It took a minute for the Berseria crew to calm down.
"Sorry about that," Rokurou apologized to the others. "You really have to know Velvet to get how funny this is."
"Uh huh…" Sorey replied unsurely.
"Still, I wonder what would drive Velvet to become the leader of a country. How did she accomplish this in the first place?" Eleanor wondered.
"Guess there's only one way to find out." Magilou nodded towards Laphicet, who pushed a button on the remote and the video went on.
"Captain Sergei," the Velvet on the TV-Screen greeted the man in full armor, her smile never leaving her face.
"My lady." The Captain bowed as was expected of a knight to his ruler. "You called for me?"
"That I did." Velvet nodded, the smile leaving her face and her expression turning neutral. "I hope it wasn't an inconvenience for you. I know how much attention your tasks as captain require of you."
"I don't know what, but something is off about the way Velvet is speaking here," Laphicet commented.
"Sounds perfectly normal to me," Edna replied.
"No, Laphicet is right," Eizen agreed with the young Malak. "There's something off, but I can't put my finger on it."
"Hmm…" Velvet put a thoughtful hand under her chin but didn't comment on it as of yet.
"It is never an inconvenience, when you call for me, my lady." The captain replied on screen.
"Is it just me or does Captain Sergei sound kind of hostile?" Mikleo asked his peers.
"He does," Dezel agreed. Though he found the slight static that the so-called TV-Screen emitted slightly distracting, he could easily make out the hatred dripping in the man's voice.
"What is it you wish of me?" the captain asked, curiosity being evident in his voice.
"I have received a rather disturbing report today. You are aware that our harvest has been, to put it bluntly bad the past couple of years. Our food reserves are holding up, but unless we have a better harvest this year, the people will starve." Velvet told the Captain.
"Is that true?" Eleanor asked the Zestiria crew. "Was there really a harvest problem in Pendrago?"
The Zestiria crew looked at each other. "I have heard rumors about the situation our neighboring kingdom has been in, but nothing concrete," Alisha said after a minute.
"We don't know anything specific either. But given how much rain there had been caused by a single Hellion…" Lailah trailed off for a moment. "It is not impossible to believe that other Hellions have been responsible for more disasters, yet at the same time, it could have been just bad luck with the weather."
"I am well aware of that fact." The captain replied. Suddenly the scene changed in rapid fashion. The screen became black and white, showing pictures of destroyed roads, collapsing bridges, forest fires and people dying due to sickness. Finally, the scene changed one last time. The color returned and showed Captain Sergei's grim face. The camera zoomed away from him and turned around until both he and Velvet could be seen from the side.
"Does this have anything to do with why you summoned me?" the knight asked.
"Indeed." Velvet nodded, standing up from her throne, her dress no longer hiding the red cushions. "The report said that thieves have been raiding our crop storages as of late. I don't need to tell you what would happen if this continues."
"That would be bad for any country with a shortage of food," Rokurou commented.
"People don't even realize that they're making things worse," said Rose, putting her hands behind her head. "Sure the thieves got a bit more to eat for a day or two, but if the food isn't regulated during a time of shortage, things just go south pretty fast."
Alisha looked over to Rose for a second, before returning her attention to the TV.
Once again the TV-Screen turned black and white, indicating it showed an event in the past. This time it showed Sergei sitting on a desk, going over some paperwork. One of his knights then came along and presented a piece of paper to him. After carefully reading it, the Captain looked up at the knight.
"Another theft?"
"I'm afraid so. We're questioning witnesses as we speak, but so far, we have nothing," the knight reported.
"Hmm, this is not good. If "our esteemed ladyship" hears about this" the sarcasm was quite obvious in Sergei's voice "there's no telling what that demon would do to the citizens."
"Wow, he really doesn't like you, huh Velvet?" Rokurou asked his fellow daemon.
"So, what's new?" Velvet asked with a wave of her hand. "If he knows I'm a daemon, then it should hardly be a surprise."
"Wait," Dezel spoke up. "How does he know you are a Hellion?" the Seraphim asked.
"What do you mean?" the Hellion asked back.
"Mankind has long since lost the ability to perceive daemons," Lailah explained, slightly surprising the Berseria crew.
"Really?" Laphicet asked.
"Well, if that is the case, it means that in this timeline we managed to defeat Innominat," Magilou deduced.
"Aye and without him, only a select few humans can perceive us and daemons," Eizen agreed.
"But from the sound of things, everyone seems to know that Velvet is a daemon," Eleanor went on.
"Well, I suggest we just continue watching. I'm sure our questions will be answered eventually," Magilou suggested, to which the others agreed.
The scene shifted back to the present with Sergei and Velvet.
"I want you to increase the guards stationed at our storage facilities." The Lord of Calamity ordered. "I also want you to investigate the thefts and find the culprits. I do not wish to the people to believe that the guards are not able to apprehend some simple thieves."
"It looks like the Captain's fears were completely unfounded," Eizen commented.
"What do you mean?" Laphicet asked.
"It looked like that Captain Sergei feared Velvet would do something to the citizens," the first mate of the Aifread pirates explained.
"Why would she do that? It wouldn't make any sense punishing someone who didn't do anything," the young Malak argued.
"It would fit with the stereotypical villain persona," Bienfu argued. "You know in all those stories where the villain takes over the kingdom at the beginning and then treats the people like they're less than animals."
"I guess everyone would think that would happen if a daemon suddenly takes over," Rokurou thought aloud.
The general on-screen blinked a couple of times, before saluting. "Understood. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Indeed there is," the Lord of Calamity on screen replied. "Our spies report that the tension is rising in the Kingdom of Hyland. Their leaders are now openly considering to go to war with us in order to make up for the poor harvests they experienced as well."
"Huh, so you guys were having trouble too?" Rokurou asked the princess, who nodded solemnly.
"Sadly yes. Be it harvest, trade… our kingdom has suffered for quite some time for a multitude of reasons," Alisha confirmed. "And it's also true that there had been open talk to go to war. I did my best to prevent it, but…"
"Ah, I see," Rokurou nodded, understanding.
"If it is not too much to ask, how did the war end?" Eleanor inquired.
"A stalemate, basically," Rose replied bluntly. "For a time it looked like the people of Ladylake were going to win, but then their Commander got himself killed." The assassin purposely left out some details of the war, like Sorey's involvement and Heldalf's appearance.
"From the looks of things, it doesn't look like this Velvet wants to go to war," Mikleo said thoughtfully.
"Why would I?" Velvet asked. "If the harvest was really that bad, I can't allow myself to have a war. How would I supply the troops? Not to mention I actually need all those men to work in the fields, rather than fight in a war that I might actually lose."
"Hmm," Magilou's expression became thoughtful. "I guess that is how you would run a country. Efficiency above everything else. Kinda boring, but it fits you in a way."
"If I just let the people die, I won't have much of a kingdom left. That's not efficiency, it's basic logic," Velvet argued back.
"Is it bad that all of the sudden I wish a Hellion would be the leader of my country, rather than the ones who are right now?" Alisha asked with a tired sigh.
"I would think the answer is rather obvious," Dezel grunted.
"Why would you think that anyway, Alisha?" the local Shepherd asked perplexed.
"Because right now she" Alisha gestured at Velvet "has shown more care for the people than most politicians I have to deal with."
"Wow, that bad, huh?" Rokurou let out a small laugh.
"Shall I prepare the army?" Sergei asked, getting the attention of everyone else back to the screen.
The people watching tensed up.
The Lord of Calamity put her ungloved hand under her chin, thinking. "Prepare yes, but do it discreetly. From what our spies have gathered, Princess Alisha is doing her best to keep the idiots who want to go to war in check. In fact, she has gone as far as to hold the first Sacred Blade festival in years."
"I take it you're not an optimistic person," Sorey commented at Velvet, who just waved off with her hand.
"I am a daemon. What do you expect?"
"Um… what is the Sacred Blade Festival?" Laphicet asked innocently.
"It's a festival that is being held in honor of the Lady of the Lake," explained Alisha and then giggled. "As it turns out this was none other than Lailah."
Everyone looked over to the fire-elemental Seraphim, who too giggled. "The sacred blade festival was something we thought off, in order to determine who would become the next Shepherd. We stuck a sword in the stone and cast artes on the stone, so it would only release the sword to someone who could see Seraphim and has a pure heart."
"Looks like someone didn't want to have another Artorius," Magilou quietly whispered to herself.
"That's one way to do it I guess…" Eleanor thought to herself.
Sergei on screen cleared his throat before speaking up. "I see. So, do you think Princess Alisha will be able to keep the government officials in check."
"I am not sure." Velvet shook her head. "Which is why I want you to prepare our forces, just in case. Humans are naturally greedy and mistrusting creatures. If they see her as a threat to their power, they'll probably try to remove her, if you catch my drift."
Rose glanced over to Alisha, still playing with the dagger in her hand. She thought back to the day she and her guild had received the job to assassinate the princess. At first, it looked like a simple run out of the mill job. At first. She didn't notice Sorey glancing over at her.
"I understand. I will give the necessary instructions immediately."
"Good. You're dismissed."
Sergei gave one final salute, before turning around and heading out of the throne room. He was about to exit the room when Velvet called him one last time.
"And Captain? As much as I enjoy a midnight snack, please refrain from sending any more assassins to my chambers. I prefer to have an uninterrupted good night's rest."
"Say what?!" the Zestiria crew exclaimed. Eizen, Rokurou, and Magilou smirked at Velvet, while Laphicet looked at Velvet uncomfortably. Eleanor just looked disgusted.
"I guess that's one way to get rid of an assassin," Eizen commented with a small chuckle.
"By eating them?" Edna asked, having a hard time keeping her voice in check.
"I am a therion," Velvet explained. "I literally survive by eating the malevolence that comes from people and daemons alike."
"Couldn't you have just locked them away?" Eleanor asked with an angry tone.
"Y-yeah, I agree with her," Sorey nodded.
"They would have been executed anyway," Rokurou threw in his two cents. "I'd say it solves two problems at once. Getting rid of the assassin and keeping Velvet well fed."
"Don't talk about me like I'm some kind of pet that needs to be fed," the Lord of Calamity told her companion.
"Though it looks like this Velvet at least has developed a sense of humor," Magilou commented with a grin.
"A wicked sense of humor, if you ask me," Mikleo growled, not hiding his disgust.
"Er, that's nothing," Rokurou waved off. "You should have been there when Velvet almost fed Magilou to the alligators."