Chapter 18: Chapter 14: Warm welcome

A loud sigh and the sound of her bones cracking as she stretches her body was proof that she had finished writing everything she could remember. She placed the quill in its holder and returned the pages of the book to where she had started, going over the events.

“The Empire of Laraef, which had been conquering nearby countries for decades, had reached a point where it was barely able to hold its own. Thanks to Emperor Hubtos IV, who ended the wars of conquest and began an era focused entirely on stabilizing their economy and territories. Over the years, the Laraef Empire was able to become a power to be reckoned with in the core territories of the continent.

On the other hand, the Agrilisa Queendom, ruled by Queen Margret Kühn, began its rule almost tyrannically, impoverishing the people and giving positions of high power to members of the nobility who were kissing her shoes. Years later, her nephew, Albert Zieglier, started a rebellion to overthrow her and place her mother, Svenia Kühn, as the new Queen of Agrilisa. The rebellion was successful, but it left the Queendom in a state of chaos for several years. It wasn't until the new queen, Svenia finally ascended to power that, with her wisdom, restored the people's faith, thus beginning a new era for Agrilisa."

Reilanis finished reading, comparing the contents of the many reports Vistelia had given her with what she remembered, all of them coinciding almost perfectly with what she had written. Since the time they settled in that place, the Cedarstone forest, she had been sending Vistelia to the nearest cities to learn as much as possible about the area in which they were living. Said forest was located in the territory of Agrilisa, more specifically on its western border, which collides with the territory of Laraef.

Due to its difficult position, both countries used to have clashes near that place, on a plain called Oastwill. But they had ceased a few years ago due to a kind of truce established by the recovery of economic stability that their current rulers worked so hard to achieve.

Reilanis let out a long yawn, showing the exhaustion that had built up in the many hours she had sat writing down every detail she could remember. The cigarette box next to her was now only half full, and for some unknown but convenient reason, they still disappeared into particles when thrown into the air, which made her life easier not having to worry about getting rid of them.

“Even so… to think that these countries would go to war in a couple of years over such nonsense… humans seriously like to fight over the strangest things.”

Indeed. Humans are a race that likes to go to war for whatever reason. Whether it is for something fair or unfair, for trues or lies, they always look for an excuse to fight, either against other races or against themselves. And this time would be no different.

Laraef's empire, which had finally achieved stability, had begun to see a proliferation of small settlements and towns along the border between the two countries.

Many of them began as small caravans that, on their way to find a place to settle with their families, joined other travelers from neighboring countries, forming groups large enough to reclaim small areas near forests and eventually turn them into farms and villages that they would make their homes.

The problems began to manifest themselves when the Laraef empire began to claim that these towns were part of its territory, even though some of them were on the other side of the border, in the territory of Agrilisa. The nobles in charge of the border cities began to clash with each other, escalating to occasional small skirmishes with armies of moderate sizes.

Although none of those battles had been big or important enough for the capitals to have to send reinforcements, they had caused great discontent among these towns that were just looking for a place to live quietly. As a consequence, bandits began to proliferate in the area, the majority being men and women who had become impoverished due to the constant battles, driving away the animals they hunted and having to forcibly deliver the food they grew with the sweat of their brows.

According to Reilan's memories, all these events would increase in the coming months, resulting in the assassination of Riloine Aleria Khün, the second princess of the Agrilisa Kingdom by a group of bandits from the area, who were soldiers of the empire in disguise. More specifically, soldiers under the command of Baron Astor Miraleiquis, the current ruler of the city of Dorgayano, the closest to the Cedarstone forest. Baron Astor's objective was to invade and conquer the city of Tagal on the banks of the Berkho river. The Miraleiquis family had coveted this place for decades, due to its abundant fishing, fertile farming areas, and the route to the Porlean sea, at the east of the continent.

The Miraleiquis family wanted to find an excuse to invade, but the petty fights that had occurred the past few years hadn't been big enough to justify it. He planned to cause chaos in the Queendom and take advantage to reclaim that territory for themselves. So, Baron Astor mobilized some of his best soldiers, disguised them as bandits, and ordered them to intercept the princess on her way through the northeastern part of Cedarstone Forest. Their mission was to assassinate the princess and her entourage, leaving only one alive, who would be the spy who filtered the route of the trip, that same one would return with the news that the bandits had been hired by detractors of the queen, thus causing an internal conflict. While they were busy with that, Astor would easily invade the Tagal city.

“I don't even want to start naming all the problems that were in that stupid plan… but the biggest problem in all of this isn't just that noble idiot. The murder of that princess will be on the road through the forest just a couple of kilometers from here. I don't want them to discover the dungeon yet, not when it's still unfinished and… when I'm just beginning to recover. I wish things were as easy as they were in the game, where you just had to ignore the political issue and take advantage of the war to destroy both countries with a monster’s wave. At least in the original route, Reilan found it too troublesome and he decided to ignore them completely."

Just like she said, Reilan had decided to ignore both events, the attack on the princess and the war itself, since, in principle, they didn't affect his gameplay at all. And he was much busier collecting materials to level up and unlock NPCs.

“No, wait… Doesn't this mean we're in a terrible position right now? Eh… what level I was?”

 

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“Shit… I'm way below where I should be. And this made me remember that the girls are even worse than me... Vistelia is the only one closer to my level, but even that wouldn't be enough. Damn it, it's going to be a huge problem if we don't do anything about it, and I still don't know when the attack on the princess will happen.”

Reilanis held her head in frustration, worried about the many problems that had suddenly appeared and were urgent to solve.

"*sigh* I don't gain anything thinking by myself, it's best to discuss it with the others."

Reilanis shook her head, trying to clear her mind, then looked around the room, feeling much emptier than she remembered; emptier and colder. A feeling of loneliness crept in, making her feel somewhat sad, but as soon as she became aware of it, she pushed it away. She closed the book, threw it into her inventory, and stood up stretching a little more.

“I guess it's finally time to get out of here. I want to take a bath…”

Wasting no more time, Reilanis walked to the door, eager to wipe away all the sweat, blood, and… other fluids, as well as the smell of smoke that had stuck to her since she started smoking.

Without giving it much thought, she just opened the door and was greeted by an adorable little cry.

"Mommy!"

A blonde-haired missile launched, hitting her right in the belly. Although powerful, it wasn't enough to cause her pain, instead, she felt confused by the situation and why everyone was outside, apparently waiting for her.

“Wha… Neminah? what's wrong, why are you all here?"

Sure enough, they were all in front of the door looking at Reilanis who had finally decided to show up. Vistelia looked at her with relief, Elisa tried to maintain a neutral expression, although her eyes said that she was quite upset. Neminah, as tight as she had held on to her, it was more than clear how relieved she was to see her mommy again. But Miriam began to walk towards Reilanis, stomping her feet, her brows furrowed, and showing each of her fangs in an angry grin, all while breathing heavily. The temperature in the place had risen a bit, enough for everyone to notice. It was one of the dragon girl's quirks. She could raise the temperature around her based on her emotions. The more intense they were, the greater the heat they produced.

Miriam stops just a couple of steps away from Reilanis, who was keeping a curious eye on her girl's behavior. Then, without warning, the dragon girl threw a punch with all her might, aimed straight at the face of whom she considered to be her mother. The blow landed directly on Reilanis's nose, who didn't even try to dodge it despite seeing it coming.

The blow was so strong that the Oni was released from Neminah's grasp, hurling her to the side, and sending Reilanis to the ground a couple of meters away.

“Miriam!? What the hell are you doing!?”

Elisa reacted immediately, grabbing the dragon girl's shoulder and yelling at her, demanding an explanation for her disrespectful actions. But she just breathed heavily, seeing how Reilanis had stayed on the ground. "Why…? Why didn't she dodge it?" That was the question that had stuck in her mind. She looked away from the Oni on the ground and down to her hand. The hand she used to hit Reilanis. She tried to make a fist again, but she was shaking uncontrollably. Frightened, she took it in her other hand, and shoving Elisa away, ran down the hall.

“Miriam! Miriam, get back here right now! Miri-“

"Leave her."

"But…"

"It’s okay, I guess I deserved that.”

"M-mommy, are you alright?"

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"Yeah, just... surprised, that's all."

Reilanis sat on the floor and patted Neminah's head to reassure her. Her nose hurt a little, but it was nothing to worry about. A hand appeared in front of her, and seeing that it belonged to Vistelia, she just took it and let herself be lifted from the ground.

"It was funny watching you take that hit."

Reilanis only responded with a snort and a half smile, and that answer surprised Elisa and even Vistelia herself, who had never seen her react like this to a joke before.

“Master, what do we do with…”

“Just leave her. She needs to cool down. Actually, what are all of you doing here? Nobody but me is supposed to know about this place.

“When I got back from the… errand you gave me, I was told that you suddenly disappeared after you had some kind of panic attack. Before I arrived, they were quite concerned looking for you throughout the dungeon for almost all day. Then I found this place and since we couldn't open the door, we decided to wait.”

"How long ago was that?"

"Three days."

"What!? Three days!? Wait, have you all been out here from the beginning?"

"No, silly. We always leave one to watch. It was just coincidence that at this moment we were all here.”

"I see. – Reilanis just sighed, remembering Reilan's words, who told her that they would be there waiting, worried. – I'm sorry I make you all worried. I just… a lot happened and it was quite difficult.”

Elisa was surprised by the sudden apology. Not only was it the first time she had heard her master apologize to them, but she felt extremely sincere, embarrassed even. This worried her again, reaching the point of suspecting that something had happened to her, something that could replace her. But before she could do anything, Vistelia got in her way.

“Hmm, as long as you understand. But you still owe us an explanation.”

Reilanis didn't answer, just nodded with a tired smile and her hand on her neck. Elisa looked at Vistelia suspiciously. She realized that he had interrupted her on purpose, but she didn't understand why.

"Well, what are you going to do? You've been there for 3 days, you haven't eaten anything, right?"

“Ah, I could use a bath actually…and now that you mention it, I am hungry. Elisa, could you…?”

“* Sigh *-Elisa, who wasn't convinced with the situation at all, looked at Vistelia one last time, almost as if telling her that what she was planning had better be worth it. – Yes. What would you like to eat, master?"

"Meat, any type, but make it big."

"Understood. Neminah, could you help me?"

"Eh... but I want to be with mommy."

“Nemi, could you? Your mommy looks a little tired and I want to talk to her first.

"Hmm... I understand."

With a sad look, Neminah left holding Elisa's hand, disappearing down the long hallway. Once they were out of sight, Reilanis shifted her gaze from them to Vistelia, who kept her eyes fixed on her, eyes that seemed to be trying to analyze every movement of her body, every little detail, as if searching for something. specific.

"Then. – Reilanis said, drawing the attention of the elf who seemed to be on guard, even though her position hadn't changed for a while. - What do you want to tell me?"

“. . . I'm surprised you noticed. You usually not…"

“No, I normally never pay attention to such things, but the situation… has changed. Or rather, it has changed me. And before you jump to conclusions, no, I'm not someone else if that's what you were thinking. I am still me."

“. . . And how do you expect me to believe you?

"You more than anyone should know, right?"

“. . .”

“*sigh* look… there are many things I have to say… especially to you. But I need you to trust me, can you at least give me that?"

Vistelia kept her guard up. From how she had acted so far, she had a strong suspicion that this might not be the Reilanis she had originally met. But there was a feeling in her heart that told her to trust, that there was no reason to doubt her.

After a long time holding her gaze, she gave up, releasing the tension in her body. Reilanis noticed that and relaxed as well, letting out a smile, even winking at her, taking the elf completely by surprise, and causing her expression to change entirely.

"W-well, I'll go take a bath."

Vistelia just nodded, stunned by Reilanis's flirtatious act, which, after taking a couple of steps, stopped and called her again.

"Oh, by the way, tell the others to wait for me in my study in a few, uh...forget it, just tell them I'll go there after bathing and eating, okay?"

Vistelia nodded and Reilanis immediately disappeared into the corridor, leaving the young elf completely lost and with a slight blush on her cheeks. On the other hand, the cause of such an effect was screaming in her mind “Why the hell did I do that!? Wink at her, seriously!?” Needless to say, it took her a while to calm down the embarrassment she felt about it.

 

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