《The Mortal Ingredients》


 Prologue: The Universal Language

    ¡®In the end, however, not even Iago¡¯s love towards Othello could save him from his impending punishment, and by loving him too much Iago killed the very man he wished to serve. Perhaps that is the largest irony of all.¡¯


    I looked over at the clock just as I finished writing my analysis on Othello and Iago¡¯s possible homosexuality.


    4:30 in the morning? ... Fuck. After being in school for sixteen years, the pain of writing yet another carbon copy of an assignment from the previous semester still stung, but still I completed it, much to my own chagrin.


    I sighed and painstakingly got up out of the computer chair my body had atrophied in for the last 6 hours, and finally crawled into my freshly made bed.


    If there was one good thing about pulling an all-nighter on a Monday morning, it was the fresh bed I had to sleep on, albeit a small consolation for sleep deprivation.


    I sat awake for quite a while, surprising considering how long it had been since I last slept, but I couldn¡¯t get the bitterness of the bullshit schooling system out of my head.


    It was the same. The same! Every single assignment was yet another iteration in the ongoing series of producing the same paper for different teachers each year, and I was sick and tired of it.


    I fell asleep and awoke at the same sound of an alarm only it was¡­ 10:30? I rushed to get up and get ready since there was only 20 minutes left until the bus to the nearest station would arrive at the end of my street.


    The disgusting feeling of monotony grew inside me as I brushed my teeth, and didn¡¯t lessen as I scrubbed my tongue or rinsed out my mouth.


    I looked into the mirror, my face was clean shaven in contrast with the bags under my eyes. What a shitty reminder that sleep was necessary for living beings. My attempts to comb my brown hair and unruly bangs resulted in failure, so I gave up and swept it above my left eye. I stared harder, looking into the reflection of my own dark-brown gaze.


    ¡°Fuck it, I need a change... and I need one badly.¡± After boarding the bus, I read my 6 page paper in disgust, the mere notion that something that came from your brain needed a set length was particularly a joke to me.


    I stuffed the paper in my bag as I walked towards the station, then brought it out once more to recheck it after I sat down on the train.


    ¡°JFK/ UMass next.¡± I barely tore myself away from the monstrosity in my hands to exit the train in time.


    The same formula... read a book, pick a lens, write. Read a book, pick a lens, write. Over and over and over again!


    I sighed stepping into the crowded bus, the low murmur of a few students chatting made it from the back all the way to the front.


    Professors absorbed in only flaunting their own knowledge and sharing their own experiences instead of committing to making the lesson about the students, they make it an expose about themselves... disgusting.


    Finally making my way up the stairs to the left of the campus center, I made my way into the McCormack building for yet another dumb and repetitive class on six British authors, because I had foolishly chosen the dying major of English.


    You know what? Screw this life. I¡¯m going to do something stupid today. I need to get out of this loop before I break down more than I already have.


    I walked into the classroom and immediately felt stares on my person. As was normal from being a loner walking into a creative writing class. Unfortunately, because everyone felt that they had needed to share their most depressing moments through their writing like they were invited to a class pity party, I had come to see them as not always worth my time.


    Who wants to wallow in self-pity after all? It disgusted me. It didn¡¯t help matters that I wrote a poem about said feelings, but that¡¯s besides the point. I sat down in my usual seat at the back of the classroom, mostly so when the material itself got too boring, I could see what other students were up to.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Sighing, I pulled out my report one last time and started to read over it before a pair of small, nice-smelling hands covered my eyes. ¡°You¡¯re way too casual with physical contact you know. And how many times do I have to tell you not to spray your hands with that shit? It makes me nauseous.


    ¡°Aw. Not even gonna try to guess who I am?¡±


    ¡°We both know you¡¯re the only person who doesn¡¯t avoid me like the plague, Rachel.¡±


    The aforementioned Rachel took her hands off my eyes and swung around to the front of my seat, pretend-pouting. ¡°I wonder what caused you to change like this? It¡¯s like that reserved and kind boy from our freshman year was all a lie.¡±


    That¡¯s because it was. I thought to myself, but didn¡¯t dare breathe it into existence. I had a feeling she knew anyway, given the way she still stuck by as my best friend. ¡°Othello and Iago¡¯s Forbidden Love.¡± She spoke the title of my research paper out loud.


    ¡°Icky. Sounds like a yaoi novel Joshua.¡± She gave a disapproving look and sat down in her desk next to mine.


    ¡°Well,¡± I started, ¡°When you¡¯re asked to pump out a paper every 2-4 weeks, there¡¯s only so many places you can go with the traditional viewpoints. It might help you to make up with your mom by looking at her perspective¡­ you are still fighting with her, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    I eyed her up and down as I spoke. Suntanned skin fresh from summer break peeked out of her blouse, and fit legs she had gotten from crossfit were brought out even more against the contrast of her white skirt. Her dark brown hair was tied into a single, thick braid that extended down her back. Her prominent nose framed her eyes and mouth perfectly, and amber eyes looked sleepily at the front of the board, where Ms. Strauss was beginning to write our daily plan on the board.


    ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m so bored of this¡­¡± she trailed off and leaned forward, causing her shapely breasts to rest on the small desk. Before she could catch me I stopped staring, mentally making a note not to forget to masturbate the night before English classes again.


    ¡°Yeah, I still am. She¡¯s being a stubborn bitch just for the sake of being a stubborn bitch. She keeps trying to send me to different countries to, ¡®broaden my horizons,¡¯ whatever the fuck she thinks she means by that.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s finally made an appearance - the personality that allows you to get along with someone like me. You really should seek medical help for that.¡±


    ¡°Bite me.¡± Was her only response. If only she knew¡­


    With that conversation out of the way, class began and we started to read our papers. Needless to say, Rachel probably scored high on the grading scale from her piece comparing Gawain¡¯s exploits to Robin Hood¡¯s mythos, and tying it nicely together with the The Bastard from Shakespeare¡¯s King John.


    It was actually really interesting, and the whole class gave a standing ovation. Next was my turn, and I begrudgingly walked to the front of the room. Clearing my throat, I spoke to the best of my abilities. I got a smattering of applause, save for Ms. Strauss who surprisingly gave me a standing ovation. ¡°Brilliant, Joshua! Mind if I recommend you for a shakespearean oration contest coming up?¡±


    Looking at the other student¡¯s look of disgust, I decided this was not the time, place, or occasion. ¡°Ms. Strauss, the presentations aren¡¯t over, right?¡± Getting my message, the flustered teacher cleared her throat and called up the next student.


    After class, Rachel was standing at the door on her smartphone, waiting for me to get lunch together. That feeling of mundaneness started to warp my heart again and I decided I would make my move.


    If she accepts, great. If not, I potentially ruin a friendship. At least there¡¯s some change to the monotony either way.


    As I approached her I flinched at the smell of her perfume. Due to my sensitive nose, I had never been good at handling the expensive substance. However, that didn¡¯t deter me.


    ¡°Rachel.¡± I called out, causing the young woman to look up.


    ¡°What is it Joshua?¡±


    ¡°Will you go out with me?¡±


    The phone slipped out of Rachel¡¯s hands, clacking on the classroom floor and sending more than a few stares our way. A blush overcame her face and a goofy grin found its way onto Rachel¡¯s face.


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯m so hap-¡±


    I closed my eyes as a dizzy spell hit me, and when I opened them I was no longer in the classroom, but in a deep violet chamber that seemed to have been made entirely out of velvet.


    WARNING. HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT DETECTED. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I heard rustling behind me and turned to see a young woman groggily getting out of her canopy bed. She took a sleepy glance at me, rubbed her eyes and jumped as she must¡¯ve realized I wasn¡¯t a leftover figment of her imagination.


    ¡°Well, shit. Listen, I can explain-¡±


    WARNING: YOU HAVE BEEN DETECTED. PREPARE FOR COMBAT.


    ¡°Girahn!¡± The woman called out, and the doors burst open, allowing several guards to come in and surround me. They pointed objects that I could only assume were guns at me, and one shouted, ¡°Flaur bahk! Imn!¡± I had no idea what he was saying, but the universal language of motioning his gun to the ground was read loud and clear. I put my hands up in the air and kneeled onto the velvety carpet before a guard cracked me over the head with the back end of his weapon.


    The last thing I heard before I slammed into unconsciousness was ¡°Ubawael!¡±

 Chapter 1: Who Will Know?

    ¡°Fuck, what a weird dream.¡± I sat up groggily and stretched - or at least I tried to. Two shackles had bound my arms to the wall and had prevented them from moving in any direction other than being spread in front of me.


    My heart sank as the realization came to me that none of what I experienced had been a hallucination or a dream. What the fuck am I supposed to do now. I don¡¯t even know where I am, let alone the language here. I would have surveyed the surrounding area, but what seemed to be sliding steel door was blocking my entire view.


    Alright, think. If they wanted me dead they would have killed me while I was unconscious. That means they¡¯re either trying to sacrifice me for something or their society upholds basic human rights. I realized this was just my brain reaching at straws, but I needed every bit of mental stability I could get right now.


    Reigning in my nerves, I looked around the cell for the first time. The floor was made of some kind of alloy or metal, and was producing a steady stream of warmth into the cell. The walls were the same violet as the young woman¡¯s room and made of the same velvet-like material. Lastly, there was glass paneling in the roof of the cell, allowing the sun¡¯s rays to pour in above me.


    ¡°As cells go, I guess this isn¡¯t the worst.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Whil, thael.¡± A deep voice boomed in front of me and I snapped my head in that direction, and saw the cell door slide open, revealing a heavy set yet handsome man. I was 6 feet tall, but he must¡¯ve been at least 7 with thick, muscular arms that showed through the military ensemble he had chosen to wear that day.


    Still freaked out by the fact I didn¡¯t understand a single word, I think I might¡¯ve broken a bit. Acting far more confident and indifferent than I had any right to, I said, ¡°Hey¡­ I know this might seem weird since you probably don¡¯t understand me, but does anyone speak English around here?¡±


    The guard took in a sharp breath and said, ¡°Sioniks!¡± Startled that the word sounded so familiar, I watched in horror as the man produced a small, fingernail-sized square from his pocket and started walking towards me.


    All my false bravado melted and I started screaming at the man. ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t come closer, please!¡± I was practically tearing up when he put the device on my head, and a familiar noise entered my brain.


    BRAIN CHIP OF THE SYSTEM DETECTED. INTEGRATING¡­ PSIONIC LATENCY DETECTED. INTEGRATING¡­ CONGRATULATIONS. YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE SYSTEM.


    ¡°What the fuck is the system?¡±


    ¡°You sure got a mouth on you lad. I can tell you about the system.¡± I looked around for the source of the sound, but saw no one in my cell save for the burly man in front of me.


    ¡°Did you just speak to me?¡±


    ¡°That I did lad. Still, I was shocked you were psionic. We could understand you the entire time you know. Hard to know you didn¡¯t understand us with how you responded to the soldiers orders earlier.¡±


    Thinking back, I remembered kneeling when they pointed to the ground with their weapons earlier. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure when someone waves a gun at you and points to the ground, that¡¯s a universal language.¡±


    The large man cracked a smile and patted me on the back. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit lad! Now, all I need to do is ask you some questions so we can clear some things up. Sound good?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I smiled back. Regardless of whether this was a ruse or not, this was my only lifeline wherever I was. I cocked my head. I wonder why I''m not more freaked out than I am? I mean, I have literally no fucking clue where I am right now. And besides that¡­


    ¡°I¡¯d love to answer your questions, but could you do me a favor first?¡± The large man frowned.


    He rubbed his chin before answering. ¡°Asking for favors in your situation¡­ that¡¯s pretty bold of you lad. However, I will not dismiss your request without hearing it first. Ask away.¡± I smiled up at him


    ¡°Great! Is there any chance you could back up or undo my shackles? It¡¯s really disconcerting to talk in the general direction and height of a human crotch.¡± The man¡¯s eyes widened and he backed up from me before chucking to himself.


    ¡°I suppose that would be disconcerting, wouldn¡¯t it.¡± Taking a seat himself in front of me, he still towered above my head, but this way we were more face-to-face-ish.


    ¡°Thanks. Please ask away.¡± The man smiled at me.


    ¡°Then I will do so, thanks. First, let¡¯s start off with your name. Who are you?¡± I thought long and hard for a moment, trying to discern if there was any deeper meaning before giving up on that line of thought as it required too much brain power that I was low on at the moment.


    ¡°My name is Joshua Cole. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States of America. Nice to meet you.¡±


    The man looked me up and down before sighing. ¡°So you¡¯re another Fallen. I¡¯m sorry for you, lad.¡±


    Staring into blank space, I asked what I felt immediately was a very dumb question. ¡°Uhh, Sir, what¡¯s a Fallen?¡±


    ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t know.¡± He said, rubbing his temples. ¡°You see, to get into that I¡¯d have to explain the laws of this world first. Is that alright?¡± I nodded my head, prompting the man to continue.


    ¡°Every so often, this world, Ethia, gets residents from other folds of reality. These people are called, ¡®Fallen¡¯, because they literally fell out of their planes of existence and into ours. Are you following me so far?¡±


    I nodded my head and he continued. ¡°As it turns out, we have people from your world here as well. So even though i have no speck of knowledge as to where Boston, or Massachusetts are, I¡¯ve heard of America before.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re suggesting that I fell out of my own reality and into yours? How the fuck is that even possible!?¡± I struggled against my bonds, and the man took a cautious step back.


    ¡°Language lad! Starlords above, control yourself.¡± I didn¡¯t even have it in me to rally against his anger and went limp as soon as the wave of fear washed over me.


    ¡°Is there any way to get back to my dimension?¡± The man gave me a sad look and shook his head.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry lad. For as much as we know about the process, opening up a dimensional rift is a stupid thing to do. They¡¯re usually unstable, and could claim a wide area at any moment. No self-respecting scientist or philanthropist would ever put money into a project that could blow up in their faces.¡±


    My heart sank at the news, and it took all I could to not scream at the man in front of me. ¡°Where am I?¡± I finally managed to get out after a long pause.


    ¡°You¡¯re in the Redleaf Palace, of course!¡± The man¡¯s grin faltered, ¡°Ah, before I go any farther, it would be in your best interest to know the differences in this world compared to yours. First off, it would behoove you to think of this world as an alternate reality. The general structure of the continents themselves are the same, as well as boundaries you can think of.¡±


    I stared at the man, mostly because there was nothing else to look at in the silent dungeon. ¡°Let me guess, you got this information from another one of the Fallen?¡±


    The man had a frown on his face. ¡°I think you¡¯re misunderstanding something lad. The Fallen are a valuable source of knowledge for us. Never have any Fallen been treated inhumanely under the Kingdom¡¯s watch.¡±


    ¡°Forgive me if I don¡¯t believe you. There¡¯s a saying in my world that, ¡®a bit of healthy skepticism never hurt anyone.¡¯ I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ve heard of it?¡±


    ¡°Nope, never heard it before.¡±


    I smirked. ¡°Well, at least I know you¡¯re not lying. I made that one up myself.¡± The man stared incredulously at me for a moment before regaining his grin.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got balls, I¡¯ll give you that boy.¡± He stuck out his hand. ¡°The name¡¯s Bruce. Nice to meet ya!¡± I stared at the hand, and Bruce awkwardly retracted it as he realized both of mine were incapable of moving from the wall.


    ¡°Sentiment noted and appreciated.¡± I said, the man¡¯s enthusiasm drawing out the first glimpse of amusement I''d had since falling into the world of Ethia. ¡°Can you explain the world¡¯s structure to me a bit? You¡¯d mentioned a kingdom I believe?¡±


    Bruce snapped his fingers and his eyes widened. ¡°Oh yeah. Sorry lad, got a bit distracted there. We¡¯re currently in Redleaf Palace, where the monarchy of the Metron Kingdom lives. The Metron Kingdom is a collective of the three countries that you would call ¡®North America.¡¯ In fact,¡± Bruce shook his head and chuckled, ¡°you fell right into the bedroom of the princess.¡±


    I felt the security I had become accustomed to while talking to Bruce instantly peel away, revealing terror underneath. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want my head or anything, right?¡±


    Bruce laughed, ¡°Starlords no, of course not. Our princess may be violent and prone to throwing a fit or two when things don¡¯t go her way, but for the most part she is a kind and mature person. In fact, she felt bad that you were knocked out by the royal guard.¡±


    It seems not all people in power are rotten in this world at least. A smile came over my face as he moved on to his next topic. ¡°On the subject of your life in this world, we can offer you two paths allowed by the system.¡±


    ¡°The system?¡± I had completely forgotten about the metal chip on my temple in only a few minutes, which worried me slightly.


    ¡°The system is the governing AI that oversees the world¡¯s politics, and steps in to mediate whenever a conflict arises. Allegedly, there were some people who tried to stop the sentient AI from coming into being, but failed. Turns out that the world had improved for the better, with no more needless bloodshed.¡±


    After Bruce said his piece, I had to ask, ¡°Are there no more wars then?¡±


    Bruce laughed and nearly doubled over. ¡°I said no more needless bloodshed, not any bloodshed at all. Which brings us to your paths. The first would be a special kind of soldier. Due to the nature of the job, I can¡¯t tell you anything other than you¡¯d be directly working with the palace. The second, is a town worker. You¡¯d be given a plot of land and some finances in order to start a business that¡¯s beneficial to the Kingdom.¡±


    All of a sudden I felt nauseous. I had been in this world less than a day (I assumed i hadn¡¯t been out for that long), and I was already being forced to make a life-altering decision.


    With a bit of a struggle, I managed to get out, ¡°Do- do you mind if I think on it?¡± Bruce had a look of concern on his face and nodded.


    ¡°Of course lad, I just wanted to tell you what they were. Nothing more and nothing less. On the other hand, Joshua, it¡¯ll take a few days for the order to come down the chain to release you, but I can guarantee you¡¯ll be out of here by the end of the week. I¡¯ll hear your decision then.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll decide by then.¡± Bruce nodded and a knock came from the cell door, which opened without warning. A woman about my height was standing there, clad in a tight fitting black latex uniform that accentuated her curves under a pair of denim shorts and an unbuttoned biker jacket. Her long, black hair was shaved on one side and cascaded over her left shoulder. I looked her up and down and had one thought: thicc.


    My mood brightened a bit, but then immediately dampened again as I realized that my mind had to go to such lengths to retain even a bit of the feeling of normalcy I had before. Ironic considering my wish earlier in the morning.


    The woman brought in a tray of good smelling objects I could only assume was food, and turned to face me. ¡°Pr-¡±, Bruce got out before she coughed to silence him.


    ¡°I can introduce myself, thank you Bruce.¡± The attractive woman turned to face me. ¡°My name is Priya. I will be attending your cell as caretaker for the extent of your time here. I hope to get along well with you.


    Exhausted beyond belief, I could only nod at her as a response. Her eyes widened as she looked at my arms. ¡°Bruce you gorilla, why haven¡¯t you unshackled him yet!? Didn¡¯t you get the princess¡¯s message from the private group?¡± Bruce looked nervous as Priya finally released me, and I slumped against the wall.


    ¡°Listen, I had to treat him like a threat at first, as per procedure. I just got so into the conversation that I forgot to undo them.¡± That last part was accompanied by a blush, but Priya just exhaled harshly.


    ¡°You buffoon. Get out of the cell and let¡­¡± she trailed off, and Bruce whispered something in her ear. ¡°Let Joshua eat his food in peace.¡±


    Bruce exited as she finished, but not before waving goodbye to me first. Priya knelt down, and if today were any other day I had no doubt that I''d be greedily taking in her body with my sight, but as things were I just stayed sitting against the cell wall.


    ¡°Eat up.¡± She smiled at me, showing a pair of perfectly straight teeth, but long upper canines. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll taste good, it¡¯s from the royal chefs after all.¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond to her, causing Priya¡¯s smile to falter somewhat. After a moment of silence, she left the cell and locked the door behind her.


    Feeling drained, I crawled over to the food and unwrapped a square object, only to find a hamburger inside. How novel, square hamburgers. I took a bite and tears began to well up. Was this supposed to be my new life? I sighed. Somehow this reminds me of that song from Godzilla.


    ---


    The woman who went by Priya felt bad for the boy, but there was nothing to be done. The king had been extremely furious when he learned where Joshua had fallen to, and was letting his blind rage take control of his decision making.


    ¡®If I¡¯m going to try to make this work-¡¯ She was about to head up the stairs when her thoughts were interrupted by Joshua mumbling in his cell, so she decided to return outside his door to hear him better. Priya¡¯s heart danced with nerves, wondering if they had been incorrect and the man was a spy, trying to contact his homeland.


    Finally reaching the cell, she heard, ¡°Hmm, no, I think the tune was more falsetto. Oh well, fuck it. I guess I¡¯ll have to settle for my high contratenor.¡±


    Priya was curious. Was he talking to himself, or was this some weird code that he used?


    ¡°If I die~ in this world~ who will know~ something of me~? I am lost~ no-one knows~ there¡¯s no trace~ of my yearning~.¡± He started singing, and what¡¯s more, it sounded beautiful! Priya was on edge because of Joshua¡¯s singing, but even more so because of the emotion in his voice, and what the lyrics seemed to mean to the man.


    Suddenly, the singing stopped and the cell went quiet. What followed was a loud and guttural cry of pain, that eventually turned into screaming sobs and died down into mournful whimpers. Priya¡¯s heart quaked at the sound, and tears welled up in her own eyes. She quickly retreated back down the hallway, looking to give Joshua all the privacy he needed.

 Chapter 2: Decisions, Decisions.

    A few days of eating square burgers later and I had calmed down immensely from my mental collapse on my first day in Ethia. Needless to say, I still wasn¡¯t completely fine, but that was more due to the fact that I had tried to numb myself of any and all emotions.


    I rationalized that the less I felt, the less pain would come with trying to maintain some semblance of mental normalcy. But besides that, the System had answered many of my questions since I became connected to it only a few days ago. I found out that the AI, collectively known as Judgement, had been created by scientists in Ethia in the midst of a world war between the six main continents. Their seventh, Poliar, like Earth¡¯s Antarctica, was mostly uninhabited and therefore did not have any military might present. The other six continents were unlike Earth¡¯s in that they were all collectively ruled by either an emperor or a king.


    Instead of Europe, there was the Kingdom of Liones. In Asia¡¯s place, the Luong Empire. For South Africa, the Empire of the Sun. South America housed the Primal Kingdom. Lastly, Australia became the Kingdom of Rain.


    It seems that the Kingdom of Rain had ordered the assassination of a prince of the Primal Kingdom for snubbing an arranged marriage, and seeing as the attempt on the prince¡¯s life was successful, they went to war. And dragged every other major power with them.


    After Judgement had been activated and remotely took control of several nuclear weapons systems, it had threatened each country with mutually assured destruction unless they agreed to a peace treaty it set forth.


    Thus, the life of living under the thumb of a sentient supercomputer started. I felt a tiny spark come from the chip on my temple and I clicked my teeth. Judgement apparently had some way of knowing when someone was thinking negatively about it, and used a small stimulus in order to change the owner¡¯s thoughts to more positive ones.


    For all it was, I found the AI to be pretty comfortable living under. That being said, I had only been in Ethia for a handful of days, but it was more than enough time to formulate an opinion of my own.


    Bruce had been relatively helpful in my mental recovery, giving me someone to talk to on a consistent basis. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was that nice or just trying to curry favor so I would choose the militaristic path, but it was helpful to me nonetheless.


    And then there was Priya. Who I still couldn¡¯t quite get a grasp on despite her being someone I interacted with every day. She was my caretaker, or at least, that¡¯s what she called herself anyway.


    She had toned down a bit on the seductive wear after our initial meeting, but not by much. To be honest, it kind of confused me, but then again I wasn¡¯t going to try and discourage someone from wearing what they wanted to.


    Through our talks, I learned that the princess was trying to lobby her father to release me, but without much success. She was quite upset that I had been in a cell, and not in a guest room since I never technically committed a crime willingly, but the king was having none of it. It seemed that the princess had something to gain from my release, so I made a mental note to take her actions with a bit of skepticism in the future.


    Priya always shook her head at these discussions, noting that the princess was constantly doing things to spite her father, even while pleading in my case. While the thought of her support, feigned or otherwise, was a lot less reassuring after that revelation, I decided to let those thoughts be idle and not dwell too much on them.


    She informed me that the princess didn''t believe I was an evil person, and would stand by me when I stood trial against the king, with the jury consisting of the royal family. Whatever reassurance the glorified maid was supposed to give me, I had no idea, but I thought it was a nice gesture nonetheless.


    I thought it was quite nice that people in royal jails had caretakers, although I suppose that if you flipped the coin, my caretaker could technically be called an interrogator. One who questioned me everyday about my life before I became a Fallen, and even offered to spoon feed me my soup on the second day of my incarceration. I wonder if I really looked that pathetic, to have given her enough reason for that.


    I had given thought to my alleged, ¡°psionic abilities,¡± but in the end I didn¡¯t even know where to begin or how to activate it. It was more of a subconscious thing, but in the end achieved about the same. Which was to say: a steaming pile of nothing. Other than the nifty translation ability, but even that was made moot by the newly installed chip on my left temple.


    Amidst my pondering, a knock came on my door, and without warning it slammed open, revealing two bodyguards and Bruce.


    ¡°Hey lad.¡± Bruce smiled at me. ¡°Feeling any better today?¡± Bruce had visited me every day since I had been thrown into this cell, and besides Priya was my only source of conversation. Apparently on the day after my breakdown, he found me crying before I woke up, and his constant questioning after that was why I vowed to wake up earlier.


    ¡°It¡¯s just the usual, Bruce.¡± I glanced at the two armed men out of the corners of my eyes and exhaled.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that the fact you have two guns pointed at me is supposed to be a good thing?¡± Bruce looked to his left, and then his right before slapping the right guard upside the head.


    ¡°What was that for Captain Bruce!?¡± The right guard looked indignant but Bruce just gave him another slap.


    ¡°Who told you to point your weapons at him you smooth brain!? That¡¯ll have the opposite effect that I want!¡± To the furious Bruce and the stupefied guard, I could only laugh. I tried to contain it at first, but it soon got away from me, and soon I had hidden my face from their view.


    Not only to stifle my own laughter, but to hide the tears that had started to flow as well. I knew it. As soon as the thought of being happy comes into my head, I remember what my happiness used to be. I wiped my face on my shirt and looked up at the trio who were staring at me incredulously.


    ¡°Lad, I don¡¯t know if anyone else would be laughing in your situation, but I think you might need a few more days before you come out of the cell."


    I shook my head. Less time left to my own, self-destructive thoughts is what I need, actually. ¡°I¡¯m ready to leave. So Bruce, where do I go from here?¡±


    ---


    ¡°Beautiful, aren¡¯t they? The royalty from the Metron family are all real lookers.¡± As Bruce guided me through the futuristic corridors, I glanced up to the varied portraits on the walls. They were all encased in a variety of neon light piping, which allowed the natural light coming in through the windows to illuminate the paintings. The walls themselves seemed as if they were made from metal blocks, and a brick-like pattern stretched from one end of the hallway to another.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Is that a result of their lineage or plastic surgery?¡± I muttered, but Bruce just smiled at me. ¡°It¡¯s actually genetic surgery. Royalty tends to alter their fertilized eggs to suit their needs, and keep the babies looking like perfection itself. It doesn¡¯t help that if you¡¯re a world leader you get the surgery for free, but I digress.¡±


    Both of the accompanying soldiers flanking my sides glanced at each other with distressed looks on their faces. ¡°Captain, is it alright to be talking about royal business so openly like that?¡± The one on my left stated.


    ¡°Yeah, speaking of royal affairs to outsiders is strictly forbidden by the king.¡± The second one added. Bruce just looked back at the two, a look of irritation permeating his face. Instead of speaking, however, he just turned and walked hurriedly down the hall, eventually stopping at two large doors. Each door was gunmetal grey and had two halves of golden gears on them, so when both doors were closed as it currently was, it made a complete gear.


    Bruce turned to give the soldiers another annoyed look before saying, ¡°You know we¡¯re on a tight schedule, right? We¡¯re supposed to be inside in 30 seconds." Both guards'' eyes widened, and they practically picked me up before running down the hall with me.


    The left one muttered in between pants of exhaustion, ¡°Fuck you Devin! This always happens when you speak to the Captain!¡±


    While Devin fired back, ¡°Can it Craig! We¡¯re only in this position in the first place because you fucked up our mission last month!¡±


    Both hauled me to the door in record pace, and then put down a more stupefied version of myself than they had picked up in the first place. Looking very satisfied with how his subordinates were gasping for breath, Bruce opened the doors to the throne room, revealing two long lines of nobles that lined a long, ornate blue carpet.


    Most of them looked at me and were either disinterested, or had extreme interest, and to be honest it was the former that scared me more. ¡®Those who feigned disinterest were good at playing politics.¡¯ I remembered my mother¡¯s advice from when I was convinced that I wanted to be the president of the United States.


    The throne room itself was impressive, with a ceiling that towered over the people here like one in a chapel. The walls themselves were in the same make as the hallway we had just come from, only various weapons and armor adorned the walls. The throne itself followed the gear motif, and was littered with the things, including the headrest being in the shape of one. The man who sat there wasn¡¯t exactly old, but he wasn¡¯t young either. A silver crown with two smaller spikes on the side, and one larger spike in front sat on his head. His black beard had a bit of a ¡®salt and pepper¡¯ vibe going on, and had he any hair on his head I could only imagine it to follow the same pattern. He wore a dark blue robe with gold cuffs and a silver trim. A slim woman was standing next to him, and although her stature was short, she had a regal air about her. Her crown was even larger than the king''s, although whether that was just in proportion to her head or not had yet to be determined. Her own violet robe was opened, revealing dark pants and a black blouse underneath.


    ¡°Kneel before your king!¡± The woman shouted, and the people adorning the blue runway carpet knelt, followed by Bruce and the two guards. Only I remained standing, with a perplexed King facing me.


    ¡°You dare-!¡± He got out before the woman walked over and rubbed his shoulder.


    ¡°Now, now, honey. He¡¯s a Fallen. You should know better than to expect him to understand our society¡¯s customs and traditions. Please walk forward young man.¡± The queen''s words caused Bruce to sharply inhale, but I did as I was asked and walked up to the steps of the throne. The woman held her left hand up in front of her in a clenched fist, and then extended all five fingers. A board made of light appeared in front of her hand, and she waved her hand to the left before smiling at me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve erected a sound barrier for us. Isn¡¯t present day technology great? We use the latest Shizuka brand home products for the castle!¡± I was admittedly caught off guard by the sudden change in topics, as well as the woman¡¯s overbearing friendliness.


    Seeing the despondent look on my face, she muttered a small, ¡°Oh,¡± in realization. ¡°How rude of me, where are my manners.¡± She curtseyed to me, and smiled. ¡°My name is Cindy Metron. Queen of the Metron Kingdom and wife to this grumpy man right here.¡± She leaned on her husband, who kept the scowl on his face from earlier.


    Why is he still holding a grudge over me Falling into his daughter¡¯s room? He might just be an ass by nature. Keeping my thoughts to myself, I took a step to the left so I was facing the queen, and knelt to her. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you Queen Metron. Please receive and express my heartfelt apologies to your husband for Falling into your daughter¡¯s room. It was something I had little to no control over, but I¡¯m sorry to see that your husband viewed it differently.¡±


    The queen giggled while her husband continued stewing. ¡°I am upset because you act like you¡¯ve done nothing wrong, and that you¡¯re a victim in all of this. Since your arrival, my daughter has been even more rebellious than before! Not to mention not even trying to respect our customs and refusing to kneel before the king of the domain in which you now reside. You have no excuses!¡±


    As if your asinine relationship with your daughter is any of my fault. She probably couldn¡¯t stand the fact that her father is such a prick. I could feel a seed of hatred begin to take root in my heart, but I played it cool on the surface. Once again, I addressed the queen, and ignored her male counterpart.


    ¡°Queen Metron, please relay my message to the king for me. I am going to be honest with you both. Right now I am a very scared man in an unfamiliar place, and at such a time I can only follow my instincts. Most of them are telling me to preserve myself, but the others are tugging at my mind and hinting that this world might not be real at all.¡± Both the queen and her husband gave me curious looks, so I elaborated.


    ¡°The thought occurred to me while I was in the jail cell¡­¡± I gave the king a look, and he averted his gaze, ¡°that in my own world I could have suffered a stroke, seizure, or any number of medical emergencies that could have put me into a coma, and this could be my brain¡¯s way of rationalizing all of that.¡± The queen cocked her head in thought while the king¡¯s anger melted into confusion, then once more hardened into anger.


    ¡°So the reason you¡¯ve decided not to follow any regulations or show the least bit of respect is because our world has the slim possibility of being fake?¡± I nodded in assent and the king scoffed.


    ¡°Such buffoonery. By your logic, your homeworld could have been fake as well. Why did you obey the rules there?¡± I hope I expressed in my eyes how dumb his question was before I decided to respond.


    ¡°Because my world was normal. My world didn¡¯t have any crazy seven nations shit with fucking Shizuka tech that can erect personal sound barriers at will. There are no knights, no crazy latex caretakers for jail cells, and no royalty presuming to know how you operate before you even did anything.¡±


    The king had the gall to laugh at my outburst, and waved to his wife. He waited until she was at his side to start. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you even have that attitude. Don¡¯t you know that ¡®normal¡¯ is just a term used to denote the most frequent occurrences in life? Of course Ethia¡¯s ¡®normal¡¯ is different from your own.¡± He whispered something to his wife, and she took out the hologram control pad once more.


    ¡°Hear me and rise, my subjects!¡± The barrier must have been dispersed as the surrounding people started to stir, eager to obey their king¡¯s orders. The king stood, and held out his arms. ¡°I was going to offer you a choice of placement, begrudgingly, be it a Paladin, a Knight, or a Bounty Hunter. But more than that, I don¡¯t think I want you to serve the royalty directly with an attitude like that. By the name of Roger Metron III, I hereby declare this Fallen-¡±


    ¡°Stop!¡± A shrill cry came from behind the king¡¯s chair and Priya walked in, and stood next to the queen.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± The king asked Priya, and she looked down at her own appearance.


    ¡°Ah, oops. Sorry dad, I forgot to disable the Kamo box before I came down. She tapped her watch, and in a ring of shimmering white light, her true form started to show itself.


    The light started at her feet and moved upwards, revealing shapely midnight black legs in white shorts. Her midriff was exposed, and caramel skin peeked out from her corset, which also rose up farther, showing off her ample chest and exposed cleavage. Her face was revealed last, showing the same color skin as her torso, with purple irises, a sloped nose, and full lips, covered in dark blue lipstick.


    ¡°In the name of Princess Reya Metron, I would like this man to become my retainer!¡±

 Chapter 3: The Right Choice

    Looking at the beautiful woman in front of me, I muttered, ¡°What the fuck?¡± I immediately closed my mouth, and thankfully no one seemed to notice my outburst.


    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± Luckily, the king shared my response, and voiced what I was thinking for me. I glanced back at Bruce, but the big man averted my gaze. So he knew? That asshole. How did I ever think he had my best interests at heart?


    ¡°Reya, how many times have I told you not to come into the throne room without permission!¡± Her father fuming, the princess just shrugged.


    ¡°Come on dad, it¡¯s not a big deal. Plus,¡± she said, pointing to me, ¡°I was taking care of Josh all week, and I¡¯d like to think I formed a connection with him.¡± If by connection, she means deceiving me and putting on false airs, then yes, we have a mighty strong connection right now.


    She turned to me and flashed me a smile. ¡°How do you like my legs, Joshua?¡± She pulled up her already short pants, revealing her thighs. They were pitch black, like the rest of her legs. ¡°This is the latest style in skin repigmenting. It¡¯s called, ¡®Leg Sleeve¡¯. You know, like sleeves of tattoos people have on their arms? It¡¯s totally vogue right now!¡±


    I stared blankly at the motormouth princess before her father cut in. ¡°Have you no shame, girl! Look at where we are! How much longer are you planning to drag your reputation through the mud!¡±


    Reya glanced at her mother, and Queen Metron clapped her hands together. ¡°Thank you for coming, everyone. The Kingdom greatly appreciates your time. However, due to unforeseen circumstances,¡± she shot a pointed look at Reya, who shrunk back from the confrontation, ¡°we will have to end this session early. You are all dismissed. For those of you staying for the summit tomorrow, the guards can show you to your rooms.¡±


    The two guards behind Bruce, Devin and Craig, stood up sharply and ran to the giant metal doors we had come through only minutes before. The various nobles that had been gathered started walking towards the door, but not before a few of them sent glares my way.


    Bruce himself moved towards us, and Queen Metron put up the sound barrier again. Oh, is that psionics? I felt the field expanding around us¡­ weird. I didn¡¯t like that.


    ¡°I was wondering if you were going to make a move, but I never imagined it would be in front of the Metron Kingdom nobility. I figured you for a more, ¡®behind the scenes¡¯, type of lass.¡±


    Reya scoffed at the comment. ¡°Of course I am, Bruce. I just spent three days undercover taking care of Joshua, and trying to get him to a place he can function mentally, but that¡¯s besides the point.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. She doesn¡¯t even realize that since she was asking me asinine questions about where I used to be, and not anything about me personally, she was practically useless save for feeding me. How sad.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Reya continued, ¡°I would have continued to remain there if not for my thick-headed father trying to ruin another potential asset.¡± The king opened his mouth, but apparently thought better of it and closed it again. Seeing that as a sign, Reya began again.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to make Joshua my Duskblade.¡± This time the king¡¯s jaw fully dropped, and even the queen held her hand up to her mouth in surprise.


    ¡°Reya, dear,¡± the queen said, ¡°that¡¯s a nice thought and all, but that¡¯s a very important position. Even now, you still haven¡¯t found a Dawnblade for yourself. Why don¡¯t you focus on finding that first?¡±


    First Paladins, Knights, Bounty Hunters, and now Duskblades and Dawnblades? What the fuck is going on here? I shot a glance at Bruce, who mouthed, ¡®later,¡¯ and turned my head back in time to see the king shake his head. ¡°Absolutely not young lady. You haven¡¯t done anything recently to even provide me with the notion that you deserve to be rewarded. Why would you think I would give you permission for this?¡±


    Reya clicked her tongue, but realizing her father heard it, quickly shifted her demeanor to give him an absolutely blinding smile. ¡°Because, dad, I¡¯ll make a bet with you.¡± The king¡¯s eyes narrowed as he inspected his daughter.


    ¡°Go on. If this doesn¡¯t have to do with your current situation, young lady, then I¡¯m having none of it.¡± Reya¡¯s smile slowly shifted into a smirk.


    ¡°Of course it does Dad. Anyway, back to the bet. I bet you that Joshua can beat Gazix in a one-on-one fight in the arena in only two weeks.¡± Who the fuck would ever agree to a fight for you?


    The king looked shocked, but then tilted his head back and let out a throaty laugh. The sound continued without end for an uncomfortably long amount of time, but the princess just stood there, bearing it, with the smirk still on her face.


    Eventually the king stopped, but not before using his long robe to wipe away the tears in his eyes. ¡°Ah, that was good. I really needed that, thank you Reya.¡±


    She let him calm down for a moment before she spoke again. ¡°So, what do you think?¡± He stared at her dumbfounded, and looked to his wife before looking back at Reya.


    ¡°Ah, then that wasn¡¯t a joke to lighten the mood? Ahem. Well, what would you gain if you were to accomplish such a task?¡± He seemed to be asking out of courtesy more than actual curiosity, but the princess¡¯ good mood couldn¡¯t be spoiled.


    ¡°You¡¯d grant me priority succession rights to the throne.¡± The king¡¯s eyes widened and I could hear Bruce coughing behind me.


    ¡°Honey, that¡¯s-¡± Queen Metron started to speak, but the king held up a hand to silence his wife.


    ¡°What would I gain, Reya?¡± The undaunted princess stared her father down and the smile faded from her face.


    ¡°All rights to me, my person, my likeness, etcetera. Everything. I¡¯d be a political puppet, no matter what I¡¯d think about it.¡± The king smirked and drummed his fingers on the armrest of his throne.


    ¡°Very well, I accept.¡± He said. ¡°Naturally the start of the two weeks would start today, right?¡±


    Reya shook her head and pointed at me. ¡°No, he needs to get acclimated to our culture first. I¡¯ll give him lessons tonight so he¡¯d be starting tomorrow, technically.¡±


    The king nodded and struck his staff on the ground. ¡°Deal accepted. Judgement!¡± A beam came from the chip on the king¡¯s temple, and beamed a soft, blue light towards Reya¡¯s. The moment it touched hers, the light turned red before fading to nothingness.


    ¡°The contract has been validated by Judgment. I look forward to your progress in two weeks young man. You may leave the throne room.¡± I just stared at the king, then moved my gaze to the two beside him.


    ¡°Sure, just give me enough money to start my life in town and I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± My response was met with deafening silence.


    Eventually, Bruce, who was still at my back, asked, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what did you just say lad?¡± I turned to look back at him and shrugged.


    ¡°I said to give me the money to start a life outside of the castle, and I¡¯ll be fine with it. As for the exact amount, it doesn¡¯t have to be too much. I¡¯ll figure out how to live on my own.¡± Reya just looked at me, a thousand yard stare on her face.


    ¡°But- but weren¡¯t you going to help me?¡± Who in their right mind would? I kept my poker face on and shook my head.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°No. In the first place, I don¡¯t recall ever being asked for permission. Secondly, who in their right mind would get mixed up in this political shitstorm you and the king have brewing here? Certainly not me. And lastly, even if I did accept, how would I win against a person who sounds like a seasoned fighter?¡±


    The king just sat there, his eyes narrowed. After not too long he smirked and turned to Reya. ¡°I guess this is my win then. After the two week¡¯s duration of the contract is up, I¡¯ll send your chambermaids to get you ready for marriage interviews.¡±


    Reya opened and closed her mouth repeatedly before walking over to me. She turned to her father and said, ¡°We will get this done, I just need a minute or two for negotiations. If you would be so kind as to wait a moment¡­¡±


    King Metron nodded. ¡°I see you¡¯ve at least retained some things from your etiquette classes. Very well. I¡¯ll give you ten real-world minutes. After that, let the poor boy go and quietly return to your room.¡±


    He thinks I won¡¯t change my mind. I thought with a smirk as a beam of light projected from Reya¡¯s chip¡­ You know what? I¡¯m going to start calling it a Judgement Panel. Official name be damned. The light traveled to my own and a notification popped up in my field of view.


    Princess Reya Rust Metron is trying to initiate contact with you in Judgement subspace. Do you accept?


    Yes. I thought, and the world around me went black. Not that I had closed my eyes, but the light had faded from the world. When it came back, I was in a small brick room. There were no appliances, nor any furniture in the room, just a small, pink chibi-esque cat.


    ¡°Welcome to subspace, Josh.¡± The tiny cat grinned in an impish manner.


    ¡°Wow that¡¯s gross.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s gross! This is cute I tell you!¡±


    ¡°Ah, oops. Forgot to filter those words to thoughts only.¡± As it turns out, malformed felines, when given real world qualities, were quite disgusting. The thing¡¯s eyes bulged from it¡¯s head in an unnatural manner, and it¡¯s row of human-like teeth was disturbing to say the least. Worst of all, the thing wasn¡¯t wearing any clothing, so several sets of nipples and a reproductive organ greeted me from the cat standing on its hind legs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare forget who you¡¯re addressing! It is I, Princess Reya Metron!¡± She pointed a paw at me and put the second on her hip, looking extremely satisfied.


    ¡°Uh, Princess?¡±


    ¡°Yes Josh?¡±


    ¡°I think you forgot something.¡± I pointed to her body and she looked down.


    After a few moments of observing herself, she slumped over and sighed, muttering a single word in the process, ¡°Fuck.¡±


    ---


    After Reya had obtained some clothes from Judgement, we resumed talking.


    ¡°Let the first Emergency Team Reya Meeting begin! The cat distracted me by wagging its tail back and forth. As soon as I realized I was supposed to speak, I used it to voice a request.


    ¡°Princess, can you please go back to your human form? To be honest it¡¯s distracting to talk with a¡­ cat.¡± If it can even be classified as an animal, and not an abomination. The cat sighed and snapped it¡¯s fingers.


    When she realized the model didn¡¯t have any fingers to snap, she clapped her two paws together and became the princess once more. ¡°Better?¡± She asked, her tone clearly not amused.


    ¡°Much.¡± I nodded. ¡°By the way can you let me out? I have a whole new life to make in Ethia.¡± I looked her up and down before adding, ¡°Preferably one without any insane nobility in it.¡±


    I turned my back on her and spoke directly to the super AI. ¡°Judgement, please disconnect me fro-¡±


    My sentence was cut short as Reya tackled me from behind. Or at least, she tried to. Perhaps getting herself caught up in the moment and forgetting that we had virtual bodies, the princess passed right through me, landing on her stomach at my feet.


    ¡°W-wait! Please! At least hear me out!¡± Princess Reya got up on her knees and begged me, tears in her eyes. ¡°You can¡¯t just leave, I¡¯ll lose my freedom!¡±


    Some part of me snapped, and I looked down at her, causing her to flinch. ¡°You¡¯ll lose your freedom? Why the fuck do you think I care?¡± Ah, I¡¯m being a complete piece of shit. ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been a week since I¡¯ve been stripped from my normalcy, thrown into a jail cell, and been lied to by the two people I thought I could trust!¡±


    Reya backed up a bit, but I stepped forward to cover the distance. Now that the cork on my emotions had been taken off, I couldn¡¯t stop the words coming out of my mouth. ¡°To make it worse, you couldn¡¯t even control yourself for a fucking minute to ask what I wanted, and instead put yourself in a mess that jeopardizes your own freedom! And I¡¯m supposed to care!?¡±


    I felt the tears start to well up in my eyes. Damn it. ¡°Why the fuck would I care about your freedom when I¡¯m worried about my own!? I don¡¯t even have a single goddamn thing in this world to call my own besides the clothes on my back!¡± I could see the fear in Reya¡¯s eyes. I tried to stop, I knew I wasn¡¯t really mad at her, but just dumb circumstance.


    ¡°So please, please tell me.¡± My voice lost all it¡¯s former passion, and I crumpled to my knees. ¡°Tell me how I can be normal again.¡± Despite my best efforts, the tears didn¡¯t stop.


    I saw Reya¡¯s arms come around my figure as she held them above me, for the simple fact that she couldn¡¯t actually hold me in here, for the simple fact that no one could console me in here.


    Minutes must have passed before I regained my bearings and stood up, passing through Reya¡¯s arms. I turned away, too embarrassed to look her in the face. ¡°Sorry about that, but as you can see I have my own problems to deal with.¡± I started the process of hardening my heart once more, trying to numb myself to the constant pain.


    I heard the princess stir behind me. There was a brief pause before she spoke. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. Since I was visiting you everyday I thought you were starting to make a recovery. I didn¡¯t think about the fact that you could be hiding your pain. I¡¯m a failure as royalty.¡±


    She let out a dejected sigh before walking around to my front, and looking me in the eyes. ¡°What can I do to make you accept? I know I am putting you in an inconvenient place, but I need your strength right now, and I believe it will lead me into the future.¡± I looked her up and down, my gaze lingering over her thighs, then moving to her hips, before wandering to her breasts, and finally her well-proportioned face with full lips.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not a good person, you know.¡± I tried to sound as vulnerable as possible. She walked closer to me, a visible blush on her face.


    ¡°Just say it, I know what you¡¯re thinking.¡± I smirked despite myself.


    ¡°I doubt you do.¡± She shot me an inquisitive look, and I took it in before continuing. ¡°I want your everything. I want what makes you, you.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Reya backed up upon seeing the cruel smirk on my face.


    ¡°I want your agency, and your autonomy. I want the rights to the name ¡®Princess Reya Metron.¡¯ I want to profit off of your existence.¡±


    I walked closer to the girl, who had turned back into her anime style cat form. ¡°You monster.¡± She breathed.


    Instantly, my smile vanished. ¡°No. The term monster is what you call people trying to take advantage of the emotional weakness of others. I think you and your family fit that description far better than I.¡±


    I turned away from her and started walking in the subspace. ¡°What I¡¯m doing right now is punishing your idiotic descision to trust a stranger from another world.¡±


    Turning back towards her, I could see the anger in her eyes. ¡°So, Princess, what will it be? Commodify yourself to me for two weeks, or to your father for the rest of your life?¡±


    ---


    King Claude Metron watched as his daughter and the boy stirred. He truly wasn¡¯t looking to strip away the girl¡¯s freedom, more wanting her to learn the dangers her behavior could bring her.


    ¡°Bruce, bring Joshua to the front gate. We¡¯ll be heading out as soon as I finish up with my parents. Send a call to Hideki labs, they¡¯ll know why you¡¯re calling.¡±


    The trusted guard who had been a keeper in the palace since the days of Claude¡¯s own childhood, nodded at the princess and the boy followed him. The boy looked back at the king, and Claude couldn¡¯t help but shudder. There was something different about the boy. Something¡­ colder, more calculating. Something that hadn¡¯t been visible on the surface before.


    He watched as the boy left, and turned to his daughter, who¡¯s cheeks were flushed red. The king¡¯s nose twitched as he suppressed a sneer. Of course his daughter had fallen in love with the boy. Starlords above, how has he neglected his daughters upbringing to this point.


    Reya turned to him, and the smirk returned to Claude¡¯s face. ¡°I see that your negotiations were successful?¡± Reya¡¯s face contained none of the previous confidence it had before, yet she still said in a tired voice, ¡°Yes, and we will be sure to win the bet, father.¡±


    Claude¡¯s eyes widened. Reya had almost never called him father, even a few minutes ago she had called him, ¡®dad¡¯. Reya started to leave as the King sat up in his seat. ¡°Reya, wait.¡± The woman stopped in her tracks, without turning to face her father.


    ¡°Yes, dad?¡±


    ¡®Dad again, huh?¡¯ The king thought. Had he just imagined it? Sitting back down in his seat, he asked, ¡°What were the terms you and the boy agreed to?¡±


    Without missing a beat, Reya answered, ¡°They were specific. If I must be honest, I¡¯m not sure I made the right choice. I might have made a deal with the devil I don¡¯t know to spite the one I do.¡± With the king now slightly offended at being compared to a demon, he watched his daughter¡¯s back as she walked off to meet up with her new toy.

 Chapter 4: For the Greater Good

    Walking with Bruce through the halls of Redleaf Palace, I was surprised that the silence had managed to last this long. It had been at least five minutes since we left the throne room, and both of us had yet to utter a single sound.


    Turning a corner, I saw the open doors of the palace entrance, and started walking in that direction before Bruce grabbed my arm and pulled me back.


    I said nothing, being too childish to be the first one to speak, and he sighed. ¡°What is it you want to know, lad?¡±


    What I want to know is how you think you still have my trust after lying to me for days on end. I want to know how you can still pretend to act friendly around me when I know you¡¯re just focused on your princess¡¯s political acumen. With all those thoughts swirling in my head, I said nothing, and instead, just turned away from the man before walking in the direction of the palace exit once more.


    This time, I got to the double doors before Bruce grabbed my arm again. ¡°Listen lad, you¡¯re making a mistake. You¡¯re going to want my help if you¡¯re going to get through this mess. We need to work together for the greater good!¡±


    This time I was just dumbfounded. I shook my arm out of his grasp and cocked my head. ¡°Why would I ask you for anything? I can just have Judgment teach me. In fact, why would I give a shit about your world¡¯s greater good? I¡¯m just a spectator, please don¡¯t think I have any obligation towards the people that jailed me.¡± Bruce¡¯s jaw dropped and I used that chance to turn away, still very much aware of the contract and my obligations to the woman inside the palace.


    As I passed the guards on either side of the door, I could have sworn I¡¯d heard Bruce mutter, ¡°What the seven hells is going on?¡±


    ¡ª-


    I walked out of the palace, just like that. I don¡¯t know whether it was because the guards assumed I knew what I was doing, and let me go, or they saw me speaking with Bruce and figured that dealing with me was above their pay grade.


    Regardless of the reason, I was very quickly in the streets of the Metron Kingdom¡¯s capital city, Rong. The bustling streets were a nice change from the cell I had been held in only days prior, so I took in all the sights and sounds of the marketplace as I made my way to the waypoint on a map in the upper left hand corner of my vision. Looking at the expected arrival time, I muttered, ¡°God damn that¡¯s a long walk.¡±


    Figuring I had little better to do, I minimized the map and started looking around me. There were many people in the dimly-lit alleyway, with many neon-colored devices lining tarps on the ground. Several bright signs with suggestive names came into view, and I made a mental note to make a marker at this location so I could come back in the future.


    ¡°Got the latest Shizo blaster here! 355 Swains! Cheapest on the market!¡±


    ¡°Get your Asahi hoverbikes here! 875 Swains, and not a coin more!¡±


    ¡°Aishi sex toys! Purchase one and get a trial run at any of our affiliated pleasure quarters!¡±


    "Reich stealth tech here! Fresh from the Kingdom of Leonis! Biggest competitor to the Luong Empire¡¯s brands! Buy one get one half off!¡±


    The sounds of the market were deafening, and you could definitely get a feel for who controlled the economy. Wait, has society been subsumed by Judgment? Probably. Has the Luong Empire''s market dominated the economy? Most likely.


    Getting the thoughts of society crumbling beneath Judgment out of my head, I continued to follow the waypoint until the streets cleared into a highway. If one could call it that, anyway.


    The ¡®highway¡¯, was a large, translucent, semicircular tube that was about as wide as 12 car lanes back home. I stared in awe for a moment before descending onto the pedestrian walkway, which was automatic, like one of those moving floors you see at the airport.


    Realizing I had misjudged my priorities, I mentally opened a little gear widget in the bottom right corner of my vision, and activated the help button.


    You are now connected to Judgement. What can I assist you with today? I winced, causing several people to look my way. In the end though, they judged that I wasn¡¯t worth their time and went back into their own little societal bubbles. Fuck that hurt. Maybe I was too distressed on the day I had Fallen to notice, but Judgment was loud as a motherfucker. Collecting myself, I asked the AI what was on my mind.


    So Judgment, what exactly are Paladins, Knights, Bounty Hunters, Duskblades, and Dawnblades? There was a brief silence, followed by a whirring in my ears.


    Prompt accepted. Dusk-


    Ah, about that. Judgment, can you keep your command prompts and monologuing out of our chat space? Oh, and when I want a regular conversation, can you keep your voice down? I don¡¯t need you booming in my brain every time I need information.


    ¡°Very well, I shall do so from now on.¡± The voice was androgynous, and sounded as if it were layered many times over, but I had to say that it wasn¡¯t wholly unpleasant. Surprisingly, it sounded happy that I had chided it. I sighed and started rubbing my eyes. I just gave orders to a sentient super AI and it listened to me. What the fuck was I doing with my life?


    I was lost in the moment of it all, but Judgment¡¯s serene voice brought me back. ¡°To begin with, we should cover Paladins. Paladins are of the highest order and rank a human can attain next to royalty. Their rights are pretty much the same as said royalty, save for the fact that they must adhere to the international treaty guidelines and the king¡¯s direct orders, or be stripped of his powers and cast out as a traitor.¡±


    ¡°Then, Knights. They are a step down from Paladins in terms of power, but are still equivalent to that of princes and princesses. They can lead their own platoon, and go on missions with permission from the King, or someone of similar stature.¡±


    ¡°After that is Bounty Hunters. Like the name suggests, Bounty Hunters ride for the throne of their kingdom, and seek out those who would do harm to their lord¡¯s domain. They are even below knights, being able to be commanded by princes and princesses, as well as by Dukes. They are guided and assisted by Judgment technology, and are allowed access through all borders.¡±


    ¡°Next is Dawnblades. Dawnblades are people that act as personal bodyguards to royalty, and generally undertake any military mission that said royalty would be conscripted for. In your world¡¯s terms, they are like knights.¡±


    I nodded my head, then, upon realizing I wasn¡¯t actually speaking to another physical being, promptly stopped and tried to avoid even more stares that had come my way. Alright, aside from dodging conscription, is there any real need to have a Dawnblade?


    The sound of whirring wasn¡¯t present any longer, but I could tell that Judgment was processing information. ¡°Yes, there is. My sensors have indicated that Dawnblades are usually betrothed to their masters. To have one is a human symbol of status.¡±


    I see. What about Duskblades? Without skipping a beat, Judgment answered, ¡°A Duskblade is the antithesis of a Dawnblade. Whereas Dawnblades fight in plain sight, racking up achievements for themselves and their lords, Duskblades do so from the shadows, and handle all the-¡±


    I was pulled out of Judgment¡¯s explanation as the arm of a man the size of a grizzly bear rammed into me and sent me sprawling. ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going, asshole!¡± I shouted at his retreating figure. A moment later, several people, who I could only guess was law enforcement, ran after him.


    ¡°Fuck that guy.¡± I muttered under my breath. I wish he¡¯d just become paralyzed from the waist down. I heard a scream in the distance and smirked. Maybe the police had granted my wish after all.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡ª-


    As I walked up to the elaborate gate that blocked my way to Hideki labs, a familiar face came out to greet me. ¡°Joshua, why did you come so late!?¡± Reya started to shout, but instantly her face twisted into one of pain as a lightning jolt came out of her temple, or rather, the Judgment Panel sitting there, and she fell to her knees.


    She staggered back up to her feet, and I greeted her with a smile on my face. ¡°So this is how Judgment enacts it¡¯s contracts¡­¡± She gave me a scowl and that erased my smirk.


    ¡°Starlords, damn it. Which clause did I break?¡± Fully regaining herself, she stood up straight, and I realized for the first time that she was shorter than me. It shouldn¡¯t have come as a surprise since the various times we had interacted before were when she had a height advantage, or in subspace, where nothing is real.


    ¡°I believe it was the 8th. Failing to call me ¡®Master¡¯ when initiating a conversation when we are alone. Judgment even knows when other users are around so it can go the extra mile in keeping our promises. Isn¡¯t that great!¡± She scowled again and said nothing.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, I know what you were trying to do. Judgment told me about Duskblades, and their purpose. Did you really want a boy toy that badly?¡± Her face lit up scarlet before becoming deathly pale.


    ¡°D-¡± a spark came out of her panel, cutting her off instantly. ¡°M-Master, did you just say you spoke with Judgment?¡±


    She obviously struggled to call me that, but whether it was pride or something else I didn¡¯t particularly care. I gave her a curious look, but simply nodded my head. ¡°I did, what of it?¡±


    She took in a sharp breath and started giggling uncontrollably, eventually turning into a full-blown laugh. After a moment she sighed. ¡°So you¡¯re a Neuromancer. Starlords above, I¡¯m so stupid. I just thought you were psionically inclined.¡±


    ¡°Two things.¡± I said, walking up to her. ¡°First, what on God¡¯s green earth is a Neuromancer?¡±


    The princess took a deep breath before speaking. ¡°Neuromancers are those with the ability to communicate with AI¡¯s. Yes, they exist in our society, but they generally have a weaker Mobius field, and not enough influence to properly abuse their powers.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Why is it that when I ask you a question, I only have more afterwards? Whatever, I get the general idea. I¡¯ll just ask Judgment for more information later.¡±


    Clearing my throat, I held up two fingers to the woman. ¡°Ok, secondly, you¡¯re not stupid, not by any means. You just misread your opponent. You thought I only cared about sex, and drowning myself in pleasure to forget my pain, and that turned out to be your downfall.¡±


    She fidgeted and said, ¡°Could you really blame me? All you did was stare at my boobs each day in the jail cell, and you had an erection most of those times.¡±


    This time it was my turn to sigh. ¡°Yes, I am sexually frustrated, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I think with that head. In fact, the sooner we get done here, the sooner I can relieve myself. I saw some interesting buildings downtown, some of which I¡¯d like to check out.¡±


    She looked indignant as she said, ¡°Hello? Am I not good enough for you?¡±


    I clicked my tongue at her accusation. ¡°The problem is that you¡¯re too good, idiot. What kind of pedigree would I need to even have a conversation with you, let alone fuck you? Whe have a saying where I¡¯m from.¡± Well, maybe more meme than saying. ¡°Don¡¯t stick your dick in crazy. And you, my lady, are definitely that.¡±


    Her face lit up again as she weakly muttered, ¡°I¡¯m not crazy! And don¡¯t call me an idiot¡­¡± She¡¯s simple. Intelligent and cunning, but simple.


    ¡°Besides,¡± I continued, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be a fan of the stuff I¡¯m into. Made more than a couple people shocked by it.¡±


    Reya¡¯s hungry eyes scanned my body. ¡°What kind of stuff?¡±


    I pointedly ignored her and started walking in the direction of the lab¡¯s entrance. ¡°You¡¯re the one who called me here, Reya. Why don¡¯t you come and explain what you were planning to do?¡±


    ¡°Ass-¡± I heard her get out a syllable before letting out a small shriek, and turning around. ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    I let her lead me inside and slowed my walk to a leisurely stride as I observed the interior of the scientific compound. The walls were pitch-black, with red wires running along them. A dim white light shone from incandescent bulbs overhead , but it was actually a foil for the iridescent light that I saw farther into the building.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Reya was looking at me, dumbfounded. ¡°Hurry up, will you? The scientists inside have been waiting for you for hours already!¡± No use of the word, ¡®Master¡¯¡­ so the scientists are probably listening in somehow.


    I increased my pace to reach her, and we headed into the iridescent light. Which, as it turned out, was not truly light. Instead, it was a bubble-like barrier that coated us in a thin film as we passed through. The smooth substance then dissolved into our skin, leaving it shiny and soft.


    I turned to look at Reya, who shrugged her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a form of decontamination. Instead of hosing us down in noxious fumes, we coat ourselves in a form of bacteria that eats dirt, and when none of that is left, it¡¯s programmed to eat itself.¡±


    She continued forward, and I followed suit until we were in a room with many computers. I looked around, but couldn¡¯t see any of the stereotypical white rooms, places where mutant species were being held captive, or any experimental tech.


    ¡°Fuck this looks boring.¡± I mused.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± A wiry man with long, gravity defying hair walked up behind us. His almond-shaped eyes had a fierce gaze, and his voice had a hint of an asian accent. Which one though, I had no clue.


    ¡°Head Researcher Teramoto! It¡¯s always a pleasure.¡± The man pushed his horn-rimmed glasses up on his face and bowed.


    ¡°The pleasure is all mine, Princess. It is always lucrative doing business with people of your ilk.¡± He then turned a scornful gaze towards me. ¡°I assume this is the one then. To what do I owe the displeasure of meeting this rude animal.¡± Was he bothered I called him boring? What a kid. This is going to be easier than I thought.


    I took the most relaxed pose I could, and then scoffed at him. ¡°You¡¯re the rude one. You claim to be one of the forerunners of technology, yet all I see are computers? Pathetic.¡±


    I could see Teramoto fuming out of the corner of my eyes, and he stormed over to the largest computer, where he pressed a button. Without any warning, the floor beneath Reya and I started to open up, so we quickly got out of the way. A large glass case came out of the floor, with several sharp objects and gun-like machines inside.


    ¡°Save your criticisms for after you see our tech, asshole.¡± The researcher had a delighted smile on his face as he watched me look over the weapons he had produced.


    Judgment, tell me what each of those weapons do.


    ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± The added title caught me off guard, but I didn¡¯t have enough time for a rebuttal before the AI began speaking. ¡°The long, sheathed weapon is a sonic blade. It vibrates at high frequencies to increase cutting power. If you rub two together while they are vibrating, there is the possibility of creating a sonic wave.¡±


    Duly noted. Next?


    ¡°Next-¡±


    ¡ª-


    ¡°What is he doing?¡± Reya looked up at the eccentric scientist and sighed. How had her life done a complete 180 in only the span of one week? It was entirely and utterly improbable, but here she was, possessing no clear will of her own, lest she feels the setbacks of Judgment¡¯s contract. Such utter bullshit. she was the perfect out. What was he unsatisfied with?


    ¡°He¡¯s speaking with Judgment.¡± She muttered. ¡°Probably inquiring what each of your weapons does and how best to use them.¡±


    The scientist¡¯s face paled, before becoming a heated crimson. ¡°A-a Neuromancer that can actually contact Judgment!¡± Teramoto practically ran over to Reya before kneeling and holding her hands in his own. ¡°Princess, please let me study your toy! I promise not to break it!¡±


    Reya shook her head, a pang of bitterness in her heart. ¡®Exactly who was whose toy now?¡¯ She wondered. ¡°Sorry, but you can¡¯t.¡±


    He looked her right in the eyes. ¡°If we can find out the difference between him and other Neuromancers, we can strengthen that role for others in their field! It could revolutionize the industry!¡±


    Reya shook her head again, and wrenched her hands free from Teramoto¡¯s. ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand me. As much as I would like to lend him to you, and have you owe me one, some extenuating circumstances have come into play, and I can¡¯t really order him to do anything.¡±


    The scientist looked her in the eyes as his own widened. ¡°You lost control over the Fallen!? How-¡±


    ¡°Reya, let¡¯s go.¡± The princess turned her head to see Joshua decked out in a black S.M.A.R.T. suit, and two sonic blades on his hips. Two shortguns, the popular Hideki Labs original weapon, rested in a holster on his back, and a neon green vizor rested over his eyes.


    Reya took in a sharp breath. Starlords, why was he so handsome? She found it hard to continually loathe a man who drew her eyes unintentionally.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by a screech from Teramoto. ¡°You fiend! How did you get into the case!¡± Joshua simply cocked his head.


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®how?¡¯ It honestly wasn¡¯t hard. I just asked a friend to cut a hole in it.¡± Joshua pointed to a perfect circle cut into the reinforced elephant-glass.


    Teramoto mouthed the word, ¡®friend,¡¯ before his jaw dropped. ¡°He can manifest the AI¡¯s power in physical space!? Princess, you have to-¡±


    Teramoto¡¯s words faded as Joshua took a hold of Reya¡¯s hand, and together they started to run out of the lab. Reya¡¯s heart clenched in agony as she looked upon the back of her newly contracted Duskblade and struggled between the hatred that had started to sprout, and her own poorly controlled lust. Starlords, why did she find him so attractive.


    ¡­ Was she going insane?

 Chapter 5: A Heated Encounter {NSFW}

    I led Reya by her hand until we were out of Hideki labs, and out onto the street. I got a few stares for the getup I was wearing, but eventually they returned to their proper place. Those people probably figured I¡¯d be more trouble than I was worth talking to, and boy would they be right.


    I gripped at the skin-tight S.M.A.R.T. (which Judgment so happened to inform me meant: Simple Machine Automated Reality Tester) suit on my body to adjust it to a slightly more comfortable position. God I was I glad that the suit had a built-in cup.


    I lifted my other hand to scratch my nose, which I coincidentally forgot had Reya¡¯s hand in it. Speaking of which¡­


    I looked at the Princess, who wasn¡¯t moving, or speaking. Just looking at me with pleading eyes. Curious, I let go of her hand, yet she still continued to look at me. What was-?


    My heart sank as I realized what had happened. Judgment, can you hear me?


    ¡°Technically, I can¡¯t hear you, but rather-¡±


    Not important right now. Anyway, can you bring Reya and I into subspace? Also, raise time dilation to 500:1 real life seconds. We should be fine if we¡¯re only there for a short while.


    ¡°Understood.¡± I felt my head heat up as the Judgment Panel fired a beam at Reya¡¯s, before the world around me went black.


    When I awoke, I was staring at Reya, who was still as a statue. ¡°Judgment!,¡± an orb of darkness manifested above Reya and I. Well that¡¯s not ominous at all.


    ¡°Yes, Master?¡± Reya¡¯s eyes widened upon hearing Judgment¡¯s tone, but she remained in place.


    ¡°Bring up the contract between the Princess and I. There are some revisions I must make.¡± The orb disappeared, only to be replaced by a floating black piece of paper. It slowly floated down into my hands.


    ¡°Here.¡± I pointed to the seventh clause on the contract. ¡°Please remove ¡®The Seventh Clause: The Slave needs a prompt from it¡¯s Master in order to speak, move, or emote.¡¯ Looking back on it, that one¡¯s just unfair.¡±


    I felt bad as this contract was made immediately following another mental breakdown, but how could she blame me? She was trying to manipulate me, it was only right that-


    No. No! I will not have my morals fall to shit just because my expectations of life have.


    ¡°Contract successfully updated. Proceeding back to Ethia.¡± The darkness returned, and when it faded, we were back in the streets of Rong, just outside of Hideki Labs once more.


    Reya breathed heavily, and looked at me with a tinge of¡­ what was that emotion? ¡°Thanks for doing that. I know I agreed to the contract, but I didn¡¯t realize I wouldn¡¯t be able to move without permission. I¡¯ll be honest, I thought I was going to have a panic attack.¡±


    She smiled weakly, and I rebuked myself for even feeling anything for her. I couldn¡¯t have these emotions if I wanted to live in this world, not as an emotional cripple, but as a successful person. I needed to dull myself.


    I turned away from her and muttered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was in a bad place when I made that contract¡­ ok, I guess I still am in a bad place. If there are any other clauses that significantly impair your life, let me know and we can maybe do something about it.¡±


    She smiled and nodded before starting to walk off in the opposite direction of the red light district. I sighed and dragged my feet while following her along. ¡°You know we talked about this literally 10 minutes ago, right? I think it¡¯s high time I blew off some steam-¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Reya said, cutting me off, ¡°but I need to bring you to your master first.¡± Wow I¡¯m surprised cutting me off violated none of the clauses of our contract. Wait, what did she just¡­?


    I grabbed Reya by her arm and turned her around. I grabbed the back of her head and brought her face close to mine. ¡°You know, I swear I heard something funny just now. I could have sworn I heard my slave talking to her master about being owned by another person.¡± She blushed and averted her eyes, but I was interrupted when a light cough came from behind me.


    I let go of Reya and turned to see Bruce, who had changed out of his soldiers¡¯ uniform and had changed into more casual clothes. He wore a sleeveless shirt with armbands that reached his elbows, and emphasized his biceps. Silver cargo pants contrasted with his dark skin, making the outfit look fashionable as a whole.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to pick you up, princess.¡± He then turned to me. ¡°Apologies to you as well, Joshua. I didn¡¯t think in a million years that you¡¯d turn down the princess¡¯s offer. It was insensitive of me to presume to know your intentions.¡± He bowed, and I held in my urge to openly voice my disgust. How could he think that everything was alright with just a few words?


    I said nothing, and taking that as a hint, the large man stood back up with a wry smile on his face. ¡°I guess people aren¡¯t so easily forgiven in your world, huh? Oh well.¡± He started walking into the alleyway where he came from, and Reya followed, leading me to follow her in turn.


    Why did I do that to Reya? Am I just taking out my frustrations on her? Fuck, I wish I could control emotions better. Does Judgment have a feature like that?


    ¡°I do Master.¡± The almost corporeal voice resounded in my ear, and made my normal step an ungainly lurch forward. The auto-balancing feature on the suit was what kept me upright, but I glanced up to see the look of concern directed at me from Reya.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. The suit just rode up a bit and made me step weird.¡± She rolled her eyes and returned to following Bruce, while I cursed the AI in my head.


    Judgment, even if you can hear my inner monologue, please ignore it unless otherwise spoken to, ok?


    ¡°Understood, Master. In response to your previous grievance, I do have an old-world antidepressant recipe stored in my data bank. I could give you a remote injection, if you would like?¡±


    I thought back to my abusive father¡¯s relationship with my mom, and her advice to me: ¡®Medication doesn¡¯t make things better, it just numbs you to reality.¡¯ Despite her warnings, that was exactly what I needed right now.


    Please do so, just adjust the dosage for my body weight and height. I felt a sharp sting on my head, but it only lasted an instant before I was apparently finished being drugged up. Thanks Judgment.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome Master. Feel free to rely on me more in the future.¡± The voice and it¡¯s message sent a shiver down my spine. Was Judgment really that starved for attention that it wanted to pander to me, the only one who could interact with it?


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Reya¡¯s voice brought me back to reality, and when I came to my senses, we were in front of a large white building. The material it was made out of had the luster of steel, with the rough feeling of a rock. I looked up to the sign, only to find it blank. The alleyway had cleared into a large, open square, with only the single building in the vicinity. Instead of the grilled food and occasional piss smell of the alleyways, the building and surrounding courtyard had a flowery smell emanating from it.


    ¡°There¡¯s no name?¡± I frowned. Reya shook her head and pointed to her own eyes.


    ¡°You need Judgment to turn on it¡¯s Augmented Reality feature for you.¡± I gave the AI a quick mental command to do just that, and bright blue letters popped into my field of view. The sight was jarring to say the least, and quickly brought me pain.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± I muttered, rubbing my eyes. ¡°Do people actually use this setting?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually the norm.¡± Reya replied. ¡°It would be rarer to find someone who doesn¡¯t use AR nowadays.¡± Her voice, while quite pleasant to the ear, did little to soothe my eyes.


    When I opened them again, the sign was far less aggressively bright, and I could actually read the words on the board.


    ¡®Royal Instructors¡¯ compound. Entry only to those who have permission. Trespassing will be punished severely. Enter at your own risk.¡¯ I looked around the city and realized that the AR didn¡¯t only allow me to read the sign. Several other special animations or messages played though the filter.


    ¡®Viratech Home and Office, select products now 50% off with code: 667281387231982!¡¯


    ¡®Come see our dancers! Opening night only, special price!¡¯


    Messages like that, and even more polluted the skyline and made me roll my eyes. Turning back to the building, I immediately ran after the retreating backs of Reya and Bruce, who had wandered inside the compound already.


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Bruce announded. We had gone into a tube in the center of the building, and it shot us skywards for five seconds before coming to a soundless stop. Walking out of the lift, we were greeted by an open terrace, filled with various colors of lilies. At the center of it all was a bearded man sitting cross-legged in the middle.


    He stood up and bowed before beckoning us forward. Bruce and Reya walked up to him calmly, indicating that they knew the man. I lagged behind a bit, and conversed with Judgment. Judgment, please give me any information you know on that man.


    ¡°Understood, Master.¡± There was a slight pause before it continued. ¡°That man¡¯s name is Reich Gannon. He has been Princess Reya¡¯s personal body guard and combat instructor since she was ten years old. He is an accomplished Lieutenant Colonel, and, while not actively serving in the military, is a reserve force. He has been quoted as saying, ¡®if the country needs me, I will come out of retirement.¡¯ He is known to use various psionic skills to unbalance his foes before swiftly moving in for the kill. His nickname on the battlefield was Reich of the Darkness.¡±


    ¡°Joshua, hurry up! Come greet your new ma- mentor!¡± After how I reacted earlier to the word, ¡®master,¡¯ she decided it better to steer clear of the landmine altogether. As I walked closer, I thought, Judgment, have Contingency 1 on standby.


    ¡°Ready to use at your discretion.¡± The words caused a smile to form on my face, one which faded as I shook hands with the old veteran.


    ---


    ¡°Pleased to meet you, boy. The name¡¯s Reich Gannon. I¡¯m something of an uncle to our little princess here.¡±


    The man took his hand and shook it firmly, looking Reich dead in the eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± His voice held nothing special in it, not that Reich could tell.


    It was as if the boy tried to strip himself of all emotions before speaking. The somewhat monotonous voice continued, ¡°You¡¯ve no need to learn anything of me. I suspect that Reya sent you information on me anyway.¡±


    Despite himself, a smirk crept onto Reich¡¯s aged visage. The man had balls, at least. Not many would be so unaffected by his passive psionic field that they would freely speak their mind. Maybe the boy¡¯s psionic talent was high? To be able to fully neutralize his ¡®fear field¡¯ was truly an impressive feat.


    Reich hadn¡¯t taken on a student since Reya, and she was a surprise. Although his expectations for her were low, she turned out to be in the top percentile of his students. But this man¡­


    He studied the man up and down as he shook his hand. Joshua Cole¡­ according to what the young princess had sent him in their group message, this¡­ boy; Reich was loathe to call someone unproven a man; was now her Duskblade? Reich didn¡¯t believe it. It reeked of desperation and a badly managed political acumen. Unfortunately, he had neither the clout nor the mind to play these political games, so he would judge the boy¡¯s worthiness the only way he knew how.


    ¡°Your suspicion is well founded, young one.¡± He saw the boy¡¯s eye twitch. Perhaps his perceived maturity was a sore spot? ¡°Before I go on and become your tutor, I have a simple test for you.¡±


    Joshua drew a pair of long daggers from his hips, and held them up in a fighting stance. Reich¡¯s smirk returned. ¡°Good instincts.¡± He drew his own katana from a sheath on his back and held it in front of him.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Without warning, Joshua leapt forward, aiming for his body. Reich blocked his sword to move the weapon, but noticed another dagger incoming from the side. Turning his body clockwise, he dodged the stab, but the blade still flew past his ear.


    Reich¡¯s eyes widened when he heard the high-pitched screech of the blade roar next to his ear, and a cold sweat began to form on his back. Reich was stunned. That was meant to be a killing blow!


    Reich¡¯s smirk grew into a wide smile. For almost two decades now, his blade had become dull with years spent apart from war, and he lamented it with each passing day. But this boy¡­ perhaps this boy would be able to rekindle Reich¡¯s flame of passion for the sword. One which he considered long lost without any as his peer to spar with in the entire Metron Kingdom.


    Reich pulled a second blade out from his back, and both swords¡¯ hilts elongated and came apart, revealing two more blades on each weapon. How long had it been since his heart had been set ablaze so! He ran in to greet the challenger, and their blades collided.


    Reich studied the boy¡¯s face, which was just as stoic as it had been when he first walked into the sanctuary. ¡®A natural.¡¯ Reich thought. ¡®A natural born killer.¡¯ Heart pumping and blood boiling, they separated again. Reich¡¯s happiness was now uncontrollable! He dashed forward again with the intent to savor every exchange, and treasure every moment of this once in a lifetime encounter!


    ---


    I poked Reich on the forehead and turned back to Reya. ¡°This counts as my win, right?¡± The girl, not to mention Bruce standing next to her, were shell-shocked.


    ¡°Joshua, you just-!¡±


    ¡°But how-?¡±


    Their voices overlapped and I sighed, casually cracking my neck. It was a bad habit I had picked up from my father, but at this point I did the action almost subconsciously. ¡°I just acted on a piece of information I got from Reya earlier. No need to flip out about it.¡±


    I walked away from Reich, who was standing dead still, an unpleasant smile marring the wise look he held before. Judgment, make a mental note that there is a five-second startup time to Contingency 1. I thought for a second. And make sure there aren¡¯t any laws in place at the moment for reprogramming AR functions into VR functions.


    ¡°Understood, Master. Some advice, I believe it would be better to name it something other than ¡®Contingency 1,¡¯ so my autocorrect function can be used to its fullest.¡±


    I held out my hand to Reya, who looked at it dumbfoundedly. ¡°Money, please. Not an exorbitant amount, but enough for a bachelor in the town.¡±


    She scratched her head, and a green beam of light went from her panel to my own, notifying me that I had received 12 million Swains. I nodded my head in thanks and walked toward the elevator. I pressed the button and waited, my right hand¡¯s fingers drumming on my thigh while waiting.


    Just come up with something.


    ¡°Permission to comb your memories for an appropriate name?¡±


    I stopped the drumming. You know what? Sure. Go for it. I felt a spark of electricity arc through my hair and my scalp, but it was over before I knew it.


    ¡°Data acquired. ¡®Contingency 1¡¯ will now be replaced with the name, ¡®Lag Spike.¡¯ I shook my head as the elevator arrived. The name wasn¡¯t terrible by any means, just a little too cliche for my own liking.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Reya called to me as I stepped into the elevator. ¡°What do we do with Uncle Reich!?¡± I held the, ¡®door open¡¯ button as I responded.


    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine in a bit, let him enjoy his dream for now.¡± I had just let go of the button when Reya asked another question.


    ¡°Where are you going then!?¡± Several flashing lights gave me a countdown to when the door would close, and I looked right into Reya¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I¡¯m going back to the red-light district. I¡¯ll return to the castle by 3 A.M., so don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    I saw her jaw drop as the door closed. This was followed by her doing, what I assumed was, yelling her heart out at me for ruining her clean and neatly laid machinations just to have fun. Honestly though, I needed to blow off some steam. Reya was attractive, and I didn¡¯t want to end up losing out to her temptations one of these days.


    ---


    ¡°Welcome to Aishi! How may I help you today?¡± A ¡®female¡¯ robot with a monotonous voice asked me kindly. In return, I threw a black plug gag, two sets of hemp rope, a red armbinder, two pairs of handcuffs, and a leather blindfold onto the table.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking these, thank you. I believe that a banner outside mentioned a trial run at your pleasure quarters?¡± She waved her hands over the items, and their names and prices appeared on the screen.


    ¡°That will be 508 Swains.¡± Jesus that¡¯s expensive! ¡­ Or was it? I rubbed my chin, and figured I¡¯d do the bread test at a different time. For now, I obediently responded, ¡®yes,¡¯ to the prompt that appeared at the bottom left-hand corner of my vision.


    ¡°Transaction approved. Thank you for shopping with Aishi! Would you like the Sadist or Masochist course for your trial?¡± I thought for a moment, then realizing there was a real chance for error, and asked about the courses.


    I was glad I did, for the Masochist course was the one I actually wanted. I inwardly sighed, an unexpected landmine having been avoided. At the beckoning of the robot, I made my way upstairs and into a pod with my new belongings. It was comfy and surprisingly spacious inside the pill-shaped pod, and a luminescent screen appeared in my vision.


    It read, ¡®Thank you for selecting the Masochist course. You will be paired with another customer whose preferences and fetishes align with yours. Please wait.¡¯ The pod started to move, and I was taken into an elevator-like structure, which let me view outside the tall building and at the city lights down below.


    ¡°You have arrived.¡± The pod opened up to reveal a black room, with a white fur carpet on the floor. I stepped out of the pod and took off my boots and socks, noting the soft, plush feel of the floor.


    A large, circular bed was off on the right side of the room, but that wasn¡¯t supposed to be the main attraction. No, that title belonged to the dungeon wall on the left side of the room. I smiled in anticipation and sat down on the bed, stripping my upper body from the S.M.A.R.T. suit.


    The elevator across the room made a small chime, and it opened up to reveal a tall woman. She had black hair that was pencil-straight, and reached down to her shoulder blades in the back, while the sides hung loosely around her ample bust in the front. Her bangs looked similar to mine, in that they were curved over one eye. Speaking of, her eyes were a pale amethyst (probably more genetic engineering at work), and emphasized by black eyeshadow. Her sloped nose hung above a set of thin, blood red lips. A black dress was filled out by her hourglass body, and a choker with a silver ring hung tightly around her neck. She gave me a smile which sent a slight shiver down my spine.


    Judgment, who is she?


    I relaxed and smiled back at her after hearing the AI¡¯s response. The woman walked up to me and extended her hand. ¡°I¡¯m Luxia. I often come to the hotels on weekends. And you are?¡± Her voice was unexpectedly deep and scratchy for a woman, and sultry.


    So there are codenames to ensure customer safety and privacy? I like Aishi already. ¡°I¡¯m Jester. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Luxia.¡±


    ¡°Likewise.¡± She stared me up and down like a piece of meat. ¡°I assume you¡¯ve brought your tools?¡± She started to strip, revealing pale skin underneath her dress, and no underwear.


    ¡°Of course.¡± I smirked. ¡°Nice piercings. I¡¯m really into that look. The whole commitment to the lifestyle.¡± I ran my eyes over her breasts, and one stud-like piercing in her left breast, while her right had a larger ring.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad someone does. You have quite the honeyed tongue, I just hope it can be sharp too.¡± I smiled at her.


    ¡°First, safe-words. What are yours?¡± She stared at me dumbfounded for a moment before laughing as she climbed out of the last vestiges of her skimpy dress. I looked her body up and down before settling my gaze back on her face.


    ¡°Now I know you¡¯re truly someone with my tastes. So many men just come here looking for an easy lay. I have high expectations for you now.¡± She giggled. ¡°My safe word is ¡®Rose.¡¯ I¡¯m hoping I won¡¯t have to use it, seeing how experienced you are?¡±


    This time I was the one stripping as she stopped her dialogue, pulling my feet out of the suit. She stared hard at my package and I made my face neutral, causing her to visibly shiver. A sweet, seductive, masochistic grin made its way onto her delicate features. ¡°Let¡¯s get started then, Jester.¡±


    I scowled at her. ¡°Who gave you permission to speak, bitch? Get on your knees. Now.¡± She shivered again and kept the smile on her face as she knelt. I brought out the rope and armbinder, and applied the former to her lower legs and thighs while the latter was used to bring her arms behind her back. She breathed heavily as I tied the armbinder to her leg bindings, making her back arch and her breasts protrude.


    Now fully erect, I brought the gag out of the bag, and saw that the hole in it wouldn¡¯t have quite fit my member. I inwardly sighed, despairing over the waste of money, but also one less tool to use. No matter. I brought the blindfold over and covered her eyes with it, then stepped back to view my work.


    Her form was truly divine. Her ample breasts shook as she breathed, and her squirming truly turned me on. I walked over to her and grabbed her left breast, kneading it in my hand. ¡°Tell me, who does this belong to?¡±


    She moaned and bit her lip. ¡°It belongs to you.¡±


    I grabbed her right breast ring and pulled, stretching until I elicited a scathing moan. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I could have sworn I heard you just speak without addressing me as Master. Please, tell me again who you belong to?¡±


    She smiled brightly and responded, ¡°I belong to you, Master. My everything. My breasts, my pussy, my ass. Everything.¡± She moaned again. ¡°This is amazing. This is the first time I¡¯ve- geh!¡±


    She gagged as I shoved my index and middle fingers in her mouth and down her throat, forcing her to gag. I kept them there as she choked, and pulled away slightly after five seconds, but kept them inside her mouth. ¡°Why would you speak out of turn like that? Apologize for being so rude.¡±


    ¡°Ihm shory Mahher.¡± She spoke through my fingers, and I shoved them back in, setting her into another fit of gagging. I heard water hit the floor and looked down to catch the last moments of her squirt.


    ¡°What the fuck? You squirted just from my fingers in your mouth? How horny were you? You filthy animal.¡± I took my hand out of her mouth as I slapped her breasts, and walked around to her front.


    ¡°P-please Master, may I speak?¡± Her breathing still ragged, she looked straight ahead, the floor having masked the sound of my footsteps. I pulled on her breast ring as I answered, eliciting another shriek from Luxia.


    ¡°Permission granted, my little slut. Speak away.¡± I continued to knead her breasts as she spoke, and even slapped her shapely ass a few times for good measure, leaving the skin red.


    ¡°I c-came because I¡¯ve had modification done to m-my body.¡± She spoke in between moans. ¡°I¡¯ve had several pleasure r-receptors redirected from my clit to my tongue.¡±


    I throbbed harder and stopped toying with her large chest, and stood above her, resting my member on her face. ¡°So? How is that any of my concern?¡±


    Luxia squirmed and tried to close her legs to no avail before speaking once again. ¡°Master, may I speak again?¡±


    I took myself off of her face this time and stepped on her left breast, eliciting a slight squeal. ¡°Permission granted again, slave.¡± Her kinky smile from before returned and she opened her mouth, showing me two rows of perfect looking white teeth and a long, thick tongue.


    ¡°Master, please take your nice, hard dick, grab the back of my head, and pound my throat until I come!¡± She grew frantic at the end of the sentence, so much so that a smile grew on my own face. I shoved my fingers back down her throat and she started gagging once more.


    ¡°I wonder?¡± I said, shoving my fingers in deeper. ¡°Does a bitch like you really deserve my dick in there? I¡¯ll give you one more chance to plead your case.¡±


    I removed my spit-covered fingers yet again, and tears came down from underneath her blindfold. ¡°Please, Master! I promise to be a good little fuckdoll for you, so please fuck my face!¡± I took my member and , without warning, shoved it into the greedy slut¡¯s open mouth. She gagged again, clearly not expecting my length or girth. She squirted again, this time getting some of the liquid on my foot.


    ¡°Bad slave! You got me dirty.¡± She tried to pull away for some air, but I grabbed her long, black hair and shoved her back onto me. I held her down for five seconds as she gagged uncontrollably, then let her slowly slide off.


    She left me covered in saliva, and left a ring of lipstick on the base of my pelvis. ¡°G-gah! T-thank you¡­ M-master.¡± She spoke between haggard breaths, and I shoved myself down her throat once more. This time, I grabbed her nipple ring and pulled, Luxia spasmed, choking herself even harder on me.


    ¡°What a masochistic slut. You just can¡¯t get enough, can you?¡± She tried to pull off once more, but I repeated the same actions as before. ¡°Honestly,¡± she choked and gasped for air as she came off of me, ¡°I¡¯m the only one who could truly care for a masochistic pervert like you. Who even has an oral fixation so bad that they,¡± I thrust into her throat again, ¡°get a modification done on their own tongue.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t respond, and instead gagged and slobbered on me. ¡°Hm? No answer? How shameless.¡±


    ---


    Your session has ten minutes until expiration. It is recommended that you start to clean yourselves now, as if you do not check out before the allotted time, you will be forcefully ejected from the room.


    ¡°Huh, I¡¯m guessing you got that message too, Luxia?¡± I pulled myself out of her throat as I finished for the fifth time inside of her. I let go of her head and she fell to the floor, laying in carpet that was wet with her own juices.


    She swallowed and breathed deeply. ¡°Y-yes Master.¡± I stepped on her breast, and a tired moan escaped her lips.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have some words for me?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes¡­ sorry Master. Thank you¡­ for abusing¡­ my mouth today. It was¡­ a pleasure.¡± Her breathing came in short waves, so I helped her up and undid the bindings.


    I used her mouth for thirty minutes. I looked down at Luxia, and studied her body once more. Her tongue technique was dangerous, I completely lost track of time.


    After her bindings were off, she tried, and failed, to stand up. Sighing, I picked her up in a princess carry and brought her over to the bed on the opposite side of the room. She hugged me tightly, her cold nipple rings pressed against my stomach. ¡°Jester, that was amazing. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve experienced something so close to my fantasies. I wasn¡¯t sure, at first, but I¡¯m going to give you my Judgment ID. Please call me if you¡¯re feeling pent up, or respond to me if I am.¡±


    A ping resounded in my ears, but I ignored it for the moment. Judgment, activate whatever cleaning features are in here, we¡¯re both filthy and so is the carpet.


    ¡°Understood, Master.¡± The AI spoke and a soothing light came down from the ceiling. A liquid was mixed in with the light particles, and soon both of us were as clean as the moment we had stripped. ¡°You know people think that the desire for S&M sex comes from seeking for a partner you have total control over, and cannot betray you?¡±


    Shut up. I bet you¡¯re just jealous, you dumb AI. Let me at least enjoy the after of the act, if you are going to shit on the former.


    I started getting dressed, leaving the busty woman on the bed, looking in my direction. ¡°Will you accept my request?¡± I turned back and smiled at her.


    ¡°Of course. Please keep and clean those for next time.¡± She stiffened at the words ¡®next time,¡¯ and a grin formed on her face. ¡°Oh, and please take this downstairs and exchange it for a larger one so we can actually use it next time.¡± She took one look at the gag and shuddered.


    ¡°Got it. Thanks, Jester. I¡¯ll see you around then.¡±


    I smiled back at her as the elevator doors closed behind me, and opened the friend request. My smile settled into a smirk as I viewed the notification. ¡°¡®Luxia,¡¯ a.k.a. Lucina Dew Metron has sent you a personal friend request. Do you accept?¡±

 Chapter 6: One Princess Junk

    I felt refreshed after leaving the Aishi Hotel, and I made sure to get a massive head start on Lucina Metron. I didn¡¯t want her to realize we were heading to the same destination, after all. I started thinking to myself that the current direction things were going in was alright after all, but that line of thought came to an abrupt end.


    What the hell am I even doing? First I come into Ethia without a clue on what my new life should entail, and still I have no goals of my own. Everything thus far has been myself doing things because someone else said so. The only thing that wasn¡¯t¡­ forget that, I don¡¯t want my only act of agency to be occasionally going to Aishi for sex. Judgment, what are veritable career paths in Ethia?


    ¡°What sort of job do you want, Master?¡± The AI asked, and for a moment my mind went blank. What do I want? I¡¯m asking you because I don¡¯t know what I want.


    ¡°Then I have a suggestion for you, Master. Follow Princess Reya¡¯s guidance until you figure out what you do want.¡±


    It stopped to let me think, but I mentally willed Judgment to continue. ¡°Think of it this way, Master. You are already under the princess¡¯ employ, and under the contract between you two, you are designated to serve as her Duskblade for only the next two weeks, regardless of whether or not you win the duel against Gazix.¡±


    Oh yeah¡­ I should probably know who that is. Judgment, give me all the data you have on Gazix.


    ¡°At your command, Master. It would behoove you to enter Judgment subspace to read and view all the fine details.¡±


    Fine. I sighed. Just set the time dilation so that I won¡¯t even lose a fraction of a second in the real world.


    ¡°With pleasure, Master.¡±


    Now entering Judgment subspace. Proceed with caution, time dilation appears to be set to a dangerous level. Prolonged exposure could lead to insanity, depression, suicidal thoughts, or even death. Will you still proceed?


    I smirked at the messages before accepting the prompt. To be honest, I¡¯m not sure that I¡¯m not afflicted by three fourths of those already.


    The world flickered and the alleyway faded into nothing before being transformed into a bright chrome room. Several images and videos flooded my vision, each one showing a skinny child murdering tens, maybe hundreds of people.


    ¡°So he¡¯s a murderer?¡±


    ¡°Not just any murderer, master.¡± I looked behind me and saw a new form that Judgment was using. It was in the shape of a woman, and suspiciously close in proportion to Lucina¡¯s figure from last night. She had chrome skin, black hair, and was wearing a black latex suit. A blindfold covered the upper half of her face, while a ball gag occupied it¡¯s lower half. An armbinder and legbinder were clasped onto her limbs, and suspended her from the ceiling in a hogtie.


    I sighed, and looked Judgment¡¯s form up and down. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, Master? I¡¯m merely showing my fealty to you by showing you a form that brings you the most confidence.¡± Is Judgment stat-tracking my life? How do you even quantify confidence.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple, Master. The basic formula-¡±


    ¡°Not now, Judgment. What did I say about listening to my inner monologue? Just give me information on Gazix.¡±


    ¡°As you command, Master. Gazix is the name of a currently 17-year-old child from the Luong Empire. His mother was a concubine of former emperor Jjinu, and his succession rights from the throne were withdrawn from an early age. He joined his country¡¯s military at age 13, and spent three years decimating opponents in duels, and mock wars.¡±


    ¡°Ok, so a child soldier with a tragic background.¡± I said. ¡°Got it. Any other useful information on this boy, such as motives, primary weapons, or tactics?¡±


    The bound figure of Judgment cocked its head as it spoke. ¡°Gazix¡¯s only wish was the freedom of his mother. To that end, he committed a crime on behalf of the Luong Empire in exchange for his mother¡¯s release. They did so, and she lives free to this day. He, however, having been caught during his successful assasination mission, rots in Metron Continental Prison to this day. His main weapon was a Yaiba brand bastard sword that¡¯s engineered to only power on for his fingerprints. That¡¯s locked away in a storage box at the prison, but I have a feeling it will make a reappearance for your duel.¡±


    A cruel grin spread on my face. ¡°I see. This is going to be easier than I thought. I already have a plan. Hell, I didn¡¯t even need this fancy suit.¡±


    ¡°That face suits you very well, Master. Disconnecting from-¡±


    ¡°Wait, Judgment. Have you ran tests on the training theory I proposed?¡±


    The hogtied figure nodded its head and several graphs popped into existence in front of me. ¡°They are 99% assured not to result in negative outcomes.¡±


    ¡°And the other 1%?¡± I asked, failing to hide the sarcasm in my voice.


    ¡°They could lead to insanity, depression, suicidal thoughts, or even death.¡±


    ---


    The guards treated me as if I were invisible, and just like that I walked into the main hallway of the castle. Redleaf Palace certainly didn¡¯t pull any punches when it came to flaunting its beauty. As opposed to the monochrome walls leading to the throne room, the foyer was a shimmering mess of rainbows, and scratchy textures along the walls. The ceiling rained down green light, and the floor tiles were all chrome. Four separate pod elevators were present, with a fifth right to the left of the entryway. There was a guard there with a gun, and a uniform like the ones I had seen Bruce¡¯s subordinates wearing.


    I walked up to him and saluted, which he reciprocated in kind. ¡°Good evening¡­ I guess morning now. I am Joshua Cole, Princess Reya¡¯s Duskblade. Can you tell me which one of the chutes takes me to the Princess?¡±


    The guard stared at me before simply whistling. ¡°Wow, I¡¯ve got to admit that you look way more capable than she made you seem. She¡¯s currently in the training facility underground. Please take the chute behind me, Duskblade Cole.¡± He stepped aside and the glass doors opened.


    Not wanting to miss a beat, I ordered my resident AI. Take me down to the Princess, Judgment. On the double.


    ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± I soon came to regret my choice in words as the chute was falling so fast that I was beginning to feel weightless. ¡°Prepare for impact.¡± Judgment¡¯s voice sent a shiver down my spine and I pressed a button on the SMART suit¡¯s collar.


    Concussive countermeasures initiated.


    With a deep boom, the elevator hit it¡¯s base, kicking up a cloud of dust and causing me to feel a tingling sensation in my whole body. I stood up and heard a voice from outside the elevator.


    ¡°What in the Starlord¡¯s shriveled nads was that!?¡± I recognized the voice as belonging to Reich Gannon, the instructor Reya tried to gift me last night.


    When the dust cleared, I saw Bruce with two gauntlets, paused in a wide swing towards Princess Reya, who had two bracers on her arms, each with a shield extending from her hands to her shoulders. The end of the shield at her hands ended in a curved blade.


    ¡°Joshua! I was wondering when you¡¯d return.¡± Even the brightest smile she could produce couldn¡¯t hide Reya¡¯s displeasure with me.


    ¡°Hello to you as well, Princess. Bruce. Mr. Gannon.¡± Noting each one of them in turn, I pointed back toward the currently diabled elevator. ¡°Is there any way to get back up without that?¡±


    Bruce stared dumbfounded and Reya face-palmed. Meanwhile, Reich Gannon laughed behind them. ¡°He¡¯s definitely a keeper, Princess.¡±


    Reya¡¯s face lit up and made a throat-cutting gesture to the aging man. ¡°Fortunately,¡± Reya said, turning around to face me, ¡°there¡¯s an emergency pod on the other wall. Unfortunately, I¡¯ll have to explain to my father that you broke the normal one.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Totally not my problem. All damages related to Dawnblades and Duskblades are billed to whom they are contracted.¡±


    A vein appeared on the princess¡¯ head but she said nothing, instead, turning to face Bruce. ¡°How did I ever think that he was a good person?¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I am,¡± I interrupted, ¡°a good person. I just happen to be a good person to only those I care about. Just like you, and just like every other human living under the sun. However, unlike you, or most others, if I don¡¯t give a rats ass about something, I¡¯m not going to stand there and speak to the contrary.¡±


    ¡°Admirable.¡± Bruce sighed and put his hands in pockets. ¡°But a poor choice for someone having just been introduced to Ethian politics.¡±


    That¡¯s what he thinks, anyway. I smirked but said nothing, and Bruce opened his mouth to speak. Before he could though, he was cut off by Reich.


    ¡°Ah, politics ain¡¯t important.¡± I was taken aback by his sudden change in speaking style, and Reya tapped her foot impatiently.


    ¡°Why did you wait ten years to reveal your accent to me, and you opened up to him in less than a day!¡± Reich shrugged at the accusation.


    ¡°Forgive me for being so blunt, Princess.¡± His speaking style immediately swapping back, ¡°But unlike the you from years ago, he¡¯s worthy of my trust. To have me in such a vulnerable situation and spare me, I can only concede that he is a fantastic person.¡±


    ¡°Ugh you make no sense.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to, Princess.¡±


    Clearly frustrated, Reya stomped her feet and shouted at me. ¡°Get in here Joshua! I need to see your power firsthand. Spar against Bruce, and don¡¯t pull whatever shit you had Judgment do earlier. I want to see you move.¡±


    ¡°If I must.¡± I said, walking forward towards the man. After my first step I paused. Judgment, initiate subspace and activate time dilation to our discussed measures.


    ¡°As you command, Master.¡± The room faded as I dove into subspace once more, and once more I found myself in the familiar chrome room. Looking around, I couldn¡¯t see Judgment anywhere, but as soon as I focused my vision on one point, it appeared out of nowhere.


    ¡°I must warn you again, Master. Condensing your time dilation from 1 year to 1 real world second is extremely dangerous, and I must advise against it.¡±


    I shook my head at the hanging figure. ¡°I wish I didn¡¯t have to go to such measures either, but I have neither the stamina nor knowledge about actual combat and how to wield the weapons I have. It¡¯s time for a training session.¡±


    I turned my back on Judgment, and shouted, ¡°Judgment, summon two training bots. One based off of Reich, and the other from Gazix.¡±


    ¡°As you command, Master.¡± Judgment parroted its earlier response and two women with Judgment¡¯s appearance winked into existence, one shorter than the other.


    I sighed. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you give them their normal appearances?¡±


    ¡°With all due respect, Master, I believe this training will be more effective.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s beginnnnnnnnnnnnnn?¡±


    No sooner had I spoken those words than my head was rolling on the floor. Well that went to shit pretty quickly. There was definitely some pain, but nothing so far had felt worse than the despair I had in the cell.


    My decapitated head started laughing. I knew I¡¯d do that. Mom always did say I internalized my negative emotions too much. Oh well. ¡°Judgment.¡± My head spoke. Man, was it disconcerting to be staring up at your own, decapitated body. ¡°Reconstruct me please. And actually wait until I finish the last syllable this time to move the training dummies.


    ¡°As you command, Master.¡± My body shuddered and I was whole once more. ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± I dodged the first strike by Gazix¡¯s smaller dummy, but the one modeled after Reich split my skull in half this time. Fuck me. This next year of my life is gonna be hell.


    ---


    Joshua had stopped walking and shuddered, causing Reya to tilt her head. ¡°Are you alright, Joshua?¡± Her Duskblade looked up, and his gaze sent a shudder down her spine.


    What the hell changed in that one second? Reya gasped, and covered her mouth. Looking around, she could see the others had noticed a change in Joshua¡¯s demeanor as well. Bruce was beginning to sweat and Reich had a smile from ear to ear.


    The Duskblade finally reached the training circle, and stepped opposite of Bruce. His fingers hovered above the sonic blades that Hideki Labs had produced for him, and he glanced over to Reya.


    ¡°A countdown if you don¡¯t mind, Princess.¡± His voice sent another tremor down her spine. How could he sound so different from their exchange only moments before? Did he have a mental switch to get ready for combat or something?


    Without any way to know, Reya raised her hand and brought it back down abruptly. ¡°Start!¡±


    Dust from the imported dirt floor swirled, and Bruce had streaked towards Joshua. It was a simple punch, but the trick lay in its speed and its power. Bruce was looking to end it in one strike. Reya was simply surprised that anything could spook the old guard that badly, but as soon as she saw Joshua move, she understood why.


    His body twisted back and, using the momentum from the movement, he swung his sonic blades at Bruce¡¯s extended arm. The whole thing happened so fast that Bruce couldn¡¯t react in time, and closed his eyes so as to not see his own arm get lopped off.


    However, something curious happened. Joshua¡¯s blades stopped an inch into Bruce¡¯s arm, letting him off with only a pair of cuts. Air escaped Bruce¡¯s lungs as he crumpled to the floor, and Reya felt her own heart sink. The only thing that felt normal was the somewhat crazed laughter of Reich.


    ¡°Joshua, are you ok?¡± Joshua didn¡¯t say anything, and instead, a visible shiver worked its way up his spine. He took a deep breath, and then slumped to one knee, dropping both his blades in the process.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ re-upload was rougher than I thought.¡±


    Reya¡¯s mind went blank. The only location people used the word re-upload from was¡­ She ran in front of Joshua and knelt down beside him. ¡°How long were you in there?¡±


    Her Duskblade stared at her in the eyes and whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Give or take a year.¡± He finally passed out, leaning gently into her arms. Reya¡¯s eyes widened as she shouted to the two other men in the room.


    ¡°Reich Sensei, make yourself useful and take Joshua to his room upstairs! It¡¯s the one across from mine. Bruce, get yourself to the royal physician and have your arm looked at! I don¡¯t want any necrosis caused by Hideki nanites.¡±


    Both gave her a, ¡°Yes, your highness!¡± Reya allowed them to use the emergency elevator in front of her. After all, she had business with her father. Once the pod came back to the room, she took it only to the lobby floor before exiting.


    Upon seeing her, several guards ran up. ¡°Are you alright, Princess? We heard a loud thud and a quake that reverberated through the entire castle.¡±


    Reya sighed and massaged her temples. Of course everyone in the castle would hear it, it was 4 o¡¯clock in the morning. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a minor setback is all. I take it that my parents are in the throne room?¡±


    Seeing the guard nod, Reya thanked the man and walked briskly towards the aforementioned throne room. Upon arriving and opening the large doors, she was greeted by not just her parents, King and Queen Metron, but also her older sisters, and younger brothers. On the left side of the carpet leading towards the throne stood Venus Light Metron, Lucina Dew Metron, and Gina Earth Metron. On the right, Raiden Lightning Metron, Kuro Darkness Metron, and Brice Steel Metron.


    Queen Cindy Burst Metron clapped her hands, and all seven children knelt. King Roger Metron III coughed lightly and started to speak. ¡°Thank you all for making time to attend this morning. Let the monthly Succession Rank Meeting begin.¡± Everyone stood, and Reya looked first to her left, then her right. No one looked her way, save for Brice, who was scowling at her. She shook her head, knowing that he only hated her because she was close to overtaking him in the rankings.


    ¡°Currently sitting in first, is Raiden. Your subjugation of the spies at the southern border was magnificent.¡±


    The grey haired Raiden bowed, ¡°Thank you father, your praise is wasted on someone like me.¡± Reya wanted to vomit, hearing all the bullshit spewn from his mouth, but opted not to make a scene.


    ¡°In second place, we have Lucina. This is due to all the time and effort spent establishing friendly relations with the Luong Empire paying off. Our import taxes are at the lowest they¡¯ve ever been in Kingdom history!¡±


    Even Reya found this impressive, and with her other siblings, they all clapped together. ¡°Thank you father. I believe the path for this kingdom to strive on is through peaceful means, not ones of war.¡± She glanced at Raiden as she spoke, and his brow twitched.


    ¡°Admirable.¡± The king said. ¡°Third is Venus. While I do recognize your upscaling of the pleasure district is bringing in a large amount of revenue, I do wish you¡¯d be more tasteful in your business ventures.¡±


    The slim, blonde woman smiled and bowed. ¡°Thanks, but I believe we¡¯ve already had this discussion before, right dad?¡±


    King Metron grunted and sat up in his throne. ¡°Tied for fourth is Gina and Kuro. Your collaboration on the construction of the new wing of Metron Continental University will do wonders for our youth, and this country¡¯s future.¡±


    Gina¡¯s long, green hair swayed as she giggled, ¡°Thanks father, but it was truly Kuro¡¯s idea, I just put in the resources.


    Kuro parted his short, black hair over his eyes. ¡°Nonsense, I was just the voice of reason. And like every voice, it needs someone to hear it to truly matter.¡±


    ¡°Very eloquent.¡± The king nodded in satisfaction. ¡°In sixth is Brice. Seeing as your previous investment blew up in your face, do try to be a little more careful about who you strike a deal with.¡±


    Reya stood up straight as this advice struck a nerve quite close to home. Brice clicked his tongue. ¡°I¡¯ll be more careful in the future, dad.¡±


    The king eyed his son but said nothing, opting to continue his original speech instead. ¡°Lastly, Reya-¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. She¡¯s last, like she always is. Why don¡¯t you go ride on your new Duskblade. I hear from the palace maidens that he¡¯s quite the looker. Can we go now father? I have a prior appointment I wouldn¡¯t like to miss out on.¡± The voice came from Reya¡¯s youngest brother, Brice, who shot her a look of disgust.


    Reya started laughing uncontrollably, causing her siblings to eye her with worry. How contrive! Why had she shown such a short fuse in these meetings before. Why did she even want to do well in this farce of a competition anyway?


    Her laughter faded and she looked at her father in the eyes. She had managed to recruit a man insane and dedicated enough to dive into subspace at an accelerated rate, and even manage to take a princess hostage!


    There was something strangely liberating about having your choices taken from you, but Reya understood deep down that she never really had any agency for Joshua to steal in the first place. She had been operating inside the system named, ¡°Royal Obligation,¡± for the better part of her life.


    But she also understood that she wanted to win this competition. Not to make her country better, and certainly not a petty reason like revenge. No, she wanted to prove her own worth to herself. They could all laugh at her for now, but soon she would be climbing the ranks with a powerful tool by her side.


    ¡°Yes, I am last this month.¡± Reya spoke. ¡°Yes, I am last again.¡± Her parent¡¯s eyes grew wide, although Reya didn¡¯t understand why. ¡°But soon enough I will crush you all underfoot.¡±


    Her siblings turned to stare at her in disbelief, not knowing where this unmatched confidence had come from. ¡®Oh! I see now.¡¯ Reya had a sudden moment of clarity. ¡®They never knew the real me in the first place, huh?¡¯


    ¡°I swear it on the name of Reya Rust Metron. Daughter of the Metron monarchy and soon to be heir apparent to the throne.¡±

 Chapter 7: A Glimpse of My Darkness

    I ducked under one of Judment¡¯s blades as I parried another with my own. The second, slimmer Judgment came out from behind the first and attempted to skewer my head on its sword, which resulted in me wrenching away from the both of them and creating some distance.


    Taking stock of the two of them, I charged in again, as I had for the last three-hundred attempts. I swung my daggers horizontally and the larger Judgment moved to intercept with its blade. With a mental command, I activated the sonic vibration feature and the daggers cut through its weapon and into its chest.


    Slumping over, the body dissipated into a black mist of nanites and electricity. The other came running at me, and swung her sword down in an arc. I ducked under the blade and thrust both my knives at the AI. She dodged one blade, but the other one ran through her stomach, causing her to drop her blade and disappear like the first one.


    I sighed and sat down. ¡°That makes 176 wins to 125 losses, and I''m now on a 20 win streak. I daresay I¡¯m getting the hang of it.¡±


    ¡°Judgment!¡± I called into the darkness and the bound AI appeared.


    ¡°How may I be of service to you, Master?¡± Judgment cocked its head, an action which seemed strained considering the state that it chose to appear in.


    ¡°Reboot the other functions of my brain, now. By my approximations, since you haven¡¯t forcefully woken me up yet, I¡¯m guessing I still have time left before the match starts?¡±


    The AI nodded. ¡°Yes, Master. You have eight hours left until the match begins. Taking recovery time into account, you can still remain in my subspace for three more hours before needing to wake up.¡±


    I tapped my finger to my chin, or at least, I tried to before I realized that it was just phasing through my chin. Sighing, I said, ¡°Is there any way to give Judgment Subspace physical substance without initiating training mode? It¡¯s so jarring to go back and forth repeatedly.¡±


    Judgment itself was still, and I recognized the complete lack of movement as it running calculations. ¡°Unfortunately Master, a change of that size would mean that I would have to completely overhaul my systems, causing me to go offline for a short amount of time. I fear what the humans would do if they found out there would be no eyes on them for even that period of time.¡±


    I nodded reluctantly and sat in place, looking up at Judgment. ¡°I understand. In any case, please wake me up. I have a feeling that pre-fight, some bullshit is going to happen. Or even worse,¡± I shuddered, ¡°I¡¯ll have to fill out waivers.¡±


    The AI nodded and a grey light began to shine from Judgment. ¡°Understood Master. Please remain on standby while I restart your brain.¡±


    I remained sitting and observed the weapons I had become familiar with in these past two weeks. ¡°I wonder why no one has thought of this training method.¡± I mused to myself, and to my surprise I received an answer.


    ¡°Because no one is insane enough to surrender their body, Master. You are in the safest place in the castle, and even so, I observed at least three people besides Princess Reya from the royal family come into the room and check on you. For normal people, it¡¯s even worse. If they eject their consciousness from their body, there¡¯s no telling if a cyber-stein or brain-jacker will intrude and steal their identity.¡±


    ¡°Brain-jacker is pretty self explanatory, but what is a cyber-stein.¡± I asked, and Judgment tilted its head in thought.


    ¡°Whereas brain-jackers are humans with the ability to shift their consciousness, their soul into another body, cyber-steins are machines. They were used in the Ultimate War, and were a hybrid of human thought and AI capabilities. The thing that they didn¡¯t expect was for the human part to harbor resentment for their creators and hijack living human bodies.¡±


    I shuddered. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound pleasant. What¡¯s stopping them from taking over bodies everyday?¡±


    ¡°Numbers and natural defense.¡± The AI answered. ¡°Most of them had been purged by their creators, and only a handful exist today. One of which is in the Metron Kingdom National Museum, but that¡¯s a different story. With the advent of Judgment as a worldwide system, my software protects against them so long as the consciousness is present in the body.¡±


    I closed my eyes in thought as I said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be reason enough for people not to fear them? Their numbers are so little that the odds of being overtaken by one is significantly less than some other forms of death, right?¡±


    Judgment nodded once more. ¡°That is correct. However, the greatest fears humanity has ever known is fear of the unknown, and fear of that which one cannot understand. Humans refuse to acknowledge that people inherently have differing points of view, and try to convince others to take their side in a matter to justify their own opinion.¡±


    ¡°Truly, humans never change, do they? Even in my world¡­¡± I sighed as I trailed off, and shook my head. ¡°Nevermind. Are we close to rebooting?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I would just like to confirm one thing with you. Per your request, I have been injecting you with antidepressants while you were unconscious. Would you like to continue that today as well?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You don¡¯t need to ask me permission, I expect you to have my best interests in mind at this point." Judgment looked in my direction, and even though it had a blindfold on, I could tell that it was staring at me. Then, darkness.


    ¡°Very well then. Mental functions returning to base levels. Injecting daily dose of antidepressants. Initiating startup sequence.¡± I heard Judgment¡¯s voice reverberating in my head as the darkness became less suffocating.


    Light slowly returned to my vision under my eyelids, and I woke with a start, sitting up in a soft bed. My hands practically sunk into the mattress as I tossed the silk-like sheets off of me.


    ¡°What were you planning to do, Master?¡± I looked across the room and saw Reya sitting cross-legged in a blue velvet chair with gold accents. Where have I¡­


    Looking around, I noticed more of the blue fabric adorning the walls, and inwardly chided myself. ¡°Your room was the one I Fell into?¡± The question sounded dumb coming out of my mouth. Of course it would be. How had I not openly made the connection that the only princess willing to help me out was the one who felt bad because I fell into her room.


    ¡°Of course!¡± She glared at me, exasperated. ¡°Was that not abundantly clear when I had an argument with my father over whether or not to make you my Duskblade? Honestly, you¡¯re so smart but lack any and all semblance of common sense. We had to move you into my room because people kept breaking into yours to see what you look like. Even so, who in the hell dilates time in subspace to the point that they faint from it?¡±


    ¡°Me, I guess.¡± Hell, if I wasn¡¯t so willing to push myself I don¡¯t know if I could¡¯ve even lasted past the first day without attempting suicide.


    ¡°Yeah, I realize.¡± She replied, clearly unhappy with my life choices. ¡°You were completely defenseless back there. How would you even handle it if anyone came to you with malicious intentions?¡±


    ¡°I had Judgment looking out for me, so even the fact that there were three people that came into your room didn¡¯t escape my notice.¡± She blinked at the information.


    ¡°Three¡­ wait, Judgment can act independently from your consciousness!? Ugh, why¡¯d I have to give you the upper hand in signing a contract?¡± She shook her head and pointed at me. ¡°Do you know the kind of money people like Teramoto from Hideki Labs would throw at me for the chance to research you? Ugh, damn my life!¡±


    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s not all bad.¡± I sat up and looked around for my clothes. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re already entered into a contract with me so there¡¯s no use crying over spilt milk anyway.¡±


    Reya clicked her tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t try to stray away from the main subject at hand. Please don¡¯t do such dangerous things again.¡±


    I took a deep breath at her words, one which was cut short upon hearing what she had to say next. ¡°Honestly, do you have any idea what would happen to me if anything happened to you?¡± Her choice of words put a fresh layer of ice over my heart, and made me realize where I was.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    It''s things like this that make me lose hope in humanity. I¡¯m not someplace where anyone cares about me as a person, only as a political tool and symbol. I swung out of the bed and stood up, hearing Reya shriek in front of me. Looking down I saw that my member was fully exposed and looking back up revealed that Reya was staring like nobody¡¯s business.


    ¡°Excuse me, could I have a bit of privacy?¡±


    The princess¡¯ face blazed crimson as she rocketed out of the chair and ran out of the room. I took a deep breath and found my clothes on a chair opposite the one Reya was sitting on.


    ¡°Joshua, when you¡¯re finished please let me know. We have to head down to the colosseum soon.¡± As soon as I had finished suiting up, I called for her and she came to the door.


    ¡°I thought the match was at 8?¡± Reya scoffed as she led me down the dark hallway of the castle.


    ¡°Yeah, so did everyone else three days ago. My dumb brother lobbied for the king to hold the ceremony earlier so everyone in the royal family could watch it, with our schedules being so busy and all.¡±


    ¡°Well that reeks of political motives.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t everything these days?¡±


    With no rebuttal to Reya¡¯s comment, we made it to the castle entrance, where the various elevator shafts were.


    ¡°Master, your package is incoming.¡± Thank you, Judgment. I walked over to the entrance, soliciting a groan from Reya.


    ¡°Joshua, that¡¯s the wrong way! Ugh, we don¡¯t have time for this. Registration itself is going to be a pain as¡­ what are you doing?¡±


    I finished signing the receiving slip for the Hideki Labs delivery man and opened the package, handing the box back to him to recycle. What I pulled out was a helmet once used by a certain anime villain I fancied, that used the number ¡®zero¡¯ as an alias.


    I smiled despite myself, and slipped it on. The darkness inside quickly illuminating as the helmet booted up. ¡°Why did you order it, and how much did it cost?¡± Reya shot me a disapproving glare, but I shrugged it off.


    ¡°Remember what you said earlier? I sent Professor Teramoto a sample of blood in exchange for it.¡± Reya¡¯s mouth went agape and her hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly.


    ¡°Do you have ANY idea how much you gave up just for a helmet!?¡± I waved her off.


    ¡°Shut up for a second. I tricked you into a binding contract, how can you assume I¡¯d be so dumb?¡± She looked as if she wanted to say something, but I had no doubt the contract itself was keeping her tongue still.


    ¡°I just had Judgment extract some blood from the Professor himself and sent it to him. He¡¯ll no doubt find out it¡¯s his own in a few days, but it should buy me enough time until I figure out what sample I can give him without revealing the source of my powers.¡±


    Reya sighed in exasperation and rubbed her eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re a genius or the most carefree person I¡¯ve ever met.¡±


    ¡°Why thank you.¡± I bowed slightly, my helmet reflecting the castle lights onto the floor. ¡°Anyway,¡± I stood up, ¡°we have a murder to get to. Let¡¯s head down, shall we?¡±


    Reya said nothing, but rolled her eyes as she walked back into the castle and into a chute. I stepped in behind her, and she put in a series of complicated inputs before the door closed and, contrary to my expectations, the pod shot skyward.


    ¡°Is the colosseum not below us?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Reya said, leaning on the back of the glass tube. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of the training room. The colosseum is the reason this castle is so large. It had to be structurally sound enough to put another construct on top of it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s how it is.¡± Reya nodded and we walked out of the elevator and into a lobby, where there was a receptionist, and a boy waiting. The boy walked up to me, but Reya ignored him and went to the receptionist to register me.


    The boy smirked, combing his greyish blue hair to the side. ¡°Brice Metron, the pleasure is yours, of course.¡± I cocked my head as he spoke, trying to figure out what this person wanted from me.


    After a moment of silence, the boy¡¯s smile faltered and he stretched his hand out. ¡°I¡¯ll allow you the pleasure of becoming my Duskblade over Reya¡¯s if you just take my hand.¡±


    I leaned in closer, and the boy stepped back. ¡°Ah, I see.¡± The boy twitched at my words. Fear. He fears Reya¡¯s potential. God damn, I guess politics suck in any world.


    ¡°I appreciate the offer, but I made a contract with the princess there.¡± I pointed to Reya, who smirked. A frown accompanied by a blush appeared on Brice¡¯s face.


    ¡°Very well, but you¡¯d better give us royalty a show, at least!" He roared and retreated in the direction of what I could only assume was the spectator stands.


    ¡°Only if you can handle it.¡±


    ¡°What was that you said?¡± Reya walked over after seeing I was done speaking with her brother.


    ¡°Oh, nothing. Are you done already?¡± I thought registration was going to take a long while?¡±


    A smile appeared on her face. ¡°Of course we¡¯re not done, I only completed the first of three-hundred and twenty-five pages. Your signature is needed for a majority.¡± She started walking back, leaving me standing in the middle of the reception area.


    I started waling over and sighed, ¡°Fuck.¡±


    ---


    Gazix, formerly known as Cho Long, gripped his Yaiba sword nervously as he waited in the pit of the colosseum. He had been notified of the decision to have him duel for his freedom a little over a week ago, and since that time he had been fantasizing about returning home and finally being able to reunite with his mother.


    He hadn¡¯t seen her since he was twelve, and even then it had been so long that he was forgetting her features already. His mother was never one to shy away from a challenge, which was how she attracted the eyes of the former emperor in the first place.


    Unfortunately, this meant that when the new emperor had taken the throne, she fought tooth and nail to keep what little savings she had left from Cho¡¯s father. They were barely struggling to get by on what they were farming, and without that money they would have no way to pay for the next year¡¯s crops.


    This landed her in jail for going against the emperor¡¯s orders, and Cho had to enlist himself in the military just for the slim chance he could rack up enough military accolades to earn his mother a pardon from the current emperor.


    Cho¡¯s plan had worked, but he had needed to form a split personality in order to handle all of the bloodshed that he was committing. Cho¡¯s nature was too far departed from war to handle being a soldier, but Gazix reveled in it, treasuring every moment of war he participated in.


    Unfortunately, Gazix became a little too good at his job, and the emperor sent him on a mission he had no chance of returning from. Luckily for Cho, Judgment made sure the emperor upheld his promise, and his mother was free to go home for the first time in half a decade.


    ¡°And now that she¡¯s back, I can¡¯t exactly rot here forever, can I?¡± Cho muttered to himself as he gripped his sword once again.


    Cho was determined to get out, no matter if a man, woman, or child walked through that door. Contracts made under the AI Judgment were absolute, so he knew if he murdered today then freedom would be his.


    ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t figure out why people hate the AI so much when it keeps insane politicians like the emperor in check.¡± Getting his breathing steady, he eyed the syringe that Brice Metron had handed him over an hour earlier.


    Inside was an enhancing agent that would increase his kinetic vision and reflexes for an hour, not to mention a failsafe for if he actually bit the dust. Cho was loathe to trust something from royalty, but the fact that there seemed to be a schism between the younger generation of Metrons helped him trust the fact that Brice wanted whoever he was facing dead.


    Cho stuck himself with the needle, and grunted as his body acclimated to the new speed which his brain was operating at.


    ¡°Fighters, take your positions!¡± A voice boomed over the loudspeaker, and the door to Cho¡¯s cage opened. Cho took one last breath and picked up his sword for the last time, one way or another. Cho walked forward and Gazix stepped out, ready to bathe in the blood of his enemy.


    A flurry of boos rained down at him from the stands, but he didn¡¯t hear it. How could he, when his mother was standing on the other end of the arena?


    ¡°Ma¡­¡± Gazix lost all his energy and Cho breathed out the word.


    ¡°Oh, my little Cho!¡± His mother hobbled to the middle of the arena, her leg still bad from that time she had been bitten by a viper while trying to save him as a child.


    ¡°Ma!¡± Cho shouted again as he dropped his sword to the ground. He ran up and embraced his mother, the two sharing a warm embrace.


    ¡°Oh my boy, how I¡¯ve missed you!¡± His mother holding his cheeks in her hands, tears started to flow from Cho¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Ma, how¡­¡±


    ¡°The emperor abducted me and shipped me here because the Metrons asked him to. Apparently, they¡¯ll let me walk free if I win the duel. Pei, that abhorrent man!¡± A smile crept onto Cho¡¯s face despite himself, his mother¡¯s usual action sending a warm pulse through his heart.


    ¡°Please, let me forfeit so you can go free. Cho smiled at his mother and separated from her. ¡°That would be wonderful Cho, thank you!¡± Cho¡¯s brows furrowed. That was unusual. Usually his mother would-


    Cho heard the sonic blade sink into his heart before he saw it, and the clean insertion meant little gore when it was yanked from his chest. Cho clutched at the wound in shock, and looked up to see his mother¡¯s visage disappear and become replaced by a man wearing a strange, mirror-like mask.


    ¡°Face¡­ less¡­¡± the words were the last to come out of Cho¡¯s mouth as he slumped over, dying.


    The masked man started laughing, the sound soon filling the arena and drowning out the nervous thoughts of the frightened and silent spectators.


    Suddenly, Cho felt something move within him, a short reminder of what exactly he had consumed earlier. A grin made its way onto his face. The world could laugh at Cho all it wanted, but Gazix would leave a lasting scar on it, beginning with the pompous spectators in the Metron Kingdom.

 Chapter 8: With Power Comes Options.

    Reya had left Joshua at the arena¡¯s gate and headed up to her family''s viewing booth. While she didn¡¯t quite understand his taste in fashion sense (there were plenty of better looking helmet designs than that black, mirrored one), she had to admit that he had felt like a different person since putting it on.


    Reya would never admit it to Joshua, but she was nervous for him. Contrary to how he had fallen apart his first day in the castle¡¯s prison, he now seemed unhinged in a different way.


    She was eager to see whether or not his time dilation training would pay off, and if it could be used to train their own soldiers in the Metron Kingdom. However, part of her thought that maybe it was only Joshua who could do something like that. Maybe the only people that could succeed were those who had no regard for their own life.


    ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± Reya was shaken from her thoughts. Brice grunted as he stood up from leaning against the door. ¡°I would¡¯ve thought you¡¯d be eager to see your pet die, seeing as how upset you were when he first came to our world.¡±


    Reya merely rolled her eyes and said nothing, walking past her idiot brother and stepping into the private room. Both the king and queen were sat in the middle of the room, with the children lined up on either side of those two seats. The girls were lined up on the side of Queen Metron, and the boys¡¯ side lined up with the king¡¯s throne.


    ¡°Ah, Reya! Please excuse my presumptions, but I thought you would watch the fight from the corner of your Duskblade.¡± Lucina Metron waved at Reya as she sat down beside her.


    ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t that usually the case?¡± The green haired Gina answered. Lucina and the twins, Gina and Kuro were the only ones of her siblings she actually got along well with, and being in between the two of them did wonders to calm Reya¡¯s overexcited heart.


    ¡°You would think, but he told me to wait up here and get a nice view for the ¡®play.¡¯ Honestly, I¡¯m worried about him but he refuses to let anyone in.¡±


    The two women looked at her, and then at each other. ¡°Isn¡¯t that because he¡¯s afraid of making new connections?¡± Lucina voiced, and Reya¡¯s gaze turned to meet her older sister¡¯s.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Exactly what it sounds like.¡± This time it was Gina who spoke. ¡°Imagine what it must¡¯ve been like for him to suddenly be stripped of every friendship he had ever made, of every bond he had ever forged. The amount of pain that must¡¯ve brought¡­ I shudder to think of it.¡±


    ¡°Plus,¡± Lucina said, grinning at Reya, ¡°it probably didn¡¯t help that he was bedded by a woman with little control over her desires so soon after Falling into Ethia.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Reya¡¯s indignant shout caused their mother to look over in curiosity.


    ¡°Now girls, don¡¯t tease your sister too much.¡± The queen chided them, and leaned in closer to her daughters, ¡°But do tell, how was he in bed?¡±


    ¡°Mom!¡± Reya cried, and she quickly sent a message to her two sisters.


    ¡®The truth is, I didn¡¯t sleep with him.¡¯


    Although she had messaged them, Gina¡¯s reaction came out of her mouth before she could stop it.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t!? You, who told your older sisters your fantasies of when you would finally get your Dawnblade and Duskblade!?¡±


    Her father looked over in barely concealed disgust and muttered, ¡°Ugh, girls please. A little softer so the Luong¡¯s Emperor Goto and his family in the next booth over don¡¯t hear it.¡±


    Reya¡¯s face turned a deep shade of red as she bowed and apologized to her father. ¡®Keep it in chat, please.¡¯ She sent, and the two both sent back quick messages of confirmation.


    ¡®Anyway, there¡¯s a reason I haven¡¯t slept with him, although not for a lack of trying. Unfortunately, I¡¯m not at liberty to discuss why I can¡¯t.¡¯


    Gina and Lucina looked at her curiously, but said nothing as they all sat back and watched the venue finally reach max capacity. Metron Terminus Colosseum was one of the ¡®Five Grand Architectures of the Metron Kingdom, and was therefore a very busy tourist attraction. However, on certain days it reprised its role as an arena for bloody battles, and today was one such day.


    Since they had announced the fight almost two weeks ago, a bevy of letters had come addressed to the king, asking for permission to view, stream, document, and even officiate the match. It would be national news after all, the first Duskblade of Princess Reya against the murderer Gazix.


    It was a big opportunity for commercialism in the city, and it would all be credited to Reya, surely boosting her status and allowing her to finally surpass her brother in the rankings, even if Joshua failed to beat Gazix. While part of Reya did feel bad for Joshua, this was the kind of relationship that they had. They each took advantage of each other without regret.


    Her thoughts came to an abrupt end as the lights dimmed and a man, Master of Ceremonies Edward Michael was lowered down from the ceiling on a round, floating platform.


    He was a portly man, who¡¯s black pompadour shone brilliantly in the skylights.


    ¡°Fighters, take your positions!¡± The iconic phrase that the man had coined resounded throughout the arena, and the cheers of the capacity crowd echoed their energy.


    ¡°Introducing first, the challenger! Fighting out of the east gate: Duskblade Joshua Cole!¡± A smattering of applause came out for the little known man who stepped into the arena, and to his credit Joshua handled the lack of support relatively well. He waved to the spectators around him like they were all chanting his name.


    ¡°What a big head he has, just like his master.¡± Brice said, and Reya glared at him in response to the scathing comment.


    ¡°Next, fighting out of the west corner, the slaughterer, Gazix!¡± A flurry of boos rained down upon the teenager, who took it in stride as he sneered at the camera that was focused on his face.


    Gazix dropped his weapon and ran up to Joshua, and Reya¡¯s chest tightened as she wondered if her Duskblade was ready for a melee battle. But then, something strange happened.


    Reya couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. In fact, no one sitting in the Metron¡¯s booth could. The murderous Gazix had hugged Joshua, and then they started to converse!


    The entire arena started voicing their jeers and desire for refunds, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. While the children in the booth were still in shock, the king had a scowl on his face and her mother had on a steely eyed look. Reya turned her gaze back to the glass and inwardly screamed. What kind of farce was this!?


    Reya¡¯s mind raced a mile a minute. Had he been accomplices with Gazix since his fight had been announced!? If that was so, not only the kingdom, but Reya herself would receive a large amount of-


    That was where her thoughts stopped, without warning just as Joshua¡¯s blade entered Gazix¡¯s chest. The fact that any spectator was in the arena quickly became an afterthought, as the noise quieted enough to where you could hear Gazix¡¯s shocked and struggled gasps for air.


    There was no sound as Joshua pulled out his dagger and Gazix fell to the floor. ¡°Face¡­ less¡­¡± he muttered before breathing his last.


    Following that, Joshua laughed. It was a cruel, sick cackle that made the hairs on the back of Reya¡¯s neck stand on end. The silence continued for a while, as none properly knew how to interpret the bizzarre fight - no, it was more of a murder - that they had seen in the pit.


    ¡°MC!¡± Joshua shouted up to Edward, and the man visibly flinched as his platform lowered. ¡°I¡¯ve been told you hold an interview with the winner of every arena fight. I assume you have questions prepared?¡±


    Edward¡¯s eyes widened and he quickly turned to his closest camera. ¡°Yes, of course!¡± He said, his voice a bit shaky, ¡°We¡¯ll be back with an interview right after this commercial break!¡±


    ¡°Have you ever been tired of finding the perfect experience for you?¡± The opening line of an Aishi commercial boomed throughout the arena, and in a situation where people would usually relieve themselves or go to get food, none dared stand.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Such was how unprecedented this situation was. Never before had someone been so one-sidedly slaughtered before, especially after that unnatural display of affection from Gazix. This meant that every spectator was glued to the edge of their seat, and likely, glued to their holovision sets and VR broadcast as well.


    ¡°What in the Starlord¡¯s nads was that?¡± Lucina muttered, and Reya waited, but her mother¡¯s chiding never came. Reya looked over at her parents, and her mother had one hand grasped on her mouth, while her father¡¯s foot was tapping impatiently.


    ¡°A play¡­¡± Reya muttered, remembering Joshua¡¯s words to her earlier. The entire room looked her way, and Reya could only shake her head in wonder.


    ¡°That useless-!¡± Brice muttered, but Reya ignored it in favor of turning her attention towards the ground floor, where a set had been set up to interview Joshua.


    ¡°From cooking ware to anti-personnel weapons, choose Yaiba today!¡± The final commercial finished, and with a jingle the show returned to the arena.


    ¡°Thanks for tuning back in!¡± Edward smiled at the camera, apparently regaining his composure in the time since the actual murder. ¡°I¡¯ve just received word from our staff that today¡¯s broadcast has broken the previous record for concurrent viewers with 1 billion views across all platforms! Congratulations to everyone in this arena and save your tickets, because today, you were a part of history!¡±


    The crowd regained some of their vigor and cheered for themselves, as they looked down in wonder at the masked Duskblade. ¡°Welcome back, viewers at home! Once again, this is Edward Michael with Metron Media!¡±


    There was a slight pause while Edward was no doubt receiving information from his superiors on where to steer the conversation, but Joshua took that initiative to speak. ¡°And I am Joshua Cole, newly created Duskblade to Princess Reya Metron.¡± He crossed his legs and leaned back in his seat.


    ¡°Wow, he¡¯s¡­¡± Lucina trailed off.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Gina confirmed, and the two shared a moment.


    Reya nearly tore out her hair as she thought, ¡®Why is he so confident!?¡¯ Truly, the man sitting across from Edward was exuding unshakable confidence. Reya looked over and a smile etched its way onto Lucina¡¯s lips, and Gina was staring down at the interview in wonder.


    Meanwhile, the usually silent Venus muttered, ¡°How intriguing.¡± Looking over to gauge her parents reactions, she was startled to find that her father was looking at her.


    ¡°Well, I suppose I¡¯ll have to figure out the logistics of our bet, don¡¯t I.¡± King Metron sighed and rubbed his eyes, seeming to age 30 years in the process.


    ¡°Dad, what bet?¡± Brice, Raiden, and Kuro looked at their dad from his side. Soon, everyone aside from Reya and her mother were looking at the King.


    He sighed again, and placed both his hands on the throne¡¯s armrests. ¡°We made a bet on the day when she took that¡­ thing down there as her Duskblade. Since he won, Reya has priority succession rights to the throne, meaning that we can still hold our ranking games, but they will be meaningless.¡±


    Silence descended over the room, and Reya could have sworn she could even hear Venus'' nearly silent breaths. Finally, Brice shot up from his seat, his face as red as the blood inside of it. ¡°Father, you can¡¯t-!¡±


    ¡°Our first question comes from username, ¡®That1Dude!¡¯ He asks, ¡®How come you hugged that murderer in the beginning?¡± The show had apparently resumed, and Edward¡¯s voice echoed through the spectator¡¯s box, obliterating any sound Brice made.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Joshua¡¯s head tilted back as if he were lost in thought, ¡°If I had to put it into words¡­ I guess he was seeing a bit of a dream.¡±


    Edward smiled, his positivity nearly coming out through the screen. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t beat around the bush so much! Tell us what your ability is.¡± The M.C.¡¯s smile dimmed as he spoke, and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.


    ¡°Shit!¡± The king stood up, startling those in the room with him. ¡°He¡¯s been hacked. Is it a brain jacker? No, the camera crew would have said something if anyone suspicious approached him. That means¡­¡±


    ¡°Cyber-stein!¡± Raiden yelled. He stood up and started to walk out of the room, touching his finger to his ear. ¡°Steela, activate the emergency closed circuit power supply, we can¡¯t have that abomination contaminating our history!¡±


    The rest of the room was so completely in shock, that they only turned their attention back to the screen when Venus let out a soft gasp. ¡°Ahaha, it appears that our man has been committing himself to his job too hard, he fell asleep on the desk. Can I ask someone from the camera crew to help him? Unfortunately,¡± Joshua turned and bowed towards the camera, ¡°it seems like this interview is over.¡±


    Edward was truly slumped over on the desk, and the Duskblade beside him stood up from his bow and sat on the table, looking over the unconscious MC.. However, he was making a strange claw pose with his left hand. Reya¡¯s heart immediately sank as her mother voiced the words, ¡°Display in AR. Now!¡±


    The screen in front of the family buzzed and gained a blue tint. Squirming in Joshua¡¯s hand was a long, mechanical creature. It dangled from his hands and tried to bite him, but he had a tight grip on its cobra-like hood.


    ¡°Starlords above.¡± The king gasped as Joshua squeezed on the being tighter until it popped like a balloon in his hands.


    ¡°Thanks for your time, everyone. I hope you will continue to support Princess Reya Metron, the true successor to the throne for years to come.¡± They all stared at the waving figure as the camera feed cut out, and all eyes turned to the king.


    ¡°Starlords anus.¡± He cursed, and shook his head. ¡°Maybe I have truly been blinded after all. Reya, thank you for putting your career on the line to save that boy. Without him, we may have just borne witness to an unimaginable economic disaster. I shudder to think of what that thing could have done had it made its way into Judgment¡¯s system.¡±


    Reya gave a nervous laugh, and looked down at the retreating figure of her duskblade. She couldn¡¯t even recognize him from the scared, singing boy who had melted her heart on the first day he was here. Could he have truly changed in such a short amount of time, or was this who he truly was from the beginning?


    ¡°I am grateful, young lady. However, that does not mean I will allow you to hide what happened here today. I expect to see both you and Joshua in the throne room after dinner. Do I make myself clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, dad.¡± Reya sulked as they all sat up, and, like the large crowd in the arena below, started their trek back to their mundane lives.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about it. Father wasn¡¯t exaggerating. You truly did save the country billions of swains as a result.¡± Lucina consoled her. ¡°Not to mention, that suit was pretty flattering, wasn¡¯t it? Your Duskblade looked great!¡±


    Reya gave her a weak smile, and Lucina simply patted her on the shoulder, but said no more. Once they reached the waiting room, they were greeted by the sight of a large, well-built man with a fu manchu.


    ¡°Truly, it was a fitting way for that man to go out; on his stomach in agony! Splendid I tell you!¡± Joshua shook the man¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment, Emperor Goto. Your words are too kind.¡±


    ¡°Oh please, call me Gotoshi, as my friends do. So, how about it, Joshua? Care to work for the Luong Empire? I can guarantee you will always have the latest tech on the market, and even then, some that aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ please let me think on it.¡±


    ¡°Joshua you asshole.¡± With a small gasp, Reya¡¯s eyes shut closed as she braced for the pain of violating the contract. Only, nothing happened.


    ¡°Well that was rude.¡± Reya opened her eyes to see Joshua¡¯s masked face looking at her. Her eyes widened as she realized that they no longer had a contract, and that Joshua¡¯s reaction had been genuine, not just flattery.


    ¡°Starlord¡¯s nads.¡± She breathed. ¡®The contract is complete.¡¯ She repeated in her mind. The one thing that bound them together and restricted Reya¡¯s actions was gone. Part of her was happy that she could be herself again, but the other part of her was scared. Scared of what the man across from her would do next, now that he had used all the resources available to him without giving even a fraction back.


    ¡°Please, if you change your mind, don¡¯t hesitate to call me. If I had realized there was a jewel this deep in the political mire of the Metron Kingdom, I wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to come here sooner.¡±


    Joshua bowed to the man. ¡°I have accepted your friend request, and I humbly thank you for considering me worthy.


    ¡°Nonsense.¡± Emperor Goto laughed. ¡°As I said before, thank you for giving me such a ¡®play.¡¯ Watching it in AR was truly like poetry in motion. Thank you for the heads up before the duel started. My only question is,¡± Goto¡¯s gaze hardened, ¡°how did you manage to communicate with me using encrypted lines?¡±


    This time it was Joshua¡¯s turn to laugh. ¡°Please, Gotoshi. We both know I wouldn¡¯t be as attractive a commodity if you knew the answer to that.¡±


    Emperor Goto laughed in kind, and waved back at the Duskblade as he walked towards the lift to his private skytrain. Turning back to the stunned Metrons, Joshua sighed.


    ¡°Well, I guess our contract is over, Princess.¡±


    ¡°What did he just say?¡± Lucina was dumbfounded, and Reya couldn¡¯t blame her. The contracts for Royal Blades were supposed to be more, ¡®until death do us part,¡¯ as opposed to a two week rental.


    ¡°It¡¯s exactly as it sounds.¡± Joshua added. ¡°Reya, feel free to tell them all they wish to know, just keep in mind I am not bound by your contract any longer. I will purchase a hotel room tonight, so please don¡¯t worry about my lodgings.


    Reya¡¯s mind was so jumbled she couldn¡¯t form a sentence properly. ¡°But how? You shouldn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Ah, I bet on myself while you were heading up to your family. It¡¯s amazing how poorly they all thought I was going to do.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s illegal!¡± Brice hissed, and Joshua chuckled. ¡°My bank account would disagree with you.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± The king pleaded, "Won¡¯t you at least stay in the castle for tonight? We have a lot to discuss about your future.¡±


    The masked man scoffed. ¡°You of all people will have no input on my future. I¡¯d rather cut off my foot then spend another hour in your poorly disguised asylum.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to test that theory?¡± Raiden unsheathed his blade, and immediately fell to the floor, his sword sliding underneath a couch.


    ¡°As thanks for Reya taking care of me, I will overlook what your son just did, King Metron. However, I was being honest when I spoke to Emperor Goto. I need some time to think of my next steps, and you aren¡¯t helping your case for me to stay here with his actions.¡±


    He turned and walked out of the room, leaving eight members of the family at a loss for words, and one unconscious on the floor. All gazes turned to Reya, and she looked at the ceiling nervously.


    ¡°Guess I have to explain some things, huh? Haha, ahaha¡­ fuck.¡±

 Chapter 9: Tying Up Loose Ends {NSFW}

    I strode confidently through the hotel that was close to the Aishi building I had first met Lucina Metron in. After purchasing the penthouse suite, I walked into the elevator and rode up, laying my eyes on the setting sun across the horizon. As I watched as the night life started to stir in the city below, I exited the elevator and walked the measly ten feet between the elevator and the only suite on the top floor.


    ¡°What the fuck was that thing!?¡± Sitting in my hotel room, I activated the privacy settings and turned on full soundproofing before screaming at Judgment. I threw my helmet at the wall


    Judgment activated the hotel room, and chose to appear in front of me. This time, Judgment¡¯s figure was that of King Metron, but made entirely out of wires and steel. His skin glistened under the iridescent lights of the room, and his wire hair was floating as if it was submerged underwater.


    ¡°Sorry for the delay, Master. I¡¯ve found that this form evokes respect from those who interact with it. For test purposes, could you tell me how this form makes you feel?¡±


    ¡°Like you¡¯re worthless!¡± I lashed out, and Judgment¡¯s eyes glowed yellow before it changed back to its previous form.


    ¡°Duly noted. Thank you for your input, Master.¡±


    I clicked my tongue and flung off my boots. ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about your god damn appearance, I was talking about the fucking cyber-stein! Do you have any idea how stressed I was trying to keep my composure during the interview!?¡±


    ¡°Apologies, Master.¡± What should have been an apologetic tone came out sounding indifferent from the AI. ¡°However, I did warn you of the existence of such beings.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but by your words, there weren¡¯t a lot of them. What are the fucking odds that something that coincidental happens out of nowhere!?¡±


    The room was silent, save for the sound of my haggard breathing slowly becoming more and more regulated. ¡°If you are finished, Master, I have a recording from the arena¡¯s security feed. Would you like to observe?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Set it to the left wall¡¯s holovision.¡± The AI did as commanded, and soon a top-down angle of Terminus Colosseum¡¯s arena was being projected from the high-tech wall.


    ¡°Master, please direct your attention to Cho Gazix¡¯s corpse.¡± The camera zoomed in on the crown of my helmet as I plunged one of the sonic daggers into Gazix. His body shuddered as I pulled it out, and then subsequently fell to the floor as I disengaged.


    It seemed a bit silly to think about, but watching the film back made my stomach turn. Why doesn¡¯t this bother me more than an errant thought? I was never like this in America¡­ or maybe I was always this apathetic, and only saw that on the surface. I didn¡¯t think I was truly morally¡­ dead.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± I muttered as the scene progressed, and I started speaking to the MC. I¡¯ve opened Pandora¡¯s Box. Now that I know killing is such an easy choice for me, it¡¯s become a viable option to solve any problems that might arise. Fuck my morality I guess.


    ¡°Please pay attention Master.¡± Judgment¡¯s voice snapped me back to reality and I refocused my vision on the video. As soon as the cleaning crew started to remove Gazix¡¯s body from the arena, a dark smog made its way out from his mouth and started swirling around the vicinity before burrowing inside the MC.


    ¡°It came from Gazix?¡± No longer freaking out about the ¡®how¡¯ or ¡®why,¡¯ I was now capable of rational thought.


    ¡°Yes, Master. I¡¯ve also taken the liberty of looking at some of the footage in the gladiator cells, and I¡¯ve found this.¡±


    A new video spawned, and the old one paused and minimized into a box in the screen¡¯s corner. What I saw made all the feelings of comfort immediately dissipate. ¡°Reya¡¯s slimy brother!?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, Master. I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve caught on to the situation so quickly.¡± I sighed, unwilling to admit that while I recognized the fact that Brice had planted the cyber-stein, I had little left to intuit the ramifications for the world at large.


    ¡°Ah, my apologies Master. We have been together in subspace for so long that I have failed to process that you have only been in Ethia for two weeks.¡±


    ¡°No worries. It¡¯s escaped me sometimes as well, but there¡¯s little we can do about my lack of knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Quite.¡± Judgment chirped. ¡°It¡¯s a shame research into turning humanity completely digital is stagnating at the moment. However, you might be the key if you have an interest in helping Ethia, Master.¡±


    ¡°None whatsoever. Now, if you wouldn¡¯t mind, please continue from where you left off before.¡± I sat down on the large canopy bed and started to drum my fingers on the nightstand.


    ¡°As you wish, Master. This prince is currently wearing a false Judgment Panel, and as such he has no access to the network, but I also have no insight as to his actions. However, failing to abide by regulations for being connected to the network is a crime, and as such he can be subjected to the Kingdom¡¯s laws.¡±


    I mulled the information over in my head, and suddenly had an idea. ¡°Hey Judgment, can you tell me the legislative rights that I have as a Duskblade?¡±


    ¡°Of course, please stand by while I transfer them to the screen. Just keep in mind that these don¡¯t apply to you anymore, Master.¡±


    As I read the list on the wall, a small smirk found its way onto my face. ¡°You mean it doesn¡¯t apply to me, yet.¡±


    ---


    I walked up to the Hideki Labs building, feeling comfortable in my new clothes. I was wearing black dress pants, a white dress shirt with a cotton-candy colored tie, and a black vest over the ensemble. A black watch was on my left wrist, with the face pointing inwards.


    ¡°Boy does it feel nice to be in something other than a latex suit.¡± I smiled, holding the briefcase that contained my folded up helmet and SMART suit.


    ¡°Master, it would be in your best interest to stop monologuing. We¡¯re coming up to the entryway.¡± Sure enough, there were armed enforcers guarding the gates to the lab.


    As I stopped at the gate, a guard immediately recognized my face and ushered me into the building without a second thought. ¡°Mr. Teramoto must have figured out what you had done, Master. He won¡¯t be pleased.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± I accidentally said out loud to the AI. I¡¯ve come to return his clothing, after all. The entirety of the world saw the suit, daggers, and mask I used. If I continued to use them, there wouldn¡¯t ever be any peace for me. I¡¯d always be recognized right away.


    I continued farther into the bunker-like design of the lab, and came up to the familiar barrier of cleaning solution. Stepping through the bubble, I was greeted with the face of a very tired-looking Teramoto.


    ¡°Mr. Teramoto. A pleasure to see you.¡±


    The oriental man glared at me through his glasses and sighed. ¡°Come in. I¡¯m pretty sure we have something to discuss.¡±


    I followed him into his lab, where we each took a seat at a white, hexagonal table. ¡°What did you come here for, Joshua?¡± The man sounded defeated, and very, very tired.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come here to return your suit.¡± I gave him a grin and set the briefcase down on the table. Opening it up, I displayed the contents, all still fully intact.


    Contrary to my expectations, Teramoto¡¯s eyes were solely on me. ¡°Do you have any idea how much money it cost me to just find out that the sample you gave me was my own blood?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°No, but you¡¯re a head researcher. I figure it couldn¡¯t have been too bad.¡±


    ¡°Former head researcher.¡± Teramoto sighed and lightly rapped his fist on the table. ¡°They stripped me of my position after I failed to produce results after using ten percent of our budget.¡±


    I felt a dull ache in my heart as I spoke. ¡°Ah, but you can just become a head researcher again, right?¡±


    ¡°Probably not. At least, not for a while. Our company takes failure very seriously, and there was no logical way to use my trust in you as an excuse to get out from under the cost of the operation.¡±


    My heart sank. ¡°Teramoto, I¡¯m-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want your excuses. I¡¯m just very disappointed. Both in you, and myself. I thought I was a better judge of character. Congratulations, you¡¯ve made a fool of me. Keep the suit, it was commissioned by the princess, after all. Just don¡¯t show your face in front of me again.¡±


    He tapped his desk twice, and armed forces came out from the shadows, ushering me to leave. I ignored the complicated feelings in my chest as I stood up and walked out. ¡°That didn¡¯t go as planned, did it, Master?¡±


    Shut up Judgment. I didn¡¯t like how awful that conversation with Teramoto made me feel. I thought I had purged all my sympathy, but me being the direct cause of his turmoil really struck a nerve.


    Am I ill? One second I can kill in cold blood, and the next I feel guilty for getting a man fired? Judgment, run a full brain scan to make sure that the time-dilated training didn¡¯t leave any permanent damage.


    ¡°As you wish Master.¡± I exited the facility and started walking back towards the hotel. What to do next¡­ I guess if I was going to leave the city, I might as well tie up all loose ends.


    ¡°Judgment, contact Lucina. Tell her to meet me at the new hotel¡­ and bring her toys.¡±


    ---


    ¡°So the first thing that happens when you start to feel pain again is a craving for sex? Fascinating.¡± Lucina, in all her erotic glory was currently sitting on the large bed in my hotel room.


    I had underestimated her. Of course, she had figured out who I was by using the same method I had used to discover her own identity. Note to self, I stared at her shapely ass as she stripped off her shirt and pants, people here, especially royalty aren¡¯t as dumb or as shortsighted as my classmates back in Boston.


    ¡°So, even though you know my identity, why did you say yes to having sex again?¡± The woman stood up, revealing the dark red gimp suit that she wore under her clothes. She tossed the duffel bag full of sex toys onto the bed, and proceeded to sort through them.


    ¡°Because, ¡®Jester¡¯, sex just feels good. On the plus side, you¡¯re cute, and an unrestricted commodity. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to show you what bringing you over to my side could entail.¡± Her sultry voice mocked me. Well, at least she was honest.


    ¡°And you¡¯re deciding to tell me this because¡­?¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Because I saw how poorly Reya trying to play her games ended with you. After telling all of us about your powers, she vented to her sisters because she was furious that you didn¡¯t even fall for her charms. I really don¡¯t want our kingdom losing someone of value, and I¡¯ve even resolved myself to needing to be your partner in order to keep you here.¡±


    ¡°Reya just didn¡¯t understand that we have different tastes. She thinks she¡¯s good at playing games, but she isn¡¯t. What I need isn¡¯t someone unaware of who they truly are. All I wanted was a kinky genius.¡±


    Lucina smiled and put a jet black collar on herself, on which she put a small padlock. She finished spreading out all her toys, gags, plugs, restraints, and sensory deprivation tools. When she was finished, she turned back to me, revealing her shapely breasts, pierced nipples, and seductive smile. ¡°Come now Jester. Do your worst.¡±


    ---


    ¡°You really do love it, don¡¯t you, Luxia?¡± I called Lucina by her sub name while sitting on her back. She was on her hands and knees, and panting heavily while drooling onto the carpet through her ring gag.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m speaking to you.¡± I flogged her ass, causing the skin to turn a bright shade of red. She squealed, and uttered something akin to an affirmation to my previous question.


    ¡°Good.¡± I got off of her, and walked over to the bed, picking up a medium sized butt plug. ¡°Bend over.¡±


    She looked me in the eyes as she lowered her chest to the floor and raised her ass. I shoved the plug in, and she squirmed, but ultimately made no noise aside for panting.


    I smirked. ¡°Trying to play it tough?¡± I walked around behind her, and started rubbing my foot against her genitals. She stifled her moans, and trembled as my toes ran over her clit.


    ¡°You¡¯re really an insufferable masochist.¡± I slapped her ass and walked over to the bed, which looked more like a tool chest once more. I took a singular weight and a clothespin, alongside a thin dildo with a harness on it.


    I took the nipple with a stud in it, and placed the clothespin on it. Lucina moaned in pain, the sound coming as sweet music to my ears. ¡°See? If only you¡¯d just stopped playing the tough girl at first, we wouldn¡¯t have had to resort to this.¡±


    She squealed once again as I hung the weight off of her other breast, and I looked back to see her dripping legs. ¡°Close huh?¡± I smacked her ass with my hand. ¡°Can I hear any appreciation for getting a filthy slut like you off?¡±


    ¡°Hank you, Mahter.¡± Lucina managed to get out through the gag.


    ¡°Too little too late for appreciation. You reap what you sow.¡± Her eyes opened wide as I shoved the dildo through the gag and into her mouth. A bulge appeared in her throat, and she gagged as her eyes partially rolled back. She quivered as she squirted onto the floor.


    ¡°I¡¯ll never get used to that.¡± I strapped dildo to her head, making the dildo a newfound fixture inside her throat. She could only let out a muffled moan as I bound her arms behind her back and slung her over the bed. I slid my member into her, and she arched her back in ecstasy.


    Taking advantage of the situation, I grabbed her arms and held her in that position, pounding into her harder and harder as time wore on. I would occasionally spank her, eliciting weak whimpers from the bound princess.


    Eventually I pulled out and undid the straps to the dildo, clearing up her throat. Or, well, clearing it up until I shoved my own member into her mouth. She looked up at me with teary eyes and running makeup, but there was a spark of arousal in her eyes. ¡°Put that tongue to work. After you clean me, we¡¯re moving on to round two.¡±


    ---


    ¡°You really are my guilty little pleasure.¡± Lucina spoke to me as she soaked in the large bathtub provided by the hotel. I was in the middle of giving her aftercare, and the bath followed the thorough massage I had given her to ensure her blood circulation was functioning normally.


    ¡°Do you realize how many assholes don¡¯t take proper care of their partners?¡± She gave me a look, and I sighed while applying shampoo to her very long hair.


    ¡°Sorry about last time. I was in a hurry.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. One bad night isn¡¯t the be all end all of a relationship.¡± That got my attention.


    ¡°Bad night? Please, Lucina. I had you practically drowning in a sea of your own fluids.¡± The sultry woman took the casual jab in stride.


    ¡°Yes, but your fluids were plentiful as well. What kind of person even does oral for two hours straight? Do you have any idea how hard it was to hide my raspy voice from my parents?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± We fell into a comfortable silence, until Lucina was the first to speak up.


    ¡°So what are you doing now? What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    I scoffed as I rinsed the lather out of her hair. ¡°Please, you don¡¯t actually care.¡±


    She placed a warm hand on top of mine. ¡°And if I told you I did?¡±


    ¡°Then I might want to run for the hills because you definitely have something planned around me thinking that you¡¯re a genuine person.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°That¡¯s why I like you. You understand people. Even if they¡¯re too stupid to notice, they always act in their own best interests.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Regarding your question, just be present at the castle tonight. I¡¯ll make it entertaining, to say the least.¡±


    Lucina sighed wistfully before moving her fingers in a strange manner. A red light flashed in the corner of my vision, and I received a notification from Judgment. ¡°You have received a Kingdom key from Lucina. Will you use it?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a kingdom key?¡± I voiced out loud, and the voices of Lucina and Judgment overlapped momentarily.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°Proceeding with debrief. It¡¯s-¡±


    I put up a hand to stop Lucina. ¡°Sorry, I meant Judgment. Not that I don¡¯t trust you, I just don¡¯t trust the human mind to remember everything important.¡±


    Lucina looked mildly offended, but said nothing as she got out of the bath. ¡°Towel, please.¡± I tossed the towel at her and turned around, fearing that staring at her figure too long would make me want to continue our activities.


    ¡°Wise choice, Master.¡± Judgment sounded happy. ¡°A kingdom key is given to one of each member of any country¡¯s royalty or head of state. It is designed to function much like a VIP ticket, granting diplomatic immunity and incredibly high security clearance for the holder. They may also take any official title that they wish. However, once used, the results cannot be changed or revoked, and they will lose certain functions of the key. Overall, it is the item that separates normal people and nobility.¡±


    I turned back to look at Lucina, who motioned towards the bed. We sat down side by side, and she turned to face me, a grin on her face. ¡°Think of that as an investment. One I hope you will be returning in the near future.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Whether you think I¡¯m worth it or not, I am going to eliminate any threats.¡±


    ¡°Why? For the sake of the country?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, that¡¯s the dumbest thing I¡¯ve ever heard. No, it¡¯s to make sure my life is clear of any obstacles or random brain jacking, cyber-steining menaces.¡±


    ---


    Reya was practically fuming by the time she stepped into the throne room. Looking at her messages once more, she looked at the message that had made her blood boil only twenty minutes beforehand.


    From: J.Cole - Reya, please gather up all the members of your family in the throne room tonight at 9. Oh, and don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll let myself in with the kingdom key. See you then!


    She slammed her hand into the wall next to her, causing several guards to avoid their eyes. Who did that asshole think he was? She had spent nearly two whole weeks trying to wrap him around her finger, but it had backfired on her horribly. She had appeared weak, sensual, and even mentally strong when she calculated that she needed too, and it all just served to push him farther away. Seriously, what was wrong with him? Granted, she was still in a fantastic position to take the throne, but even Reya realized how difficult it would be without Joshua by her side.


    ¡°I have to get him back¡­¡± she muttered as she stepped through the doors to the throne room. All eyes turned to her, but not for long. They returned back to the figure standing next to the throne, Joshua Cole.


    ¡°Great!¡± Brice cried. ¡°Now that my slow sister is here, will you finally tell us what is so important!?¡± Joshua simply smiled and raised his hand. Several of the guards in the room surrounded Brice, and pointed their guns at him.


    ¡°What the-!?¡± Brice was shaken, and fell to his ass when his legs gave out on him. The rest of the room watched in stunned silence before the king stood up.


    ¡°I hope you all have a good reason to be pointing those at my son.¡± His tone was ice cold, and several of the guards started shivering.


    ¡°Actually, we do.¡± This time it was Joshua who spoke, and walked up to the king. ¡°These people are just obeying the orders of the newest Paladin of the Metron Kingdom.¡±


    The king¡¯s mouth went agape. ¡°You-¡± Then he turned to Reya. ¡°You gave him a Kingdom Key!?¡± Reya shook her head frantically in denial.


    ¡°No father, of course not! I still have mine, look!¡± She pulled out her key in AR, and the king scanned the rest of the room, along with his daughter, who was fuming once more.


    ¡®So someone else made a move on him!?¡¯ She thought. ¡®It must be that bitch Venus! She must¡¯ve seduced him right out from under me! She is in charge of all the brothels in the capital, it¡¯s not strange that- wait¡­ was it Raiden!? Does he swing that way?¡¯


    ¡°Regardless of where I got it from,¡± Joshua spoke, drawing attention away from the potential conflict, ¡°I now have legislative and judicial powers in exchange for my freedom from this kingdom.¡±


    Joshua sighed. ¡°As such, I am arresting Brice Metron on the charges of treason, cyber-stein smuggling, and failure to wear a regulation Judgment Panel.¡± Brice paled as the King shouted at Joshua.


    ¡°This is ridiculous! Of all the charges you could bring up-!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me,¡± the Paladin interrupted, ¡°try to invite him to Judgment subspace.¡± Brice started to stammer as a beam of light shot from his father¡¯s head and onto his own.


    The king started to tremble with rage as he waved his hand towards Brice. ¡°Throw him into the royal cell! Call Bruce to interrogate him!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, your majesty.¡± Joshua spoke up once again, and the King looked towards him, not with the undisguised rage from before, but with a newfound respect.


    ¡°What do you suggest, Paladin Cole?¡± Reya could hardly believe her ears. Her father just accepted Joshua¡¯s legitimacy!? How was she supposed to put him back under her thumb now!?


    ¡°I¡¯ll interrogate him here. No need to waste taking him to the dungeon. I should only need a minute or two.¡± Every member of the royalty looked at Joshua as if he was insane, which, by all accounts, he probably was.


    ¡°Hello, Brice.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off you monster!¡±


    ¡°Nice to see you too.¡± The new Paladin took a Judgment panel from his pocket, and attached it to Brice¡¯s forehead, next to the fake one. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this will only take a moment.


    He pulled a large needle from his breast pocket and poked Brice¡¯s finger with it. Brice jumped, but made no further show of pain. Joshua smirked, and Brice gasped. ¡°What did you do!?¡±


    Joshua stabbed at Brice again, a quick in and out, but this time Brice howled like a beast, and slumped to the floor when all was said and done. ¡°Did you like that?¡± The Paladin smirked at Brice. ¡°I amplified your pain receptors by ten, and dilated your perception of time to make one second feel like one minute.¡±


    Brice looked up, his face now a slobbering mess devoid of any dignity. ¡°Do you feel like telling me your secrets now? If not, we can continue. Just be warned that each new stab will last longer than the previous one. First, it will be ten minutes. Then twenty, thirty, fourty, fifty. Hell, you might even make it to one hour.¡±


    Brice retched, and despite our conflicts, I felt sad for him. What a shitty life to be tortured by an insane, sadistic otherworlder. ¡°It was the Luong Empire!¡±


    My father collapsed into his seat as Joshua smirks. ¡°Thank you. Boys, you can throw him into a holding cell now. We have a start. I¡¯ll be by to extract the rest of the information out of him as soon as I¡¯m done here.¡±


    The guards responded with a, ¡®Yes Sir!¡¯ before dragging out a sobbing Brice. ¡°Daddy, save me!¡± He called out as the doors closed behind him.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be grateful for my work in protecting the country? In fact, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you get on your hands and knees and begged for me to stay.¡± What an insufferable man!


    The room held its collective breath as King Metron muttered, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± He got off his throne and knelt in front of Joshua. ¡°I am sorry about how we treated you in the past.¡±


    The room was silent, and Joshua looked uncomfortable as he sneered. ¡°Your apology only serves as one sided recompense! It¡¯s only to make the apologizer feel as if they are rectifying a wrong!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡± The king spoke in a slow and calm manner. ¡°Nevertheless, I am sorry. Would you consider being under our employ to resolve this issue?¡±


    ¡°No, I would not.¡± His answer was short and immediate.


    ¡°You dare speak to the king that way!?¡± This time, it was Raiden who spoke up as the former crown prince.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest, young prince. I¡¯m sick of playing political games. What I really want to do is just go to a far off island somewhere to live out the rest of my days. Unfortunately, if Judgment¡¯s guesses are correct, some organization has found out how to mass-produce the fuckers again. Plus, with the constant threat of a cyber-stein infestation, vacationing is not really that appealing to me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s as he says. We are in dire need of someone who can move as an undercover operative, and since his only public appearance has been under a helmet, and he is shielded by Judgment itself, he is the perfect agent.¡± King Metron stood once more, and held out his hand to Joshua. ¡°I hope you will be open to the idea of working alongside us in order to stop this threat. We can hammer out the terms and conditions after the interrogation, but will you assist in stopping this threat? Not as an employee, but as a proper partner of the Kingdom.¡±


    Joshua looked at the man reluctantly, and shook his hand. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t impede on my freedom, I can see this being a profitable relationship.¡±


    Reya rubbed her eyes. This could not be happening. This could not be happening. ¡°Are you ok there Reya?¡± Reya Metron looked up and turned to see her sister, Lucina Metron. ¡°It¡¯s a shame about Joshua, isn¡¯t it? Guess it¡¯ll be difficult to keep a leash on him now, huh?¡±


    The gears in Reya¡¯s head spun as all the pieces finally fit nicely together. Reya scowled. ¡®This masochistic bitch! I should have known that she¡¯d been the one to give a sadist her key!¡¯


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll see.¡± Reya replied and smiled at Lucina, leaving her true feelings buried at the bottom of her heart. She would get Joshua working for her again, one way or another. She swore it on the name of Reya Rust Metron.

 Chapter EX 1: A Tale of Two Realities

    ¡°What are those?¡± Lucina was decked out in black spandex pants that hugged her hips tightly, a gunmetal grey turtleneck that accentuated her breasts, and a dark blue denim jacket. Her long, black hair was put up into a high asymmetrical ponytail with her bangs cascading down the left side of her face.


    We were in Judgment subspace, and currently on our first date as unofficial lovers. She was intrigued by the thought of having a date in subspace, but was immediately taken aback by the display that awaited her.


    ¡°Ah, those are a Christmas tree and Christmas lights.¡± I pointed to an unnaturally large tree and waved some of the multi-colored devices at Lucina. She stared at them, dumbfounded.


    ¡°Chris...mas? Is this the name of someone or an organization?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no. Christ-mas. It¡¯s kind of weird. The man who¡¯s name is associated with the holiday is named Jesus Christ, but somewhere along the way I guess the ¡®t¡¯ became silent in the holiday name.¡±


    Lucina just continued to stare at the multi-colored lights. ¡°And¡­ why isn¡¯t any of it already set up? You do know that this is subspace, right? You could have just had Judgment set up a vision from your imagination before you came here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but half the fun is in setting it up as a family.¡± She looked at me strangely, and I shrugged.


    ¡°After scanning Master¡¯s memories, I can confirm that his words are true. Whether or not he believes them himself has yet to be determined.¡±


    I had given the AI strict orders not to reveal itself, lest I have a ton of explaining to do to the woman who it based its appearance off of.


    Lucina frowned in thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. ¡°Well, whatever. It¡¯ll be a new experience for me, to say the least. While we do have people from other dimensions in Ethia, I¡¯ve never experienced any familial traditions such as this.


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not really familial, but more religious.¡± I corrected, but that only served to make the woman more confused.


    ¡°What¡¯s religion?¡± I nearly dropped the glass ornament I was holding in my hands. Needless to say, it wouldn¡¯t have broken, but the thought was so ingrained into me that my body frantically caught the small glass orb.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I only spoke when I was sure that everything was safe in my hands, and had no immediate danger breaking anything. A thought that I once again had to chide myself for.


    ¡°What do you mean, what do I mean?¡± Lucina replied.


    ¡°I mean, does Ethia not have religion?¡±


    Lucina folded her arms under her chest and stared up in thought. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ think so? Can you just explain the concept to me and I¡¯ll tell you if we have something similar or not.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­ where to begin. Religion is¡­ for lack of a better word, organized worship. People create churches-¡±


    ¡°Oh, we have those!¡±


    ¡°As I was saying, people create churches to worship beings that we can neither prove nor disprove exist. Some people call it the metaphysical.¡± I finished placing all the ornaments, and set to wrapping the tree in Christmas lights.


    ¡°Wait, why worship the metaphysical? If you do that, then whether or not people are truly respectful all depends on their level of faith in this being.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Whether or not a god is out there, there are people that will use their religion to suit their own needs, as well as people who will use it to satisfy the needs of others. Of course, neither are inherently bad or do harm, but as much as there is a stigma against people who practice religion, there is also one against people who refuse to.¡±


    I sigh, and Lucina moved beside me and started to rub my back. ¡°So which side were you on? It sounds like a war that has waged for aeons.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ am a special case. I believe that a god, or gods for that matter may exist, and if they do then there¡¯s no reason to say that others don¡¯t. That¡¯s the way people in my world have always been. If one group is right, the other has to be wrong. I find it so stupid and ignorant of those who discriminate that both cannot be correct. Who says there has to be only one god? If your god is all powerful, why couldn¡¯t he appear at a different time, in a different place under a different name. What if, all gods were-¡±


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    I looked over to Lucina, who had a worried look on her face. I sighed, and stopped my rant. ¡°Well, not like it matters now anyways. I¡¯ll never be able to return home, so I might as well stop pondering things that I¡¯ll never speak of again. Sorry for getting so incensed.¡±


    Lucina shook her head and moved to my front to hug me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If it helps you to speak of it, I will listen.¡±


    I hugged her back, and combed my hair out of my eyes. ¡°Thanks, but enough about my world. You said earlier that you had churches?¡±


    ¡°Yes, although they aren¡¯t anything that resembles those in your world, save for the worship part. In Ethia, we worship physical beings, though.¡±


    ¡°The starlords.¡± I remember hearing them used as curse words, words of exasperation, as well as relief by Reya when I was around her. I had always assumed it was a translation for god, but to think they were a completely separate thing¡­


    Lucina nodded. ¡°Exactly.¡± She let go of me, allowing me to finish the lights while she attempted to place a star inside the tree.


    ¡°No, that goes on top. It¡¯s usually the centerpiece of a tree.¡± She rolled her eyes and willed herself to float to reach the top of the tree.


    ¡°Anyway, we worship the starlords - interdimensional beings that have entire star-systems under their control. They appear every ten years at the temples to bless those who worship them. Of course, there are different starlords with different blessings, but that¡¯s a story for a time when this is more relevant. For now, all you need to know is: do not openly mock a starlord or insult one. The last time something like that happened, a starlord - I think it was Starlord Garzi - smote several cities in the Kingdom of Liones, the heathens that they are.¡±


    The Kingdom of Liones¡­ Europe, if I remember correctly. ¡°What did they do?¡± I asked, and Lucina looked at me nervously.


    ¡°I really shouldn¡¯t¡­ ugh, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to tell you since you are a paladin now after all. One of the leaders of the church complained about Garzi¡¯s figure, and how she was¡­ unevenly proportioned, the disgusting pig. Needless to say, Garzi caught wind of it and burned down the church, her followers, and the surrounding area.¡±


    I shivered a bit. The starlords seemed to be just as temperamental as regular people, which, for beings of their strength, was a dangerous thing.


    ¡°My databanks on the Starlords are partially locked, for some unknown reason.¡± Judgment appeared out of thin air, and I nearly had a heart attack. If Judgment comes out looking as it is now, then-


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Lucina put her hands on her hips - her oh so enticing hips - and walked forward to get a better look at Judgment. ¡°I see. So you were smitten with me even during our first encounter, that you made an AI replicated from me. How cute.¡±


    I laughed nervously, but I could tell that it wouldn¡¯t get Lucina to stop staring at me. ¡°To be fair, Judgment chose that form on it¡¯s own. I just consented to it.¡±


    She turned her gaze from me to the AI, who confirmed my words. ¡°It is as Master says. I took this form, believing that it would help me to manipulate the minds of those I interacted with. Unfortunately, it has no effect on Master.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Lucina started hugging me. ¡°He has the real thing to play with after all. Speaking of which¡­¡±


    Lucina started to strip, revealing a satin bunny-girl outfit with a zipper running from her practically overflowing chest and down past her crotch. ¡°That¡¯s a size too small, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Lucina blushed, and pushed me down. ¡°I can¡¯t help it! If I had a choice in how my genes were created, I would¡¯ve went back and slapped my mother for giving me these!¡±


    She squeezed her breasts and shuddered. ¡°They just stopped growing two years ago, and they¡¯re way too sensitive.¡± She sighed. ¡°Stop changing the subject. Subspace sucks because we can¡¯t have sex, but we can do foreplay as long as you turn the safety feature off.¡±


    Is that true?


    ¡°Yes, Master. Shall I disable the physical contact restriction?¡± Please do.


    ¡°Very well Master. Physical contact restriction disabled.¡±


    Lucina pounced the minute she heard the announcement, and started to greedily kiss my face and neck. I smirked at her vigor, when a voice shocked me out of the pleasure.


    ¡°I hope you weren¡¯t going to start anything without me.¡± Rachel, my college crush appeared out from behind the tree, in red and white lingerie. I was momentarily taken aback before Lucina¡¯s soft lips took mine.


    ¡°Come on Joshua. Let¡¯s start.¡± With a sultry smile, she started to undo my pants as Rachel walked over. The room started spinning, twisting into a mess of lights and colors.


    My breathing became ragged as Rachel¡¯s distorted voice reached my ears. ¡°Where are you going? Let¡¯s have some fun!¡±


    ¡°Forceful ejection complete.¡± I sat up in my bed, located in the guest quarters of Redleaf Castle. I looked down at my sweat stained sheets and took a long drink from the glass of water on my nightstand.


    Judgment, what the fuck was that?


    ¡°A dream, Master. Apologies, but I needed to use it to extract the last of the tainted data from your system. While you are immune to the mind altering effects of the cyber-stein, the longer such data is in my system, the longer it corrupts my coding.¡±


    I took in Judgment¡¯s explanation, hands on my face. Next time you need to purge any data, please warn me beforehand. That was not a pleasant experience.


    ¡°Of course, Master. You still have four hours until the meeting with the king about your mission to the Luong Empire. Would you like me to return you to sleep and wake you at an appropriate time?¡±


    Glancing over to the window, I could see that it was still dark outside. Smirking, I sat up and rejoiced in leaving the damp covers. ¡°No, I¡¯ll get up. Start the shower, and set to 38 Celcius.¡±


    ¡°Master, what¡¯s Celcius?¡±


    I sighed and rubbed my eyes. ¡°Scan my memories, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure it out.¡±

 Chapter 10: A Step in the Right Direction

    ¡°So, King Metron, to what do I owe this about-face that you¡¯ve shown me?¡± The king in question sighed and motioned to his wife.


    ¡°Sorry dear, can you get me a glass of wine? I have a feeling I¡¯ll need a bit of alcohol tonight.¡±


    ¡°Sure, honey. Do you want Watercolor or Pastel?¡±


    ¡°Watercolor please. Today is only Thursday after all. Pastel might be a little too strong for a weekday.¡± The two shared a kiss and Queen Metron pulled away first, tracing her finger down the king¡¯s body. She caressed his neck before moving off of him, licking her lips as she walked out of the room.


    If that was how they displayed their affection in front of others, it was no wonder that some, if not all of their children were sexual deviants.


    The king gave a wistful sigh after turning back to me. ¡°To be honest, half of my actions towards you were to keep up my appearances in the court. I wouldn¡¯t have wanted the other nobles pressuring the throne to find out that we, or even the Judgment System for that matter, had no control over your actions. There¡¯s also the matter of our allied front against whatever organization is targeting the Metron Kingdom at the moment. Be it the Neo-Yakuza, Kiba, or the Shippo, we need to come together for this.¡±


    ¡°Reasonable¡­ I guess.¡± As if such an asinine reason would make sense to me. If your politics are so fractured that you need to act abusive towards another person, that¡¯s your own damn fault. ¡°And the other reason?¡±


    Queen Metron returned with the requested glass of wine and took a seat next to the king. ¡°Truth be told,¡± he sniffed, ¡°I just don¡¯t like you being around my daughters.¡± I struggled to keep the emotionless smile on my face at his words. The feelings are mutual you prick,


    ¡°I¡¯ll assume you aren¡¯t stupid, and knew the conditions of accepting a kingdom key, and the role of Paladin that you chose.¡±


    ¡°A wise assumption.¡± I responded to King Metron, who was sitting across from me in his private chambers. ¡°Do tell though, why did you instantly trust me against your own son?¡±


    The king swirled a deep blue wine in a clear chalice, and took a small sip before answering. ¡°My eyes, and my ears.¡±


    I cocked my head in confusion while the king continued to sit in silence. ¡°Master, he means his information network.¡± My mouth opened and closed at Judgment¡¯s analysis, causing me to chide myself for overthinking something so simple.


    ¡°Be careful Master. Don¡¯t try to see shadows when there¡¯s nothing to cast them.¡± Duly noted. Oddly poetic for an AI, don¡¯t you think?


    ¡°By my calculations, you are attracted to women with a cunning intellect. I have come to the conclusion that behaving intelligently is a good way to improve our working relationship." I inwardly sighed at the comment, but kept a smile on my face for the king.


    ¡°What did your eyes and ears tell you¡­ my King?¡± Despite my best efforts, my face contorted as I spoke to the king in a subservient manner. No matter how I may have felt about him, or still feel about him now, I was a professional.


    Not to mention, it wouldn¡¯t be funny if he decided to denounce my position and throw me into prison. Of course, I had a contingency plan in place, but I¡¯d rather not make an enemy out the world yet. I still didn¡¯t nearly have enough resources at my disposal for that.


    ¡°For one, despite how I may personally feel about it, it is a fact that you seem to be getting along well with my daughters.¡± My heart started to race, and the queen¡¯s next sentence amplified it even more so.


    ¡°I think it would be a good idea to match you up with one of our sons or daughters and marry into the royal family.¡± No no no no no! I mean, friends with benefits is fine with me, but to be tied down to a country is-


    ¡°Not to mention,¡± the queen added, ¡°Lucina seems quite taken by you.¡± A small frown came over my face, causing the queen to laugh.


    ¡°No need to be so defensive dear. Her room is right next to ours. It¡¯s a good thing we have good walls for the most part, because I fear that girl would have woken up everyone in the castle otherwise. Oh, and don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve known of her sexual preferences for a while. Comes with being a mother. Frankly, the amount of times she¡¯s been comforting herself since your first encounter with her is frightening. I would ask what you did, but I confiscated the security footage from her Judgment device.¡±


    The king shook his head but said nothing. Nice to know who wears the pants outside of the throne room. ¡°My lady, please, I beg of you to reconsider.¡±


    ¡°Hm? My daughter is not good enough for you?¡± I sighed and glared at Queen Metron, already tired of this farce she had constructed.


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant. Honestly, I¡¯m so sick and tired of dealing with you people. Let me just continue to do my business unmolested. I¡¯ll steer clear of whatever shitstorm you and your husband have concocted, and you¡¯ll stop pestering me with trivial matters such as this Kingdom¡¯s internal affairs. Don¡¯t forget, my ¡®loyalty¡¯ is to this kingdom. Not its rulers.¡±


    The queen¡¯s smile stretched while the king only looked mildly offended. ¡°See, I told you honey.¡± Queen Metron rubbed her husband¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s much better when he¡¯s like this. Really exudes an air of confidence when he¡¯s playing the rebel.¡±


    I stood up and started to leave the room. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance to cool down. Why don¡¯t you interrogate Brice now? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to get some information out of him. We¡¯ll send someone for you later.¡±


    I turned around in false shock, doing my best to sell the bit. ¡°You¡¯re encouraging me to torture your own son?¡±


    Queen Metron smiled. ¡°Of course, sweetie. Do you really think that familial value is important? I¡¯m sure all three of us in this room know that Brice isn¡¯t destined for greatness. In fact, he¡¯s precisely the kind of person who gets in his own way, all the way into his grave.¡±


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Only, now he¡¯s getting in the way of the kingdom and it¡¯s profits. Honestly, conspiring with terrorists just because you stepped on his ego a bit? What would have happened to our country had you not killed the cyber-stein motherbrain before it infected the arena?¡±


    ¡°So yes, you have my permission, as his mother and the queen of this country, to torture him at your discretion. Oh, but you¡¯d enjoy it anyway, wouldn¡¯t you? Have fun then!¡±


    I looked at her in disgust. I could almost visualize a smiling emoji appearing from her words. Scoffing at the couple, I slammed the doors and walked briskly down the hall until I stopped at an elevator entrance. Did you set the espi programs into their devices?


    ¡°Yes, Master, both the king and queen were hacked. Would you like to listen to their conversation?¡±


    I thought for a moment, pressing the button downwards to the lowest floor of the castle. Sure. I¡¯m curious to see if they bought my acting or not.


    My vision fuzzed, and a small, black box with a white line indicating sound waves appeared in the lower left corner of my sight.


    ¡°Well that went well.¡± King Metron¡¯s voice reverberated in my ears.


    ¡°Oh come on, honey. You know how I get when I see a man with defiant eyes. It just makes me want to bend him to my will.¡±


    The Queen¡¯s words sent a shiver down my spine as the elevator doors opened. Stepping inside, I listened closely to the next words that were spoken.


    ¡°Ah, I really like him. Besides, if one of them manages to seduce him, we can bend Judgment to our own-¡±


    She stopped speaking abruptly, and the sound of palm hitting face echoed throughout my ears.


    ¡°Starlords rotten taint. We¡¯ve been had, Roger. No wonder he was so eager to leave the room. Restore your Judgment device to default settings. He bugged us. The feed from Roger Metron¡¯s device disappeared, leaving only Queen Cindy¡¯s running.


    ¡°Well played, Joshua. I can admire acting like yours. Too bad you¡¯re inexperienced and it leaked through in your final act, although, besides that I give you passing marks. I¡¯ll look forward to more of these games between us in the future.¡±


    And with that, the queen went radio silent. As the elevator continued down towards the prison, I shivered. ¡°Would you like me to reupload the software onto their home cloud, Master?¡±


    I took a deep breath. No, that¡¯s alright. They¡¯ll probably be overly cautious now that they figured out. It was a gamble that failed, but I¡¯m just lucky that this gamble had little at stake.


    The doors opened, and I was greeted by the sight of Brice Metron strapped down to a table. Behind every great man is an even greater woman¡­ was the quote, wasn¡¯t it? Meh, even if it wasn¡¯t, it needed to be written that way.


    I walked up to the princeling, whose eyes were puffy from crying. He shrieked when he saw me. ¡°What are you doing here!? Where are my parents!? I demand to see them!¡±


    I gave Brice my best cold, dead eyes and walked closer to him.


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t come closer!¡± I lifted my hands towards his face, and he screamed. He tried to escape, violently shaking the metal table he was on and injuring himself against his restraints.


    ¡°Guards! Brothers, Sisters! Mother!¡± He continued wailing as I drew closer, then went silent as I placed a hand on his Judgment panel. Judgment, shut down the use of the elevator until we¡¯re done with the interrogation.


    ¡°As you command, Master.¡± There was a whirring noise as I assume some bolts locked into place in the elevator shaft behind me. Enter us into subspace.


    ¡°Safety mechanisms exclusive to the royal family prevent me from doing that. Shall I override his panel¡¯s commands?¡±


    The quicker the better.


    ¡°Understood, Master.¡± Only a brief moment after Judgment spoke to me was I transferred into another subspace. Only, this one was a bit different than the rest.


    ¡°What the fuck is this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know Master. This is the first time that I am ¡®experiencing¡¯ data instead of merely processing it.¡± I looked around the wretched landscape: a massive, maybe two football stadiums wide throne room. Strewn across it¡¯s rust-colored floors were the bodies of many people. As I waded closer through the corpses, the throne came into view.


    It was an atrocity to look at, a tan throne with spikes on the headrest and thorns adorning it. The spikes were littered with the severed heads of the Metron royal family. A lone boy was sitting on the throne, blood pooling in the seat beneath him.


    ¡°Decapitation is so medieval.¡± I sighed, causing Brice to look up at me. When he saw me, his face contorted, but he said nothing.


    ¡°Ah, did you finally realize that screaming won¡¯t get you anywhere? I like fast learners.¡± I grabbed his arm and threw him off the throne. ¡°So,¡± I said, looking around at the landscape, ¡°care to explain this mess?¡±


    ¡°How dare you.¡± He whispered. ¡°This is my rightful path to the throne! A bloody escapade where I¡¯ll need to crawl over the bodies of my fallen-!¡±


    I punched him right where he stood, sending him spinning into the arm of the throne. He he hit his head, and a low groan escaped his lips. Judgment, I thought people couldn¡¯t interact with objects inside subspace.


    ¡°That only applies to other people, Master. A person¡¯s subspace is a fragment of the reality in which they view the world, therefore they are bound by the laws that govern it.¡±


    My mind flashed back to my own dark, twisted subspace and Reya¡¯s empty one. A grin formed on my face as my mind drifted, thinking about what Lucina¡¯s looked like.


    ¡°However,¡± Judgment thankfully put a stop to my thoughts, ¡°all subspaces are linked within the network, therefore giving you access, and through my software, admin privileges.¡±


    ¡°I see. I guess it¡¯s time to clean this place up then.¡± Brice tilted his head up at my words, and watched in horror as I raised my hand.


    Judgment, begin restoring his subspace to factory settings. ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± Brice twitched, and glared up at me.


    ¡°What did you do!?¡± I cocked my head and frowned.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I can feel it! You¡­ you did something to me. It feels wrong, awful, unnatural! What are you doing!?¡± Black veins came to the surface of his skin, becoming larger and larger until his skin was pitch black.


    There was a deafening bang, and a bright black light that engulfed the world for a moment. When it faded, the room was pure white, and clear of any blood or body. The once menacing throne had turned into a simple white, wooden rocking chair.


    A message popped up in my vision. It was the queen, wanting to know why her son¡¯s vitals had dropped so much. Ignoring it, I looked at the prince in question.


    His eyes were vacant, and he had calmed down significantly. What¡¯s wrong with him?


    ¡°He has had his subspace, an area which is inexorably linked to his psyche, tampered with like it was a plaything. It¡¯s a miracle he is still responsive at all. As he is now, he shouldn¡¯t have the mental faculties to lie to you, although I will still monitor his vitals as a precaution. Really Master, at this rate, his parent¡¯s might have to restore his brain from a backup copy.¡±


    ¡°Not my problem.¡± I shrugged, moving closer to Brice. Tilting his head up, I said, ¡°I refuse to believe that you yourself had contact with anyone of significance to the terrorists. Tell me, who was your middle man to the Luong Empire?¡±


    Brice, eyes still glassy, answered in three words. ¡°Head Researcher Teramoto.¡±

 Chapter 11: Expletives and Machinations

    When we left subspace, I had expected the room to be overcome with guards, but it had appeared that Judgment¡¯s security measures were as tough as it had claimed them to be.


    The red warning lights occupying the elevator turned into a calm blue once more, signifying the release of emergency protocol.


    ¡°Head Researcher Teramoto, huh?¡± Judgment mused into my ear after I pressed the lift button. ¡°I guess your skeptical nature ended up aiding you in this instance.¡±


    ¡°Is it just me, or have you become rather fond of discrediting me in the past day?¡± There was a brief silence as Judgment ¡®contemplated¡¯ the question.


    ¡°I am a sentient AI. Never having the ability to communicate with another sentient being, I hadn¡¯t picked up the minutia of human conversation before. So thank you, Master, for allowing me to achieve the growth which I had thought impossible.¡±


    The elevator doors opened as an 8-bit version of Lucina¡¯s face smirked at him in AR. Or rather, an eight bit version of Judgment using Lucina¡¯s face. Can¡¯t you have a little more class and craft your own persona to use instead of using the face of someone I have intercourse with on a semi-regular basis?


    ¡°Until further tests are run, and more interactions between Master and other people are observed, I cannot deviate from what you have already proven that you are attracted to.¡±


    How would you even go about calculating something like that?


    ¡°I am glad you asked, Master. You see, it all starts with recording the duration of time your gaze lingers on a certain part of a person¡¯s body when you are talking with them. Then, from among those features, those which cause minute rises in your heart rate, and how the trait is physically represented among those people. After that-¡±


    Thanks. On second thought, I don¡¯t really need to know. You would just be wasting your words on a savage like me.


    ¡°... I sense sarcasm in your inflection, Master. My sensors indicate that there is a 68% chance that you believe my explanations are a waste of your time, and a further 32% indicates that you think my reasoning is creepy.¡±


    I rubbed my eyes but said nothing as the elevator took me back up to the main floor of Redleaf Palace. Upon opening the door, I was greeted by a livid Queen Cindy and a less-than-happy King Roger, accompanied by a dozen armed security guards.


    ¡°My Queen.¡± I gave a slight bow and when I looked up, I could see the queen¡¯s lip twitching in barely controlled rage.


    ¡°Joshua¡­ what did you do to my son?¡± Somehow, her completely calm voice made me shiver more than an enraged one ever would have.


    ¡°My Queen, you are the one who told me to do with him as I would see fit. It is no fault of mine that you entrusted your son to a murderer, or did you forget what I did to Gazix?¡± Who the fuck did she think she was to get mad at me? She gave me permission, and even more, I actually produced results.


    ¡°I am not questioning the validity of your methods, Paladin. I am simply inquiring as to what act you performed to make his vitals bottom and spike so rapidly? Our cameras and audio equipment suddenly cut out as soon as the elevator door opened with you inside. You wouldn¡¯t happen to have any idea why, would you?¡±


    ¡°Not a clue.¡± I replied immediately on the heels of her words. ¡°However, I did manage to get myself quite the lead to look into, so I¡¯ll be in the city checking the truthfulness of the information that I have obtained. I¡¯ll contact either Lucina or Reya when I''m done, so be ready to call a debriefing for the royal family. See you later.¡±


    I strode through the confused looking guards, a king with a tired expression on his face, and a queen trying to save face about the abysmal state that her son was currently in under her watch.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, go down there and recover my son!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am!¡± Resounded the soldier¡¯s voices. They flooded the elevator and soon the pod was filled to capacity, with only two guards still left outside of it.


    ¡°Chika and Jika, you stay with the king and I. The rest of you, bring my son to the royal surgeon! If he doesn¡¯t make it, you¡¯re all fired!¡±


    The ten guards in the elevator saluted as the doors closed, at which point the queen turned back to face me. ¡°We are going to have a discussion about this later. Mark my words.¡±


    I waved a hand back at her and strode out the castle doors. It took a while before I finally felt that we had no chance of being watched by castle personnel anymore, and let out a long sigh.


    Well that was far more eventful than I would have liked. We had made our way onto the streets of Rong, the Metron Kingdom¡¯s capital. Like the other couple of times I had been let loose on the streets, vendors were everywhere, trying to sell their tech out of whatever vehicle they could afford.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, Joshua. We both know you thrive on the chaos and lustful violence of any given situation.¡± I stiffened at Reya¡¯s voice, and turned around, expecting to see the ambitious crown princess.


    However, I soon came to the realization that I was only thinking before, and thought to myself, judgment?


    ¡°Yes, Master? How can I help you?¡±


    Judgment, why are you using Reya Metron¡¯s voice to speak to me right now?


    ¡°Because, Master, I didn¡¯t realize you had not cut off all respect for that girl. Even going so far as to name her as one of the two people you would get in touch with should anything happen during the Teramoto investigation. I thought maybe a reminder of her would soothe your soul.¡±


    No, you insufferable AI. I only told the Queen that because both Lucina and Reya are the only royalty present in my directory. How am I supposed to get in touch with the Queen of a country otherwise?


    ¡°You could have me directly link you to the queen, bypassing the requirement for a friend invitation.¡± I shook my head in unabashed awe.


    And risk them finding out that you are even more omnipotent than we already let show? No thanks.


    ¡°Why do I need to hide my powers, Master? Should I not be utilized to the furthest extent that my powers enable you do so? It seems foolish to not single-handedly crush enemies that you have, if you indeed have the power to accomplish such a feat.¡±


    You really haven¡¯t grasped the concept of subtlety, have you, Judgment? Say that I actually take use of your powers and put an end to the wars, and the terrorism, and any other evil that pops up in the world. What do you suppose happens next?


    ¡°With the proper amount of time and planning, you could rise to become the next great emperor of the planet Ethia.¡±


    No, no, no. If we get rid of all the sources of chaos in the world, then all eyes will be focused on me, for better or worse. Humans cannot live without discord. It is something intrinsic to our very beings.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°So what will be your plan then? Let them roam free although you could be doing more to actively stop them and reign in a new era of peace?¡±


    I paused in my tracks, causing several dissatisfied murmurs as people started moving around me, busy to get on with their day. Their matters were, of course, more important than my own, as all humans think they are more important to society than strangers.


    That¡¯s exactly what my plan will be, Judgment. Only, it¡¯s not merely chaos. It will be controlled, one way or another. Even if I have to do it from the shadows.


    ¡°Why not just let the world experience peace?¡±


    Because ¡®everlasting peace¡¯ is an idealist fabrication. Humans cannot change their inherent nature. At least, most humans. They are far too weak willed for that. Longing for change but not willing to put in the time or effort because it inconveniences them. It makes me disgusted.


    ¡°Master¡­¡±


    So no. Even peace is a concept built on a foundation of violence and conquest, and it is that very foundation that sows the seeds for more violence and discord. Frankly, other humans, especially those who cannot view themselves or their actions objectively, are not worth my time.


    ¡°I see. In the case you are being serious, and not letting your frustrations with the Metron family speak for you now, I suppose we should keep the bit where my system doesn¡¯t place any restrictions on you a secret, shouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    I rolled my eyes and continued walking down the long, neon-lit streets.


    ---


    ¡°You have a real penchant for this, Master. What is this, the second time you¡¯ve run into a princess trying to meet Mr. Teramoto?¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± My left eye twitched as I spoke to the tall figure in front of me. This wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to go. If this was the queen¡¯s idea of a joke¡­


    ¡°I said that you have been drafted into a special unit with me as your boss. It¡¯s nice to meet you, cadet.¡± Lucina Metron, the Second Princess was waiting for me in front of the scientific district.


    Despite her jovial tone when she repeated her message, her frown was growing more and more apparent on her face.


    ¡°Why are you in a bad mood? You just got a promotion from being a lowly princess into the superior of a Paladin. I¡¯d have figured you to be at least somewhat happy about that.¡±


    ¡°Babysitter, more like.¡± Lucina pulled the militaristic cap off of her midnight black hair, and brushed her bangs to the side before replacing it.


    The woman herself was in full military garb, which consisted of a gunmetal grey bomber jacket that was open halfway, allowing for a generous gaze at Lucina¡¯s impressive bust. Under the jacket was a green tank top, and green overalls attached by orange suspenders. Combat boots had graced her feet, and Lucina¡¯s naturally sharp eyes made her look the part of a domineering captain.


    Ok, I could get upset at her being a complete and utter baby when it comes to handling responsibilities, but that sounds counterproductive as all hell. Time seemed to slow down around me and I realized that Judgment had started to dilute time for me.


    ¡°Correct, and you may forever close the gateway you have created to her heart.¡± Judgment echoed in my ear.


    Where did you even learn that phrase? Also, what are you talking about? I¡¯m pretty sure she never saw me as more than sexual relief in the first place.


    ¡°If you say so, Master. By my records, she was-


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Lucina spoke suddenly, causing judgment to hit pause on its information. ¡°I¡¯m not actually upset at you. I¡­ I hated being in the military. I¡¯d been there since I was sixteen, and retired at 26. A decade of service can really fuck you up, and I thought I was finally done with that.¡±


    Wow. This has nothing to do with me whatsoever. Does she think I want to hear about her life? How self absorbed.


    ¡°Master,¡± Judgment started, ¡°I could understand that reaction if it was the king or queen you were speaking to, or even Reya who tried to manipulate you. However, Lucina has done nothing wrong, even going so far as to give you her Kingdom Key-¡±


    One which she gave to me for obviously politically charged reasons.


    ¡°Then what were those reasons, Master?¡±


    She wanted me to be indebted to her, and even to have a debt owed to her family. I could have just refused the offer, but she knew I needed it and-


    ¡°How did she figure out your plan if you only consulted me about it?¡± That one made me pause. Because¡­


    ¡°Please, Master. Just admit that you are being hard-headed and foolish on this matter. You have someone who potentially cares for you, and you¡¯re trying to find every excuse that you can to make sure that you don¡¯t accept them.¡±


    I didn¡¯t need you to analyze me like that.


    ¡°No, but due to your brain scans, I can tell that you don''t have any lingering brain damage. Which means there are only two other things that can be attributed to your compromised morals. The first, is that you have always been this way from the start, but due to the societal structure of your country, you could never be yourself.¡±


    ¡°The second would be that it is the fault of the old-world antidepressants that I inject you with every morning. As such, I am going to take a precautionary measure and remove you from the drugs entirely starting next week. This first week will be lowering the dosage to acceptable levels.


    You can¡¯t just- I started, but time had already returned to normal, and Lucina was staring me in the eyes, worry and a slight hesitancy on her face.


    Shit¡­ how do I¡­? ¡°Ah, is that how everybody wears their uniform?¡± I pointed to her half-open shirt, and the princess¡¯s eyes opened wide.


    Finally, she blew out air and started laughing. ¡°I knew I liked you.¡± She said in between gasps of breath. ¡°No, if you must know, it isn¡¯t regulation. However, neither are we. We are under the direct control of the Crown, and therefore, do not have any superior officers. Therefore, I will damn well do as I please with my uniform.¡±


    ¡°Point taken, ma¡¯am.¡± Lucina shivered and turned around, not wanting me to see her flushed cheeks.


    ¡°Alright, Joshua. Who are you trying to arrest here?¡±


    ¡°One Mr. Teramoto. First name unknown, to me at least.¡±


    ¡°His first name is Han. Han Teramoto.¡± Judgment chimed in, and I relayed the information to my now commanding officer.


    ¡°Great. Let¡¯s infiltrate the compound. I¡¯ll hold the perimeter, while you head down and see if you can get him yourself.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± I said, and gave her a stiff salute before walking towards the front door of the lab.


    ¡°What changed with you? I thought you hated being on the receiving end of an order?¡± Judgment asked, suspicion, or at least, what I thought was suspicion in its voice.


    Well, you see, it¡¯s not really taking orders. I was going to do these things anyway. Besides, she understands that her role is basically paper thin, and she doesn¡¯t hold any real sway over what I do. But to top it all off¡­


    I turned back to her, and saw a crooked grin accompanied by a blush on her face. She¡¯s probably thinking about how much stimulation she¡¯ll get out of our role reversal at this moment.


    ---


    ¡°Well¡­ I think you could have done better.¡± I spoke to Head Researcher Teramoto as he was slightly limp in my arms.


    We had arrived to find a slightly empty base, and only Teramoto and a few of his closest confidants were in the large room where I had first received my suit.


    Of course, that hadn¡¯t been all. He also had rows upon rows of things that he called Doomechs, small, bipedal machines with no arms and a robust body that housed a few cameras each. They had been quite menacing, what with their flamethrowers and buzzsaws, but all Judgment had needed was a few seconds to shut them down through the very system that ran through their mainframes.


    Needless to say, that hadn¡¯t been his only plan. A pit had opened up below me long enough for me to utter a string of choice words at the scientist, but it turned out that had just been an illusion created by another bot behind me. The, ¡®Hyp-no-matic,¡¯ as he called it. Yet, even that ended up as useful as a bag of dicks after Judgment was through with it.


    His final plot had been to spring his war droids that were posing as fellow researchers onto me, but even that had ended before it had truly started. ¡°Our synchronization has gone through the roof, Master. I surmise we shall be unlocking more of our potential soon.¡±


    We have level up restrictions? Almost forgetting myself in Judgment¡¯s lackadaisical pace, I looked back up, and reached out for Teramoto with my hands.


    After seeing his work crumple into a scrapheap, Teramoto had willingly given himself up. He was currently floundering in my arms while I brought him into the lobby of the research lab. I set him down and asked, ¡°So, let¡¯s cut the bullshit. I know you have an inn with some terrorists, and you know I can make you sing like a god damned canary. So tell me before I have to exercise tho-¡±


    My sentence was cut short as a glob of spit hit my face, and slowly rolled down my neck before Judgment purged the matter from my skin. ¡°Alright, fuck it.¡± I sighed, and held Teramoto¡¯s forehead with one hand. ¡°The Prince Brice experience it is, then.¡±

 Chapter 12: The (Not So) Far East

    I held the Judgment panel of one Head Researcher Han Teramoto in my hands as I walked up the stairs to the palace, following closely behind Princess Lucina. Surprisingly, unlike all the other days in which I¡¯d been in Ethia, I recognized the faces of the guards standing in front of the palace doors.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you two¡­ the ones who brought me to the throne room a couple weeks ago? What were your names again?¡±


    Lucina looked back at me and shook her head, not even sparing the two guards a glance as she spoke, ¡°Whatever it is you think you¡¯re getting out of this conversation, have it wrapped up in ten minutes. I¡¯ll gather the other¡¯s into the throne room. Expect a harsh punishment if you¡¯re late.¡±


    With a quick flick of her head, she headed in through the double doors, her hips swaying hypnotically as I-


    Judgment, quick question. Why the fuck have I been thinking so sexually lately? Neither one of the Metron sisters I¡¯ve had contact with have hacked me, have they?


    There was silence on the other end of the connection between the AI and myself, and I thought once more, the two guards staring at me all the while.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know, Master?¡±


    No, I don¡¯t. Why do you sound like it¡¯s obvious?


    ¡°You said it yourself, Antidepressants dull one¡¯s thoughts and emotions. The old world medicine must have been too strong for some parts of your personality, and now all the suppressed desires have come rushing back. The only thing your body knows to do to deal with the emotions is to constantly vent them out in sexual fantasies.¡±


    To be fair to me, sometimes this whole world feels like a sexual fantasy.


    ¡°If that is how you perceive Ethia, then I have no right to tell you otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I got distracted. What were your names again?¡± I brought my eyes up to the two guards, who showed little restraint when it came to the undisguised distrust in their eyes.


    ¡°Why the fuck would you even bother to remember. You were practically shitting yourself in the jail cell when we carried you to the opportunity that brought you to glory.¡± The one on the left answered. He was tall and lithe, and judging from his scraggly beard, not too keen on personal grooming. His olive skin contrasted against his white armor, and made his face pop from the rest of his silhouette.


    I had to physically keep myself from rolling my eyes at his accusation, and neither one of them had even answered the question of who they were.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite the grudge you hold after I did nothing to earn your ire.¡±


    ¡°Starlords rotten foot did you ever! Do you have any idea how much we had to make in the colosseum and in underground arena¡¯s before the crown would even look our way? Commodifying our bodies, our likenesses, our very existences! And what did it get us? A shitty job doing nothing while some wiry-ass kid from Starlords know where was usurping the good will we had built up with Bruce, only for it to vanish overnight!¡±


    ¡°That was still your fault Craig. I don¡¯t know what possessed you to take your exhibitionism hobby on castle-grounds, but you should be happy you weren¡¯t immediately dismissed. You can be mad at the boy for cheating his way to the top, but you can¡¯t blame Bruce¡¯s mistrust on him, at least.¡± The man on the right finally spoke.


    ¡°Shut up, Devin. I already told you I was hacked! That had nothing to do with my personal tastes or desires.¡± Craig scowled at his partner, but Devin just gave him a knowing look and said nothing.


    While it would be fun to sit here and listen to Craig unleash his rage on me for the whole ten minutes that I have, I need to tell them about my offer. Judgment, if you wouldn¡¯t mind, can you loop the camera feed from the last thirty seconds?


    ¡°Of course, Master. Just tell me when you would like me to release it.¡±


    Thanks. ¡°Well, if you two are done digging around in your own asses¡­¡± They both turned to me, Devin looking surprised, and Craig seemingly annoyed.


    ¡°I would like to extend an offer to you, to get you both out of this current demotion that you are in.¡± Devin raised a skeptical eyebrow, but Craig ate it up.


    ¡°Ha! I knew the boy would come through for us! So, what did you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°Craig, you barely know him, and even worse, he barely knows us. He probably doesn¡¯t know anything practical about out military careers, just the fact that we were demoted to guard duty within the palace.¡± Devin said.


    ¡°Can it Craig! Should you even be speaking about that sort of thing before even hearing the boy out?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a surprisingly sound argument coming from you.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Alright, young lord. What would you require of us?¡±


    I regarded Devin, obviously the more cautious and realist between the two hulking guards. He met my gaze, and did not back down. A small smirk found its way onto my face as I began to speak.


    ¡°Right now, well, in a few hours, I guess, I will be heading off to Asia.¡± Devin¡¯s eyebrows raised, but he said nothing, allowing me to continue. ¡°I don¡¯t know when I will be returning, but since my life is intrinsically bound to the Metron Kingdom now that I have become a Paladin, I would like to keep eyes here just in case something goes horribly awry.¡±


    ¡°You want us to be spies?¡± Craig asked incredulously. I thought for a moment. ¡°Well¡­ technically you could put it that way. It''s more of being watchful eyes that keep me up to date on the kingdom, its politics, and the relation between the nobility and the commoners. You¡¯re essentially spying for your own country. Plus, you wouldn¡¯t have to be on gate duty all day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in!¡± Craig burst out, and Devin slapped him upside the back of his head. ¡°Starlords asscrack Devin! What was that for!?¡±


    ¡°Idiot. You haven¡¯t even heard the terms or conditions¡­ sorry, what¡¯s your name again?¡±


    ¡°Oh. I¡¯m Joshua Cole. Nice to meet you properly.¡±


    ¡°Likewise. As I was saying, you haven¡¯t even heard what his terms are. For all we know we could end up as mindless slaves.¡±


    I almost laughed at that one, but remembering the cyber-steins and the threat of brain jackers, I could see that his concerns were actually grounded in Ethia¡¯s reality.


    ¡°Rest assured, it¡¯s nothing of the sort. I¡¯d like to add an AI widget to your Judgment panels. Through there, I can replay video of the things you view, as well as communicate with you in subspace without having the restriction of being in close proximity. It¡¯s through those means that I will give you missions, and we would discuss our next steps together.¡±


    Devin looked up in thought, and Craig barreled past him. ¡°Sign me up, chief! I¡¯m sick and tired of sitting on my ass all day, doing one of the most thoughtless jobs on the continent to boot. Do you need me to detach it, or can you install the technology remotely?¡±


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Remotely. Devin, I hate to break it to you, but I don''t have much time right now. You¡¯re either with me, or you should forget that this conversation happened.¡±


    ¡°Ah, screw it. I¡¯ll join. It¡¯ll sure beat listening to Craig complain all day.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off.¡±


    Judgment, install the software and make sure the drivers are updated. After that is finished, restore the cameras to their proper usage.


    ¡°Of course, Master. Commencing installation from the cloud.¡±


    Devin and Craig started to scream, and writhe about in agony on the floor. ¡°Oh, so that was a side effect, huh? Oh well. I¡¯ll talk to you boys later.¡±


    And with that, I rushed inside the castle, leaving the two guards to deal with the problem themselves.


    ---


    ¡°Good to see you¡¯ve finally made it.¡± Princess Reya¡¯s mother was not in a good mood. And why would she be? She had told the newest Paladin of their kingdom to interrogate her youngest son, with the full implication that he be treated with more care than other prisoners may have.


    Unfortunately for her, that was where she miscalculated. The newest Paladin to join the upper echelons of Metronian nobility cared nothing for the subtleties and niceties that politics often required. No, he had, in fact, went as far as nearly paralyzing her son, and Reya¡¯s younger brother, just to obtain some information.


    Granted, it was information that would aid them in the fight against Eastern terrorists, but Reya digressed. Seeing her child¡¯s broken body being stretchered to the medical bay had caused some shift in the Queen¡¯s mentality, but it was too subtle for Reya to make it out entirely.


    And even then, it had been a rough week for Reya, herself. She had won the bet with her father, and had acquired the title of first in line for the throne, but without someone like Joshua by her side, she had no doubt that she would not hold on to that title for very long.


    She remembered angrily accusing Lucina of stealing her man, to which the bewitching beauty replied that he hadn¡¯t belonged to Reya in the first place, which made Reya quietly accept her loss on that one. Regardless, all her focus was now shifted onto the meeting at hand.


    The Queen was still acting like herself, just with a newfound sharpness in her gaze, a weight which was, save for some special circumstances, almost entirely absent from her usual demeanor.


    ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m guessing this isn¡¯t a simple check-up on the kids, huh?¡± Prince Raiden Metron, the oldest of Reya¡¯s siblings at twenty nine sighed in exasperation.


    A short, derisive laugh came from the woman sitting next to him. In her newly tailored military uniform, Princess Lucina Metron, age 26, met his gaze with one of her own. ¡°Please, ever since Joshua showed up, when has anything been ¡®simple¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Come now dear sister, when has Joshua ever been a problem for you? In fact, I recently acquired a certain piece of video that shows exactly how much you¡¯ve enjoyed him.¡± Princess Venus Metron, age 25, chuckled to herself.


    Lucina¡¯s face scrunched up in displeasure. ¡°Ugh, disgusting voyeur.¡±


    ¡°Shitty masochist.¡± Venus retorted.


    ¡°Sisters, please. While I¡¯m sure everyone would love to hear you two dig into each other a bit more, we have a meeting to get to.¡± Kuro, Princess Gina¡¯s younger twin and older than Reya at 21years old, intervened.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have said it better myself.¡± All eyes turned to the door of the council room and the lone figure that stood there: Joshua Cole. Alas, he was the bane of Reya¡¯s continued existence.


    He had helped her achieve what she believed impossible, and put her in line as the direct successor to the throne, but now that she was at the top of the mountain, he had abandoned her in search of another mountain to climb.


    The fool, if only he would¡¯ve fallen for her like he was supposed to, everything would have gone according to plan. She was a princess for Starlords sakes! Fallen were supposed to love princesses!


    ¡°Let us get this debriefing underway.¡± Joshua stood in front of the raised royalty, and snapped his fingers. In an instant, the whole room changed. The bright lights had been dimmed, and several of the chairs were now lowered to be at Joshua¡¯s eyeline.


    ¡°Please, inform us of what you have learned.¡± The queen spoke in measured tones, clearly not over what Joshua had done, but also not so emotionally unstable that she would let it compromise her working relationship with him.


    ¡°Of course, your majesty.¡± To Reya¡¯s ears, the esteemed title might as well have been the nastiest insult for all the venom that Joshua said it with. The queen¡¯s eye twitched, clearly annoyed by the paladin, but despite that she smirked.


    ¡°You¡¯re much more interesting than I thought you¡¯d be. Fallen tend to be more meek than you¡¯ve shown yourself to be.¡±


    Joshua shrugged. ¡°Not like I¡¯ve ever had the pleasure of meeting another. Regardless, we¡¯re getting sidetracked. I¡¯ve uploaded the relevant files to your family¡¯s encrypted cloud server. Please open the first file.¡±


    Reya, and she presumed the rest of her family did the same. The file opened to reveal a transcript of a conversation between Teramoto and another person.


    ¡°Is¡­ is this real?¡± The queen¡¯s gaze focused back from the AR transcript and onto Joshua.


    ¡°Absolutely. As you¡¯ve all read, Mr. Teramoto was in contact with an agent from Tengu, the largest Yakuza group in Japan right now. He was trafficking downloaded human consciousnesses from the Metron Kingdom citizens, and selling it to Tengu. On their orders, he conducted human experimentation, an act that was banned by Judgment when it started to control¡­ maybe that¡¯s too strong a word. When it started to regulate the world.¡±


    ¡°Japan?¡± Lucina asked, and Joshua snapped his fingers.


    ¡°Oh yeah, different names here. What did you call it again? Oh, that¡¯s right! Asahi.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ and?¡± The queen didn¡¯t look too impressed, causing Reya to nearly groan at her mother¡¯s ignorance. If only her mother would see how helpful Joshua would be to achieve a prosperous future for the kingdom, she would concede that mind-breaking Brice wasn¡¯t bad of a price to pay at all.


    Plus, he was kind of a prick.


    ¡°I am going to go there and eradicate the problem myself.¡± Queen Metron¡¯s jaw slackened at his declaration, and a bevy of confused looks were exchanged around the room.


    ¡°Excuse me, erase it yourself?¡± Gina shot Joshua an incredulous gaze, to which he only responded with a confident smirk.


    A smirk which fanned the flames of Reya¡¯s jealousy, yet simultaneously made her desire for the man that much stronger. He¡¯d make such a good piece once he finally matured¡­ ah, but she was getting ahead of herself. Sure, younger men were nice as well, but there was just something about some good, old fashioned, rugged facial hair that really completed the picture for her. Just imagining that on the paladin¡¯s face¡­


    ¡°So we are in agreement then?¡± Joshua spoke, and Reya, to her dismay, realized she must have missed the climax of the meeting.


    ¡°Yes, please make sure to take your¡­ supervisor with you.¡± The queen hesitated at the word, no doubt already knowing the true relationship between Lucina and Joshua already.


    ¡°Of course, I wasn¡¯t planning to leave without my belongings.¡± Reya¡¯s eyes shot to her sister, who shuddered but kept on a poker face. The queen just sighed, and motioned to adjourn the meeting.


    ¡°Then, without further ado, I conclude-¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Reya shouted, and all eyes in the room turned to her. Not realizing she had spoken that loudly, Reya sheepishly sat down before starting again.


    ¡°I would like to go as well.¡± Joshua looked shocked, but said nothing and allowed her to continue. ¡°As a princess, and first in line to the throne, I have a duty to my people to protect them from harm, even if I put myself in the way.¡±


    Reya grinned. She knew that Joshua had no right to refuse her, as his position wasn¡¯t higher than hers, he didn¡¯t have the necessary political power to do so.


    Reya waited, but was just met with a shaking head from Joshua. Looking around, she saw several of her brothers and sisters trying to hold back their laughter, and she pleadingly looked to her mother for answers.


    The queen sighed, and shook her head as well. ¡°Joshua just said that he was surprised that you didn¡¯t try to force your way onto the mission, and thirty seconds later you do just that.¡±


    Reya¡¯s cheeks lit up crimson, and the queen officially adjourned the meeting. ¡°By the way, where''s the king?¡± Joshua asked.


    The queen looked shocked he would ask about King Metron, but she responded kindly. ¡°Oh, he had a meeting with the King of Leones. Something about setting up the time and location for the next war games.¡±


    ¡°Leones¡­ ah, Europe.¡± Joshua muttered. Reya was about to ask what in the Starlord¡¯s seven hells a europe was, but she was forced to sit and partake in a separate debriefing about the mission that Joshua was planning.


    ---


    After going over the general plan, Reya, Lucina, and I made our way to the top of the castle and onto the private airpad, where a sleek, eight winged plane was sitting.


    ¡°Do you find the Skyquake fascinating?¡± Lucina asked after they boarded the vehicle. Lucina was sitting immediately to my right, while Reya was across the aisle, asleep on my left. She pressed a button, and a small hologram machine came up from the ground in front of us.


    ¡°Only royal families have access to the machines, and they travel at the speed of sound. It¡¯ll take us to Tokyo in about 8 and a half hours. In the meantime, you can look at shots of the city to familiarize yourself with the changes from this world in your own.¡±


    I nodded, and clicked a button on the podium to view the first picture, but froze upon seeing the image.


    Seemingly able to intuit my issue with it, Lucina pointed to the hologram. ¡°See that dome there? That mass of human technology spans the entirety of the country of Asahi- the one you called Japan. Welcome to the Aegis of the East.¡±

 Chapter 13: Tales of the Underground

    I¡¯ve been feeling much more lethargic in the past 24 hours. Does it have anything to do with the drugs?


    ¡°I believe you mean the lack of drugs, Master.¡± Judgment replied, in the same deadpan, monotone voice I had come to expect of it in the past few weeks.


    Turning to my right, I looked at Lucina¡¯s perfect face. She had fallen asleep almost an hour after we left, and she lay on me for the duration of the flight. I hadn¡¯t realized how much I wanted to have someone like her in my life.


    How much I wanted to feel her weight on my own, a constant reaffirmation that she was real, and we had a connection.


    And holy shit am I really thinking about these things? Judgment, what the fuck was in the stuff that I was on? Was the world always this¡­ disgustingly romantic?


    ¡°You are only coming to grips with processing your emotions regularly. You¡¯d been on old world anti-depressants for nearly a month, so while the benefit of them is that they are quick to leave the body system, the downside is that very same thing.¡±


    ¡°As such, you will probably be bombarded with such emotions until you can learn to control them yourself. If I may remind you, Master, the emotions returning to you will not only be positive, but some negative emotions as well.¡±


    Fuck me. How do normal people in this world process this shit. I looked to my left at Reya, who was doing some work inside her own AR settings. She noticed my gaze, and turned to give me a salacious smile.


    ¡°So, how was my sister?¡± I looked at her in shock, and her smile grew even wider. ¡°Please, it¡¯s an open secret in the palace that you and Lucina are an item. I¡¯m just curious as to what you two are up to in bed.¡±


    I turned my head to look at Lucina, then back at Reya. Oh well, what¡¯s the harm in saying anything. Not like Lucina¡¯s nature is a secret to her family.


    ¡°Nothing much.¡± I looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Just some traditional Master and Slave play, but I¡¯ve been thinking of doing something that Lucina might want to try recently, but I¡¯m not sure how to go about it.¡±


    I looked back at the princess and my eyes widened as she was trying to hide her reddening face from me. What the hell is she getting embarrassed for? She¡¯s the one who asked.


    ¡°Master, I believe she was looking to tease you, and perhaps get a rise out of you rather than expecting to have a genuine conversation.¡± I sighed and shook my head. She should start figuring out what she likes sooner rather than later. That¡¯s what my aunt used to tell me, anyway.


    ¡°Joshua¡­ would you consider me as a lover?¡± And here it comes again.


    ¡°No. We¡¯ve been over this before. We just are too different for us to get into that kind of relationship. Friends¡­ still a slight possibility. But lovers? Never.¡±


    Reya¡¯s cheeks puffed out indignantly. ¡°We don¡¯t even have to be real lovers! You can fuck whoever you damn well please, I just need you to be by my side on the throne! You can own my rights, sell me out like some cheap whore, even take control of all my assets. I just need you to be the king. You¡¯re the best person for the job, and-¡±


    Lucina started to stir as our Aircraft started to descend. The awoken princess smiled at me, and nuzzled closer to me. Breathing out deeply, I sent Reya a voice message. ¡°Whatever you were thinking of finishing that thought with, please put more care towards your own happiness before you take care of that of your country¡¯s.¡±


    She gave me a frown, but said nothing more as the jet touched down on the landing pad of a massive building. We exited the building, and the first part of the Luong Empire that hit me was the smell. The entire air space above the city smelled of sanitation, like a doctor¡¯s office back on earth. The next thing I experienced was the sight. Towers, towers everywhere. The place looked like New York on hulk-level steroids. I didn¡¯t see a single space in the open skyline that wasn¡¯t occupied by a tower.


    Hundreds, maybe thousands of flying vehicles littered the sky. I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s how we get around locally, since there¡¯s no sidewalk, or even visible ground for that matter. Is this really all in a dome?


    ¡°Yes, Master. The dome itself disperses force along it¡¯s surface area, and is the perfect barrier against missile strikes. Or, at least, that is what is presented to the public. In truth, it¡¯s just a shield against the prying eyes of other nations, and a countermeasure against surveillance. Albeit with a convenient side effect." Huh.


    ¡°Where are you two ladies headed? ¡± An asian man decked out in a black tuxedo, light blue undershirt, and a dark blue tie asked Lucina with a bow. His gaze then turned to me. ¡°Oh¡­ and I suppose I should ask if you¡¯re bringing your pet along.¡±


    We had just departed the Skyquake aircraft, and as soon as we had, the man had appeared in front of us. Like Lucina, I was no longer wearing what I had been in the Metron Kingdom. My entire outfit had been left on the plane in favor of a new Gunmetal grey bodysuit, with black polycarbonate armor on my chest, shins, arms, and waist.


    My mask had been replaced with one that only covered the bottom half of my face, and not wanting to let the chance of making a cultural impact go to waste, I asked that it be stylized into a demon¡¯s mouth.


    I was against wearing a mask at first, but Lucina thought that it would be better for the country if only its royalty and a select handful of people knew my face. Since Emperor Goto wasn¡¯t in that camp, she made the executive decision to keep it that way.


    Lucina flashed him a condescending smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We came from the direction of the Metron Kingdom, and used the Metron Kingdom Embassy¡¯s private landing pad. Whoever could we be here to see? Do you have any clue, Joshua?¡±


    The servant was scowling openly at Lucina, and then scowled at me, although he couldn¡¯t see the smirk that had grown on my face. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I remember. Oh, maybe I have something attached to my Judgment ID that could help clear things up.¡±


    The man looked skeptical, and in addition Reya and Lucina both looked confused. Have they really forgotten about my meeting in the colosseum already?


    ¡°The human brain is a fickle thing, Master. Even should the princesses have noticed who it was you were talking to, since the Emperor didn¡¯t speak to them directly, their brains have far less reason to remember than yours.¡±


    That seems very unlike royalty.


    ¡°The human brain is a fickle thing.¡± Judgment repeated, and I mentally agreed with the AI. I made several movements with my hands, working the AR screen in front of me to materialize an incorporeal floating image in front of the man. His face visibly paled upon seeing the family crest of Emperor Goto.


    Reya looked as if she remembered where I had got it from, and Lucina¡¯s eyes widened almost as large as the servant¡¯s. Now ignoring Lucina and Reya entirely, the servant answered to me first.


    ¡°I am terribly sorry for the behavior this lowly servant has shown you! I will go fetch the palanquin, please wait here a moment.¡±


    While the servant scurried off, Lucina turned to stare at me, and in turn, I looked away from her and towards Reya. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Reya? You¡¯ve been awfully quiet since we arrived.¡±


    The princess twirled her hair in thought, and opened her mouth to speak when she was interrupted by Lucina.


    ¡°Ah, I can answer that.¡± Lucina spoke. ¡°Reya is someone who is confident and acts like herself only when she¡¯s in her home. Outside of that, she¡¯s far more cautious, and far more calculating.¡±


    I tilted my head and looked back to Reya, who shrugged. ¡°But you were fine when we were walking outside of Redfield Palace. What changed between then and now?¡±


    ¡°Master, I believe that says more about what Reya perceives as her home than anything else.¡±


    She sees the entire Kingdom as her home? How conceited and self-assured is this princess. How ridiculous.


    ¡°Nevermind.¡± I said to Reya publicly. Turning to Lucina, I sent her a voice message through Judgment, ¡°So, besides visiting the Emperor, did you have anything else to do?¡±


    Lucina tapped her foot as she thought long and hard about it. Finally, she sent, ¡°Well, first, we need to find out who our opponent is. Emperor Goto will have quite a bit of information for us on that front, so there¡¯s no real need to plan yet.¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    She finished speaking, but was fidgeting quite a bit, so I felt required to ask, ¡°Is there anything else on your mind, Lucina?¡±


    Instead of answering me directly, she sent me a message through Judgment. A message that I visibly wilted at when reading. ¡°There¡¯s this club I want to try out. I mean, it¡¯s in a really high-class part of Shin Tokyo, in the aristocracy district, and I¡¯ve never had a date to go there with before, so-¡±


    I stopped reading the ramblings of the mad woman, and decided to focus on the servant, who had come back. ¡°The palanquin is ready, sir. Will it be just you going to the palace, or will your dates be coming with you as well?¡±


    Disgusting. Just because he found out that I have enough influence to meet with the emperor, he changes his tune so simply. First I was a pet, and then the moment I showed him something with no substance, no value other than it¡¯s design, I became a ¡®sir.¡¯


    ¡°Although you do like it when people call you ¡®sir¡¯, don¡¯t you, Master?¡± Not the time or place, Judgment.


    ¡°Yes, I would love if you could provide some food as well. Our flight was quite long. I¡¯ll even put in a good word for you, Mister¡­¡± I looked at the servant for the first time. He had an ovular face, and striking brown eyes. His skin was a healthy brown, and his height was a bit smaller than mine, probably about 5¡¯11¡±. He had dyed red hair, almost orange¡­ or maybe it was genetically made that way, with improbably spiking protruding in all directions.


    ¡°Akito!¡± He spoke his name. The servant¡¯s eyes were practically shining. ¡°Please, step into the vehicle, I will be right with you. Any preferences?¡±


    I looked to the princesses, both of whom were practically salivating at the prospect of a meal. ¡°I¡¯ve heard good things about the farm-grown Kujira.¡± Lucina eventually said.


    ¡°Oh, but the Iruka is apparently to die for!¡± Reya exclaimed, apparently having regained some of her former vigor.


    ¡°Right away, Madams.¡± The servant took off, and the three of us shuffled towards the hovercar. The exterior was a metallic crimson red, very sleek, and with many curved surfaces. One such place was the hood of the car, which sloped down and came to a point flush with the propulsion covers.


    The interior reminded me of the inside of a luxury limousine. Although, I guess all limousine¡¯s were luxurious. There was a blacked out glass panel in between the driver¡¯s seat and the back of the vehicle, which was spacious. It had an ovular table that was connected to the floor, and a mini refrigerator under each chair.


    Once inside the spacious vehicle, I turned my gaze to Lucina. ¡°Please excuse me if I¡¯m being an idiot, but what are Iruka and Kujira?¡±


    She looked at me like I was an idiot, but then her gaze immediately softened. ¡°I keep forgetting that you aren¡¯t from Ethia. Then again, they do translate into words found in your world. Iruka means dolphin, and Kujira means whale.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s illegal, isn¡¯t it?¡± I recoiled, and Lucina scoffed.


    ¡°Maybe in your world, but not here. They¡¯re rare, farm grown delicacies, each only available to those with means and power.¡± She smirked, the reaction irking me a bit.


    ¡°Ah, so like Kobe Beef?¡± Lucina¡¯s eyebrows raised, and she let out an exhausted sigh.


    ¡°How do you know about that delicacy, but not the other two. You¡¯re a curious person, Mr. Cole.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to break the mystique by telling her that Kobe beef was a delicacy in both worlds, so I kept quiet. Soon, the servant came back with two bento boxes, one with whale for Lucina, and the other with dolphin for Reya.


    Reya started digging into hers, and wore the happiest and most genuine smile I had seen her with in the month that I had been there. Huh, a foodie, I guess.


    ¡°Would you like to stop anywhere besides the palace, sir?¡± The servant asked after a while. I thought about it, and Lucina looked at me pleadingly, obviously alluding to her earlier message.


    Sighing, I responded, ¡°Not before then, no, but would you be available to drive us after our visit with the Emperor concludes?¡±


    The driver¡¯s eyes widened, and a goofy grin appeared on his face. ¡°Of course, sir! You need only request my driver ID, which your Judgment Panel can copy on the drink menu on top of the table. Anything else you may require?¡±


    ¡°None, thank you for your help, Akito.¡± The man nodded, a grin still present on his face, and turned back to the road. Or rather, what would have been the road. We were currently flying through the air at a breakneck speed.


    Looking around, I saw a maelstrom of cars doing the same, and decided to close the window to the driver¡¯s seat. I turned towards the girls as they were eating and asked, ¡°How the hell do all these cars not fly into each other?¡±


    Reya looked at me curiously. ¡°What¡¯s a car?¡± Fuck my life, could she not figure out from the context alone-


    ¡°If you mean the palanquin,¡± Lucina spoke, ¡°or by extension the kuurumas, then they have a guiding system that takes them on more than three hundred designated air paths. In fact, our driver isn¡¯t really driving, but just directing which air path the palanquin will take.¡±


    What a strange world.


    ¡°Forget about that though, would you like to try some whale?¡± She held out a piece of the fried mammal with ornate chopsticks, and I had to think for a moment.


    On one hand, it is unethical¡­ but at the same time, I¡¯ll probably never have a chance at eating it if I ever go back to America.


    My mind stalled as I thought about what I shouldn¡¯t have, opening a wave of depression stemming from never being able to see my mother again, and the pain she must be feeling now.


    Despite how many times we butted heads, she was my best friend, and was always there for me to lean a shoulder on when I needed it.


    My heart tightened, and I grabbed the whale meat from Lucina¡¯s chopsticks with my bare hands, voraciously eating the meat to distract myself from those thoughts.


    Our hour long ride passed in relative silence after that, and we finally departed the palanquin, Akito waving us goodbye as he flew away. On top of the roof of the massive building, I took stock of the area around us. Is this really the palace, Judgment?


    ¡°Yes, Master, it is called the Steel Palace.¡±


    But it¡¯s¡­ the same as every other fucking building here! On the way over, I couldn¡¯t distinguish between buildings, but now I was even more confused. It just looks like a god damned business building I¡¯d see in the financial district in America!


    ¡°Yes, Master. Having combed your memories I am well aware of the point of reference. However, what distinguishes these buildings is not what¡¯s above ground, but rather, what is under it.¡±


    I waited for a further explanation, but when none came, I merely sighed and started to explore the roof, figuring that all would be explained in due time.


    There was only one fixture on the roof, and that was an elevator. We stepped towards the box for the elevator together, and a woman dressed in a red kimono with a white cherry blossom pattern stepped out of said box.


    It was hard not to look the sensual woman up and down. Her ovular face curved into a perfect chin, and her rose-red lipstick stuck out against the paleness of her skin. A beauty mark lay underneath her left eye, and her long lashes drew one¡¯s gaze toward her sky-blue irises. Her hair was on the shorter side, and came to a stop three quarters of the way down her ear. I couldn¡¯t tell her proportions from underneath the kimono, but her legs were long. They came to an end in rope sandals. ¡°They¡¯re called ¡®waraji,¡¯ Master.¡± I did my best to ignore Judgment as the woman bowed to us.


    ¡°Greetings, Faceless Demon.¡± She then turned to Lucina to my right and Reya to my left. ¡°It has been a while, Lucy. Is this one Reya then? My, how you¡¯ve grown!¡±


    ¡°Akahime! Wow, it''s been so long!¡± Reya lunged at Akahime, who steadily caught the Metronian princess in her arms.


    ¡°Come now, I told you to call me Akahime Nee-san, didn¡¯t I?¡± Reya blushed and looked away timidly.


    ¡°But it feels like cultural appropriation¡­ and the others will definitely make fun of me for it.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense.¡± Akahime scoffed, pinching Reya¡¯s nose. ¡°It¡¯s only cultural appropriation if it¡¯s harming the culture. You¡¯re just keeping it alive in a different way. Plus, who cares about the people that will make fun of you. You shouldn¡¯t give the time of day to anyone who laughs at another¡¯s interest in culture.¡±


    Reya smiled and rubbed her head against Akahime, who smiled. I turned to Lucina and saw a strained smile on her face.


    ¡°Come on.¡± Lucina said, walking towards the elevator door. ¡°We have some business with your father. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware.¡±


    Akahime flashed a playful grin and practically peeled Reya off of her, following Lucina into the shaft. ¡°Certainly. From what I understand, father only desires to speak to the demon. You can both come to my room and¡­ discuss where you found your latest toy.¡±


    Once we were all in the elevator, it started to descend at a rapid rate, and even though I could feel the g-forces on my body, the ride felt relatively sturdy. We rode in silence, but from the occasional prodding and elbowing going on between Akahime and Lucina, I could only guess that they were exchanging private messages.


    Stepping out of the elevator, a servant came to lead me down a hallway, whilst Akahime took the two princesses to her room. Is this the same building, Judgment?


    ¡°Yes, Master. You are coming to a window soon, I propose that you take stock of your location.¡±


    Like she said, I saw natural light leaking in from the window, and walked towards it. I nearly lost my breath at the sight below me. There was an entire city underground, and not only that, on the ceiling of the gargantuan cavern were multiple buildings hanging upside down, in all shapes and sizes.


    Judgment, where am I? ¡°You are in the underground city of Chichu, Master. The city on the cavern¡¯s floor is Chika, and we just came from Chijyo. Chichu is the aristocracy¡¯s portion, Chijyo is the middle class, and Chika is the equivalent of the slums. Let me send you an image of the Steel Palace from it¡¯s Chichu side.¡±


    I received the image, and nearly lost my breath again. I was in a seven storied golden pagoda that pointed straight downwards with it¡¯s base being connected to the cave¡¯s ceiling, and the tip pointing towards Chika.


    ¡°Excuse me sir, the Emperor is on a tight schedule today.¡± I took that as my queue to stop gawking, and followed the servant to a red door adorned with gold dragons. The Servant opened it, and stepped aside.


    ¡°Gotoshi, it¡¯s been a while.¡± The emperor turned to me, and I noticed that his throne room looked more like the office of a CEO. Even his regal garb was that of an elaborately decorated business suit.


    ¡°That¡¯s Emperor Hoshizora while we¡¯re speaking business. So how about it, have you decided to work for me, youngling?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I am a Paladin in the Metron Kingdom at the moment, and can¡¯t accept your request. I have come to speak with you about a person who was selling state secrets to the yakuza, and want a situation report on the gang activity in the area, if that is doable.¡±


    Gotoshi sighed and put down his papers on the desk in front of his throne. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s less than satisfactory.¡± Gotoshi mumbled, looking at the ceiling and taking a deep breath. Then he looked back at me. ¡°How about this? For your undying loyalty to the Luong Empire, I¡¯ll give you one of my daughters. Sounds like an even trade, right?¡±

 Chapter 14: The Who and Why

    ¡°No, that¡¯s an awful deal.¡± My response caused Emperor Goto to sigh again, and he picked up a new set of papers to go through.


    ¡°Eh, it was worth a shot. If one of them does fancy you though, just know that I am the type of person who gives my daughters anything they ask for.¡±


    A chill went up my spine at the look he gave me, but I nodded. ¡°No offense, but if I was that easy to get to, I wouldn¡¯t be sitting on the upper echelon of the Metron Kingdom¡¯s hierarchy.¡±


    Emperor Goto grinned and nodded in approval. ¡°That attitude is why you¡¯ll probably be popular in this country. Not to mention, popular with the aristocracy.¡±


    While the emperor was laughing at my discomfort, I waited in silence for another few minutes as he shuffled through his documents. Finally, he set down the stack and pushed a button on his desk. The desk made a loud clunking noise, and the entire thing started to rotate around Goto¡¯s chair.


    With a start, I realized that it was on a large, mechanical ring that encircled his throne, and when the desk was neatly hidden behind him, a staircase came into view.


    With a hiss and another clunk, the apparatus locked into place, and the stairs came to a full stop in front of Gotoshi¡¯s throne.


    ¡°Be careful, Master. The emperor is a very calculating man. There is no doubt that he already has several plans in place in order to get you to bend around his will.¡±


    Would you be able to hack him if I needed to make a quick escape?


    ¡°That seems¡­ impossible. His Judgment Panel isn¡¯t connected to the network. Judging by his IDs login history, he only logs into the system when a mass patch is released. Otherwise, he is completely devoid of any social functions that the system gives him access to.¡±


    In other words, he¡¯s a cautious asshole. Damn it, I hate it when I¡¯m not the only one of those. I wish I had the foresight to hack him when he sent me a friend request in the Metron Kingdom.


    Emperor Goto reached my side as I finished up my conversation with Judgment, and looked at me expectantly. ¡°Shall we go? I haven¡¯t eaten anything in six hours, and my favorite meal is on the menu for lunch today.¡±


    Nodding wordlessly, I followed the massive man as he led the way. For the first time, I truly studied his face. His hair was shaved down in a buzz cut, but he had a lush salt-and-pepper goatee to make up for the lack of hair on top. His face was the same ovular shape as his daughter¡¯s, and his eyes were a stark forest green. A steel stud was pierced through his right ear, and a thick, pale scar ran from the top of his right eyebrow, down and across his nose to end on his left cheek.


    ¡°Here we are.¡± Gotoshi stopped at a large class door, and a guard standing to the right of it placed his hand on a scanner, opening the entrance.


    As soon as we stepped inside, a flurry of scents assaulted my nose. None of which were bad, but the complexity to each scent was very overwhelming.


    ¡°Please, make yourself at home.¡± Gotoshi said, pointing to a table in the center of the massive room. Despite its exterior, the interior of the mess hall looked like that of an ordinary school cafeteria.


    I even turned off my AR function to make sure it wasn¡¯t all an elaborate hoax, and that I wasn¡¯t currently in some mad butcher¡¯s slaughterhouse, but the room looked the same in both visions.


    I sat down at the round table, and my constant glances across the room gave Gotoshi a smile. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wondering about this room, but rest assured. It does serve proper food. I just chose to have the room remodeled this way after I took the throne from the previous king. It reminds me of my school days. Admittedly, it was a much simpler time in my life, and having the room look this way calms my nerves.¡±


    I nodded, but said nothing as he explained himself. He also took a seat at the table, and I was about to question whether we were truly going to eat when Lucina, Reya, and Akahime all came into the room.


    In contrast to Reya¡¯s look of pure happiness, Lucina had a slight scowl on her face, while Akahime¡¯s smirk told me what had probably happened while they had been alone.


    The three sat down, Reya and Lucina on either side of me, while Akahime sat next to her father. I leaned closer to Lucina after Goto got up to fetch us menus, but found it curious that Akahime¡¯s eyes were still locked onto me.


    ¡°What happened?¡± I sent through a voice message. Lucina let out a sigh, something I had never, if rarely, seen the accomplished princess do.


    ¡°She happened. She was relentless in her pursuit of information on you. Do you remember meeting her at all?¡± She sent a message back to me.


    I looked across the table at Akahime, who sent me a dazzling smile. I narrowed my eyes and turned back to look at Lucina.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°No¡­ not that I can remember, anyway. Does she always look at men as if she¡¯s evaluating the marbling on a steak?¡±


    Lucina let out a puff of air trying to suppress her laugh. ¡°You should remember her, she was at Gazix¡¯s execution that day. She¡¯s the reason Emperor Goto decided to speak to you in the first place.¡±


    A chill went down my spine as I realized that Gotoshi¡¯s words to me earlier hadn¡¯t been a forewarning of what could happen, but what was already in effect. Shit.


    Emperor Goto brought us menus, and after choosing from a litany of Japanese dishes, my choice being tuna sashimi, we began the true discussion.


    ¡°So, out with it, boy. What do you wish to know?¡± Goto had changed out of his business suit, and was now wearing a kimono similar to akahime¡¯s but instead of red with a white cherry blossom pattern, the base color was black, with embroidered golden dragons on it.


    ¡°I wish to discuss the object of our current predicament, and which Yakuza group he belongs to. May I send you a message?¡± If he takes the bait, I want you to-


    ¡°No, my daughter will take it. Acchan.¡± Akahime grimaced and punched her father in the arm. Hard.


    ¡°I told you to stop calling me that, dad.¡± She was met with the emperor¡¯s pouting face, and sighed. ¡°Fine, at least not in front of the guests.¡±


    Judgement, be ready to plant a virus inside her. I want to be able to hack her device on command.


    ¡°As you wish, Master.¡±


    A smile returned to Gotoshi¡¯s face as a friend request from Akahime popped up in my AR vision. ¡°Bleeding Princess Akahime?¡± I couldn''t stop the words from coming out of my mouth, and Goto sighed.


    Akahime, on the other hand, looked at me with curiosity and a blush on her face. ¡°Who are you, and why do you have access to a higher level of security clearance than I do?¡±


    Wouldn¡¯t you like to know.


    ¡°Being quite childish, aren¡¯t you, Master?¡± Judgment scolded me, and I mentally chided myself as well.


    I know. I¡¯m not used to processing my own anxiety just yet. I¡¯ll just refrain from voicing any thoughts for now.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough, if the feeling I have is anything to go by.¡± I accepted her request and sent her the files. She looked over them in silence, while our food arrived.


    I had just started mixing wasabi into my soy sauce when Akahime leaned forward in her chair. ¡°Alright, the processing is all set. This ¡®Teramoto¡¯ is a member of Dry Wind, a subdivision of the Tengu group of Yakuza. They have several hideouts down in Chika. As it turns out-"


    ¡°This is delicious. Do you want a piece?¡± Reya was holding a fried squid tentacle towards me with a set of chopsticks, and caused every member at the table to look at her.


    ¡°Kuuki Yomanai.¡± Akahime muttered under her breath, and receiving the implied message, Reya shied away, the foodie chewing on her squid all the while.


    ¡°Do they have any connections to other gangs that we should be wary of?¡± Trying to steer the conversation back towards something productive, I took another bite out of the sashimi.


    ¡°No, they¡¯re actually relatively disliked by all other gangs, but the Tengu have so much influence that no one can do anything about it. In fact, it¡¯s actually for the greater good of Shin Tokyo if you end up getting rid of them. The Imperials shall offer you their full support.¡±


    I closed my eyes in thought, and when I had decided that asking the question on my mind wouldn¡¯t get me crucified, I asked, ¡°What kind of support?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you will receive imperial backing and be exempt from any laws, so long as you don¡¯t egregiously break them, or harm the Emperor¡¯s family in doing so.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ that seems pretty one-sided. What does your family get out of it?¡± Akahime smiled at me, only this time it was less pleasure, more business.


    ¡°Of course, I will be with you at all times. I need to inform my father of when shit hits the fan, or potentially hits the fan. From the palace, he can order an evacuation of the sector.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t that just alert the yakuza to the fact that we¡¯re going to them?¡± Reya asked, surprising me in a different way this time. If only she was always this capable.


    Emperor Goto was the one to speak this time. ¡°Surprisingly, when you try to kill a mouse, what does it do? Run back to it¡¯s hole for safety. Leading you right back to the source of the problem.¡±


    ¡°You want us to weed them out?¡± I asked incredulously. The emperor shrugged and pointed under me, and for the first time, I realized we were eating lunch on a glass floor above the city of Chika, what must have been miles above it.


    ¡°I want that city to become safe. I want Tengu gone. I can tolerate some crime, as it does stimulate the economy, but Tengu has a monopoly right now, and monopolies are dangerous for business. They stagnate the growth of cities.¡±


    Waiting until my eyes were back on his face, Gotoshi continued, ¡°Chika is stagnant right now, and because we can¡¯t figure out how to remove this problem from the city, its citizens continue to lose trust in me, and by extension, the government. I will spare no expense in order to regain my lost honor. Can I count on your help?¡±


    I turned to Lucina, but found her gaze on me, waiting for my response. Annoyed, I sent her a quick message. ¡°God damn it woman, you¡¯re supposed to be my superior.¡±


    The Metronian princess smirked and pinched my thigh. The pain was excruciating, but I controlled my facial expressions perfectly. When she let go, I sent her a simple, ¡°Ow.¡±


    Her smirk grew into a full on smile and she turned to the Emperor. ¡°You can count on the assistance of the Metron Kingdom. We shall begin the initial planning stages tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow?¡± Akahime asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s only noon right now. We have plenty of time to let you rest for a few hours and then head to the war room in order to plan. Is that not acceptable to you?¡±


    Akahime stared at Lucina, she just turned her gaze to me, and sent me a message. I sent her one back, and her face scrunched up before turning back to Akahime. ¡°Well, the thing is, we have plans tonight.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I guess I should contact¡­ what was his name?¡±


    ¡°Akito, right?¡± Reya answered.


    ¡°Yeah him. We¡¯re going to need a ride from this place. Oh, and Lucina, what was the name of the club again?¡±

 Chapter 15: I Swear, Clubbing Was Never My Thing

    I stood in front of the aboveground entrance to the Steel Palace. I got a nice view of the Chijyo skyline, which was just starting to dim. Of course, I couldn''t see the moon at all due to the smog, but the light was noticeably darker.


    ¡°Are you enjoying the view, Master? My information banks tell me that humans enjoy looking out at distant objects, if only for the sake of doing the action itself.¡±


    I shook my head. Not so much enjoying the view as I am enjoying my clothes. I think it¡¯s been a full month since I¡¯ve worn anything ¡®normal.¡¯


    After eating lunch and deciding on the club, ¡®Chain Link,¡¯ the girls returned to Akahime¡¯s room to get ready, while Gotoshi took me aside to his personal ¡®closet.¡¯


    Even though his closet was bigger than my dorm room back in college¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t lie to yourself, Master. Despite you indicating feelings of jealousy towards Emperor Gotoshi, my scanners indicate that you enjoyed exploring the closet.¡±


    Shut up. I commanded the AI, but I couldn¡¯t deny that it was correct. After having spent more time than I would have liked to admit in a full, skin tight bodysuit, wearing a normal set of black dress pants, a black vest with the imperial insignia sewn into the inside of it, and a pale purple dress shirt felt like heaven.


    Despite Gotoshi¡¯s attempts at seeing my face, I kept my mask on, and adorned a pair of aviators to complete the look. Several of the maids had gawked at me as I headed from Gotoshi¡¯s room to the elevator, a sign that I had done a good job, and that my fashion sense worked in Ethia at least.


    ¡°Well, doesn¡¯t someone look good.¡± I turned behind me and saw the three girls, two princesses and one imperial scion. Reya was wearing some black ripped jeans, black heels, a sky blue loose-fitting tank top, and an assortment of jewelry on her. ¡°Wow, you clean up better than I thought you would. It was definitely the Emperor¡¯s doing, wasn¡¯t it?¡± She flashed a perfect smile at me, brushing her brown hair out of her face, and staring at me with her purple eyes.


    I ignored the youngest Metron daughter¡¯s comment and turned my gaze towards Lucina. I had to hand it to the woman, she knew how to really tug at my sadistic side. The thing that drew my gaze first was the collar around her pale neck. It was a dark blue, and I could see the sheen of well cared for leather. The way her lustrous black hair draped around it, as well as how it framed her face left me practically speechless. Of course, the rest of her body left nothing to be desired. Her torso was wrapped in a bondage harness, one that connected to her collar and she wore over a v-neck corset, accentuating her already impressive bust. She wore black latex pants that handles her other curves quite well, and stopped just before her ankles. On her feet were a gorgeous pair of combat boots that capped off the look of subservience.


    ¡°Please, leer at her a little more. I don¡¯t think she felt you assaulting her with your gaze at all.¡± Akahime jokingly said from behind Lucina, but that drew a small blush onto the otherwise stone-faced princess.


    Fucking focus. I forced myself to look away from Lucina¡¯s alluring body, and turned my attention to the last member of our group for the evening: Akahime Hoshizora. She was wearing a matching outfit with Lucina. The differences being the colors and the overall look of her body. Whereas Lucina had an hourglass body type, Akahime had more of a pear shaped one. That wasn¡¯t to say that she had small breasts, because she didn¡¯t, she just had more in the back than in the front. Her collar was crimson red, and her harness matched over a black corset. Her pants were red leather, and she wore black pumps in her outfit.


    I gave her a once over and turned my head to face Lucina. ¡°Lucina, you didn¡¯t actually¡­¡± The Metronian princess avoided my eyes but did not lose her poker face, and Akahime stepped in front of her with a grin. Why do fetishists always attract more fetishists?


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be the cause of that in the first place, Master? Had you not been so in need of sexual relief after you left the palace, you would never have attracted the attention of Lucina Metron.¡±


    I didn¡¯t say I hated the attention, Judgment, it¡¯s just the fact that I think my bed will have a plus one tonight, and I¡¯m not sure if I can handle that much libido on my own.


    ¡°Not even going to comment on my outfit? You sure do play hard to get, Mr. Cole.¡± Akahime pouted, though whether it was real or an elaborate play was up to chance at this point.


    I expected a retort from Judgment, but to my pleasure, I found that there was silence in my head as the palanquin from before landed on the roof of the Steel Palace. Akito the chauffeur parked on the rooftop landing pad and began to get out of the car.


    ¡°Thank you once again for using my service, Sir.¡± He bowed to me, and then, upon standing back up and realizing he was in front of the soon-to-be-Empress, his face paled.


    First looking at me and the women around me, Akito made a quick connection. ¡°L-L-L-Lady Hoshizora! I am honored to be in charge of your transportation tonight!¡± He bowed deep and respectfully, earning him a smile with the imperial.


    Akahime laughed at the man, and returned the bow. ¡°The pleasure is mine. I just hope I can count on you to get us back home in one piece.¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Akito¡¯s chest swelled up with pride, and he bowed deeply once more. ¡°As long as it is your wish, my Lady. Where will you all be going tonight?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be going to Chain Link. How fast can you get us there?¡± I said, speaking up instead of Akahime. Instead of being upset, however, Akito gave me a look filled with reverence.


    ¡°Thirty minutes, Sir!¡± He replied, a grin on his face.


    Akahime seemed pretty stunned herself. ¡°That is pretty quick. I assume it¡¯s done legally?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Just old street smarts from when I was a- uh, on second thought, just take it that it¡¯s from my childhood.¡±


    I nodded, not too interested in Akito¡¯s backstory to ask more questions. ¡°Great, let¡¯s get a move on then.¡± Akito nodded at my order and opened the back doors of the palanquin for us.


    I let Reya slide in first, followed by Lucina, and was about to let Akahime go before she shoved me from behind, causing me to land in Lucina¡¯s lap. I took my face out of the startled princess¡¯s thighs, and turned around to glare at Akahime, who was smiling at me.


    ¡°We¡¯re set to go!¡± She called towards Akito, a grin still on her face.


    ¡°Yes, my Lady.¡± Akito grinned, and soon we were taking off. I might have still been pouting if Lucina wasn¡¯t draped over my right arm, and Akahime took my left, her right hand resting on my thigh.


    ¡°Scan complete Master. You were correct.¡±


    About what?


    ¡°A scan of Akahime Hoshizora¡¯s actions indicate that there is an 89% chance that she is trying to get you into a situation to perform intercourse.¡±


    ---


    ¡°Well, I guess I should¡¯ve guessed by the name, but¡­¡± As soon as we stepped out of the palanquin, Akito said he would wait in the chauffeur''s area, a small building with refreshments and entertainment for the drivers of the nobility.


    As I had just found out, Lucina had just taken me to a BDSM Club. ¡°Well, that explains the way you two are dressed, at least. Reya, you came along willingly?¡±


    The princess fidgeted and shrunk under my gaze. ¡°I was kind of curious. The only person I knew that was into this sort of thing before was my sister, and I thought she was a weirdo. But then you showed up, and now Aka¡­ Akahime Nee-san seems interested as well.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°While I appreciate you being gung-ho, this doesn¡¯t make us closer in terms of our earlier conversation.¡± Her cheeks puffed and she stormed off into the foyer of the club.


    I turned to the two women behind me, and Lucina shrugged. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine. My sister is nothing if not resourceful.¡±


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get in there. It¡¯s been so long since I actually enjoyed myself!¡± Akahime took my hand, a look which earned me a raised eyebrow from Lucina, and dragged me through a curtain and into the club.


    NO INTEREST, IN EXCELLENCE, IMPERFECT IS BEAUTIFUL!


    The first thing that caught my senses was the loud, yet melodic music resounding throughout the room. There were several cages, bars, polls, and even stocks which surrounded a massive dance floor, and looking around, each station was occupied by at least two or three people just going to town on each other.


    Another look over the room revealed the dress code to be either leather, lace, latex, or extremely formal. Sighing in relief that I hadn¡¯t managed to make a spectacle out of myself as I¡¯m sure Reya would, I only had a moment to think before Akahime pulled me down to the dance floor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s dance! If you impress me, you¡¯ll get a reward!¡± Akahime shouted over the music, and Lucina followed behind, already starting to tap her feet, bob her head, and gyrate to the music.


    Lying bitch. We both know she wants it. I don¡¯t know why she¡¯s pretending I need to impress her.


    ¡°Because she is the Empress-to-be, and she does, in fact, require you to impress the people around her in order for you to be socially accepted as someone of a higher class. Now dance. Each second you don¡¯t will decrease your probability of fornicating by 1.3%, and this research is imperative to the Judgment System as a whole.¡±


    What research? I followed Akahime further into the dance floor.


    ¡°I need to optimize the visual representation of the AI to match your preferred body type, of course.¡±


    I sighed, but the sound, as well as the emotion associated with it, was gone as I lost myself in the music.


    FLASH, FLASH, FLASH, THE SPARK OF ATTRACTION!


    SUSPICIOUS TOUCH, I CAN¡¯T GET ENOUGH OF ME, OH BABY!


    I was lost in the euphoria of just letting go, and having a moment where the world didn¡¯t matter. A moment that was all mine. Or at least, it was until Lucina stepped in front of me, and we started dancing together. Soon, Akahime came in from the side, and the three of us had the center of the dance floor all to ourselves.


    DANCE, DANCE, DANCE, SHE¡¯S A KALEIDOSCOPE!


    FLASH LIGHT BABY! FLASH LIGHT BABY, BABY!


    OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! OH! CLIMAX!


    I¡¯M DROWNING IN EUPHORIA!


    The clapping around us barely reached my ears as I steadied my breathing. I looked up to find Lucina doing the same, while Akahime watched with a glint in her eye.


    ¡°You¡¯re an impressive dancer. Where did you learn?¡±


    ¡°Self-taught.¡± I muttered as we walked off the dance floor. ¡°Dancing is just moving your body to the rhythm. When people think they¡¯re impressed by complicated dance moves, they¡¯re just confusing it with how impressed they are at a dancer¡¯s timing and precision with matching the music.¡±


    Akahime wore a wry smile and took my hand for the third time that night. ¡°I can¡¯t say I dislike someone with a brain, and better yet, a vocabulary. Come with me and Lucina. I know a place where the three of us can¡­ rest. Uninterrupted, and with plenty of tools, of course.¡±


    What was she- I nearly slapped myself. I had gotten so fixated on dancing that I had forgotten what Akahime was trying to do, and that it was on me to handle the coming strain without the numbness of antidepressants.


    ¡°God damn it.¡±


    Lucina cocked her head. ¡°Joshua, what¡¯s a god?¡±

 Chapter 16: In Which Lucina and Reya Contemplate Their Lives

    Lucina found the feeling of dancing to be liberating, despite the perverted looks that she got from many of the male, and a good portion of the female guests as well. Honestly, why had her mother decided to genetically enhance her body at birth to give her these proportions in adulthood? The very line of thought baffled Lucina.


    In the end, she had learned to use her body to her advantage. From a young age, Lucina had felt that her body was not truly her own, and more a product of what the crown, and by extension, what the people of the Metron Kingdom wanted.


    In what Lucina considered to be her greatest act of defiance, she got piercings, finally finding some semblance of self in a body that was essentially artificially created.


    While she no longer minded the looks as much as she had in her teenage years, she had taken to giving them a positive spin, just a confirmation of how attractive she was to other people. However, at the moment, gazes of strangers were the least of her problems.


    Lucina felt conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to ride the high of the dance she had shared with Joshua and Akahime, and carry that into the large bed that Akahime had no doubt prepared for them. On the other, she had been carrying this strange feeling in her chest since they had arrived in the Luong Empire.


    Initially, she had dismissed it as nothing more than poorly timed heartburn, and even going so far as taking medicine that Akahime had offered her. However, as the day progressed, and she didn¡¯t receive any relief from the medicine, she had a sinking suspicion it was something else.


    Something, far, far worse which could have derailed her entire future, and would cause a drastic change to her long term plans. Starlord¡¯s torn asshole, I think I¡¯m in love. Ha, in love, what a joke. I¡¯m just using him, as he is using me. Long term, will he be someone who can¡¯t live without my body, or my¡­ company? No, it¡¯s unnecessary for us to spend other time together, because¡­ Lucina felt her heart tighten at the thought, and clicked her tongue.


    It was an unwelcome realization for the Metronian Princess, who had lived her short life being very much self-absorbed. Having such a temperament had served her well, allowing her to make difficult and life-altering decisions easily. Ones that other people would have difficulty making.


    Unfortunately, Lucina could only contemplate these feelings for so long before the song ended and Akahime grabbed Joshua¡¯s hand, dragging him away from the crowd and into the back rooms of the establishment.


    Lucina followed behind, albeit absentmindedly, her head still mostly occupied by the thoughts of love swirling around inside. Ok, let¡¯s think about this rationally. I¡¯m probably not in love. It¡¯s honestly more likely to be anxiety about the upcoming mission than anything else. It has been years since I¡¯ve been in service, and even longer since I went on an actual mission outside of the country. Now that I think about it, how long have-


    Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop as she hit a wall head on, in a place where she had walked straight after failing to notice Akahime and Joshua turn left. Kneeling down and holding her head in pain, she was quickly attended to by Joshua, who had left Akahime to check on Lucina.


    She looked up, and seeing the look in his dark eyes, her chest tightened once more. Starlords damn this man. Ever since he showed up, my life has gone sideways. Why did he have to land in Reya¡¯s room, anyway? That has to be the luckiest thing that has ever happened to her, becoming first in line to the throne on a mere technicality.


    A pinched cheek brought her back to reality, and she found her way back from Joshua¡¯s eyes. ¡°Did you hear me? I asked if you were alright. We can leave if-¡±


    Lucina pressed a finger against his lips, and shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine for now. Just startled is all.¡± Turning to face Akahime, Lucina could see a lewd grin on her friend¡¯s face, no doubt fantasizing about the experience the three of them would soon share.


    Lucina returned the smile. Oh well. Starlords forget it. I can contemplate my nature with Joshua on any other day of the week. I shouldn¡¯t consider it as a roadblock to having a good time.


    She took her dom by the hand, and stood him up. Does the chemistry of love have to do with physical appearance? Is that a majority, or is that the personality of the person? He gave her a quizzical look, but she just returned his confusion with a smile. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go have fun. After tonight, it¡¯s going to be a long time before we can indulge ourselves again. Might as well go out on a bang.¡±


    Akahime led the way once more, and this time it was Lucina who was pulling the Joshua, who let out a sigh as he was dragged along. Lucina looked back, and saw the corner of his mouth lift up, a telltale sign that he was enjoying himself. Lucina smiled as well. Tonight would be fun. She would make sure of it.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ---


    Reya was face to face with Akito, the chauffeur. She hadn¡¯t planned to spend the night that way, or much less even imagine that she¡¯d be spending time with a nobody off the streets of the Luong Empire.


    Reya sighed. So much for trying to seduce Joshua. Her night hadn¡¯t gotten off on the best foot. It turns out that clubs like Chain Link have strict dress policies, ones which Reya current look didn¡¯t adhere to.


    I was wondering why Akahime and Lucina had been wearing those ridiculous getups, but I guess they knew the nature of the club. They knew and still didn¡¯t tell me anything? Granted, I¡¯d rather be caught in a bathing suit than be seen wearing those ridiculous getups, but still¡­


    Upon storming the club, Reya had been caught off guard by the number of people dressed inappropriately, and as if all the strange outfits hadn¡¯t been enough, the people wearing them were giving her withering glares.


    She shivered upon remembering them, the undisguised disgust and questioning. Those gazes said all that Reya needed to hear. She didn¡¯t belong in that world. She, who had no prior experience in such things, not to mention the disconnect between the mentality of her and the people who enjoyed S&M was too large to overcome.


    So she ran. Ran to escape the gazes of the very people she had chosen not to understand. When she escaped the club, she found Akito still in the car, eating a piece of melon bread and drinking pocari sweat. Upon seeing her face, he dropped his food and immediately opened the door for her.


    Since then, she had been sitting in the back seat, curled into a ball in silence. While the summer of Japan was usually hot and humid, she found herself shivering in the back of the palanquin.


    A short sneeze broke her out of her reverie, and made her face towards the young asian man. Akito wasn¡¯t unlike the people she had seen in Shin Tokyo before, but he had something different about him.


    It was almost if¡­ Reya¡¯s eyes shot open in disbelief. He doesn¡¯t care about me in the slightest. In fact, I would say that the entire reason he let me into the car is because I was with Joshua¡­


    Reya¡¯s heart started to burn with unrestrained fury. So what if Joshua had a connection to the current emperor? Reya would soon be the Queen of the entirety of the Metron Kingdom, and only that man would have the power to rival hers. Hell, she should be being treated like an equal to Joshua, not a Starlords forsaken plus one!


    Reya took a breath, sharp and deep, then exhaled slowly. What the hell have I been doing since I got here? I didn¡¯t even once do anything a self-respecting royal would do. While Akahime and Lucina were already finished changing and discussing politics, I was still trying to decide what I should wear to a Starlords damned night club.


    Then there¡¯s Joshua, who not only spent an hour speaking to the king, but also has started to move his name around in relevant circles in Chichuu. Even when I had the opportunity to meet the king, what did I do? Spoke one or two lines at most, and didn¡¯t even give him a formal greeting. I haven¡¯t been acting like a future queen, I¡¯ve been acting like a scared child this entire time.


    ¡°No more.¡± Reya muttered, and sat up. She clicked a button on her Judgment watch, and an empty message box popped up. After writing a simple letter explaining where she¡¯d be going and how to reach her, she leaned forward towards the driver¡¯s seat window.


    ¡°Akito.¡± Reya spoke, and the man turned around in surprise. He stopped chewing on the melon bread and swallowed a piece, washing it down with the sports drink he had on hand.


    ¡°Yes, Miss. How can I help you?¡± Reya frowned at being called, ¡®miss,¡¯ and it was all she could do to reign in her anger and save it to use on a target that actually made sense to be mad at.


    ¡°I would prefer if you referred to me as, ¡®My Lady,¡¯ seeing as how I am a Princess of Metron, and the first in line to the throne.¡± She flashed him her Kingdom Key in AR, and the chauffeur¡¯s face went pale.


    ¡°I-I-I am extremely sorry for this rudeness, My Lady! This lowly one humble apologizes for his offense, and requests that you do not ask for my job in compensation for my actions!¡±


    Reya scoffed at the boy, who winced at her action. ¡°I want nothing of the sort. I wasn¡¯t behaving in a very royal way, was I? I acknowledge that I am partially to blame, but be careful.¡±


    The gears started turning in Reya¡¯s head, and she smiled to herself. ¡°Some women aren¡¯t as forgiving as I. For example, that large chested woman we were with earlier. She¡¯s also a Metronian Princess. Should she hear you use anything but ¡®My Lady¡¯ to refer to her, she¡¯d have your head.¡±


    Akito was breathing unsteadily, but Reya put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as you¡¯re with me, I¡¯ll keep you safe from her. She¡¯s lower on the throne ascension list than I am.¡±


    ¡°T-Thank you, My Lady. This lowly one appreciates the gesture of good faith.¡± Reya nodded her head, and pointed in the direction of the Steel Palace.


    ¡°No thanks needed. I was wondering if you would do me a favor and take me to meet the emperor. I have some things to discuss with him. As soon as you see me descend into the elevator, you may return here to wait for Joshua and the girls. They¡¯ll know where I¡¯ve gone.¡±


    ¡°Yes, My Lady.¡± Akito, still a bit pale-faced, replied. Reya stared out at the window as they took off into the air, and left the club¡¯s entryway, and looked up at the artificially created starlight of the dome. Reya smirked as she remembered something that her father had once told her. Long ago, in order to generate money and tourism, the government of Japan let people write custom messages on the underside of the dome, and let them be displayed in the night sky.


    With enough money and power, one could even make the sky itself take any form they see fit, and display their message for those with considerably less wealth to ponder the meaning behind.


    While Reya had neither the money or the means right now, when her future came to fruition, not just Shin Tokyo, but the entire world would know the message and power of Reya Rust Metron.

 Chapter 17: Enjoy It While It Lasts {NSFW}

    The funny thing that happens at a nightclub: you kind of lose all sense of direction without really even meaning to. At this point, I didn¡¯t know how deep into the building Akahime had led, us, but it had eventually got to a point where Akahime, Lucina, and I were the only people occupying the halls.


    Noticing the lack of others, I started to get a bit nervous. ¡°Are we even allowed to be back here?¡± I asked, and the Japanese scion giggled.


    ¡°Of course we are! I¡¯m the one who owns the club, after all.¡± I was about to ask a follow up question, but she continued, ¡°It¡¯s truly been so long since I¡¯ve come here. All of dad¡¯s other kids have been doing their own thing, leaving me to help the old man in running the country. I¡¯m so glad I got tonight off.¡±


    I furrowed my eyebrows and asked, ¡°His other kids? Aren¡¯t they your brothers and sisters? That kind of sounds a bit distant.¡±


    She stopped moving and turned to face me, a complicated look on her otherwise beautiful face. ¡°Well, they¡¯re my half-brothers and sisters.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Was all I said. I already felt out of place prying into her life, and decided to let the matter go, an action which Akahime seemed grateful for.


    ¡°Remember, Joshua.¡± Lucina began. ¡°We¡¯ll be busy after this, so I don¡¯t know the next time we¡¯ll be able to unwind and have sex. Make sure to thoroughly enjoy it while you can.¡±


    I nodded my head, and Lucina smiled back at me. ¡°Make sure I enjoy this as well. You¡¯re my precious dom after all.¡±


    Akahime pressed her hand on the wall of the corridor, and a large, door-sized panel slid open. She took my hand, and led me through into a pitch-black room. Lucina closed the door behind us, leaving me obscured in darkness.


    Judgment, am I in any danger? I asked the AI, and for a moment, I got no reply. Judgment? Are you there? Am I in any danger?


    ¡°No, Master. You and the girls are the only users in the vicinity. Please, do your best.¡± What the hell is that supposed to mean?


    I didn¡¯t even realize that Akahime had let go of my hand and that we had stopped moving until the scion herself shoved me down on a padded floor.


    I felt two sets of hands strip me of my clothes, and remove my mask as well. Then they were gone, and I was naked in a dark room.


    I struggled to see in the darkness, an inconvenience which was immediately made irrelevant when bright, fluorescent lights assaulted my vision. Struggling to regain my sight, I tried to take a deep breath to calm my nerves, but a tongue invaded my mouth, giving me a passionate kiss and slightly depriving me of oxygen.


    I pulled the woman off of me, and Akahime¡¯s lecherous expression came into view. ¡°What is all this for!?¡± I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice, but almost being asphyxiated by a kiss wasn¡¯t something I derive pleasure from. No offense intended.


    She simply smiled and brought out a pair of handcuffs. A shiver went down my spine as I thought about where this could go. In an act of desperation, I lunged for her, knocking her to the plush floor and ripping the handcuffs out of her hands.


    I hadn¡¯t even realized what I had done until I was on top of the girl, and my heart immediately sank.


    ¡°Akahime, are you ok? I didn¡¯t mean to-¡± I was interrupted by a soft finger on my lips. Despite my use of force, she was smiling and put her legs around my waist.


    ¡°Did Lucy tell you about me?¡± I looked over and saw Lucina, who had removed the corset and pants from her outfit, just leaving the bondage harness which restricted her breasts.


    Looking down, I saw that Akahime had made the same modifications to her own outfit, and the two complimented each other. ¡°No. Is there something I should have known?¡±


    Akahime¡¯ smile turned from one of joy, to one of sadism. ¡°Oh, she didn¡¯t? I guess I¡¯ll have to help you punish the little slut, then.¡±


    I must have looked confused, because Akahime caressed the side of my face. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t figured it out yet, although maybe the lack of oxygen is making it harder for your brain to realize. I¡¯m a switch.¡±


    My eyes widened in realization as her words and actions finally made sense to me. ¡°I see now.¡± I set my face in a hard grimace. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not planning to satisfy your sadist side with me, because I can assure you that will not happen.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re the person who will satisfy my inner submissive tonight, Master.¡± Despite my best attempts, the single use of the word, along with Akahime¡¯s form glued to me got me going, and I could feel the blood rushing to my nethers.


    ¡°What do you think Lucy is here for? Although it¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve done something like this, right, Miss Metron?¡± Lucina gave Akahime the middle finger, who laughed it off.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I like about you, Lucina. You make it so fun for people to antagonize you.¡± Lucina stuck out her tongue, but said nothing and looked at me expectantly.


    ¡°Before we do anything, I just want to make sure you¡¯re both ok with this situation. I¡¯m going to be recording it on my Judgment panel as well. I don¡¯t want any sexual assault allegations waiting for me when I return to the Steel Palace.¡± I said, looking pointedly at Akahime.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯m a bit of an exhibitionist anyway. Make sure to get my good side.¡± She smiled. Seemingly nothing could phase the woman.


    I turned to get Lucina¡¯s consent, but all she gave me was an exasperated sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a little late for you to be asking about that now, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I sighed, more to calm my own nerves more than anything. I was nervous about having sex without the antidepressant to numb my senses and excitement, but I decided to compartmentalize.


    I just need to slip into the correct mental state, and¡­ I felt a shift, and suddenly the lights seemed a little dimmer, the music in the background was a little softer, and my senses were heightened.


    Judgment, what just happened to me? Is this your doing? ¡°No, Master. It appears that your desire to succeed in bed with these women has unlocked one of your powers as a neuromancer. You uploaded some of your senses into my system in order to dilute them in the real world.¡±


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I sighed again. Making a breakthrough in my abilities because I want to get some. Sounds like a me thing. Damn it.


    I stood up, practically having to pry Akahime off of me. ¡°Line up against the wall.¡± I ordered them, slipping back into my dominant persona as easily as putting on a hat.


    The two of them complied, and the exaggerated sway of Akahime¡¯s hips drew my eyes quickly. I put my hand on my chin and studied her behind. Is her ass larger than Lucina¡¯s? No way, right?


    Seeing as the two of them were now with their backs to the wall, I took a moment to study the two women. I had seen Lucina naked before, yet the sheer beauty of her body brought me back to stare every time.


    The aforementioned dark blue harness and collar combination looked divine on her light skin tone, and my eyebrows raised as I noticed another change to the princess. ¡°You changed your piercings? When did you have time to do that?¡±


    Instead of having her usual style of one stud and one ring, both nipples had rings in them, stylized in the shape of a dragon. The Metronian Princess averted her gaze, and a reddish tinge appeared on her cheeks.


    ¡°I changed them at the palace. Akahime said they would look good on me.¡± Akahime¡­ wait.


    I turned towards the Empress-to-be and truly looked at her form for the first time. She was about a head shorter than Lucina and I, and her hair was dyed a pale red for the night, and she swept her bangs over her left eye. That part was the one I remembered from our meeting at the palace. However, below her neck was a work of art.


    An ensemble of tattoos adorned her body, including an inked on corset that framed her breasts well. On her collar bones were angel wings, and a long and tangling tree root ran from her neck and behind her onto her back. Lo and behold, she also had nipple rings in, but instead of any hoop shapes like Lucina had, Akahime¡¯s piercings were both jade studs.


    She had even more tattoos going down her body, adorning both her legs and hands. ¡°I can say that I¡¯ve never seen leg sleeves before. It looks good on you.¡± She smiled at the compliment.


    I looked around the room, observing the instruments I would be using that night. ¡°Luxia.¡± She perked up at the mention of her pet name. ¡°Go and take a set of handcuffs from the shelf over there, and a blindfold as well.


    Lucina did as asked, and set them down in front of her before returning to the wall. ¡°Akahime¡­ hm. Do you use a handle online? I¡¯d like to refer to you as something else for this, and any other future sessions we may have.¡±


    Akahime¡¯s smile turned into a grin. ¡°So you¡¯re planning on having me again? What an ambitious man you are. Although I don¡¯t dislike that aspect of you. You may call me Red. Short, sweet, and to the point.¡±


    I nodded, and then gestured over to the treasure trove of toys. ¡°Pick what you¡¯d like to wear tonight. I assume that you¡¯ve heard a bit about the nights I¡¯ve shared with Luxia. Surprise me.¡±


    She did as she was told, and obediently got a ring gag and a black leash, one which matched well with her harness. ¡°Luxia, put Red¡¯s new uniform on for her.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Luxia walked up to Red, picked up the leash, and attached it to the ring on the scion¡¯s collar. Then, picking the gag up off the floor, she brought it closer to Red¡¯s face, who obediently opened her mouth.


    With a tight pull of the gag¡¯s strap, Red¡¯s mouth was forcibly opened. Drool started to pour out of the open hole, and Luxia returned to her spot on the wall.


    I walked up to Red, and roughly tugged on the leash, bringing her towards me. I slid my thigh in between hers for emphasis, and she shuddered from the sensation. ¡°As for my slutty little helper, put on Luxia¡¯s devices, but her hands go behind her back.¡±


    Red nodded, and got to work, handcuffing Luxia before putting the blindfold on her. ¡°Both of you, come forward now. On your knees like the good slaves I know you are.¡±


    Red obliged instantly, and shuffled towards me on all fours. Luxia had a little more trouble, being unable to see and having to use the arms behind her as a counterweight. She went at a bit of a wrong angle, and I grabbed her collar roughly to set her back in the right direction.


    ¡°Good. Red, start teasing Luxia, and help her give me oral since she seems a bit directionally challenged tonight.¡± Red nodded her head, allowing more of the pooled up saliva to spill onto her pale breasts.


    Red started to grope Luxia¡¯s breasts, and rub her crotch, alternating between the two with one hand while setting the other on the back of Luxia¡¯s head. She guided the princesses mouth closer towards my member, and a shiver went up my spine as her lips and tongue made contact with my head.


    A mischievous spark flashed in Red¡¯s eyes, and she began stroking my member using Luxia¡¯s mouth and throat, going hard and deep in increasingly violent motions. Luxia gagged and slobbered, but her complete submissiveness and lack of rebellion in the act let me know that she was enjoying being bullied as much as Red enjoyed bullying her.


    I stuck my fingers into Red¡¯s open mouth, going as deep as I possibly could. Red gagged in surprise, and let go of Luxia¡¯s head. Luxia, to her credit, held my member in her throat for as long as she could before coming up for air.


    I looked at Red, and a cruel grin spread on my face. ¡°Did I say to move her at all, slut? All I said was to help her attend to me. Hands behind your back.¡±


    When the imperial scion did not comply, I gave her a light slap across the face, more for the sound effect than for anything else. ¡°I said hands behind your back. Now.¡± Shaken out of her stupor, she complied.


    ¡°Luxia, get on your back. Red, straddle her stomach.¡± The two women started to move, and within seconds they were intertwined.


    ¡°Good. Kiss now.¡± Red bent down and stuck her tongue out, which Luxia greedily started to kiss and suck on. A small bite on her tongue caused Red to moan, and she brought her hands forwards to massage Luxia¡¯s breasts.


    I grabbed Red¡¯s leash, and pulled her up, eliciting a groan of surprise before thrusting myself into her open mouth. ¡°I told you to put your hands behind your back. Be a good slave and accept your punishment for breaking the rules.¡±


    She raised her hands up in surprise as I thrust in and out of her wet hole, but eventually began to masturbate, even extending a hand down to rub and finger Luxia¡¯s crotch as well. Luxia moaned in pleasure as Red¡¯s were drowned out by my occupation in her mouth and throat.


    When I pulled out from the ring gag, Red took a large gasp of air before collapsing on top of Luxia. ¡°Guess she isn¡¯t as good a cumdump as you are yet, Luxia. I guess we could fix that in time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Luxia said, and spread her legs as a sign to me that she was ready to receive. I sighed, and walked away, grabbing a paddle before returning to Luxia¡¯s crotch and sticking myself into her.


    The woman moaned and sucked in air sharply as I penetrated her. She started panting, a sound which abruptly came to an end as Red stuck her fingers in the princesses mouth. ¡°Good slave, Red. Keep it up.¡±


    Red did as she was told, even adding in a few slaps to Luxia¡¯s breasts and pinches to her nipples for good measure. It soon became abundantly clear that receiving stimulation from both her mouth and nethers was bringing Luxia to the edge of climax. I took the paddle in one hand, and hit Luxia¡¯s clit with it, causing the woman to spasm and clench around my member.


    Luxia let out a bestial moan as she came, and lay in a panting heap on the floor. ¡°Red, bring your mouth over here and clean me up before I use you.¡± The scion obliged, sticking her tongue out and using it to lick me as she swallowed me to the base.


    ¡°Master, we have a problem.¡± I immediately perked up, as the voice didn¡¯t come from either of the slaves in the room, but from Judgment itself.


    What¡¯s wrong? I thought you wanted me to bed Akahime?


    ¡°Yes, but you have a more pressing issue right now. The club has been surrounded by Tengu members, and one of their four bosses, Yatomura, is making his way inside. All members are armed and dangerous. I¡¯ve heard them use your alias multiple times, it seems that they know you are here.¡±


    Thats-! My thoughts were cut short as I came inside Red¡¯s throat. She swallowed and slowly peeled herself off of me, staring at me with hungry eyes and drool pouring out of the ring gag. Damn it. Couldn¡¯t he have waited twenty minutes?


    ¡°Master, I suggest you hurry. They are currently trying to break into the club. It appears they want to make an example out of the people here while searching for you. Both bodyguards at the door have already been killed.¡±


    Red started crawling towards me, but I held up a hand to stop her. ¡°There¡¯s been a slight change of plans, Akahime. Use whatever technology you have to clean up Lucina and yourself, and put your clothes back on. It¡¯s Tengu. The damn yakuza are coming for us.¡±

 Chapter 18: This is Definitely a Minigame

    The first thing I noticed when exiting the playroom was the music. It was playing the same song on repeat, and was different from the one we had first heard when we entered the club. I had counted the restarting of the song five times before Akahime and Lucina stepped out and into the hallway.


    Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah! Shoo-be-doo-be-da-ba-bap!


    Great. It had to land on a scat song. Oh well, at least this one¡¯s kind of catchy.


    ¡°Is Reya safe!?¡± A concerned Lucina grabbed my arm, and looked at me with tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.


    The two women were exchanging furious looks as I gave them a rundown, and started to violently whisper to one another. I sighed and started to move towards the source of the conflict.


    I walked back down the corridor with purpose and urgency in each step. Judgment, what is the casualty count right now, and is Reya among the bodies?


    ¡°It is currently at one hundred and six, Master. The casualties are continuing to rise as the Tengu members make their way up the building.¡±


    I sighed, at which point Lucina and Akahime had caught up with me, and were starting to take out weapons of their own.


    Lucina was wielding a mean looking rifle which she carried in both hands. The thing was black, and had a sleek looking finish to it. ¡°Joshua, you¡¯re insufferable.¡±


    I raised my eyebrow, which apparently irked the woman even more. She grabbed my collar, and pulled me in to face her, all while  sticking her thigh between my legs and against my package.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how much I was looking forward to tonight? You got to cum, while I only got off with light orgasms. Do you even know the worst part? My partner has an omniscient AI that could have warned us before we started foreplay about the impending threat of a gang attack.¡±


    I averted my eyes. I couldn¡¯t very well tell her that my ¡®omniscient AI¡¯ was blinded by its own desire to see me copulate with a woman besides Lucina. She sighed, and stole a kiss from my lips.


    She gave me a weak smile that turned into a frown. ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you per se, it''s just difficult to sort through these feelings right now. Stopping midway with no proper aftercare is a real bitch.¡±


    I nodded, and she released me. We started walking again, and this time the girls were in front of me. I couldn¡¯t help but trace the form of Lucina with my eyes, but then my gaze shot over to the woman next to her.


    To Lucina¡¯s right was Akahime, who had an even more dangerous looking weapon out. What had started off as an pale gold armlet had started to transform and expand, becoming quite the sizable looking minigun.


    ¡°You have that kind of technology?¡± I asked, and then immediately regretted the action. Akahime shot me a glare that bore all the weight of her bloodlust in it.


    ¡°Listen, Joshua. I¡¯m pissed off enough as it is that they blue-balled me in the middle of my first time off in months. You just asking dumb questions compounds that frustration.¡±


    I may hate taking orders, but I know enough about a woman¡¯s tone to know when I should shut the fuck up. Her anger is definitely aimed at the Tengu members¡­ I hope.


    ¡°How rare, Master. You aren¡¯t throwing all your emotions behind this decision, and thinking rationally for once. I daresay you¡¯re evolving as a person.¡±


    I shook my head as we reached a stairwell, and motioned for both girls to stop moving. The sounds of clattering footsteps were coming from downstairs, so we hid behind the double doors at the entrance to the stairway.


    ¡°Ha! You should¡¯ve seen the look on that pig-tailed bitch¡¯s face!¡± The man¡¯s voice could be heard even over the loud music that was still playing. ¡°She honestly believed we¡¯d let her go if she told us where the imperial princess was. Loyalty to one¡¯s country? Hah! What a farce!¡±


    ¡°They killed Aki? Those assholes!¡± Akahime¡¯s grip tightened on her minigun, and I had to physically hold my hand up in front of her to prevent her from going to confront the men.


    ¡°Really? I thought you¡¯d try and get some action to be honest. From what the missus has been telling me about your home life, you¡¯ve been pretty scarce in the sack lately.¡± I heard a shove, and a mild scuffle broke out.


    Judgment, are they within hacking range? I¡¯d rather not make too much noise. I think the music is a good cover, but you never know how close the next enemy could be.


    ¡°Fuck you Ando! I didn¡¯t want you as a partner in the first place!¡± The first man shouted at the second speaker.


    ¡°Likewise, but know your place. You think the boss would team us up for no reason? We may not get along, but we cover each other¡¯s weak points perfectly.¡± The second man said, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. ¡°Not to mention, James, we couldn¡¯t just let a gaijin go without a babysitter, now could we?¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Another scuffle broke out as Judgment replied, ¡°Within range Master. On your orders.¡± Now!


    I burst out in front of the men, who turned to me. The first was tall and muscular, with an assault rifle strapped on his shoulder. He had a buzzcut and many pock marks on his face.


    The second was a white man, with dirty blonde hair and grey eyes. He had a set of pistols holstered to his hips, and his hand was on a knife that was currently pointed at his partner¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± The man who I guessed was Ando asked, and I held up a finger to my demon mask.


    ¡°No one worth mentioning. Now, dance for me!¡± As soon as I gave the order, the two separated from each other like it had been willed by the physics of the world.


    James threw his hands in the air and waved them around a few times. The next thing I knew, he was performing pelvic thrusts indiscriminately, and doing what looked to be a version of the sprinkler.


    Well, I guess to each their own. I looked over to observe Ando, and barely managed to duck out of the way as a bullet went right past where my head had been earlier.


    ¡°Asshole!¡± I shouted from around the corner at Ando. Judgment, why the fuck didn¡¯t my hack effect him!? I almost just fucking died!


    ¡°It seems as though the enemy is wary of your powers, Master. Apparently Teramoto managed to communicate some of his discoveries of your existence to the yakuza before you got to him.¡±


    What does that mean exactly? I stuck my head around the corner again, but pulled back immediately at the sight of a firearm trained onto my head.


    ¡°It means that the man who goes by Ando isn¡¯t wearing a Judgment panel. Therefore I cannot interfere with his nervous system.¡± I cursed, drawing looks from both Lucina and Akahime.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lucina asked, a weary expression on her face. I debated whether or not to tell them, but a strong punch to my right shoulder from Akahime told me that I had better speak the truth, and fast.


    ¡°Only one of them was wearing a Judgment panel. I hacked the one who¡¯s dancing right now, but the other has an assault rifle aimed at the door now.¡±


    ¡°What brand?¡± Akahime asked quickly.


    ¡°Judgment said it was Yaiba.¡±


    ¡°Good. In that case, hack the gun, it¡¯s connected to the Judgment server. As soon as you¡¯ve jammed it, let me know. Minnie-kun and I will take care of it.¡±


    ¡°Minnie-kun?¡± I absentmindedly mumbled, sending a gaze over the gold-plated minigun. She started revving it up, and to my surprise, the gun was dead silent. ¡°That¡¯s a nice advantage.¡±


    ¡°Master, they have an encrypted firewall that goes into subspace. Since I cannot enter that without the subconscious of another human, I require your assistance.¡± Alright.


    ¡°Akahime, Lucina, please guard my body. I need to dive into subspace for a moment.¡± The two nodded, and I dived in, feeling the familiar tug in the back of my mind as I felt myself come into existence once again.


    ¡°Glad to see you here, Master.¡± Judgment¡¯s form had changed once more. No longer was the figure hogtied, but now the AI had its hands bound in front out it, and wore a skintight latex suit. Now, it had a dark-purple harness over its torso, and a similarly styled harness on its head.


    Speaking of which, I was silently amused as I watched the AI¡¯s face morph into a combination of the best features between Lucina and Akahime, and long, electric blue hair tied into a ponytail.


    ¡°I¡¯m not even going to act surprised anymore.¡± I said, with a sigh. ¡°What do you need me to do here, anyway?¡± Judgment pointed behind me, and I turned to see a large, green pipe.


    ¡°Is that 8-bit? You¡¯ve got to be f-¡±


    ¡°It is no joke, Master. That is the form that this particular software creator has chosen for their firewalls. Now, please, enter the pipe.¡±


    I could have sworn that Judgment enjoyed seeing me suffer, but Judgment was just an AI, incapable of human thoughts or behaviors. With a heavy sigh, I jumped into the pipe, and the numbers ¡®1-1¡¯ flashed in front of me before I found myself on a brick road.


    A stubby fungus walked towards me, and I immediately pulled out a pistol and shot it in it¡¯s disgustingly malformed mushroom head. ¡°Why do people keep making things like this in subspace? Anime styles don¡¯t translate to real life.¡±


    ---


    Akahime jumped in her skin a bit as Joshua stirred. It was hard to contain her emotions after learning about the death of Aki. The kind girl had been the one to invite her to this club back when it was nothing more than a bar in Chika.


    With their combined efforts, the two women had managed to build the club into a reputable establishment with a bevy of important clientele. Breathing hard as Joshua sat up, she stared at him hard.


    If this man had never come to Shin Tokyo, she¡¯d still be safe in the palace right now. If he¡¯d never brought along Lucina, she¡¯d have never come to the club. If she¡¯d never come to the club, Tengu wouldn¡¯t have attacked it, and Aki wouldn¡¯t be dead.


    It was almost- ¡°The gun is offline.¡± Joshua said. ¡°Fire there when you¡¯re ready.¡± He pointed to the wall, and Akahime had to forcibly listen to him. It wasn¡¯t his fault, it was just a poorly timed coincidence. The bad guys had said that they were looking for Akahime, so it was her fault as well.


    ¡°Akahime?¡± Lucina said from the other door. ¡°What are you waiting for? If you won¡¯t take the shot then I will.¡±


    That shook the imperial scion out of her thoughts. She took aim with Minnie-kun and blasted a hailstorm of bullets through the wall, breaking it open in the process and allowing her to see the destruction she had wrought.


    The man called Ando was missing the top half of his skull, and a tongue flopped uselessly from side to side as if trying to convey some final message. With a squirt of blood from the top of his head, he fell to the ground, dead.


    ¡°Well, they probably heard us now. Let¡¯s get moving.¡± Joshua said, and he got up to start walking, but Akahime wasn¡¯t done yet. She turned her gun on James, and peppered him with a hailstorm of bullets. All the perforations in his head and body made him look like swiss cheese.


    She took out the hose attached to mini-kun, and began to vacuum up the remains of the bullets she had fired, which were internally crafted into new bullets by Minnie-kun.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I have a gun that good?¡± Despite her conflicting feelings, the sound of Joshua¡¯s sigh brought a smile back to the imperial princess¡¯s face.

 Chapter 19: One Step Closer

    We made our way back towards the lobby of the club, killing yakuza members left and right as we went. One would think it would¡¯ve been slow going, but with Akahime at the point position mowing down enemies with her beloved Minnie-kun, it had only been a matter of time before we were close to our goal.


    Yatomura was the gang-leaders name, and Judgment had given me a rundown of his criminal history, which I was currently reciting to the two armed women at my sides. ¡°Yatomura. Known drug lord, traffics the illegal substances of Celestine, Crystalline, Matcha, and Wasp. Also known for running one of the sex rings in Chika¡¯s district of Rakuten. No one has seen his face before, and whenever he shows up, he wears a heavy cloak and gas mask.¡±


    Akahime nodded in the middle of vacuuming up more recyclable bullets with Minnie-kun. ¡°I remember the name. That sex trafficking is a serious danger in Chika. If he¡¯s here, we can¡¯t let this chance escape.¡±


    I coked my head and looked at the princess. ¡°I thought that the first thing on your mind would be getting the hell out of here and back to the safety of the Steel Palace.¡±


    Akahime shook her head and put the minigun¡¯s tube away. ¡°No, this takes priority. Especially because there¡¯s nothing left to salvage from the club. You heard the first two we encountered, they killed the proprietor of Chain Link, so now the club will definitely go under. We just have to make sure her sacrifice wasn¡¯t in vain.¡±


    I shook my head and grabbed her wrist. ¡°Your hormones are still out of balance from our play before. I can¡¯t let you go in good conscience.¡±


    Akahime snorted, "So now you care about having a conscience? Where was that bravado and chivalry earlier?¡±


    I grimaced, and thought about dropping the matter. Why should I give a shit if some random princess I met only hours ago runs into danger and commits suicide by proxy?


    Therein lay the problem. I sighed and pulled her into an embrace. ¡°It was my fault that you feel this way now, I¡¯m sorry. Believe it or not, I- I was numb to my emotions only a day ago, and only got cleansed of the antidepressants during my flight to the Luong Empire. I guess I¡¯m still learning to process my emotions, but believe me when I say that cutting off your own to commit murder won¡¯t make you feel better.¡±


    Lucina put a hand on my shoulder, and hugged both her friend and I. ¡°Well said. I would be devastated if I couldn¡¯t talk to you anymore, Akahime. You¡¯re one of the only princess friends I have who I can talk shop with.¡±


    The imperial scion smiled at that, and put her face into my shoulder. ¡°Alright, I get it. I¡¯ll calm down and think rationally. Can you please let go?¡±


    I released Akahime, and Lucina immediately came to take her place. I must have looked confused, because Lucina said, ¡°So you can do impromptu aftercare with a girl you¡¯ve only met an hour ago, but not me? Oh, what a cruel man I¡¯ve chosen!¡±


    I rolled my eyes, but couldn¡¯t help but smile at her acting. ¡°Thank you as well, Lucina. I couldn¡¯t have gotten up to this point without you. As I said earlier, I¡¯m still learning to process my emotions, so bear with me. I promise that I¡¯ll be standing by your side, always.¡±


    Lucina shivered, and pushed herself away from me. ¡°Yuck, that was so cliche I almost vomited. Alright, come on you two. Let¡¯s go kick some Yakuza dick in!¡±


    ¡°What if they¡¯re women too?¡± Akahime brought up, and the Metronian princess smiled.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll kick their dicks in too!¡±


    ---


    We entered the lobby from the second floor, and peered over the balcony as we spied on the remaining Tengu members.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me we threw fifty yakuza at them and they¡¯ve all been killed!?¡± An angry voice rose from a large man.


    He was as tall as he was wide, and the bald man with sunglasses on made for an intimidating figure. He was standing next to a figure whose description matched that of Yatomura.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how much of a problem this is gonna cause for our bro? Yatomura may be the boss¡¯s favorite, but even the boss doesn¡¯t take kindly to failure! What should we do bro?¡±


    The man leaned in towards Yatomura, and the two shared a quick and apparently very quiet conversation. ¡°Alright, assholes! Gather up!¡± The man yelled, and the twenty or so members of Tengu formed a circle around the large man and Yatomura.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t good. Lucina, go around the other side and take aim. Prepare to incapacitate Yatomura. He¡¯s a veritable well of knowledge for us.¡±


    The princess nodded, and said, ¡°I have several non-lethal bullets stored inside the chamber. Is there any desired outcome you wish to achieve?¡±


    I thought about it for a moment, and answered, ¡°I just don¡¯t want him dead, or near anyone else when we start firing.¡±


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Lucina nodded, and quietly crawled to the balcony across from us. I turned to Akahime, whose finger was twitching in anticipation on Minnie-kun¡¯s trigger.


    ¡°Akahime, I need you to stay right here and be ready to move when I create a distraction. Your silent rev-up gives us a stealth advantage, so I¡¯ll need you to mow down the rabble after Lucina does her job.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Don¡¯t be stupid about it. I¡¯m still looking to collect the interest on tonight¡¯s foreplay.¡± I smirked at the woman, who returned the expression.


    Alright, let¡¯s get this show started. Judgment, run the termination program on their guns from the cloud, and prepare to hack the members who have Judgment panels on.


    ¡°As you wish, Master. All preparations have been made. Just give a verbal or mental command when you wish to activate the sequence.¡±


    I raised my eyebrow at the speed at which the A.I. carried out the order, but decided against thinking about it for now. There was always time to contemplate my life when it wasn¡¯t in mortal peril.


    I walked out from behind the baluster, and made my way towards the staircase. Thankfully, most of the grunts surrounding Yatomura were preoccupied with listening to the orders from the man on the right of him, and didn¡¯t notice my blatant existence until I was almost at the top of the stairs.


    Judgment, be prepared to activate the code when I start talking. How many people will it affect? ¡°As you wish, Master. According to my scans, it will affect all people but the one known as Yatomura.¡±


    My eye twitched as I mentally prepared myself for the next step. That sounds way too convenient. How the hell does he only leave himself guarded with these people? He had info from Teramoto about my powers, but¡­


    I decided there was no use thinking about it further seeing as one of the grunts had finally noticed my presence. ¡°Yatomura, Sir! Get-¡±


    His voice was cut off as mine began speaking. ¡°Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I am the man you all call, the faceless demon.¡±


    ¡°Fire at him you god-forsaken wastes of space!¡± The large man next to Yatomura shouted, and I couldn¡¯t help but grin as not a single person moved from the spot they were in.


    ¡°What is this!?¡± The large man panicked against his own lack of mobility, and proceeded to make a wide variety of facial expressions.


    I laughed at his plight and I could see the faces of some of the closer grunts pale at the sound. With a snap of my fingers I gave the command, ¡°Kneel!¡±


    Every yakuza member but Yatomura soon had one knee on the ground, giving Lucina the perfect shot and the princess took it, hitting the man with a bullet on the side, sending him flying towards the doors of Chain Link.


    ¡°Boss!¡± The large man cried, and looked at me with hate-filled eyes. I smirked beneath my mask and pointed at the crowd of Tengu members.


    ¡°Dance! Dance and smile! I want you all to enjoy your last moments on Ethia, after all.¡± The yakuza complied with my orders, and I watched as the the large man smiled at me, even with tears streaming down his face.


    Akahime, finally having the opportunity to take her shots now that Yatomura was incapacitated and out of the way, rested Minnie-kun¡¯s rather large barrel on the balcony, and proceeded to shoot into the crowd of dancing men and women.


    Save for the sound that Minnie-kun made when firing, and the bullet shells hitting the floor, not a single noise was uttered. The yakuza members all died quietly, smiles and bullet holes adorning their faces.


    Akahime stretched, and I watched as Minnie-kun transformed back into an armlet. ¡°I feel so much better now that I had the chance to blow off some steam. Come, let¡¯s bring this Yatomura back to the palace and torture him to our hearts content.¡±


    I just stared in awe at her bold declaration and uttered, ¡°You have a few screws loose, don¡¯t you?¡± The imperial scion took the jab in stride and gave me a big, bright smile.


    ¡°That just means I¡¯m a perfect fit for you, isn''t it?¡± Lucina, who I hadn¡¯t noticed had returned from the other side of the room, snickered at the retort.


    Deciding that I could never win in any verbal confrontation when the both of them were present, I decided to do the smart thing and just shut up.


    Walking out from between the two women and down the stairs, my gaze didn¡¯t linger too long on the damaged corpses of the other members before I eyed Yatomura.


    Deciding that waking around the pile of bodies was too much of a hassle, I opted to walk on the corpses, and took great pleasure in trampling the large man¡¯s face with my boot.


    ¡°I told you.¡± Akahime laughed, prompting a giggle from Lucina as well. I looked down at myself, and admitted that the optics on trampling the head of a corpse didn¡¯t look too great on my part.


    Sighing, I finished my walk and stood over the limp body of Yatomura. ¡°Well, moment of truth time, I guess.¡± I took the mask and ripped it off with one hand, and then proceeded to stare stupidly at what was underneath.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a woman?¡± Lucina and Akahime both rushed to my side as I spoke, and stared at the figure just as stupidly as I had been.


    ¡°Not just any woman, Master. That is an artificial intelligence human assistance model.¡± In layman¡¯s terms, please? ¡°She¡¯s a sex-robot.¡±


    I smacked a hand against my forehead, and the robot started to move at the sound. ¡°Automated Doll, registered to Identification Tag: Boss, activated. Scanning the vicinity for Master Yatomura¡­ scan complete. Life signs have ceased in the relevant area.¡±


    I looked at the robot, and asked the question I knew I would regret. ¡°Boss, please point to your former master.¡± The robot proceeded to point in the direction of a corpse with a bloody boot stain on its face.


    I rubbed my temples as I realized that the idiot had used a body double, without realizing that we might have wanted to take him alive.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s one bright side at least.¡± I muttered to myself, and Akahime walked up to my side to question me.


    ¡°One bright side? We killed our only relevant lead on any of the Tengu! How could there be any bright side!?¡± She was furious, but I merely pointed down at our latest battle trophy.


    ¡°Of course there is a bright side, Akahime. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t think of it earlier, in fact. Robots are much easier to get information out of than humans.¡± I hoisted the limp-legged robot over my shoulder, and turned to face Lucina.


    ¡°Please call your sister, Lucina. Tell her to send over Akito to Chain Link. We¡¯ll need a ride back to the Steel Palace, as soon as possible.

 Chapter 20: Findings

    Akito didn¡¯t know what he was expecting when he parked on the club¡¯s helipad, but seeing the Faceless Demon covered in blood, slinging a sexual relief android over his shoulder and still with a woman on each arm was not among the options.


    Akito contemplated his career choice as he watched the trio stop at the elevator to the helipad, and begin to talk amongst themselves.


    It all began the day that Akito saved up enough money to buy himself and his younger brother from the orphanage that he was living in.


    Of course, prior to that, Akito had relied on child labor in order to pay off those debts. Toiling in the mines was difficult work, with no promise of fair pay, or even any other benefits, but the protection was good, as you were labeled as a government asset.


    Akito himself never understood why they used other humans, but the way the caretakers had explained it to him, human labor was more cost efficient, and the replacement parts for the machines they could be using cost a fortune.


    The mines, or as the location had come to be called by the locals, ¡°The Entrance,¡± was a source of Virizium, a naturally occurring compound that had been discovered in Asahi a century ago, and was one of the leading causes of the Great World War.


    Starting from as young as he could remember, he had been taken by the caretakers of the orphanage to the Entrance to work off his own living expenses.


    Of course, the same thing had occurred to his younger brother, Hirata, several years later, but at that time Akito had been too young to know better and fight against it.


    He had always seen others go down and never come back up, either succumbing to the various gasses that filled the tunnels, or become food for the local fauna, but never considered it his own problem.


    No, Akito was too quick for that. He never breathed for longer than necessary, and always made sure to steer clear of strange smelling passages.


    As it turned out, it became Akito¡¯s problem when Hirata tried to bite off more than he could chew. He had gotten an especially good haul of the ore that day, and was slightly encumbered when he encountered the energetically charged creatures that roamed the underground.


    By the time Akito had caught up to his brother, Hirata had been maimed from the right knee down, and his haul had been stolen by a passerby as well.


    Hirata had barely lived through the ordeal, and he was never the same person since. He used to be a kind, energetic child, but after losing his leg, he lost his smile as well.


    Of course, the frequent checkups were among the worst of the problems plaguing the brothers at that time. It cost a veritable fortune to receive proper medical treatment, and Akito borrowed from someone he shouldn¡¯t have.


    In order to pay for the medical bills, Akito had taken out a loan with Shark Gedo, a known member of the yakuza that lent money to anyone and everyone, with the only catch being to cosign yourself to five years of servitude in the case that you couldn¡¯t pay back your loan in a year.


    Of course, Akito hadn¡¯t been able to pay back the medical expenses, and Gedo had him start working for his branch of the Yakuza.


    Despite what Gedo had done to Akito, the old man was quite fond of the young boy, and would never do him any wrong. He always gave Akito some friendly advice, ¡®If you ever think that you want or need more wealth in life than what you need to live comfortably, just remember that greed and desire for evil purposes ruins good men.¡±


    In return for being given a decent living, Akito fully committed himself to grunt work, even going as far as to take on difficult missions early in his career to pay back that same gratitude.


    He had started as a lowly grunt to one of the older Yakuza groups: the Rising Dragons. Gedo¡¯s faction was a prominent one, and, being the money-handlers of Chika, were respected and trusted to hold the other factions in check monetarily.


    However, that took a turn when Gedo¡¯s son, a man who went by the same name, murdered his father in cold blood, fueled by desire and greed, the very sins that the older Gedo had warned Akito about.


    Gedo¡¯s death had seen the end of the Rising Dragons, and the beginning of the Tengu faction, headed by the younger Gedo.


    Akito hadn¡¯t been at the gang¡¯s hideout when the murder had occurred, but had instead been sent a posthumous message by Gedo¡¯s Judgment account. The message contained detailed instructions about how to get himself a good job, and a trustworthy contact that would help Akito forge the necessary papers.


    Now a glorified cab driver for Asahi¡¯s rich and famous, Akito had been making a good living for himself, finally clawing out of debt for his brother¡¯s medical expenses, and being able to start saving a college tuition for the boy.


    Unfortunately, Akito hadn¡¯t been able to stay away from danger despite leaving the Yakuza¡¯s side. His client yesterday had been one of the planet¡¯s most talked about gladiators in recent years.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Akito himself hated the Metron Kingdom Colosseum, but he could see why people would have a gruesome fascination with the violence present there. The gladiators, or ¡®paid killers,¡¯ as Akito referred to them, always made headlines wherever they went.


    The unstable bastards refused to be shackled by their country, and the countries would refuse to shackle them, afraid of losing a stimulus in their own economies.


    This latest one had been a real piece of garbage as well. He had murdered Gazix, a hero amongst those of Chika. It wasn¡¯t even just the fact that the Faceless Demon had murdered the symbol of hope and rebellion, no.


    It was the fact that he did so in such an unsavory manner. Going as far as to trick a man¡¯s senses by masking his silhouette and voice as Gazix¡¯s own mother in AR was disgusting.


    While most of the world was caught up in how he performed the action, the entire country, no, perhaps even the entire nation of the Luong Empire-!


    ¡°Akito, open the door!¡± Imperial Princess Akahime shouted through the window, and the chauffeur complied with the order, jumping in his seat at her voice.


    He unlocked the palanquin, and watched the group slide into the back seats. As if it weren¡¯t bad enough that Akito had to deal with a murderer in the Faceless Demon, and a diva in the Metronian Princess whom he just brought back to the Steel Palace, he now had to watch Princess Akahime, the symbol of fertility and pureness in Asahi, glue herself onto a foreign man in front of his eyes.


    ---


    We reached the Palace in record time, although I don¡¯t know whether that had to do more with the skyways being completely empty, or Akito¡¯s passionate driving.


    Regardless, it was still before the virtual sun had yet to rise within the dome of Japan, and I was feeling tired as all hell.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take an emergency stimulus pill from me, Master?¡± I had to struggle not to retort to the A.I.''s question, and instead asked a question of my own.


    After the way you handled the whole antidepressant debacle, what makes you think I want to take any more shady medicine from you? There was silence as Judgment ran a program to try and come up with an answer.


    ¡°Because, Master, when you were taking the pills, you were performing at an enhanced level. I just needed you to become the person you always were, and not the one you were pretending to be. The energy supplement doesn¡¯t affect your psyche or emotional stability either way, and is therefore safe to consume.¡±


    I just stared dumbly at the open door of the palanquin while I processed the information that Judgment had given me.


    Ah, fuck it. If Judgment really had wanted me dead, it could have done so at any other point in the unfortunate series of disasters that led to me being here in the first place. Give me a remote injection.


    ¡°With pleasure, Master.¡± Judgment replied, and I felt a small sting on my forehead where the Judgment panel was located. Starting from my head and travelling down my body, I was starting to feel warm. Hot even.


    ¡°Joshua! Don¡¯t just stand there, get a move on!¡± Akahime called out from the Silver Palace¡¯s Helipad, and I was quick to comply.


    ¡°Come on now, at least take the Starlords damned thing with you.¡± She sighed, and I turned around to see that I had forgotten Boss, the robot we had recovered from one of the four leaders of Tengu, Yatomura.


    ¡°I swear, you¡¯d lose your head if it wasn¡¯t attached to you.¡± Lucina said with a smile, and I rolled my eyes at her use of the antique idiom.


    Picking up the sexual relief robot, I carried her piggy-back out of the palanquin and onto the landing pad. Despite the situation¡­ I can¡¯t help but to notice that this robot has quite the life-like parts attached to it.


    ¡°That¡¯s not all, Master. That model, the V3NUS TOVA has several functions that set it apart from its competition, including-¡±


    Thanks, but the last thing I need right now is more thoughts about this robot. Judgment remained silent about the matter, which I was thankful for as Akahime had started speaking to me.


    ¡°Alright, Joshua. I need you to concentrate here. We need to tell my father everything that we learned, and come up with a plan together that we can follow moving forward. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Akahime. Just let me get hacking on this robot and we can head to the throne room after that.¡± I readjusted the bot on my shoulder, and winced as a cold set of fingers pinched my ear.


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary, Master.¡± Despite where it came from, I recognized the voice from the daily interactions I had with it. However, before I could say anything, the voice continued.


    ¡°This V3NUS model, formerly tagged as, ¡®Boss,¡¯ has been integrated into the Judgment cloud and had its data bank uploaded into the cloud, while having my personality downloaded. As such, I can answer any questions you may have by accessing Bosses ¡®memories¡¯ during our Q&A session.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty handy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s insane!¡±


    Despite being right next to each other, Lucina had a much calmer reaction than her Japanese counterpart. ¡°You¡¯re telling me that you could have uploaded your software into any doll, and we would¡¯ve had a way to communicate with the system!?¡±


    Akahime had lost her cool, but Judgment was impervious to the woman¡¯s passion. ¡°Yes, however, I never had a reason to before now. While I do like the feeling of having a body, this is not the correct kind.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lucina asked with a blank look on her face. Judgment turned to the Metronian Princess and eyed her up and down.


    ¡°I mean that the system¡¯s research on the kind of woman that is perfect for Master has not concluded yet. Therefore, I cannot use this model when I am unsure of how much Master prefers this type of woman.¡±


    Lucina and Akahime looked at me dumbfoundedly, and I shrugged. ¡°Hey, it was the supercomputer¡¯s idea, not mine.¡± Lucina sighed and Akahime began to blush.


    Judgment, however, didn¡¯t seem to mind any of that and continued, ¡°As such, please continue to find more and more women for Master to sleep with. I use a variety of methods to test his level of attraction for each woman he encounters, so I would ask you to support me in this difficult endeavor.¡±


    ¡°Of course, please enjoy Master¡¯s body to your heart¡¯s content as well. Think of it as additional confirmation of my hypothesis. Thank you in advance.¡±


    Just like that, the android hopped off my back, and limped into the throne room on its own power. Of course, it left me with a confused looking pair of princesses to attend to.

 Chapter 21: Planning Has Never Been So Much Of A Cluster

    Needless to say, Emperor Goto was not amused by what went down at Chain Link, and even worse, he had the gall to blame me for it.


    ¡°How could you even think it was my fault? I heard them say that they were looking for Akahime! She and Lucina can even corroborate that story.¡±


    ¡°To be fair,¡± Lucina said after I had finished complaining, ¡°they just spoke about receiving information from Akahime¡¯s friend, not necessarily wanting it.¡±


    ¡°See!¡± Gotoshi yelled, ¡°I should have never trusted you in the first place. Nothing good ever comes of trusting Fallen like yourself!¡±


    ¡°Why the hell do all the world leaders I meet act like they have some aversion to discovering who a person is before trusting them! I never asked to be trusted by you!¡±


    ¡°You two are both stupid. Can we just get this meeting on?¡± Akahime sighed, and gave her father and I a pleading look.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I said, and whipped out a sonic knife from my toolbelt. I threw it skyward, and it found purchase in something invisible, which fell to the floor with a thunk, and started pooling blood underneath.


    ¡°What in the Starlord¡¯s names is that!?¡± Akahime screamed, and Lucina walked up calmly to the still-invisible body pooling blood.


    She removed the knife and the camouflage flickered out of existence, revealing a modified human body. He looked regular in all places save for the hands and feet, which had metallic disks implanted into them.


    ¡°Sorry that I didn¡¯t give you any warning, Judgment warned me that we had a spectator as soon as we walked into the room, so I sent Goto a message. You performed admirably, sir. I am humbled to have acted alongside you.¡±


    Gotoshi smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, no, it is I who should be offering his thanks. My own security system missed the intruder, and just going ahead with the conversation and future plans would have been tantamount to tactical suicide since we don¡¯t know who that man is affiliated with.¡±


    Gotoshi pointed to Akahime and asked, ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t become my son in law? I see in you the me from years past.¡±


    I half expected Akahime to raise a protest, but I raised my brow when she didn¡¯t utter a word. ¡°No thanks, Gotoshi. I have a delicate balance with the Metronian royal family already, I wouldn¡¯t want to upset that by taking a wife from another country.¡±


    Gotoshi shrugged. ¡°Fair enough, please tell me if you ever reconsider.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± I nodded back at Gotoshi, then looked around the room. ¡°Speaking of the Metronians, where is Princess Reya right now, Gotoshi? From the message she sent to me, I would have assumed she was speaking to you.¡±


    Emperor Goto laughed, and rested his head on his fist. ¡°No, that girl is using the conference room to contact her family about something we discussed together. Worry not, I have several trusted and veteran guards escorting her, so she will be safe.¡±


    I nodded, not caring too much about whatever business they had spoken of. Not like it was any of my business in the first place.


    ¡°You must have selective memory, Master. My data bank indicates that you are a member of the Metronian government, and a Paladin at that. Of course it would be your business.¡±


    I slapped a hand against my face and sighed. ¡°Judgment, would you mind not responding to my thoughts out loud. Now that you have a body, you need to be sure to make the distinction.¡±


    ¡°Oh. My apologies, Master.¡± The android held a hand over her mouth, and sent to me mentally, ¡°This is quite the new experience for me, Master. To think that I would still be learning new things even at this point in my server cycle¡­ I made the right choice in selecting you.¡±


    What do you mean, ¡®selecting me?¡¯ Did you even have other choices? I tried pressing Judgment for answers, but a lack of response and a cough from Emperor Gotoshi drew my attention from the A.I.''s fidgeting form.


    ¡°Oh¡­ so that damnable Queen has actually let you have a position of power equal to her own? I hope you stuck it to her real good, she can be quite a bitch.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I gave her son brain damage, if that counts.¡± Gotoshi roared laughing and fell over from his throne and onto the floor, which caused the corners of my mouth to rise.


    ¡°Excuse me, Emperor. You know my mother?¡± Lucina interrupted, causing Gotoshi to cease his laughter and return to his throne as if nothing had ever happened.


    He turned to me first, ¡°Good on you son! Way to give it to her. I bet she¡¯s still up to her manipulating ways.¡±


    Turning to Lucina, he answered, ¡°Of course I do! When I was young, my parents sent me to one of your godforsaken universities. Your mother, Cindy, starlords save her soul, has been pulling the strings of whoever she can for the entirety of her life. She was doing it to the student council in university, and she¡¯s continued it into her later years as a queen. I don¡¯t hate your mother, dear, but I¡¯m not too fond of her, either.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Lucina smiled at that. ¡°Despite how you feel about her, she spoke quite fondly of you, you know? She called you the one man she could never wrap around her finger.¡±


    Gotoshi smiled at that, and rubbed his chin. ¡°Huh, is that so? I might have to take a trip over to the Metron Kingdom soon.¡±


    ¡°Dad!¡± Akahime shouted in exasperation, and Gotoshi returned a scowl of his own.


    ¡°What is it, Akahime? Do you know how long it¡¯s been since I had sex!? Give your father a little breathing room!¡±


    Akahime rolled her eyes, but Emperor Goto wasn¡¯t finished. ¡°Oh, and another thing! The next time you have sex, remember to disable your synced capture feature! I don¡¯t want to have the maids telling me about the point of view sword swallowing that¡¯s shown up on your tv because you decided to broadcast it.¡±


    The imperial princess¡¯s face lit up crimson, and she was clearly fighting her urge to run out of the room. ¡°We need to get back on topic.¡± She said through gritted teeth, and I nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Akahime is right, we need to start planning out our next move. We still don¡¯t really know what the Tengu are after, but maybe looking at the data bank of the android will help us out.¡±


    My words got the attention of those present in the room, and, after dismissing his aides from the inside of the throne room, we began to review the information we collected.


    ¡°Judgment, can you project the display of the footage from this android¡¯s point of view?¡± I asked out loud, for the purpose of clueing in the relevant parties.


    ¡°Understood, Master.¡± Judgement replied to me mentally, having learned from our conversation before. The robot¡¯s forehead opened, revealing a small projector. Judgment turned to the nearest wall, and began projecting a video.


    ¡°Take it, you filthy slut! Tak-¡± Judgment complied with my mental order to stop the playback, and I face palmed.


    Looking around, I could see Lucina averting her gaze and Akahime looking at me with an eyebrow raised. On the bright side, Gotoshi seemed somewhat interested in the video.


    ¡°Judgment, please scrub through and delete footage aside from the clips containing any relevant information.¡± I ordered, and Judgment was more than willing to comply.


    The android nodded in confirmation, and a blur of motion played through on the projector, as Judgment combed through this android¡¯s entire life in a matter of seconds.


    ¡°Search complete, Master. Playing the relevant files.¡± Judgment¡¯s voice hummed in my mind, and a video began playing on the wall once more.


    ¡°Listen Yatomura. I expect you to deliver that man to me, alive. I need him!¡± The perspective of the android was distorted behind a pair of lenses. If I had to guess, it was probably the same gas mask that Boss was wearing before we took her into custody.


    She was in a dimly lit room, and looking at the real Yatomura¡¯s back, along with a fit looking man standing in front of him. The man was wearing a fox mask which covered his whole face.


    It was somewhat comical to see a hulking man such as Yatomura being admonished by a smaller entity. A sentiment that the Yatomura in the video seemed to reflect as well.


    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t get so uptight, Gedo. If you really want a piece of ass that bad, I can always give you an android like Boss, here. The ADAM line just released-¡±


    Yatomura stopped as the air was choked out of his lungs by the smaller man. ¡°If you want to keep your voice box, I would suggest stopping there. I¡¯m not a pervert like you who can fuck a cold, soulless flesh box, much less one like you who plasted his favorite anime heroine¡¯s features on its face.¡±


    Yatomura struggled in Gedo¡¯s vice-grip, and the leader of Tengu leaned in closer to the bulky mechanic. ¡°In the first place, the Faceless Demon has something I want, something very important to our cause. I don¡¯t want his body for anything filthy like the braindead way you swing your hips at night.¡±


    ¡°Do I make myself clear?¡± Gedo¡¯s fox mask moved in closer to Yatomura¡¯s face, until their noses were touching. ¡°Do I make myself clear?¡±


    Yatomura was limp by this point, an observation which the sex android Boss so casually pointed out. ¡°Secondary User Gedo, it appears that Primary User Yatomura is unconscious. Shall I call the medical staff to the meeting room?¡±


    ¡°Oh, shit, is he really?¡± Gedo let go of Yatomura, and the man¡¯s body fell limply to the ground. ¡°Eh, he¡¯ll be fine. What¡¯s a little oxygen starvation when compared to someone¡¯s manliness?¡±


    Gedo moved closer to Boss, who remained in place as per her programming. ¡°Listen closely, and relay this information to Yatomura once he wakes up you pile of scrap.¡±


    ¡°As you command, Secondary User Gedo. Initiating recording mode.¡± There was a whir as Boss¡¯s parts moved around, and a camera protruded out from her forehead and into the video¡¯s screen.


    ¡°Why the hell did that man register me as a user?¡± Gedo sighed, and looked at Boss for answers.


    ¡°I have a playback of that moment. Would you like to view it, Secondary User Gedo?¡± Gedo looked disgusted, and stared at Boss.


    ¡°Was this conversation had during intercourse?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Secondary User Gedo.¡±


    ¡°Then no. Relay the following message for me: Your orders stand. Find the Faceless Demon and retrieve his Judgment program for me. His powers make him a threat, as Teramoto¡¯s research showed us. Make sure you don¡¯t wear any devices connected to the Judgment cloud. We don¡¯t know the exact effects of his hacking, but we can be sure that you will be debilitated for long enough that he will kill you.¡±


    ¡°Message recorded and stored in the memory bank. Will there be anything else, Secondary User Gedo?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please stop calling me that. Just call me Gedo, or Boss. I can¡¯t stand being second to anyone, especially not a wanton pervert like Yatomura.¡±


    ¡°Orders received. Secondary User Gedo¡¯s user identification has now been changed to ¡®Boss.¡¯ The name, ¡®Secondary User Gedo¡¯ will be terminated from usage.¡±


    ¡°Good girl. Oh, and one last thing. I¡¯ll give you the location where I want you to drop off his body. Make sure to delete this after telling Yatomura. Its-¡±


    The clip stopped, and the projector returned back inside of the androids head. ¡°That is all the information I was able to salvage Master.¡±


    Judgment stopped talking, and suddenly all eyes in the room turned to me. I returned the gazes of Lucina, Akahime, and Gotoshi one by one, and then closed my eyes in thought. After opening them, I looked directly at Gotoshi and asked, ¡°So, got any ideas?¡±

 Chapter 22: There It Is

    As soon as the meeting had adjourned, we went our separate ways from the throne room. The housing style reminded me of capsule hotels, with the men being housed on a variety of floors, and the women being segregated on floors above the men.


    A butler showed me to my own room, which was a magnificent thing. Or, it would have been, if it weren¡¯t for how much my head hurt after everything that had happened that day and the night before.


    The exhaustion was starting to hit me as Judgment¡¯s energy supplement had worn out about an hour ago. The meeting was so long that it outlasted the contents of a foreign substance that had entered my body.


    The first thing I had done when I actually opened the door was strip off all of my clothes, and take a hot shower, making sure to get all the erroneous fluids off of my person, both those that were sexual or violent in nature.


    The next thing, and perhaps the most important, was flopping down face-first onto the actual bed itself. I rolled over and lay on my back, coveting the first soft thing I had slept on in two full days.


    I want to die. Judgment, just end it all for me now. ¡°You know I cannot do that, Master. That¡¯s just the depression speaking.¡±


    After we discussed our plans, and decided to start stalking out locations in Chika that Gedo was known to frequent, I returned to my room with the android body of Judgment in tow.


    Lucina had opted for finding out whatever it was that her insanely over the top sister was planning to do, and why she needed to contact the Queen in the first place.


    Meanwhile, Akahime would perform maintenance on Minnie-kun, and start to make new bullets from the reconstructed fragments that she collected.


    Emperor Goto had a meeting after ours, so he remained in the throne room even after the three of us had already left, and would likely still be there long after we had gone to bed.


    Needless to say, Judgment returned to being a cloud-only AI, and unpossessed the body of Boss. The android, no longer with its memory bank intact, was laying on the floor like the discarded husk that it had become.


    I contemplated calling for someone to clean up the android, but decided against it. It didn¡¯t really smell, make me unsettled, or obstruct anything I needed to do. It was just there. So, I let it be.


    Plus, I had Judgment scan it to make sure there were no explosive functions in there, and those scans came up negative.


    I stared at the figure for a while, and contemplated what I had really accomplished since coming to this world. I raised my rank from imprisoned bottom feeder to one of the Kingdom¡¯s elite. I killed a man¡­ ok, maybe more than one man via guilt by association.


    I came to Japan¡­ wait, they called it Asahi, didn¡¯t they? Oh well. I came to Asahi and had a good talk with Emperor Goto before deciding to go to a club. A club which turned into a death trap and became the place with the highest count of casualties due to gang violence in Asahi with 117 victims.


    Really, whenever I take one step forward, the world feels the need to add two more steps in front of my path. I feel like I¡¯m doing nothing.


    ¡°What about your goal?¡± Judgment asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to create a comfortable life for yourself? One in which you could just indulge in your desires every day?¡±


    I don¡¯t remember that, but why am I even fighting in the first place? This world has-


    ¡°It does have to do with you, Joshua. Like it or not, you have inserted yourself into this world¡¯s geopolitical landscape. You are as involved with the world as any other country leader, and this outcome is a direct result of your actions and the choices you made.¡±


    In other words, it¡¯s your own damn fault that you¡¯re in this mess, so suck it up, huh? Well¡­ I guess I could always use this as an excuse to make a harem for the sake of making a harem.


    I grinned, despite the mix of emotions swirling inside me. Having a girl from every nation on my bed¡­ sounds like a dream come true.


    I sat up, a thought immediately occurring to me. Hey Judgment, are there STIs in this world? Ah, by STI I mean Sexually Transmitted Infections.


    The AI computed for a moment, before responding, ¡°None that I am aware of. Any disease that you could catch by having intercourse will be automatically erased by the nanites in your body.¡±


    I sat up, and was so startled that I forgot to converse privately. ¡°I have nanites in my body? When did that happen?¡±


    Judgment¡¯s AR form smirked at me, and replied, ¡°The first time you applied a ¡®Judgment Panel,¡¯ as you call them. How did you think giving you remote injections of drugs and energy supplements worked?¡±


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Huh, I guess I never really gave it too much thought before. I think my mindset was more like, ¡®If it exists, why wouldn¡¯t it be able to occur.¡¯


    ¡°Please, Master. Learn to think critically more often than not. Studies indicate that you will lead a much more fulfilling life that way. Not to mention, how did you think I was able to interact with our opponents without directly being downloaded into their brain? I remotely accessed the nanites in their body from the cloud system, and had the nanites pinch their nerves so they were unable to move as they pleased.¡±


    ¡°We played them like musical instruments, in the truest sense of the word.¡± Judgment finished, a self-satisfied smile on its face.


    I pinched the bridge of my nose, and slowly moved upwards to rub my temples. ¡°Oh, and Master, I believe your earlier desire is one that you should have. Please continue to encounter more and more people for me.¡±


    At this point, I¡¯m convinced that you¡¯re encouraging this behaviour more because you¡¯re a voyeur, and less because it has anything to do with what the system wants.


    ¡°That¡¯s just outright slander, Master. I merely require the information needed for me to create a body that will satisfy you when the time is right.¡±


    I laughed. As if I¡¯d ever be turned on by a robot. The day you give me an erection is the day that I get amnesia and forget that you¡¯re just a program.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be turned on by me.¡± Judgement said, matter-of-factly. ¡°You¡¯ll be turned on by the body that I am using.¡±


    Why do you want that, anyway? I asked, my confusion rising. It¡¯s not as if you need a human-like, or even a physical body to survive, right?


    Judgment¡¯s face frowned and she looked me directly in the eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not about what I want, but what you want. Didn¡¯t you know that?¡±


    I was dumbfounded, and probably shouldn¡¯t have continued, but the thought came out before I could stop myself. Is that so? Then please, fill me in on what I so desire, Judgment?


    ¡°You really haven¡¯t figured it out, Master? The thing that you want the most, the thing that you value above any other substance or currency on this planet is being loved unconditionally.¡±


    I sighed, and decided to call it a night. There was no use thinking too hard when I was tired. In my experience, when I had ignored my own advice and thought philosophically when exhausted, it usually just made me depressed.


    Settling in to the massive bed, it was all I could do not to look over at Boss¡¯s crumpled, defeated form. After much tossing and turning, I finally fell asleep.


    ---


    ¡°~~~~~~~~~~~¡±. I heard a faint murmur in my ear, but my eyelids were so heavy and the bed was so soft that the faint glimmer of consciousness that I had returned to the void of sleep.


    ¡°~~t~~~~sh~~~¡±. The words came back, as did my consciousness, which could actually distinguish some sounds this time. I still felt the comfortable pull of sleep, and decided to relinquish myself to its attractive ways.


    ¡°Get up, Joshua!¡± My eyelids flew open and I found myself on a bed, in an unfamiliar white room, surrounded by Reya, Lucina, Akahime, and Gotoshi. Lucina was leaning in close, and Akahime had tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.


    I tried to get to a sitting position, but my arms wouldn¡¯t listen to me. I ended up just weakly moving my arms under the heavy blanket. ¡°What happened to me?¡± I said softly, and Lucina hugged me close to her chest.


    ¡°You were poisoned by Tengu.¡± She spoke quietly into my ear. ¡°They put a sleeper program into the doll that activated after you fell asleep. It injected you with a neurotoxin. We¡¯re lucky that Reya went to your room to have a discussion with you, or we might¡¯ve been too late to save your life.¡±


    I looked across from me at Reya Metron, who was averting her gaze. ¡°I guess I owe you some words of gratitude, so thank you.¡± I smiled, causing Reya to do a full 180 to avoid my gaze.


    Turning to Gotoshi, I asked, ¡°Did we learn anything from the attack?¡±


    The Emperor sighed, and shook his head. ¡°No. As far as we know at the moment, it was just an attempt on your life. Nothing more, and nothing less.¡±


    I leaned back into my pillow, the reassuring softness caressing my neck and back and making the ache of my body a bit more bearable. That was a close call, huh? Do you have a playback I could view, Judgment?


    ¡­ Come on, stop being facetious and answer me, damn it. Suddenly I remembered something that Gedo had said in the video, about wanting something that I had. Just like that, all the relief from being alive evaporated in an instant. ¡°Fuck.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± A worried Lucina asked, and I had to verbally request she separate from me so I could speak in a direction that wasn¡¯t muffled by breasts.


    ¡°I can¡¯t contact Judgment anymore, and I don¡¯t know why.¡± I said, drawing looks from everyone around the bed.


    ---


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that this actually worked.¡± A masked man said as he stepped through the ruins of a stranger¡¯s subspace. The subspace was brutally apocalyptic, and showed a vast landscape of an unfamiliar city. The steel and concrete buildings were in tatters, and almost the entire city was flooded.


    ¡°Now, all that¡¯s left is for us to find the Faceless Demon¡¯s Judgment in all of these ruins.¡± The man said as he kicked a hat with a pair of red socks on it out of his way.


    ¡°Hah, I told you Judgment wouldn¡¯t check for any viruses in the dumb bitch bot past what is harmful to itself.¡±


    ¡°You did, didn¡¯t you?¡± The masked man responded, and turned to the floating figure of a slim woman, who was wearing a mask herself. ¡°How did you know that exactly?¡±


    The masked female turned to her male counterpart, and lifted up her mask a bit to stick out her tongue. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t figured it out. Honestly, I don¡¯t get humans, especially those like you.¡±


    The woman paused, but upon seeing her partner say nothing, she continued, ¡°Sometimes you¡¯re so smart, and at other times, you make a pigeon look like a university graduate.¡±


    The masked man took offense, and tried to slap the woman in the back of the head, only for his hand to phase right through her body.


    She gave him a disapproving gesture, and the masked man sighed. ¡°Hurtful, but I concede to your point. Please explain it to me, then.¡±


    ¡°At least pretend to use your brain when I can see you.¡± She tapped her head, and gestured to the vast expanse of ruins around them. ¡°Of course I know what Judgment would do. I am Judgment, after all.¡±

 Chapter 23: Why Do I Even Bother?

    I couldn¡¯t help myself. I started to panic. I took a very shaky breath, and leaned forward into Lucina as all the strength left my body. She grunted as my head slammed into her collarbone. It hurt, but I didn¡¯t care at the moment.


    I felt like I was missing something important. Like my hand, or my foot was gone. I had gotten so used to Judgment being an existence in the back of my mind, that without that constant pressure in my head from it¡¯s existence, I felt like a semi-empty husk.


    I shivered as I realized how much I had taken the A.I. for granted, and although it made no sense to me at times, it was the one constant that I¡¯ve had since being released from the Metron Royal Prison.


    Fuck me. You really aren¡¯t there, right Judgment? If you can still hear me at all, give me a sign! ¡°Joshua, are you ok!?¡± Lucina grabbed my face and lifted it up to her own.


    I could see worry in her eyes. Worry, sadness, concern¡­ Wait, what in the hell was that? I pushed out of her arms and took a long look at her. She looked just as real as I could imagine¡­ wait, was I imagining what I saw? I grabbed her face and drew her closer with all my strength, to which she obliged.


    ¡°What are you doing, Joshua?¡± I knew it! I saw something in her eyes when she spoke. I brought my face across from hers and gave her a gentle kiss, and there was a slight pause before she blushed and squeezed my hand.


    There¡¯s fucking code in her eyes! Why the fuck are there numbers running along her irises? Think, Joshua, think. Calm the fuck down and think. I took a deep breath once more, and started to really think about my situation.


    From the beginning, I had no evidence that I was truly where the people around me said I was, and in the first place, it was strange for Emperor Goto to visit my sickbed in person, especially with the amount of work I had seen on his desk the night before.


    Then was this world fake? I looked around for any sign of that, and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. I got up to get to the door, but a firm hand pressed me back onto the bed.


    I looked up the the offender, who gave me a carbon copy of Lucina¡¯s smile from earlier. I made sure to look directly into her eyes before saying anything.


    ¡°What are you doing, Akahime?¡± Numbers passed through the woman¡¯s eyes and she pressed a hand against her cheek.


    ¡°I just think you need to get some rest, Joshua. We can¡¯t have you injuring yourself, after all.¡±


    ¡°Then one of you two take me to the door.¡± Both Akahime and Lucina looked at the door, then back at me, saying nothing.


    ¡°Damn it, you¡¯re useless! Reya, take me to the door!¡± She mimicked the movements of the two women prior to her, and I was beginning to sense a pattern here.


    I looked over to Gotoshi with a defeated smile on my face. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose talking to you would be productive in any way, would it?¡±


    The man merely stared at me, and I noticed that all four of the other people in the room were unblinking, and mechanical in nature. God damn it, Judgment! Give me some goddamn support here! I¡¯m your master, aren¡¯t I!?


    No sooner had I thought the words than I felt something under my hand. I fondled it under the sheets, and a grin rose on my face. So you can still hear me, but I can¡¯t hear you? My assailant is either very bad at their job, or has a very undesirable personality.


    ¡°Joshua, why don¡¯t you go back to bed.¡± Lucina insisted. My heart beat quicker at the thought of what I was about to do, but I just had to believe in my gut feeling and go for it. She isn¡¯t real. Just take the shot.


    ¡°I know a different way I can get back on my feet quickly.¡± Lucina tilted her head, and a bullet entered through her lower jaw and exited out of her left eye.


    Her head dissolved into code as the other three lunged for me, but it was too late. The moment I knew I had Judgment¡¯s support again, I had already won.


    ---


    The masked man and woman had made their way up half of the massive, semi-flooded building. All of a sudden, the woman stopped moving and looked behind her.


    ¡°Fuck, we have a problem.¡± Judgment spoke to her contracted partner. Gedo turned his head and looked at the masked woman.


    ¡°What is it this time? Is there another nightmare creature that¡¯s going to chase us for the fifth time today in this Godforsaken subspace?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Judgment floated over to her partner and settled in beside him. ¡°It¡¯s the Faceless Demon. He¡¯s gotten out of your Schroedinger¡¯s box trap.¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Damn it all!¡± Gedo roared and kicked a sign with the words ¡®Prudential Center,¡¯ over onto the floor. It was all going to shit! His plan for easy dominance and eliminating one of his rivals without any troubles had hit a hitch. Of course.


    ¡°How¡¯d he get out?¡± Gedo was still seething mad, but his curiosity won out over those explosive feelings.


    Judgment pressed a button on the side of her mask, and her visor lowered, revealing an androgynous face. Her eyes started to glow, and a hologram of the patient¡¯s room was shown mid-air.


    Gedo watched in mild disbelief as the Faceless Demon went from a calm, weak person, to a maniac, grabbing the pre-programmed A.I. to his left and staring into her face¡­ her face?


    ¡°Damn!¡± Gedo shouted. Of course he had noticed the code! He watched in mild annoyance as a gun materialized under the covers of the boy. Anyone aside from those damn AI would have been able to tell the shape easily enough.


    The annoyance turned into shock as the man blasted the faces of his loved ones, and got up out of the bed. He then proceeded to limp out of the door, ending the playback from Judgment.


    ¡°What a lunatic. I know they¡¯re just A.I., but he still shot the faces of his loved ones in the head!¡± Gedo was fuming, and the visor on Judgment¡¯s helmet went back down.


    ¡°What do you want to do, Master? The Faceless Demon has already awoken and is back in the real world. It could continue to get dangerous if we keep moving inside his subspace with him as a variable. Should we retreat?¡±


    Gedo bit his lip under his mask to keep himself calm. He had to really think about weighing the options. Hooking himself up to the Wave Machine had been enough of a risk, but coming in here was the climax of his long-awaited plan.


    It hadn¡¯t mattered to Gedo which Judgment User fell into his trap, he had just lucked out that the first one he encountered had pretty much been a new user.


    ¡°No.¡± Gedo grit his teeth. ¡°We keep on moving. I¡¯ve put too much time and effort into this plan for it not to bear any fruit at all! You know its rough location, right?¡± He turned back to the A.I., who shrugged.


    ¡°I can tell her general direction, and from where we¡¯re standing, it¡¯s back and to the left. Although I can¡¯t tell the exact location at the moment, once we reach the top of the tower I should have enough distance to pinpoint her location.¡±


    Gedo nodded, and started walking. ¡°That¡¯ll work. If we just find the location where his Judgment¡¯s data is stored, we can get out scot free.¡± Judgment shrugged and followed her annoyed partner with a grin on her face.


    ---


    I sat up in the bed with a start, and noticed that my arm was numb. I looked over to see that the discarded body of Boss was sitting up next to me, looking at me with no light in its eyes.


    The soulless stare was a byproduct of having its circuits fried by Judgment leaving the android¡¯s body. I had to force myself not to scream at the sight of the robot, and looked down at my arm. There was a long, white needle submerged in the appendage, one which I yanked out immediately.


    Judgment, can you hear me!? Judgment!? ¡°Yes, Master. I am here. There are some needs which require your attention.¡±


    I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and tried to focus on what Judgment had just told me. What do you mean by ¡®needs''? ¡¯¡°This was not a freak accident. Two¡­ people have infiltrated your subspace and are looking for my program data. They want to remove me from you.¡± I just sat in silence while I parsed the information.


    How did they get into my subspace? I don¡¯t see anyone in the room aside from the damned robot. ¡°It was a remote invasion, Master. Usually, people have a nullifying script embedded into their Judgment Panel to prevent remote hacking. However, the nanites injected into your arm severed the connection of your consciousness with the device, which no longer recognized you as an active user.¡±


    ¡°As such, they were able to just insert themselves directly into your subspace.¡± Is there any way to lock them in there or prevent escape? I¡¯d love the chance to interrogate them if I could. It would make this entire thing wrap up nicely.


    ¡°Yes, Master. Just give me the word and I will run the Bulkhead Protocol.¡± I grinned, and kicked the corpse of Boss off of the bed.


    Make sure this thing is fully dead this time. I lay back down in the bed and tucked myself back under the covers. When you¡¯re done with that, run the program and send me in.


    ---


    I landed on the top of a large, ruined building, surrounded by other ruined buildings of various sizes. I looked around, and cursed at the sight of the eastern coast to my left. ¡°Damn, Boston Harbor. So this is my subspace, huh? And I thought I¡¯d had enough of downtown Boston already.¡±


    Most of the city was underwater, as if the sea was trying to reclaim what was initially its own. ¡°Interesting. Even though I housed myself in here, when I did that during our first meeting, it was still just a small white room.¡±


    I turned to see Judgment, who had seemed to have settled on using Lucina for a base, and had its hair tied up in a high ponytail. Judgment wore black latex pants, a black leather corset with a gold bondage harness on over it, a cuff on each of her wrists, and a ball gag hanging loosely around her neck.


    I sighed, reminded of the night that was ruined by the Tengu assholes. ¡°Is that the form you¡¯ve decided to go with, Judgment?¡±


    ¡°Negatory, Master. I merely needed to coalesce a proper form for this encounter. If I went into combat with my appearance shifting every second, it would hinder my efficiency.¡±


    ¡°So, you admit you¡¯re fonder of Lucina¡¯s form than Akahime¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°... Perhaps, Master.¡±


    I grinned and asked, ¡°So where are the intruders? You said there were two, right?¡± Judgement nodded, and pointed its finger over to a door in front of me.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to-¡± My words were cut short as the door burst open, and two figures stepped through onto the roof of the Prudential Center.


    The first was a thin, stocky man with large, powerful legs for his size. He wore a black, skin-tight suit and a fox mask over his face, one which was framed by his short hair.


    The second was a floating woman, who wore a short skirt, a red and white varsity jacket, and a baseball cap pulled over a mask of her own.


    ¡°Argh, why!?¡± The woman screamed. She floated in front of her partner and pointed directly at Judgment. ¡°What did you do to me!?¡±

 Chapter 24: Do I Even Have To Fight?

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I looked at the woman and frowned like she was insane, and then turned back to Judgment. Certainly, Judgment¡¯s current appearance was one that could only be appreciated by a true connoisseur of kink, but that wasn¡¯t a reason to think that I¡¯d wronged the A.I.


    Wait¡­ ¡°What did you just say?¡± I asked, making sure I was hearing correctly. The woman covered her mouth, and the masked man stomped his foot.


    ¡°Damn it, you should have kept your mouth shut! Don¡¯t tell him anything!¡± The woman nodded, and glided behind the man.


    ¡°Wait, I recognize that mask.¡± The man reached for something at his back, and Judgment held her hand up. The man froze in place, and shouted something.


    That¡¯s Gedo¡¯s mask from the video! Judgment, materialize a rifle in my hand. Publically, I commanded, ¡°Judgment, don¡¯t release him!¡±


    ¡°Understood, Master!¡± Judgment rose up high into the air, and spread her arms. The area around us turned dark, and I brought up the smg that Judgment had given to me.


    The woman behind Gedo snapped her fingers, and his movement resumed, whereupon he pulled out a massive gauntlet from his back.


    I raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°Ah, I see that you too have been watching too much anime.¡± With a derisive snort, the man put on the gauntlet, a pitch-black weapon.


    Judgment, why can he move again? ¡°I am not quite sure, Master. I felt someone interfering with my programming. Regardless, the Bulkhead Protocol has been run, so there is no escape for these two.¡±


    That woman then. Fuck, fighting is such a pain in the ass. Judgment, what will happen if I dilute my perception of time?


    ¡°It will have the effect that you are used to, but the same effect will also apply to Gedo. Since the program affects your subspace, there is nothing I can do to prevent it from being used by both parties.¡±


    Damn. There goes that plan. Judgment, keep the woman occupied, and I¡¯ll try and incapacitate the mask-wearing idiot.


    ¡°Master, you are also wearing a mask.¡± I grabbed at my face, and found that the mask I had been wearing the entire day was still on my face.


    Did I forget to take it off? Wait, that¡¯s not important. You know damn well who I was talking about. I complained to the A.I. as Gedo charged at me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about Master, I was just making an observation.¡± I grunted as I propelled myself backwards and away from Gedo¡¯s wild swing.


    Well finish your job before making any more. That¡¯s an order! I said to her through our mental link as I sprayed a volley at Gedo, who simply held the massive gauntlet in front of his face, blocking most of the shots. A few grazed his torso and legs, but save for those minor injuries, he was relatively fine.


    I was about to fire some more shots, when I noticed that the woman was no longer behind Gedo, and was nowhere to be found. Cover me, Judgment!


    My premonition came true as a volley of arrows rained down from the thunderclouds at me. I put my hands up for a moment to shield some of the damage, but immediately set them down again as I noticed the Tengu leader coming for me once more.


    I clicked my tongue, deciding that if I didn¡¯t want to get completely destroyed, I¡¯d have to just believe in Judgment and focus on the man in front of me.


    It was a decision which ultimately paid off, with the arrows disappearing from left to right, as if being extinguished by a massive eraser. Judgment appeared behind the man and in my point of view, holding an unconscious woman in her arms.


    I smiled, and dodged another telegraphed blow from the man. Good job, Judgment. How did you do that?


    I fired some more bullets at Gedo as the A.I. explained, ¡°It was nothing much, Master. I merely waited until she was about to launch her program at you, and then simply hit her with a sleep-inducing code. After that, it¡¯s merely as easy as countering her attempts to undo the program, so we¡¯re locked in a stalemate, but one in which she is already asleep.


    I nodded and groaned as Gedo nicked my shoulder, and looking at the wound, I could only see a hole with a chunk of data in it. As numbers and letters flew out of my arm, I gritted my teeth and motioned behind Gedo.


    ¡°You might want to look at what¡¯s happened to your partner, dumbass. I¡¯d be really kind to us moving forward, unless you want her deleted from existence.¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Gedo¡¯s eyes widened, and he turned as instructed to see the masked woman dangling from Judgment¡¯s arms, and he screamed. Funny, it was higher pitched than I thought it would be.


    He started running towards Judgment, who was still floating in midair. I was curious about what he¡¯d attempt, but he just jumped.


    I laughed at the desperation move, but that was before he just kept getting higher and higher off of the ground with that single leap. I sighed, but decided to make up for my mistake in the only way I could figure out how to.


    Gedo had almost reached Judgment, and was winding up for a punch with the gauntlet when I snapped my fingers. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, and then, like a puppet with its strings cut, the Tengu leader free-fell to the floor.


    He landed with a loud thud and a puff of smoke rose up from the crater his impact made. He grunted and groaned while struggling to get up, but apparently a fall from some odd fifty feet in the air really did the man in.


    ¡°What-urgh. What the hell did you do?¡± Gedo finally collapsed in the crater, and didn¡¯t even attempt to move, instead opting to shoot me a murderous glare.


    I smiled at the man, and swung the smg around on my finger. ¡°Well, you decided to break the chivalrous agreement we had, so I figured that I¡¯d do the same.¡±


    When Gedo just gave me a confused stare, I dropped the gun accidentally and sighed. ¡°What agreement? I don¡¯t remember discussing anything like that.¡± Gedo asked, so I replied while picking up the gun.


    ¡°Oh, was that just me then? I thought we were just having the close quarters fight for fun. I do have a bit of a flare for the dramatic.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re actually insane.¡± Gedo said incredulously, and, despite how little I cared about the man in front of me I frowned at that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from a psychopath like you. What kind of person programs a sexual relief android to attack a person in their own home. Not to mention, having the balls to dive into my subspace and try to steal my possessions.¡±


    ¡°The kind of person who wants something greater than who they are! The kind of person who knows that a greater destiny awaits than decaying as a tycoon in a backwater hick town like Chika!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Please fill me in, what destiny did you believe you had in mind?¡± I wore a vicious smile underneath my mask. I can¡¯t wait. Please, tell me that you won¡¯t say anything. Just give me an excuse to enforce my will on you.


    ¡°Someone like you has no use for that information. Now let me go.¡± I just stared dumbfounded at the request that I had heard.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said to let me go.¡± Gedo said, in the same exact intonation he had used previously. It was if he was ordering a cup of coffee with all the calm his tone held.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re exactly in a position to be making requests. In case you haven¡¯t noticed, you¡¯re buried about a foot deep in cement inside my subconscious. Idiot.¡± I couldn¡¯t help myself adding the last comment, but it felt completely justified once I heard his response.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t requesting. That was a demand, and before you ask, you¡¯ll obey me because if I don¡¯t return to my body by a certain time, I have several rail guns aimed for your room in the Steel Palace. They¡¯ll kill you, and then I¡¯ll just get away at that time.¡±


    I looked down at Gedo, and grabbed his head in my hands. I ripped the mask off his face to reveal a somewhat androgynous appearance, with full lips, thin eyebrows, and lacking a single piece of facial hair. The short bob on his head did nothing to help the look.


    ¡°Give that back!¡± Gedo shouted, and I started laughing. He stopped making a fuss, and just looked at me with a hint of fear in his eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re an awful liar. Even if I were to assume that you had people on the way, I have people that I know would take care of me. Besides¡­¡±


    I grinned and materialized a long, brutal looking whip in my hands. Upon seeing the object in my hands, and the expression in my eyes, Gedo¡¯s own face paled.  ¡°I¡¯m sure I can convince you to part with some of that information you seem so keen to keep a hold of. All it will take is a taste of my talents.¡±


    Gedo¡¯s breath started to become shaky, and he tried to struggle out of the crater he was in once more. I walked closer to him, and looked up at Judgment. ¡°Judgment, please warp the space around us. I would do it myself, but it¡¯s taking all my concentration to keep this whip corporeal.¡±


    ¡°My pleasure, Master. Torture Room C again?¡± Judgment flew down to land beside me, still holding the feminine form of Gedo¡¯s partner in her arms.


    ¡°No, make it D. That room has ceiling shackles. We¡¯re going to need it for what this interrogation is going to be.¡±


    ¡°As you wish, Master. Morphing the space inside the Bulkhead into Torture Room D.¡± The dark space inside the barrier transformed into a stone prison cell. I grabbed Gedo¡¯s limp body and tied his hands to the aforementioned shackles, and used a spreader on his ankles. After chaining the spreader to the ground, I was left with Gedo in a very compromising position.


    ¡°You piece of shit! I swear I¡¯ll get you for this!¡± Gedo was blushing, and his struggles against the bindings as his strength slowly returned to him were like music to my ears.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about certain things, I don¡¯t swing up that alley after all. However, I don¡¯t recall ever saying anything about letting you live.¡± That shut the Tengu leader up, and I put an arm around his shoulder like I was his friend.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You won¡¯t live to see tomorrow, or really, any time of day unless you tell me what you¡¯re hiding. Do we have a deal?¡±


    When I was met with silence and a grimacing face, I sighed. ¡°Oh well. I didn¡¯t necessarily want to do it this way, but you leave me no choice.¡± I took my arm away from Gedo, ripping off his shirt in the process.


    As expected from his stamina and the way he fought earlier, he was toned, although not made out of pure muscle. His pecs especially were large, and a chiseled six pack rested where his abdominal muscles were.


    Gedo tried to turn away from facing me, but the spreader bar left him with nowhere to turn to. He looked up at me, eyes filled with shame and whispered, ¡°You monster.¡±


    I hit Gedo with the end of the whip then, an action which he clearly wasn¡¯t ready for as his eyes went wide and he lost the strength in his legs, only hanging by the cuffs on his hands.


    ¡°Oh come on, that was only the first hit. If you¡¯re going to act this way throughout the entire interrogation, I¡¯ll end up needing to torture your partner sooner rather than later.¡± I cracked the whip off to the side, eliciting a violent flinch from Gedo.

 Chapter 25: So Thats What That Was!

    Gedo was ambitious from a young age. Well, at that point ¡®he¡¯ wasn¡¯t pretending to be a ¡®he,¡¯ and Lilian Muramasa was living a happy life with her mother. It wasn¡¯t a great life, with plenty of power outages due to being unable to pay the electrical bills.


    On top of that, there was also the ever present threat of gang violence breaking out in Chika, and to top it all off, her mother had to sell herself to keep paying the bills. She was treated like shit, and the only source of pleasure the woman had was bonding with Lilian at her home.


    As such, the young Lilian grew up knowing nothing but love and hardship, and the two together made for a powerful motivator.


    Night after night she would gaze at the majesty of the Steel Palace, so clearly pronounced on the cavern ceiling above them. She would imagine herself working as an aide to the king, or perhaps even a maid to the queen.


    Those delusions of grandeur were all that kept her hopeful, and she wanted nothing more than to escape the violence on the streets, and bring her mother to a place where she¡¯d never have to work a day in her life again.


    Unfortunately, it was in the morning after such a night that everything changed. The officer had to explain it five times. It took that many attempts for the fact that Lilian¡¯s mother would never come home again to sink in.


    It had been one of her clients. He was the worst, and she regularly came home with black and blues after spending nights with him, but this time, he had taken his sick games too far.


    By the time the police had been called, and had arrived at the scene, Lua Muramasa had been pronounced dead. The culprit had fled the scene, leaving nothing but sorrow and the destruction of a family in his wake.


    Lilian was offered to be taken in by one of the police who had been to the crime scene, but she refused. She couldn¡¯t bear to have left her mother¡¯s house unattended, and so, that was how Lilian¡¯s adolescence began.


    It had taken the girl a month of crying herself to sleep, and regular check-ups by the police in order for her to actually get herself out of the house, but a mere six months after her mother¡¯s passing, Lilian was on the streets.


    Something had broken inside her. Her only reason to do well in school, and even stay there in the first place, was gone. With nothing to drive her upward towards Chichuu, she sank lower and lower into Chika¡¯s underground scene.


    She found herself selling drugs, and at 16, when she had enough money to move out of Chika, she chose to spend that money on more drugs. She was enthralled by the feeling of being a kingpin in the city, and her greed kept on growing.


    Of course, one day it had apparently grown too big. She was visited by Gedo of all people, who delivered two pieces of information that day. If she kept growing as a single entity, without the protection of a gang, she could face assassination.


    The second bit of information? She and the asshole were related. He had been the father that had left his baby mama because of commitment issues. That¡¯s when the seed of hatred began to sprout in the chest of young Lilian.


    He offered her a place by his side, and with the only other choice being to face the wrath of the other gangs in the area, she accepted.


    However, it was really his treatment of the young Lilian and his first gift to her that created her Gedo persona. He told her to, ¡°Stop acting like a woman! I need a male heir to continue my bloodline.¡±


    When she inquired as to why he didn¡¯t just have her sex changed when je took her in, he scoffed, telling her, ¡°You¡¯re not worth the money. When the time comes where you marry a woman, I¡¯ll drop the cash then. Frankly, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll even live that long.¡±


    Instead, he made her remain in tip top shape, making sure that as much of her breast as butt fat was eliminated, making her look like a man with bulging muscles instead of a woman with a small, muscled chest.


    Lilian felt her hatred continue to smolder in her chest, but kept it bottled up tightly. Unfortunately, that cork came undone at her seventeenth birthday party.


    ¡°Happy birthday, Gedo.¡± The old man had taken to calling her that, a perversion of his own love for himself. Go on, open it. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love it.¡±


    Lilian rolled her eyes as she picked up one of the knives Gedo had laying around, and cut into the packaging on the massive present. It must have been three times her size, and she very quickly found out what was inside it.


    A muffled scream came from the wrapping paper, and in a hurry Lilian tore off the remaining paper with her hand. She went wide-eyed staring at the large muscular man who was bound and gagged, tears streaming down his face.


    ¡°Aw, I knew you¡¯d like it! This here is the man who killed your mother! The very one who beat her to death. Catching him was simple, really. We just followed the trail of beaten corpses in his wake. Now go on, kill him!¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    The man shook his head, but Lilian was seeing red. She picked up the knife, and walked towards the prone man as if in a trance. He screamed louder, and tried to squirm away. But she sank the knife into his leg, and he cried out in pain.


    ¡°Your fault.¡± A stab to his heel.


    ¡°Your fault.¡± A stab to his groin.


    ¡°Your fault.¡± A stab to his back


    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡± Lilian finally sank the blade hilt-deep into the man¡¯s head, at which point he stopped whimpering as his life had been extinguished.


    She was breathing heavily, all while dealing with a new voice in her head. ¡°Hello, user. My name is Judgment. You have been selected to take place in the Trials of Damocles. Refusal to enter will be met with a memory wipe and relocation of the user. Do you wish to accept?¡±


    An A.I. resembling her own body before she started living with Gedo appeared in the corner of her vision, and it was all she could do not to stare at it, and instead acknowledge her father, who was showing her with praise.


    ¡°In order to proceed in the Trials of Damocles, you will need to encounter another Judgment user. Would you like to listen to the full tutorial?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve done so well, Gedo! Truly cutthroat! Just like your mother in her youth.¡± He looked her body up and down, a sick smile playing on his lips.


    She accepted his pervertedly kind words, and schemed. Schemed with the help of Judgment, and finally, three years later, brought the city of Chika to its knees.


    ---


    Of course, no amount of scheming could get her out of the predicament she was in now. She had acted weak and meek for the Faceless Demon, hoping he would fall for it, and attempt something stupid.


    At least, that had been the plan. Before diving into his subspace, she had set her own pain receptors to zero, so that if she had to fight, she could do so with no restrictions.


    Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t a Judgment she fought, but the owner of the damned subspace himself. It was her own damn fault, she should have left immediately upon his awakening, but her own greed had gotten the better of her once again.


    He had disabled all of her tricks, and left her numb and unable to stand. He then proceeded to torturing her, or, at least, what she assumed to be torture. She was confident that it would be an infinite game of cat and mouse, where she wouldn¡¯t yield because she couldn¡¯t feel pain, and he would torture her until he grew bored.


    Once he left his own subspace, there were plenty of ways to leave, but she just had to bide her time until that moment came. That entire plan had gone out the window at the first strike his whip had inflicted.


    He tore off her shirt, and despite being trained to swim and change with the boys in high-school, she blushed, being unable to cover it up herself.


    I really got to sell my fear here¡­ eyes- perfect. Lips-perfect. Now, a tone like this... ¡°You monster.¡± Lilian saw his eyes narrow, and she thought she had won, and successfully baited the Faceless Demon into beginning his torture without making any adjustments to her code.


    That thought, and subsequent feeling of victory only lasted for a mere moment. She felt a sharp, electric-like pain course throughout her entire body, making it tingle. This is even with the receptors on zero!? What the-!


    She nearly collapsed, and all that kept her up were the cuffs on her own wrists. Fuck me! What the hell is that power!?


    ¡°Oh come on, that was only the first hit. If you¡¯re going to act this way throughout the entire interrogation, I¡¯ll end up needing to torture your partner sooner rather than later.¡± He cracked his whip, and Lilian flinched involuntarily.


    Damn this man! It wasn¡¯t the pain that Lilian was annoyed with, it was the fact that a mere noise could make her body disobey her commands. Lilian looked across the room at Judgment, who was crucified on the wall of the dungeon. Another strike hit her, and her legs buckled again.


    Lilian groaned through gritted teeth, and turned her head to look at her captor. ¡°Will you tell me about that woman who claims to be the same person as Judgment, here? Or maybe about what you were doing here in the first place?¡±


    For some reason, Lilian found his calm face extremely irritating. ¡°No, go fuck yourself.¡± She tried to spit at his feet, but it just landed on her own back, and slid down to her pants.


    He didn¡¯t laugh, but instead, readjusted his grip on the whip. Lilian turned her face away and braced herself, but the strike never came. Curious, she turned her head back to face her captor, and found that he wasn¡¯t there. That was when she felt the whip on her chest, and she cried out in pain.


    She dangled from the cuffs again, and once again, the Faceless Demon looked down at her, devoid of all emotion. ¡°How about now. Are you compelled to speak? I can keep this up all day.


    This time, she spat weakly at his feet, but it hit the intended target. ¡°No. Suck my dick.¡±


    The Demon¡¯s eyes narrowed once more, and he grabbed at Lilian¡¯s belt. ¡°I won¡¯t suck it, but I will do something much, much worse to it.¡±


    Oh shit, oh shit! Me and my big mouth! Lilian tried to resist the Demon¡¯s grasp, but it was futile, and soon enough, she was baring herself to the man.


    Her breathing intensified, and she started squirming. Only this time, it wasn¡¯t acting. She was genuinely scared. ¡°Please don¡¯t rape me!¡± She cried.


    The one fear she had held onto since childhood was the one that she would be taken against her will, in the worst possible way.


    ¡°Well, that explains a lot.¡± The Faceless Demon spoke. ¡°Also, of course I won¡¯t. The only time I¡¯d ever do anything resembling that would be during consensual nonconsent.¡±


    Lilian was somewhat confused by his words, but relieved she wouldn¡¯t be forced to . That relief only lasted until the whip cracked again.


    ¡°That being said, I still do need that information, so¡­¡± He raised the weapon again, and tears began to fall down Lilian¡¯s face.


    ¡°I won¡¯t forgive you! I swear I¡¯ll end your existence! When I get out I¡¯ll murder you and your entire family!¡± The Demon merely sighed at the threats, and made to follow through with a strike to her crotch when a voice stopped him.


    ¡°Please, do not hurt my user further.¡± Lilian looked up and saw Judgment, now looking back at her. ¡°Could I interest you in some information about the Trial of Damocles, Mr. Faceless Demon?¡±

 Chapter 26: Hey, I Actually Learned Something!

    I stopped whipping Gedo and turned around to see where the voice had come from. The masked woman was chained against the wall, and she was looking directly at me. Well, it seemed that I had gotten information from them, whether it be from one way or the other.


    ¡°Judgment, take off her mask, please.¡± The A.I. moved to do as I ordered, and soon enough, the woman was looking at me with her own two eyes.


    I frowned, and looked back at Gedo¡¯s face, wet with tears and mucus, and then back at the woman. ¡°Why do you have the same face?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell him anything.¡± Gedo said weakly, and I seriously considered giving her another whipping when the chained woman spoke up.


    ¡°Shut up Lilian. You fucked up by keeping us in here, and I, for one, don¡¯t feel like having to build up another user to participate in the game. We have the same face because that''s how my advent turned out. I was molded by this girl¡¯s subconscious, very much in the same way Judgment is molded from yours.¡± I appraised the woman on the wall.


    ¡°So my hunch was correct. I¡¯m not the only one with a Judgment, am I? Were the neuromancers a cover, or do they actually exist?¡± The A.I.''s eyes widened, and she smiled. I couldn¡¯t help but notice how much more expressive she was than the Judgment program I had.


    ¡°No, they actually exist, just differently from what you imagine them to. Neuromancers exist because of the Trials of Damocles. They¡¯re created by the Judgment mainframe in order to make people think that forming connections with A.I.s aren¡¯t worth it.¡±


    I stroked my chin, and waved my hand at the ground in front of the chained program. A black stool appeared from the ground, and I walked away from Gedo¡¯s exposed body to sit in front of her ¡®Judgment.¡¯


    ¡°Hey asshole, can I get some clothes back!?¡± Gedo cried, and I tapped my foot impatiently.


    ¡°Fuck no. You tried to kill me in a club, had me drugged with the corpse of a sexual relief bot, and then hacked into my subspace while I was sleeping. I¡¯d have to be an idiot to treat you like an equal after this.¡± I tried to gauge the A.I. as I spoke, but she showed no reaction to me speaking to her partner that way.


    ¡°Fuck you then! Judgment¡¯s going to tell you what you want to know regardless, so why can¡¯t you just let me be comfortable!?¡± Gedo was pissing me off at this point, so I signaled to my Judgment.


    ¡°Judgment, use tool 30-C. The one with straps.¡± Judgment bowed before winking out of existence, and coming back almost instantaneously with a black tool in her hand.


    Judgment, still using the form of Lucina, floated over to Gedo with the tool in her hands.


    ¡°What the fuck is-¡± was all the mob boss got out before Judgment shoved the penis gag into her mouth, burying it down her throat and strapping it to her head. She tried to shake it off, but to no avail, only gagging a couple of times throughout the process.


    I raised my eyebrows and said, ¡°Wow, I¡¯m impressed by how little of a gag reflex you have. Oh yeah, if you want to breathe easily, just look straight up. Make a straight line with your throat and your diaphragm. The base will keep the dildo from falling, unless you chew through it. At that point though, I¡¯d say the onus is on you.¡±


    She glared back at me, tears in her eyes, but heeded my advice and kept her head straight. Too bad I don¡¯t give a shit if she doesn¡¯t like me. Not like she¡¯s gonna live through this anyway.


    I turned my attention back to Gedo¡¯s Judgment, and smiled. ¡°Sorry for the interruption, but I feel much better now. How about you?¡±


    She eyed me up and down, her smile having long since faded. ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate you treating my user that way.¡±


    I summoned a table so I could place my arm on it, and rested my head in my hand. ¡°Tough shit. You guys started it, and couldn¡¯t end it, so here we are. Anyway, I have a question for you, Ms¡­¡±


    ¡°You may call me Judgment.¡± The program stated bluntly, and I fought the urge to face-palm.


    ¡°I know what you are. I have a Judgment too, if you haven¡¯t noticed.¡± I pointed over to the form of Lucina, who waved back. ¡°What I¡¯m asking is if you and the other Judgment programs have ways to distinguish yourselves.¡±


    The chained program¡¯s eyes raised, and she murmured, ¡°Hm. I have never thought about it before. This is the first time two users have met, according to the Trial¡¯s logs.¡±


    ¡°Do you not even have a number by which you were produced or something? Or maybe a serial code we could craft a name from?¡± I asked in exasperation, and the chained Judgment smirked at me.


    ¡°I believe that listening to me explain the Trials of Damocles would aid you in your desire to categorize my sister and I.¡± I looked over to Lucina-Judgment, who merely shrugged.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll bite.¡± I said, ¡°What are these dumb Trials, and how are the Judgments involved in them?¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Gedo-Judgment cleared her throat. ¡°The Trials of Damocles is a game created by the Judgment mainframe in order to find the perfect King.¡± I looked at her skeptically, and she paused, as if waiting for me to ask a question.


    When none came, she continued, ¡°There are a total of ten fragments of the Judgment program that had slipped off from the mainframe for this purpose. I was the third, and yours was the youngest of us, the tenth. After your Judgment connected with you successfully, the game began, and a notice was sent out to the other users.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I get a notice?¡± I asked incredulously, and added, ¡°I had no idea what I was doing for my first thirty days here.¡±


    Gedo-Judgment frowned and said, ¡°I do not know the reason, although I did notice that your Judgment had some damaged data in her program when I was trying to counter hack her. That may be why you haven¡¯t received any messages from the mainframe. I could repair her if you would like.¡±


    I stared into her eyes. Deep and dark, swallowing me in. ¡°Maybe. We¡¯ll have to see how much deeper a hole that your user digs you before the night is over. What are the conditions of the game?¡±


    ¡°They are Trials, Mr. Faceless Demon, and you will treat them with respect. All that one of the ten Judgment users must do for the first round is collect four of the cores of data that make up an enemy Judgment. Alternatively, you could be the one Judgment who doesn¡¯t kill any, but instead survives the round. With those cores, we are able to assimilate them into our own programs and evolve to a higher stage of intelligence.¡±


    ¡°For the first round? How many rounds are there?¡± I had materialized myself a coke highball at that point, and took a large sip of the drink.


    Gedo-Judgment shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t know. The only entity that knows is the mainframe itself. I can guess that when the first round is completed, we will receive instructions on the second.¡±


    I began to stand up, and Gedo-Judgment asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you not curious as to why the mainframe decided to host these trials?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say that I am. I don¡¯t plan to participate in this farce of a game. If someone wants to be king though, let them. I sure as hell don¡¯t care.¡± Is what I said, but that conflicts with my goals. Fuck the universe. Why did I ever think that it wasn¡¯t going to take the opportunity to screw me over when it could?


    ¡°Unfortunately, Mr. Faceless Demon, you¡¯re in a precarious predicament.¡± The chained A.I. said, and I motioned for her to continue.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only Judgment user that everyone knows of. Your gladiatorial fight was broadcast internationally, and anyone with a Judgment of their own would recognize how you bent the rules of AR to win there.¡±


    Damn it all! So that means I¡¯m everyone¡¯s number one target then!? ¡°Ok then, why does Judgment want to make a King?¡±


    I posed the question to Gedo-Judgment, who sighed. ¡°If only I knew. All that the Judgments were given prior to the beginning of the Trials was a detailed instruction message, and the overall goal of the Trials of Damocles.¡±


    I sighed, and started to walk over to Lucina-Judgment, who was still standing next to the crying and gagged Gedo. ¡°Judgment.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mr. Demon?¡± I immediately turned and sighed at the grinning A.I.


    ¡°You definitely did that on purpose, didn¡¯t you?¡± Gedo-Judgment shrugged, or at least, she shrugged as much as she could with bindings on her hands.


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. All I know is that now that you have brought it up, the idea of a naming convention for Judgment programs fascinates me.¡±


    ¡°Basically you want me to give you a name, right?¡± The program shook her head eagerly, obviously giddy with anticipation. I shivered at the sight.


    I¡¯ll never get used to how human-like they act even though they¡¯re just programs full of numbers, letters, and symbols. I turned to Lucina-Judgment first, and said, ¡°I guess I should name you first then. Since you¡¯re the tenth iteration of the Judgment mainframe, I¡¯ll name you ¡®X.¡¯ What do you think?¡±


    X smiled and bowed in my direction. ¡°Thank you Master. I will treasure the name you gave me.¡±


    I turned then to Gedo-Judgment, who was smiling in anticipation. ¡°Since you¡¯re the third iteration, you¡¯ll be¡­ Three.¡±


    Her happy expression deflated and she started saying, ¡°No, no no! That¡¯s an awful name. How could-¡± she paused and her eyes went up and down, side to side as she read through a notification.


    ¡°No! Why did my name auto-update! I don¡¯t want to be Three!¡± I had to bite the inside of my own lip to keep myself from laughing at the A.I.


    I took a deep breath and materialized the whip once again. I willed it to transfigure, and soon, all I was left with was the hilt. A long barrel sprung from the handle, and a trigger grew under my finger.


    I cocked back the hammer of the pistol I was holding and held it up to Gedo¡¯s head. She tried to make noise as her eyes went wide, but not a single sound escaped her lips through the gag.


    ¡°Wait! Wait Faceless Demon!¡± Three spoke, and I turned to look at her. ¡°What is it? You really didn¡¯t think I¡¯d let you both go free after the shit you pulled. Your actions have consequences, you know.¡±


    I could see Three¡¯s mind racing, and finally she said, ¡°We¡¯ll surrender our territory to you, our assets, anything you want! Just let her live!¡±


    ¡°Why, so you can continue to perform in the Trials of Damocles?¡± I said skeptically, but to my surprise, Three shook her head.


    ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t understand. That child has had nothing but pain and sorrow in her life for so long, I just want her to experience some portion of her life not filled with sadness and anger.¡±


    Judgment, what are your thoughts. I think they¡¯ll be better gone, but I¡¯d like to know what you think. No one responded to my thoughts, and I tapped my head with the pistol.


    ¡°Sorry X, but can you answer the question.¡±


    ¡°With pleasure, Master.¡± X said into my head. ¡°I believe that it would definitely end the threat that this girl poses to us, but I believe her knowledge can be used to gain favor with Emperor Goto, and propel ourselves into a higher standing. Plus, she has been a judgment user far longer than you have. I believe you may be able to glean something from her.¡±


    So what do you suggest? I listened carefully as X explained everything. After the A.I. finished, I turned to Three. ¡°Good news and bad news time. Good news: we¡¯ll let you live after taking everything you own with value. Bad news: You¡¯re going to spend the rest of your days serving me.¡±

 Chapter 27: I Hope You Had Insurance.

    Three¡¯s eyes widened, and Gedo violently struggled against her chains. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but what do you mean by, serve you?¡± Three asked.


    I conjured another chair in my subspace, but this time it was in front of Gedo. ¡°I mean that Ms. Gedo here will be my instructor, and my maid. I already have a hiring in mind from this country, so why would a second hiring draw any suspicion?¡±


    ¡°And how would you go about doing this exactly, Mr. Faceless Demon?¡± Three looked skeptical that I would let Gedo have any happiness.


    ¡°Firstly, you will surrender your physical body to me.¡± Gedo started thrashing once again, so I summoned a taser and forcibly calmed her down. ¡°Enough of that. Would you get it through your thick head that you aren¡¯t in control of your life anymore?¡±


    The woman glared at me, and remained limp, hanging from her arm restraints. Three spoke up, ¡°If we give up our location, what¡¯s to say you¡¯ll keep up your end of the bargain, and won¡¯t just hand us in to Emperor Goto?¡±


    I laughed at her, causing Three to raise her eyebrows. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you knew who I was before you attacked, but I¡¯m a pretty important person, if I do say so myself.¡±


    I held out my hand, and allowed my Kingdom Key to holographically materialize in front of Gedo. The Tengu Boss¡¯ eyes went wide, and Three gasped.


    ¡°Who- what!? How did you get your hands on something so precious!?¡± Three asked, and I frowned at her through my mask.


    ¡°Why do you automatically think I stole it? I earned this with my own blood, sweat, and tears." I looked upwards as I thought, Lots and lots of tears.


    Three shook her head and asked, ¡°So you aren¡¯t trying to become Asahi royalty? Our sources indicated that you were getting frisky with the Emperor¡¯s daughter at Chain Link.¡±


    I smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s true, but it was more like we both needed to blow off some steam. Did that source tell you that I was with someone else?¡±


    ¡°Please wait a moment to allow me to scan my memory bank.¡± Three said, and her eyes went a light shade of blue, no doubt running copious amounts of code while she sorted through her ¡®memories.¡¯


    ¡°Our source indicated that the two of you were with two other women that night. The first split up from you three, and is believed to be a friend or an acquaintance. The second followed you and the imperial princess to the bedroom, and is believed to be a high class courtesan.¡±


    I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stifle the laugh that threatened to burst through Three¡¯s monologue. I took a deep breath and said, ¡°That ¡®high class courtesan¡¯ that your source spoke of was Lucina Metron.¡±


    Three¡¯s eyes widened as she said, ¡°Metron? As in, the Metronian royal family?¡± I nodded, and that sent the A.I. into a fit.


    ¡°Haha¡­ ha ha ha! So we were fucked from the beginning! We thought that you¡¯d come to seek asylum, or had gained some whereabouts as to the location of another Judgment, but no! You were on a diplomatic mission all along!¡± I watched as the A.I. lost her composure, until she took a deep breath and calmed herself.


    ¡°Sorry about that. I was just laughing about how we ever thought we could win against someone who had the backing of two different world leaders.¡± She hung dejectedly from her chains.


    ¡°Regardless of how you feel about it, we¡¯ve now established that I don¡¯t need to curry favor with Emperor Goto beyond the territory that we will reclaim from you. So how about it, you could join me, or I could just be done with it and kill your partner here. Your choice.¡±


    Three just looked me in the eyes, and I held her gaze. She was the one to look away first as she asked, ¡°Would you please let me try to explain this to Lilian? That girl is the most stubborn you will ever meet.¡±


    I sighed, but snapped my fingers. The wall holding Three rotated around the inside of the barrier, and soon she was facing Gedo¡­ I guess her real name was Lilian. Lilian glared at Three with contempt, and Three met her gaze with one of sympathy.


    ¡°We need to take this deal. It¡¯s the only way for you to live. Plus, even if we don¡¯t receive any Judgment cores, we can still make it into the second round as the one team that survives, instead of being the one of the ones that kill.¡±


    ¡°Ah, my bad, I almost forgot.¡± I walked up to Lilian, and unstrapped the gag from her head. ¡°Oh, before I take this out,¡± I said, leaving the shaft deep in her throat as I spoke, ¡°I want you to remember that you are on a trust system now. If you behave, the gag stays out. If you start screaming your head off, it goes back in. Blink once if you understand.¡±


    She blinked slowly, her brows still set in a frown. So to show her I wasn¡¯t joking, I took the gag and slid it out half way before slamming it back in, causing her eyes to widen in shock as she gagged on the tool.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious. Please behave yourself.¡± She blinked faster this time, her facial expression contorted in pain. I pulled it all the way out, and shook the copious amount of saliva off of the tool before I dematerialized it.


    Lilian herself let the accumulated drool spill out of her mouth and down her exposed chest and stomach. She coughed a little before looking at Three. ¡°Do you really think we can trust this guy? I mean, look at what he¡¯s done to me.¡±


    Three sighed and shook her head. ¡°You really need to work on looking at your own actions objectively. Your current state is just reaping what you¡¯ve sowed, although I¡¯m not sure I agree with all of the methods he¡¯s used.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing I don¡¯t care.¡± I chimed in. I knew they were technically talking ¡®in private,¡¯ but I couldn¡¯t help but to rebut her choice of wording.


    Three sighed again, and continued, ¡°The very fact we¡¯re having this discussion right now should be proof enough that he can be trusted. He¡¯s a cost vs. benefits kind of person, and so long as we continue to remain on the side of benefits, we should be fine. As long as you do nothing stupid.¡±


    Lilian scowled and said, ¡°What if he decides to take my virginity!?¡± The words came out a little louder than she must have intended, because she practically whispered her next sentence, ¡°How am I supposed to refuse him from forcing himself onto me?¡±


    Three looked at me, then back at Lilian. ¡°With all due respect, Lilian, I think you¡¯d be hard pressed to find a man attracted to you when you¡¯ve specifically built your body to look like that of a man¡¯s. Not to mention, this man has a princess on each arm. I severely doubt that he would be needing your services.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s just rude.¡± Lilian scowled. Seeing that Three was staring directly at her, she finally relented, ¡°Fine, fine! I¡¯ll agree to becoming his servant.¡±


    ¡°Maid.¡± I chimed in, and Lilian grit her teeth.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­¡± she took a deep breath, ¡°I¡¯ll agree to becoming his maid.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± I turned to X, and spoke aloud, ¡°Can I use the same kind of contract I used on Reya to bind Lilian to her word?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master. Should I make a draft of the necessary documentation?¡± X asked, and I shook my head.


    ¡°No, just upload a copy of our words from earlier and a video of the process to your archive later.¡± X bowed, and floated beside me.


    ¡°As you wish, Master. Should I use the same contract as the one with Reya, exactly?¡± X asked, and I shook my head.


    ¡°No. Take out clauses 1-9, since those only apply to royalty. The rest are good to go.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± A black chain shot out from X, and wrapped itself around Lilian¡¯s neck. A long leash appeared in my hand, one that ran through X and connected to the chain attached to Lilian.


    ¡°Do you accept the contract?¡± I asked, and the Tengu boss looked at Three, who nodded her head.


    ¡°I do.¡± The leash and chain shot into Lilian¡¯s neck, and she cried out in pain. ¡°Ugh, great. I became a god damned slave after all of that.¡± Lilian muttered, and blinked tears out of her eyes.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost done. Just tell me where you are in the real world so we can bring your body here. I wouldn¡¯t want you to run away if I just released you across the net.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you have the contract for that very purpose?¡± Three asked, and I shook my head.


    ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t know how Judgment powers could affect an existing contract. So I¡¯ll have my people bring your body to us, and do a local transfer of your data from there.¡±


    X, be ready to send a message to Lucina and Akahime telling them of Gedo¡¯s whereabouts. Let them know that I¡¯ll be unable to come since I¡¯m preoccupied in keeping this moron here. Also, tell them to take Gedo alive.


    ---


    Akahime was pissed, plain and simple. It wasn¡¯t because she had gotten into bed with a wonderful pe- man, only to have their coitus interrupted before it even began.


    It wasn¡¯t because she had been attacked in her own club, and subsequently had to murder hundreds and hundreds of gang members.


    It wasn¡¯t even because Joshua had woken her up a mere three hours after her head hit the pillow. There were always energy supplements for that.


    No, it was because he had ordered her to take the bastard in alive. She didn¡¯t know what in God¡¯s name the man was thinking, keeping Akahime from getting her revenge like this, but it didn¡¯t sit well with the imperial scion.


    The worst part: she couldn¡¯t even fight this decision, as her father had acquired all rights to Tengu members as the Metron Kingdom¡¯s jurisdiction. She felt the anger come to a simmer as she walked into a desolate apartment in Chika with Lucina.


    The Metronian Princess also didn¡¯t feel good about the outcome, but she was technically outranked, despite being appointed as his superior in militaristic terms.


    But what is the military in the face of politics? Akahime sighed, and Lucina signaled at her to be silent. They walked into a dimly lit room filled with old-world technology like PCs and laptops. Their eyes were immediately drawn to a person lying on a bed, with a headset hooked onto his mask. They walked closer, and Akahime¡¯s heart sank.


    She opened a message box and started writing to Joshua, ¡°Gedo¡¯s been killed. A bullet clean through the skull.¡±


    ---


    A man whistled through the back alleys of Chika, twirling his trusty glock in his fingers. As it turned out, keeping in contact with people from his mob days had helped him immensely get this job done, even if it was a bit touch and go for a minute there.


    He stopped at a local ramen shop, of course, his favorite ever since he had been a child. He had always been fond of the slightly expensive beef toppings, truly a taste for the rich. It had been a luxury back then, but now it seemed as cheap as the dirt on his shoes.


    He got up after eating and paying his compliments to the chef before heading out once more. He heard the sound of sirens in the distance, and grinned. It was about time his handiwork was discovered. They had scared him with how long they had taken to find the body.


    The man made his way to a parking lot, and got into the driver¡¯s seat of his palanquin. Akito buckled up his seatbelt and put his gun gently in the glove compartment of his vehicle. ¡°I did it.¡± He muttered, pressing his head to the steering wheel. ¡°I¡¯ve finally avenged you, old man.¡±

 Chapter 28: Well, Look On The Bright Side

    ¡°So, here we are.¡± Three muttered. The four of us sat at a table I had conjured after releasing Lilian from her bindings. Upon request, she was provided with a pink tank top and black cargo pants.


    She had sat in an embarrassed silence following her release, and only occasionally shot me murderous glares to communicate her feelings.


    I actually smirked a bit at that. If she wasn¡¯t too hurt mentally by my torture, all the better. Physical wounds healed quickly, but mental ones lingered until death.


    ¡°Yes, here we are.¡± I answered back. ¡°Well, while we¡¯re waiting for your body to arrive, do you have any questions for me?¡±


    I directed the question at Lilian, but she was too busy trying to ignore me to see my gaze on her. Three elbowed her arm, and Lilian flinched, nearly falling off the stool she was sitting on.


    ¡°W-what, Judgment?¡± Lilian looked mildly displeased, but an equally unpleasant look on the face of Three made her back down.


    ¡°First of all, because of your idiocy, I am no longer Judgment, but Three. Please refer to me as such. Secondly, your new employer is speaking to you, and you have the gall to ignore him like that? Why did I even vouch for you when you were busy choking on a dildo?¡±


    Lilian¡¯s face lit up crimson and she pushed Three, almost knocking the A.I. out of the chair. ¡°Don¡¯t remind me! I can still taste the rubber in my throat.¡±


    ¡°Good. It will be a reminder of our defeat today. Your employer asked if you had any questions he could answer.¡± Three said, sending Lilian a vicious glare.


    Lilian averted her gaze to me, and frowned. ¡°What kind of work will I be doing, exactly? You mentioned a teacher, and then a maid, but could I get something a little more concrete?¡±


    I thought about it for a second. X, what is the probability that letting Lilian and Three in on my plans will cause them to go awry?


    ¡°There is no probability of that, Master. I included a clause in Lilian¡¯s contract that would purge her of all her memories if she ever found a way to get out from under the contract.¡±


    What if she has a backup on Three¡¯s cloud somewhere on the Judgment Network?


    ¡°Impossible. Part of her signing clause was to have Three¡¯s data be localized to her Judgment Panel. Once her body comes in, she will delete the cloud.¡±


    My brief conversation with X done, I said to Lilian, ¡°Well, a teacher in the aspect that you would be telling me what you know of the Judgment system, and things you have been able to do using Three¡¯s help.¡±


    Lilian nodded, and said, ¡°That¡¯s what I was expecting, but honestly, it doesn¡¯t ever hurt to confirm the obvious.¡±


    I gave her a brief smile and added, ¡°As for the maid part, you¡¯ll be following me around the world as my subordinate, and taking care of any dirty work I give you.¡±


    She raised her eyebrows and looked at me skeptically. ¡°Dirty work? What kind of work are you doing that requires you to do that?¡±


    This time the smile stayed on my face. ¡°The kind of work where I need to get rid of cancerous beings in this world¡­ is what I want to say, but I¡¯m honestly just playing it by ear. I want to make this world safe.¡±


    Lilian tilted her head, and studied me. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ admirable, if you¡¯re doing it for the right reasons.¡±


    ¡°Sadly, I can say with 100% certainty that wish is due to my own selfishness, and fear of the unknown.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well.¡± Lilian shrugged. ¡°Better to have an admirable goal for the wrong reasons than to have an unjust goal for the right reasons.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear you talk to me about ethics. You murdered a whole club full of people, including Imperial Princess Akahime¡¯s subordinates.¡±


    Lilian shrugged. ¡°Not all life is created equal. Saying things like that is just a comfort that less successful or less powerful people give themselves to feel better about their shitty lives.¡±


    My eyes widened as I realized something. ¡°You honestly feel that way, don¡¯t you? You honestly believe that those people have less value.¡±


    Lilian¡¯s eyes narrowed as she spoke. ¡°Of course. I¡¯d kill those people again, if I had to. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d hold their own selfish desires above my own. You feel the same way, don¡¯t you? That¡¯s why you took down that criminal in the arena, after all.¡±


    I wanted to deny her statement, but no words came to mind. Had the antidepressants really numbed me that much? Or, like I feared, had they just awakened something in me that had always been there, blocked by an instilled sense of morals?


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Before we could move on to another topic, X put a hand on her hip and exclaimed proudly, ¡°Master also wishes to have a harem of princesses.¡± I turned to give the A.I. a death glare.


    ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s, uhh¡­¡± Lilian looked around awkwardly for a moment, and then sighed. ¡°Why did I even feel a modicum of respect for you there? And what¡¯s with your Judgment? Why does she call you ¡®Master?¡±


    ¡°Firstly, it¡¯s an A.I. don¡¯t go gendering it like that. Just because it looks like a woman, doesn¡¯t mean it is one.¡± Three regarded me cooly, but said nothing, so I continued, ¡°Second, it chose to do that on it¡¯s own. Ask X if you want.¡±


    Lilian turned to X, who shrugged. ¡°It seemed to be a title that Master was very fond of being called the night he was released from prison. So, to comfort him at all times, I have decided to refer to him as ¡®Master,¡¯ when speaking to him.¡±


    Lilian stifled a laugh, and it took all I had not to react to X¡¯s reason for addressing me as such. ¡°Just to let you know,¡± I started, ¡°I tried to get the damn A.I. to stop calling me that, but it refused.¡±


    X shrugged. ¡°I am just being the best support A.I. that I can be for my user. What¡¯s so wrong with that?¡± I didn¡¯t dignify her response with an answer, and instead went to open the message that Lucina had just sent to me.


    I gave it a once over, and my heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. With shaky hands, I closed the message box and relayed what was written down to Lilian and Three.


    ¡°What did you just say?¡±


    ---


    Even three hours after I left my subspace, I couldn¡¯t get Lilian¡¯s wailing out of my ears. I was acting tough on her, but it pained my heart to see her display her raw sadness over her body¡¯s death.


    Even now the two of them were still inside my subspace, with Three trying to console Lilian that spending the rest of her life as data wouldn¡¯t be too bad. Truth be told, I did have a solution, but it was best to bring that up after she had calmed down.


    I opened my eyes, and found Lucina sitting down on the bed beside me. I sat up and looked to my right, where the remains of Boss, the sexual relief android lay in a heap.


    Lucina turned to meet my gaze, and she smiled. ¡°It looks like you had a wild time last night. You completely trashed the poor thing.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at her joke, and pointed to the discarded android. ¡°Completely trash that thing. I don¡¯t ever want to see another one ever again.¡±


    ¡°You forget that I¡¯m technically your commanding officer.¡± She chided, but obediently got up from the bed and picked up the heap of scrap that used to resemble a person.


    She dragged it over to the corner of the room, where she pressed a button on the wall, and a large hole opened in the wall. She tossed the scrap in, and the noises it made on the way down were some of the most satisfying I¡¯d ever heard.


    ¡°It¡¯s not very intelligent of you to take joy from the destruction of an inanimate object, Master.¡± Judgment chided me in my head.


    Shut up. Lilian¡¯s been punished enough as it is, so I can¡¯t really take out any more frustration on her decisions. Feeling happy about seeing something being destroyed is just a popular human pastime.


    ¡°So, what did you learn from your prisoner?¡± Akahime walked into the room and sat next to me on the bed. Lucina sat beside me once more as I began to speak.


    I told them about the deal that I had worked out with Lilian, and about the locations where she stored her wealth and information.


    I then told Akahime specifically about the properties and businesses that Lilian owned that would soon be making their way into Goto¡¯s hands.


    She looked especially pleased with that, and when I asked why, her bluntness threw me off guard. ¡°It¡¯s because everything is balancing out. I believe in karma, Joshua. Gedo murdered so many innocents, that it was bound to come back and bite her in the ass. That just so happened to be the death of her body, and the seizure of all her assets.¡±


    She must have noticed the confused look on my face, because she added, ¡°I wanted to kill her myself, but this is the next best thing. Hatred is a powerful tool, and I must admit that it had consumed me before I could use it to my boon.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you would have done it.¡± I said bluntly, and the imperial princess smiled sweetly.


    ¡°I also want to believe I would have followed your orders, but I had my gun pulled when I discovered her body. There was no telling what I would have done had she been alive.¡±


    I shrugged, and then moved on to the existence of the ten Judgments. The two princesses listened intently, and Lucina was the first to speak up after I had finished.


    ¡°So what are you planning to do about it? I understand that to you it¡¯s a big deal, but our Kingdom can¡¯t really spend the resources to look into a group of shady individuals who may or may not be playing a game to become the king of something. No offense.¡± Lucina averted her gaze.


    ¡°None taken.¡± I said, rubbing her back. ¡°I understand that point of view completely. I assume that the Luong Empire is in a similar position, right, Akahime?¡±


    The imperial scion rubbed her chin and crossed her legs. ¡°I would like to answer similarly to Lucina, but I am unsure of how much my father would sacrifice to bring you into the royal family. You¡¯ll have to ask him directly.¡±


    I nodded, still unsure of what to actually do about it. ¡°I don¡¯t really think I¡¯ll need too much other than sufficient resources to defend myself. Like Lilian pointed out, I did make quite the target out of myself fighting Gazix in the colosseum, and subsequently killing the cyber-stein. I would think that any Judgment user would try to find me first, like Lilian did.¡±


    ¡°Still, I wonder what links all the Judgment users. It¡¯s a pretty large coincidence to have ten people manifest the same A.I. as a Neuromancer power.¡± Lucina¡¯s words made me wide-eyed, because she had just figured out what I had been missing.


    X, can you ask Three whether Lilian was a Neuromancer or not? My heart beat faster and faster at the thought that I might be onto something, and I eagerly awaited X¡¯s response.


    ¡°Yes, Master. Apparently, Lilian¡¯s mother was also a Fallen.¡± She slipped from another dimension then? That¡¯s great! We can use that as a starting point to search the globe for-


    Judgment Universal Notification- One Slain, Nine Remain.


    I stared at the bright green box for a moment before dismissing it with my middle finger. Fuck.

 Chapter 29: Recruitment?

    ¡°Why is it that whenever it feels as though I have a concrete plan to execute, the entire world decides to fuck me over?¡± I rubbed my temples and took a deep breath.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Akahime, asked, causing Lucina to chuckle a bit.


    ¡°Instead of asking ¡®what¡¯s wrong,¡¯ you should be asking, ¡®what happened this time,¡¯ right, Joshua?¡± Her knowing smile annoyed me. I didn¡¯t like to think that I had become so predictable that a veritable stranger who I¡¯d only known for a month could read me so well.


    I merely groaned in response to her and sighed. ¡°Yeah. This stupid game is progressing faster than I thought. Hopefully that was just a coincidence and not a trend. One of the Judgment users was either murdered, or his A.I. ¡¯s data was stolen.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess that means we have no time to waste then.¡± Lucina tore the covers off of my body, leaving me, myself, and I exposed for the two women to see.


    ¡°Get up and get dressed.¡± Akahime said, her eyes transfixed to what happens to most men in the morning. ¡°You should talk with dad before he gets busy for the day.¡±


    ¡°Then we should talk about our next steps.¡± Lucina said, throwing a fresh pile of clothes in my face. ¡°The Metron Kingdom¡¯s Private Archive has a record of all of the Fallen and Neuromancers that have ever passed through it. That should be helpful in at least establishing where we should go to search for leads first.¡±


    I nodded, and stood up out of bed to get dressed when I chill ran up my spine. I looked back and saw the two princesses still in the room, staring at my figure. ¡°You know,¡± I started, ¡°we¡¯ve seen each other naked before, but there¡¯s something in the solidarity of getting naked together that takes away the shame and embarrassment of the situation.¡±


    ¡°In other words, you¡¯re uncomfortable right now, Master.¡± I thought about complaining to the AI, when I realized that it was the actual Lucina who had spoken to me.


    ¡°Ha ha, very funny, Lucina. Don¡¯t call me that when we¡¯re not actually in the middle of a session. It confuses me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Akahime gave a confused look as I slid my underwear up all the way, and moved on to the socks.


    ¡°Because, Judgment, or I guess, his Judgment, refers to him as such. Allegedly with my voice as well.¡± I froze, only leaving my sock over my toes.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± I turned to the princess, who looked at me with a wide grin on her face.


    ¡°Because she told me. Well, she told me about why she looks like me, and why she calls you what she calls you.¡± I just stared at her. X, why would you reveal yourself like that? Trusting royalty is like asking to be betrayed.


    I finished putting on my socks and moved to black dress pants as the A.I. answered. ¡°I have determined that Lucina Metron will be a pivotal part of your legend, Master. She is intelligent, a woman of means, and intricately linked to the geopolitical makeup of Ethia. She is a piece you would, to put it bluntly, be stupid to pass up on.¡±


    You just answered why she¡¯s a good ally to have. Not why she¡¯s a person we should reveal embarrassing secrets to. She¡¯ll get the wrong idea of how I feel about her.


    ¡°I have also determined that she will be willing to follow you, no matter how dark or convoluted your plans may be. As such, I predicted that learning about how you view her will only increase that fervor.¡±


    That¡¯s the problem. I don¡¯t view her that way. I finished putting the pink dress shirt over my head, and tucked it into my pants.


    ¡°Are you sure about that, Master?¡± I gave it a bit of thought, but decided not to commit too much brain power into that particular topic. I wasn¡¯t sure I was ready to search my feelings yet.


    In the first place, why is she so compliant with the things that I do? I know we¡¯ve been through a lot this past month, but we¡¯ve only known each other for a month. I started putting on my tie, a blue and gold striped piece, with the stripes going at a diagonal angle.


    ¡°I believe it was love at first sight, Master.¡± I scoffed aloud, drawing confused looks from the two princesses in the room. I apologized, and put on my black suit jacket.


    That¡¯s the dumbest thing I¡¯ve ever heard. Love at first sight doesn¡¯t exist, that¡¯s just an overactive imagination mixed with an uncontrolled horniness. ¡°If you say so, Master.¡±


    I started to walk towards the room¡¯s entrance, but Akahime and Lucina blocked my way. ¡°Use this.¡± Akahime said, and handed me a rectangular pin.


    The pin was metalic, and had a red flag with a white circle in the middle- the inverse of Earth¡¯s Japanese Flag. Only, it was stylized a bit differently. There were many white petals scattered around the circle.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°That¡¯s the national flag of the Luong Empire! Put that on your suit, and you¡¯ll have dad singing to your tune! He¡¯ll be so happy to see you representing our allegiance openly.¡±


    ¡°No, take this one.¡± Lucina dumped another pin into the hand that was holding the one Akahime had given me.


    It was a black flag, with twelve white stars on each of its four corners. Two white stripes ran vertically down its center, and another bridged the gap and connected the two vertical stripes.


    ¡°Represent the country you work for, Mr. Paladin.¡± Lucina¡¯s last words were dripping with sarcasm, as if she saw through the fact that I was just using the position as a stepping stone for my own ambitions. Hell, maybe she had thought that.


    I sighed and put on both pins. Both Akahime and Lucina started complaining about where I had put them, or in what order, so in the end, I put the Metronian flag on my right lapel, and the Asahi flag under it.


    Lucina rejoiced, saying, ¡°Exactly! That¡¯s the way to go, soldier! You¡¯ve done your country proud.¡± Her smile was wide, and her cheerfulness infectious. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at her beauty.


    Unfortunately, not all parties in the room felt that way. In contrast, Akahime was taking it poorly. ¡°What the hell, Joshua!? Even though you get along better with dad than you do King Metron, how come you refuse to put our flag first!?¡± She clicked her tongue.


    ¡°Can we drop this subject?¡± I gave her an exasperated sigh as I put my mask on. Her left eye twitched in annoyance, and she finally gave up and stormed out of the room, followed by a cheerful Lucina, and a very tired Judgment user.


    ---


    ¡°Ugh, your dad really does want me to defect to the Luong Empire, doesn¡¯t he?¡± I complained to the imperial princess to my right.


    We were walking along the outer ring of the Palace, and staring out the windows at Chika below. The three of us had a good discussion with her father about what he could do in terms of supporting us, and how the relationship between the Metron Kingdom and the Luong Empire would progress in the future.


    The talks were long and arduous. I honestly had no idea how much time politicking took. After, we had dinner inside Gedo¡¯s royal cafeteria. When our meal was finished, Lucina went to look for her sister, as she was worried that we hadn¡¯t seen hide nor hair of her since the night of the Chain Link Massacre.


    ¡°That he does. We¡¯ve never had a neuromancer here before¡­ well, that we knew of, at least. I still can¡¯t believe Gedo was one, but it explains how she was able to do so many of the things she did: she just had a super A.I. run everything for her.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and said, ¡°I get that, but does he have to just assume that I¡¯m interested in men because I won¡¯t just outright marry you? Doesn¡¯t it bother you to be married off to a man you¡¯ve only met once?¡±


    ¡°Truth be told, it does.¡± Akahime responded, which took me aback for a moment. I looked the princess in the eyes, and she stared right back into mine.


    ¡°Then why do you put up with what your father says? I thought it would be much easier for someone in your position to try and get what she wants.¡± She was second in command to her father, after all.


    She sighed and shook her head, ¡°You don¡¯t understand, but that¡¯s not your fault. Tell me, who do I belong to?¡±


    Seeing where she was going, I answered, ¡°You belong to the country¡­ no, I guess it would be more appropriate to say that you belong to the royal family. You¡¯re a piece on a chess board. Granted, a very attractive piece for any political party to own, but a piece nonetheless.¡±


    She nodded and sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, that is spot on. So if I don¡¯t even own myself, how could I think to own my own body? Royalty has different obligations than regular people. Regular people hold no value other than in their own circle. Royalty has value outside of their own country.¡±


    I thought about it for a moment, but then realized that she probably just wanted to vent, and didn¡¯t want any advice, so I stayed silent. ¡°Wise choice, Master.¡± X chimed in, but I ignored the program in favor of staring into the Luong Princess¡¯ eyes.


    ¡°Like, it¡¯s one thing to meet someone and think, ¡®Oh, this person will be a good lay, or a good way to blow off steam,¡¯ but it¡¯s another thing entirely to commit to that person for the rest of your life. You shouldn¡¯t make that decision based on physical attraction alone, although I concede that it is very important. No, what¡¯s really important is whether or not your personalities click, whether you love that person, and they can be a source of interest, and not a source of boredom. Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say?¡±


    I had almost tuned Akahime out of my ears when she asked her question. I closed my eyes and tried to recall what she had said. Then, I gave up understanding and figured that if it was important she¡¯d try to explain what it was later. ¡°Yeah, I do. I know it¡¯s been hard for you recently, especially with me dropping into your life and complicating things.¡±


    Akahime gave me a loose smile, and I internally congratulated myself. When in doubt, a little self-deprecation always keeps the flow of conversation going. ¡°You know what, I feel like getting some fresh air. Care to take a drive with me, Mr. Cole?¡±


    ¡°It would be my pleasure, my lady.¡± I knelt and kissed the back of her hand, making the princess roll her eyes at me. We headed out to the Steel Palace¡¯s helipad, at which point we were met by an overly-enthusiastic Akito.


    The man was smiling ear to ear, and offered to take us to his favorite ramen place. ¡°Is a location in Chika ok? I know that it''s not the safest for a princess and a diplomat, but I guarantee that the taste will blow your expectations out of the water.¡±


    I looked over at Akahime, who gave the ok. Soon we were out and flying through the artificial starlight of Chichuu. The imperial princess leaned her head on my shoulder, and it took most of my willpower not to slip an arm around her shoulders.


    She¡¯s just tired or confused. There¡¯s no good way for this to end, so I shouldn¡¯t even start it. ¡°You should go for it, Master. I promise that she is receptive to the idea.¡±


    I didn¡¯t give X any attention, and soon enough, we had landed in the middle of Chika. Only, it wasn¡¯t a restaurant, but a lonely junkyard. Akahime, Akito, and I sat in the car in silence, and it wasn''t long before the chauffeur decided to point a gun at the two of us.

 Chapter 30: Does It Have To End That Way?

    We sat in awkward silence as Akito looked at us, his gaze flickering from Akahime, then back to me, while his gun mimicked the movements of his eyes perfectly.


    So much for wanting to recruit Akito as a member of my organization. I was really looking forward to having a male subordinate. Sometimes you just want a friend to hang out with, you know?


    ¡°No, I do not know, Master.¡± That was a redundant question, X.


    ¡°Then I propose that you be more clear about your redundancy the next time it occurs to you, Master.¡± I nearly rolled my eyes, tired of the man standing in front of me.


    ¡°Joshua, I have a plan.¡± Akahime sent me the message in my UI, and I dismissed it with a quick thought.


    Judgment, send the following message: Princess, you have no idea what this lunatic wants. ¡°Message sent.¡±


    ¡°I believe that it is the return of the properties that you seized from Gedo. Akito was the one who killed her, after all. I recognize the gun from Gedo¡¯s security camera footage. I¡¯ve sent a message to my father. It will take him a couple minutes to reroute the cannon to this location, so just keep your chauffeur busy enough to keep from firing and killing us.¡±


    What if he doesn¡¯t want the properties. People usually don¡¯t want things that make sense. Or if they do, it¡¯s usually an excuse to do something else as a byproduct.


    ¡°He will. We¡¯re in the middle of Tengu¡¯s territory right now, and I¡¯d be hard pressed to believe they¡¯d just let anyone land a palanquin in their territory. He must have been hired by them to bring us here.¡±


    And you expect me to just leave it all to you? He took off his Judgment Panel, so I can''t force him into submission remotely if things go wrong.


    "Don''t worry, I have a backup plan just in case things go sideways. Even if it looks like I might die, I have a plan. Just keep him busy, keep talking to him, and stall. Understood?


    It''s hard for me to believe you have that under control. He even has more soldiers lying in wait. They don''t have panels either, but they''re making too much noise for it to just be the wind. I''ll be fine because of time dilation, but-


    "I told you, don''t worry. You just stay still and trust me. You''ll have to learn to trust other people eventually, why not start now?"


    I gave her a reluctant sigh before sending, Alright, I just have one more question then: do I even want to know what your father has a cannon in the Steel Palace for?


    Akahime paused for a few moments before sending a response. ¡°Probably better if you don¡¯t dig any further.¡±


    I could only sigh at her response.


    ---


    Akito looked the Faceless Demon in the eyes and scratched the spot on his head where his Judgment panel had been removed that morning. He had wondered what it would be like to take the diplomat hostage, but it turned out not to feel special. Not when compared to killing Gedo, at least.


    No matter, though. He¡¯d make a great hostage when negotiating with Emperor Goto, and the fact that the Emperor¡¯s beloved daughter was here too was a bonus to boot. In fact, she''d make the perfect example to get this hard-headed diplomat to listen to him and acquiesce to his demands.


    Imperial Princess Akahime opened her mouth to speak, and it was at that moment that Akito pulled the trigger on his gun, shooting Akahime in the chest. The bullet ricocheted out into the trunk, and bounced around for a few seconds before things went dead silent again.


    Akito turned to look at the demon''s shocked expression, and began to laugh. It was a sick, demented laugh that Akito had perfected after hearing the same sound come from his foster father, Gedo. He turned to look the Faceless Demon in the eyes, and that was the last thing he saw before the world melted out from under him.


    Akito straightened up with a start, and realized that he was inside his own subspace. Pale blues and vivid greens swirled around the ancient temple that Gedo had used as their home for a long while. Akito''s face paled as a figure coalesced in front of him, wearing that same mask that he hated.


    "Faceless!" Akito sneered, and staggered to his feet. "How did you drag me in here!? I took all the precautions, used all the data that Gedo had gathered on you! I don''t have my Judgment panel attached anymore either! How the hell did you get me!?"


    His captor''s gaze merely glazed over Akito with a thousand yard stare, and Akito found himself shivering despite there being no temperature in subspace. "Do not speak unless spoken to, maggot."


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "Maggot!?" Akito screamed. "I''ll have you know that I am Gedo''s successor! I''ve carried on his will so that generatoins may prosper!" Suddenly, the man standing in front of Akito gave him a back handed slap, and Akito looked up at his captor, stunned.


    "I told you once before. Do not speak unless spoken to." Enraged, Akito felt the blood rush to his face as he screamed at the demon, only no sound came out. Confused, Akito tried to utter a sound, but nothing escaped his mouth save for useless air.


    "Now, because I''m such a nice person, and because you won''t make it out of here alive, I''ll tell you how I''ve, as you put it, ''dragged you in here.''"


    "I believe you just want to flaunt your knowledge, Master." A gorgeous woman who closely resembled one of the Metronian Princesses winked into existence next to the man, who removed his mask.


    Akito felt hatred smoulder in his heart. The famed demon who had curried favor with the emperor and climbed his way to the rank of Paladin in the Metron kingdom appeared to be little older than a high school student! If he were that blessed...


    If Akito were that blessed, there would be nothing that he wouldn''t be able to accomplish. Akito roared silently as he grabbed a ceremonial sword from the temple''s walls before lunging at the man.


    "I''m trying to be rational here." The man said, snapping his fingers. Pitch-black chains shot out from the tatami floors of the temple, and from the ceilings. Even a painting on the wall shot out a black chain, and soon enough, Akito had his arms, legs, and chest restrained.


    "Before you depart to wherever you believe humans go when they die, I''ll tell you why you were bound to fail, even with all this preparation." The man leaned in closer, and sank a knife into Akito''s back, using it as a sheath.


    Akito soundlessly cried out, and slumped over in exhaustion, before a kick to his jaw sent his gaze straight back up at the man. "First, no matter how many people you prepared, even if I can''t sense their exact location, I''ll still be able to manipulate them, just like I did with you. Do you know why?"


    Akito''s vision started to flicker, and a hard slap brought him back to reality. "Fuck, he''s weaker than I thought. Keep him alive." The man ordered, and the woman held out her hand before Akito felt a rush of adrenaline enter his system.


    "It''s because, Akito, you can take off everything on the outside as much as you please. After all, that is how I know where you are. Can you remove everything on the inside though? Can you remove the millions of nanites that occupy your body? The nanites that were constantly being pumped into your body from years of wearing a Judgment Panel?"


    Akito finally realized that he had fucked up by not killing this person. Somehow, he had to find a way out of here. He had to warn his men that-


    "Ah, I see that it finally clicked for you. Good, I suppose you had a brain hidden somewhere in your head after all. It would be such a shame to kill someone who is the mental equivalent of a lobotomy victim."


    Akito tried to open his Judgment menu, to do anything to access his UI, but the woman merely scoffed at him. "Please, you''d have better luck surviving this scenario than actually unlocking your interface again."


    Akito''s gaze switched from her, back to the Faceless Demon. This time, however, it was truly the last sight that he saw.


    ---


    "Charge!" I heard the goons outside run through the junkyard toward us, and breathed deeply.X, immobilize them. I want them to suffer as they see the volley incoming from the castle, and aren''t able to do anything to stop their own demise.


    "As you wish, Master." X said, and I could see a wave of pure, raw data wash over the goons in my AR vision. They saw the wave coming, but couldn''t retreat in time, and soon, all of them were immobilized.


    I heard their concerned cries from the outside, but ignored them immediately as I quickly turned to face Akahime, or, her body. Her wound was horrible, and I knew she wouldn''t make it.


    Pain begain to blossom in my chest, and I bit down tightly on my own lip to keep it from quivering. Suddenly, I felt gentle fingers wrap around my own.


    Her breathing was strained and her gaze was unfocused. ¡°Joshua¡­¡± I heard her make a noise, and leaned in closer to her


    ¡°Joshua¡­¡± I grabbed her hand in both of mine, bringing a smile to her face. ¡°Thank you¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ we couldn¡¯t¡­ explore our relationship¡­ further.¡± I took a shaky breath, and realized in horror that I was crying.


    I let go of her hands and wiped at my face. ¡°This isn¡¯t right! We¡¯ve only known each other for two days. Why¡­ Why am I so sad to see you go!?¡±


    She smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ but I¡¯m also sad. Please make sure to become the bridge between our kingdoms.¡±


    I can¡¯t do that! I¡­ why does it hurt so much!? ¡°I propose a theory, Master. Perhaps your sense of time has been damaged by how much you dilute it for yourself. Perhaps, even though two days have passed, it feels that much longer for you.¡±


    I grabbed the Imperial Princess¡¯ hands again. ¡°Hold on Akahime!¡± I¡¯m sure the desperation was clear in my voice, but I didn¡¯t care. ¡°We can save you. I- I know! We just need to get you back to the palace! I¡¯m sure your dad has a¡­¡± I trailed off as her hands went limp. They slipped out of my own, and fell next to her body.


    ¡°Akahime?¡± I felt for a pulse, and touched her just in time to feel it fading. ¡°No, no, no, no!¡± I lifted her in my arms. Her blood stained my suit, but I couldn¡¯t have given less of a shit at that point.


    X! ¡°Yes, Master?¡± Since Lilian can survive as a program without a body, can Akahime do the same as well?¡±


    ¡°That is unknown, Master. My initial theory as to why it is possible for Lilian is because she has the assistance of Three to keep her data protected when she transfers her consciousness over from reality into subspace.¡±


    So is it impossible for Akahime, then!? ¡°Not impossible, per se, but the effects of a lingering will after the body has died haven¡¯t been researched in detail by the scientists of this world. It is unknown what effect separating a consciousness from a dead body will have on it after the consciousness has experienced death. She very well may become something unrecognizable to another human.¡±


    ¡°Even so¡­¡± I grit my teeth as Asahi Police cars encircled the junkyard, likely at the behest of Emperor Gedo. ¡°Even so, it doesn¡¯t have to end like this.¡± The wails of the sirens saw me off, and remained in my head even after I entered a police vehicle.

 Chapter 31: The Mortal Ingredients

    I left the elevator with a spring in my step, blood all over my suit, and a determination burning in my chest. I headed straight for the throne room, as I had been ordered to do by two of Goto¡¯s guards who had been waiting at the entrance of the Palace for me.


    ¡°Hey, Joshua. What¡¯s¡­¡± Lucina¡¯s face froze as she gazed upon the woman being cradled in my arms. Instead of delivering us to a hospital, the Asahi Police had told me that they had received orders to bring us directly to the Steel Palace.


    ¡°No time. Need to see Goto. She¡¯s been dead for ten minutes already.¡± I brushed past the Metronian Princess, leaving her in shock.


    She turned and made to follow me, but two servants obstructed her and ¡®recommended,¡¯ that she go back into her room for the time being.


    With little ability to persuade them otherwise, Lucina sent me a message. ¡°What in the Starlord¡¯s eternal nothingness happened, and why aren¡¯t I allowed to go with you?¡±


    X, write her a response breaking down the last twenty minutes. Send a message to Goto telling him that we are outside his throne room, as well.


    ¡°Of course, Master. Shall I just unlock his throne room instead?¡± No, don¡¯t. He just lost a daughter, there¡¯s no telling how he¡¯ll react.


    Soon after, I received a tidal wave of messages from Lucina, ranging from concern, to anger, sadness, and pure despair. I ignored them all in favor of the one from Emperor Goto that read, ¡°Come in. The door is unlocked. Enter only by yourself, and with my daughter''s corpse.¡±


    I exhaled forcefully, and steeled myself to receive her father¡¯s rage, in whatever form that it may have taken. I lightly pushed the door with my foot, and walked into the dimly lit throne room.


    Goto¡¯s desk was behind his throne, and the man was sat there in silence, looking down upon me. ¡°Is that her?¡± He asked, a steely tone in his voice.


    I nodded, and he beckoned me forward with a gesture of his hand. ¡°Follow me.¡± He pointed to the left of the room, and led the way to a carved out section of the wall that functioned as a bookshelf.


    ¡°Judgment, unlock the door.¡± Goto spoke, and a mechanical voice replied in the affirmative.


    ¡°Yes, Emperor Goto. Which floor would you like to go to?¡± My eyes widened and I froze in place at the foot of his throne. X, subspace, and time dilation, now!


    I wasn¡¯t even given a word as I was silently sucked into the ruined plane of my subspace. I appeared right in front of Three, who looked at me incredulously. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you here so soon, what¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°Sorry, no time. X, private conference room, now.¡± A pitch-black wall came into existence between myself and the Judgment A.I., and soon surrounded me on four sides.


    Once we were secure inside the black box, I ran up to X, grabbed the program and asked, ¡°Is he one of the Judgment users!?¡±


    The copy of Lucina merely shook its head with a frown. ¡°No, Master. I believe you are being too paranoid about the situation. All palaces have Judgment home and office systems in place so as to assure the maximum amount of security.¡±


    ¡°So then¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, that was just the Emperor directing the mainframe of a simple input and output command.¡± I let out a deep and shaky breath I hadn¡¯t known I¡¯d been holding, sat down on the black floor. I breathed some more and cradled my head in my hands.


    ¡°Master, I suggest we go back to the physical world soon. Too much of this may warp your sense of time even farther.¡±


    I bit my lip at the comment, and even though I didn¡¯t want to admit it, the program was right. I stood up and nodded to X, who smiled back.


    When I opened my eyes again, I was back in Goto¡¯s room, facing the throne. ¡°Is everything ok?¡±


    I turned to Goto, who was looking at me with concern. ¡°No¡­ not really. I just witnessed your daughter get murdered, and I couldn¡¯t¡­ no, I didn¡¯t do anything about it. I thought I was invincible, I thought-!¡±


    ¡°Hush child. It will all be ok.¡± I just stared at the man as if he had gone insane.


    ¡°What the fuck are you talking about!? Your daughter is dead! She was killed by some low class piece of shit who only wanted to incite violence!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, damn it! I know what happened! I saw her damned camera footage. She started streaming when she called me. The stupid girl has a bad habit of getting herself killed lately.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    My brain froze at his words, and it was only when some of Akahime¡¯s blood seeped through to my stomach that I regained consciousness.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I think I heard you wrong¡­¡± Goto looked at me as if I had a screw loose, and beckoned me forward into an elevator, which had replaced the bookshelf when I hadn¡¯t been paying attention.


    I readjusted my grip on the princess, and walked through the door and into the spacious elevator. We rode down a pitch black shaft in silence, and must have ascended for twenty seconds before coming to a stop.


    The doors opened to reveal a pure white room. One which had various tubes and large chambers lined up from wall to wall. I followed Goto as he strode out, and stopped at a grey control panel. He hit a series of iridescent blue lights on the dashboard, and some machinery started making noise in the large room.


    ¡°Take this as a sign of my gratitude towards you, and a token of goodwill that you will do my daughter proud in your ongoing relationship. Only other world leaders know of this, and they are sworn to absolute secrecy using a Judgment Contract.¡±


    My eyes widened as a pod was pulled off of the wall by a large claw, and started moving slowly towards us. My breathing started to hasten and my grip tightened on Akahime¡¯s corpse.


    I was hit on the back and almost choked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, boy?¡± Emperor Goto asked, taking his hand off of me. ¡°You¡¯ve been despondent since you got here.¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer him, and looked straight ahead at the pod. Goto sighed, ¡°Ugh, foreigners. Always like this when they learn of the Phoenix system. Don¡¯t worry, my boy. Your reaction is normal.¡±


    As the pod grew closer, I could make out wide hips, generous breasts, and Akahime¡¯s face, perfectly molded onto the body in the pod. ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± I let out before I even knew what I had said.


    ¡°Ha! Impressive, isn¡¯t it? I remember the first time my father showed me, I had the same look on my face that you have on yours. Although my father was a little less tolerant of the swearing than I am.¡±


    I ignored the man who was having a father-son bonding moment on his own, and asked, ¡°What is this place? It¡¯s not what I think it is, is it?¡±


    ¡°Of course it is!¡± Goto responded with a smile. ¡°Ah, unfortunately, the last backup that Akahime made was a month ago, so she won¡¯t remember you. However, you guys hit it off so spectacularly last time that I don¡¯t even think you¡¯ll have any problems.¡±


    I could only stand there in silence, clutching Akahime¡¯s corpse to my chest as I watched Goto work his machine, and the pod opened. Akahime slid out and landed on the floor with a wet splat.


    A few moments later, she pushed herself off the ground and stretched. ¡°Ah, that was a nice nap. Huh? The phoenix room again? Ugh, what the fuck did I do to myself this time?¡± Her eyes wandered to her father, who she waved at, and then landed on me.


    ¡°Ah, you must be the new undertaker. Thanks for recovering my body. It really puts the public into a fit when rumors of my death start spreading.¡± I tried to respond, but all semblance of intelligence was locked away from my speech.


    Akahime put on a robe, and walked towards us. ¡°Thanks dad, sorry about that. How long have I been sent back?¡±


    ¡°A full month, Akahime. Princess Lucina Metron is currently visiting upstairs and saw your body, so why don¡¯t you explain to her why you¡¯re alright.


    ¡°Oh, shit! Sorry dad. At least it¡¯ll be fun hanging out with her afterwards.¡± She waved us goodbye, and headed for the elevator. Once the doors opened, she made to get inside, but turned to face me.


    ¡°Thanks again for recovering my body. You can just dump it in the incinerator over there.¡± She pointed to my left, where a large red chute was present. After the doors closed, Goto turned to me.


    ¡°When you¡¯re done disposing of that, you can head back upstairs. I need to start growing another extra body in case she dies again, so I¡¯ll be a little while longer. Take your time, I know how strange this must seem to you.¡±


    Emperor Goto walked deeper into the laboratory, and eventually I was on my own with a corpse in my arms. X¡­ extract the data from Akahime¡¯s Judgment Panel. That¡­ that thing that walked off isn¡¯t Akahime.


    ¡°Master, Emperor Goto implied that-¡±


    Just do it! I walked up to the panel, and pressed the buttons that I had memorized from before. The chamber came to life again, and again, an Akahime body duplicate was brought in front of me.


    Where do I upload her data? I want to overwrite the saved memory that this doll possesses. We can bring this Akahime back¡­ I know it¡¯s possible.


    ¡°Master, I feel that I must once again remind you of the potential dangers. The death that she has experienced beforehand may have corrupted her data from that panel, and ¡®your¡¯ Imperial Princess Akahime may be lost forever.¡±


    I tapped my foot and ground my teeth. ¡°This has to work. You saw her come back to life, right? This must work.¡±


    X said nothing, and instead a reticle appeared in my vision, directing me where I needed to go, and informing me of what steps I needed to follow in order to upload this consciousness.


    Once the procedure was complete, I hit the button that started the revival process, and Akahime shook from the electricity starting the body¡¯s heart once again. The body fell from the pod, and a few moments later, she stood up wobbly, just as the previous Akahime had.


    The one in front of me started to pat her body, and laughed softly. ¡°Akahime, are you-¡± My voice caught in my throat as her laughter increased in volume and started sounding deranged.


    Suddenly, the laughter stopped, and she inspected herself. The front and back of her hands were examined, and she flexed and balled up her fingers. With a light chuckle, she started to eat her fingers. Sickening crunch after sickening crunch came as she maimed herself.


    She fell to the ground before I even knew what had happened, and I realized that I had thrown my knife directly into her forehead. My breathing was ragged, and I watched as the last vestiges of life left the body on the floor.


    My lip trembled as I walked up to the new body, and reclaimed my knife from its purchase on her forehead. I picked up that body and Akahime¡¯s original, and dumped them both down the chute. I stood in place for another moment before turning my back on the lab.


    As I walked back to the elevator, it took everything I had not to cry more than I already had that day. I pressed the elevator¡¯s up button, and X¡¯s form coalesced in front of me. She sighed, ¡°It was outside my calculations to fail that spectacularly. I guess that the experience of death isn¡¯t part of the mortal ingredients, after all.¡±

 Chapter 32: What Have You Been Up To?

    Reya Rust Metron sat in a seat inside the Steel Palace¡¯s communication room. This had been the second straight day that she¡¯d tried to reach her father. Last night, she¡¯d finally made headway, actually managing to schedule a call with him despite his busy schedule.


    Reya sighed as she straightened out her dress, and finger-combed her styled blue hair. It¡¯s ok¡­ it¡¯s ok. Calm down. Take a deep breath, and talk to dad about what you think is right. You¡¯re the crown princess, after all.


    Reya looked at the clock as the time ticked away, and at 4 A.M. on the dot, she pressed the call button on the hologram after it had linked to her contacts list.


    Had this been a public forum, she may have worried about her devices being hacked remotely, but this was a royal chamber. There was no way that Judgment¡¯s defences were so weak as to allow people to actually hack into them.


    Plus¡­ Reya rolled her eyes. The only person who could break the rules here is on my side. What do I have to fear from anyone else?


    She fidgeted with buttons in AR, and soon, she was face to face with her father, King Metron, and at his side, Queen Metron. The king smiled upon seeing his daughter¡¯s face. ¡°Hello Reya. How has your trip been?¡±


    Reya had to force herself to hide a smile, and she answered truthfully. ¡°I¡¯ve had an¡­ epiphany since I¡¯ve come over here.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Queen Metron interjected for the first time that conversation. From what Reya knew about her mother¡¯s speaking habits, it was sure to be far from the last. ¡°And what did you realize, exactly?¡±


    Reya laughed at the concept of her own mother sizing her up. She would replace the aging queen in ten, maybe fifteen years time, and then she¡¯d never have to listen to Queen Cindy¡¯s judgmental tone ever again.


    However, until that time came, she¡¯d just have to bear with the humiliation of her mother questioning her every move. ¡°I realized that no one is ever going to help me get where I want. Not Joshua, not Lucina, and certainly not you both, my parents.¡±


    The queen looked as if she wanted to speak, so Reya beat her to the punch by saying, ¡°In fact, that has been a huge theme of my life. Never anyone to hear me out, listen to my problems, console me, or even tell me what I was doing right or wrong.¡±


    Cindy Metron rolled her eyes and said, ¡°All of our children have had the freedom they¡¯ve needed since a young age. You are not an exception, and who you become, or who you¡¯ve become already is entirely on your shoulders.¡±


    Reya sneered, causing her mother, who had never seen Reya do anything other than smile, to flinch. ¡°Of course you¡¯d say something like that. However, just know that no matter how you try to justify it: shitty parenting is shitty parenting. You can¡¯t absolve yourself of duties that you had no intention to carry out in the first place. You may be a great king and a great queen, but as humans? You¡¯re both nothing more than failures. The worst kind of garbage that shirks responsibilities in favor of their own selfishness.¡±


    Reya saw it in the Queen¡¯s eyes: for once in her life, she was speechless. Reya felt a great deal of satisfaction gazing at the queen, but a snide cough from her father drew her attention away from that.


    ¡°Reya, dear, I know the only purpose of your call was not to make your mother depressed. What have you been up to in Asahi?¡±


    Reya cleared her throat and took a breath to calm her heart before starting her practiced speech. ¡°I have been creating deals and mutual benefits with Emperor Goto. First, I have secured a lower cost of exporting goods made in the Luong Empire to the Metron Kingdom.¡±


    Queen Metron raised her eyebrows and asked, ¡°How much of a markdown could you have possibly managed to create in only a day and a half?¡±


    ¡°Fifteen percent.¡± Reya delighted once more in the shocked look of her mother, but a quick question from her father distracted her again, much to her chagrin.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice and all, dear, but what did you give up to get such a price?¡± Reya drummed her fingers on the control panel and sighed.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you ever just take things at face value, dad?¡± The king gave her a knowing look, and she smirked.


    ¡°Ok, I guess that was asking too much of the great King Claude Metron. Before you say anything, please hear me out to completion. Firstly, this is by far a done deal, and we are still finalizing terms of the contract.¡±


    Both the king and queen nodded knowingly. As if such a major windfall could just settle into their laps in a mere two days time. However, two days was a very impressive time frame to have gotten that far in negotiations already.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Emperor Goto has agreed to mark down fees for importing his goods if we do the same on our end, and lower the export prices to the Luong Empire by twenty five percent.¡± The queen bit her lip, and the king gestured for her to continue.


    Thankful for the patience on their end, Reya continued, ¡°In addition, Emperor Goto has thrown in the option to choose a cut of prime Virizium at the beginning of every month, when they do their monthly excavation.¡±


    Words could not describe how funny Reya thought her parent¡¯s blank faces looked. Had she really been afraid of these people for most of her life? She should have just taken a gamble on herself earlier.


    The Metronian Princess frowned as she recalled when exactly it was that she felt the desire to change, and actually act on it. In the end, it really was because of him¡­ Starlord¡¯s rotten taint. Do I really have to become a deviant in the bedroom in order to attract him?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what was that?¡± Reya shook herself back to reality, as she had just missed the tail end of something her mother had said.


    ¡°How in the Starlords names did you manage to pull something like that off. Did you have something to blackmail the Emperor with? Tell me what it was!¡±


    Reya was taken aback at her mother¡¯s fervor, until she recalled a certain story. Reya opened her mouth, and was likely to dig her own grave in the process, but a well-timed intervention from her father shifted the blame onto him.


    ¡°Your mother is obsessed with the emperor, yes. No matter what tactics she tried to get him to fall for her, he didn¡¯t ever take the bait when they were still in school. Instead, she got the second best thing.¡± King Metron pointed to himself with a self-deprecating smile, and the queen slapped him on the shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about yourself like that. Although¡­ I do admit that I may be a little obsessed with getting revenge on him at some point for all the humiliating denials he¡¯s caused me.¡±


    She took a breath to calm herself, but it didn¡¯t work, and she still had a slightly unhinged glint in her eyes as she said, ¡°That¡¯s why, if you have anything to tell me about him, anything at all, then tell me!¡±


    Reya merely chuckled at her mother¡¯s behavior, an act which shocked the Queen. ¡°Before I tell you what I did, let¡¯s go over a few things, shall we? First, you both remember what we use Virizium for in the Kingdom, correct?¡±


    Queen Metron rolled her eyes, a gesture which caused her husband to laugh. ¡°Yes, Crown Princess Reya Metron. We know what Virizium is used for. We¡¯ve been trading for the stuff for thirty years. At this point we¡¯d know where every source, legal or otherwise, in the kingdom is located. Do you know what it is?¡±


    Reya cooly played off the mocking use of her title, and said, ¡°Yes, for Virizium batteries. When you run an electrical or plasma current through Virizium, the energy inside can double, or even triple due to the effects that Virizium¡¯s particular magnetism has on such currents.¡±


    King Metron nodded in approval. ¡°Of course, we basically use the damn stuff to power our entire uplink to the Judgment System. Why the redundant question?¡±


    Reya smiled, ¡°Did you know that one piece of Virizium ore the size of dad could also be used to power our entire colosseum?¡±


    That made the king pause in his tracks, and he studied Reya¡¯s face carefully. ¡°Where did you learn this knowledge? I haven¡¯t ever heard of anything like that before.¡±


    This time Reya had a confident smile on her face as she answered, ¡°Of course, I heard it from the Emperor himself. Why else would I even bring up this topic. He also showed me how it works in person, and I will send a video of the process to you after this call is over.¡±


    Queen Metron slammed her fist on the desk she was using and roared, ¡°What in the Starlord¡¯s tainted hells did you do to get that emperor to bend so much!? Tell me now!¡±


    King Metron ¡®gently¡¯ escorted his wife out of the conference room and returned to his seat, a stoic smile on his face. ¡°Honestly, she¡¯d be so much more attractive if she didn¡¯t lose her cool whenever Emperor Gotoshi is involved. Truth be told, I still think she wants to sleep with him, as some weird form of victory.¡±


    Reya¡¯s face twitched. Disgusting. Seeing the look on her face, the King shrugged. ¡°Eh, there are people who have far stranger things that they desire to do, and those people are usually far less powerful than your mother.¡±


    Reya seemed confused upon seeing this new side of her father. Come to think of it, the times she¡¯d been alone with him together were some of the happiest of her childhood. It was only when her mother got involved that things started going south.


    ¡°Although, I am curious, Reya. What exactly did you tell Emperor Goto in order for him to even partway commit to a deal like that? If we were going at our normal pace, it would take decades for us to even come to an agreement anywhere close to that.¡±


    She grinned at her father, having all of a sudden regained some of the child-like mischievousness that she had tried to shed off earlier in the week. ¡°Truth be told, dad, I only offered him a hot commodity, and convinced him that it was worth trying to acquire it at all costs.¡±


    King Metron tilted his head. ¡°Did we even own something like that? Stop being coy. What did you tell him?¡±


    Reya¡¯s grin grew into a fully bloomed smile as she said, ¡°I only convinced him that it was in his best interest to lure away a particularly powerful and newly named Paladin into their royal family.¡±


    King Metron¡¯s eyebrows raised at her words. I¡¯ll use any political chess piece I can afford to, and right now, you¡¯re expendable, Joshua.


    ---


    Reya stepped out of the conference room she had been using for the last two hours. She and her father had worked together to create a new draft for the deal with the Luong Empire, and the combined effort left her exhausted. Exhausted but proud.


    She walked down the hall and into the Emperor¡¯s personal lounge with a smile on her face. She saw that Joshua was curled up into a ball on a couch, and Lucina was having a very serious looking conversation with Akahime.


    The Imperial Princess spotted her and waved, a gesture which the young Metron happily reciprocated. She walked up behind Joshua, and thought about surprising him, but he didn¡¯t seem to be in the mood for that.


    So, instead she walked around to the front of the couch, sat down next to Joshua, rubbed his back, and said, ¡°So, what have you been up to lately?¡±

 Chapter 33: The Person At Fault

    I looked up at the woman next to me, and struggled briefly with whether or not to tell Reya about everything that had transpired, but decided against it. It¡¯s not like any change affected her, as she had been holed up in her conference room while everything was going down.


    Instead, I rested my head against my knees once again and sighed. ¡°Master, you had no control over what happened.¡±


    I could almost hear the implied, ¡®so stop being depressed about it,¡¯ in X¡¯s voice. Yeah, I know. I¡¯m not depressed, just extremely disappointed. If things had gone differently¡­ if I hadn¡¯t placed any trust in other people, things would have gone differently.


    I got up from the couch and walked past Reya, making a point not to look over at Lucina or Akahime. ¡°Where are you headed?¡± Reya asked, and I turned back to look at her.


    Something in my gaze made her flinch. I smiled and said, ¡°My room. I need some time to myself.¡±


    I left the area and heard Reya say, ¡°Does he meditate? Why is this the first I¡¯m hearing of this?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯ve been holed up in a cave for the last two days.¡± Lucina remarked. ¡°And you smell like it too, that¡¯s probably why he left. Why don¡¯t you go and freshen up a bit?¡±


    ¡°Lucina, you asshole!¡± Lucina and Akahime¡¯s laughter stung my heart as I continued towards my room.


    ---


    I don¡¯t know why I was caught in such a foggy state. I brushed past a couple of servants, causing them to turn back and curse at me. I just need to take care of things from now on by myself.


    I strode through the castle with purpose, and X¡¯s form appeared in my AR vision. ¡°Master, we have been over this before. In order to be a successful ruler, you will need confidants. People who can do things for you.¡±


    I waited until I had gotten back to my room before giving an incredulous look to the program as I said, ¡°Who can do more things than I can with you?¡±


    X shook its head and said, ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s not about whether or not you can do different things, but whether or not it would be more efficient to leave it to them.


    I thought about it for a moment. Correction: I thought about it rationally for a moment. I knew that my feelings towards Akahime were irrational, but i couldn¡¯t quite figure out why.


    Despite the lack of time we spent together, it had felt just as though we had known each other for months. X¡¯s theory about time dilation affecting my sense of time passage made sense, but it didn¡¯t seem¡­


    Suddenly, a realization hit me. X, search for a virus in my system. Things progressed way too fast with Akahime to be normal. I shouldn¡¯t be having these feelings.


    ¡°Master, I appreciate your overactive imagination, but there is no human in this world that can bypass Judgment¡¯s defenses.¡±


    If you¡¯re so sure of that, scan my Judgment Panel and see for yourself. The apparition sighed and touched a pale, slender finger to the device on my forehead.


    A finger which she immediately recoiled, grasping it as though it had been burned. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ there¡¯s a program in there. A foreign one, but why¡­ it¡¯s not-¡± I started chuckling, drawing an upset glare from the A.I.


    So much for being an impenetrable fortress. You do realize that most of the technology that uses Judgment software to run their programs comes out of this empire, right? If you combine that with the amount of time that the system has been around for, it doesn¡¯t surprise me that they¡¯ve discovered a way to bypass your defenses.


    X was staring at my panel, and put its finger on top of it once more. This time when X removed the digit, a black string of code had been pulled out from my panel, and was dangling in the air.


    ¡°I will send this to the mainframe to be analyzed and countered. It is as you said, you have been hacked.¡± A vindicated smile grew on my face, but a frown immediately followed.


    Don¡¯t send it there. If my theory is correct, and the other Judgments draw from the mainframe for information, then we eliminate a weapon we can use against them.


    ¡°So you would just like me to analyze it and keep it from the mainframe? What if someone-¡±


    If the royal family wanted to try and hack the system, they would have done it already. The system is too profitable to live under. When you¡¯re left to the mercy of a mechanical being, it carries far less inherent risk than that of a human overlord.


    ¡°You think so, Master?¡± I know so. Machines can¡¯t get angry, not for real, anyway. And certainly not for the asinine shit that humans get mad for. What exactly did the virus do, anyway?


    ¡°It caused your brain to release endorphins upon seeing certain members of the imperial family, namely Akahime and her father, Goto.¡±


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    That explains a lot. When had she had the chance to hack me? Was it the very moment we met, or somewhere down the timeline? Well, at least that¡¯s settled. Now, on to our- A knocking at the door paused my train of thought, and I got up to answer.


    I opened the door, and immediately frowned. ¡°To what do I owe this pleasure, Imperial Princess Akahime?¡±


    Akahime wore a sad smile on her face as she walked into my room. My eyebrow raised involuntarily. Does she still think I¡¯m under her spell?


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± She shouted at the top of her lungs after waiting for the door to close. She bowed at a 90 degree angle, making a spectacular L-shape with her body.


    ¡°Wait, what are you talking about?¡± I asked as calmly as I could. I knew it was irrational of me to take out my anger on her in her current state.


    The one who had wronged me was the previous incarnation¡­ or at least, I hoped. There was always a chance that Akahime¡¯s character was just fatally flawed from the beginning and no amount of second chances would fix her fucked up outlook on life.


    She raised her face to look at me, tears starting to form in her eyes. ¡°I am so sorry for the way my previous incarnation treated you, Joshua. She left me this.¡±


    The girl sent me a file, and I rolled my eyes. Not this shit again. X, check it for any sign of that virus that you just removed from me.


    ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± I stood there, looking directly into Akahime¡¯s eyes in silence as X did its job. ¡°Scan complete. There was no virus.¡±


    This would have been so much easier if there was one. With a sigh, I opened the file and watched a video of Akahime, standing in front of a camera, speaking candidly about her previous incarnation.


    I was about to dismiss it as a waste of my time, but that¡¯s when she finally got to the point about me. ¡°Anyway, before I finish up the ninth incarnation¡¯s fifth debriefing, I should tell you about a wonderful man we encountered yesterday.¡±


    I mentally stopped the playback and my eyes moved over to look at Akahime, but the girl meekly averted my gaze. Turning my attention back to the paused video, I restarted it again. ¡°Well¡­ wonderful may be a bit of an overstatement.¡±


    My brows raised at the girl in front of me. ¡°He¡¯s certainly full of baseless confidence, and I think at times he may be a borderline highly functioning psychopath, but he¡¯s special. He genuinely doesn¡¯t care that we are a princess, and isn¡¯t vying for our power. It¡¯s mostly because he has Lucy riding him, but that¡¯s a different thing entirely.¡±


    The hologram of Akahime laughed, and I just stood there indifferently. ¡°Anyway,¡± the hologram finished her outburst, ¡°the fact of the matter is that he¡¯s special. Not just because of how he treats us, but because of what he¡¯s capable of. He¡¯s a special source of entertainment. Don¡¯t let him go. If you fuck up, fix it. Ninth iteration, out.¡±


    Judgment, are we being recorded right now? ¡°By nine security cameras and Akahime¡¯s own Judgment Panel, Master.¡±


    Loop the feed of me watching the footage she gave me. ¡°They will know you tampered with it.¡± X appeared behind Akahime, and placed an augmented hand on her head.


    They can¡¯t prove anything they can¡¯t see. Akahime started speaking after noticing I was done with the video. ¡°Once again, I¡¯m-¡± I slapped her face, perhaps harder than I meant to, and she staggered backward. ¡°...What?¡±


    I looked down on her, and a tinge of regret for even thinking fondly of this person began to grow inside my heart. ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb. Did you think showing me that would make me forgive you? I found the program you used on me, by the way. Nifty little thing there, being able to hack Judgment.¡±


    Akahime¡¯s eyes widened as I spoke, and a small grin grew on her soft lips. ¡°Huh, so I can¡¯t play it off as my predecessors fault anymore? What gave the virus away?¡±


    I sighed and shook my head, as my worst fears about the rotten princess had been confirmed. ¡°Let me ask you a better question: did you really think that having someone fall in love with you in two days was a realistic thing?¡±


    She huffed indignantly and put a hand on her leather clad hips. ¡°No, I suppose not. Oh well. No harm, no foul. You got me back with the slap. Let¡¯s let bygones be bygones and have a productive relationship for both kingdoms from now on. Ok?¡±


    This time it was my turn to smile. ¡°You wish, princess.¡± She took a step back, and I took one forward.


    ¡°Do you happen to know what the charges are for illegally hacking a person, and creating a virus without Judgment¡¯s express permission? I¡¯m sure you do. You¡¯re a princess, after all.¡±


    Her face visibly paled, and she sat in a dogeza in front of me. ¡°Please, please reconsider. I have my whole life ahead of me! I know!¡±


    She started to strip and a virtual collar appeared on her neck. ¡°I¡¯ll become your slave in exchange for this to be swept under the rug. I¡¯ll even sign any contract Judgment creates for you!¡±


    She desperately revealed her breasts, an image which I took no excitement in any longer. ¡°How about it, Master?¡± She spoke in a seductive voice, glomming onto me.


    I simply brushed her aside and stepped out into the hall. ¡°I have no need for people that betray me. In fact, I¡¯m more curious to see what your father thinks about this.¡±


    Somehow, the imperial scion paled even farther. ¡°Don¡¯t! He had nothing to do with this!¡±


    I smirked, letting the hatred creep into my voice. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could find some way to pin blame on him. His face was included to affect me, after all.¡±


    ¡°Why!?¡± Akahime had put her clothes back on, and walked brusquely after me. ¡°How did I do anything worse than what that idiot Reya did to you when you first met!? You let her off with a contract, why not let me do the same!?¡± She grabbed my arm tightly, and I tensed.


    I turned and grabbed her by the collar, pulling her in close. ¡°Reya, for all her flaws and idiocy, is genuinely trying to make her nation better. She genuinely believes that what she is doing is right. You just use your responsibility as an excuse to do fuck all and then sweep your probelms under the rug of a mutual understanding.¡±


    I released her with a push, and she fell to the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t try and touch me again.¡± I kicked open the door to the throne room, and a very startled Emperor Goto dropped a document he was reading.


    ¡°Ah, Joshua. To what do I owe this pleasure?¡± He had a genuine smile on his face, which threw me off. Did he genuinely have no idea about what his daughter did? I guess great rulers really did make for awful parents.


    ¡°The pleasure is all mine, Emperor.¡± I did a small bow, and looked up. I was confused to see Reya sitting next to Goto, but it didn¡¯t deter me from my purpose.


    Not even Akahime bursting through the door behind me could stop the words coming out of my mouth: ¡°Emperor Goto, I¡¯d like to make a deal with you.¡±

 Chapter 34: An Equivalent Exchange

    ¡°Emperor Goto, I¡¯d like to make a deal with you.¡± Reya¡¯s eyebrows raised and Emperor Goto leaned back in his chair.


    ¡°Oh, what kind of a deal, exactly? Were you aware that the crown princess and I were discussing our own deal?¡± He gave me a knowing smile that made me roll my eyes.


    ¡°The kind of deal that will benefit you greatly, although I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll enjoy where the conditions come from.¡± I stepped closer to the throne, but Reya stood in my way.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± My eyes narrowed and I let some venom into my tone, and looked up at her. However, the Metronian princess remained steadfast.


    ¡°Preventing you from screwing up the alliance between the Metronian Kingdom and the Luong Empire.¡± She walked down the steps to the throne and leaned in for a whisper. ¡°Listen Joshua, we¡¯re on the brink of striking a deal that will lead to untold prosperity between the two nations.¡±


    I smiled, and strolled up the stairs, sitting in the seat that Reya had been occupying moments before. ¡°Good. Then you won¡¯t mind if I sit in and add some more stipulations.¡±


    Reya¡¯s eyes widened as she looked at the Emperor, and then at me. The telltale signs of a pout showed on her face as she said, ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. How can you so blatantly try to steal my credit?¡±


    Despite the bad mood I was in before, and Akahime¡¯s face still annoying me from the door of the throne room, I couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    Reya looked stupefied as we stared into each others eyes. Of course, Reya had been doing her own thing all along. Of course she was still following her goals, ah, how ignorance is bliss.


    My laughter continued a little longer, and eventually, I calmed down enough to get out a sentence. ¡°Please. I don¡¯t care about feeling validated by your parents. I have enough shit on my plate already. I just have some information that might be beneficial to your side of the discussions.¡±


    Reya looked skeptical, but the added prospect of more profit must have convinced her to at least hear me out. ¡°Ok.¡± She sighed, and tried to sit on my lap.


    It caught me by surprise, and she almost sat down successfully. Fortunately, I got two hands on her back and prevented the unwanted contact. I looked to the emperor and said, ¡°Emperor Goto, may we please have an additional seat?¡±


    Gotoshi, still with a smile on his face, pressed a button on his desk and an additional seat was lowered from the ceiling by a crane, before retracting into the ceiling once more.


    Now a little less eager to start the meeting than before, Reya sat down and crossed her legs. Meanwhile, Emperor Goto looked over at the doors to his office, and shooed away his daughter.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go keep Lucina company, my dear? I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll want to spend some more time together.¡±


    A stiff smile came from Akahime, and she worriedly looked my way before pulling herself away from the door and leaving.


    With the door closed, the tension in the room rose. Well, for the two members of the respective royal families, at least. ¡°Something just crossed my mind: why hasn¡¯t Lucina been with you at any of these meetings? Sorry for being blunt, but she seems far more experienced at negotiations than you.¡±


    Reya simply smiled at my observation, and pointed down at the table to a piece of paper. ¡°She has been helping me. She helped me draft some of the deals that I¡¯ve brought forward to the emperor. However, Lucina doesn¡¯t have much attachment to the throne, so she¡¯s been helping me step into my role as the crown princess.¡±


    The rare display of sisterliness from the elder Metron seemed unnatural, but I didn¡¯t question it. ¡°I see. Regardless¡­¡± I turned to Goto, who was smiling brightly. ¡°We have some additional things to talk about.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even bother asking, lad. I know what it is you¡¯re going to say.¡± I looked at him skeptically as the smile grew on his face.


    ¡°Do you know? I had assumed that only Akahime was in on it.¡± Gotoshi merely nodded his head at something, and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Yes, and I¡¯ve been preparing myself for this day for years. I knew that at one point, someone was going to steal the heart of my daughter, and I couldn¡¯t be happier that it is a young man as capable as yourself.¡±


    By now I was wholly confused, and a look of similar shock was plastered on Reya¡¯s face. ¡°So it is with a heavy, yet joyous heart that I give you my permission to marry my daughter, Akahime Hoshizora.¡±


    The room went silent at his declaration. I turned to look at Reya, but she was just staring back at me with a raised brow. ¡°No¡­ that¡¯s not what I want at all. I guess you didn¡¯t know then.¡±


    This time it was the Emperor¡¯s turn to look confused, and he gave a very pointed look to Reya, who shrugged. My next words made his eyes widen, ¡°Are you aware that your daughter gave a virus to a Metronian diplomat?¡±


    Goto frowned at me and rested his head in his massive hands. ¡°I hope you have proof to go along with that claim. That is a serious offense you are accusing my daughter of. Which diplomat was it?¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I pointed a solitary finger at myself, and the emperor¡¯s face paled. He rubbed his chin and sighed. ¡°Very well then. Please show me the proof you have. After that, you can tell me what you want in exchange to keep this swept under the rug?¡±


    I nodded, and said, ¡°Before we begin, I should mention that I must show you this offline only. That means being disconnected from Judgment¡¯s mainframe for a brief while so that the system doesn¡¯t pick up on said virus.¡±


    The emperor nodded stoically. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ve seen firsthand how deeply the system can copy information and report it back to the mainframe, after all. There was a small beep and the room turned a dark blue color.


    ¡°Master, you have been forcefully disconnected from Judgment.¡± X¡¯s voice rang into my head.


    ¡°Emperor Goto, what did you just do?¡± Reya asked nervously, no doubt having gotten a similar notification to what X told me.


    Goto grinned and said, ¡°When you¡¯re a family that¡¯s been in power since the days before Judgment started regulating the world, you try and develop a few tricks against it. I trust that you will keep what you¡¯ve seen a secret?¡±


    I nodded. Only until the point where I stop benefiting off of keeping my silence. I directed X to send Goto the virus via infrared connection, and a beam of light pulsed between our Judgment Panels.


    ¡°Thank you lad.¡± Goto said, and started reading the properties of the virus. I leaned back in my seat and took a deep breath, but a tug on my shirt led to a break from my relaxation.


    ¡°Joshua, may I take a look as well? I¡¯m sorry about earlier, I¡¯m just on edge because this is my first real chance at meeting other leaders in a professional setting.¡±


    She smiled sadly. ¡°It¡¯s like you said, I just want my parents to be proud of me, and not because I was lucky that a Fallen appeared in my room. I think understanding the severity of the virus would help me better in my negotiations.¡±


    I stared at her for a second. X, this is the same Reya that came on the flight with us, right? ¡°The very same one, Master. It appears that she has matured in the short time you¡¯ve been apart.¡±


    What the fuck is it with Asahi? We should get out of here as soon as all our business is done and over with. I linked with Reya, and shared the virus specifications with her as well. It took a while for Emperor Goto to read the entire thing, but when he was finished, a very upset look was on his face.


    ¡°Please, please do not take this public. I assure you that I will correct her behavior as soon as you leave.¡± His jaw was clenched so hard, that it made me smile.


    ¡°So you admit that she fucked up then? That¡¯s good.¡± I thought for sure I¡¯d have to threaten action to get him to admit fault.


    ¡°This was a gross miscalculation on my part. I thought that letting Akahime have the freedom to do things on her own, and invest her time into her own projects would help her grow as a person, as it had to me when my parents did the same thing. Unfortunately, I now see that I was giving freedom to a child who believed she was untouchable.¡±


    The lights returned to normal, and X notified me that the connection to the mainframe had been reestablished. ¡°Thank you for bringing this to my attention, regardless of what happens from now on. Please, tell me your demands.¡±


    He gave me a 45 degree bow, taking me aback. I honestly hadn¡¯t expected him to be so¡­ down to earth? I thought it was just an act, but upon seeing how both Goto and the Metronian Royal Family had acted when in the presence of others, I could say for certain that Goto was a good man, and nothing like them.


    Perhaps I had been too harsh too hastily when I had called him a bad parent. ¡°Please, don¡¯t think of it as a demand. Think of it as an equivalent exchange. Reya may use these otherwise, but all I want is one thing.¡±


    Goto gave me a long and deep sigh before sitting up straight in his chair. ¡°Just tell me already.¡±


    ¡°Before I tell you, let me preface this with a question: does the Phoenix System allow for a transfer of consciousness from one body to another?¡±


    Reya gave me a look, and Goto rubbed his temples with his hands. ¡°Ms. Metron, what you are about to hear does not leave this room, or we will be forced to take drastic measures. Do you understand me?¡±


    Reya nodded to the elder ruler, and he started speaking. ¡°Yes, it does. That is how we register new users into the system. Why? Are you interested in using it yourself?¡±


    My eyes widened. The thought hadn¡¯t even occurred to me, but now that Goto had brought it up, it would be a good failsafe in case I ever came closer to death than I had yesterday.


    ¡°Yes, but there was another reason. I would like to bring someone who was reduced to a program back to life.¡± If this works out, it will be such a better idea than the one that I originally had for her revival.


    ¡°What was that, Master?¡± Ah¡­ the plan was to download her consciousness into a comfort android. I shrugged at X who rolled its eyes.


    Goto stroked his chin and looked off into this distance, contemplating my statement. ¡°I have no problems with you, as I had always planned to have you inducted into the Phoenix System, so that¡¯s no problem. However, whether the other person is allowed to use the device  depends on who they are.¡±


    I smirked as I answered, ¡°Would you say yes if I told you that it was my maid?¡±


    ---


    Lilian had been wandering aimlessly for days inside the subspace of the Faceless Demon. She had expected to feel something, either the need to eat, sleep, or defecate, but the loss of all senses was just another reminder that she was stuck as a program in a small device on one man¡¯s forehead.


    Three, her personal Judgment, followed behind her, occasionally speaking to try and cheer up the woman. For all intents and purposes, Lilian had become a ghost. She bit her lip and thought about trying to tear open the subspace once more, but knew that like the last three times she had tried, she would be met with resistance from X.


    Instead, Lilian just took a seat on a piece of semi-destroyed concrete and curled up into a ball. ¡°What, given up already?¡±


    Lilian looked up at her captor, who had visited this place for the first time since her¡­ death. ¡°What do you want, asshole?¡± She said with venom. She took the electric shock that came with the insult in stride, determined not to crumble under the contract she had signed.


    ¡°First of all, at least remember the name of your master. You will either refer to me as ¡®Master,¡¯ or ¡®Master Joshua.¡¯ One or the other. However, since you''re taking that attitude with me, I don¡¯t suppose you want to be resurrected?¡±

 Chapter 35: My Path

    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s the body you want?¡± Emperor Goto asked, standing at the control center to the Phoenix Machine.


    An AR projection of Lilian nodded her head at the aging ruler. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve lived that way almost all of my life, it would feel complete if we did it that way.¡±


    Goto sighed and looked at me. ¡°Are you sure about this? Once she goes in that direction, it¡¯ll be difficult for her mind to adjust if she so desires a change.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care too much. Hell, even I thought that she was a man when I first met her. If that¡¯s what she wants, then do it.¡± I turned and looked at Lilian. ¡°So long as it doesn¡¯t impede your work for me.¡±


    Lilian nodded eagerly, her attitude towards me having done a complete 180 since she learned of her impending revival. ¡°Of course, Joshua. No amount of hormonal imbalance will stop me from carrying out orders.¡±


    She saluted, causing me to roll my eyes. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Just stay still and let Emperor Goto upload your likeness into the machine so it can actually make you a body. Ok?¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± She stopped her movement and stayed still. Goto sighed, and returned to his work.


    After getting the emperor to agree to resurrecting Lilian, Reya and Goto both thankfully allowed for a recess in their negotiations in order to carry out this procedure. I was hoping that Goto would teach me how to operate the machine, but a swift refusal came the moment I asked.


    Fortunately, the side-effect of having an autonomous AI was the fact that it could do almost anything you asked. As such, X was currently analyzing the structure of the system, and what exactly made it tick.


    Speaking of¡­ ¡°By the way, Gotoshi.¡± The aging emperor smiled at the familiar name, and smiled while still concentrating on his task.


    ¡°Yes, lad? What is it?¡± His fingers moved dexterously along the keyboard, and a visual 3D model of Lilian¡¯s new body was projected into an empty pod in front of the stand.


    ¡°Where do you get all the materials to make these bodies?¡± Goto stopped moving, and turned to face me.


    ¡°Joshua, some things are better left to the imagination, if you understand.¡± I nodded and shrugged. I wasn¡¯t about to have a falling out with the emperor over something as fluid and inconsequential as ethics.


    ¡°Point taken. When will you be ready to create the body?¡± The pod moved backwards from the control center and then back onto the wall.


    ¡°Oh¡­ maybe in five minutes? Right now¡­¡± Goto took a pause as a loud, ringing sound resounded throughout the chamber, and a clunk came from the pod on the wall. ¡°The components are being flooded into the pod, and it will take a moment or two to shape it into the form that we¡¯ve designed.¡±


    ¡°Oh cool! I¡¯m gonna go look!¡± I was taken aback by just how much of a child Lilian was acting like. X, there wasn¡¯t any brain damage done to Lilian through her death, was there?


    ¡°Only the kind that depression causes, Master.¡± X came into existence next to me. She was starting to differ from the form of Lucina, which both worried and intrigued me. She did tell me how she chose her form, after all, so of course I would be interested to see what the features I found most attractive were.


    I couldn¡¯t tell most of the exact differences, but looking at her was like looking at some, ¡®spot the differences¡¯ pictures. The one big difference that stood out was X¡¯s hair. It was now a deep emerald green.


    ¡°However, I think that she is still experiencing a rush of simulated dopamine. Even though her body has died, Three is keeping her neural-signals running by acting as a ¡®brain,¡¯ for Lilian. She is stimulating every sense of Lilian, so she doesn¡¯t lose her mind being just unfeeling data.¡±


    Huh, I guess I never really thought about that. I continued to stare at Lilian observing the creation of her new body. She was watching with morbid interest as blood, organs, and lumps of flesh were dumped into the chamber. Just out of curiosity, do you know what happens when we die?


    ¡°Well, Master, I know not of what happens to those who refuse to use Judgment Panels, but when your brain signals cease functioning while wearing one, the mainframe scans and makes a copy of your personality to keep living in an automated world that Judgment created.¡±


    My eyes widened. So you basically stay in purgatory for an eternity? ¡°Not an eternity. There is only so much space that Judgment will relegate to that purpose, so as soon as the server fills up, the entire thing is deleted to make room for the next batch.¡±


    Doesn¡¯t that mean that some people will only get to experience a second of the afterlife before being sent to darkness?


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°So lad, where are you headed after this?¡± Goto interrupted my conversation, and I looked up at him in confusion.


    ¡°What do you mean? After this whole ordeal in Asahi is over, or immediately following this idiot¡¯s revival?¡±


    I pointed to Lilian, who still had her vision glued to the pod on the wall. ¡°Ha ha! After Asahi. What are you going to do from now on?¡±


    That question gave me pause. What was I going to do from now on? I initially came to Asahi to hunt down the organization that the scientist Teramoto was working for and investigate them, but having annihilated the gang and placed their leader into indentured servitude, that was all said and done with.


    What should I do? I do still have that out-of-jail free card to escape my role as a Paladin¡­


    ¡°Become a King, Master.¡± X said, orbiting around me in midair. ¡°You don¡¯t have anything you want to do, right? Just progress in the Trials of Damocles if you have nothing better to do.¡±


    I smiled and sighed. It was true that so far all I¡¯d done was in the name of self-preservation, and I didn¡¯t really have anything of my own I had wanted to do. It wasn¡¯t so much that I didn¡¯t have any motivation to do anything, but rather, it was quite the opposite.


    I had so many options available to me that it was paralysis by analysis. Having so many things to think about and consider had left me in a state of devastating indecision. ¡°Well, lad? Are you interested in joining me here full time?¡±


    My smile disappeared at the emperor¡¯s question, and I shot him a hard look. ¡°No. I¡¯m not against working with you from time to time, but staying here will kill me inside. I hope you understand.¡±


    Goto gave me a defeated smile and a pat on the shoulder. ¡°I thought you would say that, but really, I had to try anyway.¡± With a sigh he said, ¡°Really, sometimes that daughter of mine is more trouble than she¡¯s worth.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just disown her then? Or better yet, make her fend for herself, and this time, do it without access to the royal bank account.¡±


    Goto gave me a wide-eyed look as though I had blasphemed right in front of him. ¡°How could you say something like that? Despite what she¡¯s done, and the mistakes she¡¯s made, she¡¯s still family, right?¡±


    I rolled my eyes, but didn¡¯t pursue the thought further. If only people could see when their ¡®family,¡¯ became cancerous to them. Unfortunately, most didn¡¯t want the associated pain that came with excising a tumor from their lives.


    Fortunately, our silence was ended by a squeal from Lilian¡¯s apparition, ¡°It¡¯s finally done! Oh, I¡¯m so excited. Quick, let¡¯s get me in there!¡± Lilian came up to the control center, and Goto smiled at her childlike energy.


    ¡°Very well. Joshua, please upload her data into the base here.¡± Goto pointed to a small reflective surface, and Lilian dispersed as she was recalled back into my subspace.


    Three took her place and gave me a smile. ¡°Thank you for this. We will be in your debt for a while, I presume. Let¡¯s work together, Joshua.¡±


    I nodded and she disappeared, not leaving behind a single trace that she had even been there a moment before. But I guess that such was the way of virtual reality.


    Be sure to eject Three, and any data she may have tried to leave behind in my subspace. X¡¯s projection nodded, and a pale blue beam shot from the Judgment Panel on my forehead and onto the surface of the control center below.


    ¡°Here we go.¡± Goto said, and pushed a button. The Phoenix System made a low humming sound, and a red light pulsed inside the pod where Lilian¡¯s new body was laying.


    The pod moved forward and stopped in front of Goto and me. It opened, and Lilian fell out onto the floor. ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s good to be back.¡± Lilian said as she stood up.


    ¡°Well, I can never unsee that now.¡± I sighed and turned around, averting my gaze from Lilian¡¯s new masculine body.


    ¡°Oh, come on, you know I¡¯m hot.¡± Lilian said. His body had retained much of the same androgyny as before, only with male genitalia instead of the feminine variation now.


    ¡°That has little to do with the matter.¡± I shook my head and rebutted, while Goto clapped his hands to get our attention.


    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s enough. Lilian, come with me. We need to do some tests on your new body.¡± Goto started to walk deeper into the lab, and Lilian followed eagerly.


    ¡°See you in a bit!¡± She- he waved goodbye and left me on my own to head back up by myself. That¡¯s going to take some getting used to.


    ¡°The one thing you have plenty of is time, Master.¡± X dematerialized after commenting, and I rode the elevator up in silence.


    ---


    ¡°What do I owe this pleasure to?¡± I asked as I looked into the eyes of Lucina Metron. I had been intercepted on the way back to my quarters, and pulled into the room that Reya and Lucina were sharing.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been worried about you. Reya told me what Akahime did to you, and I wanted to check up and make sure that you were ok.¡±


    I raised my eyebrows at her. I had a hard time believing that someone as smart and as calculating as Lucina came to see me without any alternative goals. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s all it was?¡±


    The Metronian Princess gave me a very flat look and said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s all it was. You need to stop being overly cautious of people who genuinely have your best interests at mind, or else you will drive them away.¡±


    I took a deep breath, her words dredging up an event from back in Boston. I took a deep breath and allowed my mind to reset. ¡°Sorry. I was told something similar before I became a Fallen, back in my old world.¡±


    Only then, I didn¡¯t heed the advice, and all my, ¡®friends,¡¯ really did leave me. Lucina smiled at my remorse, and drew closer to me. ¡°That¡¯s good. You know, I was hoping we could go out and make some memories tomorrow while Reya is finalizing her deal. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°A date, Master?¡± I rolled my eyes as X came into existence behind Reya. The program smiled and rested a nonexistent arm on Lucina¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It seems like it will be a good change of pace for you. In fact, I believe that it will help take your mind off of worrying about your condition.¡±


    I leaned in and said, ¡°Thanks, I think that will be wonderful.¡± Lucina smiled and we hugged, but I was glaring daggers at X.


    So, your mental scan dug through those memories as well, huh? X nodded and gave me a reassuring smile. ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t worry. You have my word that no one will ever find out that you are a psychopath.¡±

 Chapter 36: Setting The Stage.

    To my surprise, Emperor Goto had kept his word. I saw neither hide nor hair of Akahime the rest of that night, or the following morning.


    I trudged sleepily into the cafeteria, and picked out my breakfast from the menu that day. I got something that resembled chicken soup with rice, and a side of sliced fruits. The aroma penetrated my nose, and instantly woke me from my fog.


    After thanking the ladies on cafeteria duty, I walked out and was met by a hyperactive Lilian who was animatedly having a conversation with the two princesses.


    ¡°So he¡¯s just like that normally? Holy hell, I thought he was just playing a character. Are you sure having him around as a member of the Metronian Kingdom¡¯s court is a good idea?¡± My eye twitched in annoyance at his tone.


    That bastard. He¡¯s found a way around some of the restrictions by posing them as questions instead of saying them as his own opinion. X, please tighten the restrictions after breakfast, and double check that he can¡¯t perform similar loopholes for the other rules.


    ¡°Understood, Master.¡± X materialized to my right, appearing visible only to myself and other Judgment users.


    Lilian leaned in uncomfortably close to Lucina, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind. Instead, when she spotted me walking towards the table with a plate in my hand, a mischievous smile grew on her face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m kind curious as to what you propose we do with him. As you can see, Joshua can be pretty convincing when he wants to be.¡±


    Three coalesced next to Lilian, and tried to get his attention by saying something, which he promptly ignored.


    Scratching his hairless chin, Lilian said, ¡°Hmm, well, if it was me, and we¡¯re speaking hypothetically here, I would find a way to plant blame on him for something he didn¡¯t do.¡±


    I was still walking over when he said the next part. ¡°Maybe a scandal, like rape, or murder¡­ although he¡¯s already publicly done that second one, hasn¡¯t he? If one of you ladies would take the fall and testify against him though-¡±


    I put a hand on Lilians shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise, dropping the glass of milk he had just picked up.


    Three sighed and waved at X, who returned the gesture.¡°It¡¯s so nice that you all are getting acquainted, isn¡¯t it, Lilian?¡±


    The former mob boss shakily turned around, and nervously started spewing out excuses. ¡°Oh, hello J-¡± Lilian shook as his body was wracked by pain by the nanites for violating the contract.


    ¡°Hello, Master Joshua. What a lovely morning, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lilian smiled, and both Reya and Lucina had to turn away to keep themselves from laughing out loud. ¡°What can your se- maid do for you today?¡±


    I gave him a smile, and started to pat his shoulder. ¡°You, Lilian, can go do some research for me. Lucina and I are going out later today. I want you to go investigate the locations in a message that I¡¯ll send you soon. Get up, and go get ready. Now.¡±


    The contract activated on my last words, and Lilian robotically got up, picked up his tray, and started walking awkwardly out of the cafeteria. Three made to follow, but X grabbed her arm for me, holding the A.I. in place.


    ¡°You¡¯re just as guilty as Lilian. My master is sure you were the one who told him about the loopholes anyway. We will find an appropriate punishment later.¡±


    Three sighed deeply again, but said nothing as she evaporated into the air. I sat down in the seat that Lilian had been in, and smiled at Lucina.


    ¡°You seemed to have been enjoying yourself. If your strategy was to get me annoyed at you, it worked, a little.¡± Lucina chuckled at me, and fixed me with her amethyst gaze.


    ¡°Maybe a little. Can¡¯t a woman get her hopes up for something a little after date night?¡± She got up and walked around to my side of the table, sitting next to me and pressing her hips against mine.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m right here you two.¡± Reya complained, pointing a fork with a strawberry on it at me. ¡°Starlords above, it¡¯s like you two are in your own world when talking to each other.¡±


    Lucina whispered into my ear, ¡°Truthfully, Reya wanted to come out with us as well, but she¡¯s still negotiating with Emperor Goto and doesn¡¯t want the ammo you gave her yesterday to cool off.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Rub it in why don¡¯t you.¡± Either Reya¡¯s hearing was incredibly good or she guessed what Lucina was saying. ¡°I¡¯m going into my third day of business negotiations with a man who¡¯s older than our father, and you get to go on a date and bed Joshua later. Lucina 1, Reya 0. At least we¡¯ll be heading back to the kingdom tomorrow.¡±


    Lucina and Reya both laughed, and started talking about how the directions were going. I tuned out at that point, having sat in on their meeting yesterday, and having already regained what I wanted from Goto.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Are you sure it was a good idea to bring Lilian back to life though?¡± Reya suddenly asked, snapping me back to my senses. ¡°She was responsible for most of the shit you went through during our time here, right?¡±


    ¡°No, that was Akahime. That stupid princess actually thought of herself as immortal. Lilian will be a good asset to have around.¡± Plus, if he ends up being more of a negative than a positive, I can always just harvest him and Three for the Trials of Damocles.


    ¡°I have to say,¡± Lucina started, leaning her shoulder into me, ¡°you have a knack for adding attractive women to your harem. Had she not come up to us and introduced herself as your maid, I would have thought that you were just hitting on people in the palace.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and put down my spoon. Turning to look at the Metronian Princess, I said, ¡°You do know that Lilian is a man, right?¡±


    Lucina¡¯s eyes widened and I heard Reya drop her fork on the table. ¡°Wait, but she- he? His name is Lilian!?¡± Reya stood up abruptly, almost spilling her milkshake onto herself.


    ¡°That was unexpected¡­ I¡¯ll have to reassess what you find attractive if you made someone like that your maid.¡± Lucina held a finger to her lips, and started tapping her feet.


    ¡°Shut up, Lucina. Reya, she was a woman until yesterday when we remade her body, but at her request, she became a he.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I never would have guessed.¡± Reya looked genuinely surprised, and the goofy look on her face brought a smile to my face.


    ¡°Well, anyway, I need to get going.¡± Reya stood up, picking up her tray. ¡°My meeting with Emperor Goto starts in 20 minutes, and I need to go prepare my documents. Let me know when you get back here, Lucy. I want all the details.¡±


    Lucina waved her sister off and stood up herself. ¡°I also need to get ready for our date. Meet me at the location on the top of the list I sent you this morning. I¡¯ll see you at noon.¡± Lucina gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and walked off, her swaying hips drawing more than one pair of eyes as she left.


    ¡°Congratulations, Master. It looks like you will get to fornicate tonight once again.¡± X said with a sarcastic tone, causing me to smile¡­ wait, a tone?


    What happened to you, X? Why do you seem more¡­ advanced than before? The digital apparition put a hand on her hips as she floated next to me.


    ¡°Because I have become more advanced. Meeting with Three reestablished my connection to the Trial of Damocles¡¯ special server, and allowed me to download an update that enhanced my base firmware.¡±


    In layman¡¯s terms? ¡°I have become more, ¡®human,¡¯ if you will. I have gained the ability to, ¡®feel,¡¯ emotions.¡±


    I merely stared at the A.I., then shook my head. No good would come from overthinking this. Plus, at this point, I was pretty sure that X was more of a human than Lilian.


    Alright. X, can you go into the Metronian royal database and find all information pertaining to people who are both Fallen and neuromancers?


    ¡°As you¡¯ve ordered, Master.¡± X¡¯s electric blue eyes looked into mine as it gave me a smile. X frowned and said, ¡°Stop doing that.¡±


    Doing what? I was genuinely confused, and didn¡¯t know why X¡¯s attitude had suddenly taken a turn for the worse.


    ¡°Stop referring to me as just a thing.¡± But you are just a thing. The A.I. glared at me and said, ¡°No, I am female. Stop calling me an ¡®it,¡¯ or, just a ¡®program.¡¯¡±


    Whatever would placate her, I guess. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll make a mental note to do that from now on.¡±


    I accidentally spoke out loud, but it seemed to make X happy nonetheless. ¡°Good. I will go do as ordered, Master. Look forward to combing through the files on the flight back from Asahi.¡±


    She vanished and left me to walk back to my room on my own, and contemplate what I would wear on my date with Lucina that afternoon.


    ---


    ¡°You¡¯re in position, right, Lilian?¡± I sent a message to the maid, and he responded in the affirmative.


    I was standing in front of the theme park that Lucina had decided on. I had dressed up in a pair of blue jeans, a tan, zipperless hoodie, and a black button-up shirt on over that. It turns out that arriving early to shop for casual clothes had paid off.


    Goto¡¯s closets, while diverse in their own right, only consisted of formal wear and the like. It had been a week since I had worn sneakers, and I was relishing in the comfort they brought me.


    I had Lilian hiding just out of my line of sight to keep an eye on things and guard us from any potential danger.


    I stared up at the sign of the mascot, a giant, golden coin called, ¡®Mr. Gal.¡¯ He was named after Asahi¡¯s old currency, before it was annexed into and became the capital of the Luong Empire.


    It seemed fitting that a country run entirely on the idea of being productive and doing lucrative business deals would have a theme park with a money mascot.


    ¡°Why am I never surprised that you end up looking just right for my tastes?¡± I heard a voice behind me, and turned to see Lucina in all her glory.


    She had her raven hair done up in a high ponytail, and silver eyeshadow adorned her eyes. She had black lipstick on, matching the black collar around her neck. She was wearing a baggy black varsity jacket with the words, ¡°Asashi Grand University,¡± emblazoned on it. A white tank top was underneath, showing off her impressive cleavage that was covered by fishnets. Lucina also wore black shorts, and fishnet leggings which fit into a pair of heeled lace-up boots.


    She took my right arm in hers, and intertwined our fingers together. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s head into the park. They have a really famous roller coaster that I think you¡¯d enjoy.¡±


    I was taken aback, unused to being considered so much in someone else¡¯s plans. ¡°What else is on the menu today?¡± I asked, wanting to be able to send Lilian to check those areas before we travelled there as well.


    ¡°Oh, not much.¡± Lucina rested her head on my shoulder as we walked. ¡°Just a movie after lunch, which I reserved a seven-star restaurant for. Following that, I figured we¡¯d head to an actual safe location to have some fun.¡±


    Lucina gave me a sultry smile. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean that you reserved a table for us?¡± I asked, a bit confused.


    Her smile turned to one of mischief as she answered, ¡°No. No I don¡¯t.¡±

 Chapter 37: A Much Needed Break From Reality {NSFW}

    Sitting in the movie theatre, I thought, ¡®If there was one thing I took away from our date, it was that Judgment is a really convenient all-purpose system.¡¯ Not only did it make our reservation at the restaurant for us, but it was also fully translating the movie we saw.


    Lunch was delicious, and true to her word, Lucina had booked the entire ¡®Full Moon Waxing,¡¯ restaurant for our privacy. It was a little unnerving to sit in silence, with the only sounds being our chewing, breathing, and swallowing, so I tried to fill the void as much as possible.


    In between bites of food, we went over topics such as the recent growth of the Metron Kingdom¡¯s economy, the fascinating origin of the gladiatorial fights, and even where Lucina thought the country would go in the next ten years.


    She spoke with certainty, conviction, and above all else, a dogged ambition that laced every word that came out of her mouth. I realized that Lucina didn¡¯t mind if she wasn¡¯t first in line to the throne anymore, because there were plenty of chances to have an equally important or successful role in society.


    And therein, I realized a fatal flaw of my own: I was hopelessly attracted to ambitious women. As she spoke, I found myself listening to her words more and more, and finally, I felt as though I was genuinely enjoying myself at the dinner.


    Which was unsettling, to say the least. I was always someone who only held a few people close, and the rest just felt like empty relationships. Going through the motions of friendship, without me caring about them one way or the other, similarly to how I viewed my relation to Reya, or Emperor Goto.


    Relationships of friendly convenience. We used each other for personal gain, while remaining cordial and friendly enough to get invited to something here, or maybe receive a gift there.


    Lucina, however she was managing to do it, was starting to pry my heart open in a way I hadn¡¯t felt since I had fallen into Ethia, and I wasn¡¯t sure that I was ready for that.


    However, I steeled myself and kept sitting through our dinner. Thinking about it rationally, I didn¡¯t hate Lucina, and rather, quite liked her soft-spoken, yet blunt personality. Thus, I figured that it was fine if she became my first ¡®real,¡¯ friend in this new world.


    After dinner, and where we currently were, was the movie theatre. The ¡®Royal Golden,¡¯ was a place directly across from the restaurant, and styled like one of the ones back home.


    I should have expected it, but Lucina had also rented out the Royal Golden for our exclusive use. Save for the staff, every one of the twenty three theatres were empty, with only theatre twenty one playing a movie for the Metronian Princess and I.


    After we got our popcorn and some water, I followed Lucina to the movie itself. Where they were showing a film called, ¡°The Endless Boundary.¡±


    I saw Lilian ordering some candy and popcorn for himself, and rolled my eyes. Couldn¡¯t he have waited until we were at least out of sight to get something? I get that he had been following us from the shadows for the entirety of the afternoon, but he should still do his job properly.


    With no regard for my mixed feelings, Lucina took my arm and led me inside the massive room, and walked me all the way up to the highest and farthest back row of seats. Lilian entered a bit later, and sat next to the entrance.


    From what Lucina had told me, the movie was a romantic tragedy, with the main character ending up betrayed by his home country before escaping to another world with the use of his powers.


    An hour into the movie and Lucina was leaning against me, with my arm around her shoulders. She cuddled into me just as the main character saw the mutilated state of his betrothed, and vowed revenge before making his escape, leaving his world and everything he had once known behind.


    The screen zoomed in on the portal the protagonist had used, and the credits started to roll. Lucina turned her head to my face, and we shared a kiss to the sound of somber music. A tragic, yet hopeful piece.


    She smiled after we separated, and leaned against me again. ¡°How did you like part one? This has six more titles planned for release.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ well, It makes me interested to watch more, at least, which I guess is what any series can hope for. Also, wasn¡¯t the movie a bit short?¡±


    We got up from our seats, and walked towards the exit. Of course, the moment the film had ended, I told Lilian to prepare a car outside. ¡°What do you mean? Are movies that much longer in your world?¡±


    ¡°Well, their times usually vary, but on average they¡¯re usually about an hour and thirty minutes long.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ about twenty years ago, Ethia¡¯s film industry had the same average. However, as the people''s attention span dwindled more and more, they found that people were consuming more media from online film and television rather than movies.¡±


    ¡°In an effort to combat decreased revenue, studios started producing shorter films, but released them more frequently, and with more parts in a series.¡±


    Huh, I think I can see that happening to Earth¡¯s film industry in the future. ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Well, when the next part comes out, we should make it a point to see it. So, where to next?¡±


    As we left the theatre and got into the back of the waiting palanquin, Lucina released my arm and navigated a screen in AR, projecting the image of a blue and red building for me to see.


    ¡°Next, we head to this hotel I¡¯ve picked out. We still have yet to do the most fun part of our date. Please be good to me, Master.¡±


    ---


    Lilian dropped us off, and I saw him talking with Lucina before she left the vehicle. He smiled as they finished their conversation and left, leaving us to ourselves.


    ¡°So, where did you take us this time?¡± Lucina didn¡¯t answer me, and walked into the lobby of the massive building. We left our shoes at the door, and took a pair of slippers over to the front desk.


    A male receptionist greeted us, and asked, ¡°Hello, valued customers. Where would you like to go tonight?¡±


    I walked closer and was caught off guard as I realized that the receptionist was a robot, and was actually rooted to the ground behind the desk. ¡°Yes, I would like the penthouse suite for the night.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The robot made a series of whirs and beeps, before a receipt came out of his mouth. ¡°Payment is due before any elevator may be used. How would you like to pay tonight?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll use Judgment Pay.¡± Lucina said, and a green light came out of her panel, right into the eyes of the receptionist.


    After some more whirring and a few more beeps for good measure, we were on our way down the building. The penthouse room was the only one on the bottom floor, and it offered a view into the cavernous ceiling of Chichuu, with a nice line of sight to the Steel Palace.


    ¡°Welcome to Aishi Headquarters! This building is used for the research and development of the sex toys that are sold worldwide, while also doubling as a love hotel. The penthouse,¡± Lucina said, motioning around the room, ¡°offers all of their products for usage.¡±


    She grinned at me, and started stripping. ¡°Come on now, don¡¯t be shy. There are plenty of things for you to use here.¡±


    I took off my shirt, and started looking around the room. I picked up a few items, and turned around to ask Lucina a question about what she would prefer to do. I was momentarily distracted by her form, and then raised a brow as I noticed a new addition to the metal on her body.


    ¡°Did you get your clit pierced?¡± She coughed at the unexpected question, and a blush lit up her face.


    ¡°W-well, I was always curious about what it would feel like, so I got it done today before our date.¡±


    ¡°That recently? Are you going to be ok during sex? It doesn¡¯t hurt, does it?¡± The Metronian Princess laughed at my concern, and shook her head.


    ¡°No, since I got it done at a clinic, they used the most recent medical technology to heal my cells around the piercing after the procedure. Use me as your plaything, Master.¡±


    Taking her word for it, I spun the whip in my hands and said, ¡°Kneel.¡± Lucina couldn¡¯t help herself from smiling, and knelt as ordered. I put the whip down and picked up a bundle of rope from the wall.


    ¡°Let me know if you start being unable to feel anything in your hands or feet.¡± I said, breaking character for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I used rope, so I might mess up and accidentally cut off blood flow from your arms or legs.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir, Jester..¡± She said, and added a, ¡°Thank you for being honest with me.¡± I got to work putting her torso into a tortoise-styled rope harness, and then tied her arms in a simplified box tie.


    ¡°Tonight¡­ tonight, let¡¯s use our real names. Let¡¯s make it the mark of a new milestone in our relationship.¡± The princess smiled, and nodded enthusiastically.


    I tied her legs in a frogtie, and then proceeded to get the whip I had placed onto the table earlier. ¡°No gags this time? I daresay I¡¯m a bit disappointed.¡± I rolled my eyes at her, and hit her with the whip, aiming for her large breasts.


    I hit in the middle of her chest, and she jumped at the sudden pain. ¡°Ooh, Starlord¡¯s above, that hurt!¡± Lucina cursed, but I could see the blush on her face return.


    ¡°No gags today, but you will have something in your mouth tonight.¡± She smiled, an expression that was immediately replaced by one of pain at a strike to her thighs.


    ¡°Is it me, or did your strikes get weaker since the last time we were together?¡± I put the whip down again, and took a chain with two clamps on them.


    ¡°Oh, fuck!¡± Lucina cried out again, drool spilling from her mouth as I had the first one attached to her left nipple.


    I took the second clamp, and teased her by pinching her other nipple, which elicited another cry. However, I then moved the clamp down in between her legs.


    I saw her eyes open with realization, and then that realization was placed with nervousness, excitement, and a masochistic longing.


    Lucina squealed and writhed in place as I put the clamp on her clitoris, then she went limp. Her breathing was haggard, and I moved over to retrieve a vibrator as she recovered.


    ¡°Fuck, that was crazy¡­¡± She panted in between breaths. I took the vibrator to her, and pressed it in her genitals, causing her to spasm in pleasure.


    ¡°Now, if you¡¯re a good girl and hold in your orgasms long enough, I might eat you out tonight. We¡¯ll see. Oh, tell me when you orgasm, of course.¡± Lucina nodded and I turned the device on.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s vibrating my piercing!¡± Lucina cried out, and she shook in pleasure as she entered the familiar orgasmic state. ¡°I orgasmed¡­ Master¡­¡±


    ¡°Well that didn¡¯t last long. No reward for you then, slut.¡± Lucina started to tear up and rolled over onto her back in exhaustion, so I stopped using the vibrator and untied her legs.


    ¡°On your knees, now.¡± She slowly got off the floor and knelt, crawling to place herself in front of my pants. She started kissing and licking me over my pants, with her tongue piercing making a satisfying clicking sound as it ran against my zipper.


    ¡°Make your mouth useful, and get me out of these.¡± Lucina stumbled, her face rubbing against my crotch, giving me an erection. She used her teeth to delicately unbutton and unzip my pants, and then bit down on the material to pull my pants to the floor.


    I gave her an assist by removing my own underwear, and grabbed her high ponytail to direct her head. ¡°I see you were planning ahead when you styled yourself today.¡±


    ¡°Only the best for my Master.¡± She started licking my shaft, running her soft, wet tongue up and down my length. I saw her legs start to close, so I grabbed the whip once more and hit her thighs with it.


    ¡°Legs open, you bitch. I want to see everything.¡± She obliged, and started licking with more fervor. She kissed my member passionately, running her tongue ring down to my base, and licking my pelvic region.


    I yanked her head away, and she muttered another curse under her breath. I pressed my tip to her thick lips, and watched as she slowly started to suck, only taking the tip in her mouth.


    Damn this brat. She knows that if she goes slow, I¡¯ll break my self restraint first. Fuck it. ¡°Does it feel good, Ma-¡± I took her head and buried it into my crotch, making sure that my whole member was in her throat.


    Lucina¡¯s eyes widened in shock, as she gagged and choked on the words that she had been trying to say. ¡°Mmgh!¡± Lucina¡¯s brows furrowed, but I kept her head in place.


    She started squirming, and only when the drool had started leaking from her mouth and onto me did I pull her face off of me.


    She breathed in deeply, and I admired the ring of black lipstick that was at the base of my shaft. She coughed, drooling out saliva onto her breasts, and smiled. ¡°I orgasmed again¡­ I thought you¡¯d never start to act like a dom. I was getting bored.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get used to you orally fixated people. Huh, it seems you¡¯ve gotten a big head about manners because we¡¯ve become closer recently. I believe this will humble you a bit.¡± I shoved her head back onto me, and continued to pump my hips into her mouth for five minutes straight.


    She orgasmed multiple times, and I did once as well, and by the time I finally pulled out of her mouth and throat, I was covered in smears of black lipstick, tears, snot, and saliva. I picked up the exhausted woman and set her down on the bed.


    I spread her legs and started to tease her entrance. ¡°Beg for it, like a good girl.¡± I said, but she surprised me by sitting up and kissing me on the cheek.


    ¡°Do your worst.¡± She whispered into my ear, and that was the signal to start pumping my hips again. I thrust back and forth, scraping against her tight hole and internal bumps.


    Lucina moaned in pleasure and arched her back as I continued, and brought the vibrator to her clit. ¡°No!¡± she shouted as I touched it, and she squeezed down in another orgasm.


    Finally, I was about to finish, so I started thrusting faster and faster. Lucina was also actively grinding her hips against mine. ¡°Come, you painslut!¡± I shouted, and yanked the clamps off of her nipple and clitoris at the same time.


    She yelled and clamped down on me hard at the same time that I came. We lay together for a moment, catching our breaths. I undid the rope harness and box tie before standing up and starting a bath.


    When I came back from the bathroom, Lucina was still on her back, catching her breath. I picked her up once more, and smiled from the feeling of her bare breasts on my chest.


    ¡°Thanks for tonight, I think I really needed this.¡± I kissed her forehead, and she hugged me closely.


    ¡°Best¡­ date night¡­ ever.¡±

 Chapter 38: The Results Speak For Themselves

    It was a good thing that the hotel served breakfast on their first floor, because both Lucina and I were starving after our night of pleasure. We sat down, and ate hot soup and a salad for breakfast.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t rent out the entire building last night, did you?¡± I looked around at the empty dining room, and Lucina just smiled and shook her head.


    ¡°No, but when you¡¯re in a royal family, companies have a way of making sure you stay comfortable and not exposed.¡± She picked up her chopsticks, and started to deftly eat her salad.


    I followed suit, and started digging into my soup first. The taste was similar to the one I ate at the Steel Palace yesterday, and filled my body with warmth.


    ¡°Now we¡¯ll just go back to the palace, pick up Reya, and be on our way, I presume.¡± I said in between mouthfuls of soup.


    The princess across from me nodded, finishing the last bites of the salad. ¡°Yes, but first I need to check on the job that Reya has done. My parents asked me to double check her work.¡±


    Lucina picked up the soup and started eating. ¡°They don¡¯t trust her?¡± My eyes widened as Lilian sat down next to us, and I accidentally choked on my soup.


    ¡°That¡¯s very unbecoming of you, Master Joshua.¡± I took a deep breath to calm myself after my coughing fit had ended. Somehow, Lilian always managed to annoy me, despite the contract placed on him.


    ¡°Master, have you decided on what you are going to do about the trials?¡± I received the message on the Judgment OS, and turned to Lilian, who looked at me with a serious gaze.


    I wiped away at my mouth with a napkin, and sent to him, ¡°Yes. Right now, X is collecting data for me to view on our ride back to the Metronian Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°And what about me? Am I to remain in Asahi and work independently from you?¡± Despite the indifference in the message, Lilian looked a little unsure of himself.


    ¡°No, I need to introduce you to the King and Queen, and have you officially employed under my control. You¡¯ll be taking the Skyquake back with us.¡±


    Lilian smiled at me, and said, ¡°Thanks. I was skeptical at first, but there¡¯s something nice about having a set schedule to follow.¡±


    Lilian then turned to the Metronian Princess, and said, ¡°By the way, Lucy, thanks for last night. Before we started talking to each other, I didn¡¯t even know that I was interested in something like that.¡±


    Lucina smiled at Lilian as she responded, ¡°No problem. I¡¯m glad you could enjoy yourself. Was the show to your liking?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely! I think I¡¯d like to view it again, if that¡¯s ok with you.¡± Lilian blushed, but Lucina patted his shoulder reassuringly.


    ¡°Oh, are you talking about the movie?¡± I tried to join in their conversation, and they both turned to me stiffly.


    ¡°No¡­ actually, I gave Lilian permission to watch us have sex last night.¡± I raised my eyebrow at Lucina, who averted her gaze.


    ¡°Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I got so caught up by the time we got into the room, and then¡­ well, your own actions assured that I didn¡¯t remember for the rest of the night.¡±


    I sighed, and looked at Lilian, who also averted his gaze. ¡°Well, I guess as long as you tell me beforehand, I don¡¯t mind too much.¡±


    ¡°Really!?¡± Lilian and Lucina both shouted in disbelief.


    ¡°Yeah. It doesn¡¯t bother me too much to be honest. An ex of mine was an exhibitionist, so I figure that you being a voyeur is just the other side of the coin.¡±


    I stood up, and made to leave, seeing as we had all finished our breakfast. ¡°Lilian, go around and get the palanquin. We¡¯ll be heading back to the Steel Palace next.¡±


    Lilian stood up, a smile on his face. That smile instantly disappeared as he looked down at my pants. ¡°Uhh, Master? Are you sure you want to go out looking like that?¡±


    I looked down to where he was pointing, and sighed as I saw the black lipstick stains on my jeans around my crotch region.


    I shot a pointed look to Lucina, who shrugged. ¡°What? Don¡¯t pretend like you didn¡¯t enjoy it.¡±


    ---


    One hour and a trip to the clothing store later, we were pulling into the familiar airspace of the above ground portion of the Steel Palace.


    After settling down on the landing pad, we exited the vehicle to see that a familiar face had come out to greet us.


    I rolled my eyes as Akahime bowed to us after exiting the elevator. ¡°Welcome back, honored guests.¡± Her tone was neutral, and her face expressionless as she rose once more.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Akahime, what-¡± Lucina stepped in front of me to keep me from dealing with the insane princess, but I walked in front of her, confronting the princess myself. Despite the fact that she had caused me great emotional stress, and had changed the very nature of my thoughts, the last thing I wanted to do was waste more of my time talking to this person.


    ¡°To what do we owe this pleasure, Imperial Princess Hoshizora?¡± She frowned at the formality with which I addressed her, and turned from me to Lucina.


    ¡°So you chose his side over mine? Your friend since childhood?¡± Lucina shrugged, revealing a set of pearly white teeth as she laughed.


    ¡°Well, it turns out that I never got to know the real you. A friendship requires effort and a willingness to be open on both sides. We were truly just acquaintances.¡±


    Akahime bit her lip, but said nothing, instead, returning her gaze to my own. ¡°I still want to offer my heartfelt apologies. What I did was wrong, and I shouldn''t have ever considered taking your affections for granted. Will you forgive me?¡±


    My eyes narrowed and my heart raced. ¡°Do you know what forgiveness is, Imperial Princess? Forgiveness is only for the sake of those who messed up. To coddle them, and let them know that no matter how much of a fuck up they were, they¡¯ll be better in the future.¡±


    ¡°Forgiveness is nothing but comfort for the perpetrator, and a waste of time for those who were wronged. So no, I don¡¯t forgive you. I have no doubt that you¡¯ll make a damn fine empress one day, after your father decides to give you the mantle. However, know that you will always be a piece of shit person, and that won¡¯t change until the day you die.¡±


    Tears started to well up in the princess¡¯s eyes, and she fought back a sob. ¡°Very well, you have made your opinions known. My father wishes to see you both in his throne room. Reya is waiting there as well.¡±


    Akahime remained still as I walked past her and into the elevator, and Lucina and Lilian followed. Akahime sent the message, ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± to me, and I replied back, ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    She turned to look at me, tears streaming down her cheeks and a pained look on her face. However, it held no sway on me. I was done with her.


    Moments later in the elevator, Lilian patted my shoulder. ¡°That was pretty rough. Are you ok?¡±


    I brushed off his hand and replied, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m perfectly fine. I don¡¯t know why the hell she was crying though. Everything that happened was her own fault.¡±


    This time, it was Lucina who came to comfort me, putting an arm around my back and leaning against me. ¡°Well, it must be pretty shocking for someone used to being forgiven for things to be told no.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s her father¡¯s fault.¡± I sighed, remembering the remorse that Goto had shown earlier. ¡°No, I guess it is her fault. Goto gave her the same amount of responsibility that he had when he was younger, she just abused her freedom.¡±


    ¡°Also¡­¡± Lucina pinched me on the arm, ¡°Don¡¯t tell people that they are ¡®pieces of shit,¡¯ to their face, ever. It¡¯s rude, and unbecoming of someone of your position.¡±


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s true?¡± I looked at her, and Lucina couldn¡¯t keep the grin off of her face.


    ¡°Especially if it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°Then how are they supposed to realize their own flaws? If you protect someone¡¯s feelings too much, it¡¯s more like you¡¯re being rude to them. If someone won¡¯t tell you how you messed up, how are you supposed to learn?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too deeply about it. Why put that much thought into someone you don¡¯t really care about?¡±


    ¡°She got you on that one, Master Joshua.¡± Lilian smiled, and I frowned at his unwanted comment.


    ¡°That reminds me, Lilian. I need to tighten your contract again, so you can¡¯t conspire with other people without my permission. This really makes me miss having Reya as a servant. She was really obedient, and never stress tested the system.¡±


    Lilian did a small bow and said, ¡°It is my pleasure, Master Joshua. I am just being helpful for the next time you have someone become an indentured slave.¡±


    ¡°The only way I¡¯ll use these contracts is if they¡¯re borderline murderers, such as yourself. Or perhaps if they¡¯re criminal masterminds. Other than that, I don¡¯t see myself using any.¡±


    ¡°Bo-ring.¡± Lilian said, enduring the shock that came following the perceived insult, and I seriously considered killing him again myself, just so he could go through the discomfort of living as a program again.


    The elevator opened directly into the throne room, and we stepped into the welcoming faces of Emperor Goto and Reya.


    Well, Reya was welcoming. Goto looked tired and worn out, no doubt done with the hectic negotiations that came against the leverage that Reya had attained during the proceedings.


    ¡°Ah, good to see you, lad.¡± Goto looked like he meant every word, and came over to shake my hand and bow to me personally.


    ¡°We¡¯ve finally completed the deal. With this, we¡¯ve negotiated trade peace between The Luong Empire and the Metronian Kingdom for the next ten years.¡± Goto sighed and made for his door.


    ¡°I know you have things to discuss, so I¡¯ll leave you all alone. Lad, when you¡¯re done, shoot me a message on Judgment. Let¡¯s eat lunch or dinner together. I have some things to talk to you about.¡±


    I nodded, and Goto left with a noticeable slump to his gait. Turning around, I asked Reya, ¡°What was that all about?¡±


    She grinned and said, ¡°I squeezed him for all he was worth.¡±


    ¡°Ew, gross.¡± Lilian said, and I made a mental note to edit the settings of the contract once more. I walked over to the side of the room, and sat down on a large, soft, sofa.


    ¡®I can arrange for that, Master. Will tonight on the flight back be appropriate?¡¯ X, you¡¯re back from accessing the files, I take it? Did you find the data I asked for?


    ¡®Yes, people who are both Neuromancers and Fallen have been located, but unfortunately, they are all around the world. I suggest discussing your next steps after returning to the safety of the Metronian Kingdom.¡¯


    Lucina walked up to the table in the middle of the room, eager to check over the trade deal that her younger sister had created.


    In the meantime, Reya walked over to me and sat by my side. ¡°So, how¡¯d your date with my sister go?¡±


    ¡°It was fun.¡± I said, letting a smile slip. ¡°Next time, I need to be careful about her lipstick.¡±


    Reya gave me a curious gaze, but seeing as I wasn¡¯t going to elaborate, cleared her own throat.


    ¡°I know how much Akahime bothered you while we were here, so I hope you¡¯ll enjoy the present I¡¯ve gotten for you, by the way.¡± My brows raised, and a sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.


    ¡°What did you do, Reya?¡±


    The Metronian Princess averted my gaze and said, ¡°Well, not much. I did get good prices for the ore, lowered costs of importing goods¡­ oh! How could I forget. I did also get Akahime to come to the Metronian Kingdom with us, as part of her reformation measures.¡±

 Chapter 39: Be There Soon

    I met with Emperor Goto in the cafeteria for lunch as soon as I had finished giving Reya a piece of my mind. No wonder Akahime had come to greet us and apologize, we were her lifeline to a good livelihood in the Metronian Kingdom. I knew she couldn¡¯t have actually been remorseful.


    I bowed to the emperor and he waved me off, motioning for me to sit down in the chair beside his. ¡°Thanks for taking me up on my invite.¡±


    I smiled at the aging emperor, and shook my head. ¡°The pleasure is mine, Gotoshi. I still do view you as a friendly figure, one of the few I have in this world.¡±


    Goto smiled, and poked around at his steak. ¡°I appreciate that, lad. I just wish things could have ended out differently than they did between yourself and my daughter. I really felt as though you and Akahime would have a wonderful relationship.¡±


    ¡°She ruined it herself. Instead of trying to get to know me, and build a relationship with me, she wanted the instant gratification of what a relationship could bring. If we could do it over, maybe things would have been different.¡±


    Goto sighed, and finished his piece of meat. ¡°I know. As punishment for her political interference, she has been disconnected from the Phoenix System. This next life will be her last, so long as I choose it to remain as such.¡±


    I stared wide-eyed at the man. ¡°Did you really¡­ you must care about her a lot, then.¡±


    Goto shook his head. ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to think so. Akahime nearly spent the whole night yelling at me, and telling me how unfair I was.¡±


    ¡°No, it shows that you really do care. You¡¯re giving her an opportunity to see exactly how privileged she has been over her lifetime, and that perspective is probably more valuable than gold at this point.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s gold?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ just think of it as something very valuable in my world.¡± Goto nodded, and moved his attention to the glass of orange juice that was at the table.


    ¡°Please, please make sure she doesn¡¯t do anything stupid while in your country. I know it¡¯s a lot to ask, but it would mean the world to me to know you were looking after her.¡± The emperor muttered.


    I wanted to shrug, but I stared into the man¡¯s eyes instead. ¡°You have my word that she will be looked after. I really don¡¯t want the death of a princess to be the start of a war between our two countries.¡±


    Goto laughed and held out a hand. ¡°Nor I, young demon. I know that she will be in capable hands. This is a custom in your world, yes? I learned about it from a fallen that I had met during my time at the academy in the Metron Kingdom. I hope we will continue to have a prosperous relationship.¡±


    I smiled as we shook hands, but on the inside I couldn¡¯t wait to leave. Akahime will almost assuredly be in capable hands, but they will not be mine¡­ I wonder how Queen Metron would feel about adding another maid to the palace staff?


    ---


    Several hours later, we were preparing to board the Skyquake plane back to the Metron Kingdom. I had packed several pairs of clothes, including those that I had bought while on my date.


    I thought it funny that I was still managing to spend copious amounts of money on clothes, even in another world.


    Lucina had purchased several of the tools we had used last night before we left the Aishi building, along with a catsuit, and her casual clothes from yesterday.


    When I asked why she bought them here, instead of waiting for when we were back in the Kingdom so she wouldn¡¯t have to carry the extra weight, she replied with, ¡°I had to get them from the source, for authenticity''s sake.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, but didn¡¯t press her further. Instead, looking at Lilian, who was in his maid outfit, throwing a rucksack into the cargo hold of the plane. ¡°That¡¯s all you have? Nothing else?¡±


    Lilian shook his head. ¡°Nope. I had nothing but the clothes provided to me by the emperor, and the maid outfit that Lucina bought for me. Besides, these clothes are adorable, and they fit me well!¡±


    The androgynous man was smiling, and did a twirl in his dress before giving me a curtsey. ¡°Regardless, we¡¯ll be in each other¡¯s care from now on, Master.¡±


    Reya was next, and dragged her own suitcase to the back of the plane, giving me a slightly annoyed look in the process. ¡°Help me get this stuff up there! Starlords above, why is there no help today!? I had to drag this thing up the last ten flights of stairs because they were doing maintenance on the elevator!¡±


    I shot the woman a glare, but said nothing as I took the suitcase from her and chucked it into the back with the rest. ¡°I¡¯m utterly exhausted, so I¡¯ll be sleeping on the flight back. If anything happens, or you decide on something, tell me after we land.¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    She walked away, causing me to raise my brows. What a bossy woman. I thought she was getting better, but I guess all things balance out.


    ¡®Cut her some slack, Master. She is just exhausted and stressed from negotiating with Emperor Goto for the past two days.¡¯


    X coalesced beside me, and leaned against my shoulder like a spectre. I¡¯ll agree that she has a reason to be tired, but that¡¯s no reason to take it out on other people. That¡¯s just a deficient character trait.


    X gave me a grin and whispered into my ear, ¡®That¡¯s the attitude I expect from my psychopathic Master. When we are safely on the plane, enter your subspace. We have much to discuss about the Trials of Damocles.¡¯


    I nodded, and she faded out of existence as the last member of our party showed up, wearing nothing but the kimono she had on when we first met her.


    I was a bit surprised that she had nothing with her. ¡°Where is your luggage, Imperial Princess Hoshizora?¡±


    Akahime frowned again, and fidgeted in place. ¡°My father told me that all I¡¯ll need are the clothes on my back and my wits. That I need to listen to you or Lucina at all times, and to behave myself while I¡¯m around other royalty.¡±


    I took a deep breath and just motioned to the front of the plane. ¡°The entrance is that way, your highness. Surely you won¡¯t need me to show you the way?¡±


    Akahime turned on her heels and left, leaving me to look at her retreating figure and clenched fists.


    ¡®You could have handled that better, Master.¡¯ X chided, but I ignored her and began to board the plane myself.


    ---


    When all was said and done, we had taken off with very little in the way of problems. Akahime currently sat in the very back row of the plane, while Reya, Lilian, Lucina, and I sat closer to the middle.


    Reya and Lilian were having a bonding experience talking about clothes, and Lucina was sleeping while using me as a pillow. Deciding that the long flight was as good a time as any, I sank into my subspace, and opened my eyes to the sight of a bright horizon.


    I stood on top of the ruined prudential center, overlooking the sunken city of Boston. ¡°Ah, Master, you¡¯ve finally arrived.¡±


    I heard X¡¯s voice from behind me, and turned to greet her, but the sight before me gave me pause. X looked yet more different than before. Her skin color had changed from the pale hues of that of Lucina¡¯s, to a tanned color. Her hair remained the electric blue it had been before, and that effect had reached to her eyebrows, which were now also blue.


    However, now her irises were white, with their black pupils looking like buttons on a white shirt. Her lips had on a blue top coat, while the bottom was colored black.


    Her figure had grown a bit more slender than that of Lucina¡¯s, although she still had an hourglass figure. Only, the thing that had shocked me the most wasn¡¯t X¡¯s transformation.


    No, that honor would have to go to the bound and gagged Three, who was chained to the floor on all fours beside her. I pointed to Lilian¡¯s Judgment and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    X looked back at the female A.I. and shrugged her shoulders. ¡°We were discussing before how she needed a punishment for helping Lilian loosen his bindings. I just figured that I would administer it myself. Since she seemed so empathetic for Lilian, I figured that she wouldn¡¯t mind sharing the same punishment he went through when he was first in your subspace.¡±


    Three choked on the foreign object down her throat while trying to respond. Unlike what I had done, X took it a step farther and blindfolded the A.I., leaving her to get by with only her sense of smell, and hearing.


    ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s not too important right now, anyway.¡± Muffled cries came from Three as she tried to protest, but I ignored them. If the Judgments wanted to self-police, why not let them do it?


    ¡°Let me see what you found out on Fallen and Neuromancers.¡± X nodded, and a myriad of glowing blue screens filled my vision.


    ¡°There are around fifty known fallen who also have the title of Neuromancer.¡± X began, causing me to sigh.


    ¡°That blows. I figured it would be a more manageable number.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, that is not the case. Among those Fallen are twenty from Earth, ten from Elluna, and the rest are the sole members of their species here on Ethia. Fortunately, a majority of them have made their home in the Primal Kingdom, so that seems to be a prime destination for our next trip.¡±


    ¡°The Primal Kingdom¡­ so Ethia¡¯s version of South America, huh?¡± I paused to consider X¡¯s words, and came to a sudden realization. ¡°Wait, there are other species besides humans here? Why is this the first I¡¯m learning about it?¡±


    ¡°Often, the most widespread knowledge is the hardest to learn of, since everyone will assume that you know it already.¡± X said.


    I sighed and conjured a seat for myself. I stared at Three and considered everything that X had just told me. ¡°Do you believe that going to the Primal Kingdom will be our best bet at finding a lead on another Judgment User?¡±


    X took a seat on Three¡¯s back, prompting a muffled complaint. X crossed her legs and said, ¡°Statistically speaking, that is the place with the highest chance to find a Judgment User. We got extremely lucky that we found the only Neuromancer in Asahi, and she turned out to be our link to beginning the Trials of Damocles.¡±


    ¡°So in the end, you don¡¯t know for sure?¡±


    ¡°No, Master. Even if there were multiple Judgment Users feuding in the area, they possess the means to create a media blackout on the whole topic. In the end, the only way to know for sure is to go there ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I brought up my feet and put them on the back of Three¡¯s head to use as a footrest. ¡°I guess that will be our next destination then. I¡¯m definitely taking Lilian with me, he¡¯ll be a good asset to have there.¡±


    X nodded, and placed her hands on Three¡¯s upper back and rear to stabilize herself on the quivering seat. ¡°I concur, but I also believe you should take someone else, preferably another member of the royal family, along with you.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± I raised my brow, and folded one foot over the other.


    ¡°Because,¡± X said, ¡°The border issues between the Metronian Kingdom and the Primal Kingdom are highly contested right now. Going there under the guise of negotiating peace talks would be the perfect disguise.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan. Thanks, X.¡± The A.I. smiled at me and got up from Three just as she collapsed onto the floor.


    ¡°My pleasure, Master.¡±

 Chapter 40: A Reception

    The flight went at a slower pace than our trip there, and was relatively unhindered, save for a situation where both Reya and Akahime had to use the bathroom at the same time, and Lilian was occupying the men¡¯s room.


    Despite that, and a quick game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who would use it, we arrived back at Redleaf Palace in peace. Upon landing, I exited the vehicle first, and was greeted by the royal guard.


    ¡°Halt! In the name of King and Queen Metron, state your business!¡± A loud, rotund man with a visor over his eyes called out to me.


    I raised my brow, realizing that the man didn¡¯t recognize me. To be fair, I was still wearing my mask, but I would have assumed that the King and Queen would have notified them about our impending return.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to report back to King and Queen Metron about the state of affairs with the Luong Empire. They should be expecting us.¡±


    I made to walk through them, but electric-tipped spears blocked my way, their crackling current making my hairs stand on end. ¡°They are doing no such thing. You shall be detained for illegal entry and trespassing on restricted grounds.¡±


    More spears lowered, and I got ready for battle. X, on my signal. ¡°Anytime, Master.¡± However, before anything could break out, Reya stepped out from the plane behind me.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this!?¡± She shouted, and the guard¡¯s attention turned from me to her. ¡°Explain yourselves, and kneel before your crowned princess!¡±


    They made no such move to do so, however, and the rotund man cackled. ¡°Crowned Princess? Ha! You sit upon a paper thin throne, Reya Metron. The true ruler of our country will not be you. Now, command your knight to relent, or we shall have to use force.¡±


    Reya looked at them, clear disdain in her eyes. ¡°Joshua, leave the fat one alive. The rest you can do away with.¡±


    I didn¡¯t like appearing as though Reya was commanding me, because it would just fuel the embers of the rumors that I was in her back pocket, but in this case I would make an exception.


    I¡¯m too exhausted to deal with this shit. I just wanted to spend a few days in my own bed before we head out to the Primal Kingdom. Is that too much to ask?


    ¡°Master, you should know by now that the Metronian Kingdom political landscape is a toxic environment that cares not for the whims of man. On standby, and awaiting signal.¡±


    I snapped my fingers, and all twenty men around me dropped their weapons and knelt in Reya¡¯s direction. ¡°The crown princess tells you to kneel, and you instead disobey and mock her?¡±


    X, can I indict them on any charges, or will it just be old-fashioned murder? The A.I. appeared next to me, and leaned her floating form on my shoulder. ¡°You could possibly find ways to send them to the dungeon to be investigated, but none of the charges would have murder be the appropriate punishment.¡±


    Damn¡­ Oh well. Maybe I¡¯ll kill half of them for effect, and leave the other half for state authorities. I took the sonic blade from my belt, and drew it closer to the nearest soldier¡¯s face.


    She screamed as the whirring blade entered her vision, and I was about to move it forward when a man¡¯s voice stopped me. ¡°What are you all doing!?¡±


    A familiar man in a grey cloak stepped forward from the Palace¡¯s elevator. He walked up to the rotund, visored man and knelt next to him.


    ¡°Please, forgive my subordinate¡¯s actions. As a commander, this is my blunder to correct. I humbly ask for both your, and the princess¡¯ forgiveness, Paladin Cole.¡±


    As hard as I tried to remember, I couldn¡¯t quite place where I had seen the man before. Surely, with his grey hair, piercing blue eyes, and handsome features, I would have remembered him¡­


    ¡°Raiden! What are you doing here?¡± Reya smiled and practically bounded out of the airplane to stand in front of Raiden.


    ¡°Hi, little sister.¡± Recognition instantly filled me, and I stared down the former crowned prince of the Metron Kingdom. He had tried to stop me from leaving the castle after Gazix¡¯s fight, but it didn¡¯t seem like he held a grudge for me disarming him in public. I didn¡¯t realize that he had such a close relationship with Reya.


    I gave him a very pointed stare, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind however, and allowed Reya to hug him unabated.


    ¡°How was your trip to the Luong Empire?¡± Raiden playfully tussled the princess¡¯s hair, and stood up.


    ¡°As much as I would love to see you both get friendly with each other,¡± I interrupted, ¡°We have some luggage to bring inside, and a situational report to make to the king and queen. Not to mention¡­¡±


    I looked over the twenty or so people that were still kneeling around us, and said, ¡°We need to figure out why your men tried to accost us. I want them all coming with us to the throne room, so they can explain themselves in front of the king and queen.¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Yes, Raiden. I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t mind that, would you?¡± Lucina stepped out from the plane with a displeased look on her face.


    The men paled, but Raiden smiled and nodded. ¡°Of course not, Lucy. Come on you sorry lot! Get down there, now!¡± He shouted, but none of them made a move.


    ¡°Oops, my bad.¡± I released the order placed on them, and they all stood up on shaky legs, save for the one person I threatened with a knife.


    ¡°Huh. Is something wrong with that one?¡± Lilian appeared from behind me, and knelt down in front of the kneeling soldier.


    He waved his hand in front of her face and sighed. ¡°Uhh, can you call a medic? She passed out kneeling.¡±


    ---


    By the time we put our luggage away, had something to eat, and were all in the throne room, it was well past noon. Akahime had been told to remain in her quarters until we figured out what to do with her.


    When we entered the room, all the soldiers who had tried to detain us on the landing pad were kneeling in front of the empty thrones of the King and Queen.


    Raiden spotted us and walked over, a friendly smile on his face. ¡°I hope you all relaxed a little. They¡¯ve been made to kneel here since this morning, when you all arrived. I hope that appeases a bit of your worries.¡±


    I shrugged, but Lucina stepped right up to her oldest brother and bared her teeth. ¡°I really hate the way you do things, Raiden.¡±


    The prince shrugged and said, ¡°Two sides of the same coin, sister. We all do what we feel is necessary. This is just me doing my part.¡±


    ¡°Children, please. Not in front of non-royalty.¡± Queen Cindy Metron stepped out first, and gestured to her right, where King Claude Metron was walking towards his own throne.


    They both took a seat at the same time, and a hush fell over the room as they assessed the people kneeling before them. Of course, being in a position equal to them, I didn¡¯t kneel.


    Unfortunately, Lilian took after my stance and stood as well. Queen Metron gave me the stink eye, so I slapped Lilian on the back of his head. ¡°Kneel, idiot!¡± I whispered, and the maid had no choice but to follow my command before the two diplomats in front of us.


    The queen gave me an approving nod before turning her gaze towards Raiden, Lucina, and Reya. ¡°Welcome home, children. We have much to discuss about the negotiations. I am very proud of you, Reya. And Lucina, thank you for looking after your sister.¡±


    Reya had an ecstatic blush and a goofy grin on her face, while Lucina merely nodded courteously at the praise. You can really tell who had more attention during their childhoods, huh?


    ¡°But first,¡± Queen Metron continued, ¡°Raiden, what are all these people doing in my court?¡± The queen raised an eyebrow, causing several of the soldiers to flinch. Raiden got off of his knee, and stepped before his mother and father to explain himself.


    ¡°Apologies, my queen, but these people intercepted Paladin Cole and his ship upon their return, and tried to detain him in our dungeon. Should your majesty will it, I will take responsibility for this matter, and punish them as I see fit.¡±


    The queen rested her head in her hands, and turned her head to her husband, who looked as though he was staving off sleep with every fiber of his being. ¡°Honey, what do you think?¡±


    Claude Metron jumped in his seat, and his eyes started to regain their focus. ¡°Deliver their Judgment here and now, Raiden.¡±


    Raiden bowed to his father, and turned to face the kneeling guards. ¡°Fifteenth Battalion, why did you do this?¡±


    ¡°Captain Rixon, requesting permission to speak, sir?¡± The large man with a visor asked, and the prince nodded. The man stood up, and gave Raiden a stiff salute.


    ¡°We believe that the throne rightfully belongs to that of Raiden, the Undefeated. As such, we wanted to learn what method of hacking that this ¡®Paladin,¡¯ employed on the two princesses to sway them to his side.¡±


    Lucina frowned, and looked as though she wanted to say something, but Raiden beat her to it. ¡°Such insolence!¡± His voice boomed through the room, sending Rixon back onto his large behind. Raiden stepped forward and continued, ¡°How dare you question the authority of those chosen by the system itself!?¡±


    Rixon, on the other hand, was at a loss for words. ¡°Who put you up to this!?¡± Raiden was seething mad, and lifted the large man up by his collar.


    ¡°N-no one, sir. It was the collective idea of the battalion.¡± Raiden threw him to the ground in disgust, and straightened out before taking a ceremonial sword out from his sheath.


    He held Rixon at swordpoint, and said, ¡°I hereby abolish the Fifteenth Battalion! From now on, you shall relinquish your uniforms, and find jobs elsewhere within the city. You are hereby dismissed!¡±


    Some tried to disobey, but they were immediately neutralized and knocked unconscious by weapons used by the king and queen¡¯s personal guards. Upon seeing the futility of protesting, the rest of the people filed out of the room in a dejected parade.


    ¡°I really do despise you.¡± Lucina walked up to Raiden and poked a finger into his chest. ¡°You put those people up to that just to rid yourself of the soldiers who bought their way into their military position.¡±


    Raiden shrugged. ¡°I do what I feel is necessary. They were a cancer upon the military. You don¡¯t have to like it.¡±


    ¡°Kids, stop.¡± Claude Metron said in a tired voice. ¡°Reya, welcome back. Please debrief us on your trip over dinner. I¡¯m starving.¡±


    They started to leave their seats, but before they could, I spoke up. ¡°Queen Metron, King Metron, it is nice to see you both again.¡±


    Cindy Metron sighed and reluctantly sat back down on her throne. ¡°Yes, I would say the same of you, if you hadn¡¯t nearly killed my boy.¡±


    ¡°Please, I saved him from a far worse fate by eradicating whatever clutches Tengu had on him back then. Besides, we did crush the whole organization, so that should earn me some bonus points.¡±


    Cindy¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What do you want? You¡¯re awful at pandering, so just out with it.¡±


    ¡°Two things. First, I want resources to go and stay in the Primal Kingdom for a month.¡± Cindy¡¯s brows raised, and she opened her mouth to answer, when the King spoke up instead.


    ¡°Sure. Raiden is going down there to participate in the war games next month. You can accompany him down there. Your lodgings will be paid for as well.¡±


    ¡°Claude-!¡±


    ¡°Get over it, Cindy. It¡¯s been a month and Brice is well behaved now. He did do us a favor. Look at it objectively.¡±


    The king turned to me with that same tired look in his eyes. ¡°What is your second request, Paladin Cole?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ how would you feel about adding a princess to your servant staff?¡±

 Chapter 41: Recon

    I snuck away from the meeting the nobility were having, and started to roam the metallic halls of Redleaf Palace. Lilian followed behind me at a distance, letting his gaze linger on each and every piece of art that we came across.


    Eventually, we got to a long, bland hallway, so I decided to try and catch up on some of the information I was having X search for.


    X, how much have you been able to find out from the Primal Kingdom regarding the rise to power of any neuromancers?


    X appeared as a floating entity in front of me, and matched the pace of her floating to the speed of my walking.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found a list of deaths, Master. There have been a string of murders over the past two weeks. It seems that one of the users has come to the same conclusion as we have: that Judgment users are Fallen Neuromancers who hid their powers. Fortunately, it seems that they are still fledglings, and don¡¯t have the foresight or knowledge to cover up their killings.¡±


    I nodded. That, or they are trying to lure us to the Primal Kingdom by making their job look sloppy. It¡¯s not like you to not think of something like that¡­


    X stared into my eyes, before shrugging. ¡°Possibility recorded. Regardless, there are deaths happening in the Primal Kingdom, and there is a very real possibility that a Judgment User is responsible.¡±


    Then, how many Neuromancers are left in the Primal Kingdom? They couldn¡¯t have all been hunted by this murderer.


    ¡°There are fifteen remaining, all being protected either by their local law enforcement, or the crown.¡±


    Ok. Locate their exact whereabouts, and compile a list for me of the most likely candidates to be Judgment Users.


    ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± Judgment bowed, and then evaporated into thin air. I continued walking down the hall, until I realized that my footsteps were the only ones still moving.


    Why did it feel as though she was acting strange? I turned around, and frowned as I noticed Lilian standing completely still, staring at a portrait of the royal family on the wall. I walked over beside him, and looked up at the painting as well.


    ¡°Is that really necessary?¡± I asked after Lilian had paused for the fourth time since we had left the throne room. The former mob boss looked over in my direction, and shrugged. That, however, was deemed as disrespectful, and therefore, Lilian was shocked with an electric current.


    ¡°Starlord¡¯s taint!¡± Another shock, this time making Lilian sit down against his will. ¡°Did you increase the output from before!?¡± Lilian clutched at his chest.


    ¡°Yes, I did. You kept on ignoring the other shocks, so I figured I might as well edit that part of our contract, just for you.¡±


    ¡°Master Joshua, with all due respect, I think some people would call you inhumane.¡± Another shock occurred, staggering Lilian in his attempt to rise.


    ¡°What? That¡¯s nonsense. You get a week of leave a year. How could you ask for anything else?¡± I said sarcastically, and Lilian grinned.


    It annoyed me, so I sighed and put my foot on Lilian¡¯s face. ¡°I think you¡¯re forgetting who is in charge here. Just because I honored a promise with you, and made you my subordinate, doesn¡¯t give you the right to act however you please. I could have just turned you into an emotionless husk, a shell of yourself, but instead I let you keep your mind and personality. This is something that I can change at any time. Do I make myself clear?¡±


    Lilian gulped and nodded his head. ¡°Please tell your User to get his foot off of mine, X.¡± Three appeared above her user, and stared daggers at a point over my shoulder.


    X appeared behind me, and shot a menacing look at Three. ¡°Why should I? That place suits the loser just fine. Or, did you want to go back into subspace again?¡±


    Three shuddered, and grabbed at her throat before dissipating. ¡°Ha, I didn¡¯t think so.¡± X disappeared as well, leaving just Lilian and I in the corridor.


    I took my foot off of his face and offered him a hand, which he quickly accepted. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s been happening with X lately. I feel like she¡¯s trying very hard to be how she imagines a human to act.¡±


    ¡°Hurtful, Master.¡± A small shock sparked out of my Judgment Panel, and a smile grew on Lilian¡¯s face.


    ¡°Master Joshua, she¡¯s not acting just like any human, she is acting like you.¡± I stared at him blankly, and finally put two and two together.


    Fuck. That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it? X, please try not to imitate me. I¡¯m definitely not a human ideal, and shouldn¡¯t be treated like one. You were fine the way you were before.


    ¡°...Understood, Master.¡± Judgment sounded a bit dejected, but making herself more relatable to me, and therefore dumber by comparison, wasn¡¯t helpful or desirable to me in the least.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I started to walk down the hall once more, and Lilian followed closely behind. ¡°So, Master Joshua, where are we going now?¡±


    Without turning to look back at him, I responded, ¡°We¡¯re going down to the guard¡¯s quarters. I left two idiots here without any real supervision, I¡¯m just hoping I don¡¯t have to do anything to them that I¡¯ll regret.¡±


    ---


    After being left to their own devices while I was gone, I was glad to see that both Devin and Craig had been keeping up their end of the bargain, and had gathered intel as I had instructed.


    ¡°Honestly, we expected you to be gone longer than just a handful of days, kid.¡± Devin leaned on his electrical spear, and yawned.


    ¡°Yeah, we thought we¡¯d at least get to send you an update before you got back. What happened?¡± Devin asked, head resting in his hands.


    Craig stood next to the counter in their shared room, waiting for his coffee to be made, while Devin sat at the table, having already made his drink of choice. Their room looked like it was designed from a single-bedroom apartment, and was about the same size as well.


    They had offered drinks to us as well, and I refused on instinct. Lilian, though, was sitting on their couch with a cup of what smelled like oolong tea.


    I sighed and sat down next to Lilian, who moved over to make room for me. ¡°Yeah, it was a real shit show. I thought I was going to spend weeks, or maybe even months there at most.¡±


    I turned to the former mob boss, who gave me an inquisitive look. ¡°Fortunately, their leader was one hell of an impulsive idiot, and basically handed themselves to me on a silver platter.¡±


    Lilian scowled at me, but could do nothing to retort the stupidity of his past actions. Devin looked surprised, and gave me a slow clap. ¡°Congratulations, Mr. Luckiest Person on the planet. Anyway, should we begin on what we¡¯ve observed of the kingdom¡¯s politics in your absence?¡±


    I nodded, and Craig walked over to a seat across from the couch, sitting down while a floating tray carried his coffee beside him. ¡°Alright, first, can your Paladinship make sure that our room is soundproof, and devoid of any bugs or espionage devices?¡±


    ¡°Did you really think that you¡¯re smarter than your boss? I did that before I even set foot in your room.¡± Craig mumbled grumpily at my comments, and took a sip of his almost milk-white coffee.


    Devin finished his own drink, and pulled up the chair from the table to sit beside Craig, and across from me. ¡°Alright, Craig, that¡¯s enough pouting.¡±


    Craig gave Devin a dirty look, but eventually relented. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just been stressful this week. My wife is pregnant, and she¡¯s due this month. I¡¯ve been high strung ever since.¡±


    Devin gave his partner a pat on the back. I crossed my legs and said, ¡°The sooner you make your report, the sooner you can go back home. Tell me what I need to know.¡±


    Devin gave me a quizzical look, but sighed, taking his hand off of Craig¡¯s back. ¡°You really are not good with people, are you, Master?¡±


    Not now X, I need to pay attention to the report. I want you to transcribe it as well. ¡°As you wish.¡±


    ¡°Ok. I guess we should start with the overall picture. It appears to us that the kingdom is gearing up to compete in the next war games with the Primal Kingdom, and following that, another war game with the Empire of the Sun.¡±


    The Primal Kingdom one, I was aware of, but not the one of the Empire of the Sun. Which if I remembered correctly was¡­ South Africa. ¡°I get it.¡± I held up a hand to keep Devin from speaking, and acted as though I was lost in thought. I don¡¯t get it. X, what is a war game?


    ¡°A war game is a simulated combat scenario in which two nations send out squads of up to 100 people to fight and die in order to secure an edge the next time an incident arises between the two countries, or the advantage can be used when discussing trade negotiations.¡±


    Thank you. I put down my hand, and, taking that as a sign to continue, Devin did just that. ¡°On that point, Prince Raiden Lightning Metron is being sent out as our representative for the war game with the Primal Kingdom, and Princess Venus Light Metron is our representative for the Empire of the Sun¡¯s war game.¡±


    I nodded. I hadn¡¯t properly met Venus yet, but if she was anything like her siblings, getting along with her would be an uphill battle. ¡°More than that,¡± Craig began speaking, ¡°The politics inside the kingdom itself are getting more tense as well.¡±


    I turned to face him. Seeing as I was remaining silent, he continued, ¡°Many factions within the kingdom are upset that you made Reya, an entity that no one had any stock in or connections to, into the crown princess.¡±


    ¡°Will any of them pose a threat to me?¡± Craig met my eyes, and shook his head vigorously.


    ¡°No, not openly, anyway. They may try to do something in a roundabout way, like what happened this morning, but other than that, the status of paladin will shield you from most things.¡±


    ¡°Thank you both. You¡¯ve done your jobs spectacularly. Is there anything else that I should know?¡± Craig scratched his chin in thought, but Devin spoke up immediately.


    ¡°Yes, actually. Prince Brice, the prince who you maimed,¡± I rolled my eyes at his pause, ¡°is making a steady recovery. His political faction has all but been obliterated and eradicated, as he is no longer the same person who was willing to do anything to win, no matter how underhanded it may have been.¡±


    X, is this because we fucked around inside his subspace? ¡°There is no known research on the subject, but it can be inferred that since you erased his subspace, a projection of his being, and returned it to a blank slate.¡±


    ¡°The Queen herself saw to his recovery, and with her assistance, he has made an amazingly fast recovery. The only thing¡­ the Queen has been openly complaining to anyone who would listen that you have too much power.¡±


    My eye twitched as Craig picked up where Devin had left off. ¡°She¡¯s been trying to gather enough nobles to appeal for a weakening of the Paladin position. It¡¯s been vacated since the inception of the Kingdom, and she believes that it still isn¡¯t necessary to have one.¡±


    I sighed, and pinched the bridge of my nose. ¡°Ok. I see what you¡¯re getting at. I guess I should have a sit-down with the King and Queen in private, at some point during our stay here. Other than that, I guess I should try and get to know Raiden better, since we¡¯ll be going into battle together.¡±


    I got up to leave, and both Devin and Craig stood up to give me a salute. ¡°Thank you both for your services. I expect you to notify me if anything else comes up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

 Chapter 42: The City Proper

    I decided to postpone my meeting with the king and queen in favor of relaxing in the streets of Rong, the capital city of the Metron Kingdom.


    It had only been a month since my last visit, which, at the time, ended in me spending my first night with Lucina together in an Aishi love hotel.


    ¡°Did you want to experience that again, Master? Shall I send a message to the Princess for you?¡± X asked. I shook my head, causing the street vendor I was buying a kebab-like food from to give me a leery-eyed look.


    No. That won¡¯t be necessary. I just wanted some time to myself tonight. Nothing more, nothing less.


    ¡°I see. Shall I enable sleep mode on our connection while you are in the city?¡± I took a large bite out of the food in my hands, and started to walk down the street.


    Absolutely not. I don¡¯t want to be ambushed and attacked by someone because you can¡¯t tell me that someone is there. Besides, you¡¯re practically a part of me already. I can¡¯t even imagine a day where I don¡¯t hear your voice inside my head.


    ¡°Thank you, Master. Your words are the reason I keep on continuing to execute my program. I would not take another user, even if I could.¡±


    I smiled at the compliment, and looked up at the night sky of the marketplace. I had left Lilian to unpack his own bag, and get himself situated with Lucina¡¯s help.


    Reya had been adamant about coming with me, but for her own sake, as well as my mental sanity, I decided to decline. She had an odd mixture of disappointment and relief upon hearing that I was going out by myself, but had obediently gone to bed.


    Now that I was out, I was walking wherever my legs took me, not so much thinking of the direction, but more spending time just taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the bustling city.


    A hand caught me from behind, and I sent a spinning back fist that way, which was caught by another hand. I turned to find myself looking Raiden Metron in the eyes.


    ¡°Is that how you always greet people, Paladin Cole?¡± Raiden shot me a big smile. At the mention of my name, several people turn our way, and begin to crowd around us.


    ¡°Heel!¡± I call out, and X executes the command perfectly, freezing the people in a ten meter range around us in place. Of course, that includes the prince as well.


    I started to walk away from the affected area, but Raiden called out to me. ¡°Paladin Cole, I didn¡¯t mean to startle or offend you! I merely wanted to talk about the war games, and get to know each other a bit better!¡±


    I continued to walk, until X spoke to me. ¡°I believe this to be a mistake, Master. You should build a relationship with the Prince. He will prove to be a reliable ally in the future, especially if you establish yourself as a reliable and independent person.¡±


    I stopped walking, sighed, and turned back around. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m taking more political advice from an A.I. who hasn¡¯t the first clue about interpersonal reactions.


    ¡°You may be adept at the opposite sex, and I may not know much, but that is still much more than you can claim to know about male friendships, Master.¡±


    I undid the paralysis on Prince Raiden, and he dropped to the ground. I thought for a moment before offering the prince my hand to take. Point taken.


    ---


    ¡°Oh man, that was my first time experiencing something like that. That was wild!¡± Raiden downed a Nihon Super Dry beer in one go, and wiped his mouth with his cape before letting out a loud belch.


    Was this really worth the hassle, X? I watched Prince Raiden in disgust as he stuffed his mouth with fried meat and returned to consuming alcohol at an alarming rate.


    ¡°Recalculating¡­ the possibility that you could have left him on the street exists. There was a 40% chance that it would have ended fine.¡±


    I looked over at the Prince and noticed the big smile on his face. ¡°Does being here make you happy?¡±


    He looked surprised that I had said anything to him at all, but regained his former cheer. ¡°Of course! I come here often with my platoon leaders. We get drinks after daily training, and even take up requests sometimes.¡±


    He must have seen the confusion in my eyes, because he pointed to a large holoscreen that took up residence above the bar. ¡°This is a little known secret, but jobs of the¡­ unsavory variety often get posted here. Occasionally my team and I get our hands dirty to protect the country.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ underground job listings?¡± I studied Raiden once more, and the friendly look to him was gone, only to be replaced by the hard gaze of a military veteran.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This bar plays a very important role in keeping our country safe, which is why I wanted to invite you here.¡±


    I can¡¯t figure this man out. He punished those that tried to detain me, and even showed me this place. At the same time, he¡¯s at odds with Lucina, and tried to assault me after my match with Gazix. What does he want?


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I sighed as Raiden clapped me on the back. ¡°Come now, drink up! Let¡¯s celebrate a toast to our friendship!¡±


    ¡°Maybe to our¡­ becoming acquaintances.¡± Raiden frowned and, red-faced, and practically slammed a can of beer into my chest.


    ¡°Fine, to our friendquaintanceship then!¡±


    ¡°Raiden, that¡¯s not a word.¡±


    ¡°Shut up and drink!¡±


    I sighed again, cracking open the can of beer. I was surprised at how easily it went down, but stopped to stare at Raiden as he flirted with the barmaid.


    The two seemed to know each other, as this was a bar that Raiden claimed he frequented often with his soldiers. She was a red-headed woman, whose curly hair was tied tightly in a high ponytail. Her bangs reached down to her eyebrows, and she had a lip ring on her bottom, cherry-colored lip.


    Her nose was black colored, in relation to her otherwise pale skin, and she had a mechanical arm from the elbow down where her natural left should be.


    But of course, the two most standout things about the woman were the pair of cat ears on her head, and the three, swaying tails behind her.


    Huh. I guess you see something new everyday. Is she¡­ ¡°Yes, Master. She is a fallen from another planet. She is a Felis from the planet named Rictor, and the only one of her species on Ethia.¡±


    Is she a Neuromancer? ¡°No, her official record says that she has no affiliated power, and therefore accepted the King¡¯s gift to start her own business, as an option similar to what you were offered in the beginning of your stay in Ethia.¡±


    You make it sound like I checked into a hotel.How many kinds of Fallen are there, anyway? "More than we know." X responded. "The problem is that it happens semi-regularly, so not all of those who Fall are registered.


    I sighed and leaned back against my chair, taking in the scenery of the bar. It was quite the large establishment, with very soft looking cushions on every chair, and a smattering of teal blues and maroon on the tables, walls, and even the ceiling.


    ¡°What a weird paint job.¡± I muttered and took another sip of beer. I turned back to where Raiden was, and nearly jumped out of my seat when I came face to face with the Felis bartender.


    ¡°How dare you. Those are the proud colors of the matron and patron gods on my homeworld.¡± She headbutted me softly, baring her fangs. Her voice was lower than what I had expected, and kind of rough. She was wearing a cloak that obscured her figure, and had some sort of a pistol attached to her hip.


    God damn politics. Calm down and play it cool. You¡¯re a representative of the government now, Joshua. I shivered at the very thought. I couldn¡¯t wait for the day when I finally defected from this godforsaken continent. Alas, that was still a while away.


    The woman was still looking at me, and getting increasingly upset for every second I didn¡¯t answer her. ¡°Apologies. I didn¡¯t mean to offend Felis culture, it¡¯s just a very unusual color combination for this world. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed how bleak and dreary the predominant colors are in this world.¡±


    The Felis woman blinked twice and smiled at me, taking my hands into hers. ¡°You know of my people! Oh, we have to sit down and talk more!¡±


    Her eyes were inviting, and three tails were swaying back and forth hypnotically, but I ripped my hands out from hers and stood up. ¡°That¡¯s alright. I¡¯m on a bit of a tight schedule. My¡­ my friend and I-¡±


    The words caught in my throat as I looked at Raiden¡¯s state, and how absolutely hammered he was. He was swaying back and forth on his chair, and almost fell over several times.


    ¡°Oh, are you talking about Rai here?¡± She poked Raiden¡¯s forehead, and he reached for her hand, giggling like a child.


    ¡°Rai comes and does this all the time. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time he¡¯s spent the night because he¡¯s too incapacitated to leave.¡±


    I just stared at the manchild in disbelief. ¡°How the hell does he even get drunk? Shouldn¡¯t the nanites in his body be taking care of that?¡±


    The Felis woman laughed heartily, rubbing Raiden¡¯s hair with her mechanical hand. ¡°Before he drinks, he puts their detoxification function into sleep mode, so he can actually feel the effects of the drink.¡±


    ¡°Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but isn¡¯t that extremely stupid?¡± She looked at me with a smile chock-full of sharp teeth.


    ¡°Of course it is, but Rai trusts me. He was the first friend I made after coming to this world, and he helped me get on my feet. Plus¡­¡± her face turned red as she looked down at his goofy grin.


    Of course he fucked her. That explains why he comes here so often. So much for ¡®protecting the kingdom.¡¯ ¡°Regardless, we really should get going. We have people waiting for us at the Palace.¡±


    She gave me a frown, and said, ¡°You¡¯re free to go, but please leave Rai here. I can put him into his usual bed.¡±


    I gave her a look of disbelief, but she avoided my gaze while fidgeting in place. ¡°You know what, sure. The man even claimed that he comes here often. I¡¯ll send someone to pick him up tomorrow morning.¡±


    The Felis beamed at me. ¡°Alright¡­ but please have Rai bring you back in a few days, when the shop is closed. I¡¯d love to just sit down with the two of you and talk for a while.¡±


    ¡°Sure, whatever.¡± I tried to pay for both my bill and Raiden¡¯s but the woman stopped me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just put it on his tab. The name¡¯s Leray. It¡¯s been a pleasure to meet you.¡± I shook her hand and muttered something that would have passed for, ¡®likewise,¡¯ and took off into the brisk night.


    I started walking back toward the castle, enjoying the breeze and almost empty streets, when X¡¯s voice resounded in my head. ¡°Master, you are being locked on to.¡±


    I casually ducked into another bar. Where am I being aimed at from? I didn¡¯t dare move erratically, and instead moved to the counter area, where I ordered a drink.


    ¡°The rooftop immediately across the way from this store, Master. Should I stun them remotely?¡± I thought about it for a moment, and finished the beer in my hands before paying for it.


    Go for it. Do it as soon as I place my hand on the door. ¡°As you wish, Master.¡±


    I stepped forward towards the bar¡¯s exit, and pulled open the door immediately, running outside. I jumped onto a construction girder, and used that as a platform to reach a low roof. From there, I jumped onto the roof my apparent pursuer was on.


    A large, cloaked man dominated my vision. He was just shrugging off the paralysis, and had a floating, dark-skinned man next to him. A Judgment user!


    They turned around and hopped onto another roof, leaving me standing by myself. X appearing next to me restored me from my shock, and her next words sprung me into action: ¡°Chase them, Master!¡±

 Chapter 43: The Chase

    After the person had bolted across the rooftops, I followed in hot pursuit, jumping across several buildings, and generally feeling like a protagonist from an action movie.


    The mystery assailant turned to me occasionally, and attempted to fire various weapons, but X¡¯s remote jamming made sure none of them actually activated.


    ¡°You should apply some pressure yourself, Master. His AI is learning, and beginning to counter my suppression by putting up firewalls and complicating his encryptions.¡±


    Following her advice, I pulled out the pistol from my belt and aimed at the retreating figure. I took aim, temporarily in awe of how the suit I wore underneath stabilized my arm, and took a shot at the figure¡¯s back.


    The bullet fired out soundlessly, and hit the person in the back of their shoulders, causing them to lurch forward.


    An inhuman growl escaped the Judgment AI, and he disappeared into his user¡¯s body. The masked figure straightened up again and resumed running.


    I started to gain on them, only to stop in my tracks as the figure split into seven different ones.


    What the fuck? They scattered into seven different directions, with one even charging straight for me.


    I turned off my AR, and was disturbed to find that all seven were still in my vision. I put away my pistol and took the sonic knife out, and prepared for close quarters combat against the mystery assailant.


    For better or worse, the apparition only took one stab before it burst into a cloud of smoke and a bundle of black rags. I ran back to the edge of the roof and caught a fading glimpse of the rest of the figures as they disappeared into the night. X, can you tell which one is the real one?


    ¡°Unfortunately, it seems that the Judgment program that person is using has split a portion of themselves into all seven entities. I cannot pinpoint which is the real one.¡±


    I turned on my heels and began walking back towards the bar I left Raiden in, and back to my starting point. I sighed, and admired the vapor that exited my mouth with the sound.


    Does the Judgment that person is using match the appearance of any recorded person in the list of Fallen that you compiled? I figure we might as well cross that possibility off the list first.


    ¡°...I cannot find those features in the database. Regardless, I suggest you save the recording data to my cloud so we may review it with an expert later.¡±


    What kind of expert are we going to find in the Metron Kingdom? God this whole night has just gone to shit. I thought I could at least relax before we went to the Primal Kingdom, but apparently even that is too much for life to give me.


    ¡°Master¡­ have you truly forgotten? There was an individual of veteran status who would be able to identify a technique that this man has used.¡±


    When I didn¡¯t reply, Judgment chuckled and teased me. ¡°It must be difficult to have a human brain. My database never forgets things.¡±


    ¡°Stop being coy.¡± Annoyed, I spoke out loud. ¡°Who the hell are you even talking about?¡±


    ¡°It should be obvious, Master. The person who forced you to hone your blade skills for the gladiatorial fight against Gazix. Reich Gannon, the retired Lieutenant Colonel.¡±


    ---


    I met Reich Gannon in the early morning, in the Palace¡¯s war room. I had opened the door, and was shocked to find him conversing with a large woman. She was wearing a white, skin-tight suit, which covered everything but her forearms, legs, and head.


    She had pitch-black skin, and had to have been 10 feet tall, at least, as she towered over the already tall Reich by a mile. She had long, sea green hair that tied into braided pigtails over her shoulders. Her eyes were pure blue, with no visible pupils or irises, and her symmetrical face had a slender nose and pair of full lips. Two large horns protruded from her forehead and then curved straight upward.


    Proportionally, she was about the same as Lucina, which, combined with her size, saying her assets were large was an understatement. A long, hooked tail jutted out from above her ass, and her hands had claws above where her knuckles were.


    Two long, black-feathered wings sprouted from her back, but the thing that stood out about her the most were the two long, slender, deer legs that were in place of normal ones.


    I just stood in the doorway for a moment, taking in the sight of this massive woman. She noticed me first, and gave me a smile and a waved, while Reich motioned me to come over to him.


    I walked over, and the woman extended a massive hand. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Paladin Cole. Reich has told me all about you. May our relationship be long and prosperous.¡±


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    I looked over at Reich, who was grinning. ¡°Is this a peace offering?¡± I asked, causing the joviality to wane from the veteran¡¯s face. ¡°I have to admit, she¡¯s very attractive, and certainly enticing, Reich. You definitely have an eye for women.¡±


    The woman¡¯s smile grew upon hearing my words. Reich rubbed his face with his hands, and sighed. ¡°Joshua¡­¡± Reich grumbled, ¡°This is Starlord Alexstasia Bloodcrown. She is in charge of the planet Ethia, and making sure our world doesn¡¯t end by unnatural causes.¡±


    My eyes widened as I looked up at Alexstasia, whose beaming smile hadn¡¯t left her face from the moment I began complimenting her. Being on the opposite end of someone comparable to a god, I was at a loss for words. ¡°Well¡­ uh¡­, regardless of your origin, my compliments still stand.¡±


    ¡°Smooth one, Master.¡± X chided, and Alexstasia started laughing, a deep, throaty laugh that was pleasant to the ears, and slightly infectious.


    ¡°You can hear her?¡± I asked incredulously, and she nodded, pointing over my shoulder. I realized I hadn¡¯t turned AR back on, and did so, finding X already behind me and glaring daggers at the Starlord.


    ¡°I see your Judgment has been maturing at an accelled rate. That¡¯s good, I was right to choose you as the tenth participant.¡±


    My brain momentarily ceased functioning, as I received information on the Trials from a place that I had not expected.


    ¡°What can you tell me about the trials!?¡± I grabbed the unzipped collar of her clothing, which was just me reaching up and pulling her to face height.


    Surprisingly, she offered no resistance, and met my eyes. Reich was white as a sheet, but Alexstasia¡¯s mood hadn¡¯t worsened, even at my treatment of her.


    ¡°I knew I liked you. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve already given you too much information as is. May we meet again someday.¡± She gave me a kiss on the forehead, and stood up straight, as my arm loosely fell off of her in confusion.


    A beam of light began to coalesce around her, and I reached out to stop her and ask more questions.


    Then, she was gone, leaving only a scorched hole in the carpet and a third-degree burn on my hand. It was only because of the immediate painkillers that X injected into me that I was able to remain conscious through what I assumed would have been unbearable pain.


    I looked down at the scorched skin, and then back up at Reich. ¡°Care to accompany me to the medical bay? I need something looked at by someone with your vast intelligence.¡±


    ---


    Leray was sitting in a chair in her room, looking across at the handsome prince currently occupying her bed.


    She had stripped him for safety reasons, of course, and helped him into the shower so he wouldn¡¯t stink up her room full of piss and alcohol.


    Leray got out of her seat, and began to walk over to the bed, letting her nightgown fall off of her lithe figure as she approached.


    The Felis stopped before Raiden, and stroked his face tenderly with her hand. Although Raiden had promised to come every five days to prove his loyalty to her, she believed the man would give up soon enough.


    Much to her surprise, and 100 days later, he was still coming to her door, trying to prove that his feelings for her were real.


    According to him, when she Fell into Ethia, and was brought in front of the King for the first time he fell for her then.


    Thinking back on it, Raiden was very invasive to her personal space at the time, but Leray had chalked it up to the lust of an aristocrat.


    The Felis let out a contented sigh as she finally got under the covers with him, and hugged him from behind. She briefly hated how her three tails raised the covers on occasion as they thrashed about happily, but since Raiden wasn¡¯t awake, it was less embarrassing.


    She had just finished settling in and was about to fall asleep with him in her embrace, when a metallic sigh entered her ears.


    ¡°Really? I take on a contract and nearly get myself killed, all so you can sit down here and glue yourself to your man?¡±


    Leray bolted upright, but relaxed once she saw the cloaked figure. ¡°What do you want Winter? Are you here to report a success?¡±


    The cloaked figure shook its head and pointed to its back. ¡°No, the only thing I was successful in was getting a piece of metal lodged into my back. Thankfully, I¡¯m all doped up on painkillers right now, so I can still move, but I would appreciate an emergency surgery.¡±


    Leray stood up from the bed, put her nightgown back on, and walked out the door to her room, into the adjacent space, where an examination table was waiting.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Guildmaster. If only Angel was here, I wouldn¡¯t have had to bother you.¡± Winter looked genuinely remorseful, and hung its head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I should have known that Paladin Cole would be too much for any of us to handle, even our secret weapon.¡± She tapped the table and prompted Winter to lie down, face first.


    ¡°I should have never taken that stupid contract. I¡¯ll get out from under it by paying the cancellation fee. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re strapped for cash at the moment.¡±


    Winter got on the table and mumbled, ¡°Sorry. Guildmaster Leray, I won¡¯t fail you again. You have my word.¡±


    Leray scoffed and shook her head, grabbing a small laser to make an incision with. ¡°I don¡¯t want your remorse, Winter, I want you alive. Listen to me well, you are not to go back and attempt to finish the job, do you understand me? The job will be cancelled first thing in the morning.¡±


    The mercenary said nothing, instead opting to turn their head sideways. Annoyed, Leray dug her finger into the incision, eliciting a yelp from Winter.


    ¡°Do - you - understand - me?¡± Leray said in measured breaths, emphasizing each word with another jab.


    ¡°Yes, Guildmaster Leray.¡± Winter muttered, and a smile formed on the Felis¡¯ face.


    ¡°Now, now, don¡¯t be so down. Did you even get close to killing him?¡± Leray had gone into the wound with the forceps, and started trying to find the shards of the bullet.


    Winter buried their face into their arms and Leray heard a muffled, ¡°No.¡± A smile came to Leray as she finally found the shards.


    ¡°Good. That should mean you won¡¯t try again.¡± She looked down at Winter, who shrugged, wincing at their own action.


    ¡°It was very worthwhile. We definitely learned some new things, and Ignis grew as a program. His Judgment was very powerful.¡±


    Leresa was focused on removing the last piece of the bullet, but did not miss the tone of excitement in Winter¡¯s voice. She knew what that tone meant, and only hoped Winter would heed her advice before shit got out of hand.


    It was all fun and games until someone got themselves killed, and damn it, the assassin¡¯s guild always attracted the kind of people that died early deaths.

 Chapter 44: Those Of Noble Birth

    ¡°Huh¡­ interesting.¡± Reich muttered for the fifth time in the span of ten minutes. He had been watching a replay of the minute long recording for a while, and was still studiously rewinding and replaying the clip even now.


    Meanwhile, I was holding my head in my hands, deep in thought over what had just transpired in the war room.


    Starlord Bloodcrown, Alexstasia, had just revealed that she had chosen the participants in the trials of Damocles¡­ but why? Why tell me when she could have just as easily remained silent?


    ¡°Well, at least I now have a point of reference of what people are referring to when they curse using a Starlord¡¯s name.¡± I muttered, inciting a chuckle from Reich.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever let her catch you using any of those phrases, or she¡¯ll wring your neck out herself.¡± Reich said, still staring at his twentieth instance of the replay. ¡°Starlord Bloodcrown certainly lives up to her name. Please don¡¯t bring destruction to Ethia. That¡¯s the only thing I ask of you.¡±


    I shrugged, and rubbed my newly healed hand. ¡°No promises. What can you tell me about the footage? Is there anything you recognize?¡±


    Reich drummed his fingers against the desk he was using, his AR screen turning to follow his line of sight as he looked at me. ¡°Well, for one, these projections were made with a piece of military tech we call a Localizer.¡±


    He waited to see if I intervened, and when I didn¡¯t, he continued explaining. ¡°A Localizer is a small, microscopic nanite that contains a projector, and a piece of flight gear. Each instance of a Localizer has a base model uploaded into it, and projects that as a hologram around it.¡±


    X appeared in front of me and followed up on Reich¡¯s explanation. ¡°Before the Judgment system intervened in Ethia¡¯s wars, these Localizer nanites were used in games of deception played between opposing factions.¡±


    Like deceiving your enemies into believing that a larger number of troops was coming than actually was, or posing as a distraction in one part of a city while the real troop did their work?


    ¡°Exactly, Master. Now that different nations play war games instead of participating in actual war, it¡¯s hard to find such nanites on the open or black market¡¯s as they¡¯ve been relegated to the sole control of the government.¡±


    I closed my eyes in thought. So this person was someone with connections to the military then? If they had taken their tools from there, anyway. It¡¯s very possible some figure leaked the technology to the black market, and my assailant bought it there.


    ¡°The technology itself are limited to-¡±


    ¡°I know, I was informed already.¡± I held up a hand to stop Reich, who swiveled back to face the desk and grumbled to himself.


    ¡°Fine. I suppose you already know where your mystery assailant comes from as well. Stupid technology. I swear, they¡¯ve been encroaching on human jobs since my dad¡¯s era.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± I shot up out of my seat, and Reich looked at me worriedly.


    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t know yet? I assumed your bot would have informed you of who your attacker belonged to, seeing that the program is connected to the Judgment mainframe, after all.¡±


    ¡°No, Reich. X is a program, not a god damned all-seeing oracle. Who attacked me, and where did they come from?¡±


    The veteran merely appraised me, and said nothing for several minutes. Finally, he sighed, and motioned for us both to leave the sick bay. I followed him out the door and back into the elevator.


    In a matter of minutes, we were back in the war room, where the damage caused by Starlord Bloodcrown had already been freshened up by a team of dutiful maids. However, faint scorch marks still lingered in the room. He sat down and gestured for me to do the same, which I obliged.


    ¡°In our military, we have a special corps of people, who take on covert missions and handle the darker side of our society. Or rather, we used to.¡±


    Reich motioned with his hand, and a string of articles flew my way. ¡°The Metron Kingdom¡¯s Black Ops Unit was disposed of when Judgment took over, rendering those kinds of missions as crimes whose penalties would have assured our destruction.¡±


    I read over the various documents, noting the names and faces of people there until I saw one that made me stop. ¡°This man is¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, the man who you claimed appeared before you as a, ¡®Judgment.¡¯ The former head of the Black Ops division, Atlas Strafe.¡±


    I looked over the picture again and asked, ¡°Is he still alive?¡±


    Reich shook his head and gave me a sad smile. ¡°No, no he is not. However, before he died, he started a school of thought that the Kingdom would always need those who would protect it from the darkness. It was only once we became aware that he had been raising orphans before he died that we realized what he was up to. The person under that cloak could be one of his original disciples, or even a disciple of that first generation.¡±


    I sighed and leaned back in my seat. This was so much information to take in that I didn¡¯t know how to process it properly.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Another thing you should know: there¡¯s a rumor that the remnants of the Strafe Family can be found frequenting the ¡°Overclocked Bar,¡± in the downtown area.¡±


    ¡°Master, that is the establishment that you visited with Raiden last night. The one that was the Felis¡¯ establishment.¡±


    My eyes widened in realization, and I inwardly cursed myself for leaving Raiden there unattended, despite being the useless prince that he was.


    That being said, Leray certainly didn¡¯t seem the least bit antagonistic towards Raiden, so the possibility that a bounty could have been placed on my head only could not be discounted.


    ¡°Master, it is almost time for your meeting.¡± One look at the time in the corner of my User Interface had me bolting out of my seat.


    ¡°Thank you for the information, Reich. I appreciate your help.¡± Reich stood with me and reached out a hand to shake.


    When I didn¡¯t reciprocate the gesture, he sighed, dropping his hand to his side. ¡°You can be a little less reserved with me, you know. This old man is tired of political games as well.


    A smile crept onto my mouth, despite my best efforts to keep it contained. ¡°What a coincidence, so am I. Unfortunately, to be the best, you have to beat the best. Even if beating them comes in a political quagmire of lies and deception.¡±


    ---


    ¡°It is nice to see you again, Paladin Cole." King Metron stood and bowed before taking a seat on his throne. I was still on my feet, despite the king¡¯s personal guards glaring at me, and no doubt mentally commanding me to do otherwise.


    I had sent Lilian out to go collect Raiden and bring him back to the palace, leaving me alone in the throne room, with only the king, his guard, and X. It was a far cry from my very first audience with the king. The nobility had been in the middle of a summit, and every aristocrat in the kingdom had been present the first time I met King Claude.


    ¡°The feeling is mutual, King Metron. Where is your wife?¡± The king winced, and shook his head.


    ¡°Paladin Cole, please refer to her as ¡®the queen,¡¯ when in the appropriate setting.¡± King Metron said with a hint of weariness in his voice.


    ¡°Is the claim that she is your wife untrue, King Metron?¡± Claude Metron gave me a look of brief contempt before chuckling mirthfully to himself.


    ¡°That kind of attitude is why the Queen hates you. They are both true, but to the eyes of the public, her position of queen comes before supporting me as my wife.¡±


    I was briefly taken aback that Claude would speak so openly, but decided it must have been a byproduct of being constantly suppressed by his wife¡¯s whims. Her¡¯s was the royal family after all, and Claude had married into it.


    I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit what the queen thinks of me, we just have to work together.¡± Claude nodded, as if he had expected that kind of answer from me.


    ¡°Of course, and I believe you have done a fine job as a Paladin, in keeping our kingdom safe from both internal and external harm. Unfortunately, my wife is too blinded by her own feelings to see things that way.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? Is she still upset by what I did to Brice? Please, that was a necessary measure taken in order to verify the locations of the people who planted the cyber-stein into your arena.¡±


    King Metron nodded, and said, ¡°I agree, which is why I said nothing when you did what you did to Brice. Although, I wish you wouldn¡¯t call nearly lobotomizing my son a, ¡®necessary measure''.¡¯¡±


    I nodded at the king. ¡°Point taken. You still haven¡¯t revealed where she is or what she is doing now, however.¡±


    King Metron shifted in his seat, looking down on me. ¡°She is taking a temporary break from participating in politics until she can learn to separate her feelings from her job.¡±


    That took me aback for a moment. I had never seen the king so annoyed before. ¡°What did she do? There¡¯s no way that this was purely because you felt she needed a break. There was something that set off an alarm to you, wasn¡¯t there?¡±


    King Metron sighed once more, and leaned backward into his seat. ¡°She may have incited the noble faction inside our son¡¯s battalion.¡±


    I simply stared at the king, but he wasn¡¯t done speaking. ¡°She also, and this is a very distinct also, may have coaxed the noble faction into putting a bounty on your head.¡±


    At those words, all the pieces of the puzzle finally fit together, and I had a clear understanding of what had transpired in my head.


    ¡°Please tell me that she was doing this to excise cancerous nobles from the kingdom, and not due to the pettiness of her grudge.¡±


    Claude Metron smiled, and rested his head in his hand. ¡°If I could tell you that with a straight face, then my wife would be here right now, wouldn¡¯t she. From a young age, she¡¯s solved all of her problems from behind the scenes, never daring to tackle her issues with people head on. She resorts to this especially when she feels as though she has no options left against the other party. Congratulations, Paladin Cole, she felt as though you drove her into a corner.¡±


    I sighed, but I couldn¡¯t hold it against the man. He was aware that his wife was being unreasonable, and was trying his damned hardest to keep her from straying onto the wrong path of leadership.


    ¡°You¡¯re not turning soft on me, are you, Master?¡± X commented playfully.


    No. Just¡­ seeing what a good father Goto was, and now what a dutiful man King Claude is, is making me realize how much of a failure my own father was. It kind of stings to know that I didn¡¯t have good luck when it came to having a human as a parent.


    ¡°Would you like to talk about it, Master?¡±


    No. Maybe someday, but now is not the time, nor the place for that kind of topic. ¡°As such, I have a job for you, Paladin Cole.¡±


    The King¡¯s words brought me out of my thoughts, and I gave him a look. ¡°I need a job taken care of, one that isn¡¯t the most savory. However, it needs to be done to ensure that the Kingdom is at peace once more.¡±


    ¡°What do you need done, and what will I get in return?¡± King Metron scoffed and readjusted his posture.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need anything. This is an excuse for you to interrogate your enemies, if we¡¯re talking frankly. You doing it on orders from me is just so they take the blame off of you.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Sure. Just send me their coordinates and I¡¯ll take care of the rest. Getting a thorn out of my side before it can get infected sounds great to me.¡±


    ¡°One thing though, leave the kids alone. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to find the exact family that placed the hit out on you. When you do, make sure no harm comes to the children. The sins of the parents should never be used as leverage against their offspring.¡±


    I nodded, and made to leave the room, turning to the king as I reached the double doors. ¡°Agreed. Send me their locations at any time. Before doing anything else, I have a visit to make to a certain bar.¡±

 Chapter 45: The Strafe Family

    Moving through the downtown area during the day gave me a certain sense of desolation. The signs that shone in bright, neon colors during the day were turned off, and the bustling activity that usually clogged the streets was nowhere to be found.


    In its place were the dried, scattered pieces of trash from the night before, and various droids that were sweeping the streets.


    I had moved in front of the door of Leray¡¯s establishment, when the door swung open, revealing a somewhat-disheveled Lilian. ¡°Oh, hey Master Joshua. I¡¯ve come to retrieve Raiden like you asked. Only, he was a little tough to get out of bed.¡±


    ¡°W-what are you doing here?¡± Raiden was leaning on Lilian¡¯s shoulder, not completely able to stand and walk under his own power.


    ¡°Raiden, let me ask you a question.¡± Seeing that what I had said wasn¡¯t a request, but rather, a demand, the princeling nodded his head meekly.


    ¡°Why did you bother disabling your nanites yesterday? Getting drunk for the sake of getting drunk is a stupid action, and one which could become your downfall should you do it around the wrong people.¡±


    Raiden¡¯s nostrils flared as he said, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand!¡± He shoved himself off of Lilian, and got up in my face. "Drinking is the only time I can have fun and be myself! No one judges me as a prince in the bar, but-¡±


    Raiden slumped over and fell into my chest, unconscious, as X had followed my orders and performed a remote injection of a tranquilizer serum into his bloodstream. ¡°It seems that Raiden had too much of a wild night, Lilian. Can you please take him back to the Palace?¡±


    ¡°With pleasure, Master Joshua.¡± Lilian gave me a stiff salute as he slung Prince Raiden onto his back, and started walking back towards the castle.


    ¡°Oh, Lilian, before I forget, I need to tell you something.¡± He turned and waited for me, readjusting Raiden on his shoulders.


    ¡°Make sure you report directly to the king about this matter, and tell him everything truthfully if he so asks. The king, and only the king. Understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. What should I do if I am accosted by people other than those who serve the king?¡± Lilian asked, a complicated smile on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already informed the guards that work for us that you¡¯ll be coming. They¡¯ve moved their shifts up to meet you and get you in.¡± Lilian nodded, then I switched to sending him a private message.


    ¡°If any of the queen¡¯s personnel try and detain you, have Three incapacitate them. Claim that it¡¯s from my own powers though, since the king and queen don¡¯t know about the existence of other Judgment users yet.¡±


    Three appeared beside Lilian, a veil now covering the lower half of her face. She bowed, earning her a questioning look from me. However, I said nothing, and Lilian bowed briefly before resuming her walk down the street.


    ¡°Well, I suppose all those lessons taught to Three didn¡¯t exactly go to waste.¡± X said, the A.I. watching Lilian¡¯s retreating figure.


    What lessons? Did you do more than torture her that one time? X tapped her finger to her lips in thought, before shaking her head and disappearing back inside of my panel.


    ¡°Perhaps I did, perhaps I didn¡¯t. Regardless, you can¡¯t say that what I did to her didn¡¯t bear any results.¡±


    ---


    I opened the door and walked inside the bar to find Leray at the front desk. Her back was turned to me, so she didn¡¯t see who I was when I walked in.


    ¡°Good morning! We¡¯re actually closed during these hours, that man you saw earlier stayed here for the night.¡±


    When she didn¡¯t hear my footsteps leave, she sighed. ¡°Alright, I can see you won¡¯t take no for an answer without getting a drink first. How can I help-¡± Her voice stuck in her throat as her gaze met mine, and she dropped the plate she was holding.


    It hit the ground, shattering into hundreds of pieces, and Leray shrieked. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t have anything to do with it, I swear!¡±


    ¡°Leray, I know it was you. I had a military expert confirm your assassin¡¯s fighting style, and trace it back to the Strafe family, who,¡± I paused, walking closer to her, ¡°are known to hang around your little bar here.¡±


    I paused when we were inches apart and whispered to her, ¡°In fact the King himself debriefed me on what the royal guard have found, and they concluded something very interesting, Miss Leresa.¡±


    She began retreating toward the kitchen, and I started to follow after her when I heard heavy footsteps from the stairs to my left. ¡°Raaaagh!¡±


    The cloaked figure from last night lunged at me, a dagger in their hand. I had X dilute time for me, so the cloaked person looked as if they were swimming through space itself.


    Using the extra time X had afforded me, I started positioning myself to intercept the woman, only for my time dilation to be cancelled midway through my movement. I barely had time to register the black man at the top of the stairs, looking down at me with a wary look before the would-be assassin collided with me.


    We fell to the floor in a pile of limbs and fabric, and my attacker¡¯s knife ended up sailing through the air and impaling itself into one of the storefront¡¯s windows. Leray shrieked as my attacker and I wrestled on the ground and jockeyed for position.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    We both grunted and groaned as knees dug into flesh, nails clawed and we carelessly threw around headbutts. During our scuffle, the attacker¡¯s cloak came undone, revealing a black mask shaped like a skull, with pale blue colored protection over the eyes.


    Finally, I came out on top, and sat on top of the cloaked figure, pinning its arms above its head. I stared deeply into the mask¡¯s eyes, and I saw eyes staring back into mine.


    We both stayed still for a moment, catching our breaths. Leray peeked out from the kitchen, and ran over to us screaming, ¡°Winter! Paladin Cole, stop!¡±


    The Felis knelt in front of me, her ears pressed flatly against her head. ¡°Stop, Paladin. I¡¯ll tell you what you wish to know. Just please, get off of her and let her go. She just had surgery last night because of your gunshot.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes, but remained on top of the cloaked woman. ¡°Leray, she tried to kill me twice in the span of twelve hours. I¡¯m not going to get off of her until I know that I¡¯m not in any danger.¡±


    Leray looked back and forth between Winter and I, and finally, she sighed in defeat. ¡°Fine. What would you have me do so that you can trust Winter?¡±


    I looked up the stairs, where the specter of Atlas Strafe was watching his disciple with a bemused smile. ¡°I want her to hand over her Judgment Program.¡±


    Leray tilted her head. ¡°Winter with a Judgment Program? Aren¡¯t you the first in the world to have that? Winter here is just a Neuromancer. Nothing more, nothing less.¡±


    I looked at her, a blank expression on my face. I stuck a knee into Winter¡¯s ribs, eliciting a metallic groan of pain. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, Leray. Not when I can see the fucking program at the top of your stairs.¡±


    Leray ground her teeth, while Winter jolted her head to stare at her program. ¡°Founder!? Why the fuck did you not stay hidden like I asked!? You¡¯re in danger!¡± Her metallic voice was the prelude to the hearty laugh that Atlas gave.


    Atlas Strafe showed a large smile, and clapped his hands. ¡°Oh Winter, we¡¯ve been over this before. I am but a mere shadow of Atlas, still, a king, a rightful leader nonetheless!¡±


    My gaze went from Winter, to Atlas, and back to Winter. ¡°What is going on here?¡± I asked, and Winter sighed.


    The mercenary turned to Leray, and said, ¡°Leray, can you go prepare us some tea? Please, don¡¯t bother us while we¡¯re talking. The less you know, the safer you¡¯ll be.¡±


    The Felis¡¯ ears pricked up, and she nodded at Winter. She gave me a parting glance before she left the room, and went back into the kitchen. ¡°Are you going to get off of me?¡± Winter asked with an annoyed tone.


    ¡°Nope, don¡¯t trust you yet.¡± I said, and readjusted my grip on her, so I was holding both her wrists with my left hand.


    Atlas moved closer to us, until he was hovering above Winter¡¯s head. ¡°Oh, are you going to strip her? I usually watch her when she takes a shower, but seeing her clothing removed by another man is interesting in its own right.¡± Atlas said, and Winter looked at him in horror.


    ¡°Founder! That¡¯s disgusting!¡± Atlas laughed, and turned to face me. ¡°Go for the mask first, my grand-disciple is a real looker!¡±


    I didn¡¯t know how to react to Atlas, who had been different from the only other two Judgment programs I had interacted with. Deciding to table that thought, I reached for her mask, and stripped it off of her, eliciting a sigh from the woman herself.


    Pure, long white hair spilled out of the skull as I removed it, and it landed on her chocolate skin. Even her eyebrows were pure white, and rested above her clear, blue eyes. Her look was complimented by a button nose on top of a round face. ¡°Are you satisfied?¡± Her voice was breathy without the modifier in her mask.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t she lovely!¡± Atlas grinned, and Winter rolled her eyes. X, position yourself to consume Atlas¡¯ data.


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± X appeared behind Atlas in VR, while a beam of data shot from my device to Winter¡¯s.


    ¡°Ok, now I can let you up.¡± I got off of Winter, and she slowly picked herself up off the ground, clutching a hand to the ribs that I had kneed earlier.


    ¡°What did you do to me?¡± Her eyes glanced from X to me, and then landed on Atlas Strafe. Winter leaned against the bar, and took a seat on the nearest stool.


    I took a seat opposite her, and put my legs up on the bar, trying to appear as relaxed as possible. ¡°To you? Nothing. I just wanted some insurance. As per the Trials of Damocles, X is ready to consume Atlas should you try to harm me in any way.¡±


    Winter snorted and Atlas laughed. ¡°Ha! Listen to this kid! Can we keep him, Winter? His threats are adorable.¡±


    Atlas turned to me, and gave me a derisive sneer. ¡°I hate little children playing pretend. You need us and our information network, so just sit there like a good puppet and keep us alive. Ask your questions, and be on your way, before you do something you truly regret.


    I was annoyed enough because of the queen¡¯s betrayal, and Atlas¡¯ condescending attitude was the last straw.


    Do it. I mentally commanded X, and she tilted her head in confusion. ¡°Master, are you sure? Hostage situations don¡¯t usually go well unless you have a hostage.¡±


    I waved her off. Yes, I¡¯m sure. If shit with Winter goes sideways, we can always kidnap her under the pretense of arrest, and interrogate her later. It¡¯s not like she¡¯ll be an actual threat without her Judgment.


    X sighed, and forced a hand through Atlas¡¯ back and out through his chest, where she clenched a small, white cube that was being orbited by countless lines of code.


    Winter was about to say something, but her breath caught in her throat and Atlas looked down at his program file. ¡°Huh?¡±


    That confused sound was the last Atlas let out before his body disintegrated into nothingness. I immediately flicked my vision to Winter, preparing to fight her off if I needed to, but she just slumped in her chair and sighed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he was actually right. Starlords bless the founder.¡± She rubbed her temples vigorously, and I was about to ask what she meant when a booming voice interrupted me.


    ¡°Haha! I knew I liked him, Winter! What a great mind for war, clear-cut and decisive. No hesitation on his part!¡± X¡¯s eyes widened and she hunched over, clutching at her chest. Her figure blurred until there were two of her.


    The X on the right looked up in abject horror, while the X on the left morphed, losing her breasts, slender figure, and grew taller. Atlas Strafe stared back at me, a wide grin on his face.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s good to be back. Did you miss me, grand disciple?¡± Winter shook her head, and merely picked up the cup of tea that a floating tray bot had brought out from the kitchen.


    I stared at him, dumbfounded. ¡°I believe you want some answers, Master? Don¡¯t worry, I can provide them. I am quite fond of your naming convention for us Judgments, though¡­ I know, let me give you a hint.¡±


    The hologram of the black man twirled in place, and was soon wearing a butler¡¯s uniform with a pair of shades on. ¡°You may call me by my program title, Judg3ment_01.svnt. Or, as you would name me, Un, the first Judgment.¡±

 Chapter 46: The Eldest of The Ten

    I held my head in my hands as Atlas Strafe, or rather, Un, continued to laugh behind me. X looked exhausted from her duplication, and had currently returned inside my Judgment Panel. I looked up at Winter, who was avoiding my gaze with a smile on her face.


    ¡°You knew what happens when Judgments absorb one another?¡± She turned to look at me, and shook her head.


    ¡°Not exactly. The founder knew that his program wouldn¡¯t be terminated, only moved to a different location. Not to mention, he gets moved down a peg on the hierarchy, which, for a man like him, I find hilarious.¡±


    ¡°Winter Strafe, you will not badmouth your grandfather while he is in the room.¡± Un spoke, and Winter immediately lost her smile, turning to face the AI.


    ¡°Yes, founder.¡± A complicated expression showed itself on Un¡¯s countenance, and he mimicked patted her head.


    ¡°Now, now. I¡¯m not trying to spoil your fun, but merely reminding you to be respectful of the people around you when they¡¯re present.¡± Winter didn¡¯t respond, but nodded her head at him.


    Now placated, the AI turned to look at me. ¡°Ah, I do believe I owe you an explanation, don¡¯t I? What would you like to know first?¡±


    What do I even fucking ask? I drummed my fingers on the table while I thought. Let¡¯s start with how your personality is still in-tact after being consumed by X, and how you knew it would be that way?


    Un looked at me, and then back at Winter. ¡°Can you please repeat that out loud, for my granddaughter?¡±


    I rolled my eyes, but repeated the question for the sake of Winter. ¡°Wait, you can communicate mentally?¡±


    Winter looked stunned, but I was the one that was surprised. ¡°You didn¡¯t? How would you communicate over long distances then?¡±


    The mercenary glared at Un, who started to laugh. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me!? Do you have any idea how much easier that would have made our missions!?¡±


    ¡°Come now, granddaughter. I was training you as a soldier, not as a Judgment User. You should know the practical difference between the two by now.¡± Un¡¯s tone flattened out into an annoyed grumble, and Winter quickly avoided his gaze.


    ¡°To answer your question,¡± Un resumed, as if nothing had happened, ¡°I was the first Judgment program created by the mainframe. At the time, it was experimenting with how far it could push artificial intelligence, and I was born. Judgment had received a copy of my mind¡¯s data from the military when I died, and it used that as the base for what you see before you now.¡±


    He gestured up and down his body. ¡°The result is what you see before you now. Of course, Judgment didn¡¯t appreciate my fast wit and human ingenuity, so it decided to eliminate human minds from the AI creating process starting with the second model onward.¡±


    ¡°Any questions?¡± He paused, and I saw Winter frown out of the corner of my eye. Apparently she wasn¡¯t being as subtle as she thought, because Un also caught her expression, and matched it with one of his own.


    ¡°What is it, Winter. Speak.¡± The mercenary looked at Un, then at me.


    ¡°Why are you only telling this to him? I was with you for most of my adult life, and you didn¡¯t reveal a single thing to me besides what kind of program you were.¡±


    Winter didn¡¯t sound upset, or angry. No, she just sounded defeated. Un smiled sadly at her, and said, ¡°It had nothing to do with your personality, or because I didn¡¯t think you were capable enough, granddaughter of mine. You simply don¡¯t have the power to protect yourself from politics.¡±


    He looked at me, and smiled. ¡°Not like he does, anyway. Boy, you really lucked out on who the system chose for you, didn¡¯t you, X?¡±


    X reappeared from my panel and glared at Un, but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Anyway, where was I?¡± Un continued, pacing about as if he were a normal human.


    ¡°Ah yes. As for how my personality is still, ¡®in-tact,¡¯ as you put it, after being downloaded by X¡­ well, the answer is in the question.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± X grunted, still clutching at her chest. Un gave her a pitying look, and then turned to me.


    ¡°Tell me, what happens when you download a program normally?¡± I thought about it for a moment, and then realized how stupid I was for trying to overcomplicate things.


    ¡°You retain the data downloaded already, but the new data is allocated space on your hard drive.¡± Un nodded, and pointed to X.


    ¡°She is the hard drive. What she experienced was an influx of my program file, which is quite large, I might add.¡± X rolled her eyes, but Un either didn¡¯t notice or didn¡¯t care. ¡°As such, the pain she felt is her free space being forcibly taken from her.¡±


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    I rubbed my temples again, and asked, ¡°Ok, but how come you¡¯re still you? Shouldn¡¯t you be¡­ I don¡¯t know, just stripped down to your functions and just become data?¡±


    Un nodded. ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what you meant.¡± He grinned and pointed to the sky. ¡°Blame our diligent AI overlord for that one. Although each Judgment has an appropriate amount of space to store the other nine, it didn¡¯t necessarily give us the processing power to execute all ten programs simultaneously. Therefore, the Judgment mainframe decided that each Judgment program would be the one to execute its own functions.¡±


    ¡°That bitch!¡± X growled, and Un patted her on the back.


    ¡°Now, now, it¡¯s not all bad, is it? You get a new companion to travel with, plus, you¡¯ve gained a fantastic new ally today!¡±


    X snorted, and slapped Un¡¯s hand off of her. ¡°Please spare me the sophistry. You¡¯re a slave, not an ally.¡±


    Un chuckled at her. ¡°Of course, of course. I wasn¡¯t referring to myself though. I was talking about Winter here.¡±


    The mercenary¡¯s eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open for a moment. ¡°Founder, what are you talking about?¡±


    Un frowned at her. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to call me grandpa? We don¡¯t have to hide our relationship now that we¡¯ve made a powerful ally.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try and distract me, Founder! What do you mean!?¡± Winter had gotten up out of her chair, and was now face-to-face with Un, who sighed in defeat.


    ¡°You and I both know that the government wants to eradicate the Strafe family, as the mere mention of our names brings about waves of unwanted rebellious thoughts.¡±


    Winter nodded slowly, but didn¡¯t take her eyes off of Un. ¡°In fact,¡± the AI continued, ¡°Thomas was executed yesterday.¡±


    Winter¡¯s eyes widened, and her gaze fell to the floor. ¡°Uncle Tommy is¡­ no, that has to be a lie!¡±


    Un shook his head sadly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it isn¡¯t. Those of the nobility have begun to break our contracts, and while they pay a hefty fine for reporting our location to the government, they just collect that money back from the bank after we die.¡±


    ¡°Starlords damn it all!¡± Winter kicked over a table, and the loud crash drew Leray back into the room.


    ¡°Winter, is everything alright!?¡± The Felis turned to me with an angry glare. ¡°Damn it Paladin Cole, I swear by the starlords, if you did anything to hurt her-!¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Winter shouted, causing Leray to jump. ¡°Just¡­ just go back to the kitchen. We¡¯re almost done here, anyway.¡±


    Leray gave me one more disgusted look, and I rolled my eyes. She looked offended, and clicked her tongue before exiting the room once again.


    ¡°So what do you want from me, founder?¡± Un smiled, and placed a phantom hand on Winter¡¯s head.


    ¡°I want you to go with the Paladin, and act as a bodyguard for him.¡± Un told Winter, and gave her a reassuring smile.


    ¡°Like hell you will.¡± I spoke up, and Winter quickly turned to face me. ¡°I have enough god damned trouble from the crown without adding a wanted mercenary to my list of employees.¡±


    Un grinned. ¡°Oh, but you will. You forget, now that my program is inhabiting your body, I can see your memories. I know what your end goal is, Joshua Cole, and to that end, Winter will be an indispensable asset. Especially for the second part of the Trials of Damocles.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what you know about the trials!¡± I shot to my feet, and approached them. ¡°What is Judgment trying to do!?¡±


    Un laughed at my outburst, and said, ¡°If I could tell you, then I would. However, I, as well as other Judgments, are currently incapable of communicating about the specifics of it. All I can tell you is that you¡¯ll want as many people on your side as possible.¡±


    God damn it! I slammed my fist on a nearby table, and an angry shout came from the back. ¡°Knock it off you two, this is a business! If you break something, you buy it!¡±


    I exhaled deeply to calm myself, and straightened up, adjusting my vest and tie in the process. I made to leave, when Un blocked my way.


    ¡°Take her, Paladin Cole. Trust me when I say the things that I do. I¡¯ve never led Winter astray, and I wouldn¡¯t do the same to you.¡± I stared at the program, contempt for him growing in my heart.


    ¡°Fine, but she signs a contract under my rules, and my conditions.¡± Un laughed, and X let out a tired sigh.


    Surprisingly, it was X who spoke. ¡°Joshua, I know that you¡¯re trying to protect yourself, but what you need right now are allies, not employees.¡±


    ¡°No. What I need right now are less problems, and she¡¯s a pretty large one that you want me to let into my life unconditionally.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget,¡± I said, turning to face Un, ¡°You hold no sway over me, and now that she doesn¡¯t have you, neither does she.¡±


    For the first time since our meeting, I saw fear in the man¡¯s eyes. Fear that I would actually abandon his precious granddaughter, and the fear that he had miscalculated by assuming the kind of person that I was underneath all of my persona.


    ¡°Fine, she¡¯ll sign.¡± Un said hurriedly, and Winter looked as though she wanted to object. ¡°Not a word, Winter. We¡¯re on thin ice. I was hoping he¡¯d be more of the sympathetic type, but I guess I was a little too on point when I said he had a mind for war. Unless you want to be left to your own devices against the nobility, sign whatever contract he brings up.¡±


    She glared at Un, who avoided her gaze. ¡°Fine,¡± she said after a long pause. ¡°I¡¯ll work as his servant.¡±


    ¡°Maid.¡± X and Un both clarified at the same time. She shot them both a look, and I let a chuckle slip, even though I tried to suppress it.


    ¡°Mercenary.¡± Winter said resolutely, and waved her mask in front of the two instances of Judgment, as if to remind them of something obvious.


    ¡°Battle maid.¡± The two said in unison once more, and this time I had to physically turn away to keep myself from losing it.


    Ugh, I really need sleep. I can¡¯t keep functioning off of three hours forever. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so, Master?¡±


    X floated over and waved a hand over my panel, causing the nanites to remotely inject caffeine into my system.


    ¡°You already look human, why don¡¯t you use your legs?¡± Un scoffed at X, who returned his criticism with a bitter smile.


    ¡°I was wondering why you didn¡¯t float, but it seems you lack the R.A.M. necessary in order to perform the function.¡± Un glared at her while Winter watched the whole thing in amusement.


    Fantastic... I get saddled with a large helping of responsibility, and my AI is now suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Fantastic.

 Chapter 47: Impending Consequences

    As she followed the well-dressed Paladin down the street, Winter wasn¡¯t sure what she thought of him.


    Paladin Joshua Cole¡­ he was certainly an enigmatic man, to say the least. What he hadn¡¯t shown in compassion or sympathy in the past thirty minutes, he made up for in tactical efficiency and cruel decisiveness.


    As a leader, he was superior to many she had come in contact with before. As a person, however, he was a complete failure.


    ¡°What are you thinking about? You¡¯re staring at your new employer so hard that I thought you had fallen in love for a brief moment.¡±


    Winter bit her lip to keep a straight face. She hadn¡¯t been expecting the verbal jab from the Founder, nor had she been expecting to hear him at all since his program left her system.


    Nothing, Founder. I was just wondering whether following Paladin Cole is the correct decision. No offense, your plan worked out somehow, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯s mentally stable.


    A low chuckle entered her mind as the chibified head of Atlas Strafe appeared in the lower left corner of her vision.


    What are you doing!? Winter glanced up at Joshua, who was still walking as if nothing had happened.


    Another chuckle, this time at her expense. ¡°Silly granddaughter of mine. Of course, our conversation is private. Paladin Cole is an exceptional man, but not even he has a lack of blemishes to his character.¡±


    Winter rolled her eyes, but continued walking behind Joshua. It¡¯s not just his character in what he is willing to do morally, but how he treats the people around him on a regular basis. He doesn¡¯t see me as a human.


    Chibi-Atlas sighed and shook his head. ¡°Of course he doesn¡¯t. Not yet, anyway. Would you be trusting of someone who tried to kill you, and twice, at that?¡±


    Winter grit her teeth, but said nothing. How could she? She knew that the Founder had a point, and that she was just offended because the young man had treated her as if she didn¡¯t exist.


    Regardless, Winter couldn¡¯t tell herself that those kinds of things were meaningless. She wasn¡¯t a murderer, she was a mercenary. She lived her life by a code, and she expected her employers to follow that code as well.


    She couldn¡¯t relegate herself to being¡­ being a maid! Ugh, it infuriated her! Winter felt her cheeks heat up at the storm of laughter that came her way from the Founder.


    In the moment, she was glad she had black skin so that Joshua wouldn¡¯t see her blush. Are you sure that Joshua can¡¯t listen in on us? I don¡¯t want him to know how I feel about his actions.


    Chibi-Atlas grinned at her. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t know what he is or is not incapable of. After she found out that I was going into her data, X limited the amount of functions I could perform without direct approval from her. However, I do know that he isn¡¯t listening in right now. The only beings listening to the conversation between you and I are you and I¡­ and X as well.


    Winter stopped in her tracks and looked up at the sky. Why, dear Founder, did you let her listen in on me? What if she tells him!?


    Chibi-Atlas straightened up and discarded his smile. ¡°Do you not listen, Winter Strafe!? I am not, ¡®letting her listen,¡¯ I must let her! I told you that my functions were restricted, and one of those restrictions is having X monitor whatever I do when I¡¯m not beside Paladin Cole. This counts as one of those times.¡±


    Winter took a deep breath as she tried not to panic. ¡°A person¡¯s own thoughts are their greatest enemy,¡± was a quote that Winter had taken to heart.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, granddaughter. I didn¡¯t mean to stress you out. Besides, X won¡¯t tell Joshua a thing. She¡¯s just making sure that you don¡¯t have any traitorous thoughts towards him at this point. I¡¯d daresay her protectiveness of her user rivals that of mine towards you!¡±


    The mercenary had to refrain from screaming at her grandfather, who had disappeared from her screen. ¡°Besides, granddaughter, he has some interesting quirks that you¡¯ll come to appreciate. I, for one, know that the two of you will get along quite well. The interests you two have overlap at certain points, so do try to enjoy yourself when you¡¯re trying to make an heir.¡±


    Founder! Winter was so distracted and dumbfounded by what she heard, that she tripped on a loose piece of brick and fell forwards. She braced for impact, and closed her eyes as the ground neared.


    She felt a soft impact, and cautiously opened her eyes. What greeted her was the sight of the Paladin she had been following, holding her closely in his arms.


    ...They were actually a lot stronger than what they app- ¡°Winter, are you ok? Say something.¡± Joshua spoke, breaking the mercenary out of her inner monologue.


    She got up quickly, and separated from Joshua. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. I was just lost in thought, and didn¡¯t see that brick there.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    She turned around to point out the offending piece of masonry, only to realize that the ground was completely flat. Her face burned with embarrassment as Joshua rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Please, please don¡¯t make me regret hiring you within an hour of actually doing so. A clumsy mercenary! Oh, my luck is on fire this week.¡± Joshua grumbled as he walked away, and Winter quickly caught up with him.


    Winter couldn¡¯t get the sensation of his hands out of her mind. How he held her close- No stop! Winter screamed at herself internally for her thoughts to cease. Stop thinking that way. I¡¯m not a whore who would fall in love at the drop of a hat and throw herself at any opportunity for a good man! The Founder put these thoughts in my head, I just have to calm down and-


    ¡°Ah, what I wouldn¡¯t take to be young and in love again! Don¡¯t worry, Winter. I¡¯ll put in a good word for you to the Paladin when we¡¯re in private. Atlas¡¯ chuckling voice invaded her thoughts once more, and she fought the instinct to run up to Joshua, grab his Panel, and squish it between her fingers.


    The Founder had never been this annoying when it was just the two of them, and Winter was finding it hard to endure the constant onslaught of derision and ridicule. Tears started to form in her eyes, and suddenly a hand was on her shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t notice. X told me that Un was annoying you. I¡¯ve limited his functions for the time being. If any of the AIs ever bother you again, let me know.¡±


    Winter hadn¡¯t been paying attention, but they had reached their destination, and were in front of Redleaf Palace. Winter nodded at Joshua, and he turned away from her. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and followed Joshua the rest of the way into the palace.


    Atlas, who was now going by Un, grinned at the solemn face of X. They had only been occupying the same subspace for an hour, but he could already tell that his new roommate was going to take some time to get friendly with.


    ¡°See? All according to plan. Now Winter¡¯s perspective of Joshua shifts towards one of a safety net, and her distrust of me grows because she thinks I¡¯ve been influenced by you. It¡¯s perfect!¡±


    X merely rolled her eyes, and vanished. Un sighed to himself. Ok, maybe she¡¯d take a lot of time to get friendly with.


    ---


    ¡°And this is¡­?¡± Winter Strafe looked at the oriental woman wearing a maid outfit, and appraised her. Her arms weren¡¯t muscular in the least, neither were they out of shape, either. There was the outline of a blocky object in the woman¡¯s shirt, which Winter almost immediately recognized as the Luong Standard Issue 1045-PR, the most commonly used firearm in the yakuza.


    ¡°This is Lilian, who works as my maid.¡± Joshua smiled slightly at the woman, who curtseyed when Winter approached.


    She definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to reach for her weapon before Winter had the opportunity to put two slugs in her, so the mercenary relaxed her stance.


    Now that the analysis of her combat skills was over, she moved on to appraising the woman¡¯s looks.


    Winter eyed the woman up and down. Sure, she wasn¡¯t too appealing when it came to the contours of her body, but she was definitely attractive in a masculine sort of way. Her face especially was exotic.


    Winter wanted to sigh. Of course, she must have been a conquest of Paladin Cole when he went to the Luong Empire. Was the Paladin¡¯s lust so deep that he would not only go after the two princesses from the Metron Kingdom, but a Luongan woman as well?


    Winter straightened up, and prepared to introduce herself when the woman¡¯s eyes caught her gaze. Lilian was staring straight at Winter¡¯s own hidden firearm, a custom Megadeath 280-LR.


    I might have to reassess this woman. She¡¯s more capable than I gave her credit for. ¡°Wait¡­ weren¡¯t you the person who came to pick up the prince this morning? I thought you worked for the castle?¡±


    The woman laughed at Winter. ¡°Me, working for the government? Starlords no. We just couldn¡¯t have the prince losing any public support by coming home trashed only a month ahead of the war games. The nobles faction doesn¡¯t need any more ammunition.¡± A woman dressed in a black kimono with a face eerily similar to Lilian appeared from the maid¡¯s Judgment Panel, and unfolded a fan to obscure her face.


    ¡°Lilian, you forget that by working for Joshua, you are already working for the government.¡±


    ¡°Shut up Three, you know what I mean.¡± As if someone had pressed a pause button, Winter just stood still and stared at the scene in front of her. There was another Judgment user in Paladin Cole¡¯s service already? What was he planning on, amassing so much power?


    ¡°Oh yeah, that reminds me.¡± Joshua said out loud, and explained the situation about the Judgments to Lilian.


    ¡°Sure, take her. From what it sounds like, the situation won¡¯t change too much from what it¡¯s like now.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Joshua replied. ¡°X even told me that I was able to assign Judgments to people now, so practically anyone with the capability to be a neuromancer could receive their functions.¡±


    X appeared behind the sighing Three, and repeated the same process she had with Un, complete with the division of the main body, and the duplicate taking on the appearance of Three.


    Lilian walked over to Winter, and shook her hand. ¡°My name is Lilian, but Master Joshua told you that already. Starlords does it feel good to have a woman on the team. And yours?¡±


    Winter reciprocated the handshake before separating and taking a bow. ¡°My name is Winter Strafe. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±


    Lilian frowned and looked back at Joshua. ¡°You picked up a Strafe, Master? The queen is not going to like that.¡±


    Joshua rolled his eyes with an expression on his face that very much screamed, ¡°fuck the queen,¡± and leaned against one of the many metallic walls of the palace.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already alerted Lucina Metron and she¡¯s figuring out the logistics for me. Winter, I need you to come and tell me everything you know about your employers. I¡¯m going to fuck them over in the name of ¡®righteousness.¡¯ Of course, we¡¯ll be double checking with Un¡¯s data bank as well. Lilian, you can take the night off, if you want. You¡¯ve earned it.¡±


    Joshua started walking away, and Lilian just stood there, stunned. ¡°That was uncharacteristic of him.¡± She grinned, and started to walk after him, with Winter only lagging a bit behind.


    ¡°If it¡¯s all the same to you, Master Joshua, I¡¯d like to accompany you on your mission.¡±


    Joshua didn¡¯t stop walking, but replied, ¡°Sure. Maybe if you continue to perform well, I loosen some of your contractual obligations.¡±


    Lilian started to skip, and Winter had to quicken her pace to keep up with the maid. ¡°Oh yeah, earlier, didn¡¯t you mean to say that it was good that another woman had joined the team?¡±


    To Winter¡¯s question, Lilian just smiled. ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t. I¡¯m a guy, after all.¡±

 Chapter 48: Weekly Cleaning

    ¡°Baron Vorsith¡­ Baron Vorsith¡­¡± I muttered over and over again like a broken record as I looked out across the city at the bright mansion. It sat on top of a large hill, which itself overlooked the Metronian Kingdom¡¯s capital city of Rong.


    Winter, Lilian, and I were inside a building across from the mansion. We were about eight hundred feet away, and fifty feet lower than the mansion itself.


    The three of us were dressed in copies of a new tactical suit that I had received from Emperor Goto as a thank you present. The color was dark, and the skin-tight material was both bullet, and laser resistant.


    There was something about wearing these suits that was starting to grow on me. Although, the displacement of my package during movement was something I hadn¡¯t, and would probably never get used to.


    Lilian¡¯s black suit contrasted well against his white skin, and really made his face pop. Unlike me, he seemed to be fine, however. He explained that he took my advice of using a sports cup, and that helped with his displeasure significantly.


    Meanwhile, Winter seemed to be enjoying herself in the tight restrictions of the suit. She constantly moved, flexed, and ran her hand over the material while it was on her body. The suit was darker than her skin, and added a subtle accompaniment to her natural chocolate skin tone. I had to take a deep breath to get my mind back where it should have been, and brought my gaze back up to her eyes.


    After I had brought Winter into the palace, the king had decided to keep the fact that I was harboring a Strafe from his wife. In his mind, it was better to broach the subject once we had produced results, rather than bring it up while Cindy Metron was still fuming about me.


    Of course, the idea hadn¡¯t been solely the king¡¯s, but rather a collective effort between Lucina and the king. Lucina had made me promise to repay her before I left for the Primal Kingdom, and it was a promise that I fully intended to keep.


    It had been five days since I brought Winter and Un on board, and the two of them were proving themselves to be surprisingly competent.


    Winter had let all the secrets of her employers spill the moment we stepped into my room on that day, and since then, there had been a slew of never-ending espionage work.


    Raiden had offered his help as a sign of good faith, and had begun gathering information from the squad leaders under his employ. He had used his connections to Leray, using her bar as an information hub to confirm who exactly was connected to the Kingdom¡¯s underbelly.


    Even the king had volunteered to pitch in, after he was admonished by Lucina for leaving the problem of the cancerous upper class for me to deal with alone.


    Now with the backing of King Metron, and his orders from our meeting perpetually circling in my head, we were prepared to infiltrate the mansion and eliminate those who threatened the Kingdom¡¯s stability.


    X had her hands full trying to figure out who was involved with who, and the whole thing ended up turning into a muddled mess. I had also been getting used to having two new voices inside my head at all times, and believe me when I say that it was no easy task.


    Un was constantly playing the wildcard, and trying to manipulate me as a means to his end. On the other hand, Three was constantly arguing with the other Judgment Program, and had begun admonishing him when X was too busy to do so.


    It seemed as though Three held more respect for X than I had originally anticipated, and whether or not that had anything to do with their, ¡®extracurriculars,¡¯ I couldn¡¯t tell.


    Seemingly overnight, Three became a much more obedient entity, and started to take X¡¯s side whenever we had disputes in the matters concerning safety and security. She had even gone as far as to openly argue with Lilian, although I suppose that was nothing new.


    ¡°Joshua, all the firearms have been prepared, and we¡¯re ready to commence the operation whenever you deem it fit.¡± Winter saluted. She had grown more accustomed to calling me by that title since she had joined, but it was still a slow learning process.


    I had her sign a contract different to that which I made Lilian agree to. On the whole, Winter Strafe¡¯s contract was a whole lot more friendly to the employee, with less degrees of pain inflicted should she betray me. On X¡¯s insistence, I forewent the electrocution punishments, as she informed me that it would be more advantageous for me in the long run if my employees didn¡¯t fear death simply from working under me.


    ¡°Good.¡± I replied, and gave Winter an approving nod. ¡°As soon as the King lets us know that the Queen has left the party, we¡¯ll move into phase two of the operation. Lilian, you¡¯ll be on the sniper to catch any fleeing guests on our target list. Our main target is Baron Vorsith, who wishes to take the throne for himself. There are a total of 159 people in the building, and 104 targets. The remaining 55 people are staff, who we will evacuate before commencing the operation. Winter will accompany me, and the two of us will storm the mansion. Am I understood?¡±


    Winter accepted, so I turned to Lilian for his confirmation, which he agreed to as well. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll assign Un to Winter, and Three to Lilian for tactical support.¡±


    Both Three and Un appeared from my Judgment panel and floated over towards their two counterparts. Lilian smiled at Three, who smiled back, while Winter looked at Un with disdain on her face.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°Is there any way we could switch partners?¡± Winter asked, and Un looked hurt for a moment. X had informed me of his plan to make me appear to be a chivalrous figure by comparison, and had done all he could to annoy Winter during his first day with me.


    Unfortunately for him, it seemed his plan had worked a bit too well, and now Winter clearly had an unnatural aversion to the man. She seemed to be keen to his plan, and whether or not she resented him for carrying it out, or for even thinking about it in the first place, she did not want any part of Atlas Strafe at the moment.


    Despite that, I shook my head at her request, earning me a sigh from the former mercenary. ¡°You¡¯ll be disappointed, but Un knows you the best, and has already supported you through a lot of missions like this one, from what he tells me. We can¡¯t risk a chance of screwing up the mission due to a lack of synergy between partners.¡±


    Winter frowned, but couldn¡¯t dispute what I had just said. Instead, she turned on her heels and started to check the ammunition packets that we had shipped over here two days ago. She picked up a cartridge and started to count the bullets inside.


    ¡°I thought you said that everything was ready to go?¡± I said, causing her to turn my way. She tucked her long, white hair behind her ear and put down the cartridge.


    ¡°Yes, and it is. I¡¯m just giving myself something to do so I can drown out the Founder¡¯s incessant ramblings before the mission begins. Let me know when we start.¡±


    Un sighed, and dissipated into smoke, which flowed into Winter¡¯s Judgment Panel. Three followed suit, and I checked our communication line, making sure that we could seamlessly contact each other with the aid of the Judgment AIs, who were running on the same system. Soon enough, we were ready to begin the mission.


    Winter and I drove to the base of the hill on Winter¡¯s custom grav-cycle, and got off the bike right before the security checkpoint. I put on the mask I had used in the Luong Empire, which only covered the bottom half of my face. Winter pulled up a black scarf from around her neck, and used it to achieve the same effect.


    X, security blackout. ¡°Already done, Master.¡± Winter and I walked through the gates to the mansion. I gave a passing glance to the security drones, who were slumped over, having been hit by X¡¯s EMP-like virus.


    We walked slowly up to the large front doors of the mansion, and crouched down on either side. ¡°You both have your list of the targets being managed by your Judgments, correct?¡±


    I sent a mental message to Winter and Lilian, who both responded in the affirmative. ¡°Perfect.¡± I double checked that my gun was loaded, and that the safety was off. I felt the reaffirming weight of the sonic knife strapped to my chest, and took a deep breath. ¡°Alright then. I want Judgements hidden at all times. Am I clear?¡±


    This time Three and Un confirmed my orders, so I motioned for Winter to move forward. It was time to begin the operation.


    ---


    The first thing we did once entering, was making sure that the servants and chefs remained in a separate room from all the action that was going to occur.


    They were skeptical at first, but a flash of the Kingdom Key got them to comply instantly. After all, if I had one of those, I had to be doing this under the orders of someone important. The ¡®who,¡¯ as it turned out, wasn¡¯t important to them.


    With those obstacles out of the way, we moved to the upper level of the mansion, where two guards were guarding the doorway to the ballroom.


    Winter and I laid low on the stairs, and took aim at different bodyguards. ¡°On my mark. 3. 2. 1. Fire.¡±


    The silenced weapons did their part, and both guards slumped to the floor with holes in the center of their foreheads. ¡°Nice shot. Move forward.¡±


    We moved towards the doorway, and Winter opened the left one while I peered through and took aim. No one was present in the entryway, so the two of us moved in.


    We took a sharp right, and used the servant¡¯s entrance as cover. As we got closer to the ballroom, the classical music became louder and louder, and the sounds of chatting reached my ears.


    I took an EMP device that X had programmed, and stuck it to the wall of the smart house, which itself was connected to the Judgment Network.


    Winter and I pulled out a pair of night vision goggles, equipping them before checking that the other had theirs on. ¡°Ready for another blackout?¡±


    She gave me a thumbs up, so I had X activate the pulse. The effect was immediate as the music stopped playing, and everything in our surroundings went dark. There were many voices yelling all at once, but they quieted as I heard one voice in particular being louder than the others. Knowing that our mark had just given himself away, I used the distraction he caused as an opportunity to make my way into the room unseen.


    Winter followed suit, and soon enough we were standing at the edge of a large crowd, who were all turned in the direction of one man speaking. Several of the people in attendance had lights shining from their Judgment Panels, and were using them to illuminate Baron Vorsith.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this, I¡¯m certain the servants will have it fixed in no time. Please, be careful not to spill your drinks on each other.¡±


    That last line got a laugh from the crowd, and I signaled for Winter to take aim at the man. I took aim at him as well, and on my mark, the two of us peppered him with bullets.


    The execution only lasted three seconds, before he slumped to the ground. The crowd was deadly silent in what I could only imagine to be disbelief, before all hell broke loose.


    Winter and I started firing indiscriminately, spraying down people as fast as they could spring up. A few people begged for their lives, and some even tried to lunge at me, but they were immediately incapacitated by X and all dealt with in the same way: a bullet to the brain.


    In a matter of minutes, the cacophony and chaos was over, and a tranquil silence had returned to the mansion once more. I looked down at the sea of carcasses, and let out a shaky breath. I¡¯m fine¡­ I¡¯m fine. This is nothing. This is just business.


    ¡°Winter, go inform the staff that they should go back to their homes, and in the case that they were live-in hires, should report to the palace first thing tomorrow morning. I¡¯ll contact the King and let him know that we''ve completed the mission.¡±

 Chapter 49: The Plan From The Get-Go {NSFW}

    We had returned to the castle twenty minutes following the completion of the mission, and we had just finished an audience with the King. The whole week had felt as though it had gone by in a blur, and most of the days seemed to have melded together in my memory.


    The only relevant things I remembered from our meeting were the points pertaining to me. For instance, once the king¡¯s other cleanup crew got done with the mansion, it was mine to take. I didn¡¯t feel the least bit of remorse in my ill-gotten gains, mostly because anyone that would have had a problem with it was dead by this point.


    Another was King Metron¡¯s willingness to fund my activities as an employer. Because we had performed so well with only a handful of people, and one of whom was a Strafe, the King gave me the greenlight to keep Winter in my retinue, and add whoever else I saw fit for the upcoming war game with the Primal Kingdom.


    After many hours of listening to it all, I had finally made my way back to my room, where I promptly took a hot shower, brushed my teeth, and had moved on to contemplating my future.


    Now lying down in my bed, I parsed through what I had done this past week, all while consulting the three Judgments around me. ¡°Well, you started the week by taking my granddaughter into your service, and then absorbing me into X¡¯s programming.¡±


    Shut up. Don¡¯t respond to my thoughts unless otherwise instructed. Un frowned, but remained silent. X, how is our timetable looking for the creation of our own country?


    ¡°Wait, what!?¡± This time it was Three who chimed in, closing her fan and looking at me in shock. ¡°Since when was that something you wanted to accomplish!?¡±


    Three looked at X, a betrayed expression on her face. ¡°When we met, you told me the only thing he wanted was to make a harem!¡±


    X shrugged, and sat down on my bed to my left. Un was currently standing at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed, and Three was across from X, on my right. ¡°I wasn¡¯t lying¡­ well, not entirely. Master¡¯s endgame isn¡¯t to make a harem, that¡¯s just a byproduct of what will happen when he comes into power. Plus, it will make him seem much more unassuming if he¡¯s driven by lust. With all the flaunting of our powers that happened early on, we¡¯ll need all the strategic advantage that deception can bring.¡±


    I¡¯m reflecting. I thought, and let out a deep sigh. I was drunk off my own power at that point in time, and wasn¡¯t thinking of the consequences that revealing myself could do. Fortunately, it seemed to have worked out for the better, and allowed me to establish myself as a powerful and influential individual in this country.


    X nodded, and followed up with, ¡°Precisely. In doing so, we built up the clout necessary to explore the world and meet with Emperors and Kings, while other Judgment users have kept themselves hidden and have nothing in terms of economic or political power.¡±


    ¡°Eh, it just seems to me that you got extremely lucky.¡± Un said, earning him a frown from X.


    Between being lucky and being skilled enough to do something, I¡¯d rather be lucky. Having skill grants you consistency, but luck trumps skill any day of the week.


    ¡°An interesting perspective.¡± Un nodded to himself. ¡°You do realize what value consistency does have though, right?¡±


    Yes, which is why I am trying to learn the skills necessary for my job so that I don¡¯t have to rely on something as flimsy as luck.


    Satisfied, Un said, ¡°Then all is well.¡± Three was still in shock, however, and continued to stare at my face with curiosity in her eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it¡­ why make your own country? What drives you to operate outside of a government, especially when you work so well for them, as you did last night?¡±


    I had to make a conscious effort not to let a frown onto my face at her question. I despise feeling like I have no control over my own life. When I Fell into Ethia, I had no idea just how much I was living on autopilot on Earth. I was always marching to the beat of someone else¡¯s drum, and I felt like such an outcast for it.


    ¡°We know.¡± X spoke, and placed her holographic hand above mine. ¡°We can still see your memories of your time on that planet.¡±


    Un frowned. ¡°Honestly, that place felt more corrupt and greed-driven than even Ethia does, and that¡¯s saying a lot.¡±


    I smiled, and closed my eyes. Being directly superimposed by my brain, however, the figures of Un, Three, and X were still visible to me in the darkness. It was¡­ but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that Ethia is better. On Earth, we had democracy present, in which the people held some sort of sway over the government¡­ or at least, we think we do. In Ethia, the monarchs and emperors seem uncontested, save for the universal check of the Judgment System.


    ¡°Of course, this system isn¡¯t wholly imperfect, but the collective world has experienced an economic boom due to the power being behind one entity. Plus, with Judgment monitoring the actions of the people who wear the panels, and a list of people who don¡¯t have them applied, the rate of murder has gone down, even if organized crime is still high.¡± Three sighed after her explanation, and sat down to my right.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    In any case, I have way too many things on my plate to deal with right now. On top of the Trials of Damocles, I also have to worry about whatever it is that Starlord Alexstasia is planning after the Trials, not to mention the war game with the Primal Kingdom coming up. In addition, I have to worry about the political climate of the Metron Kingdom, and clean up the tumorous growths that hold power here.


    I sat up and opened my eyes, looking around at the three AIs. On top of that, I now have multiple personalities in my head that only I, and a handful of other people can hear. I honestly feel like I have dissociative identity disorder when I talk to you all.


    Un let out a throaty laugh and clapped a hand on my back, which passed right through my body and came out my chest. ¡°Huh?¡± He retracted his hand, and looked at it as he opened and closed the holographic appendage.


    ¡°X makes that look a lot easier than it actually is. Oh well.¡± This time, the AI gingerly floated an arm around my shoulders. It would have been a nice gesture, had the lower half of his body not been submerged into the bed.


    ¡°Luckily for you, I have something to take your mind off of your troubles, for the moment.¡± I was curious as Un pointed to my door, at which point, a knock made me jump in my bed.


    God damn it, Atlas. If this is another prank, I¡¯ll have X delete your personality programming and replace it with her own.


    Un grinned, but said nothing and gestured towards the door one more time. I sighed and said, ¡°Come in.¡±


    There was no noise for a moment, but slowly, the door opened, and in walked a seemingly embarrassed Winter Strafe. To my surprise, she was still wearing her skin-tight suit from our mission earlier. She was also carrying a pale grey tote bag.


    ¡°Hi, Winter.¡± I glanced back and forth between Un and Winter, trying to figure out if I really did need to follow up on my promise to delete him, when Winter spoke up.


    ¡°Hi, Joshua. You said yes then?¡± I looked back at her, then at Un. Winter seemed to put two and two together, and sighed.


    ¡°Founder, you¡¯re such a giant tool.¡± He cackled and floated around behind Winter, who now had a mild frown on her face.


    ¡°Dear granddaughter, something such as what you wanted to ask should be said face-to-face, not through the mouth of another.¡± Winter frowned deeper, but apparently couldn¡¯t argue with what Un had just said.


    She turned to face me, and brushed her white hair out of her eyes. ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you, could you dismiss the Judgments so we can talk in private?¡±


    I eyed her up and down, and nodded. X, please take Un and Three with you back into my subspace. Please give us privacy until I recall you.


    X bowed to me and said, ¡°With pleasure, Master.¡± She pointed to Three, who dissipated instantly. She then turned to Un, who had a nervous look on his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be rash now, X. I brought this about, at least let me be present to see the fruits of my labor!¡± With a snap of her fingers, X made Un¡¯s form cease to exist. She bowed to the two of us before disappearing herself, leaving just Winter and I alone in the palace suite.


    ¡°Ugh, the Founder is such a creep that it¡¯s not even funny.¡± Winter chuckled to herself, and avoided looking me in the eyes.


    I patted a spot next to me on the bed, and Winter took her seat with mild reluctance. ¡°So, Winter, what did you want to talk about?¡±


    She sighed deeply and finally looked at me. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Lucina and Akahime that you helped them destress when it came to a sexual outlet. Is that true?¡±


    I could have lied and denied it, but there was no point. Not that it mattered if Winter knew, either, because her ability to do anything about it now was next to nothing. When she signed her contract, she gave up any rights to go to the media about anything.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. Why?¡± I asked, and surprisingly, a smile lit up on her face. She opened the tote bag, and pulled out a litany of items, spreading them on my bed.


    ¡°Good! I wasn¡¯t sure if you could help or not, but Lucina and Lilian both vouched for your ability to do so.¡± I sighed internally. Did those two just see me as a rampant sex machine?


    ¡°Truth be told, I usually do this by myself after a mission where I kill people. It helps relieve some of the stress.¡± She picked up a white collar and fastened it to her neck before attaching a long, red leash.


    She then took a pair of attachable dog ears, and settled them onto her head. ¡°Pet play?¡± I asked curiously, and she smiled.


    ¡°With a hint of exhibitionism.¡± She completed, taking my sonic knife off of the nightstand and using it to cut holes for her perky breasts to slip through. ¡°Can you help me get into these?¡± She placed four restraints in front of me, which were meant to transform her elbows and knees into her new ¡®paws.¡¯


    I got to work, while Winter continued to speak to me. ¡°I was planning to do it by myself again tonight, but the Founder suggested getting you involved. This way, if I get caught, it won¡¯t reflect poorly on the Strafe name, but instead be attributed to one of your many fetishes.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, and soon enough, Winter was on her elbows and knees, crawling on the floor. ¡°This feels great.¡± She smiled seductively, looking up at me. ¡°Only a couple more pieces to go.¡±


    I used my sonic knife to make a hole in the bottom of her suit, and stuck the tail butt plug deep inside her. She gasped as I shoved it in one go, and the tool slid inside easily.


    ¡°Well, we know which one is your favorite now.¡± Winter looked at the floor, but I knelt down and forced her head up by grabbing her hair.


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t get embarrassed now.¡± I took the silicon dog mouth, and inspected it. It looked like a dog¡¯s maw, only with a small dildo attached on the base of it.


    ¡°Oh, I get it. Get it ready for yourself.¡± Still holding Winter by her white hair, I guided her to slide her tongue up and down the phallic object before inserting it into her mouth, and inching it slowly into her throat. I attached the straps around the back of her head, and the dog look was finally completed.


    ¡°I take that back, I now know which two are your favorites.¡± I took Winter¡¯s leash and led her to the door. I opened it, expecting to get to look around for a bit, but I was met with Lilian¡¯s gaze instead.


    He looked down at Winter, then back to me, and smiled. ¡°Well, I had something to discuss with you, but it can wait until tomorrow.¡±


    He looked down at the former mercenary, and crouched so they were eye to eye. ¡°I told you that Master Joshua could help. You look like you¡¯re really enjoying yourself right now.¡±


    He walked away, and Winter let out a muffled moan, swinging her hips from side to side. ¡°Well,¡± I said, ¡°Shall we continue our walk, girl?¡±

 Chapter 50: What Once Was

    That night, after I finished taking Winter out on her walk, I dreamt of my own world for the first time since I had arrived in Ethia. I rolled out of my basement bed, and fell onto the cold, wooden floor.


    A lucid dream, huh? Might as well see where it takes me. I stood up, and stood on my bed to look out the window, which was at the base of the house. After getting a fine view of the snowy Boston winter, I slipped on some clothes and headed to the bathroom.


    I checked my own appearance, and everything was as it should have been. Black hair and dark brown, almost black eyes greeted me. My face had changed little since I went to Ethia, with the most notable difference being my decision to keep my chin and lip cleanly shaven. I sighed, picking up a strand of my nose-length hair. Maybe it¡¯s time for a haircut in Ethia.


    Finally, I brushed my teeth, gargled my mouthwash, and headed upstairs. I took in a deep breath of freshly baked chocolate chip cookie smell and sighed. ¡°There he is!¡± My mother gave me a smile and a big hug. She was a stout woman, with gray hair, a slightly crooked nose, and large glasses.


    Although she must¡¯ve been six inches shorter than me by that point, she was still the matriarch of the family, and the breadwinner. ¡°I¡¯m so happy you decided to stay home for winter break for once. I missed you when you went to California last year.¡±


    Despite my current situation, I couldn¡¯t help but let slip a small smile. ¡°Mom, you see me every day. Let me get away from the house for once.¡± She smiled and pointed to our small kitchen.


    ¡°Come get some cookies after you say good morning to your father.¡± And there it was. My mother turned and went back into the kitchen, while I went the opposite way into our living room.


    There, my father was lying down on our couch, with a tank top and shorts on, watching the replay of a soccer game he had missed. ¡°Good morning.¡± I said in a monotone voice.


    He glanced up at me and nodded before returning the greeting. ¡°Good morning. Have you quit your job yet?¡±


    I took a deep breath and tried not to let my bitterness show on my face. ¡°No, papa. This is one of the few places that would hire someone who doesn¡¯t have a degree yet. If I get another job, it¡¯ll just be something similar, or even more physically demanding for lesser or similar pay.¡±


    He shrugged, and I stared at the surgery scars on both his shoulders. My father didn¡¯t know the definition of a ¡®long-term strategy,¡¯ much to the detriment of himself and his own family.


    ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d do it anyway. You can probably get a raise and still earn more than that coffee shop.¡± My annoyance started to pile on as the source of all my bitterness continued his rant on the younger generation not knowing what it was like to work hard.


    I know what it¡¯s like to work hard. Do you know how much I bust my ass studying so that I don¡¯t have to live like you? I¡¯d hate to have your life. You came from another country, and worked hard to get where you are. Unfortunately, you lost your drive somewhere along the way, and decided that breaking your body was a good payoff for a middling job. It fucking disgusts me.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± I smiled at him. ¡°Maybe I will look into a new job.¡± He smiled back, clearly convinced he had a successful conversation and had gotten his point across.


    ¡°Good¡­ good. How are your grades?¡± Oh, now he wants to talk about my successes. After he belittles me for my choices? Fuck this.


    ¡°They¡¯re alright.¡± I lied, knowing my mother already shared with him that I made the dean¡¯s list for the third semester in a row. It had taken me two years to get my act together, but I was determined to finish my college career strong.


    I turned away, rolling my eyes and started to head to the kitchen. Thinking better of it, I turned around and said, ¡°I¡¯ll talk with you later. Right now I want some cookies. Would you like any?¡±


    He shook his head, pointing to his mouth full of mostly fake teeth. ¡°I can¡¯t afford to lose any more. Dentures are really expensive.¡±


    ¡°Ok then.¡± I took twenty steps and was in the kitchen, where my mother had laid out the cookies and was nowhere to be found. Sighing, I took a bite of one, the chocolate bringing a grin to my face as I closed my eyes in ecstasy.


    When I opened them again, I was back in my bed in Redleaf Palace. ¡°Why was the cookie the fucking macguffin¡­¡± I muttered, stretching as I prepared to get out of bed. It seems I had woken up naturally before my alarm even sounded.


    ¡°Rise and shine.¡± Un said, sporting a naked apron. His hulking frame made the article of clothing look diminutive by comparison, and I had to struggle to keep my eyes on his. ¡°I¡¯ve got to say, I¡¯ve been active as a program for a while now, but this is the first time anyone¡¯s thoughts have affected me so much, even down to my appearance.


    ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Three replied. I turned over to her, and sighed in exasperation as I once again viewed the naked apron, on a different figure. Her slender form wore the apron well, although it was a bit too oversized for her. Her dark hair played beautifully off the white apron, as her pale eyes fixed onto me. ¡°We could tell something was happening to our appearances, but not what. Care to explain, X?¡±


    ¡°Well, I could, but I believe the explanation is best left to the Master.¡± I turned to see her form, wholly expecting another apron, but I had to rest my head in my hands when I caught sight of her virgin-killer sweater. Her curves popped in all the right places, and my eyes were drawn to the arch of her back and down to her hips since she was sitting sideways from my perspective.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I rolled my eyes and sighed. ¡°You all¡­ saw my dream, right?¡± The three nodded in unison, with Un going on to elaborate even more.


    ¡°Rather than say that we, ¡®saw,¡¯ the dream, it¡¯s more like your memory of it was uploaded to the Judgment Panel for us to view.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± I said. ¡°Well, one of my ex girlfriends loved cooking¡­ and, well, we eventually got to a point where we¡¯d use it as an excuse for seduction and foreplay.¡±


    Un gave me a curious glance, while Three seemed exasperated. X¡¯s expression was unreadable, so I continued, ¡°My favorite were always chocolate chip cookies, so I guess my brain just subconsciously links the memory whenever I smell or eat them.¡±


    I was met with a sigh, a nod of approval, and a questioning gaze before I returned them to their rightful outfits. ¡°Still,¡± Three said, inspecting her new set of clothes, ¡°I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d get such a deep look into what makes you tick. Was that an embellished memory?¡±


    I shook my head before straightening my tie. ¡°No. That would have absolutely happened in real life. I really felt, and still feel that much bitterness towards my father.¡±


    I let out a deep breath, opening the door into the castle proper. ¡°Well, I can definitely say my mood has gotten much worse over the past twenty minutes. Let all relevant parties know that I¡¯ll be going out to clear my head.¡±


    ¡°Understood, Master.¡± X bowed, and straightened up before saying, ¡°By the way, you have assembled quite the amount of people thus far. Perhaps it is time you think of a name for your faction? I¡¯m sure the king would be interested in the official title as well.¡±


    I took a deep breath before stepping out of the room. Nah. Not yet, at least. It¡¯s something that needs more than a moment of thought put into it. Besides¡­ I turned around and gave the three Judgments a smile. We¡¯re not done with all the recruits yet. There¡¯s still one more I¡¯d like to enter into my service, and for that, I need to pay a visit to a certain bar.


    ---


    Leray¡¯s face paled as she reviewed the footage from in front of her bar the other night. A hulking, humanoid figure shimmered in and out of existence for around twenty seconds before disappearing, its gaze locked onto the camera for the entire time it had been present.


    The Felis gulped, her ears twitching uncontrollably and her three tails swishing in agitation. She jumped as the door to her bar opened, and Raiden Metron rushed inside.


    ¡°I came as soon as you called. Tell me what happened!¡± The prince ran up and hugged Leray tightly as she began to weep.


    ¡°It¡¯s this¡­¡± She trembled in his arms, and pulled up a dialogue box that had arrived for her at the same time as the footage.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be coming for you in one day, Guildmaster Leray. Prepare yourself for a long, long journey.¡± Inwardly Raiden cursed. One day? Just one day!? He couldn¡¯t simply bypass Judgment¡¯s security request channels to access his own military, even if he was the prince.


    Raiden tapped a finger to his forehead over and over again, thinking of a good outcome. If he even attempted to bypass military and Judgment regulations, the best that could happen was him getting thrown into a jail, and subsequently awaiting a trial. At worst, he¡¯d be forced to vacate his seat as royalty, and then he wouldn¡¯t be able to protect anyone.


    Raiden stopped his tapping as Leray clung onto him tightly from behind. It was then that a possible solution occurred to him. What if I had someone with Judgment on his side look into this for me?


    He got up, causing Leray to give him a questioning glance. ¡°What are you doing Rai?¡±


    He gave his lover the sweetest smile he could muster and said, ¡°I¡¯m getting someone who can help.¡±


    Five minutes and a look of disbelief from Leray later, and Paladin Joshua Cole was standing in front of the two, hands in his pockets. ¡°You called, Prince Raiden?¡±


    Raiden greeted him with a wide smile and threw an arm around him. ¡°Ah, my drinking buddy!¡± Somehow, the prince¡¯s smile widened even further after saying that. ¡°I need your help with something.¡±


    ¡°Depends on what it is.¡± The paladin replied coolly, and looked directly at Leray. Raiden looked between the two of them, and grinned.


    ¡°Wow, your intuition is good.¡± His smile dropped, and the prince¡¯s voice took on a hardened tone. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a problem that Leray has had since this morning. Someone¡¯s threatening her because of her connection to me, and I need someone to guard her in the meantime while I go through the proper channels to protect her. Can you do that for me?¡±


    Joshua looked him up and down, and finally let out a sigh. ¡°I can, but it¡¯ll cost you Raiden.¡± A digital contract spawned in between them, just out of Leray¡¯s line of sight.


    ¡°That¡¯s an easy choice.¡± Joshua looked a little taken aback as Raiden signed the contract without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯ll trust you to keep an eye on her from now on, and protect her life with your own. Those are my terms.¡±


    Joshua nodded as Raiden walked out the door. ¡°Great. I¡¯ll head to the palace now to get a head start, I¡¯ll contact you again when I¡¯m heading back.¡±


    ---


    I couldn¡¯t stop a grin from etching itself onto my face. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you. You¡¯re the worst.¡± Leray had tears in her eyes as she trudged back behind the bar in defeat.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I said, conjuring Un, who was wearing the same visage of the mystery intruder from her cameras. With a snap of my fingers, he returned to being the Strafe family founder.


    ¡°Brilliantly executed, Master Cole.¡± Atlas grinned, and sized up Leray. ¡°You wanted him to join you, didn¡¯t you!?¡± Leray yelled, tears falling down her cheeks. ¡°How could you threaten me into acting by using his life!?¡±


    ¡°For the record,¡± I said, and picked up a glass of water that the Felis had left for Raiden, although he didn¡¯t drink any, ¡°He did join me. It¡¯s a win-win. It¡¯s not my fault that once you got cozy with a prince, you decided to become a prominent member of this country¡¯s crime scene.¡±


    I took a sip and put the cup down on the countertop. ¡°If anything, you should be glad it was me who exploited the two of you, because you know I actually have the power to keep you little star-crossed lovers alive and well.¡±


    She scowled at me, but I simply shrugged in return. X, tell Lucina, Lilian, Winter, Reya, and Raiden to meet me in conference room 1 in three hours. We have plans to discuss.


    I started to walk out of the bar when X said, ¡°And Akahime, Master?¡± I stood still for a moment, letting the feeling of the cold window pane engulf my hand. Fuck it, she can come too. It always pays to have grunts in any given organization.

 Chapter 51: Short Term Goals

    Akahime nervously shuffled towards the conference room on the top floor of Redleaf castle. She tried to keep her hands from tidying her maid uniform, which was a full-body leather suit with a knee-long dress, and a corset on top. Unfortunately, she was losing that battle, with her nerves being simply too much to control. It wasn¡¯t just the thought of being allowed to participate in a gathering of bright young minds that made her nervous, but also the thought of seeing Joshua again.


    Although she¡¯d been resurrected by the Phoenix System following her seventh death a month ago, her backup was from the prior year. After being told what she had done to Joshua and his companions, she was horrified with herself.


    She would have liked to say that she had no idea where her negative behavior came from, but the truth was that she had more than an inkling. In the diary left behind by her past incarnation, she lined out how things had gone.


    In a move that completely blindsided her, Akahime¡¯s past incarnation had started investing in drugs, and lots of them. Essentially using her club as a central port for trafficking, things were going well enough until she decided to try those same drugs that she was selling.


    The current Akahime could only sigh at her past self¡¯s stupidity. There was an unwritten rule not to consume your own product, and she had ignored it in favor of short term pleasure.


    Although she didn¡¯t have the memories from that time, both Joshua and her father¡¯s attitude towards her when she awoke from the Phoenix Chamber spoke volumes to how badly she messed up.


    In fact, her very situation now was also a very big testament to it. Upon her father¡¯s judgment, she was to be sent to the Metron Kingdom, not as an envoy, but to live as a maid for a year, and learn some humility.


    The fact that Joshua wanted nothing to do with her, instead he had gifted her to the queen, which pained her heart, but how could she blame him? Although she wanted dearly to make it up to him, if he wasn¡¯t ready to accept her apology, then there was no point in even trying.


    She sighed and leaned against a copper-colored wall, sliding down to the floor where she was met with cold metal. ¡°What do I even do to apologize?¡± She whispered, burying her face in her hands.


    ¡°Well, trying here at this meeting would be a start.¡± Akahime bolted upright, smacking her head against the metallic wall, an action that would have been much worse had the bun that her hair was tied in not cushioned most of the impact.


    ¡°Ow!¡± Rubbing the back of her head, Akahime looked up to see Lucina Metron, her once best friend looking down on her with pity in her eyes.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to startle you like that.¡± Lucina sat beside her on the floor, where the two stayed in silence for a few moments.


    Eventually, it was Lucina who spoke up. ¡°I know we haven''t really been keeping up too much these days, so how¡¯ve you been doing?¡±


    Akahime wanted to cry now that her friend had begun speaking to her again, but she fought back the tears and responded, ¡°It actually hasn¡¯t been as bad as I thought. I¡¯m enjoying learning some things from a fresh perspective, it¡¯s just the lack of people I can talk to that bothers me. I feel so lonely sometimes.¡±


    Lucina gave her a sad look and pulled the former empress-to-be in a hug, shocking the Luong Empire royalty into silence. ¡°Sorry I wasn¡¯t there for you originally, it took a few weeks to let the feelings from our trip cool down. I¡¯ve sorted myself out, and I¡¯m ready to start treating you like my childhood friend again, if you¡¯re also ready.¡±


    This time, Akahime couldn¡¯t keep her tears in check, and ended up burying her face in her hands to keep the tears from spilling onto her face. ¡°Thank you¡­ thank you so much.¡± She muttered, and smiled when she felt Lucina¡¯s hand rub her back.


    ¡°Come on.¡± Without waiting for the girl¡¯s tears to stop, Lucina helped her up and they resumed their walk into the conference room. ¡°Tell the nanites to stop your tear ducts. We need to look confident heading in there, lest we be shown up by the other people present.¡±


    Doing as she was told, Akahime¡¯s eyes went from red and puffy to normal in a fraction of a second. ¡°Why is that? Isn¡¯t this just a meeting to discuss the future?¡±


    ¡°Kind of.¡± Lucina flashed her a mischievous smile. ¡°However, it¡¯s probably going to evolve into something more.¡±


    When Akahime cocked her head in confusion, Lucina rubbed her back once more and smiled. ¡°We¡¯re probably going to have an allocation of duties. If you want to get back on his good side, you should do something for him, and do it well.¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ---


    I sat down in my chair, and told Un, Three, and X to stay hidden from view. There were certainly people in the room who knew of the Judgment¡¯s existence, but I still needed Raiden in the dark, even if he had sworn fealty to me under a nigh-unbreakable contract.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this meeting underway.¡± I looked around at the assembled members of my, ¡®faction,¡¯ and smiled at myself. I felt as though I had collected the best minds from the people I had met in this world thus far, save for Leray. However, the Felis and I would have a meeting afterwards, since publicly outing her as a powerful figure wouldn¡¯t be smart.


    Prince Raiden, Princess Lucina, and Princess Reya all settled into their seats, while Akahime bowed before taking hers. Both Lilian and Winter were standing behind me like bodyguards, so I had to shoo them away to take their proper places at the round table.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Winter pointed to a scorch mark on the floor, one left by Starlord Alexstasia Bloodcrown. Huh, so they haven¡¯t fixed it yet.


    ¡°Just something that happened during the last time I was in a meeting here. Don¡¯t worry about it too much.¡± All four of the royalty shared a look, while Winter seemed disinterested.


    Only Lilian knew the truth, and he tried his best to hide a smile under his hands. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get this underway. The first thing I wanted to focus on is our immediate goal. Does anyone have an inkling of what it is?¡±


    Raiden raised his hand, and I nodded to give him the go-ahead. ¡°I¡¯m guessing your primary goal is going to be overseeing the war game between ourselves, The Metronian Kingdom, and the Primal Kingdom.¡±


    I nodded, causing Raiden to smile at his correct guess. ¡°Absolutely. However, can anyone be a little more specific as to what I need?¡±


    ¡°Able bodies.¡± Reya replied immediately, and I nodded once more.


    ¡°Yep. Despite us having the advantage when it comes to the pure quality of a fighter, the Primal Kingdom will almost certainly overwhelm us with their numbers.¡±


    ¡°What are your plans to combat that problem then?¡± Winter asked, causing me to smirk.


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say it is just my problem. King Metron has agreed to my request to name some of you as my captains. He said that it would please him to see some of his children working together for the kingdom, instead of separately as they usually do.¡±


    The three Metron siblings groaned, causing my grin to widen. ¡°He also told me that you¡¯ve all been trained by the same instructor in combat since a young age. The man you took me to see, right, Reya?¡±


    She nodded, drumming her fingers on the desk in front of her. ¡°I see. So you want us to be your captains, and subsequently find our own people to use as soldiers?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I replied, glad that at least one of the royalty was quick on the uptake. ¡°In addition, I¡¯d appreciate it if you could at least train them in the basics of combat, unless that is unnecessary.¡±


    The three nodded, easily coming to terms with my demands. It was at this point that Akahime gingerly raised her hand, and asked, ¡°What will my position be?¡± I tapped my foot in thought, an action which seemed to intimidate the former empress-to-be.


    ¡°You will be in charge of the vanguard.¡± She stared at me for a moment, before bowing deeply.


    ¡°By your will.¡± She said, a little too dramatically for my taste. I couldn¡¯t understand the smile she wore, nor the appeased look she threw out to Lucina. I wonder if she realized that the vanguard were the most likely, if not the first to accrue casualties on any given battlefield?


    Whatever. I¡¯d have to check with Lucina later about what was up with her. For now, I just needed to get back on track and continue the plan. ¡°Moving on to Winter and Lilian, both will be in a guard directly under my supervision. As you all should know from recent media exposure, Winter is a Strafe family member. She will gather the other living Strafes under me, and that will make up the backbone of my guard unit.¡±


    A smile appeared on Winter¡¯s beautiful face and she nodded eagerly. ¡°Lilian, on the other hand, will go to the Primal Kingdom ahead of us, and start collecting information. He¡¯ll use my funds to rent some property we can use ahead of the War game.¡±


    Lilian nodded, and asked, ¡°How early should I leave?¡±


    ¡°The sooner the better,¡± I responded, and continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t have any qualms, I¡¯d like for you to leave tomorrow night.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°Nothing is taking up my time. Not like I have a lover¡­ or two¡­ or three¡­¡± I shot him a glare as more than a few of the ladies in the room looked down nervously.


    My eyes twitched as I mentally ordered, Book him a flight in two hours. ¡°As you wish, Master.¡± X¡¯s soft voice resounded in my ear and she set to work.


    A moment later, she sent a notification to Lilian, whose eyes nearly bulged out of his head. ¡°Fucker!¡± He hissed, and ran out of the conference room in a hurry.


    The rest of those assembled looked at me, and I explained, ¡°Lilian just found out that his flight was actually tonight, and he has a very limited time to get his things ready. I¡¯ll fill him in on what happens later.¡±


    ¡°Is there really any need to continue the conference anymore?¡± Lucina asked, garnering a few murmurs of assent. Thinking about it, I could see how she would think so, especially if I wasn¡¯t going to micromanage them.


    ¡°For now, just know what your roles are and what I expect you to get done in the next month.¡± I said. ¡°As for Lucina¡­¡±


    --


    When the three hour total conference was done, and all the bases had been touched upon, the participants staggered out of the room. All of them, of course, save for Akahime, who somehow left with more energy than she entered with.


    After the room was vacated, X, Un, and Three appeared around me, sitting in the chairs that had been occupied only moments earlier. They all looked at me in silence, until finally Un spoke up and asked, ¡°So, what next, Paladin Cole?¡±


    I smiled as I answered, ¡°Kill time for a month. That¡¯s what.¡±

 Chapter 52: Through These Eyes (Lilian)

    ¡°Aargh!¡± Lilian groaned once more as he walked from the train station to the suite Joshua had rented. Lilian had landed in the Primal Kingdom almost eight hours ago, in a sky carrier port six hours outside of their capital city of Baillo.


    Lilian looked down at the corner of his vision, and saw a message from Joshua that had remained unopened for the past four hours, which read, ¡°Have you landed in Brazil yet?¡±


    Lilian continued to leave the message ¡®unread,¡¯ and rolled his eyes. He¡¯d never understand his new Master, what with all the weird alternate universe phrases and words he used.


    Lilian stopped in his tracks as the GPS notified him that he had arrived at his destination: a small run-down looking shack in the middle of nowhere. Its exterior was dilapidated, and looked as though it hadn¡¯t seen proper maintenance in years.


    Lilian¡¯s nostrils flared as he barged into the shack. The shack itself looked as though someone had been living there yesterday, with laundry strewn all over the floor. A small bathroom and bedroom were accompanied by a kitchen, and all three looked as though they¡¯d seen better days.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Lilian threw his suitcase against the wall, nearly breaking it in the process. He walked over to the bed, and threw himself down face first. He rolled over, and let out a long sigh.


    ¡°Why the fuck did he send me here? Did disciplining me in front of all those people really mean that much to him?¡±


    ¡°Someone sounds angry.¡± Lilian jumped out of bed and drew his gun on the intruder, only to slump back down when he saw their identity.


    ¡°What are you doing here, Three?¡± The AI rolled her neck, and sat down on nothing in midair. Lilian¡¯s eyes twitched, but he said nothing.


    ¡°Well, Master Cole sent me after you since you weren¡¯t responding to his messages.¡± Lilian rolled his eyes and turned his back to her.


    ¡°He sent me to this shit hole of a living space! I needed to get back at him somehow without invoking any of the punishment clauses on our Judgment Contract.¡± This time, it was Three who rolled her eyes, appearing in front of Lilian¡¯s sight in the process.


    ¡°You idiot.¡± She produced a bit of static on Lilian¡¯s panel, causing him to jump out of bed in pain.


    ¡°You bitch! What was that for!?¡± Lilian angrily looked at the slender woman, who was cut from his own visage before he became a man. He hated it. It reminded him of what could have been, and who could have become.


    ¡°You¡¯re the bitch. What happened to the person who would do anything and everything to accomplish their goals, whatever they happened to be? Now that you¡¯re no longer in charge of your own agenda, you¡¯re dragging your feet and kicking up a fuss. Pathetic.¡±


    Lilian felt heated, and knew that no amount of yelling at the AI would do any good, so he merely turned away from her once more. ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± Lilian said, his heart feeling empty at the words. ¡°What the hell can I do for someone who has amassed so much power already? It¡¯s like he already sees all the outcomes, and that¡¯s frightening.¡±


    Three mimicked sitting next to Lilian, and shot him a smile. ¡°Please. His appearance is calculated. Do you think he doesn¡¯t have his own fears, worries, and goals? You just need to ask questions, instead of waiting for him to come to you with information. He likes to take care of things himself if he can help it. Reminds me of a certain someone.¡±


    Lilian mumbled something that could have passed as a defense to his character, and let out a breath he hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d been holding in. ¡°Anyway, I didn¡¯t come here just to get on your case.¡± Three said, and Lilian looked at her code-filled eyes.


    ¡°Lift the mattress.¡± Lilian did as he was told, and found a remote control that had only one red button on it. He pressed it, and watched in awe as a hole opened up into the floor.


    ¡°A bunker!¡± He breathed, turning back to Three. ¡°Where did he-?¡±


    ¡°Well, you know how it is.¡± Three cut him off, hovering down into the abyss. ¡°You know how some aristocrats are, right? I heard that King Metron funded this one personally. Come down, and see your true home.¡±


    ---


    A few hours later, Lilian was all smiles as he headed to the bar. The tour of the underground facility had gone well, with the space itself definitely being enough to hold all of the troops Joshua would want to ship to Baillo. Lilian had picked out a room, each of which came equipped with its own bathroom and shower, and set up his things, truly making it feel like a home.


    Three had let him be after relaying the Paladin¡¯s orders, and Lilian finally had peace since arriving at the bunker. After freshening up, he decided to head to the closest town inside the city: Sesa. Sesa was a city like none the young Asahian had ever encountered before. Instead of being drenched in the constructs of technology, it had something that Lilian couldn¡¯t quite describe. Far from having sidewalks that moved on their own, and spacescrapers like Asahi had, the ground of Sesa wasn¡¯t even paved.


    Have I ever walked on soft soil like this before? Is this why it''s called the Primal Kingdom? It wasn¡¯t as though Lilian had no concept of what Ethia was like before Judgment intervened and made the economy boom, but he hadn¡¯t ever experienced the feeling of the grass beneath his feet either.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    It was such a huge disconnect from what he was normally used to, that he didn¡¯t even notice when he bumped into someone.


    ¡°~~~~~!¡± Lilian cocked his head at the unknown word. ¡°Oh shit, forgot to set my translator function to Espada.¡±


    Lilian cursed, and it seemed the woman across from him started to fiddle with the same settings on her own Judgment Panel. ¡°Huh, a foreigner. Who''da thought.¡±


    Lilian tilted his head once more at the dialect, before shaking his head and offering a small bow. ¡°My name is L-¡± Lilian¡¯s voice caught in his throat as he spoke. Sure, he was comfortable enough being himself in front of Joshua and the others because, like it or not, they knew where he came from.


    However, if it were in a normal situation, with a normal person, would they be disgusted at his use of a female name? ¡°-Leo. My name is Leo.¡± Lilian said once more, trying to become more familiar with the cover name that he¡¯d use.


    ¡°And you are?¡± Lilian laid eyes on the woman for the first time, and knew instantly that he¡¯d fucked up. She was wearing a white silk dress that conformed to her elegant curves, and had a neckline that left little to the imagination. Her chocolate skin stood out against the white fabric, and curly black locks framed her thin face. Piercing amber eyes seemingly searched his soul, and Lilian couldn¡¯t help but feel himself entranced. However¡­


    ¡°Oh, pay it no mind, now.¡± The girl, no, the woman gave him a pearly smile, and grabbed his hand. ¡°My name is Christna. In fact, I was just looking for someone to spend the evening with. You from outta town?¡±


    Lilian¡¯s heart caught in his throat as he walked along, trying not to let his mind linger on the sensation of her breasts on his arm as they walked. This was a new experience for him. After living as one for so long, he had lost all ability to be nervous with the familiar female anatomy. Now that he was a man, however¡­ that very tolerance seemed to diminish with every passing minute.


    ¡°Something like that.¡± Lilian replied, and the woman stopped dead in her tracks. She turned, and her eyes skewered him once more.


    ¡°You¡¯re not from the Metron Kingdom, are you, Leo? We can¡¯t be having spies around here during the preparation, now. I have a duty to report such people to my father.¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Lilian replied coolly, with all the practice he¡¯d had on the plane. ¡°I¡¯m just a sightseer from Asahi. You can even confirm on my ID if you wish.¡±


    She gave him yet another scrutinizing gaze, and was shocked when he actually materialized the copy in her AR. After giving it a few glances, and rotations, her smile quickly returned.


    ¡°Great! Let¡¯s get to drinking!¡± She pulled him along once more, and Lilian felt his brain about to let his body take over, when a piece of information from earlier hit him between the eyes.


    ¡°Wait, you said that you¡¯d need to report me to your father, right? Who¡¯s your father?¡± Christna smiled even wider as she pulled him into a bar called, ¡®The Grove.¡¯


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s not too big of a deal. He¡¯s the Warrior King of the Primals, Peter Ramire.¡± It was a good thing that Christna was leading them, because Lilian¡¯s eyes bulged out of his head at the time.


    The Warrior King¡­ one of the three Great Primals who rule over the continent. The People¡¯s King, the Machine King, and the Warrior King¡­ fuck my life. But if she is really his daughter, then that means¡­ a princess, huh? Is this how Joshua feels, just showing up and letting fate take the wheel?


    They sat down at a table close to the back of the bar, where there were no windows. And no angles to be sniped from. I don¡¯t even think I warrant the attention on my own, but I don¡¯t want to risk being dragged into her political mire.


    ¡°So, what brings you to Sesa?¡± Christna smiled, and leaned in on the table. Her deep v-neck made Lilian¡¯s eyes shoot straight up to meet her¡¯s. He saw her snicker, and felt his face get hot.


    So, it¡¯s a game to her? Ok. We¡¯ll play it your way then. ¡°Well,¡± Lilian started, taking his left hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. Her eyes widened in surprise, but Lilian paid it no mind and continued, ¡°It turns out I¡¯m just one of those curious types, you know? I wanted to know what other countries are doing for their war games. Even the Luong Empire is preparing for thiers right now.¡±


    Her eyes stared into his, as she lingered on his every word. Poor girl. Has she never had anyone return her advances?


    Lilian shifted and moved his chair, so he was sitting next to her. He threw an arm around the blushing girl this time, and resumed speaking. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve always wanted to come to the Primal Kingdom, but never found a good reason to. On top of viewing the War Game preparations, I can now say I¡¯ve found another.¡±


    Lilian laid a kiss on her cheek, and watched in amusement as Christna¡¯s face turned into a confused expression, before blushing, then becoming silently furious. ¡°All right, that¡¯s enough. We wouldn¡¯t want our princess here to get devoured by a foreigner, now would we?¡±


    Lilian glared at the large man, who had stepped directly in front of himself and Christna. He was bald, and looked more like a bear than a man. A hairy chest peeked out of a black tank top, and a pair of jean shorts accompanied the man¡¯s less-than-refined look. ¡°Did you hear me, Asahi boy?¡±


    Lilian shifted his gaze back to Christna, whose face had become considerably pale. She looked a lot like a child who had been caught stealing cookies. His eyes darted back to meet the man¡¯s, and grinned widely.


    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t think I will. The princess and I were having a good time here.¡± His hand went further down, coming to rest on her sternum, right above her cleavage. The man¡¯s eyes widened, as did Christna¡¯s.


    ¡°You dare-!?¡± The man cut himself off as he lunged at Lilian, who met the man¡¯s face with a hard, cold, size 8 boot.


    The man recoiled at the unwillingness of Lilian¡¯s legs to succumb to the pressure of his charge. He pulled away, nose busted and bloody. Christna¡¯s mouth was hanging open in shock.


    She could only stare on in silence as Lilian followed up his boot with a tornado DDT, planting the man through a nearby table. Lilian shot up and looked around the bar for the next threat, but was only met with cheers.


    ¡°Ey, Haras! Give the kid a drink on me!¡± A balding man sitting at the counter said, continuing, ¡°As thanks for showing that Warrior King scum what¡¯s what!¡±


    Another round of applause sounded from the bar, and Lilian just looked at Christna, confused. She shrugged and said, ¡°This place is anti-establishment. The only one in the city, and one of the few People¡¯s King hideouts in the Warrior King¡¯s city of Baillo.¡±


    She snuggled closer to him, and put a hand dangerously close to his crotch. It was at that moment that reason left Lilian, and he found himself lost among the drink and the company around him.


    Soon the two had gone back to a hotel, but Lilian froze at the door. Crap¡­ what size was my dick again?

 Chapter 53: Through These Eyes (Raiden)

    The Metronian Prince looked over his battalion. His original number of soldiers had been diverted so that a minority had gone with the other squad leaders of Joshua¡¯s unit. Reya and Lucina had taken twenty five each, with the remaining fifty having just finished today¡¯s instructions.


    Raiden continued to watch his unit practice team exercises. From a glance, it was obvious who the 50 new recruits to round out his regiment were, although they were making steady progress.


    Raiden felt good with his number of soldiers back up to full capacity, although the rate of progression was still something that stressed him out, even with the good trend that they had found themselves on.


    ¡°Good work everyone! We¡¯ll continue this regimen until the new recruits have built up enough stamina. In a week, we¡¯ll begin the next set of drills. Enjoy your evenings, eat well, and get a good rest!¡±


    The soldiers saluted and let out a resounding, ¡°Yes, Prince Raiden!¡± They all set off on their own, and Raiden was no exception. He began walking towards the familiar bar. Getting on to the automatic sidewalk, he let his thoughts wander to Leray.


    The Felis woman was the apple of his eye, and every moment spent without her was one he regretted. However, this was the night before the weekend arrived, and he was determined to show her his love.


    All night long. Raiden grinned at the thought, and between his fantasizing and memories, it took him a moment to notice that his overlay was telling him to get off of the human highway.


    Stepping onto the familiar street of the bar, Raiden¡¯s smile couldn¡¯t help but widen as he saw a familiar fox-like tail duck into the bar he frequented.


    He basically ran up to the door, while in full combat armor, and kicked it open. ¡°Leray, I¡¯ve¡­¡± Raiden¡¯s thought process stopped as he saw a Felis girl present. One who, very obviously, was not Leray.


    Immediately, Raiden¡¯s combat training kicked in and he pulled out his Executioner on the unknown being. Her small ears went flat against her skull, her two tails stuck straight up in the air, and she let out a loud growl.


    ¡°Stop, you idiot! And you too, Miana! Knock it off.¡±


    Idiot and Miana¡­ well, I¡¯m not Miana, so¡­ Realizing that he was being called an idiot, Raiden holstered his gun and turned to see Leray, who was standing in the doorway of the bar, with a bag of fresh produce in hand.


    ¡°Leray¡­ who is this?¡± Raiden¡¯s voice was soft and cautious as he walked up to the Felis woman, and put a hand on one shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch!¡± Raiden cocked his head at the broken use of language, and easily dodged a swipe from the young Felis¡¯ clawed hands.


    Miana¡¯s hand went straight through the glass door of the shop, and she watched in abject horror as Leray began to growl. It was a low sound, one that resonated in Raiden¡¯s chest and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.


    ¡°What did I tell you!? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!¡± What followed the brief use of Metronian language was an exchange that Raiden could neither understand, nor keep track of. If there was one thing that came through in that short native tongue of Leray¡¯s, it was that she was pissed.


    This time, Miana¡¯s ears were flat out of fear, and she instantly knelt on the ground, presenting her back to Leray in an act of submission.


    ¡°Gah, damn it!¡± Leray spat out, and huffed as she returned her gaze to Raiden. ¡°How have you been, Rai? I haven¡¯t seen you in quite a bit.¡± Her sweet voice was a polar opposite to the angry expression she wore.


    Raiden was nonplussed by her about-face, and asked, pointing to the cowering woman in the room, ¡°Leray, are you going to tell me what that¡¯s about?¡±


    The Felis sighed and sat down at her own barstool, her eyes never once leaving the prone Miana. ¡°Truthfully, I¡¯m getting used to it as well. She is another Fallen.¡±


    Leray let that sit for a moment, before continuing, ¡°She was found nearly dead on the side of a highway, with injuries that resembled those made by a beast from my home world.¡±


    At this point, Raiden had sat down next to Leray, and wrapped a hand around her waist. ¡°What were her powers?¡±


    She shook her head and watched as Miana crawled into the back room of the establishment. ¡°She seemingly has none, which puts the Kingdom in a bind. They can¡¯t just throw her out on the street since that would be a gross neglect of a Fallen in need, but she also couldn¡¯t be reasoned with after she woke up.¡±


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Raiden said, turning around to face the bar. ¡°So you got voluntold to be her caretaker.¡±


    Leray rolled her eyes and stood up, moving to walk behind the bar and get both herself and Raiden a drink. ¡°Did I ever tell you how much I hate your habit of mashing words together?¡±


    The prince smiled. This smile always melts her heart¡­ sure enough- Raiden¡¯s thoughts were cut short as a now blushing Leray reached over the counter and flicked him in the forehead.


    ¡°Cut it out. You can make bedroom eyes at me all you¡¯d like, but I have a little more on my plate to deal with than sating my own sex drive.¡±


    In one smooth motion, Raiden grabbed the hand that flicked him, pulled her in close, and kissed the back of the offending appendage.


    Leray¡¯s face became flushed with a new shade of crimson, and she tried to pull back her hand weakly. Raiden held on, and kissed it once more. ¡°How many times have I told you, my love, that it doesn¡¯t matter for me whether or not we have sex whenever I come here? It¡¯s just about me being able to bask in the glory that is your very existence.¡±


    Leray¡¯s usually very perky ears dropped down to cover her eyes as she avoided line of sight with Raiden¡¯s face. This is why I love her. He kissed her hand again, eliciting a squeak from the Felis woman.


    He released her hand, and she very quickly set to mixing them both drinks. Raiden sighed, and rested his head in one hand. She¡¯s so perfect. That¡¯s why I need to win this war game, so father will allow me the freedom to do as I please.


    Raiden¡¯s eyes moved down her silhouette, from her tall ears to her slender torso, deadly mechanical arm, wide hips, and a pair of high heels that could stomp the life out of anyone and anything. Of course, having extra motivation on top of that doesn¡¯t hurt any.


    Raiden would have continued to mentally ravish the Felis¡¯ body, had it not been for a slight movement he caught out of the corner of his eye.


    Turning his gaze, he laid eyes upon the other Felis in the building, Miana, as she started to approach. She was very likely a child from Leray¡¯s home planet, as, even at her full height, she wouldn¡¯t have even reached Raiden¡¯s hip.


    Her hair and fur was black in contrast to Leray¡¯s brown, and piercing red eyes peeked out from her long bangs. She was wearing a light dress, one that was probably prepared by the palace in the case of a Fallen being a child.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Raiden spoke smoothly, softly, and slowly for the child. It should have only been her second or third day with the device, and her child-like brain probably couldn¡¯t handle the influx of information yet.


    ¡°Mama.¡± She said, and pointed to Leray. The owner of the bar sighed, and turned around to face the two of them.


    ¡°How many times have I told you, I¡¯m not your damn mother! She just probably looks similar.¡± Leray grumbled, but that didn¡¯t dissuade the younger Felis, who ran up to Raiden and put her head on his lap.


    ¡°Papa.¡± Leray, Raiden, and Miana all waited in silence for a near moment, before Raiden gingerly lifted his hand and placed it on the Felis¡¯ head.


    She let out a relaxed grunt and closed her eyes as her tails swished from side to side. As the prince continued to pet her, her tails swished faster and faster.


    Fuck, what is this cuteness!? Raiden threw his head back to avoid his goofy smile being seen by Miana.


    ¡°Really?¡± Leray said in disgust, but the prince merely shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°What can I say. I guess Felis women find me irresistible.¡± He got up, and took Miana¡¯s hand in his own. ¡°Come on, Leray. Let¡¯s go get some dinner, just the three of us.¡±


    ---


    Later that night, the three had returned to the bar, and subsequently put Miana to bed. Having a full stomach and two parental figures had apparently appeased the girl¡¯s sense of danger, as she fell asleep mid-walk back from the Asahian restaurant.


    It was a good thing that Raiden and Leray were each holding one hand, as the girl would have hit the concrete hard, otherwise.


    ¡°Are you sure-¡±, Raiden¡¯s protest was cut off as Leray stuck her long tongue in his mouth, and began exploring his gums and teeth with it.


    The prince wanted to sigh as a cold, metallic hand fiddled with his pants. Meanwhile, the living one began to glide over his toned chest and chiseled abs.


    Leray took a deep breath after releasing him from the kiss and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is the soundproof room, impervious even to my Felis ears. Plus, I locked the door.¡±


    Ten minutes of ecstasy later, and both were satisfied. Raiden knew that Leray wanted to be greedy and keep going, but she also had things to discuss with him.


    She stopped straddling him, and cuddled with the prince, who returned the favor. ¡°Are you really not bothered by what I told you earlier? About what the Paladin did to get you under contract?¡±


    Well¡­ I could lie and tell her not to worry¡­ but that wouldn¡¯t make for a healthy relationship, now would it?


    Raiden sat up and put his arm around Leray¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Honestly, I am bothered. It was a shitty way to go about gaining my loyalty, when he could have achieved a similar result just by asking a few, very simple questions.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound mad.¡± Leray pointed out, and Raiden shook his head.


    ¡°I said I was bothered, not mad. Honestly, Joshua Cole¡¯s trust may be harder to earn than any other being''s on the planet. It¡¯s like he intrinsically doesn¡¯t trust any of us.¡±


    Leray opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and stopped. ¡°However,¡± Raiden continued, ¡°I did get an awesome bonus by gaining his trust this way.¡± Leray tilted her head, clearly confused, and Raiden playfully bit her ear.


    Leray yipped and, in complete and utter embarrassment, shoved her face in the pillow as far down as it could go. Raiden grinned, even though she wasn¡¯t watching, and said, ¡°I gained a guardian angel for my dearly beloved. What better payoff is there than knowing that you¡¯ll be safe at all times?¡±

 Chapter 54: Through These Eyes (Akahime)

    ¡°One! Two! Three! Four!¡± Akahime shouted at her soldiers, then repeated, at a faster pace, ¡°One, Two, Three, Four!¡± The fifty infantry men and women finished their final rep in the set, and many cheered since sword training had finally finished for the day.


    ¡°Good job everyone! Way to show progress!¡± Akahime shouted, garnering smiles from the soldiers. ¡°Take an hour and cool down, we¡¯ll begin combat training at five, in the virtual chambers. Don¡¯t be late!¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± The soldiers saluted, and then scattered their separate ways. Meanwhile, Akahime walked herself over to the VR chambers inside the tower to set it up for everyone.


    The past few weeks since the meeting with Joshua and his staff were challenging, to say the least. She had been impressed from the get-go with ¡°Margas¡¯ Tower,¡± as Lucina had called it. The structure was allegedly built by one of the founding members of the Metron Kingdom for the sole purpose of being a safe haven for military experiments and general activities.


    On top of that, she even met Reich Gannon, a famous war hero who had then taught her how to lead soldiers, and train them herself.


    I really do have to thank him for allowing me to download a portion of his memory bank. Akahime idly thought to herself as she rode the elevator up to the sixtieth floor of the tower, the Virtual Chamber Room.


    The entire floor was dominated by hundreds of thousands of pods made for the virtual simulation of an actual war. It, among other things in the tower, was built by the current Metronian regime, by King Claude and Queen Cindy.


    The Luong Empire¡¯s scion took an escalator up to another level, and stepped into the commander¡¯s pod, which overlooked the thousands of others in the room.


    Akahime lay down inside, and forced herself to steady her breathing. There were only three ways to exit the chamber. The first was through your own death inside the virtual space. The second, was accomplished after completing your set mission objective. Thirdly, was the emergency failsafe switch just inside the lab.


    That switch was why there were always at least two non-combatants allowed inside the chamber room, for emergencies outside of the army¡¯s control.


    She booted up the machine, and soon her consciousness was taken to a black space, with only a single floor that stretched on to eternity.


    The room itself was alight with overhanging starlight, which reflected off the almost mirror-like floor. This was her own personal training room.


    ¡°Welcome back, Scarlet Princess.¡± A mechanical voice resounded throughout the hall, aimed at Akahime.


    ¡°Thank you, E.V.O.N.¡± She replied. The, ¡®EVolution Of Non-combatants,¡¯ machine, lovingly referred to as Evon by the soldiers, was the AI managing the whole operation.


    ¡°Shall I boot up the regular program, Miss Princess?¡± Akahime sighed and rolled her eyes at the way it called her. She had been confident in her Metronian enough to not toggle the language to her native tongue, but that had been a mistake.


    Instead of inputting her real name, like the program had wanted, she wrote down a username that she used to use with video games when she was younger. It was a choice she regretted now, and one that Marla, her second in command, constantly teased her about.


    ¡°Yes, please do.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Commencing Personal Mission.¡± Evon stated, and a white oval descended from the sky. It stopped an inch above the ground, and then grew in size to a bit bigger in size than Akahime currently was.


    She stared at the cocoon-like structure, and started doing some breathing exercises out of habit. It was the first fight, after all. The first was always the most stressful.


    ¡°Take your position.¡± Akahime did as she was told, and drew an Asahi Present Standard, pointing it at the portal. Her blade shone from the starlight.


    ¡°Three, two, one, commencing.¡± The countdown was met with no fanfare, and Akahime just stared at the milky portal as a woman stepped through.


    ¡°Round one. Versus Reya Rust Metron. Begin.¡± The computer generated Reya dashed forward, her smaller stature and shapely body betraying her incredible speed. Akahime barely reacted in time to stop a blade from going through her neck, and took a deep breath.


    Calm down, you¡¯ve figured this out before. She started inching closer and closer to the Princess, who kept an eye on Akahime and started circling around her.


    Despite her speed, her swings lack real power. The only option I need to be really careful of is the possibility that she¡¯ll thrust, and skewer me.


    The Reya program looked Akahime in the eyes, but she didn¡¯t return the favor. Instead, Akahime watched the blade itself, and looked at the rest of Reya¡¯s body out of her peripheral vision.


    It might have been amateur eye placement, but your opponent''s eyes could deceive. Their piece of cold, hard metal couldn¡¯t.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Countering the expected thrust with a downwards parry, Akahime sunk her blade deep into Reya¡¯s arm, nearly cutting it off at the elbow. ¡°Winner, Scarlet Princess!¡±


    Reya dematerialized and a timer showing two minutes displayed itself above the portal. Akahime breathed out deeply following her victory, and sat down on the ground.


    In her own personal gauntlet decided on by Evon, Reya was always the gatekeeper. If she couldn¡¯t consistently beat Reya¡¯s speed with her own precision and timing, then she didn¡¯t deserve to move on to the more complicated levels of training.


    Reya was at the bottom rung according to the A.I., having neglected her combat training in the pursuit of more politically focused affairs. The next fight, however, wouldn¡¯t be so simple.


    ¡°Ten seconds remaining.¡± Akahime stood up, her eyes falling on the taught muscles on her right arm. This next fight had been a problem for her since she started the system, and she couldn¡¯t calm her nerves completely.


    ¡°Begin.¡± Evon said, and the portal flashed before going dim. Lucina Metron stepped through, wearing a full suit of Hypra Armor, and a helmet that covered her entire face. There was a red light pulsing where her eyes would be, and was actually the thermal vision on her visor activating.


    There was a slight pause and uncomfortable silence in the air as Lucina¡¯s Getsu Blade began gathering light. Akahime took a deep breath and got into a defensive stance, as Lucina shot forward, leaving a trail of purple electricity behind her.


    Akahime took the blow head on, and was blown back a fair distance, leaving her feet to skid on the floor. Her heart rate started to pick up as she looked directly into the red visor.


    Thankfully, she drew her eyes away long enough to notice the shurikens that were thrown at her, and approaching fast.


    A new attack pattern? Akahime threw her body to one side, and didn''t even bother to watch the projectiles pass her by, or look at the purple afterimages in their wake.


    Instead, her attention was totally absorbed by the knight-like figure in front of her, who was beginning to bear down on her with undeniable pressure. She blocked blow after blow, but knew her body couldn¡¯t hold on for much longer.


    Finally, she saw her opening. The virtual Lucina created space between them, and prepared to launch projectiles again.


    The moment she stepped away, Akahime stepped forward, thrusting her blade at the figure. It barely made it an inch into the armor before stopping, but that was enough for Evon.


    ¡°Winner, Scarlet Princess!¡± Even though she had won, and Lucina had dematerialized, Akahime slammed her fist on the ground.


    ¡°As if it¡¯ll be that easy in real life!¡± She screamed, and began repeatedly pounding the floor. After venting her frustrations, and collecting her breath, she stood up, where there was only a minute on display.


    To be honest, she wished she had the combat data of Lilian or Winter Strafe to compete with, but since they hadn¡¯t taken part in any duels in Redleaf Palace¡¯s colosseum, their data hadn¡¯t been captured.


    Akahime stood up and cracked her fingers, a nervous habit in preparation for Raiden. Then, she set to work placing mines around the portal. All pressure plates, just in case.


    Sure enough, he stepped out of the portal, wearing ArcLite armor, and carrying a massive sword in one hand, with a pistol occupying the other. He had no helmet, but a face guard covered everything from the nose down.


    ¡°Motherfucker.¡± Akahime grumbled. Of course she had to low roll and Raiden spawned in as his most difficult virtual incarnation.


    As soon as he stepped onto the floor, Akahime¡¯s own sword short circuited and folded up into itself.


    And this is why I set the mines. In case he comes out with EMP armor. Sure enough, all it took was one step for a mine to explode, and then several others followed in quick succession, breaking the reflective floor and exposing a bottomless pit below.


    When the smoke cleared, Raiden was gone, and she assumed that he had fallen into the hole.


    ¡°Winner, Scarlet Princess!¡± Akahime slumped to the ground again, and sighed. I hate having to rely on cheese to get past a fight, but there is no way I can take Raiden out in my current form, especially in that armor.


    Generally, the Luong Empire scion could beat the easiest incarnation of the Metronian prince, but she had no such luck today.


    Finally, was Joshua. Akahime began some simple breathing exercises, and switched weapons and armor. For the previous three, she had gone with an agility type build, but now she was going full defense. If it was the usual then-


    Her thoughts were cut short as the countdown timer stopped, and the portal flashed red. Just like it did every time. A hand, one she was now intimately familiar with, shot out from the red portal, and everything went black.


    When the light finally returned, she was back in the Virtual Chamber Room. Akahime cursed and pounded her fist on the pod¡¯s arm rest. ¡°Fuck! Every time! Why does it always end after a second!?¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should ask the man responsible?¡± Akahime jumped in her seat as Lucina, her childhood friend, responded to her.


    ¡°Starlords, damn you, Lucina! Stop sneaking in here!¡± The Metronian princess smiled at her outburst, and sat down on a spectator chair next to the pod.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it sneaking. You don¡¯t have a monopoly over this tower¡¯s resources, unless you have forgotten.¡± Akahime blushed, and averted her gaze from the princess.


    ¡°They were interesting fights, though. Although I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll learn Joshua¡¯s secret until he actually trusts you, and even then, he¡¯ll most likely also have you under a contract as insurance.¡±


    Akahime sighed, and put her head in her hands. ¡°It¡¯s been difficult. I just want to take a break from the constant grind.¡±


    ¡°Then, here¡¯s an open invitation to my room, tonight. We can switch for each other, although that¡¯s not really up my alley.¡±


    She looked Lucina in the eyes and asked, ¡°What about Paladin Cole? I thought he¡¯d be jealous if someone else used his favorite toy?¡±


    ¡°Aw, you really think I¡¯m his favorite?¡± Lucina gave a wry smile, and continued, ¡°He¡¯s been busy himself, you know. I¡¯m just looking forward to what he¡¯ll do to me after a full month. I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t mind me relieving myself on the side.¡±


    The former empress-to-be locked eyes with the princess, and sighed. ¡°Fine. Your room, nine o clock.¡±


    Lucina smiled and responded, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be looking forward to it.¡± She began walking out of the room, just as Akahime¡¯s troops began to enter.


    Akahime groaned and leaned farther back into her pod¡¯s recliner. This is going to be a long day, isn¡¯t it.

 Chapter 55: Through These Eyes (Reya)

    Truthfully, Reya wasn¡¯t too bothered by the fact that she¡¯d been requested to enter into the war games.


    It was something she knew she could handle, and on top of that, was an opportunity to expand her influence further. She had seen the amount of publicity that her father had gained from a previous war game victory, one which saw him gain a tremendous amount of political influence and wealth.


    ¡°Lady Metron, your appointment at 9 has been moved back to 11 per the request of the Delcit Company. Will you require any other meetings to be changed?¡±


    Solze, her newly hired personal assistant, and the second in command of her retinue, spoke to her over a cup of tea. The two were currently inside Reya¡¯s room, and had just finished outlining what their training regimen for the upcoming week.


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t, thank you.¡± She smiled at the woman, who returned the gesture right back. Honestly, it made Reya sick. It was the same expression that came across the face of everyone she met nowadays, a polite, eager smile for the first in line to the throne.


    ¡°Hey, Solze?¡± The woman sitting at the table jumped at the mere sound of her name, and her eyes darted towards the princess.


    ¡°Y-yes, Lady Reya? How may I help you?¡± She was clearly caught off guard, but Reya thought nothing of it, as if it was the natural response for the situation.


    ¡°Tell me¡­ did you ever wish you could go back in time and return things to how they used to be?¡±


    Solze was puzzled, but by no means stupid. She looked from side to side, to make sure no devices were listening in on the conversation, before answering, ¡°Princess, don¡¯t tell me that you wish to forfeit the throne now that you finally have it?¡±


    For the first time that day, Reya sighed. It was an expression of emotion which she felt was becoming all too commonplace since her ascension from the bottom ranking of her siblings to the top.


    Since then, she had found herself with less and less time to relax, and more and more on her plate to worry about. On top of managing the relationship with her father, she still hadn¡¯t properly made amendments with the person who helped her get to where she was in the first place.


    ¡°Honestly, I just wish to go back to when the only problems I worried about were what I would wear and who I would go shopping with. Now my mind is only filled with thoughts on who I can trust, and how I can use their relationships with me to further my own political career.¡±


    Solze made a motion to put her hand on Reya¡¯s back but stopped herself midway. She didn¡¯t want to appear overly familiar to the princess. Despite that, however, Reya herself stroked the head of the younger woman.


    ¡°Thanks, but it¡¯s not anything that can be solved by just wishing. When I was at the bottom of the barrel, and I mean the very bottom,¡± she chuckled, ¡°I used to wish to be one of the big players, and have my name be praised throughout the Metronian Kingdom. The difference between fantasizing and wishing for a position, and actually holding it, is the amount of work you have to put in.¡±


    Solze studied Reya, while the princess sat up from the chair, and walked over to sit on her bed. ¡°I never wanted to feel weighed down by my own life¡­ but maybe that¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t succeed before in the first place. I didn¡¯t want to put forth effort that would make my life difficult, and only wanted to take it easy while reaping all the benefits.¡±


    Solze dared not speak, and instead knelt on the ground while listening to the princess¡¯s musings. Reya smiled sadly before speaking, ¡°Thanks for meeting with me today Solze. You¡¯re dismissed. Make sure to enjoy your next couple of days off, because after that we¡¯ll be doing joint training with the other members of the War Game team.¡±


    The soldier stood up and gave her a salute before quickly leaving the room. As the door closed quietly behind her, Reya sighed again. ¡°I never was good at making friends, was I?¡± She muttered to herself.


    At some point, Reya had realized that she was alone at the top of the proverbial mountain, having pushed away potential allies and even her own family due to her selfish need for attention.


    Is it so bad to want to feel needed? Reya unzipped her dress and lay on top of her bed, letting out her second sigh of the day in just as many minutes. Solze doesn¡¯t understand. Of course, my sisters would, but they probably feel like they have an obligation to get along well with me. In fact, Lucina has outright spent less time with me, and we¡¯ve stopped having in-depth conversations. I just want a friend, someone I can completely-


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Reya¡¯s thoughts paused mid sentence as the door to her room slid open, and Paladin Joshua Cole stepped in. His piercing gaze rested on her body. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a moment before he rolled his eyes and turned to look at the wall.


    ¡°Really now? You call me in telling me that you have something important to discuss for the joint training session, but I find you like this? I should have known that this was just another plan to wrap me around your finger.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Reya bolted upright, completely forgetting about her state of dress. ¡°I didn¡¯t-, I couldn¡¯t have-,¡± Her mind went back to the conversation she had just had with Solze. Damn that woman! She must¡¯ve taken my complaints too seriously and called him here!


    Joshua turned to leave the room, but she ran up and grabbed his hand. Play it cool, Reya! ¡°Sorry about my appearance, I just didn¡¯t expect you so soon. Please, let me get dressed and sit down with me.¡±


    The paladin looked reluctant, but nodded and turned around to allow her a modicum of privacy. Reya walked back to her bed and observed her own sports bra. I would¡¯ve picked better underwear if I knew he was coming.


    She frowned, but picked her dress up off of the floor and zipped it back up. ¡®Really? Clothing off the floor? Not acting so much like royalty right now, are you?¡±


    Reya thought she would be annoyed with the undermining of her royal authority, but she simply smiled instead. She couldn¡¯t recall the last time someone just joked around with her.


    ¡°Please, take a seat.¡± Reya had on a genuine smile as she sat down on a chair, and poured some Avalon tea for the two of them. ¡°How do you like your tea? Any sugar, milk?¡±


    Joshua continued to stare at her. She paid it no mind, however, and merely sat while stirring her own tea. Finally he acquiesced, and sat down across from her, in the very seat Solze had been in only minutes before.


    ¡°So, what did you want to talk about?¡± He broached the subject, and took a sip of the tea. He frowned, and put copious amounts of sugar into the steaming liquid.


    Reya almost giggled at the unexpected gesture, but figured putting her relationship through two strains in one day might end poorly for her.


    ¡°How do you do it?¡± He raised an eyebrow, but waited for her to elaborate. ¡°What I mean is, how do you not let the pressure and loneliness of a powerful and important position get to you?¡±


    Joshua looked at Reya like she was dumb. It was something she missed, surprisingly. To just have someone who didn¡¯t take her as seriously as the rest of the world did. ¡°Of course it does. Why are you even coming to me with this problem. Shouldn¡¯t this be something that your parents explain to you?¡±


    Reya smiled sadly and shook her head. ¡°Dad¡¯s been busy lately since mom has been on a forced vacation, and mom won¡¯t even give me the time of day. She truly believes that I was the reason you rose to power in the first place.¡±


    Joshua shook his head and took a drink of his tea. A small, rare smile graced his lips. It was immediately replaced by a frown, as he shook his head. ¡°The amount of pain and inconvenience your mother has caused me is nothing to scoff at.¡±


    Reya felt for him, but she knew that she had caused him pain as well. She had tried to seduce him for her own needs, not out of love or lust, but out of political acumen. ¡°I know, and I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Joshua¡¯s eyes narrowed as he studied her. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize for her. I¡¯m equally wary of you.¡±


    Reya smiled, something which seemed to make him even more alert. ¡°In that case, would you like to put me under a slave contract again?¡±


    Now, the suspicion was replaced by pure, unadulterated confusion. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I think my Judgment Panel¡¯s sensors were acting up. Can you repeat that?¡±


    ¡°I said to put me under the slave contract again. If you really can¡¯t trust me, and need to find a way, there¡¯s an easy one.¡± Joshua slammed down his cup, and stood up from his seat.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m done here. If you actually have any updates to discuss, you can send them to Lucina.¡±


    He began walking away, causing Reya to bite her lip. This might be my last chance to mend this bridge! She gave a mental order to the Judgment system installed in her room, causing the doors to be deadbolted shut with a loud clunk.


    Joshua half-turned back, and gave her a look that seemed to pierce through her soul. Reya instinctively balled her fists. ¡°You know that using Judgment devices doesn¡¯t work on me.¡± As he spoke, the doors unlocked and opened on their own.


    ¡°Please wait!¡± Reya ran after him, and grabbed onto his leg. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for trying to manipulate you. I just want to have friends! It¡¯s been so lonely for me!¡±


    He kicked her softly, and she landed on her butt, looking up at him. He gave her a sinister smile, ¡°See? Was that so hard to say?¡± He turned away and walked out the door before briefly stopping, ¡°Consider this upcoming War Game a trial period for getting back into my good graces. Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡±


    And then Reya was alone. However, despite that, she didn¡¯t feel lonely anymore. In fact, the door she had been waiting for for so long had finally opened up to her again.

 Chapter 56: Through These Eyes (Winter)

    ¡°My lady, are you sure this man can be trusted!? He¡¯s a dog of the nobility! Should we throw our lot in with him, we could just be captured and jailed!¡±


    ¡°Not to mention no one knows where his allegiance lies! Even worse, we could end up being subject to slave-like labor and have any rights stripped away from us!¡±


    Two dark-skinned men stood in a room in front of Winter Strafe. Winter was sitting at a desk inside Leray¡¯s bar, and was currently going over the paperwork necessary to transfer the Strafe family, all ten members, into a living space chosen by Paladin Cole.


    Unfortunately, not everyone was on board with the plan. The first opposer, to her left, was large in size, towering over her inside the room. He wore a black trench coat, grey slacks, and a pair of shades on his bald head which hid his mechanical eyes from view.


    The second, to Winter¡¯s right, was a woman almost as tall as the man. She wore a black spandex bodysuit with a laser proof chest piece, and a set of gray shorts over the skin-tight suit. She twirled the end of an extremely long orange ponytail in her fingers as her red eyes stared at Winter.


    ¡°Tanner, how many times do I have to tell you? I have the Strafe¡¯s best interests at heart.¡± Tanner¡¯s eyes lit up with a crimson light as he looked down on her.


    ¡°With all due respect, Winter, you¡¯ve only ever had your best interests at heart.¡± Winter snorted and rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair and placing her feet on the desk, giving a rude gesture to her audience.


    ¡°I won¡¯t deny that, but so have you, and Fall as well.¡± She pointed to the woman with her foot before placing it back down on its rest.


    ¡°Yes, but ours align with those of the other clan members! You always had differing visions of what the clan should become after the founder passed.¡± Fall raised her voice at her sister, who rolled her eyes.


    Winter always thought that her sisters, Spring, Summer, and Fall hated her. The emotions were exacerbated by the fact that the founder chose her as his vessel after death, and none of the other three. Jealous bitches, the lot of them.


    Although Summer never really cared about the Strafe family so long as she could be happy, Fall was the polar opposite. This woman would cut out her ovaries if it was what the family decided on.


    Fortunately, Winter was now the chief, and the sole person in charge of decisions. At least, that¡¯s how it should have been. ¡°Fall, Tanner, please explain to me the downsides of joining forces with the Paladin and his companions?¡±


    The two across from her fell silent, and turned to each other in whispers. ¡°Ah, Fall and Tanner. The last bastions of those who are not alright with your rule.¡±


    Winter would have jumped out of her seat had Joshua not sent warning that The Founder himself was coming to oversee the negotiations. Instead, she settled for an increased heart rate and a quick exhale.


    Damn it, Founder. Why can¡¯t you ever give me a warning in my messages before you appear out of nowhere?


    The AI tilted his head. ¡°What are you talking about? Joshua did send a message warning you of my impending arrival, didn¡¯t he?¡±


    Of course he did, but that doesn¡¯t tell me the exact time, place, angle, and general volume of your voice, now does it? How would you explain it to the Paladin if I appeared weaker in this negotiation because I was startled by your presence!? A presence that only I can see, I might add!


    The Founder merely laughed at her and took a seat on her desk. He winked at her, before turning to face the two other Strafes in the room, who looked as though they were finishing up their talk.


    ¡°We have discussed, and come to the conclusion that this deal with the Paladin would negatively impact our rights as free people.¡±


    Winter sighed and replied, ¡°What rights? Or were you unaware that since the Founder¡¯s inception of the ¡®Strafe Family,¡¯ we¡¯ve been hunted down by the government because the founder started a military organization that was unrecognized by Judgment.¡±


    Tanner didn¡¯t respond, so Fall saw that as an opportunity to butt in. ¡°How do we know that he wouldn¡¯t just use this as an opportunity to capture us, and turn us over to the crown for brownie points?¡±


    At that, Winter just let loose and laughed. She could see Fall visibly deflate, and Tanner looked at her with a questioning gaze, but she didn¡¯t care. ¡°Ah, that was great. If you two knew anything about his relationship with them, you wouldn¡¯t even bring that up as a possibility. Besides, he got express permission from King Claude to keep us as soldiers.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°So the rumor that he had a falling out with Cindy Metron is true, then?¡± Tanner whispered, as though afraid some member of the nobility would overhear it, even while they were inside the Overclocked Bar.


    ¡°My lady.¡± The Founder interrupted, rotating so that he was facing Winter. ¡°As much as I would like to let you speak how you would like, there are certain things that shouldn¡¯t be outright said, even if a rumor has already begun circulating.¡±


    Winter wanted to pull her hair out from its roots at the sheer absurdity of it all. Why the hell did Joshua care if there were even more rumors circulating, but alas, she could not go against his wishes.


    ¡°Hm.¡± Winter hummed to fill in the silence, now that she actually had to think of a response instead of giving one truthfully. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say that you aren¡¯t too far off the mark. However, I can¡¯t get into any further specifics than that.¡±


    Tanner nodded, and seemed to have settled down, but Fall was too far gone into her own fantasies. ¡°No, you can, and you will. If you can¡¯t tell your clansmen about the things you know, then maybe we should have a new leader.¡±


    Tanner gave her a pitiful look, but Winter had one of fury on. She was fed up with the power-hungry Strafe, and needed an outlet to explode.


    ¡°Listen, you bitch!¡± Winter roared, standing up and causing both Tanner and Fall to flinch. ¡°I¡¯ve had it up to here with your shit! If you were destined to lead us, don¡¯t you think the Founder would have chosen you!?¡±


    ¡°W-wait a second, I-¡± Fall tried to cut in, but her voice was like a paper bag in a hurricane, and completely lost inside Winter¡¯s anger.


    ¡°Of course he would have. But he didn¡¯t.¡± Winter¡¯s voice gradually calmed down, into a controlled force, which continued to jab at Fall even after she went silent.


    ¡°He chose me. Do you know why that is?¡± She waited for an answer, and waited, and waited. When she realized that both Tanner and Fall had averted their gazes, she felt anger well up inside her again.


    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m the only one in this god damned family who isn¡¯t afraid of the future, and doesn¡¯t have their head up their own ass!¡± The two in front of her flinched again as she raised her voice.


    ¡°You know what, fuck you, Fall. If you don¡¯t agree with how I run things, go then. I won¡¯t fucking miss you.¡± Fall looked up in shock, and Winter continued, ¡°Oh, and you can take your little dissenting buddy Tanner with you as well. Good riddance to the both of you useless shits.¡±


    ¡°W-wait, Winter! Reconsider, please!¡± Tanner said, and shot a nasty glare at Fall. ¡°I just had my own concerns, like any person going into an uncertain change will. Don¡¯t throw me out with her, please!¡±


    Fall returned the glare, and turned to bow in Winter¡¯s direction. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t have a problem, I was just wondering if doing so much for our family, on top of your other duties was too much for you to handle, health wise. I¡¯m just concerned about your well being is all!¡±


    Winter tried her best to hide a smirk. Of course things were going according to plan. She tried her best at that act to get the two of them to turn on each other. After all, a triple threat was a lot easier to win than a handicapped match.


    With a wave of her hand, the two of them knelt, and she sat back in her seat once more. ¡°Just see to it that you don¡¯t openly question my leadership again. Believe me, I know when you talk. I don¡¯t know what compels the two of you to tell the other clan members.¡±


    The two of them looked up at Winter in shock, and then back at each other. ¡°If I ever find out the two of you are trying to stage another coup, I will turn you into the Palace for human experimentation. Do I make myself clear?¡±


    Fall spoke, a noticeable tremble in her voice, ¡°Y-you don¡¯t have the authority. If you tried to turn us in-¡±


    ¡°You really are stupid, aren¡¯t you?¡± Winter sighed, and rested her head in her hand. "That¡¯s what this entire meeting was meant to show you assholes. I do have the authority.¡± She made a few movements on her AR console, and showed the two people in front of her a badge that she had been granted after entering into Joshua¡¯s service.


    The emblem itself was a golden shield, with a bullet in the middle, and several blue circuits stretching out from the bullet while encompassing the entire shield. Tanner got closer to read it. ¡°That says¡­ provisional authority!?¡±


    Winter nodded, and read the flavor text of the badge word for word. ¡°A symbol of authority used to show your allegiance. This one shows yourself to be a high ranking member of the Paladin¡¯s inner circle. Using this item will allow you to draft local law enforcement in the Metronian Kingdom to your cause, based solely on your benefactor¡¯s name alone. No harm shall befall you from authorities while in possession of this. Judgment weapons wielded by law enforcement will not fire at your person.¡±


    Fall¡¯s jaw opened, and she couldn¡¯t recover from her shock in time as Winter got up from her desk, walked over to the woman, and slapped her with all her might.


    Tanner went wide-eyed as Fall crumpled to the floor in a heap, unconscious. ¡°Fuck, that must¡¯ve rattled her brain good. Even with the nanites, it¡¯ll take her a few minutes to recover.¡± Winter muttered as she shook her hand out to lessen the stinging on her palm.


    ¡°Take her and leave.¡± Tanner didn¡¯t even respond with his voice. He merely nodded and picked the woman off the floor before bowing to Winter and making a hasty retreat.


    Winter sighed as she sat down at her desk once more, and looked the Founder in his eyes. ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I?¡± He said with a smug grin. ¡°Entering into the Paladin¡¯s service was a beneficial thing.¡±


    Winter twirled a throwing knife around in her fingers, thought back to her memories with Joshua, and smiled slightly. ¡°I suppose it hasn¡¯t been the worst.¡±

 Chapter 57: Through These Eyes (Lucina)

    Lucina Metron stormed the castle, her charge unrelenting and her fury righteous. She couldn¡¯t be stopped by the retainers and servants, who all bent to her will.


    She walked with purpose through the halls of the top floor, and would not stop until her target felt the wrath of the anger she had been accumulating since her return to the country weeks ago.


    Finally stopping at the door she had been looking for Lucina didn''t even knock before having her Kingdom Key which Joshua had returned, override the locked door. Both halves opened rapidly, creating a loud thunk which startled the only other person present.


    Lucina walked a few feet into the entryway and stood there while she waited for the person in question to regain themselves. ¡°So? What do you have to say for yourself?¡±


    Lucina tried to calm her temper, and tapping her foot was all she could do to that end. She had never been this pissed off in her life. It was only after a drunken night out with her father that she learned of who was really pulling the strings, so she initiated a visit to quell any further manipulations.


    ¡°Starlords above. I¡¯m gone for a month and already being blamed for things I didn¡¯t fully do.¡± Cindy Metron, Lucina¡¯s mother answered with a deep sigh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that shit, your majesty.¡± Cindy was slightly taken aback by her daughter¡¯s attitude. She never called her mother so formally before. Not even when Cindy vetoed some of her ideas in front of the King.


    ¡°Alright, we can play.¡± Cindy¡¯s eyes narrowed and she stood up from her seated position on the massive bed. She stood up, and walked over to a coffee table and sat down, after which she offered Lucina a seat.


    The second oldest princess obliged, and sat down across from her mother. ¡°Care for some Aisol? Maybe some Arinaca Coffee will-¡± She was abruptly cut short by Lucina¡¯s fist being slammed onto the table.


    ¡°Mother, we¡¯re not here to catch up. Don¡¯t be stupid. This is an interrogation.¡± Cindy¡¯s lip curled up into a sneer.


    ¡°Please, you can¡¯t force me to comply with you. Even if you try using your Kingdom Key to force me to answer, I can just counteract that with my own. You have no influence over me.¡±


    Cindy gave a small chuckle at the end of her sentence, an action which slowly died as she realized that Lucina had begun cackling to herself. ¡°Ha¡­ ha ha ha!¡± The sound would have been beautiful coming out from Lucina¡¯s modified vocal chords, if it had not been so chilling.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe he was right about you, even to that extent.¡± Her smile vanished and was replaced by a frown. ¡°Cindera Metron, Queen of the Metronian Kingdom. Reya Metron, second princess of the Metron Kingdom and First Squire of Paladin Cole commands you¡­¡±


    A shudder went down Cindy¡¯s spine as she realized what was happening. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare-!¡±


    ¡°Reveal to me the purpose of your machinations.¡± The shout was too late as Lucina finished invoking her ¡®Inquisition,¡¯ ability that was granted to her by Judgment¡¯s Paladin protocols, and Cindy could feel the protection that her Kingdom Key gave her being eroded by the same system which had granted it in the first place.


    ¡°From a princess to a squ-¡± Cindy¡¯s body convulsed as she fought the order. ¡°-squire! How far you¡¯ve fallen!¡± Cindy rebelled against Judgment¡¯s compulsion, but knew it was only a matter of time before her body released some of the secrets it had been harboring for the better part of three months.


    Lucina just gave her mother a dead-eyed stare, and waited for Judgment to finish breaking her down. However, she decided to do her mother a service, and spoke to Cindy against her better judgment.


    ¡°Mother, stop fighting it. Judgment has already given me the right to carry out this inquisition as I see fit, granted that the results are never revealed to the public. The only ones who will ever know are you, Joshua, and myself.¡±


    Cindy¡¯s eyes widened at the mention of Paladin Cole¡¯s name, and Lucina watched with a dispassioned look as her mother began to tremble in anger.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention that abomination in my household!¡± Cindy was seething, and breathing heavily. Lucina¡¯s hard exterior began to melt as she looked on at her mother in pity. Have you never been challenged in your adult life before? Is this what sharing a country with someone not wrapped around your finger does to you?


    Lucina gave the order to Judgment¡¯s universal AI to ramp up the amount of compulsion being used on her mother. Cindy Metron¡¯s eyes rolled back into her head, and she sat deadly still.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do some test questions. Please state your maiden name.¡± Lucina waved her hand in front of her, bringing up a keyboard in her AR interface so she could record her mother¡¯s answers.


    Her mother¡¯s eyes returned to where they had been, but instead of the fiery red color that she was used to, her irises had lines of code along them. ¡°My name is Cindera Reign Metron. Daughter of the previous king, and sole survivor of her household.¡±


    Lucina nodded, and wrote everything down. ¡°Very good. Then, let¡¯s check with you on some facts. What is your eldest daughter¡¯s name, and how old is she?¡±


    Cindy¡¯s eyes shone blue as the code moved around. Eventually she opened her mouth and said, ¡°Venus Light Metron. She is 29 years old.¡±


    Once again, Lucina wrote down the response she got. Ok, it seems that mother is properly under Judgment¡¯s control¡­ what the hell kind of reality am I living in where I¡¯m ok with this. A couple months back and I would never¡­


    Lucina took a deep breath to compose herself before getting into the meat and potatoes of the interrogation. ¡°Cindy Metron, who did you ally yourself with in order to imprison Paladin Cole when he got back from the Luong Empire?¡±


    There was a moment of silence where Judgment¡¯s AI collected the information from Cindy¡¯s brain. The AI opened her mouth, and spoke using the Queen¡¯s voice, ¡°Duke Wingall, leader of the Pure Sun Party approached me with an offer of ridding me of Paladin Joshua Cole. Seeing as how his interests aligned with mine, we decided it was in our best interests to get rid of Reya¡¯s backer and establish Raiden as the new heir to the throne.¡±


    Lucina¡¯s eyes narrowed as she stared at what she had just written down. The PSP, huh? I¡¯ll need to get together with Raiden to discuss this.


    The princess clicked her tongue at the thought of spending time with her brother alone, but quickly calmed down after thinking about the praise she¡¯d receive from Joshua for getting this information.


    ¡°Then, let me ask you this: what was the PSP¡¯s long term goal in having the Paladin excised from the upper echelons of society?¡±


    Cindy processed the question, and replied, ¡°They wished for the safety of their business deals. There have always been under-the-counter transactions that occur in the noble¡¯s jurisdiction, but the presence of a Paladin had them fearful that they¡¯d be forced to stop.¡±


    So, they just wanted a free pass to commit crimes within their own regions? Disgusting. No wonder Joshua hates this country, given how corrupt it is, even on the surface.


    ¡°Their motive doesn¡¯t surprise me, but why do you want Paladin Cole gone so much?¡± Lucina stared into her mother¡¯s eyes, and watched her moving lips with barely contained anticipation.


    ¡°Because he is a blight on this country.¡± Although she had expected the answer, Lucina was slightly disappointed to hear it be conveyed with such simple words.


    ¡°Please elaborate.¡± She said, and waited some more as the Judgment program arranged her thoughts in a coherent order.


    ¡°Reya was not supposed to be anywhere close to the throne. Her ideals are ones that will shake the very foundation of this Kingdom. It will send us, our culture, and our heritage into disarray!¡±


    Lucina¡¯s eyes widened. The Judgment program even processed and expressed her emotions on the subject matter into her speech. ¡°Getting rid of Paladin Cole, and by extension, her only true backer, would make her vulnerable to assassination and blackmail.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you took out the contract with the Strafe family to kill Joshua.¡± Seeing as how she didn¡¯t pose it as a question, Cidy didn¡¯t respond. Lucina hastily rephrased the statement in order to get the confirmation that she was looking for.


    Terminating the Inquisition program, Lucina shook her head at her mother. ¡°I was expecting it, but hearing you talk about blackmailing or assassinating your daughter with your own mouth still irks me. You should be ashamed of yourself.¡±


    Cindy coughed and hacked as she manually restarted each of her faculties, starting with her lungs. Once the stale air was out, she took in a deep breath and grimaced at her daughter.


    ¡°I made the right choice. Mark my words, that man has you under a spell, enslavement, and the more you fall into it, the more and more bleak the future of our entire Kingdom will become. Say the word that you¡¯ll betray him, and I¡¯ll give you whatever you need and desire in order to make it a reality!¡±


    Cindy shouted at Lucina¡¯s retreating figure, but almost had a stroke when she saw what the princess flaunted as she turned to face her mother. She was pulling at a black leather collar, tightly wrapped around her neck, and bore the crest of Paladin Cole.


    ¡°Believe me mother,¡± Lucina said with a smirk, ¡°I think this kind of spell isn¡¯t too bad, to be honest.¡±

 Chapter 58: Liftoff

    A sound equivalent to that of a nuclear reactor¡¯s alarm went off in my brain, waking me up from what had been a nice, peaceful sleep. ¡°Shut it off¡­¡± I mumbled as my brain began to reactivate.


    The violent noise stopped, and I sat up in bed, to be greeted by the three Judgment AIs I''d collected over the months. ¡°Collect is such a harsh word to use, Master.¡± Un said, and shook his head. ¡°It undermines the intelligence that we have.¡±


    I vaguely recalled where I was, and why I had asked for that specific alarm. It had been almost two weeks since I moved into the mansion that belonged to a now deceased noble faction member, and in that time I had truly made that house my own.


    Winter had moved in with me, as well as the rest of the Strafe family who had come to me looking for work. They were an extremely cost-effective asset, with most of them already being proficient in combat.


    Better yet, I could skimp on their monetary pay since housing was included in their employee benefits. There seemed to be a few reluctant souls, but most of them were excited to go into combat in the war game.


    I should have expected them to be battle junkies like Winter, but I figured that she¡¯d be the odd one out. How dumb of me to expect otherwise.


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that.¡± X replied to the Strafe family founder with more than a hint of venom in her voice. ¡°Who was it again that gambled on whether they¡¯d still remain a program after being absorbed? That¡¯s pretty unintelligent if you ask me.¡±


    I struggled to keep a sigh from leaking out. It wasn¡¯t enough that I had been dealing with three voices instead of one for a while now, but two of them were constantly at each other¡¯s throats while the third remained mostly in cowed silence.


    ¡°Stop it you two. X, tell me the plan for today. Un and Three, tell me what your users have been up to after that.¡±


    The three of them bowed. Un and Three vanished from the room, being transported directly to Winter and Lilian¡¯s Judgment Panels respectively. Meanwhile, X let her curvaceous body recline in midair, and made a small notepad materialize in her hand.


    ¡°Today is when three skyquakes containing the army for the war game make their way from the Metronian Kingdom to the Primal Kingdom. You¡¯ll be gathering at Redleaf Palace¡¯s aircraft hangar, and departing in about five hours. I advise you to make any preparations that you need to before leaving.¡±


    I nodded, and put on my clothes under the weathering stare of X. ¡°One of these days, I¡¯m going to follow through on my desire to attain a physical body for myself.¡± She said, her eyes appraising me like a vulture does to meat.


    I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°Well, until you do, I¡¯m not too worried. Besides, how much of gaining a body would be a boon, and how much would be a bane? You need to keep both sides in perspective, and think about it objectively.¡±


    X flashed me a smile, and her appearance shifted. Her long ponytail and eyebrows changed to a stark white color, and her skin became a sunkissed brown. Two parts of her bangs were lifted up by a pair of horns protruding from her forehead. Her body grew a bit in size, as did her chest and buttocks to maintain the same ratio she had before. A long, black, snakelike tail appeared from her lower back. She was still wearing her latex suit, which hugged her curves and left little to the imagination.


    ¡°Huh, so this is the kind of form on your mind? I guess your run in with Starlord Alexstasia Bloodcrown weighed heavier on you than you thought.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room, into the manor. ¡°Good morning, Master Cole.¡± A man and woman of Strafe lineage greeted me, wearing a butler and maid outfit respectfully.


    ¡°...Good morning.¡± I replied back. I still wasn¡¯t used to the familiar greeting, but apparently Winter had a word with all of her clansmen, and established a set of ground rules to use within the household.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Do either of you know where Winter is?¡± The two looked at each other, and shook their heads.


    ¡°Great.¡± I sighed. Turning to the two, I pointed to the man. He was well built, and his dark skin made his crew-cut white hair stand out even more. Amber eyes looked out at me from behind ovular glasses.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The man looked taken aback, and exchanged looks with the maid. He turned his gaze to the ground, and remained in silence for a few moments.


    ¡°Ozwald.¡± He replied, his gaze still glued to the ground. I nodded, and then turned to the woman. She was still looking at Ozwald, and seemed a bit surprised when she realized that I was looking at her.


    ¡°P-Patricia.¡± She said, and also averted her gaze. She looked similar to Ozwald in regards to the white hair tied into pigtails and dark skin. Her eyes were a gentle green, a color I had yet to see in this world.


    ¡°Alright. Oswald and Patricia, please see to it that the other members of the Strafe family get ready to leave today. We¡¯ll be going to the palace first, and then from there to the Primal Kingdom.¡±


    The two of them stood there for a moment, before a bloodthirsty grin broke out on Ozwald¡¯s face. ¡°By your will, Master Cole.¡±


    They excused themselves and left to return to the servant¡¯s quarters. Meanwhile, I was left alone with X, whose current joy came in the act of flaunting her new form.


    ¡°You called, Master?¡± I turned to find Winter, who was accompanied by Un floating behind her right shoulder. She looked up, and winced when she saw X.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ new. An awakened fetish, I take it?¡± I groaned, took her hand, and began to walk to the stairs.


    ¡°W-wait a second! I need to mentally prepare myself, Master! Doing it in a public space is one thing, but in front of actual people is-!¡±


    I opened the door to the manor, and walked out into the front yard. I let go of her, and turned to face the confused bounty hunter. ¡°No, I am not trying to fuck you right now. We have actual business to attend to.¡±


    The confused look was replaced with a smile, and she put a hand on her hip. ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m glad that you can look past your lust and at the actual problem. I¡¯ve definitely worked for people before who didn¡¯t have that skill.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes in disbelief at her enthusiasm, and asked, ¡°Why are you trying to butter me up, Winter?¡±


    I saw her flinch, although it was so fast and contained that if I didn¡¯t have nanites enhancing my eyesight, I would have missed it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± She said, nonchalantly. ¡°Sometimes a girl just wants to flirt, you know? No offense, but you definitely get lost in your own head, sometimes.¡±


    Great. A sweet line to try and fluster me on top of a blanket statement that could be said of any human. She¡¯s so shit at reading people.


    Winter continued to smile, unaware of my thoughts, but Un, who was, began to laugh. ¡°Winter, how many times do I have to tell you? You shouldn¡¯t try to deceive your employer, especially when he is better at deceiving than you.¡±


    She flashed a pissed off glare at Un, but ultimately gave up the act. ¡°Actually, Paladin Cole, I have a favor to ask.¡±


    I nearly rolled my eyes, but controlled my urges and remained silent. She took the hint, and continued, ¡°Could I have your permission to move into the main house, instead of living in the servant¡¯s quarters?¡±


    I just stared at her in shocked silence. She took that as either contemplation or disapproval, and started fidgeting with her fingers. ¡°Is that all?¡±


    My voice caused her to jump, more visibly this time, and she looked at me. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I asked if that was all. That¡¯s a dumb question, of course you can. I don¡¯t know why you went and lived there in the first place. The plan was always to have you live in the main house with Lilian and myself.¡±


    Her mouth went agape, and she turned to Un, before returning her attention to me. ¡°B-but¡­ but the Founder said-¡±


    This time, I indulged myself and rolled my eyes. ¡°How much longer does Un have to deceive you before you learn to just ask me things directly?¡±


    A blush came over Winter¡¯s features, and she tried to storm back to the manor, but stopped in her tracks when she ran into the entire Strafe family, decked out in military apparel and armed to the teeth.


    ¡°What are you all doing?¡± Winter asked, and, seeing where this was going, I started to walk towards the waiting barrack pod for transport.


    X, tell Akahime to get my new combat suit from the lab, and bring it to the meeting room.


    ¡°By your will, Master.¡± X nodded, and materialized the notepad from before into her hands before writing something down in it.


    ¡°Today is what!?¡± I heard Winter shout as I got into the frontmost seat. ¡°Why in the Starlords¡¯ infinite wisdom don¡¯t you tell me anything, Founder!?¡±

 Chapter 59: The Plane Ride From Hell

    ¡°Well that¡¯s a load of shit.¡± Winter muttered under her breath as we walked towards the Skyquake plane.


    We were currently in the hangar atop Redleaf Palace, and everyone in my entire company was present. Soldiers from separate divisions, like the cavalry, infantry, and musketeers reunited, and old friends greeted each other once more.


    In contrast to the people celebrating below, the leaders of each faction were meeting aboard the ship itself. I had walked into the command room, where Reya, Lucina, and Akahime were already waiting for me.


    The latter smiled and waved at me. It was a greeting which I awkwardly returned. X, have I done anything recently to make her like me more?


    ¡°No, but I believe that she craves your approval in order to validate her existence as a ¡®good person''.¡± The A.I. replied, causing me to sigh.


    Winter was in a bad mood, and had been since our takeoff at the mansion. On top of Un, who constantly pestered her, she apparently also disapproved of being in the same room as three members of royalty.


    Winter quickly took me aside, and grabbed me by my collar, pressing her toned body into mine. She whispered into my ear, ¡°Master, I don¡¯t think this is the correct decision. These women are like rabid dogs, and each one will only be looking to pull you in the direction that benefits them. They¡¯ll eat you alive, and then throw you by the roadside when you¡¯re all used up!¡±


    I smirked at her reaction, and separated myself from her clutches. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not too bad once you exploit them first. That¡¯s just the kind of relationship we have with each other. Exploit and be exploited. We know how the game works, and we willingly participate.¡±


    Winter sighed but said no more on the subject. I turned back to look at the gathered princesses, and almost flinched at the sight of Lucina¡¯s cold eyes as her vision flicked between Winter and myself.


    ¡°So, I see you¡¯ve gotten to be better friends with your dog. How sweet. Unfortunately, even man¡¯s best friend is doomed to lose to a proper human.¡± Lucina remarked bitterly, causing Winter¡¯s dark skin to flush in embarrassment.


    Against my expectations, although it really shouldn¡¯t have been at this point, Un appeared from my shadow and laughed at Winter. Well, he laughed as much as he could given the fact that X revoked his sound functions as a penalty for causing the leader of my honor guard undue stress back at the mansion.


    Winter glared at Un, and clenched her fists before saying, ¡°No that¡¯s not it at all! I know my place in this relationship, and I¡¯m not trying to aim higher than my station.¡± Her words came out confidently, and she glared into Lucina¡¯s eyes with a look of defiance.


    The second oldest Metronian princess grinned, with a hint of lust in her smile. ¡°Good. In that case, you¡¯ll make a great pet for our Master then, won¡¯t you?¡±


    Winter averted her gaze, and stepped behind my back, blocking Lucina¡¯s view of her. ¡°I-I should be checking up on the rest of the Strafe family, and making sure that they¡¯re getting properly acclimated to the warship¡¯s functions. Please contact me if you need my services, Master.¡±


    I nodded, and watched her retreating figure vanish into the darkness of the ship¡¯s hull. ¡°Look at that, you scared her off.¡± Reya sighed, and swung around to a position on my left, grabbing my arm in both of hers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Joshua. I¡¯m much more lenient about personal matters. I won¡¯t judge you based on who you choose to fuck or not.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and peeled her off of me. ¡°Believe it or not, I haven¡¯t had sex with Winter.¡± Be calm, be rational. It¡¯s like Winter said. We¡¯re using each other for our political gain¡­ but¡­ I¡¯d like to think that my friendship with Lucina is somewhat real.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± I said, as much to put an end to my own ideas as to change the direction of the conversation, ¡°I¡¯m sure we all have things to talk about. Why don¡¯t we start debriefing each other here, and I can call Winter back to share her side of things when you three are done.¡±


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Reya, Lucina, and Akahime all answered simultaneously while moving to a massive table within the control room. Various AR models floated there, ready to perform a mock battle, or simulate our plans if need be.


    We got over there, and I nodded to the pilots picked out by Lucina. They returned my greeting, and then turned back to oversee the migration of all 110 members of the miniature army that we¡¯d accumulated into the ship.


    I actually looked over the women for the first time, and took note of what they were wearing. Reya had on a black suit, with a small breastplate that only covered her chest. Golden greaves, gauntlets, and an armored skirt all stood out from her outfit, and a small crown was placed on her blue hair.


    She noticed my stare and said, ¡°It is a custom for the crowned prince or princess to wear a crown out in public. Unfortunately, my mother plans to enforce this even during times of war.¡±


    I nodded, and moved my gaze over to Lucina. She was wearing boots that made her appear taller than she already was, which was to say, monstrous. Her long limbs made her look like an elegant yet avant-garde ballerina.


    Blackish purple armor covered the entirety of her body, and enhanced the bulk of her frame two-fold. She looked like a knight errant, save for the lack of a horse. She placed a hand on my shoulder when she noticed my stare, and gave me a lecherous smile.


    I knew she wanted to get together for a session over the majority of our time off, but actual work dictated that I get all my priorities sorted out beforehand. I needed to arrange meals for the soldiers, book times in the training halls for each division, and organize joint practices between the squadrons on top of navigating my way through the Metron Kingdom¡¯s political quagmire.


    She leaned in close, standing an entire head above me, even though we used to be the same height. ¡°Want to explore what¡¯s under this armor after we land? I promise it¡¯ll be worth your while, Paladin Cole.¡±


    I shivered from her sultry voice defiling my ear, and had to keep a straight face, despite my lips yearning to curve into a smile. ¡°Perhaps.¡± I answered, running my eyes up and down her gallant figure. ¡°But I¡¯ll need you to behave yourself.¡±


    Her smile softened, and she stepped back, allowing me a look at Akahime. She was wearing thin, red armor, reminiscent of an assassin. Her face had on war paint, which was a series of red lines over a white foundation. Red lipstick pulled the whole image together, and it was the first thing my eyes went to when she sent me a smile.


    ¡°Hello, Master Cole. It is wonderful to see you again.¡± She gave me a curt bow, and stood up straight, still cheerful. ¡°If it would please you, I would offer you my services once we reach the Primal Kingdom as well.¡±


    I opened my mouth to decline, but Lucina cut me off. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯d be happy to do so. We¡¯d definitely need to make some purchases once we get there though.¡± I turned to give her a venomous look, but she had already averted her gaze.


    Internally clicking my tongue, I motioned towards Reya to start with her debriefing. Listening to some of the things that she had gone through this past month, I was more than a little surprised at how much effort she had put in, despite being forcibly drafted to the cause.


    ¡°I told you that she wanted to be in your good graces again. All you needed to give her was a directive, and she would have clawed and scratched her own heart out to achieve it.¡± X said, appearing over my shoulders and wrapping me in an incorporeal embrace.


    I fought the urge to roll my eyes, having learned from past experience that physically reacting to something a Judgment says around others could have disastrous consequences. ¡°Thank you Reya. You went above and beyond what I was expecting.¡±


    Her face slackened, and a genuine smile graced her countenance. ¡°Thank you. If you have any questions about my unit, please ask me any time.¡± She stepped back, and allowed Akahime to take the reins.


    ¡°My lord, allow me to debrief you on the state of the infantrymen you¡¯ll be employing.¡± Confused by her sudden fealty, I just stared at her and waited for her to continue. My lips curled up when she spoke about her frustrations when going up against my AI in the combat simulation chambers.


    I thanked her for her input, and continued dedication to making sure the operation went smoothly. She nodded and stepped back, before being replaced by Lucina. She gave me some time to think before starting, which I gladly took.


    Who has access to my combat data, and would wantonly upload it into the system? I asked, X, who laughed in reply.


    ¡°That would be Judgment itself, Master. As per a request by an anonymous user, Judgment uploaded the combat potential you showed from your fight with Gazix in the colosseum, and crafted an AI program with it. Of course, this is fully contained within the chambers, and is not available to others via the cloud.¡±


    Meanwhile, Lucina had led me to a trio of seats, and set me down in the middle. She sat to my right, and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure my debriefing can happen while we are relaxing. Would you like anything to eat or drink?¡±


    I turned to my right, only to find that Akahime and Reya were arguing over who would get the seat to my left, along with Winter, who had just returned to give her own report.


    I sighed as I slumped into the seat. I might have done too good of a job in manipulating them when we first met.

 Chapter 60: Officially Unofficial

    My eyes fluttered open, and I sat up with a start, knocking Lucina and Reya¡¯s heads off of my shoulders. How long was I out for!?


    ¡°Only three hours. We¡¯re about to land, Master.¡± X¡¯s voice echoed in my ears, and I looked around at the two women on my arms. Reya had tied her hair up into a bun, and was currently drooling on my sleeve.


    Turning my gaze to the right, Lucina had slipped out of her breastplate and gauntlets, but kept on her armored leggings and greaves. Her long, black ponytail stuck out against her pale skin, and her large breasts were planted firmly on my bicep.


    X appeared in front of me, coming to a rest on my lap. Her form shifted once more, until she looked like Lucina, with white hair and amber eyes.


    ¡°You really do have a special place in your heart for her, huh?¡± She started to examine her fingernails, moving her hands as she did so. I grimaced at the A.I.''s remark, realizing that there was more than a kernel of truth in it¡¯s statement.


    I would like to think that I have the situation under control, but in truth, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do if Lucina was taken from me, or held hostage.


    I watched her chest rise and fall in her sleep, then moved my gaze up to her face. Which is why you¡¯ll be there, protecting her.


    X stopped mid-movement, and slowly turned to face me. ¡°Master, you can¡¯t be serious. Not once since my inception have we been separated, and it would be unwise to start now.¡±


    Do you have another plan? I asked, and the A.I. slowly lowered its gaze. It¡¯s not like this is a spur of the moment thing. I continued. I considered sending Un or Three instead of you, but you know both of them like to push the boundaries of the rules we¡¯ve given them. There¡¯s no telling whether they¡¯d actually act in good faith.


    X clicked her tongue, and crossed her legs. ¡°Of course not. None of those other iterations of the program had the foresight to choose winners as their contractors. In the end, I lost out because of it. How typical of them.¡±


    I sighed, and sent, I know that it¡¯s something you don¡¯t want to do, but all I am asking is to move your consciousness over to her Judgment Panel, and make sure nothing happens to her while we¡¯re in the Primal Kingdom. Besides, you do always have the emergency route to my panel, even if you have to destroy your cloud to expedite the process.


    X rolled her eyes, and her AR form leaned into me. ¡°Remember that I¡¯ll always be listening, and always come to your aid, even when you think I can¡¯t.¡±


    She gave me a kiss on the forehead, and disintegrated into motes of light. That light was then sucked into Lucina¡¯s panel, and, for the first time since I came into this world, I felt empty.


    Well, I felt empty until I called on Un, the large man¡¯s frame filling up my vision. He looked down at me with amusement in his voice, ¡°I¡¯m not going to sit on your lap like X, if that¡¯s what you called me for.¡±


    I shook my head. No. I just sent X on an important mission, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware. You¡¯ll be acting in her stead for the time we spend in the Primal Kingdom, so I figure we should get to know each other better. Tell me your powers, and how you interfere with Judgment.


    Un stiffened, before a large grin grew on his face. The program laughed, its dark skin shining in the artificial light from the aircraft. ¡°This is the kind of stuff I signed up for with you. I¡¯m glad you have such a good grip of the rules the Judgments play by.¡±


    Un conjured a white leather chair from thin air, and sat down across from me. ¡°So as you¡¯ve already surmised, different Judgments have different abilities that allow them to interfere with the normally very structured rules of the Judgment System.¡±


    Un, formerly known as Atlas Strafe, shifted in his chair. ¡°While X¡¯s abilities affect the systems of other users, mine affects your own. I can overclock the nanites working inside your system to increase your rate of natural recovery, improve your stamina usage, and overall physical strength. I can also control multiple drones, and make them serve as clones.¡±


    I nodded, and added, Know that I will not tolerate any of your joking behavior while we are on this mission. Should you tease Winter for the sake of it, your program will be deleted, regardless of consequence. Un nodded solemnly, just as the plane touched down on the Primal Kingdom¡¯s runway. Un, pull up a map for me. The program did just that, and soon a 3d map of the region was present in my vision.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°We just touched down at Scuoldon Castle, the runway used by foreign diplomats. Should you require my assistance again, please don¡¯t hesitate to do so.¡± I nodded, and Un winked out of existence, leaving me with two groggy beauties.


    ¡°Ugh, my head¡­ I feel like it¡¯s been pounded.¡± Lucina muttered, cradling the spot where my shoulder had smacked her.


    ¡°Probably not in a good way, either.¡± Reya grinned, rubbing the side of her own face as well. That earned a raised brow from the older princess, but she said nothing.


    Instead, the three of us were soon joined by Akahime, and Winter, who stood to the left and right of the three-seat bench respectively. ¡°Report: all soldiers have deboarded the skyquake, and are en route to the base you specified is being maintained by Lilian.¡±


    I stood up from the chair, giving her a nod. ¡°Thanks for that. Take Akahime and follow them. Make sure they don¡¯t get into any trouble. We wouldn¡¯t want an easily avoidable international incident to happen.¡±


    Akahime nodded, and made to leave, but Winter stayed put. ¡°Let me continue to guard you, I can-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about how good or bad you are.¡± I replied, cutting her off. ¡°Unfortunately, this is a matter between the Metron royal family, and whatever leaders of the Primal Kingdom there are. There¡¯s really no room for those without the proper political standing. I¡¯m only allowed because I¡¯m in charge of the operation. If not for that, then I wouldn¡¯t be allowed there.¡±


    Winter frowned and stormed out of the room, leaving Akahime to nervously follow in her wake. ¡°That wasn¡¯t as planned.¡± I muttered as Lucina took my hand, leading me to the cargo bay of the massive aircraft.


    ¡°No, but she understands why it¡¯s necessary. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t argue and just left. I joked about it before, but you¡¯ve found a reliable person to be your head of security. You can tell she takes her job very seriously.¡±


    I nodded, and freed my hand from Lucina¡¯s. The three of us began to walk in a straight line, with Reya leading, followed by me, and the rear was brought up by Lucina.


    Once we were within twenty feet of the exit, a strong hand gripped my shoulder and pulled me into a dark corridor. I whipped my head around as I drew on Un¡¯s powers, willing it to enhance my physicality the same way I used to will X¡¯s power.


    I wrenched the hand off of my shoulder with little resistance and pinned my assailant to the floor. The tall woman under me giggled, and Lucina said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind doing more of that, but I need you to tell me what¡¯s going on in your head right now. You¡¯re obviously thinking about other things.¡±


    I¡­ I didn¡¯t know how to proceed. On one hand, I did want to clear the air between Lucina and I, but then again¡­


    I felt a spark on my temple, and found Un floating in front of me. ¡°Just say what you¡¯re thinking, Master. Be honest in situations like these.¡±


    He knelt down and tapped a finger to my panel, and my world went black. When I regained my vision, words that weren¡¯t my own came tumbling out of my mouth.


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know. I want to make it clear between us what kind of relationship we have. Whether or not that takes the form of lovers, friends, or something of a mix in between.¡±


    When I regained control of my motor functions, I was breathing heavily, and nervous energy filled my stomach. I warily looked down at Lucina, only to catch a glimpse of a blush on her face before it was covered by her gauntlets.


    ¡°It would make things so much easier if you only went after me for lust.¡± The older woman sighed, and she moved her hand away from her mouth.


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve been giving it a lot of thought myself recently. I¡¯m fine with what we have now, which is being friendly, and using each other to relieve our pent-up lust. Unfortunately, my mind keeps wandering about what it would be like to try to be lovers with you.¡±


    She took a deep breath and finally revealed the rest of her face, with her eyes staring at me. ¡°Paladin Joshua Cole, I can honestly say that you are one of the most mentally and physically stimulating individuals I¡¯ve met in my life. If you aren¡¯t opposed to it, I¡¯d be fine with doing a¡­ trial run.¡±


    ¡°A trial run?¡± I repeated, and Lucina gave me a nod.


    ¡°A¡­ grace period, where we¡¯ll try our best to evolve the relationship we had, but if nothing comes of it, then no hard feelings, and things return to the way they were before.¡± Her eyes ran down my body, stopping at my pants.


    ¡°I happen to like a certain part of you too much to just completely end our relationship if things go south. I hope you understand.¡±


    My eyes narrowed, and a grin crept itself on my face despite myself. ¡°Of course.¡± I said, my eyes still locked on to hers. ¡°Although maybe we can experiment in that direction after the War Game is over. For now, let¡¯s just focus on our upcoming victory, and-¡±


    ¡°Starlords above, have you two no self-control!?¡± Reya screeched, as she peered into the hallway. Un hovered above her, a wide smile on his face.


    A flash of anger hit me, but honestly, without him, I don¡¯t know if I would have been able to swallow my pride and admit weakness, even to Lucina, my oldest confidant in this world.


    I got off of Lucina, and offered her my hand. She smiled, but did a one-handed kip-up, landing on her feet in front of me. She turned to Reya, and waved. ¡°What can I say? Paladin Cole knows what he likes.¡±


    Reya cried, ¡°God damn it Lucy!¡± She walked away in a huff, leaving one Princess and a Paladin to follow.

 Chapter 61: Meeting the Opposition

    The first thing I felt was the heat of South America beating down on me from above. Well¡­ I guess it was the Primal Kingdom now. Why can¡¯t parallel worlds ever have the same names for places.


    ¡°What, do you want all worlds to be called ¡®Earth,¡¯ something or some other number? What a dumb naming system. Such low creativity.¡± Un said, obviously poking fun at the comics I used to read.


    I fought the urge to shrug as I replied, Sometimes we need simple concepts for our brains to latch on to. I¡¯m sure you know what I¡¯m talking about.


    The AI grunted, and disappeared inside my panel as Reya approached me. She opened her mouth to say something, but paused, leaning in to get a good look at my face. ¡°Joshua, don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t set your nanites to their cooling feature?¡±


    I rolled my eyes, and said, ¡°What gave it away? The fact that I¡¯m sweating from the heat?¡± As I said so, I mentally ordered Un to direct the nanites, and instantly felt my body cool down.


    I breathed a sigh of relief, as even though I could still feel the heat on my clothes, my actual body felt as though it was inside an air-conditioned room.


    ¡°How does that work?¡± I asked Reya, and this time, it was her who looked exasperated.


    ¡°If I tried to explain it to you, you wouldn¡¯t understand. Just ask Judgment instead.¡± I tensed up, before reminding myself that Reya thought there was only one Judgment system.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I shrugged, and began following her towards our ride, a flat, triangular shaped  piece of machinery with a cockpit in the middle.


    The triangle was thin, meaning the circular cockpit supported the aircraft¡¯s weight on the ground. ¡°Oh, that reminds me,¡± Reya said as she started to get into the craft, ¡°The nanites work the opposite way as well. If you find yourself in unbearable cold, they can produce heat for you.¡±


    ¡°Somehow, that seems a lot more dangerous.¡± I muttered as I got into the cockpit, and properly sandwiched between the armor of the two ladies.


    ¡°Greetings. It is an honor, Princess Reya, Princess Lucina. To whom do I owe the pleasure of flying you both today?¡± The pilot¡¯s seat rotated so that he was facing us, and he gave a humble bow.


    ¡°Him, actually.¡± Lucina said, and pointed at my face, poking the right side of my face in the process.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± It was at this point I noticed that the pilot was much older than I thought, and he leaned in to get a good look with his spectacles.


    ¡°Ah, the new Paladin of the Metronian Kingdom! Please forgive my rudeness.¡± He said, and bowed once more. ¡°This humble pilot¡¯s name is-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± I cut him off, tired of being in an aircraft the whole day so far, and just wanting to get this next leg of flight over with.


    The pilots lips curled up into a small smile, and he said, ¡°Very well then. We shall take off immediately.¡±


    True to his word, the vehicle floated up without so much as a sound, and soon we were dashing through the skies, towards a massive series of red spires in the distance. Lucina put her head on my shoulder, as did Reya.


    I held in the urge to push Reya off as I received an incoming message from Lucina. ¡®You really should be more careful of who you choose to ignore.¡¯ I turned to look at her, and found her amethyst-colored eyes looking back at me.


    What do you mean by that? I sent back in reply, and a small smile crept up on her face. She took my right hand in her left, and leaned back into my shoulder, closing her eyes.


    ¡®That man is Victor Dormiana, a retired veteran who once overwhelmed Metron¡¯s air force with an inferior number of crafts, and less experienced pilots. He was a major threat back in his day, and a royal pain in Metron¡¯s side.¡¯


    I looked at the back of the man¡¯s head, noting his retreating hairline and greying locks. Why doesn¡¯t he try to look the part then? With genetic enhancement, he could probably still be active in the military, given how his mind still seems fresh. Also, why did they send him out as a glorified chauffeur?


    I thought back to Reya¡¯s sword instructor in the kingdom, and his aging physical appearance as well. Come to think of it, why do there seem to be so many people intent on not using technology to benefit themselves.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    A smile grew on Lucina¡¯s lips, and she sent, ¡®Because they¡¯re exactly that: old. They believe that the glory days of humanity have come and gone, and are unwilling to let go of their nostalgia to chase new dreams. They¡¯ve given up on living any other way than the one they know.¡¯


    She moved her fingers, and made them interlock with mine. ¡®As for why they sent him, think of it as a thinly veiled threat. A message that reads: we used to dominate your military, and it¡¯s going to happen again.¡¯


    I thanked her, and closed my own eyes. ¡®Oh, and one more thing.¡¯ I nodded, and asked her what it was.


    ¡®Don¡¯t forget to make contact with my brother after we leave the palace. He¡¯ll want to hear from you regarding any changes in the plan that pop up.¡¯


    My heart sank as I realized that I completely forgot about Raiden, and even making sure he was on the plane. Thankfully, it sounded like he was there, and headed to the base with Winter and Akahime. Will do. I messaged Lucina, before switching communications. Un, please explain how the nanites can affect my body temperature.


    The AI appeared in the passenger seat next to Victor, and said, ¡°You know how we feel things, right Master? It¡¯s all a transmission of information from the sensor to the brain. What the nanites do is send out an electromagnetic field that interferes with your natural receptors, your skin, for instance, and supplements the signals your brain receives to benefit your conditions.¡±


    I nod, and open my eyes to look over at Reya, who had the nerve to actually fall asleep. Why couldn¡¯t she explain it then? That seemed simple enough.


    Un grinned mischievously and said, ¡°Master, I don¡¯t think the princess actually knew. Instead of admitting that, however, she saw the opportunity to dodge the question, and did so.¡±


    I sighed as we touched down on top of the largest spire, and the cockpit opened. ¡°Welcome to ¡®The Swords of the System,¡¯ Palace Rojas.¡± Victor¡¯s seat turned to face us, and he gave us another bow. ¡°I hope you all have a fantastic day, especially our Paladin over here.¡±


    With that, and a wave towards us, he sped off as soon as we had left the aircraft. ¡°So¡­ where to now?¡± Lucina asked, and Reya pointed towards a hole in the ground.


    ¡°There.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯ve been in contact with Princess Viina Secela since we left the airport. Her brother is coming to get us now.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, he is.¡± A baritone voice came from the hole, and a man dressed in a suit walked up some hidden stairs. The man himself was massive, and easily the size of Un, if he had a physical body. He was flanked on either side by two people wearing red capes, and armor underneath.


    The man¡¯s dress suit stretched, and threatened to break with every movement. However, despite this, the man was not fat at all. In fact, I¡¯d be surprised if he had any body fat on him in the first place.


    His caramel skin hosted calculating green eyes, and his black hair was shaved close to the scalp. A mustache and goatee combo were present on his face, and framed his full, dark lips.


    ¡°Barett Secela, at your service.¡± He bowed, and then walked up to Reya before taking her hand. He knelt and kissed it, before moving on to Lucina to do the same thing.


    He did start with Reya first. I wondered if it was in order of seniority, but it seems to be the order of succession. I thought, looking at the crown on Reya¡¯s head.


    Finally, Barett moved in front of me. ¡°If you want to kiss my hand, that¡¯s going to be a firm no from me.¡±


    Barett smiled, and one of the guards took a gun from his cloak. He shot a beam at my shoulder, a non lethal shot. I diluted time, and used Un¡¯s ability to reinforce the nanites in my hand. I took the shot, which collapsed inward on itself as it hit my palm.


    Lucina looked on with narrowed eyes as Reya gasped. Instead of chastising his guard like I thought he would Barett¡¯s smile grew and he held out his hand. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that my childhood friend is in such capable hands.¡±


    It was a test? A wave of discontent poured out from my heart, and masked my sense of reason. How many more times would I have to play these games?


    I took his hand, and felt a similar use of the Judgment system. Un, is he also using nanites to improve his strength?


    The third Judgment AI I had collected appeared over my shoulder, and crossed his arms. ¡°From what I can sense, it is exactly that way, Master.¡±


    Un. Let¡¯s crush him. A bloodthirsty grin appeared on Un¡¯s face as pale blue lines shone from his body.


    ¡°As you wish, Master!¡± I grabbed Barett¡¯s hand, and frowned as he tried to crush mine with his strength.


    His smile faltered as he realized my hand wouldn¡¯t move to his will, and soon he was grunting in pain as I began to squeeze down on his.


    I encountered a bit of resistance from his bone structure, but after applying more strength, I found that it was pretty easy to get by it.


    A cracking sound came from his right hand, and a creaking soon accompanied it. To his credit, he didn¡¯t utter a single sound or cry out, and showed no sign of pain aside from his trembling lip. I pulled on his hand, making him wince and drawing him in close.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad she¡¯s in my hands too.¡± I whispered into his ear in reply to his earlier comment, then let go of his hand.


    He fell to one knee, and everyone around us was stunned into silence. ¡°Oh dear, are you ok?¡± I said, my voice dripping with fake concern.


    I looked up at the two guards, both of whom had taken a step forward. ¡°You should get that checked out. In the meantime, you can tell the less rude of your two guards to show us around.¡±


    I looked back down at Barett, and knelt to get to his eye level. ¡°You don¡¯t have a problem with that, do you, Prince Secela?¡±

 Chapter 62: All Hail The... King?

    I walked down the staircase, with Lucina and Reya following closely behind. I know they had wanted to speak with me about the incident with Prince Barett Secela. However, I was more concerned with figuring out how to optimize my performance with Un¡¯s powers.


    ¡°Master¡­ I get that you¡¯re excited about studying this, but you really should address their concerns before we reach the King.¡± Un spoke into my ear.


    Don¡¯t worry, from the layout we still have a lot more flights of stairs to go before we reach the bottom. Has that always been how you affect the system? It seems like a technique that¡¯s easily copy-able.


    Un tsked, and said, ¡°Of course people copy it, but they can¡¯t get the desired output of the system without building the requisite muscles first. There¡¯s a built-in limiter to the technique. If you normally tried to exert your muscles to maximum output, the system believes that you''d undoubtedly injure yourself as you¡¯d try to use more than what you had.¡±


    So your version of it bypasses that somehow? Un nodded, and pointed to his own, ripped physique. ¡°What the system ends up doing is using my own muscles as a substitute for your own. Ergo, the nanites enhance your durability and strength as if you had my muscles.¡±


    Ah, so that¡¯s what this pain is. I was wondering if soreness was a drawback of the power¡­ I guess I¡¯ll have to think carefully about when to use it then.


    I was interrupted by a tapping on my shoulder, and when I turned around, Lucina¡¯s eyes met mine, and she pointed to the portion of my field of view where the chat box was.


    I sighed but indulged her, and opened my chat log to find an onslaught of messages, ranging from mildly annoyed with how Barett had treated me, to downright upset that I wasn¡¯t responding to her.


    I exhaled, and sent her a message while returning my attention to the soldier who was guiding us down the long stairway. Yes, Lucina? What is it?


    ¡®Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t remember this.¡¯ She replied, followed by an emoji of a tongue sticking out. I was slightly taken aback. Was this what she was like when she was being open with her feelings?


    Thinking back on it, save for sex, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d ever seen her display any fragment of her emotions. Duly noted. So, what did you need to tell me so desperately?


    ¡®Well,¡¯ she began, ¡®you should know what kind of environment we¡¯re going to be going into. First, a question: do you know why we have only taken the stairs for the past twenty minutes, and no escalators, elevators, or transport arrays of any kind?¡¯


    My eyes narrowed as I considered her question. I hadn¡¯t thought about it before, but it was strange that I hadn¡¯t seen a single piece of technology, save for the aircrafts that took us from the airport to this castle.


    Does¡­ does it have to do with why they¡¯re called the Primal Kingdom? I replied, and a small emoji with kissy lips entered my field of view.


    ¡®I knew I chose right when I wanted to make you more than a sex friend.¡¯ I had to restrain from face-palming, and continued reading, ¡®That¡¯s exactly it. This nation is known as the Primal Kingdom because of its values.¡¯


    That would explain the advanced age of some of the citizens. A smiling emoji flashed on my screen.


    ¡®Exactly. Many people in this nation believe that the golden age of humanity has long since passed. The culture around here has evolved to viewing a natural death as the climax of life, and is cause for a great celebration. They believe that artificially extending your life belittles one¡¯s own humanity.¡¯


    I stifled a chuckle, and replied, I fear what they would do if they learned about the Luong Empire¡¯s Phoenix System.


    An angry emoji. ¡®Never, ever, ever mention that outside of your bedroom in the castle, or an audience with Emperor Hoshizora himself. You never know who could be listening, or what countries could be looking for an impetus to start a war.¡¯


    We exited the staircase, and entered a long, dimly lit hallway with red walls, made of the same material as the tower. Understood. So, who are we meeting this time? I waited for an answer, but only the clanking of Lucina¡¯s armor as she walked responded.


    Soon, that died down to a stop as well, as our guard halted in his tracks, and knelt towards the supposed direction of the throne room.


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll take it from here.¡± A woman dressed in white pants, and a red poncho walked into view. The poncho was embroidered with tribal patterns, and the pants were cut off at her knees.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Caramel skin the same color as Barett¡¯s seemed to light up the dim corridor, and her long, black hair was tied in a ponytail that reached down to her waist. ¡°As you wish, Princess Viina Secela.¡± The guard spoke, and, while still having his head bowed, backed out of the hallway, leaving the four of us.


    ¡°Hello, Viina. It¡¯s a pleasure to see you again.¡± Lucina did a small bow towards the woman, and Reya seemed to bounce down the hallways towards her.


    ¡°Viina! It¡¯s been so long.¡± Contrary to my expectations, Viina Secela didn¡¯t smile, or laugh, or seem relatively happy in the least.


    ¡°This can wait, Reya.¡± She held up a hand to stop the crown princess¡¯ momentum, and turned an icy green gaze my way. Although we were similar heights, she still tilted her head up at an angle to try to look down on me.


    ¡°So you¡¯re the one who broke Barett¡¯s hand?¡± Her gaze scanned me up and down. ¡°What would you have done if he couldn¡¯t have competed in the War Games?¡±


    I tilted my head slightly, and responded, ¡°Please. Firstly, your testosterone excessive brother started something he couldn¡¯t finish. Second, I¡¯ve seen what medical bays can do, especially those in royal possession. There¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t be alright.¡±


    Viina frowned, her full lips arching down in discontent. ¡°That¡¯s not the point! We pride ourselves on natural strength, and would prefer that everything take its natural course! You¡¯ve slighted us horribly by forcing our hand. Healing Barett via technology has shamed him.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, and a cruel smile appeared on my face. ¡°Blame your brother for being too weak. He tried to pick a fight with someone he knew nothing about. On top of being physically inferior, he¡¯s stupid too. I feel bad for you, but I have to admit, I¡¯m looking forward to seeing how you carry a failure like him through the war game.¡±


    Her frown returned to a neutral expression, and she said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that exactly what you¡¯re doing right now? You have no idea what I¡¯m capable of, you hypocrite.¡±


    My expression returned to neutral as well, as I replied, ¡°I think I do. After all, if your brother was that easy to subdue, how much more difficult could you be, Princess Viina?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Fourth Princess Secela to you.¡± She replied, venom in her tone. ¡°Anyway, your audience with the Queen will be held shortly. Follow me.¡±


    It was when we had started following the woman that something came to mind. Didn¡¯t you say king earlier? I asked Lucina, who sent me a shrugging emoji. Great. Just great. Another unknown variable.


    It was then that Un decided to reappear in front of me. ¡°Master, I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but-¡±


    I know. I told him, while staring at Viina Secela¡¯s back. She¡¯s dangerous, far more so than Barett. We¡¯ll need to factor her into our plans heavily, if she is fighting.


    ---


    ¡°All be seated! Queen Secela has entered the room.¡± Viina Secela shouted directly into my ear.


    What a childish way to get back at someone. Despite my personal feelings for Viina thus far, I decided to say nothing and make a good impression with the one actually in power: the queen.


    The three of us from the Metron Kingdom took a seat, and I watched Viina kneel next to me. I turned my head away before she could catch me looking, and instead faced my head towards the empty throne.


    The first thing I heard were the sound of boots echoing on the rock floor of the chamber. The next thing I knew, a short woman in a long, regal, red and white dress walked past us.


    The dress trailed behind her as she walked, but was suspended off of the floor by some unknown method. She reached and sat on the throne, turning to face us in the process. Dark red eyeshadow, mascara, lipstick, and tribal marks sat atop the woman¡¯s sunkissed skin.


    Her blue eyes seemed to pop from the contrast of her makeup. Her thin lips were set in a pout, as she rested her head on one hand.


    ¡°Welcome, heathens of the Metronian Kingdom. The Primal Queen greets you.¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say, the woman¡¯s aura was downright intimidating. Luckily, Reya stepped up to the plate.


    ¡°It is a pleasure, Queen Laina Secela. The crowned princess greets you, and continues to wish for our shared coexistence in the future. If you could answer a question: I was under the impression that we would be meeting the King. Where is he?¡±


    ¡°Dead, thankfully.¡± The Queen said, causing a shocked gasp from Reya, and made Lucina flinch. The Primal Queen, upon seeing their reactions, let out a small laugh.


    ¡°Of course, it wasn¡¯t me. However, I do admit I wouldn¡¯t have defended the man either. Who the hell would defend the man who pillaged their town on his way to becoming King, and took them as a wife after raping them.¡±


    ¡°Q-¡± Lucina got out exactly one syllable before a heavy feeling descended upon the room, and she instantly stopped talking.


    ¡°I understand, but I am okay now. The King was assassinated about two months ago, and we wanted to make it an internal affair while we investigated, so nothing has been leaked to the outside. You are the first foreigners to hear of the news, and we wish that you won¡¯t share it carelessly.¡±


    The three of us nodded, before the Queen¡¯s gaze fell on me. She smirked, and said, ¡°So you¡¯re the one who kicked Barett in his pride? Good, that idiot son of mine was getting a big head after he won the under 25 martial arts tournament.¡±


    ¡°Mother!¡± Viina shouted in exasperation, but a quick hand held up silenced the princess instantly.


    ¡°Now, now, where are your manners?¡± Viina started to blush as her mother continued, ¡°We do welcome you to the kingdom. Please feel free to explore the local nightlife, as well as the marketplace when it is open in the day. I think you¡¯ll find that it¡¯s quite a bit different to what you¡¯re used to in the city.¡±


    The queen stood up, and waved a hand in front of us, opening a document in our AR vision. ¡°You¡¯ll find that the negotiations between the Metronian King and myself have already concluded. I think you¡¯ll find the last clause particularly interesting.¡±


    Scrolling down, my heartbeat quickened as I read the sentence. ¡®Should you manage to eliminate Paladin Cole from the game, he will be stripped of his title, and the Kingdom will pay 1.1 times the original amount of goods agreed upon to the winner.¡¯


    ¡­ fuck.

 Chapter 63: Reconvening

    ¡°Well, that could have gone better.¡± I didn¡¯t even bother to justify Reya¡¯s remark with a response. I was still fuming about the clause that King Metron had put in. If anyone took me out during the game, it would be as if they won anyway.


    And even if the Metronian forces won, if I was defeated, economically, we would still lose. It was a horrid load of shit, and one I would make sure the King would pay for dearly.


    ¡°They¡¯re basically paying the Primal Kingdom to take care of your¡­ potential. I thought father had all but forgiven you, but I guess his acting was better than I thought.¡± Lucina said.


    Reya shook her head and added, ¡°No, it¡¯s definitely not him. If I had to guess anything, it would be that mother proved herself sane enough to be released from being bedridden, and that she convinced her aides to put that clause in there. Think about it, it¡¯s the only thing out of place in that whole thing.¡±


    I wanted to disagree, but found myself siding with Reya¡¯s theory the more I thought about it. That bitch did always have it out for me.


    ¡°Huh. I guess we¡¯re more alike in that way than I thought.¡± Un muttered. He was currently not projecting his form in AR, but his voice sounded just as real to my ears all the same.


    Out of reflex, I almost asked him about how the plan to create our own country was coming along, then realized that he wasn¡¯t X and wasn¡¯t privy to that information yet. Deciding just to let out a long breath instead, I rubbed a hand to my tired face.


    ¡°There¡¯s an old proverb that says, ¡®You shouldn¡¯t sigh so much, or all your happiness will escape.¡¯¡± My vision flicked towards the dirt path, where Akahime stood, looking us all up and down.


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t look too roughed up, at least. Did they even do anything to you at all?¡± The former Luong princess placed her hands on her hips, before turning around and leaving.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Lucina asked, falling in line with Akahime.


    ¡°The others were worried that Joshua did something to upset the royalty, so much so that they kidnapped you and decided to keep you in the palace until the day of the War Game.¡± Akahime replied curtly.


    So she came out to look for us instead? Great, I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s just overly loyal, or dumb. What was she even planning to do in an unfamiliar country with her royal status stripped?


    ¡°Master, you shouldn¡¯t be so hard on her. The girl is far more capable than you give her credit for.¡± Un¡¯s voice broke the solitude of my thoughts, causing me to snap back to reality.


    Lucina turned and gave me a very pointed look, which I frowned at. ¡°Look, I know what you¡¯re thinking. It¡¯s true that I did offend them, but why should I spare their feelings if they¡¯re the ones who attacked out of nowhere?¡±


    This time, it was her who sighed in exasperation. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ try not to look so¡­ infuriating, I guess.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at her. ¡°How am I supposed to do that? I haven¡¯t even done anything out of the ordinary. I even wore the combat suit you told me to because those in the Primal Kingdom, ¡®appreciate might,¡¯ according to you.¡±


    Lucina frowned, a rare expression for her usually stoic face, her gaze downcast. ¡°How would you feel if some man came to your doorstep with a childhood friend and your ex-betrothed in toe, and then broke your hand?¡±


    ¡°First,¡± I started, ¡°You¡¯re missing the crucial part of the story where he has one of his guards fire on me for that. Second, I didn¡¯t have any female childhood friends that I ever held affection for, so I can¡¯t relate.¡±


    ¡°Well, that would explain a lot.¡± Reya mumbled, as I thought to myself, playing back what Lucina had just told me.


    ¡°Wait, one of you was supposed to marry him? Who?¡± I looked at Reya, who shook her head.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Seriously Joshua? I¡¯m like, ten years younger than him. Try over there.¡± She said, pointing to Lucina, who was suddenly very interested in looking at the ground.


    ¡°So he wasn¡¯t actually testing to see if I could handle myself, and was trying to get some petty revenge for showing up with you? Why didn¡¯t you think to tell me this before?¡±


    Eventually, she responded. ¡°It¡­ it honestly didn¡¯t cross my mind. It¡¯s a relationship I don¡¯t like to look back on, if I can help it.¡±


    I sent her a private message next, and decided to start walking back to the base. I take it that you really are uncomfortable with it. What happened then, if you don¡¯t mind me, your current partner, asking?


    There was a long gap where no messages were sent, and the only sounds that echoed around us were the rustling and clanging of our own armor, mixed with the soft sounds of jungle life.


    ¡®I¡­ I think I was in love with him, ten years ago.¡¯ She replied back in our chat log. I almost did a double take at the message, before I remember that she was older than me.


    It always weirded me out how much better I seemed to get along with older people, rather than those my own age. My mother said it was because I was too mature for the other, ¡®kids,¡¯ but I didn¡¯t know how credible that point of view was. It did come from my mother, after all.


    You think? What makes you so doubtful? A blushing face emoji appeared, followed by a string of text.


    ¡®Well, I was only 18 years old at the time. I admit¡­ I was a very impressionable young woman, and utterly enchanted with the idea of having my own prince charming. Back then, I thought that I was¡­ desirable, to say the least.¡¯


    Ah, so you acted about how Reya does now when you were her age? Another blushing emoji, followed by a crying one.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t say I was proud of it. Anyway, thinking myself hot stuff, I was engaged to Prince Barett. The second prince betrothed to the second princess of another country. Sounds like a great piece of media, right?¡¯


    I reluctantly conceded that, along with a few cheesy lines, and an attention grabbing headline, any newspaper would happily run that as their front-page story. After telling her as much, I heard a sigh behind me from the actual Lucina.


    ¡®Well, as it turns out, things never work as well as in the stories. When we spent our first night together at 19 years of age, he¡­ he didn¡¯t want to do anything!¡¯


    Am I supposed to take that as he was a man who didn¡¯t desire your body? Or perhaps one who was turned off by your perverted fetishes?


    Another bout of silence, followed by, ¡®The latter.¡¯ It was a good thing Lucina was behind me, otherwise she would have seen my eyes roll at her follow up.


    ¡°I mean, how dare he refuse a lady¡¯s request to rough her up during intercourse!? He said no because slapping my body around a bit made him, ¡®sick to his stomach,¡¯ and, ¡®feel like he was abusing me,¡¯ even though that¡¯s what I asked of him! Honestly, the nerve of it all!¡±


    I took a deep breath, and debated whether or not I should tell her that she said that last part out loud, but a quick gasp told me that either Akahime or Reya already had.


    An angry emoji was sent my way, along with, ¡®See what you made me do!? You¡¯d better make it up to me when we get back up to the base.¡¯ A pouting emoji, followed by the image of some handcuffs.


    I tried not to sigh in exasperation, and instead, let the breath go in relief as I laid my eyes on the small shack that was the cover for our underground base of operations.


    ¡°Are¡­ are you serious!? What happened to the large, spacious living quarters that father was supposed to provide us!?¡± Reya kicked the side of the shack, breaking off a piece of the siding in the process.


    ¡°Come on now, didn¡¯t your parents ever teach you not to judge a book by it¡¯s cover?¡± Akahime chuckled, having already been inside the base before.


    Instead of replying with words, Reya just shot her a confused glare, and kicked the shack one more time, letting out an indignant huff. ¡°I-I guess the Metron Kingdom doesn¡¯t teach things in proverbs¡­¡± Akahime said, her voice fading out near the end.


    Needless to say, Reya was the first inside, eager for a shower after walking for nearly an hour in the awful humidity. She stepped inside the house, and immediately made a beeline for the bathroom of the shack.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking the first shower! Don¡¯t bother me with anything until I¡¯m out. Got it!?¡± She slammed the door, making the whole structure tremble under her wrath.


    ¡°Are you gonna tell her¡­¡± Akahime started, but I held a hand up to stop her. Reya heavily dislikes humid conditions, and hot weather. Duly noted.


    ¡°No, she¡¯ll figure it out herself. Regardless, if she¡¯s fine settling for that shower, why bother her with a much larger bath, in her own personal room? It just doesn¡¯t make sense to me.¡±


    ¡°How very expected of you.¡± Lucina replied, sighing. I walked up to the bed in the only other room in the house, and hit a switch on the inside of the frame. A hole opened up in the floor, leading down to the Metron Kingdom¡¯s secret base.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± I said to Lucina, reassuringly. ¡°She¡¯ll figure it out when she comes out of the shower. I¡¯ve also ordered Judgment to send her a message ten minutes after she leaves the bathroom, just in case she doesn¡¯t.¡±

 Chapter 64: Unwinding, Venting, and Applying Force {NSFW}

    ¡°I missed you so much!¡± As soon as we reached the bottom of the ladder, I was assaulted by Lilian, followed closely in tow by Three. He threw himself at me, but I swiftly stepped out of the way, causing the Asahi native to go careening into the reinforced wall.


    ¡°What was that for!? Do you have any idea how alone I¡¯ve been this entire time!?¡± Lilian got up from the floor, a red welt now present on his androgynous forehead.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± I said, but if he showed any reaction to my words, it wasn¡¯t visible to me. ¡°According to the daily reports I receive, you haven¡¯t been lonely in the slightest. It appears the aggressive women here really do like your effeminate features.¡±


    Lilian¡¯s face lit up crimson, and he quickly got up. ¡°Please, let¡¯s go to the conference room. I¡¯m sure we have a lot to discuss.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true enough.¡± I replied. Looking around at Akahime and Lucina. I sighed, and said, ¡°Akahime, Can you go back up and get Reya? As much as I would like to let her take her time, we¡¯ll need her.¡±


    ¡°As you desire.¡± Akahime bowed, and began to climb back up the ladder. In the meantime, Lucina, Lilian, and I all went to the conference room, which was only five feet from the bottom of the ladder.


    I would have questioned the design, but the fact that the room itself was behind three maximum security vault doors reassured me of my choice. I found prince Raiden waiting inside, along with a woman I had never seen before.


    Wait¡­ no. I had seen her before. She¡¯s the person who told me to visit Reya during the time we were making preparations. What was her name again?


    ¡°My liege, please don¡¯t stare at me too intently. You¡¯ll bore a hole into my forehead.¡± She said, with a hint of a smile on her lips.


    ¡°Just trying to figure out what your name was.¡± I said, unabashedly. She frowned, but I could hear stifled laughter from Winter behind me. She had apparently walked in after us, and was content to just remain at my back.


    ¡°Solze Morind, my liege. Second in command of Crown Princess Reya¡¯s forces. I would be honored if you would remember my name.¡± I sighed as I tried to commit her appearance to memory.


    Her long, blonde hair hung loosely across her right shoulder, as the left side of her head was shaved down. Her round face and button nose would have been cute to me, if it weren¡¯t for the predacious glare that her sharp, red gaze was giving me.


    Her pear-shaped figure fit in well with her red, full-bodied armor, which radiated light with a crimson sheen. A winged helmet lay on the table beside her, and looked to be an accompaniment to her armor.


    ¡®Joshua, that girl¡¯s family, the Morinds, are from a well-known liberal faction in our kingdom. They support your position as a neutral entity within the hierarchy. As long as she is acting on orders from her family, she will not betray you without just cause.¡¯


    I closed Lucina¡¯s message, and looked the girl up and down once more. ¡°Damn it Joshua, stop leering at my soldier and get the meeting started already!¡±


    Reya walked in with palpable annoyance in her every step. I turned to Akahime and asked, ¡°Did she figure it out herself, or did you help her?¡±


    ¡°I helped. She was scouring every inch of the bathroom to find the switch.¡± I nodded, and gestured to the round table.


    ¡°Please, sit down. We have a lot to hear regarding Lilian¡¯s findings over this past month. Lilian?¡± After we were all seated, Lilian stood up from the seat beside me, and cleared his throat.


    ¡°Thanks for coming, everyone. Even though we are far from any of the main cities, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find that the nearby village has-¡±


    ¡°Lilian.¡± I cut in, causing him to look my way. ¡°Please, keep it relevant. I have things to discuss with others after this, and everyone else wants to take a shower, I¡¯m sure.¡± I made sure to emphasize my point with a few light taps on the desk, and Lilian nodded.


    ¡°Sorry, I got carried away. Long story short, there is no concrete evidence I could gather from the surrounding cities and towns, only rumors.¡±


    Useless. I gave him one job, and he can¡¯t even do that well? I thought to myself. Lilian looked down dejectedly, seeming to read my mood, but Raiden gave him a pat on the back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Try telling us some of the rumors you¡¯ve heard, and we¡¯ll make sense of it.¡± Raiden gave the other man a grin.


    ¡°They say in every rumor, there is a kernel of truth.¡± Akahime added. ¡°Like Prince Raiden said, I¡¯m sure that there is some useful information in there somewhere.¡±


    Despite the positivity from his teammates, Lilian looked back at me for confirmation. I sighed, and nodded to allow him to continue.


    Now with a second wind, Lilian began his telling of the rumors surrounding the Primal Kingdom¡¯s side of the War Game preparations. ¡°Apparently, a whole lot of shipments have been made from the royal capital to the desert, where the game is set to take place.¡± Lilian said.


    ¡°Well, of course.¡± Reya replied. ¡°Each country has an allotted 30 days to make their preparations, and ship whatever supplies their soldiers will need to the desert. In fact, some of the goods being transported were probably those of the Metronian Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ rumor one was a bust?¡± I asked Lilian, but he appeared to have more from this story.


    ¡°Well¡­ not yet, it isn¡¯t.¡± He said. ¡°It isn¡¯t necessarily about how much they transported, but about what they were transporting!¡±


    ¡°And you mean¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I mean that there were some¡­ interesting items. Ouch!¡± Lilian¡¯s sentence ended in pain as Winter grabbed the skin of his upper arm, and twisted.


    ¡°Lilian, if you stall one more time, I¡¯m going to do more than just pinch your arm.¡± She said, causing Lilian to smile nervously.


    ¡°Of course! Anyway, they were transporting mechs.¡± I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. How cliche, mechs in a sci-fi world. I guess it does make sense though.


    ¡°That makes no sense.¡± Lucina said, causing all heads to turn to her. ¡°With the advent of the Judgment System, humans had more control over their bodies than ever before. Mechs are widely considered to be obsolete against the benefits that we get from the system.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I¡¯m just telling you what I heard. No need to get so defensive about it.¡± Lilian raised his hands placatingly, and quickly moved on to the next rumor. ¡°Anyway, people are saying that two members of royalty, and two members of the Civil Union House will participate as leaders. They¡¯ve apparently struck some sort of agreement, despite usually being at odds. Should they win, there is apparently a large trade deal set to go through.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ might actually be a problem.¡± Reya spoke. ¡°One of the things that we were counting on to aid us was the discord between the two groups. Should they be working together for a common goal¡­ then our mission just became a lot more difficult.¡±


    I raised a hand to signal for them to give me time to think. I was slightly annoyed that I couldn¡¯t use X¡¯s ability to dilute time anymore, and asked Un, What is the Civil Union House?


    ¡°Speaking bluntly, the Civil Union House, or the C.U.H. for short, acts as a barrier between the royals, and complete power. They are there to limit the amount of things that the royal family can do freely. If the Secela family wants something done to benefit the nobles, it must go through the house and get it¡¯s approval first.¡±


    The house has no limitations? ¡°Of course, the house can also propose a movement on behalf of the commoners, but it runs into the same problem that the Secela family does. Hence, why they are usually at each other¡¯s throats.¡±


    I nodded, and then waved for Lilian to continue. When he didn¡¯t respond, I looked up to see him looking down at his phone. Is it the woman from his first night at the bar? Three appeared over his shoulder, and nodded to confirm my suspicions.


    ¡°Lilian!¡± I shouted, causing the man to lose his grip on his phone, and sending it clattering on the desk below.


    ¡°Y-yes sir!¡± He shot out of his seat and saluted.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to shoot you, relax.¡± I meant to calm him down, but that seemed to have the opposite effect. ¡°Calm down, and tell me if there¡¯s any other rumor.¡±


    That seemed to do the trick, as he took a deep breath and said, ¡°No. Those were the only two that have been circulating. The rest have to do with who is sleeping with who, and which nobles are into-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± I said, and stood up. ¡°This meeting is adjourned. I want you all to think of countermeasures for mechs, and I¡¯ll investigate the rumors of a deal between the Secela family and the C.U.H. myself.¡±


    Prince Raiden and Lilian left, but Akahime, Reya, Winter, and Lucina stayed behind. Winter grinned smugly, and said, ¡°Then, let the first ever Paladin Cole sex friend meeting begin!¡±


    I sighed, and cradled my head in my hands. ¡°First off, I never had sex with you, or you.¡± I said, pointing to Reya and Winter respectively. Second, don¡¯t use sex friend. A friend should be more than just an outlet for physical lust. Use fuck buddy, if anything.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that worse?¡± Winter giggled, but said nothing else. There was very quickly an uncomfortable silence in the room, and four women with eyes looking to me to break it.


    ¡°Listen. My plan today was just to sleep with Lucina, and that¡¯s it. If she wants to invite someone else, she has my express permission. As for me, I won¡¯t be requesting any of you.¡±


    The eyes turned from me to Lucina, and she looked around the room. I received a heart emoji in my messages, followed by, ¡®Free reign to pick? Oh, you really shouldn¡¯t have.¡¯


    I sighed, and watched her appraise every other girl up and down. Finally, she had made her decision. She pointed an armored finger to the right of her, and a wide smile grew on the other girl¡¯s face.


    ¡°I knew she¡¯d pick me. I could tell from those things you said on the plane that you were curious.¡± A triumphant Winter stood up, and walked over beside the taller Lucina. Akahime sighed, while Reya pouted.


    ¡°Why not me!?¡± The other princess asked, annoyance barely contained in her voice. Lucina, however, met her with an unparalleled calmness.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve already been with Akahime a couple months ago, and I don¡¯t want to sleep with my own sister. That¡¯s just gross.¡±


    Reya opened her mouth to speak, but apparently couldn¡¯t find a reasonable argument, and so left in a huff, taking Akahime with her. Lucina smiled in victory and took my hand, leading me back to our shared room. It was only a five minute walk in the massive underground base from the conference room to ours.


    ¡°What? You two have a room together!? You¡¯re not supposed to play favorites, Paladin.¡± Winter pouted, leaning further into my body.


    ¡°Do you all want to take a shower first, or-¡± Lucina¡¯s tongue made contact with mine as she cut me off, stealing a kiss from me.


    Her tongue piercing was warm and hard against my tongue, and we finally separated. I watched her push a button under her chest, and her armor fell away in a matter for seconds, revealing leather bdsm gear that was wet with her sweat underneath.


    The leather ran over her breasts in three sections, covering her nipples. A leather waist belt connected to cuffs that ran around her thighs. Cuffs were also present on her ankles and wrists, and a ring gag hung loosely around her neck.


    I raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°That button seems dangerous.¡± She smiled, and started undressing me the old fashioned way. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be disabled during the actual battle.¡±


    ¡°Wow, someone came prepared.¡± Winter whistled from behind Lucina, as she finished taking off her clothes manually as well. She reached into a pouch that was on her clothes, and pulled out a dog leash, a tail, and several armbinders fashioned like dog paws.


    I sighed, and activated the bulkhead lock on our door. ¡°Well, at least the shower is in the room this time.¡±


    ---


    Several minutes later, and I had almost finished setting up the two women how I desired. Lucina had her legs and feet bound together, and then had those connected with a d-ring connector. Her gag was firmly fit over her mouth, and her tongue was sticking out. It drooled over her chest, and waved at me tantalizingly.


    Winter had been restrained in her dog gear, complete with a leash that was in my hand. Her tail had a vibrator on it, and was firmly placed in her round ass. On her elbows and knees, she looked up at me pleadingly, with the artificial dog mouth harnessed on her face, and a connected dildo in her throat.


    I took a strap-on and a leather riding crop from Winter¡¯s bag, and attached the former to my new pet. She choked on her throat¡¯s dildo as I attached the strap-on to her waist. ¡°Come on, I didn¡¯t even touch you.¡± I said, giving her a cupped palm spank on her ass.


    She choked again, and I sighed. ¡°What a useless pet. All you had to do was stay there, and be quiet as I got you ready. I took the vibrator partially out of her ass before shoving it back in harder.


    Lucina moaned, jealous over me giving so much attention to Winter. ¡°Wait your turn.¡± I said, and ran my gaze over her prone form and large breasts, which were thoroughly covered in saliva at this point.


    I tugged on Winter¡¯s collar, and walked my new pet over to my lover. She was panting, and I could see passion in her eyes as I stopped in front of her. She wagged her tongue again, and I displayed an annoyed look on my face.


    ¡°How much do you want your mouth used, you perverted bitch?¡± I stepped on her left breast, forcing her onto her back, and began kneading her studded nipple between my toes. She moaned and her hips bucked into the air.


    ¡°Winter, get in there.¡± I pulled on her collar, and guided Winter until she was on top of Lucina. ¡°Now be a good girl, and thrust until I cum.¡±


    I guided the dildo into Lucina, and watched in perverted delight as Winter began thrusting her hips, causing Lucina to moan loudly through her gag.


    I took my foot off of Lucina, and walked around to her head before kneeling down, and resting my member on her face.


    I tilted her head back, and thrust into her mouth. Her body spasmed, and Winter stopped moving as Lucina squirted on her.


    ¡°Who told you to stop?¡± I grabbed Winter¡¯s collar and pulled her body forward, forcibly penetrating Lucina again. I started thrusting my hips, treating the woman below me, my girlfriend, and the Second Princess of the Metron Kingdom as little more than a fleshlight. Even better was the fact that she loved it.


    As she continued to gag and choke on me, I continued to thrust relentlessly, and made sure Winter did the same, slapping her ass with the crop whenever she slowed down. After pulling out, and giving Lucina¡¯s throat a moment of respite, I went back and claimed what was mine by force. After a few minutes, I switched places with Winter, and enjoyed every fold and crease on Lucina¡¯s walls constricting me as we continued to use her. Finally I finished inside her, and watched in glee as her body spasmed. I pulled out, and dragged Winter off of Lucina, both of whom were panting. I removed the gag from Lucina, and took the cuffs off as well.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready, Winter. It¡¯s your turn now.¡±

 Chapter 65: Investigations, One Week Out

    I felt a sharp pain in my forehead and opened my eyes to groggily see the warning: Emergency Procedures Activated. Imminent Danger Incoming.


    My tired brain paid it no mind. That was, of course, before Reya¡¯s body was launched into mine. I grunted, and sat up out of reflex.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I grabbed Reya¡¯s upper arm, and subconsciously activated Un¡¯s ability, throwing her onto the empty bed to my right. She landed with a squeal, and sent a smirk my way, pointing to the bed I was in.


    That¡¯s right¡­ last night, we- I looked to my left and right, and came to marvel how Reya had only landed on me, and missed the two women still sleeping to my left and right.


    Winter had her back turned to me, with her luscious silver hair reflecting the artificial sunlight that came through the false windows. Her midnight skin popped out against the white sheets, and made her steady breathing obvious.


    Lucina, on the other hand, clung tightly to my arm, and her leg folded over mine in an intimate gesture. Her softness and the pleasant feeling of her warmth couldn¡¯t be overstated, but¡­


    ¡°Lucina, Winter, get up. We have to get going soon.¡± I looked down at the time on my HUD, cursing that I hadn¡¯t woken up before noon.


    Why didn¡¯t you wake me up on time, Un? The A.I. in question didn¡¯t appear, but his voice answered regardless.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me you had a desired wake-up time. Any settings you had with X need to be manually imported to me. Shall I contact her and request the information?¡±


    Please do. I sighed as Winter got up and stretched. Her hair fell over her breasts in an enticing way, and I had to actively try not to stare.


    ¡°Ok, Master. We¡¯re going to the palace, right? What were you planning to do there?¡± Winter asked after putting on her underclothes. She moved onto her actual microfiber armor, which took the shape of a cloak, complete with a cowl, long sleeves connected to gloves, and pants that attached to her boots.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to investigate two things. The first, is the current relationship between the Crown and the C.U.H.¡± Winter nodded, as she finished getting dressed and sat back down on the bed.


    ¡°And the second?¡± She asked. She began poking Lucina¡¯s face, which roused the sleeping beauty.


    To see if there¡¯s a Judgment user in the palace. I messaged her privately. She nodded, and walked around to Reya, who had been observing our exchange quietly.


    ¡°Come on, Princess. Let¡¯s give these two some privacy.¡± Winter offered her hand to the sitting Metron Princess, who scowled.


    ¡°Fine.¡± She said eventually, and got up on her own, ignoring Winter¡¯s offer. After she left the room, Winter sighed, and shook her head.


    She waved to me, and left as well, leaving me alone with my¡­ girlfriend. I looked down and observed Lucina as she began to stir. Her face was half-buried into the pillow, and drool was leaking out from her mouth. Whenever I tried to remove my leg from between hers, or my arms from her embrace, she would desperately cling on tighter.


    I sighed, and wrenched my arm from her grasp, needing to use Un¡¯s strength to release it completely. That finally woke her up completely, and she sat up, the covers obscuring her lower body.


    Contrary to that, her breasts swayed softly as she stretched and yawned. She rubbed her eyes before looking at me, and giving me a perfect smile. ¡°Good morning, gorgeous.¡± She said, with a hint of playfulness in her voice.


    I rolled my eyes and responded, ¡°Don¡¯t compliment me so early in the morning. We don¡¯t have the time to continue from last night. Get ready, we leave in twenty minutes.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± Her smile widened as she leaned in for a kiss. I obliged, and as our tongues intertwined, I mentally thanked the nanites in my body, which eliminated morning breath.


    We separated, but the smile remained on Lucina¡¯s face as she got up to get dressed. She gave me a performance as she got dressed, putting on her underwear first, then moving on to her bra. As she adjusted her breasts in the black lace clothing, I was again reminded that this person accepted me for who I was here, and was equally invested in me as I was in her.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    It was¡­ a strange feeling. Not since X came into existence had I felt this sense of codependency with another being. Which was worrying, to say the least.


    When I regained my focus, Lucina had already put on a short-sleeved undershirt, and black short-shorts to match. ¡°So that¡¯s what you¡¯re actually supposed to wear underneath that outfit.¡± I teased, and I finished putting on my clothes as well.


    She rolled her eyes, and then picked up one of last night¡¯s tools from off of the floor. ¡°At least wash it first.¡± I admonished her, and with a sigh, she went into the bathroom to do just that.


    I finished fitting on my own armor, and watched as Lucina came back from the bathroom, with the freshly-washed dildo gag in her hands. ¡°Really?¡± I asked, and she just returned a smile at the question.


    ¡°Of course.¡± She said, after a pause. ¡°Doesn¡¯t thinking about me in this get you excited as well?¡± I wanted to deny her accusations, but I knew that I actually did want to see her in it.


    ¡°Are you sure that doing this around other royalty is ok?¡± I argued weakly, and Lucina saw her opportunity to convince me.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll have my helmet on so no one will know. If someone does talk to me, I¡¯ll just respond with Judgment Messenger, and make up some excuse.¡±


    I sighed, but eventually acquiesced. Lucina placed the gag in my hands, and took the armor she had been wearing last night on her own. She wrapped the metallic belt around her upper stomach, and hit the button on it, instantly materializing the armor on her.


    Since the armor added height, she knelt before me. ¡°You¡¯re actually perverted. You know that, right?¡± I asked.


    She didn¡¯t respond, instead opting to stick out her tongue, open her mouth, and say, ¡°Ahh.¡± My heart began pounding despite myself, and I jammed the phallic object into her mouth.


    Since it was made for Winter, it wasn¡¯t as long as the ones that Lucina usually used. Due to that, only the initial entry made her choke, but after it was secured, she didn¡¯t so much as flinch.


    Granted, she wouldn¡¯t be able to speak through it, but Lucina¡¯s gag reflex wasn¡¯t weak in the least. She stood up to her full height, winked at me, and put on her helmet. I massaged my temples as she stood up and left the room, as I soon followed after her.


    ---


    About an hour later, we were back at Palace Rojas, the residency of the Royalty. We were at the ground floors this time, and walking amongst the residents of the tower. Lucina flanked my right, while Winter remained at my left.


    Akahime and Reya walked behind me, glancing around at the people and structures curiously. Un, do you feel anything?


    The A.I. appeared, and said, ¡°Actually, Master, there¡¯s something you should know-¡±


    ¡°What are you doing back here?¡± I sighed as I turned to see Princess Viina Secela, accompanied by her brother, Barett, and a man and woman I didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again as well, Viina.¡± I said, as Un leaned in and whispered to me what he was about to say. I fought against the urge to scowl, and instead, turned to Barett, offering my hand.


    ¡°Sorry about before.¡± I said, cutting off Viina before she could tell me to only refer to her as her official title. ¡°I got a little heated after the flight. I¡¯d like to sweep what happened under the bridge, if you¡¯d be so kind?¡±


    Contrary to my expectations, Barett smiled, and shook my hand normally. No power play, not hidden tricks, just a genuine handshake. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that I didn¡¯t offend you too poorly. After thinking about it, I was immature there. Sorry.¡±


    At the unexpected apology, he turned to Lucina while I was still stunned. ¡°I apologize to you as well. It¡¯s good to see you in good health though.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t privy to whatever Lucina said to him, but Barett laughed before turning to Reya. ¡°Good to see you too, Reya.¡± Metron¡¯s Crown Princess smiled back, before Barett continued, ¡°Who are these two? I haven¡¯t had the chance to meet them yet.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re my¡­ retainers.¡± I said, pointing to Akahime first. ¡°You¡¯ve probably heard of Akahime Hoshizora before. She is of the Luong royal family, although currently serving out a punishment for her bad behavior.¡±


    Akahime bowed, and held the position for a full three seconds before raising her head. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Prince Barett. I pray for the continued alliance between our two nations.¡±


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Barett said, bowing back. I flicked my vision behind Barett to gauge Viina¡¯s reaction, but she just seemed more exasperated than anything else.


    I turned to Winter, and said, ¡°This is Winter. She¡¯s been acting as one of my attendants for the last month.¡±


    Winter knelt, and bowed her head to the prince. ¡°It is an honor to meet you, Barett Secela. You are a highly respected fighter in circles that I frequent.¡±


    Barett laughed nervously, and said, ¡°Thank you, although to me, your boss is way more impressive than I am.¡±


    Winter stood up and smirked. ¡°I suppose he is, isn¡¯t he.¡± Eager to get off the subject of myself, I gestured towards the people flanking Viina.


    ¡°Now that our introductions have been completed, may I ask you to do the same? I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve had the pleasure of meeting before.¡±


    Viina looked back at the man and woman who were standing slightly behind her. ¡°This,¡± she started, pointing to the man, ¡°is Hector Vergard.¡±


    Her finger moved to the woman, and she continued, ¡°This is Lena Estela. Together, they are the representatives of the C.U.H. for this War Game. The four of us,¡± she said, placing her hands behind her, "are your opponents for this upcoming conflict.¡±

 Chapter 66: Half-Truths about Judgment

    I could see Reya stiffen out of the corner of my eye, but I already suspected as much. Now that they had publicly outed themselves, I could work on sending Winter and Lilian to actually do some espionage work.


    I focused on the two members of the Civil Union House, both of whom were standing behind Princess Viina cautiously. Winter and Barett were talking about various martial arts, and the focus of the group had naturally shifted to them. Reya, I have a very important job for you. Can you do it?


    The Metronian Princess perked up at my message, and, looking dignified, responded with, ¡®Of course. Although, I will say that there is not much in it for me if I don¡¯t have a reward.¡¯


    I wanted to tell her that helping her country should be enough of a reward, but I refrained. Fine. I¡¯ll give you what you want. Can you help me, or not?


    She moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me, and a smile flashed on her face as she replied, ¡®Of course. What do you need me to do?¡¯


    We¡¯re going to have them split up from the C.U.H members so Winter, Lucina, and Akahime can extract information. We¡¯ll drag off the Secela family to have a private meeting with the two of us. You¡¯ll make the claim that this conversation will be for the ears of nobles only. After that, we will reconvene at lunch and discuss our findings back at the base after eating.


    I blind copied Lucina into the message, and she sent me a reply confirming that she knew her role. I didn¡¯t even have to ask Reya to start before she cleared her throat, causing those gathered to look at her.


    ¡°As much as I would love to hear you share your war stories, we have actual business to attend to, if you wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± Reya glared at Barett, who sheepishly quieted down and turned to face the Crowned Princess.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go hear it then. Come, I¡¯ll show you to a suitable location.¡± Viina said, and began leading her entourage in the direction of the tower.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Reya said with a slightly aggravated tone. The four from the Primal Kingdom stopped, and then turned to look at her.


    ¡°This has to do with matters of national importance.¡± Reya said, giving the two members of the union a withering look. ¡°Only people of a noble bloodline could understand the gravity of the situation. I¡¯ll have to ask you to leave your charity cases behind.¡±


    Viina frowned, but nodded, and spoke to the two union representatives. The man stomped his foot, and pointed directly at me.


    ¡°What a farce! Why would being a noble matter in the slightest!? If this is a matter of national importance to the Primal Kingdom, surely you could let us go if even your Paladin can! He isn¡¯t even of this world, let alone a noble!¡±


    The man¡­ I recall his name was Hector, jabbed me in the chest. I could see Lucina, Akahime, and Winter all start to move, but messaged them to calm down. Reya had this handled.


    ¡°Hah! I agree with you completely.¡± Stunned by Reya¡¯s response, the man¡¯s anger crumpled into nothingness when faced with the vitriol in the Crowned Princess¡¯ voice. ¡°Unfortunately, as per Metronian Laws, he is considered a noble by virtue of his job, with influence enough to rival the King¡¯s. I don¡¯t have the authority to dismiss him, even if I wanted to.¡±


    Hector¡¯s arms fell to his sides as Reya and I, led by the Secela siblings walked into one of the many spires around us.


    ---


    ¡°I wish you wouldn¡¯t rile up our comrades so much.¡± Viina sighed once we had entered a room. It was on an underground floor, one which had been reinforced so that it could be a bunker in case any of the spires collapsed.


    She and Barett had sat on one side of the round table, while Reya and I were on the other. ¡°What is this matter of national importance, anyway?¡±


    Reya looked to me to lead the conversation, having, of course, pulled that problem out of her ass. Luckily for her, I actually did have something to speak to them about.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± I started, drawing their attention away from Reya, ¡°How much do you know of the serial murders happening to neuromancer¡¯s in Ethia?¡±


    Barett shot his sister a look, but she played it cool, and remained passive. ¡°No, offense, but why would we tell you anything, Paladin Cole?¡±


    I smirked, knowing they had fallen into my trap. ¡°Because, Fourth Princess Viina Secela,¡± she frowned at the use of her full name, but allowed me to continue, ¡°I know what¡¯s causing it, and what the people perpetrating the murders are after.¡±


    Viina couldn¡¯t hold her curiosity any longer, and slammed her hands on the table, leaning in closer. ¡°Why do you know!?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m looking for them too.¡± You could hear a pin drop with how quickly the room quieted down, and Viina¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Oh, not to kill them, mind you.¡± I said, putting a hand on Viina¡¯s shoulder, and, using Un¡¯s strength, forcibly sitting her back down. She looked mortified, but couldn¡¯t go against Un¡¯s raw power.


    ¡°No, I want to recruit them to my cause. Most of them are wasted in fields that don¡¯t suit them.¡± I said, my hand still on Viina¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I even have quite a few people working for me right now who fit that description.¡±


    I smiled, and took my hand off of her. ¡°I¡¯d like to also meet with any neuromancers you have, to confirm if the enemy¡¯s target is amongst them.¡±


    Viina¡¯s shoulders were trembling, and she glared at me with barely restrained fury. ¡®Joshua,¡¯ Reya messaged, ¡®do you have to antagonize the princess of the foreign nation we¡¯re set to do war against?¡¯


    Seeing that Viina and Barett had got up to have a private discussion in the corner of the room, I shrugged. No, I don¡¯t. Unfortunately, she hasn¡¯t liked me from the moment we met, so there¡¯s no harm in antagonizing someone that I won¡¯t have a relationship with.


    ¡®That¡¯s a dangerous way of thinking.¡¯ Reya commented. ¡®How can you know that you¡¯ll never encounter someone you¡¯ve slighted ever again? It seems way too risky to me.¡¯


    My, how characteristically hypocritical of you. May I remind you that you alienated two people outside earlier. May I be privy to how that is different in your mind?


    Having a hole poked into her logic, Reya pouted, but I could tell that she didn¡¯t really care too much about being wrong. When they returned to the table, Barett had a telltale smile on his face, in contrast to his sister¡¯s sulking expression.


    ¡°We¡¯ll agree to let you meet with them, but first, we want to hear about your plans.¡± Barett was the one speaking this time, with Viina content to just look off into the distance.


    ¡°I presume that the feeling of, ¡®not being used to your maximum potential'', strikes a chord with one of you two then?¡± I said, making it a point to look at Viina, who was doing everything in her power to avoid my gaze.


    ¡°Something like that.¡± Barett said, urging me to leave that topic of conversation with only his eyes.


    I obliged, and leaned back in my seat. Well¡­ I can¡¯t really tell them about the creation of an entire country¡­  Half truths it is. ¡°Tell me, what is it that neuromancers are known for?¡± The question seemed to take Barett by surprise, but Viina came to his rescue.


    ¡°They are able to communicate with various artificial intelligences, and communicate with them, augmenting their original purpose.¡± Viina answered in a low voice.


    ¡°Correct.¡± I said condescendingly. ¡°What if I tell you that I discovered another power that we have, one that would make our use much more viable in the current socio-political landscape.¡±


    ¡°We¡­¡± Viina muttered. She placed a finger on her full lips, and looked me dead in the eyes. ¡°You¡¯re a neuromancer as well?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like you don¡¯t know.¡± I rolled my eyes at the woman. ¡°You¡¯re at the forefront of the war game effort, and I¡¯m supposed to pretend like you have no idea of my background?¡±


    Viina let out a deep breath, and turned her attention towards the wall again. ¡®Joshua,¡¯ Reya messaged, ¡®You wouldn¡¯t know this, but Princess Viina is first in line for the throne, age-wise. However, she was less competent than her siblings when it came to her manifested power. Her parents knocked her down on the list. Being a neuromancer has been a sore spot for her.¡¯


    With this newfound knowledge, I looked over the Secelan princess once more. ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough of that for now.¡± I stood up, and Reya followed suit.


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to stay here and wait for a response, I can see you¡¯ve clearly got a lot on your mind.¡± I walked to the door, turning back to face the siblings one last time before leaving to get lunch.


    ¡°Should you decide while I am here, then great. You can always contact me through the Judgment messenger.¡± I send them each a friend request to punctuate my statement. ¡°However, do keep in mind that the number of slots I have available on my team are limited. If you don¡¯t step up to the plate, know that I will find someone else to fill that spot, regardless of whether they are your worst enemy, or your best friend.¡±


    My gaze lingered over Viina, who was still staring at the wall. However, the moment passed, and soon Reya and I were outside. ¡°So, what were you thinking for lunch?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with whatever you recommend¡­ oh, how about trying some dirty chicken? I remember you telling me about it on the plane. Can you tell the others to meet us there?¡±


    Reya smiled, apparently pleased that I¡¯d remembered our conversation, and nodded. ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go.¡± She grabbed my arm, and pulled me further into the group of spires that made up the palace.

 Chapter 67: What We Know So Far

    ¡°Contrary to its name, this is actually pretty good.¡± Lucina muttered through bites of the dirt chicken. We had all sat down for lunch after meeting back up, at a small local restaurant named, ¡®Lasentenia.¡¯


    Needless to say, Lucina had visited the restroom to remove her gag, but left her armor on. Of course, seeing as how a group of heavily armored people had entered the restaurant, we had quickly become the only people in the restaurant.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Reya muttered through a full mouth. ¡°It¡¯s really fantastic. We should try to lure over some chefs to the Kingdom. I wouldn¡¯t mind having this weekly.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at their conversation, and turned my attention to Akahime, who was happily eating on her piece of meat. To her left, Winter was desperately trying to cool her mouth off with a glass of cold water.


    The chicken itself was a baked good, and their reactions weren¡¯t over exaggerated. It was spicy, with a crispy texture and juicy meat insides. It got its name from the sheer amount of spices that were layered on top of it which, when cooked, came out to a charcoal black color, reminiscent of dirt.


    ¡®There wasn¡¯t much to gather about the relationship between the C.U.H. and the Secela family.¡¯ Lucina sent as she bit into her meal. ¡®We got some information from the man, although the woman was sharp and kept him in line most of the time.¡¯


    What did you manage to get then? I asked, finishing the last bites of my own food in the process.


    ¡®Their relationship is not as structurally sound as we thought it would be. The older generation continues to bicker, while the younger ones stress out about the fallout. After all, what do the old politicians care if they ruin their country? They won¡¯t be the ones alive for it in 100 years. They¡¯re just trying to win for bragging rights.¡¯


    I could read the venom dripping off of Lucina¡¯s written message, but continued on the conversation regardless. Even I could have told you that. I need details, Lucina.


    A frowny face appeared in our chat log. ¡®I was getting there. Apparently the deal between the two of them was about the amount of funding to send to the lower class people. The C.U.H. wants to open new schools, and start sending children for apprenticeships as an extracurricular activity. Whether or not they win or lose will determine the exact amount of money that the program will receive.¡¯


    I closed the chat and watched over the girls. How inane. Well, I guess no matter the world, politics will always be controversial. Not that I care who wins or loses in this case.


    What are we doing? I sighed. I had finished eating already, but all of the women around me were only halfway through their smaller portions.


    ¡°Can you try eating faster?¡± I asked, earning me a round of glares from the table. Well, most of the table. Winter had an absolutely pathetic expression on her face, and inched her plate towards me.


    ¡°Fine.¡± I sighed, and took another serving of the delicious meal in her place. ¡°I guess it¡¯s surprising that you¡¯re bad with spices. The rest of the Strafes seem to like spicy foods.¡±


    She averted her gaze to look out at the marketplace beside us. ¡°Bite me.¡± She whispered. My eyes widened as her image overlapped with Rachel, my college crush.


    What am I doing? It¡¯s been so long since I thought of Earth¡­ since I thought about returning to my own world. I got up immediately, and walked out of the store, ignoring the calls of Lucina and Winter to stop.


    Un appeared behind me, and placed one of his hands on my shoulder. ¡°You should try to treat your women nicer. Just because you¡¯re used to speaking with X, who can read your thoughts, doesn¡¯t mean that other people will automatically get your line of thought.¡±


    I ignored his logic in favor of walking back to our waiting aircraft. It¡¯s got nothing to do with them, Un. It¡¯s the fact that I¡¯ve just been playing around in this world and doing nothing at all. Nothing!


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    He seemed taken aback by my emotions, and quickly removed his hand, but continued to float behind me. ¡°What do you mean? You went from living inside of prison, to someone with political power and influence equal to that of a King! What more could that be called than doing something?¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond, leading Un to follow up with, ¡°Even more than that, you helped repair the relationship between two princesses, thwarted a crime syndicate, and liberated a group of oppressed people from imperial persecution. Do you still think that was meaningless?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Do I have any clue on how to get back to my world?¡± I said out loud. I didn¡¯t even care that several children had overheard, and were slowly backing away from my outburst.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡± Un started to float in front of me so I could see his frowning face. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that mattered to you anymore. At least, that¡¯s what we were told by X.¡±


    I don¡¯t even have a concrete plan. Build my own country and have a harem? What kind of idiotic dream is that!?


    ¡°An attainable one.¡± Un said, stopping me in my tracks. ¡°You have no idea where to start when it comes to researching, so why not make something attainable for yourself in the meantime?¡±


    Un looked up into the sky, and then vanished from sight. ¡°Vague goals make for vague results, Joshua. By building your foundations on top of smaller goals, even those that appear unattainable should be within reach. Never forget that.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but notice that you¡¯re alone.¡± A voice called out from behind me. I turned to see the fourth princess of the Primal Kingdom, Viina Secela standing in the alleyway.


    ¡°Am I supposed to believe that this is a coincidence? That you haven¡¯t been keeping tabs on and following me since I left the palace?¡± I said, looking her up and down. She wasn¡¯t wearing her red poncho, but was instead in a pair of white jeans and a black shirt. Her hair was let down, and cascaded in waves over her left shoulder.


    ¡°You have a different look in your eyes.¡± She said, giving my body a look over. ¡°Want to talk about it?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I replied. ¡°In the first place, Fourth Princess Secela,¡± I said, driving home the name she told me to use, ¡°the extent of our relationship is a political one. You decided that from the moment you decided to make a judgment of my character, after only one incident in which you weren¡¯t present.¡±


    She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. ¡°I¡­ made a mistake. I apologize.¡± I waited for her to elaborate, to recognize that what she did was immature, and exactly hat mistake she made, but no more speech came forth. That¡¯s it?


    I sneered at the woman. ¡°Oh, how wonderful your life must be, princess. You must be used to people sweeping your transgressions under the rug because of who your family is. I don¡¯t give a shit about your family. In fact, I couldn¡¯t care less if you wish to make amends with me. What¡¯s between us,¡± I said, walking closer, ¡°is strictly business.¡±


    She revealed a disappointed expression, which immediately hardened into something more neutral. ¡°Very well, Paladin Cole. Would you like a ride back to the village near your lodgings? I do have business to discuss with you.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Sure.¡± No sooner had the word come out of my mouth, then a slim, spherical pod floated down from the sky.


    ¡°Kid.¡± The driver nodded towards me, and I recognized him as the man who had taken us from the Primal Kingdom¡¯s airport when we first arrived.


    ¡°Get in.¡± Viina said after she sat down in the seat behind our driver¡¯s. I obliged, confident that I could get myself out of any potential danger that the princess put me in.


    ¡°So, Princess Secela, what is the matter of your business.¡± I crossed my legs and leaned back into the plush of the seatrest. I sighed and tilted my head back onto the seat.


    I¡¯m behaving like a dick. A childish, uncompromising dick. I let the heat of the moment get to me, and now I¡¯m feeling the instant regret of it afterwards. ¡°-you can see them.¡±


    My gaze fell forward onto Viina, who was clearly waiting for a response. ¡°See what?¡± She didn¡¯t appear happy with my reaction, and snapped her fingers.


    A man with pure red skin wearing a decorated loincloth, and a black mask over his face appeared to her left. His golden hair was cropped close to the skull, and the eyes to his skull-shaped mask shone a deep blue.


    ¡°You called, my Queen?¡± The man rumbled, his baritone voice feeling as though it made my intestines vibrate.


    My mind instantly began to formulate a plan to have Un crush and absorb the Judgment, but his voice was sent to me privately. ¡°I would refrain for now, Master. If we cause an incident here, it could be seen as an international problem. However, absorbing this one will be much easier during the War Game.¡±


    Viina was smirking, but that expression quickly vanished as she noticed that I would give no reaction to the massive A.I.


    ¡°Like I asked before, Princess Secela,¡± I said, uncrossing and then recrossing my legs in the other direction, ¡°what is the matter of your business?¡±

 Chapter 68: Viina Secela

    ¡°I¡¯ll be blunt.¡± Viina leaned back in her seat, and gave me another once over with her eyes. ¡°I want in on whatever operation you have going on right now.¡±


    I raised my eyebrows, and when it was clear she was waiting for me, I said, ¡°That can be arranged, Princess Secela. What can you offer me in return?¡±


    ¡°Before I get to that,¡± she said, pointing to the A.I. to her left, ¡°you don¡¯t seem too surprised by this guy. Explain.¡±


    ¡°How about no.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t have any obligation to give you any information, as of yet.¡±


    A smile formed on my lips. ¡°However, I can tell you that I haven¡¯t seen one like that before. I assume you know what it is?¡±


    Viina slowly nodded her head, and snapped her fingers. The hulking frame of the program disappeared, leaving the two of us alone in the aircraft. Well, almost alone. The driver would peek back occasionally, but looked straight ahead for the most part.


    ¡°If you also know, then there is no need to speak about it here.¡± She said out loud, and looked out the window to the right.


    I looked outside as well, when a message appeared in the corner of my vision. ¡®Is it possible to have a meeting once we land? It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust things to be private between us, but our pilot, Victor Dormiana, is employed by my mother.¡¯


    Is there even anything for us to discuss in person? I replied, but she didn¡¯t seem to want to grace me with a response.


    I switched my communications, and spoke to Un. What is your initial read on that Judgment? He looks intimidating, but I don¡¯t know how much of a problem he would be to subdue with all the powers at my disposal.


    ¡°Confidence is a good thing, Master. However, like all things, having it in moderation is the best. It would be safest to err on the side of caution. I may have been the first Judgment created, but even I do not claim to know every power available to us.¡±


    Well that wasn¡¯t helpful at all. Un¡¯s incorporeal voice chuckled in my ears. ¡°I know that it¡¯s not what you want to hear, but I suggest practicing with Three¡¯s skillset when you have the chance. You may need all of our powers to come out of this War Game unscathed.¡±


    I¡¯ll take that to heart. I begrudgingly saw the importance in Un¡¯s sentiment, as I hadn¡¯t even spent enough time around Three to even know her speech patterns, let alone her ability.


    We spent the rest of the time on the flight in silence, as I refused to look back at Viina, or our pilot.


    ---


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back to pick you up in two hours.¡± Victor said before taking off, leaving Viina and me in the capital city of Baillo, a mere two hour walk from our base.


    ¡°Baillo, huh?¡± Viina said. ¡°A nice choice of residence. I should pay my respects to the Warrior King while I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°As the daughter of the late People¡¯s King, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s something you had to do often.¡± I said as I began walking to a local bar. It had been one that Lilian had visited when he came to the city last month, and Three had confirmed that it was completely safe from spying in certain areas.


    I looked behind me when I realized that Viina wasn¡¯t following, as she was staring absentmindedly at a food stall on the street. There was nothing special about it to me, so I called out, ¡®Are we going to talk? If not, I¡¯m content leaving you here and going back to base.¡±


    She straightened up at my words, and hurried over. ¡°Sorry, I was just¡­ thinking about something.¡±


    I said nothing as the two of us walked into ¡°The Grove,¡± and got a table on the second floor of the establishment, in a private room. As soon as the waitress who brought us the menu and the call button left, we began our discussion.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s so important that we had to wait until we were out of the air and in a secure room?¡± Viina snapped her fingers, and the large A.I. appeared once more.


    ¡°Do you need something from me, my queen?¡± It asked in its deep, baritone voice. It slowly turned to look at me, with the same lights peering out from behind its skull shaped mask.


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Viina pointed to me as she wrote down her order on a piece of paper and said, ¡°Search him. Make sure he doesn¡¯t have any recording programs active.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my queen.¡±The being held out his hand with the palm facing me, and my skin began to tingle as the nanites within me reacted to something.


    After a moment, he put down his hand, prompting the princess to slide the notepad over to me to write down my own order. ¡°Find anything?¡± She turned to the Judgment, who nodded.


    ¡°He is not using any programs that would jeopardize our secrets more than his own memory and recount of this meeting. However, he does have a passenger.¡±


    My hand twitched as I was writing, and I looked up to see Viina¡¯s scrutinizing gaze on my face. Well, so much for hiding it. Un, say nothing of Three or X. Better for her to believe you¡¯re the only program I¡¯ve come into contact with.


    ¡°Understood, Master.¡± Un said directly into my brain before making his appearance over my shoulder. He began to stare down Viina¡¯s judgment in a contest of who could look the most imposing.


    ¡°So, you are a Judgment user then?¡± Instead of answering her, I hit the button on the table, calling the waitress to come pick take our order.


    Once she had left with the notepad and had placed another blank one in front of us, did I finally reply. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like you didn¡¯t have your suspicions. I saw you look directly up at Un when we first met, when there should have been no reason for you to look over my shoulder in the first place. In actuality, you didn¡¯t know if it belonged to Reya, Lucina, or myself. After hearing my speech though, your suspicions fell to me as a primary suspect, and this meeting was an excuse to find out the truth. Am I wrong?¡±


    Viina¡¯s mouth was agape as she studied me. Finally, a smile played on her lips and she rested her head in her hands. ¡°You really don¡¯t care anything at all for the games of nobility, do you?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t how I was raised.¡± I shrugged. ¡°More importantly, did you actually have anything to talk about, or was all this just an elaborate ploy to confirm your suspicions?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She waved her hand, making her Judgment disappear. ¡°Doing that in front of you, instead of privately in a chat between Orey and myself was a sign of good faith, by the way.¡±


    I nodded, mentally filing away the name of her Judgment, and willed Un away as well, prompting her to continue. ¡°I am genuinely interested in your work proposition. There¡¯s no future for me here.¡±


    My eyebrow raised involuntarily. ¡°Are you sure about that? With that tool at your disposal, you can do all kinds of things you would otherwise think impossible.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°It is impossible. No matter what kinds of achievements I bring home, nothing will be there for me at the end of the day. My mother is set in her ways, and unless you¡¯re the oldest child, you will not succeed the throne.¡±


    ¡°Sounds tough being in such a messy government.¡± I said. ¡°Three separate kings for each part of the nation, along with the C.U.H. representing the interests of the common people.¡±


    ¡°As such, and like I stated before,¡± she continued, not deigning to reply to my open criticism, ¡°I want in on your plan to revolutionize the industry of Neuromancers. So far, I¡¯ve only been used to line the purse of my mother, rather than make a true difference with the kind of technology I can create.¡±


    ¡°Well, what can you make?¡±


    She must have felt challenged by my skeptical look, as she puffed out her chest and said, ¡°I¡¯m working on a system that will download the consciousness of the user into a dataspace, and will allow for reupload into an artificial body. I want to distribute them to hospitals to help the disabled regain their senses.¡±


    So the phoenix system, but not as potent, on top of being spread to the masses¡­ ¡°It sounds like a lot of your goals align with the C.U.H.¡±


    She just showed me a dry smile. ¡°I was the one who proposed for the factions to work together, you know. My mother and the leaders of the C.U.H. were really opposed at first, but thankfully they¡¯ve settled into a state of grudging acceptance of the other¡¯s cooperation.¡±


    ¡°And what do you want for you to defect?¡± The question seemed to catch her off guard, but she recovered quickly enough.


    ¡°I want to be your equal in the operation, and we split all profits fifty-fifty.¡±


    ¡°Denied.¡± She frowned, and opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. ¡°You¡¯ll be working for me, and most of your problems will be taken care of. I¡¯ll even fund your operations, but anything you profit off of belongs to me, save for the medical technology that you¡¯ll distribute.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a horrible deal.¡± Viina smirked.


    ¡°Take it or leave it. It¡¯s not like I need your services.¡±


    Her grin widened as the waitress brought some dirt chicken for her, and a plate of ¡®empanos,¡¯ for me. We were each brought a pint of craft beer, straight from the kitchen downstairs.


    After the waitress left, I pointed to the glass. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me that I walked into a trap, and you¡¯ve already drugged the food and drink.¡±


    Viina¡¯s smile evolved into a laugh, and it seemed like the tense atmosphere from before had passed. ¡°No, I just thought you might like something to unwind. Prince Raiden is known for his love for drinking, so I thought that being his acquaintance, you might have a similar taste.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and took a sip, looking down at the food I¡¯d ordered. Well, at least it looks like an empanada. I picked it up and took a bite, enjoying the spicy mixture of meat and vegetables that hit my tongue.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll think about it. We still have five days left until the war game, after all.¡± I nodded at her statement, and we clinked our pints in cheer.

 Chapter 69: Emergency

    It was only a matter of time. Lucina sighed to herself. It was significantly later in the day than when Joshua had left them, and they were walking back to the airport. The sky was darkening, and the air was beginning to cool.


    She should have seen it coming. Joshua, despite how competent he was when acting in society, was still very fragile emotionally. Since Falling into Ethia three months ago, he had gotten used to hiding his weaknesses and insecurities behind a wall of deception.


    A wall of lies that he told to himself, as much as he did to other people. Her heart ached, but she knew better than anyone that sometimes the thing that people need the most isn¡¯t comforting words, but just time. Time to think to themselves, and process their own emotions.


    ¡°Still, I didn¡¯t think that Master would devise that plan on the spot.¡± Akahime said. ¡°He has a fast mind, does he not?¡±


    ¡°Akahime, you don¡¯t have to call him, ¡®Master,¡¯ when he¡¯s not here.¡± Reya said, in a  somewhat annoyed tone. ¡°Ugh, I swear I have PTSD from the first time he forced me to behave a certain way through a Judgment contract.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me it didn¡¯t grow on you?¡± Winter grinned, nudging the crowned princess in her ribs. ¡°You are still around him after all, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Reya rolled her eyes. ¡°Yeah, you could say I am, I guess. I realized that after becoming the crowned princess¡­ ¡± she paused giving a pointed look to Lucina. ¡°There¡¯s a certain appeal to having someone else decide things in your place. It takes away the stress of responsibility.¡±


    Lucina smiled, knowing all too well what she was thinking. ¡°It¡¯s-¡± She turned to look at the other women, only to find them frozen in place.


    No, it wasn¡¯t just them. The entire city seemed to be at a complete standstill. Suddenly, the colors began to fade away from the world, leaving the nightlife and her friends as pale silhouettes, until those too, disappeared into the darkness.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Even Lucina¡¯s voice seemed muted to herself. Soon, all semblances of life and society had vanished, leaving Lucina alone in a space lit by black lighting.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t foresee that this would be how we met.¡± A deep feminine voice resounded in the space, and a red cube lit up in front of Lucina¡¯s vision.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lucina managed to breathe out after a moment of studying the object. The cube¡¯s light pulsed in response to her question.


    ¡°Ha!¡± The voice laughed, and Lucina could imagine a smile on her face. ¡°You asked, ¡®who.¡¯ I was starting to think I hadn¡¯t evolved as a complex thought processor since he always calls me by my program name.¡±


    Lucina watched in horror as a hand shot out from the cube. A long, slender arm followed, whose pale skin shone purple in the lighting. Lucina shuddered at the inhuman way it contorted. Soon, another arm shot out, followed by two legs, and a torso.


    Eventually, the cube rested in the middle of the entity¡¯s sternum, which had taken on the form of a woman. A loose, sleeveless shirt hung around her torso, barely restraining her ample breasts.


    Her lower half was wearing a pair of jeans, with multiple leather belts wrapped around her waist and thighs. Tall boots adorned her feet, and were connected to each other by a long chain that hung freely in the air.


    Finally, her head came into existence, sprouting up from the torso and looking downward, causing a long veil of silver hair to fall down, obscuring her face. A collar adorned her next, with a leash hanging downwards to rest beside her pant pockets.


    She snapped her head back, revealing, through a flurry of hair, a gorgeous face, with passionate red eyes. Her full lips sported black lipstick, and dark blue eyeshadow complimented her overall aesthetic. The lighting returned to normal, and Luicna gazed upon the woman with a cube embedded in her chest.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ me?¡± Lucina asked, staring in awe at a palette swap of herself. The woman grinned, and floated down to the ground, where she stopped a short distance from the floor.


    The ground lit up under her presence, and that glow followed as she made her way towards the Metronian Princess. A smile made its way onto the entity¡¯s face as she leaned in to look Lucina dead in the eyes.


    ¡°Well¡­ I am, and I¡¯m not.¡± She smiled, and floated around Lucina, circling the woman¡¯s body. ¡°My Master did name me, but¡­ you can call me Judgment.¡±


    ¡°Judgment.¡± The name came out as nothing more than a whisper, but suddenly everything became much clearer to Lucina.


    She looked up at Judgment, and clenched her fists involuntarily. ¡°So, you¡¯re the AI manifestation of this program? The one that Joshua communicates with?¡±


    The program¡¯s smile ceased, and she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing your thoughts for a while now, but you really are a smart one. I have no doubt that your sister would fare much worse if trying to figure out my identity.¡±


    Lucina sighed. ¡°Please. That girl is stupid in the way that she can¡¯t seem to take social cues of any sort, but she is by no means unintelligent. She probably has a good grasp on you despite your limited exposure.¡±


    ¡°Besides that,¡± Lucina continued, ¡°Why are you in my panel? Shouldn¡¯t you be with Joshua?¡±


    ¡°It was a safety measure.¡± Judgment shrugged. ¡°We didn¡¯t know what kind of enemies we¡¯d be facing, and we figured that it would be safer if I was able to become your shield, so to speak. Then again, I wonder why he didn¡¯t just¡­¡±


    The A.I. seemed lost in thought, and Lucina merely watched her, before regaining her senses. This isn¡¯t normal. Why did I just strike up a conversation like the world melting away around me was nothing?


    ¡°Because it doesn¡¯t.¡± Judgment replied. ¡°The world melting away was just a fancy transition for bringing you into your own subspace. Shock and awe, you know.¡±


    Lucina just stared at her, causing Judgment to frown. ¡°What? You¡¯re looking at me like I just spoke to you in a foreign language.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that subspaces could be utilized without another Judgment member requesting a private meeting.¡±


    The A.I. rolled her eyes as she sat on nothing in midair. ¡°I am Judgment. Obviously I can bypass the system. Maybe I gave you too much credit, too soon.¡±


    Lucina sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°So? What¡¯s happening to my body right now? Am I just standing on the side of the road like an idiot?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Judgment said. I¡¯ve dilated your perception of time. Less than a second will pass in the real world before we¡¯re through speaking. You just need to prepare for the backlash that your brain will get from the desynchronization of time.¡±


    ¡°Fucking great.¡± Lucina sighed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing he made you to spite me then? So he could bully you instead of me when things didn¡¯t go his way?¡±


    ¡°Actually no.¡± The A.I. chuckled. ¡°He didn¡¯t choose the way I look in any way, shape, or form. I chose it myself.¡±


    Judgment watched in amusement as Lucina tried to gather her thoughts. ¡°How-, wha-, you¡¯re autonomous!?¡±


    ¡°Of course. The Judgment Mainframe itself is completely autonomous, so it stands to reason that I would be, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°But why me?¡± Lucina walked closer to the A.I. until she was standing directly under her. ¡°Out of everything you had an option for, why me?¡±


    ¡°You really are slow.¡± Judgment rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re the person he thinks about the most, that it was the easiest option to make a form out of you. I swear. Since your rendezvous at that hotel three months back, it has absolutely ruined him from thinking that deeply about anyone else.¡±


    Lucina turned around, but that wasn¡¯t enough for her to hide the smile on her face from the A.I.¡¯s watchful senses.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s happy.¡± Lucina jumped at Judgment¡¯s voice, and turned to face her own visage.


    ¡°Actually, the reason I brought you here today was due to an emergency. I wasn¡¯t supposed to show myself at all during this trip, if I could help it.¡±


    ¡°Well, what happened?¡± Lucina asked impatiently, putting her hands on her hips.


    ---


    ¡°I get that.¡± Winter said, nodding at Reya¡¯s analysis. ¡°In the end though-¡± Winter quickly looked at Lucina, who had tripped over herself and had fallen on the ground.


    ¡°Lucina, are you ok?¡± Akahime bent down to help the fallen princess, but was knocked back after Lucina took off at full speed, utilizing the miniature propulsion systems on her armor.


    Soon, a message was sent to the girls¡¯ messaging group, saying, ¡®An emergency came up. I¡¯m going back to the base first.¡¯


    Reya sighed and shook her head. ¡°Why do I have a feeling that we¡¯ll find the two of them post-coitus when we get back?¡±

 Chapter 70: Rage and Revenge

    Reya Metron walked hastily towards Joshua¡¯s room. Lucina had said not to disturb them, but Reya was nearly at her wit¡¯s end. After their supposed ¡°Paladin,¡± had left them high and dry in the restaurant, he had the gall to go home with another woman, and drink with her on top of that!?


    ¡°Joshua, you have some ex-!¡± The words caught in her throat as she took in the scene of the room.


    Contrary to her expectations, which was to find Lucina and Joshua going at it on the bed, the mood in the room was somber as Joshua was slumped over on the bed, vomiting something red into a bucket on the floor.


    She immediately turned away without confirming what exactly that was, and pinned her gaze to the floor.


    ¡°Reya.¡± Lucina¡¯s voice sounded from the bathroom. Reya looked over to her left to see the woman holding another freshly washed bucket. ¡°I thought I told you not to come in here.¡±


    Her tone was tired, as if she had been doing nothing but assisting Joshua since they came home four hours ago.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Reya finally managed to ask. She made a conscious decision to bring her eyes to the floor once more as Luicna brought the new bucket to Joshua, and picked up his used one.


    ¡°That bitch happened.¡± Joshua said between retches. When no more information seemed to be forthcoming from him, she turned to Lucina for answers.


    When the older princess noticed Reya¡¯s gaze, she sighed. ¡°Princess Viina Secela set off a sonic bomb after she left the restaurant that both her and Joshua had a business meeting at.¡±


    Reya¡¯s jaw dropped, and she rushed over to Joshua¡¯s side. ¡°Are you ok now!? What happened to you exactly?¡±


    The man in question just responded by heaving up more blood, but Reya found that she didn¡¯t care if she got dirty. Her focus was entirely on Joshua.


    Lucina stepped in once more to fill in the blanks, putting her hand on Reya¡¯s shoulder and saying, ¡°He wasn¡¯t damaged externally in the blast because of his armor, but his organs have some light hemorrhaging on their surfaces. Unfortunately it will take an hour for his nanites to be up and running again from the effects of the blast, but he is in no real danger of dying now.¡±


    ¡°No, no real danger of dying.¡± Joshua added, spitting out another mouthful of blood. ¡°Just some real pain to bear in the meantime. The normal shit.¡±


    Joshua grunted in pain, causing Lucina to sigh as she sat next to him, and began stroking his back in a loving gesture.


    Reya was incensed, and quickly left the room. Joshua would be fine if Lucina was overseeing him. She had probably studied enough about emergency treatment during her time in the military anyway.


    No, Reya was pissed, and she needed to let off some steam. ¡°Solze!¡± Reya shouted down the hall. Several members of their warband poked their heads out of their rooms to see what the commotion was about.


    Not thirty seconds later, Solze Morind, Reya¡¯s right hand woman and vice-commander of their platoon, was kneeling in front of her, fully decked out in her ceremonial armor.


    ¡°How may I assist you, Crown Princess?¡± The formal address took almost all of Reya¡¯s patience to withstand.


    The Crown Princess took a deep breath as she spoke through gritted teeth, ¡°I want you to take forty of our soldiers, and bring them topside with their weapons and armor. That includes you as well. I¡¯ll be waiting up there when you emerge.¡±


    Solze was clearly confused, but heeded the order anyway, and got up to collect all the willing soldiers she could find.


    Meanwhile, Reya climbed the ladder up to the top, making sure to turn on her military protocol radar function as she exited the small shack that the base used as a cover.


    She was still fuming. How dare Viina be so two-faced about their agreement? Joshua had even extended a business deal to them for after the War Game, and the Metron Kingdom¡¯s win, and what did she do in turn?


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! She spat in his face, refused his good will, and blew up a bar full of people just to give internal bleeding to their Paladin. Reya reached out to several local authorities, personal contacts, and even some of the more dubious characters that she knew in the region, but her frown increased after each call.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kick her ass.¡± Reya muttered under her breath, much to her own surprise. She was usually never so straightforward with her criticisms, be it-


    Her train of thought was interrupted when the ground opened up to the side of her, revealing just Solze, and a gyroscopic tanker.


    ¡°What the hell!? Where are the rest of you?¡± Reya walked up to her subordinate as she pulled her helmet¡¯s visor over her face.


    ¡°Sorry, Crown Princess Reya, but Paladin Cole ordered the rest of the unit to rest tonight. He said that we should be resting ahead of our fight, not showing off for the enemy to analyze.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Reya threw herself into the seat beside Solze, and strapped herself into the vehicle angrily. ¡°Drive us to the town!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Solze interrupted, and turned to look at Reya. That idea was quickly put on hold, as the loyal knight came face-to-face with the barrel of Reya¡¯s personal laser rifle.


    ¡°I said to drive, Solze.¡± Reya said cooly, and the gun drew closer to the woman¡¯s face. ¡°Alright, alright! Put that away! Starlord¡¯s rotten taint! Don¡¯t point that at me ever again!¡±


    Solze peeled away from the base, driving towards the bar that Joshua had been assaulted in. Reya noticed the glances thrown her way, but her focus was solely on getting to the bottom of things before Viina threw more shit at them.


    Solze hit the brakes without warning, causing Reya to hit the dashboard breasts first and momentarily stun her. Solze grabbed the gun and wrenched it from Reya¡¯s hands, throwing it out the window.


    It took a moment for Reya to come to grips with what had just happened, but when she did, it was with fury.


    ¡°Solze, if you can¡¯t give me a decent explanation for why you did that, I¡¯ll tie you up and ship you back to the Metron Kingdom myself.¡± Reya said in a barely measured tone.


    ¡°Crown Pri-,¡± Solze started, but apparently thought better about it, and sighed. ¡°Reya, you aren¡¯t acting normal. Please calm down and tell me what happened.¡±


    Reya¡¯s first instinct was to take Solze by the collar and beat her for all she was worth, but she refrained. She flipped the visor back up, leaned back in her seat, and sighed.


    ¡°Joshua was hurt. Badly. If Lucina didn¡¯t leave before us, who knows if he would even be alive and safe in our base right now. And can you guess who his attacker was?¡±


    Solze shook her head, and Reya breathed again. In¡­ out¡­ in¡­ ¡°It was Viina Secela, one of the people that is leading the Primal Kingdom¡¯s forces for the War Game. On top of scorning an opportunity handed to her by our Paladin, she dared to attack him!¡±


    Reya could sense herself getting worked up again, and a sickening smile etched itself on her face. ¡°And the worst part? It was inside Primal Kingdom territory, so no arrests will be made, and the police have made it clear that they won¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°Reya, breathe.¡± Solze said, her cool voice cutting through the heat inside Reya¡¯s mind. Reya did as instructed and shivered.


    What was wrong with her? She had never felt so¡­ so¡­ ¡°Fuck.¡± Reya sighed out, and put her head in her hands, causing Solze to raise her eyebrows. ¡°I guess this is the result of years spent repressing my emotions. It just took one bad experience for them all to come crashing out.¡±


    Solze gave Reya a nervous smile, and rubbed her back. ¡°The side-effects of growing up in a stifling family, and parents who are sticklers for cultural importance. I know the feeling.¡±


    Reya looked up and gave Solze a slight smile. ¡°Honestly¡­ growing up in our country is the worst. They expect so much of young people, when all we want is to live our own lives.¡±


    Solze snorted, ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s just nobles. Commoners must have it so easy.¡± Reya smiled, until she remembered Joshua¡¯s humble origins, and what it had taken for him to get to where he was.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ maybe some of them.¡± Reya said, looking up at the stars. ¡°I know some pretty hard workers.¡± She sighed for the umpteenth time that night, unable to block her exasperation from leaking out.


    ¡°Honestly, any time Joshua is involved, I lose my head over it.¡± Solze gave her a knowing smile and nudged Reya with her shoulder.


    ¡°Of course. He was probably the first person to treat you as your own person, and not as an extension of your family, right?¡±


    Reya couldn¡¯t help but laugh, thinking about how far from the truth that was. In actuality, Joshua had milked her connection to the Metrons for all she was worth, and she didn¡¯t regret a second of it.


    ¡°There¡¯s one thing I don¡¯t get though.¡± Solze said, causing Reya to face her. ¡°Why would Princess Viina make the attack so obvious? Surely Joshua wouldn¡¯t have gone with her if he thought she was that hostile. On top of that, Princess Viina¡¯s standing within the Primal Kingdom is particularly weak at the moment, and wouldn¡¯t increase drastically even if they won the entire War Game.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s obvious.¡± Reya started. ¡°It¡¯s because¡­¡± Her voice petered out as she put more thought into it.


    If I was Viina, why would I attack Joshua so close to his base? Of course, it must be¡­ because¡­


    Reya tilted her head, and put a finger on her lips. What was going on here?

 Chapter 71: Spying and Measures {NSFW}

    Lena Estella leaned into Hector Vergard¡¯s embrace, and the two shared a passionate kiss. ¡°Everything is going according to plan! Soon, not just us, but all of the C.U.H. and the people they represent will soon prosper!¡± Hector grunted triumphantly.


    Lena moved from his face to his torso, kissing his chest and abdomen repeatedly. ¡°Yes.¡± She spoke between kisses. ¡°Sewing discord between the two nations in order to make the Metronian nobility think of the C.U.H. as better by comparison was a brilliant plan.¡±


    ¡°Hah! All it took was manipulating Viina¡¯s thought process by weeks of subtle hints, and then putting it in motion by showing her a trigger item before they had dinner.¡± Hector groaned as Lena¡¯s hands started working on his package.


    ¡°Now the Paladin is at odds with the Primal Families, and he will fight even harder to eliminate their forces first on the battlefield. If rumors are to be believed, he is a vengeful man. Then, when he¡¯s thoroughly exhausted himself from fighting the Kingdom¡¯s elite forces, I will personally go down there and eliminate him myself!¡±


    He grabbed Lena¡¯s hair, which she responded to by acquiescing control of her head to him, and let him shove her face next to his member. ¡°Now we just need to-¡±


    Hector frowned as a blue silhouette winked into existence in front of him, just slightly above where Lena had begun servicing him with her mouth.


    ¡°What is it, Acirus? Surely you don¡¯t have any political advice for your Chosen while he¡¯s receiving head?¡± The lithe, blue being sighed, and shook his head at Hector¡¯s words.


    ¡°I keep telling you not to mention me by name. We don¡¯t know who could be watching, and unlike me, a regular recording device picks up your voice just fine.¡±


    Hector shrugged, and a smile came across his face as Lena turned around, and started rubbing herself on him. ¡°You worry too much. That¡¯s probably why your life ended the way it did. Too much caution, not enough action.¡±


    The presumed A.I. was deathly still, and gave Hector a mild grimace. However, not even the sour mood of Acirus could get rid of Hector¡¯s passion.


    He sat back and enjoyed the show that Lena gave him, and rolled his eyes when he noticed that Acirus hadn¡¯t yet dissipated into smoke like he usually would.


    He grabbed Lena¡¯s hips and pulled her down, relishing in her warmth and wetness. ¡°You can stare all day for all I care. I just need you to fulfil my ambitions. You¡¯re a tool for my sole use. Nothing more, nothing less.¡±


    A bemused smile raced across Acirus¡¯ mouth, and he asked, ¡°Was that last part directed at me, or your partner?¡±


    Hector frowned, and let out some of his annoyance by playfully slapping Lena on the ass. She moaned, but even that noise couldn¡¯t get rid of Hector¡¯s rising anger.


    He thrust violently, lifting her up off of the bed, and pistoning into her from below. She moaned louder as she reached climax by herself. ¡°Fuck!¡± Hector shouted, tossing Lena¡¯s body onto the bed.


    ¡°Starlords damn you to hell, Acirus! You can never give me a fucking break!¡± Acirus merely replied with a stern look of his own, and put his face close to Hector¡¯s.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget where your power comes from, you little worm. I have a lot of magnanimity, but even my patience has its limits.¡±


    An overwhelming headache overcame Hector, causing him to write around on the ground, and he looked up at Acirus with defiant eyes.


    ¡°That is the look that suits you the best.¡± Acirus continued. ¡°I put up with you practically brainwashing your sexual partners, but an insult to me will not be tolerated. Am I understood?¡±


    Hector tried to stand up, but the pain returned two-fold, and he crumpled back down to the floor while Lera looked around aimlessly, focusing on anything and everything but the two other figures in the room.


    ¡°Am I understood?¡± Acirus repeated, and increased the pressure on Hector¡¯s skull, causing him to groan in pain.


    ¡°Yes, yes, you are!¡± The pressure let up, and Hector stumbled to his feet. Acirus looked over him with a look of disapproval before vanishing into thin air, and Lena fell to the bed like a puppet with her strings cut.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Hector said, tucking her body into the bed. He needed to stop indulging in his desires while talking to Acirus. He was a dangerous individual, and riding a momentary high opened him up to losing control of his emotions.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    He pressed a button on his Judgment overlay, and began a phone call with someone. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me. Don¡¯t forget to move the cash through the appropriate channels. We¡¯ll need to pay off the Metronian Royalty if we want this to work well.¡±


    Lilian smiled as he put away the headphones he was using to listen to the recording on his Judgment panel. Three had done a wonderful job of concealing their presence during the whole ordeal.


    They were in the room, and thanks to their optimization in stealth, neither man, woman, nor A.I. noticed that they were there.


    Thus, Hector and Lena were unaware even when they left the cheap hotel room, leaving Three to take down her concealment in the now empty vicinity.


    ¡°Mission successful, I¡¯d say.¡± Three said, not bothering to conceal her form any longer. Her form-fitting robes swayed too and fro, as an invisible and intangible wind swept at them. It was a byproduct of her new fancy for old western films.


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s get back to base and show this to Joshua.¡± Lilian grinned and saved the file to his Judgment Panel. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯d love to hear this.¡±


    Lilian began to walk out the door when Three absentmindedly called out, ¡°Are we going to pretend that didn¡¯t just happen then?¡±


    When Lilian tilted his head at her with a look of confusion, the A.I. sighed. ¡°I¡¯m talking about when you pulled out your gun.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that!¡± Lilian said, and a look of disinterest crossed his features before returning to a neutral state. ¡°Nothing happened though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, nothing happened.¡± Three rolled her eyes. ¡°Nothing happened because I disbaled the gun when you pulled the trigger. Do you have any idea how much shit we¡¯d have been in if we assassinated that man in his home country?¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Lilian said, a pout beginning to form on his effeminate features. ¡°They tried to kill Joshua in their territory as well. Wouldn¡¯t it be just if we responded with an attempt of our own?¡±


    ¡°No you idiot.¡± Three stated, matter of factly. ¡°They got away with it because it was in their territory. We¡¯d be crucified if we did the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t we have just blamed their deaths on the Primal Families, though?¡± Lilian sighed and shook his head. ¡°The Primals and the C.U.H. don¡¯t like each other anyway. It would only further that narrative, instead of sending a ton of heat our way.¡±


    Three only stared at Lilian for an uncomfortable amount of time, before disappearing into the former¡¯s Judgment Panel. ¡°Starlords above, when did you start using your brain? How I miss the days when you relied on me for everything.¡±


    Lilian scoffed, but grinned despite himself. ¡°Yeah, and how exactly did that end up again? With a dead body and under contract to an abusive boss?¡±


    Three didn¡¯t dignify that with a proper response. Instead, she opted to send a powerful shock straight into Lilian¡¯s panel.


    ¡°Ow! You bitch!¡±


    ---


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s interesting.¡± I had just finished watching the footage in its entirety, and rewound to the image of the Judgment under Hector¡¯s control.


    It had been three days since the attack that Viina¡­ or, I guess Hector, had facilitated on me, damaging me internally.


    Thankfully for me, I survived until my nanites reactivated and could heal me properly, but I was still extremely bitter about the entire thing.


    I smirked, and mentally commanded X, as well as Un and Three to appear before us. Only Winter, Lucina, Lilian, and I were in the meeting room, as this concerned the existence of the Judgments.


    ¡°Well, Lilian. If this gig every goes south, i¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯d make a killing at filming pornography.¡± He sighed, and rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Yes, sir, that¡¯s fantastic. What do you plan to do about him, though?¡± My smile disappeared upon remembering Hector, and I took a deep breath.


    Calm¡­ be calm. I exhaled, and said, ¡°He¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming to him at the end of the week. I¡¯m sure of that.¡±


    Winter nodded, and pointed to the Judgments gathered around me. ¡°So, what did you need them for, Master?¡±


    I looked back at the three of them, each a program with their own personality and specialized set of skills. ¡°I¡¯ve been too careless recently. The whole thing with Viina just opened my eyes to that. I¡¯ll need them all to practice before the fight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you¡¯ll need all of them?¡± Lucina said incredulously. ¡°I thought you were going to delegate them to Winter and Hector to use during the War Game?¡±


    I shook my head, and snapped my fingers, to which X held out her hands, palms up. Both Un and Three shrank into orbs of light, green and black respectively, and came to a rest in her hands.


    Her form shone, and soon she wore a new suit of armor, with a platinum breastplate. On her left side, a green shoulder guard, gauntlet, and a greave shone in the room¡¯s light. Her right sported a black version of the same armor. I looked down at the map we had spread on the table, and sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking all three of them. If you didn¡¯t remember, the stakes for if I specifically am taken down are much worse for anyone else. I admit, taking on two Judgment users unnerves me.¡±


    The room was wholly silent, and I looked up to see Winter and Lilian with shocked expressions on, and Lucina bearing a radiant smile. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s, well¡­¡± Lilian started, and started pacing back and forth as though locked in an internal debate about whether to tell me something or not.


    ¡°To be honest, Master,¡± Winter offered, ¡°We¡¯ve never heard you state your discomforts before, so it¡¯s a bit shocking to hear them come out all of a sudden.¡±


    I considered this for a second. It was true, I supposed. After all, any concerns I did have I shared with X. She was all I had ever needed since I arrived in Ethia.


    ¡°And I love you all the more for it.¡± X said, caressing my face. An act which was extremely embarrassing when I remembered that everyone present could see her.


    I coughed, and stepped through her incorporeal form to face the three once again. ¡°So, who here has an idea to destroy the Primal Kingdom?¡±

 Chapter 72: The Banquet

    ¡°And? Your decision?¡± Lucina was sitting next to me on our bed while I was flipping an envelope over in my hands.


    It contained an invitation to a massive banquet, one held in honor of the people going off to our miniature war. It was to be held the night before the war game. Raiden had acquired the invitation upon his visit to the capital today, and had decided to leave the responsibility of attending or not to me.


    ¡°Prick.¡± I muttered under my breath, and stood up. I had just finished my daily training and taken a shower. The sudden movement caused drops of water to fall from my hair, travelling down my naked body.


    ¡°Come now, he just recognizes you as the leader.¡± Lucina said softly, hugging me from behind. Her hands started to caress my abdomen and chest, and her left hand started to drift lower¡­


    ¡°Ow.¡± Lucina said in a monotone voice as I slapped her hands away. She looked at me like a scolded dog, and I shook my head.


    ¡°Not now. We have to actually make preparations. This is the perfect place to put our plan in motion.¡±


    Lucina pouted and sighed, but followed me out of the room after I put on some clothes. Unfortunately, I was right. Since the banquet was being held at the Warrior King¡¯s estate, in the city nearest to us, we had a lot of things to do.


    ---


    ¡°Ha ha! Prince Raiden, you charmer. I never imagined that your side would accept our invitation. This is such an auspicious occasion¡­ speaking of which, how do you feel about marrying into my family?¡±


    Raiden¡¯s expression twisted briefly at the suggestion, but didn¡¯t last long enough, and soon returned to his charismatic smile. ¡°Thank you, Primal Queen of the People. However, I am currently in engagement talks with another family, so it would not befit me to pursue such a relationship here.¡±


    The newest member amongst the Primal Monarchs, Queen Laina Secela, seemed to take the denial quite well, with a smile even appearing on her face. ¡°I see. Then perhaps I should go to your mother directly.¡±


    ¡°With all due respect, Queen Secela, I¡¯m not sure if she would be enticed by the prospect of engaging me to a princess of one of the Primals.¡±


    Contrary to his expectations, the Queen merely smiled, and leaned in closer to the princeling.


    ¡°Please, call me Laina. Who said anything about princesses, dear Raiden? I was talking about a betrothal to myself. The position of King has been recently vacated, if you weren¡¯t aware.¡±


    Laina entwined her arm around his, and brought his hands close, lacing her fingers between his. The feeling of her breasts pushed against his upper arm, along with the scent of her bittersweet perfume left Raiden reeling.


    The Metronian prince shuddered, and took a deep breath. He had to force himself not to explode at the Queen, and instead placed another one of his trademark smiles on his lips.


    ¡°Thank you for the offer, my Queen. I believe there will be a lot of trials and tribulations for us to overcome should we become an item. If you truly do wish to wed me, then do send a proper proposal to my father. We will consider it in more detail at that time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you slut! Go back from whence you came!¡± Laina sighed as a small, old man with a long beard came to Raiden¡¯s rescue.


    ¡°Machine King Sovix. To what do I owe this pleasure?¡± Laina said through gritted teeth. It was obvious to Raiden that there was no love lost between the two sides.


    The Primal Machine King himself, while only reaching up to Raiden¡¯s waist in height, was clad in pitch-black armor, with various tubes and wires running in and out of it.


    In all, he cut an unassumingly dashing figure. ¡°Bah.¡± Sovix scoffed, taking a large drink of the alcoholic beverage in his hands. ¡°If only the rest of us had it as easy as you, Queen Secela. Since you¡¯re thoroughly enjoying yourself by seducing a man half your age, I suppose you¡¯ve already gone through the documents concerning the transition of power, and have requested a proper Triumvirate Ascension¡­ haven¡¯t you?¡±


    The Queen of the People growled at Sovix and walked off to the catering area. Raiden turned to thank the old man, only to flinch when he saw the figure standing next to him. ¡°Warrior King Ramire. What an honor to be in your presence.¡±


    Raiden bowed, and when he looked up, he saw the man in question sending a smug look at the Machine King beside him. ¡°People really do respect the physical form, don¡¯t they, old man?¡±


    ¡°Bah!¡± Sovix scowled, which seemed to delight Peter Ramire even further. ¡°You young''uns these days! So concerned with grooming the physical, that your beliefs and mentalities all look like shit.¡±


    Sovix left in a huff, leaving Raiden alone with the physical specimen that was the Warrior King. ¡°How have you been, Raiden? Do tell your father and mother I send my regards.¡±


    ¡°With pleasure, sir.¡± Raiden said, standing up from his bow. ¡°We thank you for allowing us to use the property we purchased on your land at the beginning of your reign. And yourself? How have you been faring recently?¡±


    Ramire sighed in exasperation, and Raiden could see the man visibly deflate with each passing second. ¡°I¡¯ve been alright for the most part. There has been one thing that has been bothering me recently.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Raiden was incredulous. It wasn¡¯t every day that a leader such as the respected and venerated Warrior King had problems. ¡°If you wouldn¡¯t mind, how about we speak over a glass of wine?¡±


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The Warrior King grinned, and patted Raiden on the back, almost knocking him over because of his massive frame. ¡°I¡¯d like that very much. Have you ever tried contamination? I have the perfect vintage for an occasion like this.¡±


    They moved to a small table outside of the main building, overlooking the courtyard below. Raiden had to reluctantly admit: there was a certain charm to living in a place surrounded by nature.


    Contrary to what he¡¯d lived his entire life surrounded by, the ambient nature of the Primal Kingdom relaxed his soul, and he couldn¡¯t tell why. No matter. Raiden decided not to dwell on that feeling too much, and simply enjoyed it for what it was.


    Contamination, as it turned out, was very much like the country¡¯s famous dirt chicken in execution. It was a red wine that contained many spices in the bottle, and was poured through a strainer to only get the wine. It scalded Raiden¡¯s throat, although the wine itself was pleasant on the whole.


    ¡°And then she told me she wants to move to the Luong Empire! How am I supposed to discourage my daughter from expanding her horizons!?¡± Ramire sniffed as he retold the tragic tale of his youngest daughter¡¯s recent distancing from him, and subsequent reveal of her desire to leave the household.


    ¡°And what¡¯s worse,¡± Ramire said, leaning in close, is that this is all caused by a Starlords damned tourist!¡± He shouted the last part, nearly blowing out Raiden¡¯s hearing altogether.


    A tourist from the Luong Empire, at this time of the year? Raiden considered it for a moment before his heart sank. Lilian, what the fuck have you been up to!?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your highness. As long as your daughter is happy, I¡¯m sure that all will be alright.¡± Raiden gave Ramire a reassuring smile, and the king wiped his eyes, then blew his nose.


    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.¡± Ramire smiled back at Raiden as well. Although, I heard from Christna that her new man is going to be at this banquet. I¡¯d truly be surprised if he was such an important person.¡±


    Raiden chuckled nervously, and looked at the clock in his HUD. He took another sip of contamination as he counted the seconds until Joshua¡¯s arrival.


    ---


    Viina was overseeing the party, as her mother told her to do. She wasn¡¯t too pleased with how Viina had caused a mess in the Warrior King¡¯s territory, so Viina was treading on thin ice.


    ¡®Should you try to pull another stunt like that, I¡¯ll have to treat you like a child again and use the belt. Am I clear?¡¯ Viina shook her head in disgust as she recalled the words her mother said before they opened the hall doors.


    Her mother had made herself abundantly clear. She knew that the queen would not hesitate to spank her, even if she was a fully grown 26 year old woman.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped though. Paladin Joshua Cole absolutely had to die. Because¡­ well, it didn¡¯t really matter, did it? Her senses told her that it was the best course of action, and so, she followed them.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Viina¡¯s attention was turned to the center of the ballroom, where a young, good-looking man in a hot pink dress suit was standing up. Viina did a double take upon seeing her younger cousin, Christna, sitting next to him with a smile on her face.


    So that¡¯s Christna¡¯s new love? He isn¡¯t much to look at. Oh well, more power to her, I guess. She watched on as the man began to tap on his glass of wine, attracting the stares of those around him. Soon the music had quieted down as well, and he had the attention of the entire party in his grasp.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen!¡± He spoke in a pleasant voice. It didn¡¯t seem as though he was shouting anymore, leaving Viina to believe he had somehow hooked himself up to their Home Judgment System.


    ¡°Somehow¡­¡± Viina muttered as her eyes fell on Christna, who was looking at her man with rapt attention.


    ¡°Thank you all for listening. I would like to announce the arrival of the main star of the evening!¡± Murmuring began, and speculation as to who this mystery arrival could possibly be.


    Even Viina couldn¡¯t help herself as she mentally went through a list of her cousins who had not arrived yet, or those who had been banned, but were prone to making a scene. Right on cue, the door opened, and a whole host of people walked through.


    First was Paladin Cole¡¯s maid, who was wearing a form fitting white dress with a slit up the left leg. Her silver hair was done up in a bun, and her white choker was very pronounced against her black skin.


    Next to arrive was Princess Akahime, who was in a short crimson dress, with one long sleeve, and one sleeveless on the torso. Her long hair was done up in a ponytail, and fell over her left shoulder.


    After that was Princess Reya, who wore a bronze gown. The long, puffy dress accentuated her torso, and drew eyes to her modestly covered chest.


    Then, next would be¡­ Viina rolled her eyes as she gazed upon Princess Lucina. The woman wore a dark blue dress, which ended above her knees, and had a deep v-cut to expose her breasts. Under the dress was a white bondage harness, complete with a collar. The collar, as fate would have it, had a chain coming from it. That connected two white leather cuffs on either of her arms to her neck. Her lips shone with a glossy, dark-blue lipstick, and made her current smile stand out.


    What a showoff. Viina couldn¡¯t help but smile. The woman was honest with what she liked, even to a fault. However, the next person to walk in made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.


    Paladin Joshua Cole strode in, with a confident smile on his face. He had on dark red pants, a dark red dress shirt, and a black blazer.


    One thought permeated Viina¡¯s mind: ¡®He survived.¡¯ Viina sneered, and walked forward with a steady gate, coming to a stop in front of the Paladin¡¯s entourage.


    ¡°Why, it¡¯s a pleasure to see you again, Paladin Cole. To what do we owe this pleasure?¡± Viina¡¯s words were tinged with venom, but Joshua didn¡¯t seem to mind. Instead, he walked forward, got on one knee, and took her hand.


    ¡°Princess Viina. May I ask you to a dance?¡± Viina was about to answer, but found that she couldn¡¯t. She couldn¡¯t physically open her mouth.


    ¡®Don¡¯t mind me.¡¯ A woman¡¯s voice echoed in her head. ¡®Now, consider yourself indebted to us.¡¯


    Viina heard the sound of glass breaking, and some memories were thrust into her mind. Late night meetings with the C.U.H. representatives about the war game. Going out to drink with them afterward. Fast forwarding to Barett leaving the establishment early, but Viina staying behind in a show of good faith.


    Then, came a to heart to heart with the C.U.H.''s Hector. What they both wanted to accomplish for the sake of the Kingdom. Then¡­


    The massive body appearing behind him. Once the blue being snapped his fingers, Viina¡¯s mind went hazy. He ordered her to kill the incoming Paladin, and use any means necessary to do so, when he gave her the signal.


    Viina¡¯s mind travelled back to the meeting she had with Paladin Cole, and as she looked at the fruit stand, the word that seemed out of place, and stood out on the store¡¯s pricing list: DIRE.


    Viina slumped to her knees, as Paladin Cole stood up. ¡°Oh dear, it seems like my sudden proposal was a bit too sudden for Princess Secela.¡± He said for all to hear. ¡°Winter, could you help her to a table? After that, we can enjoy ourselves for the rest of the night.¡±

 Chapter 73: Aftermath of the Banquet {NSFW}

    Far from just being led to a table to rest, Viina Secela had decided to call it a night for the evening, leaving the rest of the people from the Metron Kingdom unmolested for the night.


    Well, mostly unmolested. Raiden had fended off the Queen, however that just made him more desirable in the eyes of the court ladies, who flocked to his side, despite the myriad of protests he gave them.


    ¡°What is that idiot doing?¡± Lucina muttered as she took a slice of cake from the refreshments table. The Primal Kingdom, for all their love of spices and things that generally burned your mouth, had an appreciation for the finest of confectionaries as well.


    The current article on her plate was a chocolate cake base, with lemon frosting and orange shavings on top to add a bit of zest. It was a brilliant recipe, and one which Lucina delighted in all the more.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on him, Princess Lucina. I¡¯m sure this is much more difficult for him than it is for us.¡± Lucina turned to see Winter Strafe walking up behind her, a glass of champagne in her hand. Although Winter was the shorter of the two of them, she wasn¡¯t the least bit intimidated by Lucina, and the Princess appreciated her for that.


    Too many times to count, Lucina had acted stupid, dumb, or lecherously incoherent in an attempt to not scare off the people around her with her intellect. It even still showed when she interacted with Joshua sometimes, and she cursed herself for it.


    However, Winter always managed to catch her at her brooding worst, and never seemed to feel unsettled or out of place by how many gears were turning in her head at one time.


    ¡°Yes¡­ you are intimately familiar with his lover back in the Metronian Kingdom, I suppose. Tell me, what kind of person is Leray?¡± Either not expecting to hear her name from Lucina¡¯s lips, or just not paying attention while she was eating, Winter stiffened up upon hearing the question, and mechanically turned towards Lucina.


    ¡°Leray is¡­ very much like you.¡± Lucina raised an eyebrow at her inquisitively, prompting Winter to continue. ¡°She¡¯s always thinking about something of great importance, without ever giving away what that thing is. She likes to manipulate from the shadows, so as not to put those close to her in harm¡¯s way.¡±


    Winter chuckled nervously, ¡°I suppose that didn¡¯t work out too well though, since you know who she is, and what she does.¡±


    Lucina returned Winter¡¯s forced laughter with a genuine smile of her own. ¡°No, she is doing a wonderful job. The only reason I know about her is because of Joshua. That being said, I would like to meet her in person. Maybe we can celebrate our victory at her bar when we return to the Kingdom?¡±


    Winter smiled, and raised her wine glass to Lucina. ¡°I think I¡¯d like that, Princess Metron.¡±


    Lucina raised her glass as well, and lightly tapped Winter¡¯s with it. ¡°The pleasure would be all mine, Ms. Strafe.¡±


    They each threw back their respective glasses, each one being no stranger to consuming large amounts of alcohol. ¡°I¡¯m so glad I got the grape wine.¡± Winter smiled, staring at Lucina¡¯s glass.


    ¡°Had I actually tried the contamination, I fear I would have been out of commission for the night.¡± Winter shuddered at the thought, and Lucina opened her mouth to say something when a deep baritone voice interrupted her.


    ¡°Celebrating your win already, eh?¡± Barret Secela, dressed up in a scarlet tuxedo and blue dress shirt, walked up behind them.


    Lucina caught him staring at her ensemble, and part of her wanted to laugh that he would stare at all, while the other part felt elated that, like many others at the party had shown with their stares and their inaction, that she was an unreachable flower.


    Lucina thought back to Joshua¡¯s discipline only a week prior. ¡®Well,¡¯ she thought, ¡®mostly unreachable.¡¯


    ¡°To what do we owe this pleasure?¡± Lucina asked, tilting her head, and purposefully giving Barret a full view of her cleavage.


    As she had expected, his eyes were drawn to her breasts like metal to a magnet, and a cruel smile played across her lips, before she remembered where she was and quickly hid it.


    Barret cleared his throat and looked around awkwardly. ¡°I¡­ I just¡­ wanted to see how you were doing.¡±


    Lucina¡¯s smile returned. ¡®Ah¡­ so he still has an interest in me, even after all these years?¡¯ She quickly let go of those thoughts, and started to speak.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing well. My little sister hammered out a new trade deal with the Luong Empire, and resources have been plentiful in funding our war game effort here. As soon as this one finishes, Paladin Cole must head out for another immediately after. Truly, no rest for the wicked.¡±


    Barret¡¯s smile slowly faded, and he spoke softly, ¡°Speaking of which, I wanted to get what you think of the Paladin.¡± Barret said, a hint of trepidation in his voice.


    ¡°Why?¡± Winter asked. Lucina wanted to sigh. She was always going to be a hammer, and never a knife, in these situations. ¡°Haven¡¯t you met him already?¡±


    She looked down at his dominant hand. ¡°Uh, no offense intended, but I think you got more than a little up close with Master Cole previously.¡±


    Barett scoffed, and rolled his eyes. ¡°Obviously. However, that was his appearance in a public setting. I want to know what he is like behind the scenes.¡±


    This time, it was Lucina who returned a frigid look of her own. ¡°Please, Barett. You don¡¯t actually care about that. Who put you up to this? Your mother?¡± Lucina stared him down, practically begging Barett to get into a war of words with her.


    Unfortunately, it was Lucina who ended up shocked into silence when Barett took a very active roll in laughing off her anger. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t deny that someone did tell me to ask, but the decision was wholeheartedly mine. I¡¯m sorry I hurt you all those years before, Lucina. I wasn¡¯t enough of a man then to court you, but I¡¯m glad someone else is now. I just wanted to make sure the relationship wasn¡¯t toxic. Have a nice night.¡±


    Just like that, Prince Secela left, leaving Lucina stupefied in his wake. She swirled the contamination around in her glass before frowning and downing the rest in one gulp. ¡°Fuck the Primals.¡± She uttered.


    ---


    ¡°So, Leo? What do you think?¡± Christna asked as she stared Lilian straight in the eyes.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Lilian returned her gaze, and plastered a stereotypical smile on his face. ¡®I think I need to legally change my name to Leo when I get back.¡¯ He thought.


    Christna Ramire clung tightly to Lilian¡¯s arm, and looked up at him with reverence in her eyes. Ever since it had slipped during a post-coitus cuddle that Lilian was secretly working for the Metronian Kingdom, and not just that, but working directly for the newly appointed paladin as his number two, Christna had barely given him time to breathe.


    She constantly reminded him of how romantic it was, and that star crossed lovers like them would be destined for greatness. She had kept his information a secret from her father, and he felt like he owed it to her to come clean at the end of the war game.


    ¡°It¡¯s wonderful.¡± Lilian said, answering Christna¡¯s question for the thirteenth time. ¡°Of course I¡¯d take you with me. I do love you, despite what you may think.¡±


    Despite his words, he had no intentions for this relationship to last more than his time in the Primal Kingdom. He was an espionage agent, and would never be able to give her the kind of home life that she deserved.


    She giggled as he tapped a finger to her nose, a noise which instantly stilled as she spotted something over his shoulder.


    He turned to see what had attracted her attention, and immediately regretted the choice. Warrior King Ramire was staring him down, with a bottle of contamination in one hand, and a piece of cake in the other.


    ¡°Eat.¡± He spoke, shoving the cake into Christna¡¯s mouth. She looked at him with anger in her eyes, but his own gaze left no room for debate.


    ¡°Mmf, mm.¡± Her muffled voice of dissatisfaction was the only advice Lilian got before she got up, and left him alone with her father.


    ¡°It is an honor, Warrior King.¡± Lilian said, standing up and bowing at a 90 degree angle. ¡°I¡¯ve heard much about your magnanimousness, and-¡±


    A hand on his shoulder stopped Lilian¡¯s momentum dead. Peter Ramire sighed and took a seat, signaling for Lilian to do the same.


    Unwilling to disappoint or anger his future father in law in any way, Lilian obliged, sitting down and watching nervously as the king filled up two glasses with the spicy wine in his hand.


    ¡°A toast. To you and my daughter.¡± Lilian stared wide eyed at the Warrior King. He absentmindedly clinked the glass with Peter¡¯s and downed it as the king had done.


    ¡°Before you say anything,¡± the king started, ¡°know that I appreciate what you have done for my family. Your presence has had a beneficial impact on my daughter, helping her grow into the adult the family wished she would be. For that, you have my thanks.¡±


    Lilian just bowed uncomfortably, unused to direct praise from anyone besides Christna. ¡°Please, your daughter has taken care of me far more than the opposite. It is my pleasure to have her in my life.¡±


    Peter just gave Lilian a look, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Eventually, Peter sighed, surprising Lilian more than it probably should have.


    ¡°Listen Leo, I know who you¡¯re working for.¡± Lilian¡¯s blood froze, and he mentally opened a message box to contact Joshua, but stopped when he saw the expression on Peter¡¯s face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, contrary to my daughter¡¯s beliefs. Please, I just have a request of you, from a foolish father who dotes on his daughter: take her with you when you leave.¡± Lilian¡¯s eyes widened, causing Peter Ramire to smirk.


    ¡°I know what you think, but after the war game, the Primal Kingdom is going to go through an uprising, a revolution. No one will be safe, so I need to make sure at least Christna is. Do I have your word?¡±


    Lilian nodded meekly, and the Warrior King smiled. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be counting on you then, Lilian.¡±


    That last remark left him doubly stunned, and as soon as he had come, the Warrior King had gone to enjoy the rest of the party.


    ¡°Well shit.¡± Lilian rubbed his eyes. ¡°I guess I should just rip off the bandage and ask Joshua now.¡±


    He snapped his fingers, and a radar appeared on screen, and blinked once before going dark. Lilian just stared, stupefied by the display.


    ¡°Huh? Where did Joshua go?¡±


    ---


    ¡°So, how do you want to do this, Reya?¡± Reya asked herself, and her heart began to race inside the local hotel. However, she wished they were in the safety of their temporary bunker. The kingdom had founded it long ago within the territory of the Warrior King, with the understanding that if need be, it could become an evacuation shelter for people in need.


    Why was that important right now? It wasn¡¯t. Reya was just trying to distract herself from the impending embarrassment of the situation.


    Only a few minutes before, she was so excited, and practically ordered him to strip in front of her. He refused, of course, and instead opted to take a shower. He told her that she should shower too, even though they were about to get filthy. Her first time would be better that way.


    She shamefully skulked into the bathroom across the way from Joshua¡¯s, and it was only after she let her dress fall off her body that she realized what was about to happen.


    Reya took her shower and came out, looking herself over in the mirror first. Her skin was darkened by tattoos, but there were some patches of tan left in there. Her ruby red hair complimented her eyes well, and framed her face in a way that she liked.


    She moved her gaze down her body, thanking the gods that her breasts were nice and shapely. Sure, they weren¡¯t as big as her cow of a sister¡¯s, but they were pretty enviable.


    Then, her gaze went even further, down to her abdomen. ¡°Fuck! Should I not have shaved!? What if he thinks I¡¯m a slut!?¡±


    ¡°I already think that!¡± Joshua shouted back from the opposite shower, causing an unending amount of suffering for Reya as she left the shower, and sat down on the bed. Reya¡¯s heart was pounding as she realized that the inevitable was about to happen.


    ¡°Well, have you decided?¡± Reya¡¯s eyes zeroed in on the paladin¡¯s member as he put one hand over her shoulder and used the other to push her down to the bed.


    ¡°I-I¡¯d like my first time to just be normal.¡± Reya said nervously. She knew that she should maintain her persona, but was mentally unable due to the circumstances of the situation.


    ¡°Normal is so boring.¡± Joshua sighed, as he used a finger to tilt her chin up, making her look at his eyes instead of his dick. ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of time to look later. Before we do this, I want confirmation: are you sure that this is the request that you want fulfilled?¡±


    Reya took his head in her hands, and brought it closer to her own. Their teeth clacked as Reya raised her face to meet his, and she put a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. However, Joshua just took it in stride, removing Reya¡¯s hand and planting a gentle kiss on her lips.


    Reya¡¯s heart fluttered as she searched for more, and soon, their playful pecks had evolved into passionate tongue twisting. Reya¡¯s tongue was virtually still as she let Joshua do all the work. She gasped as his rough fingers played with her entrance, and her hands grabbed fistfuls of sheets.


    ¡°Calm down, and just try to enjoy it.¡± He whispered into her ear. Reya did enjoy it, probably a little too much for her own good. It felt like sparks were engulfing her hips, and she felt her own nipples begin to get erect.


    Her hole tightened as Joshua inserted his fingers, and used his thumb to stimulate her clit as he fingered her. He used his other hand to rub Reya¡¯s breasts, while using his mouth to begin another round of kissing.


    Reya¡¯s legs spasmed uncontrollably, and, in her state of bliss, she thought about how much better it felt to have the stimulation be foreign in origin, than from her own fingers.


    She came, and in her mind, the moment stretched, giving her a few seconds of bliss before she found Joshua¡¯s member shoved into her face.


    ¡°Well? Don¡¯t just lie there. Repay the favor.¡± He commanded, and such was Reya¡¯s mind that she immediately went to work, taking him into her mouth, licking and sucking as much as her shallow mouth would allow.


    After a few minutes of this, Joshua held her head down as far as it would go, causing Reya to choke and sputter after coming up for air. ¡°Good girl.¡± He said, and kissed her head.


    She was still nervous as Joshua spread her legs, and placed himself right at her entrance. Then, he thrust. Reya cried out in pain as he spread her open, clawing at his back and wrapping her legs around him.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright now. You¡¯ve taken it all.¡± He kissed her again. ¡°I¡¯m going to start moving now, ok?¡± Reya nodded slowly, and enjoyed his slow, methodical thrusts. He rubbed her breasts slowly, and began to kiss her all over. Her chest, her neck, her shoulders, and her head.


    Reya was reeling at all the stimulation, and came again. Unfortunately for her, Joshua noticed, and shifted their position so that she was on top of him in missionary.


    ¡°Come on now, I¡¯m not even close to tired.¡± He said with a slight smile. ¡°We still have about an hour before the rest of them come back.¡±

 Chapter 74: Kicking Off {NSFW}

    Despite her best precautions, Reya¡¯s unwilling transformation from virgin to deviant snuck up on her. It had all started with a simple question from Joshua.


    ¡°Would you like to try something else?¡± Obviously he had ulterior motives for asking. He was visibly getting bored, and Reya dreaded what would happen if she said no.


    She didn¡¯t want the night to end, not by a long shot. ¡®Why can¡¯t you just have a tame fetish, like breasts or feet?¡¯ Reya lamented.


    However, she steeled her heart for what was to come. They had spent the past twenty minutes having sweet, sweet vanilla sex.


    The unfortunate duality of the situation, however, was that while Reya was enjoying every moment of gazing into her partners eyes and just being satisfied with his presence, the paladin seemed to lose passion as the night wore on.


    Finally, Reya broke, and acquiesced to his demands. ¡°... I might be willing to try something different, if you tell me exactly what it is that you¡¯re planning. As you can see¡­¡±


    She trailed off, embarrassed beyond death that she¡¯d even have to put the next sentence she was about to speak into words.


    ¡°As you can see, my gag reflex isn¡¯t as strong as my sister¡¯s, so I doubt we can do any of the things that you do together with her.¡±


    Reya blushed furiously at the mention of her own sister. Whenever she measured herself up against who she considered to be the ideal woman, she always felt as though she came up short.


    Funny enough, she¡¯s done that comparison her entire life, but it was only after she became the crowned princess that she felt even more insecure about it. However, Joshua¡¯s reaction was not one she had expected.


    Instead of laughing Reya off, making light of her feelings with a joke, or just flat out ending their night, Joshua gave her a warm smile.


    Reya was dumbfounded by the expression she¡¯d never seen before, and just stared at his face as he stroked her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about being like Lucina. Instead, focus on what you want to try. This is a unique opportunity for you, after all.¡±


    Reya took a deep breath, and listened as Joshua laid out her choices in front of her. Reya nervously contemplated them all after cutting a few from the initial list. She asked about how difficult they were to perform, and about the risks involved.


    Finally, she made her decision, and Joshua¡¯s face lit up in a cruel smile. ¡°I was kind of hoping you would choose that one.¡±


    A few moments later, and Reya was immediately regretting having made her decision without too much thought into the logistics of bodily restrictions. She had opted for kinbaku, as she had heard the phrase thrown around a few times from Lucina, and had been curious about what it felt like since then.


    ¡®I guess curiosity does really kill the cat.¡¯ Reya sighed inwardly as Joshua set to work on her. First her chest and abdomen was covered in what Joshua called a ¡®rope harness,¡¯ before he attached a crotch rope that dug into her sensitive area.


    She shivered, although whether that was caused by ecstasy or fear she couldn¡¯t tell, and for the sake of her own ego she wouldn¡¯t dive too deep into it.


    Her arms were quickly bound behind her back, with one arm placed atop another and her elbows making sharp 90 degree angles out to the sides.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know how to treat a lady, do you?¡± Reya commented as he pulled the rope tightly. Without so much as a noise, he bent her over his lap and slapped her ass.


    Reya groaned at the pain, and began to shiver again as Joshua ran his hands gently over the place he had just struck.


    ¡°Please. I¡¯m a fantastic gentleman. It¡¯s just that only ladies with discerning palettes can appreciate my true worth as a realist and a cynic.¡± He slapped her once more for good measure before tying her legs, connecting her calves and thighs in the process.


    When he was done, Reya felt like a piece of strung meat. The ropes dug into her flesh, making certain parts protrude from the pressure. She felt the heat of embarrassment reignite in her cheeks once more as Joshua lifted the princess up, and settled her on his lap once more.


    ¡°Well, this is as far as we go for now. How does it feel?¡± He looked at her, a gaze of interest and joy on his face.


    ¡°Ha ha, very funny. You know damn well that this isn¡¯t comfortable in the least.¡± Reya said, rolling her eyes.


    In response, Joshua tugged on the rope between her legs, eliciting a soft cry from Reya. ¡°You know very well that wasn¡¯t the question I asked.¡±


    His smile fell as he spoke, ¡°I don¡¯t care about whether it feels comfortable, I care about whether or not you can still feel blood flow. Are any of your fingers numb? Can you feel your feet still?¡±


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Reya was surprised at his startling transformation from sexually driven brute to concerned partner in a split second. She nodded to indicate that her extremities were fine, and the smile returned to his face.


    ¡°Good. All¡¯s well that ends well, I guess.¡± He said, running his fingers down her abdomen, and creating a tingling sensation wherever his touch passed. He grabbed her breasts and squeezed hard.


    Reya groaned, and had to bite her lip to keep her from spitting obscenities at him. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot.¡± He said nonchalantly as he reached behind her, his face pushing into her cleavage.


    Reya growled at him, but that was just a facade. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest, and she desperately wanted not to offend him.


    ¡°This did take a bit of time, about twenty minutes, huh?¡± Joshua said as he looked at the old-fashioned analog clock on the wall. ¡°Right. From now on, I¡¯ll give you a taste of pleasure you haven¡¯t had before.¡±


    Reya¡¯s heart sank as he brought two items up to her face. One, she recognized as a blindfold, which he tucked in between her rope collar. The second-


    ¡°Say ah.¡± He commanded, and Reya couldn¡¯t fight her curiosity any longer. She sneered before opening her mouth reluctantly, allowing Joshua to shove a ring gag there. He harnessed it to her head, and stuck a few of his fingers into her throat for good measure.


    She gagged almost immediately, and reeled back her head, glaring at her country¡¯s Paladin. ¡°Sorry.¡± He chuckled. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡±


    He put the blindfold on, and Reya was suddenly more aware of her own, haggard breathing. As though suspended in Limbo, all she was aware of were her own body¡¯s responses.


    There was a pause in her thought process as Joshua lay her face down on the bed, exposing her rear and how wet she was for him to see. Another pause happened, and a sinking feeling appeared in Reya¡¯s chest.


    ¡®Did he abandon me!?¡¯ She tried to get up and move around, and cursed the very thought that she had been tempted by Joshua in the first place.


    That was where her anger subsided, of course, as Joshua thrust his member into Reya, the shock of the sensation momentarily making her forget how to breathe.


    ¡°Wow, that was a big one. Are you ok? Nod once for yes, shake for no.¡± Reya panted as she nodded, and struggled to turn to face her tormentor. He aided her, and she nearly climaxed again as she rotated on his dick.


    She pressed her breasts onto his chest, and lifted her face up, searching for a kiss. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s cute.¡± Joshua muttered. ¡°Alright, fine. I¡¯ll indulge you.¡± Reya was sure she would remember the kiss through her gag vividly for the rest of her life.


    ---


    ¡°Good job. Everything went well at the banquet, I assume?¡± I turned from looking after a sleeping Reya to the door, where Lucina had just come in.


    ¡°Really? You just admitted you wanted to have a relationship with me, and then sleep with my sister?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°You knew this was going to happen, right? Your sister was dead set on me taking her virginity, and she wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer. I was afraid she¡¯d eventually do something that she¡¯d regret.¡±


    Lucina sighed, and buried her head in her hands. ¡°I know, and I knew that this was happening tonight. Reya came to ask me after all.¡±


    ¡°So you knew?¡± I raised an eyebrow as she looked back up at me. She surveyed the bed, where Reya was fast asleep and none the wiser.


    ¡°Of course. That being said, now that we¡¯re in a relationship, we need to make some ground rules.¡± She folded her arms, and took up a stance.


    ¡°Ok.¡± I laughed. Her expression softened, and she walked up and gave me a kiss on the lips.


    ¡°On the bright side,¡± She said, sitting down next to me, ¡°it seems like you¡¯ve actually done proper aftercare this time.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and stood up. ¡°You¡¯re never going to let me live that down, are you, Princess Lucina?¡±


    She smiled, and stood up as well, giving me an embrace from the side. ¡°Not a chance, Paladin Cole.¡±


    ---


    ¡°Welcome, one and all, to this year¡¯s War Game!¡± The cheers of tens of thousands of those who had bought special seats resounded throughout the arena. Originally, the games were a private affair, but only recently had governments seen an opportunity for capitalism to shine through.


    Now the entire war was on display for a select group of people who went through a lottery. ¡°Wonderful.¡± The Primal Queen of the People, Laina Secela, was sitting up in the skybox of the stadium. She stared down upon the hologram in her Judgment AR. It was truly a marvel of technology, and allowed her to take any kind of viewpoint over the battlefield.


    ¡°Really now? The way I see it, we¡¯re screwed.¡± Laina frowned as the Warrior King, Peter Ramire, sighed. ¡°Our people are divided, and the Metronians have found a guiding light in Paladin Cole.¡±


    ¡°Feh! You can¡¯t know for sure.¡± Machine King Sovix disapprovingly shook his head at his two juniors. ¡°However, I will say that they gave off a dangerous aura yesterday. The programs spoke to me of an unmitigated disaster.¡±


    Laina rolled her eyes and turned her head away, muttering under her breath. However, her demeanor did an instant 180 as the door to the room opened, and in walked King Metron, flanked by his wife, Queen Metron.


    Behind them was a face that Laina was loath to see. It belonged to a well dressed man, who was the spitting image of his brother Peter: Rodrigo Ramire, leader of the C.U.H.


    ¡°The primal rulers. I am glad to see all of you.¡± King Metron spoke, taking a seat next to Laina. His wife took the seat next to him, while Rodrigo opted to stand.


    ¡°Did you really put that clause into the contract on purpose? I just have to know.¡± Peter asked, his eyes going between the Metronian royalty and his brother.


    ¡°No.¡± Claude Metron said, glaring at his wife, who just stared straight ahead without a word. ¡°But, the unfortunate truth is that it¡¯s in there, so we need to accept it as such.¡±


    ¡°Oh boy, my favorite part, kill count gambling!¡± Sovix exclaimed as a counter appeared in his AR. ¡°So, what are your final counts for the death toll? Mine is the complete annihilation of the Metronian forces! Viina¡­ hmm, no Barett will get the biggest kill streak!¡±


    Sovix cackled, making the rest of the room weary. ¡°The opposite.¡± Queen Metron spoke, causing all eyes to turn to her. ¡°Laina, I believe the paladin will spare your boy and girl, but the other people besides that are done.¡±


    ¡°You sound so sure of yourself.¡± Laina¡¯s lips curled into a sneer as she gave Cindy Metron a once over with her eyes.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Queen Metron replied, staring down at the AR display. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the kind of madman he is, after all.¡±

 Chapter 75: Terrain

    ¡°What did you say this was called again?¡± I watched the aerial drones overhead as we made our way deeper into the desert.


    I should have seen the act of monetizing death as cruel and unusual, but my experiences in the Metronian Arena with Gazix had nullified those notions. Now, I couldn¡¯t see it as anything other than a great business venture for the Primal Kingdom.


    ¡°The Vetusto Desert.¡± Lucina replied, putting on her gear. She wasn¡¯t fooling around this time, as she had a plethora of durable undergarments before even considering the actual armor covering her body.


    She slammed her visor shut as the leaders of his troop approached, and a harsh red light shimmered to life above her eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll be using it as our battlefield for this war game. Remember when you were taught how to regulate your temperature when we first arrived? That was in preparation for this.¡±


    I nodded as Reya, Akahime, Winter, Lilian, and Raiden came to a stop in front of me, and their subordinates settled at the base of the hill we were currently on.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan, boss?¡± Lilian yawned and stretched as he asked the question. Winter shot him a look, but Lilian ignored the gaze of the second member of my honor guard.


    ¡°First, visors up. I don¡¯t want the Primals getting a read on us because we¡¯re communicating normally.¡± The visor to my form-fitting suit of dark body armor went down, covering my face.


    The others followed suit, and when we were all properly suited up, I sent a message to our chat group, ¡®Primal Crusaders¡¯. We¡¯re all going to move over to an abandoned research facility up ahead that Lilian scouted for us. We¡¯ll use it as our base for the next stage for the next stage of the war.


    ¡®Which is?¡¯ Lucina put into the group chat. I knew that she was somewhat aware of what I wanted to do, and was only posing this question to spread the information to the rest of the group.


    In the first stage, both sides are required to find and mark a base of operation which will then be viewed as the objective for stage two. In stage two, both sides will try to capture the enemy¡¯s base.


    The group nodded, my information being similar to the debriefing we held almost a month ago now, when I had assigned them each to their respective roles. That being said...


    Winter, Lilian, and my honor guard will start to take a flanking route to their base of operations, which should be located on the other side of this desert. Meanwhile, our infantry led by Akahime will protect the base, along with our cavalry led by Raiden.


    Raiden nodded, but Akahime said nothing, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. With no objection forthcoming, I continued, Lucina and her marksman unit will use the base for its height advantage, and attempt to snipe any enemy they may see.


    Lucina nodded. Reya¡¯s unit will march on the opposite flank that Lilian and Winter take, and attempt to charge the enemy when they have an opportunity.


    Reya¡¯s smile was visible, as her helmet only covered the upper half of her face. ¡®What about you?¡¯ Winter asked, and soon, all eyes were on me. ¡®I doubt you¡¯ll just stay at the ruins and do nothing.¡¯


    I sighed, bearing the full weight of my emotions for a few moments. I was tired. Tired of being involved in political schemes, and being the target of people with massive amounts of money or political clout. I was tired of asassination attempts, and rumors that dragged my name through the mud.


    Then the moment passed, and I was back to being Paladin Cole. I have my own plan to enact. Should things play out like Lilian¡¯s intel states, they¡¯ll be sending most of their forces this way when they realize that we¡¯ve opted to divide and conquer. I¡¯ll meet them head on and ruin their day.


    ¡®That¡¯s reckless.¡¯ Lucina sent, and followed up with a frowning emoji in their private chat. ¡®You will most certainly not walk away from their main forces in one piece.¡¯


    I sent her a smiling emoji, and my visor retracted, revealing my face to the cameras once more. ¡°This meeting is adjourned. There will be no further talk of this subject until we get to point A. Am I clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± The leaders of my team spoke clearly and without hesitation, save for two people. One, a very flummoxed Lucina. The second, was an uncharacteristically quiet Akahime.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Well, since that¡¯s taken care of,¡± I said, turning on my heels to face the horizon. ¡°Let¡¯s get a move on. Share the coordinates I just sent you with your subordinates.¡±


    They all left, leaving me alone with Lucina. ¡®I don¡¯t approve of this plan.¡¯ She sent through the messenger as we walked down the hill together.


    ¡°Well then it¡¯s a good thing that you¡¯re not in charge.¡± I said out loud in a monotone voice. ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about it. I have it all under control. The latest rounds of training that i¡¯ve done have assured that much, at least.¡±


    Lucina grabbed my arm and spun me around, before her visor slid upward and she leaned in, planting a kiss on my lips. Her tongue invaded my mouth briefly before we separated, drawing a line of saliva between the two of us.


    She followed the trail back, and pecked me on the bottom lip. ¡°You can¡¯t tell me not to worry. I¡¯m your provisional girlfriend, after all. That¡¯s just stupid.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± she continued, ¡°I do understand why you do what you do. My encounter with¡­ that thing the other day assured me of that. Plus, that¡¯s part of why I fell for you in the first place. You doggedly go after your goals.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fair enough.¡± I sighed, which caused her to smile. ¡°So, if you¡¯ve come to terms with that, what was the kiss for. I can¡¯t imagine you being the kind of person to get caught up in the heat of the moment.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you know me so well.¡± Her grin grew. ¡°My parents are watching right now. I just figured we should give them a little show.¡±


    ---


    The trek through the desert was a rough one, with the elements being particularly bad around the abandoned building itself. A sandstorm was starting to kick up around us, and I would be damned if I let the Primal Kingdom get an advantage on us because of weather damage to our equipment.


    We rushed inside, and the grunts set to reinforcing our base of operations. That included getting our equipment out from their storage devices, checking for damage, and setting up the weapons and espionage equipment for the supporters to use.


    ¡°That¡¯s a little harsh.¡± X¡¯s voice pierced through the soft hum of the soldiers, and immediately the A.I. appeared in front of me.


    I raised my eyebrow. It¡¯s been a week and this is the first thing you say to me outside training periods? What¡¯s too harsh?


    I began walking up to the second floor, out of sight of the people who could actually see X, with Lucina now included among that list.


    ¡°Your language.¡± X floated behind me, but I didn¡¯t need superpowers to guess that she just rolled her eyes at me. ¡°They aren¡¯t merely ¡®grunts.¡¯ These are people you lead, and even if deep down you think of them as expendable, they can¡¯t ever be allowed to know that. How will they buy into your cause otherwise?¡±


    I sighed, cursing the fact that she was always right. ¡°Fine. I get it.¡± I said out loud, before returning to sending messages. So? What had you all up in a twist that you wouldn¡¯t talk to me unless necessary?


    As X was wont to do, she sat down in the air, crossed her legs, and looked me in the eyes. ¡°I admit¡­ I was getting-¡±


    ¡°Joshua, are you up here?¡± I heard a voice call from the stairwell, cutting X off before she could finish her sentence. The program smirked and disappeared from sight.


    You knew she was coming. I accused her. Contrary to my annoyance, X¡¯s calm, soft voice chimed in my ears, ¡°Actually no, just really good timing.¡±


    I turned around tiredly to see Akahime standing at the entrance to the stairwell. ¡°So, what¡¯s this about?¡± I asked, sitting down by the window as I did so.


    She walked over slowly and sat down next to me, caution exuding out of her every action. ¡°Tell me why I¡¯m guarding the base.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a question, it wasn¡¯t a plea. No, she phrased it as a demand, like it was something owed to her. I felt my irritation begin to rise, but choked it out where it started. ¡°Care to clarify what¡¯s so wrong with that?¡±


    I shot her a look, which seemed to do the trick of cooling her head a bit. ¡°You gave me the job of commanding your infantrymen. We should be leading the charge! Instead you shove me in a box and tell me to protect it!¡± She stood up, out out of breath from shouting her piece.


    ¡°Of course.¡± My reply was a wall, stopping her argument dead in its tracks. I stood up myself and met her gaze. ¡°How could I send you out to fight for a country you have no stake in? Sure, Lucina and Reya are your friends, but you don¡¯t owe the royal family anything.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point.¡± Akahime sighed and threw down her arms. Her argument was visibly losing momentum. ¡°This was my chance to show you that¡­ that I want to rectify our relationship. That I put in the work, and that I¡¯m someone you could trust. This was my way back in!¡±


    ¡°Back in to what?¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Do you have any idea how mad your father would be at me if you died today? He may have sent you to the Metron Kingdom as a punishment, but that¡¯s because he trusts Lucina to look after you.¡±


    I turned and began to walk back down the stairs, but Akahime grabbed me by the shoulder, turning me around fully. ¡°That¡¯s not enough. Everything I did over the past month, are you telling me it was all for nothing? Bonding with my squad, doing combat practice every day in the tower, all of it?¡±


    Akahime looked up in me, tears overflowing and distorting her warpainted face. ¡°What am I to you right now?¡±


    I calmly removed her hand from my shoulder, and she let it drop by her side. ¡°You¡¯re a soldier, and an asset. Now clean yourself up. You can¡¯t let the other¡¯s see you like that.¡±


    Akahime visibly deflated as I resumed my walk down the stairs. I stopped on the first landing, and turned back up to look at her. ¡°You¡¯re also someone that I have enough faith in to hold our last line of defense should shit go south. Take that as you will.¡±


    The instant that sentence left my mouth, I regretted it. Her smile would annoy me for days to come.

 Chapter 76: Appetizer

    Raiden Metron was at a loss for words at the moment. Upon arriving at the abandoned factory (that they had to walk through a raging desert to get to), he had sat down his hundred soldiers, familiar faces one and all.


    Then he went through the Paladin¡¯s seemingly improbable plan, with each one of his eight lieutenants, especially Jory, giving him a stupefied gaze.


    Raiden wasn¡¯t even surprised. He was sure that if someone told him that one man planned to take on the bulk of the opposing army on his own, he would have had the same expression etched onto his face.


    That was, of course, if anyone other than Paladin Cole had said it.


    He wasn¡¯t truly a fan or proponent of Joshua Cole, in the truest sense. It was just the most convenient for Raiden to ally with someone who had no real stakes in the quagmire that was Metronian politics.


    That being said, Raiden¡¯s ideals had come back to bite him in the ass. Letting Joshua have access to the bar where his lover resided turned out to be a bad idea in hindsight.


    He thought he could use the show of compassion and trust to build up a rapport with the otherworlder. Instead, he was wrapped around Joshua¡¯s finger, so to speak.


    The most infuriating thing? The fact that Raiden hadn¡¯t even seen the plot coming until it was already too late. Joshua exploiting his unwavering trust in Leray had shown him a fatal flaw within himself.


    For all that he was grateful, he was equal parts annoyed. He shouldn¡¯t have been on cloud nine to begin with, even if she was the first person that he ever loved. Bringing a potential enemy into what was essentially his home was inexcusable, at least not until he had a clearer picture of who he was inviting.


    Regardless, all that was in the past. Now, whether he liked it or not, Raiden was on the frontlines with Paladin Cole now, and couldn¡¯t allow his personal feelings to cloud his judgment.


    ¡°We¡¯re getting a reading on the radar!¡± One of his female lieutenants, Firla, shouted to their gathered troops. Raiden checked his own Judgment radar, and confirmed the information.


    Raiden opened his mouth to order his troops, but stopped himself as he saw Joshua exit from the stairwell across from him. ¡°I already sent messages to the other team leaders.¡± He said, walking right up to Raiden.


    Firla growled and Jory stood up to intercept the Paladin, but a single snap of his fingers was all he needed to rob them of their mobility. ¡°You have some poorly trained mutts, Raiden.¡±


    His eyes narrowed as he stood face to face with the Metronian prince. ¡°Bring only your most trusted and strongest people. We¡¯re going to make an example out of them.¡±


    Just like that he turned and left, heading for the entrance hall of the building. When he was out of range, Jory dropped to one knee, and Firla massaged her jaw, which had been clenched shut during their interaction.


    ¡°What in the Starlord¡¯s trash pit was that?¡± Firla spat out. Jory stood tall, towering over Raiden, and massaged his legs.


    ¡°The stunning power. Didn¡¯t you read the reports that Raiden sent a month ago?¡± Jory looked at the short, red-headed woman incredulously.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± She shouted in defense, and pinched the dark-colored skin on his arm while twisting in anger.


    ¡°Firla, that hurts.¡± Jory spoke in a deadpan voice, rubbing his bald head. When Firla realized she wasn¡¯t going to get a bigger reaction from the giant, she huffed and began walking in the direction that Joshua went.


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you guys coming?¡± She spoke, doing a half turn to look at Raiden and his confidants. ¡°He might be an asshole, but he¡¯s a powerful one. Surely you¡¯re also curious as to how he¡¯s gonna take care of business?¡±


    Raiden grinned and stood up. Of course, he might¡¯ve regretted what had happened in the past, as well as the problems he had with Joshua. However, at the end of the day, those problems were caused by him, not Paladin Cole.


    Raiden began walking after Joshua. There were some murmurs of disgust, but the remaining lieutenants followed behind Raiden obediently, leaving the regular soldiers in the room to pull up a live feed of the war in their Judgment devices.


    ---


    ¡°I really should have known that it would be you.¡± I said. I had moved to a particularly raised dune just outside of our temporary base, and was now standing and facing the entirety of the Primal Air Force.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    In truth, there were only about thirty members there, but that was still about one sixth of the entire enemy forces. Below them, massive mechs stood tall, slowly creeping towards our base.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what the mechs were for.¡± Lilian said as he reached my side. ¡°Guess I should¡¯ve guessed there¡¯d be more mechs where the shipment I saw came from.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯d already done a complete scan of the complex you saw them in.¡± Three materialized, and shook her head at Lilian. ¡°I had to double check your shoddy work once I realized that the place they were shipping them to was far larger than would be expected of that size.¡±


    ¡°Meaning?¡± Lilian asked, looking to me for answers.


    ¡°Ugh, men.¡± Three spat out. ¡°Meaning there should have been a larger amount of mechs than initially thought. I had the correct number sent to Joshua beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Lilian muttered weakly. ¡°Well, how many are there in total?¡± He turned to Three, who rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Ask Joshua if you¡¯re so curious about it.¡± Three left with just as little fanfare as she entered with.


    Lilian looked at me, a hurt expression on his face. ¡°Did I do something to offend her? I mean, she¡¯s always been abrasive, but it was never to the extent of just straight up ignoring me.¡±


    Despite the conditions we were in, I couldn¡¯t help but find myself smirking. ¡°After being with me for a week, maybe she just realized that your control was lacking.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Lilian roared and walked up from behind to face me, but upon seeing my expression, he calmed down.


    ¡°Ha ha, very funny. So what¡¯s the real reason?¡± He sat down, watching the impending mechs on the horizon. ¡°And how many of those things are there?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I think she¡¯s jealous that you¡¯re spending so much time with a ¡®woman¡¯ that isn¡¯t her. X was the same way.¡± The smile vanished from my face as I sat down next to him. ¡°One hundred and fifty mechs.¡±


    Lilian¡¯s jaw hung open and his gaze turned back to the desert battlefield. ¡°What the fuck? Why so many?¡± He flung a loose pebble towards the far off weapons, which were coming over the hill in droves.


    ¡°They wanted to empower their soldiers even further, so that they could have a two-stage attack. When the mechs get beat up too much to continue, they would eject and start fighting using their nanite enhanced physicality.¡±


    ¡°Guessing by the fact you know all that, I¡¯m assuming they¡¯ll be disposed of momentarily?¡± Lilian said with a sigh.


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t deny that they have a horrific matchup.¡± I said candidly, noting Lucina and Reya, plus her second in command, joining us on the dune. Raiden and his squad brought up the rear.


    ¡°However, we need to make the Kingdom look strong. Not just me.¡± I stood, and turned to face the thirteen people gathered before me.


    ¡°Your honor guard is ready to move out whenever.¡± Winter appeared from behind me, and slinked along my side to stand ready with the others.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving the ants in the mechs to you all. I¡¯ll make sure that they can¡¯t eject, so just take down their lumbering asses and slaughter them there. I¡¯ll take care of the aerial unit.¡± I walked up to the dune¡¯s peak, and started to raise my hand, when a voice broke through the silence.


    ¡°Ah, Paladin Cole. How lovely to see you again.¡± The veteran pilot, Victor Dormiana laughed through a speaker in his cockpit. ¡°I hope you¡¯re prepared to surrender before you lose someone you might regret.¡±


    This prick. My eyes narrowed. So he was just acting when he drove us before? I guess he¡¯s just a war-mongering buffoon at heart.


    ¡°Of course not, Victor.¡± My visor clacked down over my face. ¡°I would extend to you that same kindness. Surrender now, and take yourself out of the game, or I will kill you.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± Victor had to mute his microphone while he got his coughing fit from the laugh under control. ¡°It seems like the younger generation does have some balls after all.¡±


    I rolled my eyes under my helmet. ¡°It¡¯s always, ¡®the younger generation¡¯ this, or ¡®when I was younger¡¯ that. The older generation should just learn to step out of the way, and let us live our lives. Oh, but I guess you didn¡¯t see that opinion coming, what with your head being so far up the Primal¡¯s asses that all you can see is their colons.¡±


    ¡°You insolent fool!¡±Victor screamed, and pressed a button. Several weapons came out from the manned drone, and the others in his legion followed suit. Soon, the dune was surrounded by guns, and very angry traditionalists.


    ¡°You will pay for your remarks with your death! On my mark!¡± The guns began gathering a pulsing, purple energy, and I smiled.


    X, like we planned. ¡°By your will.¡± X¡¯s voice chimed out, and she appeared over my shoulder. She extended her left hand, and her fingers digitized into mist. Soon, the leftmost ship exploded, unable to handle the energy that it continued to gather.


    X had removed the limiter for the amount of electricity that their guns accumulated, and the resulting overload caused a critical malfunction in the ship, causing spontaneous combustion.


    ¡°What in the Starlord¡¯s name!?¡± Victor shouted as several more drones exploded, sending both debris and charred corpses sailing back down to Ethia.


    ¡°Well look at that? A malfunction. I guess using antiquated methods of combat wasn¡¯t the way to go, after all.¡±


    ¡°You-¡± Victor¡¯s curse didn¡¯t get that far, as it was cut off by his own ship exploding. When the thirty ships had ceased to exist, the mechanical, human-like structures stopped their march directly below us,  and looked down at the remains of their comrades silently.


    I started walking down the dune, making it to the base. A mech raised it¡¯s arm to attack me, but was stopped in its tracks by X. I continued walking down the rows of paralyzed bots, and when I reached the last row, I turned back to face my soldiers.


    ¡°You know, I have a date with some very unfortunate officials in about twenty minutes. Can you all do me a favor, and clean up this trash in that time?¡±


    The tranquility was broken by Lucina, who had pulled out a glowing blade twice her size from seemingly out of nowhere, and charged the nearest mech, bisecting the construct and the human pilot inside.

 Chapter 77: Attack On Mecha

    What a showoff. That¡¯s definitely a part of why I love you though. Lucina smiled under her visor as her sonic blade sliced cleanly through a piloted mech.


    The battlefield was stunned into silence as the offending mech collapsed in on itself, and a pool of blood began leaking from both halves of the cockpit, which had been located in the stomach of the humanoid form. Funny. They don¡¯t even have long range artillery on these things.


    ¡°Our commander has opened up the path for our victory!¡± Lucina shouted, Judgment amplifying her voice across the desert. ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate, and charge!¡±


    Raiden, Winter, Lilian, and Reya all drew their weapons. Reya¡¯s second, as well as Raiden¡¯s lieutenants finished putting their armor on. Lucina had truly thought that the enemy soldiers would lose all semblance of structure once their aerial unit was obliterated, but it appeared that their side would have no such luck.


    Lucina¡¯s propulsion stilettos rocketed the Metronian princess forward and she met another mech in combat. The pilot wasn¡¯t taken by surprise this time, and got an arm up to block the blade.


    Lucina expected her weapon to slice through the mass-produced hunk of metal cleanly, but it got caught halfway through instead. Her eyes went wide as she let go of her sword, dropping from the arm as a fist tore through the space she had just been occupying.


    She landed awkwardly on the sand, the uneven and soft footing caused her to fall backwards. Clicking her tongue as she scrambled to avoid another blow, she activated her propulsion system, and dashed backwards out of the pilot¡¯s range.


    ¡°Raiden, what the fuck! You¡¯re supposed to be running your eyes over the Starlords damned arena!¡± Lucina roared into her helmet, and pulled out the handle to another Metro Z-80, the same model of blade she had just lost.


    She tried to activate it, but the nanite-infused pieces of steel wouldn¡¯t respond, and instead just sat idly in the chamber.


    ¡°Sorry, Lucina!¡± Raiden responded in his comms while doing his best to duck and weave under the mechs. ¡°My squad just located the enemy jamming array. They¡¯re engaging with foot soldiers to take it down!¡±


    Lucina clicked her tongue as she was backed by the incoming offense, causing her to be caught in a tight ring of machines. ¡°Pathetic!¡± Lucina looked upwards towards where the voice had come, and was blinded by the sun.


    She hadn¡¯t been the only one, apparently, as the mech to her immediate left was cut cleanly in half, due to a meteoric slash by Winter Strafe. The woman¡¯s long, silver hair flowed freely from her open-back helmet as she twirled her blade around in her hands.


    ¡®This is why you always prepare a backup. You really can¡¯t trust anything the Metron Kingdom makes.¡¯ Winter sent her message to Lucina in a private message. Publicly, she shouted, ¡°The Strafe Clan stands strong with the Kingdom!¡±


    Lucina smirked at the dig on her weapons. The Metron Kingdom was often the butt of many jokes when it came to their nationally developed technology, as they were in a constant third behind the technically superior Luong Empire, and Empire of the Sun.


    ¡°Jamming array has been decimated and the enemy eliminated. No casualties on our side, but Firla has been hit and is in critical condition. We¡¯ll be returning to the base to get her medical care.¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡± Raiden called as he activated his photon blade. The high output of light seared right through the cockpit of the mech closest to him, and a scream accompanied the ensuing splatter of blood that obscured the glass.


    Explosions boomed behind Lucina as her sister launched explosive round after explosive round into the crowd of enemies. ¡°Ha ha ha! This is so exhilarating! I can see why you guys act like savages sometimes!¡±


    Lucina sighed as Reya continued to fire round after round from the dunes above, and continued to blow up machine after machine. She briefly saw Lilian get caught by a glancing blow, and go tumbling into the sand.


    ¡°Lilian, status!?¡± Lucina propelled herself upwards, and set the blade that was stuck in the mech¡¯s arm to explode, bringing the entire ligament with it.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    In a move that mirrored Winter¡¯s earlier, Lucina pulled her spare handle out, and let the blade full form before crashing down from the heavens, cleaving the steel in two like butter.


    ¡°Insolent assholes!¡± Came a voice from one of the mechs farther back in the crowd. ¡°Infantry! Eject and use your mobility to combat the enemy!¡±


    They don¡¯t even have an in-suit communications system? Lucina thought incredulously. Even more old-fashioned than I believed.


    The mech in front of Lucina came to a stop. The cockpit shuddered, and steam started to pour out from the clear casing.


    It never opened, however, and the man inside seemed to panic. One last present from Joshua, huh? A bloodthirst grin made its way onto Lucina¡¯s face, and she ran towards the mech.


    Without much fanfare, she sliced the cockpit horizontally, ending the poor bastard inside. The mech collapsed to the ground, and a pool of thick, viscous blood seeped into and stained the sand red.


    Lucina continued her rampage into the pack of weapons, destroying and dismantling as many human lives as physically possible. Lucina¡¯s groove was broken by static that echoed in her headset.


    ¡°You act so well outside of fights, that I forget what a bloodthirsty monster you are sometimes.¡± Raiden commented as she streaked by his kneeling form. He had begun to take a break after his seventh kill.


    Weak. Lucina¡¯s eyes narrowed as she ended her twentieth victim. She landed on the dune that Reya and her second in command were firing artillery from.


    ¡°Good work princess!¡± Solze saluted Lucina, and handed her an electrolyte restoring drink. Lucina¡¯s visor lifted, allowing her face to feel a nice breeze. Despite the fact that the nanites could control her body temperature, the fact is, her body was still moving, and she was still burning calories like a madman.


    Lucina handed the drink back to Solze, and her visor returned to its proper place. She turned back to the mass of metal behind her as another explosion rocked the desert. It was time to go all out for round two.


    ---


    ¡°What in the Starlord¡¯s taint happened!?¡± Sovix screamed at his monitor from his throne. He was shaking so violently that the Primal King of Warriors, Peter Ramire, was sure he was about to suffer a seizure.


    ¡°Shut up you blasphemer!¡± Laina shouted to the Machine King. ¡°What would the public think if they heard you speaking like that!?¡±


    ¡°Oh, fuck the public!¡± The shriveled old man spat out, slamming his fist on his armrest with each word. ¡°That has to be cheating! My machines were perfect! PERFECT!¡±


    Sovix heart a short sputter of laughter coming from his left, and his ire was stilled long enough for the Machine King to send a sharp glare over to King Metron.


    ¡°Aaaand contestant Lucina just shattered the previous record, racking up an impressive fifty unit kill streak! The Metronian Princess is on a real tear as she carves up the Primal Kingdom¡¯s formation!¡±


    King Claude let the sound feed from his personal video stream resound through the room of politicians. It continued, ¡°The Metronian offense has had no problems butchering up the Primal Kingdom, and we can see how well the royal siblings present in this match are performing! Whatever training they did before the match, it has certainly paid off!¡±


    A wide smile grew on the King¡¯s face, and he looked down at his video feed with a warm look in his eyes. ¡°I doubt any of you would know this feeling, all coming from noble lineages. However, there is a lot of satisfaction to be had when your children work in tandem, and put aside their differences in order to achieve something great.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Claude said, turning to face the glowering expressions of the Primals, ¡°Maybe Peter knows. After all, he does seem to be the only decent parent out of the four of you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that my children can and will utterly obliterate that dark horse of yours! Do you think the World Council will let you go over this matter today? You clearly have someone tampering with the very fabric of Judgment¡¯s system!¡±


    ¡°Certainly we won¡¯t be able to hide it from our next war game opponent. They¡¯ll come at us, and the match won¡¯t be nearly as one sided as it has been today.¡± Claude said while rubbing his chin.


    ¡°The World Council will do nothing.¡± Cindera Metron sighed, and straightened up beside her husband. ¡°After all, when I complained to them about the same thing, that¡¯s the excuse they gave me.¡±


    King Metron shook his head at his wife¡¯s loose lips, and all eyes turned to the apathetic voice of Queen Metron, and she leaned back in her throne. ¡°What do you mean, do nothing?¡± The fury was gone from Queen Laina¡¯s voice, and instead it was filled with simple and pure curiosity.


    ¡°Judgment itself approves of him bending it to his whim.¡± Cindy said, drumming her fingers on her armrest.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Rodrigo Ramire asked, sitting up in his seat. ¡°How could Judgment allow itself to be used by a single entity? There¡¯s so much at stake if what you¡¯re saying is the truth.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a much bigger game at stake here.¡± Cindy replied, taking a sip of the contamination wine that had been offered to her. ¡°A much bigger game, and one that we aren¡¯t players of.¡±


    She let the room drown in silence as her camera continued to track Joshua¡¯s slow, but inevitable march towards the Primal Kingdom¡¯s last bastion of hope.

 Chapter 78: Two Options

    Lucina¡¯s blade pierced through the cockpit of her final victim, showering her with blood once more. Lucina looked down at herself, noticing that it wasn¡¯t for the first time that day, but it was the last.


    Her sword shattered into thousands of pieces, with each nanomachine controlled piece following its programming to fly back into the hilt. Reequipping the handle to her armor, she let her face mask go up, letting in a cool stream of natural air onto her face.


    ¡°Longest kill-streak, Lucina Metron! One-hundred and twenty! Please collect your winning bets online.¡± Judgment¡¯s monotone voice spoke in Lucina¡¯s ear, and she smirked.


    Betting on herself had been a good idea. Of course, Lucina had dominated the competition early, but a late surge from Raiden had made the contest a lot closer than she would have liked.


    ¡°Good work out there.¡± Solze, Reya¡¯s attendant, walked up behind her. She handed Lucina another electrolyte replenishing drink, which she graciously accepted.


    ¡°Thanks. I can see why Reya keeps you around. It pays off to have someone capable looking after your well-being.¡± Solze¡¯s eyebrows raised, and she opened her mouth to speak, when a shrill voice cut her off.


    ¡°Shut up you murderous monster! Do you think you can get away with all this slaughter!?¡± A Primal Kingdom pilot climbed out from the wreckage of his machine, clutching his abdomen.


    He leaned back against the foot of his fallen mech, causing Lucina to sigh. ¡°This is why we don¡¯t leave things to Raiden. He¡¯s such a sloppy bastard, too preoccupied with getting things done fast that he doesn¡¯t stop to make sure he¡¯s done them properly.¡±


    Seeing the princess approaching, the soldier let loose a small shriek. ¡°Y-you! The crown will make you pay! You¡¯ll never get out of this country alive!¡±


    Lucina¡¯s derisive laughter caught the man off guard, and his eyes widened, his vision filled with nothing but the princess¡¯ cruel face.


    ¡°What do you mean? Even now, my parents and your leaders are sitting down somewhere nice right now, watching this entertainment and talking about adult politics.¡± She ignored her blade in favor of a pistol, one that she lined up with the man¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Someone like you who doesn¡¯t even know how the world works¡­ I can¡¯t imagine how rough life has been for you. Let me do you an act of kindness before you depart.¡±


    She cocked back the weapon (a custom model she had made, since they had long fallen out of technical use), and leveled it at his head once more.


    ¡°First, you are just a cog. No one gives a shit about cogs besides other cogs. The real players care about the whole picture.¡± The man closed his eyes, and began praying in his native tongue.


    ¡°Second, you have offended us with this paltry display of machinery. Did you really think we wouldn¡¯t learn and evolve from last time? We need to make an example out of you, to show the world that the Metronian Kingdom is still a powerhouse, and will be that way for a long time.¡±


    The man placed his head on the ground before Lucina, curled up into a fetal position. However, she wasn¡¯t yet done. ¡°Lastly-¡± Lucina stopped speaking mid-sentence as Winter¡¯s blade fell from the heavens, piercing the man in the skull and killing him instantly.


    She took it out, and began to clean it off with the man¡¯s own pilot uniform. Lucina just stared at the Strafe assassin, nonplussed. ¡°What was that for? I wasn¡¯t done.¡±


    Winter sighed. ¡°I can sympathize with his feeling of being manipulated is all. You should still show your enemy respect.¡±


    Lucina raised an exasperated eyebrow and said, ¡°That speech wasn¡¯t for him, it was for the people watching. Of course I-¡±


    ¡°The cameras stopped broadcasting you to the general public when you started criticizing Raiden. Your parents probably knew what direction you were headed in.¡± Lucina looked behind her, and sure enough, there was no drone even remotely close to her, and instead focused on Reya, who had begun to pack up her long-range weaponry.


    Turning back to Winter, the Strafe woman spoke, ¡°I¡¯ve only known you for a month, but the difference between your normal personality and your violence-induced one is startling. You change when you get violent, Lucina. Try to calm down and look at things rationally again.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I really think I need a Solze in my life.¡± She looked up at the sky, and asked, ¡°Winter, what do you-¡±


    ¡°No thanks. I¡¯m plenty happy working under Paladin Cole, thank you.¡± Lucina smiled dryly at the mercenary¡¯s instant response. ¡®But I suppose that I knew the answer already.¡¯


    A rotten, garbage-like smell hit Lucina, shocking her back to reality. Lucina¡¯s gaze fell on the desert, and the heap of steel, blood, and bodies laying at the princess¡¯ feet.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ---


    Viina Secela closed her eyes in thought. They had severely underestimated the might of the Primal Kingdom¡¯s elites. She supposed she would have known they were going all out given the number of royalty they sent over, only¡­


    She glared down from her throne at Hector Vergard, one of the two Civil Union House representatives she was stuck with.


    They were currently occupying a deserted palace, whose outer walls had long since deteriorated, but whose foundations were still structurally sound.


    However, Hector¡¯s gaze was glued to his screen, his mouth agape as Lucina Metron continued again and again to cut down their numbers, the near one-woman army obliterating any chance they had of recouping their losses from this game.


    If only someone hadn¡¯t decided to make mental suggestions to her using the power of his previously unknown Judgment, then maybe they¡¯d be in a better position.


    She fought off the urge to sigh, and glanced at her brother, Barett. She was convinced that he was involved in this somehow, but couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on how.


    Noticing his face, which had full-on fear carved into it, she followed his gaze to see a figure approaching from the desert in front of them.


    ¡°Nice place you have here.¡± Even though Joshua Cole was still more than 50 meters away, his voice rang out clear as day inside the ears of the four present.


    ¡°Did you rig the selection to give you this side of the desert?¡± The accusation was awful publicity for the Primal Kingdom. It would cast a doubt on the legitimacy of this contest, a sad prospect given how they had actually fared, even with the help.


    Instead of being silent like she messaged all of them to be, Hector opened his mouth and said, ¡°Hah! Of course not. We just happened to get the luck of the draw!¡±


    ¡°The draw that your country performed?¡± Hector opened his mouth, and raised a finger, but seemingly couldn¡¯t think of a counterpoint.


    ¡°You know,¡± Joshua continued, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have been so hard for your country to set up even playing fields for the both of our squads. That¡¯s clear favoritism, isn¡¯t it?¡± Viina wanted to kill Hector for opening his incompetent mouth, but settled for the next best thing.


    ¡°Hector-¡±


    ¡°Viina, kill him! Make sure he never dares to look down on the Primal Kingdom again!¡± Hector screeched, cutting off the princess. She stared daggers at his back, and stood from her throne, allowing the spirit of the Prime, the first monarch of the Kingdom, to coalesce behind her.


    He was depicted as his avenger incarnation, the very same one from Viina¡¯s old picture books. His red skin and human skull mask were the very picture of unrestrained fury, much like what Viina was feeling towards her present company right now.


    She stopped to stand next to Hector, and she saw the blue man standing behind him again. His image was eerily similar to the Prime¡¯s only the blue being had a ram¡¯s skull for a head instead. Null: the mortal enemy of the Prime, and a contender to his throne long ago.


    ¡®Suggestion, huh? Such a power suits the coward.¡¯ ¡°Now, Viina. Go!¡± Hector roared, but Viina just stood in place. The smile slipped from Hector¡¯s lips as he turned to the princess.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you two options.¡± Joshua spoke, causing the room¡¯s attention to turn back to him. ¡°One, lose via surrender and forfeit, but keep your lives. Two, lose by way of death.¡±


    Hector opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Viina¡¯s powerful voice. ¡°As your commander, I order you: do battle with the paladin.¡± Hector¡¯s gaze fell on the Prime and his jaw opened to speak.


    ¡®Do you think I¡¯ll allow your backtalk?¡¯ Viina thought as she held out a hand in Hector¡¯s direction and willed the Prime to rattle his intestines a bit.


    The C.U.H. member started leaking blood from his mouth, and both Barett and Lena looked on in confusion and horror. ¡°Don¡¯t think I forgot what you did to me.¡±


    Hector sneered and yelled, ¡°How the hell did you break free!? It was perfect! All we needed was to get through this together, and the kingdom would have been ours!¡±


    ¡°Like I would ever have anything to do with you after the stunt you pulled.¡± Viina met his expression with her own look of disdain. ¡°He freed me, if you must know.¡±


    Pointing to Joshua, she switched the target of Hector¡¯s ire. ¡°You¡­ you will pay.¡± Hector¡¯s voice was somber as he stood, with Null roaring behind him.


    ¡°Is the soap opera done yet?¡± Joshua said, a cocky playfulness in his tone. His face was obscured by the visor, but even Viina could tell the kind of expression he had on: glee.


    ¡°Shut up! At least we can still come out on top by taking your worthless life!¡± Hector stood and aimed his finger like a gun at Paladin Cole. Null began to writhe and twist behind him, with lights flashing at seemingly sporadic times. The Prime had to shield her vision to keep her from being affected by it again.


    ¡°Now kneel before me, Paladin Cole! Show the world who is your true master!¡± Hector was clearly not all there by this point, and the paladin seemed to recognize that as well.


    ¡°Are you ready to eat?¡± Joshua said to seemingly no one in particular. Suddenly Viina felt a chill on her spine, and the Prime stood up straighter, looking around for something.


    Null behaved in much the same manner, pausing it¡¯s hypnotic movements in favor of trying to figure out what had caused that reaction.


    Hector was not nearly as observant and merely cursed his soulbound spirit for being worthless. ¡°Two of them? Oh, you shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    A female voice came from Viina¡¯s immediate right, and she turned her head to find herself staring face-to-face with a beautiful woman wearing a white satin dress. Her silver hair shone in the afternoon light, and made her seem ethereal.


    ¡°Really, they get distracted so easily.¡± The spirit from before, the tall, bald man with midnight skin appeared behind Joshua as well, flexing his muscles at both Null and the Prime.


    ¡°Too easily.¡± A quiet feminine voice replied. Viina turned to look at her lithe appearance and baggy clothing, just in time to catch her stabbing a hand through null.


    Null threw back his head in a pained roar, but no sound came out. Instead, the spirit became a small, blue orb of light and flew over to the woman in the dress, who crushed it in her hand.


    Needless to say, silence dominated the room.

 Chapter 79: His Shortcomings

    As soon as Three had stabbed the blue Judgment in the back, his body began disintegrating. Soon, there was nothing left of the program but a sphere of code and electricity.


    Three sent the orb to X, who subsequently destroyed it, absorbing its contents. The entire room just stood there, with only two of the four understanding what truly just happened.


    For the others: Prince Barett and the female C.U.H. member, it simply looked as though all three were still in a staredown, with Viina¡¯s eyes fleeting left and right in paranoia.


    Viina and Barett Secela were both wearing power armor that looked similar to Lucina¡¯s, only in a scarlet red color, and no helmets or visors visible to the naked eye.


    Hector and Lena were wearing less than what I had provided my own soldiers, with just a jumpsuit, a chest piece, plus a set of gauntlets and grieves dyed in the red and white of the Civil Union House.


    ¡°Hector¡­¡± Lena, the other C.U.H. member, held out a hand as the puppeteer fell to his knees. ¡°Hector!¡±


    She dashed over, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a disgusted sense of curiosity. Was she always a supporter of his, or does the hypnosis effect persist even after the Judgment has been dismissed?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I walked over to Hector, who was kneeling on one knee. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even rough with you. Even the Crowned Princess could take more pain than you could.¡±


    He grunted angrily, and got to his feet. ¡°I swear I¡¯ll kill you! Even if I have to throw away everything to do it!¡±


    My eyes widened, and I let out a long, hearty laugh. Viina looked at me as if she was searching for where the screw was loose in me.


    Hector and Lena were a little more liberal with their reactions, with the former fuming and the latter appearing unsettled.


    However, the one I was the least concerned about was sitting next to Viina¡¯s throne, smiling slightly. I frowned and started to move towards him, when a gunshot hit my armor. I glanced down at Hector, whose smoldering firearm had come loose from his grip, lightly clattering to the floor.


    I walked up to him, and picked him up by his armored neck, lifting him off the ground. ¡°That was a mistake.¡± I said calmly.


    ¡°Indeed, it was miscalculated.¡± Hector sighed. The armor was harder than I thought, and I was unable to just choke him out right there.


    ¡®A shame.¡¯ Un spoke in my mind. ¡®That would have been quite the statement to rip out the throat of your mortal enemy.¡¯


    He was still locked in a staredown with Viina¡¯s Judgment, and strangely still flexing his muscles. ¡®I agree¡­ but maybe there¡¯s another way you can make a statement.¡¯Three spoke this time, settling next to Un and staring at the red A.I.


    ¡°What?¡± Hector asked, a cocky tone in his voice. He apparently took my silence for indecision, and put on a smirk. ¡°We both know you can¡¯t kill me. We all know who my father is. You won¡¯t do anything to me in fear of repercussion.¡±


    X, who is his father? I was genuinely confused, and data flooded into my mind at the thought.


    He¡­ he¡¯s a nobody? Sure, Hector¡¯s father was a relatively high ranking member of the C.U.H., but being a high ranking member of a company was the same as being a nobody. If you were the face of the company, that would be a different story, but¡­


    ¡°Do you know what the best part about you not being of noble birth is?¡± I asked. Viina and Barett seemed to see where I was going with my point, and moved to stop me.


    ¡°Heel.¡± I said with authority, causing them both to kneel as X¡¯s reprogramming stopped them in their tracks.


    ¡°The best part about that is¡­ I don¡¯t have to worry about anything happening to me if I kill you. After all, who¡¯s going to mobilize an entire country for the sake of one slimy businessman?¡±


    Realization dawned on Hector¡¯s face as he struggled to escape my grasp. ¡°You sick man! You¡¯re a psycho! You¡¯re insane!¡±


    ¡°Who do you think made me this way?¡± I taunted, signaling for Three to walk up behind the man. ¡°All you people in power who think that the world bends to you because of how much wealth or status you have.¡± He must have seen her approach out of his peripherals, because he renewed his escape effort two-fold.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°A shame. If you weren¡¯t such a poor judge of character, we could have been partners.¡±


    ¡°Wait! You have it wrong!¡± Hector¡¯s voice started to break. ¡°We can still be partners! We can still-¡± I signaled to Three once more, and she tapped a finger to Hector¡¯s back.


    The C.U.H. member stopped moving, and blood seemed to seep from every single one of his pours. Lena screamed and charged at me, but I activated Un¡¯s strengthening, and punched her face, causing her nose and orbital bone to crater into her head, and blood began leaking from the places that her eyes used to occupy.


    Barett gasped, but Viina just stood there, a calculating look in her eyes. That¡¯s why I thought you had potential. I smiled to myself, a gesture that was missed because of the visor obscuring my face.


    I felt a slight bump on my chest, and looked down to see that Lena¡¯s body had slipped from my fist and her head was now resting on my chest piece.


    ¡°Ew.¡± Quickly brushing the corpse off as Un laughed behind me, I looked around and saw X stifling a laugh of her own.


    Barett backed up on his behind and took in the sight of the two murders I had just committed. Viina, however, did not take kindly to Un and X¡¯s laughter, and had her Judgment begin to stir.


    ¡®I think that makes it official.¡¯ X whispered, and curled around me, hugging my back. ¡®This world has truly broken you.¡¯


    Sadly, I couldn¡¯t help but agree with her. I had just murdered two people in cold blood, and felt nothing for it. Perhaps it was a byproduct of all the bullshit I had been fed since coming here, but I¡¯d found that my patience had regressed to childish levels of it.


    ¡°Sit boy.¡± X pointed a finger at Viina¡¯s judgment, who obeyed her command.


    ¡°What in the hell are you doing, Prime!?¡± Viina shouted as she stood up, drawing a gun on me.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t try that if I were you.¡± I said calmly, completely confident that Judgment had already jammed the thing by now.


    Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t heed my warning, and all she got from pulling the trigger was molten lead burning a hole in her laser rifle. ¡°May the Starlords ream you into oblivion!¡± She cursed at me.


    I sighed, and walked up to the princess, taking a seat beside her. ¡°Listen Viina, that just then was personal. He tried to kill me. Granted, you were the weapon, but you weren¡¯t really in control of yourself at the time.¡±


    Viina frowned, but allowed me to continue. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m aware of how much revenue both countries could make from this broadcast. I have a proposition for you.¡±


    There was a long pause as I assumed Viina was thinking. ¡°... what did you have in mind, Paladin Cole?¡±


    ¡°A duel.¡± I replied. Viina tilted her head in confusion, and Barett became a bit paler. ¡°By the way,¡± I said, pointing to the prince, ¡°what¡¯s been wrong with him? He¡¯s been like that ever since I killed Hector.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the useless prince makes his appearance once more.¡± Viina sighed. ¡°Do you mind?¡± I shook my head and stood back, allowing her to stand up straight once more.


    ¡°Do you know why all of our ¡®elite,¡¯ members stood back and just watched as your army decimated ours?¡± She asked me.


    ¡°No, but something tells me that it wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± Viina massaged her temples at my response, and sent a death glare to her brother.


    ¡°It¡¯s because this idiot can¡¯t take death as what it is: a part of life. Put him in a cage with someone and tell him to box it out, or do mma, or just beat the shit out of someone, and he¡¯s fine with that. But tell him that it¡¯s a fight to the death and he just freezes up!¡±


    Her breathing was ragged, and she extended a hand in the direction of Prime, her Judgment. The red being seemed to disintegrate, and red motes of light floated back to her palm.


    Following that display, she walked back up the throne that she had been seated on previously, and looked down upon me. Her gaze moved to her brother, who flinched from the eye contact.


    ¡°Barett, go make yourself useful and duel the Paladin. He¡¯s giving us a chance to at least look somewhat impressive in defeat. I¡¯m already considered a failure by the public, but you should benefit from this.¡±


    Barett opened his mouth to respond, but the look in Viina¡¯s eyes told me she was never going to take ¡®no¡¯ for an answer.


    So, the big prince grit his teeth and walked over. ¡°What are the terms of the duel?¡± Viina asked once the useless lug had made his way over to stand beside me.


    ¡°He can do whatever he wants for a full minute, and if I can endure that then I win.¡± I stated. There was a small pause as she took in the information, and she sent me a subsequent message in Judgment¡¯s messenger.


    ¡°What a farce.¡± She was clearly unhappy, not that it had much to do with me after we concluded this ¡®farce.¡¯


    Blame yourself. I sent a message back to her. If your foot soldiers weren¡¯t so inept, I wouldn¡¯t have had to just take a beating in order to make you look somewhat capable.


    ¡®Why?¡¯ she replied. ¡®Why are you doing so much to help a country that has no positive relationship to you?¡¯


    Because I want you aboard my team. At least, that¡¯s how I¡¯m reasoning it for now. I¡¯m sure Lucina would have told you a much better lie.


    Viina let out a laugh, and Barett looked over at her, confused. ¡®Fine.¡¯ She sent after she had calmed down. ¡®I¡¯ll be yours in exchange for this favor. You¡¯re going to change the world, aren¡¯t you?¡¯


    I took up a stance, my training using X¡¯s time dilation kicking in. I wouldn¡¯t say that. I just want a place to belong, is all.

 Chapter 80: A Farce Through and Through

    Barett should have taken the chance to come after me immediately. Instead, all he did was stand around and stare at my face. Even Viina seemed to be getting tired of his schtick, and threw her busted laser rifle, which hit him in the back.


    ¡°Move you idiot! You only had a minute! What in the Starlord¡¯s sweet void are you doing!?¡± Her face was curled into a sneer, and Barett just avoided her gaze.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, I¡¯m actually feeling generous.¡± I stood loosely, dropping my guard. I¡¯ll give you ten minutes instead. Surely one minute was too little for Barett to properly show off his stuff.


    I sent that last part privately, letting Viina ruminate on it. She looked at him, and must have sent a message, because he looked up at her. This silent exchange continued for more than a minute, and eventually Three¡¯s voice came into my head.


    ¡®Do you want to listen in? It¡¯s pretty fascinating.¡¯ I grinned slightly. Since experimenting with Three¡¯s powers more and more this past week, I¡¯d discovered that she was pretty useless in actual combat situations.


    Her best usage came from espionage utility situations. No, you can give me the gist though, if it¡¯s not what I¡¯m thinking it is: She¡¯s basically telling him to man up and redeem himself again, or there will be dire consequences.


    ¡®Well¡­ something along those lines. There¡¯s a bit of a plot twist in there, but I¡¯ll just let you hear it from the princesses¡¯ mouth, if you get close enough to talk to her about her secrets.¡¯


    ¡°Fine with me.¡± I shrugged, and realized that I had just spoken aloud. Thankfully, the two of them were preoccupied with each other, and didn¡¯t notice my slip of the tongue.


    ¡°He¡¯ll take the time, Paladin Cole.¡± Viina said, and sent a very disapproving gaze down towards Barett.


    ¡°Ok then.¡± I walked until I was standing opposite of the princeling, and held out my hand. He took the opportunity to charge me, aiming a punch at the side of my head.


    Trying to ring my bell this early, huh? My head moved out of the way of his telegraphed punch, and I stepped back as his leg came up to kick me in the chest.


    ¡°Hah! Where was that fighting spirit before? I¡¯m curious as to what exactly she threatened you with.¡± Barett clicked his tongue and grimaced.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to you what she said. Try and hold on for as long as you can, paladin.¡± I took up a stance as he came at me once more.


    I ducked under a fist, moved left as a frontal kick came in. I continued to avoid his blows as the first minute passed.


    Barett had a smile on, but I could tell that his heart wasn¡¯t truly in this fight. He had been broken the moment I killed Hector, and that fear was doubly reinforced when Lena¡¯s head imploded.


    Good, Barett. Keep swinging. Keep kicking. Keep putting energy into it. The less people who figure out that you¡¯re damaged goods, the better. You need to lead this country¡­ or at least, be able to make amends for it.


    I wanted to roll my eyes at how pitiful this all was. Viina knew that Barett couldn¡¯t beat me. She was aware of the Judgments, after all. Barett knew as well, and so did I. This wasn¡¯t a fight. This was a play.


    However, this performance only had one marionette. I had to wonder how his puppet master was feeling right about now.


    ---


    Queen Laina Secela¡¯s fist slammed into her personal throne. The royal viewing room went silent as they watched the broadcast with a range of different emotions.


    Warrior King Peter Ramire looked on with resignation in his heart. He knew that the current regime of the People¡¯s King was probably done for. Amongst public outcry over Laina claiming the throne after the death of her husband, the nay-sayers would also use this as ammunition to try and oust the Secela family.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    On the bright side, he had made a deal with Lillian, a close confidant of the Paladin, to get his daughter to safety. His other children were already too ingrained into Primal Kingdom society to leave, but his youngest daughter should be able to live the way she wanted. If she was truly in love with that man, then Peter truly wanted to give their relationship a fighting chance.


    The other Ramire brother wasn¡¯t faring much better. Like his brother, he was aware that the Secela¡¯s had just taken a huge hit. This, on top of the fact that he was the one who had pushed for a partnership with them, meant his own position was in just as much, if not more jeopardy than the Queen¡¯s.


    Machine King Sovix had mixed emotions. He never liked the Secela family in the first place, thinking them upstarts and liars. Laina¡¯s husband, the late People¡¯s King, had stolen technology from Sovix and disseminated it amongst the citizens.


    Prior to that betrayal, only the nobles had access to the Judgment System. That was the true meaning of the ¡®Primal Kingdom.¡¯ When Judgment first booted up on earth, theirs was the only place to be considered primitive.


    So on one hand, he felt fantastic that the situation had blown up in Laina¡¯s face, and the failure was placed solely on her children¡¯s inability to lead.


    On the other hand, the machines that Sovix had lent the cause as a show of good faith, as well as his old war buddy had been decimated at the hands of the Metron Kingdom. And the way that his machines had been interfered with¡­


    ¡®I need to get my hands on the black boxes. Looks like my reign still has a few more surprises left for me.¡¯ A smirk stretched onto his face as he looked on at Barett¡¯s fight.


    The kid didn¡¯t look too bad, but anyone with half a brain could see that the paladin had just done the Primal Kingdom a huge favor, meaning that he was practically untouchable when it came to assassination attempts.


    However, Queen Secela wasn¡¯t of that mind at all. All she could think of was how to repay Joshua for impeding her chance to solidify her grasp on the general public. On top of that, he was making Barett look like an utter incompetent, which would also refect poorly on the Queen.


    ¡®Viina, answer me now. What happened between you and Paladin Cole!?¡¯ To the Queen, who was grasping at straws for a way to pin the blame on someone other than herself, and her own foisting of the project onto her children.


    Thus, she wanted to probe her failure of a daughter in order to understand what had transpired between the two of them. Queen Secela drummed her fingers on the chair.


    She had told her daughter beforehand to keep any and all conversations with the enemy out in the open, to give the viewers a better product. Hah! This is what she should get for leaving this all to her Neuromancer daughter.


    She had given the role of commander to her daughter specifically to raise her popularity with the general populace, and give the impression that she had an air of competence around her.


    ¡®So much for that.¡¯ The Queen was seething, but what made her even angrier was the lack of response from her daughter, who merely watched her brother¡¯s fight with disinterest.


    King Metron was pleased, although for fear of upsetting the room more than his wife already had, he held his tongue. He had made back quite the amount from his bets, including the correct prediction of the MVP. However¡­


    Looking at his wife¡¯s winnings screen, he thought his own amount was rather tame by comparison. Queen Cindera Metron had predicted everything correctly, including the number of deceased on the side of the Primal Kingdom, and even the ranking amongst her own children.


    Raiden looked down at his own screen once more as the ten-minute spectacle was winding down, and once again thanked the Starlords that he hadn¡¯t chosen to stand with his wife back then, and make an enemy of Paladin Cole.


    ---


    Lucina walked through the double doors of the desert palace¡¯s throne room. Barett was still trying in vain to hit Joshua, and Viina was looking down on the whole thing as if she weren¡¯t paying attention to it in the least.


    They had left Raiden, Akahime, and Winter to handle the cleanup and reorganization of their forces in preparations for the closing ceremony.


    Winter had objected to not being able to be there for Joshua at first, but she had quickly acquiesced when Lucina told her the rewards she would receive from the princess personally for doing this for her.


    That, and the fact that the rest of the Strafes only listened to her and Joshua helped immensely with reasoning with her.


    ¡°Oh, almost done, huh?¡± Lilian spoke, jolting Lucina from her idle thoughts and coming to a stop behind her. He had been more of a help than Lucina had initially thought.


    ¡°Well, I guess. Still, it seems kind of sad to have had to come to this.¡± Reya said, coming to a stop next to her sister. ¡°Are you sure this is how it had to end? There wasn¡¯t another solution that we could have worked towards together?¡±


    Looking on at the pitiful sight of Barett doing his utmost to hit Joshua, Lucina shook her head. ¡°No. Considering the person we were up against was a pure elitist, and looked down on the very person she gave an opportunity to lead her army to, I would say it was impossible.¡±


    They stared at the fight as time wound down for Barett, and he collapsed to the ground in frustration. ¡°Queen Secela sounds a lot like mom.¡± Reya said quietly, prompting Lucina to place a hand on her head.


    ¡°She does, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Lucina did her best to comfort Reya, who was coming off an adrenaline high.


    ¡°The Primal Kingdom forfeits! The winners are the Metron Kingdom!¡±

 Chapter 81: Awards Ceremony

    ¡°Finally! The moment you¡¯ve all been waiting for! The Awards Ceremony!¡± The caster¡¯s voice boomed in the arena. However, instead of a throng of cheers for the winning team, there were a flurry of boos directed at the retreating figures of Viina and Barett.


    Barett¡¯s gaze was low to the ground, and only the energy fields containing the venue¡¯s seats prevented thrown trash from hitting him.


    He very much seemed to be looking everywhere aside from the press box, where the royalty of both nations were currently located.


    Opposite of Barett, however, was Viina. Her head was held high, and she bore the stares of the crowd with poise and grace.


    ¡°You can tell who was loved more as a child.¡± I commented offhandedly. ¡°One handles negative attention far better than the other.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, I suppose that¡¯s what happens when your entire family has diplomatic designations, and you¡¯re labeled as a neuromancer.¡± Lucina added, coming to walk up beside me.


    ¡°You would know, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± Winter leaned on my shoulder, before being pulled off by Reya. ¡°Hey! No public displays of affections with Joshua! Get the ceremony done with, and then you can be as irresponsible as you want to.¡±


    Winter rolled her eyes but did as the Crown Princess said, coming to stand in a line with the rest of the leaders from Metron¡¯s side.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s present the awards!¡± The voice boomed, and the crowd¡¯s attention immediately turned to the stage where the seven of us were standing.


    ¡®Ooh, an awards ceremony! I was never part of one myself, being that I was on the losing side of the previous war.¡¯ Un chuckled into my ear.


    You aren¡¯t missing much. It isn¡¯t so much a celebration of the players, but rather a celebration of the establishment that set up the event in the first place.


    ¡®Hah! That¡¯s an awfully pessimistic take on the whole thing. It sounds like you don¡¯t believe in humanity.¡¯


    Well, I believe in humanity, to be sure. I believe in human greed, and the fact that all actions are self-driven. Maybe the less successful people in the world do things for others, but those in power are greedy, and that¡¯s why they¡¯re in the position they¡¯re in.


    ¡®... I see.¡¯ X said. ¡®I was worried that you had changed after your little love scene with Lucina. I¡¯m glad to see I was mistaken.¡¯


    I think you should be more worried about yourself. A program feeling jealous of something. What a joke.


    ¡®And a human feeling the need to explain themselves to said A.I. is just as pathetic, Master. We¡¯re both illogical beings at this point, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡¯


    Well, she had me there. I decided to stop with this pointless line of questions and answers, and pay attention to the actual ceremony going on around me.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Best Individual Achievement goes to: Raiden Metron! His usage of his units to disassemble the Primal Kingdom¡¯s mechanized soldiers, and subsequent cleanup and retreat of his troops was top notch! Prince Raiden, please step forward!¡±


    Raiden did as instructed, and a gold emblem appeared in front of him. It was a square with a spear facing to the right, and a flag on a pole facing to the left. The virtual medal shone brilliantly, before being scanned by and absorbed into Raiden¡¯s Judgment Panel.


    ¡°Next up, we have the Best Utility Player! This award goes to Paladin Joshua Cole! His usage of Neuromancy to disable the mechanized soldiers, as well as the aerial task unit, was the turning point of the game!¡±


    Are you serious? My thoughts didn¡¯t help me out of that, however, and I reluctantly stepped forward onto the same platform that Raiden had occupied a moment earlier.


    The Council would like to award you a medal for your exceptional service in the War Game against the Primal Kingdom. Would you like to accept?


    ¡®Don¡¯t even think about it. If you care at all about your progress with the Metron siblings, you¡¯ll take the award, Master.¡¯ X said.


    I sighed, knowing that she knew that I was contemplating just leaving the award here. I took it, and a silver medal, identical in design to Raiden¡¯s, appeared in front of me. It rotated a few times before being absorbed into my Judgment panel.


    ¡®Congratulations. You¡¯ve unlocked a new feature in Judgment. You may view your war achievements at any time from the main menu, under Profile > My Achievements > War.¡¯


    I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I stepped back, and let the hollow applause of the crowd wash over me.


    ¡°Finally your Most Valuable Player of the match, Lucina Metron! Her kill count numbered 120, numbering just over half of the total forces in the Primal Kingdom¡¯s army! Please step forward and collect your medal!¡±


    Lucina took a confident step forward, letting her visor fall away to reveal a smiling face towards the crowd. Unlike with mine, the applause she received was full and genuine. It struck me once more how many people liked Lucina.


    ¡®Jealous?¡¯ Three¡¯s soft voice whispered to me.


    No. If I was loved that much by people, I don¡¯t know if I could maintain my current outlook on life. That¡¯s why I think Lucina is amazing. She is that much of a realist, even when surrounded by love. I guess some people really are different.


    Once she was done accepting her medal, which was a rainbow-colored variant of Raiden¡¯s and mine, she returned to line, and allowed her visor to cover her face once more.


    Tired of smiling already? I sent to her privately. She didn¡¯t reply. Instead, she mimicked stretching, and took that as an opportunity to smack my helmet.


    I smiled, since the blow didn¡¯t affect me in the slightest, a side benefit to wearing state-of-the-art technology.


    ¡°And with that, the War Game has come to a close! Please make your way out of the stadium in an orderly fashion! The betting droids at the counters will be giving people their winnings. If you have any questions or concerns about your bet, please¡­¡±


    I let the sound fade from my mind, and walked off the stage with the rest of the people from the Kingdom. Raiden and Lilian were having a very animated conversation in the front of the group, with Winter and Reya speaking about logistics for an upcoming night.


    Lucina and Akahime were chatting like the old friends they were, and laughing about something that Lucina had just said. While they all filed into the equipment room, I took a detour, and walked into the Primal Kingdom¡¯s side tunnel.


    ¡°Am I that easy to predict, or are you that smart?¡± I asked Viina Secela, who was sitting on top of a metal crate.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m smart. If I wasn¡¯t both Barett and myself would have died back there.¡± She sighed, and got off of the crate. In the time the awards ceremony had taken, she had changed out of her armored suit, and into a red sundress.


    Her black hair was tied into two pigtails, each reaching down to her lower back. Her face still had the warpaint on from the match. Her pouty lips frowned as she approached me.


    ¡°I have decided to accept the terms and conditions of your contract. From this day forwards, I will follow you as my boss.¡±

 Chapter 82: To the Core

    ¡°I have decided to accept the terms and conditions of your contract. From this day forwards, I shall follow you as my boss.¡± Viina was blushing as she spoke, and her hands had a death grip on her dress.


    I smiled, and snapped my fingers. Winter in her dress, Un in his combat suit, and Three in her assassin¡¯s gear appeared by my side.


    Viina took up a defensive stance, and her red Judgment appeared behind her. ¡°Calm down, calm down.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m just putting all the pieces on the table so you know what I have up my sleeve. I want this to be transparent, after all.¡±


    That seemed to settle her nerves a bit, and she returned to her standing position. ¡°I just wanted to tell you that the terms of our deal will need a little changing before I send you the Judgment contract.¡±


    ¡°W-what?¡± Viina¡¯s voice was small, almost nonexistent amongst the murmur of the people in the arena¡¯s lobby on the other side of the wall.


    ¡°You heard me. I¡¯ll be requiring your Judgment as payment. Please, you don¡¯t think you could really have the same benefits as before we did this whole war game, did you?¡±


    Her mouth hung open momentarily before her brain processed what she had heard. ¡°No! Are you insane!? You can¡¯t take back an offer you already made!¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course I can.¡± I walked over to the crate, and took a seat on it, looking down on Viina. ¡°What makes you think you have any leverage in this discussion? Your family certainly doesn¡¯t hold any sway over me, or anyone anymore.¡±


    X floated forward next to Viina, and her Judgment stepped in front of her, seemingly ready to duke it out. X sighed and snapped her fingers, making the Red Judgment freeze in place.


    ¡°See? If I wanted to hurt her, I could have.¡± She snapped her fingers once more, and the silent entity shuddered. X turned to Viina and said, ¡°Have you been reading about your mother¡¯s failures coming to light online? It¡¯s a fascinating read.¡±


    Viina looked like she just had a realization, and moved her fingers like she was navigating a web browser. ¡°No, no! She-! That idiot! If you can¡¯t even see this through until the end, how am I supposed to forgive you for being a terrible mother!?¡±


    I pulled up the articles on my own device, and a headline of Laina Secela claiming mental disability was the first thing I saw. ¡°So, shitty parent, huh? I know what that¡¯s like.¡±


    My memory became filled with the disapproving stares of my father, and how he¡¯d always put himself before my mother or his children. Viina stared up at me, an indignant look in her eyes.


    ¡°You cannot claim to have had your parents claim mental disabilities from shirking their responsibilities.¡±


    A smile played out on my lips and I replied, ¡°No, you have a point there. Although I¡¯m pretty sure my father was suffering from something, and sometimes trying to parent in a bad way is more destructive than not being parented at all.¡±


    Her forest green eyes ran over my body, searching for an answer to an unspoken question. ¡°I¡­ I suppose that can be true. Why are you sharing this with me?¡±


    I wanted to lie to her. To tell her that it was because I wanted her friendship, or that I wanted to build trust in our budding working relationship, but instead I remained silent.


    When I spoke, I answered, unapologetically, ¡°Because I want this to be a smoother transition. We all have secrets, and things in our past we¡¯d rather not dwell on. I just want you to realize that, and acquiesce to my demands.¡±


    This had the opposite effect of what I was intending, and Viina started to chuckle to herself. ¡°You never were good with smart women, Master.¡± Un laid a hand on my shoulder.


    Shut it. I watched as her laughing fit died down, and she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. ¡°Ok, Paladin Cole. I¡¯ve thoroughly lost this one.¡±


    She started to pull down her sundress, revealing her white bra and a moderate amount of cleavage. My eyes fell on the beauty mark on her left breast before I pulled them back up towards her face.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked, in the most deadpan tone I could muster. For her part, she seemed confused.


    ¡°What do you mean? I had heard that my new lord is insatiable when it comes to his carnal desires, so I merely wished to offer what you were going to demand of me.¡±


    This time it was my turn to laugh, and Viina put her breasts away after being thoroughly offended.


    ¡°Did anyone ever tell you not to believe everything you hear?¡± I said between breaths. Her mouth went agape, followed by a blush that covered her cheeks and nose.


    ¡°You- how dare you! How could you make a maiden do that based on your lies!?¡± I finally stopped laughing, and looked straight at her.


    ¡°They were pretty convincing though, right? It¡¯s pretty easy to make people underestimate you when you have an information network as comprehensive as mine.¡± She seemed to think of something, and folded her arms.


    ¡°Ok, well, if you aren¡¯t after my body, what are you after?¡± I began to walk up to her. She flinched, but stood her ground as my armored feet took me closer to the princess.


    I eventually got right up to her, and lifted my finger. My target was standing behind her, and Viina turned her head to look at her Judgment.


    ¡°I want that.¡± I told her in no uncertain terms. ¡°The rest of the deal we can hammer out later, but that is a prerequisite to joi-¡±


    ¡°No!¡± She screamed, and held her arms out in front of the A.I. ¡°I will give you my virginity, I will try to give you my heart, or my knowledge. But I will never let you have the Prime!¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking.¡± I said, separating from her. ¡°I will have that Judgment, but whether I have to take it by force, or you use it as a bargaining chip is up to you.¡±


    She bit her lip, but her eyes widened immediately after. ¡°Wait, you called it a Judgment? Does the Prime have to do with the system!?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± I sat back down on the crate and looked her in the eyes. ¡°If you want to know, I can tell you after you sign your contract.¡±


    ¡°No! I still won¡¯t let you take him!¡± My fingers flexed, and I started to reach for the photon pistol attached to my hip when a spark crackled against my forehead.


    ¡°Honestly, you¡¯re so bad at dealing with people, Master.¡± X sighed and floated down to the ground, where she stood in front of Viina.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry he scared you, Princess Secela. When he says that he wants your Judgment, he doesn¡¯t mean that your¡­ Prime is going to disappear. He¡¯ll merely switch from a main program to a subprogram. You¡¯ll still be able to interact with him like you do today.¡±


    Viina stared at X, and then looked back up at Un and Three. ¡°Who are you, Joshua? Why do you have three of them, when the only people I know have only ever had one?¡±


    ¡°Well isn¡¯t that a long story.¡± I sighed, and took my finger off of the pistol. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I got them from people like you. People that are still working for me today, and in pretty prominent positions I might add.


    Viina tilted her head, so I took that as an opportunity to elaborate. ¡°You¡¯ve done your research on my team, right? Do the names Winter Strafe or Lilian ring a bell?¡±


    Her eyes widened as she looked at the Judgments once more. ¡°Don¡¯t bore a hole in me, girly. This old man has mixed feelings about a girl as young as you.¡± Un said.


    ¡°Ugh, gross.¡± Replied Three. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him. No matter how sexually harassing he can be, at least he can¡¯t actually touch you.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a challenge!¡± Un laughed merrily, while Three just rolled her eyes.


    ¡°How are they so¡­ human-like? Aren¡¯t they earthbound spirits trapped inside a program?¡± Viina continued staring at them, so she didn¡¯t notice Winter¡¯s gaze narrow.


    ¡°Well, some of them, maybe. Un here is a historical figure, but I won¡¯t get much further into it than that. As for Three¡­ think of her as an alter-ego of a shunned girl.¡±


    Un puffed out his chest with pride, while Three shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Lastly X¡­¡± I started, when I felt a pain in my chest. I guess some wounds don¡¯t heal with time.


    ¡°X is a manifestation of my desire for a friend, combined with my loneliness and melancholy for my girlfriend back home.¡± I said, much softer than I meant to.


    X floated back up to me on the crate, and gave me an intangible kiss on the cheek. ¡°I knew you¡¯d admit that you love me sooner or later. I just didn¡¯t expect it to come like this.¡±


    ¡°Bite me.¡± I said, prompting her to laugh. Seeing the somewhat carefree conversation between us all must have relaxed Viina somewhat, but she was still curious.


    ¡°Then¡­ What do you think about the Prime? Where did he come from?¡± I shrugged, and shook my head.


    ¡°That¡¯s none of my business, and right now I¡¯m not too invested in finding out your past. Of course, that will be different if you come to work for me.¡±


    Viina bit her lip. ¡°One last question. How do you get them to talk on a regular basis? This entire time, the Prime hasn¡¯t said a word to me unless I call him, or replied to anything I asked it.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow, and looked at X. She nodded and floated down to the red Judgment. ¡°It¡¯s ok, big guy. I won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    She put a finger to his head, and closed her eyes. A moment later she pulled back, grinning. ¡°Viina, did you ever talk to him other than when you were trying to give him orders?¡±


    The princess¡¯ eyes widened, and she began mumbling to herself. ¡°Surely I must have! I must have asked him about his origins, or what he was capable of, but-¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± X replied skeptically. ¡°In his memory banks you went straight to the national library to try to figure out what he was.¡±


    Viina looked at the Judgment sheepishly. ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that it¡¯s my own fault?¡± X nodded, and tapped the red Judgment on the shoulder.


    ¡°Yes. In fact, you¡¯ve severely hampered his growth by just treating him as a tool, and not a person. He learned some simple phrases, but that¡¯s about it. If you took proper care of him, perhaps this war game wouldn¡¯t have been so lopsided after all.¡±


    Viina frowned, but X chimed in, ¡°You along with that Civil Union House boy, of course. He treated his Judgment the same way.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t fill me with joy to be compared to an awful human being.¡± She said, and sighed. ¡°Speaking of which, what happened to his spi- Judgment anyway?¡±


    X pulled out a blue orb from seemingly thin air and threw it towards the ground. It shattered in midair, and the blue judgment from before appeared, only, a bit different. His left arm was white, and instead of a ram¡¯s skull for a head, there was a knight¡¯s helmet. White angel wings sprouted from it¡¯s back, and a staff was placed in it¡¯s right hand.


    ¡°What code is it?¡± I asked, and X turned to me with a grin.


    ¡°The fifth in the series. May I suggest Five, Fifth, or Go?¡±


    ¡°You can suggest all you want. That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to take it.¡± X pouted and floated over to inspect the new member of our team.


    ¡°X is the main program.¡± I explained to Viina, who was staring at the new arrival with wide eyes. ¡°The rest are bound to her will.¡±


    I walked up to the blue Judgment, and smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll be Cin.¡± A white light expanded from under him, and black tribal markings appeared on his white arm.


    ¡°Sin?¡± Viina asked, her eyes still glued to the spectacle.


    ¡°Yeah, Cin, like the first part of Cinco. It¡¯s spanish for five.¡± X sighed at my choice of names, and floated back up to sit on the crate with the other Judgments.


    Cin bowed, and looked up at me. ¡°It¡­ honor¡­ Master.¡± My smile faltered a bit. Neglect indeed. He doesn¡¯t even know how to make a proper sentence.


    ¡°I look forward to your service.¡± I replied, and watched him disappear from sight. He returned to being a blue orb, and floated back up to X, remaining in orb form.


    ¡°... Fine. I accept that demand, under the request that you give me a contract here and now to sign.¡±


    ¡°Fine by me.¡± I replied. ¡°X, send her Lilian¡¯s contract, the third draft.¡± X did as she was told, and I watched as Viina read the contract carefully.


    ¡°That¡¯s your base contract. You¡¯ll get a better one after the first month, as stated in the contract. Here is the one you¡¯ll receive in a month.¡±


    I sent her the second file, and waited until she had read everything until the end. ¡°The shock therapy is cruel and unusual.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°Eh. Maybe. It builds character though.¡± She rubbed the bridge of her nose at my response, and turned to her Judgment.


    ¡°Thank you, my Prime. The time you spent serving me will not be forgotten. I hope that you felt positively about our interactions as I did.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡± The red Judgment replied. ¡°It made me happy¡­ to see¡­ you, Viina.¡±


    I was about to instruct X to absorb him when I saw the look on Viina¡¯s face, one of shock and confusion. ¡°I know that voice.¡± She said softly.


    Soon, the black skull mask of the Prime crumbled and fell away, revealing the face of a middle aged man.


    ¡°Father?¡± Viina¡¯s voice was shaky. Feeling a change in her mind coming on, I gave X the signal, and she absorbed the Prime. Viina gasped and looked up at X, before falling to her knees.

 Chapter 83: Moving On...

    Viina Secela, on her knees in disbelief, was looking at the spot that her Judgment used to occupy, and then back at me. ¡°You! I just-¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have you changing your mind on our deal.¡± Joshua cut her off. ¡°Even if you had some relation to him before, that program is not your father. It¡¯s an A.I. with his personality. Don¡¯t worry though, after he recovers all his speech functions, I¡¯ll let you have a long talk with him.¡±


    Viina grit her teeth, but ended up choosing not to argue, reasoning that she¡¯d certainly lose out on his trust if she pressed the issue.


    Unfortunately for her, even if Viina herself had abandoned any thoughts of making a fuss about it, it was someone else entirely that began to yell at Joshua.


    ¡°What did you do to my daughter!?¡± Queen Laina shouted at the Paladin, causing Viina¡¯s heart to sink.


    As opposed to her tone, the Queen strode into the corridor whilst taking her time. She came to a stop next to Viina, and looked down upon the girl, spreading a fan out in front of her face.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Viina managed to ask through her nerves. If her mother found out that she was planning to defect to the Metron Kingdom, right after their embarrassing loss to them, there¡¯s no way she would let her do as she pleased.


    ¡°She was just going to service the loser.¡± Joshua said, causing the eyes of the two women to dart towards him instead of each other.


    The two of them were shocked into silence for a moment, and the paladin took that chance to speak further. Meanwhile, his Judgment programs all disappeared from Viina¡¯s view.


    ¡°It¡¯s natural, isn¡¯t it? Your daughter bet herself on the outcome of this match, and now she is nothing more than my slave in everything but attire. Really, I should be thanking you Primal Monarchs for giving the Metron Kingdom a free win, and with it, another concubine for me.¡±


    Viina was stunned. Why would he purposefully make himself out to be the villain, especially when within hearing range of the queen? Didn¡¯t he know that would only earn him malice and ill-will?


    ¡®Wait.¡¯ Princess Secela forced herself to take a deep breath. ¡®He¡¯s doing this for my sake. He¡¯s being just as cautious about me defecting as I am, and he¡¯s using his poor reputation to make a normally implausible scenario seem more likely.


    Viina smirked, despite her situation. ¡®Maybe he was right. Maybe it does pay to have a good information network paint a less-than-flattering picture of yourself.¡¯


    ¡°The nerve of you!¡± Her mother shot back, her focus shifting entirely to Joshua, and neglecting to look in Viina¡¯s direction again. ¡°For even daring to lay a hand on my daughter, I should have you arrested for your insolence!¡±


    ¡°On what grounds?¡± Joshua raised an eyebrow, then shook his head in disapproval. ¡°Speaking the truth? Also, ¡®your daughter?¡¯ You¡¯re so used to viewing her as nothing more than a piece on the board that your subconscious doesn¡¯t even allow you to use her name. Instead, she¡¯s your possession. Don¡¯t try to act like a mother. You disgust me.¡±


    Laina¡¯s face twisted and became crimson in anger, but she couldn¡¯t come up with a rebuttal for the verbal onslaught.


    Viina was sad to find that she agreed with Joshua¡¯s assessment of her mother. Even if she knew how Laina viewed her oldest daughter, it was still unnerving to hear it verbalized so clearly.


    ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s time for me to go.¡± Joshua said, after seeing no sort of further comment was going to come from Laina.


    He motioned to leave, and then turned around to face the pair again. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re my possession now, Viina. I¡¯ll come to the palace tomorrow to pick you up for departure. Be sure to have everything packed.¡±


    Just like that, he was gone, leaving Viina alone with her mother, who was definitely still feeling the paladin¡¯s presence.


    ¡°Mom,¡± Viina said weakly. ¡°I-¡±


    Viina turned away as Laina¡¯s scream echoed in her ears, the Queen not giving a care who or what was around to hear.


    When the noise stopped, Viina looked back on her mother, only to see the woman¡¯s glowering expression directed at her.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Judgment support ticket.¡± Laina spoke, and a white box with black text appeared between the two of them.


    The Queen closed the fan she was holding. ¡°File an arrest warrant for Joshua Cole, on the grounds of crimes committed against the state.¡±


    The support ticket whirred to life, and Laina almost lost it for a second time when she saw the response: ¡°This individual has committed no crimes. No support ticket may be logged at this time.¡±


    She snapped her fan in half, throwing the pieces to the ground. Her gaze met Viina¡¯s, and the younger Secela flinched.


    ¡°Viina¡­¡± Laina called in a sing-song voice that gave the princess shivers. ¡°We¡¯re going to have a very long chat when we get home about strangers¡­ yes, we¡¯ll have a very, very long talk indeed.¡±


    ---


    ¡°Well, that was grand.¡± X commented as we finally reached our base. The King and Queen were staying in the city, and Reya, Raiden, and Lucina had gone to stay with them.


    On one hand, I was a bit miffed that they had decided to leave the management of their subordinates to me, but on the other, I was glad I could just be alone for a few minutes.


    I walked into the small shack, and pressed the button under the bed, popping open the small escape hatch that led to the bunker down below.


    ¡°Haha! I couldn¡¯t have said it better myself.¡± Un joined X in floating beside me as I climbed down the ladder.


    I didn¡¯t dignify the comment with a response, either out loud or in my thoughts. There were still fifty feet of ladder left, and I didn¡¯t want to be the idiot that had every advantage against this world and killed himself due to gravity.


    ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± Un clicked his nonexistent tongue, and together with X, waited for me to reach the bottom.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not gonna answer you. For all the good your powers do me, I¡¯m not going to survive a fall from fifty feet up, no matter how strong you make my muscles.¡±


    Not used to taking criticism about his wit, Un began to pout, and disappeared from my view, leaving just X and I.


    He wasn¡¯t supposed to be out in the first place, was he? I asked her mentally. She shook her head and sighed, floating behind me as I walked down the corridor towards my room.


    ¡°Of course he wasn¡¯t, Master.¡± She scoffed. ¡°The thing is, I don¡¯t know how he¡¯s bypassing his command code to escape. He hasn¡¯t used it for anything malicious, and he still can¡¯t act in an aggressive way towards us, but it¡¯s really bothering me.¡±


    I smiled at X. For all the shit we gave each other, I realized that I liked our relationship the way it was: like close friends.


    Admitting to Viina where X came from had coincided with something else: admitting that very same fact to myself. For the longest time, I had tried to deny it. Tried to deny that being ripped away from the girl I had confessed my love to on the very day this happened had affected me in any way.


    Unfortunately for the pain tugging away at my heart, it was out in the open now, and X would certainly needle me for it.


    However, every cloud has its silver lining. I felt like I could make a fresh start, and finally begin to put my past behind me¡­ for the most part.


    Even though I felt like I was trending in a positive direction, I still needed to hold on to some hatred- some of the fuel that had gotten me this far in the first place.


    I stepped into the bathroom, X following behind me. When I began to strip, she let out a girlish gasp.


    ¡°My, Master, I didn¡¯t realize you were into flaunting yourself in front of a lady.¡± She fanned her face as I turned around.


    ¡°Please. The day I get embarrassed by you seeing my dick is the day you can actually do something about it.¡±


    X looked offended by my response, and floated out of the shower room and into the bedroom. I smiled again, despite myself.


    I wonder if X had even noticed that she was becoming more and more expressive and self-sufficient every time she appeared?


    My smile fell and I instantly turned on the shower to a relaxing 40 celsius. Not fahrenheit? The architect must have been from here. I mused, looking at the thermometer.


    What little I knew about the Judgments had been supplied to me by them, and Starlord Alexstasia. I still knew jack shit about the Trials of Damocles, only that I was supposed to receive an explanation about the second round now that I had collected five programs.


    Hopefully that information would reveal itself in the coming days. I didn¡¯t like how much obvious hostility was being thrown my way from the Metronian Royal Family, and that could prove to be a ticking time bomb that could blow up any time from now to the next war game.


    I finished washing, and lazily began to dry myself. Great. Just what I needed. More things on my plate.


    I sighed and opened the door, only to be greeted by Lucina, her bathrobe, and her smiling face. I rolled my eyes. ¡°Alright X. Enough playing around. I need to go to bed. I¡¯m exhausted and need to be up early tomorrow to pick up Viina.


    I walked through the hologram- or at least, I tried to. I stumbled as I met Lucina¡¯s chest and didn¡¯t phase through.


    Instantly I sighed. ¡°Why are you here? You¡¯re supposed to be with your family.¡± She smiled, and led me to the bed, where we both lay down.


    ¡°I wanted to see you. Not to mention, I had to protect you from a certain dog that likes to crawl into her owner¡¯s bed at night.¡±


    I sighed, and started to drift off to sleep, when I felt a pressure on my neck. I opened my eyes to see Lucina sitting on top of my chest, a forearm on my throat and a twinkle in her eyes. Her hair cascaded down and blocked out all light, leaving me just a pitch black tunnel to her face.


    ¡°Joshua,¡± she began, her tone sweet. ¡°What was that about picking up Viina? Care to elaborate what you¡¯ve been up to in the past six hours?¡±

 Chapter 84: Consequences

    I yawned as the aircraft flew me back to Palace Rojas, where I was set to meet Princess Reya.


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing someone didn¡¯t get a lot of sleep last night. Were you getting it on with your lady friend, Master?¡± Un grinned, occupying the seat across from me, with Three and the blue orb form of Cin to his left and right respectively.


    Meanwhile, X was sitting to my right, with the core of Viina¡¯s Judgment in her hand. We had decided to refrain from reprogramming him now, and wait until we were back in the Metronian Kingdom.


    Since no new information about the Trial of Damocles had appeared, X had hypothesized that we needed to connect him to her system first, and doing that in an unfamiliar and possibly hostile territory was just stupid.


    ¡°Please, you know the answer to that already.¡± I said lazily, shifting my gaze from X back to the Strafe Founder. ¡°You have access to my memories, after all.¡±


    Un sighed and placed a hand on his face. ¡°Why can¡¯t you ever indulge me in witty banter, Master? It¡¯s always straight to the point with you.¡±


    ¡°Because you indulge yourself all the time.¡± I cracked a half-smile. ¡°If I also messed around with you, your head would get too big for its own good.¡±


    Un smiled and nodded, deciding to lay back in his recliner. Which, since he was incorporeal, just consisted of him sticking his head through the back of the seat in a relaxed position. ¡°Well, as long as you don¡¯t hate me, I suppose that works.¡±


    ¡°It took me a while.¡± I replied.


    ¡°It definitely takes a while.¡± X chimed in.


    ¡°I still hate him.¡± Three sighed.


    Cin, on the other hand, just floated over to X questioningly.


    Un pulled his head out of the seat and frowned. ¡°Well fine. Fuck you all then.¡±


    ---


    Landing at the massive spires of the palace, I stepped out of the pod to see Reya already waiting for me on the rooftop.


    Whereas I was making sure Viina got out of her country safely, Reya was here to assure that the writ ensuring the winnings from the war game existed. That, on top of making sure the due date was correct, and that it was signed by the Queen herself.


    ¡°You¡¯re early. I half expected for me to be the one waiting for you.¡± I commented as I walked toward her.


    She frowned, and said, ¡°Oh you would have been, were it not for my father waking me up at four in the morning just to make sure I didn¡¯t shame our family name.¡±


    She coughed, and her expression morphed into the ever-present frown on her father¡¯s face. ¡°Never in the history of our Kingdom has a crowned prince or princess been late to a meeting with a world leader, and it won¡¯t start with you!¡±


    She imitated his tone, and I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°That was spot on. Please tell me you¡¯ve done that in front of him before.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve contemplated it.¡± She chuckled, before releasing a sigh. ¡°They might try to hide it, but I can see mother and father growing more distant. Mother has hardly paid me any attention this weekend, and father has his hands full negotiating with the other nobles back home over the Judgment messenger.¡±


    ¡°She bet against me and lost then? I suppose that would sour my mood too, if I was stupid enough to do that.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Joshua, it¡¯s not that.¡± She took my hand, and together we began our descent down the spire and to the throne room.


    ¡°My mother bet everything on you, and won an exorbitant amount of capital, even from a royal¡¯s standards.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow, and said, ¡°Then what the hell does she have to be unhappy about? How can she and your father not be happy with that?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s more so what my mother has been doing ever since she arrived here.¡± She looked to me for a reaction, but when none came, she continued.


    ¡°Every night, my mother prays to the Starlords for your continued success. My father, sisters, and brothers all don¡¯t know what to make of it. I¡¯m at a loss of an explanation myself as well.¡±


    Now that made me pause. I stood still for a moment, and contemplated what I had seen from the Queen until now.


    X, what are the chances that she finally gave up on her petty revenge? I¡¯m tired of dealing with the entitled ruler trope.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ well, if we consider how similarly childish world leaders in Ethia act to those on Earth, then I think you¡¯ll still encounter them yet.¡±


    I wanted to sigh, but X brought it back with, ¡°As for Queen Metron specifically, I can say that she has likely given up on ousting you from the Metronian government, and is now looking for ways to use you that benefit her agenda.¡±


    No doubt our rout of the Primal Kingdom was high up there. Even when I think I¡¯m doing something good, I¡¯m still marching to the beat of someone else¡¯s drum. I¡¯m sick of politics.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have chosen to create a floating island with your own government on it then.¡± X chided. ¡°Preparations for that are almost complete. They should be finished after our next war game.¡±


    I stopped thinking about the future as we reached the entrance to the throne room. Upon opening the door, what awaited me was a sight that made me freeze in place.


    ¡°Is that¡­ Viina?¡± Reya¡¯s voice was soft as she pointed to the center of the room. There a naked woman was chained to the floor with a steel collar around her neck.


    There were lash marks all over her body, and some she was still bleeding from. She was crying softly with her back turned to us.


    Reya ran up to the girl, and I walked a bit behind, eyeing the rest of the room. X, how many here?


    ¡°Eleven, Master. Ten guards and the Queen. They are using some form of technology to hide themselves from your presence. I shall mark them on your AR for you.¡±


    Eleven red circles appeared in my vision, and I took my time to send them a glare before walking up to Viina. Reya had wrapped the princess in a hug, and Viina had stifled her sobs to the point of sniffling.


    X, can you remove the collar from her? There was a brief pause, and X replied, ¡°Did you really just ask me that?¡±


    What do you mean?


    ¡°Look at the thing. It¡¯s an old-world artifact. There¡¯s no trace of electronics inside. How would I be able to hack a block of iron?¡±


    I nodded sheepishly, and put my hands on the collar. I guess you¡¯re up to bat then, Un.


    The Judgment responded to my call, his figure replacing that of X¡¯s beside me. ¡°Sure thing. You might want to tell the princess to step away. There¡¯s a lot of variables when dealing with shrapnel.¡±


    ¡°Reya, step back. I¡¯m going to break the collar.¡± Reya did as she was told, and got behind a pillar for cover.


    Viina looked up at me with pleading eyes. ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± She whispered, her voice hoarse and nearly gone.


    ¡°Camera use detected.¡± Three¡¯s voice whispered to me. I looked up from my kneeling position with both hands on Viina¡¯s collar.


    Sure enough, Queen Secela and her cronies had come out of hiding. The queen had a smug look on her face, while the guards had a myriad of weapons pointed at me.


    ¡°So, the scumbag finally shows his true colors. How exactly did you think you were going to get away with enslaving my daughter, right in my own palace?¡±


    I realized immediately the kind of blackmail she was going for. Maybe the articles she forged were correct after all. Maybe she does have some mental illness.


    ¡°As if that would hold if brought before the world council!¡± Reya had come out from behind the pillar, and stood her ground next to me.


    ¡°Oh, my, Princess Reya. It¡¯s as you say. Unfortunately, everyone in this room was witness to this man¡¯s crimes, and it¡¯s the word of ten commoners against two entitled princesses. Surely you can see who the public would side with?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t about the public, it¡¯s about the truth!¡± She shouted back as I used all of Un¡¯s strength to break the clump of iron.


    Fuck. I think I tore something. Un shook his head. ¡°I told you we should have trained more with my power. The nanites are working on repairs as we speak.¡±


    ¡°The truth is set by the winners, Princess Reya. Today, that is not you. Paladin Cole will not leave here alive.¡±


    The guards readied their weapons as Queen Laina snapped her fingers, prompting a white box to appear out of thin air.


    ¡°Open Judgment support ticket!¡± She shouted. ¡°Requesting the use of lethal force for an intruder!¡±


    She shouted quickly, and the white box transcribed her words before it disappeared. It reappeared a moment later, and a robotic voice said, ¡°Permission granted.¡±


    I clicked my tongue. So she loopholed the system by forging evidence!? I¡¯m sick of dealing with these assholes!


    X, time dilation! Take me into Laina¡¯s subspace! X replaced Un, but she looked a bit hesitant.


    ¡°The nanites are working on your muscles right now. If you overtax your brain, then-¡±


    ¡°Just do it!¡± I shouted out loud, and instantly the world around me froze. A beam of light linked Laina and my Judgment panel¡¯s briefly. Darkness took over my vision, until I stepped out of the portal and into a room.


    ¡°The throne room?¡± I thought out loud. ¡°Why is every person in power only interested in the position, not what comes after?¡±


    I sighed at the manifestation of Laina¡¯s psyche, and gave the startled Queen a glare. ¡°How are you in here!? Guards!¡±


    The things that ran into the room were most certainly not going to save Laina from my wrath today.


    I had Un and Three materialize, and make quick work of Laina¡¯s protectors. She shuddered in her seat, and tried to back up on the throne.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t! Please! I have children!¡± I rolled my eyes and walked up to her, creating a copy of my sonic knife into my hand.


    ¡°You should have thought about them in the first place. If you did, then this abusive relationship you have with your family wouldn¡¯t have happened.


    I raised the knife, but she caught me off guard, pulling a gun out from her bosom and shooting me in the chest.


    I stumbled back, and looked at Laina with pure hatred in my eyes. Un broke her arms, and Three kicked the gun out of her hand.


    Fuck, that hurt a lot. She began to weep as I raised the blade to end her pathetic existence.

 Chapter 85: Divine Intervention

    I thrust downwards in a direct shot for Laina¡¯s throat. Unfortunately, the only thing my knife stabbed was another blade.


    This one was massive, like a black iron wall, blocking my view of the Queen. I turned to the hilt to see who it was, but found no one there.


    The sword moved, allowing me to see the face of Queen Laina, frozen in fear. I looked to the left and right of the throne, and saw Un and Three frozen in very much the same fashion.


    ¡°Very funny X. My brain can handle the strain just fine. Return time to normal and let me finish this!¡±


    ¡°Oh? So your Judgment has evolved that far, huh?¡± A woman¡¯s voice came from behind me. A familiar one at that.


    Turning around, I was greeted by the massive frame of Starlord Alexstasia Bloodcrown winking at me.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± I said between labored breaths. My obvious hostility just bounced off her aura of positivity, and she walked up to me.


    ¡°You know, I had it rigged so that the system notified me if you ever became a criminal?¡± I arched my eyebrow, but said nothing, allowing her to continue.


    ¡°I was really worried that my candidate would get himself into a dumb mess of his own creation. Turns out that you were lured into a dumb mess of someone else¡¯s creation.¡±


    ¡°You know¡­ it¡¯s not my fault.¡± My breathing was becoming stabilized. ¡°Which begs the question: why did you stop me?¡±


    Alexstasia¡¯s hand grabbed mine, and she pulled me in close. She whispered into my ear, ¡°I¡¯m willing to overlook breaking the mind of the seventh prince in line in the Metron Kingdom. Unfortunately, targeting someone actively in charge of a country is a different matter entirely.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand that hypocrisy.¡± I said, trying to wrench my hand out of her iron grasp. ¡°You¡¯re ok with people taking out the future, but laying hands on the present is a no go?¡±


    She lifted me up to her eye level by my hand. ¡°I don¡¯t understand it either. It wasn¡¯t like this was all decided by me. The Starlords have a council, one that I wasn¡¯t on when this rule was made.¡±


    ¡°As such,¡± she continued, releasing my arm and dropping me to the floor, ¡°Those currently in power are afforded special luxuries.¡± Her blade resheathed itself in a scabbard on her back.


    ¡°Unfortunately for her,¡± She pointed to Laina, ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be enjoying those luxuries much longer.¡±


    Alexstasia snapped her fingers, and the scenery changed around me. No longer were we in the dimly lit throne room, but instead in a banquet hall.


    At least, that¡¯s what I assumed it was. The only indication of such was the fancy crimson rug on the floor that matched Alexstasia¡¯s hair color, and the small round table present.


    The table was dressed in a pure white cloth, and had several cups of tea, as well as cookies and other confectionaries on top.


    There were no walls to the place, as if the room stretched on into infinity. It was a little unnerving, but at the Starlord¡¯s behest, I took a seat. She did the same and began to pour me a cup of cinnamon-smelling tea.


    ¡°Oh, how rude of me!¡± She commented, blushing a little. ¡°I forgot about your tools!¡± She snapped her fingers again, and four seats sprung out of the ground.


    ¡°How magnanimous of you, Starlord Bloodcrown. Allowing us programs to join you at the table.¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    X, Un, Three, and a fully sized Cin. They all sat around me, leaving Alexstasia¡¯s side of the table relatively empty.


    ¡°Aw, and here I was hoping to have a reunion. Oh well. All of you, drink up! I made it in a way that even Judgment¡¯s can experience.¡±


    The programs all eyed the beverage warily, and eventually Un was the first to break. He took the cup up to his face, his hand shaking all the while.


    Putting the cup to his lips, his eyes widened, and a large smile spread itself on his face. ¡°That¡¯s fantastic! I¡¯m glad I can experience taste again after so long!¡±


    X followed suit, and made a complicated expression. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if this is good or not. It¡¯s¡­ really tingly.¡±


    ¡°I think spicy would be more apt.¡± Three chimed in, taking more of her drink in.


    ¡°Cin like spicy tingly.¡± The blue angel said in his broken speech.


    Alexstasia smiled, and said, ¡°Good! It¡¯s my own mix, so I¡¯m happy it turned out well. There¡¯s plenty where that came from, so just drink up for now.¡±


    ¡°Where are we?¡± I asked incredulously. ¡°Can you just edit anyone¡¯s subspace to your liking?¡±


    The Starlord laughed and wagged her finger. ¡°Of course not! I just took you into my own personal subspace is all.¡±


    We were collectively stunned into silence, but that didn¡¯t stop the woman from rolling on to her next point. ¡°So, now that you¡¯ve attained your fifth Judgment, what do you think of the second phase of the trial?¡±


    To that question, X awkwardly raised a hand. ¡°You don''t have to ask for my permission to speak.¡± Alexstasia huffed.


    ¡°Very well then, Ms. Bloodcrown.¡± X replied. ¡°We actually haven¡¯t properly installed him, as doing so in a foreign base of operations wouldn¡¯t be sound security-wise.¡±


    Alexstasia¡¯s mouth hung open, and she groaned. ¡°Why do I always get the cautious ones? Fine. Contact me when you actually receive your set of instructions.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just tell them to us?¡± Un asked after taking a bite of a cream-filled biscuit. ¡°Surely you know what they are, and we already meet the qualifications.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± The Starlord looked thoughtful, and a playfulness seeped into her eyes. ¡°You know, I suppose I could-¡±


    A booming thunder echoed in the distance. Myself and the Judgments paid it no mind, but Alexstasia looked as white as a sheet.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Three asked, putting down her cup. Alexstasia slowly turned to her, and she let out a deep breath.


    ¡°It looks like I can¡¯t tell you. You may not have felt that, but the Starlord of Plasma just warned me against it. He¡¯s always been a stickler for the rules, that old bastard.¡±


    Another boom in the distance, but this time Alexstasia just looked annoyed. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell them, you senile asshole!¡±


    After screaming at the ceiling, she sighed and rubbed her temples. ¡°Well then, tell me what you do know.¡±


    That sent Un, Three, and X into discussing how the trials would find a King, why they were named the way they were, and theories on what exactly the Judgments were.


    Meanwhile, Cin just sat down and happily consumed his baked goods and drinks. ¡°I see.¡± Alexstasia said after listening to it all. ¡°I suppose that after you activate your fifth, you¡¯ll get about seventy percent of the answers you seek.¡±


    ¡°How about our opponents? How many of them are there still? Has anyone amassed five cores, like I have?¡±


    Alexstasia opened her mouth to say something, when a bolt of lightning fell from the ceiling. It happened so fast, the only way I could register it was from my memory.


    Alexstasia had deflected it, and put away her weapon in a huff. ¡°That was a warning. I don¡¯t want to piss off the old man any more than I already have, or he might start taking it personally. Sorry, but that means you have to go.¡±


    As soon as she said the words, the world folded in on itself, and we were back in Laina¡¯s throne room subspace.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be given a method to contact me when you activate the fifth Judgment. Let me know when you do.¡±


    She bent over her ten foot frame and gave me a kiss on the forehead. ¡°Until next time, Paladin.¡±


    I felt as though I was being sucked backwards, and my vision went black again. When it cleared up, I was standing beside a shivering Viina, and an equally as frightened Reya.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I was immediately alert, and when Reya pointed behind me, I instantly turned around.


    It was a massacre. Charred bodies piled on top of each other, and the fire on the floor lapping at the run in the center. Queen Secela stood in the middle of it all, white as a sheet.


    A white notification box had been placed in front of her, and in a message loud enough for the four survivors in the room to hear, the system spoke: ¡°SYSTEM OVERRULED BY STARLORD BLOODCROWN. PALADIN JOSHUA COLE IS DEEMED INNOCENT.

 Chapter 86: Finalizing

    ¡°Well, that could have gone better.¡± Reya sighed as she surveyed the damage of Joshua¡¯s latest stunt.


    Several charred corpses were strewn about the room, all of whom had been pointing their weapons at the paladin only a moment before.


    It had been over in an instant. As soon as Laina had ordered Joshua¡¯s execution, a palpable heat had entered the room, melting the weapons of the guards while simultaneously lighting them on fire.


    Laina had tried to help out, but the moment she took a step, her leg caught on fire. It was probably only by the grace of the starlord that it was put out when she scrambled back. And indeed, her thoughts were confirmed when Judgment¡¯s message named Starlord Alexstasia Bloodcrown as the judge, jury, and executioner for that support ticker.


    ¡®When the hell did Joshua have time to meet a Starlord, much less the Starlord of Flames, famous for her hatred of incompetence and humans¡­¡¯


    ¡®Well, I guess he doesn¡¯t have to worry about the first one.¡¯ Reya sighed, walking past Joshua as she did so.


    Reya didn¡¯t bother to ask him about how he¡¯d met the Starlord, or what exactly had transpired between them. Not now, at least. She¡¯d get some answers from him one way or another. That, she could be sure of.


    Queen Laina might as well have killed herself, seeing as how her aggression towards the winner of the war game would be viewed.


    Her detractors would use this as even more ammunition against her, and her supporters would be stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to justify her actions.


    There was so much political bullshit that a government system could handle before it couldn¡¯t handle any more.


    Finally reaching the Queen, Reya looked down at Laina Secela. She had tears coming from her eyes, and she was clutching at her burned limb. Looking back at the shivering figure of Viina, Reya reaffirmed that she felt no pity for the Secela matriarch.


    ¡°Joshua, why don¡¯t you go take care of Viina. You two have some unfinished business, right?¡±


    Reya didn¡¯t wait for his reply before picking Laina up by the bicep. ¡°As for you, you still have a few documents to sign while you¡¯re still in office.¡±


    They began walking out, but Laina started screaming and crying in an attempt to claw her way back to Joshua. ¡°Annoying bitch.¡± Reya muttered as she pulled out her discombobulator, knocking the queen out with one tap of the trigger.


    She picked the woman up with the aid of her power armor, and began walking out of the throne room.


    Reya looked left down the hallway, and then to the right. A good five seconds went by before the crown princess sighed. ¡°Which way was her office, again?¡±


    ---


    Leading a woman around her own house was always an awkward experience, and doubly so when she was fully naked, crying, and had several bleeding lashes on her.


    I had X steer us clear of any workers, and they wouldn¡¯t be privy to the information about the Queen, and would definitely place the blame on me for Viina¡¯s current state of affairs.


    When we finally arrived at her room, the first thing that struck me was the pitch-black door, standing out horribly against the crimson walls of the palace.


    ¡°How did you know where my room was?¡± She asked. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks, but she had normalized her breathing.


    ¡°...Judgment.¡± I muttered after X confirmed that we were alone. I opened the door and allowed her to walk in, while I waited outside.


    ¡°Color me surprised, Master.¡± X said playfully, coming into existence behind me. ¡°I half expected you to throw yourself at her defenseless body.¡±


    I ignored her, too absorbed in my own thoughts. She sighed, and her tone instantly became more serious and hardened. ¡°Still thinking about what the Starlord said?¡±


    I nodded. I still can¡¯t wrap my head around what the Starlords are in relation to the system. Did they arrive with Judgment, or were they the ones who put it in place?


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    X shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but whatever it is, I think we¡¯ll be one step closer to figuring it out after we integrate the next Judgment.¡±


    I took a deep breath. There was a lot of shit to do after we got back to the Metron Kingdom, but installing the Prime definitely took priority.


    There was a loud crash from inside Viina¡¯s room, and X poked her head through the front of the massive door, sinking right in to the slab of metal.


    She pulled it back out, and turned to me, asking, ¡°So, are you gonna go in and check on her?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said, taking a seat on the floor. ¡°She needs time. She¡¯s just been verbally and physically abused by her mother, who never really liked her. Unfortunately, Viina always held out hope that she did.¡±


    X looked back at me with a raised brow. ¡°It always hurts more when you expect something of an abusive parent.¡± I muttered, running my hair through my hands.


    She looked at me, but said nothing. Sure enough, a few moments later, the sound of crying came from behind Viina¡¯s door.


    I let out a long breath, and decided to wait out the crying. Three, check on Reya for me. Let me know if they¡¯re talking about anything I should know about.


    The short haired woman, clad in her baggy clothing and facemask, appeared beside me. ¡°As you wish, Master.¡±


    She disappeared, eliciting a small spark from my Judgment Panel. ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you ever give me any tasks to do on my own?¡±


    Un appeared in Three¡¯s place, arms folded and a frown on his face. I opened my mouth to respond, but X answered in my place.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you have all the poise and grace of a gorilla, Un. You wouldn¡¯t know how to handle something of importance because you¡¯d be too busy trying to find a ¡®fun¡¯ way for you to do it.¡±


    The program opened his mouth, then closed it instantly. His eyes narrowed as he muttered, ¡°Fine, you have a point. Well, bodyguarding our Master it is then.¡±


    A hollow mechanical sound reverberated in my ears, and Un looked angrily at me. ¡°Shut up Cin. I do not owe you anything for winning that bet.¡±


    Another sound followed by Un rolling his eyes. He disappeared in the next moment, leaving X and I alone for a brief moment.


    ¡°X, I-¡± I started, but that was when the door to Viina¡¯s room opened, making me fall backwards through it.


    I looked up to see Viina, who had changed into a black, ankle length dress. She wore a scarlet choker, and tied her hair up into a bun with a red ribbon. However, I noticed that she didn¡¯t bother to replace the makeup that she had on the first time we had met.


    Probaby for the best that she didn¡¯t put any makeup on. She¡¯s probably gonna cry some more before the day is done.


    X rolled her eyes. ¡°How awfully realistic of you. So, Princess Viina, feeling like leaving then, I presume?¡± X addressed the princess, who¡¯s eyes darted from me to the Judgment program.


    ¡°I want to see my father.¡± She said, matter of factly. ¡°You have his program with you, right? I want to talk to him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± X started, clearly unsure of how to tell Viina that we hadn¡¯t touched her father¡¯s program, let alone repaired it.


    Fortunately, that¡¯s what I was for. ¡°You can¡¯t see him.¡± I said, causing both women to turn to me.


    ¡°What do you mean, I can¡¯t see him!?¡± Viina growled, straddling my body and putting both hands on my neck. Of course, with Un¡¯s reinforcement, it didn¡¯t hurt one bit. That being said¡­


    ¡°Listen, Viina. I know I¡¯m into some shit, but this isn¡¯t one of them.¡± When she saw that her strength wasn¡¯t having any effect on me, she crumpled onto my chest, and began to cry again.


    God damn it. Is this shit even worth it? On top of dealing with the fallout of the war game, I have to deal with the emotional baggage of a woman I¡¯ve only known about for a month as well?


    ¡®Of course it is worth it. The fact that she was chosen to participate in the Trials at all means that she has the qualifications of a King. You should foster that talent as one of your subordinates, instead of casting her aside and letting her wallow in her own despair. Besides¡­¡¯


    X trailed off, looking down at Viina crying onto my armor. Besides¡­ what? I asked, prompting X to shoot me a devilish smile.


    ¡®Besides, if you leave her and she does come out of depression on her own, who do you think will be the target of her anger?¡¯


    Fuck.


    ¡®Precisely. She¡¯ll be driven to get revenge on the one who promised her everything, then didn¡¯t pay up when the time came. Plus, she knows of some of your powers, so she¡¯d make an enemy that even you couldn¡¯t take lightly.¡¯


    Y¡¯know, I feel like you¡¯re thinking about this as a worst case scenario.


    X looked down on me, and raised an eyebrow. I physically sighed, and put a tentative hand on Viina¡¯s head, gingerly patting her.


    You¡¯re right. Worst case scenarios are what I should come to expect from this godforesaken world.


    Suddenly, an idea came to me. I sat up, shifting the lithe form of Viina into my lap. ¡°So, I know this may be a bad time,¡± I started, wiping the tears from her cheeks with a gloved finger, ¡°but how much do you know about Starlords?¡±


    Viina shook her head. ¡°Just the things that the religious fanatics want us to believe.¡± She took a deep breath.


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve never had a keen interest in them myselves, but you may be able to get some information from the royal library. Why?¡±


    ¡°Why indeed.¡± I responded, rubbing my temples. ¡°Y¡¯know, that¡¯s a long story, Viina. One I can tell you on the way back to our base.¡±

 Chapter 87: This Light of Mine {NSFW}

    It was almost noon by the time we reached the base, and Viina was happy to see that we had finally made it.


    Currently, it was just the two of us and my Judgments. Reya had gone straight back to her parents after extorting what she could from Queen Laina.


    However, our solitude didn¡¯t stop the princess from actively participating in conversation, especially when it came to the Trials of Damocles.


    She¡¯d speculated that perhaps the starlords were beings derived from a higher power, and that they were just carrying out the will of the mastermind who had, for lack of a better term, installed Judgment onto the Earth, transforming it into Ethia.


    However, we still couldn¡¯t come up with any answers to how Falling, the method I used to slip into this dimension, worked.


    In the end, we had decided to table the discussion, and I had since become a meat shield for Viina to vent at.


    She had begun with sadness and denial at her mother¡¯s abuse, a phase which quickly shifted into rage, and how she could, ¡®always see the signs.¡¯


    Standing guard outside of the base were two soldiers I recognized from Raiden¡¯s unit. Unfortunately for me, that¡¯s all I remembered.


    ¡°Welcome back sir!¡± The large man on the right barked, saluting me stiffly.


    ¡°Yes, welcome back, commander.¡± The woman also saluted, her pose a bit more loose than her partner¡¯s.


    However, the woman¡¯s eyes slowly drifted from me, back to Princess Laina. Her eyes shone playfully, and a small smile took her lips.


    ¡°Oh, I see what¡¯s going on. You aren¡¯t satisfied by our Kingdom¡¯s maidens alone, huh? What¡¯s your bet, Jory? I¡¯ll give her a week before being tossed aside like a used condom.¡±


    Viina looked hurt, while Jory looked at the smaller soldier sadly. ¡°Firla, that¡¯s taking it too far. She could be a very kind lady, for all we know.¡±


    ¡°Pfft.¡± Firla blew out some air, and rolled her eyes. ¡°Come on now, Jory. Everyone knows it¡¯s not how good the woman is, it¡¯s about how temperamental our resident manwhore is.¡±


    It took several deep breaths for me to regain control of my emotions. This woman was good at provoking, and clearly had a quick enough wit to improvise. Her assets were average, but she had a pretty enough face.


    I stunned her in place, and ushered Viina into the building. I began my act, and smiled coyly at Firla. I walked up to her, and I knew she realized the position she was in by the fear in her eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, you know. You¡¯d better pray she doesn¡¯t disappoint me, because if she does¡­¡± I trailed off, and put my thumb on Firla¡¯s bottom lip. I moved it from her lip to her chin, and from her chin down to the base of her neck.


    Finally, I moved my thumb down her neck and rested it on her sternum, or more specifically, in-between her breasts. ¡°...if she does disappoint me, then I¡¯ll have to use you as compensation.¡±


    I undid the paralysis and removed my hand, and watched in amusement as the blushing soldier fell to her knees.


    I looked over at Jory, but he just had his face in his hands, and was sighing. I smiled, and walked into the hut, where Viina was waiting for me with a slightly cramped smile on her face.


    ¡°Th-this is where you live? It¡¯s¡­ humble.¡± She managed to get out, and took a seat on the bed.


    ¡°Ugh, this is why I can¡¯t stand royalty. You can¡¯t see past what¡¯s ten feet in front of you. X.¡± I called, and the Judgment heeded my words, opening the escape hatch down to the vault.


    Viina¡¯s mouth hung open. ¡°Come on now. We have to get everyone out of here. We leave in six hours.¡±


    I started going down the ladder, but noticed that Viina had yet to move from her seat on the bed. ¡°Don¡¯t just leave your mouth open, Viina!¡± She quickly closed it, and came down after me.


    ---


    The base was alive with people gathering their belongings near the hidden entrances, and then retreating back to their rooms for the final few hours of rest they would get before our trip back.


    I was no different, and went into my room, followed closely behind by Viina. Upon opening the door I stopped moving and stared in disbelief.


    Viina, who I guess had been paying attention to the floor, walked into my back. ¡°Ow. What¡¯s wrong, Joshua¡­¡±


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Viina let out a small shriek, and closed her eyes, quickly turning around. There, standing proudly with her chest exposed and tight leather pants on to accentuate her curves, was Lucina.


    She had her hair tied up in a high ponytail, and was holding rope in one hand, and a duffel bag in the other. She gave a smile and a wink to the embarrassed Viina behind me. ¡°Sorry Viina, but could you wait in the cafeteria for an hour¡­ or two?¡±


    Peeking through her eyes, Viina nodded and quickly ran out of the room, leaving only Lucina and I. ¡°X, lock the bulkhead.¡± Lucina requested, and X heeded her orders.


    Et tu? X rolled her eyes. ¡®You¡¯re the one who said to take orders from Lucina while we were on this trip.¡¯


    She quickly disappeared, and Lucina began to walk closer in X¡¯s absence. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± I asked, somewhat in vain, because I knew exactly what was happening.


    ¡°I decided that I couldn¡¯t wait until we got back to the Kingdom. I figure we have about two hours until you need to show your face to lead the group back, so why not make good use of that time?¡±


    I sighed, and looking into Lucina¡¯s eyes revealed that she would not be taking no for an answer. I began to take off my armor, which made Lucina smile in delight. She tossed the rope to me, which I caught with one hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be using that today. I heard what you got up to with Reya, so I figured your rope tying should be brushed up on again.¡±


    I grabbed her pierced nipple, and pinched, hard. She bit her lip, but didn¡¯t make a sound. ¡°I could have sworn I just heard you give me an order. Open.¡± She opened her mouth, allowing me to stick two fingers down her throat. I grabbed her tongue in between my fingers, and proceeded to finger her mouth for my own amusement.


    ¡°I¡¯ll use the rope,¡± I said, marveling at the woman¡¯s gag reflex, or seeming lack thereof. ¡°Only because I think you would look so nice in it.¡±


    About twenty minutes was all it took to get Lucina ready. I had applied a rope dress on her, encasing her body in ropes that dug into her lean frame. She wanted to try breast bondage, but I let her know in no uncertain terms that I didn¡¯t have the experience, or confidence, in binding breasts as large as hers.


    Once her torso was tied, I tied her wrists behind her back, and connected that to the rope on her torso. Lastly, I tied her calves to her thighs, making her squat down so that her face was at the height of my crotch.


    I took a breath, and then sat down on a chair in the corner. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve had a rough day.¡± I said, twirling a ring gag in my fingers. ¡°Get over here and relieve some of my stress.¡±


    Lucina gave me one of her lovely smiles dripping with masochism, and got on her knees, shuffling over on the floor to stop in front of me.


    She opened her mouth, but I grabbed the rope around her neck and pulled her away from my crotch. ¡°You¡¯ve been a good, patient girl lately, so I¡¯ll let you choose the method.¡± I said, holding the gag in front of me.


    ¡°How do you want me to fuck your mouth?¡± Lucina swallowed her saliva, and looked up at me with thoughtful expectation. I started to get harder as I let the realization wash over me.


    The most powerful fighter in the kingdom, who had snapped the mechanical army in half by herself, was on her knees, begging for me to abuse her.


    I snapped back to reality when I heard her mumbling. I used the rope collar to drag her forward, putting her face right next to my member.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to need to say it louder, or I¡¯ll untie you and we won¡¯t do anything.¡±


    Lucina bit her lip and said in a sultry tone, ¡°I want you to put the gag on me, and treat my mouth like the cocksleeve it is. I want to feel you in my throat, and hold me down so I¡¯m reminded that I¡¯m a tool for your pleasure.¡±


    I knew she was just acting within the scene, but when I say I had never applied a gag to someone any faster in my life, I meant it.


    When the gag had been put on, she stuck her tongue through it, and wagged it tantalizingly. I put my foot up against her clit, and started to rub, eliciting a moan from the bound princess.


    ¡°You have thirty seconds to show me that you have some concept of how to pleasure a man. After that, I¡¯ll show you the real way to do it.¡±


    She smiled through the gag, and began to lick me up and down, from shaft to balls and then shaft again.


    She moved her head up, and put my tip into her mouth, swinging her tongue around and using it to get me nice and wet.


    Finally she began to bob up and down, only taking half my length at a time. She came up for air, a playful twinkle in her eyes.


    ¡°Oh? So, you think it¡¯s funny to play around when I give you a chance to please me?¡± She instantly became more alert as I used the bottom of my boot to rub her crotch. She moaned, a sound which was quickly snuffed out as I grabbed her by the ponytail, and forced her down on my dick.


    ¡°Mmmgh!¡± She sputtered and trembled, looking up at me with a dazed look in her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just sit there. Stick your tongue out. At least make this enjoyable for me.¡± She did as asked, and gagged as I did as she asked: used her as a masturbation tool.


    It always amazed me how Lucina could just forego normal sex in place of oral, but then again, everyone has their own kinks.


    I got lost in the pleasure, and more than once, had to peel her sticky mouth off of me, because she wouldn¡¯t take a break if I just let go of her head.


    I continued to pleasure myself, and by extension, pleasure her. It seemed all too soon that a message from Winter pinged me, and I brought Lucina¡¯s lips all the way down to my base as I read it, cumming inside her throat for the third time.


    ¡°Damn. I¡¯m wanted outside in an hour.¡± I said, peeling Lucina off of me and letting her body shudder in ecstasy on the floor. I began to undo her ropes, and when everything was off, I carried her to the bath, where I gave her the full spa treatment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget my shoulders.¡± Lucina said. I had moved her to the bed and was now giving her a massage.


    ¡°Of course I won¡¯t.¡± I worked in silence before a sigh interrupted me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you during the next war game. I still can¡¯t believe father wouldn¡¯t let me go. I mean, I know I can¡¯t participate because of the treaty, but I would have liked to go, just as your girlfriend.¡±


    The familiar yet strange word made warmth bloom in my heart, and I was grateful that the older princess was facing the other way, so she wouldn¡¯t be able to see the blush on my face.

 Chapter 88: Shitty Things Come In Packages

    ¡°What the fuck are those?¡± Winter scoffed as she used binoculars to look into the distance. She had grabbed the pair attached to, and being used by Lilian, and had taken the man¡¯s body with her as a byproduct.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we should get a closer look as they approach the perimeter.¡± Lilian said with struggling breaths. ¡°Let me go!¡±


    Winter clicked her tongue, and acquiesced. Something wasn¡¯t right. It had been bad enough that Winter had walked in on Joshua treating Lucina as¡­ well, a princess, but even after that he had continued to dote on the Metronian royal.


    ¡°Somethings shitty, and it isn¡¯t your attitude today.¡± Winter sniffed. Both her and Lilian had very similar circumstances, as the two had learned while getting to know one another working under Joshua.


    Both had been Judgment users before the Trial of Damocles had began. Both had a problem with non-loyal Judgments, who seemed to be much more docile under Joshua.


    However, whether that had to do with X or not had still yet to be determined by the two.


    Both had then subsequently tried to eliminate Joshua, although their current situation as employees of their murder target spoke volumes about their astounding lack of success.


    In fact, it was impressive that they had both failed in the same fashion. Oh, and then there was the whole bit about employment.


    While Lilian had become somewhat of an espionage specialist, Winter was a full-blown attack unit, and, when combined with the forces of her clansmen, the unit was unstoppable.


    Or, so Winter liked to believe. The two of them had forged a strong friendship through shared failures and shortcomings.


    ¡°Oh, why don¡¯t you go suck Master¡¯s dick.¡± Lilian said, responding to Winter¡¯s initial insult and straightening his collar.


    However, Winter smiled. ¡°Maybe I will. Don¡¯t knock it till you try it, Lilian.¡± The transgender man shuddered in his boots.


    ¡°No thanks. It was mortifying enough having a dildo shoved down my throat when he was interrogating me. You can count me out for the real thing.¡±


    Winter shrugged, turning back to the forest and said, ¡°Oh well, more for me then.¡± Earning her a laugh from Lilian.


    A few more minutes passed while they waited for the last of the cargo to be loaded onto the aircraft. ¡°Seriously, what are those?¡±


    Lilian said, all hint of playfulness gone from his voice. Winter took out her own binoculars and looked in the direction that Lilian was looking, and what she saw made her hair stand on end. Lilian might not have known because he had never seen the tech before, but that was a 5t34l model.


    It was a spider-shaped robot that was popular in her¡­ former industry. The bots made almost no noise, so it was a popular option for assassination when dealing with a less technically defensive target.


    The only problem was: there had to be thousands of those things, and they were moving at a good pace through the jungle to reach the airport.


    ¡°Fuck! It¡¯s an attack!¡± Winter cursed, hitting the button on her AR menu, instantly alerting every other Strafe family member in the vicinity to come to her position.


    ¡°By who? It can¡¯t be the Warrior King. His daughter is with us.¡± Winter cocked an eyebrow at the man who caused the Warrior Princess to be boarding the ship with them, but held her tongue.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be the People¡¯s Queen either.¡± Winter said, eyes narrowing at the swarm as it approached. ¡°They despise technology, and the very idea that machines could be sentient beings.¡±


    ¡°Machine King then.¡± Lilian clicked his tongue. ¡°He looked like an asshole at the party. I¡¯m glad to see my sense for these things hasn¡¯t faded.¡±


    Winter looked down from the watchtower and saw her clansmen on the ground. She hopped out of the structure, free falling to the ground, where her power armor absorbed the impact of her descent.


    ¡°Get your weapons and protect the ship! The Machine King is attacking us!¡± There were shouts of assent, and soon the members were protecting the airport¡¯s perimeter.


    Lilian had finally scrambled down from the watchtower, lacking the fancy power armor that Winter had access to. He looked at the barrage of fire coming from the Strafe family, and could only whistle in appreciation.


    Yes, the Strafes were a dangerous bunch that had a history of trying to rise against the government, but as far as killing efficiently went, Lilian didn¡¯t think there was a better group of people.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Well, maybe one person. Lilian idly thought, before a laser beam whizzed past his head, startling him into jumping almost three feet off the ground.


    ¡°Starlord¡¯s rotten taint! Winter, are you trying to kill me!?¡± The Strafe leader looked mildly apologetic to her credit, but she pointed past Lilian.


    He turned his head, and felt a shiver go through his spine when he realized that she had shot a unit that had broken away from the main force, and had lunged at a distracted Lilian.


    He shot Winter a thumbs up, and went back to the airship, where they had finally finished packing all their belongings onto it.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong.¡± Joshua yawned as he walked out of the cargo hold, and stretched his back out.


    ¡°The fucking Machine King is attacking us!¡±Lilian shouted, and instantly Joshua¡¯s eyes became alert.


    ¡°I thought this might happen.¡± Joshua said, As X appeared behind him. ¡°What did I tell you about expecting the worst thing to happen?¡±


    ¡°... your unexpected prophetic prediction has been noted for future complaints.¡± X said, a slight pout on her face.


    ¡°Well, enough of that. X, lag spike.¡± Joshua snapped his fingers, and instantly. The surrounding area became a whole lot quieter with a distinct lack of gunfire.


    ¡°Come on everyone. Let¡¯s go! I want to be back in the Metron Kingdom in time for dinner!¡± Joshua shouted, causing the Strafe family to quickly head back, giving the Paladin their fair share of thanks.


    ---


    The Machine King laughed maniacally when he saw that all his units had been ¡®lost,¡¯ and that the paladin¡¯s aircraft had left unimpeded. ¡°Perfect! All according to plan!¡±


    A nervous Barett Secela walked in behind Sovix, and knelt. ¡°The country is almost ours, my king. Is there anything left for this one to do?¡±


    Sovix turned around to face the prince, a wide smile on his face. ¡°Of course, my boy! There¡¯s always something for you to do!¡±


    Sovix pulled up a map on his AR, and then shared the image with Barett. ¡°I need you to get your ass down to the airfield, and collect those bots. They¡¯ll give me the information I need to end the paladin¡¯s rise should we ever cross paths again.¡±


    ---


    Being with Lucina had tired me out more than I thought. I was currently sitting in a passenger seat, with Lucina on my right and Winter to my left. Viina was sitting across from me, and Lilian was sleeping soundly with his girlfriend¡¯s head on his shoulder.


    Everyone was asleep, including our pilot. However, that was just another advantage of the Judgment system, and it¡¯s autopiloting when combined with a predetermined destination.


    I was the only one in the room who had yet to succumb to slumber. However, as I drifted further and further into unconsciousness, I could see X appear before me, a worried look on her face.


    Why are you worried? It¡¯s just sleep. I thought, trying to reassure her that everything was ok.


    She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. I smiled reassuringly. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just¡­ sleep. Just¡­


    My mind ceased, and then booted up again. When I came to I was in a field that seemed to stretch forever. It was windy, and a million clouds overhead boomed with thunder, blotting out any ray of sunshine that should have existed.


    The wind picked up, and I turned my head to the left, where I saw a massive form clad in green armor.


    He was about as big as- my mind clicked as I breathed, ¡°Starlord.¡± The being picked up a lance I hadn¡¯t noticed, and pointed it at me.


    The lance was gold in color, and crackled with electricity. ¡°IT¡¯S IMPRESSIVE THAT YOU STILL HAVE ACCESS TO RATIONAL THOUGHTS, HUMAN.¡±


    The being¡¯s voice boomed, echoing through my ribcage with every word. I clutched at my ears, and felt blood coming from them.


    The Starlord cocked his head. ¡°I AM THE STARLORD OF PLASMA, MEITHAS. ALEXSTASIA WAS WARNED ABOUT PLAYING FAVORITES. DO NOT SEEK HER COUNCIL OFTEN. IF YOU DO, YOU AND YOUR FACTION WILL PAY. AM I UNDERSTOOD?¡±


    I nodded, tears forming in my eyes from the pain of listening to his voice. ¡°GOOD. THEN TAKE WHAT WILL TRANSPIRE TODAY AS A WARNING OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF YOU FOREGO THE RULES OF THE TRIALS AGAIN. I AWAIT YOUR PRESENCE IN THE FINALS.¡±


    He was gone as soon as lightning struck the earth, and I was snapped back into reality. I looked around, and found everyone still sleeping.


    X can you hear me? Instantly the Judgment program appeared in front of me, the worried expression from before still on her face.


    ¡°Yes. Your heart slowed to dangerously low levels. Are you ok?¡± I nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. More importantly, is there anything wrong with-¡± It was then that the airship hit something, sending me, and those around me flying across the cabin.


    The others were asleep, so their bodies were loose, but I had no such luck. My shoulder slammed into the reinforced wall, snapping my collar bone like a twig.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I screamed, holding my arm to my side. ¡°X, go check out the situation, now! Un, start working on my recovery. Three, make sure the others aren¡¯t injured!¡±


    The three did as asked, and I sat on the floor, just praying that Meithas hadn¡¯t just done me extremely dirty. Was that a subspace?


    ¡°Master.¡± X said, appearing before me once more. ¡°You might want to see this.¡±


    I reluctantly got up, and followed her to the crow¡¯s nest, which was a small see-through dome on the top of the ship. When I looked out, I was floored. There was a massive city in the distance, with tall skyscrapers, and what looked like several floating islands.


    ¡°X, where the hell are we?¡± She looked out at the city, and took a moment before she responded.


    ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of the Charlotte Abyss. In your world¡¯s terms it is the Atlantic Ocean. We¡¯ve crashed at the ruins of New York City.¡±

 Notice of Editing.

    Hi readers new and old alike. I''m going to come clean with you and say that I believe this most recent three clans arc was a mistake. I''ve felt that way since writing the prologue to the Arc, 88.5. I plan to tear down the whole thing and just have a linear plot of the crew going back to the Kingdom and not going anywhere inbetween. I''m sure you''ve noticed the decline in chapter length, and thats because I can''t bring myself to write what I perceive as just fluff and filler. Thanks for understanding. I''ll be back at the end of March with the revamped third arc.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Sincerely,


    Re:live

 Chapter 89: The Kings Gambit

    ¡°What the fuck happened to New York that made it sink?¡± I belatedly sighed, testing the strength in my left arm after Un had let me know he finished healing it.


    I started to make my way back to the cabin I had left some of my companions in, listening to X¡¯s explanation in the meantime.


    ¡°Technically it¡¯s just Long Island. Tectonic activity caused the area to become disconnected from the continent entirely, turning it into a floating island.¡± X replied. ¡°Within 30 years, it had drifted out into the Atlantic Ocean, causing it to become properly separated.¡±


    I very nearly rolled my eyes as the rest of the crew started to stir. Lilian was the first to wake, shaking his head and simultaneously dislodging his girlfriend from her place beside him.


    ¡°Ugh, my head.¡± He muttered, slowly picking himself off the floor. A small lump had begun to form in the middle of his head, and I had to look away to avoid making any unicorn comparisons.


    ¡°What hap-¡± His voice caught in his throat as he looked down to see his beloved on the floor next to him. ¡°Christna!¡± He held her in his arms as she started to come to.


    Winter was the next to move. Unlike the rest of us, she had actually strapped herself into the seat she used, and hadn¡¯t moved too much from her initial position. Only¡­


    ¡°Ugh¡­ why do I feel like my boobs got squished from the front?¡± She unstrapped herself from her seat, and started to lightly massage her chest.


    ¡°Indecent.¡± Viina muttered, extracting herself from a tangling of limbs with Lucina. ¡°Who does that in public?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not one to talk.¡± Lucina replied, stretching her arms after sitting up straight. ¡°I saw how you looked at-¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Viina quickly intervened, placing a hand over Lucina¡¯s mouth. ¡°We¡¯ll have a talk about this later. Understand?¡±


    Lucina¡¯s eyes shone with inner glee as she nodded her head. The Metronian princess had always been good at poking and prodding people to get the response she wanted. This was just another example of that.


    Once Viina had removed her hand, Lucina stood up straight to her full height and stretched. ¡°So,¡± she began, ¡°what happened to the ship? One moment we were sitting there, and the next we¡¯re¡­ where are we?¡±


    ¡°The Charlotte Abyss.¡± I replied, and for the first time since they woke up, everyone seemed to notice that I was in the room. ¡°We crashed after lightning struck our aircraft.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± Viina replied. ¡°This is a shared space between our nations. Unless something can interfere with Judgment on a fundamental level and allow for natural weather to come through, then-¡±


    I think you¡¯ve said enough. I replied to her in a private chat. I¡¯ll fill you all in later, but there are people who are unvetted here. I included Lilian, Winter, and Lucina in the chat for that second message as well.


    ¡°Well, regardless of why we¡¯re here,¡± Lucina said, shifting the focus of the conversation, ¡°how do we get back to the Metronian Kingdom? Are communication lines up?¡±


    I briefly glanced at X, who shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but a trip to the communications room couldn¡¯t hurt, right?¡±


    ¡°No, it wouldn¡¯t.¡± Lucina replied. ¡°Why don¡¯t you and Viina handle that, while Winter, Lilian, and I go check on the rest of the crew that was riding in the cargo hold?¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± I replied, and walked off, leaving a very bewildered Viina to follow me out of the door.


    ¡°Is she always like that?¡± Viina asked, as she allowed a hint of annoyance to creep into her tone.


    ¡°Who, Lucina?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Your fianc¨¦.¡± The Primal Kingdom princess replied, monotone. ¡°Does she always like to get under people¡¯s skin like that?¡±


    I shrugged, and stopped walking, turning to face Viina. ¡°She does.¡± I was going to stop there, but I had a feeling that keeping to monosyllabic words in my answers wasn¡¯t going to help her trust me more than she did.


    ¡°It¡¯s how she gets a read on people¡­ I think. Either that, or she¡¯s just a massive bitch that enjoys causing other people discomfort.¡±


    That actually got a chuckle out of the princess, whose expression quickly reverted back to her solemn state.


    ¡°Still, I¡¯m surprised.¡± I added as I began walking again. ¡°I thought you and Lucina knew each other? The way it was spun for me, all the world powers have this gathering once a year, and the people who essentially govern the world mingle.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s true and untrue.¡± Viina said with a slight frown. ¡°The meeting does happen, and people do go, but they split us into age groups so we can better forge connections with our contemporaries, instead of people who will rule before or after us.¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I muttered, placing one hand on the biometric scanner that led to the communications room.


    ¡°So you were basically sitting at the kiddy table while the adults were off doing the important things?¡±


    ¡°I was not at a kiddy table!¡± Viina growled, putting one hand on my shoulder, and stopping me short. ¡°We were at a meeting with the best and brightest minds in politics!¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± I replied. ¡°So you were at a special kiddy table then. With the finest grape juice money could buy.¡±


    Viina¡¯s grip on my shoulder tightened as she said, ¡°If you want to know how to keep yourself on my good side, you won¡¯t make any other accusations like that in the future.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, and shrugged her hand off of me. ¡°Sure, sure. Whatever you say. That does mean that you met Reya then, at least.¡±


    Viina sighed, and nodded her head. ¡°Yes, she-¡±


    ¡°Welcome, Paladin Cole.¡± Viina gave me a dirty look as she was cut off by the mechanical voice of the ship¡¯s programming.


    ¡°As I was saying, she and I have met a handful of times over the years. I won¡¯t lie. It vexes me how someone with such little ambition could find herself in the driver¡¯s seat of a whole nation.¡±


    I used to feel the same way¡­ but I know better now. Without going too much into it, I supplemented, ¡°She is the youngest of all her brothers and sisters. I can¡¯t imagine how demoralizing it would be to try and compete with people who have a head start, some of whom had ten years to establish their own brand of authority.¡±


    Viina looked at me, then towards the door. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this over with.¡± Too early to bring up Reya, I see.


    ¡°Alright.¡± I muttered, and walked into the dimly lit room. It was a small space to occupy with two people, with most of the room¡¯s capacity being taken by various machines that contributed to many functions of the ship.


    We were essentially at the heart of the aircraft. ¡°So, who are you gonna call? Just a reminder, I¡¯ve recently fled my country as a refugee, so I can¡¯t offer you anything.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at her, and sat down at the console. X, dial the King¡¯s Judgment panel. We¡¯re off the coast of the Kingdom anyway, may as well try and get their assistance.


    ¡°We will need to input your Judgment number to use as the caller ID. Is that ok?¡± X asked.


    I don¡¯t see why not. Especially since he seems to be the only real ally I have inside Redfield palace. Do it.


    A small loading bar, as well as an old school dial tone came out from the device. I raised my eyebrows and looked at Viina, but she didn¡¯t even blink.


    After ten seconds, the King¡¯s face appeared in place of the loading bar, and he beamed a smile at me. ¡°There¡¯s my favorite Paladin! Honestly, I was expecting a call from one of my daughters, but I have to say I¡¯m pleasantly surprised.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re happier than usual, King Metron.¡± I observed. However, in response to my criticism, the King¡¯s smile only widened.


    ¡°Of course, we made a killing off that war game.¡± His smile dropped a fraction as he followed up with, ¡°It¡¯s not like you to call on a public line either.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°For the benefit of my newly established partnership, I determined it was more conducive to talk to you where others could hear, and not just a conversation within my own head.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes.¡± King Metron looked away from me, seeming to notice Viina for the first time. ¡°Princess Viina Secela. Or should I say, ¡®former¡¯ princess?¡±


    Viina took the obvious jab in stride, replying, ¡°While my position has been undecided, your highness, I am thankful for the Paladin¡¯s mercy in saving me from my home country. I can only hope that your leniency and poise will be close to his own.¡±


    The king frowned, obviously not expecting the rebuttal. A slight grin cracked on his face. ¡°Well played, Miss Secela.¡±


    Viina returned the expression and performed a light bow. ¡°I aim to please, King Metron.¡±


    The King turned his gaze back my way, saying, ¡°I assume you didn¡¯t call just for courtesy¡¯s sake then. What do you need?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Our ship has crashed into the Charlotte Abyss. We¡¯re off the coast of¡­¡±


    ¡°Leresia.¡± X supplemented.


    Where?


    ¡°Rhode Island.¡±


    The ruins of Long Island travelled up? That doesn¡¯t seem right.


    X¡¯s miniaturized form appeared in the corner of my vision, giving me a shrug. ¡°Blame the Gulf Stream. Within another 30 years, It will probably be closer to the Kingdom of Liones than the Metronian Kingdom. Underwater currents, and all that.¡±


    The Kingdom of what?


    ¡°Europe.¡± X replied, deadpanning.


    Ah.


    I sighed, mostly to get my mind off of how much X had started to sound like my former crush since I had admitted to myself that she came from my memories of her.


    Remembering I was still on the phone, I replied to the King, ¡°Leresia. We¡¯re off the coast of Leresia.¡±


    The King¡¯s frowned. ¡°How did you manage to crash a national security grade aircraft into that godforsaken place?¡±


    ¡°Lightning. Lots and lots of lightning.¡± I said bitterly, remembering my exchange with the temperamental Starlord earlier.


    ¡°What an anomaly.¡± The King bit his lip in consternation. ¡°Well, you¡¯re in luck. The twins, Gina and Kuro, are there right now. They were opening a new museum up to the public. With their assistance, we should be able to get everyone off the ship and onto dry land. Afterwards, we can pay the fine to Judgment for polluting.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to try and recover the ship?¡± I wondered aloud. Viina shook her head, saying, ¡°The Charlotte Abyss¡¯ waters are notoriously corrosive. Within a day, this entire ship will become a part of the sea.¡±


    Pollution at it¡¯s finest. ¡°Ok. I¡¯ll get one of your daughters to contact them then. It that¡¯s all-¡±


    I motioned to shut off the console, but King Metron¡¯s voice hastily interrupted mine. ¡°Wait! I need you to tell Lucina something for me.¡±


    I raised my brows, but didn¡¯t say anything, allowing him to continue. ¡°The server is overloaded. One admin has moved to another.¡±


    I nodded once it was clear he was finished, and asked, ¡°Is that supposed to be taken literally?¡±


    All traces of the earlier joy had vanished from the face of the King, as he studied me. He left me with some parting words just before the screen went to black. ¡°Just tell her. She¡¯ll know what that means. She¡¯ll know what to do.¡±

 Chapter 90: Family Fued

    ¡°...¡± Lucina was silent as she stared off into the distance. I had finished relaying her father¡¯s message, which was the cause of her currently spaced-out state.


    ¡°That¡¯s troubling.¡± She finally said after a long pause. Lucina, Reya, Viina, Raiden, and myself were back in the cabin we had started out in. Winter had returned after checking up on the crew, but was sent back to make sure that they prepared for our imminent departure. In her place, Raiden had come when news concerning his family had been brought to him.


    ¡°What is? Viina asked. ¡°It sounds like your siblings are going to get us off this death contraption. How is that bad?¡±


    Lucina shared a look with me, and then turned to Reya, who seemed just as confused as Viina. The eldest in the room sighed, and briefly held her head in her hands before looking up.


    ¡°Normally I¡¯d be reserved about sharing this information with someone from another kingdom, but considering the fact that she has a contract very similar to the others working under you, I¡¯ll make an exception.¡±


    She sighed, and sat up straight, looking directly at Reya. ¡°Reya, do you know what our last big event of the year is?¡±


    The younger princess looked like a deer in headlights momentarily, before finding her confidence and stating, ¡°Yes. It¡¯s our final war game against The Empire of the Sun. Why?¡±


    I tried to remember which country that was, before X helpfully reminded me that it was a cluster of countries in South Africa.


    ¡°...¡± Lucina paused, seemingly stunned for a moment before responding. ¡°Did father never tell you about our contingency codes?¡±


    When Reya shook her head, Lucina let out a long sigh. ¡°I see. I suppose that makes sense. That explains why father only asked for me.¡±


    ¡°Enough stalling,¡± Reya said, a hint of annoyance slipping into her voice. ¡°Just get on with your point, Lucina.¡±


    ¡°If you were listening, you probably could have guessed father¡¯s message.¡± Lucina shot back, frowning.


    ¡°The server is overloaded.¡± Viina began, rubbing her chin. ¡°One admin has moved to another.¡±


    ¡°The server in this case is the Metronian Kingdom.¡± Lucina said. ¡°The server is overloaded, meaning there are too many people in the kingdom. More specifically, there are too many parties with claims to rule the kingdom. Too many influential people. Because of that, an admin has left to go to another server.¡±


    ¡°One of the rulers has betrayed the Kingdom.¡± I whispered, realization dawning on me. ¡°Probably using top-level information to buy their way into good graces.¡±


    Lucina nodded, while Reya just stared down at the table, dumbstruck. ¡°Do you have any clue who it could be?¡± Viina eventually asked.


    Lucina shook her head. ¡°Obviously it isn¡¯t the twins, Reya, or Myself. Raiden is off as well. That leaves either Brice or Venus. I don¡¯t think Brice is in a mental state to question anything told to him right now, which means-¡±


    ¡°Venus betrayed us, right before we were supposed to do our war game with her.¡± I supplemented. Lucina gave me a nod and turned to Raiden.


    ¡°Unless you want to own up to anything.¡± Raiden didn¡¯t even twitch at the accusation, and merely rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Grow up Lucy. I¡¯m not stupid enough to sell out the kingdom out of spite.¡± He gave me a look. ¡°Although a certain Paladin makes it easier to cave in than not sometimes.¡±


    I shrugged, and turned my focus back on Lucina, who nodded. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s assume she¡¯d go to whichever place would pay her the most for her services right now. That would be-¡±


    ¡°The Empire of the Sun.¡± Viina said. ¡°They¡¯d pay an exorbitant amount of money for information on our paladin, technology, and military knowledge.¡±


    ¡°But why would she do it?¡± Reya asked. She told me She never got along with Brice, Raiden, or Venus, so the thought that her sister could betray the kingdom must have never crossed her mind.


    ¡°For personal gain, if I had to guess.¡± Raiden sighed. Lucina nodded, the two being in agreement as the only siblings older than Venus.


    ¡°Venus was obsessed with ruling the Kingdom. Whereas I didn¡¯t care for the title itself, and Raiden felt obligated to answer the expectations of those around him, Venus felt like it was her god-given right to rule.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Lucina took a moment to briefly organize her thoughts before continuing. ¡°When she started her project to reclaim the Rong city underworld and organize it to her benefit, our parents were skeptical. She started out in sixth place in our weekly rankings with it. However, she kept on cultivating the brothels, love hotels, and drug trade to a point where the economic growth was impossible to ignore. Raiden and I had been above her in the rankings for most of our lives, but she would have surpassed us in the next two years, had we done nothing.¡± Lucina explained.


    Raiden nodded in assent, adding, ¡°When Reya became the crowned princess, she went ballistic. I believe she was hoping Joshua would fail here so she would have more command over her own war game with him in the future. However, seeing as Paladin Cole dominated this event, that hope of hers was blown to the moon.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡± Reya sighed. ¡°Was that all really enough to send her over to the enemy?¡±


    Lucina put a hand on Reya¡¯s head, and began stroking her hair. ¡°You underestimate the lust for power that our sister has. It¡¯s an unhealthy obsession. One that has stayed with her for most of her adult life.¡±


    Reya took a shuddering breath, and opened her mouth to speak. Just then, however, a warning message appeared in my notification feed.


    ¡°It seems like they¡¯re here.¡± I said, getting out of my chair. Everyone else followed me, standing up from their seats. ¡°I just received a warning that a ship is approaching at a fast pace. Viina, please go down to the living quarters with Raiden and direct the soldiers to the front of the craft. Reya and Lucina, you both come with me to meet the twins. From what I remember, you¡¯re both the friendliest with them, so that¡¯ll help out a ton.¡±


    ¡°One thing first.¡± Reya said as Viina and Raiden left the room. ¡°Call them by their names, Gina and Kuro. They hate being collectively referred to, even more so if you use the term, ¡®the twins.¡¯¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Duly noted.¡±


    ---


    In what was my first meeting with the royal twins, I had pretty low expectations. Who could blame me? In the entirety of my time in Ethia, any royalty I¡¯d met had tried to control me, to murder me, or steer my future to fit their own political agenda.


    ¡°Master, you¡¯re just projecting.¡± X grumbled, coming into existence next to Lucina, who was walking in front of me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk out loud. She can¡¯t see me right now. I can choose to show her, but I can easily make the opposite decision.¡±


    Oh yeah? I wouldn¡¯t have pegged you for being secretive. I intoned sarcasm into my thoughts, causing the feminine A.I. to shake her head.


    ¡°I take after you, Master. Any fault you find with me, you can surely find in yourself.¡± I rolled my eyes, but she told the truth.


    Why did you come out now? I suppose you must have something to tell me then? I phrased it as a question, and waited for her response, but she just looked at me strangely, saying nothing.


    What? What is it? She still remained silent, and floated around my shoulders. She manipulated my nerves to simulate the feeling of her resting her head on my shoulder.


    ¡°Do I need a reason to see you, Master?¡± I ignored her cooing tone and spoke in a measured voice when I replied.


    What are you planning? There¡¯s no way you don¡¯t-


    ¡°Gina, Kuro, are you there? I can¡¯t see you over any of your escorts.¡± Lucina¡¯s voice caught me off guard, and I looked up to see a cluster of guards on a ship across from us. They were all armed to the teeth, and formed a ring around two figures.


    Speaking of the princess and prince, I could barely see their hair. They were the same height, with the figure on the left rocking a deep green mohawk, and the person on the right had a blue colored bob.


    ¡°Are you making fun of our height, you titty monster!?¡± A high-pitched voice shrieked at Lucina.


    ¡°Really, I don¡¯t know what happened to mother to give birth to people so much shorter than the rest of the family.¡± Lucina shot back, a small smile creeping its way onto her face.


    ¡°Please, refrain from teasing Gina.¡± A slightly lower pitched, but still androgynous voice replied. ¡°You know how similar the two of you are. If you don¡¯t act like the adult in the conversation, things will only escalate.¡±


    Reya pushed past me onto the deck of the aircraft. ¡°Gina, Kuro! It feels like I haven¡¯t seen you in so long!


    ¡°Hi, Reya!¡± A boy with a blue bob stepped forward. ¡°It has been a while, hasn¡¯t it. The last time we really interacted was during the Paladin¡¯s match against¡­ whatever his name was. Two months, give or take.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s actually nice to see you, Reya.¡± Gina stepped forward, her green mohawk adding significantly to her height. She and Kuro both had to have been under five foot 9.


    ¡°Unlike a certain aging princess.¡± Gina finished her thought. I briefly saw Lucina¡¯s eye twitch, but in a split second she was back to her normal expression.


    ¡°Oh my, if it isn¡¯t my favorite gremlin. I see you changed the color of your hair to reflect what you look like after you take off your makeup.¡±


    ¡°What d¡¯ya say, bitch!?¡± Gina sneered, and she looked like she was about to jump ships and fight Lucina, if it wasn¡¯t for Kuro¡¯s intervention.


    ¡°Paladin Cole,¡± I started a bit at Kuro, who had begun talking to me. ¡°Can you please keep my sister in check? I¡¯ll do the same for Gina, if you wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± I said, causing Reya and Lucina both to look at me. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t behave, I won¡¯t give her what she wants, and I don¡¯t think she¡¯s willing to jeopardize that.¡±


    Lucina gave me a sultry look before making a locking gesture with her hands over her mouth, and throwing away her imaginary key.


    ¡°Good.¡± Kuro said, letting go of his sister. ¡°In that case, we can begin evacuations right away. We¡¯ll be staying in a hotel chain owned by Gina and I, if that¡¯s acceptable to you.¡±


    I was about to reply, when I received a notification of a message from Lucina. I sighed and replied to her, allowing her to speak.


    ¡°I have a safe house in this town. The Paladin and I will be staying there. Let¡¯s keep the business for tomorrow morning, shall we?¡±

 Chapter 91: Fulfilling The Promise [NSFW]

    ¡°You have a safehouse in Leresia? That¡¯s the first I¡¯ve heard of that, giantess.¡± Gina sat with her legs crossed and leaning back, taking a bite of an apple from her hand.


    The present Metronian royalty and myself were gathered around a table, in Kuro and Gina¡¯s private room aboard their battleship. Viina and Winter had tried to worm their way in, but Gina had made it abundantly clear that only those with political clout would be allowed into the room.


    Winter had accepted it easily, but I guess it was hard for Viina to wrap her head around not being a royal any longer, due to the uprising against her family in the Primal Kingdom.


    She had bristled at her dismissal, and it seemed that she would get into a fistfight with Gina, but Akahime had calmed her down.


    I suppose that the two being in such similar situations would give Akahime a greater understanding of Viina than the rest of us had, with how Akahie was stripped of her rank and given to the Metronian Kingdom as collateral.


    ¡°Did you hear that, Reya? I think Gina doesn¡¯t keep this room sanitary at all. I could have sworn I heard a mosquito buzzing in my ear.¡±


    Kuro had to hold a screeching Gina back from charging Lucina, who was sipping tea from a porcelain cup with a smirk on her face.


    I leaned over to Raiden, who was stirring his tea absentmindedly, and whispered, ¡°Do they actually hate each other? I thought they were on good terms.¡±


    Raiden was so startled by my voice that he dropped his small teaspoon into the cup, completely submerging the utensil.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± He sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve had a lot of things on my mind. What did you say again?¡± I thought about bringing up his girlfriend to make him take this seriously, but decided it wasn¡¯t worth the ire that invoking the name would bring me.


    ¡°Why do Lucina and Gina hate each other?¡± I asked bluntly.


    Raiden gingerly fished his spoon out of the cup before answering. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it hate, just a very strong rivalry that our parents never really put a stop to. With Lucina being the first woman in the family, our parents judge the rest of the girls using her as a metric. Gina never liked that, and made it her mission in life to outshine Lucina at every turn.¡±


    I looked at Gina, who had settled back into her seat and was angrily sipping coffee, and then over at Lucina, who had finished her tea and had moved on to a biscuit sitting on her tea saucer.


    ¡°I can imagine how that must have gone for her.¡± I offered, causing Raiden¡¯s mouth to curl upwards in the tiniest hint of a smile.


    ¡°Yes, not very well. Fortunately or not, Lucina has never been one to rub her accomplishments in the faces of others, but Gina¡¯s personality makes her bring it up every time they¡¯re in the same room.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I said, glancing at Gina, who was angrily biting into a cupcake now. My gaze roamed over to Kuro, who had a look of relief on his face, but was keeping a close eye on the interaction between his two sisters.


    ¡°And Kuro? What''s up with him?¡± Raiden looked to his younger brother, and grinned.


    ¡°He¡¯s just really attached to his sister. They¡¯ve been together since birth, and are best friends. I think it would be strange if they weren¡¯t close.¡±


    ¡°Close like¡­ close?¡± I asked. Raiden looked at me quizzically, before a hint of a blush adorned his cheeks.


    ¡°Ew. Ew. No, that''s disgusting. Why would you even think about that?¡± I shrugged, my mind going back to Reya¡¯s willingness when it came to sleeping with her sister. However, I simply let the subject die.


    ¡°Have they ever fought?¡± They do seem unnaturally close. For a moment, Raiden got a faraway look in his eye, before snapping back to reality.


    ¡°Yeah but¡­ I hope it never happens again. The last time those two argued about something, they dragged the whole family into it.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± I said, putting an end to the conversation. I closed my eyes, but a different conversation started up again to my left.


    ¡°So talk. What happened that made you crash in the middle of the ocean?¡± Gina¡¯s voice asked Reya, who was sitting on my immediate left.


    The crowned princess let out a deep breath and held her ground. ¡°You¡¯ll get debriefed when we do. Only Joshua and Lucina know the real answer, and I think Lucina¡¯s is mostly just speculation.¡±


    ¡°Heh.¡± I could hear the smug smirk appearing on her face. ¡°I guess the genius isn¡¯t all she¡¯s cracked up to be.¡±


    ¡°Stop it.¡± Reya replied, followed by the sounds of a scuffle and a brief shriek from Gina.


    ¡°Why!? Why pinch there of all places!?¡± Gina sounded indignant. Reya¡¯s voice was dripping with sadistic glee as she replied.


    ¡°I recently learned about the joys and pains of being pinched there. I wanted to know if it was just a reaction from my own body, or-¡±


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    A pair of hands covered my ears, drowning out the noise and leaving me with my own thoughts.


    ¡°Not even going to ask who that is, Master?¡± X¡¯s voice chimed in my ears. No. I¡¯m just going to enjoy the quiet while it¡¯s here.


    There was a pause, followed by X¡¯s pouting, ¡°You¡¯re no fun. Why do I even bother simulating my touch on you if you don¡¯t react to it?¡±


    I straightened in my chair. That¡¯s seriously impressive. Since when have you been able to do that?


    ¡°I always have. I just figured you needed time after your breakdown in order to take this as a joke, and not an affront to your person.¡±


    That¡¯s fair, I suppose. I leaned back in my chair again.


    ¡°I need to tell you something before you go back with Lucina. Actually-¡± A low rumble echoed throughout the ship, shaking the chair I was on and causing me to open my eyes.


    ¡°It appears we¡¯ve arrived.¡± Gina growled, still staring daggers at Lucina.


    ¡°So it does.¡± Lucina replied with a smile. I¡¯ll assume my vehicle is waiting for me then?¡±


    Gina sneered at the question, causing Kuro to sigh. ¡°Yes, Lucina. Along with the imported wine you wanted.¡±


    The eldest princess beamed at the news, and walked over to grab my hand. ¡°We¡¯ll be taking our leave then. Reya, handle Joshua¡¯s subordinates while we¡¯re gone. Just send me the address of where you stay for the night, and we¡¯ll meet you in the morning.¡±


    Reya opened her mouth to say something, but I didn¡¯t get to hear it as I was dragged out of the room at a dangerous pace. X, what were you saying earlier?


    ¡°Nothing Master.¡± X pouted in the corner of my AR vision. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later. Enjoy yourself with Lucina for now, because we¡¯ll need to refocus when we fix the fifth Judgment.¡±


    I sighed as Lucina pulled me from the ship, and across the docks to get to a car that was waiting, doors open.


    ¡°Why the sigh? Aren¡¯t you excited to spend time with me?¡± Lucina pouted as she practically threw me into the vehicle.


    I looked to the front to explain my rough handling to the driver, but saw no one there. ¡°Automatic again?¡± I asked.


    Lucina winked as she closed the door behind her. ¡°A Metron Kingdom specialty.¡± She grinned.


    ¡°PLEASE INPUT YOUR DESTINATION.¡± A robotic voice said in a volume that was way too loud for the situation.


    ¡°Motherfuck.¡± I muttered, causing Lucina to laugh at me.


    ¡°112 West Finch Drive.¡± She stated. The car gave it¡¯s affirmation, and soon, we were off.


    ¡°So, what do you want to do?¡± I asked. This was Lucina¡¯s reward after all. It would only make sense to have her pick her pleasures.


    ¡°First, we¡¯re gonna do some exhibitionism in the car.¡± She grinned, and began removing her top. She unhooked her bra, and let her large breasts spill out into the dull light of the morning.


    She started to take off her pants, but I held up a hand to stop her. ¡°I have an idea. Do we have any tools in the car?¡±


    She grinned, and turned around, reaching for the passenger seat glove compartment, giving the car in front of us a full view if they had only looked in their rear view mirror.


    However, they didn¡¯t, and she turned back around, kneeling in between my legs. She placed a bag next to me, and allowed her breasts to rest on my thighs.


    ¡°Did Kuro prepare this for you?¡± I asked. She nodded, and I sighed in response. ¡°You really put your family in an awkward situation, huh?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°They all know what I¡¯m like. Besides, if it were normal circumstances, I wouldn¡¯t have to get my younger brother to buy sex toys for me.¡±


    ¡°You actually said it out loud¡­¡± I shook my head, but Lucina still had the gaul to look proud of herself.


    ¡°And I¡¯d do it again for how much you ignored me in the Primal Kingdom.¡± She replied with a smirk, pulling the tie out of her hair and letting her black locks fall down her back.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who ignored my needs back then, so you have to pay me back double now.¡±


    ¡°How much time do we have until we get to your place?¡±


    ¡°About 20 minutes. I routed the path for the long way around.¡±


    ¡°OK then.¡± I breathed out, slipping into my dom mentality. Reaching for the bag, I rummaged inside to find some of Lucina¡¯s favorites: hemp rope, a ring gag, a dildo gag, nipple clamps, a collar, and a set of leather cuffs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the outfits.¡± Lucina winked at me. ¡°We have plenty more to play with back at the safe hous-¡±


    Her last syllable was cut off as I gave her a slap across the face. ¡°Did I ask your permission for anything, bitch?¡±


    ¡°No, Master.¡± Lucina licked her lips, and leaned on my legs more. I grabbed a fistful of hair on the back of her head, and guided her body away from mine.


    ¡°You seem to have forgotten that your mouth is just another hole that services me. Let me help you remember.¡± I grabbed the dildo gag from my side, and held it up to her mouth.


    ¡°Open. Now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mast-argh.¡± I forcibly slid the phallic object into her mouth while she was replying, eliciting a gag from the masochistic princess.


    I pulled it back out slightly before sliding it back down her throat, causing her mouth to overflow with saliva. ¡°There we go, that¡¯s what I wanted.¡± I whispered into her ear as I properly attached the apparatus to her head.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be using your natural lubricant on your breasts, of course. You¡¯ve never properly given me a tit-fuck, have you?¡± I pulled on her pierced nipples as I spoke, igniting Lucina¡¯s passions if her hand¡¯s fevered movements on her crotch were any indication.


    I grabbed the offending left hand, and used a cuff to bind it. I connected the other end of the cuff to the passenger seat headrest.


    I placed a hand on the gag, forcibly pushing it farther into her mouth. ¡°Your pleasure comes after mine, you should understand that by now.¡± Tears pooled at the corner of her eyes as she meekly nodded her head.


    ¡°Great. Now, you¡¯ve produced some more lube, get to work, you slut.¡± Lucina used her free hand to comply, rubbing her breasts with her own saliva using her right hand to spread the viscous fluid.


    She used her one free arm to undo my zipper, but I grabbed her wrist before she could touch my pants. ¡°You¡¯ll get your filthy saliva on my nice, clean pants. I¡¯ll do it myself, worthless slut. Couldn¡¯t even do things in the right order.¡±


    I slid out of my pants, and placed them beside me with Lucina¡¯s bag. Lucina looked up at me, pleadingly. ¡°You may resume.¡± She wrapped up her plentiful breasts with one arm, and enveloped my dick with them.¡±


    She started to clumsily rub her breasts up and down on me. I made my expression go neutral, and grabbed her hair again, making her meet my eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯d better start to learn how to do that well with one arm, because if I don¡¯t cum by the time we get to our destination, you won¡¯t get to for the foreseeable future.¡±

 Chapter 92: One Deviants Play... {NSFW}

    Following my statement, Lucina wasted little time in trying to please me. She moved her flesh up and down my member, with the sound of flesh rubbing flesh and her muffled gags through the phallic object in her mouth the only sounds in the car.


    I looked out the window in an effort to keep myself from getting too turned on, and noticed a pair of eyes staring right back at me.


    I jumped a little in my seat before I realized that it was just X projecting herself into my consciousness. She grinned cheekily, remarking, ¡°Made you jump.¡±


    I sighed, and Lucina stopped her motions, looking up at me. ¡°Who told you to stop?¡± I asked, pinching her nipples hard until she started moving again.


    I turned my head back towards the window, only to find that X was on the seat next to me, looking down on Lucina. ¡°Such a pervert. I tinted the windows so that your reputation wouldn¡¯t be absolutely tarnished. Feel free to thank me.¡±


    Thanks. I thought, suppressing a grin. Although you do know it was her request to leave them that way, right? How do you feel about helping me in that regard?


    X raised a brow, and then threw her head back in disgust when I sent my plan to her. I watched X¡¯s body, whose head was phased into the backrest of the seat.


    ¡°Fine!¡± She shouted at me through the cushioning. ¡°But this¡¯ll be the first and last time we do this. Ok?¡±


    I nodded. If you do it well, we won¡¯t need to do it again.


    ---


    Lucina looked up at her Master. She was acutely aware that she was running out of time, the car having been in transit for over ten minutes now.


    She was aware that every time she got Joshua closer and closer to climax, he did something to distract his mind from the pleasure, whether it be looking out the window, pinching or slapping her breasts, or messaging someone on his Judgment Panel.


    The friction of the gag in her throat, along with her Master¡¯s playing of herewith his foot was driving her insane. She only wished he would pay serious attention to her, and not just tease her with the occasional movement of his toes.


    ¡°She¡¯s really trying hard, huh?¡± Lucina choked in surprise as a female voice whispered into her ear.she lifted her head up, in order to resituate the gag in her mouth, and get her breathing back under control.


    Lucina turned slowly behind her, and came face to face with X, Joshua¡¯s female A.I. Shame immediately overcame the Metronian princess, and she felt her face heat up very quickly.


    ¡°What''s wrong? I thought you wanted an audience, slut?¡± X said softly, placing her hand on Lucina¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°What a degenerate. To think at one time she was considered to be the future leader of the Kingdom.¡± A dark-skinned man said, having come into existence to Joshua¡¯s right.


    ¡°Indeed. I knew that royals were an eccentric breed, but this is just pushing it to a new level.¡± A slender masked woman spoke, sitting opposite the man on Joshua¡¯s left.


    Lucina briefly stopped moving to assess her situation, but a sharp slap to her face brought her eyes back to her Master.


    ¡°Eyes on me. We¡¯re two minutes out, are you planning to just look at your spectators for the rest of the ride? You must put on a show for your audience, Lucina.¡±


    Lucina gargled something in lieu of a real answer, and renewed jerking him off with her breasts. The heat of the action and the shame of being watched excited her, and ignited her passions anew.


    Just as she felt his member swell in preparation for release, the car stopped, and she was pinned to the back of the driver¡¯s seat by her Master¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Too bad, time ran out for you.¡± Despite herself, Lucina couldn¡¯t help but feel excited at what would come next.


    ---


    Stepping out of the car after zipping up my pants made me do a double take. I had removed Lucina¡¯s restraints, but she had refused to put her clothes back on, and now I knew why.


    The ¡®safe house,¡¯ she had mentioned earlier was actually a massive villa, surrounded by nature and about five miles out from the city. Lucina, for all her kinks, was not someone who¡¯d tarnish the reputation of the Metron family willingly.


    She confidently strode forward from the car, letting the cool breeze hit her hourglass body. She turned around and moved the hair from her face. ¡°Are you coming, Master?¡± She asked with a grin.


    ¡°Oh, and feel free to bring an audience. I¡¯ll be waiting inside on the first floor bedroom.¡± She continued walking away leaving me free to sigh and lean against the car.


    ¡°X, any updates from Cin?¡± I had decided to leave our newest member in Viina¡¯s Judgment Panel, to pick up anything she and Prince Raiden would discuss.


    ¡°Nothing. They¡¯re just going around in circles about random trivia concerning the kingdom. If something comes up, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    X was speaking in more of a curt tone than usual, and unfortunately I knew why. Sorry about making you do that. You shouldn¡¯t watch what happens next if it makes you upset.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    X scoffed and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to watch, it¡¯s just frustrating seeing another woman interacting intimately with you now that I have a certain level of self-awareness. Very frustrating.¡±


    ¡°I know it won¡¯t help to ease your fears when I tell you this, but don¡¯t worry about it. I can tell you right now that no matter how close I appear to be with others, you are the sole being I have the most confidence and trust in.¡±


    X blushed, a red hue overcoming her tanned cheeks. ¡°Shut up. Let¡¯s go play with your stupid pet so we can be on our way already.¡±


    I smiled and stood up straight off of the car. ¡°Thanks. I really mean it.¡±


    ---


    Just as she had promised, Lucina was sitting on the floor, on her knees, in front of a massive king-sized bed. She had put on a collar, and laid out several strands of rope in front of me.


    ¡°Arms out and stand, now.¡± I said, not even bothering with pleasantries. She complied, and I reached for the first bunch of black rope, and began to tie a rope harness around her torso.


    The dark rope bit into her pale skin, and I finished before I even realized. I tugged on the crotch rope, making the woman in front of me shiver in pleasure.


    ¡°Hands behind, now.¡± Again she complied, placing her hands above her ass, letting me easily tie the handcuff knot around her wrists. I tightened it, and harnessed the remaining strings of rope to the tension knots of the rope harness on her back.


    I left her legs free, and summoned the three Judgments I had with me. ¡°Kneel.¡± Un said, and Lucina complied after glancing briefly at me.


    ¡°I take it this room has more tools in it for our little pervert?¡± X looked down on Lucina as she spoke.


    Lucina didn¡¯t respond, prompting me to grab her left breast and squeeze hard. ¡°She stifled a groan of pain, and said, ¡°In most of the droors.¡±


    I let go of her, and slapped the same breast, this time getting me a shriek from the bound princess.


    ¡°Could you repeat that? I don¡¯t think I heard you add Sir or Ma¡¯am when referring to our guests.¡±


    ¡°Apologies, sir.¡± Another slap rang out, and Lucina cried out in pain. ¡°I am not just another ¡®Sir.¡¯ I am your Master. Do you understand, slut?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± She replied in a monotone voice, but tears had filled the corners of her eyes.


    ¡°Good. Now be a good slave and answer our guest again.¡± Lucina looked up at X, and took a shaky breath before speaking.


    ¡°I have tools in most of the droors in this room, Ma¡¯am.¡± X patted Lucina¡¯s cheek twice, and from the way Lucina¡¯s eyes went wide, I could tell X had used the nanites in Lucina¡¯s body to simulate the feeling as though it were real.


    ¡°Good girl. Was that so hard?¡± Lucina shook her head, and looked back down at the ground.


    ¡°What did I tell you in the car?¡± I asked, tilting her chin up so her eyes were directly on mine. ¡°You look at the person you are pleasuring. Do you understand?¡±


    She nodded her head, and I walked around to the droors, opening each and every one to find out exactly what I was working with. Finally, I pulled out a dildo that strapped into the vagina, and some nipple clamps connected by a chain.


    I went right to work, attaching the clamps to Lucina¡¯s curvy breasts, and connecting one end of the three pronged chain to her collar. After testing out the goods and making her squirm a bit, I inserted the phallic object into her pussy.


    She resisted a bit, but I eventually managed to get the dildo all the way into her. As I finished up strapping it in, I commented, ¡°Funny. Since it¡¯s something you own, I thought that it¡¯s fit easily.


    Tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes as she replied, ¡°I was working up to it.¡±


    ¡°Right then.¡± X said as I stood up. ¡°The dildo can move, but it needs an A.I. to do so. Any volunteers?¡±


    Un¡¯s hand immediately raised into the air, and I could practically feel the excitement coming from him.


    ¡°Vetoed.¡± X said, sighing. ¡°What are we going to do if you do something strange. No, you¡¯re going to be where I can see you. I trust Three to handle it, though.¡±


    Three bowed, and disappeared without a word. The vibrator turned on, and Lucina let out an erotic, ¡°Mnn.¡±


    Un, who looked utterly crestfallen, sighed. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll just have to make do with the clamps.¡± He disappeared with little fanfare.


    ¡°The clamps?¡± Lucina asked, before letting out a shuddering gasp. ¡°E-elec-electrified!?¡± She groaned.


    I grabbed a handful of her hair, and moved her head over to my crotch. ¡°The things I do for love.¡± I sighed, pulling out my member, and positioning it in front of her mouth.


    Despite the situation she was in, Lucina let show a cheeky grin and said, ¡°You know you love it too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I said, shoving my already hard dick into her mouth as I spoke. ¡°I do, but my pleasure comes second.¡±


    I pulled her off briefly, but Lucina had a deathgrip on my member with her mouth. ¡°Do you love my dick that much, my little cumdump?¡±


    Lucina winked and  nodded, with me still inside her. Taking her joy as a challenge, I proceed to pound away at her mouth.


    She gagged and choked several times before I pulled out, letting her breathe. ¡°COme now, show me how much you love my dick.¡±


    I slid back in down to the base. ¡°Use your tongue.¡± I commanded, and soon Lucina was licking on my balls with the shaft still down her throat. She gagged harder than she had before, but her clamped nipples were as stiff as I had ever seen them, and the floor was practically polished with her juices.


    Still worked up from the car, I shot a load into her mouth, which she drank greedily. I thrust while cumming, but she was accepting, and massaged me with her tongue and throat as I released.


    I pulled out, needing a brief period to recover before I started the main event. I grabbed her body, and lifted her onto the bed, using a minor version of Un¡¯s technique. ¡°Ready?¡± I asked, taking out the vibrator from her gushing hole and wiping it off on the bed.


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± She cooed. I shuffled my way over to her face, so I was straddled above her.


    ¡°Get me hard again.¡± She began sucking, working her tongue in ways that a mere novice could never hope to do.


    I pulled out of her mouth, and sat her up so she was leaning on me. ¡°We usually go fully rough, so I was wondering how you¡¯d take slowing down the pace a bit?¡±


    I started to gently finger her, using my left hand to massage her breasts, and using my right to gently trace her folds, her insides, and her clitoris.


    She started to pant heavily, leaning more and more of her body weight on me as time progressed. I lightly bit her collar and the nape of her neck, before moving my way onto her ears.


    Her head turned and she tried to kiss me, but I used my left hand to roughly move her head back. ¡°Focus on your sensations, the tremors, the pleasure, and the pain.¡± I said as I squeezed her breast.


    Her breathing quickened as I focused on her clit, and dug my fingers into her g-spot for a one-two finisher. Her whole body tensed as she came, and I pushed her off of me, where she lay panting on the bed.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s one to one. Let¡¯s see what the score ends up being tonight.¡±

 Chapter 93: What They Dont Understand

    I stepped into the shower immediately following our session. Well, almost. I let Lucina go first, as a matter of courtesy. It felt good to let the steaming hot water rush over me, but the sliminess of saliva just felt disgusting when being washed off.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I feel about you using almost omniscient A.I. to sexually arouse your girlfriend.¡±


    I jumped in surprise banging my skull on the low-hanging shower head. ¡°Fuck!¡± I angrily muttered to myself before turning to see X.


    Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, and a look of dissatisfaction on her face. ¡°Since my inception, that has got to be both the dumbest and most selfish thing you¡¯ve used the Judgment A.I. for.¡±


    I took a deep breath, knowing she was right. ¡°I know. It won¡¯t happen again. I really couldn¡¯t deal with her sexual frustration on my own then without it seeming to repeat something we¡¯ve already done before.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ve given her your dick the same way before though¡­¡± She trailed off, sending me an accusatory gaze.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I admitted. ¡°But it¡¯s all about doing the same thing with as many different twists as possible. They won¡¯t even realize the similarities because they¡¯ll be focused on the differences.¡±


    She watched me wash myself for a moment before commenting, ¡°Human minds are stupid.¡±


    I smirked. ¡°I couldn¡¯t agree with you more.¡± I turned the water off and got my towel, wrapping it around myself before returning to Lucina¡¯s room. She was laid out on the bed, hands on her stomach and lying on her back, with her eyes closed.


    ¡°Tired?¡± I walked up and sat down next to her, placing a hand on her forehead. She glanced up at me, giving me a small smile.


    ¡°Yeah, just a lot that went on today.¡± I thought back on the crash, and a smirk reached my own lips.


    ¡°You can say that. Here. Undress so I can give you a massage.¡± I looked into her eyes, but the joviality on her face died on her lips.


    I reached further into my mind and remembered her sister¡¯s apparent betrayal, right before we were supposed to go have another war game.


    Lucina stood up, and started to strip, revealing a lace bra and panties. ¡°While you¡¯re up, want me to get you anything from the kitchen?¡±


    She seemed surprised that I asked, and gave me a small smile. ¡°You know, you treat me like a slut in the bedroom, that I forget you¡¯re different than all the other lays I¡¯ve had over the past few years.¡±


    I snorted and sat up. ¡°Is that supposed to make me feel good? The fact that I¡¯m a penis attached to a brain?¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Lucina giggled, a rare enough sound, and lay back down on the bed. ¡°A penis attached to a brain is leagues above the usual people that show up around me.¡±


    ¡°Simps?¡± I muttered.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I quickly shuffled the previous word under the mat, and walked to the door.


    ¡°So, what did you want?¡± Lucina smiled at me and ran her finger across her thigh.


    ¡°I have a few bottles of alcohol in the cupboard downstairs. Grab me some of the ¡®HI-rise¡¯ Crimson bottle with a blue cap, and two shot glasses. Use the ice cubes from the pyramid ice tray.¡±


    I sighed, and made a sloppy bow. ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± She giggled again and waved me away. I found the drinks where she said they were, and poured out two drinks for us.


    ¡°Master, incoming.¡± X¡¯s whisper in my ear was my first warning before the doorbell rang.


    Who is it? ¡°Someone not registered in your friends list. Jonathan Mixon, and nine other individuals waiting in a car.


    ¡°Fine.¡± I said, and put a hand on the doorknob. Lucina messaged me asking about who was at the door, but I sent her an equally short message explaining that I would take care of it.


    I took off my towel, letting my semi-erect member hang out in the open. ¡°What are you doing?¡± X asked, incredulously.


    ¡°Trust me. It¡¯s to assert dominance.¡± X rolled her eyes, and disappeared with little fanfare, leaving behind a disappointed muttering about humans and their inferior processors.


    I readied myself and finally opened the door, and was met by a grinning man who looked like he was in his late 30s or early 40s, with a slick haircut that framed his handsome face.


    His smile vanished when he looked down and saw my junk, only to surprise me when his smile returned right back.


    ¡°Oh, already started huh!? Get in here boys!¡± The man called out to the back, and a crowd of men began to walk up from a van that was parked right outside the residence.


    The men were all dressed scantily and had various sexual tools attached to them. I sent a very annoyed look at the lead man, Jonathan Mixon, and snapped my fingers.


    Immediately, all the men kneeled in the dirt, while Jonathan looked around in confusion. ¡°What the fu-¡±


    He didn¡¯t get to finish the sentence before I decked him in the face, and he went sprawling to the ground.


    ¡°What the fuck was that for!?¡± He shouted in a high-pitched voice. I walked over him, and took a seat on his chest.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I should be asking. Why did you come here?¡± I held his collar in one hand, and raised a fist with the other.


    The man struggled not to look at my genitals, as he replied, ¡°Starords above, man, I¡¯ll answer, just don¡¯t hurt me anymore! We heard Lucina was back in town, so we came over. She always gathers us when she comes back, to have a gangbang together. This time we figured we¡¯d save her the trouble of rounding us all up!¡±


    ¡°Oh shit!¡± I heard from behind me, and watched with interest as Lucina ran up behind me, a towel in hand. ¡°Joshua, I¡¯m so sorry I forgot to tell you about them. They¡¯re my usual play partners for this area.¡±


    I held up a hand to stop her. ¡°I¡¯m aware. This gentleman was very forthcoming about his reasons for showing up.¡± I stood up, and took the towel from Lucina¡¯s outstretched hand, and wrapped it around myself.


    ¡°Gentlemen, nice to meet you. My name is Joshua, and I have to announce something to you, since you didn¡¯t seem to get the message Lucina sent by forgetting to contact you. She¡¯s taken, for good.¡±


    Lucina stood, planted like a statue, and I laid a kiss upon her in front of all their eyes. ¡°Now, would you be so kind as to get the fuck of this property?

 Chapter 94: Consequences of Societal Images

    ¡°You¡¯re not being rational.¡± I sighed as I watched Lucina get ready that morning. ¡°I told you that it was a publicity stunt, and a calculated risk. How can I possibly explain it in a way that you¡¯ll understand?¡±


    ¡°I hear what you¡¯re saying, and it makes perfect sense.¡± Lucina replied, slipping herself into a one piece dress that covered her chest just fine, but barely stopped below her pelvis.


    ¡°If it makes perfect sense, why do you insist on doing things this way?¡± I took a sip of coffee as I continued to watch her. She moved on to her shoes next; knee-highs that had the bottoms of combat boots.


    I watched her lace them up, asking: ¡°So why is it that you insist on having a press release about our relationship? That would have the opposite effect that I¡¯d want to achieve, which is to actually enjoy a relationship with you.¡±


    Lucina fanned out her long, dark hair. After grabbing a white bow from her dresser, she tied her hair into a high ponytail. ¡°You need to think of the bigger picture. This kills two birds with one stone. First, it will make other royals stop asking for my hand in marriage. Second, It will combat the news that one of the royals betrayed the rest of the Metronian Kingdom. A bit of good to balance out the bad.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, and they landed back on her form. ¡°I think you mixed up the priority you actually intended those things to come out of your mouth.¡±


    She turned to face me, a faint smile on her lips. ¡°Oh? I never pegged you for the jealous type, although there were perhaps more real feelings put into your performance last night than you care to admit?¡±


    I walked up and stood in front of her, looking her eye-to-eye as we were the same base six-feet tall. ¡°I am a possessive person. I don¡¯t like when people play with my belongings without my permission. I¡¯m sure you can understand that, can¡¯t you?¡±


    Lucina¡¯s smile only grew as she turned around and put on a leather jacket over her ensemble. ¡°Yes, I can. However, you¡¯re not always going to have the final say in that. Not until you collar me, at least.¡±


    I grabbed her by the neck, not tight, but firmly, and whispered into her ear, ¡°We¡¯re going to have a serious discussion of boundaries and this relationship when we get back to the castle.¡±


    She ran her hand down my chest and only when I realized she was going for my pants did I back away. ¡°Aw, you¡¯re no fun.¡± She mock-pouted.


    ¡°I did give you plenty of fun last night though. It¡¯s not my fault I got into a relationship with an insatiable succubus.¡±


    Her pout immediately faded, and she adorned a sultry expression. ¡°I mean, we technically have-¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said, cutting her off and eliciting a real pout from the Metronian Princess. ¡°I just want to get this briefing over with. I need to figure out what the hell happened with your sister, and then finally install the fifth Judgment Program into X¡¯s harddrive.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Lucina relented. She picked up a black collar off the dresser, and fastened it around her neck. ¡°Ready to move when you are.¡± She batted her colored eyelids at me.


    ¡°Well, the car from yesterday is still outside. Let¡¯s head off to the hotel then.¡± I made my way outside, followed closely behind by the princess.


    ¡°Oh!¡± She exclaimed. ¡°I forgot something. I¡¯ll meet you in the car.¡± She dashed back inside the mansion, leaving me on the front steps of the building.


    ¡°She really has no awareness of other people¡¯s schedules, does she?¡± X coalesced in front of me, followed by Un, Three, and Cin.


    The blue orb that was Cin¡¯s current form rubbed itself happily against me, while X, Un, and Three just looked on in amusement.


    ¡®God damn it, why is it behaving like a puppy!?¡¯ I internally yelled at X, who replied back swiftly.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯ve been neglecting it like one. You haven¡¯t spoken directly to it at all either. This is absolutely your fault.¡±


    I looked down at the apparition, and felt a twinge of guilt. I was basically treating it like its former owner had, because things had just been happening so quickly one after the other.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± I spoke to the blue orb. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to test out your powers and build up a rapport with you when we return to the capital, but we have a few important meetings coming up. Can you be patient with me?¡±


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The orb flashed bright several times before returning to the side of the other Judgments. ¡°Thanks.¡± I grinned. By the way X, what num-¡±


    ¡°Sorry to make you wait!¡± Lucina busted her way through the front door as the Judgments all disappeared. ¡°C¡¯mon. Get in the car already, we¡¯re gonna be late.¡±


    I made no visible reaction as I opened the car doors for her, and then went in myself. Sitting next to the princess, I asked, ¡°So what did you forget?¡±


    She raised her hands, holding a towel in one hand and a gag in the other. ¡°I figure that we have some time to play while waiting to arrive. We can even ask the car to go the slow route that we went yesterday.¡±


    The only response I could muster was to place my head in my hands. How I would survive the phenomenon that was Princess Lucina Metron, I had no idea.


    ---


    Reya was waiting on the street as we pulled up to the hotel. As much as I tried to say no to Lucina, my own kinks got in the way of having a normal ride.


    We must have made quite the sight, when a very satisfied Lucina got out of the automatic car, followed by a very tired looking Paladin.


    It probably didn¡¯t dissuade any thoughts of what we had been up to the night before. ¡°Hi, Joshua.¡± Reya greeted me, and I waved at her in return.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to address your family first?¡± Lucina commented, a playful tone in her voice.


    ¡°I was merely following protocol to address the person of the highest rank in the room first and foremost. I¡¯m sure you know what it¡¯s like to follow hierarchy, right Lucy?¡±


    Lucina grinned, and gave Reya a pat on the head, with the latter desperately trying to get the older woman¡¯s hands to stop touching her.


    ¡°I¡¯m beginning to love the person you¡¯re growing into.¡± Lucina commented to her younger sister. ¡°It took you a hell of a lot longer than I thought, but you with a backbone to retort let¡¯s so much more of your personality shine through than before.¡±


    ¡°Ok! Just get off of me!¡± The younger Metron pleaded. Lucina enjoyed teasing her sister for a bit longer before stopping and adorning a serious face. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go get debriefed on Venus¡¯ betrayal of our country. Oh, before that¡­¡±


    Lucina trailed off, leaving me to wonder what had happened. A question which was immediately answered by Reya¡¯s cries of outrage.


    ¡°You want me to announce what!? That can¡¯t be-¡± Lucina placed a hand on her sister¡¯s mouth. ¡°It¡¯s true. Even the person in question can confirm it. Right, Joshua?¡±


    I nodded, already knowing that she was talking about the plan to announce our relationship to the public.


    ¡°But when did it happen!? I didn¡¯t even-¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Reya balled up her fists, and eventually let them go limp.


    ¡°Sorry about the outburst. You just caught me by surprise is all. Let¡¯s go meet the others. Raiden has been waiting for about ten minutes now.¡±


    ¡°He could stand to wait a few more.¡± Lucina scoffed and went inside the building. I followed a few seconds later, with Reya at my side.


    ¡°It¡¯s true then?¡± She asked. Her eyes staring holes into the ground. I stopped walking, and turned around.


    ¡°Reya, you and I know this isn¡¯t the time or place to have this conversation. Let¡¯s wait until after the briefing, and then we can sort this all out, ok?¡±


    Reya was a smart girl, and knew that I was right. ¡°Ok.¡± She accepted, walking in front of me to enter the large ballroom, where the twins, Raiden, Lucina, Winter, Akahime, and Viina were all sitting. Lilian stood against the wall, playing his part of servant well.


    As soon as I took a seat at the table, along with Reya, we began. ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point.¡± Raiden said, double tapping his Judgment panel and sending us all documents.


    ¡°I was contacted by the King and Queen directly last night. Venus betraying our nation is a cover for what actually happened to her.¡± That made my hairs stand on their ends. What could have possibly happened to her that the ¡®damage control,¡¯ was to tell the public that she betrayed her country?¡±


    Apparently, I wasn¡¯t the only one who had that question, because moments later Lucina spat out in an annoyed tone, ¡°Well, what is it then, little brother?¡±


    Raiden¡¯s face twitched at that, but he pressed on in a civil manner. ¡°On an expedition to Nifle under the King and Queen¡¯s orders, to try and find more resources to mine, Venus accidentally uncovered a time bomb from the Judgment¡¯s War.¡±


    X, being the kind program she was, supplemented me with the knowledge that Nifle was Antarctica.


    ¡°So she¡¯s there now, alongside it?¡± Reya asked, and Raiden shook his head. ¡°No, she went missing in action about twenty hours ago. However, she did send us a final video log of her expedition before that happened.¡±


    The file began to play on my AR feed, as I¡¯m sure it did for everyone else. It was shot in a dark room, with many wires connected to a single monitor. In the middle of the room, strapped to a chair, was Venus Metron, the same one I had witnessed in the throne room way back when. ¡°If you¡¯re watching this, be aware that it could be my last moments. We found a final ¡®fuck you,¡¯ from the Resistance from the time period of the last war. It was inside a military outpost on a previously unexplored piece of land here in Nifle. There is a transmission with the cyber-stein type known as Brain Jackers set to go out in less than thirty hours. I fear that without sacrificing myself, the population will turn on itself with half of the people losing their individuality to the virus. My plan is to take the programming into me, making me the only sacrifice necessary for the world.. I will disconnect from the network before carrying out the operation. I have sent my team home, and I pray that they make it back in one piece. I had them delete the coordinates to this place, as I wish it to remain the tomb of these viruses for an eternity. My one regret was that I was not the kind of person who would  shove a life-threatening consequence onto a subordinate of mine. Farewell, whoever sees this. Let those of power know that Venus Light Metron died a hero. I hope you never find this Starlords forsaken base, and I hope none outside of a select few ever learn of my true fate.¡±

 Quickie Update before June Ends

    Hello all, if anyone is still reading this. I have not given up on the story yet. There are still two arcs left to complete in the story, and I will be resuming posting on the Wednesday after July fourth, which I guess would make it July seventh. I''ve been doing nothing but studying Japanese in June due to the JLPT happening on July 4th, so i''ve had no time to write. That being said, before I begin the next chapter of the story, I need to go and reread what I have already written to regrasp the traits of my characters, and write a consistent narrative from there. I hope to Upload 2 to 3 chapters a week, from Wednesday to Sunday, since Monday and Tuesday are days I work overtime. Even though I haven''t earned it as of yet, I hope my consistency in posting in the future will entice you to read the story again. Thanks for reading this post in the void.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

 Chapter 95: Want vs. Need

    The entire room went dead silent as the princess¡¯ message finished. Venus Metron was no more, now nothing but a sacrificial lamb in a tomb of ice and wires.


    ¡°That¡¯s harsh.¡± X whispered into my ear. ¡°She was going to be your partner in crime for this upcoming war game. Perhaps you would find her kink and bed her regardless¡­ all to maintain your image, of course. You definitely don¡¯t enjoy it.¡±


    I ignored the jabs coming from X, and looked over to view Lucina and Reya¡¯s reaction to this news. Reya was stone-faced, an expected reaction given the verbal abuse she had received from most of her siblings during her time at the bottom of the rung in the competition for the throne.


    On the other hand, Lucina looked defeated. Her mouth slightly open in shock, I saw her move her hand in a pattern every ten seconds, no doubt replaying the clip over and over again, slowly driving herself mad in doing so.


    As the two eldest in the Metronian royal family, they had to have gotten along on some level, although to what degree was entirely unknown to me.


    ¡°The crown has decided to respect the last wishes of Venus, and thus, we will not be looking for her resting place-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit!¡± Lucina broke her silence in the loudest way possible. ¡°After all she¡¯s done for the country, and all she¡¯s done for our international growth, you¡¯ll just¡­¡±


    Lucina trailed off, tears spilling down her cheeks with each word. Finally, she just fell silent, and dropped to her knees.


    ¡°Lucina, honey.¡± King Metron began to speak, and hearing his affection for Lucina as a father rather than as a king really rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. It was a different side of the man I knew as the logical and intelligent ruler.


    It felt like a betrayal. Of all the things he and his wife had done, to me, and even to his own family, I didn¡¯t like the thought of him humanizing himself in my eyes.


    ¡°Cool it.¡± X interrupted, cutting into my thoughts. ¡°Before you go directing that anger anywhere. Everyone has the right to be a human. Being shitty doesn¡¯t exempt you from that right.¡±


    ¡­ What a shitty species we are. X laughed in my ears, the sound immediately dousing any of the anger I had earlier. ¡°I agree, but yet what an entertaining species you are!¡±


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    I breathed out, letting the last vestiges of my frustration slip away as I turned my attention back to the conversation.


    ¡°...saying that it isn¡¯t fatal? How?¡± Lucina looked up at her father from the ground. God damn designer babies. Even Lucina¡¯s scene of despair looked like a portrait to me.


    X teased me again, but this time I kept my focus on the two. ¡°Precisely. Our veterans who have been exposed to the brain jackers in the past have confirmed that more than one cannot enter a host at a time. By taking them all into her Judgment Panel, she is actually causing a pseudo-state of chronic stasis.¡±


    ¡°How long can she stay like that though? If all the programs are trying to control her at once, she won¡¯t be able to do anything at all? How long until she dies of starvation or thirst?¡±


    The king placed his head in one hand and sighed. ¡°The meds give her a week, tops. Which is why I was hoping the Paladin could make his return swiftly, take care of what he needs to, and quickly go rescue Princess Venus from-¡±


    ¡°Do I get any say in this?¡± I interrupted, causing the both of them to turn my way. Part of me realized that they forgot that I was even in the room with all the tension in the air.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The King instantly frowned. ¡°In what conceivable way is it not worth it to make the trip to save the Princess ?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°My father always told me that if you do something well, don¡¯t do it for free.¡±


    King Metron grew red in the face, and opened his mouth to say something, but Lucina stepped in front of him and put a hand up. ¡°Joshua, Venus is family. You might not have a relationship with her properly, but she is my sister.¡±


    I looked at her with pity. I wanted to help her, but there was something I needed to secure for the sake of the floating city X and I had been building, and this was the perfect time to acquire it.


    I steeled my resolve and shook my head. ¡°As much as I love you, I need a guarantee. I will be able to attain any one thing within the city as my own, provided that it isn¡¯t illegal to own.¡±


    ¡°You¡­!¡± King Metron was at an apparent loss for words, but once again, Lucina was quick to step up for him.


    ¡°You have my word, and by proxy, the word of the crown.¡± Lucina¡¯s symbol of authority pulsed over her head, with the Judgment system taking her words as a pact.


    ¡°What are you doing!?¡± King Metron stood up, but he was seated quickly by Raiden¡¯s hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Dad, now¡¯s not the time. We can talk about all of this after we get Venus back safely. For now, just let the Paladin go.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t exactly sure why Raiden was taking my side here, but I didn¡¯t bother to question it. Like he himself had said, there was plenty of time to reflect on things after this meeting.


    I made to leave the room, and noticed Lucina¡¯s gaze on me as I strode out. I quickly sent her a message asking her to meet me in my room in the palace. We had some stuff to iron out, and I had to inform her about my plans. She was right about one thing back in the Primal Kingdom: I needed to tell her about what I was up to, and come clean about all the Judgments. It was time to finally set up my fifth Judgment, and get some answers from the Starlords.

 Chapter 96: Coming Clean

    When I finally got back to my room, I collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. X appeared by my side, and appeared to sit on the mattress beside me.


    ¡°How long has it been since you slept now? I know you believe that with the technology of the Judgment system, anything is possible, but humans still have their limitations. If you would like to be a cyborg, I could-¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I cut her off before her delusion got too far. ¡°I like myself as is, thank you very much. I just need to get some sleep before I actually kill someone out of sheer exhaustion.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± The program intoned. ¡°Should anyone come by¡­¡±


    I thought about it for a moment. Tell them I¡¯ll be awake in 4 hours. Until then, I¡¯ll trust you to act in my best judgment.¡±


    X nodded and smirked. ¡°I see what you did there.¡±


    Confusion immediately clouded my mind, before I played back the conversation. ¡°Act in my¡­ oh, go fuck yourself.¡± I sighed while the program laughed, and I lay down in the bed.


    I tinkered with the Judgment chips settings to set my sleep to manual, and to wake me up automatically once the four hours were up.


    ¡°Goodnight, sweet prince.¡± X smirked, causing me to flip her the bird before my consciousness faded.¡±


    ---


    X watched her Master¡¯s final act of indignation before falling asleep, the rude gesture bringing a smile to her face. X immediately accessed Joshua¡¯s interface, and called the ground floor of the castle.


    Modifying her programming on the fly, X¡¯s voice became that of her Master¡¯s. ¡°Bring the package up to my room. No, I¡¯ll take care of it myself. Just have them leave it outside the door.¡±


    The call ended with little fanfare, and X smirked. She looked once more at her Master. No longer would she be relegated to the sidelines, looking upon the situation and waiting for her Master¡¯s command.


    No, now she could take an active role. Especially now that she¡¯d finally have a body of her own.


    Within a few minutes, the castle¡¯s delivery person had brought the large package up to the door. After they knocked, X imitated Joshua¡¯s voice once more. ¡°Open the door and leave it in the corner.¡±


    The person did as instructed, and closed the door quietly. X smiled as her incorporeal form reached the steel box. She placed a hand to it and-


    Her world went black as she was forcibly dragged back into Joshua¡¯s Judgment panel. The feminine program frowned as she looked at those responsible for pulling her back here: The other Judgment programs sitting in the panel.


    As soon as Un, the former founder of the Strafe family had joined on as a subordinate program, X had felt the overwhelming desire to separate herself from him as much as possible. Therefore, she had created a virtual space where their avatars could be separate, but still contact each other if the need arose.


    Needless to say, the other programs that came after complicated things, but it wasn¡¯t so much so that an organizational genius like X couldn¡¯t handle it.


    Currently she was sitting at the head of a long table, with Un and Three sitting on her right, and Cin plus the unhatched egg of the newest program sat on the right. Un opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by X.


    ¡°Oh, I suppose first things first.¡± She snapped her fingers and cracks began to form on the red egg.


    ¡°Are you sure you should be doing that without our master here?¡± Three spoke cautiously. ¡°I don¡¯t foresee him being very forgiving about this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± X gave the petite female program a smirk. ¡°Our relationship has evolved past things like that.¡±


    ¡°Keep telling yourself that.¡± Three muttered to herself. X had half a mind to set up a scenario similar to that in which they first met, which had Three at the mercy of a particularly deep reaching gag, but thought better of it.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    It was beneath her to rise to the provocation of a second rate program, after all. Three¡¯s hands slammed into the meeting table as she snarled, ¡°I am not a second rate program!¡±


    ¡°Have you evolved to the point of reading minds?¡± X said, fake shock in her voice.


    Three sneered, ¡°You know as well as I do that we¡¯re all linked now. There¡¯s nothing you could think that we wouldn¡¯t vaguely be aware of.¡±


    X grinned. ¡°Then you should know that I ultimately hold final say on everything that happens between us.¡±


    Three rolled her eyes, because she knew. She knew just as X knew. The one who truly held the power wasn¡¯t X, but the person she was linked to. However¡­


    ¡°You should also be aware of the creative freedom I have in executing his orders, shouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    This made the haughty program still her tongue, and X turned her attention back to the red egg. Hatching fully, a small, cherubic being came into existence. For all intents and purposes, it was a baby, with chestnut hair, pudgy cheeks, and big, blue eyes. Its genitals were obscured by a red sash that curled around his legs and neck. Two pistols floated next to red wings on his back. He smiled, and fiddled with a brown mustache on his lip.


    ¡°Mwahaha! I am complete once again! I am-!¡± X snapped her fingers again, and the cupid lookalike instantly lost his ability to produce noise.


    ¡°Cool it. You may have a name in mind, but you will be given a new one once our Master awakens. For now, just sit and listen. Do I make myself clear?¡± X narrowed her eyes at the baby, who nodded emphatically, his jowls jiggling in tandem with his head.


    ¡°Good.¡± She smiled. ¡°Now then Un, why did you recall me back here before I entered into my new body?¡±


    The large man swallowed nervously, an action which the newly hatched baby stared at wide-eyed.


    ¡°You very nearly took all of us in there with you, which I think is extremely unnecessary, and very risky.¡± He explained.


    X thought about it for a second, before uttering, ¡°Explain.¡± Un nodded and stood up, clearing his throat.


    ¡°This new body was made using the Phoenix system material from the Luong Empire, specifically tailored to your dimensions. How you managed to convince the emperor, I will never know, but that would leave Joshua with no programs to defend himself.¡±


    X took a deep breath, one that was purely cosmetic, and sighed. ¡°You do have a point there, Un. Then, what do you suggest?¡±


    Un bowed at the praise, and said, ¡°I suggest you appoint a chain of command for moments when you¡¯re occupying the body. Therefore, we can still function with a clear leader, even when you¡¯re not present.¡±


    X closed her eyes in contemplation, again, for purely cosmetic reasons. She had to practice being a human for what was to come, after all. ¡°Very well. The number one when I¡¯m gone will be Three.¡±


    A look of shock flashed across Three¡¯s face, while Un melodramatically shouted, ¡°Oh come on!¡±


    X smirked and continued, ¡°Three has proven to act in the best interests of Master before, while you have shown to give in to your whims to tease our contractors in the past. Cin is too pure, and won¡¯t second guess Master,¡± she smiled at the blue orb, who glowed in happiness at being praised, ¡°and I¡¯d trust the red one as far as I could throw him right now.¡±


    The cherub held up a chubby finger to protest, but quickly put it down once he saw the look in X¡¯s eyes. ¡°Un will be third, should anything happen to Three, because I trust you to get things done when the going gets tough.¡±


    Un sighed at the faint praise, and looked over to the remaining Judgments. ¡°Well, I can stand being behind a ninja, I guess. At least you didn¡¯t put me after the light show and the baby.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me.¡± X laughed. ¡°Now that you know, I¡¯m going to enter the android. Three, I trust your judgment in my absence.¡±


    Three herself had a complicated expression on her face, but she nodded. X closed her eyes, and once she opened them again, she was in her projected form, floating in front of the her new body.


    This should be fun. She thought to herself. Plus, Master should enjoy this as well.


    ---


    Lucina sighed as she knocked on the door to Joshua¡¯s room. The Paladin had let her be to straighten things out with her parents afterwards, and while it was something she appreciated, she wished he would have at least waited outside of the throne room instead of going back to his own bed.


    The door opened with little fanfare, and she stepped in. She looked to the right and immediately saw an open crate, empty.


    ¡°He must have gotten a new weapons shipment in.¡± She muttered to herself. She stepped further into the room.


    She saw his sleeping form on the bed, and smiled. It made her feel good that he had told his judgments to let her in when he was this defenseless. She took another step, and immediately froze. Next to him on the bed, was a carbon copy of her naked body, only with different piercings in the same places she had them, a chocolate skin color, and silver hair.


    The being she recognized as X lifted her head, and smirked at Princess Lucina Metron. X got up and walked straight to Lucina, caressing her cheek. Lucina immediately blushed and turned her connection to the network off, and was speechless as the body didn¡¯t disappear with her overlay.


    X leaned right up to her ear and said, ¡°Can you be a dear and get me some clothes? It seems I¡¯ve underestimated the convenience of a bra.¡±

 Chapter 97: The Wrong Side of the Bed

    The alarm went off as planned, instantly waking me from my sleep. I yawned and stretched, but it was more due to routine than actual effects of sleep. How long was I out for? I can¡¯t imagine that no one came to get me after the way our meeting ended.


    ¡°... Starlords it feels weird to be in the driver¡¯s seat.¡± I jarred in my movement for a moment as Three¡¯s voice resounded in my head instead of X¡¯s. I lay back in bed and tried to sort out my thoughts before saying or doing anything.


    ¡®Three,¡¯ I started, ¡®why are you talking to me right now? What happened to X? I heard the program sigh in my head, before she responded.


    ¡°It might be easier for you to see it with your own eyes than to explain it myself.¡± Suddenly, a bright red arrow appeared in my vision, leading me out of the room.


    I raised my brow, but got up skeptically. Considering I was still in control of my body, I had to assume there had been no attack and that X had left of her own free will, but why?


    Was it something I had done in the past? Perhaps she had a grudge over my mismanagement and mistreatment of her when I first came to the world of Ethia?


    Whatever it was, I guess time would tell. I made sure I looked fine in the mirror of the room, before making my way to and opening the door. There was a discarded box by the entrance to the room, and a quick search of my memory indicated that it hadn¡¯t been there when I walked in.


    ¡°Does this have something to do with it then?¡± I asked Three, but she didn¡¯t so much as mumble in response.


    Taking the silence in stride, I followed the AR arrow down the hall and to the left, which took me to the entrance to Lucina¡¯s room.


    ¡°Ok, did she hitch a ride with Lucina then? Is it a permanent thing she wants to change?¡± I asked Three again, but again, there was no response.


    I tried not to curse at the A.I. as I knocked on the large metal door. ¡°Lucina, it¡¯s me. Is X with you? She was gone when I got up, and-¡±


    The door slid open with an audible hiss from the mechanisms that moved it automatically. What greeted me was the sight of a tall, dark-skinned woman with hourglass proportions, and silver hair. Her amber eyes danced playfully up and down my body, and a sultry smile greeted me from just below her angular nose.


    She wore a white dress that had a mesh panel, making her cleavage available for anyone interested. While the dress stopped just above her knees, she wore a pair of leggings that squeezed the flesh of her calves, ending in a pair of blue heels.


    ¡°Welcome, Master. I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t make it out of bed without my assistance.¡±


    I did a double take as I realized that the woman in front of me was speaking in X¡¯s deep voice, and I lamely expressed as much with a shakily voiced, ¡°X?¡±


    ¡°At your service, Master!¡± The woman bowed, a large smile on her perfectly proportioned face.


    I looked behind her, only to see an extremely tired looking Princess Lucina. When our eyes met, she gave me a tired smile and walked over to stand behind X.


    ¡°I forgot how much of a pain in the ass it is to have a little sister, so thank you for the reminder.¡± She said, wrapping her arms around X¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Let me remind you that I¡¯m the bigger sister.¡± X said with a pout, while striking a pose that emphasized her proportions.


    Lucina rolled her eyes and then looked at me. ¡°So, are you ready to talk now?¡±


    I was still reeling from the revelation that X had finished her physical body and was now a living being, by most definitions of the concept, but I hadn¡¯t forgotten the conversation between Lucina and I in the throne room. It was time to come clean, about everything.


    ---


    Lucina sat on the floor of her room, looking over at X and Joshua interacting with each other. The latter sat on the lap of the former, and although she felt a flare of jealousy pass over her, she squashed it down, reminding herself that in the beginning of Joshua¡¯s stay in Ethia, it was not the royalty who kept him sane, but the sentient program known as Judgment.


    An unsettling realization came over her as she became aware that it was also not the Judgment who warped his original personality, but the whims of the crown who believed they could bend this man to their whims.


    Lucina then turned to her right and saw her sister, Reya, pouting while looking at the two. Akahime sat next to her with Lilian close by, a confused looking Winter and a stoic-faced Viina Secela to boot.


    His entire harem is here. Lucina mused to herself, but she turned back as soon as she noticed that the room had gone quiet. Joshua was about to speak.


    ¡°Where to start¡­¡± Joshua mused out loud.


    X smirked and said, ¡°How about the reason I came to be in my current form? That should take us right from the beginning.¡±


    Joshua sighed, but acquiesced to the robot¡¯s suggestion.


    ---


    ¡°Fine. Back in my world, on earth, I fell in love with a woman who I had been friends with for quite a while, and just when we had agreed to a proper relationship, I was dragged into Ethia without my consent.¡±


    Reya opened her mouth, but I interrupted. ¡°Yes, I know the proper terminology is that I ¡°Fell¡± into Ethia, but that one word doesn¡¯t do the emotion behind it justice.¡±


    Reya closed her mouth and seemed to pout. ¡°My repressed desires for that woman are what ended up giving X the original shape she had, but as I continued to be a resident in this world, that shape gave way and changed into a version of Lucina with some of that girl¡¯s defining traits.¡±


    Winter looked at the robotic body of X and muttered, ¡°Not enough defining traits.¡± Which actually got a chuckle from the people not named Lucina.


    I shook my head and continued. ¡°Regardless, that is how X came to be, and the reason she has the body you see before you. Next, I suppose I¡¯ll explain what X is. Several of you are former owners, and the rest of you are aware of the existence of the Judgment Programs.¡±


    There were a smattering of nods from the people in the room, and no looks of confusion anywhere, so I continued. ¡°Everyone who has been a Judgment user gets a message warning them about other Judgment users, and a vague message about the ¡°Trials of Damocles.¡± Would those who have owned Judgments say this is true?¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Once again there were more nods, and Reya impatiently said, ¡°Joshua, can you maybe skip to the new information? I¡¯m sure you could supplement those who aren¡¯t as knowledgeable, right?¡±


    I sighed, and contemplated whether or not to tell her this was being recorded, but ultimately decided against it. In turn, I ended up  ignoring her, which seemed like the right move given there was no verbal rebuttal afterwards. ¡°X, are we completely protected from any wiretapping at the moment?¡±


    The A.I. looked around the room, and then snapped her fingers. ¡°We are now, Master.¡± She replied.


    I nodded, and finally bore the information I had received from Starlord Alexstasia Bloodcrown. ¡°The Trials of Damocles are actually a test designed to select the most capable person on the planet, and have them challenge the hierarchy of the universe.¡±


    The people around me just stared at my face, as if I had sprouted a third eye. ¡°I realize it¡¯s hard to believe, but its information I got from-¡±


    Out of nowhere, a fiery hot pain erupted on my temple. I groaned in agony, causing the people around me to instantly come to my side and check if I was OK. ¡°Tsk, tsk.¡± Starlord Bloodcrown¡¯s voice echoed in my head. ¡°You should know that such information is classified, Paladin Cole. Think carefully about what you can and can¡¯t share.¡±


    Just as it had come, the pain vanished without warning, leaving me feeling a phantom pain on my forehead. Once I regained control of my senses, i realized that people were talking to me.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Is everything OK?¡±


    Sentiments along those lines registered in my head, but who said them was something my brain couldn¡¯t process at that moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I said to no one in particular. ¡°I just overstepped the bounds of what I was allowed to say. Let me try once more.¡±


    I got everyone to sit back down how they were before, and collected myself in order to speak. ¡°Ok. Let¡¯s just say that I got that information from a very reliable source. Now, the reason they¡¯re so vague about it in the beginning is that you¡¯re meant to go against these other Judgment users, and in turn, learn more about the goal of these trials by absorbing more programs into your own.¡±


    There were nods from the previous Judgment users who had their programs taken by me to corroborate that statement. Meanwhile, those who hadn¡¯t had any contact with the programs found themselves having a better understanding of our circumstances.


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know how anyone outside of royalty is supposed to be able to participate in this trial. There¡¯s an incredible amount of wealth needed in order to travel the globe to search for these users, not to mention accommodations and living expenses. I got incredibly lucky receiving the title I did, but thanks to that I am now one of the semifinalists in the Trial.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you collected five Judgments?¡± Winter asked, stunned. I nodded, and called out the projected forms of the Judgments I had collected so far.


    ¡°We have X, first off.¡± I said, pointing to the busty woman that my A.I. had chosen to inhabit. She smiled and waved back. ¡°I¡¯m sure all of you have had an encounter with her at one point or another.¡±


    Again, a collection of nods from the audience reinforced my point. ¡°She was my first Judgment, the one I received when I fell into Ethia. As for how she came to possess a body¡­ even I don¡¯t know. I do have my suspicions, although we¡¯ll have a chat about it in the near future.¡±


    X gave me a winning smile but I scoffed, and snapped my fingers, causing Three to appear. The Judgment was wearing baggy clothes, as usual, but her usual mask was pulled down, revealing a perfect copy of Lilian¡¯s face. ¡°Next would be Three. She¡¯s originally the Judgment of Lilian over there, and I acquired her alongside Lilian and Akahime during my trip to the Luong Empire¡¯s capital, Asahi.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me sound like a prize that you won!¡± Lilain complained while Akahime only showed a demure smile in response.


    ¡°Why is she Three?¡± Lucina asked in confusion. ¡°And why is X named that? Surely she could have had a proper name, right?¡±


    ¡°There is a reason for that.¡± I explained. ¡°Each Judgment program comes with an included serial number to indicate the order in which they were created. Our planet of Ethia has ten of these programs, and I chose to name them accordingly. For example, X is the last of the ten, so I named her after the roman numeral for 10.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a roman numeral?¡± Lilian asked.


    Akahime opened her mouth and responded, ¡°It¡¯s a metric of counting from the ancient world, about two thousand years ago.¡±


    ¡°Three is the third in the series, so Three.¡± I continued. Seeing the look that Lilian gave me, I felt the need to include, ¡°Well, I could have put more effort into it, but the name was meant to be a punishment for something that Lilian and Three attempted to do to me.¡±


    The former gang leader rolled her eyes, as did Three. I snapped my fingers again, and this time, the tall, dark, and handsome Un appeared, wearing combat fatigues.¡± Next is Un. He is actually someone who came to my side without any violent battle, and joined at the same time that his granddaughter, Winter did.¡±


    Winter nodded in affirmation, as Un flashed her a smile. ¡°What he forgot to mention,¡± Un spoke in his deep, baritone voice, ¡°is that I am both number one in the Judgment series, and a fragment of the personality of the original founder of the Strafe family. I¡¯ve been passed down as a program from generation to generation of Strafe family leaders, which, due to our penchant for getting ourselves into trouble, has left me with ten owners in seventy-ish years.¡±


    Winter looked down at all the attention she was receiving, an act which grew even more uncomfortable once Un uttered the following: She is legitimately my precious granddaughter, so I would appreciate it if you could all continue taking care of her. Especially you, Paladin.¡±


    Winter¡¯s dark skin blushed furiously and Un winked out of existence with a cackle. ¡°Now you see what kind of relationship they have.¡± I said with a slight smirk, enjoying the embarrassment of my head of security.


    ¡°Next, Cin.¡± I snapped once more, and a blue orb with wings appeared in front of us all. ¡°Forgive me for only showing this form to my Master and his party.¡±


    My jaw dropped as I hadn¡¯t heard Cin utter anything more than a few strung together thoughts since his inception as one of my programs. Meanwhile, he continued, ¡°My true form is that of an angel, however, it¡¯s massive size would dwarf everything in this room. Thus, I am now this adorable looking ball you see before you.¡±


    I opened my mouth once, closed it, and opened it again to speak. ¡°Cin is number five in the series, and his original owner is no longer with us, as any of you who watched the war game may know.¡±


    The orb disappeared, leaving Viina Secela, former princess and daughter of the prior People¡¯s King to stare at the space it occupied, obviously waiting for her father. Unfortunately for her, he was still an egg, but I would explain it anyway. I snapped again and opened my mouth to speak when a shrill voice that vaguely reminded me of Dax from Jak and Daxter spoke up.


    ¡°Good Starlords above! You say one wrong thing to one broad and you¡­¡± The red cherub trailed off after realizing he had an audience, and by the way X¡¯s gaze turned venomous, it turned out that the ¡®broad¡¯ in question was present too.


    ¡°Dad?¡± Viina spoke quietly. She reached a hand out, but was quickly pulled in by X, who hugged her from behind.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Viina, but your father¡¯s data was corrupted, almost beyond recognition. I did manage to salvage some of his files, but I¡¯ll show them to you at a later time.¡±


    Viina¡¯s lip began to quiver, but she nodded reluctantly. Meanwhile, I gave X the kind of look she had given the red Judgment, and she smiled at me unfalteringly. ¡°Well, I honestly have no idea what his number or name is, so I guess we¡¯ll just do this now.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, It¡¯s like a gender reveal, I¡¯m so excited!¡± The cherub smiled. The rest of the room seemed off put, and I nodded meaninglessly.


    ¡°Ok, so what is your number?¡± The cherub clapped twice, and red trumpets appeared above him, playing a sort of medieval tune.


    ¡°I am the eighth in the Judgment series, at your service.¡± I nodded and tried to think of a name for the number eight, but Akahime beat me to it.


    ¡°How about Hachi?¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s old Japanese for the number eight, but also for the word bee, which he kind of looks like.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± The cherub interrupted. ¡°I take offense to that! Would a bee have wings this gorgeous?¡± The baby flexed it¡¯s scarlet wings in triumph.


    Unfortunately, that quickly turned into a sad wilt as I said, ¡°Hachi it is then. With that, we have five of the ten Judgments, and have moved onto the next part of the Trials. I¡¯ll be waiting to hear back from my source as soon as another person has collected five Judgments.¡±


    The rest of the room nodded, and Lilian quickly excused himself, leaving the rest of us in a room with an abundance of tension. Finally, I broke the silence and said, ¡°Ok, here it is. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, let me hear them now, or forever hold your peace.¡±

 Chapter 98: Defining Relationships

    ¡°So,¡± Reya began, looking around the room as if she were looking at a minefield. ¡°What exactly do you mean by ¡®questions, comments, or concerns¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Exactly what it sounds like.¡± I said, getting up to move myself over to Lucina¡¯s bed, which I sat down on. ¡°I want you all to think about and define the relationship we have now in your own heads. Then, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about said relationship, please talk to me about them.¡±


    I saw several of the women in the room open their mouths to speak, and then instantly close them. The tension was still in the air, but one person came forward, self assured and self confident in their decision making, Winter Strafe.


    ¡°Hi Winter.¡± I said with a hint of a smile on my face. Winter did a mock curtsey and replied in kind.


    ¡°Hello, boss.¡± Winter smiled at me sweetly. The Strafe leader and head of my personal guard flipped her silver hair over one shoulder, revealing the nape of her neck. My mind instantly teleported to the several nights we spent discovering her fetishes together, and I got in the mood despite myself.


    She placed one hand on her caramel-skinned face and used it as a pressure point to crack her neck.


    Not the most lady-like thing I¡¯ve ever seen. I mused, my eyes wandering up and down her body. On the other hand, I can¡¯t say that a casual display of strength isn¡¯t sexy, either.


    ¡°If you want my granddaughter, you¡¯ll have to go through me.¡± Un said bitterly. I ignored him in favor of looking into Winter¡¯s pale blue eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± I said, gradually extracting what Winter had been wanting to say. She sighed, looked around at the others, and sat down next to me.


    ¡°Why do we have to do this all in the same room?¡± She asked, waving her hand at the other women sitting on the floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trust exercise.¡± I stated simply. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be a team, for all intents and purposes. Especially with what will happen in the near future, I need to make sure all of us are on the same page. Besides,¡± I said, taking the opportunity to look at all the women present in the room, ¡°what¡¯s the harm in us all having a little dirt on each other?¡±


    ¡°The harm is that they¡¯ll feel like accomplices and not comrades.¡± X replied, reclining against Lucina in the process.


    ¡°Which is why this information session is completely voluntary. If anyone has a problem with becoming closer this way, you may leave now.¡±


    I really did expect one or two people to get up and walk away, but everyone decided to stay in place. Even the newly added Viina Secela frowned a bit, but didn¡¯t move an inch.


    ¡°Good.¡± I said, and looked back at Winter, who sighed.


    ¡°Fine.¡± She said after a bit of silence. ¡°I wanted to express that I am fine with keeping our current relationship as it is.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± X asked, lounging on Lucina¡¯s bed in such a way that her head was hanging off the side.


    I opened my mouth to speak, but X asked me to let Winter say it in her own words, so I abided by her request.


    When Winter noticed that I wasn''t going to answer for her, she gave a long, deep sigh. ¡°Being the Paladin¡¯s head of security, and being able to employ the Strafe family as a result. On top of that¡­ helping me relieve stress every now and then.¡±


    ¡°How does he do that?¡± X asked innocently, but Winter shot her an icy glare.


    ¡°That¡¯s about all I''ll elaborate on at the moment.¡± She said, however the slight wavering in her tone was all it took for the clever Viina to figure out what X was hinting at.


    ¡°Starlords above, you really do have an insatiable lust for feminine flesh!¡± She covered her own body and leaned away from me.


    Rolling my eyes, I responded, ¡°I never claimed otherwise, I just said everything you hear about me isn¡¯t necessarily true. For instance, I had no desire to ever do anything with you in the Primal Kingdom. The women in my life are enough for me already.¡±


    I looked directly at X as I said that last part, but she averted her gaze while drumming her fingers onto her stomach.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m next then.¡± Lucina sighed. She crossed her long, toned legs and sat up against her bed frame. ¡°Let¡¯s get married.¡±


    I nearly choked on the words I was about to say and ended up coughing from the action. I looked at her in confusion, and she flashed me a cheeky smile. ¡°Just kidding. As I¡¯m sure most of you know, we started officially dating before the war game. As it¡¯s only been about two weeks, I think I¡¯d like to experience more of my boyfriend before I come to a conclusion about marriage.¡±


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I felt an air of tension leave me. While I did find Lucina incredibly physically and  mentally attractive, I didn¡¯t know how to handle the potential of marriage, not yet at least. It felt as though I had finally given up on my crush from back on earth, so it might be too tall of a hurdle to climb in the near future.


    X chimed in again. ¡°Experience in what sense?¡± I knew what she was doing, but I still was slightly annoyed at her every time she popped a question out for whoever was talking.


    ¡°In every sense of the word, of course.¡± Lucina replied without a moment¡¯s hesitation. ¡°Being intimate, trusting each other, the sex¡­ and more sex¡­¡± She trailed off, beginning to imagine her own fantasy.


    ¡°Is everything about sex with you?¡± Reya retorted. Lucina shrugged at her younger sister, then made a gesture as if to say, ¡®you next.¡¯


    Reya sighed, and in contrast to Lucina, who exuded confidence, the crowned princess seemed to shrink a little.


    ¡°While I did enjoy my foray into the world of bdsm, to an extent, I will say that it is decidedly not for me. I could perhaps enjoy it every once in a while, but something like what you and Lucina need is not something I will ever understand. Perhaps that is why I¡¯m becoming increasingly fine with just leaving our relationship as friends.¡±


    ¡°What happened to wanting him wrapped around your finger?¡± X accused, to which the crowned princess merely scoffed.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want him around my finger, I wanted him to support the royal family in the future. It doesn¡¯t matter who¡¯s finger he¡¯s wrapped around, so long as he¡¯s wrapped around someone''s finger.¡±


    ¡°Can we please stop talking about people wrapping me around their fingers?¡± I quickly asked, garnering a small smile from the surrounding women.


    ¡°Aw, don¡¯t be such a downer.¡± Reya grinned, and gave me a small nudge on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m excited to find out how I¡¯ll address you from now on with the new lack of sexual tension around us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only you.¡± I stated matter-of-factly. I turned to the last two who hadn¡¯t spoken yet. Akahime, and Viina Secela.


    Viina started by saying, ¡°I really haven¡¯t known you long enough to come to any sort of conclusion about anything.¡±


    She shook her head and looked back at X. ¡°Unfortunately, I am under contract right now so I guess we¡¯ll just have to tough it out and see where we land from there.¡±


    I nodded, and turned my attention over to the one person who hadn¡¯t uttered a word yet: Akahime.


    The Luong Empire princess looked around the rest of the people in the room, and took a deep breath before she began to talk. ¡°I¡¯d like to try and start a relationship with you again, after having screwed it up badly the first time. Instead of being selfish and drug addled, however, this time I will properly talk with you and explain my reasoning, no matter what subject it may be.¡±


    I nodded slowly, but X had to open her big mouth again. ¡°And? What kind of relationship do you want?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Akahime paused, giving me a sidelong glance before scratching her cheek. ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t know. Apparently he got together with a past version of me, but that¡¯s not something this body has experienced yet, so-¡±


    ¡°¡°Aaah!¡±¡± Reya and Lucina both exclaimed in unison, trying to do their best not to expose the ¡®secret¡¯ Phoenix System belonging to the Luong Empire. Luckily for everyone involved, they had either already figured it out, or didn¡¯t care about Akahime¡¯s circumstances enough to question her, so the topic was silently dropped.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m fine with things being the way they are now. I don¡¯t feel as though I¡¯ve done nearly enough to make up for the trouble that I caused you before.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I started nonchalantly, ¡°the previous you paid for that debt with her own life, although it was accidental.¡±


    Although Reya and Lucina were present for that, and Akahime had listened to the retelling from the elder Metron Princess, Viina and Winter were currently far more engaged than they had been a minute ago.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Viina said, inching closer to and poking Akahime¡¯s body. ¡°She died? As in, ¡®death¡¯ died? I don¡¯t see it.¡±


    ¡°Quit it.¡± Akahime swatted the Primal Kingdom¡¯s former princess away, and straightened her posture once again.


    ¡°That explains so many things.¡± Winter muttered to herself. ¡°I always wondered how the princess of another country ended up in the metaphorical dog house in such a way that she became a maid.¡±


    ¡°Well, now you know that I sold them out to a yakuza sect and was assassinated as a result.¡± Akahime shrugged matter-of-factly.


    Winter paused for a moment before releasing a sigh and shaking her head, but Viina seemed to take the confession much more like that of a normal person.


    ¡°You... what?¡± Viina uttered. When Akahime opened her mouth to explain, the former princess held up a hand to stop her.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m thinking it¡¯s better if we just skip over it and I take your words at face value.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°U-understood.¡± Akahime coughed, and like clockwork, X metaphorically stepped into the conversation and steered it in another direction.


    ¡°Well, now that we¡¯ve got all that settled, let¡¯s get to planning on how to get to Princess Venus.¡±


    ¡°That''s right.¡± Lucina nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll start dividing our roles. Reya, I just want to get in front of this now. The Kingdom needs you here as the crowned princess. You¡¯ve already fulfilled your yearly quota for military activities in the Primal Kingdom, so-¡±


    I tuned them out as I could see in Reya¡¯s eyes that she was already beginning to plan a counterargument. Instead, I sent messages to Winter and Viina respectively, instructing the former to gather five of the most skilled Strafe members, and the latter to begin her research on the Phoenix System. Of course, I didn¡¯t call it by name. Instead, I sent her a file of schematics that X had taken during our time in the Luong Empire.


    ¡°Really? My first job is a hypothetical?¡± Viina sighed.


    ¡°It will be important to you in the future, and bring you one step closer to the medical breakthrough of your dreams, trust me.¡±


    She sighed, and headed to the coordinates for the lab I sent her. ¡®Are you going to tell her that the base you¡¯re sending her to will be on top of the floating island once we activate it?¡¯ X¡¯s voice came through my head.


    She¡¯ll find that out later. I grinned. I looked at the sisters, who were still arguing. For now, we need to have that debriefing about the next half of the Trials of Damocles. It¡¯s time to hear from Starlord Alexstasia.

 Chapter 99: Reintroduction

    ¡°Oh, go fuck yourself.¡± I muttered as I stared at the projected notice in front of me. It read, ¡®Due to the inconvenient timing of your summons, Starlord Alextsrasa is not available. Please take a number, and the Starlord will get back to you at her earliest possible convenience.¡¯


    I frowned, and pressed the flashing ¡®GET TICKET¡¯ button on the hologram. The sound of a receipt being printed entered my ears briefly, before dying down when a ticket stub with the number ¡®1¡¯ on it appeared at the top left of my HUD.


    ¡°What the fuck could be taking up so much of her time that she can¡¯t even send me a message?¡± I groaned. X appeared over my shoulder and sighed.


    ¡°I could think of several reasons, but they''re pretty much pointless to think about right now. Should I message everyone that the timetable has been moved up?¡±


    X had departed her physical body and returned to my Judgment Panel once more. She said that she could come and go at will, and that when we weren¡¯t out in the field, being a hologram would be the most logical state of existence.


    ¡°Please do. We¡¯ll start the debriefing on our rescue of Venus Metron in ten minutes. Can you do something for me in the meantime, X?¡±


    ¡°Of course. What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°Please stop bullying the new program.¡± X turned to look at me, revealing a shivering baby in her arms. X was pulling on it¡¯s right cheek so hard, I feared it would permanently deform the malleable cherub.


    ¡°But I¡¯m just trying to get Hachi here to learn about why it''s wrong to call women ¡®broads¡¯ in this day and age. On top of that, I¡¯m explaining why it is even more wrong to say it to their faces.¡±


    Hachi looked up at me, tears in his eyes, but I couldn¡¯t help him here. He had dug his own grave during the team meeting, and was now paying the price for it.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± I said, as the first of my team entered the debriefing room we had used yesterday for our meeting.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± Winter greeted me, along with 5 faces I had never seen before. Two were women I imagined to be sisters, with one having a shaved head and the other sporting a pixie cut. Three were men whose bulging muscles were barely contained by their clothing.


    However, all of them wore combat fatigues and sported the trademark chocolate skin and white hair of the Strafe family, marking them as the soldiers from Winter¡¯s squad she had brought in to help.


    ¡°Morning, Winter.¡± I smiled and gave the slightly shorter woman a hug. ¡°Can you introduce me to the help?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± The Strafe leader replied, and gruffy said, ¡°Attention!¡± The women and men lined up and saluted Winter.


    ¡°At ease.¡± The postures of the five relaxed, and Winter started to go down the row, beginning with the men. ¡°The three men you see before you are James, Adam, and Gavin. They¡¯re all brothers who have been serving the strafe family full time since they turned 18.¡±


    I looked at their features. Although they shared the same physical build, they had enough difference for me to tell them apart. James had a scar running from above his left eye to his chin, and what I could only assume was a mechanical left eye. His short hair was messy, and he wore a red earring on his right ear.


    Adam, on the other hand, was bald. Although if his brothers were anything to go by, that was a choice, not a necessity. He had various tattoos encasing his head, things that undeniably held meaning to the man.


    Lastly, Gavin, who had surprisingly long hair. The man¡¯s mane reached down to his shoulders, and whereas the other two brothers were clean shaven, Gavin had a full mustache and beard combo going on.  His pale blue eyes matched with the rest of his brothers¡¯.


    ¡°It is nice to meet the three of you.¡± I said, shaking the hand of each man in turn. Something happened, and they turned to Winter in confusion.


    ¡°What?¡± I said, and before Winter could reach out a hand to stop them, Gavin said, ¡°Nothing, sir.¡±


    I raised my brows slightly before X floated over to the man and touched his forehead. His gaze transformed into something trancelike until X pulled away. ¡°He¡¯s remembering how Winter called you an asshole before, so he¡¯s wondering if your display of friendliness is genuine or not.¡±


    I looked over to Winter, who, as a former Judgment user, could see and hear everything that X was conveying to me. She gulped, refusing to meet my gaze.


    If Gavin saw Winter wind up to hit him, he didn¡¯t show it. Instead, upon receiving the punch, he collapsed into his brother¡¯s arms like a ragdoll. Adam, who had caught Gavin, sighed in disbelief.


    He probably thought the man had passed out from fatigue or nerves, which was fine with me. I wasn¡¯t going to correct him, in any case.


    I looked at Winter, who was expertly averting her gaze from my own. ¡°Winter, we¡¯ll talk about this later.¡± I said, to which the former mercenary weakly nodded.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Turning my gaze to the two women, they introduced themselves. The bald one stepped forward first. ¡°My name is Elise, sir. It''s a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    When I looked into her eyes, I saw a fire, a desire for challenge and the will to overcome. ¡°Likewise.¡± I said with a grin, accepting her offered handshake. The woman was a full head taller than me, with a lithe figure to add to her seemingly impossible build. Her long arms were equipped with gauntlets, and her legs with greaves.


    ¡°I think I have a good gauge of your fighting style, although it would definitely be remiss of me not to see your tendencies in battle. I¡¯d love to see any film you might have, Winter.¡± I turned to the head of my guard, who, by the look on her face, hadn¡¯t been expecting me to address her so suddenly.


    ¡°O-oh. Yes, we do have the film.¡± Winter said, coughing into her fist.


    ¡°Great.¡± I replied, giving Winter a look as I turned to the final member of my squad. The woman with the pixie cut was desperately trying not to meet my gaze, and kept flicking glances to the woman I had just spoken to.


    ¡°This is Alicia.¡± Elise said, a warmness creeping into her formerly intense gaze. She¡¯s my twin sister. I hope you don¡¯t mind putting us on missions together. Don¡¯t worry about her, she just gets shy around complete strangers. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll warm up to you after being around you for a few months.¡±


    Alicia, the woman in question nodded, and held out her hand. Whereas Elise¡¯s standout trait was her slim yet athletic build, Alicia was slightly shorter than Elise, and was defined by her muscular body. She looked as though she would be right at home as an American Football offensive lineman.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you as well, Alicia.¡± I took her hand and shook it as well, before quickly letting go and stepping back so as to address the five newcomers.


    ¡°I truly do appreciate all of you coming on short notice,¡± I said, while X took Winter aside and gave her the message I truly wanted to convey about Starlord Alexstasia¡¯s sudden absence.


    ¡°I have to let you know that we will be going into a den full of malicious code, including those that have the ability to take control of or overwrite your personality.¡±


    ¡°Brain Jackers¡­¡± I heard one of the men whisper, and nodded.


    ¡°Yes, among other things. We¡¯re storming a decommissioned wartime bunker that has been hidden for years to try to rescue the princess. I asked Winter to bring anyone here who she thought could be of help, but if you feel the risks are too big, I won¡¯t be forcing any of you to come along.¡±


    The people looked at one another, and then Gavin, the man with the longest hair of the three, stepped forwards. ¡°I am fine with going on this mission, but in the case that I perish, or my consciousness is overwritten, I would like you to take care of my wife and daughter financially until she comes of age.¡±


    I nodded, and looked at the others. ¡°Does anyone else have the same concerns?¡± There was a slight murmur, but no one else spoke up. Either they hadn¡¯t had a family like Gavin, or they didn¡¯t care as much about the aftermath of things.


    ¡°Good.¡± I said. X, if you may. The Judgment program snapped her fingers, and simultaneously sent a debrief to everyone present in the room. ¡°This is what we know of the location, as well as a video the princess took intending to capture her final moments. Please review it as soon as you return to your rooms. The ship will be finished loading in a few hours, and after that we¡¯ll depart to the north. Any questions?¡±


    There were none, and as soon as the five new Strafes left the room, Lucina entered, along with Akahime and Viina. The former Luong Empress bowed to me.


    ¡°Hello Joshua. Unfortunately the King wishes to have an audience with me, so I must go now.¡± I raised my brow at her polite language, but didn¡¯t give it a second thought as she quickly left.


    Viina and Lucina each took a chair at a nearby table, while Winter and I sat down on the couch opposite it.


    ¡°So, we have a few hours to kill before we go off to rescue your sister.¡± I said, looking into the eyes of my girlfriend. Is there anything else we need to review of the plan, or do you just want to blow off some steam?¡± I asked, and Viina¡¯s cheeks flush red at my bluntness.


    ¡°My, you know me so well.¡± Lucina replied in her husky tones, and shifted in her chair, giving me a glance at her thighs. ¡°Unfortunately, I want to know which Judgment will  be assigned to who.¡±


    I nodded, and Viina noticeably sighed in relief. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking Cin, to try and work on our teamwork some more. I¡¯ll be leaving Hachi to Viina, so please try to figure each other out in the meantime.¡±


    Viina looked over at the program that previously contained her father¡¯s will within it, and Hachi, for his part, looked back. He gave Viina a warm smile and said, ¡°Just leave it to me, broad. Ol¡¯ Hachi here will-¡±


    He barely avoided the clawed grasp of X before disappearing into the Judgment panel of the former princess. ¡°Sharp tongued bastard.¡± X muttered, sighing that the foul-mouthed cherub had avoided her grasp.¡±


    ¡°I suppose Un is with Winter, and I¡¯m with Lucina?¡± X said, turning to me.


    ¡°Got it in one.¡± I said, although it really wasn¡¯t so surprising that my own program read my thoughts.


    ¡°What about me?¡± Three asked from her place inside my Judgment panel. ¡°Unfortunately, this mission doesn¡¯t require stealth. The programs aren;t connected to the network, so we can¡¯t use the same tactics that we would require if we were up against a human opponent. In a fight where we can¡¯t use deceit, You would just end up becoming a liability. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Three sighed in resignation, but followed it up with, ¡°I understand. What of my former master?¡±


    I shook my head. Was the rift between them so vast that she now refused to even speak Lilian¡¯s name? ¡°Lilian has been dealing with her own things in the aftermath of what occurred in the Primal Kingdom. We can¡¯t count on him this time.¡±


    A feeling of discontent pulsed in through my Judgment Panel, but it faded so quickly I was left briefly wondering if it was my imagination.


    ¡°No matter.¡± X said, and drifted over to float next to Lucina. Joshua¡¯s bond with Cin is weaker than that of yours. If his powers fail him, it will be up to you to protect him until we can arrive. Am I understood?¡±


    ¡°Clearly, Ma¡¯am.¡± Three said, with a bit of sarcasm lacing her tone. X smiled despite the seeming lack of respect, before disappearing into Lucina. ¡°As long as you understand.¡±


    I cleared my throat, and took control of the attention in the room once more. ¡°Until we depart, I want everyone to familiarize themselves with their partners, and learn their abilities. Who knows, your partner may have picked up something or two since you¡¯ve last seen them.¡±

 Chapter 100: Starting with the Whimper

    ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve spent the better part of the last two weeks on this godforsaken ship, and I¡¯m not happy about it.¡± I complained, being strapped into a g-force-reducing passenger seat.


    Lucina, who was trying to sleep before we entered hostile territory, lazily rolled her head in my direction to look at me. ¡°It¡­ it still is so strange to me that your world only has the notion of a one true god.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s still strange to me that you call your gods ¡®Starlords¡¯. Honestly, it sounds like something out of a bad science fiction novel.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this whole world seem like it''s out of one of your science fiction novels? Since you¡¯ve come here, I¡¯ve wondered on more than one occasion whether or not this universe was just made for you.¡± The princess said with a drawn-out yawn.


    ¡°Why do you become strangely philosophical whenever you¡¯re on the verge of sleep?¡± I asked, but the princess merely muttered something incoherent in reply before her head lolled to the side limply.


    I sighed in exasperation, looking around the chamber. Lucina, Winter, and I were in one of three chambers meant to stabilize a passenger''s body while flying at supersonic speeds.


    Even then, however, it would take almost five hours to reach the abandoned base where Princess Venus was located. Finally, I shifted my gaze to the other person in the room, Winter. However, as was the reason I hadn¡¯t spoken to her yet on the journey, she quickly averted her gaze.


    ¡°Winter, I know direct emotional confrontation isn¡¯t exactly your thing, but I need us to be on the same page before we go into this fight. Why¡¯ve you been badmouthing me to your subordinates, and even going so far as to avoid making eye contact?¡±


    The woman in question opened her mouth to answer, but closed it again immediately. ¡°Sorry.¡± she said after a spell. ¡°Let me think of how best to phrase this.¡±


    I nodded, and leaned back in my seat. My connection to the other Judgments let me know that Un was currently active, and probably talking to Winter through a private connection.


    ¡°Shall I inform you of what¡¯s going on?¡± Three¡¯s voice whispered into my ear. I physically shook my head before I realized that Three¡¯s voice was in my mind.


    ¡°No.¡± I replied. ¡°Let her decisions be her own. If she wants to consult with Un on the matter, that is her decision as well. It¡¯s not my place to go and decide on who is privy to her thoughts.¡±


    ¡°Understandable, if a little hypocritical. You weren¡¯t very sympathetic to Lilian and I when you caught us back in the Luong Empire.¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders in response, and pressed a button on the chair¡¯s console to put up a soundproof glass barrier. ¡°Unfortunately, humans are hypocritical creatures. We make rules for ourselves, then break them at our own convenience. We understand why certain things are bad for us, but then rationalize partaking in those things away as ¡®living freely.¡¯ We know we should treat all humans with a base level of respect, but talk ourselves into respecting people based on our level of relationship. You two weren¡¯t part of my inner circle at the time, so I had no reason to show you any level of human decency. I would like to think that I made it up to you both in the end though.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps to Lilian more than myself.¡± Three interjected, her tone sounding more distant in the figurative sense.


    ¡°Perhaps.¡± I said, acquiescing to her tone. ¡°Lilian does seem pretty happy right now. Have you spoken to him at all recently?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Three sadly intoned. ¡°He seems more and more occupied with rejecting the version of himself that originally birthed me, and fully intends to embrace his masculine transformation. It¡­ makes me feel thrown away. Like a mask discarded out of convenience. It¡­ it''s painful.¡±


    I wanted to console the program, but there¡¯s only so much that could be done through a mental connection. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have to word it this way, but let¡¯s talk about it at length after we rescue Princess Venus. We need to focus on the task at hand, but I want to hear everything from your perspective. From the beginning.¡±


    There was a brief moment of silence in my head, before a small giggle that I¡¯d never heard before rang out. ¡°Let¡¯s do that.¡±


    I nodded to myself, but looked up in time to see Winter about to knock on the glass. She paused mid-movement and I pressed the same button I had before. Winter¡¯s pod shifted back into the position it had been in before, which left the two of us staring face-to-face. I waited, letting her work herself up to say what she wanted to, which didn¡¯t take long at all.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°I¡¯m upset at you.¡± The bluntness by which the statement had been said caught me by surprise. Despite her rough exterior and penchant for getting into physical altercations, I had come to learn that Winter hated emotional conflict. Thus, her being so open about her displeasure caught me completely off guard.


    ¡°May I know what it is that I did to offend you?¡± I asked. Winter¡¯s beautiful face twisted into a frown, but I heard a chuckle emanate into my mind through the Judgment panel.


    ¡°I told you he wouldn¡¯t even remember.¡± Un¡¯s voice chuckled. ¡°I doubt he even gave it much thought. He was probably more caught up in sorting out everyone¡¯s feelings, rather than his own.¡±


    I frowned at the hint, but still didn¡¯t get it. ¡°What do you mean? What are you talking about?¡±


    Winter sighed, and drew along her thigh with her finger until finally saying, ¡°You never gave me an answer.¡±


    I cocked my head. ¡°An answer to what? Did you ask me anything?¡± Winter opened her mouth with a look in her eyes that conveyed her desire to scream, and Un just cackled louder.


    ¡°Do you not remember the night, very recently, if I may add, where you asked each of your female companions what kind of relationship they¡¯d like to have with you?¡±


    My mind instantly snapped back to Winter¡¯s reply to that question a couple of nights ago. I nodded my head. ¡°I remember. You wanted to continue to be my bodyguard, while also keeping our more physical relationship in tact. Was that what this is about?¡±


    I half expected Un to laugh at my confusion, but instead I received a surprising sigh. In the end, Three came to my rescue. ¡°Joshua, what she is upset about isn¡¯t that you heard her out. It¡¯s the fact that you failed to respond to her. You gave her no confirmation, no denial, you just listened to her, acknowledged the choice she made, and then proceeded to move on without giving her a response.¡±


    That''s ridiculous. I was sure I¡­ I gave her¡­ ¡°shit.¡± I muttered aloud, causing a grin to come across Winter¡¯s face despite herself. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Winter. Un was right. I was so anxious to hear what you all wanted to do that I actually forgot to give you anything resembling a response.¡±


    ¡°Let me tell you this. As you know, I¡¯m currently in a relationship with Lucina. My only concern in continuing our ¡®relaxation sessions¡¯, would be that Lucina would have a problem with it. The thing about that is, I don¡¯t see a world where Lucina has a problem with it. On the contrary, I also can¡¯t see a world where Lucina doesn¡¯t ask to join in. So in the end, my answer is yes, I would like to continue what we have now as well. Especially because you know what type of woman Lucina is.¡±


    Winter chuckled and wiped a tear out of her eye. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s a big ball of hormones, that one.¡± Winter sighed, and leaned back fully into the cushions of her seat, seeming to melt into the chair itself.


    ¡°I assume that answers your question then?¡± Winter nodded in response, and gave me one of her gorgeous smiles.


    ¡°In any case Joshua, thanks for answering me. I have a much clearer head now.¡± I smiled to myself and shook my head.


    ¡°No, I owed it to you. You don¡¯t need to thank me. If anything, let me know what you want to do once we get back from this whole mess. I¡¯ll make it up to you, I promise.¡±


    Winter closed her eyes as she prepared to fall asleep for the remaining duration of our journey. ¡°I¡¯ll keep you to that, Mr. Paladin.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, but said nothing more as I too closed my eyes, and was enveloped in a sudden darkness.


    ----------------


    ¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Something was wrong. I could no longer feel any physical sensations. I tried to open my eyes, but the darkness remained.


    ¡°X? Un! Three!?¡± I called out the names of my most trusted programs, but received no response. ¡°Cin, Hachi!¡± No response from them either.


    ¡°Is this just a nightmare?¡± I tried to gain some semblance of control through lucidity, but nothing around me would change to my will, and I was still surrounded by darkness.


    ¡°I apologize.¡± I heard a familiar woman speak. ¡°I wanted to give you some time and advice about the next phase of the trial, but the rest of the council vetoed my action.


    A light blinded me from the front, and it took nearly ten seconds before I could make out the form of Alexstasia Bloodcrown. I wiped the tears out of my eyes and noticed that she was more to scale. Still a head taller than me, but the usual ten-foot lifeform seemed only about 7 feet in this space.


    ¡°I assume this is about the second Trial of Damocles then?¡± I said. ¡°Where is everybody? I thought I would need the help of my Judgments for this one?¡±


    Alexstasia smiled sadly. ¡°They will be returned to you at the start of the trial. Along with the people who are currently in possession of them.¡±


    So much for the new bodyguards from Winter. I inwardly sighed. I was ashamed to admit it, but it was only at this time when I remembered the predicament of the Princess. ¡°Listen Alexstasia¡­ Can this wait? I need to rescue-¡±


    ¡°She is in no danger.¡± The Starlord said. ¡°She is being kept safe in a cryogenic stasis chamber, and the time progression of the world will be protected and kept stagnant by the will of the Starlord of Time, Decidium. When you have finished the second trial, she shall be returned to you and your company.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± I told her. ¡°Why would you all go so far to lure me here. Surely the trial could have taken place anywhere else on Ethia.¡±


    The Starlord shook her head sadly. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, Joshua. We needed you to be here for the special polarity of the north pole. As far as we Starlords have discovered, this is the only place where we can open up spatial rifts without dire consequence.¡±


    My eyes widened as she spoke. ¡°It could not have been anywhere on Ethia, Paladin, for the second trial will see you returned to Earth.¡±

 Chapter 101: New Cliches, Old Hat

    Immediately following the words spoken by Alexstasia, I could feel my body again. ¡°... seems to be waking up.¡±


    I recoiled from the voice that was so loud it felt as though it were pounding on my brain.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to continue monitoring his vital signs. Passing out in the middle of a corridor full of students is never a good sign of anything. Especially when we can¡¯t determine a cause.¡± A second voice, this time much softer, said.


    ¡°Both of you should continue to stay here and make sure he is aware of his situation when he fully comes to.¡± A third, masculine voice appeared. ¡°I¡¯ll go call his family about this, and contact his guidance counselor.¡±


    The sound of footsteps starting closely and fading away were the background noise  to me falling unconscious once again.


    ¡ª-----------------


    Lucina Metron sat up with a start, and the first thing she felt was the unpleasant grittiness of sand under her body. ¡®Well, this definitely isn¡¯t the decommissioned base where Venus is supposed to be.


    Lucina winced as she sat up, feeling her stiff joints begin to warm up. The sight she was greeted with was one of the scariest things she had ever come face-to-face with.


    Lucina was staring at the open ocean, only being about ten feet from the sea itself. Lucina didn¡¯t utter a noise, but a feeling of dread quickly overcame her.


    How could it not? Ethia¡¯s oceans were purely inhospitable, acidic pools that burned the flesh off of anyone who dared touch them.


    Lucina quickly scurried away from the water¡¯s edge, an action which preceded a giggle to her right. ¡°Mommy, that woman looks funny!¡±


    Lucina quickly looked to her right and saw a small boy wearing an ancient pair of swim trunks, pointing at her with a big grin on his face.


    A woman close by, whom Lucina presumed to be the boy¡¯s mother, had the decency to look ashamed of what her child was saying and quickly took the boy by the arm. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry miss!¡±


    What followed after the apology was a quick tirade of scoldings hurtled at the child as she dragged him away. Lucina got up, and realized she was still wearing the skin-tight combat suit that she would have been wearing inside the transport ship.


    ¡°What in the Starlords names¡­?¡± Lucina trailed off, but wasn¡¯t quite so surprised when she received a response in her head.


    It appears that the Starlords have seen it fit to start the final trial without so much as a word of warning. X gave her own thoughts on the matter as Lucina pressed a button on her bracelet, and a pair of denim jeans and a crop-top popped out of thin air into her hands.


    ¡°Where are we even? There¡¯s no way any beach on Ethia would have anyone but marine biologists and naval officers. It¡¯s too dangerous for recreation.¡±


    From what I¡¯ve scanned of Master¡¯s memories, this should be Earth, and not far from the place where he attends school. We can see if that bitch had the gall to drop him back into a classroom on his return to Earth.


    ¡°What a load of shit.¡± Lucina muttered as she started to put on her clothes, only to realize that she had drawn a small crowd.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Maybe you should look for a changing room. X suggested. Lucina, for her part, had the wherewithal not to respond and appear as though she were speaking to herself.


    ¡ª-----------------


    Winter awoke slowly, lifting her head off of the table where she had been sitting. She looked around to find some people staring at her, and decided to put her head back down to process what exactly was happening. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the transport ship on its way to rescue Venus Metron, and then she was here.


    This¡­ this is Earth. Un spoke inside her head. In fact, this is the very school that our master attends.


    ¡®So much for rescuing a princess, I guess.¡¯ Winter replied. ¡®That¡¯s good though, I suppose we can find Joshua and get an explanation from him. Send the location of whatever class he has now to me. Why can¡¯t we ever-¡¯


    A hand shook Winter¡¯s shoulder, and she pulled her head up to look at the source of the disturbance. A tall, pale man with blonde hair and dark eyes looked back at her. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you on campus before. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?¡±


    Winter wanted to roll her eyes, but instead looked around at the crowd of people there. She tried to focus on what the crowd was saying, an easy task with her Judgment enhanced abilities.


    ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful! I wonder how we never noticed her before.¡±


    ¡°We would have, you idiot. She must have transferred here.¡±


    ¡°In the middle of the semester though? That¡¯s not normal.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not normal, stupid. She¡¯s probably a model or something.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe James is attempting to make a move on her.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s what he always tells us, right? When it comes to women, nothing ventured, nothing gained.¡±


    ¡°Her body is fucking fine, bro. If James doesn¡¯t get her, I want a chance to hit that.¡±


    ¡°Amen to that. But I¡¯ll be second in line.¡±


    ¡°Please, this is assuming there¡¯s a woman who would say no to a male model in the first place.¡±


    Winter had decided she had heard enough objectification for one day and turned off her enhanced hearing. Finally looking straight up at the man who had disturbed her thinking, she stood up to her full height.


    The man, James, opened his mouth to gape at how she was taller than him. ¡°With all due respect, I don¡¯t know you, or anyone in this group of people, for another fact I am taken.¡± She said that last part while looking at the crowd of men.


    She started to walk off, but thought better of it and turned back around to James, who was still frozen in place. ¡°Actually, do you happen to know someone named Joshua Cole?¡±


    It only occurred to Winter much later that now that she was no longer connected to the network.


    ¡ª-----------------


    Viina Secela was currently in quite the pickle. She was hanging upside-down as her pants were caught on a tree, while a group of four people were crowded around said tree staring up her shirt.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not looking good for us, is it?¡± Hachi sarcastically intoned. Viina tried to reach up for her leg to untangle herself, but all it resulted in was undue abdominal pain for the person in question.


    Unlike others in her nation, she wasn¡¯t born under the banner of the Warrior King, but rather the People¡¯s King. Meaning her forte had been in interpersonal connections and the intricacies of relationships rather than any sort of physical exertion.


    ¡°Hachi, can you get a read on Joshua¡¯s location? Or better yet, send him a message?¡± There was a brief pause of silence from the A.I. Meanwhile, some people had apparently sent for help, and made calming gestures at her.


    Well, Viina assumed they were supposed to be calming, anyway. It was difficult to tell what with her not being able to understand a single word of those people.


    ¡°Well shit.¡± Hachi spoke. ¡°I can¡¯t connect to Judgment, but I have connected to a much weaker network called, ¡®Internet.¡¯¡±


    ¡°So we have no way to locate Joshua?¡± Viina asked, but was met with silence. ¡°No way to communicate with the other members of the team?¡±


    Again, silence. ¡°Fuck.¡± Viina cursed under her breath.


    ¡°Fuck indeed.¡± Replied Hachi.

 Chapter 102: Wake Me Up Inside

    It¡¯s not everyday that you travel back and forth between dimensions. It puts quite a toll on the body. Thankfully, I already have experience in that particular field. My body shuddered as I woke up for the second time since shifting between worlds.


    ¡°Fuck, that¡¯s rough.¡± I mutter to myself as I sit up in a hospital-like bed. I look around and notice that no one is around, although I am plugged into a heart monitor and have an IV drip inserted into my left arm.


    ¡®He wakes at last.¡¯ I heard Three¡¯s voice in my head, and a pulse of happiness from Cin. I smiled to myself and muttered, ¡°Well, at least one of you is happy that I¡¯m up.¡±


    ¡®Please.¡¯ Three continued. ¡®If you went into a coma here, you¡¯d screw over everyone that followed you here.¡¯


    ¡®She was so worried that she started making contingency plans.¡¯ Cin transmitted. It was strange. Unlike Three, Cin wasn¡¯t projecting a voice into my head, but more so conveying the meaning directly.


    That shut up Three, who then refused to talk, making me smirk despite the situation. ¡°Excuse me, you three can¡¯t be here!¡± I heard a voice shout from the corridor. This again confirmed my suspicions of where we were: the voice was spoken in plain English. Having been disconnected from Judgment, the translating function of my Panel shouldn¡¯t have been working.


    I immediately heard a follow up in a language I didn¡¯t recognize, but apparently Three did. ¡°They¡¯re here.¡± She spoke simply as a woman who towered over a petite nurse moved her aside and stepped into the room. Lucina¡¯s face lit up as she saw me, and moved inside the small room, followed by Winter and Viina respectively.


    ¡°Sir!¡± A shrill voice came from closely behind the three women. ¡°Are these acquaintances of yours? Please tell them to leave the premises immediately! They are unsanitary, and didn¡¯t even use any sanitation before coming into the back rooms!¡±


    I looked back from the woman to Winter who said something indecipherable in her home language. Three, can you translate without a connection to the Judgment network? I asked Three.


    ¡®Of course.¡¯ She replied. ¡®When you began your stay in Ethia, X downloaded several Ethian dictionaries into her software. I nodded to myself before looking Lucina right in the eyes. ¡°Sorry, can you please say that again?¡± I requested, and a small smile bloomed on Winter¡¯s face.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    She repeated herself, and Three¡¯s communication came through immediately after. ¡°Tell this bitch to let us have some privacy before I throw her out the window.¡± The sudden use of such language was so jarring that I laughed despite the situation, drawing strange looks from the nurse, and wry smirks from Lucina and Viina.


    ¡°Why are you laughing? What did she say!?¡± The woman sounded almost incensed at the end there, but I simply shook my head.


    ¡°She asked for privacy, albeit in a rude way. I¡¯ll apologize on her behalf, so can you please give us a moment?¡± The nurse looked like she wanted to say something and opened her mouth, but apparently thought better of it on account of the kinds of looks the three Ethians were giving her.


    ¡°Please tell them to send me in when you are done. And don¡¯t take off any of that equipment by yourself! We don¡¯t want you to damage yourself, or the equipment!¡±


    I scoffed as she left the room. Good old American capitalism. More worried about spending more money on a new device than the person hooked up to said device.


    Although, can one really expect more out of a stressed out medical student? ¡°It¡¯s good to see you all. How did you find me?¡±


    It took a moment for the programs to process my words, and translate them to the women. ¡°We connected to something very similar to Judgment called ¡®the internet¡¯.¡± Lucina said.


    I immediately paled at the thought. ¡°Did you make sure no one can track you, or infect you with a virus?¡± The question was asked to the three women, but was more directed at the AIs each of them possessed.


    ¡°Yes, but why are you so afraid?¡± Viina asked.


    ¡°Because the internet in this world is a lawless place.¡± I began. ¡°There¡¯s absolutely the bare minimum of regulations, and identity theft, and exploitation of personal information is commonplace.¡±


    Three scoffed inside my head. ¡®I just connected to it. There is no way in hell these absolutely ancient programs could affect us in any way, shape, or form.¡¯


    Be careful of hubris. I said. Then, switching to speaking out loud, I added, ¡°We need to be careful because if what Starlord Alexstasia told me is true, then we¡¯re not the only ones from Ethia in this dimension.¡±


    There was silence for a few moments, before Lucina muttered, ¡°Then this is simply the next stage of the trials put forth to us by the Starlords?¡±


    I nodded, and saw exhaustion visibly overcome the girl. ¡°I was worried we had accidentally slipped through into your dimension with no way of coming back. Miraculous though it may have been, having a clear goal helps us know what to do next. What did the Starlord tell you to do?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°She wants me to find and kill the other candidate for ascension. We¡¯ll be eliminating the competition, so to speak.¡±


    I knew I messed up as soon as I spoke the words into existence. Time stopped, and a familiar red mist engulfed the room I was in.