A/N: I figured it might hard to visualize some of the characters with the scattered details, so I've added a few small bits of information for some important characters. There might be more of these in the future as needed.

Akemi

152.4cm (5'0), Age 19, Kitsune (9 Tails)

Lower back length black hair, similarly colored ears, black tails with white tips, and light blue eyes that appear lighter when Celestial Aura is active, visibly glowing.

Has a bit of a baby face. Fun fact, her tails combined take up more area than her body.

Kyouko

187.96cm (6'2) Age 27, Wolf Demi-human

Has upper back length dark red hair that is often wrapped into a ponytail to keep it out of the way. Her tail, and ears as the same color as her hair, while her eyes are like a wolf's of bright yellow and amber.

Has a great mix of beauty and muscles, and prefers outfits that can show that off, almost all of which show off her abs.

Ana Bilon

149.86cm (4'11) Age 16, Human

Ana has neck length brown chestnut hair and dark green eyes.

She is tiny even after considering her height, and has freckles on her face and shoulders, as well varies other places.

Hannyuu

134.62cm (4'5) Age 11, Cat Demi-human

Has neck length very light pink, almost white hair. She has bright red eyes with small bags under her eyes as her sleep still is disturbed often. She is also incredibly pale due to her time in captivity.

She is still very skinny for her age, but her weight is slowly getting to a healthy number.

Draudillon Oriculus (True form)

160cm (5'3) Age 82, Part dragon, Grand daughter of the Brightness Dragon Lord.

The Queen of the Dragon Kingdom, has rear length silver white hair with a prismatic shine in the light.

She has dark silver eyes, and small stubby ivory horns on the top of her head due to her heritage.

Emeril

175cm (5'9) Age 432, Kitsune (4 tails)

A Kitsune that has dark green hair and eyes that extends to her four tails as well. She has a motherly appearance and is much more endowed than Akemi.

Lirina

124.4 (4'1) Age 9, Kitsune (1 tail)

Lirina has reddish blond hair like her late mother Maiya, and green eyes like her other mother Emeril.

She Is tiny, excitable, and hyper like a Kitsune her age should be, thankfully she was sparred most trauma when she was captured, and wasn't in captivity for long before being reunited with Emeril.

Rinna

133.34 (4'5) Age 11, Sheep Demi-human

The small sheep demi-human has short and very curly white hair, like a sheep's wool, and is just as soft. Her eyes are a very light and bright green with hazel specks along the irises. Is quite skinny like Hannyuu, and has a lot of the same trauma. Was adopted by Emeril when the Kitsune found out the girl's parents were killed when she was captured like so many others. Has treated her just the same as her blood born daughter and naturally sees her as her child by that point.

Is incredibly shy and can be easily flustered, as Hannyuu has found out.

Kyouko listened to the wind whistle through the forest through the open window as she sat next to Lorelei in her room, just gently holding that tiny and emaciated hand while she ran her thumb over it in a dim hope it might provoke a reaction.

She felt older than her twenty seven years as she tried to keep hope. Her ears only twitched as a knock was heard on her open bedroom door. Looking up Kyouko forced a smile for Emeril.

"Hey." Was all the Kitsune said as she sat on the end of the bed. "You doing alright?" Emeril carefully asked as she looked over her shoulder at the two.

"I'm… getting by I suppose. It is hard to see her like this, I just want her to come back to me…" Kyouko sighed and put Lorelei's hand down, tucking it back under the covers before turning to Emeril. "Could I ask you a favor?"

"You want me to watch her for the day?" Emeril asked, and smirked when she saw the surprise on Kyouko's face. "Please, I know you well enough, I figured you might need a babysitter anyway. It won't be any trouble. I'll keep the kids from breaking anything while you're all gone." She said.

"…Thanks friend, I appreciate it, I was just going to ask you about that. I need to watch Akemi's back during these negotiations… This Queen seems really tricky. I know Akemi can physically take care of herself, but she is just as vulnerably mentally as the rest of us, and painfully innocent. I mean, that innocence is adorable, but it worries me." Kyouko leaned back in her chair and forced a smile at Emeril.

"Anytime. It might be a long road to recovery, but you have all the time now for Lorelei to recover, I'm sure she'll come back eventually. All that can be done right now is keep her safe and comfortable until she feels like coming out of her shell. I've seen cases like this before, and if they are kept alive they usually regain awareness eventually. Do I… even want to know what all happened?" Emeril looked unsure of if that was even okay to even ask.

She regretted it instantly as she saw the pain on Kyouko's face get worse. "You really don't, It was… really bad, and I don't think I even can. I don't blame her for retreating into her mind like this, it was probably the only… way to cope. This ring Akemi gave her sure is helpful though, It makes keeping her fed easier, she is even getting weight back slowly." Kyouko took a few deep breathes. "Well, we can only be there for her, when she returns we'll all be there. Who knows… Maybe by that time she'll have a few more siblings?" Some of Kyouko's usual spirit came back into her smirk.

"Akemi does strike me as the type that would want more kids, you have fun with that." Emeril said with quiet chuckle. "Speaking of kids though… I think your's is putting the moves on my mine. It was really really adorable seeing them… Hannyuu is a bit of a romantic it seems, and more proactive than you three, not that that is hard to do." She teased and twitched her ear right before said feline walked in the door.

"I heard my name, did I do something?" She asked with a tilt of her head. "Mama Akemi says that we'll be leaving soon." Hannyuu said and looked at Emeril suspiciously.

"Oh I'm just telling Kyouko about how we might end up related. Don't worry, you have my blessing~" Emeril said with a grin as she patted Hannyuu's head while the cat pouted.

"Same, you just have fun kid. I'll be out in a minute lady-killer." Kyouko joined right in the teasing as she stood up. "Thanks for watching her again, we'll probably be back tonight. Her wheelchair is right there if you want to take her around, or take her to your house." Kyouko said as she pointed to the chair in the corner.

"Wheel… chair? Huh, what an interesting device. Is that something from Akemi's previous world like you mentioned? I still need my own time to ask her things… one day, take care friend."

"Yeah, it is, she had told me it was one she had to use a lot. You as well. Well I'm off to make sure Akemi doesn't get taken advantage of and bundled off into some political marriage, wish me luck." Kyouko half joked as she followed Hannyuu out.

"Oh dear… Lorelei, I think you're family is going to be even bigger, take care of your future siblings alright?" Emeril smirked and pet the girl's head, hoping that the girl would one day return to some semblance of the excitable pup Emeril knew when the girl was born.

"Why would have Akemi needed that wheelchair in a previous life?"

"These are some fancy clothes, where did you get- Never mind, you made them." Ana asked with a shake of her head as she caught the pattern of any gift Akemi gave them.

Ana had been given nice mages robes that were a nice black and gold with embroidered glyphs sewn on them. It fit snuggly and was quite warm.

Hannyuu was looking quite happy in the thick dress with cute frilled short sleeves, suitable for both hot and cold environments, not that it mattered with the temperature regulation enchantments on both her's and Ana's clothes.

Kyouko opted for her white drake leather armor with Desolation on her hip, looking every bit the experienced swordswoman she was.

Akemi herself was in robes she had worn when she first met the queen, a nice white and gold robe that seemed to hug her body enough to show some of her curves. It hugged her enough that she felt Ana and Kyouko's eyes on her. When she looked behind her they were quick to look away.

"Dorks. Alright everyone, don't take it personally if some of them don't quite trust us, they are still pretty shaky on non-humans. Queen Draudillon's General Bahgram especially doesn't like them, but he might be a bit better today. I hope he heeds my warnings on not trying absolutely any nastiness with you three though.[Gate], now then, Shall we?"

The other three were far too nervous to actually respond as they followed Akemi through the portal.

"Halt! W-wait, it's you!" A new pair of castle guards were manning the front door, and at least one of them seemed to recognize Akemi.

"Greetings, I have an appointment with Queen Draudillon for a discussion regarding yesterday." Akemi said as she seemed to turn into a different person once she past that gate, her family recognizing her going into her old and wise persona.

"Yes, of course. We were told to expect your coming, please come with me." One of the guards said but sighed as he saw his partner move in front of the door instead.

"Excuse me, as per protocol I need you all to hand over any weapons before you can be allowed near the queen." He said and looked pointedly at Kyouko's sword at her waist.

"Please forgive this fool Ma'am. Excuse me a moment." The first guard said and moved off to the side while dragging the second one away. While they were whispering, all except Ana could still hear them.

"Are you an Idiot?! We were told to forgo protocol, on top of that what sense does it make to ask for the weapon of the companion of someone who destroyed an entire army? Use your head for once private!" The first guard quiet yelled before releasing the second rattled guard and returning. "I apologize for the delay, please follow me."

Akemi just nodded with a peaceful smile, not at all perturbed by that interaction, even if internally she was cackling. As they followed after the guard the three of them could tell that Hannyuu was getting anxious, and so they put her between the three of them like her own guards. The look she gave them was thankful, and all three of them were happy they could help their daughter.

"Before we arrive at the Queen, Ma'am, I just wanted to thank you for what you did, you saved my parent's lives." The soldier said, only stopping for just a moment to look behind him and meet her eyes.

"A family is the most precious thing one can have, so I'm glad. If even one family can be made whole again, then it was worth it." Akemi was genuinely happy about that fact.

The halls were a lot busier than the other times Akemi walked them, and she pleased to see so much more life on the people's faces, as if the shadow of death had been dispelled over that country.

She gave small waves when she got stares, and bowed her head when a few more people came by to thank her, thankfully not bothering her companions. When they finally came up on the door to the meeting room Akemi was in the day before she couldn't be happier. "Thank you, keep up the good work." She said as the guard opened the door for them all.

Once they all filled into that room and were away from prying eyes Akemi took a big sigh, her fake mannerisms vanishing in an instant. When she looked up she saw the Queen and Dahl staring at her curiously. "Keeping on airs is difficult. Greetings Queen Draudillon, Dahl. I hope things have been getting a bit better." Akemi said as she took a seat across from their party.

"Oh it is still pretty busy, but morale is high thanks to you. Akemi, I truly thank you for freeing my people." Draudillon was in her adult form and had gone as far as bowing her head to the Kitsune.

Draudillon's smile returned and turned into a smirk as she lifted something up and pushed the mirror of viewing onto the table. "You forgot this by the way."

Akemi's ears flattened in an instant as she took the mirror, vanishing it into her inventory as quick as she could. After a deep breath she shook her head. "How much did you see?" Akemi grumbled while pouting at the Queen.

"Not for long after you left, I was too busy to watch idly anyway, I put it away when you started to strip, I'm not that uncouth. On an unrelated note, nice butt though." That was enough to make Akemi's face to flush red and to try and hide in her tails.

"That's the truth." Kyouko said with a snort, and gently pet her girlfriend's ears. "Nice to meet you Queen Draudillon. I am Kyouko, Akemi and Ana's partner."

The others took that time while Akemi recovered to continue the meeting. "I'm Ana Bilon, Akemi and Kyouko's partner. A pleasure to meet you." Ana gave a polite bow from her seat.

Soon eyes had turned to Hannyuu until she began to look around worriedly, her feline ears folding shyly. She had been all excited to meet a Queen, but she felt her tongue get tied up from the pressure. "H-hello, I'm Hannyuu… and these are my Moms. Its an honor to meet you Queen Draudi- ow…" Hannyuu's eyes teared up just a bit as she covered her mouth. "I bit my tongue…"

The others were entirely silent and politely looking away, yet it was impossible to think of it as anything but cute. "Nice to meet you three as well, please, be yourselves, we're going to be seeing a lot of each other. Now then, I hope you don't mind if we have lunch while we get down to business, time is still sadly in short supply." Draudillon said as she rang a hand bell on the table next to her, right next to her paperwork she had been doing.

As if waiting for that cue, a woman in a maid outfit entered from the door behind her. "Yes my Queen?"

"Could you please have the chefs bring lunch over? It will be a working lunch today so something easy to eat would be nice. Thank you Hilda." Draudillon said with a smile at the maid, who couldn't look happier.

"Right away your Majesty."

Akemi's breath caught for just a moment as she stared after that maid with a sense of longing in her heart. That longing must have reached her eyes as the others stared at her. "No I won't give you my maid, she is my favorite." Draudillon said with a smug grin.

"Oh no, I'm sorry, just her name reminded me of… an old friend." Akemi said and sighed before shaking her head. "Now then, I suppose we should get down to business?"

"Indeed. So, you said you wanted a fifty kilometer wide area of land? What kind of country can you make with such a small amount of land? How many people did you say you have again?"

"Oh you're thinking too horizontally, you need to think vertically. Well, it is a bit more complicated than that, but it will involve more magic. It is safe to say when I go through with it everyone in the region will be able to tell that something is happening, if not see it, but I want to keep it a surprise. As for how many people we have right now… Between one thousand to two thousand, we haven't done a census or anything, but I'm anticipating a lot of immigration as I intend to take in the Re-Estize Kingdom's demi humans if they choose to follow me. I'll also be offering this choice to at risk settlements in the Theocracy if I can find them. Of course if any humans or others end up wanting to immigrate I won't be stopping them, this will be a long term project that I want to last. As for what kind of country I want to make, it will likely be an agricultural one at first, I have ways of massively increasing crop yield and harvest speed. It will help quite quickly here as well, just as I will not let anyone go hungry in Natura, I don't want to let any allies go hungry either." Akemi said and caught her breath before the door behind the Queen opened again.

Pushing in a food cart, Draudillon's maid set out several platters between the group of them and set out the plates. "Thank you Hilda." Draudillon said and looked at the other three. "The Theocracy really is a problem on that front. They only helped us due to being a shield against the Beastmen tribes, so thankfully I can also not be obligated to them. I will ask for your protection for the Kingdom though, I can foresee that they might declare war now that our fates are tied together." Draudillon said and seemed resigned to that outcome.

"I mean, you did agree to be allies, and I want our countries to work together, so of course I'll defend it. I'll make sure to set up a surveillance perimeter around both of our borders, that way I'll know the second a soldier from the Theocracy arrives. From what I've heard of them they'll probably be hostile to any diplomacy I might try, and without a world item for protection I'm not going to charge into their country like I did the Re-estize. Speaking of that, you had mentioned you knew the location of a world item?"

"Yes, I've known of it for decades by now. Underneath this Kingdom, are the ruins of an even older kingdom that had been buried in the past by a volcanic eruption. All expeditions down inside have failed and we long since closed it off due to the danger. I don't know what it is, but it can defend itself. If you feel you can get it then I'll give what information I have if it will help." Draudillon said as she grabbed a few of the small sandwiches that had been laid on the platter.

"Don't you not need to eat with that ring your Majesty?" Ana asked curiously and took a few sandwiches for herself.

"Sure, I don't have to, but eating is a pleasure to the mind. This thing really has made work better though, if I can at least take some breaks I'm sure I can work for days straight. You don't need to call me that in private, like I said we'll be working pretty closely." The Queen said and seem to caress that simple gold band.

"I don't know how to make more of those you know… I do need that back eventually. Just keep what I said in mind about taking it off, with how long you've had it on, plan on needing a good day's worth of sleep. I'll… have to put off looking for that item for now, too much to do just yet. Once things are up and running I'll check out those ruins, any world item would be at least useful in warding off another." Akemi said and looked quite nervous as she remembered something. "If anyone has the world item that brainwashed Shalltear I bet it is the Theocracy, I need to get proof somehow though. There is no way their Six Great Gods weren't players, and if I could figure out what who they were and what guild they were I might be able to figure out what items they have."

"Well, I suppose now is as good of a time as any to bring it up… You had added Marriage as a condition to giving Akemi your support?" Kyouko asked as she put her food down.

"If at all possible, but… I am not one to split up relationships like some thieving cat." The Queen said before she straightened up and looked at Hannyuu "Apologies for the expression." She was quick to say, knowing that those three mothers would likely get defensive of their child.

Hannyuu just shrugged. "I know it is just a phrase, I've been called worse in my life anyway. Are you just wanting mama for political reasons?" At the look the small feline gave, Draudillon surprisingly stiffened.

It was clear enough that Hannyuu's support would be crucial in that particular discussion, with how highly Akemi valued her opinions on people. "Yes and No. While the political benefits are quite large… I am tired of having fat nobles with no personality foisted on me from all over the map. Personally Akemi, you're a far better option in all categories than other options I've had. My tastes already lean more towards women, and the fact that an heir can be secured is also critical."

"She is hot yeah." Kyouko said with a nod, and also ignored Akemi as she blushed off to the side. "We did discuss this last night."

"As long as Akemi is okay with something like that we don't mind." Ana added as she reached over to ruffle Hannyuu's hair till her hand was bapped away.

"I'll be honest… I'm not entirely opposed to the idea. From what I've seen… I wouldn't mind getting to know you more, you're a good ruler that cares about her people and puts other far before yourself. I can't agree to marriage or engagement right away, give that some time, but I can agree to some dates so we can see how that goes? I don't want to marry without love." Akemi said and looked behind her at all her tails and sighed. "I should probably disclose this in that case, before the misunderstandings get worse." Akemi seemed to be trying to come up with a way to say something, but the look on her face made the Queen chuckle.

"Is it that you are a puh-layer? You fit all the traits my great grandfather described. You appeared out of nowhere without any warning, and have power on a different scale than those native to this world, and super tier magic has only ever been shown to be used by Puh-layers. There have been several instances of this in history, such as the Theocracies Six great gods, and the Eight greed Kings." When Draudillon said that she seemed to enjoy the look of surprise on Akemi's face.

"Well… take all the fun out of it why don't you. You're separating the syllables too much though, it is just one word, Players. As for how that is… that sounds like a fun topic for a first date. While my power is the real thing as you've seen, I'm nineteen, not over nine hundred like most think." Akemi said and looked a bit disappointed by the lack of surprise on the Queen.

"You should work on your professional face, learn to keep a blank face in negotiations, I can basically read your mind like this~ I had a feeling you were a lot younger than nine-hundred, though you are a bit younger than I thought you would be. If you don't mind me asking, what about you three? I'm eighty two." Draudillon asked.

"As far as Mama and me could tell, eleven, it is complicated." Hannyuu said as she nibbled at some food.

"Twenty seven here. You sure don't look eighty two." Kyouko complimented and rested her chin on her palm.

"Thank you, it is the dragon blood, Great Grandfather guesses I'll probably live to at least two hundred to three hundred." Draudillon said and winked at Akemi.

Soon all eyes moved towards Ana next, making the lone pure human in the room, barring Dahl. "Oh um, I'm sixteen, just a normal human."

Akemi snorted just a bit "You're adorable is what you are. Anyway… I suppose you would need to likely change your laws on marriage?"

"They're pretty progressive, at least in comparison to some other countries. The Theocracy is the worst about it… very strict male and female marriage, and only their god-kin can have multiple marriages. I haven't had the time to work on the marriage laws besides getting rid of that male female requirement. Now that I have more time to worry about things other than survival in the Kingdom I can change that pretty easily, the benefits of being an absolute monarchy."

"I have… a lot of work to do getting Natura up and running, I know nothing about running a government after all. The marriage laws though are going to of course be quite free, as long as all parties are consenting and in love. I'm tempted to forbid political or arranged marriages… But I can decide that later. Of course it is all dependent on if my people even want me as a Queen."

That made Ana and Kyouko both roll their eyes. "She seems to think that the people back at our settlement aren't going to want to follow her lead, despite literally bringing a chunk of them back to life and being their holy protector, while also being in denial about being a goddess."

Akemi had the decency to blush at that and sigh. Hannyuu was more amused by all of them than anything. "Well, looks like mom four might happen, well… fifth counting Arche." She teased her mother.

They all got to watch Akemi's face turn bright red, and for her tails to coil around her like a shield. "Hannyuu…"

"Maybe little one, we'll see what the future holds. For once things are looking nice and bright here. Now then, I think it is time to really buckle down, if you want to run a country you'll need some more information. What is first…"

Hannyuu looked ready to fall asleep after an hour into that impromptu lesson by the Queen, until finally they seemed done. "Oh dear, I lost track of time. I have more work to get done today, approvals to sign for housing, and letters to write. Would it be possible to meet in perhaps two days to go find the exact site you wanted to claim?" Draudillon asked as she stacked her papers up and moved towards the door. "I can walk you to the entrance."

"That was a lot of information to absorb… Yeah we can see you in a few days, around the same time?" Akemi said as she ruffled Hannyuu's hair to further wake her up.

"That works, I'm interested in what you'll be doing, but I'll trust you on it. Oh no…" Draudillon stopped in the hallway as she had begun to lead them down. It was hard not to see the man in light blue armor as he stomped down the halls like he owned the place, heedless of the guards that had tried to get him to stop.

Behind the guards following him there were three other men in blue armor, that seemed just tired by that point, or embarrassed by the one in front.

"Excuse me, have you- Did the Queen have a sister? Would you happen to know where the Queen is miss? My party Crystal Tear and I have an urgent need to discuss the Beastmen situation with her." The man was a blond haired pretty boy that at first glance seemed like he would be decent enough, but that name run a few bells in Akemi's head… alarm bells.

The Queen herself looked flustered on how to deal with the situation that only escalated from there. "Oh? Where did you come from beautiful?" The man whom Akemi assumed was Cerabrate had seemed to look past Draudillon and at Akemi, much to the other's discomfort. Akemi herself tried to stay composed and shook her head. "My apologies, but I'm not interested, I'm here on business with the Queen." Akemi resisted growling out, and held a hand in front of Ana and Kyouko before they could say anything. "No need to kill him over just flirting with me."

To her surprise the man's face took on a sour note for a moment. "My apologizes, I wasn't talking to you, but to the feline demi-human behind you. Did the Queen buy you from another land? Well… I'd rather have the Queen, but you both are quite nice." Cerabrate said as he took a step closer and held a hand out towards Hannyuu behind Akemi.

The tension in the air could choke a cow like a garrote wire as Akemi moved in front of Hannyuu fully, while Ana and Kyouko took the sides to block him off completely. "I'm feeling quite generous today, I'll give you one chance to turn around and leave. Do not so much as look at my daughter again you bastard." Akemi growled as part of her hoped he would try something.

"Lady do you know who I am? Well, not my fault if you get hurt, I'll have you learn your place Demi-human." Cerabrate said with a cocky gleam in his eye as he drew closer to Akemi and made no move to draw the sword on his back.

When the guards moved forward to try and get between Akemi and Cerabrate, the Queen just help up a hand at them off to the side. "I'll allow it." That seemed to make Cerabrate happy for some reason, as if he thought the Queen's sister was on his side in it. Akemi didn't even move as the man tried to simply punch Akemi in the gut, and felt absolutely no give in the impact, just his hand inside of his gauntlet hurting.

"My turn~ Self defense time." Akemi said and quickly punched back, right in his sternum, which she felt crack even as she pulled her punch to not kill him. The man flopped on the ground like a fish, gasping for air and staring up at Akemi in shock as bits of hit armor cracked into pieces, falling onto the floor.

"Well, I guess this is perfect timing. I Am Queen Draudillon, this is just my actual form, and thankfully the time I have to put up with your… proclivities is over. Crystal tear, your services are no longer required, the Dragon Kingdom's Beastmen problem has already been solved as of yesterday." Draudillon said with a barely contained smug grin.

"W-what? Who the hell would be able to do that? Their leader is a match even for me!" Cerabrate said as he sat up while trying to not cough up his raspy lungs.

Draudillon just gestured to Akemi who continued to glare at the group of them as Cerabrate's party came to gather around him.

"I dealt with that army yesterday morning, it was a simple task. Perhaps your skills have been over estimated by the guild? Regardless, I suggest you leave, quickly." Akemi threatened as her aura slowly was being pushed onto the area, making Crystal tear get even more nervous.

To Akemi's delight Cerabrate was as much of an idiot as she thought, and with all traces of knightly demeanor he had before he opened his mouth gone, he drew the greatsword on his back that was as long as Hannyuu was tall, and made to swipe Akemi's head off. "Oh this is satisfying." Akemi said as she held the edge of that sword between the tips of her fingers before it made contact with her.

"[Illusionary Stasis]. Now you three, prostrate yourself." Akemi used her Divine Edict on his party members, who seemed to throw themselves onto the ground at the Draudillon's feet. "You may raise your heads. Now, you three really should take care who you associate yourself with, this man is disgusting company. As much as I want to, I won't kill him, but some punishment is needed." Akemi said as she pulled the sword from Cerabrate's grip as he stood like a statue in the hallway, and put his sword into her inventory.

It was not enough for her, and so she began to trace her sharpened fingernail on Cerabrate's forehead, using her tails to lift herself up to the needed height, really taking her time with it. Ana and Kyouko couldn't help but snort, and Draudillon had a smile that seemed to say 'what can you do?'.

"There we go, that will work. [Stabilize Wounds], [Maximize Magic: Curse Wounds]. You can keep that scar as a reminder." Akemi said and snapped her finger. At that Cerabrate fell to the ground and grasp his forehead, wailing as that pain must have caught back up. The shiny floor was enough for Cerabrate to see the words Akemi had scarred on his face, a bright red 'Pedo' that was visible under his short bangs. When the man looked back up at her in both fear and fury she matched that with her own fury. "Never look at or speak to children again. I think I made my point, is that enough for you Queen Draudillon?" Akemi asked as she moved over to hug Hannyuu to herself when she saw the girl retreating back into her mind from that encounter.

"I think that should do for now. Cerabrate, for the crime of assault on a diplomat visiting this Kingdom, I banish you beyond our borders. As for the rest of you… You may stay if you wish, but I highly suggest you part from this man, being strong of body does not make someone strong of character." Those three party members could only stare at them, their bodies still frozen.

"Oh yeah, You are free to move." Akemi said and watched the three jump up, and drag Cerabrate away. They ignored the man's cries for his sword back as they seemed to just want to get out.

"Guards, please make sure he leaves within the hour. Akemi?" Draudillon looked at the Kitsune and was all smiles.

"I'll send a summon to watch him and make sure he leaves, if he doesn't I'll teleport him somewhere else." Akemi said and gently pet Hannyuu's ears as the girl slowly calmed down, her ears still folded.

"That will work I suppose. That is one problem dealt with, also I didn't see you take that sword, neither did anyone else, for the record." Draudillon said as she looked at the surrounding guards who were quick to nod. It turned out that the man was not very popular in the palace.

"I mean… I'll see if anyone wants it I guess, it will probably gather dust. You want it Hannyuu? I remember you were curious about big swords when we went to that smithy, and I guess it would make a passable training sword." Akemi didn't pay any mind to the shocked looks on the other's faces.

"Um… Akemi, that sword is Starshooter, it is decently famous and is made of Orichalcum, there isn't much better you can get than that." Draudillon said with a chuckle as she led them down the halls again, once all the guards stopped staring at them.

"Debatable. I mean, the blade Akemi gave me is Adamantite, she does damn fine work as a crafter." Kyouko bragged and ignored the blank stare Draudillon gave her.

"I think I don't want to touch anything that man touched. Um Que- Draudillon, I'm sorry you had to deal with someone like That for so long… I can r-relate…" Hannyuu mumbled and still looked upset as she admitted that. She flinched, but allowed the hair ruffle from Draudillon.

"I'll reforge it for you later if you change your mind. I'll do some upgrades, and personalize it as a victory over the bastard~ Well, something to think about dear." Akemi said and smiled at her daughter as the girl finally seemed to look a bit better.

Soon enough they at the front of the castle and had stopped to look over the capital from the high perch the castle sat on. "So I'm thinking that when we meet up to look at potential spots that we could turn it into a picnic and treat it as a first date? Test the waters outside of business…" Akemi blushed, seeming to shrink down just a bit more as her inexperience showed.

"You two are right, she is adorable." Draudillon said to Ana and Kyouko before she had taken Akemi's hand while the Kitsune was looking down and flustered. Her fluster reached new heights as the Queen planted a chaste kiss on her hand. "That sounds like a plan, I'll look forward to it. I'll try and get things more stable here by then, I'd like the place to come back to life before we have a night on the town."

"Y-yeah, we can do that… Ugh this guy again… I'm going to teleport him alright?" Akemi said as she glared at Cerabrate as he stormed up the stairs to the castle with a cloth wrapped around his forehead like a bandanna.

"You! What the hell did you put on my head!? It won't heal! Give me my sword back you-" He was cut off by a magical glyph under his feet.

"[Greater Teleportation Other]. Bye bye now~" Akemi watched as the man vanished into thin air. The others could only blink at that, including the guards.

"So… where did you send him? I mean, he is a creep but I'm not sure if it is death penalty worthy yet." Draudillon said.

"I was tempted to put him on the mountains between here and the Empire but that would probably be murder right now, so I just teleported him about an hour away from Arswintar in the empire. He'll likely have a ton of fun getting help with that on his forehead."

That was enough to get Draudillon to truly laugh, not that polite court laugh, but one what felt like she was finally relaxing after years of hardship.

"Oh I'm glad, if I don't ever have to see that man again it will be too soon. You all have a good night. It was nice to meet you three." Draudillon smiled at Ana, Kyouko, and Hannyuu. "I hope we'll all get to know each other more, I see a good future for both our people."

"I feel the same, I hope we'll see each other again some time." Kyouko said with an easy grin.

"Thank you for your hospitality, you're a lot more down to earth than I thought a Queen would be." Ana said and did seem far more relaxed than earlier that day.

Hannyuu was still visibly disturbed by that man, but seemed to be calming down with the familiar and gentle hand petting her head. "I-it was nice to meet you also, I hope I can learn more stuff like today."

"[Gate]. I'll see you in two days then Drau… Is it okay if I use that nickname? Oh, here I made a few more of these." Akemi said and pulled a small gold and wood ring from her inventory, an identical one to the one she gave Arche. "This can let you contact me with Message, just in case you need something, I'm just a teleport away." Akemi said as she let the others enter the portal first before following.

"You may, I know my name is pretty long. Farewell Akemi~ I'll see you then." She said, not seeming to be at all offended, and even winked at Akemi before she passed through the portal.

"Are you enjoying yourself your Majesty?" Dahl asked as she emerged from the doorway with an amused smirk on his face.

"Oh I am, been a long time since I've actually been interested in someone, least of all one that is in the same social strata that I might be able to marry. That much adorable naivety mixed with that form is completely unfair. Well… paperwork waits for no one…"

A/N: A slightly shorter chapter than normal these days, but this was the overflow from the previous chapter. Sorry if this one was a bit dry, it is hard to make negotiations… interesting in my eyes, but I hope enough other bits were sprinkled in to add to the story. If you found that punishment for that creep over the top, I didn't, was kind of satisfying to write, I hated him the second I read about him lmao. I don't really intend for him to be a recurring character, so probably the last we'll see of him.

I took a lot of creative liberties with the Queen, as not a whole lot is known about her, especially not her appearance.

Please tell me what you thought in the comments, I always love interacting with you all 3