Chapter 7
There were many different reactions to the events that took place the other night in Balbadd, the impromptu duel between the King of Balbadd and the Princess of Kou had the full attention of almost everyone in the country, directly after the duel had concluded the nobles, foreign ambassadors, and other guests in the Royal Palace were alive with discussion all wondering how long had the king been a dungeon conqueror and if this was the reason he was able to stand up to the Kou Empire.
The members of Alibaba's new government were very skillful in their answers to the endless questions about the king, they never confirmed when he obtained his metal vessel, they highlighted his accomplishments and how he has revitalized the country, they dropped subtle hints that Sinbad had knowledge of this long before the duel between the two royals, they kept shifting the topics to what would benefit the king's agenda more and away from his secrets, by the end of the night more than half of the assembled guests thought Sinbad had been assisting the King from the start due to his close relationship with the King's father, of course, no one confronted Sinbad with their suspicions.
Within a few days, the news has spread far from the borders of Balbadd, it is always a major spectacle when someone conquers a dungeon so the news always spreads fast, almost all the world leaders knew what happened in Balbadd.
The reactions in Kou was varied, to the courtiers it finally made sense to them how such a small nation had the backbone to stand up to their great Empire, the Royal Family felt differently; Kougyoku's siblings felt worried for her, she was sent to marry a regular king, not a dungeon conqueror who if the stories are true defeated her easily despite the fact that she had the elemental advantage of water over fire, but also seems to be seducing their sister, they all know she has no experience with the opposite sex so she will be unable to resist him especially with only Ka Kobun as her only assistance.
The Emperor was furious not only did that upstart brat embarrass him by holding his war effort hostage so the Empire would honor their end of a bargain, he turns out to be a King vessel all along which he announced to the world by defeating one of Kou's own King vessels easily!, completely overturning the narrative that the Empire was portraying that the marriage was Balbadd ultimately submitting to the Kou Empire power, now it is looking like the Empire is the one that is submitting to Balbadd for they can't fight a war on two fronts without losing, but Balbadd's king has also stopped their army once with only mercenaries, what kind of damage could they do now with a dungeon conqueror on the battlefield, in addition to the rising number of magicians flocking to the country, the non-aggression treaty that was once thought of as a smaller country hiding from a mighty Empire now looks like Kou avoiding a fight their not sure they can win.
The rumors that Sinbad knew that he was a dungeon conqueror was very troubling for Kou, if it was true it would make one wonder how involved was Sinbad with the new king's success, was Sinbad the one who trained him, was Balbadd going to join the Seven Seas Alliance, was he merely in power because Sinbad put him there, many within Kou started to view the accomplishments of Balbadd's king as the actions of Sinbad's puppet king, only a select few individuals still saw the actions of Balbadd's king as his own and that he was a separate threat from Sinbad.
The magicians of Al-Thamen did not like the implications of Sinbad and Alibaba working together giving that both kings stand opposed to their organization, the King of Balbadd also has the son of Solomon on his side who is getting stronger day by day, their agents have been completely purged from Balbadd so they have no current information on the young magi, which infuriated them.
Sinbad himself was basking in all the things people were saying, he had no intention of clarifying any of the rumors for they don't have to be untrue if he could get Balbadd to join the Seven Seas Alliance it would be very beneficial for him and his allies, especially in the fight against Al-Thamen he would gain a powerful ally.
(back with Alibaba)
Alibaba seems to be oblivious to all the chaos his fight triggered he has been spending all his time with Kougyoku, he has been taking her for walks through the palace gardens, around the city to meet the citizens who have surprisingly warmed up to her, she has been seen playing with children, spending time with women of Balbadd who are teaching her things to please her future husband, Alibaba has also sparred with her a few more times but in a less public setting, Alibaba has been doing an excellent job of making her feel at home in Balbadd instead of an outsider.
He has been making introductions for her to the Nobles, and ministers in his court so that she is familiar with them all, he made sure she was aware of who to make friends with and who to avoid having as an enemy, he has also been showing her how he rules his country so that she will be able to do it one day, he has made it clear to her that he wants a real partner, not just a wife so she has to be able to stand strong by his side, which motivated Kougyoku to do her best to be worthy of the trust he has given her.
The preparations for the royal wedding were well underway, the royal gardens were brilliantly decorated for the wedding, the actual ceremony will take place in the gardens, then treaty signing will take place in the main courtyard of the palace along with the reception.
Alibaba was walking the hallways as he made his way to his office, as he passed the palace staff he could hear what they were talking about.
"Did you see the king and princess Kougyoku the other day visiting the orphanages…."
"Our king is a great man, I mean look at how he stood up to the Kou…"
"Some people are saying that Sinbad is helping the king is…."
"We haven't see lord Aladdin for a while now…"
It was around what Alibaba expected them to be talking about, which means everything was going well but Aladdin should not be mentioned in the palace until he allowed it so he will have to make sure to remind them of that.
Alibaba entered his office not at all surprised to find his most trusted people in the room with him or in Aladdin's case a projection of him via the communication magic tool he is using, he greets them as he sits down making sure to activate the magic tool on his desk to ensure the secrecy of the meeting.
"What do you all have to report?" Alibaba says opening the floor for them to speak.
"I will start first my king," Harahb said stepping forward. "The Sparta project is finished and the overhaul of the military will be finalized for all sections of Balbadd's forces, including the ASLAW Trading Company mercenaries in a little under two months, I have tested them all myself these enhanced troops are five times stronger than any current military soldier out there except for Fanalis, household vessels, and Imuchakk warriors, the navy's vessels have been reinforced with magic and all of them have been outfitted with those cannons the engineers built, if the navy continues to grow at this rate in two years we will be virtually unstoppable on the oceans, that is all." He finished with his report.
"Thank you, Magnus, how are things?" Alibaba says making the magician step forward.
"The order is thriving so there are no issues there, we currently have seventy war-ready magicians, around fifty magicians specialized in healing, the older project is finished as well and can begin operations as soon as the infrastructure is complete, the communication magic tools that we made are distributed to our military forces, and trusted allies, the engineering department has been making strides in mass-producing magical engravings or talismans that would allow anyone to perform set magical sequences with just their magoi as fuel, they are projected to have working prototypes in two months, as for the latest project I would like to delay the presentation for a few months but the deployment timeline remains unchanged," Magnus reports on the magician's side of things.
"Hmm, Aladdin," Alibaba signals for him to speak.
"The project manager says that we're almost done only laying the paths to Balbadd is left, they should be finished by the wedding without a doubt, which is good cause I haven't been home in a while and I can't miss your wedding," Aladdin says in his normal upbeat manner.
"I miss having you around as well, and you will like Kougyoku as long as you don't act like a pervert," Alibaba says jokingly.
"Hey!" Aladdin objects.
"Anyway, things have been going well as far as the economy is concerned, trade is up by thirty percent compared to last month, almost all the citizens have a job, the moral and overall mood of the people is high, they are taking the marriage well with only a few opposed to it that was pacified after my defeat of Kougyoku, Sinbad has been trying to get me to join his alliance but I used the fact that with the delicate situation between Balbadd and Kou now would be a very bad time, I can't just flat out refuse without looking suspicious so I will stall for now on the Sinbad thing," Alibaba adds his report to the discussion.
"It was good to see you Aladdin even if it is not in person, I will see you at the wedding," Alibaba said to Aladdin.
"It was good to see you too, I will see you soon bye," Aladdin said then his image fades from the room.
"Is the other matter in hand Harahb?" Alibaba asked in a firm voice.
"Yes, everything is prepared on that end, there was some resistance but our allies depth with it quietly, no one should be aware of anything unusual, with all the attention you are attracting to yourself," Harahb said.
"Excellent, we just have to keep this up for a few more days and we are home free," Alibaba said then ended the meeting.
Alibaba left his office with his two lovers by his side he has not been spending as much time with them and plans to correct that tonight as he heads to his bedroom to enjoy a long night.
(A few days later)
It was the day of the wedding, people have been up from before dawn making sure everything was perfect, all the decorations were set up perfectly with a mix of red, gold, purple, white, and black equally representing the favored colors of both royal families.
All the courtyards of the palace were organized and had large long tables filled with a myriad of foods from almost all the different cultures of the world, there were a large number of performers as well and many musicians keeping everyone entertained.
The wedding itself went off without any problems, Alibaba wore the traditional wedding clothes that Balbadd Kings always wore and Kougyoku wore a far more elegant wedding dress of Kou design, they went through a few wedding traditions from both countries that ended in an exchange of vows to each other, after that came the signing of the non-aggression treaty it was the first and last act Kougyoku performed as the official representative of the Kou Empire in this specific matter, none of her siblings were able to attend the wedding probably under orders from the Emperor, only a high ranking member of the Kou Imperial Court and his escort came and that was only to provide the Imperial Seal making the treaty legally binding and recognized as having the Emperor's approval, once it was signed they took their copy of the treaty and departed soon after that, to everyone watching it made it clear that the Kou Empire wanted this over with as soon as possible so that they can get back to their expansion now that Balbadd won't be an issue going forward.
Kougyoku had felt alone that none of her family came to her wedding but she didn't feel that way for long thanks to Alibaba, he never left her side the entire day, he introduced her to Aladdin who is his brother in all but blood, she and Aladdin became can't friends even if he was a bit of a pervert, she ate, danced, laughed and truly enjoyed herself, she had looked around her realizing that maybe she has lost her old family but she gained a new one plus a loving husband, so she chose to be happy with what she has now.
The celebration continued well into the night, Alibaba and Kougyoku left the celebration early for it was their wedding night which they enjoyed immensely.
They left on a two-week-long honeymoon to one of the islands surrounding Balbadd, no one knew where they went but Alibaba's inner circle, Alibaba and Kougyoku were able to enjoy each other completely away from everyone and everything, Kougyoku experienced two full weeks of pure pleasure and joy, when they came back from their honeymoon she had slight limp but was glowing with pure satisfaction.
When Alibaba came back he was swamped with all the work he had missed while on his honeymoon, he also was busy with finalizing the infrastructure for his projects and various other things that needed to be overseen by him.
Two months after the return of Alibaba and Kougyoku there were rumors coming from the various desert cities and established territories, the rumors mostly talked about civil unrest and the possibility of revolution in those places, being that Balbadd was the largest trading partner for those desert cities and territories it was cause for concern and many merchants and traders kept an open ear to any new rumors or confirmed new of what was happening in the desert areas of the continent.
With the overhaul and reorganization of the army and navy for Balbadd complete, Alibaba was planning a trip to Sindria to deal with some trade agreements with Sinbad and his kingdom, that was one of his reasons for going on the trip the other was that he was planning on conquering the 61st Dungeon of Zagan, Aladdin, Morgiana, and Scarlett will be accompanying him on conquering the dungeon, Kougyoku will be staying in Balbadd along with Magnus and Harahb to govern the country in his absence.
A week later Alibaba boarded one of his ships along with his companions, the ship was headed to Sindria and they would be there in a few days, Alibaba made sure there were no pressing issues while he was away, and if any issues did arise that needed his input they could contact him via the communication devices the magician order made.
Alibaba arrival in Sindria was met with the usual welcome that royals get when visiting a friendly nation, there was a large party on the first day he was there, the days that followed were filled with paperwork and trade discussions for Alibaba and Sinbad along with members of Sindria government, Aladdin was spending time with Yamraiha who he kept trying to fondle every chance he got, Scarlett and Morgiana spent some time with Masrur training or just talking to each other, Alibaba sparred with Sharrkan from time to time, they also went clubbing with Aladdin though they had to do it covertly so that Alibaba didn't get killed by his lovers.
The trade negotiations were completed in less than a week and then they enjoyed exploring Sinbad's kingdom for a few more days.
On a sunny day in Sindria Alibaba, Morgiana, Scarlett, and Aladdin were boarding a ship that would take them to the Dungeon of Zagan, they were warned that Zagan pulls anyone who comes close to it regardless if they wanted to go in or not, Sinbad had commented on how he missed going out on adventures like this but he could no longer enter any dungeons because he had enough Djinns so he couldn't get anymore, and this applied to his household members as well.
They take a few days of travel to reach the Torran island, and from there they take some rowboats to the island that Zagan's dungeon resides on, as they reach close to the dungeon there was a flash of light then they were sucked into the dungeon.
And their adventure on another dungeon begins.