Avant Heim, motherland of the Flügel, was floating placidly in the blue sky, when Jibril and Sora materialized in what served as the main landing spot of the flying city. Sora was immediately captivated by the alien architecture, and how everything seemed arranged in a way that simply ignored the force of gravity. This quickly turned very inconvenient for him, because humans cannot ignore gravity, and this prevented him from going basically anywhere else without being transported by Jibril. But that just added to his fascination.
He was still busy taking in the view, when Jibril said "Please grab the end of my garment, Sora; we are going to the Council Palace" he obeyed, and Jibril took off. She almost immediately dove into a large tunnel boring into the depth of Avant Heim. While grabbing the piece of fabric, Sora had the same expression of awe and amazement of a child during his first trip by airplane. Jibril noticed the effect that her motherland was having on her friend, and smiled happily.
They quickly reached their destination: the intersection of a number of large tunnels that served as the main square of Avant Heim. The Council Palace was hanging from the ceiling and looked like the space castle from a science fiction novel … turned upside down. Sora was speechless.
Jibril made a circle around the structure, looking for a place where to leave Sora; it took while, but she finally found a spot that was not too uncomfortable for non-flying creatures, and that was relatively close to the palace.
"This place should go, Sora…" she said right after landing "Will you be fine, while I am gone?"
He chuckled "I belong to the most powerful Flügel of all times! Who would dare to trifle with me?"
She did not seem to share his optimism "If you are in trouble, blow the whistle as hard as you can"
He tried to reassure her "I will, I promise. Good luck for the meeting!"
She nodded "Thanks. You too"
Jibril took off, headed straight for the Palace, and Sora remained alone. He could see that a number of Flügel had already noticed his presence and seemed curious. However, they seemed in no hurry to approach him, as they had also seen him talking with Jibril. He shrugged and made no attempt to contact them either; there was no need to rock the boat too early.
His wait was even shorter than he had anticipated; just two minutes after Jibril had disappeared, a lone Flügel noticed Sora, froze in disbelief, shook her head as if to confirm that she was not having a hallucination, and then dove upon him. She had fiery red hair, ruby eyes, and a scowl and her face.
"How dare you, human insect, to enter the realm of the Flügel?"
Sora raised his hands "I did not enter!"
She narrowed her eyes "Are you mocking me?"
"Councilor Jibril brought me with her!"
The Flügel stopped, perplexed "Jibril? And why would she do that?"
"I am her pet from another world… Apparently, a number of her friends were curious about that, so…"
She cocked her head "Well… I did hear that she had a pet from another world… So, it's you?"
"It's me, yes. My name is Sora, nice to meet you" he said with a small bow
She grimaced "Umpf! The pleasure is all yours!"
He nodded "As it should be! Do you also like books like Jibril?"
She widened her eyes "You are a weird Immanity"
"I am not an Immanity, I only look like one. Jibril calls me Unknown"
"Unknown? That's an interesting name, for sure. But if it's true that she brought you here, where is she?"
Sora pointed a finger at the Council palace hanging over them "She inside the Palace. Dogs - I mean, humans – were not allowed, and so she told me to wait outside"
"I see…" she said while looking at the upside-down complex "…and what is she doing inside?"
"She found a book from my world that she liked very much: it's a story of war and gods, called the Iliad. She translated it and now she is presenting it to the other councilors"
The Flügel made a smile of superiority "As expected from a human! You are not even able to translate your own literature"
Sora smiled awkwardly "Well, I did not translate anything yet… but I brough with me something I am writing…" he said while drawing a small manuscript from his bag "…It's only the first chapter, but… Would you like to have a look?"
She snickered "And why would I waste my time with something written by a lowly human?"
Sora shrugged "It's about weapons, tactics and strategy from a different world… but whatever…" and opened the bag to put the sheets away.
The Flügel's expression froze, then she blushed as she tried very hard to feign disinterest. Eventually, she admitted defeat "Damn!" she cursed "Ok, give it to me!" she commanded with an extended arm.
Sora was happy to oblige "Here, uhm… I am sorry, what's your name again?" he asked
"My name is Zeruel, and now shut up!"
And she snatched the manuscript from his hands.
Roughly one hour later, Jibril emerged from the palace in high spirit. Her presentation had gone very well, and everybody had loved the story. The three copies that she had prepared with so much effort had now found other masters, and with the Archival Common Property Act in place, it was only a matter of time before they would start circulate among the other Flügel too.
She dove to the spot where she had left Sora, and found herself contemplating a scene of almost utter chaos.
On her left, a dozen of Flügel were voraciously reading something in the most disparate position. Some were laying on the ground, some were standing, and some were floating around at different angles, including upside down. There was a small group of three that seemed to be reading together, with the first Flügel floating horizontally while holding the manuscript, and the other two peeking from above her shoulders. Another two seemed to be fighting over the last copy.
On her left, Zeruel had managed to impose some order, and was reading aloud to about ten Flügel that were listening with shining eyes.
And right in front of her, Sora stood in the center of what looked like a hurricane in the shape of fifteen overexcited Flügel circling around him and bombarding him with a barrage of questions.
"What is an assault rifle?"
"What is a rifle grenade?"
"What is a laser-guided-bomb?"
Sora was smiling, while doing his best to keep pace with the demand. Jibril approached him, bringing the barrage to a halt
"My, my! I left you alone for one hour, and look what a mess you did!"
He bowed slightly "It's a great success, Jibril-sama!"
"I will help Zeruel to do some order. If you need anything, just shout!"
He bowed again "Thank you very much!"
Many hours later, a truly exhausted Sora, mouth plastered, raised the flag of truce. The Flügel suddenly seemed to realize that Avant Heim was not equipped with anything that a human would need, because Flügel do not need to eat, drink and sleep. Consequently, they did not provide anything to their guest, nor they even thought about it. The mortified Flügel promptly agreed to let Jibril and Sora to come back to the surface of Disboard
"Today was very fun…" Zeruel said "…what do you want in exchange for that first chapter?"
Sora shrugged "Nothing…"
She gave him an inquisitory glance "Nothing you say? Is this some sort of trap?"
Sora waived his hands "It's something we do on my world. You release the first part, or a small portion of a book, see what people think about it, and then you use the feedback to correct and improve the project, so… I guess your opinion is what I want in exchange"
"I never heard of this system… but how do you know what people think about it?"
He chuckled "On my planet, it is difficult not to know! But you are right, on this world it is much more complicated… why don't you guys take some days to mull it over, and then come to visit us in Elkia?"
"That's a great idea!" Jibril chimed in "Drop in my library at any time, it's been a while since I had Flügel guests!"
"Right! And I have other books from my world… although I am afraid you will have to talk with Jibril if you want to read those… she has priority!"
Zeruel seemed intrigued by the proposition, and bide them farewell.
A few days later, Sora and Jibril came back to the library after a day of imperial business. Integrating the Commonwealth of Elkia with Elven Garde was a lot of work, but things were proceeding quite well. It was a great success that Sora credited mostly on Stephanie's skill as administrator, the Senate's goodwill and an army of jurists and economists. As per usual, Jibril wanted to teleport, while Sora liked to walk to get some fresh air and stretch his legs. That time, they decided with the toss of a coin, and Sora won. He had just closed the door of the library behind Jibril, when he was startled by a voice coming from above.
"About time you came home!" a pretty annoyed red head glared down on them while standing upside-down on the ceiling
"Zeruel! Welcome!" Jibril greeted her; Sora just smiled and waived
"Welcome my foot! I have been waiting for hours! What happened to: drop in my library anytime?"
Jibril made a mischievous smile "I thought it was not necessary to add: 'just let me know, so I will be sure to be home!' I guess that I overestimated you!"
There was a soft laugh, and only then Sora noticed that other two Flügel were sitting on a sofa against the wall.
"Ramiel!" Jibril squealed in delight, while flying into the other Flügel's arm "You are also here! How are you?" her friend returned the hug
"So good to see you again, Jibril. How have you been?" Ramiel asked with a beautiful, melodic voice. She was blonde with blue eyes, and had a polite and dignified air, much like Jibril.
"The last months have been a lot of fun! Have you really been waiting that long?"
"Don't mention it… we did tell Zeruel that this may happen!"
"Hey, whose side are you on?" Zeruel protested after dropping from the ceiling and landing beside them. Jibril ignored her, and turned to the last of their guests
"Good evening, Armisael, it's good to have you here too!"
The other Flügel blushed slightly, and her hazelnut eyes shined for a moment, before she answered with a soft voice "Thank you, Jibril-sama. It's a honor to visit you" she had brown hair, cut to the shoulder, and was shorter than the other three.
Sora cleared his throat to attract their attention
"Ladies… can I bring you some tea? Or anything else?"
Zeruel raised her eyebrows "And why would we need that?" she asked sarcastically
"Actually, it is very good…" Jibril said "You should try it!" Zeruel was skeptical, but joined the majority when Ramiel and Armisael said that they wanted to try Elkia's tea.
Sora bowed like a perfect butler "Then I shall make preparations, my ladies. I will inform you when everything is ready"
Jibril gave him a warm smile "Thank you, Sora, and don't forget to put a cup for you as well!" the other Flügel were surprised, but made no comment.
Few minutes later, the tea was ready, and Sora called for the four god-killing weapons that were happily chatting on one of the floating cubes. The four angel-like creatures elegantly glided through the air and reached him at the table.
"Thank you, Sora…" said Jibril upon taking her seat "… and sorry for burdening you with this!"
He smiled "Not at all, it was my pleasure!"
Zeruel gave him a sideway glance "Don't you think you are addressing a member of the 18 Wings Council a little too casually?"
Sora seemed unphased "With all due respect, ma'am… If I broke the rules of the house, I think that it should be the landlady to reproach me … not lastly because she knows those rules better than anyone else"
Zeruel was speechless, Armisael hid a small smile, while Ramiel let a out a soft, melodic laugh "Your Immanity pet is quite clever!" she said to Jibril
"He is very clever, yes. And don't be fooled by appearances: he is not an Immanity, so don't underestimate him!"
Zeruel made a face "Right… he is from another world… and it really shows! Shame on me, I guess…" then she grinned "…do you have the second chapter?"
Sora smiled "Yes, I will get it right away… but wouldn't you want to play some games first? No stakes, of course! Just for fun!" he added quickly, before anyone could interpret his suggestion as a challenge.
The three guests looked at each other, and then to Jibril, that looked back at Sora
"What do you have in mind?" she asked
"A dry run of Warhammer. Zeruel will use an extremely aggressive army of Khorne…" the red head grinned upon hearing that, "…against Armisael and Ramiel, playing with Tzeentch; that is quick and agile…" both Flügel seemed pleased with the choice, so Sora went back to Jibril "You and I will be the referees, explaining the rules and recommending strategies"
Jibril agreed "Seems like a good plan. Can we finish the tea first?"
He nodded "Sure! Or we can have tea while playing… it's fine either way. I will get the stuff in the meantime"
The battle went on for a good three hours, ending in a draw, although Ramiel and Armisael technically got slightly more points. Then Sora produced a copy of the second chapter, much to Zeruel's delight. Followed another two hours of reading and discussion. At the end, everyone had a great time; the three guests received fifteen copies of the second chapter to give to their friends, and agreed to visit again.
They were back the following week with two additions: Sachiel and Shamshel. The two differed like day and night, but were clearly best friends. Where Sachiel was calm and collected, Shamshel was loud and lively; Sachiel had short blue hair, and red eyes, Shamshel was all of the opposite. They were a lot of fun, together. As the previous time, tea was served. But this time, Sora added some sweets that he had made, that at least Jibril and Ramiel really liked, while the others seemed undecided. They all played some games, but this time Sora did not have a finished chapter, so Zeruel and Shamshel agreed to help him write something. Ramiel, Armisael and Sachiel were more curious about some other books from Earth… the problem was that there was only one tablet. In the end, it was decided that Jibril would read something aloud, while everyone else would write down a copy of the book. That way, they could take it with them to Avant Heim and, crucially, make it circulate among other Flügel. Equally important, one of the copies would be given to the Imperial Press Office, to be mass-printed and distributed among the humans and elves as well.
In the following weeks, more and more visitors joined up the visit to the library; Gaghiel, Israfel, Sandalphon, Matarael, Sahaquiel, Iruel, Leliel, Bardiel, Tabris. The meetings were getting more and more chaotic, and so Jibril decided to raise the issue.
"Sora, this is getting out of control… I do like to meet other Flügel, but does it have to be every time at our house? Can't we meet somewhere else?"
He mulled over the question "You do have a point… Oh, I've got it! I heard that most of the imperial palace is actually completely empty! Let's meet there from the next time!"
Zeruel raised an eyebrow "The Imperial Palace? Don't you think that the Emperor would have something to say about that?"
Sora scratch his head and chuckled lightly "I am optimistic that I can convince him"
"That's ridiculous! You will never be able to do that!"
He raised his hands "Never say never"
She scoffed "Oh, yeah? Good! If you manage to pull that out, I will be your slave forever!" and she raised the hand to complete the Pledge. Sora panicked, and gave her a look of absolute terror
"I am the Emperor! Don't do it! Jibril, tell her!"
Zeruel stopped, uncertainty all on her face "Are you kidding me?"
Jibril grabbed her hand to prevent the completion of the Pledge, and looked at her seriously "Zeruel, listen carefully. This person is Emperor Sora, ruler of the Empire of Gamers. If he hadn't stopped you, you would have become his slave forever"
The red head was shell shocked, and so were all of the other Flügel around them. Sora himself looked like he was about to have a hysteric attack
"Why… why would you do that?" he asked Zeruel
"T-that is my line!" she stammered back "Why did you stop me? Do you know how many people had spent their entire lives just waiting for a chance to obtain a Flügel?"
"Who cares about them!" he shouted "I am an alien! I am not like them!"
They looked at each other for a few seconds; a heavy silence enveloping the entire library. Eventually, she lowered her eyes
"I don't know what to say…" she seemed at a loss. Jibril smiled gently, and put a hand on her shoulder
"I think the 'Thank you' would be a nice start…"
Zeruel seemed to snap back to reality "Of Course! Thank you! I-I am so sorry for the way I have treated you!"
He sighed, smiled weakly, and made a gesture of dismissal "It's all good… don't worry about it"
Jibril smiled "And there is more…" she said while getting close to Sora "…he also saved me, from becoming the slave of the elf ambassador"
There was a chorus of gasps. Sora blushed and lowered his eyes, unable to look directly at Jibril's grateful smile.
Ramiel took the chance to ask the question that was on everyone's mind "How is that possible, Jibril? A mere elf is no match for you"
She blushed and put a hand on her cheek "Oh, my! That is so embarrassing! I was careless. I put myself in a very bad spot, and then I forced him to take risks that he really did not want to take. But he fought to save me, and he won. He wasn't even angry at me after the fact"
Sora scratched his head, extremely embarrassed "Jibril… there is no need for you to say any of this…"
She smiled "You are so modest Sora. But there is need. Because I never thanked you properly…" this said, she moved even closer to him, and took his right hand into hers "Thank you, my friend. Thank you for saving me"
He felt his heart melting, and smiled warmly at her "Don't mention it, Jibril. That is what friends are for"
Zeruel swallowed, and looked to the ground "Can I be your friend too?"
He smiled at her "Sure!"
"And me? And me?" asked everybody else. He called them all his friends, and the evening ended on a sweet note.
The following day, Sora was having lunch with Stephanie after a long meeting with the Senate. Both human and elves had agreed to a big commercial agreement, and so there was a lot to celebrate.
"And I have other good new!" Stephanie announced with a huge smile "I received the report from the academy; looks like they managed to reproduce some of the experiments in the books from Earth. They started to build the prototype of what you'd call a train"
That was very good news, and Sora opened a bottle of wine.
"Stephanie, there is something that I wanted to ask you…why is this palace so big?"
She blushed "Well, obviously, it's because the king of Elkia is very important"
He refused to be baited "Listen, I am not reproaching you, or anyone else, but… this place is almost empty… there are wings that are completely sealed. Why is that?"
She sighed "Well, there is no point in hiding it… it's in the official history of the kingdom after all. Ever heard of the Construction War?"
He shook his head "I haven't read that part yet"
"A few decades ago, after all of the Werebeats' tribe were unified in the Eastern Federation, their leader contacted my grandfather, and diplomatic relations were established… any questions so far?"
He shook his head "All good for now"
"Unfortunately, the Eastern Federation immediately showed disdain for Immanity by building an embassy that was bigger than the royal palace. The King of Elkia decided that he could not just take the insult laying down, and ordered the palace to be expanded… but the Eastern Federation did the same…"
Sora nodded "And so on, and so on… that's why it is called Construction War"
"That's correct" Stephanie was afraid that he was going to ask who eventually won the 'war', because her grandfather actually lost the competition. Instead, Sora asked something completely unexpected.
"Then I suppose there is no problem if I open one of the sealed wings of the palace to receive some guests?"
She blinked "Well… of course not… but why can't you use the usual rooms?"
He made a face "Believe me, it's better if we use another part of the palace. Not last because I hope that they will eventually agree to live here"
A flurry of emotions passed upon Stephanie's face "Live here in the palace… uhm…"
He gave her a quizzical look "Is that a problem?"
"Well… the palace is very big, you said it yourself. This has… side effects"
Sora cocked his head, but then seemed realize something "I see…" he finally said "It is so big that the personnel is unable to take care of it, isn't it? And the dire financial strait of the kingdom when I took charge… was partially due to the expenses to maintain the palace, isn't it?"
The princess blushed "If we open up the sealed wings… we will have to hire hundreds of workers for janitor duties and maintenance. Not to mention the expenditures related to the accommodation of guests and their staff. Financially speaking… it will be a disaster…"
"I see. It all makes sense" Sora said calmly
Stephanie was relieved "So… is it all right if we use the usual part of the palace?"
"Not at all. I will open one of the sealed wings"
She was shocked "What? Why?"
He smiled at her "I promise that it will not impact on the finance of the state in the slightest"
"That's impossible!"
He frowned "Don't you trust me?"
That question gave Stephanie pause, and she collected herself "Of course I trust you. But I cannot imagine how you will find the extra money"
"I am not going to earn money… I just won't need it"
"You won't need it…" she mumbled to herself while staring into nothingness "…but that's impossible… humans need…" she widened her eyes and look at him. He smiled
"Your guests are not humans!" she almost shouted
"Correct. They are Flügel"
Stephanie fell from the chair "Flügel!" she shouted "How many of them?"
"About fifteen, I suppose" he said calmly
The princess was on the verge of a panic attack "Fifteen Flügel! Here! Have you lost your mind?"
"You seem upset about something" he said plainly
"You think?" she asked sarcastically "Fifteen Flügel are more than enough to turn all of Elkia into ashes!"
He smirked "Well, good thing that they are my friends then!"
Her mouth remained agape "F-friends you said?"
He nodded "Yes, they are my friends. We have been meeting in the library for the last weeks, but it's starting to be uncomfortable. And so I want to receive them here. And make this their home, if they like the idea"
"But… but this is the royal palace of Immanity!"
"Incorrect. It was the royal palace of Immanity. Now it is the imperial palace of the Empire of Gamers, a country that is populated for more than 80% by elves. Also, the Special Assistant of the Emperor is a Flügel, and she played a crucial role both in the game to choose the king of Elkia, and the campaign of Elven Garde. It is only natural that I wish to establish better relations with Avant Heim"
"But… but…"
He waived his finger at her
"No buts, Your Majesty. I will do everything I can to avoid any problems for you, but this is my decision"
Few days later, Sora was scratching his head in disbelief upon receiving his Flügel friends at the palace for the first time "This… is not what I was expecting…"
In front of him there were no less than one hundred Flügel, and all seemed to have eyes only for him. Beside him, Jibril gave him an inquisitive look
"Is there a problem, Sora?"
"I cleaned a room expecting fifteen guests… but I am afraid it's really not big enough for all of you!"
Jibril's eyes went wide "Oh! So that is where you disappeared these last evenings after work! Why didn't you tell me? I could have done it in five minutes!"
He scratched his chin and looked at Ramiel, Zeruel and the others "I wanted to make you a surprise… but I guess that you did it to me…"
Ramiel got closer to him and Jibril "That was very sweet of you, Emperor Sora. But the tale of your kindness toward Zeruel spread very fast. And the tale of your fight to protect Jibril spread even faster"
He blushed and looked down "I see…"
Ramiel then seemed to be taking her leave "It was nobody's fault… but if there is no place… I guess that we shall retreat for tonight…" she said it in a very polite way, but Sora could tell that she was sad. he straightened "Retreat? Why?"
She stopped, perplexed "Well… you said it yourself… you prepared a room for fifteen…"
"And that one is out. Plan B!" Sora mulled over the problem "This part of the palace is almost completely empty; help me find a room big enough for everyone, and then we can proceed"
Ramiel seemed delighted, and the Flügel scattered. Few seconds later, a suitable hall was found. It clearly hadn't been used for years, and the dust was a clear indication of it. Sora was about to apologize for the state of the room, when Armisael simply raised a hand and started to cast a spell. Small globes of light scattered around the room, and started to scan every surface in a regular pattern. In a few seconds, the room was shining.
Ramiel gave a quick hug to the little Flügel "Thank you, Armisael-chan, it is much better now!" the shy brunette blushed, and stammered: "Don't mention it"
That evening was much more chaotic than usual, and when the immortals finally allowed the Emperor to get some sleep, Sora had a huge headache. He was about to close the door, ready to go home with Jibril, when a soft voice called him from behind
"Ehm… Emperor?" the exhaust Sora took a deep breath, put on his best smile and turned around
"Armisael. What can I do for you?"
The tiny brunette seemed uneasy, and took few seconds to fidget around. Sora ignored his growing migraine and waited patiently until she was ready to talk.
"Are there other rooms that I could clean?"
His mind went completely blank for the surprise, and raised both eyebrows "Well… yes, but… why?"
As Jibril was also giving her a very surprised look, Armisael blushed violently. But just before she teleported away, Sora regained his footing
"Sorry, Armisael, I was just not expecting that question. I did not mean that it is weird, or stupid, or offensive. There are many rooms that you could clean, if you want to. Even now, if you feel like it…" he smiled and winked at her "As long as there is nobody inside, you know…"
She smiled "Thank you, Emperor!"
"Sora is fine…" he said "We are friends, remember?"
A couple of weeks later, princess Dola was summoned in the throne room. Upon entering, she found Sora carefully inspecting a manuscript that was placed on the table.
"Have you sent for me, Sora?"
He raised his head from the parchments "Yes… I have been thinking about what you said about this palace, and I made some research. It is a real drain on the finance! It was a real surprise how much we spend only for janitor duties!"
She sighed "Yes, I know… but what else can we do? Demolish the palace? Apart that it is very dangerous… it is even more expensive than just keep it running"
Sora intertwined his hands and made a sly face "I may have found a solution to this problem…"
She perked up "Really? What is it?"
He smiled, and seemed to address the ceiling "Armisael, show yourself, please"
The shy brunette appeared beside him "Uhm… good morning princess"
Reflexively, Stephanie jumped behind a chair as if to escape the wrath of the Flügel. Armisael was mystified "Ehm… are you all right princess?"
Stephanie peered out of her 'bunker' and dared to address the god-killing weapon "I am, Flügel-sama. Thank you for asking" she then gave the Emperor a quizzical look "Sora, can you explain this to me, please?"
"Sure thing, your Majesty. Armisael has recently discovered that she likes a lot to keep things clean. And this palace is just big enough to be a funny game for her. Am I right?"
She made a little smile "Yes. It feels nice to do something useful"
Stephanie was still trembling, but dared to inquire a little more "I am afraid that I do not understand, Sora"
"Armisael has volunteered to take on most cleaning duties of the palace… for now. And so, we can lay off the excessive personnel and reduce the drain on the treasury. That is my solution, at least for a while"
"That makes a lot of sense… but the workers that we are going to fire…"
"I am not saying to throw them in the middle of the road… let's help them find another job… those that want to collaborate. Those that only want to make problems … just kick them out. I have no problems with it"
"I see. And the maintenance and restoration crews?"
"That is going to be my job!"
a melodic voice came from behind Stephanie, that shuddered and very slowly turned around to find Ramiel's gorgeous face looming over her. Stephanie screamed and run around the table, finally hiding behind Sora and grabbing his right arm. On his left, Armisael kindly decided to ease the princess' fear by floating away and landing beside Ramiel on the other side of the table.
"I-I-I am sorry, what were we saying?" Stephanie stammered
"Ramiel has a keen interest in architecture… and so I decided to let her modify a wing of the palace… and in exchange she will take care of the maintenance for the rest of the building"
The blonde Flügel bowed slightly "Leave it to me, Emperor Sora, I will make this palace the most solid building in the Empire… and the wing that you so kindly placed at our disposal will have nothing to envy to any palace in Avant Heim!"
Sora smiled "I am looking forward to see it, Ramiel. I am indebted to you"
She slowly shook her head "Not at all, I am actually already thinking about transferring my home in this palace"
"Me too" Armisael chimed in.
Stephanie tightened her grip on Sora's arm, and he turned his attention at her. She still seemed very frightened "Your Majesty… please forgive me for taking your time. You obviously have a lot to do already, and this is just an informal meeting between me and two of my friends. Unless you want to, you can leave us, and I will brief you later on the details"
Stephanie was grateful for the chance of withdrawing, so she excused herself and left the room.
Armisael gave her a worried look "Is the princess going to be OK, if we start living here?" she asked.
Sora scratched his chin "I don't think that there is going to be any problem as long as you stay in the Flügel wing… but when you venture in the rest of the Empire… can I ask you to be delicate with the citizens? I am quite sure that nobody will be stupid enough to disrespect you, so I think it would be nice if you also do not disrespect them"
They both promptly agreed "Do not worry Sora, we won't disrespect the lowly Immanity"
Sora grimaced "Ramiel… I am afraid that most Immanity would find what you just said disrespectful"
She cocked her head "Why? Didn't I say it nicely?"
He smiled awkwardly "You said it very nicely, actually. But that is not the problem. The fact that you called them 'lowly' is the problem"
Ramiel was mystified "But that is just the way it is!"
"And I am not going to correct you on that, but please believe me… that is the kind of remarks that won't be considered delicate. At all."
She seemed lost "I do not understand… How should I treat them then?"
Sora mulled over the issue "Ramiel, would you use the word 'lowly' to describe me?"
She seemed appalled at the idea "Of course not!"
"Then please do not use it on any of citizens of the Empire"
"But you are not like them! You are Unknown! Who else could build an empire so quickly, and live with a Flügel for so long?"
Sora was deeply embarrassed by the compliment "You are very kind Ramiel… thank you for holding me in such high regard… listen, I have an idea!"
The Flügel both perked up. Sora straighten up on his chair, before talking again "I am sure you will quickly learn how to act with both humans and elves without hurting them. In the meantime, though, it may be useful if you pretend that you are talking to me every time that you are talking to a non-Flügel… can you try doing that?"
Ramiel and Armisael exchanged a glance "It's going to be weird…"
He scratched his head "Probably" he conceded "But I just asked you to try. Can you try?"
Armisael spoke for both of them "We will try, Sora!"
The Emperor smiled "Thank you, I really appreciate it"
The storm was not receding. For two weeks now, the fleet had been stuck in the harbor, and the weather was showing no sign of improvement. All of the ships were loaded with grain and other foodstuff to alleviate a devastating famine that was ravaging the human city of Almok, and were very badly needed. The captain in command of the fleet could not find peace. He was from Almok himself, and remembered a similar famine hitting the city when he was a child. He remembered healthy people turning thinner and thinner by the day. He remembered people leaving their homes, never to return. He remembered people falling… never to stand up again. More than everything, he remembered the hunger itself. Destiny had wanted him to be tasked by the Emperor with a mission to avoid that same tragedy to repeat itself. But there he was, sitting on his desk; powerless in front of the fury of the elements. The captain looked down to the report he was writing, struggling to see through the tears that were swelling in his own eyes. He had never felt so miserable in years.
Suddenly, the table trembled, as if something heavy had just landed upon it. In confusion, he raised his head, and felt his blood freeze with terror. Right in front of him, standing on the table, were two Flügel. The first one was a red head with blue eye, sporting a smug grin. Right behind her, a cold looking blunette was staring at him with ruby eyes.
"Hello, captain…" Shamshel greeted cheerfully "…you have been fired!"
this said, the redhead Flügel threw a bag in the captain's chest. The captain was so stunned, and the impact strong enough, that he fell from his chair. The bag opened, and golden pieces fell on the floor. Shamshel laughed
"That is the money that the Emperor owes you. Well… two thirds of it, because you managed to cross the sea, and collect the foodstuff, but not to come back in time! Too much, if you ask me, but the Emperor is just too nice! Oh, yeah, he told me to pay you and give you this letter. It basically says 'thank you for your hard work', and that you can look for another job, effect immediate! This said… because you were too scared of that tiny storm with 20 meters tall waves, Emperor Sora had decided to transfer the mission to some real professionals… us!" and she proudly pointed a thumb to herself.
After that, she turned to the other Flügel, and covered her mouth with her hand. It looked as if she wanted to keep the rest between the two of them alone, but she did not lower her tone in the slightest.
"Look at that, sister… he calls himself a sea wolf, but then all it takes are waves big enough to swallow a whole ship, and he runs hiding with the tail in his legs… so pathetic!"
This said, she teleported away. The captain didn't know where she had gone, and neither he wanted to find out. Sachiel, the other Flügel, gave him a cool gaze
"Your lack of professionality makes me sick" she flatly stated. And then she also disappeared.
Something huge landed outside, and the entire building shook. Then there was another shock, and then another. People were shouting in a number of languages, and the captain run at the window to see what was going on. His eyes went wide as he recognized the load of his entire fleet being teleported into a huge mound that was getting taller by the second.
The two Flügel took exactly 23 seconds to offload all of the ships of the fleet and gather all of the load in a single giant heap. All they had to do was to teleport themselves in the cargo bay of a ship, select the entire load, teleport it to their gathering heap, and them move to the next ship. After they were done, they took a moment to enjoy the view from the top of their creation. Shamshel stretched herself, enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done.
"Aaaaahhhh! That was fun! And the weather is so nice! I love hurricanes!"
Sachiel maintained her cool attitude "I know that very well, sister. Ready when you are"
Then the Flügel and their load disappeared, leaving behind nothing but the howling of the wind.
Right outside Almok, a crowd had gathered to investigate a curious phenomenon. A wall seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, circling a squared area as large as a city block. There were openings on all sides, but the local authorities had quickly moved to take control of all access points, and were keeping the people at distance, citing 'safety reasons'.
Suddenly, a giant heap of goods appeared in the walled area. After the first moments of shock, the people of Almok were delighted when the local authorities explained that humanitarian reliefs from the capital had just been delivered, and would be distributed immediately.
From the top of the mound, Shamshel enjoyed the cheers of the populace
"Hi everyone! Piece of cake!" she shouted while cheerfully waving at the crowd
"Not the cake of the Emperor, I hope… that is not very good" Sachiel added laconically.
And they both teleported back to the capital.
The work was proceeding slowly. As per usual. But that did not make it any less dangerous. The site manager was new to the job, so nobody had died under his direction. Yet. They were digging a tunnel through a mountain to improve the connection between the regional capital, and the main port on the coast. It was a giant undertaking that was going to be crucial for the development of the entire region. If they were ever going to succeed. Yes, because the work had started years in the past, but at the current pace the site manager doubted that it was ever going to see it completed. The shift was about to start, and so he gathered all of his crew and together they entered the tunnel.
Suddenly, in front of the weary workers, a figure appeared. Red Hair. Red eyes. White wings. A Flügel.
"Good morning, little monkeys!" Zeruel greeted them "How is it going?"
The humans reacted in unison. They screamed in abject terror and run out of the tunnel. All except the site manager. Not because he didn't want to run –he totally wanted to – but no matter how quickly he moved his legs, he simply did not seem to put any distance between him and the god-killing weapon.
"Not so fast, you little mole…" Zeruel said while holding him off the ground with one hand …"I need to see the project of this tiny thing that you are building here"
Crying and begging for his life, the site manager produced what was requested. Zeruel took the document and studied it for a few seconds, while floating outside the tunnel dragging the site manager with her.
"I see. It all seems pretty straightforward…"
She returned the project, and seemed to focus on the mountain at large "I can feel the presence of 158 humans on the mountain. But on the area of interests, there are… zero! Excellent, that makes it easy!"
Zeruel grinned, and the air around her started to crackled with power. The site manager cried and moaned… to no avail. Zeruel pointed two fingers at the entry of the tunnel
"Here… I… GO!"
The fiery Flügel unleashed in a few seconds enough energy to raise to the ground the capital of Elkia. When the smoke cleared, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The entire mountain had been pierced in a matter of seconds. She let site manager on the ground.
"So, what do you think of it, human?"
He was speechless, and just fell on his knees. Zeruel then disappeared, and the mountain resonated again of massive explosions. A few seconds later, she materialized again beside the site manager.
"I dug additional holes for ventilation. All of the digging is now complete, and the tunnel can be opened to pedestrians. All you have to do now is to adjust the bottom of the tunnel, so that it can be used by carriages. Any questions?"
"W-why did you help us?" the man asked weakly. She gave him a stern look
"What do you mean why? Oh, yeah! I did not tell you…here!" she threw a parchment to the site manager "Imperial Order 2059; I am your new supervisor. You are expected to divert pedestrian traffic down this route, and start outfitting the tunnel for carriages use as well. Other human constructors have estimated that you can complete that job in two months, so I will be back in seven days and I expect you to have completed at least 10% of the tunnel. Any more question?"
The man could only look at her in disbelief. She grunted with satisfaction
"Excellent! See you in seven days then" and she disappeared
"Still alive" was everything that the site manager could say, before collapsing on the ground. As he laid down with his eyes closed, he started to take stock of his situation. Certainly, it was all just a dream. There was no way that any of that could have actually happened. Soon, he was going to wake up in his bed, and the tunnel would be as far away from completion as he remembered the day before.
"Chief! Chief!" somebody was shaking him, and he opened his eyes. It was one of his workers
"Chief, are you all right?"
"Why am I at the construction site?" he just mumbled
"What are you talking about? What is this parchment? Order 2059?"
The chief was not listening. Instead, he noticed that almost all of the other workers were staring in disbelief at the tunnel, and so he did it too. He froze. The tunnel was complete. It was not a dream. His eyes shot open.
"Wait, does that mean that she is really coming back next week?"
One night, Sora was walking home with Jibril; he was chatting happily as usual, but he soon realized that Jibril did not seem her usual cheerful self. She was awfully quiet, and seemed to be thinking about something.
"Hey, LAD, is something troubling you?"
She shook her head "I am fine. But there is something that I would like to tell you"
"What is it?"
She smiled awkwardly, then looked straight to him "Thank you for being so good to my friends"
It was his time to smile awkwardly "Well… you are welcome … They are my friends too. Frankly, I kinda feel guilty to ask them to help out the Empire… and I am not even sure that it is having that much of an effect: they do not appear to have changed at all, since I met them for the first time…"
She shook her head
"You are wrong Sora. It looks like that to you, because you cannot use magic, and so you cannot sense spirits. But I can, and I can tell you that the despair I could feel in them for all of this time has already began to recede. It's still there, of course, but you already did more than I could have ever hoped"
She made a pause, and took his hand
"Giving them a purpose again, even for only a few minutes every week, is the best medicine for them. No matter how temporary this is going to be, we will never be able to thank you enough for this. Thank you."