Chapter 38: 38: Surprise Audience

Back at the city, where the afternoon sun was shining, where work was happening, where the heart of the nation was. 

Under a tree in front of her mansion in the noble district was Kaitlyn, a few bags of treasure sitting on the ground in front of her. Sighing, Kaitlyn squatted down, slapping the heavy bags of treasure a few times before letting out another longer sigh. 

“I have to carry this into the house? ...really?”

Falling back onto the ground, Kaitlyn stared off into the sky much to the dismay of any passing ignorant nobles, thinking that Kaitlyn was disgracing the noble image as a whole.

On the ground, trying to motivate herself to carry the bags into her house, Kaitlyn almost fell asleep, zoning out and not getting up until the sun had made a bit of a journey through the sky. However, once she was up, Kaitlyn managed to bring all of the bags into her house without much effort, they were placed right near the front door after all. 

Having finished the last thing she had to do for the day, Kaitlyn, feeling the fatigue after fighting through the dungeon, collapsed onto her bed like a doll that had its strings cut, falling deep into the warm embrace of a nap. 

On the other side of the city, Dexter was drowning, having to sort out and distribute some managerial work to a few guild employees to sort through everything that had been gained from the dungeon expedition along with sending teams to go study the newly found dungeon. 

Pushing a pair of glasses up while handing a different person a piece of paperwork, Dexter turned to the head of scientists, explaining, “We need to find out why a Lich was forming that close to the capital of the kingdom. Luckily Kaitlyn caught it relatively early and that we have a lot of fighting force in the city, but in other places it might not be the case.”

“I agree,” the head of the scientists nodded, a solemn expression in his face as a determined light gleamed in his eyes, “This is of critical importance, we need to minimize any potential life loss.”

Doing a half-bow, he excused himself, rushing back to his own department to organize a team, aiming to send a team the next day. 

While Dexter was rushing to sort out his own work, in the Royal Palace, Jayce and Sasha were in formal attire. 

Having returned to the palace, Jayce and Sasha had prepared to laze around like a pair of house cats, only to be interrupted by an envoy sent by Chelsea. 

Now, under the gleaming lights of the Royal Palace, a place where the wider populace dreamed of being in, was a formal audience occurring. 

While several nobles were in the wings observing, the two thrones were the main focus. On one throne sat the king, Jayce Troicen, the hero that slayed the demon king, now with a stern expression on his face. Behind him though, hung on the wall were his still bloody spear and shield having not been cleaned in time for this impromptu audience. On the other throne sat his beloved queen, Sasha Demaris, a graceful crane sitting on her throne, her rapier, blade also still dyed with blood hanging behind her. 

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With this imposing sight, a heavy atmosphere filled the audience hall, a stark contrast to the usual bubbly, cheery atmosphere in the hall, almost reminiscent of the old war days a decade prior. 

However, unfazed by the heavy atmosphere was the envoy sent by Chelsea, kneeling as they shared their information with the stern yet worried King and Queen.

This envoy was a rare sight indeed, led by one of Chelsea’s most important people, the head of her knights, Millicent. 

Millicent, with slight lines of age visible on her face was still an intimidating sight with her imposing muscular frame only surpassed by the monster that was called Dexter. Furthermore, with her short hair, short enough to stand up straight, calloused hands and gargantuan war hammer slung on her back, Millicent knelt in front of Jayce and Sasha, sharing the message her lady wanted to deliver. 

“For the first thing, my lady wanted to let you all know that you can push back the date you leave by about a week, the monster wave seems to be gestating slower this year. Both a good and a bad thing as I'm sure you’re already aware.”

“Indeed,” Jayce sighed, nodding at a nearby scribe to record everything that Millicent shared, “Comes later which is nice... but is also always stronger.”

A satisfied smile on her face, approving of Jayce’s knowledge, Millicent continued, “Furthermore, as we all know, there were rumors about Nero joining up with the monster wave in order to further his own goals. That has been confirmed to be true, many parties have spotted Nero, and traces of his magic have been found on several of the smaller monsters that have wandered out from the northern frontier.”

“Now... for the last part, the reason that I came in person, I have to humbly request that the audience be emptied for this is more sensitive information,” Millicent requested, lowering her head. 

Looking over at Sasha while Sasha looked back, Jayce gave a light nod before waving everyone out. 

First the nobles, a few leaving to go chat elsewhere, a few clicking their tongues having hoped for a little more insider information. Then, the managerial staff and the rest of Millicent’s party filed out from the doors on the side. Lastly, the two lines of knights on the side of the room marched out, waiting outside the audience hall, ready to rush in should an emergency occur. 

Standing up again with a gentle smile that didn’t befit her earlier image, Millicent looked over at Jayce and Sasha, exchanging some light greetings before continuing, “First of all, my lady would like to say that she misses you all, and that it’s unreasonably cold and lonely in the north while you all hang out here.” 

Letting Jayce and Sasha stop their laughing, Millicent then continued, “Moreover, onto the main topic. Beyond Nero, it's been confirmed that the Black Wing has also been gathering in that area. I’d assume they are there to help Nero mostly because they all worship Nero... However, beyond that...”