126 – A day has 24 hours… right?

The rest of the day went smoothly after I played the piano.

People approached me not to advertise their country, city, estate, or whatever, and instead commented on the music, which was a welcomed change.

I don't really give a shit if people's great great grand mother was part of a big monster extermination a quintillion years ago or something like that.

After half an hour, the rulers replaced the nobles. I had already been told about their countries by the envoys, but I was still uninterested. Again, the bare minimum should not be celebrated. I would not treat them any differently just because they're governing their countries the way they're supposed to.

Tidon was one of the Dwarf countries to introduce currency in the form of gold, silver, and copper? Whatever. Lapia had told me already.

A globally unified way to deal with finances came only after the many years of wars. Nothing to celebrate. It took Filestra threatening the entire world for them to chill. That's an L for the people of Galeia in my eyes.

Oh, it's not about greed and amassing ridiculous amounts of wealth? Big deal.

Everyone can earn a proper living? As they should.

The Goliaths of Koluum gave their aid to nearby countries during their formation? That's just the duty of the strong.

The Nymphs had to face a period of low birth-rates to realize they had to accommodate males of other species into their country to not go extinct, instead of sustaining it with visitors. Unfortunate, but pretty fucking silly in my eyes.

I reached my limit a few hours before the end of the celebratory event and challenged the rulers to a game of Galeian Armory.

Odnik, the Goliath, was my first opponent.

I realized then that I lack foresight.

High General Odnik, ruler of Koluum Kingdom is, after all, over two thousand years old.

I bought my cards this month, and played a few games with Pokora. I challenged a two thousand year old general to a strategy game.

I got my ass absolutely smashed, and not in a way I wanted.

The amount of bullshit cards the man threw out at me was so overwhelming I almost didn't understand what was happening after the third turn.

My dragons fell one by one, and the only thing poor Anna Morgh could do was stall the match.

Still, I am an adult woman who knows how to take an L.

Besides, it was more fun than talking about politics so I took it as a win.

It goes without saying, but I lost to all of them.

A ruler is not defined simply by wearing a crown on top of their head or a badge on their chest. They showed no mercy, countering every single card I played. The weak-minded would call it unfair, but what is struggle if not fun?

My pride as a gamer, however, took a heavy blow. There's only so many L's I can take before I get pissed off.

Fortunately, that's when Gordon announced the end of the banquet.

I was seething so I didn't properly listen to his words, which I should have as a Halve.

My name and species weren't mentioned, though, so that was a relief.

Before leaving, however, I told Gordon about Lord Punten's wife, and that I would leave Lumin Kingdom in a day or two.

He told me that Lady Urgun had approached him, and wished me plentiful spoils of war.

As per tradition, I left first, guided by Alastor. Not before the rulers formally invited me to their countries, though.

I vaguely accepted, which was enough.

My companions and I crossed the door to the front of the palace, and we were FINALLY free.

“This day was too long,” I complained on top of Sonya.

“Too short,” Pokora denied it on top of her dinosaur-bird-thing mount.

I sighed and shook my head. “You know not of the horrors of talking about politics all day.”

“Natasha,” Lapia caught up next to me on her fox. “Don't forget we need to talk,” she reminded me.

“I know,” I assured her. “We'll talk when we get back.”

The Elf squinted her eyes. “Why not now?”

I raised my eyebrows. “You sure? I mean, if we're heard... that'd be pretty bad.”

“Yeah,” Lapia sighed with a nod. “Worded it wrong. That's what I meant.”

I hummed in understanding. “Anyway, why would I not tell you?”

She shrugged. “You have the habit of not talking about things unless asked,” she pointed out. “Not all, but some.”

I looked into her green eyes. “Really?”

Lapia nodded. “Really.”

“I see,” I muttered and looked to the front. “I'm thinking of going to see Bernard and tell him about Ines,” I told her. “Wanna come with?”

“Sure,” she replied.

I nodded a few times. “Is that a good start?”

“It is,” the Elf chuckled.

I turned to Hanna, who was riding her Bihn behind me.

She nodded. “If Your Excellency wishes me to come, I will.”

“Thanks,” I said and focused on driving Sonya.

“Want me to come, too?” Bonte asked. “I was there last time.”

“That'd be nice,” I replied.

We coursed the lightly occupied streets of Paarjo until we neared the central market. The man's house was a ten minute ride away.

Is he... I stopped the thought and turned to Lapia. “Do you think he's at home? His wife worked at the Royal Palace.”

“Hmm.” Lapia looked in the wrong direction. “I don't think the Royal Palace is a pleasant place to be for him. But I don't know about him to say for sure.”

“He's definitely at home,” Bonte spoke up. “Probably waiting for Ines to return. He gave me that vibe. A Royal Banquet is not... enough to miss the potential return of his wife.”

I turned to Bonte. Well, a man would know a man, I concluded. “Let's go, then,” I said and made Sonya take a turn. “We'll meet you back at our place,” I told Pokora.

She nodded and told the others what we'd do.

We rode to Bernard's house and told him his wife had willingly joined the Changelings, thus abandoned him.

It was honestly a mess.

The man started crying which was understandable. He got angry and insulted me, which was also understandable.

I saw him turn into an angry and bitter man that will probably never trust a woman like he did Ines.

Bonte, however, chastised him and told him to go to the Church and heal.

Lapia and I left the two men alone for a while. Some things in life are beyond our capabilities. It's important to know that, too.

After a while, Bonte came out and sighed. “People can be pretty shitty some times,” he muttered and walked to his mount, Red Killer. “I made him promise he'd visit the Church to get help. Man's got a daughter to take care of and can't let this destroy him.”

“True,” I agreed. “Thanks for that, Bonte.”

He shrugged and mounted the Bentu. “Gotta help a brother out,” he chuckled.

Hanna nodded a few times.

After that we went to the nearby Church and told the Tiny Laples. They were sad for his friend and told us they'd visit him every day.

With that dealt with, we went back to our place.

There, I sat on the table with the party.

“So,” Lapia began. “Can you tell us what happened at the Banquet?”

I stared into her eyes and nodded. “Lord Punte's wife is a Demon from Hell,” I told her. “He had her scent all over him, which... prompted the reaction that made people faint. I held back, though.”

“Lady Rosalia is a Demon?” Lapia repeated in disbelief. “She's such a gentle woman, though!”

I nodded. “I don't think being a Demon makes you a bad person, Lapia. Nerissa was just the worst example we had.”

“This is getting out of hand,” the Elf muttered. “Now there's two of them?”

“And plenty more,” I added. “It's who they are that matters, not what they are. Nerissa was harming the King while disguising as a Tigea. Rosalia is living her life without going out of her way to harm people.”

Lapia cleared her throat. “Is Rico...?”

“Half Demon?” I wondered out loud. “I don't really care. Again, they're not harming people. Sure, they're outsiders, but they're not invading this world... if they were, though, things would be very different.”

“Did you tell His Majesty?” Bonte probed.

“Of course,” I chuckled. “I also told Odnik, Plesani, Paveli, Claudia, and Sahaz that Demons are around and Gordon was a victim of one.”

“That's cool and all,” Yolin interrupted. “But what's with the comment about killing that Urgun woman?”

I glanced at Lapia and leaned back on the chair with a smile.

The Elf sighed and explained.

“...and then Natasha killed them all,” she finished.

Yolin nodded. “I see, sorry that you had to relive that today.”

Lapia smiled and took Alyssa's hand. “It's okay, Alyssa helped me with it.”

“That's beautiful,” Bromisnar commented and sniffled.

After that, I turned to Elena. “By the way, I killed Zalan today. One of the Changelings in charge of the group that mind-controlled you and tried to kill me.”

The woman nodded slowly. “Your Excellency has my gratitude,” she calmly replied.

Pokora gave me a worried look. “You killed someone today?”

“Yes,” I replied with a nod. “Ah, they also tried to kill the King by sending Nerissa, but that's beside the point.”

“How is that beside the point?” Bonte retorted with a laugh.

“It's already solved,” I shrugged.

“True,” he conceded and leaned on the table. “Took longer than I thought,” he sighed.

I nodded in agreement.

“When do we leave?” Yolin asked.

“After Natasha sells what we got in the dungeon,” Pokora pointed out, looking at me. “That's a lot of money.”

“I know a guy,” Bonte supplied with a smirk. “He'd love to buy our stuff.”

I had a feeling the day was not over.