CH 639-643

few days rolled away after Sol received the news of the impeachment motion.

While this news brought with it some complex complications, ultimately, Sol did not fear it. He had ensured that Lilith had not fought openly during the war, only entering the fray to fight against the goons of the Wings of Freedom.

The angels would have little legal ground to deal with him. What mattered more at the moment was protecting Lustburg from external attacks.

Chloe’s warning still echoed in Sol’s mind. He was sure he could protect Lustburg by employing his dimension, but he was not sure if he could keep the encroachment deployed full-time as Tiamat does in her territory in the Astral Realm.

To ensure the protection of Lustburg, he employed the witches to work on a new project. An ultra-large-scale plan was employed to envelop the whole of Lustburg in a dome-style defense. To top it all off, he planned to use magic circles as the base for his eventual hijacking.

To complete this project Sol had been bleeding nonstop for days on end. His blood was an essential medium for the circle. It was an endlessly uncomfortable chore, albeit, extremely necessary, he knew. The only good thing was that Kali and Persephone came out of his dimension not long ago and could make sure the other witches wouldn’t steal his blood for some of their experiments.

Not like they would be able to glean anything out of it anyway. He had made sure to not mix in his new divinity in that blood. Sol didn’t trust the other witches enough to risk his secret so soon.

***

Sitting on a reclining chair, Sol rested his mind in the confines of the church office. This was different from his normal place of work but there was a reason for this sudden workplace shift.

The office was not so different from his usual one in terms of design alone. Courtesy of Milia and Clara working hard to make sure he was not disturbed.

The only visible difference was the Phoenix insignia on display instead of the encircling Snake.

“So, why did you take over my office again?” Camelia’s voice echoed from his side. Leisurely sipping some coffee from her seat, she had voiced out her opinion in a nonchalant voice.

She was not wearing her usual white and gold nun clothes but rather a simple dress that gave the former Supreme Daughter a more approachable appearance. Her long brown hair was neatly tied in a ponytail. Her eyes did not look in his direction but from the titling of her head, he knew that she was waiting for his answer.

“The atmosphere in the Tower is pretty stifling.” Sol shrugged. His brows furrowed as he looked at the documents detailing a plea for a raise for the Crown’s Shadow. It seemed like they had been quite active lately.

Because of their victory against Wratharis, spies from Wratharis, Envilya, Southern Pride, and even Greed Dike had been entering Lustburg in troves. He even had reports of people suspected to be chimera entering the border.

Most likely they recognized Echidna’s power from Milia and wanted to obtain more information regarding her.

Sol counted, “Freya is hounding me because of the promise we made but at the same time she is hounding me because of the wedding preparation, throwing more and more crazy ideas my way. Medea left the dimension but she is still meditating on her path towards the control of Time. Lilith meanwhile is avoiding me out of embarrassment because of the promise she made. Lilin is directing funny glances at me because she learned about Lilith’s promise. My relationship with Pandora is as awkward as ever. Some of the maids are literally in heat and get frisky with me.”

He couldn’t help but release a stretched-out sigh.

Camelia raised an eyebrow while chuckling to herself. “It seems like being free with your love is now coming to bite you back in the ass.”

“How crude,” Sol chided.

“What? I can’t say ass?” She laughed out loud and finished the coffee with a long sip before donning a more serious expression. It was time to get down to business.

“Your love problem aside. What about that woman? Do you know where she is?”

“Dawn?” Sol looked up, his eyes trailing a golden string, “She is always in my line of sight. At the moment, it seems she has holed herself up in Wratharis.”

Another change after the war. Lilith was not the only woman avoiding him. Dawn had been using all possible excuses to avoid an audience with him. They both knew that if Sol wanted to see her, no number of excuses would change the situation.

But Sol was willing to give her some space, for now.

A few days ago, Dawn had asked to be transferred to Wratharis for a relief mission and also an apprenticeship under the Supreme Daughter of Ira. Technically, there was nothing bizarre about her request. After all, Holy Daughters had an obligation to serve and follow the Supreme Daughters of other goddesses.

This was one of the reasons why Chloe was still in Lustburg. But be it Sol, Camelia, or Dawn herself, they all knew that Dawn needed no such things.

“It’s possible she thinks that her Divine Kingdom is on the border between Lustburg and Wratharis. So, she must be exploring,” Sol nonchalantly explained his ideas.

“You are… quite relaxed about this matter.” She didn’t know what to say to the boy. This was quite literally a Divine Kingdom they were talking about. A direct path toward godhood.

Sol had not revealed all his secrets but he had explained the threats they were facing. Old gods coming back to life being their primary concern. Most of them had their Divine Kingdoms in the Divine Realm, which would make them nearly inaccessible due to the presence of the fourteen goddesses. However, there was always a catch. Some of those old fogies had their Divine Kingdom placed in the Astral Realm or Mortal Realm.

Those old gods were far more dangerous since if they recovered their Divine Kingdoms… they would directly get access to their full powers.

“I am not worried about Dawn.” Sol smiled. He was constantly following Dawn. No matter how far she was, she could never leave his sight. In fact, he was even keeping an eye on Hypnos.

Though the matter with Hypnos became complicated due to him being a False God. But since Sol only made sure to observe possible variables, things were still in his hands.

“I think I have more or less located the Divine Kingdom already. Had she asked me, I would have given her the coordinates. Sadly, she fled. Her loss, I guess.” He was finding the situation extremely entertaining.

Camelia did not share the same sentiments, however. “Giving back the Divine Kingdom? Why not use it for ourselves?”

If what Sol said was true, it was thanks to that Territory that Mars managed to become a Demigod so fast.

“It’s useless for us.” Sol showed obvious disdain at the thought of using their territory. “It would be one thing if Dawn was truly dead and her concept was free. But she is not. Anyone who fuses with her Divine Kingdom will only become a False Demigod at best. If they are lucky or talented, they might unearth some potential and grow close to becoming a False God but the chances are so miniscule it is as good as being not a possibility at all.”

Camelia could only show a bitter smile. Sol was showing disdain toward the so-called False Demigod realm but she knew that only very few people would refuse such a thing. After all, even the weakest Demigod was still a Demigod, false or not.

Sol did not try to explain himself. He knew that his vision of the world had greatly changed with the things he learned along his journey, especially after his talk with Adam.

The False Demigod realm might seem incredible for many but for the current Sol, it was only a waste. His sight had long since settled on Godhood and beyond that. But there was no need to focus on this now.

“How is Chloe?” Sol asked. Camelia knew he was obviously trying to change the topic so she simply nodded and answered, “She has been quite down recently. But she is preparing her luggage. She plans to leave once the Christmas celebration and your coronation and wedding are complete.”

“Christmas, huh.”

Christmas was quite a weird holiday in this place. After all, there was no Christ nor Santa here. Yet this was a holiday that had been introduced by his predecessors. Perhaps because they missed Earth.

Either way, since there was no worship of Christ, the date for Christmas was extremely loose and could be moved anytime in this period. Some consistency was generally required but Sol had pushed back the holiday because of the war.

Now though. He wanted to allow his citizens to have as much fun as possible while peace was still present.

It was his way of atoning in advance for all the wars he was going to wage.

“I will take a look at Chloe later. I wish to have a good talk with her before she returns to her home.” Sol knew he could easily capture Chloe and use his power to make her spill everything she knew. He could also use her as a hostage. She was a Holy Daughter after all.

But that was not his wish.

Chloe was his first friend. Someone he cared for greatly and he did not wish to harm her.

At the same time, Sol was not one to let sentiment cloud his judgment. The very moment Chloe left Lustburg, Sol would forgo all their friendship and consider her as a future enemy if necessary.

He respected her loyalty to her Kingdom. But Sol respected those who were loyal to him even more.

He sighed and looked at the last document on his table. His hand had never stopped moving even as he talked with Camelia. This one document made him pause a bit.

After all, this was a plea from soldiers on the frontier. They were pleading for Gerald to have a second trial with his achievements in the war added to the case.

They wished for him to be pardoned or at least have a lighter sentence. Sol could have dismissed it but he decided to think deeply about it.

Back then, Sol had been devastated by Gerald's betrayal. What's more, unlike Kali, Gerald didn’t have a demigod-level mother protecting her. So, Kali ended up receiving a light sentence while Gerald received a far harsher one.

Now, looking at it with more mature eyes, he still did not regret his decision. Gerald’s crime was worthy of death. So, a simple exile was already leniency.

Yet his feelings were less raw. Less hurt.

He closed his eyes and approved the document, putting it in a separate list. A copy of this would be sent to the Highland family.

What they decided to do with this information would be up to them. For now, Sol would rather focus on the people that he truly cared for.

Such as,

“So… Camelia. Did you think about my proposal?” He asked her gently. It was now time to deal with her problem.

***

Sol observed Camelia in silence. Camelia had once been one of the strongest Supreme Daughters to ever exist. The sole fact that she was able to enact the Goddess Descent ritual was proof of her nigh unparalleled strength.

At present, however, she was hardly stronger than an average mortal. She had lost all of her powers, her realms broken, her mana veins destroyed, and her road to supremacy all but shattered. It would be impossible for her ever to become a powerful warrior.

In the first place, it was a miracle that she was still alive. A miracle that Sol knew would be impossible without his exponential power boost.

“Back then, I managed to save you but the wounds you received are simply too deep. You also consumed much of your life essence and went beyond your limits to maintain the goddess descent.”

There was obvious guilt in his voice. With how strong Camelia was and with Castitas being as careful as she always was with her favorite Supreme Daughter, the Goddess Descent should not have posed Camelia any danger… given it had not lasted as long as it did.

But to make sure his ritual would not be disturbed, Camelia went above and beyond all of her limitations, even going as far as to stake her life.

Even though she looked like the picture of health, her lifespan was all but exhausted. A few years, that was the time she had left in this world.

“Oh don’t give me that look. Even now, I do not regret my decision.” Camelia smiled in Sol's direction. “Fate was at work; I should have died on that day. But you still saved me. Being here, with you, it is already incredible.”

She would be lying if she said she did not mind living as a mere mortal. Not to mention, she had lost most of her influence in the church, and only the staunchest loyalists were willing to just listen to her.

Camelia did not feel sad. She was no longer a blessed. Everything was up to Aurora now. However, by a twist of fate, Aurora left and nominated Camelia as the regent and bearer of her authority.

But… Even so… If she was given the choice, she would choose to do it once again without the slightest hesitation.

“I know.” Sol nodded his head. He did not need to be reminded of the devotion his lovers had for him. Nor did he need to remind them of his own devotion and love for them.

“Still, you cannot stay like this.” His voice was resolute.

Sol did not look down on the mortals or weak people in general. However, the matter of lifespan was not something he could take lightly.

With him being part dragon, Sol’s lifespan was already in the tens of thousands. With him ascending to the demigod realm and further, his lifespan would only be a string of numbers until… he would achieve complete immortality.

Sol had no imagination of living all eternity by his lonesome. He did not want to stand alone on the lonely top with no one he loved at his side.

That thought was one of the fundamental reasons why he made sure to constantly strengthen his lovers. He would, at the very least, bring all of them to the demigod realm. Gifting them eternal life was his first agenda.

“I am fighting so hard to reach that happy ending for all of us, not one where you aren’t there by my side. ” It might be incredibly greedy of him but he planned to keep them all by his side forever no matter the cost.

To accomplish this, he would fight even the goddesses if that was necessary. This was his path, the determination that filled his heart and supported him to tread on his treacherous path.

Camelia nodded but then shook her head, “I know you mean well, and trust me. I am not like Lilith was. I have no wish to die. But there is nothing we can do. Not now.”

“Camelia…” Sol started but Camelia raised her hand.

“I know you have your ideas but listen to me please.” A begging note entered her tone, prompting Sol to become silent. Once he closed his mouth she continued, “I should be dead. But I am alive. Do you think the goddesses aren’t suspicious?”

A sigh escaped her lips. “Still, even if they are suspicious that is all. My chances of surviving weren’t zero. So, let’s say by some fluke I survived and got healed. Then I should be a cripple forever. What do you think will happen if I make a miraculous recovery? Even if you can manage to hide it like you did time and time again, I believe by now the goddesses are also reaching the limit of their patience and tolerance.”

Camelia knew very well how the goddesses’ minds worked. “Right now, all they lack is an excuse. Simply one and we will lose Luxuria’s protection for good. Meanwhile, what YOU lack, is time.”

She looked at Sol, though all she could see was a blurry outline, her empty eyes seemingly throwing an intense glare at him.

“I will not! Let you heal me! Not now when you need to rest and accumulate.” Her voice rose an octave, but she leaked out a lethargic sigh in the end.

“Sol…” Her voice was softer now, more vulnerable. “You are the most incredible genius I have ever witnessed. No, in terms of talent alone, you are a monster of the likes that has never been seen in all the realms. In less than one year you went from nothing to the King Realm. A King who can fight the demigods. No words can describe that feat.”

She praised Sol, “Now is the time when your growth will accelerate even more. Since you are a Dimensional Mage, there is no bottleneck between you and the demigod realm. 3 months? 6? A year? No matter what, soon you will become an exalted demigod. But you still need that time.”

“You need time to grow stronger. Time to conquer all the mortal kingdoms. Time to build alliances. Time to better understand your skills and power.” She spoke with an earnestness that Sol had never heard from her before.

“Please. Do not squander that time. Look at the larger picture. Think ahead. Prepare not for the present only but for the future as well.”

Time was the greatest currency. One that could never be taken back.

“Once you become a demigod. You can do whatever you want. But for now, please, listen to me, okay?”

Camelia could have simply refused to be healed. Sol could not force her after all. But she had learned her lessons after what happened in Lustburg with the whole Gerald debacle.

There was no need for her to hide her reasons. All she had to do was sincerely explain what she had in her heart and converse with Sol about them.

Only sincerity and open discussion could keep a couple alive after all.

***

Camelia’s sincere plea made Sol hesitate. No matter what he thought, the truth was that… Camelia was right. This was not the best time to heal her. Even if he could do this with the power of Secrecy, he knew that this would be yet another thorn in his path, with a high chance of completely setting the goddesses on destroying him.

As he was now, Sol could not win. He was more than assured about his chances against a false demigod. Even a true demigod would have a hard time winning against him.

But gods and false gods were on a completely different level. It was too soon to discord all cordiality and face the goddesses.

Should I take a step back?

He mused for a short while before making his decision.

His voice softened as he stood up from his seat, “Let’s make a compromise, okay?” Approaching Camelia, he kneeled before her, taking her hands in his gently.

His gesture warmed her heart and she smiled. “I am listening.”

“Since you don’t want me to heal you now and since you are indeed correct about the dangers of this action, I will not insist.” Sol was not an unreasonable person. “But I refuse to leave you here.”

“Sol…” Camelia began but Sol stopped her mid-sentence.

“No, you, listen to me this time.” His voice was utterly serious, leaving Camelia no room to interject. “You are no longer a Supreme Daughter. You are not a Blessed and you are not a King-ranked being. Not even a Duke. As you are now, even the weakest assassin could kill you before I reach you.”

Not only had Camelia lost all her strength, but even her power to influence others had become nigh non-existent. She truly had no way to protect herself.

“The Witches are working on our defenses and the Crown’s Shadow are extremely skilled, yes. But… the bitter truth is that you are now a liability, Camelia.”

Sol knew his words were harsh. However, he also knew that Camelia had to understand her current status.

Sol had many contingencies in place and his power was growing constantly. Against Hypnos, Sol had been able to cover the world with his dimension without much problem. But it had been only temporary. Far from what Tiamat could do.

Still, Sol was confident. He was growing stronger by the second. His soul was growing stronger by the day and so was his control. Thanks to opening the seven chakras, his body was also continuously strengthening, making him more of a cockroach than he already was.

Camelia was right. What he lacked the most at present… was time.

“Leave the Church and enter the Tower. There you will have many people observing your health and protecting you. People that I trust.” It went without saying that Sol did not trust most of the nuns of the Church. Not because he suspected them of being traitors, but for the simple reason that they were not his subordinates.

They were believers of Castitas. The staunchest, most devoted believers of the goddess of chastity.

Castitas may be their ally at the moment but there was no telling what could happen in the future.

Even beyond the hypothetical scenario, Hypnos was a far more dangerous enemy than he was willing to admit, boasting a power few could counter or resist. If he decided to infiltrate the church and capture Camelia, even Sol might find it hard to detect him in time and protect his beloved.

Sol was sure that after killing a demigod-realm avatar, there was just no way for him to produce another in a short time. However, in Camelia’s current state… Hypnos did not even need a Duke realm avatar to pose a threat to her life.

The church is not safe at the moment.

Sol could not help himself from leaking a dark chuckle at the thought.

The Tower of Babel, on the other hand, was filled with only people who followed his orders. Camelia, in her obsession, had made sure to train all the maids and make them extreme loyalists.

The mortals in the tower aside, Sol doubted there was any place in the Mortal Realm that was better guarded than the Tower of Babel. Anyone who tried to infiltrate would face quite a nasty surprise.

Camelia did not hesitate for long. She was not blind to her current circumstances, even though she indeed was blind in vision. She knew she was a liability, and she refused to let her weakness be the shackles that put Sol in harm’s path.

“Very well. I will follow your wishes.” Camelia squeezed his hand and nodded obediently. “But, what about the church?”

“Let the White Knight take care of it for you.” Sol shrugged. He did not care much about the church, in all honesty, but he just could not leave it in the hands of someone he did not trust either.

The White Knight had continuously proven his loyalty to Camelia, even if that came with the distasteful flavor of his own form of love for her. Funny as it was, Sol knew the man was more of a Camelia worshiper than a Castitas worshiper.

It was quite interesting how the three highest-ranked members of the church were, in fact, not believers.

“The White Knight?” Camelia nodded after hearing his name. “Speaking of him… You have prepared the reward ceremony, right?”

“Of course?” Sol sighed and took a seat next to Camelia.

The aftermath of the war was truly the most troublesome. Sol had made many promises before the start of the war and now it was time for him to fulfill them.

He simply needed to work on the right order of things.

“I will officially reward all those who need to be rewarded after my Coronation. But I made sure everyone received the physical rewards such as money and territory.” Sol wished to stop there and be done with it, but ceremonies existed for a reason.

It was important for him to show off his generosity.

“This will also be the best time to announce our alliance with the Witches.” Sol had already planned everything down to the last detail.

“This is why… I believe it’s time to prepare ourselves and reach out to the Elves.” He grinned. This visit promised to be quite intriguing.

But before going to the legendary land of elves, he had three tasks to take care of.

One was catching Lilith and stopping her from hiding. The second was to have a heart-to-heart discussion with Pandora and even Freya, for that matter. As for the last task…

“I guess I need to take care of some midgets,” Sol murmured as his gaze seemed trained on something far, far away.

A derisive smirk arose on his face at what he was seeing.

He had been feeling stifled and stressed as of late. However, it seemed that some entertainment was coming his way, very soon.

***

As they said, an elder at home was akin to a treasure. Meanwhile, Sol had the eldest being in the entire universe housed right in his soul. It would have been stupidity to not make use of this tremendous chance and learn from Adam.

Sol had learned many things over this short period of super growth, new skills new power, and a way to cover the entirety of the capital with his power.

The skill he was trying to learn was what Adam referred to as The World. Adam developed this skill based on his own World Seed when he was human. Since Sol had a slightly similar seed. Adam judged it would be possible for Sol to learn it.

He was right. Sol had been able to learn the basics very fast. But Sol underestimated just how powerful The World was.

When Sol unleashed his version of The World, a perfect domain enveloped him where absolutely no secret could be hidden from him. Though it sounded cool, the sudden influx of all knowledge and information of the minutest details that were enclosed within this domain flooded right into his brain. The larger the domain, the higher the information flux.

This was just the first stage of the skill. According to Adam, in the later stages, Sol should be able to analyze all laws in the domain and have absolute control over them.

This skill only served to tell Sol how much of a monster Adam was. Even with all of his capabilities that transcended an ordinary King, Sol had been positively overwhelmed by that power. But Adam had been supposedly a mortal when he obtained that skill.

From what Adam told him, he had managed to awaken and support [The World] thanks to receiving enlightenment from Buddha himself.

In all honesty, his words only seemed like pure bullshit to Sol. But after everything he had seen, he could only acknowledge the truth.

Since Sol did not have the luck of receiving enlightenment from a heavenly being, the skill was very taxing on his mind and he generally only kept it up for a limited amount of time. However, he always made sure to repeatedly cast and maintain the skill every one or two hours.

Even when he was discussing with other people, the skill was still kept on in the background. From what he was seeing now, that seemed to be a good decision.

“Anything the matter?” Camelia asked as she saw an amused smile stretch on his face.

“Nothing important. Only a bunch of rats.” Sol stopped paying any heed to their presence after sensing only three Dukes among them.

There was no need for him to waste his precious time on pests. He had exterminators specialized in dealing with such problems.

***

In front of the Capital gate, a small group of merchants were negotiating with the guards.

“From what I remember, the entry fee was only 3 gold. Please, we already lost some merchandise to the beasts on the road. Our income will diminish greatly.”

One of the merchants, a pot-bellied dwarf with a large red beard, was wiping his sweat as he begged the guards. Said guards only directed looks of ridicule at him, however.

“The entry fee has increased to 10 gold. Pay up or beat it. You are slowing down everyone else,” The guard answered with a look of arrogance and derision.

Ever since their victory against Wratharis, there have been more and more caravans regularly entering Lustburg.

In the past, the atmosphere had been drastically different. Lustburg was partially dependent on dwarven steel so the guard acted very respectfully to the dwarven merchants who came to Lustburg. But since the first embargo by Greed Dike; the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated rapidly.

If Lustburg was not a melting pot of different species, dwarves would most likely have not even been allowed entry to the capital.

Even so, the taxes for dwarves merchants of Greed Dike had increased tremendously. Meanwhile, the native dwarves of Lustburg were spared from such discrimination.

The merchant gritted his teeth. He could see that no one would help him so he ultimately decided to give up.

He threw a small pouch at the guard, who caught it with a victorious smile.

“If you had the money, you should have just given it sooner,” Snickering, the guard finally stepped aside, allowing the convoy entry.

“Remember. Don’t cause any trouble. We have our eyes on you. You should register with the merchant guild. The pass you received will only work for one week.” He gave them one last look before ignoring them altogether. He returned to his work, collecting the entrance fee from the others who required entry into the capital.

The merchant gave a warm smile and nodded repeatedly, assuring them that he knew the proper procedures, before entering through the gate with his group.

It was a group composed of ten dwarves. Seven were armed guards, while the last three were the merchant, his wife, and his daughter.

The small caravan advanced slowly through the street reserved for them, and the merchant showed a merry mood as he sat inside the coach with his daughter and wife.

“Dear, do you plan to go to the merchant guild now?” The wife had relatively tanned skin and a slim body. Her mouth spewed words of love but her eyes were as calm as a stagnant lake.

The merchant dwarf shook his head, “We don’t need to. After all— one week will be more than enough for us.”

A cold laugh escaped his merry lips, his eyes focused on the tower in the distance. The phase one of the plan went quite well. He was more than a bit disappointed in Lustburg’s defense. The prince had overestimated these buffoons.

What the dwarves didn’t know was that the guard who had extorted money from them was showing an equally cold smile as he observed the slowly advancing caravan from behind. With a silent whisper, he transmitted a message regarding the intruding dwarves.

***

While the elite spies and assassins of Greed Dike were passing through Lustburg’s entrance, inside the secret chamber of the Crown’s Shadow, Milia sat on her desk while filtering through the reams of reports her subordinates had handed over to her periodically.

“So, this time it’s the dwarves?” She mused to herself, wondering out loud. Her words elicited a small chuckle from her friend, Katia.

Like Milia, Ketia was one of the orphans who was kidnapped and subsequently experimented on by King Neptune, Sol’s grandfather. He was the so-called Puppet King, a disgrace in the history of Lustburg. Though her loyalty could not compare to Milia’s she was still a valuable asset of the kingdom, serving faithfully beside her friend through the years.

“One of the agents we stationed on entrance guard duty managed to identify them as highly suspicious and dangerous individuals. He couldn’t correctly assess their power level, but that in itself was strong proof of their suspicious nature. There is no way this is your run-of-the-mill caravan of merchants.”

Milia nodded, agreeing to her friend’s assessment. The influence of the Crown’s Shadow had steadily grown ever since Sol took control of the organization and now they basically had infiltrated all sectors of society. From the red lights of the lowly brothels to the sparking chandeliers of high nobility, their eyes and ears were everywhere.

It went without saying that Milia held more than a bit of pride in her organization.

“We need to know what their objectives are. Observe them from afar for now. But make sure to immediately capture them at the first instance of any suspicious movement, no matter how slight.” Milia did not want to capture them now as they were still technically merchants. Capturing them would only bring in another wave of international diplomatic complications for Lustburg given they were from a different kingdom. With everything that was going on for them, they did not need another set of trouble, especially something they could avoid by being patient.

However, if the situation called for it, she would act first and ask questions later. Sol had officially delegated enough power to her that she now wielded the necessary authority to slaughter nobles, if they proved to be suspicious, without asking for his input.

Pushing the documents aside, she focused on the more important matters.

“How is the reorganization of the group coming along?” They needed to expand more, fast. Now that Sol had taken over Wratharis, they needed to create a base of operation there and make sure they had eyes and ears everywhere in the Beastkin Kingdom as well.

It was necessary to have enough experienced members and someone trustworthy at the helm.

“Everything is working well. I am preparing to move soon. All I need is to have a chat with the princess to bid my farewells, then I can leave.” Katia answered Milia.

She had once been Lilin’s maid and her most trusted companion. The two of them spent years together, even after Lilin had journeyed beyond Lustburg and into the world. Katia had been there beside her as she explored the world to broaden her horizons, always there to help her in need.

In terms of loyalty, she was far more loyal to Lilin than to Sol or the country. Milia did not find this situation troublesome. As long as Ketia kept her ideals and loyalty to herself without influencing the recruits no complications will arise.

“As for the matter of recruiting new blood… as sad as it may be, the reality is that the war had stripped many children of their parents, rendering them orphans. No matter how much the Crown Prince helps financially, he can’t help everyone after all.” Ketia found the measures Sol put in place to be very admirable.

However, she did not find them realistic. There was a limit to how much he could protect and save people with his actions. Many soldiers and civilians had died, creating many widows and orphans. Be it in Lustburg or Wratharis.

Though the situation was worse in Wratharis.

“Princess Setsuna seems to be taking action to implement aid and relief to the victims of the war in Wratharis, however, she barely has any semblance of control of the country. Furthermore, unlike us, Wratharis seems to be in a deficit. I doubt she can realistically implement the same programs as us without bankrupting the Kingdom.” As an orphan herself, Ketia wished to help. However, the reality was working against her.

Milia nodded in acknowledgment, “The prince has decided to lend some money to Wratharis, but there is a limit to how much we can offer. After all, our own coffers have fallen dangerously low due to war expenses.”

She waved her hand, “Either way, try recruiting as many orphans as possible. We will offer them training and resources. The only problem is fostering loyalty in them.”

Creating strong soldiers was an extremely long and arduous initiative.

Creating strong and loyal assassins and spies, on the other hand, was a whole different ball game.

At times, years of meticulous training and relentless indoctrination were required to create just one capable assassin, sometimes even that wasn’t enough. However, they did not have much choice in their hands.

Time huh… Milia could not stop herself from leaking a wistful sigh.

Her own training to reach the King realm should have been her top priority. However, time was not something she had droves of and her responsibilities were many. There were simply too many things that needed her attention.

The only good thing was that Clara took care of most of the administration problems, leaving Milia to handle the less savory side of the issues, the problems she was suited to resolve.

The security of the state was not something to be taken lightly after all. Even though she knew she had to delegate more of her duties to others, she did not have any suitable candidate in mind…

Oh?

She stopped short, remembering the name of someone who had more than enough loyalty and was worth training.

Should I give it a try?

She hesitated for a brief instant but, in the end, decided that she had nothing to lose by just trying. The woman was already Sol’s official retainer. So, there was nothing wrong with giving her a few more responsibilities. She was of course thinking about Athena Highland.

I doubt Athena will be useful in the Crown’s Shadow but Clara would surely love to have an assistant to take some load off her shoulder.

Athena Highland was an extremely straightforward, honorable, and loyal woman.

If she was used as the face of Lustburg’s administration, with her high pedigree and her identity as a pure human, many of the problems Clara and Milia faced would vanish.

After all, there were still many nobles who hated the fact that a prideful, obnoxious elf was positioned in such an important role by Lustburg’s king. No matter how many times Clara proved her skills, there was virtually no way to convince the people who had set their minds on thinking otherwise.

While Clara takes Athena, I can take Ares.

A well-structured plan was forming in her mind. Ares was not as strong as her sister and he was also not the heir of the Highland family, however, he was as loyal as her while not being as bullheaded in certain aspects.

He was a talent worth recruiting.

Once her course of action was decided, Milia stood up from her seat. She needed to meet His Highness and explain what she needed. The Highland family was too high-ranked for her to mess with without explicit approval.

***

In the basement of the mansion belonging to Hermes Traver, Theresa was busy drawing away while sitting on a small tool, perfect for her height.

Different schema and diagrams littered the ground but she had no care as a crazed look filled her eyes. Her mind was working in overdrive and more and more lines and complex shapes were added to the schematics.

“This is it! This is the way!”

She was filled with pure jubilation. Ever since she discovered the golem and worked on the Rangers, Theresa felt like she had entered a new world of pure bliss. She had a companion who could exchange with her necessary and overqualified workforce as well as near unlimited funds.

The Rangers were powerful. Perhaps one of the greatest things she created after the creation of Sol’s Divine Weapon— The Eye of Akasha. However, that came no way close to satisfying her. She wanted… needed more. She had to reach the height of creation itself.

“Hahaha!” A crazed laugh bubbled out of her mouth like foam. Her hair was frayed as she had not bathed in days. Her hands were stained in ink smudges and her eyes were bloodshot with heavy bags stretching long beneath them.

But she had never been so excited in her entire life.

If Sol was present, he would look at Theresa in utter disbelief since he would notice that she had unknowingly entered the Duke realm and was instinctively using her Zone to increase her focus.

If he looked at her soul, he would realize that the True Name of a King was slowly forming in her soul and a concept was building based on her insight.

In fact, Theresa herself was not conscious of all the changes happening to her. All she knew was that she had entered a moment of epiphany and that she would sell her soul to keep this moment going even if for a fraction of a second longer.

As for what she was creating… If Kali could take a look at the schematics littering the ground, she would realize that she, perhaps, should not have talked about Nuclear Fission, Thermodynamics, and other such concepts with someone as crazy as Theresa.