Yes, My lord. My shadow in the capital city says that the Queen Spy already executed a dozen or so spies from the other noble for trying to sabotage the princess private farmland."

    I rub my chin for a few seconds before saying.

    "Richard, what do you think about the princess? Do you trust her to distribute the food to the commoner, or will she use it for herself?"

    "I think she is a girl that has good intentions but doesn''t have the support to fulfill her intention. My shadow tells me about all the plans the princess has but gets rejected by the king. If what they say is correct, then the capital and even the kingdom will prosper. Here are some of the plans the princess asks the king to do."

    I take the scroll from Richard and begin to read it. The scroll is filled with an agriculture technique and also a way to make paper in bulk. The more I read it, the more I was impressed by the princess''s idea.

    While it was not a modern technique, it is a good technique to increase the harvest and maintain the soil quality. The paper-making technique is the technique used in ancient China.

    "This is¡­. Why did the king reject this idea?"

    "The king thinks that dung will kill the plant instead of making them grow. He also declared that he would not eat something that grows on top of a piece of shit."

    Urgh. What an idiot. This is something that I don''t like about this era of time. The king and noble think of fertilizer is something that will make the plant die. Their pride is also the one that makes a kingdom fall. Their pride did not allow them to listen to good advice, especially from someone under their age.

    "And for the paper making?"

    "The king thinks that it will not work, and this idea is coming from a delusional child."

    "Urgh."

    I ?r??n?d at what Richard was saying before I sighed a little.

    "Richard, inform one of the villagers to implement this farming technique and promise them that this will work. Also, tell them that I will compensate them if this technique failed."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Also, tell someone you trust to use this technique to make a paper, and if it is work, then report to me immediately."

    "Yes, my lord."

    If the king did not want a profit, then I will be the one taking this opportunity.

    "This is our garden!"

    I look around a small garden behind the castle. The garden itself is small, but it was beautiful, even more beautiful than some of the noble gardens I once visited. The garden is filled with flowers that are blooming even when it is snowing.

    In the middle of the garden is a massive tree that cast its shadow on the ground.

    |Scan is completed|

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear my power say that the scan is completed. I order my power to begin scanning all the living beings in the castle.

    I can see many blue panels hovering around, ready to read. However, what I''m more interested in is the blue panel floating next to the tree.

    |Protection Tree|

    |Guardian Rank|

    |1 Year Old|

    |VIT: 5000|

    |INT: 10000|

    |WIS: 0|

    |What it feels about you|

    {It cannot feel anything, It was a tree}

    What with that number?!? Also, what is Guardian rank?!?

    |Guardian Rank is a special rank given to a beast, magical beast, or monster. Common -> Uncommon -> Elite -> Guardian -> Fighter -> Noble -> King -> Emperor -> Overlord|

    Can you explain it to me in Adventurer terms?

    |Common (F to E monster), Uncommon (E to D monster), Elite (D to C monster), Guardian (C+ to B+ monster), Fighter (B+ to A monster), Noble (A to S- monster), King (S- to S+ monster), Emperor (SS- to SS monster) and Overlord (SS to SSS monster)|

    |No. This tree is a Magical Creature in the form of a tree. The magician uses this type of tree to create a barrier around their workshop|

    I see.

    "Eli! Over here!"

    I snapped from my thought when I saw the little girl, Ginerva, waving her hand at me. As I walk toward her, I see a beautiful woman sitting down on the ground under the tree. When the woman sees me, she smiles at me before standing up and bowing to me.

    "It is an honor to meet you, Princess Elizabeth. My name is Eveline Lionheart, the wife of the former Sea Dragon City lord and the mother to the current Lord."

    "It is a p???sur? to meet you, Lady Eveline."

    After the introduction, Lady Eveline invited me to enjoy the tea she brewed for herself. For the next few hours, I enjoy the silence and peace while slurping the delicious tea in front of me. While not too sweet, this tea is so fragrant it is different from the tea I usually drink in the Royal Palace.

    Our silence gets interrupted when Richard, the Lionheart head butler, walks to us and says.

    "Your highness, My lady, the food is ready. Lord Isaac is waiting for you in the dining room."

    Lady Eveline nods her head and says.

    "Shall we have some lunch, your highness?"

    "We shall"

 Chapter 70 - Disaster

    I wave back at the princess who is waving at me. This is the last day of the princess'' visit to the north, and following behind her carriage are five wagons filled to the brim with long-lasting food like Wheat and other grain, like oats.

    I also tell Richard to send a dozen of his best fighters to watch the princess and the convoy from far away. I know the knight can handle a normal bandit or monster, but this is the north. There is a strange monster roaming around.

    I don''t want a weird rumor that says the princess is dead from visiting my territory. I don''t want that kind of trouble.

    When the princess disappears from my view, I look at Richard and say.

    "Richard, Do you send some men to follow the princess?"

    "Yes, My lord. I send our best shadow to tail the princess from a distance."

    "Good. I don''t want anything to happen to the princess after she visits the Sea Dragon City. Good work"

    "It is my p???sur?, my lord."

    I look at a dozen or so papers ready to be sold. The technique we get from the princess is working like a charm. While it needs human labor, this amount of paper produced per week is good enough for me.

    Sadly we need to adjust the paper''s thickness because it cannot handle a quill really well.

    Fortunately, the easter continent merchants want to buy our paper in a large order. While most of the people in the eastern continent are warriors, they spend their time either practicing calligraphy or writing some philosophy.

    Sadly, parchment is not really good to write in a smooth motion decreasing their calligraphy quality. Anyway, they decide to buy half of the paper we currently have, and the other half is used for our daily use.

    The farming technique we got from the princess is a work in progress, and in a few months, we will see the result.

    "My lord, My lady."

    I snap from my thoughts when Rovul calls me. I look at Rovul near the warehouse on the dock and smile at him.

    "Rovul. How are you doing?"

    "Doing fine, my lord. What can I do for you?"

    "The usual monthly inspection. Could you show me around?"

    "Of course, my lord. Please follow me, my lord, my lady."

    Lucina and I follow Rovul to one of the warehouses. When we arrived in front of the warehouse, we greet the guards and processed to walk inside. When I walk inside, I see some of the workers sorting the goods.

    "Rovul, do you bring the list of all the items inside this warehouse?"

    "Of course, my lord."

    Rovul gave me the paper, and I gave the meat section to Lucina. I go to the vegetable section and begin to inspect all the vegetables inside the warehouse. I look around the vegetable sections, and when I encounter a bad vegetable, I make it float and put them away from the fresh vegetables.

    With my mastery over Green Magic, I know which vegetable is in its perfect state and the one that already decreased in quality. While Rovul and the others think those vegetables are still good to eat (and I must agree), I want my people to eat high-quality food if I can help it.

    I then used the ''lower'' quality vegetable to feed the livestock and the horse in the stables. I want not only the human to stay healthy but also the animal.

    After ten minutes, I walk away from the vegetable sections and meet Lucina, who tells me about the meat condition.

    "Dear husband, the quality of the meat starts to decrease. However, I need another month to make it low-quality meat."

    "I see."

    I nod at Lucina''s report and look at Rovul before saying.

    "Rovul, please send half of the meat in the list and all of the vegetables next to me to the private farmland. When you arrive, please tell Rachel to give the meat to the cook in there for him to use it to make some food for the worker. As for the vegetable, tell her to use these vegetables to feed the livestock."

    "I will do it at once."

    "You can take two barrels of drinks from the farmland."

    "Thank you, my lord."

    I nod at him and walk toward the docks, where I see the ship I owned begin docked. Next to the ship is Lucas, the Master of Ship ordering his underling around. They either take a crate full of arrows to the ship or take a supply for their voyage to the other continent.

    Lucas and his men will be the ones guarding the merchant I send to the Eastern Continent to trade our goods. Not only that, but I also order the merchant to buy something that we don''t have, like sugar beets and sugarcane from the Eastern Continent if they can.

    Sweets are still an expensive commodity in this era, especially in the Western Continent. We usually use Honey to make desserts or other sweet dishes. The only one with other choices other than sugar is the Eastern continent, where they have Sugar Beets growing around the continent.

    I want to test if the Sugar Beets will grow in my land with the help of magic.

    "Lucas"

    Lucas looks away from his job and sees me walk toward him. He smiles at me and does a quick salute, and says.

    "My lord, What can I do for you?"

    "A monthly inspection. How is your job?"

    "We are doing fine, my lord."

    "Are the pirates causing you a problem?"

    "Sadly, yes. We lose good men fighting the pirate."

    "Are the pirates increasing?"

    "Unfortunately. With most of the kingdom in the Eastern Continent in war with each other, the sea patrol began to decrease, and that made the pirate rule the Eastern Continent sea."

    "Should we increase the sea patrol?"

    "I will be grateful if you do it."

    "I will speak with Leonardo and Ayas. You will get some news in a few days."

    "Thank you, my lord."

    Before I could say more, I felt a spike of magical energy coming from the north. The magical energy is strong enough to knock out the weaker people and make most of the soldiers drop to the ground gasping like a fish out of water.

    "What is that?"

    When Lucas is about to answer my question, the sky begins to darken, and I can see the cloud begin to create a whirlpool-like pattern in the sky. The cloud moves to the north, the same location as the magical spike located.

    "The birth of the S-rank monster¡­."

    "Dammit!"

    If what Lucas says is correct, then we are in real trouble.

    "Lucas, delay your voyages until this disaster averted. Tell me, how long will the S-rank monster be born? I know it is not complete because I can feel it absorbing the mana in the air at an alarming speed."

    "Depend, my lord. The fastest one recorded is three days, the longest is one month."

    "I see. Then we must hurry up to the monster location. Lucas, gather our men as fast as you can. I think Leonardo already gathered the soldiers."

    "Yes, My lord. What about you, my lord?"

    "I will go and see where the S-rank will appear."

    ".... Alone?"

    "Yes."

    "No can do, my lord. Please take my men to accompany you."

    "... Very well."

    I look at two dozen men who are still standing and say.

    "You guys! Come with me!"

    With that being said, Lucina, me, and the soldier begin to run toward the castle. When we arrive in front of the castle, I see my mother have a pale face and worried expression. Next to her is Richard and twenty or so Castle Guards still standing and ready to fight.

    "My lord¡­"

    Richard looked at me with a grim expression.

    "I know, Richard. I will immediately go to the monster location."

    "... Are you sure, my lord?"

    "Yes. It is my duty to protect my subject."

    "Then I will come with you."

    "No. You will stay here to protect the castle and my family. I will leave their life in your hand."

    "But¡­"

    "No. This is my order to you."

    "... I will give my life to protect them."

    "Thank you. I also want you to tell Leonardo to leave half of our men in the city. You will be the one in charge of the army in the city."

    "I will not disappoint you, My lord."

    I then look at Lucina and say.

    "Lucina¡­."

    "No. I will come with you."

    "But¡­."

    "No! I will come with you. Remember our oath."

    "To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."

    "Till death do us part."

    I hesitate for a moment before I nod at her. I take out both of our weapons and armor from my pocket dimension. These are the armor we built together. Lucina has plate armor made of Pure Mithril. Under the plate, armor is chainmail made of the same material.

    Her armor has light blue color with a snarling lion symbol on the ?h?st area with a twin ax under the lion. These are both Lionheart and Macgrath house symbols.

    My armor has the same design as Lucina''s armor, but instead of light blue, my armor is colored silver.

    My mother, who stayed silent the entire time, decided to help both Lucina and me wear our armor. When we finished wearing our armor, my mother looked me in the eyes and hugged me tightly.

    "Please be safe. Please come back to me."

    "I will, mother."

    "Please come back to me in one piece."

    "I will, mother."

    My mother released me from her hug with eyes full of tears before doing the same to Lucina. She then hugged both of us with a tight hug before releasing us. She looked at us once again and said,

    "Please wait for a second. I will come back."

    We wait for her for a minute before she comes back with a red ribbon. She then tied it in the middle of my spear before looking at me and said.

    "You know what this ribbon means to me. I want this ribbon to be a good luck charm for you. I want you to return this ribbon to me when you return triumphantly."

    "I promise."

    "Good¡­ Good¡­"

    She then looks at Lucina, takes out her necklace away from her neck, and puts it around Lucina''s neck.

    "This is the Necklace my husband gave me in the past. She said that this was a gift from her late mother before she passed away. This is the necklace worn by Lady Angelica ''The Lioness'' Lionheart. Let this necklace become your strength in this fight."

    "Yes, Mother"

    "Good. I also want you to return to me alive and whole."

    "I promise, mother."

    My mother took a step back to look at both of us for a few seconds before saying.

    "Then go. Go and come back to me victorious."

    I nod my head and mount the horse that Richard has prepared and shout.

    "Move out!"

 Chapter 71 - Monster Wave

    I look around the room and see many people have a grim expression on their faces. Currently, I''m in the war room, where many high members of military groups gather. The older one is Duke Lampert Gideon von Vasper, my Granduncle and the Grand Marshal of the Vulux kingdom.

    He is the one that holds the most territory in the south and the one that guards the border between the Vulux kingdom and the Holy Light Empire. He is the tip of the spear if there is an invasion coming at the Vulux kingdom.

    He is coming from my mother''s house, the Vasper house. They are the more traditional house where the boy needs to dedicate their entire life to the martial field while the girl needs to dedicate their lives to become a perfect lady.

    Unlike my grandmother''s house, where many of their ladies can choose their path if that path did not hinder the family matter. That is why I have a difficult life. The family from my grandmother''s side demanded me to learn some physical arts like sword art or archery. On the other hand, the family from my mother''s side demanded me to be a perfect lady, delicate, not showing the sign of manliness and unable to intervene with political matters.

    That is why I don''t have any martial art experience under my belt. However, lucky for me, my grandmother decided to teach me archery when I''m a little bit older after arguing with my granduncle.

    Anyway, right now, we are inside the war room to discuss the fate of the northern region of Vulux Kingdom. It has been a day since the sign of the S-class monster, and right now, we are waiting for the magician we call from the Tower of Magic to show us the situation in the northern region.

    It is a tradition to hire a high-class mage from the Tower of Magic to show us the situation in the place where the S-class monster is born. This spell is called the All-Seeing spell. It is a little bit pompous as it cannot see anything, but it is good enough to spy on other countries without a problem.

    I snap from my thought when I see a portal appear in the middle of the room, and coming from the portal are five older men wearing long Black robes indicating that they are a Grandmaster mage. Mage has its own rank. Unlike adventurers that only use a single alphabet as their rank, the Tower of Mage uses a full title.

    Student -> Apprentice -> Journeyman -> Master -> Grandmaster -> Arch Mage -> Five-Star Mage -> Four-Star Mage -> Three-Star Mage -> Two-Star Mage -> One-Star Mage -> Sorcerer.

    While the others have a really different in terms of power, the Five-star to one-star mage doesn''t have a distinct difference in terms of power. They used it to stroke their ego as it was the title of five Vice-leader of Tower of Mage. The same with sorcerers. While yes, the title Sorcerer is given to the most powerful mage in the Tower of Magic, the holder of this title is not too different from the other star mage.

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear my father greet the mage group in front of me. However, I ignore them when I hear my power saying.

    |5 unscanned individuals are detected. Do you want to scan them?|

    Yes.

    |Scanning... Scan completed|

    I look at their stats and stay at the most powerful mage in the group, according to their INT stats.

    |Anderson Lagul|

    |Grandmaster of Tower of Magic|

    |76 years old|

    |Human|

    |VIT: 50|

    |INT: 575|

    |WIS: 32|

    |What he feels about you|

    {Disgusted at you. Disgusted because you don''t have any magic in you. Annoyed being sent here by the Arch Mage}

    Oh great! A racist mage! My father hired a racist mage. Great, just great. Not only is he a racist mage, but he is also weaker than Isaac by a massive amount! I know this mage can enchant his body using magic, but I have a suspicion he can only reach Isaac''s unenchanted physical stats!

    Not only weak at physical stats, but this mage is also weaker than Isaac in terms of magic. The only reason this mage has a good amount of VIT stats is because of his magic and maybe magic item or potion.

    "Do you want to send the All-Seeing Spell to another noble?"

    "Yes. Sent them to all the noble in the Vulux Kingdom."

    "Very well. We shall begin the ritual."

    The mage group begins to chant some random word I don''t understand, and I can feel the air begin to change. It becomes thicker than normal. The air feels like it can be cut with a sword.

    The longer they chant, the more sweat begins to drop to the ground. It was like they are struggling to cast their spell as I can see their face become paler than normal. After two minutes of chanting, a pillar of light appears in the middle of their formation, and a second later, the pillar of light cracks and creates a hundred balls of light, and it begins to disappear from the room.

    After chanting, the mage began to drop like a fly and went unconscious. The servant takes the mage away from the war room and places them in the guest room.

    However, Ignore them and look at the ball of light that begins to show me Isaac shouting at the army who fight against the monster that gathers around the place where the S-rank monster is born.

    I then hear him shouting at his men while holding the spear high in the air.

    "I''m sure you hear the sound of their roar! The sounds of the damned try to resist! Stomp them out! Stab them out! Kill them all!"

    Isaac''s voice is like the roar of a lion that roars at his enemy. His men also follow his speech with a command like a well-oiled machine and stomp, stab and kill the monster that is coming at them.

    This is what makes fighting against the S-Class monster need the might of the entire kingdom. S-class being born will attract many monsters from the surrounding area. Not only the northern area but the southern area is also affected by this.

    Many monsters migrate to the north to come to the S-class monster. From a weak F-class monster to a strong A-class monster, they gather at one spot¡ªthe area where the S-class will be born.

    He twirls his spear around, and suddenly a pillar of water coming from the lake nearby shoots out toward him and hits the cyclops. After hitting the cyclops with a water jet, Isaac changes the water''s shape into a water ball and begins to drown the cyclops with it.

    However, instead of leaving the Cyclops to experience a slow death, he takes a deep breath and then releases an ice breath at the monster. From its toe, the cyclops begin to freeze up. In a span of a few seconds, the cyclops freeze solid. Isaac then stabs the cyclops with his spear and destroys it with a single stab.

    He then looks at his men, who look at him in awe before shouting at them.

    "Men! What is our mission!"

    "Extermination!"

    "Not a single monster will be spared! There is one thing to do! Create a living hell!"

    "WOAH!!!!!"

    Like a blazing fire that gets petrol thrown at it, it begins to blaze even more. That is how the northern people do after they hear Isaac''s speech and action. They stab, slice, and even punch the monster with all they can.

    "I, Isaac Lionheart, Call the power of the Stars! Heal! Cure! Let my ally feel your power! Polaris!"

    After he finished his chant, a bright symbol appeared above Isaac''s head, and it shone with power. A second later, a bright light begins to illuminate the army that holds the monster. I widen my eyes when I see the light heal not only them but also the monster that is touching it. It damages them!

    "Why do we go deeper into the flame? Charge head-on into the monster horde? What a ridiculous question! It is for the sake of our loved ones! To the battlefield! To the frontlines! Then the edge of deaths! Show this commitment from casting your life away! Offer your loyalty! Your obedience! And your very own souls! Submit every fiber of your being, raising a triumph shout! Go forth! Go and prove that we can create a better future!"

    "OHHHHHHHHHH"

    With another war cry, all the soldiers start to fight like a mad man. They continue to push and push forward like a man being possessed. They ignore any injury, pain, and even death. Their only mission? Extermination.

    "Are these the people I am trying to antagonize?"

    I look at my father as if he is an idiot. Wait a minute. He is an idiot.

    Now you can feel my pain!

 Chapter 72 - Monster Wave (II)

    "The second group, go front! First group retreat!"

    I order the first soldier to retreat and take a break. This monster invasion becomes more and more difficult. It has been a day since the sign of the S-class monster being born, and the people in the north have been defending against the monster invasion that happens to every S-rank monster being born.

    Lucky for me, Rovul, the master of the sea, and Lucas, the master of the ship, lead the rest of the army to hold the monster coming from the south. Unfortunately for us, we cannot hold them in the gate as they live on the mountain, and if the army stays on the gate, they will get attacked from the mountain and the monster coming from the south.

    Lucky for us, the fort is finished being built and ready to use.

    The people from Dalagull also sent some of their men to our location to help defend against the monster invasion. Sadly, uncle Lomun cannot come as he needs to defend against the monster that is coming from the north.

    When the situation calms down, he will go to my location with his full force.

    The same with my grandfather. When the situation is calmed down for his fief to be left alone, he will come. For now, he sent a thousand men for me to command. For now, the only thing I need to do is endure.

    "My lord!"

    I look at who is calling me and seeing one of the captains come to me and say.

    "All the ones that get injured have been gathered together."

    "Good."

    I lifted my hand to the air and activated my Flowing rune. I activated the Rain of Kindness and saw rain started to appear above them and healed all their injuries. When I see they are healed, I say.

    "You have an hour to rest. Spend your rest time to eat, drink or even sleep because, after that, you will go back to the battlefield once again."

    After saying that, I look at the battlefield once again and see there is another group of monsters coming from the mountain. It was a group of gnomes riding a shadow wolf. Behind the Gnome rider are a few hundreds of other gnomes.

    "Gnome Rider incoming!"

    Gnome Rider is a B-rank monster, and when they are in a group, their rank is raised to (A-) rank monster.

    "Cavalry unit! Follow me! We will meet the Gnome rider before they can reach the infantry! Charge!"

    A few hundred cavalry units follow my lead and begin galloping toward the Gnome Rider. When the Gnome rider sees us, one of them snarls at one of the gnomes, and suddenly a hundred Gnome archers raise their bow and begin to shoot us.

    I whip my wand, and the arrow that comes at us begins to change into snow. The Gnome archers try to shoot us once again, but I change their arrow into something harmless like before.

    When we almost reach the enemy, I enchant the spear in my hand and activate the fire rune on my spear to make it burn the enemy. I thrust my spear at the enemy, and suddenly, a torrent of fire appeared and blasted the shield wall the gnome created.

    I continue to thrust my spear at the gnome and continue to run toward the Gnome rider in the back. The faster we finish the rider, the safer our infantry will be. While riding my horse, my danger screamed at me.

    I raised my spear and blocked the snarling wolf that chewed my spear with its teeth. It was the shadow wolf. I look around, searching for its rider, and widen my eyes when I see the rider appear above with its spear pointed at me.

    I move my spear to the left and place it under the rider, who decides not to hurt its mount and use its foot instead and kick me away from my mount. I land on the ground with my spear in hand and see the gnome snarling at me.

    I frown a little when I see other gnome riders regrouping on the one in front of me.

    "4 against one, eh?"

    Eight if I count their mount. I take a stance and reinforce my body and charge at the gnome. I appear in front of the gnome in a blink of an eye and thrust my spear at it. However, to my surprise, it can block my attack but only b?r?ly.

    I twist my spear and attack the gnome with the end of my spear and push it back slightly. Not only am I busy fighting the Gnome, but I am also busy fighting the wolf using my feet. I wince a little when I feel a pain in my back and see the little shit stab me in the back.

    I activate the fire rune on my spear, and I create a fire ring around me, burning the little shit. I jump high in the air and use Geppo to float in the air. While in the air, I took a deep breath and activated the Star rune on my back.

    "Twinkling Star!"

    Without hesitation, I stab the Gnome in the head and then burn it by activating the fire rune on my spear.

    I look at my back and see my men are fighting against the gnome without too many casualties, but some of them have a deep wound on their body from either getting bitten by the shadow wolf or stab by the Gnome soldier.

    I lift my hand, and my Flowing Rune appears above my head as I use the Ocean Kindness, the upgraded version of Rain of Kindness.

    "Ocean Kindness!"

    Suddenly more than a hundred water balls appeared near all my men and then coated them with water-like armor that slowly healed all the wounds. Even when their wound is gone, the water armor stays and even blocks certain damage coming at them.

    I then look to my right and see Lucina get surrounded by the Gnome. However, before I could go and help her, a Fire symbol appeared above her head, and I heard.

    "Blazing Camp!"

    After she shouts that, a triangle barrier appears around her and traps all the monsters inside. A second later, a fire pillar appears from the ground and shoots to heaven, burning all the monsters inside the barrier.

    After the barrier is gone, Lucina looks at me with a smug face.

    You know what? For some reason, she got hotter than before. Do you get it? Hotter? I''m sorry.

    I snap from my self-shame and begin to continue doing what I''m going to do.. Killing all the monsters.

 Chapter 73 - Monster Wave (III)

    "Haaaaa"

    I look at the people that survive the first day of the wave. They are the soldiers that place their lives on the line to protect their loved one. They are the ones that kill all the monsters that migrate from other faces.

    When the sun is setting, the monster migration is stopped for a moment. However, even then, we need to stay vigilant. There are still monsters roaming around, after all.

    Lucky for us, there is no A-rank monster just yet. However, it will happen soon as there is a movement in the sea, a bad kind of movement. The villagers have been evacuated from the village, and some of the soldiers have been stationed in their village.

    If we fight the monster on two fronts, we will be doomed. We need to quickly kill all the monsters coming from the sea before they could reach us.

    However, there is good news. My uncle and Grandfather will arrive in the morning. They sent their fastest messenger man to deliver this message. They will leave half of their men to defend their land while leading the rest of them to our location.

    The other good news is that the engineer successfully built a fort in a short amount of time. It looked like a square wall with a wooden tower in the four corners. However, it was enough for us to take shelter and build camp inside the wall.

    "Isaac...."

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear a soft voice coming from my right. Lucina walked toward me, holding a tray of food in her hand.

    "Here is some food."

    "Thank you, Lucina."

    "What is it, dear husband?"

    "Hmmm?"

    "I know there is something in your mind. You have that thinking face."

    "Really?"

    "Yup. Now tell me what it is."

    I look at her, who looks at me with a concerned expression.

    "To be honest, it was nothing. I only think about how to block the incoming monster from our back."

    "The one that comes from the sea?"

    "Yes. One of the men placed on the fishing village nearby came to us not too long ago, reporting a movement coming from the sea. A not-good kind of movement."

    "I see. That is indeed something to be concerned about. So, who will you choose to defend our flank?"

    "I think I will be the one defending our flank."

    "What?"

    "There is a report saying there is an A-rank monster leading the weaker monster toward here."

    "And you want to fight them alone?"

    "No. I will bring a few hundred men with me."

    "... I will come with you."

    "But¡­"

    Before I could say anything, Lucina kissed me in the mouth and said.

    "No, but. I''m your wife, your other half, and lastly, the lady of Lionheart house. I will follow my mate and alpha even to the edge of death. That is what you say, after all. Offer my loyalty. My obedience. Then my very soul. I submit every fiber of my being to you and raise a triumph shout. I will go forth and prove that I can build a better future."

    "I see¡­. I see¡­. "

    I put down the food on the ground and stand up before saying.

    "Then tomorrow, we will depart and build a defensive formation around the sea. After the reinforcement arrives, we will go. When Lord Macgrath and Lord Duchamp come, I will let them lead the army here. Lucina Lionheart nee Macgrath. I appoint you as my right hand when the time comes."

    Lucina smiled a little before bowing her head at me.

    "Yes, my lord. It is an honor to be your right hand."

    After that, we begin to eat the food while enjoying the warmth our bodies released.

    ~The next day~

    When the sun rises from the horizon, I know the monsters also begin their movement. The night is uneventful, but there is some monster here, and there the soldier can deal with it. Lucina and I cuddle with each other and enjoy the warmth our body releases.

    Anyway, after waking up from our slumber, we immediately get ready to welcome all the monsters that just arrived in our location. We need to reduce the monster before the S-class monster is born. We don''t want to fight the S-class monster with the addition of ten thousand monsters around it.

    "Movement from the North!"

    "Movement from the Northeast!"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear the two scouts come back while shouting the monster movement''s location. I cast a Sonorus charm and shout.

    "Group 1 and 2! Hold the one in the north! Group 3 and 4! To the northeast! Move!"

    I divide my army into six parts. Each group consisted of 550 a shielder, 250 spearmen, 200 archers. There is also the seven group, the cavalry. This is the group where I''m in, and this group has 300 hundred men ready to break the enemy from the flank.

    My only hope is that the southern people did the right thing and sent their troops soon. While we can hold the monster that keeps spawning and migrating here, it will not last. The longer the reinforcement comes, the bigger the casualties will be.

    My rune cannot reach all the people, and I cannot be everywhere to heal all the people. Even if I can reduce the casualties by a good amount, I cannot stop my men from dying in battle.

    The only thing I can do is hoping the reinforcement will come soon and help us fight this.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "What do you mean you will not send the troops?!?"

    I look at my idiotic father with hatred.

    "The journey to the north will take two weeks the fastest, and with all the troops making a convoy, it will need a month to reach the north."

    "Then tell the noble near the north to send their troops instead of telling them to gather here!"

    "You don''t know anything, dear daughter! Let the ?du?t handle this matter!"

    "Just say that you are nothing but a coward! The reason why you tell the noble near the north to send their troops is that you are afraid the monster will kill you!"

    *SLAP*

    Ow! I look at my father, who just slapped me in the face.

    "Watch your mouth, child! Go back to your room! Now!"

    I glare at him and walk toward my room. I don''t care anymore. If he wants to doom this kingdom, then I don''t care anymore. What kind of king ordered his subject to send all their soldiers to the capital city when the monster wreaked havoc in their land.

    An idiot king, that is!

    Even his Grand Marshal disapproved of this decision. Still, in his infinite wisdom, my father ignored the other advice. He gave my Grand Uncle an ultimatum to mobilize all the troops under his banner to go to the capital city to ''create a defensive formation'' against the incoming S-rank monster.

    So here we are, having two hundred thousand soldiers stay in a single place. My father did not think about the food that would run out at a very fast pace. My father did not think about where they would be sleeping.

    And more importantly, he did not think about the peasants that depended on the troops to protect them from the monster. The snow that begins to fall from the sky indicates that this monster is an Ice-type monster, meaning that the Vulux Kingdom will experience another winter soon.

    I really hate myself for not being able to do anything.

    "Isaac Lionheart¡­. I''m sorry¡­. And Good luck.. May the gods give you the power to defeat your enemy."

 Chapter 74 - Threat from the Sea

    "We will build a wall around here. I will be taking care of the woods. Go! We don''t have too much time! I predict the monster will arrive tonight!"

    I ordered the soldiers around to build a wall between us and the sea. While it was not much, it was good enough to hold the monster away for a moment. I release a massive amount of mana and grow a forest in a blink of an eye.

    When a small forest appears, I create a movement with my hand, and suddenly a wind blade shoots from my hand and cuts down the tree in front of me. I raise my hand, and suddenly, the wood begins to float in the air and slowly begins to be placed on the ground near the soldier.

    They then begin to cut the tree to create the shape they want. The three engineers I bring are the ones leading the soldier on the carpenter duty.

    "Isaac, there is another monster movement on our left. four hundred meters away from us."

    "The number?"

    "More than three thousand."

    "Damn."

    "What do you want me to do?"

    I thought for a minute. I guess it is time to show my true power. At first, I don''t want to show my people the creature I can summon using the Pale Gate Rune, but it looks like we don''t have any more options.

    I take a deep breath, and suddenly the Pale Gate Rune on my forehead begins to glow. A second later, six massive creatures appear in front of me.

    A massive nine-tailed fox, a gigantic silver eagle with two pairs of wings, A stone golem was wielding an enormous stone pillar, a golden eagle with lightning wing, an angel-like knight wielding a sword of light, and lastly, a dark knight holding a dual sword of darkness.

    "Your enemy is to the west! Four hundred meters away from us. Kill them all, show no mercy."

    After I say that, all my summon, except Yuka, the nine-tailed fox, release a roar before they are gone. A few minutes later, an explosion happens in the distance, and I know they already fight the monster.

    "You do nothing for now. Wait, not nothing. I was hoping you could continue to scout the area. I have a feeling that monsters are not the only ones coming toward us. Do you know the source of these monsters?"

    "I don''t know. However, I have a suspicion the monster are spawning in the dungeon."

    "Dungeon?"

    "Yes."

    I guess that made sense. A dungeon is a place where monsters spawn at a faster rate. Usually, monsters spawn in a specific area with a certain number. Usually, they did not exceed the number of three hundred each spawning cycle.

    One cycle of spawn usually takes two to three months before it can be spawned once again.

    The only thing that makes them spawn faster is the spike of Chaotic energy being released from the birth of S-rank energy. The rate of the spawn will be increased to a thousand per hour and slowly decreasing.

    Yesterday was the most challenging part of the monster wave because the spawner will continue to spawn more and more monsters that day.

    What makes the dungeon and natural spawner different is that the dungeon will not release its monster until it meets a specific number. When they do this, it will be called the monster outbreak.

    Usually, the number ranges from one thousand to one hundred thousand.

    However, unlike the natural spawner, someone can destroy the dungeon. As long as someone successfully goes to the lowest floor of the dungeon and destroys the crystal, it will destroy the dungeon.

    With the four thousand monsters on the way, it is very likely a dungeon is the culprit of this sudden monster attack. However, I cannot go and investigate the dungeon just yet. It will be suicidal to explore the dungeon now with the chaotic energy at its highest.

    ~Nine hour later~

    It was a dungeon. My summon already fights the monster to our west and holds them there, but some monsters still manage to escape my summon.

    With the wall around us is done, we now have a secure area for the incoming wave. The monster coming from the dungeon will spawn three thousand monsters every two hours. Lucky for us, the monster is not too powerful as they only range from C to B monster, but mostly it was a B-rank monster.

    My summon, on the other hand, can be compared to an A- monster. So they can handle this wave of monster just fine. However, some of the monsters still slip from their eyes and charge toward us even with that.

    My summon can handle them and then take a rest for an hour before they get ready to fight once again. Each of the fights will come back to me where I heal each of them. Lucina also helped me heal my summon using her Cyclone Rune.

    I''m fortunate for having magic in me. Aguamenti spell is a lifesaver.

    "Isaac, the trap has been set."

    "Good. Where do you think we should place other traps?"

    "The beach is a good place to put down some traps. However, I don''t know what kind of trap we should place down."

    "Hmm¡­ Bring me some stone. The stone needs to be our fist''s size, no bigger than that but can be smaller than our fist but not much. Gather them here. The more, the better."

    "What do you want to do with it?"

    "Rune trap. I will carve some rune on the stone and place them around the beach. The rune will be activated when they step on it, and it will create an explosion."

    "Very well."

    Lucina then looks at her unit and orders them to gather as many stones as they can the size of their fist. After ordering her unit, she walks toward me and says.

    "What about the monster coming from our west?"

    "I will let my summon handle them. I will even summon the Gate Guardian to help them."

    "How much will you summon the Gate Guardian?"

    "Ten for now. Ten should be enough. Five to help the other summons, and the rest of them will help us fight the monster coming from the sea."

    "I see."

    "Yes. I will leave the vanguard to you, Lucina."

    "Leave it to me."

    I nod at her and look at the sea with a worried expression.

    I don''t know how long we can hold this monster wave. We already lose many northern men defending their land.

    I hope the reinforcement from the south will come soon.

 Chapter 75 - Threat from the Sea (II)

    The sea in front of me begins to darken like something wants to come up to the surface.

    "Get ready! Here they come!"

    At my command, the archers on the wall raise their bow and aim at the sea. A few seconds later, I see many creatures coming from the sea.

    One of them has a humanoid body. It stands on its two feet, but what makes this monster different from humans is the head of a fish. It also has purple skin and wearing barbaric armor and holding a trident in its hand.

    Their height is around 1.5 meters or 5 feet tall. Their bodies were covered in purple scales, just like a fish. They are Lasu-Valu, a C-rank monster that uses poison coming from their scale. The poison itself is not very dangerous. While it can kill you if you get hit by it and not treat it by the span of a week, it is not too dangerous, and there are many antidotes to their poison.

    However, this poison has a paralyzing effect if this poison is hitting you too many times.

    There is another monster coming from the sea other than Lasu-Valu. It was Xherzul. Xherzul resembled large lizards with clawed, webbed feet and a snake-like head with a gaping jaw and black eyes. They also had four tails, each with razor-sharp spines, which they also used when swimming.

    They are another C-rank monster that uses magic. What magic they use can be seen by looking at their scale. Red for fire, Green for wind, Dark Blue for water, Yellow for lightning, and Purple for poison.

    The red Xherzul is the creature that many mages seek to unveil its secret about controlling fire underwater.

    "Fire! Lucina support!"

    At my word, all the archers fire their arrows at the enemy while Lucina accelerates the arrow using her mastery over the wind. I look at the monster wave and look at them being killed by the arrow.

    One by one, the monster is dead, being stabbed by the arrow. However, even with the volley of arrows being shot at them, they continue to charge at us. Slowly but surely, the monster marched toward us and ignored their fellow monster that was being killed by the arrow.

    When they reach some part of the beach¡­.

    ¡­the mine is triggered and explodes. I look at the explosion with satisfaction but frown a little when I see the arrow rain is stopped.

    "Why stopping?!? Continue fire!"

    They snap and begin to fire the arrow once again. I look at the beach and see the rune continue to explode, killing many of the monsters at once. However, even with the rune trap, the monster did not stop their march.

    "Shield! Ready for impact! Spear behind!"

    The shield-bearer plants their shield in front of them while the spearmen point their spear at the enemy from the shield gap.

    While ordering the troops, I hear something in the distance. I look at the sea and see the Xherzul begin to chant in the back.

    "Lucina! Incoming magic!"

    "Yes. Leave it to me!"

    As the Xherzul finish their chant, a torrent of water comes from their mouth, and it flies toward us. However, before it could reach us, a golden barrier appeared and blocked the incoming attack.

    "Twinkling Star!"

    After I say that, a laser beam comes from the star and hits the group of Xherzul and kills some of them. However, I did not stop there. I activated my Pale Gate Rune and summoned the Water-Horse.

    I look to my side and see the water horse float in the air, waiting for my command.

    "Your enemy is in front of you. Kill them as much as you can. However, prioritize your survival."

    The creature neighing before flying to the sea. I don''t think my summoned creature can fight against a thousand or so monsters, including the A-rank monster, but I know it can reduce the number of monsters that come at us.

    "Impact!"

    One of the captains shouted as the monster arrived in front of them.

    "Archer on the gate aims at the one near our infantry! Hit and run group, with me!"

    Because of the environment, cavalry is not good in this fight. There are too many obstacles in the way. There is also the problem with the mine I plant on the beach.

    "Lucina! Lead the third group! Group four with me! Charge!"

    My men and I begin to charge toward the monster from the side. When I arrive in front of the monster, I thrust my spear at it and stab it right in the head. After stabbing them, I activated my fire rune and burned it from the inside out.

    The monster looks at us and begins to split its force into two. The front tries to break the shield formation and the other charges at us. I duck low when I see a spear being thrown at me and swing my spear to the side when one of my enemies tries to stab me and throw it away from me.

    When the little shit fell on the ground, I cast a wandless blasting spell and blew it up. I jump high when my danger senses warn me to dodge, and as I look down, I see four Lasu-Valu try to stab me from all sides.

    It looks like I''m overextended, making my enemy can surround me. I kick one of them in the head and stab it before blocking the incoming attack from my back. While I can block two spear attacks, the third one successfully stabs me. Lucky for me, it was not very powerful as it cannot penetrate my enchanted body.

    After throwing the two Lasu-Valu away from me, I threw my spear, hit the monster right in the head, and took back my spear before swinging my spear to attack the other two. My swing attack cut one of the monster''s arms.

    Before they can do anything, I conjure water and control it using my Flowing Rune and make a water blade to cut the monster head. After cutting the monster, I coat my arms with the water and let it stay there. I want the water to become my long-range weapon.

    I decide to hold my ground while waiting for my men to gather around me. I don''t want to show my back against my enemy. I continue to kill and kill the monster for a minute before my men arrive around me.

    "We are almost there, boys!"

    We do this to annihilate the monster from the back before we begin to run before the next wave of a monster coming.

    "Retreat! The second wave is incoming!"

    The shield-bearer opens up a path for us to go through. When all of us walk inside the formation, the shield-bearer closes up the path.

    "Second wave incoming in a few minutes!"

    One of the archers in the tower shouted at us while pointing his finger at the distance. I walk to the wall and see that another wave will indeed arrive in a few minutes, maybe two minutes. My rune trap is already gone, and the spike pit is full of monsters.

    It looks like we need to defend in an old way.

    *BOOM*

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear something explode in the sea. I don''t know what is happening there, but I know that my summoned creature is dead.

    A second later, I know the reason why my summoned creature is dead.

    Coming from the sea is a massive monster. The bodies of monsters were long and serpentine. Its slimy scales ranged in color from dark brown to rusty red, and their eyes glowed with a sickly yellow light. Its size is around fifty meters long, but I don''t really know as I don''t see its full size as some of its body is still inside the water.

 Chapter 76 - Threat from the Sea (III)

    Isaac looks at the monster in front of him with a frown on his face. With the Crystal Serpent''s help, he knows that the wall they built will not survive the fight. He needs to take the Serpent away from the wall.

    "Lucina! You will come with me. We will keep that serpent away from the wall."

    "Yes!"

    Isaac then looks at the captain he brought with him before saying.

    "You! You will be the one leading the people here. Hold the wall as long as you can."

    "Yes, my lord!"

    Isaac jumps down from the wall and lands next to Lucina.

    "Let''s go."

    "Right behind you."

    Both Isaac and Lucina begin to run toward the serpent with their enchanted body. Isaac swung his spear right and left, killing the monster that was coming their way. When he saw Xherzul chanting in the distance, he activated his star rune.

    "Twinkling Star!"

    As the spell''s name is being invoked, a beam of destruction rains down from the sky and kills the Xherzul that try to use their magic on him.

    Next to him is Lucina, who is also killing the monster that is coming their way. However, unlike Isaac, who is running around, Lucina is flying above the ground using her mastery over the wind. While Isaac uses his Star Rune to destroy the enemy in the backline, Lucina uses Rage Rune''s power.

    "Explosion!"

    As the name is invoked, a massive ball of flame appears on top of the Crystal Serpent and then drops on top of its head. As the ball of flame touches its head, the ball explodes. A few seconds later, as the dust vanished, they could see the Crystal Serpent''s body has a burned mark on them, but overall it was fine.

    The Crystal Serpent roars in anger and begins to charge at the couple who run toward it. Seeing the incoming serpent, Isaac activated his pale gate rune.

    "Summon! Bull of Heaven!"

    The sky begins to split, and coming from the sky is a massive bull with a blue skin descent from the sky. When the bull looks at the Crystal Serpent, it roars and charges at the serpent, like a bull seeing a red cloth.

    The bullhead hit the serpent''s head and threw it away back to the sea. However, instead of leaving it there, the bull charges a massive lightning bolt from its horn and fires it at the serpent. The lightning bolt hit the sea and created a massive lightning dome in the middle of the sea.

    A second later, the lightning is gone, and the serpent nowhere to be found. The soldiers begin to cheer up, but Isaac deepens his frown. He knows that this is not finished.

    True to his prediction, two Crystal Serpent appear from the sea and bite the Bull of Heaven. This is the special power of Crystal Snake. It can split itself every time it is killed. Each time it splits itself, it will double its strength and durability.

    It needs to be killed after beating it four times. People can kill it after you beat all the sixteen of its split body. There is a reason why this monster has the title of ''Fake A-rank Monster.''

    He can use his Final Bell spell and kill this monster, but he doesn''t know if they will split once again. He wants to try it, but Isaac doesn''t want to risk it. He really regrets using his True Death spell in his pocket dimension.

    Isaac also already tried to use his Finger of Death to attack the Crystal Serpent, but it was not active, which means that this creature has an affinity toward death. For now, he needs to kill it until it reaches the stage where it splits itself into sixteen.

    "Shredding!"

    Isaac snaps from his thought when he hears Lucina activated her Cyclone Rune and creates a massive tornado under the serpent. The tornado strong enough to pick the Crystal Serpent up in the air. Seeing an opportunity, the Bull of Heaven releases a large amount of lightning from its body and electrocutes the serpent.

    However, instead of making a wound on the serpent, it feeds the monster with power. Sadly for the monster, the lightning they can absorb has a limit, and when they feel they reach their limit, they release their fang and get thrown away by the tornado.

    "Fire Storm!"

    Seeing the serpent get taken away by the tornado, Lucina activates her Rage Rune and calls a massive fire from the ground. Combined with the tornado, it became a flame tornado of death. The fire burnt the Crystal serpent into ashes.

    However, before they could even take a break, a dark light appeared where the serpent burned to death, and as the dark light shone, there was four Crystal Serpent ready to fight. This time, their size is doubling up from the original.

    "Summon! White Serpent!"

    The sky began to change once again, and this time it released a massive snowstorm on the area. A second later, an eastern-style dragon appeared from the sky. It has a light blue scale around its body. The scale around its head, on the other hand, colored dark blue. To its side, it has a white fin on top of its body.

    However, Isaac did not stop there. He takes out two Pokeball from his inventory and throws them away. Coming from the Pokeball is Tyranitar and Steelix. It was King the Tyranitar and Laus the Steelix.

    "King! Laus! Evolve!"

    "Attack! Help the bull and the white serpent!"

    After hearing his command, both King and Laus begin to attack the Crystal Serpent. While letting the summoned creature fight against the Crystal Serpent, Lucina and Isaac fight against the minion that keeps coming at them.

    "Twinkling Star!" "Explosion!"

    After casting their spell, Isaac raises his spear and begins to attack monsters that successfully dodge his spell attack. He thrust his spear, and when he saw his spear being blocked by a shield, he activated the rune on his spear, and suddenly it released lightning from the tip of its spear and drilled the shield hitting the Lasu-Valu right in the head.

    Isaac then blocks the incoming attack from the right as Lasu-Valu jumps toward him with its pear in hand. While busy blocking and attacking the incoming attack from all the Lasu-Valu, Isaac did not see the Xherzul ready to cast their spell. A second later, they fired their spell.

    However, before the spell could reach Isaac, a golden shield appeared in front of the spell and blocked the spell, protecting Isaac from it.

    Isaac nods his head at Lucina before throwing one of the Lasu-Valu and creating a torrent of fire that burns the monster in front of him.

    While both of them have massive stamina, they begin to feel their body exhausted, fighting all the monsters that keep coming at them. Their tiredness is gone when they hear a victorious shout coming from both King and Laus.

    They are finished fighting against the Crystal Serpent, and Isaac can see the familiar dark light begin the descent from the sky and float above the Crystal Serpent''s corpse. Isaac quickly calls back both King and Laus then stores their Pokeball inside the pocket dimension.

    "Summon! Emperor Vessel!"

    As eight Crystal Serpent appear from the dark light, Emperor Vessel appears from where Isaac stood. The Emperor''s vessel is a massive pirate ship. Its length is around two hundred meters long, and its height is around fifty meters high.

    "Fire!"

    The ship''s side begins to open up and reveals a massive amount of cannon being mounted on the ship. A second later, all of them begin to fire its shell at the Crystal Serpent. However, unlike any other ship where you need to reload, this ship did not reload, and its firing rate is like a Gatling gun.

    The firework lasted for ten minutes, and when it stopped, there was nothing left of the Crystal Serpent. Once again, the ball of dark light appeared on top of where Isaac killed the Crystal Serpent.

    Just like before, Isaac activated his Pale Gate Rune.

    "Summon! Void Watcher!"

    At the same time sixteen Crystal Serpent appear, there is a massive skull appearing beneath Isaac. Lucina, who knows the firepower of that skull, decides to run away from her current location. After she is far away from the beach, she creates a barrier around herself.

    The skull opens its mouth and fires a beam of death. The attack lasted for fifteen seconds, but it was enough to kill all the Crystal Serpent at once. After doing its job, the skull went back to where it came from, the void.

    "Let''s finish this."

    Isaac takes another deep breath before activating his Pale Gate Rune once again.

    "Summon Gate Guardian!"

    After he says that, a thousand a massive centaur appear in front of him. Unlike the ten summon where he can keep them indefinitely, I can only maintain this type of summoning for three hours, but it was enough.

    "Attack!"

 Chapter 77 - Preparation

    |3rd POV|

    "What do you mean they will not send their troops?!?"

    Eveline looked at Richard, who had a cold anger expression on his face. She knows that the southern people are a bastard, but she never thought they would leave them to face the S-rank monster alone.

    "Sadly, it is true, my lady."

    "Are you really sure?"

    "Yes. The news from the princess saying that the king will not send the troops up north is true. My shadow that is stationed in the capital city says that the king gives an ultimatum to all the nobles except the north to gather all their soldiers in the capital city. If they do not do what the king says, they will be branded as a traitor, and he will take all their titles away from them, and he will sell them to the slaver."

    Evaline leans back on the chair and gives a frustrated sigh. She then looked at the projection in front of her with a sad expression. All of the northern lords have gathered in one place and are ready to fight against the S-rank monster.

    However, when the other lord arrives at the location, her son leads a few hundred men to defeat the A-rank monster coming from the sea. Because she did not control the magic spell, she didn''t know her son and her good daughter''s situation.

    She knows that his son and her good daughter will come back victorious, but it is a mother''s duty to worry about her son.

    A stream of supply keeps being sent to the battlefield. The people here are also busy fighting the incoming monster. However, unlike the other place, Sea Dragon city''s location is far enough from the monster migration path.

    Sea Dragon City is located on the cliff where the sea monster cannot attack them directly from the sea. They only need to defend from the front as their back is secured. Lucas and Rovul are the ones that command the troops and defend the city protecting the people inside.

    The villagers around the city have been evacuated. While they cannot rescue all of them, most of the villagers have been secured inside the city. Because of the increasing population inside the city, Evaline needs to order Richard to use the emergency potion her son crafted a few months before.

    This potion has a function to increase any plant growth and also increase the yield of said plants.

    Evaline uses the potion to inner farmland, where it becomes the main food source for the city''s people.

    "Big Brother!"

    "Isaac! Lucina!"

    Lomun says when he sees both Lucina arrive on the battlefield. He checks both Isaac and Lucina from their head to their toes.

    "It is good to see you back. How is the situation in the sea?"

    Isaac looks at Lomun before saying.

    "We successfully kill the monster. However, I decided to leave the soldier there to defend the area."

    "Huh, why?"

    "There is a dungeon there."

    "What?!?"

    "Yes. The reason why we keep having a monster coming from our back is that there is a dungeon near the sea."

    "Dammit. That means more than two thousand monsters are coming from our back. Do you think a few hundred men can handle a few thousand monsters?"

    "Yes, if they don''t have any help. I place my summon there to help them."

    "Summon?"

    Evaline looks at her son with confusion before he takes a deep breath, and she sees his forehead shine a little. A second later, a creature appeared behind her son. It was a four-legged creature wearing full body armor and wielding a lance in its hand. There are also ten of them.

    "SO COOL!"

    Ginerva looked at the creature her brother summoned with a star in her eyes. It is the first time she sees her brother summon something. She knows that her brother is a magician, but she has never seen a summoning spell before.

    She now put her brother from the ''Bestest Most Awesome Brother'' to ''Bestest Super Awesome Big Brother!''.

    Eveline, on the other hand, releases a sigh of relief. Now, she knows that her son will come back to her safe and sound. A summoner is known to be a one-man army, and right now, her son has more than ten creatures ?ssisting him in battle.

    Eveline hopes that the people in the capital watch this and see that even without their help, the north will survive.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Yes¡­. Feel the pain I feel. Feel the consequences of your stupidity. My father, after seeing what Isaac can do, began to panic. He begins to mutter something about how the northern should not have that kind of power, and it should be his family, the one having that kind of power.

    "Is¡­. Is summoning magic weak magic?"

    My father asks the magician in the room, still denying that the people in the north have that kind of power in their hands. However, instead of getting an answer, my father is scolded by one of the magicians.

    "Weak? WEAK?!? Summoning five creatures can be considered a Grandmaster Magician! Controlling more than ten creatures and having absolute control over them even when the creature is far away can be considered a High-Ranking Arch-Mage!"

    Yes, make him feel the pain I feel. Snap him from his delusional grandeur. Make him think that his title as a king did not make him the most powerful individual in the kingdom.

    "That man will have the position of Star Mage in the Tower if he decides to join us. Not only summoning magic, that man also has other kinds of magic as well. Healing? He has it. Destruction magic? He has many. Now he has summoning magic. From the magic side alone, he can be considered a one-man-army, but he also has a martial might that makes others die in jealousy."

    Finally! Finally, someone other than me that can see that Isaac is a bullshit character. I ignore my father making a fool of himself and look at the projection in front of me. I can see Isaac Lionheart and his wife sitting down on the chair where the rest of the Northern Lord gather and discuss how to counter all the enemy.

    "Good morning, my lord. Do we know the spawning time of the monster?"

    It was Lord Macgrath that answered his question.

    "Yes, we do, Isaac. They spawn three times in one day. It will be spawning one thousand monsters ranging from C+ monster to B+ monster. There is no sight of the birth of A-class monster from absorbing all the Chaos Energy in the air."

    "Meaning that they will be born alongside the S-rank monster or they will be born not too long before the birth of the S-class monster."

    "Yes."

    The first option is really bad. If the A-class monster is born simultaneously as the S class is born, they need to fight against two or three A-class monsters alongside the S-rank monster. The other option is also bad.

    If the A-class monster is born a day before the S-class, then the defender will be exhausted and not ready to fight the S-class monster. I snap from my thoughts when I hear Isaac say something.

    "Please tell me the monster spawn cycle."

    This time it was one of the captains that stood nearby.

    "The next wave will happen in an hour. The second one will be in the noon, and the last one will be in the evening just before the sun setting."

    "Then we have enough time to set some traps."

    Lord Duchamp, Isaac Lionheart''s grandfather, looked at his grandson before saying.

    "Traps?"

    "Yes. Here look at this."

    Isaac takes out some stone from his pocket and shows it to the other lord. The stone is ordinary, but there is some symbol carved on the stone surface.

    "This is a rune stone. This will be our weapon."

    Isaac throws the stone high into the air, and suddenly it shines brightly and explodes. The other lord looked at it with a shocked expression, and not only the people there that have a shocked expression. The magician in the war room also has a shocked expression as well.

    One of them even shouted.

    "What?!? That is impossible!"

    I look at the magician and say.

    "If you don''t mind me asking, why is it impossible?"

    While I know from the game that the magician can only use Runic magic to enchant your weapon and armor or create a barrier, I don''t know why the magician cannot use the rune to be offensive.

    "We can only use Runic magic for a defensive purpose! The nature of Runic magic is to protect and to support, not to attack! The runic magic¡­."

    I ignore the magician, then begin to ramble about the Runic magic history and look at the projection and see Lord Duchamp holding the runestone with his hand before saying.

    "Isaac, what is this symbol?"

    "That is called Anzus."

    "Anzus?"

    "Anzus is the symbol of the first gift the gods give to the living being. The first gift the gods give to us is Fire. By using this symbol, I borrow the first gift the gods give to the living being. Not only that, but this symbol also has another meaning. It can also mean Gods or Energy and¡­"

    "Stop"

    Lord Duchamp decides to stop Isaac, who begins rambling. When Lord Duchamp stops Isaac from explaining the rune''s meaning, I can hear the disappointed voice from the magician.

    "You can tell the rest of them when we are finished here. Tell us what to do to make this trap of yours."

    "Collect as much stone as you can. The stone cannot be more than my fist''s size, but it can be smaller than my fist. However, It cannot be too small."

    "Good. I will order some men to gather as much stone as they can. You can carve the rune in the tent."

    "Huh? Not here?"

    "No¡­."

    Lord Duchamp looked right at us for a few seconds before saying.

    "I don''t want a peeping bastard to know about your way of magic."

    Damn you, old man! I want to learn that magic!

 Chapter 78 - S-Class Monster

    It has been five days since the day the sign of the S-rank monster was born. The hardest part of the monster wave has passed. Now the only thing we need to do is to fight the monster at a specific time. The first wave will appear around 9 am, the second wave will appear around 1 pm, and the last wave will appear around 6 pm.

    With the information about the monster spawn cycle in our possession, we can now split which group should fight and which group should take a break.

    With fifty thousand men gathered in one place, we decided to split our force into three parts. Ten thousand men defend the west wing from the monster that is coming from the sea. Ten thousand men defend the northern side against the monster that is coming from the mountain. Lastly, the main force, the one that stays here and defends against the monster that keeps spawning because of Chaos Energy''s spike.

    However, even with the decreasing number of monsters, we still have a hard time facing them if not for Lucina and my rune. In this fight alone, I use my flowing and star rune to the limit. I usually use my healing spell, but sometimes I use a more destructive spell to deal with the more powerful monster.

    While there are still soldiers who died from fighting the monster, the casualties are not as many as I predict. After each fight, we bury the fallen soldier in the graveyard I make using my magic. I try to write all their names on the stone by asking if the others know the fallen ones'' identity.

    I also make a batch of runestone and let the soldier plant it around the area where the monster spawn. My grandfather also explained to me the reason why I must carve the rune inside the tent. It Looks like the magician from the Tower of Magic uses a spell to monitor the monster''s situation.

    While their intention is good, I feel this spell will be a massive privacy breach for us. When I say this to the other northern noble in a closed meeting, they also feel the same. They heard that it needs at least five high-class magicians, so they are not too concerned about this.

    However, I know better. Even when they needed five high-class magicians to activate this spell, it did not need them to maintain the spell as the mana in the air is the one doing that, which means that they can keep spying on their target as long as they want.

    I can make the barrier to prevent that privacy breach, but it sometimes needs to prepare. I don''t have enough time to do it now, but I will definitely do it after this.

    "My lord!"

    I snap from my thoughts when I see someone run toward me.

    "What is it?"

    "There is an A-class monster! They are the newly-born monster!"

    "Dammit! Where? And how many monsters are born alongside the A-class?"

    "There are only five, but all of them are A-class monsters."

    Dammit, it looks like the S-class will be born soon. I look at my fellow lord and see them have a grim expression.

    "My lord. I have a proposal. My wife and I can handle two of the A-class monsters. We will handle the two of them while I leave the rest of them to you."

    The other lord has hesitated with my proposal. A-class monster is not something that someone can beat alone. However, at the same time, they also cannot use all the soldiers to fight against the A-class monster. Especially with the sign of the S-class that will be born not too long from now.

    "Are you sure about it, Isaac?"

    "Yes, Grandfather. I can handle one of them while Lucina will handle the other one. However, we cannot handle five of them at once, so we need to split our force to defeat the monster."

    ".... Very well. I will agree to your plan. However, if you cannot handle them, retreat immediately. I don''t want to be the one that delivers the bad news to my daughter."

    "Yes. Leave this to me."

    I look to the side and see Lucina and Uncle Lomun have a private conversation. He did not want Lucina to fight the A-class monster by the look of it, but after seeing her expression, he decided to let her do it.

    Lucina looked at me and nodded her head. I then look at the soldier who gave us the news and say.

    "Where is their location?"

    "Two of them coming from the northwest, one of them on the north and the other in our east."

    "I see. Thank you."

    "It is my p???sur?, my lord."

    I then look at the other lord once again and say.

    "Lucina and I will be the ones to handle the monster coming from the Northwest. I leave the other to you guys. We will go immediately."

    After saying that, I take my spear and begin to run toward where the monster is located. Lucina also came with me while flying in the air. I really envy her ability to fly as I can only float in the air using Geppo.

    To keep up with Lucina, I enchant my body to its limit and arrive in front of two creatures leading a few hundred monsters. One of the creatures is a humanoid creature with a black wing on its back. It has six pairs of wings behind its back. Not only that, but it also has a halo made of fire above its head. The hood around its head hides the face of the creature.

    The creature wears tight clothes with a chain that shackles its entire body. The creature stood on a mobile throne that ten Giants carried. The creature looks like Samael from the bible. The angel that the god punished for being the one that caused humans to do their first sin.

    The other creature is a turtle monster. However, unlike your normal turtle, this one has three heads coming from the shell. Each of the heads has two crystals, and each of the crystals has a different color.

    The left head has a Green and Red crystal, the middle one has yellow and blue, and the last one has a brown and white crystal on its forehead.

    Above the turtle''s shell is a pitch-black spike, and I can see the spike have slime-like substances on the tip of the spike.

    I look at Lucina and say.

    "Do you know that monster? I have never read or seen that monster before."

    "No. They are a new monster."

    Darn it. So we have a monster with unknown power and don''t know about their weaknesses.. I hope the other did not have the same problem as us.

 Chapter 79 - S-Class Monster (II)

    I hit the incoming magic projectile. Right now, I am facing the massive turtle while Lucina is facing the Samael knock-off not too far away from me. The turtle in front of me is the master of the element as it keeps firing elemental blasts toward me.

    Each of the crystals on its forehead represents one of each element. Green crystal lets the turtle control the wind. Red is fire. Yellow is lightning. Blue is water. Brown is earth. The white crystal is the one that is not an element. The white one enchants its body to a ridiculous level.

    I snap from my thoughts as I dodge the spike that appears underneath me. After dodging the spike, I thrust my spear toward the incoming massive fireball that the turtle was spitting out.

    I activated a wind rune that was attached to my spear, and suddenly a tornado appeared from the tip of my spear and ate the fireball. After taking care of the fireball, I reinforced my body and charged toward the turtle.

    While running toward the Turtle, I activated my Flowing Rune and Star Rune.

    "Silent Lake!"

    As I invoke the spell''s name, a massive ball made of chain appears above the turtle. The ball then opened up before suddenly it chained the turtle before it suddenly disappeared.

    "Comet!"

    A second I say that a massive flaming rock appears from the sky. The rock hit the turtle and hit it right in its shell. The meteor''s impact is so strong that it creates a shockwave that knocks away the Giant around the turtle a few meters away from the turtle.

    After a few seconds of running, I almost reached the turtle. As I get closer to the turtle, I focus my magic on my feet and jump toward the turtle with my spear enchanted with Lightning Rune. As I appeared above the turtle head, I thrust my spear that coated with lightning.

    My spear hit one of the turtle heads, and one of the heads screamed in pain. However, even being enchanted with lightning runes that give a passive penetration ability if attached to a weapon cannot pierce through the turtle''s thick skin.

    I know that it will be tough to pierce the turtle skin if I look at the monster theme. Even with my Silent Lake, who cancels all the monster magic usage, its defense is high enough to tank a good amount of damage.

    I have ten minutes to discover my enemy''s weakness before the Silent Lake effect disappears. Seeing that my first strike is not strong enough to pierce the turtle''s skin, I prepare to jump away from the turtle.

    However, before I could jump away, one of the turtle heads charged at me and tried to bite me. Seeing the incoming attack, I activated both my Flowing Rune and Darkness Rune.

    "Breath of Ice"

    After taking a deep breath, I release a chilling breath of ice. I looked at my attack, slowing down the turtle, but it was not enough to fully stop its attack.

    "Finger of Death"

    That means I need to either use the Final Bell spell if I want to win the fight instantly. However, I don''t want to use it just yet. If the S-class monster appears, I don''t have an instant death spell to fight against the S-class monster.

    That only leaves me with overwhelming firepower. If an instant death is not working, bring more dakka to the fight.

    Ten minutes before, the turtle can use its magic once more, and coincidentally I have a perfect spell to cause massive damage in the span of ten minutes. I''m far enough from the location where the spying spell the Magician cast is located. So I can use my spell without a problem.

    "Summon! Emperor Vessel!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Lucina Lionheart POV|

    I looked at the massive ship appearing from the ground and sighed a little. It looks like my dear husband is getting serious. I don''t want to be left behind and decide to get serious as well.

    The abomination in front of me has an affinity to the unliving being. It was a necromancer and a powerful runic magician. It can cast a powerful barrier around itself that can block a powerful spell from the Cyclone.

    As a necromancer, it can summon an undead of various sizes and power. What makes the monster annoying is its number of undead it can raise from the ground. Not only humans, but it can also raise the dead monster that people killed in the past even though that monster will disappear when we kill it.

    My enemy''s main strength is: It can summon a large amount of undead, It can cast a powerful barrier, and lastly, it can fire a blast of Chaotic magic at short or medium range.

    Its weaknesses are: It cannot move without being carried away by the giant, The undead it summons cannot be more powerful than the monster itself, and its barrier has a cooldown of one second when I break it.

    After making a plan for a few seconds, I took a deep breath and activated my Rune all at once.

    "Summon Barrier! Grand Logos!"

    After invoking the word, a symbol appears beneath the abomination, and it shines brightly. A few seconds later, a semi-transparent barrier appears around the abomination. The barrier itself has the shape of a cylinder and has a gold color. However, I can see a star symbol on the ground, and inside the star is a word that I did not understand. It has a diameter of a hundred meters long.

    Seeing the abomination has been trapped inside my barrier, I activated my Cyclone Rune.

    "Shining Wind!"

    A second after I activated my strongest Cyclone spell, I can see a massive tornado appear inside my barrier and begin to attack the abomination. However, unlike the usual tornado, this one has green energy in the shape of a blade spinning along with the tornado, cutting anything that is trapped inside it.

    "Final Flame!"

    As I invoke my Rage Rune strongest spell, I see five blue flames appear above the tornado spinning around. After a few seconds, I see the fire created by a portal, and coming from the portal is a massive dragon made of the same blue fire that created the portal.

    I look to the side and sigh a little when I see Isaac on top of the massive pirate ship and laughing maniacally and shouting about something called ''Dakka.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "YES! YES! More Dakka!"

    While on top of Emperor Vessel, who fired the turtle with its cannon, I also activated my Star Rune and attacked it with my laser of doom and space flaming rocks. True to my prediction, the turtle really uses the turtle theme to the T.

    It has a massive defense, but it doesn''t have agility. It can only tank the incoming attack because its defense can outright ignore a weaker attack.

    While waiting for the turtle to die, I notice it has a weakness. It has a soft spot around its neck, all three of them. I can use my spear to stab the soft spot and kill one of the three heads, but why to do it when you have massive firepower.

    After ten minutes of continuous bombardment, I see the turtle is dead. Its shell is torn to pieces, and all of its head has blown away, trying to protect its soft spot. Hell, I even see for a second it tries to go inside its shell but sadly for the turtle, the Meteor Shower spell already cracked the shell and destroyed it before the turtle could go inside.

    I take a breath and look at Lucina, who is summing a Fire Pillar of Doom and turning the Samael wannabe into ashes. A few seconds later, she de-summon all her spells, and true to my word, the only thing left behind is ashes who slowly disappear into a mote of light.

    I then walk toward Lucina and hug her before saying.

    "Let''s go help the other."

    "Un."

    However, before we could even walk away, the sky darkened, and snow began to fall at high speed from the sky. The air around us begins to thicken, and I can feel the foulness of the energy that causes this phenomenon.

    A few seconds later, I see a massive ball of darkness appear from the hole in the sky. The ball continues to become bigger and bigger before it suddenly explodes and changes the snow that falls from the sky into pitch-black snow instead of pure white snow.

    Coming from the ball of darkness is a humanoid creature. I have a skeleton as a body, and not only that, it has a black aura that covers most of its body. It doesn''t have any feature the other skeleton has, like the ever-smiling expression a skeleton has, but rather this creature did not have any face at all.

    Its ''face'' is like a mask that only has two holes for the eyes, and coming from the eye socket is a flaming blue flame that promises eternal torment to whoever faces it in battle.

    The creature also holds a sword in its right hand. The sword itself has a deep blue color with a pitch-black hilt. On its left hand is soul-like energy that is ready to enslave the other. By the feeling of the power the creature releases, I know that we are witnessing the birth of¡­.

    "S-class monster."

 Chapter 80 - S-Class Monster (III)

    Dammit. I look at Lucina and say.

    "We need to hurry up."

    "Yes. Let''s go."

    I place a huge amount of mana into my feet and begin to run toward where the monster is being born.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Elizabeth Vulux POV|

    I look at the monster in front of me in terror. Even when the monster is more than a hundred kilometers away from where I stand, I still can feel the oppressive feeling the S-class monster releases.

    Not only that, the black snow that falls from the sky also makes the feeling of terror in their heart grow at an insane level. Lucky for us, the Magicians quick with their magic and create a barrier that blocks the mental attack. However¡­.

    "Lucky for us, we are so far away from the battlefield. If not, we cannot guarantee this barrier will work"

    That. The only reason why I don''t become a mad piece of human vegetable right now is because of the distance between the Capital city and the north. Even with that distance, I feel the monster has su?k?d up my whole soul.

    Even now, with the barrier around us, I can still feel the feeling of promised eternal torment waiting for me.

    I take a deep breath and see the people on the battlefield, and true to my fear, they begin to lose their sanity. Their thoughts begin to be clouded with the promise of eternal torment if they die by the hand of the monster.

    "No¡­."

    "Please¡­."

    "Mommy¡­."

    "Da¡­. Ma¡­. I''m sorry¡­."

    "I''m sorry¡­. I''m sorry¡­."

    "Is there any hope?"

    It was then when I heard Isaac shout at the people around him.

    "Stand up! Look up! You are the northern finest! You are the wall that shields the innocent from danger. Will you let the monster touch your family?!? Will you let them kill your loved one?!? Will you let them trample the dream you have?!? Will you?!?"

    Each word coming out from Isaac''s mouth carried a power that made the other snap from their negative thoughts. I wonder what makes it like that.

    |It was the power of Blue Magic|

    Blue magic? The power of sound?

    |Correct. It was the power that can cure any mental attack if the user is strong enough|

    I see.

    |However, there is something else that is empowering his magic. Something that I don''t know|

    I wonder what it is.

    "Stand high! Rise your head! Look up and see the enemy! These are the faces of the damned! It is our duty to send them to the hell they come from! We''ve lost many. Our families weep for our losses. Would we die with no cause? Or show no mercy to the wicked."

    Just like a flame being fueled by gasoline, the life in the people''s eyes begins to flare once again.

    "We will fight!"

    "OHHH!"

    "We will defend our land!"

    "AHHH!"

    "We will protect our loved one!"

    "OHHH!"

    "We will provide them a better future!"

    "AHHH!"

    "Shout to heaven! Show the world your resolve!"

    "OWAHHHHHH!"

    Suddenly a pillar of light appeared from Isaac''s body. The pillar of light then explodes before into a mote of light that gets absorbed by the people around him. However, there is a symbol in the sky. It was the source of the light that just appeared.

    Can you scan what kind of power that is?

    |Yes. Because you already fully scan Isaac Lionheart, I can show you what skill he uses. However, you cannot use your Full Scan power for three months. Are you sure?|

    Yes.

    |Scanning¡­. Scan completed|

    |The First Light (EX)|

    |One born when the darkest night covers the world. The first light appears in the dark sky. The first Star that brings hope to the other|

    |Effect|

    |???|

    |???|

    |???|

    {Restriction}

    {Can only be activated when there is a great mental attack being targeted to the holder and his/her ally}

    You cannot see the other effect?

    |I''m sorry, but I can''t do that|

    Darn it.

    I then look at the projection again and see Isaac point his spear at the monster while saying.

    "You who come to the world to bring death, now it is time for you to taste the cold embrace of death! Final Bell!"

    After he says that, there is a bell sound coming from everywhere. What makes matters more interesting is that I feel sweet relief. The relief that only death can grant me. The relief that gives knowing that we don''t have any regret leaving the living world.

    I snap from my thoughts when the projection sees a being appear in front of the S-class monster. The being is shrouded in darkness. The only thing that is shown is its eyes that have the shape of blue fire.

    After a few seconds of looking at the S-class monster, the creature speaks.

    "All yond begins might not but end¡ªbeast of disast''r, the issue of chaos, thee who is''t b''rn from mankind''s folly."

    |All that begins must end¡ªBeast of Disaster, the child of chaos, you who born from mankind''s folly.|

    "Thee, who is''t chuckle at death. Thee, who is''t wast b''rn to defy h''r and stealeth h''r auth''rity."

    |You, who laugh at death. You, who was born to defy her and steal her authority.|

    "From the deepest abyss, I cometh, and only death doth I bringeth."

    |From the deepest abyss, I come, and only death do I bring.|

    "I''m the first of mine own kind, the f''rgotten one, and the first grimreap''r."

    |I''m the first of my kind, the forgotten one, and the first Grimreaper.|

    "The final bell tolls thy nameth. In the nameth of mistress of death, I shalt taketh thy headeth."

    |The final bell toll your name. In the name of Lady of Death, I shall take your head.|

    The creature speaks with a deep voice with an accent that I don''t really understand. The creature then raises its sword and disappears before appearing in front of the S-class monster instantly.

    It then swung down its sword, and a second later, a burst of blue flame consumed the S-class monster. The S-class monster keeps screaming in pain as the blue fire eats the monster slowly. After a few seconds of agony scream, the blue fire successfully eats the S-class monster.

    Seeing its job is done, the creature looks at Isaac and nods its head before disappearing. The people around him who see that the creature nod its head toward Isaac look at him with awe. Isaac looked at the empty space for a few seconds before saying.

    "Huh, neat."

    I couldn''t help but let my hand meet my face.

 Chapter 81 - Interlude

    |Charles Anworth von Vulux III|

    I couldn''t believe it¡­ They¡­ Do they successfully beat an S-class monster? All alone? Without the help of the Magician from the Tower of Magic? How?

    "A-Are you sure it was Lord Lionheart, the one who summoned that being?"

    I ignore the magician''s annoyed expression, who looks at me as if I''m nothing but an idiot. I should be mad and order their execution immediately, but I do not care about it right now. The only thing I need to know is if Lionheart summons that being.

    "Like the last time, I tell you. Yes, he is the one that summoned the Grim Reaper. You already saw the symbol above his head, and when the creature disappears, the symbol also disappears. You can connect the link between those two. I know you are not that dumb."

    I can feel all the blood in my head is gone as my face becomes paler by the news. What if he sent his Grim Reaper to kill me? What if he holds a grudge against me because I did not help him?

    Will the northern people gather together and rebel against me? With the harvest failure happening around the kingdom except in the north, they have a perfect opportunity to attack.

    I should attack them first¡­ Yes! What a great idea! Right now, they are in their weakest state! If I give an order to all the soldiers staying in the capital to attack the north right now, we can defeat them right now.

    Yes¡­. Yes!

    I snap from my thoughts when I feel someone slap me. I look at the one slapping me right on my cheek and see my mother look at me as if she wants to murder me.

    "Whatever you are thinking right now, forget it!"

    I frown at the audacity of this wench! I have enough!

    "Silent, you wench! You are nothing but an old bitch that doesn''t know anything!"

    "Oh? Really? I''m dumb old wench am I? Then tell us what your so-called grand plan is, hmmm?"

    "Hmph! I will order all the troops to march to the north and attack them! We will crush them and set an example to the other not to rebel against me! I then will take all their hidden riches and food. I will then give the food to others and be seen as the new Saint! Yes! A Saintly king!"

    *PAK!!!*

    Once again, I felt pain on my cheeks and glared at the old wench with all the hatred I have. However, before I could say anything, my good uncle, my wife''s uncle, Duke Lampert Gideon von Vasper, said.

    "If you think that, then I cannot agree with your decision. The only reason why I agree with your questionable decision of gathering all the soldiers in the capital is that my dear niece is begging to listen to you. I will not order the soldiers to march to the north, especially with the snow falling from the sky because of the birth of the S-class monster!"

    "Then what should I do?!? They will rebel against me! They will destroy my dynasty! They will take the throne from me!"

    I glare at my good uncle as I say that. My glare gets stronger and stronger as he walks toward me. However, what I did not expect is that he would dare to punch me.

    "Shut up, you overgrown child! The northern people have never thought about rebelling! They are the most loyal people in the entire kingdom! They will give their life to defend the nation if you order them to! However, because of your idiocy, they now have enough reason to rebel!"

    "Exactly! We need to attack them before they can attack us!"

    "Idiot! Do you even know anything?!? We don''t have enough food to let the soldier march to the north. Because of your so-called pride, you did not listen to your daughter''s warning when she says there will be famine coming attacking the kingdom. However, instead of listening to your daughter, who has more wisdom than you, you decide to buy expensive glass from the Central Continent! You decide to build a mansion instead of farmland!"

    "I¡­. I¡­. then what should I do?!?"

    I look at him in desperation.

    "Give him and his fellow lord a reward. Promote them. Give them a piece of land. The area around the Bloody Gate doesn''t have any ruler. Give it to them. Promote Lord Lionheart into a Duke."

    "DUKE?!?"

    "Yes. He more than deserves it. He will be the Duke that handles the northern region. He will be the one that represents the north. Let the north gather under one banner. Let them serve the house of Lionheart."

    "But it will give the Lionheart family more power!"

    "Yes. However, as long as you have a good relationship with the Lionheart family, you will control all the north."

    "Control all the north?"

    "Yes. Through the Lionheart family, you now can control all the northern family."

    Yes¡­ That is a good plan. However, I still need some keys that hold the chain to control the Lionheart family. I look at my daughter and smile a little. Yes. That could work. While I don''t want to let my family get married to the barbarian, I need a chain to control the Lionheart.

    Even though the chain only became a concubine, it was enough to control that family.

    Oh, my dear daughter, you will be the most beautiful chain ever born.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Pope of Kyna, The Goddess of Light and Life, Church| |Holy Light Empire|

    "We cannot let those cursed men continue to live!"

    "That''s right!"

    "The thing he summons is not a Grim Reaper! It was nothing but a dark creature! He should be burned!"

    "We should make a crusade! A crusade to eradicate the heretic!"

    I smiled a little at the four Cardinals united for the first time. Even when we are the servant of Goddess Kyna, The Goddess of Light and Life, we are still human, and they want my position of power.

    While my position doesn''t have the same power as the emperor, my position has the same power as the Duke, after all. While I cannot do something that is limited by the teaching of Kyna, I still can enjoy the money and offering the peasant gives to me.

    When I see the Cardinal is a little bit too zealot, I decide to interfere.

    "Gentlemen"

    Hearing my voice, they immediately shut up and looked at me.

    "Right now is not the time to announce a crusade."

    "WHAT?!?"

    "BUT! We will do it after the Succession War is over. Right now, we don''t have a chance to beat the Heretic. We only have our Holy Knight. We need the power of all empires to defeat the Heretic."

    I can see them begin to think and nod their head. A second later, one of the Cardinals asked me a question.

    "We cannot stay here and do nothing. What should we do now? The Succession War will take a few more years."

    I nodded my head and said.

    "That is true. It will take at least ten years to resolve this conflict. However, we can make the war quicker by supporting one of the princes."

    All the Cardinals nod their heads in agreement. Right now, the church is a natural ground. With the church''s support, one of the princes will gain a tremendous advantage against the other princes.

    "As for who we should support, let us discuss it with each other."

    Yes.. Let us spread the name of Kyna through the continent and make our church become the main church on the continent.

 Chapter 82 - Invitation

    I take a breath and put my head on Lucina''s ??p. Currently, we are in the garden with my mother and sister. It has been a week since the fight against the S-class monster, and I have been busy overseeing all the damage the monster does.

    The first one is conquering the Dungeon near the sea. Because the dungeon already exhausted its core to produce as much as the monster it can in the monster wave, a two dozen group of elite hunters and soldiers is enough to destroy the dungeon.

    The hunter checks for traps and the soldier is the one that handles the monster inside.

    After taking care of the dungeon, I need to order the road to be repaired as the monster decides to destroy it for some reason. There is also the need to repair the farmland across the land. I also need to help the other lord to repair their farmland. Well, it was more of being hired by the other lord as they pay me to do it.

    Well, I''m not the one to do it. I''m only sent some people to do it. Even then, I only sent some people to deliver the special fertilizer I created using the Green Magic.

    The next thing is the need to rebuild two of the villages that got destroyed by the monster. Lucky for me, there are not many villagers who die from the monster wave.

    I snap from my thoughts when I feel someone flick my forehead.

    "Don''t think about that. You are here to relax, not to overthinking things."

    I smile at her and decide to enjoy my time here. I close my eyes and enjoy Lucina patting my head. It has been a while since we have a picnic together. The cold wind coming from the west and the warmth coming from Lucina''s body makes it a perfect combo.

    "Hey, Lucina?"

    "Hmmm?"

    "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

    "Yes, you did, dear husband. You say it every night."

    "Then I will say it once again. I love you."

    "Love you too."

    I raised my head and gave her a quick kiss on her lips. I chuckle a little when I see her blush a little. Even when she has a tomboyish nature, she is still a maiden in the heart. She is shy when I show her affection in public. I guess it was because of the current era tradition.

    "Brother!"

    I open my eyes and look at Ginerva, waving her hand at me.

    "Hello there, Gin Gin. What can I do for you?"

    "Can you summon your creature?!?"

    "Of course. Which one?"

    "The big one!"

    I smile at her, get up and take out ten Pokeball from my pocket dimension. I decided to let our pokemon inside their Pokeball a little bit longer. I don''t want to be caught off guard not to have an additional creature to help me in a fight like before. Lucky for me, I have a few pokemon inside their Pokeball and not running around inside my pocket dimension.

    "Gin Gin, let me introduce you to our companion."

    I then begin to introduce Ginerva to our pokemon. After the introduction, she began to play with them. My mother hesitates a little, but she becomes comfortable after a few seconds. My mother decided to stay with Lulu the Absol and groom the Disaster Pokemon with her hand.

    I smile at their happy expression and decide that this is what I want in this life. A peaceful life that I can spend with my family.

    ~The Next Day~

    I read all the paperwork on my desk and sign it one by one. Among the paperwork is a report on the construction of the village and the construction of the road. I already permitted to take some gold from the vault to reconstruct the road and the village.

    It looks like the damage is more than I thought it would be. The road that connects the Northern Region and the Southern Region is completely destroyed. The reason is that the monster coming from the south is a Giant-type monster like Cyclops and Orc.

    I then look at another paper and see that the fort that was just newly built needs to be repaired. While the damage is not too extensive, it still needs to be repaired as there is a hole in the wall.

    *Knock Knock*

    "Come in."

    I look at the door and see Ayas walk inside my office with a stack of paper in his hand. I wince a little when I see the stack of paper. It looks like I cannot leave this room very soon.

    "My lord."

    "What can I do for you, Ayas?"

    "I want to deliver the report about the money we use."

    "Place them on the corner of my table."

    "Of course."

    Ayas then places the paperwork on the corner of the table.

    "Anything else?"

    "Yes. What will we do about the people that migrate from the south?"

    Oh yeah, for some reason, the people in the south of the gate decide to migrate to Sea Dragon City.

    "Why did they decide to come here? Do you know?"

    "They come here in search of safety, my lord. With the King deciding to gather all the soldiers in the southern region in the capital, many villagers near the Bloody Gate swarmed with monsters. Some of the villagers survive the monster wave and decide to come here because their farmland is destroyed, and with the lord deciding to increase the taxes because of the failure of the crops, they decide to go here."

    ".... Let them stay here. However, they need to work if they want to eat. Please tell Richard to tell them to join the construction crew to work. The construction crew will be busy from now on. If they do a good job, I will give them a place to live in the Lionheart family farmland."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Also, tell Richard to tell the people there to follow the rule. I don''t want any criminals like my people. I don''t want them to shit in public. We have the public toilet for a reason. Tell them that I will punish them harshly if they cannot follow the rule. I don''t want my city to become the capital. Lastly, tell Leonardo to limit the number of people who come here. I don''t want them to overpopulated my city."

    "Yes, my lord."

    "Good, if there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

    "Ah! Do I interrupt you?"

    "Of course not, my lady. I''m just about to leave. Excuse me."

    As Ayas leaves my office, I look at Lucina and smile at her.

    "Good afternoon, dear."

    "Hmmm~ What can I do for you, dear?"

    "There is a letter for you."

    "A letter?"

    "Yes. It was from the capital city."

    I raise my eyebrow. I don''t know what the king wants from me, but I can think of a few things he wants. Either he wanted to punish me for disobeying his order to march my soldier to the south as he ordered all troops to go to the capital after all.

    "Please give it to me."

    "Here you go."

    I open up the letter and begin to read it. The more I read the letter, the bigger my frown is. After reading the letter, I give it back to Lucina, who also read it. After reading the letter, she says.

    "I don''t trust this."

    "Me too, dear. Me too."

    "He wants to reward us? After what he did, it was most likely a trap."

    "But we also cannot discard the chance that he really gave a reward for defeating the S-class monster. It was good for his public image, after all. By doing this, he will get some positive image from the public to cover his questionable decision in the past."

    "That is true. The letter also said that all the northern nobles were also invited to the palace to be rewarded for their contribution."

    "That means he will do the second one then. He will reward us for defeating the S-class monster."

    "I guess we will go to the capital?"

    "We don''t have many choices. This letter is the official letter of the Royal family. If we disobey the summoning, we will be seen as a disloyal family. Even though we have enough reason not to attend this farce ceremony, I don''t want any conflict. Not for now."

    "Then, should I write a letter agreeing to attend this ceremony?"

    "Yes. While you are doing that, I will also write a letter to the other lord saying that I will go to this ceremony and ask them if they want to attend or not. When the ceremony is happening?"

    "In¡­ One month from now"

    "Then we need to prepare."

    He wants to show the world that he is a benevolent king, huh? Then I will show him that I''m not someone that will obey all his orders.. Let''s see how he handles a pack of lions coming to his den.

 Chapter 83 - Upgrading

    "My lord, this is the place where you put the core of the barrier you created?"

    I nod at Leonardo, who decides to come with us. I decide it is time to increase the barrier strength and prevent anyone from casting their spying spell. The diamond I have in my possession has enough mana to be used as the barrier''s first layer.

    When Lucina and I decide to have a journey around my land, Leonardo decides to accompany us on our journey. Coming with him are ten elite soldiers he trained.

    "Yes."

    "But there is nothing here."

    "Yup, because I bury the barrier core deep on the ground. Please stand behind me. I need to do something."

    When they hear me, they begin to walk behind me. Seeing them stay behind me, I take a deep breath and flex my magic before suddenly the ground near me begins to open up and create a spiral staircase.

    "Come on."

    I cast a Lumos spell and begin to walk down to where I place the barrier core. The hole is rather deep, around two hundred and fifty meters deep inside the ground. When we arrive, we can see an altar-like structure, and on top of the altar is a crystal that floats slightly above the altar.

    The altar is made of a tree, and there are also four pillars made of the same tree. I''m the one that grows those with the power of Green Magic. Those trees will stay alive as long as they have magic inside of them. Luckily I make them be magic absorbers. They will be the one that absorbs the wild magic in the air and purify them into usable magic.

    This process is the same as how humans absorb wild magic from the air.

    "How do we change the core, dear?"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Lucina''s voice.

    "For now, I need to take the crystal away from the altar."

    I release my magic to the air and let the pillar around the altar absorb it. As it recognizes my magic, it shines a little before suddenly the crystal drops on top of the altar, and I can feel the first layer of the barrier I created in the past disappear.

    The first layer of the barrier is the barrier that prevents any teleporter from appearing inside my land without my permission. They will either get into the dungeon under my castle or be killed by the barrier.

    If the intruder did not force their way through the barrier, the barrier would teleport them inside my dungeon. If they use brute force to try to teleport inside my land, they will die. The latter will also happen if the teleporter decides to appear in some important place, like Lucina and my room, my mother''s room, Ginerva room, or the vault.

    I then look at one of the soldiers and say.

    "Hey¡­?"

    "My name is Silas, My lord. Silas son of Varul"

    "Then Silas, please take the crystal, will you? Lucina and I need to prepare the barrier."

    "Of course, my lord."

    While Silas takes the crystal from the Altar, I sit on the ground with the fully charged Diamond from my pocket dimension and place it on the ground. Sitting next to me is Lucina and in front of her is five Rune Crystal we bought from the Suikoden world.

    Anyway, after placing the diamond on the ground, I begin to meditate. As I close my eyes, I suddenly can see the magic inside the ground. It was like a spider web. It spread out to the other place, but it connects to one place, here.

    The first time I do this, I need five hours because I need to disconnect the branch that is connected to the monster spawner. I don''t want my barrier to become a monster spawner after all.

    This time I only need to re-connect the magic in the ground to the four pillars. After doing that, I then connect it to the ten kg worth of Diamond I hold. The jewel in my hand has already been carved with all the rune we need to cast the ward around my land. The diamond is used as the projector that projects the ward we carved on it into the area we want.

    I can feel the change in the air around us. It got thicker at first before it returned to normal. To the normal people, it did not feel anything but to the people that are energy s?ns?t?v?; there is something that changes like Lucina and Leonardo.

    After I finished connecting the jewel to the leyline, I looked at Lucina, who controlled her physical energy and connected each of the runes to the pillar around the crystal I connected to the leyline.

    After a few minutes of working, one of the runes in front of Lucina floated toward one of the pillars. The first one is the Fire Rune which attaches itself to the pillar. The second rune is the Water Rune; the third one is Earth Rune, the fourth one is the Wind Rune, and the Lightning Rune attached itself to the altar instead of the pillar.

    I can feel the barrier getting stronger by ten times than what it originally was. Now, I can breathe a relief breath as I know the spying barrier will be almost impenetrable. Even when someone tries to brute force their way in, I can feel it and send my own magic into the core and enchant it several times over.

    If they still try to brute force their way in then, they will exhaust their reserve to the point of death. However, I still need to create another core for the next layer of the barrier. Sadly it needs to take longer than the first layer.

    I already have an idea which curse I will set on the second layer barrier. The first curse I can think of is a curse of infinite illusion. It was like Tsukuyomi, but instead of outright killing you, it trapped your mind in an infinite loop for a few years.

    Inside your mind, it will last for a few millennia, but on the outside, it was only a year. What makes this curse more terrifying is that this curse will not let the victim get used to the pain they feel. Each of every pain, be it mentally or physically, is as good as the new pain. It was like the fate Diavolo from Jojo got at the end of Jojo part 5. A nerfed version of it.

    What makes this curse even more terrifying is that the victim will be seen as a person that dies peacefully in their sleep or a victim of a heart attack. Indeed, the Harry Potter universe, while not the most powerful magic world in the universe, compensates for it by their verstilelity.

    Sadly most of that knowledge has either disappeared because of the death of the family that created the spell or the government decided it was a dark art.

    The next one is a little bit more merciful. It was a simple curse that froze their target and trapped them into ice. However, instead of died instantly, it will torture them. The people trapped there will feel a burning feeling that is so intense that it usually makes a human unconscious, but the ice will not allow that to happen.

    It will continue to eat the victim slowly but surely before it ends their suffering. It usually takes two days to kill the victim.

    "Isaac!"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Lucina call my name.

    "Ah! Sorry about that. Let us go back, shall we?"

 Chapter 84 - Visiting

    I look at the newly built farmland in front of me with a smile on my face. I don''t know how long it will take to grow a stable food production if I don''t learn how to use Green Magic. Hell, if I don''t go to the Harry Potter universe, I don''t think I can have a steady supply of food that the local people produce.

    The north is a hard place. The land is not fertile. It can still grow some vegetables like potatoes, but it grows slower, and it did not yield a good harvest. The only thing we can do is to trade our iron and other metal to the other country, and in exchange, we get their food.

    Green Magic is really a boon to my family and me.

    "Ayas, Do you think we should expand our farmland once again?"

    "Hmmm? It is up to you, my lord. If you want it, I will order some workers to begin the construction."

    "Hmmm¡­.. I think we should expand the farmland."

    "Can I ask the reason why?"

    "Have you heard the news about the Crop Failure in the south?"

    Ayas tilted his head before widening his eyes and said,

    "Ah! As Expected of you, my lord."

    "Oh?"

    "You want to do what they do to us, don''t you?"

    "That is correct. I want to sell them the grain we have but with four times the price we usually sold to the eastern people."

    "Let them taste their own medicine."

    "That is correct."

    "Then how about the people that do nothing to us?"

    "We will do the same. We are a fair people, after all."

    I wince a little when I see that scary smile on Ayas''s face. It is disconcerting when an elf has the same smile as the joker on their face.

    "Then, my lord, let me handle all of it."

    "Sure"

    Let me tell you something. Never get in the way of Ayas when he plans to increase the money in the vault. He has a fetish for seeing gold gathering in one place. He did not have an urge to take it, but rather he was turned on when he saw a pile of gold piling high to the ceiling.

    Elf has a weird fetish, man. Ayas'' wife has a fetish for being fu?k?d in the middle of the forest, where many animals can see her mating with Ayas. She hates beastialty, but for some reason, she gets aroused when animals watch her. She also hates when other people other than her husband see her n?k?d. However, when an animal does it? 100% okay. What the hell, man. I thought we humans have a weird fetish when we invented bondage but nope.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Ginerva Lionheart|

    "Come one, dear sister. Thrust harder!"

    "HYAH!"

    My name is Ginerva Lionheart! I''m the little sister of Northern Hero Isaac Lionheart, my bestest super awesome brother!

    Right now, I''m inside the place big bro power created! It was awesome! There are so many things inside the house that make me want to test them out. However, there is some room that I cannot walk into.

    Sister Luci says that I cannot walk inside the room called the Silent Room. She said that it was the room to improve someone''s mentality. She says that it was a room of absolute silence, and everyone that comes inside cannot use their sense or something like that.

    I don''t really understand! But when sister Luci says that it was bad then I will obey her word. I''m a good girl after all! Big brother and Mother said so!

    "Ginerva, please pay attention to your enemy."

    Ah! I forget I''m currently training with sister Luci!

    "Sorry! Here I come."

    I thrust my spear toward sister Luci, who blocked my incoming attack. Mother and Big brother decide I''m old enough to train. So we walk inside the world my brother created using his power and train inside the massive room he has inside his house.

    "Good job, sister. However, your stance is too tense! A spear user needs to be quick as lightning. They need to either continue moving or become an immovable object if you decide to add shield as your side weapon."

    "Speed! Right!"

    "Then, let us continue our training, dear sister. We have already trained your arm for an hour. Now it is time to train your legs and stamina. Come on, follow me! We will run around the room for an hour."

    "Yes"

    ~An Hour Later~

    Currently, I''m lying on the ground, exhausted from the training. It was exhausting, but training with sister Luci is fun! We are not only running around the room! Sister Luci decided to train my reaction time as well!

    She threw some plates at me to destroy. It was really hard not to stop while stabbing all the plates thrown at me.

    "How are you, good sister?"

    "Little tired, and my legs decide to sleep."

    "Then we should get going. Isaac is cooking something."

    "Really?!?"

    Big brother is cooking?!? I quickly get up from the ground, take sister Luci''s hand and begin to run toward the kitchen. Big brother cooking is awesome! It was so delicious I cannot stop eating it.

    Especially this bread he called brownie! It was so good! I''m melting when I take it inside my mouth!

    "Ah! Ah! Ah~ We should take a bath first, sister. Do you remember what Isaac says?"

    "Bath first before eating! Come on! We should hurry up before mother takes all the food!"

    "I think a good mother will not eat all the food, dear sister."

    "You don''t know that!"

    After thinking about it for a few seconds, I decided to take a regular bath. However, as I take out all my clothes, I remember that I cannot reach the water summoning machine!

    "You should wait for me, dear sister."

    "Sorry!"

    "Come here. I will clean you up."

    "En! Thank you, sister Luci!"

    "It is my p???sur?, dear. Come on, let us clean ourselves."

    Sister Luci then began to clean me up. First, she cleaned up my head using something called shampoo. I close my eyes the entire time so it will not hurt my eyes. The first time sister Luci cleaned my head, I did not close my eyes and ended up hurting my eyes. Luckily it was not dangerous.

    Then she cleans my teeth using a thing called a toothbrush and toothpaste. Sister Luci says that I cannot eat the toothpaste even though big brother says it was okay to eat it in small quantities, but he decides to risk it. He doesn''t know if it will upset my tummy or not. So I did not eat it.

    The last one is my body! She uses a thing called soap! It smells nice like the other bath tools! It makes my skin all glowing! It was really nice. Not only does it make my skin glow, but it also makes my skin go boing boing!

    "There you are. Clean. Come on. I will help you put on some clothes."

    "En!"

    Sister Luci then helped me put on some clothes. After putting on my clothes, I then run toward the kitchen leaving sister Luci, who needs to take a bath as well.

    As I arrive in the kitchen, I can see mother drinking some tea and eating some cookies.

    "Ah! Mother, it is not fair!"

    "Hmm~ What is not fair, my dear?"

    "You eat all Big brother''s cookies!"

    "Ohh~? Look like I''m."

    "Mou!"

    Before I could say something, my brother said,

    "Don''t worry, dear sister. I already bake another batch of cookies."

    "Yay!"

    Big brother Isaac is the best in the world!"

 Chapter 85 - Arriving

    "Can''t we just go back home?"

    "No, can''t do, Gin Gin. I really don''t want to go to the capital, but sadly the king uses his authority to summon us. This is an official summon."

    "But it is really boring!"

    "Then how about we play some game?"

    "Game?"

    "This one is called a battleship."

    I summon a battleship board and begin to play it with my little sister Ginerva. It has been two weeks since the summoning letter from the capital arrived at the Sea Dragon City. Right now, we are inside the carriage with two hundred elite soldiers that Leonardo chose personally.

    They are equipped with full plate armor that makes them even more impressive. I also ask the other lord to bring at least fifty soldiers with them. I explain to them that we cannot show weakness to the other.

    We cannot make them think that we are in a weak state because of the monster wave and the S-class monster, especially when the other noble from the south will also attend this rewarding ceremony.

    This is also the rare time where the north showing our might not their weakness like in the past. We were not strong enough to feed and pay a large soldier in the past, but now we have enough food and gold to pay and feed our soldiers and people.

    There is also a reason why I decided to bring a large number of soldiers from Sea Dragon City. I want to show the king that we don''t need his help to defeat the S-class monster and still have an awesome soldier who can beat the capital''s elite soldier. Be it in terms of equipment or strength. We can beat them.

    Basically, it was a d??k-measuring contest between us, the northern noble, against them, the southern noble.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I look at the soldiers who march toward the capital city with a perfect formation. There is no imperfection in their formation.

    It has been a few days since the day the noble from the north came to the capital, and each one of them brought more than a hundred soldiers. What makes them more intimidating is that they are wearing armor that covers their body.

    However, there is something that makes the soldier from the Sea Dragon City is scarier. It was the spear that so long it looks like a tree that is ready to stab you and kill you. Their equipment is really familiar to me. While I''m not really into the history of the earth, I know that the army Isaac brought with him is like the army from ancient Greek.

    I think they are called spartan.

    I know that they are a fierce soldier but seeing them with my own eyes is something else entirely. While I''m not a fighter, I can see they are strong individually with or without their weapons and armor.

    In the middle of the formation are a dozen carriages. There are two fancy carriages that I know of as the carriage where the Lionheart family is located.

    "Princess¡­ We should go back. You promise the Queen Dowager to come back before lunch."

    "Ah! Sorry about that, Raul."

    "It is not a problem, your highness."

    "Please call me Eli when I''m wearing a disguise."

    "I''m sorry, princess¡­ I mean Eli."

    "Good. Now, let us go back."

    "Of course, my lady."

    I sigh a little at him for calling me with my title. The only reason why I can stand on top of the wall of Drallac city. I walk toward the stairs and go down from the wall. As I touch the ground, I immediately cover my nose as the smell of the outer district hits my nose.

    This is the other thing I want to change. I want to create a clean city where there is no poop in the middle of the street. A city where its sewer is working, but if I want to do it, I need a large amount of money and permission from my father to do this project.

    Sadly, he didn''t give me permission.

    Raul and I walk through the outer district with our hood hiding our face. While walking around the street, I see that it becomes more crowded than before. I guess I know the reason why.

    The news of my father decided to reward the northern lord for their victory over the S-class monster and try to claim their victory as his own as well. However, he did not know that the news of his foolishness had already spread across the kingdom. Hell, the other country also knows about his foolishness.

    He thinks that rewarding the northern noble will make the people think he contributes to the fight.

    I hear from one of grandma''s rants that the other country has already acknowledged that the northern region is already a kingdom of its own. They already acknowledge the northern region as its own country because they already fulfill the right requirement to become a country.

    Food production? The north has food production that is faster than the southern region for some reason. Military? Well, they just beat the Monster Wave and S-class monster on their own. Trade? The Northern Continent and Eastern Continent is their loyal buyer. They sell their goods at a lower price than any other merchant, and they buy something at a fair price, unlike the merchants from here who want to squish as much profit as they can.

    The north prefers loyalty rather than a single profit. By selling their goods at a lower price, they get themselves a loyal customer. By buying at a fair price, they get themselves loyal merchants who will sell their goods to them at a fair and even lower price.

    As long as you are honest, they will be honest with you. The spy, my grandma, has also reported that they already have a patented drink that the Northern Continent really likes to drink. The commoner called it Man''s Drink because of how strong it was.

    What makes me more interested in the name of the drink. While the commoner calls it Man''s Drink, the northern people call it Vodka. A rather familiar name. It was the name of a drink coming from the Earth. It was the drink that came from Russia, the massive country in the north.

    I don''t want to be hoping for something impossible, but I hope that someone in the north has the same fate as me. A reincarnator. Someone that comes from the Earth.

    And I hope he or she is not a manipulative person as I want to have a friend that doesn''t have any hidden agenda that involves me.. It is a lonely life, especially if you are a princess, where many people want to stick their so-called sword into your skirt.

 Chapter 86 - Inside the Capital

    I couldn''t help but smile as I heard the rumbling noise the southern noble was making. It looks like our show of force is enough to make them uncomfortable. The discipline showed by our army also makes them nervous and jealous at the same time.

    We have a rule in the north. As long as we are not in the north, we are in the battle. Meaning that we will keep our weapons wherever we go. There are a few exceptions, like when we meet the king or go to a place with a strict rule of no weapons like the ballroom when there is a party or the temple.

    However, other than that? We will bring our sword or knife anywhere, even in the bathroom and bedroom.

    This shows the people here that we are ready to fight and ready to defend ourselves if there is trouble.

    "Richard, How is the soldier we bring?"

    "Most of them are outside the city making tents to sleep. Sadly, we can only bring fifty people inside."

    "Yes. We don''t have enough space to place them. Luckily, this place has a small barrack to let a few of our soldiers sleep. How about the little bird that tries to eat the worm about me?"

    "They did not know that my shadow was following them, my lord. Do you want me to take care of them?"

    "Hmm¡­. Not all of them. I need you to ''invite'' one of the little birds to join our meeting in the dungeon."

    "Of course. I will command my shadow at once."

    "Remember to tell them not to be noticed. I don''t want them to run away to their mama bird after all."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Good. Now, what does our king have in his hand to reward us with?"

    "My shadow inside the palace hears a rumor that the king will give you and the rest of the lord a land in our south. They say that place doesn''t have any true ruler because the previous lord didn''t have any heir. Because of the end of that family, those lands fall under Duke Frederick''s rule. However, because there is nothing in those lands other than a plain field, he abandons the land."

    "Making that place a rather lawless land."

    "Yes. That place is the source of bandits that try to use the mountain in the Bloody Gate as their base to ambush the merchant that comes through the gate."

    "How can they make a base on the mountain with the Savage Men of the mountain ruling the mountain?"

    Men of Arriamir, also known as the Savage Men of the mountain, is a group of civilizations that lived on the mountain. They are a cannibal and slaver that will kidnap men to make them their food and kidnap women as their plaything.

    They are a force that keeps coming back and attacking the nearby village to kidnap the villager and steal the food the village has.

    However, lately, there have been no raids reported in the past month. The last time the Savage Men show up is the first week after the winter has ended.

    "They are not, my lord."

    "What?"

    "I heard a rumor that the leader of a famous bandit leader has disappeared."

    "And?"

    "He and a few hundred of his men last seen when they decide to go to the Bloody Gate and try to come to the north."

    "When this happened?"

    "The second week after the winter ended."

    "Huh. What a coincidence. The Savage Men stop doing raids after the first week of winter ends."

    "That is right, my lord."

    "However, that is already a few months since then. Richard sent a letter to Leonardo explaining this situation. Then tell him to increase the patrol around the mountain. We don''t want to be caught off guard by the Savage Men."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Then you are dismissed. Tell me when it is lunchtime, will you?"

    "Of course, my lord. Then please excuse me."

    I see Richard walk away from my office and lean my back on the chair. It has been two days since I arrived here. The other lords also arrive here, some of them arrive before me, and some of them arrive after I arrive here.

    While I trust my fellow noble not to tell the others about the northern situation, I don''t know about them telling the north secret unconsciously. A drunk person is a perfect target for information gathering, after all.

    That is why I sent Yuka to make sure. She should arrive any time now.

    "Master!"

    I smile a little and pat the head of Yuka, who is coming out from the portal.

    "Hello there, Yuka. How is your mission?"

    "Not good, master."

    "Oh?"

    I raised my eyebrow and put on a serious face before saying.

    "Tell me."

    "The southern noble already tried to get the information from your fellow lord. Luckily, they did not budge and did not say anything. Even when there is the most beautiful whore next to them, they did not budge."

    "That is good, right?"

    "Yes"

    "Then what do you mean by not good."

    "There is a magician, master."

    "... That is not good."

    A magician is always bad news. The magician in this world is an arsehole. They have an ego the size of a mountain. They think with them being the only people that can alter the world using their magic; they can do whatever they want.

    "How many?"

    "The one that actively searches for information? Two of them."

    "What do they do?"

    "They try to cast a spell that lets the victim spill out all their secrets."

    "What?"

    "I already neutralize them and transport them to the dungeon under the mansion."

    "Good. What about the other magician?"

    "They did not do anything, for now. There are ten of them. Seven of them are female, and the other three are male. They are only looking around the area and have a conversation with each other."

    "Can you tell me about what they are talking about?"

    "They are curious about you, master."

    "Oh?"

    "They want to learn under you, master."

    "Wait, what?"

    "They are the Dark Elves, my lord."

    ".... Are they being harassed by the people in the Tower of Magic?"

    "Yes."

    Dark Elf is the sub-race of the elf race. They are the race that many people thought of as the Curse bringer because of their skin color. They are also seen as the bringer of Death because they have an affinity to dark affinity. The truth is that they are the same as the other elf. Just a normal living being that wants to be left in peace.

    "They thought that they could ask for a place to stay inside the Sea Dragon City, seeing that you are the summoner of the First Grim Reaper. They hope that you will accept them and their race to settle in your land."

    "They know about the fight between us and the monster wave?"

    "Yes, my lord. They say that they see you through some sort of a spell the archmage cast in the tower."

    I see. So not only the people in the south that can see us when we fight the monster wave. Luckily, I already upgraded the barrier for the anti-spying spell around my land before I go here.

    "Yuka, will you invite them here? I want them to join us in eating some lunch."

    "Of course, my lord."

    I then see Yuka disappear into the portal she created. I want to help them create a village for the Dark Elves inside my land. By doing so, I can have another village that becomes a local income for my family. With this group of magicians loyal to me, I get myself another military ?sset for the Lionheart family.

    However, for now, I need to see their intention first. If they only want a territory for doing an experiment, I will not grant their wish.. If they do it for their family and other Dark Elves, I will give them what they want.

 Chapter 87 - Reward

    "Today, I''m here to announce our triumph of victory against the monster that can destroy our kingdom! A monster that can kill every one of us! However, because of our valiant warrior, we successfully defeated that monster! And throw it back to the void they come from!"

    I gritted my teeth when I heard the king''s speech. Right now, we are sitting in front of the podium where the king gave his speech.

    Anyway, I gritted my teeth when I heard him saying that he had a contribution to the fight against the monster wave and the S-class monster. He said that as if he sent his troops to the north and helped us. He says as if he is on the frontline leading the troops.

    "There are many heroes in the fight against the monster! However, there is an Eight Lord who shines among them! They are the defenders of the north! The Northern Lord! The first one will be Lord Byron! The baron of Gyan Pass!"

    My vassal walks toward the podium with a stoic face. When he arrived in front of the king, he knelt down, and the king continued his speech.

    "For your contribution in the battle against the monster, I give you the title of Viscount and give you a piece of land for you to rule!"

    The king then places his sword on top of Daniel Byron, and then the king advisor walks next to the king, and he is holding a scroll parchment the king takes and presents it to Daniel.

    I want to go home. I don''t want to participate in this so-called ceremony.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Valerie Gideon von Vulux POV|

    I look at my son with all the disappointment I have. I never thought that I would give birth to a moron. What my son does will only make the northerner hate the crown even more. Not only did he not help them, but he also decided to take their triumph over the monster wave by saying that he participated in the battle.

    Not only did he decide to betray their loyalty, but he also decided to steal their glory by saying that he would participate in the battle.

    I don''t know how I gave birth to this oaf that did not think about all the consequences of all his actions. He thinks that he will get away from whatever he does because he is the king. I really regret leaving him to be educated by another noble.

    My son continues to give his so-called speech and calls another northern noble. Each of the nobles that get called by him has an expression that shows a cold rage. A rage that promises pain and long dead.

    He continued to give the northern lord a promotion. The baron becomes a Viscount, the Viscount becomes a Count, and the Count becomes a Marquiss. Each of the lords also get a new land on the southern side of the Bloody Gate, the lawless place, because that bastard Frederick decided the place is not important enough for him to rule.

    After a few minutes, it is time for the ceremony''s main stars, the man that summoned the First Grim Reaper. The man that single-handedly defeated the S-class monster. The man that has a magic knowledge that makes the Grandmaster Magician bleed in envy.

    Isaac Lionheart.

    The Silver Lion

    The Hero of the North

    The Shield of the North

    "... Isaac Lionheart! He is the Lord who has the most contribution in the fight. The one who defeats the S-class monster after it was weakened by the other¡­"

    I wince a little when I feel a quick outburst of killing intent from the northern lord who hears what my son says. I flinch even harder when I see the young lord walk toward my son with that expression. While I''m not a magician, I have a s?ns?t?v? sense of magic, and right now, I can ''see'' the magic around the Silver Lion roaring like a flame ready to burn us all.

    "Let''s give a round of applause to the Silver Lion, Isaac Lionheart!"

    I can see the young lord give a strained smile to the people around us before hesitantly kneel down. I''m not blaming myself for hesitating to kneel in front of a man that he hates.

    "In the name of Vulux, I declare you, Isaac Lionheart, as the Duke of the North. I give you the authority as the protector and the ruler of the north in my name! From now on, you are the one who governs the north in my name. All of the other nobles in the north will be under your wing, they will give their taxes to you, and you will give the crown fifty percent of the total taxes you place into them."

    On the other hand, the northern lord nods their head and gives the young lord all their respect and loyalty. Even though he is a young lord, not even his twenty years old, they give their absolute loyalty.

    This loyalty should be toward the crown, but because of my son''s idiocy, they give their loyalty to the young lord, who gives them a new chance. He who gives them a new way to survive the harsh environment of the north. He is the one that helps them in their time of need. Not my son.

    "And! I will give you my Daughter! Elizabeth Ainsworth von Vulux! You can do anything you want to her, as long as she becomes your mistress."

    What?!?

    I can hear the gasp coming from the people around me. What is he thinking?!? Giving away his blood and flesh to become a mistress?!? If he does it in private, then I have no problem with it, but by doing it in public, he says that he doesn''t care about his daughter, but he also says that his daughter is not even worth becoming a Wife.

    There is also the wording of him. If what he says is true, he just sold his daughter, my granddaughter, to become a slave. A slave in all but name!

    "Pardon me, your highness. Can you repeat your word?"

    "Of course! From now on, you will have my daughter as your mistress! You can do anything to her as much as you want! This is my decree as Royalty!"

    "Can''t I reject your¡­. generous¡­ reward? I already have a wife after all."

    "Nay! From now on, you will have my daughter as your mistress. This is the Royal Order!"

    ".... Very Well"

    I can see the tears in my granddaughter''s eyes falling from her eyes. I know that my son has a twisted plan, but I never know that he will sell his own daughter. His own flesh and blood to become a slave to the other lord.

    I look at the young lord, who has an expression like a snarling lion ready to use his claw to kill the man in front of him.

    It is known across the kingdom that the north has a hatred for all kinds of slavery. Is this what my son wants to do? Is he thinking that giving a slave in all but name to the young lord will break the loyalty the northern lord has to the young lord? Or is it his so-called plan to chain up the northern lord?

    "Now, it is time to celebrate! Play the music! It is festival time!"

    After he said that, all the northern people sneaked away from the festival. I want to follow them away from this farce festival, but the Grand Marshal stops me. I can only grit my teeth and glare at my so-called son and hope that Isaac Lionheart can fix the broken heart of my beloved Granddaughter.

    I already swear that I will protect her and make her my successor, and I will follow through with my oath. Even if I cannot make her a queen that governs all the kingdom, I will make her the happiest mistress in the world.

    That is my oath. The oath I take when I see the brilliance she releases. The kindness that many people don''t have. The wise young girl has so many ideas that she wants to make it into reality.

    The only individual in the capital that thinks about the commoner. The one that feeds them provides them with work and provides them with a future.

    For now, I will stay in this snake pit before I go with my lady to the north, where I will make the star shine even more.

 Chapter 88 - Talk

    I take a sigh and look at the young woman in front of me. This young woman is the former princess Elizabeth Ainsworth von Vulux. While she can still be considered a princess, I have the feeling that the idiot king already disowned her.

    However, there is something that still bothers me.

    "What is she doing here?"

    I look at the Queen Dowager, who is sipping the tea Richard brewed for us. I know that Queen Dowager has a special relationship with Eli, but there is no reason she came here. Especially coming here without a bodyguard.

    Well, a bodyguard like a knight. She has a bodyguard, but I cannot see her bodyguard as they are a bunch of ?ssassins and trained spies. If not for my wards around the mansion, I will not know their location without using a spell.

    There are at least five ?ssassins on the tree in front of me, and they are holding a bow, ready to fire it in case I do anything to the Queen Dowager.

    "My~ I come here to accompany my granddaughter."

    "... To the north?"

    "Yup~."

    "Haaaaa¡­."

    I release a tired sigh and massage my neck.

    "You know what? Do whatever you want. Your son already gives me enough headaches as it is. I don''t want to think about anything right now."

    "You know~ You will get trouble if you say something bad to someone, son~."

    "Will you be mad at me?"

    "Nope! I already know that my son is an oaf."

    "Heh."

    Sadly, if I do that, the other will crown me as their king. I don''t want to be a king! There is already too much paperwork as it is, and when I become a king? I will die drowned by the paperwork!

    However, if the others decide to do that, I will go with it.

    But I prefer to become an independent kingdom rather than take over the Vulux Kingdom. I don''t want to make the southern my own vassal. They are too retarded to be trusted as a vassal.

    "We will begin our journey to the north tomorrow morning."

    "Why in a hurry?"

    "The new land your son gave to me is the reason why."

    "May I ask why?"

    "Haaaa¡­ Your son gives us the land, yes. However, he did not give us anything else. I know the condition of those lands. Especially with the Famine that is happening across the kingdom, I need to feed them. I also need to do some bandit cleaning."

    "... You don''t want to increase the tax they need to pay? You don''t want to make them work for you without getting paid?"

    "What?!? Why would I do that?!? They are my people. As long as they are loyal to me, I will give my all to make them safe, happy, and content. I''m a lord, not a tyrant."

    I can see her smile at what I said. I don''t know what she is thinking, but I will never do that. A happy worker is a hard-working worker, after all. Not only that, by doing so, I will also make them loyal to me. By giving them a happy life, I will get myself a person ready to throw their lives for my family and me.

    I know it sounds manipulative, but this is the reality of this era of time.

    "Good. Now, I know you will not treat my granddaughter as if she is a slave."

    "Why do you think I will do that?!? We, the northerner, hate all kinds of slavery. The only reason why the other lord did not hate me is that they know that it was your son''s order that I need to take her as a mistress."

    "I know. Speaking of mistress. What will you do with my granddaughter?"

    "I don''t know. It is up to her. I will not force her into anything. As long as her loyalty is to the Lionheart family, I will let her do what she wants."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. The only thing I need her to do is to learn how to wield a weapon. All of the ladies in the north need to know how to defend themselves."

    "Fair enough."

    "I will do my best."

    I nod at her determination and say.

    "Good. I will also teach you how to wield your magic."

    "Eh?"

    I look at Eli, who has a surprised expression before saying.

    "You don''t know about it? You have the potential to become a magician. I can feel mana inside your body."

    "I have mana?"

    "Yes. You don''t know?"

    "No. I thought I had Physical Energy."

    "No. You don''t. While it is small, almost unnoticeable, it is there."

    "I see. Thank you. Thank you very much. I know that I''m an annoying person to you, but I will be in your care from now on."

    "While I cannot accept you just yet, I hope in the future; we will love each other. Even if that day did not come, I hope we can be a friend instead of an enemy."

    I smile kindly at her. She is a strong young woman. Feeding the people in the city, coming up with a new invention, and trying her best to change the kingdom. That is all the thing she tries to do, but because of this time of era where women cannot have big power other than becoming a queen, she still tries her best.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Elizabeth Ainsworth von Lionheart POV|

    Get yourself together, Eli! But I must admit that Isaac''s smile makes my body warm-up. No! Get yourself together!

    "Now, how about we eat something? I will cook you some food."

    Eh? He can cook? I never thought a lord would want to cook something.

    "Really?!? Big brother will cook?!? Yay!"

    "Yup. What do you want me to cook, Gin Gin?"

    "Cookies!"

    "Sure. I will bake some cookies."

    "Yay~."

    Isaac gets up from the couch and walks toward the kitchen. I follow him to the kitchen with the others, who also follow him to the kitchen.

    ~One hour later~

    This is the most fulfilling meal I ever had. All the meals I eat in the palace will always come cold because they need to be tested for poison and any other substances. Not only that, but the cooking method of the cooked in the palace is also rather simple and even sometimes it was rather bland unlike the food in Japan.

    "I don''t know you can cook this good, Lord Lionheart."

    "Heh. Call me Isaac. As for the food, well I have a weird hobby of cooking. From time to time, I cooked for my family."

    "Then they are fortunate."

    "That we are. He is a blessing to the Lionheart family."

    "Fufufufu. I really hope my son is like your son, Lady Lionheart."

    "Thank you."

    I ignore my grandma, who begins gossiping with Lady Eveline while eating the cookies in front of them and looks at Isaac before saying.

    "Isaac¡­ There is something I want to say to you."

    "Hmmm? Of course. Feel free to tell me anything."

    "Mmmm. Can we go to a more private room? Lady Lucina can also come if she wants."

    "Sure. Follow me to my office."

    I begin to follow him to his office. The thing I want to tell Isaac is my most protected secret. The secret of me being a reincarnated person. I don''t know if he believes me or thinks of me as a crazy person, but I want him to trust me.

    If by telling him my deepest secret is the start, then I don''t mind.

    "Here we are. This is my office. So, what do you want to tell us?"

    I take a deep breath and say.

    "Isaac, I''m a reincarnated person."

 Chapter 89 - Interlude

    |Elizabeth Ainsworth von Lionheart POV|

    Both Lucina and Isaac look at each other with a serious expression before suddenly I hear a chuckle coming from Isaac, followed by Lucina who also begins to chuckle as well.

    Damn it. I know they will think of me as a crazy person.

    I look at the ground in embarrassment and wait for them to tell me that I''m a crazy person.

    "Eli"

    I look at Isaac after he calls my name. I''m ready to be called a mentally unstable person, a crazy person, or even a lunatic person.

    "Here, catch."

    However, instead of calling me with those titles, Isaac threw something at me. I quickly catch it and see that what I''m holding is a Nintendo Switch that should not be in this era of time. I look at Isaac and Lucina, who smile at me before saying.

    "A-Are you guys also a reincarnated person?"

    Isaac shakes his head and says.

    "Nope. I''m the only one who reincarnated into this world."

    I look at Isaac with a shocked expression.

    "I-I don''t know what to say."

    "Heh. You are the second person I tell about this secret. Not even my mother knows about this secret. Yet. So, I hope you did not tell this little secret to others, will ya?"

    "Even if I tell it to the other, they will either sent me to the temple for possessing their princess, or I will be labeled as a retarded person."

    "Fair enough."

    "So, what do I need to do now?"

    "Hmmm? Nothing. Like I said before, while we are getting together because of your idiotic father, I want to know you more. I want Lucina, You, and Me to fall in love with each other. I know not what the future will hold for us, Eli, but I believe you can be someone that I could fall in love with someday. If we somehow prove to be incompatible, then at very least, I believe you could be a friend who could rule by my side and ease some of my burdens."

    I can feel my face begin to heat up when I hear Isaac say that with a genuine voice. His gentle smile also makes it worse.

    "E-En."

    "Good. However, even when you are my mistress, you cannot laze around all day. The north has strict rules about laziness. We have an unwritten rule that says you need to work if you want to eat. Everyone obeys this rule. EVERYONE. Even Lucina and I are also included in this rule. Heck, even my mother, who technically should be in her retirement still working. She is the one that controls the kitchen."

    I snap from my thoughts and nod my head at what Isaac is saying.

    "I know you are a princess in this life, and¡­"

    "Mangaka"

    "Mangaka? Are you from Japan?"

    "Yup."

    "I see¡­. Anyway, with you being a princess in this life and a Mangaka in your previous life, you are not too comfortable working, but I hope you will adapt to the changes."

    "Yes! I will try my best."

    "Good. The same with martial practice. The northern noble need to teach their children how to defend themselves, be it a boy or a girl. That is why you need to join Lucina every morning because she is the Drill Sergeant of my army."

    "Yes!"

    "Good. Other than that, you can do whatever you want. As long as you follow the law, you are good to roam around the north."

    I nod my head.

    "Good. Is there anything else?"

    "Yes. I get power when I am reincarnated into this world."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. It was called Scan."

    "Scan?"

    "I can scan people in front of me and see their status like in the game."

    "Really? Then can you write my stats for me?"

    While saying that, he takes out a bundle of paper and gives it to me. I then use my scan power and begin to write Isaac''s stats.

    |Isaac Lionheart|

    |Duke Rank|

    |17 years old|

    |Human|

    |STR: 145|

    |VIT: 190|

    |INT: 967|

    After I write my stats, I give them to Isaac, who reads them slowly. While he read the paper, I looked at his stats with a shocked expression. For some reason, his magic stats really grow tremendously. I think his magic stats are around seven hundred points the last time I saw him, but now he has more than nine hundred points.

    "Interesting. Is there anything? Because I know that this thing is not really useful."

    "Yes. I can also see what others think of me."

    "Hmmm¡­ Now that is useful, especially if you want to search for an ally and see which people that want to make you their puppet."

    "Yes"

    Right now, I can see what Isaac thinks of me. He is proud of me for telling him my secret. He also looks at me in a different light than just an annoying princess. Lastly, he sees me as a potential life partner.

    "In the future, I want to use your power. Is it okay with you?"

    "Of course!"

    "Thank you."

    "EN!"

    ~Two Weeks Later~

    I look at the massive wall in front of me with a smile. When I came here last time, I couldn''t appreciate the Sea Dragon City''s beauty, but I must say that the city is beautiful after coming here for the second time.

    The white wall that reflects the sun''s light makes it shine warmly to the people who see it.

    Unlike the capital, which stood on top of flatland, Sea Dragon City stood next to the sea where I could see the port where many ships were located.

    "Welcome to the Sea Dragon City."

    I smile at Isaac as I see our carriage go inside the city. I can see from my carriage that the city is really different from the capital. Sea Dragon City is not as big as the capital city, but I can say that Sea Dragon City is more beautiful than the capital.

    I look out the carriage and see many people having a pleasant day inside the city. Many of the people in the street sometimes shout how they adore Isaac. Some of them thank him for everything he has done. Some of them give their prayers to give Isaac a long life.

    It is really different from the capital. Every time I pass all the districts from visiting the other lord''s birthday party, I hear a curse coming from the civilians instead of praise. I hear them praying for my father''s quick death. I hear them crying for what my father has done to them.

    It is really different. The first time I came here, my mind was filled with how I could feed the civilians in the capital and never see the difference between Sea Dragon City and the Capital.

    The Sea Dragon City would be a heaven to me if I compared it to the capital city.

    When the carriage stopped, Isaac, Lucina, and I got out of the carriage and saw the ancient castle in front of me. Isaac told me about the castle where I will live for the rest of my life. He told me that this castle already exists even before the Vulux Kingdom exists.

    "Welcome to Sea Dragon Castle, Lady Lionheart."

    I blush a little when I hear him saying that. He already declared that even when I''m nothing but a mistress to Lord Lionheart, he said that I''m still the Lady of the Lionheart family. Lucina and Lady Eveline agree with this decision even though lady Eveline says that I need to prove myself first before she can declare me as one of the Lady of the Lionheart family.

    "Thank you."

    I know that my life will get harder than before, but now I know that even if my life gets harder than before, I will be content with it. There will be no one that wants to make me their slave. No one wants to make me their s?x doll.

    As long as I''m a decent person, the people in the north will accept me. I want a honest people to be my friend, and with me being here, I know that I can get myself a true friend. A friend that did not want me as their puppet. A friend that only befriends me for who I am, not the title I held.

    Yes.. I have the feeling that I will be happy living here.

 Chapter 90 - Interlude (II)

    |Lucina Lionheart POV|

    I look at my sister with a smile.

    "Hyah!"

    I block the incoming attack with ease and make my own attack. It has been two weeks since sister Eli came here. While her progress in handling the sword is not as fast as Isaac and me, she is getting there.

    However, unlike her mastery over a sword. Her mastery over bow and arrow is superb. She has a natural talent for bow and arrow.

    While I still have a little bit of jealousy toward her because she is a woman that wants to take my man. However, I know the circumstances that lead her here. She cannot do anything as women in this era don''t have enough power to make some changes.

    However, while they cannot do anything from the light, they can do it in the shadow, like Queen Dowager. She gathers her ally from the shadows and gathers her own strength to rival a Count lord or maybe a Marquiss.

    However, because her power is in the shadow, she can only rule in the shadow. To rule the light, she needed a massive supporter, but sadly the people did not want a woman to rule the kingdom because it was a kingdom, not a queendom.

    That is why. While I have a little bit of hate for her, I don''t hate her enough to harass her, and her behavior is something you cannot hate. She is a hard-working woman. She is smart. She is determined to learn.

    If not for her father, I think she is born in the north.

    "I win."

    I smile a little while pointing my training sword at her neck. When she smiles at me, I give her a hand and help her get up.

    "Your technique is good, but your stamina still needs some work."

    "Sorry about that."

    "Think nothing of it. In two weeks, you grow from cannot swing a training sword for a minute to five minutes straight without stopping. That is good."

    "Really?"

    "Yup. Come on. Breakfast should be ready after we finish bathing."

    At my word of bathing, she perks up and begins to beam at me. She has a weird obsession with bathing with warm water. Did the south have no bathhouse? Did the south not have a hot spring?

    "Eli, wait for me."

    "Sorry!"

    I shake my head with a smile. Sometimes, I wonder what she has been through to enjoy the simplest thing as a hot spring.

    ~4 hours later~

    "Lucina, could you help me?"

    "Hmmm? Of course. How can I help you?"

    "Well¡­. Hmm¡­."

    I raise my eyebrow and say.

    "You know, you could ask me anything."

    "Well¡­. Do you know Isaac''s favorite food?"

    "Well¡­ He really likes meat. He liked steak, as he called it. He likes medium-rare steak. He also loved noodles. He said he likes hand-pulled noodles."

    "Ah! Then will you help me cook some food for him?"

    I look to the side, and I can feel my face begin to heat up.

    "Well¡­ Sadly I cannot cook."

    "Then I will teach you!"

    I look at her with a surprised expression before saying.

    "Are you sure?"

    "Yes! We are sisters, after all!"

    I look at her if there is any lie in her words before smiling at her a second later.

    "Then I will be in your care."

    "Yes!"

    Eli and I walk toward the kitchen, and when we arrive in the kitchen, the servant looks at us with a surprised expression before kneeling on the ground.

    "Lady Lucina, Lady Elizabeth!"

    I sigh tiredly. Their loyalty really touches me, but it gets tiring sometimes. They give their undying loyalty to Isaac when he rescues them from the enemy that threatens the north for a long time. Hunger.

    He gives them food, a house, and even an income even though he can make them work for the food and the place to sleep only.

    While the northern people are hardy people, they still need to eat. With Isaac successfully defeating the only thing that makes the northerner fear, they decide to give their loyalty to the hero that helps them in their time of need.

    "Please get up. We come here to make some food."

    "Leave this to us!"

    "Ah¡­ It is not like that. Want to make food for Isaac, you see. We want to make some food with our own hand. If you are the one making it, it was not as special."

    "Then please feel free to use the kitchen. Should we get out of here?"

    "No. You don''t need to get out. We will use the place in the corner."

    "Very well, my lady. Please feel free to call us if you need any help."

    "Of course. Then excuse me."

    Eli and I walk toward the corner of the kitchen.

    "So, what should we do?"

    "First thing first. We should gather some ingredients."

    "For the noodles, we need some flour, water, and salt¡­.."

    I nod my head and begin to gather all the ingredients we need.

    ~2 hours later~

    I could not help but fidgeting when I saw Isaac slurping the noodle inside his mouth. What if it was disgusting? What if it did not match with his taste bud?

    "Hmmm~ It is delicious!"

    I beam at what Isaac said and look at Eli, who has a happy expression. We did it! I finally cooked something for my dear husband!

    It is always my dream to be able to cook for my husband but sadly, cooking is not something I''m really good at. I''m good at cooking potions. I''m good at cooking some medical paste but cooking food? I''m bad at it.

    And when Isaac decided to cook food for me? I am afraid to feed him low-quality food. My good mother says that Isaac will never hate me if I do that, but there is a whisper in my head that keeps saying he will hate me for it.

    Now I can breathe a sigh of relief as I already fulfill one of the goals I had.

    ~Later that night~

    "Lucina?"

    Isaac looks at me with a confused expression as I hug him tightly. The fear of losing Isaac to Eli is still there in the corner of my mind, but I know that Isaac will always stay with me. I know that he will stay by my side.

    "Isaac¡­ Do you want to do it?"

    Instead of answering my question, Isaac put his lip into mine, and I can feel his tongue dancing inside my mouth. His sweet taste filled my mouth as our tongues danced together. We do this for a minute before Isaac takes off his lips from mine.

    Isaac then begins to nibble my neck with his mouth, and I can feel one of his hands begin to explore my ?h?st region. Her hand begins to pinch my n?pp??, and I release a little m??n when I feel him use his electric magic to electrocute my n?pp?? with weak lightning magic.

    After exploring my ?h?st area, Isaac began to explore my sacred region. When his hand touched my sacred region, I couldn''t help but loudly m??n at p???sur?. However, before I could release another m??n, Isaac sealed my mouth with his.

    I feel the same pain-pleasure from the magic he uses on my n?pp??, but this time, he uses it on my ???t, as Isaac called it.

    "Hmmm! HMMMM!"

    I m??n in p???sur? as I feel something coming out from my sacred region. I can feel my leg already turned into jelly as I look at Isaac with pleading eyes.

    "Now¡­ we don''t want to rush this. Let me taste you first."

    After saying that, Isaac picks me up and throws me on the bed before ''eating'' me up.

 Chapter 91 - Work

    It has been two months since I got a promotion to a Duke and got myself a mistress. A reincarnator mistress. A power user mistress. A weak power but useful nonetheless. Hell, in her time here, Eli already thwarted ten merchants that came here trying to fool us.

    Let''s just say that they were thrown away from the city and marked as a bad type of merchant that we need to watch out for. They can come back, but The North will see them suspiciously, and we will sell our goods at a higher price than before.

    It was a merchant from another country. Let me tell you the nightmare that is the southern merchant. Like their counterpart of a noble, they have the same pride that is too high for their own good.

    They think that because of their connection to some Count and Marquiss in the south, they can take our goods at a lower price than what we sell to our fellow northern noble. They did not see my newly acquired promotion to Duke making their connection to the count, and Marquiss is useless because they are a lower noble than mine.

    Because of this, My fellow northern noble and I have a meeting in Sea Dragon City and decide it is time to separate the north and the south. The south has already harassed our merchants for a long time, and we have enough.

    We decided to make a fort on the main road that connects the north and the south. This fort will become the place that rejects the arrogant merchant who decides to test their luck in our land. Not only that, but this fort also became the only place the merchant could take to the north because the other road is a thick forest.

    Building a massive wall that separates North and South will take a long time and a massive amount of money. To buy the stone, pay the worker and pay the guard to guard the worker and ensure no one steals the material.

    That is why, in the Northern Meeting, we decide to grow a thick forest that separates the north and the south. After growing the tree, I create a simple barrier that gets anchored into the trees. This barrier will back anyone who tries to walk through the forest feeling uneasy and has a strong compulsion not to take the forest road.

    If someone decides to try it anyway, the barrier will alert the people that live in the forest. Who are the people that lived in this forest? The Dark Elves.

    And their condition makes me want to destroy something. Most of them have malnutrition, and some of them even look like skeletons. When I ask them why this is happening, they said that the Holy Light Empire''s people see them as third-class civilians. Just above slave.

    With the civil war that is happening in the empire, their situation is even worse. The only reason why they can arrive here immediately after I arrive in the north is that their elders who have a massive amount of mana reserve sacrifice themselves to teleport them here.

    If I reject them, the Dark Elves don''t know where they will go because they are the pariah even among the Elves Race. Luckily, the north did not see them as such. Hell, all elves who work as healers here volunteer to heal the Dark Elves from their injury.

    It takes two weeks and three days of daily potions and food to make their body healthy enough to work. It was long enough for the village to be built in the newly grown forest for them to stay. While they are great hunters, they are willing to become farmers. Hell, some of the older Dark Elves even cry. I still remember what they say to me when I ask them why.

    "My lord. We have been oppressed since the time of our Great Grandfather. What we cultivate will always be given to the local lord. If we did not fulfill their demand, they will torture one of us and tell us that it will happen to us if we did not fulfill their demand."

    "And here you are giving us your land for us to cultivate and even let us keep it and only take a little bit of our harvest. You already heal us. You already give us a place to stay and grow. We are content if you take more than half of our harvest if you want. But hearing you decide only to take ten percent of the harvest makes me know that you are a Lord no one will ever see. You are a lord who cares about your people. As long as you live, we will serve you even when the world becomes your enemy. We will still follow you."

    When the Dark Elves leader says that, I don''t know what to say, so I only smile at them and nod at them.

    So, now they become protectors of the Neck, as all of us decide to call it. The main income they have is through farming and husbandry. Their duty is to become the guardian that captures and kills anyone with bad intentions to the north.

    Not only that, but they also have a duty as a reinforcement in case a pirate decides to come and take the woods.

    It takes a week of massive search across the land to eradicate the bandits. We use all of the soldiers and my magic to search and kill all the bandits. Some of them become bandits to feed their families, but all the bandits get beheaded because of the King''s Law.

    The only thing I can do is to make sure their children did not follow their father''s path by giving them a brighter future.

    Because of my new position as the North''s Ruler, as the king calls it, I need to attend the beheading. Let me tell you, beheading a few hundred bandits takes a long time.

    Speaking of my position.

    "My lord, another noble from the east, offers their daughter as your mistress."

    "Richard¡­ Please reject all the marriage offers, please. Even when the king in the East offers his daughter, reject them."

    "Of course, my lord."

    Because of the news of me getting a mistress, the other noble in the east thought that I would accept another mistress; it really gives me a headache. I don''t know how many times I explain to them that I don''t want another mistress. They did not understand.

    "Is there anything, Richard?"

    "Yes, my lord. There is a letter coming from the king in the northern continent asking for an alliance."

    "Oh?"

    "Yes. Here you are."

    I take the letter and begin to read it.

    "Instead of asking, I think they are more of begging, my lord."

    Richard is correct. The letter is coming from the King of Lazuli Kingdom. A rather small kingdom on the edge of the Northern Kingdom. They only have two cities, and all of them are port towns. They did not have many populations because of the condition of their kingdom.

    "Why do you think they are begging for this alliance?"

    "Food, my lord."

    "Food?"

    "Yes. It looks like the famine Lady Elizabeth predicted is not only happening in this continent but also happening in the other continent."

    ".... They cannot afford to buy a large batch of food from us, is that right?"

    "Yes. The Lazuli Kingdom did not have many sources of income. They have some gold mines, but they do not have too much gold in them. The same happened to their iron and bronze mine."

    "And the only source of food is through hunting and fishing."

    "That is right."

    While I don''t think there is anything they can give over to us, I''m curious what they will say. While our corps can produce a huge amount of food, it needs time to grow. If I force the land to grow the plant, even more, it will destroy the soil and make it barren. While we cannot afford to sell them a large amount of food at once, we can sell them a small amount of cheap food periodically.

    "Please invite them here to discuss this alliance."

    "Of course, my lord."

    I nod at Richard and continue working. With my promotion, there is also an increase in my paperwork. By declaring me the Ruler of all North, the king gave me massive paperwork that needed my attention.

    Damn you, idiotic King.

 Chapter 92 - Vacation

    "Hey, Lucina."

    "Hmmm?"

    "I think we should take some vacation."

    "Really?"

    "Hmmm~ Just the two of us."

    "Where do you want to go?"

    "I don''t know, maybe some peaceful place? Maybe the world where I previously was from?"

    "I don''t mind, but you said you want to learn teleportation magic because the one that the Dark Elves use is the same as the one you used right now."

    Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that. The Dark Elves'' teleportation method is the same as the Apparition spell from the Harry Potter world. They create a channel between space and travel through it at high speed.

    Instead of connecting one space to the other, this one creates a sub-dimension that can be used to travel at high speed, making it like teleportation. I don''t want that kind of teleportation. It is uncomfortable.

    "I have someplace in mind that we can visit. However, it was not a peaceful place to visit, but if we lay low and did not gather attention to ourselves, we should be fine."

    "Really? What kind of world is that?"

    "Well, this universe is called DxD Universe. A rather¡­ strange world."

    "Odd?"

    "Yes. It is a dangerous world filled with monsters and creatures that are strong enough to destroy an island with a single attack. However, it is also a world with magic knowledge that I can learn if I can meet one of the magicians."

    "I see, but you did not tell me why it was an Odd world."

    "Well¡­ The savior of this world is a pervert."

    "So? As long as he is not a rapist, I don''t mind¡­ much."

    "He is also powered by br??sts."

    "Huh?"

    "Yes. His power comes from a br??st. As long as he can touch a woman''s br??st, he will get a power-up for some unknown reason."

    "That is¡­"

    "And that did not stop there. There is also a creature so powerful that it can destroy the world, but for some reason, it decided to take the form of a young girl that did not want to cover her ?h?st area."

    "What?"

    "Yeah. That world is odd."

    ".... At least it is safe if we are not gathering attention to ourselves?"

    "Yup. As long as we do not make any trouble, we should be safe."

    "Okay. I''m good to go to this world."

    "Then, tomorrow we will go."

    "Okay. you don''t want to bring the other?"

    "No. I don''t want to bring Mother and Gin Gin just yet. While I trust Eli, I don''t want to show her my power to her just yet. Lastly, I want this vacation just for the two of us."

    I kiss her on the forehead and smile a little when I see her blush. When Eli comes here and becomes my mistress, Lucina becomes a little bit self-conscious and begins to try her hardest to become the best wife she can be in fear that Eli will be my favorite woman.

    I already told her that I would never do that as my love will always be for her, but she decided not to lose to Eli anyway. Now, Lucina and Eli decide to cook a meal for me every morning. They are a rival but not a bitter rival. It was more of a sweet rival where they are a friend and a rival at the same time.

    They are friends but also rivals. They are a sister but also a rival? I don''t know what women think, sometimes. However, I''m glad they are getting along.

    Anyway, I close my eyes and begin to sleep. Tomorrow morning, we will visit the DxD world to explore the Earth and see the place I cannot see in my previous world. Also, try to learn their type of teleportation.

    ~The next morning~

    I look at Lucina, who nods her head at me. With that confirmation, we walk inside the Dimension Hopping Room. When we get inside, I can feel the world begin to change. A few seconds later, the room changed back into the familiar white room.

    It looks like we arrive in the DxD world¡­. Shit! I almost forgot about the Great Red! Did my power breach the Dimension Gap, or it teleported me inside the earth? I hope it was the latter option and not the former one.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    There is no dream if death uses its power. There is no infinite when the universe only has nothingness.

    However, There is death even when there is no dream. There is death even when there is only nothingness as nothingness is the mother to death.

    Ophis tilted her head as she could feel it was not Death itself who came but someone, something, that had a strong connection to Death itself. Children? No. Beloved? Yes. Ophis decided that it was the beloved of death. She can feel the affection Death gives this person, thing, and she can feel its power around this person or thing.

    Ophis knows that her usual recruitment pitch will not work as she knows that if she angers Death, it will erase her, and her beloved silence will disappear with her. So, she needed something new.

    Ophis then looks at her minion, the noisy cat, and says.

    "Teach me."

    "Huh? Ophis-sama? Is there anything I can do for you-nya?"

    "Teach me how to seduce someone."

    "HUH?!?"

    In other places in the world, there is a similar occurrence. However, unlike Ophis, who is rather calm, these people have a panic attack. They are the ruler of the underworld, the individuals that govern the dead and judge them.

    The reason why they are panicking is that they feel their patron presence. The one that gives them the authority that lets them govern over the dead. They still remember one unlucky god and goddess that try to challenge Death because they think they are the ruler over anything.

    Well, let just say that there is a reason the Sumerian Gods did not exist anymore.

    It was the last time the gods felt the wrath of Death, and they did not want to feel it the second time.

    While they can only feel a small fraction of her power, it was enough for them, the gods who have a connection to Death, to feel it. The other cannot feel it but to them? It was like someone punched them in the face.

    There is also one individual that feels the presence of Death. It was a young woman with silver-blonde hair and red eyes. She was around nineteen years old if people look at her appearance.

    She is currently crying inside the tower where her brother jailed her. This tower is located in Romania, the place where vampires call this country their home and nest.

    This young woman is called Valerie Tepes.

    "Ah? It came back. The cold embrace of death. It came back to me¡­ My broken piece finally came back to me. Ah¡­. I miss you¡­. Please don''t go¡­ Please¡­"

    Because of that, her soul is broken. Her being has been shattered, and if she is not immediately fixed, she will die in a few years.

    "Please¡­. Don''t¡­ Leave¡­. Me¡­.. Here¡­. Alone¡­"

 Chapter 93 - Odd Guest

    I look around and see that we are at the dead-end of an alleyway. By looking at the writing on the wall and the sign near the alleyway, we are in Japan.

    "Well, there is good news, but there is also bad news."

    "Tell me the good news."

    "Well, the good news is that this place is known for its beautiful vacation place. There are many places we can visit."

    "And the bad news?"

    "We are in a place where many conflicts will happen."

    "That does not sound so bad. As long as we don''t get involved, we should be fine."

    "I guess you are right."

    "Great! Now, what should we do first?"

    "First thing first, we need to find a way to exchange some gold into the local money."

    "How?"

    "We could go to a shop called a pawn shop where we can sell the gold for some money."

    "But?"

    "But I don''t know where the pawnshop wants to buy our gold, and there is a problem when the shop owner decides to ask a question."

    "Well¡­. You could use your magic."

    "I¡­."

    Huh. I did not think about that.

    "You are right. We should go to a rather big pawn shop and sell our gold."

    "Of course."

    ~ a Few hours later~

    Well, it was a success. We successfully sold one kilo worth of gold to the rather big pawn shop. Now we have around six million yen in our pocket¡ªa good sum of money for us to use.

    "Now, we have some money. Where do you want to go first?"

    "Well, you said that this country has a good vacation spot. Let us walk around the city first."

    "You know what, you are right. First thing first, we should eat something. I''m hungry. Come on. There should be a good restaurant around here."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    Ophis looks at a wall.

    "Errrr, Ophis-sama? Why do we come here?"

    Ophis tilted her head and touched the wall in front of her in a curious manner. When she arrived here to see the individual who had the power of death, she never thought she would feel something really familiar.

    She can feel a void around the area. A new type of void. Something that she never thought she would feel inside the thing other than her silence.

    "My silent."

    While she is not too afraid of roaming in Youkai''s capital city, there is still a chance of her being caught by the other Youkai. She knows that Yasaka, the leader of all Youkai, will defend her and hide her from the devil, but she did not want to risk it because her little sister is in the Devil''s possession.

    "Silent? Do you mean the Dimensional Gap?"

    "Nu''u" Ophis shakes her head and points her little finger on the wall in front of her. "New Silent"

    Kuroka looks at the wall in front of her and begins to scan the wall in front of her, but she cannot feel anything even with an active scanning spell. Even when she uses her Senjutsu, she cannot find anything.

    "There is nothing there, Ophis-sama."

    Ophis shakes her head and stubbornly points her little finger and says.

    "Silent"

    ".... Is this related to the person you want to¡­. Seduce?"

    Ophis tilted her head and thought about it for a few seconds before nodding her head.

    "Do you want us to stay here for a few hours?"

    "En"

    "Very well."

    Kuroka created a bounded field around the area, so the non-magical people did not come here and see them. She did not want anyone to see both her and Ophis sitting down next to a dumpster like a beggar.

    They continue to wait for three hours. As Kuroka is about to return home, leaving Ophis, who stubbornly waits for whatever thing gets her attention, a couple is walking inside the alleyway she and Ophis are at.

    Kuroka gets up from the ground and sees they are both humans. The man has silver hair while the woman has brown hair. It was Lucina and Isaac. They just got back from exploring the city. They decide to buy some clothes, food but mostly sweet for Ginerva.

    They eat in a rather fancy restaurant where they order the best dishes the restaurant has. It was good, really good in fact that Isaac and Lucina were happy to eat in that restaurant. Sadly, it was not too fulfilling as it was not enough for them.

    So, they decide to explore the city and eat as much food as their stomach can. From the Ramen shop to the Snack store, they visit them all. When both are satisfied eating, they decide to nap inside Isaac''s pocket dimension.

    However, when they arrive in the Alleyway where the pocket dimension is located, both Isaac and Lucina feel a barrier around it. With their rune ready to use, they walked toward the alleyway and found a unique scene.

    An almost n?k?d child sitting next to a trash bin looks at the wall where the portal to the pocket dimension is located, and next to her is a young woman that has an enormous br??st that shows half of it to the world looking at them and gets ready to fight in case both Isaac and Lucina decide to want to fight.

    "Death"

    Isaac snaps from his thought when he feels someone hug his leg with a force that is enough to break a normal human bone.

    "Death?!? Is he a death god, Ophis-sama?!?"

    "Nu''u! Death!"

    Isaac scratches his head in confusion, while Lucina giggles when she sees his confused looks. Now Lucina knows why Isaac says that this world is really odd. If what he says is correct, then the little girl in front of her is one of the most powerful beings in this world. A being that can destroy the world if she wants to.

    "Hello, there. Can we ask why you guys here?"

    Lucina decides to ask both of them politely. It is a healthy thing to do not to provoke a creature powerful enough to destroy the world.

    "Well¡­. I could tell you guys. Ophis-sama says that there is a ''silent on the wall over there."

    Lucina nods her head and looks at Isaac, who sighs a little, takes Ophis into his arms, and opens up the portal where both Ophis and Kuroka can see. There is no reason to hide it to a being that can detect his power after all. Isaac did not want Ophis to brute force her way into his pocket dimension.

    "She means this. Come on. I will show you around. However, before we walk inside, please keep this a secret, will you?"

    "Eh? Why?"

    Isaac ignores Kuroka and looks Ophis in the eyes before saying.

    "Ophis, can you make sure your minion did not tell my secret to the other? If not, I will not permit you to walk inside my pocket dimension. I know where this silent you are looking for, but if you cannot promise me not to tell anyone about this, I will not permit you to come inside. Before you think about killing me, there is an effect of my power that will not let anyone harm me and my ally around the portal. I don''t know if it will affect you, but I have fate in my power."

    Ophis tilted her head and tried to attack him, but to her surprise, she couldn''t do it. It was the first time she couldn''t do anything she wanted. Even though her only intention is only to injure him, she cannot do that. She did not have the intention to kill Death Beloved. She did not have a wish to disappear.

    While Ophis is thinking about it, Isaac smiles a little as his theory is correct. Seven meters around the portal will be known as the peace area, like the peace area inside the pocket dimension where the monster cannot attack us, and if they try to do it, the pocket dimension will kill them. Like how Lucina cannot attack me when we are not in the training room, Ophis cannot attack me as she is inside the peace area.

    "Can you promise me that you and the little cat over there will not tell anyone about me and my power?"

    "En"

    After nodding her head, Ophis points her finger at Kuroka, and suddenly purple energy appears around Kuroka and binds her body before it suddenly disappears.

    "Done. She cannot say anything."

    "If she decides to do it?"

    "She will die."

    When she hears Ophis say that, Kuroka''s face becomes even paler. She knew that Ophis did not think about them very much, but she never thought that Ophis would kill her follower in a blink of an eye.

    "Good, now come on."

    When they walk inside the portal, Ophis and Kuroka widen their eyes. For Ophis, she never thought she missed this place. It has a massive amount of Void energy, maintaining the dimension with ease. Even when it was not like the Dimensional Gap where there are no sounds, this place has the same soothing feeling only void energy can give.

    Ophis did not mind living here, even with all the noises.

    As for Kuroka, she was surprised by the Natural Energy inside the pocket dimension. Unlike the Natural Energy on the Earth, it was already contaminated with hate, ill, and malice. However, there is no hate, ill intent, and malice of the world in this place.

    Rather it was so clean and happy. The Natural Energy is so clean that instead of making Kuroka shudder every time she uses her Senjutsu, it makes her body heat up. In a good way. The feeling is so good that Kuroka cannot contain it anymore.

    So, she m??ns in the most ?r?t?? way.

    "Nyaaaaa~."

 Chapter 94 - Silent

    I don''t know what to think about the people in front of me. Especially after the loud m??ning sound, Kuroka releases as if she feels the most pleasant ?r??sm she ever felt in her life. I look at Ophis and say.

    "Do you know why she m??ns loudly?"

    "En? Natural Energy. Pure."

    "Ah¡­"

    I guess I can understand why she m??ns loudly. It is common sense in the DxD world that Natural Energy is tainted and can be poisonous to the Senjutsu practitioner. The reason is that the pollution the human created and all the hate living being released to each other tainted the energy even more.

    I nod my head and levitate Kuroka and let her and Ophis into my mansion. After I let Ophis sit down on the couch where Lucina sat next to her. When I was about to go to the kitchen and take out some cookies, I heard her saying.

    "You are warm."

    I smile a little when I see Ophis decide to use Lucina''s ??p as her new place to make a nest. When I arrive in the kitchen, I take two jars of cookies from the kitchen shelves and bring them to the living room.

    When I arrive in the living room, I can see Ophis nuzzled up against Lucina. If not for the cannon knowledge, I will think that Ophis is a kitten. I sit down next to Lucina, and as I sit down next to her, Ophis looks at me and begins to crawl on my ??p.

    "You know, While I don''t mind you being here, can you tell me the reason why you are here?"

    "Silent."

    "Ah¡­ Do you want it now?"

    "Nu?"

    "Yes, you can. Do you want it?"

    "En"

    "Come on then."

    I take her to the silent room¡ªthe room where I train my mental strength. You could say that this room is a Sensory deprivation room ultimate edition. Unlike your normal Sensory deprivation room, where there is only reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses, this one removes all your sensory function. You cannot see, feel, taste, smell, and hear anything.

    "Here is the room where you can find your silence. Sadly, it cannot last forever. It can only last for three days. I hope you understand."

    "En."

    "Then go ahead."

    After seeing Ophis walk inside the room, I close the door and walk to the living room, where I see Lucina eat some cookies while Kuroka is still unconscious on the sofa in front of Lucina. I sit down next to Lucina and say.

    "So, what should we do now?"

    "... Do you want to upgrade your spear?"

    "Sure, why not. I also want to make a short sword for Ginerva and bow for Eli."

    "That is a great idea."

    "Come on. I want to experiment with some runes that I read in the books."

    We then walk to the forge, where we are getting ready for upgrading our weapon and armor.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Kuroka POV|

    "Urgh¡­ What?"

    I look around and see that I''m inside someone''s house. Was all of that just a dream? However, by the Natural Energy''s I can feel here, I guess it was not a dream. I sit down on what looks like a sofa and look around the room.

    The room is filled with decorations that show how fancy the owner of this place is. After a few seconds of looking around, I get up and ready to search for the owner of this place. However, before she could walk, she saw Ophis coming out from one of the rooms with a small smile on her face.

    "Ophis-sama."

    "Cat."

    I sigh a little when I hear her say that. I served her for a year, but not a single time she called me by my name. She is either called Black Cat or just plainly called cat. I''m not a cat, you know! I''m a Nekomata! Not a cat!

    "What are you doing inside that room, Ophis-sama?"

    "Silent"

    "Huh?"

    I continue to stare at Ophis, waiting for an explanation, but I sigh and say when I see she does not want to explain.

    "So, why are you getting out of the room?"

    "Cookies"

    Ophis passed me a cookie jar as if it was the answer I''m looking for.

    "Errr¡­ I don''t have any cookies, Ophis-sama."

    "Mu¡­. Cookies"

    "I also cannot bake it for you. Do you remember the last time I bake something? I burn our headquarters."

    "Muuuu"

    And I''m not kidding. For some unknown reason, I cannot bake a dessert! I can cook just fine even though everyone who eats my cooking becomes green; I''m a fine cook! However, when it comes to baking or making some dessert, it either becomes a blaze of inferno or an explosion.

    "How about we go and search for the owner of this place, and then you can for another serving of cookies."

    "En"

    I nodded my head, but before I could walk around, I remembered that I did not know where the owner of this place was.

    "Ophis-sama, did you know the location of the couple that came with us?"

    Ophis tilted her head and began to walk toward where I think the owner of this place was. After a few seconds of walking, I can hear a clunking noise coming from one of the rooms where we are heading. Not only clunking noises, but there is also the sound of a hammer hitting metal.

    When Ophis opened the door, I could see it was a forge with a massive metal heater, anvil, and grinder. I can also see many types of weapons lying in the corner of the room. While I''m not an expert in swords, I know enough of them that I can see that the sword in the corner of the room is exceptional.

    However, what catches my eyes is the couple in front of me. The hammering and heating of the metal is a common blacksmith technique. What catches my eyes is the energy both of them are releasing. Each blow the hammer does to the metal, there is energy infused inside the metal in front of them. Each time the woman places the metal inside the heater, the fire around the metal follows the woman''s order as if she has absolute control over the fire.

    And because of my Senjutsu, I can see the energy of the couple releasing. The woman releases Qi from her body to temper the metal''s outer shell while the young man releases his Mana to enchant the inner side of the metal.

    It was like looking at Yin and Yang dancing together, teasing each other with each touch. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Beautiful because it was like looking at Aurora Borealis in the night northern sky. It was terrifying because of how much control they have.

    Just how long do they train their energy to have that kind of control?

    "Oh?!? Ophis! Why do you get out of the room?"

    I snap from my thought when I hear the man greet Ophis with a smile on his face.

    "Cookies"

    When Ophis says that, the man smiles sadly and says.

    "Sorry, that is the last batch of cookies I have."

    "Mu"

    "I can bake another batch if you want?"

    "En?!?"

    "Yup. After we finish this, I will bake many cookies for you."

    "En!"

    The man smiled at Ophis before looking at me right in the eyes.

    "And what can I do for you?"

    ".... Can I watch you two?"

    Dammit, mouth.

    "Sure. As long as you did not touch anything, I don''t mind."

    "I promise."

    "Good. Oh! Before that, let me introduce myself, My name is Isaac Lionheart, and this beautiful lady over here is Lucina Lionheart, My wife."

    Wait, he is already married?!?

 Chapter 95 - Old Crow

    I look at my spear that glows with power. The silver light the spear releases matches my hair. This spear not only can summon five elements (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning), it also can pierce a dense metal like Mithril from my world.

    The rune from the Suikoden World is really a wonder. If used correctly, you can use the Fire Rune to do two things. Summon a fire to attack the enemy or to burn your enemy every time you hit them. I call it the passive and active effect of the Fire Rune.

    While not as strong as the one you attach to your body, the rune is still powerful enough to create a torrent of fire that can melt rock in a few seconds. Sadly, it needs to recharge every time it makes a strong attack like that.

    Luckily four other elements can replace it while it is recharging.

    Anyway, the spear changed color from purple to silver because of the rune I carved on the spear. It was the one that increased the piercing ability of the spear to a higher level. Not only that, but the rune also binds the spear to me, making it basically indestructible. Well, not indestructible, but rather as long as I''m alive, it will self-repair. It can take from one second to one month. It depends on the damage it receives.

    This self-repaired rune is the one that makes it change color from purple to silver. It changes according to my mana, and it looks like my mana has a silver color, which is good. I like silver.

    "Cookies"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Ophis''s voice. Ah, that''s right, I promised her to make cookies.

    "Sorry about that, come on. I will bake you some cookies."

    "En"

    Lucina and I walk to the kitchen, followed by Kuroka and Ophis. I cast a cleaning spell for both Lucina and me before we arrived at the kitchen.

    ~A few minutes later~

    "You know, you could become a famous blacksmith if you decide to sell your creation."

    "Well, I don''t want to do it. My wife and I are content with what we have. We don''t want the fame that will ruin our peaceful life."

    "Huh. I guess some people only want peace in their life."

    "Yup, we only want to be left alone. However, don''t see our passiveness as a weakness. We will fight anyone who tries to destroy our peace."

    Kuroka nods her head in understanding and says.

    "Yeah. I can relate to that."

    I nod my head as I know she also has the same experience. Kuroka only wishes to be left alone with her little sister, but sadly her so-called master did not acknowledge her wishes, and he paid the price.

    "That is your wish, huh, Kuroka?"

    "Nya?"

    "That is your wish to be left alone with your little sister Shirone in peace."

    "Yes. Sadly reality decides otherwise."

    "So now, you are separated from your loved one because of the decision of the other, not of your own."

    "Yes"

    I nod at her in sympathy before passing another batch of cookies to Ophis and Kuroka. That dragon really likes to eat.

    "You know~ If you keep feeding me cookies, I will get fat, nya~."

    "Heh. I''m not feeding you. I only bake the cookies. You are the one that cannot hold your urge to eat it."

    "Because it is so delicious, nya!"

    "Thank you."

    I ignore the purring sound of Kuroka every time she takes a bite of my cookies. I know that my cookies are delicious, but I never thought that they would make her purr like the cat she is.

    "Anyway! Can I ask the reason why you and Lady Lucina came to Japan?"

    "You don''t think we are natives of Japan?"

    "Fufufufu, while Vali-kun keeps saying I''m an idiot cat, I''m not an idiot, you know? You have the face of European people, nya~ You and Lady Lucina. Maybe from Sweden or Finland?"

    "Nope."

    "Eh~ Your name is the name of British people, but your face is the face from Scandinavia. It isn''t very clear. Maybe from Norway?"

    "Nope. Sorry, I cannot tell you about our origin."

    "Mou~ Can''t or Won''t?"

    "Yes"

    I chuckle a little when I see her pouting.

    "You have not yet answered my question."

    "We come here for vacation."

    "Vacation?"

    "Yup. We want to have time relaxing and enjoy the peaceful time we have here."

    "I can show you guys around if you want?"

    I look at Lucina, who nods her head, saying that she doesn''t mind more company, especially with Ophis that, for some reason, is really attached to Lucina and me.

    "Sure. We don''t mind. However, before we go, are there some places where you can buy an exotic metal?"

    "What kind of exotic metal?"

    "The magical kind."

    "Well¡­ There is one person that might be interested in that. However, I must tell you that he is¡­ an odd individual."

    Who? I begin to think about who Kuroka is thinking right now. An odd individual that Kuroka knows¡­ Azazel?

    "Azazel?"

    "You are correct, nya!"

    "I guess we can meet him. Is he in Japan right now?"

    "Yup. He is the teacher at Kuoh Academy right now. We can visit him there, nya~."

    "Are you okay with that? You are a wanted criminal, you know? For your past and for joining the Khaos Brigade."

    "Don''t worry. Even when Vali declares he is a Khaos Brigade member, Azazel still sees him as his son. He can hide me or the other from the devil and angels. While he is a pervert, he is a genius."

    "Fair enough. When do we go?"

    "Up to you."

    "How about now? Tomorrow I want to visit a local hot spring."

    "Sure!"

    Anyway, after we walk away from my pocket dimension, Kuroka creates a massive magic circle that shines for a second before I can feel my body being pulled in by something.

    A few seconds later, we are in a different place altogether. Look like we are inside a mansion of some sort. However, I stop looking around when I see a man in his twenties with black hair and golden bangs. He also has a black goatee.

    However, what makes Lucina and I gaping at him is that he gropes a pillow with the face of a woman on it. It was a body pillow of Gabriel, one of the seraphs in heaven. When he notices our presence, he hides the pillow behind his body and looks at us as if nothing is wrong.

    "Kuroka! What can I do for you?"

    If not for my knowledge of this world first hand, I would think that the man in front of me is nothing but a perverted old man. Sadly, he is a powerful perverted old man.. He is still a pervert, but at least he is powerful enough that many people will not question his fetish.

 Chapter 96 - Transaction

    Before Kuroka says anything, Azazel says something while looking at Ophis.

    "Before you say anything, I need to ask you something, Kuroka. Is that what I think it is?"

    Azazel points his finger at Ophis in worry. I guess I cannot blame him for it. Ophis is coming into his headquarters. A leader of the terrorist group and one of the most powerful creatures in the world.

    "Yup~ She is Ophis, nya~."

    "That is what I am afraid of."

    Azazel rubs his forehead before sitting down on the sofa where he molested Gabriel''s body pillow and took out a bottle of whiskey from under the couch.

    "Please sit down."

    I look at Lucina, nod my head, walk toward the sofa in front of him, and sit down in front of Azazel. Lucina sits down next to me with Ophis on her while Kuroka walks behind Azazel and stands behind him as if she is his bodyguard.

    "So! What can I do for you?"

    I look at him with a confused expression before asking him.

    "You did not want to ask who we are?"

    "Nah. Kuroka vouch for you, so I can trust you, but a name would be nice."

    "Isaac Lionheart and sitting next to me is my wife¡­"

    I look at Lucina, who smiles at Azazel while feeding Ophis with the cookies I bake.

    "Lucina Lionheart. Nice to meet you."

    "The p???sur? is all mine. Azazel, the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels and Grigori"

    After introducing himself, Azazel looks at me and says.

    "So! What can I do for you?"

    "I come here to sell something."

    "Oh? I don''t want to doubt you, but I''m not willing to buy any more gold or other jewelry from you. Many magicians come to me with that offer already."

    I shake my head and summon out a one-kilo ingot of Adamantium from my pocket dimension. If my power says is correct, Adamantium is one of the rarest metals in this world. The reason is that this metal is created by the Dwarves who went to the other world with the elves.

    The metal itself is unique as it was the only metal that can be used to contain all types of energy. From Demonic Energy to Divine Energy. Many metals usually can only carry one type of energy, but Adamantium can absorb all energy types.

    Not only that, but Adamantium also has high durability, making it a perfect metal for making armor and sword.

    When Azazel sees Adamantium in my hand, he becomes serious and takes it from my hand. After a minute of touching it around, Azazel looked at me in the eyes with a serious expression.

    "What do you want for this ingot?"

    "Knowledge."

    "Knowledge?"

    "Yes. We want as many grimoires as you can give us. I especially want a teleportation spell and a grimoire about crafting."

    "That''s it? Easy enough"

    "Well, we also need a few millions of yen of clean money for us to use. We come here for a vacation, after all. Oh! We also want legal identification like a passport."

    "Easy enough. Anything else?"

    "Nope. As long as you give us the grimoire and pocket money we can use, we are happy."

    "Hmmm¡­. Come back tomorrow morning. Your request will be ready tomorrow morning."

    "Thank you."

    "No, Isaac. I thank you."

    I shake his hand and let Kuroka take us back to the alleyway we arrived at. While I know that metal is worth more than what I ask him, I don''t really care. I still can summon eight more Adamantium for Lucina and me to experiment today.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Azazel POV|

    I look at the metal ingot in front of me with interest. The people from before are not normal. I know they are human, but they are different from your normal human magician. A normal magician did not have that massive pool of Mana or Qi.

    While their reserve is not as massive as High-class beings, they almost reach it. Maybe in another two days of intense training, they will reach it.

    Anyway, what makes me even more sure they are not a normal magician is their connection with Ophis. By the look of it, Ophis is really attached to them. While I do not really know the internal matter of the Khaos Brigade, I know the leader of the said organization is Ophis, and the last time I see her is in the Underworld when the Old Satan faction decides to attack, she did not care about anything and anyone even Sirzechs the most powerful devil in the world right now.

    So, when two humans do not even reach the High-class power in terms of the energy reserve, I know there is something wrong there.

    What sealing the deal is the item in front of me. Adamantium. The legendary metal the Dwarves made before they create their own world with the Elves. The metal that anyone can use as it was the only metal that can contain all types of energy in the world.

    However, it was not the only thing the metal is known for. This is the only metal that can block the Power of Destruction the Bael Clan is known for. There is a reason why the Dwarves create this metal.

    However, one day his pride is trampled by the dwarves when they are equipped with a new type of armor that nullifies the infamous Power of Destruction of the Bael Clan. Because of this armor, the Dwarves won the war against the devil, who decided that it would not be wise to have a war on two fronts. They are still at war against heaven that day.

    After the news of a new type of metal has been created by the infamous race of crafters, all factions decide to visit the Dwarves'' land. Some of them come in peace, some of them come with their army.

    The one that comes with their army comes back home with many of their army destroyed by dwarves golem army. What makes the dwarves'' army so strong is because they are made of Adamantium, the same metal that nullifies the Power of destruction.

    So when the news of the Dwarves and the Elves decide to go to the other world, many factions begin to scavenge all the tech and items from the dwarves'' homeland. Some of them find a good chunk of Adamantium, some of them find only a little bit. I know that all of them have already been used to create a known legendary weapon and armor like the Poseidon Trident. It was made of pure Adamantium.

    So when one kilo worth of Adamantium appears in front of me, I will take it. Also, the price is too low in my opinion. However, I will hold my word by copying as many grimoires as I can. Hell, if Isaac says that he wants the entire library of Grayzauberer, I will do it. I will beg Mephisto to let me copy all the grimoire of Grauzauberer.

    While the Grigori did not have the same size library as the Grauzauberer have, the Grigori did not lose to them.

    While my hands are itching to experiment with the Adamantium, I need to fulfill my end of the deal. However, when I''m done with it? Huhuhuhuhu.. Just thinking about it gives me a good shiver on my back.

 Chapter 97 - Calling

    "Can you tell me how much money is in this card once again?"

    "One billion yen."

    "What¡­"

    One billion yen? What the hell! I know he is rich, but I never thought that he could throw away this much money.

    "Are you sure? This is one billion yen worth of money, you know."

    "Meh. I still have more."

    I scratch my head and take the card in front of me. I don''t really understand the thinking of rich people.

    "Then I will gratefully take this card."

    "Good! Now, as for the Grimoire. Please follow me."

    Lucina, Kuroka, Ophis, and I follow Azazel, and after a few seconds of walking, we arrive in the basement, and we go to one of the rooms in the basement. When Azazel opens the door, I can see a mountain of books inside the room.

    I can feel mana inside one of the books. That is really interesting.

    "These are all the books I can give you. However, I must tell you that among those books, there is a magical Grimoire."

    "What is the difference?"

    "Magical Grimoire is a book that contains a little bit of its user magic. Like this one, for example."

    Azazel takes out a massive book from the pile.

    "This Grimoire was once owned by Merlin."

    "The creator of Modern Magic?"

    "That is right. Most of the spells in this book need a high amount of mana to use, but it compensates for it with firepower. Most magicians in this era use an alteration of the spell in these books. The difference is that the modern spell tends to be weaker, but it did not require much mana from the caster."

    "I see."

    "Anyway! What makes the Magical Grimoire unique is because it can transfer all knowledge inside it to you, unlike the other where you need to learn it from the beginning."

    "I see. That is good then."

    "Yup. It also can be used as an emergency mana reserve. It can store a good amount of mana inside for you to access. Not only that, once the book is bonded to the owner, it will never leave them and will not give the other the knowledge inside the books."

    "Wait, if it is like that, then why do you give it to me?"

    "This book is not the original. This is only a copy of the original. I personally copy all the knowledge inside the book into this newly built Magical Grimoire."

    "How? You said that it would not give anyone the knowledge inside the book other than its owner."

    "Well, my boy, when in doubt, uses more power. There is a reason why people say ''Might make right'' after all. As long as you have enough power, you can do anything you want. Especially on this side of the world."

    I stay silent when I hear Azazel say that. While it sounds like a barbarian kind of thinking, he is right about that. As long as you have enough power backing you, there will be no one questioning you.

    It is especially true in the DxD world.

    "Fair enough."

    "Great! Now, where do I need to deliver all this?"

    "No need."

    I take out the trunk I get from the Goblin in the Harry Potter world and open it. I then begin to levitate all the books inside the trunks. I will sort the books later. For now, I need all of them inside.

    "Interesting."

    I look to my side and see Azazel look at my trunks with the eyes of a mad scientist.

    "A pocket dimension? No. Hmmm¡­ The space inside the trunk is expanded by a hundred¡­ No¡­ Two hundred times its normal size. It maintains its size because of a rune carved into the wall of the trunk. The rune has a job as a mana absorber and transporter. Fascinating."

    "It is nice to do business with you, Azazel."

    "Heh. Think nothing of it. However, before you go, I need to ask you something."

    "Of course."

    "Are you a member of Ophis''s little group?"

    I shake my head and say.

    "No. Lucina and I are not members of the Khaos Brigade."

    Azazel looked at me in the eyes for a few seconds before nodding his head.

    "Very well. I don''t want to kill you if you are a member of the Khaos Brigade."

    "Don''t worry. However, I recommend taking Vali away from the Khaos Brigade. They will do something stupid in the future, and I don''t want your foster son to suffer a bad reputation when the Khaos Brigade does something stupid."

    "... What kind of stupid thing will they do?"

    "Using the power of Samael to steal Ophis''s power."

    When I say that, Azazel widens her eyes while Ophis tilts her head in confusion.

    "What?"

    "Yes. Let''s say that they successfully persuade Hades to release Samael for a moment."

    "Dammit"

    "Also, do you know the real leader of the Khaos Brigade?"

    "Ophis."

    "No. It was Vali''s grandfather. Rizevim Livan Lucifer. He is the one pulling the string from the back."

    When I say that, Azazel begins to look serious and mutters something.

    "... What is his end goal? Rule over the underworld like his grandfather? Declare war against heaven like in the past?"

    I decide to interrupt Azazel by saying.

    "He wants to cause as much Chaos as he can."

    "What?"

    "He did not want to rule the underworld. He wants to cause as much chaos as he can before he goes to the other world."

    Azazel looked at me in disbelief. I guess I can understand him confused at what I''m saying. Rizevim is the son of the original Lucifer, after all. Azazel though that Rizevim only wanted to take back his father''s throne once again.

    Sadly, Rizevim is a twisted individual. A normal person cannot comprehend what he is thinking. However, there is one thing clear. He wants to spread as much chaos as he can in this world to show the world that he is the real devil.

    "He did not care about Ophis''s goal of reclaiming her silence and only used her because of her title and power."

    I shrug my shoulder and walk away from the room, leaving Azazel in his deep thought. After leaving the room, Kuroka teleported us toward the alleyway where my pocket dimension is located.

    I already said my piece to Azazel. It is up to him if he wants to take action against the Khaos Brigade or not.

    I pat Ophis''s head, who decides to make a nest on my ??p while reading the Grimoire I got from Azazel. I must say that Merlin in this world is a genius. Not only in magical knowledge but also potions and mind arts.

    When I bind the Grimoire by giving my blood to the books, a stream of knowledge appears inside my head. There are so many spells I can choose now. From Elemental spell to Olympus Magic.

    While I get the books'' knowledge, I still need to train in using a magic circle. If Intent and Will fuel the magic from the Harry Potter world, this world magic is fueled by formula. The magic from this world is more powerful than the magic from the Harry Potter world, but it also needs a lot more magic to cast than the one from the Harry Potter world.

    "Ophis-sama."

    I snap from my thought and look at Kuroka, who walks toward Ophis, who look at her and tilted her head.

    "Ophis-sama. Your presence is needed. I received a call this morning from Rizevim summoning all Khaos Brigade members to the headquarter tonight. He said that Cao Cao has a way to summon Great Red in this world."

    "Muuuuu."

    I can see Ophis did not want to go, but when Kuroka said Great Red, she began to think twice before nodding her head. However, before she could go, I say.

    "Ophis. Before you go, I must say this. Don''t trust Rizevim and Cao Cao. They will be the one that steals your power."

    "Mu?"

    "I can''t say how I know this, but please trust me on this."

    "En"

    "Good."

    I nod my head and take them both away from my pocket dimension and see them teleported away.

 Chapter 98 - Trouble

    I smile a little and take a photo of Lucina in front of the temple we visit. After we got some money from Azazel, we began to explore the city of Kyoto, and we are enjoying it. With the forged passport from Azazel, we can stay in the best place in Kyoto.

    Azazel is also kind enough to make both of us a married couple.

    Anyway, we are currently in the biggest temple in Kyoto. The temple where only special people can enter. This temple is where Yasaka usually prays to Amaterasu. We get permission to take photos, explore the outer area, and promise not to explore the inner area because only certain people can enter that area.

    The Youkai in this area is also kind enough to give us a tour around the temple. Our tour guide is called Miyaru. She is a dog, youkai.

    "... And that is all the places I can show you. Sadly, I cannot show you the inner area of the temple."

    Lucina and I smile at her before Lucina says.

    "It''s okay! We understand. We will not force you and anyone to show the inner place if you don''t want to."

    "Thank you for your understanding. Now, please follow me. It is time for lunch."

    We follow her to one of the buildings, where we are greeted by another Youkai wearing the same yukata Miyaru wear.

    "Welcome!"

    We smile at them and continue to follow Miyaru. We stop at one of the tables in the corner of the room.

    "This will be your table. The food will arrive in a minute. Once again, thank you for choosing us as your vacation destination."

    I smile at our tour guide and wait for our food to arrive. I must say that choosing this place as our tour destination is the right thing. The hotel is rather pricey, but the service is superb, so we did not feel like being scammed.

    Not only touring around the temple, but we also get a private message and a private hot spring for ourselves. I must thank Kuroka for recommending this place.

    ~ A few hours later~

    I look around the street and see if it catches my attention while Lucina is looking to buy some cake from one of the sellers. As I look around, I catch something with my eyes. It was a group of people running. I follow where they are running and see a young girl with blonde hair, a fox ear, and tails running from the people that try to catch her. She is Kunou, the daughter of Yasaka.

    "A hero faction, huh. What do you guys want?"

    However, instead of answering me, they begin to attack me. After dodging the first attack, I use my Pale Gate Rune.

    "Summon! Nine-Tailed Fox, Silver Talon, Earth Golem, Golden Crow"

    After I say that, four creatures appear in front of me. I look at Yuka and say,

    "Yuka, protect this girl for me."

    "Of course, master."

    "The rest of you, get wild."

    After hearing my command, the rest of my summons begin to attack the hero faction from far away. While the hero faction is busy with my summons, I reinforce my body and charge toward one of the hero faction members. When I arrive in front of him, I thrust my spear and stab him right in the neck and swing it to the right, killing him in an instant.

    Seeing their fellow members die, one of them created an ice spike above me, but before she could do that, a massive fireball hit her and burnt her alive. I look to my right and see Lucina dash toward me with her Rage Rune shining with power.

    I open my hand and take my spear, which flies toward me. The rest of the battle cannot be called a battle as my summon, Lucina, and I successfully kill the rest of the Hero Faction members. After the fight, I walk toward Yuka, who protects Kunou with her tails. When I arrive in front of Yuka, she opens up her tail, and I can see Kunou, who is crying.

    "Shhhh Shhhh. You are safe now."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. All the bad guys are gone."

    After I say that, Kunou throws herself at me and hugs me with all her might. However, a few seconds later, she looked at me with widened eyes.

    "Mother! Please save my mother!"

    "Tell me where she is."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    They want to use her to open up a Dragon Gate and summon something from the Dimension Gap. They did not say who or what it was, but Yasaka had a feeling it was not something good.

    Yasaka, of course, declines their so-called request, but instead of walking away from her palace, they decide to threaten her. She is ready to attack them when they decide to threaten her, but before she can do that, the man named Cao Cao throws something at her.

    It was the head of Karasu Tengu, captain, that guarded Kunou, her daughter. That''s why they are standing in the middle of the palace front yard without doing anything.

    "So, what do you think, Queen of Youkai? Will you come with us and we will let your daughter free. Or will you fight us and let your daughter die? Ten seconds. That is all the times you have."

    She knows that her time is almost over. She cannot stall for more time to let his personal guard rescue her daughter.

    "Nine"

    Yasaka grit her teeth in frustration.

    "Eight"

    She did not want to give herself to the people in front of her.

    "Seven"

    She knows that it will cause massive chaos if whatever they are doing results in success.

    "Six"

    However, neither did Yasaka wish to see her only daughter die because of her decision. She just loved her too much for that.

    "Five. Tick Tock, Queen of Youkai. Your time is almost up. Four"

    Yasaka looks at Cao Cao with all her hatred and is ready to give herself to rescue her daughter. However, before she could say anything, she heard her daughter''s voice.

    "MOTHER!!! MOTHER!!!"

    Yasaka looks to the sky and sees two bird-like creatures flying above her head. However, what makes her widen her eyes is when Yasaka sees her daughter waving her hand on top of the Silver bird.

    While Yasaka had a relieved smile, Cao Cao had a frown on his face. How? He couldn''t figure it out. He had gotten a report from his fellow heroes stating that they had already captured the daughter of Yasaka. But, here she was, contrary to the report, on her way toward her mother.

    He looks at the bird, and his frown gets bigger when Cao Cao sees two humans on top of the bird. He really hates killing fellow humans but bringing peace to humanity; he needs to break a few bad eggs.

    "It is time for a Plan B."

 Chapter 99 - Hero Faction

    |3rd POV|

    When Kunou is safe and sound, Yasaka''s personal guard begins to attack Cao Cao and his companion. However, before they could reach Cao Cao and his companion, Leonardo, the Annihilation Maker owner, places his hand on the ground, and suddenly more than a dozen golem-like constructs appear from the ground and attack the Karasu Tengu squad.

    With all the Karasu Tengu being taken care of, Cao Cao and his companion charge toward Yasaka. Yasaka, who looks at the Hero Faction, takes a deep breath and releases a blue fire toward Cao Cao and his companion are standing.

    Cao Cao jumps away from the fire and looks at Yasaka, and clicks his tongue. While he knew that they could defeat the Queen of Youkai, Cao Cao did not want to use all his power here. However, if it were something he needed to do, he would do it.

    Isaac, who watched the fight from above, frowned a little before saying.

    "Lucina, sorry for this, but it looks like I will get into something troublesome again."

    Lucina shakes her head fondly and says.

    "I know, dear. It is your nature to help the people in need. However, I will accompany you. You cannot say no."

    "Heh. I will not."

    Isaac looks at Yuka in her small form and says.

    "Yuka, you stay here with Silver Talon. Protect Kunou for me."

    "Roger~."

    He then pats Kunou in the head and gives her a reassuring smile.

    "Kunou, you stay here, okay? I will try to save your mother."

    "En. Be careful, and please save my mother."

    "I will. I already give you my word after all."

    Isaac patted her head once again and jumped down from the Silver Talon. Isaac cast a spell when he was about to land to make him land slowly. When he stood on the ground, Isaac activated his Star Rune.

    Cao Cao looks to the sky as he feels a surge of mana in the sky and sees a laser of doom coming from the sky. He takes a stance and begins to slice all the incoming laser. Cao Cao''s eyes widen after blocking all the laser when he sees a meteor coming toward him.

    Cao Cao takes a deep breath and thrust the True Longinus upward toward the meteor. A second later, a beam of light hit the meteor right in the middle of it.

    The beam of light begins to drill right through the meteor. Seeing his attack successfully drill through the meteor, Cao Cao swung his spear and cut the meteor into multiple pieces. Before he could take a break for a second, Isaac appeared in front of him with his spear in hand.

    Isaac swung down his spear, but before it could hit Cao Cao, it was blocked. Isaac frowns a little before activating the lightning rune on his spear and zapping Cao Cao with a thunderbolt. As Cao Cao was thrown away by the thunderbolt, Isaac landed on the ground, but before he could continue attacking Cao Cao, a sharp-looking sword appeared beneath him.

    Isaac successfully dodges the sword, but as he jumps high in the air, Heracles punches him right in his rib. He gets thrown away by the punch, but Yasaka catches him with her tail before he could hit the ground.

    Her guard and Isaac get her enough time to transform into her true form. Now with Yasaka in her true form, she can go all out.

    However, before she could attack them with all her might, Cao Cao looks at Georg and says,

    "Georg, now!"

    "Understood."

    As he says that, Georg activates his sacred gear, Dimension Lost, and suddenly the world around them begins to change. The colorful world around them changes into a gray purplish world devoid of other colors.

    After Georg activated the Dimension Create, the only ones that stay inside the pocket dimension other than the Hero Faction are Yasaka, Isaac, and Lucina. Isaac looks at Yasaka, who begins to shrink slowly before she becomes her humanoid form.

    "What? I cannot feel my connection to Kyoto leyline!"

    Cao Cao smirks a little when he hears what Yasaka says.

    "What do you think? This place is another world. Your connection to the Kyoto leyline has been cut out because you are not in Kyoto but rather in the entirely new world."

    Yasaka glares at Cao Cao, but she takes a deep breath and releases it. While she cannot access her full power, she knows that her daughter is safe. Yasaka looks at Isaac and Lucina, who she knows are the rescuers of her daughter, and knows that they will help her fight the humans in front of her.

    "I''m not yet saying my thanks for rescuing my daughter from them, and it hurts my pride as the Queen of Youkai to say this, but will you lend your strength?"

    Lucina and Isaac smile at Yasaka and nod their head.

    "Of course. The name is Isaac Lionheart."

    "Lucina Lionheart."

    "We will lend our strength to you, Lady Yasaka."

    Yasaka nods her head and looks at the incoming enemy.

    "Thank you."

    Yasaka summons a dozen blue fires out of thin air and throws them toward the incoming enemy after saying that. Issac, on the other hand, activates his Pale Gate Rune and summons his creature. The Golden Crow, Earth Golem, Water Horse, Angel of Light, Angel of Darkness, and ten Gate Guardian.

    When the creature Isaac summons looks at the enemy, they begin to attack them immediately. One creature for one Hero Faction member. Golden Crow attacking Jeanne, Earth Golem attacking Heracles, Water Horse attacking Georg, Angel of Light attacking Connla, Angel of Darkness attacking Perseus, and the ten Gate Guardian attacking the Anti-monster Leonardo summon.

    Yasaka and Lucina attack Siegfried leaving Isaac facing Cao Cao alone.

    Isaac dodges a beam of light coming from the True Longinus and activates his Star Rune to summon another light beam toward Cao Cao. When Isaac sees Cao Cao choose to block the incoming attack, he summons another meteor after the Twinkling Star spell is over.

    However, unlike before, Isaac activates the Fire and Wind rune on his spear and thrusts his spear toward Cao Cao, who is busy defending against the meteor above him. While busy taking care of the attack from above, Cao Cao danger senses screaming at him to dodge, and he obeys it. With a burst of mana, he jumps away from his current position and sees a massive fire torrent fly past him.

    Cao Cao''s eyes land on Isaac and charge toward him at high speed. In a second, Cao Cao arrives in front of Isaac. He thrust his spear and tried to stab Isaac with his spear, but before it could reach Isaac''s heart, Isaac blocked his spear attack.

    After blocking the attack, Isaac does his own counterattack.

    Both Cao Cao and Isaac begin their close combat fight for a minute before Cao Cao kicks Isaac in the stomach and throws Isaac away, not too far away from him.

    "Your spear technique is not bad, but your physical strength is lacking. Your speed cannot be compared to mine."

    Isaac frowns when he hears what Cao Cao is saying. He knows that he cannot beat Cao Cao in a close combat fight as he knows Cao Cao has an advantage in speed and technique. In the past months, Isaac is too focused on sharpening his magical prowess and not his physical prowess.

    "Come with me! I will give you all you want! Power! Riches! Hell, even a woman!"

    When Cao Cao saw Isaac''s expression, he thought that he hit the jackpot, but he did not know that Isaac saw him as a joke.

    "We will rule the world as we should be! Humanity will become strong under my rule! Under my leadership, Humanity will step into a golden age! We will rule over the supernatural! We will enslave them like they are enslaving us. We will kill everyone who opposes us! We will destroy their home, their wife, and their child for daring to oppose us! So come! Join me!"

    The more Isaac hears what Cao Cao is saying, the more he becomes sick. When he hears Cao Cao saying killing the child and the innocent when Cao Cao thinks they are opposing him, he makes Isaac even sicker and makes him angry.

    Isaac thought that he could talk some sense into Cao Cao, but it looked like he couldn''t convince a megalomaniac. You cannot convince a madman who only thinks about himself. With his mind already set in stone, Isaac raises his right hand and activates his Darkness Rune.

    "Finger of Death"

    As the purple pillar appears, Cao Cao begins to scream in pain. He felt his body being burned from the inside out. However, his body did not get damaged. After a few seconds of physical agony, something is coming out of his body.

    It was Cao Cao soul.

    Cao Cao screams in pain, fear and despair as he knows that if the purple pillar disappears, his soul will also disappear. True to his thinking, as the pillar slowly disappears, so is his soul.

    The only thing left of Cao Cao is his corpse lying on the ground.

 Chapter 100 - Victory

    I look at Cao Cao''s corpse. However, what catches my eyes is the True Longinus that slowly disappears into the sky. Look like the True Longinus goes back to the sacred gear system in Heaven once more.

    I hope the spear will get a more worthy master than Cao Cao.

    I look at my summoned creature, who is struggling against the other members of the Hero Faction. I know they cannot beat the other Hero Faction members, but they are good enough to hinder them long enough for me to kill Cao Cao.

    I can only use another four Finger of Death for today, but it should be enough to kill most of my enemies. I look at Leonardo, the owner of Annihilation Maker, and activate my Darkness Rune.

    "Finger of Death"

    Like how Cao Cao died, there is a pitch-black circle underneath Leonardo before suddenly a purple pillar shoots into the sky and kills the youngest member of Hero Faction.

    When Leonardo''s body fell to the ground, all the Anti-monster he summoned also disappeared. There is a mote of light appearing from Leonardo''s body before it disappears a second later.

    After seeing Leonardo is dead, I begin the countdown.

    "10¡­ 9¡­ 8¡­ 7¡­ 6¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Finger of Death!"

    I activate another Finger of Death and activate it while looking at Georg. A few seconds later, Georg''s body falls to the ground, and I can see all the spells he is ready to fire disappear into thin air. A second later after the death of Georg, the pocket dimenison was destroyed, and the world returned to its original color.

    When the world changes, the other Hero Faction members know that they are outmatched as their group''s most powerful member is dead. They stop for a few seconds in shock as they finally see Cao Cao''s corpse on the ground.

    However, these few seconds are something both Yasaka and Lucina use very well. When Seigfried sees Cao Cao''s body lying on the ground, Lucina cuts his head off his shoulder, and Yasaka burns him to ashes.

    Seeing another member of their group is dead, Jeanne quickly creates a massive magic circle underneath her. Seeing her decide to get away, I activate another Finger of Death and kill Jeanne before she could get away.

    After killing Jeanne, I charge toward the other member of Hero Faction with my spear in hand. I arrive in front of Connla in a second and thrust my spear toward him. However, before my spear could stab him, a shield made of shadow blocked my attack.

    "Balance Breaker!"

    After deflecting my attack, Connla''s body begins to be engulfed by shadow, and a second later, his shadow becomes his armor. I know this one. However, I thought he only had his Balance Breaker after facing Issei in his Balance Breaker mode.

    I snap from my thoughts and dodge the incoming shadow bullet. After dodging his attack, I thrust my spear forward and saw that it punched through Connla without doing any damage. It looked like it was the same as the one in the cannon. Meaning that it is vulnerable to most forms of energy.

    I jump away from Connla before taking a low stance and activate the fire rune on my spear. After activating the fire rune, I disappear and appear in front of Connla in a blink of an eye before thrusting my spear toward him.

    Perseus'' sacred gear is in the form of a shield with a carving of Medusa''s head. When I see the shield shine a little, I look away from it as I know it has the same effect as Medusa''s gaze.

    When I see the light is gone, I see Perseus and Connla running away with Heracles following behind them after he gets away from Yasaka and Lucina. However, before they could run too far away, I activated my last Finger of Death.

    Another purple pillar appeared from the ground and hit Heracles, killing him in a few seconds. I nod in satisfaction and look at both Yasaka and Lucina. Yasaka orders her personal guard to chase after the remaining Hero Faction main member. In comparison, Lucina smiles at me while evaporating the blood on her ax with her mastery over fire.

    "Is everything alright?"

    "Everything is good, dear. Only a small wound from the sword that man has."

    "Oh?"

    "Yes. That purple sword can create a whirlwind powerful enough to break my second skin and hit me."

    "Purple one?"

    Huh, I don''t really know about the Demonic Sword Seigfried has. I don''t know the name of which sword Lucina says.

    "It was Balmung."

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Yasaka say that. I look to my left and see Yasaka with Kunou in her hand, who smiles at both Lucina and me.

    "That was Balmung, the demonic sword formerly owned by the original Seigfried. It should be more powerful, but there is not a single individual who can awaken the full power of Balmung other than the original Siegfried."

    I nod my head and say.

    "How are you, lady Yasaka?"

    "Please call me Yasaka. You help me rescue my daughter and help me fight the enemy coming here. At least this is the thing I can do for you for now."

    "Very well. How are you, Yasaka?"

    "I''m doing fine. I got a small wound from the Demonic Sword, but with my connection to the Kyoto ley line once again restored, it immediately healed up."

    "That is good."

    Before I could say more, Yasaka suddenly gave me a bow.

    "I never get to thank you for rescuing my daughter. Thank you!"

    Before I could say anything, Kunou and the guard who stayed in this place also began to bow their heads.

    "Thank you!!"

    Damn it. The situation has become more awkward than before. Here in front of me is the Queen of an entire race bowing at me.

    "Please, raise your head! We don''t deserve your bow."

    Yasaka smiles at me and says.

    "No. You deserve more than a mere bow. You are the savior of Kyoto. Please let me reward you for your bravery and kindness."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Isaac-sama. Please try this sake!"

    I weakly smile at the maid that gives me another glass of sake. Yasaka decides to create a party in my name to rescue her daughter and save Kyoto from the Hero Faction. Next to me, I see Lucina drinking all the alcohol like it was water. I know that dwarves have a high alcohol tolerance but come on. It was already your tenth bottle of sake.

    "Ah, I cannot take more alcohol."

    "Of course, Isaac-sama."

    I smile a little at the maid as I feel bad for her. She is only doing her job, after all. Sadly, I cannot drink any more alcohol as I don''t want to get drunk before Yasaka comes inside the room. However, I''m glad to take a bite of all the food in front of me. It was one of the best foods I have ever eaten.

    After another few minutes of enjoying myself in the music, dance, and food Yasaka gave to us, I can see the door open up, and coming from the door is Yasaka wearing a regal-looking kimono with red color and wearing a crown on her head.

    "Thank you for waiting."

    Is all kimono Yasaka wear always showing half of her enormous br??st?

 Chapter 101 - Meeting

    Yasaka smiled at me and sat down not too far from me. Next to her is Kunou, who is also wearing a regal-looking kimono. As both of them sit down, Yasaka says.

    "I hope you are enjoying yourself, Isaac-dono."

    "Please call me, Isaac."

    "Then, I hope you are enjoying yourself, Isaac."

    "Yes. The feast is wonderful."

    "Good."

    I take another bite of sashimi in front of me before saying.

    "How are you, Kunou? Did the injury you have still hurt you?"

    "Kunou got hurt?!?"

    "Kunou gets injured when she tries to run away from the people that kidnap her. She says that while they did not try to kill her, they were willing to hurt her."

    "That damned¡­"

    I decide not to ruin the celebration atmosphere by saying.

    "Don''t worry. I already heal her. The reason I ask her about it is to make sure she did not have phantom pain from the previous injury."

    After I said that, I tilted my head at Kunou, who shook her head quickly.

    "No. There is no more pain after you heal me."

    I nod my head and say.

    "Good."

    "Once again, I thank you, Isaac, Lucina. If not for your two, I don''t know what will happen to both of us."

    "Think nothing of it. Lucina and I are happy to help you and your daughter. It is the right thing to do after all."

    I smile at Yasaka, who returns my smile with her own smile.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Yasaka POV|

    I open my eyes and see that I''m in the middle of a throne room. Right now, I''m in the Takamagahara. The heaven to the Shinto people. The heavenly palace for the Shinto Gods and Goddess.

    As I look up, my eyes begin to widen. In front of me is not only my surrogate mother, Amaterasu but also other gods and goddesses. Inside the room is Amaterasu, the Queen of the Shinto pantheon. Susanoo, the gods of storm, sea, and harvest. Hachiman the gods of war and protection. Inari Okami, the goddess of Fox, Rice, and Fertility.

    However, what makes me even more nervous is that there is a God and Goddess presence that rarely gets out of their domain.

    They are Izanami-no-Mikoto and King Enma.

    They are the ruler of the underworld in Asia. They are the ones that control the underworld with an iron fist: the absolute judge and ruler of the underworld in Asia. The only time they get out of their domain is when someone decides to steal the soul in their domain using a Necromancy spell.

    Or the time the Devil resurrects someone using the Devil Pieces. War almost broke out between the Buddhist, Hindu, and Shinto pantheon against the Devil Race. I did not know what happened, but all of them got an agreement between the Devil Race and the death gods and goddess.

    "Yasaka. Welcome to our humble abode."

    "It is an honor to be called to Takamagahara."

    "There is a reason why we called you here, Yasaka."

    "Please tell me what I can do for you, my lady."

    "It is about your guest and savior. Can you tell us who they are?"

    "Isaac Lionheart and Lucina Lionheart, my lady. They are a married couple who come to Japan to have a vacation."

    "I see. Then please tell us the accident that happened this afternoon."

    I then begin to tell her about the attack of the Hero Faction. I told her how they came to the palace and demanded that I come with them to their place. I tell them how the Hero Faction demanded that I use Kyoto Leyline''s power to create a Dragon Gate to connect the human world to the Dimension Gap.

    I also tell them how both Lucina and Isaac come to my rescue by rescuing Kunou and help me fight the so-called Hero Factions. I also tell them how Isaac killed most of them with an unknown method.

    "Can you tell us what this method is called?"

    "He calls it Finger of Death. It summons a pitch-black circle underneath the target and immobilizes them. A second later, a pillar of purple energy came out from the circle and shot out to the sky."

    Before Amaterasu could say anything, King Enma beat her to it.

    "What do you feel about this purple energy?"

    "It feels¡­ Cold. Not in a bad way. It feels cold but welcoming. It is like when I visit the underworld for the first time."

    King Enma nods his head, looks at Amaterasu, and says.

    "It''s really him."

    "Look like it is really him, Enma-dono. What should we do now?"

    "We will not do anything."

    King Enma and Amaterasu look at Izanami with a confused expression after she says that word.

    "He and his wife come here to have a vacation. We should not bother them just because he is a Death Chosen individual."

    "What?!?"

    I look on the ground in embarrassment at my outburst.

    "I guess we could tell you about it. The reason why we gather and call you here is that Isaac Lionheart is the Death Beloved."

    "What do you mean, Izanami-sama?"

    "A few days ago, we felt the presence of Death in this world once again after a long time. Before you ask, we are not Death. We are the one that borrows the power of Death. We are the one that governs the underworld in the name of Death. Death is one of the oldest beings in this universe. Death is born from nothingness. Death is also the most powerful being in this universe."

    I... What? The God and Goddess of death have a boss called Death?

    "Anyway, when we, the Gods and goddess of death, feel the presence of Death in this world once again, we are panicked. The last time Death came to this world, the most powerful pantheon in the world was obliterated."

    "The Mesopotamian pantheon?"

    "That''s right. The Mesopotamian pantheon got wiped out isn''t because of internal struggle but because they challenge Death and even insult Death. They think that they are so powerful that they can fight Death head-on. It angered Death, and the rest is history."

    "You can imagine what we do when we feel the presence of Death in this world once again."

    "You guys panicked"

    "Yes. We are panicked. At first, we thought that Death would come here because someone decided to challenge Authority once again, but to our surprise, it was not. Death releases its power to announce the presence of its chosen."

    "Isaac"

    "Yes. Because of this reason, we will watch him closely. Not too close and alert him but rather close enough to make sure some idiot did not have a stupid idea. He is rather strong for his age but not strong enough to be considered an Ultimate Class from what you tell us. He already reached a High-Class power in terms of Magical and Physical. Am I right?"

    I nod my head and say.

    "Yes. However, his physical power only b?r?ly reached High-Class being, but his mana reserve already reached High-Class being, and I can feel it continue to increase at a fast pace."

    "Good. We don''t need to protect him 24/7, but we still need to make sure the big league did not hurt him. I hear Azazel coming here?"

    "Yes. He and all the students of Kuoh Academy come here for a school trip."

    "That means the Gremory and Sitri Heiress will come here as well."

    "That is right."

    "Make sure to tell Azazel that we did not permit the devil coming here reincarnating any individual here. Be it Youkai, Oni or Human. If they decide to do it, we will declare war against them."

    "War?"

    "Yes. That is how serious we are in this situation. Tell Azazel that all Hindu, Buddhist, and Shinto factions will go all out to eliminate all demons if they cannot contain their greed. Yes, the Trimurti will also get involved in this matter."

    I can only nod my head in silence.. Just how powerful is Death to make the other gods willing to go to war rather than make it angry.

 Chapter 102 - Interlude

    |Yasaka POV|

    *TING* *TING* *TING*

    I look at Isaac, Lucina, and Tonari crafting some swords together. Tonari is the primary blacksmith of the Kyoto force. He is the master blacksmith that produces weapons, mainly katana, for the people in my palace.

    While he cannot produce a legendary sword because he cannot use Alchemy, he is still one of the best sword makers in the world.

    And right now, Tonari is learning a blacksmith technique from our guest.

    At first, I''m confused why Lucina and Isaac want to go to the forge in the morning. They say both of them want to recreate the Demonic Sword Siegfried wield. When I heard that, I''m puzzled as I thought they were fighters, not crafters.

    However, after seeing what they are doing, even Tonari, Master Blacksmith, wants to become their apprentice.

    "Lucina, Fire"

    "Roger"

    I cover my eyes when I see a bright fireball that appears above Isaac. When Isaac puts the sword inside the fireball, I can feel the fireball begin to get hotter and hotter before it stabilizes at one point.

    While she says that as if it was nothing to be proud of, I know just how powerful it could be¡ªabsolute control over fire. Even I cannot overtake the control Lucina had even with the help of Kyoto Leyline. When I say absolute, I really mean it.

    I think the only one that can overtake Lucina''s control over fire is Amaterasu-sama. Even then, I feel Amaterasu-sama will have a hard time taking control of the fire Lucina controls.

    ".... Now, we let it cool naturally. Mithril is different from other metals. We cannot cool it with water or other liquid. While yes, we can do that, the result will be different."

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Isaac explaining the trick of creating swords from Mithril. Oh yeah, that is also one thing I''m curious about. Mithril is a rare metal. The only place that has Mithril mines in Ireland and Scandinavian. The place where the Celt and Norse rule.

    Both Celt and Norse restrict the mining of Mithril, and only the local miner can do that. That is how rare that metal really is. Not as rare as Adamantium, but it was rare, nonetheless.

    "Sorry for the wait, Yasaka."

    I smile at Lucina before saying.

    "It''s fine, Lucina. I''m just surprised a little when you say you want to visit our forge. However, after looking at your work, I know you are a prodigy in swordcraft."

    "Well, it is my hobby."

    "Well then! Should we have some lunch? After lunch, we can visit Hokkaido. We have a good vacation spot there."

    Well, I also want to get some vacation, which is a perfect opportunity to get myself a vacation.

    ~Three Hour Later~

    Ah~ this is life. We are in Otaru, a port city on Hokkaido, which lies northwest of Sapporo on Ishikari Bay. With its great atmosphere and a great view, this city is a great place for vacation, especially if you are magical folks.

    Right now, we are doing a massage provided by the hotel we currently stay in. The hotel we are staying in is not located in the mundane people but in the Magical City near Otaru.

    I look to my side and see Lucina also enjoying the massage the other youkai give her. I smile a little when I see her m??n in delight when I see the raccoon youkai press her finger on Lucina''s back. I know her back is killing her. While her br??st is not as big as mine, I know it still makes her back hurt.

    ~Two Hours Later~

    "How is your treatment, Isaac?"

    "Great. Really great."

    "Good. I hear you want to talk to me?"

    "Yes. I have a request¡­ Well, it was more of Lucina''s request than mine."

    "As long as it is within my power, I will give or help you."

    "Then I will be blunt about it. We want to buy the Demonic Sword in your possession. The one Siegfried used in the fight."

    "What?"

    "We want to buy the Demonic Sword Siegfried uses. If you don''t want to sell it, we understand, but if you are willing to sell it, we will pay for it."

    I don''t really know what to say. Those weapons are by the warrior''s right. They are the ones that kill the enemy, so it is their right to take their weapon. It was the Warrior rite we follow since ancient times.

    "Isaac, those weapons are yours, you know?"

    "Wait, what?!"

    I chuckle at Lucina and Isaac''s surprised faces. I guess they really thought we would take their victory loot.

    "Yes. Lucina is the one that kills Siegfried, so those swords are hers. The only reason why we take it is to check if there is any spell attached to the sword like a tracking spell or dead man spell."

    "... Did you find something?"

    "Yes. There is indeed a tracking spell. Don''t worry. We already destroyed it."

    "I see. Then I must thank you for that."

    "Think nothing about it, anyway, back to selling the demonic sword. It should be us who ask you if it is okay to buy your swords. We don''t need to buy all of them. We only want one of them."

    Even with one of the Demonic Swords in our possession, it will increase the Youkai standing in the eyes of the world. Even when no one can become a perfect partner for the sword, a semi-compatible wielder is good enough to activate the sword at half of its power.

    I still remembered the fight against Siegfried the other day. A single human can keep up against me. Not only does the sword give the wielder an option of style they can fight the enemy, but the sword also enchants the user''s physical prowess.

    There is a reason why many people are seeking a Legendary sword.

    "Well, as long as Lucina is okay with it, we will give it to you."

    "No, no, no-no. We will not take those swords for free. We will pay for it."

    "Err¡­"

    Isaac looks at Lucina, who sighs a little and nods her head before continuing to drink the sake being served to her.

    "Well, sure. We will talk about the payment tomorrow. How about it? For now, we only want to relax."

    "Of course!"

 Chapter 103 - Trade

    I look at the people in front of me curiously. Four people walk inside the room where Lucina, Yasaka, and I have a meeting talking about selling the Demonic Sword.

    After one full day of vacation in Hokkaido, we are back in Kyoto. The reason is that we want to test the demonic sword inside the pocket dimension. I also need to learn the new magic we get from Azazel.

    However, before we could say goodbye, Yasaka asked me to stay for a few minutes to discuss the demonic sword. She says that she wants to buy one of the Demonic Swords Lucina has.

    When we arrived inside one of the rooms, I could see the six swords Siegfried had; Gram, Balmung, Nothung, Tryfing, Dainsleif, and a Light Sword from the church. However, before Yasaka could make an offer, the four people walked inside the room where we are currently in.

    "I hope this is important enough to disturb me even when I say I don''t want to be disturbed."

    I flinch a little at the spike of energy coming from Yasaka. This is the second time I feel Yasaka''s full power. The other time is when she transforms into her true form for a minute before Georg decides to use his Sacred Gear.

    "I''m sorry, Yasaka-dono. However, our heir cannot hold it any longer."

    I can see Yasaka raise her eyebrow at what the older man is saying.

    "Explain."

    As Yasaka says that, I can see two young women walk forward.

    One of them is a gorgeous young woman of Japanese descent with long black hair and red eyes. She has a slim and voluptuous figure and was noted to have a strong resemblance to Akeno.

    "I''m really sorry, Yasaka-sama. We come here because our sacred beast gets agitated for some reason, and they really want to meet the people sitting next to you."

    "En!"

    Yasaka looked at Lucina and me. I look back and nod my head.

    "Very well. Please make it quick."

    After Yasaka says that, both young women shine brightly. The Akeno copy shines in red while the short woman shines in blue. A few seconds later, two animals appear out of thin air. It was a vermillion bird and black tortoise.

    "They are Suzaku and Genbu. Two of the four sacred beasts of Japan."

    I nod my head at Yasaka''s explanation. However, before I could ask about the reason why they wanted to meet me, I got tackled by Genbu.

    "Woah, there."

    I look at the little turtle who is rubbing its head against mine in contentment. I can see the same is happening with both Suzaku and Lucina. I pick up Genbu and place it on my shoulder and look at Yasaka before saying.

    "Errrrr, what is happening?"

    Yasaka has an amused expression before saying.

    "To be honest, I don''t really know. The only time Genbu does this is the time Susanoo-sama comes here from Takamagahara."

    The Genbu become like this when Susanoo comes? Maybe¡­

    "Does Genbu have a connection to Sea or Water?"

    "Yes. Genbu is the beast created by Susanoo-sama."

    "Then I guess I know the reason why it really wants to meet me."

    Eli says that I have a title called the Child of The Sea. Eli says that any aquatic creature will be friendly to me, excluding a monster. I guess this title affects Genbu as well. Or is it my connection to the sea from the Flowing Rune on my body?

    Eli says that Lucina did not have any title that made her friend a creature of fire. That means it was our connection to the Rune. Flowing and Rage rune is not the most powerful elemental rune. What if we have the True Water Rune and True Fire Rune? The rune that let Fire and Water exist in the Suikoden World.

    With the bearer of True Rune considered a God? The bearer of True Rune is an immortal, after all. Not only that, but they are also an individual that fate cannot see, touch or manipulate.

    "Really?"

    "Yeah¡­ You can say that I have a special relationship with Water and Ocean. Lucina over there has the same relationship with the fire element."

    "That¡­ really makes sense."

    "What makes sense?"

    "How she can control the fire in the forge, how she can overpower me when I try to control the fire when you two are in the forge."

    Wait, she decided to control the fire?

    "Lucina¡­"

    Before I could prevent Lucina from exploding, she already shouted at Yasaka.

    "You are the one who decided to take control of my fire?!?"

    It is common knowledge that no one interrupts or disturbs a dwarf when he/she is doing something in the forge.

    "Do you know how stupid your action is?!? Do you know what will happen if I lose control over the fire?!?"

    After Lucina says that, ten shadows appear in front of Yasaka with their weapon in hand. Even the people that come with Genbu and Suzaku are ready to cast their spell toward us.

    Lucky for us, Yasaka waved her hands, dismissing the ninja that appeared in front of her.

    "I''m really sorry about that. If you don''t mind, can I ask why?"

    Before Lucina can say anything, I say.

    "It can be dangerous to the blacksmith and the people around them if their concentration breaks."

    "Wait, really?"

    "Yes. The technique we are using is not your usual technique. It was a special technique to mold and shaped the Mithril ore. One single mistake can be fatal."

    "Fatal like what?"

    "Kaboom!"

    And I''m not exaggerating about that. There is a reason why I need a year to master the most basic Mithril smithing from Lucina. Mithril is a wild metal. The metal has energy inside them that can explode if we are not careful when we temper and mold them.

    We already test all the Mithril from all over the world, and they all have the same characteristics. Some of them have a small amount of wild energy inside them, like the Mithril from the Harry Potter world. Some of them have a bigger one like the one from our world.

    However, one absolute thing is that all of them can be used using the Macgrath family technique.

    This world, Mithril ore, has the same amount of wild energy as our world. Meaning that if we make a single mistake in molding the ingot, there will be an explosion. A rather big one. It will not be us right away, but it still leaves a scar.

    If not for my Flowing Rune, I will have a scar on my ?h?st and face because of the explosion in my training time.

    "... Really?"

    "Yes. That is why Lucina is mad. Your actions can kill the people around you."

    "I see. I''m really sorry! I''m sorry for my ignorance and curiosity. I know that curiosity can kill a cat, but I never thought that my curiosity could kill myself and the people near me."

    I look at Lucina, who looks at Yasaka, who lowers her head toward us before nodding her head and says.

    "I forgive you. Next time, please ask first. I don''t mind telling you about my control over fire. I know that you don''t have a harmful intention toward both of us, but sometimes a fine intention can become harmful to people. Think of this accident like you doing some important paperwork, but someone decides to bother you by screaming in your face. Not only will it bother someone with important work, but you will also endanger the other in our case."

    "I understand. I''m sorry for what I did yesterday."

    I smile at Yasaka and say.

    "It''s okay. Live and learn. You live, and you learn. You lived to see the other day, and you learn that sometimes a blacksmith can endanger the other if we are not careful. Now, let us continue what we are meant to do."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Yasaka POV|

    I look at Gram, the Demonic Emperor Sword. The most powerful Demonic Sword ever created. I thought that both Lucina and Isaac would give us the weakest one, Dainsleif. The demonic sword that controls ice.

    Not only did they let us buy Gram, but their prices were also rather low. Their only demand is us giving them our knowledge of magic. They did not demand forbidden knowledge. Their demand¡­ No¡­ that is a request, not a demand.

    Lucina and Isaac only request crafting, magic, and other non-forbidden knowledge from us. They did not demand a divine beast, divine blessing, or other impossible things they could demand. However, instead of doing that, they request something that I gladly do and will do.

    I offered them money, but they said that they didn''t need it. They prefer knowledge over money.

    I guess there is still a human that prefers knowledge over money.

    "Yasaka-sama"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Suou Himejima and Kuzito Doumon. When I see the clan head of the Himejima and Doumon clan, I frown a little and unconsciously release a little bit of my chakra at them.

    I hide my satisfaction when I see them flinch.

    "Tell me, what is the reason you are still here?"

    I''m still angry at their old way of thinking. I know the tradition is important, but their way of thinking almost caused a war between the Fallen Angel and Youkai faction. Even the Gods in Takamagahara were displeased by their way of thinking.

    Because of Suou Himejima''s order to kill both Shuri Himejima and Akeno Himejima, Baraqiel is one of the most powerful Cadres from Grigori. If not for Azazel, who did not want war against the Youkai, many youkai would die in the fight between Grigori and Youkai.

    I know the gods will help us, but I know there will be too many casualties in this war. Fallen Angel is a known cunning opponent. There is a reason why they still exist even when they are fighting both Devil and Angel at the same time.

    "We need your help in fighting the Utsusemi Agency."

    I rub my forehead as I feel a headache begin to appear. Utsusemi Agency is a group of people exiled from the Five Principal Clans because they don''t have the same element as the sacred beast representing their clans.

    Lucky for us, that group is only targeting the Five Principal Clans. They did not target the Youkai as long as we did not help the Five Clans. While I can ignore them, I know the other elders will send their private troops to help the Five Clans for a large sum of money and other items.

    Sometimes I really hate my job.

 Chapter 104 - Testing

    I create another magic circle on the ground next to me in a span of five seconds. I nod my head and walk into the magic circle before it teleports me inside the living room of my mansion. Lucina and I are currently inside my pocket dimension training and reading all the books, grimoire, and scrolls we got from Azazel and Yasaka.

    Right now, I''m practicing my teleportation spell. Sadly I can only create the magic circle after manipulating my mana for five seconds. I can do faster with a regular magic circle that many magicians use, but I want my sigil in my magic circle.

    Adding a family sigil takes a longer time to cast the spell because I need to crave my sigil into my own souls, and it takes sometimes and a lot of mana. It takes a week to engrave your own sigil into your magic, and I need to get used to the change in the magic circle.

    I also need to stabilize the mana flow inside the magic circle for the time being. After I get used to it and the magic circle stabilizes after continuous use, I can increase the casting speed.

    While I am busy practicing new magic, Lucina is busy trying a new way of craftsmanship. While the crafting book Azazel gives to us is interesting, the one given to us by Yasaka makes Lucina really happy.

    The Shinto way of crafting is unique. They use the natural energy of the world to make their items. This technique did not have a name, but it was the technique Muramasa invented in the past to make his ultimate sword.

    A nameless sword that takes after its creator''s name. Muramasa. A legendary sword that can cut through anything and can only be sheathed after the wielder is covered in the blood of their enemy or the innocent.

    It was a katana that was so fearsome that it could cut through even gods and give them a nasty curse. Because of this, the gods decide to eradicate the sword, leaving nothing behind. While the method to create this sword is rumored to be gone, it was not.

    Muramasa master Masamune receives the book saying how Muramasa created the sword. Seeing the method his student used to create a sword, Masamune scolded him for it. Muramasa, who is angry at his master for saying what he says, challenges him to a competition.

    That is the beginning of Legends of Masamune and Muramasa. The story tells how both of them compete to create an ultimate sword. Where Muramasa creates Juuchi Yosamu and Masamune creates Yawarakai-Te.

    However, what the story did not tell is how Masamune forged the Yawarakai-Te. Masamune, who did not know how to beat his student in that competition, decided to use his student method.

    He uses the natural energy of the world to create the sword. However, if Muramasa uses tainted Natural Energy as his main component, Masamune uses untainted Natural Energy as his main component.

    Masamune, who uses the purified Natural Energy, creates Yawarakai-Te, who can slice anything deemed worthy of being sliced and heal the innocent.

    Lucina already created one knife using this technique in the last two days, and she said that the Natural Energy in this pocket dimension is not tainted enough to create a cursed sword, but it can be done with more effort.

    However, Lucina said that she would not do that because why create a sword that will kill its creator when creating a safer sword with the same quality and even higher quality than the cursed one?

    Anyway, I cannot disturb her for now. She is in the zone right now¡ªthe zone to do some crafting. Not only sword crafting, but she also buried herself in the forge creating many kinds of armor and tools.

    She came out of the forge because she cannot summon more than ten kilograms worth of metal.

    If I have an unlimited amount of metal that can be used, I know I will not see her come out of the forge until days or weeks later.

    She should be out of the forge in a few hours. I guess I need to make some food for us.

    ~A week later~

    I dodge the incoming wind blast from Lucina, who wields both Balmung and Tyrfing while I wield Nothung and Dainsleif. After using them for a week, I know Siegfried did not or rather cannot use the full power of the Demonic Sword.

    With Balmung in hand, Lucina became the true Lady of Wind. Her Cyclone Rune let her control wind at the Macro level and let Balmung control the wind at the Micro level.

    I snap from my thoughts when I see an incoming attack in the form of a wave of destruction. I swing Nothung down and cut the wave of destruction that flies past me, hitting the ground, creating a large crater.

    "Focus, dear husband, or you will lose the fight~."

    I smile a little before reinforcing my body with magic and appear in front of Lucina with my sword in hand. I swing my sword to the right, but before it could hit her, Lucina blocks the incoming attack using Balmung.

    I activate Dainsleif''s ability and create a thick ice cube to block the incoming attack from Lucina. I then stab Dainsleif to the ground creating a spike made of ice to attack Lucina. I can see her dodge the ice spike from the ground. I smirk a little and create a cage made of ice.

    I frown a little when I see Lucina destroy the ice cage easily. I guess there is a reason why Tyrfing is a sword of destruction. I give Nothung a large amount of mana and swing it down. After swinging Nothung, I appear in front of Lucina, who looks at me with a surprised expression.

    "What?!?"

    "Surprise!"

    I swing down both of my swords where they meet with Lucina''s swords. I deflect her swords and kick her to the right. Lucina successfully landed on her feet and shouted.

    "What was that?!?"

    "Heh. Nothung is known for its power to slice anything. Its slicing power is so powerful it can slice the space between the two of us."

    "That is unfair!"

    "Say the one that has the power to kill me by suffocation."

    Yeah. I can do teleportation by cutting the space between me and my target. By cutting the space, I can appear in front of Lucina in an instant like I''m teleporting. Sadly I cannot continue to do it. It takes a good chunk of my mana to do that, which is really unfortunate.

    "Yeah, but slashing space is another level of unfairness!"

    "Well, if Nothung can slice through space, then Dainsleif should be able to destroy anything, don''t you think?"

    "Huh. I never thought about that. Let me test something."

    "Wait, Wait, Wait! I don''t want you to test it here. We can test it outside."

    "Sure. I will do that later but for now, how about we eat something? I am hungry. We have been training for the past three hours."

    "Really? I guess it is true that time flies really fast when you spend your time with your loved one."

    I laugh a little when I see her blush at my word.

 Chapter 105 - Feeling

    I continue to smile when we arrive where the portal to my pocket dimension is located. For today, Lucina and I spend the rest of the day exploring Kyoto together. Basically, we are going on a date.

    From doing some picnic in one of the parks, Yasaka tells us to eat fancy food in one of the most popular restaurants in Japan.

    It is really a great day.

    "Isaac."

    "Hmmm?"

    "We have a guest."

    I look in the direction Lucina is looking and see Ophis sitting down on the ground with her hand around her legs, looking at where my portal is located. I don''t know whether I need to laugh or cry. Right now, Ophis looks like an abandoned kitten, and that makes me sad, but I also know that Ophis is one of the strongest beings in this world. Seeing one of the strongest beings sitting down on the ground look like an abandoned cat is a sight that many people will not expect.

    "Ophis?"

    "Mu?"

    When she hears my voice, Ophis gets up from the ground and hugs my legs around with her tiny arms. I look at Lucina for help, but she is only giggling at my predicament. With a sigh, I pick her up and carry her around my arms.

    As I pick her up, I can see her face blush for a second before returning to its normal shade.

    Huh, I guess a motionless being can also feel embarrassed. Anyway, I open up the portal to my pocket dimension and walk inside with Ophis in my hands.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Ophis looks at the people in front of her with anger. Ophis is a creature that is hard to anger. The only time she feels angry is when Baka Red decides to take her home away from her, and the time this weird human comes to her home, disturbing her peace.

    Right now, the reason for her anger is because of the failure of her minion in summoning Baka Red into the human world.

    Ophis is tired of hearing the sweet voice of the little devil saying that he will help her defeat Baka Red. From the beginning, she already knows that the little devil will not fulfill his promise. He has the same taste of energy as his father. Too sweet and full of lies.

    She knows that she did not know the world''s common sense yet, but she did not stupid. She knows that the little devil''s plan on releasing the Trihexa will end in failure. At first, Ophis decided to follow his plan because he promised her to summon Trihexa to pull Baka Red away from her home.

    However, the more she hears the little devil''s plan, the more Ophis knows that his plan is flawed from the start.

    She knows who Trihexa is. They are brother and sister, after all. The three siblings were born from the energy of creation. Ophis, who was born with the power of Infinite, Great Red, who was born with the power of Dream, and Trihexa, who was born with the power of Destruction.

    Unlike the power of Destruction the devil has, Trihexa''s power is absolute. He is born with the power of destruction itself, the being that walks toe-to-toe with Death. Trihexa has the fragment of that being power.

    While Trihexa was born the last of the three of them, he is the one who is the most powerful out of the three of them.

    So, when Ophis hears the little devil decide to destroy Trihexa''s resting place? I know that he will be mad. Really mad. Even the power of the leader of angels cannot appease his anger. The earth is really lucky when the Leader of Angel can appease the anger of Trihexa by creating a place where he can sleep for a long time before he can unleash his power into the planet.

    Now Ophis did not know what to do. Her little group cannot throw away Baka Red from her home. So now Ophis did know what to do.

    However, a few seconds later, she remembered something. She found a place where she can sleep in peace¡ªa paradise for her. A place where the void energy is so high, it makes her scale shudder in p???sur?.

    It was the pocket dimension Isaac Lionheart had. The chosen of the Death and Ocean. She remembers the warm hand of Isaac and his wife Lucina Lionheart, the Fire Beloved and Wind Daughter.

    Ophis likes both of them. Very much.

    They are the only people that did not fear her and did not try to manipulate her or use her for their own benefit.

    Without a second thought, Ophis opens a portal to where the pocket dimension is located. She walked to the wall when she arrived, but the portal did not appear to her disappointment. Ophis tries everything she can. From touching the wall to probing it with her energy.

    Ophis wants to blast it with her power, but she knows that Isaac will be disappointed in her if she does that.

    So, Ophis decides to sit down on the ground with her arms around her feet opposite the portal''s wall. She continues to wait for sevens hours before she hears a voice.

    "Ophis?"

    "Mu?"

    Ophis look to the left and see both Isaac and Lucina walk toward her with a worried expression. Without her knowing, Ophis''s body moves on its own and hugs Isaac''s leg with her arms, and feels the cold of death and the warm void around him.

    She missed this feeling.

    Ophis is surprised when Isaac suddenly picks her up and carries her in his arms. She can feel her heart begin to beat faster than it should be, and her face begins to get red. However, it only lasts for a second as Ophis decides to hold the unknown feeling back.

    She did not know what that feeling was. It made her feel weird. She also did now know if she liked that feeling or not. Ophis only gets this feeling when she is around Isaac and Lucina. She doesn''t know what that feeling is, but she will study it, and she will find out what that feeling is.

    Yes. Ophis decides that she needs to study this new feeling by staying near Isaac and Lucina.. Ophis decided it was a perfect plan.

 Chapter 106 - Teaching

    I feed Ophis cookies with my right hand while reading the Grimoire with my left hands. It has been three days since the day Ophis to my pocket dimension alone.

    I don''t know what to think about Ophis. If I did not know her beforehand, I would think she is a Kuudere kind of a kid that wants her parents'' attention by making a small gesture. She wants her parents'' praise and affection by being cute without even trying.

    Because of this, Lucina unofficially adopted her as our child. I don''t know what to think about this situation. On the other hand, I don''t mind having an adopted daughter, but at the same time, the daughter that we want to adopt is a Dragon.

    And not only your ordinary dragon. It was one of the strongest dragons in the DxD universe.

    My wife wants to adopt the strongest dragon in the DxD universe. Do you know what makes it funny? I don''t think Ophis is complaining of being adopted by both of us. I sigh a little and give another cookie to Ophis, who eats it eagerly.

    You know what? If Ophis wants it, I don''t mind taking her with me. I will think about the consequences later.

    "Isaac"

    I look up and see Lucina wearing her casual clothes, smiling at me. Lucina did not like wearing makeup, but even without makeup, she is still beautiful. I don''t know if it was her Dwarf blood that made her so beautiful, or is it the nature of energy in my world that made her look so beautiful. Even my mother, who is in her forty, looks like a woman in her late twenty.

    "Ready to go?"

    "Yes."

    Today is the day we meet Yasaka in her palace. We promise to meet her in ten days after the day we sell Gram to them. The reason we meet Yasaka now is that we want to unlock our Touki.

    From what Yasaka says, Physical Energy or Qi, if we go by this world term, is not the same thing. If Qi is the counterpart of Mana, Touki is the energy that comes out from our life force. The energy that our souls create instead of our bodies.

    Touki is like mana. It has the same connection to your souls, but unlike mana which represents your spiritual energy, Touki represents your life energy.

    Anyway, I pick Ophis down and get up from the couch. I smile a little when I see Lucina take Ophis''s hand and hold it gently.

    After saying goodbye to our Pokemon, who stay in front of the mansion, we walk away from the pocket dimension. I chuckle a little when I see Ophis''s expression after we get out of the Pocket Dimension. When I said she could stay inside, her expression really showed me how hard she thought about it. In the end, she decided to come with us.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Kunou POV|

    I can feel my smile get bigger when I see the figure of my savior appear in front of the palace. However, I am confused when I see they are bringing another person with them. It looked like a child around my age.

    She has black hair, unlike Isaac-sama, who has silver hair or brown hair of Lucina-sama. Her eye color is also different from both of them. She has Grayish eyes while Isaac-sama has silver and Lucina-sama has brown eyes.

    "Sorry for waiting."

    "You are just in time, Isaac. Please follow me. I already prepared a feast for us to enjoy."

    I follow mother and lead Isaac-sama, Lucina-sama, and the little girl they bring to the dining room, where the servant is already preparing the feast for us.

    I then begin to think about the reason why Isaac-sama and Lucina-sama come here. They want to unlock their Touki. I don''t really know the reason why they need the help of us unlocking their Touki. They are already using Senjutsu, after all.

    You don''t need to be a Youkai to feel the natural energy dancing around them like a child dancing around a performer. If not for me holding myself back, I will throw myself to Isaac-sama and begin to purr like a cat.

    If someone cannot hold their urge, they will r*pe Isaac-sama because of too much comfort he gives to the other. When I visit my mother in her office, I read a report saying that the Youkai serving the Lionheart family have a hard time looking them in the eyes. While they can hold themselves, they have a hard time doing that.

    Anyway, we arrive inside the dining room, where I can see a massive amount of food on the table. We usually did not eat much food, but I need to eat extra for now because today is a training day.

    We feast for an hour, and I learn about the little girl that is coming with Isaac and Lucina-sama. Her name is Ophis. She is an adopted daughter of Isaac-sama and Lucina-sama. They say that they found her next to a dumpster looking really hungry.

    I''m really glad they found Ophis-chan there. I cannot imagine how sad it was seeing a cute girl like Ophis-chan sitting next to a dumpster in hunger.

    I think Ophis-chan must be someone well known because when Isaac-sama said that her name was Ophis, I could see mother tilting her head a little. She then asked if she is THAT Ophis or something like that. When Isaac and Lucina-sama nodded their heads, mother nodded her head in understanding and surprise.

    I guess Ophis-chan is the daughter of a fallen noble? That must be it.

    Anyway, after eating the food, we arrived at the training area behind the palace.

    "Okay, first thing first, Kunou, you will continue your training in Senjutsu for a few hours before we continue our Youjutsu training."

    "Of course, Mother."

    "Can I watch the process of the Senjutsu?"

    "Of course."

    My mother gave her permission to his weird request. Anyway, as I sit down, I begin to enter my meditative state. I take a deep breath and feel the Natural Energy of the world get inside me. I can feel the malice, hatred, and killing intent get inside me.

    I resist them all and guide the Natural Energy around my body before feeling it enchanting my body. This is the technique many practitioners use to circulate the Natural Energy around our body and filter it using our body before absorbing it to enchant our body.

    I release tainted Natural Energy from our body.

    As I open my eyes, I can see more clearly, and my body feels a lot stronger than before. I successfully use the basic Senjutsu.

    "I did it, mother! And this time, it was faster than before!"

    Mother smiled at me before patting my head with her hand.

    "What do you think, Isaac?"

    "Hmmm. I think you are doing it wrong."

    "Huh? Pardon me?"

    I look at Isaac-sama in confusion. Wrong? Is he using a different method? I have never heard of a Human senjutsu practitioner. He is the only one I have ever encountered. Maybe their method is different?

    "Hmmm. How do I say this? You separate the pure Natural Energy from the tainted one inside your body, right?"

    I nod my head at what he is saying.

    "Then I''m right. I don''t know how you are doing, but what method I use is different."

    "Can you show us, Isaac?"

    At my mother''s request, Isaac-sama nods his head before suddenly I feel the Natural Energy around us begin to move. It moves toward Isaac-sama at a high pace. I can feel the malice and ill intent in Natural Energy is so strong I feel sick just by feeling it.

    However, before it could get any worse, Natural Energy began to change. The malice and ill intent inside it begin to disappear and only leave warm and comfortable energy around.

    "H¡­ How?"

    "The world has sound. You need to listen to them, listen to their troubles before comforting them."

    "What?"

    "Let me show you. Kunou, take a deep breath and close your eyes."

    I nod my head and follow Isaac-sama''s instructions.

    "Feel the energy around the world. Feel it, do not force it inside your body. Only feel it, get closer but do not force it to get inside your body."

    I expand my senses and feel the Natural Energy around me. While the Natural Energy around Isaac-sama is warm and calming, the other did not. I follow the instructions and begin to feel the Natural Energy.

    "Hear them. Hear their cry."

    At first, I didn''t know what to hear, but after a few seconds, I could hear it. It was faint, but I could hear it. It was like the sound of someone crying. It was like someone was crying in agony. I want to comfort them, tell them that everything will be okay, and tell them that I am here to help.

    "Don''t. Don''t run into the crying voice. Go slowly. Let the voice know that you are not a threat."

    I walk slowly toward it. I can feel it tries to intimidate me with the world''s malice and ill intent, but I keep walking. After a few seconds, I reached it.

    "Comfort it, let it feel you by releasing a little bit of your energy. Let it know that you come to help, not to hurt it."

    I release my chakra gently, and I can feel it touching my chakra. After it touches it, I can feel the malice and ill intent around me slowly disappear. The last thing I see is a smiling figure slowly disappearing from my view.

    "That was¡­"

    "Sad, right?"

    "En¡­ What is that?"

    "That is the earth. Gaia. Not Gaia the Greek Goddess but rather the planet itself."

    "It¡­ was crying."

    "Yes. Feel in pain. The earth experiences the worst of all races. All the hate, the anger, and the sadness all of us releasing every day make the Earth really sad."

    "En. Can''t we do something about it?"

    "Sadly, no. The only thing that will truly heal Gaia from its burden is by killing all the sentient beings on this planet."

    "Oh¡­"

    "Yeah. The only thing we can do is to help it to lighten up the burden it carried for a long time."

    "How?"

    "By doing this exercise. You purify the Natural Energy around you using this method. By doing so, the Natural Energy around you will always be pure, warm, and comforting instead of cold and full of bad intent. Your body would get stronger in return for doing this even if you did not train your body. Even though the growth of your strength is not faster than training like normal, you have a Natural Energy around you that you can use in battle."

    I nod in understanding. I soothe the pain Gaia has, and Gaia boosts my physical strength. It was an equivalent exchange¡ªsort of.

    The method that the first Sage passes down teaches us how to mold Natural Energy and bend it to our needs, but the method Isaac-sama uses is like asking the world for ?ssistance. In return, we, as a senjutsu practitioner, lighten up the pain Gaia bear.

    "I understand."

    "You don''t need to abandon the previous method. You can use it to filter the Natural Energy around you even more before you use it."

    "En! Thank you, Isaac-sama."

    "Call me Isaac."

    I only smile at Isaac-sama''s attempt to make me call him without an honorific.. I giggle a little when I see him sigh.

 Chapter 107 - Guest

    I charge at Yasaka with my Toukai activated. It has been two days since our Touki has been activated by Yasaka using some sort of ritual. She said that she transfers a little bit of her Touki into our body and awakens our own Touki that lay dormant inside our body.

    The first time Yasaka activated my Touki, it was a rush. My body feels so energized and powerful. Sadly it only lasts for a few seconds. Yasaka said that I could only use it for a few seconds when it was first activated.

    I snap from my thoughts when my danger senses scream at me to dodge. I quickly dodge and see Yasaka fly past me with her claw shown. I forget that I''m currently sparring with Yasaka. After dodging the attack, I appear in front of Yasaka and throw a punch toward her stomach.

    When my punch gets blocked, I throw a right hook that also gets blocked by her. As both our arms locked, I decided to use my feet and kick Yasaka away from me. As I created distance between Yasaka and me, I condensed my Touki and created an energy ball before firing it toward Yasaka.

    Yasaka decided to fire her own Touki blast toward mine. As both Touki blasts touch each other, it explodes and creates a shockwave around. However, instead of standing my ground, I run forward and pounce toward Yasaka.

    However, instead of kicking Yasaka, I kicked the air. I look around for a second before I feel someone grabbing my feet. I look at the ground and see Yasaka smirking and pull me underground.

    A few seconds later, Yasaka appears from the ground and says.

    "We are Youkai, Isaac-kun. We have superior eyes and noses. That little smokescreen cannot surprise us. You need a little more extreme distraction to distract us from our prey and enemy."

    I sigh a little and force myself out from the ground. After getting out of the ground, I said.

    "Yeah. I still forget that my usual tactic will not work against Youkai."

    "It is good you are learning. Especially with your Natural Energy around your body."

    "Is it really to stand out?"

    "I guess you can say that. To the other? No. To us, Youkai? Yes, absolutely. You are like a beacon in the middle of the night."

    "How can I hide it?"

    "Sadly, you can''t. You are different from us. For some reason, Natural Energy in a hundred meters radius around you swirling around you like a dog pup wants to play with its parents. You are well-liked by the world, maybe even adored. I''m curious about the reason why."

    "I have a few reasons why Natural Energy really likes me. This is just a guess."

    "What is it?"

    Instead of saying it, I wave my hand at the ground before suddenly it grows a tree five meters high.

    After I grow the trees, I look at Yasaka, who looks at the trees with a curious expression.

    "Is there something wrong?"

    "How? This tree releases pure Natural Energy. How?"

    "I use Natural Energy to grow it. Like I say before, I ask the ?ssistance of Gaia to grow the trees. Well, it was not that simple, but that is what really happened."

    "I see. Can we do what you are doing if we follow your method?"

    "There are a few steps you need to do first, but yeah, you can do that."

    "I see. It is a rare thing to learn something new in this time of days."

    "There is something you can learn every day. Be it a small thing or big thing."

    "Yeah, you are right. Ah, before we get back to the palace, will you stay here for one more day?"

    "I don''t mind, is there something you need from us?"

    "No, there is nothing. I only want you here when we receive a guest from the Underworld."

    "Fallen Angel or Devil?"

    "Devil. Gremory and Sitri. They come here because their school chose Kyoto as their School Trip destination. However, I know that they come here to strengthen our relationship with the devil and make us want to join their alliance like the Norse."

    That means Rias and her peerage and Sona and her peerage will come here. I don''t really want to stay here and interact with the main cast of DxD world, but at the same time, I cannot just reject the request Yasaka asks me after all she did to us.

    You know what? F*CK it. I want to meet Azazel for the last time before I go back.

    "Sure."

    "Thank you."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Azazel POV|

    I look at both Rias and Sona, who lead their peerage before saying.

    "Remember, be polite. While we, Fallen Angels, have a good relationship with Youkai, the Devil did not. You have a rocky relationship with them. Especially after many of the devils have a goal to call Kuoh is owned by the devil, but in reality, it was only loaned by the Youkai, and the devil needs to pay the rent to the Youkai faction. Every year."

    While I like Rias and Sona as my student, they need to know that their proclamation saying that Kuoh is their town is stupid. Sirzechs and Serafall know about this, but because of them a Siscon, they decide not to correct their sister proclamation.

    If not for Serafall diplomacy skill, Rias and Sona were already deported to the Underworld a long time ago.

    There is also a problem of them cannot even detect a stray Fallen and Rogue Priest in their so-called territory. The Youkai begin to think that the devil cannot manage the land under their rule.

    "Don''t worry, Azazel-sensei. We understand"

    "Good, then come on. We cannot let the Queen of Youkai wait."

    I activate the teleportation spell, and a second later, we arrive in front of a massive gate guarded by a dozen Karasu Tengu.

    We walk toward them, and when we arrive, I say.

    "We are here to meet, Lady Yasaka."

    "We have been informed. Yasaka-sama is waiting inside the palace. Follow the servant in front of the palace. They will lead you."

    "I see. Thank you, my good man."

    All of us walk inside the gate, and I can feel the atmosphere inside the palace is different from the last time I came here. It was more¡­ warmer. More comforting. Denser than the last time I came here.

    While I''m not a master of sensing the Natural Energy of the world, I can do that, and I know the Natural Energy around the palace is denser than the last time I came here. Because of that, the barrier around the palace gets stronger than before.

    "You must be Azazel-sama, Rias Gremory-sama, and Sona Sitri-sama."

    "That is right. We also bring some people as well. They are the peerage of Rias and Sona. I hope it is okay?"

    "Of course, Azazel-sama. Yasaka-sama already ordered all of us to prepare for the peerage members of Rias-sama and Sona-sama. Please follow me, Yasaka-sama, and the other guest already waiting for you."

    "Other guests?"

    I frowned a little when the servant did not answer my question but only gave me a small smile before walking inside the palace. Deciding not to think about it, we follow the servant, and after a few seconds, we arrive inside what looks like a ballroom that was modified into a massive dining room.

    As we walk inside, I look at where Yasaka is and smile at her. As I am about to greet her, I meet a rather familiar figure sitting next to Yasaka, who looks at me and says.

    "Ah! Azazel.. It is nice to meet you here."

 Chapter 108 - Scolding

    I put another piece of raw tuna into my mouth and eat it. It has been an hour since the feast began. While it was not the same as the one Yasaka made for me, it was still a big feast. While the sake on the table is good, I begin to get bored only drinking it for the past few weeks.

    However, I decided not to take my own drink from my pocket dimension because it was not polite.

    When I hear the door open up, I see a group of people walk inside the room. They are the main cast of the DxD world. Rias and her peerage and Sona with her peerage. Of course, Azazel and Rossweisse also walk inside the room.

    I don''t remember if Rossweisse was already part of Rias'' peerage, but now I know for sure she already became part of Rias'' peerage, which is a shame. She is one of the most powerful Valkyries after all.

    When Azazel''s eyes land on me, I smile brightly at him and say.

    "Ah! Azazel. It is nice to meet you here."

    I chuckle a little when I see his shocked expression. I don''t know if he is shocked seeing me or Ophis, who is sitting on my ??p eating the sweet served to her.

    "It''s nice to meet you too."

    Yasaka looks at me and says,

    "Isaac, do you know Azazel-dono?"

    "We did some business in the past."

    "Business?"

    "Yup. I sold him some Adamantium."

    "What?!?"

    Yasaka looked at me with a shocked expression.

    "Y-You had a legendary ore in your possession?"

    "Have. I still have some Yasaka."

    "I see."

    While Yasaka says that, I know she will talk to me after the meeting. Anyway, I see the guest begin to sit down on the chair that the servant has prepared.

    The first one to greet Yasaka is Azazel.

    "It is good to meet you again, Lady Yasaka."

    "Nice to meet you, Azazel-dono."

    "Let me introduce you to my student. The first one is Sona Sitri, the President of the Kuoh Academy student council. She is also the heiress of the Sitri Clan of the Underworld. Next to her is her peerage. Tsubaki Shinra, her queen. Momo Hanakai and Reya Kusaka, her bishop. Tomoe Muguri, her knight. Tsubasa Yura, her rook. Genshirou Saji and Ruruko Nimura, her pawn."

    Sona peerage members bowing at Yasaka after Azazel introduces them.

    "The next one is Rias Gremory and her peerage. Akeno Himejima, Her queen¡­"

    When Azazel mentions the Himejima clan, I can see Yasaka''s face twitch a little. I guess she knows about the Himejima clan head order of Akeno hunting. That must be causing a huge headache for Yasaka because she did not want to have a war against the Fallen Angel.

    "Gasper Vladi and Asia Argento, her bishop. Yuuto Kiba and Xenovia Quarta, her knight. Koneko Toujou and Rossweisse, her rooks. Lastly, Issei Hyoudou, her pawn."

    Just like Sona''s peerage, Rias''s peerage begins to bow their head. After the introduction, Yasaka looks at Azazel and says,

    "Now, the introduction is over. Can I ask the reason why you came here other than a school trip?"

    Yikes. It looks like Yasaka did want to beat around the bush. Does she not like the devil in general? Or does she not like the devil coming here?

    "We come here to ask for permission to use our magic and energy freely in this city. While the mundane people explore the city, I will train them in using their power. We also come here to give you the annual report of Kuoh Town."

    Azazel''s eyes land on both Rias and Sona, who take a stack of paper from their backpack. They then place it in front of Yasaka. Yasaka takes the piece of paper and begins to read it. The room stayed silent as Yasaka read through the report ignoring the uncomfortable expression Rias and Sona make.

    This is a power move Yasaka does to show her guest that she thinks the paperwork is more important than them. The only ones that did not have an uncomfortable expression are Azazel, Ophis, and Me.

    Lucina, Azazel, and I already experience this type of power move. As Ophis¡­. Well, she didn''t care about anything that did not get her attention.

    When Yasaka reaches the last paper, I can see she begin to frown. After a few seconds of reading the paper in her hands, she looked at both Sona and Rias before saying.

    "Where is the report about the attack of Kokabiel? Or the attack of the Khaos Brigade?"

    Azazel decided not to answer Yasaka''s question and let Rias and Sona answer her question. I guess he did not want to carry the blame for both teenagers'' laziness. The first one answering the question is Sona.

    "We thought that because the situation is already over, you did not need to know about it."

    "Not worthy? Kuoh is MY town. It was the town under my rule. The only one that can decide that is the Shinto Gods like Amaterasu-sama."

    I watch Sona get berated by Yasaka with interest. I guess, in canon, Sona and Rias don''t give their report because the Hero Faction already kidnaps Yasaka. After Issei rescues Yasaka from the clutch of Hero Faction, Yasaka feels indebted to Issei and decides to let both Sona and Rias not report to her about the situation in Kuoh.

    "I thought Kuoh Town is ours."

    Yasaka snaps her head toward Rias, who says that out loud. By the look on her face, I know she did not mean to say it out loud.

    "YOUR town? Let me tell you something. You did NOT own Kuoh. Kuoh town was not owned by your brother, the devil, and most certainly not YOURS. We, the Shinto faction, own it. You are OUR guest. That town is rented to the devil. When we, the Shinto faction, rent that town to you, we said that you need to take care of it. However, instead of taking care of it, you decide to ignore it."

    Yasaka takes a file from under the table and pushes it toward Azazel and his crew. Azazel takes it and begins to read it. I can see him wince a little after he read it. He passes the folder to Sona, who also starts to read it.

    "That file is filled with the name of Stray Devil in Kuoh Town alone. One hundred and seventy-five stray devils in the last year. More than one hundred stray devils. This will not happen if you report about the stray devil to your brother and sister, but no, you did not. You don''t even know there was a stray in the area. You did not patrol around the town to search if there is something wrong. Instead, you rely on a half-baked barrier around the town to give you a notice if there is anything wrong."

    Yasaka takes a deep breath before continuing.

    "Do you know how many humans and youkai died because of your ignorance? More than a hundred of them died! Do you know what is funny? Kokabiel and his group is the one that helps us hunt the stray devil in Kuoh. The same Kokabiel that you fought."

    Huh, I don''t know about that. I guess even Kokabiel hates the Stray Devil.

    Anyway, after saying that, Yasaka gave a long sigh before saying.

    "Denied. Your request to use magic and energy in Kyoto is rejected. I don''t want them to use their power in the capital city of Youkai. If I found them using their power here, they would get thrown out of the city. I don''t care about whether their brother or sister is Satan. They will be banned from coming here if they decide to break this order."

    Azazel nodded his head in understanding. I guess Youkai and Shinto are not a faction to be underestimated. Even with Ajuka and Sirzechs as the leader of the devil, Yasaka did not fear them.

    "Understood. I will make sure they did not use their power."

    "Good, other than that, please enjoy the feast."

    I decide to ignore it and continue to enjoy the drink being served to us.. It was not our problem after all.

 Chapter 109 - Coversation

    "Azazel, how are you? Are finished making something from the ingot we sold to you?"

    Azazel swallows the food inside his mouth, looks at me, and says.

    "Yeah. I made this ring."

    Azazel takes out the ring he wears around his right index finger and places it in front of me. I pick it up. As my finger touches the ring, I can feel the holy energy inside the ring is massive. I think it was ten times the energy inside Azazel. If I did not know it was a ring, I would have thought that it was a Holy Energy equivalent of a Nuclear Reactor in the form of a ring.

    "You decide to make Holy energy storage from all the Adamantium I give you?"

    "No! I''m a pervert, not an idiot. I only need a few grams of the metal to make this ring."

    "I see. If you don''t mind, why did you make this ring?"

    "Meh, I don''t really mind. I made this ring to be the energy reactor for my artificial Sacred Gear."

    Is he talking about the Down Fall Dragon Spear? I read that the Artificial Sacred Gear can cause fatigue to the user after a long time.

    "I see. I guess it is a good thing because I hear an Artificial Sacred Gear drains the user''s energy faster than your usual Sacred Gear."

    "That is true. That is the only thing I cannot figure out. I don''t know how to decrease the energy consumption of the Artificial Sacred Gear. That is why I create this ring."

    I nod my head and continue sipping my sake.

    "Can I see the ring?"

    I look at Lucina, who asks Azazel to see his ring. After taking the ring, Lucina begins to use her Physical Energy and spreads it around the ring. It takes a minute, but it looks like Lucina successfully figured out the main component of the ring.

    "It is made of four metals. Adamantium, Mithril, Pure Iron and other metal made of pure energy."

    As Lucina mutters it out loud, I can see Azazel widen his eyes, surprised at Lucina.

    "Wow! You can tell it by only touching it? How did you do that?!? The only one I know can do that is a Dwarf!"

    "Well, I''m a dwarf after all."

    Welp, it looks like Lucina blurted her race identity without thinking. She will realize it in three¡­ two¡­ one...

    I chuckle a little when I see her face. Combine it with the face of the other; I almost laugh out loud. The shocked expression of Yasaka, Azazel, and the devils is hilarious.

    "You are a dwarf?"

    Lucina sighs a little before nodding her head.

    "Yeah, I''m a dwarf."

    Azazel looked at Lucina for a few seconds before nodding his head.

    "I guess that makes sense. You two don''t really care about money and only care about knowledge. However, usually, the one that collects a different knowledge is the elves."

    Azazel then looked at me before saying.

    "Are you by any chance an elf?"

    "Nah. I''m one hundred percent human."

    "I see."

    I know that Azazel wants to talk more and even ask Lucina to have some collaboration with him. However, what makes me frown is the expression of the devil in front of me. Both Rias and Sona have calculating eyes. It was the eyes of many merchants coming to Sea Dragon City that tried to scam us.

    I don''t know what they are thinking, but I wouldn''t say I like it.

    Nothing is happening for the rest of the feast other than the devils and Azazel trying to dig for information from Lucina. Lucky for me, Lucina already knows how to deal with the people that try to dig for information.

    The teaching Richard gives to both of us is really useful.

    Dealing with people trying to dig for information from you is not to answer all their questions. It sounds rude and childish, but it really works, especially if you decide to give the people that ask the question a sweet, too sweet, smile.

    ~3 hours later~

    The feast was over a few hours ago. However, before we could get away from the palace, Yasaka asked us to stay here. She said that there is a person that wants to meet me. So here we are being spoiled with all kinds of food or drink we want while waiting for Yasaka.

    "Sorry for the wait."

    "Announcing, The goddess of the sun, the Queen of Japan island, Amaterasu!"

    Suddenly the room is filled with thick energy. This energy did not make us hard to breathe, but rather it was warm like the morning sun.

    The one that walks inside the room is a beautiful woman wearing a white and red Yukata. She has golden hair and eyes. On top of her is a crown-shaped like a sun. There is also a golden chakram (?) like an item.

    "The god of the sea and storm, Susanoo!"

    The next one walking inside the room is a middle-aged man. Susanoo has appeared that of middle-aged men with a body that would put weightlifters to shame. He is massive. I think his height is around 2.1 meters. Not only tall but Susanoo''s body is also filled with muscle. Hell, his muscles have muscles.

    He is currently wearing a white haori. However, instead of tying it together, Susanoo let it open, showing his ?h?st and stomach to the world.

    Around his neck is a necklace of magatama with a bright red magatama in the middle of the necklace.

    I get up from my seat and bow a little. I sit on the chair once again when I see them sit down in front of me.

    "I heard from Yasaka you are a direct person."

    "I can use a sweet word, but where we come from, a direct way of speaking is more appreciated."

    "Then I will not beat around the bush. I hear you have an Adamantium in your possession?"

    "That I do."

    "I know you already sold us Gram even though you don''t need to, but you sell it anyway. Anyway, the reason why we come here is to buy as much Adamantium you are willing to sell to us."

    I don''t have any reason not to sell the Adamantium to the Shinto faction. They are nothing but a great host to us. They treat us with kindness and never see us as their enemy. We also did not lose anything in this transaction.

    "Sure. Let us talk about payment."

    "Of course. I heard from Yasaka you don''t really care about money?"

    "A mundane money? No, we don''t really care about that."

    Because Lucina and I cannot use it in our world after all.

    "However, we accept gold or silver."

    "Really? While obtaining a large amount of gold is rather easy for us, is it really okay? Nowadays, the people ask for documentation where you get the gold."

    "Don''t worry. We will take care of it."

    By taking care of it, I mean bringing it to our world and making a coin out of it¡ªthe same with silver.

    "Very well. Is there anything else? Depending on the weight and size of the Adamantium you are willing to sell, we are willing to give you the books and scroll we have in Takamagahara."

    Without saying anything, I summon two-kilogram Adamantium from my pocket dimension and place it on top of the table.

    "I am willing to sell two-kilo worth of pure Adamantium to you."

    I know both Susanoo and Amaterasu are surprised by me showing them two Adamantium ingots, but both of them did not show it on their face.

    "Can I look at it?"

    I nod my head at Susanoo. A second later, Susanoo takes the ingot and begins to examine it. A minute later, he nods his head and says.

    "You are correct. This really is a pure Adamantium ingot. Where did you get this?"

    "Sadly, I cannot tell you about that. It is a secret, you see."

    "Heh. Worth a try."

    Amaterasu nods her head and says.

    "Tell us what you want for the ingots. We will try our best to give it to you."

    "Other than the golds and silver, I cannot really think of anything. We could take the books, scroll, and Grimoire you can give to us. What do you think, Lucina?"

    I look at Lucina, who is feeding Ophis with her hands. She looks at me and a few seconds later says.

    "The herbs. You need those, remember? You forgot about it when we sold the Adamantium to Azazel."

    "Oh yeah."

    I look back to Amaterasu and say,

    "As she said, we want as many herbs as you can give us. I prefer an herb that we can plant. So we need a full plant, not only part of it."

    "Easy enough. Do you want the herbs in this country, or do you want it from around the world?"

    "The world, please."

    "Very well. Anything else?"

    "Metals. We want as much metal you are willing to give to us. We want the metal in Takamagahara."

    "So you want an Nth Metal?"

    "Nth Metal?"

    "Yes. That is what people called. Nth metal is the metal formed after absorbing a large amount of Divine Energy we release into the air."

    "Hmmm, we will take it. If you are okay with it."

    "Of course, we are fine giving it to you. Anything else?"

    "Nope. You can take the Adamantium. We will come here when you are ready to deliver our payment."

    Amaterasu thinks about it for a few seconds and says.

    "Come here in a week. Your payment will be ready."

    "It is nice to have a business with you."

 Chapter 110 - Rescue & Killing

    "Oh right!"

    "What is it, dear?"

    "Before we continue our vacation, can we visit the other country first?"

    "What for? I don''t really mind."

    "There is this individual that really needs saving. Not only that, this individual is the key individual that can prevent the End of the World scenario."

    "What?"

    I nod my head and sit down next to her and say.

    "This individual is called Valerie Tepes. She is a princess of a vampire clan."

    "If she is a princess, why is she the key to the End of the World scenario?"

    "She is the holder of a powerful Sacred Gear or Artifact inside her body."

    "Really? What kind of artifact did she have?"

    "It was called Holy Grail. This artifact can resurrect a long-dead powerful creature like an evil dragon or a legendary hero of the past and enslave them."

    "That is¡­"

    "Powerful? Yes, it is. However, what makes it even more powerful is its power to unlock the cage of the most powerful beast in this world. This beast is called the beast of the apocalypse. The beast of the end. Its name is Trihexa."

    "Why does anyone want to release this beast?"

    "There is an old man that wants to release this beast to cause as much chaos as he can. He wants to release it because he is bored with his life."

    "What? Just because he is bored?"

    "Yup. He is the son of the first king of the devil. He thinks that he is the embodiment of evil and needs to show it to the world."

    "Where is this young woman?"

    "Romania."

    "Do you know the exact location?"

    "Sadly, no."

    "Then how could we rescue her?"

    "That¡­ I did not think about it, to be honest. I think that we only go to Romania and¡­ you know, rescue her."

    Lucina shakes her head before saying.

    "How about we visit this country first? She must have a unique energy that only she has inside her body. Or we could search for a location that has a large amount of energy."

    "That is a great idea."

    "Thank you. Now, come on. We need to prepare."

    "Ophis, can I ask you a favor?"

    Ophis tilted her head and nodded.

    "I want Rizevim dead and take the Sephiroth Graal from him. If you do this for us, I promise to let you come here every day, and we also bring you to our world."

    Ophis looks to the ground for a minute before looking me in the eyes and says.

    "I want cookies."

    "I will also bake you cookies every single day as well."

    "Promise?"

    "Yes. I promise in the name of the Lionheart family."

    "En. Open portal."

    "Thank you."

    Nodding my head, I prepare for our departure to Romania and open up the portal to the outside world, where I see Ophis open up another portal and begin to fulfill her end of a deal. I know it is sound manipulative, but I don''t really care if the target is Rizevim.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Kuroka POV|

    Right now, we are in the meeting room in our current HQ. In front of me is Vali, the leader of our group. To our left are the remains of the Hero Faction. After the death of Cao Cao and most of the upper-class heroes, the Hero faction begins to lose prestige, and most of its members already defected.

    Look like even the brainwash they do to their members cannot hide the fact that the Hero Faction cannot compete with the other faction.

    Next to the Hero faction is the Hexennacht. Hexennacht is a group of stray magicians who band together after being banished, exiled, and hunted by the legal magician organization. Their leader is Walburga.

    Walburga is one of the humans that many Ultimate Class devils fear. Not only can she spell at high speed, but she is also the holder of Incinerate Anthem, a Longinus type Sacred Gear. Just touching the flame created by the Incinerate Anthem can cause serious damage to a High-Class devil.

    Lastly, there is the Old Satan Faction. The one leading this group is Rizevim Livan Lucifer. The son of the original Lucifer. He is one of the most powerful demons I have ever encountered. His aura is so twisted and dark that it almost makes me puke when I first meet him.

    There is another chair left empty. This chair is the chair prepared for the leader of the Khaos Brigade, Ophis. However, lately, she did not attend the Khaos Brigade meeting. The other members already begin to feel worried because, by the end of the day, many factions did not declare war against them because they are under Ophis''s wing.

    Many factions that know about their existence are willing to give us support because they know that our leader is Ophis, the dragon of infinity. If we don''t have Ophis on our side, we will not get much support as we do now.

    I snap from my thoughts when I see a familiar portal appear next to the empty chair. A second later, Ophis comes out from the portal.

    "Ah! Welcome back, Ophis-sama! We are¡­"

    Before Rizevim could finish his sentences, a pitch-black ball of destruction punched through Rizevim''s ?h?st, creating a massive hole in the middle of his ?h?st.

    Rizevim, who has shocked expressions look at Ophis and ask in a low voice.

    "W-Why?"

    However, instead of answering his question, Ophis created a spike made of her energy and stabbed Rizevim from all sides, killing the leader of the Old Satan Faction.

    Seeing their leader is dead, Shabal Beelzebub and Euclid Lucifuge try to get revenge on their leader. However, before they could reach Ophis, a pitch-black dome appeared around Shabal and Euclid. This dome, made of energy, starts to eat them from the inside out, and after a minute of screaming and begging, there is nothing left inside the dome.

    I couldn''t help but gulp at the sight of a power show. Sometimes I forgot that Ophis is one of the most powerful beings in this world. Even Rizevim, a devil that can fight toe-to-toe against Sirzechs Lucifer, is dead within a second.

    Ophis then begins to destroy the clothes of Rizevim before taking a cup from the body of the old devil. What kind of cup is that? Is that some sort of sacred gear? What kind of sacred gear makes Ophis kill her ally?

    "En!"

    When I see a portal appear next to Ophis, I quickly stop her from stepping into the portal.

    "Ophis-sama! Wait, nya!"

    "Mu?"

    "Can I ask why you kill the old devil? I know he is annoying but is it a good idea to kill him? He is one of the most powerful members of Khaos Brigade, after all, nya~."

    "Disbanded"

    "What?"

    "Khaos Brigade disbanded."

    I look at Ophis with my mouth wide open and look at her in confusion and shock. What did she mean by disbanded? Does that mean they did not have the protection of Ophis anymore? Meaning that Khaos Brigade is officially becoming a terrorist group rather than a group to get Great Red away from the Dimension Gap?

    I''m too shocked to stop Ophis, who walks inside the portal with the cup she got from the old devil in her hand.

 Chapter 111 - Preparation

    We arrive in Romania, but we cannot stay inside a hotel because we don''t have a legal document. Because of this, we decide to make a simple house in the middle of the forest not too far away from Bucharest, the capital city of Romania.

    After I finished building our temporary home, I went to the city and started selling some gold to the local pawnshop. While we don''t really need it, I do it just in case.

    Anyway, when I arrive in front of our temporary home, I see Lucina already begin to try to brew some potions. It has been a few days since Lucina wanted to try brewing some potions, but she did not have time to do it with all the new metal we got from visiting the other world.

    "Lucina. How is your progress?"

    "I successfully brewed a muscle growth potion from the book you got from the goblin."

    I sometimes envy Lucina for being born into a Dwarven race. As long as it was a craft, they can learn it at an insane speed.

    "Really? At this speed, I am afraid I cannot teach you anymore."

    "Don''t be like that. While I know the process of making a simple potion, I cannot make a complex potion like Polyjuice and Draught of Living Death."

    "Well, you will learn how to brew it in a few months."

    "Before then, you are still my teacher!"

    "Fair enough."

    "Anyway, how is the investigation?"

    "Not yet, dear. I have already sent Yuka to do some scouting."

    "What do you want her to find?"

    "I tell her to find a vampire. A Tepes clan vampire. After she finds a vampire, we will kidnap them and interrogate them. Forcefully if they did not corporate."

    "Tortures?"

    "Nahhh, I think an overpowered Veritaserum is good enough."

    "I thought it only needed three drops of a normal Veritaserum is good enough?"

    "I don''t know if it worked with the vampire. I also fear they have a mental barrier that can negate the serum."

    "Fair enough."

    "Good, while waiting for Yuka to come back, let''s make some potions."

    ~2 hours~

    I look to the left when I feel a spike of mana coming from my left. A second later, a portal appears, and coming from the portal is Yuka in her true form. Behind her back is an unconscious man that looks so pale a mundane human will think he is dead.

    However, I know he is not dead. Well, not really because a vampire is some sort of undead after all.

    "Master! I''m back."

    "Ah! Yuka, thank you for your hard work. Is there any difficulty taking this person?"

    "Nope~ I follow your order and attack him when he is alone."

    "Good. Can you call Lucina here? She is in the kitchen cooking something."

    "Okay~"

    I then summon the Veritaserum from the shelf nearby. This Veritaserum is a unique truth serum. It was not like your usual truth serum. The effect of this potion has been boosted ten times than the original. If used by the wizard in the Harry Potter world, it can break the most powerful Occumelency master in a matter of seconds.

    However, there is a side effect. If used by a wizard, they will become a vegetable after the questioner is done with the victim, even with only one drop.

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear someone walk inside the room. I look at the door and see Lucina sitting on top of Yuka walking inside the room.

    "Is this the one?"

    "Yes. Let us get started. Yuka, please dispel your spell."

    After Yuka dispelled her spell, I can see the man open up his eyes.

    "W-What? Where am I?"

    "Where you are did not matter. What matters is that you need to answer our question."

    "What?"

    "First thing first, are you a member of the Tepes faction?"

    "You will not get anything from me, Human!"

    "That is what I''m afraid of."

    With a flick of my finger, the vampire opened up his mouth. He tried to close it, but my magic did not let him do that. I can feel he is trying to change into a flock of bats. Sadly for him, the sealing magic that I learned denied him from doing that.

    Anyway, I pour three drops of Veritaserum, and a few seconds later, the effect of the potions starts kicking. The lifeless eyes of the vampire are even more lifeless than before.

    "What is your name?"

    "Veaceslav Stefan"

    "Tell me your birthday."

    "13 October 1912"

    Holy shit, he is old. Today is 22 October 2008, meaning that he is 96 this year.

    "Are you a member of Tepes Faction?"

    "I have a rank of Baron in Tepes Faction."

    Oh! It looks like we hit the jackpot.

    "Do you know Valerie Tepes?"

    "Yes. She is the bastard daughter of the previous king of tepes."

    The previous king of Tepes faction, huh? Meaning that Valerie''s father is already dead.

    "Have been upgraded by Marius Tepes?"

    "Yes."

    "How does he do it?."

    "He uses the Holy Grail to make us immune against the sunlight."

    "Where is the location of Valerie Tepes?"

    "Inside the castle near Moldoveanu Peak. The castle is hidden from the other, and there is a barrier around the castle protecting it from the invader."

    "How tight is this castle defense?"

    "This is the most secure castle in all Romania."

    Dammit, that means we cannot just sneak inside the castle unnoticed. I snap from my thoughts when I see the man begin to have convulsions on the chair. A few seconds later, blood began oozing out from his eyes, ears, and mouth.

    "Cold Peace"

    As an act of mercy, I activate my Darkness Rune. A second after I activated the Darkness Rune, I can see a white magic circle appear underneath the vampire, and it shoots out a white pillar. A few seconds later, the pillar of light disappears, leaving only ash and the clothes the vampire wears.

    "So, what should we do, dear? If what the vampire said is correct, then we cannot breach the barrier without getting noticed. The only way we can do it is to make a frontal attack. Brute force our way inside. We can sneak inside, but we need to study the barrier and carefully create a hole in the barrier. However, there is a chance that the vampire inside will notice us."

    What Lucina said is true. If we want to sneak our way in, it will take a few weeks to a month to study the barrier. It takes another few weeks to create the barrier unnoticed. However, there is also a chance of being spotted by the vampire inside. This castle is their most protected castle, after all.

    Before I could say anything, I saw a portal appear in the middle of the room. It was a familiar portal. A second later, Ophis comes out from the portal with a smile on her face.

    "Cup"

    After coming out from the portal, Ophis shows me the Sephiroth Graal with a proud expression as if she finished a quest given by the king.

    "Good job Ophis."

    "En!"

    I walk toward her and pat her. While patting her head, I suddenly got a bright idea.

    "Ophis, can you help us rescue someone?"

    "Mu?"

 Chapter 112 - Rescue

    I never thought I would ask Ophis help to raid the headquarters of the Tepes clan, but here we are. While I can use Nothung to cut down the barrier but after doing that, we need to fight too many vampires, just the two of us.

    However, with Ophis backing us, we can defeat them in a single sweep.

    Anyway, we arrived in front of the castle where Valerie is imprisoned. After explaining it to Ophis, we know that Ophis can track where the Sephiroth Graal is located. She said that both of Sephiroth Graal are located in one place. They are nearby.

    It looks like we can hit two birds with one stone.

    "Ophis, can you tell me where the location of the two Sephiroth Graal is?"

    "En? In there and there."

    I look at where she pointed her finger. The first one is inside the castle tower in the back, and the next one is in the opposite direction of the first one but on the first floor.

    "Thank you, Ophis. Lucina, you and I will be the ones rescuing Valerie."

    "Roger."

    I then look at Ophis before saying.

    "Ophis, I need you to be the one taking care of the one that holds the other Grail. Can you do that?"

    "En."

    "Good. I promise you I will bake a hundred cookies for you after we are done with this. A banana cookie, just the way you like it."

    "EN!"

    I chuckle a little at her sudden enthusiasm. She really likes bananas, just like the wiki said. She REALLY likes it. I grow a hundred banana trees, and she can eat all of the fruit if not for me promising her a batch of cookies.

    "Good, then let''s go."

    Lucina takes out her two weapons, Balmung, and Tyrfing. While like her weapon, Balmung and Tyrfing are on the other level. Lucina is already planning to upgrade her weapon so it can be compared to Balmung and Tyrfing, maybe even surpass it.

    The only thing she needs to do is to learn Alchemist. The technique to forge the legendary weapon in this universe needs three techniques. Blacksmith, Alchemist, and Runic. There is also a small portion of Potioneer, but the potion needed can be bought from the other.

    Anyway, I pump a good amount of mana inside Nothung and swing it down. After I swing down Nothung, I can see the barrier around the castle in front of us begin to crumble. Just like I thought, the second I destroy the barrier, I can see a group of bats fly toward us.

    "Summon!"

    "Attack!"

    At my command, my summon begins to release a wave of the elemental blast. From fire to darkness. Most of the vampires get hit by the elemental blast. As for the rest that successfully dodges the elemental blast, they are attacked by Lucina and me.

    I pump a little bit of mana inside Dainsleif, create a pillar of ice from the ground, and freeze one of the vampires instantly. I swing Nothung, send a sword wave toward the pillar of ice, and slice it into two, cutting the vampire frozen inside.

    After cutting the vampire, I dodge to the left when I see the other fire a spell toward me and raise Dainsleif to block the incoming claw of the vampire near me. The vampire tried to get away after attacking me, but I froze him up before he could do it.

    After freezing him up, I destroy him using Nothung. I look to the side and ready to charge at the vampire casting the spell at me, but to my surprise, Lucina already takes care of him. I nod my head at her and start to fly by casting a spell I learned from Merlin Grimoire.

    I fly alongside Lucina, and our destination is the tower where Valerie is located. As we fly, we encounter another flock of bats. This time it was denser than before. When the bats arrive in front of us, they change into vampires.

    Before they could do anything, I swung down Danslief and sent a wave of chill energy toward the vampire. Some can dodge the chillwave, but five of them get hit by it and freeze up immediately.

    The frozen solid vampire falls to the ground and gets destroyed. As for the rest of them cannot do a counterattack as my creature companion starts attacking them. While most of my creature''s attack is either dodged or blocked by the vampire, it was good enough to distract them from us.

    I swung Dainsleif once again and sent another chillwave, and this time it hit seven of them. To my side, I can see Lucina also sending waves of destruction from Tyrfing.

    "Twinkling Star!"

    A second later, a laser of doom appeared from the sky and obliterated the vampire with ease. That is another aspect I found the Star Rune have. It has an affinity against the unliving. The vampire is an unliving being.

    However, I''m not done yet.

    "Cold Peace!"

    This is a perfect time to practice my Darkness Rune. All of them is unliving being. I can release their soul from the mortal husk. I don''t know if this spell is working against a reincarnated devil as they are resurrected by the devil, after all, meaning that they are technically is an unliving being.

    Anyway, I see that my spell really works. I can see the soul of the vampire disappear alongside the white pillar after I cast the spell. I can only use this spell fifty times a day. I want to use this spell to take care of Marius Tepes, but with Ophis taking care of him, I don''t really need to save this spell.

    "Cold Peace! Cold Peace! Cold Peace! Cold Peace!"

    I keep spamming this spell for a minute and see thirty or so vampires get killed. Seeing their comrade is dead at a fast rate, the rest of the vampires decide to run away, but sadly, I did not let them do it.

    "Cold Peace! Cold Peace! Cold Peace! Cold Peace!"

    Seeing no more vampires want to fight against us, Lucina and I begin to fly toward the tower once again. When we arrive in front of the castle, I swing Nothung and cut down the wall.

    However, instead of looking at beautiful blond Dhampir, I''m looking at a young pale man looking at us with a fury in his eyes.

    "HOW DARE YOU?!?"

    Oops, it looks like we are in the wrong place. The information we got from the other vampire is false.. Valerie was not imprisoned in a tower but rather in the dungeon on the castle''s first floor.

 Chapter 113 - Mission Succes

    I dodge an incoming energy blast from Marius and cut another incoming blast with Nothung. After shouting, ''how dare we attack the Tepes clan,'' he immediately attacked us with a few dozen spells.

    I guess this is what a master spell caster fight looks like. Marius can cast more than fifty spells at once. He can also cast three spells in one magic circle. I really need to train my magic circle spell. I can only cast one spell for one magic circle, and I can only summon ten magic circles at once.

    Anyway, I decided not to waste any more time and activate my Darkness rune.

    "Cold Peace!"

    Just like before, a pillar of white energy shoots out from the ground. However, instead of leaving behind a pile of ashes, the spell did not kill Marius. However, I can see Marius sweating like crazy, and his face is paler than before.

    "You¡­ What did you do? If not for the Grail, I would be dead by now."

    If not for the grail? That means he tied himself to this world using the grail? I guess that made sense. Sephiroth Graal is known as a sacred gear that connects Dead and Life after all.

    "Finger of Death!"

    This time I decide to use another spell and see a pitch-black magic circle appear underneath Marius. A second later, purple energy shoots out from the ground, and I can see the soul of Marius start to get out from its body.

    However, before Marius''s soul gets out fully, I see a white light coming from his ?h?st. This light is the one that is holding Marius''s soul from being taken away.

    Before the spell is over, I activate my darkness rune once again, but this time, it was for a different spell.

    "Final Bell"

    A second after I activate my spell, I can hear a bell toll in the distance. After a few seconds, the bell tolling a massive magic circle appears next to Marius. Coming from the magic circle is a massive creature. It has the appearance of a tall skeleton dressed in attire worn by high priests, giving off a creepy aura. Despite having no eyes, his eye sockets can glow to give the appearance of eyes. It also wears a regal robe fit for a sorcerer-king.

    If my knowledge of DxD is right, then the being in front of me is Hades. One of the Three Rulers of the Greek Pantheon, the Underworld ruler, is one of the world''s strongest beings.

    "Marius Tepes, the final bell toll your name. Any last word?"

    "Hades, this is not your business! Begone!"

    "Very well."

    With a flick of his finger, Hades fires a massive amount of death energy toward Marius. A few seconds later, Marius is no more. The only one left is the Grail that floats in the air. However, to my surprise, a few seconds later, Marius appears from the Grail uninjured but even paler than usual.

    "You cannot kill me, Death God! I cheated Death! I''m the true Immortal!"

    "Foolish child. You are not the true owner of Sephiroth Graal, and you think you are the true Immortal. Do you think I will never encounter another Sephiroth Graal user before? Truly foolish"

    Hades spreads his arms, and suddenly a massive magic circle appears underneath Marius. A second later, a hand made of darkness stab Marius right in the ?h?st. Right where the Grail is located. The hand then rips the Grail from Marius'' body, and I can see a soul coming out from the Grail. It was Marius'' soul.

    "H-How¡­"

    Just like that, Marius is dead. After seeing Marius is dead, Hades looks at me and gives the Grail to me.

    "I entrust this Grail to you, O Death Chosen. May we meet again."

    After saying that, Hades is gone. You know, I thought the Final Bell would only summon a High-ranking Grim Reaper, not the God of Death himself, to kill my enemy. I don''t know if I made Hades angry or not but by the look of it, I did not.

    A note to self: Don''t use Final Bell spells in a world that has many Death Gods.

    "Isaac, is that really?"

    "Yes, Hades. God of the underworld of this world."

    "One of the most powerful beings in this world?"

    "Yes."

    "Why did he decide to help us?"

    "To be honest, I don''t know. I''m as confused as you are. I thought that my Final Bell Spell only summoned a High-Ranking Grim Reaper, not¡­ You know, Death God."

    "We really need to experiment with our rune more."

    "Agreed. Let''s go back. I feel Ophis is already done rescuing Valerie."

    True to my word, I can see Ophis already waiting for us not too far away from the castle. However, I frown a little when I see many corpses on the ground near Valerie and Ophis. I guess Ophis killed them all.

    "Ophis, who are they?"

    "Annoying."

    "Annoying?"

    "En"

    I guess they attack both of them, and Ophis retaliates by killing them all.

    "Good job, Ophis. I will keep my promise and bake you some cookies."

    "En!"

    I walk toward Valerie, who looks at me with a longing. Like a person seeing water after not drinking for three days.

    When I arrive in front of her, I take out the two Grails from my pocket dimension and give them to Valerie. Valerie widens her eyes and takes the two Grails slowly from my hands and hugs them tightly, afraid of losing them once more.

    "Thank you¡­ Thank you very much. Thank you for giving the pieces of my soul back to me."

    I smile a little and see Valerie absorbing the Sephiroth''s Grail, and I can see her pale face begin to regain its color once more. After absorbing the grails, Valerie hugged me tightly. I decided to hug her back.

    After a minute of hugging, Valerie released me and looked at me.

    "Thank you."

    "No problem. Now, what do you want to do?"

    ".... Can I come with you?"

    "Of course. However, are you sure?"

    "Yes. There is nothing here for me to stay. The only person I see as a family already escaped this place a long time ago."

    "I see. Then come on, we will be leaving in a few seconds."

    "Thank you!"

    "Think nothing of it."

    I create a teleportation circle, and a few seconds later, we are gone.

 Chapter 114 - Greeting

    "Welcome to my world!"

    I couldn''t help but smirk at the shocked face of Valerie. It is amusing seeing all the shocked faces of others when they see my pocket dimension. Even Ophis has the same expression when she comes here.

    "Is this¡­ Is this another world?"

    "You can say that. Come on, let me show you around."

    I then begin to show Valerie around. After a few minutes of walking around the mansion, we decide to take a lunch break. For today''s lunch, I decided to cook some noodles or, more specifically, a Drunken Noodle.

    I really want some spicy food now. Of course, I also cook other dishes as well, just in case Valerie did not like or cannot handle spicy food.

    It took a few hours to cook the food, and after I finished cooking, Lucina helped me place the food on top of the tables. I frown a little when I see Valerie hesitate when the food arrives.

    "Valerie? Is there something wrong?"

    ".....No"

    "Please tell me if there is something wrong. You are here as our guest, not as a prisoner."

    ".... Can I really eat all of this?"

    I look at her with a shocked expression. What kind of place did she live in to make her hesitate about eating the food without permission?

    "Of course! You can even eat all of them! But you need to do it fast before Ophis decides to eat all the food in front of you."

    Valerie and I look at Ophis, and true to my word, Ophis is already inhaling the food. Ophis eat all the food, even the extra spicy Drunken Noodle I made.

    "Come on, eat. There is a lot of food you can enjoy here. You don''t need to ask for permission to eat food if you are hungry. You don''t need to beg for it. Ask me, and I will make you some food. As long as I''m not busy, I will cook it for you. Or you can cook your own food. My wife over there is learning how to cook, and you can learn how to cook with her if you want to."

    "En. Thank you¡­ Thank you so much."

    "Think nothing of it."

    I smile at her and give her a head pat before I go back to my food that, for some reason, is gone. I look at Ophis, who innocently slurps my noodles.

    "Ophis¡­"

    I sigh a little when I see her look in the other direction while still chewing my noodles. I take another noodle from the big bowl and put it on my plate before I begin to eat it. I look at Valerie, who decides to take the Drunken Noodle into her plate and begin to eat some of it.

    When I see her widen her eyes and see her face turned red, I know that he cannot handle my type of spiciness. Lucina decides to help Valerie and give her a glass of water before saying.

    "Sorry about that, dear. Isaac''s brand of spiciness is too much. Only a few people can handle his type of spiciness."

    "I can do it."

    "You don''t need to force yourself to eat it, you know?"

    "No. I can do it."

    "I see. Then go ahead."

    "Thank you."

    For the next few minutes, I see Valerie struggling to eat the Extra Spicy Drunken Noodle. In the end, she cleaned up her plate of Drunken Noodle with red lips and a bright red face. Her usual pale face became red and sweaty after eating the noodles.

    "Good job"

    I praise her and give her a head pat. After patting Valerie''s head, I feel someone tugging my shirt. I look down and see Ophis presenting her head toward me like a child asking for praise. I smile at her and give her a head pat as well.

    "Good job for eating all your food."

    As I pat Ophis''s head, I feel her give a soft purr. As time passes by, I start to think that Ophis is a cat, not a dragon.

    ~2 hours later~

    "Now, let us continue the lesson about alchemists."

    Right now, I give a basic lecture about Alchemists to Lucina, who decides want to learn about Alchemists. If she wants to make a weapon like Balmung, then she needs to learn about Alchemist.

    Sitting next to Lucina is Valerie and Ophis. Valerie decides to want to learn about Alchemists as well, while Ophis¡­ Well, she came here to eat some cookies.

    "Any alchemist process has four distinct processes. These are Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas and Rubedo."

    I flick my finger and conjure a blackboard and chalk. I then use my magic to let the chalk write what I said.

    "Nigredo! Nigredo is the stage of putrefaction or decomposition, the dissolution into the base component. Albedo! Albedo is the stage of purification, where the base components are cleansed of their previous ?ssociations. Citrinitas! Citrinitas is the stage of reconstruction, using the purified substance gained from Albedo to create something new. Lastly, Rubedo! Rubedo is the stage of hardening or stabilization, where the new creation is imbued with its own unique identity that prevents it from unraveling."

    After I said that, Lucina raised her hand and said.

    "Is that all the stage of Alchemist?"

    "Of course not. Those are merely an overview of the alchemist process, and each individual stage has multiple sub-stages that require extensive knowledge to do correctly."

    "I see."

    "Now! We will begin with-"

    I stop mid sentences when I feel someone is standing outside the portal. Not only someone, but it was also a group of people.

    "Isaac? Is there anything wrong?"

    "Someone is standing in front of the portal. A group of people."

    "Cat and Albion."

    I snap from my thoughts and look at Ophis.

    "Pardon me? Can you repeat that, Ophis?"

    "Cat, Albion, Monkey, and Blonde Siblings."

    "Ah. Kuroka, Vali, Bikou, Arthur and Le Fay Pendragon?"

    "En"

    Does Kuroka tell them where we are? Does she not still have a contract with Ophis?

    "Ophis, can Kuroka tell the other about my secret?"

    "No. She can''t."

    Then how do they know where we are?

    "I guess they can wait. I don''t want to let them in. Let us focus on our lesson for now."

    ~5 days later~

    I must praise their stubbornness. The group that comes to the portal of my pocket dimension still stays near my portal. While I don''t want to meet them, Lucina and I need to get out and buy some formal clothes for Valerie and Ophis.

    The reason? Tomorrow is the day we will meet Amaterasu and Susanoo to get our payment for selling Adamantium to them.

    Lucina, Ophis, Valerie, and I walk into the portal, and a second later, we are inside a rather familiar alley. However, there is something different in the alley. Instead of an empty alley, there is a tent outside our portal and inside the tent is a rather familiar face.

    "You know, I never thought to see an S-class criminal, the grandson of Lucifer, The descendant of Sun Wukong, The descendant of King Arthur, and the descendant of Morgan Le Fay make a camp in the middle of an alley like a beggar."

 Chapter 115 - Visitor

    I can see all the people immediately get up from what they are doing and enter a battle stance. Vali summoned his Divine Dividing gauntlet, Bikou with his bo staff, Arthur with his sword, and Le Fay with her magic staff pointed at me.

    "Woah there, I''m here not to fight you guys."

    They did not move for a few seconds, and seeing the intense atmosphere, Kuroka decided to interfere.

    "He is not a bad guy, Nya~ Also, look! There is Ophis-sama"

    At the mention of Ophis, all of them take away their weapons.

    "Now, that is already over. Can I ask you the reason why you guys come here and how? I know that Kuroka cannot tell you guys about my secret. Anyone? Kuroka?"

    "Well~ I technically did not tell them. However, there is no way I can prevent them from looking inside my head, right, nyaa? So I did not tell them after all! They see it themselves, nya~."

    Damn. I never think about that.

    "Well, I guess it is my bad then. However, you guys still did not tell me the reason why you came here."

    This time it was Vali who answered my question.

    "We come here to see where Ophis goes, and I want to thank her for killing my Grandfather personally."

    Oh right. Vali really hates his Grandfather. He really hates him so much that he wants Rizevim to die a gruesome death.

    "I guess we should get inside. Come on. Oh, before we get inside, I need to warn you about something."

    "When you walk inside this portal, be prepared."

    "What?"

    I ignore him and walk inside the portal, followed by Vali and his team.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Vali Lucifer POV|

    I look at the man in front of me and ask Albion once again.

    Are you sure you feel death power over this man?

    |I''m sure Vali.|

    How he has Death Power, but his mana is only over High-class beings.

    |Don''t underestimate people, Vali. You already see how powerful the Red One becomes in a short amount of time.|

    I know you don''t need to tell me about it.

    I''m still a bit salty about the power boost Issei Hyoudou got... Not even a year, and he is already this powerful. I need at least a year to reach my balance breaker.

    |However, my word still stands, Vali. There is a reason why Ophis really likes this man.|

    I nod my head at Albion''s words. Ophis did not like weak people. The only reason why she listens to Rizevim is that he has the power to back it. Not only that, but he also has a silver tongue that can lure Ophis to do his bidding.

    I snap from my thoughts when I see a portal appear once again. I followed the man and walked inside the portal. As we walk through the portal, I get overwhelmed by the energy around this place.

    |What is this place? I can feel a huge amount of wild energy around this place. The energy did not taint and so pure I never saw this kind of energy for a long time.|

    When was the last time you felt this pure energy?

    |The last time I felt this pure energy was when I was born. The time before humans discovered magic.|

    That was around a thousand years ago?

    I see.

    Gilgamesh, the first human to inherit magic given by the gods. The first magical kings. The first one that was blessed to wield magic.

    King Salomon is known as the King of Magic, Gilgamesh, the founder of magic. Well¡­ Technically not a founder but rather the first human blessed to wield magic.

    I look to the side and see both Kuroka and Bikou trying their hardest to hold themselves together. While I''m not a Senjutsu practitioner, I can still feel the Natural Energy of the world. I need this skill to fight Kuroka, after all.

    "Good, now you are used to the Natural Energy of this place; we can go to my place."

    I follow the man to the mansion not too far away from where we come from. As we walk toward the mansion, I can see massive creatures fight with each other. Each move they use can be compared to a high-rank spell.

    |They are strong. Those creatures are strong|

    I agree with Albion on this one. I know I can defeat them, but I know they can give me a run for my money if I fight them head-on. I feel the urge to fight them, but I decide to hold it down. While I''m a battle maniac, Azazel already drills courtesy into my brain. So I decided to give some face to the owner of this place.

    "Please come in. I will prepare some tea."

    The blonde one did not have the same cold aura as a full-fledged vampire.

    After a minute of waiting, the young man came back with a tray of tea. He put down the tray, filled up the teacup, and placed down a jar of cookies that Ophis took. The young man sighed a little before saying.

    "First thing first, let us introduce ourselves. My name is Isaac Lionheart, and the lady next to me is¡­."

    "Lucina Lionheart."

    "Valerie Tepes."

    I nod my head and introduce myself followed by my companion.

    "Vali Lucifer"

    "Bikou"

    "Arthur Pendragon"

    "Le Fay Pendragon"

    "You already know me, nya~ Kuroka~."

    Isaac nods his head and says.

    "So, let us get this over with. Ophis, Vali over here wants to say something."

    I look at Ophis and bow my head.

    "I thank you for killing my Grandfather. I''m really grateful for what you did. If not for you, he will cause as much chaos as he can."

    "Okay"

    "If you don''t mind, can I ask you some questions?"

    "Mu?"

    Ophis tilted her head.

    "Can I ask the reason why you killed Rizevim so suddenly?"

    "Cookies"

    I look at Ophis as if she just said that the world is going to end before saying.

    "What?"

 Chapter 116 - Feast

    Lucina and I chuckle a little seeing the expression of Vali and his team. You will never think that a price for killing a Super Devil is cookies and a head pat.

    "What?"

    "Cookies"

    Once again, Ophis said it as if it was all the answer Vali needed to know, and it was all the answer he needed to know. So Vali decides to give up translating what Ophis is saying and looks at me.

    "What she means she decides to kill Rizevim is because I bribe her with cookies. Right Ophis?"

    "En!"

    I chuckle once again when I see Vali''s expression after I said that.

    "D-Do you mean that Ophis is willing to kill Rizevim because you bribe her with Cookies?"

    "And head pat, don''t forget about head pat."

    "... and head pat. You bribe Ophis to kill Rizevim, a powerful devil, using cookies and head pat?"

    "Yup!"

    I can see Vali still did not believe me but seeing Ophis nodding her head, he knows that I''m telling the truth.

    "Haaaa¡­. Anyway, the reason why we come here is to thank you for killing Rizevim."

    "And after doing that? You already give your thanks. What will you do now?"

    "To be honest, I don''t really know. The only thing we can do right now is doing an odd job. Right now, we are an illegal mercenary after the Khaos Brigade has been disbanded."

    "Why not go back to Azazel?"

    ".... I don''t want to."

    I sigh a little. I guess Vali''s pride made him stay away from Azazel.

    "Well, if there is nothing else, please leave my home. I need to buy some formal clothes."

    "Very well. Thank you for your hospitality."

    I then escort Vali and his team away from my pocket dimension. After seeing them disappear from my sight, we begin to start to walk to the mall nearby.

    ~The Next Day~

    Lucina, Valerie, Ophis, and I arrive in front of the palace where Yasaka and Kunou lived. As we arrive in front of the palace gate, we are greeted by a pair of Karasu Tengu.

    "Good morning. I have an appointment with Yasaka."

    "Good morning, Isaac-sama. Yasaka-sama is waiting in the meeting room. Please follow the servant behind me. She will be the one leading you there."

    I look at the Karasu Tengu back and see a raccoon youkai bowing at us. We follow the young raccoon youkai, and after a few seconds of walking, we arrive in front of a massive room. As we walk inside the room, I can see Yasaka and Kunou sitting on the chair inside the room.

    "Ah! Isaac, Lucina, Ophis, and¡­?"

    "Valerie, Lady Yasaka"

    "Call me Yasaka, dear. If Isaac brings you here, that means he trusts you. If he trusts you, then you are a good person. A person that we can trust."

    Valerie blushed a little at what Yasaka said.

    "Anyway, welcome back, Isaac. It is nice to see you once again."

    "It is nice to meet you."

    "Sadly, Amaterasu-sama has not arrived yet. She will arrive in a few minutes; before then, please enjoy the feast."

    With that being said, we begin to enjoy the feast Yasaka prepared for all of us. The first one taking charge is Ophis, who immediately takes a big bite of the food. While eating the food, I hear Kunou asking me a question.

    "Em¡­ Isaac-sama, can I ask you a question?"

    "Sure"

    "How do you grow the trees using Natural Energy?"

    "Do you know the characteristics of Natural Energy?"

    "Characteristic?"

    "Natural Energy is the energy of life. It has the characteristics of Destruction, Life and Nurturing."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. Life! Natural Energy can bring life. This characteristic is the reason why Natural Energy can be used to heal. Nurturing! Natural energy can increase the growth of someone. Not only that, but the physical boost from using Senjutsu is also coming from this characteristic. Lastly, Destruction! Natural energy can be used to destroy the user''s enemy."

    "I see¡­ Why do I just hear about this?"

    "Because too many people use the destruction aspect of Natural Energy. When people hear Senjutsu, they will immediately think about an individual that can destroy a mountain with their hands. The other one is how a Senjutsu practitioner type is like flipping a coin. On one side, they are a normal and even kind individual. On the other side of the coin is a madman that only wants to kill people because the tainted Natural Energy corrupts them."

    Kunou tries to say something but decides that what I''m saying is right.

    "People often forget that Natural Energy is not about destruction but rather giving life and protection. The destruction characteristic of Natural Energy is part of its protection. Natural Energy did not attack first. They endure, but when the others keep disturbing nature? Then you will get nature wrath."

    "I see, but how can you grow a tree using Natural Energy."

    "Ah, pardon me. Instead of using the destruction characteristic of Natural Energy, you need to use its Life and Nurturing characteristic."

    I create a magic circle and create a plant pot, then fill it with dirt.

    "First thing first, you need to do the method I told you in the past. After doing that, you do not order Natural Energy. Instead, tell your intent to the Natural Energy, tell it what you want and gently push a little bit of your energy. After doing that, you will get yourself a sapling. Come on, try it."

    I push the plant pot toward Kunou, who starts to close her eyes. After a few seconds, I can see the movement of the Natural Energy begin to change.

    A minute later, I see Kunou open up her eyes, and I can see a small sapling coming out from the dirt. Then, I can see Kunou smile brightly at her success and look at me with a star inside her eyes.

    "I did it! I did it, Isaac-sama!"

    "Yup, good job."

    "Hehehehe~"

    I smile at her and give her a head pat. She must be a genius, or is it because she is a Youkai who has a better connection to Natural Energy. I need at least almost a month to create a sapling only using mana.

    I need to use some seeds before I go summoning a tree out of nowhere.

    "Remember to use your imagination. You can think about summoning a massive tree or just its root. If you did not specify which plant you want to grow, nature would choose the most common tree in the area, which in this case: A sakura tree."

    "En! I will train even harder!"

    "Good."

    I give her another head pat.

    "My~ I never thought there is another method of using Senjutsu. That is really impressive, Isaac-kun."

    I look to the left and see Amaterasu and Susanoo walk inside the room. Amaterasu has a curious expression, while Susanoo has an excited expression.

    "This is just something I learn in my time."

    "Then it was even more impressive! You have not yet reached the age of twenty, are you?"

    "No, I''m not. I just passed the age of sixteen."

    "You become more and more interesting."

    "Thank you."

    Amaterasu smiled at me and sat down on the chair in front of us.

    "Before we start the business, let us enjoy the feast, shall we?"

    ~3 hours later~

    It took three hours before the feast was over. The reason it takes so long? Lucina and Susanoo decide to have a drinking match. Susanoo sees Lucina drinking sake like it was water intrigues him and decides to challenge her to a drinking contest.

    Of course, Susanoo did not use his divine power in this match. While Lucina is a heavy drinker, she is down after drinking the hundredth or so barrel full of sake. So here I''m alone with Yasaka and Amaterasu while Ophis, Valerie, and Kunou look after Lucina and Susanoo.

    "Now we have some peace. Let us start the business, shall we?"

    "Please"

    After I said that, Amaterasu summoned a massive scroll and placed it on the table.

    "Inside this scroll is the payment for the Adamantium you sold to us. Inside this scroll, there are Ten tons worth of gold, twenty-five tons worth of silver, two thousand books and scroll, and lastly, a few tons worth of plants. From poisonous plants to healing plants, I already separate it to know which plant you can touch directly and which plant you cannot touch directly. Some of those plants need to be planted right away after you take them away from the scroll. There is also some sword and armor from my personal armory. I hope this is good enough for you?"

    Holy shit! That is a lot. A lot more than what Azazel gave to us. Ten tons worth of gold? I think it alone is worth more than one billion yen. Of course, there is also silver and plants that are ready to be planted. However, what makes me drooled a little is the number of books and scrolls inside this scroll.

    While it was not as much as the book Azazel gave to me, it was still a lot.

    "Yes. It is good enough for me. It is nice to have a business with you."

    "Think nothing of it. First, you rescue Yasaka, you sold the strongest Demonic Sword in the world to us, and lastly, you sold an Adamantium that we really need right now."

    "Speaking of Adamantium, can I ask how you use the Adamantium? Do you use it to make armor? Weapon?"

    "No. We use it to make a Magatama."

    "What?"

    "Yes. We use it to make Magatama. This Magatama used to create a strong barrier across Japan."

    "I see. Can I ask why?"

    "Why do we want to make a National wide barrier?"

    "Yes."

    "The short version is Stray Devil."

    "The long answer?"

    "The long answer is because we want to intimidate the devil. This is our way of saying that we still owned Japan, and they cannot just dump their Stray Devil in my country. They cannot resurrect my subject and make them a slave to the devil as much as they want like in the past."

    Ahh, I see. It looks like the Shinto faction already had enough of the shenanigan of the devil.

    "We also want to protect the youkai. Do you know how many Nekomata are afraid of getting out of their hiding place?"

    "No. A hundred?"

    "Five hundred and fifty nekomata."

    "They are afraid the devil will hunt the rest of them just because one of the heirs of their pillar is killed. What makes me angry is that they did not investigate it. Instead, satan leaves it to the council, who decides that Kuroka is guilty and declares her a stray devil. If only they decide to investigate it immediately, they will find the evidence, but instead, they decide to ignore it and let the Old Satan faction erase the evidence."

    "If the evidence is erased, how do you know this?"

    "The nekomata that survive the massacre are willing to tell us the reason why this accident happened. But, before you say something, Nekomata is one of the sneakiest Youkai you will ever find. They are a master spy and ?ssassins by nature. So finding the reason why they get hunted down rather easy for them."

    "I see."

    "We really want to declare war against them, but we don''t want another war. Especially against a race that can get many people fighting for them."

    "May people fight for them?"

    "Do you know how many magicians willing to sell their soul just to become a contracted magician?"

    "Many of them?"

    "Try all of them. The magician will sell their soul to the devil to increase their power. That is the nature of humans. While yes, there are people like you, however, the majority of them? They are the same."

    "I see."

    "That is why it is really tricky to fight against the devil. Not only do they have a powerful devil in their rank, but they also have a powerful bloodline. From the Hole to the Power of Destruction. Those two bloodline powers alone can cause too many headaches for us."

    "I see. Are they already making the barrier?"

    "No. Tonight is the time we will make the barrier. We already sent an ambassador to the underworld to meet with the Devil and Fallen Angel. They already tell them that we will make a barrier around Japan. We also tell them that they need a permit to go to Japan. So I call you here to tell you that we want to add you to the barrier. You are the friend of Shinto and Youkai faction, after all."

    "Thank you. I''m really touched."

    "You deserve it. Anyway, we are finished here, or do you want to do another business with us?"

    "Not at the moment."

    "Then we should go back before Susanoo do something stupid in his drunken state."

 Chapter 117 - Short Exploration

    It has been a week since I finished doing my business with the Shinto Faction. It took me a few days to sort all the books I got from both Azazel and Amaterasu. Among those books, there is something that gets Lucina''s attention.

    It was a book called Wandering Tales of Shana-oh.

    While this book sounds like a tale, it was not. Instead, it was a diary of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the time he went to Oshu, Iwate.

    Not only does it tell the tale of him, but it also tells a technique Minamoto invented to fight against his enemy. There are five secret techniques that Yoshitsune uses in all his fights. He called it five secret techniques.

    The first one is an observation technique. It was like Kenbushoku Haki from One Piece. This technique grants the user a sixth sense that allows them to sense the presence, strength, and emotions of others and gain limited precognitive abilities.

    The second one is a footwork technique. This technique grants the user a tremendous speed boost and also grants them short teleportation. Not only that, but this technique is also the foundation of Yotshitsune swordsmanship.

    The third one is more of a training method rather than a technique. This one tells us how to train our body to the limit and how to make our body grow instead of getting destroyed from all the strain we put it through. This includes making a potion to make our body adapt faster and which food is good to eat before and after training.

    The fourth one is a technique that lets us summon a physical clone. Using our Physical Energy or Qi, we can summon Eight Clones with the same physical strength as you. Not only that, but this technique also allows us to stick to other surfaces, from the ceiling to the water. It was like the ninja used in the Naruto world.

    The last one is the Anti-demonic technique. It changed the Qi we used into a poison weapon to a demonic creature. Again, it did not sound like much, but this one is beneficial because there are so many monsters in our world.

    Sadly all of those techniques cannot be used by me. It can only be used by someone who has Physical Energy inside their body.

    "Isaac!"

    I snap from my thoughts and see Lucina shouting my name.

    "I''m sorry about that, dear. Is there anything wrong?"

    "Not really, but you said that you want to train your magic?"

    "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that."

    "What do you want to test today?"

    "I want to test my magic, but I also want to explore the pocket dimension. The last time I did that, there were not too many creatures roaming around this dimension."

    "Oh?!? Can I come with you?"

    "That is the reason why I ask you to come here. I want you to come with me to explore this dimension or at least this island."

    "What should we bring with us?"

    "Basic tools, armor, and weapons. I can still access all the functions of this pocket dimension."

    "Very well. Should I ask both Valerie and Ophis to come with us?"

    "Yeah, sure."

    ~Thirty minutes later~

    After thirty minutes of getting ready, Lucina, Ophis, Valerie, and I were ready to go. Lucina and I are wearing our armor the same as Valerie. Our armor is made from the combination of both Mithril and Adamantium.

    We also give an enchantment to the armor. It creates an invisible barrier around us that can block a high-level spell before it needs to recharge for one hour. Even then, the armor gives the wearer a boost to our body''s durability.

    It did not give us invulnerability, but it was good enough to protect us.

    "Ready?"

    "Yes, I''m ready."

    "Yes!"

    "En"

    With that being said, we step out of the safety zone of the pocket dimension. Immediately after stepping outside the safe zone of the pocket dimension, I can feel the energy around us change drastically.

    The energy around us is wilder than the one inside the safety zone. However, while the energy around us is wild, it is still pure. I''m guessing if someone only uses the outside energy, they will have a hard time controlling the energy to cast a spell or technique.

    "Come on. Let us explore this pocket dimension."

    ~Three hours later~

    The wilderness that is what I call the outside zone has a unique creature. It has all the creatures from the world I visited in the past, from the Harry Potter world to the DxD world.

    However, the monster also had a different way of death because of the different world rules when we killed it. For example, the monster from the Suikoden world is the monster in front of me, come from the game world.

    Because of this, the monster did not leave a corpse behind. They will disappear and leave loot for us to take. From gold to an item we can use like health potions. Sadly the gold that was dropped by the monster is the gold from the Suikoden world, meaning it was not real gold but rather a combination of bronze and other metals.

    "Great work, Isaac."

    "Thank you. Should we take a break?"

    "Sure. I''m getting hungry myself, and I think Ophis agrees with me."

    "Ophis is always hungry, dear. Anyway, let me take the loot first."

    I walk toward the loot on the ground and pick up a Flaming Arrow Scroll and a hundred or so gold.

    After doing that, I walk back to where my companion is resting. Next to them is a corpse of a monster that is currently being burned into ashes. I decided to ignore it and begin to prepare today for lunch.

    I look at the mountain in the distance with awe. The mountain is so big that I cannot see the peak. However, what makes me look in awe is what Ophis says.

    "Ophis, are you sure?"

    "En. Dragon. Lightning dragon."

    That. Ophis said that there is a dragon on the mountain peak.

    "Is it strong?"

    "Mu¡­. Mid-tier."

    "I see. That''s powerful, huh."

    Ophis''s power scale is something that I cannot trust. The five Dragon King of DxD is considered Mid-tier by Ophis standard. The one she considered high tier is the two heavenly dragons, Albion and Ddraig.

    "Mu¡­ Not powerful."

    "I know they are not as powerful as you, Ophis. However, to us, that Dragon is powerful enough; we cannot fight it head-on."

    "Muuuu"

    After sulking for a few seconds, Ophis looked at me with a star inside her eyes.

    "Sword!"

    "No, Ophis. I will not fight the dragon even with the help of Balmung."

    "Muuu"

    This is another side of Ophis that I never thought to see. She is a jealous type. She did not like another dragon around her. I guess she is really a territorial dragon. This must be why she did not like Great Red to come inside the Dimension Gap and mark it as his home.

    Other than the Great Red being noisy, Ophis also did not like him claiming her home.

    This jealousy is rather annoying at first. She attacked my Tyranitar when she first met him because he looked like a dragon even though he was not a dragon-type pokemon.

    "Come on. We should continue our journey."

    Anyway, we continue our journey. Currently, we are inside a thick forest to the west of the safety zone. The forest is so thick that I cannot see the sun. The only time I can see the sun is the time we arrive under the mountain.

    We continued to explore the forest, but I suddenly stopped and looked at the plant growing on the ground near me.

    "This is¡­."

    "What is it, Isaac?"

    I point my finger at the red plant that grows on the ground.

    "This is Fireling. A plant from the Harry Potter world. This plant is used to make a fire resistance potion and other potions."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. The most important potion that can be made using this plant is the Elixir of Life. While not the same Elixir of Life as the one produced from the Philosopher''s stone, this plant can produce the same effect."

    "The potion that can cure all disease and extend someone''s life?"

    "That is the one."

    "If this plant is really that useful, why when we go to the Harry Potter world, we never encounter it?"

    "Because this plant is supposed to be extinct. This plant has a strict requirement for it to grow. First, it needs a REALLY fertile ground. Second, it only needs to grow under the shade of a tree. Lastly, it needs very pure mana that has never been tainted."

    "I guess it was impossible in the Harry Potter world?"

    "Yes."

    I carefully pluck out the Fireling and put it inside my inventory. While I can summon them through my power, I would rather save them for other emergencies. So while I did not need an Elixir of Life just yet, I will try to make it for an emergency.

    I don''t want to be dependent on the Elixir of Life. The book I got from the goblins said that Elixir of Life created using the potions-making method can cause a dependency on the Elixir. As long as you only drink it once every twenty years, you will be okay.

    If you decide to continue to drink it in hopes of becoming immortal? Well, let''s say that you will lose your mind and you get consumed by madness. Then, slowly but surely, the Elixir will consume your body as well.

    While you will get an extended life span, it will not pass the two hundred years mark.

    Anyway, after taking the plant and placing it inside my inventory, we continue exploring the forest.

 Chapter 118 - Going Home

    I look at the plant and creature body parts in front of me. All of this is collected from the forest in the wilderness. It looks like my pocket dimension did not only copy all the creatures from the dimension we visited but also all the plants and unique landmarks.

    After 24 hours of exploring, I know the location of an important place where I can harvest herbs and a place where I can hunt a creature I can harvest for their body.

    For example, there is a nest of Basilisk to the west of the mountain where I encounter the Lightning Dragon.

    If we go to the west from my mansion, we will encounter a small forest filled with low-level creatures like Slime, Goblin, and Grindylow that stay inside the lake in this forest. After continuing walking to the west for another three meters, you will encounter a grassland.

    This grassland is the place where mid to big-sized creatures like Unicorn, Cufant, and Copperajah lived.

    Two kilometers to the west from this grassland is where the thick forest and the mountain location. This forest and mountain is the place the Lightning Dragon and Basilisk lived. The lightning dragon lived on the mountain''s peak, and the basilisk lived inside the mountain that we can access through the cave entrance a few hundreds of meters to the north from where I found the Fireling.

    There is another mountain to the west, but we never explore that area just yet. That day we are busy exploring the Basilisk nest and mining the ore inside the cave.

    The cave where the Basilisk lived is a cave filled with iron ore. Seeing the abundant iron ore inside the cave, Lucina''s dwarven blood begins to boil and forces her to mine it. For the rest of the day, Valerie and I helped Lucina mining most of the iron ore.

    We get a few hundred kilograms worth of iron ore ready to be processed.

    Anyway, I put all the potion ingredients in front of me and got out of the potion room. After getting out of the room, I see Lucina teaching Valerie how to brew potions. Currently, she teaches Valerie a theory and safety measure before she permits Valerie to brew the potions herself.

    "How is it, Lucina?"

    Lucina looked at me and smiled at me before saying.

    "Valerie is learning at a fast pace, dear. I think she should be ready to brew her first potions."

    "Really?"

    "Yes"

    I walk toward Valerie and pat her head.

    "Great work, Valerie."

    "Thank you!"

    ~Three hours later~

    After eating our lunch, I decide it is time to give Valerie and Ophis a choice. It is time for us to go back to our world, and I don''t want to force both Ophis and Valerie to come with us.

    "Valerie, Ophis, the reason why I call you here today is to give you a choice. As you guys know, Lucina and I come from another world, and our stay in this world is over. We need to go back to our universe. Anyway, I call you two here to ask you if you want to come with us or stay here. If you decide to stay, Yasaka already promised me that she would take care of the two of you. If you want to come with both of us, you can come. However, I need to tell you something before you come with us. I''m a lord, a Duke, to be more specific. If you come with me, you will be facing a bad rumor and maybe an ?ssassination attempt. What do you choose?"

    I look at Ophis and Valerie right in their eyes. For a few minutes, both of them stay quiet, but Valerie is the first to talk after thinking about it for a few minutes.

    "Will I meet you again if I stay here?"

    "Yes. Of course. We will visit you, and maybe you will not feel it."

    Valerie will not learn how long time has passed in my world because I can visit back a few hours after I go away.

    "Then¡­ Then I will stay here for a while. I still want to visit Gasper."

    "Very well. I will ask Yasaka to take you under her wings. I will also leave you some books and scrolls you can read and learn from."

    "Thank you for everything, I know I cannot pay you back right now, but in the future, I will pay you back for all you have done for me. I will pay this debt to you."

    "You don''t have any debt and never will, Valerie."

    Seeing the tear coming out from her eyes, Lucina and I give her a hug. Then, after a few seconds, we release her, wipe the tears and give her a warm smile.

    "Just remember that we are your family."

    "En"

    "Good"

    I then look at Ophis and say.

    "And you, Ophis?"

    "Stay."

    "I see. Can I ask the reason why?"

    "Baka Red."

    "You still want to try to take back what is yours?"

    "En."

    "I see. Good luck then. Before we go to see Yasaka, can I ask you a favor?"

    "Mu?"

    "Can you look after Valerie? I know she can take care of herself, but I still want you to become her big sister that protects her younger sister. Can you do that for me?"

    "En!"

    "Thank you, Ophis."

    After saying that, we decide to have some lunch first before we go to Yasaka''s palace.

    We wave our hand at Ophis and Valerie, who stay beside Yasaka and Kunou. After we arrive at Yasaka''s Palace, Yasaka decides to throw us a farewell feast. Admittedly, it was not as big of a feast as the last one, but it was still a big feast.

    Anyway, after saying goodbye for the last time, we teleported to the alley where my pocket dimension is located.

    We walk inside the portal and go to the Dimension Hopping room. I pressed the bu??on to go back to our world and open up the door. We walk through the Kaleidoscope portal, and a few seconds later, I can feel the world changed.

    We are home.

 Chapter 119 - Home and Plot

    I look at the stack of paper in front of me and sigh a little. I forgot that I have a massive amount of paperwork that needs to be done. I take the first paper and begin to read it. The paper is the financial report of my land.

    Richard places the most important thing on top while the least important paper will be on the bottom.

    Anyway, I look at the paper and begin to read it. The first one is the taxes. Because of my new title as Duke, the other northern lord sent their taxes to me. After that, I will send fifty percent of that tax to the royal family.

    Before you said something, yeah, this is a stupid economic system. With this system, a Duke will always be a rich family. What makes this even more stupid, the royal family only takes fifty percent of a normal tax.

    What I mean is that the normal tax is ten percent of the overall income of the lord. However, the lord who has a vassal can increase this tax. So basically, if the lord usually gets one thousand gold every year from his vassal, they can get more than one thousand golds if they increase the tax they insist on their vassals.

    They then sent ten percent of that normal tax to the royal family.

    Now you can imagine how much money the Duke would get if he decided to place thirty percent of tax into their vassal and only give fifty percent of the normal tax income to the royal family.

    Anyway, today is not tax day. Right now, I''m looking at the merchant tax. Every merchant who comes to Sea Dragon City needs to pay taxes. One silver for every ship. Transportation ships need to pay seventy bronze coins.

    This month''s shipping tax alone got me a hundred and twenty-five gold coins.

    I continued to read the paper and put back the financial report on the table after I finished reading all of it. I then take the next report. This one is the report from Richard. I read it and frowned a little.

    It looks like Richard and his shadow have already captured ten spies coming from the outside. Even though I already know this from the ward telling me about it, it is still a worrying report. Ten spies in a week. That is ridiculous.

    What makes it even worse, half of them are sent by the same person. Duke Phineas Frederick. Richard already interrogates them thoroughly using the Veritaserum and gets what we need to know.

    They come here to sabotage and steal the secret of the northern success in agriculture. The report also said that Richard''s shadow already captured twelve more spies coming from Duke Frederick in the other northern lord land.

    It looks like I really need to create a Ward around the rest of the north for a spy.

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear someone knock on the door.

    "Come in"

    After I said that, the door opened up, and coming from the door is Richard bringing a tray in his hand. On the tray are tea and some snacks.

    "Excuse, my lord. Here is your morning tea and snack."

    "Ah! Richard, I am just about to ask you to come here."

    "Oh? What can this humble servant do?"

    "How many shadows do you have right now? The one in the north."

    "Around one hundred and fifty, my lord."

    "Can you spread your shadow across the northern land?"

    "At the current state, it is a little bit hard, my lord."

    "I see, then this will be hard."

    "Is there something wrong, my lord?"

    I passed him the paper, and he read it.

    "I just read your paper, and I''m thinking of making a barrier across the northern region to watch for a spy. However, I cannot capture them myself. I need you, and your shadow will be the one that captures the spy on my behalf. I will then appoint you as the master of the spy ward. You will be noticed if a spy is walking inside the north."

    "I see."

    "Sadly, if what you said is true, then we need more men to do it. We cannot just arrest someone without reason. I don''t want to be seen as a tyrant after all."

    "Then how about using the Queen''s Watchman?"

    "Queen''s Watchman?"

    "They are the personal spy and ?ssassin of the queen, my lord."

    Huh. I forget that the Queen brings back more than a hundred ?ssassins and spies with her to the north. Like Richard''s shadow, Queen''s Watchman is a top-tier Assassin and spies. My wards only report a person with bad intentions and will flare up if there is someone who intends to spy and kill someone.

    The Queen''s Watchman is different. They did not have any intention. They are like blank paper that does not have anything written on it. The only reason why I know they are here is that every human being has energy inside of them.

    My passive sense from using the Green Magic notice them after a few seconds inside my radius. Even with that, I can only feel them after a few seconds. They are inside my passive sense.

    "If you can ask the Queen Dowager to lend you her Watchman, I will give you the green light."

    "A green light?"

    "I mean, I will agree with your plan."

    "I see. Then I will immediately ask Queen Dowager about this plan. If there is nothing else, my lord?"

    "No. You are dismissed."

    "Then, excuse me."

    I see Richard walk away from my room, and after seeing him disappear, I begin to read the report once again.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Valerie Gideon von Vulux POV|

    "You want to borrow my watchman to become an anti-spy personnel for the north?"

    "That is right."

    I don''t really mind lending the shadow of the north my watchmen as I know their potential will not be wasted. But, while I''m not willing to admit it out loud, I admit that Richard in front of me is a superior spymaster.

    "I don''t really mind. However, I have one condition."

    "Of course. Please tell me the condition."

    "I want your shadow in the capital to report their findings to me as well."

    "... You did not want to overtake them?"

    "No. I''m retired, remember~?"

    I chuckle a little when I see him twitch a little.

    "Very well. Do you want all of them or only the special one?"

    "What is the special one?"

    "The special spy is the one I place inside the palace and the royal family."

    How he still has a shadow in the capital city even with all that security.

    "I really want to ask you how you can successfully place a shadow inside the capital even with all my watchmen watching any suspicious movement, but I know you will never tell how, am I right?"

    Richard only gave me a polite smile. Seeing him smile, I sigh a little and say.

    "Another condition and I will give you the command over my watchmen."

    "Of course, tell me."

    "Let me interrogate the spy you caught."

    "Of course. It was an honor seeing the Mistress of Poison in action."

    I twitch a little at what he says¡ªmistress of Poison, my nickname in the underworld. Because of my knowledge of how to make many kinds of poison and how I kill many ?ssassins that try to kill my family and me with poison, the Assassin guild decided to bestow me with that title, and only a high ranking guild member knew about that title.

    "If there is nothing else?"

    "No. There is nothing else."

    "Then, excuse me."

    I look at the back of the Steel Butler back and chuckle a little. Father is right. The Lionheart family is more dangerous than what the southern noble thought it was. Every honorable lord coming from the Lionheart family has two hands. Right and Left hands. Right is usually their wife, who becomes their regent and takes care of the land if the lord is unavailable.

    Then there is the left hand¡ªthe shadow of the lord. If the lord is the shining beacon that gives hope to his subject, then the Left hand is the one taking care of the threat from the outside without tarnishing the name of their lord.

    They lurk in the shadows. They have a kind but stern butler mask, but they are the most poisonous snake you will ever encounter when people provoke, tarnish and threaten their lord.

    I chuckle once again and get up from my chair.. It is time to let my own left hand know that she needs to learn from the master.

 Chapter 120 - North Meeting

    ~Three months since Isaac back from DxD~

    "Eli, How is the farm?"

    "They are doing great, Isaac. However, I must inform you that the warehouse near the farm is almost full of all the grains and vegetables."

    "Hmmm. I will order some men to move the goods from that warehouse to our main one. Coordinate with Rachel in transporting the goods. There should be enough soldiers there to transport the goods here safely."

    "Do we need to use the soldier? There are no bandits around this city, you know? Not only that, the farm is only a few kilometers from the city."

    "Just to make sure."

    There is also a problem with you being there. While Eli technically is not a princess anymore, she is still being born from royalty, and not only that, she is also a mistress to the Lionheart family lord.

    ".... Anyway, is there anything else?"

    "There is nothing from the farm. However, I request more soldiers stationed around the port. Another group of thugs from the Eastern Continent is trying to establish a Yakuza group inside the city. You should know about this."

    "Yes. The barrier already informed me about it, and Richard already informed me about this as well. I will appoint another hundred soldiers to be guardians of the port. However, I must ask you if your little group of spies cannot take care of them?"

    The Queen Dowager is already teaching Elizabeth how to make her own loyal group of Spy and Assassin. While Eli did not have many spies and ?ssassins like the Queen Dowager have, she had enough spies and ?ssassins to watch over the harbor.

    Richard said that Eli''s batch of spies is the branch of his own shadow. While yes, they are loyal to Eli, they are more loyal to Richard and me.

    I guess it is Richard''s way of splitting his duty. By giving Eli a part of his shadow, he did not have to watch the harbor part twenty-four hours a day. He still watches over the harbor district but not as much as in the past.

    "Sadly, no. They cannot handle all the Yakuza wannabe around the harbor."

    "Just how many of this Yakuza wannabe in this city?"

    "I think there are around two hundred of them in the harbor district alone."

    "Don''t worry about the one outside the harbor. Lucina is already taking care of them. Right, Lucina?"

    I look at Lucina, who is sitting next to me. Lucina nodded at me and said.

    "Yes. I am already taking care of the one causing a problem in the city. Their bodies have already been disposed of."

    I can see Eli''s face paled up a little bit, but it returned to its normal color a few seconds after. Eli is already used to the way this world works. At first, she did not want to see a bandit get beheaded or seeing someone get killed.

    However, after talking with Queen Dowager and me, Eli begins to get used to it.

    "Good. Richard, how are the spies around the north?"

    "I am already taking care of it, my lord."

    "What is the reaction of Duke Frederick?"

    "He is furious, my lord. After we do counter-spying, he becomes more and more paranoid."

    "Good. Keep him on his toes. We will not cause the fall of the duke, but we will keep harassing him until he self-destructs."

    "Of course."

    "Now, what is the news around the world?"

    "Bad, my lord. Really bad. The famine began to spread out to all the world. The only one that did not feel the famine in the north. Not the north continent but our north."

    "Meaning that the price of food will soar through the roof?"

    "Yes. I predict the price of grain will triple up the price we set."

    Hmmm¡­ I can use this to increase Lionheart family golds.

    "Don''t increase the price of our goods¡­ Yet. I will announce it when we do a northern meeting in ten days. Richard, tell all the northern lords we will have another meeting in ten days."

    "Of course, my lord. I will immediately tell the other lord to come here."

    "Good. If there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

    ~Ten days later~

    "Thank you for coming here on short notice, my lords."

    "Think nothing of it, Lord Isaac."

    MacGrath family (Viscount), Duchamp family (Count), Ekdal Family (Viscount), Byron family (Viscount), Rahul Family (Baron), Saurial Family (Baron), and Metis family (Viscount).

    They are the only family to survive in the north. There should be ten families, but the other three families died because of the monster invasion.

    "Let us begin the meeting. First thing first, Please tell us how your land situation is. Lord MacGrath, you go first."

    My good father nods his head and says.

    "We are doing fine, my lord. There is some problem with the people coming from the east, but we are already taking care of it."

    "Problem?"

    "The people coming from the east are making trouble around the port. They think that because they have a number, they can boss around the merchant in the port."

    "This problem has already been taken care of?"

    "Yes, my lord."

    "Good. There is the same problem in Sea Dragon City. They are what we call the Yakuza group. They are a group of people that try to establish an underground criminal group. Their group was involved in extortion and even murder. This is a serious thing. They are coming from the Eastern Continent, and even the Assassin guild did not like them. I said this because I want to say that I don''t want any noble from the north to get involved in this group. I will immediately punish anyone involved in this group. The punishment? One thousand whips and then get beheaded. I will scratch their family name from the noble books, and the rest of their family will be exiled with only their clothes."

    All of the lords nod their heads with a grim expression. What I''m basically saying is that both individuals have a connection to the Yakuza and their families.

    "This is not only affected to the noble family but to all individuals."

    Seeing them nodding their heads, I looked back at my good father and said,

    "Lord MacGrath, please continue."

    "There is nothing else to be reported."

    "How about the crops?"

    "The crops are doing great, my lord. The fertilizer you give to us works really great."

    "Good. Next, lord Duchamp."

    My grandfather nodded his head and began to say.

    "Nothing is happening in my territory. The crops are good, the trade is doing great, and the monster has been cared for. I don''t know if there is a group of Yakuza inside my territory, but I will try to investigate it."

    "I see. That is good then. Lord Byron, it is your turn."

    Lord Byron nods his head and says.

    "There is a problem of the monster stealing some vegetables on the farm but other than that? There is nothing to be worried about."

    "Monster stealing some food? Is there any nest nearby?"

    "There was a nest nearby, but after I ordered an investigation party, there was no more nest."

    "Good. Lord Ekdal, you are next."

    Lord Ekdal looks at me in the eyes and says,

    "There is a problem, my lord."

    "Problem?"

    "Yes. Pirate. There are too many pirates coming from the center continent and the northern continent."

    "I see that is a problem. We cannot reinforce the eastern sea because there is no short route to the eastern sea."

    "That is right, and the pirate knows about this. They get bolder and bolder when they know about this situation."

    "Then they will regret this. Lord Ekdal, can I build a naval base in your territory? This naval base function is to build a good amount of ships and train a marine to fight the pirates."

    "Of course. It would be an honor."

    "Then I will send some people to build the base."

    "Thank you, my lord."

    "Think nothing of it. Now, Lord Rahul."

    Nathanael Rahul. Nathanael is a human with short black hair and purple eyes. He has a goatee and a body like a bodybuilder.

    "There is nothing in my territory. There is a pirate, but it has already been taken care of, so there is nothing."

    "I see. Do you want to build another naval base?"

    "No. However, can I ask for a loan? I want to build a fishing village."

    "Sure. Talk to Ayas about this loan. Tell him I approve this loan."

    "Thank you, my lord."

    "No problem. Next, Lord Saurial"

    Filhem Saurial. Filhem is a beastman, a leopard beastman. He has a pair of leopard ears on top of his head and a tail on his back. He has golden hair that he cut short and green eyes with the same pupil like a cat.

    "We did not have any problem. However, I got a report that there is a strange movement in the north. My scouts said that it was a monster. I think it is a sign of a monster invasion."

    "Monster invasion, huh. Send another scout, make sure this is really a monster invasion and not only a group of monsters roaming the area."

    "Of course."

    "If it is really a monster invasion, send the fastest raven; I will send some troops."

    "Thank you, my lord."

    "Lastly, lord Metis."

    Varul Metis. Lord Metis is an Elf. He has silver hair like mine, but instead of letting his hair flow like mine, he ties his hair into a ponytail. He has green eyes and is around 185cm tall.

    "There is nothing to worry about, my lord. The crops are good, and there is no movement of monsters near my land. However, if what lord Saurial said is true, then I sent a hunting group to see if there is a monster nest nearby."

    "Good. If you encounter the monster, I need you to send a raven to Lord Saurial informing the monster''s location. If you two think you can handle the monster, then immediately exterminate the monster. If you think you can''t, send a raven to us."

    "Of course, my lord."

    With that all done, I took a deep breath and said.

    "My lord, the reason why I call you here today is to say that it is time we increase our goods price."

    "My lord?"

    I look at my grandfather for a second before telling Richard to pass the report we get. I let them read the paper for a few seconds before saying.

    "As you can see, there is a huge famine across the globe. The only one that did not have famine is us, the north. Right now, grain is in high demand. Some of you may already realize this, but many merchants are coming to your land to buy some grain. Because of this, I was hoping you could increase the price of the grain you sold to the others. However, please do not increase it too much. Double the original price is good, but triple it? I think it was too much. I don''t order you to do it, but I recommend you not to increase it too much. The only time you need to increase the price more than three times the usual price is when some ?sshole decides to buy from us. For example, the Frederick dukeship. They keep sending a spy to my territory, and now I increase the price of the grains sold to them by ten times."

    When I said that, I could see an evil smile on all northern lords. They have endured too many insults and humiliation from the southern noble, and now it is time for us to pay them back.

    There is a common saying among the north.

    ''The north will remember.''

 Chapter 121 - Interlude

    |3rd POV|

    Raina Lazuli, the princess to Lazuli kingdom. The eldest child of the king. She has long light blue hair and deep blue eyes. Currently, she is wearing thick clothes and a coat made of bear fur.

    Currently, Riana and her father, Johannes Lazuli, are sailing to the Duchy of Lionheart. The reason? To buy enough food to feed their people.

    "Father, do you think the Duke will agree to sell us their food at such a lower price?"

    Raina knows that they cannot buy grain at a high price because their kingdom is not rich. While they already get used to eating a small portion of food, they still need to eat, and with the famine across the world, the price of food increased at a high speed.

    The only one that is still selling the food at a rather low price is the territory of Duchy of Lionheart.

    Usually, people will declare war against the Lionheart Duchy and try to take their fertile land. However, after seeing the ''fight'' between Isaac ''Silver Lion'' Lionheart and the S-class monster, they hesitate to attack the Duchy.

    However, it did not stop a ''pirate'' decide to try their luck against the Duchy naval might.

    Because of this famine, there are too many fake pirates. They are not a pirate but rather a marine from another kingdom and empire. They decide to hang a pirate flag above their head and plunder all the merchants they can find before sending it back to their kingdom.

    "I don''t know, dear. I don''t really know. I just got a report that the Duchy has already been increasing their price on the food."

    "Why? The last time I heard they had so many foods, they did not know where to store them all."

    "It was the flow of the world, dear. If the goods are abundant, the price will be low, but if the goods are rare, the price will fly high."

    "I know, father, but why now of all time?"

    "I don''t know, daughter. I don''t know."

    Johannes really did not know about it. Is this their way of saying that they did not want to sell their food to the Lazuli kingdom? He doesn''t know the answer. His only hope is that this is not true.

    When Johannes receives the letter from Isaac Lionheart himself, he is really hopeful that this alliance will become a reality. However, after hearing this price increase, he did not know what to do. The only thing he can do right now is hope that the Silver Lion is true to his word and accepts this alliance.

    He knew that the Lazuli kingdom did not have anything that the Lionheart Duchy didn''t have. The only one the Lazuli kingdom has is their unique trees that only grow in a freezing place. It was called the Blue Trees because it was colored blue.

    The woods coming from this tree are good for ships. These woods have natural fire resistance and are durable enough to block a few spells coming at them. However, many other trees have the same effect as the Blue Trees, making these trees not very valuable.

    "Let''s just hope they understand our situation and are willing to make some losses."

    "And if they did not want it?"

    "Then we can only watch our people die from hunger. However, if they are willing to give us enough food to feed our people, I hope you and your brother willing to give your life to them because we will have a life debt."

    "Of course, father¡­."

    Raina knows about this. She is even willing to give her body and cast away her status as a princess to make her subjects survive this tragedy.

    ~Three days later~

    Raina looked at the city in front of her with awe. This is the city of Black Sea Watch. A port city owned by Lord Ekdal, the Viscount of the Vulux Kingdom, and the vassal to Duke Lionheart.

    Even with the place still snowing, many people are walking around the port busy doing their work.

    As they walk down from their ship, Raina and Johannes are greeted by a man wearing elegant-looking clothes. Raina did not know how that man can stand in this cold environment. While this city is not as cold as the Lazuli kingdom, it was still cold.

    "Welcome to Black Sea Watch, your highness. Right now, Lord Ekdal is busy dealing with¡­ an arrogant merchant."

    "Oh? Then can we walk around this port for a few moments?"

    "Of course. Let me be your guide."

    "Then I will be in your care."

    "Let me introduce myself first. Jacob, son of Lianos, will be your guide today."

    Raina and Johannes begin to follow Jacob around the port. They continue to walk around the port for a few minutes and see many people have a pleasant day chatting with each other even though the snow keeps falling from the sky.

    It was really different from the Lazuli kingdom. Raina wants her kingdom like the Lionheart Duchy. She wants to see her people have a pleasant day without worrying about not eating tomorrow.

    After walking for about ten minutes, Jacob stops at one of the stalls and talks to the stall owner.

    "Hello there, Can I get three of the skewers, please?"

    "Of course, sir Jacob!"

    After paying for the food, Jacob gave Raina and Johannes the chicken skewer. Raina hesitated to eat the food, but Raina decided to take a bite after seeing Jacob eat it. As the food touches her tongue, she can feel the flavor explode. She continued to chew the food for a few seconds before swallowing it.

    "Sir Jacob, can I ask you what this is?"

    "This is a chicken skewer. Lord Lionheart introduced it to the people of Sea Dragon City. As its name suggests, this is a slice of chicken meat grilled with a stick. However, what makes this chicken delicious is the seasoning. We used salt and black pepper to enchant its flavor."

    "Black pepper?!?"

    Black pepper. There was a time where pepper can be considered equal to gold. Even today, pepper is still a valuable commodity, and even the richest empire in the north cannot buy too much pepper.

    ''And here, the black pepper is used by a street vendor.'' Raina thinks. She did not know how Lionheart Duchy could grow the pepper because she thought that pepper could not grow in a cold environment.

    "Of course. We can grow our own pepper after all, but please don''t tell anyone. We want to monopoly the price after all."

    Johannes and Raina can only gap at what Jacob said. They did not know what Jacob said was true or not. If they want to monopoly, the pepper market, then why tell them about it? Do they not fear their method of growing the pepper into the wrong hand?

    "I-I see"

    "Anyway, I think Lord Ekdal is almost finished with his business. Shall we go to the castle? Or do your highness want to walk around some more?"

    "No, let us go to the caste."

    "Of course, then please follow me."

    "This will be your carriage. I can be your personal driver if you want, or do you want to let your servant do it?"

    "We will let our personal driver do it."

    "Of course. Your ten guards can use the horse inside. Don''t worry. They are already tamed."

    "Thank you."

    "It is my p???sur?."

    It took ten minutes to arrive in front of the castle on top of a small hill. On their journey to the castle, both of them can see inside farmland. The farm itself is not big but big enough to feed the people inside the city.

    Johannes can see many types of plants grow on the land that continues snowing. From wheat to tomatoes, he can see many vegetables that should not grow in this environment. He really wants to ask Jacob about this, but he knows that the man will not answer his question.

    When Raina and Johannes get off the carriage, they can see a castle standing tall in front of them. However, what catches Johannes''s attention is the building that stood near the stable near the castle wall.

    It was a see-through building, and he can see a plant growing inside that building.

    "Welcome to Black Sea Castle, your highness."

    He snaps from his thought when he sees a man in his forty wearing elegant leather clothes and a gray fur coat on top of its leather clothes.

    "My name is Tobias Ekdal, my wife Viktoria Ekdal, and my son Larius Ekdal.. We welcome you to our home."

 Chapter 122 - First Meeting

    "Eli, Thank you for coming here without early notice."

    "It was not a problem, Isaac. What can I do for you?"

    "This world is an Otome world, right?"

    "That is right."

    "Have you finished the game?"

    "No, not yet. The game has five arcs. The Civil Wars Arc is happening right now. The next one is the Rebuilding Arc that will happen after the first arcs. The third one is called the Holy War Arcs. The fourth one is called the Calamity Arcs, and the last one is called Unification Arcs."

    Holy shit. Is that really an Otome Game arc? It was more like a JRPG arc.

    "Can you explain all of them to me?"

    "Sure. The first arc is like its name suggests. It was a stage where we as a player needed to help the love interest attain the throne."

    "Wait a second. Only one love interest? This is a reverse harem game, right?"

    "Yes. Technically we can only get one love interest, but we can still get the other love interest affection and make them a ''close friend.'' You know the kind of friend that is too close for comfort?"

    "Ah, that kind of friend. I see."

    "Yes. Anyway, in this arc, the player needs to help their love interest gather supplies, armory, and gold. Not only that, but the player also can get an acquaintance with the mage from the Tower of Magic. After playing for some time, the love interest will give the player a territory to rule according to their performance."

    "I see."

    "There are three main endings in this arc¡ªgood, Normal, and Bad ending. A good ending will be reached when the player collects enough resources to support the love interest and also does not let the necessary character die in the civil war. The normal one ending is when you lose more than two essential characters in the civil war, and the bad ending is when your love interest dies in battle."

    "What about the other arcs?"

    "The Rebuilding arc is the stage where the player helps the love interest rebuild the Holy Light Empire. The Holy War Arc is the stage where the church in the Holy Light Empire decides to declare a Crusade against the barbarian to the north and the south. The next one is the Calamity arc. This is the last time I played this game. I never finished this arc because of my busy schedule."

    "I see."

    "Is there a reason why you ask me this? I don''t mind you asking this question, but can you tell the reason why you ask this question?"

    I look at Eli right in the eyes and say.

    "I want to ask you if you know about the Lazuli Kingdom."

    "The kingdom in the northern continent?"

    "That is right."

    "Well, I don''t really know about this kingdom, but I remember that they have trees that can ward off evil, and this wood coming from these trees will be really useful in the Calamity Arc."

    "What kind of property do these woods have?"

    "At first glance, this wood only has fire resistance and good durability, but in the future, the mage from Tower of Magic successfully discovers the true property of this wood. It can block a Hell Flame."

    "What is a Hell Flame?"

    "Hell Flame is a powerful fire that comes from the underworld. It can burn anything, and anyone in an instant and only leaves ashes. The only one that can block this flame is the power of the angel and this wood. After knowing the hidden property of this wood, the Tower of Magic began to buy this wood in bulk. The king of Lazuli''s kingdom, knowing this, decided to increase the price of the woods. It cost one hundred golds for ten kilos worth of wood."

    "That is a massive amount of money."

    "Because of this, the Lazuli kingdom became the richest kingdom in the Northern Continent."

    "Do you think it is a good idea to ally with them?"

    "The Lazuli Kingdom?"

    "Yes. Do you think it is a good idea to create an alliance between Lionheart Duchy and the Lazuli Kingdom?"

    I can see her begin to think about what I just said. This alliance will have a side effect if we create an alliance between Lionheart Duchy and the Lazuli Kingdom. If we agree with this alliance, the southern noble will disapprove and tell how displeased they are. The reason? The Lazuli Kingdom is small. Lazuli''s kingdom was not even as big as my territory before I became a Duke.

    The plus side? I don''t know. If what Eli said is correct, I can get a huge amount of income from selling the woods from the Lazuli kingdom in the future. Other than that? Nothing. Military alliance? The Lazuli Kingdom only has more or less two hundred thousand people inside its kingdom. That is small. Meaning that the Lazuli Kingdom military might is not good.

    Trading? Other than their timber, there is nothing they can sell to us.

    "I think¡­ I think you should agree with their alliance offer."

    "Oh?"

    "I know it is a bad decision right now. There is no profit you can get from this alliance. However, I still think you should agree to be their ally."

    I smile gently at Eli''s explanation. I know the reason why she said that. She wants to help them. She knows that there is a famine around the world, and she wants to help as many people as she can, even though they are people that she did not know.

    "Very well. We will agree to become their ally and help them in this hard time."

    "J-Just like that?"

    "Lucina and I were already talking about this matter, and she also thought that we should help them."

    "I-I see."

    "Now, come on. I want you to help Lucina in preparing the feast welcoming the people from the Lazuli Kingdom."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Raina Lazuli POV|

    As my father and I get off the carriage, we are greeted by a group of people. The first one that speaks to me is a young man wearing elegant clothing. It was a black suit with a pin of the Lionheart family symbol on his ?h?st area.

    Isaac Lionheart is a handsome man. I''m guessing his height is around 183 to 190 cm, and he has a body packed with muscle. Not a bulky kind of muscle like many sailors in her home but rather a muscle a swordmaster has. Isaac has silver hair that shines a little when the sunlight touches it.

    His eyes, oh his eyes¡­. His blue eyes that shine with power and wisdom make me shudder a little. Combined with the aura he projects, he looks like a judge looking at you and seeing all your secrets.

    If Isaac has the aura of a Judge, then Lucina has the aura of a Berserker. Her aura is wild and cannot be tamed, but Lucina can tame them for some reason. Her aura is like an aura of a protective mother bear that is ready to maul anyone that dares to threaten her child and beloved.

    To his left, another young woman is standing next to Isaac. From the rumor I hear, this is Isaac''s mistress. Elizabeth Ainsworth von Lionheart. The Ex-Princess of Vulux Kingdom. I also hear from the people in the Black Sea Watch that she is a hard-working woman.

    She is the one that introduced the new way of farming to the people in the Lionheart Duchy. Not only that, she is the reason why people begin to use paper instead of parchment in this area. Because of her mind, Lionheart Duchy became the world''s main supplier of paper.

    "Welcome to Sea Dragon Castle, Lord Lazuli"

 Chapter 123 - Alliance

    |Raina Lazuli POV|

    My father and I walk inside the meeting room, followed by five of our personal guards, where we will discuss the alliance between the Lionheart Duchy and us. I''m really glad that Lord Isaac is a direct person and prefers talking with us first before a feast.

    "I prefer to have a celebration feast rather than have a feast and only have bad news. It will leave a bad taste inside my mouth."

    That is what he said, and I must agree. I prefer my guest to be direct and go to the main point rather than prolong it.

    Anyway, we sit down on the chair that has been prepared and served a cup of tea by the butler. After a minute of pleasant silence, Lord Isaac started the conversation by saying.

    "Let us right to the business, shall we? What is the reason the king of the Lazuli kingdom comes here?"

    My father put down the cup of tea and said.

    "I come here in hope the Lionheart Duchy willing to make an alliance with our kingdom."

    "I see. Then let me hear what you can offer to us, and then we will talk about what kind of thing I can do for you."

    "Very well. Let me be honest with you, my lord. We, the Lazuli Kingdom, cannot give you much. We can only give you our unique timber. The Blue Timber. It was not a really unique piece of woods like the woods coming from the Tree of Life, but these woods are good enough to be used for a durable ship."

    "I see. Anything else?"

    "We also can give you a military alliance."

    "Not asking a military alliance?"

    "No. I am giving you a military alliance."

    Military alliance. If my father asks for a military alliance, both parties need to send their army if the other asks for help. However, by giving a military alliance, my father declares that Lord Isaac did not have a duty to help them in a military case. Still, if Lord Isaac needs help, my father has a duty sending our troops helping the Lionheart Duchy.

    "I see. Is there anything else?"

    ".... Fish. Our kingdom''s sea is full of fish ready to be fished. We are willing to sell those fish at a lower price."

    I hold my mouth to stop my father, who becomes more and more desperate. Even though the sea around Lazuli king is full of fish, it is also filled with aquatic monsters.

    "We also have¡­."

    "Stop. I understand. You don''t need to force yourself to offer something impossible to obtain."

    "I-I¡­"

    "I understand and agree with your offering. We will accept the Blue Timber and Military ALLIANCE not offering. Now let us talk about what we can give to you¡ªwe, the Lionheart Duchy, willing to give you a food trade at a lower price. We will give you one ton worth of food as a gift for this alliance. They consist of wheat and rice that you can store for a long time. We are also willing to give you the secret of growing crops in the winter environment. However, we want your solemn oath that you will never tell ANYONE about this secret."

    My father and I look at Lord Isaac with a mouth wide open. Is this a dream? Please tell me it was not a dream.

    God, please, do not let this be a bad joke or a dream. Please¡­.

    "Lord Isaac¡­ Are you sure?"

    "Of course. We are willing to forge an alliance with the Lazuli kingdom, and we will do an emergency food to your kingdom as well."

    "I-I¡­ W-Why? I know this is rude of me but why? We cannot offer you anything, but you offer us something big."

    "Because there is nothing wrong with helping people in need."

    What?

    "I know what you are facing right now. I know the feeling of hunger because there is no food in the storage. I know the feeling of anger for not being able to help your people. I know the feeling of helplessness for not being able to help the people that are dying in the street because of hunger. We know that feeling."

    "I-I¡­ I don''t know what to say. I thank you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If there is something you need us to do, we try¡­ No! We will do our best to help you."

    "You don''t need to do that. We want a loyal friend, not a forced ally."

    After saying that, Lord Isaac gives both of us a kind smile. I couldn''t help but blush at his smile. I guess I''m wrong regarding him. He is not a judge. He is a Lord. He judges us because we are technically a stranger, but after knowing about us and declaring we are friends, he becomes a loyal friend who will help his friend in need.

    Yes. He is worthy of his title as a lord.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    After the alliance meeting, I ordered a feast for our new ally. The feast is already happening for an hour. Wine, Whiskey, and Vodka have already been served to the other. The dishes from noodles to salads are served on the table.

    I smile a little when I see Johannes eat the food with a big smile on his face.

    "My lord"

    I snap from my thoughts when I see Raina walk toward me with a bottle of whiskey in her hand.

    "Yes?"

    "Let me serve you some drinks, to my lord."

    "Errr. Sure."

    I don''t know why she wants to serve a drink, and I can see the servant serving the drink has the same confusion as me.

    "Let this drink be a blessing to you, my lord. Let this drink be the declaration that I, Raina Lazuli, will serve you as my lord and friend. Let this declaration be heard by the gods, and let this declaration be eternal."

    "What?"

    "This is an old tradition of the Lazuli royal family. This declaration is our oath to the gods. By this oath, I will continue to serve you as my lord and friend. I will follow your order, and if I denied your order, I would be cursed for eternity. If you want my body, I will gladly give it to you."

    "Woah Woah Woah, slow down. I know you are grateful but remember that we banned slavery."

    "Ah! I don''t mean like that, my lord. I declare myself as your sworn friend. I will obey your order, but I can still deny it. As long as your order is not intended to harm my family and me, I will obey it. As for my body¡­ Well¡­ I don''t mind it¡­."

    Urgh. What with these people? Offering their body as if it was something that insignificant.

    "Look, Lady Raina¡­"

    "Call me Raina, my lord."

    "Look, Raina. You shouldn''t offer your body to me as if it was something insignificant. Your body is sacred. It was something gods give to you. Something that you should guard with all your being. It was something that should not be tainted. The only one you can give those sacred ground is to men you love. To someone you love with all your beings. To someone that is willing to give his life to you because he loves you."

    Raina looked at me with a surprised expression, but after a few seconds, I finished my speech, she smiled at me.

    "I know it is the right thing to do. I know you will never want my body. Not because I''m ugly but rather because it is your righteousness that makes you deny me. You are a true lord. A king without a crown."

    "Me? A king? Nahhhh. It is too troublesome for me."

    "Pfft. Hahahahaha"

    Raina released an un-lady snort before laughing at what I said. She laughed for a few seconds before she slowly stopped and wiped a tear from her eyes.

    "It is the first time I hear someone saying that becoming a king is too troublesome."

    "What? Do you know how much paperwork I need to do right now? I begin to think that that paperwork is cursed. Every time I blink, I can see the stack get higher."

    "What about the power? You will have a high power if you become a king."

    "Power? Nahhh. It is too troublesome. A wise man once said that ''The bigger power you have, the bigger your responsibility becomes'' or something like that. I don''t want more responsibility than what I already have."

    "However, if you get those responsibilities, you still do it, right?"

    "Of course! It is my duty, after all."

    "Then my word stands true. You are a king without a throne. If you want to become a king, you will be a great king."

    "Meh"

    I ignore Raina, who laughs once again at my word. I will make sure that I will not become a king. There is too much responsibility for my comfort. Even as a Duke, there is too much responsibility. Me, a king? Nahhh.. I can''t see that.

 Chapter 124 - Incoming

    "Those are the parts needed to build the Greenhouse."

    It has been a week since the royalty of the Lazuli kingdom came to my city, and right now, it is their time to go back home. Right now, I''m in the Black Sea Watch to see the Lazuli royal family off.

    I already sent the food I promised ahead, and they already arrived in the city and ready to be sent off. Right now, I only give them wheat and rice. I also teach them how to cook rice because the western and northern continents did not have rice.

    I got those from the Eastern Continent.

    Anyway, I walk toward one of the engineers we sent to the Lazuli kingdom, look at the royal family and say.

    "These are the already built parts to make the greenhouse. You can show the engineer where you want to place the greenhouse, and they will build it for you. You can plan on any plant inside the greenhouse in any season."

    "I see. I know you already hear this too many times, but I thank you. We really thank you."

    "Think nothing of it."

    Johannes and I shake hands before seeing him and his group walk inside the ship. I wave my hand toward Raina and Johannes. I continue to wave my hand until I see the ship start to sail away from the port.

    ~A few months later~

    "Come in"

    I look away from my paperwork and see Richard walk inside the room with a stack of paper. I sigh in defeat when I see that stack of paper. Lucky for me, I have helped with today''s paperwork. I look to the side and see Eli and Lucina helping me with the paperwork.

    "This is the last stack of paperwork, my lord."

    "Really?"

    "Yes."

    "Thank god."

    "However, there is something you need to know, my lord."

    "Yes?"

    "My shadow is bringing bad news."

    "Oh?"

    I put down my quill and look at Richard with a serious expression. Eli and Lucina also have the same expression.

    "Duke Frederick will be sent a group of an army to raid the village and city in your territory, my lord."

    "What? Is he declaring war against us?"

    "No. He did not have the intention to declare war against us, my lord. He did not have enough resources to do that."

    "Then why?"

    "They are not an ''army'' per se."

    "What?"

    "Duke Frederick sent that army as a bandit. They did not have the same armor and weapon as a regular army, but they still have armor and weapon of a lower grade. Their mission is to steal as many golds, weapons, and foods as they can before bringing it back to the Duke territory."

    That damned old bastard. Does he really not have any honor? He talks big about how his family is the most honorable family in the kingdom. I guess it is true that humans will become animals when they are starving.

    "How many of them?"

    "My shadow reporting there will be around two thousand so-called bandits attacking the Lionheart Duchy at the same time."

    "They will attack the city in the southern border at the same time?"

    "Yes. They will divide their group into four groups. Each group has five hundred members. My shadow also informs me that they will be equipped with horses, bows, and arrows. There is also news that there is an engineer among them. However, this information is not confirmed yet."

    "Meaning that they are not like your usual bandit. They can do a siege if they want to."

    "That is right. However, I don''t think they will not do that, my lord. I don''t think they will do siege. I don''t think they are that stupid."

    I shake my head at what Richard says before saying.

    "Like I said in the past, Richard. Never underestimate human stupidity. Especially humans that are starving. While I don''t want to admit it out loud, even the people in the north become a bandit when we are still starving."

    That is the dark age of the north. The time where people are starving. Where the lord begging to the southern lord for food. The time we endure the humiliation to get the food. Even with all that humiliation, we did not get the food for free, but rather we pay it at a lower price than usual.

    "I''m sorry."

    "There is nothing to be sorry about. Right now, I was hoping you could focus on gathering information about the movement of the Duke Frederick group of bandits. I will send a raven to the other lord informing this movement."

    "Understood."

    "I also want you to make sure our movement did not get noticed by the enemy."

    "Yes, my lord."

    "Good. If there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

    "Then, excuse me."

    Richard bowed a little to us and walked away from the room. When Richard is gone, Lucina begins to speak.

    "Isaac, will you be the one leading the defense against the fake bandits?"

    I shake my head and say.

    "No, I will not. I will let the Dark Elves be the ones dealing with those fake bandits. It is their duty, after all. However, that does not mean we will not do anything. I will send a group of soldiers to be stationed inside the city."

    "How many?"

    "Five hundred men will be deployed. They will be split into two groups. Two hundred and fifty men for each city that should be enough to help the Dark Elves fighting the fake bandits."

    "Very well."

    |3rd POV|

    Conall Chaecaryn, the Dark Elves chief. The leader of all Dark Elves lived in the Lionheart Duchy. He is the only living elder among the Dark Elves.

    "Chief! A raven has arrived from Sea Dragon City! It is from Lord Lionheart!"

    Conall looks at the young man in front of him and says.

    "Really? Then, can I have the letter?"

    "Of course!"

    Conall takes the letter from the young elves and begins to read it. Conall began to frown as he read it, and the more he read it, the bigger his frown became.

    "Chief?"

    "Aidan, please be a dear and call the hunter captain."

    "All of them?"

    "All of them. This is an emergency."

    ~30 minutes later~

    "Thank you for coming here, but we are in an emergency situation."

    "What kind of emergency, elder?"

    Conall looks at the elves to his right. This man is Alboran, the leader of the hunter. The hunter is the name of the special force of the Dark Elves. They consist of hundreds of Dark Elves that are proficient in Archery, Swordsmanship, and Magic.

    They are the masters of stealth and ambushes.

    "Lord Isaac informs us there will be an attack happening. The one that will be attacking is the Duke Frederick army disguised as a bandit."

    The people inside the room begin to explode. People talk to each other, some of them shouting in rage. Conall takes a deep breath and shouts.

    "Shut up!"

    Conall nods his head when the other starts to shut their mouth.

    "Yes, Duke Frederick is a ?unt for using this time of tactic to get some foods and golds. He thinks that just because the city just finished renovated, we are weak. He thinks just because he once owns this and that he knows the inside out of the land. He is overconfident because he thinks that his title makes him do anything. He thinks that he can do anything to this land, the land that he has abandoned because this land did not have anything."

    Conall''s smiles begin to grow and grow until it reaches his ear.

    "Let us show him how wrong he is. Let us show those bastards a living nightmare!"

    After Conall finished his speech, the other elves inside the room began to smile as well. The same smile Conall has on his face. The smile of a predator seeing their prey.

    "For the glory of Lionheart!"

    "For the glory of Lionheart!"

 Chapter 125 - Training

    "I''m here!"

    I smile a little at Eli, who walks inside the training ground with her training clothes. Today is the day I teach Eli how to do some magic.

    "Good. Now, first thing first. What do you know about mana?"

    "Mana is the energy needed to cast spells."

    "Half correct. Mana is one of the energies inside our bodies. It can be used as a fuel for our spell and attack, not only that, but we can also use it to make our physical power grow faster."

    "Huh?"

    "Do you know the reason why a person with a massive mana pool is considered a powerful person?"

    "Because they can cast more spells than the other?"

    "Not really. The reason is that Mana enchants our bodies every single day. It is common knowledge. While the growth of our muscles is not noticeable, it does grow stronger. The magicians in the Tower of Magic are lazy people. They think that just because their mana will make their physical power grow, they decide not to train their body."

    "I see."

    "Mana also increases our immunity to disease and poison. So yeah, mana is not only important to cast spells but also important for our growth."

    "Understood"

    I take out the old wand I got from the goblins. I did not need it anymore. After I got Star Rune, I did not need it anymore. My control over my magic has improved tremendously.

    "Take this."

    "Is that really a magic wand? Like a Harry Potter kind of wand?"

    "Yup. Now, give it a flick."

    I can see the wand shine a little before it goes back to its original state. It looks like the wand accepts Eli. The goblins are telling the truth. Anyone, including a creature, can use all wands made of Mithril.

    "Good. Now, push a little bit of your mana into the wand."

    "How?"

    "Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and feel what is inside your body. Feel the ball of energy in the middle of your body. Can you feel it?"

    "En"

    "Good. Now, guide a little bit of that energy into your arms. Let it flow like water in the river."

    I smile a little when I see blue energy appear on Eli''s right hand.

    "Open your eyes."

    "Woah!"

    "That is your mana. You push it a little too much, but it is good enough for a beginner. Now, let us do something simple. Let us do a levitation charm."

    "Like in Harry Potter?"

    "Correct."

    I conjure a table and chair. I take a pebble on the ground and place it on the table.

    "Errrr, are you sure I''m ready to levitate this pebble? In Harry Potter, they need a feather, and even with only a feather, many of them cannot do that."

    "We are not in the Harry Potter universe, Eli. We are in our own world. While you can still use the spell from the Harry Potter world here, we have different mana qualities. In this world, we have thick mana in the air. Not only that, but our people also did not do ?n??st like the one in the Harry Potter world. Now come on. You know the Incantations, right?"

    "Yes. Wingardium Leviosa!"

    Eli frowned a little when she saw the pebble did not levitate and only moved a little bit.

    "See?"

    "You are not using your imagination. Chants & Incantations is self-hypnosis. It creates an image inside your mind, and your mana does the rest. What a spell truly needs is imagination and the will to do it. Now do what you did when you call up your mana."

    Eli''s hand started releasing blue energy once again, but this time, it was a little more transparent than before. Good. It looks like she is learning.

    "Good. Now imagine the pebble in front of you floating in the air. Imagine it flying into the air."

    I smirk a little when I see the pebble float in the air.

    "Open your eyes and see the result."

    I can see her eyes widen up when Eli sees the pebble float in the air. She moves the wand to the left, and the stone follows the wand movement.

    "As you can see, you did not need Chants & Incantations to perform a spell. There is a spell that needs Chants & Incantations to perform it, but it was a high-level spell, as right now, there is no need for it. Now let us move to the second spell! Softening charm. Softening charm is an essential charm you can learn in an instant. As its name suggests¡­."

    ~A week later~

    "Bombarda Maxima!"

    "Good! However, you still need to use chant! It makes you not aware of your surroundings!"

    I activate the trap that I already planted behind Eli. A second later, tree roots appear from the ground and bind her with the root.

    "Awareness dear, awareness. There is a reason why I teach you how to sense the surroundings around you."

    "Urgh. I know, but it is hard to do it at the same time."

    "I know. That is why we are training, aren''t we?"

    I let her out from the tree root and see her take the wand from the ground.

    "That is for today''s training. I think tomorrow you will train with Lucina, am I right?"

    "Yup. I still need to train my swordsmanship."

    "Good. If there is nothing else, you can go back inside. I still need to do a small inspection in the port."

    "En. Have fun there!"

    With that, I walk away from the training room with Richard on my side. On our way to the port, I remember there is a problem in the south.

    "Richard, tell me the problem of the fake bandits."

    "Ah¡­ The Dark Elves have already taken care of it, my lord."

    "Oh? Really? Tell me about this."

    "Very well"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    Cicero Landolp looked at the map in front of him. His lord Phineas Frederick ordered him and a few thousand of the army to become a bandit. Cicero did not mind becoming a bandit because he did not have an honor like other knights like him.

    The only thing he wants in life is the thrill of killing, gold, and a woman.

    Phineas gets information from his spy network that says there is a clearing near the forest where he can send his army to raid the city in Lionheart Duchy. However, what he did not know is that that information is false information sent by Richard shadow.

    "How is it?"

    "The information is correct, sir. There is really a clearing in this area where we can march our troops unnoticed."

    "Good. Order the other we will move in a few seconds."

    "Sir!"

    Cicero put down the map and placed it inside his pocket. He cannot hold back his grin when he thinks about the Elves he can enjoy and the gold he can rob from the same elves. He hears that Dark Elves have a tight ?unt, and he cannot wait to taste it.

    "Move out!"

    They slowly march toward the hidden pathway surrounded by thick forest. Cicero and his seven hundred men will march toward the clearing where they will make a camp, waiting for the sun to set before they do their raid in the blanket of darkness.

    However, as they continue to march deeper and deeper into the forest, they begin to have a feeling of dread the more they march deeper into the forest. As they march deeper, they begin to hear someone whispering to their ears.

    "You have been cursed¡­ You have been cursed¡­."

    That word continues to ring inside their head. Slowly but surely, the people begin to lose their minds. Many people begin to see an illusion of a monster eating their body from the leg to their head.

    "AHHH! Get away from me!"

    The people that see this vision take out their swords and begin attacking their fellow fake bandits. While the others are attacking each other, Cicero has something worse. He is cursed by the ward Isaac created.

    Right now, he is tormented inside his mind for who knows how long. This curse is like Tsukuyomi. An Eternal illusion. Inside this illusion, time moves really slow. One second on the outside is equal to one year on the inside.

    Right now, Cicero has been tormented for more than a hundred years.

    As for the rest of his men? They have been trapped inside the illusion the Dark Elves created. Seeing the number of fake bandits has decreased, the Dark Elves swoop in and kill the rest of them.

    Just like that, seven hundred men are killed before they can even see their target.

 Chapter 126 - Interlude

    |Phineas Frederick POV|

    I look at the report in front of me with a frown on my face. The report in front of me said that the people I sent to raid the Lionheart Duchy have gone missing. There has been no sign of them for the past two weeks.

    What matters worse is that there is no report of raiding in the Lionheart Duchy. Meaning that the people I sent have failed in their mission. What makes matters worse is that someone leaves me a present. What kind of present? It was the head of the knight I sent to raid the Lionheart Duchy.

    The worst of them all is that the head I receive is inside my bedroom. Inside the place that should be my most secure place in the world. A place where I can forget about all poison and dagger business.

    However, after that day, I don''t know if I am even safe in my own bedroom.

    I sigh a little and put away the report before taking another parchment. I read what was written on the parchment and frown once again.

    "Another crops failure. Another ship gets attacked by a pirate after buying some food from the Eastern Continent."

    Damnit! Can something go right for me?!? If it continues like this, the food I stored will soon be depleted. Not only that, but the commoner also begins to protest, and I even hear a rumor there will be a rebellion against me.

    Ungrateful bastard! I already give them space to sleep, and they have a gall to rebel against me?!? I guess I need to make an example to those ungrateful bastards.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    Screaming, crying, and a shout of rage rings through the night. The scream of the innocent, the crying of a mother that just lost her son, and the shout of the rage of a husband that sees his wife get r?p?d.

    "Kill them all! They are nothing but a worthless commoner who dares to oppose our lord!"

    This is what Phineas means by setting an example. Purging village after village in the northern side of his territory. The reason for purging? He thought that those villages are the people that want to rebel against him and his family.

    "Burn! Burn this village to the ground!"

    While the knight of Frederick''s family busy burning and raping, there is a group of people on the opposite side of them. They are Richard''s Shadow. With a cover of powerful illusion, they move the surviving villager away from the knight.

    "Come on! We must go!"

    "My mother! My mother is still in the house!"

    "Just go. I will rescue your mother. Tell me which one is your house."

    "The first house near the exit we just passed."

    "Go! We will rescue her."

    "Thank you! Thank you!"

    "Just go!"

    It was the knight captain, and he is intended to have some fun tonight as he already sees his prey running inside the house in front of him.

    "What should we do?"

    One of the shadows asked his partner. However, instead of answering, another shadow takes out her dagger.

    "Very well. I will be looking out for other knights. Make it quick."

    "Roger"

    After saying that, the woman shadow sneaks toward the knight captain, who is shouting to the people inside.

    "Come on now! Come out! I will spare you a painful death and grant you a quick death. I will count on three! One! Two! Three¡­ Urgh¡­"

    Before the knight captain could kick out the door open, one of the shadows already arrived behind him and slit his throat with her dagger.

    The shadow sneers at the body of the knight captain. She then cast a powerful illusion around the house before knocking on the door.

    "Please come out! The knight captain is dead!"

    The shadow can see someone peeking out from the window, and when the people inside see that the knight captain is dead, they open up the door. As the door opens up, a young girl comes out from the door and hugs the shadow in the legs.

    "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

    "It is no problem. However, we need to hurry up. There are still many knights around."

    "But grandma is injured from rescuing me."

    "Don''t worry. We will carry her. Show me where she is."

    "En"

    The little girl leads the shadow inside her house, and lying on the bed is an older woman with a wounded leg. The shadow walks toward the older woman and kneels on the ground. The older woman looks at her and says.

    "Who are you?"

    "Friends. We come here to get you guys away from this hell."

    "I see¡­. Take Tania with you and leave me behind. I''m nothing more than baggage to you. By leaving me behind, you can save her and without unnoticed by the knights."

    Tania tears up when she hears what the older woman is saying.

    "No! You can''t leave me, Granny Popol! I already lost my mother and father! I don''t want to lose you as well."

    "It''s okay, dear. I''m nothing but an older woman. I have already passed my time in this world. I''m happy leaving this world knowing that you are surviving. I don''t know what happened to my son and good daughter, but by knowing you are safe, I''m happy."

    Before Popol and Tania say more, the shadow puts her hand and says.

    "O sun, give us your blessing! Soothing Ray."

    Suddenly a light starts to dance around Popol''s injured leg and closes the wound.

    "That should do. Come on. No one here will be dead in my watch tonight."

    Without hearing what Popol is saying, the shadow carries her away from the house, followed by Tania from behind. The other shadow sees his partner coming, picks Tania up, reinforces his body, and starts running away.

    They did not look back at the village that was burned to the ground by the knights.

 Chapter 127 - Work

    "That is all happening in the south, my lord."

    "Thank you, Richard. Is there anything else?"

    I nod at Richard, who tells me about the situation in the south and how there are a few hundred or so refugees from the Frederick Duchy. It looks like Duke Frederick do a purge for a stupid reason. He thought there was a rebellion going to happen in his territory to overthrow him from power.

    There is none. However, because of this purge, there will be an attempt to kill Phineas Frederick or his family members.

    "Yes, my lord. There is news from further south."

    "Oh? The Holy Light Empire?"

    "Yes. There is news from the Holy Light Empire. My shadow says there is a weird movement from the Holy Kyna Church."

    "What kind of movement?"

    "They secretly support the first prince of the empire. They sent their holy knight disguised as an ordinary knight to support the first prince."

    "That means they want to finish the war earlier than we thought it would be."

    "That is right. Not only that but there is also a rumor that the church wants to declare a Crusade against the entire continent."

    "Right after the Succession war?"

    "No. I think they will declare a holy crusade a few years after the succession war."

    "I see. Make sure to keep an eye on the Holy Church of Kyna, will you?"

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Good. Anything else?"

    "No. There is nothing else, my lord."

    "Very well."

    I nod my head and look at Ayas.

    "Lastly, Ayas. How is the treasury?"

    "Like usual my lord. Nothing unusual."

    "How is the profit from the trade?"

    "We are doing good. As Rovul said earlier, the trade with the east and the north is doing great. However, there is some grumbling from the Central and Southern merchants. They keep shouting and demanding we decrease our price. Some of them even hire a thug from their place to ''intimidate'' our merchants to sell our goods for a lower price."

    "Ah. I remember my wife saying something about a group of foreigner thugs coming from a ship to make a ruckus. I think they have been taken care of."

    "Yes. While some of them are willing to back down and go back to their home, many decide to use force. Lucky for us, Lady Lucina and the City watch, ready to beat them up. Many of them are killed, and some of them have been sent to the northern port to do their forced labor."

    "I know. I''m proud of her."

    I really am. Unlike most noble ladies, she is an active person. She did not like talking about perfume, handsome men, or even gossiping about other ladies. She was not a tomboy kind of woman, but she was not overly girly like the woman in the south.

    "Anyway, the gold inside the vault is in good condition. There is no loss for this month. Also, the Lazuli Kingdom sent a hundred golds to us saying that it was a payment for the Greenhouse."

    "Haaaa"

    I already told Johannes, the king of Lazuli Kingdom, that those Green Houses are the gift for the alliance between us and their kingdom. However, they keep sending us money even though they need it more than us.

    "Just put it under an emergency fund, will you?"

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Good. Is there anything else?"

    "Nothing at the moment, my lord."

    "Good. Before we end this meeting, I need to tell you something, Ayas."

    "Yes?"

    "I need you to calculate how much money is needed to make a new village."

    "How big?"

    "I want two times the size of my family''s private farm. While there is still space in Sea Dragon City, it will not last. I have a plan to move some of the people here to live in that village. I want to make a village for at least five hundred people."

    "The location?"

    "The north. Near the Lake of Satin."

    "I see. That is a perfect spot for a village, but there is one problem. If not for the thick snow, it will be a perfect one."

    "Yes. That is why I want you to hire a group of workers to clear out the area enough for the builder to build a village there. I will also create a Magic Field around the area to reduce the snow falling."

    "Very well. When I''m done calculating the gold we need, I will report to you, my lord."

    "Thank you, Ayas."

    "It is my p???sur?."

    I nod at him and look at the other before saying.

    "If there is nothing else?"

    Seeing no one saying anything, I nodded my head and said.

    "Then you are dismissed."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Elizabeth Ainsworth von Lionheart POV|

    "Now, that is all for today''s lesson."

    Hearing Isaac saying those words, I let my body fall to the ground as I feel my body cannot handle another beating. Today''s training is rough. After a few months in the north and after a few months of training, Isaac decided to increase my training.

    If before he was holding back really hard, now? He decided to fight me with almost all his got. He still did not use his magic or rune (as he called it), and he only used his spear to fight me, who used all I have. From sword to magic, and even with all that, I cannot defeat him.

    Even with the increase in my stats, I don''t have enough experience to get a clean hit. I already do a self-scan and see that my body is already growing stronger. Much stronger than what I dream of.

    |Elizabeth Ainsworth von Lionheart|

    |Duchess Rank|

    |17 years old|

    |Human|

    |STR: 67|

    |VIT: 85|

    |INT: 103|

    |WIS: 125|

    Yeah. My strength grew tremendously in a few months of intense training, a healthy diet, and growth potions. If I join the military, I think I will be a captain of a squad by now, maybe a hundred army captains.

    "Yeah, I''m still not even close to them."

    The gap between Isaac and me is still big. I don''t know if I can reach where Isaac and Lucina stand, but I want to reach where they are right now. I don''t want to become a burden after all.

    "Eli, come on! Lunch will start soon."

    "Coming!"

    I get up from the ground and walk toward Isaac and Lucina, who receive me with a warm smile. I smile back at them and walk toward them.

    This is what I want to protect. The smile and the warm feeling I get from them. In my previous and even my early life in this world, I never got the same warm feeling both Lucina, and Isaac gave to me.

    They are really like me. They treat me like a real family. They did not treat me like trash because I want to be a mangaka or treat me like nothing but a political bargain. No. They treat me as if I''m a member of their family since the day I was born.

    Even my grandmother started to warm up. She never smiles and only smiles to show some respect to the other noble in the capital, but here? She smiles because she enjoys life. No one''s gonna stab her in the back, and no one wants to poison her to take her power.

    Here, both Grandma and I become our own selves. Here we can enjoy ourselves without worrying about a knife in the back or poison in our food. Here we can be a family that we never have.

    Yes. I want to protect this piece of heaven I currently have, and no one can take it from me. No one.. I will make sure of it.

 Chapter 128 - Time Skip

    I look at the city from my castle and smile a little. It has been a year since the time of the Frederick Duchy purge. There are at least three hundred people successfully escaping from the purge and settling in my territory.

    Right now, they are staying in the new village. At first, they did not like the cold, but after seeing they can eat some food and have some roof above their head, they decided that it was better than what they had in the past.

    Not only that, but they also get some work. From farming to mining, they are eager to get some gold and food on their table.

    Last year was a hectic year. There is an illegal ship coming from the east to try to steal our food. Lucky for me, my ward works as intended. One of the thieves teleported inside the dungeon, and the rest of them have been melted into a liquid to nourish the land even more.

    That is the thieves, and there is a pirate. They are downright annoying. Not only do they attack my ship that is patrolling the area for some reason, but they also decide to attack the land as well. If not for my ward and the fort near the shore, there will be too many raids to handle.

    However, because of the barrier I created in the past, the raid is easier to handle. When I''m not asleep just yet, I can smite them from my castle and destroy their ship. The barrier also alerts the soldiers in the fort and lets them search for either survivors or items that are good enough to be taken.

    The survivor will be interrogated using the Veritaserum. If they have some mental barrier, they will go back to the old torture, and if they still did not speak, the soldier will use the overpowered Veritaserum. Sadly, once being used, the victim that drinks the overpowered Veritaserum will be dead or become a human vegetable.

    There are also too many merchants coming from the Eastern continent. If only it were only a merchant trying to make some trade, then there is no problem. Sadly, it was not. The merchant brings with them Thieves, Gang thugs, and even a spy.

    Because of this, I need to increase surveillance spells around the harbor. I give it to both Lucina and Elizabeth so they can handle it. So far, they handle the Thug and Thieves really well. Almost three hundred of them have been captured and deported back to their continent.

    As for the spy¡­ Well, both the Queen Dowager and Richard have a field day torturing them. Some of them coming from a small kingdom, and some of them coming from a massive empire. It looks like the famine is getting worse.

    Only a few places did not experience the famine. The eastern region of the Holy Light Empire, five kingdoms in the Eastern Continent, two kingdoms in the Central Continent, and the Lionheart Duchy.

    Among those places, only my territory is the one that produces the most food.

    That is only the one coming from the Eastern Continent. There is also a problem coming from the south. From spies to people trying to make my people go to rebellion.

    Let us start with the spies. From a Duke to a Baron, too many spies are trying to spread their web inside my territory. Even with all the spies that keep disappearing when they step inside my territory, it did not reduce the number of spies being sent by the nobles from the south.

    What makes things even worse, those spies are not only informational spies. They are being sent here to sabotage the farm and husbandry in my territory. Some of them have a mission to poison the farm''s water source, and the worst kind is the one sent to poison the river so that the people in my territory die from the poison.

    That is the spies. Now let''s go to the bandit. The southern side of the Vulux kingdom became infested with bandits and raiders. Because of the famine, the kingdom struggled to feed all the people in them. Because of this, the kingdom spends a huge amount of money on importing food from either my territory or from the other continent and kingdom.

    This happened across the southern side of the Vulux Kingdom.

    And do you know which territory they want to raid? Mine. Because of this, I sent a huge amount of soldiers to the south to cut down the bandit problem. The same with all my vassals. The bandit also did not only come from the land. I have a report saying that the bandit used a dozen or so small boats to sail through the river and ambush the merchant that was passing through.

    Sadly for them, all the merchants coming from my territory are guarded by a few dozen soldiers. To show my gratitude for their hard work, I give the soldier a bonus salary.

    Then let''s talk about the people that try to make my people rebel against me. Well¡­. Let''s say that it did not go as smoothly as they thought it would. My hard work has paid off.

    Without interfering, my people decide that the man who says I''m nothing but a tyrant is a traitor and gives him to the soldier. They give the man to the Watchman Captain and explain the situation. Because of the King''s rule, the man was immediately executed after being interrogated, of course. This is the same rule that Duke Frederick used to do the purge in the past.

    Anyway, the man is from the Holy Light Empire. The Church of Kyla sent him. This man is a priest that has a side job as a spy for the Church. He also gave the name of his fellow priest sent by the Pope of the Church of Kyla.

    When Richard was about to send his shadow to take care of it, he found that the citizens of Lionheart Duchy already gave those people to the authorities. Some of those priests successfully get away before the mob gets them, but before they could get out of my territory, Richard''s shadow captured them.

    They are interrogated once again, and we now know that the Pope wants to declare a crusade against the ''Heretic,'' which means that he wants to declare a Holy War against all the kingdoms in the continent.

    It looks like what Eli said is true. There will be a Holy War between the Holy Light Empire and the other kingdoms on the continent. Speaking of Eli, she already knows about my power, and she shouts to heaven with frustration.

    Let''s say that she really envies my power. I can see a trail of blood coming out from her mouth that day.

    Anyway, I want to say that the game Eli played in the past did not appear every time we searched for it. There is no game called White Angel. We try to type it in alphabet or kanji, but there is no result.

    We try to search for another game, and it comes up okay, but when we try to search for this game? There is nothing.

    This makes it more difficult. In the past, I thought that I would get valuable information from seeing the Wiki page of this game. Sadly, we did not have that kind of information anymore. We try anything to search for the game. From searching if there is a forum talking about this game or searching for the dev or company that publishes this game.

    Still, nothing came up. Meaning that we did not have access to it.

    We also try to go to another world where this game exists but to my surprise; Dimension Hopping cannot do that. An error comes up every time we try that. We try to go back to Earth, but there is still no game called White Angel.

    Before you say that we should go back to our world, well¡­. There is a problem. I already tried to go back to my own world, but the dimension-hopping room did not allow that. It cannot transport me to my original world.

    So, yeah. The only source of information we got about this world is from Eli and the information I have from Richard.

    "My lord"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Richard calling my name.

    "Yes?"

    "My lord, there is a letter from the capital."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. Here you go."

    I take the letter and begin to read it. After a few seconds of reading, I put the letter on the table.

    "Richard, call both the Queen Dowager and Elizabeth here, would you?"

    "Of course, my lord. Can I ask the reason why?"

    "The king is dead."

 Chapter 129 - Another Visit

    It has been a week since the news of the king is dead, and I must say that both the Queen Dowager and Elizabeth''s reaction is not what I thought it would be. I thought that both of them would mourn the death of their son/father, but it only took them a few hours to mourn before they came back like nothing is happening.

    When I asked about it, Eli said that she never thought of him as her father. In comparison, Queen Dowager said that she already used to lose a son.

    I understand what Eli is saying, but I''m confused about what Queen Dowager said. When asked about it, she said that to obtain the throne, the former king poisoned his brothers to death and only leaving him as the sole heir of the throne.

    When I ask the reason why she let his son kill each other, she said to me.

    "I''m in the other continent at the time. Before you said something about getting angry, I''m furious. I want to kill him with my b?r? hand, but the kingdom will plunge into chaos if I do that. There will be too many big noble houses that want to claim the throne as their own. Between revenge and protecting the rest of my family, I will choose to protect the rest of my family."

    That is what she said. It was not that she did not want to kill the king, but she would rather maintain the peace in the realm and protect her loved one by doing so.

    Anyway, even though both Elizabeth and Queen Dowager only mourn for a few hours, I decided to feast in the name of the king. Even though I hate him for all he did, he is still a king, and he deserves that much.

    Anyway, this past week we finished several projects. The first one is the ship we need to secure the western sea. We successfully built eleven Galleon for a military purpose and a dozen of Carrack for trading and fishing.

    Of course, the Carrack can also be used for military purposes if we need it, but for now, their main purposes are for trading and fishing.

    There are also a few dozen longships that are used for boarding the enemy ship. While we have ships, it is a waste to destroy the pirate ship. Because of that, my master of the ship asked me to build a longship. To steal the pirate ship.

    The other project I finished is upgrading the barrier around my territory. Unlike before, where I only have a barrier around the north, now they cover all Lionheart Duchy. If before Richard and Queen Dowager shadow is the one taking care of all the spy in the southern side of Lionheart Duchy, now with the new barrier, they can have a little bit more free time to hear a rumor around them.

    There is also a report from the Lazuli Kingdom saying that their kingdom starts to prosper. Because of my potions, they can cultivate and grow food from their own land now. While they cannot sell those foods just yet, they are getting there.

    "Isaac"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Lucina''s voice coming from the door. As I look up, I see Lucina with Ginerva coming inside my office.

    "Hello there! What can I do for you?"

    "Brother!"

    Before I could hug them, Ginerva tackled me and held my waist like a koala.

    "Woah there."

    "Brother! You promise me to show the other world!"

    Oh yeah, I promise her to show the other world when she reaches six and finishes her basic training in sword, spear, and archery. Now, she can use those three weapons, and she is ready to go to the other world.

    While I will protect her with all my might, it is rather reassuring to know that she can handle a fight on her own.

    "Really? Do you want to do it now?"

    "En!"

    "Very well. Let''s meet up in my room one hour from now. Call Eli and mother as well, okay?"

    "En! Come on, Sister Luci!"

    With that being said, Ginerva drags Lucina away to call mother and Eli. I don''t know which world I need to visit, but I decided to visit the DxD world to visit Ophis and Valerie to ask if they want to come with us.

    The other reason why I want Ophis to come with me is to get my mother off my back. She already has a grandmother fever going on. I know she wants a grandchild as soon as possible, but we have not yet been blessed with one.

    That is why every time I have s?x with Eli and Lucina, I always come inside Lucina and come outside when I fu?k Eli.

    Let me tell you something. Having a harem is a troublesome matter. Pleasuring two people is already hard, especially if both of them have a massive stamina reserve. Can you imagine having five women or more on your bed and demanded to be p???sur?d.

    I shudder just thinking about it. Just two people alone, I did not have much sleep. Imagining five people at the same time¡­. Yeah, I prefer two.

    Anyway, I get up from my chair and walk toward my room.

    ~One hour later~

    "So! Where are we going, brother?!?"

    I look down on my sister and pat her in the head before saying.

    "For now, we need to meet some people first. They are our friends."

    "Really?"

    "Yup. I think you will like them."

    "En!"

    I smile at her and press the DxD option. I set the time to two weeks since the time we left the DxD world. After finishing the setting, I see the door open up, and a Kaleidoscope portal appears inside the room.

    I look at my companion and smile¡ªLucina, Elizabeth, My mother, the Queen Dowager, and lastly, my sister.

    "Come on."

    With that, we walk inside the room and feel the world changed. After a few seconds, we are inside a room.

    "That''s it?"

    I look at Queen Dowager, who looks around in confusion.

    "Yup. Come on."

    I lead them toward the exit portal.

    "Before we go away from your pocket dimension, can you tell me who your friend is?"

    I look at Eli and say.

    "Her name is Ophis and Valerie Tepes."

    ".... Ophis the infinite dragon and Valerie Tepes the holder of Sephiroth Graal?"

    "Yup."

    Eli looked at me with a widened eye before saying.

    "What?"

 Chapter 130 - Reunion

    "Ophis! Valerie!"

    I hug both of them tightly when we arrive in Yasaka''s palace. When we arrive in the DxD world, I feel the barrier around Japan wash over me, and I think it notifies Yasaka about my arrival. That is why when we arrive in front of the gate to the palace, we are greeted by a group of people.

    Yasaka, Kunou, Ophis and Valerie.

    Those four are the ones that greet me when we arrive.

    "Big brother!"

    I look at Valerie with a surprised expression. Seeing my expression, Valerie looks at me with sad eyes and says.

    "I''m sorry."

    I shake my head for a little bit before saying.

    "No. No. No. You can call me big brother as much as you want. I was just surprised when you called me that so suddenly."

    "Really?!?"

    "Yup."

    "Thank you."

    "Don''t think about it."

    I release her and Ophis before greeting Yasaka and Kunou.

    "It is good to see you again, Yasaka, Kunou."

    I smile at the Queen of Kyoto and her daughter. Both of them smiled at me but did not hug me even though Kunou really wanted to hug us. I guess the natural energy will make them in heat.

    "It is good to see you too, Isaac. Will you introduce us?"

    Yasaka looked at me before giving a smile to my companion.

    "Ah! Yasaka, let me introduce you to my family. This is my little sister, Ginerva Lionheart¡­."

    "Hello!"

    "... next to her is my mother, Eveline Lionheart."

    "Greetings. Eveline Lionheart nee Duchamp. It is an honor to meet you."

    My mother smiles at Yasaka and gives her a small bow.

    "And you already know about my wife, Lucina."

    "Nice to meet you once again, Yasaka."

    Yasaka waves her hand at Lucina.

    "Next to her is my second wife, Elizabeth Ainsworth von Lionheart."

    "I-It''s nice to meet you!"

    "Next to Elizabeth is my Good Great Mother or, as you called it, my Grandmother-in-law, Valerie Gideon von Vulux."

    "Greetings"

    The Queen Dowager gives a light bow before smiling at Yasaka.

    "It is nice to meet you. My name is Yasaka, and this one is my daughter, Kunou. Please come inside. My servant has already prepared some food for you."

    After saying that, Yasaka led us inside and to the dining room. After a few seconds of walking, we arrive in the dining room, where there are already many types of food that have been served for us to eat.

    "Please enjoy the feast."

    After we are permitted to eat, we begin to eat. I look to the side and see Queen Dowager whispering something to Eli, who tells her that it was okay to eat the first raw and eat the sushi herself.

    Huh, I guess Eli and I never introduce raw food to our world.

    I see Queen Dowager hesitate for a few seconds before putting the food inside her mouth. Then, she chews the food for a few seconds before widening her eyes. I guess she likes it.

    "So, how are you doing, Isaac-kun?"

    "We are doing fine, Yasaka. How about you?"

    "I''m doing great! Your senjutsu technique is really great for us. Even Amaterasu-sama agrees with me on this one."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. Right now, this new teaching is the main method to gather Natural energy in japan. Not only that, because of all youkai using your method, the Natural Energy in Japan becomes purer, and my advisor says that there will be no more youkai who get into madness from attempting to use Senjutsu."

    "I see. Then I''m glad to hear that."

    "Anyway, Can I ask the reason why you came to Japan once again, Isaac-kun?"

    "My family wants to have some holiday, so we decided to come here and ask both Ophis and Valerie to come with us."

    "Ah¡­ Do you need a tour guide? Then, I can show you guys around."

    "Are you sure? You must be busy, right?"

    "Nah¡­ I''m not busy¡­ No¡­ Where do you hear that?"

    I look at Yasaka for a few seconds before laughing at her attempt to get away from the paperwork.

    "Sure. If you did not have any work, I guess we could have some guide around Japan."

    "Great! Where do you want to go first?"

    "I think we should go shopping first. Do you know a place where we can buy some clothes?"

    "Of course! I know a perfect place for us to visit. Do you want a mundane one or a magical one?"

    "Hmmm, can we visit the magical one first?"

    "Of course. We can go after the feast."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Valerie Gideon von Vulux POV|

    However, what gets my attention is the shop next to the street. The shop clothes. I can see through so many beautiful dresses and clothes.

    "This is the shop where I usually buy my clothing."

    This is the place where she buys her clothes? As Isaac calls her, I look at Yasaka, the Queen of Youkai, and hesitate to walk inside the shop. She wears something that I think is too indecent for a woman to wear.

    I mean, she shows too much skin! And not only that, she shows her¡­ her... Half enormous ?h?st to the world to see. However, when I look around, the only one that disturbs by it is Eveline and me. The people in the street and in the shop did not see anything wrong with her clothing.

    If she is in our world, she will be attacked by too many people. I fear for her safety.

    "Don''t worry about it. Yasaka over there is very strong."

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear my granddaughter''s voice. I look at her before saying.

    "Really?"

    "Yes. There is a reason why the Gods of this country appointed Yasaka to become the queen of the entire race."

    That is another thing. There are gods in this world, and they are rather active. I know we have Gods, but they are not very active like the ones in this world. The gods never descend into our world to do some business with a mortal, and they are not polite.

    When Lucina said that the gods are polite and even caring, I don''t know if I can believe her or not.

    "I see. Do you know how powerful she is, dear?"

    "Hmmm, I think she can destroy this city if she wants to."

    "Really?!?"

    "Yes, that is how powerful she is. But I don''t know the full power she can release as there is no source saying about it, but I know she can destroy the city if she wants to."

    "I see."

    I guess I can see the reason why not many people try to attack her to defeat and **** her. But, I snap from my thoughts when I see Isaac walk toward us and smile at us.

    "All right, people. I already talked to the owner of this place, and she said she accepts the mundane money. So, you can rest ?ssured and buy as many clothes as you want."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. I have enough money from selling a valuable metal ingot."

    I can buy anything I want, huh? I looked around the store and couldn''t help but smile at the possibility of owning all the beautiful clothes in this store.

 Chapter 131 - Other World

    You know, I never thought that they would buy as many items as they can. I thought they would only buy at least five or ten at maximum clothes but nope. They buy at least twenty clothes for each of them.

    Even Lucina, who did not really like clothes shopping, got carried away after seeing many training clothes. I also get carried away when I see how good their training clothes are.

    I mean, the training clothes have a seal on them that can increase the gravity around us like the one in the naruto world. Not only that, these training clothes will heal and make our muscles adapt to the intense training.

    I did not need to brew some potions every time we wanted to do intense training with these training clothes.

    Not only that but there is also the problem of Lucina and her problem when she encounters a new material to increase her mastery over crafting. The textile used to make the clothes is unique to the Youkai, who grew their own textile using a unique technique.

    I need to hold Lucina from shaking the poor shop owner who says she cannot give her the secret of their textile-making technique.

    Anyway, after shopping for at least three hours, we decided to take a break in the local restaurant. So we order up a light meal and drink.

    "Hey, Isaac-kun. Can I ask you a question?"

    "Of course."

    "Where do you store all those clothes? I don''t mind if you did not answer that question."

    "Well, how can I say this? This is like the scroll given by Lady Amaterasu."

    "Ah! Pocket dimension?"

    "That is right. However, I use it with a different method."

    "I see. That is really convenient."

    "That it is. I''m fortunate to have it."

    And I''m fortunate to have this power. I snap from my thoughts when the waitress comes back with a tray of food and drinks in her hand. We begin to eat the food before we continue our exploration.

    ~Three days later~

    We waved our hands to both Yasaka and Kunou before I teleported all of us to our pocket dimension. In these past three days, we have enjoyed many kinds of holiday places in Japan that mundane people cannot approach.

    From a unique temple to a beautiful waterfall, we visit them all. Yasaka even invited us to the private beach she owned for her and her family. The beach itself is beautiful. There is no trash lying around the beach, and the water is so clear, I can see the bottom of the sea.

    The next stage is sparring with each other. Ginerva spar with Elizabeth while I fight against Lucina. While my mother and Queen Dowager did not join our sparring, they joined the warm-up and did some basic katas with a wooden sword.

    Yasaka and Kunou join us as well in our training and sparring. Let me tell you; those tails are really tricky to fight. It is like fighting a person with extra nine arms, but these ''arms'' are soft and fluffy.

    Anyway, we stayed for three days in Yasaka''s palace before we decided to go to the Suikoden world for a few moments. I want my family to have a rune on their body just in case they need it.

    We walk toward the Dimension Hopping room, where I set the time when we arrive. I set the time we arrive as a week after the last time I came to the Suikoden world. We walk through the portal, and a few seconds later, the world changes.

    We walk outside of pocket dimension, and I create a massive magic circle to teleport us to a nearby location to the South Window City. When we arrive, we walk inside the South Window after getting checked by the gate guard.

    After being checked, we walked inside the city of South Window. I snap from my thoughts when I hear Queen Dowager saying.

    "Oh my, if I don''t know we are in the other world, I thought you take us to the eastern continent, dear Isaac."

    "Really?"

    "Yes. The building is almost the same as the building in the Eastern Continent."

    "I see."

    I never go to the eastern continent, but from the book I read and from what Richard says, the eastern continent is like the Asian continent. The south window city is like combining the old Chinese and Japanese in terms of their architecture.

    Not only that, but the clothing in South Window city is also like the clothing used by the people in China during the time of the Han dynasty.

    "Have you been to the Eastern Continent?"

    "Of course, It was the time when my husband was still alive. I''m being sent there to be an ambassador between the Vulux Kingdom and the Asari Kingdom."

    "I see."

    We continue to walk through the city, and after a few minutes of walking, we arrive in front of the rune shop.

    "This is the place where I get my rune from."

    I look at Elizabeth and say.

    "This is the place where all those black bars come from when you scan me, Eli."

    "Really? Also, did you say that this world is called Suikoden?"

    "That is right. Are you familiar with the game?"

    "Yes. I once played the first game and the second one. A long time ago."

    "Then you must still remember some of it, no?"

    "Just a little bit. I remember that the rune in this world is different from the one coming from another world, right?"

    "Yes. They are different."

    "I see. Can I really have the same power as yours, Isaac?"

    "Of course. You are a family, after all."

    I smile at her and pat her head. A second later, we walked inside the store and saw that it had not changed much. When we are inside the store, Lunaria greets us with a smile.

    "Ah! Sir Isaac, it is nice to meet you once again. What can we do for you?"

    "I want to buy some rune for my companion."

    "Of course. Please follow me. We will go to a private room."

    We follow Lunaria to the room in the back, and when we are inside, Lunaria serves us some tea.

    "So, what can I do for you?"

    "As I said earlier, I want to buy some rune for my family."

    "Of course. Do you want to see the list of runes available?"

    "Of course. Oh! Before that, do you accept gold bars?"

    "Of course, but we need to test it first to check if it was an authentic gold bar. I''m sorry to do this, but a few days ago, someone tried to buy our rune with fake gold."

    "Of course. Here you can check those two gold bars."

    I took out two gold bars weighing 10 kg each. The gold we got from the Shinto Faction in the DxD world.

    "Thank you for your understanding. Please select which rune you want while I give this gold to our appraisal in the back. I will be back in a few seconds."

    "Of course."

    I passed the rune list to Lucina, Elizabeth, Mother, and Queen Dowager. I then begin to read the list of runes on the list as well. The list is shorter than usual, and I think they are more expensive than before? Huh, weird.

    Is there something that makes the price of rune increase? Hmmm.

    I look around the paper and see there is not a single rune I want. I want to buy an offensive rune, but there is nothing. There is only support and defensive runes like the Flowing Rune and the Mother Earth Rune.

    "Isaac, You do know that we did not know about these runes, right?"

    Oh right. I never explain what a rune is to my mother and the others.

    "Then let me explain to you the basics of rune first."

    With that, I explain to them what a rune is and how it works. Then, after a few seconds of explanation, I begin to show them the basic elemental rune.

    "I see. That means the one called the Mother Earth Rune, Flowing Rune, and the Cyclone Rune is the upgraded version of the Earth, Water, and Wind rune."

    "That is right. I don''t know what the base version gives as a passive ability, but the upgraded version gives Lucina and me passive elemental control. Lucina can control Wind and Fire, while I can control water and the control is more powerful when I control the seawater."

    "I see. Hmmm, I guess I will take the Mother Earth Rune. It says here its main use is to give support in healing and support defensive ability."

    "Yes. While there is another offensive spell, the Earth-type rune''s main ability is for support."

    My mother nodded her head and looked pleased with her choice.

    "And what does this Resurrection Rune do, Isaac?"

    Before I could answer Eli''s question, Lunaria gets inside the room and says,

    "A rune containing light magic. Works well against undead monsters, specializes in both healing and offensive magic. It also can resurrect a newly departed person. Beware, however, that it cannot resurrect a person that died from old ages. If you do that, it will not resurrect them, but rather it will turn them into undead."

    "Really? How long the person is dead before I cannot use the rune to resurrect the said person?"

    "30 minutes. You can only use it to resurrect a person that died in less than 30 minutes. You can also only use that spell once every year. So be careful when you use it, don''t want to waste that spell."

    Eli nodded her head before looking back at the paper in front of her. Then, seeing there is no more question, Lunaria looks at me and gives back the gold bar.

    "That is real gold. We are willing to buy it for four hundred thousand Potchs for each gold. Are you satisfied with the price?"

    "Sure."

    "Great! Now, which rune do you want to buy?"

    "Before that, can I ask you the reason why the price of the rune is increasing once again?"

    "Ah, It was because of the Highland who occupied the Greenhill city. Greenhill city is our main supplier of rune orbs, and after the occupation of the highland, they restricted any export of rune orbs. With the city of Radat having been occupied by the Highland, we now did not have any supplier from the outside state."

    Wait, the highlands already occupy the Radat Town? If the canon story is still moving, then the 3rd and 4th highland army company will attack the north window.

    "Is the New State Army already try to retake Radat?"

    "Yes. They have done that and failed two days ago."

    Meaning that they will move out soon. I hope that they will not attack anytime soon because I did not want to get my family involved in this war.

    "Highlander! Highlander marching toward the South Window!"

    Damn you, Murphy.

 Chapter 132 - War of the Three Army

    Before I could run out of the building, my mother took my hand and said,

    "Where do you think you are going?"

    I look at my mother and say.

    "I''m going to help them."

    "This is not your war, Isaac."

    "I know, but there is nothing wrong with fighting to protect the innocent."

    I look my mother right in the eyes while I say that. Finally, after a few seconds of looking at each other, my mother sighs before saying.

    "You are just like your father. Go. However, promise me that you will return."

    "I promise, mother."

    "Then go"

    "Before you say something. No, I did not give these weapons so that you can join me. Please use it to protect the other. I will go out alone and no Lucina. This time I want you to protect the other."

    I use a stern voice when I say it to Lucina. I know her Dwarves blood demands her to come with me to fight the highlander. I cannot let her do that. Not with the other here.

    "Understood"

    "Thank you."

    I equip my armor and look at Lunaria.

    "I''m sorry to ask you this, but can my family stay here for a moment?"

    "Of course. This is the least thing we can do for someone who wants to help even though he did not need to get involved in this mess."

    "Thank you."

    With that being said, I walked out of the Rune Shop.

    |3rd POV|

    Fitcher looked at the cloud in the distance with a frown on his face. It has only been a few days since the highland got attacked by the New State Army, but it looks like it did nothing to delay the attack on the Dunan Castle.

    "By the look of the banner, they are the 3rd division of the Highland Royal Army. However, the size of the army is wrong."

    "There is another banner flying behind the first banner."

    Fitcher tense up and looks to his right. Standing near him is a young man wearing silver armor that matches his long hair. This young man is Isaac.

    "Who are you?"

    "Isaac. Isaac Lionheart."

    Fitcher widens his eyes and looks at the young man from top to bottom. This is the man that helped the New State Army in its early days. He is the reason why there is only a minimum of casualties in the New State Army.

    "Do you know which banner it is?"

    "It was the 4th division."

    "I see. With Kiba Windamier and his son Klaus Windamier, do you think the New State Army can win the fight without any preparation?"

    "No, they can''t."

    "Then we need to alert them."

    "I can''t. I have a responsibility to protect this city."

    That is what most people did not see in Fitcher. He looks like a weak and cowardly person on the outside, but the truth is that he is anything but a coward. Yes, he is weak in physical strength, but he is not a coward.

    He is willing to put his life on the line to protect the city he currently governs. Even though he is only a temporary mayor of South Window, Fitcher still thinks that this city is his responsibility.

    "Then you did not have to worry about it. They will not attack us. They will only place a few hundred or maybe a thousand soldiers to make sure we do not flank them. They cannot risk besieging South Window city with their backs against the New State Army. However, they can show their back to us because we did not have the number that could beat them."

    Fitcher nods his head in understanding. The highlander did not have enough resources to besiege two cities. Especially with Dunan City in their back. The place where the main army of the New State was located.

    "I can see it."

    "Then the only one we need to warn is the Dunan city. I know that they will know about the movement of the Highland army, but it is good to give them a warning earlier."

    Fitcher nods his head before looking at Isaac and says.

    "Then I will leave this city to you, Sir Isaac."

    Isaac choked the water he currently drinks when Fitcher said that. He coughs for a few seconds before saying.

    "What?!?"

    "You are Isaac Lionheart, the person who volunteers in fighting the General of the Highland 4th Division Army, Solon Jhee. You are the one that heals all those people that get injured in the war. You are the one that builds the housing necessary for all the refugees. Even to this day, Lord Riou is still searching for you."

    Isaac looked at Fitcher for a second before sighing. He never thought that Riou was searching for him. He knows that he leaves without saying goodbye, but he never thought that it would impact Riou that badly.

    "Very well. I will protect this city in the name of Lionheart."

    "Thank you."

    "Thank me after the highland is gone. I predict they will arrive here tonight and will make a camp around here. You have a few hours before their scout can notice you. Then, take the fastest horse you can and ride to Dunan."

    "Then before I go, let me announce your presence to the troops."

    "Are you sure you''re leaving them at my command? I''m nothing but a stranger to them."

    Fitcher shakes his head and says.

    "No, they know who you are. Most of them are the people you saved. Even the captain of the city guard is the one you saved in the past."

    "I see"

    "That is why you did not need to worry for them to disobey your order."

    "Then lead the way."

    "This way"

    With that, Fitcher takes Isaac to the barrack, where they are greeted by a soldier that is already ready to go to war. Some of those people widen their eyes when they see Isaac as they still remember the man that saved their life.

    "Men! This is Isaac Lionheart! He will be the one that leads you defending the South Window city. He will be the acting mayor of South Window City for a few days. The reason? I need to tell the New State Army in Dunan castle about the movement of the Highland. The highland scout and army have shot down every bird we sent to them. Because of this, I need five of you to come with me with the fastest horse we have. We will use the mountain route to avoid the highland."

    After saying that, Fitcher points five soldiers to come with him and order the stable boy to get the fastest horses. While some of the soldiers are curious about why Fitcher needs to go telling the news himself, most of them already know the answer.

    The highlanders already try to use the South Window uniform to spread fake news. While not all of them succeed, some of them are. For example, two River City lost a few hundred of her soldiers because of the fake news, and because of this, the only people trusted to deliver key news are well-known people.

    "Sir Isaac, I leave the South Window city at your hand."

    "Leave it to me."

    With that being said, Fitcher and his guard begin to ride to Dunan City.

 Chapter 133 - Miracle

    I looked at the distance and frowned a little. The night has passed, and the highland is already camping in front, not too far away from the South Window. Their army stretched thin to cover the highway to the Dunan city.

    The force the Fitcher leaves to me consists of fifty cavalries, two hundred infantry, and seventy archers. There are also five volunteer mages coming in case we want to attack the highland.

    Sadly, we are outnumbered by their time. The highland leaves one thousand men behind. I don''t know how many mages they leave behind, but I can see a few hundred cavalries in the distance.

    Anyway, I look through the eyes of my summoned creature and see that the New State Army already fights against the Highland, and by the look of it, they are losing. So the ambush they try to do is not really working as much as they thought it would.

    In the canon, Rowd, the general of the 4th army, will retreat when he sees the situation on the battlefield become dire. However, he did not withdraw. Instead, he decided to fight, and right now, the ambush of the new state did not work.

    "Sir Isaac, is the situation getting worse?"

    I look at the captain of the cavalry unit for a second before nodding my head.

    "Yes, by the look of it, they are pushed back by the highland."

    "Should we help them? We can make a surprise attack right now. The army in front of us stretched thin, and they cannot get into formation in time."

    "Hmmm, I don''t think that is necessary. I can teleport us there."

    "But Sir! That will consume all your mana."

    "No. I can do that. However, which location should we appear from? And how many men should we bring?"

    "We did not bring all of our men?"

    "No. I don''t want the army in front of us to know that we are not in the city anymore."

    I look around for a moment before nodding my head.

    "Captain, call as many men and even women who want to volunteer to be the dummy soldier of the South Window... I will explain the situation later. Gather as many people as fast as you can."

    "Yes, sir!"

    I summon Yuka and say.

    "Yuka, can you call Lucina here? I need to tell her something."

    "Of course, master!"

    I nod my head and look at the distance once again. I cannot rush in helping the new state army. For now, I need to make sure the highland does not dare attack the south window.

    Thank you, Sun Tzu, for your wisdom. I need to make sure the highland thinks we are not a threat and think that we will not attack their main army.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    Shu, the New State Army chief strategist, looked at the situation on the battlefield and frowned. This is a few times that his strategy is not working. Shu''s strategy is to create an ambush by sending Ridley and his kobold army inside a forest where they will ambush Kiba, the general of the 3rd army, and possibly make him surrender.

    Shu is counting that Rowd will not get involved in this fight because he is someone that did not want to get his name tainted, and Shu thought that this fight would make him retreat because how the fight is lost and it will taint his good name.

    Sadly, reality likes to kick someone''s expectations right into the trash.

    Rowd did not retreat. He instead charged at the New State Army with a few thousand armies behind him. This isn''t good for him. If they are defeated once again, it will drop the morale of the army.

    While Shu did not believe in miracles, they really need it right now.

    And a miracle they get. Coming from the mountain is the south window soldier charging down to the 4th Highland Army Division. The one that leads the charge? Isaac Lionheart.

    The cavalry unit attacked at the back of the 4th Highland Army Division and created chaos in their formation.

    Isaac swings his spear around and kills as many highlanders as he can. His plan? To regroup with Ridley, who led the kobold army. Isaac wants to heal them and increase their morale.

    Seeing the highland already forming a formation to block Isaac and his cavalry unit, he activated his rune.

    "Summon!"

    A Blue Gate Rune symbol appears above Isaac''s head, and a second later, all his minor summons appear.

    "Attack!"

    With a cry, all the creatures Isaac summon begin to harass the mage unit of the highland army. This is the real reason why Isaac summons his creature. To harass the mage unit and to make his infantry unit safe.

    "Summon!"

    Isaac summons another of his creatures, but this time he summons it from the King''s Road. A second later, a massive centaur-like creature appears from the ground holding a massive lance and shield. In addition, there is a massive bow and quiver behind its back.

    The other creature is a humanoid creature wearing a massive robe that covers the creature''s entire body. The robe is adorned with many jewels and patterns/symbols. This creature holds a staff in its right hand and a book in its left hand.

    "Attack"

    With that order being said, both King''s Knight and King''s Magician begin to unleash their attack at the army in front of them.

    Rowd, seeing the summoned creature attacking his soldier without mercy, decides it is time to bail.

    "Mage! Cast barriers around us! We need to retreat! Mage, cavalry, take the mage with you!"

    Hearing their commander''s order, a dozen of mages around Rowd begin to erect the strongest barrier they can cast before they mount the horse with the cavalry unit. Then, Rowd and his personal unit begin to retreat away from the battlefield without even looking behind.

    Just like that, the fate of the battle has been decided.

 Chapter 134 - Over

    I know it! I should get away when I still have a chance but no¡­. I need to heal up all the people here, and now I get taken away by Viktor, Riou, and Nanami to the meeting room where I see many people, including Kiba Windamier, the former general to the highland.

    I already tell my unit to quickly get to the South Window city after the battle is over. I don''t want the city to be undefended far too long.

    Kiba decides to side with the New State Army after knowing his king, Agares Blight, has been killed by Luca Blight, the king''s son.

    After that news, Kiba and his son Klaus joined up the New State Army, followed by their personal unit of 500 infantry, 200 archers, and 300 cavalries.

    The one inside the room is the general of the New State Army.

    Flik, the Blue Lightning, the General of the Horse Archer unit.

    Viktor, the War Bear, the General of the Infantry unit.

    Teresa, the Former Greenhill mayor and the General of Archer unit.

    The only one that did not in the room is Luc, the Cyclone, the general of the mage unit. Other than general, there are also many important people here. Ridley, the commander of the Kobold unit. Fitcher, the acting mayor of South Window city. Freed Yamamoto, the captain of the hit and run unit. Apple, the ?ssistance strategist, and lastly, Shu, the Chief strategist of the New State Army.

    "Good, now we are here. Apple, please tell us how many casualties we have?"

    Apple, a young woman wearing light yellow clothes, has brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses, and walks forward and says.

    "We lose about three thousand and seven hundred of our men, and most of them are coming from the infantry unit. If not for Sir Isaac, who immediately uses his magic and rune, there will be more people dying in battle."

    "The second highest unit that gets hit from the battle is the Mage unit. They need to retreat to the castle after they fight against the General Kiba unit."

    Kiba did not look apologetic and even looked proud that his unit can punch through the formation to reach the mage unit placed in the back.

    "If not for the South Window''s Army reinforcement, we will be defeated."

    "Thank you, Apple. This victory is a pyrrhic one. If not for the reinforcement, we will be defeated, as Apple said. Let us see what the problem is with our army. The first problem is equipment. The Highland army has superior equipment. They have superior armor, swords, and even their horses are more superior."

    That is true. Most of Kiba''s army is wearing full plate armor, and their horse is faster and more sturdy. It did not die when it got pierced by the pike and spear. We are rather lucky to face the 4th Highland Royal Army company rather than Kiba and his army.

    The 4th company does not specialize in defensive battles and focuses more on hit and run tactics. Because of this, their armor is not too sturdy, so they can get the mobility they need to do the Hit and Run tactic.

    "That is easy to say, Shu."

    I look at Viktor, who looks at Shu right in the eyes.

    "We did not have the resources. Remember that the highlands close all of our trade routes. Tinto is our main supplier, and right now, they have isolated themselves for an unknown reason. They close up their trade and border. Hell, they did not even answer our letter."

    "Sadly, that is true¡­ Haaaa¡­ It looks like we did not have a way to get ourselves a massive amount of iron. The only iron mine is the one in the southern side of South Window city."

    Shu rubs his head for a few seconds before saying.

    "Forget it. We will think about something else. Is there anything we should improve in our army?"

    "Medic and healer."

    The other looks at me after I say that.

    "There is not a single healer and medic in each unit. Put at least one healing rune user in each unit. A small number of armies can win against a massive army if they can keep fighting. The healer will do that for you."

    I know about that because I do that when I fight against the Marquis Blackbriar. With my continuous use of Rain of Kindness, my army can stand against the charge coming at it.

    "That is good advice. I will talk to a few people who have an adept experience using a healing rune and place them in the unit of an army."

    The others nod their head at my suggestion, and even Apple decided to write it down. Are they never thought to get a healer inside their army? Or is a healer a rare individual in this world? Then that is just plain stupid.

    ~One hour later~

    Just like my mother said, I did not need to get involved with the war here. While I was willing to help Riou and co from time to time, I did not want to commit to it indefinitely. War takes time and focus.

    I will maybe join in the last battle against the Highland but for now? No, I rather not be tied into an army.

    When I stepped inside the South Window, I was greeted by Ginerva, who headbutted me right in the stomach.

    "You are back!"

    "Of course, I promise, right?"

    "En!"

    "Where is the other? They are inside the inn! Mother doing her tea party!"

    "Really? And why are you here? You did not join your mother''s tea party?"

    "I''m bored and¡­ And¡­ I want to test my new rune!"

    "Really? What is it called?"

    "It is called Mother Earth Rune!"

    "Oh! That is a good rune."

    I give her a head pat.

    "Hehehehe"

    I look to my left and see Lucina and Eli walk toward me. I hug both of them and say.

    "I''m back, dear."

    "Welcome back"

 Chapter 135 - Get Back

    "You know, you should not make this a habit, Sir Isaac."

    I smile a little at what Shu said. After escaping from Dunan castle once again, Riou and his companion decide to track me down, and the next morning they appear inside the inn where my family and I are staying.

    "Please come inside. We can have a conversation inside."

    Riou, Nanami, Shu, Viktor, Flik, and Fitcher walk inside the Inn. The owner of the inn bowed her head at Riou before serving us some tea. I sit down next to Lucina and Eli while Riou and his companion sit down in front of me.

    "Let me introduce you to my family. This is my wife, Lucina Lionheart¡­."

    "Greeting"

    "This one is also my wife, Elizabeth Lionheart..."

    "It is nice to meet you."

    "Next to Elizabeth is my little sister, Ginerva."

    "Hai!"

    "Next to her is my mother, Eveline Lionheart."

    "Good morning"

    "Next to my mother is my grandmother-in-law, Valerie Gideon von Vulux."

    "Greetings"

    After introducing my family, I look at Riou and co before saying.

    "So! What can I do for you?"

    Shu looked at me for a few seconds before saying.

    "To be honest, the reason why we came here is to invite you to join the New State Army, but it looks like you already have your answer. However, for the sake of conversation, I will ask it anyway. Sir Isaac, will you join the New State Army?"

    "Sadly, I can''t. As you can see, I have family, and I''m on vacation. We want to explore the world, and we cannot attach ourselves to your faction because of this. However, I will try to help you as much as I can."

    I mean that I will help them when my family is not coming with me.

    "Very well. That is all I want to ask, and you even give us more. You give us foundation money for our people, you heal our people, and now you help us when we are cornered. As the chief strategist of the New State Army, I thank you."

    Shu, Riou, Nanami, Apple, Viktor, and Flik bow their heads to me.

    "Please raise your head. It was nothing. You did not need to bow your head to me."

    "No. What you did is something we cannot payback. You save many lives with your magic and rune. You save the future of the people from the highland. You are the savior of the people, and we are grateful for what you did. Once again, thank you!"

    I''m not good at this.

    "Please raise your head. I did what I needed to do. I''m happy to help you guys. So please, raise your head. Let us enjoy some tea, shall we?"

    All of them raise their head, and just in time for the inn owner to come back, bringing us some tea to enjoy.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Shu POV|

    "That is really a shame."

    "What is it?"

    I look at Lord Riou and say.

    "It is a shame that Sir Isaac did not agree to join our faction."

    "He has his own family, Shu. We cannot force him to join."

    "I guess you are right."

    However, I cannot dismiss how Sir Isaac can boost the overall power of the New State Army. His presence alone can boost morale for all people inside the army. If Lord Riou is the beacon that gives hope for the future, Sir Isaac is the beacon of hope on the battlefield.

    His bizarre magic and his usage of the rune are enough to boost the morale of the army. He is also known as a kind and benevolent person to the people of South Window. If they can recruit him, the New State Army will be stronger.

    "Haaaa¡­ Now we need to think about a new alliance. While we have enough army to go toe to toe against one of the Highland''s Army companies, we still cannot do a frontal attack against them."

    "Do you have any idea which one we should ask for a military alliance?"

    "That is the thing. I don''t know. The Tinto Republic isolated themselves for unknown reasons. The Grassland region is too divided for us to ask for help. They will not risk being attacked by the other tribes to lend their troops to us. The Harmonian Holy Kingdom is too arrogant to send their so-called holy army to aid us, the heretic. The only one I can think of willing to help us is the Toran Republic. However, I did not know how to talk to them."

    There is also the problem that they just finished fighting for their own freedom from the Tyrannical rule of the Scarlet Moon Empire.

    "You can ask us to do it, you know?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "You do remember that Flik and I are former members of the Toran Liberation Army, right?"

    Ah. I completely forgot about that. Viktor and Flik are the generals in the wars between the Liberation Army and the Scarlet Moon Empire.

    "Then, can you go to the Toran Republic and ask them for this alliance?"

    "Of course. However, before we go, I need to take something from the castle, and I am also hungry."

    "You are always hungry, Viktor."

    "Shut up, Flik"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "I give you my blessing."

    "Pardon me?"

    "I give you my blessing. I know you, Isaac. I know you will help them in this war when we are not coming with you. That''s why I give you my blessing. Just come back to me in one piece. That is all I ask from you."

    I look at my mother with my mouth wide open.

    "Am I really that predictable?"

    "I''m your mother, dear. A mother knows their children the best. You cannot hide anything from us."

    "I see¡­ Yes, I want to help them in this war in the future."

    "And I give you my blessing."

    "Thank you. Now come on, we should get back to my pocket dimension. I don''t think I can hold back Gin Gin any longer. She is already vibrating on the chair and can not wait any longer to try her new rune."

    I look at Ginerva, who vibrates on the chair like a child in a sugar rush being held on the chair. My mother chuckled a little before nodding her head and said.

    "Yes, let us return back. I think Ophis is also uncomfortable sitting around the crowd."

    I look to the side and see Ophis eating her cookies while being petted by Queen Dowager. While sitting on my Grandmother-in-Law ??p, I can see her grimacing when a loud voice comes from the construction site near the inn.

    "Yeah, let''s go."

    I check out from the Inn and walk out the South Window City before creating a magic circle underneath my companion and me.. A second later, we arrive in front of the portal to my pocket dimension.

 Chapter 136 - Stay

    "Good. Remember to activate your rune; you need to say its spell name. While you can do it silently, it will not be as effective as saying its name. Watch."

    I point my finger at the tree next to me and activate the twinkling star. Instead of my usual two dozen lasers of death, there are only ten of them. While they have the same power, the amount of lasers of doom released is reduced by more than half.

    "Now watch if I invoke its name. Twinkling Star!"

    After I said that, the tree got obliterated by my spell.

    "As you can see. Name matters when activating the spell you want to use. That is why in the Suikoden world, a Silent spell is really annoying for the mage. Now you try. I already conjure a training dummy for you."

    "Yes."

    "Okay~"

    Eli and Ginerva walk forward and begin to activate their rune. Ginerva has the rune called Mother Earth Rune, the upgraded version of your regulated Earth Rune. This rune is perfect for support and offensive. Its increased defense buff is handy both for the user and the one receiving that buff.

    Elizabeth, on the other hand, takes the Thunder Rune. Thunder rune is the upgraded version of the Lightning rune. If Mother Earth Rune is a support with a little bit of offensive rune, Thunder rune is a full offensive rune.

    If Fire and Rage rune consist of AOE attack, Lightning and Thunder rune is the rune for a single unit attack.

    "Vengeful Child!"

    Ginerva is the first one to activate her spell. However, instead of attacking the training dummy, I conjured five swords made of stone appear around Eli and disappear after a few seconds of circling her.

    "Gin Gin, what is this spell?"

    "Um, it says that it will protect me or my ally from any magical spell one time. Not only that, but it also reflects it back to the caster and doubles it."

    "Hmmm. Eli, do you mind if I test it?"

    Eli shakes her head and says.

    "No. Go ahead."

    I nod my head and silently cast expelliarmus to her, but instead of her getting thrown away, I feel something hit me right in the ?h?st, and the next thing I know, I''m soaring through the air.

    "Big Brother!"

    "Isaac!"

    I sit down on the ground and shake my head. I can feel that force. Even though I did not put it all into that spell, I can still feel it¡ªwhat a frightening spell. I don''t think it will work against a non-direct spell-like my Twinkling star. While I''m the one casting it, it did not come from me. I think that is how it works, but I did not want to test it.

    It was too risky.

    "Are you okay?!?"

    "Are you alright?"

    "I''m doing fine. Lucky for me, it was just an Expelliarmus spell rather than a lethal spell. Anyway, your spell is working great. Good job!"

    "Hehehehe~"

    "Now, Eli. It is your turn."

    Eli nods her head and activates her rune.

    "Rainstorm!"

    After she said that, I could see the cloud above our head begin to darken, and after a few seconds, a bolt of lightning struck the training dummy I created earlier. After striking the training dummy, the cloud began to change into its normal state.

    "Woah! Big sis Eli is so cool! You are like, ''I choose you,'' then Woosh and then Kaboom!"

    I chuckle at what my sister said. She has a unique way of describing something. I walk toward my sister and pat her before saying.

    "That is really good, Eli. Are you good? Your rune did not use your mana reserve, right?"

    "No. Not at all. I was inquisitive how the rune did not use my mana."

    "The runes of this world are¡­ unique. The True Rune is considered the Gods of this world, and the rune we use is the descendant of that said rune. Your thunder rune is the descendant of the True Lightning Rune, is the one that governs lightning and the atmosphere of the world. Mother Earth Rune is the descendant of the True Earth Rune, the rune that governs over the earth and the plants. Because the rune we use is the descendant of the Gods, they have their own energy we can use."

    "I see. If this rune is the descendant of the True Rune, why can we use it? The True Rune will be mad at us, no?"

    "Well, they are not exactly the descendants of the True Rune. They are more of a crystal formed from the energy of the True Rune. Only a few runes directly come from the cracked pieces of the True Rune like my Star and Darkness rune."

    "I see."

    "Even then, it was like not even one percent of the power of the True Rune."

    "Wait. Wait. Wait. You tell me that your Darkness Rune that can summon the First Grim Reaper of our world is not one percent of its parent power?"

    "Yes. Soul Eater rune is a world-breaking rune. It can kill the universe if it wants to. While its name is Soul Eater rune, it governs life and death. It can create life as much as it can bring death to the other."

    "That is¡­"

    "Broken? Yeah. At least, that is what I get from asking the people of the Suikoden world. The game did not really tell us how powerful True Rune is, but they imply that True Rune can destroy the world at the very least. That alone makes them a very powerful rune, no?"

    "That is¡­ Yeah, that is very powerful."

    "Yup. Anyway, let us continue our training, shall we?"

    ~Three hours later~

    "For today dinner is Sunday Roast. A Roasted Beef, Roasted potato, Yorkshire pudding, Peas, Baby Carrot, and a Gravy. Please enjoy."

    For today''s dinner, I really want to eat some English dinner dishes. At first, I wanted to make a full English breakfast this morning, but it looked like my mother, and my Grandmother-in-Law did not want something heavy, and a Full English Breakfast is anything but light breakfast.

    I smile a little when I see others enjoying my cooking. After we finished eating, we decided to go to the living room to have some family time together.

    "Isaac, where will we go next?"

    I look at Eli and say.

    "I don''t really know. Do you have something in mind?"

    "Hmmm. How about staying here? We did not need to go to another world to have a vacation, right? And I think others agree with me."

    "Very well. I guess we can stay here and have our vacation here.. I also want to see the other island across the sea."

 Chapter 137 - Plot

    I put down my Quill and stretch my body. It has been a month since I took my family to the other world and explored my pocket dimension. This time I decided to explore further. I fly past the Azkaban clone and arrive on a small island.

    The island is filled with monsters and wild animals. Not only monsters and wild animals, but I also can find a few valuable herbs that can be used as ingredients for potions.

    Other than that? There is nothing else.

    We spend our time in pocket dimension training, eating, and generally have a pleasant time: Eli and Ginerva training with their rune and their close combat fight.

    And I proudly say that both of them are growing at tremendous speed. They now can fight with both Lucina and me to a standstill for a few minutes.

    I shake my head and sit down once again. The north is still growing and prospering. The population has increased, and because of this, the army is also growing. The north has always been the less populous region of the Vulux Kingdom.

    The north is about the size of Germany, maybe a little bit bigger, but the population was around seven hundred thousand people when I first reincarnated into this world. However, right now, the population has grown to more than 1.6 million souls. It was more than half the original number.

    With the population boom, we now can increase our standing army. Now the north has around fifty thousand troops ready to be deployed and another thirty thousand currently in the army camp being trained.

    I can also call the levy, but I rather not use them. I only call the levies when there is an emergency.

    The only problem we currently have is the pirates. The pirates get bolder and bolder. Our navy already destroyed many of the pirates, but they keep coming as if they were hydra. Cut one head the other will appear.

    We already lost five ships to those pirates. I already ordered another dozen or so ships being built, but I don''t think the pirate will be stopped any time soon. I already ordered Richard to search the pirate headquarters, and when he gets the location, I will destroy it myself.

    "My lord"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear Richard calling me. I look up and see Richard standing in front of me before saying.

    "What is it, Richard?"

    "It is time for lunch, my lord."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Phineas Frederick POV|

    "Are you sure about this, Lord Phineas?"

    "Of course, your majesty."

    I look at the young king in front of me with a serious expression. I need to persuade him to join my plan. My plan was to conquer the north and take all their riches. My agent already created false evidence that the north is rebelling against the crown.

    After my plan of robbing the north failed, I needed to use another way to get all the riches the north had, and that way is through war. However, I know that I cannot beat the Lionheart family alone. That is why I need the royalty to get involved in this matter.

    Suppose the royal family declares the Lionheart Family as a traitor, all of the nobles need to gather their banner and attack the north. However, I still have one obstacle: Duke Lampert Gideon von Vesper.

    "No. That is the most foolish thing I ever heard. The north is rebelling? Don''t make me laugh. From the first time the Vulux kingdom was founded, the north is the only one never to rebel against the north, and you want to tell me they want to rebel now? No. They will never do that."

    "Then why are they increasing the food price five times the original?!?"

    "So what? That price is still lower than what the other merchants sell. Don''t tell me you forget about what you did to the northern noble not too long ago? You sell them your food twenty times the market price. Don''t be a hypocrite."

    I grit my teeth and look at the young king before saying.

    "Your highness, please think about it. You get control over the most fertile land in the Vulux kingdom. Think about the profit you can get from selling all those grains and other food to other countries. Think about it."

    "Oh! That is why you decide to declare the north as a traitor, huh? To take their land for yourself?"

    I ignore the old bastard and continue to look at the young king.

    "Think about it. The glory, the riches, and the honor you will get from attacking the north. Even your father did not trust the north, and my agent said that the northern agent poisons your father."

    Wrong. It was my agent who poisoned the king so I could get a grip on the young king. With my daughter as his fiancee and soon to be Queen, I will get myself a throne I always dream of.

    "Think of this war as a righteous vengeance for your father''s death. Your name will be immortalized through history, and the Vulux kingdom will prosper once again, and this time it is under your rule."

    I ignore the old Marshall expression that looks at me as if I''m an idiot and continue to look at the king right in the eyes. I hold my victorious smirk when I see the king nodded his head and say.

    "Very well. Lionheart Duchy is a traitor to the crown. They need to answer their crime. Deliver this news to all lords and tell them to raise their banner. Grand Marshall, I declare a royal decree that the North is a traitor, and I need you to mobilize all your army in your possession."

    The old marshall got up from his chair and walked toward me before saying.

    "I hope you know what you get ourselves into. You did not kick a sleeping lion and expecting no get eaten by the lion."

    I ignore him as I know that the north cannot fight against the full power of the Vulux Kingdom. The north will fall, and I will get what is supposed to be mine. Let the Frederick Family be immortalized in the history book as the Conqueror of the Lion.. Let the eagle eat the lion.

 Chapter 138 - Preparation

    |3rd POV|

    Sierra smiles a little at her ladies serving the men coming to her establishment. She is a founder and the owner of all p???sur? houses in the north. Sierra, or the Red Lady as people call her, is one of the most important people in the north.

    Not only for her newly acquired wealth but also for her loyalty to the Lionheart family. She is one of the few people that the Lionheart family has rescued. She and her first group of women were beggars in the street, but Isaac Lionheart rescued them.

    They are being fed, taught how to write and read, and lastly, given a job. It was when Isaac was around seven. He is nothing but a young cub extending his hand to a group of beggars, but he got a loyal individual without knowing.

    Sierra and her group are working with Richard, the Steel Butler, giving him the information they can get. Not only that, but Sierra''s place also became the headquarters to Richard''s shadow.

    Her place is Richard''s place. That is why when she hears that Richard is coming to her place personally, she will be the one serving the old butler. Sierra looks over her clothes once again when she sees Richard walk inside her place.

    "Welcome to Dark Rose. What can I do for you, Sir Richard."

    Sierra''s smile froze when she saw Richard''s expression. Every time Richard comes to her establishment, they will usually play with each other. Teasing with each other. However, what Sierra sees in front of her is not Richard but rather the most dangerous individual in the north. The Left Hand of the Lionheart Family. The Black Lion. The Steel Butler. The Old Viper.

    And that makes her afraid. The only time she saw Richard with that blank expression was when the Lionheart family was being mocked by the southern noble. The result? That family went extinct.

    "Sierra¡­"

    Hearing her name being called up, Sierra immediately kneels in front of the Steel Butler.

    "Yes!"

    "I need some of your ladies to do some work for me."

    "Of course!"

    "I need your ladies in the south to do some sabotage. I want them to burn up every food supply the southern nobles have. Every single one of them. However, make sure they did not get captured. Prioritize their safety more than anything."

    Sierra looks at the Steel Butler and says,

    "Understood. However, if you did not mind me asking, can you tell us the reason why we do this?"

    "I did not mind. The King has gone mental and declares the Lionheart family as traitors and invites all the northern nobles to declare war against the Lionheart family."

    "What?!?"

    Sierra shouted when she heard the news. Do they think the Lionheart family as traitors? No! Never!

    "How is the reaction of the other Northern Noble? Do they declare themselves for the king? Or are they declaring their loyalty to the Lionheart family?"

    "They declare their loyalty to the Lionheart family. All of them are already calling their banners, and they are marching here."

    Sierra nods her head and releases a relief breath. She already knows that the northern noble will declare their loyalty to the Lionheart family but hearing it directly makes her release a relief breath.

    "Will all the southern nobles come to us?"

    "No. Lucky for us, no. The former Grandmarshall of the kingdom, Duke Lampert Gideon von Vesper, declared neutrality in this war. In his infinite wisdom, the king declared Duke Lampert Gideon von Vesper as a traitor and took his title of Grandmarshall and gave it to Duke Phineas Frederick."

    "Then how is the fate of the Old Marshall?"

    "Right now, he calls his banner to defend his land. Out of the Twelve Vassals of the Vesper family, only five remain loyal to the old Duke and declare their loyalty to the old Duke. Because being declared as another traitor, the Vesper family joined our cause."

    "That is good, right?"

    "Good and bad. Good because we just gained a strong ally. Bad because they are in a bad position. If they are defeated, the morale of our men will be dropped like a stone being thrown into the sky, and then fall to the ground. We cannot have that. We need to keep morale high by punching through the south and get closer to the Vesper family. Or we can try to keep the Vesper family standing tall by providing them with a steady food supply."

    "I see. Do you need an extra hand providing them with a food supply?"

    "No. Let it be my shadow job to do so. I need you and your ladies to do the sabotage."

    "Understood, sir. I will inform my ladies to do it immediately."

    "Good. Also, I need your ladies to keep an eye on the north. My men will be busy taking care of the incoming army, and I need you to keep an eye on the north for me."

    "Understood, Sir"

    Richard nods his head and walks away from the brothel, leaving Sierra. When she sees Richard is gone, Sierra immediately walks to her desk and begins to write a letter. She knows that she will have a busy day ahead of her.

    On the other side of the continent, more specifically in the northern continent. In the kingdom called Lazuli kingdom. Inside the blue castle where the Royalty of Lazuli lived, and right now, all of the members of the Lazuli family have a meeting.

    "The reason why I call you here is to inform you that I will be leading our army."

    "Leading an army? Is a monster approaching, dear?"

    Valerie looked at her husband with a confused expression. The only time Johannes leads an army is when a monster wave is happening.

    "No. Our allies need our help."

    Johannes gives a letter he got from the Lionheart family to his wife. Valerie read the letter with a grim expression before passing it to Jonathan and Raina for them to read.

    "I see. However, there is no asking for help in the letter, dear."

    "I know, but it is our duty to help them like they are helping us. Don''t forget that the only reason why we still survive is that they sent a huge amount of food to our kingdom for free."

    "I know, dear¡­ But¡­."

    "I know. I know what you want to say, but you know that I cannot stay here while our ally is being branded as a traitor even though they are the kindest people and the most loyal."

    "Yes, I know. Haaaa¡­.. It looks like I cannot make you stay, huh?"

    "No. You can''t."

    Valerie looked at her husband with a sad expression before saying.

    "Then I will not stop you. How many soldiers will you bring?"

    "I will bring ten thousand men with me and leave two thousand men here."

    "Very well. I will tell the captain to prepare the men."

    "Thank you."

    Johannes nods his head and looks at his son and daughter.

    "Jonathan. I will be leaving Lazuli kingdom in your hand. Lead it as if it was your own son. Protect it while I''m away."

    "I will, father."

    "Good. Raina, I will leave this kingdom in both your hands. Help your brother in taking care of the kingdom."

    "I will, father."

    Johannes nods his head and smiles at his family. He has a small family, but he is proud of his family. He knows that even if he perishes in the battle, his kingdom is in good hands.

 Chapter 139 - First Battle

    |3rd POV|

    Phineas Frederick, the Grandmarshall of Vulux Kingdom, looks at a map in front of him and thinks about attacking the north. He knows that the north is surrounded by natural fortresses, from the mountain to the forest.

    The neck is filled with thick forest covering the northern army from view, making it a perfect place to ambush their enemy.

    There is also the Bloody Gate. A perfect place to defend against the aggressor. The only place they can use to attack the north is from the east using a ship. However, even using a ship would be a hard fight because the north has increased their naval power, but there is also a problem with the weather.

    It is a well-known fact that the northern sea is chaotic. The northern wind is something that many southern sailors fear because of how unpredictable that wind is. However, Phineas knows that the sea is the only way to get into the north.

    "How many ships do we have?"

    "We have around one hundred and fifty-seven ships. Sadly, only thirty ships are ready to be used right away. The other ship is in the other port and too far away from our current location."

    Phineas and Seventy thousand army of the Vulux Kingdom is in Faitun County, ten days away from the northern territory. Right now, they are camping in Faitun County while waiting for the rest of the army to gather at one point.

    However, it will take a long time before all the army gathers at one point. The reason? Their food supply. It always gets harassed by an unknown attacker. Some of them get burned, some of them get stolen, and many of them mysteriously disappear.

    Because of this, the army has a hard time moving away from their territory and rally to where Phineas is located.

    "Please tell me the other ship can move out."

    "Sadly no. They have the same problem as the army. Their food supply mysteriously disappears or is destroyed by an unknown culprit. There is also an accident of the ship being burned down. Lucky for us, it did not successfully burn the ship down."

    "Meaning that the army is used to guard their food and ship."

    "That is right."

    "Tch"

    Phineas releases a frustrated breath and scratches his head. He knows that it was the northern agent that caused the chaos. He knows that the culprit behind all this chaos is the Left Hand of the Lionheart family. The spymaster of the lionheart family is a thorn in his side that he cannot defeat.

    He thought that by making an all-out war, Phineas could get away from the northern spymaster. Sadly for him, even with all-out war is not enough for Richard to stop hindering the south from getting what they want.

    Divide and Conquer.

    That is the plan Isaac asks Richard to do. Prevent the Vulux Kingdom from rallying at one place. That is the divide. When their number is low, attack them with all you got before they could gather their force. That is the Conquer.

    And that is what Isaac wants to do.

    "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

    In the middle of the night, Isaac and twenty thousand troops consisting of the elite Northern Army came down from the mountain, charging toward the camp of the Frederick army. After sending Yuka to scout out the movement of the southern army, He created a massive teleportation magic circle and teleported Isaac and his army to the southern camp.

    It was a gamble. Isaac knows that the Frederick family is already hiring a group of magicians from the Tower of Magic. He needs to attack Phineas and his army before the magician comes to their aid.

    He needs all the advantages he can get in this war.

    Before the magician comes and creates a barrier around their camp, Isaac needs to make a surprise attack, and he is doing it now. With the location of the enemy camp inside his mind, Isaac created a massive magic circle and teleported all of his armies to the place where the enemy could not see them.

    That is why Isaac teleported his army into the mountain near the camp. However, before he teleported his army, Isaac created a massive fog around the mountain to cover his army arrival.

    "Enemy?!? Now?!? How?!?"

    Phineas panicked at the surprise attack and quickly ran toward his weapon and armor. His right-hand man already runs outside to command the army, leaving Phineas busy wearing his armor. It takes him a minute to put on his armor and run out of his tent.

    When Phineas gets outside of his tent, the only thing he sees is chaos. Fire burns up the tent, and people run around either to run away from the enemy or the enemy slaughtering his army.

    "My lord!"

    Phineas looks to the right and sees his right-hand man running toward him.

    "Wilhelm! Tell me the situation!"

    "Bad, my lord. The enemy surrounded us from all sides. They are coming from all directions, and our army did not have enough time to react."

    "Then what are you waiting for?!? It is time to rally. Blow the war horn! Rally the army to me!"

    "Yes"

    Hearing the war horn, a few captains of the army shouted.

    "Rally! Rally to the lord!"

    Ten thousand men consisting of Knight, Spearmen, and Archers rally to the lord and create a formation to defend against the attacker in a few minutes.

    Isaac, seeing the battlefield has been shifted, shouted.

    "Rally! Rally!"

    Isaac is already in enemy territory, and he needs to rally his army and do another charge. With that order being shouted out, Isaac begins galloping away from the battlefield. True to his sight Phineas already created a formation and already killed some of Isaac''s army.

    After gathering at one place, Isaac looked at the formation in front of him before saying.

    "Archer! Fire! Magician! Accelerates!"

    The cavalry takes out the bow from their back and begins to fire their arrow toward the surrounded enemy in front of them. While the archer is firing their arrow, the magician behind them casts their spell and accelerates the arrow making it fly faster and increase its penetration.

    "Twinkling Star!"

    Isaac did not stay idle. He activates his rune and fires a laser of doom toward Phineas and his army.

    On the other side of the battlefield is Phineas taking cover behind a shield wall that tries to protect them from the bombardment. However, he knew that it was useless as he could hear the screaming of his army.

    Phineas grit his teeth as he knows that he and his army cannot survive if they do not do anything. He looks at his right-hand man and says.

    "We need to retreat! We cannot stay here any longer."

    "Yes, my lord. I will hold them off. You should get away from this, my lord."

    "Thank you, Wilhelm. It is an honor to fight alongside you."

    "It is my honor, my lord."

    Wilhelm nods his head and orders his men to create a shield wall to block the arrow and let Phineas run away. When they open up the shield to let Phineas run away, they see something out of a nightmare.

    They see a massive centaur-like creature wearing massive armor and holding a massive lance charging down the mountain. Their number is one thousand, and they are the creature Isaac summoned using his Pale Gate Rune. They only last for a few hours, but it was enough to slaughter the army in front of them.

    While Phineas runs toward the forest, Isaac follows him like a grim reaper ready to harvest his soul. When Isaac reaches Phineas, Isaac stabs him right through his ?h?st. Phineas looks up and sees the dreaded silver hair.

    "You¡­ Monster¡­."

    "Me? A monster? Then what about you? You decide to attack us and declare us as a traitor. If I''m a monster, then what about you?"

    Without letting Phineas say more things, Isaac pulls out his spear and swings his spear. A second later, Phineas''s head falls to the ground.

    Seeing the head fall down, Daniel Byron shouted.

    "The Grandmarshall is dead! The Grandmarshall is dead!"

    With that declaration, the battle is over. The rest of Frederick''s army put down their weapons and surrendered. This is the first win for the Lionheart Duchy, and it was the heavy blow the Vulux Kingdom took as they just lost their Grandmarshall in the first battle.

    What matters worse for the Vulux kingdom is that they did not know the full strength of the Lionheart Duchy because all the witnesses that see Isaac summon have been captured or killed, and they have been taken to the dungeon in the Sea Dragon City.

 Chapter 140 - Aftermath

    |3rd POV|

    Chaos. That is the situation in the Royal Palace right now. When the news of their Grand Marshall is dead from the first battle is a heavy blow to the morale of the Royal army. A Grand Marshall is not just the General that leads the army.

    Grand Marshall is the head of the army. If the head has been cut off, the rest of the body cannot function. That is what is happening to the Vulux Royal army. With the death of their new Grand Marshall, the army cannot do anything effectively.

    In the span of a month after the death of Phineas Frederick, Isaac and his army already occupied five castles.

    The north spread their army and attacked five castles at the same time. Ruby City, Black Lake City, Gajir City, Likar City, and Blue Moon City have fallen to the north, and the news of the noble that ruled those cities have been executed, dropping the morale even more.

    With those five cities falling to the north, Balkian Count has fallen and become extinct. With the fall of Blue Moon City, Isaac has executed all the Balkian family members.

    "What do we do now? Not only is the north pushing to the south at a fast pace, but we also cannot defeat the Vesper family."

    Orson Ainsworth von Vulux, the current king of the Vulux kingdom, looks at his advisor.

    "We should appoint a new Grand Marshall, your highness. While the other lord can hold the marching northern army right now, it will not last forever. We need to send our army north as fast as we can. Lucky for us, the magician from the Tower of Magic already arrived. We can ask them to support our army and fortify the important city."

    "Oh? The magician has arrived? How many of them?"

    "We successfully secured thirty magicians. Twenty of them are Master Magicians. Seven Grandmaster Magicians and Three Arch Mages."

    "Hmmm, good. Do you think all those magicians can defeat the Silver Lion?"

    "Of course! Even though the Silver Lion is a powerful magician, he is nothing but a single individual. Not only that, two out three Archmages we hired are summoners."

    Orson lit up at the mention of a summoner. A summoner is a powerhouse that can fight against an army, especially if the said summoner is an Archmage. This is why Orson thought they had a chance to fight against Isaac''s Silver Lion'' Lionheart.

    "Good! Good! Where are they right now?"

    "They are in the guest room right now, your highness."

    "Good. Take care of them with kindness. We need their help in defeating the Silver Lion. Give them whatever they want. Tell them that if they can kill the Silver Lion, I will give them whatever they want."

    "Of course, your highness."

    Right now, he is creating an anti teleportation barrier around his new land. Isaac did not want the enemy using his tactic against him after hearing a report saying that the Vulux Kingdom decided to hire a magician.

    Not only that, but he is also busy giving some food to the people of Greenfield county. The previous lord decided to take all the food for himself and did not give any food to the commoner. This is one of the reasons why he can take all the cities in Greenfield county with ease.

    Richard and his shadow spread a rumor saying that the lord will kill every peasant in every city when the northern army begins besieging the city. Richard also spreads a rumor that says every city occupied by the northern army will be given some food from the north, and they will be treated with kindness instead of cruelty.

    It did not take a long time for the citizens of the five cities to rebel and let Isaac and his army get inside. Of course, Isaac fulfilled his ''promise'' of giving food to the citizens of the five cities. He is fortunate to have so much grain inside the warehouse that he can spare.

    By doing this, not only Isaac gets himself a loyal citizen but also a new ally. Many knights are forced to fight for the Balkian family without pay, and the only reason they fight for the Balkian family is that they promise to give them some food.

    By giving food to the people of Greenfield county, the knight did not have any reason to stay loyal to the tyrant lord.

    A few thousand former knights of the Balkian family joined the northern army.

    "That is done."

    "Here is a towel, my lord."

    "Thank you."

    Isaac takes the towel given to him by his guard and begins to wipe the sweat from his face. He just finished creating an anti-teleportation barrier around Greenfield county. While an anti-teleportation barrier is easy to make, the size of the barrier is the problem as it takes more than half of his mana reserve.

    Greenfield county is the size of Cyprus if compared to the county on the Earth.

    Cyprus is not the biggest country, but it is still big. Because of this, it takes more than half of Isaac''s mana reserve to create a barrier around Greenfield county.

    "How are the people in the Blue Moon city?"

    "They are working hard in the field you blessed, my lord."

    Blessed land. That is what the people of Greenfield county call the land Isaac ''blessed'' with the power of Green Magic. The people of Greenfield county have been experiencing the biggest famine they ever experienced.

    So when their new lord comes not only to give them food but also to make their land able to grow food once again, they see him as a divine spirit. It also cannot be helped that Isaac sees them as his fellow humans, not a tool that can be thrown away when they are useless to him.

    "Please don''t call it blessed land. I just use my magic to make it fertile once again."

    "However, the people did not see it like that, my lord. They see it as the land you blessed."

    "Haaaaa¡­ Anyway! Is there any problem with the people? Is there any crime that we need to take care of?"

    "There is a group of people trying to steal the food inside the warehouse, but it has been taken care of by the knights."

    "Hmmm¡­ I think I should set up a barrier around the warehouse just in case. Is there anything else?"

    "There is none, my lord. The mayor you appointed is working hard to meet your expectations."

    Isaac sighs tiredly at the mention of the mayor working hard to meet his expectations. While he did not mind the adoration of his people, some of them are too much for him. He really hopes that the mayor of Blue Moon City did not work himself to death.

    "Very well. Is there any news about the other city?"

    "Yes, my lord. This letter just arrived not too long ago. I''m sorry for holding this letter. You look so focused on the barrier I thought that holding this letter for a while. Don''t worry. I did not open it up, my lord."

    Isaac takes the letter and begins to read it. The letter is from Lucina, who led a few thousand of the northern army to attack Likar city. The letter says that the Likar city has smoothly become a loyal citizen of the Lionheart Duchy.

    The letter also says that the field Isaac makes fertile has already been worked by the people. The reconstruction of the Likar City wall is also going smoothly.

    Likar city is one of the three cities that need to be attacked from the outside. The reason is that the rebellion inside the city did not go as smoothly as the other city; because of this, Lucina needed to use her Rune to destroy a portion of the wall and lead the army to breach it.

    "Let us go back. The sun is setting down, and I''m hungry."

    "Of course, my lord."

    After saying that, Isaac mounted his horse and shouted to his thirty guards.

    "Move out!"

 Chapter 141 - Planning

    "I see... "

    I read a letter from Richard and frowned a little. It looks like the Vulux Kingdom is already hiring a group of magicians, and they have already appointed a new Grandmarshall. The new Grandmarshall is Marquess Garun, a war veteran who defends against the rebellion twenty years ago.

    Not only that, but they are also beginning to march their army north. It looks like they decide to march their army fast before Richard''s shadow could sabotage their food supply. I also cannot risk Richard and his shadow sabotaging the enemy''s food supply with the enemy having magicians on their side.

    "Give me some paper and a quill. Also, I need the fastest raven to be prepared. I need to send an urgent letter."

    "Yes, my lord."

    A few minutes later, the mayor I appointed came back with parchment and quill for me. I begin to write a letter for them to prepare their army for me to teleport to the Blue Moon City. We need to rally our army as the enemy is already moving.

    "Here, Please send this letter to Ruby City, Black Lake City, Gajir City, and Likar City. Make it an urgent letter."

    "Yes, my lord."

    I look at the Blue Moon city from the window and sigh a little. It looks like there will be another battle soon, and this time I know that it will have big casualties. I open up the drawer and take out a map before I place it on the table.

    "Hmmm. There should be a hill that can be used as a headquarters around here. However, I did not know where the enemy came from. I cannot spread my army too thin, but I did not know where the enemy was coming from. Argh! This will be hard."

    This is the reason why I hate fighting in the south, especially in Greenfield county. Greenfield county is a flatland with a few hills and mountains. Because of this, the enemy can come from anywhere, and without a high ground, it will be hard to do a defensive battle.

    There is a hill on the main road, but I know that the enemy will know about this hill as well, and they will also know that I would make my headquarters on top of this hill. After knowing about the location of my headquarters, they will use another route to either attack the city or surround us and try to retake the high ground.

    I release a tired sigh before continuing to look at the map once again. There are five hills near the main road that can be used as forts. However, there is another route that needs to be watched out for.

    The most eastern point of Greenfield county. There is no hill, forest, or even mountain in that area. Hell, the previous lord also did not bother to build a fort in that area. The area itself is a flatland that is filled with grass and nothing else.

    I can try and fill the area with thick forest and let the Dark Elves handle the army that comes from there. Hmmm¡­ That is a good idea, actually. However, I will wait for the other to arrive here first.

    ~One day later~

    "Let the war meeting begin."

    I sit down on the chair and look at the North Lord.

    "First thing first, I want to say a good job on occupying the city."

    "Now, the reason why I call you here is because of the news I send to you guys. I get news that the Vulux Kingdom army is moving to the north, and their Grand Marshall is Garun Marilu, the War Hawk."

    When I say that, the expression of the older lord becomes serious. Garun Marilu, the War Hawk, is a famous name. He is the lord that keeps pestering the previous king to declare war against the other kingdom to take their territory.

    "Not only that, but they also get the help of a group of magicians from the Tower of Magic. For this reason, we will not get any new information about the army. I did not want to risk our spy getting found out by the southerners."

    I take a deep breath before saying.

    "Anyway, what I want to say is that we need to prepare for the incoming army. I want to ask you guys which strategy we need to use. Should we welcome them here, or should we push deeper into their territory?"

    I look around the room and see the other lord thinking about this really hard. A minute later, it was my grandfather who said the first thing.

    "I guess that depends on the enemy''s movement. If they do not move in a week, that means they need to prepare some barriers around their territory. We cannot let that happen and I suggest pushing deeper."

    "I disagree."

    I look at lord Tobias Ekdal who disagrees with my grandfather.

    "I think we should fortify our territory and welcome them here. We cannot get too deep inside enemy territory as we did not want a surprise attack or get surrounded."

    "But! If we do that, we need to stretch our army too thin to cover all the land. If we do that, we will easily get defeated as not only do we have less army to welcome the enemy, but we also have a hard time to reinforce the other army because of how far away we are."

    What my grandfather said is true. We cannot spread our army too thin and too far away from each other.

    "Then what should we do, Lord Duchamp?"

    "We need to gather the attention of the enemy. We need to siege a city and take it before fortifying it."

    "We already did that. This city is proof of that."

    "No, that is not what I mean. While yes, we already do that, we need to do that again, but this time, we need to take the biggest city."

    Ah! I see¡­.

    "The Garuvardin City, the city of the river."

    My grandfather looked at me and nodded his head. Garuvardin city is a city in the middle of a small island in the middle of a massive river. This is the biggest city in the Frederick Duchy and the most important city.

    What makes the Garuvardin even more precious is the gold mine on the mountain not too far away from the city.

    "That is right. If we can occupy Garuvardin City, we will control the route to the north."

    I nod my head and say.

    "If we follow Lord Duchamp''s plan, we need to do it fast. I can teleport us there and immediately do the siege, but before we do that, we need to prepare. I don''t think they will not protect their most precious city."

    The other lords nodded their heads in agreement, even Lord Tobias Ekdal nodding his head in agreement.

    "There is also a rumor saying that Garuvardin City is protected by a barrier created by an Archmage in the past. Pre Built the siege weapon here as we want to take the Garuvardin as fast as we can. I will try to prepare for the battlefield. I will try to create a rune inside the river that will freeze up when we arrive there."

    "Will it freeze up the entire river?"

    "No. It will freeze up the river around the city to make a solid ground."

    "I see."

    "Yes. You did not need to worry, lord Duchamp."

    "Of course, my lord."

    "Anyway, we need to do it fast. Lord Metis, how long do you think the engineer will take to make the siege equipment?"

    Lord Metis looked at me for a few seconds before saying.

    "That depends, my lord. Do we need full equipment, or will you and Lady Lionheart be the one that destroys the wall?"

    "Yes and no. I''m thinking of attacking the city from all directions. We let them think that we are attacking them from one direction, and when their soldiers are focusing on one direction, we will send the rest of the army to attack from all directions."

    "I see. Who will be the bait?"

    "I will. Before you guys say that I should not do it, I''m the perfect bait. I hate to say this, but I''m a perfect bait in this attack with my reputation and title. The enemy will think that we do the same thing as before. Attacking another city at the same time."

    I sigh a little at their thinking expression. I know that I''m the leader of the North, but sometimes they worry about me too much. I know that an army cannot function without its head but come on! I feel like a precious vase that is ready to break with a gentle touch.

    "With their attention on me, the other can attack at the other side of the city with ease."

    "Aye!"

    With that, another plan to besiege another city has been accepted and ready to be used.

 Chapter 142 - Siege

    I look at my generals and say.

    "The teleportation will be activated in thirty minutes after my units, and I get teleported. Make sure you and your unit do not get away from the magic circle."

    "Yes, my lord!"

    "Good."

    I nod my head and see my generals walk toward their unit. I take a deep breath and activate a sonorous charm before saying.

    "I will teleport us in a minute! Prepare yourself!"

    I deactivate my sonorous charm and release a nervous breath. While I am already in three big battles, I cannot stop feeling anxious every time I need to go to war. I snap from my thoughts when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

    I look to my right and see Lucina giving me a reassuring smile. I smile back at her, and I can let my nervousness disappear. I take another deep breath and put on a serious expression. It is time for action.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    For some reason, he has a bad feeling. The feeling that he is too familiar with. The feeling of incoming battle.

    Barrius Turian, a sixty years old Count. He is a war veteran who has faced many battles, from defending against the rebellion to defend a surprise war from the eastern continent kingdom who declares against the Vulux kingdom.

    He knows this feeling well, and he is worried because he knows who he will fight against.

    "Father, you should relax a little."

    Barrius looked at his son and heir before saying.

    "I cannot relax just yet, son. Something is coming here, and I did not know who, but I know something is coming here."

    Lanir sighs a little at his father''s answer. Lanir is an untested knight, and he did not ever experience war before, so he cannot feel the cold wind coming from the north as his father did. However, Lanir knows that his father has a sixth sense that alerts him of incoming disaster.

    His father already ordered the army inside the city to stay alert and prepare for war. Five men ready to be deployed at the time noticed a massive trebuchet ready to be fired from the wall tower.

    If he did not know better, Lanir thought that his father was expecting a face-to-face siege. He did not know what was in his father''s mind, but to have a face-to-face siege of Garuvardin city was impossible.

    In the corner of Lanir''s mind, he knows that his father has lost his mind and gone senile.

    However, before his thoughts can grow larger, Lanir hears a panicked shout from the outside.

    "Enemy! Enemy attack!"

    Lanir quickly ran toward the window and looked outside before widening his eyes. He can see the entire river around the island has been frozen, letting the enemy army stand on the ice.

    "They are¡­"

    "The north."

    "Shit!"

    "What matters worse is the one leading the army. Look"

    Lanir takes the binoculars and looks at the army. In front of the army is a man wearing iconic armor and unique hair. That man is Isaac ''Silver Lion'' Lionheart.

    "This is bad. What should we do, father?"

    "We welcome them."

    Barrius takes an orb from the drawer and pushes a little bit of his Physical Energy into it. A few seconds later, Lanir can see a semi-transparent barrier appear around the island.

    "I see. The barrier my great-grandfather ordered to the Tower of Magic in the past. Do you think it was enough to hold the silver lion?"

    "It was good enough for our force to gather and welcome the silver lion. It is time to fight soon. Go to the battlefield. I will be there soon."

    "Yes!"

    On the other side of the battlefield are Isaac and Lucina, looking at the city in front of them.

    "It is massive. I think it was two times the size of Sea Dragon City."

    "And it was fortified to the teeth. What should we do now, Isaac?"

    "We attack."

    "Explosion!"

    After Lucina activates the spell, a massive fireball appears above the barrier and slowly falls.

    "What is that?!?"

    Lanir looks at the massive ball of fire falling from the sky with fear and awe. Barrius, on the other hand, gritted his teeth when he saw that fireball. He did not know if the barrier could handle that fireball.

    "What are you waiting for! Attack them!"

    Barrius has a thought that if he can defeat the silver lion, he can stop the bombardment. All the war machines begin firing their ammo. From trebuchet to the ballista, all the siege engines fired their ammo toward Isaac and Lucina.

    Isaac spread his hand when he saw the incoming attack, and suddenly the first wave of attack changed into a snowflake. This is the most powerful spell in the Harry Potter world, in Isaac''s opinion. A spell that can transform anything at will? That is powerful.

    Especially when you are in this world where the mana is thicker, and there is a lot of it in the air. A permanent transfiguration spell is not impossible in this world. While permanent human transfiguration is still complex, it is possible.

    Barrius looks at the first attack, and he gets even more frustrated. However, before he could order another attack, the fireball already touched the barrier, and it exploded.

    The explosion is so powerful that the shockwave almost threw the army behind Isaac and Lucina.

    As for the barrier¡­ It cannot withstand the explosion. The barrier immediately crumbled at the blast. The intensity of the blast melts a chunk of the castle that is closest to the barrier.

    Seeing the barrier is gone, Isaac activates the sonorous charm and says.

    "Artillery! Fire!"

    At his command, the trebuchet in the back began to fire their ammo.

    "Lucina, destroy their siege engine. The rest of you! March!"

    Isaac did not want to destroy all the walls of Garuvardin as it will take time to repair them. That is why he needs to take it without destroying the wall too much.

    Barrius looked at the marching troops and frowned even more. He looked at the archers next to him and shouted.

    "Archer! Get Ready¡­. Fire!"

    "I see. He cannot turn an arrow that he cannot see. You! Take your unit to the west! You! Take your unit to the east! Keep firing your arrow at the army, not the silver lion."

    While he cannot defeat the Silver Lion, Barrius can decrease the amount of army the silver lion brings with him.

    "Fire!"

    He ordered the archers to fire another volley of arrows.

    He cannot transfigure all the incoming arrows, so Isaac orders his troops to use a shield wall.

    "Testudo!"

    At Isaac''s command, the army begins to get close up together in a group and create a closed shield wall. Like a tortoise that gets into its shell, the people behind the shield wall are protected from the arrow rain.

    "Isaac! The Siege Engine on the wall has been destroyed!"

    "Good. Now destroy the gate!"

    "Understood"

    Lucina activates her Rage rune once again, and this time, her target is the metal gate in the distance.

    "Dancing Flame!"

    After invoking the name of the spell, two massive arrows made of fire appear above Lucina. A second later, Lucin pointed her finger at the metal gate, and suddenly the arrow began to fly toward the entrance.

    It takes three seconds for the arrow to arrive at the gate, and it takes five seconds for it to melt the metal gate.

    Barrius, still focused on the army marching toward his city, thinks that the explosion that is happening is Lucina attacking the siege engine on the tower. However, it changed when his son arrived near him and said,

    "Father, the gate has been breached!"

    "What?!? Dammit! Go and take command of the cavalry and the infantry. I know the enemy cavalry will be moving now."

    "Understood"

    Lanir gathers all the Garuvardin city soldiers and moves to the eastern part of the city, where the gate has been breached. When all the soldiers already gather in the eastern part of the city, the teleportation Isaac creates is activated, and suddenly all the armies of the north appear surrounding the city.

    Lord Metis, the Artillery unit general, shouted when he appeared in front of the Garuvardin city.

    "Attack!"

 Chapter 143 - Victory

    |3rd POV|

    "My lord! We are surrounded! The enemy has breached the wall behind us!"

    "Damned to hell! Send the Second Unit to help our flank."

    "Yes, sir!"

    Barrius looked at the marching enemy in front of him with a frown. Not only does the north have the number, but they also get help from the creature Isaac summoned earlier. Barrius already knows that he has been defeated, but he will not give up without a fight.

    "Shield front! Use all your Physical Energy to hold the charges!"

    Barrius and his unit are currently holding the northern army in the narrow path to the castle. He cannot let the northern army take over the castle as it is where his family lived and the symbol of ownership of the city.

    "Prepare for impact!"

    A few seconds after Barrius said that, The Gate Guardian summoned by Isaac impacted the shield wall with their lance and body. However, surprisingly the shield wall is still intact and holds the movement of the Gate Guardian.

    "Archer! Shoot them down!"

    A few hundreds of archers appear on the roof of the building and begin firing up their arrows. While a normal arrow cannot penetrate the thick skin of the Gate Guardian, their arrow has already been enchanted by the archer''s physical energy.

    The Gate Guardian, even when their body gets impaled by the arrow, continues to push the shield wall in front of them.

    Barrius pushes the lance away and stabs the massive creature in front of him before he goes back to raise his shield. Barrius knows that he and his unit cannot hold them much longer.

    "Sword!"

    When he shouted that, a group of swordsmen appeared from the little alley behind the Gate Guardian. When they appear from their hiding place, the swordsman begins to charge toward the Gate Guardian. Some attack the massive creature from underneath them, and some attack by mounting the gigantic creature and stabbing them.

    "Now! Push!"

    Barrius grips his shield tightly, begins to pump his physical energy into his legs, and walks forward, pushing the Gate Guardian back. Archer on the roof continues to fire their arrow, but this time they need to carefully aim at the gate guardian and not hit their ally.

    It takes them thirty minutes to completely beat twenty Gate Guardians.

    "Fucking hell. Those monsters are at least a B+rank each."

    Barrius thinks about how dangerous Isaac''s Silver Lion'' Lionheart is. Not only for his destructive magic, but his summons is also really powerful. He did not know if he and his unit could survive another wave of monsters.

    "Give me a report!"

    "We lost forty men, my lord! I did not know about the archers, but we lost forty men. Twenty-five of our shielders and fifteen of our swordsmen."

    "I see¡­"

    Barrius knew it was not too bad, but if his men keep decreasing, they are doomed. They are his elite soldiers that he trained himself. They are the hand and leg of Garuvardin city. They are the sword and spear of Garuvardin city, and Barrius is proud of his soldier.

    "We will honor their sacrifice later. Right now, we need to stop the enemy from reaching the castle."

    "Yes, sir!"

    Barrius nods his head and looks in the direction where the monster is coming. However, when he sees where the monster is coming, his expression becomes sour as he sees that coming toward him is the main unit of the northern army.

    Isaac Lionheart is leading the unit.

    What makes matters worse, there are at least thirty Gate Guardians following Isaac like a guard. Not only that, but there are also other creatures following Isaac as well. Yuuka the Nine-Tailed Fox, a Silver Talon, Earth Golem, and Golden Crow.

    "Lord Barrius Turian, please surrender! I will spare you and your family! As we are talking, my army has already surrounded your castle and captured your son. If you surrender now, we will spare you and your family!"

    While Barrius and his unit are busy fighting the Gate Guardian, Isaac orders them to focus on defeating Barrius'' son and his unit. There are two ways to get to the castle of Garuvardin, and both of them are connected with a stone bridge that connects the island where the castle stands to the island where the city stands.

    Isaac knows that Barrius will command the most experienced soldier he has. Because of this, Isaac decides to attack the least experienced unit in the right bridge, with Lanir leading the unit.

    Barrius grits his teeth with so much force that it would shatter their teeth if they were a normal person. He looked to his men, who stood proudly beside him and ready to fight if their lord ordered them to.

    "We will follow you, my lord. Whatever your command, we will follow you."

    Hearing what his captain said, Barrius began to have a hard time choosing. His warrior side screams at him to die in battle, but his other side screams at him to rescue the love of his life.

    Unlike most southern noblemen who married for a political reason, Barrius married because of love. He loves his wife, and his wife loves him back. They have a perfect marriage life.

    After thinking about it for a minute, Barrius stabbed his sword to the ground and put his shield on his back before raising his hand, indicating that he surrendered to the northern army. Seeing their lord''s gesture, the rest of the army begin to follow what their lord does.

    Seeing Barrius'' gesture, Isaac releases a small relief breath. Barrius did not know this, but the Gate Guardian will disappear in a few seconds, and true to Isaac''s thinking, the Gate Guardian begins to disappear from his side.

    The soldier of Garuvardin city is an elite soldier. They can hold against one thousand Gate Guardians for a few hours. They held them back and even killed the Gate Guardian with their enchanted sword.

    Isaac takes a horn from his belt and begins to blow it. They use this horn to inform the army that they are besieging the castle not to attack the castle. This is a code saying that the fight is over and they are winning this battle.

    After blowing the horn, Isaac takes another deep breath and begins to shout.

    "WUOHHHHHHH!"

    Another victory for the north.

 Chapter 144 - Preparation

    "Urgh. This will be hard."

    "Yeah, I know."

    I look at the former lord of Garuvardin, who looks at me in pity. It has been seven days since the day I occupied the city of Garuvardin, and my headache got bigger by the minute. Garuvardin, the biggest city in the entire Frederick Duchy, and for some dumb reason, they did not have any farm on this island.

    "I already asked Phineas to make a farm here, but no¡­ He said that farming is only for peasants, and because of that, he decided to give that job to the baron around here."

    "Urgh. If you did not want a farm being built here, what kind of job would your people do?"

    "Mining and trading. This place is a perfect place for trading. We have a small port to the east that connects us with the eastern continent, and this river connects us with other cities in this Duchy."

    "Are all the higher up in the south really that stupid?"

    "Heh. Welcome to the southern political world, boy."

    "Haaaa."

    I rub my nose with my hand and lean on the chair before releasing another sigh. After a few seconds, I look at my Good Father Lomun before saying.

    "Lord MacGrath."

    "Yes!"

    "Can you go with some of your engineers to make an indoor farm? I already called some help from Sea Dragon City, and three hundred people volunteer in this matter. You can tell them what to do. We cannot starve our people and soldiers when the siege comes."

    I get some news from Richard saying that Vulux''s army already changed their course and they will arrive here in two weeks. It should be enough for me to create a magical barrier and recharge the barrier that Barrius uses when we siege the city.

    "Yes, my lord. I will do that immediately."

    "Good. Next! Lord Ekdal. How is the construction of the ship?"

    "They are doing well, my lord. We can finish twenty ships before the enemy arrives here."

    "Good. Are there any ships that you have already finished?"

    "Yes. Three ships are ready to be used."

    "Lent it to the people so they can go fishing."

    "Understood."

    "Lord Rahul, how is the foraging force?"

    "They are doing fine, and we successfully gathered all the food in the 2 Km range."

    "Good. I want you and your unit to make sure all the wild food around the city is in our possession."

    "Yes, my lord."

    I nod my head and look at the paper in front of me. Hmmm¡­ Foraging, Farm, and Ship¡­ I guess the next thing to do is a trap. However, I did not know this terrain, and Barrius did not want to say anything to me about this place.

    I know that he will not betray me because he and his family already signed an unbreakable contract saying that he cannot betray me and will not give any support to the Vulux kingdom. If they break this contract, all of them will die, and their bloodline will end.

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear a knock on the door.

    "Come in."

    Coming from the outside is my grandfather, Lord Duchamp, and following him from behind is Lord Saurial, the leader of the scout unit.

    "Ah, good. You guys are all here. Let us talk about the terrain."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I look at the young lion baring his teeth and sharpening his claws in front of me by making up a plan and creating traps to defeat the incoming army of the Vulux kingdom with Garun Verdian as their spear tip.

    Garun Maruli, the old Warhawk. While I hate him for his ?ust for war and destruction, I know how he is in the war. He is a great general. He can see how the war situation is. He can quickly react to a surprise attack.

    He is a cruel lord and general, but I cannot underestimate his war experience.

    However, when I look at the silver lion talking about his plan, I know that Garun will have a hard time in this war. Garun is known for his habit of eating the food from his surroundings to make sure his supply did not get depleted easily.

    However, by taking all that food, I know he will have a hard time surviving. There is also¡­

    "Hmmm. I see. We can use this place as a trap. We can use explosive traps and pitfalls around this area. We will fill these pitfalls with either a spike or an acid pool."

    "How do we get those acids, my lord?"

    "There is some plant that produces acid, and I can grow it. After harvesting that acid, I will enchant it so it can destroy a human body in a matter of a few seconds."

    "I see."

    "Good. Next is this location¡­."

    That. The silver lion knows which place is perfect for making traps. The place that he previously pointed out is the main road that the army usually used to march. Not only that, the second place he points out is the secret road to this city. While it took longer to reach Garuvardin, it was a perfect road to make a surprise attack.

    Right now, I''m seeing a massive Lion looking at its prey with sharp eyes and not a young man that is just becoming a lord. I guess it is time to switch sides as I can feel the northern wind begin to blow to the south.

    I remember the Silver Lion saying at the party.

    "Winter is Coming"

    To this day, that saying still makes my back shiver a little. At first, I did not know what that meant, but I know it now. The north is coming, and their cold fury will sweep the land like a blizzard in the winter.

    I should ask my Good Brother to switch sides as well. I did not want my wife to lose her family member to a stupid decision.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    While Isaac is busy in the south, there is a group of people hired by the king of Vulux Kingdom to attack the Sea Dragon City from the sea. They are the Black Heart Pirate. The biggest pirate group in the eastern sea.

    The captain of this group is called Darius the butcher. He is a cruel and greedy person. He plunders, massacres, and r*pe from every city he visits, and right now, his target is the massive city in front of him.

    "Sea Dragon City, the so-called city where the pirate died. Heh! What a garbage title.. Those so-called pirates are nothing but a fisherman who decides to call themselves a pirate. Gold! Booze! And Woman! I will take them all! Let Sea Dragon City burn!"

 Chapter 145 - Interlude

    |Eveline Lionheart POV|

    I looked at the incoming ship in the distance and frowned. I did not want to say this out loud because I respect the former Queen Dowager, but his son is a ?unt. Valerie knows his son really well, and she already knows that it was her son that hired the pirate in front of me.

    The old Queen said that the previous king hired this group to attack the Sea Dragon City a few weeks before he died from poisoning. It looks like the Black Heart Pirate just finished their preparation, and now they get ready to attack the Sea Dragon City.

    "Richard. Have all the ships we currently have already been docked?"

    "Yes, my lady. The ship has been secured in the port."

    "Good. Because I did not want them to be sinking to the bottom of the ocean."

    I look at my right hand and see a particular symbol before nodding my head. Flowing Rune, the rune that controls the ocean. I chose this rune because it was a rune that had both offensive and support spells. While yes, that this rune is focused on support and healing, there is a good passive ability given by the rune.

    Complete control over seawater.

    I can control the seawater around me with a radius of five hundred meters. So here I''m standing on the western wall of Sea Dragon city above the cliff facing the sea where the pirate is coming from.

    I take a deep breath and raise my hand.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    "ARGH"

    "Keh! It looks like they have a magician on their side. No matter! They cannot penetrate our barrier! Full speed! The wind is with us today!"

    What people did not know is that Darius is a mage. A rather prodigious mage at that. If he joins the Tower of Magic, he will become an Archmage by now. His specialty is both Runic and Summoning magic.

    He knows magic even though the magic book is stored in the tower of magic because he got the book from a mage. His father is a bandit and a rather powerful bandit at that. His father and his group successfully ambush a group of mages and kill them all before they could cast their spell.

    That day, Darius hit the jackpot when among the loot that his father brought back home was a box full of magic books. He studies those books and practices them by robbing people on the street using the spell he just learned.

    He became a successful pirate because he carved a runic symbol on his ship not to be burned and destroyed easily.

    So that is what is happening right now. Eveline frowns a little when she sees she cannot destroy most of the ship. Seeing there is nothing she can do right now, she looks at Elizabeth, her good daughter.

    "Elizabeth, I need some lightning."

    "Of course, Good Mother."

    Elizabeth raises her right hand, and suddenly a symbol of Thunder rune appears above her head.

    "Thor''s Hammer!"

    When she invoked the spell''s name, a black cloud began to gather up above the fleet, and a few seconds later, a bolt of massive lightning struck down on the biggest ship in the front.

    Darius widens his eyes when he sees one of his main ships get struck down by the lightning. He did not know how much the mage in the Sea Dragon City could cast that spell, but he needed to make sure his fleet arrived in the land before another lightning struck them.

    "O Southern Wind!"

    *KARATHOOM*

    Darius winced a little when another thunder struck down another ship next to his ship. However, he ignored it and continued his chant.

    "Grant me your strength and show us your might!"

    After he finished his chant, a wind blew from behind their sail and sped up the entire ships in the fleet. Darius predicts that they will arrive on the land in ten minutes with this speed.

    *KARATHOOM*

    He winces once again when the thunder hits his ship, and he can feel the water tentacle keep attacking his ship from the side. He also can see his barrier start to crack. Darius grits his teeth in frustration and begins to think about how he can escape this situation.

    "Tch. It looks like I did not have any choice."

    Darius took a deep breath and prepared to summon his contracted monster. There is a reason why he is called the butcher. He killed too many people when he decided to raid a town or ship that passed by. However, that is not the only reason.

    He like killing human and torture them but that is not the only reason. He has a contracted monster. It was a Black Dragon. To keep the dragon as his contracted pet, he needs to kill at least killed Fifty people every five months, or the Black Dragon breaks the contract they had.

    After taking a deep breath, a contract symbol on Darius'' back begins to glow, and suddenly a massive black dragon appears above his fleet. The length from its head to the tip of its tail is 20 meters long. The length from the tip of its left-wing to its right-wing is 60 meters long.

    "Darius. Do you know the cost of you summoning me, right?"

    "Yes. Two hundred souls. In that way is a city that has at least ten thousand souls. You can eat them all."

    "Good."

    While Darius is busy talking with the dragon, the people above the wall of Sea Dragon City have a cold sweat trickling from their foreheads. They did not know if the barrier Isaac created could handle a massive dragon.

    However, before they could prepare something, Eveline saw someone standing next to them. It was Ophis, and she had a cute frown on her face.

    Ignoring the question both Elizabeth and Eveline ask her, Ophis jumps high to the sky, and suddenly her body begins to change.

    Her usual small body changed into a massive dragon with a majestic royal purple color as her scale. The length from her head to the end of her tail is one hundred meters long, and the length from her left wings to her right wings is six hundred meters long.

    Her dragon form alone already covers the entire city of Sea Dragon City, denying them from seeing the sun.

    What makes it more fascinating is that this form is not her true form. Her true form is too big, and Ophis knows that she will destroy the mountain three kilometers to her right if she uses her true form.

    Darius widens his eyes when he sees a massive dragon coming from the city. He looks at the eyes of the dragon in front of him. There is only one thing he can see.

    Death.

    When Ophis opened up her mouth, Darius did not know anything anymore as darkness consumed his vision.

 Chapter 146 - Harrasment

    "I really need to reward Ophis for her great job."

    "I think a few hundred cookies should do, dear husband."

    "You are right."

    I just got the news from Richard that The most powerful pirate group attacked sea Dragon City from the eastern sea. Lucky for my family and me, Ophis came to the rescue and changed into her dragon form and destroyed the fleet with ease.

    However, while I''m glad for her to help my family and me, could she not cause that much attraction? All the magical scholars in my territory already give me at least a dozen letters asking me how I can make a contract with a mighty dragon like Ophis.

    I can''t just say that I bribed her using my cooking, could I?

    I already can feel the headache coming in. I can already hear the feet of a magical scholar and magician in the tower of magic running to my territory. Events like this will usually spread faster than the speed of a bullet.

    "There. There. I don''t think Ophis knows about what she did. You can''t blame her, you know?"

    "I am not to blame here. I just prepared myself for meeting rather troublesome people in the future."

    "Fufufufu. Then I will be there for you."

    "Since when do you use that kind of laugh?"

    "Since Lady Yasaka taught it to me. She said it makes me sound s?xier. Do you hate it?"

    "I don''t mind hearing it from now and then, but I prefer your laugh. It was more beautiful."

    "I see."

    "Anyway! What should we do now?"

    "Hmmm. We should wait. We need to wait until the Vulux Army approaches us. We cannot push deeper as we did not have enough time to do it. Not only that, no city can be used as a fort that can halt the movement of the Vulux Army."

    "I guess so. However, what about our ally in the south? Will you help the Vesper family?"

    "I already do that. Right now, some of my summonses are already helping the Vesper family. I also already sent Yuka to send a letter saying that both my creatures are there to help them."

    "Do you think it was enough?"

    "For now. Once we beat the army coming at us, we will quickly punch through the southern city as fast as possible. We cannot let them rally at one point once again when that is happening. Our target next is the capital city. We need to drop the morale of our enemy even more. By capturing the capital city, we will do that."

    "Speaking of the Vulux Army, they should arrive in a week, right?"

    "No. I already send some of my summonses to cause as many distractions as they can to either kill their soldiers or hinder them long enough for us to finish all the siege engine."

    "Really?"

    |3rd POV|

    "Shot that god-forsaken bird!"

    Garun Maruli shouted at his archer to shoot down the goddammit bird that kept harassing them every single day.

    Isaac orders Yuka the Nine-Tailed Fox to follow the army and spy on them for him. He then summoned his creature using his Pale Gate Rune then teleported them to the location of the Vulux Army.

    Right now, it was the Silver Talon, a Wind-type summons, Golden Crow, a lightning-type summon, and White Serpent, an Ice-type summons.

    While both Silver Talon and Golden Crow can stay in this world indefinitely, the White Serpent can only last for three hours. However, the White Serpent is a powerful creature. Right now, two kilometers around the Vulux Army experience a severe blizzard and combine it with Silver Talon and Golden Crow mastery over wind and lightning. It becomes a storm blizzard.

    "Cast your spell, you goddamned mage!"

    "We are maintaining the barrier, you ungrateful old bastard!"

    One of the mages coming with Garun and his army shouted at the Grand Marshall as he kept feeding the barrier with his mana.

    They already face Isaac''s summoned creature for seven days straight, and they already lose too many men and resources in their march. Three thousand men have already lost their lives trying to fight the monster that keeps changing every day.

    At least one thousand men are deserting from the army when they witness how they get bombarded by weird creatures that come and disappear as they pleased.

    Garun gritted his teeth as he fired another energy blast once again at the damned bird flying above him. At first, he can jump high enough to mount the damned bird, but after they successfully throw him off their back, the bird now knows how high he can jump, and they stay far in the sky that Garun cannot reach.

    The only thing that he can reach is the weird-looking worm that controls the ice. However, he cannot stay long on the worm''s back as he cannot handle the cold. Garun also cannot penetrate its scale fast enough before he freezes to death.

    There is only one thing that Garun knows about their attack pattern. They only last for three to five hours before they disappear to nowhere.

    "Tch! Then we only need to defend long enough for them to disappear. Shieldbearer! With me!"

    Following Garun''s order, the shield-bearer walks forward and begins to raise his shield and release a golden aura that creates a dome that protects all the massive army of the Vulux kingdom.

    "Pump your Physical Energy into your shield! Don''t let those bastards breakthrough your shield!"

    Garun stands among the shield bearers with his shield raised as well, and his Physical Energy keeps being pumped into his shield. However, even with that much physical energy in the air, Garun can still feel his reserve quickly drained when the damned bird attacks the barrier, and he needs to replace the crack.

    "Eastern side has been breached!"

    "Damn it all! Second unit! March!"

    The reserve unit walked forward and replaced the barrier that had been breached to make sure the casualties did not reach thousands in number.

    "Unit three, prepare! You will switch places with the people in the west in five minutes! Unit four prepares! You will switch to the southern unit! Go! Go! Go!"

    Garun then looked at the magician behind him and shouted.

    "You! How can you be more useless! Your barrier is worth shit! If you cannot block their attack, attack those damned birds!"

    "We are not a Runic Mage, you old bastard! Your king hired us to attack, not to defend!"

    "Shut up! If you can only attack, then attack! Why do you just stand there like a stupid monkey! Attack them! Don''t be useless!"

    The group of mages grumble but obey what Garun says and begin to start their chant.

    The fight lasts for three hours before all the creatures Isaac summon disappear, leaving Garun and his army exhausted and in disarray. Not only that, but the road they take also gets blocked by a tree that falls to the road.

    "Dammit!"

    On the other side of the land is Isaac sitting on the sofa with Lucina around his hand, enjoying each other''s warmth. However, their time gets interrupted when a portal appears on the table in front of them. A second later, Yuka appears from the portal.

    "Ah! Yuka. Do you have some news for me?"

    "Yes, master!"

    "Really? Then, let''s hear it."

    With that, Yuka begins to tell Isaac and Lucina about the fight between his summon and the Vulux Army. After a minute of talking, Yuka finished her explanation.

    "I see. Then I need to increase the intensity of the attack."

    With that being said, Isaac just doomed the people that were marching toward his city.. They should arrive in Garuvarding city in a week, but they will arrive in fifteen days, and their number will be decreasing by much.

 Chapter 147 - Calm

    |3rd POV|

    Garun looks at the city in the middle of the river with a frown on his face. Two weeks. That is how long he and his army will take to arrive in Garuvardin city. From a constant attack from a monster, they also constantly get attacked by a small army doing a skirmish.

    That small army is the group lead by Lord Saurial, the leader of the ambush unit. Isaac teleports them to the nearby small fort being built a few days before the Vulux Army arrives. Each time the Vulux Army arrives in a certain place, the subtle barrier around that area will notify Isaac and let him teleport this small army to rain down an arrow at the unprepared Vulux Army.

    This skirmish and monster attack is bad for Garun and his army. Not only did the morale of the army drop like crazy, but they also became more and more paranoid because they did not know if the enemy would attack at the time notice.

    Isaac sent his monster every day and night. Not only a monster, but he also teleports his army to attack the Vulux army every night to raid their camp and burn it down. They cause as much chaos as they can before they disappear.

    Garun looks at his army and frowns even deeper than before. Two hundred thousand men become one hundred and ten thousand men. The mercenary that the Vulux kingdom has hired already runs away when they experience the daily attack from Isaac''s monster and army.

    Garun loses at least two thousand men every day and a few hundred men deserting every day.

    Garun knew that the northern army had one hundred thousand men by the time they marched from the north. However, that was outdated information.

    Isaac successfully gathers more men who want to fight against the Vulux royal family and increase his total army. Now he has one hundred and fifty thousand men ready to fight.

    "Report!"

    Garun shouted at his lieutenant next to him.

    "Yes! The headquarters will be finished before the sun sets, my lord! As for the ship, the engineer said that it would be finished in two weeks, my lord."

    "Tch. It will be too long. Cut the number of the ship by half. However, make sure to build a roof thick enough to block a normal arrow."

    "Understood. I will inform the engineer about it."

    "How long until the siege engine is completed?"

    "In a week, my lord."

    "Good. The food?"

    "There is bad news about the food situation, my lord¡­."

    Garun looked at his lieutenant with a raised eyebrow before saying.

    "Explain!"

    "There is no food in the area, my lord."

    "None? At all?"

    "Yes."

    Garun grit his teeth when he hears that news. He knows that Isaac Lionheart is the culprit in this situation. While he wants to take the head of the Lionheart Lord with his own hand, Garun knows that he cannot underestimate the Silver Lion.

    "Heh. There is a reason why he is called the Silver Lion. Lion is the king of all beasts, not a household pet."

    "My lord?"

    "Nothing. Open our food supply and give it to the army. We need to make sure they are fully fed and rested. There is a massive battle ahead of us. I can feel it."

    Without Garun knowing, he is not the only one preparing for a massive ?ssault. Isaac and his fellow lord are sitting at the round table inside the lord''s office. They already know that Garun and his army have already arrived and make a camp not too far away from Garuvardin city.

    "It is time to fight them. We cannot let them have to rest. We need to keep our momentum. Do you guys agree with me?"

    The other lords nod their heads as they agree with Isaac''s ?ssessment. They cannot let the Vulux Army regain their strength. They were already exhausted from defending against Isaac''s monster attack and marching a few kilometers without stopping.

    "Aye!"

    "Good. Prepare for ?ssault. We will attack them when the sun is setting. Lord Saurial and Lord Rahul, I entrust you two to lead ten thousand men to flank the enemy from the left-wing."

    Lord Saurial and Lord Rahul stand up and bow toward Isaac before saying.

    "Leave it to us, my lord!"

    Isaac nods his head and then looks at his Grandfather and Good father before saying.

    "Lord MacGrath and Lord Duchamp. I will leave ten thousand men for you two to lead in attacking the right-wing of the Vulux army."

    Both Lord MacGrath and Lord Duchamp stand up and say.

    "We will not disappoint you, my lord."

    Isaac nods his head and looks at Lord Metis, the leader of the engineering unit.

    "Lord Metis, I want you and thirteen thousand men to stay in the city and defend it from something unexpected."

    "Yes! I will not let this city fall!"

    "Good"

    Isaac then looks at Johannes Lazuli, the king of Lazuli kingdom and ally to the Lionheart Duchy. It was a welcome surprise for the Northern Army when they saw a ship get into Garuvardin city from the northern continent.

    "Lord Lazuli, I need you and your army to sail through the river and attack the Vulux Army from behind. The reason why I sent you with your ship is also to secure the stone bridge as it was their only way to retreat."

    Johannes claps his hand together and says.

    "I will not let any Vulux Army get away from this battlefield. In the name of the Lazuli family, I swear!"

    "Thank you, my friend. I will lend you my summoned creature to create the wind and cover you up from the enemy''s sight."

    Isaac nods his head and takes a deep breath before saying.

    "The rest of you will follow me. We will attack them from the front. We will cause as much noise as we can to attract their attention. We need them to focus on us and make the other unit''s job easier."

    The other lord nodded their head in understanding. Seeing them understand his plan, Isaac takes a glass of wine in front of him, gets up, and raises it. The others followed him and also raised their glass of wine.

    "Let''s show the southern people that winter is coming!"

    "Winter is coming!"

    "Let''s show them that the north remembers what they did to us!"

    "The North remembers!"

    "Let''s build a future! A bright future for the next generation!"

    "For the Bright Future!"

 Chapter 148 - Clash

    |3rd POV|

    Garun looks at the horizon and frowns. He did not know what it was, but his sense of danger kept screaming at him. He can also feel the air changed. He can feel a chilling wind coming from the north.

    He wants to make his army stay alert, but he knows that he cannot do that. He needs to keep his army fresh and ready to fight. If he makes his army stay awake and alert, they cannot handle another attack.

    "How is the situation? Did you see any movement?"

    "Yes. However, their movement is bizarre. Instead of moving toward us, they move back to the north."

    "North? Are they retreating? No¡­ That is impossible. They have the high ground and good position to attack and defend. He can also teleport his monster in our direction¡­ Wait! Teleport!"

    Garun looked at his lieutenant and shouted.

    "Blow the war horn! We are under attack!"

    "Pardon?"

    "Blow the goddamn horn! We are under attack!"

    The lieutenant looks at his lord in confusion but decides to obey the order and blow the war horn. The soldier just b?r?ly closed their eyes, immediately got up from the ground, and took their weapon and shield.

    True to Garun''s word, Isaac and his army appear a few hundred meters from their camp and the small fort they built. When he saw the banner of the Lionheart family, he grits his teeth. Isaac Lionheart is personally leading the army.

    "Move! Move! Move! Shield front! Spear second! Archer, come here! Someone wake that lazy bastard mage! We need them here!"

    While Garun is busy ordering his troops to create a formation, Isaac and his unit are marching fast and steady. However, when he saw the enemy gathering at one point and tried to make a formation, he shouted.

    "Lucina took the second cavalry unit to their left-wing! Lord Byron takes the third cavalry unit to their right wings! Harass them! First cavalry unit! With me! The rest of you, play the war sound!"

    Lucina and Daniel Byron rally up their unit and begin to charge toward the incomplete formation of the Vulux Army. Isaac also rallied his unit and charged from the center. Each of their unit

    "First unit with me! The second unit took the left-wing! The third unit takes the right-wing! Don''t let those bastards destroy the formation!"

    After saying that, Garun and his unit take the center, put down his shield, and flare up his physical energy. His unit also does what Garun is doing, and suddenly a massive, almost transparent barrier appears in front of them.

    "You want to defeat me?!? Do you want my head, boy?!? Come and get them!"

    "HU! HA!"

    Just a few meters away from Garun and his unit, Isaac activates his star run.

    "Twinkling Star!"

    Thirty lasers came from the sky and hit the barrier Garun, and his army created. Some of the lasers successfully breach the barrier and kill twenty soldiers instantly as the barrier cannot regenerate fast enough to block all the barrage.

    Seeing this weakness, Isaac activates his star rune once again. This time, Isaac aims for a different weakness and uses another spell.

    "Comet!"

    "What is that?!?"

    One of Garun''s soldiers shouted while looking at the sky. Garun looked to the sky and widened his eyes before shouting.

    "Damnit!"

    Garun flares up his physical energy even more and extends the barrier to protect them from the air attack. He gritted his teeth when the meteor impacted the barrier. He can feel his reserve depleting at a fast rate as he tries to save his men.

    "Kick that damned rock away from the barrier! I cannot hold it any longer!"

    One of the soldiers jumps high and enchants his arm before punching the heavy rock away. With the rock getting away, Garun now can save some of his physical energy because Isaac and his army are just fifty meters away from him.

    Garun widens his eyes when he sees another incoming laser and strengthens the barrier. He ignores his men screaming when the laser gets through the barrier. He needs to focus on when the impact is coming.

    When Isaac and his army are just thirty-meter away from him, Isaac raises his hand, and suddenly two hundred Gate Guardians appear in front of him and charge first before Isaac and his army.

    "Urgh."

    "Retreat! We need to join the formation!"

    Lucky for Garun, the formation is complete, and he can see the magician already preparing their spell.

    "You go, my lord. We will hold this monster."

    "I will remember your sacrifice."

    "It is an honor, my lord."

    With that being said, Garun began to run away from the battlefield and back to his main army. Behind him is Isaac, who successfully punches through the barrier and begins to kill the one thousand armies of the Vulux Kingdom.

    After being done with the distraction, Isaac looks at his summoned creature and orders some of them to help the left and right-wing.

    "It looks like we cannot destroy the formation right now. I was also worried about the image on top of the wall chanting something. Looking at how long they chanted, I think it was a massive spell. Send someone to the left and right win, then inform them to rally here. We will launch a massive charge at the fort in front of us."

    "Yes, my lord."

    "By the look of it, the mage on the wall will cast a powerful spell. It has been at least five minutes since that mage started his chant. I also need to wait for the other army to arrive. The East and West will arrive in ten minutes as I already set the teleport. The south will arrive later, around twenty minutes from now, because they need to take the longer route. Should I do a frontal attack or long-range fighting?"

    *ROAR*

    Isaac snaps from his thoughts when he hears a roar coming from the fort. When he looks at the fort, he can see a long deep-red serpent coming from the sky. I think the length of that thing is around one hundred to one hundred and fifty meters.

    Isaac did not want to do that thing, so he decided to use his Darkness Rune. However, when he tried to use the Finger of Death, nothing happened. The serpent has a rather high affinity to death.

    He did not want to use his Final Bell spell as he can only use it once every day. He needs to save just in case something bad happens¡ªthe same with his True Death spell. Isaac did not know if he still went unconscious when he cast this spell, and he did not want to risk it.

    Seeing there is no other way, Isaac decides to choose the third option. Summon his creature and let it fight the monster his enemy summons.

    "Summon! Bull of Heaven!"

 Chapter 149 - Retreat

    |3rd POV|

    The bull of heaven roared, and suddenly a massive thunder fell from the sky and struck the serpent. The bull then charged toward the serpent and took it away from the current battlefield when the serpent is stunned by the lightning and cannot move.

    Seeing the serpent get taken away, Isaac orders his army to charge at the enemy.

    Garun''s hired mage did not stay idle. The other two summoners hired by the king of Vulux Kingdom just finished their chant and summoned their creature.

    The first one is a turtle with five tails behind its back. The turtle has a grey color on the outside and purple color on the inside. The second one is a white tiger with lightning around its feet and tails.

    Seeing the other mage summon their creature, Isaac decides to do the same.

    "Summon! White Serpent! Summon! King''s Knight! King''s Magician! Trent!"

    After Isaac invokes the spell name, three creatures appear near him and immediately attack the two monsters the other mage summons.

    Seeing their summon is busy fighting Isaac''s summoned creature, the mage decides to support the army with their spell.

    "Lucina! The mage!"

    "Yes"

    Lucina raises her hand and activates her rune. She activates both her Cyclone and Rage runes.

    "Union Spell! Serpent of Fire!"

    This is a spell of a combination of two runes that can support each other. Her wind rune creates a tunnel of wind, and her fire rune enchants its attacking capabilities.

    The Serpent of Fire hit the barrier Garun and his army created using their physical energy. The barrier can withstand Lucina''s attack, but the people that maintain the barrier where Lucina''s attack hit begin to sweat from feeling their physical energy drained to replenish the barrier.

    The mage on the wall finished their chant, and suddenly ten magic circles appeared above them. The magic circle is a missile made of all four elements.

    Seeing the incoming spells, Isaac points his spear toward the spell using the spell he learned from the DxD world.

    A seventy magic circle appears above Isaac and his army to block the incoming with ease. The magic circle continues to follow Isaac and his army to protect them from any incoming attack.

    "Useless! This is the best mage?!? Useless!"

    Garun looks at the incoming enemy before ordering his army to start attacking.

    "Unit Five! Prepare to attack the enemy with Energy Blast!"

    Energy blast is one of the few techniques a Physical energy user uses as a long-ranged attack. It condensed physical energy at one point before firing it, and when it hit a target, it created a mini-explosion.

    "Hold!"

    While Garun says to hold, a few soldiers decide to fire up their energy blast earlier and not reach the enemy. Garun grit his teeth when he sees that pathetic energy blast before roaring at his army.

    "HOLD! HOLD!"

    When Isaac and his army get near, he shouts once again.

    "FIRE!"

    Isaac decides to ignore it and focus on what''s in front of him. When he is a few seconds away from the enemy barrier, Isaac activates his special spear ability. Five elements consisted of Wind, Water, Fire, Lightning, and Earth spinning around his spear like a drill.

    When Isaac arrived in front of the barrier, he thrust his spear forward, and when it touched the barrier, it created a shockwave before breaking the barrier.

    "Charges!"

    Not only Isaac but Lucina also successfully break the barrier in front of her using her war ax. Daniel also successfully breaks the barrier using his Physical Energy. Each unit begins to pour down on Garun and his army.

    "Move back! Lure and capture!"

    After that, Garun''s army began to push Isaac''s army and march forward. They begin to cut the people on the back and encircle the unit trapped inside their circle¡ªa shield in front and the spearmen behind them.

    When the unit gets encircled, the spearmen begin to march toward the trapped unit and stab them to death. While this strategy worked wonders for the people that were far away from Isaac, it was not working with the people near Isaac.

    Isaac''s healing rune is working nonstop, healing all the people around him. From the Rain of Kindness to Polaris. All of the spells heal the people that vigorously kill all the enemies in front of them.

    Not only using his rune, but Isaac also creates a massive amount of magic circles around him to attack the army on the ground and defend against the mage on the wall.

    On the left wing is Lord Rahul and Saurial leading the charge.

    "Move! Move! This is our chance! Crush them!"

    They move down from the hill with the might of ten thousand men.

    On the right-wing are Lord Macgrath and Lord Duchamp commanding the army.

    "Show them! Show them the might of the north!"

    They move forward from the thick forest toward the enemy.

    Hearing the incoming enemy reinforcement, Garun decides to split his army.

    "Karz, move to the left! Take units seven, eight, and nine! Warudo moves to the right! Take units six, eleven, and twelve! Move! Move! Don''t let them get near here!"

    Garun pushes his shield with a mighty roar and stabs the man in front of him with his sword. However, to his surprise, the man did not die but smirked and grabbed his sword. Garun feels pain coming from his ?h?st, and when he looks down, he sees a supposedly dead man stab him in the ?h?st with their spear.

    Garun never in his life fought against a people as tough as the people in the north. It was as if they had two lives. They continue to get up and attack their target.

    With another roar, Garun slices down other northern men coming at him, and just like before, they successfully catch his sword before it could cut their head off, and just like before, he gets hit by another man who should be dead.

    This is the power of Isaac''s healing spell. Even when they get a heavy injury that should be killed them instantly, they can get up to do the last bit of the hit.

    After stabbing another northern man, Garun looks at the battlefield, and his frown is even deeper. The situation for his army is not good. He and his army slowly get pushed back, and he can also see the mage on the wall already dead as their spell is stopped. Dead or deserting.

    Seeing he got no chance in this fight, Garun can only take one option.

    "Retreat! Retreat! Full retreat!"

    Garun takes a war horn from his belt and begins to blow it up. This horn is the one that indicates the army goes into full retreat.

    Hearing the horn, Garun''s army begins to move back slowly but surely to make sure the northern army did not notice they wanted to retreat. While it fools the younger commander, it does not fool the northern general.

    "Push! Push! Don''t let them escape!"

    As for Garun, he and his lieutenant already mounted a horse followed by a few thousand men. Garun knew that Isaac''s army would decapitate his army, and he regrets it happen. Garun is a cruel man, true. However, that cruelty only targets civilians.

    To soldier? He treats them like his own precious tool. Once a civilian joins his army, he will treat them like a tool. A tool needs to be treated with care, or it will rust and become useless. Because of this, Garun is sad about leaving his army behind.

    He just lost his precious tool, but he will not cry for them because they are just tools by the end of the day. Garun can replace them.

    As Garun and his unit gallop through the field, he suddenly stops when he sees what is in front of him. It was a foreign army pointing their arrow toward him and his unit. What makes matters worse, he can see the damned creatures that continue attacking him and his army.

    It was Johannes Lazuli and his army accompanied by Isaac''s summoned creature. They successfully arrive before Garun and his army can reach the bridge.

    "FIRE!"

 Chapter 150 - Final

    |3rd POV|

    Seeing the soldier on the bridge, he shouted.

    "Wedge formation! We will break through their formation. Go!"

    Wedge formation, Flying formation, or Arrow formation. This formation is used to break through a formation by aiming at one point of the formation. This tactic is really useful when used against a line formation.

    "Charges! Charges! Don''t look back! Charges!"

    Garun and his unit needed momentum to break the formation in front of them as it was the biggest weapon of the Wedge Formation. Garun needed to break through the enemy formation in a single hit with his sword and shield in hand.

    When he sees an incoming arrow from the enemy ship, he orders his troops to create a barrier.

    "Raise your shield!"

    A second later, a triangle barrier appears around Garun and his troops.

    On the other side of the battlefield is Johannes looking at the incoming troops in front of him with a frown on his face. The Lazuli kingdom never experienced war against humans in his time, and because of this, he did not have any experience in a war.

    He looks at Isaac''s White Talon and says.

    "Can you create an ice wall in front of them? I need you to slow them down."

    The white bird nods its head and flies high to the sky. A long wall made of ice appears not too far away from the charging troops with a flap of its wing.

    Even when they saw the massive wall made of ice, Garun and his army did not stop. Garun raises his sword, pumps a huge amount of physical energy into his sword, and then thrust it. As Garun thrust his sword, a beam shot out from his sword and punched through the wall.

    He then swung his sword up, swinging it to the left and right.

    "Continue summoning the wall, White Talon. Golden Crow, I need you to attack them from the sky. Create as much chaos as you can. Yuka, I need you to tell the Earth Golem to be ready to appear from the ground when I blow the horn."

    Isaac orders his summoned creature to come with Johannes and his troops.

    "Of course, mister~."

    After saying that, Yuka disappeared to inform the Earth Golem that buried itself inside the ground waiting for the signal.

    He knows that he needs to get faster as Garun knows that Isaac and his army will come shortly.

    When Garun and his army reach a certain area on the battlefield, he can hear a war horn being blown by Johannes. Garun looks around the area, ready to receive a surprise attack, but to his surprise, there is none.

    However, before he could think about the war horn, the ground behind him cracked, and coming from it was a massive earth golem. The golem destroyed the back-formation of Garun''s army. With the backline destroyed, the barrier that blocked the lightning bolt was also destroyed.

    Garun successfully blocks the incoming lightning bolt, but his horse cannot handle it. His horse is dead from the lightning and throws him to the ground. Garun shakes his head and takes the sword on the ground before looking at the battlefield.

    Garun can already see Isaac and a few thousand of his troops have already arrived and are butchering his army. With a mighty roar, he charges toward Isaac with a shield and sword in his hands.

    When the cavalry arrived next to him, Garun swung his sword to the right and cut the horse''s legs before jumping high and stomping the head of the rider. He blocks an incoming attack and grits his teeth when he feels pain coming from his right side.

    He pushes his shield and throws away the sword that he blocks, and makes a wide swing from left to right, killing two people at once.

    This is why Garun Marilu is a feared individual, not only for his war experience, but his physical might is an exception. Even with all the wounds on his body, he can still move like a wild beast as well.

    Garun continues to fight his way toward Isaac, and when he arrives in front of Isaac, he is already on his last leg. Seeing Garun arrive in front of him, Isaac gets down from his horse and takes a battle stance. This is the last thing he can do to a worthy opponent. Kill him as a warrior.

    When he is in front of Garun, Isaac thrust his spear at the heart of Garun. Garun looks at Isaac right in the eyes before smirking at him and grabs Isaac''s spear with his left hand. Isaac widens his eyes when he sees Garun raise his sword and ready to cut him up.

    Isaac quickly creates a magic circle that blocks the incoming attack and activates the run on his spear, and burns the Warhawk from the inside out. With the death of Garun, the battle of Garuvardin City is over.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Vulux Kingdom Army|

    |Grand Marshal: Garun Maruli, Marquiss|

    |Army: 180.000 men|

    |Special unit: 30 Magician from the Tower of Magic|

    Vs

    |Northern Army|

    |Army: 150.000 men|

    |Special unit: 120 Elves Guerilla Unit, 30 Magician|

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    {The Result of Garuvardin Battle}

    |Vulux Kingdom Army|

    |Men killed: 145.738|

    |Men deserting: 22.341|

    |Men remaining: 11921|

    |Special kill: Garun Maruli (KIA)|

    |Northern Army|

    |Men killed: 48.851|

    |Men deserting: None|

    |Men remaining: 101200|

    |Special kill: None|

 Chapter 151 - Situation

    |3rd POV|

    The news of the defeat of Garun and his army has spread wide. The northern people are celebrating the victory of Isaac. The southern side of the Vulux kingdom, however, is really different.

    They are playing the blaming game. Every one of them blames the other, so they cannot carry the blame, and the one who is blaming the other the most is the king himself. He keeps blaming all his advisors, generals, and the army.

    Orson Ainsworth von Vulux is now known as the butcher by the people in the capital. He thought that he lost the war because the peasants fed the Northern army information vital to the kingdom.

    From public burning and public torture. Orson becomes mad from the pressure that the north will usurp his throne. He becomes so paranoid that he orders the palace guard to kill anyone that comes close to his room, even his own wife.

    The head of the Palace knight has executed the late Catherine Frederick von Vulux on suspicion of attempting to ?ssassinate the king. Even the unborn baby inside her is being burned because the king thought it was a magical time the north created.

    Many people try to flee the city, but every one of them is killed by the knights. The people that successfully escape the city quickly go to the north, where they will be safe from the tyranny of Orson.

    These past five months have been the worst for the people of Drallac city.

    On the other side of the kingdom, it was the best five months of their life. Isaac and his army successfully capture more territory for themselves. All of Frederick Duchy had already been occupied by the northern force.

    Some of them immediately surrender, some of them have already been liberated by the commoner of the said city, and a city needs to be taken by force.

    The northern army need only to occupy two more cities before they can besiege the capital city.

    They want to monitor the north, but they lose people each time they try to do it. The tower of magic already lost more than two dozen Archmage and three of their star mages.

    They want to take the magic knowledge from the northern people, so they sent thirty of their mages to support the Vulux Kingdom. Sadly, their plan did not work, and now they lose even more people.

    The northern continent also knows this news, especially the kingdom of Lazuli. The Lazuli family celebrates this victory by creating a small festival in the name of Johannes Lazuli.

    The eastern continent, on the other hand, hears different news. They get the news that the Black Heart Pirate group has been destroyed, and the one destroying them is the Lionheart Family. Some of the nobles on the eastern side are grateful for destroying the Black Heart Pirate, but some of them are annoyed because they have a trade agreement with that pirate group.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I look at the letter on the table with a frown on my face. All of them are telling how the king has lost his mind. Burning people alive, bury them in a pit full of shit, and even torture them in public.

    Because of this, many people decide to migrate to the north. While it is good to have more people, it was not good for our anti-spy network. Richard and his shadow work 24/7 to sort out which people are clean and which ones are spies.

    Not only that, but the food supply is also decreasing at a high pace. I already went unconscious once to make an anti-teleportation and long-ranged spy barrier around my newly occupied territory.

    There is also the former noble of the territory I take. They are an outright bastard. They think that they still own the territory I already occupy. If only they accept their defeat, I will give them a house to stay in and even give them money to start over.

    Now¡­ The only thing I need to do is to occupy the capital city and make the chain of command fall. When we occupy the capital, we should be able to sue for peace with the other lord. I did not want to beat all of them as right now, my army and I were already tired of this stupid war.

    Not physically but mentally.

    My men already miss their home and the same with me. It has already been half a year since the war started, and I miss Sea Dragon City. I can go back to my home, but I don''t have enough time.

    From maintaining the barrier to repairing the land using my magic, I did not have enough time to visit.

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear someone knocking at my door.

    "Come in"

    After I said that, I could see Lucina walk inside my office with a tea tray and cookies.

    "Isaac, you should relax a little. Here, I get some tea and cookies for both of us to enjoy."

    I smile at Lucina and walk to the sofa in front of my desk. Lucina poured the tea into my cup and sat next to me. I pick the cup of tea and take a deep breath letting the tea aroma get inside my nose. I take a sip of the tea and sigh in content.

 Chapter 152 - Over

    I look at the city of Drallac and hold myself from bombarding this city with all my spells. The reason I want to do it? At least hundreds of corpses are being crucified around the wall, and there is even a corpse on the wall.

    What makes matters worse, there is a sign above their head saying ''traitor.''

    "That bastard¡­ My lord! We should destroy this accursed city! Look at all those people being killed like that! The anguish of the innocent has cursed this city!"

    I agree with my uncle on this one. With my connection with death through my rune, I can sense and hear the crying of the dead. They are crying, cursing, and pleading to be released from their torture.

    "I agree. Prepare the siege engine. We will be attacking the city in three hours. Make sure to tell the engineer to work fast. Faster than what they usually did. When they ask the reason, show them this."

    "Yes, my lord!"

    I look back at the city and hold back my anger. I need to save all my strength for this fight. I cannot waste my magic because of anger. I take a deep breath and walk toward my tent. I cannot stay calm looking at the disgusting sight.

    In a few hours, I will end this pointless war.

    ~Three hours later~

    "Fire!"

    I order the catapult and trebuchet to fire their ammo and see the Siege Tower slowly approaching the wall of Drallac city.

    With the enemy focusing on the Siege Tower that I protect using my magic, I look at Lucina and nod my head. Lucina raises her hand and activates her rune.

    After invoking the spell''s name, a ball of fire appeared in front of her, and suddenly the ball formed into a torrent of fire. When the fire hits the gate and the wall, it immediately melts the stone and the steel it touches.

    I activate my star rune to make the gap Lucina makes larger. Seeing there is an opening, I shout to my troops.

    "Charge!"

    With my command, all the troops began to march toward the gap we made. This charge is functioning as a two-section attack. At least a thousand troops in the siege tower are already moving first, and with the enemy trying to stop us from getting inside the city, the troops inside the Siege Tower will easily occupy the wall.

    "Go! Go! Charges!"

    I swung down my spear and cut the head of the knight that tried to stop us. I continue to thrust my spear and continue to push the knight back. When I see the army commander in front of me, I begin to charge at him with my spear in hand.

    I keep swinging my spear left and right when I arrive in front of the commander; I stab him right in the neck and see him die with my spear.

    I can see the other knight begin to hesitate to attack after they see their commander is dead. Seeing my chance, I shouted.

    "Surrender! Your commander is dead! Surrender, and I will spare you! Keep fighting, and we will kill you! Your choice!"

    ~A few minutes later~

    To my surprise, the knights that guard the palace are already surrendering and let us get inside. When I get inside the palace, I can feel the foul energy get inside my body. This is the energy coming from the innocent people that have been torture and killed.

    This is their curse to the king.

    I continue to follow the foul energy in this castle, and when we arrive in front of the room that looks like the king''s bedroom, I can feel the foul energy get stronger. When I open up the door, I can see the king standing there in the middle of the room, b?r?ly able to hold up his sword.

    The king''s condition is so sad. Instead of looking like a dignified king that releases a noble aura, this king is like a beggar that did not eat for days. He is thin, extremely so. I can see his rib poking out from his oversized clothes. His skin is so pale that I thought he was a standing corpse. His eyes look ready to pop up.

    "Getaway! Y-You will not get my crown! You see this! I already nailed it into my skull! kekekeke! You will not get my crown! I''m the king! I''m the god chosen! I will rule forever! You can take my crown! Never!!!"

    After saying that, the king destroys the window with his sword and then jumps from the window. I run to the window and see the corpse of the former king is dead on the ground.

    I look at my generals and say.

    "The war is over. We won. Their king is dead and tells them to surrender. Tell the other lords who still fight in the name of the former king. If they continue to fight, they will be attacked."

    There are a few things that I regret in this war. The death of many innocent people, the loss of many good men that fight alongside me, and I cannot kill the king myself to answer his crime.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    When the other lord declares the war is over and the king is dead, the people of Drallac city celebrate instead of cursing Isaac for usurping the throne. They see the northern men as heroes who freed them from a tyrant, mad, and horrible ruler.

    They already hear about the north and how they are prospering under the leadership of Isaac ''Silver Lion'' Lionheart.

    Many people cry when they eat the food Isaac gave to them. They cried because it was the first time they ate something in days. They cry when their loved one gets cured by Isaac and the medic he brings with him. They cry because they know that Isaac Lionheart will be their king. Their benevolent king. A king that will create a bright future for them.

    The celebration lasts for three days and not only gives the people the food they need, but Isaac also purifies the damned soul in the capital, letting them rest in peace. There is also the problem of the corpse the king stored in his dungeon.

    It takes an entire day to give them a proper burial.

    However, Isaac''s biggest problem right now is his vassal, who appointed him as the new king of a new kingdom.

 Chapter 153 - Corronation

    "My lord! Please take the throne!"

    I massage my head as I already feel the headache coming in. All the northern noble is standing in front of me in the throne room screaming at me to take the throne.

    "Can I reject this offer?"

    "No, can''t do, my lord. You are the only one worthy of taking the throne for yourself. You are the conqueror of the south. You are the Silver Lion of the north. You are the Grandmarshall who defeated the Vulux army."

    I release a tired sigh when I hear my grandfather''s words. I really hate taking the crown. If I take the crown, I will be given a massive responsibility. Being a king is not an easy job. The only time being king is an easy job is when you are a tyrant or mad king.

    Anyway, I did not want to sound arrogant, but I''m the only one worthy of being crowned as the king. The next one is Elizabeth, the former daughter of the former king. Lastly, the former Grandmarshall of Vulux kingdom, Duke Lampert Gideon von Vesper.

    "Haaaa¡­ Very well. I will take the throne."

    After I said that, all of the people inside the throne room knelt and said.

    "Long live the king!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |3rd POV|

    It has been a month since the civil war between the northern and southern Vulux Kingdom, or now it is called the Lorian kingdom. Lo comes from Leo, which means lion on the earth, and Rian is silver in the ancient northern language. Isaac is not the most creative in naming something.

    With the newly established kingdom, Isaac is very busy. From giving his vassal a new land to punishing the other noble for siding with the mad king. However, what makes him very busy in the preparation of his coronation.

    As a new kingdom, they need to show the world that they are a strong kingdom. They already show the world that they are a strong military by winning the war, and now they need to show the world that they are strong in the economy.

    This is the reason why Isaac hates taking the crown. There is too much politics he needs to understand and do.

    Isaac releases another sigh, just about it.

    He looks at the window of the royal palace and sees many people walking around the street enjoying the festival of his coronation. They are the same people that previously starved to death. They are the same people that are afraid to get out of their house because the previous king has lost his common sense.

    However, instead of staying inside their home afraid of being punished by the new king, they joyfully celebrate their new ruler. Instead of cursing the new king, they give their blessing to their new monarch. They pray for him so he will live long.

    If the word of Long Live the King has become a formality, the people say it from the bottom of their hearts.

    "Your highness, the queen is ready."

    Lucina Lionheart, the daughter of a small baron, has become queen of a nation. People have begun calling her a Valkyrie from what Isaac calls her on the battlefield. Isaac said that Valkyrie is a female warrior, and the people believe him. From that on, Lucina got a nickname, Valkyrie.

    And that Valkyrie is currently wearing the most beautiful dress Isaac has ever seen. There is only one thing he can say when he opens up the door where Lucina is.

    Lucina is currently wearing a silver and gold dress with a flower motif around it. She wears a newly crafted silver crown above her head and the same silver necklace.

    Isaac takes her hand and gives it a light kiss.

    "Yes. Very beautiful, indeed."

    After complimenting his wife, Isaac gets away from her as the maid starts to take off her crown from her head. The crown is needed for the main event of the coronation.

    Isaac will be given the crown by his mother, while the former Queen Dowager will give Lucina the crown. When the crown is placed on their heads, they are officially kings and queens of the newly formed Lorian Kingdom.

    However, before going to the main event, they need to make a parade from the city gate and greet the people in the city. From a commoner to a noble, Isaac and Lucina need to greet them all.

    Elizabeth will also be present at the coronation. Sadly, she did not get an important role because, technically, she is the king''s concubine. Her ceremony will happen two days after the coronation, where both the three of them will do their marriage ceremony once again.

    After the preparation is completed, Isaac creates a magic circle underneath them and teleports to the camp that was already prepared beforehand, where the other people already waited. Both Isaac and Lucina will be sitting on the carriage that will slowly get to the Throne Room, where the coronation will begin.

    Guarding their carriage is the elite army that has been equipped with fancy armor. It was fancy armor, not durable armor, because they are more of a showing than fighting. However, even with that armor, they are still dangerous as they are an elite soldier fighting alongside Isaac.

    "Please get inside the carriage, your highness."

    Isaac and Lucina nod and get inside the open carriage. Isaac takes a deep breath before saying.

    "Let''s start."

    After he said that, music started. A drummer and flutist begin to play music, and the parade begins to march. The tent is a couple of hundred meters from the city gate, and it only takes a few minutes to arrive at the city gate, where the happy cheering of the people greets them.

    Isaac and Lucina wave their hands to the people that cheer for them. Isaac wants to give them a handshake, but he knows that he cannot do that. A security reason. While he can defend himself just fine, being attacked at your own coronation is considered a bad omen.

    The parade lasts for an hour before they arrive at the palace, where Isaac and Lucina get out of the carriage and are greeted by a red carpet. Standing next to the red carpet is the knight who raises their sword high in the air creating a triangle with their sword.

    Isaac and Lucina walk under the sword and get inside the palace. Waiting for the arrival of their new king is the noble of the Lorian kingdom. Eveline Lionheart, Isaac''s mother, and Valerie Gideon, the former Queen Dowager of Vulux Kingdom, Standing next to the throne.

    Isaac and Lucina kneel when they arrive in front of those two. The first one getting crowned is Lucina before Isaac gets crowned by his mother. After they get crowned, both of them get up and walk toward the throne.

    Both Eveline and Valerie walk away from the throne and stand with the other noble. When the others see Isaac sit on the throne, the noble begins to shout.

    "Long Live the King!"

    "Long Live the King!"

 Chapter 154 - Job

    Urgh. This is why I am hesitant to take the crown. There is too much responsibility! Look at that! I finished a stack of paper, and two more stacks appeared. It has been three months since my coronation, and I did not have a chance to get out of the palace and enjoy myself before an urgent report arrived.

    There is too much trouble I need to take care of. What did the previous king and royal advisor do?!? Partying all day?.... Yeah, they do that¡­ Dammit.

    There is too much problem in the kingdom I need to do. From pirates to monsters, there are too many problems.

    I''m fortunate to hoard all that gold from my pocket dimension because the gold needed to rebuild the kingdom is massive.

    The first thing I do when I become a king is to fix this god damn city. The first thing I do is purify the curse the damned cast on the king and the city. After that, I decided to clean and fix the sewer system. I did not want this city to smell like shit.

    I have thought of moving to the capital city, but I decided not to do it after thinking about it. The Sea Dragon City is too far away to be an effective capital as I cannot reach the south. The other city also did not have a good advantage like this city.

    Drallac City is located in the middle of two rivers, and one of the rivers is connected to a sea and is being built on top of higher ground. It was also located in the middle of the kingdom, making it an even more perfect place to govern the kingdom.

    So I decided to fix this city and even improve it. I choose to destroy the useless mansion near the capital the previous king owned and make it into farmland, where I hire the citizens of Drallac City to take care of the farm.

    I also turn the dried-up goldmine into a cave that grows edible mushrooms.

    I don''t know if it was not discovered yet, or the previous advisor and king were just that ignorant because they did not think of using the cave not too far away from the city as a mushroom breeding ground.

    Not only can it feed the citizens, but it is also a source of income.

    Speaking of food, I also built more farmland around the city. The previous government thought that farming was for peasants, and because of this, they decided the baron and the knight house as the farmer. You can imagine how stupid it was.

    They are fortunate to have really fertile land and can harvest a massive amount of food from the land. However, fertile land can lose its fertility, and when that happens, the kingdom collapses, just like what happened not too long ago.

    They are desperate enough to attack their ally and vassal to get some food.

    After doing some study, I decided to make a fishing farm around the lake near the city. By study, I mean search for some answer from the internet inside my pocket dimension. I also use the small lake a few kilometers away from the city and build a fishing village there.

    I usually let my people do it, but I decide to teach them myself because the people who know their stuff are busy with other stuff. They are rather successful doing their job as a fish farmer, but I will wait until harvest in a few months to see the final result.

    The next thing I do is to regain some peace in my kingdom. Because of the food shortage, many people decide to become bandits and ruin many villages around the kingdom. Because of this, I order my army to patrol across the kingdom to hunt down the bandits roaming around the kingdom.

    Other than bandits, there is also the problem of monsters. At least seven monster dungeons never get taken care of by the previous government near the city. If I did not find it sooner, a massive monster outbreak would come to the city.

    I send some army and even conquer the dungeon myself, leading one of the groups. It takes a few days to exterminate all the dungeons. Sadly, there are casualties in this fight. Ten good men died from the traps and the monster inside the dungeon.

    There is also the problem of pirates. They keep coming to my territory and causing trouble for the merchant coming here. Because of this, I decided to change the policy of dealing with a pirate. If, previously, I want my men to capture their ship and make our own, I decide to change it into a more aggressive stance.

    Destroy them. That is the policy. Destroy first and if there is a ship that is still mostly intact and can be prepared, take them.

    I also use all the power Richard has to search for their hideout. Cut their head, and their body cannot function. Richard already reported to me about a rumor of pirate recruitment and recently sent his men to infiltrate their rank and will report back in a few weeks.

    I also need to fix the border town and village between the Holy Light Empire and us. I welcome the merchant coming to my kingdom, but there is not only a merchant coming. A group of bandits also want a greener pasture to hunt and a monster migrating from that place.

    Lucky for me, Duke Lampert is the lord who governs that area. After all, he is a well-known general, and bandits will be hesitant to attack boldly with his presence there.

    Other than that, the reason why I build all that is to make sure what Eli said did not come true. She said that the Holy Light Empire would attack my kingdom and destroy it other than the north. With this kingdom is my kingdom now, I will not let that happen. If that happens when the previous king is in power, I will close my eyes and ignore it.

    Urgh. Just thinking about another war already makes my head hurt.

    "Dear Husband? Can I come in?"

    I snap from my thoughts when I hear someone calling from the door.

    "Come in"

    As the door opens up, I can see Lucina and Eli walk inside my office. Even with their new status as the wife of a king, they still wear simple clothes. When I asked them about it, they said that simple clothes are more of their style and formal clothes hurt their body.

    "Are you really that busy, dear? We have been calling you for ten seconds."

    "Ah, sorry about that. I have too much thing in my mind."

    "Sure."

    Yeah. I will think about work another day.. Today I want to enjoy life with my family.

 Chapter 155 - Interlude

    |3rd POV|

    Karou looks around the ''new'' kingdom of Lorian with awe from inside his store. It has been seven months since the civil war of the Vulux Kingdom finished and the newly established Lorian kingdom took over the previous kingdom. Karou can see the difference between the old and new kingdoms.

    It was like comparing a turd to a diamond. It was that different. Drallac changed into its former self and deserved to be called the city of dreams, just like in the past. The street is clean, and there is no foul odor in the city.

    The people here are happy and content.

    Karou is a merchant from the Holy Light Empire that tries his fortune in the new kingdom. The reason why he went to this new kingdom is that the Holy Light Empire is a mess. After the war of succession is finished, the empire plunges into another civil war.

    This time it was between the second and the first prince.

    In the first war, the first prince successfully ascended the throne and took the crown. He even began a reformation. However, among those reforms is to take a huge amount of power from the church.

    As you can imagine, the church did not take that news kindly and decided to switch their support from the first prince to the second one. With the support of the church, the second prince now has a considerable amount of power. Be it from a political view or martial power.

    The situation did not please the first prince, and he decided to declare war against his own brother.

    Just like the empire plunged into another civil war.

    Sure, a merchant can profit from the war that was happening, but he is not that kind of merchant. And war is no place for a merchant like him. Karou prefers a safer method than that kind of trade.

    And it looks like coming to this kingdom is the right decision for him. Isaac ''Silver Lion'' Lionheart is a well-known individual. Even in the Holy Light Empire, his name is known by the people. A gallant man who fights his tyrannical master to free his people.

    He is the savior that brings a bright future to his people. Out of all the kingdoms in the world, the only kingdom that did not have a short supply of food. From grain to fish, this kingdom has it all.

    What makes a merchant like him salivate is the price of the food they sold. It was cheap. It was rather expensive in the past, but right now, food is gold.

    However, there is one unwritten rule dealing with the people in the Lorian Kingdom. Honest Trade Only. Every merchant that tries to swindle the people in the Lorian Kingdom will be banned from their market and cannot do any trading. Even the most powerful merchant in the world needs to follow this rule because Karou knows about the incident where the merchant from Golden Dragon got banned from their market.

    Karou snaps from his thoughts when a customer gets inside his store.

    "Welcome! What can I do for you?"

    His customer is a middle-aged man around his forties.

    "Good morning. I want to buy a large batch of wine."

    "Of course. How large are we talking about?"

    "I need at least seventy barrels of wine."

    "Of course. That would be seven hundred gold coins."

    "Five hundred."

    "No, can''t do, sir. I need to get some profit, after all. Six hundred and seventy."

    "And I still did not get a profit from that price. Six and sixty."

    "Six and twenty."

    "Deal."

    Karou led the man into his warehouse, where he stored his goods and ordered the worker to move the wine barrels into the carriage the man brought with him.

    "Can I ask the reason why you bought this much wine?"

    This middle-aged man is really not his loyal customer, but he knows this middle-aged man is the owner of the inn on the east side of the city. He is not a merchant, and Karou wants to know why he buys this much wine.

    "Oh? You did not hear the news?"

    "I just came back from my trip. So I did not know any recent news."

    "Ah¡­ The royal family announced that the Queen is pregnant. There will be a festival a week from now on. I prepare a large amount of alcohol to serve the guests that will arrive in this city."

    "Yup. I think your stock will be depleted soon. Anyway, it is nice to have business with you, but I need to prepare for the festival."

    Karou nods his head and sees the middle-aged man walk away from his store. It looks like his store will be busy sooner than he thought it would be.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Currently, Lucina and I are walking around the city. I can see the people busy preparing something. They are preparing for a festival celebrating my wife getting pregnant. I smile and wave at the people that greet me.

    I cannot get used to people celebrating when my wife is pregnant. I know it was a rather common practice in this era, but it did not mean I can get used to it. At first, I was confused about why my mother told me I needed to announce that Lucina is pregnant, but after some explanation, I can understand the reasoning.

    A Queen pregnant is a symbol of blessing and fortune that is soon to come. It was like saying to the world that my dynasty will last long.

    I smile a little when I see Lucina smile brightly at the flower a child gives to her. Just like all fathers feel seeing their wife pregnant for the first time, I want to keep her in the palace like a fragile vase because I''m afraid her, our, child will get affected when she walks around the city.

    However, I know Lucina did not like that, and I know that a casual stroll will not affect our child.

    "Dear, try this."

    "How is it?"

    "It is delicious."

    "I know, right? I will take another serving, please!"

    I smile once again when I see her smile get bigger.. I want to protect that smile, and I will do anything to protect it.

 Chapter 156 - Headache

    I rub my forehead as I can feel a headache begin to attack my brain.

    "Look. The only reason why I agree to meet you is that you are the son of a king in the eastern kingdom. That is the only respect I can give you, and right now, that respect is already gone. Take him away."

    My guard takes the arrogant bastard while he is shouting something to me.

    "You bastard! You did not know who you were dealing with! I''m the crown prince of Variks empire! I will have your head in pike! I will r*pe your woman! I will make them my slave!"

    I hold myself from summoning my spear and stab that little shit right in his heart. I did not want another war.

    I released a relieved breath when the little shit voice disappeared, finally.

    "Richard, How much do you know about the Variks empire?"

    "Variks empire is closer to us than any other empire and kingdom in the eastern continent. They are richer than us because they have many gold mines inside their territory in terms of economy. This is the reason why their empire is strong. They have too many gold mines."

    "In terms of Army?"

    "They still win in numbers. As for might¡­ I cannot say. There is a rumor they have a powerful individual working for the empire. However, there is no evidence of this rumor. In the last war they participated ten years ago, they lost almost ten thousand men. If they have a powerful individual, they will win with fewer casualties. I also hear there is a distrust between nobles in the empire. While they have the number, they cannot march their full force as each noble in the empire wants to sit on the throne."

    "I see. Their stability?"

    "Getting worse. Like all of the kingdoms in the world, they experienced the harshest famine in their generation. With the nobles keeping the food for themselves, the commoner became unrest, and many people died. I already hear a whisper of revolution going on."

    "I see. While I hate doing this, that little shit really presses the bu??on he should not press. Richard, I was hoping you could order all of our merchants to increase the price of their goods that go to the Variks empire. Make it thirty times its original price. I also want the same treatment for all merchants coming from the said empire. Sell them the goods at that price. When they ask the reason why, tell them what that little shit said to me."

    Let it not be said that Isaac Lionheart is too weak to retaliate against someone saying something bad to his face.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Jafariun Veltur, Duke of Variks Empire POV|

    "Hmph! That little king should kneel in front of me and kiss my feet! Does he not know who I am?!? I''m the son of the emperor!"

    "You idiot!"

    *BAM*

    I punched my nephew hard enough to send him flying and destroy the bookshelf.

    "Do you know what you have done?!?"

    I glare at my nephew, Padur, with all the hate I can give him.

    "I show him how to treat a royalty! He is nothing but a small king from a small kingdom! I showed him his place! Under my feet! I show him I can r*pe his women if I want to! That is what I do! You are a duke of the mighty Variks Empire! You should do the same! Instead, you decide to wait here and prepare a gift for him! What kind of duke are you!"

    *BAM*

    Once again, I punched him right in the face and threw him away from my room. I walk toward him and look at the guard in front of my room.

    The guard did not say anything and only took the little bastard to his room.

    "Why are you doing this, uncle?!? I''m doing what the royal family should do!"

    I ignore that little bastard and decide to sit down on the couch inside my room. That little shit has caused the empire''s downfall. This is the reason why I hate all my brother''s family. All of them do not deserve the royal title. All of them think with their crotch.

    Variks empire is not what it used to be. They still think the empire is like the empire in the past. Full of gold, full of food, and an army that can beat anyone. Sadly it was all in the past. Even before the famine swept the land with its curse, the Variks empire already started breaking.

    There is already news of the gold mines beginning to be depleted and how there is no more gold source to be found. There are at least twenty gold mines already depleted this year, and it is starting to spread.

    We are lucky that the Prime Minister and I successfully created a false rumor covering up the news of the depleted gold mines, but I know it will not last long.

    However, instead of starting to save some money, the emperor decided to hold more parties. A useless kind of party. His son can read simple sentences? Party. The emperor and his hunting party successfully hunt some rabbit? Party.

    What made matters worse, it was not a cheap kind of party¡ªthe most expensive wine, expensive food, and even new expensive clothing.

    The Prime Minister and I had a hard time saving as much money as possible, but it was all for naught as the king spent more money than we can save.

    "My lord¡­"

    I snap from my thoughts when I see a young man walk inside my room.

    "Tahruin. Please tell me you have good news."

    "Sadly, no."

    I release a tired sigh before getting up to take a bottle of Northern Whiskey from the drawer and pour a little of it into the glass before giving it to my most trusted man.

    "Here. Tell me what news you bring?"

    "Lorian people begin to change their behavior toward our merchant, my lord."

    "So, the news already spread out? That is fast. It only has been what? Three hours?"

    "Yes."

    "Fortunately, no."

    "Then what? Spit it out already"

    Tahruin takes a deep breath before saying.

    "They increase the price of goods."

    "By how much?"

    "Thirty times, my lord."

    "Dammit!"

    I want to kill that little shit with my own hand, but he is still my nephew and the son of the emperor. I drink the whiskey in a single breath and say.

    "Let''s get out of here. I did not want that little shit presence making the relationship with the Lorian kingdom even worse."

    "What is it?"

    "I hear the rumor that anyone that gets caught selling Lorian goods to the Variks empire will be banned from buying any goods from the Lorian kingdom."

    I rub my head as another headache hits me.

    "Usually, this tactic will fail as the other merchant can buy the goods from other countries, but because of the famine, Lorian can monopolize this trade as they are the largest supplier of food in the Western Continent or even the world."

    "What should we do now, my lord?"

    "For now, we should go back and report back to the Prime Minister. After that? We will come back here and kneel in front of King Lionheart. I did not want the stupidity of one person to kill the other and even my family."

    Even if the Lion King wants my right hand, I will give it to him. We really need this food. My people already suffer enough from this famine and the monster in my territory. I did not want my people to suffer even more.. I will take the risk by making illegal trade with the Lorian Kingdom if I have to.

 Chapter 157 - Work

    "What do you think, your highness?"

    I look at the massive ship in front of me for a few seconds before nodding.

    "Good. The rune is tightly put together, and there is no gap between them. You guys are doing a good job. And how long does it take to enchant this ship?"

    "Three days, your highness."

    "Hmmm¡­ How many of you are doing this job?"

    "Twenty of us, your highness. Ten of us carve the rune, seven keep a steady supply of mana, and three of us watch the mana flow."

    "I see. I will leave the ship enchantment to you then. I need another twenty ships being enchanted. In a week, another batch of magicians will arrive. I want you to be the leader of that group. I want you to show them this project."

    "Of course, your highness. We will finish this project as fast as we can."

    "Don''t rush it. I did need all of them by the end of the day. Keep your usual pace. I did not want you guys to be exhausted in this job."

    "Of course, your highness. Thank you so much for being so kind."

    "Think nothing of it."

    They did not need to thank me for common sense. A happy worker is a productive worker. This saying did not exist in this world. The noble here think that the harder the worker works, the bigger their productivity will be.

    That is true but forcing them to work twenty hours a day is no good. Human is not a machine that can work twenty-four hours a day. Hell, even a machine needs rest as well.

    There is also the problem that runic craft needs concentration. If the magicians did not have any sleep, how could they concentrate on doing their job? Not only that, the Runic craft is like an experiment with a chemical substance. A small mistake can cause an explosion.

    "Where should we go next, my lord?"

    "Hmmm, Lucina is in the barrack, right?"

    "Yes. Lady Lucina is in the barracks teaching the new blood."

    "Poor soul. Anyway, seeing Lucina is busy, I think we should go to the warehouse area."

    "Of course, my lord. Would you please get inside the carriage, my lord? We will be departing in a few seconds."

    I get inside the carriage and close the door. After I sit down on the seat, Richard begins to drive the carriage. I can see people look at my carriage with awe as the carriage. I wave my hand at the people I pass by and continue to do so for a few minutes before I decide to close the curtain of the carriage.

    "Richard, have you heard something suspicious around the kingdom?"

    "Yes. There is a group of people that want to sell Mukka in this kingdom."

    "Mukka?"

    "Mukka is a crystal that makes people swallow it, feel good, and hallucinate about something good. However, there is a side effect to the people who swallow this crystal. This crystal is highly addictive, and the people that did not eat this crystal for more than a month will die."

    "Where is this crystal coming from?"

    "The first Mukka is created in the Central Continent."

    "Yes and No. I already take care of most of them, but I know there is more."

    "Use all the power you want but make sure to eradicate the people selling this crystal. Make sure you interrogate them and ask them where they get this crystal. We cannot stop the trade without cutting the head first."

    "Of course, my lord."

    Drugs, huh? I did not need that kind of thing being sold inside my kingdom. Even without it, I already have too much work to do, and with that thing being sold inside my kingdom? There will be more headaches.

    It looks like I need to focus on the barrier. I only need a little more preparation before erecting the same barrier I have around Sea Dragon City in the size of my kingdom. The only thing I need to do is to place the anchor around my kingdom.

    My kingdom is the size of¡­ maybe the USA but just a little smaller, meaning I need almost all of my mana to erect that barrier, or maybe my reserve is not enough even with that.

    Urgh. I guess I need to do it little by little. The first layer will be an intent-based barrier that kills the people that have bad intentions. Selling drugs or spying is included in this layer. This barrier will cast a Killing Curse on anyone that has bad intentions.

    That should be enough for now.

    However, I need to make the second layer faster because killing a spy is good and all, but Richard needs intelligence, and the spy coming here has the intelligence he needs to protect the kingdom even more.

    As for the third layer¡­ Well, there are a few Curses from Black Family I want to try.

    "My lord, we are here."

    I snap from my thoughts when Richard informs me that I''ve arrived. Richard opens the door, and I get out of the carriage, and the first sight I see is a massive building. This building is the main warehouse where the food is ready to be exported.

    "Good morning, Your Highness."

    I look to the side and see a lion beastman walking toward me.

    "Good morning, Andar. How are you?"

    "I''m doing great, your highness."

    "Good. Good. How is the situation?"

    "Like usual, your highness. However, there is a problem with the merchant being banned by us. They try to use a group of thugs to intimidate us. Lucky for us, the guard here quickly apprehends the thug before they could do anything. The thugs have already been captured and placed in jail."

    "Of course."

    Richard, Andar, and I walk inside the warehouse. When my feet touch the warehouse ground, I can feel the change in the air. The temperature dropped significantly.

    "As you can see, the warehouse is full of goods that are ready to be shipped. To your left is the one that the Green Turtle Merchant group has already ordered. They are the merchant group coming from the Southern continent."

    "We have a customer from the southern continent?"

    "Oh yes. The merchant from the southern continent is the most polite merchant we have. They know that we are selling them our goods at an honest price and even giving them a discount when they buy in large quantities. Because of this, they decide to stay humble and even thank us for selling them our food at a low price."

    "I see. If they are really polite, make sure to take care of them with our high-quality goods, will you? As long as they respect us, we will respect them."

    "Of course, my lord."

    I look to the right and see people placing goods from the outside, and one of them caught my attention.

    "Oh? An octopus?"

    "Of course. Their meat is delicious, a little bit chewy but delicious nonetheless."

    Andar chuckled a little when he heard me saying that.

    "You are right, your highness. Octopus is considered a pest by the human fisherman, but to use it was a delicacy. Humans found it too chewy, but to us, it was a perfect texture. We also feed it to our children who just grow their teeth. It was the perfect food for them."

    "Huh. I never knew that. Can I take a few of those Octopus? It''s been a while since the last time I ate one of those."

    "Of course, your highness. I will send some men to prepare it for you."

    "Good. Now, let''s continue."

    After saying that, we continued the warehouse inspection.

 Chapter 158 - Visit

    |Jafariun Veltur, Duke of Variks Empire POV|

    "No! We cannot attack the Lorian kingdom out of spite!"

    I rub my head as I can feel an intense headache inside my head.

    "We already lost too many people in this famine, and you want to declare war against the kingdom that has the largest supply of food?!? Are you out of your mind?!? Your son already caused so much damage that I am afraid it will be really hard to stitch back together, and you want to declare war? Just hand your head to them as you will be dead if you do that! Do you know why?!? Because they are one of the most powerful kingdoms in the western continent in terms of the military!"

    "Hmph. You must believe a drunkard rumor."

    "You¡­! Argh!"

    Is this bastard already losing his mind? Or is there a curse that makes my own brother this stupid?

    "You know what? Fine! Do you want war?!? Go for it. However, remember that once you call for a banner, expect my banner will not appear at your call."

    "The same with me. If you decide to declare war against the Lorian Kingdom? There will be no gold flowing. I will not pay for this stupid folly."

    "What?!? I''m the emperor! I can do whatever I want!"

    "And I''m the Prime Minister. I''m the one taking care of the empire."

    After saying that, Lord Bakun walked away from the throne room. I followed him out of the room. We ignore my brother''s tantrum, and when we are far enough from the throne room, I say.

    "Do you think he will declare war?"

    "No. Even when he did that, it was only a letter declaring he wanted to go to war with the Lorian Kingdom. There is not a single noble who will mobilize their army if I can help it. We cannot tarnish our name even more to the people of Lorian kingdom."

    "Thank the gods for the small mercy. Even if we go to war against the Lorian Kingdom, I don''t think we can win the fight. The Black Heart Pirate has destroyed our navy, and we did not have time to fix it as each time we do that, the pirate attacks our shore to prevent us from attacking them back."

    "While I''m not a military expert, I also know that we will not win in this war. I know the reason why many merchants can successfully sail to the western continent is that they pay the pirate to be their bodyguard."

    "Should we hire the pirate to become our naval army?"

    "If they do that, then why can the merchant hire them?"

    "Because they have bigger teeth than us. Do you see how few sailors we successfully recruit each year? They are recruited by the merchant family. They get trained to navigate the ship and how to command a soldier to fight naval combat."

    Huh? Now he mentions it each year, the number of recruits in the navy force decreases.

    "Now you mention it. Yeah, the number is decreasing each year."

    "Because the officers in the navy are corrupt and only accept people that pay the highest."

    "What?!?"

    There is corruption in the navy?!?

    "Yeah, the officer in the navy is corrupt."

    "Why didn''t you tell me?!? I will take care of it."

    "Urgh"

    Haaaa¡­ I hate this. I really hate this. A stupid ruler combined with a stupid and greedy noble? It is a combination that can cause a disaster. After releasing another tired sigh, I look at my friend and trusted ally in this city before saying.

    "So, what should we do? I''m thinking of going back to the Lorian Kingdom alone with a few trusted men and begging to get some food from them."

    "Ah, yeah. That. Thirty times the original price, huh? Not only that, but Isaac Lionheart also banned people that sell their food to use at the original price. I did not mean to offend you, but how can that stupid ?unt is your nephew?"

    "I don''t know, my friend. I still ask the same question myself."

    "Anyway, I will come with you. Please wait for a week before we go to the Lorian Kingdom. How long does it take to go to the capital city of Lorian Kingdom?"

    "Two weeks we will arrive in the Sea Dragon City and two weeks from Sea Dragon City to the Drallac city. Or we can take the river route and arrive in the capital city a week earlier."

    "More or less a month, huh? Very well. We will go to the Lorian Kingdom in a week early in the morning. I still need to make a plan to make sure the empire is still running while we are away."

    "Of course."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Can we go to the market, dear?"

    I look at my wife Lucina, resting her head on my shoulder, and say.

    "What for?"

    "Eli and I want to cook something, and we need some fresh ingredients."

    "Sure. Do you want to come as well, Eli?"

    Eli looks at me from my ??p and says.

    "Yes. I need to buy a specific ingredient."

    "Can I ask what food you want to make?"

    "That''s good. Anyway, should we go now?"

    Before Eli could say anything, someone knocked on my office door. Lucina put her head away from my shoulder, and Eli got up from my ??p.

    "Come in."

    A second after I said that, Richard got inside my office and bowed toward me.

    "I''m sorry for interrupting your time, my lord."

    "Don''t worry, Richard. What can I do for you?"

    "You get an important letter from the empire in the eastern continent."

    "From who?"

    "From the Variks Empire."

    After a few seconds of reading, I nod my head.

    "What is it, dear? Is everything okay?"

    "Everything is okay, Lucina. The letter is coming from the Prime Minister of the Variks Empire."

    "What does he want from you?"

    "Nothing. The letter said that he and his companion would come to Drallac city in a month."

    "Oh? Do they want to come to declare war or something officially?"

    "I don''t think so. The letter said that they came here to apologize for what their crown prince said to me."

    "Oh? Will you forgive them?"

    "That depends. Richard."

    Richard walks forward and says.

    "Yes!"

    "Send some of your shadows to the Variks Empire, especially their capital. They can use the enchanted ship to get there faster. I need your shadow to get there before they can get here. I want to know at least why they come here and apologize and even send their prime minister to do it. Fruit does not fall too far from its tree. By the look of the crown prince, I have a feeling the emperor is not the one to order the prime minister to apologize to me."

    "Understood."

    I''m willing to give a second chance, but there will be no third chance.. If they betray my second chance, then I will try my hardest to make them suffer.

 Chapter 159 - Daily Life

    "Why?!? Oh, Why?!?"

    I scream in frustration. Richard standing at my side, patted my back in sympathy.

    "There. There."

    "Why, Richard? Why is each person that wants to meet me either an idiot or an arrogant bastard?"

    "That is the curse of a king, my lord. The brighter you are, the more moths come to you."

    "Moths are good and all. The people that want to meet me are a retarded moth."

    The reason for my whining? Those are the people that want to ask for my sister''s hand in marriage. Because of my new status as a king, I cannot have the title of Duchy of Sea Dragon Point at the same time. Well, I can, but I cannot take care of both the north and the rest of the kingdom at the same time.

    Because of this, I give the title of Duchess to my little sister with my mother and me as her regent.

    You can imagine what people want asking for my sister''s hand. They want to take the title of Duke. What makes matters worse, the people that come to me are either idiots, arrogant, or outright retarded

    Then there is also the problem that each of them is more than triple my sister''s age. My sister is seven years old this year. That means the youngest person that asks my sister''s hand is a twenty-one years old man.

    I really want to punch their face or cut their head off when they say how they are the ones who deserve my sister''s hand. I already announced that I did not want to marry or betrothed my sister yet. However, it was not enough to make them stop.

    "You know what? Fuck it. Richard makes sure the other knows that anyone who wants to ask for my sister''s hand will be rejected. I accept them because I want to be respectful. However, they decide to be an idiot. Reject them and if they decide to try something funny, let the guard beat them or something."

    "Understood."

    "Good. Is there anything I should do before the end of the day?"

    "I don''t think so, my lord."

    "Good. Because I want to spend my time with my family, have you seen Lucina?"

    "Ah, lady Lucina is in the garden with lady Eveline and lady Elizabeth."

    "Very well. Make sure we are not get disturbed unless it is an emergency."

    "Understood."

    I get up from my chair and get away from my office. I walk toward the palace garden, where I grow many kinds of flowers and even medicinal plants. Not only that, but this garden also has edible vegetables and fruit for us to use for our cooking.

    "Brother!"

    I smile a little when I see my little sister, Ginerva, run toward me. I squat down and welcome her.

    "Hello, Gin Gin. How are you?"

    "I''m good!"

    "Have you been a good girl?"

    "En! I study really hard! Mother teaches me how to be a lord like you!"

    "Good girl."

    "Hehehe~"

    I pick her up and walk toward my mother, who is sitting on the chair drinking some tea.

    "Good morning, mother."

    "Morning, dear. How are you? It has been a week since the last time we met."

    "I''m doing good, mother. A bit tired from all the headaches I got from the recent visit, but other than that? I''m good."

    My mother and sister decide to visit the capital city using a gateway I created using my magic to connect the Sea Dragon City and Drallac city. This gateway is used not only for my mother and sister or us to visit. It also functions as an emergency runaway in case something bad happens.

    "Good. Your sister really misses you and keeps asking me to visit you. She decided to make you proud and keep studying even with all that whining."

    Hearing what my mother was saying, I smiled at Ginerva and kissed her forehead. I then place her down and walk toward Lucina, who teaches Valerie and Elizabeth how to brew some potions while Ophis eats a bowl of cookies under the shade of a tree.

    "... Remember to stir it to the right. That is the important part. Anyway, that is all for today''s theory. Now, Valerie, you try."

    After Lucina said that, she closed her book and looked at me.

    "Sorry for interrupting your teaching, Lucina."

    "No. I already finished my lecture anyway. It is time for Valerie to try it herself. Do you want to help me observe Valerie''s progress?"

    "Sure."

    I sit next to Lucina and look at Valerie cutting down the potion ingredient and boiling the water inside the cauldron. However, when I saw her cut the ingredient too thick, I said,

    "Hmmm, you cut it too thick, Valerie. Remember that you only want to make one cauldron full of potions. The leaf from Gariks tree is really potent. You need to cut it, so the potency of the leaf decreases."

    "En. Understood."

    Valerie then begins to cut the leaf thinly. A perfect cut for the potion she wants to make. Right now, Valerie tries to brew an Inner Stomach potion that helps any problem in your stomach. From having a hard time doing your toilet business to helping stabilize the amount of acid inside your stomach.

    "How are you, Lucina? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?"

    "I''m doing good, Isaac. The baby is also doing fine. There was a time when I was craving for something, but it was from time to time."

    "I see. Please tell me if you want anything. I will get it for you."

    "Of course, dear."

    Lucina placed her head on my shoulder, and I put my hand around her.

    "Should we expect any more arrogant guests, dear?"

    "Not anytime soon, at least. I already tell Richard to reject a snobbish rich bastard coming to the palace. You can rest easy."

    "Good because I cannot stand their overly sweet voice. I still did not understand why you accepted them, to begin with. You are a king, you know? You can use it to your advantage."

    "I guess you are right."

    I still think like a man in a modern time and still think like someone who did not have any powerful position. I''m a king now, a new king but a king nonetheless.

    "Good because I did not want to hear a rumor about my husband who was afraid to reject a guest in his own palace."

    "Yeah, I know."

    "Anyway, speaking of guests, the people from the Variks Empire should arrive here a few days from now, right?"

    "Yup. Richard is already reporting of him seeing the ship carrying the Prime Minister of the Variks empire."

    "Hmmm, should I order the people in the kitchen to serve our best food?"

    "You know what? Sure. It has been a while since we had a luxurious feast."

    "Then I will tell the people in the kitchen to cook something special. Can Richard get any information about the reason why the prime minister came to our kingdom?"

    "Food. Like any other kingdom and empire, the Variks empire''s food situation is bad, and with my new policy regarding trading with them, their situation has worsened. Richard already spread the rumor about the involvement of their prince in the increase of the food price to make it matter worse."

    "Really?"

    "Yeah. I''m still a little bit angry at that little shit-talking as if he owned this place. Also, he said he wants to r*aped you. I cannot let that slide by, can''t I?"

    "Hmm~ I guess I can agree with you on this. Then what about the people that come here? Do you want to give them a chance?"

    "Yes, just because the people other than the prince are respectful toward us. Their merchant is respectful and somewhat honorable. They still want to get profit, but it has not blinded them to the point of being greedy."

    And if the people that come here decide to act like the prince? Well, there is another empire that wants food from us.

 Chapter 160 - Meeting

    I look at the people that get down from the carriage. Two men get out of the carriage. One of them is a massive man around 196 cm tall with a broad body full of muscle. The other is not as big but still tall, around 186 cm tall. However, instead of the body of a bodybuilder, this man is lean but still packed with muscle.

    "Welcome to my palace."

    "Thank you for receiving us, your highness. My name is Bakun Xerias, a Duke of Variks Empire and the said empire''s prime minister. This man is¡­."

    "Jafariun Veltur, a Duke of Variks Empire."

    I nod my head before saying.

    "My name is Isaac Lionheart. Please let us get inside. The food has already been prepared and ready to eat."

    Richard and I led my guest to the dining room, where both Lucina and Elizabeth were already waiting for me. When we get inside the dining room, I introduce them to my guests.

    "Let me introduce my wives to you. This is Lucina Lionheart, and Elizabeth Lionheart, both of them are my wives."

    If I''m still on Earth, I will be labeled as a weirdo or even be arrested by a cop as I broke the law for marrying two people at once. However, when I introduce both Eli and Lucina, my guests just nod their heads in acceptance.

    "Please take a seat. You must be tired and hungry. We can begin the meeting later. Right now, we eat."

    Both of my guests sit down on the chair while their guard stands behind them. I sit down on the lord chair and begin to eat. While eating my food, I decided to break the ice.

    "So, lord Bakun. How is your journey?"

    "It is fine, I guess. There was a problem with pirates attacking our ship when we first departed. However, when we arrive at a certain part of the sea, they decide to stop attacking us and even give up their hunt. I heard from the sailor; it was because of the rule of Sea Dragon City. Do you know anything about it, your highness?"

    So he wants to know about our force, huh?

    "Of course. Let''s just say that the pirate will have an unfortunate accident when they reach a certain part of the sea near Sea Dragon City."

    What I mean is that they will be hunted down and destroyed by our fleet. With the newly built enchanted ship, our navy increases in power and easily destroys all the pirates who try their luck in my territory.

    After the Black Heart Pirate gets destroyed by Ophis, no pirate group is brave enough to invade Sea Dragon City.

    "I see. What an unfortunate accident. How unfortunate indeed."

    "Indeed."

    We continue to eat our food in silence for a few minutes. After we eat the main dishes, the servant brings a dessert and drink to the dining room.

    "Please enjoy the dessert and drink."

    I can see Bakun take a glance at a bottle of bourbon whiskey the servant brings and says.

    "Is that a new type of drink?"

    "Well, not really new. I just decided not to sell it to an outsider yet. It was called whiskey."

    "Oh? Is it the same as your vodka?"

    "Why don''t you try it yourself."

    The servant served Bakun a glass of whiskey. I can see him take a good sniff before drinking it in one go. I can see him enjoying the warmth the alcohol gives to his body before saying.

    "It is good. Excellent, in fact. It has a sweet taste and a beautiful aftertaste. I like this more than the Vodka you sold to us."

    Of course, this is better. The Vodka I sold was mass-produced and did not have the beautiful taste of well-aged vodka.

    "Thank you. Now, while we are enjoying this drink, shall we start the business?"

    I can see him look at both Eli and Lucina but decide to hold his opinion. Good.

    "Very well. First thing first, we want to apologize for what our crown prince did to you. We come here not for you to forgive our Crown Prince but rather to give us a second chance to prove that the people of Variks Empire are not as bad as their royalty."

    "Raise your head. I cannot forgive your crown prince, but I can give your empire a second chance."

    Bakun nods his head and says.

    "Thank you. That is all we asked for."

    "Now that it is out of our way, can I ask the reason why you come here?"

    "Then I will be straight to the point. Food. We need your food. We did not ask you to give it to us for free. What we want is for you to give us the usual price you give to the others. Our people have suffered enough, and we cannot take your wrath. I know what our prince did was unforgivable, but I beg you. We beg you, O Lion King. Please reduce the price of your food!"

    Once again, the duo Duke bowed their heads so low that their forehead touched the table in front of them.

    "Raise your head."

    At my word, I can see both dukes raise their heads and see their eyes looking at me.

    "I never thought in my entire life to see a duke bowing their head toward me, and one of them is a prime minister of an empire."

    "Pride comes from what we achieve in life, and I am proud of my achievement. However, pride cannot feed my people. If by bowing my head to the point of bleeding I will get the food needed to feed my people, I will do it."

    I looked at him and tried to trick him in his eyes, but after a few seconds, I found none. Not only that, the deception detector necklace around my neck did not vibrate, meaning that he is telling the truth.

    I sigh a little before saying.

    "Very well. I will give the Variks Empire their second chance but remember; there will not be a third chance. Take this chance as a blessing and curse. A blessing because you can feed your people and MAYBE create a good relationship between our two nations. A curse because if the people of Variks Empire crossed the line once again, your nation would become the enemy of my kingdom."

    "Understood. Thank you so much for being so kind, your highness."

    "Good. Now, let us continue to drink and eat!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    |Bakun Xerias POV|

    I sit down on the sofa inside our room. Sitting next to me is my friend Duke Jafariun.

    "We are really fortunate, don''t we?"

    "We are indeed fortunate, my friend."

    Our venture here is successful. I''m really glad to do my own research about the people of Northern Vulux Kingdom beforehand. They are the people that like a direct and to-the-point conversation. The more you speak honeyed words, the more they will think of you as a sneaky sneak.

    "Twenty thousand kilograms worth of food. We successfully secured that much food with the price from before the disaster."

    "I think you should negotiate more so we can get more food."

    "Don''t look a gift horse in the mouth, my friend. We already receive this boon from someone that can make our empire suffer even more with a snap from his finger. We are lucky to get here fast enough before the news of our empire''s embargoed by the Lorian Kingdom spread far and wide. Many merchant families are more than happy to lick the boots of the Lion King to keep their trade with his kingdom."

    Jafariun sighed heavily before emptied another glass of Whiskey.

    "I guess you are right. If only I watch my nephew more carefully."

    We stay silent and enjoy the drinks given by King Isaac for a few minutes before I suddenly say.

    "Jafariun, do you want to become an emperor?"

    "Are you thinking what I think you are?"

    "Yes."

    "You know that kind of thinking is treason. A coup is punishable by death."

    "I know. However, you can see how the empire''s future will be if your brother continues ruling the empire. The only reason why there is no rebellion is that I work really hard fixing all the fu?k up he created. I don''t know how long I can hold the dam, my friend. Once the dam is broken, it would be the biggest flood we will experience. There is nothing more effective to fuel a rebellion other than desperation, and I know the people in the empire are already desperate for change."

    "... They are my family, Bakun. I cannot fight against my family, especially my blood brother."

    "I know, my friend. I just hope you are prepared for the flood that will come soon."

    Jafariun sighed once again and emptied another glass of whiskey before getting and saying.

    "One more time. Give them one chance.. If they fu?k this chance up, I will call the army."