The Clockwork Empress

by Dark Gear

Momonga wasn't the only person to be brought to the New World. What happens when the unseen force has brought in another that it probably shouldn't have? What happens when it brings in... a developer. Fortunately for her, she has a few advantages to give her the edge over any player. Unfortunately for her, she's going to need those advantages, as she doesn't start like Momonga.

36. Ch 35 Small Miracles

((Author's Note: So yeah, I haven't added a chapter in a while, and this is the explanation. I just finished a semester of college and now it's winter break posting this. I focused pretty hard on getting good grades while also trying to finish this. I haven't forgotten the story, it just took longer than expected. This was not supposed to be coming out this late, it wasn't planned for Xmas Eve or anything.))

(The Recommended song list in this chapter is: BigRicePiano – Cappucino; Two Steps From Hell – Miracles; Gåte - Gjendines Bånsull. Notices are still placed at key points. From now on, this list will appear at the top of each chapter.)

25th, December

Hrist awoke early and checked on her sisters, having stayed awake longer than she did and packing every book they could get their hands on in the library. While the rest of the temple was ever so slowly crumbling, that room was the last refuge that was completely untouched bar some light dust. They had even found some tomes that seemed quite useful to read later, gilded with incredible symbols and locked cases, keeping them secure. The raven-haired woman slipped outside to start some solo practice with a sword and shield, wearing little more than pants and a dark blue sleeveless top.

As she went through her motions carefully, swinging her weapon as if the Valkyrja was in a battle, the waves of the ocean nearby seemed so soothing. It was still somewhat dark outside, with no real light to be seen beyond the fading stars, as she kept to her routine and exercised. Once she had finished with the sword, Hrist swapped to practicing her martial arts moves that Selene had shown her, sliding effortlessly now around the small little arena she had cordoned off. After two hours, the battle maiden stopped and grabbed a towel she had brought outside, wiping herself off and grabbing a cereal bar in the supply bag.

With morning training done, she wiped her face, her eyes landing on a woman down the path leading up to the cliffside, just at the edge of the forest there. Her hands stopped moving as they just stared at each other, the other woman standing and wearing a leather skirt with a small strap bra holding her ample chest from spilling out. The Valkyrja noticed her physique was well-toned, trained for combat. A spear was in her hand, along with a round wooden shield strapped to her left arm. Strap sandals were worn on her feet, new from the looks of it, given they probably fell apart after a short time. The hair was weaved into cornrows down one side, a light pastel green it seemed. What happened next made Hrist immediately grab her sword and sheath it in the scabbard at her hip.

Four others came out of the forest, all standing next to their sister. All they did was watch the battle maiden stand there, uncaring about who they were, just what they wanted. Even from that distance, Hrist could tell they weren't a threat at all, being little more than an inconvenience at best. "Hey, Hrist, what did you want for breakfast?" Skuld shouted out through the open door to the temple. The raven-haired woman didn't respond at first, still observing the five down below, what slowly dawned on her to be amazons.

There must be a tribe here on this landmass. This might be interesting.

"Hrist? Aren't you done with your… sparring…" Skuld yelled out as she walked through the archway, her voice dying away as her eyes landed on what her sister was staring at. Brynhildr came up behind her and leaned against the doorframe, clicking her tongue.

"Looks like we have natives," the blonde commented, shaking her head slowly, then heading back to their small camp to retrieve her own weapons.

"Are they hostile?" Skuld asked as the women slowly started walking up the path to the temple.

"We'll soon find out, won't we?" Hrist responded as she narrowed her eyes, keeping her fingers on the hilt of her sword.

Meanwhile

"Let me see if I have this correct, if you'll pardon me," Selene said to the dwarven noblewoman sitting opposite her in front of a fireplace while both sat in large cushioned chairs, tea provided for both as the mayor and her police chief sat off to the side. Ralos observed next to his friend while wearing a crude firemen's jacket, his arms crossed over his chest while they tracked what was said. There were a good twenty automatons in the room, all security or deadlier, with ten police officers to watch the six dwarven warriors that escorted the noble to Sweet Water. "You require me to send in an army to sponsor you in taking the throne of Morzon'Tol?"

The dwarf sipped her tea lightly as she crossed her legs, wearing leather pants and what looked to be a fashionable adventurer's ensemble, complete with a rich green coat. There seemed to be a short sword strapped to her hip, jeweled and covered in gold lace along the crossguard; whether she knew how to even swing it or if it was just for show mattered little to anyone in the mayor's mansion. "That's correct, get me to the throne and provide support, I will provide the remainder of the copper eggs, one of which I brought here. It is such a simple matter, I should be the next ruler, obviously."

"I'd rather not get embroiled in this civil war you are in, lady…"

"Marzim, Marzim Stoneblood. Perhaps you have heard of my family? Of course you have, even you humans know of the greatness of my clan out here. That should tell you that you must heed my call and acknowledge my request."

"Never heard of you. A complete mystery."

The dwarf spat out a little of the tea as Gilford smirked a little at the empress's response. Marzim soon regained her composure as the empress looked slightly bored.

"I guess I'll have to overlook that… regardless, given what has already transpired so early in our contact, and how few real soldiers we have right now after those calamities, I am willing to pay a hansom sum for some of your metal warriors here."

"My troops are not for sale."

The dwarf let out a haughty laugh and rolled her eyes. It was clear that meeting with royalty outside of her own civilization was not part of standard noble etiquette. "Everything is for sale, dear, even them. You there, you," she pointed at one of her honor guards, "how much is she paying you?"

"Your actions are considered insulting by us towards our empress, Lady Marzim Stoneblood. Please refrain from attempting to bribe us in front of our creator. Further actions may be dealt with accordingly." The advanced core metal warrior stared at the dwarf, no change in motion for what seemed like an eternity. Two Light tier forms came up behind, showing that the size wasn't always that of Mediums that protected their ruler.

That made the whole room go quiet aside from Gilford and Ralos, both sharing a short giggle as the police chief's ex-commander smirked and shook his head. They didn't know what the empress of the Clockwork Empire really could do, that the show of power the last time in the dwarven city wasn't just of her capability, but of her military as well. Selene herself simply facepalmed and groaned a little.

I'm sure you were there when I collapsed those walls inward and sealed that entrance from the faith eaters. You can't be this stupid… or are all the dwarves on this continent dredging from the shallower part of the gene pool?

"You seem to be mistaken on how to act when in foreign relations, Lady Marzim. I would suggest you be careful in how you speak in the next few minutes, or what words that come out may sour everything beyond repair. Your… reasoning… behind questioning my guard tells me you have no real care about my support, just trying to get a military that will allow you to march to the throne."

"Empress Selene, had I my own soldiers I wouldn't be here, what with-"

"So your clan has fallen on hard times, I take it?" Marzim glared at her in shock, implying that she was from a minor household. The dev simply smiled at her, though it seemed icy. Selene continued on with her interruption. "You just said that you are low on numbers, your very words tell me you have difficulty gaining warriors. I'm not exactly proficient in dwarven history, but I believe from the refugees that are abandoning your city that mercenaries are not allowed in your kingdom, so sellswords aren't exactly common."

"Had you not had that tunnel created that allowed those things to arrive when they did, we would-"

"Ah, we're going down that path again, are we? In this mansion, no doubt? I see, I see. Well then, it's been interesting talking with you, Lady Marzim, but I believe what you are attempting to uh, provide as compensation for any services are quite lacking."

Marzim stood up, bumping into the coffee table between them. "I am providing a dragon egg that is worth an entire treasury!" the dwarf snapped.

"I have citizens who are dragons, with their own broods slowly building, along with a clockwork dragon of my own creation. Technically, that egg you have does belong to those who are not quite yet in my empire, though they've been vouched for already and will be arriving soon. I wonder what would happen if they decided to talk amongst each other about their previous issues with the dwarves in Morzon'Tol?" Selene said as she brought her finger to her lips and looked up at the dim chandelier above them.

"You would threaten that? I come here to negotiate-"

"I didn't threaten anything, simply providing a reading suggestion that having those eggs has been nothing but bad luck for your people. Since they've already had one run-in with your soldiers, I would think that would cause the newcomers to, well, come knocking again to reclaim their children; word of mouth amongst them must travel quickly to give them an update about who is where and what belongs to whom. Now, here's something interesting you should really worry about," the empress informed her as she leaned forward a little, "let's say they do come poking around at your doorstep. Well, that's my citizens causing some trouble to a nearby neighbor, correct?"

"Wha… uh… yes! Yes, then you would have to pay recompense for all the damages they caused and-"

"Oh no, no no" Selene waggled a finger at her and clicked her tongue, "that's not what will happen. Those are their children you have. So, if they claim kidnapping, then they have a right to reclaim those eggs, potentially request assistance by me. Given how big and strong those dragons are, it would seem a little pointless to directly interfere, barring some healing if one got hurt… they are my subjects, after all, I would hate to see them in pain. Now, that means I'm aiding them in some capacity. Wouldn't that convey that I am openly hostile?" Marzim's face went pale as the empress explained the worst-case scenario. "Now, I'm not declaring war on you, I've done my best to be professional where possible, but I'm finding it a little hard that the rest of your noble houses wouldn't band together and stop your civil war temporarily to somehow… jump into something they really shouldn't have as a life or death scenario."

"You wouldn't punish your own subjects if they went into… into our fortress?" Marzim stammered out in shock.

"Oh, I don't know about punishment for inciting further trouble between our people, but given how long they live, placing any of them in prison is quite pointless, especially since it is technically protecting their families. I'd find other ways of making them repay their debt if that was the case, to me, of course, given they would break my laws and cause trouble for my government. I could really care less about yours right now, obviously, given we aren't friendly in the slightest it appears." There was silence in the room as Mia had a small smile creeping on her face and just how little shit their ruler was willing to take when it came to watching out for her subjects, even for the dragons. "Was there anything else? Anything?"

"I… we… we will not stand for this."

"Oh, so what is it you will exactly retaliate with? I'm listening," Selene replied as she balled her hand into a fist and rested her chin on it, giving the dwarf a small smile as she blinked. There was no response, just the noblewoman's mouth moving with no words escaping. They didn't know of the concept of tariffs, sanctions or embargos just yet, with so little trade happening with the high elves before they joined the Clockwork Empire. They had nothing, only what 'civilians' would cause if they came to reclaim their children. Any war that would break out would be stifled within a day at worst, heavily favoring the automaton military by a ludicrous degree. "No? Well then, I believe we're done here; I have no interest in siding with one clan or another, given you are the only official to arrive and speak with me. If other officials came about, we could have a neutral meeting held in my empire, one where all of you could settle your differences. The last thing any other country should do is get in the middle of a civil war unless they're interested in claiming something as payment. I have other meetings to attend, my apologies for not staying for much longer."

The dev stood up and smiled at her, motioning for the police to escort the dwarf out of the building. The entire time, Marzim gritted her teeth and started swearing under her breath. Her entourage followed her out as she glared at the officers flanking the front entrance, double doors swung open with light snowfall outside. She shivered as one of her escorts brought a cloak, which she clasped around her neck and elbowed him away, then quickly jumped in the carriage with large oxen pulling it; the creatures had horns that split multiple times, creating a sort of grill over their faces like a football helmet. What wildlife that lived underground and was bred the empress didn't quite know completely yet, with most of the surveillance being done on the dwarves themselves.

As the mountain men and woman started to head back out of the city, Selene just stood there in the doorway, staring at the receding coach's form. "Grey?" she questioned over coms.

"Go ahead, ma'am."

"I'd like intel on which clan is doing what inside that city. If we're getting refugees, then they don't really care who gets in the way. That's putting their lives in our hands compared to their leaders, which doesn't bode well, given they aren't heading to underground towns and villages far away from their fortress… I would think at least one of the clans would be looking out for the common man."

The director of intelligence sighed on the other side of the channel, worried about explaining to her what was now known. "So far as we've been able to gather, fifty-three clans are living under all that stone, dispersed throughout the city as well as the underground villages. Very few are town-sized or even attempted to reach that level."

"Go on."

"The Stoneblood Clan is not known for its pleasantries towards others, tending to get what it wants when it wants it. You've already more than likely noticed this."

"I've had the opportunity now to speak with a noble of that house," Grey brought up a dossier involving Lady Marzim for the empress to read through as she responded. "The fact she was the only one to come knocking on our door says something about the others. Fifty-three… that's a lot of voices in high places that don't get along…"

"The people themselves hold no ill will towards us or the high elves. The nobles, on the other hand, are annoyed we took away that bunker and somehow are still responsible for the loss of most of those eggs. How they expected to control a dragon hatchling is anyone's guess, let alone seven of them. Regardless, there's an emergency plan that is brewing in the background."

The dev cocked an eyebrow as the people behind her seemed curious about why she was just standing there, staring out the door. "Your majesty, is something wrong?" Gilford asked. She glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled.

"Everything is fine, no need to worry. I have a feeling that is the last time we will see her." With that, the empress walked out of the mansion with her automatons and headed for the landing point, multiple early risers bowing to her passing by. "What's the plan?" the dev questioned back over her coms.

"It's no surprise that they may have access to mana ingots, given they are underground. Tal Salunbal is just starting to craft these, with Drow having mastered it from what has been seen. The plan is to attempt to smelt the bars into the deep forge and create a golem bound to an alliance of the major clans. The Stoneblood Clan is just at the cusp of joining, with the prince opposing along with two loyalist houses."

"So the assassination attempt was successful? The mountain king is dead?"

"Correct ma'am, Prince Ontar is the next in line for the throne, at least, that would normally be the case."

The dev stopped at the stairs to get inside the transport as they extended down, the engines powering up and her escort climbing in from the RORO. "Everyone is out for themselves in there, and the people at the bottom are running for the hills. Is it chaos?"

"Not exactly, there is still order being kept, though minimal. Granted, more refugees are now sneaking away, including guards at the gates. The prince is still attempting to maintain order, though his skills in that regard are… lacking. He doesn't have the finesse of his father or the experience. While he means well, that in itself isn't going to make everything better. Back to the situation at hand, though, ma'am."

"Of course." As the empress walked up the steps, Mia came running up behind her and yelled.

"Empress Selene!" The mayor cupped her hands over her mouth as the engines started up and rotated to check all flaps and gimbals. The auburn-haired woman turned around at the top of the stairs and waited. "I wanted to thank you for bringing my friends back, I… I just… thank you."

"You're welcome. I hope you have a good rest of the month and a happy new year. Beyond that, I hope to see you and your friends at the ball later this coming week."

Mia curtsied to her as Gilford trudged out with his hand up to block some of the snow that was being kicked up from the engines as the dev got inside, the door sealing and stairway lifting up. The police chief wrapped a cloak around the mayor's shoulders and pulled up her powder blue hood with fur lining as the transport pushed off and headed back to 1st Air Fleet. They would be at the event in the White Palace, to provide visual support to the empress.

"When the ingots are dropped in for heating, the dwarves are under the impression they can be forged into a massive golem to protect the city, capable of not only using physical force but also magic due to the infusion. The main issue is what the deep forge is attached to," Grey continued explaining as cabin pressure cut out the sound of the helibot's movement.

"Wait, the forge is attached to something?"

"A volcano ma'am, mostly dormant." The woman sat there, stunned for a moment as Grey continued. "They use the connection to gather rich iron deposits and –"

"That might be why they have full suits of armor for all of their soldiers. Even Artinia had a good fifty percent of their forces as just lowly footmen."

"It's the very reason why Artinia never committed to a full invasion at any point; they'd lose so many troops that they couldn't even hold the city before the dwarven citizens retook it."

Selene facepalmed. "Don't tell me they have geothermal energy capability. I just found out that Tal Salunbal is in the beginnings of the Colonial Era and ahead of the curb compared to my people… granted, that's my doing in the first place to slowly move them through the ages. The last thing I need to know is the dwarves are even more advanced than I had previously thought."

"No ma'am, this is just a very intricate construction process that helps with constant furnace usage. The original engineers for their race were unprecedented in intelligence. The main problem with putting those ingots in is that mana doesn't contain in the crucible the same way as the molten metal, courtesy of Sci Div's experiments."

The empress crossed her legs and brought her hand up to her chin, lightly pinching it as she furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not quite sure I follow. Are you saying the mana disperses down into the vents towards the rest of the volcano further down?"

"Mana, at least a physical form of it, doesn't like being reheated after being cast. It tends to cause small explosions that need to be contained when being hammered or cast. Basically, it creates its own fireworks display each time someone uses any of it, quite spectacular when Robert and Nikola got to test some."

I'm seriously surprised the dwarves don't have an army of golems pre-made, even with the faith eaters boiling up the tunnel or the inefficiency of using them for anything beyond siege weapons. When you have one hundred of a walking tank smashing the same area over and over, your odds increase each time to hit that one hero running around.

"I think Gabriel was taking some of it for use in some new spells?"

"He's currently visiting the wizard's academy in Aureos to oversee some library research topics regarding tier magic expansion. While Dimensional magic is arguably more powerful, it is far more difficult to harness now for anyone; it's doubtful it will ever take off, even if you were to train another. Having Tier magic widely available everywhere in the empire benefits everyone, not just advances in science."

Selene leaned back as the transport was five minutes out from her flagship in the sky. "Back to the matter at hand, so they make this golem… this is a reunification strategy."

"Any instability in the creation of the creature will at most destroy the surrounding sector of the city, not that the nobles seem to care about that given it's already been vacant. The smiths don't exactly live close by for some reason; my stealth teams retrieved city schematics that don't explain the planning their dwarven ancestors wrote up. It's possible there was a better set up with thinking outside the box from the caste system they are using now. Beyond that… they'll have a mana infused Adamantite golem, ma'am. This would all happen if they don't have their best wizards controlling the mana in the first place, in which there could be an attempted ambush to stop the whole process."

"A mana infused Adamantite golem? Singular?" the dev questioned, checking through her schematic list in her Hud with all the intelligence provided by Bronze Team during their infiltration before. Multiple different forms appeared, with the lowest grade being a stone material and going up from there into the different metals known. Mana infusion would cause the new mindless soldier to cast spells at random, like an automated defense turret… except this was all over its body with omnidirectional capability.

"Yes ma'am; the name should instill terror in most races around the world, excluding us. Player kingdoms also would have little difficulty dealing with this threat as long as they were high enough in level. Given we don't have any data on players anywhere, the likely conclusion would be the golem would be destroyed by anyone other than a mid-tier kingdom or below… we would rank Artinia as such, despite the territory it controlled." A scaling list appeared showing the golem standing at almost the end of the arrayed forms, topping out at roughly level 60. Then came an auto maid, much smaller in size compared to the juggernaut and holding a smile on her metal face. Even the civilian model was a level 100, with the empress's {Steampunk Mechanical Engineering} skill augmenting them. A second list was provided that could theoretically defeat it, including an Adamantite rank adventurer group, though they might suffer losses.

"Size?"

"Roughly twenty meters in height."

"So target practice… it's an unmanned dwarven tank…" the dev facepalmed and shook her head, already coming to a conclusion on what Grey was thinking. "So, to realign everyone on the same page, they intend to make this golem in hopes of having all the clans agree to follow their leadership and resourcefulness. Lady Marzim probably wanted one of my drones to improve the design. Oy… better have watch teams keep an eye out for any dwarves trying to sneak around near my troops… not that they'd do much other than causing a scene…"

Grey raised an eyebrow on the other side, sitting in front of a massive intelligence center with all of his agents working on one thing or another, keeping track of the goings-on within her borders and without. A massive metal orb with conduits snaking out of the top towards the ceiling sat in the middle, with almost no light beyond a few monitors. Selene had a comical thought of a group of dwarves trying to steal even one of her security models, only to get video footage of a game of midget tossing. Her director of intelligence continued on. "They may be hoping that this will make anyone else believe they are completely capable of handling themselves, of warding off vultures nearby. If it fails, this very well could be the end of their kingdom without any effort on our part, a government that simply is collapsing on itself, the death throes of a regime as it were."

"Even though she was a bitch, I'm pretty certain Lady Marzim was afraid… desperation to keep power can lead to interesting choices."

"Her clan isn't yet a part of this alliance, which means she did this all on her own, potentially for a bargaining chip and a place at the big kid's table, only to somehow make an attempt for the throne. Remember, this is an emergency plan that hasn't taken effect yet. Their civil war will reach a peak in three weeks, estimated. This could change depending on any clans gaining or losing too much power, being absorbed, or wiped out. This could slow or hasten the process up."

"Meanwhile, we have refugees jumping ship and have had it with their shit. Good thing, most of the commoners are perfectly fine being within our borders. They just want a stable government, they don't care who runs it. They're fairly different from the layfolk of Artinia, leaving the reach of their rulers instead of just getting trampled on. Well, Felix and the governors can get them situated quickly with new futures. At least it isn't their whole population hopping the fence and asking for asylum." The empress was surprised at their reasoning skills. Their dwarven lives meant more to them than staying within the boundaries of those in power, preferring to head off to a neutral party instead of handling the crap the nobles threw at each other. There were even soldiers that took their axes and armor to escort the lower castes to her lands; a few were also heading towards Sweet Water to get jobs in the police, with plenty of experience giving them good opportunities.

"We'll never know why Artinians decided to stay unless we ran a full census on their reasoning. I would suggest against that, as that could be imposing into their personal lives, trying to count the skeletons in their closets."

"I agree; it's also in the past. No one really needs to dredge up those awful days for them, it's better to let them look towards the future. Alright, well, keep tabs on the noble clans, have safety teams ready to seal the area if things get out of control with the crafting of the golem. A level 60… they'll trudge that thing out all pristine and shiny, send it off with a small army of the remaining loyal troops in a parade at the front doors… that's going to be one hell of a morale boost for them… of course, this is like allowing an unstable government to get access to weapons of mass destruction normally." As the helibot landed on the pad and was brought inside, Adesha stood up and waited at the door, holding the empress's small satchel of paperwork that she brought with her to Mayor Mia's home. The bag was now empty, with all documents provided for perusal by the city's top officials, Ralos included.

"Or a drop in morale if you think carefully. The warriors who would still follow the nobles might give up and finally leave, no longer accepting their leadership if it means they can be replaced with metal. That would cause a second show of power, potentially against us," Grey replied.

"That would completely fill in the gap that was the dwarves in my borders, making only the Seong Neow Republic and the Kohar Confederacy an issue. I want a warning ahead of time if they get their hands on some new artifact, no repeats of the mad king. If that golem looks to be an actual threat with new technology, I'm committing forces before it can even twitch," she told him.

"Yes, ma'am, I'll keep you updated." Just as the channel ended and Grey continued other investigations, Nikola chimed in.

"Empress, we would like to know if you have time to visit the ARC to review the resurrection chamber that is now complete," he asked.

"Ah, uh… sure? We know what it will do, correct? Every little detail?"

"Not every detail, but most of them. All the required materials are inserted, it just needs a dosage of blood provided. The chamber will create a new body and insert the soul into it; though, with no template programmed in, it may randomize traits completely."

"You mean it might make her an old man?"

"The gender we're fairly certain is sealed; however, there is no guarantee age won't play a factor. Also, as a reminder, there will only be general memories, such as speech, movement, and the most primitive of self-preservation experience, such as eating and knowing when to sleep or use the restroom; this… was actually implemented from a Lazarus System. From what the journals imply, no recollection of the previous life will be admitted. It will be almost as if they were reincarnated rather than resurrected."

Hopefully, I can help with that new life. They'll be in an unknown world, without friends or family. I didn't exactly promise anything, but I'll do my best to help her out where possible. Still wondering what my blood will do…

"I… understand, I'll head over once I've finished my doctor's appointment." Selene checked her schedule, pushing a meeting with Liyana to the evening as a dinner event until tomorrow. It was to discuss the conservation center for the Eld Horn Forest, protecting the giant deer that the land got its name from; initial surveys stated they were already at a near-threatened level of extinction. They also suggested controlling hunting practices of the majestic creatures with their intricate horn displays, as they didn't reproduce nearly as fast as any other species. The horns were sold as material for bows and hilts for weapons, though Gold Pinewood was starting to show promise in replacing it. That was now a whole new resource to get exported from the towns, with new laws now needing to be written to protect the forest from logging groups.

As soon as the notice was sent out, Davin had commented near one of the administrative automatons on the chance to eat a feast with the empress and ask hundreds of questions, relayed right back to her without any lag. The dev immediately groaned with a small smirk on her face. "Alright, alright, he can ask whatever… no way I'm answering all of it, though… that kid needs to go to the academy for crying out loud…"

As the channel closed, there was a list of events that would be happening soon, many of which didn't require her presence. A tournament was being held in Aureos, sponsored by the noble houses in the area; quite a few barons and lords were traveling from Silvinholm to watch newcomers, many of which might be offered permanent employ. While she hadn't really cared too much about showing up before, Will had advised once she had awoken that morning to at least study the champions. It might instead be possible to give them a chance to join Morlan in his future agency. With a small twitch of her eye, her Hud brought up the list of applications while she headed for the bridge. The empress stopped just at the main doorway as her eyes landed on four particular names. "Oof, what do they think they're doing… this might not end well…" she whispered to herself. Now, it was all but certain she'd become an unexpected arrival to oversee the gauntlet that a specific team might go through.

Two Hours Later

"You're doing it wrong" Marv just closed his eyes as Pops swung his padded mace towards Dylan, who just simply backed off and kicked at his legs. They had been sparring since the buttcrack of dawn, with at least a little improvement in teamwork. The old man shook his arms in frustration at the wizard's response to everything.

"You want to come over here and explain why you damn dress wearer?!" he snapped back as his teammate was about to counter. None of them wanted to practice with other teams, as it could give anyone who entered the tournament an edge for either the cooperative events or solo.

"Both of you! Stop! Marv, you're not helping," Dina intervened, putting her hands up between them as sparks seemed to fly from each other's eyes. A low grumble escaped the tank's lips as they backed off.

"He keeps trying to use a clubbing weapon against someone who can easily dodge. That's never going to work," the spell caster tried to explain to her.

"Don't tell me that, try and give him the advice without coming off as a know it all. Maybe we should all take a break; this whole thing is getting on everyone's nerves," the brunette replied as the rogue sat down right where they were fighting, dropping his wooden daggers on the ground and crossing his arms.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all," Dylan remarked as he glanced off into the rest of the training courtyard. The adventurer's guild had a new hall built, courtesy of the empire after the first one had been burnt down. While it still looked relatively the same as the old one, there were a few minor improvements such as brand new paint and different roofing. It was mostly done to prevent building fires from spreading with new sealant glazed on the outside walls. It did help keep the ambient temperature comfortable, however.

Pops glanced over at the ranger as she tried to mend fences between their stressed party. He knew it would dash her dream to at least try and prove their mettle, instead of the slow and steady approach they had normally taken in quests. In many ways, she saw more in them than they saw in themselves. "No, we keep going. Hopefully, we can-" he stopped speaking as his eyes landed on Ezra walking along the tiled pathway covered by a long pergola. The young priest noticed them and waved, continuing on towards another group of what looked like Mithril ranks. As the young Rikter stopped, he opened a small satchel at his side and pulled out a rosary for a man that appeared to be a half-orc. While uncommon, they held the same rights as anyone else in the empire and didn't share the same anger management that the full-blooded had in the grand tribe.

"Huh, I wonder how he rose up the ranks so damn fast," Dylan queried as Marv stepped forward a little.

"Probably one of the illegal arenas that were shut down. They kind of ran rampant when Artinia was still a thing. Damn, that's pretty impressive that he got that plate so fast." The half-orc thanked the teenager and nodded as they spoke, his large canines protruding from his lips and jutting upwards. They weren't as pronounced as a full-blooded orc's, though they were still noticeable. "He knows his stuff if he's with a band of adventurers that care about his skill rather than what runs in his veins."

A paladin walked up next to his partner, scratching his brown beard and listening to the conversation, then waved off the priest as he pulled out his own symbol of his god that he worshipped. Ezra simply put up his hands in surrender, not attempting to insult anyone. The man simply nodded and accepted they had faith in two different deities, though what power the paladin wielded was still undecided on where it came from. "You think that pally is given the blessing from his god or goddess?" Pops asked gruffly.

"Does it matter? He can cure some diseases, smite undead, runs around in plate armor, and is a walking lantern in some cases. I wouldn't care where that power comes from, as long as he was on our side and didn't want to backstab anyone. It seems they're friends at least, so that means he's ignoring the half breed's looks and understands the person he is under that face," Marv replied. A dark elf blade dancer walked up next to both of her party members and tapped the half-orc on the arm; as he turned his head to look at her, she handed him a sandwich. Dina was impressed.

"They have a pretty diverse group. I would have never expected a dark elf to become an adventurer," the brunette remarked. Ezra laughed at something the paladin said and waved goodbye as he left, slowly making his way to the Orc Destroyers.

"Greetings on behalf of Elesia, all of you," the white-haired teenager told them as he bowed.

"Well, look at you, in charge of a whole temple now, eh Ezra?" Pops asked. The priest looked up at him, confused, then pointed at himself.

"I share control of it with another. I… I mean, I guess I sort of run things now, though I'm not quite sure I really know what I'm doing," he replied, scratching the back of his head with a lighthearted chuckle escaping his lips.

"So, I guess you aren't in the adventurer's business anymore, are you?" Dylan queried.

"I'm a silver rank, aren't all of you gold? Congratulations on that, by the way." Ezra pulled out the little talisman that held his plate under his robes, with the rest of them having their tags sitting squarely on their chests for everyone to see.

"Yeah, heh, heh, we did rise up a little; right now, we're training for a tournament. Maybe… you might be interested in joining our party again?" Dina said as she giggled a bit.

"I'm sorry, but priests aren't allowed in that tournament. No assistance to keep a group standing, it's a rule," he replied. "It's to stop a band of adventurers or mercenaries from having a never-ending battle in team combat. If it went on and on forever, people would get bored and go home, with no clear victor."

"What happens if someone decides to cheat and poison another?" Marv asked, glaring a little at Dylan.

"Oh come off that now, I didn't poison you; that was your choice fair and square."

Ezra pulled out a small piece of paper from his satchel and handed it to them. "Priests are on the sidelines to assist anyone who requires healing. Look for those symbols, and someone will provide help. I'll be overseeing the tent nearby, actually, though… I hope we don't need to run into each other."

"Well, are healing potions allowed?" Pops questioned him.

"I'm… unsure. You'd have to ask the adventurer's guild if that is a rule, I just know what priests are allowed to do in the area. I only just got asked if we could spare some hands to mend wounds for those who were roughed up too much."

Marv started asking him a question involving how strong he felt he was after the abbey incident, stopping mid-word as Ezra seemed to gawk for a moment at someone leaning against a doorsill. "Morlan?!" he shouted in laughter. All eyes turned towards the door as his brother started walking over with a smile, Elsei right behind him.

"I saw you walk into the barracks and was wondering, 'why is my little brother going back in here? Is there another problem at the abbey?' The receptionist just informed us that you are in charge of a temple here. Congratulations, Ezra." His younger brother hugged his much larger older sibling around his waist, barely hearing the plate he was wearing shift slightly over the interesting under armor. Pops dropped his club as both he and the rest of their team saw just what they were wearing. It was well beyond anything an Adamantite rank could ever hope to wear, with weapons that rivaled what they thought possible.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were working alongside the empress," Ezra questioned him as his brother ruffled his hair.

"We're actually just heading to the palace here, had some free time, and walked around Aureos. I just finished a quest for our beloved ruler, and now I'm… well, I'm here." The warrior pulled out an amulet from under his chest plate to show the emblem of the empire, allowing access just about anywhere without interference. Anyone who attempted to stop them should be ready for open aggression, where even clockwork soldiers came to his assistance. "Are we interrupting anything?"

Adventurers from all ranks started to gather around after seeing them stand there, studying their equipment from top to bottom. From what they knew, the man had disappeared when being brought back to Aureos for a trial with his family. The entire time he was missing, Morlan was actually with the empress training. "Uh… we… we were sort of… um…" Dina tried to reply, just staring up at the mass of muscle and plate. Ezra looked at her and Pops, waiting for a reply.

"I guess we can take a little break…" the old man replied, waving his hand nonchalantly as he bent down to pick up the club to put away. The team followed the Rikter brothers out of the hall as other adventurers just kept watching around corners, heading off towards a café. Once situated at a large table outside, cups of a dark liquid were poured. Coffee had been introduced and became extremely popular just recently, with shops popping up throughout the country along with assorted teas. "Huh, things really are changing." Pops gazed at two bipedal rabbits sitting behind a small stall haking their wares from the Seong Neow Republic. There weren't just anthropomorphic animals or catgirls running around, with regular, highly intelligent creatures going about their lives.

(Recommended Song: BigRicePiano – Cappucino)

"Yeah, I guess their government doesn't control everything, their merchants sometimes steal away to sell to everyone else. Artinia would have never let them in, but the empire is more than willing to let them come around now without fear of being kidnapped and sold as slaves. Some of the stuff is kind of nice," Dylan replied as he poured some sugar and cream into his cup. A brisk breeze flowed through the street, which made them shiver a little. The owner of the establishment leaned out the door and cast a spell multiple times, creating floating balls that glowed orange and stayed in place just above the tables outside. Heat radiated down, like a nonvolatile fireball. A piece of parchment vaporized in his hand as he went inside, showing that magic scrolls could be bought and used somewhat cheaply to allow store owners to maintain customer service now, even carrying groceries out. There was also the fact that there were only four seats inside the shop, all in use.

"So, what's it like, working by her side now?" Ezra asked his older brother as he stirred his mug.

"Interesting. I've had to relearn a lot of things now. What's most incredible is the understanding she tries to put into everything she does. There's a lot of thought put into every action and swift response to protect those who need it. Empress Selene is… frankly, nothing like the mad king. It's fantastic." The priest was beaming at him, a twinkle in his eyes. "Now, don't be thinking you should convert or anything just yet Ezra; I see that look. I'm sure your goddess would be unhappy to lose you."

The teenager looked embarrassed as everyone watched him, the joke catching everyone by surprise as the huge warrior pointed at his brother, a catty grin on his face. "I wasn't… I mean, I didn't think… I would never do anything like that! I'm a priest and follower of Elesia, that's not going to change. Besides… um… the faithful of the empress's church are… are…"

"Odd? I've noticed that as well. I'm just letting all of you know, our majesty has told me most of what they preach she has never said, ever. They made up most of their own rules and follow the law of the empire to the letter. Their hymns they just made up, the books they made up. They're following an image they created of her, not the empress herself." The warrior took a sip from his coffee and glanced around at the entourage.

"I always felt they were a little touched in the head," Pops commented as he ate a Danish. "So, what's it like living in her majesty's castle?"

Morlan turned his head and leaned over the side of his chair to talk to the old man. "It's… well, it's not quite what I was expecting. Then, of course, I never thought to ever live in a palace. It's massive, with so few allowed to ever enter or stay. The empress seems to maintain her privacy and chooses carefully those who are allowed close in any way. To be allowed in is an honor honestly."

"Hmm, so that's why she's barely seen. Even the mad king had parades on a near-monthly basis as he was brought around on carriage from what I heard, disrupting street traffic every time. It's a wonder anything got done with his royal guard pushing anyone around in Aureos."

"It's worth more to have that money put into bettering the city or town," Morlan told him. "It's like she's trying to funnel the resources the towns and cities need to function and improve instead of just taking for the treasury."

"Her vault must be brimming with coin," Dylan chuckled out as Marv elbowed him.

"I haven't seen it myself, but I did hear that money isn't an issue for the government. Most of what you are seeing moving between hands around here is still the economy's doing. Almost none of it gets back to the castle, which… kind of makes me wonder how she provides sponsorships and funding for inventors and professors." Dina nearly spit out a mouthful of her tea then looked at him, blinking.

"She sponsors?" the girl asked as her hawk ate from a small bowl next to her.

The older Rikter looked around and seemed to put up his hands in surrender. "I'm not saying I know how she decides to assist in anyone's endeavors. Her choices are more than beyond my comprehension in many cases, but they always seem to bear fruit. Every time I've seen coin offered, it has provided a tool that has been invaluable to the people. Just look at those new gloves the fire department has or the police. None of that would be around had she not invested, with those alchemists and inventors ignored. There is even talk of a weapon that can disable a wizard's ability to cast spells, provided only to law enforcement." Marv sprayed coffee on the table from his mouth and looked at the warrior, stupefied.

"Good thing those officers are paid well. Chances of bribes I heard are next to zilch; I mean, they don't get anything out of it from working with the criminals. There's a rumor that they get bonuses at the end of the year for how decent a job they do, with pay raises expected by mayors every year to keep competitive," Dylan remarked as he warmed his hands on his mug.

"Thinking of signing up?" Dina asked him.

"Me? Are you kidding? You couldn't catch me in that uniform. Besides, even though we're helping them clean up the streets, I doubt I'd fit in."

Ezra leaned forward as Elsei quietly sat next to her partner. "So, what are you doing right now?" he asked his brother.

"At the moment, there isn't much to do. I'm currently still in training and becoming a… what's the title… director of… an agency, I think. The empress is working on a name to call it. I don't really have to worry about any jobs just yet until next year. Right now, I'm just keeping myself busy, offering to help where I can."

"How do you get in her majesty's good graces?" Dina suddenly asked. They all looked at her.

"Uh… from what I've seen? You don't do anything other than be you. She'll come knocking if she's shown interest," Morlan replied. "That's… kind of why I'm hoping to speed the process up for some people I know." Dina looked around at the others, her heart starting to race a little after hearing that.

"Others?" Ezra asked.

"Um, sorry, Ezra; on our travels, we weren't always within the borders of Artinia. There are other lands we did go to on occasion. There is a set of large islands to the southeast that wasn't exactly part of our territory… come to think of it, I wonder if the empress knows she rules over it, given it isn't in any books or ledgers…"

"It is mainly used as a port for ships to stop and resupply," Elsei finally spoke.

Morlan raised an eyebrow momentarily at her. "They didn't have much to resupply with. The villages there aren't like the ones on the mainland. It takes some effort to have them give up anything without a show of force… of course, they hated the kingdom so much, that might be part of the reason they didn't relinquish those supplies willingly."

"I thought those islands weren't inhabited?" Marv queried.

"Who told you that? Both have people with very different cultures living on them… with many who are much hardier than even Caerel. It's been a few years, I think some of our friends called themselves… what was it…" Morlan stopped as Elsei looked up and patted him on the shoulder. There was a carriage sitting in the middle of the street, part of a noble house's convoy to bring back liquidated assets. It was blocking most of the main road running through Aureos. There was an argument with people trying to get by as the head of the Reysor family sat back in his private transport drinking wine.

"Hey! Get that thing out of the way! We need to get through!" One worker snapped as others were in agreement. The obese nobleman simply sipped from his glass and waited for his employees to continue unloading what he owned into a house nearby.

"This isn't going to end well," Morlan commented as two police officers came around to see what the disturbance was about. The archduke of the Reysor family promptly waved them off, expecting the same entitlement as he did before the Clockwork Empire took over. That simply wasn't the case with the new law enforcement in the city.

One of the officers used a glove to lift the offending wagon and move it, with Alain gawking at the action taken. The police were purposefully made to be weak in Artinia, which was not at all what these men were in the slightest. They were equipped with far better gear than before, trained well and always were in two-man teams. "Stop that! Stop that at once! Do you know who I am?" the noble screamed out, pointing at the officers.

"We know exactly who you are, we just don't care anymore. Get these wagons out of here immediately, or we'll confiscate everything and arrest you for blocking traffic and causing a disturbance!"

Alain couldn't believe what was happening, looking rattled at everyone staring at him. "You'll… you'll regret this! I have far more power than you think I do! I'll have the tides turned within the week!" he snapped out. Morlan believed he was referring to the royal ball that would be held, probably in hopes of whispering into the empress's ear.

"No, you won't, but it'll be amusing to see anyways…" the warrior grumbled out, with Elsei pressing on the bridge of her nose and shaking her head softly, her eyes squinted shut. They'd have to act on some of these events in the future, well beyond the capability of the police or adventurers. Knowing just what was happening, even with the sheer strength of the empire's military and capability of the empress, helped them realize the issues that would never go away; no matter how powerful the government was, bar all organic life replaced with machines, there would always be discord they'd have to take care of.

I'm going to need a bigger team than just Elsei. This trip will hopefully bring that.

As the scene died down, the wagons moved out of the way, and traffic flowed again; Ezra returned his attention back to his brother. "So what's this about the isles?" he asked, curious.

"Ah, about that – I was thinking of heading over there and talking with some old friends."

"You've certainly traveled abroad often enough, we've heard stories of your exploits in other lands," Marv interjected, sipping at his tea. Morlan chuckled and took a swig from his coffee.

"Technically, most obviously wouldn't know about this. At least one of those isles we use as a port for ships, nothing fancy. It belonged to Artinia, well, at least the docks did. The towns never really followed the laws of the king, still believing they were independent. Given it took far too much to try and keep them in line, and the fact that we had other trouble elsewhere to deal with all the time, they were allowed to mostly govern themselves. Now that I think about it, I should probably warn the empress she controls that area."

"You mean she doesn't know how far her influence spreads?" Dina asked, surprised.

"Honestly, she's a very busy woman. There are times when I've been turned away to speak with her, having so many meetings in the day to keep the empire running smoothly. Most of the work is done by her creations. While it can be debated whether she is a goddess playing the role of a human walking amongst us, I can at least say it almost seems as if she is omniscient. Perhaps, she does know how far her borders really extend and just hasn't sent anyone to wrangle the Kaersians in. The Clockwork Empire has only had control of Artinia for, what, a couple of weeks? It took years for those lands to be incorporated."

"Kaersians?" Pops queried.

"Kaer Danel, the second isle. Kaer Orfur is the furthest. They tended to have trouble on occasion with a large amazon tribe raiding them. While strong, being picked at constantly does wear down their ability to defend themselves. Artinia provided… maritime assistance." Pops nodded in understanding at what the older Rikter son was explaining. While the vessels the Kaersians used were small and poorly equipped for combat other than boarding, Artinia had used battleships with mana cannons for broadside attacks to push back raids. Despite the discontentment of the people, they couldn't deny that the old kingdom was effective at maintaining border protection… at least when it served their interests to do so.

Ezra seemed a little downcast. "How long will you be gone?" he asked. Morlan gave him a quick smile.

"Don't worry brother, it shouldn't take too long. A few days at most. I have to be back for the ball to be thrown, standing by the side of our empress. In the meantime, I have a slightly open schedule so that I can catch up with you. Our parents would like you to visit at some point, though that will have to be planned and authorized by our ruler." The priest looked almost giddy, believing it would be impossible to ever see the inside of the palace in Aureos, let alone the Clockwork Castle.

"I'd love to! Oh… uh… maybe… that might need to wait until spring, though. I've got some new acolytes that need to be trained at the temple. I'm still surprised I was chosen to teach the way of Elesia in Aureos. Sermons are… well, I…"

"Stutter? Loss of words?" Ezra blushed, looking embarrassed. The warrior laughed out loud, holding his stomach. "It's alright, you'll slowly get used to it. Those followers look up to you, even if they have to look down to see you."

Dylan patted the teenager on the back in reassurance and chuckled, affirming the same thoughts as the priest's older brother. There was silence for a minute as they just enjoyed their drinks, watching the bustle of the city go by. The streets were clean, crime was being kept down, and for the first time… they weren't so afraid of the future. "We should probably get back to sparring…" Pops muttered out, hoping no one would really listen to him at the moment as he enjoyed the heating orb floating above them. It was slowly fizzling out, the scrolls used not meant to keep the spell running for long.

"Hey… hey, I have an idea! Um… well, if you're alright with doing it, brother…" Ezra piped up, looking around at everyone. Morlan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Elsei. She simply sipped her tea and closed her eyes, allowing him to make the decision. "Maybe… offer some pointers to my friends?"

"I was never very good at being an instructor Ezra, that was always General… er… Professor Falksworthy." The team unanimously sighed. "I… I guess I can give a few tips… I'm not sparring with anyone, though. You'll just have to listen to my advice." They agreed, realizing they were going to be trained by one of the best, an ex hero of Artinia, now an agent of the Clockwork Empire. "Elsei?"

"The bow is not my strong suit, despite what many would claim as the de facto weapon of choice for an elf. However… I do have some hunting skills that may assist in accuracy."

"Thank you, both of you," Dina told them happily. It would improve their odds if they decided on a team battle for the tournament. Ezra blushed a little at Dina, then remembered something.

"Ah! I can still help you as well!" he jumped up, nearly knocking over his drink. They all looked at him as he sat down quickly, nervously poking his fingers against each other. "I mean, I can't directly, but… well, not everyone is a priest at the temple. We do now have some of our own protection of the faith."

"You have a paladin to spare?" Morlan questioned. "Wait, why do you need one in the first place to offer?" He seemed a little out of the loop still, with what they were training for in the first place. Dina explained the situation, with the warrior dropping his forehead onto the table. There was a distinct frown on his lips that could not be wiped away with any explanation.

"You do realize those are just for the nobles to cherry-pick the best to keep under their control, right? The rewards are worthless compared to the chain latched to your foot afterward."

"That's what I was saying!" Pops replied, agreeing with the older Rikter brother.

"Haven't you been in a few?" Dina asked Morlan meekly, looking around at her group. He sighed and pushed back a stray lock of hair on his forehead.

"One, and I refused the prize due to the fact I was in Artinia's military, and I was a Rikter. I dodged that arrow. Trust me, there's corruption still in those tournaments, I've seen it firsthand. Who entered the team?" the warrior asked, looking at each of their faces.

"I did…" Dina mumbled out, feeling as if she had made a mistake. A palpable silence struck them as Morlan sighed and put both of his hands on the table. "I'm tired of being looked down on by those higher ranked adventurers and –"

"To hell with what they think, ranger. Adamantite ranks have always been full of themselves, most of them anyway." The older brother scratched under his trimmed beard before continuing, "those team battles are heavily against anyone that isn't the top rank, and they'll do anything they can to win, even cheat."

"But Tilly said –"

Morlan let out a sarcastic laugh. "You think the guild is going to keep everything out of that tournament? Dina… it isn't even sanctioned by the government anymore! The rules don't fully apply! It's run by the nobles for fuck's sake!" he snapped at her. She stood up angry for a moment, brief as it was, then promptly sat down again as she realized… he was right. Her head shrunk into her shoulders as she looked at the table, annoyed that everything seemed to be stacked against her.

Just because she joined the small army at the side of the empress back then doesn't mean she has what it takes to win this damn it. Grrr… I should know… I didn't win the first time… barely survived it actually… that was before they removed lethal weapons.

He stared at her as she felt put on the spot, avoiding eye contact as the rest of her team didn't exactly come to her rescue, knowing what he was saying. Morlan ran his fingers through his slicked-back hair and blew air out of his mouth. "So, you're doing this because you want to prove your mettle, I get that. Any reason beyond that?" he suddenly asked. She looked up at him as Ezra was about to speak, trying to somehow get his older brother off her back. The warrior put a hand up to stop the priest, waiting for a reply.

"Because if we win, we can take the prizes, even the smaller ones. It's not as if we can be held down by the nobility anymore anyway, what with the empress watching over us, right?" she snapped at him. He could tell in her voice that it was wavering, her eyes slightly watering. The ranger was sitting on a weak reason.

"That's not what I'm asking. Say you win something, anything; what do you intend to do with it? What are your goals after? Make a name for yourself? Buy a home in Silvinholm or some town? What?"

Dina stood up again and put her hands on the table. As she gathered her courage to explain to him her hopes for the future, her legs felt like jelly. "I… I…"

"I'd retire." Everyone looked at Pops as he said that, stirring in some cream into his coffee. "Oh, come off it all of you. I'm old, at least getting up there in age. My body isn't going to keep me holding a shield in front of you lot for much longer. What you've failed to see is me saving up what I can to get a small cottage, pay for the construction somewhere in Werelosil or Eld Horn maybe. Gold rank is frankly fine by me to sit on, whatever we walk away with from the tournament will just seal the deal."

"Pops…" Marv started to say, unable to really come up with any other words.

"So, this is how you tell us?" Dylan asked with some annoyance in his voice.

"Shut it, you. I didn't really know when was the right time. You'd find another to group up with in no time; besides, that new paladin Ezra has might be the thing you all need."

"She's only able to work with you for the tournament; her main duties are to the temple really," Ezra interjected, embarrassed that the assistance being provided wouldn't last beyond their test of talent and skill.

"Do you really need a paladin to protect the temple? Adventurers run around all over the place, along with the police," Marv stated.

"The empress has multiple tiers of security throughout each province. I honestly don't know if you could look in any direction that wouldn't have someone come to your aid in an emergency. I was a part of one such engagement, felling demons in Calloway," Morlan commented.

The priest let out a small chuckle as he avoided eye contact. "Every religion has warriors of the faith. Some are needed to go into more… worrying locations… to spread the word of Elesia."

" – Which means they aren't exactly needed as a security guard. It defeats the whole purpose of whoever it is your lending us," Pops remarked. Ezra seemed to squirm in his seat as his brother peered at him.

"You're the reason she stays there, aren't you?" There was no reply. "I figured; you're learning after all how to lead the followers of Elesia here." Morlan thought for a moment as they finished their drinks. "Let her choose afterward whether she wishes to stay with the team. Is she registered as an adventurer?"

"She'll do it today. Um… is a starting copper allowed to be in a gold-ranked party?" Ezra said, looking around at his friends.

"Has she even seen combat?" Dylan grumbled out. The priest nodded.

"Apparently… quite often."

As they got sidetracked for a moment, the group settled down again and looked at Morlan. "Whatever, I said I'd provide some help, but no sparring. If you really want to do this, I can't obviously stop you. You'll learn soon enough why the adventurer's guild isn't going to keep everything under control. Even pairing you against another gold rank team… it's not going to go the way you think. It never does…"

One Hour Later

"Hiiiiiii!" a woman clad in heavy armor jumped in the air and waved at them after checking in with Tilly. A brand new copper plate was swinging on her multi-layered plate chest as she ran to meet up with them, a two-handed hammer on her back and a buckler strapped to her left arm. Her winged helm swept back with an open face, arcing to connect the tips together in the rear. Despite her large bust and wide hips, not one inch of her skin beyond the head could be seen.

"She's quite… peppy…" Dina said, completely dumbfounded as the woman ran up to them.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Piper." Ezra introduced the woman as she shook all of their hands rapidly, going down the line. All of them seemed confused as to how to address her extremely positive attitude, along with the tingling in their arms after having been shaken so fiercely.

"Happy to meet all of you! In the name of Elesia, I'm glad I could come to your aid! I'll do all that I can! You can count on me!" she replied, thumbing at herself in response and closing her left eye with a smile on her face. "I know we'll be best friends! I can tell you!"

"Uh… yeah… sure…" Dina mumbled out as she rubbed her wrist and elbow from the interaction with their new paladin. While Piper was a little taller than Dylan at around six foot two inches, her strength seemed to belie someone much greater in size. It had to be some sort of aura or blessing she received from her goddess to help improve her odds in a fight.

"You're sure she can join us for the tournament? No rules stopping it?" Marv questioned the temple leader.

"Healers are not allowed to join. However, as long as Piper doesn't provide those services, and sticks to just defending your group, you should have no problems. This is for the team battle, right? You signed up for it?" Ezra responded. They all looked at Dina.

"We're currently signed up for the solo matches and a practice team defense against fake monsters," she explained as the teenager scratched her head and laughed a little in embarrassment. Morlan shook his head with his arms crossed over his chest. There was a tier spell used for military recruits, one that created randomized hollow creatures to fight against. They were nowhere near as strong as the originals, with only a few hits at worst to defeat even an ogre and cause it to vaporize. The spell didn't exactly prepare the troops for real combat, it just allowed them to learn the mannerisms of the monster itself.

"Choose now; otherwise, you're wasting her time," Morlan told her. Dina scowled at him for being impatient, then remembered he had a trip to make and was employed by the empress. He was about as busy as she might be.

"I was gonna do it when we got to the tournament! I'm sorry I didn't plan everything to the letter!" she snapped back.

"It's alright! If I can help before we show what we can do, count me in! Um… unless, of course, the high priest says otherwise! Hehe!" Piper commented as she scratched the back of her neck and looked at Ezra, a stray lock of pink hair popping out of her helmet.

"S-sure, go ahead. I think it would do well to… erm… see what you all can do together. Oh, sorry, I kind of have to go now. Sermons start in… uh oh, I really should be going! We can talk later!" Ezra replied as he grabbed his staff and ran towards the door, nearly tripping on his robe and waving back to everyone. Pops inched towards Piper as she bent over to rifle through a pack she brought, reaching towards her rear. A quick removal of a padded mace, twice the size of the one the old man used, as she swung it through the air over her shoulder and smacking him on the head. There was a loud gong sound from the connection.

"Let's get to sparring!" she giggled out as the tank of the group held his head and gritted his teeth in pain. Morlan sighed and started to instruct them in standard small group tactics that most adventurers never got, providing in-depth knowledge that only officers of the military had the blessing of learning. There was no guarantee they'd even meet part of his expectations, but it was their choice to continue with the tournament. He only had enough time to give them the basics before he'd leave on his trip anyways. Elsei helped Dina fix her form while holding her bow, altering where she held the arms of the ranged weapon while firing.

Piper, for the most part, didn't need much in assistance, excluding the fact that she was rather dead set on one-shotting the training dummies. While her wind up took some time, the wooden figurines were knocked out of the courtyard nine times out of ten, making most of the other groups watch her in surprise. None of them knew what she was blessed with from her goddess… or how few paladins there were that followed the faith. "Yahoo! This is fun! I really get to do this in the tournament? I can't wait!"

"Uh… not exactly…" Morlan grumbled. He immediately facepalmed.

Noon

Entoma sat on a crate being loaded onto the ship they would use to cross the ocean, with Yuri checking over the finishing touches for all the supplies they would have. While very little needed to be for food, excluding the green biscuits that her sister maid ate when she couldn't get her mouth on the arm of a human, most of what they had available was simply for speeding the whole trip up. Four mana engines were installed in a rotation wheel and would oscillate once each had burned out to, and away from the continent. There were quite a few magic scrolls and potions that would be used to scout the landscape, with most of the cargo being a small laboratory to test materials and document what was found. What concerned the Pleiades leader was the fact that cages were added… for valuable captives.

"I don't understand why I'm not going with you," Lupusregina said gruffly as she held her hands behind her head and paced up and down the dock.

"Do you doubt the orders of the supreme being?" Yuri questioned her.

"Of course not! I just don't see my current mission of checking on Carne as taking that long. All the people do right now is rut in their beds to keep warm, some of them even with the trolls and gob – "

"That's enough, sister. Some of that information could do well to be kept secret and out of reports," Yuri interrupted, marking everything needed as loaded on the flagship. There would be six vessels in total, with the entire trip taking three weeks due to unknown inclement weather along the way that cannot be removed, as well as tracked icebergs found ahead of time. Even so, the entire travel event was planned to start in one day, with two of the ships not yet in port just yet.

"Yeah yeah, I don't see what the problem is, though. One of these days those humans are going to realize that the troll is going to–"

"Stop, really. Stop."

"What do you think we'll find there?" Entoma asked as she waggled her 'feet.' The death knight carrying the crate slowly lowered it down onto the deck, waiting for another to grab it and move whatever was inside into the main cabins. The arachnoid jumped off the box and let the wooden container be picked up by one of the minions of the ship, waiting for a reply from her sister. A lich floated down into the main hold in the background, ready to do whatever was required during the trip.

"I would not believe I have any idea of what we may find there. If possible, a civilization that is willing to see the immense power and greatness of our Lord, to agree to join without any need for further plans laid down to sway them to Ainz-sama's incredible influence."

"As long as you don't find someone who is already allied with you know who," the cleric commented.

"Try your best not to speak of them unless Ainz-sama brings it up, understood? It is a… complicated subject," Yuri said calmly, though both of the other maids knew it was more an order than a request. The kingdom to the north was causing all sorts of trouble, and not just for Ainz and his vassal countries. There was a reason others called for temporary truces where required, not trusting the Sorcerer Kingdom enough for anything beyond a joint attempt to slow down a common enemy. Recently, those truces had become a regular occurrence, almost to the point where there might be a unified army to somehow push back those who were coming down to destroy them.

"Sure. Well, I guess I'll get back to leering into windows and reporting back what I find. You leave tomorrow, right?" Lupusregina queried.

"Correct. Do your best to make the debriefings… professional. Our glorious supreme one has many things that he is taking care of, superficial information can divert his precious time." The cleric turned around and waved in acknowledgment as the two who would travel to the west continued checking off all of the equipment they needed, with Yuri doing most of the work; Entoma seemed more than capable of sitting back and eating, then checking on the escort they would have to aid them on the adventure.

Meanwhile

Selene's transport touched down on the triple landing pad that descended into the underground facility, like a flower closing up for the night. ARC was massive below the surface, with nothing but a small building and security station above ground. While still classified as a Heavy tier helibot, most vehicles she used were well beyond using rotary systems to lift off. As the vehicle dropped into the ARC, where her science division was now stationed, shaped like a giant metal turtle, it latched the engines close to the body to conserve space as the pad closed up like a flower.

Once at the bottom floor, the doors opened to allow the empress to step out and be greeted by her leaders in advanced research. "Greeting empress, we've been waiting for you," Nikola said as he bowed to her and waved towards the main entrance, a scanner not even needed. It knew exactly who she was.

"So everything is prepared?" she asked as they walked through the myriad hallways, her eyes landing on different projects that were in the middle of being tested in the side rooms. Not all of it was for new technology, whether miniaturization or improving the original design, as other teams were handling magical devices. Only a few of them were in their final phases of creation, with many being closer to early prototype runecraft and tier magic slowly being implemented. Multiple plants and animals were being studied, though the fauna was supposed to be treated humanely.

As they continued on, her eyes landed on the improved fabrication designs for 3D printers manufacturing military units meant not only for her inventory but also in hidden factories throughout the empire. Dominic and Will had gone through a long meeting with the empress after the war, noting security issues and countering any trouble in the future. The only time patience would be brought up would be if an enemy has no knowledge of their existence; once someone figured out her military was in the area, there would be no survivors, no chance for some special artifact to be used. It would be a swift annihilation from now on, once they confirmed who was hostile. Absolutely nothing would threaten her empire.

"I see small volume production is already in the works right now," she remarked as the floor changed to a moving walkway as scientists and engineers moved around large machines pumping out new soldier designs for her to peruse. Already, the armies of the empire were increasing well beyond what she previously had; instead of a ratio of one automaton for every ten civilians, the numbers were now pushing closer to one to one. One specialist unit was being moved on a ceiling conveyor hook, its armor already installed and shoulder mounts ready for weapon fitting. It appeared to be equipped with a secondary exoskeleton wrapped around the main chassis, amplifying strength and speed while carrying even more equipment for rapid swapping weapons or tools. It also allowed orbital drops, a brand new concept for positioning troops where needed. While they wouldn't replace paratroopers, it was just another way to insert soldiers onto the battlefield when required. Will had joked about calling them a certain acronym based off an old videogame license, one with humanity fighting against a large alien religious government, though that was squashed quickly.

"Yes, production speed has seen a drastic improvement over what it took before. Do you expect another war, empress?" Robert asked her. She temporarily was silent as the dev just watched the room slip away, followed by more rudimentary items being created for the people. New tools were being worked on to implement into society in hopes that it would help the citizens with mundane tasks. If it all went according to plan, they'd either head down a path of steampunk or regular technology that the empress had seen on Earth. In this way, they wouldn't be so starved for rapid communication or production speed in jobs.

"I'd like to keep my options open, just in case," Selene replied, staring through the windows as they were moved on the walkway. A slight twitch of her left pointer finger, unknown to her lead scientists, told volumes. Tier 9 magic immunity was completed, along with a prototype system for class VI shields. The power draw was still too high, along with openings in the field not yet closed completely, but the defensive equipment was coming along nicely. They'd have tier 10, and even super magic, become a simple annoyance in no time.

Further warehouse-sized rooms showed experiments with runecraft, tier magic, even new tests into wild magic and faith energy in controlled environments. "Anything new on wild magic or faith?" she asked quietly, the entire facility quiet beyond any movement from the walkway.

"Most of our focus has been on how to contain either, potentially to restrict damage, just like the immunity films we place on our soldiers. We haven't created much just yet, though we have learned there is an interesting half-life for each," Robert replied, motioning softly towards one window.

"The universal translation that is inherent in this world… it may eventually fade," Nikola commented. Selene glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow for a moment, returning her gaze to some of the work being done on understanding the way wild magic had been used to allow everyone to speak to each other without miscommunication.

If anyone had to suddenly learn a new language, beyond writing, it could suddenly disrupt everything. English is still considered a second language in my empire, I can only imagine if I couldn't speak to my subjects.

"How long until it eventually fades away?" the empress questioned.

Robert clasped his hands behind his back, the long laboratory coat shifting as his mechanical extremities moved. A multi-lens monocle lowered and raised over one eye as his left eyebrow wiggled a little. "Unknown just yet, though the maximum we believe is 10,000 years. While that might seem long to some, it could collapse societies if not tended to, with a new spell cast in the future that can remedy the situation. Right now, one team is determining how long the previous enchantment has been active, among others."

The dev looked at him with both eyebrows raised. "Among others?"

"Yes, that is not the only one we are aware of. Satellite readings from the expanded network have been providing a plethora of new data from around the world, with some in particular connected to certain landmasses, continents."

"So some lands are special, while others aren't? Like… Atlantis or Avalon?"

"Precisely. I regret to inform you, empress… we are living on one that doesn't have anything interesting; there are no protective barriers beyond coral reefs underwater restricting keel depth, with nothing else keeping someone from coming onshore. There is only one supervolcano, and it is mostly dormant. While the geography of this land is different from what would be expected back on Earth, and the weather is sometimes peculiar in some areas, our continent is rather boring compared to others."

Selene let out a short chuckle. "Sometimes boring is the best news to have. Given what has happened in the past six months, I'd say I like having uninteresting dirt under my feet." She mulled on that in silence as the walkway moved them around a corner, soft ambient running lights attached to the sides of the hallways as they continued on. They passed a medical department with brand new mixtures of not just vaccines and antibiotics, but also potions and elixirs. None of it was to improve her attributes or skills, with most being for sale; some were quite weak in comparison to what she already had, meant for cheap supply to those who tried to reverse engineer the recipe. The introduction of a new array of expiring healing potions was already underway, with a new, less repugnant flavor. "Do we have confirmation that medical science is still needed among the people? Excluding the magic immune diseases."

"We do. Cancer cannot be healed away with magic, it's the body's own cells after all. Those who suffer from it should not be healed by magic or potions; a recurrence may happen. This complicates matters for some."

The empress nodded in response. "So regular checkups are still needed by the people at clinics and apothecaries, to catch something that might be growing in them."

"Yes; however, some of the more notorious diseases can be cured with simple spells. AIDS, for example, is just like anything else. What we've also found is quite interesting; if a disease is magic immune, it's quite vulnerable to antibiotics or vaccines, while the same can also be said in the opposite direction. Further testing is needed, but we're quite sure that the reaction doesn't change." Robert seemed to rock on his feet a little, a habit she noticed he gained since his creation. It told her that he found what he was studying quite fascinating, with new things to explore, always piquing his interest.

As they passed one window, she could hear music playing in the background. It was Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science." The only thing she could do was gawk at both of them.

"When was someone going to tell me I could have musicians record copies of songs from Earth?" she asked, looking at the two scientists, both of which tried to avert their gaze.

"We… thought you already knew this…" Robert muttered out.

"No, this is the first I heard about it. I swear, does everyone think I'm omniscient? This is… this is…" she closed her mouth and immediately put a printer in her inventory to task, crafting an entire orchestra, all of which would be able to play multiple different instruments. While everyone else in the empire was still listening to bards and traveling play troops, the castle was going to have access to anything from rap to psychill and beyond. There was no need to constantly hear violins or pianos, now adding in electric guitars and mix tables among many, many others.

They finally reached a secure area with the old fashioned steampunk equipment attached to the ceiling and hanging down, the whole resurrection system in place with the large multi-tiered dais rising from the ground. Six spires came from around the raised platform, with the central machine in the middle looking like a bloated flying saucer stripped for parts. While the rest of the room was clean with no emissions, steam seemed to hiss out of the piping of the incredible contraption at certain points along the grommets and clamps, an intended feature. "Please empress, come over here for the blood sample," Nikola told her as Selene looked at a table with a lone chair sitting next to it. A venipuncture machine was installed along with two auto doctors waiting for the dev to sit down.

"So, details. I know the system will bring her back, and that the physical characteristics are somewhat random, correct?"

"Correct. There is no guarantee she will be a teenager; however, with all data compiled, the age range is ten years in either direction," Robert informed her. "No memories will be kept from the previous life due to the soulstone, though…"

"Though?" she asked, waiting for him to finish his sentence. The scientist looked at his partner. They would never keep information from her, but whatever he was hesitating on made her wonder.

"We have a hypothesis that player traits still stay functional; otherwise, this machine would be somewhat useless. Their skills and abilities should carry over, though she won't understand how she can perform such feats."

I wonder if it might be a good idea to implement these out in the empire for heroes to use in emergency situations. Don't worry, your friend isn't dead if he's had a sample placed at certain locations! Hmm, would need to work on the advertisement; plus, temples resurrect people anyways, would need to sell the idea that it can bring someone back from total corpse destruction. Eh, it's just an idea, I don't know if it's good or not. I might need to think about it for a while…

The empress sighed and took off most of her clothing bar her underwear due to the effect it had on her body and defenses then put her arm in the auto-siphon system, waiting for the pinprick effect on needles puncturing her skin. Without disrobing, the machine would have broken itself, trying to combat her Natural Armor attribute and all the buffs layering on top of that. Selene grunted slightly as the system withdrew blood from her arm, not exactly being polite or tender. "Sorry, ma'am, we'll work on the bedside manner of that in the future," Robert commented.

"These aren't distributed throughout the hospitals and clinics, are they? It's a little rough."

"Not just yet; the auto docs and nurses are currently performing regular phlebotomy on patients." The dev nodded as the syringe ejected, a large vial of blood removed from her body. As the syringe receded, the small opening it created disappeared within seconds, her regenerative attribute healing the wound. "How was the doctor's appointment? No issues?"

"It was fine… surprisingly." Turnie had given her a clean bill of health in all areas, even with the information she knew was supposed to be different. With the transfer from Earth to this world, there was already knowledge that scars and other body complications were usually gone. One, in particular, made her shut up when asked if she had ever had children. The member of Bronze Team marked the question as answered even if Selene couldn't respond. There was very little reason to reply, given her previous life was gone now. What was known was there were no living dependents, and no marriage noted. Beyond that, Turnie sped through the questionnaire right quick after the air became tinged with a hint of an uncomfortableness that the dev would rather disappear. "Let's continue."

As she stood up to get her clothes back on and watched the vial insert into the resurrection system, the remaining ingredients were poured into assorted ports nearby. Each was carefully prepared, making sure that all of it was cleansed by both magic as well as science. Everything was as pure as it could get. "Activation in three, two, one," Nikola informed as he looked at one of his subordinates. The power engaged as lights turned on, electricity firing off at tesla spokes strewn along the outside. The spires on the ground moved inward on rails, all pointing at each other with flat tips as if waiting for something to come down. "Mixture complete, gestation for the next fifteen minutes."

Fifteen minutes? A respawn timer. Don't fuck up too many times in a raid. Then, of course, most games shorten the travel time to a location by a considerable amount, crossing continents in barely under an hour in some cases on a mount, two on foot.

Time slowly went by as she paced around the machine, now clothed again, a spark coming away from edge arced across the room to hit the other side of the saucer section. It happened multiple times, heading in different directions, making it seem as if it was intentional. "Report?"

"Nothing to be afraid of, that's what it needs to make sure the brain is functioning properly. Those are simply transfers of basic knowledge," Nikola told her. "Eating, sleeping, mobility, speech recognition, all standard requirements for continued survival." The machine finished with multiple arcs at the same time, connecting to the spokes and the spires as the middle lowered further to the ground, temporarily opening multiple flaps to encase the central point. "Hmm… interesting…"

"What? What do you see?" she asked him.

"Just wait, empress. You'll know soon enough. Her DNA, though… there is a relation. We were not expecting that of a donor."

"Related? Wait, you weren't expecting –" Nikola looked at her as she stopped speaking, diverting her eyes towards the resurrection system. She gasped as the bottom started to extrude some sort of glowing egg, shaped like a truncated icosahedron… with a figure inside it. As the pod-like object descended, the spires cradled the bottom and slowly lowered it to the ground, with the shell dissipating quietly into the air. "She's… she's my daughter?"

"We informed you there would be a connection, a sort of geas. There is no mention of blood relations; it must be because we do not have a sample of her own to use in the creation process. We apologize if it seems like we were underhanded, but I assure you, this is… not expected. Ah… so that is how this works…" Nikola said as he tried to calm her. "That soulstone port must have been implemented as a jury rig. It wasn't part of the standard schematic… the original inventor adapted other technology to house the item."

Selene walked forward towards the dais as the pod lowered to the ground completely, revealing a young girl lying on the ground in a fetal position, no more than five or six. Her long white hair didn't seem matted, despite what looked like liquid evaporating around her body. The spires moved back into standard position around the raised platform as the saucer rose back up to the ceiling, turning off. As the empress kneeled down to look at her, still unconscious, Robert walked up with a scanner. "Age, six. Body temperature, acceptable. Breathing and heart rate… stable. She's asleep for the moment."

The young girl slowly, very slowly opened her eyes and blinked as she sat up and rubbed them. They were the same color as Selene's. They just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, no words exchanged. Her bangs were asymmetrical, with a slight hump on the left side higher than the right. A lone hair lock stuck up in the middle like an antenna.

Blood-related. Blood-related. Blood-related. We couldn't be… could we? She has my eyes… and my nose…

An auto doc walked up with hastily fabricated underwear, with two-piece white medical gown and pants added in. There was no apparent fear of the metal man carefully lifting her arms up and pushing the clothes on her body as she just kept staring at the woman in front of her. "Um… hi." There was no response from the girl as the dev looked at Robert for guidance.

"She's still probably acclimating to this whole experience; her brain is still trying to fully activate as if coming out of a deep slumber. Give her time." Tests were done quickly, with the question as to her hair color already answered as a random trait. Almost none of them were invasive, with what little needed to be done completed without complaint. Her immune system was verified as fully functional, capable of defending against colds or viruses. Selene slowly picked her up by the armpits and brought her to a table to sit at, waiting for a clean bill of health. "Physically, she's a healthy young girl. No abnormalities."

"All materials inserted into the system are exhausted. A sample would have to be inserted each time a player would reuse such a feature… interesting… some may forget if they're in a hurry to get back into a fight…" Nikola spoke to himself as he rubbed the metal mustache he had, studying the aftereffect of the whole experiment carefully. Robert, on the other hand, stayed next to his creator, as the young girl was read a few words and shown the alphabet. There didn't seem to be much effect on her, acting curious yet numb to the world around her. No emotion seemed to register on her face, trying to understand what was going on.

"We'll give it a few hours, keep track of her vitals. Then, if there is still no response, we can –"

"Are you my mommy?" the girl suddenly asked, interrupting the science leader. Selene blinked at her, not knowing how to respond.

Say yes. Say Yes. Say YES. SAY YES. I can traumatize her if there is no one around she can link to!

"I…" her mouth stayed open, with no words escaping. Her mind was still coping with the fact that this child was born from a machine, not directly from her. While the technology was already developed, a feature of one of the recent Intersolar tiers she had already reached, the concept of having a daughter she didn't adopt or had to go into labor for was alien to her. As the empress sat there looking into her eyes, not even having a name for the six-year-old, she could see the worry slowly building on the young girl's face. Her emotions were slowly coming back under control, as fear could now become a response in the future. "I… am."

The child slowly raised her hand up to her face and touched it, making Selene realize she was just staring at her with confusion etched in her eyes. The girl's hand dropped as she leaned in, hoping to receive a hug; the dev gave in and held her close as she just looked down… at her new daughter. "Congratulations, ma'am," Robert commented, receiving a glazed look from the woman in response. This caught her off guard, something she wasn't expecting from her science division. The look in her eyes quickly went away as she just took a deep breath and calmed down.

They can't answer all my questions, I have to understand that. They're searching for facts as well. Still…

"I'm going to take her back to the castle. You're sure there is no inclination of the you know what from before? She's completely clean?"

Nikola returned from his examination and gazed over her shoulder. "None, empress. This wipes the slate clean and –" he stopped speaking as her daughter's stomach growled. "–It seems prudent to get her fed, given that there most likely is nothing to digest in her system right now." The empress released the child and stood up, holding out her hand for her daughter to take hold of. The girl's fingers were so small in her palm as the auburn-haired woman walked slowly with her out of the lab deep in the ARC. The patience she had to show now as they headed back to the landing platforms was incredible, as the distance seemed minuscule before, now stretched out to take over half an hour. The automated walkways helped, though eventually, the child's gait slowed down.

"Tired?" Selene asked. She nodded in response. "Ok." With that, the empress lifted her up and wrapped her legs around her waist, carrying her the rest of the way out to the waiting transport.

"Mommy… what's my name?... I don't remember…" The dev stopped midstep, already thinking about that dreaded question and many others, trying to work up answers to each. Her mind was moving a light year a second, coming up with different responses to relieve her daughter of any worry. As she looked into the girl's blue eyes, innocent beyond compare, she didn't know what to say.

What do I tell her… I have no idea? Come up with your own name? Like hell that works… I might be good with other people's kids, but that was because of the e-reads I looked through so many years ago… she's my first child… first…

(Recommended Song: Two Steps From Hell – Miracles)

"Eve. Your name is Eve." A smile curled up on the girl's mouth, rolling the name around in her tiny head as they continued to board the helibot. Eve was strapped in as her mother sat down next to her, waiting for liftoff.

"Where are we going?"

"Home."

"Home?"

"Yes, we're going home." A quick request to the advanced core situated inside the transport to take a bit of a scenic route back, then a call for Jeeves and the maids to get everything prepared quickly under short notice. While the helibot flew along the coast and headed down, past the dragon eyrie, Eve got a chance to look out the window and watch some of the empire's citizens flying around. She marveled at what she got to witness, noticing they didn't try once to attack the empress's private aerial vehicle. Meanwhile, the castle was a bustle with movement as clothing was made for the new princess, food was prepared, the red carpet was rolled out for the landing along with her bedroom readied. While normally the trip would take only thirty minutes on a direct flight, this one gave them enough time to have a welcoming party waiting outside.

As the girl's eyes watched in awe as two young dragons rolled and played in the skies, they continued on, eventually reaching the walls of the castle. The dev had asked for a pass by to give Eve a good look at the palace where she would live from now on. "We stay here? Really?"

"Yes, really," Selene responded with a slight chuckle. The helibot circled twice to give her a good view of the entire area, with the walls and secondary buildings included.

Better than a cave, or a fort.

The landing was smooth and effortless as the door opened up, and stairs shifted down. What awaited them both was a double line of maids on both sides of the carpet with their hands clasped in front of them. "Welcome home," they said in unison. Adesha, Briane, Cameron, and especially the other battle maids were all arrayed at the end. Dahlia Blue would be the new princess's escort from now on, ordered to tutor the girl while Selene dealt with important business. "Wow…" Eve whispered out as she looked around at the size of the place as they walked down the red carpet flanked by all the help. Each face was smiling and bowing towards her as she had her hand held gently by her mother. That was when she shivered, her feet having no shoes and her clothes not meant for the snow falling. The heat lamps nearby could only do so much against the harsh wind blowing temporarily.

"Let's get you inside before you catch a cold, sweetheart," the dev told her as she nudged her lightly from behind. The woman put her hand on the princess's shoulder as they both walked to the doors, entering to find luxurious warmth envelope their bodies… at least for the girl. The empress didn't really feel any heat or cold these days unless she did everything she could to lower her resistances in a bath or exercise. Eve was brought up to her room and changed to a warmer shirt and sky blue sweater with matching pants, accompanied by socks and slippers. A black headband was put on her head to push back some of her long white hair, leaving her bangs to cover her forehead, parting down the middle. Her mother tried to push down the single antenna, which kept popping back up within seconds, eventually casting a spell to keep it down. Somehow, it broke through, shooting up and arcing forward in defiance, confusing the hell out of the empress. A slight growl was heard from her abdomen. "Right… you're hungry, sorry."

"Lunch is served, madam," Jeeves informed them as he motioned for the elevator to head to the dining room. Once they reached it, the girl was helped to sit at the table while Selene figured the easiest thing to give as a meal would be a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. She waited patiently as Eve picked up one slice and took a bite, almost holding her breath as the girl swallowed and nodded; she liked the taste, at least for the nonliquid; the crust was cut off as an added measure. Once she took a spoonful of the soup, the empress at least knew what her new daughter would eat in an emergency, assuming some things didn't agree with her.

She's going to need more than that to stay healthy… and a chance to become comfortable here… and a slew of other things… I need time to bond with her too… there's going to be a need for play dates with other kids so she can somehow make friends and not be hidden away all the time…

Thousands of thoughts shot through her head as she watched Eve eat, almost forgetting to take a bite of the dev's salad. Regardless of her attributes, pounds were pounds if she didn't watch what she ate now. "Why do we live here?" her daughter asked, curious about the castle.

"Because I am the empress of the Clockwork Empire; that means you're an imperial princess." None of that seemed to ring a bell in the young girl's mind, her eyes clearly showing she barely even understood what an empress is. Selene smiled and turned from her food for a moment, hoping to give her a small lesson. "An empress is… a ruler above all rulers, like… above a king and a queen." Still no idea, the information was flying over Eve's head.

I'm an idiot. Of course she doesn't know what I'm talking about; there's no knowledge of titles, she has no education beyond the basics.

The dev gently put her hand on her head and gave her a soft pat. "I'm a very powerful woman and your mother, we'll leave it at that for the time being." Her daughter seemed to enjoy the pat as they both continued to eat. Halfway through, Eve spilled her glass of milk all over her sweater, panicking for a moment as Selene calmed her down. "Easy, easy, don't worry. Here." With a quick snap of her fingers, the milk was cleaned up by using [Scrub], quickly getting rid of the spill entirely. "See? It's alright." Another glass was poured for her as the princess settled back to eating. A request to speak over coms from Will popped up on her Hud.

"Greetings, ma'am. I've just received the notice of your… next of kin. It took a little longer than expected given how fast we all communicate, and the fact we've been dealing with so many issues."

"Issues? What sort of issues?"

"Nothing to be concerned with, we've dealt with them as you need us to, there is no trouble at the moment. I've heard you seem to be a natural at being a parent, not just looking after our new princess."

"I've read the books before and… I…" there was a long pause while she decided what next to say, watching Eve finish her glass as Dahlia Blue walked up and knelt next to her, two chignons popping out from her blue hair along with twin bangs coming out from the middle of the top of her forehead like antennae. They seemed to share that similarity, easing the child as the maid smiled.

"Hello young highness, my name is Dahlia. I'll be tutoring you and providing for your education. Do not hesitate to ask any questions, alright?"

"Ok," Eve replied quietly, nodding in acceptance.

"Let's just say I would have had previous experience, now no longer a factor. I've done enough research to know how to act around a child…" the empress finally finished through the direct channel to her chief of staff. Her answer was dancing around the question, though never really keeping any secrets from her automatons either; there were things even she didn't want to talk about involving her past. Some memories were a little too painful. It didn't matter much, as Will quickly understood what she hinted at, yet didn't exactly know how much information was given.

"I understand. Well, to continue forward, perhaps you should spend the next few months building a relationship with her. Beyond that, the reason why I called is the meeting the nobles have requested to have with you has been… authorized on your behalf during the ball… by Duncan."

FUCK.

"Alright… and when did I give him the authority to… you know what, never mind. It works, though I'm going to have to teach him how to use that damned communications stone to call me before making rash actions like that. He isn't running the show, merely keeping the palace in order and Aureos from descending into chaos. The police already have everything in hand, so that is doubtful, but still… for someone who is supposed to be lawful good, he's kind of annoying."

"Paladins, in many stories, have been of the same alignment and still been obnoxious in their actions ma'am. Speaking of which… multiple invitations were sent to other 'heroes of Artinia' that survived the Demon War. They'll be coming to the winter ball as well." Selene scooted her chair over to the side of the dining table as Dahlia answered some basic questions about the castle, with a few involving the princess's mother. Eve glanced up at the dev's face to receive a quick smile and her back rubbed gently, returning her attention to the battle maid instructor. The empress was trying to ignore some of the scanner information about her daughter, one of which showed a level 1 registered. She was all too certain that was just a placeholder, with the more advanced features not allowing it to go into decimal points just yet; it was more than likely Eve was closer to 0.2 or lower right now, barely able to take care of herself if even that.

Now that I think about it, Tariq was the same. All children are probably below level 1, given some of their parents I've noticed never raised above it, even some ex Artinia soldiers.

"Some survived?... I take it they aren't like Morlan or Elsei, are they?"

"We'll have to wait and see. There's no dossier on them just yet, with most just coming back into the borders from overseas trips. There are six in total, with the potential for two others that are MIA."

That's a lot of names and faces I won't recognize as I sit on a throne watching people dance and eat… maybe this wasn't a good idea after all… giving a speech in front of citizens is one thing, having to act proper and pomp in front of all those nobles, on the other hand…

"Mommy?" Eve asked.

"Yes, dear?" the response was almost immediate, not even having any hesitation, which surprised the empress slightly. This girl had been alive for roughly three hours and she was already getting used to the responsibility added to her shoulders, with it feeling as natural as breathing.

"Can I go outside?" the white-haired girl questioned her mother. Selene opened her mouth, no words coming out for a moment before curling up in another smile.

"Why do you want to go outside? It's cold out there right now."

"To see the white stuff."

She doesn't know what snow is like yet.

"Sure, let's get you bundled up first." They both got up as Dahlia followed behind, Adesha leading the entourage to a closet with some quick additions for the child. Some snow overpants were added, along with a pair of gloves and a pink hooded jacket with fur lining. All Eve had to do was lift her arms and feet while she was dressed properly, with her mother holding out her hand. "There, now you can go outside." A grin appeared on Eve's young face as she ran to the grand foyer, Adesha and Dahlia keeping up handily. "Don't run! You'll trip!" Selene shouted out as she hurried after, watching as her fears were justified. The battle maid leader quickly caught the falling princess without so much as a misstep, bringing her back to a standing position.

"Sorry," Eve quietly said as the empress kneeled down and put her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"It's alright, just don't run inside, got it?" The princess nodded in response. As they left the palace, the girl walked over to a smooth, untouched layer of snow and picked up a ball of it, having the frozen water fall apart around her glove. Then… her eyes landed on the wolves playing around. Blue noticed her almost immediately, bounced through the white powder partways, and stood there staring at the small thing. Eve quickly turned tail and ran towards her mother, afraid. "Don't worry, don't worry, they're friendly," her mother cooed as the girl jumped into her arms and was picked up. Then Luna showed up, launching snow everywhere.

"Eek!" the princess cried out as she brought up one gloved hand to block some of the cold white stuff from her face. Selene called to the massive white wolf to come over as Ash came out from near a bush, shaking off a layer of the frozen fluff covering her winter coat. The giant animal padded carefully over to the empress and looked at the young girl in her arms, trying to hide her face and holding onto the woman's neck for dear life.

"See? She's nothing to fear. Go on, look."

The princess turned her head and glanced at the white-furred creature sitting there gazing at the small form in hand, with Luna eventually leaning in to sniff her. "She's not bad?"

"Noooo, she's good. Luna, this is… this is… my… this is my daughter, Eve." The dev looked down at the girl's face and back up at the huge canine. "It's ok, try petting her." The child reached out tentatively, extremely hesitant at putting her arm out with the thought that it would be bitten off in one snap of the wolf's jaws. The animal just leaned in to sniff her glove a little more, looking at Selene for guidance, before the little hand touched her nose and rubbed the top of her snout. "See? They're family too."

"Family?"

"Yup, family." Eve gave Luna some more attention as the empress hugged her daughter closely for a moment while carrying her, giving a small kiss on her forehead. "Will, sorry; please continue," the dev said quietly over coms.

Gotta get the pack out on a hunt soon. They're getting a bit rambunctious.

"At the current moment, there will be nine major heads of the noble houses from both Silvinholm and Aureos, with one that survived the collapse of Paldos, coming to the meeting. You can still say no to this; we, your cabinet, are all certain that they'll try to leverage some sort of power in their direction from you, in hopes of keeping themselves above the law." The list ran by on her left eye as she put her daughter down, letting Blue get a chance to see who she was, then being educated by Dahlia on what snow was and why it was cold. One of the names spoken by Will hit a nerve… Alain Reysor.

The main reason the mad king sent an army to lay siege to Silvinholm, just to prove a point by attempting to slaughter half the population. The only reason I didn't have him executed was that he technically didn't raise a hand against anyone, just had the missive sent. While his hands are covered in blood in other regards, he didn't actually have his mercenaries fight anyone.

"Do we have any predictions on what they'll want? Just to humor me, of course."

Adesha packed a snowball and threw it gently at a tree, letting it splash apart as Eve did the same, though her strength barely got the ball beyond fifteen feet. The princess was at least laughing, something that seemed like music to the empress's ears as it relieved a lot of stress and fear that the girl wouldn't be able to live a normal life… normal enough, at least, given her circumstances. "Currently, what we believe they'll ask is for more power to do what they want, thinking they can somehow control you with demands," Will responded.

"Wait, demands? Oh… I see… because of how most kingdoms tend to be, with having to gain the support of the nobles and their knights, funding, they think I'll acquiesce to their partial control. I've had to negotiate with people outside our borders, inside is entirely another matter; if they want more power, they need to just move out, start a new life somewhere else with none of the benefits of my empire." Eve stuck her tongue out to catch a falling snowflake, then another, before a being almost covered in snow by a running white beast playing around, the backwash knocking the girl over. "Easy! Luna! Don't do that!" she chastised the wolf as the princess got back up from the small tumble, getting patted down by both maids. While the empress was worried her daughter might have gotten hurt on her first day, Eve just continued on, being led to the stables where horses were kept, not a single tear dropping or cry out.

She's a bit of a bruiser beyond the initial fear of the wolves. Good.

"It's only nine of the houses, ma'am. The rest of the nobility are doing whatever they can to adapt to your rule, with many using the new laws to increase their wealth. With better pay, their employees spend more; therefore, the economy keeps chugging. That, in turn, allows the barons and viscounts more opportunities. These nine simply want more, as what power they had was taken when the king was eliminated."

"And this is where they dance for a position to fell those who were previously above them. I guess this is also why they are throwing a tournament to build up such weak for… er…"

"You dislike the idea of insulting the Orc Destroyers."

"Mhm. While not exactly my friends, they were colleagues during my trip to Silvinholm and the abbey, now citizens just like everyone else. Dina is being a bit of a fool for joining in the competitions held by those pompous nobles. Seriously, what is she thinking? It's going to end poorly for her in some form or another; at least everyone could have waited until there was an official championship sponsored by the empire, with certified rewards for all tiers." Eve was picked up by Luna in her jaws then carried back to the group in front of her mother. She shivered a little as the day slowly turned into evening. "Alright, munchkin, let's get you inside. There will be time to play again tomorrow, I don't want you catching a cold."

"Okay." The girl raised her hand up to hold Selene's as they both walked inside, followed by the entourage, letting the wolves run around a little longer before they would come in.

"Would you like us to place the tournament on hold until it can be inspected? This way, we can show the adventurers and mercenaries that they don't have to rely on the nobility to win the lotto or backhanded actions to compete against each other," Will asked through the channel.

"I'm thinking about it… I'll be giving them a surprise visit before the ball anyways; it will give me a chance to see who is who amongst the best Artinia had that are still alive. It might throw a massive monkey wrench in the noble family's recruiting drive if I suddenly swoop in and provide alternatives to taking contracts. It might also give Morlan a chance to check over the dossiers and cherry-pick any who might work in his agency. Besides, that team hasn't exactly joined the group combat trials, at least from what I read; it's mostly solo events with a show of skill and form anyways, with a few cavalry duels. There's one 'monster defense' in there, but that's non-lethal anyways."

"Understood ma'am. We'll see about getting some initial reports from the signup sheet the adventurer's guild has, their personal reviews on the delvers as it were. It should give us an advanced warning on anyone we should keep an eye on. Now, if there are any found that might be… how should I say it…"

"Disadvantageous to have drawing breath in the empire? That depends on the dossiers… and their willingness to change their ways. I'll read the recommendations before deciding on any assassinations," the dev replied, gently running her fingers through her daughter's hair, who seemed to be enjoying the attention. The young girl moved closer and held onto her hip, getting used to the woman as family. The empress had gotten so used to planning one thing through her internal coms while showing a different side of herself to those around her physically. Many would be frightened at what was happening in the background, with the military giving updates on potential threats, intelligence agents prowling around and offing those who could terrorize the empire, and ambassadors still interacting with the two kingdoms they had just negotiated with. During that time, the empress could be all smiles to everyone nearby, with new plans of action flitting between her ears on what needed to be neutralized.

I wonder what my alignment is right now, given it just has a dash in my character sheet still. Lawful neutral? Chaotic good? Hell… lawful evil? I'll do what I need to protect my empire… and my daughter. It probably fluctuates on a daily basis…

"Mommy?" Eve asked quietly.

"Yes, honey?"

"I like it here."

Selene smiled at her as they both headed inside, with the empress placing an order for the naval shipyard to construct a yacht with submarine bay capability. Her daughter was going to get a very impressive education throughout the years, with Dahlia planning out everything quickly. In the meantime, there were a few days to spend bonding until the tournament, followed along with the ball.

Meanwhile

Multiple forms snuck towards the temple, trying to use the low light of the sunset to mask their presence. One by one, they slipped inside through the weakened door ward, seeking out three women somewhere inside. The last one of the five never got a chance to clear the doorway as there was a sound of breaking wood, a crunch, screams, followed by each body of her sisters being flung back out. None of them were dead, though they were clearly beaten very quickly. Each one slowly got back up with the aid of the fifth, looking towards the temple as Hrist walked out and dusted her hands off, rotating her gaze to each of their faces. "Next?" she shouted out, waiting for another attempt to attack them.

An arrow was shot from near the corner, which she caught effortlessly and snapped in half. Her eyes shifted to the archer, who slowly slunk back around the stone wall, attempting to lead her into a trap as the Valkyrja stomped off. Skuld came out with a cup of soup ready, indifferent towards the amazons lying bruised as they all heard the sounds of a scuffle; more bodies of their sisters were flung one by one around the corner to join the pile, with the raven-haired woman stepping back out and ripping a lasso from her chest. "Having fun?" the brunette asked, noting that her battle maiden sister glared a little at her and blew away a stray lock of hair trying to land above her eyes.

"This is getting old," Hrist replied, "it is the third time today. Don't they understand I'm not even wielding a weapon yet, and they're still getting flattened like wheat stalks? If I was really serious, they'd be dead on the first round this morning." The leader of the group slowly rose up and tried to brandish a dagger, but her wrist couldn't really support it. The rest of her troop clustered around her, all staring at the Valkyrja as Bryn came out with an electric lantern. Each and every face was battered amongst their team as the bringers of the dead just stood there, unscathed. "Go on, run away with your tails between your legs; maybe this time you'll get the hint not to start something."

"Grrrr… I'll prove I'm the strongest and take down a battle maiden once and for all! Just you wait!" the leader shouted back, growling a little after as they turned to run back to whatever village they came from. Hrist just sighed and shook her head.

"If you come back a fourth time with the intent to fight, I'm not holding back again…" she muttered out, with Skuld smirking.

"You've given them enough chances to give up and just talk. Besides, it wouldn't just be you getting serious; don't forget about us after all," the brunette remarked.

"I'm really surprised that they even started something with us, to begin with. The fact they know of us speaks volumes right now, that and the symbols they're using for their jewelry. They worshipped Freyja, yet they decide to pick a fight with Valkyrja. I guess intelligence has been bred out of them over the centuries," Bryn yelled out from inside the temple.

"I'm thinking they were hoping to either somehow prove their mettle, or become Einherjar. Maybe… maybe it's a rite of passage? Pick the strongest on this land and defeat it, or at least show they have no fear?... could be for a ritual to… what is it… lead their tribe?" Skuld commented, thinking up the reasons for the almost comical amazon incursions.

"You're justifying their actions?" Hrist asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not justifying them, trying to understand why they are constantly coming back to be thumped in the head. Frankly, we've already tried to speak, it failed. The next time, I really don't care if you kill them, negotiations seem to have long since died off before they even began. Anyone who refuses to converse with words instead of a sword when the former is offered makes me have no compunction about how their lives end." Skuld handed her the cup of soup then headed back inside, noting the sensor placed on the doorframe to act as an alarm in case there was another attempt during the night.

There wasn't just food and sleeping bags in the equipment cases; the empress made sure there was a slew of defensive gear ready to install if they needed to protect the temple, one of which was a man-portable auto turret. It still used gunpowder ammunition, though it was at least caseless. While not as powerful as the more advanced weapon emplacements, the machine was more than enough to take down a good hundred troops by itself, more if it was positioned at the end of a hallway. It also would get rid of the massive abundance of spare ammo in storage depots near the military bases judiciously sprinkled throughout the empire. All automaton forces were going to start using electromagnetic weapons as standard given the "Rifle+" project that the empress had hinted at one time with Will and Dominic. Hrist just happened to overhear some of the new upgrades being put into production. It made her wonder if melee was ever going to survive the transition, with ranged becoming the end all be all with the military.

Both women walked back inside and sat down in their camp room, lights attached to the walls as the burner didn't provide much illumination. "Shouldn't we call? You know, to let the empress know we're here and still ok?" Brynhildr asked as she sat back and ate a spoonful of her own soup.

"A report would be advantageous to give her. There's a slight caveat to that, though. We should give it in the morning instead of this evening. If she knew about the amazons… well, we don't exactly know how she'll react," Skuld warned.

"If her majesty speaks with them, they may try to attack her for being weak. That won't end well, and I'm fairly certain the two brain cells they seem to have to rub together between the lot of them would allow the feeling of utter terror to flow through their feeble bodies when Selene gets angry" the blonde replied, chuckling a little after.

That's if her honor guard doesn't counter the attempt in the first place… or allow me to end their annoying lives…

"Hrist?" Skuld questioned as her sisters both looked at her.

"I cannot believe we ever considered using amazons as prime Einherjar candidates. They've really gone downhill since we've last seen them." Bryn tried to stifle a giggle at hearing that, only for all three of them to break out laughing. "I mean, there is no reason for them to descend this far from what we are used to. It's almost shameful."

"Perhaps, once we've offloaded all of the books onto the ship, we can sneak around and find this city or village they come from? They cannot all be as… untrained… er, inept… oh to hell with it, buffoons, as those ten. Maybe what we are seeing are just rebellious teenagers?" Skuld said, attempting to provide an alternative to ending their bullheaded existences, even if she didn't care about their deaths for the fourth and final encounter. From what they remembered, amazons should be tall, proud women warriors just as capable as any man, many times much stronger than any knight from some far off kingdom. Brynhildr knew of one instance an older Einherjar she had called upon that threw her spear straight through two soldiers and impaled the tip through a stone wall. Of course, they still would rather prefer the berserkers or other Vikings compared to these wild females fighting with spear and loincloth. The warriors of the frozen north were a fairly hardy bunch in almost every regard, even if they weren't mainly one gender.

"Perhaps. There's no guarantee we will have enough time to do so unless…" Hrist looked out the window towards the ship they had traveled on. While her eyes couldn't see the lone frigate, it was there, hiding and waiting for them to bring whatever tomes they decided to carry out. She had seen firsthand what the automatons on board had access to, the equipment available to the marines stationed onboard. From what she knew, there was access to some sort of red gem attached to their chassis, a way to dispense gear or send it back from somewhere unknown. When questioned in the past, the soldiers simply responded with information regarding a specialized inventory system set aside for their use by the empress. Hrist had no idea it involved something directly connecting to a tab the dev had set up for her troops to pull resources from.

"That look on your face tells volumes. What are you thinking?" Bryn remarked, raising an eyebrow as she sipped from a chilled cup.

"There might be a way to speed up the whole process. We don't need to read through all of the books available, just bring them back. Selene won't be annoyed if we… if we… dump all of them right into –"

"For the record, I have no idea what those gems do and where they connect to. Adding in whatever we find may destroy what we provide, making everything we have worked for on this trip be for nothing. Still… if we can get affirmation that it won't damage the texts… worth a shot" Skuld waggled her finger at her raven-haired sister. Each Valkyrja looked at each other, acknowledging the plan. Hrist slowly got up and walked to the auto turret stationed at the end of the hallway and checked for the same gem. At the base of the mount sat the large glowing connector, feeding ammunition into the barrels ready to fire at attackers.

"If we remove that, we'll have no way to put it back," Brynhildr commented, worried that her sister might try and take the machine apart. Given how well built it was, that seemed highly doubtful without trying to actively destroy it; that would most certainly cause the thing to either defend itself or detonate due to damage, to keep the technology from falling into the wrong hands. As Selene had once informed them, a chain reaction of stored ammunition is not something to be near when it goes off.

"I wasn't going to remove it… what if we try and push the books into it?" Hrist replied, annoyed a little by her sister jumping to conclusions. It wasn't as if they were meatheads, she was trying to use her brain after all. Skuld deftly picked up a scroll and lightly touched against the gem on the back, worried that it wouldn't work, and just bend the edges. Nothing happened, with all three sighing. "Too good to be true; might only allow ammunition to leave, with nothing going in as a protective measure." Just as they were going to give up, the scroll edge disappeared, with the gem changing color to green.

"It… wait wait wait, maybe it somehow detects us being nearby?... the earpieces we wear! It… uh… might tell the empress where we are right now…" Skuld exclaimed, pointing to her left ear with a little excitement before concern fell upon her face. Selene knew where they were at all times if that was true, probably even knew how healthy they were. The empress knew where all of her tools were, all of her people.

Like Odin.

"Or, maybe Selene knows we're trying to send something and unlocked the entrance point. It's probably a missive she thinks we're sending," Bryn said, giving another explanation as she tapped her lower lip and looked at the damaged ceiling.

"Whatever, it works. Let's get everything we can inside."

Meanwhile

"Huh, wonder what they're trying to send. Oh well…" the empress muttered out to herself and yawned while Eve poked at a small toy while wearing pajamas. Her mother had a printer craft all sorts of trinkets and playthings for the girl, wondering which ones she seemed most interested in. Unfortunately, it was going to take quite a few days, weeks, or months even before a pattern would start to appear on what she preferred. Predictive analysis wasn't going to work, with Dahlia even observing the princess's behavior and relaying anything she noticed to the dev.

The initial report was that Princess Eve Jadzia Cordell was slowly becoming a regular child, with her first responses being more akin to a robot. Nikola, Robert, Turnie, and Orlo all agreed to coin the symptom name "Soul Shock," a form of losing one's sense of self after being in a long period of limbo, then coming back to the land of the living. Over the past hours, the child was now asking questions about everything, rattling them off in any room she was brought to. There were at least a dozen times already that Dahlia had to pause and look at her creator, wondering if it was right to answer some of the queries. A few were considered acceptable, two involved anatomy which the empress didn't quite feel she should learn just yet.

As Selene stood in the doorway watching the girl sit and draw, her tutor right next to her to help with anything else that came to mind, Will came up next to the red-haired woman and watched as well. "You have experience with children, you're a natural."

"I looked through so many e-reads that I could tell you exactly what to do and what not to do depending on their age," she replied quietly while her eyes were pinned to the princess. The chief of staff glanced at her.

"I… take it you don't like talking about why you have so much knowledge in this regard." The empress was silent for a few seconds and closed her eyes the entire time. While being curt before was a normal defensive measure she tended to do each time she was asked, it shouldn't hurt to talk with those who were technically very close to her.

"I… don't really like talking about it, but because of medical reasons back on Earth, I… couldn't have children. Regardless of advances in medical science, new diseases and syndromes still crop up from time to time. Cormillion's syndrome was one of them." Will wasn't going to press any further, though she continued with a voice almost a whisper. "The event was… a blow for me. Apparently very rare, makes it impossible to carry, surgery had no effect. Also, the fact that the relationship I was in became very strained didn't help matters, ended any chances after; I never wanted to try again, never tried adopting. Now… this… I wasn't exactly expecting this…"

"You were expecting a teenager."

"Or a grown woman, someone I could slowly ease into a brand new life, help her on her way as a… as a… I honestly don't know what, whatever she wanted to be. My plan wasn't exactly well thought out, I'll admit. That was a bit stupid of me, but now…"

"She is your flesh and blood, and technically a player. You didn't even have to go through the pains of labor, potty training, diaper changes –"

" – And yet, I would have embraced all of that in a heartbeat." Selene exhaled and shook her head. "She's a surprise, a welcome one I'll admit, but a definite wake up call. It's making me think about what I'm doing these days beyond just… living or building an empire." There was silence between them as the automaton kept his hands behind his back as he nodded. A small smirk played onto her lips as she saw Eve smile, then yawn. "I'm going to have to childproof the castle…"

"Cameron and Briane are already hard at work doing just that, Jeeves and Adesha are currently planning a birthday party if it is alright with you, ma'am."

Of course! She's technically born today!

"That sounds perfect. Hmm… well, I guess I'll skip the tournament, and we can have it happen then."

"Perhaps you can bring her to the event? Let her enjoy the –" Will shut up as she raised her eyebrow.

"It's mostly adventurer's fighting, with some team combat. I'd… like her to not see that just yet, especially within such a short time. Better to spend time enjoying her education and giving me a chance to look after her, as a mother should." Eve picked up the picture she drew of Luna, who had stayed near her ever since playing outside. The dev lightly clapped her hands in applause at the drawing, little more than a square body with some stick legs and some triangle ears; large blobs of white which were supposed to be snow falling down were blotched along the top, along with multiple figures, one of which was wearing pink clothes that was more than likely the princess. "Good job, sweetheart." The grandfather clock nearby chimed just as a yawn escaped the white-haired six-year old's mouth again. "Time for bed."

"Okay." With that said, Eve was helped into bed by her mother, not yet customized for the girl. While the bedroom was still somewhat sparse in terms of what a child would like, with no real color or amenities beyond the pile of toys quickly created and given to her, it was going to soon be improved with a high priority remodel being headed by Juliet herself.

(Recommended Song: Gåte - Gjendines Bånsull)

Dahlia softly sang a lullaby, which made the empress do a double-take with keen interest. The maid was reading everything and anything in the library, learning whatever she could about the world to become a good instructor if new recruits somehow were vetted in the future by Selene. The blue-haired woman didn't glance over anything that could be committed to memory, easily reading through two folk song tomes that had been picked up. "Good night, Eve."

"Good night, mommy."

The lullaby did the trick, with Eve falling asleep. As the "adults" left the room, slowly closing the door behind them, Will stood looking at his creator as if to ask a question.

"What's up?"

"Ma'am, may I remind you of something now?" he asked softly. She glanced over at the maid who simply stood there bowed with her hands clasped together.

"Alright."

"Turnie gave you a clean bill of health during your check-up. That means what you suffered from is gone." Selene averted her gaze for a moment and nodded slowly, mulling over how to respond as she licked her lips and rubbed them together.

"I know this; however, the chances of me ever getting into a relationship again, at least one that I feel would provide that opportunity are slim to none. This is not to mention the fact that I have… I have…" she stopped for a small pause, almost as if letting it sink it for herself, "A daughter already. I have a daughter. I can't believe it just yet." She broke into a smile, her eyes watering a little.

"I will do my utmost to educate her, your majesty. You can trust her with me," Dahlia said, already creating an adaptive schedule for the princess.

The three of them walked down the hallway towards the empress's quarters as the dev gestured and spoke, a little hop in her step. "I want her to have an interactive education, not just behind a desk. Hell, for the next few months, I'm going to be directly involved anyways, so we might as well get field trips added in often. Oof… going to need playdates too… and somehow figure out how to get her the chance to make friends… maybe a day once in a while to visit the academy? Meet other students? Visit Tal Salunbal and meet Tariq?"

"That sounds like an excellent addition, empress. I'll implement those requirements immediately." The blue-haired maid bowed carefully and took her leave as Will just watched her go.

"I'll let you get some sleep, ma'am. Tomorrow I believe it was to have a meeting held with the guilds if I'm not mistaken; you'll want to be well-rested and prepared for that. Then there is the dinner with Mayor Liyana."

"Thank you. Oh, Will… I'm fine. It does strike a nerve to explain it, but it's not as if I get flashbacks or anything; I didn't go through what other women did. Besides… I don't have it anymore, it seems. I guess… I guess I just didn't like telling anyone there was something wrong with me."

Will's eyebrows raised high for a moment in astonishment. "Ma'am… nothing is wrong with you. Not one single thing. We are all in agreement on that." The dev smirked at hearing that.

"If I was perfect, I wouldn't be on the physical plane. As I used to hear from a friend of mine as I will not take credit for this, 'everyone has bugs. The question shouldn't always be can you fix them, but can you turn some of them into features?'" She switched her view down to the ground and smirked. "While that doesn't exactly work with the syndrome I had, you learn to make it not define you."

"Who said that?" the metal man asked. "It's a good line."

"Suchi Kazegawa, after three kids and… I think his second wife? Well, whatever, I didn't say he was a saint or anything. The point is, no one is perfect."

"And yet we strive to become it. Maybe one day. Sleep well, ma'am."

"Good night Will. See you in the morning." With that, the doors were slowly closed as the chief of staff waved as he retreated down the hallway and towards the CIC nestled deep inside the palace.